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X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays
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X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays
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X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays
Buzzcocks
COCK ‘N’ BUZZ
The Buzzcocks’ trademark blend of hi-energy guitars and pop smarts has influenced every wannabe punk band since 1976 and resulted in a bevy of timeless tracks that resonate the world over. These UK punk pioneers are set to visit Australia in April as part of the Hoodoo Gurus’ Dig It Up! tour and will headline their own shows also. Tenacious D Original ‘Cocks Steve Diggle and Pete Shelley are once again at the helm and will lead Bringing it all back to the classic lineup that originally birthed their genius, Jack Black and Kyle Gass are back their band of merry pranksters through a veritable on tour as the comic rock genius that is Tenacious D. It’ll be their first trip back to Australia since the release feel-good punk rock jukebox. Secure your ticket of their Grammy-nominated third album, Rize Of The Fenix. They’ll be supported by guitarist Sasquatch and from Oztix outlets for the Thursday, April 18, gig at Australia’s own organ master, Barry Morgan on May 15 at Perth Convention Centre. Tickets on sale from 9am, Rosemount Hotel. Monday, February 25, through frontiertouring.com.au.
TENACIOUS TOUR
Donna Simpson, Quinnyfest
THE MIGHTY QUINNYFEST
It’s an event that has seen past performers rave about the location and atmosphere and it’s back again this weekend. Quinnyfest, rolls and rocks for all folks from Friday-Sunday, February 22-24 with a bustling line-up headed by Donna Simpson of The Waifs. Also on (smorgas) board will be Bill Chambers, Andrew Winton, Carus Thompson, Boom! Bap! Pow!, The Dave Mann Collective, The Domnicks, Tom Fisher & The Layabouts, Warning Birds, Polly Medlen Band, Wil Thomas, Davey Craddock &The Spectacles, Ryan Webb, Sneaky Weasel Gang and Lightning Jack. There’s free camping all weekend. Weekend tickets to Quinnyfest are $50 presale and $65 on the door and include free camping all weekend. Day tickets are $40 on the door (if available). For full details head to the Quindanning Inne’s Facebook page.
Lloyd Spiegel
ROCK-OFF CANCER Cradle Of Filth
SOMETHING DEMONIC THIS WAY COMES
Black metal poets, Cradle Of Filth are back with a new album and Australian tour that will see their sublime darkness descend on Metropolis Fremantle on Sunday, May 12. Their 10th studio full-length album, The Manticore & Other Horrors, can be likened to a bestiary, a collection of stories on monsters. The album has taken the band to heavier territory with a faster, punk vibe. Tickets are on sale next Monday, February 25.
8 Reactions/Comp Thing 11 Flesh 12 Music: Bloc Party/Band Of Frequencies/ Hiatus Kaiyote 14 Music: Temper Trap/ Raah Project/ Foals/ Apricot Rail 17 New Noise
This Saturday, February 23, sees Fremantle’s Fly By Night Club plays host to a fundraiser for the Cancer Council. A more worthy cause is hard to think of, and several top-flight musicians are in agreement, including legendary blues guitarist Lloyd Spiegel, Andrew Winton, folk-roots trio Wayfarer, Waiting4Andy, and John Ackroyd. Hear some excellent blues and roots while contributing to the fight against a disease that affects far too many what could be better. Doors at 6pm, tickets on the door, or from flybynight.org
Tame Impala
MO(O)RE IMPALA
Breakout local rockers Tame Impala, recently announced as the headline act for Groovin’ The Moo, have decided to feed their insatiable fans’ appetites even more, with a capital city tour. The Belvoir Amphitheatre plays host to the hometown heroes on Saturday, May 18. Click on over to ticketmaster.com.au to book.
19 Eye4 Cover: Folklahoma 20 Eye4 Movies: No/Roman Polanski: A Film Memoir 21 Eye4 Arts Stories 23 Arts Listings 25 Salt Cover: Greg Wilson 26 Salt: News/Huxley/ Shakers/ Test Pad 27 Salt: Madeon/ Zane Lowe 28 Salt: Club Manual 29 Salt: Rewind: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis 30 Scene: Live
Ellie Goulding
31 Scene: Local Scene 33 Tour Trails 34 Gig Guide 36 Volume Cover: UK indie-rock outfit, Bloc Party, are headed our way for Future Music Festival at Arena Joondalup on Sunday, March 3. See page 12 for our interview with bassist, Gordon Moakes. Salt Cover: Pioneer of ‘80s red-edit culture, Greg Wilson, will be joining another legend, George Clinton, at Metro City on Thursday, March 7. www.xpressmag.com.au
FUTURE: FINITE
Third release tix for Future Music Festival have officially sold out, but you can still snatch yourself up some final releasers, if you’re quick. They’re just five bucks more at $157 plus booking fee - worth it for the giant lineup on offer. Ellie Goulding, The Stone Roses, Dizzee Rascal and The Prodigy are just some of the acts that will be bringing the fun to Joondalup Arena on Sunday, March 3. Get into it.
PINING TURNS 20
RTRFM’s annual In the Pines this year celebrates 20 years of turning us on to the best local bands. This year’s event will again take place at Somerville Auditorium within the leafy grounds of the University of Western Australia on Sunday, April 21, with 20 past Pines bands set to plug in. Earlybird tickets are available for a short time only from rtrfm.com.au at $15 for RTRFM subscribers and $20 for the general public. Stay tuned for pinelicious updates. 7
with Casey Hayes... Send your name, address and daytime phone number to win@xpressmag.com.au with the name of the competition in the subject line or enter online at www.xpressmag.com.au. Snail mail entries can be sent to Locked Bag 31, West Perth 6872. Entries close 4pm Monday. By entering you agree to X-Press Magazine’s Terms and Conditions, which can be found online. All competition entries will automatically enable you to become an X-Press subscriber! No details will be given to a third party.
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Managing Editor Bob Gordon: editor@xpressmag.com.au Fashion Editor Emma Bergmeier: fashion@xpressmag.com.au Dance Music & Features Editor Jo Campbell: danceeditor@xpressmag.com.au Local Music & Arts Editor Travis Johnson: localmusicarts@xpressmag.com.au Gig & Event Guides Co-ordinator Casey Hayes - guide@xpressmag.com.au Entertainment Services Co-ordinator / Competitions Casey Hayes - win@xpressmag.com.au Photography Callum Ponton, Stefan Caramia, Daniel Grant, Sammy Granville, Matt Jelonek, Denis Radacic, Emma Mackenzie, Guang-Hui Chuan, Max Fairclough Contributing Writers Henry Andersen, Ashleigh Whyte, Nina Bertok, Shaun Cowe, Derek Cromb,Chris Gibbs,Alfred Gorman,George Green,Alex Griffin,Chris Havercroft, Joshua Hayes, Brendan Holben, Coral Huckstep, Rezo Kezerashvili,Tara Lloyd, Adam Morris, Andrew Nelson, Chloe Papas, Tom Varian, Ben Watson, Jessica Willoughby, Miki Mclay, Morgan Richards, James Manning, Joe Cassidy, Shane Pinnegar For band gigs and launches - plugyourgig@xpressmag.com.au
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Cirque Du Soleil
TAKE ME TO THE CIRCUS Tommy Lee & DJ Aero
MEET TOMMY LEE?!!!
Folklahoma
FOLKLAHOMA
X-Press Magazine & Fringe World present Folkahoma! A multi-venue, alt-folk micro-festival bringing Fremantle to life during the busy Fringe season. Some of WA’s best known and loved acts will be playing simultaneously throughout the night at three separate venues. The Buffalo Club plays host to James Teague, The Big Old Bears, Timothy Gordon and Anton Franc. The Navy Club lineup includes The Morning Night, Bears and Dolls and Lucy Peach and Freo mainstay, Clancy’s, catch Rachel and Henry Climb A Hill, Warning Birds and the Justin Walshe Duo. It’s all happening this Friday and we have double passes to give away for each venue, so email 9213 2854 your choice to win!
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Save Your Legs
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CAB AUDITED CIRCULATION: 38,000 OCTOBER 2011 – MARCH 2012
Deadlines EDITORIAL General: Friday 5pm,, Eye4 Arts: Thursday 10am, Comp’ Thing: Monday Noon,, Salt Clubs: Monday 5pm , Local Scene: Monday Noon,, Gig Guide: Monday 5pm ADVERTISING Cancellations: Monday 5pm, Ads to be set: Monday Noon Supplied Bookings / Copy: Tuesday 12 Noon, Classifieds: Monday 4pm Published by: Columbia Press Pty.Ltd. A.C.N. 066 570 803 Registered by Australia Post. Publication No PP600110.00006 Suite 55/102 Railway Street, City West Business Centre, West Perth, WA 6005 Locked Bag 31, West Perth, WA 6872 Phone: (08) 9213 2888 Fax: (08) 9213 2882 Website: http://www.xpressmag.com.au
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Advertisers and/or their agents by lodging an advertisment shall indemnify the publisher, and its agents, against all liability claims or proceedings whatsoever arising from the publication. Advertisers and/or their representatives indemnify the publisher in relation to defamation, slander, breach of copyright, infringement of trademarks of name of publication titles, unfair competition or trade practices, royalties or violation of rights or privacy and warrant that the material complies with revelant laws and regulations and that its publication will not give rise to any rights against or liabilities in the publisher, its servants or agents. Any material supplied to X-Press is at the contributor’s risk.
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LET US ENTERTAIN YOU
X-Press Magazine and Bankwest Movies by Burswood are teaming up to bring you the exclusive premiere of Save Your Legs. It’s a ‘coming of middle-age’ story of a man who refuses to lose his local cricket team to the realities of growing up. An uplifting adventure from the heart of Australia to the soul of India filled with comedy, cricket and Bollywood music. The night will kick off at 6.30pm with entertainment from DJ Charlie Bucket with gold coin donations going to Bankwest Movies by Burswood charities. Email us now to grab yourself a double pass to our exclusive night on February 27!
The opportunity to party with Tommy Lee doesn’t come around very often. He is joining DJ Aero at the Official Monster Tour after party. They are hitting the decks at Metro City straight after Kiss, Mötley Crüe and Thin Lizzy rock the Perth Arena February 28. We are giving away five exclusive VIP Prize packs to X-Press readers. This prize includes a meet and greet with Tommy Lee and VIP bar access. You gotta be in it to win it, email us now!
The Imposter
WHO THE HELL ARE YOU Neil Young
NEIL YOUNG: JOURNEYS
Luna Outdoor is screening Neil Young Journeys on Friday night. We have two double passes to giveaway! Journeys is a trip Jonathan Demme took with Neil Young on the last leg of his solo world tour, driving from his hometown Ontario to Toronto. This is Demme’s third documentary portrait of the singer and he manages to capture a personal look into the heart and soul of Young. Along the drive, you will hear stories from his youth, the tales of Young’s childhood masterfully woven together with his mesmerising music, including songs from the 2010 album Le Noise and his powerful classics. To win simply email us with “Hey Hey, My My Double Pass” in the subject line.
In 1994 a 13-year-old boy disappears without a trace from San Antonio, Texas. Three and a half years later he is found alive, thousands of miles away in a village in southern Spain with a story of kidnap and torture. His family is overjoyed to bring him home. But all is not quite as it seems. The boy bears many of the same distinguishing marks he always had, but why does he now have a strange accent? Why does he look so different? It’s only when an investigator starts asking questions that this tale takes an unbelievable turn. The Imposter is an amazing stranger than fiction, true documentary that will have you saying “whaaaat?” Email us to grab a double pass.
CLUBBERS GUIDE TO 2013
The Ministry of Sound Clubbers Guide To 2013 is loading up for its annual MOS Clubbers Guide to 2013 tour to guide you through the dance music of this year. The Perth stop of the tour stomps into Villa on Friday, March 22 and features the gents behind the double-pack, Denzal Park and Uberjak’d. We have two Boomtick prize packs for you, which include a double pass to the show, a copy of the CD and some Boomtick goodies. Let us know your favourite tune from 2013 to win!
I GIVE IT A YEAR
They always say that the first year of marriage is the hardest. I Give It A Year is a romantic comedy set in London from the makers of Notting Hill, Bridget Jones’s Diary & Love Actually. It’s all about the trials and tribulations of a young, I Give It A Year mismatched couple during their first year of marriage. Featuring a brilliant ensemble cast including Rose Byrne, Rafe Spall, Simon Baker, Anna Faris and Stephen Merchant, I Give It A Year is a modern and thoroughly enjoyable ride through love, chemistry and compatibility. Enter now to grab a double in season pass.
From the big top to the big screen, visionary filmmaker James Cameron and director Andrew Adamson (Shrek, Narnia) invite you on an all new 3D adventure to Cirque du Soleil Worlds Away. A must see if you have never had to chance to experience Cirque Du Soleil up close. The immersive 3D technology will allow you to leap, soar, swim, and dance with all the performers. Email us for your chance to win a double in season pass.
The Potbelleez
THE POTBELLEEZ
National and international dance act The Potbelleez are in town for a show at the Dusk Lounge Joondalup on Saturday night. A small and intimate show before they head off on their national tour, it’s your chance to get up close and personal with these kings of Australian dance music. They’ll be supported by some of Perth’s biggest DJ’s, it’s sure to be a big night. We have a double pass for the show, enter now and don’t miss out!
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X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays
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X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays
Mark Lanegan
MARK THE DAY
Nick Cave has announced the main support act for his upcoming tour with The Bad Seeds, and fans of the dark, doleful and strangely soulful will be glad to hear that it’s none other than Mark Lanegan. The former Screaming Trees mainstay has carved out a rock-solid reputation as an unblinking chronicler of lost love and lonely nights, and he and Cave on the same bill is a match made in heaven... or possibly the other place. Cave and Lanegan play the Red Hill Auditorium on Wednesday, March 6. Tickets from oztix.com.au
FRINGE NOMINEES
The Improved, Dirt, Kaput and Insomnia Cat Came to Stay have been announced as finalists for a FRINGE WORLD award. Finalists are selected by FRINGE WORLD judges and have to score at least four out of five stars with more nominees to come over six categories. FRINGE WORLD ends this Sunday, February 24, so head to fringeworld.com.au to see what’s on.
Micah
SUPER VISUAL
Micah, The Arsonist and Electronic DJs are to provide support for Sampology’s live AV set at Leederville Hotel, Friday, March 8. Sampology has gained an almost legendary rep for his audio-visual DJ sets. In 2011, Chris Lilley of Angry Boys/Summer Heights High fame asked Sampology to produce an audio and video remix for his suburban American hip hop character S. Mouse and in the same year iconic kids’ entertainers, The Wiggles got him to create an audio and video remix for their 20th anniversary tribute album ReWiggled. Tickets for the AV set are only $10 from Moshtix.
Jack Dee
THE DEE IS NOT SILENT
It’s been a good six years since the vastly talented Jack Dee brought his deadpan, downbeat comedy style to the stand-up stage, so this is one show that shouldn’t be missed. Presented as part of the Perth International Comedy Festival, Dee brings his sharp, satirical and terminally jaded worldview to The Astor Theatre on Thursday, April 25. Go to perthcomedyfest.com.au for tickets.
John Butler, Concert For The Kimberley`
CONCERT FOR THE KIMBERLEY People Have The Power
The debate about the proposed gas refinery development at James Price Point in the Kimberley has certainly been an emotive one in recent times. BOB GORDON reports.
Rotten Sound
FIENDS FROM FINLAND
Marking 20 years of offering up a never-ending stream of chaotic grindcore to their faithful fans, Finnish death-dealers Rotten Sound will descend upon Amplifier on Sunday, April 14, with all the fury we’ve come to expect. With DFC, Nails of Imposition, and Abhorrent along for the ride, it’s guaranteed to be savage spectacle. Head to oztix.com.au for tickets.
Margaret Cho
THE CHO MUST GO ON
The terrifically transgressive Margaret Cho brings her new show, Mother, to The Astor Theatre on Wednesday, April 24, as part of the Perth International Comedy Festival. For the multi-award-winning Cho, no topic is off limits and her show runs the gamut from gay bars to politics and every point in between. Head to perthcomedyfest.com.au for more details. www.xpressmag.com.au
The Concert For The Kimberley this Sunday has been organised as not only a rallying cry to save the landmark in question, but to educate people about the issue as well. “I guess in any campaign education is the biggest tool, isn’t it?” says John Butler, who will speak and perform at the event. “ I tend to think that people, armed with the facts, tend to make similar choices, no matter what side of the political, cultural or economic fence you’re on. When you’re given some plain, common sense facts, people can do the right thing by them. “I hope that’s what we do on Sunday; just present people with some facts and awareness on the issue and also to let them know that this is a massive issue and why it’s a massive issue. This is a very special place in our state that shouldn’t be totally industrialised for all the wrong reasons. We’d like to let people know they have a power and a voice and they are not alone.” An interesting point given the State Election is but three weeks away. As such, a standing invitation has been made to Premier Colin Bennett, Opposition Leader Mark McGowan and other parties to state their case. “It’s interesting with politicians, because it’s so close to the election you don’t want them to hijack the event for their own grandstanding,” Butler notes.“But at the same time it’s very powerful to have people like that around. “Unfortunately, Mr Cowan and Mr Barnett don’t really have any opinion other than, ‘if we can get it through we will’. Independents and Nationals don’t seem to have an opinion on it, either. The only people who do have an opinion and a stance on it are The Greens. I’m interested in inviting them
because they’re actually worded up on the facts and not just blindly pro on it; nor are they blindly anti on it, as well.” Again, education is a big part of the Concert For The Kimberley, not merely outright acceptance or denial. “There’s a huge, educational part of this which is that this is not an anti-mining or anti exploitation of resources campaign, this is campaign going, ‘why should we trash one of the most beautiful parts of the world to exploit a natural resource when we can exploit more easily, more cost effectively and in a less environmentally and culturally damaging way by piping it down to Karratha where there’s already gas refineries, where there’s already an industrial footprint?’ Where it’s actually cheaper. “There’ll be a bit of solidarity and information, but delivered in a way that doesn’t feel as though it’s been rammed down your throat. It’ll be in an enjoyable setting that makes you feel memorable and powerful.” MC’d by Peter Rowsthorne, the Concert for the Kimberley takes place at the Fremantle Esplanade this Sunday, February 24, from 1.30–6.30pm. 1.20pm - Press conference 1.50-2.05pm; Welcome to Country/Mayoral Welcome/Opening Speech 2.05-2.45pm; Ball Park Music 2.45-3.45pm; Speeches and March Through Fremantle 3.45-4.30pm; Missy Higgins 4.30-5:00pm; Speeches 5-6.15pm; John Butler Trio 11
up and say I was the first of us to read Phillip K. Dick because I suggested a band name based on a Phillip K. Dick book right in the beginning. I suggested we call the band ‘We Can Build You’ but that didn’t happen. “That thread has sort of run through things since I was probably about 21 and I discovered it by Sonic Youth, which is a record that is kind of inspired by Phillip K. Dick, so there’s kind of a circle of interest there. But I read it a lot and Russell used to read a lot - we would share books. Then Kele was the last to come to it, really. He probably read V.A.L.I.S. in the last year.” Interestingly, Moakes managed to sneak the We Can Build You reference into the latest Young Legionnaire EP, it being the title of one of tracks on the 2012 release.
Bloc Party
BLOC PARTY A More Grown Up Party After taking a two-year break, British indie rock outfit Bloc Party are back with a new album and a transcontinental tour that will see them perform at Future Music Festival on Sunday, March 3, at Arena Joondalup. JO CAMPBELL chats with bassist, Gordon Moakes, about the band’s new, reinvigorated approach. Exhausted from wall-to-wall touring following the release of their latest album, Four, in August last year, Gordon Moakes speaks in low tones down the line from Osaka. Is he tired? “Yes,” he quietly chuckles. “To be honest.” The tour actually started before the album’s release, with Moakes mentioning Byron Bay’s July’s Splendour In The Grass as one of the band’s early highlights after being apart since 2009. “It started off as a highlight really (being back on tour). To be back playing together and have that sense of anticipation and the love that was there from the audience that hadn’t gone away. “And there were also new fans. I look into the crowds and they don’t seem older. They seem like kids that are turned onto it.” During the break - which was somewhat controversial, with in-fighting being identified as one of its causes - Moakes formed the group, Young Legionnaire, with Paul Mullen of The Automatic and La Roux drummer, William Bowerman, releasing an album, Crisis Works, in 2011 and an EP, Wreckonomics, last year. Vocalist, Kele Okereke, also released his first solo album, The Boxer. Moakes is honest - with just
a tad of subterfuge - when asked if Bloc Party had always intended to reform after the break. He coughs.“Yeah. Let’s say yes,” he says with classic British tongue-in-cheek. “I mean, there had been a general consensus that it wouldn’t hurt to just throw everything we had at the guitar and just turn up the volume pedals and you know, just show off a bit. In terms of interaction, I think we had to grow up a bit and start being a bit more mature and stop being like teenage boys in a rock band - sulky, just trying to get by on our looks, kind of thing. “We had to start realising that this was our job, our career and if we want to do it and make it work, we had to learn to sit down and discuss what just happened and get over yourself, basically. “It’s (the break) made it... I think it’s made it more human. And made it easier to do and easier for us to enjoy. To be more grown up and appreciate what we do and be able to discuss our differences of opinion and try to find common ground instead of fighting against each other.” Another single from the album, Truth, which has been expanded into a full EP with remixes, drops
next week on Frenchkiss Records and features an impressive video clip that Moakes says was a bit on the uncomfortable side to shoot. “The interesting thing about that video was that it was shot at the end of a week after stuff we’d been doing - touring and TV and things. And we were already pretty kind of whacked. We had to be there really early because they wanted to get as much daylight as possible, and for us, probably 80-90 per cent of the shoot was jumping up and down on trampolines and then we had to film into the night to get the night shots. And it was, what? November - it was cold. “So it was quite a difficult day. I remember being completely, just destroyed by it. I couldn’t move for a day-and-half afterwards, I was absolutely exhausted. But you know, I think the video is a really nice portrait of the band; as people; our faces; our bodies and movement, and that’s pretty nice.” Another track on Four, V.A.L.I.S., betrays the outfit’s collective interest in sci-fi, referencing the title of a Phillip K. Dick novel. So who is the main sci-fi nerd in the band? “It’s funny,” he laughs, “I would have said me, initially. Because I was the first, I can put my hand
BAND OF FREQUENCIES
HIATUS KAIYOTE
Wave Resonance
Koru Calling
Fresh from winning the ‘Blues/Roots’ award at the 2012 Queensland Music Awards, Band Of Frequencies head to WA for a slew of shows starting at Mojos this Saturday, February 23; the Indi Bar on Sunday, February 24, and Ellington Jazz Club on Wednesday, February 27, before heading down South (see Tour Trails for further dates). Frontman, Shannon Sol Carroll, speaks to SABIAN WILDE.
