11.01.17 Music / Arts / Lifestyle / Culture
Issue
171
Sydney / Free / Incorporating
TOUR: LITTLE SIMZ RELEASE: THE XX TOUR: DINOSAUR JR
2 • THE MUSIC • 11TH JANUARY 2017
FREE ALL AGES
Celebrating triple j’s iconic countdown! L-FRESH THE LION OLYMPIA VXV FROYO KUREN HURST MC JAKE STONE hottest100parramatta.com.au #hotinparra 26 J A N U A R Y 2017 - PA R R A M AT TA PA R K COUNTDOWN STREAMING BETWEEN SETS z THE BIG BBQ AND FOODTRUCKS OUTDOOR BAR z BACKYARD GAMES z DEDICATED BROADCAST FROM 6.30PM
THE MUSIC • 11TH JANUARY 2017 • 3
The
50
Power Edition ORDER NOW
ONLY $14.95
store.themusic.com.au 4 • THE MUSIC • 11TH JANUARY 2017
BASEMENT
THU 12TH 8PM
DINOSAUR RECORDINGS PRESENTS:
“BLEEDING GUMS” SINGLE LAUNCH
BASEMENT
GARAGE POP SHOW WITH SUPPORT FROM ‘THE SATANIC TOGAS”, “MR MILK” AND MANY MORE LEVEL ONE
MELANCHOLY FLOWERS PRESENTS: BASEMENT
FRI 13TH 8PM
LEVEL ONE
FRI 13TH 10PM
ALTERNATHON FEST
ALTERNATIVE, ELECTRO, WORLD MUSIC STARRING “MELANCHOLY FLOWERS”, “SISCO ELECTRO”, “THE NU NOW”, “ANAIS PARIS”, “THE MARRAKESH CLUB”, “RITA B” AND MANY MORE ESP EVENTS PRESENTS:
“BERMUDA BLOOM”
INDIE SHOW SUPPORTED BY “MUNJAK”, “PITTOWN”, “THE SHREWS”, “DIZZIES”, “COSMIC FLANDERS” AND SPECIAL GUESTS
SAT 14TH 8PM
SAT 14TH 10PM
BASEMENT
SUN 15TH 5PM
MAIN MAN BERNIE AND PYJAMAS PRESENTS:
BOILER VROOM
WITH DJ’S B SNEEZE, SPRUCED MOOSE, GLACIAL BIPEDS, POOLROOM AND MANY MORE RUKUS IN SYDNEY PRESENTS:
“DURRY”
PUNK/GRIND SHOW SUPPORTED BY MANY SPECIAL GUESTS
CAPRICORNIA
FUNK/GLITCH/PSYTRNCE PARTY WITH RAPTOR, GALAKTIK, PATO DE GOMAH, DARKCHILD, TRIPPLE
COMING UP
Thu 19 Jan: 8pm Basement: Indie Show with “Luka” supported by “Aurora Motel”, “Dying Adolescence”, “Space Carbonara”; Fri 20 Jan: 8pm Basement: “She’s The Band” 7” Launch, Punk Rock Show supported by “Ess-Em”, “STFU”, “Ebolagoldfish”, “Ivan Drago”; 10pm Level One: The Essence Entertainment presents: Hobart To Sydney Hip Hop Don’t Stop! feat: Reflekt, NJE, Embrace MC, Primitive and many more; Sat 21 Jan: 8pm Basement: Metal Show with “MurderWorld”, “Lethal Vendetta”, “Fenrir”, “Terrorential”, “Reaver”; Sun 22 Jan: Coming Down The Mountain with: “Cakewalk”, “Feast Of Fools”, “Madame Fatale”, “Jackal Or Tiger” and guests
MUSIC IN MERITON FESTIVAL VILLAGE
21
DAYS OF FREE ENTERTAINMENT INCLUDING BROADWAY SOUNDS LOS TONES EASTERN EMPIRE THE SPOOKY MEN’S CHORALE DJ MISBEHAVIOUR CC:DISCO! ...and much more!
TOWER OF SONG
THE COMET IS COMING
CELEBRATING THE MUSIC OF LEONARD COHEN
THE BATS
JESSY LANZA
THE GIFT OF #SYDFEST VOUCHERS AVAILABLE SYDNEYFESTIVAL.ORG.AU THE MUSIC • 11TH JANUARY 2017 • 5
Music / Music / Arts / Lifestyle / Culture
Aussie Roo
UK artist Roo Panes has announced he will be making his Australian debut in March. The singer-songwriter will headline three east coast dates, as well as appearing at Adelaide Fringe and Port Fairy Folk Festival.
Roo Panes
Happy Anniversary Quintessential Aussie folk rock outfit The Waifs are turning 25 this year. To celebrate a quarter-century in the saddle the trio have announced a massive tour through March and April, as well as new album.
The Waifs
Lemony Snicket’s A Series Of Unfortunate Events
Top 3 food vehicles: 3. Food truck 2. Ice cream van 1. Gravy boat @egg_dog
6 • THE MUSIC • 11TH JANUARY 2017
Child Catcher Neil Patrick Harris goes from matinee idol to creepy old codger in Netflix’s highly anticipated new series, Lemony Snicket’s A Series Of Unfortunate Events. Stream from Friday and see the Baudelaire orphans kick Count Olaf’s butt.
Arts / Li Music / Arts / Lifestyle / Culture
Credits
Publisher Street Press Australia Pty Ltd
Pre-Phoenix
Group Managing Editor Andrew Mast
In the lead-up to the release of forthcoming LP Stoicville: The Phoenix, US rapper T-Pain is set to make his return to Australia this month when he’ll perform DJ sets around the country.
National Editor – Magazines Mark Neilsen Arts & Culture Editor Maxim Boon
Gig Guide Justine Lynch gigs@themusic.com.au
T-Pain
Contributing Editor Bryget Chrisfield
Editorial Assistants Brynn Davies, Sam Wall Matrix & Futurebound
Future Trix Drum’n’bass royalty Matrix & Futurebound have announced their glorious return to Australia for four national dates. The tour kicks off at Royal Melbourne Hotel later this month and finishes in Brisbane in February.
Contributors Adam Wilding, Anthony Carew, Brendan Crabb, Carley Hall, Cate Summers, Chris Familton, Daniel Cribb, Chris Maric, Christopher H James, Cyclone, Daniel Cribb, Danielle O’Donohue, Dave Drayton, Deborah Jackson, Dylan Stewart, Guido Farnell, Guy Davis, James d’Apice, Jonty Czuchwicki, Liz Guiffre, Mac McNaughton, Mark Hebblewhite, Matt MacMaster, Mitch Knox, Neil Griffiths, Mick Radojkovic, Rip Nicholson, Ross Clelland, Sam Baran, Samuel J Fell, Sarah Petchell, Sean Capel, Sean Maroney, Steve Bell, Tanya Bonnie Rae, Tim Finney, Tyler McLoughlan, Uppy Chatterjee, Xavier Rubetzki Noonan Photographers Angela Padovan, Cole Bennetts, Clare Hawley, Jared Leibowitz, Josh Groom, Kane Hibberd, Pete Dovgan, Peter Sharp, Rohan Anderson Advertising Dept Georgina Pengelly, Brad Edwards sales@themusic.com.au Art Dept Ben Nicol, Felicity Case-Mejia Admin & Accounts Ajaz Durrani, Meg Burnham, Emma Clarke accounts@themusic.com.au Distro distro@themusic.com.au Subscriptions store@themusic.com.au Contact Us
3 The number of film soundtracks currently sitting in the ARIA top five albums – from Trolls, Sing and Moana. Obviously the school holidays are having an impact.
PO Box 2440 Strawberry Hills NSW 2012 Suite 42, 89-97 Jones St Ultimo Phone (02) 9331 7077 info@themusic.com.au www.themusic.com.au
— Sydney
THE MUSIC • 11TH JANUARY 2017 • 7
Music / Music / Arts / Lifestyle / Culture
Paradise Lost
Be Square
Myuran Sukumaran: Another Day In Paradise, centred on the powerful collection of portraits painted by the Bali Nine member during his incarceration, is being exhibited for free during Sydney Festival at Cambelltown Arts Centre.
Ever wanted your own mini dance party in a kaleidoscopic glowing cube? Sydney-based performance art masters Zin have created just that in Glitterbox, a free interactive installment on the Sky Terrace for Sydney Festival.
Myuran Sukumaran Self Portrait
Blue King Brown
Hail The King Legendary urban roots and reggae ensemble Blue King Brown have announced three outdoor shows this week. You can catch them in Mona Vale, Riversdale and Erina on Friday, Saturday and Sunday respectively. Parkes Elvis Festival
6,868,642 Uh Huh Huh
A new record number of global Spotify streams for Ed Sheeran’s new track Shape Of You in its first 24 hours – just over 2 million more than previous title holder One Direction.
8 • THE MUSIC • 11TH JANUARY 2017
It’s time to limber up your pelvis because the Parkes Elvis Festival is celebrating everything The King, Wednesday through to Sunday. There are 120 events capped with Elvis tribute artists Pete Storm (UK) and Jake Rowley (USA).
Glitterbox
Arts / Li Music / Arts / Lifestyle / Culture
Frontlash Ed Sheeran
Cut A Rug
Shrapnel
Indie-rockers Shrapnel hit the road this month with Carpet Yankers, the second single from their debut LP Tranceplanetsugarmouth. The five-date run stops in Brisbane, Sydney and Adelaide.
So apparently everyone was keen to hear his new music – we guess you can’t argue with the millions of record shattering streams his songs have racked up already.
Sweet Candys
Eskimo Joe
We got a taste of pre-lockout Sydney recently when Candys Apartment teamed up with Keep Sydney Open for a massive show including Alison Wonderland, What So Not, Golden Features and Hayden James.
Ellen
Lashes
Ellen DeGeneres pulled intended guest Kim Burrell from her show after homophobic comments from the latter, and did it with compassion and empathy.
Alison Wonderland What So Not at Candys Apartment. Pic via What So Not Facebook.
Hey Joe 26 Jan is rapidly approaching and Parramatta Park’s Australia Day celebration is only getting bigger. They’ve just announced the addition of Eskimo Joe, Thundamentals, Thandi Phoenix and more to the line-up.
Cabaret
Backlash Festival Antics
Drug busts, stampedes, sexual assaults, even a death – it was a crazy time for festivals over the festive period. Maybe people were letting off too much steam after the clusterfuck that was 2016. Remember to stay safe.
Some Last Hits
Even as 2016 was nearing its end, it still managed to take some more big names with the passing of George Michael and Carrie Fisher.
Life’s A Cabaret The Kit Kat Klub has returned to Melbourne until March. Starring Paul Capsis as Emcee and Chelsea Gibb as Sally Bowles, the iconic musical Cabaret opens for a limited season at Hayes Theatre.
The Ley Of The Land
It must be nice to not anticipate buying a near $800K investment property yet still be able to, as it was revealed the stoodaside Federal Health Minister Sussan Ley did at the Gold Coast in 2015 – all on a taxpayer funded trip mind you.
THE MUSIC • 11TH JANUARY 2017 • 9
Sydney Festival
A CHANGE IS GONNA COME Leah Flanagan and Radical Son (aka David Leha), two of the artists chosen to perform in 1967: Music In The Key Of Yes, discuss songs that inspire social change with Bryget Chrisfield. 1967 cover and feature pic by Kane Hibberd.
T
his May marks the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Indigenous rights referendum, which saw 90.77% of Australians voting in favour of amending passages of the Australian Constitution that discriminated against Aboriginal people. Sydney Festival is celebrating and commemorating this crucial milestone with a world premiere production titled 1967: Music In The Key Of Yes that features some of the greatest songs of The Civil Rights Movement reinterpreted by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists such as Leah Flanagan, Dan Sultan, Radical Son (aka David Leha) and Yirrmal. When asked when he first became aware of the 1967 Indigenous rights referendum, Leha says he can’t actually remember learning about it in school, but recognises the referendum as “a moment in Australia’s history that we should all be proud of”. He also points out it’s important to ensure “those kinda things don’t happen again where we deny people rights”. Flanagan was recruited for 1967: Music In The Key Of Yes by Steven Richardson, the show’s Artistic Director. “I’d worked with Steven from about 2009 to 2011 in various productions with the Black Arm Band... I’ve performed three productions with the Black Arm Band, so Murundak, Hidden Republic and Dirtsong,” she tells. Leha applauds Black Arm Band’s shows “that went across internationally” and applauds Richardson’s work as “an advocate for Indigenous rights”. With Richardson at the helm, 1967: Music In The Key Of Yes is “in good hands”, he assures.
ABORIGINAL THINKING 10 • THE MUSIC • 11TH JANUARY 2017
You wanna try to say something, but at the same time you wanna try to entertain the masses.
When selecting songs for individual artists to sing, Flanagan explains “the brief was quite broad”. “It was more about just songs celebrating people with the ability to have a voice... I think a lot of songs spring to mind, like, there’s a lot of quite prominent songs from The Civil Rights Movement... that we all grew up with, you know? Even here in Australia. “Songs were presented to us by the Artistic Director and I kind of had a few artistic ideas of my own. I asked if I could sing a song from The Civil Rights Movement in America also because, you know, you’ve gotta think about the way things match your voice as well. It’s all great to sing rock’n’roll anthems, but sometimes if you don’t have the voice to do it...,” she laughs. On his own musical journey, Leha reflects, “At one point we thought maybe if I’m gonna sing I need to have a voice, but if the voice ain’t saying much then it could actually be harming rather than healing.” While Leha believes it’s up to the individual artist to decide whether they choose to create songs “solely as an entertainment” or “for social change”, he commends Archie Roach as someone who gets it right: “You wanna try to say something, but at the same time you wanna try to entertain the masses.” So are we allowed to know the actual songs they will tackle on the night? Flanagan hesitates before revealing she’ll sing “a Curtis Mayfield song”. Then Leha enlightens he’ll perform “a Sam Cooke song and an Archie Roach song” on the night.
