Brag#601

ISSUE NO. 601 FEBRUARY 25, 2015

FREE Now picked up at over 1,600 places across Sydney and surrounds. thebrag.com

MUSIC, FILM, THEATRE + MORE

INSIDE This Week

INCLUDING

FAITH NO MORE SLIPKNOT INCUBUS MINISTRY ANTEMASQUE

MAP & TIMES p.13

JO SH P Y K E

Making his return to the stage with the Sydney Symphony.

GORGON CI T Y

The UK producers bringing the beats to Future.

MARILYN MANSON

F E L ICI T Y WA R D

On a homecoming tour after tasting success overseas.

M AT T HE W MI T CH A M

The Olympic diver turns his hand to cabaret for Mardi Gras.

Plus

FUTURE MUSIC 2015 MAP AND PLAYING TIMES

225T 5 T H FFE E B R UA U A RY 25TH FEBRUARY

-(66( '$9,'621 720 /$5. 1=

FREE ENTRY | 8PM - 1AM M

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rock music news

the BRAG presents

welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town...with Chris Martin, Tori Bedingfield and Emily Meller

BALKAN BEAT BOX Oxford Art Factory Wednesday March 11

five things WITH

PAOLO NUTINI Enmore Theatre Tuesday March 31

JOAKIM NILSSON FROM GRAVEYARD again. I guess it affected me not wanting to play music at first, but I still ended up there anyway.

Inspirations One of many, but I’ll go 2. with Peter Green because of his beautiful guitar tone. Really like his voice too.

3.

Your Band Axel (drummer) and I, Joakim (singer, guitarist) played in a band before, often with the bands that Truls (bass) and Jonatan (guitarist) played in. So we knew of each other. When the old bass player Rikard Edlund and I started Graveyard we brought Axel and recruited Truls and then later Jonatan.

Growing Up My parents were 1. musicians. I remember listening

to my father repeatedly playing passages from classical music on violin, over and over

The Music You Make We want to put everything 4. we’re listening to in our music so I guess the foundation is some kind of hard blues/rock

but with jazz, punk, folk and metal infl uences. Our first three albums were recorded in Gothenburg by producer Don Alsterberg. The next one is gonna be recorded in Stockholm by Johan Lindström.

We always try to bring the whole spectrum of our music into the live shows and they are always high on energy.

REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS: Nat Amat, Ian Barr, Prudence Clark, Tom Clift, Keiron Costello, Christie Eliezer, Fergus Halliday, Cameron James, Tegan Jones, Lachlan Kanoniuk, Mina Kitsos, Emily Meller, Annie Murney, Adam Norris, Kate Robertson, Erin Rooney, Raf Seneviratne, Leonardo Silvestrini, Krissi Weiss, Rod Whitfield, Harry Windsor, Tyson Wray, Stephanie Yip, David James Young Please send mail NOT ACCOUNTS direct to this NEW address 100 Albion Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010 ph - (02) 9212 4322 fax - (02) 9319 2227

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THE BRAG

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Factory Theatre Thursday April 2

G. LOVE & SPECIAL SAUCE The Basement Sunday April 5

THE GIPSY KINGS Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House Tuesday April 7 and Wednesday April 8

JIMMY CLIFF Metro Theatre Thursday April 9

Frank Yamma

BLUESFEST LINEUP AND TIMETABLES

LITTLE MAY IN THE PARK

The inaugural Party In The Park event at North Sydney Oval has announced the addition of Little May to a lineup already boasting The Cat Empire, The Jezabels, Husky and Sons Of The East. Fresh from a winning appearance on triple j’s Like A Version, Little May will bring their enchanting harmonies to Sydney’s North Shore. Party In The Park is on Saturday March 14.

UP ALL NIGHT TO GET FOLKY

The National Folk Festival has announced its full program and lineup for the 2015 event running this Easter. Over 200 acts have now been announced for the festival, including 23 international and 180 Australian artists. International headliners include Bob Fox and Outside Track, joined by Australian favourites My Friend The Chocolate Cake and Christopher Coleman Collective.

One of the most accessible and longest-running folk festivals in the world, there will be over 1,200 performers from around the globe appearing around Exhibition Park in Canberra, across various programs including KidzFest, workshops at ArtefACT, poetry, dance and music events.

Celebrating a rich indigenous history, there will be also a program dedicated to Australia’s First Peoples with performances, a pop-up exhibition and stories of Dreaming animals in association with the Taronga Zoomobile. The 2015 National Folk Festival takes place from Thursday April 2 – Monday April 6.

covers and some of Scissor Sisters’ deep cuts, Shears will also be joined by a live band and musical director Lance Horne. Shears is an outspoken advocate for LGBTQI rights, and has worked with Dan Savage’s ‘It Gets Better’ project.

Catch him at Upstairs Beresford on Thursday March 5.

FARMER & THE OWL GETS BIGGER

With less than a month to go until its 2015 event, Farmer & The Owl has announced additional acts as well as cinema and arts events with the goal of creating a unique, fully immersive festival experience themed ‘imaginarium’. Joining the likes of DZ Deathrays, Jebediah and Bad// Dreems will be new additions Velociraptor, Rolls

Music fans making the trip north of Byron Bay for the 2015 edition of Bluesfest can now get timetable planning, with the playing times revealed alongside a seventh lineup announcement. The daily Bluesfest set times and stages can be found at bluesfest.com.au, and as usual, many of the festival’s finest acts will be performing more than one set.

Meanwhile, a slew of artists have been added to the lineup, including Frank Yamma, Delta Rae, Wagons, Skipping Girl Vinegar, Marlon Williams and The Yarra Benders, Kristy Lee and more.

They join a schedule that already features Lenny Kravitz, The Black Keys, Ben Harper and The Innocent Criminals and plenty more. Bluesfest 2015 takes over Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm from Thursday April 2 – Monday April 6.

Bayce and Jeremy Neale plus a DJ lineup including Parkside + Friends, Space 44 DJs, Blackbear, Honeybear, Berko, Vintage Stylus DJs and Music Farmers DJs. Meanwhile, the one and only David Stratton has curated a silent cinema of films from the 1920s, exploring individual themes but linked by beautiful and intriguing imagery. Farmer & The Owl 2015 is on Saturday March 14 at the University of Wollongong.

Juan Alderete

FAREWELL MÖTLEY CRÜE

The rumours were true: Mötley Crüe fans have one final chance to see them live. In January last year the original four members of the band gathered to sign a binding ‘Cessation Of Touring’ agreement taking effect at the end of 2015. Now, the legendary rock icons have confirmed dates for the highly anticipated Australian leg of their Final Tour, bringing along Alice Cooper with them. The Sydney show goes down at Allphones Arena on Saturday May 16.

SCISSORING SOLO

Jake Shears, co-vocalist of the Scissor Sisters, is going solo for the first time to help celebrate this year’s Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. Scissor Sisters are known for pushing the boundaries of glam pop both on and offstage, and Shears is bringing the same energy to his own show Shears Unshorn. Including new originals,

SOUNDOSKOPE

Juan Alderete, best known for his work on the bass with The Mars Volta and Racer X, will headline the second edition of the Soundoskope party at the Red Rattler on Monday March 2. It’ll be a rare solo appearance by Alderete, who’s been given a blank canvas to show off his chops on the night – sure to be a bass-playing masterclass. Joining the bill are experimental acts Robbie Avenaim, Alson Ilsar and Axis Trio. Expect the unexpected.

thebrag.com

Frank Yamma photo by Matt Day

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JOHN MAYALL

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EDITORIAL POLICY: The views and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher, editors or staff of the BRAG.

State Theatre Wednesday April 1 and Tuesday April 2

Where: Oxford Art Factory When: Wednesday March 4

ART DIRECTOR: Sarah Bryant PHOTOGRAPHERS: Katrina Clarke, Ashley Mar

AWESOME INTERNS: Tori Bedingfield, Lachlan Mackenzie, Spencer Scott, Nicholas Hartman

DAVID GRAY

5.

MANAGING EDITOR: Chris Martin chris@thebrag.com 02 9212 4322 ONLINE EDITOR: Tyson Wray SUB-EDITOR: Emily Meller STAFF WRITERS: Adam Norris, Augustus Welby NEWS: Tori Bedingfield, Gloria Brancatisano, Lauren Gill, Emily Meller, Spencer Scott

GIG & CLUB GUIDE COORDINATORS: Nicholas Hartman, Emily Meller, Spencer Scott gigguide@thebrag.com (rock); clubguide@thebrag. com (dance, hip hop & parties)

Enmore Theatre Wednesday April 1

Music, Right Here, Right Now If you’re into music there’s always a lot of good bands coming through Gothenburg.

I’m not really interested in the bigger bands, [but] in Gothenburg there are smaller venues like Truckstop Alaska and Pustervik that always have cool bands.

Little May

ADVERTISING: Georgina Pengelly - 0416 972 081 / (02) 9212 4322 georgina@thebrag.com ADVERTISING: Les White - 0405 581 125 / (02) 9212 4322 les@thebrag.com PUBLISHER: Furst Media MANAGING DIRECTOR, FURST MEDIA: Patrick Carr - patrick@furstmedia.com.au, (03) 9428 3600 / 0402 821 122 DIGITAL DIRECTOR/ADVERTISING: Kris Furst kris@furstmedia.com.au, (03) 9428 3600

GEORGE CLINTON & PARLIAMENT FUNKADELIC

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live & local

free stuff

welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town... with Spencer Scott, Lauren Gill and Gloria Brancatisano

five things WITH

GEORGE CLINTON AND PARLIAMENTFUNKADELIC

HARTS hits at the time. He would play a wide variety of music around our house every day, which is probably where I was exposed to the variety of genres that I’m influenced by today.

Inspirations I’m influenced by so 2. much music it’s always hard to remember and list them out. But some of my biggest ones are a lot of ’70s/early ’80s funk; ’60s blues/rock; Prince; Jimi Hendrix; Earth, Wind & Fire; Buddy Guy; Led Zeppelin.

Your Band I’m a multi-instrumentalist 3. solo artist from Melbourne. I

1.

Growing Up I wasn’t really particularly interested in music growing up.

My parents weren’t musicians,

but they were and still are big music lovers. My dad used to listen to everything from classic pop to jazz to classical to modern

write, play all the instruments, record and produce all my music in my bedroom studio under the name Harts.

4.

head to: thebrag.com/freeshit

The Music You Make The music I make is a

blend of many musical genres and styles that I love. I guess it’s a blend of funk, rock, blues, psychedelic pop and soul. My music has also caught the attention of many artists I look up to, including music legends like Prince and Quincy Jones.

Music, Right Here, Right Now 5.

It’s tough these days and there’s a lot of music and musicians out there. One of the biggest obstacles in music for me is exposure and fi nding/ growing my audience. I feel because the music I make doesn’t exactly cleanly fi t into an existing genre or scene, I’m building a new audience for it from scratch. It’s awesome, but hard work.

Where: Frankie’s Pizza When: Thursday February 26

We’ve got a double pass to give away to the sideshow – to be in the running, head to thebrag.com/freeshit and tell us why George Clinton and P-Funk make you want to groove.

Big Sandy and Los Straitjackets photo by Greg Allen

Minister of Australia. Frontman Joe Gould said, “We can’t wait to break up.” Guitarist Gordon Wallace added, “When Abbott leaves, we’ll break it up. No more releases at all. Our final show will be a celebration, and that’s it.” They band has already released its first single, titled ‘Climate Septic’. The song is available as a pay-what-you-want download, with all proceeds going to Greenpeace and the Climate Council. Visit untilabbottgetsgone.bandcamp.com.

The President of the Parliament of Funk himself, George Clinton, is bringing his ParliamentFunkadelic outfit back to Australian shores once again this year. A household name and constant presence on the funk scene since the early ’70s, Clinton has worked with the likes of Tupac, Primal Scream, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Snoop Dogg and so many more.

The ever-colourful Clinton is always down for a good time, and he’ll be delivering just that at his Bluesfest appearance over the Easter long weekend. If you can’t make the trip north, however, the funk will come to you: Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic are playing a sideshow at the Enmore Theatre on Wednesday April 1.

Timberwolf

THE GOOD MORROWS

Melbourne’s The Good Morrows have just released their debut self-titled LP, so naturally they’re hitting the road to celebrate. They’re set to tour their psychgarage sound around Brisbane, Sydney, Geelong and Melbourne next month. With influences ranging from The Dandy Warhols to The Beatles, the album has already picked up traction thanks to its lead single, ‘Ghost Town’. The Good Morrow will be at The World Bar on Friday March 27.

Big Sandy and Los Straitjackets

ROCK’N’ROLL MARKET RETURNS

The Sydney Rock ‘N’ Roll & Alternative Market is returning once again, quickly becoming a monster event that is a must-do on our city’s event calendar. The market will return to Sydney University’s Manning House for its Sunday March 15 event, providing over three floors and two courtyards of everything you could possibly want or need in the world of rock’n’roll, from vinyl and DVDs to posters and vintage clothing. Performing on the day will be the Grammy-nominated Big Sandy with Los Straitjackets, plus Pat Capocci, Mother Truckers and a slew of DJs and MCs.

UNTIL ABBOTT’S GONE

It’s always sad when your favourite band breaks up, but Sydney’s newest political rock group is planning to change that. Featuring

members of Sydney’s The Crooked Fiddle Band, Until Abbott Gets Gone are a punk band who’ll be writing songs and playing shows until Tony Abbott is no longer Prime

MUSIC WITH A MESSAGE

Chich and The Soul Messengers will be launching their third album, Dirty Soul, in Sydney next month. Chich believes in the beauty of imperfect soul music and carrying the realness of a live show onto a record. Expressing a distaste for “studio trickery”, the album was recorded live at Linear Recording, Leichhardt. Each ticket sold for the album launch will include a free download of the live EP Chich: Live At The Vanguard. The show is at Foundry616 on Thursday March 12. A final warm-up will take place on Friday February 27 at The Vic On The Park.

No Body Died

The Felice Brothers

IT’S OK, NO BODY DIED

BROTHERLY LOVE

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To celebrate the release of his new single ‘Fallen Sun’, Timberwolf has announced he will be heading around the country this February and March. This is the second single from Timberwolf’s forthcoming EP Flux, and the tour will see the Adelaide singer-songwriter play nine shows, beginning in Fremantle and finishing up at the Blenheim Camping and Music Festival in his home state.

Timberwolf will play Brighton Up Bar on Friday March 20.

The Felice Brothers have announced that they’ll play a pair of headline shows when they hit Australia for Golden Plains this March. Coming together in the depths of New York City subway stations, the five-piece has become known for its jangly brand of folk rock. Aside from their appearance at Golden Plains, the boys will also appear as support for Conor Oberst on his Australian tour. Catch ’em on Saturday March 7 at Newtown Social Club.

thebrag.com

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Armidale band No Body Died have announced a run of shows this March supporting their forthcoming EP, The Nihilist And The Pretender. Combining electronica, industrial and atmospheric post-rock influences with pop sensibilities, No Body Died have have been likened to acts like Boards Of Canada, Nils Frahm and School Of Seven Bells. They’ll play alongside Atolla and Polarheart at the Kings Cross Hotel on Saturday March 21.

HOWL LIKE A WOLF

Industrial Strength Music Industry News with Christie Eliezer

THINGS WE HEAR * Which association is being wracked with divisions due to the abrasive style of its new leader? * Was illness the real reason Zayn Malik didn’t finish One Direction’s final Aussie show in Perth? * Who was the musician who copped a $354 fine after he was caught veering across the West Gate Bridge in Melbourne while playing his trumpet? * After tweeting that Adelaide was off the schedule on future Soundwave tours due to low sales (12,000), AJ Maddah in other tweets reckoned that (a) Soundwave will revert to one-show-per-city in 2016; and (b) when Big Day Out returns (in 2016?) it would only play Auckland and the Australian east coast. * At the NME Awards, where Kasabian took out Best Band,

the Worst Band went to 5 Seconds Of Summer, against nominees The 1975, One Direction, U2 and Bastille.

5SOS guitarist Michael Clifford said he was “so damn happy right now. thx to everyone who voted” and retweeted a link to the article. * A man in the US raised over $18,000 for charity in the “ultimate test of endurance” – promising to listen to Nickelback 24/7 for an entire week. * Flume has quit his successful What So Not side project with Emoh Instead, though Emoh will continue to tour and create music under the WSN name. * Illy is currently on his first tour through Canada. * Timomatic has reverted to his birth name Tim Omaji, and will release his next single ‘Something Bout You’ on Friday March 6 through Sony. * Katie Noonan’s PledgeMusic campaign for new EP Peace Is My Drug reached its target in 48 hours. * Triple j’s One Night Stand will

THREE STRIKES RULE DRAFTED TO TACKLE ONLINE PIRACY

Australia’s ISPs and content owners raced to come up with a voluntary code to address online piracy ahead of last Friday’s deadline.

