The Music (Brisbane) Issue #70 by TheMusic.com.au

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2 • THE MUSIC • 23RD DECEMBER 2014

THE MUSIC • 23RD DECEMBER 2014 • 3

CREDITS PUBLISHER

Street Press Australia Pty Ltd

GROUP MANAGING EDITOR Andrew Mast

NATIONAL EDITOR  MAGAZINES Mark Neilsen

EDITOR Steve Bell

ARTS AND CULTURE EDITOR Cassandra Fumi

GIG GUIDE EDITOR Justine Lynch gigs@themusic.com.au

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Bryget Chrisﬁeld

CONTRIBUTORS Alice Bopf, Amorina Fitzgerald-Hood, Anthony Carew, Baz McAlister, Ben Marnane, Ben Preece, Benny Doyle, Bradley Armstrong, Brendan Telford, Brie Jorgensen, Carley Hall, Chris Yates, Cyclone, Dan Condon, Daniel Johnson, Dave Drayton, Guy Davis, Helen Stringer, Jake Sun, Jazmine O’Sullivan, Lochlan Watt, Madeleine Laing, Mandy McAlister, Michael Smith, Mitch Knox, Paul Mulkearns, Roshan Clerkea, Sam Hobson, Sky Kirkham, Sophie Blackhall-Cain, Tessa Fox, Tom Hersey, Tony McMahon, Tyler McLoughlan

THIS SUMMER THINGS TO DO THIS SUMMER • 23 DEC - 13 JAN 2015

party

celebrate

INTERNS Elijah Gall

PHOTOGRAPHERS Freya Lamont, John Stubbs, John Taylor, Kane Hibberd, Markus Ravik, Rick Cliﬀord, Sky Kirkham, Stephen Booth, Terry Soo, Tessa Fox

QLD SALES Juliet Brooks, Madeleine Budd sales@themusic.com.au

ART DIRECTOR Brendon Wellwood

ART DEPT Eamon Stewart, Julian De Bono

West End has gone from strength to strength as a vibrant party destination, and this year they’re taking it to the next level with a new NYE bash: The Big Chill Fest. It’s run by The Motor Room and held at the Boundary Street Markets complex, and features three stages, acts such as Weekend Money, Resin Dogs, Mantra, Dubmarine, Kingfisha and many more, plus live art, street food, bars and the urban beach!

It’s had its ups and downs, but 2014 has been a year to remember and what better way to see it out than to hit Woodford Folk Festival? Held from 27 Dec – 1 Jan at the gorgeous Woodfordia, this year the ever-eclectic line-up contains more than 400 bands including Violent Femmes, Sticky Fingers, Husky, The Cat empire, Jeff Lang and much more, plus all of the usual markets and events which make it so special.

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Actor Michael Keaton, of Batman and Batman Returns fame, stars in Birdman this summer – a film about a washed-up actor trying to make a comeback on stage in a Raymond Carver adaptation. Full of irony and sass, check your local cinema for details. BRISBANE

THE MUSIC • 23RD DECEMBER 2014 • 5

national news news@themusic.com.au JORDIE LANE

PABLO FRANSCISCO

LORD JORD

US-based singer/songwriter Jordie Lane will return to Australia in Feb for his ﬁrst nationwide tour in 18 months. The tour will take in Mojo’s Bar, Fremantle, 27 Feb; Black Bear Lodge, Brisbane, 26 Mar; Django Bar, Sydney, 27 Mar; and The Toﬀ In Town, Melbourne, 18 & 19 Apr. He will also playing a few festivals around the country. Head to theMusic.com.au for all dates.

DO NO WRONG

HE’S NOT MAD, SIR!

He’s just one of America’s craziest comedians. Described by one American reviewer as a maniac on stage, Pablo Francisco, whose YouTube videos have clocked more than 40 million views, is returning to Australia for his fourth national tour to share once again his uncanny ability to physically morph onto the cavalcade of characters, from ﬁlm to rock stars, friends and family that are his comedic stock in trade. Catch him 17 Apr at The Tivoli in Brisbane, 18 Apr at Arts Centre Melbourne, 22 Apr at Enmore Theatre in Sydney, and they’re keeping us guessing as to where will dare host Francisco in Perth 24 Apr.

HOT FUZZ

London house duo The 2 Bears, which comprises Hot Chip’s Joe Goddard and Raf Daddy, are heading to Australia oﬀ the back of their second full-player The Night Is Young. They’ll be performing four Australian shows in three days, including Sugar Mountain Festival, Melbourne, and Alhambra Lounge, Brisbane, on 24 Jan; Beach Road Hotel, Sydney, 25 Jan; and The Conservatory, Perth, 26 Jan.

NO SLOWING DOWN

They made the cut for our Australian Live Performances Of The Year list, and now you’ve got a chance to see why – The Bennies are making their way across the country throughout March with Melbourne punks Foxtrot playing support. The headliners are still on a high following the release of their second EP Heavy Disco in November, and make their way to Crowbar, Brisbane, 14 Mar; Factory Floor, Sydney, 20 Mar; Northcote Social Club, Melbourne, 21 Mar; and Ampliﬁer Bar, Perth, 28 Mar.

SEE YA ROUND

After winning the Lord Mayor’s Young & Emerging Artists Fellowship, Brisbane’s Bec Laughton took herself oﬀ to New York City to work with Grammy Award-winning producer Michael League. With even more oﬀers from producers right across the US, she’s decided it’s time to get stuck into recording the debut album, and will take her leave of us with her Au Revoir Tour. 29 Jan she plays Hugs & Kisses in Melbourne; 31 Jan, The Motor Room in Brisbane; 6 Feb Prince of Wales in Bunbury; 7 Feb at the Settlers Tavern, Margaret River; and 8 Feb at Four5Nine in Perth.

EVERYBODY TRANCE

EDM and trance icons Infected Mushroom have announced a nationwide tour for February. They play Melbourne’s Royal Melbourne Hotel on 12 & 15 Feb, Sydney’s The Hi-Fi on 14 Feb, Brisbane’s Family on 19 Feb, Perth’s Metro City on 20 Feb and Byron Bay Brewery on 22 Feb.

THE OCEAN

AGGRESSIVE YOUTH

Citizen are carrying the ﬂame for the altrock scene, channelling Brand New and Nirvana for their aggressive and spacious new Youth record. Catch them before they blow up: 17 Apr, Ampliﬁer Bar, Perth; 18 Apr, YMCA HQ, Perth; 20 & 21 Apr, Reverence Hotel, Melbourne; 22 & 23 Apr, Bald Faced Stag, Sydney; 24 Apr The Brightside, Brisbane; and 25 Apr, The Lab, Brisbane.

I’M GONNA HAVE A GOTH CHRISTMAS THIS YEAR @CHARLI_XCX WILL DON BLACK ATTIRE INSTEAD OF RED AND GREEN. 6 • THE MUSIC • 23RD DECEMBER 2014

Metalcore favourites Norma Jean have reﬁned and perfected the tracks from their latest album, Wrongdoers. The Grammynominated group play with a hunger and desperation that’s key to their success. Head to Crowbar, Brisbane, 2 Apr; Easterfest Toowoomba, 3 Apr; Newtown Social Club, Sydney, 5 Apr; Evelyn Hotel, Melbourne, 10 Apr; Ampliﬁer Bar, Perth, 12 Apr.

MAKING WAVES

German post-metal act The Ocean are returning to Australia in April 2015, giving you the chance to hear their acclaimed 2013 record Pelagial in full for the ﬁrst time. The last two years have seen the band tour with the likes of Opeth, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Between The Buried & Me, The Black Dahlia Murder and more. They’ll be headlining shows all over the country, including The Basement, Canberra, 8 Apr; Factory Floor, Sydney, 10 Apr; The Brightside, Brisbane, 11 Apr; The Northern, Byron Bay, 12 Apr; Evelyn Hotel, Melbourne, 18 Apr; and Ampliﬁer Bar, Perth, 19 Apr.

THE MUSIC • 23RD DECEMBER 2014 • 7

local news qld.news@themusic.com.au

FRONTLASH MERRY HOLIDAYS!!

Thanks heaps to all of our readers for your awesome patronage during 2014 – hope you have a great Xmas and New Year and join us in 2015 to follow what awesome music and culture we’re privileged to bring you!

6 DEGREES OF BRISSIE So cool that Tym Records is putting out the new EP by Brett Netson & The Snakes, dragging that nexus between Built To Spill and Brisbane one step closer. Soon they’ll be ours!

THEY’RE BACK! Amazing to hear a new track by inveterate Brisbane icons The Apartments, their first new tune in what seems like eons. Twenty One is so sad but so moving, and there’s a new album on the horizon too!

FAREWELL THE REPORT

BACKLASH RIP REPORT RAPPORT

So sad to see the back of The Colbert Report after so many years of making us laugh while we learn. Hopefully Stephen Colbert’s forthcoming chat show is equally fun and informative.

FUCK OFF PAULINE Pauline Hanson is very much like herpes – disturbing and nasty and just won’t go away. If you vote for that horrible person in the next election you have to carry that stain for the rest of your life.

VALE BORED NOTHING Sydney muso Fergus Miller has announced the end of his Bored Nothing project, leaving behind two great albums and a heap of great memories. Look forward to seeing where he heads musically next!

8 • THE MUSIC • 23RD DECEMBER 2014

NAS SUPPORTS

As Nas shows are selling fast, it’s been announced that supporting the rapper on his Australia tour, in which he’ll play Illmatic in full, will be Abbie Cornish’s alias, Dusk; see them at The Tivoli, 20 Jan.

THE SMASHING PUMPKINS

START A RIOT

After a big 2014 which saw them supporting Vampire Weekend and Frightened Rabbit, Sydney indie-rock group Gang Of Youths are going to be making their way along the east coast at the beginning of 2015 with their new single and video clip, Benevolence Riots. Catch them when they take to Black Bear Lodge, 22 Jan.

ALIVE AND KICKING

After being involved in an incident in October which left him with a broken jaw, and having to reschedule several dates on the first leg of his album tour, singer-songwriter Steve Smyth will be kicking off 2015 by jumping back in his Tarago and hitting the road to play a mighty 35+ stack of new album tour dates in support of his debut album, Exits. He plays The Northern, Byron Bay, 17 Jan; Solbar, Maroochydoore, 23 Jan; Lefty’s Old Time Music Hall, 24 Jan; and The Bearded Lady, 25 Jan.

MIXING IT LIVE

DJ and visual artist Ego has created a new video mixtape, Between Dreams, in which he melds together a plethora of audio and visual pop culture samples in his signature psychedelic style, and he’s taking it out for a live run around the nation. The Between Dreams Tour hits Alhambra Lounge on 13 Feb.

THE THIRD WAVE

Legendary alt-rock outfit The Smashing Pumpkins sit atop the final crop of acts set to join the 2015 Soundwave Festival line-up. Joining them aboard the big list will be glam metal luminaries Steel Panther, punk-scene vets Millencolin, post-hardcore mainstays Falling In Reverse, stalwart US metal outfit Exodus, trailblazing punk rockers The Vandals, Long Beach-bred rockers Rival Sons, Aussie grindcore workhorses King Parrot and Irish indie-rock outfit Raglans. It all goes down 28 Feb & 1 Mar, Brisbane Showgrounds.

SUMMER ANTHEMS

Internationally acclaimed Aussie DJ Kaz James will be bringing his feel good summer anthems to Brisbane, playing at Family Nightclub, 10 Jan; and Helm Bar, Sunshine Coast, 17 Jan. Having recently collaborated with the likes of David Guetta and Junior Sanchez, James is one of the rising stars in Australian dance.

MORE FUTURE

Darude, the creator of legendary techno hit Sandstorm, has joined the 2015 Future Music Festival line-up. He’ll be performing in all states alongside the previously announced Drake, Avicii, The Prodigy and Die Antwoord at Brisbane Showgrounds, 7 Mar.

