The Music (Melbourne) Issue #81 by TheMusic.com.au

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# 8 1 • 2 5 . 0 3 . 1 5 • M E L B O U R N E • F R E E • I N C O R P O R AT I N G

HEATH FRANKLIN

TOM BALLARD

RHYS NICHOLSON

FIONA O’LOUGHLIN

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CREDITS PUBLISHER

Street Press Australia Pty Ltd

GROUP MANAGING EDITOR Andrew Mast

NATIONAL EDITOR  MAGAZINES Mark Neilsen

EDITOR Bryget Chrisﬁeld

ARTS EDITOR Hannah Story

EAT/DRINK EDITOR Stephanie Liew

GIG GUIDE Justine Lynch vic.giguide@themusic.com.au

SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR Jeﬀ Jenkins

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

THIS WEEK THINGS TO DO THIS WEEK • 25 MAR - 31 MAR 2015

Steve Bell

CONTRIBUTORS Annelise Ball, Emma Breheny, Luke Carter, Anthony Carew, Oliver Coleman, Cyclone, Guy Davis, Simon Eales, Guido Farnell, Tim Finney, Bob Baker Fish, Cameron Grace, Brendan Hitchens, Kate Kingsmill, Baz McAlister, Samson McDougall, Tony McMahon, Fred Negro, Josh Ramselaar, Paul Ransom, Michael Smith, Dylan Stewart, Simone Ubaldi, Matthew Ziccone, Sophie Blackhall-Cain

INTERNS

win

Sarah Barratt, Josh Pawley, Alex Tibbits

SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER Kane Hibberd

PHOTOGRAPHERS Andrew Briscoe, Dina ElHakim, Holly Engelhardt, Jay Hynes

ADVERTISING DEPT Leigh Treweek, Tim Wessling, Oliver Raggatt, Matthew Feltham sales@themusic.com.au

ART DIRECTOR Brendon Wellwood

To celebrate the vinyl reissue of The Dead Salesmen album Amen, Heart Of The Rat Records have handed over an awesome prize pack: a double pass to their label showcase at Evelyn Hotel on 27 Mar (ft The Dead Salesmen and Mark With The Sea), a vinyl copy of Amen and also a copy of Mark With The Sea’s latest long-player When The Blood Runs Dry (also on vinyl). Enter via the WIN tab of theMusic.com.au

Art-Town will take over the Chapel Street Precinct this week from Saturday, with over 130 artists making art over the next two weekends, taking up residencies in local spaces. Residencies include Grattan Gardens, an abstract environmental painting display by Anthony Sawney and Windsor Quarter’s Buff Diss who’ll create amazing things by working with good old tape, pictured.

ART DEPT Ben Nicol vic.art@themusic.com.au

ADMIN & ACCOUNTS

PIC: TOM ROSS

Loretta Zoppos, Jarrod Kendall, Leanne Simpson, Bella Bi accounts@themusic.com.au

DISTRO Anita D’Angelo distro@themusic.com.au

SUBSCRIPTIONS store.themusic.com.au

dance

Level 1, 221 Kerr St, Fitzroy VIC 3065 Locked Bag 2001, Clifton Hill VIC 3068

Melbourne’s own No Lights No Lycra are hosting an hour of dancing in the dark (thanks, Bruce Springsteen) across the nation as part of global Earth Hour on 28 Mar and the local hub is Schoolhouse Studios, Collingwood (doors open 6.30pm). Music will be supplied by Golden Girls and Total Giovanni DJs either side of Earth Hour, which happens from 8.30 – 9.30pm. Dance like no one’s watching whether or not you’re skilled at pulling shapes. It’s also an all-ages event. MELBOURNE

WEDNESDAY 25TH MARCH

PETER LUBULWA + BOB HARROW + LIAM DALY

8:00PM $10

THURSDAY 26TH MARCH

BRONI

6:00PM FREE IN THE FRONT BAR

FRIDAY 27TH MARCH

PHIL LYDDY TRIO TOBY ROBINSON DARLING JAMES (DUO) + LEAH SENIOR

6:00PM

8:00PM $10

SATURDAY 28TH MARCH

MANDY CONNELL

6:00PM FREE IN THE FRONT BAR

VANDERLAY 8:00PM FREE IN THE FRONT BAR SUNDAY 29TH MARCH

FREIDA LE BJORN + AMY ALEX + CASS

3:00PM - GOLD COIN DONATION

AUSTIN BRADY

6:00PM FREE IN THE FRONT BAR

Open

Noon till late 7 days. Live Music Bookings wesleyannebookings@gmail.com www.wesleyanne.com.au

TUESDAY 31ST MARCH

THE FINKS ‘BOOGIE FESTIVAL’ WARM UP GIG!

8:00PM

SUMMER SPECIAL 2 for1 selected mains all day Monday OPEN FOR LUNCH MIDDAYS FRIDAY SATURDAY AND SUNDAY bookings: 9482 1333

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national news news@themusic.com.au CHEECH & CHONG

ALLDAY

TOURING ALLDAY

Allday’s debut album Startup Cult debuted at #3 on the ARIA charts last July and his October national tour sold out in 48 hours. Now, the hip hopper has announced his aptly titled I Should Be Working On My Album But I’m Doing A Tour tour. He’ll be joined by Asta and Gill Bates when he takes to Metropolis, Fremantle, 30 & 31 May; The Triffid, Brisbane, 4 & 5 Jun; 170 Russell, Melbourne, 6 & 7 Jun; and UNSW Roundhouse, Sydney, 13 Jun.

HERE’S THE DOPE

The original furry freaks, the High (literally!) Priests of Hippie Comedy, Cheech & Chong, are not only still standing but are also touring the world on their Up In Smoke: The Greatest Hits Tour, and that tour, named for their classic 1968 LP, is coming Down Under. This era-defining duo brought American humour to a whole other (hallucinogenic?) level when “Cheech” Marin and Tommy Chong met in Vancouver, Canada, the former having moved there to avoid the draft. Do not avoid Cheech & Chong, 18 Jun at Eatons Hill Hotel, Brisbane; 19 Jun at Enmore Theatre in Sydney; 20 Jun at Palais Theatre in Melbourne; or 22 Jun at Perth Concert Hall.

A ROYAL TREAT

Melbourne punk/metal giants King Parrot will be making their way around the country to launch their heavily anticipated album, Dead Set. After touring all over Europe and the US, they’ve picked up a thing or two about wowing crowds. Find out for yourself on 14 May, The Loft, Warrnambool; 16 May, Corner Hotel, Richmond; 21 May, Belconnen Magpies, Canberra; 23 May, Newtown Social Club, Sydney; 30 May, Crowbar, Brisbane and 6 Jun, Amplifier Bar, Perth. For more dates, visit theMusic.com.au.

FEELING THE LOVE

In between trips to SXSW and Canadian Music week, and following on from a massive 2014 which saw them release their second album and hit the road with Gyroscope, Perth’s The Love Junkies have found time to squeeze in a quick lap of the country in April. Fellow locals Skullcave will be joining the band on the Easter tour dates, while Red Jezabel will take the main support slot at the Perth shows. Get ready for melted faces when the band take to Prince Of Wales, Bunbury, 2 Apr; The Bakery, Perth, 11 Apr; The Curtin, Melbourne, 23 Apr; The Standard Bowl, Sydney, 24 Apr; and The Foundry, Brisbane, 25 Apr.

ONE DECADE LATER

Another week, another Perth band celebrating a milestone – it’s been ten years since Karnivool released their seminal debut record Themata, and they’re taking the opportunity to relive the blood, sweat and tears that went into making that record by taking themselves around the country to perform the thing in its entirety. If you’re a massive fan, here’s your chance to experience some usually overlooked gems, otherwise, it’ll still be a performance to cherish – get amongst it 2 May, Metro Theatre, Sydney; 9 May, The Triffid, Brisbane; 12 May, Corner Hotel, Melbourne; and 22 May, Metro City, Perth, with more dates from theMusic.com.au.

I’LL DIE AS I LIVED, ALONE BY CHOICE #BACHELORETTELIFE

EVERY TWEET FROM @LEELINCHINSBS SOUNDS LIKE AN INSPIRATIONAL MANTRA OR SICK BURN, TBH. 14 • THE MUSIC • 25TH MARCH 2015

FULL OF HEART

The Harry Heart Chrysalis have a new music video for their latest release, Ninety Six, and they’re heading out on tour to celebrate: 27 Mar, Rosemount Hotel, Perth (solo); 16 Apr, Revolver Upstairs, Melbourne; 24 Apr, World Bar, Sydney; and 1 May, in Brisbane (venue TBC after The Foundry closure). More dates on theMusic.com.au.

DEEZ GUYS

Deez Nuts head around the country in June to showcase their fourth album, Word Is Bond. They’ll be taking to The Brightside, Brisbane, 4 Jun; Bald Faced Stag, Sydney, 5 Jun; Amplifier Bar, Perth, 10 Jun; and Corner Hotel, Melbourne, 13 Jun. More dates from theMusic.com.au.

FLEETWOOD MAC

BACK FOR REAL

After cancelling their sold out dates in 2013, music legends Fleetwood Mac have announced an Australian tour that will see arguably their classic line-up perform this October and November. Mick Fleetwood, Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, John McVie and Christine McVie will tour together as a five-piece for the first time in 16 years, bringing their On With The Show production to Allphones Arena, Sydney, 22 & 24 Oct; Domain Stadium, Perth, 30 Oct; Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, 2 & 4 Nov; Mt Duneed Estate, Geelong, 7 Nov; and Brisbane Entertainment Centre, 10 Nov.

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local news vic.news@themusic.com.au

FRONTLASH HOW BRAZARRE

Japanese ‘smart bra’ that will only unhook itself when the wearer’s heart beats fast. A sensor built into the bra sends data to a special smartphone app for analysis via Bluetooth. Hmmm… you might not wanna wear that one to the gym.

SUPER PUNKS Check out Brazilian designer Butcher Billy’s Post Punk Icons As Classic Marvel Comics Superheroes: John Lydon as Wolverine, Mark Mothersbaugh as Iron Man and Robert Smith’s dubious “I Don’t Care If Monday’s Blue” superpower will have you in stitches.

SO WE KNOW WE CAN DANCE The talent on display (female and male) among the finalists in Dance Moms teacher/ choreographer Abby Lee’s search for Australia’s Ultimate Dancer, which took place over the weekend, was next level. And Abby Lee announced she’ll be back in September!

YOU BETTER WORK

BACKLASH HATS OFF

People who wear extravagant headwear/sunnies on their head in the theatre. What gives?

FASHION POLICE Speaking of outlandish headwear, Pharrell Williams was announced as the 2015 Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Fashion Icon Award Winner. Sure, he can pull off his unique styles, but please don’t try to imitate!

WATCH OUT! How did the Apple Watch app just magically appear on our iPhones? WE DON’T WANT!

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EASTER ESPIONAGE

If you’ve got no plans for Easter Sunday (5 Apr) maybe you wanna go to Howler and watch some quality, homegrown electronic, hip hop musos. Acts such as Kirkis, Billy Hoyle, Lucianblomkamp, Queen Magic, Silent Jay and Jace XL are taking over for what’s sure to be a hip-shaking experience at The Operatives’ Easter Espionage.

FIRE IN THE BELLY

Las Vegas quartet Imagine Dragons will be returning to Australia this September, bringing with them their anticipated second full-length release, Smoke & Mirrors. The band behind mammoth anthems Radioactive and On Top Of The World will be making their way to Margaret Court Arena, 2 Sep.

FLYING HIGH

Heralded as ‘creators of Tasmanian Convict Punk’, The Dead Maggies are taking themselves on tour across the east coast. The group recently embarked on a European tour, before heading back to perform at Falls Festival and a range of other Tasmanian festivals. You’ve got the chance to see them performing in a more intimate setting when they take to The Brunswick Hotel, 18 Apr; Reverence Hotel, 19 Apr.

ART OF SLEEPING

WIDE AWAKE

After the success of the sold out tour in January, Art Of Sleeping have released their latest single Voodoo and are heading on an extensive national tour. Catch glimpses of the band’s upcoming debut album 12 Jun, Corner Hotel. More dates from theMusic.com.au.

SO FRESH

Adelaide hip hop trio The Funkoars are touring nationally this May/ June, equipped with some fresh material and all the classics. Playing alongside them are ridiculously rad supports DJ Total Eclipse, Mathas and Eloji. It’s gonna be one helluva night. Catch them on 14 May, The Workers Club. More dates at theMusic.com.au.

WHERE ART THOU

There’s a new art project a-brewin’ in Hobsons Bay, called Art In Public Places. The city-wide event will exhibit the artwork of western region artists in unexpected places (cafes, pubs, shops) across Hobsons Bay. The program runs for the whole of April and incorporates 150 artists in a range of mediums and formats, 40 events and 80 venues.

KARL S WILLIAMS

SUPER DUO

Baby et Lulu have recorded a second selection of classic and contemporary chansons, as well as, for the first time, a number of their own original compositions written in French. Album Deux features a live band and boasts some incredibly talented Sydney musicians. The duo will be making their way to Caravan Music Club, 2 May.

GATES ARE OPEN

Perth band The Decline start their tour this April to launch new album and single Giving Up Is A Gateway Drug: 15 Apr, The Bendigo, with Foxtrot, Max Goes To Hollywood and Del Lago.

HELPING HANDS

Bluesfest Touring has announced all the support acts for their headlining shows across March and April. Wilsn supports Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires at Corner Hotel, 30 Mar and 1 Apr. Lachlan Bryan supports Dave & Phil Alvin with The Guilty Ones at Northcote Social Club, 9 Apr. John Smith supports David Gray at Palais Theatre, 5 Apr. Karl S Williams supports Donavon Frankenreiter at Corner Hotel, 10 Apr. Eddie Mac supports George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic at 170 Russell, 3 Apr. Karavana Flamenca supports The Gipsy Kings at Palais Theatre, 10 Apr. Mohair Slim supports Jimmy Cliff at Corner Hotel, 8 Apr. Trevor Hall supports Michael Franti & Spearhead at Prince Bandroom, 2 Apr. Keziah Jones supports Trombone Shorty & Orleans Ave at Corner Hotel, 5 Apr. 1200 Techniques supports Jurassic 5 at Festival Hall, 1 Apr.

THURSDAY 26 MARCH RESIDENCY – FINAL NIGHT

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SATURDAY 28 MARCH

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MONDAY 30 MARCH RESIDENCY – FINAL NIGHT

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local news vic.news@themusic.com.au MILES AWAY

LALLY KATZ

SIDNEY MYER WINNERS

The 2014 winners of the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards are out, loud and proud, winning a combined with of a cool 150k. They celebrate the very best in Australian performing arts. This year, the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra took out the group award of $80k for their finesse over baroque and classical masterpieces. Australian playwright Lally Katz won $60k, and co-founders of live music lobby group SLAM Helen Marcou and Quincy McLean also won $20k.

SOUND THE ALARM

Okay, so this year’s Soundwave has barely left our conscious memory but the dates for the 2016 edition have already been announced. The fest will return in one-day format to Melbourne on Australia Day, 26 Jan, 2016. PIERCE BROTHERS

THIS IS LIVING

It’s been five years since Miles Away released their last album, Endless Roads. After a lengthy period of growing, learning and living, the hardcore group from Perth are releasing a new record, Tide, and they’re taking it around the country, stopping by Northcote Social Club, 14 May.

THE STORY LIVES ON

2015 marks the 100th Anniversary of the ANZAC’s landing at Gallipoli, and to honour the landmark occasion, former Australian of the Year, Lee Kernaghan, has teamed up with a host of local artists to produce a full album of songs dedicated to the ANZACs. You can hear Spirit Of The Anzacs as performed by a host of featured artists such as Jack Thompson, Lisa McCune, Lee Kernaghan and more when they come to Rod Laver Arena, 11 Sep. More dates from theMusic.com.au.

A NEW DAWN

The Dawn Chorus will be embarking on a national tour this April – June to celebrate the release of their new single Big World. This five-piece is famous for putting their own spin on blues and roots, and you’ll get to see what all the fuss is about when they play at a city near you: 4 Jun, Cellar Bar, St Kilda; 6 Jun, The Workers Club. See the full list of dates at theMusic.com.au.

NO ONE ACTUALLY KNOWS HOW MANY ONIONS TONY ABBOTT HAS EATEN ANOTHER THING WE WILL NEVER FIGURE OUT ABOUT HIM, @WILLOZAP.

ONE NIGHT ON EARTHCORE PIERCING THROUGH

Melbourne folk-pop duo Pierce Brothers have signed a major record deal with Warner in Aus/NZ, have signed with Free Trade Agency in the UK, and will tour the country in April before moving to Europe for the summer. There’ll be a new EP available for purchase exclusively at these shows. See the twin bros 17 Apr, Spirit Bar, Traralgon; 18 Apr, Westernport Hotel, San Remo; 19 Apr, 170 Russell. Support from Woodlock and Tash Sultana. 18 • THE MUSIC • 25TH MARCH 2015

Music, lifestyle, culture, arts, experience – all this and more are offer when Earthcore 2015 comes to town. Now, the actual Earthcore happens in November, but the organisers have set up a series of special launch events they’ve titled One Night In…, so get the old diaries out and save the date. Featuring Goa scene veterans, film soundtrack composers (Matrix Reloaded and Revolutions) and electronic music legends, Juno Reactor, making their long awaited return to Australia, alongside New Zealand’s Grouch, One Night In… lands 5 Apr at Royal Melbourne Hotel.

SAN CISCO RUN CONTINUES

Western Australian indie-pop wunderkinds San Cisco have added another show in Melbourne due to demand. This’ll be their third, now; good effort, eh? It’s happening at 170 Russell on 24 May and if you’re keen you’ll wanna grab some tickets as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

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MAKING COMEDY HISTORY Milton Jones welcomes you to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival (25 Mar to 19 Apr) with a probable history of MICF. We’ve got feature interviews, Q&As, maps and even a guide to our top picks and eats at the fest. Get amongst it. 1834: In London, Sir Joshua Melbourne tries to dig a hole deep enough to get to Australia. But he makes the mistake of doing it in a royal park and is subsequently arrested. However, instead of going to jail he is put on a boat and sent exactly where he wanted to go in the first place. 1835: There’s a clerical error and he’s taken instead to New Zealand. On arrival he says, “This is awkward.” The locals misunderstand, and that’s how present day Auckland got its name. 1846: Here Sir Joshua has his one and only attempt at stand up-comedy with his “What is it with the food they serve in a war canoe…?” routine. He is thrown overboard and has to swim to Australia. 1849: On arrival he gets a job working on the construction of the ill-fated Sydney Opera Bridge: an escape route across the harbour for singers who are badly received. 1854: Sir Joshua Melbourne marries Janet International Comedy Festival and they decide to hyphenate their names. 1856: The couple are bankrupted by having to spend too much on headed notepaper. (It’s the ink that costs the money, you know.) 1858: Depressed, they notice that there is little to laugh at for local people, apart from duck-billed platypuses and, of course, the occasional visiting English cricket team. 1879: Determined to do something about the need of the people, they decide to set up some shows where those involved in the laughter industry and can ply their trade on an annual basis. But the Shows Where Those Involved In The Laughter Industry Can Ply Their Trade On An Annual Basis Festival doesn’t really take off. Some say the name is too long (and once again there are problems with the cost of headed note paper). 1893: They hold a national competition to come up with a name. A small boy suggests that they could just use their surname. And so the first Melbourne International Comedy Festival is held in Adelaide. But there’s still something not quite right. 1979: After failed attempts in Darwin, Perth and Canberra at last the festival is moved to Melbourne where despite initial resistance from the locals, it all seems to make a lot more sense. (Although at first Sir Joshua Melbourne wants to call it the Melbourne’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival, but his wife talks him round on the grounds of the price of ink.) 20 • THE MUSIC • 25TH MARCH 2015

1987: Yes, it all ends in tears. Tears of laughter and not long after the festival’s opening ceremony, Sir Joshua and Lady Janet celebrate their 132nd wedding anniversary. 1981: Suddenly people start coming from all over the world wanting to join the rush for all kinds of fool’s gold, at this cool buzzy happening in the sun. (Pasty comics from the Northern hemisphere especially enjoy coming here, and making stuff up about it.) Audiences laugh long and loud into the sub-tropical night.

Sure there are difficulties, like sheer number of shows and the movement to re-name it the International Leaflet Festival. But once here, punters can be advised to: 1. To see a showcase (lots of acts doing short bits). 2. See a big name star you’ve never seen live. 3. Take a punt on a tiny show by someone you’ve never heard of. 4. And to remember that international acts invited by the festival, will have been done so for a reason! 1998: Sir Joshua passes away. The whole nation stops for a minute’s laughter.

WHAT: Milton Jones And The Temple Of Daft WHEN & WHERE: 26 Mar – 12 Apr, Supper Room, Melbourne Town Hall

Available on

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THE MUSIC • 25TH MARCH 2015 • 21

BEGGING NO MORE Irreverent Aussie stand-up comedian Jim Jefferies is pretty chuffed that he’s made it big in his homeland without having to compromise, and he tells Steve Bell that even the fact that millions of people think he’s a douchebag and will rejoice when he dies isn’t enough to spoil the party.

espite being one of Australia’s most successful ever comedy exports, it’s really only in the last few years that Jim Jefferies has made major inroads in his native country. His cause to break large in his homeland probably wasn’t helped when he long ago chased his dreams to the stand-up mecca of London, nor when having establishing himself there he relocated once

it was the same with festivals; ‘Please can I play the Melbourne [Comedy] Festival, please, please, I’d love to play the Melbourne Festival.’ Well you can put this in print – the Melbourne Festival can suck my fucking dick. I’m going to sell more tickets in Melbourne than any other person on their fucking festival book and they can fuck right off. I used to just beg and beg and beg, so it feels good that I did it without the television and I did it without the festival – there’s a sense of accomplishment there that I did it just through people digging what I did.

get their work permits – and eventually it all ends and they go back to Australia, they knock up some broad and have a family and get a normal job, and I’m like a little unique piece of London that they remember; I think that had a bit to do with it. “I dunno, I couldn’t be happier with it anyway. I think one day when I’m an old fella I’ll probably retire back there to Australia – I’ll be like an elephant. Elephants go back to where they were born to die – I don’t know why – but I think that’s what I’ll do, I’ll be like, ‘Alright, time to die, I’ll go back to Sydney.’ I’ll talk about my Hollywood career in a nursing home; I can just see myself as a cantankerous old cunt going, ‘I once played Carnegie Hall!’ and everyone else going, ‘You’re full of shit!’ That’s how it will end for me, I tell ya! I’ll have dementia and I’ll be sitting in a corner just saying over and over again, ‘Melbourne Comedy Festival can suck my dick!’” Jefferies’ rise to fame hasn’t come without its fair share of controversy. His aggressive style and fauxbogan demanour hides an intelligence which often contextualises seemingly grim or profane material, a point often missed by his many detractors. For example, his 2014 Australian tour contained some material that many deemed misogynistic, a fact that doesn’t faze the comic in the slightest.

“AT LEAST A MILLION PEOPLE IN AUSTRALIA FUCKING HATE ME!”

again to the States – where his 2009 HBO special Swear To God had won him a substantial audience – to expand into the world of TV and film. Jefferies quickly experienced some substantial wins and losses in this latter quest; his TV comedy series Legit earned a largely positive reception upon its 2013 release before being cancelled after two seasons, although it certainly enhanced his profile in the American stand-up market. He now spends most of each year touring the States, only breaking this routine to hit the UK for a few weeks plus the annual month that he spends in Australia. Despite all of his successes abroad it still seems that there’s no place like home. “Australia’s very important to me,” Jefferies admits. “I was doing good numbers in the UK and not selling anything in Australia and I used to get a little bit disgruntled about it, but three years ago I just started selling tickets in Australia and even if I didn’t have family there it’s a good enough market that I’d come back every year anyway. Initially I was only coming back because of my parents and to see the family once a year, but now a big part of my year is coming back to Australia and doing that big tour. “I kinda dig that I got popular in Australia without any fucking TV. You know what – I used to beg ‘em. I used to beg TV and say, ‘Please, please put me on The Footy Show, I’ll be ever so good.’ And 22 • THE MUSIC • 25TH MARCH 2015

That feels a lot better, it really does.” It’s hard to pinpoint the exact reason for Jefferies’ sudden acceptance here; he himself believes it’s partly a by-product of the technological revolution. “I think it was YouTube, which is weird because I’ve never used YouTube myself and I didn’t put any of the clips up,” he ponders. “Also I’ve got a big Australian following in London – when I was in London I started doing these solo shows and it was all Australians in the audience. Everyone’s in London from 18 to 27 – they’re all there getting wasted and that’s when they can

“People were saying I’m a misogynist? Well this is my point – I feel like I’ve been misogynistic for years, and it’s taken this long for people to notice it on stage, which just proves that you really have to keep repeating yourself until women listen, hey?” he chuckles. “Nah, what it is is that they’re just jokes. Last year I was in a relationship – and I still am – and I’d just had a child, so of course the battle between males and females, or women and men, was what I was going through, and that was what I talked about. “Also, I’m a person whose been dumped by every girl I’ve gone out with, I had a very, very difficult relationship with my mother – who I believe was too hard on me, and that shaped my whole life – and if you met a female comic who said that her father had been hard on her and she’d been fucked over by every man she’d ever dated, we’d go, ‘Ah, that’s gonna be some funny stuff!’ No one would go, ‘Agh, she’s a man-hater!’ and then start calling the fucking police about it, we’d just go, ‘Ah, this is why she doesn’t like men’. I’m up there on stage going, ‘I’ve had my troubles with women and this is why’, and instead of saying, ‘I’m sorry you’ve had this life, I’m sorry people treated you that way’,,people just go, ‘You’re a bastard for having feelings!’ Fuck them! “You know what I’m saying, it’s just jokes! Not only jokes, but I give you a reason and I give

SKOOL’S OUT Jefferies has always been on a quest to be a stand-up, but as a young man in WA he studied musical theatre: a fallback that he should thankfully never need, given that he didn’t complete the course. “I tell you this, the people at WAAPA – the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, where Hugh Jackman went and Lisa McCune went and all these people – I just want to say this to them; ‘You didn’t check my high school certificate!’” Jeffries guffaws. “I didn’t get good enough marks to get into university, there was an entry level mark and they just never checked! So even if I did graduate it would have been a sham.

you a whole cause and effect about why the joke was written. It’s not like I’m just a racist who’s standing up there going, ‘Fuck black people!’, I’m, like, ‘I had a problem with a woman and this is what happened,’ and people still go ‘You can’t do that.’ Why not? It’s my life, it’s what happened! I’m not taking random pot shots at people – the only people that I really get into are normally relatives of mine or girlfriends of mine, it’s their problem, not yours!” Does he enjoy pushing the boundaries with his material though? “I enjoy riling people up,” Jefferies admits. “I don’t push the boundaries for the sake of pushing the boundaries. I’ve never written a joke with the intent of, ‘Oh, this is going to upset people!’ I’ve never written a joke thinking, ‘Ok, what’s the edgy way of talking about this?’ I just do the jokes, but I do enjoy people who write in letters of hate or storm out of my shows – there’s something about me that thinks that that’s when I’m doing my job right. “It’s very bizarre though – let’s say on this tour of Australia that 40 or 50 thousand people are going to come and see me for the whole tour – you think, ‘Wow, there’s a lot of people who like me in this world.’ And there is, but the reality is that two million people in Australia have seen

what I do – they’ve actually physically watched it on the internet or television, or someone’s showed them a recording or something – that means that at least a million people in Australia fucking hate me! It’s bizarre when you know that and you’re walking down the street. Most of the things that are written to me when people write me letters are about how much they fucking hate me and what a douchebag I am, but when I walk the street the only

people who stop me are the ones saying how much they like me – so that means that wherever I walk, for every person who stops and tells me they love me there’s other people walking by thinking, ‘There’s that asshole!’ If you’re sitting in a restaurant you can see people whispering to each other, ‘There’s that fuckwit!’ The fact is, when I die there will be people who think, ‘Good!’” he laughs uproariously. “They’ll think, ‘Good, he’s dead. Finally!’”

