2
WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU
WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU
3
NEWSDESK
LOCAL NEWS
|
GLOBAL NEWS
|
ANNOUNCEMENTS
MAPLE LEAVES Described as the “new queen of reigned-in electro soul” by The Guardian for her seductive breakout single, Talk Talk, future soul songstress Georgie Maple has announced her first Australian tour. She’s also just shared a new single through Future Classic featuring Philadelphian rapper Grande Marshall, Where I End And You Begin. You can catch Maple on Friday, May 1, at The Bakery. Tickets from nowbaking.com.au.
Legs Electric
LEGS ELECTRIC The Rock’n’roll Disease
Georgie Maple
MONTAIGNE THE RAGE After snaffling the Next Big Thing gong at FBi Radio’s annual SMAC Awards and being handpicked by San Cisco and Megan Washington for their national tours, teenaged Oz vocalist Montaigne looks set to own 2015, with the New York Examiner naming her one of seven young artists to watch this year. You can catch the I Am Not An End singer for free at the Aviary Rooftop Sessions in the CBD on Sunday, April 26. Get in early and RSVP over at theaviaryperth.com.au. Montaigne
Legs Electric launch their new single, Wanna Riot, at the Rosemount Hotel on Saturday, March 7, with help from Apache, Custom Royal and King Cactus. BOB GORDON checks in with vocalist, Ama Quinsee. Tell us about the background to the single and what it’s come to be? The five songs that made up the EP were five of the first songs that we ever wrote together as Legs Electric. As we continue to write and perform together our sound is naturally going to develop and evolve. Wanna Riot is a result of the growth we’ve experienced since we were in the studio making the EP. We’ve learned how to play to our strengths and what works for us – strong vocal hooks and melodic guitar riffs. Joel Quartermain was big part of this process; he really helped us with the vision that he had for the track as our producer. Were you pleased with the feedback from last year’s EP? What did you take from it into your next time recording? Yes! We were thrilled with the feedback not only from our fans, but also from press and radio. Potts from 96FM was one of the first people to pick up on the EP, and having the station’s support at the beginning of the campaign was really nice. They played a couple different tracks and had us as guests on their Friday Live morning show. X-Press and RTRFM were also there early on; it makes such a difference when you’re a young band just starting out. We’ve played a lot around town, with a lot of
different bands in support of the EP; it’s been very encouraging to be so well received and to get such a positive response. We feel like we really defined our sound with the EP and wanted to carry that forward into the recording of Wanna Riot. The band does all sorts of diverse gigs, not the niche shows that many original bands focus on. Is this a deliberate move? In a way, yes, but we really don’t see ourselves as a niche band – we’re a rock‘n’roll band. We have a very contemporary sound that encompasses a lot of very classic elements, so we tend to have a very broad appeal and attract a diverse audience. The four of us listen to everything from ‘50s and ‘60s rock to a wide variety of more current music; our drummer Kylie went to see the Stones last year and our guitar player Laura recently got back from Soundwave in Adelaide. We can play with rock bands, more alternative triple j type bands, heavy bands, even classic rock bands. Last year we opened for The Supersuckers and The Datsuns, and later this month we’re going to be supporting Uriah Heep at the Astor – that’s pretty diverse! It can be a little unnerving at times but it’s all a part of spreading the rock’n’roll disease.
BACK TO THE PINES Autumn in Perth can mean only one thing; the return of In The Pines, RTRFM’s annual showcase at the Somerville Auditorium on the UWA campus. This year’s edition is booked for Sunday, April 19, and is set to be a doozy, with the line-up so far featuring names such as Abbe May, Aborted Tortoise, FAIT, Gina Williams & Guy Ghouse, Methyl Ethyl, The Rainyard (the return of!) and The Wilds, with more to be announced. Presale tickets are available at rtrfm.com.au, with Gold and Platinum subscribers free. Aborted Tortoise. RTRFM’s In The Pines
EVERYTHING TO EVERCLEAR Power pop lifers Everclear are heading back to Australian shores ahead of releasing their new, much-anticipated and independently released Black Is The New Black, due out later this year. Led as ever, by Art Alexakis, the band will play their breakthrough LP Sparkle And Fade in full alongside their full catalogue of hits on Thursday, May 14, at the Rosemount Hotel. Tickets from oztix.com.au.
TOUCH SENSITIVE Australian indie rock institution British India are hitting the tarmac again to promote their fifth album, Nothing Touches Me. Accompanying them on tour will be the Adelaide punk upstarts Grenadiers and Perth alt-grunge favourites, Tired Lion. The juggernaut will take the Dunsborough Tavern on Friday, May 15; Capitol on Saturday, May 16, and the Newport Hotel on Sunday, May 17. Tickets via britishindia.oztix.com.au. British India
WINE, MANNY Black Books’ Dylan Moran is returning to Australia with a brand new show, Off The Hook. As ever, the madcap Irishman - the first western comedian to perform in St Petersburg - will be veering in uproarious, unpredictable fashion between love, politics and misery. Having spent last year touring the US while writing a pilot for ABC, he’s stocked up on material, and will perform at the Riverside Theatre on Friday, July 10. For tickets and more information, head to dylanmoran.com and abpresents.com.au.
BULLISH PROSPECTS Now toting more ARIAs than most people do legs, Australian synth-pop maestro Andy Bull is embarking on an Australian tour in support of his indelibly catchy single, Talk Too Much. In tow for all dates will be Brisbane’s Cub Sports, who recently swept the Queensland Music Awards with the irresistable Do You Hear. Catch him on Friday, May 8, at the Rosemount Hotel; Saturday, May 9, at Mojos, and Sunday, May 10, at the Stretch Arts Festival at Mandurah PAC. Tickets from oztix.com.au. Andy Bull
BORIS DAY The genre-defining and -defying Japanese power trio Boris are returning to Perth, stopping through on their Live Noise Alive Australian tour. Having detoured everywhere from punishing doom metal to sugary J-pop to sprawling, damaged psych folk over the course of over 20 band and collaborative LPs, the only thing guaranteed at the Rosemount Hotel on Monday, June 1, is pure Boris. Tickets from lifeisnoise.com and oztix.com.au.
COME ON BACK THIS WAY After the immense critical success of last year’s Playmates, Jack Ladder & The Dreamlanders are returning to Perth with their full line-up of gonzo Australian alphamales - Kirin J. Callinan on guitar, Donny Benet on keyboards and Lawrence Pike from PVT on drums, backing the inimitable baritone of Jack Ladder himself. You can catch them for one night only on Saturday, May 9, at Amplifier. For tickets, head over to Oztix.com.au. 4
WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU
CAT OUT OF WATER Now signed with Pilerats, Perth electro innovator Catlips is launching her lush, dynamic new EP, Casual, in the most ideal surroundings imaginable - a flamingo-bedecked poolside soiree amidst the opulent surrounds of the Assured Ascot Quays Waterside Hotel on Friday, March 20. Support on the ones and twos comes from Andrew Sinclair, Rok Riley, Ben Taafe and the Day Woo Entertainment Syndicate. Tickets from ticketbooth.com.au.
ELLINGTON HITS A SIX Perth jazz institution The Ellington is celebrating six years in the biz with a massive birthday weekend of live music. On Friday, March 6, the angelic and sassy Jade-Lori Crompton will take the stage for the 7pm show, with the Ali Bodycoat Quintet the 7pm slot on Saturday evening. Later on at 10.30pm on both nights Libby Hammer With Hammer Nine will bring an MA+15 set of low-down, dirty grooves to revel in the great occasion, with US legend Howard Levy rounding the weekend off on Sunday, March 8, at 6pm. For more info and tickets, check ellingtonjazz.com.au.
WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU
5
WIN
N E W S L E T T E R - S I G N U P AT F O R E X C L U S I V E C O M P S
SUNDAE SESSIONS ALLIANCE FRANÇAISE FRENCH FILM FESTIVAL 2015 Enjoy and celebrate all that is French with the Alliance Française French Film Festival 2015, presenting the best French cinema on offer - featuring comedies, romances, dramas and a compelling selection of documentaries; screening at Cinema Paradiso, Windsor and Luna on SX, from Thursday, March 19, until April 7. We have 10 double passes to be used during the forthcoming season. Enter via the X-Press App!
Ben & Jerry’s Open Air Cinemas Sundae Sessions Charity Launch (on Riverside Drive, Perth) happens on Sunday, March 22, with a live performance from Husky plus DJs, games, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream galore, followed by a screening of The Theory Of Everything. It’s set to be a huge night and we have five double passes to give away via the X-Press App. Husky
Gemma Bovery, opening night film
THE LOOKALIKE Directed by Richard Gray and written by Michele Gray, two accomplished Australian talents, The Lookalike delves into a gritty and intense drug world, where good guy Joe enters the underground drug scene as way to pay off his father’s debts. It is not until Joe is offered his one last job that he seizes the opportunity to make some serious cash, before leaving the dealing life once and for all. The Lookalike stars John Corbett (Sex And The City, My Big Fat Greek Wedding), Jerry O’Connell (Veronica Mars, Scary Movie 5), Justin Long (Die Hard 4, Drag Me To Hell), Gina Gershon (Killer Joe, Face/Off) and Luis Guzmán (We’re The Millers, The Taking Of Pellham 123). We have five DVD copies to give away.
MICHAEL FRANTI & SPEARHEAD Michael Franti & Spearhead will be joined by Donavon Frankenreiter, Blue King Brown and Tijuana Cartel for what could possibly be the feel good show of the year, at Red Hill Auditorium on Saturday, April 18. On the edge of the Darling Scarp in Perth, neighbouring the stunning John Forest National Park, and overlooking the city skyline let Michael Franti and friends set your soul alight with a night at Perth’s biggest and best open air Auditorium. We have two double passes to give away. Michael Franti
PRINT AND DIGITAL EDITIONS PUBLISHER/MANAGER Joe Cipriani
EDITORIAL - 9213 2888 MANAGING EDITOR Bob Gordon: editor@xpressmag.com.au LOCAL MUSIC & ARTS EDITOR Travis Johnson: localmusicarts@xpressmag.com.au GIG & EVENT GUIDES CO-ORDINATOR guide@xpressmag.com.au COMPETITIONS win@xpressmag.com.au For band gigs and launches - plugyourgig@xpressmag.com.au
WESTERN TREND FESTIVAL A group of passionate Perth fans have launched a local mega-festival to fill the gap left by the loss of the Big Day Out and Soundwave. The Western Trend Festival (WTF!) happens on Saturday, March 14, at Canefire Gardens in the Swan Valley, featuring The Atlas Mountains, Custom Royal, Amberdown, The Disappointed, Dan Peters & The Volatyles, Falloway, The Georgians, St James Sirens, Filthy Apes and DJs Timothy Nelson and Anthony Jackson. We have a doubl pass to give away, download the X-Press App now! Falloway
ADVERTISING - 9213 2888 LIFESTYLE STRATEGY MANAGER – AGENCY / DIRECT Tim Milroy - entertainment@xpressmag.com.au Jennifer Groves - advertising@xpressmag.com.au ENTERTAINMENT ACCOUNT MANAGER ENTERTAINMENT / VENUES / LIVE AND DANCE MUSIC PROMOTERS / RECORD LABLES Tim Milroy - entertainment@xpressmag.com.au CLASSIFIEDS LINAGE classifieds@xpressmag.com.au
PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT - 9213 2854 CONTENT COORDINATOR Anthony Jackson - production@xpressmag.com.au ART DIRECTOR Dwight O’Neil DESIGN + PRODUCTION Andy Quilty, Anthony Jackson, Rachel Del Borrello PRINTING Rural Press Printing Mandurah DISTRIBUTION - 9213 2853 - distribution@xpressmag.com.au ADMIN / ACCOUNTS - 9213 2888 Lillian Buckley accounts@xpressmag.com.au EDITORIAL DEADLINES General: Friday 5pm, Eye4 Arts: Thursday 10am, WIN: Friday 5pm, Salt Clubs: Monday 5pm , Local Scene: Monday Noon, Gig Guide: Monday 5pm
MANNY LEWIS Following the story of a stand-up comedian who, at the peak of his career, finds something is missing in his life, Manny Lewis is the brainchild of one of Australia’s favourite comedians, Carl Barron. Barron makes his acting debut in a feelgood quest for love, also starring Leeanna Walsman, Roy Billing and Damien Garvey. We have 10 doubles in-season passes to give away.
VICE Julian Michaels (Bruce Willis) has designed the ultimate resort: Vice, where anything goes and customers can play out their wildest fantasies with artificial inhabitants who look, think and feel like humans. When an artificial (Ambyr Childers) becomes self-aware and escapes, she finds herself caught in the crossfire between Julian’s mercenaries and a cop (Thomas Jane) who is hell-bent on shutting down Vice, and stopping the violence once and for all. We have 10 DVD copies of Vice to give away via the App. WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU
Published by: Columbia Press Pty.Ltd. A.C.N. 066 570 803 Registered by Australia Post. Publication No PP600110.00006 Suite 55/102 Railway Street, City West Business Centre, West Perth, WA 6005 Locked Bag 31, West Perth, WA 6872 Phone: (08) 9213 2888 Fax: (08) 9213 2882 Website: http://www.xpressmag.com.au
WARRANTY AND INDEMNITY
Manny Lewis
6
ADVERTISING DEADLINES Cancellations: Monday 5pm, Ads to be set: Monday Noon Supplied Bookings / Copy: Tuesday 12 Noon, Classifieds: Monday 4pm
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.
33,560 OCTOBER 2012 MARCH 2013 - AUSTRALIA’S HIGHEST CIRCULATING STREET PRESS
WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU
7
MUSIC
VIEWS
|
INTERVIEWS
|
STORIES
“I’ve always wanted to do a big reggae band, but I had to wait for the moment to be powerful and right in every way, in terms of my journey. This year really called for it, so I put the prayers out there and hoped the universe presented, and mate! It presented!”
XAVIER RUDD AND THE UNITED NATIONS
XAVIER RUDD The Universe Presents With a new album, Nanna, set for release on Friday, March 13, Xavier Rudd is also gearing up for his appearance at West Coast Blues N’ Roots, on Sunday, March 29, at Fremantle Park. ALEX GRIFFIN reports. Don’t let the word ‘roots’ beguile you; Xavier Rudd is one of Australia’s hardest working musicians. Over the course of eight albums including the soon to be released Nanna, he’s carved an international reputation for his searching, lyrical meditations on soul and place, along the way collecting gongs from ARIAs to PETA’s much-coveted ‘World’s Sexiest Vegetarian’ (take that, Richard Gere). However, having made his name as a solo artist drowning in instruments on stage, Nanna sees Rudd undergo a bit of a reinvention, transforming into the frontman of a diverse, overflowing reggae band, the consummation of a long-held dream.
“It’s been amazing!” Rudd exclaims. “I’ve always wanted to do a big reggae band, but I had to wait for the moment to be powerful and right in every way, in terms of my journey. This year really called for it, so I put the prayers out there and hoped the universe presented, and mate! It presented! “It presented in a massive way! I didn’t have to chase anyone; they just came.” Almost a dozen strong, the band – named the United Nations – features players from Australia, Papua New Guinea and South Africa. Unsurprisingly, Rudd sees this diversity as a great virtue. “Everyone comes from a different cultural background, with different nations,
JURASSIC 5 Grow With The Flow Hip hop royalty Jurassic 5 will take to the stage at West Coast Blues N’ Roots on Sunday, March 29, at Fremantle Park. AUGUSTUS WELBY speaks to Chali 2na. Despite its ability to sell in large quantities, mainstream pop music typically earns a lowly rating from the critics. Its endeavour is to ingratiate listeners, rather than provide a challenging and thought-provoking listening experience. But perhaps this issue isn’t as serious as it’s often made out to be – critical opinions are somewhat arbitrary, anyhow. And while many artists’ careers are defined by their commercial fortunes, others have different priorities in mind. Los Angeles hip hop sextet, Jurassic 5, originally split up in 2007. They left behind four albums, all of which gathered fervent interest from listeners across the globe. The group’s commercial success actually kept growing as their years together went on, but they never ascended to chart-conquering superstardom. Ahead of Jurassic 5’s forthcoming Australian return, one of the group’s four MCs, Chali 2na, tells X-Press that 8
dominating the mainstream was never their chief priority. “I always felt like you don’t choose the people who like you, they choose you,” he says. “So if we’re popular, we’re popular. If we not, then we’re not. If we have a platinum record, it’s because that’s what’s meant to happen and people like us like that. If we don’t, we don’t.” Looking back now, Jurassic 5 are responsible for a classy body of work. Each of the group’s vocalists has a uniquely distinctive flow, but in a manner akin to Beastie Boys or Wu-Tang Clan, they weave together with fortifying effect. On top of this, having in their rank two of the craftiest and smoothest DJs in the business (DJ NuMark and Cut Chemist) gives the recorded output even greater distinction. “I don’t want to make bubblegum music, where they take the wrapper off, chew out the
different ancestors and different cultural stories flowing through their musical stories. It’s a united nations of song, and it’s a really, really beautiful and powerful experience to play with these guys.” For Rudd, it’s a far cry from stomping, plucking and blowing a song to life all by himself, but an exciting new step. “I’ve always been really preoccupied with making all the sounds – I guess it’s what I built my whole ‘thing’ on. With this album, since my parts were stripped away to basically just playing skanky guitar parts, I had the chance to focus on delivering the lyrical story.” Surprisingly for someone with such a widely praised voice, Rudd is his own biggest critic when it comes to the pipes in question. “I never liked my voice too much, so I never concentrated on it. I always saw it as something in the background, and focused on making sound-worlds. Getting in touch with how I delivered my vocals was very new for me, and made me appreciate what my voice can do; I started enjoying the eccentricity of it, how it’s a little strange.” As ever, Rudd’s path to wisdom is through the earth, with the infectious, beguiling flavour, when the flavour’s gone, they ready for the new song,” says 2na. “It has no real nutritional value. It doesn’t mean anything to the body as a whole; it’s just something to pass the time. I don’t want to be that. I want to be something that lasts.” Speaking of making it last, in 2013 J5 regrouped for a tour celebrating their 20th anniversary. They’ve since toured the globe many times over, proving their music still resounds with long-time fans and appeals to stacks of previously uninitiated listeners. Additionally, last year the reunited Jurassic 5 dropped a brand new single, The Way We Do It. The track – which prominently samples The White Stripes’ My Doorbell – illustrates that the six-piece hasn’t lost the knack for making tough, intelligent and feel-good music. It’s now nearly a year on from the release of The Way We Do It, and despite J5’s ongoing live commitments, no more new material has surfaced. “Something’s going to happen, we just don’t know exactly what,” says 2na. “I can’t really speak for whether or not we’re going to record. Maybe we want to keep it a secret from the journalists for a second. You never know.” While 2na equivocates his way around talk of fresh recordings, he doesn’t hesitate to elaborate on the group’s broader agenda: “We want to make the brand grow,” he says. “So whatever it takes to make the brand which is Jurassic 5 grow – not just the music, but the whole thing of it all. At this particular moment we’re having fun trying to give the fans what we do best, which is the show.” This mission sends the group back to Australia in April for what will be 2na’s second Bluesfest appearance in a row. J5’s reunion campaign began at Coachella and they’ve subsequently made a habit of showing up at stacks of the world’s biggest music festivals. While festival gigs frustrate certain artists due to potential crowd indifference, J5 value this opportunity to spread their gospel. “We’ve always been about touring the world and performing and trying to bring our brand of music, from a live perspective, to our fans and to new, prospective fans,” 2na says. “Speaking of prospective fans, there are people who haven’t seen us before, but maybe have heard about us – maybe they haven’t heard about us – but once they see us, they want to know more about us. What better place could that take place but at one of these humongous festivals? “From the festivals in England and America, to the festivals down there like the Byron Bay situation, these places breed opportunities for us to present our show to new potential fans, whether they be young or old. It’s most important for us to continue to pop up at these major events. Meeting the people at these new shows, new fans that have stumbled on our music and appreciate it from a different perspective – it’s beautiful to be able to still mean just as much to those people as we did to the fans that were there from the start.”
WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU
Bundagen, drawn directly from experiencing the sleepy beach on the NSW coast. Politely correcting my mispronunciation, Rudd tells the story of the song arriving to him in a voice that’s somehow kind of yogic. Listening to him talk is like having time stand still as your horoscope is read by someone who is most often found inside a Kombi. “Bundagen is near Coffs Harbor; I had a pretty powerful experience there, just camping one night down at the bottom of the beach. I was between two trees, right on the coast, watching a family of eagles there – a mum, a dad and a baby - teaching the little one how to catch fish. I slept like a baby! Everything was really interesting, and the song came to me there!” Considering that tale against the title of his last record (2011’s Spirit Bird), you might be forgiven for assuming Rudd had a bit of an avian fixation going, but Rudd’s inspiration is nature, full stop. “Yeah, I do watch birds a lot! There’s definitely a lot to see there if you take the time to watch, but the same goes with everything out there. I’ve always been in tune with it, and to watch it, listen to it and be among it is really important to me. I’ve spent most of my life outside focusing on that stuff, rather than what happens inside, so much of my music comes from reflecting on these things I love. It’s all entwined, to me.” Hearing Rudd talk like this brings to mind another prolific earthbound songwriter, working on describing the place he cohabits with; Mount Eerie’s Phil Elvrum. Like Elvrum, for Rudd there’s no distinction between song and place, as the two are always in dialogue with one another. “When certain animals or places come up, it’s not a direct choice, it just happens. It’s all about the ancient outdoors, and the feelings you get from the special places you see, feelings that we all share, but explain in different ways.” Even as he changes shape and sound, Rudd’s focus remains the same.
“You have to think about people like Earth, Wind & Fire or Stevie Wonder; all these different artists that we consider great nowadays, whose music has the same effect, if not more so, to what it did when it first was created and was first pushed out to the public. I want to make that kind of music.” As we already acknowledged, punching out skyscraping hits wasn’t what built Jurassic 5’s global profile. Rather, they always looked to create music that would defy the limitations of context. The fact that plenty of new listeners have enthusiastically latched onto J5 in the last couple of years further emphasises the enduring quality of the group’s releases. Even though this is what the band aimed to achieve from the get-go, 2na is somewhat incredulous that the music has stood the test of time. “I’m always amazed at that,” he says. “I’m happy that we had the foresight to think, ‘Okay, let’s try to make music that can transcend time, that can be as good 20 years, 30 years down the line’. You have to think about people like Earth, Wind & Fire or Stevie Wonder; all these different artists that we consider great nowadays, whose music has the same effect, if not more so, to what it did when it first was created and was first pushed out to the public. I want to make that kind of music.” When Jurassic 5 broke up in 2007, the members embarked on a number of separate projects. Notably, 2na kicked off a solo career, which has given rise to the Fish Outta Water LP and two instalments in the Against The Current EP series, while Cut Chemist enacted a fruitful collaboration with DJ Shadow, with whom he still regularly tours. In spite of these (and a variety of other) endeavours, getting back together wasn’t a major struggle. “We have never stabbed each other in the heart while we were asleep or stolen money from each other,” 2na says. “Ain’t nobody slept with nobody’s wives. We’re a pretty functional group of people. It’s love. It ain’t never anything that can’t be resolved with a civilised conversation. We ain’t no dudes who try to front like we the most perfect people, but we not sitting up here trying to act like our lives is a shamble. God has blessed us. I feel like we’re definitely grateful for the opportunities that have been presented to us every day.”
WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU
9
MUSIC
VIEWS
|
INTERVIEWS
|
STORIES
“I’m at the beginning of a birth of creative work, I think, that Mutineers was a founding stone of.”
DAVID GRAY Wide Open Spaces Ahead of British singer David Gray’s appearance at the West Coast Blues N’ Roots Festival in Fremantle Park on Sunday, March 29, SHANE PINNEGAR discovers a highly driven artist determined to deliver a unique experience for his fans.
MAVIS STAPLES Songs Of The Father Mavis Staples performs at West Coast Blues N’ Roots on Sunday, March 29, at Fremantle Park. BOB GORDON reports. 10
Since breaking through with the multi-million selling album, White Ladder, in 2000, David Gray has gone on to make a couple of more stripped back albums before last year’s Mutineers saw him returning to the layered soundscapes of yore. “I don’t think we’ve gone backwards, only forwards,” Gray insists when comparing the two records, “but I think there are certain parallels that could be drawn. I think there’s a few electronic elements to it. It’s like a hybrid of an acoustic, piano-based record with a sound that is very much now. “So that’s where the parallel is - I don’t think it sounds like White Ladder, really, I think it’s a different thing entirely. But it involves a similar level of collaboration, it was a joint effort in both those records - it wasn’t just my vision, it was sacrificing some of my ideas to let other people’s stuff in, and that’s what strengthened this record.” Relinquishing control is something Gray finds difficult to do, but he realises it’s a necessary part of his creative process. “It’s never easy to relinquish control. Never. It’s a constant challenge in every aspect. But I think you get kind of set in your ways, and that was one of the problems I had, so I stuck with it, and it was worthwhile. I think the element of risk is vital. “When I sat down to make Mutineers,” he continues thoughtfully, “I was looking for the next thing and I didn’t quite know how to get there. I kicked a few doors open, and now there’s more opening in front of me again... so I’m at the beginning of a birth of creative work, I think, that Mutineers was a founding stone of.” Making the album with producer, Andy Barlow from Lamb, was obviously a productive arrangement, but it wasn’t always a particularly happy working relationship. “It’s difficult because of the things we’re detailing now, and also because of different working methods,” Gray states. “I’m very, very hardcore in the way I go about things: When Mavis Staples wrapped up touring in support of her 2007 album, the Ry Cooderproduced We Will Never Turn Back, a collection of American Civil Rights songs, she was at a bit of a loss as for what to do next. E n t e r W i l c o ’ s J e f f Tw e e d y, w h o produced her 2010 album, You Are Not Alone, and its follow-up, One True Vine, in 2013. “After doing We Will Never Turn Back I really had no idea what direction I was going in,” Staples recalls down the line from her home in Chicago. “People were asking me, ‘what are you going to do now?’ I didn’t have a clue. I was so grateful to Jeff Tweedy; he had the answer. He gave me these songs to listen to and they are what we chose the album from.” In true form, any new high-points in Staples’ career come from a salute to the past with a nod to the future. In a career that has spanned half-acentury and began with her beloved father Pops (Roebuck Staples) as part of The Staples Singers, she has become a legend in R&B/gospel music and a bona fide musical force in the American civil rights movement. “Some people say that things are different now, but to me it looks just the same,” she says with some resignation. “Nothing has changed - the civil rights movement, the struggle, lives on. There are songs that still need to be heard. And the songs on those albums are to inspire the people from the struggle. So I’m still doing, what I’ve been singing about all my life.” You Are Not Alone and One True Vine featured songs written by Tweedy, John Fogerty, Allen Toussaint, Nick Lowe and (WCBR co-star) George Clinton. From the 2010 release, Randy Newman’s Losing You has proven especially moving for her. “That song, in my mind, went straight to my father,” she says of Pops, who died in 2000. “I’ll never get over losing my father. I can get over losing my pet; I can get over losing my husband or my car. But my father, who I sang with for over 50 years? I’ll never get over that. And that is how I sing that song. For my father.” It was Tweedy - who has since coproduced with Staples this year’s Don’t Lose This, songs from Pops’ final recording session in 1999 - himself who encouraged the singer to re-record some of Pop’s material. Clearly, she is not merely singing those songs, but reaching out to her father. “I said, ‘Tweedy, you would be doing the best thing you could do for me if you let me sing some of my father’s songs’. Staples has interpreted Don’t Knock, I’m On My Way To Heaven, Downward Road and I Like The Things About Me on both Tweedyproduced albums.
WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU
I don’t mess about, I sort of work ‘til I fall over - so it’s obviously not always healthy to do so, and Andy found he couldn’t work my way, it was overwhelming. “So I found all that stuff, the chopping and changing of time and the lack of momentum, the slowness, I found very hard to take - because I’m a real pusher-on-er, I would just get it done. Normally I call all the shots and everyone starts running. But this didn’t work out that way. So any dramas were on a practical level - but on a creative level the thing that consoled me when I was getting completely stressed out was that the work we were doing was increasingly heading in a new direction, and I could hear that, and the wide open spaces that were being created were exhilarating - and that’s what I was working with someone else for, so I had to take the rough with the smooth.” This intense and cathartic experience has similarly changed the way Gray will be delivering his live set. “Yeah, well we try to do as much justice to the soundscapes - and the vocal parts, the vocal parts are just such a huge part of the record. We try to do justice to that as best we could by having a choir essentially with me - so there’s seven people playing and singing with me - and then the drummer. “His job is just to drum,” Gray laughs, “it’s best that way! Yeah, so it’s very much shaped my approach to the live music is very much shaped by what we’ve done in the studio, and wanted to try and do it justice. We all felt very buoyant, so we rather ambitiously created this rather huge group of people, which financially and logistically is obviously a nightmare and makes no sense at all, but in order for us to celebrate the music in a way that it deserves to be celebrated, so that’s what we’re bring to Australia: the full thing, the eight-piece band. “It’s quite a thing, and not only for the new music, but also the old songs as well: when they’re passed through this celebrational filter they take on a new life, really… but after this huge band thing, I need to find a satisfactory live incarnation that doesn’t have so many hotel rooms!”
“I’ll never get over losing my father. I can get over losing my pet; I can get over losing my husband or my car. But my father, who I sang with for over 50 years? I’ll never get over that.”
“I tell you it was the best thing that could have happened because Rick Holmstrom, my guitarist, he’s been studying Pops for years. I said, ‘Rick, Pops is here with you’. I felt my father’s presence when he played in that studio. And when we’ve been playing onstage, I’ve had to look around at him sometimes, because he plays so close to Pops.” As for Don’t Lose This - the phrase that Pops uttered to Staples about the recordings before his death - it’s another dream come true. “I would just break into tears anytime I heard Pops’ voice on these records,” Staples wrote recently on her website. “There never was a point that we didn’t want to release them; it was just the timing. I knew that the record needed tweaking, so I said, who else to help me with this but my friend Jeff Tweedy? Staples has been a passionate supporter of US President, Barack Obama. Times, of course, continue to be tough, in light of the hurdles thrown at him by his detractors and civil rights issues that continue to dog the US to this day. As a civil rights singer and activist, she remains as she has been her whole life… hopeful. “I still have hope,” Staples says. “I just continue to pray for him. I get sad sometimes as he gets no help – from the Republicans, from the Tea Party people… it’s so bad it reminds me of the ‘60s with what’s going on today. “We just have to pray that Obama will have strength, that The Lord will give him strength, to continue pushing on. But I still feel that’s he’s going to be just fine. As many who have pulled against him, there are triple that many that are still for him. I still feel that there’s hope and that everything’s gonna be alright.” MAVIS STAPLES AT WEST COAST BLUES N’ ROOTS 2011 PHOTO: MICHAEL WYLIE
MUSIC
VIEWS
|
INTERVIEWS
|
NEW NOISE
STORIES
For more album reviews head to xpressmag.com.au
4
4
OUT OF 5
OUT OF 5
SONNY AND THE SUNSETS
JOSÉ GONZÁLEZ Vestiges & Claws Shock
Talent Night At The Ashram Lost & Lonesome Recording Company
Little has changed for José González in the near eight years between solo albums – but who does that say more about? It could well be argued that the issues reflected on within each song – the human condition, the crumbling relevance of organised religion – remain in an evergreen state of pertinence; as does the simplistic approach of one man and one guitar. Even the backing vocals and percussion feel as though they’re interrupting something extremely intimate. Of course, it’s always felt this way when it comes to González – and that may well be the point. If such a specific and distinctive palette did not draw you in the previous times around, Vestiges & Claws is not the album that is going to change that. Then again, that’s not part of its agenda. It’s a further reflection on life and those who live it, hushed in tone and yet quietly devastating in its own way. Three albums in 12 years may be an inconsistent rate, but the record always shows that each José González record is more than worth the wait. Vestiges & Claws is no exception – it’s an album to be welcomed in with open arms.
Sonny Smith originally envisaged Talent Night At The Ashram as a project where a short film told a story of a character. When these tales were all strung together, they made a full-length feature. Actors were hired and filming was started, but at some point the screenplay turned into songs. The San Franciscan singer begins Talent Night At The Ashram with a swag of Beach Boyslike harmonies within the psychedelic pop song, The Application. The tale finds the protagonist completing a form to become a human being. The lo-fi bedroom recordings are full of classic ‘60s sounds, with tunes that would be at home on the soundtrack of a Jane Fonda movie. Happy Carrot Health Food Store is the strangest moment on the album as Smith walks through the characters in the store from Wayne in produce to Sharon in customer service, before descending into a spoken word montage where Smith describes one of his scripts as a barking dog responds in the background. Conversely, Icelene’s Loss is so simple and melodically strong that it won’t leave you for days. Sonny Smith is an ambitious and prolific writer who has hit his straps on Talent Night At The Ashram, an album that sets him apart from the myriad of acoustic bedroom toilers.
DAVID JAMES YOUNG
3
CHRIS HAVERCROFT
OUT OF 5
3
MACY GRAY On Adulthood Macy Gray is back in Australia and will stop by the Perth Concert Hall this Sunday, March 8. AUGUSTUS WELBY reports. A moderately successful rock’n’roller once said, ‘We’re lucky we never had a hit’. It seems like an odd thing to be thankful for, but there is some wisdom to the idea. Releasing a chart-topping record might seem like the obvious goal for recording artists, but having a massive hit is liable to interfere with the remainder of one’s career. Of course, major success has its upshots – a marvellous sense of achievement, love from all corners of the world and ongoing royalties – but as an artist, the last thing you want to do is repeat yourself. Whenever a musician brings in big money, it’s only a matter of time before moneyminded business folks enter the picture. As far as these parties are concerned – be they record labels, management or radio dons – that earlier success simply must be repeated. This pressure is something that US singer/songwriter Macy Gray knows all too well. Gray launched her career back in 1999. Her debut LP On How Life Is and its lead single, I Try, each shifted several million units (the album sold three million copies in the US alone). Some 16 years later, Gray remains a popular artist, but the shadow cast by her early commercial success has never receded. “I think for a long time my label was waiting for another I Try,” she says. “For as long as you make records you always have the same pressure. Especially if you had a taste of proper success – then there’s always that pressure to do it again. That doesn’t go away. Even if you get older or you get relaxed, you still have to come up with something.” Since her debut, Gray has released five more albums of original music. The most recent of these is The Way, which came out last October. While you can’t deny the populist leaning of Gray’s music, she’s never fit into an obvious stylistic category. Beginning with On How Life Is, each of Gray’s records highlights her diverse stylistic impulses. The singer’s catalogue also includes two covers albums. In late 2012, she paid tribute to Stevie Wonder by covering his album, Talking Book, in full. Earlier that year came Covered, a collection of Gray’s all-time favourites including Metallica, Radiohead, My Chemical Romance and Arcade Fire. That album went some way to explaining her habitual genre-hopping. “My curse is that I’m a really big music fan,” she says. “I listen to a lot of different stuff and I’ve been around long enough to see a lot of different kinds of music come out, so I have all these influences in my head. It’s not like I go in there and I think I’m above all the other artists. It’s just that I have all this other information in my head, so when I go in the studio it all comes out. And sometimes it comes out a little all over the place and sometimes it comes out great. It just depends.” Gray’s genre fluidity is perpetuated
by The Way. There are up-tempo, rock-inspired tracks like Bang Bang, soulful sass on Queen Of The Big Hurt and catchy pop anthems like The Way and Life. “I think now I’m a better musician,” Gray says. “I’m a better songwriter, I’m a much better singer. I know what I’m doing a lot more than I used to.” Lyrically, The Way focuses on what are appropriately deemed ‘adult themes’: the dissolution of a long-term relationship, drug addiction and existential reassessments. Interestingly, the 45-year-old Gray has basically been an adult for the entire time she’s been in the public eye, yet in the past she was advised against placing adulthood under the microscope. But by this point, she’s not willing to affect a younger perspective.