HANG IN THERE

Lime Cordiale have had a huge 12 months, backing up Ball Park Music, The Griswolds, The Rubens, Cosmo Jarvis and more. They’re homeward bound in February, playing some dates in support of their Hanging Upside Down single. The five-piece come to Black Bear Lodge, 26 Feb.

SUN KIL MOON

TWO MORE ADDED

The Delta Riggs and The Beards have been added to Queensland’s 2015 Urban Country Music Festival line up. Both acts have been busy touring internationally of late and will perform at the festival alongside the likes of Lee Kernaghan, Augie March and British India. The 2015 Urban Country Music Festival runs 1 – 3 May.

SUNNY TIMES

Mark Kozelek aka Sun Kil Moon has announced a special March east coast tour. After releasing critically acclaimed album Benji in 2014, Kozelek has drawn plenty of praise from around the globe for his stong, powerful songwriting ability and live performances. See him play The Hi-Fi on 22 Mar.

A FRIEND IN NEED

Megan Washington’s supports have been announced. Montaigne and Greg Chiapello are there 14 Feb, The Triffid. Opening for the Godfathers of modern garage punk, Memphis trio The Oblivians, 14 Mar at Woolly Mammoth are The Onyas, Woodboot and Happy Times.

local news qld.news@themusic.com.au CHARLES BRADLEY

DAVID LYNCH

DAVID LYNCH TO MAKE BRISBANE APPEARANCE

Renowned American artist and filmmaker David Lynch will make his first Australian public appearance, talking exclusively at the Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art on 14 Mar. The talk is part of the major exhibition David Lynch: Between Two Worlds showing at GOMA. More information at qpac.com.au.

THE FIFTH

DAN DAN HE’S OUR MAN

A GOOD JAM

US-based singer-songwriter Dan Deacon has made the switch from ensemble to synthesisers on his new record – Gliss Riffer – and wants to show you what it’s all about in January. With new single Feel The Lightning at the forefront of his arsenal, he takes on The Brightside, 25 Jan.

The five days of Easter 2 – 6 Apr dedicated to the enjoyment of music that goes by the name Bluesfest has just released a fifth list of participating artists and acts taking up the challenge at the custom-built event site at Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm, just out of Byron Bay. That announcement includes Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires, Augie March, Donavon Frankenreiter, Melbourne Ska Orchestra, Justin Townes Earle, Ash Grunwald, Blue King Brown and The Beautiful Girls. Alt-rocker and Bluebottle Kiss frontman Jamie Hutchings has announced a new tour throughout January and February, coming to Queensland 24 Jan, Junk Bar.

HELPING HAND

LA alt-punk rockers The Matches hit up the country in January to celebrate the ten-year anniversary of their debut record, and have announced supports for all shows. Joining them at The Brightside on 15 Jan will be We Set Signals and Draw Card.

THE MUSIC • 23RD DECEMBER 2014 • 9

writers poll

ALBUM OF THE YEAR BUILT ON GLASS CHET FAKER

het Faker, our Crown Prince of indie, all subdued beats and R&B crooning, took out Album Of The Year this year with his outstanding debut Built On Glass. Far from being snubbed by the mainstream, the 26-year-old deserved his ARIA nom for the same category (and heck, we thought he deserved a win) and his eight other noms, winning Producer Of The Year, Best Male Artist, and Best Independent Release. The record itself even scored Engineer Of The Year and Best Cover Art nods.

Around the accolades (because there were more accolades), Faker, aka Nicholas Murphy, found the time to play every major festival in the country, also selling out days-upon-days of headline slots at some of our biggest venues. There was a kind of cult around the beard: all swooning girls in denim shorts and crops; and Murphy remained simultaneously

relatable and aloof, snubbing ARIA interviews, declaring awards “irrelevant”, but posting candid shots to Instagram, showing sensitivity on Twitter and calling out his critics. Built On Glass was not an easy record to make however. Murphy made the record on his own, before signing to Future Classic, following his debut EP Thinking In Textures and his collab with Flume Drop The Game. In Murphy’s bedroom, a record about women and the mundane realities of our everyday lives, was being crafted; and then recrafted; and then re-crafted again. He had scrapped two complete albums before starting on Built On Glass – one that was “too intellectual”, another too “experimental” – ﬁnding something honest, something that spoke not only to Murphy himself, but to a legion of fans across the country. And what of the rest? We were into electronic production this year: FKA Twigs managed to take our both Single and Artist of the Year, and deservedly takes out #2 in the Album stakes; with Caribou and The War On Drugs not far behind. The ladies are represented in the top ten by FKA Twigs, the pop perfection of Taylor Swift, and the eccentricity St Vincent’s experimental pop. The Australian contingent stepped it up this year: Chet Faker and Sydney’s Flight Facilities cracked our top ten. DZ Deathrays and The Smith Street Band are the heavier Australian standouts, while poppier Aussies like #1 Dads,Timothy Nelson & The Inﬁdels, and Seekae (with more vocals!) also warranted a mention. These guys managed to make themselves heard despite the hyped records from indie-rock heavyweights Alt-J, Beck and Mac DeMarco. Hannah Story

2. Down To Earth Flight Facilities (8) 3. Black Rat DZ Deathrays (12) 4. Throw Me In The River The Smith Street Band (13) 5. About Face #1 Dads (14) 6. Terror Terror, Hide It Hide It Timothy Nelson & The Inﬁdels (16) 7. Land Of Pleasure Sticky Fingers (18) 8. The Worry Seekae (19) 9. Love Of Cartography sleepmakeswaves (21) 10. Blue Planet Eyes The Preatures (23) 11. Puddinghead Ball Park Music (26) 12. Gon’ Boogaloo CW Stoneking (30) 13. Velociraptor Velociraptor(31)

15. There There Megan Washington (35)

1. Built On Glass Chet Faker

8. Down To Earth Flight Facilities

15. Morning Phase Beck

2. LP1 FKA Twigs

9. This Is All Yours Alt-J

3. Our Love Caribou

10. Run The Jewels Run The Jewels

16. Terror Terror, Hide It Hide It Timothy Nelson & The Inﬁdels

4. Lost In The Dream The War On Drugs

11. Salad Days Mac DeMarco

5. 1989 Taylor Swift

12. Black Rat DZ Deathrays

6. St Vincent St Vincent

13. Throw Me In The River The Smith Street Band 14. About Face #1 Dads

17. Wonder Where We Land SBTRKT 18. Land Of Pleasure Sticky Fingers 19. The Worry Seekae 20. Benji Sun Kil Moon

Almost made it: Love Of Cartography sleepmakeswaves Blue Planet Eyes The Preatures Sunbathing Animal Parquet Courts Puddinghead Ball Park Music Previous winners: Yeezus Kanye West (2013 Lonerism Tame Impala (2012) Bon Iver Bon Iver (2011) The Suburbs Arcade Fire (2010)

10 • THE MUSIC • 23RD DECEMBER 2014

1. Built On Glass Chet Faker (1)

14. Blackbird Dan Sultan (33)

THE TOP 20

7. Syro Aphex Twin

THE BEST OF HOME

SONG OF THE YEAR TWO WEEKS FKA TWIGS

hances are if you got “higher than a motherfucker” in 2014, FKA Twigs and her breakout track Two Weeks might have had something to do with it. The singer’s throbbing, suggestive first single off LP1 is all kinds of bold with its yearning message and menacing sound. And in a time where so much music can sound the same, Two Weeks had no rival in 2014 for utter uniqueness. On the track, which she wrote and co-produced, Twigs’ breathless, light vocal layers the pulsating, mounting beat to perfection and she goes from tame, almost slightly innocent (“I can treat you better than them”), to downright blunt (“I can fuck you better than her”), unleashing a raw, sexual energy that is as much a breath of fresh air as it will make you blush. It’s not often we hear a female musician so unapologetically admit, “My thighs are apart for when you’re ready to breathe in” in a song. A captivating Queen Of The Damned/ Aaliyah-channelling video didn’t hurt Two Weeks’ impact either – who knew milk dripping from one’s finger could look so sexy huh? Aussie fella Chet Faker chilled 2014 out and then some with Talk Is Cheap and Gold. We’re assuming Faker’s probably soundtracking a lot of summers right about now with these gems and the rest of his brilliant Built On Glass. Another Aussie, Sia, no doubt was pumped at a lot of house parties this year with her internationally adored pop epic Chandelier. We have a feeling the amount of chandeliers that were swung on this year during house

ARTIST OF THE YEAR FKA TWIGS

here are usually a couple of artists to emerge each year surrounded by a ridiculous amount of buzz and expectation. British singer-songwriter FKA Twigs, born Tahliah Barnett, would have to be one of the most hyped musicians to put her stamp on 2014. After dropping two acclaimed EPs in 2012 and ‘13, Twigs’ debut album, simply titled LP1, was one of the most anticipated of the year, thanks in part to her mysterious persona. With her airy and, at times, whispering vocal abilities, clunky production techniques and shy, humble demeanour, Barnett has transfixed the music business, one panting note at a time. The record solidified what her previous music gave glorious hints of and helped continue the movement of alternative, electro-laced R&B, a movement that’s getting harder to define by the minute. Twigs was the heavy favourite along with Blur’s Damon Albarn to win the coveted Mercury Prize, though they were both pipped, surprisingly, by experimental hip hop trio Young Fathers. We get the feeling though that throughout her career, Twigs will receive many nominations and awards, so we’ll let that one slide. A string of incredible live performances in the US, (YouTube her Webster Hall show from August for a lesson on how to pick up a microphone while dancing like a beast), the UK and Europe have us looking forward to when Twigs reach our shores (thank god) for St Jerome’s Laneway Festival very soon.

parties broke records too. Does anyone know how we can find out? Baltimore’s Future Islands crept up outta almost nowhere to deliver one of the year’s most underrated anthems, Seasons (Waiting On You), which gave us one of the best Letterman performances we’ve seen in a long time. Then we have Taylor Swift, who contributed not one, but two standout singles in 2014 – the undeniable catchy Shake It Off and tongue-in-cheek Blank Space. And while we’re on the subject of catchy, can we just take some time out to thank producer extraordinaire Mark Ronson for his retroflavoured Uptown Funk featuring Bruno Mars? Sally-Anne Hurley

If Twigs’ artistry in 2014 was defined by her incredible debut album, then Violent Soho’s would have to be defined by their incredible live show. The Brisbane-based four-piece nailed the last 12 months, one sweaty, electric mosh-pit at a time, while our favourite beard Chet Faker crooned his way to nine ARIA nominations in 2014, on top of dropping his debut LP Built On Glass. Reluctant superstar Sia waved the Aussie flag on an international level thanks to her massive hit Chandelier and LP 1000 Forms Of Fear and despite not having released a full-length album yet, Melburnian Courtney Barnett continued to win us over with her solid live performances. Then there’s Beyoncé and Taylor Swift, who even if it didn’t seem possible, became even larger than life in 2014.

THE TOP TEN 1. Two Weeks FKA Twigs 2. Talk Is Cheap Chet Faker 3. Chandelier Sia 4. Seasons (Waiting On You) Future Islands 5. Shake It Oﬀ Taylor Swift 6. Gold Chet Faker 7. Uptown Funk Mark Ronson ft Bruno Mars

THE TOP TEN 1. FKA Twigs 2. Violent Soho 3. Chet Faker 4. Courtney Barnett

8. Blank Space Taylor Swift 9. Flawless (Remix) Beyoncé ft Nicki Minaj 10. Beware The Dog The Griswolds Previous winners: Get Lucky Daft Punk ft Pharrell Williams (2013) Elephant Tame Impala (2012) Somebody That I Used To Know Gotye ft Kimbra (2011) Fuck You Cee Lo Green (2010)

9. The Smith Street Band 10. Aphex Twix Previous winners: Lorde (2013)

5. Beyoncé

Frank Ocean/Tame Impala (2012)

6. Sia

Gotye (2011)

7. Taylor Swift

The National (2010)

8. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard

Sally-Anne Hurley

THE MUSIC • 23RD DECEMBER 2014 • 11

INTERNATIONAL PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN

ang on [rubs eyes], what year are we in? The Boss topped The Music’s International Performance Of The Year poll in 2013. And here he is again! When the 2014 tour dates were announced and fell within a year of Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band’s previous tour, there were a few murmurs of concern: “Too soon?” The answer being certainly not when Springsteen and Eddie Vedder shared a microphone during their opening rendition of AC/DC’s Highway To Hell (15 Feb, AAMI Stadium – sorry interstaters and othernighters). The Battler’s Prophet had another trick up his busting-at-the-seams‘cause-he’s-so-buﬀ-shirt-sleeves: performing an album in full (Born To Run or Born In The USA) in the middle of these three-and-a-half hour sets. And this time they took in Perth and Adelaide as well. Amen.