Hiatus Kaiyote perform at the Chevron Festival Gardens on Thursday, February 21, along with Jose James. BOB GORDON speaks with vocalist, Nai Palm.
Perth should welcome Band Of Frequencies like a long-lost brother (albeit from another mother). There’s something about their love of the ocean, expressed in a blend of guitar-powered psychedelia they call ‘coastal roots’; it resonates with our own surf culture. Shannon Sol Carroll says it was an honour to win the QMA ‘Blues/Roots’ award, especially given the calibre of other nominees, but admits Band Of Frequencies draws from a broad range of influences. “There are ingredients in the melting pot that come from being stoked on an artist, a track or an album, something that has moved us at some stage in our progression,” he says. “Every time that happens somewhere deep in my psyche I have these moments of, ‘Note to self: Write and record a track with that feel one day’. It’s not really intentional though, it’s just how we’ve formed as artists.” The band’s name refers to a theory that people vibrate at certain frequencies, the lowest being fear and hate and the highest being love and compassion. Which is pretty bad news for the bass player, you might think. “Ha! Gold! I reckon our bass player OJ Newcomb’s sub tones could dissolve the fear and hate out of anyone, especially when he’s rocking the ukelele bass,” Carroll laughs. “The vibrational frequency range of sub atomic particles and even thoughts that we refer 12
Band Of Frequencies, headline dates in WA plus a Nannup Festival appearance on Saturday, March 2 to in that concept is super high and far beyond the range of human hearing and/or musical instruments. But it’s all vibration, so I see no reason why our instruments and intentions can’t affect the whole frequency spectrum in some way energetically. “Mind you, I’m a musician not a quantum physicist, so I’m always open to hear new and evolving theories on the subject. The book Nada Brahma, or The World Is Sound, is a great read for anyone who’s interested.” With respect to that theory, Band Of Frequencies tend toward the positive. Their psychedelia is uplifting rather than mind-muddying and their lyrics offer a positivity that seems realistic rather than naive or preachy. “A lot of the songs on Rise Like The Sun have come about through painful and turbulent times,” says Carroll. “I do get more of an urge to write from those emotions for some reason. “I don’t really see the point in just expressing a negative emotion with no remedy.”
One of the left-field highlights of the Chevron Festival Gardens season could well be Melbourne’s Hiatus Kaiyote, whose multifarious musical wares shine through on their debut LP, Tawk Tomahawk, an album which reveals more nuances upon each listen. “It’s not intentional, but I guess we don’t write complicated music to have longevity in the sense that it’s always fresh, but it’s kind of nice if that’s what happens,” ponders vocalist, Nai Palm. “My favourite music tends to grow on me as well. I think it’s kind of rare to find that nowadays.” The term ‘future soul’ has been oft-leveled at Hiatus Kaiyote. Yet while such descriptions can be limiting, it seems that the music will always free the band itself. “People can call it what they want to call it, it has a purpose,” Nai Palm says. “As far as the creative side, if people want to put a genre on it, it doesn’t limit you. We’re all just making the music we want to create, it’s an expression and an experiment. It’s interesting, we have been called ‘jazz’ on triplej Unearthed, yet Nakamara is in the ‘electronic’ section. But we recorded that in a room with five mics. “It’s a strange one. I guess we get off on creating genres.” Nai Palm seems as vibrant and complex as the band’s music itself. When a pet crow that she was hand-rearing scratched her by accident around the chin, she had the mark tattooed in. It was a hugely symbolic gesture. “She’d fly from her tree to my bed and wake me up throughout the night to be fed,” Nai Palm explains. “One morning she landed on me and I got a scratch. I had her as a baby when she couldn’t look after herself and after I released her I still had the scratch. It was my first tattoo, actually. Her name was ‘Koru’ which is the Maori word which symbolises birth, death, rebirth and reincarnation. I am orphan and for me, looking after an orphan completed myself.
“(The break) made it... I think it’s made it more human. And made it easier to do and easier for us to enjoy. To be more grown up and appreciate what we do and be able to discuss our differences of opinion and try to find common ground instead of fighting against each other.” Bloc Party have at times moved away from the guitar-led sound they started with on Silent Alarm, experimenting with electronic elements and unusual instruments, with Moakes having taken up glockenspiel and synths such as the Korg X50. With Four, he says the band’s new and more mature approach saw things being slightly more planned out. Just a little. “We started out in the spirit of not wanting to write the same song more than once you know, once we’d done something we felt like trying something else. And that started with mood and tone and then went on with instrumentation and genre but I think with this record we talked a lot about what we wanted to do and there were things that we had to try. “It wasn’t so much like ‘we must do something that’s different’ or compound expectations, but we just sort of relished this idea of just turning up and plugging and making a racket, sort of thing. I never know what’s coming next. Kele is always brooding on it, on an idea of what he wants to do next and usually, we’ll just try and figure it out between us and the end result is probably how the four of us interpret that.”
Hiatus Kaiyote “So essentially why I tattooed it in was because you can have a lesson in life, but when you experience it again it becomes a wisdom. So for me it felt like a symbol of letting go of what I love; in the physical sense, when you love something it becomes a part of you. I guess from losing my mother and father I really knew how to process those emotions. It felt really right to do. Women all around the world get chin tattoos as an initiation into womanhood; in Borneo, Algeria, in Papua New Guinea and the Maori people. So for me it was a connection to something more ancient.” After their Perth show Hiatus Kaiyote will head to the US for shows at SouthBySouthWest, New York and LA, before returning for a national tour in April. There’s lots to look forward to. “It’s the first international tour as a band,” Nai Palm enthuses. “I went to New York and LA representing the band and I just got back from the BBC Worldwide Music Awards where we got ‘Breakthrough Artist Of The Year’ and performed at that solo. “It’s great to see those places but it’s a different thing when it’s with your family. It’ll be great to do it with the whole line-up.” X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays
www.xpressmag.com.au
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THE RAAH PROJECT THE TEMPER TRAP
Genre B. Good The Temper Trap
Enough Mope The Temper Trap have dominated the rock music scene nationally and internationally over the past few years. CHLOE PAPAS chats to bassist, Jonny Aherne, about success and their upcoming album ahead of their appearance at Future Music Festival on Sunday, March 3, at Arena Joondalup. For a dude from a band that has had an absolutely amazing few years, Jonny Aherne is a very down to earth guy. When X-Press gives him a call at his home in London, he’s just about to head into the studio.“We’ve had a bit of down time wrapping up the touring cycle for our second record, but now we’re starting to write again. It’s pretty cool.” The Temper Trap have been on the up since releasing their massive single Sweet Disposition in 2009, topping charts, winning awards, being name-dropped by Bono, and touring non-stop – not to mention releasing their second, self-titled album, which went platinum in Australia. But, when asked how they’ve dealt with the level of success that has been thrust upon them, Aherne doesn’t seem fazed. “You know, I haven’t really spent a lot of time thinking about it! We still feel like there’s a few more shows, so maybe when this album’s all finished up we’ll be a bit more retrospective. You know, people talk about the second record and say it can be really – you can really mess things up and go backwards. But it feels like we kept our momentum, kept going, and that feels really good.” This is the first time that the band are discussing their third record, and Aherne is a little hesitant to give away too many details – mostly because nothing has quite been finalised. He confirms, however, that they are all currently writing, and will
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be laying down tracks towards the second half of the year. Last time around, the group wrote and recorded the entire record together – but Aherne says that this record will be a little different. “This writing is going to be the most random – it’s already the most random. Half of us have learnt how to record on our laptops this year, so I’ve spent the last year writing a lot of songs – most of them are pretty crap, but a couple of them might work. So we’re doing it that way. Plus, the whole band isn’t going to be there. Right now, Dougy (Mandagi, vocalist) is in LA, he’s working with all sorts of crazy songwriter people –heaps of producers, and he’s writing for other artists - but in the process he’s going to learn a lot about expanding his thoughts on music or how he uses his vocals. He’s there for a month right now, and we’re writing without him, so already this third album is strange – things are getting mixed up, in a good way.” The five-piece’s last release was often referred to in the media as a ‘dark’ album – while it still held the same big, Temper Trap sound, the lyrics and tones were much more sombre than their first offering. So, what can we expect to hear on the third album? “I think as The Temper Trap, we do uplifting rock songs pretty well, so there’s definitely some of that – but there also seems to be sort of… a bit of groove and there’s some dancey drum beats and poppy bass lines. We’ll see what happens, but I’m kind of sick of mopey songs, I want to play something fun!”
The Raah Project performs at the Chevron Festival Gardens on Friday, February 22, and at the Albany Entertainment Centre on Saturday, February 23. BOB GORDON reports. Tamil Rogeon is busy in the studio. This is not unusual as he’s often working on orchestral commissions when not performing with The Raah Project, who released a debut album, Score, in 2012. Even so, this phonecall finds him behind the desk, laying final touches to a new Raah Project album. “We’re getting pretty close,” Rogeon notes. “We should have it done and released within the next couple of months.” And how’s it sounding? “We sort of didn’t want to depart too much from what we did on the first one,” he explains, of the album that lauded by the likes of Giles Peterson and Matthew Herbert. “The ensemble is very much the same in that it’s like strings with a big band that’s been processed and remixed, but at the same time we’re investigating some faster tempos. We want to keep that direction, but introduce a few more elements here and there.” It’s all about the elements. Rogeon and vocalist, Ryan Ritchie, first collaborated in a band called True Lies, a punk/rock/hip hop ensemble that co-exists with The Raah Project and actually performed for the Perth Festival in 2007. The Raah Project is the culmination not only of the pair’s musically commonalities, but equally their differences. “Our commonalities are the love for orchestral music, fused with a modern, electronic sound,” Rogeon considers. “ I guess I err a bit more on the jazz/classical side of things and Ryan errs more towards the pop/urban culture side of things, but we both love a lot of the same things.
“I studied jazz for quite a few years. I’m a violinist, after school I studied jazz and through producing films scores I got into mixing and blending classical music with jazz and electronica. The collaboration with Ryan was perfect in that he presented a great knowledge of hip hop, trip hop and drum’n’bass, plus most of the genres I was into as well.” While it may seem surprising to many how genres can be so different yet blend so well when actually brought together, Rogeon says it all makes sense. “There’s certain fundamentals in music that will make for genre cross-pollenisation easy, or fluent,” he says. “Hip hop and jazz are quite obvious genres to blend, because they share so much in common, rhythmically. “Classical music with beats seems like quite an obvious thing to work as well, in that there’s so much rich, harmonic language and information that can be blended with rhythms, be that in dubstep or trip hop. They work really well.” The Raah Project’s WA shows will feature a 16-piece ensemble, combining a string quartet with horns and rhythm section behind Rogeon and Ritchie. The melding of many genres and styles has given Rogeon and interesting take on the so-called rules of music. “I don’t think there are any rules. Not these days, anyway. I s’pose it helps to know what you’re not doing (laughs). But the spirit of innovation is all about breaking rules. “But rules are good, too, in that we create our own rules to give ourselves a framework to work within. If you don’t have parameters with your work, the sound and the musical direction can get a bit blurred or unclear.”
X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays
APRICOT RAIL Quarrelsome
Apricot Rail
Apricot Rail launch their second album, Quarrels, this Saturday, February 23, at the Rosemount Hotel with help from Fall Electric, Spirit Level and Zealous Chang. CHRIS HAVERCROFT speaks with guitarist, Jack Quirk. Foals
FOALS
Bone Factory After playing around Australia on the Big Day Out, FOALS’ new album, Holy War, debuted at #1 on the ARIA Album Chart. BOB GORDON chats to guitarist, Jimmy Smith.
On the release of their self-titled debut album a few years back the unassuming Apricot Rail built a reputation as one of the finest young bands in Perth. College Radio in the US was giving the band a fair amount of airtime too, but just as things looked set to explode Apricot Rail seemingly disappeared. Guitarist Jack Quirk and drummer Matt Saville were overseas for around 18 months as exchange students and those types of things tend to slow the momentum of a band. Upon the return of Quirk and Saville, Apricot Rail started to cast their eye towards a new album. The four intervening years ensured that the members were entrenched in their full-time jobs, or living on a farm, as well as being parents, so Quarrels would be a trickier
record to navigate than the debut. Eventually they took the unusual step of heading out to the wheat belt to record – not a place notorious for many of Perth’s better known productions to date. “Ambrose (Nock, guitar) grew up on a farm in West Yorkrakine,” explains Quirk of the out-of-theway wheatbelt locale. “We had recorded our first ever demo, From Quetta to Malatya, there mid-way through 2008 when it was just Matt, Ambrose and myself available - this was a great success for us, with the lo-fi demo getting lots of play on RTR and interest from Hidden Shoal Recordings which encouraged us to record a full-length. We had decided as a band it would be a great place to go to and pop-up a recording studio there. Though the recording/writing
process was marred by a number of disasters (a car write off, a car breakdown, a perfect storm leading to two days of power outage), it was a great experience.” For fans of Apricot Rail, Quarrels will offer many a recognisable sound with a few subtle changes. The songs breathe a little more this time around and are prone to more quiet moments. Add to this some understated electronica and Apricot Rail have succeeded in the difficult task of growing in a way that will bring their audience along, instead of working against them. “We’ve always been self-conscious of being labelled post-rock. And probably more so now than ever. With the first disc we were always trying to condense dynamic build ups in to shorter periods than your traditional post-rock band and that is likely because we’ve never considered ourselves as such. The influence of twee/pretty electronica on most members of the band probably led to the quieter moments of electronic experimentation and the lack of ‘rock’ probably comes from us all getting older.” Quarrels gets a hometown launch this weekend and the band intends to spread the word around the country as the year rolls on. “I’m pretty keen to get to Big Sound in Brisbane this year,” states Quirk. “Hopefully some shows over East, likely co-shows with the Apricot Rail brother band called perth (whose debut LP, Babes Water Waves, was released in 2012). It would be good to start putting together a third album and now that Quarrels is out of the way I think the band has matured and everyone is less self-conscious. Hopefully this leads to an easier and less contentious writing period and the songs flow freely.”
FOALS new album, Holy Fire, has been hotly anticipated. When the first single, Inhaler, went up on iTunes in January, it garnered many fan comments expressing interest in the evolution of the band’s sound, but relief that it still had a foot in their musical past. It’s a conundrum for musicians who want to follow their natural musical progression: just how mindful can a band be of fans who want them to stay the same? “It’s weird,” says FOALS guitarist, Jimmy Smith, backstage during the recent Big Day Out. “You could think about it all day and night but it doesn’t really matter, because it all comes down to when we start writing. “Nothing affects the way we write, really. With the sonics you can change how stuff sounds but with the actual make-up of songs you can’t be like, ‘let’s make this like an old song’; it has to be whatever happens at that point. Whatever comes out. “That’s from my point of view, and I’m pretty sure it ’s the same as everyone else’s, but I feel we’re lucky in that the way we play our instruments kind of lends itself to our own sound, anyway. I don’t think we have to worry too much about straying too far. It ’s almost an unconscious thing, writing. Then we have to deal with the mess afterwards (laughs).” And it’s a bloody good mess, too. FOALS have gone from an indie band playing clubs to a big stage concern and Holy Fire sounds like it. Not that this was a consideration either. “No, it just sounds bigger this record,” Smith says. “I don’t know why. Maybe because of (producers) Flood and Mulder. They’ve done a lot of stuff which I’m only just really kind of noticing. I don’t really listen to the record that much, in fact I only just started listening to it again. I listen to other records (laughs). “ Pe r h a p s s u b c o n s c i o u s l y i t has affected how we write music now, because we do play bigger venues. We do bigger tours. It’s just what’s happening. It’s not like we can choose to do small clubs. Well, we can, but it would be suicide for us. You have to go with the way it’s going, you’d have to be an absolute idiot not to. But we definitely don’t sit down and write songs to fill arenas. We’re just not that band.” Part of the album’s freshness and power must come down to the fact that when the band members thought they were capturing demos when they were actually recording takes. It makes sense (when it works out). “ We’d done a month of preproduction in our own little studio in Oxford,” Smith recalls. “Then when we finally got to their studio, they were like, ‘we’ll just set up for a few days and start running through the songs’. That’s when they recorded them. In that two weeks without knowing it we’d basically laid down the bones of like the whole record. And with a lot of the songs there’s very little done to them, very little editing. “I guess we got a natural, fresh approach that way. There was no red light syndrome (laughs).” www.xpressmag.com.au
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GLENN FREY
West Coast Eagle Glenn Frey performs with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra this Sunday, February 24, at Kings Park & Botanic Garden, with support from Ross Wilson & The Peaceniks John Paul Young & The Allstar Band. BOB GORDON reports. Glenn Frey has been around the musical block. He plays in The Eagles, for chrissake, but there’s something amazingly appealing about playing with a symphony orchestra. “Well, obviously it’s big,” he says down the line from LA. “You know, when you do records, often you’ll use synthesised strings and there’s some really sophisticated sounds now, but there is nothing like having the real people there playing. “As a singer it’s uplifting... it’s transcendent. I’ve done it a few times and every time we’ve walked off stage the guys in the band and I have gone, ‘that wasn’t long enough! We need to do this again’. For a singer, it’s a magic carpet ride. To be surrounded by that angelic, musical fabric is fantastic. “I sing Take It Too The Limit and Desperado in the show with the orchestra. It’s just another dynamic, you know? It’s very fulfilling and kind of mystical.” In recent times Frey has added ‘College Professor’ to his impressive resume, taking a songwriting class at New York University’s Steinhardt Department of Music. “I learned a lot about what my teaching partner and I called ‘teaching the unteachable’. The songwriting thing is a quirky, strange, animal. But there are rules and there’s certain guidelines, I think, that can be discussed. I had a lot of film scoring students at NYU and they were very accomplished musicians who had never written a song before. Which is very different from someone who picked up a guitar, learnt 10 chords and then wants to be Bob Dylan. These people were coming from a different place. “What it did as well was reinforce my belief in the popular song. Sometimes you look at the music business now and you think that things don’t
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Glenn Frey really look so great. And then you have an experience like I did teaching at NYU and you meet a bunch of young kids who have such enthusiasm and so much talent and are so open and needing only more experience to temper their spirit and then I become hopeful again. So that was a nice part of the teaching experience, the fact that these young students gave me hope.” Frey had recently returned from the Sundance Film Festival where Part I of The Eagles documentary film premiered to quite some acclaim. The Eagles are an ongoing concern, but for the moment the idea of performing with WASO on Sunday in Perth is rather all-consuming. “It should be a pretty bitchin’ night. I can’t wait to get out there on the West Coast of Australia. I’ve heard great things about Kings Park... and that you just have to make sure you play louder than the kookaburras.” Yes, they do tend to gather and laugh at the most inopportune moments. “Yeah? Well that’s okay. I’ve been heckled before.”
X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays
VARIOUS Son of Rogues Gallery Anti
NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS Push The Sky Away Kobalt
It’s a very rare artist who, as their career approaches its fourth decade, can release new material that remains as constant, vital and intense as their most lauded work. Bob Dylan, even, has wilted in moments. Tom Waits, in a lesser amount of time, retains his glow and Nick Cave joins him. Following 2008’s Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!! and the second Grinderman album, Push The Sky Away finds Cave once again in a more gentle, beatific mode. With long-time sideman Mick Harvey having vacated the collaborator seat to Warren Ellis, the prolific pair have created a lulling, caressing, yet foreboding suite of music. It’s familiar but it sure ain’t old. We No Who U R kicks off the proceedings, a signature Cave ballad spiced by Jim Sclavunos’ percussion and Ellis’s eerie, siren-like violin. Water’s Edge features Ellis’s violin walking off in its own dream, away from a cutting, rhythmic bass, as Cave ruminates on the local boys drooling over the city girls who flock to his beachside hometown of Brighton. Companion pieces, Jubilee Street and Finishing Jubilee Street, revel in different affairs conducted with Ellis’ tenor guitar, Martyn Casey’s bass ruminating over the remains. While the titular closing track provides a heavenly, if eminently cloudy, finish, it is the penultimate song, Higgs Boson Blues, teaming Robert Johnson and Miley Cyrus together in lyric for the first (and, likely, last) time, that prevails as the slow-burning epic on this release. From laureate to larrikin, from foul to finessed, Nick Cave remains as a master of all he surveys.