WHEN & WHERE: 27 & 28 Mar, Palais Theatre To read the full interview head to theMusic.com.au

“If I didn’t have this for a job I wouldn’t be qualified to do anything. There’s not a single thing in the world that I’m qualified to do... I’m not trained to do anything else but stand-up comedy. And what I always found weird about stand-up comedy is that people seem to listen to us sometimes like we’re prophets or something, like we’re the ones speaking truth about society – we’re a bunch of fucking morons who didn’t go to university and have no real education giving half-baked ideas about news stories that we read on the internet! Comedians are really the last people you should listen to.”

TOP OF THE FEST

HANNAH GADSBY

Who’s on The Music’s to-catch list? Rachel Eddie lets us know.

CLAIRE SULLIVAN

Matt Okine: The Other Guy Matt Okine, triple j Breakfast co-host and – duh – comedian, Matt Okine is perhaps best known for revealing that he once successfully gave himself a blow job. Burned live on-air by Chris Rock the other week, and gaining publicity for Googling thrush, Okine’s The Other Guy is bound to be unabashed.

STEPHEN K AMOS

If he weren’t a national radio host, awardwinning comedian, and also an actor and rapper, Okine would probably frequent his ma’s dog house for the shit he says. 26 Mar – 19 Apr, Banquet Room, Victoria Hotel

MATT OKINE

NEEL KOLHATKAR

Neel Kolhatkar: Truth Be Told

Hannah Gadsby: Donkey

Stephen K Amos: Welcome To My World

Neel Kolhatkar is famous for his YouTube clips which take no prisoners, gaining as many as three million views. With his impressions and accents, it’s not always clear who the satirist’s intended target is. But with Kolhatkar over-identifying with every stereotype, it’s likely that we’re all a target.

For those that don’t regular attend comedy festivals, Hannah Gadsby is best known for formerly co-starring on ABC’s Adam Hills In Gordon Street Tonight and for her appearances on Good News Week, Spicks And Specks and Please Like Me. But Gadsby’s laconic, quick wit is worth a trip to the comedy fest. Her performance is centred around her new bike – named Donkey – and why she will never ride the same way again. If Donkey is like the stand-up we know her for though; it’ll be self-deprecating, anecdotal and will casually discuss mental health and relationship traumas. With a bajillion nominations to her name, Hannah Gadsby sells out shows on the reg: don’t leave your ticket purchase to the last minute.

The UK’s Stephen K Amos is still sellingout shows after charming audiences the world over for almost 15 years. His latest show, Welcome To My World, is said to retain the same feelgood warm-fuzzies Amos is known for, although he told The Music’s Matthew Ziccone that his comedy is no longer “someone just doing jokes about fun stuff ” last year. Fair warning, though: the venerable Stephen K Amos often interacts with (and embarrasses) punters. Attend his performance with your parents at your own risk.

At only 20 years old, the comic turned social commentator has sold out solo shows across Australia and appeared in last year’s Edinburgh Fringe. His performance won’t be politically correct, but if that’s your jam, you won’t want to miss Neel Kolhatkar’s Truth Be Told. 26 Mar – 19 Apr, New Ballroom, Trades Hall Claire Sullivan: Space Cadet

26 Mar – 19 Apr, Athenaeum Theatre

26 Mar – 19 Apr, Supper Room, Melbourne Town Hall

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Tipped to be not quite stand-up nor theatre, Sullivan’s Space Cadet is taking audiences to space every night. That shouldn’t be too hard for someone who once ate a chili while performing at Hot Spot open mic. Landing spots on television and radio, Sullivan’s unfiltered style is weird and wonderful. Space Cadet, directed by Sonia Di Iorio, should be no different.

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Claire Sullivan is a regular on the Melbourne comedy scene, returning to the international comedy fest for her third year.

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For more of the 100+ comedy venues, see The Guide at theMusic.com.au or The Music App. 24 • THE MUSIC • 25TH MARCH 2015

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NO BETTER FEELING He may have had a successful 25 years on the Australian comedy touring circuit, but Akmal Saleh jokes with Kane Sutton that his parents still wish he’d kept his old job at Telstra.

“I

’ve been very blessed. I worked on film with my friends – we were a troupe of three guys who worked really well together, and that was a lot of fun, it was so different to stand-up. The radio and TV appearances I’ve kind of just been offered, and I do it mainly because it lifts my profile.” Indeed, Saleh has tried his hand at a lot of performing arts forms over the years, but nothing quite compares to the feeling of being solo on stage, making people laugh. “Basically when I go out on the road I have full houses, and that to me is the most important thing. That’s the thing I love the

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most and the thing I feel most competent doing. Everything else feeds that live performance, when you go out to a theatre or a club and you have people who know you from television, or radio or whatever.” He’ll be touring the country doing standup – but that’s not to say you shouldn’t expect fresh material. “I’m doing a circus performance this year, The Cirque du Saleh. Nah, it’s just going to be my standup, I wish I could tell you more about it. It’s just me on stage with a microphone, it can’t get more basic than that. You can’t come back with old shit, though. You have to be relentless.”

Saleh has an Egyptian background, and immigrated to Australia with his family at the age of 11. Having to adapt to a new culture is what has made his stand-up what it is today, his disillusionment with religion and the modern world his main topics. He jokes that his parents don’t really get it. “No matter how much success I’ve had – I come from an Egyptian culture – they don’t really appreciate stand-up comedy; it’s not a big deal. No matter how much success I’ve had I’ve never been able to make my family proud, they’re deeply ashamed of me and never talk about me. I’ll be like, ‘Look mum, I’m on TV, mum!’ and she’ll just turn around and go, ‘Very good, but if you kept your job at Telstra you could have been manager by now.’” When he initially started his career as a comedian in Australia, Saleh was “was one of, if not the only ethnic stand-up comedians, as far as I know”. He faced challenges back then, in that he “had to do all these shitty nightclubs and comedy stores with bucks nights who were mostly white people from the shire”, and with the ‘war on terror’ so blatant across all media channels, being “ethnic” is a challenge now. As a comic, he can see the bright side of it all. “It’s good for me, it’s bad for everyone else. Bring on ISIS, you know? It means I have more material. At the moment, Abbott’s great for comedians, bad for the country. All the comedians are praying he stays there because he’s such a gift. Every time a comic picks up the paper they have another five minutes.”

WHAT: Akmal: Lost WHEN & WHERE: 31 Mar – 19 Apr, Downstairs, Forum Theatre

COMEDY’S WEIRD Loudly dishing out abuse for a living, Ronny Chieng has also copped his fair share. Daniel Cribb finds out what the lawyer-turned-comedian now has in the crosshairs.

f we’re led to believe everything that comedians do and say on stage reflects their beliefs and habits off it, then Ronny Chieng might just be the most frustrated person alive. From Twitter to indecisive friends, it seems there’s very little that doesn’t enrage him, and an interesting Facebook message out of the blue last year almost joined that list. “I was opening for Dave Chappelle at the time, and [Bill Burr] sent me a message on Facebook out of the blue… I didn’t believe it was him; I thought it was another comic friend of mine playing a prank on me but I just went along with it. I was actually going to say, ‘Yeah, go fuck yourself,’ but I went along with it on the off-chance that it was actually him,” a calm and collected Chieng tells. Perhaps he’s not angry all the time. The message from Burr was legitimate and saw Chieng tour big theatres around the country once again, allowing him to test out material from his new show, You Don’t Know What You’re Talking About, once again dealing with conflict, to a wealth of people. It’s not that he’s trying to resolve the world’s problems, though, rather commenting on how trivial a lot of them are, a heated joke surrounding the iPhone/Android debate being a shining example. “My biggest thing is, if you don’t know what you’re talking about, you 26 • THE MUSIC • 25TH MARCH 2015

shouldn’t talk and that applies to me as well. And that is the irony of the show I guess, because I am calling people out who are calling other people out. “I don’t think I am a very controversial comedian, I just rant a bit. I try to avoid those more divisive topics. I don’t really talk about politics or anything, so I don’t think I’m near that line, but I appreciate that line and people will draw that line and people who try to not step over that line, and people who do step over it on purpose. Comedy’s weird, man.” The whole show isn’t just about conflict, though. Only being in the game for six years, Chieng’s

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had a swift rise into the spotlight, which saw him temporarily fill a prime-time slot at triple j. “I thought I liked music until I started working at triple j and then I thought, ‘Apparently I don’t like music,’” he laughs. “I am an undeserving piece of shit with no taste in music, so I really expanded my music horizons on triple j. “The biggest thing is opening yourself up to that national level of feedback, and criticism on the internet. I learned how to deal with that a lot better. People who listen to triple j have very strong opinions about what should be on it, including what voices should be on it and obviously the music… You’d have to be some kind of Terminator to be able to take all this shit directed at you and just really brush it off.” WHAT: Ronny Chieng: You Don’t Know What You’re Talking About WHEN & WHERE: 26 Mar – 19 Apr, Upstairs, Forum Theatre

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NO SAFETY NET

on a previously occupied chair. Nor is it a ‘felcher’, which Nicholson describes with delighted disgust.

One year since dismantling his safety net and surrendering to show business Rhys Nicholson looks back, and forward, to Forward, as Dave Drayton listens.

hys Nicholson, the big-red-haired and bespectacled comedian, seems to have well and truly infiltrated the business of show business now – he’s about to launch his fourth solo show and has become a more regular face on television, particularly the ABC. But just one year ago he was still working at the Enmore Theatre box office; in May this year his new show Forward will enjoy a ten-date run there.

“I worked there for like five years: that was my last job. I performed there while I was still working there, which was so strange because I’m selling tickets to shows and the people come to the show, and I’m back,” Nicholson chuckles. “When I was selling tickets to my own show

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it was kind of when I realised I should quit the job. It was just a safety net, and giving up that last job is very hard, because you always have that money no matter what happens. But now the comedy is a job! It’s sink or swim, things have been good because I haven’t had any other option.” Not that the safety net has been entirely removed; Nicholson, long a fan and sporter of bowties, has launched an Etsy store selling his own handmade creations. The hobby has led him to list himself as a ‘felter’ on his website – that is, one who works with felt, and not, as Urban Dictionary led us to believe, one who enjoys the alien warmth left by a stranger

“I can’t believe we’re here already… Felching is a really horrible sex act that I don’t think actually exists where someone… Okay… Here we go…” there’s a slight joy in hearing Nicholson, of all people, tread squeamishly around a topic, ‘Uh, someone ejaculates into another person’s arse and then they suck it out with a straw… But it just shows so much foresight – like, ‘Do you take the straw with you?’” Foresight is something Nicholson has been thinking a lot about: what lays ahead with the safety net removed beyond alien warmth and great neckwear? What will people think of Nicholson when he’s no longer of this earth? “Show business is a confusing job. And realising that I’m giving myself into what could be the next 50 years of my life of total uncertainty… I don’t know where I am in a week, let alone 50 years. No one tells you if you’ve made it, no one tells you if you’re doing well, people love telling you if you’re not doing well…” The day before our chat Nicholson performed as part of a gala in Brisbane City Hall, and will perform at Melbourne’s Town Hall; the more stately venues are giving him kicks. “Especially with what I do – which is kind of filth, I guess – it is very satisfying to be in these venues. What I wear on stage kind of works, but when the vulgarity spills out of my face… It’s like, the mayor is usually on stage here?”

WHAT: Rhys Nicholson: Forward WHEN & WHERE: 26 Mar – 19 Apr, Backstage Room, Melbourne Town Hall

NO LAUGHING MATTER Stepping back from “superficial jokes”, triple j star/ comedian Matt Okine tells Daniel Cribb why he was scared to perform his new material at first.

f you saw Matt Okine doing stand-up comedy in 2014, you were probably delivered a healthy amount of “killer bread jokes” and observational pieces on the trials of sharehouse living. That material was penned when the Breakfast co-host was still adjusting to his new position and figuring out his life in the spotlight. A year into the job and a lot has changed for Okine. While he was hosting a carefree and fun on-air attitude, things were a little more hectic behind the scenes. “I’m in a different position now,” Okine tells. “I’ve broken up with my long-term girlfriend, I am getting more comfortable in my job, and I am also starting to enjoy being able to afford little extra things in life. Like, I can fill my petrol tank up every time… Every one of my shows is where I’m at a particular stage. A lot of things can happen in a year.” But the luxury of a full tank of petrol comes at a price. An increased presence in the public arena also meant a rise in hatred and hurtful comments, something that Okine still struggles to simply shrug off. “It never stops hurting,” he admits. “I started work the other day at 6am and the very first text that came in just said, ‘Shut up, Matt. You’re not funny. Piss off.’ Imagine if you walked through the door of your work and the first thing you were told was, ‘Mate, shut up, you’re shit. Get outta here.’ It feels kind of weird. You 30 • THE MUSIC • 25TH MARCH 2015

either have to get upset by it or you have to start embracing it, and I’ve learned that being divisive is a lot better than being ignored.” While his previous shows have been done in retrospect, his new show, The Other Guy, focuses on the present. And dealing with such hatred and a hectic 12 months has helped Okine open up more on stage. “It’s a really full-on show, and I’ve done a few trials and people have come up to me afterwards and been like, ‘Holy shit. You say a lot of deep stuff in the show, and then manage to keep it funny.’ And that is something that I am exploring, being funny and being light-hearted,

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but I think I’ve moved past just doing superficial jokes and I want to talk about things that people wouldn’t often talk about on stage. I want to bring that sort of honesty to my shows because I just can’t joke about vacuum cleaners forever. “I’ve kind of got to do what I’m scared of because that’s the stuff that people really connect with… When I say something that scares me, that I am scared to reveal about myself, all it is telling me is that there must be a million other people who are going through something like this who are also too scared to say it. I feel like it’s my duty, as someone with a microphone, to talk about things that other people might be going through.” WHAT: Matt Okine: The Other Guy WHEN & WHERE: 26 Mar – 19 Apr, Banquet Room, Victoria Hotel

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LAUGHS ALL ‘ROUND Comedic “man of the people” Stephen K Amos talks to Baz McAlister about mending the world with a microphone.

e’s dapper, refined, always elegantly dressed – but Stephen K Amos reports from his recent stand-up tour of the UK that punters in his front rows are not always similarly impeccably mannered. “Somebody was rustling in the darkness trying to find the opening of a popcorn bag – let’s face it, how difficult can that be – and then starting the munching,” he says of a recent gig. “And all I was thinking was ‘Who can eat and laugh?’ It’s a mean feat. It’s textbook, isn’t it? I mean you’re not at the back, you’re not at the cinema. I’m gliding back and forth along the stage, trying to engage the audience

and all I can hear is ‘munch munch munch’. As heckles go, that’s pretty fabulous really.” Heckles are few and far between these days for the much-loved English comic who’s no stranger to Australian shores. Amos prides himself on his ability to chat to an audience and designs his shows so people can be forthcoming with their thoughts and feel comfortable sharing them. “People who come to my shows are people who’ve seen me before and trust my sensibilities, so being able to say something about myself that disarms an audience – and make them feel they can say whatever they want to me – is great, because

what happens in the room makes every show feel unique and different and in the moment.” After his run around Australia, the comedy veteran is branching out onto mainland Europe. Amos is tapping into the burgeoning love of comedy among the natives of countries such as Germany and Sweden. “Comedy is really taking off around the world now. It might be a release from all the oppression and negativity that we’re all surrounded by. Even TV programs transmitted in English are broadcast all over the world, so people might have an idea who [I am]. Even though English is not the first language in mainland Europe, it is quite widespread and understood.” The idea of comedy as a war against negativity is paramount to Amos. While he started out with the goal of just being funny, his goal every time he takes the stage has evolved into something deeper. “In the past I was just about doing jokes – jokes, jokes, jokes, jazz hands, lovely, lovely, aren’t I a clever one? Then I moved on to trying to talk about things that mattered to me, be it religion, be it sexuality, be it the fact that we live in a world where there’s so much conflict based on religion and culture. And if I, as a black English man with Nigerian heritage, can communicate and translate my thought process to a Frenchman or a New Zealander, and we have the same kind of ideology, then that can be a great thing. I like to explore those boundaries.” WHAT: Stephen K Amos: Welcome To My World WHEN & WHERE: 26 Mar – 19 Apr, Athenaeum Theatre

HEAD IN THE GAME A new stand-up show exploring the different kinds of boners isn’t the only thing Arj Barker has been working on. The Aussie favourite tells Daniel Cribb about a TV show in development and why we should all fear the digital age.

omedy maestro Arj Barker is in the midst of “boring shit” when he answers his phone from an Adelaide hotel room, but the truth is he’s far from living a monotonous life. He’s just given his new show, Get In My Head, its debut at Adelaide Fringe, and is refining the material for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. “I would have done 26 [shows] by Saturday night,” Barker begins. “It has just made the show so much stronger and better for Melbourne, because I have been changing things and tweaking it and getting it right.” Barker’s last show, Go Time, is being put to rest and Get In My Head sees an interesting change of pace. “Go Time had a few musical elements, and this more of a straight stand-up show… I talk about everything from having children, to ISIS, to boners. I talk about the difference between a sex boner and a boner that you just get: the boner that just comes out of nowhere. So I have a close look at that, and I found some pretty good material in there. I try to open up a lot in the show, and be a little honest. Like, it gets pretty intense. People cry. I cry.” But it’s not just dick jokes and cheap observational humour on offer, Get In My Head also tackles a somewhat pressing issue in a comic way. With a personal insight into Barker’s life and some serious

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social commentary contained within, his new show sees a big step forward. “A big part of the show is how we’re being affected in the digital age. I call it the heavily imagesaturated age that we live in, and how it’s been affecting people on a personal level and how we are becoming focused on appearance and essentially becoming more shallow. “We’re all just pretty goofed up right now. But that’s maybe not the biggest problem; I just wish that we were becoming more enlightened… I don’t see myself as a prophet or somebody that’s message will

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change the world or anything; I’m just commenting on it. Hopefully I’m doing my part but I’m really just trying to get laughs, I’ll be honest.” The wider Australian community fell in love with Barker after he appeared as Dave in Flight Of The Conchords. He left a lasting impression and with some luck, we’ll hopefully see him return to the small screen soon – that’s if he can invest any time in the new project among his hectic touring schedule. “Me and a pal are trying to develop a TV show together, so that’ll probably be a halfhour show, based maybe in Melbourne, but we’ll see if someone buys it,” Barker reveals. “It’s too early to discuss [the premise], but suffice to say I’ll be the star and we hope it’ll be really good.” WHAT: Arj Barker: Get In My Head WHEN & WHERE: 26 Mar – 19 Apr, Main Hall, Melbourne Town Hall

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PERSONAL YARNS It’s possible comedian Nick Cody grew his lush beard because of his affinity for the SAS – or just as a disguise from his prankster family, writes Baz McAlister.

and stopped work for a bit, and that’s all she was doing – pulling pranks on people she loves.”

“I was lucky in that regard with my family,” Cody says of his upbringing. “Every time we’d get together at Christmas or Easter there was people telling jokes and messing around and playing pranks on each other. Mum got a pacemaker put in maybe 18 months ago

In this year’s show Beard Game Strong, Cody reveals a few of those legendary family pranks – but you won’t find any spoilers here. Cody’s strong suit is spinning personal yarns about his life, his girlfriend, his housemates, his flat, his family.

elbourne-based comic Nick Cody was always destined to be a comic. The 27-yearold describes his entire family as “loose units” and, true to form, his uncle Brian – whom he hadn’t seen for three years – sat dead centre of the front row at one of his Brisbane Comedy Festival gigs, and the pair bantered throughout.

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“It’s funny that I get nice words about that,” he says, “because in my mind, it’s just that I’m too lazy to sit down and write. I just go out and things happen to me and I go, ‘That’s awesome, I’ll be able to tell that on stage.’ If I sit at the desk too long I get bored.”

Cody is a comic on the rise, a charismatic guy with a real mastery of stand-up that’s seen him asked to be part of a small Aussie contingent at Montreal’s prestigious Just For Laughs. He’s gigged in New York City, opened for Aussie comedy powerhouse Jim Jefferies and been part of the cast of acclaimed TV shows Kinne (with a second season airing soon) and Please Like Me. But some of his most interesting stories revolve around performing for the troops in Afghanistan and the friendship he forged with several members of the SAS. “I’ve become mates with a bunch of those guys, they’re good to hang out with. My girlfriend’s a super-greenie, left-wing chick and she doesn’t understand any form of violence, and gets upset by it – and I’m a big fan,” laughs Cody, who’s also a UFC devotee. “So we clash on that stuff. But any time I’m over in WA [where the SAS are based] and I’m meeting up with the guys or they surprise me somewhere else in the country – they’re pretty good at that, at turning up somewhere and you don’t know about it – they all tell me how they’re going to wind her up when they meet her.” Cody describes his tough mates as inspirational, and it’s not hard to see why. He was telling one of them how he couldn’t be arsed going to the gym, and the soldier suggested just going for a run. “I was like, ‘I can’t be fucked even doing that,’” Cody says. “And he was like, ‘Well once I ran two kilometres carrying 70 kilos on my back and I’d been shot in the shoulder.’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, fair enough, I’ll have a run.’ They’re the best personal trainers ever.”

WHAT: Nick Cody: Beard Game Strong WHEN & WHERE: 26 Mar – 19 Apr, Cube, ACMI

NOW YOU SEE IT Sarah Barratt talks to Mike Tyler and Christopher Wayne, the pair behind The Naked Magicians, to discuss the art of getting their rigs out and other related tricks.

agic shows are usually associated with fluffy bunnies, tuxedos, intense staring, hand gestures and miscellaneous pyrotechnics, but never naked men: a damn shame. Thankfully, that void has now been filled by a couple of men who do things a little differently. “We describe it confidently as the naughtiest, cheekiest, funniest, sexiest magic show on the planet,” Christopher Wayne says of The Naked Magicians. They do the whole thing with no sleeves up which to hide their magic and still manage to deceive you. It all started around the time of the movie, Magic Mike, a rom-com about male strippers that starred Channing Tatum, which collided with the tour of magic show, The Illusionists, where Wayne collaborated with producer, Simon Painter. These moments, along with a year of hard work, writing, editing and performing, made The Naked Magicians. They wanted to capture what was funny, cheeky and engaging, and put it together with their years of magic experience. The pair weren’t always magic makers though, and this has been invaluable to their current success. Mike Tyler worked in banking, while Wayne actually used to weigh cocoa in an Arnott’s biscuit

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factory. “I’m glad I haven’t been an entertainer all my life,” Wayne admits. “It makes me really value hard work. Lots of people just want to be famous, but we really enjoy working hard.” Tyler adds, “Also, we’ve worked our arses off, literally, at the gym. Wayne has lost about 30 kilos for the show.” After three years of close friendship and working on their craft together, “if anything,” Wayne concludes, “this show has made us more comfortable in our own skin”. They do both agree that being entertaining was key to feeling

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accepted and fulfilled, even as kids: “High school is survival of the fittest,” Wayne suggests. “It’s Darwinism. Social acceptance was to be funny. I used to like pissing off my teachers. Now as an adult I really like making people happy.” But, “People shouldn’t come and expect to see a show, they should come and expect to be part of a show.” “This is a show that we planned to be around for longer than 12 months,” adds Tyler. “When we started it didn’t show our penis in it – we got naked and there was always something in front of it, and then I made a slight timing mistake, and the crowd just went insane. There were shrieks of excitement, laughter and amazement at the same time. I remember Chris saying that this mistake was the best thing we’d done so far. It got naughtier and cheekier as the show progressed.” WHEN & WHERE: 27 Mar – 12 Apr, GH Hotel

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GETTING THERE Russell Peters chats to Evan Young about breaking records, an awkward moment with Jon Bon Jovi, and his latest acting gig.

hen The Music calls up Canadian comedian Russell Peters, he’s enjoying a picturesque afternoon by the beach in Malibu, California. Having just returned to North America from Africa and Asia before heading our way for a two-and-a-half-week stay to perform his new show Almost Famous, Peters is enjoying a rare few days off. “I leave for Australia very soon, and I’m looking forward to being back,” he says excitedly. Back in 2010, Peters set an Australian record for the largest audience at a stand-up comedy show, before breaking it on his next visit in 2013. Australians obviously love him, and according to the funnyman

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himself, the feeling is mutual. “Australia has always been phenomenal for me,” he says. “It’s funny, in 2010 I set the record, and then in 2013 I broke the record that I set. I love being there.” Despite smashing records and winning the attention, laughs and hearts of countless fans around the world, Peters admits he still gets a little starstruck, recalling a story from the set of 2011 rom-com film disappointment New Year’s Eve. “Have you seen that cinematic classic?” he asks me abruptly, selfdeprecating sarcasm in full effect. “On the first day on set, I had just met Jon Bon Jovi and [we]

were just standing beside each other waiting for the director to yell ‘action’. I’m freaking out thinking: ‘Holy shit, that’s Jon Bon Jovi beside me.’ All of his songs are going through my head when we’re standing there dead quiet. So to break the tension I go, ‘Hey, you know that part [in Livin’ On A Prayer]: ‘Johnny used to work on the docks...’ And without missing a beat he goes, ‘It was Tommy.’ And then you hear ‘ACTION!’” he winces. “But he took it well [and he] is actually one of the coolest dudes I’ve ever met. He’s just so cool, a real classy guy. Not what you’d expect from a rock star.” It’s not unusual for stand-up comedians to drift into film and television these days, and having been performing for more than two decades now, Peters’ acting resume has grown considerably to include Chef, Bob’s Burgers, Last Comic Standing and Mr D. But while he is very excited about an acting gig he’ll do shortly after his Australian tour, Peters admits stand-up is his true passion. “I’m actually doing an episode of Family Guy next month. That for me is huge, because I have been huge fan since it started in 1999. I’ve been with the show as a fan for the past 15 to 16 years,” he says. “However, I feel the most at home when I’m doing standup, and always feel a little bit out of my element when I’m doing the other stuff. It’s what I’ve been doing for 26 years, that’s what I’ll be doing in the new show and hopefully, for the rest of my life. So yeah, Australia, get your ass down there!”

