The Music (Sydney) Issue #204 by TheMusic.com.au

30.08.17 Music / Arts / Lifestyle / Culture

Issue

204

Sydney / Free / Incorporating

tour r: Sl lot o fa face ce

R lease:: Re Kim m Ch Chur urch rch c iil ll

B GSOU BI UND N : Our ti Ou tips ps s for the e fes stiiva val

“I don’t wanna be Rage Against The Machine”

From your ﬁrst day at SAE, you’ll start creating in world-class facilities, on the latest software and equipment, all under the guidance of our expert lecturers - because at SAE, we believe to be job ready, you need to know the job. With classes starting in September, it’s not too late to kick-start your creative career in 2017.

SECRET SOUNDS PRESENTS

THE 25TH ANNUAL MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL FFLUME LU (NO SIDESHOWS) • FLEET FOXES • RUN THE JEWELS • THE KOOKS • GLASS ANIMALS (NO SIDESHOWS)) PPEKING DUK • ANGUS & JULIA STONE • FOSTER THE PEOPLE • LIAM GALLAGHER • VINCE STAPLES JUNGLE JUNG • DUNE RATS • THE SMITH STREET BAND • DRAM • DARYL BRAITHWAITE • EVERYTHING EVERYTHING ALLDAY • THE JUNGLE GIANTS • THUNDAMENTALS • METHYL ETHEL • SLUMBERJACK • D.D DUMBO • ANNA LUNOE DZ DEATHRAYS • CONFIDENCE MAN • JULIA JACKLIN • BAD//DREEMS • COSMO’S MIDNIGHT • WINSTON SURFSHIRT LUCA BRASI • ALEX LAHEY • CAMP COPE • FLINT EASTWOOD • ECCA VANDAL • DAVE • TOTAL GIOVANNI + PLUS LOADS MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED

LORNE MARION BYRON FREMANTLE BAY 28 DEC BAY 06 JAN 29 DEC 30 DEC 31 DEC

29 DEC 30 DEC 31 DEC

31 DEC 01 JAN 02 JAN

07 JAN

FESTIVAL CAMPING • FOOD TRUCKS & GLORIOUS GOURMET FARE • POP UP BARS & BEER GARDENS INTERACTIVE ARTS • MAKERS MARKETS • YOGA & WELLBEING PLUS LOADS OF OTHER AWESOMENESS

BUY TICKETS AT FALLSFESTIVAL.COM THE MUSIC • 30TH AUGUST 2017 • 3

the

with Maxim & Sam

introducing your new podcast obsession

the best and worst of the weekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s zeitgeist. new episodes streaming every wednesday

SEPT 1ST HEY GERONIMO

BASEMENT

THU 31ST 8PM

BASEMENT

FRI 1ST 8PM

LEVEL ONE

FRI 1ST 10PM

“CHRONIC”

DIRTHOUSE AGENCY PRESENTS:

WITH SUPPORT FROM “ACROLYSIS”, “DNA”, “SPACE”

“TROULDHAUGEN” GET OUTTA TOWN TOUR

WITH SUPPORT FROM “COMEDIER”, “HARBOUR”, THE LIMIT PRESENTS TROLDHAUGEN “CRUMBS” DJ SET

FREAQUENCY EVENTS FEATURING KEVIN HUCKER WITH SUPPORT FROM ROHDAN (ACT), TEAM SLY (QLD), ROYALS, CATZEYEZ, GILLIES, MAIN RETRIBUTION, MC NIGHTWIZARD IN THE NIGHT OF HARD STYLES

BASEMENT

SAT 2ND 8PM

BASEMENT

SAT 2ND 8PM

BASEMENT

SUN 3RD 2PM

COMING UP

“A GENTLEMAN’S AGREEMENT”

SEPT 8TH ABBE MAY

+ LITTLE COYOTE

WITH SUPPORT FROM “CHAOTIC BORDERLINE”, “WAR RAGES WITHIN”, “BE FACED”, “LIONS OF THE UNDERGROUND”

SEPT 15TH

WOL PRESENTS:

DRESS TO IMPRESS

SEPT 22ND

“HALWAIT” ARE BACK!

SEPT 29TH

WITH DJS MADENGO, DREAM, MALEEK, YAN IN THE NIGHT OF RNB/ HIP HOP/AFROBEAT

SUPPORTED BY “AMBULARE”, “SOMETHING SOMETHING EXPLOSION, “RELIQA”

Thu 7 Sept: 8pm Basement: “Neon Highways” with support from “Sarky Bastard”, “The Fossicks”, “Handheld Human” in the night of Rock’n’Roll; Fri 8 Sept: 8pm Basement: Last Ride Records presents “Primitive Blast” 7” Release party with support from “Oily Boys”, “Ill Natured”, “Controlled”, “Rapid Dye”, “The Hard Word”; 12am Basement: Burning Rose records presents The Afterparty; 10pm Level One: LGS presents Freeform Only feat Free KFC, with DJ’s Remane, Disseminate, Focus and many more; Sat 9 Sept: 8pm Basement: Sanctuary club presents September Sanctuary, Sydney’s premier Alternative Club night featuring best Alternative DJ’s and personally recommended by Ian Astbury of “Cult”; 10pm Level One: DeepSpace Records presents Psychedelic Obsessions with DJ’s 0db (South Africa), Flaw Theory (South Africa), Codetech, Raptor, Superbeast, Bear; Sun 10 Sept: 5pm Basement: Harbour City Noise presents: “The Violet Stones”, “Blue/Green”, “Greyscale”, “Bre Siesta”

THE SEA GYPSIES

WINTERBOURNE

MAJOR LEAGUES + NELIPOT THE BAND

LOCAL ROCK ‘N ROLL, FOLK & INDIE POP ROCK ACTS

LIVE & LOUD EVERY FRIDAY NIGHT AT SELINA’S FROM 8PM COOGEEBAYHOTEL.COM.AU

THE MUSIC • 30TH AUGUST 2017 • 5

Music / Music / Arts / Lifestyle / Culture

Surf’s Up

Right On

Sydney’s Winston Surfshirt have dropped their new single Same Same and announced their debut album Sponge Cake is coming in September. They’ll tour nationally in November/ December to celebrate.

Morning TV are ramping up to their second EP Sun with the release of their boppy, breezy new single Get It Right and the announcement of an east coast tour in November.

Winston Surfshirt

sleepy Time Revered Australian instrumental rockers sleepmakeswaves have announced a national tour with stalwart US post-metal outfit Rosetta in December to cap off what’s been an already massive year of live performance.

sleepmakeswaves

[skipping stones on lake] DATE: it’s such a beautiful evening ME: *whispering* take that you fucking lake @trojansauce

6 • THE MUSIC • 30TH AUGUST 2017

Big Thief

Listen To Thieves Ascendant US band Big Thief have announced a run of headline dates hitting both the west and east coasts to complement their upcoming Australian sojourn for Meredith Music Festival this December.

Morning TV

Arts / Li Music / Arts / Lifestyle / Culture

Credits

Publisher Street Press Australia Pty Ltd Group Managing Editor Andrew Mast

The National

National Editor – Magazines Mark Neilsen Arts & Culture Editor Maxim Boon

interNational

The National have confirmed a 2018 headline tour of the east coast. The US indierockers have locked in shows for February/March in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne in support of their forthcoming album, Sleep Well Beast.

Gordi

Big Pond Gordi has just dropped her debut LP Reservoir and now she’s taking it on a national tour. After touring Europe in October/November with Asgeir, she returns for a headline Australian run through November/ December.

Gig Guide Justine Lynch gigs@themusic.com.au Contributing Editor Bryget Chrisfield

Editorial Assistant Sam Wall, Jessica Dale 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 Art Dept Ben Nicol, Felicity Case-Mejia Admin & Accounts Ajaz Durrani, Meg Burnham, Bella Bi accounts@themusic.com.au Distro distro@themusic.com.au Subscriptions store@themusic.com.au Contact Us Suite 42, 89-97 Jones St Ultimo

Ruby Fields

Phone: (02) 9331 7077 info@themusic.com.au www.themusic.com.au

— Sydney

Green Ps With her debut EP in the works, Ruby Fields has announced a debut national run for her new single P Plates. The tour will take in eight dates around the country in November with tour support from Totty. THE MUSIC • 30TH AUGUST 2017 • 7

Music / Music / Arts / Lifestyle / Culture

Ben Ely

Story Time

Swan Lake

Regurgitator bassist Ben Ely is heading out solo on the Strange Tales tour with his new album Strange Tales Of Drugs & Lost Love. Ely will make stops throughout Qld, Vic and NSW in September and October.

Getting The Plot In just their first line-up announce, The Plot has the likes of Confidence Man, Bec Sandridge, Cable Ties and Alex The Astronaut, just to name a few. The all-ages event takes over Parramatta Park 18 Nov.

Alex The Astronaut

Emily Wurramara

90,000 The amount of new voters added to the electoral roll between when the marriage equality postal plebiscite was announced and the deadline before the roll closed – a number expected to be higher as more transactions are processed.

8 • THE MUSIC • 30TH AUGUST 2017

We Are The Youth TEDxYouth@Sydney is back for the fourth year and taking place at Sydney Town Hall on 6 Sep. There’s a huge range of speakers and performers from Afterpay founder Nick Molnar to beloved singer Emily Wurramara.

Arts / Li Music / Arts / Lifestyle / Culture

Frontlash High Five

Beautiful Beast

From Wednesday, Fabulous Beast are presenting their critically acclaimed adaption of Swan Lake / Loch na hEala at Sydney Opera House. Director Michael KeeganDolan’s re-imagining is a fusion of live music, traditional Irish folklore and contemporary dance.

Four out of the top five on the ARIA Album charts are Aussie acts, including Gang Of Youths at #1. Glad to see we like more than just Ed Sheeran.

Back On Track

Where and when? For more gig details go to theMusic.com.au

George Clinton

Great to see Brian Johnson back on stage after his hearing issues, joining Muse for a rendition of AC/DC’s classic Back In Black.

Go Go ACCC

Parliament Grouse

Lashes

It’s one small step for scalping – ticket reseller Viagogo is being taken to court by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission.

Gang Of Youths. Pic via @aria_official

Legendary funk musician George Clinton and his iconic back-up, Parliament Funkadelic, have added extra Sydney and Melbourne 50th Anniversary shows to complement their appearance at Queensland’s Caloundra Music Festival this September.

Backlash

Vote No For Vote No

Vote No Australia – Marriage Plebiscite used a pic of Meghan Trainor without authorisation to promote their campaign. Trainor, however, soon slapped them down over Twitter saying she did indeed support marriage equality.

Everybody Needs

Good Neighbours Summer Sesh

Wolfmother

Australia’s “biggest horsepower party”, Summernats, has announced its music line-up for 2018, securing stalwart acts Wolfmother, 28 Days and Thundamentals to bring the nonexhaust-related noise in January.

Why does Australia want it all? It’s been announced we will again compete in Eurovision next year, yet we also want a part of the recently announced Eurovision Asia. Competing at the latter makes much more sense to us.

The American Entertainment Network Not sure how to take US TV Network CBS taking over Channel Ten. Will American content just pour onto the channel now?

THE MUSIC • 30TH AUGUST 2017 • 9

To read the full interview head to theMusic.com.au

Music

Calling Out Muthafuckers Cedric Bixler-Zavala has “always known shit was broken”. He chats with Bryget Chrisfield about our right to “call bullshit” on misogynistic lyrics and how At The Drive In owed it to their kids to re-form.

edric Bixler-Zavala is in Austin, Texas at the time of our chat and says he’s spent the last couple of days “hanging out with [his] kids and just being a dad”. On whether becoming a dad has made him more conscious of the type of music he wants to put out into the world, Bixler-Zavala muses, “It just sort of made me wanna put out even more of the kind of stuff that, I guess, rubs people the wrong way [laughs]... Having kids, I know that when they get old enough I want them to look back at what dad was doing at 42 years old so that they understand that being young is just a frame of mind and that, even at 42, I had a bone to pick with the world, hahaha.” When asked whether he feels a sense of responsibility, as an artist, to address injustice and call out bullshit, At The Drive In’s lead singer posits, “I think lately there’s an overflowing sort of funeral march of armchair coaches that are really chiming in

10 • THE MUSIC • 30TH AUGUST 2017

after the battle is lost, politically speaking, and I guess I’m just part of a group of people that has always known shit was broken. “You can’t travel America without noticing that racism has always been there, you know? I always use the term, ‘Never get off the boat,’ just like in Apocalypse Now when the chef gets off to take a leak and he gets attacked by a tiger — that’s the South, you know? And that’s certain parts of America, and it’s broken... But sometimes there are days where shit gets to you, and you say something, and you want people to wake up, you know? But then you always run the risk of saying some of the important things that are not very popular, and then you’re not very popular and you’re considered a conspiracy theorist — or you’re considered part of the Right... In no way do I condone or promote the current status quo with running the country, but we live in a very dangerous age where the Left seems to be very irresponsible in their rhetoric, and doesn’t wanna really listen to what the fuck’s going on, and it can be disheartening. And it can be really soul-shattering, you know, when people wanna fuckin’ namecheck George Orwell knowing full well that if you actually READ 1984 it was about how the Left was in charge and how shit got fucked up on their dime. So I just want to be able to have moments where I can provide a little bit of sanctuary for somebody who feels alienated by any fuckin’ political view.

