06.09.17 Music / Arts / Lifestyle / Culture
Melbourne / Free / Incorporating
Mel
BUTTLE & Claire
HOOPER The Bake Off Beauts
Issue
205
From your first day at SAE, you’ll start creating in world-class facilities, on the latest software and equipment, all under the guidance of our expert lecturers - because at SAE, we believe to be job ready, you need to know the job. With classes starting in September, it’s not too late to kick-start your creative career in 2017.
START IN SEPTEMBER - ENROL TODAY sae.edu.au 1800 723 338 BRISBANE | BYRON BAY | SYDNEY | MELBOURNE | ADELAIDE | PERTH | ONLINE 2 • THE MUSIC • 6TH SEPTEMBER 2017
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4 • THE MUSIC • 6TH SEPTEMBER 2017
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THE MUSIC • 6TH SEPTEMBER 2017 • 5
Music / Music / Arts / Lifestyle / Culture
Sad Is The New Rad
Sad Grrrls Fest has just announced some new additions to its already stacked line-up. The newest gems in the crown include Brissy four-piece Major Leagues and SA indie duo Nakatomi.
Major Leagues
Big Daddy Kane
SZA
Kane You Dig It? Legendary New York MC Big Daddy Kane is heading back to our shores for an intimate east coast tour. The poet, rapper and pioneer of hip hop will play three shows in VIC, NSW and QLD.
Don’t Miss Out The third instalment of FOMO promises to be the biggest yet, with the lineup hosting a slew of big names. Among the bands playing are RL Grime, Nina Las Vegas, and SZA in her Aus debut.
7 The numbers of hours Colleen Green estimated she was waiting in an interrogation room before being told she would be deported from Australia for not having the correct visa.
6 • THE MUSIC • 6TH SEPTEMBER 2017
Cast Off The Music Podcast With Dave & Neil are hitting the road to bring you all the goss from the 2017 BIGSOUND conference in Brisbane. They’ll be releasing a new episode every day from Brunswick & Ann in Fortitude Valley.
The Music Podcast With Dave & Neil
Arts / Li Music / Arts / Lifestyle / Culture
[ Formerly The Hi- Fi Bar ]
Hi-Fi Sci-Fi Guys
TUE 12 SEP
The Belligerents have finally gotten around to bringing out a full-length LP. Science Fiction is out 8 Sep, and the band have announced a massive tour though October and November to showcase the new release.
The Belligerents
MEW
THU 14 SEP
ARCTURUS NOR
&
BLOOD INCANTATION USA
SAT 16 SEP
MAKE THEM SUFFER FRI 22 SEP
AMPON LAMPOON KLP
SAT 23 SEP
TEEN VIBES U18 FT. IN STEREO & FAYDEE SAT 23 SEP
VIBE 18+ FT. FAYDEE & DJ JAMES YAMMOUNI SAT 30 SEP
CALIGULA’S HORSE TUE 10 OCT
NAPALM DEATH, BRUJERIA, LOCKUP & BLACK RHENO WED 11 OCT
BIG DADDY KANE SAT 14 OCT
SHOCKONE SAT 21 OCT
JOEYBOY & GANCORE CLUB
Melt Away
FRI 27 OCT - SOLD OUT
Triple j host and dance artist extraordinaire KLP is back on tour thanks to her brand new single, Melt. The singer will take her shows to Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane as she shares the stage with coheadliner, Moonbase.
MAMMAL
SAT 28 OCT
THE ULTIMATE MICHAEL JACKSON EXPERIENCE SAT 04 NOV
BILLY DAVIS & THE GOOD LORDS WED 08 NOV - SOLD OUT
THE MELVINS FRI 10 NOV
MONO
SAT 18 NOV
GZA - THE GENIUS USA - (of WU TANG CLAN )
Made Of Metal
TUE 21 NOV
PERTURBATOR FRI 24 NOV
Once Human
California-based metal monoliths Once Human have locked in their debut Aussie tour for February/March 2018. Lead by Sydney-born Lauren Hart, the band will travel all around the country supporting their new album, Evolution.
MISS MAY I
“THE SHADOW INSIDE” AUSTRALIAN TOUR
SAT 25 NOV
BABY ANIMALS SUN 26 NOV
BLACKBEAR SAT 09 DEC
THE HARD ROCK SHOW EXTRAVAGANZA with special guests ELECTRIC MARY & TERAMAZE
TIX + INFO
MA X WATTS.COM.AU 1300 843 443
125 SWANSTON ST, MELBOURNE
THE MUSIC • 6TH SEPTEMBER 2017 • 7
Lifestyle Music / Arts / Lifestyle / Culture
Twooze On one hand, I want to be rapper Ivan healthy. On the other hand is Melburnian Ooze will follow up his received breakout some powdered sugar from gleefully mixtape with a 21-track — The Social Alien the waffles I had for lunch. 2:sequel Memoirs From The Milky
Ivan Ooze
Way — later this month before touring in October.
@papasuncle
Hit The Road, Jack US megastar Jack Johnson has confirmed he’s heading our way this December for a run of outdoor shows around the country. Support will come from fellow Bushfire Records labelmate, Bahamas.
Jack Johnson
Parkway Drive
Blasting Off Lyrical legend Alex The Astronaut has announced a massive nation-wide tour for the release of her forthcoming EP, See You Soon. She’ll play six huge shows throughout October and November.
8 • THE MUSIC • 6TH SEPTEMBER 2017
UNIFIRE
Alex The Astronaut
The Amity Affliction and Parkway Drive are headlining UNIFY come January, joined by massive acts including Architects, Hands Like Houses, Tonight Alive and Hellions.
e / Cultu Music / Arts / Lifestyle / Culture
Credits
Publisher Street Press Australia Pty Ltd
About Lime
Group Managing Editor Andrew Mast
Lime Cordiale have delivered a double dose of sweet news. Not only is their debut LP, Permanent Vacation, out next month, but the duo will hit the road from September to December in support of the release.
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Beautiful Girls have announced a massive Aussie tour celebrating 15 years spent playing together. The tour will take them all over Aus from November right into January just as they return from a massive run through Europe.
Art Dept Ben Nicol, Felicity Case-Mejia vic.art@themusic.com.au Beautiful Girls
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— Melbourne
A Polish Christmas Get your crackers and crappy paper crowns out, because Sydney duo Polish Club have announced a huge sojourn around the country at the end of the year, for what they’re dubbing Christmas In December. THE MUSIC • 6TH SEPTEMBER 2017 • 9
TV
er are ttle and Claire Hoop Comedians Mel Bu t The Great uble act, but withou do t es sh fre ’s lia ra Aust have teamed f they might never Of ke Ba n lia ra st Au taking whisks eets two stand-ups up. Maxim Boon m cs by Cover and feature pi with their comedy. Giulia McGauran 10 • THE MUSIC • 6TH SEPTEMBER 2017
W
hen I meet comedians Claire Hooper and Mel Buttle at a photography studio in Collingwood, they are discussing, in impressive detail, the calibre of a nearby breakfast roll - “It’s actually really excellent,” Hooper tells me as she savours a bite, while Buttle takes note of its “spot on” golden colour. It’s a very on-brand conversation for the hosts of The Great Australian Bake Off - the antipodean franchise of the British TV smash hit, that proved to be a surprise ratings bonanza for the BBC when it first aired in 2010. In the UK, comedy duo Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins set the gold standard for hosting the program, with their quirky blend of whimsical repartee, down to earth relatability and adorably twee charisma. This winning dynamic is something producers of the Australian iteration have aimed to replicate, but unlike their pommy counterparts, Buttle and Hooper were not an existing double act prior to appearing on the show. Fortunately, they haven’t had to look far for inspiration. The archetypal comedy two-hander is a model that boasts some of the most hallowed stand-up icons of all time, such as The Two Ronnies, Morecambe and Wise, and French and Saunders. Joining the ranks of these comedy greats has been an eye-opening experience for Hooper and Buttle. “Comedy is quite solitary, you’re on stage by yourself, you write it by yourself - It can be a pretty lonely job. So, I was really happy when I was paired up with Hoops, because now I’ve got a sounding board. If you’re trying to think up a funny line, you’ve got someone to bounce that idea off in the moment, to solve that comedic problem,” Buttle shares. “Often the way to a good joke is actually two or three steps, so it’s good if Mel’s like ‘I’m thinking about doing something with a briefcase,’ I can be like, ‘How about a briefcase... full of biscuits!’ And hey presto, you’re done! Comedy achieved,” Hooper adds. “You also have someone to nerd out about over words, you know? I can ask Mel, ‘Do you think I should use incredible or amazing here?’ Or should it be, ‘The biscuits are breaking,’ or, ‘The cookies are crumbling?’ I know that sounds like a little thing, but comedy really does sink or swim on those small details.”
While they are now reaping the rewards of their comedy collaboration, the pair admit that without Bake Off, their partnership was unlikely to have come about naturally. “I never thought, ‘I must get together with that Claire Hooper and crack a few jokes.’ But once we started working together, we’d be getting our makeup done for example, and we’d be making the makeup girls laugh, making producers laugh. So the chemistry and the dynamic between the two of us was definitely there from the start. We’re able to warm up and get in that perfect comedy zone a lot quicker,” Buttle explains. “It’s very hard for you to have any objectivity about what your unique comedy voice is, and I think comedians might be tempted to get together in a writing duo with a comedian with a sympathetic style. But what working with Mel has shown me, it’s actually going to be more useful working with someone who does offer a different thought process or way of seeing things. So, for us to be paired up by outside forces has been a real piece of luck, because we probably wouldn’t have gravitated towards each other. We’d probably never have realised how complimentary our styles are together,” Hooper concludes. Fate (and competitive baking) may have brought Hooper and Buttle together, but the on-screen personas of Australia’s freshest comedy duo are considerably tamer
If Mel’s like ‘I’m thinking about doing something with a briefcase,’ I can be like, ‘How about a briefcase... full of biscuits!’
than those familiar with their solo stand-up might expect, especially when it comes to that comedy mainstay: swearing. However, while the expletives both these veteran comics spout in their live performances may not make it onto the airwaves, neither tries too hard to keep it clean when the cameras are rolling. “Look, I think it’s best to give the producers every option. To be honest, I think pretty much every word you can imagine has been used on that set. That might be the reason some scenes end abruptly, with Maggie [Beer] looking sideways with a look of shock, and then suddenly there’s no more audio and we’re looking a shot of some cinnamon swirls in an oven,” Hooper ponders. “You know what, they’re either going to renew our contracts or they’re not, so you may as well have a bit of fun with it while you can, right? I had a bit of a muck around this season and said and did whatever I wanted. But even if I say something totally inappropriate, one of the cameras will catch a great facial shot of Maggie Beer or the bakers, and the producers will be able to use that at some other point,” Buttle adds. “Mel’s been particularly good with that this season. I think one time you said ‘Get those biscuits out of the oven or I’ll shit in your mouth.’ Or something along those lines. Whatever it was, it was very classy,” Hooper laughs.
What: The Great Australian Bake Off Season 4 airs this summer on Lifestyle Food When & Where: 4 - 7 Oct, The Comic’s Lounge (Claire Hooper) THE MUSIC • 6TH SEPTEMBER 2017 • 11
Music
Light Work Frontman Jonas Bjerre tells Rod Whitfield that building the visual component of Mew’s show helped pull focus in those shy early days.
D
anish arty indie pop-rock band Mew recently released their seventh album Visuals, and are very shortly to bring the subsequent tour to our shores. It is a very apt title for a band such as Mew. Frontman and multi-instrumentalist Jonas Bjerre himself is an accomplished visual artist, and he designs all of the eye-popping imagery that they bring to their live shows in the form of lighting, rear-screen projection segments and so forth. Speaking from on tour in New York, Bjerre tells us that the thinking behind making their show so visually complex is actually rather simple.
... It was a way of compensating for not being a very extrovert frontman on stage, so then maybe people could forgive me for staring at my shoes the whole time! days it’s more a part of the art and a part of the show. “It’s also a lot of fun to work on. It’s very time consuming, but it’s something I really enjoy doing.” Indeed, the visual element of the band pervades the entire album, above and beyond simply being the title of the record. “I had some visual ideas even before we starting writing and recording,” he recalls. “We had this idea that every song’s starting point should be a visual idea, so we tried to think that way when we were writing, and it provided us with some sort of starting point. When you sit with just a blank sheet of paper, it’s hard. I usually like to have one word when I start coming up with melodies. This time it was more like a visual inspiration.” And well over two decades into their career, Bjerre still feels like he and the band are finding their way, that time and experience have not bestowed great wisdom and experience upon them and they now know the secrets of the artistic universe. “In some ways I feel like we’re just starting out,” he admits, “I probably thought back then, when we started, that in 20 years I’m going to be a lot smarter and wiser and I’m going to know what’s really going on. But now I don’t feel like that at all. I still just feel like I’m one soul thrown into a chaotic world and trying to make sense of it.”
When & Where: 12 Sep, Max Watt’s
“We’ve always used visuals, I started making them very early, because I was working as an animator and I had all these ideas. Back then I didn’t really see bands doing that, so it was kind of a new thing. And also for me, it was a way of compensating for not being a very extrovert frontman on stage, so then maybe people could forgive me for staring at my shoes the whole time!” he laughs. Bjerre is now a far more forthright performer than he was in the band’s early days, and their audiences are treated to a more physical performance and the amazing visual imagery. “I feel more confident now as a performer,” he states, “I enjoy it a lot more and I love the feeling of the connection with the audience. So these 12 • THE MUSIC • 6TH SEPTEMBER 2017
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24/11 - DEAN LEWIS SELLING FAST 03/12 - FAT NICK USA 07/12 - PISSED JEANS USA 08/12 - DON BROCO UK 15/12 - KLLO 16/12 - PARADISE LOST UK 06/01 - CIGARETTES AFTER SEX USA - SELLING FAST 14/01 - FUTURE OF THE LEFT WALES 17/03 - BIG COUNTRY SCOTLAND
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WITH SPECIAL GUESTS 15/09 - THE HARPOONS SELLING FAST 16/09 - PVT SELLING FAST 18/09 -‘WIND IT UP’ WITH SPECIAL GUESTS 21/09 - CHERRY DOLLS 22/09- KARL S WILLIAMS 23/09- SAATSUMA 27/09- CARUS THOMPSON + LOREN 29/09- DONNY BENÉT 30/09- AMBER ISLES 01/10 - SAL KIMBER & THE ROLLIN’ WHEEL MATINEE 05/10- SONS OF THE EAST 11/09 -‘WIND IT UP’
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CUSTARD 14/10
SELLING FAST
SOLD OUT
POLARIS 21/10
JAKUBI
07 & 08/09
SOLD OUT
THE SNOWDROPPERS 28/10
CITIZEN KAY 07/10
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(JONNY FRITZ, ROBERT ELLIS & CORY CHISEL)
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PLUS HE A PS MORE AT W W W.NORTHCOTESOCIA LCLUB.COM THE MUSIC • 6TH SEPTEMBER 2017 • 13
Music
Never Sever After 20 years at the musical coalface with UK veterans Placebo, frontman Brian Molko tells Steve Bell how connecting with the legions of outcasts who constitute their fanbase is what keeps the fires burning.
F
or nearly 12 months now revered UK alterna-rockers Placebo have been undertaking an exercise in both nostalgia and community to celebrate the 20-year anniversary of their eponymous debut album, which first hit the shelves back in mid-1996. Titled simply the 20 Years Of Placebo tour, the celebration finds the band delving deep into their extensive seven-album back catalogue to dust off some fan favourites that had been essentially retired from the live realm, and now it’s finally reaching Australia to let local fans join the festivities.
Jesus, you might as well be watching cardboard cut-outs.
“It’s been going since last October, and it’s going to take us until at least until the end of this October, and then we’re going to start discussing what our plans are going to be for 2018,” offers Placebo founder and frontman Brian Molko. “It’s been a roaring success we’ve exhumed a bunch of songs from the graveyard that we swore we’d never play again, and it’s all going down a storm with the crowd. “On an artistic level it’s been an extremely successful venture, in terms of communion with our audience: some of them, the teens and the 20s, have never heard us play songs like Nancy Boy and Pure Morning live at all, and the 14 • THE MUSIC • 6TH SEPTEMBER 2017
older fans haven’t heard those songs in ten years. The whole thing is a celebratory experience.” Although on a personal level Molko himself doesn’t seem completely ecstatic about reviving these early hits. “It’s been educational,” he laughs. “I suppose that I’ve come to terms with the songs that I’d buried - that I didn’t want to sing anymore - and I’ve come to appreciate their spontaneity and their naivety, rather than just dismissing them as sophomoric.” Molko explains that he and co-founding bassist Stefan Olsdal usually prefer to keep the Placebo live show fresh and exciting because they’re fully invested in the experience. “I don’t have confidence in a great deal of things in my life, but I have an unfaltering confidence in the ability of Placebo to put on an amazing live rock’n’roll show, because we give a shit!” he enthuses. “That’s the whole point, we really fucking give a shit, and every fucking time we step onto that stage we’re giving 100% of what we can give at that given time. “Some bands walk on and they phone it in and just get it done - have you ever seen the fucking Kings Of Leon? Jesus, you might as well be watching cardboard cut-outs on a stage and play the record - but we’re up there and we give a shit, and this connection with the audience feeds our soul, so we’re always putting everything we have into the live show. No complacency complacency is forbidden in Placebo world.” And while Molko prefers looking forwards rather than backwards, the anniversary tour has allowed him to take stock of his two decades in the band. “I feel extremely privileged because it’s an amazing position to be in,” he marvels. “I’d say that I feel extremely fortunate and very, very grateful. Because this is all I know how to do! I’ve never had a job, this is all I’ve done my entire adult life. Sometimes I wonder what would happen if it all collapsed tomorrow - what the fuck would I do? I can’t drive so I can’t drive a cab, I refuse to tend bar, my computer skills are shit - I’m unemployable. This is all I got, so I put all of me into it. “It wasn’t our modus operandi at the beginning but we realised very quickly that our music made people happy, even though it can be very dark at times. And a whole community of outcasts has formed around the band, which we never expected to happen - we never set out to do that. We set out to express ourselves artistically and to try and make a living - just to pay the rent and be able to buy food was all we wanted we didn’t even set out to achieve global success, we just didn’t want to get a job in an office because that was terrifying! “But we realised really soon that we made a lot of people happy just through a lot of the tortured feelings that are in the songs, and there’s a global community now of misshapes, of square pegs in round holes, of outcasts, of people who feel like they don’t really belong to the herd. Which is exactly what myself and Stefan felt like when we were growing up, so there’s the connection.”
When & Where: 8 Sep, Margaret Court Arena
FRI 15/9
WEDS 1/11
DAMIEN DEMPSEY
HERMITAGE GREEN (IRE)
(IRE)
Grand Final Holiday Eve
THUR 28/9
Grand Final Holiday Eve
GREEN VELVET
SAT 9/12
FUEL
sun 8/10
MAISON BURLESQUE wed 18/10
AUCTION FOR KIDS CULTURE 2017 plus MC Brian Nankervis
PRINCE PUBLIC BAR NOW AN OZTIX RETAILER
THURS 19/10 fri 22/12
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THE MUSIC • 6TH SEPTEMBER 2017 • 15
TV
Netflix, Nuance and Neighsayers Netflix cartoon series BoJack Horseman has never shied away from the darker side of “Hollywoo”, and, as creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg tells Guy Davis, that was always the plan.
S
einfeld is renowned for the acerbic behind-thescenes mantra that dictated its tone - “No hugging; no learning”. The acclaimed animated series BoJack Horseman, the fourth season of which premieres 8 September on Netflix, doesn’t have a similarly guiding principle, although series creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg admits with a smile (and a warning that he was about to “go a bit blue”) that when BoJack’s writers were developing the show’s third season, a phrase started to circulate around the writers’ room.
If I start to get comfortable, we’re letting ourselves off too easily.
“BoJack Horseman: If you don’t get it by now, go fuck yourself.” It’s important to clarify that neither Bob-Waksberg nor his colleagues are taking a swipe at BoJack’s audience here. Instead, he’s pointing out that the show has long been frank about what it is, which in his words kicked off as “a typical cartoon show that, as you watched it, gradually got darker and deeper and more introspective and more melancholy, and by the end of the first season you were surprised by the feelings you were feeling. ‘I really care about these characters - what happened?’” Of course, when you’re trying to convince networks and producers to back such a project, that’s maybe not what 16 • THE MUSIC • 6TH SEPTEMBER 2017
you lead with. “The pitch of the show itself, though?” says Bob-Waksberg. “Well, it’s about a talking horse who was on a sitcom called Horsin’ Around in the Nineties and is now a washed-up actor living in the Hollywood Hills, and he’s this total misanthrope who complains about everything. Gradually, you learn to love him. Hate him. Both. That’s not how we sold it to viewers - it was smuggled in for the audience. But when it pitched it to people who could actually make it, I was very upfront about that. And very excited about it.” And while BoJack Horseman has won over fans with its often-surreal skewering of the showbiz scene, it’s actually the show’s thoughtful and unflinching exploration of the scene’s adjacent egomania, desperation and sadness that has regularly struck a chord with its fans. “In an interview about the first season, [series co-star] Paul F. Tompkins said - ah, I’m gonna mess this up! - that it’s not a show for grown-ups, it’s a show for adults,” says Bob-Waksberg. “Or maybe it was the other way around. But the implication was clear - this wasn’t a show with ‘mature language’ and ‘mature themes’, it was actually sophisticated in the way it talked about adult issues. It didn’t use the adult animation label to be crude and crass and ‘edgy’. “That’s how I described it when I was trying to sell it - I wanted to play with the format and come up with the kind of show that isn’t typically what you think of when you think of animation. What’s interesting, though, is that I didn’t tell that to all the actors, so they didn’t know what they were signing up for. “And one of the fun things about the first season was having table-reads of scripts and after each episode the actors were realising more and more the kind of show they were making. They had these really downer endings, and Will Arnett [who provides the voice of the title character] would just go ‘Whooooa’. But that was cool because this was our first audience, so we kind of saw that if they were reacting in this way, it was good - that was the kind of reaction we were hoping for.” Over the course of its run so far, BoJack Horseman has been lauded and embraced not only for its smartyet-goofy sense of humour and sensitive insight but also its imaginative approach to storytelling. Bob-Waksberg recognises that if he’s going to engage viewers, he must first ensure he himself is all-in. “I think the thing we’re constantly pushing is that I personally don’t want to get bored with the show and I don’t want the audience to get bored with the show,” he says. “If I start to get comfortable, we’re letting ourselves off too easily. In Season Four we’ve tried to push ourselves when it comes to stories we haven’t told yet, relationships we haven’t explored yet, ways of telling stories. We’re not quite as hung-up on concept. We do have a few episodes that are big swings, and I’m looking forward to seeing how people react to them. But we want to give you just enough of what you’re expecting so you keep coming back but also keep you surprised. We want to zag when you think we’re going to zig.”
What: Bojack Horseman When & Where: 8 Sep, Netflix
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THE MUSIC • 6TH SEPTEMBER 2017 • 17
Music
The Beast Within Multi-instrumentalist and producer Aaron Dessner from The National tells Roshan Clerke about the process of writing and recording the band’s latest album, Sleep Well Beast.