JIM JAMES Regions Of Light And Sound Of God
THE BRONX The Bronx IV
Spunk
Has it really been five years since The Bronx released one of their invariably-eponymous albums? Certainly, they’ve not been slack in the interim, having dished out two offerings under their Mariachi El Bronx tex-mexflavoured moniker, but yes - it’s been quite some time. You could call The Bronx IV a return to form, except they’ve never really been off form. This latest salvo represents a refinement of technique rather than a new direction, although it does drift more towards the ‘90s hard rock/grunge end of the spectrum, rather than sticking to the rather straitened label of hardcore punk Too Many Devils, for example, could sit quite comfortably in any given Seattle Sound compilation with no one being much the wiser. Vocalist, Matt Caughthran, is in top form, throaty and erudite in equal measure, as evidenced by cracking opening track, The Unholy Hand. Though there are tonal variations - witness Torches for a more downbeat example - on the whole this is a goodtime party album, a fist-pumper of the first order. To be fair, it doesn’t really capture the ferocity of The Bronx in a live setting but, then again, no album thus far ever has. Fans will be well pleased, and those who have yet to sample the riff-tastic pleasures of the band could do worse than make this LP their first port of call - as a statement of intent, it’s pretty much perfect.
White Drugs/Shock Records
The original Rogues Gallery was a novelty album, to be sure, but it was a surprisingly enjoyable one. It could have been a cheap cash-in on the phenomenally popular Pirates Of The Caribbean film series, and the presence of Johnny Depp and Gore Verbinski as ‘Executive Producers’ indicated that this might be the case, but the wealth of talent recruited for the project meant that, instead, we got a rollicking dose of dirty, violent, sexy fun. This is more of the same, and that’s a good thing. If anything, the roster of contributors legendary producer Hal Willner has pulled together this time is even more impressive. Tom Waits and Keith Richards kill it on the greasy, fuzzy Shenandoah, and Nick Cave, along with constant companion Warren Ellis, crops up again to help out Shilpa Ray on Pirate Jenny. There are few disappointments, although only the most ardent of fans couldn’t admit that Shane McGowan’s voice is all but knackered these days, if his work on opening track, Leaving of Liverpool, is anything to go by. Still, that’s a minor quibble at best. Everyone involved - and this particular gallery includes Michael Stipe, Courtney Love, Frank Zappa, Patti Smith, Iggy Pop, Beth Orton and more - seems to having a blast, and odds are you will too. This is music to drink rum by and we could always use more of that.
Jim James has been fronting My Moring Jacket for 15 years as they have matured from an alt. country band to become one of the most exciting live acts on the planet. Over the journey their albums have become somewhat more experimental and it is this approach that James looks to foster on his debut solo album, Regions Of Light And Sound Of God. James draws his inspiration from the 1929 graphic novel God’s Man for this outing, with most of the songs being fully formed in his head as he set out for many of his long walks. This release gave James the opportunity to play most of the instruments himself which is a luxury he doesn’t have in his full-time project, and it is this feature that ensures Regions Of Light And Sound Of God differs greatly from the My Morning Jacket albums. The aim for James was to create music that sounded like it was from a different era, yet to do so he again finds himself drawing on soulful grooves and R&B. Dear One is one such smooth slide into melody, even taking into consideration its distorted undertones. The acoustic New Life is the straight-ahead croon that would have been expected from the solo outing of a revered front man. Regions Of Light And Sound Of God uncovers more of the genius of Jim James’ musical mind even if it isn’t his most immediate moment.
_ TRAVIS JOHNSON
_ CHRIS HAVERCROFT
_ TRAVIS JOHNSON
_ BOB GORDON
MY BLOODY VALENTINE mbv mybloodyvalentine.org
After making everyone wait more than two decades for a new My Bloody Valentine album, mbv abruptly landed on the band’s website last week. Having been wearing this mythical status for so long, it was a jolt that Kevin Shields and company had suddenly granted us access to nine new songs. The opening song, She Found Now, is almost disappointingly familiar on first listen, sounding like a lost track from the Loveless sessions. With Isn’t Anything and Loveless now such established classics, it’s easy to forget that their music has always taken its time to grow on you. There’s wider variation moving further into the album. Is This And Yes drops the guitars and cuts Bilinda Butcher’s intimate vocals adrift on ambient organ chords, while New You is a sweet pop song and easily the most accessible thing on here. The last three songs on the album play about with scattershot jungle beats, the percussion taking the lead over the gauzy guitars, but everything a muddy, bloody glorious mess. Shields had been dropping drum and bass beats over layered guitars back in the mid-’90s and the eventual outcome is not as dodgy as it sounds. In Another Way is a particularly strong cut and marks a welcome shift in tone for the album’s final third, though the breakbeat crossover is a dated experiment that highlights the album’s main flaw: it only really sounds like a new album if the year happens to be 1993. It certainly isn’t an album that flicks a switch to mark a new direction, but when it all comes together to form a record on par with the band’s highly original and influential efforts from the ‘90s, you can excuse them for not being cutting edge. _ CHRIS GIRDLER
TIM McGRAW Tim McGraw & Friends Curb Records/Sony
You can tell by the size of his hat and the fact that he still has the same goatee that was last fashionable in the early ‘90s that Tim McGraw is a worldwide country music superstar. So large is his fanbase that McGraw is in the Top 10 selling American artists of modern times. Tim McGraw & Friends is a compilation of some of the duets that he has inflicted on us during this time. Sail On was a fantastic tune when originally released, but with McGraw joining Lionel Ritchie on this version, we are reminded why Ritchie only ranks slightly higher than Meat Loaf when it comes to grand final entertainers these days. Twisted is a strong exhibit for why country music and rap don’t mix. It is hard to know where McGraw or Colt Ford are most responsible for this travesty so nether should be spared your scorn. Country godfather Kenny Rogers gets out of this train wreck being able to hold his head high, as does Gwyneth Paltrow – but mostly because she had nothing to lose to begin with. Surrounding himself with a swag of wellknown singers (and Gwyneth Paltrow) to aid his strut through this collection doesn’t alter the fact that McGraw is a terribly stale and boring performer. The best thing he has ever done musically is lend his name to the title of a Taylor Swift song. _ CHRIS HAVERCROFT www.xpressmag.com.au
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X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays
FOLKLAHOMA! Fremantle gets a taste fine Fringe World frivolity this Friday, February 22, in the form of Folklahoma!, an alt-folk min-fest playing at various venues across the port city. Head to fringeworld.com.au for details and ticketing. TRAVIS JOHNSON has a word with Adrian Hoffman of The Morning Night, whose new music video, A Ride With Violence, will be launched as part of Folkahoma! at The Navy Club, with support from Bear and Dolls and Lucy Peach.
THE MORNING NIGHT
Rachel And Henry Climb A Hill
James Teague
www.xpressmag.com.au
Plenty of creative relationships last a long time; think of the countless pensionable rock outfits who, not content to feed off the revenue of their greatest hits packages, continue to pump out new albums. The thing is, The Morning Night are in with a chance to beat most, if not all of them, in the longevity game, if only because they got something of head start. You see, the roots of this Perth-based alt-country outfit can be traced back to the primary school friendship between guitarist/singer Adrian Hoffman and drummer Jesse Brown. “It’s really good,” Hoffman says of their longstanding collaboration. “We’re best mates, and Jesse, fortunately, he’s really easy to work with. He’s obviously a very good drummer, and he understands the direction you’re going for. He takes criticism or advice really well, and he plays for the song, you know? He’s not up there to show off. That really works for me, because I get to do all the showing off. He’s a really good guy and he’s really easy to work with. And, as I said, we both have the same love of music and we’re into the same things; we both have an idea of how we want things to sound and where we want them to go, so yeah - it’s not hard at all, fortunately.” It’s also been a fruitful partnership; The Morning Night, now a six-piece band, have released an acclaimed EP, Decide What You Want, and an album, Otis, that was produced by Rick Raymi of The Brian Jonestown Massacre, and featured guest appearances from Graham Lee of the Triffids and Richard Lane of The Stems. Their latest project is the video clip to the second single from Otis, A Ride with Violence, which is being launched as part of the Folklahoma! mini-festival. “We definitely wanted to do another clip for the album,” Hoffman explains. “As we’ve only had one. That song really stood out for us. It goes down really well live, and it’s a bit more upbeat than our first single, Calm Me Down, and it got played on triple j, so it sort of seemed like the right one to pick. We thought the kids would like it, you know?” Directed by Aaron Moss of Seventh Continent Productions, the clip was shot at the house of keyboardist Chloe Mcgrath, although the way Hoffman describes it, the process was more like a party than anything else. “We got a bunch of friends over the dress up and play their roles, so each scene’s just in a different room or in the back yard. It was a whole lot of fun. We just had a few drinks and everyone had a great time getting Warning Birds into their roles and getting into the swing of it.”
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Damon Lockwood and Nathan Hondros, Regime.
REGIME MAGAZINE Signs and Revelations
Volume 2 of Regime Magazine, Perth’s newest and edgiest literary journal, will be launched at The Great Court Stage of The University of Western Australia on Saturday, February 23, as part of The Perth Writers’ Festival - head to perthfestival.com. au or regimebooks.com.au for details. Talking to Nathan Hondros and Damon Lockwood is like talking to one mind split between two bodies. It’s a cliché, sure, but it’s true. Oh, they retain individual quirks and traits, patterns of speech, but they finish each other’s thoughts all the time, and examine and attack any given topic with the coordination of hunting wolves - their empathic bond is obvious. It must have come in handy when editing Regime Magazine, their foray into the literary magazine game, the second volume of which is about to be unveiled. It’s a project that, like so many, was born out of a general dissatisfaction with the lay of the artistic land here in Perth. “We’ve always had a love of dangerous, interesting, revelatory writing,” Lockwood contends. “And we didn’t think there was an avenue for more exciting pieces to be published in this town and so we thought, ‘Screw it - we’ll do it ourselves.’” “We got pretty tired of academic writing,” Hondros continues. “Writing that’s written for theory, or is produced not for someone to read, but for other writers to wank over -” “- and for no one else to understand it outside the academic world.” Lockwood interjects.
“And, given the number of submissions we received, and the quality of submissions, clearly we’re not alone. People are interested in writing more explorative, more interesting stuff.” The first edition, successfully released in August 2012, contained largely Western Australian work, but this new edition has drawn contributors from farther afield. “In the first edition, we got some good names in there,” Hondros tells us. “But it was very local. This time we’re combining a lot of local writers with interstate writers and international writers.” The rollcall of talent includes Hondros and Lockwood themselves, Andrew Burke, Ryan O’Neill, Sue Booker, Kate Middelton, and Shane McCauley, in addition to many others. To hear them tell it, the whole thing could be attributed to a growing disgust with the entrenched, increasingly grant-driven, traditional structures of the Australian literary scene. “We’ve been asked a few times, ‘How are you getting funding? What have you applied for?’” Lockwood says. “But as soon as you start down that road, that application process, you’re compromising straight away.” Hondros agrees. “You become this government service delivery agent. You jump through their hoops so you can become the authorised, government approved literature magazine. We basically made the literary journal that we’d want to read. We think it’s interesting. It’s got a bit of edge to it... there’s a bit of masculinity about it.” Lockwood nods. “Illuminating, revelatory, and different.” _TRAVIS JOHNSON
Polanski
ROMAN POLANSKI: A FILM MEMOIR
Wanted? Sure. Desired? Maybe. Directed by Laurent Bouzereau Starring Roman Polanski, Andrew Braunsberg Recorded in 2010 when controversial director Roman Polanski was under house arrest in Gstaad, Switzerland, while US authorities tried, unsuccessfully, to extradite him, this documentary is a fascinating and enlightening look at a talented and troubled artist. Cut together from a series of lengthy conversations between Polanski and his old friend and producer, Andrew Braunsberg, it’s a largely chronological account of Polanski’s life, from his childhood in Poland; through his horrific wartime experiences, including the death of his mother at Auschwitz; his success as a filmmaker both in Europe and America; the murder of his wife, Sharon Tate, by the Manson Family; his conviction for statutory rape and subsequent flight to Europe; right up until the present day. Along the way, we take in accounts, brief though they might be, of the making of a number of inarguably great films: Rosemary’s Baby and Chinatown amongst them. By anyone’s reckoning, Polanksi’s life is rich fodder for narrative. However, one would be forgiven for suspecting that this particular account might skew towards hagiography; after all, this is Polanski telling his story, and both his interviewer and the director, Laurent Bouzereau, are old friends of his. Yet, while there is a certain obvious bias and sympathy www.xpressmag.com.au
inherent in the proceedings, this is still, beyond the shadow of a doubt, the most complete and open chronicle of Polanski’s life ever recorded. And it is quite a life. His filmmaking successes and troubled personal affairs in later life aside, Polanski’s time has been packed with enough incident for any three given biographies. His childhood experiences alone, encompassing both fleeing from German death squads during WWII and enduring the bleak realities of the Soviet regime afterwards, are nigh-on unbelievable, but their effects on the man relating them to us are tangible. If nothing else, Bouzereau’s film gives us a compelling look at the crucible that Polanski the child was cast into, and how those horrific events have shaped Polanski the man and artist. It also contains perhaps the most heartbreaking account of Sharon Tate’s murder and its aftermath that has ever been committed to film. It’s a testament to the power of Polanski’s story that its impact is not lessened by the stylistic shortcomings of the film. Roman Polanski: A Film Memoir is essentially one long, visually bland, conversation that was put together on the fly, and it shows. Those who need more visual stimulation in their cinematic diet might find the whole thing uncomfortable. So too might those who find Polanski distasteful, and they are not few in number; the man is, after all, a convicted sex offender. Even so, this is a film worth seeing. If nothing else, it forces the viewer to view Polanski not in terms of black vs. white, monster vs. genius, criminal vs. artist, but as a complex, brilliant and flawed human being. _ TRAVIS JOHNSON 21
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X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays
VISUAL ARTS Traversing Antarctica: Western Australian Maritime Museum, Fremantle A rare collection of artefacts from the 1911-1914 Australasian Antarctic Expedition, famously led by Sir Douglas Mawson. Runs ’til Feb 23. Picturing New York: Photographs From The Museum Of Modern Art: Art Gallery Of WA, Northbridge Depicting the iconic New York that captivates the world’s imagination and the idiosyncratic details that define New Yorkers’ sense of home, this exhibition from MoMA’s extraordinary photography collection celebrates the city in all its vitality, ambition and beauty. Made by approximately 90 artists responding to the city as well as professionals on assignment, including Henri Cartier-Bresson, Walker Evans, Lewis Hine, Helen Levitt, Cindy Sherman, Alfred Stieglitz, and Weegee. Runs ‘til May 12. Made To Remember: Art Gallery Of WA, Northbridge Made To Remember is a beautifully considered display of significant Indigenous objects from the State Art Collection. With a diverse selection of works including glass and ceramic objects, textiles and clothing, as well as examples of traditional sculpture, Made to Remember encourages dialogue about the place of an object not only in Indigenous art and culture, but in the broader Australian context. Runs ‘til Jun 30. Sculpture By The Sea: Cottesloe Beach, Perth Over 70 local, interstate and international artists will transform Perth’s most popular beach into a stunning sculpture park overlooking the Indian Ocean with some of the most glorious sunsets of any major city in the world. Runs from Mar 8 - Mar 24. Entry is free.
Not A Still Life, Daveena Cox Not A Still Life: The Moore Gallery, Fremantle An exhibition by Daveena Cox. Runs Feb 22 - Mar 10.
Plan for minimalist play structure, Renae Coles, Climb Climb: Free Range Gallery, Perth An exhibition of sculpture and drawings by Renae Coles explores the notion of the playground as a conceptual space. Runs Feb 22 - Mar 5. Perth Festival: numerous locations across Perth Bringing together the best in visual arts, theatre, dance, classic and contemporary music, films, opera and more, the Perth Festival is an all encompassing Ballet At The Quarry: Quarry Amphitheatre, Floreat celebration of art. Runs Feb 7-Mar 2. Bring a picnic, relax under a starry sky and be immersed in three superbly choreographed works from around Fringe World Festival: numerous locations across the globe as part of the 20th anniversary of Ballet At Perth and surrounding suburbs The Quarry. Showcasing two world premieres, Yes, I’ll Perth’s Fringe World Festival is set to massively Move For You from Cass Mortimer Eipper and Jubilaté entertain in 2013. Expanding on the success of the from Daniel Roberts, and by the great Glen Tetley first full Fringe Festival in 2012, Perth will be brought the West Australian premiere of a modern Everest, to life over four jam-packed weeks with more than Voluntaries, this special season includes the music of 300 events taking place in more than 50 traditional Poulenc, Mozart and the American band, Beirut. Runs and nontraditional venues throughout the City of Feb 8-Mar 2. Bookings via perthfestival.com.au. Perth and beyond. Runs Jan 25-Feb 24. Bookings through fringeworld.com.au.
THEATRE/DANCE/ PERFORMANCE
MUSIC
Cliff Richards: Sandalford Estate, Swan Valley Performance Feb 23. Bookings via sandalford.com. Laurie Anderson & Kronos Quartet: Perth Concert Hall, Perth Performance Feb 27. Bookings via Ticketek. Western Australian Police Pipe Band, The Quarry Amphitheatre Performance March 13. Tickets via Ticketmaster
FESTIVALS Summer Nights: Blue Room Theatre, Perth Over the last four years The Blue Room Theatre’s Summer Nights has developed as a significant program of eclectic performance, creative development of new work and contemporary theatre experiences. In 2013 Summer Nights will progress once more and feature the premium theatre and performance offerings of the Fringe World, spread across The Blue Room Theatre and PICA performance spaces. Run Jan 25Feb 24. Bookings through blueroom.org.au. www.xpressmag.com.au
Summerset Arts Festival: City Of Stirling Now in its fifth year the City of Stirling’s premier cultural celebration the Summerset Arts Festival returns for three weeks in February 2013. Jam packed with over 22 free or low cost events, the community can look forward to a mix of art exhibitions, live comedy, kids events, theatrical shows and live music. Runs Feb 6-23. Fremantle Street Arts Festival: City of Fremantle The streets of Fremantle come alive over the Easter weekend with a range of performances spread over 10 stages, including busking, street theatre, comedy, circus acts, cabaret, and more. Runs from Mar 30 Apr 1. FolkWorld Fairbridge Festival: Fairbridge Village A friendly celebration of folk, roots, blues, acoustic, Celtic, a capella and world music in a traffic-free, selfcontained bushland site at Fairbridge Village. Three days of the best folk music that Australia and the world has to offer, including Kristina Olsen, Tinpan Orange, and Pugsley Buzzard. It runs Apr 26 - Apr 28. Bookings through folkworldfestival.com.au 23
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X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays
the spotlight for a good two decades, a period during which he managed ‘80s band Ruthless Rap Assassins and produced The Street Sounds UK Electro album in ‘84. “When I was younger I was a lot more brash, with ego,” the 53-year-old laughs. “But basically, because I come from a different period of time of Djing and then stopped, I look at things from a different angle. I think that a lot of DJs began to believe their own myth and think they are something more than what they are. We are all dependant on the music we play - we are facilitating the music. “This whole kind of era of DJs with their hands up in the air, taking the claim from the audience when there is a piano breakdown or whatever - that was never what it was about for me. I was never about adulation. What I wanted was the respect of my peers. It wasn’t about sycophants and people telling you how good it was, and I think that crept into DJing with this idea of the DJ superstar. “ With all the acclaim applied to him, Greg Wilson’s level of humility Mixing the black soul and funk of the ‘60s and ‘70s with is surprising, a point of character he says is down to being out of electro-house for the teaming hoards at cutting-edge clubs such as
Using the word ‘pioneer’ to describe electrofunk DJ/producer Greg Wilson is no mere use of hyperbole. He was the first DJ to mix on UK TV, taught Norman Cook (aka Fatboy Slim) how to scratch and was the first dance music DJ hired for a residency at Manchester’s legendary Hacienda. JO CAMPBELL speaks with this original master of re-edit culture about his 20-year hiatus from DJing, black music and something about a reel-to-reel tape recorder.
www.xpressmag.com.au
the Hacienda, was how Wilson gained notoriety in the ‘80s, almost single-handedly creating the electro-funk genre. “Because it was real,” he explains of black music’s initial appeal. “Black music was talking about real things, about real relationships - ‘my woman has left me’, ‘things are hard’ and ‘there’s a guy trying to move in on my girl’. Whereas British music at the time was How Much Is That Doggie In The Window and much like nursery rhymes. So straight away, you were dealing with adult music. And that depth had to do with the struggle of black America. And with struggle comes art. A lot of working class people in Britain connected with that. “What I do now is different. Now my role is a different one. It’s more about trying to connect people with the past by presenting things in a contemporary way and saying, ‘look - the past shouldn’t be left behind’. It’s an ever-evolving thing. Just because a record was made in 1975, for example, put in the correct context it’s absolutely still relevant.