From hallelujah hands in the air and the gospel according to The Boss, to gangsta handshakes anticipating Yeezus; our runner-up is a frontrunner in the hip hop race: Kanye West, who would “...rather be a dick than a swallower”. His mirrored catwalk/cock required a lot of polishing pre-show. It was just one holy warrior (sporting various masks for the majority of the show) and a DJ in the shadows, and West parted the Red Sea thanks to lighting design stolen from the future.

Yes, we’re still having a cry over the cancelled Hanging Rock show by The Rolling Stones, the whole tour of which had already been rescheduled due to tragic circumstances. Not everyone who intended to see The Stones was able to, which obviously reflects in these poll results, ‘cause watching Jagger move like Jagger (in his prime) and witnessing that cheeky chappy Keith Richards collect a suspicious rollie from a ledge on his way offstage were right up there in terms of favourite life moments. Bryget Chrisfield

AUSTRALIAN PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR VIOLENT SOHO

iolent Hoho right? It’s fucking Christmas and it’s time to give Violent Soho what they deserve, which is the gong for Australian Performance Of The Year. We couldn’t quite give them Artist (Hungry Ghost is so 2013 after all), but we could acknowledge that these relentless touring misfits, these bearded stoners, these destructionseeking rock lords, took us over in 2014. Live music in Australia is carried by the humble Violent Soho show, the crowdsurfing, the moshing, the revelers climbing on stage only to throw themselves off. No matter where in Aus you’re from, Violent Soho have annihilated your stages, selling out gig after gig after gig, and making us wonder just how many Frequent Flyer miles these boys have got under their belts. We dare you to go and not get sweaty and disgusting. It’s not even possible. And your throat will be hoarse from all the “Hell fuck yeah!”s.

Other young guns keeping the energy up included King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard and their psych’n’roll, The Smith Street Band, who’ve got the industry frothing right now, and sleepmakeswaves who add chugging bass to the mix. Having taken on the international market and won, Courtney Barnett has enough charm to launch a thousand

12 • THE MUSIC • 23RD DECEMBER 2014

ships, and on stage her wry lyrics get given the garage bend they deserve. Nothing Depreston about it. Nick Cave is a veteran in this category, taking it out with the Bad Seeds last year and in 2009, and as Grinderman in 2011. What can we say? We like the man’s swagger. He’s joined in the elder statesmen category by Something For Kate, whose 20th anniversary tour made us tear up a little. We can’t help ourselves when it comes to the Demps. Hannah Story

THE TOP TEN 1. Bruce Springsteen 2. Kanye West 3. The Rolling Stones 4. Parquet Courts 5. Queens Of The Stone Age 6. Haim

8. Bob Dylan 9. Miley Cyrus 10. Arctic Monkeys Previous Winners: Bruce Springsteen (2013) Radiohead (2012) Portishead (2011) Metallica (2010)

7. The Dillinger Escape Plan

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN @ AAMI STADIUM. PIC: KANE HIBBERD

THE TOP TEN 1. Violent Soho 2. Courtney Barnett 3. Nick Cave 4. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard 5. The Smith Street Band 6. Chet Faker

8. sleepmakeswaves 9. REMI 10. The Love Junkies Previous winners: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (2013) Dirty Three (2012) Grinderman (2011) Tame Impala (2010)

7. Something For Kate

VIOLENT SOHO @ GROOVIN THE MOO MAITLAND. PIC: JOSH GROOM

MOVIE OF THE YEAR THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL

es Anderson fans were all in a tizzy following the release of the trailer of The Grand Budapest Hotel, and the ﬁlm didn’t disappoint. A charming (or creepy, depending how you look at Ralph Fiennes) hotel concierge who “services” elderly women, a quest to keep an expensive painting from falling into the wrong hands, a precocious lobby boy (played remarkably by Tony Revolori) and his young ﬁancée Agatha (Saoirse

Ronan) executing a jailbreak mission, an assassin, and the setting of a gorgeously lavish building: The Grand Budapest Hotel has it all, along with Anderson’s well loved snappy, darkly funny dialogue and whimsical aesthetic. Gone Girl kept us guessing and gasping, then ruminating on whether it was misogynistic or empowering for women.

TV SHOW OF THE YEAR TRUE DETECTIVE

BO gothic police procedural True Detective took us back to the dark old days of the ‘90s where women could only be wives, whores or murder victims. It also had viewers hitting Google to decipher what was the last line mumbled by the ever-incoherent Matthew McConaughey at the end of the show’s ﬁnale. The show did look pretty, though. In fact, the astonishing raid set-piece of Episode Three was so viewer-immersive that it alone makes TD a worthy winner in this category.

holds steady at four (obvs our writers aren’t as upset as some about killing oﬀ one of its most popular characters). Top local show was Shaun Micallef ’s Mad As Hell, one of two news satire shows to land

We marvelled over seeing the actors age over the 12 years it took to shoot Richard Linklater’s Boyhood. We scratched our heads over the space-time warp theories in Interstellar, and also over how Matthew McConaughey kept up his tan in a dust-stormﬁlled world – and in space. The LEGO Movie seemed more popular among adults than kids, while Spike Jonze’s sci-ﬁ romdramedy Her challenged people’s ideas about modern love, human intimacy and interaction in a technological age. Stephanie Liew

in the ten, alongside Last Week Tonight With John Oliver. And, cult US comedy Broad City cements its status as the new Girls while Brooklyn Nine-Nine represents US network sitcoms in the ten. Perennial writers’ fave Mad Men dropped from its top three spot in 2013’s list despite another strong year. Andrew Mast

Once again though, the story of two white American males battling evil has kept sex’n’sorcery epic Game Of Thrones in the #2 spot – this year losing out to something that’s not Breaking Bad, which pipped GOT at the post for the last three years. Netﬂix hit Orange Is The New Black is in at #3 while zombie-soap The Walking Dead

1. The Grand Budapest Hotel 2. Gone Girl 3. Boyhood 4. Interstellar 5. Guardians Of The Galaxy 6. The LEGO Movie 7. Her 8. Whiplash 9. Calvary 10. X-Men: Days Of Future Past Previous winners: Gravity (2013) The Dark Knight Rises (2012) Drive (2011) Inception (2010)

THE TOP TEN 1. True Detective 2. Game Of Thrones 3. Orange Is The New Black 4. The Walking Dead 5. Fargo 6. Shaun Micallef ’s Mad As Hell 7. Broad City 8. Brooklyn Nine-Nine 9. Last Week Tonight With John Oliver 10. Mad Men Previous winners: Breaking Bad (2013) Breaking Bad (2012) Breaking Bad (2011) True Blood (2010)

WEBSITE OF THE YEAR THEMUSIC.COM.AU ast year we described it as like watching yourself have sex or putting your own record on a party… turns our we’re still watching ourselves. Yes, our writers have decided this year (with no oﬃcial pressure, we might add) that their favourite website was our own – theMusic.com.au. A pat on the back is always welcome, even if it is from within our own family, and we have been working exceptionally

THE TOP TEN

hard in the past 12 months on the site. We’re breaking news stories that matter, posting more interviews with local and international acts than anyone else, running reviews and galleries from shows in every state and territory, and having a little bit of fun along the way. The site underwent a major redesign midyear and we’re seeing a

jump in traﬃc and in feedback on usability, which is another cause for celebration (and maybe a bit of relief as well!). There were a few other sites bookmarked in our writers’ browsers this year, with social media giants Facebook and Twitter also in the top three. We also listened to music online through YouTube, Soundcloud and Bandcamp, got all the news we didn’t get from theMusic.com.au from The Guardian and relied on Google for us to ﬁnd it all. Scott Fitzsimons

THE TOP TEN 1. theMusic.com.au 2. Facebook 3. Twitter 4. YouTube 5. Tumblr 6. Soundcloud 7. The Guardian 8. Bandcamp 9. Google 10. The AV Club Previous Winners: theMusic.com.au (2013) Twitter (2012) Facebook (2011) Facebook (2010)

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music

ALBUMS YOU NEED IN 2015 Andrew Mast takes a look at some of next year’s anticipated releases. Jose Gonzalez More than seven years have lapsed since the folky Swede delivered a solo studio album, so expectations are high. We were recently teased with some beautifully stark sounds; he actually promises a mixture of ‘70s Brazilian-inspired sounds, Americana and West African desert blues. (Vestiges & Claws, Feb via Shock) Faith No More Not be outdone, FNM have left it 17 years between releases. And what a comeback: gimps, handlebar mo’s, the heavy industrial funk of first single Mother Fucker. Pants already damp. (Title TBC, Apr via Ipecac)

Father John Misty Picks up where the Americana troubadour left off with Fear Fun. And we ain’t sick of his Newmnanesque storytelling yet. (I Love You, Honeybear, Feb via Sub Pop) Cancer Bats The hardcore Canadians promise their fifth studio album is “a serious banger”. First taste Arsenic In The Year Of The Snake arrived in October and it proved they are no liars. (Searching For Zero, Mar via Cooking Vinyl)

Time Tomorrow. It’s not on the new album but the wonderfully epic 20/20 is. Whatever way this album goes, hopefully it won’t get ignored like the last one. (Matador, Jan via Caroline)

Sarah Blasko

Northlane

Very little is known about this yet except that by the time it drops, three years will have passed since her third top ten album I Awake. (Title TBC, late 2015 via EMI)

Set to go back into the studio with Singularity producer Will Putney, the NSW metalcore band are ready to go global with this one. (Title TBC, Jun via UNFD)

Dan Deacon First taste Feel The Lightning indicates a return to the lo-fi synth glory days of noughties Deacon (remember Spiderman Of The Rings?) (Glass Riffer, Mar via Domino) FAITH NO MORE

DMA’S

Giorgio Moroder And it’s more than 20 years since Moroder’s last solo studio effort and the first single is a progtastic teaser. The Italian disco icon is promising a vast of array guests including our own Sia and Kylie Minogue. (Title TBC, spring 2015 via Sony) Slayer This will be the band’s first album following guitarist Jeff Hanneman’s death. But still expect the same intensity and aggression from them if new track Implode is anything to go by. (Title TBC, Apr via Nuclear Blast) DMA’s It’s time for the loose-fit Sydney outfit to prove to the naysayers that they have the right to own this sound. (Title TBC, mid-year via I Oh You) 14 • THE MUSIC • 23RD DECEMBER 2014

Paul Dempsey

LAURA MARLING

Snoop Dogg What’s the only thing better than a Snoop Dogg phone case that doubles as a lighter (it’s a thing)? A new album from the Dogg (not the Lion or the Zilla). (Title TBC, 2015 via I Am Other/Columbia) Oh Mercy Melbourne’s Alexander Gow has been writing overseas and soaking up influences like Arthur Russell. Don’t expect Deep Heat II. (Title TBC, Jul via EMI) Laura Marling The title track of the UK folkie’s return is nothing if not exciting in its starkness and lack of fear. Is this gonna be her best yet? (Short Movie, Mar via Caroline)

With Something For Kate anniversary season over, it’s time for Dempsey to get seriously solo on our arses. Yep, that’s all we know. (Title TBC, late 2015 via EMI)

San Cisco

Atreyu

Joanna Newsom

The OC metalcore lads have officially reunited following the now mandatory band hiatus and have already started pre-production on album number six. (Title TBC, May via Spinefarm)

Could her newfound Hollywood notoriety (US box office hit Inherent Vice) bring this musical outsider into the fold? (Title TBC, early 2015 via Spunk)

British India Victorian indie rockers follow-up last year’s Controller ASAP. Lead track Wrong Direction indicates some moodiness ahead. (Title TBC, Mar via Liberation) Gaz Coombes Earlier this year the former Supergrass frontman issued a smashing cover of The Kinks’ This

Run would indicate that the Perth kids have pushed past ‘difficult second album’ syndrome (D2ndAS) for a punchy but sophisticated follow-up to 2013’s self-titled breakthrough set. (Title TBC, Mar via Albert Productions)

Seth Sentry Also knocking the fuck out of D2ndAS is this Melbourne rapper – single Run is already hinting at a more thoughtful, polished set on the horizon. (Title TBC, mid-year via High Score) Modest Mouse There was a collective O-mouth earlier this month when these guys announced their first album in eight years would appear soon. Intensity expected. (Strangers To Ourselves, Apr via Sony) Also look out for new long-players in 2015 from: Airling, Alison Wonderland, All Time Low, Art Of Sleeping, Belle Haven, Calexico, Carl Barat & The Jackals, Circa Waves, Coin Banks, Dead Letter Circus, Death Grips, Deez Nuts, Dick Diver, Gang Of Youths, Holy Holy, Jackie Onassis, Japanese Wallpaper, Kodaline, Kucka, Little May, Mark Ronson, Matthew E White, Meg Mac, Olympia, The Prodigy, Spit Syndicate, Tkay Maidza, Tuka (Thundamentals), Twinsy and Wolf Alice.