“If someone’s out at our show and they’re transgender or they’re gay, I want them to know that they’re more than welcome to be at our show.” After pointing out that “some serious weirdos” have always come to At The Drive In shows, Bixler-Zavala quickly clarifies, “They’ve always been called weirdos and I don’t see them as weirdos”. Circling back to the original question regarding issues he typically feels compelled to tackle through song, Bixler-Zavala states, “I don’t wanna be Rage Against The Machine, that’s Rage Against The Machine, you know? I don’t wanna be Los Crudos, Los Crudos did a good job of doing that shit, you know? And, for the most part, I like to write cryptic riddles that’ll affect you years down the line.” When told about the Camp Copespearheaded It Takes One campaign designed to improve safety and encourage audience members to speak up and call out antisocial behaviour at gigs, Bixler-Zavala extols, “Thank god, that’s an important thing to have”. “I particularly have a bone to pick with shit like that and so I hope no one acts up like that at one of our concerts, because if I ever found out I would probably be very violent to the person [laughs]... My wife has gone through some crazy shit with sexual assault and so it hits home really, really close. And so I really try to look out for my fellow audience members and my fellow band members... I see a band like War On Women play at the Warped tour and at first I think to myself, ‘Why

the fuck would you play the Warped tour?’ And it’s like, ‘Oh, it’s actually genius! You’re not gonna go and tour on your own and preach to the converted, you’re gonna go to the heart of the lion’s den and you’re gonna call out muthafuckers; and muthafuckers like that need to be called out.’ “So you have a band like The Dickies playing and The Dickies who, you know, for all intents and purposes have made a career out of, like, you know, adolescent humour and it’s funny when you’re 14, it’s funny when you’re 13, and then you kinda grew up and grew out of it. And you always see like, ‘Oh, okay, it’s The Dickies!’ And if a girl calls out The Dickies and The Dickies end up calling her a cunt, because she’s speaking her voice, then that’s fucking wrong. It’s like a grown man can’t have a fucking woman call out his fucking age-old bullshit and misogyny, and so that issue really hits home to me; you know, it’s not even an issue of whether you’re being politically correct, it’s like, ‘Can’t someone speak up without you losing your shit and being a fucking asshole?’” After considering what the future holds for bands such as The Dickies and Steel Panther, Bixler-Zavala concludes, “I don’t think you should ever outlaw it, I don’t think you should censor it, but I do think you should have the right to be able to call bullshit on it, you know? Like, if you’re gonna play some fucked-up shit and have a fucked-up message then you’re gonna have to expect someone to challenge you on it... People need to grow on their own, you know; no one likes to be told what to like or what to listen to — that makes it even more alluring.” Bixler-Zavala puts forward Geto Boys as an example of a band he “absolutely loved” back in the day, before admitting, “Now when I listen back to it I cringe at some of the fuckin’ shit that they’re saying, you know? But we live in a time and age where they should be able to handle if a woman comes up and says, ‘Why are you talkin’ this stoopid fuckin’ shit? Why are you making rape funny?’ you know? That should be a legitimate conversation

Fire Walk With Me

without someone feeling like,” he pauses to laugh, exasperated, “hurt over it. That’s what’s amazing: there’s a lot of males who just can’t handle a woman talking back to them, you know? And that’s what’s amazing to me, is: that’s when you see the mark of a true man is to see ‘im crumble under any kind of a — just being challenged, really.” After announcing their re-formation back in January 2016 via a banner on At The Drive In’s website, the band barged back into our eardrums with Governed By Contagions, a brand new song and our first taste of new material from the fivesome since their Relationship Of Command album (2000). When asked whether there were any offers that came knocking during At The Drive In’s extended break that actually tempted the band, Bixler-Zavala reveals, “People always came up to us and did offers, you know — soft, sort of, person-to-person offers — and we would always kind of get, like, insulted in a way, like, ‘You gotta talk to five of us and, you know, b) we’re doing this band currently called Mars Volta,’ you know,” he laughs. The At The Drive In lead singer continues, “Then [in] 2015, 2016 we were just finally — us — being like, ‘WHY is it so fucking difficult? Like, we’re 40! These problems, these imaginary problems, are such bullshit.’ We had kids, like, we owe it to our kids — not even financially, but yeah that’s part of the trickle-down effect — as an adult to lead by example and be like, ‘See? Dad can be a grown-up and get along with his friends,’ haha, you know? And put stoopid issues to the side and understand that life is very short.” Regarding inter-band beefs, Bixler-Zavala opines, “It may just sound very ephemeral, or just not a big deal, like, ‘Oh, you looked at me a certain way on tour’ — it’s not! You’re a gang that grows up and gets discovered, and thrown into the spotlight... I mean, imagine being 25, or even 30, and magazines throwin’ some fuckin’ bullshit trip, like, you’re supposed to be somewhat near something like Nirvana... You back away even though other people are tellin’ you like, ‘Noooo, you worked so hard to

At The Drive In performed at the House Of Vans event at this year’s South By Southwest, about which Cedric Bixler-Zavala enthuses, “I haven’t done a South By Southwest in a while and then to do [the show] there at The Mohawk was really great, because we had played... around six years ago there and I remember fucking around on stage, and grabbing the fire extinguisher and shooting the audience with it. And I should’ve

If a girl calls out The Dickies and The Dickies end up calling her a cunt, because she’s speaking her voice, then that’s fucking wrong. get here!’ And it’s like, ‘No, this is the human quality about the band that you like, is the fact that at any moment... we can pull the trigger on it and say, ‘Fuck you all. NO!’ So, if anything, we kept to our promise to each other that if shit was funky in the band that we needed to take six months off... You just gotta follow your heart. Because fatigue can fuckin’ get the best of you when you’re 30, or even 25, and people are puttin’ such a stoopid, heavy trip on a rock band.” Having risen to prominence pre-internet, Bixler-Zavala bemoans its “shitty kind of cheating elements”. “I see people being like, ‘I’m just gonna post a weird little Instagram flier and then if people don’t come then they’re the problem’.” Bixler-Zavala then shares some sound advice he intends to pass on to his kids to drive the point home: “You have to eat shit before you ever taste caviar, because eating shit is amazing and it builds fucking character and, you know, puts hair on your fuckin’ chest and, you know, toughens up those calluses. And it makes you a true pirate of the I-10 highway.”

When & Where: 29 Sep, Hordern Pavilion; 1 Oct, Yours & Owls Festival, Wollongong

instantly been jailed for that, but the people that run The Mohawk are so down to earth and I think they’ve just gone way back with our band and were just like, ‘Hey man, it’s fucking Cedric, I guess.’ And so then when we played again, that’s the first thing I told all the stage hands was like, ‘Thank you for being understanding and not callin’ the cops on me, because that could’ve been really bad, you know.’ And then we played and it was SO much fun! I was tryin’a

get people in for free ‘cause it’s such a clusterfuck when it comes to those things. And so I remember walking into the back and just grabbing people, left and right, like, ‘Walk in with me, walk in — just go! Go! Go!’ ‘Cause I always like doing that for people.”

THE MUSIC • 30TH AUGUST 2017 • 11

Music

Face Time Try Not To Freak Out, but Norway’s Slotface are making their debut trip to Oz with their debut LP. Rod Whitfield makes plans with singer Haley Shea.

orwegian band Slotface appear to like pop and punk music in pretty close to equal measures, if their music, attitude and general aesthetic are anything to go by. And when this concept is put to explosive frontwoman Haley Shea, she is quick to agree. “Yes, I think that’s definitely fair,” Shea says, speaking from her home in Stavanger, Norway. “Musically, we’re obviously more of a pop band and a rock band, but we’re very inspired by, and try to take part in, the punk ethos of the DIY attitude, doing things yourself and standing up for things you believe in.

And this plays into the title of the record. “The album deals with the anxieties of being in your mid20s,” she reveals, “and not knowing what you’re going to do with your life. So it’s pretty much just our mantra to ourselves, that hopefully other people can relate to, too, just reminding yourself to keep it all together. But we also thought it was kind of a cheeky first album title, we’re self-deprecating enough to think that Try Not To Freak Out is a good joke.” Slotface will be here in Australia for the first time in early September. It will be the first time for any member of the band to visit our shores in any capacity and Shea has a philosophical way of looking at the fact that they will spend approximately 35 hours in transit just getting here. “We’re consoling ourselves with the fact that it will be on an aeroplane, because we’ve done drives that have been that long without stopping or sleeping. At least on a plane you can lay down, watch movies, someone serves you food and so on,” she laughs.

It’s pretty much just our mantra to ourselves, that hopefully other people can relate to, too, just reminding yourself to keep it all together. Shea tells us that the band plans ahead and sets longer term goals for themselves to a certain extent, while still being flexible and allowing things to unfold the way they will. “Right now we’re operating on one- to two-year plans,” she says, “where the next six months are super-specific and then it gets a little bit vague after that. This is the life of a musician: you have superdetailed plans for a few months and then it’s a bit of a black hole, because you hope that everything works out the way you want.”

“So we like to think that our lifestyle is more punk and our actual music is more pop.” The band have only been together for about five years and they are just about to release their debut album Try Not To Freak Out. Many bands go to extraordinary lengths to complete their first record, and Slotface is certainly one of these. “We’re all still at university, so we all took six months off and moved back in with our parents,” she says with a mock shudder, “just to be able to finish a full album. We were very strict with ourselves about wanting to write as much as possible and then keep cutting it back.” 12 • THE MUSIC • 30TH AUGUST 2017

When & Where: 6 Sep, Oxford Art Factory

105 VICTORIA RD, MARRICKVILLE

FACTORYTHEATRE .COM.AU

THE MUSIC • 30TH AUGUST 2017 • 13

Music

A Weighty Process Miffed Swift

Well, it seems like pop antihero Taylor Swift is done with subtlety and subtext, and has decided to use her sweet bangers as a place to vent some spleen. Or at least that’s the case with her latest single Look What You Made Me Do, a salty-sweet diss track that seems pretty unequivocally aimed at arch nemesis Yeezy, although any number of double crossers could be in Swifty’s firing line. And this seems to be an omen of things to come. The fact that her new album is titled Reputation, coupled with her reclamation of the snake imagery (sorry smiley poop emoji, you’re about to get knocked off the most-used top spot by old mate snake), seems to be an indication that Swift is kicking ass and taking names. Let us cast our discerning eyes towards the vid for Look What You Made Me Do. It’s not so much symbolic as it is downright blatant. Zombie Swift clawing her way out of a grave marked Taylor Swift’s Reputation… well, like we said, subtlety is off the menu. But, to her credit, the whiff of scandal swirling around this track has definitely worked to super-charge its drop. So, next time you’re thinking of releasing a single, make sure you get some juicy beef up and running with one of the Kardashians. And you can have that tip for free.

14 • THE MUSIC • 30TH AUGUST 2017

For Kim Churchill, his fifth album was all about shedding the excess and creating an album that focused on honesty and authenticity. He shares the process with Jessica Dale.

lot of people know Kim Churchill for his 2014 hit, Window To The Sky. It came in 42nd position in the Hottest 100 and was all over the radio that summer. Chances are most people would know at least the chorus, and equal chances are that a lot more people may not know that the ‘overnight success’ was the result of Churchill having released three albums previously before Silence/Win broke through. “It was kind of a nice payoff after so many years of work to have a song that just really stood up on its own legs and just walked off into the sunset, taking my career with it, in a good way,” laughs Churchill. “So that was really cool. It was nice and it was a good confidence builder for me, like to know that I could write songs that resonate like that. I definitely felt a bit of pressure coming into this next album.” “I think that you know, when a song does something like Window To The Sky did, or what any single/hit/whatever you want to call it has, it’s a life of its own, it’s its own little micro-environment and there are so many variables that will never happen again and are totally enigmatic, so there’s no point trying to sit down and construct that. It just

happens if you’re lucky and if the stars align. But it took me a while to [realise that], and that’s why this album took me so long, because it was just kind of getting over trying to top that. Or trying to build some idea in my head that Window To The Sky was somehow better than a lot of other stuff that I’ve done, and it’s not, really. Like I didn’t even think it was the best song on the album, it just got picked up.” The new album Churchill refers to is his latest, Weight Falls. It was an interesting process for Churchill; he wrote an entire album, over an 18-month period, then at the last moment decided to scrap it and start over - he re-wrote, reworked and re-produced what would become his fifth studio album in just on a week. “I was feeling the pressure, and it was coming through in the music a bit. That other album is just very big, very grand, very powerful and bold for sure, but I just wanted something a bit more calm, I think, just trying a little less. It was very liberating, very odd, turbulent time to can an entire album like that, but it felt good and I wrote a new album in a week,” he explains. “I think if you’ve been lying to yourself for long enough, when you finally tell yourself the truth, you can really connect with honesty for a bit. You know, you can see everything clearly... You just interact with it with a deep sense of honesty with everything you do for a little bit, because you’ve been deprived of it for so long. And I wrote a lot of those songs in the week following that and I was really lucky; a very liberated little time.”