If it hadn’t been done by then, the Federal Government was set to introduce its own regulations. Both sides decided that the most effective way was to introduce a ‘three strikes’ approach, where someone accused of illegal downloading would be warned three times.

Under the scheme, if another breach occurs after those warnings, the offender’s data will be handed over to rights holders who will decide whether to take legal action. The release of the voluntary code will be followed by 30 days of public discussion and an

take a break in 2015 as the station is too busy with 40th anniversary events. * A question mark hovers over live music at the Prince of Wales in Melbourne’s St. Kilda, which was sold to Chinese company Pub Li City for a reported $45 million. When owner John van Haandel placed it on the market in October, he was only expected to get $25 million. * Cypress Hill’s B-Real is opening a medical marijuana dispensary in California (he won a lottery out of 630 applicants) and wants to hold sets in it from pro-legalisation artists like Snoop Dogg and 2 Chainz.

B-Real recently took third prize for “best sativa flower” in the Cannabis Cup in San Bernardino. * After Kanye West’s Grammys stage invasion, Steel Panther posted a ditty online describing his music as “sounds like hamster turds”, “a donkey fart”, and “Beck should kick you in the nuts with steel-toed boots to make it right”. * Cradle Of Filth’s T-shirt

approval by the Australian Communications and Media Authority by Tuesday September 1.

UNIVERSAL PUBLISHING INKS ONE ABOVE

Universal Music Publishing Australia has signed multi-platinum producer and songwriter One Above (AKA Andrew Burford) to a global deal. Best known as the co-writer and keyboard player with Hilltop Hoods (including on their triple platinum single ‘I Love It’ and three tracks on Walking Under Stars), he has also co-written and produced for Illy (‘Heard It All’, which has just gone gold), Sia, Allday and Chance Waters and is currently working with Drapht, Pez and Kylie Auldist.

featuring a nun masturbating on the front and “Jesus Is A C**t” on the back was banned in New Zealand in 2008. But it was included in an exhibition called T-Shirts Unfolding at the Canterbury Museum in Christchurch. A lobby group, Family First, tried to get it removed, and a woman attacked the T-shirt but was thrown out before she could damage it. * After nine years, the Coffs Coast’s family band Uncle Jed have changed their name to Luna Grand to reflect their new musical direction. * When the original lyric sheet to Don McLean’s ‘American Pie’ goes to auction in New York in April, McLean will attend and reveal the meaning of its lyrics. Bob Dylan’s lyrics for ‘Like A Rolling Stone’ set the auction record for a handwritten manuscript, when they sold for US$2 million last year. * Alice Cooper, Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry and Johnny Depp will play as Hollywood Vampires at Brazil’s Rock In Rio festival in September.

UNFD, SPUNK SIGN NZ ACTS

UNFD has signed Antagonist A.D., and will be releasing their fourth album Haunt Me As I Roam in late March. The record is about the challenges faced by a hardcore band creating its own path in an isolated country. Architects’ Sam Carter, The Amity Affliction’s Ahren Stringer, Deez Nuts’ JJ Peters and Comeback Kid’s Andrew Neufeld contribute vocals, with former Amity guitarist Troy Brady, The Ghost Inside’s Aaron Brooks and producer Will Putney working the desk. Meanwhile, Spunk’s latest signing is Nadia Reid, who grew up in folk clubs and the indie scene of Dunedin and Christchurch. Her debut album Listen To Formation, Look For The Signs is out Friday March 27, preceded by some Australian shows.

TEMPER TRAP TO SUE OVER CIGARETTE AD? FACEBOOK/THEHIFI TWITTER.COM/HIFI_SYD

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THIS WEEK

FRI 27 FEB

FALLING IN REVERSER + ESCAPE THE FATE

COMING SOON

SAT 28 FEB

DELTRON 3030

BONOBO

MOBB DEEP

THU 12 MAR

ANDY BELL (ERASURE) DJ SHADOW & PAUL RUTHERFORD CUT CHEMIST

SWITCHFOOT

SAT 18 APR

B-BOY WORLD CHAMPIONS TOUR

A$AP FERG

SAT 20 JUN

BLIND GUARDIAN

Recovering: Eyehategod revealed they cancelled their Australian tour because of concerns about the mental health of frontman Mike IX Williams.

Recovering: Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson after treatment for tongue cancer.

Recovering: Subways drummer Josh Morgan has temporarily left the band as he battles Aspergers Syndrome.

Arrested: US rapper Afroman for punching a female fan who ran onstage behind him and started to dance with him at a show in Biloxi, Mississippi.

In Court: former US concert promoter Jack Utsick, who ran Worldwide Entertainment, pleaded not guilty to fraud and money laundering charges in an alleged US$300 million fraud scheme.

Arrested: Vanilla Ice in Lantana, Florida for allegedly stealing furniture, a pool heater, bikes and other items from an empty home where he was shooting his TV home renovation show The Vanilla Ice Project.

Died: US jazz trumpeter Clark Terry, 94, due to advanced diabetes.

WANNA PLAY BELLO WINTER?

Died: Newcastle busker John Pittman AKA Johnny Bongos, 62, from pneumonia following a debilitating stroke last year.

INDIES UPSET WITH SAMSUNG’S MILK MUSIC DEAL

Last week’s arrival of Samsung’s radio streaming service Milk Music has got the thumbs down from the indie sector. Charles Caldas of London-based independents’ digital rights agency Merlin, told Billboard that Milk’s initial range of content did not include talent from larger indie labels.

“Given the success our labels have enjoyed in the Australian market, I’m sure Australian consumers will notice that, and be disappointed at their absence.”

Hilltop Hoods’ ‘Cosby Sweater’ has earned its third platinum accreditation (for sales of 210,000) while Dan Sultan’s Blackbird album has gone gold. Mark Ronson’s ‘Uptown Funk’ is five times platinum and Hozier’s ‘Take Me To Church’ three times platinum. Certified platinum were Meghan Trainor’s ‘Dear Future Husband’, Rihanna, Paul McCartney and Kanye West’s ‘FourFiveSeconds’ and Ariana Grande’s ‘Love Me Harder’. Maroon 5’s ‘Sugar’ (their eighth top ten single in Australia) went gold.

ALBERTS AND MUSICNSW OFFER OFFICE SPACE FRI 01 MAY

Recovering: Butthole Surfers drummer King Coffey was hit by a car while loading in for a show in Austin, Texas. He was treated for rib and wrist injuries and got ten stitches to the head.

Died: US singer-songwriter Lesley Gore, 68, of cancer. Her ’60s hits ‘It’s My Party’, ‘Judy’s Turn To Cry’ and ‘You Don’t Own Me’ gave voice to a generation of angstridden teenage girls.

HOODS TRIPLE PLATINUM, SULTAN GOLD

THU 30 APR

BLACKSTREET

Split: Fifty Shades Of Grey actress Dakota Johnson and singer-guitarist Matthew Hitt of New York band Drowners, apparently because her life was getting hectic after the movie and he didn’t want to be part of it.

The Temper Trap’s management has called in the lawyers, alleging that cigarette company Philip Morris International used a track on its global ‘Don’t Be A Maybe’ campaign that sounded similar to the band’s 2008 hit ‘Sweet Disposition’. “We are disgusted by this blatant rip-off of the band’s music and it’s currently in the hands of our legal team,” they said.

Mullum Music’s spin-off, Bello Winter Festival (Bellingen, July 2-5) is looking for acts. Apply at bellowintermusic.com.

Details on its Youth Mentorship Program will be unveiled in the coming month.

WED 01 APR ALL AGES

FRI 20 MAR

FRI 10 APR

THU 05 MAR

Lifelines

MusicNSW and publisher Alberts will open their Neutral Bay office space to the music industry’s small businesses. Hot desks and multi-functional spaces include 24-hour access, wireless internet access, phone

Died: UK singer-songwriter Gavin Clark, collaborator with Unkle, Sunhouse and Clayhill.

Died: Nicki Minaj’s tour manager De’Von Pickett, 29, after being fatally wounded in a brawl at a bar in Philadelphia, where Minaj was rehearsing for a tour. booths, meeting rooms, printing/scanning and a kitchenette. Contact MusicNSW operations manager Maree Pagano at maree@musicnsw. com or (02) 9953 5279.

STC SEARCHING FOR ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Sydney Theatre Company (STC) has brought on Richard Evans of REA Consulting to help search for a new artistic director. Andrew Upton’s tenure finishes after eight years (five as co-artistic director with Cate Blanchett and three on his own) at the end of 2015.

RED BULL ACADEMY ROUND-UP

Red Bull Music Academy’s takeover of Studios 301 in Sydney saw the likes of Flight Facilities, Seekae, Touch Sensitive, Vic Mensa, Isabella Manfredi of The Preatures, Nina Las Vegas and Jono Ma of Jagwar Ma get involved in collaborations, Q&As, recordings and workshops. The event was held to mark the application phase for the 17th Red Bull Music Academy in Paris this year. Highlights included a Q&A with Goodgod Small Club’s Jimmy Sing and RBMA Tokyo alumni Lewis Cancut, Mark Maxwell and Summer Disbray as well as FBi broadcasting sets from Touch Sensitive, Dreems and Jensen Interceptor, plus talks with Michael Di Francesco (Touch Sensitive) and Lorna Clarkson.

ENTERTAINMENT QUARTER, BUILDING 220, 122 LANG RD, MOORE PARK, SYDNEY thebrag.com

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Pale Emperor Of The Darkness Mar•i•lyn Man•son

/mar-eh-lin man-sun/ noun 1. A psychotic human being, the selfproclaimed ‘God of Fuck’ and ‘Antichrist’. (see: DISTURBED, UNBALANCED, DEMENTED.)

I

“A lot of people don’t realise, but with the amount of stories out there about me, there’s still so much shit that I’ve done that they don’t know about which is a lot worse. Mainly because of a lot of it is illegal and shouldn’t be told,” he laughs wryly.

“I don’t think that I lead a completely unreasonable life,” he says. “I like repetition to a certain degree, while being chaotic and spontaneous at times. I don’t seek out trouble specifically, but it does seem to find me. I’m a magnet for broken women, bad people and crazy relationships. Some people think it’s because of drugs.

Sometimes it is. Sometimes it’s just my own stupidity. It’s just how my brain works.”

Last month, for his 46th birthday, Manson’s father gave him a report card he had kept from his early school years. It read, “Brian shows an enthusiasm for the Bible and is very considerate of his fellow classmates.” It also noted that he was “a very courteous, sensitive and serious young man”. What the fuck happened?

“I began changing in 1984 when the world didn’t come to an end as I was being told at my Christian school. That’s when I realised it was all bullshit,” he says. “I wanted to find more answers. The Bible is basically a horror film, really. If you look at it carefully you’ll see it’s got pretty much every horror film ever within it from top to bottom.

You’ve got the devil, you’ve got God, you’ve got demons, angels, ghosts, killing giants, et cetera. It’s all in there.”

It may come as a shock to many that Manson has always maintained a very loving and stable relationship with his father, which is somewhat ironic considering the number of parents who have blamed him for causing their children’s rebellion.

“My father recently told me that he was once going to become a priest, which I didn’t know. But then instead he went to Vietnam and shot a lot of people. I’ve learnt a lot about my father recently after my mother passing last year. He’s currently on tour with me, which is something that’s never happened before. I actually brought him out onstage the other night. We’ve bonded a lot more this year. I think he’s currently feeling a lot like me, like a kid again.

Maybe that’s why he gave me my report card.”

Manson began 2015 with the release of his ninth studio album, The Pale Emperor. The title refers to Constantius Chlorus, the first Roman ruler to deny God. A departure from Manson’s signature industrial and electronica-influenced heavy metal, the record draws from the blues and sparse hard rock. However, lyrically, the album paints a career-defining picture of Manson’s malevolence, with his sinful depictions of religion, violence and mortality making it his most macabre record since 1998’s Mechanical Animals.

“Music has always had evil in it. There was evil when Mozart came up with the tritone,” he says, referring to the augmented fourth (or diminished fifth) known as the ‘chord of evil’, which was banned in Renaissance church music. “There has to be something in music that stops us from thinking stupid things, like there’s a God who created us, which puts us in an eternal loop of foolishness, like a fucking snake eating its own tail.”

Having taken on a role as a white supremacist in the US television series Sons Of Anarchy, in recent times Manson’s hallowed nocturnal tendencies have been impeded for the sake of 6am starts. However,

he isn’t exactly enjoying all the sunshine.

“In Hollywood, people recognise you because you’re famous. Especially when you look the way that I do – which I intentionally do. I think I started to look more masculine this year. I’ve begun wearing this suit with a gold switchblade hanging off the pocket. So now people don’t just look at me because I’m six-foot-one and wearing makeup, but now they look at me and know that they don’t want to start a conversation with me.

Because they know there’s a chance I’ll bring out the switchblade, which has happened.

“I was in a bar one night and this guy says something to me – who ironically was also an Australian, which is no fault of Australia [laughs] – I was with two guy friends, a director and a producer, just having a beer. A guy stumbles in with a bunch of paid-for escorts and goes, ‘Get the fuck out of my way,’ in some sort of macho, sadistic way. I wasn’t even close to him; I was like five feet away. I went, ‘Do we have a problem? Are you looking for a problem?’ He slurred back to me, ‘What’d you say?’ “‘I said, ‘Do we have a problem?’ ‘“Are you looking for one?’ he says very aggressively. “‘Look down.’

“He left the bar.”

This month, Manson returns to Australian shores on his Hell Not Hallelujah world tour, which sees him at the 2015 incarnation of Soundwave alongside a run of headline shows.

“I’m really bad at parties, and I’m really bad around people that I don’t know,” he laughs again. “It’s an utter phenomenon that I’m able to go

onstage in front of thousands of strangers and do what I do. I guess it’s a trade-off. A gift, a curse? I don’t know. People ask me, ‘What’s the difference between you onstage and offstage?’ It’s really easy to explain.

Offstage, I’m around people I know; onstage, I’m in front of people I’ve never met.

“Oh shit!” he exclaims just before we end our chat. “I’ve got something really important to tell you. Please make sure your readers know that the newly single Marilyn Manson will be coming to Australia.”

What: Soundwave Festival 2015 With: Faith No More, Soundgarden, Incubus, Slipknot, Slash and many more Where: Sydney Olympic Park When: Saturday February 28 and Sunday March 1 And: Also appearing alongside Apocalyptica and Deathstars at the Enmore Theatre on Wednesday February 25 More: The Pale Emperor out now through Cooking Vinyl

Saturday February 28 and Sunday March 1 OLYMPIC PARK 12 :: BRAG :: 601 :: 25:02:15

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Marilyn Manson photo by Agata Alexander

ndeed, Marilyn Manson (birth name Brian Warner) is the textbook definition of a deranged specimen. Case in point: three of his most cherished household possessions are a canister of Zyklon B (the gas used by the Nazis to exterminate Jews during the Holocaust), an eerie painting of a clown by serial killer and child rapist John Wayne Gacy, Jr., and an old abortionist’s chair (covered in a beaver rug that was given to him

by Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt).

Manson once told Rolling Stone it was a place “where I had sex with certain individuals that may or may not have resulted in my divorce”.

Then there are his fabled ‘eccentric’ antics, such as the story of the deaf groupie whom Manson and his bandmates urinated all over, covered in pig’s feet and fucked, or his inclination to dig up dead bodies in graveyards and pick out bones “like strawberries” so he could smoke them like methamphetamine, or his torso that resembles a hashtag of scars following years of self-mutilation onstage.

Manson is speaking calmly but with an undertone of energy. An hour before our call, he’d been onstage at the 5,000-capacity Fillmore Auditorium in Denver.

By Tyson Wray

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in terms of different electronic sounds, or finding different realms of music. But for a band like Faith No More, I feel like we’ve pretty much stuck to the roots. Making music in the band, well, we’re all really good friends and we respect each other, and we’re all going for a common goal. Stuck there in a room in Oakland.”

The response to the band returning after such a hiatus has been, in polite terms, batshit crazy.

Those fans who grew up craving each new album release are now mostly saddled with Real World Responsibilities. But Faith No More bring them back in droves, and what is most satisfying for Bottum is witnessing the influx of new fans; people for whom the band is nothing but a YouTube memory.

FAITH NO MORE Bottum’s Up

By Adam Norris If we’re lucky, our lives will be studded by encounters with those folk somewhat left of centre.