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music

HOMEWARD BOUND

Ben Harper has reformed his old crew The Innocent Criminals to once more hit Bluesfest, and he tells Steve Bell that nothing stops your family being your family.

hen the fine folk at Bluesfest caused a stir earlier this year by cryptically dropping that their next announce would include the reformation of “one of the premiere bands around the globe”, there was no real surprise when it eventually transpired to be the return of Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals, such is the rapport that the blues icon has had with the festival over the years. Seven appearances have made him one of Bluesfest’s biggest drawcards; no mean feat given the calibre of acts that they attract each year. The Innocent Criminals were Harper’s backing band for much of the early part of his storied career,

music

but – apart from one surprise reunion in 2011 at Bluesfest, naturally – they haven’t played together since 2008, so there’s a lot of buzz surrounding the reunion. “It will be out first gig out of the country in a long time,” Harper smiles. “The time in between gave us all a chance to embark on our own creative endeavours and thoroughly flush those out, and it just felt aligned and the right time creatively for us all to get back in the same room and strike up the band again. I felt people were keen for it, and it just felt right creatively and what would serve the music best – I’ve always done first and foremost what’s going

to best serve the music that I’m writing. With the songs that I’m writing now, and my creative instincts, everything pointed to The Innocent Criminals by far.” In the intervening years Harper has worked with an enviable array of musicians – including subsequent supporting cast Relentless 7, Charlie Musselwhite and even Harper’s own mother Ellen (with whom he released the album Childhood Home this year) – but is there a special bond with The Innocent Criminals? “Yeah, there is,” he chuckles. “It’s a collective consciousness and its own instrument in the sense of familiarity and family. But then again playing with Charlie and Relentless 7 is also an instrument, and Fistful Of Mercy and my mum – the different incarnations all have their uniqueness as far as what I get from them and what I bring to them. But 20 years is a long time – it makes us family. That’s a good amount of time for a tree to grow. Getting back with The Innocent Criminals is like coming home, for sure.” Excitingly they’re already working on new tunes, and Harper attests that it’s a different feeling having the old gang with him on stage. “You do feel the difference – there’s an energetic difference in playing with different people because you’re trying to unify and feed off one another,” he reflects. “You’re trying to become one with the sound and the players on the stage with you. With The Innocent Criminals there’s a lot of laughter and a lot of dialogue and a lot of history, and the camaraderie there is like a 20-year brotherhood. And I’ve never been more confident that you’re going to be hearing the 20-year brotherhood in this next record.” WHEN & WHERE: 5 Apr, Bluesfest, Byron Bay To read the full interview head to theMusic.com.au

WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU Most artists find expressing their emotions through their work cathartic, but in the case of New Found Glory’s latest record, drummer Cyrus Bolooki tells Daniel Cribb it brought them back from the brink of destruction.

“W

e’re currently ﬁnishing up our run headlining the ﬁfth annual Glamour Kills Tour here in the US,” New Found Glory drummer Cyrus Bolooki begins from the depths of Seattle, surrounded by party pals We Are The In Crowd, Fireworks and more. Despite being in good company and touring their new record, Resurrection, around the US to a solid response, the writing and recording process for the band’s eighth record wasn’t an easy one to get to. It’s been a tough 12 months for the pop-punk icons and a year that almost saw the demise of the band. When former guitarist Steve Klein was charged with lewd conduct with a minor, their world was thrown into chaos. “Given the circumstances, I think a lot of bands wouldn’t have continued their career after going through changes, yet for us we used it as a springboard to push us to continue and make sure that no one or no thing would stop us from doing what we love,” Bolooki comments on the situation. Pushing through the heartache of the publicly aired case, the band landed on their feet and became closer 16 • THE MUSIC • 23RD DECEMBER 2014

because of it. It’s not surprising the new record feels more mature and perhaps well rounded than previous oﬀerings. “This time around we were able to channel some of the feelings and emotions we had been going through for the past year and put those things into lyrics and themes for the songs on this album… rather than focusing on only relationships, you have lyrics that deal with how to overcome struggles, or how to look inside yourself and question and really ﬁgure out if you are truly doing what you want to do with your life. By

putting a lot of these themes in our new songs, it helped us to deal with and move past our own struggles.” Overcoming a trying year, and bringing new material to Australia for Soundwave, it’s clear New Found Glory aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. “I think we’re all closer and tighter as a band, not only musically on stage, but also personally as well. Sometimes unfortunately I think it can take a bad experience to really put things in perspective, but after overcoming what we have had to endure throughout the past year, we know now that we can push through and survive almost anything, and there’s a big sense of conﬁdence and tranquility that comes along with that. We’re here for the long haul and we’re going to keep pushing on for years to come.” WHAT: Resurrection (Hopeless/Unified) WHEN & WHERE: 1 Mar, Soundwave, Brisbane Showgrounds

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music

CURTAIN CALL Performing in a New York theatre with protesters being arrested mid-show as well as smoke-filled European venues, Kate Miller-Heidke’s had an interesting six months. Daniel Cribb gets all the details.

“I

haven’t really been home in about six months or something, so I’m kind of dazzled by the Melbourne sunlight,” a jet-lagged yet spritely Kate Miller-Heidke begins. She’s travelled the world since her last Australian tour in support of latest album, O Vertigo!, early in 2014, and seen more than most would in several years. Miller-Heidke’s first destination in her mission to dominate the globe was New York City, where she performed in the Metropolitan Opera’s The Death Of Klinghoffer. An

international operatic theatre experience isn’t anything new for the Brisbane singer, but the controversy surrounding it was. “[On] opening night, there was a little bit of fear, because there was NYPD swarming around and the whole building was cordoned off because of the protesters outside and people were coming in to disrupt the show. We had people come into the theatre with smoke bombs and people getting arrested during performances. It was very electric. “It’s not a life that I’d choose for myself full-time, but getting to dip one toe in it every now and then

film

– especially if it’s a challenging and interesting project – is something I feel very lucky about. There’s something about a show coming together and how impermanent it is, you know. You put all this work in and then a few weeks later it’s gone forever, and there’s something I really love about that.” From there, it was across the ocean for a “crazy” European tour. “We had big drives every day, and played seven different countries in eight nights to start off with. People still smoke in venues there, which was kind of a shock. It was amazing that night in Vienna thinking, ‘Fuck, ten years ago in Australia venues would have been like this.’ It was pretty gross.” With O Vertigo! getting a European release early in the New Year, it won’t be long before Miller-Heidke’s living abroad again, but not before returning Woodford Folk Festival. “It’s one of my favourites. I started off going as a punter when I was a teenager and they were the first people to ever give me a proper gig, and it was hugely influential for me growing up, listening to all those folk bands and all kinds of musicians that they have there, it represents utopia for me.” All the worldly experiences garnered while away from home are set to make Miller-Heidke’s fifth album a step up. “I think the next record is going to be a bit more experimental. I think living in New York, in that time I sort of started to get into this new Brooklyn scene that’s happening with classical musicians doing really cool, weird pop-influenced stuff. It’s kind of just a general new direction for classical music, and it’s something that’s exciting me quite a bit.” WHEN & WHERE: 27 Dec – 1 Jan, Woodford Folk Festival

HOLLYWOOD’S WOODS Director Rob Marshall took up the challenge of translating a much-loved stage musical to the big screen. He talks to Guy Davis about the journey.

tephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s muchloved musical, Into The Woods, puts a subversive twist of some of your favourite fairytale traditions – here, Prince Charming is a bit of a player, the Big Bad Wolf is something of a perv and the definition of ‘happily ever after’ has a bittersweet tinge – but for director Rob Marshall, who brought the show to the big screen, it was the warmer aspects that appealed. “I saw the original production on Broadway in 1987,” says Marshall, an acclaimed theatre director and choreographer who made the transition to film with 2002’s Oscar-winning Chicago. “I loved it immediately – the wonder, the magic, the humour, the cleverness and above all the profound nature of the piece. I thought it had incredible messages about the parent-child relationship, the desire not to repeat the mistakes of the past, the consequences of wishes and the need to move forward through loss. It was all very layered to me.” After his success with Chicago, Marshall meet with Sondheim to talk about the possibility of turning one of the legendary composer’s musicals into a movie. “And when we spoke about Into The Woods, he said he thought it would be a wonderful piece for me to work on. And that stayed with me.” Sondheim and Lapine had one request, however. If Marshall took it on, he had to actually get it made. “It’s been sitting out there

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for so many years but nothing really happened. I promised them I would get it made, so that’s one thing I was able to follow through on!” Marshall was also able to cast it with a stellar lineup – including Johnny Depp, The Devil Wears Prada’s Emily Blunt, Star Trek’s Chris Pine and the one and only and fellow Prada’n, Meryl Streep. “The first person I asked was Meryl,” Marshall admits. “And when she said yes, that was a dream come true. When it came to the rest of the cast, not only wanting to be part of a musical but also part of a company that includes Meryl Streep is incredibly enticing. So I had a plethora of choices.”

JOHNNY DEPP AS BIG BAD WOLF & LILLA CRAWFORD AS RED RIDING HOOD IN INTO THE WOODS

Still, the project wasn’t without its challenges, foremost among them ensuring that what worked on stage would translate to the screen while giving the film version its own distinct personality. “One of the reasons I asked Steve and James to work with me on this film was because I really wanted that true voice there. I wanted to be as faithful as we could be. But I was pleasantly surprised that both of them were so incredibly flexible. It’s a mark of real collaborators, showing an understanding that something needs to be thought of in a new way. It gave me a great deal of reassurance. There were actually times I found myself holding onto the original material with a tighter hold than they did. So the balance was a challenge but it was also a joy, seeing something come together in a new way.” WHAT: Into The Woods In cinemas 8 Jan

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comedy

KILLING THEM QUICKLY Brisbane-bred, Melbourne-based stand-up comic Harley Breen is venturing outside his comfort zone and taking to festival stages for 15 minutes of funny in a setting no comic in their right mind would seek out, he tells Mitch Knox.

