20.09.17 Music / Arts / Lifestyle / Culture
Issue
207
Melbourne / Free / Incorporating
ON GST M A G N I T T E D OF G NOT AFRAI
IT
Theatre
BLACK RIDER Release
BRITISH INDIA Tour
SHONEN KNIFE
FACE MUSIC
TH E
CONTEMPORARY MUSIC SUMMIT THU 23 & FRI 24 NOV Melbourne Music Week Hub
2 • THE MUSIC • 20TH SEPTEMBER 2017
TICKETS NOW ON SALE facethemusic.com.au
THE MUSIC • 20TH SEPTEMBER 2017 • 3
4 • THE MUSIC • 20TH SEPTEMBER 2017
250 High st, Northcote Hill 94
Wesley Anne
Bar, Restaurant, Etc.
Thu 21 September
Fri 22 September
Sat 23 September
Ryan Sterling
Trio Agogo
Nomadic Hannah Jurassic Blackburn
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Sun 24 September
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Patrick James 8pm $20 pre / $25 door
WEDNESDAYS
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Thu 28 September
Fri 29 September
Sat 30 September
Sun 1 October
Ryan Sterling
Trio Agogo
Nomadic Jurassic
The Quad Squad
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$15 Jugs of Coburg Lager Mon - Fri before 6pm
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PUB BINGO WITH TREV & SPARKS 7PM
BEER O’CLOCK PAY THE TIME FOR PINTS BETWEEN
DJ MARNI LA ROCCA
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ROO &WINE $14.99 TUESDAYS
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MONDAYS ROO & WINE $14.99
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TUESDAYS $12 BURGERS
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zaight Mondays in September Damon Smith plays the Grand 7pm Tuesdays Piano Karaoke w/ Lisa Crawley 7.30pm Wednesdays Open Grand Night 7.30pm Thursdays Trivia w/ Conor 7.30pm Friday 22nd September Jack Beeche Trio 7.30pm free 319 Lygon st East Brunswick
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THE MUSIC • 20TH SEPTEMBER 2017 • 5
Music / Music / Arts / Lifestyle / Culture
First Trek
Star Trek: Discovery
The Killers
Star Trek: Discovery is finally coming to Netflix this Monday, 25 Sep. The series is set around ten years before Kirk and co’s adventures and stars Sonequa MartinGreen as Michael Burnham, first officer of the USS Discovery.
So Nice They Named It Twice
Fountaineer
Following the announcement they’ll be performing at the footy, alt-rock icons The Killers have announced their largest Antipodean tour to date in support of their fifth studio album, Wonderful Wonderful. Catch the Las Vegans in Apr/May.
Greater & Greater In support of their newly released debut album Greater City, Greater Love, Victorian outfit Fountaineer have announced they will head out on a huge Aussie east coast tour this Nov/Dec.
The Emoji Movie and Pixels take place in the same universe. It’s this one, and it’s terrible. @smithsara79
6 • THE MUSIC • 20TH SEPTEMBER 2017
Veruca Salt
Green Out A Day On The Green has announced its doozy of a Feb/Mar 2018 line-up. The list includes The Living End, Spiderbait, The Fauves and The Lemonheads, plus US faves Veruca Salt - who’ve also announced sideshows.
Arts / Li Music / Arts / Lifestyle / Culture
Credits
Publisher Street Press Australia Pty Ltd Group Managing Editor Andrew Mast
Chippy Nonstop
Gotta Summit
National Editor – Magazines Mark Neilsen
Or Plummet
Editor Bryget Chrisfield
Face The Music’s first line-up announce is out and predictably massive. Among the many industry legends will be Ariel Pink and Canadian quadruple threat Chippy Nonstop, as well as Nick Findlay, Mallrat and dancer/choreographer Amrita Hepi.
The Clouds
Arts & Culture Editor Maxim Boon
Gig Guide Justine Lynch gigs@themusic.com.au Editorial Assistant Sam Wall, Jessica Dale Senior Contributor Jeff Jenkins
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Nothing Doing The Clouds have announced dates for a national headline tour in Nov. They will be hitting the road with their new song Beautiful Nothingness, which is due out 16 Oct.
Art Dept Ben Nicol, Felicity Case-Mejia vic.art@themusic.com.au Admin & Accounts Loretta Zoppos, Ajaz Durrani, Meg Burnham, Bella Bi accounts@themusic.com.au Distro distro@themusic.com.au Subscriptions store@themusic.com.au Contact Us Tel 03 9421 4499 Fax 03 9421 1011
Cub Sport
info@themusic.com.au www.themusic.com.au 459-461 Victoria Street Brunswick West Vic 3055 PO Box 231 Brunswick West Vic 3055
— Melbourne
Ace Of Cubs With the release of their second studio album BATS just a week away now, Cub Sport have confirmed they will embark on a 2018 headline tour of Australia starting in Feb.
Music / Music / Arts / Lifestyle / Culture
Nai Palm
Oh Hai
Two-time Grammy nominated singer-songwriter Nai Palm has announced the release of her highly anticipated solo album Needle Paw this 20 Oct. Even better, the Hiatus Kaiyote frontwoman is taking on the road in November/December.
theMusic.com.au: breaking news, up-to-the-minute reviews and streaming new releases
Stephanie Lake Company’s Pile of Bones
Camp Savages Melbourne venue The Forum is set to welcome three of the city’s finest acts this December, with Camp Cope and Cash Savage & The Last Drinks announcing a special year-ending performance with special guests RVG.
Big Moves The 2017 Australian Dance Awards are taking place at the Playhouse, Arts Centre Melbourne this week on Sunday, 24 Sep, with excerpts from Australian Ballet’s Sleeping Beauty, Stephanie Lake Company’s Pile of Bones and more.
Camp Cope
Sweethearts
$2000 The amount in US dollars you’d have to pay if you want Gene Simmons to hand deliver his upcoming new box set to you at upcoming events around the world (which in Australia is only in Sydney at this stage)
8 • THE MUSIC • 20TH SEPTEMBER 2017
Queen Of Hearts Queenscliff Music Festival has announced its final line-up list for 2017, adding 15 acts to this November’s event. Didirri, Yirrmal and The Refuge, and the 30-strong soul band Sweethearts have all joined the bill.
Arts / Li Music / Arts / Lifestyle / Culture
[ Formerly The Hi- Fi Bar ]
Mary Z
FRI 22 SEP
Roll some blunts and change the bong water ‘cause stoner/doom trio Sleep are bringing their monolithic sound to Australian shores. The genre-changing trio are set to play three shows in January 2018.
Sleep
AMPON LAMPOON SAT 23 SEP
TEEN VIBES U18 FT. IN STEREO & FAYDEE SAT 30 SEP
CALIGULA’S HORSE TUE 10 OCT
NAPALM DEATH, BRUJERIA, LOCKUP & BLACK RHENO FRI 13 OCT
Betty Grumble
( GLAM SLAM ) APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION / POISON’US SAT 14 OCT
SHOCKONE SAT 21 OCT
JOEYBOY & GANCORE CLUB FRI 27 OCT - SOLD OUT
MAMMAL
SAT 28 OCT
THE ULTIMATE MICHAEL JACKSON EXPERIENCE THU 02 NOV
WINTERSUN FRI 03 NOV
THE RED EYES 15 YEAR REUNION SHOW
Grumble Buster
SAT 04 NOV
BILLY DAVIS & THE GOOD LORDS
“Experience the queer Queen of the Obscene in an odyssey of deep drag disco dissent.” With a tag line like that you’d be mad to miss Betty Grumble’s Fringe show Sex Clown Saves The World. Catch it at Arts House from Tuesday, 26 Sep.
WED 08 NOV - SOLD OUT
THE MELVINS FRI 10 NOV
MONO
SAT 18 NOV
GZ A - THE GENIUS USA - (of WU TANG CLAN)
TUE 21 NOV
PERTURBATOR FRI 24 NOV
MISS MAY I
“THE SHADOW INSIDE” AUSTRALIAN TOUR
SAT 25 NOV
BABY ANIMALS
History History History
SUN 26 NOV
BLACKBEAR FRI 01 DEC
Triple H Deborah Pearson’s live documentary experience History History History opens runs from Wednesday to Saturday at Substation this week. Mixing cinema and dramaturgy, the film reflects on immigration and censorship through the Hungarian uprising of ’56.
NAI PALM
SAT 09 DEC
THE HARD ROCK SHOW EXTR AVAGANZ A with special guests ELECTRIC MARY & TERAMAZE
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125 SWANSTON ST, MELBOURNE
THE MUSIC • 20TH SEPTEMBER 2017 • 9
Music
Now settled into his role as Northlane’s new singer, to the point where he feels comfortable contributing musical ideas, Marcus Bridge admits to Bryget Chrisfield that he still tends to freeze and act weird in the presence of his musical heroes.
W
hen not on tour and back home in Australia, Northlane’s lead singer Marcus Bridge lives between Sydney (“I live with my grandparents, actually”) and Melbourne (“where my girlfriend lives”). We’re tipping Bridge’s grandparents are extremely proud of him. “They’re very, very cool,” he enthuses. “At first they weren’t sure about all this, like, heavy music kinda stuff, but since they’ve seen what we’ve been doing they’ve been very supportive.” So have his grandparents ever attended a Northlane show? “My grandma has come once before,” Bridge tells. Did Bridge supply grandma some earplugs? “Yeah, yeah, definitely,” he laughs. “It’s definitely very loud when we play so, yeah! You’ve gotta be careful.” Northlane released Mesmer — their second album since Bridge joined the band in 2014, but fourth overall — in March of this year. It dropped out of nowhere, with no forewarning. A hint was provided by the band when a mysterious video popped up on YouTube and Northlane fans were sent into a tailspin. On what we now know as Mesmer’s trailer, Bridge enlightens,
10 • THE MUSIC • 20TH SEPTEMBER 2017
“Well, that was an idea that Jon [Deiley, guitar] and Josh [Smith, guitar] had for a long time, I guess. Even before going into the studio to record Mesmer, they had this idea of creating something that if you were just a regular person listening to it you wouldn’t immediately think, ‘Oh, this is a metal band,’ or whatever. Obviously you’d kind of be able to figure it out if you knew who the band was, but if it was just something you heard then it would just be, ‘Oh, this is interesting,’ so, yeah! I dunno, we wanted to do something kind of weird like that and not necessarily let on what we are teasing; just put something up there for people to talk about with no real idea of what it might be.” Bowie and Beyonce led the way when they released surprise material and we discuss the confidentiality agreements that must have been flying around their respective camps. “Absolutely!” Bridge laughs. “I was talking to a friend the other day, actually, and I was saying how any day now one of your favourite artists might drop a new album out of nowhere. You never know these days, it’s quite a wild time.” The band and their team’s careful planning even utilised this year’s UNIFY Gathering where Northlane debuted a new song Intuition as a treat for fans. “We were kind of teasing it all weekend and there was posters around the festival just with a few lines from the song on it,” Bridge recalls, before clarifying, “It was the chorus lyrics. There was just, ‘Wander/ Question/Find your obsession’... And no one had heard [the song] yet, or knew what it was going to be, so it went pretty crazy when we played it. It was pretty wild. For a new song you expect people to enjoy it, but not get into it so much
just because they’re not used to it.” Bridge also praises “the vibe of UNIFY” for making Intuition “a highlight of the set” from his perspective. A live video of Northlane performing the song live at UNIFY Gathering then became the music video for Intuition, which was released the day after they performed. Intuition’s opening lyrics could not be more relevant in these fucked-up times: “Why do we subscribe to a universal thread that weaves the fabric of our lives/Ask why without batting an eye we’re so accepting/Question everything.”
I didn’t wanna intrude too much when I came in, at first, and, you know, press my ideas onto what they’ve already created.