The strange people, the useless heroes and Raoul Duke aspirants who churn through your days like a dervish and leave madness in their wake. Sometimes, these people form bands.

It’s not much of a stretch to assume you’re already familiar with Faith No More. Responsible for one of the biggest sounds of the ’90s, when they disbanded 11 years ago – retreating into a dormant volcano in Missouri to practise the Dark Arts, or so it is said – their global fan base was devastated. Individually, the band members began following their own beguiling pursuits: Mike Patton continued Mr. Bungle and myriad other ventures, Mike Bordin joined Ozzy Osbourne, Roddy Bottum toured Imperial Teen and so on. When the reformation began back in 2009, Faith No More had tentacles everywhere.

Yet upon stepping back into the studio, it was a return to basics that shaped the core of upcoming

album Sol Invictus.

“We had to,” Bottum explains.

“We made the record alone in a room, behind closed doors, so to speak. Our inspiration was really just ourselves and what we are as a band, what our roots are. What we’ve all been doing the past ten years, that comes into what we’re doing now as individuals, sure. But mostly we addressed us as a band, our core sound. That was the place of our inspiration.

But in that there are these crazy personalities, these very distinct people. We all have some pretty crazy ways. Mike Patton’s solo stuff over the last ten years or so is wack-a-doodle crazy, this overthe-top, boundary-pushing, weird collage stuff. Billy [Gould] makes a lot of records that are mostly for people who don’t speak English, these worldly kind of records. All of us keep trying to push things in different areas. I live in New York and I’m writing an opera about Sasquatch. What I like most about here is that people take culture, specifically really strange culture, very seriously. And that’s super inspirational for me – I love being in a place where people applaud avant-garde, and I would like to think I bring a little bit of that to

what we’re doing. It doesn’t hurt that it also sounds really good on the record, too,” he laughs.

Bottum was once in a group called Faith No Man, which will only sound unfamiliar to those reading this article with no eyes.

When the band members finally settled on a lasting name, they cobbled together enough money to cut an EP without any label influence, striking out on their own with limited technologies and resources. The music industry has changed dramatically since then, but for Sol Invictus, reclaiming that youthful core was vital.

“The way we used to make records was necessarily and unequivocally in a room together making music.

Those times have changed for sure,” says Bottum, and it would be a lie to say he doesn’t sound a little wistful. “It’s super convenient to make a record these days, but at the same time we chose to go the analogue route. All of the pianos you hear on the record are real pianos done from our studio.

So it did take all of us being there in the same room, but not always at the same time. It’s a convenient age in which we live; it’s easy to get certain stuff done. More

“Part of the success now is that a lot of younger people are only now seeing this band that they’ve only ever heard about. The expectation from those people who hadn’t seen us before is really exciting.

I think we have a reputation for some element of surprise. Doing things that are unexpected. It’s a neat place to be, and feels very comfortable for us as artists. One thing I really oppose is seeing all these camera phones in the air. That is really sad and cheap to me. But I’m actually seeing less and less of it now. I think it’s waning a little bit – people are starting to realise that that experience of music, the YouTube video or camera-held footage, just isn’t all that great.

“You know, we ask people in the audience have they seen us before.

Not that many have, and that’s really, really cool. We have this kind of legacy that people respect and want to explore. Whether it was because they’d heard bootlegs or seen videos, whatever the reason, it’s all good. To be a thing that people want to take time out to see is an amazing feeling.”

What: Sol Invictus out Friday May 15 through Reclamation/ Ipecac/[PIAS] Where: Stage 1 When: Saturday 8:30pm

ANTEMASQUE

From Black To Gray

By Cara Williams In October 2014, metal heavyweights Slipknot unleashed their fifth studio album, .5: The Gray Chapter, four years after the death of their founding member and bass player Paul Gray, and a mere ten months after the departure of core member and drummer Joey Jordison. The record, which seethes with irrepressible anguish and emotional unrest, exploded onto Slipknot fans like an aural grenade and skyrocketed to number one on the metal charts. For many, the release of the album was entirely unpredicted, and for the band members themselves, the record embodied one of the most tempestuous and tragic eras in the 15 years since the release of their blistering self-titled record. Yet according to vocalist Corey Taylor and guitarist Jim Root, while The Gray Chapter magnified the deeply lugubrious grieving process each of them had faced, the record united the band in a way no-one could’ve anticipated.

“There were some intense days in the studio,” Taylor recalls.

“There were times I was so in the moment I was either breaking down or throwing up, and a lot of times doing both at the same time.

“There was something intuitively different about this album. Not only because of what we’d gone through, but because of the circumstances [in] which we were trying to make this album.

It was very important that I tear the lid off everything and just let it go. I hadn’t done that in a long time – you try to, and sometimes you get close and sometimes you don’t, but the story we were telling was so personal and so intense that you couldn’t half-ass it. For us it was about ripping the lid off and screaming bloody murder.”

Indeed, the past five years have been among the most challenging times in Slipknot’s history. On May 24, 2010, Gray was found dead in his room at the TownePlace Suites hotel in his hometown of Des Moines, Iowa. Then, in December 2013, Jordison controversially left the group. While the reasons for Jordison’s departure are unclear (the remaining members remain tight-lipped about it), one thing’s for certain: he didn’t quit the

The Best Of Friends

By Tom Clift Once the pair had healed the rift, the most obvious question was why they didn’t just go back to being The Mars Volta. Again, the answer comes down to boredom. “We did At The Drive-In for eight years, and it sounded a certain way,” says Rodriguez-Lopez. “Then when we did something new, we were like, ‘OK, let’s not do this, this or this.

Let’s explore this area, let’s explore that area.’ We did Volta for 13 years, and same thing. You get bored of 12-minute songs, 30-minute songs.

So we’re like, ‘OK, let’s make really short songs, like we did when we were kids.’

For a musician with such remarkable longevity, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez is notoriously hard to pin down. Making music for more than 20 years, he first toured Australia with At The Drive-In back in 2001. Since then, the chameleonic rocker has been Down Under almost every year – sometimes at the head of The Mars Volta, other times as a solo artist, and still more times as part of various side acts, be it Bosnian Rainbows, Le Butcherettes, or whatever else he happened to be tinkering with at the time.

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“Starting a new band is a great unknown,” he continues. “You don’t know if it’s going to work, you don’t know if people are going to like it.

It’s easy to go to the thing that you know is going to pay your bills, but it’s way more exciting to be a part of life.”

Rodriguez-Lopez’s current project is Antemasque, who are taking to the stage as part of Soundwave 2015.

Antemasque sees Rodriguez-Lopez reunite with his best friend and

frequent collaborator Cedric BixlerZavala, after creative differences during their time as The Mars Volta caused a temporary split.

“It was really one of only two arguments we’ve ever had in our life,” says Rodriguez-Lopez of Volta’s break-up. “What brought us back together was the fact that there’s probably nothing that could actually split us up as people. It was just in terms of playing under that name.

Cedric and I have been best friends

since 1989, and playing in a band together came from our friendship, not the other way around. We didn’t have shit to do out here in El Paso, and eventually out of boredom we were like, ‘Let’s make a band.’

“It was interesting to see how it played out in the media, where it’s like, ‘They broke up! There was an argument!’ But on the inside, the astonishing thing is that we’ve only argued twice in our entire friendship.”

“For me personally, [music] cures violence,” he continues. “I was one of those guys who would get mad and do a stupid thing, like break something in my house that I really like. This sort of backwards way of thinking; punching your fist against the wall and spraining your wrist. So for me, music alleviates that. I go in and I write something that expresses that same feeling, and it’s much more constructive.

Everyone wants to punch a wall at some point, but if you can

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“Boredom! Boredom moves you forward,” Rodriguez-Lopez tells me ahead of his latest visit. “I think there’s this mystique behind bands and behind the creative process. Music and creativity is always happening; it’s always in the air if you want to tap into it. But the other thing is that people are just looking for something to do.

Some people get a career. Some people want to have sex all the time, or get fucked up. For some people it’s helping others. We’re all looking for projects to dedicate our lives to. But then usually, at some point, you get bored.

Saturday February 28 and Sunday March 1 OLYMPIC PARK

Eternity Comes Now

By Augustus Welby

SLIPKNOT like a tonne of bricks. I had to put my guitar down for a while and think about it. Essentially, I realised Paul was here helping me through the process of putting these demos together. That might sound fucking hippy or spiritual, but to me it was a logical thing – I had spent a lot of time with this guy in the trenches, we had [spilt] a lot of blood in the game together, and it’s only obvious that certain traits of this person are going to rub off on you.”

band of his own will. Looking back now, Root says the impetus to commence writing for the record was borne from impatience at delays in getting the album started.

“We fucking waited way too long to start this album, and it just kept getting pushed back,” Root explains. “I was having conversations with Clown [Shawn Crahan, percussion] and Joey about starting the writing process – we were going to start in January. But when events unfolded the way they unfolded and we’d come to the conclusion that Joey wasn’t going to be with us anymore, it became apparent to me that I just needed to sit my fucking ass down, plant my head in my computer with a guitar in my lap and go to work. It was very obvious to me that it was time for Slipknot to start.”

Given the circumstances the band has faced over the past five years, is Taylor surprised at the collective strength of the group, and its innate ability to persevere during times of profound hardship?

For Taylor, the process of writing and recording the album was a deeply therapeutic one. His lyrics and performance for The Gray Chapter were cathartically crafted and executed, embracing the residues of his heightened emotional turmoil and transforming them into art.

“One of the ways we did reconnect was while some of the guys were hearing the lyrics for the first time,” Taylor says. “Then we started talking about everything we had been going through for the last four years and how we were all dealing with the loss of Paul. We slowly realised we were all on the same wavelength as far as what we had gone through. That sense of loss, that deep depression, missing him and missing what he meant to this band, the guilt that comes along with it.”

“I had an epiphany while writing the demo music for this album,” adds Root. “I realised I was approaching writing songs the way Paul would have, and it hit me

express that in a more abstract way, chances are you’re gonna connect not only with yourself, but with your fellow human beings. So it’s a really nice thing to have in your corner.”

While it’s still relatively early days for Antemasque, RodriguezLopez has been pleased by the reception to the band. “We’ve only been a band for a couple of months and we’ve toured the whole world and had sold-out shows,” he says. “Especially in this day and age, with how fickle the industry [is], and people are in general, and how dumbeddown everything is, we’re really lucky to have an actual fan base who are interested in different ideas and what we’re doing. We’ve known groups all throughout these two decades who cannot get people to be interested. The fact that people even care about us punching the wall is really pretty cool.”

In terms of what the band has in store for Soundwave, Rodriguez-Lopez believes that

“I’m never surprised by anything that we do,” Taylor hesitates, “but I am surprised by how quickly it all came together.

People are amazed by the quality of what we were able to put together from scratch, and I think that’s the best compliment we could have as a band; the fact that we can still blow people away this late in the game, especially after everything that we’ve been through.

“I’m not surprised by it, I’m proud. I’m proud of the fact this band came together the way it did, in lieu of detractors, in lieu of doubters, in lieu of a whole generation of bands that have come in the wake of what we did 15 years ago. The fact that we were able to stand our ground, evolve, and yet tell our story the way we wanted to tell it is fantastic.”

What: .5: The Gray Chapter out now through Roadrunner/ Warner Where: Stage 1 When: Sunday 8:20pm

the performance depends on the audience. “We’re gonna go up there, plug into our amps and play,” he says with a laugh. “The really cool thing about touring is that you don’t know what you’re gonna get till you get there. As a band, you can rehearse all you want, but the biggest element comes down to the energy in the room, and that you can’t plan for.

It really is a collaboration with the audience. You go in with a crowd like the ones in Mexico that are so over-the-top and passionate, and you play a certain way. You go into a crowd like Japan that’s passionate but very reserved, and you play a certain way. So it all comes down to when you’re there. I can’t wait.”

What: Antemasque out now through Nadie/Caroline Where: Stage 2 When: Saturday 5pm And: Also appearing alongside Incubus and Le Butcherettes at the Enmore Theatre, Friday February 27

MINISTRY

Hold onto your piercings; US industrial metal demigods Ministry are in Australia launching their global From Beer To EternaTour. It’s been nearly two decades since Al Jourgensen and his henchmen last graced our shores, and four years ago it looked certain that they’d never return. Following a few scrapped Australian tours, Ministry announced 2007’s The Last Sucker to be their fi nal album and carried out a farewell tour the following year.

However, three years later Jourgensen backtracked on that decision and has since spearheaded two more Ministry LPs. The forthcoming tour takes its name from the band’s most recent effort – album number 13, From Beer To Eternity. But it’s far from a rosy state of affairs. See, this tour has again been billed the band’s last, and Jourgensen isn’t likely to renege on his promise again.

“I’ve said that before, but that was for health reasons,” he says. “I couldn’t just keep going onstage, losing half my blood the day before from ulcers, so I was like, ‘Enough of this.’ But I’m healthy now.

The problem is now that on December 22nd 2012, Mike Scaccia died. He died two days after fi nishing his parts on From Beer To Eternity.”

Scaccia was instated as Ministry’s guitarist way back in 1989. He came and went a few times, but aside from Jourgensen, he was the band’s longest-serving member, contributing to six records. From Beer To

Eternity wasn’t quite fi nished when Scaccia passed away, but Jourgensen knuckled down in the studio to complete the record. The band’s Soundwave shows are actually the first Ministry gigs since Scaccia’s death, and the whole tour is indebted to his memory.

“We’re doing the whole album in his honour,” Jourgensen says. “I know he wanted us to tour so badly, especially in Australia, so we’re doing it for him. It’s not going to be a big deal, we’re not going to mention his name, we’re not going to be trying to cash in on it or anything. This is a fi nal fi tting tribute to Ministry, to an end of an era.

“Two days before Mikey died,” he continues, “we’d just got done with his tracks on From Beer To Eternity and he was grinning ear-to-ear. He just said, ‘Man, we’ve got to tour on this. This is the shit.’ Then he goes off to Dallas and he’s dead two days later. It freaked me out. He was like my little brother. I just know that this is what he would’ve wanted.”

Although the band has undergone innumerable lineup alterations, Ministry’s recording career spans three decades, including 13 studio albums and several live recordings. It’s a staggering back catalogue, rooted in Jourgensen’s embittered eccentricity. There’s been the odd misfire along the way, but by and large each record has augmented the band’s heavily industrial sound and political urgency. Right to the end, however, Jourgensen says there’s been no overarching aesthetic agenda.

“We just go in there drunk like fools and start jamming and

see what comes out. There’s really no pre-planning. I don’t worry about, ‘What do we do next?’ Next comes to me. I don’t come to next.”

Over the years, Ministry have also maintained consistent popularity. So perhaps Jourgensen had a commercial plan in mind, then? Nuh-uh. “Since that very first Arista record in 1983 [With Sympathy], I’ve stopped caring; I’ve stopped worrying about it,” he says.

“In the immortal words of my ex-guitar player Tommy Victor, ‘Just play your fuckin’ part.’

Especially with downloads and everything else; I don’t care if it goes gold or platinum or this or that. We just like to go and have fun in the studio and make music.

And that’s what we do.”

Throughout his career, Jourgensen has been involved with a number of bands and projects outside of Ministry, such as the revolving-door supergroup Revolting Cocks, Lard (with Jello Biafra) and the country rock detour Buck Satan and The 666 Shooters. While Ministry operations will soon shut down for good, he’s not planning to disappear completely.

“I’m currently doing a Lard album with Jello Biafra,” he says, “which we haven’t done in like 20-something years. Jello stayed a week in my house here in California and we’re fi ve songs into the album. So expect a Lard tour in the future, expect other things, expect surprising things from me, but just don’t expect Ministry or any Ministry tours.

“I’m not stopping music or retiring,” he adds. “It’s just that Ministry ran its course.

Mikey’s dead, and let’s not forget Paul Raven who was with us for six years, our bass player, who also died. All my people keep dying on me, so I think it’s probably time to stop.

I feel like fucking Spinal Tap, man. It’s like they start dying after they go on tour with me.”

With the exception of Scaccia, the current Ministry lineup is the same one that conducted 2008’s farewell tour, featuring John Bechdel on keys, Sin Quirin on guitar, Aaron Rossi on drums and Tony Campos playing bass. All Spinal Tap superstitions aside, Jourgensen warns they’re armed and dangerous.

“I promise we won’t disappoint this time,” he says. “Last time I had health problems. This time I don’t. I have a great band, we have a great record, we’re just ready to kick Australia’s ass. And I know Australia will kick our ass.”