I
t’s been 16 years since critically acclaimed American indie rock band The National released their first record, and six albums later they’re sounding stronger than ever. However, Dessner says this level of success wasn’t something any of them ever imagined they would reach. “It wasn’t our intent when we started the band to be some big rock band,” he says. “I think we were mainly just enjoying making music and hanging out together, and we were already friends and family. We’re all very thankful, but it’s a fragile democracy, and everyone has different things that they want out of life, and we live in different places all over the world now, so the fact that we still do this, and do it well, is definitely unique. I think nobody takes it for granted.”
For me, it feels like this intimate recognition of the tension in all relationships, whether they’re romantic relationships, friendships, or within the band.
As for the new record, he says the band had more time than usual to experiment with the writing and production. “It’s been four years since the last one, so there was a deeper level of experimentation, and we went to greater lengths to be inspired. We built a studio on my property in upstate New York and specifically designed it for how we wanted it to work. It was a really fun experience, and I think what came out of it is something in a special, new chapter for the band.” In particular, Dessner (along with his brother and fellow band member Bryce) spent time collaborating in Berlin as part of a residency at an old East German radio
18 • THE MUSIC • 6TH SEPTEMBER 2017
campus called the Funkhaus. “We sort of had an open studio there, where there were over a hundred musicians. People would just come through, and anyone could plug in. There was a lot of raw experimentation; we weren’t really telling people the chords, or anything about the songs. We collected a lot of wonderful experiments from there, or just interesting audio, stuff that’s not necessarily sympathetic to the songs. If you listen closely you’ll hear static, or white noise, or some sort of audio processing. A lot of that stuff happened in Berlin, and I think it opened up another dimension to the record.” The band’s experimentation didn’t stop there, and Dessner says you can hear the band members trying out ideas throughout the album on songs like Walk It Back, which features a sample of a speech about making history. “Those are voices that we recorded and pitchshifted and messed with,” Dessner explains, “but the actual quote is something this Republican strategist Karl Rove had said, I think several years ago during the George W Bush administration. I think Matt [Berninger — the band’s vocalist] found that in an article or a book that he was reading, and something about it just felt... he was very struck by it, and it felt weirdly like it had some sort of context in the song.” When asked about the song’s meaning, Dessner is hesitant to offer an interpretation. “I think Matt sometimes thinks from a wider perspective in terms of his songwriting. He’s not a heavy-handed narrative songwriter, but you can always glean quite a bit of meaning and see yourself in his songs. I think that’s what other people do when they listen, and that’s kind of the beauty of it. Like, it’s easy to empathise with the characters, and I never feel that he’s undermined the music or not made it better somehow — I think that’s kind of a magical thing to really feel like we make each other better.” He says that once Berninger wrote the lyrics for the album-closer and title track, Sleep Well Beast, the album came into focus. “For me, it feels like this intimate recognition of the tension in all relationships, whether they’re romantic relationships, friendships, or within the band, of like ‘I love you, but I might harm you,’ you know, ‘this is a fragile thing we need to take care of.’ But at the same time, there’s something also broader in there, where it’s like maybe the beast relates not just to your loved one or the band or something, but it also relates to American youth; with the Republican leadership so many people are being left behind, or being put at a disadvantage, or having their rights taken away, and I feel like someday everyone’s going to wake up and be like, ‘This is not right.’ But for me it mainly represents the tension in relationships, and the fragility of relationships, and striving to be a good friend, or a good father, or a good husband.” The resulting record is an immersive experience that stands as one of the band’s most diverse efforts to date, and Dessner finishes the conversation by adding that he’s looking forward to allowing the songs to disintegrate and drift into further experimental territory when they play in Australia early next year.
What: Sleep Well Beast (4AD/Remote Control) When & Where: 1 Mar, Sidney Myer Music Bowl
©2017 Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. Fender® is a trademark of Fender Music Australia. All rights reserved. fender.com.au
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with Maxim & Sam
introducing your new podcast obsession
the best and worst of the week’s zeitgeist. new episodes streaming every wednesday
THE MUSIC • 6TH SEPTEMBER 2017 • 19
In Focus Didirri Pic: Hugo Sharp
His Facebook description reads, “Music for lovers and overthinkers,” and Warrnambool singer-songwriter Didirri has already started attracting attention with his soulful indiepop. At once familiar and fresh, Didirri’s beautiful folky sounds are bound to wash over and nourish you. He’s heading up north to showcase his brilliance at BIGSOUND (5 & 6 Sep, Laruche; 6 Sep, Ric’s Big Backyard), but you’ll have plenty of opportunities to be in one of Didirri’s local crowds upon his return: 9 Sep, Northcote Social Club (supporting Jack River); 20 Oct, Swagger Festival, Wandiligong.
THE MUSIC • 6TH SEPTEMBER 2017 • 21
Music
“It Will Make Headlines
Violent Optimism
Around The World”
A new “tell-all” documentary about the life of INXS frontman Michael Hutchence has been announced with a sensational promise to make headlines around the world. Michael Hutchence: The Last Rockstar will be aired on Channel Seven, and will explore the final hours of the iconic musician’s life, before he was found dead in a Sydney hotel room in 1997. The documentary promises to be one of the most intimate portrayals of Hutchence ever revealed, with unheard songs, personal photos and a greater focus on the singer as a father, son, brother and lover. The documentary also claims to reveal Hutchence’s final words, in lyrics believed to have been penned by the singer the night of his death: “Look at the mess Your making Look at the mess Across your face All the bitterness Has started showing Five Years No one hears Just another heart Too scared to b…” The film is scheduled to be released to coincide with a masquerade ball in Sydney to celebrate INXS’s 40th anniversary.
22 • THE MUSIC • 6TH SEPTEMBER 2017
Teutonic thrash titans Kreator keep delivering the goods in an increasingly uncertain world. Mark Hebblewhite spoke with their main man, Mille Petrozza, about the march of time and Germany’s role in the post-Obama world.
“I
know it’s pretty strange that people are actually cheering for Angela Merkel — if it’s up to her to tell him some truths then why not,” laughs Petrozza, when asked about the Chancellor’s recent retorts to one Donald J Trump. “Things have become more complicated in politics — a few years ago you knew who was a left winger and who was perhaps more conservative. But I think those sides are breaking down — Donald Trump for a lot of people wasn’t a politician and I think that’s what attracted people to him — for better or for worse. Here in Germany no-one took him seriously — and now look at him. Personally, I’m pretty chill about these things. Something Lemmy once told me years ago about politics has really stuck with me: he said when most politicians start out they have good ideas but later on they just become liars. These days I can’t choose between some of these politicians — I think some just hide their lies better than others (laughs). It’s not like I’m not interested in politics — but for me, life is too short to spend too much time thinking about it.” Petrozza is far more optimistic when it comes to the state of thrash metal in 2017.
“Look at all the old bands making great records — Exodus, Testament, Overkill — and of course there’s a new generation coming through across the world. We took our time with Gods Of Violence because we wanted to make sure that we had the best songs we could — and when you see what else is out there it’s important to bring your best. I also think that the energy of thrash metal music brings people together — at our shows, there are young kids, old guys like us — and it’s amazing that I meet young kids who know every single one of our records from the ‘80s.” Like all veteran thrash bands, Kreator has gone through periods of experimentation. In Kreator’s case, it was the mid to late ‘90s that saw them flirting with industrial and gothic rock. Looking back, are there records from this period that Petrozza believes should have been treated more fairly? “There’s no such thing as ‘fair’ in the music industry,” he admits. “But I guess it’s a shame that some of the records we did in the ‘90s — like Endorama didn’t get the attention I thought it deserved. You know we often think of slipping songs from those records into the set but now is not the right time. We need to cover the new stuff, and of course, play the classic Kreator anthems. But maybe in the future, we’ll do a special tour and play stuff off Renewal or Cause For Conflict. We’ve been around a long time and it would be good for people to hear some of the songs they may not have heard before.”
When & Where: 8 Sep, 170 Russell
Culture Culture
T V
s p l e n d o u r
i n
s e p t e m b e r
Game Of Thrones season seven has just aired its finale, and suddenly, there’s a big, fat, Westeros shaped hole in our lives. Well turn that frown upside down, TV lovers, there’s some juicy premiers on the way this month to cure your postGOT blues. Here are three shows to get obsessive about in September.
The Deuce The Wire creators George Pelecanos and David Simon chronicle porn’s first steps towards legalisation in New York during the early ‘70s. Staring are Oscar nominees James Franco, as a pair of twin brothers sporting era-perfect skeezy moustaches, and Maggie Gyllenhaal, as a street-smart prostitute who sees an opportunity in the nascent American smut industry. Basically it’s a story about sex, drugs and police disputes. Everything Pelecanos and Simon do best, but in flared chinos. When: Airs 11 Sep on Foxtel
Star Trek: Discovery It’s been 12 years since the last Star Trek TV franchise — Star Trek: Enterprise — came to an end, and a lot has happened for sci-fi’s most hallowed universe in that time. Master director JJ Abrams’ stunningly realised movie reboot gave Star Trek an injection of cool that helped it shed some of its nerdier stereotypes. TV virtuoso Bryan Fuller (Hannibal, American Gods) has nurtured this latest TV incarnation, so expectations are sky high. It’s been a rocky development with Fuller stepping down as showrunner after a dispute with producers at CBS, but even with this bad blood, the official trailers look epic. When Airs 24 Sep on Netflix
Will And Grace Fans of the titanically popular gay sitcom have waited more than a decade for a ninth season. Rumours of a possible ninth season were whipped into a frenzy after a 10-minute special encouraging people to vote in the Presidential Election was released online in September last year. In January, NBC confirmed the rumours were true and even confirmed a tenth season had been commissioned in August. The whole original cast are set to reprise their roles, and who knows, maybe this welcome return will also revive the ill-fated Jack & Karen spin off that fizzled back in 2008. Here’s hoping! When: Airs 29 Sep on Stan THE MUSIC • 6TH SEPTEMBER 2017 • 23
Theatre
Question Time Malthouse Theatre Artistic Director Matthew Lutton is staring down the big political questions of the now. He tells Maxim Boon about finding the intimate side of the big issues.
I
t is often said that art is the lens through which we can better understand the world. It seems this adage is one Malthouse Theatre Artistic Director Matthew Lutton has taken to heart. His 2018 season is filled with work that asks questions tethered to the issues of the now, both allegorically and occasionally, more pointedly. This is Lutton’s third program for Malthouse, and by far his most explicitly political. “Next year’s season is about how art can explore those questions of concern that are very much front and centre in many people’s minds. We’re living in a world with a whole load of questions — about freedom of speech, about identity politics, about human rights and who deserves them. And I think what theatre can do is not just wallow in doom and gloom, but actually present questions in a way that provokes and inspires,” Lutton explains. “There’s a lot of work next season that wrestles with these types of question, and while this isn’t about finding answers necessarily, I hope a lot of the work also reveals a sense of survival and the ways in which we can navigate the moral murkiness in the world at the moment.” As a theatre maker, Lutton’s vision has often been one of polarised scale. For example, his 2016 adaptation of Joan Lindsay’s Picnic At Hanging Rock (which will have a revival as the first production of next year’s offering) evoked the overwhelming oppression of a vast
24 • THE MUSIC • 6TH SEPTEMBER 2017
supernatural otherness, contained within the claustrophobic vessel of an icy Victorian parlour. A similar duality in focus, exploring the macro via the micro, is found in several of the productions on 2018’s billing, notably in the most ambitious undertaking of the year, a new stage adaptation of Lars von Trier’s cinematic masterpiece Melancholia. In a newly penned dramatisation by Melbourne-based playwright Declan Greene (Sisters Grimm, The Homosexuals) with Lutton slated to direct, Melancholia tells the story of two sisters whose fraught relationship, caught in a tangle of depression, is brought into stark relief by the arrival of a rogue planet on a collision course with the Earth. Lutton sees these juxtaposed extremities of scale as an important way for theatre to bridge the personal and the political. “Many of the characters in next year’s work, like Justine [from Melancholia], are incredibly complex individuals with rich psychological lives. They’re not just some abstract idea on stage, they’re people that you can empathise with,” Lutton notes. “I think that’s a very important facet of theatre; the characters we meet aren’t just a totems or a political statement. They’re complex, flawed, passionate, human individuals who you can go on a rollercoaster ride with. What frames them — the contexts and challenges we see them face — is a way to introduce the metaphorical. That’s what wraps around these stories. Because we’re interested in exploring big ideas, these projects often sit very
I hope a lot of the work also reveals a sense of survival and the ways in which we can navigate the moral murkiness in the world at the moment. comfortably within that vision, because you have personal stories that audiences can relate to, but they can also reach out into broader commentaries and questions at the same time. I think having that multiplicity is incredibly important.” Whereas the political ponderings of some of the next year’s work is found in subtle undercurrents, the most dynamic and challenging politics of 2018’s season comes courtesy of Belarus Free Theatre, the only theatre troupe in Europe classed as an “enemy of the state,” blacklisted by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. The company visited Melbourne in 2016 with Burning Doors, a powerful and disturbing portrait of the torture and abuse faced by artist-activists in Russia and its Eastern Block allies. “We wanted to bring them back because there a very few theatre companies able to hone the difficult questions facing our societies as profoundly as them. They’ve got a radar for it, and I think that’s because they obviously have a history of their own persecution and of being enemies of the State,” Lutton shares. The Belarus Free Theatre will work with a number of local artists — Gregory Fryer, Sophie Ross, Niharika Senapati, Hazem Shammas and Daniel Schlusser — to create a new work of political theatre, Trustees. Described as “a furious and insightful work about the mechanics of authority, self-censorship and freedom of speech in Australia,” it’s a work that will directly respond to many of the most contentious issues in the Australian cultural zeitgeist. “It’s an exciting provocation,” Lutton admits. “Their need to make work isn’t driven by the normal markers of success or the normal yard sticks. What we’ve invited them to do, based on their instinct, is to come and work with Australian actors to ask those questions about where those limits or boundaries of freedoms in Australia exists, and which are worth fighting for.”