Encouraging individuals to stand up in protest is a timely message and Bridge puts forward that since there’s “a lot of awful stuff going on in the world, it’s very easy to just be scared and not to do anything about it — kind of be too afraid to get amongst it”. “In the end that’s exactly what is gonna cause no change to happen,” he laments of this cycle of fear. “So you definitely need to put yourself out there and, you know, try to talk to people and just understand it all.” The recent R U OK? Day comes up in our conversation and Bridge reflects on why some of us struggle to speak up and seek help:
To read the full interview head to theMusic.com.au
“Some people just feel way too scared to do it just because they think people will look down on them or whatever it may be... People just need that help and sometimes you just need to pay close attention, and see them and see how they’re doing; you can kinda tell a lot of the time. So, I dunno, it’s just worth putting your hand out.” When asked whether fans contact Northlane to share stories and let the band know how much their music has helped them through hard times, Bridge ponders, “there’s definitely a few out there that have told us some very deep stories and all this awful stuff that’s happened in their lives and I guess even just chatting to them — hearing their story — helps them a lot, which is a wild thing. And for our music to help them through whatever situation they might be going through is really, you know, a crazy responsibility. We’ve always tried to write music about positivity and self-improvement, and all the good that is in the world, so it’s always good to see people getting in touch with that and trying to better themselves and just feel good.” On which bands played this role in his own formative years, Bridge singles out Underoath, Fall Out Boy, From First To Last, Panic! At The Disco and My Chemical Romance (“I liked a lot of emo stuff”). “There’s definitely a lot of those bands from that era that I still really love and listen to a lot, but that kind of music very much helped me escape when I was young and long before I was playing music.” A video of Bridge auditioning for Northlane 2.0 after their original singer Adrian Fitipaldes left the band has racked up the views on YouTube. “Even leading up to the audition period or whatever, when I was doing that, I didn’t think I had a chance of becoming a part of this,” he confesses, “and when it all went down I was just so shocked [laughs]. I guess I was the kind of guy they wanted and it, yeah,
all worked out for me. So much crazy stuff has happened... It’s all just an endless whirlwind of exciting times. “We’ve just played so many crazy shows, you know, playing, like, dream festivals and stuff that you never thought you’d play in a million years! Like Download Festival — we’ve played that twice now, which is unbelievable.” So has Bridge had a chance to meet any of his heroes, say, backstage at Download Festival? “Every now and then there’s a few bands that you run into and you just kind of wig out,” he allows. “I’m the worst at that, like, there have been so many times when, you know, we’ve been around people that I really, really looked up to and listened to in the past so I just can’t talk to them, or just freeze... I dunno, there’s just been so many that I’ve just been weird around... I feel like half the time they just want to be treated normally as well [laughs] whereas you being weird is just making them feel weird, which isn’t helping anyone. I’ve gotten better at it slowly, I think; just slowly getting more confident talking to ‘em... Don’t sorta put them on a pedestal or anything, that’s the way I think.” Bridge reckons Northlane 2.0 have “definitely grown a lot” since recording previous album, Node. “I just feel we’ve all grown a lot as people, and as friends and as a group, and it made me more comfortable to, I guess, express myself a bit more personally,” Bridge ponders of creating Mesmer. “I didn’t wanna intrude too much when I came in, at first, and, you know, press my ideas onto what they’ve already created. But this time around we’ve definitely learned to write more as a group.”
Double Trouble Back in April 2016, Northlane and their labelmates In Hearts Wake dropped a surprise joint EP, Equinox, following this up with a dual-headlining tour. “That was wild,” Northlane singer Marcus Bridge recalls. “That was one of the craziest things. It just came together so smoothly in the end we — both us and In Hearts Wake — were on tour doing our separate things leading up to it. We only had a week or so to kind of prepare the actual tour [laughs] so we weren’t sure how it would all work out. “I guess we had the idea pretty clear in our heads already so, when it came to setting it up and getting it all ready, it just worked out. The split-set performance thing and then coming together in the end to play the two songs — it all just worked so smoothly and, yeah; definitely something that we’re very proud of.” So how many musicians were up on stage to present the Equinox material that closed the night? “It was ten on stage at some point, so it was quite a spectacle... It was a wild time, though, so much fun.” This reviewer attended the Festival Hall Equinox show and tends to agree: “Both bands blend into something even greater: a merciless sonic beast.”
When & Where: 20 Oct, 170 Russell
THE MUSIC • 20TH SEPTEMBER 2017 • 11
Music
Dare To Dream When Bryget Chrisfield sits down for beers with Declan Melia and Will Drummond, she discovers British India have upgraded from stealing beers from their guitarist’s dad’s fridge to sharing spliffs with The Rolling Stones’ sound guy. To read the full interview head to theMusic.com.au
S
ettling into a booth inside Union Hotel, Brunswick with one half of British India — frontman Declan Melia and bass player Will Drummond — it immediately becomes apparent that the band is enamoured of Oscar Dawson, who produced their latest and sixth album Forgetting The Future. “We were kind of like a junkie couple,” Melia posits, “we were just enabling each other, kinda like, you say, ‘Should we have another line?’ You know the other person wants one... So we doubled the guitar part. ‘Should we triple it?’/’I think you know you wanna!’...” Drummond continues: “He amplified our ideas that we had for songs, which was helpful.”
We were kind of like a junkie couple, we were just enabling each other.
“With all the records with Liberation, they tried to set us up with a different producer and every time it just fuckin’ failed... Great producers, all, but it just didn’t work out; it wasn’t the meeting of the minds that they wanted it to be,” Melia laments. “So, before Oscar, I mean, like, we didn’t wanna know. We were like, ‘Fuck, this again!’ We were like, ‘Some plonker’s gonna come in and tell us...’ So the first song we did was My Love and I was just like looking at Nic [Wilson, guitarist], like, ‘Am I crazy or is this fuckin’ kickin’ arse?’ I couldn’t believe that it was fuckin’ working.” “We came into the studio with Oscar with a month left in that studio... and we had a lot of the album written, but some of it was sketchy and some of it was full songs. And then having that kind of influence of, ‘Hey, no, that
12 • THE MUSIC • 20TH SEPTEMBER 2017
song’s really good, guys’... Just a different voice that you hadn’t heard before was such a great spark, which we definitely needed.” British India formed when they were teenagers and we’re curious to hear how far they thought music would take them. “If you pick up a guitar, you have a dream of being on a stage and playing in front of people,” Drummond shares, “and I think your imagination runs wild with that. But the whole reason we wanted to play in a band together was ‘cause we were friends and it was fun and it got us out of doing homework, and it was a reason to steal VBs from Nic’s dad’s fridge.” Melia spots something and gestures excitedly. “It’s there!” Drummond looks around. “What is?” Melia beams, “That’s him! That’s the poster from next to Nic’s dad’s fridge!” Drummond spots the antique Carlton Draught poster Melia is referring to. “It is too! That’s hilarious!” Melia reads out the text: “’I allus has wan at 11’... That was above the fridge at Nic’s house when we used to steal the beers. So that’s a weird bit of serendipity.” “It is, yeah,” Drummond agrees. “But, so, when you’re jamming in a room you’re just, like, all you wanna do is like, ‘Let’s get this version of an Oasis song down,’ and then you’re like, ‘Well, let’s get this song down that we wrote,’ and then it’s like, ‘Oh, it’d be awesome to play a gig. It’d be so good’. And then when you play a gig it’s like, ‘That’s great!’ And then with each step you just want it to be bigger and bigger; your plans and your dreams just keep getting bigger and bigger.” Melia ponders,“Sometimes journalists ask, like, ‘Why have you guys been together for so long?’ And I think a contributing factor is, like, obviously we’re incredible, but...” Drummond bursts out laughing. Melia continues, “We’ve never headlined festivals and we’ve never played massive venues and we’ve never had a number one record, and so I think we still wanna do those things.” One thing British India can certainly brag about is having supported The Rolling Stones at Hope Estate Winery in The Hunter Valley (2014). “It was amazing, but I don’t put it down as a career highlight, it was just, like, a personal highlight,” Melia stresses. “It’s like when you go to Duty Free and you go, ‘Oh, I’ll buy this new perfume,’ and they’re like, ‘Hey, would you like some really expensive hand moisturiser,’ and you’re like, ‘YES! Of course I would!’” Drummond explains. Melia laughs, “I completely agree! Supporting The Rolling Stones was like expensive hand wash.” “It was insane,” Drummond remembers of the experience. “And everyone on the tour was so nice... I was walking backstage afterwards and the sound guy was like [adopts American accent], ‘Hey, bass player! You don’t walk past me without smokin’ a joint with me,’ and then so, like, I smoked a joint with him and talked to him for ages. And then the other day Keith Richards put a photo up he’s like, ‘Happy Birthday to my good man blah-blah-blah,’ and I was like, ‘Oh my god, that’s him!’ [laughs].”
What: Forgetting The Future (Liberation Music) When & Where: 9 Nov, Karova Lounge; 10 Nov, 170 Russell; 11 Nov, Wool Exchange
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PLUS HE A PS MORE AT W W W.NORTHCOTESOCI A LCLUB.COM THE MUSIC • 20TH SEPTEMBER 2017 • 13
Music
The Mane Event Tired Lion have taken their time releasing debut album, Dumb Days. What’s resulted is a record bursting with lyrical and sonic maturity. Sophie Hopes and Ethan Darnell share the process with Jessica Dale.
T
ired Lion frontwoman Sophie Hopes exaggerates the “finally” when she says “Dumb Days is our very first album that we finally, just, got out there.” Their debut, out this week, is something she describes as “a patchwork of stories and experiences throughout my life, and growing up, and things like that. Some songs were written three years ago, some quite recently.” It’s been a long time coming for a group that have gone so hard on the touring circuit the last few years, including slots with the likes of Grinspoon, Kingswood, Luca Brasi and Gyroscope.
... We’re going to put as much effort and work into this as we can. We don’t want to release anything that’s going to be, to us, subpar or a bit of a letdown.
When asked if the extensive touring was the main reason for the delay in recording their album, drummer Ethan Darnell explains that there was a number of factors behind the wait. “Probably, mostly, we just wanted to make sure that it was ready, because it’s something that, I guess, growing up when you’re listening to albums, there are so many bands releasing stuff, when you hear an album that’s really well put together and really well thoughtout... it hits you harder,” he says. “So we came from that mentality, that we’re going to put as much effort and work into this as we can. We don’t want to release anything that’s going to be, to us, subpar or a bit of a letdown.” 14 • THE MUSIC • 20TH SEPTEMBER 2017
“We put a lot of pressure on ourselves, basically,” adds Hopes. “But I also think that, yeah, our international touring, even just touring around Australia as well did have a bit effect on how long it took us to put everything together, all the pieces. Signing to Dew Process as well. It’s been like a rollercoaster of a ride, but I think it’s perfect timing for us, especially if we were to release it, like, a year earlier, I don’t think the songs would’ve been up to the same standard.” So, is it the album they always dreamed of making? “I think that, always, as an artist, you think you can always do better. I’m really happy with the record as a whole, listening to it from start to finish. I don’t think that this is, like, the next Siamese Dream or anything like that, but I’d like to hope that, in the future, we can keep writing better,” says Hopes. “It was definitely an awesome time in the studio, so I think, for me personally, recording an album where it just feels like you’re just hanging out with your friends and having a good time, I didn’t expect that.” Hopes and Darnell joke about the difference between their debut album and their previously released EPs, with Darnell sharing that maturity was probably the biggest change in the two. “I think those EPs were kind of like, we had five songs so we should put them on a CD,” he says. “All five!” adds Hopes, laughing. “Whereas this is more like, we had more than we needed, picked the songs we wanted,” continues Darnell. “So I think it was more mature, and just our sound in general, I think, has changed as we’re changing and growing. But I don’t think it’s noticeable to us. If you put on the EP and then the album, you’d be like, okay, you can hear it, but mentally it’s not something that we tried to do or anything like that.” The growth in maturity continues through to Hopes lyrics, something she worked on closely with Violent Soho’s Luke Boerdam, who sat in as producer for Dumb Days. “I think in life, you don’t realise but you’re sort of push into a position where you have to sort of wake up pushed yo to yourself and say, ‘Alright, 26 now, I need to grow the fuck up,’” shares Hopes. “And yeah, so, I’m not sure if the lyrics are more mat mature or anything like that, but I guess when we were work workshopping those with Luke he would try to take it to a point where I wanted the song to go, and I find that som sometimes super-difficult without talking it out with someone and really getting to the point of the song. And he’d sort of bring up, like, when people listen to music they sort of visualise, so he incorporated these words in there - or at least got me to think of some words - and I think that really helped with the maturity level.”
What: Dumb Days (Dew Process/Universal Music Australia) When & Where: 23 Sep, Corner Hotel
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THE MUSIC • 20TH SEPTEMBER 2017 • 15
Music
People’s favourite songs are different by country.
Cut To The Chase Lead vocalist/guitarist Naoko Yamano tells Rod Whitfield that Shonen Knife are delighted to finally be asked back to tour our shores again by “a very good person.”
S
honen Knife are nothing short of a phenomenon — in every sense of the word. The legendary all-girl Japanese pop-punk band formed all the way back in the early 1980s, have released more than 20 albums in that time and have toured the world endlessly. There has been but one constant in the band for that entire time, at least as far as the line-up is concerned: lead vocalist/guitarist Naoko Yamano. Speaking from her home in Osaka, it appears that Yamano takes all that history in her stride. “It’s hard to believe so many years have passed, but I don’t look
However, Aussie and Kiwi Shonen Knife lovers have a much shorter wait for a return tour this time around with the band’s antipodean tour kicking off in late September. Things have apparently changed significantly since that 18-year drought and Yamano tells, “Fortunately this time I have a very good person who has invited us again... I’m so excited to come back to Australia, the people there are so friendly and cheerful... I want to come more.” The band released their latest album Adventure a little over a year ago and tracks from that album will feature heavily in their upcoming sets on this Aussie soil. That just leaves another 21 albums for them to attempt to include in their live show, and Yamano admits that writing a Shonen Knife setlist while trying to please everyone is almost impossible. “It’s very very hard,” she states. “I always need two or three days to decide a setlist. Sometimes we play songs that people have requested and we have done shows in the past where all the songs were requested by fans. We did that in London once and of course in Japan, too. But it’s always difficult to choose and someone is always unhappy. People’s favourite songs are different by country, so I will have to think about what are the Australian people’s favourites.” So does she feel she has another ten years or more left in the band? “If I’m alive!” she laughs.