What: From Beer To Eternity out now through 13th Planet Where: Stage 4 When: Saturday 6pm And: Also appearing alongside Godflesh at the Metro Theatre on Friday February 27

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INCUBUS

A Matter Of Trust

By Augustus Welby We’re now several subcultural seachanges on from Incubus’ emergence out of the heavy rock underground to become modern rock heavyweights.

To be exact, it was 1999’s Make Yourself that launched the Californian quintet onto festival main stages, arena tours and into the record collections of a hefty portion of the population. No matter what the prevalent trends are, major global success is only ever reserved for a rare few, and there’s an even smaller percentage who can make it last. But since Make Yourself, Incubus have come up with four more LPs, all the while maintaining their headliner status. Should we put this down to good luck? Or perhaps creative sorcery?

Well, of course, thanks must go to the fans.

“Our fans don’t give up on us very quickly,” says bass player Ben Kenney.

“In other situations I imagine it’s harder to keep everyone’s attention, but for some odd reason we’ve been gifted with fans that come back after two years.

However long we go away, no-one holds it against us.”

Having previously played guitar for The Roots, Kenney wasn’t a member of Incubus when Make Yourself and its multi-platinum successor Morning View were made. His initiation came in the lead-up to 2004’s A Crow Left Of The Murder..., following the exit of founding bassist Dirk Lance. Being asked to join a hugely successful band would have been a lipsmacking temptation, but Kenney’s entrance wasn’t based purely on commerce.

“Being somewhere you like to be with people you like being around is way better than being successful and being in a place you don’t want to be,” he adds.

“That’s why Porsche sales in the United States are so high, because people freak out, have a mid-life crisis and they’re like, ‘I’m not in the right place, I’m going to divorce my wife and buy a convertible.’ When I look around at the dudes I work with, although we’re all human and all have our shortcomings, I’m like, ‘Man, this is alright.’”

Incubus’ most recent album, If Not Now, When?, came out in 2011. Since that time the band has toured occasionally but kept quiet on the new music front.

However, at the start of this month Incubus dropped the single ‘Absolution Calling’, lifted from the forthcoming four-track EP, Trust Fall (Side A).

“Those four songs are in the bag, completely ready to roll,” Kenney boasts. “We’ve been spending the last few months together just writing music every day. We’re all interested in figuring out what we are. I don’t think anybody feels like it’s a done deal yet.”

The (Side A) appendix is there to denote that a companion release will follow later in the year.

It’s not like the band has recorded an album’s worth of material and cut it in half, though. In fact, the nature of the second instalment is still up in the air.

“We’ve got a bunch of other songs that we’re working on,” Kenney says. “[There’s] everything from a riff to a lyric to songs that have two different demoed versions and arrangements that need to be figured out. There’s a big mess in the studio of all this stuff happening. We’re going to come back in April and then pick up the pieces, figure out what the next four, five, six, however many songs there are we need to put out.”

When If Not Now, When? came out, guitarist Mike Einziger explained the album was written with simplicity and a preference for leaner, less aggressive arrangements in mind. The extroverted sound of ‘Absolution Calling’ foreshadows the path taken on Trust Fall (Side A).

“We did very intentionally not want to come out and play a bunch of mellow stuff for this first EP, because of the last record,” Kenney says. “We felt we were missing some rockers, so we were like, ‘Let’s rock out a little bit.’ We did that mellow shit and we explored that side. I think that record’s going to take a long time for the dust to settle and for it to fi nd its place in our catalogue. But in the meantime we’ve got to get back on it and we’re all in the mood to make something loud right now.

“Now, in April after this tour,” he adds, “we could want to come back and play Eastern Russia polka music over trap beats with Lil Wayne. I don’t know; it could be anything. We’re going to try to let the inspiration lead.”

The tour Kenney refers to fi nds Incubus back in Australia right now, after a three-year absence, for Soundwave. Having been down here multiple times, and won the favour of innumerable Aussie punters, Kenney’s pumped to be back.

“I know that you guys have better ice-cream and it’s warm and there’s tonnes of pretty girls. All the stuff that makes life fun.”

What: Trust Fall (Side A) out Tuesday March 24 through Island/ Universal Where: Stage 1 When: Saturday 6pm And: Also appearing alongside Antemasque and Le Butcherettes at the Enmore Theatre, Friday February 27

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“I’m happy to be able to eat, I’m happy to be able to pay my mortgage,” he says. “Those things are great, but if I didn’t respect it, it would be miserable. I’m a bit of a snob and I don’t like a bunch of music; I’m very, very picky. So the fact that these dudes are as talented and as legit as they are and the fact that

these dudes can push me to want to be better, that’s a big motivating factor.

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SATURDAY 28 FEB, 2015 | 14:30-20:30 THESPIC EC EL LAR.COM.AU | SUBSONICMUSIC.COM.AU

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Josh Pyke Symphonic Storytelling By Adam Norris

M

any writers are told to keep a journal. Writing every day is a fine habit to encourage, and you get the added bonus of not having to remember every crucial detail that comes your way. But the problem with a diary is that your record of a day – that snatch of poetry, that regretful word, that stolen kiss – can come to replace the memory itself. It is a reality that Josh Pyke is keenly conscious of, and grappling between the desire to find fresh expression and staying true to his earlier self is an ongoing concern.

“You know, I’ve actually been thinking about that a lot lately,” he says. “Playing my earlier stuff now, it’s essentially reinventing the song each time. After touring with the band I had a year of just doing solo performances. Big crowds, small crowds, here and overseas. Playing solo gives you a chance to really engage the songs in an updated way. I don’t tend to change many lyrics, but dynamically they’ve changed a lot over the years. The vocal lines change naturally from your voice improving, your range is shifting with practice and not allowing yourself to get stuck on a consolidated structure. For instance, the song ‘The Beginning And The End Of Everything’, the structure is completely different to the version I play solo. Trying to play the studio version just wouldn’t make sense because I just can’t do it justice. You have to be adaptive.”

Pyke laughs, and it must be said that he seems like an easy-going guy. Serious and sincere about his craft, his more contemplative moments are often punctuated by self-conscious chuckling, as though he is afraid he might be found too earnest.

“But the biggest thing for me, having written these songs and performing them for people, is that it’s such a humbling and confronting chance to really engage in what was going on in my life at the time. I don’t keep a diary – these songs are my diary, and they really document my life.

Some of it is shrouded in metaphor or imagery, but I know what I’m talking about. So it’s really confronting and awesome in a, dare I say it, self-aware kind of way.

Some of these songs I wrote 12 years ago, but they can still highlight for me how much has changed, how far I have or haven’t come. The way I keep them new is by staying open to what I was feeling at the time, and recontextualising those things in relation to where I am in the world now.”

Every songwriter has, to some degree, the Sword of Damocles suspended over their performances.

Thirsty for new material but unwavering in their unabridged love for older tracks, many listeners come to develop a sense of ownership and identification with certain songs – even if the meaning they find there is not what the writer intended.

“It’s funny,” says Pyke. “Over the years, when people tell me what those songs mean to them, all those things start to get mixed up in what the song was originally about. It’s like when you tell a story that isn’t quite true, but you tell it so many times you start to believe it. Songs like ‘Memories & Dust’ – I know that song is about two friends I had when I was 25 who died very young, and it really messed me up. It made me question existence in general, but also question belief in religion, in not believing in God, and that’s

what that song is about for me. But I’ve had people tell me that it’s helped them reaffirm their belief in God, and so that adds to the song as well. I don’t believe in one meaning. I know what it means to me, but it’s natural for it to mean different things to other people.

Whenever I play it, I remember what I meant, and I can vividly reconnect to where I was. Every time I perform, it’s my chance to go back.”

Pyke’s first 2015 performance will see him team up with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, and so his sound is set to shift yet again. With his last album released back in 2013, it may prove a chance for fans

to hear hints of new material, and following the popularity of his triple j Like A Version recordings (highlighted by ‘Endless Summer’ with Elana Stone), the expectation for a sneaky cover song has been truly piqued.

“To be honest, I’ve always been terrible with covers. I can’t read music, so I’ve never been able to check songbooks in order to learn.

Plus I was really lazy as a kid. I took guitar lessons, but after a couple of weeks I just stopped trying to learn what they were teaching and wrote my own songs instead. But you never know what will happen onstage. I do like that flying by the seat of your

pants experience. You have to be responding to what’s happening in the audience, so if somebody shouts something out I’ll try to engage them.

It lets the performance be more of a shared experience rather than just me standing there in front of a crowd.

I mean,” he laughs, “I’m happy to have a chat with pretty much anybody when I’m at the pub, and it’s really not much different onstage.”

What: Josh Pyke Live With Your SSO Where: Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House When: Wednesday April 29

Oblivians Desperate Times, Desperate Measures By Augustus Welby Oblivians kicked into gear in 1993, pumping out three LPs over the next four years. They managed to sign with the iconic Crypt Records and earn a scattered underground following, but the instrumentswapping trio’s existence wasn’t characterised by storming success.

In early ’98, the band ceased to be, leaving Jack Yarber and Greg Cartwright to return to Compulsive Gamblers, while Eric Friedl put his energy into Goner Records. Since 2003, however, Oblivians have come together every few years for the odd gig or spot of touring. And with each successive reunion, their following grows stronger.

“The first time we got back together was 2003,” says Yarber, “and we played one gig in Memphis and it was completely sold out. People came from everywhere – it was 400 people or more, all Oblivians fans, all knowing the songs and yelling along with the songs. It was pretty amazing.”

Not long after Oblivians turned out the light, bluesy garage rock experienced a wave of mass popularity. You remember the time: The White Stripes staked their claim on rock music and innumerable bands with a variable understanding of musicality and songcraft followed.

Anyway, bluesy garage rock is precisely what Oblivians are all about, so perhaps their early exit denied them a big break.

I

n 2013, Oblivians delivered their long-awaited fourth album, Desperation. It had been a decade and a half since Oblivians’ 18 :: BRAG :: 601 :: 25:02:15

third LP, …Play 9 Songs With Mr. Quintron, but the album’s title didn’t reflect the position the band was in when it was made. If

anything, by 2013 the Memphis trio was more widely regarded than at any time previously in its stop-start career.

“I hear, ‘You could’ve been as big as The Hives or The White Stripes,’” Yarber says. “The way I look at it is like, ‘Are you sure you’ve listened to an Oblivians record?’ ‘Guitar Shop Asshole’ is not going to be a video on MTV. Not in this lifetime. Oblivians if anything was mocking the rock star kind of thing. I like The Hives and the early White Stripes records, but I don’t think we would’ve been one of those kind of bands.”

It’s a fair call; Oblivians’ 1995 debut Soul Food is too haphazardly cooked to fit on a major label summer sampler. It figures, when you consider the record was essentially unplanned.

“We were going to go in and record what we were doing as our live set,” Yarber says. “We did a live recording, so there was no mixing, it was just done straight. I think Greg overdubbed a tambourine on one song and an organ on one or two songs. The intention was to record the band now because we may not be together [for long], and try to get a few seven-inches out of it.

“Eric sent out a few tapes and Tim Warren at Crypt went crazy about it. He sent us a fax: ‘Let’s do an album of the whole thing.’ Then we did a tour of Europe and it was really good over there, then that was the motivation to go back to record [again].”

Unlike material from stacks of bands that popped up during the garage rock boom, the initial trio of Oblivians records have stood the test of time. Once again, to spawn creative gold, there’s no plan like no plan.

“At the time, whenever you’re making a record, you’re just trying to make it sound as good as it can and in a way that sounds like all the songs are coming from the same band,” says Yarber. “When the band was originally together, you’re just in the moment, you’re not thinking about, ‘Well, this is going to end soon.’”

What: Desperation out now through In The Red With: Feedtime, Low Life, Housewives Where: Newtown Social Club When: Wednesday March 4 thebrag.com

BRAG’s guide to film, theatre, comedy and art about town

arts in focus

Felicity Ward photo by Steve Ullathorne

felicity ward the guru of good times also inside:

MATTHEW MITCHAM / SANDR A BERNHARD / ARTS NEWS / ARTS GIVEAWAY / REVIEWS thebrag.com

BRAG :: 601 :: 25:02:15 :: 19

arts in focus

arts news...what's goin' on around town...with Chris Martin, Lachlan Mackenzie and Spencer Scott

free stuff head to: thebrag.com/freeshit

five minutes WITH

DANIELLE ASCIAK FROM THAT BAD EARTHA!

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That Bad Eartha! has received great reviews around the country. What can audiences expect from the show?

It is a sexy, delightful and unpretentious hour of haughty comedy and burlesque, all the favourite Eartha Kitt songs accompanied by a talented three-piece jazz outfit with a squeeze of titillating audience interaction. Going into its third year, a few numbers have been swapped/ added and we’ve got a band to vamp it up!

Short+Sweet Bollywood

What was it about Eartha Kitt that inspired you?

There is so much; it’s her unapologetic, witty, sharp, and sexy demeanour. She was a hopeless romantic who never compromised who she was and what she wanted in life.

She wasn’t perfect, she wasn’t the greatest singer, but she was a star who knew how to connect with people and get what she wanted.

The cabaret is showing during Mardi Gras 2015 – what’s the connection between Eartha, the LGBTQI community and your show?

Eartha not only battled her own politics with race and sex, but she battled the rights for other people too. She believed that everyone was equal and we weren’t defined by our colour or sexual preference. This show celebrates who you are, and not giving a fuck about what others think or ‘feel’ you should be or who you should be with or what you should do and how you should live your life.

It’s about love, and being free.

What: That Bad Eartha!

Where: Oxford Hotel When: Saturday February 28

LUCKY THEM

Allow us to confess something upfront: rock journalists are a troubled bunch. All the rumours of bitter, failed-musiciansturned-critics and alcohol-deluded hacks convinced they’re the next Lester Bangs are nothing but accurate*. Megan Griffiths’ new film Lucky Them explores the ups and downs of a music writer’s life, following Ellie Klug (Toni Collette) on her editor’s assignment to investigate her juiciest story yet – her own past. Oliver Platt and Thomas Haden Church appear alongside the inimitable Collette as we join one woman’s quest to exorcise the demons of lost loves and broken dreams.

Lucky Them opens in cinemas Thursday March 5, and we’ve got ten in-season double passes to give away. To be in the running, head to thebrag.com/freeshit and tell us the childhood dream you had to give up. *not including our contributors to the BRAG, of course. They’re tops.

Danielle Asciak photo courtesy of Jack Saltmiras

hat can you tell us about your background in cabaret and performance?

I discovered cabaret at university through a friend who was and still is heavily involved with cabaret and an inspiring university lecturer.

At the time I was studying classical repertoire and opera at the University of Melbourne, and on the side I was dappling in music theatre, live art performance, theatre and jazz repertoire. I wrote my first cabaret in 2009, and then received an ArtStart grant in 2011 which sent me to Berlin and Paris to discover cabaret abroad. This was the game-changer; I met with teachers, musicians, writers and performers who all informed me of the history of cabaret performance. Cabaret is not about how pretty you sound, it’s about the language and how real you can be.

Jamie Oliver

Mikey Robins

JAMIE OLIVER LIVE

SHORT+SWEET BOLLYWOOD

The wildly popular ten-minute theatre format Short+Sweet is branching out into Bollywood this March. With pieces ranging from solo performances to 20-strong troupes from all over Sydney, Short+Sweet Bollywood is set to bring all the colour and excitement of Bollywood to the stage.

The event will showcase a wide array of performances from local talent of all ages that will culminate in the finals on the Sunday. Short+Sweet Bollywood is on at the Factory Theatre from Tuesday March 17 – Sunday March 22.

Gary Eck

HELP A MOTHER OUT

Some of Australia’s best comedians are coming together to help support a family in their time of need. All proceeds from the Help A Mother Out Comedy Gala will go towards the Aldred family, to help cover their mother’s care are she battles cancer. Comedians taking the stage include the American expat Tommy Dean, Julia Wilson, Matty B, Dane Hiser, Alex Wasiel and broadcasting personality Mikey Robins. There is also the promise of a high-profile mystery guest. The Help A Mother Out Comedy Gala takes place at the Harold Park Hotel’s Laugh Stand on Friday March 6.

Chef and TV personality Jamie Oliver is bringing his Food Revolution Live show to the Sydney Opera House in March. As part of the 2015 Ideas at the House program, Oliver will be cooking live on a stage more famous for concertos than raviolis. Oliver’s Food Revolution is about entertaining and educating parents and their children about the joys of healthy cooking and eating, in order to combat the growing obesity epidemic. In Australia, obesity has overtaken smoking as the leading cause of premature death and illness. Oliver comes to the Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House on Sunday March 29.