Indigenous storytelling is at the very heart of Wesley Enoch’s inaugural season as Sydney Festival’s latest director, giving Sydneysiders an unparalleled view of what it means to be Aboriginal in 21st-century Australia. His selection of First Nation work is as much about instigation as it is about celebration, Enoch says:
“We need to embrace the notion that telling these stories is a political act. The notion that there’s no such thing as an apolitical narrative. Everything has a political purpose, whether its analysing the status quo or reinforcing it. I wanted Sydney Festival to be a provoker, a disruptor, and an enabler of change as well. I wanted it to
What: 1967: Music In The Key Of Yes When & Where: 17 Jan, Sydney Opera House
have the sense that it should reflect but also challenge us to think in new ways all the time. It should also represent a kind of ambition for our society. The job of the Festival is more than just presenting great work. It’s an opportunity for us to use our collective imagination to project us all forward, and to see into a future of how we want our country to be.”
Sydney Festival
EDITOR’S BEST FROM THE FEST
Arts & Culture Editor Maxim Boon selects his must-see shows from this year’s line-up so you don’t have to.
Inheritor Album
Retro Futurismus
SHIT
DA NCE
THE ATR E
CIRCUS
SPECTRA
SHIT
HUMANS
Dancenorth
Dee & Cornelius
Circa
Featuring sets by revered Japanese artist Tatsuo Miyajima, this danced dialogue between Japanese and Australian culture fuses a yearning physicality with sophisticated interactive technology.
Patricia Cornelius is one of the country’s most extraordinary (and sadly neglected) playwrights. Her defiant, raging portrait of discarded women on the fringes of society is one of the best new Australian works of recent years.
How far can a human body be pushed, stretched, contorted or weighed down? This stripped-back show discards the bells and whistles of the stage to expose and explore the physical and mental limits of our species.
When & Where 17 — 21 Jan, Seymour Centre
When & Where 13 — 19 Jan, Spaghetti Big Top
WHICH WAY HOME?
BRIEFS: THE SECOND COMING
Ilbijerri Theatre Company
The Briefs Factory
Writer-performer Katie Beckett hits the open road in this touching story of a father and daughter reconnecting with each other, their pasts and their culture as they road-trip home to country.
Hold on to your corsets huntys: the boys are back in town. If you see just one gender-fuck subversive cabaret show this year, make it this beautiful, bold and bearded celebration of queer fabulousness.
When & Where 11 — 29 Jan, Belvoir
When & Where 6 — 22 Jan, Magic Mirrors Spiegeltent
HOME COUNTRY
RETRO FUTURISMUS
Urban Theatre Projects
Davey, Barton, Lumb & Blake
Home is where the heart is. Or is it where you lay your hat? Aboriginal Elder Uncle Cheeky guides you through a multi-level exploration (in a multi-level car park) of what it means to be home in our multicultural world.
It’s cabaret Jim, but not as we know it. Welcome to the weird, wonderful and possibly wired world of B-movie electrofeminist cabaret. Think Peaches meets Barbarella via Marina Abramovich and Dita Von Teese.
When & Where 11 — 15 Jan, Seymour Centre
INHERITOR ALBUM Company 605 How does our past influence our future? Find out as the streets hit the stage in this fresh fusion of urban and contemporary dance, galvanised by dynamic projected animations and throbbing electronic sounds. When & Where 15 — 19 Jan, Carriageworks
BLOOD ON THE DANCE FLOOR Ilbijerri Theatre Company Jacob Boehme’s achingly beautiful, fiercely entertaining and surprisingly uplifting dance theatre solo explores the complexities of being HIV positive, gay and Indigenous. You’ll laugh, cry and feel profoundly touched. When & Where 21 — 25 Jan, Carriageworks
When & Where 11 — 22 Jan, Colo Lane Car Park
When & Where 24 — 29 Jan, Magic Mirrors Spiegeltent
THE MUSIC • 11TH JANUARY 2017 • 11
Sydney Festival
THE NAKED TRUTH The dancers of Sydney Dance Company are baring all in Nude Live, but they’re not the only ones — the audience will also have the chance to strip off. Choreographer Rafael Bonachela reveals why nudity needn’t be taboo, to Maxim Boon.
S
ome people break out in a cold sweat at the mere thought of audience participation, but being pulled up on stage for a few awkward moments in the spotlight pales in comparison to the next-level audience involvement planned at Sydney Dance Company’s collaboration with the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Nude Live. Leaping and lunging around more than 100 artworks celebrating the unclothed human form, currently on loan to the AGNSW from London’s Tate Gallery, seven dancers will bare all for the production. However, it won’t be just the dancers who’ll appear naked — the audience will be naked as well.
I can try and imagine what it will feel like to be that exposed in that space, but until we’re there, it is impossible to guess.
If you’re inclined to scoff at the notion that any paying ticket-holder would ever agree to strip off in front of a crowd of strangers, it’s worth noting that this radical clothes-free concept, in fact, originated as a request from members of the public, specifically a Sydney-based naturist group who felt an obvious synergy with the performance’s nudity. “My immediate response was, ‘Yes! Let’s do it,’” SDC artistic director Rafael Bonachela says. “The idea intrigued me because we express our identity through what we wear. It tells us who is wealthy, and even who is not, who is fashion conscious, what a person’s
12 • THE MUSIC • 11TH JANUARY 2017
background is, what their beliefs are. We judge people by what they wear, but when you lose those layers, you’re left as you were born, and in a way, that makes us all equal. There is no camouflage, just the naked truth.” Initially, just a single performance from the upcoming Sydney Festival season of Nude Live was earmarked for a naked audience, but after this show sold out a second was added by popular demand. This box office success is no surprise for Bonachela, who says he will also disrobe along with the rest of the audience for the performances. “It will be a unique experience — a once in a lifetime opportunity. When and where else can people be part of something like this, with so many amazing works of art? I think it will be quite unique and special, but there’s also a sense of the unknown. I can try and imagine what it will feel like to be that exposed in that space, but until we’re there, it is impossible to guess.” The naked body has been the muse of visual artists for millennia, but in live performance nudity still has the power to scandalise. That’s not to say naked performers are absent from the stage. Sydney has hosted two shows heavily featuring nudity over the past 12 months, in productions by Xavier Le Roy and Olivier Dubois, both at Carriageworks. Nonetheless, there is still a seemingly indestructible current of controversy when performers dare to bare in front of a paying crowd. Bonachela believes it’s our unwillingness to acknowledge the erotic or sensual in public that has preserved nudity’s enduring shock value. “As long as it’s painted or in the form of a sculpture — as long as it is not alive — the human body is not confronting. When a body is moving, the association with sex is more obvious. How people deal with that changes from country to country; there are places where nudity appears on stage regularly, but there are also some parts of the world where it is illegal. For some reason, there is something about nudity and the naked body that has the power to scare people or even make them feel ashamed.” When performers go au naturale, it innately toes the line between artistic credibility and gratuitous gimmickry, but for Bonachela, who has never used nudity in his work before, costumes were never an option for Nude Live. “The work is not placed on a stage where it could be dressed or undressed — it’s surrounded by more than 200 years’ worth of art entirely focused on the idea of the naked body and its many aspects. If the performers were not wearing much — almost nude — it would have felt like a missed opportunity. For us, to bring these nude bodies into this exhibition is going full circle,” Bonachela explains. “These dancers are people who have dedicated their lives to training their bodies, making their bodies intelligent, honing every little muscle for the explicit purpose of communicating with an audience. In this case, for this performance the nudity was essential for me. If someone had challenged that — which was not the case — I doubt I would have bothered. It makes absolute sense to present the body as unclothed.”
What: Nude Live, part of the Sydney Festival When & Where: Until 23 Jan, Sydney Festival, Art Gallery Of New South Wales
ORLD FAMOU EW S TH
SHO WCASE
THE MUSIC • 11TH JANUARY 2017 • 13
Sydney Festival
EMOTIONAL PEOPLE Moses Sumney tells Anthony Carew that the age of classification is dead. The only thing left is to be “honest and true and raw”.
W
hen Moses Sumney was ten years old, his life completely changed. He’d grown up in San Bernardino, in the ‘Inland Empire’ east of Los Angeles, but suddenly his parents — both members of the clergy — wanted to return to Ghana, to “contribute more to the society that they came from”. Sumney was transplanted to Accra; a “really insular child, very shy and very quiet”, suddenly thrown into another world. “It was really intense, and difficult,” says 26-year-old Sumney. “The cultural shock, the cultural change. I was a very American kid, and then suddenly I was living in Africa. Different accents, different cultural norms, different education system. I truly never [acclimatised], and I lived there for six years.”
People think they know me because I make intimate music, and they don’t. It’s important for people to understand that.
It was as a 12-year-old, riding the bus in Accra, that he started writing songs. “I didn’t know how to play any instruments, so I would write them all a cappella; just remember the melodies. And, had a notebook full of songs without instrumentation; but I could hear the instrumentation in my head,” he recounts. “I always knew I wanted to be a musician. It was the only thing I wanted to do, the only thing I fantasised about every hour of every day.” Sumney returned to California to go to college and, while studying creative writing at UCLA, taught himself how to play a guitar and use a loop pedal. “Writing songs
14 • THE MUSIC • 11TH JANUARY 2017
without music led me to looping, to creating songs with just the sound of my body,” he says; his compositions, still, centred around his voice. He started performing in 2013 and immediately got a hugely positive response, eager A&Rs imagining him as a budding soul singer. “It was very intense and overwhelming, because it all happened very quickly,” Sumney offers. “That’s the thing about making music in LA, you’re just naturally situated within the music industry. I was always into indie music: Jose Gonzalez, Sufjan Stevens, Dirty Projectors — stuff like that. I always envisioned myself as an indie performer, [and] was very naively married to the idea of being an artist; a dark, deep artist. And, the first year or two of me performing, there was a huge discrepancy between how I conceived of myself, and how other people perceived me. I just kept being told over and over how I’d make a great major label musician, a great pop star.” Sumney has had real flirtations with crossover — he appeared in the movie Creed, as part of Tessa Thompson’s band, and sang on the latest LPs by Solange and Corinne Bailey Rae — but he’s largely stuck to his own path. He’s self-released both of his releases, 2014’s Mid-City Island and 2016’s Lamentations, and tried to make his music “more interesting, and weirder”. After two years of work, he’s close to finishing his debut LP, due for release in 2017. The record pushes at his limits — “the songs are a little bit longer, the ideas a little bit bigger, things are a little more produced out, there’s more instrumentation” — and is about “toying with the idea of genre, or non-genre”. At this point in human history, Sumney says, “the lines are just so blurred; people need to get over it if they’re attached to genre, or they’re attached to the label you’re signed to. Classification, in general, is just fading away.” Sumney isn’t sure that the album is going to come out under his own name, though. “Every day I go back-andforth about whether I’m going to change my name; I think I might,” he says. He sees too much “cognitive dissonance” between his self-identity and the musical entity that now exists under his birth name. “People think that they own a part of the [artist], or that they’re entitled to it,” Sumney explains. “People think they know me because I make intimate music, and they don’t. It’s important for people to understand that: that they can’t know me, and that they don’t need to know me. As someone who pours my heart and soul into what I do, that’s enough of me.” Yet, it’s that level of candour that draws listeners devotedly to Sumney’s music. “The people who are at my shows are, typically, emotional people. We’re all just there to have a cry, and share that moment. People come up to me, crying. Or people post on the internet about how they relate to the songs. It’s really intense, actually; I just take the understanding that it’s not about me. When I make music and share it with the world, it’s not about me, Moses, the person, inside this bag of flesh. It’s about something much bigger than me... Being honest and true and raw about our feelings, I think that is what will push us forward as human beings; that is what will push the collective human consciousness forward.”
When & Where: 14 Jan, Sydney Festival, St Stephen’s Uniting Church; 15 Jan, Sydney Festival, Magic Mirrors Spiegeltent
THE MUSIC • 11TH JANUARY 2017 • 15
Sydney Festival
NOW HEAR THIS British theatre visionaries Complicite invite you on a sonic safari deep into the Amazon (and even deeper into your mind). Maxim Boon meets Richard Katz, the man leading the first Australian expedition to the global smash hit, The Encounter.