When & Where: 22 Sep, National Gallery Of Victoria; 23 Sep, Karova Lounge, Ballarat; 1 Oct, Corner Hotel
back,” she states. “I just look a little forward and I tend not to notice the years passing. I’m always fresh.” She has a secret for keeping herself “fresh” and in the best possible shape to front a long-running rock’n’roll band. “I play tennis for my health, so I’ll be keeping myself healthy.” It is difficult to believe, but in more than threeand-a-half decades her band has only toured Australia twice before. They came for Big Day Out way back in 1997 and then did not return until two years ago when they were here for their own headline tour. According to Yamano, there is a very simple explanation for such a long time between drinks with their Aussie fans. “No one invited us!” she laughs. “That’s the reason.” 16 • THE MUSIC • 20TH SEPTEMBER 2017
INSIDE OUT MUSIC, THE MUSIC, DAVID ROY WILLIAMS & WILD THING PRESENTS
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THE MUSIC • 20TH SEPTEMBER 2017 • 17
Better The Devil You Know Director Matthew Lutton has assembled a cabaret super-group for a descent into hell. Maxim Boon takes aim at Black Rider: The Casting Of Magic Bullets.
B
lack Rider, Tom Waits and William S Burroughs’ trippy musical take on a quintessentially dark slice of German folklore, is an anarchic melting pot of musical genres and wild, stylised theatre. So, it comes as little surprise that for Malthouse Theatre and Victorian Opera’s new co-production, part of the Melbourne Festival, director Matthew Lutton has assembled a similarly wild cast. Featuring some of the most fearless creative polymaths from Australia and beyond, among the ranks of this vaudevillian super-group are opera stars turned cabaret divas, Kanen Breen and Jacqueline Dark of Strange Bedfellows, Australia’s most gloriously irreverent chanteuse, Meow Meow, arguably the grandest doyen of queer storytelling, Paul Capsis, and British bearded lady, Le Gateau Chocolat. So many audacious personalities cramming the stage should surely overwhelm a piece of theatre, but Waits and Burroughs’ pitch-black fable thrums with such shapeshifting originality, such a vivid and irrepressible spirit, that it requires nothing but the most deliciously lurid performances to truly soar. What’s more, there’s a surprising twinkle in the eye of this show. It may well defy all conventional means of categorisation, but its central premise is uncannily common, echoed throughout European folk traditions: a deal with the devil. Modelled after the tale of Der Freischutz, this particular demonic bargain is made for love, or rather a test of romantic mettle. To prove his worth as a suitor, a man must demonstrate his skill at shooting. Forged in the guts of hell, a set of magic bullets should transform him from lame shot to sharpshooter, but as is always the case when 18 • THE MUSIC • 20TH SEPTEMBER 2017
the devil’s owed a favour, happy endings are rarely ever after. If the aforementioned hero’s fate sounds a little predictable, there’s a very good reason. The devil’s pact is a narrative trope that has its origins in stories dating back to our earliest documented societies. Over the centuries, it has been reimagined, spruced-up, dumbed-down, and transplanted into virtually every human culture. Even the greatest bastions of Western literature, from Marlowe to Goethe, Chekhov to Wilde, Bulgakov to Twain, have dredged-up new takes on this satanic storyline from the inky depths of its ages-old heritage. “I think there’s always been a nagging sense that mankind is drawn to doing destructive things,” Matthew Lutton says on the prolific number of devil-deals in the canon of Western storytelling. “It’s this idea that desire overwhelms our conscience — we inevitably want to do things that are bad for us rather than things that are good. Excess, addiction, gluttony, wealth, are all traditionally seen as sinful, so any quest to acquire more of anything — money, success, power, love — has often been aligned with evil forces.” The cultural familiarity of Black Rider’s plot is echoed in Waits’ music. The parallels are drawn thick and heavy through a mercurial mix of everyday musical styles, aping at well-known genres, but with an unmistakable undercurrent of rugged, ragged, raging Waits-brand individuality. “What Waits does remarkably well is writing songs that create the illusion of simplicity,” Lutton observes. “The style or the emotional timbre of a song might be seemingly straightforward, but under the surface, it’s full of contradictions and small musical references that transform the meaning. It’s one of those great things where it can be very popular because it sounds very simple and very accessible on face value, but as you hear more of it, as you experience it further, you realise that it’s knowingly full of misdirection, and that’s what makes it so rich.” In fact, this shifting musical vernacular is as vital to communicating the central essence of the story as any lyric or
Theatre
spoken dialogue. As Waits winds his way through a woozy catalogue of musical archetypes, his choice of genres draw in other subliminal threads. From Weimar-esque cabaret ditties to rock-infused blues ballads, garish, intoxicated shanties to wide-eyed, crazed Viennese waltzes; Waits’ cherry-picked styles all make sophisticated connections to various hedonistic subcultures, as if to amplify the notion of compromised Christian morality. “The music borders on madness at times. There’re Kanen Breen and Meow Meow in rehearsal with Matthew Lutton so many musical ideas going on from so many cultures. But it all somehow works. It’s a real Paul Capsis smorgasbord of eclectic styles but nothing feels out of place,” Lutton insists. “It’s a brilliant piece for anyone who’s never come to an opera before, because in many ways it’s not an opera at all. It’s jagged and surprising and fragmentary. It’s like a jazz cabaret disguised as an opera.” Black Rider was last seen in Australia in 2005, when maverick auteur Robert Wilson, who was involved in the creation of the work, brought his 1990 staging to the Sydney Festival. That production wore its Germanic heart on its sleeve, with a production that at once evoked the boxy woodcut prints of Deutsche folk art, the gothic, kinky camp of the Weimar Republic, and the severe and inscrutable experimentalism of the 20th-century avant-garde. With such a definitive and complex account already established, Lutton has
It’s a devil’s playground, except that this playground is actually made to kill people
brought all the available resources to bear on his new production. The artists in his cast are not just mere performers, but also theatre and cabaret makers in their own right. Lutton says their input has been invaluable. “This show is made for a collaborative approach. It has almost been written to invite a carnival of performers to sit down with the score and allocate its parts to the personalities in the room. And with this cast, that process has been truly extraordinary. Having a room of people that understand the style, that understand the insanity of this type of production, means we have been able to be ambitious. It’s turned out to be a very playful creative process. Everyone is willing to invent. Everyone is willing to create and throw their ideas in and fire things out and be extreme. So much of the show has been created through this kind of collaboration, that it’s found a really unexpected quality.”
Lutton and his cohort of co-conspirators have embraced Black Rider’s dark heart, while preserving the mischevious, unruly chutzpah of Waits’ kaleidoscopic score and Burroughs’ beat poetry. “We’ve created a world where, as we descend deeper and deeper into madness, it becomes more and more honest. It’s almost a disintegration of style throughout the show,” Lutton explains. “It’s set in a space that’s full of old, low-fi tech, trap doors and wires. At the start, we’re introduced to each character, and then we watch them as if they’re in a pinball machine. It’s like the product of the overactive imagination of a child; it’s a devil’s playground, except that this playground is actually made to kill people.”
What: Black Rider: The Casting Of Magic Bullets When & Where: Unill 8 Oct, at Malthouse Theatre, part of Melbourne Festival THE MUSIC • 20TH SEPTEMBER 2017 • 19
Music
Frontlash
Hell’s Belles
AlcoHollick This is the last week to catch Freya Josephine Hollick’s residency at innercity winery Noisy Ritual. There’s seriously no better way to spend your Sunday.
Mamma Mia New press pics have arrived from Nintendo and it turns out everyone’s fave plumber has NIPS! Weird/good as.
Lashes
Cholesteroliday
Pretty sure National Cheeseburger Day isn’t a thing but the Macca’s cheesy freebies were still much appreciated Monday.
Mario Nipples
Backlash Vote Yes
The postal vote has arrived - along with so many think-pieces and so few solid arguments against (read: none). With any luck the rats will all sink with their ship.
Big Cash
Danielle Bregoli, aka Bhad Bhabie, aka “Cash Me Outside” has just snagged a multi-million dollar record deal with Atlantic Records. Looking forward to that record.
Vale Harry Dean Stanton Among many, many other laurels Stanton was one of the best things in two of the best films ever, Alien and Escape From New York. He will be sorely missed.
20 • THE MUSIC • 20TH SEPTEMBER 2017
Regurgitator bassist Ben Ely share’s a few Strange Tales Of Drugs And Lost Love from his new solo record with Rod Whitfield.
W
hile there may be somewhat of a stigma attached to the term outside prog circles, the new solo record from Regurgitator’s Ben Ely could possibly be deemed to be an ‘autobiographical concept album’. There is a singular, very strong thread running through Strange Tales Of Drugs And Lost Love (yep, it’s all in the title) - that of his rather eventful and angsty upbringing in the suburbs of Brisbane. Stigma be damned, Ely does not shy away from the term, in fact, he embraces it. “That’s actually quite flattering, I love prog-rock,” he reveals, “it was my teenage years, I’m a big Rush fan, even though it doesn’t sound like it!” The city of Brisbane, as it was in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, plays a massive part in the memories that he drew upon when writing the album and constructing its world and imagery. “It was pretty crazy, looking back on Brisbane in that era,” he recalls. “If you were different in this town at that time, you were not very respected by the law, and out in general at concerts there were a lot of skinhead gangs and punk gangs around, there was a lot of violence, and if you were kind of an effeminate man with long blue hair or something, you’re going to attract a bit of attention.”
Ultimately, at that stage of his life, he felt he had to get out of Dodge to get away from that life and some of those experiences. But as we sit here now, those times and those memories have become a huge inspiration for him in writing the record. “I lived away from Brisbane for so long and then I just moved back at the start of last year,” he remembers. “Just moving around the city and going to different locations brought all these weird stories back. It’s weird, if you have that time away from a place where you grew up and then go back to it, your molecular structure has probably re-generated three or four times since you were there, and it’s almost like you were an entirely different person, but it was you, but it was not, if you know what I mean.” One particular memory of those times is very vivid for him, and was the inspiration for the album’s second track, the appropriately titled Amanda’s Lost It. “The second song is about my first girlfriend, who got possessed by the devil,” he deadpans. “She tried to stab me and then ran off into the forest and I chased her, and she thought these giant hellhounds were chasing her, and I had to calm her down. She said she thought she saw the devil and she thought the devil was in her. “For your first romance, it’s a weird setup for your life.” He is taking the record on tour nationally from late September through to early October, where he’ll strongly feature the new record, some of his older solo works and maybe even the odd re-imagined ‘Gurge track as well.
What: Strange Tales Of Drugs And Lost Love (Valve/MGM) When & Where: 22 Sep, Grace Darling Hotel; 23 Sep, Karova Lounge
TV
Puff Power Aussie YouTube superstar Wengie tells Emily Blackburn about the mind-blowing honour of being Australia’s fourth Powerpuff Girl.
B
eing the voice of the fourth Powerpuff girl is the dream YouTube megastar Wengie never knew she ever had, and is ‘the icing on the cake’ for a girl who grew up in Australia with Aussie TV. “I’m just really proud to be the Australian Powerpuff girl, who can say that? I’m so excited!” However, she almost passed on this once in a lifetime gig, as she initially thought the role was one major prank. “Cartoon Network actually reached out and sent me an email,” she recalls, “and at first I thought it was a prank almost. There’s only three Powerpuff Girls like, what is this email? I feel like this is a scam!”
Pic via Instagram
I’m like ‘Oh my gosh! How did you know I loved tea?!’ and then I realised I told the whole world that I like tea
punched myself for that,” she admits, offering a window on the methods used to get the perfect sound for her first ever voice acting role. “I couldn’t just make the sound. We were just standing there so I got really physical with myself, I was like punching myself, throwing [invisible] things...it was actually a lot of fun.” Wengie’s character Bliss shows striking similarities to her, especially with the newest Power Puff Girl’s blue hairstyle, despite not being directly based on her. “I think they created the character then thought ‘who would suit this?’ So when I actually read the role I thought ‘this is so me, this is literally me’... and she was also made from Chemical W!” she laughs at the coincidence, “there’s so many similarities there, it’s great!” Alongside landing the soon to be iconic role, Wengie is best known for her YouTube show, and as one of the planet’s most vibrant “influencers,” via her more than one million Instagram followers. While she is now a YouTube A-lister, she admits to not watching much on YouTube when she began her own vlog, taking her inspiration instead from online make-up guru Michelle Phan. “I read about her and then watched some of the videos because of that, so for me, it wasn’t really ‘Hey I’m onto a thing’ for me it’s just that I really enjoy making videos. “Every time we [her fiance Max works alongside her] choose a video concept we’ll have some rough ideas so we’ll write the scripts, we’ll have ideas on what shots we want then we’ll go out and buy the supplies and costumes and props and then that will come together and then we’ll pick a day to shoot that and then it gets edited, so it’s like a pretty big process.” Wengie is herself now a major influence on up and coming YouTubers, and was recently a featured speaker at Australia’s first Vid Con event. “It was amazing, there was so much support, so much community”, Wengie beams, showing how passionate she is for her followers. “I loved meeting my fans as well and hugging them. My favourite part of it is the meet and greet.” But is it really daunting having your public life on display all the time? “I think it’s a really strange feeling to have a lot of people know a lot about you, but you not knowing a lot about the other people. Then I always just forget people know stuff about me.