PADDINGTON GETS CREATIVE

The Australian Centre for Photography, Metro Screen and UNSW Art & Design have joined forces for a day to celebrate 40 years of creative history in Paddington. The Creative Paddington program will include a large range of exhibitions and activities for young and old, as well as highlighting the creative history of the area. There will be exhibitions from Australian and international artists, a pop-up cinema,

RIOT HOUSE COMEDY

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NELSON TAKES THE STAGE

Sunrise’s Nelson Aspen is stepping away from the small screen for one night only to bring you a show in which he’ll talk the talk, sing the songs and spill the beans. Aspen has become a household(ish) name for his appearances on Sunrise as the colourful entertainment reporter for the past 12 years. Accompanied by piano, bass and drums, Aspen promises an intimate evening that will switch between smooth songs and witty stand-up comedy. Aspen takes to the Playhouse, Sydney Opera House on Sunday May 17.

LIVE LIVE CINEMA

Riverside Theatres is set to host Jumpboard Productions’ Live Live Cinema, combining acting, live music and sound design in an improvised live soundtrack over film.

New Zealand composer Leon Radojkovic, supported by multi-instrumentalists and a cast of actors, will perform a live soundtrack to accompany a screening of Francis Coppola’s 1963 horror film Dementia 13 and Herk Harvey’s 1962 cult classic, Carnival Of Souls.

Dementia 13 will show on Thursday March 12 and Carnival Of Souls on Friday March 13. thebrag.com

Short+Sweet Bollywood photo by Sylvi Soe

On the first Sunday of every month, Riot House Comedy takes over the Dove & Olive, allowing comedy pros and rising stars to take the stage and strut their stuff. Leading the March lineup is Gary Eck, who won Tropfest in 2004 for his short film The Money, and has appeared on shows such as Rove Live, The Footy Show and Spicks & Specks, as well as co-writing the film Happy Feet 2. He will be joined by a handful of yet-to-be-announced guests.

The next edition of Riot House Comedy takes place at the Dove & Olive on Sunday March 1.

photographic tours, interactive kids’ workshops, face painting and more. Creative Paddington takes place on Saturday March 7 at various venues on Oxford Street.

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Felicity Ward [COMEDY] Warning: Danger Ahead By Tegan Jones elicity Ward’s show The Iceberg is all about appearance versus reality. A broad concept in itself, Ward explores what lies beneath the surface of a person, an idea and even the land of Australia itself. Equally poignant and hilarious, inspiration for The Iceberg has been drawn from the comedian’s personal life, as well as her reflections on Australia after moving to the UK. Sometimes you can’t see something clearly – even yourself or your home country – until you take a step back and really look.

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One thing that really stuck with me from our last conversation was that Ward seemed determined to find something more funny – as opposed to rage-inducing – when it

“I find it a little bit tricky to edit once I’m onstage,” says Ward. “Some things naturally fall away, but as far as big changes [go], it’s hard. If I’m doing it in a festival it’s usually just about honing the material. So to have this be such an easy but crucial change to make that completely altered the flow of the show, it was so frustrating!

But now without it, it means that we can just focus on the jokes.”

“Well, you have to laugh now or you’ll kill yourself,” she says. “A couple of days ago I was thinking, ‘I’m going to come back to Australia, and Tony Abbott might not be Prime Minister.’

That was an exciting thought. It’s been riveting watching it; it’s almost better than Netflix.”

The Iceberg sold out seasons around Australia last year, but Ward’s upcoming encore dates will feature a rejigged show. “Because I was bringing the show to the UK I became very aware of how Australian-centric it was,” she explains. “So I had to do a bit of editing, and wouldn’t you fucking believe it – it made the show better!”

One of the most memorable anecdotes from the show last year involved Ward’s encounter with a particularly vile, misogynistic priest on Twitter. Before finishing up, I had to know whether the pair are still in touch, particularly because Ward has mentioned having a boyfriend now.

“No, unfortunately! Sadly, I think he was a troll. Other people have told me that they’ve been bothered by him as well.”

Audiences who saw the show last year will notice one particularly large artistic change this time around.

“There used to be musical interludes throughout the whole show. When I got to London I had to preview the show to test the new material. I live in North London and I thought, ‘Fuck it,

What: The Iceberg Where: The Comedy Store When: Friday March 6

Sandra Bernhard [COMEDY] Welcome To Sandyland By Travis Johnson

A

fter a decade-long absence, veteran comedian and provocateur Sandra Bernhard returns to our shores next month to parade her new show, Sandyland.

If you ask the busiest woman in showbiz what she’s been up to lately, the answer is going to make you take a long, hard look at your own piddling excuse for a work ethic.

fun and the creative part of my work comes in.”

“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.

“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.

“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.”

“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.”

[CABARET] The Stage-Diver By Adam Norris next generation. It’s a very hippy thing, I guess, but I really like it.”

It is indeed a commendable idea, and has the added benefit that once he reaches maturity as a tree, he can then find himself actually turned – “– into a ukulele! I love it! The circle of life!”

The production itself is a curious blend of memory, humour, depression and song, and has already received a rapturous reception on its earlier incarnation. While Mitcham’s creative side is steadily building its own reputation, it is his struggles and success in the pool that the public finds most familiar.

Having not only won gold in 2008, but also achieved the highest single-dive score in Olympic history, the focus and pressure placed on Mitcham was tremendous.

Matthew Mitcham in Twists And Turns

T

wists And Turns is an apt title for several reasons. It is a cabaret performance, so right from the start one would expect a level of energy and unexpectedness. More intriguingly, it is the autobiographical brainchild of Matthew Mitcham, Olympic diving gold medallist and ukulele aficionado – the kind of juxtaposition that sounds far too peculiar to be true. While it is unlikely we will see him demonstrate his diving prowess onstage, his ukulele (one of many) is guaranteed to surface.

What: Sandyland Where: Enmore Theatre When: Friday March 6

The level of passion in Mitcham’s voice is both surprising and endearing. Given this affection, my idea that when he dies he could be buried surrounded by ukuleles in a giant ukulele-shaped coffin is warmly embraced. “That would be great, but I actually want to become a tree,” he says.

“They can bury you now in this biodegradable paper with a tree seed, and you can then go on to provide a tree for the

“It’s actually a really common phenomenon, this kind of Olympic comedown. They are likely the greatest thing an athlete will ever experience. You’re in this utopian city with all of these beautiful people around, you’re celebrated for this win, and then you’ll never get to taste that again for four years, and even then, only if you’re lucky. It’s quite jarring. Added to that were my own dormant issues of depression and anxiety. I’d suffered depression as a teenager, but I’d never addressed it. It disappeared for a time but then it came back with a vengeance, which I think is a fairly common experience. For athletes it’s more so when they’re retiring, and their whole identity is taken away from them.”

While there are certainly dark aspects to his story, there remains a great degree of hopefulness and humour. By the end, Mitcham hopes, the audience will connect with him as they might an old, familiar friend.

“I don’t keep ridiculously strict script, I just try to tell my story loosely, and if one gag gets left out here and there it’s no big deal.

It’s still getting the essence of the show across. Because of the candour, it’s quite rare to hear people speak about addiction and depression as candidly as I have in the show, so I think people don’t just get a small idea of who I am – I think they get an intimate idea of who I am.”

What: Matthew Mitcham’s Twists And Turns When: Thursday February 26 – Saturday February 28 Where: Seymour Centre

thebrag.com

Matthew Mitcham photo by John McRae

“My ukulele is a lot like a security blanket,” says Mitcham. “At least one of them goes everywhere with me. I’ve usually got two in the car, and every time I get on a plane I have one with me. Sometimes I’ll break it out at a diving competition or something. Or while we’re just waiting around airports for hours on end, it’ll come out to while away the time.”

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.

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Matthew Mitcham’s Twists And Turns

Sandra Bernhard

“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 [material] that pulls together the one-woman show experience that I try to give my audience.”

“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 have to decide for yourself where the

Felicity Ward

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.

Bernhard has kept up the pace since she first started doing stand-up comedy in New York in the 1970s. She became a familiar onscreen presence throughout the ’80s and ’90s after a striking appearance in Martin Scorsese’s The King Of Comedy, going on to play one of TV’s first openly gay characters in the sitcom Roseanne. Like her onscreen persona, her stage show is acerbic, outrageous and arch.

Felicity Ward photo by Steve Ullathorne

I last interviewed Ward when she first brought The Iceberg to Sydney in 2014. We made quite the pair, considering I had her on speakerphone while driving and she was on public transport. “I just remembered that! I was trying to get shopping bags on and off the tram,” she says. “This is kind of more reasonable because I’m in my lounge room. Although I am doing a new show this Saturday, so I’ve got little squares of white paper all over my lounge room. It looks like there’s been a very organised snowfall.”

I’m not going to get a keyboard just for a preview.’ About halfway through the show I thought, ‘Ohhh, this goes heaps better without those sit-down interludes.’

came to turning ideas into material.

Considering that The Iceberg covers themes of politics and racism, I wonder whether she still has the same priorities – particularly with how the political climate has been over the past 12 months.

Film & Theatre Reviews Hits and misses on the silver screen and bareboards around town xxx

■ Film

THAT SUGAR FILM

■ Theatre

Touring NSW with Q&A screenings, Monday March 9 – Thursday March 19

Playing at the Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House until Saturday March 21

Gameau begins as the pillar of health and has been sugar-free for some time.

With his girlfriend Zoe Tuckwell-Smith expecting their first child, Gameau is prompted to think about the effects of sugar, assembling a team of experts including a doctor and nutritionist.

Along the way, the origins of sugar are explained, as is the point when doctors first suspected the links between sugar

and various ailments. Gameau also visits a remote Aboriginal community with high incidences of Type 2 diabetes and obesity, as well as an American town where some children have mouths full of rotten teeth from drinking too much Mountain Dew. The story is told in a convincing and entertaining manner. Talking head interviews are edited so that the experts appear superimposed on food packaging. It’s a visually appealing touch, though it does dilute the message somewhat, as it is difficult to see the individuals’ credentials.

That Sugar Film features cameos from Stephen Fry and Isabel Lucas (Hugh Jackman also appears but is uncredited). Ultimately, it’s an informative and challenging documentary that offers lots of food for thought in a colourful package. The fi nale is rather silly and unnecessary, but for the most part this fi lm will force people to rethink some of their choices.

Natalie Salvo

■ Film

THE INTERVIEW In cinemas now Amid all the controversy over the release of the newest Seth Rogen/ James Franco offering The Interview – the premiere getting pulled from cinemas in America and the botched online release because of threats following the Sony hacking scandal – it wasn’t always clear what all the fuss was about. That is, until you take a cursory look at the plot. The Interview tells the story of Dave Skylark (Franco), a celebrity talk show host who is invited to enter North Korea to interview the reclusive leader Kim Jong-un (Randall Park), and is subsequently recruited by the CIA in a plot to “take him out”.

The Interview doesn’t employ much in the way of political satire in getting its point across – instead, it goes straight for the ridiculous, attacking Kim Jongun with some of the silliest comedy I’ve seen in a long time. But silly seems like the right form of attack for a despot who recently – in real life – had to go to rehab to kick his cheese addiction.

For anyone who hasn’t experienced ‘cinematic’ theatre before, Kip Williams’ reimagining of Tennessee Williams’ 1950s classic Suddenly Last Summer may be a little disorientating and dizzying at first. The production should really come with a motion sickness warning, as the first half-hour is entirely filmed live on tripod-held cameras, behind a white wall that’s used to separate the actors from the audience and act as a giant projector screen, revealing the hidden drama.

The play opens with a camera weaving its way through tropical palms and ferns in a single fluid motion, bringing the audience into a lavish greenhouse or sunroom, in what seems to be a very old and wealthy New Orleans home. It feels a lot like voyeurism, and it is, as we’re confronted with a startling conversation between wealthy socialite and matriarch Violet Venables (Robyn Nevin), trying to bribe the young neurosurgeon Dr. Sugar (Mark Leonard Winter) into lobotomising her cousin Catharine (Eryn Jean Norvill), who has been spreading damaging reports about how Violet’s son Sebastian died.

The tension and power of the

Suddenly Last Summer

play is centred around the dark and twisted truth of how and why Sebastian died, a mystery that slowly unravels in a Twin Peaks-esque, dreamlike reality, in which the audience can’t be sure how much of the narrative and events is an illusion created by the characters.

This fantastical atmosphere is masterfully reinforced by Stefan Gregory’s spellbinding score and some ingenious camera work. During one scene, a single camera dramatically zooms in on Catharine’s dilating pupils as she catatonically recounts the finals hours of Sebastian’s life, projecting these enlarged and terrified eyes behind the actress so that the audience feels like they’re pinned to their seats, unable to get up and look away. The camera amplifies the turmoil of these characters and draws the observers in, making them

feel like they’re on that stage, caught up in the horror.

What makes Suddenly Last Summer so immersive is the struggle to discern the truth, with multiple versions of reality placed before the audience in an illusory setting.

It is a play that is meant to be experienced rather than just seen, and its innovative fusion of cine-theatre achieves this, creating a psychological drama worth the temporary motion sickness.

The play is a beautiful pastiche of the “horror” of Conrad’s Heart Of Darkness, the terrifying drama of an Alfred Hitchcock movie, and the fantastic mystery of David Lynch’s Twin Peaks. It is one of the most refreshing pieces of theatre to hit Sydney in a long time.

Nena Serafim

The Interview There’s a wide range of cameos in the movie, from Eminem to Bill Maher, and all of the hallmarks of a Franco-Rogen comedy are there, including a continuation of awkward gay jokes. Indeed, a lot of elements in the movie are below par – the script and narrative are both pretty shoddy, racing over plot details to skip to the funnier parts, and Franco just chews up the scenery instead of really acting the part. But all in all, this actually works to the movie’s favour, playing up the silliness even further.

While The Interview isn’t particularly clever or well-made, it is incredibly funny in its ridiculousness, and its outright silliness will probably charm audiences.

Louisa Bulley

First

SATURDAY

of every month

7 MARCH

4-9PMRIE ST MACQUA

See www.thebrag.com for more arts reviews

Arts Exposed What's in our diary...

Sing-A-Long-A Sound Of Music State Theatre, Friday February 27 and Saturday February 28 The State Theatre is set to run a night of karaoke this weekend, with a slight twist.

The classic 1965 musical The Sound Of Music, about a bitter old nun who annoys everyone with her horrible singing, will be shown on the big screen, white dot and all, so everyone in the audience can sing along.

There’ll be a lengthy preshow program hosted by a surprise guest, including a The Sound Of Music vocal warm-up, a costume parade, and the chance to enjoy a complimentary fun pack. Attendees are encouraged to dress as anything and everything from the film.

For more information and tickets, visit singalonga.net. thebrag.com

Suddenly Last Summer photo by Brett Boardamn

The goal is to measure and track Gameau as he consumes 40 teaspoons of sugar a day. This is 31 teaspoons more than the recommended intake for men in America and the average amount that teenagers consume. Gameau restricts his diet to so-called ‘healthy’ foods like cereal, juices and low-fat yoghurts. The results are shocking, as the extreme diet takes a toll on Gameau’s health and mental state.

That Sugar Film

LIVE MUSIC s PERFORMANCES s STREET FOOD s -!2+%4 34!,,3 +)$3 !#4)6)4)%3

This is an alcohol free event

That Sugar Film is a provocative documentary by Underbelly actor and former Tropfest winner, Damon Gameau. It nods at Morgan Spurlock’s Super Size Me (by turning one healthy man’s body into a vessel for an experiment) and shares the entertaining, stunt documentary style that Michael Moore favours.

SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER

Next Night Markets: Saturday, 4 April 4 - 9pm In the event of wet weather, please check Council’s website and the Night Markets Facebook page for updates.

Get involved! Contact the Night Markets Coordinator on 1300 36 2170 or email nightmarkets@liverpool.nsw.gov.au #liverpoolnightmarkets #LNM For more information visit liverpool.nsw.gov.au/nightmarkets

BRAG :: 601 :: 25:02:15 :: 23

Album Reviews

What's been crossing our ears this week...

ALBUM OF THE WEEK JONNY TELAFONE Romeo Must Cry Chapter

The Melbourne-based musician guides his audience through the ups and downs of romance.

VARIOUS

Fifty Shades Of Grey (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) Universal

So yeah, the ultra-proliferous novel Fifty Shades Of Grey – or as I like to refer to it, ‘American Psycho from the hooker’s perspective’ – has been turned into a movie. Before we talk music, I should explain my major beef with Fifty Shades. While offering a fly-on-the-wall perspective on violent sexual gratification, it lacks the sense of otherworldly humour in the aforementioned Easton Ellis masterpiece, to remind us that hardcore sexual violence is not OK unless it’s an allegory for ruthless corruptive powers of capitalism.