Theatre
Malthouse Theatre 2018 Highlights
A Pacifist’s Guide To The War On Cancer
Blackie Blackie Brown
British theatre mavericks Complitice, who blew Australia’s mind this year with the smash hit aural odyssey The Encounter, are returning Down Under to take on the big C. Boundary breaking artist Bryony Kimmings explores the scariest word we know through the unexpected medium of musical theatre.
Indigenous comedy firebrand Nakkiah Lui is teaming up with Melbourne playwright Declan Greene to create a dark Australian comic book fantasy. Archaeologist Dr Jacqueline Brown is on a dig in the outback when she discovers a mystical skull that transforms her into Blackie Blackie Brown, an indigenous superhero with vengeance on her mind.
When & Where: 7 – 18 Mar, Merlyn Theatre
When & Where: 5 – 29 Jul, Beckett Theatre
Blasted
Melancholia
Sarah Kane is perhaps the most tortured and tragic figure in British contemporary theatre. She was just 28-years-old when she committed suicide, and of the handful of stage works she created in her short life, her first, Blasted, is perhaps the most controversial. Graphic, shocking, and knowingly inscrutable, this production, directed by Anne-Louise Sarks, is set to be one of the most divisive shows anywhere in Australia next year.
Lars von Trier’s achingly beautiful psychological meditation will be brought to life by playwright Declan Greene and director Matthew Lutton in a production that will stretch the technical and theatrical limits of these talented theatre makers to their limits. Eryn Jean Norvill and Leanna Walsman star in this semi-immersive staging as two sisters divided by depression but brought together by apocalypse.
Where & When: 24 Aug – 16 Sep, Merlyn Theatre
Where & When: 13 Jul – 12 Aug, Merlyn Theatre
Bliss Harry Joy is in hell. A near death experience reveals the ugly reality of the world he lives in, but releasing himself from this purgatory may take a radical move: living a moral life. This latest instalment in Matthew Lutton’s ambitious sequence of major adaptations reunites the creative team behind Picnic At Hanging Rock to bring Peter Carey’s award-winning ‘80s novel to the stage. When & Where: 4 May – 2 Jun, Merlyn Theatre
THE MUSIC • 6TH SEPTEMBER 2017 • 25
Music
Use The Force Dominic Howard from Muse talks Bryget Chrisfield through drunken lightsaber battles, “trouser wafting” subbass and what being a left-handed drummer is good for.
S
urfing the net while preparing to interview Dominic Howard, this scribe stumbled upon some footage of the Muse drummer engaging in some kind of rooftop lightsaber battle. Is he able to please explain? Dominic laughs, sounding a tad embarrassed, and falters, “Yeah, oh, l, we were just — I guess we had just played in New York and then we went out for a party, and we ended up in someone’s apartment, you know, in this block in New York City with, like, this great view looking out over the city and someone had some lightsabers there [laughs] — some professional lightsabers. So we were just kind of a bit drunk at the party and swingin’ ‘em around, you know, and, as you do, everyone got their phones out and started Instagramming.
I probably need a bit more practice with the old saber.
“I mean, I was actually surprisingly shit,” he marvels. “I think I thought I was gonna be some kind of awesome swordsman — I thought I was just gonna, like, literally channel the force, but I actually didn’t know what the fuck I was doing, haha. So I probably need a bit more practice with the old saber.” When it’s suggested to Howard that perhaps the force isn’t available to use when you’re shitfaced, Howard opines, “Pretty sure Luke Skywalker was sober as a judge”. We take it Howard is a Star Wars fan, then. “I am a Star Wars fan, yeah, absolutely; a BIG Star Wars fan,” he confirms. Although Howard is a left-handed drummer, he first started playing drums on a right-handed kit until he signed up for drum lessons “for about a week or something 26 • THE MUSIC • 6TH SEPTEMBER 2017
when [he] was at school”. “The guy was like, ‘No, you’ve gotta change it all around’,” he recounts. But having to customise right-handed kits to accommodate his needs did work to Howard’s advantage in some situations, he tells. “What it was good for was when we were first startin’ out in the band, we’d do all these shows in small clubs and stuff like that, and you always had to, like, share a drum kit with whoever the headline band was. And that person never wanted you to touch their kit, ‘cause they were so proud and precious of their lovely drum kit and don’t want you messin’ around with it,” he laughs. And I’m like, ‘Well I’m left-handed, mate, so I’ve gotta, like, completely take it to bits and rebuild it the other way ‘round,’ and they’re like, ‘Oh, no way! You can just use your own drum kit’. So it was a good way of actually being able to use my own drum kit for those early gigs.” Muse dropped a new single, Dig Down, back in May and one can only imagine just how much this song’s warped-synth bassline vibrates up through the venue’s floorboards/seats during live performances. “There’s a lot of sub when we play it live,” Howard attests. “So there’s a lot of kind of, you know, trouser wafting going on [laughs].” On whether Muse have written any more new songs since Dig Down, Howard reveals, “We’re workin’ on ideas at the moment, actually... We’re gonna hopefully start recording soon and certainly towards the end of this year before we come to Australia, for sure... So we just need to kind of get together and flesh out the ideas and see what they are, but, you know, the ball’s rolling as far as, like, getting more tracks together and releasing an album.” We discuss how what fans consider new material may not necessarily feel new to the band if they’ve been working on a song for months (or even years), and Howard admits, “That’s happened before; that’s kind of why we made the decision — many years ago — to kind of not really create or record much music while we’re touring. Because we used to play new songs on the road, but by the time we ended up coming around to the album, that new song felt like an old song even though it’s, you know, unreleased and new [to fans]. And I think, in the past, there’s been a few songs that didn’t make albums, because even though they were actually, like, probably pretty good — and could’ve been better if we’d spent more time on [them] — they get shunned away because they’re a bit too old.” When asked whether Muse have performed in any countries for the first time on this tour, Howard shares, cou “Well, for the first time we actually went to China, last year, “We and Thailand, actually... on this last tour, which is great! Because it’s amazing to kind of — we’ve been around to many places around the world, so it’s always real nice to go to a country you’ve never been to and, like, play to some people that you’re pretty sure have never seen you before. So, yeah, we did a coupla gigs in China and that was great, really cool, and, yeah! First time playing in Thailand as well, strangely — also amazing so, yeah! It’s great.” We’re curious to find out whether the band had to submit their setlists for pre-approval in accordance with China’s censorship laws. “Um, I mean,” Howard hesitates. “Yeah, it’s a different place,” he laughs uncomfortably. So did they have to make any changes? “No, it’s fine, yeah.” It’s fine? “That’s right.”
When & Where: 18 Dec, Rod Laver Arena
Music
Baby Food
As UK act Superfood get ready to release their second LP, Bambino, co-founding member Dom Ganderton tells Rod Whitfield about the rather left-of-centre journey that lead to the album.
“E
arly on in the recording, things were really all up in the air for us,” Superfood’s Dom Ganderton recalls, “but we just thought ‘fuck it, we’ve got laptops, let’s just do this’. So we started recording it in our bedrooms, in our flats and rehearsal rooms, and then we went into an actual studio and started recording some drums. We’ve basically been recording it in any place we can over the last couple of years: hotel rooms, parked cars, anything. “We went into a park one night at three o’clock in the morning and did some vocals. We just said ‘what can we do?’ We took our laptops and some mics out into the middle of the park that was over the road, and we were just belting it out in the middle of this park. It was quite surreal, but quite funny.” Despite the highly irregular manner in which the album was written and recorded — in fact, probably because of it — Ganderton and writing partner Ryan Malcolm are stoked with the way it’s turned out. “It was a really different process,” he states, “usually you go into a studio for about four weeks, basically live there and you finish it, but we just went completely the opposite. We just made the songs in dribs and drabs and
really having time to reflect on them, and I think what we got from it is a really interesting result.” So did the stuff they did in the park make it through to the final mix? “Yeah it did! The chorus vocals on Raindance is us in the park. Oh, I meant to mention there’s a fax machine solo on the record too.” He laughs, while being deadly serious at the same time. Ultimately, Ganderton feels their sound has very broad appeal, and invites listeners from Australia to check the record out and find out for themselves. “It’s all about the rhythm and it’s all about good songwriting, so I think there’s something there for everyone, I think there’s something there that’s going to capture everyone’s attention. I think Aussies will love it.” So much so that the band, while they are busy playing with the likes of Wolf Alice in the UK and Europe for the rest of this year, are looking very strongly at getting over here for a tour in the not too distant future. “Since we started we’ve wanted to get out to Australia,” he says, “we’re looking at hopefully early in the new year, January, there’s a few festivals and stuff that we’re trying to get out to. Fingers crossed.”
Beer Bunker
We’re not afraid to admit that North Korea’s nuclear tomfoolery is pretty damn frightening. And if the end is nigh, we might need to start thinking about who we should send to the bunker to rebuild civilisation from the ashes. We’ll need, doctors, and scientists and King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard, obvs. But I’d like to humbly nominate this hero of humanity: German barman Oliver Strumpfel, who just set the Guinness world record for the carrying litre steins of beer. This herculean superhuman carried 27 litre mugs of beer, weighing about 50kg in total, 40 metres without spilling one god damn drop. If that doesn’t earn him a place in the bunker I don’t know what bloody well does!