What: Powerpuff Girls When & Where: On Cartoon Network 23 Sep
Thankfully for Wengie, she got her team to investigate further. “After we realised it was real I was like, ‘Oh my god I need this! No matter what you do, I need this role!’ Then after that they were like ‘Oh wait, but you’ve gotta audition.’” The internet sensation describes that despite being on camera 24/7 with her successful YouTube channel, which boasts a whopping 8.5 million subscribers, her nerves were running high. “I’d never auditioned for anything. I don’t need to give my own permission to be on my own channel you know, so it was very nerve-wracking. “There’d be a scene where my character would get punched, and she would go ‘ow’ so I actually literally THE MUSIC • 20TH SEPTEMBER 2017 • 21
Music
Rock Hard Funk George Clinton’s career is an open book, one he insists has yet to reach its final chapter. The architect of P-Funk returns to tell Rip Nicholson his story.
“I
needed to tell my story. So in order to do that, I had to get famous again,” insists George Clinton of releasing his new album Medicaid Fraud Dog. “This is to let the people know that Atomic Dog and Mothership Connection are not the end of the story. So when you see Medicaid Fraud Dog, you’ll see Sir Nose is still out here fuckin’ up and Dr Funkenstein is out here inoculating people with the funk.” Breaking out of Motown’s stable of songwriters, the funkadelic relic’s first release came in 1967 with the song (I Wanna) Testify. Fifty years on, his latest Parliament album features Fred Wesley, Pee Wee Ellis and the great Sly Stone and follows on from First Ya Gotta Shake The Gate, a 2014 reunion of Funkadelic, his other funk incarnate band.
I have fun performing so it’s not a job. I feel like I’m on drugs even though I’m not on drugs anymore. The funk is my Viagra. While the man himself has been clean for the past decade, Clinton’s drug use, and its part in the creation of a lifetime catalogue of hits, has also been covered at length. One story, however, stands out from the pack. Backstage at a 1996 gig with Parliament, Clinton met the daughter of then US President Bill Clinton, Chelsea, with a lit crack pipe palmed behind his back. “I was gettin’ ready to light up. It was red-hot, burning the shit out of my hand, and I look at the picture they took ‘cause they had it in People magazine I [can] feel the pain in my hand as I look at the picture.” These past indiscretions are not something that Clinton is afraid to reflect on, nor is leaving them behind. “Getting off of drugs is a high too. It works both ways. Really. I’ve made doing drugs look hip and I made gettin’ off them look hip, too. And, I tell you, gettin’ off drugs is a better high. I got sick probably one time and that was enough. I took that as my warning and I was glad that I took it. “I have fun performing so it’s not a job. I feel like I’m on drugs even though I’m not on drugs anymore. The funk is my viagra. That’s why I’ll be hard when I get through.” Medicaid Fraud Dog is about just that journey, says Clinton; “People on meds all over the place, whether it’s legal or illegal,” something reflected in the title of the lead single that dropped back in August. “I’m Gon Make You Sick (Antidote),” shares Clinton. “Then I’mma give you the antidote.”
When & Where: 27 Sep, Palais Theatre
“We didn’t feel like putting anything commercial out until I got that court stuff with all the copyrights,” he confides of the album, the first completely new Funkadelic release in more than 30 years. Indeed, Clinton’s longstanding court battles with labels, most notably Bridgeport Music, for monies owed him from mammoth sample royalties are well-documented in Clinton’s memoir Brothas Be, Yo Like George, Ain’t That Funkin’ Kinda Hard On You?
22 • THE MUSIC • 20TH SEPTEMBER 2017
In Focus Lazer tits
Singing rock bangers about boss ladies and vegan milkshakes, there’s no good reason why this fine band are not already flashing frantically on your radar. Lazertits further demonstrated they’re total powerhouses with their Aubergine Dreams EP and this fierce quintet is the whole package, providing a little something for everyone: hilariously relatable lyrics, brash guitars and screeching riffs all tightly tied together in a tasty tumble of thrashing drums and supercharged vocals that are sure to get you all fired up. So get yourself down to one of these gigs: 25 Sep, Northcote Social Club; 30 Sep, The Old Bar; 2 Dec, Gizzfest, Melbourne Showgrounds. And shake those tatas for Lazertits!
THE MUSIC • 20TH SEPTEMBER 2017 • 23
Theatre
Wreak Havoc Is the constant stress of our ordered world getting you down? Discordia could be the religion you’ve been looking for. Maxim Boon joins the faithful with head Discordiant, Hannah Fox.
“S
orry if it’s a bit noisy. I’m just in the rehearsal studio and we’re trying to build a giant gold placenta.” These are the first words in an interview peppered with similarly surreal statements. But for installationist and performance curator Hannah Fox, this is just another day at the office. The strangely beautiful and beautifully strange are the tools of her trade, as she has pioneered a uniquely proactive approach to taking art on the fringes of more traditional practices and presenting it in surprising and unexpected contexts, including nightclubs, swimming pools, and even cupboards. It’s a talent that has won her the interests of some of the world’s most prestigious arts outfits, including Dark Mofo, MONA FOMA, London’s Tate Modern, and the UK’s famed Glastonbury Festival. However, her latest undertaking, in partnership with a collective of seven Melbourne-based
“Security came and shut us down because we tried to blow up a giant inflatable vagina in the middle of the foyer”
artists, including dancers, filmmakers, dramaturges, and photographers, is one of her most audaciously unusual projects to date — and that’s really saying something. In an immersive theatrical odyssey, exploring the spaces within the Arts Centre Melbourne, Fox and collaborators will be introducing Melbourne to a new religion, and it might just be the faith we’ve been looking for in these troubled times of North Korean nukes and divisive plebishites: Discordianism. As Fox explains, its principles are pure anarchy. “Chaos is the one thing you can truly rely on. Our constant attempts to create order, which
24 • THE MUSIC • 20TH SEPTEMBER 2017
humans naturally do in all sorts of ways — ordering our emotions, trying to pigeon-hole people, trying to categorise everything — inevitably creates fear of losing control. That need for order is the root of stress, oppression, anxiety, and basically everything that’s screwed up about our society,” Fox says. “So, we’re looking at a loss of control as a hopeful idea. Realising that chaos is the only thing that will always reign is actually deeply relaxing, if you really think about it.” While this foray into the spiritual began as a creative gambit, as the piece has developed, Fox and co have made believers out of themselves. “It started out as us kind of wanting to poke holes in the idea of organised religion and the politics behind it, to see how far we could run with that. But while we’ve been making the piece, we’ve started to actually believe in Discordianism. That’s when things started to get really interesting,” Fox admits. “I was like, ‘Wow. This is how it starts.’ Actually, the process of making a piece of theatre shares a lot in common with starting a religion. You begin with a story, and that becomes a mythology that you start to look for in everything you’re doing. And then you start to find those principles appearing in the world around you. The next thing you know, you’re recruiting — and it genuinely has happened that way for us. We really have come to believe in this concept that order is actually a really negative framework.” Immersive performance is nothing new, in fact it’s so prevelent overseas that in cultural hubs like London and New York, immersive productions have almost become something of a contemporary theatre cliche. However, Discordia is taking the concept to another plain of existence entirely. The performance itself will be framed as a roaming documentary, revealing the bizarre practices of the rose-puce spandex-clad Discordiants — narrated by the incomparable Lee Lin Chin. The audience will be encouraged to engage with unfamiliar customs as they discover Discordianism’s rituals, including a pink-foodonly diet, and its most sacred space, the Womb Room. Even after the performance concludes, Fox and her fellow faithful will be attempting to have Discordianism recognised as an official, legally binding religion in Australia (for tax purposes, of course). The piece, while radical in its scope and ambition, was hand-picked from 99 submissions for the inaugural Take Over! Scheme; a new initiative for artists to make sitespecific work at the Arts Centre Melbourne for the 2017 Fringe Festival. However, it seems that the Arts Centre may have gotten more than they bargained for when they commissioned Fox and her team. Creating a work about chaos in a building as rigorously marshalled as the ACM has been a challenge, but also oddly formative, Fox reveals: “It’s been interesting trying to create any genuine level of chaos in a place that is ultimately pretty risk-averse. Every inch of the building is under surveillance, and we kept getting in trouble. We were rehearsing and some security came and shut us down because we tried to blow up a giant inflatable vagina in the middle of the foyer without really telling anyone or asking for permission. We’ve had to work really hard to bring some genuine chaos into that space.”
What: Discordia When & Where: 27 Sep — 1 Oct, Melbourne Fringe Festival, Arts Centre Melbourne
Music
Team Sports
Cub Sport frontman Tim Nelson tells Rod Whitfield that BATS is the product of some massive personal development, from new relationships to collaborating with some of Australia’s most lauded musicians.
B
risbane-based pop/soul four-piece Cub Sport are about to release their ultragroovy second album BATS. Frontman and key songwriter Tim Nelson shares that he had some high-profile help with one of the tracks on the album, and that this seriously put him out of his writing and recording comfort zone. “There were a couple of co-writes on the album,” he explains. “I wrote Give It To Me (Like You Mean It) with Sarah Blasko. That was a really different writing experience for me. I’d never really been a part of a song that was based around a ukulele. When she started playing the ukulele part, when we were in the studio together, at first I said, ‘Hmm, I don’t know how I’m going to go writing around this.’ But then it kinda just flowed.” So much so that that the most spontaneous, off the cuff performances of that track were the ones that made it through to the final cut. “She went into the recording room to record the ukulele part,” he recalls, “I stayed in the control room with the producer we were working with. I had a mic in there just to record a guide vocal. I recorded it, and the one that ended up on the album is the first time that I sang through it.
“When I went into the vocal booth to record my proper vocals, I couldn’t remember anything that I’d sung. We listened to the guide vocal and decided to just go with that.” Something that strikes the listener upon initial listens to the record is the sheer variety of sounds and styles that the band has utilised across the course of the record’s running length. Nelson attributes this, at least in part, to the gamut of feelings he happened to be going through during the writing and recording process. “It was just about getting them to a place where they felt right for what the song was,” he says. “There was a variety of emotions that I was feeling that I was trying to put into music. I think that’s where the stylistic broadness of the album comes from.” Indeed, Nelson has been through a great deal of change and upheaval in his personal life over the past few years, and this cannot help but have an effect on his creative output. “Across the last couple of years, there’s been a lot of personal development,” he states, “in that time, Sam [keyboardist Sam Netterfield] and I have come out, and entered a relationship together. And navigating the last album campaign was a really new experience as well, and it’s been a highly emotional time. So the album was written from a very vulnerable place.” The band are waiting for fans to truly get their heads around the record before they head out on tour in support of it, the tour kicking off in February next year. “They’re our biggest shows that we’ve ever played,” Nelson enthuses, “I don’t think we ever dreamed that we’d be headlining the Metro in Sydney!”
What: BATS (Independent) When & Where: 25 Nov, Grapevine, Rochford Wines; 28 Dec, Beyond The Valley, Lardner; 3 & 4 Mar, Corner Hotel
Hate Doesn’t Pay
Sydney skies were hijacked on Sunday when a sky-writing service plastered the clear blue yonder with an ugly “VOTE NO” slogan, not once, not twice, but four bloody times. Needless to say, most people who have half an ounce of empathy thought the stunt was 100% fucked, and as it turns out, that includes the good people at GoFundMe. Here’s the sitch: the organisers of the skywriting attempted to fund the stunt via the crowdfunding service, raising $3050 of their $4000 target. However, GoFundMe froze access to the funds, telling the anonymous organisers that they would only release the money if they revealed their identities, as per the site’s terms and conditions. Our hearts bleed for the conservative straight people behind the funding campaign, who were outraged at being asked to reveal themselves to face the ensuing discrimination from the Yes campaign. That’s right, the new victims of bigotry in Australia are not the LGBTQ people being asked to tick a box that decides if they can have fundamental human rights, it’s in fact the homophobes who can’t afford to pay for their hate propaganda. And while we’re on the topic, The Music proudly supports the LGBTQ community and its right to equal dignity. We’ll be voting yes, and we reckon you should too.
THE MUSIC • 20TH SEPTEMBER 2017 • 25
Gettin’ Tighter Music
Burn Baby Burn In the lead-up to his upcoming tour of Australia, where Glenn Hughes will perform a set of classic Deep Purple tracks, we asked him to narrow his focus down a bit and tell us his five favourite songs of the band’s to play and why.
This was written by myself and the late, great Tommy Bolin at my house in Beverley Hills, in the Summer of 1975, just after Tommy joined the band. This rock groove song came about while Tommy and I were jamming, and when we played the tape back, we found this gem amidst the jamming, and developed it from there. It happens to be one of my favourite Purple songs that I still play live because not only does it give me an opportunity to go into an extended bass solo, it’s also a tip of the hat to the California Jam era when I incorporate the ‘Dance To The Rock And Roll’ section in the middle of the live version. I always dedicate this to Tommy each night, the memories come back and it’s nice to bring the love home on this song.