“I

t’s entirely different to what standup should be. If you put it down on paper, just about every stand-up would go, ‘Umm… are you insane?’” Harley Breen sounds less than sure about the prospects for his forthcoming stand-up set at the Falls Music & Arts and Southbound festivals, but this isn’t the first time he’s taken the leap of performing for the wrong – or at least, less-than-ideal – crowd, and

the 13-year comedy vet is more confident than he lets on. “I did it in 2011 and was very pleasantly surprised. It’s a captive group of people – well, as captive as they can be at a large music festival – that are actually fairly keen about the comedy. I had a great time in 2011. I’m hoping to repeat that.” A key to successfully performing stand-up at non-comedy-specific gigs, Breen explains, is an understanding of, and respect for, his role in the hierarchy of acts. “I’ve done a fair amount of these really big kind of festivalstyle audiences, and I feel like the best way

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to play it is just play it like you’re killing it regardless, and get your job done and get off. It’s not really the environment where you can start doing some crowd work and some funny wordplay with a guy in the front row when there’s two-and-a-half thousand people there that didn’t hear what he said, don’t care that he exists… I feel like it’s just a ‘get it done’ kind of gig. “It’s only a fifteen-minute spot anyway, so it’s more get up, get funny very quickly in front of a large group of people that are hot and bothered and don’t have chairs. I mean, the first time I did it, there were two hundred blokes already booing before we walked on stage. It was two hundred out of, like, two-and-a-half thousand; I was like, ‘Do your worst, man – no one down the back can even hear you!’” For his upcoming appearances, Breen will be dipping into material which he’s written for the coming year’s comedy festivals – though he wouldn’t be totally averse to hitting some other less-travelled roads along which he can spin his jokes. “Part of me feels like my art form that I’ve focused my life on and made a career and a business out of is a bit like a cancer – we get into everything, we go everywhere, and sometimes I think it’d be nice just to have a music festival without some fuckin’ comedian on stage going, ‘Yeah, but look at me for ten minutes, fuckin’ look at me!’” he laughs. “We’ve got festivals! We’ve got them all over the world! On the other side, I love performing at them, so, yes, I do think they should diversify and put comedy on everywhere!” WHEN & WHERE: 2 Jan, Falls Festival, North Byron Parklands

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music

SAME AND DIFFERENT Reacting to the constant touring behind third record, Civilian, in 2011, Wye Oak started over; Ahead of their premiere Australian performance as part of Sydney Festival, frontwoman Jenn Wasner talks Tyler McLoughlan through the transformation.

ncouraged by a prominent placement of Civilian’s title track in season two of cult zombie drama The Walking Dead, the modern, autumnal folk of Andy Stack on drums and keys, and Jenn Wasner on guitar and vocals clicked and Baltimore duo Wye Oak broke through. “Civilian came out and it really took off for the first time,” says Wasner in the midst of a touring dinner break in Nashville. “We’d been working and working

26 • THE MUSIC • 23RD DECEMBER 2014

and for whatever reason that was the album that connected with people, and so we started getting more opportunities and decided to say yes to everything. We played 220 shows in a year… We didn’t live anywhere – we just toured and toured and toured. From a career standpoint that was probably the best thing we could have done. But it was really challenging personally… I sort of just detached and the team had a very unhealthy connection to the music and to myself. I drank a lot and I really didn’t enjoy the mercurial at all. And so after that time it really burned me out on being a band and

playing music in general, and I found that I was having a really hard time writing; I went through a period of really intense writer’s block – I couldn’t really figure out how to make myself wanna do that again. And so Shriek is essentially the result of a complete reboot. In order to make anything, I had to start from scratch, and throw everything out the window and just really give myself a whole new palate of sounds…” Wasner says. “I always tell people it’s not the record I chose to make, it’s the only record I could make. And that’s sort of the explanation as to why it is indeed so very different.” A new approach to instrumentation – while maintaining the duo format – was also a key contributor to a shift into pop territory across Shriek. “[Andy] previously would sort of play keyboards – low, droney, bassy keyboard parts – and I would play guitar on the upper register on top of that. So we were basically inverting what we were responsible for. I’m playing bass now so that frees him up to do the more upper register stuff. We took the same shell and made an entirely different band out of it.” Old fans and those who fell in love with the Wye Oak that soundtracked a hopeless, post-apocalyptic world needn’t be too alarmed – Wasner says they’re still the same duo underneath. “I think the essence of what we do and what we’ve always done is exactly the same. It’s the same style of songwriting, it’s just sort of in different surroundings and different trappings and different arrangements, but the heart of it is still the same and I think that’s why people who have liked us in the past – more often than not – like this record as well.” WHEN & WHERE: 11 Jan, Black Bear Lodge

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music

TAFE QUEENSLAND BRISBANE Whether you want to perform music, help others create it or take on more of the business side of things, TAFE Queensland Brisbane can help you succeed in your chosen field.

he music department at TAFE Queensland Brisbane burst on to the vocational education and training scene in 1992, creating a vibrant musical arena for students, teachers and the public to enjoy and participate in. In just over 20 years, TAFE Queensland Brisbane’s music program has produced thousands of graduates who can be found working around the country and internationally in every aspect of the industry from sound production to music business and performance. The specialist setup at South Bank enables teachers such as industry veteran Mary Carden to emulate real world scenarios and allows students to experience situations in a professional, pulsating atmosphere – students such as Amy Sheppard, lead singer of the chart-topping ARIAaward winning band Sheppard, whose rise to success began with a straightforward homework assignment for one of Mary’s music class in 2009. In the music program, students like Amy Sheppard learn how to write and record their own songs, digital music composition and production.

MARY CARDEN PERFORMING IN DOGROSE

fingertips at TAFE Queensland Brisbane, including the new Solid State Logic Duality SE mixing console – one of only six sold in Australia and 250 worldwide.

environment and solid industry cred is a winning combination, not to mention it has an enviable location in the heart of Brisbane’s popular South Bank precinct. TAFE Queensland Brisbane provides the best means possible for you to carve out your own success by combining your creative talent with enhanced technical knowledge to produce top-rate musical entertainment.

“IN THE MUSIC PROGRAM, STUDENTS LIKE AMY SHEPPARD LEARN HOW TO WRITE AND RECORD THEIR OWN SONGS, DIGITAL MUSIC COMPOSITION AND PRODUCTION.”

All the teachers like Carven are practicing musicians who nurture an environment where musos can network, form bands, learn about equipment and ultimately run their own successful music projects. Fellow colleague and industry legend Ian Taylor is a sound production guru who has been imparting his technical wisdom to students since the TAFE Queensland Brisbane program’s inception. Today, the industry seeks out his students to work as audio engineers at live music festivals such as the Gympie Music Muster and Byron Bay Bluesfest. Studio recording techniques, commercial audio production using computer software, set up and operation of PA systems at events, stage lighting and cable care are all part of what is covered in Sound Production course.

The specifically designed courses for anyone looking to work in the music business, whether as a performer, arranger, songwriter or more broadly to do with the business, are 80% practical and 20% theoretical, which sets it apart from other providers.

The most up-to-date, commercial quality audio production equipment and software is at your

The program’s integrated, real-world learning

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Courses: Diploma of Music Diploma of Music Business Diploma of Sound Production Diploma of Music Business (Online) Certificate III in Music Certificate III in Music Business Music Health and Safety Basics For more information about courses, entry requirements and enrolments go to tafebrisbane.edu.au or call 13 72 48.

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live reviews TY SEGALL, THE BABE RAINBOW, THIGH MASTER The Zoo 19 Dec The night bursts out of the blocks with an outpouring of exceptional music by an upcoming local band with massive substance. Thigh Master may be on the newish side – and be sporting a slightly abridged line-up with a key member interstate – but they nonetheless unleash a barrage of catchy and well-crafted rock’n’roll. Frontman Matthew Ford shouts with measured vitriol, but the band’s great hooks and cruisy melodies offset any gruffness in the vocals – like an Aussie Eric Bachmann fronting The Clean – and it all

he visited Brisbane last, and he’s increased the size of the onstage contingent from that trip as well. Opener, Finger is guttural and moving, and The Groundhogs’ Rich Man, Poor Man makes an early appearance, prompting a deluge of crowdsurfers and even stage-divers in a rarely seen display of old-school solidarity. The title track of recent seventh album, Manipulator, sounds massive and vicious with jagged edges – all of the tracks from that album buzz with the extra care they were afforded compared to their tossed-off contemporaries but it all sounds great. Segall himself makes a laid-back and unassuming hero, seeming to be having as much fun as anyone, and he shows compassion for his fans when checking the status of a stage invader carted

TY SEGALL @ THE ZOO. PIC: STEPHEN BOOTH

marries really well, strengthened by deft guitar interplay. Recent single, Head Of A Witch is a standout amongst a requisitely strong batch. Awesome. Next up are a trio of surferlooking guys with a standing drummer in the centre offering the vocals – it’s gotta be Byron Bay’s The Babe Rainbow. While their look may have a windswept ‘70s Cali vibe their music has a more subtle ‘60s psych tinge, and they maintain a relatively mellow tempo for the duration of their set. The cover of The Seeds’ Pushin’ Too Hard (from the Nuggets compilation) goes down well, but there’s a peak in familiarity when they offer up the strangely-monikered Secret Enchanted Broccoli Forest. There’s a vastly larger crowd awaiting Californian garage aficionado Ty Segall than when 30 • THE MUSIC • 23RD DECEMBER 2014

end a brilliantly fun set with a (perhaps impromptu) shambolic rendition of Sabbath’s Paranoid to close proceedings. It’s going to be fascinating to see where this huge guitar talent turns his focus next, but there’ll definitely be some fun and good times involved along the way. Steve Bell

DEAD LETTER CIRCUS, SLEEPMAKESWAVES, VOYAGER The Hi-Fi 18 Dec The home-town headliners have drawn in a good crowd from a steamy night outside and they seem more than happy to welcome Perth’s Voyager

DEAD LETTER CIRCUS @ THE HI-FI. PIC: TERRY SOO

off by security during the awesome glam stomp of Tall Man, Skinny Lady, announcing this clear community with a rallying cry of, “You guys can jump up here and do whatever you want!” Having thus blurred the lines between artist and crowd the four-piece continue with a steady stream of garage bangers including Mother Lemonade, Muscle Man and Standing At The Station. Segall’s guitar looks for all intents and purposes like an extension of his body rather than a tool the way he flails around, and the manner in which he feels and serves the music above all else is intoxicating. Segall may be prolific but his quality is never snuffed by quantity – and while Thank God For Sinners and Wave Goodbye rule the roost late it seems perfectly apt when they

to the stage. The five-piece are certainly not guilty of forgoing the hard yards to find themselves on this stage; since 1999 singer Danny Estrin and his players have honed their varied sound to what it is tonight: melodic, clean, well structured and brutal. These guys know how to build a song and their prog indulgence is a treat. Sydney’s sleepmakeswaves have had a breakthrough year, getting themselves regular spin on the airwaves – a feat for an instrumental post-rock four-piece – playing alongside heavy-hitters here and abroad, and even garnering a few ARIA nods. The ever-bald and bearded Alex Wilson gives his warm thanks before throwing his bass and his proficient merry men into Perfect Detonator off their latest. Guitarist Otto WicksGreen loses himself in the flurry

of those gifted fingers and his crystalline pedal effects in Traced In Constellations, while drummer Tim Adderley is a confusion of hair and limbs as he bashes his way through oldies In Limbs And Joints and We Sing The Body Electric, leaving mesmerising newbie Something Like Avalanches until last. However well their other city shows have gone down on this tour, it’s clear Brisbane’s own high-octane prog-metallers Dead Letter Circus love a home crowd. Singer Kim Benzie quantifies it, giving thanks to “all the old faces that feel like family”, before they get down to business after an exuberant stride on stage to some festive drum’n’bass Christmas carols. The appreciative stance the audience adopted for the support slots quickly

DEAD LETTER CIRCUS @ THE HI-FI. PIC: TERRY SOO

goes out the window when Benzie unleashes first-album favourite Next In Line. Their long-standing penchant for frequent and faultless live and local shows over the past decade offers a blistering set bursting with favourites Reaction, Cage, Lines, The Space On The Wall, Here We Divide, and Lodestar all get the huge crowd surges and singalongs these anthems deserve. He cajoles the pit, drummer Luke Williams jumps to his feet while he thrashes those skins, and everyone’s favourite bass player Stew Hill does his usual contortionist back bends while snapping his strings. Their gleeful vibe continues until the last beat of set-closer Big drops, and then seeps into their acoustic cover of Killing In The Name for their sign off. Carley Hall

arts reviews into the mix allowed audiences to view the classics in a new and enjoyable way. It’s little wonder Hollywood has been trying to bring it to the screen for decades.

INTO THE WOODS Film

In cinemas 8 Jan

★★★ Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s 1986 stage musical Into The Woods was something of an early adopter when it came to adding a question mark to the happily-ever-after conclusion of everyone’s favourite fairy tales. Throwing new variations of doubt, deception, infidelity and insecurity into the stories of Cinderella, Rapunzel, Little Red Riding Hood and the like

However, while the film version of Into The Woods has secured some tremendous talent (Chicago director Rob Marshall, Meryl Streep, Johnny Depp, Emily Blunt, Chris Pine and Pitch Perfect’s Anna Kendrick), something got lost in translation. It’s a Disney production, so that may explain why some of the show’s more adult themes or moral complications have been diluted, but the problems run a bit deeper. Marshall’s handling of the musical numbers is lacklustre and stiff, odd considering the vibrancy and imagination he brought to Chicago and even the uneven but occasionally electrifying Nine. As a result, Into The Woods plods when it should skip. It doesn’t help that the performances rarely rise above the capable. Yes, even in the case of La Streep! Guy Davis

ST VINCENT Film

In cinemas 26 Dec

★★★ ½ St Vincent is Bad News Bears with Bill Murray instead of Billy Bob Thornton. Apparently Bills make great washed-upalcoholics-made-tender thanks to the positive influence of children. And of course, it’s important those children learn how to be “men” and fight and gamble and stuff; it gives them confidence and the keys to the castle of male friendship. Plot = done.

Oliver ( Jaeden Lieberher) under his hard-gamblin’/drinkin’/ surprisingly selfless wing – and that core does lead to tearjerker moments. What good is cinema without a good cry at the end, a climactic moment a la About A Boy’s Killing Me Softly to make the audience feel good and tie it all together. In the end, this is feelgood cinema about becoming a better person and recognising the good bits in others: a worthy message, helped along by supporting performances from Melissa McCarthy and Chris O’Dowd. Hannah Story

It’s director/screenwriter Ted Melfi’s first film, so you can cut him a little slack for borrowing stock characters and themes. It’s what Melfi chooses to do with those themes, and the cast bringing it to life, that elevates St Vincent above Bad News Bears and its ilk. There’s a rich emotional core, a complexity to Murray’s Vincent that make him more than just a cookiecutter ‘angry old man’ taking

THE MUSIC • 23RD DECEMBER 2014 • 31

32 • THE MUSIC • 23RD DECEMBER 2014

the guide

SAINT SURLY Name/instrument played: Cameron Rutter – MPC, SP1200, SP303… and other assorted beat nerd gadgetry. How long have you been performing? For about seven years, often with my dude Monster Monster (when he is in the darn country!). You’re on tour in the van – which band or artist is going to keep you happy if we throw them on the stereo? Depends on my mood… Anything from Madlib to The Cramps to some ‘90s boom bap to some Howard Moon type jazz-fusion (eg. Weather Report). Would you rather be a busted broke-but-revered Hank Williams figure or some kind of Metallica monster? Busted broke-but-revered. Which Brisbane bands before you have been an inspiration (musically or otherwise)? The Saints. What part do you think Brisbane plays in the music you make? I think the lazy hot weather here seeps into my tunes as I can never manage to dial things over 95bpm… Also the community of beat-makers in Brisbane keeps me connected and inspired to keep honing my craft. Is your music responsible for more make-outs or breakups? Why? Hopefully hot, sweaty make-outs! If you had to play a sport instead of being a musician which sport would it be and why would you be triumphant? Definitely basketball – I’d be triumphant because I’d swatting fools like Dikembe Mutombo and getting crazy like Latrell Sprewell. What’s in the pipeline for you musically in the short term? Apart from just releasing my latest solo effort The Gleaner Part 1 & 2 (7” vinyl and CD) I’ve got a new beat tape in the works for Dub Temple Records and will continue to work with the Little Wonder Productions crew. Saint Surly plays The Milk Factory on Saturday 27 December.

Pic: Terry Soo

THE MUSIC • 23RD DECEMBER 2014 • 33

TAKE A RIDE WITH ME WIN

ing les are giv Reid Cyc tage Ladies in V away one and one Mens Lite 7-Speed ge Roadster. Vinta es who , Brisbanit Bike-less the summer away e d ri c. to si n u ee eM are k head to th you best in and enter to /w u .a com draw. be in the

Riding a bike should be easy and aﬀordable for everyone, reckons David Hannay at Reid Cycles. He chats to Erika Donald.

“W

e want to make it as easy as possible for people to just walk in, see a bike they like and ride out,” says Marketing Manager at Reid Cycles, David Hannay. As he describes it, six years ago, James Reid was searching for an “everyday bike that was good quality, and had brand name parts for a decent price,” and was disappointed to find that there was nothing like that in Australia. The traditional path of getting someone on a bike involves a big multinational brand ordering from the manufacturers in Asia, then the Australian distributor importing and selling those bikes to a retailer - with margins building along the way. These big brands control pricing and distribution which keeps prices high for would be cyclists. Reid decided to do it a different way and go direct from manufacturer to rider with only the one margin added. “It took off quickly because we were able to sell a comparable product for half the price of other bikes,” Hannay says. 3 MONTPELIER RD, BOWEN HILLS (07) 3257 2574 11 BIRUBI STREET, COORPAROO (07) 3397 3000 REIDCYCLES.COM.AU 34

Starting as an online business, Reid then opened a small store in Melbourne. From the early days of offering only a humble singlespeed fixie, they’ve continued to add different bikes and ranges to their expanding number of stores around Australia. The latest being a big new warehouse-style store close to Fortitude Valley in Bowen Hills. The driving force behind Reid Cycles has always been to create bikes which are good quality, but still affordable for the everyday person - not only the cycling nut. “Because of the volume of bikes that we sell and the 12 months free servicing offer with every bike, it makes sense for us to put good parts like Shimano on them,” Hannay explains. In keeping with the easy ethos, Reid offers a lifetime warranty on their frames and 2 years on parts in addition to the year of free servicing. Hannay says, “There is no other bike brand in Australia

WOMENS

MENS

who has such a generous warranty or servicing package with their bikes.” Reid Cycles are just about to introduce the new models for 2015, including new road and mountain bikes, an expanded range of fast commuters and a folding bike to fit the wide range of ways people use their bikes these days. Bike culture has always existed but lately it’s everywhere. And why shouldn’t it be? As argued by Hannay, cycling has loads of health benefits, you don’t have to find a park and you don’t have to sit in traffic. And thanks to Reid Cycles, it’s much more affordable than ever before. Hannay says of cycling: “More people riding bikes leads to better infrastructure and opportunities for riding, which leads to more people riding bikes! We want to see this continue and for people to just get on a bike every day.”

the guide qld.live@themusic.com.au

INDIE NEWS

CHART WRAP

BEAMIN’

PIERCED

DANNY BOY

Melbourne group and brainchild of Nick Sowersby, Sunbeam Sound Machine will wash over you with dreamy psychpop all the way from its creation in a Collingwood garage. It’s free entry on 9 Jan, at Black Bear Lodge.

Brothers Jack and Pat Pierce make up Pierce Brothers, are playing tracks from their EP The Night Tree, 27 Dec at Solbar. They’ve had a busy year, smashing out gig aplenty, so wish ‘em a happy hols.

Join in rejoicing Danny Brown. He’s performed with A$AP Rocky, Purity Ring and Schoolboy Q, and had a hit feature on Rustie’s Attak this year. Brown will play tracks from acclaimed LP Old, and more, at The Hi-Fi, 3 Jan.

ALL ROUND

STARTING WITH HITS

STEVE & TWO JOHNS

Like controversial, hard-hitting rap? You might be into 360. His LP Utopia took him around the country, and his appearance on Q&A set his name alight on the internet. He performs at Coolangatta Hotel, 10 Jan.

Do something rock-related New Year’s Eve at The Bearded Lady. See Brisbane home grown rockers HITS and Per Purpose 31 Dec from 6pm until 1am alongside radio station 4ZZZ, and DJ El Norto spinning the wax.

Steve P and Hayden John team up Rics Café and Bar 29 Dec to bring you 12-string full sound, energy and acoustic grit. John brings solo melodic folk and rock and philosophical, emotional, questioning lyrics.

LIVE AT THE LODGE

BLUE TUNES

NEW YEAR’S SOLUTION

Mountain Goat Beer and Black Bear Lodge present New Year’s Eve at the Lodge, 31 Dec. See sets from The Creases, Donny Benet, Babaganouj as well as Brisbane DJs. Tix are around $90 include unlimited drinks from 8pm to 12am.

Blues brothers and sisters Matt Anderson and Mia Wray, pictured, fill The Milk Factory Kitchen & Bar with soul on 4 Jan. Anderson is with True North Records and will be playing hits off his debut release, Weightless.

Sort yourself out at New Year’s Solution at The Triffid. 1 Jan. You’ll see The Cairos, Baskervillain, Karl S Williams, pictured, and Avaberee for $10 from 2 – 10pm. Not a bad way to start the new year at all, hmm?

NEW YEAR’S, NEW GLOBE

CHA CHA CHA

HARDCORE PUNK

There’s a NYE party on at New Globe Theatre from 7pm ‘til late. See Dead Wolves, Ghost Audio, AntiThesis, Flannelette, The Skinnie Finches and many many more. Two stages and 11 bands for $15 buckos.

Fill your Japanese psychedelic rock niche with Dachambo at The Bearded Lady on 1 Jan from 7pm. They do rock with twin drums and a didgeridoo. These musical pioneers’ sound like a double rainbow forming out of the mist.

San Fran pop-punk group Worthwhile will be showing off their melodic hardcore at The Brightside, 8 Jan, with Ambleside and Trophy Eyes also taking to the stage. It’s set to be a heavy triple-header, in all manners of the word.

FOR MORE HEAD TO THEMUSIC.COM.AU

Aussie rock veterans AC/DC and celebrated hip hop trio Hilltop Hoods have maintained their positions atop the Carlton Dry Independent Music Charts this week, with the former’s 15th album, Rock Or Bust, and the latter’s single, Cosby Sweater, getting it done for another seven days. The week is totally void of debuts but the biggest moves in the album stakes came from Lee Kernaghan (Driving Home For Christmas), who rose five spots from #12 to #7, a leap matched only by ABC For Kids Christmas, which is up from #19 to #14 this week. At the pointy end, the disturbance was less noticeable — the Hilltops jumped up a spot, Walking Under Stars sliding in just behind AC/DC at #2, while Jimmy Barnes’ 30:30 Hindsight enjoyed a slight boost, back inside the top five (from #6) at #3. The Countdown retrospective album steps up a place to #4, switching spots with Hottest 100 frontrunner Chet Faker and Built On Glass at #5. The singles rankings saw much the same story over the past seven days — Peking Duk (Take Me Over, feat. SAFIA) swapped places with Will Sparks (Ah Yeah) to fill the #2 and #3 spots respectively, while Timmy Trumpet (Freaks) and Faker (Talk Is Cheap) stayed strong at last week’s positions of #4 and #5. In fact, the top nine singles are the same as last week (ordered differently), though previous #10 holders Peking Duk (High) dropped to #11 this week as Vance Joy and Riptide — now in the charts for 89 weeks — pushed back to round out the top ten. THE MUSIC • 23RD DECEMBER 2014 • 35

the guide qld.live@themusic.com.au

ALBUM FOCUS of 2013 in between tours and we couldn’t be prouder of the final result. The best thing we’ve ever done without a doubt. Was anything in particular inspiring you during the making? Each other! There is nothing better than the inspiration you get from a bandmate coming in to rehearsal with a new musical idea that you love and are excited about.