What: Bambino (Dirty Hit/Sony)
THE MUSIC • 6TH SEPTEMBER 2017 • 27
Album / E Album/EP Reviews
Album OF THE Week
The National Sleep Well Beast
4AD/Remote Control
★★★★
Their music is almost immediately identifiable: The churn and meshing the Dessner and Devendorf brothers’ instrumental textures then overlaid with Matt Berninger’s ruminations on the human condition. But look closer, and Sleep Well Beast further develops the trademark style, as The National becomes more varietal in its underlying noises since finding their ‘groove’ on 2005’s Alligator. However, few bands can match the conjuring of relationship regret and/or self-flagellation as they do on Carin At The Liquor Store, or the absolute distillation of the form in Guilty Party. Piano ripples from stark to stately leave Berninger alone in the kitchen under a bare bulb drinking the last of the good red, using a peanut butter jar as a glass. Elsewhere, it can be surprisingly bright - even urgent (in their studied way) - perhaps a more subtle take on the more sardonic moods of the singer’s EL VY side-project. Turtleneck starts with an almost martial drum cacophony before it settles, while there’s an almost dancey electronic clatter to I’ll Still Destroy You’s opening odd subway rush. Some will still use this album as background music for the dinner party with their hip(per) friends, but immersing yourself in it reveals its real emotional depths. Ross Clelland
Death From Above 1979
Beaches
Outrage! Is Now
Chapter Music
Second Of Spring
★★★★
Last Gang
★★★½ No longer referencing 1979, Death From Above (not to be confused with The DFA) didn’t make fans wait another decade for the follow-up to 2014’s The Physical World. Back in 2004, Sebastien Grainger and Jesse F Keeler were a kind of fun, dance-punk outfit. In 2017, the music the duo produce is just a little darker and heavier. Much like Royal Blood who are also a drum/ bass duo, Death From Above get back to basics and harness the elemental force of this minimal combination and they furiously rock it hard and rough. Although less obviously playful, there is still plenty of bounce about Grainger’s beats and a sense of fun drives Keeler’s thunderous solos, which have that vintage, 70s Zeppelin vibe about them. Although there are still some 28 • THE MUSIC • 6TH SEPTEMBER 2017
synths in the mix, this albums grunge also delivers loud, hard blasts of rock noise such that there is very little room for light and shade. Outrage! Is Now doesn’t provide the political commentary that the title suggests, rather the dark and heavy vibes they spin feel more like a sad reflection of the times. Guido Farnell
Beaches go into overdrive on their new 17 track album. It’s their magnum opus of sorts, taking everything they’ve explored on the first two albums and synthesising it into one kaleidoscopic take on all things psychedelic. The album opens with two relentlessly churning tracks that set the stage for what is to follow. It signals their intent to push further out into the sonic aether, bridging the gap between melodic noisy pop hooks and hypnotic guitar-drenched head trips. Void is a brighter, headlong take on Wooden Shjips, psychKraut interstellar explorations while on track four they ease up on the gas and introduce chiming guitars, a post-punk interlude and a back half that sounds like The Primitives jamming with Look Blue Go Purple.
Arrow is the headiest pop rush the quintet have conjured up, the perfect nugget for the approaching warmer months and it feels like the apex of Second Of Spring. In the back third Bronze Age Babies adds a surprise with a recorder voicing the main melody before Grey Colours takes a gloriously melancholic wander that Robert Smith would be proud of. There’s a lot to take in but it’s an endlessly rewarding and freewheeling album for a band who are the equal sum of their parts and eager to explore all musical possibilities. Chris Familton
EP Reviews Album/EP Reviews
Alvvays Antisocialites Pod/Inertia
Anna Of The North
Arch Enemy
Mutemath
Will To Power
Play Dead
Lovers
Century Media
Caroline
Different Recordings
★★★½
★★★½
★★★★
★★½
If, like The Wombats, you’ve ever felt an uncontrollable urge to dance to Joy Division, then Alvvays may be your new favourite band. Not since The Smiths has anyone turned despondent, morose lyrics into jangly indiedisco floor fillers as perky as In Undertow or Plimsoll Punks. Lush dream-pop glider Dreams Tonite aside, Antisocialites is packed with zippy odes to millennial gloom a la The Beatles’ Help! There’s nothing quite as knock out as their 2014 anthem Archie, Marry Me, and the second half wilts a little, but misery like this has rarely sounded so joyful.
Echoey electro pop with an edge, Lovers is the newest offering from the Norwegian artist. Particularly catchy is Someone - longing seldom sounds so good, supported by an 80s vibe that elevates it above self-pity and straight onto the dancefloor. The title track is also well worth repeat listens (this is the type of track Anna and Lorde could have lots of fun on together); as is the passive aggressive Money. A bit more chill is Baby - again, with a lovely electro edge - an approach that sees the album out with the smooth as All I Want. Listen late at night and, ideally, with wine.
High-octane, anthemic metal remains these Swedes’ default setting, and Will To Power features a memorable hook lurking around almost every corner. Their long-standing formula is echoed via The World Is Yours and Murder Scene’s visceral thrills. Perhaps the only major curveball they could realistically throw at their audience nowadays is clean vocals. Note their first “ballad”, Reason To Believe, featuring Alissa White-Gluz’s grunts and pristine singing. It gels, too. Overall, it’s trademark Arch Enemy, with a few fresh elements incorporated.
Liz Giuffre
Brendan Crabb
It feels like the Mutemath sound has finally come of age. They were ahead of their time with sunny-yet-precise, jangly soul rock back when they first crept on to the scene in 2002. Now, musical tastes have finally caught up with the new wave of bands sporting a psychedelic or funk edge, sitting pretty thanks to the lads from New Orleans. That’s why it’s a bit of shame that Play Dead sounds a bit monotone compared to their previous efforts. Some repetition and bland production (Stroll On, Break The Fever) is to blame, but there’s some redemption in the more fierce War and Marching To The End. Carley Hall
Christopher H James
More Reviews Online Jack Johnson All The Light Above It Too
theMusic.com.au
Nothing But Thieves Broken Machine
Mount Kimbie Love What Survives
THE MUSIC • 6TH SEPTEMBER 2017 • 29
Live Re Live Reviews
Client Liaison, Total Giovanni Forum Theatre 30 Aug
Client Liaison @ Forum Theatre. Pic: Jay Hynes
Client Liaison @ Forum Theatre. Pic: Jay Hynes
Circles @ The Workers Club. Pic: Clinton Hatfield
Orsome Wells @ The Workers Club. Pic: Clinton Hatfield
Trophy Eyes @ Corner Hotel. Pic: Joshua Braybrook
30 • THE MUSIC • 6TH SEPTEMBER 2017
Trophy Eyes @ Corner Hotel. Pic: Joshua Braybrook
Wandering down Russell Street, we spy an off white limousine with Australia flag on the bonnet. Client Liaison most probably arrived in this ride and punters pose next to it to take potential new profile pics. Total Giovanni provide music to hook up to and the band is actually so good now they could probably rein the gimmicks in a notch. Beatmaker Shattered Guru is a delight to watch, swaying behind the decks with a massive grin on his dial. Punters have gone to a great deal of effort with their outfits and there is mucho man glitter in the house. In between sets, three ladies rush past us wearing T-shirts emblazoned with the claim: “Tom Tilley Sex God 10/10 Would Bang”. Client Liaison bring all the bells and whistles. “It’s a photogenic show,” marvels our plus one. Band leader Monte Morgan’s black suit with multi-coloured, vibrant, all-over print is everything — are those orange crabs with pincers aloft? Compliments to Client Liaison’s tailor, since band members wear similar printed suits in various colour palettes that Split Enz would’ve rocked in their heyday. The water coolers scattered around the stage have us in stitches. Black leotarded dancers with matching over-the-knee socks and killer heels sashay and grind and, before too long, Morgan is shirtless, showing off his tasselled statement necklace and matching earrings in jade hue (which also match his socks — attention to detail!). Morgan then picks up the didge for a spell. During Client Liaison’s cover of Stardust’s Music Sounds Better With You, dancers hold oversized cans of Foster’s aloft as visuals feature rotating Foster’s cans and actual Foster’s tinnies are lobbed into the crowd. The song after which this tour is named,
A Foreign Affair, is greeted by cheers then a coupla flame throwers shoot out. Sadly Tina Arena doesn’t materialise to sing her parts in this song, but maybe she will for tomorrow night’s sold-out show at this same venue? Tina Turner’s What’s Love Got To Do With It morphs into one of Client Liaison’s songs, which are all pretty similar it has to be said. A sheet of sparks rains spectacularly down from the rafters.
Dancers hold oversized cans of Foster’s aloft as visuals feature rotating Foster’s cans and actual Foster’s tinnies are lobbed into the crowd. Client Liaison put absolutely everything into their visuals as well: galloping, snarling kittens; digital aquariums; and many moon references. Morgan announces, “This party ain’t over yet!” and we couldn’t agree more. Some killer Prince riffs are borrowed, ever so reverently. We still hope Arena is in the house, but unfortunately the dream is over once the house lights come up. Sorrento Moon (I Remember) plays over the venue sound system and it’s a mass singalong while we file out of the theatre: “It was ooooooh sooooooo tender!” And, yep, we all “wanna ride in [their] off-white limousine”, except that it’s now vanished. Our favourite kitsch party lords Client Liaison have left the building, but they’ve also permanently entered our hearts. Bryget Chrisfield
eviews Live Reviews
Circles, Orsome Welles The Workers Club 2 Sep
This is a special night. We’re celebrating the birthday of the most excellent Wild Thing Presents, a Melbourne-based rock, metal and progressive booking agency and management firm that has been doing fabulous work for five years. The early spring evening in Melbourne is cold, but the line-up is lean: three of Australia’s finest progressive heavy outfits that warm things up in The Workers beautifully. Melbourne’s Orsome Welles make an enormous but classy racket, with their excellent tunes driven by nuclear-strength grooves and given an uplifting melodic counterpoint by frontman Michael Vincent Stowers. The overall effect of this band in a live setting is that of a highly accessible musical freight train barrelling through the night, and the burgeoning crowd lap it all up and sing along to every word. Another significant element of tonight’s proceedings is that it’s the first gig for the mighty Circles since their iconic frontman Perry Kakridis departed. But, if tonight is anything to go by, they are not skipping a beat. The band have opted to replace Kakridis from within their ranks, rather than recruit a whole new frontman. Guitarist Ben Rechter - himself a relatively recent addition to the band, but a highly accomplished vocalist in his own right - has stepped up to the plate to fill the massive void left by Kakridis. And while he is ever so slightly nervous/tentative in the very early stages, ultimately he rises to the occasion and performs admirably. You can tell already it’s an excellent choice. This band in a live setting are an absolute tour de force. In fact, they are one of Australia’s most impressive live bands, and in losing a frontman they have lost none of their potency. This night is about whether Circles will survive this loss. Well,
[Circles] are one of Australia’s most impressive live bands, and in losing a frontman they have lost none of their potency.
they are not just surviving, they are prospering. Huge things are afoot for this band in 2018. Wild Thing Presents do what they do, in a tough market, with intelligence and a real street-wise nous. The rooms that play host to their gigs are generally full, or close to, and this night is no exception. And not only are the rooms full, they are full of highly satisfied punters.