Burn
Might Just Take Your Life
This song was majestically written in the dungeon of Clearwell Castle, in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, UK. As you can imagine being in a 18th century castle, this song literally raised the roof and shook the foundations. Performing Burn live through all of the decades has given the audience and myself a huge lift. Something happens in Burn every night when it seems louder than every other song in the show; it’s like an increase in intensity and energy. I’m honoured to have co-written one of the ‘70s most epic rock songs. This is Deep Purple MK3’s signature song and is still played live and on the radio around the world to millions of people.
Starting with Jon Lord’s strident Hammond stabs, this is a propulsive, marching song which breaks down into the deep groove of the verse where David Coverdale and I split lead vocals and get those unmistakable MK3 harmonies going. This song has so much swagger and movement, a massive chorus... it draws you in instantly and doesn’t let go. It is still a fan favourite and I love to play it and hear them singing along.
You Keep On Moving Written by David [Coverdale] and myself in the Summer of 1973, just after we’d both just joined Purple. It was originally written to go on Burn, but it was never recorded so it never made it on the album. We revisited it for Come Taste The Band where it ended up being the last recorded song by MK4, and also the last track on the album, so a very poignant song to play live. A soulful and melodic song to sing, with that simple but instantly recognisable bass line introduction. A beautiful piece.
This Time Around This was written with my brother Jon Lord, late one night in the autumn of 1975 in Musicland Studios, Munich whilst recording Come Taste The Band. Jon and I were alone, and when he started playing the introduction chords, I immediately started to sing the melody. It was so simple, so haunting, yet it came together so quickly. I wrote the lyrics there and then, and the whole thing was written, both music and lyrics, in about an hour. I performed this live at the Royal Albert Hall in the Spring of 2014 at the Jon Lord memorial concert, and I was overcome with love. I’m so grateful to have written this with Jon as I believe that this is a timeless piece of music, and every time I sing it live, I’m carrying the message of Eternal Love.
When & Where: 29 Sep, Hamer Hall
26 • THE MUSIC • 20TH SEPTEMBER 2017
Indie Indie
Fanny Lumsden
Charlie Threads
What’s your favourite song on it? Easily Fall, it was a true breakthrough for me as an artist. I finally started to understand songwriting fully. We’ll like this EP if we like... I have no comparisons for this one, I truly feel its in a league of its own. Sonically, it’s industrial, but the content is noncomparable in my opinion.
EP Focus
A
fter winning the ARPA Award for Country, a Golden Guitar, a CMC award, and earning herself an ARIA nomination, it’s no wonder the name Fanny Lumsden is on every country fan’s lips. Raised in western NSW, Lumsden’s honest and often highly articulate Australiana songs focus on life in the country as it is, rather than as it was. With a new full-length album entitled Real Class Act being released 22 September, now’s the perfect time to claim your status as a Lumsden fan before her Aussie brand of alt-country takes the nation by storm. Written as Lumsden and her band toured the Australian countryside in a vintage 1978 Millard Caravan, she describes the process of “getting rid of most of our stuff and playing anywhere from halls to caves to backyards” as an experience that formed the thematic backbone of the new record. Following the tour, Lumsden contacted producer Matt Fell to put her experiences onto wax. “We went into the studio for three weeks, sleeping there, working there. We love working with Matt as he is hugely creative and does his best work when he is locked out of his house and can’t go home,” recalls Lumsden. Describing herself as “not a details person” that would trade vibes over perfection any day, Lumsden used her 15-month tour to experiment with many of the songs featured on Real Class Act. With 12 new songs on the record, Lumsden singles out the harmony filled Real Men Don’t Cry as her personal favourite. “Even though it’s a serious message, playing it live is always filled with joy for some reason.”
When & Where: 14 Oct, Out On The Weekend, Seaworks; 10 Feb, Spotted Mallard
Answered by: Bryce Gould EP Title? Rainy Weather Music
When and where is your launch/ next gig? Pull up to Boney, 5 Oct. This one is gonna be lit! Website link for more info? facebook.com/charliethreads
How many releases do you have now? I have two full-length mixtapes out, Incognito and Palm Trees In Graveyards. Was anything in particular inspiring you during the making? I was totally inspired by the vibe gloomy Melbourne weather gives, the feeling of sitting on the train looking out on the river as you pull into Flinders. I had to create about it.
Happy Wanderer Festival
Festival Focus Answered by: Mark Foletta — Festival Director Give us a brief outline of the festival’s history: It started with a farm working bee cutting back the Happy Wanderer plant and some songs around the fire. Now it’s a music festival run by friends, all passionate about local music and the land. What’s been your favourite moment from the festival? Definitely the Duck Race. We auction off rubber duckies and race them down the river. So much fun and shenanigans it’s hard to keep up. The intimate Bower Stage sets are also very special. Who are some of the acts playing this time around? True to our usual style we’ve got a bit
of everything with Didirri, Echo Drama, Immigrant Union, The Senegambian Jazz Band, Super Magic Hats, Hollie Joyce, Hot Wings and Liv Cartledge to name a few. What makes your festival different to the multitude of other festivals out there? There’s an emphasis on sharing the farm and connecting to the land. Even new festival-goers talk about feeling like they’ve come home. What’s made you keep the stage on the back of a truck? The truck is pretty special to the festival. The old girl is still used to cart hay here on the farm. We’ve all got a bit of an attachment to her. Any tips for first timers heading along? And even though it’s BYO, leave your cans at home. The wine is from grapes grown here on the farm and there’s local craft beer on tap. When & where is the festival? 3 - 6 Nov, Benalla Website link for more info: happywandererfestival.com
THE MUSIC • 20TH SEPTEMBER 2017 • 27
Album / E Album/EP Reviews
Album OF THE Week
The Killers Wonderful Wonderful
Island Universal
★★★★
Being a band as iconic in recent rock history as The Killers comes with great expectation when releasing new music, but drummer Ronnie Vannucci Jr, bassist Mark Stoermer, guitarist Dave Keuning and charismatic frontman Brandon Flowers seem to exceed expectations every time — as is the case with their fifth studio album Wonderful Wonderful. Sonically, the album features a lot of rich, warm synth textures enhancing songs like the heavy, emotional Some Kind Of Love, the fast-paced drive of Run For Cover, and catchily repetitive Out Of My Mind. Funk infused The Man is the feel-good album highlight — it’s retro and upbeat, though Flower’s confidence does (no doubt purposefully) border on arrogance. In contrast, sombre closer Have All The Songs Been Written? is a bit of a deep, poetic, ballad. Lyrically, Flowers explores dealing with growing up and looking back on childhood through that new adult lens, referencing watching Buster Douglas knock out an undefeated Mike Tyson in on Tyson Vs Douglas, which opens by sampling audio from the legendary 1990 fight. Wonderful Wonderful is supposed to be The Killers ‘grown up’ album — and it is. It’s personal, authentic, and reveals a maturity they haven’t shown before. Madelyn Tait
Cub Sport
British India
BATS
Forgetting The Future
Independent
Liberation
★★★
★★★
Cub Sport’s lead singer Tim Nelson wastes no time baring his soul on the band’s latest release, BATS. “I don’t even know what I want out of life, what I’m chasin’,” he declares on the opener, Chasin’. It’s a statement at odds with the band’s recent trajectory. Only 18 months after the release of This Is Our Vice, the Brisbane quartet seem to have a firm grip on their own destiny, a notion cemented after Nelson took on the production and recording reins on BATS from his own home. It all makes for a stirring start with R&B and soul influences shining through on Good Guys Go and lead single O Lord. The latter is a near gospel song, Nelson reflecting on the monumental impact his relationship with bandmate Sam Netterfield has had since
Is it possible that the rock world has run out of great choruses? Not that every group should be pumping out sing-along anthems, but when it comes to the art of the three-minute alt-rock song, a sticky chorus can perform miracles for this slightly tired genre. Enter the latest album from Melbourne indie rockers British India titled Forgetting The Future. Although fully functional as a listenable piece of production-enhanced indie rock, Forgetting The Future should be a warning to all emerging alt rockers who aspire to become great, not just satisfying. This may all sound a bit harsh, but it’s only because alternative rock is a genre worth speaking up for. As an instrumental force, British India can certainly do more than just hold down the rhythm.
28 • THE MUSIC • 20TH SEPTEMBER 2017
becoming public knowledge, and is a clear standout in the outfit’s catalogue. But while soft-spoken lyrics and catchy grooves are prominent, the album’s focus begins to wane. At times BATS plays to Cub Sport’s strengths; Nelson’s vocals, emotional honesty and a band capable of building an impressive wall of sound. But too often it strays into pastiche, with that ideal balance something they are still chasing in the end. Lewis Isaacs
Guitarist Nic Wilson displays a great level of technical prowess here, but with too much mid-tempo material and a tendency to try and spice things up with a blistering solo, his commendable skills feel sadly wasted. Likewise, lead singer Declan Melia has the perfect set of pipes for the job, only to be let down by some unfortunately flat choruses. Forgetting The Future feels like a sparkler bomb in a genre that once held nukes. Donald Finlayson
EP Reviews Album/EP Reviews
The Horrors
Jordan Rakei
King Parrot
Cut Copy
V
Wallflower
Ugly Produce
Haiku From Zero
Wolftone/Caroline
Ninja Tune/Inertia
EVP
Astralwerks/EMI
★★★★
★★★½
★★★½
★★★½
The big-hair goths who started out punk and then dabbled in psychedelics turn out a darkly swirling album that features clangorous industrial synths backed up with ferocious rock attitude. The Tubeway Army is out in force on Hologram, the synths dealing obvious Numan-esque vibes. The crushing throb of Machine offers intense industrial nightmares suggesting Suede in a punch-up with The Sisters Of Mercy. Despite the lovelorn melancholia that vocalist Faris Badwan deals, The Horrors, gunning for the favour of a different demographic, give us their most pop moments while wearing Bowie and assortment of post punk influences on their sleeves.
If you’ve woken in a sweat worrying about Jack Johnson putting down his acoustic and picking up a Korg, don’t worry, Jordan Rakei already has you covered. After shedding his debut, Cloak, Rakei has picked up a collection of sensitivities to add to his soul style, steering away from the rougher auteur elements that originally endeared or intrigued — ambient deviations and break-beat constructions — sliding instead into an introspective funk. Rakei’s rhythms are skinrakingly soothing and his voice is anachronistically attenuated to an evaporated era, singing Wallflower as a shy piece of work, a current-smoothed river stone sparkling in a bed of thousands.
Extreme metallers King Parrot take their mastery of mixing chaotic, brutal sounds and depraved themes to the next level on Ugly Produce. Produced by Jason Fuller of Blood Duster fame at his renowned Goatsound Studio, King Parrot’s sound has grown nastier and turned up the viciousness while the lyrics detail stories for the common man about smashing beers on Piss Wreck and aiming low on lead single Ten Pounds Of Shit In A Five Pound Bag. Ugly Produce has the band blurring the lines between the many genres of metal with the same fury that has endeared them to fans around the globe and given them plenty to squawk about.?
Melbourne’s electro popsters return with their first album in four years. Consolidating on what they do best, this album centres more on ‘80s electro pop and disco but with their roots deep in ‘90s dance music, Cut Copy always tend toward spinning blissed-out summer of love euphoric vibes. It’s here where electric dreams and more painful realities collide. The light and breezy vibe walks the line between unfettered joy and sadness in equal proportions. Dan Whitford’s rather flat and plaintive vocals maintain a dreamy but melancholy presence dealing lyrics of bittersweet heartbreak and the optimistic possibilities of new beginnings.