WHAT: Russell Peters: Almost Famous World Tour WHEN & WHERE: 26 Mar, Rod Laver Arena

NO HASHTAG HERE UK comedian Paul Foot talks with Baz McAlister about upholding the Shakespearean maxim.

s ever with gloriously eccentric English comedian Paul Foot, his show’s title has little or no bearing on the actual content, but is magnificent nonetheless. This year’s offering is Hovercraft Symphony In Gammon # Minor, which the refined Foot says has confused those who may be more familiar with hashtags than musical notation. “We did realise perhaps we should have written out the word ‘sharp’. I did one radio interview where the host said ‘We’ve got Paul Foot coming on now; he’s got his new show Paul Foot’s Hovercraft Symphony In Gammon.’ They didn’t know what to say because they didn’t know what they were seeing, and I didn’t know what to say because I was stunned at the ignorance that that was the sharp symbol.” Foot says this year’s show includes “a tale of a lady living with snakes; subjecting a bed and breakfast landlady to a red Indian-themed nightmare; a piece about Scotch finger biscuits in a sadomasochistic suburban whipping session, and also some aquarium humour”. If you’re a connoisseur of his humour (he doesn’t believe in having fans), you’ll know precisely what you’re in for. Foot says since he first started doing shows in Australia five years ago to small audiences “not all of whom were on board”, now more and more of the right people are coming to see him. A recent show in Oxford, where he did his very first gig 20 years ago, got Foot musing about his act. 36 • THE MUSIC • 25TH MARCH 2015

The material was very different, and he was far more confident as a performer, but it struck him that he’d maintained his “amateurishness, in a good way” and “absolute shambolicness” over two decades. “I think that’s quite unusual for performers, to keep whatever it is about them that they had when they first started. You see comedians start up fresh and interesting, with something slightly vulnerable about themselves and their performance, and then a year into their careers they’ve been ‘taught’ how to be a comedian by the clubs and they’ve had all the freshness and originality crushed out of them. I managed to do the clubs for years, and it wasn’t necessarily the

right environment for me to create the kind of comedy I was creating, but I managed to not have all the creativity and the innovation crushed out of me. Now I’m doing theatres full of people who’ve come to see me and I’ve not lost that. I kept true to what I wanted to do.” His unique brand of comedy defies labels – a rarity in today’s comedy climate. “I just create and let other people interpret it. I didn’t read reviews, but then I was persuaded by a reviewer that I could read reviews. I don’t read all of them, and I don’t read none of them. It’s one of the rare examples in my life where I do things by halves; I normally go to one extreme or the other, like if I get on a train I have to sit at the very front or the very back.” WHAT: Paul Foot: Hovercraft Symphony In Gammon # Major WHEN & WHERE: 26 Mar – 19 Apr, The Hi-Fi

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EFFIE

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WOLF TOKYO CLUB AT REHEARSAL

NAZEEM HUSSAIN

LLIAM AMOR

HARLEY BREEN

WHAT WHAT: A Date With Effie WHEN & WHERE: 17 & 18 Apr, Yarraville Club

Can you give us a tweet-length summary of your show? I’m looking 4 L$VE aka moolah. I’m bringing honesty 2 the table & frigidity 2 the bedroom what else would u expect from a hot virgin mother?

What happened the last time you were heckled? If they want to be in the show so bad I’m happy for them to jump on stage with me – I’m up for some crowd participations.

What was the last thing you couldn’t stop laughing at? I dared my mother to try on some stretch jeans – there is no stretch that can stretch that far, that I now know for a fact.

What profession do you think would provide the best comic material? Nurse, I’ve no doubt they’ve seen it all. Therapist, I’ve no doubt they’ve heard it all. Nightclub security, I’ve no doubt they’ve seen, done and heard it all.

What’s your favourite comedy f ilm and why? Anchorman. Ron Burgundy is a classic and a half and, just quietly, a bit attractive too. There’s something cute about a dumb guy that thinks he’s hot and smart.

Can you give us a tweet-length summary of your show? There isn’t a lot left for me to expose about myself. After Just a Fully Naked Encounter there is literally nothing left unsaid! AUS

WHAT WHAT: Harley Breen Breen: Just A Fully Naked Encounter WHEN & WHERE: 26 Mar – 19 Apr, The Old Met Shop, Melbourne Town Hall

What was the last thing you couldn’t stop laughing at? My four year-old son: “Dad, I just did a god fart.” Me: “What’s a god fart?” My four yearold: “That’s when you fart and go, ‘oh, God’.”

WHAT Lliam Amor: Amor Revenge WHAT: Of The Ronin WHEN & WHERE: 25 Mar – 5 Apr, tHE Butterfly Club

Describe your perfect audience: 180 freshly released, bored captives. All seated comfortably and being fed small cakes and an inconspicuous tube of nitrous oxide. Later, they happily carry me around on a shoulder carriage. Besides making people laugh, what else do you hope people get from your comedy? They might all sit within some fiery mystic outlines, waving Can you give us a tweet-length summary of your show? This is my 1st solo show, so it’ll have a lifetime of jokes yet untold. I’ll show you how I flirt, my ISIS nightmare & why ASIO follows me.

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WHAT Hussain WHAT: Nazeem Hussain: Legally Brown WHEN & WHERE: 26 Mar – 19 Apr, Powder Room, Melbourne Town Hall

How do you unwind after a show? I eat lots of chocolate, watch YouTube videos of animals in the wild doing wild things, and then rap along to old school hip hop which I’ll blast through my apartment. By 9.30pm, I’ll be fast asleep before even getting halfway through my glass of warm Milo. #Thuglyf Can you give us a tweet-length summary of your show? It’s a comedic play about a band at rehearsal. What do you f ind funny? Because it’s based on annoying real life experiences at band rehearsal.

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WHERE: 25 Mar – 7 Apr, WHEN & WHERE Apr tuxedo cat

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What happened the last time you were heckled? Nothing of any consequence to my art form. What profession do you think would provide the best comic material? Pipe smoker. Website link for more info? laughingstock. com.au/index.php?mod=event&id=96

What’s your favourite comedy f ilm and why? Kung Fu Hustle. Stephen Chow rules the world of slapstick! The comedy timing in this film is perfect. And it’s a martial arts film. RasTastic.

Can you give us a tweet-length summary of your show? Revenge of the Ronin sees the return of improv veteran, Lliam Amor (Late Night Impro, Thank God You’re Here) and his one man ‘ensemble’. AUS

Website link for more info? comedyfestival.com. au/2015/season/shows/a-date-with-effie-effie

What do you f ind unfunny? As above. What’s a ridiculous situation you’ve been in that you got a joke out of? You will see them all in the show. Do you have a pre-show ritual? I usually have a shot of tequila then meditate then eat a laksa whilst consistently nodding my head for positivity. Website link for more info? rodneytodd.com

some intoxicating perfumes. Some sundry cabalistic words might be pronounced and legions of demons will dance in the air. Maybe. What’s your favourite comedy f ilm and why? The Marx Bros, Animal Crackers. A classic example of their fast funny, irreverent and anarchic humour in a Pre-Hays Code era Hollywood. What would you be doing if you weren’t a comedian? Rum smuggling in Havana. Or maybe nude modelling. Website link for more info? thebutterflyclub. com/show/revenge-of-the-ronin Do you have any topics you avoid making jokes about? I don’t make jokes about people who are already belittled. Everything else is game on! Is there anyone else in the festival you’re hanging out to see? I love Hari Kondabolu from NYC. Also, Noel Fielding, Jason Byrne, Urzila Carlson, Michael Hing, Rhys Nicholson, Laura Davis, Susie Youssef, Matt Okine, Ronny Chieng, Fiona O’Loughlin and heaps more. Website link for more info? nazeemhussain.com

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INTERNET FAME

it up and just listen to the tune – despite the lyrics being about sending cock shots to family members.”

Alex Williamson admits to Cyclone that, despite YouTube celebrity, he still has to go scavenging for cigarettes.

delaide muso-cum-comedian Alex Williamson, notorious for his bogan characters the Loosest Aussie Bloke Ever and Musical Drug Dealer on YouTube, is grappling with fame – mainly because he’s yet to experience the ‘rich’ bit of the equation. And he’s riffing off that with his latest show, That Guy From The Internet. “That’s just what everyone says to me: ‘Hey, it’s that guy from the internet!’” Williamson relates, from a borrowed phone, his own being bust. “Believe it or not, there’s very little privacy in my life when I go outside – it’s insane! People come up to me in every capital city and say ‘Hi.’ I think one of the perks of being one of these celebrities in Hollywood

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is that you have a lot of money and you have big homes in the hills and you’re away from all that. I seem to be recognised as much as some of these people, but I have no money and I have to catch the train and pick up cigarette butts off the ground, so that is a bit embarrassing when fans are seeing you doing that.” Williamson’s show will again feature him singing “sick” songs. “One’s about how I like to send pictures of my penis to everyone, including my parents, I’m just so proud of it. It goes to a tune that’s just so melodic and so deep and dark and disturbing that even a young mum with their kid in the car would have to turn

Williamson, a self-described “clown”, proves that you can still be famous without circulating a sex tape. Sure, his YouTube channel Shooter Williamson has a huge number of subscribers, but his success has come through hard graft – and, yep, talent. Growing up in rural Willunga, Williamson taught himself to play guitar and piano. “It was the only thing to do when the power went out when I was a kid.” He completed a degree in filmmaking at Flinders University. Williamson entered the world of stand-up in 2007. Impressed by his interviews of AFL players on, yes, YouTube, Southern Cross Austereo packed him off to Los Angeles – where he (irreverently) covered red carpet events for The Hot Hits Live From LA. “I interviewed Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston and all these people, high as a motherfucker.” Williamson is now settled back in “comfortable” Adelaide – the weed, he claims, was “the main hook”. Williamson’s comedy plays with the Australian archetype of the politically incorrect bogan (check out his Aussie Sniper spoof ). However, international audiences are loving him. When Williamson performed at 2013’s Edinburgh Fringe, The Scotsman’s fierce critic Kate Copstick touted him as “the future of comedy”. “I’m spreading the word of the bogan and the way I’m doing it is people just think Australians are all bogans,” he says. WHAT: Alex Williamson: That Guy From The Internet WHEN & WHERE: 27 & 28 Mar, Athenaeum Theatre

DONKEY BUSINESS Hannah Gadsby says her passion for donkeys, the namesake of her latest comedy show, has waned, but the show must go on. She speaks to Cyclone.

annah Gadsby is staging an all-new standup show, Donkey, which, depending on what you read, is either about representations of the donkey in art or her bike. “Well, it was gonna be about animals in art and then it wasn’t,” Gadsby says drolly. “I got a new bike, so I said, ‘Oh, fuck it – I’ll call the bike Donkey and talk about that’.” She continues, “[The comedy festivals] ask us what the show is and for a blurb, in October, and I was thinking about donkeys a lot in October... But I can’t talk for an hour about donkeys.” The ‘donkeys in art’ concept did seem random to begin with. “I just think they get a rough go, like, they’re the symbol for the fool,” Gadsby demurs. Mary and Joseph had a reliable ol’ donkey. “I think the donkey broke Mary’s hymen!” Gadsby quips. Gadsby, who hails from Smithton in remote Tasmania, has a scholarly background: she completed a BA in Art History and Curatorship at the Australian National University. Gadsby only then started to seriously perform stand-up – winning 2006’s RAW Comedy competition. She was introduced to a wider audience on Adam Hills Tonight. Gadsby, today known for her comic art lectures both here and in the UK, has also written and presented documentary programs. Last year’s Hannah Gadsby’s Oz on the

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ABC was everything Robert Hughes’ muchfeted 2000s Australia: Beyond The Fatal Shore wasn’t, with its inclusive and contemporary perspectives on Antipodean art. Gadsby also appears in Josh Thomas’ Please Like Me, the alt-sitcom that has a grassroots following stateside, where traditionally shows are (badly) remade. “Good luck recreating Josh,” Gadsby cackles. Ask Gadsby if Please Like Me, nominated for an International Emmy, has opened doors for her and she’s unsure. “I’m not exactly acting – I’m just playing myself. So it’s not like they’re going, ‘Ooh, she can act…’ I

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assume it’s given me more exposure. [But] I don’t keep tabs on myself.” Regardless, Gadsby has had one acting ‘role’. She cameoed in the ‘20s-themed Underbelly: Squizzy as “a cross-dressing photographer”. “I’ve never seen any of the Underbelly series,” Gadsby whispers. It looks good in her bio. “Yeah, that’s why I do anything!” Five years ago Gadsby took a book pitch to a publisher and received an advance, despite then being a “nobody”. Alarmingly, the tome will document her “accident history”.

WHAT: Hannah Gadsby: Donkey WHEN & WHERE: 26 Mar – 19 Apr, Supper Room, Melbourne Town Hall To read the full interview head to theMusic.com.au

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LOOSE & STUPID The word ‘absurd’ gets thrown around a lot with Sam Simmons’ comedic style and, as Kane Sutton finds out, his latest show is just about the craziest to date.

am Simmons is a hugely eccentric and confident character while he’s up on stage, but that wasn’t always the case for the comedian, who now spends time hopping between Australia and the US. “When I started going into stand-up clubs, that’s when I realised [my style] was a bit weird, and I was made to feel like it was strange, which it’s not – this is what I do. I was only made to feel self-conscious about what I was doing in comedy by other stand-ups when I started, but I stuck to my guns and I’ve succeeded where others have failed, because they were vanilla!”

Spaghetti For Breakfast marks Simmons’ third major touring stand-up show around the country in recent

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years. His style is certainly one that can polarise viewers, but Simmons understands you can’t please everyone. “I still have difficult ones with - it’s basically just men. I won’t be sexist, it’s basically men and women between the ages of 45 and 65 that are just like, ‘Nah, what’s he fucking doin’?” And then young conservative men not willing to go with a bit of fantasy and have some fun because they’re threatened by their own sexuality and think that at any possible moment I’m going to jump out into the audience and suck their cock. It’s pretty fuckin’ weird.” Absurdity in stand-up is something that very few can pull off. Simmons

combats the difficulty by flying through different topics within his hour-long timeframe. “I had a guy say to me at the show the other night, ‘Man, you just churn through your material,’ like, there’s a lot of ideas and I throw them all away within a 30-second gag. I guess I do, but I like that because it keeps the audience on their toes. It’s more rewarding for the audience because I’m not just labouring a joke and trying to milk everything I can out of one gag. The majority of stand-up is an idea stretched thin; I’d rather too many ideas crammed into an hour than not enough.” His new performance pushes the boundaries even further – while his last two shows have had solid plot lines amid the chaos, this one’s a little different. “It’s interesting to see how people react sometimes and this one’s really full-on, really absurd but really stupid. I’ve pushed it really hard this year; there’s this whole sequence in the middle where I’m just placing a burrito on my foot, and it’s really funny, which is the best... I totally took on a character last year [for Death Of A SailsMan], but this one’s me. I took on a bit of a personal journey with this one. A personal journey, mate. It’s just more loose and stupid. There’s no narrative. It can be annoying sometimes when there’s a narrative because you’re wanting to go for a good night and it’s like, ‘Aw, no, he’s doing a story.’ This sounds really dumb, but it’s a bit like a comedy version of Inception, not in a sci-fi way, but it is a bit mind-bending, and you get to the end and you’re like, ‘Aw, fuck, that was awesome.’ I’ve always wanted to do that kind of show – you think about the whole show in the last minute and go, ‘Ohhh, right!’”

WHAT: Sam Simmons: Spaghetti For Breakfast WHEN & WHERE: 26 Mar – 19 Apr, Beyond, ACMI

CRAZY BUSINESS Tom Ballard is just like you: “trying to fall in love and date, and deal with people not liking who you are”, he tells Cyclone.

arrnambool’s Tom Ballard once combed the beach for relics of an old Portuguese shipwreck – “a local legend” – with school friends. “Our teachers would be like, ‘Oh, if you look carefully, you might find some of the Mahogany Ship’ – which was bullshit,” mocks the fast-talking Ballard. “That was busy work – they were trying to distract us!” The openly gay comedian ultimately left his “boring” coastal Victorian hometown. “It is a lovely place, and I do enjoy going up there, but, by the time I was getting [to] 17, 18, I was kinda getting pretty restless and figured that, if I was gonna be an international superstar in the world of acting and film and comedy, then I maybe had to move to Melbourne.” Ballard exhibited comic flair in high school when he was a three-time finalist in the Melbourne International Comedy Festival’s Class Clowns competition. But the school dux initially went on to study law at Monash University rather than pursue comedy – chiefly to “placate” his parents. “My mum was a careers teacher, so her entire life was about back-up options,” Ballard reveals. Nonetheless, he dropped out after six weeks, his career in entertainment already on the ascent. Ballard and Alex Dyson secured airtime on triple j, eventually becoming breakfast presenters. “I guess with this crazy business, when things are going your way, you’ve kinda gotta go for it.” 42 • THE MUSIC • 25TH MARCH 2015

More recently, Ballard hosted the ABC’s engaging TV program Reality Check – which won’t be returning because, he laughs philosophically, “The ABC has not found room for it in its 2015 schedule.” “I got to meet Brynne Edelsten, so that’s a career highlight.” Ballard has just piloted the SBSbacked web sitcom series, Fully Furnished, with Tommy Dassalo. The comedian is touring his stand-up show Taxis & Rainbows & Hatred on the festival circuit. “It’s about this bad, weird, homophobic thing that happened to me in a taxi in Newcastle in 2013. That incident got me thinking about a whole bunch of different

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things – including how many stories I have about taking taxis and about homophobia and dating and rainbows and, yeah, being gay in 2015. I mean, my first stand-up show [2009’s Tom Ballard Is What He Is] was about me growing up and coming out in regional Victoria. I’ve been out for, like, seven years – and my life is great and fantastic and I have wonderful people who love me and stuff. But now I just have to deal with the stuff that everybody has to deal with, which is trying to fall in love and date, and deal with people not liking who you are... I’ve been working on it a lot and taking out the shit bits and putting in better bits... I feel like I’ve got a vibe of who I am and the kind of comedy I like to do and the kind of show I put together so, yes, Edinburgh 2015 is the dream.” WHAT: Tom Ballard: Taxis & Rainbows & Hatred WHEN & WHERE: 26 Mar – 19 Apr, Swiss Club; 30 Mar, Melbourne Town Hall

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DAMIAN COWELL SNORT WITH FRIENDS SUSIE YOUSSEF TYM JEFFERY WIL SYLVINCE

Can you give us a tweet-length summary of your show? The harrowing tale behind my new musical Eurovision Ruined My Life. What do you f ind funny? I’m addicted to moderation. AUS

AT Damian Cowell: Cowell Hara Hara-Karaoke Karaoke WHAT: WHEN & WHERE: 7 – 19 Apr, Ladies’ Lounge & pizza room, Forum Theatre

Apr WHEN & WHERE WHERE: 26 Mar – 5 Apr, PORTLAND room, Portland Hotel

What’s a ridiculous situation you’ve been in that you got a joke out of? 15,000 people voted for my band to represent Australia at Eurovision.

Can you give us a tweet-length summary of your show? Hilarious NZ improv show with special guests from the Festival. No games, just guaranteed giggles #lolz #kiwisinaus #canwegetaword. Describe your perfect audience: One that doesn’t yell “chode” or “cunnilingus” every time we ask for a word. Sexy looking but not too much that we feel unattractive. Down for laughs. Besides making people laugh, what else do you hope people get from your comedy? There’s a bit of a naff stereotype about improv but it’s seriously Can you give us a tweet-length summary of your show? Solo sketch meets storytelling meets stand-up. A show about wise guys and wide eyes and wise eyes from the makers of Sketchual Chocolate.

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AT Susie Youssef WHAT: Youssef: Owl Eyes On You WHEN & WHERE: 26 Mar – 19 Apr, Games Room, ACMI

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WHAT Tym Jeffery WHAT: Jeffery: A Diabetes Discrimination WHEN & WHERE: 3 – 17 Apr, Geddes Lounge

Describe your perfect audience: Full. Or half-full. Anybody. You! You should come! You’re perfect!

WHAT WHAT: Wil Sylvince Sylvince: Syllables Syllables, Fat, & Celibacy WHEN & WHERE: 26 Mar – 19 Apr, aphrodite’s room, Greek Centre

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the coolest. Also, if someone can go away feeling better about the world, then thumbs up. What’s your favourite comedy f ilm and why? I suspect we would argue about this but we’d all pick something from a while ago, like Wayne’s World or Ace Ventura. They are silly and have great characters. What would you be doing if you weren’t a comedian? Snort’s made up of actors and writers, so probably that. But if not that, I suspect starting a hippy commune somewhere coz we all love each other so much. Yeeeuuuch. Website link for more info? snort.co.nz What’s your favourite comedy f ilm and why? The Breakfast Club – hilarious, brilliant script, stellar cast, Judd Nelson’s fist pump and the killer soundtrack. The Princess Bride is a close second. What would you be doing if you weren’t a comedian? Probably investing in superannuation. It is literally the future.

Besides making people laugh, what else do you hope people get from your comedy? There are owl facts and bees and a surprising use of graphs. There is also a lot of heart and I love doing it so I hope you like it.

Website link for more info? susieyoussef.com

Can you give us a tweet-length summary of your show? Diabetes, censorship, 30,000 injections over 21 years, poverty, suicide and death. It’s a real laugh riot, bring the whole family.

What would you be doing if you weren’t a comedian? Managing Director of AAP Medianet. I’m completely unqualified for such a role, but total incompetence has certainly never stopped AAP from appointing people to management in the past.

Describe your perfect audience: People who know that I’m not Jim Jefferies. Besides making people laugh, what else do you hope people get from your comedy? A mindless distraction that will save them the stress and anxiety of having to think about real things.

Website link for more info? apocalypseandgenesys.com

What’s your favourite comedy f ilm and why? Either The Thing With Two Heads (1972) or Pin (1988). Anyone who’s ever seen either need no explanation. Can you give us a tweet-length summary of your show? My stand-up is an extension of my past, present, and somewhat made up future of my life. My life scars R now laughable moments in an hour.

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Website link for more info? damiancowell.com

What do you f ind unfunny? Folk music turns me into a fascist.

Answered by: Donna Brookbanks

Do you have a pre-show ritual? Increasing my likelihood of prostate cancer.

What was the last thing you couldn’t stop laughing at? A friend said he uses motor lube for lubricant when he masturbates and yells “vrooom vrooom” every few minutes. (Was funny as hell to me.) What’s your favourite comedy f ilm and why? Favorite comedy film is probably Coming To America. This film never gets old and I always see something I never noticed before or didn’t pay close attention to.

What happened the last time you were heckled? Last time I got heckled, I shouted, “You’re mad because you’ll never be the man your mother was!” He said, “My mother’s dead.” I replied, “I didn’t kill the bitch!” What profession do you think would provide the best comic material? Horse hiccup analyser, public bathroom assistant (paper, candy, mouthwash, etc), assistant donut glazer, porn extra, and/ or loose pubic hair cleaner at hair wax centre. Website link for more info? wilsylvince.com

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CLENCH: BE A BUMLADY

Answered by: Lulu Lala Can you give us a tweet-length summary of your show? This workshop gives you a chance to perform as part of the Comedy Festival. You get to wear a big cooshy bum and go out and wow the crowds. AUS

WHAT Clench Be A Bumlady WHAT: Clench: WHEN & WHERE: 28 Mar – 19 Apr, Local Birds

Describe your perfect audience: You get to parade around, squash people with your big bum and do silly things in the middle of Swanson Street. This takes a tad more courage than skydiving. Besides making people laugh, what else do you hope people get from your comedy? It’s all about play and it’s great being buxom; you feel free

DARIEN BROWN

DAMIEN POWER

TIM BATT

MUSIC, MIRTH & MAYHEM 17

Answered by: Lawrence Mooney Can you give us a tweet-length summary of your show? I MC Music, Mirth & Mayhem, a one off festival event. The best local & O/S comedy & music at the Hi Fi. It goes off, don’t miss it. AUS

How do you unwind after a show? Talking with other comedians and drinking something fizzy. Do you have any topics you avoid making jokes about? Absolutely nothing is off limits. Please don’t read that as insensitive because comedy can deal with things kindly and gently. It just means we won’t be told what to do.

WHEN & WHERE WHERE: 13 Apr Apr, The Hi-Fi

Can you give us a tweet-length summary of your show? Mild-mannered Kiwi turns weed-smoking, swearing, road rage lover who wants to celebrate and commiserate over the current state of humanity. NZ

WHAT WHAT: Tim Batt Explores The Human Experience WHEN & WHERE: 25 Mar – 5 Apr, Caz Reitop’s Dirty Secrets

How do you unwind after a show? A beer at the bar and a discussion about the nature of the universe. Or possibly six beers at the bar and a discussion on the nature of the bar. Or 12 beers and a discussion about the nature of the floor.

WHAT WHAT: Damien Power Power: I Can’t Believe I Cared WHEN & WHERE: 26 Mar – 19 Apr, Gold Room, Portland Hotel

WHAT: WHAT Darien Brown: Brown Cool As Ice WHEN & WHERE: 25 Mar – 19 Apr, Clean Comedy Hub

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What would you be doing if you weren’t a comedian? Clench has been around since 1998, doing stuff like this. If we weren’t doing this we would probably be sitting round in brown suits typing. Website link for more info? bumladies.weebly.com Is there anyone else in the festival you’re hanging out to see? I saw some great stuff in Adelaide. Sam Simmons: Spaghetti for Breakfast and Puddles Pity Party, both magnificent shows. I want to see Becky Lucas, the best new comic around. Website link for more info? comedyfestival. com.au/2015/season/shows/surelynot-lawrence-mooney

the shock jocks. They’ll be fooling around with rape, AIDS and racism. No time, I’m too busy tackling big ideas like heartbreak, McDonald’s and the tragedy of office life. Is there anyone else in the festival you’re hanging out to see? Ari Shaffir, Arj Baker, Dave Hughes, Dr Brown, FanFiction Comedy, Hannah Gadsby, Heidi O’Loughlin, James Acaster, Jim Jefferies, Josie Long, Markus Birdman, Neil Hamburger, Noel Fielding, Rose Matafeo/Guy Montgomery. Website link for more info? timbatt.co.nz

Can you give us a tweet-length summary of your show? Dreams, fairy tales, sex, consumerism, ISIS, religion and why we need beliefs.

David Quirk and so many more I can’t think of. Anything and everything. Website link for more info? damienpower.com

Do you have any topics you avoid making jokes about? As long as it’s a good joke, I will joke about it, but if something’s really offensive and it’s not a good joke I won’t do it. Is there anyone else in the festival you’re hanging out to see? Sam Simmons, Anne Edmonds, Suren Jayemanne, Dr Brown, Ronny Chieng,

Can you give us a tweet-length summary of your show? It’s about what it’s like going through life with a disability. But mostly going the transition of being a nerdy loser to doing great things. AUS

What’s your favourite comedy f ilm and why? My favourite bit is when some unlikely quiet person suddenly gets up and gets into dancing with a Bumlady. It changes their day. It changes the street, everyone gets happy.

Do you have any topics you avoid making jokes about? I’m leaving the big taboos for

How do you unwind after a show? Chamomile tea and whisky. AUS

and fabulous. You are responsible for the smiles of hundreds of people in the street.

What was the last thing you couldn’t stop laughing at? My stepbrother and his girlfriend brought their dog to my house, the dog thought the backyard door was open. He then sprinted and did a face plant into the door. What’s your favourite comedy f ilm and why? Mrs Doubtfire because Robin Williams was such a great character and it was just pure

gold whenever he said a clever line. What happened the last time you were heckled? On stage I did a joke about a gay dragon and there were three homosexuals in the crowd but the lady behind them tried to tell me about Puff The Magic Dragon. What profession do you think would provide the best comic material? A teacher obviously (laughs). Website link for more info? autisticcomic.com

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COLOURFUL CONVERSATIONS A woman was sipping on a glass of wine, while sitting on the patio with her husband. She says, “I love you so much, I don’t know how I could ever live without you.” Her husband asks, “Is that you or the wine talking?” She replies, “It’s me… talking to the wine.”

ALICE FRASER What’s your most unusual conversation starter? I once broke a silence with a guy I had a crush on by saying “So... how do you feel about soup?”

The ever innovative Brown Brothers have partnered with the Melbourne International Comedy Festival this year, because hey, jokes + wine = good times. A good wine always leads to interesting questions and even more intriguing answers. To celebrate MICF, we asked some of our favourite comedians about a few of their own Colourful Conversations.

KYLIE SPARROW OF THE COMEDY CONFESSIONAL What’s the worst conversation you’ve heard? It’s 1.45 on a Wednesday morning, Kylie is rudely awoken from her slumber by the sound of a heated discussion outside her window.

LUISA OMIELAN What’s the most awkward conversation you’ve had with someone you admire? Luisa Omielan: Hey Miranda! Thank you so much for having me in the Christmas special of your TV show... Miranda Hart: That’s ok, you a fan of the show?

Man 1: I doubt MH370 even existed, it was just a government distraction from something important. Like the arrival of some boat people.

MH: So you know Stevie...

Man 2: Nah man, the President said that ‘cause of their new policies no boat people have come in anymore.

MH: Yeah, she plays my best friend in the show... Have you ever actually watched the show?

M1: We have a Prime Minister dickhead and MH370 was a worldwide distraction, man; you’re so ignorant.

LO: Errrr, no, sorry, but thanks so much for having me on the team?

LO: Errrr, yeah, a big fan. LO: Stevie?

M2: Whatever dude, same thing. I’m not ignorant, I watch the news, I read the internet... To m a k e y o u r o w n C o l o u r f u l C o n v e r s a t i o n , h e a d t o b r o w n b r o t h e r s . c o m . a u .

URZILA CARLSON What’s the most awkward conversation you’ve had with someone you admire? I loved history at school, so much so that I carried on with history at university: a big part of my love for history was my history teacher. He was a very nice guy and was so passionate about it that it was contagious. However one day he came into class and he stood next to my desk chatting to me and his zipper was down and his boxers have seen better days, I had to tell him that he needs to zip up. It was always weird after that.

G REILLY OF COMEDIANS OF GABRIEL IGLESIAS’ STAND-UP REVOLUTION What’s your most unusual conversation starter? I saw a UFO once while in the Indian Ocean.

JONESTOWN Tell us about the worst conversation starter you’ve ever heard: Nick Johnson: I stayed in a backpackers in France and had to listen to an American teenager try to pick up every woman in the dorm one at a time by showing off his American passport. Sarah Jones: How did that go down? NJ: Not well. He seemed to think French girls would be hot for pictures of eagles and boastful quotes about patriotism.

SUSIE YOUSSEF What’s the most awkward conversation you’ve had with someone you admire? I once told Noel Fielding I loved his shoes. I couldn’t muster any other words. Nailed it.

BEAU HEARTBREAKER, REAL NAME SELINA JENKINS

CAL WILSON What’s your most unusual conversation starter?

What’s your most unusual conversation starter?

I don’t really have a go-to conversation starter, but the one I remember being used on me, was a man who tapped my shoulder, at a gig, and said “I’m sorry, I’ve just dropped my lit cigarette in your hoodie.” It was a pretty short conversation though, as I had to concentrate on putting myself out.

Chatting with Tim Minchin prior to jumping on stage with him to sing a duet of Hallelujah: “Do want me with the beard on or off for this number?” He went with off, but always best to ask.

DAVID QUIRK Tell us about the worst conversation starter you’ve ever heard: Are you guys taking about farts? To m a k e y o u r o w n C o l o u r f u l C o n v e r s a t i o n , h e a d t o b r o w n b r o t h e r s . c o m . a u .

THRILLSEEKER Irish joker Jason Byrne talks to Baz McAlister about his 20th year as a craic dealer.

ason Byrne picks up the phone in the dead of night at his Irish countryside home, and yawns. That morning he’d been engaging in perhaps typically Byrne-like shenanigans. “I spent the morning rolling around the ground with a man who trains professional cage fighter Conor (“Notorious”) McGregor,” he says, pointing The Music towards a YouTube clip. “So you can write ‘Byrne in training for Melbourne’.” Last year in a raucous parody of Miley Cyrus he came out literally swinging, perched on a wrecking ball. For this year’s show, 20 Years A Clown – marking

IRL

his 20th Edinburgh Festival, his tenth year doing Melbourne – he says he wants to pull out as much “mental shit” as he can. “I’m still working on my opening for this year. My lawyers and all are talking about it. The wrecking ball was most dicey in Edinburgh because I came swinging from the back of the stage towards the audience, out over the top of them, and my promoter was saying ‘Please don’t do this,’ and I was saying ‘It’ll be all right.’ Apparently if I fell on anybody I’d be up for a million in sterling damages if I killed or hurt someone. So I don’t think I’ll be doing anything as risky as that. It was great

fun but every venue we went into with it – fucking nightmare. You can’t hang it here, you can’t hang it there, you can only swing here. In Liverpool I couldn’t get off the fucking thing – it just kept going faster and faster. It was the bane of my life but it was great craic.” Byrne’s known for his high energy manic entrances, over the years having hit the stage to a dance routine, or skipping, or bouncing from the wings on a space hopper – and for good reason. “It wakes me up! My nerves work by trying to shut me down and put me to sleep so that’s why I open the show that way; it’s a shock to my system.” But when he’s not on stage, Byrne’s brain won’t let him rest. “One of the things I wanted to do (last year) was just wrap myself in bubble wrap and roll down and let the audience play with me for ten minutes at the end of the show, and if they want they can take me outside into the street. But in Melbourne I’m playing the Forum, and I think the seating’s raised... so the chances of me falling over the edge are quite high.” This year Byrne’s annual visit is taking in the nation’s capital – “I’ve been to Canberra once and I described it as like licking cardboard” – and Hobart which The Music tells him is quite a bit like his native land. “You mean ‘miserable’,” he chuckles. “You said it’s very like Ireland in the climate and that means it’s shit. I fly out there for the sunshine! It’s snowing here right now. But that’s Ireland. It’s like a teenager. ‘I don’t care if it’s March, I’m fucking snowing. I hate ya.’” WHAT: Jason Byrne: 20 Years A Clown WHEN & WHERE: 26 Mar – 19 Apr, Downstairs, Forum Theatre

SHE’S LEAVING HOME Legendary yarn-spinner Fiona O’Loughlin is finally ready to open up about her big move from Alice Springs to the city, Baz McAlister reports.

round three years ago, Fiona O’Loughlin left the quiet town of Alice Springs, where she had lived for 27 years, for the bright lights of Melbourne – also leaving her husband. “I’m so in love with this new show because it’s about looking back and realising I am ready to talk about all of that now, to say ‘Holy crap, how did I do that?’” O’Loughlin admits. In the same vein as previous shows that have won the warm, open comic a huge fanbase, her new one is simply a collection of autobiographical stories. It’s not hard to see why she cites quintessential anecdote master Billy Connolly as a comedic influence. “With this show, you’ll never see the same one twice. It’s been overwritten, because there are too many stories! I have to take one or two out every night and replace and rotate them. Three stories have got the same purpose, I guess. And I am talking about some tricky stuff, like race relations in Alice Springs. I’ve got this gorgeous story about meeting ‘Aboriginal me’ and taking her home. I love her!” South Australian-born O’Loughlin says she feels refreshed by the move out of the Outback. She’s still enchanted by the feel of the city – despite having 50 • THE MUSIC • 25TH MARCH 2015

toured through cities for eight months of the year, in a blur of hotel rooms and taxis, she says she’s enjoying people-watching, putting down roots, and even just getting a coffee is “exciting”. She’s not considering moving back to the town she called home for most of her life. “I only ever felt transient anyway in the whole 27 years I lived there. I felt like a guest, because I think Alice Springs is such a cathedral for Aboriginal people. It’s a very sacred place and I don’t think unless you were born there it will ever feel like home. But one of my [five] kids was born there and it’s incredible to see the difference.”

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Since last comedy festival season, O’Loughlin’s episode of Australian Story has aired on the ABC with a frank and revealing account of her suicide attempt. Her battle with alcoholism had already hit the headlines after she collapsed on stage in 2009. “I reckon people are pretty over me and my shit,” O’Louughlin says with her winning trademark self-deprecation. “I do laugh at myself in the show – the closer is a big gag about myself and about how much I’ve let the public into my life. But the payoff for wrinkles is that you can say more, and I love that as a stand-up.”

WHAT: Fiona O’Loughlin: The One Where She Left Her Husband And Moved To Melbourne! WHEN & WHERE: 31 Mar – 19 Apr, Fairfax Studio, Arts Centre

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DEANNE SMITH

Can you give us a tweet-length summary of your show? Get Into It gets into it: sex, love, death, anxiety, and more sex. With ukulele! And consensual touching! And jokes. Super hilarious jokes. CAN

WHAT DeAnne Smith: Smith Get Into It WHAT: WHEN & WHERE: 26 Mar – 19 Apr, Mykonos, Greek Centre

Describe your perfect audience: My perfect audience is full of open-minded, optimistic weirdos who are slightly broken inside. But I’ll take anyone, anywhere. Because I’m a god damn professional and that’s what we do. Besides making people laugh, what else do you hope people get from your comedy? For real? I hope people feel less alone in their unspeakable

DOUG ANTHONY ALL STARS

Answered by: Tim Ferguson Can you give us a tweet-length summary of your show? World Tour. New show. Old men. Do Not Touch. AUS

WHAT Doug Anthony All WHAT: Stars: Encore! WHEN & WHERE: 27 Mar – 11 Apr, Yarraville Club

BEST OF THE EDINBURGH FEST AUNTY DONNA

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WHEN & Where Where: 26 Mar – 19 Apr Apr, Cube, ACMI

What would you be doing if you weren’t a comedian? Probably crying silently in a darkened room. What kind of question is this? COMEDY IS MY LIFE BLOOD AND I CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT IT. Stop freaking me out. Website link for more info? deannesmith.com Do you have a pre-show ritual? Star Wars re-enactments using toys. Website link for more info? comedyfestival.com. au/2015/season/shows/doug-anthony-all-stars

What do you find unfunny? Sincerity. And folk music. (Folk is the opposite of comedy.) What’s a ridiculous situation you’ve been in that you got a joke out of? Once I was born. I was totally naked. It was humiliating. But I can laugh about it now.

Can you give us a tweet-length summary of your show? Three fantastic international comedians perform a relay of utterly splendid hilarity.

WHEN & WHERE WHERE: 26 Mar – 19 Apr Apr, UPSTAIRS, Forum Theatre

What’s your favourite comedy film and why? I can’t get enough of Mean Girls. Tiny Fey? Rachel McAdams? Lindsay Lohan before she went nuts? It’s chock full of hilarious chicks.

What do you find funny? Misery, death, fear, horror themes.

Answered by: Jimmy McGhie

weirdness. Oh, and I love when folks end up dating because of one of my shows.

What was the last thing you couldn’t stop laughing at? My own misery. Sometimes things get so bad, you transcend your depression and just start laughing. What’s your favourite comedy film and why? I have a soft spot for Major League, the 1989 baseball classic starring Charlie Sheen. We just watched it again on tour and have been quoting it ever since.

Can you give us a tweet-length summary of your show? Zane brained lolz aplenty #MICF #ACMIDANCEPARTY #HUNGRYSAM #BAZINGA #BABINGBINGBONG #GETTHECHILDRENOUTOFTHEK INDERGARTEN #BINGBAMBOOM What do you find funny? How some people call them honey crackles and other honey joys or potato cakes and potato scallops. Why can’t we all just get along?

What happened the last time you were heckled? The interruption sucked all of the momentum out of the room. You get less proper heckling these days, nowadays it’s just gormless morons fiddling with their phones and talking. What profession do you think would provide the best comic material? Quite a lot of comedians come from the medical profession. I guess to deal with such darkness you need to have a fairly robust sense of humour. Website link for more info? jimmymcghie.co.uk

honey joys or potato cakes and potato scallops. Why can’t we all just get along? What’s a ridiculous situation you’ve been in that you got a joke out of? One time, Dad came home grumpy from work and couldn’t decide if he wanted Chicken Tonight or Kantong for dinner. Man it was funny. Do you have a pre-show ritual? Yes we do. Website link for more info? auntydonna.com

What do you find unfunny? How some people call them honey crackles and other

ADVENTURES IN HAIR!

Answered by: Laurence Rosier Staines Can you give us a tweet-length summary of your show? Macau, 1622: the Portuguese colony is in crisis. Fire, conspiracies, rapidly changing hats. Three performers, 25 characters, one hour. VIVA! AUS

WHEN & WHERE WHERE: 9 – 18 Apr, Apr The Red Violin

Describe your perfect audience: A conference of historians. Besides making people laugh, what else do you hope people get from your comedy? An education. We hope they get educated. What’s your favourite comedy film and why? Troy (2004).

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What would you be doing if you weren’t a comedian? We aren’t comedians. Website link for more info? adventuresinhair.net

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DOUBLE DATE

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WHEN & WHERE: WHERE 31 Mar – 4 Apr, Apr Highlander Bar

Answered by: Rosa Sottile, Taylor Edwards, Cameron Watson and Ed Chalmers

English working class and sense of superiority about their own fantasy rap careers.

Can you give us a tweet-length summary of your show? Two of Brisbane’s favourite improv duos, ChavProv and Number 1, bring the big dumb fun at its unscripted best!

What’s your favourite comedy film and why? Star Wars Episode III, the scene when pre-Darth Anakin is trying to crawl up the hill after falling in the lava. A true classic.

Describe your perfect audience: Pumped from eating a burger, beer in hand, they throw themselves down to watch a dolphin give birth to itself.

What would you be doing if you weren’t a comedian? Might get back to all those people on Gumtree whose bookshelves we said we would buy.

Besides making people laugh, what else do you hope people get from your comedy? An inside look at the

DEAD TECHNOLOGY MEMOIRS

Answered by: James Hazelden

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WHEN & WHERE Apr WHERE: 2 – 12 Apr, La Mama Theatre

Can you give us a tweet-length summary of your show? Dead Technology Memoirs is a black comedy about murder, obsession, illegal recordings, lies, time travel, pop music and number puzzles. What do you find funny? I think jokes about sex and death are funny. And I think my new play is funny. I don’t think paradoxes are funny, but I think paradoxes are funny. What do you find unfunny? Anything that needs a laugh track to tell you where you should laugh. And I don’t like pranks or the comedy of

ANDREW HANSEN & CHRIS TAYLOR

Answered by: Andrew Hansen Can you give us a tweet-length summary of your show? A parody of those ‘In Conversation’ sessions they do at festivals, in which a daggy MC interviews a pretentious celebrity. AUS

AT Andrew Hansen & Chris Taylor WHAT: In Conversation With Lionel Corn WHEN & WHERE: 7 – 19 Apr, Downstairs, Forum Theatre

Website link for more info? comedyfestival.com. au/2015/season/shows/double-date

embarrassment. And Wil Anderson isn’t very funny. What’s a ridiculous situation you’ve been in that you got a joke out of? My Uncle Henry called the computer support company because after three days of surﬁng the internet, it stopped working. It turned out he didn’t have a modem. That’s funny. Do you have a pre-show ritual? I tend to be very energetic. I move around a lot. I ﬁnd it hard to keep still. It is very annoying for the other people. Website link for more info? lamama.com.au/2015summer-program/dead-technology-memoirs if you leave one out they’ll feel hurt and bitter and not be able to get out of bed for a month. Website link for more info? comedyfestival.com. au/2015/season/shows/in-conversation-withlionel-corn-chris-taylor-andrew-hansen

How do you unwind after a show? I like to sob quietly in a corner. Do you have any topics you avoid making jokes about? In the age of social media outrage, I avoid making jokes about anything at all. Is there anyone else in the festival you’re hanging out to see? I can’t name names. They’re all comedians, so

ALAN BROUGH & CASEY BENNETTO

Answered by: Alan Brough Can you give us a tweet-length summary of your show? The greatest show ever as long as your expectations are low. AUS

AT Alan Brough & Casey Bennetto: Bennetto WHAT: The Narelles WHEN & WHERE: 26 mAR – 19 aPR, new Ballroom, Trades Hall

Describe your perfect audience: Undiscerning. Besides making people laugh, what else do you hope people get from your comedy? Tinnitus. What’s your favourite comedy film and why? Charlie Chaplin Does Dallas. The Little Tramp is a little tramp. What would you be doing if you weren’t a comedian? Phone sex for the hard of hearing.

DANCING WITH DINOSAURS

Answered by: Eloise Maree Can you give us a tweet-length summary of your show? Dancing With Dinosaurs: All the glamour of Dancing With The Stars, but bigger, sexier and scalier! AUS

Apr WHEN & WHERE WHERE: 1 – 12 Apr, La Mama Theatre

What do you find funny? Death and the imminent extinction of the human species. Ha ha! What do you find unfunny? Death and the imminent extinction of the human species. Also: Paleo diets and CrossFit. What’s a ridiculous situation you’ve been in that you got a joke out of? Buying the set for our

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performance, one week ahead of opening, TriCaito-Tops was carrying a large wooden item which subsequently broke into two parts and dropped onto her toe! Ouch! Do you have a pre-show ritual? We have to work hard to get into our dinosaur characters, so it’s less of a pre-show ritual and more of a ritual sacriﬁce. We won’t disclose any more details.... Website link for more info? lamama.com.au/2015summer-program/dancing-with-dinosaurs

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STEEN RASKOPOULOS

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WHAT WHAT: Steen Raskopoulos Raskopoulos: Character Assassin WHEN & WHERE: 26 Mar – 19 Apr, Regent Room, Melbourne Town Hall

WHAT Moore Young WHAT: Joseph Moore: Comedy Billionaire WHEN & WHERE: 26 Mar – 5 Apr, Front Room, Trades Hall

LEHMO

JOSEPH MOORE

Can you give us a tweet-length summary of your show? A one-man solo sketch/ character comedy, with a little help from my good friends ‘the audience’.

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NIKKI BRITTON

WHAT: HAT LEHMOOO!!! (Get Amongst It!) WHEN & WHERE: 30 Mar – 13 Apr, Cloak Room, Melbourne Town Hall

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WHAT Britton The WHAT: Nikki Britton: Other 3 Percent WHEN & WHERE: 4 – 19 Apr, LADIES’ LOUNGE & PIZZA ROOM, Forum Theatre

What do you find funny? Watching someone trying to cover up their tracks after being ignored.

What’s a ridiculous situation you’ve been in that you got a joke out of? Being asked to Can you give us a tweet-length summary of your show? A guy from NZ talking about his quest for fame, all the while really hoping his laptop doesn’t break during the show like it did in Auckland.

What’s your favourite comedy film and why? Step Up 3D. It’s hilarious and it knows it is. There’s someone from Home And Away in it, and a room full of shoes, and I can’t remember the rest.

Describe your perfect audience. Attractive. But not so attractive I’m afraid to talk to them. An audience of 7s and 8s would be perfect. But that’s a faraway dream, right now I’ll take anything.

What would you be doing if you weren’t a comedian? Ideally – making sick beats.

Besides making people laugh, what else do you hope people get from your comedy? I hope people appreciate the musical elements, so much that they tell their dad, who happens to be a big record label executive. Then he gives me a million dollars.

What’s a ridiculous situation you’ve been in that you got a joke out of? My stage was running late at Falls Festival and I was pelted with cans. A full beer can hit me, I laughed and thought, that guy must really hate me.

What do you find funny? Stupidity makes me laugh, as does being childish. But more than anything I love it when people who really deserve it cop a massive hilarious serve!

Do you have a pre-show ritual? I pace back and forth reciting my show whilst smashing Red Bulls and lollies. It takes the full 60 minutes for my sugar high to wear off.

What do you find unfunny? Picking on people who don’t deserve it, bullying, marginalisation and unfairness.

Website link for more info? lehmo.com.au

Can you give us a tweet-length summary of your show? An hilarious journey through remote Borneo to the heart of our species to ask, if we share 97% of DNA with Apes, what’s The Other 3 Percent?

Guest. Spaceballs is a family favourite, as is Wayne’s World. Oh, what have I forgotten?

Describe your perfect audience: Lightly boozed. Besides making people laugh, what else do you hope people get from your comedy? Advice on what not to do on adventure holidays in remote areas. And some hope for humankind. What’s your favourite comedy film and why? Ooooh, there’s too many! Anything with Bill Murray. Anything directed by Christopher

THE BEAR PACK

What was the last thing you couldn’t stop laughing at? The Katering Show. That stuff is just too good. What’s your favourite comedy film and why? Zoolander. It’s got Billy Zayne in it and he’s a cool guy. What happened the last time you were heckled? The heckler left and made an official complaint,

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Website link for more info? comedyfestival. com.au/2015/season/shows/youngcomedy-billionaire-joseph-moore

Can you give us a tweet-length summary of your show? The big topics in my show are politics, war and marriage – subject matter that needs to be laughed and pointed at because it’s ridiculous!

Can you give us a tweet-length summary of your show? An improvised yarn of no doubt ridiculous and epic proportions. Romance, adventure, action, Fish Kings, anything could happen.

WHEN WHERE: 10 & 11 Apr, HEN & WHERE Apr Powder Room, Melbourne Town Hall

Do you have a pre-show ritual? Double pump for Jmac and Tsenny.

What do you find unfunny? People who punch ducks/or other animals that have the ability to swim.

Answered by: Carlo Ritchie

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follow someone to their office and it taking 15 minutes to get there, from the front door.

What would you be doing if you weren’t a comedian? Paying rent on time. Lodging a respectable tax return. On time. I always wanted to be a ballerina, but since puberty hit that’s been off the cards. Working with animals? Website link for more info? comedyfestival. com.au/2015/season/shows/theother-3-percent-nikki-britton

later Steen and I spent the day using their ticket money to buy dumplings and razor shaves. What profession do you think would provide the best comic material? I think pretty much anything. I think even assassins probably find humour in their work. Good on ‘em. Real battlers. Website link for more info? facebook.com/pages/ the-bear-pack/276172032442013?fref=ts

ONLY FACTS

right to be bigots. “Ultimately, I do believe in free speech, so I think they should be allowed to say the things they do on the radio and things like that. Whether or not I agree with it is besides the point.”

Neel Kolhatkar chats to Cyclone about appreciating our Prime Minister.

eel Kolhatkar’s “dangerous” comedy critiques bogan ‘culture’ and, with it, Australia’s racism. The Sydneysider is now touring his latest stand-up show, Truth Be Told. “The show itself revolves around my commentary on the media and race issues… and intermingled among all that is a lot of characters and accents and impressions,” Kolhatkar reveals. “There’s no real overriding theme, per se, but I suppose my material is very truthful. I do tell it like it is. I’m not necessarily bound by political correctness all the time [laughs], hence the title Truth Be Told.” Today Kolhatkar commands cult status online, with his YouTube channel attracting 200,000 subscribers. 2013’s

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infamous Australia In 2 Minutes clip has had over three million views. Mind, Kolhatkar also examines relationship dilemmas, and the quirks of being young. Australia’s contemporary political landscape provides a rich source of material for a cultural comedian like Kolhatkar. As such, he appreciates Tony Abbott’s gaffes. “It’s great: every time he slips up, it’s good for comedians, ‘cause then we can just take advantage of that!” Kolhatkar’s comedy has as its backdrop conservative commentators, and shock jocks, but he’s given up trying to follow the media. As it happens, Kolhatkar, whose ethnic background is Indian, accepts that, yes, people have the

The French Charlie Hebdo tragedy has again shown that satire can be inflammatory. The “outspoken” Kolhatkar has himself offended. “There’s been a lot of people who have been offended or who send quite [says archly] critical messages to me on social media, but that’s just the nature of my profession, and it’s the nature of who I am as a comedian. I always wanna push the boundaries. To me, that’s the best kinda comedy. That’s the comedy that just pushes the boundaries enough to be absolutely hilarious and something new and something that people haven’t heard before, yet not offending the mainstream, [but] offending a few people here and there… It’s very subjective. But my favourite type of comedy is comedy that really is out-there and [that] is dangerous – to an extent, of course [laughs].” In fact, Kolhatkar’s satire almost expresses affection for its objects (including One Direction’s crazed teen fans). Kolhatkar is developing his career, or, as he puts it, “diversifying my portfolio”. Kolhatkar is “very serious” about acting roles – ironic for a comedian, he notes. But, considering his experience – writing, directing and producing – Kolhatkar wants to generate his own work, through short films (check out Equality online) and web series, culminating in features. “I’m not gonna wait around for an opportunity from a mainstream media outlet. I wanna do it myself.” WHAT: Neel Kolhatkar: Truth Be Told WHEN & WHERE: 26 Mar – 19 Apr, New Ballroom, Trades Hall

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MARIANNA JOSLIN

Can you give us a tweet-length summary of your show? All Class is a wild romp through the wonders of womanhood. An experience one won’t forget. Come & be touched up by this joyous escapade. AUS

WHAT Marianna Joslin: Joslin All Class WHAT: WHEN & WHERE: 25 Mar – 7 Apr, Tuxedo Cat

Describe your perfect audience: I like an audience to be excitable, a little rowdy, probably have a few drinks in them and are up for a good time, ready to join in the fun. Besides making people laugh, what else do you hope people get from your comedy? To share life’s experience. My ultimate goal is achieved when

ONE MAN BREAKING BAD

Answered by: Miles Allen Can you give us a tweet-length summary of your show? Breaking Bad, broken down from 60 hours to 60 hilarious minutes. All characters depicted eerily accurately by One Man. Sold out worldwide. USA

WHAT: One Man Breaking Bad WHAT Bad: The Unauthorised Parody WHEN & WHERE: 4 – 19 Apr, Kelvin Club

What do you f ind funny? George and Marty McFly from the Back To The Future films. And Saul Goodman.

someone can see my show and say, “Hey, I can relate to that and now I feel better about life!” What’s your favourite comedy f ilm and why? It’s a secret but... ok, I’ll tell you: Liar Liar. Ever since I was a kid in the cinema, I can’t get over that self bashing toilet scene. Priceless. What would you be doing if you weren’t a comedian? I would be on a exploration expedition to Mars, funded by the billions of dollars I made selling dodgy self-help books to lost souls. Website link for more info? comedyfestival.com. au/2015/season/shows/all-class-marianna-joslin

you got a joke out of? Falling over a child on the street and (mock) crying before the child did, thus making the child laugh instead. Do you have a pre-show ritual? I morph into as many characters from Breaking Bad as I can and have them conduct a roundtable conversation about how brilliant tonight’s show will be. Website link for more info? youngandhardy.com

What do you f ind unfunny? Bigotry. Mistaking Deep Heat for toothpaste in the dark one time (not at band camp). What’s a ridiculous situation you’ve been in that

Looking for a laugh this festival? Check out themusic.com.au/events

Every show at your fingertips

58 • THE MUSIC • 25TH MARCH 2015

Be a

Bum Lady

Be in the Melbourne International Comedy Festival as one of the acts. You’re going to be amazing and staggeringly funny! WORKSHOPS 2pm – 5:30pm DATES 28th March, 4th April, 11th April, 12th April & 18th April VENUE Local Birds Cafe – 306 Little Collins St, Melb http://bumladies.weebly.com/

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FRENCHYATTACK Cyclone talks to Ben French, better known as Frenchy, about making Wollongong cool again.

ising comedian and social media phenom, Frenchy (aka Ben French) isn’t sure if he should “apologise”. Year 12 students have told him that his YouTube channel SungaAttack, which has over 100, 000 subscribers, is a major distraction with its hilarious series, such as Around Girlfriend Vs Around Mates. “They’re like, ‘Ohhh, I’m supposed to be studying, but I watched all your videos,’” French says. French, who originates from the “ghettos of Wollongong” in New South Wales but currently lives in Sydney, launched his cult digital hub in

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2013. He’d recruit “mates” (“absolute legends!”) as SungaAttack’s extras. “They love being in it now ‘cause they get a little bit of nightclub fame sometimes.” In fact, French headed to Sydney to study film – and to be closer to the stand-up circuit. But, while you can take the boy out of Wollongong, you can’t take Wollongong out of the boy. French is inspired by rap superstar Iggy Azalea, who burst straight outta Mullumbimby. “Mullumbimby’s cool now, I know – it’s a sick name, too. That’s what I’m gonna do with Wollongong, hopefully – make Wollongong cool again.”

The comedian’s touring live show, Live And Lanky, its theme dudes messing around, has its share of improv beyond his “base jokes”. “What I realised is that some people will come twice and three times to the same show – and I’m like, I don’t want them to get the exact same show every time. So I always talk to the audience – always. Sometimes it goes for ten minutes, sometimes longer [laughs]. I just get lost in the world of whoever’s in the front row. It’s really fun. That’s often [the source of ] my best jokes, [I] just muck around with the audience, ‘cause that’s always different. You’ll always get some characters or some drunk girls or just people who throw dildos on stage.” Punters will also hear songs from the SungaAttack band, French joined by Zach Gervaise, frontman of The Maze: the one with “the actual musical skills”. “I just make sure it’s funny, pretty much,” he says. As it turns out, French has “quit” his film studies. “I was like, I don’t need a degree – that’s not gonna help me get a job. I think your body of work helps you get a job, not your piece of paper.” In case any TV execs are reading, he aspires to parlay the success of SungaAttack into a program. In the interim, French, whose 2014 Sydney Fringe Comedy gigs sold out, is all about stand-up. “This is my first big tour, so that’s why I’m very excited – I’ve got my best jokes ready for it.” And he’s working towards an overseas jaunt. “This year I’m hopefully going to Edinburgh, which will be cool.”

WHAT: Frenchy: Live & Lanky WHEN & WHERE: 25 Mar – 19 Apr, Tuxedo Cat

EVER POISED New Zealand stand-up Urzila Carlson will give rude people something to think about with her show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, as Cyclone discovers.

he blurb for Urzila Carlson’s show, Poise Control, suggests it’s a lesson in modern etiquette. But what Carlson really has in mind is how to deal with fusty notions and bigoted behaviour. “There’s a very fine line between being politically correct and being a lawyer,” Carlson quips. The openly lesbian star was prompted to write Poise Control after she and her partner became parents to a daughter in 2013. “My wife and I went into the hospital. She was having the baby. The midwife came in and she kind of looked at us and she goes, ‘Are you sisters?’ I said, ‘No, we’re not.’ And she goes, ‘Are you friends?’ And I said, ‘No.’ I said, ‘This is my partner.’ She just looked at us and then she said – very polite – ‘I’m a Christian, I can’t do this,’ and she just turned around and walked out of the room. Then about 30 seconds later somebody else came running in and they go, ‘I’m so sorry, [the midwife] had a diabetic episode’ (laughs). I go, ‘Is that what you call it these days?’” The hospital encouraged Carlson to pursue a discrimination case against the midwife. “I said, ‘No, we won’t press any charges because, although I don’t agree with her and I think she was being a complete arsehole, I would much rather that she be honest and go, ‘I’m not comfortable with it.’ That just got 60 • THE MUSIC • 25TH MARCH 2015

me thinking – there’s so many things that we just push through and we don’t wanna say anything ‘cause we don’t want a scene, but wouldn’t it be better to just go, ‘You know what, I’m not comfortable with this?’” Carlson had already established herself as a graphic designer in South Africa when in 2006 she decided to migrate to NZ. Two years on, she stumbled into a comedy career after a triumphant debut in NZ’s RAW comedy quest. To this day, Carlson takes an interest in design – especially show posters. “I’m a horror to design for!” she admits.

The award-winner welcomes all the creative outlets comedy has brought her, from penning a column in NZ Women’s Weekly to appearing on TV (here in Oz, Spicks And Specks). “Everything basically is an opportunity – and I’ve really been grabbing every opportunity. Honestly, I’ll do anything, ‘cause it’s such a new world to me still.” Carlson does get misty-eyed about South Africa: “Nothing makes a patriot like leaving.” She hopes to tour South Africa with her stand-up – and eventually accompany her daughter on a visit. “I definitely wanna go back. I’m not done with it at all. I said this morning, when I woke up, ‘I miss South Africa, I miss the people.’ It’s a beautiful country.”

WHAT: Urzila Carlson: Poise Control WHEN & WHERE: 26 Mar - 19 Apr, The Parthenon, Greek Centre

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AARON GOCS & ANGUS GORDON

Answered by: Aaron Gocs Can you give us a tweet-length summary of your show? All of our best jokes and stories from our 11+ years of comedy, served up in gold jackets and a big cheesy grin! AUS

WHAT WHAT: Aaron Gocs & Angus Gordon: Gold Jacket Comedy WHEN & WHERE: 7 – 18 Apr, Spleen Bar

Describe your perfect audience. People who are open to try an odd style of comedy, willing to listen carefully, and hopefully laugh! Besides making people laugh, what else do you hope people get from your comedy? I hope they feel happy and they learn about somebody a bit different to them who is a bit of a battler.

PAULINE SHERLOCK

SHOWKO

Can you give us a tweet-length summary of your show? Bored after trying it all the last thing left was a trip to hell... but it was nothing like she imagined. A surreal ventriloquist comedy. JPN

WHAT: Showko Showko: Hell WHAT WHEN & WHERE: 13 – 19 Apr, Chapel Off Chapel

Describe your perfect audience. Open-minded, looking for fun and who can use their imagination.

WHAT Pauline Sherlock: Sherlock WHAT: Speaking My Mind WHEN & WHERE: 25 Mar – 19 Apr, Club Voltaire

SQUEAKY CLEAN COMEDY

WHERE: 28 Mar – 11 Apr, WHEN & WHERE Apr Melbourne City Conference Centre

Describe your perfect audience: I like an audience that laughs on the outside, inside is ok too, but I like people who enjoy challenging comedy, find things funny and then show it by laughing.

Can you give us a tweet-length summary of your show? @SqueakyCleanCom – 2hr gala event, 8 comedians, rated “the equal of the @micfestival gala” in 2014. Hilarious night for all. 28/3, 4/4, 11/4 Besides making people laugh, what else do you hope people get from your comedy? Laughter is great, but we hope our audiences get a download of lasting joy as well. If they support the World Vision project we’re supporting, that’s a bonus.

MICHAEL WORKMAN

Can you give us a tweet-length summary of your show? This is a love letter, an extended drunk text but with jokes. How do you unwind after a show? Drinking usually, which is also how I gear up.

WHAT: Michael Workman: WHAT Workman We Have Fun Don’t We. WHEN & WHERE: 26 Mar – 19 Apr, Acacia Room, Victoria Hotel

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What would you be doing if you weren’t a comedian? Anything else that will let me be on stage or on camera! Website link for more info? show-ko.com

What’s your favourite comedy film and why? Tootsie, it’s old but I laughed so much at that movie, it has stuck in my head as my favourite. What would you be doing if you weren’t a comedian? Sitting on the couch watching TV and probably drinking beer. Website link for more info? trybooking.com/GREU

Besides making people laugh, what else do you hope people get from your comedy? Well, I hope to make people think outside themselves a bit, to look from a different perspective.

What do you f ind funny? Wit. Observational humour. Great comic timing. Black humour.

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Website link for more info? facebook.com/AronGocs

What’s your favourite comedy f ilm and why? Charlie Chaplin – The Great Dictator. Comedy with a powerful message that’s still relevant.

Answered by: Eugene Wong

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What would you be doing if you weren’t a comedian? Sports, I was pretty handy at footy but I never put much into it, so if I focused on it as much as comedy I would be good I reckon.

Besides making people laugh, what else do you hope people get from your comedy? I want people to experience something they’ve never seen before.

Can you give us a tweet-length summary of your show? Pauline Sherlock is speaking her mind about how we never really speak our minds, exploring the bullshit which holds our society together. AUS

What’s your favourite comedy f ilm and why? Fargo because of the interesting and quirky characters, setting, dialogue and everybody is so flawed you feel better about yourself. Plus their accents are funny.

Do you have any topics you avoid making jokes about? You should really make jokes about what you know, so I don’t avoid certain topics per se, I just don’t know anything about medieval tapestries, so I don’t talk about them. But I wish I could, it’s a lucrative niche.

Retelling of real stories. Character comedy. Beau Stegmann (our MC, pictured)… Fancy that – Squeaky Clean Comedy has it all! Do you have any topics you avoid making jokes about? We challenge our artists to avoid swearing, sexism, racism, homophobia and religious vilification, and gratuitous references to sex, violence and drugs. It’s hard, but they do it with flying colours! Website link for more info? squeakycleancomedy.com.au

Is there anyone else in the festival you’re hanging out to see? Corey White. And of course every year I hope to see Santa.

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PUDDLES PITY PARTY

Answered by: Puddles JustPuddles (Michael Geier) Briefly describe your show. It’s a Pity Party, y’all. We all get down together, and then help each other back up. USA

What was the inspiration behind your show? It’s a sad and beautiful world, and sometimes you just gotta cry it out. What makes your show different? Feelings. Fellowship. Free hugs. And the promise of the possibility of pie.

WHERE 26 Mar WHEN & WHERE: – 12 Apr, The Hi-Fi

I rely heavily on my pals Big Mike, Shan, Sam and Sweet Georgie. Our process is fuelled by coffee with milk and, of course, pie. Our approach is often “What thuh? Ok, let’s put it in the show.” What was the biggest challenge you encountered in this show? Keeping my coffee cup full and my powder dry. In a fantasy world who would you be the love child of? Judy Garland and The Shmoo. Website link for more info? puddlespityparty.com

Briefly describe the development process of your show? Tell us a bit about your creative team, too.

THE BROCCOLI BROTHERS

Answered by: Cam Venn

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Can you give us a tweet-length summary of your show? Three idiots show off the amazing abilities they learnt on their spiritual quest in the far east.

Trygve Wackenshaw. Basha. Tessa Waters. And The Broccoli Brothers. Website link for more info? thebroccolibrothers.com

How do you unwind after a show? Peppermint tea and a group massage. WHEN & WHERE: 1 - 12 Apr, La Mama Courthouse

Do you have any topics you avoid making jokes about? No. Is there anyone else in the festival you’re hanging out to see? Dr Brown.

DRACULA’S RETRO VAMPT

Answered by: Stewart Reeve Can you give us a tweet-length summary of your show? Retro Vampt takes you on a tripnotic journey of psychedelic variety acts, wide flares, big hair and fangs! AUS

WHEN & WHERE WHERE: 25 Mar – 18 Apr, Dracula’s Cabaret

What do you f ind funny? Slapstick, sarcasm a dry sense of humor or anything that pushes the boundaries. What do you f ind unfunny? Things that are over the top silly, ie. Monty Python, I just can’t warm to it or comedians that just don’t know when to stop.

JUSTIN HAMILTON

ROBERT REID, ELLIOT SUMMERS & VERITY CHARLTON

Answered by: Verity Charlton

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HAT Robert Reid, Reid Elliot Summers WHAT: & Verity Charlton: WorkSpace WHEN & WHERE: 2 – 12 Apr, La Mama Courthouse

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WHAT: Justin Hamilton: WHAT Hamilton SNACKS! WHEN & WHERE: 26 Mar – 18 Apr, Lunch room, Melbourne Town Hall

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Can you give us a tweet-length summary of your show? WorkSpace is a new sitcom following three creatives sharing a workspace, filmed live each night to be uploaded onto YouTube – live and dangerous comedy What do you f ind funny? Talking animals, ridiculous situations: slapstick, British comedy, Commedia del Arte What do you f ind unfunny? People making cheap jokes which hurt others, but they do them anyway for the sake of a laugh

What’s a ridiculous situation you’ve been in that you got a joke out of? Day-to-day life. I find honour in almost every situation. Most of the time I find myself giggling when I’m in a serious situation like being at the doctors. Do you have a pre-show ritual? My pre-show ritual involves me coming into the theatre early (for alone time) for a cup of tea. Then I put my face on and do a vocal warm-up. Website link for more info? draculas.com.au

What’s a ridiculous situation you’ve been in that you got a joke out of? Where to start: being caught at the traffic lights (in the car) picking my nose on two separate occasions by the same person! Do you have a pre-show ritual? Vocal warm-up, working with Rob and Elliot, a lot of goofing around, I sing – they won’t like that! If I do improvised movement Elliot may walk out. Website link for more info? comedyfestival. com.au/2015/season/shows/workspacerobert-reid-elliot-summers-verity-charlton

Can you give us a tweet-length summary of your show? It is all about snacks. People who eat snacks. And nerds. And arseholes. Arseholes who don’t eat snacks. Comes with Snack song. Snacks!

What happened the last time you were heckled? I was bored. Hecklers are so rarely interesting. I used to enjoy sparring with someone when I was younger but now that I’m older I’d rather they just left.

What was the last thing you couldn’t stop laughing at? Sam Simmons yelling at me from the stage at the Adelaide Fringe over my laughing fit. I haven’t laughed that hard since I saw Sam in Edinburgh last year.

What profession do you think would provide the best comic material? I’m guessing retail. Everyday contact with real people provides the best material. You can tell when a comedian spends too much time with comics, their material becomes too “in-house”.

What’s your favourite comedy f ilm and why? Flying High is so good we continue to quote the movie 35 years after it was released. Surely that it puts it on top? Yes... and stop calling me Shirley.

Website link for more info? justinhamilton.com.au

THE ODD COUPLE The blonder and slightly more human-looking half of Sammy J & Randy talks to Baz McAlister about their impending sitcom stardom.

omedy’s most celebrated skinny man and purple puppet are about to wave goodbye to the precious child they’ve borne together. Sammy J & Randy have turned in a six-episode ABC sitcom, Ricketts Lane, slated to air sometime in the middle of the year. “We’ll find out once and for all if Australia has an appetite for Stinky and Pinky,” Sammy J says. “If we don’t see cuts to ABC funding as a result of our show, then we haven’t done our job.” The sitcom – which will feature three songs an episode, some old, some brand new – has its roots in one of

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the duo’s hit live shows, with which it shares a title. Ricketts Lane won MICF’s prestigious Barry Award in 2010 and, like the sitcom, it saw unlikely housemates Sammy J as an overworked, useless lawyer and Randy as an unemployed, divorced slob. “We were actually going to title that show Ricketts Lane: A Blatant Sitcom Pitch,” Sammy recalls. “People who have seen our shows will recognise a few threads in the TV show but for the most part it’s new material. You want to create something for your fans, so it has to be filthy enough and stupid enough, and immature, and lowbrow, and devoid of any artistic merit – but unlike a live

show where people are paying to come and see you, in a TV show you’re actually invading people’s homes whether they like it or not. Hopefully the nannas will like it too – but we’re not under any illusions that we’ll be everyone’s cup of tea. Unless someone’s seen one of our live shows it’s impossible to describe what we do without it sounding quite shit. ‘A guy and a puppet on stage singing songs’ – it’s not 1977, you know.” After two years immersed in TV world, the unlikely “couple” are looking forward to getting back on stage together for a festival run with An Evening With Sammy J & Randy. No narratives, no boundaries, just “an hour with us and our brains. This live show is coming out of that idea that every joke we say doesn’t have to be vetted by an ABC network executive and a lawyer and then the ABC head honcho, and filtered back down to us for the green light! So this will be completely uncensored in that regard”. Fans of the pair will know they sometimes get narky with each other but, “We’re lucky because the purple dude does his own shows, and I do my own thing occasionally, so if we ever had a spat we’d just say, ‘I’m writing my own show, you fuckhead,’ and storm out of the room, and then we’ll come back together. I like to think we’ll never ever break up. We might have a couple of decades of simmering resentment and then come back together for a Simon and Garfunkel-style cash grab reunion. That should be the name of a show! Sammy J & Randy In The Simon & GarfunkelStyle Cash Grab Reunion – you heard it here first!”

WHAT: An Evening With Sammy J & Randy WHEN & WHERE: 26 Mar – 19 Apr, The Hi-Fi

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SPLIT PERSONALITY For Sydney comedian Heath Franklin, what started as a skit for a university revue soon gave him a global audience. He talks to Brendan Hitchens.

erforming on national television for The Ronnie Johns Half Hour, the advent of a videostreaming website would significantly change the life of the stand-up comic, Heath Franklin. “I was incredibly lucky,” says the man once nominated for both a Logie and ARIA Award. “I was on TV just as people were starting to figure out YouTube. If it had been six months earlier no one would have known what YouTube was and had it been six months later, you’d have to wade through seven million keyboard cats.” Over the years the skit he’d based on the late Mark “Chopper” Read morphed into a stage show that has

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toured internationally in various incarnations, including festival shows titled Harden The Fuck Up, A Hard Bastards Guide To Life and Shitlist. Despite the loaded titles, the latest instalment, Repeat Offender, has something of a social consciousness lurking beneath its hardened exterior. “It’s Chopper starting to process the fact that there are consequences to his actions and trying to get to the bottom of his anger issues. Every time somebody asks me what the show’s about, it makes it sound like a TED talk,” Franklin laughs. While Read, who died in 2013, has provided

inspiration through his erratic behaviour, short-lived “art” career and even a gangster rap album, it’s Eric Bana’s characterisation in the 2000 film, Chopper, that Franklin draws most from. “Everything I thought that was good about the Chopper character came from the movie. There were never any points during his real life where I was like, ‘That’s really funny, I should add that.’” In a disconcerting case of life imitating art, the two once briefly met and it didn’t exactly go to plan. “It was really weird, mostly because it was for a photo shoot and I was dressed up as him... I’m going to avoid meeting people dressed as them in future,” he pauses, “especially people with a violent past.” Read would later publically threaten harm against Franklin over what he claims was a broken promise, telling The Standard, “next time he shakes my hand I’ll break his arm.” Franklin laughs off the threat, quoting the man himself, “‘Never let the truth get in the way of a good yarn,’ was pretty accurate.” Losing the handle-bar moustache, DIY tattoos and potty mouth momentarily, Franklin, with the help of close friend Harley Breen, will shift tack at this year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival, also performing in a children’s comedy show, Captain Fun Pants. Playing a fun-loving pirate by day and a vicious killer by night is fraught with danger. “The worstcase scenario is if I start doing kids’ stuff during the Chopper show. Imagine if you came along expecting shoot-from-the-hip stand-up and you start all of a sudden getting balloon animals and fancy dress.” WHAT: Chopper: Repeat Offender WHEN & WHERE: 4 Apr, Yarraville Club

YOUNG & FREE Forty years after escaping from a Turkish prison after five years inside for smuggling marijuana, Billy Hayes maintains “going to jail was the worst and best thing” that’s ever happened to him. Kane Sutton finds out more.

“I

was in Sydney once about ten years ago but I’ve never been to Melbourne, so I’m looking forward to coming down there.” Hayes sounds full of life on the phone, preceding his 68th birthday. He’ll be heading Down Under soon to premiere his live performance of Midnight Express in Australia, in which he’ll be talking about his time in jail and providing an insight into the perspective he’s gained as he’s gotten older. Hayes actually released an autobiographical account of the events, also titled Midnight Express, soon after he escaped, while Hollywood adapted the story into the 1978 film of the same name. Hayes believes that while the book and movie added different elements, his ‘play’ will tell the story in a more personal manner than ever before. “I kept thinking for a long time that people must be getting sick to death of hearing this story but I realise there are a whole lot of folks who... want to hear about it again, and for me, it’s my chance as an actor to put it all into perspective and talk about it. Everybody’s been down in a deep hole somewhere, trying to find their way out – mine’s just a little bit more concrete and dramatic. But everyone’s been there: hopefully I can offer some inspiration and encouragement to this story. Humour is the way I survived through life and in jail, so I’ve tried to put in as much humour as possible. 66 • THE MUSIC • 25TH MARCH 2015

People are like, ‘Ooooh, Midnight Express, that’s dark’ – no, it’s not! Yeah, it’s not light comedy, but within it, there are a lot of colours and I try to put humour in places – you have to. My own grandmother said, ‘It’s a wonderful life if you don’t weaken’ and she lived to be 101, and that’s how I’m feeling. I never thought I was going to see 30, so everything after that is just gravy for me. Of course, I met my wife in 1978 when the movie first came out and we’ve been married for 35 years. Getting busted and going to jail was the worst and best thing that’s ever happened to me.” Realising he wasn’t going to be extradited

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(although Hayes wasn’t allowed to travel for 20 years), certainly changed his perspective on life. For Hayes, it’s all been for the better. “There are still things about jail I learn stuff about. It’s forced me to learn about strengths and weaknesses and there are things I learnt in jail that have held me in good stead for the rest of my life. My dad’s gone a few years now but one of the things he used to say was, ‘The nice thing now is that we don’t sweat the small stuff anymore.’ I start thinking and moaning about the agent not calling or I didn’t get the money or this didn’t happen or whatever, I just have to slap myself in the face and say, ‘You’re thinking about the small stuff; I’m healthy, I’m free, my wife still loves me, nobody’s beating my feet – everything is gravy.’ And that’s a perspective that’s very valuable to hold.” WHAT: Billy Hayes: Midnight Express WHEN & WHERE: 25 Mar – 12 Apr, Kelvin Club

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eat/drink steph@themusic.com.au

CLAIRE SULLIVAN Pic: Evan Munro-Smith

If you had to eat one type of food for the rest of your life, what would it be? I’ve always said that if I could stay healthy and not get fat or bloated I would eat fried dumplings forever. Some nights I find myself dreaming of fried dumplings, the taste, that bursting hot liquid oil, the slightly sick feeling you get after eating a plate of 18 dumplings. Also some places have Nutella-filled dumplings. Do you have any funny/ embarrassing food/ drink-related stories you can tell us? Once at a work Christmas party there was an open bar and they were serving 68 • THE MUSIC • 25TH MARCH 2015

sparkling wine. I drank a few too many and remembered a comedy gig I wanted to go to was on that night. So I jumped in a taxi and got to the gig. By this time the sparkling wine was really kicking because I got out of the taxi and saw my friend Rob, and he said, “Hi Claire,” and I vomited on his shoes. I then went inside and vomited all through the bar. The room runner helped me into a taxi. It was only 7.45pm. On the taxi ride home I decided to ask the driver to let me out one street early. I then walked in the wrong direction and found myself lost in a forest. I live in Brunswick, there aren’t any forests in Brunswick. I’ve since found out I was just lost along the Merri Creek Trail, which if you don’t know Merri Creek it’s basically a creek, a footpath and about ten trees. So I was lots among these trees and I had no idea where I was. It was only 8.15 by now and there were people out walking their dogs and mothers jogging with prams, while I was drunk as a skunk. I proceeded to walk for about five more hours where I took a photo of a stranger’s house and sent it to my friend Tim with the caption “Hope I don’t die” with an emoticon of a thumbsup. I finally found my house at 1am. I then tucked myself into bed. What’s your favourite restaurant/cafe in Melbourne to go for a a) quick and cheap feed; and b) special occasion? I really like Thousand Pound Bend for a cheap feed. They’re open from breakfast ‘til late after dinner and they’re licensed. They’re super close to a great comedy venue during comedy festival called

eat/drink steph@themusic.com.au

Hugs & Kisses. For a special occasion I actually love to get ice cream or gelati. My favourite is Spring Street Grocer. Their gelati is to die for. Better than Gelato Messina I reckon and they’re next to a great comedy venue, The Imperial Hotel. Where’s your favourite place in Melbourne to go for a drink? For a beer with mates I love either Prudence Bar in North Melbourne (you can have food ordered and delivered right to your table there) or the John Curtin Hotel (that’s mainly because it’s so close to my uni). What’s your favourite ‘guilty pleasure’ food? I love crepes with Nutella and banana. I just can’t say no when it comes to those. The best crepes are at that tiny French crepe stall on Swanston Street, opposite the Town Hall.

FOOD & FUNNIES Sarah Barratt rounds up some eateries and drinkeries in the vicinity of Comedy Festival venues.

QUICK ’N’ CHEAP

GROUP HANGS

Animal Orchestra – 163 Lt Grattan St, Carlton

Warra Warra Korean Kitchen – Shop 19 & 20 Tivoli Arcade, 235–251 Bourke St, CBD

It’s full of a mix of literatis and Carlton natives, open ‘til 8.30pm and very affordable in a mix and match décor with a relaxed vibe.

Reasonably priced stew, bibimbap, bulgolgi and BBQ platters to share with friends over soju or rice wine, wine or beer.

Dogs Bar – 54 Acland St, St Kilda

Prudence – 368 Victoria St, North Melbourne

This place does everything: sit-down menu, cheap eats, large groups, affordable or fancy wine and beer. Everyone’s gonna be happy.

Predominantly an eclectic, unpretentious bar that can cater for large groups with large or small budgets. You can also order in food from adjacent restaurants.

Mamak – 366 Lonsdale St, CBD

Father’s Office – 249 Lt Lonsdale St, CBD

Serving up tasty traditional Malaysian fare, cheap price tag and efficient service. Watch the chefs stretch and flip your roti bread into shape.

Perfect for big groups, huge balcony, right next to the state library. The décor and staff are all in the time warp together in this speakeasy bar and restaurant.

If you had to describe your personality in a drink, what would you be? I’d say my favourite type of cider which is Coldstream Cider. It’s not too sweet, but sweet enough, makes you giggly and want to high-five everyone. Is there a kind of food you used to hate when you were younger but have since changed your mind? Oysters. I used to think they tasted like snot. But now I can’t get enough of them.

NIEUW AMSTERDAM

FEELIN’ FANCY The Long Room – 162–168 Collins St, CBD They offer tapas, an a la carte menu, dumplings, sushi, and an impressive bar setup right near the Athenaeum. Nieuw Amsterdam – 106–112 Hardware St, CBD

WHAT: Claire Sullivan: Space Cadet WHEN & WHERE: 6 – 18 Apr, Hugs & Kisses

Open late, which is perfect for pre- and post-show substantial dining. They serve modern, good-looking American fare. Meatmaiden – Basement, 195 Lt Collins St, CBD This place looks so ominous from the street, with a massive paste-up of what looks like Uma Thurman’s glaring face as their entry way. But the 20-hour beef brisket is well worth it.

FATHER'S OFFICE

DRINK UP Number 8 Restaurant & Wine Bar – 8 Whiteman St, Southbank Soak up the city skyline from the terrace, try contemporary fare in the dining room or try choosing a wine from their 30 pages of wine, beer and spirits. Mary Fortune – 91–93 Flinders Ln, CBD Predominantly a wine bar, this place was inspired by a mysterious female crime fiction writer. Sit at the long, dimly lit marble bench top to share stories. Charlie’s Bar – 71 Hardware Ln, CBD Smooth, silky, sultry, this place has a strong speakeasy vibe and endless cocktail list. THE MUSIC • 25TH MARCH 2015 • 69

music

TWO SENSES Alabama Shakes have shaken things to the core with second album, Sound And Color, and guitarist Heath Fogg tells Steve Bell why they were stoked to pull the trigger on change.

ebut album, Boys & Girls, proved a surprise smash for Alabama Shake on its release back in 2012. The Athens, Alabama band’s opening statement sold over a million copies and spawned sultry hit single, Hold On, the record’s swampy Southern soul catapulting them to global acclaim, and sending them touring the world extensively. Yet the young four-piece didn’t take the easy route when tackling the dreaded ‘difficult second album’, merely replicating the album which they knew had resonated so easily with people, instead broadening their palette substantially to focus more on the R&B side of their muse. Although still packing plenty of soul and pop hooks, their second long-player Sound And Color is far more ambitious and eclectic. “It was kind of an interesting journey – we didn’t have any real concept or direction behind it, or anything other than the intent just to explore and be creative,” explains guitarist Heath Fogg in his slow Southern drawl. “We were all really interested to see how it would turn out, and I think that everybody’s really pleased with it. “I wouldn’t say that it was conscious to purposely be different, but I think that we always knew it would be different. Over the past three years the things that we’ve been working on all just seemed really different from the song before... I think we were always really aware that what we put out next would be really different from Boys & Girls.” Fogg explains that the band took their time to see what ensued organically. “I don’t think it added pressure to the writing, we just tried not to think about it and be creative and true to ourselves. I don’t know, I think we all feel confident that as long as we’re making music that we like then we’ll be okay in some form or another. And we had a lot of time. This April will be three years since Boys & Girls came out, and we were fortunate that we didn’t have any record labels or anything like that pressuring us, so we had all the time in the world really. It was up to us to pull the trigger and make it happen when we were ready.” The creative process inside Alabama Shakes’ inner sanctum is fairly collaborative, although, “A lot of the 70 • THE MUSIC • 25TH MARCH 2015

material on this one was done by Brittany demoing songs and writing songs just at her home. Some of the songs on the record, like, Sound And Color, for instance, or Over My Head, those are songs that she built on her computer with MIDI keyboards and drum machines and things like that, and we

a ferocious live proposition, especially Howard’s amazing stage presence. “We spend a lot of time on these records trying to make them sound the way that we want them to sound, and I think there’s a lot of things going on on these records that we’re really proud of. We hear a lot – especially with Boys & Girls – of people going, ‘Well, the record was okay, but live is really great,’ but to me that was not an insult but always strange to digest because I’m really proud of that record. The live show’s different and it’s maybe a little bit more dynamic than the records. Brittany’s a really phenomenal

“IT WAS UP TO US TO PULL THE TRIGGER AND MAKE IT HAPPEN WHEN WE WERE READY.” would take those songs and try to translate them to our instrumentation and kind of put our stamp on ‘em in one form or another. On other songs Brittany might start playing a riff in the studio and we’d build up from that, songs like Gimme All Your Love and Don’t Wanna Fight were – other than the lyrics which were all Brittany’s – musically more of a group effort.” Anyone who saw Alabama Shakes’ inaugural Australian sojourn in 2013 will attest that they’re

performer – she’s unlike anyone I’ve ever seen let alone been in a band with, so I understand that there’s something going on in the live show. “Brittany can definitely work the crowd, and she’s a great guitar player too – a lot of the stuff on Sound And Color is her. I enjoy splitting those duties with her, she makes it easy for someone like me who’s a little more introverted and would rather be in the shadows.”

WHAT: Sound And Color (Rough Trade/Remote Control) WHEN & WHERE: 3 & 4 Apr, Bluesfest, Byron Bay To read full interview head to theMusic.com.au

THE MUSIC • 25TH MARCH 2015 • 71

music

THE BEST IN US In considering what they wanted to say with their fifth studio album, Rodrigo Y Gabriela turned to some of their personal heroes for inspiration, and as Gabriela Quintero tells Michael Smith, they’re not musical ones.

“W

ell it was mainly an idea that me and Rod wanted to pursue with our audiences,” Quintero begins, explaining the genesis of their latest album, 9 Dead Alive. “As we don’t sing, it’s easy for a band like us that has a very faithful audience – and we’re not a mainstream act – to be able to communicate not just by playing but also to share a little bit of the things we like and the things that we would consider inspired us to play music.” Fans would be aware of the backstory but for those just getting acquainted, Quintero and Rodrigo Sanchez met in their hometown Mexico City in 1988, when they were both 15, Sanchez forming a heavy metal band in the early ‘90s in which Quintero also played. Frustrated by the limitations of the domestic market, in 1999 the pair headed for Europe, eventually settling in Dublin where they’d frantically play their favourite covers on acoustic guitars. Their dextrous playing soon attracted attention, scored them a manager and eventually an Irish #1 in 2004 with an eponymous live album that included heady versions of Led Zep’s Stairway To Heaven and Metallica’s Orion, and their international career took off. “Lately there’s been a lot of things that you can say that humanity is a terrible thing, that humanity is bad and blah blah blah, and I said [to Rod] what has been good for humanity, made

No one escapes alone 72 • THE MUSIC • 25TH MARCH 2015

by humans? These were just conversations and we came up with a lot of male figures and I said for sure we have to include women. Because we can’t do an album of thousands of people or hundreds,” Quintero laughs. The pair chose eight people to represent the best that humanity has offered by way of exemplary lives and, in Quintero’s words “still affect us somehow”; four men: Antonio de Torres Jurado, who in the 19th century developed the acoustic guitar as we know it today; psychotherapist and Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl; Arctic explorer and High

Commissioner to the pre-UN League of Nations for human rights Fridtjof Nansen and Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky; and four women: 19th century African-American freedom fighter Harriet Tubman; 17th century Mexican poet and prodigy Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz; Chilean poet Gabriela Mistral and twice queen, 12th century patron of the arts Eleanor of Aquitaine. Not that the pieces Sanchez and Quintero composed were directly inspired by these people. “We said, let’s do the music, and once the music was finished, then we said, oh, this one is for this person. So we just let it go by intuition and just let it out, you know? More like an abstract selection. And that track, Torito, was another idea from me to say, well, to realise we are part of the whole balance of the Earth and Universe, so we have to pay tribute to that.” WHAT: 9 Dead Alive (Warner) WHEN & WHERE: 4 & 5 Apr, Bluesfest, Byron Bay; 7 Apr, Palais Theatre

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THE MUSIC • 25TH MARCH 2015 • 73

film

IT’S FAMILY Nelsan Ellis – best known as True Blood’s flamboyant Lafayette Reynolds – freely admits he’s not much of a singer or dancer. That didn’t stop him auditioning for the biopic of soul superstar James Brown, as Guy Davis discovers.

“I

fancy myself one in the bathtub and in the shower,” Nelsan Ellis admits, laughing, “but not in public.” Yet here he is in Get On Up, the biopic on the late James Brown directed by The Help’s Tate Taylor. While the filmmakers thought he wasn’t the ideal fit for the lead role, they did see his resemblance to Brown’s longtime friend and collaborator Bobby Byrd, which made him a natural for the pivotal supporting part. A good thing too, because Ellis’ solid, sympathetic turn as a talented man in the shadow of a really talented man goes a long way towards helping audiences deal with the

GET ON UP

74 • THE MUSIC • 25TH MARCH 2015

hot-tempered, egotistic excesses of Brown, played magnificently by Chadwick Boseman. “They were dudes, they were homies,” Ellis says of the Byrd/ Brown relationship. “They’d grown up together since they were teenagers; basically they were brothers. You know James Brown’s family abandoned him; Bobby never did. Bobby Byrd was his supporter, his anchor – he was consistent, he was always there for him; he loved the man, admired the man. Bobby Byrd was his family.” While Byrd was an accomplished singersongwriter, he was

happy – to a point – to let Brown enjoy the spotlight. “For the most part, I connected with Bobby Byrd’s devotion, admiration and pure love for James Brown. How humble the dude was to recognise ‘Oh, he’s the great one, I’m going to take a step back and just learn from him, I know he’s better than me.’ There is a line in the movie that goes ‘He’s the frontman, I’m not.’” In a way, that relationship was mirrored in how Ellis and Boseman related on set. “Every single moment of working with him I loved,” Ellis says of his co-star. “I never told him this but he actually changed me as an actor. My work ethic is much higher now because Chad is a worker – he just gets in there and does it. And he is so generous – he is never lazy, never sitting there and you see something blank in his eyes and you have to create this moment all by yourself. I actually got lost sometimes. I’m not that dude that goes on set and is like ‘I’m Bobby Byrd for real and you’re James Brown for real.’ No, you’re Chad, I’m Nelsan and we’re hired to play pretend, but there were moments where I got lost because he was James Brown at times.” Ellis’ admiration for his Get On Up co-stars is matched by that for his co-stars on TV series, True Blood, which concluded this year after seven seasons. “It’s the same thing. You’re working with great actors and you learn from them. I’m a thief. I’m going to miss that, you know? I mean, we had babies all together too. We started this show with no families, and then we had families. We made families together. I’m going to miss seven years of a family. I’m going to lose 14 families.” WHAT: Get On Up Out on DVD and Blu-ray 26 Mar (Sony Universal Pictures)

THE MUSIC • 25TH MARCH 2015 • 75

music

JUST FRIENDS

work and sound good almost immediately if we’ve got a new song or a new talent that’s joining us. We listen to their song and we do a version in our style.”

When Barnaby Weir of New Zealand’s The Black Seeds calls up a few of his favourite fellow kiwi musicians for another shot of side project Fly My Pretties, you might get anything up to 15 people sharing the stage, as Michael Smith discovers.

“I

t is a strange beast,” Black Seeds co-singer and guitarist Barnaby Weir admits of Fly My Pretties, the amorphous collective of fellow Wellington, New Zealand musicians – among them members of Trinity Roots, Fat Freddy’s Drop, Kora, The Phoenix Foundation, Head Like A Hole, Kora, The Nudge and Electric Wire Hustle – that he put together with Mikee Tucker from Loop back in 2004. “It’s unusual, but it’s so special, you know? Obviously it changes up almost every show unless we’re doing an album tour, but you have different flavours and a variety of skills and personalities. It’s certainly not your

music

usual band but I think people get that now. “It crosses a lot of genres, though we don’t quite go full tick dance, house and techno kind of vibe because we do have great musicians that play real instruments, so we don’t kind of go there, but the focus I guess is the central part of the band, which is generally myself, Mike Fabulous on bass, Jarney Murphy on drums and Nigel Patterson on keyboards – they’re part of The Black Seeds as well – so that’s the gooey centre of the chocolate if you like, and that means there’s a consistency in all of the songs, in a sound. They’re the engine room and they make things

From very humble beginnings as just an opportunity for Weir to jam with friends he’d been wanting to jam with but hadn’t, Fly My Pretties has grown to something of a New Zealand institution, recording, releasing and touring five live albums over the past decade, the show lasting up to three hours. “I wasn’t thinking I’d start a band. I was thinking we’d do a live recording and make the audience really feel a part of that. So I was really interested in the risk of a collaboration in front of an audience that’s seated in a theatre environment that’s being recorded. And from there we took the thing a little bit more theatrical, especially with the third album [2009’s Fly My Pretties – A Story, which debuted at #1 on the RIANZ album chart]. Me and my father wrote a story, had it illustrated and we wrote songs around its theme.” The collective has also collaborated with local visual artist, Flox, to create a series of animated film clips, and have written on themes of national identity and environmental issues. “I’m a musician, that’s into a broad range of musical styles, so why do we feel that we have to be locked into your main band’s style. For me that’s The Black Seeds, and that’s more a soul/funk/reggae kind of a sound. So Fly My Pretties is about expressing those other styles.” WHEN & WHERE: 1 Apr, 170 Russell; 4 & 5 Apr, Bluesfest, Byron Bay

THE FEMININE MYSTIQUE Regarded as Africa’s Voice, Angelique Kidjo’s latest album certainly reflects this in all its grief and glory. However, it also tore out her heart, as Rip Nicholson learns.

“I

t was a trip that I took with a UN delegation to the Chad refugee camps for the Darfurian people in 2011,” Angelique Kidjo explains, thinking back to what motivated her most recent album. “And we met twenty-three women who told us about what they went through before they got to the camp. It was so painful, I came back affected so profoundly that I lost the ability to sleep. The inspiration for Eve was from these women. Before we left, even though they were crying, tears in their eyes, one woman had said to me, ‘whatever you do when you leave here, whatever power you have, make sure we get home with security and safety to take care of our children and please, don’t let anyone victimise us.’ “You know sometimes I go to places with UNICEF or other organisations and I come back completely in pain – emotionally drained.” Already this year the singer, songwriter and activist has won the Crystal Award for her humanitarian contribution and her second Grammy for Best World Album with her 11th studio album, Eve, dedicated to the women of Africa. “For me, music is a weapon of peace and today more than ever, as artists we have a role to play in the stability of this world,” Kidjo said in her acceptance speech for the Grammy.

76 • THE MUSIC • 25TH MARCH 2015

Eve, through the pride in her vocals and majesty of its accompanying orchestra, has certainly been used for a just cause. Armed with a six-track recorder, Kidjo travelled to her native Benin and captured the gift of song in these women’s choir groups and reflected their survival spirit. “Kenya was the starting point of the whole album, actually. And at that point I was not even thinking about recording the women for the album. I was there on a mission as the UN Goodwill Ambassador to deal with the problem of acute malnutrition. After being on an emotional rollercoaster from this village, I came to the

second village where the women here had started singing and, oh my God, I just followed the voice. My husband had seen me transforming from that emotional wreck that I was and just seeing the power of music lifting me up. How we got there was through the women of Kenya who gave me their courage.” Eve is also an homage to her mother, Yvonne, whose voice is featured on the African vintage record, Bana. “For me, my mum taught me how to sing, she put me on stage. She was always there with ten children and only my father’s pay cheque. I don’t know how she did it, I only have one child and she is enough,” Kidjo laughs. “And as a woman, my mum has been lucky to have married my father who never told her, ‘because you are my wife, you cannot do this, do that.’ Whatever she decided to do, my father was always supportive. So, I grew up in that background. For me, I have to give back. There’s no way I can do otherwise.” WHEN & WHERE: 5 & 6 Apr, Bluesfest; 10 Apr, Recital Centre

THE MUSIC • 25TH MARCH 2015 • 77

music

BESTIES ROCK

That was October 2013, and with his return, they opted to change their name to The Controllers and released a debut EP, 1221, in July last year, the single, Regression, reaching #13 on the triple j Unearthed Radio chart.

Wanna see Australia? Join a band. That’s how guitarist Jarrod Nugara of The Controllers is doing it, with his best friends, he tells Michael Smith.

t all started in Year 7 and an enthusiastic music teacher. “There was a battle of the bands and the teacher said, ‘Whoever plays music, wants to play music, come this recess time and we’ll do it,’” is how Melbourne four-piece The Controllers’ guitarist Jarrod Nugara remembers it. “So there were about seven of us – there were two drummers, about three guitarists and a singer. By the end of it there was us four.” Joining Nugara in what was initially Happy Accidents were singer and guitarist Zac Connelly, bass player Ben Tyler and drummer Kieran Rafferty, and they won that particular battle of the bands and decided to keep

going, gigging around playing covers, until, in 2008, the original tunes started emerging. As it happens, though, Nugara felt obliged to drop out in order to concentrate on uni, but his buddies never lost faith in him. “They asked me from the start, ‘Do you wanna be in the band?’ and I’d tell them at the moment university wasn’t going too well for me so I was going to have to keep out of it for now. So I kept out of it and I went to one of their gigs and regretted it instantly, so when a couple of months later they said, ‘Look man, we need a guitarist – we want you to come back,’ I said yes as soon as I could, pretty much.”

“The title came from when we do mic checks, it’s ‘Check 1, 2, 2, 1, check,’” he chuckles. “With the new EP, we thought let’s do something aggressive, something that make us sort of stand out – ‘What about Animals? It’s unrelated to the songs, so that’ll be a bit of a standout.’ So we did Animals.” While all four members had a shot at writing in the beginning, both EPs have been written by Connelly who, as this interview was being conducted, was somewhere in India courtesy a 21st birthday present from his parents – he returns the day before the first gig! “Zac’s very influenced by bands he loves like Against Me!, Violent Soho – he’s into those kinds of bands and those influences come through into his music. Kieran does his own drum work obviously, and Ben puts his stuff in when he needs to, but the two EPs are pretty much all Zac. I reckon it’s literally his life experiences that drive him to write more, do more. What works around him is literally what he puts into his music.” As for touring the new EP, “I can’t wait,” Nugara admits. “It’s something I’ve never done before and I haven’t even visited half the places we’re going to. I’ve never been to Newcastle, I’ve never been to Adelaide so I’m really excited. And doing it with my mates is even better.”

WHAT: Animals (Independent) WHEN & WHERE: 28 Mar, The Workers Club

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gallinsmps.com.au THE MUSIC • 25TH MARCH 2015 • 79

ALBUM OF THE WEEK

★★★★

album/ep reviews

THE PRODIGY

DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE

The Day Is My Enemy Take Me To The Hospital/ Cooking Vinyl It takes just 34 seconds into The Prodigyಬs sixth album to confirm the self-parody and cartoonish slapstick that has stunted their last two albums has been torched once and for all. Trickyಬs onetime squeeze Martina TopleyBird provides the opening title track with its main soundbite, picking through burning rubble and marking Prodge territory like the hungry fox that adorns the cover. If ಫ94’s Music For The Jilted Generation dragged punk kicking and spitting into the techno age, here Liam Howlett exhumes the corpse to take on the whole of an increasingly lazy EDM culture. Ibiza, for example, has Keith Flint taking on megawank DJs who pack a USB stick and more haircare products into their bags than records. Not long ago, he would simply have called Steve Aoki a cunt over a drumಬnಬbass turd and missed the point completely. Wild Frontier’s classic rave influences give the old nose the biggest

Kintsugi Warner

whiff of Jilted-era molotov and Flint rasping, “I ain’t no tourist,” on Nasty with Narayan-style groaning and a sample from Alex Proyasಬ 1998 film Dark City is paranoid and furious. Considering for a while Pendulum not only stole, but also thoroughly rogered, their thunder, Howlett had no choice but to change or die, which he did by creating this album as a band with Flint and Maxim. Maximಬs contributions are more covertly planted than Flint’s, but the overall nocturnal aggression of The Day Is My Enemy makes for a long overdue repositioning of The Prodigy as firestarters. Mac McNaughton

★★★★

“Kintsugi” references a Japanese art form celebrating the broken or worn qualities of a piece. So this too is the sound of a group fractured, but presented with a Brechtian lack of apology. Ben Gibbard sounds generally breezier than ever in Death Cab For Cutie’s latest album, despite whatever tribulations led to his divorce and co-founder Chris Walla’s departure from the group. It’s all bubbling under the surface though. While you’re bopping and bouncing to the disco élan of Good Help (Is So Hard To Find) or drinking in the morning dew of Hold No Guns, Gibbard’s slipping in lines like “Friends, they always splinter” or spitting “Only fools give it away” while funky guitars screech to a carcrash halt in the background.

★★★★ On Drugs album and the open-eyed wonder of The Waterboys. No Room In Frame is a colourful opener, perfectly primed for radio-play although it finishes a nicely elongated outro too soon. It’s lovely to hear him swaddled once more in Dntel-like radiowaves but Gibbard seems too eager to shuffle back to the comforting surrounds of down-tempo. Mac McNaughton

Much of Kintsugi languishes in beanbags surrounded by the vibes of the last War

★★½

★★★½

LURCH & CHIEF

SHORT STACK

ANGELIQUE KIDJO

ANTAGONIST A.D

Illusive

Universal

429/Universal

UNFD

The effervescent sounds of Lurch & Chief swiftly generated a buzz when the young guns burst onto the scene a couple years back, and this five-track gem will no doubt fuel the fire already blazing. Breathe is riddled with more of that jamming, crashing, psychedelic goodness but here Lillibeth Hall’s forceful vocal takes centre stage for more of the action (Echo, Fading Out), there’s less instantly appealing motifs that still crawl under the skin (Breathe), and a darker, confident attitude resounds (Reasonable Man), where co-vocalist Hayden Somerville lets rip with those etching, twangy pipes of his.

Propped up by some stellar live cuts, the latest release from Short Stack may fall short when held up against the rest of their discography. Hints of screamo seep into an otherwise tame sound that, while catchy, is a few too many years behind the curve, right down to the ‘50s kitsch of Dance With Me, the direction the band seem to be heading in for their next full-length. The EP is likely to satisfy fans while they await the new record, but won’t ignite the masses the way This Is Bat Country did.

The award-winning Beninese songstress follows last year’s Eve with her orchestral-backed 15th full-length album. The classical backing produced by over 110 musicians across the record, produced by Kidjo with her husband and longtime collaborator Jean Hebrail, showcases yet again how diverse, emotive and powerful her voice can be, while also allowing her tribal sensibilities to shine. Bahia and Petite Fleur are particularly dramatic arrangements, balanced nicely with the smooth and suave stylings of Nanae and Naima.

Nearly a decade on from their debut full-length, These Cities, Our Graves, New Zealand crew Antagonist A.D have found themselves on a new label with a couple of new members. When other metalcore bands of their stature might be inclined to rest on their laurels caring more about merch than music, the commotion that’s kept them out of the studio has reinvigorated their sound. Haunt Me As I Roam has the five-piece hitting jams like they’re out for blood. It’s an ugly, emotionally fraught and musically potent firebomb of a metalcore record.

Jazmine O’Sullivan

Tom Hersey

Breathe EP

Carley Hall 80 • THE MUSIC • 25TH MARCH 2015

Dance With Me EP

Cameron Cooper

Sings

Haunt Me As I Roam

album/ep reviews

★★★

WILLIAM ELLIOTT WHITMORE Radium Death Epitaph/Warner Well, this is a change of direction, isn’t it? Seems Whitmore has swapped acoustic for electric and picked himself up a full band in the process. Light years from previous albums – notably 2011’s Field Songs, Whitmore (for the most part; there are still banjo-driven tunes like Civilizations) opens up his gravelly voice and wails at the moon. The results are mixed; whereas Field Songs harked back to traditional roots music and delivered brilliantly, Radium Death has grand plans to turn the world on its head but in reaching for the stars falls a little short.

★★★½

★★½

★★★

AWAKEN I AM

CIRCA WAVES

MADEON

Shock

Dew Process/Universal

Sony

With Gold Coast five-piece Awaken I Am the influences have always been clear – The Amity Affliction, Parkway Drive, Dream On Dreamer – but their progressive noodles and highwire lines and vocals have a distinctly clean and glossy treatment washed over them. That top-notch production makes an immediate impact in tracks like opener, Divisions, and Landslide, where neatly clipped kitwork and smooth vocal tones work their wonders, but there’s many a time where the boys break it up with some crushing guitars and brutal, offbeat riffs in Safe Haven and Capture.

Circa Waves’ debut album sounds like every other successful post-Oasis band since the release of that-albumwith-Wonderwall-on-it 20 years ago. “I’m a little too young with not enough time,” sings Kieran Shudall. It’s a good summary of the band’s general themes across Young Chasers. Shudall chooses to rush the band through the songs in place of writing lyrics with any real sense of urgency, and throws in enough hooks with his affected accent to resemble a sense of sincerity. Deserve This, the slowest moment on the album, has enough self-loathing to stand out as being vaguely insightful.

Carley Hall

Roshan Clerke

French producer Madeon stays ahead of the game with his debut album. There’s none of his usual high-tempo dance tracks and funky bass lines; instead, he’s opted for bouncing hip hop tempos and crashing waves of synthesised colour. The album never peaks beyond its singles, but they’re impressive enough to warrant a listen. Pay No Mind finally pairs Michael Angelakos from Passion Pit with some awesome production, while Imperium draws notes banging from fellow Frenchman Gesaffelstein. While more variation wouldn’t hurt, Adventure places itself outside the dance mainstream, living up to its name.

Shields & Crowns

Young Chasers

Dylan Stewart

Adventure

Roshan Clerke

MORE REVIEWS

themusic.com.au/music/album-reviews

★★★★

SARAH MARY CHADWICK

9 Classic Tracks Rice Is Nice/Inertia

★★★★

POKEY LAFARGE

Something In The Water Rounder/Universal

The former Batrider frontwoman continues her explorations of sparse, flayed emotional fare in her second album. Kicking off with the awkward, funereal Ask Walt, it’s clear that Chadwick is an expert in creating vignettes of social insularity, emotional fragility and spiritual mourning. The absence of guitar in the main, replaced with lush soundscapes, evokes a bold move into untethered territory, yet Chadwick seems all the stronger and surefooted for it. As much as Am I Worth It and Lying Down haunt, this is an album of an artist soaring.

Like a straighter American cousin to CW Stoneking’s more esoteric old-timey sound, LaFarge blends all manner of traditional musical forms, from swing jazz to folk, country and mariachi, woven together in his authentic style on this, his most realised album to date. With the band he’s been playing live with for a while, he’s created a tapestry that allows space and light into the dusty nostalgic corners as he sings primarily about affairs of the heart. No surprise there but the real joy lies in the blend of styles, hummable melodies and LaFarge’s older-than-his-years voice.

Brendan Telford

Chris Familton

★★★

KEZIAH JONES

Captain Rugged Warner Something of a concept album for fictional superhero Captain Rugged, here Keziah Jones gives the genre an intentional African slant. The Nigerian artist is two decades into his career and the album reflects that clarity, opener Afronewave sounding fresh yet familiar. Nollywoodoo starts with a seemingly inspired jazz slow burn, while mid-album slower step Laughter falls almost into a trippy later career Beck vibe. The highlight is Praise, drawn on a simple repeat and rolling drum, developing to a chilled singalong. Soundtrack to the superhero’s victory yet to be fully realised.

The Go! Team – The Scene In Between The Cribs – For All My Sisters Seasick Steve – Sonic Soul Surfer Lower Dens – Escape From Evil Van Morrison – Duets: Reworking The Catalogue Ron Sexsmith – Carousel One Brad Butcher – Jamestown Barren Earth – On Lonely Towers Boz Scaggs – A Fool To Care Sam Outlaw – Angeleno

Liz Giuffre

THE MUSIC • 25TH MARCH 2015 • 81

live reviews

KYLIE MINOGUE, GIORGIO MORODER

Rod Laver Arena 18 Mar A really delightful spruiker welcomes us to Rod Laver Arena, instructing us not to hurry since we have plenty of time and he’s not wrong. We enter through the turnstiles. Is it possible Ms Minogue is still sound checking? Sure sounds like it! Arena doors are not yet open and Kids can be heard blaring out from inside. “Kylie VIPs” queuing outside Door 5 must feel less “Very

a surprise appearance on stage. Tonight we’ll be recreating Meldrum’s first public appearance since his accident, chanting “Mo-lly! Mo-lly!” as the real Meldrum enters the arena. The first take doesn’t cut it, so we go again and Johnson instructs Minogue fans to stop waving their dildos about since these wouldn’t have existed in the scene we’re recreating. Kylie Minogue is cheeky. In the program there’s a saucy picture of her with a “Kiss Me Down Under” caption. This is The Singing Budgie’s Kiss Me Once tour and she appears reclining seductively on an illuminated red version of Salvador Dalí’s Mae West Lips Sofa. Minogue’s headwear makes her resemble a unicorn

GIORGIO MORODER @ ROD LAVER ARENA. PIC: JAY HYNES

Important” than desired right about now. And then a cheer goes up when the doors are eventually opened. Giorgio Moroder is more audience conductor than DJ. He also resembles an adorable Womble, sporting red headphones that match his trainers as he gees up the crowd. Moroder selects multiple Donna Summer classics such as Love To Love You Baby and Hot Stuff and then Blondie insists, Call Me. Punters all the while wave Kylie’s illuminated fluoro dildo merch items (seemingly none the wiser as to what they resemble). The Godfather Of Disco. What a support act! Actor Samuel Johnson, who has been cast as Molly Meldrum in Channel 7’s new miniseries Molly, makes 82 • THE MUSIC • 25TH MARCH 2015

You would win Eurovision every year. Minogue admits to being more emotional than she expected to be On A Night Like This. After recognising she resembles a human disco ball in her current outfit, Kylie admits she’s rapt to welcome Moroder back to the stage to perform their newie Right Here, Right Now. Kylie sings an a cappella portion of I Feel Love and her voice blows us away. “That guy is the man,” she praises Moroder. Slow follows and the male dancer who features throughout this number is almost as good as Beyoncé’s Les Twins. A Stock Aitken Waterman medley isolates the diehard (read: older) fans in the crowd and includes Never

KYLIE MINOGUE @ ROD LAVER ARENA. PIC: JAY HYNES

and those impossibly high, red skyscraper stilettos! Dancing in those things? Ridiculous. Evoking Marilyn Monroe, Minogue’s skirt is blown upwards thanks to a strategically placed ‘Beyoncé fan’. Wow gets bums off seats and musicians are placed either side of the stage to maximise Our Kylie’s performance space. Après costume change number one, Minogue returns, resplendent in silver and black (sequins and patent leather respectively), to Step Back In Time. Minogue’s stunning backing dancers are often dressed in cartoonish fashion and you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who looks cuter Spinning Around than Kylie. Take note, newcomers: she may wear skimpy outfits, but Kylie is all class. Your Disco Needs

Molly) ‘cause he gave her a particularly massive bunch of roses. After taking one stem and handing one to Ian, Kylie then hands the bunch into the crowd, who choose to also share kisses as they pass the bouquet much to Kylie’s delight. Looking around, Kylie commends eye-catching outfits and a bit of her Charlene Robinson character materialises as she observes, “Pedal to the metal on the Janome!” Kids could use a video representation of Kylie’s duet partner Robbie Williams and her female backing vocalists taking his parts falls flat. We suddenly realise Katy Perry ripped off Kylie: That California Gurls song is a dead ringer for Our Kylie’s Love At First Sight! Mash-up alert?

KYLIE MINOGUE @ ROD LAVER ARENA. PIC: JAY HYNES

Too Late (not sure about the female backing dancers wielding vacuum cleaner props!), Got To Be Certain and I Should Be So Lucky (during which Kylie jumps into a bath the recreate that scene from her music video). Kylie’s take on INXS’s Need You Tonight reminds us it was Hutch who made her sexy, but we wish she’d stuck to the original key. However, the arrangement sounds phenomenal and we hanker for a visual of Michael Hutchence on the giant screens. Sexercise is a bit of a lull, certainly not production-wise but it’s just not as strong a song as Can’t Get You Out Of My Head that follows (which proves tonight’s overall standout). Kylie wishes to locate “Ian” in the crowd (no, not

The Locomotion “pulls into Flinders Street Station” (cheese), but we REALLY want Conf ide In Me. Oh, no! Can that be it? A one-song encore sees Kylie sing Into The Blue, which (if it hasn’t already) is bound to feature on Dancing With The Stars. Sadly, this is an unsatisfying close to an otherwise remarkable evening. Bryget Chrisfield

OWEN PALLETT, JAPANESE WALLPAPER

The Toff In Town 18 Mar Playing to almost no one, Gab Strum rather shyly

live reviews graces the stage to play the tunes he released last year as Japanese Wallpaper. He’s not quite 18 years old, but has very quickly attracted a sizeable fanbase thanks in part to the fact that triple j always seem to be playing his tunes. Japanese Wallpaper’s music surfs the current wave of artists who deal in soft, intimate electronic-pop that brings together R&B influences with ambient electronica. Looking a little like a one-man band, Japanese Wallpaper plays keys, tweaks his sampler and uses drumsticks to trigger percussive sounds. Warm gushes of twinkling synths accompany his warbling falsetto. At times the vibe is so soft and smooth that the core of these songs feels a little like wobbly jelly or marshmallow. Owen Pallett admits that he hooked up with Japanese Wallpaper for this tour over (the seemingly allembracing) Facebook after acknowledging a mutual

respect for each other’s work. Pallett does sound a little jealous when he mentions that Japanese Wallpaper recently landed a spot on the soundtrack of the new Zach Braff movie, however. While Japanese Wallpaper produces music that feels sweetly fluffy, there is a whole lot of weight and drama to Owen Pallett’s quite astonishing electro-acoustic set. Going it solo, Pallett is a force to be reckoned with as he rather brutally bows, plucks, strums and generally fiddles with the strings of his violin to produce an amazing array of sounds that are fluidly looped and layered. While it’s easy to imagine Pallett playing his contemporary compositions with the assistance of a small string ensemble, he somehow quite amazingly manages to play it all himself. Pallett creates a luscious accompaniment for his tremulous tenor that darts across the mix like a sparrow in flight. Pallett’s confident swagger suggests that he knows he

is that good. His fans just fall away in total awe. Showcasing songs from his latest album In Conflict it becomes apparent that these are swathed in lyrics that speak of deep internal drama and hard-hitting emotions with a certain volatility. The tense foreboding atmospheres of The Riverbed and The Passions are simply spine-tingling. Pallett’s set is interrupted by a hilariously chatty Q&A with the audience in which he rather proudly reveals that he has just finished soundtracking Anton Corbijn’s new film starring Robert Pattinson. Moving beyond In Conflict, Pallett plays old favourites including He Poos Clouds and ends the night encoring with The Great Elsewhere and This Is The Dream Of Win & Regine.

MORE REVIEWS

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THE BEARDS @ THE HI-FI. PIC: YANA AMUR

The Beards @ The Hi-Fi Kele @ Corner Hotel Dan Sultan @ National Theatre

Guido Farnell

arts reviews

BODY OF WORK. PIC: GREGORY LORENZUTTI

BODY OF WORK Festival

Sylvia Staehil Theatre, Dancehouse (finished)

★★★ ★ ½

Body Of Work is a triumph of surreal and vulnerable beauty. Textured, unsettling and at times borderline grotesque, it reaches out beyond its intellectual framework and gives us something genuinely affecting. If we were being harsh, we could say that Atlanta Eke relies too heavily on the

video wizardry of Hana Miller and Jacob Perkins to produce the haunting, Lynch-like strangeness of the work. We might even suggest that much of the piece’s emotional power comes from Daniel Jenatsch’s brooding accompaniment. However, that would be to unfairly discount Eke’s brutal and unrelenting creativity and to ignore the gutsy brittleness she so openly displays. For all of its sci-fi strangeness, Body Of Work is, above all else, brave enough to be beautiful. As though someone were reaching out for an anchor point in a universe entirely composed of shifting, ambiguous realities.

a stream of consciousness is unleashed, becoming a noise choir of sorts, we’re swept up in the artfulness of how Kingdom combines sound (and silence), props and movement. A highlight is Phillip Adams bestowing crowns on the others, all of them donning g-strings with plush horns attached; they move in glamorous poses. Finally, the dancers – nude and covered in gold paint, bar one who dons grey apparel – breathe and writhe orgasmically; it’s an orgy, an acceptance, a celebration. Kingdom asks too much patience of its audience in parts, but flashes of brilliance occasionally shine through.

Paul Ransom

Stephanie Liew

KINGDOM Festival

Meat Market, Arts House (finished)

★★½

It’s hard to draw meaning out of the slow, methodical moving around of construction/craft objects, and a series of prancing across the floor. However, as

go somewhere. Indeed, Do You Speak Chinese? is filigree fine in its gorgeous detail and understated elegance. There is a rigour and a passion to this work, a musicality and artistry that draws you into its allusions of culture, identity and femininity. Victoria Chiu and Kristina Chan execute this work with sensual control, and the paper art of Benja Harney and the exquisite live guzheng of Mindy Meng Wang add both grace and beautifully relevant Chinese cultural touch points. Paul Ransom

DO YOU SPEAK CHINESE? Festival

Tower Theatre, Malthouse Theatre (finished)

★★★★

It starts with an eerie drone and two women rolling around on the floor but this piece does

KINGDOM. PIC: SARAH WALKER THE MUSIC • 25TH MARCH 2015 • 83

84 • THE MUSIC • 23RD DECEMBER 2014

the guide

ROLAND TINGS How did you get your start? Downloading a cracked version of Ableton and trying to remake Cut Copy songs in my bedroom. Sum up your musical sound in four words? Discount Quality House Music. If you could support any band in the world – past or present – who would it be? Shed. You’re being sent into space, no iPod, you can bring one album – what would it be? Bing & Ruth - Tomorrow Was The Golden Age. Greatest rock’n’roll moment of your career to date? Any time I have been inside a frequent flyer lounge. Why should people come and see your band? Because dancing all night is an effective form of mental and physical therapy. When and where for your next gig? 28 Mar & 4 Apr, Mercat Basement. Website link for more info? facebook.com/heyrolandtings

THE MUSIC • 25TH MARCH 2015 • 85

the guide vic.live@themusic.com.au

CHART WRAP

SAN CISCO

San Cisco have made an assured debut on this week’s Carlton Dry Independent Music Charts, with their second fulllength album, Gracetown, this week comprehensively beating back all other newcomers to claim #1 on the Albums ladder. They aren’t the only act to freshly score a place in the full-length stakes, however, as Dick Diver (Melbourne, Florida, #8), Darren Hanlon (Where Did You Come From?, #9), Take Us To Vegas (Alive, #11) and Chaos Divine (Colliding Skies, #20) all make their debuts on the Albums chart this week. Among the familiar faces in the remaining spots, a few are approaching the milestone of having spent 52 weeks (consecutively or otherwise) in the charts: Courtney Barnett’s The Double EP: A Sea Of Split Peas (#12) and San Cisco’s self-titled debut album (#17) have both hit the 50-week mark, with Ball Park Music’s Puddinghead (#18) up to 49 weeks and Thundamentals’ So We Can Remember a little further off but in the home stretch at 45 weeks. John Butler Trio’s Flesh & Blood (#16) passed the year mark a couple weeks back; it’s now charted for 54 weeks. Things are a little more sedate as far as first-time Singles entries are concerned, where Jarryd James stands alone at #2, for Do You Remember?. Sia’s Elastic Heart remains atop the pile for another week, while her preceding cut Chandelier is bang-on the 52-week mark on the charts, and still strong at #4. Amid the otherwise entirely incumbent bracket occupying the rungs this time around, SAFIA are back in the top 20, with You Are The One re-charting at #18. 86 • THE MUSIC • 25TH MARCH 2015

LIVE THIS WEEK

FRIENDLY ENEMY

BUNCH O’ LOONS

THE WOLF PACK

Coolangatta foursome Mass Sky Raid bring their latest single, Enemy, to the Melbourne public at The Workers Club, Thursday.

In support of the release of their video for Surfin’, Loon Lake are playing a couple of headline shows, and there’s one at Shebeen Bandroom on Thursday. If you just wanna have fun and hang out, head along.

Timberwolf has announced the supports for his upcoming Fallen Sun tour, with Young Vincent and Forest Falls joining him on Friday at Shebeen Bandroom.

FATHER AND SON

MANN OH MANN

GOING SOFT

Kevin Welch boasts longevity; his former group Kane Welch Kaplin nominated for Group Or Duo Of The Year twice. His son, Dustin Welch has built an equally impressive career. The two team up to play Saturday at Caravan Music Club.

This Thursday, The Tote hosts Clive Mann’s launch for his debut single, How To Ride A Pony – a slice of cosmic psych folk. He’ll be joined by acts Dear Plastic, The Beegles and The Curse.

If you’ve been wondering where all the good soft rock is, had to The Old Bar on Wednesday to see Maps Of Tasmania (featuring members of Legends Of Motorsport, Warpigs) upholding the genre, along with The Phosphenes and Early Nights.

EARTH WIND & DYNAMITE

NO MEAN FEAT

INTO THE VANNS

The Meanies are going on a short runs of shows before hibernating for the winter in preparation for their first album release in 21 years. Catch them Saturday, Northcote Social Club.

The Vanns are currently on a 21-date tour around the country in support of their new EP, Scattered By Sundown. You can catch ‘em at The Gasometer Hotel on Sunday – there’s an all-ages gig in the arvo and then an 18+ evening show.

FEELING HORNY

DAPPER LADY

STRANGERS

Horns Of Leroy play two exciting sets at Spotted Mallard on Friday from 9pm. Kick off your weekend with this party brass band, bringing you a raucous time in the spirit of New Orleans.

At Howler on Thursday, Lady Oscar will launch their mini-LP Dapper Desperado. The six-piece blend up Motown, neo-soul and modern pop. Acts 30/70 and JJOOBBEE will support.

Melbourne trip-gaze duo A Strange Day features a dude from White Walls and a dude from Quabb. Check them out at Evelyn Hotel on Sunday, with support from See Saw and Spike.

Earth Wind & Fire producer Andrew Klippel worked with Asta on her latest track Dynamite, which features the brilliant Allday. Single launch Friday, Northcote Social Club.

FOR MORE HEAD TO THEMUSIC.COM.AU

THE MUSIC • 25TH MARCH 2015 • 87

the guide vic.live@themusic.com.au

SINGLE FOCUS

ALBUM FOCUS was recorded by our drummer Jesse and then late July/early August we hit the studio.

ODD MOB Answered by: Robbie & Harry Single title? Is It A Banger? What’s the song about? The track is about how to determine if a song is a banger. How long did it take to write/ record? Overall, it took about five hours to make.

We’ll like this song if we like... Heavy bass lines and funky grooves.

SUPER BEST FRIENDS

Do you play it differently live? We like to experiment with the track any chance we get. At our shows, we’ll edit the song live in front of the audience.

Album title? Status Updates

Website link for more info? facebook.com/ODDMOB

Was anything in particular inspiring you during the making? Super Besties had only released EPs and singles, so I was keen to do an album. Greg from Gun Fever Records (our label) was l’inspirateur!

Answered by: Johnny Barrington Where did the title of your new album come from? Having a rant on social media. People are way more vocal since Tony Abbott became PM and it can seem a bit bandwagon.

Will you do anything differently next time? I’m actually looking forward to the difficult second album.

How many releases do you have now? Including the Round & Round single from 2013, we have four: Status Updates, Ready Aim Fire EP and Handshake EP.

Is this track from a forthcoming release/existing release? It’s from an existing release; it’s out now as a single. What was inspiring you during the song’s writing and recording? The UK genre jackin house, Parks & Recreation and of course, beer.

How long did it take to write/ record? We started working on album stuff late 2013. In March last year our 14-song demo

HAVE YOU HEARD

LALIC Name: Mladen Lalic Milinkovic When did you start making music and why? When I was ten and saw the movie School Of Rock and started getting guitar lessons. When I was 15 I started smoking weed and began recording experimental albums. Sum up your musical sound in four words? Lovely, filthy, dreamy soul. If you could support any band in the world - past or present - who would it be? Deerhunter or Slowdive or Pink Floyd or Queen or BJM or David Bowie or Burt Bacharach or Rowland S Howard. 88 • THE MUSIC • 25TH MARCH 2015

Why should people come and see your band? Because maybe it’s something new they’ve never heard and maybe it will make them feel really happy or other emotions. When and where for your next gig? Mondays at Evelyn Hotel for the rest of March, as well as some sweet supports we’re doing later this year. Website link for more info? lalic.bandcamp.com

S U P P O R T I N G

When and where is your launch/ next gig? Our Status Update tour starts 26 Mar at The Old Bar. Then 15 Apr, Karova Lounge, Ballarat; 16 Apr, Black San Hotel, Bendigo; 18 Apr, Reverence Hotel. Website link for more info? facebook.com/superbestfriends

DJ BOOTH

If you could only listen to one album forevermore, what would it be and why? The White Album – The Beatles. Because it has worlds within worlds on it, and because it’s what I grew up listening to and it forms much of the basis for my love of music Greatest rock’n’roll moment of your career to date? Either crowdsurfing half naked at The Gasometer Hotel or playing my nylon acoustic guitar on my porch in the morning.

What’s your favourite song on it? My current favourite’s Conscript, the album opener. Good warmup song to start a show. Punchy and drivey and gets heavier.

features mixes from Jacques Renault and John Tejada. Who’s the act everyone will be talking about in 12 months? We’re really excited to see what happens when Citizenn drops his album...

WAZE & ODYSSEY When did you know DJing was the gig for you? We’ve been in it for years, from going to parties when we first got into the scene, to getting fully absorbed in the club scene, putting on parties, DJing and then making music. What’s your most memorable musical moment? Hard to say just one! We’ve had a load of memorable times in the last two/three years.

What can punters expect to hear when you’re in control of the dancefloor? Whatever feels right on the night, but it’s house music in its various forms; there’s a good variety of sounds in there. We’re playing for the floor. When and where are your next gigs? 3 Apr, Royal Melbourne Hotel. Website link for more info? facebook.com/waze.odyssey

What release should everyone have in their collection? Of course we’re going to say that you should have our brand new one Ways Of The Underground! The EP I N D E P E N D E N T

A U S S I E

M U S I C

the guide vic.live@themusic.com.au

JUST VISITING

MEMBERSHIP DRIVE FOCUS

or less? Wild, smart and bold with a beautiful and transformative culture. Any extra-curricular activities you hope to participate in? Surfing... thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going to be a big one. I also venture off into the neighborhoods... search for â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;the local flavourâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. What will you be taking home as a souvenir? Hopefully Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll at least have some epic stories from the shows and maybe a few about the surf!

JAKE CLEMONS Why are you coming to visit our fair country? Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m coming to play some rockâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;nâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;roll! Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got an amazing tour scheduled that starts in Sunshine Coast, Queensland and goes straight down to Geelong in Victoria.

Where can we come say hi, and buy you an Aussie beer? 26 Mar, Northcote Social Club; 27 Mar, The Westernport Hotel, Phillip Island; 28 Mar, Flying Saucer Club; 29 Mar, The Workers Club.

Is this your f irst visit? Thisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be my fourth. Each trip Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve experienced something new that can make it feel as exciting as my first.

Website link for more info? jakeclemons.com

How long are you here for? We currently have 18 shows booked throughout the month of March. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going to be epic! What do you know about Australia, in ten words

! !

Reckon thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no point in signing up to Music Victoriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s annual membership drive? Here, Music Victoriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s CEO Patrick Donovan highlights an example of one muso in particular who benefited and, well, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re probably all glad now about it. An example of a local artist that Music Victoria has supported is Courtney Barnett. Courtney became a member four years ago and after signing up for $33 during our first membership drive, she went into the draw and randomly won the Virgin Australia Platinum Lounge membership to go with the entitlements to free excess baggage afforded to members.

I was one of the first people to play Courtneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s music on radio in a regular media spot on 3PBS, and her music was exposed to a wider audience after she played at some of our events, including our Membership Drive Party at Corner Hotel and an Australian Business Arts Foundation event. Last year she won two awards at the Age Music Victoria Awards (Best Female Artist and Best Song for Avant Gardener), which included a $2500 cash prize from APRA to help her develop her career. Now her career has exploded and sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s touring the world. We successfully lobbied the new State Government to introduce Quick Response Grants, recording, touring and export to assist Victorian artists like Courtney develop their careers and capitalise on career defining opportunities. Music Victoriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s membership drive runs until 2 Apr

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M UTHE S MUSIC I C â&#x20AC;˘ 25TH MARCH 2015 â&#x20AC;˘ 89

opinion FRAGMENTED FREQUENCIES OTHER MUSIC FROM THE OTHER SIDE WITH BOB BAKER FISH Finding Fela: Music Is The Weapon (Madman) is a 2014 documentary by Alex Gibney (Gonzo: The Life And Work Of Dr Hunter S Thompson). You’d think that an extensive telling of Nigeria’s Fela Kuti, the legendary pioneer of Afrobeat, an incredible fusion between funk and traditional African music, is long overdue. After all between his radicalisation via the Black Panthers, beatings from the military, marriage to his 27 backup singers, time in jail for illegally taking currency overseas, declaration of his compound as a separate state and incendiary concerts, there’s a wealth of material. The problem is that Gibney bases his film around the making of Fela! the musical, a 2011 Broadway production, which is pretty much Fela Kuti karaoke despite the presence of New York’s Antibalas as the house band. There’s so much footage of their backstage angst about how to capture his spirit, that you can only assume that the financing came directly from this production and they were obligated to use a percentage of footage. Gibney uses this as a spine to explore the developments of Kuti’s life, integrating archival material, and interviews with former managers, band members including Tony Allen, and Kuti’s children – which is all quite fascinating. It’s those first person accounts that bring the man to life. His children’s accounts are also telling. If you can stomach the stage show it’s a fascinating account of one of the truly iconic and inspiring musicians of our time.

FINDING FELA

90 • THE MUSIC • 25TH MARCH 2015

TRAILER TRASH

WAKE THE DEAD

DIVES INTO YOUR SCREENS AND IDIOT BOXES WITH GUY DAVIS

PUNK AND HARDCORE WITH SARAH PETCHELL This week I would like to talk to you all about the John Farnham effect. You know, when a band says “THAT’S IT! WE’RE DONE!” They do a somewhat extensive tour because this will DEFINITELY be the last time you see them. Then five minutes later: “HEY WE’RE PLAYING SHOWS AGAIN!”

IT FOLLOWS

I love horror movies; I don’t love explaining why I love horror movies. I dunno, maybe coming up with an answer would require more soul-searching than I’d like to undertake – it’s altogether possible I’ll come up with nothing more substantial than “Uh, because monsters?” or something as disturbing as “I like seeing semi-naked chicks get hacked to bits”. Let me say for the record, by the way, that I’m pretty sure it’s not the second one – the Friday The 13th saga and its ilk have never really been my bag, although I do have a soft spot for one or two ‘80s-era slashers. Upon further reflection, horror movies could well be my cinematic comfort food, transporting me back to a misspent youth where I spent too many hours in the dark devouring the extremes of the genre on VHS. Or maybe I use them as what Nightmare On Elm Street and Scream filmmaker Wes Craven astutely called ‘emotional boot camp’, where the movie acts as a surrogate for the hardships and horrors of everyday life, and if you can make it through 90 or so minutes of tangling with Leatherface, the real world suddenly doesn’t seem quite so daunting. I could dig the artistry – there’s a real skill to generating dread or cultivating terror. Hell, maybe it is because monsters. My interest in focusing on horror this column was the imminent release (in Melbourne at least, but I’m sure other cities will get a taste) of It Follows, hyped as one of the best horror movies of recent years. It screened at last year’s Melbourne

International Film Festival and, like a chump, I dipped out on the chance to catch it then, and ever since I’ve had to endure the torture of tasteful friends and acquaintances telling me how damn creepy and cool it is. Well, when it opens at Melbourne’s Cinema Nova on 16 Apr, I’ll be there front-row centre. And even though the word of someone who hasn’t seen it means absolutely fuck-all, you might want to consider joining me. However! If you can’t wait ‘til next month for your dose of disturbing, there’s a couple of very effective chillers making their way to home video extremely soon. Starry Eyes, wears its David Cronenberg/ David Lynch influences on its sleeve but it also reminded me of one of the best creepy movies of the ‘00s, Lucky McKee’s May. The story of ambitious actress Sarah (a go-for-broke performance by the gifted Alex Essoe), who metaphorically – or is it literally – sells her soul for Hollywood stardom, it pulls off the nifty trick of making the challenges of personal and professional life as gruelling and unnerving as anything stabby or supernatural. Then there’s Mockingbird, writer-director Bryan Bertino’s follow-up to his nerve-jangling home-invasion thriller The Strangers. This tale of three different households tormented by an unknown protagonist armed with a video camera, an upsettingly vivid imagination and a tricky, diabolical endgame sees Bertino exploring similar territory storywise but shaking things up a little stylistically. Oh, and parts of it are scary as fuck.

It creates a feeling of betrayal among fans, and in a lot of cases it just simply feels like an excuse to make another money grab. Cynical? Maybe. I don’t doubt they probably missed playing music together, but if that option is even potentially on the cards then please, call it a hiatus. The band that is the current perpetrator of this crime is Alexisonfire. To be honest, the announcement that they are playing shows again probably wasn’t too much of a stretch. But I’m still very pissed off about the whole situation. I don’t want bands that I like to make me feel like they’ve betrayed me. And I hate the internal hypocrisy because if they release new music, I would check it out, and if they toured again, I probably would go. Someone called me a hypocrite when I had this discussion with them because I saw Refused when they toured a couple of years ago and I’m RIDICULOUSLY EXCITED that Poison The Well are playing shows again. Here’s my rebuttal: Poison The Well played the hiatus card. They didn’t actually break up. And my level of confusion and anger at a new Refused record is well documented, despite the fact I went to the shows and had an awesome time. wakethedead@themusic.com.au

PIC: ALEXISONFIRE

opinion HOWZAT! LOCAL MUSIC BY JEFF JENKINS TRIPLE TREAT It’s not easy being an Americana artist in Australia. You don’t get much triple j play and, of course, the commercial stations don’t even know you exist. So you have to hit the road to promote your music. Three of our finest young alt-country artists – Caitlin Harnett, Josh Rennie-Hynes and Liam Gerner – have joined forces for the No Other tour, which hits the Yarra Hotel on 26 Mar. So what’s the story behind the name? “Well, aside from my long-term crush on Jackson Browne, I am also obsessed with Gene Clark,” Caitlin explains. “No Other is the name of my favourite Gene record. I convinced the boys that it was the most appropriate tour name.” Howzat! asked Caitlin – who recently released her debut album, The River Runs North – to review the albums by her tour mates.

She called Josh’s February “a beautiful and honest record that reflects on the joy and heartaches of love and life”. And Liam’s Land Of No Roads is “a poetic and narrative record that talks of travelling, hardship and love, and leaves you feeling like you’ve just finished reading a really great book”. It’s Caitlin’s first tour with Liam, though she has already done many shows with Josh and is familiar with his quirks. “He licks his lips a lot and likes to imitate bird sounds and record them into his iPhone,” she laughs. “It makes no sense.” Caitlin has also learned some valuable lessons on the road, particularly: “Don’t cut a mango with a pocket knife whilst in the passenger seat of a moving vehicle; it will never end well for you.”

CAITLIN HARNETT, JOSH RENNIE-HYNES AND LIAM GERNER

we note that Silverchair’s debut album, Frogstomp, was released 20 years ago this week. It’s been quite a trip!

Kingwell is finally playing songs from the album live. She’s at The Espy on 28 Mar.

GOODBYE, HELLO

We remember the great Paul Hester, who sadly died ten years ago this week, on 26 Mar.

Ballarat band Epicure went quietly into the night five years ago, but they are re-forming for two shows in May, to promote the vinyl release of their second album, The Goodbye Girl. Epicure are playing at Northcote Social Club on 2 May and Ballarat’s Karova Lounge on 16 May.

FLYING HIGH

HELLO HALOS

As we listen to the soulful sounds of Daniel Johns’ debut solo EP, Aerial Love,

More than 16 months after releasing her second solo album, Choking On Halos, Leanne

REMEMBERING PAUL

HOT LINE “When life feels like it’s crashing in, one deep breath and you’re living life again” – Skipping Girl Vinegar, Bike.

THE MUSIC • 25TH MARCH 2015 • 91

the guide vic.gigguide@themusic.com.au Mashtag with Malpractice + Agent 86 + Benzo: Bimbo Deluxe, Fitzroy

THE MUSIC PRESENTS The Beat: 2 Apr Corner Hotel

Apr Palais Theatre

Mavis Staples: 2 Apr Meeniyan Town Hall

Peace: 30 Apr Ding Dong Lounge

Beth Hart: 2 Apr Melbourne Recital Centre

Groovin The Moo: 2 May Prince Of Wales Showground Bendigo

Chris Robinson Brotherhood: 4 Apr Corner Hotel David Gray: 5 Apr Palais Theatre

Happy People with DJ Susan + LEO + Winters + Jimmy Legs: Boney, Melbourne Phil Wiggins & Dom Turner: Caravan Music Club, Oakleigh The Gami Gami Devils: Carters Public House, Northcote Karate Boogaloo: Catfish, Fitzroy

San Cisco: 22 & 24 May 170 Russell; 23 May The Hi-Fi

GIG OF THE WEEK ALL OUR EXES LIVE IN TEXAS: 25 MAR BELLA UNION

Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue: 5 Apr Corner Hotel

Supersuckers & The BellRays: 27 May Barwon Club Geelong; 28 May Karova Lounge Ballarat; 29 May Corner Hotel

Hunter Hayes: 6 Apr Prince Bandroom

Ben Howard: 1 Jun Margaret Court Arena

Brendan Scott: Gateway Hotel, Corio

Band Of Skulls: 7 Apr Corner Hotel

sleepmakeswaves: 12 Jun The Hi-Fi

The Gipsy Kings: 10

At Last: The Etta James Story with Vika Bull: Geelong Performing Arts Centre, Geelong

Jebediah: 19 Jun Corner Hotel

WED 25

Chris Young Quartet: 303, Northcote

Aztx + Jurassic Nark + Lamb Boulevard + Twinspeak: Bar Open, Fitzroy The Melbourne Folk Club feat. All Our Exes Live In Texas + Kim Richey: Bella Union, Richmond Curious Tales + DJ Who + Tigerfunk + Various DJs: Bimbo Deluxe, Fitzroy Muddy’s Blues Roulette with Justin & Nardia: Catfish, Fitzroy Avenue Q: Chapel Off Chapel, Prahran Drunk Mums + more: Cherry Bar, Melbourne

Adalita + Claws & Organs: The Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood Maps of Tasmania + The Phosphenes + The Early Nights: The Old Bar, Fitzroy Mild Manic + Colourblind + Bound By Hounds + Zephyr: The Public Bar, Melbourne Spiral Arm + The Sunday Reeds + VHS Dream: The Toff In Town, Melbourne

Coq Roq with Various DJs: Lucky Coq, Prahran Open Mic Night with Various Artists: Mr Boogie Man Bar, Abbotsford Marta Pacek + Jessica Stuart Few: Musicman Megastore, Bendigo Ben Carr Trio: Open Studio, Northcote Ben Wright Smith + Jemma Nicole: Retreat Hotel, Brunswick The Moody Spooks + The Conversationists + The Dead Pans: The Bendigo, Collingwood Samantha Cauliflower + Sam Lohs: The Drunken Poet, West Melbourne

Moonshine + Cocoa Noire + Woz + Oliver Francis + Hudson James Jnr + Oden: Lounge, Melbourne The Good Eggs with Various DJs: Lucky Coq, Prahran

The Weight Of Silence + Devoid Of All: Mr Boogie Man Bar, Abbotsford

Peter Lubulwa: Wesley Anne (Band Room), Northcote

THU 26

Tzatziki Party + The Suicide Tuesday + Luke Seymoup + Shut Up Jackson + The Punching Ponies: Bar Open, Fitzroy

Lounge Suite feat. Donalds House + Naise + CC:Disco!: Lounge, Melbourne

Van Walker: Lomond Hotel, Brunswick East

Giorgio Moroder: Trak Lounge Bar, Toorak

Mrs Smith’s Trivia: Edinburgh Castle Hotel (8pm), Brunswick

At Last: The Etta James Story with Vika Bull: Karralyka Centre, Ringwood East

Lady Oscar + 30/70 + Jjoobbee: Howler, Brunswick

Arj Barker: Melbourne Town Hall (Main Hall), Melbourne

Kickin The B at 303 feat.Artie Styles Quartet: 303, Northcote

30/70 + Mangelwurzel + OP Beat Project: Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy

Catherine Britt: Hallam Hotel, Hallam

The Starks: The Workers Club, Fitzroy

Don Hillman’s Secret Beach: Clifton Hill Hotel, Clifton Hill

Beginners’ Class with Melbourne Ukulele Kollective: Edinburgh Castle Hotel (6pm), Brunswick

Julia Why? + Denim Owl + The Newsletters: Grace Darling Hotel, Collingwood

Songwriter Sessions with Ken Ford + Kat O + Bob Crain: Bar Oussou, Brunswick Z-Star: Barwon Club, South Geelong Rugcutters feat. The Furbelows: Bella Union, Richmond

Jake Clemons: Northcote Social Club, Northcote Saltwood: Open Studio, Northcote Trainwreck + Crusty Mustard + Luke Austen: Retreat Hotel, Brunswick

King Lucho + Lomax: Edinburgh Castle Hotel, Brunswick

Pockets: The Great Britain Hotel, Richmond

The Dead Salesmen Duo + Mark With The Sea: Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy

Paul Foot: The Hi-Fi, Melbourne Puddles Pity Party: The Hi-Fi, Melbourne Sammy J & Randy: The Hi-Fi, Melbourne Super Best Friends + Pat Chow + Captives + The Lost Day: The Old Bar, Fitzroy The Moonee Valley Drifters: The Post Office Hotel, Coburg Iconic Vivisect + Morbid Anal + Oligarch + Stoning: The Public Bar, Melbourne Ash Burgess: The Swanston Hotel (Downstairs Lounge), Melbourne Western Stars + Patches + Kilby: The Toff In Town, Melbourne

Mastodon: Festival Hall (Reduced Mode), West Melbourne Charles Jenkins & the Zhivagos + Ron Peno & The Superstitions: Flying Saucer Club, Elsternwick At Last: The Etta James Story with Vika Bull: Frankston Arts Centre, Frankston The Cherry Dolls + The Crookeds + Tooth & Tusk: Grace Darling Hotel, Collingwood The Great Women of Country feat. Melinda Schneider + Beccy Cole: Hamer Hall, Melbourne Lisa Mitchell + East: Howler, Brunswick

Techno Galleria feat. Hollows + Booshank + DJ Kiti: Loop, Melbourne

The Soulenikoes + Kettlespider + Mass Sky Raid + Myyth: The Workers Club, Fitzroy

Get Lit feat. TWERKSHOP + Get Bu$y + Moonshine + Nam + D’fro: Lounge, Melbourne

Anna’s Go-Go Academy: Victoria Hotel, Brunswick

The Waterboys: Melbourne Recital Centre, Southbank

Jon Stevens: Wellers, Kangaroo Ground

Arj Barker: Melbourne Town Hall (Main Hall), Melbourne

Tequila Mockingbird + Busy Kingdom + The Elliots + Blind Thrills: Yah Yah’s, Fitzroy

The Eagles Show: Milanos Tavern, Balaclava

Russell Peters: Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne

Melbourne Hit Parade: Carters Public House, Northcote

Minton’s Playhouse Sessions: The B.East, Brunswick East

Avenue Q: Chapel Off Chapel, Prahran

Surrender + The Evercold + The Approach + Of Stolen Moments: The Bendigo, Collingwood

Animaux + The Sand Dollars + Lazercatz 2000: Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy

Contrast + Parading + Hideous Towns: The Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood

Clive Mann + Dear Plastic + The Beegles + The Curse: The Tote, Collingwood

Spookyland + Sunbeam Sound Machine: Spotted Mallard, Brunswick

DJ Vibes: Edinburgh Castle Hotel, Brunswick

Andre + Chimper Kimblay: The Fitzroy Pinnacle, Fitzroy North

Dirtsong feat, Emma Donovan + Deline Briscoe + Ursula Yovich + Paul Dempsey + more: Darebin Arts & Entertainment Centre, Preston

3181 Thursdays with Jesse Young + Butters + Sam Gudge + Various DJs: Revolver Upstairs, Prahran

No Money, No Problems with We Be Queens: Boney, Melbourne

Rav Thomas: Doncaster Hotel , Manningham

Riffinery: Commercial Hotel, South Morang

Midnight Express with Prequel + Edd Fisher + Bryan Lawrence + Chico G: The Toff In Town (Carriage Room), Melbourne

Loon Lake + Foreign/National + Magic Bones: Shebeen Bandroom, Melbourne

Soul In The Basement with Soulsham + Vince Peach + Pierre Baroni: Cherry Bar, Melbourne

Ezekiel Ox + Mangohig + Minicoop: The Espy (Basement), St Kilda

The Vendettas + The Graveltones + Australian Kingswood Factory: Cherry Bar, Melbourne

Robert K Champion + Jessie Lloyd + Monica Weightman: Reverence Hotel (Front Bar), Footscray

Varsity with Kiti + DJ Foofaraw: Bimbo Deluxe, Fitzroy

Jules Sheldon: Charles Weston Hotel, Brunswick

David Craft + Emilee South: The Drunken Poet, West Melbourne

Avenue Q: Chapel Off Chapel, Prahran

Gordie MacKeeman and His Rhythm Boys + Siskin River: The Bonegilla Migrant Experience, Bonegilla Jessica Stuart Few + Marta Pacek: The Bridge Hotel, Castlemaine John Montesante Quintet + Wilbur Wilde: The Commune, East Melbourne

S U P P O R T I N G

Liam Gerner + Josh RennieHynes + Caitlin Harnett: Yarra Hotel, Abbotsford

FRI 27

Flosstradamus + Hoodboi: 170 Russell, Melbourne Worm Crown + The FkUps + Short Leash + The Wrecks + Jet Powers: 303, Northcote Papa G & The Starcats: Bar Open, Fitzroy The Rumjacks: Barwon Club, South Geelong

I N D E P E N D E N T

Pegz: Laundry Bar, Fitzroy The Prayerbabies: Lomond Hotel, Brunswick East

Steve Lucas: Mr Boogie Man Bar, Abbotsford Slyder + Me-Graines + Roy Mackonkey: Mr Boogie Man Bar, Abbotsford Asta: Northcote Social Club, Northcote Fraudband: Off The Hip, Melbourne Swing Patrol with Olivia Chindamo: Open Studio, Northcote Jim Jefferies: Palais Theatre, St Kilda David Ellefson + Harlott: Prince Bandroom, St Kilda

A U S S I E

M U S I C

the guide vic.gigguide@themusic.com.au La Danse Macabre with Brunswick Massive: Rainbow Hotel, Fitzroy

Chris Wilson: Yah Yah’s, Fitzroy

Jules Boult: Catfish, Fitzroy

The Doug Anthony Allstars: Yarraville Club, Yarraville

Avenue Q: Chapel Off Chapel, Prahran

Motel Love + The Shock Waves + DJ Adalita: Retreat Hotel, Brunswick

Adam Brand: York on Lilydale, Mt Evelyn

Scalphunter + Drifter + Muscle Car: Cherry Bar, Melbourne

Rebetiko: Retreat Hotel, Brunswick Jody & The Joyriders: Reverence Hotel (Front Bar), Footscray

New Dub City + Louis Majiwa + Major Delay: 303, Northcote

Timberwolf + Young Vincent + Forest Falls: Shebeen Bandroom, Melbourne

Eugene ‘Hideaway’ Bridges: Baha Tacos, Rye

Skyscraper Stan & The Commission Flats: Sooki Lounge, Belgrave

Catherine Britt: Bairnsdale RSL, Bairnsdale Sounds of Songlines - Help for WA: Bella Union, Richmond

Chalouche: The B.East, Brunswick East

Grace Knight: Bennetts Lane, Melbourne

Brockway Lights + Logic Defies Logic + Sub Rosa + Bad Uncle: The Bendigo, Collingwood

Hot Step feat. Various DJs: Bimbo Deluxe, Fitzroy

Scalphunter + Ganbaru + Coffin Wolf + Cosmic Kahuna: The Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick Luke Watt: The Drunken Poet, West Melbourne Pat Chow + Julia Why? + Rolling Perpetual Groove Show: The Espy (Front Bar), St Kilda Goatpiss Gasoline: The Fitzroy Pinnacle, Fitzroy North Dorsal Fins + Jacky Winter + Good Morning: The Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood Puddles Pity Party: The Hi-Fi, Melbourne The Pigs: The Loft, Warrnambool Kids Of Zoo + Ouch My Face + Flour: The Old Bar, Fitzroy Buttered Loaf: The Post Office Hotel, Coburg Corpus + The Union Pacific + Old Love + Employment: The Public Bar, Melbourne Andy Zaltzman: The Toff In Town, Melbourne Child + Holy Serpent + Grim Rhythm: The Tote, Collingwood Jake Clemons: The Westernport Hotel, Phillip Island Eatnoise Launch Party feat. The Strange + The Black Guild + The Rechords + James Grim’s Woodcutters: The Workers Club, Fitzroy

A Strange Day + See Saw + Spike: Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy Adam Brand + Matt Cornell: Flying Saucer Club, Elsternwick

LUCIE THORNE: 27 MAR THE BRIDGE HOTEL CASTLEMAINE

Lupine: Bar Open, Fitzroy

Horns Of Leroy: Spotted Mallard, Brunswick

Lucie Thorne & Hamish Stuart + Jimmy Dowling: The Bridge Hotel, Castlemaine

White Shoes + The Couples Company + Empat Lima + Parking Lot Experiments + DJ Nightwrk: Copacabana, Fitzroy

SAT 28

Fallopian Tunes feat. Document Swell + Big Yawn + Matthew Brown + Rites Wild: Boney, Melbourne Rock Godz 13 - Australia Def Leppard Show, Australian Bon Jovi show, The Australian Poison Tribute, The Ultimate KISS Tribute Show: Burvale Hotel, Nunawading Kevin Welch + Dustin Welch: Caravan Music Club, Oakleigh Melaluka: Catfish (Front Bar), Fitzroy Avenue Q: Chapel Off Chapel, Prahran DJ Lonewulf: Charles Weston Hotel, Brunswick Society of Beggars + Low Fly Incline + Battlesick + DJ Mermaid: Cherry Bar, Melbourne

Wonrowe Vision + Little House Godz + Turret: Mr Boogie Man Bar, Abbotsford

Skyscraper Stan & The Commission Flats: The Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood

The Meanies + Bad Vision + AD Skinner: Northcote Social Club, Northcote

Paul Foot: The Hi-Fi, Melbourne

The Ruling Motions: Open Studio, Northcote Jim Jefferies: Palais Theatre, St Kilda House of Laurence: Rainbow Hotel, Fitzroy The Graveltones + Wild Turkey: Retreat Hotel, Brunswick Dead Memory Fest feat. Wolfpack + Scalphunter + Postscript + Dead Joe + Torche + Laser Brains + more: Reverence Hotel (Band Room), Footscray Spookyland + The Trotskies: Revolver Upstairs, Prahran Ed Sheeran + Jamie Lawson + Conrad Sewell: Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne

Hozier + Dustin Tebbutt: Corner Hotel, Richmond

Bang feat. Secret Headliner + Take Us To Vegas + Renegade Armada + Incentives: Royal Melbourne Hotel, Melbourne

Knave Knixx: Edinburgh Castle Hotel, Brunswick

Conics: Shebeen Bandroom, Melbourne

Trinity Roots + Karl S Williams: Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy

David Francey + Lucy Wise: Spotted Mallard, Brunswick

Jake Clemons: Flying Saucer Club, Elsternwick

Simon Hudson Band: The B.East, Brunswick East

Rod Stewart: Hanging Rock Reserve, Woodend

Direblaze + Sarfaust + Dark Earth + Abbraxxas: The Bendigo, Collingwood

Big Smoke + Good Morning + Shiny Coin: Howler, Brunswick The Ocean Party + Red Spencer + Geoffrey O’Connor: Labour In Vain, Fitzroy Troublemekka + Jesse I + SK Simeon + Ee’da + more: Laundry Bar, Fitzroy

DJ Kez: Victoria Hotel, Brunswick

The Steve Martins: Lomond Hotel, Brunswick East

Phil Lyddy Trio: Wesley Anne (Front Bar), Northcote

Metaphoenix Launch Party: Loop, Melbourne

The Quarters + Gladstone + Dead Joe + Maefire: Whole Lotta Love, Brunswick East

Mania feat. Sleep D + Various DJs: Lounge, Melbourne Arj Barker: Melbourne Town Hall (Main Hall), Melbourne

The Rumjacks: The Bridge Hotel, Castlemaine Klara Zubonja: The Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick Heads & Bodies feat. Japanese Wallpaper + Lower Spectrum + Orlando Furious + Rara + Luke Howard + Tom Day + Leaks + more: The Curtin, Carlton

Puddles Pity Party: The Hi-Fi, Melbourne The Hills Are Alive festival: The Hill, Kernot Pete Convery + Bob Harrow + Alex Hamilton + The Penguin Classics: The Old Bar, Fitzroy Spoonful: The Post Office Hotel, Coburg Mesa Cosa + The Mighty Boys + Dumb Punts + Jurassic Nark + Purple Dck + Bone Soup Karaoke: The Public Bar, Melbourne

Rebels Without A Clue: Lomond Hotel, Brunswick East Sontagg feat. +PWD + Shedbug + Sam Hilton + Beenak: Lounge, Melbourne Wax On, Wax Off Vinyl Record Party: Lucky Coq, Prahran Arj Barker: Melbourne Town Hall (Main Hall), Melbourne The Peninsula Picnic feat. The Waifs + Paul Dempsey + Tinpan Orange + Pierce Brothers + Hayden Calnin: Mornington Racecourse, Mornington Lipstick and Spurs: Mr Boogie Man Bar, Abbotsford

Andy Zaltzman: The Toff In Town, Melbourne

Emery + Take Us To Vegas + Inventions + Fear Of Flying: Northcote Social Club, Northcote

Mutton + Bat Piss: The Tote (Front Bar), Collingwood

All Day Fritz: Open Studio, Northcote

The Controllers + Horror My Friend + The New Eyes + The Quarters: The Workers Club, Fitzroy

The Harmaniax: Rainbow Hotel, Fitzroy

Lucie Thorne & Hamish Stuart + Jimmy Dowling: Thornbury Theatre (Velvet Room), Thornbury

Ed Sheeran + Jamie Lawson + Conrad Sewell: Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne

Collard Greens & Gravy + The Gun Barrel Straights: Union Hotel, Brunswick Look Whos Toxic + The Escargo-Gos + Tally Hose: Victoria Hotel, Brunswick Vanderlay: Wesley Anne (Band Room), Northcote The Black Alleys + Red X: Yah Yah’s, Fitzroy The Doug Anthony Allstars: Yarraville Club, Yarraville

SUN 29

Klara Zubonja: 303, Northcote

Bec Goring: The Drunken Poet, West Melbourne

Symmetrix + Battlesick + Disco Computer: Bar Open, Fitzroy

Rockapalooza: The Espy (Gershwin Room), St Kilda

Jon Stevens + Ian Rickard: Caravan Music Club, Oakleigh

Danny Walsh Banned: The Fitzroy Pinnacle, Fitzroy North

The Rusty Terminals: Carters Public House, Northcote

S U P P O R T I N G

JVG Guitar Method with Jon Von Goes + Dale Lindrea + Ash Davies + Mark Ferrie: Labour In Vain, Fitzroy

I N D E P E N D E N T

A U S S I E

Z-Star: Retreat Hotel, Brunswick

Stump Dog: Royal Oak Hotel, Fitzroy North Brarsey Sundays feat. Funk Buddies: Spotted Mallard, Brunswick The Future Past + The Jackrabbits + Strum Rebellion + Catjump Road + Folkenhail Blues: The Bendigo, Collingwood Pork Chop Party: The Bridge Hotel, Castlemaine Illa Turba + Obscurum + Coffin Carousel: The Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick Jimmy Dowling + Shane O’Reilly + Van Walker: The Drunken Poet, West Melbourne Jam The Funk + Mayfield: The Espy (Front Bar), St Kilda The Hoodangers: The Fitzroy Pinnacle, Fitzroy North The Vanns: The Gasometer Hotel (1pm), Collingwood

M U S I C

the guide vic.gigguide@themusic.com.au The Vanns: The Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood Puddles Pity Party: The Hi-Fi, Melbourne The Hills Are Alive: The Hill, Kernot Sunday Session: The Middle Ferntree Gully Hotel (Beer Garden), Ferntree Gully Summer Blood + Apart From This + Party Vibez: The Old Bar, Fitzroy The Hornets: The Post Office Hotel, Coburg Sunday School feat. Coastal Shelf + Sweet Whirl + Sam Karmel: The Public Bar, Melbourne The Large Number 12s: The Standard Hotel, Fitzroy Down The Rabbit Hole with Nigel Last: The Toff In Town (Carriage Room), Melbourne The Midnight Scavengers + Naked Bodies + more: The Tote, Collingwood Karl S Williams: The Westernport Hotel, Phillip Island Jake Clemons: The Workers Club, Fitzroy Small Town Romance + Fenn Wilson: Union Hotel, Brunswick Freida le Bjorn: Wesley Anne (Band Room), Northcote

Eugene â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Hideawayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Bridges: Williamstown RSL, Williamstown

Pink Harvest + General Men + The Bleeding Flares: Cherry Bar, Melbourne

Emery + Take Us To Vegas: Wyndham Cultural Centre, Werribee

Jon Cleary & The Monster Gentlemen: Corner Hotel, Richmond

Flying Bison: Yah Yahâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, Fitzroy

AO - Electronic Music Night with Mow + Mimicry: Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy

MON 30

B3 Breakout: 303, Northcote

Keb Mo: Melbourne Recital Centre, Southbank

Trillcumber Comedy: Catfish (Upstairs), Fitzroy

Arj Barker: Melbourne Town Hall (Main Hall), Melbourne

Lalic + Sagamore + Dave Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Connor: Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy The Great Women of Country feat. Melinda Schneider + Beccy Cole: Her Majestyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Theatre, Ballarat God Bows To Math: Northcote Social Club, Northcote Paul WIlliamsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hammond Combo: Rainbow Hotel, Fitzroy Mutual Appreciation Society feat. Nick Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Mara + Alison Ferrier: Retreat Hotel, Brunswick Ed Sheeran + Jamie Lawson + Conrad Sewell: Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne

Zac Brown Band + Dispatch: Palais Theatre, St Kilda

DRUNK MUMS: 25 MAR CHERRY BAR

Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires + Wilsn: Corner Hotel, Richmond

Gena Rose Bruce + Mia Wray: Retreat Hotel, Brunswick The Daryl McKenzie Jazz Orchestra + Tamara Kuldin: The Apartment, Melbourne Mose & The Fmly: The Espy, St Kilda Rock & Pop Culture Trivia with+Jess McGuire & George H: The Gasometer Hotel (Front Bar), Collingwood Mundane Mondays with The Midnight Sol + Morpheme + Dream Fatigue: The Old Bar, Fitzroy Sulks + The Penguin Classics + Jason Bangs: The Public Bar, Melbourne

The Shelf (Season 11) with Justin Hamilton + Adam Richard: The Toff In Town, Melbourne

Discovery Night feat. The Archaic + Blind Thrills + Zephyr: The Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick

The Mary Goldsmiths: The Workers Club, Fitzroy

The Waifs: The Capital, Bendigo Performing Arts Centre, Bendigo

TUE 31

Switchfoot + Antiskeptic: 170 Russell, Melbourne Comedy Open Mic Night with Tom Ward: 303, Northcote See You Next Tuesday!: Bimbo Deluxe, Fitzroy Avenue Q: Chapel Off Chapel, Prahran

Ecca Vandal + Gatherer: The Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood Puddles Pity Party: The Hi-Fi, Melbourne David Ryan Harris + Morgan Joanel: The Toff In Town, Melbourne The Spirit of Dub + Trick Dog Syndicate + Astro & The Ages: The Workers Club, Fitzroy

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THE MUSIC • 25TH MARCH 2015 • 95

96 • THE MUSIC • 25TH MARCH 2015