Chemical Miracle, Trophy Eyes are overjoyed to be back home on their aptly named Home Is Australia tour. The five-piece thunder through a mixed bag of tunes across their discography with such raw emotion and passion it’s spine tingling. Lead singer John Floreani commands the stage with conviction and purpose, delivering a speech about mental health screaming “it’s ok not to be ok” as friends hug friends and the room emanates love and hope leading into Miracle. Clusters of friends have their arms around each other swaying and screaming along as fan favourite Daydreamer begins. A confetti cannon blasts as the crowd bellows “Daydreamer, no one’s gonna love you like you love them” with tears undoubtedly flowing around the room. Trophy Eyes fans bring a warm sense of community with them, and the energy buzzing in the room
More Reviews Online theMusic.com.au/ music/live-reviews
Hawthorne Heights @ Corner Hotel Alex Lloyd @ Northcote Social Club Fazerdaze @ Northcote Social Club
Rod Whitfield
Trophy Eyes, The Hard Aches Corner Hotel 2 Sep “I literally just came on stage without a guitar”, The Hard Aches’ frontman Ben David laughs, obviously very keen to get the show on the road. Only a few songs in, bodies are flying above with many failed attempts at crowd surfing. David is cheeky on stage, responding to a shoey heckle with “no one cool has done a shoey since 2008” and telling the crowd to stop crowd surfing because “you’re the only one who thinks you look cool.” The Hard Aches sound to be what The Smith Street Bands’ Wil Wagner would be like if he amped up the punk rock and their anthemic songs like Glad That You’re Gone are a perfect release of energy on a cold Saturday night. Powering on stage with Home Is off latest album
The fivepiece thunder through a mixed bag of tunes across their discography with such raw emotion and passion it’s spine tingling. is infectious. The band work seamlessly together to provide a tight and powerful performance, and as they end with hit single Chlorine, the crowd are exhausted as the final note rings out to ear-splitting applause and cheer. Emily Blackburn
THE MUSIC • 6TH SEPTEMBER 2017 • 31
Arts Reviews Arts Reviews
co-stars throw themselves into the mix with just as much enthusiasm, giving this story of four longtime friends reuniting for the wildest of weekends in New Orleans a winning chemistry and boisterous energy. There’s no denying it has a couple of flaws, mainly that when it decides to get a little sappy and sentimental it gets a lot sappy and sentimental. But, the bumpy bits at the beginning and end of Girls Trip are brief and easily endured, and what remains is a great time in great company. The four members of the ‘Flossy Posse’ Ryan (Regina Hall), Lisa (Jada Pinkett Smith), Sasha (Queen Latifah) and Dina (Haddish) - were inseparable in college. However, life has taken them in separate directions in the subsequent years. But, Ryan’s success as an Oprah-esque self-help guru has earned her the guest of honour spot at the Essence Festival, an annual celebration of AfricanAmerican culture (which also doubles as a hell of a party weekend), and she’s pulled a few strings to get her old friends along for the ride. What follows is a chaotic cavalcade of sex tips (you’ll never look at a grapefruit the same way again), dance-offs and druginduced hallucinations, not to mention some fiery, furious confrontations that re-open some old wounds but may settle some old scores as well. Director Malcolm D. Lee (who has previously helmed similarly fun get-together movies like The Best Man and The Best Man Holiday) handles the light and heavy sequences with equal skill and flair, and so do the actors. Hall and Latifah make the most of their characters’ deep shared history, culminating in a wrenching scene that has the ring of truth, and it’s a kick to see Pinkett Smith cut loose and get silly after a run of more intense roles. Girls Trip
Girls Trip Film In cinemas now
★★★★ One of the great pleasures of watching movies is seeing an actor seize their opportunity at stardom. I mean really sink their teeth into a role. Recently, Melissa McCarthy in Bridesmaids springs to mind. So does Zach Galifianakis in The Hangover (maybe not the sequels, though). And now you can add Tiffany Haddish to the list. You may not have heard of her before now, but after catching the gleefully rude and riotous comedy Girls Trip you’re unlikely to forget her. It’s the epitome of a breakout performance - completely uninhibited and hilariously funny. What’s terrific about Girls Trip, though, is that Haddish’s three
Guy Davis
32 • THE MUSIC • 6TH SEPTEMBER 2017
The Hitman’s Bodyguard
The Hitman’s Bodyguard Film In cinemas now
★★★ Let’s face it, you know if a movie like The Hitman’s Bodyguard is for you the second you see the title. I mean, a hitman in such peril he needs protection? Whoa. But why stop there? Add Ryan Reynolds, Deadpool himself, in wisecracking tough-guy mode and Pulp Fiction legend Samuel L. Jackson using his favourite 12-letter profanity (you remember, the one beginning with ‘m’ and ending with ‘ucker’). Then, throw in chases involving cars, motorcycles and boats. And of course guns, guns, and guns. It’s just too bad The Hitman’s Bodyguard decided to skimp in a few very important departments. See, what we have here is a throwback to the glory days of the buddy movie, where two very different people discover they work great as a team despite their mutual dislike for one another. But, unlike the best examples of that genre, say Lethal Weapon or the great Midnight Run, the tone here is inconsistent. In fact, it’s all over the place. The Hitman’s Bodyguard only rarely pulls off the irreverent, outrageous feel it’s aiming for - sometimes the scenes of mayhem and murder are supposed to be disturbing or harrowing, sometimes they’re a punchline. It’s possible to get that balance right, but The Hitman’s Bodyguard screenplay can’t nail it. Instead, it goes for the quick fix every time, whether it’s a cheap gag or a run-of-the-mill action sequence, and Australian director Patrick Hughes (The Expendables 3) is too busy competently (but anonymously) choreographing the action to pay too much attention. Luckily, Reynolds and Jackson have a flinty, fractious dynamic that helps the movie ride out the rough patches. Reynolds niftily blends his action-hero prowess with his flair for one-liners, but he’s outshone by Jackson, clearly relishing the chance to mess around with his persona as the baddest man in the whole motherfuckin’ town. Guy Davis
OPINION Opinion
Howzat!
Local Music By Jeff Jenkins Riff It Up Riff Raiders is a great name for a band that plunders from the past. And that’s not a criticism. Riff Raiders are a glorious celebration of the classics - think Zeppelin, Cheap Trick, Thin Lizzy and AC/DC. After being in a number of original bands, singer Jenni James and guitarist Marty Powell started Riff Raiders as a fun party band, covering their favourite rock tunes, but it’s now evolved into a mighty original outfit, with an album coming later this year. First single Live Like You Mean It! is a love letter to rock’n’roll and a slap-down to the doomsayers who reckon rock is dead. “If rock’n’roll is dead,” Jenni asks, “then why’s this song stuck in your head?” Excellent point, Riff Raiders. Rock lives! They’re launching the single with a special Sunday afternoon show at The Workers Club on 17 Sep.
Like A Hurricane You make a solo record. What name do you put on the cover? For many years, Dan Flynn released records
as Major Chord. But he’s now decided to put just his name on the cover (more on his superb new album, Ghost Melodies, in Howzat! soon). We’ve long been bugging Luke Thomas to put his name on his records. But despite being in some highprofile bands, including The Pictures and Lavish, Luke is a modest rockstar and his new album Kick The Moon has been released under the name Central Rain, even though it’s as close to a solo record as you’ll get, with Luke having played everything apart from the drums. Recorded direct to two-inch tape in just two days, the album has a great vibe. The first single Hurricane Stan is one of Howzat!’s 2017 faves. Paul Westerberg would be proud of this song. All the right bits are there - it’s rough and raw and rowdy, with a hook you’ll be humming all day. Call it a band
Riff Raiders
name, call it a solo record, call it whatever you want - Thomas has delivered a gem. He’s launching the album on Saturday at Bella Union with John Dowler’s Vanity Project, Golden Rail and Little Murders.
Hip Hip Happy Birthday to one of the great Australian guitarists, Bob Spencer (Skyhooks, The Angels), who turned 60 on 5 Sep.
Hot Line “All I need to know is in a rock ‘n’ roll show” Riff Raiders, Live Like You Mean It!
THE MUSIC • 6TH SEPTEMBER 2017 • 33
OPINION Opinion
Trai ler Trash
Professor Shorthair – Do Me
The Get Down Funky Shit
S
o I just scored a package of summertime love from the fine folks at Mr Bongo Records. Recent With Obliveus represses of top tracks from Prince Fatty that I didn’t have were quite necessary, but it’s his latest with Hollie Cook that has me buzzing in anticipation for the sunshine and heat. The A-side sees the reggae and rub-a-dub styles go into overdrive on a very tasty cover of The Andrew Sisters’ classic, For Me You Are. By the time Horseman shows up you will be well on your way, so I suggest you pick this up through his Bandcamp link as they won’t last long. Speaking of something that didn’t last long, Jorun Bombay dropped a 45 on the Fresh Pressings label, a re-edit combining the Rock The Bells break over under and throughout the De La Soulsampled I Got My Mind Made Up from go-go funk heroes Instant Funk. Hopefully you copped doubles like me, because this one was made for the b-boys and b-girls to break to. While on the subject of breaking, the Superjock label has just dropped Vol 4 in their Nola Breaks imprint and it’s a double A-side stomper. Professor Shorthair has beefed up the funk on Jean Knight’s Do Me and turned The Meters’ classic Find Yourself, which everyone knows from the sample to Feel Me Flow from Naughty By Nature, into a golden-age party-starter that The Get Down guarantees will be played ‘round parties all summer long. With that, I am outta here.
Quicksand
Wa ke The Dea d Punk And Hardcore With Sarah Petchell
I
am pretty excited about the way 2017 is going in terms of new music. Not only am I sitting here dying in anticipation for the new Converge album (yes, yes, we all know Wake The Dead is obsessed), but we’ve only just hit spring and there is still so much more great stuff to come. Comeback Kid, The Bronx, Propagandhi, Citizen, Idylls and Chelsea Wolfe all have new records coming out in the next few months.
34 • THE MUSIC • 6TH SEPTEMBER 2017
It
But enter Quicksand. You know, that seminal posthardcore band from New York that haven’t released an album in 22 years? The band led by Walter Schreifels of Gorilla Biscuits and Youth Of Today fame? You guessed it, Wake The Dead is more than a little bit excited. This has been teased at for years. In 2012, it looked like something was happening when they were surprise guests on the fourth night of Revelation Records 25th Anniversary shows and then followed this up with a fair bit of touring. There was a now-removed Twitter photo in 2013 of studio activity, hinting at new material, but then there was silence. A lot of silence. It wasn’t until a couple of weeks ago that we got confirmation that a record is here, it’s finally here! Interiors will be released 10 Nov through Epitaph Records. We’ve even been treated to a brand new song, Illuminant. Based on how exceptional this track is, we’re obviously not 100% sure if this is going to be album of the year (because, you know, Converge) but it’s certainly bound to be up there!
OPINION Opinion
Dives Into Your
S
o here’s the thing: I was Screens going to write about the new bigAnd Idiot Boxes screen adaptation of Stephen King’s novel With Guy Davis It, which opens in cinemas tomorrow (assuming that you’ve picked up this issue the very second it hits the streets, that’s Thursday). But when I caught a preview screening, I was hit with the dreaded embargo form telling me to zip it until 4pm Wednesday 6 Sep. No in-depth reviews, no social media hot-takes and certainly no dazzlingly eloquent Trailer Trash columns about this tale of a small town haunted by an insidious, child-abducting-anddevouring evil (the titular It) that takes the form of a garish clown named Pennywise and the “Losers’ Club” of outcast kids that band together to vanquish the fuck out of it. Don’t sweat it too much — you’re undoubtedly gonna be reading many, many nerd words on It in the coming days. Hell, maybe even a few by me. But while I can’t give you my take on the movie right now, I can do the next best thing: speculate about who should portray the members of the Losers’ Club once they hit adulthood and reunite to take down the clown, should be there be a sequel — a Chapter Two, even — to this particular movie. Just so you know, the following fan-casting requires a little knowledge of It’s characters, so if you’re unfamiliar with the book or even the 1990 TV miniseries you may wish to wait until you’re up to speed before reading further. Bill Denbrough: The leader of the Losers’ Club, Bill has a personal grudge against Pennywise after the clown made a mess of his little brother. He’s strong-willed but kinda shaken by his encounters with It and It’s various forms of mindfuckery, so who’s good at conveying that balance? I’m gonna go with Jake Gyllenhaal, although Ewan McGregor is a perfectly acceptable alternative. Ben Hanscom: If the It sequel goes by the book, husky lad Ben drops a heap of weight in his teenage years and reinvents himself as a handsome, successful architect. At the risk of sounding superficial, you want an actor with a little meat on their bones — someone who looks like he’s still carrying the boy he once was. I’ve long liked the idea of Nathan Fillion for this role but he may be a tad too old for the part now, so Jeremy Renner is my selection here. Patrick Wilson could step in if needed. Beverly Marsh: The only female member of the Losers, Beverly is adored by both Bill and Ben. She’s haunted by her youthful run-in with Pennywise but also memories of her
abusive dad. This role was made for Amy Adams, because there’s not much Amy Adams can’t do, but also because Sophia Lillis, the young actor playing Beverly in It, is an uncanny dead ringer for the star of Arrival and Nocturnal Animals. Eddie Kaspbrak: Sickly Eddie overcomes the Munchausen-byproxy mind games pulled by his unstable mum to stand alongside his Loser mates in battling Pennywise but that kind of manipulation can have long-lasting effects. For mine, someone who looks the part but can also convey that mix of uncertainty and inner strength is Bill Hader. Richie Tozier: For all your wiseacre, class-clown needs, may I humbly suggest Sam Rockwell? Stanley Uris: I kinda like The OC’s Adam Brody for this one. And Mike Hanson: This is a tough one — in the book, Mike is the only member of the Losers’ Club who never leaves their small hometown, instead remaining behind to chronicle any mysterious goings-on and ensure Pennywise doesn’t re-emerge. It requires a low-key integrity, something which Sterling K Brown of American Crime Story: The People vs OJ Simpson has in abundance.
Simon Napier-Bell ‘in conversation’ in Australia “If a million people want to be a star probably one, at the most two, will succeed. I’d say the same ratio applies to managers…” – SNB Brit music mogul, artist manager, author, filmmaker, entrepreneur and raconteur Simon Napier-Bell tours Australia in September. The former manager of Wham & George Michael, The Yardbirds (featuring Jimmy Page), Dusty Springfield, Marc Bolan, Sinead O’Connor, Ultravox and Japan will reveal secrets and stories from his days of ordering around famous pop stars, co-writing charttoppers and dealing with inflated egos!
All shows will feature QandA sessions. A master storyteller with an infectiously eccentric personality – do not miss! Sept 8th – Bigsound Brisbane Sept 9th – Arts Centre Melbourne Sept 10th – The Jade Adelaide Sept 11th – Leadbelly Sydney Sept 12th – Mojo’s Fremantle For tickets and info head to venue websites or facebook events: Simon Napier-Bell talks tour Australia.
THE MUSIC • 6TH SEPTEMBER 2017 • 35
Comedy / G The Guide
Wed 06
30/70
Lo-Res: 303, Northcote
Otira Rouge + Dr Sinha’s Jazz Lobotomy + Rueful Tummy: Bar Open, Fitzroy
Joe Chindamo: Bird’s Basement, Melbourne Caligula’s Horse
The Music Presents Vera Blue: 10 Sep, 170 Russell Mew: 12 Sep Max Watt’s Raised By Eagles: 16 Sep Caravan Music Club Oakleigh; 17 Sep Torquay Bowls Club At The Drive In: 28 Sep Festival Hall Caligula’s Horse: 30 Sep Max Watt’s Mono: 10 Nov Max Watt’s Alt-J: 7 Dec Sidney Myer Music Bowl sleepmakeswaves: 7 Dec Howler
Rebecca & Billy’s Singalong Society: Caravan Music Club, Oakleigh Mickey Bartlett: Comic’s Lounge, North Melbourne Creature Fear + The Lovely Days + Zac Saber: Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy Gang Of Youths + Fountaineer + Gordi: Festival Hall, West Melbourne Qwerty + Piss Factory + Black Bats: Grace Darling Hotel, Collingwood Comedy Big Time feat. Geraldine Hickey + Andy Matthews + Blake Everett + Nick Quon + Cait Johnson + Rohan Ganju: Howler, Brunswick Meg Mac: Karova Lounge, Ballarat Lomond Acoustica feat. Hugh McGinlay + Pete Daly + more: Lomond Hotel, Brunswick East Wine, Whiskey, Women feat. Melody Moko + Annie-Rose: The Drunken Poet, West Melbourne Galata Express + The Seduceaphones: The Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood Max Quinn: The Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood
30 & Flirty Often referred to as a community rather than a band, 30/70 will be bringing the smooth sounds of neo-soul and jazz-funk to Howler this Saturday in support of their new single Misrepresented. Trivia: Wesley Anne, Northcote The Sunken Sea + Wroclaw + Juice Webster: Yarra Hotel, Abbotsford
Thu 07 Kickin The B at 303 feat. Justin Yap Band: 303, Northcote Religious Observance feat. Incinerated + Spew Balloon + Spawn + Creep Diets: Bar Open, Fitzroy
Claudia Jones + Semina: Open Studio, Northcote Jackie Bornstein: Paris Cat Jazz Club, Melbourne From Paris to Brazil with Jackie Bornstein Quartet: Paris Cat Jazz Club, Melbourne The Pretty Littles: Penny Black, Brunswick
David Cosma
Sarah Maclaine: Bird’s Basement, Melbourne The Excellent Smithers: Boilermaker House, Melbourne Toyotomi Hideyoshi: Boney, Melbourne DJs Cath & Jas: Catfish, Fitzroy Closure In Moscow
Mewscow In a super solid combo, Closure In Moscow will be bringing their popping and rocking sound to Max Watt’s this Tuesday before Mew hit the stage to perform their latest album Visuals.
Mickey Bartlett: Comic’s Lounge, North Melbourne Deaf Havana + Barry Sunset: Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy Christopher Cross: Forum Theatre, Melbourne SLOTFACE + Batz: Howler, Brunswick Sean Emmett: Hume Blues Club, Fawkner
Jungle Breed + Dexy Oscillator + Scraggers: The Tote (Front Bar), Collingwood Greeves + Adore + Slow Fires: The Workers Club, Fitzroy
36 • THE MUSIC • 6TH SEPTEMBER 2017
Head over to Wesley Anne this Thursday to catch a new set of originals from the swinging troubadour that is David Cosma, described as Cat Stevens meets Crowded House.
Jacuzzi Boys + Drunk Mums + Private Function + Electric Mud: Karova Lounge, Ballarat Northeast Party House + China Beach: La Trobe University (Eagle Bar), Bundoora
Skyscraper Stan + Dominic Hoey + Hayley Couper: The Old Bar, Fitzroy
Cosmic Journey
Discotears + Messy Mammals + Koukatsuani + Nana Spam: Last Chance Rock & Roll Bar, Melbourne Simon Kinny-Lewis Band: Mr Boogie Man Bar, Abbotsford Jakubi + The Cool Calm + Tobias: Northcote Social Club, Northcote
The Shorts + Joe Guiton & The Suicide Tuesdays + Drongoz: Retreat Hotel, Brunswick Hexdebt + Slippy Mane + Lalic: The B.East, Brunswick East SAD13: The Curtin, Carlton
Gigs / Live The Guide
Dianas
In Store with Broads: Basement Discs (12.45pm), Melbourne
NGV Friday Nights feat. Kate Miller-Heidke: National Gallery of Victoria (NGV), Southbank
TOL + Compound + Product + Correct Line: The Gasometer Hotel (Upstairs), Collingwood
Jakubi + The Cool Calm + Tobias: Northcote Social Club, Northcote
Tranter with Gameboy/Gamegirl: The Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood
Donny Benet + Spod + Geoffrey O’Connor: Northcote Social Club, Northcote
Midweek Blues + Bill Barber + Sherri Parry: The Golden Vine, Bendigo
Son of a Gunzel: Catfish, Fitzroy
The Disco feat. Noah + Boyblewe + more: Onesixone, Prahran
Seasloth + Harmony Byrne + Trappist Afterland Band: The Old Bar, Fitzroy
The Resignators + Admiral Ackbar’s Dishonourable Discharge + more: Cherry Bar, Melbourne
Monique Angele + Meri Amber + Lorias: Open Studio, Northcote
Glovv + Greyon: The Post Office Hotel, Coburg
Urban Sea Shanties with Fred Smith + Men In Suits: Bella Union, Carlton South
The Badloves: Bird’s Basement, Melbourne Smalltown with Scuba: Brown Alley, Melbourne
Surfer Princess Celebrate the end of winter with surfy dream-pop trio Dianas every Sunday in September at The Tote, with their ear for ethereal melodies and psychedelic surf guitar.
My Favourite Murder: Comedy Theatre, Melbourne
IV League
Mickey Bartlett: Comic’s Lounge, North Melbourne The Jim Cuomo Trio: Compass Pizza Bar, Brunswick East Ali Barter + Press Club + Smoke Rings: Corner Hotel, Richmond
F ck The War on Drugs feat. Perno Inferno + Grove St + Juicy Romance + more: The Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood Draggs + Rhysics + Hexdebt: The Old Bar, Fitzroy
Hannah Kate + Eilish Gilligan + Hotel Fifteen Love + Hounds To Houses: Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy Linda: Flying Saucer Club, Elsternwick Meg Mac: Forum Theatre, Melbourne
The First Baboon Civilization Orchestra: The Post Office Hotel, Coburg
Jen Cloher + Wet Lips + Hachiku: Howler, Brunswick
Yohai Cohen + Alma Zygier: The Toff In Town, Melbourne
Patrizia & the Groove: Junktion, Kew
Double Trouble with DJ Jank Facques: The Toff In Town (Ballroom), Melbourne Midnight Express with DJ 123 + DJ Edd Fisher: The Toff In Town (Carriage Room), Melbourne Gilligan Smiles + Mojo Pin + The Sweets + House Hats: The Tote (Band Room), Collingwood
Andy Scotts’ Honky Tonk Swing + Max Teakle: Lomond Hotel, Brunswick East Sabrina Lawrie + Charlie Marshall: Lyrebird Lounge, Ripponlea
Great Aunt: Oscar’s Ale House, Belgrave The Moonee Valley Drifters: Pascoe Vale RSL, Pascoe Vale
Craig Dermody + The Wild Bloom: Tramway Hotel, North Fitzroy
Danny Howells: Pawn & Co, South Yarra Society of Beggars + Neon Queen + Erin Will Be Mad: Penny Black, Brunswick
Zuesifer + 180 Proof + Black Alpine + Three Quarter Beast: Whole Lotta Love, Brunswick East
Headlopper + Cyprus + Lethal Sound Division + Too Birds: Yarra Hotel, Abbotsford
Fri 08 Kreator + Vader: 170 Russell, Melbourne Ozergun + Katherine Hymer + Dalee Piano: 303, Northcote
Country At The Castle Alt-country comes to the Edinburgh Castle Hotel as singer-songwriter Eddie Nuardo performs some originals along with the classics, backed up by the mandolin and the double bass.
Khan: Baha Tacos, Rye Citrus Jam: Bar Open (Front Bar), Fitzroy Pseudo Mind Hive + Cosmos + The Deadpans + Phaedo: Bar Open, Fitzroy Grasshole: Barwon Club Hotel, South Geelong
The Workers Club are offering an adrenaline shot of indiepop when IV League bring their good vibes to the venue this Saturday. Their new song Change My Mind is sure to convert any indie nonbelievers.
Eddie Nuardo
Cool Explosions + Emah Fox + Hemm: The Workers Club, Fitzroy
Meg Mac: Wool Exchange, Geelong
Hot Shots
Placebo + Deaf Havana: Margaret Court Arena, Melbourne Hard Edge + Out Cold: Mr Boogie Man Bar, Abbotsford
La Danse Macabre with Brunswick Massive: Rainbow Hotel, Fitzroy The Eagles Story: Satellite Lounge, Wheelers Hill Alleged Associates + Zerafina Zara: Smokehouse 101, Maribyrnong 28 Days: Sooki Lounge, Belgrave Amaru Tribe: The B.East, Brunswick East Borrachero + Tusk + Southbound Snake Charmers + Ash Ravens Trio: The Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick Models + Machinations: The Croxton, Thornbury Luke Austen: The Drunken Poet, West Melbourne
Sleazy Listening with K. Hoop + Kovac + Arks + more: The Toff In Town (Carriage Room), Melbourne Poprocks At The Toff with Dr Phil Smith + Dr Nick: The Toff In Town (Ballroom), Melbourne Jacuzzi Boys + Private Function + Wurst Nurse: The Tote (Band Room), Collingwood Claws & Organs + Loobs + Magpie + Ostraaly: The Tote (Band Room), Collingwood West Thebarton + The Pretty Littles + Neighbourhood Youth: The Workers Club, Fitzroy Grand Wazoo: Thornbury Theatre, Thornbury Patches + Nathan Power + Scrub Wrens: Wesley Anne, Northcote The Nicoteenagers + Manorism + Cloud Castles + The Basement Bees: Whole Lotta Love, Brunswick East Moaning Lisa + Face Face + Black Bats + Kelso: Yarra Hotel, Abbotsford
THE MUSIC • 6TH SEPTEMBER 2017 • 37
Comedy / G The Guide
Sat 09
Baby Dance with Sam Weston + Mr Pitiful + DJ Casper: The Toff In Town, Melbourne
Jakubi
Cookie Baker: Baha Tacos, Rye
Sachet + Popolice + Bananagun + Maureen: The Tote (Band Room), Collingwood
Immy Owusu + Ras Jahknow + Easy Browns Truckstop Chicken Jam Band + The Burbs + Tom Cartoonist: Bar Open, Fitzroy
Sotis + Cement Pig + Dark Temple: The Tote (Upstairs), Collingwood
Devil Goat Family Band: Bar Open (Front Bar), Fitzroy
IV League: The Workers Club, Fitzroy Matinee Show with Kittyscratch + Maya + Fool Child: The Workers Club, Fitzroy
The Casanovas + The Swedish Magazines: Barwon Club Hotel, South Geelong
Luka Lesson + Kahl Wallis: The Workers Club Geelong, Geelong
Power Pop Now! feat. Central Rain + John Dowler’s Vanity Project + Little Murders + The Golden Rail: Bella Union, Carlton South
Heartaches & Hangovers feat. T-Bones + more: Thornbury Theatre, Thornbury
Yvette Johansson: Bird’s Basement, Melbourne Dex 4AM: Boney, Melbourne Legends of Rebetika 1950 - 1960 with Con Kalamaras : Caravan Music Club, Oakleigh Pugsley Buzzard Trio: Catfish (Front Bar), Fitzroy Absolutely Live - The Doors Show: Cherry Bar, Melbourne
Kimba Griffith Trio
Double Dancing Get ready for a double dose of experimental dance beats as Jakubi head to Northcote Social Club this Thursday and Friday. Special guests The Cool Calm and Tobias will be supporting both evenings. Meter Men + Product + Shabon + more: Grace Darling Hotel, Collingwood
Aykho + Friends: Temperance Hotel, South Yarra
30/70 + Raw Humps + So.crates: Howler, Brunswick
Labjacd: The B.East, Brunswick East
DJ Jesse James: Kay St, Traralgon R.I.P Kit Convict & Thee Terrible Two: Labour In Vain, Fitzroy Copperhead Brass Band + Grace Jean: Lomond Hotel, Brunswick East
Three’s A Crowd With a bombastic repertoire of jazz standards, Kimba Griffith Trio will be appearing at Compass Pizza Bar this Saturday. be able to have a menu of Italian food served in a classical setting.
The Ocean Party: Major Tom’s, Kyneton Songs Of James Bond feat. Eugene Hamilton + Nina Ferro + Nichaud Fitzgibbon + more: Memo Music Hall, St Kilda
The Phantom of the Paradise Garage with Whiskey Houston + Mr Weir + DJ Oscar O’Brien: The Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood
Melody Moko: Retreat Hotel, Brunswick
38 • THE MUSIC • 6TH SEPTEMBER 2017
Vices + Conveyer + Homesick: Reverence Hotel, Footscray Luen Jacobs: Revolver Upstairs, Prahran Ramble Tamble - The Australian Creedence Show: Satellite Lounge, Wheelers Hill Steve Ward + Chiara Kickdrum + Sex Wax DJs + Charles Oliver: Sooki Lounge, Belgrave Hanksaw: Surabaya Johnny’s, St Kilda
The Detonators + Sweet Felicia & The Honeytones: Union Hotel, Brunswick Beggarman + Clove + Dear Survivor: Whole Lotta Love, Brunswick East The Hemusans: Woody’s Bar, Collingwood Principal Blackman + Jacky Winter + Monnone Alone: Yarra Hotel, Abbotsford
Sun 10 Vera Blue + Thandi Phoenix + Lakyn: 170 Russell, Melbourne Melbourne Polytechnic Music: 303, Northcote Australian Chamber Orchestra: Arts Centre Melbourne, Melbourne Adam Simmons’ Origami: Bar Open (Front Bar), Fitzroy Lanota + Formiles + Terrestrials: Bar Open, Fitzroy Judah Kelly: Bella Union, Carlton South
Sam Lawrence + Pressure Drop: Open Studio, Northcote
Mickey Bartlett: Comic’s Lounge, North Melbourne
The Newsletters + Sam Crocket + The Wax Eaters: Gin Lane, Belgrave
Foxblood + Make Way For Man + Advocates: The Curtin, Carlton
Grasshole: The Eastern, Ballarat East
The Nature Strip + Caroline No: Retreat Hotel, Brunswick
DYLANesque: Flying Saucer Club, Elsternwick
Dodgefest! feat. Clawhawk + Mind The Machine + The Cooks + Huntsman + Poison Fish: The Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick
Jack River + Didirri + Royal East: Northcote Social Club, Northcote
My Favourite Murder: Comedy Theatre, Melbourne
Max (US) + Nick De La Hoyde + Vincent Sole: Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy
The Out Of Towners + Coffin Wolf + Beef: The Brunswick Hotel (Afternoon), Brunswick
Citrus Jam + Say Nothing: The Drunken Poet, West Melbourne
Fifth Friend: Rainbow Hotel, Fitzroy
Lewis CanCut + Aphir + DJ Full Tilt: Ding Dong Lounge, Melbourne
Direct Hit! + The Decline + Foley + Yard Duty: The Bendigo, Collingwood
Digital Primate: My Aeon, Brunswick
Alae: Penny Black, Brunswick
The Getaway Plan + Harbours + Chasing Ghosts: Corner Hotel, Richmond
Spiral Perm + The Cha Cha Chas: Tramway Hotel, North Fitzroy
The Public Opinion Orchestra: The Night Cat, Fitzroy
Eddie Nuardo Duo: Catfish (Front Bar), Fitzroy Cairo Club Orchestra: Clarinda Community Centre, Clarinda
Press Club
Lachlan Hicks + JMS Harrison + Cassie Molnar: The Old Bar (Afternoon), Fitzroy Orb + School Damage + The Living Eyes: The Old Bar, Fitzroy Todd McKenney + Georgie Parker: The Palms at Crown, Southbank Scraggers + Pting: The Post Office Hotel, Coburg
Start The Presses
Mark Olson + Ingunn Ringvold + Emily Ulman: The Toff In Town, Melbourne
A night of female-fronted rock is coming to Corner Hotel this Friday as pop-punk Press Club help Ali Barter light up the stage for her One Foot In tour.
In The Carriage with DJ J’Nett + Kaya Kalpa: The Toff In Town (Carriage Room), Melbourne
Gigs / Live The Guide
The Getaway Plan + Harbours + Chasing Ghosts: Corner Hotel, Richmond
The Knott Family Band + Adam Eton: The Drunken Poet, West Melbourne
Max (US) + Nick De La Hoyde + Vincent Sole: Evelyn Hotel (All Ages), Fitzroy
Broads + Emilee South + Hannah Cameron: The Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood
AFI + Basement + Introvert: Forum Theatre, Melbourne
Horace Bones + Tankerville: The Old Bar, Fitzroy
Alae + Georgia Reed + River Blue: Grace Darling Hotel, Collingwood
Cabin Inn + Claire Birchall: The Old Bar, Fitzroy
Jen Cloher + RVG + Hexdebt: Howler, Brunswick
The Hornets: The Post Office Hotel, Coburg
Greg Champion & The Useful Members Of Society: Lomond Hotel, Brunswick East
Vera Blue
James Ellis & the Jealous Guys: The Standard Hotel, Fitzroy
An Intimate Afternoon With Kate Ceberano: Memo Music Hall, St Kilda
The Sunday Set with DJ Andyblack + Mr Weir: The Toff In Town (Carriage Room), Melbourne
Ekranoplans + Ashtray Boy: Mr Boogie Man Bar, Abbotsford
The Rabbit Hole with Nigel Last: The Toff In Town (Carriage Room), Melbourne
Peppercorn Jazz Band + Flying Home: Open Studio, Northcote
Dianas + The Faculty: The Tote (Front Bar), Collingwood
Nathan Seeckts + Catholic Guilt + David Grimson: Reverence Hotel, Footscray
Geoff Achison: The Westernport Hotel, Phillip Island
Kenny Larkin: Revolver Upstairs, Prahran
Luka Lesson + Kahl Wallis:
Jen Cloher. Pic: Tajette O’Halloran
Don’t feel blue In the wake of her new album Perennial, Vera Blue has headed out on the Mended single tour. Let her beautiful folky sound engulf you at 170 Russell on Sunday with Thandi Phoenix and Lakyn.
Mon 11
Tue 12
Neo Lilac: 303, Northcote
Make It Up Club feat. Curse Ov Dialect: Bar Open, Fitzroy
Australian Chamber Orchestra: Arts Centre Melbourne, Melbourne
Joel McHale: Comedy Theatre, Melbourne
Bird’s Basement Octet: Bird’s Basement, Melbourne
Anti-Violet + Amiko + Scout: Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy
Lake Minnetonka + Zoe K + Goat Control: Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy
Mew + Closure In Moscow: Max Watt’s, Melbourne
Wind It Up with Various Artists: Northcote Social Club, Northcote
Layton Otene + James Campbell + Lunar Trick + more: Open Studio, Northcote
Fat Cousin Skinny: Retreat Hotel, Brunswick
Zoe & the Milkmen + Dandecat + Georgie Currie: The Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick
Jazz Party: The Curtin, Carlton Kooyong: The Workers Club, Fitzroy
The Songs of Little Feat with Matt Green: The Drunken Poet, West Melbourne Mount Defiance + Mickey Cooper: The Gasometer Hotel (Upstairs), Collingwood
Self-Titled Jen Cloher is back at Howler Sunday night in support of her most revealing new record, the aptly titled Jen Cloher. The first show on Friday is already sold out, so don’t miss this one.
Shaky Stills
The Stranger Suite + Horatio Luna: The Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood Culcairn + Yukumbabe + Snowy: The Old Bar, Fitzroy Now.Here.This with Laura Wong + Adrian Eagle: The Toff In Town, Melbourne
Ben Smith Band: Royal Oak Hotel, Fitzroy North
The Workers Club, Fitzroy
Clint Wilson + Tina Nabb + Jess McMahon + Eddie Cole: Sooki Lounge, Belgrave
Matinee Show with Ben Whiting + Ryan Oliver + Lucky Moore: The Workers Club, Fitzroy
The Vendettas + Estelle Artois + Sons Of Lee Marvin: The Brunswick Hotel (Afternoon), Brunswick
Ruby Soho + The Radness + Rhia Simone: Tramway Hotel, North Fitzroy
Louis Valentine + The Golden Age + Hannah Francis & The Fake News + Kev Walsh: The Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick Meg Mac: The Capital, Bendigo Performing Arts Centre, Bendigo Gums + Slowcoaching: The Curtin (Front Bar), Carlton
Collard Greens & Gravy + Weeping Willows & Their Travelling Companions: Union Hotel, Brunswick Houg + Niine + Messy Mammals: Whole Lotta Love, Brunswick East Vices + Conveyer + Homesick: Wrangler Studios, West Footscray
Avadeer: The Workers Club, Fitzroy Grand Pine: Tramway Hotel, North Fitzroy
Still Shaking Hot off their release of their latest album Genuine Moonshine, Shaky Stills will be bringing the rhythm and blues to Edinburgh Castle Hotel this Sunday night. Get your ears ‘round some genuine Aussie Americana.
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