NE OBLIVISCARIS Answered by: Tim Charles Album title? Citadel Where did the title of your new album come from? The title Citadel is used to represent the human form; we’re all strongholds, and everyone has walls to protect who we really are, but once the gates have been breached it reveals our strength within. How many releases do you have now? Three. Our new album Citadel, our debut album Portal Of I released in 2012 and The Aurora Veil demo (2007).

What’s your favourite song on it? Painters Of The Tempest. Our greatest musical accomplishment so far. It encompasses all we do in a vast 23-minute span. Will you do anything differently next time? Our approach will always be the same and that is to experiment and challenge ourselves on every record. How that ends up coming out we never know until it happens! When and where is your launch/ next gig? 1 Mar, Soundwave, Brisbane Showgrounds.

How long did it take to write/ record? Most of Citadel was written throughout the course

Website link for more info? facebook.com/neobliviscarisband

ALBUM FOCUS Was anything in particular inspiring you during the making? This album more than others has a lot of songs that were influenced by specific events. Recent deaths in the musical community inspired My Last Day while The Fight is about local environmental issues.

MATT ANDERSEN

What’s your favourite song on it? Tough to choose. I love playing Let You Down live, especially with the band.

Album title? Weightless Where did the title of your new album come from? It’s the title track from the album. A song all about putting trust in yourself and taking a leap of faith. How many releases do you have now? This is my eighth release. How long did it take to write/ record? With the exception of a four songs, most were written in the last couple of weeks before going into the studio. Recording was pretty well wrapped up in four days, a couple more for overdubs. S U P P O R T I N G

I N D E P E N D E N T

Will you do anything differently next time? Haven’t planned that out yet. The process will be the same. Recording live off the floor as much as we can. All playing on the recording at the same time. When and where is your launch/next gig? I’ve got a short run in the States and Canada before heading off to Australia in the new year. The Milk Factory Kitchen & Bar, 4 Jan

Website link for more info? stubbyfingers.ca A U S S I E

M U S I C

CAFÃ&#x2030; - BAR

321 BRUNSWICK STREET MALL, FORTITUDE VALLEY

WED 24TH DEC

! !

NEW YEARS EVE (NO BANDS)

THU 25TH DEC

THU 1ST JAN

FRI 26TH DEC

FRI 2ND JAN

CLOSED

NO BANDS

SAT 27TH DEC

ORDER

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WED 31ST DEC

CHRISTMAS EVE (NO BANDS)

ISAAC CAVALLARO (9:00PM) + GUEST (8:00PM)

SUN 28TH DEC

MACE AND THE MOTOR (9:45PM) + THE DICKERSONS (8:45PM) + MAMMOTH (8:00PM)

MON 29TH DEC

STEVE P (9:30PM) + HAYDEN JOHN (8:30PM)

TUE 30TH DEC

MARK J (9:30PM) + MARINA (8:30PM)

NO BANDS

LOST BOYS (9:00PM) + GUEST (8:00PM)

SAT 3RD JAN

SCREAMINâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; STEVIEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S (9:00PM) + BIG BONGINGâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; BABY (8:00PM)

SUN 4TH JAN

PROMISES +WRETCHED + GRIZZLY ADAMS +11TH & WALLER + CASKET RHYTHM (7:00PM ONWARDS)

MON 5TH JAN

SEAN BROHMAN (9:30PM) + GUEST (8:30PM)

TUE 6TH JAN

PABLO NORIEGA (9:30PM) + JOEL ANTHONY (8:30PM)

FREE LIVE MUSIC AND INDIE DJS

WANT TO PLAY? EMAIL BOOKINGS@RICSBAR.COM.AU

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THE MUSIC â&#x20AC;¢ 23RD DECEMBER 2014 â&#x20AC;¢ 37

the guide qld.gigguide@themusic.com.au Schoolyard Social feat. Aversions Crown + A Night In Texas + As Paradise Falls + Sedation + Alex Crook + Andrew Power: The Brightside, Fortitude Valley

THE MUSIC PRESENTS Guy Pearce & Darren Middleton: QPAC 12 Feb

65daysofstatic: The Hi-Fi 11 Mar

Earth Frequency 2015: Ivory’s Rock 13-16 Feb

DZ Deathrays: The Brightside 13 Mar

The Gooch Palms: Crowbar 13 Feb, Great Northern 14 Feb

Mojo Burning Festival: New Globe Theatre 21 Mar

Sunday Blues feat. Paul Renton + Jimi Beavis + Benjamin James Caldwell + Olivia Ruth: The Milk Factory Kitchen & Bar, South Brisbane

Seth Sentry: The Hi-Fi 20 Feb, Solbar 21 Feb

Bluesfest Byron Bay: Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm 2-6 Apr

Karma: The Plough Inn, Southbank

Real Estate: The Zoo 27 Feb

Mavis Staples: Brisbane Powerhouse 8 Apr

Sharon Van Etten: The Zoo 4 Mar London Grammar: Brisbane Riverstage 7 Mar

TUE 23

The Wiggles: Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Boondall Big Jim: Brothers Leagues Club, Manunda Woody Lives Here: Irish Murphy’s, Brisbane The Rumour: Mick O’Malley’s, Brisbane Hawkmoon + Mary Handsome + Major Electric + Mid Ayr: New Globe Theatre, Fortitude Valley Reichelt: Ric’s Bar, Fortitude Valley Mark Sheils: Samford Valley Hotel, Samford Valley

WED 24

Christmas Eve + Various Artists: Belmont Tavern, Belmont Locky: Irish Murphy’s, Brisbane

Urban Country Music Festival: Caboolture 1-3 May

St Stephens Day + Various Artists: Irish Murphy’s, Brisbane Ger Fennelly + Murphy’s Pigs + Just Like That: Mick O’Malley’s, Brisbane Joel Fletcher: Platinum Nightclub, Broadbeach Jimmy Watts: Royal Mail Hotel, Goodna Recharge DJs: Russell Tavern, Dalby Fish Out Of Water: Solbar, Maroochydore Mason Rack Band: Southport Sharks, Southport Dan Hannaford: Taps Australia, Mooloolaba The Demon Drink: The Bearded Lady, West End DJ JD7: The Four Mile Creek Hotel, Strathpine Kronic + Ember: The Met, Fortitude Valley

Mantra: Logan Diggers Club, Logan Central

Sue Ray + Shannon Carroll: The Triffid (Beer Garden), Newstead

The Rumour: Mick O’Malley’s, Brisbane

The Sparks Duo: Wynnum RSL, Wynnum

Dan’s Hot Five: The Milk Factory Kitchen & Bar, South Brisbane

Juice + DJ Jarrd + DJ Blitz: Wynnum Tavern, Wynnum West

Ronnie Walker: The Plough Inn, Southbank

FRI 26

SAT 27

Creek Bar Saturdays + DJ Indy Andy: Albany Creek Tavern, Albany Creek

Post Boxing Day Spectacular with World + Worse For Wear + Alla Spina + Dump Chook + Anonymous Club: Chardons Corner Hotel, Annerley Captain Dreamboat + Fish Out of Water: Eat Street Markets, Hamilton Word Life: Elsewhere, Surfers Paradise The Fabulous Sounds Of The Sixties Show + Darren J Ray & The Love Bugs: Greenbank RSL, Hillcrest Berst + Locky: Irish Murphy’s, Brisbane Ger Fennelly + Alter Egos: Mick O’Malley’s, Brisbane A Not So Silent Night feat. Lagerstein + Troldhaugen + Rise of the Avernus + Vyrion + Halcyon Prophecy + Dark Symphonica + Prophets Of War: New Globe Theatre, Fortitude Valley

The Demon Drink: Chandelier Bar, Sandgate

Nick Waters: Wynnum RSL, Wynnum

Recharge DJs: Russell Tavern, Dalby

Hola Sundays + Various Artists: Dowse Bar & Iceworks, Paddington

The Rumour: Mick O’Malley’s, Brisbane

Pierce Brothers + Ayla: Solbar, Maroochydore Catfish & The Dee Jays: Southport Sharks, Southport John Malcolm: Taps Australia, Mooloolaba Derrick Carter: TBC Club (The Bowler Club), Fortitude Valley

Netsky + ETC!ETC! + Rene Lavice: The Hi-Fi, West End

Tyrone + Blair: Archive Beer Boutique, West End

Saint Surly + Tigermoth + 8 Man: The Milk Factory Kitchen & Bar, South Brisbane

Rave Radio + GSync: Caloundra Hotel, Caloundra

Fingerprint: Brothers Leagues Club, Manunda

Rob Hackwood Duo: Irish Murphy’s, Brisbane

Ganz: Alhambra Lounge, Fortitude Valley

Pete Cullen: Eat Street Markets, Hamilton

Scatterbrain: Breakfast Creek Hotel, Breakfast Creek

Michael Eotvos: Coomera Tavern, Upper Coomera

Word Life + Motorik Vibe Council: Alhambra Lounge, Fortitude Valley

Fingerprint: Brothers Leagues Club, Manunda

SUN 28

Matty O: Archive Beer Boutique, West End

Marshall Okell & The Pride: Royal Mail Hotel, Goodna

Take Us To Vegas + Saints Alight + The Brave + First Sight: The Brightside, Fortitude Valley

Hot Ice: Brothers Leagues Club, Manunda

Woody Dean: Wynnum RSL, Wynnum

J-Trick: Platinum Nightclub, Broadbeach

Jazz Saturdays + Various Artists: Albion Hotel, Albion

Tom Foolery: Breakfast Creek Hotel, Breakfast Creek

Woodford Folk Festival + Bertie Blackman + Violent Femmes + Ethno Australia Orchestra + Darren Middleton + Delhi 2 Dublin + Husky + L-FRESH The LION + Mal Webb + more: Woodford Folk Festival, Woodford

Woodford Folk Festival + Sticky Fingers + The Cat Empire + Darren Middleton + Delhi 2 Dublin + Kate Miller-Heidke + Mal Webb + Tiny Ruins + We Two Thieves + Jeff Lang + Mama Kin + Andrew Clermont + Andrew Veivers + Flap! + Keyim Ba + Lau + Matt de Boer + The Peoples Orchestra + Bossa Nova Sunset Club + Del Barber + Fantuzzi + Fred Smith + Gerry Paul + Gordon Gano + ICHI + Jack & The Giant Killers + Jenn Grant + John Smith + Josh Rennie-Hynes + Kristina Olsen + L-FRESH The LION + Ladi Abundance Project + Louie & Patrick + Matt Anderson + Mel Parsons + Mia Wray + Mr Percival + Mrs Curly and the Norwegian Smoking Pipe: Woodford Folk Festival, Woodford

Lagerstein + Troldhaugen + Rise Of Avernus + Gimpus + The Cilikis + Bad Virtue + Nescient + Don’t Waste The Paint + Valhalla Mist: Coolangatta Hotel, Coolangatta

Sarenda + DJ Indy Andy: Albany Creek Tavern, Albany Creek

G-Bass: Archive Beer Boutique, West End

Triffid Roots feat. Phil Smith: The Triffid, Newstead

GIG OF THE WEEK BLACK LIPS: 1 JAN, FALLS FESTIVAL, BYRON BAY

Archie Rye + Big Boyz: The Plough Inn, Southbank

Berst + Ragdoll + Mick McHugh: Irish Murphy’s, Brisbane

Mark D’s Big 3: Morrison Hotel, Woolloongabba Mimi Macpherson: Noosa Reef Hotel, Noosa Heads Hanja: OMalleys Irish Bar, Mooloolaba Carl Lynch: Pub Mooloolaba, Mooloolaba DACHAMBO + Hayden Hack: Solbar, Maroochydore Old Fashioned: Solbar (Lounge Bar), Maroochydore

Dead + Golden Bats + Idylls: The Bearded Lady, West End

The Music wishes you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. This is our last issue of 2014 | First issue of 2015 is out 14 Jan The Music offices are closed from 23 Dec, re-opening 7 Jan.

S U P P O R T I N G

I N D E P E N D E N T

Steve P + Hayden John: Ric’s Bar, Fortitude Valley Trivia: The Four Mile Creek Hotel, Strathpine

Ger Fennelly + Forever Breaking: Mick O’Malley’s, Brisbane

Chris Flaskas: Taps Australia, Mooloolaba

The Jefferys: Irish Finnegans, Condon

MON 29

Reece: Archive Beer Boutique, West End

Woodford Folk Festival + Nahko & Medicine For The People + Archie Roach + Hiatus Kaiyote + Husky + Lior + Little Scout + Mal Webb + The Cairos + Tiny Ruins + We Two Thieves + Jeff Lang + Mama Kin + Andrew Clermont + Andrew Veivers + Matt de Boer + Shooglenifty + The Peoples Orchestra + Andie + Bossa Nova Sunset Club + David Francey Trio + Del Barber + Fantuzzi + Fred Smith + Gerry Paul + Jack & The Giant Killers + Jenn Grant + John Smith + Josh Rennie-Hynes + Kristina Olsen + Ladi Abundance Project + Mr Percival + Mrs Curly and the Norwegian Smoking Pipe + Neil Murray + Oh Pep! + One Dragon Two Dragon + Paper Lions + Pataphysics: Woodford Folk Festival, Woodford

For all news, stories and reviews over the holiday season, head to theMusic.com.au

A U S S I E

M U S I C

the guide qld.gigguide@themusic.com.au

TUE 30

Billy May: Brothers Leagues Club, Manunda

Woody Lives Here: Irish Murphy’s, Brisbane The Rumour: Mick O’Malley’s, Brisbane Scul Hazzards + Grieg + Clever: The Bearded Lady, West End Various DJs: Victory Hotel, Brisbane Woodford Folk Festival + Hiatus Kaiyote + Kate MillerHeidke + Delhi 2 Dublin + Lior + Little Scout + Lost Boys + Mal Webb + Paper Lions + The Cairos + Tiny Ruins + Jeff Lang + Matt Anderson + Mia Dyson + Andrew Clermont + Andrew Veivers + Juice Rap News + Keyim Ba + MACNAS + Matt de Boer + The Peoples Orchestra + Bossa Nova Sunset Club + David Francey Trio + Del Barber + Fantuzzi + Fun Machine + Gerry Paul + ICHI + Jack & The Giant Killers + Jenn Grant + Josh RennieHynes + Kristina Olsen + L-FRESH The LION + Louie & Patrick + Mel Parsons + Mia Wray + Neil Murray: Woodford Folk Festival, Woodford

WED 31

New Year’s Eve Party + DJ Indy Andy: Albany Creek Tavern, Albany Creek New Years Eve with Various Artists: Alderley Arms Hotel, Alderley New Years Eve with G-Bass + Sterling + Tyrone: Archive Beer Boutique, West End Roaring 20s NYE Party + Various Artists: Bay Central Tavern, Pialba NYE + Various Artists: Belmont Tavern, Belmont The Big Chill Festival feat. + Weekend Money + Resin Dogs + DJ Butcher + Mantra + DJ Flagrant + Kingfisha + Dubmarine + Bullhorn + Bankrupt Billionaires + The Woohoo Revue + Captain Dreamboat + Schoolfight + Astro Travellers + DJ Nick One + more: Boundary Street Markets, West End Rock Central Redcliffe + Dallas Frasca: Bramble Bay Bowls Club, Woody Point NYE - Enchantment + Various Artists: Caloundra Hotel, Caloundra New Years Eve with Zodiac + Lizzard Wizzard + Black Deity: Crowbar, Fortitude Valley New Years Eve Party with Brooklyn + Hynzey + Migs: Eatons Hill Hotel, Eatons Hill NYE + Biggy P: Ferny Grove Tavern, Ferny Grove

Sounds On Sunday with Jakubi: Broadbeach Tavern, Broadbeach Lisa & Kimberley: Brothers Leagues Club, Manunda Sunday Session + Various DJs: Capalaba Tavern, Capalaba

Punkfest New Years Eve Bash + The Flangipanis + Deputy Dipshit + D Rouser + The Krunchy Om-Let Experience: Prince of Wales Hotel, Nundah New Years Eve Ball with Capitol Groove + Booster + Full House Bandaoke: RNA Showgrounds, Bowen Hills NYE + Cheap Fakes: Solbar, Maroochydore NYE Rocks - Tributes to 3 Aussie Rock Legends + Powda Finga + The Guru Hoodoos + The Angels Show: Springwood Hotel, Springwood Jam Night + Various Artists: Stones Corner Hotel, Stones Corner New Years Eve with Hits + Per Purpose + DJ El Norto: The Bearded Lady, West End NYE Ultra Violet Foam Party + Call The Shots + Malibu Stacey + New Orkid: The Brightside, Fortitude Valley Dan’s Hot Five: The Milk Factory Kitchen & Bar, South Brisbane The Big Chill feat. Weekend Money + DJ Butcher + Mantra + DJ Flagrant + Resin Dogs + Dubmarine + The Woohoo Revue + Bankrupt Billionaires + Bullhorn: The Motor Room (Boundary Street Markets Complex), West End New Years Solutions with Millions (DJ Set) + The Jungle Giants (DJ Set) + Last Dinosaurs (DJ Set): The Triffid, Newstead White Wolf Mens Dance Party with DJ A Craig + DJ Magnus + Various DJs: The Underdog Pub Co, Fortitude Valley Woodford Folk Festival + Big Rory & Ochie/Giant Seagulls + Bunna Lawrie & The Whale Dreamers + Flap! + Hogmanay + Kaela Rowan + Red Hot Rhythm + Shooglenifty + The East Pointers + Tjupurru & The Bulldawadda + DACHAMBO + Delhi 2 Dublin + Little Scout + Mal Webb + Paper Lions + Matt Anderson + Nahko & Medicine For The People + Andrew Clermont + Andrew Veivers + Christine Salem + Matt de Boer + Olivia Chaney + The Peoples Orchestra + Tim Edey Trio + Andie + David Francey Trio + Del Barber + Fred Smith + Fun Machine + Gerry Paul + ICHI + Jack & The Giant Killers + Jenn Grant + John Smith + John Thompson: Woodford Folk Festival, Woodford

NYE - Back to the 80s + Various DJs: Kallangur Tavern, Kallangur

Hunters & Gatherers Mammoth New Years Eve Party + Various Artists: Woolly Mammoth, Fortitude Valley

New Year’s Eve + The Rumour: Mick O’Malley’s, Brisbane

Craig Martin: Wynnum RSL, Wynnum

Locky: Irish Murphy’s, Brisbane

SUN 04

ear candy 7 feat. Dead Wolves + Ghost Audio + Anti-Thesis + Flannelette + The Skinnie Finches + Switchblade Suzie + The Con & The Liar + Muddy Chanter + The Eagle Junction + Yellowcatredcat + DPOOA: New Globe Theatre, Fortitude Valley

Various Artists: Manly Hotel, Manly Karaoke: Manly Hotel, Manly Suicide Country Hour + Dirty Petty + Dusty Stockroute + Paul Renton + Taleena Peck: New Globe Theatre, Fortitude Valley

VIOLENT FEMMES: 27 DEC, WOODFORD FOLK FESTIVAL, WOODFORDIA

THU 01

New Year’s Day Super Soaker Party + Lexi P: Caloundra Hotel, Caloundra Together Again on NYD + Stafford Brothers + Joel Fletcher + Timmy Trumpet + Brooklyn + Flash + Batchelo + J-Muz + Black On Black + GLDNSMK + Craig Roberts + Suspect + DJ Nick Galea + DJ Joey Mojo + Pink Lips + Ranzid: Coolangatta Hotel, Coolangatta New Year’s Day Foam Party with The Stafford Brothers + Joel Fletcher + Timmy Trumpet + Havana Brown + J-Trick + Reece Low + Brooke Evers + Mashd n Kutcher + Benibee + Tooshoes + Hynzey + Migs + more: Eatons Hill Hotel, Eatons Hill DACHAMBO + Tin Can Radio + DJ Rudi Quinzalez: The Bearded Lady, West End The Cairos + Baskervillain + Karl S Williams + Avaberee: The Triffid, Newstead Woodford Folk Festival + Delhi 2 Dublin + Paper Lions + Shooglenifty + Tjupurru & The Bulldawadda + Matt Anderson + Nahko & Medicine For The People + Siskin River + The Mae Trio + Tim Edey Trio + Wouter Kellerman + Andie + David Francey Trio + Del Barber + Fred Smith + Fun Machine + ICHI + Jenn Grant + John Smith + Josh Rennie-Hynes + Kristina Olsen + Ladi Abundance Project + Mel Parsons + Mia Wray + Neil Murray + Oh Pep! + Pataphysics + Rachael Dadd + Serendipity + Sex On Toast + Starboard Cannons + SueAnne Stewart + 19-Twenty + Hailey Calvert + Jeff Lang + Mic Conway’s National Junk Band + Moochers Inc. + PocketLove with Sharon Brookes: Woodford Folk Festival, Woodford

FRI 02

Paper Lions + Nova & The Experience: Black Bear Lodge, Fortitude Valley Fingerprint: Brothers Leagues Club, Manunda TGIF + Various Artists: Buderim Tavern, Buderim Various Artists: Capalaba Tavern, Capalaba Flaming Wrekage: Chardons Corner Hotel, Annerley Ace DJs: Manly Hotel, Manly

S U P P O R T I N G

Locky + Just Like That: Mick O’Malley’s, Brisbane Hip Hop New Year with Grammar + Mia Bailey + Favow Nation: New Globe Theatre, Fortitude Valley Big Erle: Royal Mail Hotel (2.30pm), Goodna Dehli 2 Dublin + Wild Marmalade: Solbar, Maroochydore

Bearfoot: Solbar (Lounge Bar), Maroochydore Big Earle: Taps Australia, Mooloolaba Matt Andersen + Frank Sultana: The Milk Factory Kitchen & Bar, South Brisbane Fatima+Alexander Nut: Woolly Mammoth, Fortitude Valley Andy Dickson: Wynnum RSL, Wynnum

Carl Wockner: Taps Australia, Mooloolaba Rinse + Archdukes + Blonde Tongues: The Brightside, Fortitude Valley Chali 2na + The House of Vibe: The Hi-Fi, West End West End Sessions feat. Kristina Olsen + Peter Grayling + Hailey Calvert: West End Uniting Church, West End DACHAMBO + Die Rude + DJ Rudi Quinzalez: Woolly Mammoth, Fortitude Valley Wakked Out: Wynnum RSL, Wynnum

SAT 03

Creek Bar Saturdays + DJ Indy Andy: Albany Creek Tavern, Albany Creek Flaming Wrekage: Club Metro, Ipswich Various Artists: Ferny Grove Tavern, Ferny Grove John Smith + Olivia Chaney: Junk Bar, Ashgrove Various Artists: Manly Hotel, Manly Ace DJs: Manly Hotel, Manly After Gryce + Continuum + City of Refuge: New Globe Theatre, Fortitude Valley Screamin Stevie + Big Bongin Baby: Ric’s Bar, Fortitude Valley Jakobi + Selaphonic: Solbar, Maroochydore Simon Meli: Taps Australia, Mooloolaba Pop Punk Summer Camp feat. What We’re Worth + Gloria Falling + We Are Servants: The Brightside, Fortitude Valley Hudson Mohawke: The Flying Cock, Brisbane Danny Brown: The Hi-Fi, West End Daryl James + Brass Knuckle Brass Band: The Milk Factory Kitchen & Bar, South Brisbane Tarscha: Wynnum RSL, Wynnum

I N D E P E N D E N T

A U S S I E

M U S I C

40 • THE MUSIC • 23RD DECEMBER 2014