E
very theatre company hopes for a hit, but every so often a show comes along that draws such incandescent praise, shouldering the sheer weight of that expectation can be nerve-shredding. British theatre troupe Complicite have had more than a few barnstormers over the course of its 33-years presenting original, often experimental stage works, but its most recent production, The Encounter, ranks amongst the company’s most superlative efforts, having earnt rave reviews during sold-out seasons in London, New York and several other
We are more connected and yet more separate than we’ve ever been. We’re not very good at being attentive to things.
major cities around the world. Pushing the stakes higher still, the show features just one solitary actor, whose lynchpin performance is make or break. So, no pressure then for British actor Richard Katz, the man tasked with bringing this eagerly anticipated and much hyped show to Australia. Despite this audacious responsibility, Katz admits he’s “remarkably calm about it”. “I really thought I’d find getting up in front of several hundred people by myself more terrifying than being in Romeo & Juliet, or something more traditional. But there’s a load of really technical things I have to manage during the show and that keeps you incredibly focused,” Katz explains. “You have to be very Zen about it, because if something goes wrong you have to let go of it very
16 • THE MUSIC • 11TH JANUARY 2017
quickly. It really is a solo show — I can’t rely on someone coming in and going, ‘My Lord, the King is here,’ or whatever if something goes awry.” Directed by revered elder statesman of British theatre and Complicite’s co-founder, Simon McBurney, The Encounter is a retelling of National Geographic photographer Loren McIntyre’s experiences meeting an uncontacted tribe in the Amazon rainforest in 1969. Of course, this culture clash narrative boasts plenty of dramatic meat on its bones, but it’s this production’s technical wizardry that has made it such a box office boom. Using a sophisticated array of head-shaped binaural microphones, which capture sound in three dimensions, the audience are immersed in an auditory hallucination, receiving The Encounter’s boundary-busting soundscape via a pair of headphones. For Katz, the use of this cutting-edge audio offers a unique opportunity for a stage actor. “You can be so subtle. So incredibly subtle,” he reveals. “I can literally whisper, talk with barely any voice at all, and the audience will hear it loud and clear. It’s very like movie acting in a lot of ways. I can distil all that feeling into the smallest little impulse and it feels very real and very easy to generate fresh every night.” Perhaps even more remarkable is the visual economy with which this show communicates its story, stripped bare of the imposing and complex set elements one might expect from such a well-credentialed production. Far from feeling hollow, Katz believes this pared-back aesthetic allows the audience greater freedom to individually engage. “You can think of it like a bedtime story. We tell you about this amazing thing that happened and then the audience can give their imaginations free rein. There’s a really powerful filter on a narrative when you ask the audience to do some of the work, and if every detail is spoon fed, then it gets in the way of that,” he insists. Beyond its practical plus points, this innovative mode of audience engagement also acts to enhance The Encounter’s subtexts, exploring themes of otherness, isolation and empathy. “This show speaks about loneliness and what it means to be separate or more specifically, separate amongst other people,” Katz says. “We are more connected and yet more separate than we’ve ever been. We’re not very good at being attentive to things. Any storyteller wants their audience’s undivided attention, but I think, in a way, that’s naive. In a big space, I can’t make you look where I want you to look. If you suddenly decide that my chair or some corner of the set is more interesting than I am, you might look at that for half an hour while I’m fucking around, acting my heart out on the other side of the stage. What the headphones allow us to do is maintain that bond with the audience. We have total confidence in the world that we’re creating; we never lose contact.”
What: The Encounter When & Where: 18 – 28 Jan, Sydney Festival, Sydney Opera House
ON SALE NOW VIA
WWW.NEWTOWNSOCIALCLUB.COM AND 1300 724 867
387 KING ST, NEWTOWN, 2042
FRACTURES
SEVERED HEADS & ITCH-E & SCRATCH-E
18/02
04/02
. -
(:;
. -
(:;
1 &&#- #, , 5(/$1' 0 ( 6(//,1* )$67
)((3 ( . +
6(//,1* )$67
/&& &#0 (
( %,)' (.#2 ' (10$5. jKO=JN= KG;A=LQ . KCQDAF= 025( ' ,)( 0 ,3
*# , ,)." ,- 62/' 287
MARGARET GLASPY USA
06/03
THINGS OF STONE & WOOD MATINEE - 26/03
. -
(:;
,/#(- + %#(!
1 &)-. ." - 6(//,1* )$67
." &#'# Ñ ( - )5$1&( jKO=JN= KG;A=LQ . !, 3- & 025( '#% &)0 +$:$,,
+ ) 3 &/ 6$02$ ) ( * ,.3 )$5(:(// 6+2: $ % )&1 && ()."#(! 86$
WINDHAND/COUGH
TURIN BRAKES
05/04
10/04
USA
UK
1"#. &/(! &$1 1)) &) %
+ ." , (%&#( & .,# &$1 - 0 , " - 62/' 287
MOSQUITO COAST 17/02
, ./, -
' ."3& ." & 62/' 287 % .3 -. & #! ."#
. 2#,#
86$
, (%# )-')- 86$
,/- .")'*-)(
' ,! , . !& -*3 86$
6(//,1* )$67
")&&# -'#." 1 =
" #( & ." ! (! 86$
")&&3 .",)- 36(//,1* )$67 '3 / 6:('(1 ,&(/$1' - ( ,# ! ),- &
."#(!- )
#( -.)(
& 1)) 0$7,1(( 6(//,1* )$67
.#$/ ( ,. &
1#( " ( )/!" 86$
./,#( , % - 8. 6(//,1* )$67
'3 #- )
." , ), )'* (3 86$
$ %/ # 16/02
& #. " & - , . " 1"#& -" -& *- 8. &)-. (#' &
JAKUBI
')-+/#.) ) -.
., 0), " && 86$ (#%%# "#&& 86$
-&#' $#' *" (.)' 86$
HAPPY HOUR PINTS MON - FRI 5 TO 7PM II KITCHEN OPEN L ATE PLUS HEAPS MORE AT W W W.NEW TOWNSOCIALCLUB.COM
THE MUSIC • 11TH JANUARY 2017 • 17
Sydney Festival
THE LONG GAME
Y
Rod Whitfield chats to Lake Street Dive’s Mike Olson about why it took the Boston band so long to come to Australia, and why he wants to see you shake it at their shows.
B
oston-based soul/jazz/pop four-piece Lake Street Dive have been around for 12 years and, although their singer Rachael Price was originally from Perth, it still took them a decade to get out to tour Australia for the first time. Multiinstrumentalist and co-founding member Mike Olson attributes this to the practicalities of bringing a band to Australia from the States and also to the fact that the band’s career so far has been more of a slow burn than an overnight explosion. “Well, you’re extremely far away, there is that!” he laughs from his home in Charleston, South Carolina. “But it took us a long time to get basically anywhere outside the northeast of the States. We spent years touring around that area in our drummer’s Subaru Forester. But you know what? That’s how you do it. A lot of artists who may be of the mainstream pop persuasion, they blow up and go viral, they attain a lot of fame in a very short time. That’s not how it worked for us.” He feels that that slow build-up, plus the fact that the internet puts a band in touch with an audience much more quickly and easily than the way it used to be, strongly contributed to their ability to tour internationally now. “It’s cool, too, because with the way that information has become so globalised, the fans are always there,” he observes. “It’s not like we have to go there and win everyone over from square one; they have access to our videos and our records and our Instagram feed and things like that, so the timing is right for us now.” Illustrating that point further is the fact that once they broke the ice on coming to Australia in 2014, they are heading back again within two years, playing a whole bunch of festival dates and club shows across late December and into January. “We couldn’t be more excited,” Olsen enthuses. “The last time we toured Australia, it was the first time we’d ever been down there, it was just an absolute blast. First of all we couldn’t
18 • THE MUSIC • 11TH JANUARY 2017
believe the weather — in the middle of our winter when we’re usually freezing our asses off. We couldn’t believe the people, we couldn’t believe the food, the coffee — the whole nine yards. It was a great time.” Olson has a message for the Aussie fans, especially those who will be experiencing Lake Street Dive for the first time: come prepared to cast off your inhibitions, shake your booty and have a good time, because the band only feed off that kind of energy. “We try to have a lot of fun playing the music,” he explains, “and we hope that that translates to our audience, and we hope that they have fun too. Ideally we’ll see a lot of people dancing, because when we see people dancing, that’s the quickest way for us to know we are reaching you. When that feedback comes, the shows get better and better; the crazier the crowd becomes.”
When & Where: 12 Jan, Sydney Festival, Village Stage; 13 Jan, Sydney Festival, Magic Mirrors Spiegeltent
STRANGE JOURNEYS She’s dipped her toes in many musical waters and Natalie Mering tells Steve Bell how it all informs the music she makes as Weyes Blood.
oung Californian-bred musician Natalie Mering has been making music under derivations of the Weyes Blood moniker for nearly a decade now, but despite the ‘70s folk-tinged vibe of her recent work, her muse was shaped by far more avant forces than one would expect. In her youth Mering spent time playing bass in Portland freak rockers Jackie-O Motherfucker, then toured Europe with Brooklyn experimentalists Axolotl and later collaborated heavily with unorthodox LA rocker Ariel Pink, all these divergent influences eventually seeping into her own baroque vision. “I do think I was inspired by being able to travel with Jackie-O Motherfucker when I was so young,” she admits. “Musically it was just a free improvised band so I learned a lot about getting up on stage and humiliating yourself, as well as about having an amazing time. And I feel like Ariel taught me a lot about writing melodies. He’s got this really interesting approach which is like Legos: these little pieces that don’t seem very interesting, but then you stack them all together and it’s like a masterpiece. It was really fascinating to watch how he worked. “But I have quite divergent tastes — I pride myself on being a jack-of-all-trades when it comes to taste, like I can get down with anything. I really just like seeing the similarities in everything, kind of like collecting things to see the big overarching patterns.” The brand new Weyes Blood album Front Row Seat To Earth has its own inherent patterns, many manifesting in recurring lyrical themes. “It’s kinda about being on the journey of life,” Mering reflects, “and along this journey recognising your relationship with the external world and how the world outside is falling apart just like your
Sydney Festival
personal life is kinda falling apart — and how the two are micro and macro mirrors of each other. “I kind of slave over the words a little bit. Most of the time I try to keep it pretty conversational; I try not to overthink when I’m writing lyrics. Sometimes you gotta just think as hard as you can, because you’re squeezing these massive concepts into these tiny little phrases and you don’t want them to be overloaded, but you want them to say as much as they can.” And with Sydney Festival and Sugar Mountain gigs prominent on her impending Australian itinerary, Mering is looking forward to honing her festival skills. “I’m still kinda new to festivals honestly, I haven’t really played that many so I don’t know what to think yet,” she smiles. “I’m interested because my banter and whatever I have to say to the audience is usually pretty cryptic and weird — and in the context of a festival that might be really fun. We’ll see.”
When & Where: 19 Jan, Sydney Festival, Magic Mirrors Spiegeltent
HALT HER EGO Haley Fohr (aka Circuit Des Yeux) talks to Anthony Carew about burning King Of Pop effigies and power struggles with her alter ego.
H
aley Fohr’s upcoming Circuit des Yeux tour will mark her first trip to Australia, but not to the Southern Hemisphere. In 2009, she accompanied an Ecuadorian boyfriend back home for New Year’s Eve and had a wild experience. “It was the year Michael Jackson died,” Fohr recounts. “The way they celebrate New Year’s Eve in Ecuador is [to] build these huge fireworks statues of icons who died that year and they burn them in the street. So, there were hundreds of statues of Michael Jackson on fire. It was bizarre and amazing.” Fohr grew up in the “factory town” of Lafayette, Indiana, yearning to see the world. Both her parents were police officers and she’d go on to study nuclear engineering, but singing was “always [her] favourite thing”. Only, her voice — a deep baritone she uses to dramatic effect on Circuit des Yeux’s dark, shadowy, experimental records — made pursuing music in a small town “challenging”; Fohr always passed over for “the blonde woman with the pretty soprano” at every musical casting.
Her first run of CDY LPs — 2008’s Symphone, 2009’s Sirenum, 2011’s Portrait — were made in Indiana (“no one gave a shit,” she offers, dryly), but she moved to Chicago and got a job working as an archivist for the Numero Group, making digital transfers from old 1/4-inch tapes. “In some ways, it was a very magical job: listening to studio master reels that hadn’t been opened since, like, 1960,” she recounts. But, eventually her “problem with authority” led to her growing frustrated working in the music-biz backrooms; so she found a “closet” to live in for $150 a month, and set about making music her bona fide career. 2015’s In Plain Speech conjured grand, ambitious soundscapes to match her voice, and then Fohr alighted on a wacky side-project that would unexpectedly transform her life. “Things in Circuit des Yeux got really heavy, so I wanted to create something really light.” Dreaming of making “a country record that sounded like Emmylou Harris backed by Suicide”, she came up with the “Kill Bill meets Dolly Parton” character of Jackie Lynn, and made a “musical theatre”-styled 2016 LP as her. Recording and performing as Jackie Lynn, in character, “revitalised” Fohr, inspiring her to make her forthcoming sixth Circuit des Yeux album “the biggestsounding” thing she’s worked on. But, now, she’s worried that people are more interested in her side-project than her main thing. “Jackie Lynn was a side-project that was supposed to buy me some time away from Circuit des Yeux, but now there are people who like it more. At my shows, now, people yell out Jackie Lynn songs,” says Fohr. “It’s made me realise how much I really love Circuit des Yeux, how much I have to do it. My fear is that this other thing snowballs, and I’m caught up doing Jackie Lynn my whole life, and Circuit des Yeux is no more. Circuit des Yeux is so meaningful to me, I have to hold onto it.”
When & Where: 15 Jan, Sydney Festival, St Stephen’s Uniting Church
THE MUSIC • 11TH JANUARY 2017 • 19
Sydney Festival
VERY UNLADYLIKE Feminist theatre mavericks post have been recording their conversations for a decade. Now, these rehearsal room moments are taking the spotlight in Ich Nibber Dibber. Mish Grigor tells Georgia Symons about finding the madcap in mundane.
F
ourteen years ago, during a workshop at Sydney’s PACT Youth Theatre, Zoë Coombs Marr and Natalie Rose decided to see if they could fit Mish Grigor inside a dishwasher. Thus, the collaborative performance ensemble post was born. Over the last decade and a bit, post has produced work that is at once glitzy and daggy, fiercely intelligent and gleefully stupid, and they’ve toured it all over the country to huge critical and popular acclaim. Their most recent offering, Ich Nibber Dibber, will be served up across two weekends at the Campbelltown Arts Centre as part of this year’s Sydney Festival.
It’s a terrible tragedy that it is still a political act: women taking up space and women talking about themselves.
The company’s work is always political, which may seem to sit in contrast to their bright, pop-culture aesthetic. In fact, the politics and the glam go hand in hand, says Grigor. When they started the company, post wanted to make work that “spoke to a contemporary art dialogue, but also that our Mums could go along to and have a good time... we try and democratise this different world of entertainment”. Grigor is quick to point out that they’re not the first company to blend “high-art and low-art”, but if they’re not the first, they’re certainly up there with the best. Their past works have seen them try to explain the global financial crisis in one hour, reenact every death scene ever written, and become jazz ballet stars. 20 • THE MUSIC • 11TH JANUARY 2017
When they’re not explaining economics or being murdered on stage, much of the company’s work is drawn from their own lives. Some of post’s work could be described as feminist auto-fiction — a genre that stretches all the way back to Virginia Woolf and Gertrude Stein. More recent examples include Chris Kraus’s I Love Dick, Lena Dunham’s TV hit Girls, and the theatre and live art of Bryony Kimmings and Zoey Dawson. These are women artists who put their own lived experiences on display, unapologetically, as an antidote to the male-dominated culture in which we live. There are legitimate concerns around the genre regarding race (i.e. how much easier it is for white women to present themselves in this unflinching and exposed way), but the cultural impact of these artists is still noteworthy, in terms of giving women a truer, deeper reflection of ourselves in our cultural canon. Of this kind of work, Chris Kraus once wrote, “I think the sheer fact of women talking, being, paradoxical, inexplicable, flippant, self-destructive but above all else public is the most revolutionary thing in the world.” Whether or not post’s ambitions are revolutionary, they’re certainly aware of the political nature of presenting their bodies and lives on stage. “I think it’s a terrible tragedy that it is still a political act,” says Grigor; “women taking up space and women talking about themselves.” And this is exactly what they’re doing in their new show, Ich Nibber Dibber. Over their decade-long history of working together, post has always filmed rehearsals and improvisations, in order to be able to keep track of the company’s work. On their tenth anniversary, they wanted to make a show exploring these documented conversations and the ways that communication had changed over the course of their twenties. During the show’s development, they decided to go back through all their old rehearsal records and collate every moment of conversation where they went off-topic. They thought this would yield a script full of discussions about life’s milestones; victories and defeats, first loves and breakups. As it turned out, the material was a lot sillier and low-key than that. “Actually most of the time, when we go off topic, someone just starts talking about needing to go to the toilet or feeling like they’ve put on heaps of weight... the big deals of our life are not necessarily things that we have recorded... [instead, it’s] the small minutiae of nonsense.” And so, post have flowed with their material to craft a show not so much about the milestones of coming of age, but the day-to-day minutiae of being a woman in your twenties. But don’t be fooled — though the content may be mundane, the show itself is sure to be anything but. On top of their glitz-and-gore aesthetic, I asked Grigor if there was anything audiences should be warned about for this particular show. Her answers? Constipation, the Atkins Diet, and live records of childbirth. If you can stomach all of that, Ich Nibber Dibber may be the show for you.
What: Ich NIbber Dibber When & Where: 20, 21, 27 & 28 Jan, Sydney Festival, Campbelltown Arts Centre
In Focus Pic: Dykan Evans
Kaleidoscope
Ethan Hugh was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome at the age of four. His experience of the world is a little different to most people, but no less rich with emotion, creativity and joy. Through a vivid display of acrobatics, slapstick, and classic circus craft, Company 2 bring Ethan’s vibrant vision of the world to life at Circus City, the Sydney Festival’s circus hub in the heart of Parramatta. Catch Kaleidoscope 13 – 18 Jan, at Riverside Theatres, part of the Sydney Festival
THE MUSIC • 11TH JANUARY 2017 • 21
Sydney Festival
FIGHT LIFE Art and sport imitate life in playwright Future D Fidel’s self-referential portrait of a Congolese refugee fighting the demons of his past. Maxim Boon joins the Prize Fighter in the ring.
T
he boxing ring is a place of violence and brutality, but it is also an arena of resilience where the hardwired, primal instinct to fight and survive can blaze bright and reveal those most elemental aspects of what it means to be human. It’s little wonder then that boxing has long proven to be an excellent vehicle for drama, most notably in films like Rocky, Southpaw and Million Dollar Baby. But in those cinematic examples, the dramatic energy is driven by a yearning to leave something behind. Boxing becomes a redemptive journey where the prize for victory is longed-for, cathartic closure.
His opponent is not simply another fighter. It is his memories
In Congolese-Australian playwright Future D Fidel’s Prize Fighter, however, boxing is not a means of escape, but rather a brawl with past demons. Premiered at the 2015 Brisbane Festival, it follows the story of Isa, a Congolese man who arrived in Australia as a refugee, fleeing a country ripped apart by civil war. He is a promising and disciplined young boxing talent, but during his training for an Australian championship bout, it is not his body that fails him, but his mind. The hooks, blows and punches he throws in the ring provoke horrifying flashbacks to a childhood psychologically scarred by killing and war. “Boxing was the perfect medium for this story because it acts as such a clear metaphor for Isa’s 22 • THE MUSIC • 11TH JANUARY 2017
struggle,” Fidel explains. “His opponent is not simply another fighter. It is his memories, and that idea of the mental overcoming the physical is exactly the same as you find in boxing.” The details of Isa’s fictional past are rooted in a deeply personal truth for Fidel. Aged just 9-years-old, he was separated from his family and forced from his native East Congo by the bloody 1996 civil war. He spent more than eight years in a Tanzanian refugee camp searching for his lost relatives, during which time he would discover that his mother had been killed in the Congo in 2001. Fidel’s life began to change in 2004 when he was reunited with his sister and a year later he would be granted refugee status to come to Australia, aged 18. Given the candid depth of Fidel’s own experiences woven into the fabric of this play, the authenticity of the narrative is unquestionable. Yet, there are complex sensitivities to consider when such traumas are channelled in the service of entertainment. Boxing has a similar duality, as violence that is cheered, applauded and, at least for the winning opponent, rewarded. For Fidel, however, the mediums of theatre and sport have allowed him to speak about a dark but largely unfamiliar chapter of recent geopolitical history in a way that is accessible to an Australian audience. “It’s dangerous when you’re trying to tell a bad story, because you can leave people terrified in a way that pushes them away,” Fidel notes. “If there is a little hope, a little comedy, a little light in the way you tell that story, you keep the audience motivated, even though, at its core, it’s about war and mass killings. One of the most important things for me when we were making this production was that we honoured the truth — the story we are telling has really happened. People have really gone through this, so you have to tell it in a respectful way, while still keeping a light at the end of the tunnel.” Far from merely being a device for making the narrative more palatable, the glimpses of elan, tenacity and playfulness in Prize Fighter — produced by Brisbane’s La Boite Theatre and directed by the company’s Artistic Director Todd MacDonald — also reveal lighter aspects of the Congolese spirit that are often obscured by the atrocities that continue to take place in the DRC. To that end, Fidel has been careful not to allow earnest politicism to smother the individuality of his characters or the actors bringing them to life. “Ultimately, our aim is to create theatre that connects with an audience. We want them to be entertained so at the same time they are inspired to go away and learn more. This isn’t a political message. It’s a play, it’s a boxing match, it’s a fighting game.”
What: Prize Fighter When & Where: Until 22 Jan, Sydney Festival, Belvoir St Theatre
32 nd
12 - 15 JANUARY 20 17 BULL I SHOWGROUND, NS W
JANUARY 14TH
NICKY NIGHTIME + GUESTS
JANUARY 21ST
KAMALIZA + GUESTS
JANUARY 28TH
MIDNIGHT JUGGERNAUGHTS dj set
FREE
8PM
THE MUSIC • 11TH JANUARY 2017 • 23
Music
Open Book
Heat Save The mercury is set to soar this week, with meteorologists saying its likely to be “hot as balls” throughout January. Getting your strategy down for beating the heat is critical, so here are some top tips for keeping your cool.
Head to the bottle shop The chill-blasted cool room is the perfect place literally chill out. Remember to occasionally look ponderingly at a bottle of something to convince the proprietors that you’re actually a paying customer.
ALL the Zooper Doopers It’s a well-known fact that nothing kicks heat’s butt like Zooper Doopers. Invest in a plentiful supply of the multi-coloured ice poles: they’ll either cool you down or you’ll be so wired on sugar you won’t care.
Just move Let’s face it, we’ve gone and broken the planet, so face melting heat is gunna be a fact of life from now on. It might be time to do that travelling you’ve always talked about. We recommend Siberia for guaranteed heat-free hols.
24 • THE MUSIC • 11TH JANUARY 2017
London’s Little Simz tells Cyclone that there’s “many different sides” to her and she doesn’t wanna be boxed in as a grime MC.
L
ittle Simz (aka Simbi Ajikawo) is lauded as grime’s most riveting star. But she’s forging an identity outside the scene. In mid-December, the Islington, London MC/musician stealth-released Stillness In Wonderland — a psychedelic “sequel” to 2015’s A Curious Tale Of Trials + Persons. It was accompanied by a short film and even a comic book. Now, following last summer’s hit inaugural tour, she’s returning to Australia. Aptly, Ajikawo is headlining Melbourne’s curated Sugar Mountain. Will she perform new songs? “You’ll have to catch me at a show,” Ajikawo laughs. “I don’t like to hype it up.” But, yes, this unassuming “doer” relents: audiences will hear fresh and fabled material. Expect “an all-’round Little Simz experience”. Ajikawo, 22, has long been prolific. She dropped multiple mixtapes and EPs prior to her debut. Nonetheless, Ajikawo’s second album proved “a challenge”. “But I think I’m a person that thrives under pressure,” she says. “Pressure makes diamonds, doesn’t it?” Ajikawo was MCing as a pre-teen. In fact, she was a performing arts prodigy. Ajikawo scored an acting role in Spirit Warriors — a BBC kid’s fantasy series. Yet, in uni, she focused on music. After 2013’s Blank Canvas mixtape was championed by Jay Z’s Life + Times blog, major labels came calling. However, with her unique vision (and her own imprint, AGE 101 Music), Ajikawo was determined to stay independent. She
presented the gothic A Curious Tale Of Trials + Persons as “a concept album”, exploring modern celebrity over experimental beats. Ajikawo narrated the viral Dead Body as a homeless man. In the intro, Persons, she made a declaration that was political, personal and pharaonic, rapping, “Women can be kings”. All hail, King Simz. Like her fan Kendrick Lamar, Ajikawo’s work has a literary dimension (English was her “favourite subject” in school). Stillness In Wonderland figuratively references Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland (via classic Disney!) as Ajikawo reflects on being a young, female and Black British game-changer — and about keeping it ‘real’ versus ‘surreal’. Poison Ivy, the guitar-laden first single, is about a corrupt relationship. But Ajikawo’s lyricism remains instinctive. “It all depends on my mood,” she says of her lyric writing. “I like to write when I’m feeling a certain way just because it’s pure — it’s not premeditated.” Still, touring A Curious Tale..., Ajikawo realised how “moody” and “intense” her songs were. “For this album, I definitely wanted to go with my feelings, but also just [wanted to] open it up a little and make it a little easier to digest.” Ajikawo has opened up in other ways. Stillness In Wonderland has ‘features’ — among them Ajikawo’s friend, the Jamaican reggae artist Chronixx, The Internet’s Syd, and grime MCs Chip and Ghetts. Heritage artists such as David Bowie and Prince were praised for their fluidity. And Ajikawo questions those who’d “box” her in as a grime MC. “It’s not to say that I’m not into grime or anything like that,” she clarifies. “I just wanna be able to break the mould a bit and show people that there’s many different sides to me.”
When & Where: 17 Jan, Oxford Art Factory
Music
Polishing The Stone
Bassist Lou Barlow tells Steve Bell how pleased he is that alt-rock icons Dinosaur Jr are now immune to criticism for just being themselves.
T
he ongoing three-decades-plus saga that is the career of alternative rock legends Dinosaur Jr continued with a vengeance in 2016 with the release of their 11th studio album, Give A Glimpse Of What Yer Not — a strong continuation of the impeccable form that the band’s original line-up has been displaying since reforming back in 2005. Bassist Lou Barlow admits to being rapt with how the album panned out, especially given that the cupboard was almost bare leading into the sessions. “I am pleased, yeah,” he tells. “Going into it we didn’t really have a lot of material so there was a little bit of anxiety surrounding that. Like J [Mascis — guitar/vocals] was like [shrugs], ‘I don’t know what I’m going to do.’ I don’t know whether he was tormenting Murph [drummer] on purpose, but Murph was like, ‘Well what are you going to do? Have you got some songs?’ And he was like, ‘I don’t have anything! I dunno!’ “And, for me, I was kinda excited, because I always think that with any of these reunion records by the time we get to the end we should be run out [of ideas] and with J that’s when the mojo really starts to happen. The good tunes usually come out of the last desperate gasps of a record, like, ‘We need a couple more songs!’ And he’s like, ‘Okay’.
And this one almost started there, and I sort of feel that it’s almost like the most natural songs come from that sort of pressure.” This second phase of Dinosaur Jr’s tenure has been remarkable in both quantity and quality, a fact Barlow attributes to natural musical chemistry. “We don’t really alter anything, it’s not really different to what we were when we began. I think we’re kind of impervious to trends, and that’s good. I think that at some point if you keep doing the same thing over and over again people stop giving you shit for doing the same thing, and go, ‘Thank god! Thank god they’re doing the same thing!’” he chuckles. “You become something that people rely on, people become less critical. If you’re a young band people want you to change with the times and move forward, there’s always this idea of progress, but if you just kinda stick it out the pressure disappears after a while, and I think in our case that fits really well. “We’re just kinda polishing the same stone, and I like that because there’s bands that have done a similar thing — the Ramones, let’s say — that have a basic sound but they just slightly reinterpret it through dozens of records, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. I’m really happy to be part of a band that can actually get away with that.”
When & Where: 12 Jan, Metro Theatre
HardWear
Calling all cyborgs! Wearable tech is the hottest gizmo trend with Kickstarters and tech entrepreneurs dreaming up ways to pimp your bod with cutting-edge gear. Here are some of our favourite products on the market.
Lief Smart Patch Work deadlines, bills to pay, overworked and underpaid: fuck me, life is stressful! But thanks to this handy wearable monitor, you’ll know when your stress levels are peaking. It tracks your Heart Rate Variability (HRV) and vibrates when your metrics show you’re stressing out.
UPRight Posture Trainer A day in front a computer at the ol’ 9-to-5 can leave you feeling like the hunchback of Notre Dame. But worry not, the 21st century has got your back – literally. This handy gadget lets you know when you’re slouching with soothing buzz on the small of your back.
Muse This nifty gadget comes straight from the realms of sci-fi. A headset takes readings of your brainwaves to monitor your mood, stress and anxiety levels, sleep hygiene, and an accompanying app is packed with breathing exercises to chill you out.
THE MUSIC • 11TH JANUARY 2017 • 25
Music
Learning To Let Go Oliver Sim tells Bryget Chrisfield that “being rejected by an artist that you really like” when clearing samples, which happened twice while The xx were creating their latest set, is “the hardest part”.
A
s Oliver Sim, from The xx, opens the door to one of Grand Hyatt Melbourne’s corner suites he immediately extends his other hand out for a handshake, smiling warmly. We sit on couches placed in a perpendicular configuration and admire the city skyline views from high up in the Paris End of Collins Street. Sim wears all black and his trousers with subtle zip detail look familiar. Are they from the Dior Homme Spring/Summer 2016 campaign Sim starred in early last year? “Yes, yeah,” Sim enthuses, before explaining how it all came about: “Well we did a show for Dior at the end of 2014 at the Guggenheim in New York and then it came through that...
I think I can speak for the three of us when I say we’re not natural born stage people.
I did it for the free clothes,” Sim teases. That’s him sorted for stage clothes, then. Sim was just a teenager when he formed a duo — the beginnings of The xx — with Romy Madley Croft who attended the same school (Jamie xx joined later). “When we started playing gigs, there was bands in our school that would put up, like, posters for their gigs and be like, ‘Everyone come!’ We kept it top secret, didn’t tell anyone... because it was easier to play to strangers but, yeah! I think now we’re quite ambitious people.” There’s a knock at the door. “Sorry, I just ordered a coffee.” After offering to share his coffee, Sim double-checks (“Are you sure?”), before pouring himself a cup. According to Sim, the pair initially “had no ambition to play [the music] outside of the two of [them]”. Sim admits, “It took
26 • THE MUSIC • 11TH JANUARY 2017
years of gigging for it not to be painful being up on stage.” Was this because he found it difficult to look out into the crowd? “Hard to relax enough to enjoy, like, playing with the idea of performing. Now I LOVE it, I love it a lot. I think I can speak for the three of us when I say we’re not natural born stage people, but we’re getting there,” he laughs. When asked how he thinks The xx’s songwriting process has evolved over the years, the bassist/vocalist offers, “[I’m] just working from a place of experience now. The first record [their debut, Mercury Prize-winning xx set] was like an album of love songs and I hadn’t really experienced love firsthand... [there was] lots of, like, peering into other people’s lives around me. And now it’s very much like working off events, and people, and working through them [laughs]; it’s been helpful for life, writing these songs.” Recorded over two years, Sim says creating their latest I See You set was “technically” a lot of work: “we finished this album quite a few times and revisited it.” What Sim found “really hard” was “feeling like you’re finished, spending a bit of time away from it and then maybe realising you’ve got more work to do. And when the finish line feels so close and it’s pushed off into the distance, it’s like...” Sim sighs loudly. “Being on the other side of it definitely feels rewarding and I’m very happy with it,” he adds. On The xx’s two previous albums, Sim acknowledges his band wrote songs with the “mindset” that they should be able to be perfectly replicated live “as you hear it on the record”. For I See You, however, they relaxed the rules. Through “letting go of that limitation”, Sim observes, “We’ve been able to be a bit more adventurous in the creating of the songs.” Did we detect a Hall & Oates sample, I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do), in On Hold, the first taste from their new album? “You did, yes!” Sim confirms. On how he discovered this Hall & Oates classic, Sim shares, “I got introduced to it through The Avalanches; they put it on one of their mixtapes and I loved it.” When asked whether The xx ever come up against obstacles when approaching artists to clear samples, Sim reveals that the trio “had that happen twice on this album... where it didn’t work out”, “I think the hardest part is just being rejected by an artist that you really like,” he laments. A list of The xx’s syncs would need its own Wikipedia page so we ask Sim which ones he’s most chuffed with. “Working on Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby was really fun. He is a real character,” Sim chuckles. “We had dinners where he wanted to talk about the film — about what he wanted — and we went in for all the strings being made, and Romy played guitar to the picture and, yeah! It was really fun and that was, like, a great experience. I would love to do that again or, like, an entire film... but, other than that, I think we got used on a David Attenborough TV show and he’s my childhood hero, so that was a cool one.”
What: I See You (Young Turks/Remote Control Records)
Music
really allow you a lot of mental space. It’s like, you’re always in front of other people or you’re exhausted or you’re caught up in the show or whatever. “Creatively, we’re pretty independent... You always feel like you’re fighting through [writers block]. That’s true of a lot of creative jobs, there’s no formula for it, and if there is it becomes a formula, and probably the work you’re doing won’t be very interesting. I think a bit about addressing the tough patches differently — try to expect them and don’t get too personally bummed out about it,” he enlightens. Defrosting mentally and physically in the surf, the fruits of their new-found inspiration Sun Leads Me On eschews the ice-laced melancholy of its predecessor in favour of a more cosmopolitan approach to alt-folk. Their trademark harmonisation and moody ensemble arrangements remain, but this second record has a spaciousness and driving pulse that marks a new way forward for the group. Molander jokes about the Quebecian accent, admitting that “it’s quite different”. “I even find that we go to France — some of our crew is from Quebec — and [the French] will prefer to speak to our crew in English because they can’t understand anything!... It’s like putting someone from Texas and someone from Northern Scotland in the same room together, I don’t think they’d understand each other very well,” he illustrates. Strange fact: French-Canadian doesn’t have literal translations for English swear words, instead using profanities grounded in Catholicism. “You can drop F-bombs on Quebec TV and it’s okay because it doesn’t [translate]. Which is nice because I got a loose tongue sometimes,” he laughs.
Coming Full Circle
Half Moon Run almost lost their way following years of relentless touring. Conner Molander tells Brynn Davies that while de-frosting in California they found new inspiration for their second album, Sun Leads Me On.
A
h, Canada. You gave us Whistler — the Aussie backpackers delight. You gave us maple syrup, Java script and Ellen Page. We will forgive you for Nickleback and Bieber because of Drake, Jim Carrey, Neil Young and Ryan Reynolds. Mmm, Ryan Reynolds... But a group working their way to the top of our ‘Things We <3 About Canada’ list is the Montrealian four-piece Half Moon Run, who broke our hearts with their elegiac winter-folk track Full Circle from their debut record Dark Eyes back in 2012. Multi-instrumentalist Isaac Symonds joined the founding members Devon Portielje, Conner Molander and Dylan Phillips during the early days of the Dark Eyes tour — a journey that saw them undertake an immense two years of relentless gigging, practically living in one another’s pockets along the way. What inevitably resulted was a bad case of writers block and a desperate need for a sea change — one they found on the coast of California. “Touring itself [is] kinda all encompassing I find,” explains Conner Molander — who, we can report with amazement, does not once say ‘aboot’ or ‘aye’ once during out chat. “It doesn’t leave much room — I guess we require a bit of mental space to be creative to come up with new ideas, and touring doesn’t
Mystery Mac Money
Something weird is going on with MacBooks: people are finding random coins nestled snuggly in their optical drives. A post on Imgur about a mysterious US penny, hidden in the workings of the Apple hardware, has gone viral, with several other people coming out of the woodwork to share similar stories. Random loose change has apparently been turning up in the guts of apple products since 2010, and no one knows why the hell it’s happening, although it might partly explain why Apple gear is so goddamn pricey.
What: Sun Leads Me On [Indica Records] When & Where: 14 Jan, Metro Theatre
THE MUSIC • 11TH JANUARY 2017 • 27
OPINION Opinion
Dance Moves
Bjork
Get It To gether Hip Hop
T
he lazy, popular opinion was also the one I adopted: to write off 2016 as disquieting, terrifying With James and best consigned to the distant past ASAP. Fine, but if we now live in the future we must ask ourselves D’apice what sort of future it will be. Before the close of 2016, Bjork had some guidance for us. She published a post opposing, firstly, critics suggesting that she was “hiding” behind the decks in her new guise as a DJ and, secondly, the limited roles for female musicians “as if our only lingo is emo”. Early last year this column referenced a popular quote that the truth according to the standard you walk past is the standard you accept. For some of us, this was what was most upsetting thing about Trump’s ascent: voters’ support of populist policy allowed them to turn a blind eye on Trump’s admitted true nature. If we now look back on 2016 as a year where the world was not its best self, let’s seize control of this one. Let’s support media that embraces the full gamut of art that artists of any gender bring us. Being a rap fan makes the line difficult to tread. If we praise celebrations of murder, misogyny and drug dealing, to what extent are we part of the problem? But let’s not say this should be the year of the wowser, or censor; just the year we get a little more conscious. Let’s make 2017 memorable as the year we realised how much power we really have and how we ought to be wielding it.
Converge
Wa ke The Dea d Punk And Hardcore With Sarah Petchell
I
think a lot of the negativity associated with 2016 has to do with mindset. Some things (David Bowie passing and Trump’s election win) were a bit upsetting, but I’m starting 2017 afresh and thinking about all the things that I have to look forward to. The biggest and most important thing for me is the announcement a couple of days ago that Converge (you know, my favourite band that I never shut up about) are
28 • THE MUSIC • 11TH JANUARY 2017
Katie Gately
heading into the studio to start tracking a new album this autumn. It’s been a long time since All We Love We Leave Behind was released and it’s high time that I hear some new things from my most favourite of bands. I would presume, given interviews I’ve done with the band over the last couple of albums, that their increasing DIY ethic will see them record at God City Studios with guitarist Kurt Ballou producing. In the more immediate future, the bands that are here for Unify start touring this week. As much as I hate it when bands play farewell shows and then get back together within a couple of years, seeing Alexisonfire again is going to be wonderful. They’re a great live band who wrote two albums — Watch Out! and Crisis — that had a huge effect on me. I still can’t listen to Rough Hands without tearing up. But most importantly: Every Time I Die. Still one of the best live bands I have ever seen producing some of the most consistently awesome music. If you haven’t wrapped your ears around Low Teens do it now!
OPINION 11 – 22 JANUARY, 6.30–10pm COLO LANE CAR PARK BLACKTOWN
Opinion
New Currents
I
only heard my favourite album With Tim Finney of 2016 in the year’s closing weeks, so it didn’t make my ballot for this publication’s end of year poll. Consider this a corrective, then, because New York artist Katie Gately’s Color is an album that needs to be heard. Like many artists working in what remains of pop music’s experimental electronic vanguard, Gately’s background is in film sound editing, which makes sense when you listen to her music: richly visually evocative and suggestive of a narrative, rather than straightforwardly supplying one. Color is her second formal album and in some corners is billed as her “pop” album. To be fair, her vocals grace the album in a relatively conventional pop form, but in reality the album’s composition - half industrial electronic belters, half weird droning violin ballads evocative of the back end of Siouxsie and the Banshees’ A Kiss In The Dreamhouse - offers something much trickier to pin down. Opener Lift supplies a clear example of Gately’s additive, nightmare in a funhouse approach, with a groove that seems to shift and mutate with every bar, new sounds and riffs arriving with a bludgeoning clatter with every moment, but always eventually circling around to reassert the song’s central melodic motifs, before ending suddenly, as if the ride had unexpectedly pushed the listener out into the daylight. Like Julia Holter and many other artists before her, Gately has sought to navigate the difficult tightrope between adopting a more pop-friendly, songful sound while not abandoning that which made her unique and remarkable in the first place. And, as with Holter, Gately succeeds by concocting a form of “pop” that sounds nearly as out there as her more abstruse prior efforts, and which as much as studied abstraction captures the singularity of her vision. There’s nothing on Color as far reaching as 2014’s Pivot, a 14minute epic which builds from fragmented beginnings to a storm of unbearable intensity. But there’s a different, equal pleasure in hearing Gately squeeze the same chromatic density into smaller packages. The change in approach results in a different dynamic attack: there’s a moment in Pivot at about the 12-minute mark that is as delightful as just about any I can think of in music, but it relies on the preceding long build to amass some of its power. By contrast, Sift, less than half Pivot’s length
and also Color’s most aggressive inclusion, is an engrossing wall of sound from the outset, pulling itself apart and then building itself back together to deliver an equivalent moment of escalation. The shift from doom metal sturm und drang to syncopated industrial groove and back again pinnacles with a moment of buildinversion-explosion that rivals Max Martin for its sense of discipline. In this sense, Color is less a “pop” album than one which implies that Gately could produce pop music if she wanted to, such is the surgical finesse of the album’s most extroverted moments. But for the most part Gately is too messy, too keen to over-egg the pudding (not a criticism) with ever more sounds, ever more eruptions and interruptions. There’s something very ‘90s about this conflation of populism, groove and aural complexity (recall Garbage boasting about how many simultaneous tracks they used on Version 2.0) that largely got sidelined when the ‘80s revival rolled into town. Its return feels timely.
BOOK NOW Limited Capacity urbantheatre.com.au sydneyfestival.org.au
Urban Theatre Projects, Blacktown Arts Centre & Sydney Festival present
THE MUSIC • 11TH JANUARY 2017 • 29
Album / E Album/EP Reviews
The xx
I See You
Young Turks/ Remote Control
★★★½
Album OF THE Week Bonobo Ninja Tune/Inertia
Gentlewoman, Ruby Man
★★★½
30 • THE MUSIC • 11TH JANUARY 2017
Guido Farnell
Flo Morrissey & Matthew E White
Migration
Bonobo’s latest album Migration drifts across time and place with a subdued sense of wonder. The title track dials us into the vacuum of a departure lounge where pensive vibes contemplate leaving and loss as much as they do arrival. Minimal musings on a piano provide a structure for loose washes of sound and twinkling electronica. North American outfit Rhye help work the melancholy moods of dissolving relationships on Break Apart. The gentle, feathery-soft feel of this album demonstrates Bonobo’s mastery in producing seductive soundscapes that sooth as they massage. Perhaps we could blame globalisation for homogenising culture to the point where musicians from around the world understand Bonobo’s aesthetic? Artists like Nicole Miglis (who features on
It’s been four long years since the London trio’s last album and their latest seemingly shrugs off the cloud of drifting, subdued dreaminess associated with their previous work. All the familiar elements of their music are there, but The xx sound brighter than ever before. The trio embrace sweetly joyous tones as their brand of minimalism is jettisoned for a more maximal approach even though Oliver Sim and Romy Madley Croft are often singing introspective lyrics about the bittersweet sensations associated with love and relationships. Their breathy vocals intertwine to sensuous effect. The mood isn’t subdued. Much of this album embraces Jamie xx’s dance beats and suggests that the outfit are in the mood to hit the dancefloor. When the arrangements aren’t simply electronic, the outfit add plenty of orchestral detail to the mix. Dangerous, with its tight fanfare of horns, bumps along to solid house beats. The romantic thrill of Say Something Loving deals a carefree falling-inlove vibe that feels like cloudless blue skies. The gentle sway of strings and moody electric guitar support the drama of Performance, which highlights the vulnerability and intensity of emotion that The xx work into their music. The xx come at us with a fresh new sound but, more than ever, their music has less to do with chromosomes and delivers two gentle kisses onto listeners’ cheeks.
Glassnote/Liberator
★★½
Surface) from Melbourne, Florida and Nick Murphy (fka Chet Faker, who features on No Reason) from Melbourne, Australia perfectly understands the deep grooves providing appropriately introspective vocals. Occasionally Bonobo stops over and more exotic influences are allowed to infiltrate the mix. The sun-kissed groove of Grains has a distinctive Middle Eastern feel while Moroccan musicians Innov Gnawa allow tribal rhythms to take control of Bambro Koyo Ganda. This album delivers gentle listening pleasure for contemplative moments spent staring at a flickering flame. Guido Farnell
Sure Gentlewoman, Ruby Man is an album of covers, but rarely can two people take such an eclectic mix of tunes and distil them into a singular sound. After the first two tracks, Little Wings’ acoustic Look At What The Light Did Now and Frank Ocean’s Thinking Bout You, are recreated sounding wholly different from the originals, it’s clear Flo Morrissey and Matthew E White are up for a challenge. There are limits, though. The beauty of Thinking Bout You and James Blake’s The Colour In Anything lie in their soulful, heartfelt delivery. And while White’s and Morrissey’s vocals impress (the latter’s in particular on the Blake track), they’re clouded by arrangements that overpower the frailty of the originals.
It’s surprising that while on some tracks Morrissey and White are happy to blaze their own trail, on others — not least their cover of Roy Ayers’ 1976 Everybody Loves The Sunshine — they deliver a rendition almost identical to the original. The arrangement on Sunday Morning, though, stays true to the Velvet Underground’s rambunctious original, making it a highlight. If nothing else, through Gentlewoman, Ruby Man Morrissey and White give listeners an excuse to explore some beautiful songs and artists. Dylan Stewart
EP Reviews Album/EP Reviews
The Flaming Lips The Molochs
The McClymonts Saviour
Oczy Mlody
Endless
Let Me Leave
Universal
UNFD
America’s Velvet Glory
Warner
Innovative Lesiure/Inertia
★★★
★★★½
★★★½
★★★½
Are The Flaming Lips secret synthwave fans? Moving on from the schizoid paranoia of The Terror, The Flaming Lips embrace hazy techno sounds - and to some extent revisit the day-glo mental disintegration found on parts of The Soft Bulletin. Oczy Mlody shuffles through oozing bass, gently undulating synths and plinky drum beats. There Should Be Unicorns and the occasional scrambled vocals of How?? exemplify the trippy sleepwalker vibe, but it’s hard to identify any emotion-charged anthems for their inimitable live shows, although it holds up well as a conceptual whole.
Young LA rockers The Molochs defiantly mine the past for inspiration. Their skeletal garage rock framework of guitar, ragged organ, harmonica and drums is offset by the droning vocals and mildly disaffected worldview of frontman Lucas Fitzsimons, whose lyrics examine the usual tropes of girl troubles and associated angst. It’s all lazily anthemic but blossoms amidst the up-tempo swagger of No More Cryin, the incessantly grooving You And Me and the proto-psych murmur of Little Stars. A modern spin on familiar sounds, instantly comfortable but with a fascinating new veneer.
Country singing sisters Brooke, Samantha and Mollie McClymont bring in the new year with album number five. Like We Used To, single House and first big ballad Nothing Good Comes Easy open the album with a new pop shine, a trend that runs throughout the album, and show the group’s range nicely. Lovers of a more straightforward style are also catered for with sweet love songs Endless and When We Say It’s Forever (feat Ronan Keating), while those wanting a bit of grunt also have Let You Down and Judge You. A healthy dose of contemporary country sounds indeed.
There are many soundalike metalcore/post-hardcore acts doing the rounds right now, but Saviour are not one of them. It’s a difficult sub-genre to put a different spin on, it has an extremely specific set of characteristics and a definite formula by which the songs must be written and presented. But this Perth six-piece shake things up like a James Bond vodka martini. The luminous presence of Shontay Snow, on both co-lead vocals and keys, gives this band a real point of difference. To the point where it’s actually inappropriate to label them metalcore. This band exists in a zone of their own.
Liz Giuffre
Rod Whitfield
Christopher H James
Steve Bell
More Reviews Online Sepultura Machine Messiah
theMusic.com.au
Chavez Cockfighters
Listen to our This Week’s Releases playlist on
THE MUSIC • 11TH JANUARY 2017 • 31
Live Re Live Reviews
The Avalanches @ Enmore Theatre. Pic: Angela Padovan
The Avalanches, Grandmaster Flash Enmore Theatre 5 Jan
The Avalanches @ Enmore Theatre. Pic: Angela Padovan
Bowie In Berlin @ Enmore Theatre. Pic: Peter Dovgan
Bowie In Berlin @ Enmore Theatre. Pic: Peter Dovgan
Catfish & The Bottlemen @ Enmore Theatre. Pic: Britt Andrews
Catfish & The Bottlemen @ Enmore Theatre. Pic: Britt Andrews
32 • THE MUSIC • 11TH JANUARY 2017
Enmore Theatre was packed to capacity as The Avalanches attracted a sold-out crowd of baby boomers, youngsters and everyone in between to their first Sydney show in over ten years. Hip hop pioneer Grandmaster Flash kicked off the night with an astonishing variety of tunes from all decades, using his powerful voice and stage presence to zap the audience into action. “If you know the lyrics to a song,” he screamed, “promise me you’ll sing it loudly out of key.” The crowd joyfully obliged. With bodies moving, heat building and heart rates rising, the crowd applauded Grandmaster Flash. With the yellows, pinks and reds of the Wildflower flag draped across the entirety of the stage’s back wall, The Avalanches crew arrived on stage to a roaring crowd singing along to 2016’s Because I’m Me: “...Just put on my best/Pair of shoes...” Jonti Danilewitz (guitar) and Tony Di Blasi (keys and turntable) are posted up on opposite sides of the stage accompanied by drummer Paris Jeffree and two extremely energetic and vibrant lead singers (Eliza Wolfgramm and Spank Rock). With captivating elegance, Wolfgramm circled Spank Rock through each rap verse as the crowd followed her lead on the sing-along chorus of Frankie Sinatra. Transitions between tunes, both old and new, mirrored the complex nature of the Wildflower album. Subways moved into the ‘70s-style groove of If I Was A Folkstar, accompanied by captivating cartoon visuals featuring pop-culture icons and The Avalanches’ music videos. Not wishing to neglect the
classics from 2000’s Since I Left You, the crew soon delivered an untarnished performance of Frontier Psychiatrist, much to the delight of the masses. Through the course of the show nine faces circled onstage (not including the overexcited
“Welcomed with unified stomping and ear-piercing screams. ‘imposter’ from the crowd that jumped up during Colours before being respectfully guided back off the stage). A three-song encore was warmly welcomed with unified stomping and ear-piercing screams. Finally, the onstage team assembled together, swayed and waved goodbye as the final notes of Since I Left You echoed throughout the Enmore. A beautiful performance from such talented entertainers and a true testament to the enduring nature of The Avalanches’ unique and individual style. Cassie Warriner
Catfish & The Bottlemen, Fan Girl Enmore Theatre 6 Jan Fan Girl were no warm-up band; they ripped into their set like they were playing their own headline show. Showcasing heavy metal spirit in the way they composed themselves on stage, they spewed out stadium rock classics. With swirling riffs, heavenly falsetto and hard hitting drums, Fan Girl channelled the likes of Muse, but packed some serious punch. Luckily, they had an almost full
eviews Live Reviews
Enmore Theatre to share in their energy; the biggest crowd they had ever played to — and this will surely not be their last. Catfish & The Bottlemen entered to a screaming, sold-out crowd. From the first note of Homesick, the audience was singing the lyrics back to Van McCann, who seemed genuinely stoked by our flawless lyric knowledge. They followed it up with Kathleen. We’re not sure if Catfish & The Bottlemen’s lyrics are just easy to remember due to those juicy hooks, or if Sydneysiders really love them that much, but the show was truly a love-in. There was not a still body or closed mouth on the floor (or in the stands), as the audience worshipped every lyric and note the band played.
They let their music speak louder than their words. The band brought their A-game (not that it would have mattered); their set was tight and album replica, and their performance oozed energy and charisma. But with true showmanship they let their music speak louder than their words, throwing in a few humble thank yous between songs. Although every song was killer, the finale took the cake. Kicking off with 7, then taking us back to where our love for the band began with Cocoon, before Tyrants was chosen to amp us up and tease out the end. It’s easy to see why the band are keen on returning here soon, and we would gladly have them back. Melissa Borg
Bowie In Berlin Enmore Theatre 7 Jan
A year on from the eponymous subject’s death, and the day before his birthday — a date he shared with Elvis, trivia buffs — tribute shows are likely to be common currency. This one was a cut above most, because it had Mick Harvey curating and he was able to direct a band with the likes of Clare Moore, JP Shilo, Penny Ikinger and even Theremin-ist Miles Brown plus a range of guest vocalists for various moods. And rather than going for a 40-year grab-bag of hits, this focused on one of Bowie’s landmark periods, when — overdosed on America and cocaine — he fled to the West German city and made the eventually triumphant albums Low, Heroes and Lodger. There were also a couple of handy sidetracks in Iggy Pop’s resurrection records, The Idiot and Lust For Life. Moody electronics collided with viciously treated guitars and there was that drum sound the likes of which had never been heard before until Phil Collins found it too and ruined it for everybody. In a gig of two halves, the first had occasional pacing problems as the need to include the necessary sometimesambient/sometimes-jagged instrumental interludes of the album made things a little disjointed; between Kim Salmon going all correctly Iggy on Nightclubbing, Died Pretty’s Ron Peno giving his unique shimmy and howl to Always Crashing In The Same Car and the determined-to-be-eccentric Max Sharam delivering Be My Wife, before Dave Graney engaged the crowd as only he can to deliver Yassassin — the era’s odd veer to middle-eastern flavours furthered with Kylie Auldist
Heroes when done right — as here — is a towering thing.
finishing the set with The Secret Life Of Arabia. The bar and bathrooms were hell-queues at half-time, so Mr Harvey directed us back to our seats via another instrumental interlude. Things then got harder and louder, and were the better for it. Graney “...going deep and obscure” for a terrific Joe The Lion, before the (kinda) hits; Auldist having a huge rip at DJ and the Harvey-described secret weapon of Michael Nolan unfurling the centrepiece song of the centrepiece album. Heroes when done right — as here — is a towering thing, the boy maybe just shading the old stager Graney as night’s MVP. Salmon and Sharam join him for a rollicking Boys Keep Swinging. Then there’s an encore slash at Iggy’s Funtime, almost as an afterthought. Artist honoured, band beyond competent, crowd mostly happy. Job done.
More Reviews Online theMusic.com.au/ music/live-reviews
Falls Festival @ North Byron Parklands Field Day @ The Domain FOMO @ Parramatta Park
Ross Clelland
THE MUSIC • 11TH JANUARY 2017 • 33
Arts Reviews Arts Reviews
those who managed to escape with their lives is playwright Future D. Fidel. His experiences as a child, separated from his family and forced to live in a refugee camp, are the bedrock of his first full-length play, Prize Fighter, commissioned by La Boite Theatre Company and the Brisbane Festival in 2015. It’s a text that thrums with the truth of lived experience, articulated with urgent, confronting, unflinching commitment. Isa (Pacharo Mzembe) is a talented boxer on the brink of becoming a national champion, but his natural ability in the ring is rooted in a dark truth. After rebels murdered his father and sister in front of him, he was forced to be a child soldier. The repercussions of his childhood traumas begin to manifest in the ring, as he is confronted by flashbacks of a horrifying past he can’t escape from. Todd MacDonald’s clear, uncluttered direction is the perfect foil for the dynamism of the expertly choreographed fights. There’s a breathtaking authenticity to the action - punches are thrown, sweat flies, the audience cheers as loudly and freely as an actual boxing match. The irony of this realism is that Prize Fighter isn’t really about boxing at all. The idea of using the boxing ring as a place of redemption is a well-tested trope, but here, boxing is symbolic of our profound misunderstanding of the lasting fallout faced by those who have fled unthinkable terrors, even when they are safely resituated. The psychological toll on refugees who have experienced horrors unlike anything we could imagine is seldom recognised from the comfort and security of our stable democracies, so seeing this issue explored so artfully on stage is truly significant. Mzembe honours this difficult source material with an incredibly moving performance, simultaneously revealing the heartbreaking vulnerability of Isa’s fragile mind while retaining a powerhouse physicality. His brother, Gideon Mzembe, brings genuine menace to his account of the Congolese warlord who murders Isa’s family. Thuso Lekwape delivers some of the most chilling moments, as a young soldier applying childish mischief to the task of murder.
Prize Fighter. Pic: Brett Boardman
Prize Fighter Theatre Belvoir St Theatre, Until 22 Jan
★★★★½ The Civil War that has ravaged the Congo since 1996 is not a topic most Australians could speak about with any authority and yet this largely unrecognised conflict is one of the bloodiest humanitarian crises since World War II. According to some estimates, it’s believed that the grizzly, brutal fighting in the Congo has claimed the lives of nearly 6 million people, but killing is not this war’s worst atrocity. Torture, rape and the enslavement of children as young as eight to be soldiers for ruthless warlords has forced millions of Congolese men, women and children to flee to neighbouring countries as refugees. Among
Maxim Boon
34 • THE MUSIC • 11TH JANUARY 2017
Ladies In Black
Ladies In Black Theatre Sydney Lyric Theatre, to 22 Jan
★★★★ This Queensland Theatre production is a tale of gals, gowns and growing up, following bright young schoolleaver Lisa as she temporarily joins the ranks of the titular ladies in black, working in Goodes department store over the Christmas rush. As well as being a coming of age story, it also explores a coming of the age, during a pivotal chapter in Australia’s history when the arrival of post-war European “reffos” began to transform our society into the multicultural melting pot it is today. Teetering on the brink of this cosmopolitan metamorphosis, Lisa is the product of a society in flux. Her intelligence and creativity make her thirst for new experiences and ideas and yet her salt of the earth upbringing and no-frills, working class parents have kept her cloistered in the suburbs. Up until now, her only female role model has been her mother - the archetypal suburban housewife - but thanks to her summer temp job, her eyes are opened to the variety of different lives that could await her. At Goodes, she discovers a microcosm of the world outside her drab, colourless home-life; a world of continental joie de vivre and aspirational fashion. Carolyn Burns’ book is superbly observed, full of true-blue ockerisms and classic Aussie banter. Tim Finn’s lyrics err on the hokey side, and yet they are perfectly judged for the direct, down-to-earth, BS-free spirit of this particular milieu; what Finn’s cheeky couplets and mawkish rhymes might lack in profundity, they certainly make up for in charisma. Finn proves himself to be a musical chameleon with the score for his debut musical, which employs an eclectic range of styles, from soft rock to rhythm and blues, classic patter songs and even some funk. Despite this variety, the music retains a baseline of Finn-brand consistency that prevents the whole becoming a directionless hodgepodge. There are more than a few earworms to be found here with strong, catchy themes you’ll be humming all the way home. Maxim Boon
! W O H S L A IN F & D N 2 , D N A M BY DE
THURSDAY 9 FEBRUARY QUDOS BANK ARENA ON SALE NOW!
NEW BOOK BORN TO RUN OUT NOW
FRONTIERTOURING.COM
BRUCESPRINGSTEEN.NET
NEW ALBUM CHAPTER & VERSE OUT NOW
THE MUSIC • 11TH JANUARY 2017 • 35
Comedy / G The Guide
Wed 11
Mashd N Kutcher
SOSUEME feat. Polographia + Strange Associates: Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach Sydney Festival presents Rautavaara: City Recital Hall, Sydney Halestorm + Devilskin: Factory Theatre, Marrickville
Gregory Porter A Jazz Tribute to ABBA feat. Judith Nijland: Foundry 616, Sydney
The Music Presents
Tinsmith + Panic Syndrome + Shirley Crescent: Frankie’s Pizza By The Slice, Sydney
NAO: 1 Feb Oxford Art Factory Strangers: 3 Feb Metro Theatre
Henry Manuell + Lee Sullivan: Gasoline Pony, Marrickville
Mother’s Cake: 11 Feb Factory Theatre; 12 Feb The Small Ballroom
Ashanti + Ja Rule + Eve + Chingy + Clinton Sparks: Hordern Pavilion, Moore Park
CW Stoneking & Nathaniel Rateliff: 7 Mar Enmore Theatre
Louis Stapleton & Co: LazyBones Lounge, Marrickville
Mashd Up
Holly Throsby: 9 Mar Clarendon Guest House Katoomba; 11 Mar Milton Theatre; 18 Mar Lizottes Newcastle; 19 March Newtown Social Club
Live & Local feat. Josh Needs + Laura Baird + Matt Bradford: Lizottes Newcastle, Lambton
After recently headlining the Nickelodeon Slimefest tour together Mashd N Kutcher and In Stereo are at it again for the all-ages Summer Party at Factory Theatre on Friday. The pair are also joined by Vlado.
Twelve Foot Ninja: 9 Mar Uni Bar; 10 Mar Manning Bar; 11 Mar Cambridge Hotel The Waifs: 1 Apr Enmore Theatre; 4 Apr Bangalow Hall Bangalow Rhiannon Giddens: 8 Apr Factory Theatre Snarky Puppy: 10 Apr Enmore Theatre Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue: 10 Apr Metro Theatre Roy Ayers: 11 Apr The Basement
Sydney Festival presents: The Fiery Maze feat. Tim Finn + Dorothy Porter: Magic Mirrors Spiegeltent, Sydney Sydney Festival feat. Pirra: Meriton Festival Village, Sydney Manouche Wednesday feat. Gadjo Guitars: Mr Falcon’s, Glebe
Glenn Esmond: 4 Pines Public House, Newport
Luke Heggie + Sean Woodland: Oatley Hotel, Oatley
Natalie Gauci: Brass Monkey, Cronulla
Adam Gorecki: Orient Hotel, The Rocks
The Hideaways: Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst
Custom Sluts + The Underachievers + Queer Anne’s Revenge + Space Boys: Rad Bar, Wollongong
Little Egypt’s Speakeasy: Camelot Lounge, Marrickville Light Entertainment + Wawawow + Swine: Captain Cook Hotel, Paddington
Gregory Porter: 12 Apr Enmore Theatre Laura Mvula: 12 Apr Metro Theatre
Thu 12
Emad Younan: Mr Falcon’s, Glebe Wallis Bird + William Crighton + Tullara: Newtown Social Club, Newtown Steve Tonge: Observer Hotel, The Rocks Matt Jones Duo: Orient Hotel, The Rocks I Heart Hiroshima: Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst Tattletale Saints + eush: Petersham Bowling Club, Petersham
PJ O’Brien UB40 feat. Ali Campbell, Astro & Mickey Virtue: Enmore Theatre, Newtown
Bluesfest: 13 – 17 Apr, Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm
Sanzu + Daemon Pyre: Factory Theatre (Factory Floor), Marrickville
Max Jury: 13 Apr The Basement
Doig Big Band: Foundry 616, Sydney
The Lumineers: 17 & 18 Apr Sydney Opera House Gallant: 18 Apr Oxford Art Factory
The Ugly Kings + Bounty Hunters: Frankie’s Pizza By The Slice, Sydney
The Record Company: 19 Apr Newtown Social Club
Zack Martin + Chris Brookes + more: Harbour View Hotel, Dawes Point
Crossroads The PJ O’Brien Band are headed to the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee. But first they’re holding a fundraiser to get there, which means you can hear some world-class blues at Bald Faced Stag on Friday.
Winston + Elwood Myre: Hotel Steyne (Moonshine), Manly Aurelna + Dande & The Lion + No Straight Line: LazyBones Lounge, Marrickville Gregory Page: Leadbelly (formerly The Vanguard), Newtown Sahara Beck + James Chatburn: Lizottes Newcastle, Lambton Sydney Festival presents: The Fiery Maze feat. Tim Finn + Dorothy Porter: Magic Mirrors Spiegeltent, Sydney
Even
Even More Seminal Aussie indie-rock outfit Even are celebrating 20 years since the release of their smash debut album, Less Is More. They will be playing Newtown Social Club on Friday with The On & Ons and The Soul Movers.
Angelena Locke: Manly Leagues Club, Brookvale The Mandarin Band: Rock Lily, Pyrmont
Larger Than Lions: Marble Bar, Sydney
Peter Head: Pittwater RSL (Distillery), Mona Vale
The Spin Drifters: The Basement, Sydney
Sydney Festival presents +Lake Street Dive: Meriton Festival Village, Sydney
The Pinheads + Drunk Mums: Rad Bar, Wollongong
Dinosaur Jr + Luluc: Metro Theatre, Sydney
Joseph Calderazzo + more: Rock Lily, Pyrmont
Wallis Bird + Sleepyhead: The Small Ballroom, Islington
36 • THE MUSIC • 11TH JANUARY 2017
Gigs / Live The Guide
Luluc
The Swamp Stompers: Commercial Hotel, Milton
Even + The On and Ons + The Soul Movers: Newtown Social Club, Newtown
Sahara Beck + Dominique: The Rhythm Hut, Gosford
ICEHOUSE: Enmore Theatre, Newtown
Eko: Oatley Hotel, Oatley
Bizzy Bone (Bone Thugs n Harmony): The Small Ballroom, Islington
Phil Jamieson: Entrance Leagues, Bateau Bay
Zac Coombes + The JP Project: Observer Hotel, The Rocks
Tinsmith + Rachel Maria Cox + Hollow States: Factory Theatre (Factory Floor), Marrickville
Reckless: Orient Hotel, The Rocks
In Stereo + Vlado + Mashd n Kutcher: Factory Theatre (All Ages), Marrickville
Passersby
Whelan & Gover: Fortune of War Hotel, The Rocks
Indie-folk two-piece Luluc are headed back to Australia. The New York-based Melbournians are joining alt giants Dinosaur Jr on their Give A Glimpse Of What Yer Not tour, stopping at Metro Theatre on Thursday.
Mike Nock + Kristin Berardi Band: Foundry 616, Sydney
18+ Show with Lime Cordiale: Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst Back to the 90s with DJ Adverse + more: Play Bar, Surry Hills LDRU: Proud Mary’s, Erina
Sydney Festival presents +Stephen Allkins: The Star (Sky Terrace), Pyrmont Glenn Esmond: The Vineyard Hotel, Vineyard Cyndi Mado: Towradgi Beach Hotel (Sports Bar), Towradgi Skegss: Transit Bar, Canberra City
Betty & Oswald Gadjo Guitars: Gasoline Pony, Marrickville Slaughtered at the Station with Grim Demise + Chambers Of Insanity + Osmium Grid: Hamilton Station Hotel, Islington Natalie Gauci: Heritage Hotel, Bulli Selaphonic + Bin Juice: Hotel Steyne (Moonshine), Manly
Broken Mountain + Colourfields + Ben Panucci + Zig Zag Wanderers DJs: Slyfox, Enmore Glen Harvey + Andy Irvine: Smiths Alternative, Canberra Sydney Festival presents Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith: St Stephen’s Uniting Church, Sydney Dean Michael Smith: The Bourbon, Potts Point Live & Originals feat. Jessey Napa + Josh Needs + Jacob Burnell: The Louis (formerly Lewisham Hotel), Lewisham DJ Meem + The Newports + more: The Newport, Newport
The OzSkas + Wasters + Nathan Seeckts: LazyBones Lounge, Marrickville Andrew Dickeson Quintet + Dan Barnett: LazyBones Lounge (Level 1), Marrickville Knox: Leadbelly (formerly The Vanguard), Newtown Sydney Festival presents Lake Street Dive: Magic Mirrors Spiegeltent, Sydney DJ Brenny B Side: Manly Wharf Hotel, Manly Brown Sugar: Marble Bar, Sydney Sydney Festival feat. Mighty Duke & The Lords: Meriton Festival Village, Sydney
Peta & The Wolf: The Temperance Society, Summer Hill Bleeding Gums + The Satanic Togas + Mr Milk: Valve Bar (Basement), Ultimo
Bootleg Rascal + Boo Seeka + Lyall Moloney + Gold Member: Uni Bar, Wollongong
Tamika Jai Duo + DJ Kitsch 78 + Soul Nights: Rock Lily, Pyrmont
Glenn Esmond: Unity Hall Hotel, Balmain
Tomas Ford’s Crap Music Rave Party: Smiths Alternative, Canberra
Alternathon Fest with Melancholy Flowers + My Sisco Electro + The Nu Now + more: Valve Bar (Basement), Ultimo
Sydney Festival presents Szun Waves feat. Luke Abbott + Laurence Pike + Jack Wyllie: St Stephen’s Uniting Church, Sydney
Capricornia feat. Raptor + Galaktik + Pato De Gomah + more: Valve Bar (Level One), Ultimo
Flower Glower
Stairway to Heaven feat. Led Zeppelin Masters: Sydney Opera House, Sydney
Melancholy Flowers are playing their first gig of the year at Valve Bar on Friday as part of Alternathon Fest. Joining them on the bill are Sisco Electro, The Nu Now, The Marrakesh Club and more.
Sydney Festival presents Long String Instrument: Sydney Town Hall, Sydney
Woollen Kits + Bed Wettin’ Bad Boys + Calamari Girls: Vic On The Park, Marrickville
Fri 13
The PJ O’Brien Band + CJ Raggatt + The Foreday Riders + Simon Kinny-Lewis Band: Bald Faced Stag, Leichhardt The Iron Horses: Bald Faced Stag (Front Bar), Leichhardt Role Modelz: Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach Diesel + Gregory Page: Brass Monkey, Cronulla Jimeoin: C.Ex Coffs, Coffs Harbour The Pinheads + Drunk Mums: Cambridge Hotel (Warehouse), Newcastle West
Local legends Betty & Oswald are headed to Metro Theatre this Saturday to support Canadian indie-rockers Half Moon Run along with their tourmates, Montreal’s folk pop four-piece The Franklin Electric.
Zeahorse + Kaleidoscope + White Dog + Orphans: Rad Bar, Wollongong
Flight To Dubai + Pist Idiots: Vic On The Park, Marrickville
Free The Beats with Various DJs: 107 Projects (Rooftop Garden Bar), Redfern
Betty In The Good Pair
Melancholy Flowers
Benn Gunn: Tahmoor Inn, Tahmoor Glory Days - The Boss Experience: The Basement, Sydney
Sat 14
Dave Anthony: The Bourbon, Potts Point
For Folk Sake with Various Artists: 107 Projects (Rooftop Garden Bar), Redfern
Deep Sea Arcade: The Eastern, Bondi Junction
Little Egypt’s Speakeasy: Camelot Lounge, Marrickville
Airbourne: Metro Theatre, Sydney
JR Dynamite + DJ Soup + Luke Dolahenty: The Newport, Newport
Feelsclub + Froyo + Chymes: Captain Cook Hotel, Paddington
Blue King Brown: Mona Vale Hotel, Mona Vale
Alex The Astronaut: The Newsagency, Marrickville
Oliver Thorpe: Mr Falcon’s, Glebe
AJ Dyce: The Push, The Rocks
Mark Crotti: Clovelly Hotel, Clovelly
Richard’s Gypsy Stalkers + John & Yuki: Well Connected Cafe, Glebe
Sydney Festival presents Stephen Allkins + DJ Misbehaviour: Archibald Fountain (Roller Jam), Sydney Yours feat. Nicky Night Time: Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach Wawawow + Dead Brian + Matrick Jones: Botany View Hotel, Newtown
THE MUSIC • 11TH JANUARY 2017 • 37
Comedy / G The Guide
Alternathon
Donny Benet + You Beauty: Newtown Social Club, Newtown
Rachel Maria Cox
Travis Loughhead + Peter Gabrielides: Observer Hotel, The Rocks
Songs On Stage feat. Lance Aligannis + Yelhsa + more: Orange Grove Hotel, Lilyfield Elevate + Jonathan Jones: Orient Hotel, The Rocks Under 18’s Only Matinee Show with Lime Cordiale: Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst The Gooch Palms + Middle Kids + Pearls: Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst Vanessa Heinitz: Panania Hotel, Panania
Have You Been To
Indie
Answered by: Melancholy Flowers — The Hosts of Alternathon Why should punters visit you? Alternathon aims to celebrate local Sydney bands who each have a completely unique sound and performance. Sisco Electro will be having their EP launch on the night and The Nu Now will be headlining.
Benj Axwell: Red Cow Hotel, Penrith Hype Duo + DJ D-Flat + The Groove: Rock Lily, Pyrmont
Fresh Start
The Turtlenecks: Rocks Brewing Company, Alexandria
Three of the best local acts currently in action are coming together at Factory Theatre to start 2017 right. Catch singer-songwriter Rachel Maria Cox, the ever-evolving Hollow States and headliners Tinsmith on Friday night.
Michael Avgenicos + Zela Margossian: Seymour Centre (Sound Lounge), Darlington
Kim Churchill + Dan Bolton + Low Society: Smiths Alternative, Canberra Tourmaline: Entrance Leagues, Bateau Bay Polographia
What’s the history of the event? This will be our very first time hosting an event like this.
Any advice for first timers who want to visit the event? Red Bull will be providing cheap vodka and Red Bulls on the night, be sure to grab a drink. Who’s performing this time around? My band Melancholy Flowers will be playing. We will be playing alongside Sisco Electro, The Nu Now, Rita B, Marrakesh Club and Annais Paris.
Do you have any plans for the event in the future? We will be hosting more of these events throughout the year. We are coming back to do a follow-up show at the Valve on 4 Mar. That will have a different line-up. When and where for your next event? 13 Jan, Valve Bar, 7.30pm. $10 entry. Website link for more info? facebook.com/ melancholyflowers
38 • THE MUSIC • 11TH JANUARY 2017
Phil Jamieson: Shoalhaven Heads Bowling & Recreation Club, Shoalhaven Heads
Justice Hardcore with Various DJs: Factory Theatre, Marrickville Glenn Esmond: Fortune of War Hotel, The Rocks Azadoota: Foundry 616, Sydney Afternoon Show with Paul Hayward & his Sidekicks: Gasoline Pony, Marrickville Chosani Afrique: Gasoline Pony, Marrickville
Old Mates The tour for their EP Friends wrapped up last month. If you’ve been as desperate for another shot of Polographia as us in the weeks since, head to Beach Road Hotel for Sosueme on Wednesday.
Mood II Swing: Harpoon Harry, Surry Hills Joe Moore: Heritage Hotel, Bulli Darius Syrossian: Home Nightclub, Sydney Spines + Crooked Frames + Sloom: LazyBones Lounge, Marrickville
The Sydney Salsa All Stars: The Basement, Sydney D Love: The Beach Hotel, Merewether The Cassettes: The Belvedere Hotel, Sydney Acoustic Grooves: The Bourbon, Potts Point The Pinheads + Drunk Mums: The Chippendale Hotel, Chippendale Jimeoin: The Glasshouse, Port Macquarie
Short n Curly: Long Jetty Hotel, Long Jetty
Band Ombe: Camelot Lounge (Django Bar), Marrickville
DJ Stuart B + DJ Ben Morris: Manly Wharf Hotel, Manly
Zac Coombes: Carousel Inn, Rooty Hill
Soul Empire: Marble Bar, Sydney
Michael Gorham: Clovelly Hotel, Clovelly
Sydney Festival feat. Mighty Duke & The Lords: Meriton Festival Village, Sydney
South Beach Boogie: Corrimal Hotel, Corrimal
Sydney Festival presents Long String Instrument: Sydney Town Hall, Sydney
Bondi Cigars: Lizottes Newcastle, Lambton
Pearl - The Janis Joplin Story: Camelot Lounge, Marrickville
Bootleg Rascal: Commercial Hotel, Milton
Stairway to Heaven feat. Led Zeppelin Masters: Sydney Opera House, Sydney
Natalie Gauci: Leadbelly (formerly The Vanguard), Newtown
Sydney Festival presents Tower of Song - A Tribute to Leonard Cohen feat. Steve Kilbey + Jack Ladder + Holiday Sidewinder + Broads + Lindsay ‘The Doctor’ McDougall + Christina Mimmocchi + Mikelangelo + Spectres of Love + AJ True: Magic Mirrors Spiegeltent, Sydney
Diesel + Shaun Kirk: Brass Monkey, Cronulla
Sydney Festival presents Moses Sumney: St Stephen’s Uniting Church, Sydney
Half Moon Run + The Franklin Electric + Betty & Oswald: Metro Theatre, Sydney Backsliders: Milton Theatre, Milton
Vanessa Heinitz: Crowne Plaza Terrigal, Terrigal
LDRU: Mona Vale Hotel, Mona Vale
ICEHOUSE: Enmore Theatre, Newtown
Five Coffees: Mr Falcon’s, Glebe
Nicky Night Time
Nicky All Night Beach Road Hotel’s regular event Yours has snagged Nicky Night Time (aka Nick Routledge, aka Van She founder and frontman Nicky Van She) this week. Head down Saturday night to see the DJ/producer in action.
Gigs / Live The Guide
DJ Treble n Bass + Gang Of Brothers + DJ Mike Dotch + Rob Edwards: The Newport, Newport Alex The Astronaut: The Newsagency, Marrickville
Sun 15
Natalie Gillespie + Dave Brewer + more: Petersham Bowling Club, Petersham
Bare Necessities with Klue + Ribongia + Vuli + Moody + more: 107 Projects (Rooftop Garden Bar), Redfern
Blue King Brown: Proud Mary’s, Erina
Joe Moore: Brass Monkey, Cronulla
Zeahorse: The Phoenix, Canberra Geoff Davies: The Push, The Rocks Sydney Festival presents Funkdafied DJs: The Star (Sky Terrace), Pyrmont Darius Syrossian: The Zoo Project, Potts Point Skegss + Dumb Punts + Los Scallywaggs: Uni Bar, Wollongong
The Gooch Palms
Feelsclub + Max Chillen + The Kerbside Collective + E4444E + Joab Eastley: Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle West
All Ages Show with The Pinheads + Drunk Mums: Rad Bar, Wollongong
Troy T + Suite Az: Rock Lily, Pyrmont
Azzband: Camelot Lounge, Marrickville
Sydney Festival presents Circuit des Yeux: St Stephen’s Uniting Church (Downstairs), Sydney
Yasmin & Fanous: Camelot Lounge (Django Bar), Marrickville
Stairway to Heaven feat. Led Zeppelin Masters: Sydney Opera House, Sydney
Skegss: Captains At Mariners, Batemans Bay
New Black Shades: The Beach Hotel, Merewether
Under 18’s Only Matinee Show with Skegss: Captains At Mariners, Batemans Bay
Adrian Joseph: The Bellevue Hotel, Paddington
Lloyd Cole: City Recital Hall, Sydney
Glenn Esmond: The Bourbon, Potts Point
Daxton Monaghan: Entrance Leagues, Bateau Bay
Greg Poppleton & The Bakelite Broadcasters: The Builders Club, Wollongong
Ted Nash: Fortune of War Hotel, The Rocks
DJ Rob Kittler: The Deck, Milsons Point
Rocky Ravic + Gypsy + Nobody’s Fool: Frankie’s Pizza By The Slice, Sydney
The New South: The Merton Hotel, Rozelle The JP Project: The Mill Hotel, Milperra
Big Merino: Gasoline Pony, Marrickville Nathan Seeckts + Jamie Hay + Rachel Maria Cox: Hamilton Station Hotel, Islington
Freedom Is Free The first night of Volumes and Oxford Art Factory’s four-part Freedom series is on this Saturday. Catch a heap of bands at OAF for free including The Gooch Palms, Middle Kids, Pearls and Body Type.
Mood II Swing: Hotel Illawarra, Wollongong King Tide: Hotel Steyne (Moonshine), Manly
Boiler Vroom with Various DJs: Valve Bar (Level One), Ultimo Fox Company + Japanese Death Machine: Vic On The Park, Marrickville Katcha: Well Connected Cafe, Glebe
Sydney Festival presents DJ Misbehaviour: The Star (Sky Terrace), Pyrmont Accidental President: Town Hall Hotel, Newtown The Swamp Stompers: Towradgi Beach Hotel, Towradgi Durry + more: Valve Bar (Basement), Ultimo
Performing Brazil: Mr Falcon’s, Glebe Splinter Orchestra: Newtown Jets Sports Club, Tempe
Bermuda Bloom + Munjak + Pittown + The Shrews + Dizzies + Cosmic Flanders + more: Valve Bar (Basement), Ultimo
DJ Alex Mac + Middle Kids + DJ Cool Hand Luke: The Newport, Newport
Azadoota: LazyBones Lounge, Marrickville Sydney Festival feat. Mighty Duke & The Lords: Meriton Festival Village, Sydney
William Crighton
The Spin Drifters
William Wallis Aussie troubadour William Crighton’s massive run of shows for his single Jesus Blues is crossing paths with Wallis Bird’s Woodford side show. They’ll be joined at Newtown Social Club on Thursday by Tullara.
Munro Band: LazyBones Lounge, Marrickville John Maddox Duo: Mr Falcon’s, Glebe Tom Trelawny: Orient Hotel, The Rocks
Tue 17 The Adele & Amy Songbook with Bloom: Brass Monkey, Cronulla Francesca Prihasti: Foundry 616, Sydney Songs On Stage feat. Russell Neal + Chris Brookes + Pauline Sparkle: Gladstone Hotel, Dulwich Hill Songs On Stage feat. Stuart Jammin + Jenny Hume: Kellys on King, Newtown
Nekromantix + Casino Rumblers + Captain Reckless & The Lost Souls: Newtown Social Club, Newtown
Steve Hunter Band: LazyBones Lounge, Marrickville
Kym Staton: Oatley Hotel, Oatley
Lloyd Cole: Lizottes Newcastle, Lambton
Josh Needs + Ryan Enright: Observer Hotel, The Rocks
Sydney Festival presents: The Velvet Underground & Nico performed by Regurgitator + Seja + Mind Meng Wang: Magic Mirrors Spiegeltent, Sydney
Jess & Bruno + Ed & Astro: Orient Hotel, The Rocks Tigertown + Amy Shark: Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst
M AD CDs Since 1999
Drift On Over The Spin Drifters are some of Australia’s best classic country and western swing musicians, and big fans of The Basement. You can find them there once again on Wednesday night.
Sydney Festival feat. Orszaczky Budget Orchestra: Meriton Festival Village, Sydney Live & Originals feat. Melancholy Flowers + Joseph Banks + Burden Man: Mr Falcon’s, Glebe Craig Thommo: Orient Hotel, The Rocks Little Simz: Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst Sydney Festival presents 1967 Music in the Key of Yes with Various Artists: Sydney Opera House (Concert Hall), Sydney
CDS - DVDs - Bluray Packaging - Posters Check out our Seasonal Specials at
m a d cds.com.au
q u otes@madcds.com.au
( 0 2 ) 95579622
PO Box 190 St Peters NSW 2044
Mon 16 Greasy Chicken Orchestra: Foundry 616, Sydney Songs On Stage feat. Russell Neal + Kenneth D’Aran + more: Kellys on King, Newtown
Unit 10, 2 Bishop St, St Peters NSW 2044
THE MUSIC • 11TH JANUARY 2017 • 39
Sydney’s largest dedicated creative media education institution is opening in January 2017. At SAE Sydney, you’ll be creating in world-class facilities, on the latest software and equipment, under the guidance of expert teachers – because at SAE, we believe to be job ready, you need to know the job.
NEW CAMPUS - SAE SYDNEY. 39 REGENT STREET, CHIPPENDALE. SNEAK PEAK & INFO DAY. SAT 21 JAN 2017. 11:00AM - 1:00PM. REGISTER TO ATTEND sae.edu.au/events