Musically, there are two highlights here, both from Canadian R&B artist The Weeknd: ‘Earned It’ and the suitably brooding ‘Where You Belong’. Once you get past the sublime grit of The Weeknd, the remaining 13 songs are about as mediocre and dull as the shitty low-level admin jobs belonging to most of the people who are going to see this movie. Eurythmics’ Annie Lennox appears to be aging profitably with her by-the-numbers rendition of ‘I Put A Spell On You’.

And then there’s Ellie Goulding’s super-shite ‘Love Me Like You Do’ – if you just asked, ‘Who the fuck is Ellie Goulding?’ I like you.

The lone star I give for this review is for the two Weeknd songs – that is all.

Denver Maxx

In Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity, the narrator frequently debates whether his sad disposition stems from years spent listening to pop music or if he likes pop music because he’s naturally sad. Jonny Telafone’s first official LP follows a relationship from the early stages of doting attraction, through ‘Does she really like me?’ insecurities and nasty fight scenes, before the ultimate ‘Inferno’, which actualises the title’s prophecy. Throughout, one wonders if Telafone hadn’t been exposed to innumerable songs of heartbreak, would his album narrator be such a hopelessly romantic figure?

BADBADNOTGOOD & GHOSTFACE KILLAH Sour Soul Lex/Warner

On Sour Soul, Ghostface Killah and the jazz trio BadBadNotGood have crafted a solemn, fiercely intelligent album. The artists’ respect for one another is obvious, but it too often feels like they are tag-teaming rather than sharing the spotlight.

It’s frustrating because there is so much to love about this collaboration. BBNG have grown up listening to Ghostface and his ilk, so they intuitively know how to make him sound great. Moving away from their improvisational background, they’ve focused on production and it shows.

When Danny Brown drops in on ‘Six Degrees’, the group switches to a steady bassline, which brilliantly complements Brown’s speedy delivery. It exhibits their aptitude for complex hip hop – if only they’d challenge the rappers a little more. Meanwhile, Ghostface continues his legacy as the prodigal son producing quality while the Wu-Tang Empire flounders. His lyricism demonstrates his maturity. Filled with self-awareness and social commentary, he comes as strong on this as he did his debut.

The lyrical tear-fest is beautifully matched with synthesiser tension, new romantic percussion and power ballad progressions. Bang in the middle comes ‘Waking Up Crying’, featuring a stellar performance from rapper Bones. It sounds like an incongruous inclusion, but throwing Bones’ tougher point of view into the mix offers welcome respite from Telafone’s devout desperation.

There’s a sci-fi twinkle to the instrumentation, which suggests there’s more to this relationship than a simple ‘boy meets girl at the pub and proceeds in an ongoing courtship’ scenario.

Then again, isn’t there something unique about all of our relationships that convinces us that no-one else could’ve been through what we

KID ROCK First Kiss Warner

Believe it or not, Kid Rock is still going. First Kiss is his tenth album, coming 25 years after his debut set this purveyor of bad taste on a journey to navigate the musical gutter.

Sure, that sounds harsh, but we all know it’s true. For instance, here are some of the new album’s song names: ‘Good Times, Cheap Wine’; ‘Ain’t Enough Whiskey’; and ‘Drinking Beer With Dad’. Add to that the constant name-dropping of American states, trucks, alcoholic beverages and the word ‘chick’, and we have sufficient evidence of the mood one expects from a Kid Rock album. I shouldn’t even have to remind you that Kid Rock was married to silicone queen Pamela Anderson. If rubbish could talk, it’d speak Kid Rock’s name.

But just like my ma used to say, never judge a book by its cover. It may be unashamedly trashy, but there’s a subservient brilliance to First Kiss. Kid Rock expertly blends the various genres of working white America – blues, country, bluegrass and so forth – into his distinct rock sound. Yet the resulting music, while it sounds tacky, doesn’t come across as dated.

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TERROR UNIVERSAL Reign Of Terror 3Wise

There’s a big divide in the metal world between Europe and America. To my Australian ears, European metal is just outwardly silly – there’s the black metal face paint, the songs about Norse mythology and Lord Of The Rings, et cetera. But turn to American metal, and here we have grown men wailing about how everyone’s unfair to them (maybe don’t dress in masks and jumpsuits then?).

I’m quite aware that doesn’t cover all metal bands – The Dillinger Escape Plan and Gojira are but two doing something interesting within the genre – but it’s a thumb-rule guide.

Terror Universal unfortunately fall into offending classes. This American supergroup, comprising former members of Machine Head, Ill Niño and Soulfly (information is thin on who, as they go by stage names) trots out a well-worn combination of thrash, groove, death metal and metalcore.

Throughout this six-track EP there’s a lot of 2000s-era metalness. That means there’s a lot of chugging, lyrical content that’s spooky, demonic or otherwise violent, and the standard change-up of screaming and melodic but coarse vocals.

It all makes for dark, spacey lounge music infused with the bravado of a gangsta rapper. It could just be so much more.

Despite expectedly being an exercise in bad taste, First Kiss actually gives a good account of itself, and is an enjoyable listen.

James Ross

Nicholas Hartman

Nicholas Hartman

Tape hiss is a prominent feature on Jessica Pratt’s On Your Own Love Again. It’s a signal that you’re going to be drawn in and held at close quarters so that Pratt can seduce you with her enigmatic, helium-sucking vocals and harplike guitar plucking. You have little choice but to be completely engaged over the half-hour of storytelling that follows.

On Your Own Love Again Drag City/Spunk

Augustus Welby

Maybe I’m wrong about Terror Universal; they’re playing at Soundwave this year, if you think of yourself as a metalhead, then you’ll most likely enjoy them. But it’s not for everyone.

INDIE ALBUM OF THE WEEK

JESSICA PRATT

have? So perhaps such sounds are implemented to express Telafone’s disbelief at his entwinement in this unlikely love affair.

Anyone these days who plays an acoustic guitar and is considered ‘quirky’ is immediately categorised as ‘freak folk’, but Pratt’s style is more in line with classic folksters like Marianne Faithfull and Nick Drake. On Your Own Love Again has a timeless folk feel but it’s still fresh and vital. Pratt sticks to a

stripped-back, skeletal framework but scatters the songs with sonic surprises. For instance, the fi nalminute chord change on ‘Game That I Play’ subtly changes the tone and also makes it act like a segue to the following song, ‘Strange Melody’.

There are some sad subjects dealt with here but it’s never a downer. Pratt is bewildered by the ‘moon dudes’ of her past, though she never lets the baggage of the past weigh her down, and delivers an evocative work that makes good on the promise of her 2012 debut.

DAN MANGAN & BLACKSMITH

Club Meds Arts & Crafts / Create/Control Self-described as an album of “sedation”, Dan Mangan’s Club Meds arrives after a four-year break with the help of Blacksmith, a collective Mangan has been performing with since 2003. It would be easy to slip into a trance listening to this album – pop on your headphones and immerse yourself in the layered textures, addictive loops and eerie distortion.

It’s tempting to liken Mangan’s voice to honey – but perhaps more apt to envisage honeycomb, smooth and warm while laced with a gruff, coarse undertone. His formula, while still utilising the laidback rhythm of his previous work, is now accompanied by feedback loops, fuzzy vocal effects and even a Baltic-style brass section (‘New Skies’). There are also more cinematic productions ‘Mouthpiece’ and ‘Vessel’, the latter indeed being used as part of Simon Pegg’s indie film Hector And The Search For Happiness.

While Mangan’s voice may not be entirely suited to some of the quicker rhythms, one thing is certain – he is one hell of a songsmith. Albums like these – ‘growers’ is the usual term – are multi-layered.

Just when you think you know the music, you start listening to the lyrics. That’s when you really experience Dan Mangan.

Jen Wilson

OFFICE MIXTAPE And here are the albums that have helped BRAG HQ get through the week...

R.E.M. - Automatic For The People BEN FOLDS FIVE - The Sound Of The Life Of The Mind DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE - Something About Airplanes

ELECTRIC GUEST - Mondo LUCY ROSE - Like I Used To

Chris Girdler

thebrag.com

A BRAG :: 601 :: 25:02:15 :: 25

live reviews What we've been out to see...

THE BUDOS BAND Oxford Art Factory Saturday February 21 “Fuck Perth, Fuck Melbourne. Own it, Sydney!”

The Budos Band are a strange beast.

They are a (mostly) instrumental dirty funk/ soul/rock blend from Brooklyn with a history closely entwined with Daptone Records, and while their appeal extends beyond that old misnomer of ‘musicians’ musicians’, there is a touch of truth there. I was on the hunt afterwards for a sense of how many of those packed into Oxford Art Factory were familiar with the band and most had never heard of them before, having attended under the enthused recommendation of a friend. Following this final appearance on their Australian tour, I suspect this is due to change.

From the moment a funereal synth-organ howled from the stage, a rather cinematic atmosphere began that would infuse the entire show. It was like we were all preparing ourselves for a black mass in an Argento film, and giallo influences abounded. With their crimson-lit silhouettes, the nine-piece emerged as though from the mouth of hell and you couldn’t shake the impression that you’d somehow stumbled across the backing band for the Orpheus comeback tour. But when the horns finally

blared, the shit hit the funk.

Initially, both the trumpeter and saxophonist were having issues up there. The trumpet was eventually sorted but the saxophonist was entirely drowned out well into the set, which, given he is one of the lead musicians in the band, was a bit awkward.

We had a vantage of the sound desk and blame has to rest squarely there, but once it was sorted the music began to build like a thunderstorm.

At times a slow, repetitive burn, by encore the gig had steadily built to a point where the audience was threatening to coalesce into one heaving, sweaty mass. Without lyrics, you’re left to create your own story between the grooves. It is like the soundtrack to a movie you get to write adlib; a kind of rock-funk landscaping (fock?

Actually, no, it would totally be runk). You find yourself still expecting vocals, but by the end of each song you’ve forgotten all about them, too drunk on this wild ride.

Plus, the dude on keys actually tried to play his keyboard off into the audience, which is an instant 50-point bonus.

These guys will almost certainly be back again, and when they are, catching them will be a unique experience. Grab a beer, some popcorn and enjoy the ride.

Adam Norris

J MASCIS, ADALITA, TRENT MARDEN Factory Theatre Saturday February 21 Normally at the helm of one of the most underrated bands in 21st century Sydney, The Holy Soul, Trent Marden cut a lonesome figure in a desolate Factory Theatre. The room was yet to fill, and yet the screech and scratch of his electric guitar managed to do that with relative ease. Songs from a forthcoming Holy Soul record were previewed, while tracks written when Marden “was a kid” were also trotted out to the delight of his friends in the audience. Watching Marden play feels a lot like catching up with a mate – at this point, it’s practically Sydney tradition.

Much like tonight’s headliner, Adalita is the figurehead of a notable fuzzed-out rock band, yet someone who has made a clear distinction between that and the music put out under her own name. One should not come to an Adalita show expecting a ‘Dirty Jeans’ sing-along – it’s far less arbitrary and more interesting than that. Setting up a loop station and adding in lead guitar and percussion, Adalita’s solo work takes on a new life in the live environment. It’s dark, brooding and borderline hypnotic in its spiralling, trance-inducing power, leaving a significant impression.

‘Listen To Me’ and ‘Me Again’ make for a lush, serene start to the set for J Mascis.

Still, you should have seen the faces light up when he stomped on a pedal and sent his acoustic guitar into a distorted frenzy, soloing to his heart’s content. As nice as a stripped-back performance from the proto-grunge veteran is, there’s only so long that he can stay in one proverbial lane.

In one of his few addresses to the audience, J introduced a song he claimed to be an old favourite. It turned out to be Mazzy Star’s ‘Fade Into You’, a world-colliding highlight of the entire evening. Fans of Dinosaur Jr., meanwhile, were rewarded with ‘Get Me’, ‘Pond Song’ and ‘Little Fury Things’, which all received a cheer upon recognition. Mascis played to his strengths here, smartly reworking these songs to suit the solo environment before throwing all caution to the wind and shredding through yet another solo.

At the very least, it proved to be a clever deviation from your typical soloacoustic affair, quite similar to Adalita.

With another mumble and a wave, J disappeared. Who knows when he’ll return? All that’s certain is that we’ll be back once more.

David James Young

PHOTOGRAPHER :: ASHLEY MAR

MOUNTAIN SOUNDS FESTIVAL 2015 Mt Penang Parklands Saturday February 21 In only its second year of running, Mountain Sounds Festival proved itself to be a formidable summer festival contender, featuring exclusively Australian acts in a farm-like setting.

The day started off nice and easy to the pleasant folk tunes of acts like Daniel Lee Kendall and Winterbourne. These first few hours were precious calm moments before more crowds arrived and the energy started to amp up a notch. L D R U led the charge, lighting up the Nuvo Dance tent with intense beats for an afternoon party, and capping his set off by downing a triumphant shot out of a shoe. One of the most innovative touches in the electronic sets was the visuals onstage, like The Kite String Tangle’s enchanting light display that accentuated his soothing vocals. However, the sets that stood out most really showed off the producers’ musicality – for instance, Touch Sensitive’s thrumming live bass provided his chilled sound with depth and danceability, while Kilter proved his worth with impressive percussion skills and a smooth jazz guitarist.

The variety at this festival was certainly one of its strengths, as throughout the day there were uplifting moments that contrasted with the intense dance vibe provided elsewhere. The Griswolds made for very happy listening with impressive harmonies and bouncy indie rock beats, while Tkay Maidza performed a joyful hip hop set that made her stand out as one act to watch over the next few years.

The introduction of camping to the festival this year meant the good vibes could continue around the grounds until late with the standard deep-andmeaningful exchanges, and of course, a fairy-lightadorned silent disco.

ANGUS & JULIA STONE, CLOUD CONTROL, LITTLE MAY, JARRYD JAMES Sydney Opera House Friday February 20 A gorgeous evening at the Opera House Forecourt opens with Jarryd James – a capable singer who knows his way around a decent-enough hook, but is too swamped by his influences. Two fellow Jameses come to mind – Blake and Vincent McMorrow – but Jarryd is yet to absorb their charisma and mystique, only their sonic templates.

The dynamic between the core trio of Little May is pleasant, the songs initially charming. The majority of the set, however, meanders musically, trudging through grey areas that should burst with colour. It may have also been a mistake to hire a drummer who completely overshadows everyone else onstage.

They may be down a man following the departure of bassist Jeremy Kelshaw, but it’s done nothing to dampen Cloud Control’s spirit. Let’s be honest – could anything?

It’s impossible to be unhappy while the Blue Mountains natives are playing. As they near the end of the touring cycle for 2013’s Dream Cave, the set bears an almost identical resemblance to that of their Laneway appearance roughly a year prior. Still, there is confirmation that Cloud Control are

26 :: BRAG :: 601 :: 25:02:15

in the studio (their new shirts have the studio’s number on it), and it’s always a joy to revisit songs from both their albums.

You can’t keep a good band down.

Angus & Julia Stone have never played a headlining show on this scale before. It’s confirmation that the siblings have truly escalated to the upper echelon of Australian music, backed by a set that, while inconsistent, validates their successes. The setlist traverses the bulk of the duo’s career, leaving out only A Book Like This. Each sibling gets their standout moment – Julia’s comes in a revived ‘Private Lawns’, complete with fluttering trumpet solo; while Angus still revels in playing ‘Yellow Brick Road’, one of his finest songs to date, despite accidentally switching lyrics between verses.

However, as can only be expected given the event’s youth, Mountain Sounds is still working out a few nuts and bolts. Despite being a small festival, there was often an issue with crowd management, particularly where bathrooms and bars were concerned. There were some significant sound desk issues, particularly disrupting the polished sets by Safia and Kilter. But perhaps the major glitch of the day was the lack of communication of the fact D.D Dumbo had cancelled on the festival, leaving eager fans disappointed when they waited for him at Unicorn stage only to be greeted by another band entirely (Elliot The Bull).

The most notable misstep of the night comes in the form of the Stones’ choice of covers. ‘You’re The One That I Want’ is a staple, as sweetly saccharine as it was the first time. A clearly unrehearsed ‘Stay With Me’ falls flat, however, while bringing out Cloud Control for a cheesy karaoke version of Little Red’s ‘Rock It’ is the ultimate cop-out. Still, it’s redeemed with the lush, stripped-back finale of ‘Santa Monica Dream’. With the backdrop of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge, it’s never sounded nor felt as good as this.

