X-Press Magazine

R . I . P. S U E H A M M E R S L E Y

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X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

www.xpressmag.com.au

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X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

UNSIGNED HEROES

BREAKIN’ IT DOWN

That’s right, Breakfest is back!

Per th’s biggest exclusive broken beat-filled event is going to be a big one this Boxing Day, with sets from a lineup of massive international artists, including: Krafty Kuts, A.Skillz, DJ Yoda, Lady Waks, The Nextmen, Jaguar Skills, Specimen A, Marten HØrger, Pyramid, High Contrast, Camo And Krooked, Spy and MC Wrecc with heaps more to be announced. It’ll all be happening on Wednesday, December 26, at the amazing Belvoir Amphitheatre. Early bird tickets are on sale on Monday, September 10, from Ticketmaster and Moshtix.

Timothy Nelson & The Infidels

QUARRY UP!

Krafty Kuts

Gyroscope, The Benefit Show For Dana

Due to overwhelming popular demand, John Williamson, Washington and the Reminiscing… triple bill of Glenn Shorrock, Wendy Matthews and Doug Parkinson have all announced second Live At The Quarry shows.

One of the fastest selling Quarry seasons in history has seen Washington sell-out already with the announcement of a second show on Saturday, November 17. News dates have also be announced for John Williamson on Saturday, December 1, and Glenn, Wendy and Doug on Friday, March 15. Tickets for all shows are on sale now from ticketmaster.com.au or by calling 136 100.

The 2012-13 Live At The Quarry season is proudly presented by X-Press Magazine.

A WORTHY BENEFIT Perth Roller Derby

THEY SEE ME ROLLIN’

The Perth Roller Derby League 2012 Grand Final is set to be held on Saturday, September 29. The same day as the AFL Grand Final, the PRD event dishes up a double serving of sporting excellence to footy fans, and provides an alternative for those who prefer their athletes in short shorts to be on wheels. The Mistresses Of Mayhem will battle it out with the Bloody Sundaes at the Herb Graham Recreation Centre in Mirrabooka. Doors open 6.15pm, the bout rolls at 7pm. Pre-sale tickets are $15 for adults and $8 for kids from trybooking. com/BSUF.

A big congrats to locals Timothy Nelson & The Infidels who took out first place in the folk/singer-songwriter category of the 2012 Unsigned Only music competition. The enigmatic ensemble was selected by a panel of celebrity judges – the likes of whom included Cyndi Lauper, The Cure’s Robert Smith and Kelly Clarkson – from nearly 7,500 entries, representing solo artists and bands from 80 countries worldwide. Well done!

After Gyroscope guitarist Zoran Trivic broke both of his legs in a horrific motorcycle accident earlier this year, the seminal Perth band dropped off the radar to give Trivic the support he needed. Trivic has now thankfully made a full recovery, and the band are easing back into action with a previously postponed benefit show for Dana Vulin, who was left with burns to 60 per cent of her body after an intruder broke into her home, doused her with methylated spirits and set her alight in February.

The Benefit Show for Dana will raise money to help the Vulin family with medical expenses, legal fees and rehabilitation costs. Get down to the Rosemount on Saturday, September 22, to show your support. Tickets are available now through Oztix, and support on the night will be from The Scotch of St. James and Boston & Chevy.

Pond

WET AND WILD

Having won over crowds in the US, Canada, Europe and the UK (where the NME declared they were the ‘hottest new band in the world’), it’s been a good few months since Pond served up their live show to a homegrown crowd, so don’t miss their psych-rock grooves at The Bakery on Saturday, September 15. Their last run of Australian shows all sold out, so get your tickets to this one from nowbaking. com.au stat!

RECOGNITION ROCK

Wendy Matthews, Doug Parkinson and Glenn Shorrock, Reminiscing for Live At The Quarry

A new series of concerts, Rock For Recognition, will be popping up around the countr y throughout November to promote the recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the Australian Constitution – a document which currently allows Parliament to enact racially discriminate law. Headlined by the uber-talented Dan Sultan, the Perth show will also feature Leah Flanagan and Wolves At The Door. Get down to The Bakery on Saturday, November 10, or Fly By Night on Sunday, November 11, to show your support and see what is sure to be an awesome performance. To book tickets head to dansultan.com.

MORE MERCHANT

British funnyman Stephen Merchant’s two Perth shows sold out in minutes, so due to overwhelming demand, a third show at the Astor Theatre has been added on Tuesday, December 4. Best get your tickets quick smart from livenation.com.au.

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Reactions/ Comp

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Flesh

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Music: Stephen Malkmus

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Music: Richard Clapton/ Katchafire

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Music: The xx/ Sola Rosa

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Music: Everclear

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New Noise

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Eye4 Cover: On The Misconception Of Oedipus

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Eye4 Art Stories/ Movies: Your Sister’s Sister

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Eye4 Movies: Hit & Run/ Eye2Eye

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Education Feature Cover: Techno Fashion

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Salt Cover: John 00 Fleming

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Salt: Cover Story/ ShockOne/ Roger Shah

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Salt: Hamilton/ Wiley

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Salt: Club Manual/ Scenery/ Testpad

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Scene: Pub Scene/ Pub Blurbs/ Live

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Scene: Local

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Tour Trails

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Gig Guide

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Volume

Benoit Pioulard

Cover: Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks play The Rosemount on Friday, September 28 and Wave Rock Weekender which hits Hyden on Saturday, September 29 and Sunday, September 30

Salt Cover: John 00 Fleming plays Metro City this Saturday, September 8 www.xpressmag.com.au

FOLK FORAY

Heading to our shores for a four-date tour in October is Benoit Pioulard, the moniker of USbased Thomas Meluch, a multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter firmly grounded in the folk scene. On his first Australian tour, Meluch will perform a series of cinematic, acoustic indie-folk tunes, both soothing and theatrical in nature. The gig will also feature WA experimental duo Matt Rosner and Adam Trainer as Gilded, who will be launching their album Terrane. Support on the night will be from Stina and Christopher Cobilis performing as a duo, plus Kynan Tan playing alongside Cycle 440. This will all go down on Sunday, October 7, at The Bird, with tickets cheap as chips at $10 on the door.

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with Melissa Erpen... 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 & 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.

Print and Digital Editions Publisher/Manager Joe Cipriani Editorial

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Managing Editor Bob Gordon: editor@xpressmag.com.au Arts & Fashion Editor Emma Bergmeier: artsfashion@xpressmag.com.au Dance Music & Features Editor Annabel Maclean: danceeditor@xpressmag.com.au Staff Writer Jennifer Peterson-Ward: localmusic@xpressmag.com.au Gig & Event Guides Co-ordinator Melissa Erpen - guide@xpressmag.com.au Entertainment Services Co-ordinator / Competitions Melissa Erpen - win@xpressmag.com.au Photography Callum Ponton, Stefan Caramia, Daniel Grant, Sammy Granville, Matt Jelonek, Denis Radacic 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, Travis Johnson, Rezo Kezerashvili,Tara Lloyd, Adam Morris, Andrew Nelson, Chloe Papas, Daniel Parkinson, Tom Varian, Ben Watson, Jessica Willoughby For band gigs and launches - plugyourgig@xpressmag.com.au

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MYSTERY JETS

London based group Mystery Jets return to Australia in support of their new album Radlands.

Hailing from West London and three albums down the line, Mystery Jets have accrued success in abundance with their own quirky pop sound.

The guys check into Perth’s Amplifier/Capitol on Thursday, September 20, and we have double passes to giveaway. Get in now to win tickets to what is going to be a killer show.

Production

OKA

BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD

The most magical film of the year, Beasts Of The Southern Wild will inspire and remind audiences of the magic that exists in all of our worlds. The film centres around six-year-old Hushpuppy who goes in search of her lost mother, faced with her father’s fading health and environmental changes that signal the unravelling of the universe, and is forced to comprehend her place in the mysterious world around her. We have 10 double passes up for grabs to see this incredible film so get in now for your chance to win

Renowned for their celebration of Australian culture, Oka’s music combines a multi coloured layer of dub, electronica, hip-hop, jazz and many forms of world music. Performing new material from their forthcoming seventh album, as well as some old favorites, the band will be hitting the West for eight electrifying shows. We have double passes up for grabs to their Mojos show on Thursday, September 13, and Indi Bar on Wednesday, September 19. Get your entries in now to win tickets and don’t forget to mention your preferred venue!

Boy Gets Girl

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Production Co-ordinator Ruth Tyndall

BOY GETS GIRL

production@xpressmag.com.au

Black Swan State Theatre Company presents Boy Gets Girl by Rebecca Gilman, a stalker thriller about what happens when a blind date goes wrong. Darkly comic, Boy Gets Girl will get under your skin and make you question what you think you know about personal identity, trust, love and obsession. Playing at the State Theatre Centre from the September 15-30, we have five double passes to giveaway to the performance on Tuesday, September 18. Enter now for your chance to be in the running.

Art Director Dwight O’Neil

Design + Production

art@xpressmag.com.au Brooke Gerrick, Andy Quilty, Anthony Jackson

Printing Rural Press Printing Mandurah

Administration

reception@xpressmag.com.au

Accounts Lillian Buckley

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Distribution Distribution

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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 73/102 Railway Parade, 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

WARRANTY AND INDEMNITY

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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The Watch

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Receptionist Melissa Erpen

CHECK OUT WWW.XPRESSMAG.COM.AU AND SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER ONLINE FOR LOADS MORE EXCLUSIVE COMPS!

Beasts Of The Southern Wild

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Sales and Marketing Manager Sue Blackwell - advertising@xpressmag.com.au Online Marketing Sue Blackwell - advertising@xpressmag.com.au Music Services / Musical Equipment / Bands / Record Labels Des Richardson - musicservices@xpressmag.com.au Entertainment Venues / Live and Dance Music Promoters Luke Andrioff - entertainment@xpressmag.com.au Agency / Movies / Education / Sponsorship Sue Blackwell - advertising@xpressmag.com.au Arts / Fashion / Lifestyle Alia Bannani - eye4@xpressmag.com.au Classifieds Linage Melissa Erpen - classifieds@xpressmag.com.au

Mystery Jets

THE WATCH

Four everyday suburban guys come together to form a neighbourhood watch group, but only as an excuse to escape their humdrum lives one night a week. But when they accidentally discover that their town has become overrun with aliens posing as ordinary suburbanites, they have no choice but to save their neighbourhood - and the world - from total extermination. With a stellar cast including Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill, Richard Ayoade and Rose DeWitt, The Watch is guaranteed to be a hit so get in now for your chance to win a double pass.

BAIT 3D

Torn apart by a tragic accident, former couple Josh (Xavier Samuel) and Tina (Sharni Vinson) come face to face in a supermarket for the first time since their break up a year earlier. The awkward encounter comes moments before a robbery takes place; and then the unimaginable occurs, a tsunami swallows the sleepy beach community and they are thrown into an underwater nightmare. Guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat, we have 10 double passes to see the 3D film preview screening at Reading Cinemas, Belmont on Wednesday, September 19. Enter now for your chance to win tickets.

Bow Wow

BOW BOW

Bow Wow is gracing the shores of Australia this September, with a smash hit club tour, bringing his big west coast beats to Perth with over 12 years worth of serious hits. Originally known as Lil Bow Wow with the hit singles, Bounce With Me, Puppy Love and the hit Bow Wow (That’s My Name), Bow Wow is set to raise the roof at Perth’s Capitol on Wednesday, September 12. Enter now for your chance to win tickets!

LORE

The long-awaited follow-up to her exquisite Somersault, Australian director Cate Shortland’s adaptation of the novel The Dark Room by Rachel Seiffert is a sensual and complex story that explores the tribulations faced by the young in the aftermath of World War II. When their Nazi SS parents are taken into Allied custody, five siblings are left to fend for themselves. Want to win tickets? Get in now as we have five in season double passes up for grabs.

URTHBOY

Naïve Bravado is the bold new single from Urthboy, marking the return of one of the strongest forces in local hip hop. Urthboy sidesteps peers while exhibiting his trademark sharp flow, songwriting talents and that knack for well-crafted hooks.

Get your entries in now for your chance to win a double pass to Urthboy bringing down the house on Saturday, September 8, at The Rosemount Hotel.

You do not want to miss this one.

RUSSIAN RESURRECTION FILM FESTIVAL

Russian Resurrection is now the biggest festival of Russian Cinema outside of Russia today. The 2012 program will include a variety of new dramas, animations, comedies, art house cinema and award winning classics. Whether you’re looking to immerse yourself in Russian culture, a historical visual journey or for an entertaining romance, this year’s program will satisfy everyone. This special event will be running at Cinema Paradiso from September 19 to 26 and we have 10 double passes up for grabs. Enter now to avoid disappointment.

X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

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X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

VALE SUE HAMMERSLEY

It was a with a collective heavy heart that the WA music community learnt of the passing of Sue Hammersley, in all aspects a local legend, over the weekend.

John Waite

Sue was a force of nature, to say the least. Music mad from the get-go, at the age of 17 she managed to score an internship at the BBC in London, working on such shows such as Top Of The Pops. Returning to Perth in the early ‘80s, she studied Film & Television at WAIT (now Curtin) but it was Sue’s passion for music that saw her emerge as a pioneering presence and consistent motivator in original, live music in this city.

It was a heartfelt mission and Sue fought the good fight in all of the many roles she took on in the WA music industry - at WAIT, the University Of Western Australia, The Red Parrot, The Firm, Planet Nightclub, WAM, Revue (in The West Australian), X-Press Magazine, the Grosvenor, the Hyde Park Hotel and more. Behind the scenes, Sue championed a wealth of WA bands, getting them gigs, supports, attention, drinks; all the things that young bands need but have no idea how to get when they’re new, naive, gullible and don’t know anything other than how to play their own songs (and you can be sure that Sue would tell them if they didn’t know that!).

Though she was never formally recognised for her work, everyone always knew just how much Sue contributed and achieved in WA music. In retrospect, she achieved it for others. Take your pick of any of the present movers and shakers in the original music industry in Perth right now and you would be struggling to find one who didn’t learn from Sue or was outright influenced by her.

THE WAITE IS OVER

Melbourne instrumental four-piece Margins are returning to Perth, for the first time since 2009, with their sophomore album, Divide, in tow. Following some excellent critical reception, including a stint as RTR FM’s feature album, Margins play an all-ages show from 6pm at the Dada Garage on Friday, September 14, with Seams and Kurbist Gong Band, and at the Rosemount Hotel on Saturday, September 15, as the main support act for Seattle drone doom and experimental pioneers Earth.

YOU KNOW JUWANA

Excitable Bunbury punks Juwana have just released their second EP Back To The 440 and are gearing up to show it off at a bunch of WA shows.

After releasing their first EP in 2011 and scoring a slot at Groovin’ The Moo the same year, these lads are rising up the ranks slowly but surely. With a national tour planned for next year, Juwana are trying out their new material on local crowds this September at the Crown Hotel in Collie on Friday, September 7, the White Star in Albany on Saturday, September 8, The Rosemount on Wednesday, September 12 and the Prince of Wales in Bunbury on Saturday, September 15.

The Kings Park Festival will be hosting Santos Live Sundays every weekend until October – a series of free, live music events in the beautiful Botanic Gardens. The gigs will kick off this weekend with a launch concert featuring everyone’s favourite local band, Brow Horn Orchestra. Head to the Botanic Garden this Sunday, September 9, at 12pm to hear some awesome free music.

Friends are welcome to leave a message or memory on the ‘Goodbye Susan Hammersley - You Will Never Be Forgotten!’ Facebook page. Sue’s funeral will take place at Pinnaroo next Tuesday, September 11, from 2.30pm. _ BOB GORDON

Victorian hard rockers Dead City Ruins hit WA this week for three massive shows – at the Newport Hotel on Thursday, September 6, the Rocket Room on Friday, September 7, and the Hyde Park Hotel on Saturday, September 8.

SCORE SOME P.O.T.T.

Arrested Development

MICHAEL CERA IS COMING TO TOWN…

Okay maybe not, but the prolific hip hop collective who share a name with his famous TV series – Arrested Development – are heading back to our shores for their 20th Anniversary Tour in November. Hell yeah! Lauded as one of the greatest hip hop groups in the world, Arrested Development have produced hundreds of socially conscious, beat-filled, and catchy-as-hell tracks over their two decade career, and are heading down under to spread the message and share their musical love-in with you.

With one show only in Perth on Sunday, November 3, at Metro City, we reckon you’d better get in quick, because these tickets will sell like hot cakes. Grab tickets now from Oztix, supports still to be announced.

THE TIDE IS HIGH

In the spirit of togetherness that their namesake harvest festival evokes, WAMi nominated Perth psychedelic folk rock band The Lammas Tide will release new single, Partridge Farm, with a musical love-in – featuring the talents of The Floors, The Empty Cup and Nevada Pilot – at the Rosemount Hotel this Sunday, September 9. For more deets hit up facebook.com/thelammastide.

Finding it difficult to come up with the dough for festival season? We know the feeling. Luckily, Big Day Out have just announced Pay Over Time Ticketing (P.O.T.T.) for their 2013 festival, meaning that you can pay for your ticket in four installments, rather than all in the one transaction.

The installments begin now and end in December – you need to put down an initial deposit of $50, then $40 each month after that – and it’ll all be paid off just in time for Christmas. This is a pretty rad deal, but you’ve gotta get on it quick; the offer is only available up until Sunday, September 23 from the Big Day Out website.

THE SUN’S GONE AWAY

Doom metal heavyweights Sunn O))) have cancelled their upcoming Australian tour which was set to include a show at Capitol on Sunday, October 28. Sunn O)))’s Stephen O’Malley posted news on his website earlier this week saying that the band will try to reschedule the tour as soon as possible. Full refunds can be obtained from the point of purchase.

BON XMAS BALLS

Aussie rockers Raise The Flag have been raising hell all round the country with their Bon But Not Forgotten tribute shows, honouring the legacy of the nation’s favourite rocker. This December, the group will take it a step further with Bon Xmas Balls; three Black Tee events in Perth celebrating Aussie music over the holiday season. The group are comprised of rock royalty, with members from seminal Aussie rock bands like The Angels, The Screaming Jets and The Poor. Each Bon Xmas Ball will feature two performances; the first paying tribute to a number of revered Aussie rock acts, and the second dedicated to the AC/DC singles we all know and rock out to. The Balls will be held at the Charles Hotel on Friday, December 14, at Boulevard Hotel in Joondalup on Saturday, December 15, and at the Ravenswood Hotel on Sunday, December 16.

Jo Koy

TURN THE LIGHTS DOWN LOW

American-Asian comedian Jo Koy will bring his Lights Out stand-up tour down under later this year, kicking off with a show at the Astor Theatre on Tuesday, November 13. With a long list of stand-up credits to his name, including regular appearances on Chelsea Lately, this will be Koy’s fourth visit to Australia, so whether you’ve enjoyed his comedy shows before or are keen to check out his funnies for the very first time, hit up BOCS for tickets.

MUSICIAN MINOTAUR

Garage rock lads British India have just unveiled their new music video much-loved single I Can Make You Love Me, starring a lovelorn Minotaur. As you do. Along with the release of this awesome yet slightly creepy film clip, the band has announced a bunch of new tour dates. With what looks to be a monstrous tour, the band will be heading back to Perth in November for a gig at the Prince of Wales in Bunbury on Thursday, November 29, at Metros Freo on Friday, November 30, and at Capitol on Saturday, November 31. Tickets are on sale now through Moshtix and Oztix.

DRIVE ALL NIGHT

The Brow Horn Orchestra, Santos Live Sundays

TUNES IN THE PARK

Sue Hammersley, RIP

CITY SLICKERS

Without doubt one of the greatest voices in rock music history, English singer-songwriter and former famed frontman for supergroups The Babys and Bad English, John Waite heads to Australia for the first time ever for his national Greatest Hits tour. Performing a collection of his hits that span a career of almost four decades, he’ll play a live show at Metro City on Friday, November 9, with special guest American hardrock guitarist Keri Kelli. Tickets are on sale now from Oztix.

THE GREAT DIVIDE

That was Sue’s big heart, it was all geared towards others doing well. It seemed that the only reward Sue wanted was to enjoy herself.

And boy, was she good at that. Eternally - a drink in one hand, a ciggie in the other and a cheeky grin connecting the two. Only god could help you if you refused the offer of a drink - and he probably wouldn’t have dared - it wasn’t worth the grief. Sue just wanted to make sure you were having a damn good time too.

Sue would call a spade anything she fucking well liked. In The West Australian’s Revue liftout she once described the Grosvenor Backroom as “being like a TAB without television sets.” Hilarity and protest ensued. Her colourful way with the language and the zing of her one-liners was quite simply, classic.

Sue made you feel like you’d heard swearing for the first time, every time. But of course, there lay a vulnerability that was probably easier to spot than she thought.