“When you’re 40-something, there’s things you don’t really remember about what it’s like to be a kid. I have kids, and some stuff in their life I think is so retarded, but that’s where they’re coming from. It’s just a
OUT OF 5
BLAKE MILLS Heigh Ho Caroline
TWIN PEAKS Wild Onion Blake Mills is a talented guy. The spider-fingered guitarist Communion/Caroline has played with the likes of Jenny Lewis and Julian Casablancas, and his recording know-how has serviced By now you’ll know if you’re into the garage punk of records by Conor Oberst and Sara Watkins. Heigh Ho bands like Twin Peaks, and Wild Onion probably isn’t the magnifies these skills, while depicting Mills’ affection for album that’s going to change your mind. Wild Onion is poppy, noisy and melancholy, a classic vein of American songwriting. Along with a hearty dose of Americana – with songs that range from uptempo punk to distant think Neil Young by way of Ryan Adams – Cry To Laugh ballads. Rather than deftly switching styles, the mix springs like a Randy Newman number and Three Weeks feels jarring, like the combination of pumping, chorusIn Havana is melodically and chordally indebted to Harry driven Flavor and the hazy caress of Ordinary People. Nilsson. These are solid foundations for an impressive Here, the change of pace feels more like discord than LP, but unfortunately Mills spends most of Heigh Ho diversification, and it detracts from the individual songs. parading his tools, rather than using them to generate a Depending on your taste, you’ll be wishing Twin Peaks did more speeding up or slowing down, and it’s hard not constructive breakthrough. The biggest villain is Mills the studio nerd. On to wish they’d focus on the one style and really nail it. Still, the 40-minute, 16-song album always several occasions he introduces a crafty chord progression, coupled with the scent of a fast-fermenting melodic has another tight, two-minute track to bring it back into brew, then proceeds to add layers of instrumentation – step. I Found A New Way, Making Breakfast and Fade 360-degree percussion, effects-y guitar, orchestral synths Away are all Twin Peaks at their most listenable, mixing or grand piano – but fails to resolve or expand upon the garage noise with effortlessly catchy hooks. Wild Onion is a strong second effort from curiosity roused at the song’s outset. Granted, the instrumentation and the Chicago-based four-piece. It’s the kind of album you manipulation of recorded space is handled with prowess, could spend a whole summer listening to, but it never but first and foremost Mills is a singer/songwriter. As really does enough to stand out in a heavily saturated such, the misuse of his tools leaves one feeling like a great genre. story has been cut short due a phone battery dying. LACHLAN MACKENZIE
different perspective.”
AUGUSTUS WELBY
4
OUT OF 5
3.5 “I would hate to go through all that I’ve been through and still think like a kid,” she says. “That would be stupid. I know people are pressured to do that – you see a lot of older artists and they’re trying to do dance records and these really stupid hooks that have nothing to do with their lives, and I know they go home and hate it. It’s like when you’re 16 and they say, ‘There’s so much you don’t know’ and ‘You’re not as old as me’ and, ‘You’re not an adult’. But when you’re 40-something, there’s things you don’t really remember about what it’s like to be a kid. I have kids, and some stuff in their life I think is so retarded, but that’s where they’re coming from. It’s just a different perspective. I wouldn’t even know how to begin to do that, really.” In spite of her defiant streak, Gray still can’t completely avoid the pressures to produce another wildly successful release. Thankfully, the wishes of those outside forces haven’t filled her with bitterness. After all, she knows what she signed up for. “With whatever you do in life, you still always want to be good at it. You still want to have success, you still want people to call you up and tell you how much they love your record. You need people to get engaged in it so you can make a living. That never, ever, ever goes away. “In the back of that is the knowledge that I’ve done it before so I know I can do it again. I know I have it in me. But the pressure’s always there. Even if you don’t give a shit, you still have the pressure of it. You need challenges in your life, you need things to work for and you need goals. Or else you’re just going to sit around and get really fat.”
OUT OF 5
TARYN LA FAUCI Unveil Independent
STEVEN WILSON Hand. Cannot. Erase. Kscope
A lot of heart has gone into Unveil, the debut EP from Sydneysider, Taryn La Fauci. From its beautifully painted cover art to the quivering emotional weight that balances on the precipice of each song, the sincerity and authenticity is something that cannot be brought into the line of questioning. It’s a quiet, humble and unassuming collection of songs, often delivered with the kind of stark intimacy that would suggest a bedroom confession or a balcony-scene soliloquy. La Fauci’s voice is lilting and lush, particularly when paired with arrangements of strings, percussion and slide guitar. Withered And Weathered serves as the definitive showcase of her talents, presenting a sombre and lovelorn taken on broken-heart balladry. The influences are often clear (Simon & Garfunkel guide Oceans Between Us; Joni Mitchell is central to Map Of The World), and the tone of the songs lacks a versatility. For a debut release, however, such minor issues are common. In a climate where to call the singersongwriter scene ‘overcrowded’ is a generous understatement, it takes a lot to be heard and to leave a lasting impression. La Fauci has gotten this far on Unveil, and it’s as warm an introduction as one could hope for.
Joyce Vincent was a young English woman who died in her London flat in December, 2003. Her corpse was only discovered in 2006. No-one had bothered to check in on poor Joyce for almost three years. The reason for that grim opening is because Steven Wilson, the progressive rock magician, has gone off and written a rather accessible concept album about Vincent. The first song to note is the title track, with catchy rock that comes off as almost a progressive impression of Coldplay. The following song on the tracklist, Perfect Life, which has been released as a single, occupies an avant-garde electronica/rock mood in common with fellow English heavyweights Radiohead. However, the comparison to these established bands does Wilson’s individual brilliance a great disservice. Hand. Cannot. Erase. takes the listener every which way, with soaring female vocals in Routine transitioning to soft progressive rock, the metal-esque odd-time chugga on Home Invasion, and the Steve Vailike soaring guitars on Ancestral. It’s difficult to give a fair account of a progressive rock album in so few words, given the delicious bubbling hot tomato sauce of musical influences on something like Hand. Cannot. Erase. So in short: it is very good.
DAVID JAMES YOUNG
NICHOLAS HARTMAN
WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU
11
YO U R G U I D E TO W H AT ’ S O N T H I S F E S T I V E S E A S O N
Interestingly, bands were low on the list of priorities. As long as they were good, the focus group was content to let them play. Punters have the option to listen to our DJs play - Timothy Nelson and Dale Shearsmith as Klaus Von Haus and Anthony Jackson as himself - on a separate section of the property. I have to emphasise that this event is not like being herded from cage to cage and is a pretty open space to relax and enjoy the music, kinda like free-range-fest (laughs). How long has it taken to pull all the aspects together? It is still going on (laughs). I think we decided to give it a go in late September and mapped out the things we needed: stage, sound system, lighting, list of bands, and the staff and volunteers required. By February, we had the majority of acts committed, without harsh contracts and lawyers, I might add. This entire event is built on gentleman’s agreements and handshakes. Everyone who chose to be involved did so because they think it is a good idea. WTF is non-profit and a pretty altruistic thing for Perthians to be part of. Even large, respected bodies like WAM, and small upstarts like Peter Renzullo’s PULMAC are behind this. We are pretty honoured.
Amberdown
Dan Peters
The Disappointed
WESTERN TREND FESTIVAL One For All The Western Trend Festival (WTF) happens on Saturday, March 14, at Canefire Gardens in the Swan Valley. BOB GORDON discusses setting up a brand new outdoor music festival with co-organiser, J-F James. Describe the background in setting the Western Trend Festival up, in light of established festivals pulling out? Perth WTF started as an idea I had in March, 2014. To be honest, after going to outdoor events for years, I would have nothing to do on those weekends that Big Day Out and Soundwave would have been here. I would be missing music, and I’m not a ‘shopping centre/ retail therapy/ longer shop hours will save the economy’ kind of person so I would have been bored to tears! Along with the festival atmosphere and buzz, the new people, the crazy costumes, seeing bands and simply being at an outdoor event is… mesmerising.
12
Melanie Scrafton, Richard Lant and I had a chat about the Perth music industry and festivals and why we should try and do something. We brought in Ryan from family owned Canefire Distillery to see if there was a way to use their property and have them involved. The rest happened in stages and Western Trend Festival was born. We even set up a focus group and asked people what they wanted from a festival. Some of the responses were out of left field like ‘not on a Sunday or Monday, good coffee and proper food’. So we have WTF on a Saturday, a barista and a coffee service, and inexpensive meals which are at par with our cheap tickets and cheerful drink prices.
What’s the approach with band programming in terms of diversity and experience? We definitely wanted to mix it up. Initially, we had genres from shoegaze to prog/ metal on the list. It was apparent quite early in that it wouldn’t have worked, so we had to rethink the event. Once we selected the genre as new alt.rock, it became easier. The Atlas Mountains, The Disappointed, Amberdown, Dan Peters and Custom Royal were the experienced bands we needed. They’re great songwriters, solid live performers and have toured. We also requested
Custom Royale
WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU
minor bands to submit applications to play. There were some really good bands that we just could not fit on the bill, but the ones chosen are on par with the headliners. We plan on organising a separate heavy music event at some point. Do you feel that WTF as a festival has added pertinence now in light of the recent Perth Venue Action movement? Yes... and yes. We are thrilled to be a part of what appears to be genuine willingness to renaissance the Perth music scene. After all, this is where Gyroscope, Jebediah, End Of Fashion, Birds Of Tokyo, San Cisco, Sleepy Jackson, Little Birdy, Karnivool, and the list goes on, all came from. I think people need to realise that late night shopping, iToys, and (anti) social media should not be life. Life is about people, connections with real things, and our unique West Aussie society should be placed at par with or above economy contests. Sonic art will last in your mind for a long time and is a real bang for buck. Can you imagine a life without music? I still remember my first Big Day Out and my first Soundwave. Just… wow. Thanks to the organisers for bringing those events to WA as long as they did. What are your hopes for this first WTF? What do you want people to take from it? Man, I don’t know. The bands are really good so the music will speak for itself. If you like what you hear, go see them at future gigs. Speaking on behalf of the others, I think we would like people to understand why something like this is important, why being outside with your mates, sipping a beverage, watching a band, having a chat and a laugh, is an important part of Perth life. Has it ever rained at a Big Day Out or Soundwave in Perth? We shouldn’t take our amazing weather for granted. Barring cyclones, tsunamis, hurricanes or tornados, we will see everyone on Saturday, March 14, for the Cheap Day Out (laughs).
WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU
13
YO U R G U I D E TO W H AT ’ S O N T H I S F E S T I V E S E A S O N
WHAT’S ON IN MARCH MUSIC TO OPEN YOUR MIND DEVILLE’S PAD ARISE! Legendary Chicago punk quartet Rise Against are currently touring the nation as special guests of the Foo Fighters, but Perth fans will have another opportunity to see them. Frontier Touring have announced that Rise Against’s only Australian headline show will happen this Saturday, March 7, at Amplifier, with support coming from Dan Cribb & The Isolated. Tickets went on sale at 10am, Monday from Oztix.com.au (1300 762 545). Get to it! Rise Against
NOW WE’VE GOT A HARRY HEART Emerging Sydney-via-UK songwriter Harry Heart and his band are making an inaugural trip to Perth, armed with a new video for their acclaimed single, Ninety Six. Having been spotted early as a talent to watch by triple j’s Unearthed High competition, The Harry Heart Chrysalis are bringing their energetic indie rock to Defectors Bar on Thursday, March 26, with other dates being Friday, March 27, at the Rosemount Hotel and Sunday, March 29, at Midland Oval for Hyperfest. For tickets and more info, head to theharryheartchrysalis.com.au.
Deville’s Pad is soon to close, so make sure you get down there for a few final blasts. A good start would be Nevermind The Nineties on Saturday, March 7, a night of ‘90s alternative rock, grunge, indie and more. Starring The Space Needles (Laith Tyranny, Russell Loasby, Karl Hiller and many others) and PAT CHOW, there’ll also be Les Sataniques Go Go Girls and demonic DJs Brettro and Melicious. Doors open 6pm. Entry from 8-11pm is $8. Devilles
Head down to Kings Square, Fremantle from 12.30pm on Sunday, March 15, for Music To Open Your Mind – a free community event aimed at raising awareness of mental health issues through live music. The free afternoon event offers fun for the whole family with market stalls, kids’ activities, information about mental health and a great line-up of local music acts, featuring Grace Barbe, Codee-Lee, The High Learys, Ella E, The Vans and The Starlight Hotel Choir (also launching their CD, Hear Me at the Fremantle Arts Centre on Friday, March 13). Find Music To Open Your Mind on Facebook for more details. Grace Barbe, Music To Open Your Mind
Harry Heart
URBAN COUTURE
For those seeking the daggiest Friday the 13th going, Camelot Outdoor Cinema are throwing a Muriel’s Wedding sing-a-long bash to remember. With Famous Sharron on MC duties and dress-ups encouraged, you can enjoy this classic - and the ABBA singalongs - without shame or judgement on Friday, March 13, at Camelot on Lochee St Mosman Park; just make sure you remember the words. Tickets from camelot.lunapalace.com.au.
Urban Couture is a dynamic fashion program that aims to support the Western Australian Fashion industry and bring fashion designers, photographers, textile artists and creative business entrepreneurs into the Northern Corridor of Perth. Now in its fifth year, Urban Couture has become a leading program in the Perth fashion calendar as it celebrates Western Australian designers who are challenging traditional forms of garment and exploring new technologies in fashion. Urban Couture will explore the relationship between garment and body, highlighting local and national trends and the cultural significance and practice of fashion design. This program will appeal to creative, motivated people with a keen interest in fashion and a zeal for contemporary design. Urban Couture will take place across various locations in the City of Joondalup until Monday, March 30. For full details, head to joondalup.wa.gov.au.
Rising Perth outfit Tired Lion have a new single, I Don’t Think You Like Me, recorded with maestro Dave Parkin; out now, ahead of an upcoming EP, and are touring nationally to support the track. They head off with after their show at Capitol in Perth on Saturday, March 6, with The Delta Riggs and Timothy Nelson & The Infidels, before capping things off with some WA dates in late March with Kingswood, then a homecoming headliner on Friday, April 10, at the Bird. The single has been added to high rotation on triple j this week, so it’s yays all ’round.
The Herdsman Lake Tavern and Champion Music are amidst the inaugural series of The Playoff, a WA original band competition which has had live heats running over the last month. Hosted by Josh & Alex from 107.3 HFM’s Your Scene, The Playoff offers the Grand Final winner $5,000 plus loads of other prizes, for other placegetters. The first semi-final happens on Wednesday, March 18, with Tell The Shaman, Brufield, Villain, Georgia Reed and a Heat #5 inner; the second semi-final features Legs Electric, Hunt For Dallas, The Milkmen, The Silent Deeds plus a Heat #5 winner. Doors open at 6.30pm.
Muriel’s Wedding sing-a-long bash
Urban Couture @ City of Joondalup
Tired Lion
The Playoff
TAKE A CHANCE ON MURIEL
14
THE PLAYOFF FLYING LION
WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU
L I F E S T Y L E & C U LT U R E
After a decade-long absence, veteran comedian and provocateur Sandra Bernhard returns to our shores to parade her new show, Sandyland. We catch up with the busiest woman in showbiz during an all-too-rare lull in her hectic schedule. If you ask Sandra Bernhard what she’s been up to lately, the answer is going to make you take a long, hard work at your own piddling excuse for a work ethic. “Well, I just finished doing a run here in New York City that I do every year at Joe’s Pub, which is a great venue here. I just did 12 shows in six nights and they were all sold out, so that was exciting and fun. People like to come over the holidays and see my show, the new material. “And next week I’m going to LA to shoot an episode of a show, an FX show called Brooklyn Nine Nine that I have a recurring role on. And I’ve been pitching some original ideas, some scripts that I’ve been writing, doing different television projects and touring my show and getting ready to come to Australia. I’m there for Gay Mardi Gras in Sydney, I’m sure that that crowd will be international and gay and fun and crazy! “So, you know, really, really busy right now.” Bernhard has kept up the pace since she first started
doing stand up comedy in 1970s New York. She became a familiar on screen presence throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s after a striking appearance in Martin Scorsese’s The King Of Comedy, going on to play one TV’s first openly gay characters in the sitcom Roseanne. Like her on screen persona, her stage show is acerbic, outrageous and arch. “The material is very eclectic,” she explains. “It kind of ranges from funny stories about my travels to insidery show business stories. It’s topical and it’s personal and it’s all interwoven with music. I have my band with me, the Flawless Zircons, so there’s original music that I’ve written – a lot of rock ‘n’ roll, edgy, groovy, that pulls together the one woman show experience that I try to give my audience.” Key to her performance is a kind of reflexive running commentary on fame and our relationship to the phenomenon, with Bernhard channelling both our adoration for and jealousy of celebrities and the culture that surrounds them. “I kind of insert myself into these stories,” she says. “I become part of the relationship with the fame – that’s sort of an earmark of the work that I’ve been doing for a long time. These quote unquote relationships that I’m having with these celebrities. I tell these stories, some of them are true, and you
WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU
have to decide for yourself where the fun and the creative part of my work comes in.” For all that Bernard enjoys returning to the same themes, she is acutely aware of the changing nature of performance in general and comedy in particular, having been at the ever-shifting coalface for decades now. “When I first started out there was television and there was four channels, there was no cable television. Performing live was much more of a mainstream kind of approach. When I started performing I sort of broke the rules by doing work that was much more eclectic and putting my music into it. “Now, with the social media and internet, anyone could conceivably try to be a performer, but that doesn’t necessarily make you one. The only thing that makes you a great performer is getting up every night and doing it at clubs, starting from the bottom up. And those are the great people who really go places.” TRAVIS JOHNSON
Sandra Bernhard performs at the Regal Theatre on Tuesday, Match 10. For tickets, go to Ticketek.com.au.
15
A R T S & C U LT U R E
Every week we bring you the best in fashion, food, shopping and lifestyle.
|
FILM
|
NEWS
|
EVENTS
|
FAS H I O N
GALIBELLE Brazilian Love Story Dave and Kara Allen fell in love with Brazillian shoe label Galibelle in 2013, and have since made it their mission to bring the colourful, interchangeable sandals to Western Australia. Wetalk to Kara about how it all began, and what people can expect of Galibelle’s new collection. What is Galibelle all about? Galibelle is an innovative brand combining exotic materials with creative designs. The brand is all about making women feel sexy and confident whilst being comfortable. Galibelle shoes all have straps that interchange allowing you to pick one sole and have endless options at the change of a strap. How did you come across the Galibelle shoes? Dave and I were travelling through Spain in 2013. We were exploring Barcelona on bikes when Dave saw the Galibelle shop. We immediately stopped and went in for a look. I fell in love with the shoes the moment I saw them, and even more so when I felt how comfortable they were and how good they looked on. I walked out with a pair of Dany cork soles and five straps, and threw out every other pair of shoes I had on the trip. I wore these shoes to death from there on out whilst travelling. Dave had gotten the contact details for Moshe [the owner of the brand]. We contacted Moshe and then started the process to bring this amazing brand into Australia, starting with WA.
EAT AT: JUNKBOAT Just opened up last month on Beaufort Street in Highgate, this Vietnamese restaurant is garnering rave reviews. Junkboat
What attracted you to the shoes? The main thing that attracted me to the shoes was the range of vibrant colours so typical of Brazilian designs. I love the fact that they are hand made using rare local materials and that you have the ability to be as creative or conservative as you want with this
KELVIN QUA Cutting To The Heart Of It A lack of knife skills may be colouring the culinary experience. Ever watched a cooking show and envied the chef’s casual ability to cut through ingredients with speed and ease? Anyone who’s spent an hour slowly cutting vegetables for a stew knows how much decent knife skills (or a lack thereof) can quickly change your attitude to the kitchen, making preparing meals less of a pleasure, and more of a chore. As a result, many of us talk ourselves out of cooking dinner with the excuse it takes too long, especially the prep work. Asian Cuisines Chef Instructor/ Demonstrator Kelvin Qua says having good knife skills helps cut down prep time, making the cooking experience more joyful than stressful. He believes this way cooking will turn into something you can plan (in regards to the next meal) and hopefully, one day, your cooking passion will blossom. Qua teaches a class in knife skills through Riki Kaspi The Cooking Professor Cooking School around once a month (depending how fast the class fills). He says the most common errors people make are usually related to using the incorrect section of the knife to cut, emphasising that each section (tip, mid, and end) are there to do what they do best. Over the years Qua has observed most people tend to use the end section the most for chopping, slicing, cutting, dicing, segmenting, and julienne. “If people start using the tip section fifty
DRINK AT: THE DOMINION LEAGUE This bar is named after an old Western Australian secessionist movement, which is the kind of ballsy branding we like. The Dominion League
SHOP AT: SMART STREET MARKETS Mandurah’s Smart Street Mall hosts market stalls every Saturday of the year, but you’ll get the best bang for your buck experience-wise if you get down there before the weather changes. Smart Street Markets
FASHION HEIST The Focus Look Looking for style inspiration? Apparently you can’t go past a con artist. The recent release of the film Focus reiterated something I’ve noticed before; according to cinema, a tendency to rip people off is coupled with a pretty fantastic dress sense. (Onscreen) con artists seem to be gifted with a great sense of style. I’m guessing in the real world the truth is a lot less pretty (or to be accurate, not as well dressed), GO TO: DEVILLES PAD but glance at some of the greatest con movies and It’s not long before the beloved venue closes its doors you’ll notice heists usually go hand in hand with a forever, so make the time to stick your head in while beautiful taste in clothing. you still have the chance. For whatever reason, the concept of the modern trickster has become a well-dressed Devilles Pad one. Maybe it’s about taking sleight of hand to 16
the next level; distraction in the form of fabulous fashion. Utilising eye-catching clothes is one way to dazzle, especially since reaching the end goal involves manipulating a sucker. Margot Robbie as Jess in Focus also experiences a makeover when learning the art of the con. “There’s a science to getting people to trust you,” says Will Smith’s character, and one part of that particular formula appears to be wardrobe-related. Choose a well designed sleek dress, wear it with confidence, and ripping people off becomes easier. For Smith’s character Nicky, it’s all about the staples of the male con uniform: simple understated
WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU
shoe. Everything from a flat thong to a stiletto has straps that change. There is literally something for every age group and style. Tell us about your new season collection. What can people expect to find? The new season has the same great vibrant colours you have come to expect from Brazilian shoes, with the introduction of beautiful leather straps and some new creative strap designs. There’s also a new range of colours for the soles, so you are not limited to cork or black. There are lots of shades of blue coming in, and a white strap. You collaborated with a number of local creatives on a photoshoot featuring Galibelle. We did a photo shoot early this year to get some images for our social media pages, and we will be doing this again for images for our 2015 collection and our winter range. A local makeup artist who does amazing work and loved the brand so much she wanted to collaborate first approached us. We decided to collaborate with a number of other local talents to create some fashion shoots. Why local? The reason we wanted to use all local start up talents was because, as a start up company ourselves, we know and understand the struggle of bringing something new to the table and building something up. We wanted to be able to learn and take input on the brand from the people wearing the shoe and other people that are also trying to get there names and businesses out there. Everyone from the models to the photographer came on the day with input and ideas and we all worked seamlessly together to create some beautiful photos. PENNY LANE percent more than they are now, I can assure them they will cut better, and eventually gain confidence in their knife skills.” Another common mistake people make is the chopping of ingredients into different sizes. “Because of the different sizes, some will be overcooked and some will be under.” He says this will certainly change the flavour, texture, and quality of the end product: all due to one’s lack of knife skills. Slightly wary of sharp blades? Don’t be. “A knife should be able to cut anything in the kitchen, but a blunt knife is more danger than a sharp knife, due to the strength/pressure used to cut an item,” points out Qua, “so do not be afraid of a sharp knife.” Qua’s class, Knife Skills - The Cornerstone Of Good Cooking, is an hour and a half long, and focuses on using a knife to chop, slice, dice, segment, and julienne in a safe way, as well as a quick practice of sharpening/ honing a knife, and a demonstration that showcases how to debone a whole chicken. If you wish to bring your own quality knives along to the class, feel free. For those looking to invest in blades, Qua recommends taking the time to build your knife collection rather than jumping into purchasing the full range. “Start with one good one, and one low to medium quality, usually the knife you use for chopping hard stuff.” His top tip? “When using a knife, it doesn’t matter what quality the knife is, do not chop and twist the knife, it will damage the sharp edge.” He also suggests getting a good quality Japanese sharpening whetstone and a good size wooden chopping board. GILLIAN O’MEAGHER
designs made from expensive fabrics. Basically the kind of clothes that say I could have bought an affordable car, but I opted for this cashmere sweater instead. And, of course, expensive shirts, sometimes with a well cut jacket, because a great con artist onscreen never gets caught in a fake designer suit and cheap shoes. Over the years men in heist movies have offered some of the best suited up ensembles in the history of cinema. Ocean’s Eleven (and Twelve and Thirteen) were all about incredibly well cut suits; Brad Pitt and George Clooney offered an updated version of rat pack pizzazz that had already dazzled first time around in the ‘60s. Even without the jacket, it’s a sea of slick shirts and well-fitted trousers. Two other prime examples of the heister uniform for men can be found in The Thomas Crown Affair: Steve McQueen in the ‘68 version, Pierce Brosnan in the remake. Science fiction heist film Inception saw Leonardo DiCaprio and Joseph Gordon-Levitt opt for the superslick uniform too. Turns out even in dreams a quality con artist continues to maintain a moneyed look. Maybe actors look so sexy in heist movies because at the core of the heist character is an element of the predatory, and carefully selected designer fashion can convey this. After all, you often find a femme fatale in the movie mix, alongside (at least one) smooth talking seducer. Heist fashion, as we should call it, is expensive, tasteful, and sensual; designed to flatter and inevitably catch the eye of the mark, without being ostentatious. Oh, and don’t forget the eyewear. Every great con artist character has good taste in sunglasses, whatever the era. Think instant cool while hiding the gaze, creating a sense of mystery. The movie poster for Focus is a prime example, offering up shaded versions of Robbie and Smith. I’m beginning to see why this whole con scene is such a stylish affair: heist fashion is all about allure, in the imaginative world of the cinema at least. GILLIAN O’MEAGHER
A R T S & C U LT U R E
|
FILM
|
NEWS
|
EVENTS
|
FAS H I O N
FILM
FILM
FOCUS The Art Of The Con Directed by Glenn Ficarra, John Requa Starring Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Rodrigo Santoro, Gerald McRaney
the stars get to be stars. Focus is a movie that succeeds almost entirely because of the megawatt-level charisma of its two leads. Smith tempers his Big Willy charm with thoughtfulness and maturity to excellent purpose here; his role here was clearly earmarked for a George Clooney/Cary Grant type at some point, but Smith manages to marry the suave on-the-page character with his own onscreen persona. Robbie more than keeps up her end of the game, trading snappy patter and double entendres with Smith like a pro. And the pair both look the business: at base, this is a film about beautiful people wearing beautiful things in beautiful, exotic locations (Buenos Aires in this instance) and sounding like they could hold their own at the Algonquin Round Table while they do so. It’s all to little consequence, of course - Focus is a confection of a film, not a substantial meal, and no one learns anything resembling a message on their journey to the credits. Directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa have a light touch and keep things moving along at a decent pace, never lingering long enough in any one place for the audience to get antsy. The problem is that the film is concenred with misdirection and surprising the audience that we never learn enough about these characters to really care about them - they remain Will Smith and Margot Robbie, never really becoming Nicky and Jess. As a result, the stakes are never really that high, no matter what obstacles or threats are introduced. Still, it’s a fun, glamorous ride, and if you adjust your expectations accordingly, you’ll have a good time. Just don’t expect to remember too much about it three months down the track.
Sometimes movie stars just have to be movie stars, and that’s exactly what Will Smith and Aussie soap graduate Margot Robbie get to do in this slick piece of entertainment from the directors of I Love You Phillip Morris and Crazy, Stupid, Love. After neophyte grifter Jess (Margot Robbie) fails to get the better of veteran conman Nicky (Will Smith) in a by-the-numbers short con, he sees potential in her and inducts her into his cadre of professional criminals. Romance blooms but it isn’t long before Jess is left on the side of the road with an $80K pay off thanks to Nicky’s insistence that their relationship was purely professional. Cut to three years later and Nicky is going to work for a ruthless racing team owner, Garriga (Rodrigo Santoro) in a complicated and narratively inert scam to improve his odds in the next F1 season. Of course, Jess is in the picture too - she’s Garriga’s girlfriend and doesn’t want him to know about her shady past. But is she really out of the game? And is Nicky really over her? Yeah, there’s nothing too original going on here, but everyone likes a caper and, like we said, TRAVIS JOHNSON
THE WONDERS The Mystical And The Mundane Directed by Alice Rohrwacher Starring Maria Alexandra Lungu, Sam Louwyck. Life is not entirely easy for Gelsomina (Maria Alexandra Lungu). As the oldest of four daughters she is in a unique position in her family’s farm. Her sister is often jealous of her authority, while her father (Wolfgang-Sam Louwyck) expects her to do as much as him in tending for the bees and honey production. To make matters worse, money is an issue for the family. A number of unusual solutions present themselves, however, the first being a TV show showcasing local produce. The second is a juvenile offender, close to Gelsomina’s age, who is placed with the farm to learn a skill rather than going to jail. There is more than a touch of the strange about The Wonders, beyond just differing cultural sensibilities, the unique attitudes of Gelsomina’s family, or the coming of age story. Perhaps that is part of the point. The Wonders is filled with a longing for a bygone age, be that the civilisation of
the past, the innocence of youth, or a rustic rural lifestyle. It is not blinded by its nostalgia, however, and is aware thing were not as rosy as that lens can make it seem. The past is a fiction interpreted by a TV show, youth is an awkward balancing act (caught between the resentment of your younger siblings and the expectations of responsibility from adults), and living off the land was hard work just to gain subsistence. The Wonders may romanticise in part, but it strives for a balance of realism with the magic. At times it is difficult to know exactly what to make of The Wonders. There is a greater message at work here, in fact a number of them, but they are so quietly and subtly expressed as to be lost in this gentle coming of age story. The predictions and protestations against the encouraging of tourism and hobby farmers at the expense of genuine agriculture, or the industrialisation and homogenisation of processing techniques that Wolfgang rallies against falls on deaf ears. Instead it is easier to get swept up in the charming visuals, and stickily visceral sense of the rural life (particularly in one honey-laden sequence) until the message lands forcibly home in the final shots. A film as soft and gentle as the temperate summer days it shows, but with hints of something more substantial beneath the surface. DAVID O’CONNELL
The Wonders screens at Somerville, UWA from Monday, March 9, until Sunday, March 15, as part of Lotterywest Festival Films. For tickets and session times, go to perthfestival.com.au
FILM
LUCKY THEM Smells Like Mid-Life Crisis Directed by Megan Griffith Starring Toni Collette, Thomas Haden Church, Oliver Platt
and the chemistry between Collette and Church. The awkward friendship they forge is really the heart of this film and gives opportunity for both actors to shine. In many ways the two characters are bizarro mirror images of the other. Ellie is a gender-flipped man-child, still acting as if she was in her 20s and living in the ‘90s. She goes to clubs, drinks, hooks up, and can’t understand why her boss would want her to do work, or not be awake for her 3am phone call. By contrast Charlie is already in his second retirement, after having sold two scratch-built businesses (and being born to money). He is rigid and off-putting, with no concept of a mental filter. Watching these two actors bounce off each other from polar opposite positions is pure joy. Collette is natural in her portrayal, seeming to live the role, wearing her leather jacket like a second skin. While Church is dealing with such an obviously fictional character that he can do nothing but act in a stage-like manner. He commits himself to the role and somehow has enough personality to make the absurdity work. Whereas the script fails on plot, it actually succeeds in providing a constant stream of pithy and insightful dialogue. Lucky Them manages to pass valid comment both on the nostalgia for the ‘90s grunge and current hipster culture. It feels like the work of an insider lovingly pointing out the absurdities. Ultimately though, it perfectly captures Ellie’s struggle with growth, change and letting go, as she starts to fear her own irrelevance in an evolving industry. A flawed but enjoyable gig.
Ellie Klueg (Toni Collette) is a rock journalist that is stuck in a holding pattern. She still drinks, parties and sleeps around like she is in her 20s, but her lack of online appeal at her magazine seems to place her best days squarely in the past. When her editor (Oliver Platt) gives her a last chance for a story, she tries to track down missing Seattle rock legend Matthew Smith, a singer that was on track to be bigger than Nirvana but disappeared a decade ago, and a man that Ellie was also intimately involved with. Teaming up with another ex, a retired dot-com millionaire turned wannabe documentary maker (Charlie - Thomas Haden Church), she tries to follow a trail of rumoured sightings and ends up not only examining Smith’s past, but her own. The plot of Lucky Them is a bit of a hot mess. What is a fairly straight forward story meanders into what can charitably be described as character development (but is closer to padding) as it veers away from the search to examine Charlie’s and Ellie’s new found romances. It is inconsequential and causes this rather short film to drag. What pulls it through is the dialogue DAVID O’CONNELL
FILM
BREATHE Mean Girls Directed by Mélanie Laurent Starring Joséphine Japy, Lou de Laâge, Isabelle Carré This year has seen a run of films about young girls coming of age at Lotterywest Festival Films. Both Girlhood and The Wonder have covered this topic, and Breathe does so again. Yet all three have had a very different take on their subject matter, both in the themes they explore and the differing backgrounds of their subjects. Breathe is perhaps the most different of the three. Based on a bestselling French novel, it has the ability to surprise and at times shock the audience with the various twists this tale takes. Charlie’s (Joséphine Japy) last year of school is disrupted, when a new girl, Sarah (Lou de Laâge) arrives in class. Charlie finds something fascinating in this new arrival. In part it is the exotic nature of her life, having spent years in Africa with her mum’s NGO. In part it is the confidence that she has, that allows her to make friends easily and to express herself and her wants to others. In part it is Sarah’s beauty. Soon a friendship forms between the two girls and they become extraordinarily close, sharing a summer together. But some careless words change things and Charlie starts to learn that Sarah is not all that she seems. Breathe is very different to its predecessors. Whereas those coming of age films had at their core a tale about responsibility, Breathe is about passion: the manipulation of it to create power, the understanding of it to form love, and being lost utterly to it and
WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU
becoming obsessed. Yet it also shows how it can be poisoned. How love and hate, friend and enemy, can have a very fine line separating the two states. Throw in the social environment of high school, the rush of teenage hormones, the thrill of new discovery and the confusion of youth and all bets are off. This is a story told in a very compact style, with each scene being short and sharp, letting the audience fill in the necessary gaps. Given the powerful ending, it makes you question the reliability of the narrative and some of the assumptions made: how much we as an audience missed and what could be seen from a more neutral narrative perspective. Instead we are forced to trust Charlie as our point of view, seeing things through her eyes. From the first shots of her awaking to her parents arguing outside her room, to the final breathtaking shot of the film, we are with her. This gives us a beautiful insight into her, and why Charlie is how she is, and what makes her that way. Joséphine Japy does a great job in this regard, able to convey a complex and often conflicted range of emotions with an economy of style., never feeling the urge to spell it out. By contrast Lou De Laâge is mercurial as Sarah, capable of being magnanimous or cruel, as the whim takes her. A stunning film demonstrating the power of youthful passion for both good and ill, and is guaranteed to make you gasp. DAVID O’CONNELL
Breathe screens at ECU Joondalup Pines from Tuesday, March 10, until Sunday, March 15, as part of Lotterywest Festival Films. For tickets and session times, go to perthfestival.com.au. 17
A R T S & C U LT U R E
|
FILM
|
NEWS
|
EVENTS
|
FAS H I O N
LOTTERYWEST FESTIVAL FILMS
FILM
Somerville Auditorium, University Of Western Australia Sunday, March 1, 2015 Plenty of people turned out on Sunday night to take in some world class cinema under the stars. Photos by Matt Jelonek
Project Almanac
PROJECT ALMANAC Time Of Your Life Directed by Dean Israelite Starring Jonny Weston, Sofia Black D’Elia, Sam Lerner, Allen Evangelista, Virginia Gardner There have been great time travel movies. There have been great teen movies. There’s even been a few great teen time travel movies - one trilogy in particular springs immediately to mind - so you can kind of see the train of thought that resulted in the creation of Project Almanac, a cheerfully cheap found footage flick that lifts concepts and conceits from a dozen better movies but fails to do anything of worth with them. David (Jonny Weston) is a high school genius with brains enough to be a once-in-ageneration scientific mover and shaker - if he can get a scholarship. Rejected from MIT, he rummages through his late father’s old projects for something he can pass off as his own to score a last ditch endowment and finds the specs for what appears to be a time machine. Enlisting the help of his best friends (Sam Lerner and Allen Evangelista) and sister (Virginia Gardner), David soon has a working prototype, but the temptation to meddle with the past proves too much for him, especially when his temporal experiments impress his crush, Jessie (Sofia Black D’Elia).
18
As the paradoxes and alternate timeless pile up, Project Almanac’s actual cause-and-effect plot becomes harder and harder to discern, but what really comes into focus is the fact that the film’s three screenwriters have seen a lot of other time travel movies. In a way, it’s kind of cool, in that they pass that genre savviness onto their characters, having David and his friends namecheck Looper and The Terminator, and it makes sense that media-smart teens wouldn’t be completely blown away by the concept of time travel. The problem is that, in doing so, they highlight how much better and more thoughtful those films are. Project Almanac is simply too lazy to work through any of the ideas it raises, either narratively or thematically. It also suffers from some of the worst pacing in living memory, spending almost half the running time with David and his crew tinkering in the basement before they start jumping through time, and then stopping the movie dead in its tracks so the gang can jump back to Lollapalooza for one of the most tedious live music sequences ever committed to film, before rushing to wrap up the rest of the plot. For all that, the young cast are game enough, with Weston in particular showing his chops as David becomes more and more desperate as events inevitably spiral beyond his control. He even manages to invest the film’s clumsy attempts at pathos - you don’t put a dead parent in a time travel film lightly - with some weight. Project Almanac is a cynical film, designed to divest teenagers of their money for a weekend or two before disappearing from the screens and the collective unconscious forever. What charms it possesses are almost entirely accidental, but it’d be disingenuous to deny they exist. Still, you won’t have to try too hard to find something better to spend your time on. TRAVIS JOHNSON
Alex, Michelle
Alexandra, Samuel
Josh, Karina
Jemma, Jacob
Lisa, James
Katrina, Scott
WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU
Black Diggers - Perth International Arts Festival
VISUAL ARTS Excessive Lighting: Free Range Gallery Emma Buswell and Melissa McGrath explore the proliferation of public lighting installations in Perth in this exhibition, which runs into March 8. Treasures Of The Jewish Ghetto Of Venice: The Art Gallery Of Western Australia A selection of incredible works that were hidden from Nazi forces during World War 2 are now on display at AGWA courtesy of Venetian Heritage. Marking the 500th anniversary of Venice’s’ Jewish Ghetto, this exhibition has been displayed in Vienna, New York, Houston and Venice, and now comes to Perth. It includes numerous silver and bronze artifacts used for Jewish worship and ritual purposes. The exhibition runs until March 16. Go to artgallery.wa.gov.au for more information. Rebirth: The Art Gallery Of Western Australia Japanese artist Mariko Mori has created Rebirth, an immersive experience comprised of installations, LED sculptures, photographs, drawings and videos. It’s on display until June 29. For more information, go to artgallery.wa.gov.au The Visitors: John Curtin Gallery Celebrated Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson presents his ambitious nine channel music video installation to
Peel, Fondle, Ogle: Spectrum Project Space An exhibition by Kimberley Pace incorporating garment, video, sound, sculpture and performance, Peel, Fondle, Ogle explores the interstitial space where the internal and external bodies transition, laying open the often blurred boundary between attraction and repulsion. It runs until Friday, March 6.
THEATRE/DANCE/ PERFORMANCE From The Rubble: Perth Institute Of Contemporary Arts A multi-platform piece inspired by the work of Walkley Award-winning Australian journalist Sophie McNeill, From The Rubble turns the performance space in to a portal into a world of conflict thanks to the efforts of a number of Perth creative luminaries, including Melissa Cantwell, Mei Saraswati, Joe Lui and Mikala Westall. It runs from Monday, March 16, until Saturday, March 28. Go to perththeatre.com.au for ticketing and session information. Werewolf Priest! The Lamentable Ballad Of Father Hank Grimby: Nexus Theatre The acclaimed horror/comedy/musical returns for another season from Tuesday, March 17, until Sunday, March 21. Tickets via trybooking.com. An Evening with Noel Fielding: Perth Convention And Exhibition Centre Rock star comedian Noel Fielding of The Mighty Boosh fame comes to Perth for one night only on Friday, April 24. Book via Ticketek. Cosentino - Twisted Reality Tour: Regal Theatre Known as Australia’s greatest magician, Cosentino brings his unique brand of large-scale illusion to Perth for two shows only on Friday, May 1, and Saturday, May 2. Tickets are available via livenation.com.au.
FESTIVALS Perth International Arts Festival 2015 Perth’s premiere celebration of art of all genres and forms runs across multiple venues until Saturday, March 7. Highlights this year include The Giants, the excellent range of films at the Lotterywest Festival Films Season and musical performances from Sinead O’Connor, Rufus Wainwright, J Mascis, Mogwai and more. Go to perthfestival.com.au for more information.
From The Rubble
Perth as part of the Perth International Arts Festival. It runs until Sunday, May 16. Go to johncurtingallery. curtin.edu.au for more information. An Internal Difficulty: Perth Institute Of Contemporary Arts Curated by Andrew Nichols, this group exhibition sees seven prominent Western Australian artists - Thea Constantino, Susan Flavell, Tarryn Gill, Travis Kelleher, Pilar Mata Dupont, Nalda Searles and Nichols himself reconsider the figure of seminal psychiatric researcher Sigmund Freud in a domestic context. It runs until Sunday, April 12. Go to pica.org.au for full details. Kaleidoscope: Perth Institute Of Contemporary Arts Contemporary artist Tracey Moffatt’s first major solo exhibition in Perth since 2004 features her new video work, Art Calls, plus an installation of works taken from her Spirit Landscapes series. It runs until Sunday, April 12. Head to pica.org.au for more information.
Alliance Francais French Film Festival 2015 Once again, Luna Palace Cinemas plays host to the best and freshest films that France has to offer, featuring new works from the likes of Benoit Jacquot, Francois Ozon, Mathieu Amalric, and Anne Fontaine. It runs from Thursday, March 19, to Tuesday, April 7. for information and tickets, go to lunapalace.com.au. offBeat Festival Over three days from Friday, March 20, until Sunday, March 22, celebrate percussion and rhythm-centered music with performances from WAAPA’s percussion ensemble, Defying Gravity, playing John Luther Adams’ Inuksuit; Mathas, Rokwell & Groom, Joni In The Moon and Catlips playing with percussion group The Wheel Turns; and the Daniel Susnjar Afro-Peruvian Jazz Group. Go to fac.org.au for more details. Fremantle Street Arts Festival Over the Easter weekend (April 4 - 6) the streets of Fremantle will throng with some of the best al fresco entertainers from around the globe. Buskers, clowns, acrobats, magicians and more will perform across 10 stages scattered throughout Freo. For more information, go to fremantle.wa.gov.au/festivals. WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU
19
20
WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU
NEWS
|
INTERVIEWS
|
REVIEWS
Modern day soul man, Nick Waterhouse, plays the closing show at the Chevron Festival Gardens this Saturday, March 7. ALEX GRIFFIN reports. As increasing Stax – sorry – of imitators mine the arcane past of soul music for new punchlines to old jokes, Nick Waterhouse has carved out an enviable reputation for his wiry, weary take on the classics. The Californian native made waves in 2012 with his instant classic This Is A Game, and last year’s sophomore effort, Holly, was a great leap forward; a veiled, shifty beast, tightly packed with musical references to obscure b-sides and lyrical allusions to Shakespeare, Godard and Hart Crane. Suspicious of how technology changes us and wary of where misdirected energy can lead, the record packs a big message to decipher, setting him apart from most other contemporary soul revivalists, who tend to be around for a good time, not a deep one you can still dance to. “I guess it seemed better than going in the opposite direction towards singles, which seems to be where everyone else has gone,” Waterhouse explains. “Like, you can say more now, to more people, with a social media profile, web content and viral videos - whatever the fuck you choose - than you could by making an album.” In that case, what’s going to be the viral video that’s the Led Zeppelin IV of viral videos? “Whenever Kanye West next teams up with an art director to make a 10-minute short film that’s so successful everyone forgets there’s an album?” Waterhouse grimly chuckles. On this, he’s a man of charming, but almost irascible conviction – it’s all about the song, not the singer. Coming from an extreme trainspotter record collector mentality (think endless mornings at swap meets, intricate networks of tape swapping and trawling web 1.0 message boards), Waterhouse is disdainful of anything that seeks out the image instead of the soul of the sound, something eternally and refreshingly present in his own music. “I’m kind of rooted in a record swapper culture; once you have this object, it actually exists as a part of your life. We’re within this age of anxiety, this sprawl that we’re afraid will one day stop; like everyone is seeking a little cocaine bump of novelty, scraping the edges of everything before moving on to the next thing while it’s hot. I feel like this mentality has trickled down to a
| B E AT S
|
LIVE
|
VENUES
lot of artists, since the internet has turned everyone into a consumer of the rare and obscure.” Waterhouse has always been an outlier, though. Growing up in the Orange County garage rock scene, playing shows with his teenage band The Intelligentsia alongside the likes of Ty Segall and the Cold War Kids, his obsessive predilection for more disciplined music set him apart. These days, the gap has been bridged by his immaculately fuzzy production work on the records of the region’s premier Nuggets-worshippers AllahLas, but for Waterhouse, soul was the only sound that ever spoke to him.
“I’m kind of rooted in a record swapper culture; once you have this object, it actually exists as a part of your life.” “I’ve tried to explain it so many times to people and it’s like, they ask, ‘how do you get into this stuff?’ and it’s like, ‘I don’t know! How do you fall in love?’ I just keep finding myself compelled to find more. A sensibility in a lot of the work hit me on a visceral level, but I also identified with it philosophically, because the emotions in punk rock and hip hop – the things that were options at the time for kids growing up – none of it really seemed distinctly like what my internal life felt like.” Live, Waterhouse and his rotating crew of jazzbos are a compelling set of party-starters, honed to a sharp by experiences like a hellish 2012 tour that took in 43 nonstop nights of zigzagging across America. Playing this year’s Perth International Arts Festival’s closing party with the last ever set at the Chevron Festival Gardens is a far less daunting challenge, but one they’re set to blow the lid off. “We’ll be a sextet down under, with the same rhythm section that’s on Holly, my favourite sax player Paula Henderson – who’s actually from Australia but been in New York for the last 20 years – and Brit Manor singing. These guys are just amazing, and have all really dug it out on the road with me, so they get it right where I need it.” Considering how long and how critically he’s been immersed in his craft, it feels wise to take Waterhouse’s word on that.
WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU
21
NEWS
|
INTERVIEWS
|
REVIEWS
| B E AT S
|
LIVE
|
EVENTS
65DAYSOFSTATIC No Sky Is The Limit Sheffield’s 65daysofstatic head to Amplifier Bar on Friday, March 13. MATTHEW TOMICH chats with guitarist, Paul Wolinski. No one else sounds like 65daysofstatic. That’s pretty unusual for a post-rock band – though they resist the term ‘post-rock’ – considering the genre is over-populated by Mogwai imitators and songwriting clichés. Yet over a decade into their existence, the Sheffield quartet have a style unto themselves that few attempt to replicate thanks to their inimitable on-stage dynamism and penchant for frenzied electronica. Guitarist Paul Wolinski admits that in their early days, they took their cues not from instrumental pedal obsessives, but a turn-of-thecentury alt. rock and the new technology of electronic music. “The two keystones were At the Drive-In as far as guitars and being a band went, and because this was early 2000s, there were people like Kid606 and the rise of the laptop kid,” says Wolinski. “Because it was the first time laptops were ever powerful enough to do that kind of thing. The glitch aesthetic was still new and exciting and it felt like those were the kids making the really revolutionary music.” Though their most recent string of shows saw them play their debut album, The Fall Of Math, in full for the first time to celebrate that record’s 10 year anniversary, 65daysofstatic are looking forward. Wolinski champions their latest effort, Wild Light, as the best thing they’ve ever done, and it’s easy to see why. While The Fall of Math and the records that
followed brimmed with a youthful intensity and a maximalist approach to songwriting, Wild Light is an understated and thoughtful post-rock masterpiece where every second of sound is paced for maximum emotional impact. The band’s love for the chaos of guitars-meet-electronica has evolved into a seamless synthesis of the organic and the artificial. This is the sound of a band with nothing left to prove to anyone but themselves. Which isn’t to say that 65daysofstatic are above seeking new challenges; their latest project is soundtracking the upcoming procedurally generated sci-fi video game, No Man’s Sky, a process that involves writing not just songs, but the tiny elements of melody that make up the sonic world of the game’s universe, allowing a near-infinite loop of music. The brief from Sean Murray, head of the design studio Hello Games and a long-time fan of the band, was simple: write 65daysofstatic songs. So where do you start? Despite the open brief, Wolinski and his bandmates relished the chance to work in such a radically different way. “It’s such a unique opportunity to collaborate in that way rather than just write a soundtrack. We’ve realised that we’ve never really been able to articulately explain our creative process until after we’ve made something. When we’re in the middle of it, you’re making it up as you go along. You have to feel your way through in the dark. But right now it’s just lots of conversations about, ‘Okay, does that guitar riff sound like it would exist in space? Yes? No? Probably not’. And we have to just take it from there, which is perhaps not the most romantic way of imagining music writing, but that’s the unglamorous reality.”
SHAKEY GRAVES No Expectations When American actor, Alejandro Rose-Garcia, steps out in front of behind the camera and onto the stage he takes the name Shakey Graves. CHRIS HAVERCROFT speaks to the dynamic Americana storyteller as he gears up for his first Australian tour. Shakey Graves performs with Shovels And Rope and Ruby Boots at the Astor Theatre this Sunday, March 8. When out with a group of friends Alejandro RoseGarcia was given the ‘campfire name’ of Shakey Graves. Whilst he didn’t make a fuss at the time, Garcia decided to keep the moniker as his stage name and as an easy way to separate his music from his acting career. “As a kid I wished that I had any other name than Alejandro,” says Rose-Garcia of the choice to keep the Shakey Graves title. “I wanted a name like Jack that anyone could spell - including myself. I wanted to keep my music and acting separate because I am not trying to run a big campaign on my personal life. I figured those two things - acting and music - are different forms of expression that don’t have anything to do with each other and I wanted the music to stand on its own, and I hope that I have succeeded so far.” Music isn’t a profession that Garcia has turned to because he couldn’t cut it as an actor. He has had regular roles thrown his way, from movies such as Sky Kids 3 and Sin City: A Dame To Kill For, as well as the smooth operating ‘The Swede’ in the hit TV series, Friday Night Lights. It must take some stones to be able to turn your back on a resume such as that to focus on music. “Acting is really only a full-time job if you get hired. That is pretty much more than half of the battle. With the music, I would have been pretty content with just playing essentially for myself but at a certain point I had to make a decision. On one side I had to wake up and pretend I was something that I’m not, and on the other 22
WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU
hand with music I would be personally responsible for my own creative output and I could take it places that I wanted to go. It’s a different approach to each thing. Don’t get me wrong, I love acting but it really takes a lot of discipline and focus that I am not really willing to give it right now.” After a couple of releases that were essentially Garcia and his guitar that would focus mainly on the more roots side of rock, the latest Shakey Graves album is quite the departure. And The War Came was recorded in a studio, has more instruments and contains a few wellplaced duets. It is a big step for the artist who came up with the term anti-marketing when pushing his first two releases. It was a decision that wasn’t a push for a more commercial placing. “I was curious about it,” offers Garcia of the rationale behind the change of approach. “I have never really done anything by the book. Not out of lack of interest, it just wasn’t the way that I approached it. I thought it was time to put out an album that was new for me too. I always feel that I can retreat into my strengths no matter what, so stepping outside of my comfort zone was a good way to attract people who may not have heard of me and to hopefully not scare off those that were already along for the ride. I was really looking for a happy medium between the two and I think I got pretty close.”
NEWS
|
INTERVIEWS
|
REVIEWS
|
LIVE
|
EVENTS
How long have these songs been simmering, or are they bespoke for this outing? Mostly they’ve been simmering for way too long, Bob. One of the songs is like, three houses ago. But Flooded Palace as a band have completely taken them apart and put them back together while on drugs. So they sound very, very different.
FLOODED PALACE Women And Astronauts He’s known as a multiinstrumentalist in a good many Perth bands, but Todd Pickett has emerged with his own entity, Flooded Palace, and will launch a debut EP on Saturday, March 14, at Fremantle Arts Centre with support from Fall Electric (duo), Timothy Nelson, Davey Craddock and DJ Big Ear Chad. BOB GORDON chats with the cunning conversationalist.
| B E AT S
Todd Pickett, Flooded Palace
With all the bands you’ve played in over the years, when did you actually formally get around to starting your own endeavour? I would’ve made this damn record 10 years ago if I wasn’t completely irresistible to really good songwriters. Been fooling the suckers for years, Bob. I’m actually a terrible musician, and a fuck of a person. But I finally shook off the oppressive shackles of my songwriting masters and started recording the thing about two years ago. Probably spent about four days on it. I was only let off my leash for four days in two years. I feel like some kind of fucked up sex slave, except no where near as horrible and real.
What are you talking about in your songs? B i tc h e s , B o b. A i n ’ t t h at w h at a l l songs are about? One of the songs on the EP is about being an astronaut and what might go through said astronaut’s head while looking out of the little round window. So I guess my songs are exclusively about women and astronauts. Prior to composition, do you want songs to angle a certain way, or evoke a certain mood, or are they open to the winds? Songs just fall out of my brains, Bob. I have no control over this. And if I’m not in the immediate vicinity of something to record an oncoming moment of inspiration - pen or phone - the song/idea is lost forever. So in theory, I potentially may have written the greatest song of all time, and no one will ever know. We’re all just stuck with
the shit I either remember or managed to illegibly scribble on the back of a Big Mac box while driving. How has playing in so many bands affected you as a musician? Usually makes me realise how much I suck, Bob. I mean, when you’re playing with hipsters like Luke Dux, Ben Witt, Lucky Oceans, Dom Mariani, Dan Carroll, Kim Salmon, Jozef Grech, Dave Brewer etc, no matter how bad and horrible they are as people, it makes you take a good hard look at yourself. And after looking at myself a whole lot, Bob, I’ve realised that I’m just not as good looking as these people. Now that the EP is out, what’s the story from here for Flooded Palace guy? I’m quite partial to playing live music, Bob. It’s the one time that I feel like I’m not a complete failure - even when I’m failing at playing live music. So I’ll probably just continue playing a ridiculous amount of shows with a ridiculous amount of people in hope that one of them gets really famous and buys me the gold-plated helicopter I’ve always wanted. I’m not destroying my brains and drastically shortening my lifespan for nothing, Bob. Just a hills kid trying to live the Australian dream.
FALL ELECTRIC All The Young Dudes Fall Electric launch their new album, Interior, this Friday, March 6, at the Rosemount Hotel with help from Slums, Lanark and Mt Mountain. ALEX GRIFFIN reports. As Mercury Rev put it in Holes, bands are funny little plans that never work out right. However, despite seven years and a lot of change since Fall Electric’s last album – the Ned Raggett acclaimed Measure And Step – they’ve returned with their best work yet. From the windy, plaintive weirdness of New York to the restraint of Crystallised, Interior is well worth the wait, but comes after significant upheaval around the core of songwriter Andrew Ryan and cellist Tristan Parr. “We were playing with Stina Thomas for a while, and I was imagining going down a quite electronic path, but she left the band. Then Pete Guazzelli (drums) wasn’t able to play any more, which sincerely broke my heart.” Reduced to a duo, Ryan and Parr went into the studio in 2013 with Dave Parkin for six days of recording that were unexpectedly transformative, as Ryan explains. “We had six days, two three-day sessions, where we turned small ideas into whole songs with all three of us playing; Dave making beats, me digging up beats from Casios, all of us making octave saxophone cellos… weird, wonderful lands. In that period, that wonderful man joined the band.” Despite the positive results, the trio were restless for more. “We loved the songs we’d made, but wanted to know how we could we really, really, really realise it.” When it came to finding a way to translate this into reality, Kevin Parker unsurprisingly came to mind for post-production, or as Ryan refers to it, ‘undressing’ the tunes. They got in at the right time. “At the time we paid Kev a couple hundred bucks, and he said back then it was the most he’d ever been paid to produce. I imagine since he’s had bigger options…” It’s an eerily balanced album, pitched between the sedately careening Casio-kraut of Burning Flag and the Beck-cum-Beta Band bounciness of Over You, something that makes the lengthy gestation somewhat of a virtue. “I generally slowly make things at random points over the year. I was pleased when I found out Thom York wrote the bassline to The National Anthem (from Radiohead’s Kid A) at 16, because it showed me how these things eventually come back and you think, ‘hey! This might be alright!’” Interior isn’t just the breaking of the Fall Electric floodgates; the LP also marks the first release for Status Factory, Ryan and co’s newly christened boutique record label. Another big change has come in the form of Ivy, Ryan’s first child with musical and life partner Felicity Groom, and it seems like she’s already angling to become another new member of the band. “Having a little kid is awesome. When making up something new, even I’m thinking, ‘oh no, this is just something weird again’, she’ll start dancing to it! If Ivy jigs, I know it must slightly make sense on like, the animal and children level. She’s my two-foot focus group. And that’s why everyone should have children!” WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU
23
BRING BACK THE KUILLOTINES
FOUR ON THE FLOOR
This Friday, March 6, sees The Kuillotines hit the Astor Lounge for a massive show. It’s been a long time between drinks, but they’re finally back on stage, with support from Order Of The Black Werewolf and Secret Buttons, plus mighty Mark Neal doing a solo set. Doors open at 8pm, entry is $10.
Things are gonna get noisy at The Bird this Thursday, March 5, when The Floors descend on the beloved William St venue to showcase some new tunes they’ve been working on, as well as air out some old faves. Ray Finkle and Skullcave find themselves on support duty. Doors open at 8pm.
The Kuillotines
The Floors
GENTLEMAN LAYABOUTS
WHEN KATEY MET JONI
It’s an awesome double bill at the Indi Bar this Friday, March 6, when Tom Fisher And The Layabouts team up with Billie Rogers And The Country Gentleman for an evening of non-stop country rock. Doors open at 8.30pm, entry is $10.
Tonight, Wednesday, March 4, make your way to the Moon Cafe for a night of fantastic singer/songwriter talent with Joni Hogan and Katey Brooks. Entry is free as always, and the entertainment starts at 9pm.
Tom Fisher And The Layabouts
Katey Brooks
* CONTACT TIM@XPRESSMAG.COM.AU NOW!
Legs Electric - Photo by Emanuel Rudnicki
24
06/03
FALL ELECTRIC Interior Album Launch @ The Rosemount
06/03
RAG N’ BONE A Woman Under The Influence EP Launch @ The Bakery
07/03
LEGS ELECTRIC Wanna Riot Single Launch @ The Rosemount
13/03
THE IMPS Muddy Banks EP Launch @ Four5Nine
13/03
PEYTON New York Era Single Launch @ The Velvet Lounge
13/03
SCALPHUNTER Double A Side Single Launch @ Jimmy’s Den
13/03
WANDERLUST Dark House Day EP Launch @ The Astor Lounge
14/03
THE AMANI CONSORT Dawn After Dark Album Launch @ Mojos
14/03
DAN CRIBB AND THE ISOLATED The Last Time Single Launch @ Four5Nine
14/03
FLOODED PALACE EP Launch @ Fremantle Arts Centre
14/03
OUR MAN IN BERLIN Moliere Single Launch @ Jimmy’s Den
20/03
CHAOS DIVINE Colliding Skies Album Launch @ Amplifier
27/03
FOAM The Feeling Is Mutual EP Launch @ The Bakery
27/03
THE LUNETTES Self Titled EP Launch @ Four5Nine
11/04
SANZU Painless EP Launch @ The Rosemount
18/04
DARKYRA Fool Album Launch @ The Astor
WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU
Rag N’ Bone - Photo by Amber Bateup
RAG N’ BONE How To Win Friends And Influence People Rag N’ Bone launch their EP, A Woman Under The Influence, at The Bakery this Friday, March 6, with support from Doctopus, Aborted Tortoise, Shit Narnia, Pissedcolas and Childsaint. We catch up with self described “guitarist and bastard,” Axel Carrington. This EP has been a long time coming. What led to the long development period? A mixture between pragmatic concerns, like finances and scheduling and perhaps a general malaise, something which I am constantly party to. We tend to really chisel our songs into form, so by the time the public hear them live or recorded, they’ve been put maybe four or five different guises. Also, the vinyl shortage really stubbed our toe, nearly broke it clean off. How have the songs on A Woman Under The Influence charged from their live versions? We really nailed them out to a click track before recording them, so their forms have stayed essentially unaltered, bar the fluffed chord or broken strings. It’s like they’re tattooed on our ass at this point. What was the writing process like? Writing for me is always laboured after the initial flurry of ideas, constantly editing and researching and manipulating. By the time it’s reached the band, we again put it through the same process, which is long, but ultimately rewarding, like exercise. Where did you record and who with? We recorded at Poon’s Head Studio in East Freo, basically a federation style labyrinth on the corner of Canning Highway with master wizard Rob Grant and
a small dog who loved pats under the chin. What are your promo/touring plans for this release? They’re still in flux, but we have a few follow up gigs in Perth, including Scalphunter’s single launch and Hyperfest. Jam’s got a Pat Chow tour, but then we’re gonna try hit up all the major cities and hopefully bone a few of a locals, pun perhaps intended. Is there a strong John Cassavetes connection, or is the title just one of those things? I unashamedly love the work of John Cassavetes and one of the most inspiring things for me about his films is that there are no pulled punches, in any aspect: he made films about people, about communication, as naked and as passionately as possible. It’s something I strive for in lyrics and I think we achieve in our sound, so to title the EP after a film of his was pretty much a no-brainer. You guys seem to wilfully defy easy genre classification but are there any specific artists you could point to as strong influences? The aforementioned Cassavetes, Werner Herzog, Francis Bacon, Rowland S. Howard, Kate Bush, David Foster Wallace, Savages and Irish Folk music - Planxty’s self-titled record is the greatest record ever made, and I speak for the whole band on this (citation needed).
BEAUFORT STREET SONGWRITERS’ CLUB Defector’s Bar Thursday, February 26, 2015 Last week saw Luke Dux, Chris Davies, Kris Nelson, Donna Iverson and Alexandra Pyne do their thing for the musicological punters who gathered above the Scotto to hear some soulful tunes. Photos by Rachael Barrett
Wanderlust
Luke, Mark
Chris, Bryan
Kris, Drew, Eve
Alice, Ellora
Ryan, Logan
Ziggy, Jake
WANDERLUST Not All Who Wander... Indie-folk duo Wanderlust, aka Jade Richards, launch their EP, The Dark House Day, next Friday, March 13, at the Astor Lounge, with support from Ricky Green and These Winter Nights. We catch up with Richards. What’s the Wanderlust story? We have been playing music individually for years, we met through a friend and after a while we began to realise what we wanted as musicians. We both love to travel and have wanted to combine music and travel as one. We had a jam one day and both were really surprised at how well we worked together so we began this project to hopefully one day allow us to explore the world with our music. What’s your sound? We both have individual tastes but as a duo we consider our sound as indie-folk with a hint of blues. We get stuck into all types of music and as soon as we find something that tickles our fancy, we have to share it. Our different music tastes makes our music so different to your conventional acoustic duo. Tell us about Dark House Day. Dark House Day was written in a time of anguish and wonder. It speaks of the fear and desolation of leaving those you love for ever but also the opportunity of exploring
and discovering new, beautiful places. It’s a song which tells of getting over the clouds in your head and looking towards the brighter things in life. Where did you record? We recorded the EP at Driftwood Studios in Trigg with our great friend Rene De Vries has watched us grow from when we first started - good ole Indi Bar Open Mic on a Thursday. It went so well, better than we had imagined. It’s so cool to have someone know you and your work so well and really believe in your idea. Its quite humbling to know someone really wants you to succeed and is on the same level as you. What’s up next for you guys? We finally get to pursue a part of our dream! We are off to the UK and then on to Ios, one of the Greek Islands in July. Who knows, me might not come back. Both having European passports is a bonus too. Between now and then we will be plugging away at our next EP so be sure to stay tuned!
WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU
25
NEWS
|
INTERVIEWS
|
REVIEWS
| B E AT S
|
LIVE
|
VENUES
FUTURE MUSIC FESTIVAL Sunday, March 1, 2015 Joondalup Arena Kiesza was the sole brave representative of RnB at Future. Her powerful soprano was underused in Losin’ My Mind, and an early “Uhuh” callback was lost in the lacklustre early crowd. Supported by live percussion and two dancers, she was at her strongest in a triumphant rendition of Vietnam. Boston Switch, following Lukas Wimmler at the Future Live stage, could be the archetypal Aussie DJ. He filtered Y’all Ready For This, Jump Around and Boom Boom Boom through Melbourne bounce. Meanwhile, quick-fingered sampler god Throttle opened the enormous Supernova stage with a suitably cheery set. Throttle slowly introduced big room recuts of artists like Earth, Wind And Fire, Ed Sheeran, and Fatboy Slim, before merging them into thick onthe-spot megamixes. Klingande, EDM’s answer to smooth jazz, delivered an impressively slick but safely palatable set. The French DJ cycled through a set featuring his own hits (including chart stormer Jubel) and Gamper & Dadoni’s soft-pop remix of La La La. Amsterdam bass crew Yellow Claw drew an enormous, seething crowd under the Future Dome. Altogether, a high-octane, low-standards string of megahits like DJ Turn It Up and Slow Down, a new Skrillex collaboration (predictably, named Amsterdam), and their Flosstradamus/ Green Velvet rework Pillz. Filthy moombahton and trap was interspersed with their more sentimental big room tunes. Darude is far more youthful than you’d expect from someone celebrated for being a musical dinosaur. In what could’ve turned out to be a one-joke DJ set, Darude made excellent use of an excellent sound system. Contemporary progressive trance rubbed shoulders with ‘90s throwbacks, all tied together with strategic Sandstorm synths. He was followed by dogcollared house DJ Tchami, playing a surprisingly bass-heavy Future Dome-appropriate set. Green Velvet took things up a level over on the Cocoon stage, which was decked out with lush, green foliage, it was a nice respite for lovers of more underground techno and house. Curtis Jones, as he’s known to his mum, entertained in his inimitable style, serving up dark, clubby beats that hit you in the chest, getting on the mic to perform his spoken vocals of his own tracks.
26
Hilltop Hoods were a late but welcome addition to the lineup. Playing with a three piece horn section and live drummer, Suffa and Pressure worked the crowd, while DJ Debris repped it from the back. One of their older, but still best tracks Nosebleed Section was warmly received by the crowd, before launching into the harder sounds and rapid fire rapping of Rattling The Keys To The Kingdom, mixing it up with the more sentimental sounds of big ballad off the new album I’m A Ghost before of course finishing with their big hit, Cosby Sweater. UK Dubstep heroes NERO played a huge set as the sun set, really raising the levels in the tent with their big, heavy bass sound. The duo of producers stood atop their podium that was transformed with a dazzling visual show. Vocalist Alana Watson brightened the mood with her sweet, powerful voice on the old school rave vibe of Crush On You, whose big breakbeat saw dance floor erupt in a flurry of limbs. On the Cocoon stage, the label’s owner and billed headliner, German techno legend Sven Väth started around 6.30 in the absence of Detroit DJ and all round character Seth Troxler. Väth embraced the opportunity and the veteran slowly built up the vibe to a heavy, rolling techhouse flow, and it was just what the crowd wanted. Die Antwoord proved to be practically a religious experience for the writhing, frothing crowd struggling for standing space in the Future Dome. Yolandi and Ninja worked through an unyieldingly physical and perfectly spat rap-rave set, complete with several costume changes (in Ninja’s case, from neon stoner pants to his famous Pink Floyd boardies). They performed and stage-dived their way through a string of Donker Mag tracks, early hits and plenty of typically uncomfortable Die Antwoord moments. Väth finished off his brilliant set with a huge tune as he handed over to Seth Troxler who had finally made it and was pumped to play – finishing off the night on the Cocoon stage for the techno faithful. Headlining the FutureDome stage were UK legends The Prodigy. Opening with a live premiere of their huge new track Rebel Radio, the band, as always, were on top form. Breathe raised the roof as an explosion of blue lasers shot across the top of the tent. Omen was great live. They have such a wealth of tunes to choose from,
The Prodigy - Photo by Duncan Barnes
they focussed on new material but included a generous selection of old classics. Swedish wunderkid Avicii wrapped up the night on the amazing Supernova stage. It was truly some next level shit. A total sensory overload - banging, heavy beats, lasers, flames, even fireworks and confetti - Avicii ended the day in truly epic style. The final meme for the night was Drake’s super-sensitive love-in of a hip hop set. The set was high-energy, generous, and satisfyingly filled with Drakeisms. “I’m not asking to change your life,” he said early on, “I just wanna be a part of it. Is that alright?”.
WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU
His endless professions of love for his squad HYFR, No New Friends, Know Yourself, closer Started From The Bottom - were complimented by surprise appearances from TOPSZN, P Reign, and fellow headliner 2 Chainz. Perth got a lot of love; he tied his March 3 appearance b ac k t o I LOV E M A K KO N E N ’s Tu e s da y . A n extended vocalise on Successful was pure Drake melodrama. Even his Future appearance turned into a fatalist saga - he’d been waiting six years to get here. His Perth flight was hit by lightning. He’s so grateful. He’s blessed. ALFRED GORMAN AND ZOE KILBOURN
NEWS
PARQUET COURTS Chevron Festival Gardens Friday, February 27, 2015 American rock outfit Parquet Courts have come along way in a short space of time. They quickly have become a buzz band and have the frenetic release schedule that only youth and a punk DIY ethos can bring. People not only came in droves to be inside the venue to experience the four piece, but the surrounding garden was also packed with revelers taking to any vantage point for an ale and a listen. The quartet were last in Perth just over 12 months ago at the Laneway Festival and have clearly become a road-hardened outfit in the time between. Gone is the ramshackle delivery that has been replaced by a tight and almost slick delivery that sees many tunes bleed into each other without so much as a blink from any band member. You’ve Got Me Wonderin’ Now signaled intentions for a band that sound every bit as much like The Strokes as they do Iggy. Austin Brown is clearly a quality over quantity singer. He doesn’t take on vocal duties too often but when he does, the tunes are usually in the top echelon of Parquet Courts moments. Bodies was his first missive for the evening and the lanky
|
INTERVIEWS
|
REVIEWS
guitarist didn’t disappoint. These bursts of guitar lead rock songs are delivered at a cracking pace with close to ten songs committed to before the band enter into any meaningful banter with the crowd. Bass player Sean Yeaton celebrated a birthday somewhere between crossing timezones on the way to Australia so decided to commemorate the occasion by running through the angular Every Day It Starts. The second half of the set saw the better known tunes being unleashed with Master Of My Craft and Borrowed Time being the strongest coupling. Band leader Andrew Savage has a voice that is far from pristine but he makes up for any failing with his impassioned delivery. Although Parquet Courts are as raw as a Japanese dinner they are a dynamic bunch. The slower moments were by and large the weaker, with only the Pavement-like Pretty Machines bucking that trend. Finishing with the title tracks of their last three albums (Content Nausea, Light Up Gold II and Sunbathing Animal) may not have only ensured that the outfit signed off in the strongest of ways, but may have also paid dividends at the merch desk. Parquet Courts don’t do anything that hasn’t been done before, but the punk rock baton continually needs to be handed on from one generation to the next. On tonight’s showing from Parquet Courts, it is in safe hands. CHRIS HAVERCROFT
| B E AT S
|
LIVE
|
VENUES
Sinead O’Connor - Photo by Toni Wilkinson
SINEAD O’CONNOR Perth Concert Hall Saturday, February 28,2015
by programmed beats and was only given some soul when O’Connor faltered and lead a chorus of ‘sorry I forgot the fucking the words.’ For an artist who has so much to say about many topics, the fact she can also have obvious moments where she doesn’t take herself seriously is heartening. O’Connor was dressed far more casually than the band in her t-shirt with a map of Ireland front and centre and a pair of jeans and moved on stage like a caged animal, but when you have a powerhouse voice like hers, you clearly get to make all the rules. The Healing Room was dedicated to her soon to be born grandchild, before a huge and euphoric Emperor’s New Clothes was unloosed. Finishing with another hit, The Last Day Of Our Acquaintance, brought as many smiles from the band as it did the rapt audience. Returning to the stage with keyboardist and long time collaborator Graham Henderson, it dawned on O’Connor that she had forgotten to introduce the band. After admitting it was the third show in a row this had happened and calling herself a selfish narcissistic bitch, she made a joke at Madonna’s expense and made her way through an intimate version of Streetcar. Strapping on her guitar, O’Connor finished on Nothing Compares 2 U, a hairs-on-the-back-of-the-neck rendition for the MTV generation.
The heavily tattooed and recently shaved Sinead O’Connor lead her band onto the stage, greeted all with her broad Irish brogue and kicked into a lighthearted yet polished take on John Grant’s The Queen Of Denmark. O’Connor gave her new album I’m Not Bossy, I’m The Boss a fair airing with tunes like Take Me To The Church being far more impressive in the live format. All five members of the band offered harmonies to lift the tune to stadium level proportions. After bigger pop moments like The Wolf Is Getting Married got the crowd on side, O’Connor showed off a different side of her world class voice by walking through a tender a capella In My Heart with Brooke Supple and Clare Kenny joining arms with the singer and bringing tight voices to the chorus. Dismissing the band for a moment, O’Connor mesmerised with Black Boys On Mopeds, before lightening the mood by picking her nose, joking about getting a bum lift. Next to the only misfire of the night was Thank You For Hearing Me, which was overpowered CHRIS HAVERCROFT
WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU
27
X- P R E S S G U I D E
BILLY IDOL, MARCH 14
THE BLACK KEYS, APRIL 14
TOURS THIS WEEK ERIC BOGLE 5 Narrogin Town Hall 6 The Music Shack, Donnybrook 8 Mandurah Performing Arts Centre LITTLE BASTARD 5 Prince of Wales 6 Settlers Tavern 7 Mojos LONDON GRAMMAR 5 Red Hill Auditorium FROM THE JAM 5 Capitol BAYSIDE BEATS WITH JIMMY BARNES 6 Bunbury Turf Club NICK WATERHOUSE 7 Chevron Festival Gardens RISE AGAINST 7 Amplifier FOO FIGHTERS 8 NIB Stadium SHAKEY GRAVES AND SHOVELS & ROPE 8 Astor Theatre MACY GRAY 8 Perth Concert Hall SANDRA BERNHARD 10 Regal Theatre MARCH 2015 TECH N9NE 13 The Bakery BROOKE FRASER 13 Astor Theatre DAVID HYAMS AND THE MILES TO GO BAND 13 Kalamunda Performing Arts Centre KYLIE MINOGUE 14 Perth Arena INGRID MICHAELSON 14 Rosemount Hotel DJ SHADOW 14 Rosemount Hotel
BILLY IDOL CHEAP TRICK THE ANGELS 14 Kings Park & Botanic Garden THE BEST OF BRITISH FESTIVAL 14 HBF Arena JESUS JONES 15 Rosemount Hotel TONY JOE WHITE 15 Astor Theatre MICHAEL FRANTI & SPEARHEAD 18 Red Hill Auditorium RUSSELL PETERS 19 Perth Arena VANCE JOY 19 & 20 Astor Theatre JESSIE J 20 Crown Theatre CHAOS DIVINE 20 Amplifier OFFBEAT FESTIVAL 20 – 22 Fremantle Arts Centre ROD STEWART 21 Perth Arena SETS ON THE BEACH – END OF SUMMER PARTY ft. THE ASTON SHUFFLE, BASENJI, GRMM, HELE, KILTER, THIEF, WORDLIFE & more 22 Port Beach KASEY CHAMBERS & BAND 22 Quindanning Inne THE WATERBOYS 25 Astor Theatre BEN HOWARD 26 Fremantle Arts Centre KINGSWOOD 26 Prince of Wales 27 Capitol 28 Dunsborough Tavern 29 Newport Hotel THE HARRY HEART CHRYSALIS 26 Defectors Bar 27 Rosemount Hotel 29 Hyperfest
FEATURED GIG
FOO FIGHTERS NIB STADIUM SUNDAY, MARCH 8
28
WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU
DAVID LIEBE HART (TIM & ERIC) 27 Mojos AUGIE MARCH 28 Astor Theatre WEST COAST BLUES & ROOTS 2015 ft. JOHN BUTLER TRIO, PAOLO NUTINI, DAVID GRAY, JURASSIC 5, RODRIGO Y GABRIELA, XAVIER RUDD & THE UNITED NATIONS and more! 29 Fremantle Park HYPERFEST 2015 ft. ILLY, SLUMBERJACK, MAKE THEM SUFFER, JAPANESE WALLPAPER, THE BENNIES, COIN BACKS & ECCA VANDAL 29 Midland Oval SWITCHFOOT with LIKE A THIEF 30 The Lakes Theatre APRIL 2015 ED SHEERAN 4 & 5 Perth Arena JOHN FARNHAM & OLIVIA NEWTON JOHN 4 Sandalford Winery PASAJE 4 Fremantle Arts Centre OPHIDIAN 5 Swan River COUNTING CROWS 7 Perth Concert Hall PINK FLOYD EXPERIENCE 7 Crown Theatre ARCHITECTS 9 Capitol ROBIN INCE: HAPPINESS THROUGH SCIENCE 9 Astor Theatre FAIRBRIDGE FESTIVAL 10 – 12 Fairbridge Village, Pinjarra AMPLIFY FESTIVAL 12 Perth Arena THE GIPSY KINGS 13 Perth Convention & Exhibition Centre THE BLACK KEYS 14 Red Hill Auditorium HORRORSHOW 14 The Bakery THE MURLOCS 18 Four5Nine Bar NANA MOUSKOURI 19 Perth Concert Hall DEMI LOVATO 21 HBF Stadium
BORIS, JUNE 1
SAN CISCO 23 & 24 Fremantle Arts Centre THE SCRIPT with LABRINTH 24 Perth Arena GUTTERMOUTH 25 Rosemount Hotel JERICCO 26 Rosemount Hotel SPYGLASS GYPSIES 26 Ellington Jazz Club GROOVIN THE MOO 26 Hay Park, Bunbury HUMAN NATURE 28 Perth Convention & Exhibition Centre YOU ME AT SIX 28 Capitol 360 29 Rosemount Hotel 30 Prince of Wales MAY 2015 COSENTINO 1 & 2 Regal Theatre 360 1 Players Bar 2 Dunsborough Tavern COURTNEY BARNETT 2 The Bakery APIA GOOD TIMES TOUR ft. KATE CEBERANO, BRIAN CADD, JOE CAMILLERI & GLENN SHORROCK 2 HBF Stadium SAM SMITH 4 HBF Stadium RED FANG 7 Rosemount Hotel RICKY MARTIN 8 Perth Arena MICHAEL SPIBY & THE BADLOVES 8 Centurion Hotel 9 Charles Hotel 10 The Ravenswood AMERICA with SHARON CORR 9 Red Hill Auditorium JOE AVATI 9 Fremantle Town Hall ANASTACIA 10 Perth Concert Hall ALT-J 15 HBF Stadium BACKSTREET BOYS 15 Perth Arena THE ANGELS 16 Charles Hotel PALOMA FAITH 16 Perth Concert Hall SPANDAU BALLET 22 Perth Arena
BABY ANIMALS & THE SUPERJESUS 22 Charles Hotel COLIN HAY 23 Regal Theatre 24 Colonial Brewery, Margaret River MOTLEY CRUE 23 Perth Arena NICKELBACK 26 Perth Arena DEFEATER 28 YMCA HQ 29 Rosemount Hotel PANOS KIAMOS 29 HBF Stadium DARYL BRAITHWAITE 29 Charles Hotel JUNE 2015 BORIS 1 Rosemount Hotel JOYCE MANOR 4 Rosemount Hotel KARISE EDEN 10 Albany Entertainment Centre THE GETAWAY PLAN 12 Rosemount Hotel THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER 18 Capitol 5 SECONDS OF SUMMER 29 Perth Arena MACHINE HEAD 29 Astor Theatre JULY 2015 YELLOWCARD 4 Metro City AUSTRALIAN ROCK WITH ANGRY ANDERSON 4 Charles Hotel ADAM HARVEY 22 Albany Entertainment Centre AUGUST 2015 THE AUSTRALIAN BEE GEES SHOW 15 Regal Theatre 16 Albany Entertainment Centre PEACE TRAIN: THE CAT STEVENS STORY 21 Astor Theatre 22 Albany Entertainment Centre THE BEATLES FOREVER 27 Albany Entertainment Centre ELVIS MEETS THE BEATLES 28 HBF Stadium SEPTEMBER 2015
JULIA MORRIS 11 Regal Theatre
FOR ALL WEEKLY EVENTS DOWNLOAD OUR FREE MAGAZINE APP AVAILABLE FROM DOWNLOAD OUR FREE EVENTS GUIDE APP Deadline Monday 5pm. X-Press Guide is a service to advertisers listing all entertainment events. All inclusions are at the discretion of X-Press. Email guide@xpressmag.com.au
THE FLOORS, MARCH 5
DZ DEATHRAYS, MARCH 6
WEEKLY WEDNESDAY 4/03
THE BIRD Shake ft. The Matador CHEVRON FESTIVAL GARDENS First Aid Kit CLANCYS CANNING BRIDGE Songwriters Night ft. Rachel Gorman ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Riley Pearce FLYRITE Northbridge Nightly Now FOUR5NINE BAR Alex Elbery & The Strangers Childsaint Todd Pickett Luke Dux GOLD BAR Famous HERDSMAN Playoff Band Comp: Heat #5 ft. Iceage Sugar September Sun Flighflow Chris Gibbs & The Transmission INDI BAR Club Acoustica MOJOS Kallidad THE MOON CAFÉ Going Solo ft. Katey Brookes Joni Hogan ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Petty Things ft. Total Waste Lowlight Push Me Under These Dead Trees I The Village ROSEMOUNT HOTEL (BEER GARDEN) Student Night ft. DJ Anton Maz SETTLERS TAVERN Open Mic Night ft. Claire Warnock THURSDAY 5/03
AMPLIFIER Last Night Young Lions THE BIRD The Floors Ray Finkle Skullcave CAPITOL From The Jam CHEVRON FESTIVAL GARDENS Soil & ‘Pimp’ Sessions CIVIC HOTEL Steve’s Karaoke ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Jo Quail FLYRITE Botikk – Vol. 1 Launch Party ft. Saiyan Lifetime Grime Squ!ntz Jaawa Yattaman FOUR5NINE BAR Daniel Champagne
INDI BAR Open Mic ft. Robby James MOJOS The Crossbars MUSTANG BAR Thumpin’ Thursdays ft. Blue Gene THE ODD FELLOW Ricky Green (Single Launch) Blue Child Phil Slabber (Crooked Colours) PRINCE OF WALES Little Bastard ROSEMOUNT HOTEL In The Pink Ego SETTLERS TAV Stu Harcourt FRIDAY 6/03
AMBAR MONARCH ft. Dose AMPLIFIER DZ Deathrays Bass Drum of Death Hockey Dad ASTOR LOUNGE Kuillotines (Single Launch) THE BAKERY Rag N Bone (EP Launch) Doctopus Aborted Tortoise Shit Narnia Childsaint Pissedcolas THE BIRD {S.O.U.L – S.T.I.R.R.I.N.G – 2} ft. Jack Doepel Sam Kuzich Henry Maxwell Henry Sims BUNBURY TURF CLUB Bayside Beats ft. Jimmy Barnes CAPITOL (UPSTAIRS) I Love ‘80s & ‘90s CHEVRON FESTIVAL GARDENS Sunnyboys CLANCYS CANNING BRIDGE Boullibass DJ Boogie CLANCY’S CITY BEACH Café Sundowner Sessions ft. The Limelights Jazz CLANCY’S FREMANTLE Dynomite DJ Jiminy Kickit & Friends Princess May Night Market ft. Diamond Dave & The Doodaddies DEVILLES PAD Stratosfunk Vivian Marlowe Les Sataniques Go Go Girls ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB The Ellington 6th Birthday Celebrations with Jade-Lori Crompton & Hammer Nine
FEATURED GIG
RAG N BONE THE BAKERY FRIDAY, MARCH 6
FOUR5NINE BAR Breaking Punk ft. Castle Bravo Burning Fiction Silver Foxes Ben Elliot GEISHA BAR Foreign Exchange ft. Nando Sophie Visser Del La Valle Paul Scott Brothers La Kulcha GILKISON DANCE STUDIO MAMA AFRIKA NIGHT – Black & White Party ft. Kingston DJ MG Bossmaan Blaqnight Kevoh Xoih M2 GINGER NIGHTCLUB Mondo Fridays THE GOOD SHEPHERD Throwback INDI BAR Zarm LIBRARY Dorcia METROPOLIS FREMANTLE The GKM Take Over ft. Terrence & Phillip Lost Tempo Hewson & De:Bug Korp & Impulsv Tomorrow Snipppits MINT Club Retro MOJOS BAR Fisherman Style ft. Earthlink Sound Future Sounds Fireside Imperial PARKER CANDY PRINCE OF WALES Scalphunter Blackwitch The Light The Dark Crash Rat ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Fall Electric (Vinyl Launch) Mt Mountain Lanark Slums DJ James Burton ROSIE O’GRADY’S NORTHBRIDGE Wesley Goodlet Jamboree Scouts SETTLERS TAVERN Little Bastard SWAN BASEMENT In The Now The Corner Fuzz Bucket Anderson SWAN LOUNGE Breast Cancer Fundraiser ft. Social Madness The Flying Embers Enemy Minds Fight The Morning VELVET LOUNGE Alex Elbery & The Strangers VILLA CHEEKs CORPORATE HOEs and CEOs BALL SATURDAY 7/03
AMBAR Japan 4 AMPLIFIER Rise Against ASTOR LOUNGE The Little Lord Street Band (EP Launch) THE BAKERY Hayden James THE BIRD Gravy Murphy Phil Arbon timeofhex Omega is the Alpha CAPITOL The Delta Riggs Timothy Nelson & The Infidels Tired Lion LDRU Death Disco CAPITOL (UPSTAIRS) Cream Of The ‘80s
FALL ELECTRIC, MARCH 6
CLANCY’S CANNING BRIDGE Hugh Jennings CLANCY’S CITY BEACH The Rogue Gypsies CLANCY’S FREMANTLE Kenny Austin Tani Walker & Dear Hella DEVILLES PAD NEVERMIND THE NINETIES: A Night of 90s ft. The Space Needles Pat Chow EAST END BAR & LOUNGE Temptation ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB The Ellington 6th Birthday Celebrations feat. The Ali Bodycoat Quintet & Hammer Nine FLYRITE Father FOUR5NINE BAR Ralway Bell Amanda Merdzan Galloping Foxleys GILKISON DANCE STUDIO At the Pile ft. Cosmo’s Midnight Willow Beats Lower Spectrum Catlips Time Pilot GOLD BAR Pure Gold THE GOOD SHEPHERD Chocolate Jesus – The Benji Show THE HERDSMAN Dirtwater Bloom Jupiter Zeus Lantana JIMMY’S DEN DRO CAREY METRO CITY KUSH Lounge MOJOS BAR Little Bastard Silver Hills Childsaint NICHE BAR Surrender Saturdays PARKER Menagerie Nights RAILWAY HOTEL 13 Circles Watercolour Ghosts Bury The Heard Just Numbers ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Legs Electric (Single Launch) Apache Custom Royal King Cactus ROSEMOUNT HOTEL (BEER GARDEN) Turin Robinson SETTLERS TAVERN Kallidad SHAPE HUSH SWAN LOUNGE MTT Treestump Almighty VILLA VICES OO2 – Galactic ft. Chang Yonjovi Bunj Bruce Trillest Scott D Grecia Midsole Trillem Dagoe SUNDAY 8/03
CLANCY’S CITY BEACH Salt Shaker Sundays ft. DJ Boogie Salt Shaker Selectors CLANCY’S FREMANTLE Decks on the Decks ft. DJ Jiminy Kickit The Brow ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Howard Levy FREMANTLE ARTS CENTRE Davey Craddock and the Spectacles
MOJOS BAR Daniel Champagne Michael Triscari NORTHBRIDGE PIAZZA Piazza Folk & Roots ft. Steve Tallis John Talati Gospel Group Rachel Dillon Duet Monique Serpell John McNair Keith Anthonisz THE ODD FELLOW Alex Elbery & The Strangers ROSEMOUNT HOTEL (BEER GARDEN) One Day Sundays ft. Joride & Adit (Horrorshow) Shaker Charlie Bucket SETTLERS TAVERN Sunday Session ft. Kallidad THE STABLES BAR Habitat Garden Party ft. Henry Saiz Audiojack SWANBROOK WINERY Timothy Nelson Matt Waring MONDAY 9/03
THE BIRD Wormhole Exhibition ft. Martin E. Wills James Cooper BRASS MONKEY Monday Madness Student & Industry Night CLANCY’S CANNING BRIDGE Scotty’s Quiz Night ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Daniel Champagne MOJOS BAR Wide Open Mic PARKER Manic Mondays ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Comedy Trivia TUESDAY 10/03
ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Rick Webster Allira Wilson LLAMA BAR Ruby Tuesdays MOJOS BAR Mojos Monthly Comedy THE PADDO Quiz Meisters PERTH BLUES CLUB Harp Attack 2015 ft. West Australian Harmonica Club ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Bex & Turin’s Open Mic Night ft. Robby James WEDNESDAY 11/03
CLANCY’S CANNING BRIDGE Songwriters Night ft. Stu Harcourt ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Belleville feat. Lachlan Gear Night Cap Sessions FLYRITE Northbridge Nightly Now FOUR5NINE BAR Apollo Million Wasted Grapes Kyle Bonser Discordians GOLD BAR Famous INDI BAR Club Acoustica MOJOS The Swamp Riders Suntones Thump MOON CAFÉ Going Solo ft. Luke Dux Todd Picket
LEGS ELECTRIC, SATURDAY 7
ROSEMOUNT HOTEL The Date (EP Launch) Shimmergloom Bughunt Kylie Storm ROSEMOUNT HOTEL (BEER GARDEN) Student Night ft. DJ Anton Maz SETTLERS TAVERN Open Mic Night ft. Claire Warnock THURSDAY 12/03
AMPLIFIER Last Night ft. Psycropotic Goatwhore The Furor Earth Rot CIVIC HOTEL Steve’s Karaoke ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Paper Tiger (CD Launch) Night Cap Sessions FOUR5NINE BAR The Black Bone Gang KOMA Epitome of Stupidity DIET MOJOS Light & Shade ft. Apollo’s Son Psychedelic Porn Crumpets Sully Mitch Mcdonald SETTLERS TAVERN Jeff Martin (The Tea Party) FRIDAY 13/03
AMBAR Dodge + Fuski Tee El CasueL Maker AMPLIFIER 65DaysOfStatic & special guests ASTOR LOUNGE Wanderlust (EP Launch) THE BAKERY Tech N9ne Krizz Kaliko THE BIRD Crucial Rockers Grace Barbe Guest DJ THE CIVIC HOTEL Friday the 13th ft. Ragdoll The Shadow Embrace Sleepfreak Summerset CLANCYS CANNING BRIDGE Boullibass DJ Boogie CLANCY’S CITY BEACH Café Sundowner Sessions ft. The Limelights Jazz CLANCY’S FREMANTLE Dynomite DJ Jiminy Kickit & Friends Princess May Night Market ft. Sparrows DEVILLES PAD Black Friday ft. Lux Inferior & His
CHAINSAW HOOKERS, MARCH 14
Garbage Men The Caballeros Circus Carnis Les Sataniques Go Go Troupe DJ Razor Jack Double Trouble Molls ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Allira Wilson Jamie Oehlers Steve Magnusson Ben Vanderwal Late Night Groove Series ft. Chelsea Cullen FOUR5NINE BAR The Imps (EP Launch) Emu Xperts Love In Motion Battletaco FREMANTLE ARTS CENTRE The Starlight Hotel Choir (Album Launch) GEISHA BAR Slynk Fdel Bezwun Joe Revell Roxright Tom Love GILKISON DANCE STUDIO Akuna Late Night Sessions ft. Indian Summer Cassian Dom Dolla Go Freek JIMMY’S DEN Scalphunter PUCK Rag N Bone Shit Narnia Ray Finkle LIBRARY Sneaky MOJOS Hussle Hussle ft. Silvertongue Macshane Nodes KZNZA ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Black Friday Drum & Bass Celebration ft. Gracie & Sistym Pegasus Sarah Pellicano VLTRN Freqshow Spectrem SETTLERS TAVERN The Floors THE VELVET LOUNGE Peyton (Single Launch) Joni In The Moon True Science LYTS VILLA Keys N Krates
ASTOR LOUNGE Midnight Boulevard (Album Launch) BABUSHKA Sail On! Sail On! THE BAKERY LAUNCH Block Party ft. Suburban Diversity (Album Launch) Azmatik Switchblade Disorderly Conduct Cog & Mr Biss Tommy Hatchel Inveigh Slang Bluntfield Coerce and Cable Shook Ricky B THE BIRD Sugar Army Usurper of Modern Medicine Methyl Ethel Dream Rimmy CAPITOL (UPSTAIRS) Cream Of The ‘80s CIVIC HOTEL Black ‘N Blue ft. Chainsaw Hookers Sanzu Suffer in Rot Obscenium Septillion 9 Foot Super Soldier Tempest Rising My Final Form Nails of Imposition CLANCY’S CANNING BRIDGE Hugh Jennings CLANCY’S CITY BEACH The Rogue Gypsies CLANCY’S FREMANTLE The Rogues (Pogues Tribute Band) King of the Travellers EAST END BAR & LOUNGE Temptation ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Orquestra Yambeque Late Night Groove Series ft. Cian Caton FLYRITE Father FOUR5NINE BAR Dan Cribb & The Isolated Roswell Amberdown Being Beta Noah Skape FREMANTLE ARTS CENTRE Flooded Palace (EP Launch)
SKULLCAVE, MARCH 14
GOLD BAR Pure Gold THE GOOD SHEPHERD Chocolate Jesus JIMMY’S DEN Our Man In Berlin Lilt Angus Dawson D-Jeong METRO CITY DJ Shadow Cut Chemist KUSH Lounge METROPOLIS FREMANTLE Clique 025 Twerk Edition MOJOS The Amani Consort Koi Child Natalie Mae MC Farren Wood NICHE BAR Surrender Saturdays THE ODD FELLOW Ocean Alley Apache Moana Rum Punch PARKER Calyx Teebee Vltrn Gran Cavelera Temple Impulsiv Menagerie Nights ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Ingrid Michaelson Turin Robinson SETTLERS TAVERN Status Quo Tribute with On The Level SWAN BASEMENT The Shadow Embrace The Corner September Sun Summerset VILLA REWIND – SECOND BIRTHDAY SUNDAY 15/03
THE BIRD Red Bull Music Academy presents Taylor McFerrin Mei Saraswati Ben Taaffe Andrew Sinclair CLANCY’S CITY BEACH Salt Shaker Sundays ft. DJ Boogie Salt Shaker Selectors CLANCY’S FREMANTLE Decks on the Decks ft. DJ Jiminy Kickit The Brow ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Masina Miller
FOUR5NINE BAR Ocean Alley Apache Steppes They’re There FREMANTLE ARTS CENTRE Sunday Music ft. Depedro MOJOS Kings Justice Custom Royal ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Jesus Jones ROSEMOUNT HOTEL (BEER GARDEN) Get Down ft. Aslan Klean Kicks Pawel Good Company DJs Sleepyhead Beni Chill Jo Lettenmaier Tim King SETTLERS TAVERN Blue Child Collective MONDAY 16/03
BRASS MONKEY Monday Madness Student & Industry Night CLANCY’S CANNING BRIDGE Scotty’s Quiz Night ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Carus Thompson MOJOS BAR Wide Open Mic PARKER Manic Mondays ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Comedy Trivia TUESDAY 17/03
ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Rhiannan Longley LLAMA BAR Ruby Tuesdays MOJOS BAR Old Blood Hunting Huxley King of the Travellers Blood Groove THE PADDO Quiz Meisters PERTH BLUES CLUB Harp Attack 2015 ft. West Australian Harmonica Club ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Bex & Turin’s Open Mic Night ft. Robby James SETTLERS TAVERN Crooked Brook St. Patrick’s Day Celebration
SATURDAY 14/03
AMBAR Japan 4 AMPLIFIER RTRFM presents Raw Power Blackwitch Emu Xperts Rubber Daddy The shakeys Skullcave Burn The Airwaves DJs Sandy (Out To Lunch)
FEATURED GIG
SUGAR ARMY
THE BIRD SATURDAY, MARCH 14
WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU
29
NEWS
|
INTERVIEWS
|
REVIEWS
| B E AT S
|
LIVE
|
EVENTS
FATHER
THE BRASS MONKEY
MUSIC GEAR & TECHNOLOGY
|
CLASSIFIEDS
LEGENDARY MUSIC LECTURER RETIRES AFTER 21 YEARS
MAKE THINGS POZIBLE AT THE FLY
After 21 years teaching at Central TAFE’s (now the Central Institute of Technology) music program , Gus Warburton has received his gold metronome and Chicago-shuffled into the sunset to start a new chapter in concert production transport. Over the years Gus has mentored, encouraged , inspired and cracked up some of this city’s finest rock drummers. Steve Judd (Karnivool) , Adam Weston( Birds Of Tokyo), Shaun Sibbes (Spencer Tracy/Eskimo Joe) , Paul Keenan (Eskimo Joe) , Frank Licastro (hard rock machine) and Louie Rando (hardcore metal pioneer)) are just a few of the drummers who spent some of their teenage years in the rehearsal rooms at the Leederville campus with Gus, learning how to “sit in the pocket” and talking that weird drum hardware speak that sounds Martian to other musos. His famous catch cries of “Jeez! That kid’s got more chops than a butcher shop” or “Boot that bass drum, ya’ wood-duck!” formed part of his unique vocabulary. With his generosity, good humour and phat, four on the floor drumming, Gus has sure left his mark on a generation of young musos . We wish him well for the future.
Gus Warburton
MUSOS WANTED DRUMS, GUITARS, KEYBOARDS, VOCALS of professional standard to join bass player for jazz, funk project. Jamiroquai,, Stevie Wonder, Incognito. Brand new heavies. Mob: Jonny 0432200129 FEMALE SINGER/GUITARIST seeking a band. Blues/ Rock/RocknRoll (covers). Please call Leah 040 368 7285 OPEN MIC NIGHT every Thursday night at Indi Bar. Email Trojan_johnmusic@yahoo.com.au for spot. Laneway Lounge Open Mic every Tuesday night. If you’re keen for a spot text Josh on 0430313577 OPEN MIC NIGHT/ARVO South St Alehouse, Hilton. Original songs, solo/duo, sorry no bands. Come on down for a play on a Sunday to round off the weekend..TEXT..Gus 0409 101 688 PRODUCTION SERVICES CD & DVD MANUFACTURE Check out our latest CD & DVD specials online at www.procopy.com.au 9375 3902 MATRIX PRODUCTIONS AUSTRALIA Lighting, staging, sound systems, smoke machines, night club FX, intelligent lighting, strobes & mirror balls, crowd barriers, video projectors. 9371 1551
RECORDING STUDIOS ALAN DAWSON’S WITZEND RECORDING STUDIO Prof quality albums or demos, large live room, experienced engineer, analog to digital transfers, mastering. Alan 0407 989 128 www.witzendstudios. com ANALOG MASTERING VINTAGE TAPE, TUBES & TRANSFORMERS with the latest state of the art digital converters. Clients include: Melody’s Echo Chamber, Pond, Gossling, Knife Party, Felicity Groom, The Floors, Jeff Martin & The Panics. World class facility, World class results. Www.poonshead.com. 9339 4791 ANDY’S STUDIO International multi award winning songwriter / producer. No band required. Broadcast quality. A songwriter’s paradise. Ph 9364 3178 GOLDDUST Production Mixing, recording and composition. Leederville $80 p/h. 0408 097 407 RECORDING MIXING MASTERING PRODUCING Fremantle location. Call Pete Kitchen Cooked Records. Ph 0407 363 764 / 9336 3764 REVOLVER SOUND STUDIO Ph 9272 7505. www. revolverstudio.com.au REHEARSAL STUDIOS BIBRA LAKE REHEARSAL STUDIO Air Conditioned
30
As you’ve no doubt heard, the Fly By Night Musicians Club recently got something of a last minute reprieve from the gallows and will soon be taking up residence in Fremantle’s beautiful Victoria Hall. That’s the good news. The bad news is that such an undertaking is not without cost, and so the Fly has turned to the good and hopefully generous people of the Perth music community to help underwrite the big move, in the form of a Pozible crowdfunding campaign. By chipping in to help ameliorate some of the campaign’s $10,000 goal, you’ll be helping prolong the life of one Perth’s most venerable and beloved musical institutions. You’ll also be able to claim some fantastic swag (depending on your level of support), including posters, badges, t-shirts, memberships, and even some of the iconic ephemera that has decorated the walls lo these many years. Head to pozible.com for full details. Victoria Hall, the new home of Fly By Night
Room. Great Facilities. Superior sound to hear yourself and your band. 10 mins from Freo. Phone Nick: 0410 485 588. INSOMNIA STUDIOS Premium new rooms & PA systems. Airconditioned. Regular Booking gets you regular discounts. TXT or call 0474 971 830 PLATINUM SOUND ROOMS Professional rehearsal rooms, airconditioned, quality PAs mob 0418 944 722 TUITION ***GUITAR LESSONS*** New Year enrolments. Online bookings. Children & adults. Beg to adv. AMEB and WAAPA accreditation. Cliff Lynton Guitar Institute. Mt Lawley 9342 3484/ www.clifflynton. com BASS GUITAR LESSONS AVAILABLE by WAAPA tutor. A practicle approach to learning. .All styles. Years of experience. Tony Gibbs 9470 6131 DRUMKIT TUITION Avail with Master Drummer Range of Styles RNB Hiphop Reggae Raga Afro Jazz Rock. Children & Adults 1 HR $50, 1/2 HR $30 Fremantle Area George Joe 0406 514 757 GUITAR TUITION Learn guitar at the speed of light in a state of the art music studio. fretlightaustralia. com. Ph: 0433042503
WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU
WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU
31
32
WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU