28.06.17 Music / Arts / Lifestyle / Culture
Sydney / Free / Incorporating
tour: ORSOME WELLES
release: STONE SOUR
dance: BANGARRA
A m e r i c a n B r o t h e r s B r i n g i n g G l a m o u r To S p l e n d o u r
Issue
195
THE MUSIC • 28TH JUNE 2017 • 3
4 • THE MUSIC • 28TH JUNE 2017
BASEMENT
WED 28TH 8PM
BASEMENT
THU 29TH 8PM
ROCK THE VALVE BAR
LEVEL ONE
WITH “DROVER MAD”, “THE DEADLINERS”, “MISTER MYSTIC” “SPENCER ROAD” PRESENTS
NIGHT OF INDIE ROCK
WITH SUPPORT FROM “SECONDHAND SELLOUT”, “CONVEX” AND GUESTS BASEMENT
FRI 30TH 9PM
FRI 30TH 10PM
METAL NIGHT
BASEMENT
SAT 1ST 8PM
LEVEL ONE
WITH: “HAZMAT”, “BLACK REIGN”, “REIGN OF TERROR”, “THRASH BANDICOOT”
THE RESERECTION OF FUCKFEST!
WITH: PASSENGER OF SHIT FEAT ETHERAL GIRL, EARNEST RAW, GHOSTINGS, TRAMSTEIN, TECH9DEMONCOCK CYBER HYMEN HUNTER, TESSEL, MIDIMACHINE, EARWAX JAM, INF3KTA, XENOSINE GOODTIMES RECORDS PRESENTS
“UNCLE GEEZER”
WITH SUPPORT FROM “DISPARO”, “GRIM”, “DURRY”, “LOOSE UNIT” JESS REYNER PRESENTS:
SAT 1ST 10PM
PRIVATE PARTY
BASEMENT
MELODIC ROCK
SUN 2ND 5PM
INVITATION ONLY
WITH “THE VEGAS NERVES”, “WICKED CHILDREN”, “M’LEIGH”, “MANDARIN TREE”
COMING UP
Thu 6 July: 8pm Basement: “Ride For Rain” Single Release with support from many special guests; Fri 30 June: 8pm Basement: Hardcore Punk Night with: “Two Faced” ,”The Crapenters”, “Dirtbag”, “Straight To A Tomb”, “Speedball”; 10pm Level One: Dreamtime Events presents: The Official Naidoc Afterparty with Dj’s Tikelz, Peter Gunz, Aycuz, MC Suga Shane; Sat 8 July: 8pm Basement: Sanctuary Nightclub presents; Sanctuary In July, Sydney’s premier Alternative Club night featuring best Alternative DJ’s and personally recommended by Ian Astbury of “Cult”; 10pm Level One: Steph’s 21st Mouldy Meme Party with DJ’s Danejer, Kenaz, Altercate, Little Raven, Acidtixx; Sun 9 July: 5pm Basement: No Quarter Entertainment presents: Stone Deaf Sundays with “Metal” and many special guests, plus a Deadly Playlist!
42 KING ST NEWTOWN
W W W. TH E L E A D B E L LY. C O M . A U
MUSIC VENUE | COCKTAIL BAR | DINER WED 28
RAMBLIN' NIGHTS
WED 5
FEMME FATALE SPECIAL
WHITE TREE BAND
THU 29
THU 6
TONY AWARDS
STILL GOT THE BLUES
FRI 30
FRI 7
KING TIDE
COOKIN' ON 3 BURNERS
SAT 1
SAT 8
50 YEARS AGO TODAY
ORACLE RECORDS PRES:
PRES BY JMUSIC
+ FRIPPS & FRIPPS
SGT PEPPERS TRIBUTE
FREE ENTRY
GARY MOORE EXPERIENCE
+ STELLA ANGELICO
PAT CAPOCCI + ROSA MARIA
COMING UP ... TRUE VIBENATION, HIT MEN DTK, TIMBERWOLF, O’SHEA, DENI HINES, LETTERS TO LIONS, HUGO RACE, DRAGON, MARK OLSEN & MUCH MORE...
THE MUSIC • 28TH JUNE 2017 • 5
Music / Music / Arts / Lifestyle / Culture
The Loneliest Number
Paul McCartney
It’s official – Paul McCartney’s One On One world tour will take him to Australian shores for the first time since 1993! Tickets will undoubtedly disappear faster than Adelaide’s hopes that he’ll stop at their city (our condolences, Adelaide).
Pharoahe Monch
Barter Bits Australia’s own Ali Barter is gearing up for one hectic year. The singer-songwriter is embarking on an 11-date national headline tour late August, as well as throwing some festivals into the mix while she’s at it.
Monch On This (Pharoahe Monch) MC Pharoahe Monch is finally returning to Down Under with an upcoming headline tour in September. Beginning in Brisbane, the New Yorker will hit (almost) all of Australia’s major cities, before wrapping up at WA’s Wave Rock Weekender.
Jen Cloher
24 Fourth Time’s A(nother) Charm The years between Paul McCartney tours of Australia by the time he touches down in December for his just announced run of shows
6 • THE MUSIC • 28TH JUNE 2017
Having already churned out three albums, Jen Cloher is prepping for her fourth release in August. The Melburnian has also just announced a national headline tour to coincide with the release, which kicks off in Brisbane.
Arts / Li Music / Arts / Lifestyle / Culture
Credits
Publisher Street Press Australia Pty Ltd
Dream Big, Play Big
Group Managing Editor Andrew Mast
As festival season looms, line-ups continue to roll out. BIGSOUND Festival are the latest to unveil their arsenal of musicians, and it’s quite the collection. Ruby Fields, The Creases and Alex The Astronaut are just a taste of what’s in store.
BIGSOUND Festival
Ali Barter
National Editor – Magazines Mark Neilsen Arts & Culture Editor Maxim Boon
Gig Guide Justine Lynch gigs@themusic.com.au Contributing Editor Bryget Chrisfield
Editorial Assistant Sam Wall, Jessica Dale Future
Contributors Anthony Carew, Ben Nicol, Brendan Crabb, Carley Hall, Chris Familton, Daniel Cribb, Chris Maric, Christopher H James, Cyclone, Daniel Cribb, Dave Drayton, Dylan Stewart, Guido Farnell, Guy Davis, James d’Apice, Liz Guiffre, Mac McNaughton, Mark Hebblewhite, Matt MacMaster, Matt O’Neill, Melissa Borg, Mitch Knox, Neil Griffiths, Mick Radojkovic, Rip Nicholson, Rod Whitfield, Ross Clelland, Sam Baran, Samantha Jonscher, Sara Tamim, Sarah Petchell, Shaun Colnan, Steve Bell, Tanya Bonnie Rae, Tim Finney, Uppy Chatterjee Photographers Angela Padovan, Cole Bennetts, Clare Hawley, Jodie Downie, Josh Groom, Hayden Nixon, Kane Hibberd, Munya Chawora, Pete Dovgan, Peter Sharp, Rohan Anderson, Simone Fisher Advertising Dept Brad Edwards sales@themusic.com.au
Prick Up Your Ears
Art Dept Ben Nicol, Felicity Case-Mejia, Alex Foreman
Listen Out is set to take over September and October, and the festival has enlisted some big names for the occasion. Future, Duke Dumont, PNAU and Bryson Tiller are a few of the international artists included on the massive bill.
Admin & Accounts Ajaz Durrani, Meg Burnham, Emma Clarke accounts@themusic.com.au Distro distro@themusic.com.au Subscriptions store@themusic.com.au Contact Us PO Box 2440 Strawberry Hills NSW 2012
The Weeknd
Suite 42, 89-97 Jones St Ultimo Phone: (02) 9331 7077
Motherfuckin’ Starboy As anticipation runs high for The Weeknd’s first ever Australian tour, the Canadian songsmith has kept the fire burning by confirming venues and support acts. The Starboy: Legend Of The Fall tour will feature French Montana and Nav supporting.
info@themusic.com.au www.themusic.com.au
— Sydney
THE MUSIC • 28TH JUNE 2017 • 7
Music / Music / Arts / Lifestyle / Culture
Underbelly Arts Festival - Make Or Break
For a regular hit of news sign up to our daily newsletter at theMusic.com.au
Bellyaching Fun
Underbelly Arts Festival are celebrating their ten-year anniversary with 21 newly commissioned Australian art projects. Kicking off in October, the projects will vary from visual art and dance to radical opera, and everything in between.
Sweet Sensation
Mikey Robins
A Community Effort
Sensation Music Festival is making its inaugural debut this November, and none other than Deadmau5 has been attached to headline. The complete line-up is expected to slowly be unveiled over the coming weeks.
The Reclink Community Cup is having a launch for its Sydney event on 5 Jul at the Golden Barley Hotel. MC will be Mikey Robins, hosting a night of live music and comedy.
Deadmau5
Nina Las Vegas
My heart goes out to all the parents spending this gorgeous Saturday watching their kids suck at sports. @JennyJohnsonHi5 8 • THE MUSIC • 28TH JUNE 2017
Cross Eyed The Keep Sydney Open Meet Me In The Cross Festival is at multiple venues in Kings Cross on Saturday. Some of the big name performances against Sydney’s lockout laws include DJ sets from Thundamentals, Hermitude and Nina Las Vegas.
Arts / Li Music / Arts / Lifestyle / Culture
Getting In Contact
Brisbane prog-rockers Caligula’s Horse recently shared that their latest studio album, titled In Contact, is set for a September release and in addition, they’ve announced an Australian tour to go with it.
Caligula’s Horse
Body Type
Frontlash Grinspoon
Look, NSW lost the Origin, but at least Grinspoon put in a cracking performance beforehand, smoke machine, fireworks and all.
Mallrat
Things are looking up for her, as she’s just signed a couple of deals in the US and Australia, as well as having internet giant Google using one of her songs in an advertisement.
Thank The Lorde
Lorde
Turning It Up Volumes Festival are keeping it pure Aussie with an absolute ripper of a line-up. Returning for a third year, Volumes will be hosted by an array of different venues spread across Darlinghurst, with bands such as Gold Class and Body Type.
Backlash Another OD
It seems like almost every other week there is a report of an overdose at a music event, with six people affected at a Darling Harbour nightclub. Someone has to fix the drugs policy soon.
Prodigy Australia To Ibiza
Pete Tong
UK DJ Pete Tong and his Ibiza Classics tour will be heading to Australia in November. Accompanying Tong are the 65-piece Heritage Orchestra for a night of classic club anthems with a stage performance twist.
Lashes
Lorde becomes the one to finally topple Ed Sheeran from summit of the ARIA album charts. It might only last a week, but hey, change is good for now.
Vale to the rapper who was one half of Mobb Deep.
Not A Goldie Mine
When Goldie referred to renowned street artist Banksy as “Robert” in a recent interview, the internet went wild that it was Robert Del Naja from Massive Attack. Come on everyone, keep up, this was knocked on the head when it was last rumoured about nine months ago.
THE MUSIC • 28TH JUNE 2017 • 9
L
Music
OUT ON A SWEET MUSICAL LIMB On their debut album Do Hollywood, The Lemon Twigs distill the history of popular music into the musical equivalent of technicolour pop art. Elder sibling Brian D’Addario chats with Chris Familton about their adventure so far and most importantly where it is heading.
10 • THE MUSIC • 28TH JUNE 2017
ast year, word began to filter through online about two teenage brothers starting to turn heads in New York with their eclectic fashion sense and equally dizzying, pop culture grab-bag of musical styles. With a thrift store punk aesthetic, an all-in, kaleidoscopic approach to songwriting and enthusiastic live shows, Brian and Michael D’Addario were touted as the next big thing, a claim given greater kudos with the release of their debut album Do Hollywood last October. Brian D’Addario is hanging out in California for the week, sandwiched between the two weekends of the Coachella Festival where the band are making their first festival appearances. Festivals have a way of bringing out special performances, with bands going that extra mile to win over new fans. The Lemon Twigs ace card was bringing out one of their musical heroes, Todd Rundgren, to guest on their version of his song Couldn’t I Just Tell You which D’Addario enthusiastically says was “a dream come true!” “The show itself went well too. It was really our first festival and as we’re going to be doing a bunch of them it was nice knowing it’s not going to be a drastic change for us. I was expecting it to be like a major adjustment which it wasn’t. It felt different enough that it’ll be nice to do a bunch of festivals compared with the same thing we’ve been doing for the past couple of months.” One of the things that immediately hits you when listening to Do Hollywood is the way the duo pull from all corners of rock and pop music with a carnivalesque glee and playfulness. The Beach Boys, The Monkees, Queen, The Who, glam rock, power pop and psychedelia all combine in a wonderful collision of sound that D’Addario describes as “very stream of consciousness”. Though that worked for them on their debut, he sees it as an area they’ll be working to refine for their next record. “We didn’t really do much editing with the first record. That’s going to be the big difference between album one and two. The songs are going to be more structured and we’re going to try to make them just as interesting but with more thought in their structure. Before, we would just let the ideas come. Now we do that to a point and then stop and if we write anything extra it will probably become its own song. It’s just going to be more focused going forward I think.” The good news is they have the songs already written for their next album, installing a 24-track desk in their parents’ Long Island basement ahead of a whole month of recording in May before they head to Australia and then hit the northern hemisphere festival circuit.
Songwriting was generally a separate and individual process for the brothers but that too has been evolving to the point where greater collaboration between the pair has been happening. “There’s a certain type of song now that we can write together, which wasn’t the case before,” D’Addario explains. “Now we can complete a song together and even though the next album won’t be a complete collection of songs like that, we’re going to bring each other into the process much quicker. There will be a lot less detail behind who does what on the next record. A lot of the songs were written right after Do Hollywood and though they weren’t all collaborations they feel more like collaborations because when we record we’re not going to say, ‘This is my song, I have to sing lead and play all the instruments on it.’ It was a little immature that we did that in the past,” he says, with the benefit of hindsight. It is also easy to forget that the pair are only just exiting their teens and still developing their musical personalities and growing as players, something D’Addario points to as another agent of change in their music. “After recording the first album we were happy with each other’s songs enough to trust each other more. Also, Michael’s voice has got a lot stronger and my drumming has got stronger, whereas we were like ‘this is what you’re good at so you’re gonna do this...’ and I think since then we’ve both improved in different ways and we can have a little more fun with it.”
Both brothers spent time in front of the camera as child actors, which has prepared them somewhat for the peripherals around releasing music - videos, promotion, interviews, waiting around - but they’ve also had the added bonus of having two school friends also playing in The Lemon Twigs. Keyboardist Danny Ayala and bassist Megan Zeankowski give the group a full band dimension and add a sense of camaraderie to the unit. “Yeah, they’re very important,” enthuses D’Addario. “They’re very talented in their own right. It’s important that we have the people playing the parts who wrote them as opposed to people who are obviously hired hands. It’s cool because they have their own personalities on stage so it isn’t just people looking at Michael and I all the time,” he laughs. The brothers have began touring the USA with their exuberant high-kicking, guitar shredding and Keith Moonstyled drumming live show as well as making a foray into the European market, with surprising (to them) success. “European shows keep getting bigger. They have taken to the album more so than in the States. Even though we’re playing bigger places in the cities like LA and NY, there’s still a lot of touring we have to do in the US and it really feels like we’re at that first record place. In Europe it feels like a bigger thing. The shows getting bigger in that way is kind of an overwhelming thing but I feel like we are playing well and people we talk to after shows are really nice so it’s not like people are getting too fanatical about it. I’m happy about that, it’s not getting too crazy,” says D’Addario cautiously. Fashion has always gone hand in hand with music, whether as an extension of a person’s creative personality or as an attention grabber. In the case of The Lemon Twigs it’s a bit of both, with D’Addario explaining that much of the impetus for their style comes from Michael. “We really know what we don’t like with clothes and videos. With the clothes, Michael usually picks out a lot of the stuff and then I wear what he throws away. Now I shop a bit for my own self. It was really important to him in the beginning for us to dress up a bit.” As the Los Angeles nightlife beckons, we touch on one more obvious topic. The sibling relationship and how it has shown to be both a blessing and a curse in other famous musical partnerships such as those of the Everly, Davies, Gallagher and The Jesus & Mary Chain’s Reid brothers. “It’s a bit of both but I’m really happy to work with my brother. I can’t think of another musician that I respect more than him. I think he has an incredible amount of potential and if we continue to work together constructively we can do good stuff. I just hope that it stays that way.”
We didn’t really do much editing with the first record. That’s going to be the big difference between album one and two.
INTRODUCING... PAPA TWIG Brian and Michael D’Addario aren’t the only family members releasing albums. Their dad, Ronnie D’Addario, is a respected songwriter in his own right whose closest brush with fame was having one of his songs recorded (but unreleased) by The Carpenters just prior to Karen’s death. D’Addario self-recorded and played everything on his own albums in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s while also working as a session musician and recording engineer. Now those records are getting the CD reissue treatment via the label You Are The Cosmos, as well as a vinyl compilation The Best Of Ronnie D’Addario 1976-1983. There are also plans to release new material including an album called The Many Moods Of Papa Twig. It is easy to hear the influence of their father’s music on The Lemon Twigs. Soaked in heady, sweet melodies, clever arrangements and musical twists and turns they are all clearly drawing from the same well dug by the likes of Brian Wilson, Paul McCartney, Todd Rundgren and Emitt Rhodes. Ronnie was responsible for the brothers always having instruments laying around the house, ensuring they were able to explore their musical curiosity whenever they felt like it and encouraging them from a young age.
When & Where: 22 Jul, Oxford Art Factory; 23 Jul, Splendour In The Grass, North Byron Parklands THE MUSIC • 28TH JUNE 2017 • 11
TV
Tough Truths Ahead of the Australian premieres of his latest films, infamous documentarian Louis Theroux talks alcoholism, brain injuries and being an overly inquisitive child with Guy Davis.
I
t makes sense that Louis Theroux was curious from a young age. The UK journalist and documentary filmmaker has made a name for himself over the last two decades by gently but insistently shining a light on marginalised, misunderstood subjects and individuals, from maximum-security prisons to Michael Jackson. And as he recalls, his interest in such topics was active when he was a boy. “I was aware of being fascinated as a young child by homeless people, mentally ill people, talking to themselves,” says Theroux when asked about the first
These are situations that take us to the heart of what it means to be human and to be alive.
inkling of his affinity for the different. “I know it’s a slightly odd image. But my parents used to say I would embarrass them by saying in a loud voice ‘Why is the man shouting when there’s no one there?’ My dad used to do an impersonation of me where I’d always start my sentences with ‘But whyyy?’ It became a family joke, and it might be a stretch to relate that to the job I’m doing, but I’ve always been asking ‘But why?’” Theroux’s profile rose in the 2000s with a range of documentaries he made for the BBC that would embed him with a variety of subcultures, from the porn industry to neo-Nazis. His hour-long interview with UK entertainer Jimmy Savile, who would be posthumously accused of serial sex offences, was voted one of the 12 • THE MUSIC • 28TH JUNE 2017
best documentaries of all time. In recent years, however, Theroux’s focus has shifted somewhat - sure, in the past few years he has spent time with people who collect extremely exotic pets and revisited the porn stars he profiled a decade earlier, but he has also investigated mental illness, the lives of transgender children and treatments for autism and dementia. Two of his most recent specials, Drinking to Oblivion and A Different Brain, are airing on ABC in July, and their sensitive but forthright approach to the subjects of extreme alcoholism and acquired brain injury illustrate the direction Theroux’s career has taken as of late. For Theroux, however, the shift doesn’t seem that radical. “For years I’ve made shows about what were deemed weird people - religious stuff, sexual stuff, slightly racist people... well, not slightly - and more recently I’ve been doing shows more in the area of disability, so [Drinking to Oblivion] was approaching alcohol from that sort of angle,” he says. “And then you have family members faced with the dilemma of helping someone abusing alcohol to a horrific extent - it becomes a question of whether your help is any use and whether or not you have to disengage from this person. For me, the core to all these stories is something very raw, real and emotional, with very high stakes at the heart of it.” Drinking to Oblivion and A Different Brain are thematically linked by the effect the conditions in question have upon the person at the core of the story but also their loved ones. It’s often heartbreaking stuff, given that alcohol abuse and brain injury can have so transformative. “I think alcohol abuse is something like an illness, and brain injury is a physical condition with psychological effects,” says Theroux. “In both cases, there are family members and loved ones who are trying to rebuild their lives around someone who is profoundly different. In the case of Rob and Amanda in A Different Brain, Amanda has suffered a brain injury after a horse-riding accident. As Rob sees it, Amanda is a different person - she’s impatient, she’s snappish with their kids in a way she wasn’t before while Amanda feels like she is who she is now, and she feels patronised - people are treating her as if she’s a child, so there’s this question of how much you do to keep the relationship on track. “It’s the best kind of terrain for documentary making because you’re taking a situation that is on one hand very extreme but on the other very relatable. It reminded me of my own kids, my own family.” That link between the personal and the universal is perhaps what draws so many viewers to Theroux’s documentaries. “For me, the first impulse is ‘That’s a story we can tell, and it would be a really good story’,” he says. “It comes down to people put in extraordinary circumstances - These are situations that take us to the heart of what it means to be human and to be alive.”
What A Different Brain airs 3 Jul and Drinking to Oblivion airs 10 Jul, both on ABC2.
THE MUSIC • 28TH JUNE 2017 • 13
Music
Overseas Aspirations Orsome Welles’ frontman Michael Vincent Stowers discusses the band’s game plan and goals with Rod Whitfield toward branching out of the Australian market.
B
ands who are relatively early in their career have a number of choices to make, with regards to format, release and timing of their early releases. Melbourne-based progressive alternative heavy-hitters Orsome Welles have opted to record and release a second EP, before making the massive commitment that is writing, recording and releasing a debut album. Rise was recently unleashed and frontman Michael Vincent Stowers explains why they chose this approach.
fandom sites in Sweden and Germany and places like that, so we’re getting our feelers out there and it would be just amazing to head over and go on tour in Europe and America and anywhere else we can get to.” In fact, they spend a fair amount of time actually formally discussing their hopes and aspirations as a band and formulating their longer term goals. “Yeah, we do,” he says, “I think you have to because it’s a big commitment for everyone. Not just in a financial way but in a time way, people’s time is precious, and also emotionally and creatively. It takes a lot to do it, you can’t have one weak link in the chain who isn’t fully there.”
We just wanted to make sure we nailed down the process.
Stowers feels that the band has the strong set-up required to achieve these goals in place now. “We really feel like we’ve got an amazing mix and commitment in the band,” he states confidently, “and we feel this is for the long haul. That’s why we can take our time to release things, we want to build on what we’ve done and just make it better every time we do it.” In the shorter term, the band have a major tour in support of the EP’s release coming up very shortly, a tour that is quite momentous for them in multiple different ways. “It’s our first full headline tour,” he states, “that’s something we’ve been building towards for a long time. It’s also our new bass player’s first run of gigs, so what an awesome time for him to kick off his time in Orsome Welles.”
What: Rise (Independent) When & Where: 30 Jun, Factory Theatre; 1 Jul, The Basement, Canberra
“It was not due to a lack of material,” he laughs, “we just wanted to make sure we nailed down the process, the entire thing, the writing, the production, the recording and the release and touring. We want to make sure that’s of the highest quality we can, so that when we go in and do the first full-lengther, it’s ready to go and ready to take us beyond Australia.” The band have toured extensively across their homeland since their formation five to six years ago, however they have not left our shores to play just yet. Stowers states that this is indeed a major goal for the band in the not too distant future, but it must be at the right time. “Yeah definitely,” he confirms with conviction, “I think when it’s lined up with the release of an album will be when we’ll do it. We’re getting some attention on some 14 • THE MUSIC • 28TH JUNE 2017
THE MUSIC • 28TH JUNE 2017 • 15
Music
Light In The Dark
MEET Alex Knight chats to Anthony Carew about his musical past and the sudden rush that debuted his solo project Brightness to the world.
CUTE Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so the saying goes, but it seems science can now back that proverb up. A new study has suggested that a great personality is ultimately more important than good looks in securing a long-term relationship, and that a positive face-to-face meeting can radically improve the attractiveness of a potential lover. Researchers at the University of Kansas found that the best results were experienced by those deemed “mid to low attractiveness” – ouch, science! That’s way harsh Tye. It was also found that people who were already rated “very attractive” did not become more attractive with face-to-face contact. The study was inspired by the modern world’s extensive use of dating apps, such as Tinder, which rely heavily on judging a potential partner’s compatibility based entire on their looks. 16 • THE MUSIC • 28TH JUNE 2017
“I
t’s this whole other way of seeing the world, this other perspective on music,” says Alex Knight. After a decade playing drums for others, Knight now performs as Brightness; “up the front on stage”, the centre of his own project. Knight grew up on the Morriset Peninsula, on the shores of Lake Macquarie. Inspired by a childhood viewing of his dad’s VHS copy of Midnight Oil’s 1985 live concert Oils On The Water, he picked up the drums at 10. His dad bought him a damaged fourtrack when he was 12, and by the time it was fixed, a year-and-a-half later, he’d picked up the guitar. “So, I could put songs together,” Knight recounts. “That was so much fun: just this pure artistic freedom, the sense that you can do anything.” Over the years, he kept four-tracking, while playing drums in other outfits. “I always devoted myself to other bands, whose songs I think are better than mine,” he says. “Or, I guess, I just didn’t want to be the dude up the front. I always felt more comfortable back there, behind the drums.” Knight’s most notable stint came in Kins, a Melbourne-born outfit who spent years based in the UK. “Kins taught me a lot of lessons. Just because 4AD turn up to your show doesn’t mean they’re definitely going to sign you,” Knight offers. “We were the model
of that kind of band that had lots of label interest, toured the States three times, had a record out, a couple EPs, but we still had to work 30 hours a week to pay rent. It felt like living two lives at once: wanting to make it as a band, so bad, but still having to clean windows four days a week... It made me question my credit as an adult, pursuing this young person’s dream.” After Kins’ 2016 demise, Knight found himself back in Newcastle, working on home-recordings. He had “no conviction, whatsoever” to perform them, but when offered a support slot for Oh Pep in Sydney - “They obviously thought I was a band,” he smiles, “but I wasn’t a band, and I hadn’t played any shows” - he debuted Brightness live. “I remember being so nervous, drinking a lot of Canadian Club. I was just sitting on my own in the backstage. It felt bizarre.” And yet, he was signed to I Oh You on the basis of that one show. His debut Brightness record, Teething, stitches songs together from his home-recording years; Oblivion a Dinosaur Jr influenced jammer written when he was 22, Waltz an Elliott Smith-ish ballad recorded live to a reel-to-reel tape machine. “I wanted to put together an album for a sense of completion. [Because] a lot of things in my life were incomplete,” says Knight. “The songs are about being lost, but not in a bad way. Being drunk, being panicked, being in the early stages of love, with this thing exploding beneath you. There’s a lot of uncertainty. But uncertainty can be exciting, and stimulating.”
What: Teething (I Oh You) When & Where: 30 Jun, Botany View Hotel
THE MUSIC • 28TH JUNE 2017 • 17
Music
Would You Like Drives With That?
Say good bye to your waistline, Maccas has only gone and teamed up with UberEATS to launch McDelivery (the advertising boffins really earned their wages with that canny name, eh), which will be whisking your burgers from store to front door nationwide by the end of this week. The national rollout has followed a successful pilot period in Melbourne, so on behalf of Australia can we just say, thank you Melbourne for not fucking this up for the rest of us. Your dutiful burger guzzling is most definitely appreciated. Even within Melbourne’s city limits, it’s good news for burger lovers, as the seven McDonald’s restaurants of the soft launch will be expanded to a gut-busting 80 outlets by week’s end. The full menu will be accessible including that most hallowed of meals, the all-day breakfast, so clear your schedule, pull a sicky, jump into your tracky dacks and fire up UberEATS – it’s time to head down to Old Mate Ronald’s flavour town.
18 • THE MUSIC • 28TH JUNE 2017
is Pallbearer’s most well-rounded effort, the riffs strewn across the LP still shimmer with an Iommiesque grandeur. “We were aware that some fans have pretty strong ideas about what Pallbearer should sound like,” admits Campbell. “But really — and people may be surprised to hear this — but we don’t consider ourselves so much a ‘riff’ based band as one based on movement in the music. And it’s not like this record is actually that much different than our older material. Really I think the songwriting has more depth to it — we were determined to push ourselves and not stagnate — but the traditional elements of Pallbearer, including a strong sense of melody, are all there in the songs. “We have never made the same album twice. You know — for example, every Motorhead album is essentially the same damn thing — and don’t get me wrong I love Motorhead — but what works for a band like that doesn’t necessarily work for us.” Talking of metal legends, the last time The Music spoke to Pallbearer we found Campbell’s bandmate Joe Rowland extolling the virtues of Dio era Sabbath (Pallbearer even covered Over And Over on their Fear And Fury EP). As it turns out Campbell harbours a similar guilty musical pleasure that could explain Pallbearer’s sometimes glossy and melodic sheen. “Headless Cross — and all the Tony Martin Sabbath albums are really underrated,” enthuses Campbell. “It’s a fucking great record that people ignore because it’s not Ozzy or Dio. The same goes for Seventh Star with Glenn Hughes — he is amazing on that record and Tony Iommi — what can you say — the man doesn’t write a bad riff and that record is full of great ones.”
Heartless Doom
With a crushing new record under their belts (Heartless) Pallbearer are heading our way to unleash waves of pure doom on unsuspecting audiences. Mark Hebblewhite took advantage of the calm before the storm to chat to vocalist/guitarist Brett Campbell.
“T
he new songs have been really enjoyable to play live and we’ve been getting a really good response to them,” confirms Campbell when asked whether Pallbearer immediately inserted material from their third LP into their live set. “In fact when we were writing material we were constantly thinking about how the songs would sound live — so it’s not surprising they’re working really well. We take real care with our live sets and we actually change them around to suit the vibe of the show. Sometimes when we’re playing with really brutal bands we might play some of our more spaced out stuff to even things out — but it really depends on our mood. We see what the crowd is feeling and play to that.” In the run-up to Heartless’ release, the band were quoted in the press as saying that the new album was the most prog rock thing they had done to date. This set off alarm bells among doom purists who feared the trio would lose their monolithic heaviness, however they needn’t have worried. Heartless
When & Where: 4 Jul, Manning Bar
THE MUSIC • 28TH JUNE 2017 • 19
Indie Indie
The Beat Bar
Have You Been To
Front At Jackrabbit Theatre
Courtney Marie Andrews
Theatre Focus
Just Visiting
Answered by: Adam Clarke-Bunbury - Partner
Where did you get the inspiration for Front?
Answered by: Courtney Andrews
Address: 42 Darlinghurst Road, Potts Point, Kings Cross
I played a lot of music growing up in Perth, so I was surrounded by musicians and spent most of my weekends going to gigs and playing in bands. Watching people shoot up and really make it was incredible and a lot of my friends and people I have played with have gone on to do some incredible things. It’s an electric scene, and the experiences my friends and I had are so unique to band culture. I wanted to capture some of that scene and share some of the hilarious moments I had,
Why are you coming to visit our fair country? I’m a singer-songwriter coming to perform my songs in performance spaces around Australia. I’ll be opening for the amazing Joe Pug.
Capacity: 500 Why should punters visit you? Great vibe, classy decor, relaxed atmosphere, great staff, indoor smoking room, and the very best entertainment six nights a week. What’s the best thing about the venue? No pokies, no TVs, all live entertainment. What is your venue doing to help the local music scene? The Beat Bar has a varied line-up of live entertainment performing from Tuesday to Sunday each week, Friday and Saturday nights will feature two bands starting from 8pm till 11.30pm and 12am until 2am. What have been some of the highlights at the venue? The Mighty Reapers, Kabaret Vashti and some renowned artists appearing in the near future. What are the plans for the venue in the future? To provide Kings Cross with an awesome live entertainment venue. Website link for more info? thebeatbar.com.au
Is the fictional band Rough Cut Punt modelled on any real world musicians? The characters are a mash of regular musician archetypes that I had come across and loosely based on some of the people I used to play with. The inspiration for the style of music came from a couple of local Melbourne bands called Drunk Mums and Mighty Boys. It was this infectious mash of punk and rock, filled with this great “fuck it” attitude, that I hadn’t heard before. I was drawn to their style as the inspiration for Rough Cut Punt because no matter how much fun the music is, or how rough it may seem to the untrained ear, it doesn’t mean a lot of hard work and effort hasn’t gone into developing and honing that sound. Who will this play appeal to? Musos, music lovers, theatre lovers, theatre haters, people in bands, festival lovers, and anyone looking for a good night out. It’s an entertaining show, with a wide appeal. It’s fun, fast and it’s brand new. If you’ve never seen theatre before, or you want a little insight into the life of a trending band, this is a great place to start. JackRabbit Theatre presents the premiere of Michael Abercromby’s Front 28 Jun - 15 Jul at The Depot Theatre.
20 • THE MUSIC • 28TH JUNE 2017
Is this your first visit? This is my second visit. I once came as a backup singer for Jimmy Eat World in 2011. How long are you here for? I am there for nearly two weeks, 4-17 July. What do you know about Australia, in ten words or less? I know that it’s very important to wear sunscreen there. Any extra-curricular activities you hope to participate in while here? If I get the chance, I’d love to visit the Sydney Opera House, and see some wildlife. What will you be taking home as a souvenir? I won’t know until I get there! I usually collect a spoon from every country I visit though. Where can we come say hi, and buy you an Aussie beer? 11 Jul, Lansdowne Hotel; 12 Jul, Coogee Diggers Website link for more info? lovepolice.com. au/joe-pug-courtney-marie-andrews-2017/
Music
A Novel Concept
If you know your rock music, you’ll know that Corey Taylor is a man who gives you his honest opinion and pulls no punches. He tells Neil Griffiths that he stands by his claim that Stone Sour’s new album, Hydrograd, is as good as Slipknot’s iconic 1999 debut album.
“A
s far as the energy level, the enjoyment, the song quality, absolutely. I’ll put it up against anybody right now,” Corey Taylor says without hesitation about Stone Sour’s latest release. “Especially the fact that we did 85% of it live, which nobody really can do. It’s not that they don’t, it’s that they can’t. They’re so fucking used to playing to a computer screen, you know? Where as, we just got in the room together and played together as a band. What a novel concept,” he adds sarcastically. “It just came together so well...” The 43-year-old frontman has pretty much seen it all as the singer of both metal legends Slipknot and Stone Sour. While he was in the country just last month with Slipknot, Stone Sour’s August tour will be the band’s first in Australia since 2013. Relaxing in an armchair in a Sydney hotel, Taylor’s eyes light up when talking about what Australia and its fans mean to him. “The first time I came here, this was the place I wanted
to come to since I was a little kid, to be honest,” he says. Taylor recalls embarking on his very first tour Down Under with Slipknot in 2000, where, despite intense jet-lag, he was still shocked to be here. “So fucking excited, I ran out of the Sydney airport and I just laid on the ground and looked at the sky... I just remember being so happy. And then that tour, people still tell legends about that. It was gnarly. I just had the best time.” So, what can Stone Sour fans expect this time around? Well, according to Taylor, it’s going to be a party. But probably not the ones you’re used to. “Dude, it’s gonna be awesome. We’re putting together a really great set. We’re putting together, like, a really great rock’n’roll show. Like the kind of party that Van Halen put on, you know what I’m saying? Where it’s all attitude... where, it’s not like, ‘Hooray!’, but it’s like, ‘Fuck yeah!’” he says, pounding the chair with enthusiasm. “It’s that kind of difference in attitude. It’s still positive, it’s still passionate, but it’s still a rock’n’roll party. That’s what’s kinda missing right now. Like, everything is such a cliche when it comes to the emotion that people expect from shows, you know? And you really kinda only get that from hip hop and some of that hip hop is fucking garbage. So for us, we’re bringing that back and we’re kinda pumping it right into our show and just making sure that people come and they pump their fist, they have a great time, they sing along, they maybe see some boobs, I dunno... you can see my boobs.” Well then, we’re sold.
What: Hydrograd (Roadrunner/Warner) When & Where: 26 Aug, Hordern Pavilion
A Lesson In Honesty
Corey Taylor took part in a speed-through round with The Music, where he gave his brutally honest opinion about certain topics. Here’s what we came up with. On rumours he & Marilyn Manson have beef after fans chanted ‘Slipknot’ towards the end of Manson’s set at Soundwave 2012: It’s all bullshit. We just did a tour together. When you’re in the moment and you’re hyped up and you’ve got all that adrenaline and everything, you tend to kinda blow up. Especially during a show. It’s just a whole different energy. So you come offstage and you can kinda process everything and really put everything into perspective and then you just let it go. There was no bad blood, absolutely. Linkin Park’s new album, One More Light: I’ve only heard the demos that [frontman Chester Bennington] played for me. It’s interesting. That’s about it... I haven’t heard the rest. On Fall Out Boy’s critically-panned track, Young I haven’t heard it, but I’m just gonna assume it’s shit... The thing is that I feel they were a great punk band that turned into something weird. So I don’t know what this new song is gonna sound like. But I can tell you that I’m really not a fan... It’s not saying anything about the people in the band, because I am friends with some of the guys in that band. It’s the music. People fucking hate my music and I’m still friends with them. So, before anybody starts some fucking bullshit war, shove it straight up your arse. 5 Seconds Of Summer: What about them? I met the drummer [Ashton Irwin]. Great kid. Really great kid. Really cool and my niece kind of freaked out because I met him. It was kind of adorable. He’s a big Slipknot fan, I guess the whole band is. So we were gonna get them for Knotfest one year. We were thinking about it. Fuck yeah. THE MUSIC • 28TH JUNE 2017 • 21
Music
AIR Announces Indie-Con Australia
Joanna Syme
Established in the UK as the first conference of its type to truly address the needs and issues facing self-releasing artists and independent labels, Indie-Con is now launching in Australia in conjunction with this year’s AIR Awards. The inaugural Indie-Con Australia will be held at Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute, Adelaide on 27 and 28 Jul, offering insights into the latest innovations and technological advancements in products, services and strategies available to the independent music sector. Providing professional development opportunities across leadership and business performance skills, the two-day event will feature networking opportunities, workshops, panels, presentations and interviews with key industry players. Speakers include Jen Cloher (Milk! Records), Briggs (AB Original and Bad Apples), Joanna Syme (Pieater/Big Scary) and Sebastian Chase (MGM) offering the opening keynote. AIR members will receive invitations to attend, with limited tickets available to nonmembers from 6 Jul.
22 • THE MUSIC • 28TH JUNE 2017
Only The Lonely
Tex, Don, Charlie — three men who need no surname for introduction. Liz Giuffre catches up with the trio ahead of the release of album #3.
T
ex Perkins, Don Walker and Charlie Owen sit in the office of their big record company in Sydney, overlooking the harbour, signing CD inserts. They chat happily and muck around gently as they scribble — easily distracted and oblivious to their status as national bloody treasures. Their new offering as Tex, Don & Charlie, You Don’t Know Lonely, picks up a dozen years after All Is Forgiven (2005), and 24 after their debut, Sad But True (1993). The spacing is eerie but not necessarily intentional. “Well we only realised that [the 12-year gaps] were a thing when we released this album,” explains Perkins. “We tried to make albums during those other periods but all sorts of other things got in the way. And we were just pondering if we should stick to this cycle — and that would mean Don would be 77 the next time we make an album”. Here Walker chimes in; “[my hero] Willie Nelson is 80 something — so it’s not beyond the realm of possibility, but it does mean there’s an element of risk”. One of the biggest events to invade on Tex, Don & Charlie music making these past dozen years has been the loss of former collaborator Shane Walsh. While there’s nothing on the album directly attributed to him, his absence is clear in other ways. “[Losing Walsh] had more an influence on us
not doing anything for a while. For a good three years after he died, the idea of carrying on without him seemed not only too difficult, but it was too soon and probably would have been disrespectful,” Perkins continues with trademark cheek, “but now, time has passed, and we can be disrespectful.” At this the trio laugh, not talking down the loss but rather putting it in context. Anyone who’s heard their work knows there’s always something forlorn, lonely, but hilariously honest about their approach. Not quite ‘keep calm and carry on’, but more of a ‘that’s shit — fuck it — let’s keep going’ attitude. “Ironically, last weekend the last of [Walsh’s] ashes were dispersed in Port Philip Bay, along with his mother. All of that just a week before we came up to Sydney to do all this work, so the cycle is complete,” says Owen. “He was a great bass player and just a great guy.” From here the three reminisce, talking over each other and in a code that draws the listener in. Like with their music, at times it seems like they’re equally revealing both intimacies and fantasies — all as part of a musical Secret Men’s Business. “It’s not really Secret Men’s Business, but rather Secret Tex, Don & Charlie business. There’s just a certain flavour that happens when the three of us get together,” says Owen. “By way of a little insight,” Walker continues, “most of the time I just write. And when a Tex, Don & Charlie thing is coming up, I will put some songs on a CD and see which ones they like. That’s the definition of [the group] — do we all like it and can we make it work”.
What: You Don’t Know Lonely (EMI) When & Where: 23 & 24 Aug, Factory Theatre; 6 Sep, Street Theatre, Canberra; 8 Sep, Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle
Eat / Drink Eat/Drink
Five Point Four
These purveyors of fresh and healthy eats take all the effort out of nailing that balanced diet. They’ll deliver a week’s worth of ready-made meals straight to your door for ultimate
Summer Bodies Are Made In Winter
W
inter is well and truly here, so most of us are rugged up tighter than the Ikea Monkey (if you don’t get that reference, google it immediately). But in a few short months, summer is going to be rolling around and everyone will be stripping off the layers. So, it’s time to start planning for your beach bod, but if you think eating healthy is too much of a hassle, help is at hand. Here are the best meal deliveries for health-conscious foodies.
convenience, but what really stands them out from the meal delivery crowd is their member support services. They will carefully tailor your meal plan to help you achieve specific goals, and will even devise a post-goal maintenance plan to stop those yo-yo diet blues. Plus their meals are among the best tasting around. Find out more at: fivepointfour.com.au
Marley Spoon If you prefer the taste of freshly cooked to pre-prepared, but find it tough to shop lite, then this food box service is a great option. Simply choose from a range of recipes and all the
ingredients in exact amounts will be delivered to your door along with instructions on how to whip up each dish. Marley Spoon’s recipe range is extremely eclectic, from pub faves like Chicken Parmigiana to exotic world cuisines like Brown Rice and Quinoa Congee or Moroccan Beef Pilaf. Best of all, there’s a great range of healthy choices, so you don’t need to deprive yourself of the yum factor while you’re getting yourself into shape. Find out more at: marleyspoon.com.au
You Foodz One of the biggest fish in this healthy meal pond, You Foodz has a broad range of meals to suit pretty much any taste, including high-protein/low-carb options, low-fat meals and
gluten-free and other “free-from” options. They are always fresh, never frozen, so the food tastes great, and they deliver twice weekly, nationwide. They’re also available in some supermarkets if you want to grab a healthy bite on the go, and meal plans include snacks and treats so you won’t feel like you’re missing out while you fight the flab. Browse their ready assembled meal plans or pick and choose from their range yourself to meet your individual needs. Find out more: youfoodz.com
THE MUSIC • 28TH JUNE 2017 • 23
Dance
Mario Park
Software developer Abhishek Singh has been tinkering with Microsoft’s HoloLens headset, and what he’s created is off the chart heckers. Using the headgear’s augmented reality capabilities he’s created an interactive, life-sized Super Mario Bros in New York’s Central Park. All the familiar features are there, including green pipes to leap over, mystery blocks to smash, stars to collect, and of course, a shed load of pissed off Goombas. Unlike virtual reality, augmented reality places digital objects in the real world, that can only be seen by those wearing the appropriate equipment. What this means is that, while you’re going loco in the world of Mario, you’ll appear to be acting like a certifiable loon, but we reckon that’s a small price to pay to literally be Super Freakin’ Mario! The HoloLens is a nifty piece of equipment that hopes to replace the conventional computer screen with a wearable alternative that allows 3D objects to be manipulated and viewed in the real world… it’s definitely not at all like the famously flopped Google Glass, apparently!
24 • THE MUSIC • 28TH JUNE 2017
But what of the people of that first contact? One of the most documented, Beau Dean Riley Smith as Bennelong fascinating, and controversial figures from those first interactions is Woollarawarre Bennelong, an Eora man who became a vital conduit between Indigenous and Colonial communities. Kidnapped under the instruction of Governor Arthur Phillip in 1789, he would go on to form a close bond with his captor, voluntarily The story of Woollarawarre returning to the Bennelong offers a glimmer colony after escaping six months after his abduction. It would lead him on a journey to of light in the dark past of England, where he would learn English and Indigenous life after the arrival how to read and write, but his embrace of of the First Fleet. Dancer such alien practices would leave him caught between two worlds - that of his ancestors Daniel Riley tells Maxim and that of the invaders. Boon about Bangarra Dance Now, his extraordinary story is being told through dance in choreographer Stephen Theatre’s new biopic. Page’s latest work for Bangarra Dance Theatre. Starring Beau Dean Riley Smith in the tanding on the shoreline, looking out title role, Bennelong is a production that has across the glistening waters of the proven to be an emotional challenge for many Warringa and beyond the breaking of the performers, including Daniel Riley, who waves of the Boree, Woollarawarre Bennelong will play the role of Governor Phillip. “The main squinted as he scanned the vista, his gaze accounts we have of this time are from white fixed on the horizon. Through the white perspectives, so we’ve had to read between brilliance of the reflected sun, there appeared the lines to find the Indigenous experience a procession of dark shapes unlike anything from those documents,” Riley explains. “It is he had seen. Bennelong could not have known hard, for sure, but there’s also something very it, but everything in his world was about to exciting about this story. It’s about a changing change. He could not have known that the of culture and the attempt to share culture names of his land, his people, the animals - where sharing culture worked and where and plants, the cliffs and bays, were soon to it didn’t.” Playing Arthur Phillip has been a be replaced. He could not have known that bittersweet experience for Riley. “He’s kind of hundreds of years later, this would become the villain of the piece, and that brings its own known as the day of the invasion. It is January challenges,” he shares. “One thing I was really 1788 and Bennelong is standing on the shores struck by was that Phillips genuinely wanted of what is now known as Port Jackson in to learn and create something harmonious Sydney Harbour. The dark, unfamiliar shapes through his friendship with Bennelong. I guess growing on the horizon are the flotilla of the biggest tragedy of that is what came later vessels of The First Fleet. it makes you question what might have been.” This moment is surely the most significant in Australia’s history. It marks both the birth of a nation and the decimation of a culture - a What: polarised duality that continues to be debated, Bennelong most notably in the campaign to move Australia Day from the 26 January date that When & Where: marked the arrival of the first colonial settlers. 30 Jun - 29 Jul, Sydney Opera House
Culture Clash
S
In Focus Electric Lady
We’re sure there’s probably other stuff happening this week, but nothing’s going to hold a candle to the incandescent power of Electric Lady. Launched back in April by Holly Rankin (who’ll also be hitting the stage on the night as Jack River), Electric Lady has been amplifying kick-arse women in music, politics, science, sport and everything else with their ‘Electric Lady Influencer of the Week’ spotlights. Now they’re heading into the live arena with a legendary all-female line-up comprised of Ali Barter, Alex Lahey, Jack River, Gretta Ray, Bec Sandridge, Rackett and Body Type. Head down to Metro Theatre this Friday to catch some heat. THE MUSIC • 28TH JUNE 2017 • 25
Theatre
Blast From The Past Belvoir Theatre’s Artistic Director Eamon Flack is reviving the neglected work of 17th-century playwright Aphra Behn — one of the first women to become a professional writer. Maxim Boon gets an introduction to The Rover.
W
here art is concerned, history can be a fickle thing. The greats of long ago, who are now held up as the most accomplished creative minds of their day, often have a chequered past — forgotten, rediscovered, and finally celebrated long after their deaths. Likewise, those who enjoyed popularity in their lifetimes can be lost to the mists of time, drifting from the public gaze and into obscurity. One such talent is Aphra Behn, the 17th-century playwright, poet, fiction writer and translator. Today, Behn’s work is neglected by all but the most wellread of theatrical scholars, but the lack of recognition
She tempted fate a lot in her life — she clearly lived what she argued for and you definitely feel that in her plays
suffered by this prolific wordsmith is something of a headscratcher, as Behn is largely regarded to be the first English woman to earn her living entirely as a writer. While she was unquestionably a trailblazing pioneer for female writers, her contribution to the literary world went far beyond gender politics. Now regarded as a key dramatist of Restoration theatre and as a major influence on the development of the English novel, Behn’s writings dared to explore taboo subjects, including slavery, sexuality and class divisions. And that’s not all. Working as a spy for Charles II, imprisoned in a debtors jail, and campaigning as a Royalist firebrand during the Exclusion Crisis, Behn’s headstrong, defiant, culture-busting life story also makes for some thrilling reading. But her 26 • THE MUSIC • 28TH JUNE 2017
refusal to conform would also be her undoing, as her work was rejected for more than a century after her death for its apparently immoral content. “She was a woman who many people regarded as difficult,” says Belvoir Theatre Artistic Director Eamon Flack. “For a long time, even feminist scholars of theatre history had problems with her. What she wrote was, for the times, extremely wild, and even amongst her Restoration peers, her work was sexually frank and very shocking. I think the fact that this was coming from a woman playwright was more than Edwardian critics could bear. But she was an incredible and very formidable person. She tempted fate a lot in her life — she clearly lived what she argued for and you definitely feel that in her plays.” While she may have scandalised theatregoers in her day, it’s the daringness of her storytelling that has attracted Flack to one of Behn’s most adventure-packed melodramas, The Rover. A tale of debauchery, revelry, and outrageous excess, the play follows a roguish crew of cavaliers, led by heartthrob playboy Willmore, as they let loose at the Naples carnival. Jilted lovers, unobtainable desires and swashbuckling tomfoolery abound as Willmore and his rakish band of bad boys come a cropper of some sorely underestimated women. For Flack, the most outrageous revelation of all is how relevant Behn’s narrative remains to this day. “Whenever you stage a historical text, you’re presenting it to an audience with an understanding which is inherently contemporary, so it’s kind of redundant to try and make the play explicitly about contemporary issues. But as we’ve worked on it, what has emerged is something very familiar — this battle that women continue to fight to free themselves from the lexicon of what it means to be a woman. In many ways, that battle is the same now as it was back them,” Flack explains. Despite this bold subtext challenging the gendered status quo, The Rover was an instant hit when it was first performed, becoming one of Behn’s greatest money spinners. Its success was driven by its massive ente entertainment value, thanks to its healthy infusion of daring d deeds and nail-biting duals. It’s Behn’s use of edge-of-your-seat e excitement to share socially prog progressive ideals that is her most valuable quality, Flac Flack insists. “I’m interested in theatre’s subversive qualities more than its revolutionary qualities. I’m very much drawn to theatre that can create an undertow rather than a direct confrontation,” he shares. “Theatre has the power to smuggle ideas into the world, rather than standing up and lecturing an audience, and The Rover is able to pose really dynamic ideas by using this wonderful sense of theatricality and playfulness and mockery and wit. You know, at the moment there’s so much deadly serious stuff going on in the world, so to be able to counter that is a really interesting thing for me. I think it really shows why theatricality and excitement on stage is so important right now.”
What: The Rover When & Where: 1 Jul — 6 Aug, Belvoir Theatre
THE MUSIC • 28TH JUNE 2017 • 27
OPINION Opinion
Big Boi
L
istening to rap music in the 1990s was a reasonably straightforward affair. You knew in general terms what the MiniDisc was going to sound like before you inserted it into your MiniDisc player. Cowabunga! But Outkast, Big Boi’s crew with Andre 3000, challenged that. It’s difficult to describe, over two decades on, how different Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik sounded in 1994 and how different its older siblings sounded in the years that followed. But even then, Antwan felt like Dre’s little brother. A little less accomplished. A little shorter. A little more run-of-the-mill. From ‘94 Andre was there or thereabouts in everyone’s greatest rappers lists and Antwan... well, he was friends with Andre! This seemed likely to culminate in 2012 when Big Boi invited Ludacris and TI to drop guest spots on In the A, a track from Big Boi’s LP Vicious Lies And Dangerous Rumors. At the time, it felt like a terrible misstep why highlight your own shortcomings by inviting comparisons to better artists? But with the release of new record Boomiverse (and
Get It To g et her Hip Hop With James D’apice
Wa ke The Dead
Blink 182 – Dude Ranch
T
his morning I got a text message Hardcore from my sister. It With Sarah was a screenshot from Mark Hoppus’ Petchell Instagram. What Hoppus posted on his Instagram was the cover of Blink 182’s 1997 album Dude Ranch with the caption, “20 years, people!” Instantly I felt every one of my 32 years. Dude Ranch is very much a seminal
Punk And
28 • THE MUSIC • 28TH JUNE 2017
album from my youth. Remember last column where I talked about gateways into punk and hardcore? This was one of them for me. The video of Hoppus trying to win back an ex-girlfriend in the movie theatre is painfully nostalgic. And while I would argue the album (asides from its nostalgia value) has lost some of its shine for me, I can still understand why little 13-year-old me thought it was amazing. But Dude Ranch was not the only punk or hardcore album to define 1997. Green Day released Nimrod and made Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life), the song that would be played at high school graduations for the next five years. Perth’s Jebediah held down the Australian front and released Slightly Odway — an album that I was obsessed with most of my way through high school. Later in my life, other albums from that year became important to me. Sleater-Kinney released Dig Me Out and H2O Thicker Than Water. AFI, who became one of my favourite bands a few years later with the release of Sing The Sorrow (another gateway album for me), released Shut Your Mouth And Open Your Eyes. And of course, Converge released Caring And Killing. 1997, we salute you!
combined with Luda and Tip’s fading stars) the Double B has enjoyed the last laugh. With Jeezy’s appearance on the latest record, the suspicion that student has become the master is confirmed. Despite how much your cooler-than-thou mates pretended they enjoyed 2016’s Trap Or Die 3, Jeezy has been off the pace for almost a decade. Now, Big Boi finds himself in the position where he’s able to resurrect a career. For someone who’s spent 20 years in the shadow of a (former?) partner, it’s a come-up worth celebrating. Boom indeed!
SZA – CTRL
Dance Moves
I
n spite (or perhaps partly because) With Tim Finney of Beyonce and Rihanna’s commercial and artistic successes, this decade has been a difficult time for female R&B singers, and women in pop generally: increasingly relegated to the role of backup or “top line” vocalist on multi-artist collaborations, they’re rarely allowed any sense of agency, let alone real personality.
New Currents
OPINION Opinion
So it’s heartening to see Missouri singer SZA (real name Solana Rowe) garner so much attention for her debut album CTRL, which comes after a string of well-received EPs. Perhaps inevitably, SZA’s attractions are overly spun as being in contradistinction to R&B business-as-usual, and she’s frequently described as a “singer-songwriter” of “alternative” or even “indie” R&B. In reality, CTRL manages that tricky balancing act of sounding distinct and novel by synthesizing a series of disparate trends within R&B itself, some more or less typical and some out of left-field - so there’s the expected general air of looseness and wispiness and slurred truth-telling that if you squint might recall Frank Ocean or Drake, while the warm, dusty production is caught halfway between urban modernity and classicism. But SZA also sounds more comfortable offering simple soul-bearing over an acoustic guitar than any R&B artist since Tweet, and her throaty vocals strongly recall more underground R&B singers, from K Michelle (but less melodramatic) to Dawn Richard (but less grandiose). Throughout, there’s a vibe of emotional, sonic and vocal honesty and bitesized relatability that finds common cause with fellow traveller Kehlani, but the overall combination sounds one-of-a-kind. Lyrically SZA walks a similar tightrope, at once blunt and abstract, personal and metaphysical. On opener Supermodel she tells a true story of revenge-adultery after learning her boyfriend cheated on her in Las Vegas, while Doves In The Wind is an extended riff on the relationship between the hunt for “pussy” and the SZA’s quest for a meaningful romantic connection - notably, while this song features a fine guest rap from Kendrick Lamar, it’s SZA’s own detour into an examination of the romantic successes or otherwise of Forrest Gump that offers the most head-scratching quasi-profundity. Maybe, like Kendrick, SZA keeps it real by not confining herself to a position either for or against realness, her lyrical musings evading any sense of over-scriptedness by wandering all over the map. It’s to her credit, then, that CTRL doesn’t sound particularly messy or unfocused, or perhaps rather that it sounds just messy and unfocused enough to come across as somehow coherent. If SZA is subtly unusual, then Young Thug wears his distinctiveness proudly: the Atlanta
rapper - whose last major release (2016’s excellent Jeffrey) featured Thug on the cover wearing a dress has followed it up with the explicitly songful Beautiful Thugger Girls, with the cover sporting Thug playing an acoustic guitar. And there are guitars and singing all over BTG, most notably on the countryesque opener Family Don’t Matter, where Thug yammers and yowls about popping prescription medication at home over an acoustic strum for all the world like he’s the second coming of Bubba Sparxxx. But in this and in other gestures towards songfulness (the fruity pop of Do U Love Me, the lithe groove of On Fire) BTG feels more like a logical extension of past experiments than a radical break, simply following Thug’s aesthetic inclinations further down the wayward path he is committed to treading; that occasionally this path leads him towards something that resembles pop feels entirely coincidental. As always, the primary attraction remains Thug’s own voice; a fascinating, gymnastic tool which he twists into pretzel shapes of endless variety.
the
with Maxim & Sam
introducing your new podcast obsession
the best and worst of the week’s zeitgeist. new episodes streaming every wednesday
THE MUSIC • 28TH JUNE 2017 • 29
Album / E Album/EP Reviews
Album OF THE Week
Wet Lips Wet Lips
Hysterical Records
★★★★
Wet Lips’ eponymous debut shares more than just a little with Sleater-Kinney classic Dig Me Out. It’s not just the sonics — fuzzy power chords and bass hooks, topped with tempered screams — but also the way it satirises and derides the patriarchy. Wet Lips are sick of our shit. All of it. Look no further than single, Can’t Take It Anymore. While it’s difficult to ascertain exactly what they’re screaming, it’s very clear what they’re screaming about. Wet Lips is unapologetically feminine, the ethos of its brazen two and three-chord headbangers epitomised by the visceral depictions of menstruation found on Period. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a better song this year about finding blood on your knickers. Like Boat Show’s Groundbreaking Masterpiece earlier in the year, Wet Lips is a great advert for local punk. It’s short, fast and loud; while also managing to squeeze in a more than a little politics. There’s not a lot of variation, but variation has never really been a hallmark of punk, or why the genre matters. Punk is about getting angry, turning up to 11 and kicking out the jams. Wet Lips do it pretty damn well. Evan Young
Brightness
Stone Sour
Teething
Hydrograd
I Oh You
Roadrunner/Warner
★★★½
★★
Described as “a diary that candidly documents phases of uncertainty, dread, confusion and wonder”, there’s a lot to be found in Teething, the first solo outing for Newcastle’s Alex Knight, aka Brightness. The opener Oblivion is punchy and sharp, with a sense of longing weaved throughout the instrumental outro. Surrender is abundant in its vocal and multi-instrumental layering, and it’s here that you can understand why Knight chose to play just about everything on the album himself. If peak 1979-era Smashing Pumpkins took on a Latin influence, surely it would have resulted to Talk To Me. There’s a brief intermission with Blow Fly, a low-end heavy, oneminute piece that feels a little out of place plonked between the previous and following
In many ways, Stone Sour have had a more consistent career than vocalist Corey Taylor’s other band Slipknot. Unlike that band, Stone Sour’s future has never truly been in doubt and they’ve yet to release anything as polarising as Slipknot’s Iowa or All Hope Is Gone - despite going full concept album on their last two full-lengths. Their songwriting has stayed solid throughout their career. Fifth album Hydrograd, though, feels a little spotty. At 15 songs, it’s packed with tunes, but it may have benefited from some trimming. Intro Ysif and opener proper Taipei Person/Allah Tea are completely disposable. It isn’t until the anthemic churn of Knievel Has Landed that the album starts to really deliver a sense of energy. Even then, the album’s
30 • THE MUSIC • 28TH JUNE 2017
melancholia-tinged lyrics. Waltz is soft and sweet (just don’t get put off by its seemingly false start) before you’re thrown into the shoegaze heavy Queen Bee that gradually progresses into an all too familiar wall of sound before you’re even aware that it’s happening. Kudos to Knight on developing such a rich and wideranging collection of sounds, with everything from ‘90s alt to soft guitar lullabies referenced throughout the tracks. Teething seems like the perfect title for this album; a contemplative collection of works that are still working their way through to full development. Jessica Dale
more memorable moments have problems. Taylor excels at delivering huge, captivating choruses. However, many songs tend to lose steam in between those moments; cuts like The Witness Trees and the title track boasting fantastic choruses and largely forgettable verses. There’s lots of tom-beating and melodramatic guitar parts but it mostly rings hollow. In writing the record, the band discussed focusing on a more rock-driven direction than on previous recordings. Unfortunately, that approach seems to have left them sounding a little toothless. Disappointing. Matt O’Neill
EP Reviews Album/EP Reviews
TLC
Deafcult
TLC
Auras
Liberator
Hobbledehoy
The Love Junkies
Tex, Don & Charlie
Cough And Splutter
You Don’t Know Lonely
Independent
EMI
★★★½
★★★★
★★★★
★★½
“We don’t need no scrubs chasing waterfalls” — in less than a minute, TLC’s return album addresses one of two elephants in the room, their past (mega) success. The other — the absence of Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes — is acknowledged by the end of the album’s second line. Both prove that, although they’ve billed the Kickstarter-funded TLC as their final record, Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins and Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas are looking at the present and not dwelling on their ‘90s heyday. TLC are devoted to their fans, who will be chuffed at the heady combination of a familiar sound delivered with peak contemporary production.
Auras is full of melodic drone, flecked with classic rock, sort of like listening to another band through a few sheets of gauze. While it might set a shoegaze pace, it’s often far more proactive, peppering each track with catchy little hooks and alluring deviations, subtle traces of ‘80s electronica or an off-kilter country refrain, slipping in and out of the swelling grit that permeates their sound. It’s vaguely hypnotic — after a while, everything starts to fade away and you’re left floating inside someone else’s dream, like being trapped on an ice floe watching the Aurora Borealis shimmering faintly overhead.
Pugnacious Perth punklings The Love Junkies return for what will be the first of two EPs this year. Cough And Splutter is a rollicking bluster of passiveaggressive bombast that will have fans of their album Blowing On The Devil’s Strumpet doing cartwheels, if that can somehow be combined with moshing. “I can’t help but be confused” they groan as if clattering through the messy 3am madness of the seediest parts of Northbridge, before hammering their way out with the power chords of No 2, one of their most brilliantly unhinged and unchained works to date.
It’s sometimes hard to work out whether or not to take Tex Perkins seriously. Here, the Aussie pubrock demigod’s third round of delicately poured bluesy shots with guitarist Charlie Owen and Cold Chisel’s Don Walker goes down quick and relatively smooth. His trademark zingers occasionally threaten to drag you from the husky darkness, like when he lisps “personality” in the grieving I Used To Be or the priceless Johnny Cash-in A Man In Conflict With Nature. You Don’t Know Lonely is the bedraggled soul at the end of the bar neither exciting nor offending anyone.
Christopher H James
Mac McNaughton
Nic Addenbrooke
Dylan Stewart
More Reviews Online Bonny Doon Bonny Doon
theMusic.com.au
Kacy Hill Like A Woman
Listen to our This Week’s Releases playlist on
THE MUSIC • 28TH JUNE 2017 • 31
Live Re Live Reviews
You Am I @ Double J The ‘90s Party, Lansdowne Hotel. Pic: Simone Fisher
Killing Heidi @ Double J The ‘90s Party, Lansdowne Hotel. Pic: Simone Fisher
Kevin Mitchell With You Am I @ Double J The ‘90s Party, Lansdowne Hotel. Pic: Simone Fisher
Hanson @ Enmore Theatre. Pic: Angela Padovan
Hanson @ Enmore Theatre. Pic: Angela Padovan
Holy Holy @ Enmore Theatre. Pic: Angela Padovan
32 • THE MUSIC • 28TH JUNE 2017
Hanson
Enmore Theatre 21 Jun
Hanson mania descended on the Enmore Theatre, as besotted middle-aged fans came out of hibernation and lined up around the block in vintage merch to sing and scream their hearts out for the American pop group’s 25th anniversary show. Yes, you heard right; it’s been 25 years since the infamous MMMBoppers burst onto the scene and boy, do they still have a loyal following! Hanson churned through nearly 30 sugary pop-rock tunes from their (surprisingly) expansive discography, transporting the crowd back to their pre-pubescent bedrooms where songs like Where’s The Love and If Only were sung into hairbrushes - on repeat. Time has been fair to the Oklahoman brothers, who have retained the cherubic faces, longish locks, sweet melodies and genuine energy that transformed them into teen idols. It’s easy to forget that behind the bubble gum appearance, there were three young musicians in the making - and now the full-grown men tour non-stop, sharing lead and no-longer-squeaky-pitched vocals and playing multiple instruments. The crowd, however, definitely did not forget the obsessive crushes they had on Taylor, Zac and Isaac, and did not hold back in loudly confessing their love to each one. Hanson were certainly on a mission to keep things high energy, barely stopping for air between songs and encouraging singalongs and hands in the air - albeit with smartphones nowadays. But the halfway point did see the trio strip things back a little for ballads Weird and Go, as well as Madeline and Juliet (they weren’t wrong in pointing out that the majority of their material was about girls).
Hanson were certainly on a mission to keep things high energy, barely stopping for air.
After keeping the audience entertained for over two hours - and yes, playing the iconic smash hit MMMBop to everyone’s guilty pleasure - Hanson returned for a ‘50s rock’n’roll tribute encore of Bobby Day’s Rockin’ Robin and Chuck Berry’s Johnny B Goode. Hanson are well aware they’re not the coolest band in the world, but that hasn’t stopped the ‘90s heartthrobs from giving a die-hard community of fans their absolute all for the last quarter-century. Shannon Andreucci
Holy Holy, Machine Age, The Money War Factory Theatre 23 Jun Two-man band Machine Age, hailing from Brisbane, sampled their way through an intense set. Leading man Adrian Mauro held our attention using his voice and electric guitar to create a powerful soundscape with crunchy guitars and electronic beats, overlayed by accomplished vocals. The Money War were up next and brought a bit of a country vibe to the theatre. The crowd got a little closer to hear their tunes and shake their hips, as vocal duties swapped between Dylan Ollivierre and Carmen Pepper. Accompanied by a full band, they played an accomplished, but not particularly exciting set. A holy mantra was played over the speakers teasing Holy Holy’s arrival. Expanding to a full five piece (plus trumpeter) this
eviews Live Reviews
evening, they delivered popular That Message as the second song of their set. Tonight’s set showcased their sophomore record, Paint, cycling through most of its tracks; from the melancholic Shadow to upbeat Amateurs, as well as bringing out old favourites. On record, it’s easy to get caught up in Timothy Carroll’s soothing and intimate vocals, but live, their production really pops and the complexity and personality of each song becomes strikingly apparent. Soaring vocals overlay crunchy guitars, groovy synths, humming bass and drums that keep it all together. The energy in the room was electric during True Lovers, which was testament to their ability to write a stadium worthy pop song; while singalongs ensued for Darwinism and You Cannot Call For Love Like A Dog, before Elevator closed their eccentric set.
It’s easy to get caught up in Timothy Carroll’s soothing and intimate vocals, but live, their production really pops. There was disappointment in the air as calls for an encore didn’t seem likely to be met. However, Carroll and guitarist Oscar Dawson hopped onstage to treat the crowd to an acoustic rendition of Sentimental And Monday, before the whole band joined for an epic finale of Send My Regards. Melissa Borg
Double J The ‘90s Party Lansdowne Hotel 24 Jun
The month of June has been a non-stop ‘90s marathon on triple j’s ‘older sister’ station, Double J. We’ve been treated to countdowns, marathons and specials and it was all to be topped off with a ‘90s party at the newly renovated Lansdowne Hotel. The event seemed to be set-up as a themed event, but as people started trickling in at 7pm, it was obvious that besides the odd flanny, ‘90s band tee and Doc Marten-ed feet, people didn’t get that tip. Siblings, Ella and Jesse Hooper were first up on the decks, spinning classic ‘90s tunes like Ammonia and The Breeders before Myf Warhurst and Zan Rowe (who also team up for a cracking new podcast, Bang On) took on the wheels of steel, playing tracks ranging from Young MC’s Bust A Move to Blur classics. Killing Heidi, with the aforementioned Hoopers and bassist James Gilligan, jumped on stage for an acoustic set including a couple of handpicked covers. Ella’s renditions of Deadstar and Frente! ‘90s hits were chosen purposely delivered faithfully. “The ‘90s were a bit of a cock forest,” she declares before we were treated to Weir and Mascara with Ella’s trademark stage presence and joy spreading into the growing crowd. It wasn’t long before You Am I returned to the Lansdowne. Tim Rogers, adorned in a mask for reasons unknown, is not the sort of guy to stand on ceremony. They start the set with a very un-’90s track, Frightfully Moderne from 2008’s Dilettantes followed by an even newer track, Buzz The Boss with guitarist Davey Lane taking the lead. It wasn’t until midway through the set, when Jebediah’s frontman Kevin
Mitchell takes the stage, that the touch on anything ‘90s related. Mitchell smashes through a ripping cover of Regurgitator’s I Sucked A Lot Of Cock Too Get Where I Am and Tumbleweed’s Sundial. The rapport between Rogers and Mitchell is great
Kevin Mitchell returns to the stage to sing Berlin Chair and absolutely nails it.
More Reviews Online theMusic.com.au/ music/live-reviews
Winston Surfshirt @ Oxford Art Factory to watch and the crowd is really starting to warm up. The second half of the set sees more recognisable hits; Get Up, Friends Like You, Who Put The Devil In You and finally a ‘90s track! From Hi Fi Way, we get Cathy’s Clown and How Much Is Enough. Having recently been selected as the top Australian ‘90s track, we knew what would be the finale, but the song rouses sadness for Rogers as he mentions that it always reminds him of the passing of close friend and Box The Jesuit’s frontman, Stephen Gray. In what could be seen as a way to sidestep the bad memories, Kevin Mitchell returns to the stage to sing Berlin Chair and absolutely nails it in front of an adoring packed room. To the strains of Gerling’s Death To The Apple Gerls, delivered by none other than their singer Darren Cross on the decks, we danced into the wee hours. Yes, Double J, the ‘90s were the best decade for music.
Leah Senior @ Golden Age Cinema Grouper @ Paddington Uniting Church Chris Cain @ Leadbelly
Mick Radojkovic
THE MUSIC • 28TH JUNE 2017 • 33
Arts Reviews Arts Reviews
think that lashings of absurdity combined with Bay’s undeniable talent for bringing largescale carnage to the screen would result in an unparalleled rollercoaster ride. In this case, however, you would be wrong. The Last Knight is occasionally inspired, mostly because of the twinkle in the eye of a very respected actor having a ball with some very silly dialogue (more about that shortly), but it’s really just more of the same. And the same is getting stale, even if it has all the bells and whistles a budget in excess of $200 million can buy. Explaining what this new Transformers movie is all about has a pretty high degree of difficulty, but here goes: it all begins in the Dark Ages when King Arthur (yes, that King Arthur) gets a little assistance on the battlefield from a metallic dragon. A millennium and a half later, and we’re in America, where years of skirmishes between good Autobots and bad Decepticons have left cities in ruins and made the robots-in-disguise unpopular with the powers that be. Still, they have a few human allies, such as blue-collar inventor and all-around cool dude Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg), who helped save the world in the last movie, Age Of Extinction, and has to save it all over again when Decepticon sorceress Quintessa steers the robot planet of Cybertron into a collision course with Earth. The secret weapon in the clash against the evil Transformers is the staff of Merlin (yes, that Merlin), and only his direct descendant, smokin’ hot scholar Vivian Wembley (Laura Haddock), can wield it. And how do our heroes — and we, the audience — discover this? By way of a manic monologue delivered by Sir Anthony Hopkins as Sir Edmund Burton, Give the Oscar-winning Silence Of The Lambs star due respect here — he doesn’t have much to do beyond delivering chewy chunks of dialogue that attempt to move this lummox of a story forward a few inches but he gives it his considerable all,
Transformers: The Last Knight
Orange Is The New Black
Transformers:
Orange Is The New Black
The Last Knight
(Season 5)
Film In cinemas now
★★ Transformers: The Last Knight could well be the fifth movie in the supersuccessful franchise based on the line of toy cars, trucks and other vehicles that transform into cool robots... but I can’t be 100% sure of that. I mean, these films have become such a crazy, cacophonous freeway pile-up of twisted metal since the first Transformers crashed into cinemas a decade ago that it’s increasingly impossible to distinguish one from the other. And with The Last Knight, director/ field marshal Michael Bay throws even more bizarre stuff at the wall. (Who really killed Hitler? The answer may surprise you!) You might
Guy Davis 34 • THE MUSIC • 28TH JUNE 2017
TV Now streaming via Netflix
★★★★ There’s a fascinating irony found in the latest season (and its predecessor) of Junji Kohan’s sprawling prison drama Orange Is The New Black. For a show made purposefully for a bingewatching market its story arcs can be agonisingly glacial. Set over a four-day prison riot, the show’s pace is almost in real time, but a great deal of this is devoted to exposition, to the point of being wantonly sluggish. Ironic this may be, but it’s also a big risk. From the relatively simple concept of a middle-class anti-heroine wading into the murky socio-economic depths of Litchfield Penitentiary, the show has since spun its yarns into a mind-bogglingly complex tangle of subplots, flashbacks, and origin stories spanning a vast cast of motley misfits. In terms of its density, this isn’t unprecedented - Game Of Thrones being the most familiar example of a large ensemble cast. However, where Orange Is The New Black differs (aside from the lack of dragons, iron thrones, and incest) is that each of its characters’ stories exists in a vaguely similar emotional spectrum, and the cumulative effect can occasionally read as white noise. And then there’s the comedy. In and of itself, the toilet humour and quirky character gags are not necessarily out of place - indeed, it’s matching the tone set in the first season. But as the show’s narratives have become darker, as it’s explored the horrors of abuse, neglect, drug addiction and mental illness, its jokes have become increasingly jarring alongside the heft of its subject matter. Or so I thought until I had watched the season to the very end. Perceived flaws in its tone, in its pacing, in its lumbering self-indulgences are revealed as surgically precise decisions that guide our empathy to a heart-stopping climax. It’s a slight of hand that leaves the viewer feeling both duped and grateful. This is storytelling on an operatic scale, and could very well be the natural evolution of binge brand TV. Finally, we have a show that dares to ask as much of its audience as we ask of it.
Maxim Boon
THE MUSIC • 28TH JUNE 2017 • 35
Comedy / G The Guide
Wed 28
RocKwiz (Live): Anita’s Theatre, Thirroul Comedy with Becky Lucas + James Cameron: Bank Hotel (Waywards), Newtown
Horrorshow
SOSUEME feat. Spenda C + Klue + Billie & The Cowards: Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach Quazi + Just Breathe + Cold Vulture: Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst
The Music Presents Orsome Welles: 30 Jun Factory Theatre; 1 Jul The Basement Luca Brasi: 1 Jul Metro Theatre Bello Winter Music Festival: 6 - 9 Jul Bellingen Horrorshow: 7 Jul University Of Wollongong; 8 Jul Bar On The Hill, Newcastle Two Door Cinema Club: 21 Jul Hodern Pavilion The Lemon Twigs: 22 Jul Oxford Art Factory Sigur Ros: 25 Jul Hodern Pavilion Vera Blue: 28 Jul The Academy Canberra; 29 Jul Metro Theatre; 31 Aug UniBar Wollongong; 1 Sep The Beery Terrigal; 8 Sep Bar On The Hill Newcastle Sydney Guitar Festival: 23-27 Aug, Various Venues Mew: 11 Sep Manning Bar Ali Barter: 28 Sep Oxford Art Factory; 29 Sep The Small Ballroom
The Other Woman - The Life and Music of Nina Simone: Camelot Lounge, Marrickville Bliss N Eso: Enmore Theatre, Newtown Zela Margossian: Foundry 616, Sydney Craig Calhoun: Frankie’s Pizza By The Slice, Sydney Arsenic & Old Lace + Tania Bowra: Gasoline Pony, Marrickville Cameron James Henderson + Heirs: LazyBones Lounge, Marrickville Ramblin’ Nights with Katie Brianna + De’ May + Jemma Nicole: Leadbelly (formerly The Vanguard), Newtown
Luca Brasi. Pic: Kane HIbberd
My Name Is Luca Luca Brasi’s Australian tour is officially underway, and Metro Theatre is next to play host to the Tassie natives Saturday. The support also looks killer, with Pianos Become The Teeth, Maddy Jane and Speech Patterns all set to perform.
Ed & Astro: Orient Hotel, The Rocks
Thu 29
Steve Tonge: Observer Hotel, The Rocks
Songs On Stage feat. Russell Neal + TAO + Perikles + Monica: Paddington RSL, Paddington
Katie Brianna + De’May + Jemma Nicole: Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle West
Cover Notes Duo: Orient Hotel, The Rocks
Errol Renaud Trio + DJ Dizar: Play Bar, Surry Hills Chris Rock: Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney Olympic Park
The Other Woman - The Life and Music of Nina Simone: Camelot Lounge, Marrickville Belle Jar + My Sauce Good: Camelot Lounge (Django Bar), Marrickville Dave + Grouse + Anatomy Class + Mike Paxton: Captain Cook Hotel, Paddington
Bliss N Eso
Dan Sultan: 28 Sep The Academy Canerra; 29 Sep Bar On The Hill Newcastle; 30 Sep Metro Theatre
An Evening with Jimmy Webb: City Recital Hall, Sydney
At The Drive In: 29 Sep Hodern Pavilion
RocKwiz (Live): Civic Theatre, Newcastle
Vintage & Custom Drum Expo: 8 Oct Factory Theatre
World Famous Comedy Store Showcase 2017: Comedy Store, Moore Park
Pure Bliss (Plus Eso) Bliss N Eso have been powering through their Off The Grid tour since May, and this week brings them to Enmore Theatre on Wednesday. Their marathon tour has been in such high demand, they’ve added another Enmore show mid-July.
Big Red Fire Truck + Screaming Eagle + Darcee Fox: Frankie’s Pizza By The Slice, Sydney The Villebillies + Reuben & Elmo: Gasoline Pony, Marrickville Zack Martin + Gia Clarissa + Jenny McGregor + Monica + Kenneth D’Aran + more: Harbour View Hotel, Dawes Point Manalion + Tyne James Organ: Hotel Steyne (Moonshine), Manly Rachel Maria Cox + Ruby Fields + Uncle Axle: Hudson Ballroom, Sydney Kingswood + Press Club Band: Lansdowne Hotel, Chippendale
Dean Michael Smith: The Bourbon, Potts Point Drover Mad + Deadliners + Mister Mystic: Valve Bar (Basement), Ultimo
Songs On Stage feat. Russell Neal + Pauline Sparkle: Paddington RSL, Paddington
All Our Exes Live In Texas
Texes All Our Exes Live In Texas have quite the avid fanbase, as is evident through their crowdfunded debut album When We Fall. The four-piece will be stopping by Factory Theatre this Saturday as part of their national tour.
Florentine: LazyBones Lounge, Marrickville Sydney Sings the Tony Awards: Leadbelly (formerly The Vanguard), Newtown Michael Gorham: Manly Leagues Club, Brookvale Larger Than Lions: Marble Bar, Sydney
36 • THE MUSIC • 28TH JUNE 2017
Jessica O’Donoghue: Oxford Art Factory (Gallery Bar), Darlinghurst
Open Frame: Room40: the Music of Twin Peaks played by XIU XIU + Elysia Crampton: Carriageworks, Eveleigh
Caligula’s Horse: 6 Oct Factory Theatre
Alt-J: 9 Dec ICC Sydney
John & Yuki: Osaka, Potts Point
Chris Rock: Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney Olympic Park All Ages Show with Eat Your Heart Out + Vacant Home + False Plaintiff + Blue Velvet: Red Rattler, Marrickville
Gigs / Live The Guide
+ Klara Lewis + Sarah Davachi: Carriageworks, Eveleigh
All Our Exes Live In Texas: Heritage Hotel, Bulli
Darren Johnstone: Penrith Panthers (Squires Terrace Bar), Penrith
Gin Mill Social feat. Greg Poppleton: Castlereagh Boutique Hotel (Cello’s), Sydney
Lunatics On Pogosticks + Sundown State: Hotel Steyne (Moonshine Bar), Manly
The Flipped Out Kicks + Lang Langs + Men From U.N.C.L.E.: Petersham Bowling Club, Petersham
Joe Echo: Jacksons on George, Sydney Dean Michael Smith: Chatswood RSL, Chatswood Soundbird: Colonial Hotel, Werrington Royal Headache
A Royal Pain Since 2011, Royal Headache have been steadily cementing their place in the music industry. The Sydney-natives are heading back to their hometown as part of their first Australian headline tour, with Factory Theatre their next target this Friday.
Rock With Laughter feat. Mikey Robins + Heath Franklin’s Chopper + Chris North + Tom Sanderson + Mitch Garling + Jamie Lindsay Duo: Rock Lily, Pyrmont The Henry Fjords + PJ Orr & the Night Managers + The Loose Shreds: The Hideaway Bar, Enmore
Raave Tapes
Tom Walker: Comedy Store, Moore Park World Famous Comedy Store Showcase 2017: Comedy Store, Moore Park Raave Tapes + Doctor Goddard: Coogee Bay Hotel (Selina’s), Coogee Ted Nash: Coogee Bay Hotel, Coogee Comedy with Matty B: Coogee Diggers, Coogee Matt Jones: Coolibah Hotel, Merrylands West All Ages Show feat. Eat Your Heart Out + Vacant Home + False Plaintiff + Blue Velvet: ECP Studios, Berkeley Vale The Headliners: Engadine Tavern, Engadine The Pink Floyd Experience: Enmore Theatre, Newtown Orsome Welles + Mercury Sky + Sevsons + Genetics: Factory Theatre, Marrickville Royal Headache + Low Life: Factory Theatre, Marrickville
Oh, Bby! Raave Tapes are bringing their fresh take on garage rock to Selina’s this Friday. Your three favourite ‘bby bois’ will be joined by Doctor Goddard so drop everything and pick up a ticket.
DJ Graham M: The Newport, Newport Low Down Riders: The Temperance Society, Summer Hill Secondhand Sellout + Convex: Valve Bar (Basement), Ultimo
Whelan & Gover: Fortune of War Hotel, The Rocks Thelonious Monk Tribute with Michael Griffin: Foundry 616, Sydney
Red Bull Sound Select feat. The Peep Tempel + Sloan Peterson + Mezko: Lansdowne Hotel, Chippendale
Bad Decisions: Proud Mary’s, Erina King Tide + Fripps & Fripps: Leadbelly (formerly The Vanguard), Newtown
The Thursday Shuffle: Venue 505, Surry Hills Spenda C
Fri 30
Matt Lyon: Lynwood Country Club, Pitt Town James Heathwood: Macarthur Tavern, Campbelltown
Superheist + Frankenbok + Dreadnaught + Rival Fire: Bald Faced Stag, Leichhardt
Brown Sugar: Marble Bar, Sydney
Smoke Rings + Shearin’ + Christo: Bank Hotel (Waywards), Newtown
Glenn Esmond: Marlborough Hotel, Newtown
Role Modelz - Drake V Bieber with Various DJs: Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach
Electric Lady feat. Alex Lahey + Ali Barter + Bec Sandridge + Gretta Ray + Jack River + Body Type + Rackett: Metro Theatre, Sydney
Brightness: Botany View Hotel, Newtown Phebe Starr: Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst Bliss N Eso: Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle West Mental As Anything: Camelot Lounge, Marrickville Dusty Ravens + Low Down Riders: Camelot Lounge (Django Bar), Marrickville AJ Dyce: Campbelltown Catholic Club, Campbelltown
Open Frame Room40: Avanti feat. Alessandro Cortini (Nine Inch Nails)
Blake Tailor: Rooty Hill RSL (Corona Terrace), Rooty Hill Dan Mullins: Ruby L’Otel, Rozelle RocKwiz (Live): Saraton Theatre, Grafton Oz Rock Revival: St Marys Rugby League Club (Ironbark Terrace), St Marys Cass Greaves: Surly’s, Surry Hills Dragon: Taren Point Hotel, Taren Point
As Sweet As Spenda Spenda C has officially kicked off his Bone Collector tour earlier this month in Cairns, and for his second stop, the Sydneynative is heading to Beach Road Hotel’s Sosueme. Catch him on Wednesday with Klue and Billie & The Cowards.
ArtBar with Various Artists: Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA), The Rocks Baby Animals + The Screaming Jets + Palace Of The King: Newcastle Exhibition & Convention Centre (NEX), Newcastle West Blake Wiggins: Observer Hotel, The Rocks Reckless + Jonathan Lee Jones: Orient Hotel, The Rocks Stephanie Lea: Oriental Hotel, Springwood Vancouver Sleep Clinic: Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst
Neon Giants + George Orb + Josh Cassidy + DJ Feelixx + Aphic: Candys Apartment, Potts Point Nick Nuisance & The Delinquents + Uplifting Bellends + Cakewalk + The S Bends: Captain Cook Hotel, Paddington
Soul Tattoo: Pittwater RSL (Distillery), Mona Vale
Rogue Company: Gasoline Pony, Marrickville
Rare Finds feat. Evan Klar + Billy Fox + H.EUND + Deep Sea Arcade DJs: Oxford Art Factory (Gallery Bar), Darlinghurst
Cursed Earth + Statues: Hamilton Station Hotel, Islington
LTR ON feat. Locked Groove + Owt: Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst
Trent Bell: The Basement, Belconnen Handle With Care - Music Inspired by The Traveling Wilburys: The Basement, Sydney Vortex: The Beach Hotel, Merewether The JP Project: The Bourbon, Potts Point The Pinheads: The Chippendale Hotel, Chippendale Greenlights Comedy feat. Alexie & Nikko: The Gaelic Club (1st Floor), Surry Hills Project Red: The Merton Hotel, Rozelle Los Chavos: The Phoenix, Canberra Geoff Davies: The Push, The Rocks HAZMAT + Black Reign + Reign of Terror + Thrash Bandicoot: Valve Bar (Basement), Ultimo
THE MUSIC • 28TH JUNE 2017 • 37
Comedy / G The Guide
The Reserection of Fuckfest! feat. Passenger of Shit + Etheral Girl + Earnest Raw + Ghostings: Valve Bar (Level One), Ultimo
Krishna Jones: Surly’s, Surry Hills
Katie Brianna
RocKwiz (Live): Tamworth Town Hall, Tamworth
Angela Rosero: Venue 505, Surry Hills
Orsome Welles + Tundrel + Hence The Testbed: The Basement, Belconnen
Lapis Sky + Napolenic: Vic On The Park, Marrickville
Bakoomba: The Basement, Sydney Misbehave: The Beach Hotel, Merewether
Sat 01
The Spit Roasting Bibbers: The Belvedere Hotel, Sydney
5th Birthday with Flowertruck + These New South Whales + Betty & Oswald + Sloan Peterson + Felix Lush + The Jim Mitchells: Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst
Adrian Joseph: The Bourbon, Potts Point The Best of the Eagles: The Concourse, Chatswood
Endless Summer Beach Party: Bull & Bush, Baulkham Hills Superheist + Frankenbok + Dreadnaught + Rival Fire: Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle West Rachel Maria Cox + Throw Me To The Wolves + Good Pash: Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle West Nadya & the 101 Candles Orkestra: Camelot Lounge, Marrickville
Roy - A Tribute To Roy Orbison feat. Damien Leith: The Glasshouse, Port Macquarie
Femme Fatales
KLP: The Grand Hotel, Wollongong
Leadbelly’s Ramblin’ Nights is recruiting powerful musicians for a Femme Fatale eveningl to end all evenings. Katie Brianna, De’ May and Jemma Nicole are set to bring the house down this Wednesday night.
John Kennedys’ 68 Special: Camelot Lounge (Django Bar), Marrickville
Tyne-James Organ
Tyne To Party After recently performing a sellout In My Arms single tour back in December, Tyne-James Organ is ready to get back into it with a supporting gig for Manalion. Hotel Steyne will be playing host this Thursday.
Zac Waters: Candys Apartment, Potts Point Lunatics On Pogosticks + White Blanks + Neighbourhood Void: Captain Cook Hotel, Paddington The Bootleg Beach Boys: Castle Hill RSL, Castle Hill The Aston Shuffle + TCTS + Icarus: Chinese Laundry, Sydney Becky Lucas: Comedy Store, Moore Park The World Famous Comedy Store Showcase: Comedy Store, Moore Park Urzila Carlson: Enmore Theatre, Newtown All Our Exes Live In Texas + Ports: Factory Theatre, Marrickville
38 • THE MUSIC • 28TH JUNE 2017
Ministry of Sound Club feat. Boy George + Robbie Lowe + Dave Goode + DJ Ben Morris + more: The Ivy, Sydney Aubrey & Purton: The Merton Hotel, Rozelle DJ Treble n Bass + Animal Ventura + DJ Soup + Ines: The Newport, Newport Steve Hart & The All Stars + Swanee: The Oaks Hotel, Albion Park Rail
We Will Rock Yu feat. DJ Rikki + more: Factory Theatre (Factory Floor), Marrickville
Angelena Locke: Macarthur Tavern, Campbelltown
Dan Mullins: Fortune of War Hotel, The Rocks
DJ Oh? + DJ Tim Boffa: Manly Wharf Hotel, Manly
The Ivory Elephant + Wesley & The Crushers + An Inconvenient Groove: The Phoenix, Canberra
Bare Bones + The Dead Love + Cosmic Kahuna: Frankie’s Pizza By The Slice, Sydney
Soul Empire: Marble Bar, Sydney
AJ Dyce: The Push, The Rocks Trent Bell: The Small Ballroom, Islington
Satellite V Trio: Gasoline Pony, Marrickville
Luca Brasi + Pianos Become The Teeth + Maddy Jane + Speech Patterns: Metro Theatre, Sydney
Mike Noga: Golden Age Cinema & Bar, Surry Hills
Just A Gent + Moza: Miranda Hotel (Carmens), Miranda
On & Ons: Grand Junction Hotel (The Junkyard), Maitland
Michael Kopp + Benj Axwell + Dean Michael Smith: Observer Hotel, The Rocks
Soundbird: Halekulani Bowling Club, Budgewoi
Iron Horses: Old Manly Boatshed, Manly
Caution: Thieves: Hamilton Station Hotel, Islington Michael Kopp: Harts Pub, The Rocks Final Fantasy 30th Anniversary with Nobuo Uematsu: International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC), Sydney
Songs On Stage feat. Andrew Denniston + Warren Munce + more: Orange Grove Hotel, Lilyfield Outlier + Kye Brown: Orient Hotel, The Rocks
Australian Trilogy: Penrith RSL (Castle Lounge), Penrith
Hard-Ons + War Hawk + Peter Black: Lansdowne Hotel, Chippendale
Klue: Proud Mary’s, Erina
Lo Five + Haze: LazyBones Lounge, Marrickville 50 Years Ago Today feat. The Beatels - Sgt. Pepper’s Tribute: Leadbelly (formerly The Vanguard), Newtown Australian Chamber Orchestra : Llewellyn Hall, Canberra Lennie Live: Long Jetty Hotel, Long Jetty
Bliss N Eso: Towradgi Beach Hotel (Waves), Towradgi Uncle Geezer + Disparo + Grim + Durry + Loose Unit: Valve Bar (Basement), Ultimo Gonzalo Porta + The Sydney Salsa All Stars: Venue 505, Surry Hills Shirley Crescent: Vic On The Park, Marrickville
Shows on Stage feat. Jasmine Beth + more: Paddington RSL, Paddington
Meet Me In The Cross feat. Hermitude DJ + Thundamental DJs + Nina Las Vegas + Dappled Cities + Fishing DJs + Mezko + World Champion + Adi Toohey + Andy Garvey + Ariane + DJ Anya + Bad Deep DJs + Ben Fester + Future Classic DJs + Hubert Clarke Jnr + Jon Watts + more: Kings Cross Hotel, Potts Point
Adaptors: Lass O’Gowrie, Wickham
Den Hanrahan & The Rum Runners: The Stag & Hunter Hotel, Mayfield
James Brown Tribute feat. DJ CMan + DJ Juzzlikedat + Makoto + DJ Benny Hinn: Play Bar, Surry Hills The Beatels
Cambo: Plough & Harrow, Camden
Tuppaware Party + Cubans In Whistler + MVRKS + Kimono Pool: Rad Bar, Wollongong Uptown Funk: Revesby Workers (Infinity Lounge), Revesby Bay City Rollers feat. Les McKeown: Rooty Hill RSL, Rooty Hill Michael Gorham: Ruby L’Otel, Rozelle SIMA feat. Pratt/Price Collective + Ta Go Lak: Seymour Centre, Darlington
Not A Typo The Beatles’ Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was released 50 years ago, and tribute band The Beatels are celebrating the best way they know how playing a tribute show. They’ll be heading to Leadbelly Saturday.
Gigs / Live The Guide
Hits & Pieces: Winmalee Tavern, Winmalee
Merging Roots: Hotel Steyne (Moonshine), Manly
The Bootleg Beach Boys: North Sydney Leagues, Cammeray
Sun 02
Jack Horner: Jamison Hotel, Penrith
Steph & Richard: Oatley Hotel, Oatley
Temtris + HAZMAT + The Bottlers + Pyrefly + more: Bald Faced Stag, Leichhardt
The Coconut Kids + Belle Jar: Junction 142 (Uniting Church), Katoomba
Bryn Douglas + Adrian Joseph: Observer Hotel, The Rocks
The Kava Kings: Brass Monkey, Cronulla
The Royal Australian Navy Band: Laurieton United Services Club, Laurieton
Ed & Astro + Lonesome Train: Orient Hotel, The Rocks
StereoBuss + Cub Callaway: LazyBones Lounge, Marrickville
Cool River: Penrith RSL (Castle Lounge), Penrith
50 Years Ago Today feat. The Beatels - Sgt. Pepper’s Tribute: Leadbelly (formerly The Vanguard), Newtown
Bluegrass Parkway: Petersham Bowling Club, Petersham
The Pinheads
Dennis Val: Bull & Bush, Baulkham Hills The Sydney Sacred Music Fundraiser: Camelot Lounge, Marrickville Forro Brazil: Camelot Lounge (Django Bar), Marrickville
Draggs + Wavevom + The Cloacas + Space Boys: Rad Bar, Wollongong Michael Gorham: Rocks Brewing Company, Alexandria
The Aston Shuffle
Finn: Shady Pines Saloon, Darlinghurst Utzon Music Series feat. Behzod Abduraimov: Sydney Opera House, Sydney VDubs: The Beach Hotel, Merewether
Pin It To Win It The past few months have been massive for The Pinheads, as the Sydneysiders have commenced their tour shortly after dropping their self-titled debut LP. Clamber down to The Chippendale Hotel this Friday for a cheeky squiz.
Glenn Esmond: The Bourbon, Potts Point The Lazy Crows: The Merton Hotel, Rozelle Dean Michael Smith: The Mill Hotel, Milperra DJ Phil Toke + Jeremy Gregory + DJ Cool Hand Luke + Duan & Only + Slam Duncan: The Newport, Newport Mark Crotti: The Push, The Rocks
Bay City Rollers feat. Les McKeown: Wests, New Lambton
Mon 03 Bernie Hayes + Pete Velzen + Elmo + Marguerite Mentos + more: Camelia Grove Hotel, Alexandria James Muller David Theak Organ Transplant: Foundry 616, Sydney
Shuffle Butter Running two tours essentially back-to-back, The Aston Shuffle are showing no signs of slowing down. After the release of Only 100s, the duo will be taking their mix for a spin at Chinese Laundry this Saturday.
Vancouver Sleep Clinic
Songs On Stage feat. Dr TAOS + Michelle Benson + Monica + Chris Brookes + Paul Ward + Kenneth D’Aran: Kellys on King, Newtown James Brennan: Orient Hotel, The Rocks Songs On Stage feat. Russell Neal + TAO + David Mark + L J Phillips: The Unicorn Hotel, Paddington
Trent Bell + Jesse Teinaki: Factory Theatre (Factory Floor), Marrickville
Lazy Sunday Lunch: Electric Light Orchestra played by Love That Hat: Lizottes Newcastle, Lambton
Ted Nash: Fortune of War Hotel, The Rocks Bernie Hayes + Elmo + Pete V: Gasoline Pony, Marrickville
Duan & Only + DJ Somatik + DJ Alex Mac: Manly Wharf Hotel, Manly KP: Morisset Country Club, Morisset
The Pornskas + Planc: Grand Junction Hotel (The Junkyard), Maitland
on gloss = $30 on gloss = $35 on gloss = $40 on gloss = $80 call for heaps more deals: 02 9264 4776 100 300 100 100
A5 A6 A4 A3
colour colour colour colour
Australian Chamber Orchestra: Wollongong Town Hall, Wollongong
Sleep When You’re Dead Having recently dropped his latest effort, Revival, Vancouver Sleep Clinic (aka Tim Bettinson) is venturing to Oxford Art Factory on Friday for a tunefilled extravaganza. Revival is the follow-up to his previous EP, Winter.
Owen Campbell: The Stag & Hunter Hotel, Mayfield Angelena Locke: The Village Inn, Paddington
Tue 04 Australian Chamber Orchestra: City Recital Hall, Sydney Abrahams & Avenaim: Foundry 616, Sydney Songs On Stage feat. Russell Neal + Pauline Sparkle: Gladstone Hotel, Dulwich Hill Songs On Stage feat. Stuart Jammin + Bowen & Clare + Jenny Hume: Kellys on King, Newtown Ben Ottewell (Gomez) + Buddy: Lansdowne Hotel, Chippendale Pallbearer + Illimitable Dolor + Hashshashin: Manning Bar, Camperdown Gavin DeGraw: Metro Theatre, Sydney
Claude Hay: Towradgi Beach Hotel (Sports Bar), Towradgi
Co-Pilot: Orient Hotel, The Rocks
The Vegas Nerves + Wicked Children + more: Valve Bar (Basement), Ultimo
Cursed Earth + Statue + Skylerwhite: Rad Bar, Wollongong
THE MUSIC • 28TH JUNE 2017 • 39
&