CONTINUED PAGE 26
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A$AP Rocky
The Funk Club House Band
ACRONYM SYMBOLISING ANY PURPOSE? FUNK JUNKET A$AP Rocky and his explicit mouth of gold are on their way to Oz hot on the heels of the release of his debut album LongLiveA$AP. The album, released this January, features artists such as Florence Welch, Santigold, Skrillex, Kendrick Lamar, Drake and 2 Chainz and made it to the ARIA top 10. Tickets go on sale next Thursday, February 28 for the show at Metro City on Sunday, June 30. Get ‘em from Oztix.
Get loose with the Funk Club family next weekend to celebrate their 10 year milestone with fine soul funk flavour. These guys have played host to some sensational events over the last decade, with Funk Club’s own house band never failing to bring the boogie. Get down with them, Funk Club DJs and some special guests at Deville’s Pad next Friday, March 1. Entry is just $10 on the door. Bazinga!
Greg Wilson with his Revox B77 Wilson’s DJ set draws from a wide palate of genres, with a connection to the past always present. Dub effects are key to his live performance, with the nifty use of a Revox B77 reel-to-reel tape machine being another indictor of his connection to the ‘80s. “It was an outside broadcast unit that was pretty much used by radio stations to take on the road to do interviews and edit on the spot. It’s a great portable unit. On the tapes I have with me are all sorts of effect and sounds - samples. As I’m playing a track on CD, I’m also peppering what you’re hearing with samples and sound effects from the tapes. I can also put it on record and record what’s going out and feed that back on an infinity loop and put dub effects on.” Wilson has recently gotten back into his own record production, with the first two singles of his Schooled In The Classics series, 12-Turn-13 and Blue Angel out next week. This follows an exciting last five years, in which his return to the game has been well-met with the UK’s DJ Magazine naming him as one of their top twenty re-mixers of all-time, while BBC Radio 1 selected his 2009 Essential Mix as one of its top 10 classics in its 17-year history. “I’m not looking to set the world alight
but I’m looking to take my first steps back into this process and as it develops the plan will be to work with vocalists and hopefully find someone to express things in a lyrical sense. I’m looking back to that early ‘80s period that was inspirational to me, when remix culture was experimenting with dub elements.” This relationship with the spirit of a more funky era makes him the perfect support for the upcoming George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic tour, a gig that Wilson won’t be turning down. “People talk about legendary, the greats; well he is. He’s somebody who is at the root of a Example whole movement of music. And the second most sampled artist of all time. It’s a great privilege to play with him. The only time I’ve ever seen him play On the back of his monster fourth album, Example was at a festival in the UK but I’ve never been in the is bringing his full live band to Australia for Groovin’ company of his greatness.” The Moo and a just announced side-show at Metro City on Friday, May 10. Example’s dance/rap hybrid has resonated worldwide over the past two years with hit after hit making it into the charts along » GREG WILSON WITH GEORGE CLINTON with collabs like Shot Yourself In the Foot Again with » THE GALACTIC SPACE CIRCUS TOUR Skream. Tickets go on sale at 9am tomorrow, Thursday » THURSDAY, MARCH 7 @ METRO CITY February 21 from Oztix.
EXAMPLE MADE
HUXLEY
House/ garage DJ and producer Huxley has recently hit the big time with his Out Of The Box EP and the launch of his own imprint; Saints and Sonnets. He talks with SIMON HAMPSON about keeping it real, despite all the new attention.
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DOUBLE SHOCK
Did someone say Perthian international D’n’B sensation ShockOne is releasing a new album?! That’s right, and to make sure Universus is received in appropriate fashion, the guys that brought you Origin are working with the man himself to curate a massive album launch over two venues on Anzac Day Eve, Wednesday, April 24. Handpicked will bring together multiple genres with Metros City hosting ShockOne and Brooklyn bass-man Baauer. The Bakery will feature underground house Bristolian, Eats Everything and the genre-blending Mosca, with more acts to be announced at both venues. Tickets on sale today through Oztix. Boom!
SYRUP
GOING FORWARD
Michael Dodman, the guy behind the Huxley name, has been producing since he was a teenager. He started out with garage and experienced some success under that genre before he reached his deeper, house-infused sound over the last couple of years. But things have switched up a notch over the past couple of years. When Leeds label 2020Vision put out Huxley’s Out Of The Box EP in April last year there was a massive reaction. This watershed moment and increased profile has brought him over to Australia twice in less than six months. Out Of The Box contained four tunes that were pure dynamite - a kind of house with a garage stagger to it, with just the right amount of vocal to keep things interesting. Hold on, did someone say ‘new flat’? “I just moved in, soon after Christmas. With a couple of tours coming up it has been quite stressful but it feels nice to be settling in now. Other than that, it’s been a good start to 2013 with Warehouse Project on New Year’s Day, Bugged Out and a few other cool parties,” says Dodman. “I never take anything for granted and the past year has been amazing, but in all honesty I just do what I do and have done for so five or six years. So, while there’s loads more opportunities and DJ gigs, my life hasn’t changed too much bar being busier. “With regards to my big break, I honestly couldn’t put my finger on when or where,” he reflects,“but I’m grateful for whatever it was.” What about his family and friends? Do they respect and support this often unpredictable and erratic career choice? “Everyone around me is supportive, but more importantly everyone around me takes the piss out of me liberally - which is incredibly handy for grounding you when things get a bit over the top!” He takes his stage name from the author Aldous Huxley. “I read the Doors of Perception and liked the name,” he says with the air of someone
ShockOne
Huxley who has been asked the question a million times. “I needed a name, took that and the rest is history.” Dodman has started a label with Jimmy Posters called Saints and Sonnets. They’re onto their second release and things are going well. “I always dig deep,” he says of his DJ sets, “it just depends on the crowd and the situation. Right now, it’s a bit self promo I know, but I’ve got a stack of wicked tunes from Saints and Sonnets, so they’re my go-to killers.” It’s going to be a big year for Dodman with a Huxley release out on Hypercolour in March entitled Bellywedge and another single out on Rinse in April. “I’m starting a Rinse FM radio show, which will be cool and after Australia I’ve got my first US tourl. After that, apart from gigs, I’ll be working on my LP.” As to where house and garage are going in the future? “Forward, almost certainly - unless you’ve got a time machine?” Can’t argue with that.
» HUXLEY » SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 23 @ GILKISONS
Cameron Scott heads up monthly night Syrup, just one of the newish local ventures pushing the sound barrier. JO CAMPBELL asks him what par t yBazil Zemplys goers can expect from this weekend’s Fantasy Island theme - but she suddenly finds herself conversing to the caterpillar from Alice Wonderland, a telltale sign that Syrup might be a bit of a twisted affair. What’s the ethos behind Syrup and what sort of tunes do you play? The ethos behind Syrup is questionable at best. The conceptual origin of a midnight movement so geometric, that it has weaved, hustled, moved and bustled through our city may never be known. The tunes be trippy man!!! Expect the latest in future beats and booms resonating across the globe, to make your brain shudder and knees knock. Why did you choose Gilkinsons? Gilkisons were the only ones brave enough to allow this cosmic conundrum to enter through their doors, and since then we have transformed the vortex into an space-bound intergalactic bass station filled with mystical memories of purple mountains and technicoloured trill-filled time machines. Why the Fantasy Island theme and what have you got in store? There is only one place on earth where you can climb the purple pyramids of party, travel through trapeziums of time and dishevel the dodecahedrons of dance. A place where moonlight triangulates in time with the tides of tomorrow, creating a continuum of tinkered today’s so that Mondays never come. This place is fantasy and it has never been and never will, but always can. Who is on the bill this month? DYP, Clunk, Bolsty, Boy P, Bazil Zemplys, Easy P Three words to sum up Syrup? Banana. Erinaceous (like a hedgehog). Mesonoxian (pertaining to midnight).
» SYRUP » FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22 @ GILKISONS
A$AP ROCKY
LONG. LIVE. A$AP. POLO GROUNDS MUSIC Rapper A$AP Rocky’s second album is a bit of a strange beast. Guests include fellow blog favourites such as Yelawolf and Kendrick Lamar, but also a couple of curve balls in Santigold and Florence Welch. It’s clear that Rocky never thought of himself as a particularly underground artist, but on the other hand, the choice of producers such as Clams Casino and Friendzone doesn’t exactly scream for mainstream appreciation. Musically, the album is a hazy affair - floating synths are anchored by solid kicks, skittering snares and screwed vocals. Appropriate backing for Rocky’s streamof-consciousness lyrics, but these rhymes rarely match beat selection in terms of depth or thoughtfulness. This is most apparent on posse track one Train (featuring Kendrick Lamar, Joey Bada$$, Yelawolf, Danny Brown, Action Bronson and Big K.R.I.T), where he is basically outshined by all his guests. This isn’t to say the album doesn’t have its appeal. Rocky’s vocals maintain a strong presence throughout, and he creates some infectious hooks. There’s just no real personality to relate to. It’s technically well crafted, but not engaging enough to serve as anything more than a backdrop for some smoky evenings. Which might actually be his sole intent. » NICK SWEEPAH
THIS WEEK
ADAM FREELAND
SUMMERTIME SADNESS REMIX
Twin Peaks meets 808 basslines in this smooth, electro remix of Lana Del Rey’s dreamy pop number. Freeland, once the godfather of nu-skool breaks, has put this one up for free download. Get the link on his SoundCloud or facebook page. X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays
MADEON
ZANE LOWE
Cracking the UK Top 40 and touring with Lady Gaga is a big deal for any artist, let alone someone who is 18-years-old.Hugo‘Madeon’Leclercq is taking it all in stride though. ANDREW ‘HAZARD’ Hickey reports.
Zane Lowe is set to perform at Future Music Festival for the third year running. The London based DJ and producer chats with SIMON HAMPSON about juggling his work on radio with the rest of his career and about being hand-picked by The Prodigy to play on their Warrior’s Dance stage.
PRODIGAL CONDUIT
FUTURE AMBITION
Zane Lowe has the kind of infectious energy and enthusiasm for his work that is immediately obvious. The 39 year-old New Zealander grew up with a love of music that translated into a prime time drive show on BBC Radio 1 plus a thriving DJ career. “You know what’s really cool about it? I can play a record two hours ago and everyone is sharing this in real time,” he shares from his home in North London. “The distance between being a facilitator, or a conduit, for music and being a fan, and being someone who listens to it like everybody else, is a lot shorter. You no longer have to wait forever for it to get to you.”
Getting out of the radio studio and onto the road was a bit of an accident for Lowe.“The DJing thing started out as a fun thing and then it started getting busy. Then I was like, ‘what is it? It’s fun but what is it?’” he says with a laugh. That revelation led to more DJ bookings, requiring a balancing act with his main job at BBC. “I’m not going to lie to you - I’m not a full-time DJ slash electronic music producer who is looking for Beatport charts in his life. I’m a full-time employee of the BBC, working for Radio 1, which is my single number one priority in the creative domain of broadcasting.” So why is he back at FMF for the third year in a row? “To be honest, it was The Prodigy that swung it for me. You just don’t say no to them. I never have and I never will, I don’t think. I always want to come back and I love the festival.‘‘ The Prodigy’s Warrior Dance arena is part of the introduction of artist-themed and curated stages at FMF. It’s an evolution that Lowe sees in a positive light even if it confused him at first.“I mean, I was as confused as anyone because I was looking at the bill and the Stone Roses are playing. That’s huge! Then they were like,‘you’re on The Prodigy stage,’ and I was like, ‘I don’t understand.’ So I spoke to them about it and they gave me more clarity that it doesn’t really work based around one headliner. It’s kind of, ‘these are the headliners and we’re doing our own stage.’ That’s cool and I have been lucky enough to play with The Prodigy from Brixton, to Milton Keynes, to Belgrade and I’ll never say no to them.
Zane Lowe
» ZANE LOWE » FUTURE MUSIC FESTIVAL » SUNDAY, MARCH 3 @ ARENA JOONDALUP
Madeon In the midst of his Gaga road trip, the baby-faced native of Nantes, France revealed himself to be a career-driven force ready for what lies ahead. Having already played to thousands at Coachella and the Ultra Music Festival in Miami, he is no stranger to large crowds, however the level of production on his current trek is on the next level. Appearing before such a cross-section of people in various cities has afforded the DJ-producer new avenues of exposure.“I know a lot of the people don’t know who I am, so I need to show them what I’m all about, not compromise and convince them. It’s very thrilling to walk out and think I’ve convinced a person or two.” With wisdom beyond his years, Leclercq has made the decision to avoid pandering during his sets, relying on his intuition and skills as a DJ.“I made a point when I started to tour that I really wanted to be able play anything, playing a set that is very much mine and playing songs that I actually love.” As a DJ with long-term ambitions, he doesn’t see the benefit in playing a set purely for the adulation and instant recognition. “The easy thing would be to pander and play a very commercial set and get a reaction. But then those fans get to your real shows and they can’t connect. I want to get fans and people who are interested and know what I’m about. [On the Gaga tour] I’ve been playing a pretty similar set to what I would at a festival, trying to include a couple of recognisable moments, so the audience can follow.” A typical set may include his energy-packed remix of Blur’s Song 2, getting the crowd to join in on the ‘woo hoo’, before he drops into a lesser-known groove. “It’s very cool to be able to do both and I try to balance it in a way that keeps it exciting,” he says proudly.“I do 40-minute sets, so I have enough time to structure something that is snappy and efficient.” While he aims to educate his audiences, Leclercq understands the importance of a concise set. “Many people of my generation have a shorter attention span, so I’d rather make it tight than play a boring, self-indulgent set.” His fusion of commercial and more underground elements is easy on the ears and has made him a household name, yet it’s an approach that came naturally.“I’m a big fan of pop but I’m also a big fan of producers that are not the most well-known, so my music is a combination of both. It’s not sitting down and trying to strategically balance the two for commercial success, it’s more about a genuine love for pop music elements as well.” First experimenting with music at age 11, Leclercq originally found himself taking more of a purist approach before allowing all of his influences to come to the forefront.“When I started to produce music more intensely I was going in an entirely different direction. I decided that as Madeon I wanted to have a career and discography and sound that works together and I’ve been exploring those ideas and emotions.” One of the catalysts for this open-ended approach was the success of his signature anthem Icarus. Originally produced as a club track it went on to became a top 40 single in the UK. “Sometimes the audience can be completely unexpected. You really can’t predict what it’s going to be like, so it’s not a bad strategy to just do what you like. That way you can stand behind it and support it.”