What: Weight Falls (Warner) When & Where: 14 Sep, Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle; 15 Sep, Uni Bar, Wollongong; 16 Sep, Street Theatre, Canberra; 20 Oct, Factory Theatre; 7 - 9 Dec, Festival Of The Sun, Port Macquarie

THE MUSIC • 30TH AUGUST 2017 • 15

Music

Use The Force Dominic Howard from Muse talks Bryget Chrisfield through drunken lightsaber battles, “trouser wafting” subbass and what being a left-handed drummer is good for.

urfing the net while preparing to interview Dominic Howard, this scribe stumbled upon some footage of the Muse drummer engaging in some kind of rooftop lightsaber battle. Is he able to please explain? Dominic laughs, sounding a tad embarrassed, and falters, “Yeah, oh, l, we were just — I guess we had just played in New York and then we went out for a party, and we ended up in someone’s apartment, you know, in this block in New York City with, like, this great view looking out over the city and someone had some lightsabers there [laughs] — some professional lightsabers. So we were just kind of a bit drunk at the party and swingin’ ‘em around, you know, and, as you do, everyone got their phones out and started Instagramming.

I probably need a bit more practice with the old saber.

“I mean, I was actually surprisingly shit,” he marvels. “I think I thought I was gonna be some kind of awesome swordsman — I thought I was just gonna, like, literally channel the force, but I actually didn’t know what the fuck I was doing, haha. So I probably need a bit more practice with the old saber.” When it’s suggested to Howard that perhaps the force isn’t available to use when you’re shitfaced, Howard opines, “Pretty sure Luke Skywalker was sober as a judge”. We take it Howard is a Star Wars fan, then. “I am a Star Wars fan, yeah, absolutely; a BIG Star Wars fan,” he confirms. Although Howard is a left-handed drummer, he first started playing drums on a right-handed kit until he signed up for drum lessons “for about a week or something 16 • THE MUSIC • 30TH AUGUST 2017

when [he] was at school”. “The guy was like, ‘No, you’ve gotta change it all around’,” he recounts. But having to customise right-handed kits to accommodate his needs did work to Howard’s advantage in some situations, he tells. “What it was good for was when we were first startin’ out in the band, we’d do all these shows in small clubs and stuff like that, and you always had to, like, share a drum kit with whoever the headline band was. And that person never wanted you to touch their kit, ‘cause they were so proud and precious of their lovely drum kit and don’t want you messin’ around with it,” he laughs. And I’m like, ‘Well I’m left-handed, mate, so I’ve gotta, like, completely take it to bits and rebuild it the other way ‘round,’ and they’re like, ‘Oh, no way! You can just use your own drum kit’. So it was a good way of actually being able to use my own drum kit for those early gigs.” Muse dropped a new single, Dig Down, back in May and one can only imagine just how much this song’s warped-synth bassline vibrates up through the venue’s floorboards/seats during live performances. “There’s a lot of sub when we play it live,” Howard attests. “So there’s a lot of kind of, you know, trouser wafting going on [laughs].” On whether Muse have written any more new songs since Dig Down, Howard reveals, “We’re workin’ on ideas at the moment, actually... We’re gonna hopefully start recording soon and certainly towards the end of this year before we come to Australia, for sure... So we just need to kind of get together and flesh out the ideas and see what they are, but, you know, the ball’s rolling as far as, like, getting more tracks together and releasing an album.” We discuss how what fans consider new material may not necessarily feel new to the band if they’ve been working on a song for months (or even years), and Howard admits, “That’s happened before; that’s kind of why we made the decision — many years ago — to kind of not really create or record much music while we’re touring. Because we used to play new songs on the road, but by the time we ended up coming around to the album, that new song felt like an old song even though it’s, you know, unreleased and new [to fans]. And I think, in the past, there’s been a few songs that didn’t make albums, because even though they were actually, like, probably pretty good — and could’ve been better if we’d spent more time on [them] — they get shunned away because they’re a bit too old.” When asked whether Muse have performed in any countries for the first time on this tour, Howard shares, cou “Well, for the first time we actually went to China, last year, “We and Thailand, actually... on this last tour, which is great! Because it’s amazing to kind of — we’ve been around to many places around the world, so it’s always real nice to go to a country you’ve never been to and, like, play to some people that you’re pretty sure have never seen you before. So, yeah, we did a coupla gigs in China and that was great, really cool, and, yeah! First time playing in Thailand as well, strangely — also amazing so, yeah! It’s great.” We’re curious to find out whether the band had to submit their setlists for pre-approval in accordance with China’s censorship laws. “Um, I mean,” Howard hesitates. “Yeah, it’s a different place,” he laughs uncomfortably. So did they have to make any changes? “No, it’s fine, yeah.” It’s fine? “That’s right.”

When & Where: 16 Dec, Qudos Bank Arena

Music

Ready To Rosenstock

Ahead of his Australian tour, Jessica Dale caught up with Jeff Rosenstock on everything from kids’ tv shows to the state of US politics to new side project albums.

eff Rosenstock is probably one of the busiest people in music. He’s just wrapped up a huge 29-date North American tour, represents one-half of Antarctigo Vespucci (his band with Fake Problem’s Chris Farren), is writing music for an upcoming show on Cartoon Network, is the founder of the first ever donation-based record label Quote Unquote Records, and he’s somehow found time to head back to Australia for a 12-show stint this September. When we caught up with Rosenstock a few weeks back, he admits his day has been “interesting” in light of recent events in the US. “This morning I wrote a theme song for a cartoon that I’m making music for, and this afternoon I saw the President of my country defend white power. So... my day’s kinda fucked!” he says half joking, though you can hear that the situation is weighing on him. “There’s like, bad stuff happening [everywhere]. But, you know, America is an innovator and we’ve managed to leapfrog everybody in absolutely shitty times and dogshit decisions and do something really bad. It’s wild. It must seem nuts from over there; it seems nuts from over here too. “I’m sorry that it’s a thing that I’m talking about, it’s just a weird thing that’s been kinda on the front of my mind. Like, I saw that video

like 30 minutes before I started doing a bunch of interviews,” he laughs. “There’s this Australian tour that I’m really excited about! But it’s just like, can’t stop thinking about it.” We move onto the fact that Rosenstock has been here a number of times in the past few years — besides regularly touring, he also produced The Smith Street Band’s Throw Me In The River in Forrest, Victoria in 2014. “I feel like an honorary Aussie, I’ve lived there for months at a time,” he jokes. Rosenstock is affable, especially given the topic of the day, and talk eventually comes back to the topic of the cartoon, though he’s not sure how much he can say that this stage. “I know that it’s called Craig Of The Creek... It’s going to be on Cartoon Network and I’m just super excited about it. I don’t think I can say anything else because I don’t know anything else for sure,” he laughs. “Except that I sent them a theme song today so, in theory, nobody’s pulling my leg and I am actually writing music for a cartoon!” In between his extensive tours and producing gigs, Rosenstock has also found some time to record the next Antarctigo Vespucci album with Farren, with the pair sharing the process across their social media accounts a few months back. “There’s definitely an Antarctigo Vespucci record coming out next year, and I’m always writing so you never really know what can happen... Yeah, I think next summer that should come out. And then in between I’m writing music for this cartoon, so I’m getting to do a lot of cool stuff right now.”

When & Where: 3 Sep, Sounds Of The Suburbs; 5 Sep, Rad Bar, Wollongong; 6 Sep, Beatdisc Records, Parramatta; 7 Sep, Metro Theatre; 8 Sep, Hamilton Station Hotel, Newcastle; 11 Sep, Transit Bar, Canberra

High Times

Stream giant Netflix are already, overwhelmingly so, the preferred option for streaming TV. But not content to rest of their considerable laurels, the TV juggernaut has only gone and co-created its very own strains of the sweet Mary J, the magic herb, the good green weed! That’s right folks, Netflix is peddling drugs – but this specially produced marijuana will only be available in West Hollywood, will only be available to people with a medical marijuana card, and will only be in limited supplies. If the fact we won’t be getting a taste of the goods Down Under isn’t sad enough, Netflix has taken this inspired marketing plan to the next level, by creating strains tailored specifically for its original programming. That’s right people, TV themed weed. “Each strain was cultivated with the specific shows in mind, designed to complement each title based on their tone. For example, sillier shows may be more indica dominant, while dramedies will be more sativa dominant to help the more powerful scenes resonate,” Netflix said in a statement. So there you have it, the future of TV isn’t 3D or ultrahigh-def, but getting stoned off your chops before even flick on the goggle box. It’s a great time to be alive! THE MUSIC • 30TH AUGUST 2017 • 17

Eat / Drink Eat/Drink

you matcha me crazy

The Mixer

Cross-contamination is usually a reason to run for the hills — or at least the nearest rest room. But when it’s a culture cross, you get matcha affogato. The MA combines the best of two worlds to put a pep in your step - a shot of pure and good matcha green tea dripping down creamy swirls of organic softserve ice cream is a simple yet indulgent treat that won’t piss your PT off.

Fellow foodies, don’t be frightened when your waffles, pancakes or even burger bun is served up to you as green as a Dr Seuss’s eggs. No, it’s not a freaky kind of mould, it’s just matcha-madness giving your meals their leafy hue. By Bree Chapman.

The Sweet-Tooth Spend ten minutes on Pinterest and you’ ll find that matcha treats are all the rage. It’s all been health-Hulked; pretzels, scones, cookies, doughnuts, even the fluffy foundation of any Aussie gathering — the pavlova. Parties, birthdays, holidays — all are made more bearable by the creamy cloud-like dessert. But just ‘cause the pav’s a national treasure that doesn’t mean you can’t spice it up a little — for your next shindig don’t stop with just a nice fruit pattern, take it one step further and go green.

The Early Riser Looking for a way to achieve that Instagram-perfect morning routine? Here it is — the green matcha and quinoa coconut bowl. Sound like a mouthful? Indeed it is, a mouthful of the healthiest (and perhaps blandest) grains and seeds that can be pulled from the earth. This dish is not for faint of heart health hobbyists, so don’t feel inadequate if the uber-healthy brekkie bowl has you thinking “how much matcha is too matcha?” Sure does make for a good photo, though.

The Boozer With the spring fast approaching everyone has fun in the sun on the brain. But how do you get your matcha fix in the heat? Matchainfused alcohol that’s how. From sangria to a nice cold beer, it all tastes better green. So on your next beach trip, ditch the ginger beers and instead throw cucumber and apple slices into some white wine with just a dash of green tea and vodka. As for the beer, it might look a bit like a glassful of pond, but matcha makes for a tasty, mildly bitter draught that’s just a little bit creamy. 18 • THE MUSIC • 30TH AUGUST 2017

In Focus Trold haugen Pic: Josh Groom

With their new album IDIO+SYNCRASIES due Friday, Troldhaugen are heading out on a short tour of NSW and the ACT, kicking off on album release day at Valve Bar. You’ll only get a short window of opportunity to catch them live around the album’s release though, as they’re taking their folk-prog-circus-metal hybrid off to Europe in September and October, supporting pirate metallers Alestorm.

THE MUSIC • 30TH AUGUST 2017 • 19

Antidote Festival

Poetry In Motion Poet and theatre-maker Inua Ellams has a tortured past, and yet he’s still looking on the bright side of life. He tells Maxim Boon about his extraordinary journey.

nua Ellams was 12 when he and his family fled their native Nigeria. Born to a Muslim father and Christian mother, his parents’ differing faiths was a dangerous combination in a country where elements of fundamentalist Islam flourished. Threats were made, an uncle disappeared in suspicious circumstances, and the Ellams family were left with a single bleak choice: stay or survive. Twenty years on, Ellam is now based in London in the UK, were his family arrived as refugees in the early ‘90s. A celebrated poet, with four published collections to his name, a theatre-maker who has produced a series of stage works for the National

reading, this witty, charming, eye-opening show reveals the humanity behind a topic that has become one of the most divisive in the political zeitgeist. “Poetry saved my life. It is the cheapest way to be free. It’s good at painting pictures, at giving images that are clear, that are precise, that are detailed. And it’s good at presenting a truth and letting the audience make up their own minds. It’s a great way to bring compassion and empathy and emotion to the forefront of a listener’s mind,” Ellams shares. “Poetry is one of the things that people tend to hold onto in times of emotional stress: births, deaths, marriages, trauma, selfhealing, self-care, et cetera. I think that’s why it works in the context of this show. I don’t do much. I don’t show you films, I don’t just give you stats or figures. All I say is, ‘This is what happened,’ in a language that is clear and that is precise, which the audience will listen to and populate their own images and their own imaginations. And in doing so, they paint themselves into my world.” This production may draw on two decades worth of experiences, starting its narrative long before the pugnacious political grandstanding that has given rise to Brexit, Trump’s travel ban and Manus Island in recent memory. But Ellams is nonetheless acutely aware of how pointedly relevant his poetry has become in the current geopolitical climate, and how important it is, now more than ever, for the stories of immigrants to be championed.