Sue Hammersley was both the diamond and the rough. She will never be forgotten by those of us in the WA music industry who knew and loved her. One just hopes that Sue knew she was not ever forgotten when she passed away in her sleep last Friday night.

She would have been so annoyed that she missed the weekend.

RIP, CG.

Tinpan Orange

FOR FOLKS SAKE

Indie darlings Tinpan Orange are bringing their unique folk/roots fusion to WA for two special live performances. Showcasing tunes from their fourth album, Over The Sun, the eclectic Melbourne ensemble will play The Bakery on Thursday, October 25, and the Fly By Night on Friday, October 26.

BLOCK ROCKIN’ PEEPS

People get ready, this Friday, September 7, brings with it the chance to Rock Your Block Off at The Bakery. Featuring acts handpicked by the good folk at Cool Perth Nights, Rock Your Block Off costs you just a fiver to see Harlequin League, Dead Owls, Hey Hurricane, Nevada Pilot and The Shakeys. It’s yours and theirs from 8pm. www.xpressmag.com.au

THE BEAR NECESSITIES

South Australian trio Sincerely Grizzly are set to join forces with The Medics this weekend.

With a new EP in the pipeline, be sure to catch their rockin’ live set this Saturday, September 8, at Amplifier. Tix are on sale now from Moshtix.

Parkway Drive

Byron Bay hard rockers Parkway Drive are set to tear up the nation, fresh with the news that their Home For The Heartless DVD has just received Platinum status. The band will be touring in suppor t of their soonto-be released four th album, Atlas, recorded in Los Angeles with producer Matt Hyde (Slayer, Hatebreed, Sum 41, Alkaline Trio).

Catch Parkway Drive for a kick-arse all-ages show at Challenge Stadium on Wednesday, December 19. Tickets available from Ticketmaster 136100 and www.ticketmaster.com.au.

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STEPHEN MALKMUS Pumped Up Jicks We haven’t seen a tour from Stephen Malkmus playing his solo material since 2009, but with a Pavement reunion behind him and his fourth album with the Jicks in front, the lo-fi legend is gearing up to play the Rosemount Hotel on Friday, September 28, and the Wave Rock Weekender on Saturday, September 29.

Between the über-influential Pavement and his subsequent backing band The Jicks, indie rock hero Stephen Malkmus has now released 10 studio albums.

After a decade of refusing reunion offers, Malkmus got the old band back together in 2009.

With Pavement’s debut Slanted And Enchanted now enshrined as an indie rock classic, the former leader of the legendary slacker-rock outfit suddenly found himself playing to far bigger crowds than he ever had – either in Pavement’s decade-long tenure in the ‘90s or his subsequent solo tenure in the ‘00s.

The 45-year-old followed it up with his fifth post-Pavement LP, the excellent, Beck-produced, Mirror Traffic which he’s readying to bring down under more than a year after its release…

By JENNIFER PETERSON-WARD It’s not since 2009 that we have had the pleasure of your company of in WA, are you looking forward to coming back?

Of course! This tour is the last thing we are going to for this album, we toured America and we did Europe and we did some festivals here, we just did a teaser of the album. It’s always great to come to Australia. I had a Fender Amp I didn’t like last time I was there [for the Pavement reunion tour in 2010] so that wasn’t as fun for me but I’m going to get a better amp and I’m going to be really happy this time around.

I remember reading an interview with you following that tour and you mentioned you had played some of your “worst ever shows” in Australia…

Well, one of the ones in Sydney was pretty bad, we also didn’t play a great one in Brisbane and Melbourne and we also played a kind of a bad one in Adelaide. I still remember these things – the room was, like, concrete and it was [former drummer] Janet [Weiss]’s birthday. I remember that and we sang some song that we shouldn’t have sung – a Michael Jackson number or something, I can’t remember what it was now, but that was funny.

So yeah, I’m embarrassed to say we did play some pretty terrible shows, but I don’t like to say that, in a way, because maybe someone had fun at the show. But you can’t win them all. It sucks when it’s in a beautiful place like Sydney, and the people are totally cool and you just wanna shred.

You’re also heading our way to play the Wave Rock Weekender for a second time – what did you think of Wave Rock last time you were there?

It was a really weird thing because I enjoyed the drive out there and it was a day of the footy finals and St. Kilda was in it against Geelong and we stopped in the middle of nowhere and listened to the game. It was a beautiful drive, in a bland but beautiful way, and then all of a sudden these salt flats start coming – the product of some poor agricultural practices from the 19th century or something – and of all sudden we were there and it’s like the middle of nowhere, this Wave Rock place.

I thought it was pretty cool there, we had a good time and the good part was the show and there were some nice people there and we watched some movies, but the bad part was that we had to go home all the way to America from there. We had to drive back to the Perth airport and then we flew to Melbourne, then we flew to LA and then we flew to Portland, and there were all these four hours delays in between. It was probably the longest travel day I’ve ever had in my life from Wave Rock and trying to get home, that’s epic.

How do you keep yourself occupied on long haul flights like that?

The best thing would be if someone gave you a Xanax or something like that, you could just zone out and watch movies and just, like, treat yourself to anything you want to eat, whatever you can find and pray you have an extra seat. I remember on that journey from Wave Rock that the plane that flew to LA was one of these brand new like $7 million planes, so that was kind of interesting. I’m not some kind of airplane geek but it was still cool to be in a new plane.

As you mentioned earlier, you’re heading our way in September to promote last year’s Mirror Traffic – how do you feel about the songs now that you have been playing them for over a year?

We aren’t really sick of the songs because we didn’t play that many shows compared to some bands. The lower energy songs – unless it’s a really good one that we play really well – are pretty much dropped by this point. We only play eight of the 12 songs on the album live, and we also have new tunes that we play and that’s the thing that keeps us fresh and engaged. So there’s a medium ground we also do a lot of covers and there’s always the old songs we can bring out of the closet. I mean we will always be happy if people like what we are playing. That being said, we could probably just do Nirvana covers and people would like that more.

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Stephen Malkmus How do you decide which tunes you want to cover?

Well sometimes I just trawl around YouTube and it just happens that way. And when we were going to come to Australia, we wanted to learn some songs that locals would like, so we played the [Daddy Cool] song called Eagle Rock. Nobody knows it in America, but I love that song, it’s so fun to play.

What covers have you been playing lately?

Oh my god, now that I think about, in our last show, we did Men At Work’s Land Down Under because we just saw the video when we were in Holland – it was on this TV show playing the Top 40 videos from the ‘80s. Back in the day that song irritated me because it was on constantly on American TV, but when I saw the video I realised it has this kind of Monkee style of humour. It was just like it didn’t take itself very seriously, it was funny. I was sort of longing for that feeling, so we’ve been playing that and we’ve also been playing a song by a band called Stack – it’s a song that was always played at the end of sports games in the ‘60s and ‘70s. We’ve also been playing a song by The Radiators that goes ‘I really wanna see you tonight’ [Comin’ Home]– I think it was like a #11 hit in 1978 in Australia.

We played another song by a band from Perth, I think. Yeah, it was like called Disco something or Disco Tragedy something. It’s like a DIY punk song.

They were a punk band from 1978 and they had another song that everyone knows and I think one of the guys in the band went and did stuff with the Hoodoo Gurus later. I can’t even remember now. Do you remember a band called Supernaut? I think it might have been them. Or actually maybe it was the guys in The Scientists…

Are you thinking of The Victims?

Yes! It was The Victims and the song they had that everyone knows is Television Addict but the song we played was Disco Junkies. [Starts singing] ‘You’re a disco junkie! You’re a disco junkie!’. We might play it again, it’s very easy. It’s a great song and it gets really crazy in the middle. I like it because it reminds me of this baseball game event in 1979 where they burnt 5000 disco records. They just put all these records in the middle of the baseball field and watched them burn.

How did you discover that tune?

I have a huge collection of all these DIY punk singles. The Sex Pistols are one of the greatest

bands ever – well, maybe not one of the greatest bands, but they made one of the greatest albums ever so I was blown away by that and how it changed the world. Since then a lot of groups were copying that, and I love that they were copying that in these tiny studios whereas the Sex Pistols had a classic rock producer.

I suppose it’s really just the energy of it all. I grew up playing punk rock and so I want to find more and more and keep digging deeper. Like Supernaut is a different kind of thing, they were kind of glam, they had this song I like which goes [singing] ‘I like it both ways’ – it’s like ‘are they into girls? Or are they into guys?’. They were kinda copying David Bowie, but I don’t think they were gay guys, they were just trying to be titillating.

Totally. The drummer-turned-keyboardist actually plays in this other Perth band…

It’s called Pond right? I haven’t heard them yet, are they good? Should I check them out?

Oh yeah, their new album is great…

Cool, I’ll check that out. There’s also a band from Cleveland called Pond from the ‘90s that are like friends of mine. They better watch out for a lawsuit [laughs].

So all these young psychedelic rock bands you’re digging at the moment, are they having any influence on your new material?

Nah man [laughs] it’s similar really to the old stuff. I’m hoping that it will sound different sonically – I think that all of our records sonically sound different; Are there any DIY outfits you’re really digging it’s really my way to approach things. I mean not so sonically different that we went electronic on an album, at the moment?

Oh yeah well, Ty Segall, he is great, he is but the new album’s going to [experiment] with some from California and he is blowing up. People go see different drum sounds. Hopefully we can get some him and they dig him. Michael Cronin who plays different vibe going, I kind of have to wait until we get bass for Ty is going to put out an album and it’s there to find out how that’s going to be. It can go in any going to be great. I like all those guys playing at the direction, which is nice. moment.

I mean, I like Tame Impala, I think they Have you actually headed into the studio to record are a cool band. The first I ever heard them I was any of the new songs yet?

We are gearing up for that very soon, watching morning TV, then this psychedelic video came on and then this riff came in [begins humming October it is happening. I really feel like this is our swan intro to Solitude Is Bliss] and I was like ‘what is this song, this era, and then we get to move onto our new this? This is a cool band’. Usually I don’t really trust one. But we’re in transition a bit. So yeah, I think we things I see on TV but I thought they might be good are going to go record in October so we’ll see what so I did more research and it turns out it was Tame happens. We should really record in Australia…

Impala and they are from the wild outskirts of Perth or something and they eventually went on tour with Do it! You could just stay here in Perth for six months and work on the new record…

Joanna [Bolme] from my band, The Jicks.

Yeah well, my family would like that for sure, I even watched them online when they were streaming video from Lollapalooza online a my kids like the beach. couple of weeks ago. They were totally sweating, it was a really miserable, hot day, so I felt really bad Do you bring your family on tour with you?

It’s impossible - we don’t travel at a high for them. I also heard their new song, it sounded very Sid Barrett-y and, of course, it taps into that enough level. I saw David Grohl at this festival, he came Cream thing that they do. I actually really like their up to say hi to me and he had his daughter on his shoulders. But they weren’t playing for three hours and drummer – I really like how he drums. they were headlining so they probably have a nanny to You know they’ve actually got a new drummer take their child home. We can’t really afford to do that now and their old drummer’s moved to keys and also manage to make any money from the tour.

It’s not fun enough, if it was really fun I would now…

Oh no! I really liked the way he drummed, do it but in the end it’s not that fun for the kids, they’re but I suppose the new guy’s probably great too. It’ll kind of stuck in these environments that are kind of be interesting to hear if that changes their sound at made for people to get wasted in really, these festivals. all.

It doesn’t work.

X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

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11

SHIHAD

Treat ‘Em Mean With a new best-of, The Meanest Hits, out now, Shihad will return to WA to perform on Friday, September 28, at Amplifier; Saturday, September 29, at the Wave Rock Weekender and Sunday, September 30, at Mojo’s. ROD WHITFIELD speaks with singer Jon Toogood.

Shihad may have a new compilation out, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for something new.

Brand spanking single, Right Outta Nowhere, is a raunchy, de-tuned shuffle that is something a little unexpected from the NZ rockers.

“It’s all tuned down to A, which is ridiculously low,” singer, Jon Toogood, explains. “We actually had a Melbourne boy [Steve Schram - The Cat Empire, San Cisco, Clairy Brown] record us at York

Shihad Street Studios, where we recorded our first three records in Auckland. We recorded it old school, in that he made us play everything live. We just did take after take after take, just like you did in the old days. We’ve never done that, we’re always like, ‘Do the drums, do the bass, do the guitars, and get it absolutely spot on’.

But this time it was like, ‘Here’s the track, go! Boom, nail it. Don’t fuck up!’. It was really exciting.

“I think I was trying to do something like [early ‘80s UK post-punk band] The Fall,” he continues, regarding the new song, “But it turned out more like Black Sabbath or Queens Of The Stoneage. But I really like it, it’s a really fun, colourful hippy rock song. But it still kicks out the jams, it’s still rockin’.”

They’ve also put out a compilation album called The Meanest Hits. “In New Zealand, we say

everything’s ‘mean’, you know!” he says. Shihad are touring the country in support of the single and compilation this month.

“We’ll be doing a longer set than usual,” Toogood enthuses. “We’ll be representing every record we’ve ever done, including our first EP, which was released way back in 1990. It’s really fun relearning that as a 40-year-old guy. It’s like, ‘Wow! I really needed to get laid!’ (laughs).

“It’s a real mental, physical exercise, learning something like 52 riffs. The only way to do that is to be super tight, otherwise it sucks. So we’ll rehearse and rehearse and nail it.”

It caps off what has been a very busy period for Toogood and the members of Shihad, which is exactly the way he likes it.

“Yeah, we’ve done lots of things,” he agrees, “and aside from all that [drummer] Tom Larkin has been recording Australian bands and managing Australian bands.

“I’m off doing this thing called The Adults, which is me and a whole bunch of other Kiwi musicians. We just played with the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra the other day, and it was mean.

My parents used to take me to see that as a kid, you know? Just the sound that an orchestra can put out, it’s huge.

“It was pretty amazing, listening to an orchestra playing music that we’d written. It’s like, ‘I’m standing onstage with this’, and the next day I’m flying over and playing to people at Splendour In The Grass with Shihad, doing the ‘explodey’ rock thing.

So yeah, I’ve been really busy. It’s good, I like that.”

Richard Clapton

RICHARD CLAPTON Repent, Harlequin

Australian rock’n’roll veteran Richard Clapton heads to the Astor Theatre on Saturday, September 15, to perform his groundbreaking 1977 album, Goodbye Tiger, in full. He chats about divorce and digital technology with TRAVIS JOHNSON. It’s been a long time between drinks, metaphorically speaking. Eight years, in fact, since Richard Clapton put out an album - the 2004 release, Diamond Mine.

It’s an unusual fallow period in a long and productive career but, as Clapton himself explains it, the cause of the dry spell is also the chief creative influence on his new album, Harlequin Nights. “ This is my 40th year of songwriting,” he says casually. “This time, I had a pretty miserable divorce, which dragged on for about five-and-a-half years.

Initially I had... well, not so much writer’s block so much as just being busy taking care of personal problems. Then Danny Spencer, my guitar player, asked me for some help with some songs that he was trying to write himself. That sort of kicked it off, and the rest was catharsis. The songs I’ve written on my own are divorce songs - about four of them are, anyway. What I like about this album is that it’s really organic - it’s sort of done for the right reasons.”

Broken hearts and shattered relationships are staple fuels for the songwriting process, but Clapton assures us the new album is not just a never-ending funeral dirge of pain and regret - well, not all of it, at any rate.

“There are only two songs that don’t quite fit that picture,” he explains.

“One night, I was having a party for one and just listening to what I’d made, and I slapped myself across the head and said, ‘Come on, for Christ’s sake, can you write a happy song?’ So I came up with Sunny Side Up - that’s the first happy accident, writing a happy song in the face of all that adversity.”

“The other song,” he continues, “Is Dancing With The Vampires, which was written after the album finished, and we got a case of beer, and it was fucking on.

One thing led to another, and we started jamming, and before the bottle shop closed somebody - it might have even been me - got a bottle of vodka. Dancing With The Vampires was just a jam session that turned into a song.”

One thing that sets Clapton’s later work apart from his older, more well known releases is his embrace of digital recording technology, an innovation that gives him a level of control over his output that he didn’t have earlier in his career.

“I’ve been using ProTools for about 15 years now,” Clapton tells us.

“Having come from an era where, in the ‘80s, if you were unhappy with the result, you’d have to go back to the record company for more money, and in my case that usually wouldn’t happen. The Girls On The Avenue album, I’ve never been all that keen on, because that was really done under duress. A lot of the songs on the album weren’t even finished; they were just half-baked things that I was forced to put out there. “ H o w e v e r, w i t h m o d e r n technology allowing you record your stuff at home - I just love that.”

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X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

Marcy Playground, the first band, had a 25-minute set. We were the headliner and we had a 45-minute set. We only played one new song off the record, but with the upcoming tour it’s a chance to open up and play at least two or three. Or some songs that we’ve never played before. And all the hits. So it’s gonna be awesome.”

It’s been 14 years since Everclear’s last Australian tour, a trek that one might term ‘incident prone’, with infighting and projectiles thrown onstage leading to the tour’s premature ending on the Gold Coast.

Portland rockers Everclear are “Oh you’re talking about when someone a pipe bomb onstage?” Alexakis says. “That was returning to Australia for the first thew a little dicey. You can’t blame Perth for that though, time in 14 years, hitting Capitol on the show Perth was awesome. I remember the women my memories of Perth are pretty incredible. At Sunday October 14, with support from there, least they used to be (laughs).

“You know, people made a lot more of it Emperors. BOB GORDON speaks with than what it was really about. A certain member of my singer/guitarist, Art Alexakis. band was drinking and drugging too much and tired and wanting to go home. We were working on him It’s a long, long way away to Pasadena, as John Paul all the time and he was tired of having people whine Young once pondered, but that’s where Everclear about him. We just kind of bumped heads one night mainstay, Art Alexakis, is and he sounds pretty when I got my tooth knocked out [by a shoe thrown relaxed. at Alexakis as the audience sang him Happy Birthday] The band recently wrapped up the and I was all kooky. We got back together again two Summerland tour of the States with ‘90s colleagues such weeks later and everything was hunky dory. as Lit, Sugar Ray, Gin Blossom and Marcy Playground.

“It’s like any relationship. You’re like, married Good times had by all, it seems. to four guys. Sometimes it’s a bummer (laughs).”

“It was fun, man,” Alexakis says, warmly. “It was like rock’n’roll summer camp for middle-aged guys. Vo t i n g f o r t h e E v e r c l e a r O p e n i n g A c t It was for several weeks, we played all over the US and I Competition is o pe n u ntil O c to be r 1 at had blast. Everyone got along, all the bands played great www.facebook.com/krbde.touring. and it was groovy.”

While the context of that tour was all about ‘90s nostalgia, Alexakis says that Everclear these days has a diverse following.

“We figured it was gonna be a demographic between 35 and 40,” he says. “I gotta say those people were definitely there, as well as a lot of younger people.

And even a few older ones.

“A lot of people were there for nostalgic reasons and I don’t have a problem with that. The demographic for Everclear shows runs from 20 to 50 and I think it’s an interesting mix. And it means that Everclear is still valid and current.”

More so now that the band have released a new LP, Invisible Stars, the first album of original Everclear material in six years (the band’s last two releases, The Vegas Years and In A Different Light featured covers and re-records, respectively). Alexakis has very clear reasoning for this being the case.

“I haven’t put out a record in six years because for about four years I didn’t have any interest in making one,” he states. “When people are in successful bands on record labels, they expect you to write music, record music and tour on it. Then come home and do the same thing. It’s a cycle. Most musicians who get the opportunity to get into that cycle will at first go, ‘wow, this is awesome’. And it is awesome, but it kind of waters down the music after a while because you’re not giving yourself time to write or find some grist for the mill to write about. You’re not getting any perspective.

EVERCLEAR

Endless Summerland

Everclear

“When people are in successful bands on record labels, they expect you to write music, record music and tour on it. Then come home and do the same thing. It’s a cycle. Most musicians who get the opportunity to get into that cycle will at first go, ‘wow, this is awesome’. And it is awesome, but it kind of waters down the music after a while because you’re not giving yourself time to write or find some grist for the mill to write about. You’re not getting any perspective.”

“So I wanted perspective this time. I took a few years off and I was just really conscious that it was something I didn’t want to do. Then, I guess, I got the fire back in my belly and I started writing songs again.” After such an extended break between original releases, Alexakis had a pretty simple agenda for what Invisible Stars would sound like.

“I wanted to go out and make a rock’n’roll record,” he says. “That’s what I wanted to do. I know it kind of sounds all cliché and all but that’s really what it was. I made a record when I was ready to make a record. I recorded it, put as much money as I had into it. It wasn’t like the old days when I had a big album fund because we were on a label. I’d play a couple shows, get some money then record more vocals on the new songs.

“That’s just how the record came about. It turned out pretty well for the amount of money we put into it. We sure put a lot of heart and soul into it. I hope that comes through too.”