» MADEON » FUTURE MUSIC FESTIVAL » SUNDAY, MARCH 3 @ ARENA JOONDALUP www.xpressmag.com.au
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FLOSSTRADAMUS
WEDNESDAY 20/02 Bar Orient – DJ Ben Renna Beat Nightclub (Downstairs) – Soul Seduction Boulevard Tavern – Wub Wub Wednesday Capitol – Harlem Wednesdays ft Genga/Anton/BennyP Captain Stirling – Fiveo Club Red Sea – Cheek Connections – DJs Joby /JJ /Reuben Dusk Lounge – Lucas Willmer Flying Scotsman – Dart/Rex Monsoon Flying Scotsman (Defectors) – Bodega ft Philly Blunt/Keysey Leederville Hotel – DJ Slick/DJ Reuben/DJ ViSon Llama Bar – Jo 19 Mustang – DJ Giles Niche Bar – Juicy ft Frankie Button Newport Hotel – Tom Drummond/ Angry Buda/Mr Phat/Wot Evs Rosemount Hotel – DJ Anton Maz Sovereign Arms – Jeremy Stark The Court – Wicked Wednesday The Grand Central – DJ ANG3L The Velvet Lounge – Face
THURSDAY 21/02 Boulevard Tavern – 151 Thursdays Old Skool R&B Claremont Hotel - Institution Thursdays ft DJs Bryn Jones/ James Thorne Connections - BINGAY Eve Nightclub – Retro Thursdays DJ Tony Allen
SHAPE
THE COURT
Flying Scotsman –Gidget Duck/ Muldoon Wing Leisure Inn – DJ Peta Mullaloo Beach Hotel - DJ John Paul/ DJ Slick Mustang – DJ James MacArthur Newport Hotel – Bass Culture ft Joe Mac/A10bra/JS/Genga Paramount –DJ Jordan Rosemount Hotel – Sons Of Rico DJs The Avenue – Fiveo The Bird – Kit Pop/Leon Saraswati/ Sarah Pellicano/Andrew Sinclair The Craftsman – Michael Brittliff The Deen – Chase The Sun ft DJ Flex/ DJ Nano/ DJ Surge/ DJ Don Migi The Grand Central – Roger Smart The Queens – DJ Riki The Velvet Lounge – Nora Zion/ H.W Sims/Willy Suede/Viv G Toucan – DJ Matty J
FRIDAY 22/02 Admiral Hotel – DJ Beats & MC Amplifier –DJ Jamie Mac Ambar – Clockwork-RL Grime ft Donald Krunk/Philly Blunt/The Barons Red Bar One Twenty – DJ Grandmaster Vicious Bar Orient - The Reggae Club ft General Justice/Cutnice/DJ Calvin/ H-Mut/Gagajah/Prezi/Ed Kays/ The Empressions/Mumma Trees/ Sista Che Beat Nightclub (Downstairs) Play Boheme Bar - DJ Majiika
DJ Yoda
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Boulevard Tavern – Habit@ ft DJ Andyy/(6-8) Sea Level Brass Monkey - DJ Viktor/DJ James Ess/Green George Brighton Hotel – Peta C5 – Underground ft DJ K-La Capitol – Retro Mash Capitol (Upstairs) – I Love ‘90s Claremont Hotel – The Soul Purpose/Tea King Club Bayview – Fresh Eastern Hotel – DJ Munch Empire Bar – James Shipstone Eurobar - DJ Fat Albert/DJ zOOM Eve Nightclub – DJ Don Migi Flying Scotsman – Back To Mono DJs Flying Scotsman (Defectors) – Rok Riley Ginger Nightclub – Mondo Fridays Indi Bar - Drapht Lakers Tavern –Grizzly And Friends Library - Dorcia Llama Bar – Jim Pearson Malt Supper Club – DJ Scotty J Metro City - K-Holic Gangnam Style Tribute ft DJ Jay/DJ Randolph/ Sammy K Metro Freo – Frat House Fridays ft Death Disco DJs Mint Nightclub – Club Retro Mojos Bar – Departure Tiki Party ft Blossoms/Scared Flower Union/ Capelas/Sable/El Ritmo DJ’s/Claude Mono/Jade Nobbs Mustang – Swing DJ/ DJ James MacArthur Newport Hotel – Tom Drummond/ Sardi/Tahli Jade/Evan Niche Bar – Let Loose ft DJ Jonny Zimber Paramount - DJ John/DJ Jordan Rocket Room – Coyote Ugly Sail & Anchor - Balcony Beatz Shape – The Switch Sovereign Arms – Fiveo The Avenue – Lokie Shaw The Bird – Rythmatism 27 ft Ben M/ Ben T/Diger Rockwell/Brian Ring The Carine – Mikeee The Court – DJ Flex/DJ TimBee The East End Bar – Az-T The Generous Squire – DJ Anaru The Grand – Ruben The Saint - Abstar The Shed - DJ Glenn 20 The Velvet Lounge – Village Oblivia 2 ft Basic Mind/These Shipwrecks/ Craig McElhinny/Emerald Cabal & Reece Walker/Rakkit Dibs/Strunkdts/ Ourobonic Plague/(alt)Bro Tiger Lil’s – Paul Malone/Adam Kelly Toucan – Misschief Villa – DJ Yoda ft Stickybuds/Tonic/ Tom Drummond/FTW Whale & Ale - DJ Spinback
METRO CITY
SATURDAY 23/02 Admiral Hotel – Insane Dwaine Ambar – Japan 4 ft Bezwun/Tee El/ Blend/Micah/Marko Paulo Amplifier –Eddie Electric Bar One Twenty – Little Nicky Bar Orient – DJ Troy Beat Nightclub (Upstairs) - Canvas Boheme Bar – Amanda Power Brass Monkey - DJ Peta (downstairs)/ DJ Jewel (upstairs) Brighton Hotel - Misschief Capitol – Death Disco Capitol (Upstairs) – Cream Of The ‘80s ft DJ Ryan Centennial Pioneer Park (Gosnells) – Illuminate Street Party ft The Potbelleez Claremont Hotel - Safari Club Bay View – DJ Roger Smart Devilles Pad –Razor Jack/Agent 85 Empire Bar –James Shipstone Eurobar – DJ Fat Albert/DJ Zoom Eve Nightclub – DJ Crazy Craig Flying Scotsman – Andrei Maz Flying Scotsman (Defectors) – Future Wives Club Gilkisons - Huxley Leederville Hotel –DJ Vison Library – DJ Victor/DJ Riki Liquid Nightclub - DJ Klar55/ DJ Stevie M Llama Bar – DJ Reuben Metro City – Seven Deadly Sins Saturdays Metro Freo – Mac Miller Metro Freo (Upstairs) – I Love 80s 90s DJ DTuck Mint Nightclub – Pop Life ft DJ Aaron/ AJ Mullaloo Beach Hotel – DJ Danny Mustang – Rockabilly DJ/ DJ James MacArthur Newport Hotel – Tahli Jade/Tom Drummond/Sardi/Ru-Kasu Paramount- DJ John/DJ Jordan Sail & Anchor – Catch The Child’s Play DJs Shape – Big Ape Sovereign Arms – The Jinx Project The Avenue – Lokie Shaw The Bird – Blossoms ft Rok Riley/Rex Monsoon/Wilder & Wilder The Boheme – Amanda Power The Causeway – Luke Miguel/Clint Turner The Cornerstone – Michael Brittliff The Court – DJ Flex/DJ TimBee The Craftsman – DJ Shortz The Dusk Lounge – The Potbelleez The East End Bar – Little Tim/DJ John Carder/DJ Loki/DJ Janoek The Generous Squire – On Tap ft DJ James Nutley
The Potbellez The Grand Central – Armee The Queens – Kenny L The Saint – DJ ANG3L The Shed –DJ Andyy The Velvet Lounge – Get Funk’d ft Travis LeBrun/Daniel Jack/JK-Robot/ Darren Ma/Gavt The Wembley – Jordan Scott Tiger Lil’s – DJ Bojan/Benjamin Sebastian Toucan – DJ Samuel Spencer Villa – Speakeasy ft Clubfeet/What So Not
SUNDAY 24/02 Claremont Hotel – James Thorne/ Dan Delstra Club Bay View - Fiveo Empire Bar –DJ Riki/ DJ Victor Eve Nightclub –DJ Slick Flying Scotsman – Nathan J/ Nizbet/ Pasha/ Chris Flying Scotsman (Defectors) – Record Hop Ginger Nightclub – DJ Rudebean Mustang – DJ Rockin Rhys Newport Hotel – Tom Drummond The Avenue – Az-T The Bird – Internet Rap Is Fucking Up My Social Life
The Court - Subculture ft John O’Callaghan/Sied Van Riel/Artic Moon/Indecent Noise/Sneijder/ GeRmAn/Illuminor/Flare/Jt/Chris Hynds/N.abled/Alpha + Omega/ Jeremy Tan/Danny Gilligan The East End Bar –DJ Gold Finger/ AZ-T The Grand – Lockie Shaw/Philly Blunt The Queens – Samuel Spencer The Saint - DJ Anaru The Shed – James Wilson and more
MONDAY 25/02 Eve Nightclub - DJ Don Migi Llama Bar – Jo 19 Malt Supper Club – Industry Night The Deen – DJ Birdie
TUESDAY 26/02 Bar Orient - DJ Lyndon High Road Hotel – DJ Matty J Llama Bar – Charlie Bucket Victoria Park Hotel – DJ Melvin
X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays
AMPLIFIER/CAPITOL
MACKELMORE
FESTIVAL GARDENS
FRAT HOUSE FRIDAYS
METRO FREO
IN THE THIS WEEK Bass Culture ft Joe Mac/A10bra/ JS/Genga Thursday, February 21 @ Newport Hotel Drapht Friday, February 22 @ Indi Bar DJ Yoda ft Stickybuds Friday, February 22 @ Villa Clockwork-RL Grime Friday, February 22 @ Ambar K-Holic Gangnam Style Tribute ft DJ Jay/DJ Randolph/Sammy K Friday, February 22 @ Metro City Illuminate Street Party ft The Potbelleez Saturday, February 23 @ Pioneer Park, Gosnells Huxley Saturday, February 23 @ Gilkisons Dance Studio The Potbelleez Saturday, February 23 @ The Dusk Lounge Mac Miller Saturday, February 23 @ Metro Freo Speakeasy ft Clubfeet/What So Not Saturday, February 23 @ Villa Subculture ft John O’Callaghan/ Sied Van Riel/Artic Moon/Indecent Noise/Sneijder/GeRmAn/Illuminor/ Flare/Jt/Chris Hynds/N.abled/ Alpha + Omega/Jeremy Tan/Danny Gilligan Sunday, February 24 @ The Court
COMING UP Chance Waters Thursday, February 28 @ Newport Hotel Monster Tour After Party ft Tommy Lee/DJ Aero Thursday, February 28 @ Metro City Yolanda Be Cool Friday, March 1 @ Newport Hotel
Doshy ft Zeke/Nebula/Pussy Smokey’s Tour ft Urthboy Friday, March 8 @ Mojos Mittens Friday, March 1 @ The Bakery AEPH ft Moving Fusion/ N1/T’Dodge/Skoptix (Network)/ Journey Into Bass ft Blu Mar Ten/ Rexop/MC Stylee & X-Sessiv Optimus Gryme/Royalston/ Friday, March 8 @ Geisha Bar Gracie/Sistym Friday, March 1 @ Shape Fresh Produce: Prime Cuts Edition ft Defyre/Qwerk/ Get Weird ft Thomas Von Sequeira/From Hell/Bronsonic Party/Aslan/Likemind/Armin Friday, March 8 @ Ambar Van Gough/Cambourgini/Lazy Gravy/Craig Hollywoo/Roulade/ Hugo Mendez ft The Lightsteed/Manimal Brown Horn Orchestra/Charlie Friday, March 1 @ Geisha Bar Bucket District’s First Birthday ft QWERK/ Friday, March 8 @ Railway Hotel Miss Demeanour/Rekab/Philly Blunt/Hammer & Nailz/Get More/ Smokey’s Tour ft Urthboy Saturday, March 9 @ Amplifier Marko Paulo Friday, March 1 @ Ambar State Of Mind ft Voltron/ Network/Nartex/Darren D/MCs Soul II Soul Xsessiv,Stylee & Armee Friday, March 1 @ The Astor Saturday, March 9 @ Villa Funk Club 10th Anniversary ft Funk Club DJ’s Friday, March 1 @ Devilles Pad DJ Havana Brown Friday, March 1 @ Eve Nightclub
Future Music Festival ft The Prodigy/ The Stone Roses/AVICII/ PSY/ Dizzee Rascal/ Bloc Party/ Azealia Banks/ /Rita Ora/ Boys Noize (live)/ Hardwell/ The Temper Trap/ Fun./ Madeon/ Rudimental/ Ellie Goulding/ Steve Aoki/ Alesso/ Gypsy & The Cat/ A-Trak (live)/ Feed Me (live)/ Zeds Dead/ Kill The Noise/ DJ Fresh (live)/ Nervo/ Zane Lowe/ Borgore/ Sven Vath/ Richie Hawtin/ Ricardo Villalobos/ Seth Troxler/ Magda/ Cosmic Gate ft Emma Hewitt/ W&W/ tyDi/ Andy Moor/ Super8 & Tab/ Ben Gold/ The Stafford Brothers/ Timmy Trumpet/ Tenzin/ Bombs Away Sunday, March 3 @ Arena Joondalup Keb Darge ft Seventh Son/Charlie Bucket/Mamba Snake Charmer Sunday, March 3 @ Devilles Pad Exposed Foam Party ft Hanna Conda/DJ Flex/DJ P Lilly Sunday, March 3 @ The Court
RL Grime
CLOCKWORK AND RL GRIME FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22 @ AMBAR
www.xpressmag.com.au
George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic ft Greg Wilson Thursday, March 7 @ Metro City
XXYYXX ft Modo/Water Graves/Zehnmee/Clunk Saturday, March 30 @ Gilkisons Dance Studio Stanton Warriors ft Far Too Loud/ Micah Sunday, March 31 @ Villa The xx Tuesday and Wednesday, April 1 - 2 @ Metro City Jason Lema Friday, April 4 @ The Dusk Lounge RAW ft Mobin Master/J-Trick/ Micah/Chris Moro Friday, April 5 @ Villa
Maiko Boat Cruise 003 ft Lovebirds/Adam Carter/Rob Sharp/Luke P Saturday, March 9 @ Barrack St Jetty
Yacht Club DJs Friday, April 12 @ Amplifier
Actress ft Oneohtrix Point Never/Leaving/Basic Mind/ Reece Walker/Emerald Cabal/ Kynan Tan/Ben T & Clunk Saturday, March 16 @ The Bakery
Sound Utopia ft Lazy J/Big Guy/ Israel Cruz Saturday, April 13 @ Red Hill Auditorium Plump DJs Friday, April 19 @ Villa Spit Syndicate ft Jacki Onassis Friday, April 19 @ Prince of Wales Saturday, April 20 @ Amplifier Sunday, April 20 @ Metro Freo The Potbelleez Friday, April 26 @ Capitol
Sets On The Beach ft Hermitude/ Strange Talk/DJ Lord/Yes You/ Twinsy/Drop Out Orchestra/ Luke Million Sunday, March 17 @ Scarborough Beach Amphitheatre t
Handpicked ft ShockOne/ Baauer/ Eats Everything/Mosca Friday, April 24 @ Metro City and The Bakery
Ministy Of Sound Clubbers Guide To 2013 ft Denzal Park/ Uberkak’d Friday, March 22 @ Villa
Movement Festival ft Nas/2 Chainz/Chiddy Bang/Joey Badda$$/Angel Haze/Spit Syndicate Tuesday, April 30 @ Red Hill Auditorium
Gemini ft Genga/Micah/JS Friday, March 22 @ Ambar Netsky ft Ekko & Sidetrack/ Blend/Bezwun Saturday, March 23 @ Villa The Uni-Verse Tour ft Drapht Thursday, March 28 @ The Rosemount Easter Thursday ft Mark Pritchard/Dan The Man/Mathas/ Diger Rokwell/Ylem/Vishnu/FG Thursday, March 28 @ The Bakery
Sampology ft Micah/The Arsonist/ Roller Easter lineup TBC Thursday, March 28 @ The Electonic DJ’s Rosemount Friday, March 8 @ Leederville Hotel Bastians Happy Flight Friday, March 8 @ Amplifier
Cyantific ft The Prototypes/ Utah Jazz/Illusiv & Dvise/Qbik/ Bastian/MCS: Xsessiv, Stylee & Bear Saturday, March 30 @ Villa
Japan 4 ft Savage Skulls Saturday, March 9 @ Ambar
Pure Old Skool III ft Darren Briais/Hutcho/Leroy/NVS/Rob Fender/Rousa/Steil The Heroes Of Villa ft The Only/ Saturday, March 2 @ The Rosemount Peking Duk/Saccas/Knoagents/ Tapeheads Fantastic Mr Fox ft Leon Osbourne Friday, March 15 @ Villa Saturday, March 2 @ The Bird Skool of Thought ft Ed Slaughterhouse Solo Saturday, March 2 @ Metro City Friday, March 15 @ Ambar Chance Waters Saturday, March 2 @ Civic Hotel
PVT Saturday, March 30 @ The Bakery
Jason Lema Friday, March 29 @ Mullaloo Beach Hotel
Example ft Sun City Friday, May 10 @ Metro City Seth Sentry Friday, May 10 @ Villa Groovin The Moo Festival ft Alison Wonderland/DZ Deathrays/ Example/Flume/Midnight Juggernaughts/Pez/Seth Sentry/ Shockone/Tuka w/ Ellesquire/ Urthboy/DJ Woody’s Big Phat Mixtape/Yacht/Yolanda Be Cool Saturday, May 11 @ Hay Park Bunbury Atari Teenage Riot Sunday, May 19 @ The Bakery A$AP Rocky Sunday, June 30 @ Metro City
MACKLEMORE & RYAN LEWIS DO YOU EVEN THRIFT? UPNUP/ MACKLEMORE & RYAN LEWIS Chevron Festival Gardens Sunday, February 17, 2013 As the light faded over Perth on Sunday evening, it was clear that many people were very excited that Macklemore & Ryan Lewis were in town. Jumping from relative obscurity to household name over the past year, the duo seem to have collected a diverse and devoted group of fans. The queue snaked throughout the festival gardens prior to the main stage doors opening up, soaking up tunes carefully selected by Diger Rokwell and Arms in Motion. It could’ve been an intimidating gig for a local support act, but if UPNUP felt anything like that, they sure didn’t show it. In what was only their second real gig, Marksman and Coin’s raps effortlessly cruised over the upbeat backing of their band. There’s no way that many people in the crowd could have heard these songs before, but by the time that All I Need kicked in, UPNUP had everyone’s hands in the sky. With horns, drums, keys and guitar, the band went all out, punctuating tracks with impressive solos and the engaging voice of singer Anders. You can’t help but imagine there are big things in store for these guys, so keep an ear out. Macklemore, Ryan Lewis and trumpet player Owuor hit the stage after a short break, to an audience that practically roared in appreciation. While it was immediately evident that the beats could’ve been louder, Owuor’s live trumpet filled some of that space. With a flow more Rhymesayers than Rocafella, Macklemore’s delivery was precise, and his energy infectious. Supremely confident, but somehow also very humble, he introduced almost every track, ensuring that the meaning of his lyrics was not lost on anyone in attendance. When he asked to borrow someone’s jacket from the audience (which he eloquently described as smelling like “a koala’s ass”), it was a pretty clear indication that the Hottest 100’s number one song,
Macklemore (Pic by Brandon D’Silva) Thrift Shop, was coming up. Somewhat surprisingly, this was only four tracks into the set, an indication of his willingness to defy tradition. Same Love also made an appearance very early in the piece, with an introductory attack on homophobia in hip hop. It was inspiring to see the impact this song had on people, and it lends some hope that hip hop may still be able to affect change. Ryan Lewis himself was a valuable addition as a hype man and DJ, while powerful guest vocals from Wanz and Rob Dalton added some soul into the mix. Filling out the tale end of his set with more personal songs like Starting Over, detailing his struggle with addiction, Macklemore maintained the crowd’s attention. After a quick break it was encore time, where he donned a sparkling cape and blonde wig (perhaps some Aussie thrift shop finds?) for And We Danced, before launching into a second rendition of Thrift Shop. Again, an unconventional move for a hip hop show, but definitely something that the crowd appreciated immensely. A quality performance, by an interesting new breed of hip hop artist. » NICK SWEEPAH
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Father John Misty
FATHER JOHN MISTY
Chrysta Bell Photo: Toni Wilkinson Stars Photo: Ryan Musiello
STARS Chevron Festival Gardens Wednesday February 13 Stars often get referred to due to their link with Broken Social Scene that has seen the two bands tour together and regularly exchange members, but they are far more than a side project with a now solid line-up that has seven albums under their belt. The Canadian outfit were one of the most anticipated shows of the Perth Festival. Torquil Campbell has obviously been trained in the Morrissey school of band-leading as he moved around the stage and interacted with the crowd in camp fashion. When he wasn’t singing or chatting, Campbell was playing the melodica and dancing feverishly. He teamed up with Amy Milan for the band’s most twee moments on Dead Hearts and Elevator Love Letter which showed off the band at their best. It is when Stars took a more stadium approach to their pop moments that they layered on the cheese a little too heavily as Take Me To The Riots illustrated in spades. With moments like these leading to a great deal of punching the air, strutting around in ordinary clothing, Stars stage presence was like watching a video clip from the ‘80s with just as much cringe factor. Walls stuck a chord with the crowd and Stars regularly shared how happy they were to be invited to the festival, but all in all it was a pretty forgettable performance from a band who promised so much more.
CHRYSTA BELL
Philip Glass Photo: Toni Wilkinson
Chevron Festival Gardens Thursday, February 14, 2013 An enigma wrapped in a skin-tight dress, David Lynch’s diva protégé Chysta Bell cut an ethereal, otherworldly yet welcoming figure when she took to the stage last Thursday. The Lynch connection brought a great deal many Valentines and other assorted varieties to the Festival Gardens. Anticipation seemed high, though no one seemed sure what exactly for, but when the tall Texan took to the stage with her band caressing a veil, she slowly seemed to invite each audience member to the palm of her hand. Most accepted, though some clearly thought a more straight-ahead act was what they’d come for. Her album’s title track, This Train, immediately elicited the best from Bell’s breathy, shimmery voice. A version of Be Bop A Lula, sounded as though she’d channelled Lene Lovich. Be Bop A Lene, anyone? Similarly, a brooding, rockabilly turn through Baby Please Don’t Go, confirmed that Bell is a striking performer with presence to match. While her speaking voice seemed to be one of humility and wonder, Bell’s singing voice suggested things we do no know yet but wish to. The songs she had collaborated on for years with Lynch - who was mentioned often - brought to mind all manner of dimly lit bars and nightclubs and dark roads that lead nowhere in all his films. And then, like a ghost, she was gone. As many questions remained to be asked as there were answered about Chrysta Bell. Still, it’s all very nice to think about.
_ CHRIS HAVERCROFT
This Thursday, February 21, Mojos has a mix of old and new, with Joe McKee & Felicity Groom being supported by newcomers Lanark & Mt Mountain. Entry is $10, tickets are available only at the door from 8pm. To win a double pass to this show, email mojos@coolperthnights.com with ‘Joe McKee & Felicity Groom’ in the subject line.
YA YA’S
Yet again another week of quality live and local music at Ya Ya’s. Tonight, Wednesday February 20, catch the Hump Day show with Wake, A Different Kind Of Blue, Dark Ocean and New Animals all for just $5. Saturday, February 23 sees the return of Perth City Battles from 2pm. Then at night, supporting SLAM DAY 2013 is the No Use For A Name Tribute Night, with Incognito and acoustic sets from Blindspot, Varial, Yiannos McStavros and The De Niros. Email adam@ya-yas.com.au with ‘SLAM’ in the subject line for the chance to win a double pass.
FLY BY NIGHT
This Saturday, February 23, head to the Rock-Off Cancer Concert, a celebration of live music to raise money for the Cancer Council. Headlining the event is legendary blues guitarist Lloyd Spiegel, joined by an incredible list of WA talent including Andrew Winton, Wayfarer and John Ackroyd. All proceeds will go to the Cancer Council, so for a great night out for a great cause get your tickets now.
THE PADDINGTON ALE HOUSE
Head to Paddo POW tonight, Wednesday February 20, for some great local live acts in the form of Dove, Tim Montgomery and Andy Ellis from 8pm. Entry is free. Tuck into some chilli mussels for $19 with a pint from the extensive beer selection! To be exact, take your pick from 141 different beers from around the world! It’s all happening at The Paddo.
MUSTANG
As a warm up to Kiss coming to Perth this month, catch KISStake rocking out on Thursday, February 21! Since 2003 its lineup of various WA music identities has been belting out Kiss classics to within an inch of their lives, putting the X Into Sex (as well as the laughs) while making men weak at the hips as grown women cry. It all starts from 9.30pm with DJ James MacArthur on the decks till late. www.xpressmag.com.au
PHILIP GLASS Sally Whitwell/ Maki Namekawa The Perth Concert Hall Saturday, February 16, 2013 The word ‘legendary’ gets bandied about a bit too much, frankly, but 75 year-old composer Philip Glass is someone who deserves the adjective. One of the key musical figures of the 20th century, any chance to experience him live should be seized. In this instance, wherein all 20 of his piano etudes - the final three commissioned explicitly for the Perth International Arts Festival - would be performed together for the first time, the imperative was all the stronger. It was a mesmerising affair. Like so many of PIAF’s offerings this year, it was a performance that provoked introspection rather than rapt engagement, but Glass’s work is nothing if not the perfect soundtrack to an inner journey. The only disappointment is that Glass himself only performed six of the pieces, with guest pianists Sally Whitwell and Maki Namekawa doing the rest. There was nothing at all wrong with their work, but more Glass would have been nice. Of course there was a standing ovation at the concert’s close - it’s only fitting. Following on from last year’s Ennio Morricone performance, the Perth Festival continues to prove that their ability to attract world-class musical talent to our city is nothing if not impressive. _ TRAVIS JOHNSON
_ BOB GORDON
INDI BAR
MOJOS BAR
Chevron Festival Gardens Friday February 15
_CHRIS HAVERCROFT
LOVE WAS IN THE AIR
This Friday night’s not so secret show will feature none other than Perth’s very own Drapht. He will be joined with special guests Bitter Belief on February 22, and limited tickets can be found online through Oztix. Sunday, February 24, sees the return of Band Of Frequencies. With suppor t from The Floors, this will be a great night of music for all to enjoy. Doors open 6pm, entry is $10. Come grab a bite to eat by the pool, wash it down with some tasty cold beer then let the music do the rest.
Gods & Goddess Toga Love Party @ Metro City Saturday, February 16, 2013
CLANCY’S FREMANTLE
Photos by Matt Jelonek
This Friday, February 22, Clancy’s along with The Navy Club and The Buffalo Club play host to Folkahoma, a multi-venue, alt-folk micro festival bringing Fremantle to life during the busy Fringe World season. Playing host to some of WA’s best known and loved acts such as James Teague, The Big Old Bears, Bears and Dolls, Rachel and Henry Climb A Hill, and Warning Birds. Folklahoma provides an all too elusive chance to see all of these wonderful bands in one night! Entry is $15 which allows you entry to all three venues! Each venues door open at 8pm! Don’t miss out!