Poetry saved my life. It is the cheapest way to be free.

Theatre, and an internationally in-demand speaker, Inua’s accomplishments have earned him a plentiful supply of acclaim and success. He’s even attended a Royal garden party at the invitation of Her Majesty the Queen. And yet, despite this glowing recognition, the United Kingdom’s Home Office refuses to recognise Ellams, or the rest of his family, as British citizens. With only discretionary leave to remain, he must apply to extend his stay in Britain every three years, and even though he has lived in the country for more than two decades, there are no guarantees that his applications will be successful. His next extension request is due in December. Ellam shares his experiences of life as a refugee in An Evening With An Immigrant. Part lecture, part poetry

20 • THE MUSIC • 30TH AUGUST 2017

Ellams’ story is one born of violence and displacement, that chimes with dark forces working in the world today. And yet, it is far from bleak. Delivered with disarming charm and buoyant humour, An Evening With An Immigrant is an uplifting statement about the power of an irrepressible spirit. “I didn’t think of my family’s experience, having to leave Nigera, as being particularly grim at the time. I was a kid, and I was too young to see it in that kind of objective way. They were just things that happened to our family. We just had to move on and get on with life,” he says. “There was a recent survey which said that Nigerians are the happiest people on earth. And there’s grinding poverty in Nigeria, particularly Lagos, particularly in the north where I was born. But people just get on with life. Sometimes because they don’t know any better, they don’t know to be jealous about things that they don’t know they don’t have. And that was my story. Personally, I need very little to create: just a piece of paper and pen — and even that is optional. Other than that, all I need is a place to live in the world.”

What: An Evening With An Immigrant When & Where: 3 Sep, Sydney Opera House, part of the Antidote Festival

Antidote Festival

The Best Of The Rest At Antidote The Sydney Opera House-hosted festival of ideas, art and action is bursting with hard-hitting, uncompromising and fiercely intelligent work. We’ve selected some of the must-see highlights.

The End Of Protest

Real Fake News: The Onion Live The editors behind the side-splitting satirical news organisation, The Onion, will be lifting the veil on their hilarious antics as they lampoon current affairs with their trademark sardonic wit. They’ll also be discussing the role of satire in the political mainstream in a time when even the most

exaggerated comical send-up can fall short of the topsy-turvy reality. Expect plenty of Trump talk and LOLs-aplenty during this fascinating inside look at the world’s most ferocious peddlers of fake news. When & Where: 2 Sep, Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House

The co-founder of activist supergroup Occupy, Micah White, reflects on the state of protest in an age where demonstrations are more frequent, more populated, and in many instances, more dangerous than at any other time in our civilisation’s history. Does contemporary activism work, or has become more spectacle than substance? How can we transform protest into social revolution? How can we build on the momentum of demonstrations and preserve the power of protest beyond the placards and chants? These are some of the questions with the most heat for the #Resist generation. When & Where: 3 Sep, Playhouse, Sydney Opera House

and must be within the law. If a collective decision can’t be made, not one cent gets invested. This fascinating examination of wealth versus conscience has been staged in cities around the world, including in Melbourne last year, and the results have varied massively. So what will Sydney’s sense of civic duty reveal? Only one way to find out...

Creating Online Chaos Social media: digital revolution or scourge of society? Well, both. Kinda. In this provocative talk featuring some of Australia’s most vocal digital pundits — including Van Badham (pictured), Tim Highfield and Celeste Liddle — our increasingly complex digital habits will come under scrutiny When & Where: 3 Sep, Studio, Sydney Opera House

The Money

When & Where: 2 — 3 Sep, Utzon Room, Sydney Opera House

Part game, part theatre, part social experiment, The Money asks its audience to decide how to spend a ton of cash. Sounds easy? There’s a catch: the decision must be unanimous THE MUSIC • 30TH AUGUST 2017 • 21

Music

Never Sever After 20 years at the musical coalface with UK veterans Placebo, frontman Brian Molko tells Steve Bell how connecting with the legions of outcasts who constitute their fanbase is what keeps the fires burning.

or nearly 12 months now revered UK alterna-rockers Placebo have been undertaking an exercise in both nostalgia and community to celebrate the 20-year anniversary of their eponymous debut album, which first hit the shelves back in mid-1996. Titled simply the 20 Years Of Placebo tour, the celebration finds the band delving deep into their extensive seven-album back catalogue to dust off some fan favourites that had been essentially retired from the live realm, and now it’s finally reaching Australia to let local fans join the festivities.

Jesus, you might as well be watching cardboard cut-outs.

“It’s been going since last October, and it’s going to take us until at least until the end of this October, and then we’re going to start discussing what our plans are going to be for 2018,” offers Placebo founder and frontman Brian Molko. “It’s been a roaring success we’ve exhumed a bunch of songs from the graveyard that we swore we’d never play again, and it’s all going down a storm with the crowd. “On an artistic level it’s been an extremely successful venture, in terms of communion with our audience: some of them, the teens and the 20s, have never heard us play songs like Nancy Boy and Pure Morning live at all, and the 22 • THE MUSIC • 30TH AUGUST 2017

older fans haven’t heard those songs in ten years. The whole thing is a celebratory experience.” Although on a personal level Molko himself doesn’t seem completely ecstatic about reviving these early hits. “It’s been educational,” he laughs. “I suppose that I’ve come to terms with the songs that I’d buried - that I didn’t want to sing anymore - and I’ve come to appreciate their spontaneity and their naivety, rather than just dismissing them as sophomoric.” Molko explains that he and co-founding bassist Stefan Olsdal usually prefer to keep the Placebo live show fresh and exciting because they’re fully invested in the experience. “I don’t have confidence in a great deal of things in my life, but I have an unfaltering confidence in the ability of Placebo to put on an amazing live rock’n’roll show, because we give a shit!” he enthuses. “That’s the whole point, we really fucking give a shit, and every fucking time we step onto that stage we’re giving 100% of what we can give at that given time. “Some bands walk on and they phone it in and just get it done - have you ever seen the fucking Kings Of Leon? Jesus, you might as well be watching cardboard cut-outs on a stage and play the record - but we’re up there and we give a shit, and this connection with the audience feeds our soul, so we’re always putting everything we have into the live show. No complacency complacency is forbidden in Placebo world.” And while Molko prefers looking forwards rather than backwards, the anniversary tour has allowed him to take stock of his two decades in the band. “I feel extremely privileged because it’s an amazing position to be in,” he marvels. “I’d say that I feel extremely fortunate and very, very grateful. Because this is all I know how to do! I’ve never had a job, this is all I’ve done my entire adult life. Sometimes I wonder what would happen if it all collapsed tomorrow - what the fuck would I do? I can’t drive so I can’t drive a cab, I refuse to tend bar, my computer skills are shit - I’m unemployable. This is all I got, so I put all of me into it. “It wasn’t our modus operandi at the beginning but we realised very quickly that our music made people happy, even though it can be very dark at times. And a whole community of outcasts has formed around the band, which we never expected to happen - we never set out to do that. We set out to express ourselves artistically and to try and make a living - just to pay the rent and be able to buy food was all we wanted we didn’t even set out to achieve global success, we just didn’t want to get a job in an office because that was terrifying! “But we realised really soon that we made a lot of people happy just through a lot of the tortured feelings that are in the songs, and there’s a global community now of misshapes, of square pegs in round holes, of outcasts, of people who feel like they don’t really belong to the herd. Which is exactly what myself and Stefan felt like when we were growing up, so there’s the connection.”

When & Where: 9 Sep, Qudos Bank Arena; 12 Sep, Newcastle Entertainment Centre; 14 Sep, AIS Arena, Canberra

triple j + Nicky Boy Records present

ALEXLAHEY.COM.AU

ALBUM OUT 6TH OCTOBER

Industry

NSW ACTS SET TO

BLOW UP AT BIGSOUND Winston Surfshirt Living under a rock? No! Then you already know that this Sydney stoner soul outfit are riding the biggest Next Big Thing wave of any other act on their way to this year’s BIGSOUND.

Dear Seattle Body Type

Body Type

Their beer’n’bong grunge punk is set to make Dear Seattle the next Northern Beaches band to go national... then international.

Polaris

There’s not a big market in Aus for the kinda dreamy lo-fi scuzz’n’roll that BT do so well. But there’s a lot of indie industry love out there for them and the smart money is on overseas markets.

The buzz on this Syd metalcore band is almost as loud as the band themselves. Watch them explode post-BIGSOUND.

Haiku Hands

It just feels like Lumsden’s time has come. Likely to be the country break-out star of BIGSOUND ‘17.

While a lot of Australia’s indie electronic acts are working to a formula that guarantees airplay on a certain radio station, Haiku Hands hark back to a time when dance music played by no one’s rules.

Fanny Lumsden

Ruby Fields

Brightness Ruby Fields Mark Fields’ showcases down among those that the industry is putting the highest expectations on. Expect some sort of agent/A&R tussle.

Beating Panels There is a treasure trove of speakers and panels at this year’s BIGSOUND, and here we highlight a few of the must-sees.

24 • THE MUSIC • 30TH AUGUST 2017

Colour-Coded: Culture, Creativity & Categorisation In The Music Industry For all its self-professed aspirations of diversity, the music industry remains a white male-dominated space. This panel will undoubtedly raise some incredibly important - and necessarily uncomfortable - discussion about addressing this racial and cultural imbalance, and what can be done to achieve greater equity across the board.

Being signed to I Oh You means that this Newcastle artist is already on all the right people’s radar. Get ‘em all in a room to witness his indie chops and await his next move.

The Changing Future Of Music: AI, VR, Robotics & Blockchain The technological landscape is undergoing some of the most exciting, and rapid, changes in decades, and contemporary music is not immune to its forces. Learn where the future lies for modern artists, and how they can best capitalise on new and emerging technologies to stay ahead of the pack in a crowded, competitive field.

Top Tips For BIGSOUND Delegates

NON-NSW ACTS WITH BIGSOUND BUZZ

We here at The Music have weathered many a BIGSOUND, so here we pass on a few life lessons we’ve picked up along the way.

Pace Yourself Amyl & The Sniffers

RVG

Every music industry type in Melbourne is falling over themselves to drop this sharpie punk band’s name. Post-BIGSOUND, that panic is set to spread nationwide.

With this year’s A Quality Of Mercy album making them a solid Melb favourite it’s time for the confessional post-no-wave songs of RVG to find an even wider audience.

Cub Sport

Caiti Baker There’s a reason Baker is a go-to for collabs. She’s got the chops that count. She also won the NT Song Of The Year in July. Now is her time.

Clea Cub Sport Okay, this QLD combo don’t belong on a buzz list as they have gone way beyond buzz. But with O Lord seriously heading toward Song Of The Year status, their set is going to be one of the hottest tickets in town.

Maddy Jane Just a few weeks ago everyone was suddenly talking about this Tassie singersongwriter. Go Spotify No Other Way and the song will be stuck in your head all the way to BIGSOUND.

Gender In Music: Quotas & Bridging The Confidence Gap Nearly two decades into the 21st century, we’re still a long way off achieving gender parity in the music industry. Expect a wideranging exploration of everything from the effectiveness of quotas to the importance of multi-gender representation on aspiring artists to come to the fore in this socially conscious conversation.

We’ve had this Bris singer’s Bright Blue on high rotation since it dropped earlier this year. When a quality voice is matched with songwriting this bright we expect big things.

Total Giovanni The rest of the country may be about to realise why TG are Melb’s favourite party band. We expect them to be festival hopping around the globe soonish.

Billy Davis Sharp funk faves who are so close to blowing up you can smell the nitroglycerin.

BIGSOUND is bigger than ever this year, and you don’t want to be the person too hungover to take meaningful part in panels and meetings by day two.

Explore The Nooks And Crannies BIGSOUND is as much an experience of discovery as it is about seeing things you already know you’ll like. Live a little. (But not too much; see point one.)

Sidewalks Not Sidetalks For Brisbane locals, there is nothing more frustrating than dodging a million industry types having Brunswick Street discussions about nothing that couldn’t be said at one of the many nearby cafes.

Please Have Loud Conversations In Public Yes, we know what we just said, but you’re going to ignore it anyway, and this just really makes our ‘Overheard At Bigsound’ pieces a lot easier to write, honestly. Help us help you.

Keynote: Tina Arena

Keynote: Archie Roach

One of the nation’s most decorated performers, Tina Arena has experienced it all in her extensive career. This talk promises to be a true eye-opener for both the fanatical and the merely curious as she discusses the state of the music industry and her remarkable journey through it over the past several decades.

Archie Roach is nothing short of an Australian music industry legend, having given a voice to countless marginalised people over a career that has spanned almost 30 years. Made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2015, he’ll open up about the role music plays as a healing and empowering force, and you don’t want to miss it.

THE MUSIC • 30TH AUGUST 2017 • 25

Sydney Fringe Festival

Fringe Benefits

Cirque Africa

Sydney Fringe Festival is once again celebrating the weird, wonderful, creative and kooky wares of some of the most original and resourceful artists in the country. Here’s our pick of some of the must see shows headed your way.

Fringe Ignite The fest’s annual opening shindig is set to be its most ambitious to date. Curated by the incomparable vocal powerhouse Ngaiire, who will also be performing at the event, this year’s Ignite will take over the Kensington St Festival Village, filling the streets with live music and performances across no less than nine stages. There will be slam poetry at The Cottage stage, circus and dance at Andiamo, and after dark, the streets will come alive with projections and light art by students at UTS. There will also be a range of tasty treats and delicious drinks to keep you fuelled-up for the fringe. When & Where: 2 Sep from 4pm, Kensington St Festival Village

26 • THE MUSIC • 30TH AUGUST 2017

Undertaking Take the plunge into a theatrical experience like no other. Critically acclaimed immersive production company, Mongrel Mouth, have created a brand new interactive production that invites the audience to take control. You’ll be able to guide your own path and build an entirely unique narrative as you explore this multisensory thriller, set within multiple rooms. The team behind the show warn punters that this is a performance suitable for adults only: “It may be disorientating, may contain nudity, extreme violence, graphic imagery, low level and strobe lighting.” When & Where: 6 - 30 Sep, HPG Festival Hub, 225 Euston Road

Silent Theatre Ever wondered what stories a hotel room could tell? Guests check into their borrowed home, a place where anything can happen behind closed doors. Devised by Fringe Festival Director, Kerri Glasscock, this dynamic piece of voyeuristic experimental performance invites its audience to eavesdrop on the guests of a hotel. Four scenes will play out as the audience look in from the street below, catching glimpses of the drama as it unfolds through windows, listening in via

Sydney Fringe Festival

Undertaking

Silent Theatre

Grumble: Love & Anger

Ngaiire

headphones. There are limited tickets to this festival highlight, so book early to avoid disappointment. When & Where: 19 - 21 Sep, The Urban Newtown, 52 - 60 Enmore Road

Cirque Africa This sensational circus experience brings 15 of Africa’s most accomplished acrobats, jugglers, stilt dancers and clowns, to Sydney. Representing six different nations, including Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Ghana, Gambia and Zimbabwe, this dynamic, relentlessly uplifting show offers a jawdropping technicolor spectacle celebrating the rich cultural diversity of the African continent. Be amazed, be inspired and be wildly entertained by this hour of world-class contemporary circus. When & Where: 9 - 30 Sep, Big Top, Sydney Park

Grumble: Love & Anger Betty Grumble has been called many things. Surrealist INSA showgirl. Obscene beauty queen. Sex clown. But in all honesty, this award-winning painted lady defies categorisation. With her trademark irreverence, outrageous makeup and megawatt sass, this show is part of Grumble’s ongoing “womanifesto.” Described as “a call to arms, a part, a protest and a long hard kiss,” Grumble will be kicking ass and taking names - you have been warned. When & Where: 14 - 16 Sep, HPG Festival Hub, 225 Euston Road

INSA

ITI artist INSA. Graffiti writer turned artist, INSA’s practice has seen him trailblazing a fusion of physical and digital art, amassing him a huge online following, with his videos achieving tens of millions of views online. Through an augmented reality app, street art will come to life in main courtyard of World Square in a body of work that asks questions about the nature of art in a world where the physical and the digitally abstract are increasingly symbiotic. When & Where: 1 - 30 Sep, World Square

This world-first interactive art exhibition celebrates the genre busting work of GIFTHE MUSIC • 30TH AUGUST 2017 • 27

OPINION Opinion

A$AP Ferg

O G F l ava s

Urban And R&B News With Cyclone

emarkably, the mixtape has endured in the digital age. The format lends itself to streaming and stealth drops, after all. As the world awaits A$AP Rocky’s third album, his industrious (and underrated!) A$AP Mob cohort A$AP Ferg (aka Darold Ferguson, Jr) has aired a second mixtape — the stopgap Still Striving. The mercurial Harlem, New York MC broke out with the song Work off the Mob’s 2012 Lord$ Never Worry mixtape. Ferguson debuted officially with Trap Lord, trademarking his East Coast take on Southern trap. But, last year, he presented an artier — and more introspective — follow-up in Always Strive And Prosper. It had EDM, jazz and Missy Elliott. Alas, aside from the Future-blessed New Level, Ferg fans weren’t down. With Still Striving, Ferguson defaults to club and street bangers. It launches with the gothic odyssey Trap And A Dream (featuring

Alex Lahey

Moderately Highbrow

s broken by Pitchfork, And and written up by The Music Theatre Foyers (but reading like something published With by the Betoota Dave Drayton Advocate): “Reddit users noted that the B-side of the Canowindra songwriter’s vinyl featured QOTSA songs intended for the B-side of their own upcoming record, Villains, including Fortress, Head Like A Haunted

Visual Art Wank

28 • THE MUSIC • 30TH AUGUST 2017

House and Un-Reborn Again.” It seems both Gordi’s Reservoir and Villains are set for release on the same day, 25 Aug, which may have contributed to the mishap. Looking ahead I’m hoping to find The National’s Sleep Well Beast closed out with a few choice cuts from the B-side of Cannabis Corpse’s Left Hand Pass (both due out 8 September), or emos The World Is A Beautiful Place And I Am No Longer Afraid To Die’s newie Always Foreign standing in for Jerry Goldsmith’s equally bleak soundscapes on the B-side of the upcoming vinyl release of the original Alien score (29 September). Finally, there’s one final potential mashup looming in October that I’d love to see come to fruition — imagine the Freudian psychoanalytic possibilities offered by Liam Gallagher’s As You Were morphing into the final five tracks Alex Lahey’s I Love You Like A Brother: Awkward Exchange, I Want U, Lotto In Reverse, Let’s Call It A Day, There’s No Money.

Drake’s Philly nemesis Meek Mill). The mixtape is heavy on guests — with the likes of Harlem vet Cam’ron (the grimy Rubber Band Man), Atlantan mumble rap prince Lil Yachty (the melodic Aww Yeah) and, fresh from blazing Lana Del Rey’s Summer Bummer, Playboi Carti (the trap-NRG Mad Man). Ironically, the single Plain Jane is one of few solo cuts — Ferguson (mischievously) namechecking Rihanna. Ferguson also brings his signature posse remixes. Having lately teamed with the Terror Squad’s Remy Ma on the DJ Khalil-helmed East Coast, here he touts an all-star remix — shedding Remy (boo!) for, among others, a welcome Busta Rhymes, Snoop Dogg and A$AP Rocky himself. And Ferguson knowingly raps, “I get a feeling they want the old Ferg / ‘Cocaine Castle’, ‘Hood Pope’ Ferg.”

The Heavy Shit Anaal Nathrakh – The Whole Of The Law

very now and then I come up Rock with a total blank on what to write With Chris here for you. I still Maric get people asking why I don’t list the going on around town like I used to, but everyone (hopefully) sees what’s happening via theGuide on theMusic.com.au or event invites on Facebook anyway. This

Metal And Hard

OPINION Opinion

column was one where inspiration was not forthcoming and I even turned to the metal news sites to see what was going on. Not much beyond the usual to be honest. As I turned back to FB however, inspiration was staring me straight in the face. The Same Sex Marriage Vote. Wait, this isn’t metal, I hear you say, but hear me out. The overwhelming majority of people that I know support it wholeheartedly because they believe, as do I, that it’s no one’s business who you love and who you want to share your life with; so why should the Government be able to stick its nose in your business and tell you otherwise? Right? I also think it’s hypocritical that they can say being gay isn’t illegal but being married if you are, is. Think of a gay couple you know, of course you know one, now, how would it impact your life if they were actually married. How would it make a difference to you? It makes all the difference to them if they choose that life path, but imagine being told you couldn’t marry your partner cause someone else (not even related to you) said so. While I said the overwhelming majority of people I know support it, I have seen some people declare their outright desire to vote against it. Sure, free country, but not if you can’t get married. The whole thing is hypocritical. How can someone who loves heavy music, the genre that above all others stands up proud for being against the norm, be willing to deny someone a freedom they have every right to have? I actually saw someone who was against it wearing a Judas Priest T-shirt, I mean come on! That right there is the very definition of hypocrisy. Metal still has a toxic masculinity problem. UK extremists, Anaal Nathrakh copped a whole heap of homophobic shit slung their way for having an image of two naked men wrestling on their album cover. Apparently, loin cloth, oiled up manly men on old metal album covers is ok, but them touching isn’t? Does it honestly affect your decision to listen to the music? The most outrageous extreme music on the planet but oh no, the cover makes me feel awkward. How truly bizarre. The bassist for US act Russian Circles is in a same sex marriage, I doubt many people know (or care) but if you decide you no longer like that band after finding such information out, then I suggest you take a good look at yourself. The whole world seems to be divided straight down the middle, you’re either on the

left or on the right, there’s no room for being moderate or a fence sitter with views into both yards. I could get all tin foil hat and say the powers that be have got what they want; us fighting among ourselves over bullshit while they get away with everything while we are distracted with what our neighbours think. In France 200 years ago, they caught onto that fact and revolted against the establishment, and won. Maybe stop concerning yourself with what other people are doing, stand back, look at the e bigger picture and see where the real problems are. Like the great Doro once said, “All We Are, All We Are We Are, We Are All...”

THE MUSIC • 30TH AUGUST 2017 • 29

Album / E Album/EP Reviews

Album OF THE Week

Jake Bugg Hearts That Strain EMI

And with that, Jake Bugg has completed his transformation to mature songwriter for mature listeners. Just 23 and now with four records under his belt, the Englishman has checked the swagger that accompanied him on his earliest releases at the door, instead channelling Paul Simon and Donovan to brilliant effect on Hearts That Strain. Once the listener comes to terms with the fact that there’s nary a distorted guitar to be heard, it quickly becomes evident that Bugg is an excellent songwriter. “In the event of my demise, pull a penny from my eyes/Heads you get my gold, tails you get my debt” (In The Event Of My Demise) is The Decemberists-esque, and the slight vibrato in Bugg’s voice is eerily similar to that band’s singer, Colin Meloy. And while Bugg’s songs are not as sweeping in scope as those of The Decemberists — the 11 tracks come in at just over 35 minutes in total — the structure of the album’s highs and lows make it a great way to spend that time. Relatively straightforward production is utilised, arrangements are guided but always leave plenty of room for the stars of the show: Bugg’s lyrics. Hearts That Strain is far from dance-worthy, but thoroughly rewarding nonetheless. Dylan Stewart

★★★★½

Cloud Control

Mogwai

Zone

Every Country’s Sun

Ivy League

Spunk/Caroline

★★★½

★★★★

The third album from the Blue Mountains trio was four years in the making and has stepped away from the dream pop that soaked their much-lauded albums Bliss Release and Dream Cave. Having lost a bass player but gained production skill (lead singer Alister Wright recorded and mixed the album) Zone reveals a band that have grown up. Returned home following a couple of years based in London, it’s no surprise that each song reflects different moods. Lead single Zone (This Is How It Feels) is retro-fitted with a wink to Kid Cudi, Treetops seems influenced by the score in Hunt For The Wilderpeople and there’s a definite New Radicals anthem sound to Rainbow City. Heidi Lenffer takes lead vocals on Panopticon and the

Historically, Glaswegian postrock icons Mogwai have built their reputation on angst-ridden arrangements of sparse, looped, guitar-driven melancholy. They turned a corner in 2011 with Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will, a triumphant record of sun-drenched powerrock blearing down from the upper atmosphere. Their new record — their ninth, and their first since 2001’s watershed album Rock Action working with producer Dave Fridmann — is not as commanding, but is perhaps more cosmic, with strange sci-fi textures bleeding in. Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will was a blown-out spectacle, and their follow-up, Rave Tapes, saw Mogwai pulling their sound apart for a closer look (with mixed results). Every Country’s Sun is the sound of a band consciously detached from

30 • THE MUSIC • 30TH AUGUST 2017

result is a funky romp through psychedelic town. The bass lead Lacuna is perhaps the closest to ‘old’ Cloud Control, lamenting the days prior to jetting away. If you try hard enough you get a sense of nostalgia and longing for the past, which is all the rage right now, but as has been the case in albums past, the Cloud Controllers never feel as if they deliberately push this theme. Rather it’s something that occurs naturally, which maintains album three’s charm. Adam Wilding

their high-browed rock-oriented past and simply enjoying themselves. The last few minutes of Crossing The Road Material is the best example of this: it’s an extended blast from rocket jet guitar chords, with a soothing ambient drone coasting along underneath, and skittish little digital sparks blooming here and there. AKA 47 could’ve been a collaboration with Boards Of Canada, with its warped edges and woozy key patterns, and Battered At A Scramble is a giddy, down-tuned Smashing Pumpkins B-side. This is Mogwai’s most thoroughly enjoyable release in a long time. Matt MacMaster

EP Reviews Album/EP Reviews

Saatsuma

Tony Buck

Contrive

Bicep

Overflow

Unearth

Slow Dissolve

Independent

Room 40

Independent

Bicep

★★★★

★★★½

The often engrossing soft collision of Cesar Rodrigues’ sometimes-retro synth noises and Memphis Kelly’s so-human voice does convince as it speaks of its needs and doubts across an entire album. In songs like the elemental Crescent, Kelly both shivers and ponders, but there’s a weight of belief there. There’s a tension through much of it — sometimes wise beyond their years, but still asking questions. With You and Isolate are songs with some solitude in them, her voice skipping, but the background electronic buzz could be the war in the protagonist’s head. Saatsuma make assured music of sincere, sometimes uncomfortable, feeling.

It’s very good — but almost indescribable. The first solo recording of The Necks’ Tony Buck in over a decade, Unearth is a single 51minute work threaded together from tiny, abstract details; with live percussive strikes rattling arrhythmically beneath swells of radio static, gongs and gurgling sub-bass (and so much more). As its title suggests, it’s an evolving and exploratory piece. But, that abstract aesthetic veils a remarkably considered structure (albeit a less linear one than casual devotees of The Necks’ live swells would expect). With a singular vocabulary, it still conveys different moods of tension, peace and growth. Again — it’s very good. But, ultimately indescribable.

It’s been a long time between drinks for the Haug brothers and their band Contrive, but with Slow Dissolve, they have pulled out a cracker. The album finds them in experimental form, untethered by the usual restrictions of heavy metal. The overriding vibe is that of groove-based old-school heavy rock and metal, but they have chosen to take a large step out into left field, exploring some interesting soundscapes amid the pounding grooves and enormous guitars. Check out mid-album instrumental The Human Game as an example. Slow Dissolve was well worth the seven-year wait.

Irish duo Bicep flex some serious muscle with the release of their eponymous debut album. They have released many 12”s over the years, but this release feels like a shift up and out of underground dance. Bicep take us back to the ‘90s with textbook examples of the classic tech house sound of the era. Insistent four-on-the-floor beats provide a framework for the nebulous synth sounds and simple melodies that dreamily weave their way in and out of the mix. It’s a chill vibe, reminiscent of Orbital, but the insistent grooves suggest killer remixes are in store for us.

Rod Whitfield

Guido Farnell

Ross Clelland

Ninja Tune/Inertia

Matt O’Neill

More Reviews Online Citizen Kay Belly Of The Beast

theMusic.com.au

Gogol Bordello Seekers And Finders

Listen to our This Week’s Releases playlist on

THE MUSIC • 30TH AUGUST 2017 • 31

Live Re Live Reviews

The Jungle Giants @ Enmore Theatre. Pic: Josh Groom

The Jungle Giants, Lastlings Enmore Theatre 26 Aug

Jen Cloher @ Oxford Art Factory. PIc: Belinda Dipalo

The Jungle Giants @ Enmore Theatre. Pic: Josh Groom

Jen Cloher @ Oxford Art Factory. PIc: Belinda Dipalo

Kehlani @ Enmore Theatre. Pic: Angela Padovan

32 • THE MUSIC • 30TH AUGUST 2017

The breezy wind seemed to swoop the hyped crowd into Enmore Theatre extra early for Lastlings. The Gold Coast duo had every eye glued to them as the light show overflowed with delightful tones and patterns. Although their music is made for slow grooves, they managed to build up the momentum in their set, making sure everyone was on their feet dancing. The Jungle Giants oozed effortless confidence as they bounced on stage to begin the set with their hit, She’s A Riot. By this point, Enmore Theatre was filled to the brim with a seemingly very young — and keen — crowd. From every corner punters were bouncing, running, screaming, laughing, into each other’s arms. Although hectic, it was a crowd full of love. They then ploughed into their track Anywhere Else, getting everyone into a heavy boogie from the get go, voices screeching the lyrics. Lead singer Sam Hales was overflowing with adrenaline and extreme energy as he showed off his unbelievably flawless falsetto in the hook line of the track, leaving the crowd stunned even further. “This is the biggest show we’ve ever done,” he exclaimed before they got stuck into Waiting For A Sign. The vibe transformed here as the electric guitar was changed for an acoustic and the (more) mellow feeling continued to blossom into the next tune, Kooky Eyes. Bassist Andrew Dooris added some tambourine to the mix, enhancing the contagious beat. The Jungle Giants could not make a wrong move, everything they brought to the table was incredible beyond belief. The new LP’s title track, Quiet Ferocity, was filled with psychedelic vibes — the perfect

song to demonstrate the album’s overall atmosphere. Mid-banter, all the sound was cut off for a good ten minutes. For a while, everyone began to worry, but once the complication was fixed a switch seemed to flick in everyone’s minds and the crowd

The Jungle Giants could not make a wrong move, everything they brought to the table was incredible beyond belief. got even wilder. “There’s a little mosh pit going on here, but it’s probably the nicest mosh I’ve ever seen. Someone falls down and everyone’s like, ‘Mate, are you okay?’” Hales grins. They then played On Your Way Down, a clear standout from the album. They encored with Feel The Way I Do to finish an extraordinary night of pop-driven tunes — the Enmore floor was bouncing and so was the crowd. Sara Tamim

Jen Cloher, Flowertruck, Hachiku Oxford Art Factory 25 Aug Milk! Records shows are always a family affair. The debut of Australiana legend Jen Cloher’s self-titled album was no different. Milk’s Hachiku kicked off the evening with her dreamy indie-pop. A self-confessed bedroom producer, Hachiku summon intimacy and delicacy on stage — in a classic Milk!

eviews Live Reviews

Records move, Hachiku would join Cloher again later for a rendition of Strong Woman. Sydney’s very own Flowertruck followed up with their sunny, jangling ballads of suburbia. Charles Rushforth manages the tremble, strength and range of a classic crooner. Though the evening is all about Jen Cloher, she starts her set with the delicate slow build Hold My Hand from 2013’s Blood Memory. It’s fitting — the song celebrates the relationship her mother and father shared at the end of her mother’s life and on August 25th 2017, narratives of marriage — and marriage equality — are in the air. It’s

The result is powerfully warm and mesmerising. equally fitting that Cloher’s partner and lead guitarist Courtney Barnett joins her on the song’s bridge, “our love is more, our love is more.” Once the opener hit’s its crescendo, the band is in full gear. Cloher is a masterful performer — lithe, confident, cheeky, imminently charismatic — and on stage, the album’s apathetic vocals garner fullbodied snarls, snark and drama. Behind Cloher, her band is not only polished, but seem to live completely in the music they are performing. Though Barnett is hesitant to wander out from the stage’s shadows, her guitar work is frenetically novel and really just seems to pour out of her. Jen Sholakis on drums is also a formidable force.

Watching them perform together it becomes apparent what good mates they all are — they constantly share smiles, exchange appraisal of each other’s work and banter quietly between sets. It pays off — the result is powerfully warm and mesmerising. Samantha Jonscher

Kehlani, Joy. Enmore Theatre 26 Aug Brisbane producer and singer Joy. (aka Olivia McCarthy) was a well-chosen act to support Kehlani at her sold-out Enmore Theatre gig. Sitting at a keyboard, McCarthy, accompanied by a drummer and guitarist, warmed up the stage with her chill, ethereal alternative electro, finishing her set with a new single (expected to be released soon). The mellow vibe didn’t last long as Kehlani’s DJ, Micah “Noodles” Mahinay, got the crowd seriously hyped up with her mix of some of the biggest recent R&B and hip hop tracks like Beyonce’s Formation and Cardi B’s Bodak Yellow, before dedicating Panic! At The Disco’s I Write Sins Not Tragedies to Kehlani — an unlikely fan? The Californian singer Kehlani then took to the stage, performing some of the most popular tracks off this year’s SweetSexySavage — Keep On, Distraction and a slowed down version of Do U Dirty. Joined on stage by a keys player, drummer, her DJ and two back-up dancers, Kehlani — a dancer herself — performed some impressive choreography, and got the entire crowd moving too. She sang a couple of her collabs — throwing it back to her Grammy-nominated mixtape You Should Be Here (2015) for The Way featuring Chance The Rapper (the crowd filling in for

It is your responsibility to help make this fucking change... it is 2017 and we are still fighting over who the fuck we wanna marry, this is ridiculous.

Chance on his verse), and her more recent song with Calvin Harris and Lil Yachty, Faking It. Kehlani talked about being lucky enough appear on the soundtracks of some of this year’s biggest movies, including The Fate Of The Furious, and played Escape from Everything Everything and Gangsta from Suicide Squad. She addressed her predominantly young audience, giving them advice on self-care in the age of social media before performing the relevant Piece Of Mind. As a member of the LGBTQI+ community herself, Kehlani introduced Undercover with a discussion of the current marriage equality situation in Australia. She urged everyone to vote yes in the upcoming postal vote, stating, “It is your responsibility to help make this fucking change... it is 2017 and we are still fighting over who the fuck we wanna marry, this is ridiculous.” Ending the night without an encore, but with a bang, Kehlani sang CRZY, and proved once again she knows how to put on a fantastic, energetic live show.

More Reviews Online theMusic.com.au/ music/live-reviews

The Jezabels @ Lansdowne Hotel Stone Sour @ Hordern Pavilion Ocean Alley @ Metro Theatre Tex, Don & Charlie @ Factory Theatre Ocean Party @ Music Farmers

Madelyn Tait

THE MUSIC • 30TH AUGUST 2017 • 33

Arts Reviews Arts Reviews

with both women having built their empires, amassed extraordinary wealth, ripened in age and been strangely, reluctantly brought together against the undiscriminating threat from new player, Charles Revson’s Revlon. The plot is based on whatever truth can be attained after negotiating headlines, hearsay and the apocryphal legends that surrounded these larger-thanlife women (after all, their life’s work was about exaggerating good features and hiding blemishes). Nevertheless, their quarrel was public and newsworthy, with much of the venom-spitting captured in print. Only the infamous jousts between Crawford and Davis could compare with the delightfully caustic one-liners flung like grenades across enemy kohl lines. Misto has cast his play with only three onstage characters: Rubinstein, Arden and Rubinstein’s young, Irish, charmingly gormless assistant, Patrick O’Higgins. The stage design and production is minimal with new settings indicated by an overhead lit-up sign. This sparsity not only doesn’t hurt the play but also in fact allows the story to move at a quicker pace, bringing focus deservedly to the characters and dialogue, and leaving the lavish backdrops and surrounds to the boundless imagination of the audience. Besides, Rubinstein’s personality completely fills every corner of the stage, so there’s little room for props. Naturally, a play with only three characters and limited special effects relies heavily on the performances — absolutely no disappointment here! Tim Draxl plays Irishman Patrick O’Higgins like a sweet, naive ingenue; Linden Wilkinson is cool, calculating and dry as an empty Martini glass in her portrayal of Elizabeth Arden. But undeniably, it’s Amanda Muggleton’s bold, garish, scenechewing performance as Helena Rubinstein that adds the high-gloss coating to Misto’s gloriously, bitingly funny script. The audience laughed appreciably at every joke, often to the point where actors had to pause. And yet there were moments — albeit only a few — of heart-wrenching poignancy. The buzz will spread fast so get tickets soon. Lip Service

Lip Service

Theatre Until 30 Sep, Ensemble Theatre

★★★★ In the early 1900s, the only women who wore makeup were showgirls and prostitutes. The growth of the movie industry expanded that customer base to actors, who required heavy makeup to accentuate their features. That was the thin edge of a respectability wedge that cleaved a market for a new lucrative industry — cosmetics. At the forefront of the new enterprise opportunity were two very savvy, resilient, ambitious, competitive women, equally powerful and equally loathing of each other: Helena Rubinstein and Elizabeth Arden. Lip Service is a hilarious new play by John Misto that enters the story of the famous Rubinstein/Arden rivalry in the 1950s

Rita Bratovich

34 • THE MUSIC • 30TH AUGUST 2017

American Made

American Made Film In cinemas now

★★★½ For someone who seems to have spent their long screen career cultivating a persona as a winner or a success story, Tom Cruise has a lot of flawed and faulty individuals on his resume. Sure, the Cruise characters who are selfcentred, cowardly or just plain weird inevitably straighten up and fly right. But there’s something genuinely interesting about seeing a handsome, charismatic type like him push his luck, fail to live up to expectations or make bad decisions. Cruise gets to do all of the above in American Made and it’s the contrast between the star’s trademark cocky, controlled presence and his character (Barry Seal)’s risky, reckless, greedy and foolhardy actions that give this stranger-than-fiction true story an additional kick. That’s not to downplay the glib, cheeky tone of Gary Spinelli’s screenplay and especially the freewheeling energy of Doug Liman’s direction, both of which keep the engagement and entertainment levels high. But whether it’s by design or not, American Made doesn’t delve too deeply into the murkier aspects of its story, undercutting its potential impact as a result. It’s absolutely not a bad movie. But it regularly feels like it’s on the verge of being a better one — sharper, smarter, maybe even crazier. Having said that, the story of Barry Seal, played by Cruise, is pretty crazy as it stands. There’ll be the odd scene or sequence in American Made that arrestingly depicts the thrill in flouting legal or ethical standards or the sick feeling of suddenly being way out of one’s depth. And Cruise frequently does a smashing job of showing how Seal’s cunning and bravado sometimes curdles into desperation and fear. (He also subtly, cleverly, conveys that Seal isn’t necessarily the sharpest tool in the shed.) It’s times like these, when the movie takes a more grass-roots approach to telling its larger-than-life tale, where it really connects. Often, however, American Made makes big, obvious statements about corruption and greed that already feel too familiar. Guy Davis

triple j, focus, sand events, the music, musicfeeds, au review, pretty rad store "presents"

THE MUSIC • 30TH AUGUST 2017 • 35

Comedy / G The Guide

Wed 30

SOSUEME feat. Bleeding Knees Club + Raave Tapes + Clueless: Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach

Dave Faulkner (Hoodoo Gurus) and Tim Rogers (You Am I). Pic by Josh Groom

Renee Geyer: Camelot Lounge, Marrickville Hatch: Foundry 616, Sydney

Ali Barter

The Music Presents Vera Blue: 1 Sep; The Beery Terrigal; 2 Sep, Metro Theatre; 8 Sep Bar On The Hill Newcastle Mew: 11 Sep Manning Bar Ali Barter: 28 Sep Oxford Art Factory; 29 Sep The Small Bandroom Dan Sultan: 28 Sep The Academy Canerra; 29 Sep Bar On The Hill Newcastle; 30 Sep Metro Theatre At The Drive In: 29 Sep Hodern Pavilion

Bad Pony + Boat Show + Dream Rimmy DJs + Letters to Lions DJs + Naomi Keyte: Lansdowne Hotel, Chippendale Ines + Adventures of Godriguez + Dande & The Lion: LazyBones Lounge, Marrickville The White Tree Band: Leadbelly, Newtown Songs On Stage feat. Russell Neal + Vegas Nerve + Blonde Baggage + Our Friend Barbra + more: Paddington RSL, Paddington Michael Kopp: The Bourbon, Potts Point Sarah Belkner + Danaides + Ben Hauptmann + more: The Newsagency, Marrickville

Caligula’s Horse: 5 Oct Cambridge Hotel Newcastle West; 6 Oct Factory Theatre

The Goo #1 feat. Waxfinz + Cakewalk + Ill Sylvester + Space Carbonara + Space Goats + The Med Heads: The Small Ballroom, Islington

Vintage & Custom Drum Expo: 8 Oct Factory Theatre

Thu 31

Mono: 9 Nov Manning Bar Vanfest: 1 Dec Forbes Showground sleepmakeswaves: 9 Dec Oxford Art Factory

Red Bull Music Academy feat. No Fixed Address + Coloured Stone: 107 Projects, Redfern Kehlani: Big Top Sydney, Milsons Point

Hands Full & Head-Banging Don’t fret if you didn’t catch You Am I and Hoodoo Gurus on their regional tour; they are bringing their first ever Fist Full Of Rock tour to Enmore Theatre on Thursday.

Giffen + Timothy James Bowen: Camelot Lounge (Django Bar), Marrickville

Australian 2017 DMC DJ Championships: Play Bar, Surry Hills

Jones The Cat: Coast Hotel, Budgewoi

Little Brother: Rad Bar, Wollongong

The Spring Comedy Carnival: Comedy Store, Moore Park

Brown Sugar: Rock Lily, Pyrmont Jed Rowe: Smiths Alternative, Canberra

Hoodoo Gurus + You Am I + Jebediah + Adalita: Enmore Theatre, Newtown

Festival Of The Sun: 7 - 9 Dec Port Macquarie

The Klezmatics + David Krakauer + Ancestral Groove: Factory Theatre, Marrickville

Alt-J: 9 Dec ICC Sydney

Malo Malo: Foundry 616, Sydney

Julie Anne Glur + Trent Williams + Jowe: Staves Brewery, Glebe Bernadette Robinson: Sydney Opera House (Playhouse), Sydney

Bounty Hunters: Frankie’s Pizza By The Slice, Sydney Vices + Conveyer + Homesick: Hamilton Station Hotel, Islington A Gentlemen’s Agreement

Zack Martin + Chris Brookes + Kenneth D’Aran: Harbour View Hotel, Dawes Point

Gentle-metal-men

Andrew Kidman & The Windy Hills + Wash: Heritage Hotel, Bulli

Sydney’s finest metal men, A Gentlemen’s Agreement, are going to be at Valve Bar this Saturday. Headlining a huge and explosive line-up, the fourpiece are sure to be the height of propriety.

Wanderers: Hotel Steyne, Manly

Deep Sea Arcade BIGSOUND Sydney Send Off feat. Polographia + High-tails + Party Dozen + Elki: Lansdowne Hotel, Chippendale Garrett Kato: Leadbelly, Newtown Larger Than Lions: Marble Bar, Sydney Wolves In Fashion + Fight Ibis: Marlborough Hotel, Newtown Steve Tonge: Observer Hotel, The Rocks

36 • THE MUSIC • 30TH AUGUST 2017

Secret Single For their first show of 2017, Deep Sea Arcade are heading to Lansdowne Hotel on Friday for a sneak-peek preview of the duo’s latest single. Head down for the exclusive one-time only show!

Songs On Stage feat. Stuart Jammin + Jenny Hume: BMW (formerly Beats.Eats.Drinks), Glebe

Paul Winn: Orient Hotel, The Rocks

The Last Exposure + The Fossicks + Just Breathe + Library Siesta: Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst

The Courtneys + Julia Why? + Totty + Moody Beach: Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst

Jeff Martin: The Basement, Belconnen

Grinspoon + Hockey Dad: Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle West

Amy Shark + Fractures: Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst

Karin Page: The Fox Den, Gloucester

Renee Geyer: Camelot Lounge, Marrickville

Orphans + C.O.F.F.I.N + Homewrecker + The Kirks: Petersham Bowling Club, Petersham

John & Yuki: Osaka, Potts Point

The Spin Drifters: The Basement, Sydney

DJ Graham M: The Newport, Newport Piss Weak+Karaoke: The Phoenix, Canberra

Gigs / Live The Guide

The Last Exposure

Wayne Pearce & The Big Hitters: Colonial Hotel, Werrington

Tavern, Campbelltown

Michael Kopp: Ruby Hotel, Rozelle

DJ Ben Morris: Manly Wharf Hotel, Manly

Garrett Kato: Smiths Alternative, Canberra

Spring Comedy Carnival: Comedy Store, Moore Park

Red Bull Music Academy feat. ABRA + Manu Crook$ + Alta + Kwame + Flex Mami + more: Manning Bar, Camperdown

Matt Finish + The Final Word: Street Market Asian Tapas, Crows Nest

Hey Geronimo: Coogee Bay Hotel (Selina’s), Coogee

Motez + Mickey Kojak + Tigerilla: Metro Theatre, Sydney

Matt Jones: Coolibah Hotel, Merrylands West

Giffen + Whoa Mule + Piccolo Bear: Metropole Hotel, Katoomba

Wanderers: The Aztec, Forster

Cath & Him: Dee Why RSL (Scores Sports Bar), Dee Why

Kris McIntyre: Minto Mirage Hotel, Minto

Diesel: The Basement, Sydney

Cam Knight: Comedy Store, Moore Park

Bernadette Robinson: Sydney Opera House (Playhouse), Sydney Blake Wiggins: Tahmoor Inn, Tahmoor

At Last

Titus O’Reily: Factory Theatre, Marrickville

In support of their three new singles, The Last Exposure are heading out the road! First stop is local though, so you can catch the fluffy-indie rockers at Brighton Up Bar on Thursday.

Donna Amini: The Temperance Society, Summer Hill Vera Blue + Thandi Phoenix + Lakyn: Uni Bar, Wollongong Chronic + Acrolysis + DNA + Space: Valve Bar (Basement), Ultimo

Whelan & Gover: Fortune of War Hotel, The Rocks Kristin Berardi + Mike Nock Trio: Foundry 616, Sydney Amyl & The Sniffers: Great Northern Hotel, Newcastle Direct Hit! + The Decline + Ebolagoldfish + Hack The Mainframe: Hamilton Station Hotel, Islington Jeff Martin: Heritage Hotel, Bulli Michael Jackson Legacy Tour with William Hall: Hornsby RSL, Hornsby Soundproofed: Jamison Hotel, Penrith

The Thursday Shuffle: Venue 505, Surry Hills

Deep Sea Arcade: Lansdowne Hotel, Chippendale

Pirra + Cambio Sun: Vic On The Park, Marrickville

The Lockhearts: Lass O’Gowrie, Wickham

Hey Geronimo

Bad Boys

Karin Page: LazyBones Lounge, Marrickville

Fri 01

Chase The Sun: Leadbelly, Newtown

Rufino & The Coconuts + DJ Stu Buchanan: Baroque Bar, Katoomba

Girls on the Radio: Lizottes Newcastle, Lambton

Come on down and say howdy to Hey Geronimo on Friday at Selina’s at Coogee Bay Hotel. The Brisbane locals have just released a new single, Bad Citizen, and bad has never sounded so good.

Smokin’ Rosie: Bateau Bay Hotel, Bateau Bay Role Modelz: Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach

Manu Crook$

Needle in the Hay feat. Dave + Egoism + Forest Hall + Okin Osan + Raindrop + Yon Yonson + more: Botany View Hotel, Newtown Kingston County + The Buoys + Chris Smithson: Brass Monkey, Cronulla Suburban Dark + Tenth Dan + Kid Fiction: Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst Ironbark Rock: Bull & Bush, Baulkham Hills No-Fi Friday with WAAX + Fritz + Voodoo Youth + Belle Badi: Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle West Hammond Showdown with Clayton Doley + Darren Heinrich + Johnny G + Illya Szwec: Camelot Lounge, Marrickville The Nature Strip + Bernie Hayes Quartet: Camelot Lounge, Marrickville

$o Crook This Friday at Manning Bar Manu Crook$ is heading out to play with the big names like Atlantan dark wave duchess, Abra. Red Bull Music Academy is hosting the night of bona fide choons.

Australian Chamber Orchestra: City Recital Hall, Sydney

Vera Blue + Thandi Phoenix: The Beery, Terrigal

Clowns + Pagan: Nimbin Bush Theatre, Nimbin

Acoustic Grooves + Tara Favelle: The Bourbon, Potts Point

Michael Fryar + James Brennan: Observer Hotel, The Rocks

Comedy Night with Jen Carnovale: The Bunker (FKA Coogee Diggers), Coogee

Rose Carleo: Oriental Hotel, Springwood

Titus O’Reily: The Concourse, Chatswood

Amy Shark + Fractures: Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst

Jr & the Jewel-Tones: The Merton Hotel, Rozelle

WCB: Oxford Art Factory (Gallery Bar), Darlinghurst

DJ Frenzie + DJ Somatik + DJ Soup + Innes: The Newport, Newport

Plyers + Hexmere + Hearse Chasers + Passing + Lizzie Nagy: Petersham Bowling Club, Petersham

The King Hits + DJ The Professor: The Phoenix, Canberra

Muto: Prince of Wales Hotel, Merewether Kilter: Proud Mary’s, Erina

Spank n The Monkey: Long Jetty Hotel, Long Jetty

AJ Dyce: The Push, The Rocks Hawthorne Heights + River Oaks + Sienna Skies + Mark Rose: The Small Ballroom, Islington

Jimmy Bear: Quakers Inn, Quakers Hill Tinderry + Good Lekker + Gosh + Darcy Gervaise: Rad Bar, Wollongong

Rosie Waterland: Canberra Theatre Centre, Canberra Michael Gorham: Chatswood RSL, Chatswood

Rick Dangerous & the Silkie Bantams: Miranda Hotel, Miranda

Vices + Conveyer + Homesick: Red Rattler, Marrickville

KP: Lynwood Country Club, Pitt Town

The Kamis: Revesby Workers (Infinity Lounge), Revesby

Lucas Farrell: Macarthur

Shane Nicholson: Rooty Hill RSL, Rooty Hill

The Royal Artillery + Fight Ibis: The Stag & Hunter Hotel, Mayfield Binalong Road: The Vineyard Hotel, Vineyard Dr Farquhar: Towradgi Beach Hotel (Sports Bar), Towradgi Troldhaugen + Comedier + Harbour + more: Valve Bar (Basement), Ultimo

THE MUSIC • 30TH AUGUST 2017 • 37

Comedy / G The Guide

Kevin Hucker + Rohdan + Team Sly + more: Valve Bar (Level One), Ultimo

Michael Kopp: Rocks Brewing Company, Alexandria

Motez

Sagrada Familia + Mike Rivett: Venue 505, Surry Hills

Mark Crotti: Rooty Hill RSL (Zest Bar), Rooty Hill

Totally Unicorn + Party Dozen + Arse: Vic On The Park, Marrickville

The Twoks: Smiths Alternative, Canberra

Stephanie Lea: Winmalee Tavern, Winmalee

Michael Jackson Legacy Tour with William Hall: South Sydney Juniors, Kingsford

Sat 02

The Royal Artillery + Fight Ibis: Station Bar, Katoomba

Giffen + Burrows + Timothy James Bowen: Ainslie & Gorman Arts Centre, Braddon

Matt Finish + The Final Word: Street Market Asian Tapas, Crows Nest

Hawthorne Heights + River Oaks + Sienna Skies + Mark Rose: Bald Faced Stag, Leichhardt

Afternoon Show with Direct Hit! + The Decline + New Trends + Hack The Mainframe + Billy Putton: Sunken Monkey Hotel (FKA Woodport Inn), Erina

Tory Lanez: Big Top Sydney, Milsons Point Otis Redding & Friends feat. Johnny G & The E-Types: Brass Monkey, Cronulla

Moody Beach

Bernadette Robinson: Sydney Opera House (Playhouse), Sydney

Hotez Motez Holiday Iz He has just released his new single Praise and now Motez is hitting the road for a national tour. The Future tour will be coming to Metro Theatre on Friday and it’s going to be a religious experience.

ANTIDOTE: A festival of ideas, art and action feat. Christian Thompson + Craig Reucassel + Benjamin Law + Yassmin Abdel-Magied: Sydney Opera House, Sydney Diesel: The Basement, Sydney

Rock Acoustica: Crown Hotel, Sydney Eli Escobar: Cruise Bar, Sydney The Preatures + Polish Club + Hair Die: Enmore Theatre, Newtown

Beached Wail This year saw Moody Beach release her self-titled debut EP, and now she has snagged the support slot for Canadian trio The Courtneys. Catch them both at Oxford Art Factory on Thursday.

Soundproofed: Epping Hotel / Tracks, Epping Alma Orquestra: Foundry 616, Sydney Iterim + White Summer + WAAX DJs: Frankie’s Pizza By The Slice, Sydney

Direct Hit! + The Decline + Nerdlinger + The Great Awake: Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst 4 Kings: Bull & Bush, Baulkham Hills The Protesters: Camelot Lounge (Django Bar), Marrickville Pearl - The Janis Joplin Story feat. Cass Eager: Camelot Lounge, Marrickville Spenda C: Candys Apartment, Potts Point Beatworx: Carousel Inn, Rooty Hill Luen Jacobs: Chinese Laundry, Sydney Australian Chamber Orchestra: City Recital Hall, Sydney

Jayden Sierra + Dean Michael Smith: The Bourbon, Potts Point Jacuzzi Boys: The Lady Hampshire, Camperdown Aubrey & Purton: The Merton Hotel, Rozelle

Muto: Miranda Hotel (Carmens), Miranda

Tommy Dean + Friends: Giant Dwarf, Redfern

Krishna Jones: Observer Hotel, The Rocks

Geoff Davies: The Push, The Rocks

Daniel Steinberg: Goodbar, Paddington

Dean Michael Smith: Observer Hotel, The Rocks

Jed Rowe: The Shack, Narrabeen

Steve Lane: Grand Junction Hotel (The Junkyard), Maitland

Souci Maq + Postmentalist + Don’t Praise The Machine: Janes Wollongong, North Wollongong KP: Kellys on King, Newtown

Troldhaugen: The Small Ballroom, Islington Foxblood + Make Way For Man + Advocates + Diamond Construct: Oxford Art Factory (Gallery Bar), Darlinghurst

Shows on Stage feat. Victoria Jayne Young + Jenny Hume: Paddington RSL, Paddington James Brennan: Panania Hotel, Panania

Yahtzel: King Street Hotel, Newcastle West

Clever Little Secretaries: Pittwater RSL (Distillery), Mona Vale

Kelly Brouhaha: Panthers, Port Macquarie Two If By The Sea + Lime & Steel: Paragon Cafe, Katoomba Jed Zarb: Penrith Panthers (Squires Terrace Bar), Penrith

Fazerdaze: Lansdowne Hotel, Chippendale Brad Johns: Plough & Harrow, Camden The Last Exposure + The Fossicks: Lass O’Gowrie, Wickham

Spring Comedy Carnival: Comedy Store, Moore Park

Jeff Martin: Lizottes Newcastle, Lambton Brett O’Malley: Long Jetty Hotel, Long Jetty Angelena Locke: Macarthur Tavern, Campbelltown

Chase The Sun: The Stag & Hunter Hotel, Mayfield

Boything: Sling into Spring feat. Various Artists: Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst

Fringe Ignite feat. Ngaiire + Stereogamous + Wallace + Billie McCarthy + Karai Hemara + Sarah Belkner + Broken Mountain + Colourfields + Froyo + Crooked Letter + Ross Henry + Sparrows + Yon Yonson + Kaiit + Ben Panucci + Georgia Fair + Matilda Abraham + Blackbirds + L-FRESH The LION + more: Kensington Street, Chippendale

Rufino & The Coconuts: Leadbelly, Newtown

38 • THE MUSIC • 30TH AUGUST 2017

Vera Blue + Thandi Phoenix + Lakyn + Panama: Metro Theatre, Sydney

Felicity Robinson: The Belvedere Hotel, Sydney

Flowertruck + Big White + Noire: The Phoenix, Canberra

Tom Rhodes: Comedy Store, Moore Park

Peter Gabrielides: Crossways Hotel, Strathfield South

Giorgos Tsalkis + Giannis Kritkos: Max Watt’s, Moore Park

Trataka: The Beach Hotel, Merewether

Run The Red: Oatley Hotel, Oatley

Matt Toms: Harts Pub, The Rocks

Krisna Jones: Brighton Lakes Golf & Recreation Club, Moorebank

Red Bull Music Academy: Zanzibar Meets Mad Racket feat. DJ Tony Humphries + Mad Racket DJs: Marrickville Golf Club, Marrickville

Vices + Conveyer + Homesick + Easy Life: Rad Bar, Wollongong Ted’s Birthday Bash with TMG (Ted Mulry Gang): Revesby Workers, Revesby Hits & Pieces: Revesby Workers (Infinity Lounge), Revesby

Totally Unicorn

Horny Horses Catch the elusive and mystical Totally Unicorn at Vic On The Park this Friday. After releasing their album Dream Life earlier this year, the delightful metal dudes are ready for a party.

Gigs / Live The Guide

Paul Hayward & his Sidekicks: Town & Country Hotel, St Peters

John & Yuki: Central Coast Leagues Club, Gosford

Lucas Farrell: Twin Willows Hotel, Bass Hill

Mark Crotti: Chatswood RSL, Chatswood

A Gentlemen’s Agreement + The Chaotic Boardline + War Rages Within + Be Faced + Lions of the Underground: Valve Bar (Basement), Ultimo

Clive Hay: Club Central Hurstville, Hurstville

Red Bull Music Academy: One Day Carpark Carnival feat. Remi + Jackie Onassis + B Wise + One Day DJs + SK Simeon + Joyride (DJ Set) + Haiku Hands + Sophie Grophy + Shantan Wantan Ichiban + Turquoise Prince + more: Max Watt’s, Moore Park

Steve Crocker: Crossways Hotel, Strathfield South

The JP Project + Nathan Cole: Observer Hotel, The Rocks

Vera Blue

Amy Shark + Fractures: Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst The Preatures

Jump Duo: Pittwater RSL (Distillery), Mona Vale Direct Hit! + The Decline + The Unhinged + Wasters: Rad Bar, Wollongong Jeremy Butterworth: Staves Brewery, Glebe Sounds Of The Suburbs feat. Skegss + Camp Cope + Harlem + Jacuzzi Boys + Bleeding Knees Club + Jeff Rosenstock + Colleen Green + Goons Of Doom + Ruby Fields + WAAX + Sloan Peterson + Jess Locke + Body Type + Wash + Blister + Fritz + Totty + Crocodylus + Israeli Chicks + White Blanks + Fripps & Fripps + Pacific Avenue + Hill Town + Lost Tropics + Yetti Calzone: Sutherland Carpark, Sutherland Vices + Conveyer + Homesick: The Basement, Belconnen

No Boys Allowed

V-Dubs: The Beach Hotel, Merewether

Locals ledges The Preatures are bringing their acclaimed new album Girlhood to Enmore Theatre. Head down Saturday to catch the new faces of rock’n’roll with support from Polish Club and Hair Die.

The Ramalamas + The Tawny Owl Stringband: The Bearded Tit, Redfern

Michael Gorham + Zac Coombes + Dean Michael Smith: The Mill Hotel, Milperra Ted Nash: Fortune of War Hotel, The Rocks

Jay Rodriguez: Venue 505, Surry Hills

Jacuzzi Boys + Fight Ibis: Frankie’s Pizza By The Slice, Sydney

Madam Wong + Batfoot: Vic On The Park, Marrickville

Troldhaugen

Big White + Flowertruck + Noire: Lansdowne Hotel, Chippendale

Sun 03

Steve Lane: LazyBones Lounge, Marrickville

Dave Wilkins: Bull & Bush, Baulkham Hills

Judah Kelly: Leadbelly, Newtown

Orquesta La Luna: Camelot Lounge, Marrickville

Michael Fryar: Macarthur Tavern, Campbelltown

Moustache Gracias: Camelot Lounge (Django Bar), Marrickville

Jake & Alyse Duo + DJ Graham + DJ Black Cashmere: Manly Wharf Hotel, Manly

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James Heathwood: The Village Inn, Paddington Afternoon Show with Halwait + Ambulare + Something Something Explosion + Reliqa: Valve Bar (Basement), Ultimo

Mon 04 Robert Susz + Clayton Doley + Antero Ceschin + Gary Hussy + Phyllis Foster: Camelia Grove Hotel, Alexandria Songs On Stage feat. Russell Neal + Michelle Benson + Paul Ward + Chris Brookes + Kenneth D’Aran: Kellys on King, Newtown The Sphinxes: Oatley Hotel, Oatley Jacuzzi Boys + Colleen Green + Totty: Rad Bar, Wollongong Titus O’Reily: Street Theatre, Canberra Bernadette Robinson: Sydney Opera House (Playhouse), Sydney Australian Chamber Orchestra: Wollongong Town Hall, Wollongong

Tripping For Troldhaugen Troldhaugen are bringing their self-proclaimed brand of ‘weird’ to Valve Bar on Friday. They advise you to put on your sparkly pink hot-pants and ready yourself for some oldfashioned chaos.

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Vera Blue is blowing minds and breaking hearts with her debut album, Perennial. The Aussie darling and folk powerhouse will be at Metro Theatre on Saturday, make sure to bring some tissues.

Miranda Ward: The Bourbon, Potts Point The Lazy Crows: The Merton Hotel, Rozelle

Dress To Impress with Various DJs: Valve Bar (Level One), Ultimo

V Blue

DJ Phil Toke + Gang Of Brothers + DJ Cool Hand Luke + Gemma Lyon: The Newport, Newport

Tue 05 Australian Chamber Orchestra: City Recital Hall, Sydney Sydney Conservatorium Jazz Orchestra: Foundry 616, Sydney Songs On Stage feat. Russell Neal + Pauline Sparkle + more: Gladstone Hotel, Dulwich Hill Songs On Stage feat. Stuart Jammin + Jenny Hume: Kellys on King, Newtown Jeff Rosenstock + Foley: Rad Bar, Wollongong Chase The Sun: Smiggins Hotel, Perisher Valley

Mark Crotti: The Push, The Rocks Dean Michael Smith: The Rivo, Riverstone

THE MUSIC • 30TH AUGUST 2017 • 39