Lewis Isaacs
Guido Farnell
Guido Farnell
Nic Addenbrooke
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theMusic.com.au
Satyricon Deep Calleth Upon Deep
Food Court Good Luck
THE MUSIC • 20TH SEPTEMBER 2017 • 29
Live Re Live Reviews
Make Them Suffer @ Max Watts. Pic: Clinton Hatfield
Dashboard Confessional, Far Away Stables Forum Theatre 13 Sep
Make Them Suffer @ Max Watts. Pic: Clinton Hatfield
Alpha Wolf @ Max Watts. Pic: Clinton Hatfield
Dashboard Confessional @ Forum Theatre. Pic: Jaz Meadows
Dashboard Confessional @ Forum Theatre. Pic: Jaz Meadows
30 • THE MUSIC • 20TH SEPTEMBER 2017
Dashboard Confessional @ Forum Theatre. Pic: Jaz Meadows
Well suited for an audience of misanthropes and hopeless romantics, Far Away Stables bring a sound that blends progressive rock, metalcore and emo into one tight package. With chugging guitars that recall alternative metal acts such as Tool and Periphery, the band lay down the masonry for vocalist Brendan Sheargold to wail and scream over. While much more confrontational than their headlining friends, the audience is receptive to a little vinegar before their honey. Originally a solo acoustic project for frontman Chris Carrabba’s friends and family to enjoy, Dashboard Confessional come to Forum Theatre tonight as a rocking four-piece band with no intention of ever slowing down. “This one is about a girl, from, uh, Melbourne, Australia,” jokes Carrabba before the crowd erupts into laughter and cheers. Displaying his prowess of acoustic-pop and anthemic emo, Carrabba’s aching tenor is in fine form this evening as he continues to nail the howls and screams that often form the climax of his most intimate works. Singing along and loving every minute of it, the passion of the crowd in here tonight is a clear reminder of how powerful an honest ballad can be. While Carrabba’s lyrics are certainly simple and straight to the point, as the crowd screams every word to the 2001 mega-hit Hands Down we’re reminded that often honesty truly is the best policy. Playing a mix of hits from his lonely acoustic days to the more rocking band era of the early ‘00s, there’s
something here for Dashboard Confessional fans of all ages. Carrabba informs the crowd that their back-up singing may be featured on the band’s upcoming album hence expressing a wish for everyone in attendance to become a
Melbourne has always been good to me, you guys can really sing! And the girls, well... part of his music forever. Obviously, the room explodes with audible anticipation that ranges from high-pitched squeals to deep roars. With the last album from Dashboard Confessional released in 2009, the band treat the crowd to two new songs from their upcoming release that distinctly recall their mid-’00s era on A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar. “Melbourne has always been good to me, you guys can really sing! And the girls, well...” Always a ladies’ man, Carrabba launches into the heartfelt relationship song Screaming Infidelities. With the theatre packed full of adoring fans, you’ve got to wonder how badly Carrabba’s exes must regret breaking up with the guy. But, then again, these timeless songs wouldn’t exist if they hadn’t. Donald Finlayson
eviews Live Reviews
Make Them Suffer, Wage War, Alpha Wolf, DREGG Max Watt’s 16 Sep
DREGG combine a whole bunch of sounds, styles and looks, and channel it all into a rather entertaining package. Kinda nu-metal in look and general aesthetic, they throw a little of the influence of that particular sub-genre into their sound as well; especially in the vocal department, although with extra harshness. Add in some rock, some grind, their short, ultra-impactful tunes and a rather over the top, extroverted performance and you have yourself a killer opening set. Alpha Wolf explode onto the stage next, spitting venom and shifting from slow, grinding, low-end dirge to blast-beat insanity on a
Make Them Suffer’s bombastic, orchestral feel and use of ethereal female vocals amid the grind are what sets them apart in this scene. dime, with DREGG’s vocalist Christopher Mackertich joining them onstage during the first song. The trade-off vocals between frontman Aidan Ellaz and bassist John Arnold are intense, as both have a similar range and coarse tone,
and the appearance of some occasional soaring cleans provides welcome relief from the cacophonous roars. Inciting an insane circle-pit, Ellaz whips the already-capacity crowd into frenzy for the twinheadliners to follow. This band pours about as much intensity into a 30-minute set as is humanly possible. The completely soldout, jam-packed crowd are completely beside themselves by the time American monsters Wage War assault the stage on their first-ever Aussie tour. You can tell all five members are ecstatic to be here; especially frontman Briton Bond who prowls the stage with the confidence and prowess of a hungry lion on the hunt and howls his positive, life-affirming lyrics like his life depends on it. He sounds like he has a bag of nails in his throat as he sings (in the best way possible). Guitarist Cody Quistad’s sweet, soaring cleans provide the perfect counterbalance to Bond’s dry-lunged bellowing and the band slam out a 40-minute set that leaves their adoring fans in rapture. Twin-barrelled closers Don’t Let Me Fade Away and Twenty One are particularly stirring. The crowd become even more passionate as they belt out a rousing rendition of Bon Jovi’s Livin’ On A Prayer while waiting for Perth powerhouse Make Them Suffer to make their appearance. Their new album Worlds Apart is a mature and progressive departure from their original sound and has been released to virtually wall-to-wall acclaim. As if in celebration of this, they open with the first two songs in tracklisted order: The First Movement followed by Uncharted. In fact, the entire set is absolutely, understandably, heavily weighted to material from the new album with a few
of their older, heavier tunes (such as Weeping Wastelands and Widower) thrown in for grunt and dynamics. Make Them Suffer’s bombastic, orchestral feel and use of ethereal female vocals amid the grind are what sets them apart in this scene. Already a world-class symphonic deathcore outfit, Make Them Suffer have reached a whole new level again in their songcraft with the release of their latest album and their live show has increased significantly in stature and spectacle as well. Intricate and precise in its foundation, and brutishly passionate in delivery, their presentation is all splendour and majesty; more than capable of appealing to the deathcore kids and aficionados of the more progressive styles of heavy music at the same time. Make Them Suffer are phenomenal and formidable this night, and the throngs walk away exhausted but ecstatic, content in the fact that they just witnessed an evening of supreme-grade extreme music.
More Reviews Online theMusic.com.au/ music/live-reviews
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Rod Whitfield
THE MUSIC • 20TH SEPTEMBER 2017 • 31
Arts Reviews Arts Reviews
ramshackle to reflect worlds beyond the looking glass while also referencing memorable snippets of other famous ballet scores such as Tchaikovsky’s The Sleeping Beauty. Cleverly, Wheeldon’s production gradually escalates in mayhem from Act I (which Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland commences with human characters before spiralling down the rabbit hole) through Act II (enter Dance The Cheshire Cat, The Mad Hatter and The Until 30 Sep, Caterpillar) into Act III (which enters total Arts Centre nutbar territory with The Queen Of Hearts Melbourne holding court). Crowley’s innovative costume design sees a wig shaped into The Mad ★★★★½ Hatter’s ears. There’s unparalleled beauty It has to be said throughout Wheeldon’s Alice’s Adventures In that Lewis Carroll’s Wonderland (that falling rose petal-shaped fanciful book with its confetti!) as well as side-splitting hilarity (Amy LSD-spiked plot is a Harris as The Queen Of Hearts boasts perfect designer’s dream so comic timing during The Sleeping Beauty’s the wow-factor of Rose Adagio pastiche). The Australian Ballet Alice’s Adventures In company’s characterisation is exceptional Wonderland is pretty across the board; just how Adam Bull much guaranteed simultaneously twitches and pirouettes as even before the State The White Rabbit is beyond comprehension Theatre curtain rises and this Principal Artist never disappoints. to reveal the setting Speaking of star turns, Kevin Jackson dons of a garden party tap shoes to add human percussion as The in Oxford, 1862. Mad Hatter and his constantly changing Projection designers facial expressions dazzle as much as that (Gemma Carrington remarkable costume. Ultimately, it’s Act III and Jon Driscoll), of Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland that Crowley’s masterful totally charms our (hopefully candy-cane sets and costumes pinstriped a la The Mad Hatter) pants off. plus the puppetry Does the spectacle swallow up Wheeldon’s design of Toby Olie choreography? Probably, but as our eyes bring this 21sthappily roam from Alice to Queen, flamingo century ballet to life, mallet to hedgehog ball (whether dancer or ensuring seemingly prop) we care not. impossible scenes Pure escapism, Wheeldon’s Alice’s are recreated live Adventures In Wonderland is an absolute joy (even if a puppet to behold. And our audience experience is version of Alice, further enhanced when State Theatre’s lush, elegantly and burgundy curtain rises for a special extra curtain call this evening: the Australian Ballet effortlessly danced company are revealed, holding up “Yes” by Ako Kondo, is signs or letter-balloons spelling out the clear required in order message that all onstage stand united in to do so). Joby supporting equal rights for all Australians. Talbot’s score
Alice’s Adventures
mother!
In Wonderland
is appropriately
Bryget Chrisfield
32 • THE MUSIC • 20TH SEPTEMBER 2017
mother! Film In cinemas now
★★★½ Any good artist, especially one with a few critical and commercial successes to their credit, has perhaps earned the right to go off the rails a little. With his new film mother! (yes, the lower-case m and the exclamation mark are intentional), Aronofsky goes off the rails a lot. With mixed results. There’s some breathtaking filmmaking here when it comes to the establishment and escalation of unease — unease that mutates into confusion, dread, mayhem and chaos — as I said, not exactly a fun night at the flicks. And the cast is clearly up for any challenge the material presents, with Jennifer Lawrence setting the pace in an incredibly demanding role. She plays the mother of the title (she’s never given another name), the young wife of a famous writer (credited as Him and played by No Country for Old Men’s Javier Bardem) who is struggling to create his latest work. Selflessly providing love and support by restoring their damaged country house into a warm, welcoming home, she is put out when a man (Ed Harris) shows up unannounced and is offered a room for the night by her husband. The next morning, a woman (Michelle Pfeiffer, hard and brilliant as a diamond) — the man’s wife — shows up and makes herself just as home. Then the couple’s squabbling sons show up. And that is only the beginning of an invasion of privacy that starts as an inconvenience and gradually spirals into outright insanity. Mother! has made much of keeping its plot points a mystery, so I won’t reveal just what the carnage that envelopes Lawrence’s character represents or just how far it goes. But it does go pretty far, far enough to disturb and even distress. However, once you twig to what this anarchy symbolises, it’s hard not to feel a slight sense of disappointment, as if a great deal of effort has gone into making a fairly obvious point. Guy Davis
OPINION Opinion
Howzat!
Local Music By Jeff Jenkins Ghost Stories Dan Flynn’s new album, Ghost Melodies, is aptly titled because these melodies will haunt you. Howzat! had Dan pegged as an earnest folkie, but this record is an enthralling electro excursion. “I guess after eight folk albums I was ready to try something new,” says Dan, who started his solo recording career under the name Major Chord. “The acoustic guitar can sometimes feel like just a piece of wood with six strings when you’re feeling uninspired, and trying a new instrument can really open things up and get you excited about songwriting again.” Dan, a fan of The Cure, Pink Floyd and Radiohead, says he’s always loved synthesisers. “I love the fact that you can fiddle with machines that look like they belong in Star Trek and make strange and beautiful sounds.” Dan bunkered down in his home studio, making Ghost Melodies alone, at night. It’s a true solo album, with Dan playing everything on the record, which he says is “the sound of the inside of my mind”. Is there a danger of going a little crazy when you make music on your own?
“I always go a little crazy when making an album, whether it’s by myself or with other people. I think it’s kind of necessary to do so in order to reach into the ether and draw out the songs. Songwriting is a very mysterious pursuit, it involves real magic and you just can’t find it unless you’re willing to part with some reality.” Does Dan have a sounding board, a trusted listener who can comment honestly on his songs? “My wife is chief among them. Literally nothing gets past unless it gets her approval! When you’re making music all alone you can certainly lose perspective, but I often think of what Elliott Smith once said: ‘If you like it, there’s a good chance that others will too.’” Dan is not planning any album gigs - “the songs just exist as they are”. Don’t miss it.
Dan Flynn
The Future Is Now There aren’t many great bands around these days. British India are a great band. They’re shooting for their fifth Top 10 album in a row with their sixth album, Forgetting The Future, which is out on Friday. Hip Hip Nick Cave turns 60 on 22 Sep. Hot Line “I know I couldn’t need you more than now” British India, Take Me With You.
THE MUSIC • 20TH SEPTEMBER 2017 • 33
OPINION Opinion
Trai ler Tra s h
Wa ke The Dead
Brand New
Punk And With
I’m calling it — 2017 is the year of dropping an album unannounced. Sarah Petchell First it was Mindsnare with their little “let’s throw our new full-length record everyone’s been waiting a million years for in with 7” pre-orders” trick. And now it is Brand New. We’ve been waiting eight years for a new album from the Long Island band, and they finally dropped it with the unexpected release of Science Fiction back in August. Though the level of surprise at the drop wasn’t as intense or as sneaky as the Mindsnare release, it still felt like it came way out of left field. We’ve been hearing about new music from the band since 2009 — right after they released their last album, Daisy. We’ve been teased with new music and reworked demos sporadically between then and now, but nothing concrete really dropped. Fans have even been tormented by hints (some subtle, some not so much) that 2018 would be the year the band would break up. But instead, we got a fantastic new album that went from a pre-order to hearing the entire new album in just a couple of days. The surprise nature of the release and the way it all played out has increased the mystery and mythology surrounding the band. So the question now remains, will the mysterious prophecy come true? Is this really the last new music we will hear from Brand New? Are they really done? It could make a great plot for a fantasy novel really...
Fragmented Frequencies George Benson – White Rabbit
Other Music From The Other Side With Bob Baker Fish
O
k. I’m going to write two words and I don’t want you to judge me. Because, believe me, no one is judging me harder than myself right now. But please hear me out. “Smooth jazz.” Yeah, I know, but lately I can’t get enough. I blame politics. From Trump to the homophobic idiocy of the marriage plebiscite, there’s no doubt in my mind that psychotic lunatics control the word. And in this time of uncertainty and chaos, the
34 • THE MUSIC • 20TH SEPTEMBER 2017
mother!
smooth inoffensive, funky warmth of Grover Washington Jr and George Benson have offered me a peculiar kind of solace. It started innocently enough, I found A Wilder Alias, the 1974 album from husband and wife vocalists Jackie Cain and Roy Kral on Creed Taylor’s legendarily smooth CTI records. With wordless vocals and funky fusion sounds from saxophonist Joe Farrell and percussionist Steve Gadd, it was loud, adventurous and playful and I was seduced by the gatefold packaging. So when I spied George Benson’s 1972 White Rabbit, with the likes of Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Billy Cobham I couldn’t resist. It’s so funky-smooth, possessed by swingingyet-safe covers of California Dreamin and Jefferson Airplane’s White Rabbit. From Deodato to Ron Carter, Bob James to Freddie Hubbard it’s all been CTI. Taylor had produced at Verve, brought Coltrane to Impulse and was given free reign on CTI to blur jazz and pop to bring jazz to the masses. In this crazy, mixed-up world it’s the only thing getting me by.
OPINION Opinion
Dives Into Your
I
’m gonna assume that those of you Screens who want to see Darren Aronofsky’s And Idiot Boxes new movie mother! — or at the very With Guy Davis least, those of you who want to see it unencumbered by spoilers — will have done so by now. Having said that, this edition of Trailer Trash is going to look at the alleged ‘mystery’ of mother!, and how what Aronofsky slaps onto the screen is open to a wide variety of interpretations. So, read no further if you watch to catch this movie down the track a ways with a tabula rasa. In news that should surprise not a single functioning brain stem, mother! earned itself a dubious honour after its first weekend in cinemas when American moviegoers took to their internets to give the film an F rating on the poll site CinemaScore. Now I say dubious honour, but in actual fact there have been a fair few terrific (and at least one or two interesting) films that have gotten similar scores over the years. Soderbergh’s Solaris remake. The Brad Pitt-Andrew Dominik crime drama Killing Them Softly. Donnie Darko writer-director Richard Kelly’s mindfuck The Box — that last one goes in the interesting category. What’s the common denominator here? Maybe that these movies confound expectations or ask their audience to decipher its particular code. Qualities like ambiguity don’t really play on a Saturday night. Now please don’t take this as an impassioned defence of mother! or as a claim that it’s some misunderstood masterpiece — hell, it might be, but it also might take me a little while and a few revisits to see how well it sticks and/or burrows into my psyche. I mean, when I walked out of mother! I was simultaneously impressed by Aronofsky’s talent for orchestrating dread and mayhem and his facility with actors but also a little peeved that so much sound and fury signified... well, not much. Because I saw it as a thinly-veiled allegory for the creative process, with the various indignities visited upon the title character played by Jennifer Lawrence as symbolic of the process’ corrosive effect upon an artist’s inspiration or muse, often by the artist themselves. More than one wag has pointed out that the only review of mother! worth a damn would be by Aronofsky’s ex-wife Rachel Weisz. But then I started reading reviews and, Gaia help me, thinkpieces, and what I thought was the big reveal of mother! turned out to
be — gasp! — just another opinion by just another asshole. Both Aronofsky and J-Law have gone on the record as saying they see the chaos and calamity of the film, especially its bugfuck-crazy third act, as representative of humanity screwing up the environment, with the escalating abuse of Lawrence-asmother analogous of abuse of Mother Earth. (Wow, and I thought I’d picked the obvious symbolism!) But then you’ve got a whole heap of religious allegory in there as well, from the names given to characters in the credits (you’ve got ‘Zealot’, ‘Novitiate’, ‘Good Samaritan’ and, um, ‘Pisser’) to Javier Bardem’s creator character using the very Godly phrase “I am I” as a self-description. What to make of all this then? To quote Twitter, “It’s to Darren Aronofsky’s credit that people leave mother! with roughly ten different readings of the story that they all think are correct.” So be prepared to smuggle your brain into the cinema if you decide to catch mother! Which, honestly, is something you should do for any movie in which a mob eats a baby.
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THE MUSIC • 20TH SEPTEMBER 2017 • 35
Comedy / G The Guide
Wed 20
Georgia Fields
Lo-Res + Tim Pledger: 303, Northcote HIM + Soda Eaves + Soft Rubbish: Bar Open, Fitzroy
Muddy’s Blues Roulette with Paul Slattery: Catfish (Front Bar), Fitzroy Diana Anaid
The Music Presents At The Drive In: 28 Sep Festival Hall Caligula’s Horse: 30 Sep Max Watt’s Mono: 10 Nov Max Watt’s Diana Anaid: 12 Nov, World Vegan Day Alt-J: 7 Dec Sidney Myer Music Bowl sleepmakeswaves: 7 Dec Howler
The Mercy Kills + Fox Company + Black Dog: Cherry Bar, Melbourne Pond + Body Type + Reef Prince: Corner Hotel, Richmond Creature Fear + Cousin Tony’s Brand New Firebird + Sunborne: Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy The Roamin’ Jasmine + Lachlan Bryan: Gin Lane, Belgrave Louis Baker: Grace Darling Hotel, Collingwood
Field Days
AJ Tracey: Laundry Bar, Fitzroy
Following on from the success of her latest release Astral Debris, Georgia Fields is continuing her residency at Edinburgh Castle Hotel. Head down and catch her this Thursday with support from Howlite’s Alison Thom.
Lomond Acoustica feat. Geoff Achison + Joe Matera + Simon Evans: Lomond Hotel, Brunswick East The Stories & Songs Record Club with Lisa Miller + Charles Jenkins + Brian Nankervis: Memo Music Hall, St Kilda Brooklyn ‘86 + Short Shadows: Open Studio, Northcote
Dirty Smoky + The Lovely Days + Max Quinn: The Workers Club, Fitzroy
Dream Theater: Palais Theatre, St Kilda
Northern Singout with Jenny Taylor: Thornbury Theatre, Thornbury
Rebetiko: Spotted Mallard, Brunswick
Trivia: Wesley Anne, Northcote
Fatboy Slim + Gorgon City: St Kilda Foreshore, St Kilda
Eat Man + Boyparts + Fleshed Out: Yarra Hotel, Abbotsford
Mallard, Brunswick The Button Collective: Temperance Hotel, South Yarra Earth Tongue + Spawn + Unholy Trip: The Curtin, Carlton Perfect Whip + House Hats + Khasi: The Gasometer Hotel (Upstairs), Collingwood
Thu 21 Bench Press
Rigidy Rourke & The Love Dogs: 303, Northcote Gold Member: Baha Tacos, Rye Drama + Atilla Mora + Celiac: Bar Open, Fitzroy Eric Wyatt: Bird’s Basement, Melbourne Death Disco: Boney, Melbourne
Freshly Pressed
DJ Maddy Mac: Catfish (Front Bar), Fitzroy Fulton Street: Cherry Bar, Melbourne
Bench Press are coming back to their home base at The Old Bar for the launch of their selftitled debut album. Head down Saturday and get ripped along with Horace Bones and more.
Barry Sunset: Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy Frenchy: Geelong Performing Arts Centre (GPAC), Geelong Way Dynamic + Spit + Classic: Grace Darling Hotel, Collingwood
Galata Express + Hello Tut Tut: The Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood
The Cherry Dolls + Hollie Joyce + Hot Sludge Sunday: Northcote Social Club, Northcote
Northside Clinic + Slow Fires + Ostraly: The Old Bar, Fitzroy
Disco Volante feat. Damon Walsh + Various DJs: Onesixone, Prahran
If You See Her Say Hello feat. Ladychoir: The Toff In Town, Melbourne
Ezekiel Ox: Penny Black, Brunswick
Jungle Breed + Hotel Fifteen Love + Tram Cops: The Tote (Front Bar), Collingwood 36 • THE MUSIC • 20TH SEPTEMBER 2017
Pond + Body Type + Reef Prince: Corner Hotel, Richmond
The Roamin’ Jasmine + Lachlan Bryan: Retreat Hotel, Brunswick Songs from Dan: Spotted
Darkc3ll
Freaks Not Geeks After recently dropping new single Hails To The Freaks, Darkc3ll have have snagged a massive support slot opening for Crown The Empire and Motionless In White at 170 Russell this Sunday night.
Pale Heads + Compliments to the Chef + Protection: The Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood B.C + Stationary Suns + Ball Busters: The Old Bar, Fitzroy Rings Around Saturn + Fia Fiell: The Post Office Hotel, Coburg
Gigs / Live The Guide
(Front Bar), Fitzroy
Jack Beeche Trio
Fuzzfest 2017 feat. Peeping Tom + Fluff + Dr Colossus + Redro Redriguez & His Inner Demons + Dune Eater: Cherry Bar, Melbourne Hanksaw: Claypots Evening Star, South Melbourne Pond + Body Type + Reef Prince: Corner Hotel, Richmond
Life’s A Beeche Jack Beeche Trio are taking their jazzy sound to Compass Pizza Bar this Friday. With their lead saxophonist Jack Beeche returning to his roots in Melbourne, this is not one you’ll want to miss. Hemm + Liahona + Moses Carr: The Toff In Town, Melbourne 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 The Sunday League + Tender Hooks + Jim Spurr/Pines: The Tote (Upstairs), Collingwood Cinco Savage + Snakeskin Alley + Black Alpine: The Tote (Band Room), Collingwood Gravemind + Blind Oracle + Windwaker + The Gloom in the Corner: The Workers Club, Fitzroy
Young Lions + The Comfort + Spectral Fires: Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy The Quarrelmen: Flying Saucer Club, Elsternwick
La Dance Macabre with Brunswick Massive: Rainbow Hotel, Fitzroy
Lost Woods + Zockapilli + Donnaruma: Retreat Hotel, Brunswick The New Yorks + The Deadlips: Reverence Hotel, Footscray Marco Resmann + DJ Brian Fantana + more: Revolver Upstairs, Prahran Gypsy - The Fleetwood Mac Tribute Show: Satellite Lounge, Wheelers Hill
RVG
Grassroots Gathering with Various Artists: Howler, Brunswick Old Money Mountain + Max Teakle: Lomond Hotel, Brunswick East NGV Friday Nights feat. Shonen Knife: National Gallery of Victoria (NGV), Southbank Karl S Williams + Oscar Lush + Venus Court: Northcote Social Club, Northcote The Disco feat. Spacey Space + Jared Marston + Funky Colin McMillan + DJ Rowie + more: Onesixone, Prahran The Seduceaphones + Simone Spittle: Open Studio, Northcote
James Hickey
Vager Bonds After a quick trip north for BIGSOUND local treasures RVG are safely returned and headed for Howler on Wednesday. Guaranteed to iron out your hump day blues with support from Terrible Truths and Street Hassle.
Zerafina Zara + Alleged Associates: Smokehouse 101, Maribyrnong
Outlawz: Trak Lounge Bar, Toorak
Dave Stevens: Sooki Lounge, Belgrave
58008 + The Skids: Tramway Hotel, North Fitzroy
Kylie Auldist: Spotted Mallard, Brunswick
The Junes: Union Hotel, Brunswick
Illy + Citizen Kay: Wool Exchange, Geelong
Whoretopsy + Hollow World + Splatterpuss + Annihilist: The Bendigo, Collingwood
Weird Weather + MF Jones + Goyder’s Line + Georgia Smith + The Smithereens: Yarra Hotel, Abbotsford
Mr Stitcher + White Lightning + Sarah Eida + Nosferotica: The Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick
Vibraphonic Orchestra + Clusterfunk: Bar Open, Fitzroy
Rya Park: The Workers Club, Fitzroy
The Beatles’ First Five feat. Kevin Mitchell + Jack Jones + Wes Carr + Paul Gray + Ciaran Gribbin + The Please Please Me Band: Hamer Hall, Melbourne
Ryan Sterling: Wesley Anne (Front Bar), Northcote
Front End Loader: Baha Tacos, Rye
Pantfest feat. Eat Pant + Atticus Street + Chicken Wishbone + Baum Squad + Fresco: The Tote (Upstairs), Collingwood
Ben Ely + Steve Tyssen + Kelly Day: Grace Darling Hotel, Collingwood
Jazz & Social Justice with Jackie Bornstein: Uptown Jazz Cafe, Fitzroy
Katchafire + Ria Hall: 170 Russell, Melbourne
Poprocks At The Toff with Dr Phil Smith + Dr Nick: The Toff In Town (Ballroom), Melbourne
Dive Into Ruin + Siltman: Gin Lane, Belgrave
Ying Li Hooi + Tarquin Manek: Tramway Hotel, North Fitzroy
Fri 22
Sleazy Listening with Arks + K. Hoop: The Toff In Town (Carriage Room), Melbourne
Hickey Hoedown If upbeat folky, alt-country blues is your kind of thing James Hickey will be performing at Charles Weston. Rain, hail or shine Hickey is bringing his tunes to you this Saturday.
Eric Wyatt: Bird’s Basement, Melbourne
Scott Bradlee’s Post Modern Jukebox: Palais Theatre, St Kilda
Burn City Disco Four with Claudia Jones: Brown Alley, Melbourne
Dale Howard: Pawn & Co, South Yarra
Trick Dog Syndicate: Catfish
The Sea Gypsies: Penny Black, Brunswick
Illy + Citizen Kay: Whalers Hotel, Warrnambool Ivan Ooze: Wrangler Studios, West Footscray
Anh Do: The Cube, Wodonga
RACKETT: Yah Yah’s, Fitzroy
Jean Claude Sam Dan: The Drunken Poet, West Melbourne
The Flying So High-O’s + Capes + House Hats + Housebroken: Yarra Hotel, Abbotsford
Grim Rhythm + The Royal Artillery: The Eastern, Ballarat East The Sinking Teeth: The Gasometer Hotel (Upstairs), Collingwood Sundr + Cascades + Diploid: The Old Bar, Fitzroy
In Store with Nick Barker: Basement Discs (12.45pm), Melbourne
Trio Agogo: Wesley Anne (Front Bar), Northcote
Michael Jackson Legacy Tour with William Hall: The Palms at Crown, Southbank Culte + Department: The Post Office Hotel, Coburg
Sat 23 Motionless In White + Darkc3ll: Arrow On Swanston, Carlton Delsinki Records: Baha Tacos, Rye Grove St: Bar Open (Front Bar), Fitzroy Tusk + King Stag + The Nicoteenagers + Simon Ashby & The Piss Ciggies: Bar Open, Fitzroy
THE MUSIC • 20TH SEPTEMBER 2017 • 37
Comedy / G The Guide
Karl S Williams: Barwon Club Hotel, South Geelong
Sun 24
Katchafire
Eric Wyatt: Bird’s Basement, Melbourne
Motionless In White + Darkc3ll + Crown The Empire: 170 Russell, Melbourne
Loomer feat. Spacey Space: Boney, Melbourne
Adam Simmons’ Origami: Bar Open (Front Bar), Fitzroy
Liz Stringer + Mel Parsons: Caravan Music Club, Oakleigh
Soloman & Lacey + Ruby Gill + Mitchell Smith: Bar Open, Fitzroy
Listen Out 2017 feat. Bryson Tiller + Duke Dumont + Future + Getter + Green Velvet + Jai Wolf + Kucka + Little Simz + Mac Miller + Mallrat + PNAU + Safia + Touch Sensitive + Vallis Alps + What So Not + Alice Ivy + CC:Disco! + Muto + Ninajirachi + NYXEN + more: Catani Gardens, St Kilda West
Afternoon Show with Justin Heazlewood: Bella Union, Carlton South
Tenderloins: Catfish (Front Bar), Fitzroy
Los Labios + Los Amigos: Cherry Bar, Melbourne
Katchafire + Ria Hall: Chelsea Heights Hotel, Aspendale Gardens Fuzzfest 2017 feat. Front End Loader + King Of The North + Fuck The Fitzroy Doom Scene + Two Headed Dog + Don Fernando + River of Snakes + A Gazillion Angry Mexicans + Los Labios + El Colosso + A Basket Of Mammoths + Field + Moondogz + Meathook + Evil Twin: Cherry Bar, Melbourne
The Roamin’ Jasmine + Lachlan Bryan: Caravan Music Club, Oakleigh The Royal Artillery: Catfish (Front Bar), Fitzroy
Fiyah!
You Me At Six + Hellions + Columbus: Forum Theatre, Melbourne
Catch Katchafire as they bring their reggae roots with them on their Aussie Legacy tour to celebrate 20 years together. Make sure you don’t miss their Melbourne show at 170 Russell on Friday.
Matinee Show with Dave Arden: Grace Darling Hotel, Collingwood
U18s - Teen Vibes 2017 feat. In Stereo + Faydee + James Yammouni + Vlado + The Fisher Boys + Take Two: Max Watt’s, Melbourne
The Houndlings: Labour In Vain, Fitzroy
Saatsuma + Squidgenini + Minorfauna + DJ Dee Luscious: Northcote Social Club, Northcote Stefano Vespucci + Cat Pirate + Charlotte Roberts: Open Studio, Northcote Kylie Auldist
Auld Soul She blew us away at Double J’s BIGSOUND party and now Kylie Auldist is hitting centrestage yet again for an intimate evening of funk, soul and disco back at Spotted Mallard this Friday night.
Angus & Julia Stone + Ruel: Palais Theatre, St Kilda Marco Resmann: Pawn & Co, South Yarra Marksman Lloyd: Penny Black, Brunswick The Hip Streets: Rainbow Hotel, Fitzroy Citrus Jam: Retreat Hotel, Brunswick Born Lion + Rad Island + Ships Piano: Reverence Hotel, Footscray The Sleepyheads + Press Club + Crusch + Max Quinn: Reverence Hotel, Footscray
Tired Lion + Food Court + Foam: Corner Hotel, Richmond Esc + Hexdebt + Pregnancy: Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy Michael Oliphant + Little Sister: Flying Saucer Club, Elsternwick
Flava D: Revolver Upstairs, Prahran Uone + Miza + Various DJs: Sooki Lounge, Belgrave Hanksaw: Surabaya Johnny’s, St Kilda Hoop Dogg: The B.East, Brunswick East
Mark Campbell & The Ravens + The Slipdixies + Ciaran Boyle: The Drunken Poet, West Melbourne The Big Vacation feat. Mathas + Omar Musa + P.Smurf + Rapaport: The Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood Bench Press + Horace Bones + Plyers + Local Coward: The Old Bar, Fitzroy Michael Jackson Legacy Tour with William Hall: The Palms at Crown, Southbank Claws & Organs + Small Intestines: The Post Office Hotel, Coburg David Chesworth + Sky Needle + Gregor: The Toff In Town, Melbourne The Last Exposure + The Girl Fridas + Moaning Lisa + Jo Neugebauer: The Tote (Upstairs), Collingwood Nun + The UV Race + Drug Sweat + UBIK + Leather Towel + Rabid Dogs + Spotting + Ooga Boogas: The Tote (Band Room), Collingwood
Matt Glass & The Loose Cannons + Davidson Brothers: Union Hotel, Brunswick
Sick Times + Starving Millions + Disparo + Hailgun + Clogged + Janitor + Hand of Fear: The Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick
Patrick James: Wesley Anne, Northcote
Grim Rhythm + The Royal Artillery: The Curtin, Carlton
Wild Honey: Yah Yah’s, Fitzroy
38 • THE MUSIC • 20TH SEPTEMBER 2017
Finding Memo with The JVG Method + The Rebelles: Memo Music Hall, St Kilda The Spheres + Sky Needle + Soda Eaves: Northcote Social Club, Northcote Sega Reggae Party with Sonik Waves: Penny Black, Brunswick Justice For The Damned + Hindsight + Staunch + Honest Crooks: Phoenix Youth Hub, Footscray Chris Wilson: Rainbow Hotel, Fitzroy
Lazertits
The Cherry Dolls: The Workers Club Geelong, Geelong
Shonen Knife + Parsnip + Ben Ely: Karova Lounge, Ballarat
The Tall Grass + Peter Fenton + Jamie Hutchings: Long Play, Fitzroy North
Vince Jones: Memo Music Hall, St Kilda
Neon City Pilot + The Senegambian Jazz Band + Bella Wolf: The Workers Club, Fitzroy
No Idea + Oddball + Menedez + Addiction 64 + Loners With Boners: The Bendigo, Collingwood
Collard Greens & Gravy: Lomond Hotel, Brunswick East
Carino Son: Lomond Hotel, Brunswick East
Grasshole: The Who Club, Warburton
‘Roots’ performed in its entirety with Max & Iggor Cavalera + Skindred: Forum Theatre, Melbourne
Pony Face: Labour In Vain, Fitzroy
Club Cake feat. Beni Lola + Betty Grumble + Simo Soo + more: Howler, Brunswick
Anh Do: Wendouree Centre for Performing Arts, Wendouree
Nomadic Jurrasic: Wesley Anne (Front Bar), Northcote
Tam Vantage + Caroline No + Hollow Everdaze + Possible Humans: Yarra Hotel, Abbotsford
Fucken Boss Missing a chance to start your week with a free Lazertits show would be pretty dumb - especially when they’ll be joined by Shiny Coin, Shit Bitch and The Hot Springs. Catch them at Northcote Social Club on Monday.
Gigs / Live The Guide
Afternoon Show with T.K. Reeve + Jess Parker &The Troubled Waters: Retreat Hotel, Brunswick
Down The Rabbit Hole with Nigel Last: The Toff In Town (Carriage Room), Melbourne
Afternoon Show with Grups + Alex Pijpers: Reverence Hotel, Footscray
Dianas + Latreenagers: The Tote (Front Bar), Collingwood
The Wendy Stapleton Trio: Royal Oak Hotel, Fitzroy North
Sick Times + Starving Millions + Disparo + Ding Dong Death Hole + Grudge: The Tote (Upstairs), Collingwood
Cairo Club Orchestra: Spotted Mallard, Brunswick Sludge Party + Quadrifid: The B.East, Brunswick East Afternoon Show with Fritzwicky + Zombre: The Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick OO + Houg + Adam Dwyer: The Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick
Vanderlay + Aurora Rose + Shukura Chapman: The Workers Club, Fitzroy Collard Greens & Gravy + The Everyman: Union Hotel, Brunswick Katchafire + Ria Hall: Werribee Plaza Tavern, Hoppers Crossing Hannah Blackburn: Wesley Anne, Northcote
Fat Cousin Skinny: Retreat Hotel, Brunswick
6FootInch + Trampoline Death Machine + Cadet X: The Bendigo, Collingwood James Vincent McMorrow: The Croxton, Thornbury Jazz Party: The Curtin, Carlton Tragic Carpet + Piss Factory + Efficiency: The Old Bar, Fitzroy Dan TDM: The Plenary, South Wharf Pundemonium feat. Richard Higgins + David Astle + Erik Jensen: The Toff In Town, Melbourne Kooyong + Easy Browns Truckstop Chicken Jam Band + The Great Emu War: The Workers Club, Fitzroy
Tue 26
Saatsuma
Tired Lion
Mane Event Come down to Corner Hotel this Saturday and get dazzled by Perth rockers Tired Lion as they launch their debut album Dumb Days with support from Food Court and Foam.
Mac Miller: 170 Russell, Melbourne Batz + Yachay: Cherry Bar, Melbourne Anti-Violet: Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy Tom Tom Tuesday feat. Celiac + Swallow + Ov Pain + Camoufleur: Howler, Brunswick Arj Barker: Lithuanian Club, North Melbourne Celtic Woman: Margaret Court Arena, Melbourne
Odd Job + Neighbourhood Relations + Hannah Kate: The Old Bar, Fitzroy Now.Here.This with Joe Miller + Badskin: The Toff In Town, Melbourne Rhyece O’Neill & The Vengeful Narodniks + Penny Ikinger + Bob Fox: The Tote, Collingwood Emily Barker + Tristan Bird + Mandy Connell: The Workers Club, Fitzroy
Imogen Pemberton: Open Studio, Northcote Eastbound Buzz + Lepine + Dez: The Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick
AA+ Get down to Northcote Social Club this Saturday to see duo Saatsuma expand to a five-piece for the launch of their excellent debut album, Overflow. Support from Squidgenini and MinorFauna.
Anh Do: The Capital, Bendigo Performing Arts Centre, Bendigo Mr Alford + The Twoks + Van Walker + Miss Whiskey + Moreland City Soul Revue: The Drunken Poet, West Melbourne Montague + BitterFruitt + The Honey Badgers: The Gasometer Hotel (Upstairs), Collingwood
Venetian Blinds + Twin Jesus + Pleasure Avalanche: Yarra Hotel, Abbotsford
Cherry Jam: Cherry Bar, Melbourne
Afternoon Show with Samuel Reiher + Brett Marshall: The Old Bar, Fitzroy
Wind It Up with Lazertits + Shiny Coin + Shit Bitch + The Hot Springs: Northcote Social Club, Northcote
The Sunday Set with DJ Andyblack + Mr Weir: The Toff In Town (Carriage Room), Melbourne
Patrick James
Bird’s Basement Octet: Bird’s Basement, Melbourne
Lake Minnetonka + The CB3 + The Hip Streets: Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy
The Wellingtons: The Standard Hotel, Fitzroy
The Stranger Suite: The Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood
Mon 25
Fraudband + The Braves + NQR: The Old Bar, Fitzroy
Afternoon Show with Ross McLennan & The New World Sympathetique + Susie Scurry: The Post Office Hotel, Coburg
The Songs of Morrissey/The Smiths with Chris Pickering: The Drunken Poet, West Melbourne
Connor Black Harry: Open Studio, Northcote The Daryl McKenzie Jazz Orchestra + Tamara Kuldin: Paris Cat Jazz Club, Melbourne Paul Williamson’s Hammond Combo: Rainbow Hotel, Fitzroy
PJ Party Patrick James is bringing his emotive and yearning vocals to Melbourne on his Lay It Down tour. Head over to Wesley Anne on Saturday to hear him with his big pop drums and infectious guitars.
THE MUSIC • 20TH SEPTEMBER 2017 • 39
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ALEX LAHEY (SOLO) • LANKS • FAN GIRL - GUEST MCS INCLUDING -
KATE McLENNAN & KATE McCARTNEY (GET KRACK!N, THE KATERING SHOW) MYF WARHURST (DOUBLE J) • FEE B SQUARED (RRR) DJS Alice Ivy • Harpoons • Pony Face • NO ZU SILENT ART AUCTION (curated by Melbourne Arts Club) Jason Parker • J Forsyth • Lauren Guymer • Madison Griffiths • Bec Smith • Tegan Iversen RAFFLE-MANIA! Win amazing prizes from the likes of Camp Cope • Our Golden Friend The Toff In Town • Schwartz Media • The Evelyn • Chapter Music • 170 Russell • The Gasometer The Retreat • The Tramway • Barely Dressed • Yasemin Sumner • Magic Steven • Archer Magazine
MUCH MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED THE GASOMETER HOTEL, COLLINGWOOD FRIDAY 22ND SEPTEMBER DOORS 7.30PM
A fundraiser for the
YES CAMPAIGN & LGBTI YOUTH ORGANISATIONS