But in spite of these slight drawbacks, Mountain Sounds’ most endearing quality was the sense of community displayed throughout the friendly crowd it attracted. Though there were many moments of disruption and craziness in moshes along the way, festivalgoers largely looked out for one another through their mutual goal for all to have a good time. There were many moments of kindness between strangers, and many new friends made to the strong lineup’s solid tunes. And this, ultimately, was what should make Mountain Sounds one festival worth returning to again and again.

David James Young

Erin Rooney

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megan washington

peter hook and the light

20:02:15 :: Metro Theatre :: 624 George St Sydney 9550 3666

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:: Metro Theatre :: 624 George St Sydney 19:02:15

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g g guide gig g

send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com

pick of the week Soundgarden

Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 7:30pm. Free.

Songsonstage - feat: Mick Hambly + Chris Brookes + Guests Ruby L’otel, Rozelle. 7:30pm.

Free.

Songwriter Sessions - feat: John Chesher + Brendan Raymond + Guests Mars Hill Cafe, Parramatta.

7pm. Free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 28 SUNDAY MARCH 1

Sydney Olympic Park

Soundwave 2015 Faith No More + Slipknot + Soundgarden + Slash + Incubus + Marilyn Manson + Lamb Of God + many more 11am. $140.73.

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 25 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK Songsonstage - feat: CJ Fairleight + Ryan & Fi + Guests Olympic Hotel, Paddington.

7:30pm. Free.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Chris Jarrett & Luca Ciarla Foundry616, Ultimo. 8:30pm. $38.

The Sean Harlor Trio Play Bar, Surry Hills. 8pm.

Free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Andy Mammers Duo Maloney’s Hotel, Sydney. 9pm.

Free.

Fat Bubba’s Chicken Wednesdays Soda Factory, Surry Hills.

5pm. Free.

28 :: BRAG :: 601 :: 25:02:15

Fear Factory + Exodus + Terror Universal Metro Theatre, Sydney.

6:30pm. $61.32.

Fields Of Mars Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 9pm.

Free.

Gary Johns Hillside Hotel, Castle Hill.

7pm. Free.

Happy Hippies Ettamogah Hotel, Rouse Hill.

6:30pm. Free.

Marilyn Manson + Apocalyptica + Deathstars Enmore Theatre, Newtown.

6:30pm. $97.16.

Mark Travers Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9pm.

Free.

O Week Acoustic Music Competition Ubar, Macquarie Park. 7pm.

Free.

Of Mice & Men + Atreyu + The Devil Wears Prada Factory Theatre, Marrickville.

7pm. $53.60.

Paces + Tom Lark + Jessie Davidson Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm. Free.

The Griswolds + Thief + Nova & The Experience UNSW Roundhouse, Kensington. 7pm. Free.

The Smashing Pumpkins +

Gerard Way + One OK Rock Big Top Sydney (Luna Park), Milsons Point. 8pm. $109.70.

Vibrations At Valve Band Competition Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. $15.

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 26 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC The Dominos Golden Sheaf Hotel, Double Bay. 9pm. Free.

Watussi + DJ Klue Play Bar, Surry Hills. 5pm.

Free.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Songsonstage - feat: Phil Gray + Guests Gladstone Hotel, Chippendale.

7:30pm. Free.

Songsonstage - feat: Gabriel Levin + Mai-Anne + Massimo Presti + Mick White + Keely Denham

All Time Low + Fireworks Factory Theatre, Marrickville.

7:30pm. $53.60.

Animals As Leaders + Ne Obliviscaris Manning Bar, Camperdown.

8pm. $38.90.

Cassandra Braslin Foundry616, Ultimo. 8pm. $13.50.

Elevation U2 Acoustic Crows Nest Hotel, Crows Nest. 7:30pm. Free.

Erica Freas + Hot Tears + Spencer Scott + The Sufferjets Hamilton Station Hotel, Newcastle. 9pm. Free.

Foo Fighters + The Delta Riggs ANZ Stadium, Sydney Olympic Park. 8pm. $95.92.

Glenn Esmond Fortune Of War, The Rocks.

7pm. Free.

Hippie Death Star + Art + Ocean Of Eris + Remmi Phillips + Face Command Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. $10.

Jesse Davidson + Tom Lark + Low Lux Goodgod Small Club, Sydney.

8pm. $10.

Kaleidoscope Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 9pm.

Free.

Lamb Of God + Killer Be Killed Metro Theatre, Sydney.

6:30pm. $84.77.

O-Week Summer Haze Party Ubar, Macquarie Park. 8pm.

Free.

Psychlops Eyepatch Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 9pm.

Free.

Real Estate + The Stevens Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $51.20.

Soundgarden Big Top Sydney (Luna Park), Milsons Point. 7pm. $96.

The Crooked Fiddle Band & Orchestra + Rapaport The Basement, Circular Quay.

7pm. $25.

The Late Night Soda Social Soda Factory, Surry Hills.

5pm. Free.

Weak Boys + Aloha Units + Claire & The Cops Waywards, Newtown. 8pm.

Free.

White Bros Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9pm.

Free.

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 27 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC DJ A.S.K. Baskiat Play Bar, Surry Hills. 6pm.

Free.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Angelena Locke Chatswood RSL, Chatswood.

5pm. Free.

Ollie Brown & Laura Zarb Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle.

8pm. $13.

Mark Punch + Shane Pacey + Paul O’Brien + Matt Ross The Basement, Circular Quay.

7:30pm. $20.

The McClymonts North Sydney Leagues Club, Cammeray. 7:30pm. $40.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

A Night At Minton’s Playhouse - feat: Matthew Collins + Kevin Camrass + Casper Tromp + Philip Lombardo Foundry616, Ultimo. 8:30pm. $22.

AJ + Lochie South Hurstville RSL Club, South Hurstville. 8pm. Free.

Bandsonstage - feat: Planet Lilu + Emerald Scar + Luchi Gladstone Hotel, Chippendale.

7:30pm. Free.

Bandsonstage - feat: Lost Trolleys + Vaporized! + New Delhi Llamas Ruby L’otel, Rozelle. 8pm.

Free.

Big Steel Vineyard Hotel, Vineyard.

9:30pm. Free.

Bounce Scruffy Murphy’s Hotel, Sydney. 9pm. Free.

Boys In The Band Taronga Zoo, Mosman. 7pm. $70.95.

Divyatma Saraswati Kareela Golf Club, Kareela.

6:30pm. Free.

Falling In Reverse + Escape The Fate + Color Morale The Hi-Fi, Moore Park. 8pm. $58.30.

Front End Loader + Hits Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $19.

Get The Party Started - The Pink Show Henry Lawson Club, Werrington. 8pm. Free.

Glenn Esmond Golden Sheaf Hotel, Double Bay. 6pm. Free.

Gordi Seymour Centre, Chippendale. 6pm. Free.

Happy Hippies St George Leagues Club, Kogarah. 9pm. Free.

Hooray For Everything Kurnell Recreation Club, Kurnell. 7:30pm. Free.

Incubus + Antemasque + Le Butcherettes Enmore Theatre, Newtown.

6:30pm. $103.89.

Iron Lion Bull & Bush Hotel, Baulkham Hills. 10pm. Free.

John Vella Rose Bay Hotel, Rose Bay. 8pm. Free.

Koppen Terrace Penrith Gaels, Kingswood.

8pm. Free.

LJ Padstow Park Hotel, Padstow.

7pm. Free.

Martys Place Hornsby RSL, Hornsby. 8pm.

Free.

Matchbox 20 Show Towradgi Beach Hotel, Towradgi. 9pm. Free.

Ministry + Godflesh Metro Theatre, Sydney.

7:30pm. $55.

New Found Glory + Bayside + The Wonder Years Factory Theatre, Marrickville.

7:30pm. $50.60.

Reckless Orient Hotel, The Rocks.

9:30pm. Free.

Rob Henry Orient Hotel, The Rocks.

4:30pm. Free.

Rock Solid Duo Padstow RSL Club, Padstow.

7:30pm. Free.

Roxette + Boom Crash Opera Qantas Credit Union Arena, Darling Harbour. 7:30pm. $101.90.

Secret Garden Festival feat: Client Liaison + Donny Benet + Fishing + Gang Of Youths + Gooch Palms + The Griswolds + Hot Dub Time Machine + Jack

Ladder & The Dreamlanders + Japanese Wallpaper + Jeremy Neale + Little May + Love Bombs + Milwaukee Banks + Oh Mercy + Parquet Courts + Pepa Knight + Remi + Sharon Van Etten + Spookyland + Velociraptor + More Secret Location, Sydney.

12pm. $131.85.

Select Start Hermann’s Bar, Sydney. 8pm. $15.

Songsonstage - feat: CJ Fairleight + Guests Lewisham Hotel, Lewisham.

8:30pm. $15.

Steve Crocker Manly Leagues Club, Brookvale. 9:30pm. Free.

The Frocks Windsor Leagues Club, Windsor South. 9pm. Free.

The Maladies + Wild Cat Falling + Imperial Broads + Jack Elias Factory Theatre, Marrickville.

7pm. $11.

The Tribe Ivanhoe Hotel, Manly. 10pm.

Free.

Tom Lark + Huon Kind + James Lawrence DJ Waywards, Newtown. 8pm.

Free.

V.I.P. Orient Hotel, The Rocks.

9:30pm. Free.

Vanessa Heinitz Panania Diggers, Panania.

8pm. Free.

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 28 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Elodie Sablier & The 33 Degrees Quartet Foundry616, Ultimo. 8:30pm. $21.50.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Charlie Musselwhite Band + Mal Eastick Instrumental Trio + Buddy Knox Band Factory Theatre, Marrickville.

7pm. $60.

Jasmin Jones Hotel Pennant Hills, Pennant Hills. 6pm. Free.

Ollie Brown & Laura Zarb Venue 505, Surry Hills. 6pm. $13.

Paul Hayward Town And Country Hotel, Sydney. 4pm. Free.

Ryan Thomas Hotel Pennant Hills, Pennant Hills. 10pm. Free.

Songsonstage - feat: Andrew Denniston + The Alien + Warren Munce Petersham Inn, Petersham.

8pm. Free.

The McClymonts Hornsby RSL, Hornsby. 8pm. $42.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

AM 2 PM Springwood Sports Club, Springwood. 8pm. Free.

Armchair Travellers Duo Courthouse Hotel, Darlinghurst. 10pm. Free.

Bjorn Again Taronga Zoo, Mosman. 7pm. $70.95.

Boston Blue Carousel Inn Hotel, Rooty Hill.

8pm. Free.

Children Of The Grave Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. Free.

Double Jeopardy Duo Pittwater RSL, Mona Vale.

8pm. Free.

Hitseekers Crows Nest Hotel, Crows

thebrag.com

gig picks

g g guide gig g

up all night out all week...

send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com Nest. 10pm. Free.

Jellybean Jam Northmead Bowling Club, Northmead. 9pm. Free.

Jimmy Bear Orient Hotel, The Rocks.

4:30pm. Free.

John Vella Epping Club, Epping. 8pm.

Free.

Lime Cordiale Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $15.

Martys Place Kelly’s On King, Newtown.

9:30pm. Free.

Matchbox 20 Show South Hurstville RSL Club, South Hurstville. 9pm. Free.

No Secrets - The Angels Show Kingsgrove RSL Club, Kingsgrove. 8:30pm. Free.

One Hit Wonders Blacktown Workers Club, Blacktown. 8:30pm. Free.

Panorama Orient Hotel, The Rocks.

9:30pm. Free.

Powderfinger Show Manly Leagues Club, Brookvale. 9pm. Free.

Pretty Trick Scruffy Murphy’s Hotel, Sydney. 10pm. Free.

Rebecca Moore Rose Bay Hotel, Rose Bay. 8pm. Free.

Sam Newton Marrickville Ritz Hotel, Marrickville. 8pm. Free.

Secret Garden Festival feat: Client Liaison + Donny Benet + Fishing + Gang Of Youths + Gooch Palms + The Griswolds + Hot Dub Time Machine + Jack Ladder & The Dreamlanders + Japanese Wallpaper + Jeremy Neale + Little May + Love Bombs + Milwaukee Banks + Oh Mercy +

Parquet Courts + Pepa Knight + Remi + Sharon Van Etten + Spookyland + Velociraptor + More Secret Location, Sydney.

12pm. $131.85.

Sharon Shannon Big Band + Damien Leith The Basement, Circular Quay.

7:30pm. $55.

Soundwave 2015 feat: Faith No More + Soundgarden + Slipknot + Slash + Marilyn Manson + The Smashing Pumpkins + Fall Out Boy + Steel Panther + Incubus + Judas Priest + Millencolin + All Time Low + Lamb Of God + Ministry + Falling In Reverse + More Sydney Olympic Park, Homebush. 11am. $140.73.

Steve Crocker Fortune Of War, The Rocks.

8pm. Free.

The Baddies + Chaos + Cult Killers + Stukas + Guests Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. $10.

The Tribe The Mercantile Hotel, The Rocks. 8:30pm. Free.

Wayne Pearce & The Big Hitters Macarthur Tavern, Campbelltown. 8pm. Free.

SUNDAY MARCH 1 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Menagerie - feat: Various The Welcome Hotel, Rozelle.

4pm. Free.

Peach’s Sunday Jam

Garry Owen Hotel, Rozelle.

3pm. Free.

Satellite V Marrickville Bowling Club, Marrickville. 4:30pm. Free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Alex Vikings Sports Club, Dundas Valley. 6:30pm. Free.

Divyatma Saraswati Ingleburn Hotel, Ingleburn.

3pm. Free.

Glamma Rays + No. 4 Band The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 5pm. $10.

Krishna Jones Waverley Bowling Club, Waverley. 3pm. Free.

Lonesome Train Orient Hotel, The Rocks.

4:30pm. Free.

Marty Stewart Campbelltown Catholic Club, Campbelltown. 1pm. Free.

Noisetide - feat: Jackiebrown + The Last Exposure + Reign On Mars + Deja Vu Rock Show + Tripping Cognito + Horegeous + All The Wise + The Right Words Lewisham Hotel, Lewisham.

3:15pm. $12.

Panorama Duo Northmead Bowling Club, Northmead. 1pm. Free.

Peter Byrne Orient Hotel, The Rocks.

8:30pm. Free.

Peter Combe With The Bellyflop In A Pizza Band Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 2pm. $20.

Peter Combe With The Newspaper Mama Band Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7pm. $27.

Rebecca Moore

Macarthur Tavern, Campbelltown. 2pm. Free.

Rob Eastwood Fortune Of War, The Rocks.

6pm. Free.

Sharon Van Etten Factory Theatre, Marrickville.

7:30pm. $51.

Soundwave 2015 feat: Faith No More + Soundgarden + Slipknot + Slash + Marilyn Manson + The Smashing Pumpkins + Fall Out Boy + Steel Panther + Incubus + Judas Priest + Millencolin + All Time Low + Lamb Of God + Ministry + Falling In Reverse + More Sydney Olympic Park, Homebush. 11am. $140.73.

Ted Nash The Mill Hotel, Milperra.

12pm. Free.

The Lightning Experience + Scarlet’s Revenge + Young Fellas + DJ A.C.C.L.A.I.M. Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 4pm. $10.

Vanessa Heinitz Riverstone Sportsmans Hotel, Riverstone. 1pm. Free.

MONDAY MARCH 2 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Originals At 616 - feat: Mark N The Blues + Dog The Duke + Katherine Vavahea Foundry616, Ultimo. 7:30pm. $10.

Songsonstage - feat: Stuart Jammin + Chris Brookes + Guests Kelly’s On King, Newtown.

7:30pm. Free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Eagles Qantas Credit Union Arena, Darling Harbour. 8pm. $131.80.

Greg Byrne Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9pm.

Free.

Mogwai Sydney Opera House, Sydney.

8pm. $59.

Vampilla + Troldhaugen + Shanghai + Captain Kickarse & The Awesomes Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7pm. $25.

TUESDAY MARCH 3 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK Live & Originals - feat: Andrew Kidd + Justine Wahlin + Ben Gregory + Katherine Vavahea Mr Falcon’s, Glebe. 7:30pm.

Free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Chet Faker + Roland Tings Hordern Pavilion, Moore Park.

7:30pm. $63.

Co Pilot Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9pm.

Free.

Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7pm. $46.50.

Toumani + Sidiki Diabate City Recital Hall, Sydney.

7:30pm. $50.

Vampilla + Troldhaugen + Panzer Queen + Pirate Factory Theatre, Marrickville.

7pm. $20.

thebrag.com

Fear Factory

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 25 Fear Factory + Exodus + Terror Universal Metro Theatre, Sydney.

6:30pm. $61.32.