For Everclear, like many well-known bands who have made the long haul, setlist composition can be a tricky process when the artists like to play what’s fresh to them, but their audience is baying for hits, of which Everclear has many, Santa Monica, Heroin Girl, Everything To Everyone, I Will Buy You A New Life and Father Of Mine, among them.

“Well the Summerland tour was basically for the bands to play their hits,” Alexakis says, “and that’s exactly what we did. It was small sets for everybody. www.xpressmag.com.au

13

THE XX Quiet Riot

Ahead of the release of their highly anticipated sophomore LP, Coexist, on Monday, September 10, JENNIFER PETERSON-WARD meets The xx, the band quietly taking over the world.

Since calmly breaking out with their self-titled debut LP three years ago, London trio The xx have drawn a globe-spanning audience with their insular minimalistic sound..

While their hushed, early-hours dynamics have been credited for their meteoric ascendancy, bassist/ vocalist, Oliver Sim, has some other ideas about the source of his outfit’s success.

“With the last record I feel like we’d captured a moment in time,” he says.

As Sim attests, it is this intangible feature, more than any other sonic characteristic, which he and bandmates, Romy Madley-Croft and Jamie Smith, wanted to recreate on their sophomore release, Coexist.

The xx “With our songs, we’re a bit reluctant to explain them,” Sim says. “My favourite songs are songs I’ve made my own stories to. We like it to be pretty open like that – we want people to make their own stories.”

In no hurry to capitalise on their initial success, it’s taken more than three years for The xx to ready their new record, however Sim says he is astounded to be in the position of releasing a new album at this point in time.

“I’m actually surprised we’re here now. I thought we’d take at least another year. After the last album, I thought we’d take time for a holiday but I got

re-introduced to the idea that ‘this isn’t my work, this is my passion’,” he says. “We were just working song-by-song and having fun with it, and it was only when we had a proper wealth of songs that we even thought of releasing it as an album.

“There was no sit-down meeting where we devised a direction. Jamie has such a precise ear and wanted it to be absolutely perfect, but it reached the point where we had to accept that even though we could keep going on forever we had to be finished with it.”

While Sim says the band did a “good job” of keeping intrusions from the outside world from affecting their time in the studio, with Coexist set to hit shelves early next week, he’s well aware of the scrutiny they’re set to face in shadow of the success of their first album.

“The worst part of all this is definitely the anticipation,” Sim explains. “We love this album – we wouldn’t have released it if we didn’t – and I can’t wait to release these songs into the world. It’s a dangerous world, Googling yourself, but after the album comes out we’ll have a look at the big reviews just to see what the general consensus is.”

Having already debuted many of the new tracks at a few special live shows across the globe (which included shows in Sydney and Melbourne back in July), Sim says he’s been taken aback by how “willing” audiences have been to embrace their new tunes.“When we were touring the first album people had already heard the album so it’s a totally different experience playing new songs to people and trying to win them over,” he concludes. “What I’m most looking forward to is getting to the point where people have learnt the new songs and then they come to hear us play them specifically.”

Sola Rosa

SOLA ROSA Sola Power

Genre-defying New Zealanders Sola Rosa are currently enjoying a stellar year with the release of their sixth album, Low And Behold, High And Beyond. The funky Kiwis are coming to WA to play the Indi Bar on Wednesday, September 26; Clancy’s Fish Pub in Dunsborough on Friday, September 28, and Amplifier on Saturday, September 29. AARON CORLETT speaks to founder/ producer Andrew Spraggon.

After 2010’s Get It Together, fans of Sola Rosa were left wondering when the next record would come out.

Andrew Spraggon explains the delay was because he only likes writing in the summertime. “Even though I am stuck in a studio, it’s nice outside.” he says. “I just feel more confident and I feel more compelled to write.”

As the major creative force behind Sola Rosa, Spraggon first started writing beats and loops for the album before calling in the other band members to add guitar and basslines.“Quite often I’ll write the original bass lines on keyboard and then a bass player will come in and re-do it on guitar and then once we’ve got a bunch of demos down we send them off to various vocalists to see who wants to record,” Spraggon explains.

Sola Rosa uses a variety of singers such as Olivier Daysoul, Miles Bonny and L.A. Mitchell. Spraggon explains that he usually gets the vocalist to record in their home studio and send it back to him. “It’s a slow process really,” he concedes, “it takes a little while. We are not a band with just one singer, so that’s part of the reason it takes a few years to make an album.”

The band’s sound on the latest record has moved away from the Latin music influences that were evident on the band’s last LP, Get It Together. “With this album, I was mostly listening to so called future soul and future funk,” Spraggon explains. “A lot of modern producers are making that kind of music and that was the influence that has come through on the record.”

The forthcoming visit is Sola Rosa’s first to WA and the band is looking to play their back catalogue as well as the newer tracks.“We re-work all our tracks,” Spraggon says, “especially the old ones, we aren’t rehashing old tunes. We bring quite a heavy set, we are quite mellow on our studio recordings, but we are a lot heavier live.”

2013 looms as another big year for the band as they embark on lengthy tours of the US and Europe. Spraggon is excited about the tours and explains that there is one clear way of stamping out any tensions on long runs.

“I find the thing that kills any negative vibe on tour is when you have a really good show,” he says.

“That just calms everything down again.”

Despite his hectic schedule, Spraggron has already started work on the band’s next release, working on some tracks last year in Los Angeles.

“It comes out different compared to when you write at home,” he explains, “that’s how I feel anyway. The things I wrote in LA have a slight LA vibe to them - it could be that sunny weather.”

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X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

www.xpressmag.com.au

15

SUGAR ARMY Summertime Heavy

CAT POWER Sun

Permanent Records/Shock

Matador/Remote Control

The mark of any great band is not just the ability to make the most out of opportunity, but to turn hard knocks into advantages.

And so it is for Perth’s Sugar Army, all ready to follow up their wellreceived 2009 debut album, The Parallels Amongst Ourselves, when they lost bass player, Ian Berney, a dynamic presence within the band’s musical chemistry.

Features and reviews at the moment may dwell on this (hello!) but remaining trio, vocalist Pat McLaughlin, drummer Jamie Sher and guitarist Todd Honey certainly didn’t, looking into themselves and boldly carving a different dynamic.

Future Spark and Will You Follow, open proceedings here stridently, if not forebodingly, evoking immediately the heavy part of the summertime blues to follow. The more upbeat likes of first single, Hooks For Hands, In Comes Light and Hearts Content displaying a still well-in-order knack for catchy melody, while the slow-cooked atmospherics of the title track, Small Town and Brazen Young suggest an attractive exploration into menace.

With deft production by Eric J Dubowsky (Weezer/Bluejuice/Art Vs Science), intelligent guitar riffery, tight grooves and commanding vocals throughout, Sugar Army have arisen with a second album worthy of the wait and more than worth its weight.

The fragile relationship that Chan Marshal (aka Cat Power) has had with alcohol and her mental health has b e e n m u c h p u b l i c i s e d.

Marshal appeared to find some respite in the soulful sounds of Memphis in her live shows and recordings since 2006. With the first collection of songs she has penned in six years, Marshal is ready to take Cat Power out of the comfort zone and, if history is anything to go by, into what is bound to be the reliably unpredictable next chapter.

The security blanket that was the revisionist sounds of Memphis have gone on Sun with Cat Power delivering an album that embraces the modern.

Cherokee is deeply layered, pairing the haunting Marshal voice with electronic beats. Technology continues to be embraced throughout, with Real Life sounding like it may have snuck quietly out the back door of the club scene.

Marshal is so outwardly positive and forward thinking throughout Sun that she could have been drinking out of the same spiritual well as Ben Lee. Nothing But Time clocks in at around 10 minutes and is delivered like an affirmation to be the albums high point.

The past few years have seen the rebirth of Cat Power as a live performer and now with Sun, she completes her resurrection as a recording artist. _CHRIS HAVERCROFT

_ BOB GORDON

OH MERCY Deep Heat

ANIMAL COLLECTIVE Centipede Hz

EMI

Domino/EMI

Centipede Hz is a big, ugly mess. That’s not a bad thing, the motif of radio broadcast gone horribly twisted works for the most part – like an album forged by ‘80s oddity Max Headroom. In this sense it’s probably as close to a concept record as Animal Collective, venturing into an experimental territory showcased on the band’s pre-Strawberry Jam output.

Despite the album’s aural thread, there’s little in the way of cohesion throughout each of the album’s 11 tracks – the Panda Bear-led compositions clash heavily with, rather than complement, the Avey Tare-captained tracks for instance.

The prevalence of guitar on the opening tracks could be attributed to Deakin’s return to the fold after his absence on Merriweather Post Pavillion – the power chords on Today’s Supernatural conjure visions of Townsend-style windmills. Deakin also makes his lead-vocal debut with Wide Eyed, the album’s highest point.

The album’s biggest crime is simply being not that interesting. There are solid tracks – Father Time, Monkey Riches, Pulleys – but nothing hits the heights of Fireworks, For Reverend Green, My Girls or Brother Sport.

Lead single Today’s Supernatural lasts twice as long as it needs to be, never growing past the first stuttered “Let go.”

Not terrible by any means, Centipede Hz does little to hold up within the pristine Animal Collective canon, and not enough to rise above the cavalcade of top-shelf mid-2012 releases.

Oh Mercy’s second album Great Barrier Grief w a s critically acclaimed last year as an easy acoustic pop record that was pleasing to the ears and highly relatable; based around frontman Alexander Gow’s personal anecdotes of love and all those emotions that musicians seem to convey to the public with ease.

But with third record Deep Heat, Gow has done a complete about-turn and composed a record based around the narratives of fictional characters, stories exuding sexuality and desire and absolutely nothing generic about the lyrics or musical styling.

The band has managed to utterly transcend their two previous records. Deep Heat draws from a myriad of influences – from flute solos in the grooving title track to bongos in final tune Labour Of Love, and brassy themes throughout. Rebel Beats exhibits a funky ‘80s vibe complete with an electronic keyboard, and Gow surprisingly shows off some exceptional falsetto pipes on bluesy single Drums.

Each narrative is engaging, and the band explores themes that range from dark to controversial, and it appears that he has a knack for storytelling.

Though this record is colourful and embellished, the beauty of it lies in its precision and Gow’s ability to never appear affected, or as anything other than a musician trying out new concepts.

Deep Heat is luscious and sexy in its delivery, oozes unabashed sensuality, and is undoubtedly a record that you need to own this year. _CHLOE PAPAS

_LACHLAN KANONIUK

JENS LEKMAN I Know What Love Isn’t

BENEDICT MOLETA Singleton

Spunk

Independent

Swedish heartthrob Jen Lekman is the quintessential enigma. From his bedroom recorded CD-R ’s to his ukulele fronted live shows he has won hear ts and gathered a strong ensemble of followers. Lekman’s music is wry and quaint at times, but behind the carefree musicians exterior is a confident and calculated performer. Having moved from his home of Sweden to spend time in Melbourne (amongst other places) Lekman has finally completed his first album in five years.

I Know What Love Isn’t uses the same ingredients that have served Lekman so well ‘til now even if it does lighten up on the samples of his previous efforts. As a whole the album is more restrained than has become his custom, yet there is still room for larger than life pop nuggets, such as The End Of The World Is Bigger Than Love and the album’s title track.

The smooth Lekman has undoubtedly broken more than his fair share of hearts, but tunes like The World Moves On and Every Little Hair Knows Your Name, hints that someone may have returned the favour with interest. Carrying his wounds around hasn’t distracted Lekman as he continues to be a tidy proponent of a pop song.

Refraining from much of the bombast of the past, Lekman delivers his most heartfelt outing to date without wallowing or being po-faced.

_CHRIS HAVERCROFT 16

Eve r t h e p r o l i f i c l o c a l , Benedict Moleta clearly doesn’t waste any time on his minimalist artwork for his albums, instead using his precious seconds to enlist the latest batch of local stalwarts to assist him on each new record. On Singleton he has again chosen wisely for an album that is crammed with pretty little pop songs.

The scene is set early with White Roses finding Andrew Ewing bringing some tasteful and understated electric guitar, but it is inspired recruitment of Miranda Pollard as the perfect foil for the equally gifted vocalist Moleta that steals the show. While Pollard’s brother is turning heads in his own band Split Seconds, she would be well advised to continue her time with Moleta as the pair are now responsible for each other’s musical high points to date.

Ten Bit Tonsil (aka Bill Darby) joins the party for a tune about man’s best friend and a defunct Bayswater pizza shop. Who thought that Moleta would be responsible for melodic gems as concise as Another Hound? Each song is as soothing and uplifting like an afternoon sipping your favourite herbal tea.

Moleta has lost none of his folk cool or his gift for an authentic narrative, but along the way has pulled together his most immediate and impressive set of tunes for Singleton. The quietly spoken Moleta has indeed found his voice.

_CHRIS HAVERCROFT X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

WILD NOTHING Nocturne Spunk

Being good in the bedroom these days has got nothing to do with breaking any records and is more likely to involve the making of a record. Home recording wiz kid Jack Tatum, who reluctantly created some internet buzz with his Wild Nothing project is at it again with his sophomore release Nocturne.

The debut release by Tatum borrowed heavily from the music of the ‘80s that had inspired him to make his own pop album. It is this singular vision of what makes good pop music that has led to Wild Nothing being cohesive, concise and authentic instead of just a pastiche of what has come before. The past few years have also seen Tatum put together a live band to take his music out on the road.

The growth of Wild Nothing hasn’t stopped Tatum from searching for the perfect pop format and, although it is slightly more refined, not a great deal has changed on Nocturne. If the swirling guitar sounds on the early tracks are anything to go by Tatum has indeed listened to many a record by The Cure, and the delightfully whimsical Only Heather tips its hat to the ethereal Sarah Records label.

Nocturne takes a tour through the ‘80s through new eyes and ears, minus the stupid baggy pants and bright shirts. _CHRIS HAVERCROFT

KING GIZZARD AND THE LIZARD WIZARD 12 Bar Bruise Flightless

On Footy Footy, 12 Bar Bruise’s red-hot wormburner of a closing track, we hear a stream of consciousness roll of long forgotten ‘90s AFL stars – Ang Christou, Che ‘Cockatoo’ Collins, Sticks Kernahan, to name a few. After that list, plus a dose of longing for wing-side seats at Waverly Park and dollar-fifty Footy Records, we hear the final word, “I hate what the game has become.” These fuckers are what, barely in their adulthood? And they’re this fucking nostalgic? Shit, what hope is there for us?

King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard put out an EP late last year in Willoughby’s Beach, a record which possessed the scope which rendered the distinction between extended player and longplayer insignificant.

12 Bar Bruise builds upon this solid rock‘n’roll foundation and reaches beyond with a brazen focus you wouldn’t think a seven-deep collective of coastal miscreants would be capable of pulling off.

There’s a struggle with masculinity on 12 Bar Bruise – there’s footy, there’s violence, there are maternal pleas, there’s even a western in Sam Cherry’s Last Shot. The track features a baritone spoken word from Dingoes frontman Broderick Smith (dad of harmonica wielder Ambrose), an example of cowboys and Indians in song form. There are moments where King Gizz dive for something deeper, on Nein there a rues of “My body’s full of poison shit”, before a languid chorus which counts to nine and does little else. The soaring Sea Of Trees is a surprisingly profound recount of rising above depression, building into a dreamy cloud of power chords. Bloody Ripper is half hate ballad, half love song.

“All I wanna do, is sink my teeth in you,” is delivered with a wink and a smile.

Delightfully idiotic and chock full of dickhead brilliance, 12 Bar Bruise melts the mind in the best way possible.

THE ASTON SHUFFLE – Can’t Stop Now (EMI) Here at X-Press Mag we’ve long been fans of The Aston Shuffle’s electronic wizardry, so when we heard news the Canberra duo were re-emerging from the studio with a new album in hand, we couldn’t wait to hear what tasty slices they’d serve up for us. An affirmation of the immense talent of The Aston Shuffle, Can’t Stop Now is, in short, epically brilliant and more than re-affirms their place in Australia’s electronic elite.

CLARE BOWDITCH – Thin Skin (Capitol) After a brief sojourn into synth-fulled electro pop Clare Bowditch is – thankfully – back to making the bounding folk/pop gems fans know and love her for. Thin Skin, the first single from upcoming album The Winter I Chose Happiness, is masterfully arranged, with an attention to emotional nuance and frank detail that only serves to complement her swooning croon. Fans will no doubt welcome this return to the Bowditch sound of old, but the unconverted may be left wondering what all the fuss is about.

MELODIE NELSON AND GEOFFREY O’CONNOR – Six Six Six (Independent) In her first new music since last year’s acclaimed Meditations On The Sun, pop princess Melodie Nelson has teamed up with The Crayon Fields crooner Geoffrey O’Connor, who’s a bit partial to the whole duet thing (see: Things I Shouldn’t Do with Jessica Says from last year’s Vanity Is Forever solo LP). With toasty tones and lush textures that fade out like the last glimpse of the setting sun, bluesy string-drenched ballad Six Six Six is perfect for the end of a summer night. The tune is currently streaming through Nelson’s bandcamp account, although it’s tipped for a vinyl-only release by the year’s end.

CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL: THE ULTIMATE REVIEW Umbrella Entertainment

Even 40 years after their acrimonious split, Creedence Clearwater Revival is still considered one of the American country rock greats. This recently released documentary features an in-depth retrospective analysis with original bassist Stu Cook and drummer Doug ‘Cosmo’ Clifford, who revisit every Creedence Clearwater Revival album to explore the many legendary recordings from conception to delivery.

Drawing extensively from film archives, the film incorporates rare footage from concerts and television appearances, including performances of classic tracks including Travelin’ Band, Green River, Midnight Special, Tombstone Shadow, Bad Moon Rising, and Proud Mary.

Creedence Clearwater Revival The Ultimate Review also features interviews with John Fogerty and other members of the illustrious Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductees, culminating in a comprehensive program about one of the world’s most formidable music acts which should serve as an excellent introduction to new listeners and a wonderful trip down memory lane for long-time fans.

_LACHLAN KANONIUK

BARRY MORGAN The Touch Of You

RE-DISCOVER DEVENDRA BANHART Oh Me, Oh My…

Perambulator Records/MGM

He’s the owner of Barry Morgan’s World Of Organs, located in the fictional Sunnyside Mall. Barr y Morgan rose to fame from his per formance on the much loved Spicks And Specks with his trademark infectious smile and safari suit.

While the celebrity organ salesman has garnered critical and commercial success with performances across the nation, with the release of his debut album The Touch Of You the question arises over whether Morgan can translate his comical live performances into a purely audio format. The answer is a resounding no. Without his quirky visual appearance, Morgan is simply a man who plays the organ.

The album is obviously dominated by organs and they are only aided by a cheesy drum machine. Morgan is clearly a talented organ player and some of the work is catchy and humorous but for the most part the album reminiscent of elevator music.

There are some tracks that attempt some stylistic changes like Sands Upon My Hands which takes a stab at an exotic sound and Fanfare which has a bit more of a dance aesthetic.

The album is supposed to be funny but it loses its comedic value pretty quickly. Anyone that is subjected to this album multiple times can consider themselves thoroughly tortured. Morgan should stick to performing where his infectious smile can light up his shows. _AARON CORLETT www.xpressmag.com.au

Young God

The first time I put on Oh Me, Oh My..., I thought it had started raining. Only gently, mind you – a faint, spectral rain – but before long I realised that the sound I was hearing behind that crocheted guitar work was, in fact, tape hiss. The story goes that the 21-year-old Devendra Banhart (that’s his real name, by the way) had spent the last few years recording his tangled folk songs onto whatever cheap audio equipment he could get access to. When Michael Gira of Young God Records came into possession of one of Banhart’s tapes in 2002, he so loved the otherworldly intimacy of it that he decided to release as it was, tape hiss and all.

There is a beautiful, half-constructed logic to the tunes on Oh Me, Oh My. Endless brambles of finger-picked guitar embellish Banhart’s simple, two or three chord songs while his unmistakable voice intones above them. He whistles through Tick Eats The Olives then yelps over Lend Me Your Teeth. On Nice People he sounds like a choir of witches, on Michigan State like an old friend writing a postcard.

Most of reviews of Devendra Banhart’s early material tend to focus on the part he played in the early 2000s freak-folk movement. Behind the surface freakishness of Banhart’s tunes, however, there is unabashed intimacy and a beguiling naivety. This is a man who can take a seemingly throwaway line like “bare horse licks your skin” and make it heartbreakingly poignant.

Oh Me, Oh My... is far from a perfect album, it may not even be Banhart’s best, but the album holds a ghostly mood that can’t be found elsewhere. _HENRY ANDERSEN 17

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LYNN SHELTON The Sisterhood

Your Sister’s Sister

YOUR SISTER’S SISTER Sibling Ribaldry

Directed by Lynn Shelton Starring Mark Duplass, Emily Blunt, Rosemarie DeWitt Mumblecore auteur Lynn Shelton follows up the provocative Humpday with this charming, funny look at the complexities of family, relationships, and family relationships.

When it becomes clear that Jack (Mark Duplass) is not coping well with the recent death of his brother, his best friend, Iris (Emily Blunt) - who also happens to be the ex-girlfriend of the deceased sibling in question - tells him to take some time out at her father’s remote cabin and think things through.

On arriving at the cabin, though, Jack discovers that Iris’s sister, Hannah (Rosemarie DeWitt) is there too, and for much the same reasons, having just broken up with her long term girlfriend. A drunken bull session leads to an impulsive sexual encounter, the fallout from which is further complicated by the arrival of Iris, whom Jack has feelings for.

Shelton makes the most of her limited budgetary assets here, putting a small number of locations and a handful of performers to excellent use. On reflection, the film is little more than a series of dialogue scenes, but that dialogue is so rich, funny, trenchant and natural. This isn’t a film that’s in a hurry to get where it’s going, and that’s for the best - it’s greatest strength is its well-drawn characters, and it’s a pleasure just to hang out with these people for a while as their interactions reveal their relationships,

agendas, and individual peccadilloes.

Duplass continues his quiet climb to the top of the comedy pile with a winning, warmly selfdeprecating performance, managing to imbue Jack with both humour and pathos. Emily Blunt, who has been ubiquitous to the point of annoyance over the past couple of years, really lifts her game here - Iris could have been a twee character, the typical indie flick manic pixie dream girl, but Blunt’s insightful interpretation of the nuanced script steers well clear of that potential train wreck. Meanwhile, DeWitt shines in what could have been a difficult role; Hannah is arch and defensive almost to the point of being antisocial, and the way in which DeWitt carefully and gradually allows the character’s guard to drop and her personal revelations to gradually flow is an astute “less is more” performance.

Your Sister’s Sister could have been a navel-gazing exercise in solipsism and maudlin relationship politics. It also could have been a twee, faux-hip rom-com. The fact that it is neither is a kind of quiet miracle. It’s beautiful without being polished, insightful without being overly introspective, sexy without being crass, and funny without resorting to broad strokes and overblown histrionics. It’s almost the Platonic ideal of a smart, indie, relationship comedy. It’s not often that we see films that actually reflect some of the complicated messiness of actual human relationships. All other considerations aside, that’s a good enough reason to check this one out. _TRAVIS JOHNSON

Director Lynn Shelton’s fourth feature film, the funny and heartfelt Your Sister’s Sister, is easily her best yet; a poignant, often hilarious meditation on the complexities of both romantic and familial love. Yet Shelton is keen to make sure she’s not given all the credit, pointing out that the initial idea did not spring from her.

“Mark called me,” she tells us, referring to male lead Mark Duplass, a filmmaker in his own right. “We’d made a movie together before called Humpday. He had a kernel of an idea that was a potential Duplass brothers movie, because he and his brother, Jay, make movies together too.

They realised that they probably weren’t going to be making it any time soon, so Jay gave him his blessing to bring it to me as a potential way that we could actually work together again.”

From the bones of the central idea, Shelton worked up a fleshed-out narrative, but it should come as no surprise to anyone who has seen the final product that the rich, naturalistic dialogue was largely improvised by Duplass and his co-stars, Emily Blunt and Rosemarie DeWitt.

“The improvisation was only employed to create realistic dialogue,” Shelton says. “I really like to have the structure laid out. We had the beats that had to be hit, the dynamic shifts, and we were just figuring out how we would get to there.”

Such freedom to experiment with the form of the film was largely possible due to the project’s small scale, which Shelton views as a distinct advantage. “I recognise a doable movie when I see one. I really liked the chamber piece kind of idea of creating an entire movie out of a condensed period of time, with a very small cast, and essentially one main location. It’s producible - I shot it in less than two weeks - but also, I really enjoy those films, because you can really turn a microscope on people’s inner dynamics, and really get to know them, as an audience. Plus, you can spend a lot more time on set just shooting and rolling the cameras, instead of moving to another location, or setting up a crane shot, or whatever it is. That’s what I love to do as a director, is to really get in there with the actors and try to find those moments.”

But Shelton is at pains to point out that another, more intangible factor was even more vital to the process.

Anger Management Unpack This! shows at the Subiaco Arts Centre from Monday, September 10, ’til Saturday, September 15, with tickets on sale through BOCS. Think back to a time when an argument with a parent or partner has become inadvertently funny; whether it be an all-too-earnest fight over the remote, or a situation where emotions are so elevated that resisting laughter is almost impossible. Ex-Neighbours star Geoff Paine knows that feeling all too well – in fact, he wrote a play about it. A few years ago, Paine got into an argument with, and consequently head butted his neighbour (who hasn’t considered such actions at some point?). After being arrested and going through all the usual channels Paine unexpectedly found himself in a one-day court ordered anger management class, an experience which, while not valuable in terms of its intention, was invaluable in providing the actor with more than enough material for a comedic play.

Michelle Nussey stars in the play, entitled Unpack This!, and attests that Paine’s experience was theatre gold. “When Geoff went to the anger management class, I think the situation was just so comical to him because so often, the truth is way funnier than fiction,” she explains. Anger management classes are an all too common consequence for those who commit a minor act of violence, and Nussey explains that they are often simply another part of the government machine.

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“Often government departments have to tick certain boxes, and it’s not really applicable to how life really works. They [government officials] just have to get through it so that they can get the report in and get it done. I think the dynamic that was going on in the anger management class was just so ludicrous that it was comical,” Nussey confirms.

Nussey’s character in the play is one of the two counselors who work with the participants on curbing their anger. She explains that the performance focuses on the dynamic and interactions between the counselors and the six male participants, all of whom are played by Paine and actor/comedian Ross Daniels. “The two counselors kind of come from different sides – the male counselor is a bit more school of hard knocks, learnt through life kind of guy, whereas my character is a bit more book-smart; she’s done the training, she knows all of the right things to say and she quotes books a lot, but she has a bit of a challenge applying it to actual life. It’s really interesting seeing those two different dynamics play out with the participants,” Nussey says.

Unpack This! has already received critical praise over east, with two seasons in Melbourne including the Fringe and Comedy Festivals. Nussey attests that audiences have not only responded positively to the play, but have also been able to identify with the situations presented by participants.

And, as she points out, Paine plays himself within the play, meaning audiences will find out what actually happened to drive Paine to head butt his neighbour; which, as it turns out, didn’t have such terrible consequences after all. _CHLOE PAPAS

“Trust is paramount,” she insists. “It’s very, very important. We had a very small crew, only a certain number of people in the room at any one time, and they were all people I’d worked with before; people who know I like to create a very emotionally safe, very actor-centric set. They’re very sweet people, very gentle, and funny, and while there’s always stress, they handle stress in a very healthy way. I wanted to create an experience that everyone would want to repeat. And the emotional safety is not just important for the cast, it’s important for the crew as well. I wanted everyone to be able to bring their best energy, and that’s the kind of environment I find that people flourish in.” _TRAVIS JOHNSON

On The Misconception Of Oedipus

Unpack This!

UNPACK THIS!

Lynn Shelton

ON THE MISCONCEPTION OF OEDIPUS A Family Affair

On The Misconception Of Oedipus, a Malthouse Theatre production co-produced with Perth Theatre Company, will make its West Australian premiere in the Studio Underground at the State Theatre Centre and will run from Thursday, September 6, ‘til Saturday, September 15. Tickets are on sale now from perththeatre.com.au or BOCS. After some 2,500 years, the Oedipus myth remains genuinely powerful: tragic, provocative, shrewd. It’s no wonder playwrights have sought to retell the tale; while Sophocles’ Oedipus The King and Seneca’s Oedipus are arguable the best known re-tellings, nationally acclaimed theatre director Matthew Lutton’s On The Misconception Of Oedipus is one recent, clever example.

“The show is better billed as a prequel,” explains Richard Pyros, who plays the titular Oedipus in the new production.“Of course it’s still loosely based on the Oedipus Rex myth, but it focuses more on the family conflict leading up to the action in the original play.”

A pared down production based in contemporary settings, Lutton’s unique production ruminates on the motivations and rationalisations of the plays’ three central characters – Oedipus, Laius (his pitiable father) and Jacosta (his domineering mother and eventual object of his affections) – with each character’s version of events is relayed via a series of interweaving monologues and action sequences.

“They each have their own accounts which are in conflict in one another [and] we extend that even further by looking at these characters through

a prism of psycho-analysis,” Pyros explains. “As an audience member you’re very much looking at these characters and thinking ‘what the fuck is wrong with these people?’.”

While Pyros attests, it was far from easy stepping into the role of the flawed, unlikeable Oedipus. “The hardest part was trying to figure out what this person truly believes. He’s a bit of a nasty piece of work. When you’re playing characters with rougher edges and dustier morals the hardest thing is trying to find what it is you love about that character.

There has to be something about them to love for me to truly be able to connect with it, and in this case there are moments of goodness I just had to latch on to,” he says. “It was good for me to have a familiarity with the story to prepare myself, but in some ways it was useful and in some ways it wasn’t because it’s really a departure from that original story.”

Thanks to Freud and his Oedipal Complex theory, this is probably one of the best known of all Greek tragedies and, of course, there is a grisly ending to it all.

“It’s not a particularly message-driven play.

The questions it asks is ‘who are we?’ and ‘how did we get to this point in our existence?’. It’s a thoughtprovoking show for people who are interested in looking at things a bit differently – that was key to us,” he concludes. “If people could take one thing away from it, it would be ‘Don’t fuck your mum’.” _JENNIFER PETERSON-WARD X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

Hit And Run

HIT AND RUN

This Took Two Directors?

Directed by David Palmer, Dax Shepard Starring Kristen Bell, Dax Shepard, Tom Arnold, Bradley Cooper I can’t imagine there are too many Dax Shepard fans out there. You might know him as the lead idiot in Idiocracy, or from the Parenthood TV series.

Even if you remember his face, he isn’t an actor that inspires a fanbase. Regardless, he somehow got distribution for a shoe-string budget comedyaction that he co-wrote, co-directed and stars lead in; Hit And Run. Dax Shepard plays Charlie Bronson, a former getaway driver who is in witness protection in a small town under his stupidly picked alias.

His girlfriend (Kristen Bell) doesn’t know about his past life, or even that he is in witness protection.

But when she is offered a life changing job in Los Angeles, where Bronson has fled from, he makes the decision to go with her and possibly run into his old gang that he turned on.

It’s not long until the gang, fresh out of the prison Bronson sent them to, spot him and give chase. While the federal agent assigned to protect Bronson pursues both parties. All chase movies need something that gives the pressure of time, and in this case Kristen Bell has mere hours to get to her first day at her job, or she won’t get it. Seriously, she must get there at exactly the right time, or the whole job is over. ‘Oh I won’t worry about the gang

chasing and shooting at me, I got to get to this job on time!’. That’s about the gist of the plot, padded out with a bunch of boring car chases and dull jokes.

With some scenes improvised, the script at best is not funny and at its worst is hugely awkward and obviously poorly improvised. The opening scene with real life couple Dax and Kristen in bed together in particular stands out. I was shocked to find out after the movie that they are a couple in real life because all their scenes feel so forced and unrealistic.

But besides that all the characters suffer from uneven personalities and poorly defined motivations, as the script never really defines any characters consistently over the whole movie.

Bradley Cooper plays the head of the gang after Bronson, and they styled him with the most retarded dreadlocks, sorry shitlocks, I’ve ever seen. Tom Arnold plays, well, Tom Arnold. Sure, he there’s to depict the character of Randy Anderson, the federal agent assigned to Bronson, but let’s be honest he always just plays Tom Arnold and an excruciatingly hard to watch Tom Arnold at that. Dax’s performance in particular is weak and even though he did his own car stunts, they are thoroughly forgettable.

Made for just over a million bucks, the cast largely did their work for free, and that may be the only redeeming factor of Hit And Run. The cast clearly had a good time on the set, shooting a movie as friends. Unfortunately the movie they made is pretty terrible. Thankfully it’s not so terrible as to mark itself in your brain, in fact it’s completely forgettable.

Perhaps that’s the movie’s second redeeming factor. _TOM VARIAN

LAST BUT NOT LEAST After revelling on 12 days of gut-achingly funny shows, comedians and comedy lovers kicked up their heels at The Last Laugh wrap up show at The Empyrean on Sunday, September 2, to celebrate the last final laugh of this year’s Wild West Comedy Festival and to congratulate the 2012 WA-ha-ha Awards winners.

Aidan, Nick, Christy & Chris

Photographs by Emma Mackenzie

Felicity & Daniel Brydon & Pidzy

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Sarah & Elliot

Prudence & Daniel

Stephanie & Ben

Troy & Connor 21

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TECHNO FASHION CUTTING EDGE STUDENT DESIGNS AT PERTH FASHION FESTIVAL

GARMENT BY CELENE BRIDGE

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TECHNO FASHION Machines that print garments and combine the worlds of fashion and robotics sound like something from a sci-fi film, but these days, anything is possible…

Cutting edge fashions will take centre stage at the Perth Fashion Festival this year when Curtin University presents Techno Fashion, a new event that celebrates the bonds between technology and clothing.

Taking over Fashion Central for a free show on Thursday, September 20, at 3pm, Techno Fashion will feature designs from a range of past and current students and staff, including Celene Bridge and her couture creations, Tayler Ainley and her robotic garments and innovative knitwear by Sooyung Yang.

Just as technology has changed the way we communicate and interact with one another, so too has it shaped the future of fashion, with new innovations helping designers create garments they never thought possible.

“Techno Fashion is a concept we came up with because of a philosophy of integrating old or traditional technologies with current and future technologies into the design development of garments,” explains Curtin University’s Head of Fashion, Anne Farren.

“The research that we’re doing tries to integrate those technologies and recognise the value of not just new technologies, but technologies that have gone before, that are sometimes lost in the rush towards new technologies. It’s a strong way to approach garment design and move it forward.”

Techno Fashion will help launch Curtin University’s new Fashion Hub, only the second of its kind in Australia, home to state of the art facilities such as the Shima Seiki Wholegarment® Knitting Machine.

“The Fashion Hub has come out of a national initiative that is run by TAFIA (the Textile and Fashion Industry of Australia Council); we’re trying to link in with a national program that has Hubs around Australia,” says Farren of the new venture.“The Fashion Hub in WA, when we get that established, will be the second in Australia, linking in to national research and local research. It will also link with industry to provide services. So what we’ll be able to do is provide user-pay

GET YOUR RADIO ON Murdoch University

Knitted garment by Sooyung Yang services such as knitting whole garments, laser cutting facilities, the body scanner for the development of more comfortable garments; so we’ll be targeting local industry to see how that can be utilized in the development of garments.”

Recognising new technologies and their possible applications, while also addressing old technologies and the values they continue to represent, Techno Fashion is a must-see for anyone interested in the future of fashion.

SNAPS FOR UWA At The Top The University of Western Australia has joined the ranks of the world’s top 100 universities - one of only five in Australia to achieve this milestone - by rising 14 places to 96.

The world’s foremost indicator – the Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s Academic Ranking of World Universities – recently released its 2012 rankings, placing UWA in the world’s top 100 for the first time.

The University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Paul Johnson, says the rise into the world top 100 was a tribute to the hard work, dedication and commitment of all UWA staff in their pursuit of international excellence. “We have implemented strategies to attract the highest quality staff to strengthen our leading research and teaching profile and to increase international journal publication of world-quality UWA research,” Professor Johnson says.

“A resolute focus on quality has enabled UWA to achieve this goal and prepares the way for the university to achieve being counted among the world’s top 50 by 2050.”

The ARWU ranked The University of Western Australia 26th in the world (up seven places) for Life and Agricultural Sciences, in the band 51-75 in the field of Clinical Medicine and Pharmacy and in

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If you are looking for a course to ignite your creativity and develop a new range of communication skills, perhaps you might enjoy studying Media, Communication and Culture at Murdoch University.

This school offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses including communication and media studies; film, television, radio and digital media production; games art and design, journalism, public relations, and gender and cultural studies.

Murdoch Universit y ’s dedication to employing industry leaders and experienced academics has its advantages and Murdoch’s radio students have seen the benefit of our university partnerships.

Jessica Strauss graduated from Murdoch University with a Bachelor of Communications in 2010 and is now a rural reporter at the ABC. She attributes her success of landing her ‘dream job’ in the industry to the practical experience and opportunities she received as a student at Murdoch University.“By being involved in community radio and communicating with people within the industry I gained valuable knowledge and experience,” she says. “This is what enabled me to land my first job with Southern Cross Austereo and go on to be a rural reporter with the ABC.” Murdoch’s partnerships gives students the opportunity to explore the media environment through opportunities such as being in a live studio, creating and producing a live broadcast for a one hour show on Radio Fremantle and participating in broadcasts from the annual Southbound festival. This experience gives their graduates a competitive edge and allows students to challenge themselves along

the subject band 76-100 for Chemistry.

Next year, UWA celebrates 100 years since its first intake of 184 students in a single wooden building in Irwin Street, Perth. The University now has more than 24,000 students and 3500 staff. UWA has also produced Western Australia’s only Nobel Prize winners, Professor Barry Marshall and Emeritus Professor Robin Warren.

the way. Jess Strauss agrees.

“My degree gave me a great foundation in radio and journalism,” she says. “I learnt how to use a radio desk, how to write radio scripts and many other things that have been of assistance to my career.”

Strauss wasn’t always sure what she wanted to study at university but with help from friendly staff and the flexibility to pick a number of general elective units, she found the course that suited her skills and personality. “Murdoch gives you the flexibility to really get what you want out of your degree,” she says. “I was unsure about what I wanted to do in first year but it did not matter because I had the flexibility to do electives and really figure out what I wanted to do.”

So, if you’re keen to do what Jess Strauss does, hitting up Murdoch might not be a bad idea.

For more info, hit up Murdoch.edu.au or call 1300 687 3624.

NEW YEAR, NEW COURSES ECU Keeping It Fresh Bachelor of Science (Cyber Security) This course prepares students for careers in the field of cyber security and focuses on the practical and theoretical dimensions of Information Technology (IT) security across a range of fundamental areas such as network security and vulnerability assessment, information security, digital forensics, wireless device security and database security.

Bachelor of Arts (Acting) Focusing on the development of k nowledge and sk ills in performing arts, this course provides a practical and theoretical approach to acting in theatre, film, television and other contemporary arts. It produces graduates who are fully equipped to enter the theatre and screen industry.

UWA Campus

Jess Strauss

Bachelor of Medical Science As the complexity of healthcare i n c re a s e s t h e re w i l l b e a greater need for medical science graduates to support health service delivery, from community-based projects to highly specialised laboratories.

This course enables students to learn about the basis for human disease, its detection and the range of scientific endeavours to treat disease and improve health.

Bachelor of Chemical Engineering Chemical Engineering will be offered from 2013 alongside ECU’s established Civil, Mechanical and Electrical Engineering programs. Chemical Engineering is about understanding how materials and chemicals interact or can be converted in some way to a more useful form, typically as part of a production or refining process.

ECU is launching five new courses which are set to commence in Semester One 2013. Check ‘em out here. For more info, hit up reachyourpotential.com Bachelor of International Hotel and Resort Management This industry-based course is designed to provide students with the essential knowledge, competencies and professional attitudes required by management in contemporary hotel and resort organisations.

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X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

L I C E N S E The 00 sobriquet that UK trance legend John Fleming has carried amidst his moniker for the past 20 years doesn’t mean he can terminate enemy spies at will or that he’s working on a secret assignment for Her Majesty’s government but with his upcoming J00F Editionss club tour, he does have a mission of his own and with it he has some high profile DJs firmly within his sights. ANDREW NELSON finds out more.

“We can’t hide the fact that the scene has gone super commercial and my roots emerged from the underground,” veteran and pioneer of the trance scene John Fleming says. He’s talking about J00F Editions, his touring club night that aims to shift the DJ into the background, remove all gimmicks and promote the music back to its rightful place as the focal point and raison d’être. Immediately affable

T O

T H R I L L

and friendly, it’s obvious that music is Fleming’s passion in life and the motive for everything he does career wise “When you’re playing at these big festivals with these commercial guys around, you just can’t do what you want to do musically ‘cause you’ve got a big crowd and they’re there to see the commercial guys and I just don’t play the big hits all in a row like they do,” he continues. “So going back to the ethos of the good old days of clubbing, it’s small underground intimate clubs, the people are there to see me and I get a free reign to do what I want to do musically. It’s allowing me to do the job of a DJ again.”

It’s a job that Fleming has been doing for over two decades now. He’s been there through it all from the early ‘90s neon of the Goa trance scene, through the huge peaks of the Superclub regimes such as Gatecrasher and Godskitchen to the trickier times of late when the credibility bubble has well and truly burst. He’s always been super passionate and takes his job very seriously but the explosion of commerciality, particularly within the trance world, has led to a frustration at the dilution of the art. “I was losing that job as a DJ to analyse and work the crowd, to experiment and explore new music and test it out on the dancefloor,” he says.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 28

www.xpressmag.com.au

27

“The way the scene went; it was super commercial you were just a human jukebox going on autopilot playing the big hits the crowd want. I’m not that type of DJ. Good luck to those guys if they’re enjoying it. I’m more of a traditional DJ, I want to work the crowd, I spend all week, day in, day out, researching and finding new music and I can’t wait to test it out on the dancefloor, whereas the other guys, they’re kind of marketing machines, they’re mini-concerts where they’re just playing their own tracks. What they do, they’ve got no need to research, as people are just there to see them.”

What about those ‘other guys’, the ones who want to be at the centre of attention - has there been any reaction against his opinions?

“To be honest I’m mates with a lot of them,” he says. “I think they’re aware of what they’re doing, hence why there’s no backlash. I don’t want to mention any names but when I speak to them you can tell there’s just a bit of uncomfortable embarrassment almost saying ‘I’m sorry for how I’m crushing your specialist scene’ but those words are never spoken.”

But these aren’t the rantings of a bitter has-been desperate for a slice of that pie with ‘fame and money’ marked in huge capitals. This is a man who has sold over 10 million CDs including the staggeringly successful Euphoria series (the Progressive edition of which sold 70,000 copies in its first couple of weeks ), has remixed the likes of Muse, Energy 52 and Junior Vasquez and for years was riding high in the DJ Mag Top 100 DJ charts, and was in prime position to milk the commercial trance cash cow for all it was worth.

But, he actively backed away from all this for musical altruistic reasons. “When I was in the poll years ago my gigs were worse, people were just booking a number and not a DJ that they knew or cared about,” he says.

“I remember one year I looked at my gigs and half of them were terrible, they were the wrong crowds, the wrong people. That’s when I made a decision. I said to everyone ‘please don’t vote for me’ and the following year the gigs were fantastic, it had just completely changed.”

It may seem a cliché but this man, genuinely is just in it for the love of the music.

I’m just in the happiest place ever in my career,” he explains. “ B e c a u s e I ’m f r i e n d s w i t h s o m e superstars I see how unhappy they are, they’ve had that love stripped away from them and if I entered the business the way that they’re doing I would lose all that lot. Yes, they’ve got a bucket-

The Aston Shuffle

CAN’T STOP SHUFFLIN’

Canberra duo The Aston Shuffle are bringing back their dancefloor madness to showcase the first taste of their sophomore record, Can’t Stop Now. They’ve spent the last year in the studio working on the follow up to their debut record Seventeen Past Midnight. You guys know their tracks Start Again and Won’t Get Lost and know they bring a super party, so if you’re keen to hear what’s in store for 2013 from these lads when they unleash their sophomore record, get on down to Villa on Friday, October 12 to catch their new live show. Tickets are on sale now from Moshtix.

BREAKFEST IS COMING

John 00 Fleming load of money but I think that shows that money doesn’t make you happy. Every morning when I wake up, I’m super happy. Finding a new track, I feel like a kid, [it’s like] ‘wow I can’t wait to play this!’. No matter what amount of money you could offer me I would not take it to lose that.”

Fleming never plays his own tracks at gigs and he shies away from as much press as possible. He’s on a mission to go back to underground and reclaim trance from the popular masses. It’s time to sit back and let Agent Fleming finish his assignment.

» JOHN 00 FLEMING » SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 8 @ METRO CITY

What’s that thing you do on Boxing Day every year? Breakfest of course! The lineup for this year’s super festival of all forms of broken beat, breakbeat, drum’n’bass, hip hop, funk, bass and more, is here.

The one and only Krafty Kuts is coming back to town to bring us the best of breaks alongside the mighty A.Skillz who tore the place down last year.

Joining them will be crazy hip hop turntablist DJ Yoda, producer Lady Waks, UK duo The Nextmen, English DJ Jaguar Skills, bass bomb producers Specimen A, Pyramid, German gent Marten Hørger and some of the Hospitality crew featuring the best in drum’n’bass from High Contrast, Camo & Krooked, Spy and MC Wrec. It’s all happening on Wednesday, December 26, at Belvoir Amphitheatre. Tickets are $85 plus booking fee for early bird tickets which go on sale from midday Monday, September 10 exclusively through Ticketmaster using the code BF12. General admission tickets are $99 plus booking fee and go on sale 9am on Thursday, September 13, through Ticketmaster and Moshtix. If you’d like to buy for a group, there’s the Breakfest Bunch option which includes 10 tickets for $850 plus booking fee from Ticketmaster. Do it!

Prefuse 78 & Teebs

MIND EXPANDING BEATS

Prefuse 73, Guillermo Scott Heron’s experimental hip hop project is known for paving the way for the new generation of producers that were to come. Now, he’s coming to town to showcase his prolific, mind-expanding music. Joining him will be Southern California’s beat-maker Teebs who is all about infectious melodies, having spent time living with Flying Lotus and Samiyam. He’s on Brainfeeder, need we say more. It’s all happening on Saturday, November 17, at The Bakery. Mei Saraswati, Move DJs, Arn One and Arms In Motion are on support duties. Tickets are $35 plus booking fee and are available from Oztix, Heatseeker and nowbaking.com.au.

PERTH DANCE MUSIC AWARDS

Save the date all you EDM fans – Sunday, December 2, for the annual Perth Dance Music Awards ceremony/Sunday sesh. More details to come!

THE WEEKEND

The Weekend is Channel [ V ]’s new dance music show which has just launched and, if you’re keen to be featured on it, you best be getting down to Eve Nightclub on Saturday, September 15, for The Weekend National Tour where the one and only Grant Smillie and dancefloor sassy lass Lady Lauryn will be smashing out bangers to get your weekend cranking while the camera is rolling. Lady Lauryn is all about the singing, dancing, rapping and MCing and Smillie is the host of the new Channel [V ] show so you can expect one entertaining evening!

ROGER SHAH

MAGIC BALEARIC BEATS German-Pakistani DJ and producer Roger Shah features regularly in DJ Mag’s Top 100 DJs list and is well known as the founder of Magic Island Records. ANNABEL MACLEAN chats with the friendly gent about his Sunlounger moniker, Balearic beats and the gig which is the highlight of his career so far.

In October 2010, Roger Shah sold out a 4000 capacity event for Foro Corona in Mexico. He played for six hours incorporating 65 of his tracks and 18 live performances into the night. It was, and still is, his favourite gig to date. “Yes, it’s so far the highlight of my career,” he says down the line from his studio back in his home country Germany. “It took like six months to put this show together to involve all the singers and collect all the stuff, it was more like a live concert because I had all the people on stage for all my big records so it was a life time experience and I hope I can do something like this again soon” It was around this time when Shah dropped the ‘DJ’ prefix from his moniker and simply became Roger Shah. He’s smashed out sets around the world – including Ibiza, Argentina, Poland, Russia, India and, of course, down under. Now, with his debut 2011 record Openminded!? under his belt and various tracks from his Sunlounger moniker as well as the recently released Sunlounger Collected, Shah is returning down under to showcase tunes and collaborations past, present and forthcoming.

“I’m very excited, it’s great for me to do this,” he says, speaking of the forthcoming Magic Island Tour.

“Last time I came with the Openminded!?

Tour. I give the people a journey through all the tracks I play; nowadays I play trance to house to progressive and a lot of different type of styles and I try to take the people through all the different genres of all the music I like. I will play a wide range. Of course, I will play all of my records and releases I’ve had this year so it’ll be interesting.”

‘Magic Island’ refers to Shah’s imprint Magic Island Recordings which has been going strong as a label tied to Armada Recordings, the label which signed one of his big tracks White Sand back in 2006.

Shah has also released Sunlounger material on his imprint and says, out of all the monikers he’s had over the years, Sunlounger is up there. “I think my most 28

Roger Shah favourite one in there is Sunlounger,” he says. “I can always stay 100 per cent to my Balearic sounds and island sounds [with Sunlounger] which people really love… we have a new Sunlounger single coming out in November and I hope there will be a new Sunlounger album for next summer because a lot of people are asking me ‘when’s the new Sunlounger album coming out?’.”

Aside from this, Shah continues to host his radio show Magic Island: Music For Balearic People, a two hour show which is broadcasted to various countries, including Mexico and Jordan. And, after the Magic Island Tour, he heads back home to headline Radio Sunshine Live 15th Anniversary. “It’s the biggest radio station in Germany; you can compare it with UK Radio 1 or something like that,” he says. “I had two #1 records on Sunshine Live and that’s why they’ve invited me to be one of the headliners. The funny thing is, usually I don’t get so much attention in my home country but I’ve had two #1s this year so it seems like some people are just discovering me in my home country (laughs).”

Then, he’s off to South Africa and Durban, another tour he’s pretty pumped about. “I’ve very excited about this as well because this is like my debut tour, I’ve never been to South Africa before,” he says. “I have no idea what to expect but the response has been huge so I’m really looking forward to this.”

» ROGER SHAH » MAGIC ISLAND TOUR » FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 14 @ SHAPE X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

SHOCKONE

HAMILTON

ShockOne, aka Karl Thomas, is well known in Perth and the international bass music community for his fiery, electric productions. Signed to Futurebound’s Viper Recordings, Thomas relocated to London with his sister and girlfriend last year.

ANNABEL MACLEAN chats with the passionate producer about the big move, his forthcoming debut record Universus and Chaos Theory tour.

Drum’n’bass has stood the test of time. It has evolved and grown from the at-times negative mass media exposure it received during its incarnation as ‘jungle.’ It has overcome that pessimism and disapproval and now bridges the sound between hip hop, breaks and techno. It’s as unpretentious as it is unrelenting. Indeed, its evolution has at times been sporadic, other time vast, though in recent times, more organic. RK speaks to Hamilton, one of the dons of the moment about his greatest love – music.

BREAKING BEATS

DOMINATION THEORY

Karl Thomas is sitting on his couch in his apartment in Hackney, London, drinking an espresso coffee which he made with is nespresso machine.“I chose the Arpeggio flavour as I like the purple colour of the capsule,” he says. And, oddly enough, Thomas isn’t recovering from watching copious amounts of the Olympics. “I would only really want to see a basketball game and those tickets were super hard to get and I am pretty lazy, so I didn’t bother,” he says.

But, “lazy” is definitely not the word to describe Thomas who is fast becoming a force to be reckoned with on a global scale. Since releasing The ShockOne EP in 2009 and the Re-Fix EP in 2010, he’s gone on to mix the likes of Netsky, Cutline, Skepta, Ayah Marar and more, and his productions have featured on mixes by the likes of Pendulum and Andy C. Having released two massive dancefloor burners (Crucify Me and Relapse), Thomas has now unveiled the third single – Chaos Theory – from his forthcoming debut record Universus due out next year. Universus was scheduled for release this year, but Thomas’ critical eye which he casts over his work has pushed the release back.“I’ve been constantly working on it,” he says of Universus.

“I am just a fairly slow worker and probably a bit over-critical of my own stuff so I’d say that is the main reason it hasn’t come out yet. You only get one chance to put out a debut album and I’m not going to rush it, or put out an album that I am only partially happy with.

I’m glad I have held off putting it out as I think the stuff I am writing now shits all over some of the stuff I wrote a year ago.”

Part of this attitude has been enforced by his move to London – the friendly competitiveness

www.xpressmag.com.au

ShockOne amongst producers provides a positive source when it comes to his song-writing.“I enjoy the energy of any big city,” he says.“No matter what you do in life, in places like London, New York, LA etc, if you don’t work your ass off and really push yourself, the city will eat you alive, and I love that.

“Moving to the other side of the world to a place that doesn’t give a fuck whether I succeed or not was a great kick up the ass to push myself and work as hard as I can on my music. Outside of the music stuff though, I think it’s just a rad thing to go and live in another city/country and experience the world outside of the bubble you grew up in. Perth is a beautiful place and I love it but there is so much more to the world that I want to see and experience.”

But, aside from living in London, Thomas has been touring a fair bit and is back here in his home town shortly to celebrate the release of Chaos Theory. “People can definitely expect to hear a lot from Universus,” he says of what punters can expect from the tour. “By the time I get down to Australia for the tour the album should be pretty much completed so I will be playing a lot of the more dancefloor stuff at the shows… I think the main thing people can expect is wide scope of music at the sets. If you come expecting to hear the same style of music for two hours straight you may be a little disappointed as the sets at the moment are covering everything from drum’n’bass to dubstep to 110 stuff to electro 130 stuff to hip hop, the one constant is that its always bass heavy party music that people can lose their shit to.”

» SHOCKONE » CHAOS THEORY TOUR » SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15 @ VILLA

Hamilton

Regardless, the young man who had a healthy obsession with the sound from a very young age was always going to pursue his dream. “For me, “Music for me is everything,” chimes the self- it was the break-beat and hardcore that pre-dated proclaimed jetlagged English gent. “I just play jungle and drum’n’bass that really captured my what I like, out of all the different styles within the imagination; it sounded so fresh due to the use of drum’n’bass genre. I think that’s all you can do as a sampled beats, vocals, stabs and basslines. It was such DJ. You trust your own judgment and go with your a huge scene at the time - it was really exciting and absolutely everyone was into it!” selection.”

And, being part of the mighty Ram family Ian Hamilton’s music has front – but it is always dancefloor orientated even though he is is something Hamilton is particularly proud of. partial to an emotional tinge in there as well. “I think “I’ve always loved and followed the label since the it’s important that you can still enjoy a track just as beginning and, of course, this year they celebrate 20 much listening to it at home or in a club - that’s what years in the game which is a huge milestone,” he says.

I aim for,” he says. “For example, I don’t play dubstep “They’ll be celebrating this with tour nights around in my sets, not because I’ve got anything against it, the UK and the world as well as few surprises which it’s just that if I go to a drum’n’bass rave, that’s the I’m not at liberty to disclose.”

Right now though, the man is preparing to music I really want to hear. I love a lot of the dubstep vibes, especially at the moment and I play some half- hit the stage with his pale studio tan in tow. Expect to time/drumstep drum’n’bass in my sets, so I think that hear tracks from his next but not-yet-complete studio album, as well as plenty of fresh tracks from friends bridges the gap nicely.”

And this versatility (and good taste) is likely and family. “I really try to put a lot of effort into my what landed him an opportunity with the ubiquitous sets,” he says. “I’ll be on three decks and it will be the Ram Records stable.“To cut a long story short, a demo first time I’m spinning drum’n’bass in Australia even of mine was passed along via a few people I know,” though I was there previously in 2001.” he says of how the opportunity with Ram Records came about.“Andy [C] ended up getting in touch and it all went from there. As it turns out, we had some » HAMILTON mutual friends anyway, which would have been an » SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 8 @ VILLA easier route.”

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‘90S

FLAWLESS

CAPITOL

WEDNESDAY 05/09 Blvd Tavern – Dub Step Captain Stirling – Fiveo Clancy’s (Applecross) – Upbeat – DJ Andy Connections – DJs Joby /JJ /Rueben Eurobar – Wild Wednesdays - DJ iPod/ Ben Pettit Flying Scotsman – UniQue DJs/ DJ Bones/ DJ Moflow Flying Scotsman (Defectors) – Beaufort Bop ft DJ Anton Maz Gold Bar–DJ Adroc Hipe Club – DJ Roger Smart Leederville Hotel – We Love Wednesdays ft DJ Slick Matches Bar - Pussymittens Metro Freo - Rapture Mustang – DJ Giles Newport – Bodyrox ft DJ Jon Pearn Sovereign Arms – Lokie Shaw The Deen - DJ Zelimer/ DJ Viper/ DJ Benny/ T– Zone 1 The Queens – Wriggle on YaYa’s – DJ Paul Burgess

THURSDAY 06/09 Clancy’s (Canning Bridge) - DJ Wrighteous Claremont Hotel- Double Dee/ Jimmy Thorne Club Marakesh – DJ Simon Cottesloe Hotel – DJ Shots/ DJ Andy M Empire Bar – Halo/ DJ Bojan/ DJ Ben Sebastian Eve Nightclub – DJ Tony Allen Flying Scotsman – Cowboys & Indie Kids DJs Leopold Hotel – DJ Riki/ Roger Smart Library - Dorcia Llama Bar – DJ Maxwell/ EMAS/ Lukas Wimler Mint Nightclub – DJ Simon Barwood Mt Henry Tavern - DJ Matty J Mullaloo Beach Hotel - DJ John Paul/ DJ Slick Mustang – DJ James Newport – Bass Culture Paramount – DJ Johnny Boi/ DJ Jordan Players Bar – MASH Rocket Room - Launch ft Complete/ Omac South St – DJ Castasia/ Dpad Swinging Pig – DJ Simon The Avenue – DJ Freedz/ Fiveo

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Complete and Omac The Carine Tavern – Punchy & Juicy/ Little Nicky The Causeway – Jaymie Franchina The Craftsman – Roger Smart The Deen – DJ Flex/ DJ Nano/ DJ Surge/ DJ Don Migi The East End Bar - The Prestige ft Az-T The Queens – Kapitol The Whale & Ale – Josh Tilley The Whistling Kite - DJ Gareth Tiger Lils – Paul Malone/ Adam Kelly Velvet Lounge – Descent Woodvale Tavern – DJ Melvin

FRIDAY 07/09 Ambar – District ft Q-Bik/ Philly Blunt/ Marko Paulo/ JS/ Tonic/ Ol Wright Amplifier – DJ Jamie Mac Bar 459 - DJ Smurf Blvd Tavern – DJ Andy/ Tommo/ Conan/ Luke Boheme Bar - DJ Majiika Boulevard Tavern – DJ Andyy Broken Hill Hotel – DJ Nick Alexander Brooklands Tavern - DJ Misschief Mel Capitol – Retro Mash Capitol (Upstairs) – I Love ‘90s Carine Tavern – Greg Packer/ MC Assassin Clancy’s (Canning Bridge) - DJ Boogie Claremont Hotel – DJ Pasha/ Fiveo Club Bayview – Amnesia ft Fendi/ Axon/ Fellis Como Hotel – DJ Gazz Eastern Hotel – DJ Munch

Empire Bar – Lockie Shaw Eve Nightclub – Don Migi/ The Twins/ Dannyboi Flawless – DJ Ryan Flying Scotsman – DJs Jo19/ Rok Riley/ Armee Flying Scotsman (Defectors) Back To Mono DJs Geisha – The Upbeats Ginger Nightclub – Rondevoo Fridayz Gosnells Club – DJ Now Hipe Club - DJ E-Funk Honey Lounge – DJ Curlee/ Drew Green Lakers Tavern – Fresh Fridays - DJ Dooey Left Bank – DJ Frankie Button Library – DJ Sneaky Little Creatures Loft – Marine Beats Llama Bar – DJ Reuben/ DJ Morris Matches Bar - Lasrhors Merriwa Tavern – DJ Real McCoy Metro City (Solace Bar) – DJ Slick Metro Freo – Frat House Fridays ft Death Disco DJs Mint Nightclub – Club Retro ft Chris McPhee Mullaloo Beach Hotel - DJ John Paul Mustang – Swing DJ/ DJ James MacArthur Paddy Hannans – Crazy Craig Paramount - DJ Johnny Boi/ DJ Jordan Players Bar – Sugar Queens Tav – DJ Rueben Rocket Room – DJ Franky J Sail & Anchor - Balcony Beatz/ DJ J-MAC Shape – The Lick Sovereign Arms – Dylan Hammond The Avenue – JMC The Carine – Mind Electric/ Little Nicky/ Az-T The Causeway – Jus Haus?

The East End Bar – Az-T The Generous Squire - DJ Anaru The Queens – DJ Rueben The Saint - DJ Jordan The Shed – DJ Glenn 20 The Whale & Ale – Josh Tilley Tiger Lils – Paul Malone/ Adam Kelly The Vic - DJ Giles The Wembley Hotel – Abstar Windsor – DJ Riki and Ray Victoria Park Hotel – DJ Giles Villa – Onelove Mobile Disco Tour ft John Course/ Acid Jacks Ya-Ya’s – Hero DJs ft Pup

FRAT HOUSE FRIDAYS

METRO FREO

SATURDAY 08/09

Mint Nightclub – Pop Life ft DJ Aaron/ AJ Ambar – Japan 4 ft Bezwun, Marty Mullaloo Beach Hotel – DJ Danny Mustang – Rockabilly DJ/ DJ James McFly, Tee EL, Wish, MR eD MacArthur Amplifier – Pure Pop ft Eddie Niche – Frankie Button/ Cee/ Jonny Electric Basement On Broadway – DJ Ricky Zimber Norma Jeans – DJ Darren Boheme Bar – Carte Blanche DJs Oxford Hotel – DJ Sequeria Broken Hill Tavern – DJ Roger Paramount- DJ Cornflake / DJ Smart/ Matt Richards/ Ben Dallin Jordan/ DJ Johnny Boi Capitol (Upstairs) – Cream Of The Players Bar – Snow Party 2 ft Angry ‘80s ft DJ Ryan Capitol - Triple J House Party Tour ft Buda/ G-Wizard/ Tilo/ Partz/ Kevvy T Nina Las Vegas/ Deacon Rose/ What Queens Tav - Gareth Richardson Rocket Room – Extreme Aggression So Not/ Flume/ Beni ft DJ Cain Clancy’s (Canning Bridge) - DJ South St Ale House – DJ Jay Dood Sovereign Arms – Rockwell Claremont Hotel – Fiveo The Avenue – Dale Ingvarson Club Bay View – Fiveo The Brighton (Upstairs) – Micah/ Empire Bar – DJ James Ess Kill Dyl/ eSQue Eurobar – Roger Smart/ DJ Raci The Boheme – DJ Sneakee Eve Nightclub – DJ Crazy Craig/ The Causeway – Rhys Johnson Don Migi The Clink –Az-T Flying Scotsman - Under The The Cornerstone – Dylan Influence DJs Flying Scotsman (Defectors) - Fore Hammond The Craftsman – Tammy Stevens DJs The Deen - DJ Birdie/ DJ JJ/ DJ Tony High Road Hotel – DJ Simon Allen High Wycombe – DJ Matt The East End Bar - Fiveo Hipe Club – DJ E-Funk The Generous Squire – On Tap Honey Lounge – DJ Saxon/ Sardi Library – MKT ft DJ Riki/ DJ Vicktor The Honey Lounge - Steffi The Rosemount Hotel – Urthboy and more The Saint – DJ Anaru Little Creatures Loft – Marine The Shed –DJ Andyy Beats The Wembley – Lokie Shaw Liquid Nightclub - DJ Klar55/ DJ The Whistling Kite - DJ Craig Stevie M Llama Bar – DJ Reuben/ DJ Melvin The Vic – DJ Kristian Tiger Lils – DJ Bojan/ DJ Ben Malt Super Club – Fiveo Matches Bar - PJstokes and Valerio Sebastian Victoria Park Hotel – DJ Melvin Metro City (R&B Lounge) - DJ Villa - Drumsound & Bassline Smith/ Slick/DJ Ruthless/DJ Soso/DJ Brett Hamilton/ Optiv & BTK Costello Windsor – DJ Ray Metro Freo – DTuck/ Darren Briais/ Woodvale Tavern – DJ Real McCoy DJ Wazz Ya-Ya’s – Hero DJs ft Pup

SUNDAY 09/09

Flume

Captain Stirling – DJ Jay Claremont Hotel – DJ Double Dee Clink – DJ Tony Allen Empire Bar – CB3/ DJ Riki/ DJ Vicktor Euro Bar – DJ Flex Eve Nightclub – Angry Buda/ DJ Slick Geisha – Hyte/ Custon Royal/ FOAM/ Unknown Treasures DJ Flying Scotsman – Nathan J/ Nizbet/ Pasha/ Chris Flying Scotsman (Defectors) – Eclectic Picnic Mint - Chris McPhee

Hamilton Mustang – DJ Rockin Rhys Paramount – Glo/ DJ Slick/ DJ Benny C/ DJ Matty S Players Bar – Electro House Battle Rocket Room – Coyote Ugly Sovereign Arms – Josh Tilley The Avenue – Az-T The Causeway – Lukas Wimmler The Cott – Cott Sessions The Kiosk – DJ Cinder The Saint - DJ Anaru The Shed – DJ Tony Dee

MONDAY 10/09 Bar Orient - DJ White Label Broken Hill Tavern - DJ Mario Tavelli The Deen – Plastic Max/ The Token Gesture The Paddo – DJ John Paul The Shed – DJ Andyy

TUESDAY 11/09 Bar Orient - DJ Lyndon Eastern Hotel – Jon Edwards High Road Hotel – DJ Matty J High Wycombe – DJ Ricky Hipe Club – DJ Roger Smart Mojos – Marksman/ Slackjaw/ Mr Starks/ DJ Silence/ Odette Mercy Players Bar (Norma Jeans Bar) – Stevie M Victoria Park Hotel – DJ Melvin

X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

SHAPE

BIG APE

PARKLIFE ROAD TRIP

AMBAR

SOUL PROJECT

GEISHA

IN THE THIS WEEK: Launch ft Complete/ Omac Thursday, September 6 @ Rocket Room District ft Q-Bik/ Philly Blunt/ Marko Paulo/ JS/ Tonic/ Ol Wright Friday, September 7 @ Ambar Onelove Mobile Disco Tour ft John Course/ Acid Jacks Friday, September 7 @ Villa The Twins Friday, September 7 @ Eve Nightclub District ft Q-BIK/ Philly Blunt/ Marko Paulo/ JS/ Tonic/ Ol Wright Friday, September 7 @ Ambar

The Weekend Tour ft Grant Smillie/ Lady Lauryn Saturday, September 15 @ Eve Nightclub ShockOne Chaos Theory Tour ft ShockOne/ Phetsta/ Dvise and more Saturday, September 15 @ Villa The Circus Showcase ft Doctor P/ Cookie Monsta/ Funtcase/ Slum Dogz Wednesday, September 19 @ Villa Bootleg: Sneaker Party ft Spenda C Friday, September 21 @ Ambar Japan 4 ft Blaze Tripp Saturday, September 22 @ Ambar

Urthboy Saturday, September 8 @ The Rosemount Hotel

Friction/ MC Linguistics Saturday, September 22 @ Villa

Steffi Saturday, September 8 @ The Honey Lounge

Octave One Saturday, September 22 @ The Bakery

Triple J House Party Tour ft Nina Las High Wolf Vegas/ Flume/ Beni/ What So Not/ Thursday, September 27 @ PICA Bar Deacon Rose DAS EFX/ Black Sheep Saturday, September 8 @ Capitol Thursday, September 27 @ The Civic Hotel Drumsound & Bassline Smith/ Hamilton/ Optiv & BTK Far East Movement Saturday, September 8 @ Villa Friday, September 28 @ Eve Nightclub

COMING UP

Roger Shah Friday, September 14 @ Shape Nom De Strip Friday, September 14 @ Ambar Fritz Kalkbrenner Saturday, September 15 @ Geisha Krayzie Bone/ Wish Bone (Bone Thugs N Harmony) Saturday, September 15 @ Metro City

Break-A-Holics Anonymous: Vinyl Night ft Marty McFly v Tone/ BAA (Micah/ Ben Mac/ Fdel)/ Wish v Oli/ Nyquist Freqs Friday, September 28 @ Villa Challenger Ready ft Benny P v Micah/ Bezwun v Dead Easy/ Marko Paulo/ Philly Blunt v DNGRFLD/MR eD v Bob Noceros Saturday, September 29 @ Ambar

Ferry Corsten/ Shogun Sunday, September 30 @ Villa Parklife ft Chairlift/ Modestep/ The Presets/ Nero (live)/ Passion Pit/ Plan B/ Justice (DJ set)/ Robyn/ Benga (live)/ Rusko/ Wiley/ Labrinth/ DJ Fresh (live)/ Flume/ Alison Wonderland/ Lee Foss/ Jack Beats (live) and more Monday, October 1 @ Wellington Square Seth Sentry Saturday, October 6 @ The Rosemount Hotel Paul Oakenfold Saturday, October 6 @ Villa Seth Sentry Sunday, October 7 @ The Norfolk Hotel Rudimental Thursday, October 11 @ Ambar The Aston Shuffle Can’t Stop Now Tour Friday, October 12 @ Villa Fresh Produce: Double Trouble ft Lemon Lime n Love Town/ Benny P & Genga/ 4by4/ The Tapeheads/ CK RUCKUS v StrangerThanDigital Friday, October 12 @ Ambar Bombs Away Friday, October 12 @ Eve Nightclub Emalkay Saturday, October 13 @ Shape This Is Nowhere ft Jimmy Edgar/ Ikonika/ Slugabed/ Salva/ D’eon/ James Ireland/ Move Crew/ Rok Riley/ Travis Doom/ Jo Lettenmaier Sunday, October 14 @ Dolphin Theatre & Lawrence Jackson Court, UWA

Jay Sean Thursday, October 25 @ Eve Nightclub Madlib Medicine Show ft Madlib/ J Rocc/ Egon Saturday, October 27 @ The Bakery Prefuse 73/ Teebs Saturday, September 17 @ The Bakery Stereosonic ft Tiësto/ Avicii/ Calvin Harris/ Example/ Carl Cox/ Major Lazer/ Laidback Luke/ Martin Solveig/ Dash Berlin/ Markus Schulz/ Diplo/ Sander van Doorn/ Infected Mushroom/ Chuckie/ Flux Pavilion/ Mr Oizo/ Porter Robinson/ Loco Dice/ Bassnectar/ JFK MSTRKRFT/ Excision/ Adam Beyer/ Aly & Fila/ Caspa/ Datsik/ Joris Voorn/ Bingo Players/ Tommy Trash/ Simon Patterson/ Gesaffelstein/ Ørjan Nilsen/ Dillon Francis/ Foreign Beggars/ Zedd/ Brodinski/ Krewella/ Nina Kraviz/ Van She/ Alvin Risk/ Destructo/ MaRLo/ Treasure Fingers/ Bart B More and more Sunday, November 25 @ Claremont Showground (TBC) Sets On The Beach ft lineup TBC Sunday, December 2 @ Scarborough Beach Amphitheatre Perth Dance Music Awards Sunday, December 2 @ Venue TBC Mr Grevis Wednesday, December 12 @ Mojos Breakfest ft Krafty Kuts/ A.Skillz/ DJ Yoda/ Lady Waks/ The Nextmen/ Jaguar Skills/ Specimen A/ Pyramid/ Marten Hørger/ High Contrast/ Spy/ Camo & Wednesday, December 26 @ Belvoir Amphitheatre

MR. GREVIS

ONE SIXTH

Despite sounding like a mixtape title, The Sampler is a fully realised, and very promising, debut album from local rapper Mr. Grevis.

He proves himself to be a powerfully engaging MC on Trapped, rapping stark ly autobiographical lyrics about walking in on his father’s suicide attempt, selling drugs and ending up in prison. Give It Back, meanwhile, is a tribute to the power of hip hop music and the funk and soul samples it’s built on.

Mr. Grevis also tells detailed third-person narratives (the reflective lead single Drift Away, with Melbourne singer Jess Harlen), explores issues (The Refugee Song, featuring excellent guest verses from Aero D and Soma) and celebrates getting wasted (the high-energy The Drinking Game and bumping So High) with equal success.

The only song that’s out-of-place on the album is the borderline-horrorcore Monster – and even this track works in its own way, thanks to darkly humorous lyrics and a hard-hitting Dazastah beat. The production – handled by Daz, Rob Shaker, Paulie P and Creed Birch – is excellent throughout the album.

The Sampler establishes Mr. Grevis as one of the most promising upcoming hip hop artists – not just here in Perth, but Australia wide.

One Sixth is considered to be Australian hip hop’s best kept secret but with the release of his first LP, it is safe to say the secret is out. Electronic Mail has plenty of allusions to technology and electronic communication mixed in with tales of love and lust – in fact – you could say it’s a concept album.

The title track kicks off the record – it’s a mixture of robotic synthesizers but One Sixth’s flow is anything but mechanical. He raps with confidence and passion throughout the album. The electronic elements of the album are not overwhelming and many of the tracks only feature modest electronic pulses and blips.

Many of the tracks have a laid-back vibe; especially lead single Round The Sun. The song is dripped in hip hop beats but the use of samples adds a warm touch to the track. In fact, evocative samples are littered throughout the record and colour the tracks with humour.

One Sixth’s search for love is typified on the track LOL (Love Or Lust) where he talks about his confused feelings. Female guest vocalist Candice Monique works her magic on Crossed Wires and other guest vocalists Mantra, Lotus, The Tongue, Fluent Form and more, bring their A-game.

Worth checking out if you’re up for discovering new music.

THE SAMPLER NRA RECORDS/OBESE RECORDS

» JOSHUA HAYES 3.5/5

ELECTRONIC MAIL OBESE RECORDS

» AARON CORLETT 3.5/5

Sets On The Beach ft lineup TBC Sunday, January 13 @ Scarborough Beach Amphitheatre

Urthboy

URTHBOY SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 8 @ THE ROSEMOUNT HOTEL

www.xpressmag.com.au

Big Day Out ft The Bloody Beetroots/ Crystal Castles/ Kaskade/ Pretty Lights/ Nicky Romero/ Morgan Page/ Sampology and more Monday, January 28 @ Claremont Showground Sets On The Beach ft lineup TBC Sunday, March 17 @ Scarborough

Beach Amphitheatre

THIS WEEK

THE PRESETS PACIFICA

It’s the third record from the epic Sydney dance-pop duo The Presets. It’s fresh and different but still withholds The Presets’ signature hooks and melodies, not to mention, some sexy synth work too.

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SPRING ROLLERS

MOJOS BAR

On Sunday, September 9, catch Bloke in Coats and Cangkang Ferigala from 1pm for free! Then in the evening Tijuana Cartel hit the stage. Tix are $40 through tijuanacartel.com but if you’re strapped for cash Mojo’s is giving away double passes to this show so simply email mojos@coolperthnights.com with “Milk was a bad choice” in the subject line.

Some of Perth’s most eligible singles trotted down to the Byrneleigh Hotel in Nedlands last Saturday, September 1, to help launch Perth’s newest and highest quality singles events business The Meet Market at their Spring Fling Launch Party. If you missed out on this event and are in the market to find that ‘special someone’ keep your eyes peeled on themeetmarket.com.au for up-todate info on upcoming events!

RAILWAY HOTEL

Photos: Archer Imagery

This Friday, September 7, at the Railway Hotel catch Tusk, The Fall Of Man and Severtone making a racket from 8pm. Saturday, September 8, catch the Perth heat of the Global Battle Of The Bands featuring The Renzullo Project, Law of Attraction, Dallas Royal, Dead Set Radio and more.

BEAT NIGHTCLUB

Massive weekend of great music at The Beat Nightclub with Honeywheeler launching their EP on Friday, September 7, with support from Mezzanine, Zeks and Bend The Sky.

THE BROKEN HILL HOTEL

Sunday, October 7, from noon ‘til late dress up in your Oktoberfest outfit for a day of fun and games, including competitions, live music, food stalls and much more. Tickets available now from Moshtix or the venue.

THE PADDO

Oktoberfest at The Paddo is back again for its 5th year on Saturday, October 20, from noon ‘til 6pm!

Pre-sale tickets are $20 plus booking fee from paddo.com.au.

DUCKSTEIN BREWERY

Celebrate Oktoberfest 2012 in the beautiful surrounds of Margaret River at the Duckstein Brewery. On Saturday, October 20, from 10am ‘til 5pm, there will be a range of tasty food and German games to keep you entertained, while Blue Shaddy, Travis Caudle and DJ Damon Rollins will provide the perfect soundtrack. Tickets are $35 plus booking fee and on sale now from heatseeker.com. Group discounts are available and there will be bus transfers available to get you there and home safely. Hit up facebook.com/ DucksteinBreweryMargaretRiver for more deets.

YA YA’S

The lead-up to Rottofest has started and Vulture Culture are warming up with Ha Ha’s at Ya Ya’s tonight (Wednesday, September 5)! With a smorgasbord of national and local comedians headlined by Matt Dyktynski, first person to email adam@ya-yas.com.au with “Rottofest” in the subject line receives two passes! Also, don’t miss Gloria Ironbox’s debut EP launch on Friday, September 7. Entry is $10 and support comes from The Midnight Mules, Wizard Sleeve and Raging Lincolns.

ROSEMOUNT HOTEL

This Friday, September 7, sees local rockers Animal launching their debut EP with special guests Brutus, Serial Killer Smile and Red Sky. To win a double pass to this show email win@rosemounthotel.com.au with ‘Win’ in the subject line.

MUSTANG BAR

The Wishers take the stage for Original Music Night this Thursday, September 6, supported by The Athenes and The New Invincibles with DJ James MacArthur.

ROCKET ROOM

Get down to The Rocket Room this Sunday, September 9, and help the Coyote Ugly girls celebrate Allure Entertainments 1st Birthday! Entry is free before 9pm.

INDI BAR

It’s ladies night this Wednesday, September 5, at the Indi Bar featuring some of Perth’s finest ladies in music! Catch Natasha Shanks, Vive Oldham, Jessica Moyle and Patient Little Sister, from 8pm.

MATCHES BAR

Matches is a new bar with a relaxed atmosphere, classy interior and pumping music. Whether it’s a chilled weeknight vibe you’re craving or a party atmosphere and for the weekend, Matches have you covered. Matches is giving a group of four people their first drink free on arrival for this September 7. Simply email ‘Matches’ to win@xpressmag.com.au to be in the running.

SLASH I Am Giant

Metro City Thursday, August 30, 2012

The TheSmith SmithStreet StreetBand Band(Photo: (Photo:Courtney CourtneyMcAllister) McAllister)

THE SMITH STREET BAND Grim Fandango / Monuments / Chilling Winston The Rosemount Hotel Friday, August 31, 2012 The rain didn’t put a dampener on proceedings at The Rosemount on Friday night, with fans turning out in their grungiest digs to catch some awesome Aussie punk-rock music.

Kicking off proceedings were Chilling Winston, who offered up a quick set of gritty hook-laden punk, effectively setting the mood and amping up the crowd for a night of heady punk rock.

Monuments were up next, bringing the crowd their own brand of pop punk, fervid and honest in its delivery. With sickly sweet punk vocals and a sound that is reminiscent of so many bands before them, Monuments are nothing if not highly likeable and fun to listen to.

Local and much-loved punksters Grim Fandango then hit the stage as the primary warmup for The Smith Street Band, dishing out a solid set of alt-rock tunes. Grim have built up a considerable following over the past few years, and they hit all the right notes during their live shows – frontman Tom Ware and guitarist Aaron Leavy share the searing vocals, and the band’s fast-paced and highly relatable songs served well in warming up the crowd for the main event.

The Smith Street Band headed on stage just after 11pm, expressing their excitement at coming in through the side door of the stage like ‘a real band.’ The five-piece launched straight 32

into their recent single Sunshine And Technology, the punters heading towards the stage in droves to engage in a sing-a-long. Seeing these guys is a real treat; the band is committed to putting on a great show and their on-stage presence is passionate, raucous and utterly infectious. Wil Wagner is not only a magnificent songwriter, he is also a truly stellar frontman; honest and animated, and so frantically enthusiastic in his delivery that his fingers bled by the end of the first song.

During what felt like a really short set, the band delivered tracks from their new and old records, the crowd lapping up each and every tune – particularly one of their biggest songs, Sigourney Weaver. The Smith Street Band are the perfect representation of an awesome Australian punk rock band; this reviewer would even argue that they are the greatest around right now.

However, despite an amazing set, the actions of a few guys put a dampener on the gig.

The individuals were unnecessarily aggressive and made it unpleasant for the rest of the crowd, so the band decided to cut their set short and not play an encore. As the band tweeted post-show ‘We love music but hate violence.’ Have a think about that next time you decide to be a dickhead; no doubt that would’ve been a fucking great encore. _CHLOE PAPAS

With most of this night’s sell-out crowd stuck in a winding queue moving at a snail’s pace, I Am Giant played to a half-empty room, delivering a passionate and energetic set hampered only by the samey-ness of their songs.

Slash strode onstage to a huge roar, swiftly cranking out the riff to Halo from his latest album, Apocalyptic Love, as collaborator and musical foil, Myles Kennedy, shouted out a ‘how you doing, Perth?’.

With top hat and sunglasses firmly affixed atop his mess of curls, Slash transcended the cartoonish character that Guitar Hero and 10,000 promo photos have made him, throwing rock shapes like it’s the most natural thing in the world for him. Here’s a man who lives and breathes (and probably sleeps with) his guitar.

Over his two solo albums Slash has proven he doesn’t need to lean on his Guns N’ Roses past, but he knew the crowd was hungry to relive those glory days, and he delivered a set list with a foot in both camps – no less than seven songs from 1987’s Appetite For Destruction (Night Train, Rocket Queen, My Michelle, Sweet Child…) get an airing tonight, alongside one each from his Velvet Revolver and Slash’s Snakepit days (Slither and Beggars & Hangers On, respectively) and a bunch from those recent albums (Ghost, Standing In The Sun, Back From Cali, Anastasia, You’re A Lie).

The band – Todd Kerns, Brent Fitz and Frank Sidoris – tore through one classic song after another and though Kennedy seemed businesslike to the point of being detached during the first half, when he started engaging the audience in the latter half things really hotted up, even introducing a couple in the front row who got engaged during the show.

If there’s a criticism to make of the Alter Bridge singer, it’s that he refrains from stamping any of his own personality onto the Guns N’ Roses songs, seemingly content to deliver Axl-lite renditions until Starlight, when he and his voice truly came into their own.

Bassist Kerns took centre stage for Lemmy’s parts on Dr Alibi and the Gunners’ Out To Get Me, and again for the first song of the encore – a riotous run through Welcome To The Jungle, which apparently they haven’t played live for 18 months.

Rounding a sweat-soaked two-hour set out with a triumphant second encore song in

Slash (Photo: Callum Ponton) Paradise City, with his shirt discarded but that hat and sunnies still firmly affixed, Slash reinforced his status as the last true, uncompromised guitar hero of his generation – a Keith Richards for the ‘90s and beyond, if you will.

That this man and his conspirators aren’t playing 10,000+ seaters is a crime – for pure adrenaline fuelled, sleazy rock‘n’roll, there is no finer master. _ SHANE PINNEGAR X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

AMPFEST 2012 Meet The Finalists This Friday, September 7, AmpFest 2012 comes to a head as Bears And Dolls, Dead Owls, Lucas Jones and wildcards New Animals and From The Dunes battle it out at the Regal Theatre. Playing for over $15,000 worth of prizes, pop/jazz/hip-hop collective Brow Horn Orchestra will headline the free, all-ages event, which kicks off at 6pm. X-Press Magazine checks in with the competitors.

DEAD OWLS

Jordan Tjhung – vocals and guitar Tell us a bit about your sound: Beside the obvious signature twopiece thang, we like to think of our sound as frankensteinalicious freak-child of our influences, which is very broad, and far too long to list. We get a lot of different “you-sound-likes” from punters, accurate or not, they never fail to make us smile.

How has your experience with AmpFest been so far? It’s been great, we have never won anything before, so that felt good. I also think AmpFest is hugely important amongst young people to encourage the survival of live (and local) music in Perth. It also gives parents a chance to see their kids’ passion for simply playing rather than seeing it as a gateway to the dark side. Chill out parents.

Win, lose or draw, what’s next for your band following AmpFest?

Finishing recording our debut EP with [Dave Parkin] at Blackbird, which will include a video release along with of our first single, an assload of supports and shows, and a tour of Aus, even if it just becomes a house party tour of the cities. They tend to become more interesting, and a hell of a lot cheaper.

BEARS & DOLLS

Hana Lee-Smith – violin Tell us a bit about your sound: We were once described in a review as: “If Alice from Alice in Wonderland had a band, it would sound like Bears & Dolls” – which is probably the most accurate description you can get. We don’t really fit into any genre, we’re just generally a little crazy and weird and we’re something you just have to listen to!

How has your experience with AmpFest been so far? It’s been pretty awesome! The people in charge are really friendly and organised. We were on in the first round, which was held at a pretty small venue, but there was still a pretty big crowd there, which was great! It also gave us an opportunity to play to people who might not have heard us, and we love any chance we get to perform to new audiences. We’re definitely looking forward to the finals, as not only do we get to play at the Regal Theatre with a bunch of amazing bands, but also September 7 marks Bears & Dolls first birthday which is something pretty special!

Win, lose or draw, what’s next for your band following AmpFest?

We’ll definitely record our songs so that we can release a single or an EP. We’ll also try to focus a little more on writing songs, as we have plenty of great new song ideas bouncing around our tiny minds! We’ll also buy a kitten, and we’ll call it Mittens and we’ll take it everywhere with us. It’ll be the band cat, and we’ll train it to sing with us.

LUCAS JONES

Lucas Jones – lead vocals and guitar Tell us a bit about your sound: It’s kinda energetic alternative folk, we all have a range of different musical influences from acoustic folk-rock to soul and we all combine it together to create something we feel is unique. But yeah, think Mumford & Sons meets City And Colour – with organ solos.

How has your experience with AmpFest been so far? It’s been really awesome, we played at Alexandra Hall for our heat which was such a killer venue and a ton of fun, and we got to share the stage with, and meet a bunch of other sweet bands, so yeah, so far it’s been really cool.

Win, lose or draw, what’s next for your band following AmpFest?

We’ll be supporting Jack Perejuan’s EP Launch on September 14 at the Blvd, so totally come down to that as it’s going to be awesome.

NEW ANIMALS

Mitchell J Benson – percussion and backing vocals Tell us a bit about your sound: We’re quite a modern sounding band, but we still find a lot of influence from older bands from the ‘60s/’70s. We hate picking one specific style but if we had to describe it in a couple words it would be something along the lines of a real trip hop/indie/pop rock sound.

How has your experience with AmpFest been so far? Really fun, it’s good to have to rally everyone together to help you out and support you but playing the first heat was really cool we all enjoyed it a lot. It was in a big tent so it had a very cool vibe to it, along with being able to use all the great equipment AmpFest supplied. That was probably what I enjoyed the most, being on a big stage with an awesome sound system.

Win, lose or draw, what’s next for your band following AmpFest?

To continue to write and play shows, we are quite a young band so shows like this are a huge bonus for us. But our plan is to get our name out there, get around the local scene and just work hard and hopefully reap some rewards.

FROM THE DUNES

Andrew Knox – lead guitar and backing vocals Tell us a bit about your sound: Alternative rock skeletons with big rock‘n’roll muscles.

How has your experience with AmpFest been so far? AmpFest 2012 has been an amazing opportunity for From The Dunes! The band were all very stoked to be selected for the competition heats and feel that playing AmpFest has given us exposure to a much larger, more musically-diverse audience. We’ve met some great people along the way too.

Win, lose or draw, what’s next for your band following AmpFest?

This week we’ve just released our debut single Everglades which was recorded and produced by legend Matt Gio (Voltaire Twins) at Studio Couch in Freo. Promoting the single is therefore our number one priority post-AmpFest. From The Dunes is also playing gigs at Ya Yas in September with friends Lunar Inverse, and at the Railway Hotel in October with Parker Avenue before the release of our EP Gravity in late 2012. Hopefully we manage to snag a spot in the state final of NCBC for UWA also…wish us luck!

SMELLS LIKE NEW GRUNGE

Animal

ANIMAL Animal launch their debut album Plenty Of Supplies at the Rosemount Hotel this Friday, September 7.

Tell us a little about Plenty Of Supplies - what was the main inspiration for the album? The songwriting was originally conceived during boozy Friday night jam sessions at Tony (aka Tone Death)’s home studio. We never really set out to record an album initially but the songs kept coming, and before we knew it we had enough material for an album. The main inspiration for the album was to escape the shackles of everyday work life and write music that’s fun to play and best suited to stadium-type environments.

We wanted to write an album that would give us the opportunity to play with as many of our favourite bands as possible. We also felt there’s a bit of a saturation of particular styles out there right now, and what we’re doing kinda fills the ‘empty pocket’ out there right now, if you get my drift. Rock’s coming back in a big way, and we aim to be at the forefront of that transition with fun tunes full of rock energy. We also had our cover artwork designed by the awesomely talented Ben Frichot (Day Of The Dead) which was kinda like the icing on the cake and captured the spirit of our album really well, we think.

Did you have a particular vision for how you wanted the album to sound when you were writing and recording it? Yes, massively.

Tony for one is a serious audio snob and had to have it sounding alive. He wanted to capture the energy of a live gig where the PA and dude on the mixing desk is perfect, hence taking over a year to perfect the sound of Animal on CD. We are really proud of the fidelity and energy we achieved. We pretty much wanted it to sound like one of those memorable live gigs from your favourite band, when it’s packed to rafters and after fighting through the crowd you somehow find yourself in an awesome spot right next to the mixing desk, with one arm on the bar and the band putting on an amazing show. www.xpressmag.com.au

Local grunge rock outfit Honeywheeler are going to party like it’s 1992 when they crash the Beat Nightclub this Friday, September 7, to launch their debut self-titled EP with special guests Mezzanine, Zeks and Bend The Sky.

RAGS TO RICHES

Local hard rock trio Ragdoll will tear the roof off the Civic Backroom with the Australian launch of their sophomore EP, Here Today on Friday, September 7, followed by an exclusive afterparty at Perth’s home of rock, the Rocket Room. Joining them for the evening of hard rock will be some of Perth’s finest bands in Hailmary, Nevsky Prospect and Delusions of Grandeur.

Aside from recording, what else have you’ve been up to this year… There have been some very cool experiences over the time that Animal has been evolving, probably the most enlightening experience was the opportunity to hang out with Eric Kretz (Stone Temple Pilots) who praised and provided some amazing feedback on an early mix of our album, and offered us some priceless advice, opportunities and studio tips. It’s a pretty memorable experience when one of your idols is into the music you’re creating! Eric offered us a touring support but didn’t have our full line-up established at the time, which was unfortunate, but we’re still in touch and have some future prospects to work with him which is great. Aside from that, the highlight for us so far definitely was playing a set on the back of a nine-tonne truck through the Perth city streets to unsuspecting pedestrians and commuters, with exclusive right of way and a police escort. I don’t recall that happening before locally (AC/DC did this in Melbourne in 1976) so that’s a pretty cool claim to have if we were the first.

What can people expect from your album launch? A lot of fun on stage, plenty of rock hooks and grooves, and a huge amount of raw energy. We’ve got some killer local support acts on the night too from our pals Brutus (ex-Subtruck), Serial Killer Smile and Red Sky, there’ll also be some damned cool merch available, signed copies of the album and one wild frontman smiling his ass off, expect that too.

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Sincerely Grizzly, September 8, Amplifier

Lanie Lane, October 28, Rock It

Shapeshifter, December 1, Natural New Zealand Music Festival

THE RUBENS/ NEW NEWTON FAULKNER THURSTON MOORE SHANE NICHOLSON 30 Rosemount Hotel GODS 5 Albany Entertainment CANCELLED 5 Capitol Centre XAVIER RUDD 6 Civic Centre Esperance 25 Goldfields Arts Centre 6 Prince Of Wales 5 Astor Theatre NOVEMBER 7 Newport Hotel 7 Goldfields Arts Centre Kalgoorlie HOT CHELLE RAE / CHER 8 Mundaring Weir Hotel 26 Esperance Civic Centre TZU JOSE FELICIANO 28 Albany Entertainment 5 Bar 120 LLOYD JLO 5 Regal Theatre 1 Challenge Stadium 6 Amplifier 6 Perth Arena Centre KARMA COUNTY LAGAWAGON 29 Fremantle Arts Centre 7 Prince Of Wales 1 Clancy’s Fish Pub REGURGITATOR 6 The Rosemount 30 Caves House Yallingup THE BEACH BOYS SOLA ROSA Fremantle 7 The Astor MISSY HIGGINS 6 Burswood Dome BILLY BRAGG HYPERFEST (Bluejuice, 8 Fremantle Arts Centre 26 Indi Bar NICKI MINAJ / TYGA 28 Clancy’s Dunsborough Seth Sentry, Grey Ghost,, 2 Astor Theatre AT THE GATES and more TBA) 8 Perth Arena 29 Amplifier MILLIONS 3 Capitol 7 Midland Oval MR GREVIS THE EASTERN 7 Amplifier ARRESTED BENOIT PIOULARD 12 Mojos 27 Clancy’s DEVELOPMENT 7 The Bird PRIMAL SCREAM HIGH WOLF DAMIEN LEITH THE AMITY AFFLICTION 3 Metro City 11 Astor Theatre 27 PICA Bar THE LIVING END 8 Astor Theatre / THE GHOST INSIDE / PARKWAY DRIVE TIM ROGERS 1-7 Rosemount Hotel ARCHITECTS 19 Challenge Stadium 27 Clancy’s Dunsborough EMMYLOU HARRIS 7 & 8 Metropolis Fremantle REGINA SPEKTOR 28 Fly By Night Club DEAD CITY RUINS 29 Rosemount Hotel 6 Perth Concert Hall CANNIBAL CORPSE / 19 Belvoir Amphitheatre 8 Hyde Park Hotel DISENTOMB / ENTRAILS JOE LONGTHORNE / EVAN DANDO / JULIANA JULIA STONE MELISSA MANCHESTER HATFIELD ERADICATED 28 Astor Theatre 7 Regal Theatre 22 The Rosemount STEPHEN MALKMUS & 9 Capitol THE MEDICS JOSH PYKE STEEL PANTHER THE JICKS / SINCERELY 8 Artbar 11 Metro City 28 Rosemount Hotel CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE GRIZZLY JANUARY 2013 PAUL CAPSIS FAR EAST MOVEMENT BAND 8 Amplifier 11 Artbar SOUTHBOUND (The 28 Eve Nightclub 8 Fly By Night MUMFORD & SONS / Flaming Lips, SBTRKT, Best AARON GOLDBERG TRIPOD EDWARD SHARPE & Coast, Beach House, Boy & 28 & 29 The Ellington URTHBOY THE MAGNETIC ZEROS / 9 Quarry Amphitheatre Bear, Coolio, The Vaccines, KATIE NOONAN & KARIN 8 Rosemount Hotel REFUSED WILLY MASON SCHAUPP 9 Metropolis Fremantle Bombay Bicycle Club, First 12 & 13 Belvoir 28 Winthrop Hall UWA Aid Kit, Hilltop Hoods, JOHN WAITE 29 Mandurah Performing Amphitheatre JOHN 00 Hot Chip, Maximo Park, DAVE WARNER’S FROM 9 Metro City Arts Centre Millions, Totally Enormous GEORGE MICHAEL FLEMING/ JASON SIX60 THE SUBURBS Extinct Dinosaurs, Angus 10 Perth Arena CREEK 13 Charles Hotel 29 Metro City Stone, Ball Park Music, PROGFEST (Ne 8 Metro City SOUND OF SEASONS RUMBLE IN THE Cosmo Jarvis, Django Obliviscaris, and more UNDERGROUND (The Sin 12 Metropolis Fremantle TBA) Django, The Hives, Jinjo 13 Amplifier & Tonics, The ReChords, Safari, Lisa Mitchell, Matt 10 Civic Hotel ROTTOFEST Hank’s Jalopy Demons, 14 YMCA HQ DAN SULTAN / LEAH Corby, Sharon Van Etten, COUNT BASIE (Millions, The Scotty Baker, Kieron FLANAGAN Two Door Cinema Club ) ORCHESTRA McDonald, Lady Voodoo Medics and more) 10 The Bakery 4 & 5 Sir Stewart Bovell Park & The Rituals, Pat Capocci 14 Perth Concert Hall 8 & 9 Rottnest Island 11 Fly By Night Busselton EVERCLEAR Combo and more) MATCHBOX TWENTY 65 DAYS OF STATIC 14 Capitol 29 State Theatre Centre 11 Perth Arena 5 The Bakery THIS IS NOWHERE SEPTEMBER Underground ELTON JOHN SANDI THOM (Tortoise, Xiu Xiu, Grails, 12 Perth Arena SHIHAD BOW WOW 10 Fly By Night Beach Fossils, The Bank SIGUR ROS 28 Amplifier 12 Capitol NIGHTWISH Holidays, HTRK, Puro 30 Mojos Bar SUBHUMANS 13 Belvoir Amphitheatre 20 Metropolis Fremantle WAVE ROCK WEEKENDER Instinct, High Tea, New 12 Amplifier THE BEARDS / THE WEEZER JONAH MATRANGA (Stephen Malkmus & The War and more) SNOWDROPPERS 23 Perth Arena 12 Amplifier Jicks, Tim Rogers, Shihad, 14 Somerville Auditorium 15 Prince Of Wales BIG DAY OUT (Red and surrounds 14 C5 Metropolis Fremantle and more) 16 Settlers Tavern Hot Chili Peppers, The AMERICA 29 - 30 Wave Rock Caravan KARISE EDEN 17 Rosemount Hotel 16 & 17 St Joseph’s Church Killers, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, 12 Perth Concert Hall Park 18 Indi Bar Subiaco Vampire Weekend, Band PRITA GREALY WASHINGTON RUSSIAN CIRCLES / TODD MCKENNEY 13 Ellington Jazz Club 16 Quarry Amphitheatre Of Horses, Kaskade, EAGLE TWIN 18 & 19 Astor Theatre 15 Indi Bar NICKELBACK / JACKSON Animal Collective, 30 The Bakery CLARE BOWDITCH Against Me!, 360, Foals, KATCHAFIRE FIREBIRD FEAR FACTORY 20 Astor Theatre B.O.B, Sleigh Bells, Jeff 14 Astor Theatre 17 Perth Arena 30 Capitol PAUL HEATON 15 Settlers Tavern The Brotherhood, Off!, PREFUSE 73 & TEEBS 21 Fly By Night 16 Prince Of Wales 17 Bakery Grinspoon, Jagwar Ma, SHELLAC OCTOBER EARTH / MARGINS DEEP SEA ARCADE Delta Spirit, Everytime I 25 Rosemount Hotel 15 Rosemount Hotel 23 The Rosemount JOE BONAMASSA Die, House Vs Hurricane, TINPAN ORANGE MARGINS STEREOSONIC (Tiësto, 1 Perth Concert Hall Alabama Shakes, and 25 Bakery 14 Dada Garage Avicii, Calvin Harris, more) PARKLIFE (The Presets, 26 Fly By Night INVADERS Example, Carl Cox, Major 28 Claremont Showgrounds Nero, Passion Pit, Plan LEB I SOL 15 Charles Hotel Lazer, and more) B, Rusko, Tame Impala, 26 Chares Hotel BARRY ADAMSON 25 Claremont Chiddy Bang, Robyn, and BASTARDFEST(Astriaal, Showgrounds 15 Fly By Night Club FEBRUARY Fuck I’m Dead, JASON BONHAM’S LED more) JOHN WILLIAMSON CELTIC THUNDER 1 Wellington Square Desecrator, and more) ZEPPELIN’S EXPERIENCE 30 Quarry Amphitheatre 16 Perth Arena NEKROMANTIX 27 Civic Hotel 15 POSTPONED BRITISH INDIA DAVID HASSLEHOFF 2 Rosemount Hotel THE LIGHTHOUSE TRIO 29 Prince of Wales LOON LAKE 17 Capitol DEFEATER / 27 & 28 The Ellington 15 Amplifier 30 Metropolis Fremantle ED SHEERAN SMASH MOUTH BLACKLISTED RUFUS WAINWRIGHT 31 Capitol 23 Challenge Stadium 27 & 28 Metropolis 19 Riverside Theatre 3 Amplifier THE SAINTS Fremantle DOCTOR P 30 Fly By Nightclub 4 YMCA HQ 19 Villa MARTIKA/ KATE ALEXA – GREENTHIEF MARCH 27 Rocket Room WHEATUS CANCELLED SOUNDWAVE 2013 DECEMBER 28 Prince Of Wales 20 Metropolis Fremantle 4 Metropolis Fremantle (Metallica, Blink 182, JUSTINE CLARKE 29 Newport Hotel MYSTERY JETS OH MERCY Linkin Park, Paramore and 1 Astor Theatre SUNN O))) / PELICAN 20 Capitol 4 Settlers Tavern NATURAL NEW ZEALAND more) CANCELLED GIAN SLATER 5 Norfolk Basement 4 Claremont Showgrounds MUSIC FESTIVAL ( 28 Capitol 21 & 22 The Ellington 6 The Bakery ROCK IT (The Black Keys, Shapeshifter, Kora, Ladi6, GLENN SHORROCK/ HOPELESS SETH SENTRY John Butler Trio, Birds Of Trinity Roots, David Dallas, WENDY MATTHEWS/ 21 Amplifier 4 Studio 146 Albany DOUG PARKINSON Tokyo, The Panics, Lanie P-Money & More) 23 YMCA HQ 5 Prince Of Wales 14 Quarry Amphitheatre 1 Red Hill Auditorium Lane, Last Dinosaurs, BRITISH INDIA SIMPLE MINDS / DEVO / 6 Rosemount Hotel Royal Headache, 22 Amplifier THE CHURCH / MODELS Graveyard Train, Brothers HANSON / MATT WERTZ 7 Norfolk Hotel SEPTEMBER 22 Metropolis Fremantle KELLY CLARKSON / THE Grim, The Toot Toot Toots, 4 Kings Park & Botanical ONE DIRECTION Garden FRAY and more) GYROSCOPE KASEY CHAMBERS/ 28 & 29 Perth Arena 28 Joondalup Arena 5 Challenge Stadium 22 Rosemount Hotel

THIS WEEK

HOWARD JONES

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X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

www.xpressmag.com.au

35

Patient Little Sister, Wednesday at Indi Bar

WEDNESDAY 05.09 BALMORAL Andrew Winton BAR 120 Felix BRASS MONKEY Sugar Blue Burlesque CLANCY’S CANNING BRIDGE Davey Craddock & Christian Thompson CLANCY’S FREMANTLE Chet Leonard’s Bingotheque CLAREMONT HOTEL Open Mic Night ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB The Collaboratory With Graham Wood & Tal Cohen GREENWOOD Bernardine HALE ROAD TAVERN Fenton Wilde INDI BAR Natasha Shanks Vive Oldham Jessica Moyle Patient Little Sister LUCKY SHAG Howie Morgan MOJOS BAR The Whistling Dogs Justin Walshe Bryan Rice Dalton MUSTANG Kickstart PADDO Sophie Jane Alistair Hunt Baedon Toi PADDY HANNANS 5 Shots ROSEMOUNT Nosey Parker Tired Lion Neutral Native Lucas Jones ROSIE O’GRADY’S (NORTHBRIDGE) David Fyffe SWAN LOUNGE Lee West Julz Evans Daisy Clover

THE BROWN FOX Courtney Murphy THE MOON Jay Gum Watson Diger Rokwell Luois Inglis UNIVERSAL Strutt

THURSDAY 06.09 AMPLIFIER Set Sail BELGIAN BEER CAFÉ Chasing Calee BLVD TAVERN Mike Van Duo BRASS MONKEY Rhythm Bound Karaoke BRIGHTON Open Mic Night BROOKLANDS TAVERN Celebrations Karaoke CLANCY’S CANNING BRIDGE Our Latin Thing CLANCY’S FREMANTLE The Whiskey Pocket COMO HOTEL Adam James DEVILLES PAD Rock ‘N’ Roll Karaoke DUNSBOROUGH TAVERN Open Mic Night ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Jade Diary HIGH WYCOMBE HOTEL Chris Murphy HYDE PARK HOTEL Lixy INDI BAR Bex Open Mic Night LUCKY SHAG James Wilson MARKET CITY TAVERN Sarina Cooper Allison Bell James Mathews Jim Moore Walker Texas Ranger MOJOS BAR Matt Gresham Bryan Rice Dalton

Ragdoll

RAGDOLL

HAILMARY NEVSKY PROSPEKT DELUSIONS OF GRANDEUR FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 7 CIVIC HOTEL

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Chainsaw Hookers, Thursday at Newport MUSTANG BAR The Wishers The Athenes The New Invincibles NEWPORT Chainsaw Hookers Dead City Ruins Scalphunter Buzz Kill Vamps OXFORD HOTEL Johnny Taylor PADDY HANNANS Dr Bogus ROSEMOUNT Paltiva Silver Grenade Bad Shannon One Armed Scissor ROSIE O’GRADY’S (FREMANTLE) Clayton Bolger ROSIE O’GRADY’S (NORTHBRIDGE) Neil Colliss SOVEREIGN ARMS Fenton Wilde SWAN LOUNGE Fliptop Leonardo Cristiano Sally THE BOAT Jen De Ness THE BROOK Open Mic Night THE GATE One Trick Phonies THE SHED The Healy’s UNIVERSAL Off The Record WOODVALE Two Plus One YA YA’S Cyclone Tess V’s Jon Madd Leon Ewing Jon Madd Yiannos McStarvos Mai Barnes

FRIDAY 07.09 7th AVENUE Midnight Rambler AMPLIFIER Millions BAKERY Harlequin League Dead Owls Hey Hurricane Nevada Pilot The Shakeys BAILEY BAR Blue Gene BALLYS BAR Anderson BALMORAL The Other Guys BEAT NIGHTCLUB Honey Wheeler Mezzanine Zeks Bend The Sky BELMONT TAVERN The Bluebottles BENTLEY HOTEL Sophie Jane BLACK BETTYS Everlong BRASS MONKEY Adrian Wilson BROKEN HILL HOTEL Nat Ripepi CAPTAIN STIRLING Pop Candy CARLISLE HOTEL Reload CHASE BAR Chasing Calee

Gloria Ironbox, Friday at Ya Ya’s

CIVIC HOTEL Ragdoll Hailmary Nevsky Prospekt Delusions Of Grandeur CLANCY’S CITY BEACH Our Latin Thing CLANCY’S DUNSBOROUGH Needing Cherie CLANCY’S FREMANTLE The Wishers COMO HOTEL Trevor Jalla CORNERSTONE Urban X CRAFTSMAN 5th Avenue DEVILLES PAD Funk Club DUNSBOROUGH TAVERN Kamikaze Pilots EAST 150 Chris Gibbs EDZ SPORTZ BAR Ali Towers Duo ELEPHANT & WHEELBARROW Daren Reid & The Soul City Groove ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB The Gonzo Trio Melody Whittle & Howie Morgan Solomon Pitt EMPIRE Howie Morgan GLOUCESTER PARK Courtney Murphy GREENWOOD Cargo Beat HERDSMAN Sugarfield HIGH ROAD HOTEL Clayton Bolger The Damien Cripps Band HIGHWAY HOTEL Northern Muse HYDE PARK HOTEL Nathan Gaunt Woms The Black Penny Project The Rumble INDI BAR Vdelli INDIAN OCEAN BREW Ben Merito KALAMUNDA HOTEL New Vintage KULCHA Blue Celts LANGFORD ALEHOUSE Bonfire LEGENDS BAR The Organ Grinders LYNWOOD ARMS Mustangs M ON THE POINT James Wilson MARKET CITY TAVERN Chrispy Nylon Alicia Risk MERRIWA TAVERN Overload MOJOS BAR Future Soundz EarthLink Sound Drummie Kritical Sheriff Lindo MOON & SIXPENCE Soul Corporation MUSTANG BAR Adam Hall & The Velvet Playboys Cheeky Monkeys

NEWPORT Party Rockers NORFOLK BASEMENT Kirsty Hulka Badger & The Fox Moana PADDO Simon Kelly PARAMOUNT Flyte PEEL ALEHOUSE Acoustic License PRINCESS ROAD TAVERN Local Heroes PRINCIPAL B.O.B RAILWAY HOTEL Tusk The Fall Of Man Severtone REGAL THEATRE AmpFest 2012 Brow Horn Orchestra Dead Owls Bears & Dolls Lucas Jones From The Dunes New Animals ROCKET ROOM Chainsaw Hookers The Decline Blazin’ Entrails Lucille Worst Possible Outcomes ROSE & CROWN Tod Woodward ROSEMOUNT Animal Brutus Red Sky Serial Killer Smile ROSIE O’GRADY’S (FREMANTLE) Spyce ROSIE O’GRADY’S (NORTHBRIDGE) Neil Colliss SAIL & ANCHOR Howie Morgan Childs Play SOUTH ST ALE HOUSE Robbie King Karaoke SPRINGS TAVERN Greg Carter Karaoke SWAN BASEMENT King Owl MikuraNervosa Gigavolt Y-Not SWINGING PIG Better Days Greg Carter THE ALEXANDER Julius Lutero THE BIRD The Volcanics The Painkillers The Vincent Gallows THE BOAT 11:11 THE GATE Smoking Section THE SAINT Emmanuel THE SHED Kickstart TIGER LILS Paul Malone Adam Kelly Alex Koresis UNIVERSAL Nightmoves VELVET LOUNGE Cangkang Serigala Bamodi Meth Leopard The Choke Blokes In Coats

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

Brow Horn Orchestra, Friday at Regal Theatre HIGH ROAD HOTEL Dr Bogus HYDE PARK HOTEL Lucille Scalphunter Dead City Ruins I Am A Spaceship INDI BAR Matt Gresham KULCHA The Bartlett Bros.

LAKERS Overload LANGFORD ALEHOUSE SATURDAY 08.09 Die Hard Karaoke ADMIRAL LEOPOLD HOTEL James Wilson Steve Hepple AMPLIFIER LOBBY LOUNGE The Medics (BURSWOOD) BAILEY BAR John & Shaun Hi NRG Sandosham BALLYS BAR M ON THE POINT Dove Rhythm 22 BALMORAL MOJOS BAR (ARVO) The Recliners Elliot Beaver MOJOS BAR (EVE) BAILEY BAR Ngati Hi NRG Dilip & The Davs BAR 120 Soulfood Flyte MOON & SIXPENCE BELGIAN BEER CAFÉ The Damien Cripps Mike Nayar Band BLACK BETTY’S MUSTANG J Babies The Rusty Pinto Combo BLVD TAVERN Milhouse Jon Stevens NEWPORT BREAKERS BAR Kizzy Lixy Gravity BRIGHTON NORFOLK BASEMENT Calectasia The Violet Scene The Crooked Cats Benny Macro Rich Widow Hostile Little Face BURSWOOD (PRIZE PADDY HANNANS DRAW STAGE) Decoy Switch PARAMOUNT CIVIC HOTEL (THE Felix DEN) PEEL ALEHOUSE Grind My Bitch 2 Parker Ave Blowtorch Abortion PRINCE OF WALES Rezume Loose Lips Inanimacy The Painted Bird Flatus QUARIE BAR Maximum Perversion Electrophobia Animistic RAILWAY HOTEL DFC Global Battle Of The Chainsaw Abortion Bands Abhorrent ROCKET ROOM CLANCY’S CANNING Kickstart BRIDGE ROSEMOUNT 3’s a Crowd Funk Duo Urthboy CLANCY’S CITY The Last Kinection BEACH Slackjaw Russell Holmes Trio ROSIE O’GRADY’S CLANCY’S (FREMANTLE) FREMANTLE Flavor Toby ROSIE O’GRADY’S CLAREMONT HOTEL (NORTHBRIDGE) Pete Busher & The Lone Blue Gene Ranger SAIL & ANCHOR COMO HOTEL Kickstarts Howie Morgan Cobey Mills DEVILLES PAD SWAN BASEMENT La Nueva Salsa Blunt Force Trauma Orchestra Dawn Of Leviathan ELEPHANT & Bloodklot WHEELBARROW Dawn Severtone Daren Reid & The Soul SWINGING PIG City Groove Greg Carter ELLINGTON JAZZ Rock-A-Fellas CLUB THE BIRD Penny King Trio Broken Royale Allira Wilson & Jamie Dux & Duxtown Oehlers Quintet The Shakeys Meg Mac & The THE BOAT Squeeze The Organ Grinders EMPIRE THE GATE James Ess Dirty Scoundrels FLY BY NIGHTCLUB THE SHED Girls! Girls! Girls!

Huge GREENWOOD UNIVERSAL Nightmoves Local Heroes VICTORIA PARK HOTEL Ivan Ribic WANNEROO TAVERN Christian Thompson WOODVALE TAVERN Dr Bogus YA YA’S Gloria Ironbox Raging Lincolns Wizard Sleeve The Midnight Mules

www.xpressmag.com.au

Friday Friday TravisCaudle Caudle Broken Royale, Travis Fly By Night Saturday atBy The Bird Fly Night WANNEROO TAVERN B.O.B WHALE & ALE Nicki Rose Trio Midnight Rambler WOODVALE TAVERN Chris Murphy & The Holy Rollers YA YA’S Graceful Sun Moths Wrongtown Astrolix

The Lammas Tide, Sunday at The Rosemount

PEEL ALE HOUSE Michael Triscari PIG & WHISTLE Sugarfield PINK DUCK LOUNGE BAR Kevin Conway PRINCIPAL Dove QUARIE BAR Double Take QUEENS TAVERN Big Al & The Deacons ROSEMOUNT SUNDAY 09.09 The Lammas Tide 7TH AVENUE The Floors Good Karma The Empty Cup AMPLIFIER Nevada Pilot Dream On Dreamer Amanda Merdzan BALLY’S BAR ROSEY O’GRADY’S Greg Carter (NORTHBRIDGE) BALMORAL Jonathan Dempsey Chasing Calee SAIL & ANCHOR BLVD TAVERN Mike Nayar Annabelle SOUTH ST ALE HOUSE Trojan John Christian Thompson BRIGHTON SOVEREIGN ARMS Ricky Green Ivan Ribic BROKEN HILL HOTEL SPRINGS TAVERN Chris Murphy Sophie Jane CAPTAIN STIRLING STIRLING ARMS Christian Parkinson Scott Nelson CARINE SWINGING PIG Blue Bottles CHASE BAR Adam James James Wilson Jamie Powers CLANCY’S THE BIRD DUNSBOROUGH The Shallows Grace Barbe Antelope CLANCY’S FREMANTLE Anton Franc Dr Fish Husband CLAREMONT HOTEL Ivory Wolf Sunday Driver THE GATE COMO HOTEL Better Days Matt Angel THE SAINT ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Howie Morgan Project WAYJO Swingin’ THE SHED Sundays The Healy’s Helen Matthews Renogade Quartet UNIVERSAL FLY BY NIGHT CLUB Retriofit Barry Adamson VICTORIA PARK EMPIRE HOTEL CB3 Damien Cripps HIGH ROAD HOTEL WOODVALE TAVERN Glen Davies Free Radicals HIGH WYCOMBE HOTEL The Organ Grinders INDIAN OCEAN BREW CO Retriofit INDI BAR The Amani Consort KALAMUNDA HOTEL Bernardine LAKERS TAVERN Jamie Powers LANGFORD ALEHOUSE Zalia LAST DROP Domenic Zurzolo M ON THE POINT Electrophobia MOJOS BAR (ARVO) Bloke In Coats Ask Jefferson MOJOS BAR (EVE) Tijuana Cartel MUSTANG BAR Peter Busher & The Lone Rangers NEWPORT Tim Nelson Louis & The Honkytonk High Horse The Reductors OCEAN VIEW TAVERN Mixtape PADDY MAGUIRES Brett Hardwick

YA YA’S Go Cheat Darren Guthrie Ricky Green Fellow Or Foe Death & A Cure

MONDAY 10.09 BRASS MONKEY James Wilson ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Joe McKee INDI BAR Tijuana Cartel LOBBY LOUNGE (BURSWOOD) Courtney Murphy MOJOS BAR Wide Open Mic Night MUSTANG BAR Marco & The Alley Cats THE DEEN Plastic Max & The Token Gesture YA YA’S Open Mic Night

TUESDAY 11.09 ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Morgan Bain LUCKY SHAG Christian Thompson MERRIWA TAVERN Celebrations Karaoke MOJOS BAR Marksman Slackjaw Mr Starks Odette Mercy PADDO Simon Kelly PRINCE OF WALES Open Mic Night SETTLERS TAVERN Open Mic Night THE BIRD Fat Shans & Friends THE BROOK Greg Carter Karaoke TWO ROCKS TAVERN Jump For Joy Karaoke

Honeywheeler

HONEYWHEELER MEZZANINE ZEKS BEND THE SKY

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 7 THE BEAT NIGHTCLUB

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Classifieds and Music Services Hotline: 9213 2888 Display ads: musicservices@xpressmag.com.au Deadline: 4pm Monday Credit cards welcome

DANCE CLASSES BELLYDANCE CENTRAL STUDIO CLASSES Free class Fri 5th October. Special fun beginners courses. Term 4 starts Mon 8th October. For brochure, info & free class invite shaheena@iinet.net.au 0409 511 125. www.bellydancecentral.com.au MUSICIANS AVAILABLE HARP PLAYER AVAILABLE Experienced Female Harmonica player available. Ph Stella 08 9645 0885.

MUSOS WANTED BASS PLAYER WANTED For REDSTAR. Must be professional & have good gear.

Ph Tony: 0411 118 304.

BASS PLAYER WANTED Four working 4 piece Blues Rock Band. Ph: 0412 231 126.

BASS PLAYER WANTED Original Alt/heavy rock. Age 18-35. Infl, Tool, SndGdn, FnM, AiC. No costs. Call Chris 0400 782 905 BLUES JAM SESSION IS ON This Sunday at 1-5pm. Friendly atmosphere & vibe at the Pace Road Tavern, Medena. Presented by The West Coast Blues Club.

DRUMMER WANTED For new Per th based stoner Rock/Metal band.

Influences BLS, Machine Head, Down. w w w. m y s p a c e . c o m / p r o j e c t 6 1 X X 1 9 .

Ph 0412 417 301.

EXPERIENCED GUITARIST 30+ established original Hard Rock Band. Ph: 0435 825 090.

MENU MUSIC/TOTAL HITS CD SAMPLER Interested in hearing YOUR music played in WA cafes and restaurants? Total Hits & Menu Magazine are launching a 2nd compilation CD. The cost to be involved is only $1,000 + GST and you will be featured on a CD that is distributed to cafes and restaurants around WA, profiled in Menu Magazine, featured on www.westcoastcafes.com.au, featured on www.totalhits.com.au and get 50 copies of the compilation CD. Call 9430 6007 or email us at info@eyersrocket.com.au to get involved.

OPEN MIC NIGHT Ever y Thursday at Moondyne Joes. All welcome. Friendly atmosphere, Call Mark 0409 137 850.

OPEN MIC NIGHT every Thursday night at Indi Bar. Just call Tash on 0458 095 364.

OPEN MIC NIGHT Every Tuesday night at the Craigie Tavern 8-11pm. Call Corey for bookings 0431 448 235 SINGER WANTED 18-30 yrs old to join electric Blues Rock Band. Ring Wes 0405 455 133.

VOCALIST REQUIRED Tumultum, original hard rock/metal band require melodic vocalist. Jesse: 0449992907 VOCALIST WANTED For Alt Rock covers band. Playing AIC, STP, PJ, QOTSA, Sound Garden, Audio Slave & Tea Party. Gigs waiting.

Interested parties please call Jarrod on 0424 448 289 for auditions.

PHOTOGRAPHY PROJECT PHOTOGR APHY Pr o m o p h o to g ra p hy, s t u d i o, l i ve, l o c a t i o n .

Mike Wylie 0417 975 964 www.projec tphotography.com 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 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 PA HIRE Vox P.A’s and Funktion-One concert systems. Beat any quote. 9307 8594/ mob 0404 410 020. perthconcertsound.com.au.

PA HIRE, PRO SYSTEM, FULL FOLD BACK Experienced operator. Optional light show.

Fidelity sound on 0404 331 320.

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 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 Pr o d u c t i o n , m i x i n g, r e c o r d i n g a n d 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. $60 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. 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, WAAPA prep.

Modern techniques, rudiments, soloing. BegAdv. All ages. Ph: 0413 172 817.

GUITAR LESSONS For beginner students.

Learn how to start from the beginning, play your favourite songs, chords, solos and more.

6 years teaching experience. Guitars and Amps available for hire. Lessons in Duncraig, call Luke on 0400021560.

SINGING LESSONS Learn a technique that actually works! The method used by over 120 Grammy award winners. Certified Speech Level singing instructor. Call Simon 0431335495.

FENDER 60TH ANNIVERSARY TELECASTER ELECTRIC GUITAR

Vox AC-15/30 Limited Edition Vintage Blue

VOX AC-15/30 LIMITED EDITION VINTAGE BLUE

British owned amplifier company Vox got lucky in the ‘60s when a little band called The Beatles started using their gear, and like anything The Beatles touched, it etched itself into popular music history. Along with John Lennon’s famous Epiphone Casino (ES-335) guitar and the band’s penchant for Rickenbacker guitars, the obvious impact of The Beatles has made any wannabe rockstar since then look hard at that gear.

To celebrate its iconic style and the resurgence in tube amplifiers, Vox have released a limited edition of their noisemakers with vintage blue vinyl and classic Tygon cloth. Featuring all the standard AC gizmos such as its warm spring reverb and tremelo built-in to give you that Classic Rock sound.

I used a Vox AC-15 for many years, and couldn’t recommend an all round tube amplifier anymore. With 15 watts of tubes, which to solid state guys doesn’t sound like a lot but trust me, it can wail, and a single 12” speaker you can make a hell of a sound with a light and slim package. The older and larger brother, the AC-30, packs twin 12” speakers and 30 tube watts, adding a serious amount of power that will let you command any stage. With a nice guitar you can happily plug straight into an AC Vox and get a clean, warm tone.

Or up the gain and get a classic distorted tone that has been recorded countless times.

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If our laws weren’t so arcane, and you could legally marry a guitar, an original Fender Telecaster would be walking down the aisle with me tomorrow. But society frowns on that, and original guitars from that era are rare and shockingly expensive. To commemorate the 60th anniversary of the first successful solid body electric guitar, Fender have dolled up its landmark axe with the limited edition 60th Anniversary Telecaster.

The Telecasters influence can not be overstated, and while RIckenbacker had been doing solid bodies for years, the timeless shape and layout of the Telecaster has been a blueprint for guitars ever since. A great buy for any Tele lover, and an easy choice made for any guitar lover looking to get their first Telecaster.

MAXON OD808 OVERDRIVE PEDAL

So you have the guitar and amp, but just want a more classic rock distortion? Well luckily you don’t have to cut your speaker up with a razor, as Dave Davies did for You Really Got Me, or puncture your speaker cone with a pencil like Link Wray’s distortion pioneering, because the options for distortion effects pedals are near limitless.

You may have heard of the Ibanez Tube Screamer distortion pedal, an iconic pedal from the 70’s, and still available today. But the maker of the Tube Screamer, for Ibanez, was Japanese manufacturer Maxon. The TS9 (or TS-808) board it uses has been copied and cloned countless times since, probably the most copied effects board ever. The more adventurous can order a TS-808 or TS9 clone board online and build their very own pedal, or just go out and buy a Maxon OD808, a pedal that has been hand-wired the same way for decades. _TOM VARIAN X-Press – First on the street, Wednesdays

www.xpressmag.com.au

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www.xpressmag.com.au

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