There is always an artist at the Perth Festival who enhances their reputation beyond belief.The release of Joshua Tillman’s first album where he takes on the moniker Father John Misty with the help of a few of his bearded friends, ensured that interest was very high, but few would have expected a live show as impressive as this. Father John Misty walked onto the stage to rapturous applause to which Tillman wryly called ‘that’s enough of that, don’t objectify me’ before the six-piece showed off their chops on Bad Times In Babylon. The lanky Tillman was every bit the accomplished front man, but adding some visual distraction was bass player Jeffertitti Nile who sung harmonies, shook his plentiful hair and sported the most outrageous pair of lycra pants seen outside of a café on Sunday mornings. Tillman spent the evening swaying his hips and conducting himself in a theatrical manner. He added to his enigma by swigging from a bottle of wine and gyrating on the floor. While Tillman certainly looked to put of a spectacle singlehandedly, the music was anything but second fiddle. The band’s album Fear Fun is an expertly layered slice of new-folk, yet in the live setting things were given much more volume and force. The extra muscle only added to what was one of the better sounding shows of the festival to date. Everyman Needs A Companion gave the band plenty of opportunity to up the muscle and Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings was given a working over with no shortage of guitar prowess and Tillman rolling around the floor and terrorising his mic stand. Warning that during the encore all bets are off Father John Misty ended with a new song and a rollicking walk On The Road Again. This one had a little bit of everything and should not have been missed.
Couples taken by the spirit of Valentine and those looking to be less single were dressed to impress at Metro City’s extravagant Gods & Goddess Toga Love Party last weekend. Long stemmed roses and a decadent San Churros’ chocolate fountain were just some of the special touches added to this sweet affair as patrons danced to their heart’s desire into the wee hours.
Diana, Van
Sabrina, Didier
Lena, Jasmine
Jess, Sophie
Nicola, Jacinta, Vivienne
Sam, Monica
Lucy, Jessica, Vivien
BEAT NIGHTCLUB
Friday, February 22, The Beat has another Gun Fever Showcase. Featuring indie rockers The Community Chest, Bishi Bashi, Oh White Mare, Sunny, and Childsaint. Doors open 8pm. Saturday 23, we have a double event of old school floor shows. Kicking off at 8pm, see Tracksuit, Delusions of Grandeur & Midnight Mules rock out. From midnight we have the second instalment of Witching Hour with late night live bands. March to your own beat this weekend!
LEEDERVILLE HOTEL
Upstairs at the Leederville Hotel this Friday, February 22 is Psychonaut Laser Hell. This is the first Fringe World show to embrace a heavy rock act. Local rockers Psychonaut combine music with lasers to create an event that will leave you dazed with awe! Audio visual effects will merge you with the music, while lasers and lighting effects will twist your very perception of what a rock show should be! Support from Reapers Riddle and The Branson Tramps, who will lay the down the mightiest of riffs! Tickets are $25 from fringeworld.com.au or available at the door.
30
DAVE
Simple Name, Cool Band Having weathered a change in personnel that would have felled most other bands, Perth post-punk outfit Dave are kicking off what is sure to be a busy and bountiful year with the launch of their new single, Closet Romantic, at The Rosemount Hotel this Thursday, February 21, with support from Place of Dave Indigo, Doctopus, and Heathcote Blue. TRAVIS JOHNSON catches up with guitarist Andy “We’ve actually become a lot more busy and prolific since the change,” he tells us. “We’ve written a couple of new songs that Burns for the lowdown. Straddling the line between pop and rock with almost mathematical precision, four-piece outfit Dave had been gigging around the traps for about three years or so when they were confronted with what must have seemed like an insurmountable problem: for reasons that remain obscure (or at least, for no reason anyone seems overly keen to discuss) lead singer James Sprivulis parted ways with his three bandmates, leaving Dave literally voiceless. “It sort of seemed like an impossible task to find a replacement at the start,” Andy Burns, guitar player, confirms. “But, God bless, we somehow managed to come across the one we have now (New Zealand-born Yassaman Rahimi), who is actually a girl - so we had a lineup change and went from male to female singer. That shifted things considerably - it’s different now.” A change of lead singer can be a difficult enough process - few bands manage such a shift successfully, although there are a handful of exceptions - but a change in the gender of the voice involved raises other issues. Burns contends, however, that the band is drawing on the same musical influences as before - “We really all love bands like Weezer, Blur, Kate Bush, Talking Heads, David Bowie,” he says - and that the addition of Rahimi has been largely beneficial.
we all really like, and that’s meant that we can dispose of some of the lesser tracks from our history. But we still do play a substantial lot of our old songs; we’re just not as reliant on them any more.” Hence the imminent release of Closet Romantic, the band’s new single, which was recorded at Lone Wolf Recording Studios with Jason Hale. “We worked on seven songs while we were there and that’s only just been finished, so that took a couple of weeks and substantial amount of money, but we’re really happy with it. That song in particular was a quick process - we just played around with a lot of different guitar sounds and we ended up using a space echo made from a biscuit tin, and our amps are made from old film projectors, so it’s definitely a different approach. In the end it still sounds really nice and shimmery.” As the number of tracks they recorded indicates, the launch of Closet Romantic is only the first salvo in what is shaping up to be a remarkably prolific year for the band. While long-term plans remain secret, Burns reveals that the next few months will be busy indeed. “We’re doing a video clip in March,” he says. “And we’re releasing an EP in late April/early May, and then we’re releasing another EP after that, so we’ve been saving up songs for a while and we’re finally getting them out, giving birth to them.”
Joe McKee
HEY JOE
Get down to Mojo’s Bar in Fremantle this Thursday, February 21, for a dose of deliciousness from the breathy baritone of Joe McKee and the always excellent Felicity Groom. Joining these two local legends will be Lanark and Mt Mountain. Doors open at 8pm, tickets are $10 on the door.
Inanimacy
INANIMATE OBJECTS
Local metal mavericks Inanimacy promise of night of death metal ecstasy this Friday, February 22, at the Railway Hotel. Perth’s heaviest and most hardcore purveyors of depravity will be on hand to blast your soul to smithereens, including Nails of Imposition, Mhorgl, Obscenium (launching their new EP, (Con)clusion (Sequence)), and DeathFuckingCunt. Doors open at 7:30pm, tickets are $10, or $15 with a copy of the EP.
Apricot Rail
BOLT FROM THE BLUE
Down-tempo instrumental exponents Apricot Rail will give their second album, Quarrels, a good send-off this Saturday, February 23, at The Rosemount Hotel. Joining them to mark the occasion will be the haunting Fall Electric, Spirit Level, and impressive newcomers Zealous Chang. Doors open at 8pm.
Miranda and Gordo
MIRANDA RIGHTS
Freophilic indie-rock threesome Miranda and Gordo will be strutting their stuff at The Swan Basement this Friday, February 22, along with their compatriots, The Golden Slums, Children, and Breadbox Mafia. It’s sure to be an eclectic and entertaining night. Doors open at 8pm.
IMPISHLY ENTERTAINING
Self-described ‘punktry’ (cowpunk?) band The Imps will be unleashing a set of songs about love, death, and crap parents this Thursday, February 21, at Ya Ya’s, with able assistance from The Stokes Project, Shiney Beast, and Saskie and the Alligator. Doors open at 8pm, and entry is $5. www.xpressmag.com.au
The Imps 31
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X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays
Drapht
The WorkingHorse Irons
George Clinton
7 Metro City Grunwald, Graveyard Syndicate) BOB SEDERGREEN Train, Brothers Grim, Sticky 30 Red Hill Auditorium 7 The Ellington Fingers, Benjamin Francis MAY BIRDS OF TOKYO Leftwich, The DomNicks & 7 Prince Of Wales Davey Craddock And The BOB EVANS 20 Chevron Festival Gardens LAURIE ANDERSON & 2 Settlers Tavern 8 Fremantle Arts Centre Spectacles) KRONOS QUARTET 3 The Bakery URTHBOY 24 Fremantle Park NAHKO & MEDICINE 27 Perth Concert Hall 8 Mojos DRAPHT 4 Prince Of Wales FOR THE PEOPLE KISS/ MOTLEY CRUE/THIN 9 Amplifier 28 The Rosemount BLACK SABBATH 20 YAC Nannup LIZZY/DIVA DEMOLITION GUNS N’ ROSES / ZZ TOP / PVT 4 Perth Arena 20 The Green Door, 28 Perth Arena ROSE TATTOO 30 The Bakery HAPPY MONDAYS Bridgetown JAMES CARTER ORGAN 9 Perth Arena GUY SEBASTIAN 8 Capitol TRIO 30 Crown Theatre TEGAN AND SARA RINGO STARR 28 Chevron Festival Gardens SAMPOLOGY 8 Leederville Hotel STANTON WARRIORS 21 Challenge Stadium 9 Metro City JACK CARTY AND THE GARY PUCKETT & THE 31 Villa 11 Hay Park, Bunbury FALLS UNION GAP JOSE JAMES/ HIATUS 28 The Ellington EXAMPLE APRIL 9 The Astor 10 Metro City KAIYOTE DEERHOOF HITS & PITS 2013 (Mad CAT EMPIRE 21 Chevron Festival Gardens 28 The Rosemount Caddies, Good Riddance, A THE BRONX/DZ 10 Fremantle Arts Centre CHANCE WATERS Wilhelm Scream, Voodoo DEATHRAYS DINOSAUR JR/ THE EMPERORS 28 Newport Hotel Glow Skulls, The Flatliners, 10 Capitol JON SPENCER BLUES 21 Prince Of Wales 11 Hay Park, Bunbury 1 Civic Hotel EXPLOSION/ MOON DUO Diesel Boy, One Dollar 22 Norfolk Basement THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS Short, Jamie Hay, Jen 12 The Astor 23 Amplifier 10 The Rosemount MARCH Buxton, Totally Unicorn & RONAN KEATING/ BRIAN 11 Hay Park, Bunbury SOUL II SOUL Paper Arms) MCFADDEN DRAPHT GROOVIN THE MOO (Alison 1 The Astor 1 Metropolis Fremantle 12 Crown Theatre 22 Indi Bar Wonderland/Alpine/The YOLANDA BE COOL TITLE FLIGHT/LUCA BRASI THE XX 1 Newport Hotel Amity Affliction/The Bronx/ 1 Metro City 13 Amplifier THE POTBELLEEZ BAND OF FREQUENCIES DZ Deathrays/Example/ 2 Metro City 14 YMCA HQ 23 The Dusk Lounge 1 Settlers Tavern Flume/Frightened PENNYWISE THE JACKSONS 23 Pioneer Park, Gosnells 2 Nannup Music Festival 2 Metro Freo Rabbit/Hungry Kids Of 14 Perth Arena Clancy’s Fish Pub Canning PAUL KELLY/ NEIL FINN/ LUKA BLOOM Hungary/The Kooks/Last LAST DINOSAURS/ 3Bridge 2 Fly By Night Dinosaurs/Matt And Kim/ LISA MITCHELL/GRACE RAINY DAY WOMEN THE TALLEST MAN ON COUNTING CROWS Midnight Juggernauts/ WOODROOFE 22 UWA EARTH 3 Perth Concert Hall 14 & 15 Kings Park Botanical Pez/Regurgitator/Seth 27 Curtin University 1 Chevron Festival Gardens Gardens THE SCRIPT Sentry/Shockone/Tame DAVID BRIDIE AND FRANK GLENN SHORROCK/ 3 Perth Arena Impala/Tegan And Sara/ JULIA STONE YAMMA FRANK TURNER WENDY MATTHEWS/ DOUG The Temper Trap/They 22 St Joseph’s Church 1 Fly By Night 4 Amplifier PARKINSON Might Be Giants/Tuka 1 Nannup Music Festival 14 & 15 Quarry Amphitheatre GRINSPOON With Ellesquire/Urthboy/ DJ YODA NEIL YOUNG 5 Prince of Wales THE ONLY/PEKING DUK DJ Woody’s Big Phat 90’s 22 Villa 2 Perth Arena 6 Amplifier 15 Villa Mixtape/Yacht/Yolanda ANTIBALAS ICEHOUSE/MARK DAMIEN DEMPSEY THE RAAH PROJECT 2 Chevron Festival Gardens Be Cool) SEYMOUR 15 The Bakery 22 Chevron Festival Gardens 11 Hay Park, Bunbury PETE MURRAY 5 Perth Zoo FESTIVAL OF THE WIND THE KOOKS 2 Capitol BIRDY (Dan Sultan, French Butler WORKING HORSE 11 Hay Park, Bunbury 3 Fremantle Arts Centre 6 Riverside Theatre Called Smith and more) IRONS 12 Fremantle Arts Centre 4 Fremantle Arts Centre ROGER HODGSON 16 The Sound Shell 22 Amplifier CRADLE OF FILTH SLAUGHTERHOUSE 7 Riverside Theatre Esperance 23 Prince Of Wales May 12 Metropolis 2 Metro City HUNGRY KIDS OF BOB MOULD Fremantle BABY ANIMALS HUNGARY 16 The Rosemount SARAH BLASKO/ TENACIOUS D 3 The Quarry Amphitheatre PRESIDENTS OF THE 11 Newport Hotel THE NECKS/ 15 Riverside Theatre HOODOO GURUS 12 Capitol UNITED STATES OF EVERMORE 3 Hotel Rottnest WINTERCOATS AMERICA / HEY GERONIMO YACHT CLUB DJS 16 Newport Hotel 23 Kings Park GALLOWS 12 Amplifier 16 Metro Freo 17 Players Bar 3 Amplifier JOSH GROBAN IN HEARTS WAKE MAC MILLER 18 The Charles FUCKED UP 16 Kings Park Botanic 16 Amplifier 23 Metropolis Fremantle 3 Capitol Garden CHRISTINE ANU REWIND 17 YMCA HQ FUTURE MUSIC FESTIVAL ZUCCHERO – THE ARETHA FRANKLIN SETS ON THE BEACH ED SHEERAN/ 2013 (The Prodigy,The 17 Regal Theatre SONGBOOK VOLUME 10 (Hermitude, Stone Roses, PSY, Dizzee 17 & 18 The Ellington PASSENGER Strange Talk, DJ Lord, Yes STU LARSEN Rascal, Bloc Party, Azealia 17 The Ellington 23 Challenge Stadium You, Twinsy, Drop Out TAME IMPALA Banks, Rita Ora, Boys Noize, Orchestra, Luke Million) BUZZCOCKS 18 Belvoir Amphitheatre Hardwell,The Temper Trap, 17 Scarborough Beach 18 April Rosemount CLIFF RICHARD FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND SPIT SYNDICATE/JACKIE 18 Prince Of Wales Bunbury FUN, Madeon, Rudimental, Amphitheatre 23 Sandalford Estate ONASSIS Ellie Goulding, Steve Aoki, THE MARK OF CAIN 19 Amplifier 19 Prince Of Wales Alesso, Gypsy & The Cat, TIM ROGERS/ THE 17 Capitol ATARI TEENAGE RIOT 20 Amplifier A-Trak, Feed Me, Zeds Dead, MUTEMATH BAMBOOS 19 The Bakery 21 Metro Freo 19 The Astor 23 Chevron Festival Gardens Kill The Noise, DJ Fresh, THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM RTRFM’S IN THE PINES Nervo, Zane Lowe, Borgore, VANCE JOY 19 Metro City (Line-up TBC) Cocoon Heroes ft Sven 22 St Josephs Church BAND OF DEFTONES 21 Somerville Auditorium Väth, Richie Hawtin, Ricardo WILLIAM ELLIOT FREQUENCIES 21 Metropolis Fremantle SILVERSTEIN Villalobos, Seth Troxler, WHITMORE 23 Mojos Bar AIRNORTH KIMBERELEY 22 Amplifier Magda,Wake Your Mind 23 Mojos Bar 24 Indi Bar MOON EXPERIENCE (Guy EPICA ft Cosmic Gate & Emma WEST COAST BLUES & 27 Ellington Jazz Club Sebastian, Mark Seymour, 23 Capitol ROOTS FESTIVAL 28 Prince Of Wales Bunbury Hewitt,W&W, tyDi, Andy James Reyne, Gurrumul Moor, Super8 & Tab, Ben (Sensational Space Shifters, DAVE JACKSON Yunupingu) CLUBFEET/WHAT SO Gold,The Stafford Brothers, Iggy & The Stooges, Chris 24 The Ellington 25 Jim Hughes BRITISH INDIA Timmy Trumpet,Tenzin, Isaak, Jason Mraz, Staus NOT Amphitheatre Kununurra 25 Prince Of Wales Bombs Away & More TBA) Quo, Manu, Chao La 23 Villa BRITISH INDIA 26 Settlers Tavern 3 Arena Joondalup Ventura,Tedeschi Trucks April 25 Prince Of Wales 27 Capitol SOUNDWAVE 2013 Band, Fred Wesley & The CONCERT FOR THE April 26 Settlers Tavern MARILYN KELLER (Metallica, Linkin Park, New JB’s, Julia Stone, KIMBERLEY (John April 27 Capitol 26 The Ellington Blink-182, A Perfect Circle, Newton Faukner, Kitty, Butler Trio, Missy THE SEEKERS THE POTBELLEEZ The Offspring, Paramore, Daisy & Lewis,The Music 30 Riverside Theatre Higgins & Ball Park Garbage, Slayer, Cypress Maker, Blues Revue, Grace 26 Capitol FAIRBRIDGE FESTIVAL DRAGON Hill, Bullet For My Valentine, Potter, Russell Morris, Music) (Tinpan Orange/ and more) 31 The Astor Theatre Mama Kin, Blue Shady & 24 Fremantle Esplanade Bustamento/ Frank 4 Claremont Showgrounds Breakthrough Winner) JUNE Yamma/ Kristina Olsen) RUSSELL PETERS 23 Fremantle Park PHRONESIS PINK 26-28 Fairbridge DEBORAH CONWAY 24 Chevron Festival Gardens 5 Perth Arena 25, 26 & 28 Perth Arena MIDGE URE RICKIE LEE JONES 23 The Ellington A$AP Rocky THIS WILL DESTROY YOU 27 Charles Hotel GLENN FREY 7 WASO 5 The Astor DIG IT UP (Hoodoo Gurus, 30 Metro City NICK CAVE & THE BAD 23 Rosemount Hotel 24 Kings Park & Botanical Flamin’ Groovies, Blue SEEDS/MARK LANEGAN WEST COAST BLUES & Garden SEPTEMBER Oyster Cult, Buzzcocks, 6 Red Hill Auditorium ROOTS FESTIVAL (Ben AMANDA PALMER & Peter Case, The Stems) DEEP PURPLE/JOURNEY Harper, Santana, Paul SOUL REBELS THE GRAND THEFT 28 The Astor Simon, Steve Miller 25 Chevron Festival Gardens 7 Perth Arena ORCHESTRA MOVEMENT FESTIVAL GEORGE CLINTON Band, Wilco, Bonnie (NAS, Bliss N Eso, 2 Chainz, 8 Astor Theatre & PARLIAMENT Raitt, Jimmy Cliff, Rufus CAT POWER ONE DIRECTION Chiddy Bang, JOEY FUNKADELIC/GREG Wainwright, Michael 26 & 27 Chevron Festival BADA$$, Angel Haze, Spit 28 & 29 Perth Arena Kiwanuka, Gossling, Ash Gardens WILSON
THIS WEEK
FEBRUARY
OF MERCY HOW TO DRESS WELL HAND 27 Amplifier & AXOLOTL 28 YMCA HQ
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Kisstake,Thursday at The Mustang Bar and Saturday at the Cornerstone
WEDNESDAY 20.02 BAR 120 Felix BEAT NIGHTCLUB (DOWNSTAIRS) Soul Seduction BRASS MONKEY Sugar Blue Burlesque CHEVRON FESTIVAL GARDENS How To Dress Well & Axolotl CLANCY’S CANNING BRIDGE Matt Cal And Leah Miche CLAREMONT HOTEL Acoustica ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Glenn Rogers Trio GREENWOOD Bernardine GROOVE BAR (CROWN CASINO) 5 Shots INDI BAR Darren Guthrie Trojan John Reily Craig LUCKY SHAG Howie Morgan MOJOS BAR Fremantle Blues And Roots Club Elli Schoen Mitch Becker MOON CAFÉ Adrian Hoffman Steve Tallis Sinead O’Hara MUSTANG BAR 3 Corner Jack DJ Giles PADDO Dove Tim Montgomery Andy Ellis ROOFTOP MOVIES NORTHBRIDGE Five Rivers Medicine Show Dave Mann Jim McClelland Chris Matthews Simon Phillips Ill Starred Captain Jay Grafton ROSEMOUNT Sleepy Sun The Love Junkies Red Engine Caves DJ Anton Maz ROSIE O’GRADY’S (NORTHBRIDGE) David Fyffe THE BIRD Dianas Mudlark Zealous Chang THE BROWN FOX Courtney Murphy THE GREEN DOOR BRIDGETOWN Nahko & Medicine For The People THE WEST AUSTRALIA IDOLIZE SPIEGELTENT Tell Mama: The Music of Etta James Stratosfunk Libby Hammer Rusty Pinto UNIVERSAL Strutt Ses Sayer VILLAGE BAR Village People - Open Mic YAYA’S
Wake A Different Kind Of Blue New Animals Dark Ocean
THURSDAY 21.02 ADMIRAL Greg Carter Karaoke BALLYS BAR Sophie Jane BELGIAN BEER CAFÉ Howie Morgan BRASS MONKEY Rhythm Bound Karaoke BRIGHTON Open Mic Night BROOKLANDS TAVERN Celebrations Karaoke CHALLENGE STADIUM Ringo Starr & His All Starr Band Mojo Jacket CHEVRON FESTIVAL GARDENS Jose James Hiatus Kaiyote CLANCY’S CANNING BRIDGE Tom Fisher The Layabouts CLANCY’S FREMANTLE The Ride Screening COMO HOTEL Adam James DEVILLES PAD Rock’N’Roll Karaoke DUNSBOROUGH TAVERN Open Mic Night ELEPHANT & WHEELBARROW 5 Shots ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Manteca ELMARS IN THE VALLEY Adrian Wilson FREMANTLE ARTS CENTRE In Principal Jane Kircher-Lindner Leanne Glover Rob McGrath GREENWOOD Monarchy GROOVE BAR (CROWN) Dr Bogus HIGH WYCOMBE HOTEL Flyte INDI BAR Bex’s Open Mic Night LUCKY SHAG James Wilson MALT SUPPER CLUB Kaberet Thursdays Adam Hall And The Velvet Playboys MARKET CITY TAVERN Emily J Norma Jean And Stew Debbie Edson Wild Chilli Chantelle Schuurmans Kap T MOJOS BAR Joe McKee Felicity Groom Lanark Mt Mountain MT HENRY TAVERN Neil Adams MUSTANG BAR KISStake DJ James MacAurthur PORT KENNEDY TAVERN Adam James PRINCE OF WALES Emperors Super Best Friends
Dilip & The Davs
DILIP & THE DAVS BELEZA SAMBA NGATI THURSDAY 14TH FLY BY NIGHT
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Psychonaut, Friday at The Leederville Hotel ROSEMOUNT Dave Place Of Indigo Doctopus Heathcote Blue Sons Of Rico DJs ROSIE O’GRADY’S (FREMANTLE) Clayton Bolger ROSIE O’GRADY’S (NORTHBRIDGE) Bill Chidgzey SOVEREIGN ARMS Fenton Wilde STEVES BAR Dove SWAN LOUNGE Heather Gray Wood & The Bullfrog THE BOAT Jen De Ness THE BROOK Open Mic Night THE GATE Greg Carter THE PRINCIPAL Bernardine THE SHED The Mystery Men THE WEST AUSTRALIA IDOLIZE SPIEGELTENT Tell Mama: The Music of Etta James Stratosfunk Libby Hammer Rusty Pinto UNIVERSAL Off The Record WOODVALE Two Plus One YA YA’S The Imps Saskie And The Alligator Shiney Beast The Stokies Project
FRIDAY 22.02 7th AVENUE Free Radicals ADMIRAL The Littlest Fox AMPLIFIER The Working Horse Irons BAILEY BAR Mod Squad Tip Top Sound DJ Bren BALLYS BAR Bernardine BALMORAL Mike Nayar BAR ORIENT The Reggae Club The Empressions Mumma Trees Sista Che BEAT NIGHTCLUB (DOWNSTAIRS) PLAY BEAT NIGHTCLUB (UPSTAIRS) The Community Chest Bishi Bashi Oh White Mare Sunny Childsaint BELMONT TAVERN Electrophobia BENTLEY HOTEL Christian Thompson BISTRO 38 Gary Fowlie BLACK BETTYS Everlong BLVD TAVERN Sea Level Trio BRASS MONKEY Acoustic Aly BREAKERS Kill The Director BROKEN HILL HOTEL Nat Ripepi BROOKLANDS TAVERN The Bluebottles BROWN FOX Easy Tigers CAPTAIN STIRLING Chris Gibbs CARINE Pop Candy CARLISLE HOTEL Reload CHEVRON FESTIVAL GARDENS The Raah Project CIVIC HOTEL Chain Reaction CLANCY’S CITY BEACH Marc Osborne CLANCY’S DUNSBOROUGH Dave Mann CLANCY’S FREMANTLE Folklahoma Rachel and Henry Climb a Hill
Rachel and Henry Climb A hill, Friday at Clancy’s Fremantle
Warning Birds Tom Fisher and the Layabouts Justin Walshe COMO HOTEL Trevor Jalla CORNERSTONE Mixtape Band CRAFTSMAN Nicki Rose Trio DEVILLES PAD Jerry Lee Lewis Show Les Sataniques DUNSBOROUGH TAVERN Penny And The Mystics EAST 150 BAR Ali Towers EDZ SPORTZ BAR Sugarfield ELEPHANT & WHEELBARROW Darren Reid & The Soul City Groove ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Natalie Gillespie Fork Funk Ft Danny Martin EMPIRE BAR Howie Morgan FLY BY NIGHT Dilip & The Davs Beleza Samba Ngati FORREST PLACE HAWKERS MARKET Jane Germain & Ian Simpson GREENWOOD Greg Carter GROOVE BAR Decoy HERDSMAN One Trick Phonies HIGH ROAD HOTEL Glen Davies Envy HIGH WYCOMBE HOTEL Dr Bogus HIGHWAY HOTEL The Reals HYDE PARK HOTEL Ricky Green INDI BAR Drapht INDIAN OCEAN BREW Ben Merito KALAMUNDA HOTEL Sophie Jane And The Chilli Bin Boys KULCHA PERFORMANCE CLUB 30th Anniversary Opening Gala Event Grace Barbe Daramad The Merindas Rhythm 22 LAKERS DJ Grizzly Slickenside Melee LEFTBANK Groove Acoustics LEGENDS BAR The Organ Grinders LYNWOOD ARMS Mustangs MAHOGANNY INN Stella Donnelly MARKET CITY TAVERN Dove Nathan Mayers MERRIWA TAVERN Nasty Dogz M ON THE POINT Third Gear MOJOS BAR (ARVO) Captn K Simmo T MOJOS BAR (EVE) Departure Tiki Party Blossoms Sacred Flower Union Capelas Sable El Ritmo DJ’s Claude Mono Jade Nobbs MOON & SIXPENCE Soul Corporation MUSTANG BAR Oz Big Band Swing DJs Cheeky Monkeys DJ James McArthur NORFOLK BASEMENT Emperors The Love Junkies Super Best Friends PADDO Stu Harcourt Booty Juice PADDY MAGUIRES Madam Montage PARAMOUNT
Flyte PEEL ALE HOUSE Carbon Taxi PINK DUCK LOUNGE Jonathan Dempsey PRINCESS ROAD TAVERN Local Heroes QUINDANNING INNE Quinnyfest Lightning Jack Sneaky Weasel Gange RAILWAY HOTEL Obscenium Inanimacy DFC Mhorgl Nails Of Imposition ROCKET ROOM Coyote Ugly Kickstart ROSE & CROWN Tod Woodward ROSEMOUNT Mattersville Hostile Little Face Burning Fiction Them Sharks ROSIE O’GRADY’S (FREMANTLE) Wesley Goodlet Jamboree Scouts ROSIE O’GRADY’S (NORTHBRIDGE) Billy & The Broken Lines SAIL & ANCHOR Howie Morgan Duo Nightshift SOUTH ST ALE HOUSE Robbie King Karaoke SPRINGS TAVERN Dove STEVE’S BAR Better Days ST JOSEPHS CHURCH SUBIACO Julia Stone Vance Joy SWAN BASEMENT Breadbox Mafia Children The Golden Slums Miranda And Gordo SWAN LOUNGE Sinead O’Hara Lauren O’Hara Black Stone From The Sun Tell The Shaman SWINGING PIG Frenzy Greg Carter THE BOAT J Man & Rosie THE BROOK Anthony Buttaccio THE GATE Dirty Scoundrels THE PRINCIPAL B.O.B THE SAINT Almost Famous THE SHED Krank THE VIC Jen De Ness THE WEST AUSTRALIA IDOLIZE SPIEGELTENT Tell Mama: The Music of Etta James Stratosfunk Libby Hammer Rusty Pinto UNIVERSAL Retriofit Nightmoves UWA Last Dinosaurs Rainy Day Women VICTORIA PARK HOTEL Ivan Ribic WOODVALE TAVERN The Damien Cripps Band YA YA’s The Crooked Cats Mt Mountain Misty Mountain Shouting At Camels
SATURDAY 23.02 AMPLIFIER Emperors Grim Fandango Super Best Friends The Sensitive Drunks BALLYS BAR Dove BALMORAL Pop Candy BAR 120 Flyte BEAT NIGHTCLUB (DOWNSTAIRS) Tracksuit
X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays
Listing deadline is Monday 5pm. GO TO www.xpressmag.com.au /PLUG YOUR GIG and plug away! The X-Press Guide is a Perth metropolitan service for advertisers listing tours, live, dance and arts events. All inclusions are at the discretion of X-Press Magazine. The one entry system will update our print edition, website and App
Mattersville, Friday at The Rosemount Hotel Delusions Of Grandeur Midnight Mules Witching Hour BEAT NIGHTCLUB (UPSTAIRS) CANVAS BELGIAN BEER CAFÉ Mike Nayar BELMONT TAVERN Stu Harcourt BLACK BETTY’S J Babies BOK CHOY BALLROOM Tomas Ford BOOTLEG BREWERY Jay Grafter BREAKERS Kill The Director BROOKLANDS TAVERN Carbon Taxi BUFFALO CLUB Folklahoma Greys an Blues BUSH SHACK BREWERY Chris Edmondson CENTENNIAL PIONEER PARK GOSNELLS Illuminate Street Party The Potbelleez CHALLENGE STADIUM Ed Sheeran Passenger Gabrielle Aplin CHEVRON FESTIVAL GARDENS Tim Rogers And The Bamboos The Brown Horn Orchestra The Raah Project CIVIC HOTEL Mosh For A Cure Surroundings Iconoclast Storm The Shores Severtone From Isolation CLANCY’S CITY BEACH Zarm Duo CLANCY’S CANNING BRIDGE Mister And Mitch CLANCY’S FREMANTLE The Crux COMO HOTEL Aidan Hargreaves CORNERSTONE Kiss Take DEVILLES PAD Johnny Nandez Hammond Explosion Razor Jack Agent 85 Les Sataniques DUSK LOUNGE The Potbelleez ELEPHANT & WHEELBARROW Blue Hornet ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Empire Penny King Quintet ELMARS IN THE VALLEY Chris Gibbs FLY BY NIGHT Rock-Off Cancer Lloyd Spiegel Andrew Winton Waiting For Andy John Ackroyd Jordon McRobbie Wayfarer FORRESTFIELD TAVERN Christian Thompson GOSNELLS HOTEL Chasing Calee GREENWOOD Baby Piranhas GROOVE BAR (CROWN CASINO) Hi-NRG HIGH ROAD HOTEL Dr Bogus INDI BAR Blue Shaddy INDIAN OCEAN BREW Karin Page Duo KINGS PARK Sarah Blasko With WASO The Necks Wintercoats KULCHA PERFORMANCE CLUB Freo’s Big Fat Gypsy Fiesta Heartsong Rose Parker Phoebe Corke Roy Martinez Ashima Yvonne Clara Loveny LAKERS Celebrations Karaoke LANGFORD ALEHOUSE Die Hard Karaoke
LEOPOLD HOTEL Steve Hepple MALT SUPPER CLUB Chelsea J Gibson M ON THE POINT Rhythm 22 MERRIWA TAVERN Greg Carter Karaoke MOJOS BAR Band Of Frequencies The Floors PermeZan MOON & SIXPENCE The Damien Cripps Band MUSTANG The Continentals Rockabilly DJ Milhouse DJ James MacAurthur NEWPORT HOTEL Kizzy Gravity NORFOLK BASEMENT The Aunts Moana Burn Habit Daisy Clover OAKOVER WINERY James Wilson OCCY’S BREWERY Short & Curly PADDO Cheeky Monkeys PADDY MAGUIRES Parker Avenue PARAMOUNT Felix PEEL ALEHOUSE Spitzer PORT KENNEDY TAVERN Sean Scott PRINCE OF WALES The Working Horse Irons QUARIE BAR Little Ebony Carus Thompson & Band QUINDANNING INNE Quinnyfest Donna Simpson Polly Medlen Band Carus Thompson & Band Dave Mann Collective Warning Birds Bill Chambers Wil Thomas Ryan Webb RAILWAY HOTEL Penny And The Mystics Them Sharks ROSEMOUNT Apricot Rail Fall Electric Spirit Level Zealous Chang ROSIE O’GRADY’S (FREMANTLE) Flavor ROYAL PALMS RESORT Nathan Gaunt SAIL & ANCHOR Better Days Childs Play SANDALFORD ESTATE Cliff Richards Jay Weston SETTLERS TAVERN John Read Band STEVES BAR David Sofield SWAN BASEMENT Silver Grenade Taun Lillium Stargazer Parker Avenue SWAN LOUNGE Aaron Gwynaire Tashi Hall Robert Hinton Ben Gray SWINGING PIG Rock-A-Fellas Greg Carter THE BIRD The Blossoms Rok Riley Rex Monsoon Wilder & Wilder THE BROOK The Mojos THE EASTERN Misty Mountain The Frighteners The Beers Black Stone From The Sun THE GATE Dirty Scoundrels THE SHED Huge THE VIC Greg Carter Karaoke THE WEST AUSTRALIA IDOLIZE SPIEGELTENT
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Friday Friday David Lazarus, Sunday at Travis Caudle Travis Caudle The Newport Hotel FlyBy ByNight Night Fly Tell Mama: The Music of Etta James Stratosfunk Libby Hammer Rusty Pinto UNIVERSAL Soul Corporation WANNEROO TAVERN Chris Gibbs WHALE AND ALE Krakatini’s WOODVALE TAVERN HI-NRG YAYA’S (DAY) Perth City Battles YAYA’S (NIGHT) Incognito No Use For A Name Tribute Blindspot Varial Yiannos McStavros The De Niros
SUNDAY 24.02 7TH AVENUE Good Karma ADMIRAL Sugarfield James Wilson AMHERST VILLAGE COMMUNITY CENTRE Gozzy Rock Semi Final Retro Rockers Rotaxus Subject 2 Change Lunar Inverse Some Lone Ranger The Painted Bird Wizard Sleeve Falloway Mr Wilson Sun Trees No Walls Nevski Prospekt Short Of Daybreak BALMORAL Electrophobia BARRACK ST JETTY Folk @ The Jetty Greg Hastings John McNair Keith Anthonisz Duet BELMONT TAVERN Acoustic Aly BLVD TAVERN JOONDALUP Open Mic Night BREAKERS BAR Chris Gibbs BRIGHTON Danny Bau BROKEN HILL HOTEL Chris Murphy BROOKLANDS TAVERN Mike Nayar CAPTAIN STIRLING Jamie Powers CARINE Wesley Goodlet Jamboree Scouts CHASE BAR Chasing Calee CHEVRON FESTIVAL GARDENS Phronesis CIVIC HOTEL Riley Pearce CLAREMONT HOTEL Sunday Driver DJ Dan CLANCY’S DUNSBOROUGH New Soundland CLANCY’S FREMANTLE The Zydecats COMO HOTEL Adrian Wilson ELEPHANT & WHEELBARROW Daren Reid & The Soul City Groove ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Beans Buma’s Boys Of Rhythm EMPIRE BAR CB3 FREMANTLE ARTS CENTRE Carus Thompson Band FREMANTLE ESPLANADE Concert For The Kimberley John Butler Trio Missy Higgins Ball Park Music GOSNELLS HOTEL Conny The Clown GROOVE BAR (CROWN CASINO) Switch HIGH WYCOMBE HOTEL The Organ Grinders HIGH ROAD HOTEL Nat Ripepi INDI BAR Band Of Frequencies The Floors INDIAN OCEAN BREW CO
Silver Grenade, Saturday at The Swan Basement
Double Take Retriofit INGLEWOOD HOTEL James Wilson KALAMUNDA HOTEL Chris Gibbs KINGS PARK Glenn Frey With WASO Ross Wilson John Paul Young LAKE JUALBUP Sea Of Tunes LAST DROP TAVERN John Unitt M ON THE POINT Velvet MOJOS BAR (ARVO) Paddy’s Welcome To The Week MOJOS BAR (EVE) Mobros Beat Fantastic Rhythm & Stealth Nors Zion Leure Mei Saraswati Courtney Cox MUSTANG BAR Peter Busher & The Lone Rangers DJ Rockin Rhys NEWPORT HOTEL Alexander Gow Rainy Day Women David Lazarus Tim Nelson OCEAN VIEW TAVERN The Bluebottles PADDY MALONE’S Gary Fowlie PADDO Samuel & Chelsea Paperfly Pusherman PEEL ALEHOUSE Christian Thompson PINK DUCK LOUNGE BAR Glen Davies PORT KENNEDY TAVERN Little Ebony PORTOFINO’S RESTAURANT Glen Davies QUARIE BAR & BISTRO Better Days QUEENS TAVERN Threeplay QUINDANNING INNE Quinnyfest Tom Fisher & The Layabouts The DomNicks BOOM! BAP! POW! Davey Craddock & The Spectacles Andrew Winton Bill Chambers RAILWAY HOTEL Gignition Ethereal Silver Hills Johnny McIntyre TJ O’Donovan Toni Etherson ROSIE O’GRADY’S (NORTHBRIDGE) Neil Colliss David Fyffe SAIL & ANCHOR Mike Nayar SETTLERS TAVERN Dave Mann SOUTH ST ALE HOUSE Blackhart & Strangelove SOVEREIGN ARMS Craig Ballantyne SWAN BASEMENT Mt Mountain We Move Walls
Rag N’ Bone SWINGING PIG Jamie Powers Stu Harcourt THE DEEN Plastic Max & The Token Gesture THE GATE Greg Carter THE LAST DROP Fenton Wilde THE PRINCIPAL Adrian Wilson THE SAINT Howie Morgan Project THE SHED James Wilson UNIVERSAL Retriofit WANNEROO TAVERN Adam James WHISTLING KITE Ricky Green WOODVALE TAVERN Free Radicals YA YA’S Japanese Tongue Sisters Vice Versa Sparks Vertigo Black Birds
MONDAY 25.02 BRASS MONKEY James Wilson CHEVRON FESTIVAL GARDENS Soul Rebels The Arbonauts ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Chamber Jam GROOVE BAR (CROWN CASINO) Chris Murphy & Courtney Murphy MOJOS BAR Wide Open Mic Night MUSTANG BAR Tripple Shots THE DEEN Plastic Max & The Token Gesture YA YA’S Big Tommo’s Open Mic Variety Night
TUESDAY 26.02 CHEVRON FESTIVAL GARDENS Cat Power ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Ben Matthews And Friends GROOVE BAR (CROWN) Ruby’s Groove LUCKY SHAG Ben Merito MERIDIAN ROOM (CROWN) Courtney Murphy MERRIWA TAVERN Celebrations Karaoke MOJOS BAR Daniel Firkin Trio Old Blood Bears & Dolls Apache MUSTANG BAR Danza Loca Salsa Night SETTLERS TAVERN Open Mic Night THE COURT Open Mic & BBQ Night TWO ROCKS TAVERN Jump For Joy Karaoke YA YA’S The Lammas Tide Misty Mountain
Emperors
EMPERORS
LOVE JUNKIES SUPER BEST FRIENDS FRIDAY 22ND THE NORFOLK BASEMENT
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CX ROADSHOW ROUND-UP
When CX, Australia’s monthly sound, lights, video and staging technology news magazine brought their CX Roadshow to The Hyatt in Perth on Valentine’s Day, the Volume crew cancelled date night and got in on the action, risking the wrath of significant others for the greater musical good. Here are just some of the new products from the show that captured our hearts, minds and ears: The Amber Technology stand had a number of microphone brands on display. Robust and eyecatching, the Blue en.CORE series of microphones will be sure to win over the fashion conscious vocalist as well as singers chasing a higher standard of vocal microphone. The en.CORE 100 dynamic mic is a standard live vocal mic, while the 200 features an active circuit to cope with loss of signal from longer cables. The 300 is a condenser mic designed with powerful vocalists in mind and the 100i is an instrument microphone. These microphones look the part and just holding on to one and taking in the sheer weight and sleek design is a confidence-builder. Current Blue endorsees include Okkervil River, Hot Hot Heat, Danko Jones and The Gaslight Anthem amongst many others. Find out more at bluemic.com or visit ambertech.com.au for Australian supplier information. DPA Microphones have recently introduced their new d:fine single-ear headset microphone series. Light, non-intrusive and even inconspicuous if required (some colour choices are skin-toned), the d:fine series also offers directional and omni modes, single and dual ear designs and long and short mic booms. These mics perform equally well on both cable and pro wireless systems. See and hear more at dpamicrophones. com or visit the Australian supplier at ambertech. com.au to find out more. The KV2 Audio stand featured the JK Series DI Units. Sporting low-noise, high quality circuitry, European transformers and military standard sealed switches, these DI units offer higher headroom and lower output impedance than any other DI currently available. They look and feel like they mean
KV2 Audio JK Series
Blue Encore
Line 6 StageScape M20D
business and several options are available. In addition to the standard single channel DI, there are stereo, acoustic and passive models available as well as a tone generator for tuning and checking large PA systems. Check out kv2audio.com.au for more details. The Australis Music Group stand was sporting some amazing new technology from Line 6, one of the group’s recent brand acquisitions. The Volume team were blown away by the technology on display from the new Line 6 StageScape M20d, the world’s first smart mixing system. The system utilises touchscreen-based visual mixing, input jack sensing, a visual mixing environment and professionally crafted sound tools to prepare, process and route signals automatically. Rather than knobs and faders, StageScape M20d uses a touchscreen with a graphic representation of your stage and touching an image gains access to control of that channel. Dialling in sounds and tones is as simple as moving your finger around the screen. Coupled with the StageSource intelligent speaker systems which are available in numerous combinations, this technology is the ultimate pairing of audio quality, intuitive user-friendly design and, well…amazing sci-fi features! An available iPad app also allows the user to mix from anywhere in the room, and an on-board SD card slot makes live recording a simple as the touch of a screen! The StageScape 36
DPA Microphones d:fine
M20d has to be seen and heard to be believed. Be blown away at www.line6.com and visit australismusic.com.au for Australian prices and availability. _CHRIS GIBBS X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays
MUSIC GEAR & TECHNOLOGY EDITED BY TRAVIS JOHNSON
SLAM DAY
VOLUME NEWS
Saturday, February 23, is the second National SLAM day, an Australia-wide celebration of live music, with gigs of every stripe taking place from coast to coast. Head to slamrally.org for more information. Your favourite protest singer aside, the link between music and politics is often obscure. To be sure, popular music has a long and proud tradition of commenting on and criticising the issues of the day, but the flow goes both ways. It’s always worth remembering that all your favourite venues, festivals, pubs, clubs, and open-mic bars and cafes basically exist at the tolerance of a number of large and not necessarily sympathetic bureaucratic bodies, and sometimes that tolerance grows mighty thin. Such was the case back in 2010, when the State Government of Victoria decided to take a dim view of the social benefits of live music. SLAM founder Helen Marcou explains.“The then-government had linked live music with high risk activity in a bid to curb alcohol-fuelled violence. There was a roll-out of liquor licenses that said that if you hosted any live music at all, you immediately became a high risk venue, which meant two security guards, CCTV, increased insurance costs... and what we found in a very short period of time is that 130 venues actually reduced their live music programme or cancelled it altogether.” It sounds like an extreme measure by a reactionary parliament, but it’s really just a logical extension of the noise complaints and loud moaning that have cost us in the west a good number of venues - anyone who can remember the glory of the Grosvenor Back Room should count themselves lucky. We’re also lucky that the music community of Victoria decided not to take such a legislative lashing lying down, responding with a veritable barrage of protest in the form of the SLAM - Support Live Australian Music, in case you’re wondering - Rally. “20,000 people marched on Parliament House,” Marcou recalls. “Demanding that this policy be overturned, and to break the link between live
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AUDIOFLY
music and violence. We had strong, evidence-based research that showed that, if anything, live music actually mitigates violence rather than creates it. We came out with a bang, and it was called the larger cultural rally in Australia’s history. I don’t think it’s happened anywhere in the world, to have that many people congregate in defence of live music.” As a direct result of that grassroots groundswell, the Victorian Liquor Licensing Act was changed a little over a year later, rescinding the restrictive new rules. Since then, SLAM has gone on to become a powerful behind the scenes advocate for the live music sector. Marcou rattles off an impressive list of accomplishments and current goals. “We’re at the negotiating table with the Victorian Premier, planning changes; we’re working with the South Australian government, who are now introducing their Small Venues Bill, discussing ways of helping Adelaide get more live music stimulated into the scene. Some of our closest allies and advisors make up the bulk of the Sydney Live Music Task Force that has just been announced, and they’ll be making recommendations. SLAM also lobbied for
Audiofly
Headphone specialists Audiofly recently announced the launch of their new line of in-ear monitors for April. Designed for stage use, they’re a universal fit - a feature designed to keep the price sweet for jobbing musos - and come between one and three armatures. Designed to compete in the same market Helen Marcou niche as Shure and Westone, they’re expected to retail between $250 - $300. Head to audiofly.com three years for the creation of a Federal position of for details. National Live Music Coordinator, and Dr. Ianto Ware from South Australia was appointed earlier this year. He’ll be developing a list of recommendations for Simon Crean’s office on a Federal level. So there’s stuff happening all over the country - it’s a really exciting time, when live music is firmly on the political agenda.” There are also many things afoot locally, not the least of which is the number of SLAM Day Dr. Ianto Ware gigs going down this weekend, including Emperors at The Amplifier, Tomas Ford at the Bok Choy Ballroom, and The Aunts at The Swan Basement. SLAM is a grassroots organisation, eschewing government funding and corporate sponsorship. “At times we need to be hyper-critical of government,” Marcou explains. “So it’s important that we’re not beholden Monday, February 25 sees the first in WAM’s annual to them.” When asked the simplest way local punters series of free industry talks. Aptly, this first event can fly the flag, she is straight to the point. sees Dr. Ianto Ware, recently appointed National Live “Get out to a gig on February 23,” she says. Music Coordinator, hold forth on the subject of Live “No matter what else you’re doing, get out to a live Music Regulations. A timely and important topic, gig and wish everyone a happy SLAM day.” this is something all serious performers and venue operators will want to check out. RSVPs are essential. _TRAVIS JOHNSON Go to wam.asn.au for details.
2013 WAM MUSIC INDUSTRY SUNDOWNER SERIES LAUNCH
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MUSIC GEAR & TECHNOLOGY EDITED BY TRAVIS JOHNSON
FOR SALE AUDIOFLY HEADPHONES Designed in Perth by a small team, unique headphones to capture every detail in your favourite music www.audiofly.com MUSOS WANTED BAND MANAGER WANTED Articulate/ P r o f e s s i o n a l / E x p e r i e n c e d. 5 p i e c e contemporary electronic lounge band. Contact 0438 771 128 BAND MEMBERS WANTED 21 y.o. Guitarist. Infls Marty Friedman and early Megadeth/ GNR. Call 0439 976 770. (West Perth Abode) GUITARISTS WANTED Experienced 30+ guitarist & bassist wanted to complete new lineup of established orig hard rock band. 0435 825 090 MUSO’S WANTED For Blues/Rock cover band. Required..drumer, guitarist and keyboard player. Reliable and professional. Email trevorkidd@y7mail.com OPEN MIC NIGHT every Thursday night at Indi Bar. Just call Bex on 0404 917 632. OPEN MIC NIGHT Every Tuesday night at the Craigie Tavern 8-11pm. Call Corey for bookings 0431 448 235 SUPREMES TRIBUTE Wanted 2 female vocalists for a Supremes tribute. Aimed at corporate events market. Call Brian Davidson at Focus Promotions 9 - 5 Mon Fri 9272 4144 PHOTOGRAPHY PROJECT PHOTOGR APHY Pr o m o photography, studio, live, location. Mike Wylie 0417 975 964 w w w. p ro j e c t p h o to g ra p hy. co m When its time to ice the cake... PRODUCTION SERVICES * L I G H T I N G * AU D I O * S TAG I N G * www.nightstarlightingaudio.com.au www.nightstarlightingaudio.com.au w w w . i n s t a n d t . c o m . a u w w w . i n s t a n d t . c o m . a u 9381 2363/ 9444 6651 CD & DVD MANUFACTURE Check out our latest CD & DVD specials online at www. procopy.com.au 9375 3902 MATRIX PRODUCTIONS AUSTRALIA Lighting, staging, sound systems, smoke machines, night club FX, intelligent lighting, strobes & mirror balls, crowd barriers, video projectors. 9371 1551 RECORDING STUDIOS ALAN DAWSON’s WITZEND RECORDING STUDIO Prof quality albums or demos, large live room, experienced engineer, analog to digital transfers, mastering..Alan 0407 989 128 or Jeremy 0430638178 www. witzendstudios.com
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ANDY’S STUDIO International multi award winning songwriter / producer. No band required. Broadcast quality. A songwriter’s paradise. Ph 9364 3178 AVALON STUDIOS BIBRA LAKE One of Perths best equipped studio. Record to analog tape or digital, Avalon pre amps, Neumann mics, the latest and best universal audio, plug in’s for digital recordings. All styles of music, $55 per hour call Tony 0411 118304 email avalonstudios@bigpond.com GOLDDUSTCONSTRUCTION.COM Production,mixing,recording and composition for your music. Unique award winning skills to take songs from ideas to finished mixes or to fulfill the potential in existing ones. Located in Subiaco. $70 p/h. Andrew 0408 097 407 POONS HEAD MASTERING Analog mastering at its best. Clients include Mink Mussel Creek, Jeff Martin, The Panics, Pond + The Floors. World class facility. World class results. www. poonshead.com 9339 47 91 R E CO R D I N G M I X I N G M A S T E R I N G PRODUCING Fremantle location. Call Pete Kitchen Cooked Records. Ph 0407 363 764 / 9336 3764 REVOLVER SOUND STUDIO Ph 9272 7505. www.revolverstudio.com.au SONGWRITERS! - UNLOCK YOUR SONGS’ POTENTIAL +FREE BAND APPRAISALS. UK Producer, 40,000+ hours studio experience. 20 yrs in London with bands and songwriters. Kicking arrangements, great studio and the ability to really listen will give your material the edge you need. Call Jerry on 0405 653 338 or visit www.jerichomusic.com.au REHEARSAL STUDIOS AAA VHS REHEARSAL ROOMS Great facilities, great vibe & great price!!! Unit 5 /16 Peel Road, O’Connor. Phone 9418 5815 or 0413 732 885 BIGBEAT SOUND STUDIO Clean rooms, all new PA systems, air-con and good parking . Willetton Ph: 0425 698 117. PLATINUM SOUND ROOMS Professional rehearsal rooms, airconditioned, quality PAs mob 0418 944 722 TUITION ***GUITAR LESSONS*** The Guitar Specialist. New year enrolments. Beg-adv, all styles and levels including bass. Cliff Lynton Guitar Institute. Mt Lawley 9342 3484 / www. clifflynton.com BASS LESSONS Rock, funk & jazz. Tony Gibbs 9470 6131 DRUM LESSONS All styles, all ages. WAAPA prep. Modern techniques & rudiments, Beginner to advanced. Ph Pascal: 0413 172 817. FREE MUSIC LESSONS Book your free 30min trail lesson. All instruments, all ages, all experience levels. 0403 162 641 | walthermusic. com GUITAR & KEYBOARD TUITION (BeginnersPro fe s s i o n a l ) O n e o n O n e l e s s o n s. Burswood Ph 6460 6921/ 0415889645. www.gvkschoolofmusic.com.au
GOING BACK TO NAMM The NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) show held annually every January in Anaheim, California, is one of the world’s largest music product trade shows. Here are some new product highlights from NAMM 2013: The Godin Guitar Company’s beginnings in 1972 included president and founder Robert Godin travelling the United States and Canada, selling guitars to dealers out of his van and building replacement necks for some of the industry’s top brands of the time. Today, Godin is one of the largest guitar manufacturers in the business and now includes six factories and seven guitar brands sold worldwide. The Godin brand in itself features the widest range of guitars and stringed instruments in the industry, which ingratiates the brand across most playing styles. This year Godin celebrated 40 years in the business by unveiling several new models at NAMM, one of which was the Godin Montreal Premiere electric guitar. This semi-hollow body electric guitar features a Canadian wild cherry top, back and sides, with an innovative spruce carved core which promotes free air flow through the interior, making the instrument resonant and vibrant. A three-way toggle switch, volume and tone knobs, mahogany set-neck with rosewood fingerboard, double-bound binding, high-gloss custom polished finish, contoured high-gloss headstock with high-ratio vintage style tuners, and ResoMax bridge system by Graphtech with stop tailpiece round out the features. A Bigsbyequipped option is also available along with several colour options. Visit godinguitars. com or godindirect.com.au for Australian prices and availability.
Godin Montreal Premiere
Digitech Impossible Pedal
DigiTech announced the first in a line of iStomp Signature Artist e-pedals, joining forces with guitarist extraordinaire Adrian Belew to debut The Impossible Pedal. Belew has pushed sonic boundaries with many artists including David Bowie, King Crimson, Talking Heads, Frank Zappa, and Nine Inch Nails The sounds he can coax out of his instrument make him one of the world’s most unique guitarists. Two knobs on The Impossible Pedal set the two different pitch intervals and two knobs select whether the pitches shift up or down over a two octave range. By stepping on the footswitch, the note played by the guitarist alternates between the standard pitch and the two pitch-shifted voices, to create melodic passages that extend beyond physical ability. Even the e-pedal’s iStomp icon is an impossible optical illusion. The Impossible Pedal lives up to its name, giving guitarists the ability to play ‘impossible’ guitar riffs. As with all DigiTech e-pedals, players will require an iStomp pedal to upload to. The iStomp, covered in these pages recently, is a new concept in guitar stompboxes that allows musicians to turn the iStomp into any pedal available in the Stomp Shop online pedal store. The Stomp Shop app comes with ten of the most popular pedals and gives access to more than 40 additional e-pedals to browse, try out and purchase. More e-pedals are added on a regular basis. The Impossible Pedal e-pedal is available for $19.99. The iStomp is currently available at around $229. _CHRIS GIBBS
X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays
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X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays
WESTERN AUSTRALIAN INDIGENOUS ART AWARDS COME OUT AND PLAY
Though it’s been going for six years now, this week marks the first time that The National Play Festival has come to Perth. Presented between Thursday, February 21, and Sunday, February 24, in the Studio Underground at The State Theatre Centre of Western Australia, the event encompasses new plays, free artist talks, and special events all in pursuit of celebrating the cutting edge of Australian theatrical writing and performance. head to nationalplayfestival.org.au for more details.
16 finalists will feature in the Western Australian Indigenous Art Awards 2013 exhibition, competing for a share in $65,000 in prizes. The richest indigenous art award in the country, it was founded in 2008 to celebrate the breadth and diversity of indigenous culture, and to acknowledge the ongoing contribution Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander make to Australian art, culture, and society. This year’s exhibited artists include Cann Churchill, Minyawe Miller, Conrad Tipungwuti, and Ngipi Ward. The exhibition runs at the Art Gallery of Western Australia from August 23, 2013 until January 27, 2014. Go to artgallery.wa.gov.au for further details.
GREAT DANE
The National Play Festival
GET IT INDIA
Participating in the Perth Centre of Photography’s artist in residence programme, UK photographer Sonal Kantaria is embarking on a two month artistic investigation into the Indian diaspora, and the ways in which people from India, Malaysia, and East Africa migrate, integrate, and demarcate their culture in the broader Australian social experience. pcp.com.au has more information.
Indian Diaspora - Sonal Kantaria
The 2013 performance programme of the We s t e r n Au s t r a l i a n Academy of Performing Arts is almost upon us, and the first cab off the rank is none other than William Shakespeare’s immortal account of love, tragedy, madness, and revenge, Hamlet. Co-produced with Barking Gecko Theatre Company and directed Hamlet, WAAPA and by respected theatre Barking Gecko veteran John Sheedy, this production will showcase the best, brightest, and newest talent that the Perth theatre scene has to offer. It runs at the Subiaco Arts Centre from March 16 until March 22, and tickets are available through Ticketek.
THE PRINCIPAL OF THE THING
In Principal, as presented by The Western Australian Symphony Orchestra and the Fremantle Arts Centre, represents a rare chance for some of WA’s leading classical musicians to step out of their usual place in the broader musical ensembles they normally inhabit and let their individual talents and tastes take centre stage. Jane Kircher-Linder, Leanne Glover, Rod McGrath, Andrew Nicholson, and Giovani Pasini will perform in two recitals that encompass music ranging from the 19th century to the 21st. The first performance takes place this Thursday, February 21, at the Fremantle Arts Centre Courtyard; the second on Thursday, March 7, In Principal at the same venue.
No
NO
Election? Result! Directed by Pablo Larrain Starring Gael Garcia Bernal, Alfredo Castro, Luis Gnecco, Antonia Zegers, Marcial Tagle, Nestor Cantillana The third part of Chilean director Pablo Larrain’s loose trilogy on the turbulent political history of his homeland, No examines, in an engaging and innovative way, an odd moment back in 1988 when Chile’s future lay in the hands of a small group of marketing executives. 1988 was a changing point for Chile. A national referendum would decide whether the brutal dictatorship of General Augustus Pinochet would continue. Unfortunately for those keen oust the general (pretty much everyone at this stage of the game) the opposing political factions were too disparate to mount an effective campaign against Pinochet’s regime, or else too frightened of reprisals to speak out publically. Young ad man, Rene Saavedra (Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal), is approached to take on a seemingly impossible job: create a television campaign that will weld together the fractious factions and hopefully return the country to democratic rule. His approach? Quit focussing on the relentless horrors perpetuated by the incumbent government and, taking his cue from American soft drink campaigns, turn a vote against Pinochet into a vote for happiness and fun. Larrain manages to make the internal politics of Chile understandable to the layman by centring his drama in the personal, largely through the conflict between Saavedra and his boss, Lucho
Guzman (Alfredo Castro), who, coincidentally enough, is working on Pinochet’s campaign. It’s political drama by way of media satire, with each side waging a hearts and minds campaign on the airwaves. Everything moves along at a steady clip, and though the whole thing is consistently, darkly funny - the notion that these clunky, cheesy political ads are somehow going to sway the fate of a nation is probably unimaginable to anyone not old enough to remember the ‘80s with clarity - Larrain never lets us lose track of the stakes, pulling no punches when describing the excesses of Pinochet’s rule. Larrain’s choice to shoot the whole thing in 4/3 ratio on magnetic tape is an interesting one; while successful in grounding the film in its period setting, and enabling the director to integrate archival footage almost seamlessly, the less than perfect format could well alienate general audiences, especially those expecting something along the lines of the slickly-produced Argo, another recent real-life political thriller that shares No’s subversive, intelligent tone. It’s worth making the effort, though. This is compelling, engaging, sharp-edged cinema that promotes a cogent political agenda without beating the audience over the head with it. There’s a reason it’s up for a ‘Best Foreign Language’ Oscar. Leave your assumptions about Latin American political cinema at home and vote ‘yes’ for No. _TRAVIS JOHNSON No screens as part of the Lotterywest Festival Films season at UWA’s Somerville Auditorium until February 24 and Joondalup Pines from February 26-March 3. For more details, head to perthfestival.com.au.
EXTREMIST INTENTIONS Sami Shah
Sami Shah and Nesh Sooriyan perform their two-man stand up comedy show, Extremist Intentions, as part of Fringe World at The Noodle Palace from tonight, Wednesday February 20, until Sunday, February 24. Head to fringeworld. com.au for information and tickets. A Hindu and a Muslim walk into a noodle bar. No, it’s not the setup to a hoary old joke; it’s a fairly accurate description of what’s going down this week when Pakistani comedian Sami Shah and Sri Lankan funny man Nesh Sooriyan offer up their new show to Perth audiences. It all began when Sooriyan, an established Perth comedian who came to Australia from Sri Lanka as a child, approached Shah with the notion of putting on a show that drew on their shared experiences as immigrants. “Nesh approached me with the idea,” Shah comfirms. “I’d just immigrated here from Pakistan, so we thought it’d be interesting to try and do something from that perspective - the different perspective that we bring to everyday life and things like that. Then we started working other things into it, like I’ve ended up living in the town of Northam for the last six months since I moved here, so that’s been an experience in and of itself. It’s about that, and it’s about some of the perceptions people have of people who look like me and look like Nesh, things like that. So we’ve got whole bunch of topics connected through the whole immigrant experience, really.” Australia has a long legacy of ethnic comedy, but it’s mainly come from our Greek and Italian immigrant communities - Nick Giannopoulos is probably the most visible example. Now, with an increase in non-European immigrants and closer cultural and economic ties with Asia, Shah and Sooriyan could very well be the leading edge of a new wave of comics. Having said that, Shah assures us that they’re probably not coming from Pakistan. “The stand up comedy scene in Pakistan?” he says. “There is none. there was just me and a couple other guys. I had watched stand up comedy since I was a kid. I had VHS tapes of Eddie Murphy, and Steve Martin, stuff like that. I’d have to book the auditorium myself, I’d have to go out and do the ticketing and promotion and everything. Pakistan 20
Sami Shah is actually, despite what you may read on the news, great at laughing at itself. You’ve got a very strong cultural tradition of satire over there, which has influenced my stuff as well.” Although a relatively new face in the Western Australian comedy scene, Shah is a veteran of countless shows in his native Pakistan. Asked to compare Pakistani and Australian audiences, he says, “In Pakistan they’re actually more politically aware, so people in Pakistan react more instinctively, they react more from the gut, to things about politics and world affairs and things like that, because those are things that are directly impacting the lives of Pakistanis. Whereas I’ve found, in Perth at least, people are less politically aware, so they react better to the more personal things. _TRAVIS JOHNSON X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays