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2 • THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015
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THIS WEEK
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6 • THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015
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THIS WEEK THINGS TO DO THIS WEEK • 3 JUN - 9 JUN 2015
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The 69th annual Tony Awards are being broadcast live and exclusive on Monday at 10am on Foxtel Arts.
There’s nothing better than a mini-festival, especially when it’s called Metal Asylum! Head to Evelyn Hotel on Saturday for the fourth instalment of this event featuring Segression (pictured), Hybrid Nightmares, Anient, Cryptic Abyss, Sarspell and Stronger Than All.
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MELBOURNE
The Astor reopens for good on Sunday and they’re screening four single feature films on that day: Only Angels Have Wings (1pm), A Star Is Born (3.30pm), The Misfits (7pm) and Taxi Driver (9.30pm).
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national news news@themusic.com.au RUSSELL BRAND
JOSHUA RADIN
RADINANT TREW STORY
Actor, comedian, author, social media personality and political activist Russell Brand is making his way to Australia off the back of his new documentary film, The Emperor’s New Clothes. With a focus on YouTube content from his own channel The Trews, he’ll be bringing his new show Trew World Order Down Under, ultimately hoping to become part of the crowd. Catch a more intimate performance when the man makes his way to Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, 17 Oct; Perth Arena, 20 Oct; Brisbane Entertainment Centre, 22 Oct; Sydney Opera House, 23 Oct; and Qantas Credit Union Arena, Sydney, 24 Oct.
GOD GIVEN METAL
Thirty years and 15 albums into their career, German power metal quintet Helloween is still shredding away like there’s no tomorrow. Yet they’ve only ever visited us once – and that didn’t even include Adelaide or Perth. With their imminent God Given Right tour, they’ve going to change all that. Taking their tour name from their latest album, My God-Given Right, Helloween will be showcasing it and more 14 Oct at 170 Russell in Melbourne, 16 Oct at Metro Theatre in Sydney, 7 Oct at Max Watt’s in Brisbane, and 20 Oct at Capitol in Perth.
MUSIC CHAT
With the main event fast approaching, it’s time to announce the fifth annual “little sister” event, Little BIGSOUND, the music forum that gives young people 15 – 25 a chance to hear and learn from some pretty amazing industry speakers. On hand this year are ARIA Award-winning producer Magoo, Footstomp Music director Graham Ashton, 4ZZZ music director Chris Cobcroft, THINK Creative’s Tim Ariel and Collision Course PR’s Tim Price, along with artists Dean McGrath from Rolls Bayce, Jarryd Shuker of Art Of Sleeping, Sahara Beck and Danny Kenneally from As Paradise Falls. It’s all happening 27 Jun at The Judith Wright Centre.
SAVE THE DATE
Listen Out Festival is returning this September and October to kickstart the festival summer season, delivering a heap of national and international dance music acts. With the line-up announcement coming soon, you’d be best to take down the dates: 26 Sep at new venue Catani Gardens, Melbourne; 27 Sep, Ozone Reserve, Perth; 3 Oct, Centennial Park, Sydney; and 4 Oct, Brisbane Showgrounds.
BACK IN BUSINESS
‘90s punk/hardcore hybrid Good Riddance broke up in 2007 and now, eight years later, the band have reformed and have burst back onto the scene with their latest full length, Peace In Our Time. They’ll be hitting up Australia for the first time in over a decade, promising new tracks and older hits, Corner Hotel, Melbourne, 7 Aug; Manning Bar, Sydney, 8 Aug; Crowbar, Brisbane, 9 Aug; and Amplifier Bar, Perth, 12 Aug.
IF YOU’RE DOING A “FACEBOOK FRIEND CULL” WHY DO YOU NEED TO TELL EVERYONE ABOUT IT? JUST SHUT UP AND CULL. YESSSSS, @RONNYCHIENG 10 • THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015
Even if you’re not sure who singersongwriter Joshua Radin is, you will probably have heard his songs, perhaps on Grey’s Anatomy, One Tree Hill or American Idol or a bunch of other TV shows. People who are well acquainted with Radin will be stoked to hear he’s coming to Australia in support of his sixth and latest album, Onwards And Sideways. Radin and his oh-so-soothing voice will be at Rosemount Hotel, Perth, 6 Sep; Corner Hotel, Melbourne, 9 Sep; Metro Theatre, 10 Sep; and Max Watt’s, Brisbane, 11 Sep.
GOT IT COVERED
Following sold out tours dates across the US, Europe and the UK, Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox have announced their first Australian tour, arriving on our shores in September. The social media juggernauts are famous for their ability to transform contemporary pop hits into vintage-flavoured songbook standard from the last century. The group made it big with a cover of Miley Cyrus’ We Can’t Stop, before going on to do Taylor Swift’s Blank Space, Meghan Trainor’s All About That Bass, Backstreet Boys’ I Want It That Way, and Hozier’s Take Me To Church. They’ll be making their way all around the country, stopping by Panthers, Newcastle, 2 Sep; Metro Theatre, Sydney, 3 Sep; The Tivoli, Brisbane, 5 Sep; Gold Coast Arts Centre, 6 Sep; Forum Theatre, Melbourne, 9 Sep; and Astor Theatre, Perth, 11 Sep.
OISIMA
OI, OI, OI
Off the back of his recent debut album release Nicaragua Nights, Adelaide’s Oisima has announced a national headline tour. Hear his exotic beats and contemporary dancefloor soul when he comes to Goodgod Small Club, Sydney, 26 Jun; Hugs & Kisses, Melbourne, 27 Jun; Black Bear Lodge, Brisbane, 9 Jul; and Flyrite, Perth, 10 Jul.
THURSDAY 4 JUNE
CRIMSONETTES TOGETHERAPART $2.50 POTS OF DRAUGHT
FRIDAY 5 JUNE
THE IMPRINTS OLLOUU SPECIAL GUEST
SATURDAY 6 JUNE
MORGUE RADIO PRESENTS:
SEGRESSION – ALBUM LAUNCH HYBRID NIGHTMARES ANIENT – EP LAUNCH CRYPTIC ABYSS SARSPELL STRONGER THAN ALL
SUNDAY 7 JUNE
FOREIGN BROTHERS PRESENT:
MOMENTUM RESIDENCY FT. THE CORETET
MONDAY 8 JUNE RESIDENCY
GORSHA FAYE SOFT SUMMER BLOKES ORANGE $10 JUGS OF GLOBE
TUESDAY 9 JUNE
AO FT. MOW + MIMICRY
SMOOTH BEATS AND BIG TUNES $10 JUGS OF GLOBE
WEDNESDAY 10 JUNE RESIDENCY
KODIAK GALAXY MINIATURES THE FACTORY TOGETHERAPART
COMING UP TIX AVAILABLE THRU OZTIX:
THE DEAD HEIR – SINGLE LAUNCH (JUNE 12) LEGIONS OF STEEL – ALL DAY METAL FEST (JUNE 13) W.B YEATS TRIBUTE (JUNE 14) REAL FRIENDS (USA) (JUNE 19) *SELLING FAST* REAL FRIENDS (USA) – ALL AGES SHOW (JUNE 20) *SELLING FAST* STATE CHAMPS (USA) (JUNE 26) *SELLING FAST* DECIMATUS – TOUR FINALE (JUNE 27) SPARKLEHORSE TRIBUTE (JULY 5) ICECREAM HANDS – REUNION SHOW (JULY 11) *SELLING FAST*
THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015 • 11
local news vic.news@themusic.com.au
FRONTLASH ‘CAUSE I’M A MUPPET
Tame Impala as Muppets performing a ‘live’ music video for ‘Cause I’m A Man! The likenesses (especially Jay Watson’s puppet) are remarkable.
BUDGET BEDS Hovelstay.com. Like Airbnb for (even more) povo peeps.
DISCO INFERNO The 44 minutes of never-beforeseen material included in 54: The Director’s Cut made us wish more than ever for a time machine set to New York in the late ‘70s.
GIVING YOU WINGS
Internationally acclaimed hip hop DJ and producer Nosaj Thing has been announced atop the roster of buzzworthy acts destined to grace this year’s Red Bull Music Academy stage at Splendour In The Grass, North Byron Parklands, 24 – 26 Jul. Other acts playing the stage will be: LA-based producer Shlohmo, Aussie visionaries Charles Murdoch, Catlips, and Deutsch Duke, as well as RBMA alum Mark Maxwell, Adelaide legend Motez, New Orleans-bred upstart Jay Electronica, Melburnian rapper Baro, FBi Northern Lights winner LUCIANBLOMKAMP, Sampology, Total Giovanni, Willow Beats, Thandi Phoenix and more.
SWEET SOUNDS SHAKE YOUR GROOVE THING
BACKLASH VIVID FOMO
Anyone else wishing they were living in the shadows of the Opera House sails as Grace Jones, Sufjan Stevens and co play exclusive shows for Vivid? Bring on Melbourne’s Supersense fast.
HEAVENLY CHORUS Has anyone else noticed that the short snippet of music that accompanies one of the SBS station IDs sounds a hellavu lot like Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah? Makes us wanna hear the real deal, but there’s never enough time to sort that!
WHO ATE ALL THE PIES (ON PIZZAS)? Stuffed crusts have always been a li’l wrong in our eyes, but how about a Four’N Twenty-stuffed crust (yep, the pies are in the base)! Just say no.
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A cappella stars Sweet Honey In The Rock are bringing four decades of tunes to Melbourne Recital Centre, 17 Jul. This special performance will see the Grammy nominees deliver their songs of peace, justice and resistance, rooted in African American traditions.
READY TO POUNCE
Rock powerhouse Def Leppard will make their way to Australia at the end of the year, their first visit to the country since 2011. They’ve got a catalogue of albums up their sleeve, so no doubt you’ll be hearing the likes of Pour Some Sugar On Me, Hysteria, Let’s Get Rocked, Animal, Rock Of Ages and more when the group make their way to Rod Laver Arena, 18 Nov.
DAY RAVIES
DAY RAVIN’
Sydney indie-poppers Day Ravies have unleashed their new single Fake Beach, the first taste from their anticipated second album, Liminal Zones, out 10 Jul. You’ll be able to hear the new tracks live when the band heads out on a national album tour, which stops by The Tote, 7 Aug.
GOT SOUL
The final artist announcement is here for Soulfest 2015. The music and cultural festival is bringing hip hop/soul queen Ms Lauryn Hill, R&B performer Miguel, legendary hip hop duo Black Star, and nine-time Grammy nominated singer Jazmine Sullivan to the event, joining the likes of Mary J Blige, Jill Scott, Charlie Wilson, Jhenè Aiko, De La Soul, Talib Kweli, Dwele, Eric Benet, and more, totalling over 20 live acts across two stages. It all goes down 25 Oct, The Sidney Myer Music Bowl & Kings Domain Precinct.
SPLENDOUROUS
And the sideshow supports in! Circa Waves support The Wombats, Margaret Court Arena, 28 Jul; Palma Violets are special guests for The Vaccines, Corner Hotel, 27 Jul; Harts support The Districts, Northcote Social Club, 27 Jul. For more, see theMusic.com.au. And also, an anticipated sideshow has been announced for Florence + The Machine, who will be performing 22 Jul at Palais Theatre. NATURALLY 7
CANADIAN VET PUNKS
Pivotal hardcore-punks, Canada’s SNFU, put together back in 1981 by a then homeless Chi Pig, remain one of the most vital and manic punk acts around, 30 years after releasing their debut LP, And No One Else Wanted To Play. SNFU are celebrating that 30th anniversary by touring the planet, and, accompanied by Melbourne’s Wolfpack, that sees them 15 Aug take over The Bendigo and 16 Aug, Twelve.
IT’S ONLY NATURAL
Fresh from a world tour with Michael Bublé, vocal play group Naturally 7 is returning to Australia with World Vision for seven shows starting at the end of August, after they travel to Cambodia to visit schools and engage the children in music and learn about community projects that address the root causes of poverty in the country. See the a cappella group creating full-sounding music simply using their mouths when they come to Hamer Hall, 4 Sep.
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local news vic.news@themusic.com.au ELLA THOMPSON
ARJ BARKER
COMEDY FUNDRAISER
Have a laugh while helping out a good cause. Arj Barker, Dave Hughes, Jimeoin, Cal Wilson, Denise Scott, Dave Thornton, Luke McGregor, Tommy Little and more team up for a show at Athenaeum Theatre on Friday to raise funds to help those affected by the earthquake in Nepal. All proceeds will go directly to aiding the Nepalese people.
ELLA, ELLA, ELLA
Following the release of single Arcade, powerful vocalist Ella Thompson is set to launch her new album Janus at Shebeen Bandroom, 31 Jul. This energetic songwriter is not one to miss live.
I LIKE AUSTRALIA BECAUSE IT’S A PLACE WHERE SOMEONE CAN BE CALLED SOMETHING LIKE, SAY, “SQUIZZAH” HIS WHOLE LIFE, THEN BECOME PRIME MINISTER
DOUBLE DATE
German duo Schneider Kacirek are performing a series of intimate shows around the country in June. With Stefan Schneider previously devoting his skills to electronic and post-rock outfits, and Sven Kacirek exploring dance and drum’n’bass music, they bring together a fresh sound on their latest offering, 2015’s Shadow Documents. The collaborative team will be performing The Curtin, 18 Jun with Footy, Kharkov, Peter Knight and Joe Talia. CLN
THE NEW FUTURE
Brisbane future beats producer cln has lifted a second track, Left Behind, from his forthcoming EP, Found, and is taking himself on his first headline trip up and down the east coast to reintroduce himself and the new material. With a small US run planned for later in the year, you can catch cln 17 Jul at Laundry Bar, co-headlining with Dugong Jr.
CATCH THE TRAIN
Lifting a second single, Midnight Train, from their debut album, Know Your Destiny, folkrockers Chris Cavill & The Prospectors are getting back out there to do what they do best – perform for you. They launch that single 18 Jul in The Toff In Town. 14 • THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015
YEAH THAT’S FAIRLY ACCURATE, @BRO_PAIR.
WATCH THEM EXPLODE
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion have a new album polished up and with it comes a run of Australian tour dates. For close to a quarter-century the rock’n’rollers have been working New York city and surrounds hard with their greasy riffs and life-affirming punk rock, and bring a bunch of new tracks from Freedom Tower – No Wave Dance Party 2015 to Supersense Festival, 8 Aug.
ON THE BUS!
Leaps & Bounds Music Festival has announced the return of one of the most popular activities of the festival: the bus tours of Yarra City’s music history, past and present. The Bus Tours will be operating every Friday, Saturday and Sunday during the festival and include complimentary afternoon tea at Bakehouse Studios, a different guest Yarra celebrity on each trip, and a drink and chat at Corner Hotel at the end of the trip. On tour guide duty is Triple RRR presenter Bruce Milne. For details and bookings, visit leapsandboundsmusicfestival.com or buy tix from the Corner Hotel box office.
ANIMATION FIXATION
The 2015 Melbourne International Animation Festival is hitting ACMI from 21 Jun for eight days, featuring 450 films and 40 programs from over 35 countries. Highlights include an Australian showcase, plus Panorama Programs, Best of the Next Student Festival, Late Night Bizarre, Kids Program, Music Video and the ever popular Best Of The Fest. For more information, head to miaf.net.
NOW WE ARE 22
It’s true – Regurgitator have been doing their thing for a staggering 22 years, and to celebrate, they’re returning to the stages of the east coast of this wide brown land for the first time in a while (before their mid-May First Coat street art event performance in Toowoomba, they last played late 2013 – in Beijing!). Their Cheap Imitations Tour-ché plays 4 Sep at Prince Bandroom.
THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015 • 15
theatre
DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD Fame comes at a price, and Melbourne Theatre Company’s Birdland illustrates that point perfectly. Playing a grounding force in the production, Peta Sergeant tells Daniel Cribb she’s had her own problems with stardom, including identity theft. Cover and feature pics by Kane Hibbard.
C
elebrity obsession can often drive fans to extremes. From a quick selfie request to full-blown stalkers, there’s always someone who wants a piece of the action when an individual is thrown into the spotlight, but little is ever revealed about the way the celebrity deals
compulsive energy that just sort of rages towards a wall like a Mack truck. It’s almost like watching an angel be cast out of heaven; it’s so epic. You kind of get to peer inside and have a look at the fall of a man who’s at the very top of his game.” While a celebrity imploding will render entertaining subject matter for audiences, the themes of Birdland are also intended to be provocative in a way that people might not expect. “We do hope people will become aware as they’re watching the show of the
of an anchor to the real world, and she’s very much somebody who sees him as human and not just an artist, or product or something to be consumed, or an animal or experience. I think that happens a lot with celebrities; people want the experience of having been around them or they want to walk away with the story or the scandal.” Having fronted Melbourne band The Bellows several years ago, Sergeant is no stranger to the rock environment, but Birdland is her first live theatre production in four years. While she describes the format as extremely rewarding, it’s also one of the hardest. “It’s pretty terrifying and scary. It’s not a new experience and somewhere in the membrane of my kinaesthetic memory is, ‘Oh, yeah, I’ve been here before. I know that this is how it feels.’ It feels terrifying, and it feels like, ‘Why am I doing this?!’ And I don’t think that that ever goes away, but at the same time it’s extremely rewarding… It’s extremely rewarding and nourishing and it’s a different kind of muscle.” With weeks of rehearsals, and developing chemistry and a rapport with co-stars, live theatre is far different to the hectic shooting schedule of most TV shows, as Sergeant discovered working abroad the past few years. Analysing
“IT’S GOT THIS KINETIC, COMPULSIVE ENERGY THAT JUST SORT OF RAGES TOWARDS A WALL LIKE A MACK TRUCK.”
with the attention. Sure, we’re often bombarded with tales of people falling from grace or breaking down, but it’s rarely analysed in a productive way, usually delivered through click-bait and re-tweets. The way in which Birdland tackles the subject is what makes it such a compelling piece of theatre. From the pen of award-winning author Simon Stephens, the story follows a rock star by the name of Paul, played by Mark Leonard Winter, as his sold-out world tour draws to a close and he struggles to deal with it, all the while exploring the intriguing realm of celebrity obsession. Recently returning to the stage after stints on US TV shows The Originals and Once Upon A Time In Wonderland, Peta Sergeant plays three characters in Birdland; her most prominent being a room service waitress named Jenny who ends up joining Paul’s touring party. “We’re just at the beginning of week four [of rehearsals], which is pretty mental,” Sergeant begins, taking a break from the chaos. “I think it’s going to be really incredible. It’s definitely a wild ride; it’s an extremely energetic show. From the moment we step into it, it’s got this kinetic, 16 • THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015
voyeuristic delight; that weird, gross voyeurism age that we seem to be living in. We’re just very much in an age of watching, and there’s something really creepy about that. I think [Birdland] poses a really interesting question about the collective responsibility.” The character of Jenny is a grounding force in Birdland and bridges the gap between fan and celebrity. She first meets Paul in a Moscow hotel. “The character that I play is kind
her performance as Francesca Correa on The Vampire Diaries spin-off The Originals, you’d be hard pressed to even find a flaw in her fake American accent. Not bad for line and prep work done over a few flights, especially considering her on-screen character couldn’t be further away from her. “No, look, I haven’t,” Sergeant responds when asked if she’s been keeping up with the show since departing. “It’s not my kind of show; I’m really, really squeamish, so I can’t watch anything that’s really bloody; I don’t do well with it. “I think in my first episode I had to sign something in blood. We were making this blood pact, and of course being The Originals, we all had to hold up these sponges that were loaded up with fake blood and pretend to slice through the palm of our hand and mix all our blood together, and I was nearly passing out.” With The Originals having a large cult following, Sergeant was asked by the network to live tweet when the episodes were airing. The problem was she didn’t have a Twitter – at least one that she knew about. “[Twitter] was something that we’d all talked about onset and something
THE OTHER SIDE In 2012, this scribe came faceto-face with Alec Baldwin on the streets of New York City. A quick autograph request was bluntly turned down before the actor disappeared into the studio of David Letterman’s Late Show set. It’s those experiences that often tarnish fans’ opinions, but it’s only one side of the story. While being modest about her level of fame, Peta Sergeant has had a similar experience with fans, but, as she explains, if you hear the other side of the story, there might be a reasonable explanation.
HAIR AND MAKE-UP: SYLVIA URA, VIVIENS CREATIVE.
I was quite adamant about and probably a bit old school, and then one day I got all these text messages from some of the cast members saying, ‘I see you’ve joined us on the dark side.’ And I was like, ‘What’s all this about?’ “I got to work and didn’t understand what was going on and they were like, ‘You joined Twitter.’ And I was like, ‘No, I haven’t joined Twitter. I have not joined Twitter.’ And then a friend sent me a screenshot of ‘my’ Twitter page and it was pretty creepy – the photo for the page was a picture from my wedding day. It was pretty weird and gross.” Despite others wanting to steal her identity, Sergeant remains modest about her level of fame, and although she’s not selling out Wembley Stadium or being mobbed by hundreds of fans at airports, her experiences have helped her better understand the celebrity obsession culture – allowing her to observe it from both sides. “We have this kind of car-accident culture where
everybody is just slowing down for a moment to go, ‘I got a glimpse of that – I saw it. Did you see that?’ Hopefully the audience will experience some of that and at some point during watching the play and experiencing the play, they will have an awareness of it. They won’t just be experiencing the voyeurism; we hope to provoke awareness. We’re all in this world together.”
“Once I was on my way to a job, flying from LA to Heathrow, and I was in the lounge for a transfer to continue onto Budapest where I was filming, and there was an Australian family there. They were like, ‘We saw you on this show and we loved it and it was great. Can we have a photo?’ And I’d never done this before – usually always say yes, because you feel like you have to say yes – but I’d been on a plane for twenty hours, late at night, having a layover, looking like shit, and you just think, ‘I don’t want this photo of me right at this very moment in time to just be out there,’ and it’s totally out of your control. Who needs that a 4am after a twenty-hour flight photo on Facebook? Who even wants to see that? And I said, ‘Look, do you mind if I say no? I’m so sorry. Can I say no? Is that okay?’ And they just turned; they we’re like, ‘Oh. Yeah. Right. No, that’s fine; too good for it, hey. You’re not that good.’ And I was like, ‘Oh my God, no. I’m sorry, I’m sorry.’ And you sort of feel compelled to say, ‘Wait, come back, I’ll take the photo.’ But I thought, ‘You know what, I don’t know who you think you are or I am, but I have a right to say no, don’t I?’ “I can imagine on a larger scale when that’s happening to you all the time it must just really mess with your head, and there’s a couple of moments where the lead talks about that in [Birdland]. It was pretty awful; I didn’t walk away from it feeling very good about myself, even though I thought about it logically, and I didn’t do anything wrong. I was very polite and apologetic. And I think there is definitely an expectation of ‘you are public property just because you are in the public domain,’ and that’s a weird thing.”
WHAT: Birdland WHEN & WHERE: 6 – 11 Jul, The Sumner, Southbank Theatre THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015 • 17
music
ROCK’N’ROLL DEBAUCHERY Inspired by new MTC production Birdland – the Simon Stephenspenned production about a rock star’s spectacular fall from grace – we last week looked at some of the big meltdowns by musicians over the years. This week we’re flipping it to look at the hedonists who flourished amidst the mayhem and some of the prime craziness that’s been left in their wake. Despite the old adage ‘what goes on tour stays on tour’ there have been plenty of amazing tales of excess (although we’re avoiding clearly apocryphal stories including Stevie Nicks’ strange coke habits, Zappa snacking on Beefheart’s shit and the old Stewart/Sharkey/John/Almond stomach pump furphy):
10. MARILYN MANSON – MICHIGAN, 2002 The self-proclaimed God Of Fuck has never been shy, but he perhaps went too far during a 2002 show in Michigan when a g-string clad Manson jumped on top of a bouncer’s shoulders and proceeded to (as was explained in court) “gyrate his hips, thighs and/or pubic area against [the bouncer’s] head, neck and/or face”. It’s a gross way to get a cool dinner story, but the bouncer cashed in with a nice civil settlement as well.
9. KEITH MOON – MICHIGAN, 1967 The Who’s party-loving drummer Keith Moon was mad at the best of times, but celebrating his 21st at the Holiday Inn in Flint, Michigan he took hedonism to a new level. The post-gig party featured (apart from the obvious boat loads of intoxicants) nudity, fire extinguishers, exploding toilets, cars in swimming pools, insane damage bills, armed police, jail, hotel bannings and God knows what else. The boy could party.
8. MÖTLEY CRÜE – BACKSTAGE, LATE-‘80S Ever wondered what the title of GNR’s (terrible) covers album The Spaghetti Incident was (supposedly) referring to? Their chums Nikki Sixx and Tommy Lee from Motley Crue had brokered a classy wager about who could go the longest on tour without having a shower whilst still scoring groupies, and it all came to a head (sorry) when a groupie going down on Sixx vomited her pasta dinner onto his shoes (amongst other places). So wrong.
7. RICK JAMES – HOLLYWOOD HILLS, 1991 The “king of funk” and his girlfriend were arrested (and eventually convicted) for holding a woman hostage for a week, forcing her to smoke crack cocaine and engage in sex acts, burning her with the cocaine pipe and pistol whipping her, possibly (but not probably) whilst playing Super Freak at an inordinately high volume. As Dave Chappelle would espouse; cocaine is a hell of a drug. 18 • THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015
6. MAYHEM – OSLO, 1991 A lot of bands pretend to be dark or satanic, but Norwegian black metal mainstays Mayhem put their money where their mouths are. Long rumoured to be involved (alongside bands like Burzum) in the spate of church burnings which plagued Norway in the early‘90s, when vocalist ‘Dead’ committed suicide at the band house the remaining band members made necklaces from bits of his skull. Your band is not hardcore.
MARILYN MANSON. PIC: JARED LEIBOWITZ
DAVID BOWIE
IGGY POP
5. IGGY POP & DAVID BOWIE – LOS ANGELES, 1975 A friend in need is a friend indeed. Aesop maybe said that, or was it Placebo? Anyway, when crazy old Iggy Pop was having a bad trot in the mid-’70s and was checked into a psychiatric hospital, his friend and mentor David Bowie did what any self-respecting buddy would do - he grabbed an even crazier friend (Dennis Hopper) and loaded up on drugs and smuggled them into the facility so that the Iggster wouldn’t have to face sobriety in such an unbecoming location (high friends in good places etc).
4. FREDDIE MERCURY – MUNICH, 1985 Their killer performance at Live Aid in 1985 really boosted Queen’s profile all over the world and the money started flowing in, so when hedonist extraordinaire Freddie Mercury turned 39 that September he organised the most lavish party in rock’n’roll history, complete with trolls, ogres, thieves, ballerinas, transsexuals and his trademark dwarves with trays of cocaine strapped to their head (every needs a little bump now and then). Beyond loose.
MÖTLEY CRÜE
3. OZZY OSBOURNE – TEXAS, 1982 You might think that Ozzy Osbourne is messy these days, but during Black Sabbath’s pinnacle he was an absolute shambles. At San Antonio, Texas in 1982 Osbourne was arrested for pissing on the Alamo Cenotaph memorial – not the historical fort itself as lore would have you believe – but this is still akin to treason in those parts and he was quickly arrested and hauled off to the lock up, being released in time for that night’s sold out show.
2. LED ZEPPELIN – SEATTLE, 1969 Never been to a hotel where you can fish from the windows? Blame Led Zeppelin. Seattle’s Edgewater Hotel looks over Puget Sound and Led Zep’s entourage found that you could catch mud sharks from the safety of their rooms; now add eager, naked groupies to the equation and things get slightly disturbing. No need to go further, suffice to say it’s a good thing no one caught crabs that day.
1. KEITH RICHARDS – LONDON, DATE UNKNOWN Aside from the fact that he will most likely live forever, Stones axeman Keith Richards has certainly lived an interesting life full of wild adventures. He did get agitated when it was reported in the press that he’d mixed his father’s ashes with cocaine and snorted them, and went on record to set things straight – he had indeed snorted his dad’s mortal remains (as you do) but there was no drugs involved. There’s a first time for everything.
THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015 • 19
film
THE ASTOR LIVES The Astor is such an ingrained part of Melbourne’s history and culture; it’s hard to imagine this city without it. Thankfully, we don’t have to. New General Manager Zak Hepburn chats to Stephanie Liew.
I
t was announced last August that the iconic Astor Theatre would be closing down after a lengthy unresolved dispute between the proprietor George Florence and building owner Ralph Taranto regarding the lease agreement. Then, in April this year, news surfaced that Palace Cinemas had bought the Astor, and intended to keep it running as the cinema Melburnians know and love. Of course, whenever a business changes hands, there are bound to be some differences. One of them was appointing a General Manager. While Florence will take on a consulting role, programming and managing duties will be taken over by local film critic Zak Hepburn, whose name you might recognise from ABC TV’s News Breakfast program, ABC Radio National’s Blueprint For Living, and Fairfax Media publications. As a film-obsessed young boy, Hepburn first visited the Astor to see Yellow Submarine, having to travel an hour to get there from his country hometown. “Then I just was obsessed with coming back here as often as I could,” Hepburn says. “It was almost kinda like film school on a sheet – you kind of join the dots, and see, well they’re doing this retrospective on this director, or they’re playing this season on this genre, so it was a really vital piece of my kind of filmic upbringing in many respects.” It’s safe to say many film lovers in Melbourne have their own personal connection to the Astor. The fact that it’s one of the last remaining theatres of its kind in the world gives it even more significance. “For people who are into movies and are into sort of the cultural scene of Australia, the Astor does have relevance to them,” agrees Hepburn. “A lot of cinemas can turn into kinda like an Anytown, USA sort of environment where there’s no personality. [The Astor is] almost like your local record store in many ways: you go in there and you go, what’s on, what do I wanna see? And you have a body of staff who are really knowledgeable about film and can take the audience on a journey, and maybe refer them to stuff that they didn’t know they wanted to see or hadn’t heard of before. If the Astor had’ve closed, the cinema scene in Melbourne, and potentially Australia as well, really would have lost that unique flair that this location excels in providing.” Part of that ‘unique flair’ is the frequent projection of movies in 35mm and 70mm film. “If you kind of go
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back to the idea of a film screening being sort of a pure experience – so watching a film that was shot on film, projected on film – you can’t really replicate that in any other way. Watching repertory cinema on celluloid is really integral to touching on the director’s vision and the filmmaker’s vision and how they
showcasing rare 35mm prints. And just a glance at the new Astor calendar was enough to alleviate fears that the programming would change direction. “I’m really aware of the Astor canon… those films that appear on every calendar, and sometimes on every bi-calendar. We really want to maintain that; you’re going to see the return of stuff like the 70mm print of Hamlet, the 70mm print of Baraka… Metropolis is also gonna be in there, and stuff like 2001 of course will be screening again in the future. I’m really excited about some new content that we’ve been able to get in... I think there’s a real sort of harmonious level between digital content which has been restored in 4K digital restorations, looking
“[THE ASTOR IS] LIKE YOUR LOCAL RECORD STORE IN MANY WAYS.” wanted people to engage with their work… It’s something that I think is really vital to be offered to audiences.” As well as truly understanding the essence of the Astor and the things that people love about it, Hepburn has a background in repertory programming, getting his start in the film industry at Palace Westgarth Cinemas, where he curated repertory film programs and presented special event screenings
very shmick, with really fantastic retrospectives of film prints and other sort of materials, so it’s a nice sort of balancing act.” Hepburn adds that the only other aspect of the Astor that will be slightly updated is the food and beverage selection; they’ll be incorporating Palace’s boutique wine list and coffee options, and Hepburn hopes to introduce drink specials and film-and-wine matching. The Astor reopens on 7 Jun for standard sessions, and on 25 Jun will have its gala event, featuring the Victorian premiere of Gillian Armstrong’s film Women He’s Undressed, about renowned Australian costume designer Orry-Kelly. “The opening party really is about reintroducing people to the venue. Perhaps you’re meeting it for the first time, or if you’re a great fan, you’re just kind of coming back and seeing an old friend, so it’s really about celebrating the legacy of the location and also raising a toast to the future of the location.”
BACK TO THE FUTURE “There’s so much shit on TV,” says Home Delivery host Julia Zemiro. Daniel Cribb discovers why the show’s third season sets it apart.
“I
am in London right now and the sun is out, so it’s a miracle!” a chirpy Julia Zemiro begins. “I’ve just done another series of RocKwiz, and I’m also on my way to Eurovision, so I’m confused,” she adds. It’s not surprising with such a hectic schedule, but at least she’s over the jetlag. Flying in ten days earlier, Zemiro has been busy filming episodes for the third season of Home Delivery – a show that follows one celebrity per episode as they take a trip down memory lane, revisiting places they in which grew up. As host,
it’s Zemiro’s job to steer the talent down avenues that’ll open them up to honest and revealing conversations about their upbringing, giving viewers a unique insight into their lives. Filming episodes with Alan Davies, Jo Brand, Billy Bragg and Matt Lucas (Little Britain) since landing, season three is shaping up quite nicely. “The thing is you want people who know that they have to spend the whole day in a car with me, driving to different places, and are willing to talk sort of from 9am to 5pm, and be a bit playful. We’ve lucked in on all series, I have to say.” Unlike your standard interview,
it’s spending the day together that really allows Zemiro to get the most out of each of her guests. “If I asked you about a childhood memory, just sitting here on the phone, you can think of one. But if I take you back to that place, you will start to remember things that you had forgotten.
tv
“If you take them somewhere where they’ll feel something – either good or bad – then they’ll talk about it a bit more. There’s no doubt that by the end of the day you’ve relaxed a little bit more into it and you’ve sort of forgotten that there are three cameras following you around.” While season two focused purely on comedians, the third round is a mixed talent pool, with episode one focusing on Ian Thorpe, and where he’s at a year after his revealing Parkinson interview. From seeing the first pool Thorpe swam in to busking at a train station with Billy Bragg, it’s not surprising that Home Delivery is a show Zemiro is proud to be a part of. “There’s so much shit on TV that either is competitive or abusive. What I love about our show is that we’re not trying to get anything out of these people or abuse them or trick them; we’re actually trying to find out what it is that makes the person who they are. “I think teenagers can watch the show and go, ‘Alright, so year twelve isn’t the end of the world.’ You know, other things can happen. You can find other ways and other pathways to find what you love and do it. And that takes resilience and you’ve got to be tough. And all these episodes, all of them, you see a resilience in the people.” WHAT: Julia Zemiro’s Home Delivery 9pm Wednesdays on ABC1
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music
In celebration of the 30th anniversary of Mars Needs Guitars!, Steven Bell takes a look at Hoodoo Gurus’ second album and how a potential crisis was averted.
T
he ‘difficult second album syndrome’ (aka DSAS or the ‘sophomore slump’) is a strange and wondrous aspect of the musical landscape. So many bands who have seemed to effortlessly capture the zeitgeist on their debut album have struggled to ignite the same passion on the follow-up, falling victim to either massivelyaltered life circumstances or often the increased burden of expectation. Often it’s because the band has been touring relentlessly since success came a knockin’ and hasn’t had time to write strong new material – often resulting in them resorting to trying to spice up songs that didn’t make the cut first time around – an occurrence at times exacerbated by labels and management breathing down necks, salivating for more ‘hits’. The old cliché that ‘you have a lifetime to make your debut record and a year (give or take) to make the second’ is a sad truism; just ask a plethora of artists such as The Stone Roses, The Darkness or Franz Ferdinand (to name but a few) who have struggled on album number two to recapture earlier glory.
HOODOO GURUS’ MARS NEEDS GUITARS!
So spare a thought for Sydney-based rockers Hoodoo Gurus back in the mid-‘80s, when they suddenly faced the task of crafting a follow-up to their 1984 debut Stoneage Romeos, an album which has gone down as one of the greatest debut albums in Australian rock’n’roll history. Even though the Gurus were basically an underground proposition that album sold over 50,000 copies (going gold in the process), and as well as being critically-acclaimed in Australia it also became an underground hit in America (climbing to #1 on the College Charts). They had a strong, distinct look unlike anything else going around at the time – all long hair
and retro paisley attire – which helped them stand out from much of the relatively bland pack around them. Stoneage Romeos had been helped by the fact that the band had dropped a stream of killer singles over an 18-month period in the lead-up to its release – Leilani (1982), Tojo (1983), My Girl (1983) and I Want You Back (1984) – and they also possessed a killer live show at a time when the lucrative pub circuit was still king and music fans still voted with their feet. The album purportedly helped take the inner-city sound into the suburbs and spawned a host of young guitar bands, inspired by not only the Gurus’ catchy music but also their irreverence and clear love of kitschy pop- and counter-culture. Nonetheless, the fact that their independent debut hit #29 on the Australian Album charts and scored them ‘Best Debut Album’ at the Countdown Awards meant that there was a lot of pressure on the young band leading into album number two, and a lot of external hurdles to navigate as well. So how did they go? What would become to many the “classic Hoodoo Gurus line-up” – Dave Faulkner (guitar/vocals), Brad Shepherd (guitar), Clyde Bramley (bass) and Mark Kingsmill (drums) – had coalesced by late-1984, and it was this foursome faced with the unenviable task of crafting a follow-up to Stoneage Romeos. When it came time to start writing for album number two – which would soon hit the shelves in May, 1985 under the moniker Mars Needs Guitars! – mining that
same pop culture vein that had worked so well first time around was the furthest thing from their mind. Faulkner decided early on to ditch the lighthearted nature of their early work and try for a more emotional connection; in an online essay titled Pop & Punishment he espoused: “When we commence the sessions for Mars Needs Guitars! we had a brand new drummer, Mark Kingsmill, who altered our lives forever with his distinctive explosive style. At the same time I vowed to myself that I would write less comic narratives and try to express my sentiments in a more forthright way.” The band went into Studio 301 and Trafalgar Studios in Sydney with producer Charles Fisher – who’d previously worked with Radio Birdman and Midnight Oil – and then mixed the album at Studio 301. Funnily, when Mars Needs Guitars! first appeared on shelves there was scant evidence of their desire to step away from the Gurus’ kitsch-loving inclinations of yore – the album artwork was a vividly colourful cartoon representation of the band, and the record was dedicated to Jonathan Harris (who played Dr Smith in Lost In Space), and the credits include shout outs to such cultural icons as The Way Outs (a faux-Beatles band from a 1965 The Flinstones episode), Phyllis Diller, Cheryl Ladd, Don Knotts, Lucille Ball and Cyril Jordan (Of The Flamin’ Groovies). Even the album title was lifted from a 1967 sci-fi flick Mars Needs Women.
distribution through Elektra, so the potential crisis was averted. Mars Needs Guitars!’s second single – the tribal-stomp Like Wow – Wipeout – also has a somewhat strange back story. Faulkner recounted to the ABC’s Diana Darmody (The Unlikely Hoodoo Gurus Hit), “Funnily enough [Like Wow – Wipeout] was meant to be a B-side. We had no idea it would ever be one of our sort of classic or a single even. It was just a track we did in the studio really quickly. The lyrics I wrote just that morning before I went to studio to finish them off. I was a bit annoyed that I’d been called in on a Saturday to do some
diminishing chart returns: Death Defying (#43) and the scathing Poison Pen (#76). Ravenous punters bought it in hordes from the get-go. Mars Needs Guitars! went gold within three weeks and platinum shortly after, eventually reaching the glorified heights of triple platinum. It peaked at #5 in the Australian album charts and became the first Gurus album to bother the US Billboard 200 Album chart (peaking at #140 in early-1986). It again topped the College Chart in the States (as did their next two efforts). It was recently listed at #60 in 100 Best Australian Albums (well behind Stoneage Romeos at #28), who espoused, “In vinyl terms, Side One of Mars Needs Guitars! is damned near perfect, and certainly it represents the finest 18 minutes of the band’s recorded career. Of the first five songs, four are singles, all of a different shape and colour.” Faulkner is not so sure about the sequencing, laughingly telling Curran in You’ll Leave A Convert, “It’s a more diverse record than some might remember, with a few slow and moody tracks on it, not all upbeat stuff. I’m cursing [producer] Charles Fisher a bit, who wanted all the singles on side one!” Reviews at the time were predominantly positive as well, featuring write-ups from prominent publications including Rolling Stone (3 1/2 stars): “…a joyful noise forged from ‘60s garage pop, daredevil MC5 metal
BECAUSE HE THOUGHT HE COULD DO BETTER THAN US... WHEN WE SAID ‘GET FUCKED, YOU CAN’T WRITE A SONG LIKE THAT!’ THEY DROPPED US.” Yet musically this new approach was evident from the get-go. First single Bittersweet showed a more mature and emotional side to the band, to the point where they were worried if fans would accept it coming from them. Even though the psych-tinged track would go on to become one of the Gurus’ most enduring numbers – peaking at #16 in the Australian singles chart and topping the US College Radio Track chart – it in fact almost derailed the band’s attempts to crack the lucrative American market. Stoneage Romeos’ success had led them to being signed in the States to Universal subsidiary A&M Records. Faulkner told Fred Mills of now defunct US publication Harp Magazine in 2007, “The final straw with A&M was for Mars…. We gave them that, and they were like, ‘Oh yes, Bittersweet, we love that song! But it’s completely wrong. You’ve got to have a chorus that’s fast enough and all that, so we’re gonna show you how it should be.’ The A&R guy took it into a studio in LA, remixed it and chopped it up, and did this hideous abomination to the song. Because he thought he could do better than us, how to write a song. When we said, ‘Get fucked, you can’t release it like that!’ they dropped us. That was because it was his thing: he was going to make Bittersweet a hit record. Of course, to this day, people would laugh at the idea of you changing that song at all.” Sticking to their guns, the Gurus left A&M and Mars Need Guitars! eventually came out in America through Big Time (America) with
more recording. The producer, Charles Fisher, has an incredible ear for a song and he just kept nursing it through and after our first single off the album – Bittersweet – was a hit, he said this is the next single. We thought he was out of his mind! We thought he was out of his mind when it went on the album in the first place. We loved it, we just didn’t think it was something radio would ever touch in a million years.” Despite its accidental genesis Wipeout also became a radio staple for the Gurus, beating Bittersweet by one spot on the single charts as it peaked at #15. Two more singles would be lifted from the album, with
and ‘70s pogo pop”; Billboard: “…along with their boundless energy, Hoodoo Gurus seem to possess a bottomless bag of pop hooks, stage command and songs that stick”; Melody Maker: “…whatever influences here is a fine, willful racket, hurtling across charging, teetering rhythms to magnificent effect”. The Gurus would go on to make one more album with this Faulkner/Shepherd/Kingsmill/Bramley line-up – 1987’s Blow Your Cool! – and would achieve greater commercial results down the track than they managed with their first two albums (the band were eventually inducted into the ARIA Hall Of Fame in 2007). Nonetheless, most passionate fans will hold up Stoneage Romeos and Mars Needs Guitars! as their favourite records from the Gurus, a band who went on to create plenty more great music and remain to this day one of our finest live propositions (their sets still containing numerous songs from this prosperous era). Tellingly, if you scan Oz rock’s rich canon – or the history of rock’n’roll in general – a lot of bands achieved classic status with their first album or their second album, but not many managed the feat with their first album and their second album. Mission accomplished, Gurus.
For an extended version of this piece head to theMusic.com.au THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015 • 25
There are some excellent stand-alone tracks, like lead single Dead Inside and the soldier’s lament of Aftermath, but there’s a wholesale consumption of the listener when listening to Drones in full. “There are probably two or three ways that you can interpret the record, and I don’t think there’s necessarily a right or wrong way,” Wolstenholme explains. “You can take the lyrics very literally, but there are some pretty strong metaphors in there too that talk about the human race and how we’ve become disconnected through the growing use of technology in our life, and how that has become such a part of our lives to the point we go through life without having connections with other human beings.” Given Muse’s reputation as one of the world’s best live bands, and with an arena-filled northern hemisphere tour planned for the rest of 2015, it remains to be seen exactly how much of Drones will be incorporated into their live set. “We’ve played about four [of the] songs live so far, and they’ve gone down really well. Because this album’s gone back to a bit more of a rock vibe, and it’s very much recorded as a three-piece band, the transition from studio to stage is a lot easier to do.
music
STING IN THE TALE It seems a bit cloak and dagger, but as Muse bass player Chris Wolsteholme tells Dylan Stewart it’s all too necessary when you release an album these days.
H
coming out has died down in recent years and it’s something that I personally miss.
“I think it’s always important that the first that people hear of an album is the real thing,” he begins. “With mobile phones you get people recording gigs and pirating copies of albums [before they’re released, so] quite often when a new album comes out the first thing that people hear of it is some shitty iPhone recording.”
“In saying that, we do seem to be an album band. The people who like our music, they buy the albums. We don’t get many casual fans. But I think for us Drones was about reintroducing the idea of an album being important, and by doing that we’ve given it a concept and presented it as a body of work rather than just something provided to people who just purchase the odd song here and there.
aving signed a non-disclosure waiver, an advance copy of Muse’s seventh album, Drones, is pulled from a locked drawer and placed in a CD player. Phones off, pen and paper are allowed, and a strictly embargoed copy of the album’s lyrics is presented. It’s the type of secrecy that’s shrouded the release of the new Muse album, Drones, and, as bass player Chris Wolstenholme explains, it’s for good reason.
The expansion of piracy networks and the willingness of consumers to illegally download music is well-documented, although it hasn’t stopped Wolstenholme and his bandmates – guitarist/singer Matt Bellamy and drummer Dom Howard – from achieving superstardom. The new record’s content, however, is another reason they’ve been keen to keep it from prying ears. Drones is a conceptual album, set in a not-too-distant future, the story of a human brainwashed by the establishment and trained to be just another killer in an army of world-destroying clones. Despite being stripped of nearly all emotion and human connectedness, he rebels and leads a rebellion. World War Three ensues and, well, let’s just say no one will be walking down the aisle to it. It’s a dark, epic, rock’n’roll album that asks for a significant emotional investment. “For me, growing up, music was all about the album,” Wolstenholme continues. “The anticipation that people felt when an album from a big band was 26 • THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015
“Of course, if people want to do that then that’s completely their choice, but I do think that with this album it’ll be a more enjoyable experience if people listen to the album as a whole.” It’s cathartic, listening to an entire album away from the distractions of everyday life, even if Drones’ subject matter is dark.
“When we made The 2nd Law, as much as I still think it’s a great album, it was a total bitch to play live. There were months and months spent trying to work out how we were going to play certain songs [live] and I don’t think we really felt comfortable playing that album until we were two or three months in.
“...WE DO SEEM TO BE AN ALBUM BAND. THE PEOPLE WHO LIKE OUR MUSIC, THEY BUY THE ALBUMS. WE DON’T GET MANY CASUAL FANS.”
“With this album, it’s just easy. It’s a three-piece vibe and we’re all fairly comfortable with that. The three-piece rock thing translates to stage better and the crowd get it straight away.” So, any prospect of playing the entire album, start to finish? “It’s been talked about. On the upcoming tour there are going to be multiple nights that we’ll play the same venue so we’ve discussed playing one of those nights as a traditional set and on the other night we can go and play the album from start to finish. I don’t think it’s something we could do every night for two years though; that could get a little boring.”
WHAT: Drones (Warner)
A RIGHT PAIR
US funnymen Jake Hurwitz and Amir Blumenfeld are both looking forward to their upcoming Australia trip, though for very different reasons, as Evan Young discovers.
“I
’ve never been anywhere near Australia,” Blumenfeld says. “But we have high hopes, because we’ve heard nothing but great things. Everyone is very friendly, everyone is very handsome, everyone is very tall and…”He can’t finish his sentence because Hurwitz interjects. “Is it true Australian girls like American guys?” he enquires, tongue firmly in cheek. Hurwitz and Blumenfeld are perhaps better known as Jake and Amir, the titular characters from College Humor’s Webby Award-winning series of the same name. The series has recently been adapted to US television, the pair also hosting acclaimed podcast
If I Were You. Their next venture (as far as fans are concerned) is an Australian tour. “We’ve had so many fans in Australia for such a long time and zero chance to actually meet any of them,” Blumenfeld explains. “We always do long meet-andgreet sessions and try to talk to every single person that comes to a show, so we’re definitely looking forward to doing that in Australia for the first time.” It’s always interesting to see how our favourite film, television and web series translate into a live setting. While for some it can be a little daunting at first, Hurwitz and Blumenfeld have relished it.
“We enjoy live shows a lot,” Blumenfeld admits. “It’s much more fun and entertaining performing in front of a live audience – you get the instant feedback, you get the laughter. So far we’ve only done a few shows across the States, London and Manchester, and we’ve found it to be much more fun than recording in our living room with nobody else around.” “You get to engage with the audience more,” Hurwitz adds. “We also like to get drunk onstage – and it’s a lot more fun to get drunk with people than by ourselves in our apartment.”
comedy
Hurwitz and Blumenfeld’s burgeoning popularity has seen their work progress from web series to world tour in just a few years. According to the pair, their success has been achieved through countless hours of hard work and an initial willingness to work for free. “We tell people the same thing when they ask us for advice,” Blumenthal says, his voice mimicking that of a wise old man. “If you love something do it for free, and if it’s any good, someone will pay you to do it eventually.” “Also do it a lot,” Hurwitz adds. “You might do a bad job for a long time, but you’ll definitely get better. We definitely made our worst material in the beginning.” Having “donated” their time for an interview, the two ask for one last favour. “If someone could help us through customs when we arrive that would be greatly helpful. It’ll just be a few little creatures,” Blumenthal says. “Nothing bigger than a chameleon though,” Hurwitz reassures. “Thank you so much. See you at the gate.” WHEN & WHERE: 10 Jun, Corner Hotel
ANOTHER LANGUAGE
music
Riding high on their successful third album, Texas postrock quarter This Will Destroy You are returning for a national tour. Guitarist Chris King speaks to Scott Aitken about fine-tuning the shows and what’s next.
F
or their third album, Another Language, Texas four-piece This Will Destroy You spent the better part of a year writing the songs primarily in the studio after what has been described as a “prolonged vacuous dark period that threatened to break both the band and the members themselves.” With the album finally released in September last year, the band has been back on the road playing shows again. Guitarist Chris King said despite the album being made in the studio, it didn’t take long to adapt the songs for the live arena. “I feel like initially on there was a little bit of finessing and figuring out the best way to kind of get things going live but I definitely feel like at this point things are pretty honed in and we feel confident that things are flowing well. We just got finished playing a festival in Austin called Levitation and festivals are a good gauge for playing live because it’s a very do or die environment. You have, like, ten minutes to set up and play and it’s like the final two minutes of a basketball game. It can be intense in certain aspects playing festivals so it’s probably a good gauge of where the set is at now and we feel like we’ve performed well under pressure and feel good about this set and how everyone’s playing.” The new album now sits amongst a long catalogue of songs from their decade-long career so far, including
2011’s Tunnel Blanket and their self-titled debut from 2008, alongside a handful of EPs. King says the more upbeat songs of the new album help contrast with some of the darker parts of the set. “It’s been a great transition into the older material and it’s been a nice dynamic with the previous record, Tunnel Blanket being a little darker and slower and it meshing with that and having more upbeat songs like Invitation and New Topia. It’s been a nice way of increasing the palette and diversifying the set and just kind of adding more to the experience, and the
ups and downs of things. It definitely feels good having the new record as a placeholder and having these songs to play, I feel like they fit in really well with the previous material and they’re translating well live so we’ve been really happy with it.” The band return to Australia this June, playing songs from the new album as well as spanning the rest of their catalogue. After that King says the band will do a mini-tour of the US before starting work on some new releases. “We have a couple of scoring projects coming up in the next year that we can’t really disclose what they are or who’s involved but we’re really excited to be a part of that,” King explains. “But we’re definitely going to take some time in late summer/early fall to start writing, get some studio time lined up and get things going.” WHEN & WHERE: 11 Jun, Corner Hotel THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015 • 27
music
STANDING ALONE
While Aussie “one-man music-making machine” Harts (aka Darren Hart) has lots to look forward to in the immediate future, he takes the time to tell Ben Preece about his rise to prominence, how he’s poised for the next step and that one time he hung out with Prince.
D
arren Hart is a man chasing his own destiny. A guitar virtuoso, he not only plays all the instruments and writes all his own songs, but he remains unaffected by what trends swing in and out of his life and was making real funk music well before the likes of Mark Ronson helped bring it back into the mainstream. But on forthcoming EP, Breakthrough, Hart reveals he’s already moving his stuff forward as to not get lost in the crowd.
music
“It’s coincidental that artists are coming back with that funk stuff, but I was doing that stuff before even Daft Punk came back with their take on it as well. Those types of artists benefited me in a way, because when a big artist like that comes out with a similar direction, a lot of people seem to stumble on your music. Maybe it’s related on a hashtag or somehow linked, so people discovered my stuff via that bigger stuff. One of the reasons why I want to stand alone in that though, and why some of the EP tracks are a shift in direction from the funk and more into
the rock, is because I don’t want to be caught up in that trend. It seems like it’s coming back and that’s cool, but a lot of people will just see me as part of that trend and trying to bring that back. That really wasn’t the case; it was genuine.” There was a time when Harts didn’t seem to make sense on radio. Hefty support from Prince as well as a lot of triple j play with singles Red & Blue, When A Man’s A Fool and now Breakthrough have seemingly secured him a place on the Australian musical map. “I feel that now my stuff has much more vision and direction and is much more coherent than some of the stuff I was doing previously. It was a little bit scattered,” he confesses. “Where did it really fit in? Well it didn’t and it was kind of hard for me to create an audience from scratch, pretty much. It’s big props and owed to people like Prince who discovered me and triple j who have been helping promote me for the last nine months or whatever. Those big players coming on board are what’s kicked it off and cemented it for a lot of people to take what I’m doing seriously. But the next EP is more blues with a funk touch, rather than funk with a blues touch. It’s leaning on the rock side and I think that’s what more people are resonating with – the Hendrix-esque guitar playing. That was the natural way to go from the last album to what will be the next album. This EP is the bridge in the sonics and musicality from where I was to where I’m going.”
WHAT: Breakthrough (Pavement/Shock) WHEN & WHERE: 6 Jun, Karova Lounge; 7 Jun, The Loft, Warrnambool; 20 & 27 Jun, Ding Dong Lounge
CITY HEARTBEAT What began with a one-off concert has become a love letter to the city of New Orleans for jazz stylist Dee Dee Bridgewater, as Michael Smith discovers.
T
he last time Dee Dee Bridgewater was in Australia, back in 2011, she was showcasing an album that honoured the life and music of Billie Holliday. This time around, she’s stretched out to embrace a whole city, New Orleans, and 100 years of the music to which it gave birth – jazz – in one album, Dee Dee’s Feathers. “Well, it wasn’t intended to be an album in the beginning,” Bridgewater admits. “Originally I had suggested to Irvin [Mayfield] that we do a recording that we could sell at the New Orleans Jazz Market that he’s at the helm of creating. I had the idea when we did the groundbreaking ceremony in February last year, and I’d suggested we record all songs about New Orleans. One month later we were in the studio recording – we did this album in three days – and it came out so phenomenally well that, after listening to it, he said, ‘Oh no, we need to put this out as a real commercial CD.’ “I think the beauty of this CD is the sense of joy that kind of jumps out of the speakers. You can hear this immense joy and this love and this camaraderie between Irvin and the musicians of the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra and myself. It’s about the joy that this city brings; it’s about the rebirth of this city as a phoenix, coming out of the ashes of the horrible,
28 • THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015
devastating Hurricane Katrina, and it’s about looking forward – it’s of life itself. “New Orleans is hard to describe because it’s very palpable. It’s like a living, breathing organism, the whole city, and I marvel every time I go there. I’m captivated by the history, by the food, by this kind of infectious energy that engulfs me. I’m a totally different animal when I’m down in New Orleans.” Born in Memphis, Tennessee, and raised in Flint, Michigan, herself, Bridgewater lived in France for almost 24 years, which meant that New Orleans’ origins as a French colonial port also resonated with her.
“It’s like walking through a living museum,” she continues, “and the fact that it is considered to be the birthplace of jazz with this long lineage of amazing trumpet players that have come out of that city – there’s all of that in there. So it’s a city that speaks to me on just so many levels.” For all the obvious love and excitement in the creation of Dee Dee’s Feathers, recognising that New Orleans music per se is not her specialty, Bridgewater deferred to Mayfield to produce the album. “For the first time, not having to be in the control booth and at the centre of everything, it was beautiful,” she admits. “All I had to do is go in and sing, and I haven’t done that since I started producing myself in 1993. So it was a lovely experience for me and we did things that I don’t know that we would have done if we were recording the album to be a commercial entity. So we allowed ourselves a lot of freedom.” WHEN & WHERE: 7 Jun, Melbourne International Jazz Festival, Hamer Hall
SECOND SKIN “I don’t wanna be sucked into the machine again,” Quang Dinh informs Bryget Chrisfield of his new band Naked Bodies’ self-described “feel bad music”.
Y
eah, yeah, so Quang Dinh was the bassist/ vocalist in much-loved, now-defunct pop outfit Little Red. “With all the old Little Red stuff – it was good, it was fun; it seems like there was nothing lasting to it at all,” Dinh shares. “It’s all gone now. It’s all just evaporated like it never happened.” Now it’s all about fronting Naked Bodies. “Everybody needs to move on,” he suggests. “Imagine if Bob Dylan never moved on or Leonard Cohen never got with Phil Spector or something? Like, how boring it would be. Or Madonna never changed outfits, hahaha.”
Much like Cohen, Dinh’s poetic lyricism is on elegant display throughout Naked Bodies’ debut album. “There’s stuff to express in the human experience,” Dinh opines, in his quiet, measured way. “I think art is kind of like a weapon and needs to be used more responsibly, because it’s a very powerful tool, a cultural tool, in society.” On Naked Bodies’ firstever gig, Dinh recalls, “I believe we just got high… It’s weird, the old marijuana. I think it’s just to lose your other skins so you can be a bit purer. It’s kind of a mission statement of Naked Bodies, that’s why it’s called Naked Bodies: we wanted to
move into transparency. It’s what’s missing, you know? I just see so many bands these days and it’s kind of like they purposefully build up the wall and image, a smoke and mirrors kind of thing. We don’t wanna lose ourselves, you know? We just wanna self-reflect and self-discover. There’s no plan, really, it’s all just roll of the dice.”
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Dinh’s well aware that the music Naked Bodies produces is unconventional (“it’s kinda like feel bad music”). “It’s real difficult in Naked Bodies ‘cause it’s kind of strange, um, there’s a little bit of negativity involved and it’s hard to do that all the time, ‘cause it wears away at your own skin, and your own face, and you find it hard to be happy anymore.” We discuss how being connected to a record label can sometimes be viewed as a hindrance by artists these days and Dinh gifts this scribe a limitededition Naked Bodies zine. “There’s a centrefold in [the zine] that summarises that kind of feel,” he points out. Said centrefold is a photo collage featuring nudity and images of Dinh gagged or with eyes duct taped shut. “That pretty much summarises my experience. In ways,” he allows. Dinh explains he put together the cover artwork for the Piranha album. “After Little Red, I don’t wanna be sucked into the machine again,” he stresses. “I kinda just wanna DIY and look beyond the business aspect – still be shrewd with that, but that’s not really what I’m in it for anymore.” WHEN & WHERE: 19 Jun, Rad Bar, Wollongong; 20 Jun, Brighton Up Bar; 21 Jun, The Front Gallery & Cafe, Canberra
FIRESIDE SONGS
music
One of Melbourne’s newest live music venues, Brunswick’s Charles Weston Hotel, is launching a series of Winter Sessions. Michael Smith chats to the hotel’s booker, Crispian Winsor.
I
t’s quite the edifice, painted yellow and stood proudly in all its historic Victorian hotel glory, corner of Weston and Charles Streets in Brunswick. It’s been spruced up of course, and gone through a name change (it was formerly the Sporting Club Hotel), but it’s serious about becoming an essential if intimate part of Melbourne’s effervescent live music scene, as the venue’s booker, Crispian Winsor – who is also a breakfast announcer on PBS – explains. “I was booking the venue a little bit last year, just for two and a half months, and came back onboard earlier this year. We’ve been running a residency on Thursday night, with usually a solo act, so we thought we’d open it up to include Saturdays. “It’s got a really intimate atmosphere and a really good fireplace in the front room. Obviously the sprawling beer garden works very well as a live music venue in summer, but for winter it’s great inside and we didn’t want to forget about us thinking we were only an outdoors summer pub – we’re a very comfortable pub in winter as well – and music just fits very well. Essentially it’ll be acoustic solos and duos.” Hence the launch of the Winter Sessions, a Saturday evening monthly residency which is kicked off by
Voix D’or – multiinstrumentalist Leena Thavisin and in-demand pedal steel, guitarist and pianist Shane Reilly – who describe themselves as “two country folk in city bodies”. The pair – Thavisin was born in Hobart but grew up everywhere from Bangkok to Paris to San Francisco as her parents travelled, while Reilly is originally from Adelaide – got together over a shared love of Dusty Springfield, Dolly Parton, Ry Cooder and green tea, and have an album’s worth of original material in the works. As The Music’s Dylan Stewart wrote in a review back in October last
year, “Thavisin’s voice fits somewhere between Lucinda Williams and Brooke Fraser”. “On June 20,” Winsor adds, “we’ll also have the duo Jemma Rowlands and Sean McMahon, who are part of Jemma & The Clifton Hillbillies, more of a country-style affair. And in July, it’ll be the five-piece Oliver’s Army, who are a bit more rock/pop – that might be a bit squeezy! They’re the bands so far.” No idea if the venue will embrace a Christmas in July kind of vibe and serve eggnog and invite you to toast marshmallows by the fire – “Mulled wine is a possibility,” Crispi reckons – but the Winter Sessions are certainly guaranteed to keep your musical mojo satisfied. WHAT: Winter Sessions WHEN & WHERE: 6, 13 & 27 Jun, Charles Weston Hotel THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015 • 29
ALBUM OF THE WEEK
★★★★½
album/ep reviews
MUSE
SETH SENTRY
Warner
High Score/Inertia
It would be a pretty tough critic who’d say Muse needed Drones to be successful for their career to right itself, given 2012’s The 2nd Law didn’t live up to expectations. But it could be fair to say that if this latest record flopped, there might be some questions asked about the band’s legacy.
To date, Seth Sentry has had two operative flaws. First, his persona on the mic is brutally straightforward, without style or nuance. Second, he refuses to change. So imagine the thrill when Seth Sentry confronts, and defeats, both flaws in the first few bars of album opener, How Are You! Sentry’s regimented flow, an eternal slave to his rhyme schemes and simple melodies, reaches immediately for heights he’s never even contemplated before. Thirty seconds into Strange New Past Sentry has decided to rewrite the future.
Drones
Lucky, then, that Drones is spectacular, epic in scope, epic in sound, epic in delivery. Released tracks, Psycho and Dead Inside, indicate that the band are back in their comfort zone; a three-piece rock’n’roll behemoth ready to conquer all. But Drones isn’t just a collection of 12 tracks sewn together to create a powerful album; it’s a conceptual album encompassing a vision of an allpowerful government state, the brainwashing and destruction of a human soul, and the inevitable rebellion and subsequent World War Three that follows.
Strange New Past
It’s a powerful narrative made even more dystopian by Matt Bellamy’s lyrics, which are as strong as ever. Even in uplifting moments like Mercy, there’s an overarching sense of despair. Not every track is a winner, with concurrent tracks The Handler and Defector representing a weaker area of the record, but it finishes with a superb duo: the haunting lament of Aftermath and the epic, four-part The Globalist. Drones can be consumed song by song, but it shouldn’t be. It should be absorbed as an overall piece of work, and a brilliant one at that. Dylan Stewart
OF MONSTERS & MEN
30 • THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015
It might sound odd for a man of Seth Sentry’s experience, but he remains a work in progress. His triumph is his commitment to making that progress while others around him stagnate. That’s artistry. That’s humility. That’s what an intelligent rapper should be striving for. James d’Apice
Cum The Raw Prawn
Republic/Universal
Beneath The Skin is comparable to Mumford & Sons latest album, Wilder Mind, in a number of ways. Firstly, the titles of both these recent records seem to imply or suggest a deeper or more serious level of introspection. The cheery sounds and bright trumpets of these bands’ earlier releases have been replaced with a postgreat-recession seriousness, or
Run is a backward step. On Dumb, when we share Seth’s self-deprecatory moment, we learn our hero is not smarter than a sixth grader, and when we hear a forgettable pop rock hook, it feels like the past. Then, New Sentry steps up to the plate with some neat new flow tricks and the future again feels a little brighter.
COSMIC PSYCHOS
Beneath The Skin
The best laid schemes often go awry. Icelandic band Of Monsters & Men here return with the follow-up to their timely debut album, My Head Is An Animal. The record remains a key touchstone for anyone wanting to know what pop music sounded like in the early half of this decade. Since then, it seems the band hasn’t changed much. However, as its title would suggest, Beneath The Skin is a more sombre affair than its predecessor.
It’s not all rosy though. On Nobody Like Me he reels off some funny, engaging, Jurassic Park-flavoured raps. We’re listening. Then Thundamentals’ Tuka drops a guest verse and the spell is instantly broken. Tuka brings with him all the style and charisma Sentry lacks, and we remember what we’ve been missing too. Uneventful
★★★
Desperate Records/Rocket
★★★ at least the sheen of sincerity. This has meant that the folk instruments and the simpler times they evoke have been left back in the dusty attics in which they were found, replaced now with the loud and grey sounds of electric guitars. The album was produced by Rich Costey, who’s previously worked with other groups searching for this sense of stadium-ready solemnity. Organs is the quietest moment on the album, and while it’s easy to see it as the token acoustic track, it’s also a reminder that the band can sound perfectly sincere once the background noise is stripped away. Roshan Clerke
Kicking off with Better, Not Bitter and its “Fucken bullshit, maaaate!” refrain – possibly the most Ocker song ever committed to tape – the Cosmic Psychos’ new album, Cum The Raw Prawn, finds the trio putting the yob back in yob rock with glorious gusto. Recorded on the fly at frontman Knighty’s infamous farm, this represents possibly the dumbest batch of lyrics in the Psychos’ storied catalogue of dumb lyrics, but the music behind them is typically driving and unrelenting, rife with the trio’s innate (albeit brutish) knack for hooks and melody. Mad Macca unleashes some blistering guitar parts on songs like Bum For Grubs, Come & Get Some and Toothbrush – and also contributes two strong tracks in Fuckwit City and Pint Girl – while Dean Muller holds
★★★★ the beat with typical precision and also chucks in the driving Cotton Mouth. Strange drunken skits, laughing and the sound of tinnies being cracked between songs also add a larrikin charm. It takes a special skill-set to write songs so mindlessly stupid that make you want to grab a beer and scream along at the top of your lungs, but that’s how this lot’s always rolled. At the very end, Didn’t Wanna Love Me moves as close to pathos as Psychos are ever gonna get, but mostly this is the sound of blokes trying to make their mates laugh and having a ripping time (and making some great rock’n’roll) in the process. Steve Bell
album/ep reviews
★★★★
★★★★
★★★½
★★★½
METHYL ETHEL
YOUNG GUNS
HARTS
DAUGHN GIBSON
Oh Inhuman Spectacle
Ones And Zeros
Breakthrough
Carnation
EMI
Pavement/Shock
Sub Pop/Inertia
Young Guns are shooting for the stars with this latest release. Rising Up is electric with a powerful main riff while Lullaby is more deep and meaningful. I Want Out and Infinity are the most mainstream songs, full of heavy but playful beats. Die On Time sounds like a song that could be an opener for a Bond movie. Ones And Zeros’ energy is infectious with its fast pace and guitars; Gustav Wood’s vocals are incredible with a hint of that English accent in there. A solid album for the London-based lads.
Melbourne singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Darren Hart brings something brighter back into rock music on his latest release. While the stomping funk of the title track sounds heavily inspired by Mark Ronson’s recent foray into downtown sounds, it’s all the more noteworthy that this is the work of one man. In the vein of classic self-produced ‘70s singer-songwriters like Shuggie Otis, Harts handles all the playing himself. When A Man’s A Fool is heavy on the riffs, while he takes a much more virtuosic approach to the guitar on the remaining three tracks, filling them with Hendrix-style guitar solos.
On his third album Gibson strips away the gothic Americana elements of his previous releases and replaces them with immersive electronic textures and dark pop-laced compositions. Co-producers Tim Hecker, Jesse Sykes and Randall Dunn (Earth, Sunn O))) enhance the respective experimental, melodic and dark qualities of the album as Gibson delves into lyrical corners that have a cinematic feel. He sings them in a deep, rich voice that brings to mind Jack Ladder and Lambchop’s Kurt Wagner backed by Wild Beasts or Tindersticks. An album that takes a few listens before its nuances begin to emerge.
Roshan Clerke
Chris Familton
Dot Dash/Remote Control Perth-bred Methyl Ethel’s debut full-length is a strong progression from their first two EPs. Despite opening with the WAM Pop Song Of The Yearwinning Rogues, as a whole, the album certainly wanders down a more lo-fi dream-pop path. That doesn’t mean it’s not got its fair share of memorable hooks – second track, Shadowboxing, and the fifth, Twilight Driving, are standouts in that respect with glistening guitar tones and catchy lyrics, while later track, Artificial Limb, is a showcase for Jake Webb’s nostalgic-sounding vocals, tinged with that Aussie twang we’ve all come to love so much.
Aneta Grulichova
Kane Sutton
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★★★
FFS FFS Domino/EMI With seemingly shared intellectual and musical outlooks, the mind-meld of Franz Ferdinand and Sparks – a band who could almost be their glam-era forebears – should work very much hand-in-glove. Both love their little operatic flourishes and slightly superior asides. But as they sipped their gin & tonics, perhaps they revelled in their in-jokes a little too much. So, while there’s the arched eyebrow and dry-tofruity witticisms of ditties like The Man Without A Tan, titling another of their baroque little constructions Collaborations Don’t Work – even tongue-incheek – might be just a bit too clever for their own good. Ross Clelland
★★★
PINS Wild Nights Bella Union/[PIAS] Australia
★★★★
LEFTFIELD Alternative Light Source Infectious/Liberator
Bella Union have had a definite focus on Mancunians in 2015, first with the release of pop-centric BC Camplight’s comeback album a few months back and now the release of girl group Pins’ second LP. The quartet doesn’t appear to have any qualms about flying the ‘rebel’ label but behind the middle-fingerreliant marketing strategy is a bundle of thoughtful surf and grunge-pop songs, reminiscent of great bands like Splendora, Hole (during the Malibu era) and even a bit of Magic Dirt. To the point and no-nonsense, the band never lose their sense of fun.
Breaking 16 years of anticipation for a third Leftfield album, TV On The Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe electrogroans through murky opener, Bad Radio, and the relief is palpable. Universal Everything roundhouses an Age Of Lovefuelled banger punching an oh so sweet drop at 5’27”. Fists will pump to Little Fish and Jason Williamson rhymes like the scallywag offspring of Mike Skinner and Keith Flint on Head & Shoulders. Finally, Levitate For You gets ghostly thanks to London soulboy Ofei. Alternative Light Source’s arrival is as blindingly unexpected as it is dazzlingly brilliant.
Adam Wilding
Mac McNaughton
Sharon Van Etten – I Don’t Want To Let You Down The Hazy Chains – Orb Tremonti – Cauterize Willie Nelson & Merle Haggard – Django And Jimmie Nocturnal Sunshine – Nocturnal Sunshine Herbert – The Shakes Lifehouse – Out Of The Wasteland Cairo Knife Fight – The Colossus
THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015 • 31
live reviews
NEIL FINN
Melbourne Recital Centre 27 May It’s Neil Finn’s 57th birthday. He wanders up to the mic, just musician and guitar, and uses pedals to adjust the atmosphere within arrangements (one makes his guitar sound like a didgeridoo?). When You Come’s lyrics are spotlighted delivered thus and we immediately sigh and sink into our seats. Finn welcomes latecomers as they take their seats, promising he won’t take cheap shots at them as he once saw Barry Humphries do (as Sir Les Patterson). The audience bursts into a spontaneous Happy Birthday (after which Finn points out we sang it in the key of E)
is Matthew McConaughey so hard to understand?” before elaborating: he was once staying at the same hotel as the actor, and on a neighbouring balcony, while the actor was cooking a steak with his dog hanging out next to him. Finn said hi and was ignored. He holds a grudge. As part of his intro for Four Seasons In One Day, Finn performs a segment of Cool Change by LRB, observing it’s also a song about climate. We’re encouraged to sing the Crowded House song’s chorus three times in a row to close and, after the penultimate repeat, Finn encourages, “You’re almost owning it, Melbourne!” He asks for a volunteer and “Darryl” surges forward and jumps up on stage in his trakkies. Darryl’s taught, and repeats, three notes on the piano and then
NEIL FINN @ MELBOURNE RECITAL CENTRE. PIC: JOSHUA BRAYBROOK
and a couple of party poppers are detonated in the front rows. Finn moves to the Steinway and each song he chooses is extraordinary whether or not you’ve heard it before. The dejected piano plonks of Message To My Girl make us collectively get something in our eye. He directs his voice away from the mic to belt out the high notes these days (and struggles to hit them a couple of times), but what a song! And Finn’s banter is almost as entertaining as his playing. We’re introduced to The Devil You Know as “Liam’s song” then Finn explains he played it over and over while his son was in the womb and also recorded it on loop for the whole side of a cassette tape to play to, and soothe, him when he was a baby. “Liam, wherever you are I hope you’re sleeping,” Finn adds. Then Finn poises a question, “Why 32 • THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015
appropriate lyrics if sung on any other night. Private Universe is this evening’s main set closer. Finn returns, tuning his guitar and apologises, “I have to tune, it’ll be worth it,” and is it ever as we’re treated to understated-but-great versions of Distant Sun and Fall At Your Feet with added audiencesupplied melodies (after Finn’s careful instruction). Seeing Finn live is like a comforting hug when you need it most. Bryget Chrisfield
NGAIIRE Howler 27 May Ngaiire has had a pretty silent year so far. Early ’14 saw the end of a sweet succession of singles from the singer, with tracks
NEIL FINN @ MELBOURNE RECITAL CENTRE. PIC: JOSHUA BRAYBROOK
stops mid-song on command (albeit a little bit early) then starts up again perfectly on cue. Dougal (the bouncer made famous thanks to RocKwiz) is on duty tonight and a string orchestra is welcomed to the stage. Split Enz’ One Step Ahead with their help is even more sublime than the original. One track closes out with the double bassist replicating seagull sounds. We’re introduced to pianist Victoria Kelly, who is responsible for string arranging Finn’s Dizzy Heights. Finn’s wife Sharon shuffles out to supply BVs and we hear some tracks off his most recent solo album. His beat machine trips up into calypso mode to close out one song, but Finn’s such a natural (It’s Only Natural?) we’d instantly forgive him for anything. “Everybody wants the same thing/To see another birthday,” could not be more
pads, generate the trudging beats that underlie her vocal fantasia. They play glistening pop track Fireflies before Ngaiire announces that they’ll now be performing her newly written songs. These lean less towards pop than her previous songs – the beats are more rigid than before, the melodies less obvious. But they’re still funky. Her voice, much like her previous work, still stands at the forefront of her sound. Some of the newer songs – including the quick-paced, synth-drenched Once – are co-written with Megan Washington. The band perform them as fluidly as can be, hindered only slightly by the loud fluster of a synthesised avalanche. She ends the set with Uranus before returning for an encore with ABCD. An
BRITISH INDIA @ CORNER HOTEL. PIC: ANDREW BRISCOE
like Around, Dirty Hercules and Uranus helping her to conjure an R&B oasis within Melbourne’s sea of, well, everything else. This show at Howler marks a return for Ngaiire. It’s as much a reminder of her previous singles as it is an unveiling of what she’s written since. She opens with material from her 2013 album Lamentations and promptly bags the audience with her voice; her big, loud and outrageously powerful voice. She weaves seamlessly from one octave to the next; hopping between high and low; joyous and teasing but then, at some points, she’s also painfully wistful. The soulfulness onstage is furthered by two back-up singers, whose harmonies dance with Ngaiire’s in near-angelic formation. Behind the singer are two synth players who, along with her own two sample
ode for a friend who “died of a broken heart”, the song’s wistful innocence and simple arrangement means that one can hear a pin drop during its performance. Somehow, despite Ngaiire laughing when one of the synth players forgets how to play it, the song’s sense of tragedy remains stinging. Her dress is a marvel. Angela Anaconda’s face looks trivially toward the crowd 50 times over, running in rings around the singer’s physique. The crest of the dress almost engulfs Ngaiire’s whole head, aided by the whelming fluorescence of the same piece’s pinks and yellows. It’s as svelte as it is loud; a curious combination similarly conjured by the songs themselves. A fabric crown for the evening’s queen of Howler. Niamh Crosbie
live reviews
BRITISH INDIA, TIRED LION, GRENADIERS Corner Hotel 28 May Adelaide trio Grenadiers erupt with an aggressive sound to blast us from wall to wall. Blending punk, heavy rock and loud, tearing screams, the band’s relentless energy smacks us in the face and knocks us about with full force. Ready to get rowdy, Tired Lion are all revved up with trilling guitars and highpitched shouts loaded with angst. Their instrumentals shine as gritty guitar riffs and thumping drums evoke ‘90s garage/grunge nostalgia. Tired
This Dance Is Loaded, which makes us move like never before. Lead singer Declan Melia jokes that by the end of writing their new record it was a little too happy, so they thought they’d throw in another sad, break-up song called Blame It All On Me, which they share with us tonight. Tracks from the Guillotine era are the most played and receive the highest praise from their loyal fans. This evening is all about their fans and they take requests, asking us what we want to hear. Suddenly is a clear crowd favourite and ignites the moshpit with an outbreak of fearless crowdsurfers overhead. British India dedicate a couple of songs to their support acts, who are in it for the tour’s duration: Vanilla (for Grenadiers) and I Said I’m Sorry (for Tired Lion).
BRITISH INDIA @ CORNER HOTEL. PIC: ANDREW BRISCOE
Lion’s raw sound is full of life, moving at an energetic and chaotic pace. We all get carried away in the moment and the band run out of time, finishing abruptly with the unapologetic I Don’t Think You Like Me. Tom Jones’ classic It’s Not Unusual welcomes British India to the stage as they charge headfirst with the booming Black & White Radio. And being the first single from their 2006 debut album, Guillotine, it’s a fitting introduction. Tonight the band come full circle and they’re stoked to be back to where it all began, in their hometown. After taking time off to make their fifth and latest album Nothing Touches Me, British India are ready to play a mix of new and old songs with a few covers thrown in. Their powerhouse anthems continue with the relentless Safari and
Like true rock stars, British India go out with a bang, concluding with Wrong Direction and no encore. Across the tour, the band’s setlist will keep fans guessing as they continue to celebrate the past and present with a back catalogue that contains over a decade’s worth of music. Michael Prebeg
BORIS, WHITE WALLS, HOTEL WRECKING CITY TRADERS Corner Hotel 30 May Kicking off the evening, brash two-piece Hotel Wrecking City Traders set the tone by coming out of the gates
loud, really loud. With Boris’ towering amp stacks serving as a constant reminder of what’s to come, Hotel Wrecking City Traders are still an integral part of the affair. As things progress, some tracks fail to stand up as defining moments, but the band deliver. Following on, White Walls are a natural choice for tonight’s second support considering their love for all things loud and tonal. They are blistering and can be heard from every cranny of the building, much to the dismay of the punters upstairs who are trying to have a casual night watching the game. White Walls flow faultlessly from one song to the next and their energy matches the intensity of the music tenfold.
BRITISH INDIA @ CORNER HOTEL. PIC: ANDREW BRISCOE
As Boris get their monolithic set-up in working order, we don’t feel we need to check the time because, considering the volume of this evening’s previous acts, we’re sure to know when it’s time to come in. Right? But then we’re shocked to enter the band room and see the headliners have already started. The main problem for Boris is the mix; the band get loud with their drone-y passages, but most of the more straightforward songs in their catalogue come across far too quiet and a little lifeless. As we reach the midpoint of the set, after a few louder moments, these problems ease up a bit and then we can appreciate the band. And for a group boasting 19 albums and a 20-plus year history, there’s a lot to admire. From their faultless
professionalism/interplay (led in part by the wildly talented drummer/vocalist Atsuo) to the sheer exploration of musical boundaries – from the straight-up rock’n’roll of 1970 to the cybernetic J-pop sounds of Party Boy, for example. The bleak Aileron is a definite crowd-pleaser; chilling in its quiet moments, but pure punishment when louder. By the time we reach the equally punishing closer Farewell, it’s quite clear that Boris have easily won over this packed-out room. Bradley Armstrong
BRITISH INDIA @ CORNER HOTEL. PIC: ANDREW BRISCOE
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ALISON WONDERLAND @ WAREHOUSE PROJECT. PIC: JOSHUA BRAYBROOK
Joelistics @ Howler Reptiles @ Uncle Rocco’s Barber Pearls @ The Tote
THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015 • 33
arts reviews he trips over his ex-girlfriend Tracy (McAdams) and questions whether he is still in love with her while he toys with the idea of sleeping with his fighter pilot (Stone). The female characters are written to be floozies, which of course makes Bradley Cooper look stupid, but heroic, emotionally tortured and ultimately loveable. ALOHA
ALOHA Film
In cinemas 4 Jun
★★★ This film is worth going to see for the names in it: Bill Murray, Emma Stone, Rachel McAdams, Alec Baldwin, Bradley Cooper. Brian Gilcrest (Cooper), who used to work for NASA, has been sent to Hawaii by an evil billionaire (Murray) to strike a deal with some Hawaiians. He swaps land and cell phone service for permission to launch a satellite. Along the way of course,
34 • THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015
Alec Baldwin as General Dixon is a highlight. His stone-faced, deadpan delivery and bursts of outrage pepper the film with excitement. The not-so-subtle hints that the US defence force is a rudderless boat controlled by billionaires provide an overall strong message. It’s nice to see an American film directly address the negative impact of American occupation in other countries. And of course, there’s also stunning Hawaiian scenery, emotional tension and romance to look at. There are plenty of brilliant throwaway lines as well about Americans feeling enlightened when they take MDMA and cover themselves in mud at Coachella – always appreciated. Sarah Barratt
CALAMITY NEON
The Lawler, Southbank Theatre to 7 Jun
★★★ ½ Billed as part-western, partmusical and part-biography, Calamity surprisingly manages to deliver all three components.. It examines the life and portrayal of foul-mouthed, gun-toting cowgirl Calamity Jane – what may have been true about her and who she was, the legend that she left behind, how the public perceived her while she was alive and after she was dead, and the way Hollywood gave her a feminine makeover. All this is explored through the eyes of an 11-yearold girl, as well as Dawson herself. Later, as what transpires becomes unexpectedly surreal and metatextual, Calamity Jane’s character turns into a symbol of ‘womanhood’ and ambition. The play features songs and dialogue from the 1953 film Calamity Jane, which is lipsynched by the three actors (Dawson, whose comedic timing
is spot on; the brilliant Debra Batton as ‘real’ Calamity; and the young Ivy Miller), with the actors also breaking the fourth wall between scenes for monologues, littered with pop culture references. The original dialogue in the last third is also pre-recorded and lip-synced, giving the play cohesion and a heightened sense of drama. There’s even a (hilarious) video presentation/documentary short thrown in. Despite Calamity’s hodgepodge format, the actors’ charisma and earnestness and the layers of analysis within the text hold it firmly together. Stephanie Liew
CALAMITY
THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015 • 35
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36 • THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015
the guide Answered by: Billy Fleming. How did you get your start? We were little groms and the surf was flat, so we raided Zach [Stephenson, guitar/vox]’s old man’s shed and found a guitar and a rusty old drum kit. Sum up your musical sound in four words? Coupla blokes, coupla casuals. If you could support any band in the world, past or present, who would it be? Thirsty Merc.
HOCKEY DAD
You’re being sent into space, you bring one album – who would it be? Thirsty Merc. Greatest rock’n’roll moment of your career to date? Not remembering how we flew home from Brisbane once was heavy. Why should people come see your band? We’ll be going off like last week’s milk. When and where for your next gig? Hitting up Shebeen on 4 and 5 Jun. Website link for more info? Facebook.com/hockeydadband
Pic: Ian Laidlaw
THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015 • 37
eat/drink steph@themusic.com.au
STREET FOOD
A NEW PYRAMID
Sarah Barratt checks out the word on the street (food). Illustration Stephanie Liew.
SOUTH MELBOURNE MARKET
Lady Carolina – 175-177 Lygon St, Brunswick East
The Southside Social – 15–19 Gordon St, Elsternwick
Set to open real soon is a Peruvian cevicheria style bar, serving up a blend between Japanese and Peruvian up front and Latin American street food out the back in the courtyard. Expect slow barbecued meats, ceviche and grilled seafood. Everything is locally and ethically sourced as much as possible too. They’re opening in July, so keep your eyes peeled.
Soul Kitchen WoodFired Pizza Truck along with a host of other food trucks have been setting up in Elsternwick for the last month or two, with business happening from Wednesday through Sunday. There’s ping pong tables, a bar set up by Pink Lady Apple Cider and plenty of tables and chairs to lounge around in. Its estimated run is coming to a close but it will hopefully stick around a little longer, depending on council permits.
Prahran Market – 163 Commercial Rd, South Yarra This place is a flurry of activity, much like the Vic Market but with fewer tourists. They also have a Pop Up Street Food Market, showcasing Malaysian homemade meals, Spanish paella or tapas, Argentinian empanadas, Hungarian goulash, Mexican tacos or Brazilian coxinhas. It’s like Europe in Melbourne. 38 • THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015
Bing Boy – various locations This Australian franchise celebrates the Chinese traditional thin wheat omelette wrap/ crepe, jian bing. Watch the staff cook the oh-sothin omelette on a large hot plate before loading it up with fillings such as pork, pickled cabbage, chicken, salad, wont skin, duck, avocado, prawn or salmon.
It’s a staple for sure, but if you’ve not visited in a while, you might find there are a few new stalls around that you haven’t seen before. Proper & Son is a cafe that’s just begun operating this year; it’s got a beautiful open kitchen and fresh, homely feel – and the coffee and food is pretty great, too. Tea Drop should cover all your tea needs; their range is extensive and there’ll be a few varieties you probably haven’t heard of. Catch is the newest seafood business, having opened this year. South Melbourne Fresh Food Centre has introduced a new organic range, while at least 25% of new greengrocer Boisdale Best’s fruit and veg produce comes direct from farms. Azalea’s flowers dazzle; if you like natives they’ve got a huge range. Australian Natural Soap Company have set up their first walk-in shop at the Market, providing dreamy natural soaps, oils and bath accessories. And to pamper yourself even more, head to Miss Nail Bar for a mani, pedi or both! Pic: Dina El-Hakim
The healthy eating pyramid has been updated for the first time since 2007. Instead of three tiers (eat most, eat moderately, eat in small amounts) it now consists of five groups, as you can see. The differences? Grains used to be lumped in with the fruit and veg in the bottom tier, and now it’s in the second layer. Sugar has been removed from the upmost tier. They’ve also added ‘choose water’, ‘limit salt and added sugar’ and ‘enjoy herbs and spices’. Yes, we do want flavour in our food, thank you. Source: Nutrition Australia
EATING OUTSIDE
2.5 billion people eat street food every day. Why? •
Often cheaper than dining at an eatery.
•
A good way to try a variety of foods.
•
It’s a fun and social thing to do with pals who like eating. And if you’re eating at a food market or festival it’s just a happy kinda atmosphere; everyone is just nomming and smiling away! :)
•
Lots of street food (in Australia) is ethnic food you can’t find that easily in restaurants unless you know where to go; diaspora communities and immigrant in Australia are drawn to street food for nostalgic and cultural reasons too.
•
For some reason the food just tastes better when you’re eating with fingers or plastic/wooden cutlery maybe???
the guide vic.live@themusic.com.au
LIVE THIS WEEK
CHART WRAP
BUNCH O’ LOONS
BENNY IS BACK
Loon Lake just released their new single, Just Now. Make your own pun. It’s the second taste of the Melbourne rockers’ new material, and maybe they’ll air some of it at Ding Dong Lounge on Sunday.
Ben Lee has dropped his new album, Love Is The Great Rebellion, and he’s gonna perform some of those songs live for you when he launches it at Northcote Social Club on Sunday with help from special guests Gordi and Carry Nation.
ACHING TO GO
SOULED
FUNKY CLUB
Adelaide go-getters The Hard Aches have finally unveiled their debut album, Pheromones, and are taking it around the country on tour. They hit up Wrangler Studios on Monday (all ages), then The Public Bar, 12 Jun.
Shake off those winter chills with Soul-A-Go-Go at Shebeen Bandroom this Saturday. Miss Goldie, DJ Manchild, Richie 1250, Vince Peach, Matt McFetridge and special guest The Foxman will all bring good tunes and good times.
Reverend Funk & The Horns Of Salvation pay tribute to the godfather of soul, James Brown, with a concert this Saturday at Flying Saucer Club. If you’re a fan of soul, funk, rhythm, blues, and three-piece horn sections, you should head down.
KUCKA FLUX Touting new single, Flux 98, lifted from her forthcoming Unconditional EP, Perth siren KUČKA is crossing the continent to introduce it Saturday at Hugs & Kisses.
WAKE UP AUSTRALIA!
A RARITY
KEEP ROLAND
Shields & Crowns is the debut album from progressive pop/rock Gold Coast fivepiece Awaken I Am, formerly known as Sleepers. The band are showcasing the album, playing Colonial Hotel, Sunday.
Comprising members of The Seven Ups and The Merri Creek Pickers, The Ivory Elephant play down-theline ‘70s styled rock’n’roll. They come to Cherry Bar this Friday to launch new EP Time Here Is Up.
Sydney troubadour Roland Kay-Smith performs at The B.East on Thursday. Hear tracks form his debut album, Sailing By The Stars, which was released in January.
HIGHWAY TO HER
JUST A TASTER
TEN YEARS, SIX STRINGS
On Friday, The Flying Saucer Club hosts Melbourne’s own female-fronted AC/DC tribute act, AC/DSHE. The band will be joined for a set by Tony Currenti, who played drums on most of AC/DC’s tracks on the High Voltage album in 1975.
The Taste of Indie Collective presents Aspiring Songwriters Open Mic night every Tuesday this month. Bring your instrument, voice and original songs to Prince Bandroom from 7.30pm. Contact the Collective on Facebook to score a spot.
Ten years ago, Ian Moss released his first fully acoustic solo album, Six Strings, and ten years on, that album is being reissued in a deluxe anniversary edition. Moss reintroduces the album live Saturday at The Capital Theatre, Bendigo.
FOR MORE HEAD TO THEMUSIC.COM.AU
KING PARROT
NSW Blue Mountains-bred electronic duo Hermitude have claimed the top spot in this week’s Albums stakes on the Carlton Dry Independent Music Charts with their new full-length, Dark Night, Sweet Light. The pair’s triumphant entry knocks previous gold medallist Sia and her long-dominant album 1000 Forms Of Fear down a peg to #2, with the next-closest fresh face coming in the form of King Parrot’s Dead Set, which slides into the top five at #3, ahead of San Cisco’s Gracetown, itself up a spot to #4, and Courtney Barnett’s Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit, bringing up the rear at #5. Fozzey & VanC close out the new-entry ranks for albums this week with No Feat., which makes its debut at #6. Ascendant chanteuse Joelle takes out top debut honours on this week’s Singles ladder, earning the #5 spot for Wish I Never, one of only two new tracks to make the cut — Sons Of The East’s eponymous EP completes the set, entering the charts at #19, one spot above the reappearing Flume & Chet Faker, whose joint Drop The Game release is back at #20. As far as incumbent releases are concerned, Sia sees her previously consecutive hat trick spread out a bit this week, with Big Girls Cry climbing up to #1 to knock Hermitude’s The Buzz, featuring Mataya and Young Tapz, down to #2, while Elastic Heart sits strong at #3 and Chandelier drops a couple of rungs to #6. Southern singer-songwriter Asta also climbs inside the top five, with Dynamite, featuring Allday, trading places with Chandelier to hit #4 this week. THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015 • 39
the guide vic.live@themusic.com.au
LIVE THIS WEEK
THIS WEEK’S RELEASES… SETH SENTRY Strange New Past High Score Records/Inertia MUSE Drones Warner OF MONSTERS & MEN Beneath The Skin Republic/Universal COSMIC PSYCHOS Cum The Raw Prawn Desperate Records/Rocket 40 • THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015
BEYOND THE PALE
KLIPPED
FOR THIS JELLY
Pale Heads features Tom Lyngcoln (Harmony/The Nation Blue), Thomy Sloane (Batpiss), Rui Periera (ex-The Drones, Right!) and Xiao Zhong (Pairs). They’ll blast dirgey punk rock at The Gasometer Hotel, Saturday.
JP Klipspringer launches his second EP, Din Deafening, at Ding Dong Lounge as part of a three-stop east coast tour. He’s been likened to Elliott Smith and The Postal Service, thanks to his powerful, irreverent and arresting live shows.
Modern Melbourne meets New Orleans old-school Fridays in June at Reverence Hotel, with The Royal Jellies. Frontline horns duke it out while the rhythm section cooks up raucous grooves in a stew of pop hooks and trad jazz.
ACTIVATE!
GOT SOME FACE
DAMN, DANNI
It’s Radiothon time for 3CR and this year’s theme is Activate the Airwaves. This year, every Friday arvo from 2-4pm, Burning Vinyl program heads to The Public Bar to present two bands for free. This Friday it’s The Wonder and Tankerville.
Human Face have released their debut album and are set to celebrate with a show on Friday at Spotted Mallard. The album’s 14 tracks travel far and wide, through cathartic psychedelic rock and warped synth pop. Check it out live.
Fresh from performing with Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth on The Ellen Degeneres Show and the Billboard Awards, Aussie diva Dannielle DeAndrea will preview songs from her forthcoming album at Paris Cat Jazz Club, Friday.
FUR & FEATHERS
SCIENCE SIDE OF MUSIC
SAINT GO MARCHING
Local indie pop trio Fox & Fowl celebrate the release of a new single, Eliza, and new direction Saturday at Grace Darling Hotel, with buddies Denpasar.
Singer, songwriter, science teacher and enthusiast Charlie Marshall presents a unique personal vision, Sublime – Songs of Science, Metaphysics & Ecology on Saturday at Spotted Mallard. It’s a musical, visual and spoken word event exploring science.
In The Shade Of The Juniper is the new album from hard rock band Arcane Saints. The album is the heaviest yet with a few pop tracks thrown in. Hear how it goes live, Friday, Prince Bandroom.
INTO THE WILD
PREPARE FOR DEATH
HULLO HARRYS
Roscoe James Irwin celebrates the release of his EP The Wild at The Curtin on Wednesday. He’ll be joined by Will Hull Brown and Lenny Grigoryan, with support from Hannah Cameron and Rob Muinos.
Melbourne punk metal thrashers Now, You Die! are not for the faint of heart. They launch debut album, War For The Sake Of Peace, at The Brunswick Hotel, Sunday, with Topnovil, Cult Killers, I Am Duckeye and heaps more.
Smooth trio The Black Harrys are set to perform at The Toff In Town this Thursday, with supports from Pockets, Hungry & Foolish and King Stag. Wear tight socks because you don’t wanna risk them getting blown off.
FOR MORE HEAD TO THEMUSIC.COM.AU
the guide vic.live@themusic.com.au
SINGLE FOCUS
ALBUM FOCUS unique acoustic quality we actually recorded the album in a few interesting and beautiful locations.
What was inspiring you during the song’s writing and recording? Being a mother I always find this to be a tricky question. My day to day life at times can be a million miles away from dance music. I just get inspired by the fans! We’ll like this song if we like... Love to dance.
MELISSA TKAUTZ Single title? Gotta Let You Go What’s the song about? The song is about the moment you realise it’s time to move on. It’s time to let them go. How long did it take to write/record? I recorded the vocals pretty quickly; this song came naturally. Digital Damage however spent hours in studio building the beat to get it perfect.
Do you play it differently live? I have done it acoustically. I think you can tell a good song when it still packs a punch after being stripped right back. Website link for more info? melissatkautz.net
TOBY ROBINSON Album title? Toby Robinson Where did the title of your new album come from? My parents; it’s a self-titled album. No but seriously being a debut solo album I didn’t want to give it a title, I think the songs speak for themselves. How many releases do you have now? This is my first release as a solo artist. But I’ve released albums with other bands, most recently The Promises.
Is this track from a forthcoming release/existing release? The track is a standalone release available on iTunes but there is definitely more music on the way!
How long did it take to write/record? Over a year. I wanted to take special care of the songwriting and instrumentation. For
ALBUM FOCUS
Album title? War For The Sake Of Peace Where did the title of your new album come from? It comes from the main hook of the song War. It’s a song about the whole war on terror and who is to blame, and that all sides of the conflict are probably responsible. How many releases do you have now? An EP and this album. We’ve been around about eight years and we’re pretty lazy, I know.
THE DAWN CHORUS
What’s your favourite song on it? Our title track Now You Die is probably my favourite; it makes you want to run away from something.
Answered by: Mitch Davis Single title? Big World
Will you do anything differently next time? Not take eight years to write an album would be the first thing to work on, I would suggest. When and where is your launch/ next gig? Funny you should ask! Brunswick Hotel, 7 Jun, starting at 4pm. We’ve got a massive line-up. Bring your mums! Website link for more info? nowyoudie.com.au
How long did it take to write/ record? Took about eight years S U P P O R T I N G
Will you do anything differently next time? I know it sounds really corny but, man, I wouldn’t change a thing. When and where is your launch/ next gig? 5 Jun, Bella Union. Supported by Leah Senior. Website link for more info? tobyrobinson.com.au
What was inspiring you during the song’s writing and recording? Our mate was down. It’s hard to talk man to man sometimes, so writing a song for him was our way of helping him out. Hopefully he got the message.
Was anything in particular inspiring you during the making? The lack of hangover during the recording days was particularly inspiring... haven’t played that well in ages! Good thing we recorded it, huh?
Answered by: Dr Rock
What’s your favourite song on it? At Your Feet really resonates with my musical roots of folk and finger-picking guitar, which reminds me of home.
SINGLE FOCUS
to write. We recorded it in two days. We don’t fuck around.
NOW YOU DIE
Was anything in particular inspiring you during the making? Everything! Nick Huggins (producer) and all artists to work on the record have added their own artistry to the vision of this album. Putting these songs down was like a dream come true, just beautiful.
What’s the song about? It’s about a mate who was down on life and needed a little pick-me-up. So we wrote him a song. How long did it take to write/ record? Big World took five minutes to write; however, took two years to record and press! Finally it’s released! Is this track from a forthcoming release/existing release? Big World is from our upcoming album, Into The Dark, set for release in September 2015.
I N D E P E N D E N T
We’ll like this song if we like... Donkeys. Imagine a skinny, scrawny, muddy donkey plodding away through life and exploring the big world; that’s how it sounds. Do you play it differently live? It’s recorded quite simply with just a banjo, guitar and vocals. Live, it’s a full fivepiece band. A little less donkey like but just as much fun. When and where is your launch/next gig? Cellar Bar in St Kilda on 4 Jun. It’s a free gig with Sam Schofield & The Gun Barrel Straights... We can’t wait! Website link for more info? beatscartel.com/thedawn-chorus-epk.html
A U S S I E
MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015 • 41 M U STHE I C
opinion WAKE THE DEAD
TRAILER TRASH
THE GET DOWN
PUNK AND HARDCORE WITH SARAH PETCHELL
DIVES INTO YOUR SCREENS AND IDIOT BOXES WITH GUY DAVIS
FUNKY SHIT WITH OBLIVEUS
Rise Records have established themselves as one of the most important independent record labels in the punk and/or hardcore world with acts like The Devil Wears Prada, Polar Bear Club, Man Overboard, Poison The Well, Hot Water Music and The Bouncing Souls all on their roster. But in a rumoured eight-figure deal, Rise look like having lost their independence by literally selling out to major label BMG. This sale raises a couple of questions. Is punk and hardcore now a commercially viable commodity? And have Rise in fact committed the ultimate betrayal in punk rock circles and “sold out”? Looking at the bands on the label, hard-hitting punk fans are going to argue that there isn’t a legitimate punk or hardcore band on the label. Rise have “sold out” already. The watered-down metalcore of bands like The Devil Wears Prada or the pop punk of Man Overboard outweigh the legitimate heavyweights like Hot Water Music and The Bouncing Souls. However these are the commercially viable bands. They’re the bands that sell records and tickets. At the same time, this isn’t the same kind of commercial viability that Taylor Swift has. Perhaps by “selling out” what Rise is really doing is attempting to maintain a foothold for punk and hardcore within the record industry. This provides them with an opportunity to continue to release music using the support the majors can provide. And if releasing a watered-down metalcore record means we can hear another Hot Water Music record, is that such a bad thing? wakethedead@themusic.com.au
THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA
42 • THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015
TOMORROWLAND
I’m not really one for selfreflection, because God only knows what I’ll see if I gaze too long into the abyss of my psyche, but I do find it interesting when my taste decides to play tricks on me. Now if that statement didn’t send you running for the exit, here’s another warning: I’ll be talking about Mad Max: Fury Road and Tomorrowland, both relatively new in cinemas, so if you want to enjoy one or both of these movies somewhat unspoiled, as they say, maybe come back a little later on. In the meantime, let’s discuss sincerity, and why it sucks. Oh, of course sincerity doesn’t suck. Well, not always. But there are times in your life – okay, my life – when one simply wants to revel in a little cynicism. And there’s a bit of that in the two afore-mentioned movies, but for the most part both Fury Road and Tomorrowland are straight-up when it comes to conveying their messages and indicating that there simply has to be a better way, people. So why did Fury Road’s delivery system leave me feeling a little dissatisfied while Tomorrowland’s had me strolling out of the cinema ready to email my application to NASA or DARPA (both of which would undoubtedly go unread or warrant a ‘Thanks, but ha-ha-ha NO’ response)? I’m still processing that, in all honesty, and I really should have worked it out before I started writing this piece. I mean, having Charlize Theron’s Furiosa actually say the word “Redemption” when asked why she was undertaking her hazardous mission to
liberate Immortan Joe’s five ‘breeders’ from a life of sex slavery and forced pregnancy made me roll my eyes a little, even though I was fully down with the righteousness of her cause. Similarly, I found myself thinking “Okay, George Miller, I get it” when we first see graffiti reading ‘Who Killed the World?’ and then have a character actually say the same thing out loud. For a guy who generally adheres to the ‘show, not tell’ philosophy of storytelling, Miller sure does go all-out when he actually decides to tell us something, huh? (For the record, I did enjoy and admire Fury Road a great deal - I’m not as ardent an admirer as the pundits who are calling it a cinematic revolution.) A week or so after seeing Fury Road, I caught Tomorrowland. I was excited for the new Brad Bird joint but had my expectations in check after some semi-toxic buzz out of the US. However, I was exceedingly entertained by the movie, even though, a) it’s all over the shop in terms of plot, and b) it’s just as obvious – if not more so – in its sloganeering than Fury Road. Just as Fury Road literally writes its theme on the wall, so does Tomorrowland when the camera holds on a poster featuring that Albert Einstein quote about great spirits, violent opposition and mediocre minds. Maybe the one certainty you can take away from this Trailer Trash column is that you should avoid the fuck out of Cameron Crowe’s Aloha, which opens in cinemas 4 Jun. You want truly smarmy sincerity that’ll make you want to kick the nearest puppy? Crowe’s your man.
Golden era hip hop heads can rejoice because Melbourne’s The Psyde Projects have unleashed the second part of their Classic Stellar Overdrive album. Lead single, It’s The Psyde is some boom bap action that any fan of Jazzmatazz would salivate over. If dope rhymes, a rolling bass line and a smooth vibe is your type of hip hop, then this is a no brainer. Also needed is the latest Surgery Edits from Australia’s Dr Packer. For those not already sucked into his tasty realm of re-touched up disco, funk, reggae and boogie jams, I suggest you find him on Juno. For this operation, he takes Blondie’s Rapture into territory any backroom couch-dancing socialite would be mad to miss out on and he also manages to turn the Sister Sledge classic, He’s The Greatest Dancer, into an even funkier version of the original. While I’m on the edit tip, big ups to London-based Scrimshire for his alwayspleasing versions of all that are worthy. His recent take on the sensational Margie Joseph and her funkier than funk jam, The Same Love That Made Me Laugh, is the absolute biz. Staying true to the original vibe, he’s added heaps more drum punch and has made what was a real mellow groover into a slaphappy face plant. I also cannot hype Dave Gerrard and his latest Chopshop EP, The Butchers Apprentice, enough. Standout funk bomb, What You Gonna Do Now, cuts up James Brown like a knife to hot butter and with that, I’m outta here.
THE PSYDE PROJECTS
opinion HOWZAT! LOCAL MUSIC BY JEFF JENKINS STATE OF THE NATION “What have we become?” Mark Seymour ponders on Mayday, his new album with The Undertow. This is one of the great Australian albums, a record that’s about Australia in 2015, where desperate asylum seekers are demonised, shock jocks are screaming, mining workers have transient lives, billionaires are moaning, the media is obsessed with celebrity, and it’s “one rule for the filthy rich, another one for the weak.” “The theme of home was something I was nursing for a long time,” Mark told Howzat!’s buddy Neil Rogers on Triple R. “Places of safety that we’re all pursuing.” It’s almost ridiculous to say that an artist who’s more than three decades into his career and has written several Aussie classics is in career-best form. But at a time when we need our artists to say something, Mark Seymour has stood up,
delivering a set of songs so stirring you can’t help but be moved. “I got revolution in my head,” he declares in the opening track, Home Free, while later in the album he says simply: “You gotta make a stand.” Backed by The Undertow (Cameron McKenzie, John Favaro and Peter Maslen), who are both sympathetic and powerful, this is also an album that’s going to sound great live. It’s being launched with a special theatre show, at The National Theatre in St Kilda, 7 Aug. If you miss the album’s message – or don’t want to think too much – the melodies are so magical you can just sing along or pound the dash of your car. Songs for the head and the heart, Mark Seymour has crafted a classic. BIG BEN Ben Lee’s new album is all about love. It’s called Love Is The Great Rebellion, and it’s a family affair, with his wife, Ione Skye,
MARK SEYMOUR & THE UNDERTOW
and their daughter, Goldie, contributing backing vocals, while Ben’s father-in-law, ’60s pop star Donovan, is featured on Happiness. But Ben’s also not afraid to deal with death, with one song, Everybody Dies, addressing the passing of his dad, who died when Ben was just 19. Ben has also revealed he’s got a part-time job as a “death midwife”. “I became increasingly interested in the death process and working with the dying,” explains Ben, who’s playing at the Northcote Social Club on 7 Jun. “I actually ended up studying for a couple of years and became a certified death midwife and a hospice volunteer, so I got training
in how to help people in the process of dying. I really believe that dying doesn’t have to be sad. Our society has made death into a taboo, whereas it should be part of life.” ANGEL IN HEAVEN We remember the great Bernard “Doc” Neeson, who died a year ago, on 4 Jun, of brain cancer, aged 67. HOT LINE “I carry the lantern, we look for the truth” – Mark Seymour & The Undertow, Carry Me Home.
THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015 • 43
the guide vic.gigguide@themusic.com.au
THE MUSIC PRESENTS sleepmakeswaves: 12 Jun The Hi-Fi Jebediah: 17 – 20 Jun Corner Hotel Youth Group: 3 Jul Northcote Social Club Leaps & Bounds Music Festival: 3 – 19 Jul City of Yarra Tom West: 5 Jul The Workers Club Everything Everything: 25 Jul Corner Hotel The Vaccines: 27 Jul Corner Hotel The Districts: 27 Jul Northcote Social Club
WED 03
Birds of Tokyo + Ecca Vandal: 170 Russell, Melbourne
Julian Banks + James Gilligan: 303, Northcote Old Etiquettes + The Lost Day + Aztx: Bar Open, Fitzroy Marc Hannaford + Tom Rainey + Ellery Eskelin + Scott Tinkler: Bennetts Lane, Melbourne Curious Tales with DJ Who + Tigerfunk: Bimbo Deluxe, Fitzroy Rebecca & Billy’s Singalong Society: Caravan Music Club, Oakleigh Two Headed Dog + Cotangent + Super Saloon + Twisted Pistol: Cherry Bar, Melbourne
Blur: 28 Jul Rod Laver Arena The Wombats: 28 Jul Margaret Court Arena Ben Salter: 31 Jul The Tote Kitty, Daisy & Lewis: 2 Aug 170 Russell The Bellrays: 12 Aug Barwon Club Geelong; 13 Aug Karova Lounge Ballarat; 15 Aug Ding Dong Lounge ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead: 13 Aug Corner Hotel Oh Mercy: 22 Aug Howler An Evening With Kevin Smith: 21 Sep Palais Theatre
Mixtape Memoirs with Adam Curley + Evelyn Morris + Alyxx Dennison + Emily Naismith + Richard Wise + Simone Page Jones: The Toff In Town, Melbourne King Puppy & The Carnivore + Didirri + Two Steps On Water + William Alexander + Anna Calder + Jimmy Carroll: The Tote (Band Room), Collingwood Open Mic Night with Alfi Rocker: Yacht Club Hotel, Williamstown
THU 04
Kickin The B at 303 feat. Artie Styles Quartet: 303, Northcote
GIG OF THE WEEK ASH GRUNWALD: 5 JUN CORNER HOTEL; 6 JUN BARWON HEADS HOTEL
DJ Lonewulf: Edinburgh Castle Hotel, Brunswick Paul O’Rourke + Paul Gales: Fountain Gate Hotel, Narre Warren Anna Cordell + Ben Whiting + Pheobe & Schina: Grace Darling Hotel (Basement), Collingwood Miniatures + Claws & Organs + No Sister: Grace Darling Hotel (Band Room), Collingwood Headstone + Bee Ampersand + more: Lounge, Melbourne
The Black Harrys + Pockets + Hungry & Foolish + King Stag: The Toff In Town, Melbourne Cookin’ with Fraser A Gorman: The Toff In Town (Carriage Bar/6pm), Melbourne
Redspencer + Tourist Dollars + Head Clouds: Bar Open, Fitzroy Envenomed + Decimatus: Barwon Club, South Geelong Toby Robinson + Leah Senior: Bella Union, Carlton South
Midnight Express with Prequel + Edd Fisher: The Toff In Town (Carriage Room), Melbourne Gentlemen + The Bunyip Moon + Mollusc + Dry Mouth: The Tote (Band Room), Collingwood
Mike Oliphant & Friends: Big Huey’s Diner, South Melbourne #Mashtag with Malpractice + Agent 86: Bimbo Deluxe, Fitzroy Misty Nights with DJ JNETT: Boney, Melbourne
Cindy Lou Kramme: Bar Open, Fitzroy
Jane Sea + James Hall + Jimmy Maddon Music: Mr Boogie Man Bar, Abbotsford
British India: Corner Hotel, Richmond
Winter Sets with Casey Bennetto + Ben Mason: Bella Union, Carlton South
Tip Rats + Department + Marc Deaz: Retreat Hotel, Brunswick
Mrs Smith’s Trivia: Edinburgh Castle Hotel (8pm), Brunswick
Varsity with Kiti + DJ Foofaraw: Bimbo Deluxe, Fitzroy
Khristian Mizzi: Wesley Anne (Front Bar), Northcote
Beginners’ Class with Melbourne Ukulele Kollective: Edinburgh Castle Hotel (6pm), Brunswick
No Money, No Problems - Hip Hop Party: Boney, Melbourne
3181 Thursdays with Hans DC + Jesse Young + Sam Gudge: Revolver Upstairs, Prahran
Belmar Records Top 10 Vol. 3 CD Launch feat. Robert Susz + Yvette Johansson + The Pearly Shells: Caravan Music Club, Oakleigh
Tingy Celestino: Yacht Club Hotel, Williamstown
Juke Box Racket: Catfish (Front Bar), Fitzroy
Hockey Dad + Los Tones + Mild Manic: Shebeen Bandroom, Melbourne
Arcane Saints + Lace & Whiskey + Clarke & White: Yah Yah’s, Fitzroy
Spencer P Jones: Cherry Bar (5pm), Melbourne
Kodiak Galaxy: Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy
Club Catty feat. The Guilts + Jukai Forest + The Hondas: Catfish, Fitzroy
Midweek Shaka feat. Loose Joints + Spin Club: Lounge, Melbourne
The Dawn Chorus + the Gunbarrel Straights + Sam Schofield: Cellar Bar, St Kilda
Robyn Mills: Milanos Tavern, Brighton
Peny Bohan: Charles Weston Hotel (Front Bar), Brunswick
Open Mic Night: Mr Boogie Man Bar, Abbotsford
Soul In The Basement with The Sweethearts: Cherry Bar, Melbourne
Mike Elrington + Darcy Fox: Retreat Hotel, Brunswick Revolver Wednesdays with Dan San: Revolver Upstairs, Prahran
Wolf Parker + Fee Klauser: Club Voltaire, North Melbourne
Roscoe James Irwin + Hannah Cameron + Rob Muinos: The Curtin, Carlton
Next feat. Far Away Stables + Ame Tourmentee + Drawcard: Colonial Hotel, Melbourne
Darling James + Half/ Cut + The Mysterious String Theories: The Old Bar, Fitzroy
Bad Manners: Corner Hotel, Richmond Andrew Riggo: Customs House Hotel, Williamstown
Bears + The Creeping Bam + Ministry Of Plenty: The Public Bar, Melbourne
Gumbo Club with Pugsley Buzzard: Ding Dong Lounge, Melbourne
Brian Kennedy + Mick McKugh: Spotted Mallard, Brunswick Roland Kay Smith + Andrew Woods: The B.East, Brunswick East John Montesante Quintet + Julie O’Hara: The Commune, East Melbourne Sarah Mary Chadwick + Mad Nanna + Shame Brother + DJ Geoff O’Connor: The Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood Rocking Rick Charles: The Middle Ferntree Gully Hotel, Ferntree Gully Jackson Reid Briggs & The Heaters: The Old Bar, Fitzroy The Moonee Valley Drifters: The Post Office Hotel, Coburg Vicious Circle + Retrace + Drexler: The Public Bar, Melbourne
S U P P O R T I N G
Orange + Waterfall Person + Grace Anderson: The Tote (Upstairs), Collingwood Anna’s Go-Go Academy: Victoria Hotel, Brunswick
FRI 05
In Hearts Wake + We Came As Romans + Beartooth + Storm The Sky: 170 Russell, Melbourne Australian Kingswood Factory + Coffin Wolf + Admiral Ackbar’s Dishonourable Discharge + Public Liability + Jurassic Nark + The Commonly Insane: 303, Northcote Helping Nepal Comedy Fundraiser feat. Arj Barker + Dave Hughes + Jimeoin + Cal Wilson + Denise Scott + Dave Thornton + Luke McGregor + Tommy Little: Athenaeum Theatre, Melbourne The Dawn Chorus: Baha Tacos, Rye
I N D E P E N D E N T
Kolsch: Brown Alley, Melbourne
The Ivory Elephant + Ten Cent Pistols + Cotangent: Cherry Bar, Melbourne Wolf Parker + The Boy Who Spoke To Clouds: Club Voltaire, North Melbourne Lilly Singh: Comedy Theatre, Melbourne Ash Grunwald + Hein Cooper: Corner Hotel, Richmond Captain Spaulding: Customs House Hotel, Williamstown Fuck The Fitzroy Doom Scene + El Colosso + Holy Serpent: Ding Dong Lounge, Melbourne Mischief: Doncaster Hotel, Manningham Ernie D + Another Batch: Edinburgh Castle Hotel, Brunswick AC/DShe: Flying Saucer Club, Elsternwick
A U S S I E
M U S I C
the guide vic.gigguide@themusic.com.au Atlantis feat. Paul Van Dyk + MaRLo + Mark Sixma + Roxanne Emery + Driftmoon: Hisense Arena, Melbourne
Phil Para: Prince Bandroom (Public Bar), St Kilda
Hunter with Heath Renata + Briefcase DJ + Jamesh + Tempus: Little & Olver, Fitzroy
Coast & Ocean: Retreat Hotel, Brunswick
Geoff Achison & The Soul Diggers: Rainbow Hotel, Fitzroy
The Casquederos + Noir: Retreat Hotel, Brunswick
Get Lit feat. Twerkshop + DJ Thaddeus Doe + Brooklyn Queenz + Jade Zoe + D’fro + Nam: Lounge, Melbourne
Australian Kingswood Factory + Topnovil + Razorcut + Power Skids: Reverence Hotel (Band Room), Footscray
Dinks + Ultimate 90s Experience + DJ Dubs: Manhattan Hotel, Ringwood
Melbourne Jazz Festival feat. Movement 9: Reverence Hotel (Front Bar), Footscray
Absolutely 80s feat. Brian Mannix + Scott Carne + Dale Ryder + Paul Gray: Matthew Flinders Hotel, Chadstone
DJ Cash Money: Revolver Upstairs, Prahran
Hot Dub Time Machine + Hobophonics: Max Watt’s (formerly The Hi-Fi), Melbourne A Night of Lucinda Williams with Lisa Miller + Rebecca Barnard + Tracy McNeil + Shane O’Mara + more: Memo Music Hall, St Kilda Steve Lucas: Mr Boogie Man Bar (4pm), Abbotsford The Seaford Monster + Heisenberg + Ashtray Bandits: Mr Boogie Man Bar, Abbotsford Timmy Regisford: Ms Collins, Melbourne Lamb Boulevard + Gena Rose Bruce: Northcote Social Club, Northcote Terry Francis: Onesixone, Prahran British India + Grenadiers + Tired Lion: Pier Hotel (Pelly Bar), Frankston 2015 National Celtic Festival feat.Brian Kennedy + The Duplets + Cherry Grove + Damien Leith + Mick McHugh + A Rose and Thorns + The Barleyshakes + more: Portarlington , Portarlington Jericco + The Khyber Belt + Captives + Arcane Saints + Transience: Prince Bandroom, St Kilda La Danse Macabre with Brunswick Massive: Rainbow Hotel, Fitzroy Rebetiko: Retreat Hotel, Brunswick Blueline Medic + Fear Like Us + Have/Hold + Employment + The Revenants: Reverence Hotel (Band Room) , Footscray The Royal Jellies: Reverence Hotel (Front Bar), Footscray Revolver Friday / Suckmusic feat. Mike Callander + Safari + Various DJs: Revolver Upstairs, Prahran Astro Boys: Royal Hotel, Essendon Hockey Dad + Los Tones + Mild Manic: Shebeen Bandroom, Melbourne Human Face + Mayfair Kytes: Spotted Mallard, Brunswick Northside Blues Assembly: The B.East, Brunswick East
The Late Show feat. Ransom + Matt Cant + Paz + Various DJs: Revolver Upstairs, Prahran
AGAINST ME!: 6 & 7 JUN CORNER HOTEL
Tommy T & The Classical Mishaps + Miss Destiny + Whipper + Fruit & Nut + more: The Curtin, Carlton Dave Graney + Pork Chop Party: The Eastern, Ballarat East Naked Bodies + Baptism Of Uzi + The New Pollution: The Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood The Baudelaires + The Shabab + Did You Eat? + DJ Rita: The Old Bar, Fitzroy The Three Kings: The Post Office Hotel, Coburg The Wonder + Tankerville: The Public Bar, Melbourne Born Lion + Them Bruins + Foxtrot: The Public Bar, Melbourne Sleazy Listening with Arks + Richard Kelly + Hysteric + K. Hoop: The Toff In Town (Carriage Room/5pm), Melbourne Poprocks At The Toff with Dr Phil Smith: The Toff In Town, Melbourne Ten Years of Stone Love feat. Slow Grind Fever + Sugar Fed Leopards + Simone Page Jones + Archer + Empat Lima + BJ Morriszonkle + Miles & Simone + Lovers of the Black Bird + more: The Tote (Band Room), Collingwood Cymatics + Logic Defies Logic + Archeron: The Tote (Upstairs) , Collingwood Dumb Punts + Wod + The Mighty Boys + RMO + Department + Griffin Brain: The Workers Club, Fitzroy Kitty Flanagan: Ulumbarra Theatre, Bendigo Mornington Winter Jazz Festival feat.Vika Bull + Emma Pask + Adrian Cunningham + Jude Perl + Rita Satch + Mama Blue & Son + The Jackson Four + more: Various Venues, Mornington
Songwriters In The Round feat. Lucas Paine + Hollow Drums + Greg Steps + Eric McGrath + Jane Cameron + David Carlin: Wesley Anne (Band Room), Northcote
Kitty Flanagan: Eastbank Centre, Shepparton
Nick Batterham: Wesley Anne (Front Bar), Northcote
MRSPKR: Edinburgh Castle Hotel, Brunswick
DJ Joel: Yacht Club Hotel, Williamstown Chris Wilson: Yah Yah’s, Fitzroy Winter Moon + Two Headed Dog + Super Saloon + Dear Thieves: Yah Yah’s, Fitzroy
SAT 06
Allday + Asta + Gill Bates: 170 Russell, Melbourne Nepal Earthquake Appeal feat. Together Like Brothers + Beth & The Brave + Ben Smith + Mike Maguire + Little Foot: 303, Northcote In Hearts Wake + We Came As Romans + Beartooth + Storm The Sky: Arrow On Swanston, Carlton
Monthly Showcase with Melbourne Ukulele Kollective: Edinburgh Castle Hotel, Brunswick
Segression + Hybrid Nightmares + Anient + Cryptic Abyss + Sarspell: Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy The Music of James Brown played by Reverend Funk & The Horns Of Salvation: Flying Saucer Club, Elsternwick The Beatles Forever: Geelong Performing Arts Centre, Geelong Fox & Fowl + The Sand Dollars + DIET + Louis Spoils: Grace Darling Hotel (Band Room), Collingwood Kucka + Deer + Felicity Yang + DJ Raaghe: Hugs & Kisses, Melbourne Harts: Karova Lounge, Ballarat
Younis Clare + Sydney Van + Jemma Nicole + Nick Lovell: Bar Open, Fitzroy
The Moonee Valley Drifters + James Black: Lomond Hotel, Brunswick East
Ash Grunwald + Hein Cooper: Barwon Heads Hotel, Barwon Heads
Mania feat. Sleep D + Babicka: Lounge, Melbourne
The Fifths: Belleville, Melbourne Lost Saturdays feat. Tin Man: Boney, Melbourne Anne McCue: Caravan Music Club, Oakleigh Flossed feat. Hideous Towns + The Bag Heads + Miniatures: Catfish (Upstairs), Fitzroy Voix D’Or: Charles Weston Hotel (Front Bar), Brunswick Doc Neeson & Chris Bailey Tribute with The Angles + Waco Social Club + The Black Alleys: Cherry Bar, Melbourne
DJ Soul Loco: Victoria Hotel, Brunswick
Against Me! + Joyce Manor + Ceres: Corner Hotel, Richmond
Ian Moss: Wangaratta Performing Arts Centre, Wangaratta
JP Klipspringer + Chase City + Wilsn + Slow Dancer: Ding Dong Lounge, Melbourne
S U P P O R T I N G
The Party Animals: Manhattan Hotel, Ringwood Hot Dub Time Machine: Max Watt’s (formerly The Hi-Fi), Melbourne Normie Rowe & The Playboys: Memo Music Hall, St Kilda Richie Langford: Mocha and Lime, Healesville Rhetoric Over Reality + Prophetess + Kilamaine + False Prophet + Ion Drive + Cold Red Mute: Mr Boogie Man Bar, Abbotsford Transience + Drawcard + Lung + Shortfall + Field of Reign + Ergasia + more: Musicman Megastore, Bendigo Alyx Dennison + Seja + The Great Outdoors: Northcote Social Club, Northcote
I N D E P E N D E N T
A U S S I E
Radio Star: Royal Hotel, Essendon Bang feat. Sydonia + Lung + Amethyst Close + Static Revenue: Royal Melbourne Hotel, Melbourne Queen’s Birthday Warehouse Party feat. Jenny Broke the Window + more: Rubix The Venue, Brunswick Soul A-Go-Go: Shebeen Bandroom, Melbourne Naked Bodies + The Starks: Sooki Lounge, Belgrave Songs of Science, Metaphysics & Ecology with Charlie Marshall & The Curious Minds Sublime: Spotted Mallard, Brunswick Anyway feat. Rob Pix + Various DJs: The Bottom End, Melbourne Ian Moss: The Capital, Bendigo Performing Arts Centre, Bendigo The F100s: The Drunken Poet, West Melbourne The Peep Tempel + YIS + Pselodux: The Eastern, Ballarat East The Pale Heads + The Spinning Rooms + Steve Miller Band + Slab Knackers: The Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood The Sugarcanes + The Sloe Ruin + Jemma & The Clifton Hillbillies + Rattlin’ Bones Blackwood: The Old Bar, Fitzroy Yoko Bono + Ali E: The Old Bar, Fitzroy The Tall Grass + JMS Harrison: The Post Office Hotel, Coburg Subject To Change + Coffin Wolf + Keggin: The Public Bar, Melbourne The House deFrost Seventh Birthday Week with Daniel Wang + Zanzibar Chanel + Misty Nights + Andee Frost: The Toff In Town (11.30pm), Melbourne In The Carriage with Jnett + Friends: The Toff In Town (Carriage Room), Melbourne
M U S I C
the guide vic.gigguide@themusic.com.au Winter Solstice Damnation feat. Adamus Exul + Cemetery Urn + Eskhaton + Voidchrist + Wood of Suicides: The Tote (Band Room), Collingwood
Maddawg Mondays with T-Rek: Boney, Melbourne
Wod + Born Horny: The Tote (Front Bar), Collingwood
VATUFEST: A Cyclone Pam Fundraiser feat. Tully On Tully + Tiny Little Houses + The Neighbourhood Youth + Private Life + Ariela Jacobs + Olivers Army: The Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood
Murderballs + Where’s Grover? + Sarge & The Nuked + Trauma Boys: The Tote (Upstairs), Collingwood
Emma Pask: The Grand Hotel, Mornington The Dawn Chorus + Harts: The Loft, Warrnambool
SHEFEST feat. Sarah Eida + Thrasher Jynx + 4Tress + Kill TV + Wild Violet + Dear Stalker: Mr Boogie Man Bar (4pm), Abbotsford
Wod + Dumb Punts + Lazer Tits + The Tiny Giants + Charging Stallion + Northside: The Workers Club, Fitzroy Latin Quarter: Trak Lounge Bar, Toorak Justin Jay: Tramp Bar, Melbourne The Tarantinos: Victoria Hotel, Brunswick Grain Of Truth: Wesley Anne (Band Room), Northcote Light Sleeper + Automating + Silent Nightmare: Wesley Anne (Band Room), Northcote DJ Rhys: Yacht Club Hotel, Williamstown The Kremlings + Worm Crown + Plyers + Cosmic Kahuna: Yah Yah’s, Fitzroy Envenomed + Decimatus: Your Break, Warrnambool
SUN 07
Allday + Asta + Gill Bates: 170 Russell, Melbourne Meg Sampson + Sarah Jane Band + Roy Allan: 303, Northcote Sansonus + John Citizen + Myyth + The High Suburban: Bar Open, Fitzroy Naked Bodies + The Starks: Barwon Club, South Geelong Feel The Manouche: Beaches of Mornington, Mornington Matt Dwyer & Magnatones: Big Huey’s Diner, South Melbourne All Day Fritz: Birrarung Marr, Melbourne Quite Frankly: Blackburn Hotel, Blackburn
Damnation’s Day + Overproof Groove + Mason + The Nuremberg Code: Cherry Bar, Melbourne Plastic feat. Short Stack + Acrasia + Renegade Armada + Set The Score + Emarosa + Awaken I Am + Autumn In Alaska + To Light Atlantis: Colonial Hotel, Melbourne Against Me! + Joyce Manor + The Pale Heads: Corner Hotel, Richmond
Swamp Donkey + Stackhouse + Little House Godz: Mr Boogie Man Bar, Abbotsford Ben Lee + Gordi + Carry Nation: Northcote Social Club, Northcote Onesixone 16th Birthday Sleepover!: Onesixone, Prahran
Loon Lake + Gunslingers + Crepes: Ding Dong Lounge, Melbourne
Charles Jenkins & the Zhivagos: Retreat Hotel, Brunswick
Momentum + Foreign Brothers + The Coretet: Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy
Wil Wagner + Georgia Maq: Reverence Hotel (Band Room), Footscray
TnT: Tunes n Tacos feat. MzRizk + Mrs Wallace + Mondo Loco + Various DJs: Ferdydurke, Melbourne
Jess Locke + James Teague + Tammy Haider + Catherine Sietkiewicz: Reverence Hotel (Front Bar), Footscray
Dean Ray: Flying Saucer Club, Elsternwick
Revolver Sundays / Stray: Queens Birthday Eve: Revolver Upstairs, Prahran
Alannah Weir and The Half Talls + Loni Rae + David Knight + Jessica Fairlie: Grace Darling Hotel (Band Room), Collingwood Queens Birthday Spectacular feat. Emma Donovan & The Putbacks + San Lazaro + Mike Gurrieri: Howler, Brunswick Oisima: Hugs & Kisses, Melbourne Backwood Creatures: Labour In Vain, Fitzroy
Australian Queen Tribute Show: Burvale Hotel, Nunawading Jarrah Thompson 3 Piece: Catfish (Front Bar), Fitzroy
Route 808 feat. DJ Camov + Dylan B: Loop, Melbourne
The Three Kings + DJ Max Crawdaddy: Cherry Bar, Melbourne
Normie Rowe & The Playboys: Memo Music Hall, St Kilda
SUN JUNE 7TH 1.00PM
The Sunday Set with DJ Andyblack + Haggis: The Toff In Town (Carriage Room/4pm), Melbourne
Deeperoots Warehouse Party with Osunlade: Rubix The Venue, Brunswick Esese + Raw Humps + Ocdantar + The Outside Inn: Shadow Electric, Abbotsford British India: Spirit Bar & Lounge, Traralgon Richie Langford: The Axedale Tavern, Axedale Anyway feat. Anna Lunoe + Dom Dolla + Oakland: The Bottom End, Melbourne
HAVE
WINGS
AU PREMIERE RESTORED 2K
S U P P O R T I N G
Queens Birthday Eve BBQ feat. Shit Sex + Mutton + Plyers + B.A.A.D.D.D. + Spacejunk + Cinesex + Cable Ties: The Tote (Band Room), Collingwood
Van Walker + Cal Walker + Shane Reilly: Labour In Vain, Fitzroy
2015 National Celtic Festival: Portarlington, Portarlington Call It In with Instant Peterson + Dylan Michel: The Toff In Town (Carriage Room), Melbourne Mornington Winter Jazz Festival: Various Venues, Mornington Emarosa + Awaken I Am + Renegade Armada: Wrangler Studios, West Footscray
TUE 09
Kris Wanders Group: 303, Northcote
The John Denver Story with Rick Price: Athenaeum Theatre, Melbourne Twerkshop Melbourne: Boney, Melbourne Animal Hands + The Chops + Falconio: Cherry Bar, Melbourne William Alexander + Anna Cordell: Little & Olver, Fitzroy Mark Gardner: Prince Bandroom, St Kilda
Teaser Pony + Terry: The Tote (Upstairs), Collingwood
Taste Of Indie Collective: Prince Bandroom (Public Bar), St Kilda
Ash Grunwald + Hein Cooper: The Westernport Hotel, Phillip Island
Mitchell A Power + Amarina Waters: Retreat Hotel, Brunswick
Rumours - A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac: Thornbury Theatre, Thornbury
Never Cheer Before You Know Who’s Winning: Revolver Upstairs, Prahran
Jane McArthur: Wesley Anne (Front Bar), Northcote
Trivia: Spotted Mallard, Brunswick
Nadav + Nuevo Flamenco: Yacht Club Hotel, Williamstown
Jack Derwin: The B.East, Brunswick East
2AM Slot with Holy Serpent: Yah Yah’s, Fitzroy
Stonecutterz + Lillith + Precious Blood: The Public Bar, Melbourne Hey Frankie + Allysha Joy + NAFASI: The Workers Club, Fitzroy
MON 08
Full Ugly + Bad Family + See Saw: The Curtin (Front Bar), Carlton
SUN JUNE 7th 7.00PM
Down The Rabbit Hole with Nigel Last: The Toff In Town (Carriage Room), Melbourne
Don Fernando & The Dukes of Deliciousness + Battle Axe Howlers + Dr Colossus + Low Fly Incline + Cicada Stone: Yah Yah’s, Fitzroy
Now You Die + Topnovil + Cultkillers + I Am Duckeye + Liquor Snatch + The Fuck Ups + Warp Attack Plan R + The Krunchy Om-Let Experience: The Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick
ANGELS AU PREMIERE RESTORED 4K
My Disco + Cale Sexton + Jake Blood: The Toff In Town, Melbourne
The Large Number 12s: Royal Oak Hotel, Fitzroy North
ONLY
Beersoaked Sundays: Queen’s Birthday Eve feat. Mightiest Of Guns + Cherrywood + The Bakers Digest: The Old Bar, Fitzroy
Minimum Wage with Grotto + Tommy & The Fuckheads + Sewercide: The Public Bar, Melbourne
Dan Dinnen Trio: Rainbow Hotel, Fitzroy
Michelle Gardiner: Customs House Hotel, Williamstown
SheerKhan + The Jungle Crooks + The Marlenes + Chris Watts: Grace Darling Hotel (Basement), Collingwood
Sunday Session + Various Artists: The Middle Ferntree Gully Hotel (Beer Garden), Ferntree Gully
Jess Ribeiro: The Post Office Hotel, Coburg
The Sloe Ruin + Dan Watkins & Paddy Montgomery: Retreat Hotel, Brunswick
R.A The Rugged Man + Ra Ra + Hellburnianz + Entroy + Eppilson + JamJam: Laundry Bar, Fitzroy
S JUNE 7! N E P O E R
Lake Minnetonka + MzRizk: The Luwow, Fitzroy
ALYX DENNISON: 6 JUN NORTHCOTE SOCIAL CLUB
Ysk Lightspeed Chamber: 303, Northcote
THE MISFITS
The Dawn Chorus + The Gun Barrel Straights + Trash Fairys: The Workers Club, Fitzroy
Cherry Jam: Cherry Bar, Melbourne
WED JUNE 10 7.30PM
35MM DOUBLE FEATURE
GET CARTER & POINT BLANK
I N D E P E N D E N T
THURS JUNE 25 6.15PM
WOMEN HE’S
UNDRESSED GALA EVENT - BOOK TICKETS at
www.astortheatre.net.au
A U S S I E
M U S I C
THE MUSIC • 3RD JUNE 2015 • 47
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