Marilyn Manson + Apocalyptica + Deathstars Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 6:30pm. $97.16.

Of Mice & Men + Atreyu + The Devil Wears Prada Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 7pm. $53.60.

The Griswolds + Thief + Nova & The Experience UNSW Roundhouse, Kensington. 7pm. Free.

The Smashing Pumpkins + Gerard Way + One OK Rock Big Top Sydney (Luna Park), Milsons Point.

8pm. $109.70.

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 26 All Time Low + Fireworks Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 7:30pm. $53.60.

Animals As Leaders + Ne Obliviscaris Manning Bar, Camperdown. 8pm. $38.90.

Foo Fighters + The Delta Riggs ANZ Stadium, Sydney Olympic Park. 8pm. $95.92.

Lamb Of God + Killer Be Killed Metro Theatre, Sydney.

6:30pm. $84.77.

Real Estate + The Stevens Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $51.20.

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 27 Falling In Reverse + Escape The Fate + Color Morale The Hi-Fi, Moore Park.

8pm. $58.30.

New Found Glory + Bayside + The Wonder Years Factory Theatre,

Marrickville. 7:30pm. $50.60.

Roxette + Boom Crash Opera Qantas Credit Union Arena, Darling Harbour.

7:30pm. $101.90.

Secret Garden Festival - feat: Client Liaison + Donny Benet + Fishing + Gang Of Youths + Gooch Palms + The Griswolds + Hot Dub Time Machine + Jack Ladder & The Dreamlanders + Japanese Wallpaper + Jeremy Neale + Little May + Love Bombs + Milwaukee Banks + Oh Mercy + Parquet Courts + Pepa Knight + Remi + Sharon Van Etten + Spookyland + Velociraptor + More Secret Location, Sydney.

12pm. $131.85.

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 29 Bjorn Again Taronga Zoo, Mosman.

7pm. $70.95.

Lime Cordiale Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $15.

SUNDAY MARCH 1 Sharon Van Etten Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 7:30pm. $51.

The Lightning Experience + Scarlet’s Revenge + Young Fellas + DJ A.C.C.L.A.I.M. Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 4pm. $10.

MONDAY MARCH 2 Eagles Qantas Credit Union Arena, Darling Harbour.

8pm. $131.80.

Mogwai Sydney Opera House, Sydney. 8pm. $59.

TUESDAY MARCH 3 Chet Faker + Roland Tings Hordern Pavilion, Moore Park. 7:30pm. $63.

Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7pm. $46.50.

BRAG :: 601 :: 25:02:15 :: 29

brag beats

BRAG’s guide to dance, hip hop and club culture

dance music news club, dance and hip hop in brief... with Chris Martin and Spencer Scott

five things WITH

Audiojack

WORTHY

AUDIOJACK

Dance duo Audiojack are set to hop on a plane direct from Ibiza, bringing the party vibes to us on an Australian tour next month. Richard Burkinshaw and James Rial have just launched their Psychonautics EP of tech house jams, and will celebrate five years of Gruuv releases through the European summer. In the meantime, Audiojack take over The Spice Cellar on Saturday March 7.

Growing Up Your Crew I started off musically I am one of the 1.

3. by playing the pots and founders of the Dirtybird

from Dirtybird and the tracks I sign for my label, Anabatic.

pans in the kitchen. After that I played in bands, mostly punk and hardcore, playing the bass mainly, but also the drums (not very well). Then I transitioned to drum’n’bass. I take a lot of what I did back then as the basis for where I am today as an artist. I have taken all of the elements I have experimented with and they have come together in the sound I create now.

Music, Right Here, Right Now The whole world is just going off right now musically. There is so much more music than there ever has been. And the ease with which anyone can get into creating and recording music is amazing.

It is a whole new frontier that has opened up and allows anyone to jump in and create.

The downside to this is that there is a lot of bad music out there too. But I think it is worth it to have people creating and having fun.

2.

Inspirations I try to find inspiration from everything that I hear and listen to, from what my friends are creating musically to drunk bums singing on the streets to birds chirping.

parties in San Francisco with Claude VonStroke, Justin Martin and Christian Martin. I also have worked and remixed a slew of other amazing artists like Eats Everything, Yolanda Be Cool, Nick Monaco, Stanton Warriors, Sinden, The M Machine and Shift K3Y, to name a few.

The Music You Make And Play 4.

I play bass-heavy house music with hip hop and breaks influences intertwined. I love to really work the crowd and take them to another level by playing fun house music that anyone can vibe out too. A lot of the music I play comes

5.

Where: Beach Haus When: Saturday February 28

FOOLS GOLD

Well-informed dance music fans will know all about the debt contemporary styles owe to the burgeoning nightclub scene of ’80s and ’90s Britain. Those were the heady days of Es, wizz and rave culture, much of it built around a party-loving North of England. Fools Gold takes a trip back to this time, with DJs spinning indie anthems from those days and beyond, be it The Stone Roses, Supergrass or even The Kinks. The regular event returns to Brighton Up Bar on Friday February 27.

LOOK, IT’S DANNII Xan Müller

XAN MÜLLER ALBUM LAUNCH

Sydney producer Xan Müller will launch his debut album Your Ancient Future with a set at Lazybones Lounge this Saturday February 28. The record is an “electronic space opera” drawing on Müller’s electro, techno and DnB influences, and the launch show will feature live vocal performances by collaborators including Rocco Bene, Erin-Renee, Mat Cochran, Meghan Dea and Haptic. Support on the night comes from No Illuminati, Autohoare and Astrid Zeman.

30 :: BRAG :: 601 :: 25:02:15

B-Boy World Champions Tour

Mardi Gras favourite Dannii Minogue will make her comeback to live performance with a set at the Mardi Gras Party on Saturday March 7. The TV personality, model and singer last performed at the Mardi Gras Party 16 years ago. Now she’s making her return on a post-parade lineup that also includes Nick Jonas, Jessica Mauboy, Betty Who and more. The 2015 Mardi Gras Party takes place after the official Parade on Saturday March 7 Nickodemus

B-BOY WORLD CHAMPIONS TOUR

The rescheduled B-Boy World Champions Tour dates have been revealed, with some of the world’s best B-boys, B-girls, poppers and lockers coming Down Under in late April. UK B-Boy Championships founder DJ Hooch and his offsider MC Zani will lay down the beats and rhymes, while the likes of Brooke Milliner, Marcio De Barros and more will be pulling shapes like there’s no tomorrow. The show takes over The Hi-Fi on Thursday April 30.

at the Playbill Venues and Entertainment Quarter.

THE SPICE CELLAR MOVES OUT

Popular late-night Sydney haunt The Spice Cellar will move out of its CBD home in the coming weeks, after lockout laws and the need to expand found the owners searching for a new location. The Spice program will continue as planned until Easter, when a Closing Weekend Fiesta will mark the end of the nightclub’s Elizabeth Street home.

Owners Murat Kilic and Rebecca Alder will join with restauranteurs Peter Lew and Nicole Galloway of Barrio Chino for a new project at the current venue, Barrio Cellar. While Spice was already looking to expand in size, inthemix.com.au reported Kilic and Alder

saying that the move is “defi nitely prompted by the lockouts”, referring to the laws that have greatly affected Sydney venues over the past year. The Spice Cellar’s new home is yet to be confirmed.

HOT DUB TIME MACHINE

Take a journey through the ages at the Metro Theatre on Thursday May 14, as Hot Dub Time Machine kicks off its only national tour for the year. DJ Tom Loud has taken Sydney and Australia by storm with his one-songper-year party celebrating musical history, and the shows are only getting bigger: he’ll be touring on the Groovin The Moo bill in April/May, taking good music to the masses.

In the meantime, make sure you’re there early for his headline show in Sydney – you don’t want to miss the ’50s, trust us.

45 SESSIONS: NICKODEMUS

After a series of 45 Sessions appearances at Sydney Festival and Soulfest, the Funkdafi ed team have announced that US artist Nickodemus will be the next guest to spin at their regular day out. Nickodemus is celebrating the tenth anniversary of his debut album Endangered Species with an Australian tour, and will be performing an exclusive show for the 45 Sessions, bringing his box of 45s to spin all night.

Joining him for the show is a strong list of local acts, including Toon, Josie Styles and JC from Funkdafi ed. Nickodemus plays the 45 Sessions on Sunday March 8.

Email info@funkdafi ed.com.au to RSVP for the event and receive updates on the venue location.

Purity Ring The Future Is Now By Adam Norris

F

or a man ticking off his 50th interview in the space of a few short weeks, Corin Roddick still manages to sound like an enthusiastic guy. Given the international attention that Canadian duo Purity Ring are now receiving – and it’s swelling gig by gig – it’s no wonder he’s still excited. With sophomore album Another Eternity primed for release, and high-profile support coming from the likes of Lady Gaga and Katy Perry, one suspects we have caught Roddick on the eve of something big. It’s quite a leap for a band that is very much piecing together its artistic ethos on the run.

“It’s always very weird,” Roddick says, happily bemused. “When we’re making the music we aren’t really thinking about it in an outward way. We’re just trying to come up with music that we’re excited about at the time, and we’re not really analysing it at all. It’s not until we have these interviews later on that we start to talk about it and understand what we’ve actually been making. I remember from our first album I found the whole interview thing really surprising, because I learned so much about myself. Having to talk about yourself and your music for so long is a really interesting process, and wasn’t really something I’d ever had to consider before.”

It is a sentiment shared by many of the industry’s success stories; play because you have that burning need to get it out, not because you hope to cater to a faceless crowd. The aspiration to strike a chord with listeners through music alone – rather

than court fickle tastemakers in the pursuit of popularity – is key, and when a UK retailer adopted Purity Ring’s song ‘Fireshrine’ for an advertising campaign, the band found just such a connection.

“It was an amazing opportunity. We noticed after that advertisement a lot of new fans hit us up on social media, saying, ‘Hey, we heard your song on a clothing ad.’ And that’s great! Strangely, it’s a kind of natural way for people to get it. And also to reach the people who aren’t checking music blogs every day.

“Those are the fans we wanted; those people who aren’t just hanging out for new music all the time, totally worried about missing the newest thing. Just people who enjoy music for what it is, not as a way of achieving any kind of status or anything.”

Complementing Purity Ring’s music is a rather remarkable live addition; an arboreal instrument-cumsculpture that acts as both Roddick’s drum set and a lighting rig. It is a striking image, seeming almost like another band member, and as their

gigs unfurl it is an addition we will likely see expand.

“We wanted to create something really unique and organic, so we built that from scratch to have something that worked only with us. We’re actually working right now on getting together the live show for the next run of gigs, and we want to see how we can grow and expand into other atmospheres, find ways to occupy bigger spaces.

One of our ultimate goals is to transform any space that we’re in into whatever stage, make it our unique

place. Venues are pretty standard, so if you show up with nothing [to add] it’s going to look like any other show that happens there. But we like being able to bring our own environment with us, to have this world we create in a kind of theatrical way. When people come to see the show, they can really associate that experience with us and have it be something that stands out.”

What: Another Eternity out Friday February 27 through 4AD/Remote Control

Gorgon City The Sirens’ Call By Shaun Cowe

weekend,” says Robson-Scott. “You’d meet people and you’d see people you knew at the record store, then you’d talk to the guy working there who would save you a couple of tunes you’d like. It was a very good community vibe. Record stores were a massive part of the music community when we were growing up.

“We used to go get our own vinyls cut, ready for the weekend. Maybe we’d make a tune during the week and then get our record cut at the local cutting house. I mean, there’s only a couple now but there used to be loads and that was always a really fun feeling. You’d spend 20 quid to get one song pressed on a vinyl so you could play it on the record player.”

With music moving towards a more global, internet-based connectivity, Robson-Scott sees the local genrespawning communities that characterised the early British dance wave as a disappearing phenomenon. While he acknowledges both the pros and cons of technology, he doubts British music will ever become too Americanised because of the internet.

N

orth London house duo Gorgon City have had a big last 12 months, moving towards the release last October of their first full-length studio album, Sirens. The two producers, Kye Gibbon and Matt Robson-Scott (AKA DJs Foamo and RackNRuin) have just slogged their way through a European tour ahead of Future Music Festival this month. The BRAG catches Robson-Scott midway through breakfast.

“I think it’s just been ingrained in us to make music constantly, whether we’re on tour or in the studio,” he says. “We’ve been making music for so long it’s part of who we are; we can do it anywhere. People who are the most prolific and people who make the most music are the people who can make music anywhere.

Nowadays everyone’s touring thebrag.com

constantly so you’ve got to make music on the road.”

For the release title, Sirens, RobsonScott and Gibbon opted for a Hellenic link with the band’s name. “I think we liked the idea – obviously it’s from Greek mythology – that sirens are this thing of beauty but they also have this twisted side to them,” RobsonScott explains. “I think the album’s a bit like that; there’s a lot of lush sounds but it also has a lot of hard basslines. A lot of the songs are uplifting but they also have kind of twisted parts, like with the ‘FTPA’ song – we thought [the name Sirens] fitted quite well for the album.”

Writing songs hand-in-hand with the many feature artists on the album was a big influence on the diversity and dichotomy of its sound. Being creatively open and experimenting

with style is something Gorgon City want to be known for, says RobsonScott.

“The whole album was never really planned; we experimented with it. We were just hoping that people would be open to anything that we were doing.

We want to make albums that stand the test of time and aren’t really just of one style or one genre or one time period. The lyrics have to mean something; the sounds have to be interesting and not just generic. It has to sound unique and different and like it hasn’t been done before.”

Like all producers, Robson-Scott and Gibbon have go-to sounds that they’ve developed separately over their careers. Combining them for Gorgon City saw the emergence of the pair’s trademark rich, layered synth lines, something Robson-Scott

says comes from their preference for analogue.

“We like using analogue synths, like Rolands and analogue Korgs, things with a warm sound. We like the PolySix, which is a great synth for Korgs. Lots of soft synth for bass.

We’ve built loads of sounds over the years as separate producers, so we’ve got quite a lot of stuff we’ve created ourselves that we can go back to as well.”

Part of this analogue preference comes from their history of DJing together as childhood friends. The old-school British electronic music scene was a seminal influence on both Robson-Scott and Gibbon.

“I used to go to the record store every Thursday, just to get as many new records as we could for the

“I think with British music it’s always going to stay British but [America] likes to take on their own idea – you know, like they did with EDM and dubstep. They took a European thing and gave it their own identity. I don’t know what’s going to happen next but I don’t think it’s going to be an issue for British producers or the British scene because it’s so different to what we do that it doesn’t affect us.

They adapt it and it turns into their own thing.”

What: Future Music Festival 2015 With: Avicii, Drake, The Prodigy, Afrojack, Knife Party, Martin Garrix, Hilltop Hoods and many more Where: Royal Randwick Racecourse When: Saturday February 28 And: Sirens out now through Neon/EMI

BRAG :: 601 :: 25:02:15 :: 31

g guide send your listings to : clubguide@thebrag.com

club pick of the week Avicii

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 28

Royal Randwick Racecourse

Future Music Festival 2015 Avicii + Drake + The Prodigy + Afrojack + Knife Party + Martin Garrix + Many More

12pm. $169.90.

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 25 HIP HOP & R&B

Drake + 2 Chainz Allphones Arena, Sydney Olympic Park. 7:30pm. $109.80.

CLUB NIGHTS

DJ Tom Kelly Goldfish, Kings Cross. 9pm.

Free.

Holla Back! Booty & Twerk Basics Goodgod Small Club, Sydney.

6:30pm. $12.

The Wall The World Bar, Kings Cross.

9pm. $5.

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 26 CLUB NIGHTS

Noisey Presents - feat: Weak Boys + Aloha Units + Claire & The Cops Waywards, Newtown. 8pm.

Free.

O Week Big Top Bash - feat: DJ Ego + DJ Anujual + DJ Artemus UNSW Roundhouse, Kensington. 8pm. $20.

Pool Club Thursdays - feat: Resident DJs Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney. 5pm.

Free.

The World Bar Thursdays The World Bar, Kings Cross.

9pm. Free.

32 :: BRAG :: 601 :: 25:02:15

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 27 CLUB NIGHTS

Argyle Fridays - feat: Resident DJs The Argyle, The Rocks.

6pm. Free.

DJ Marty Wentworthville Leagues Club, Wentworthville. 9pm.

Free.

El Loco Later - feat: DJs On Rotation Excelsior Hotel, Surry Hills.

10pm. Free.

Factory Fridays - feat: Resident DJs Soda Factory, Surry Hills.

7pm. Free.

Feel Good Fridays Bar100, The Rocks. 5pm.

Free.

Goodwill Marquee, Pyrmont. 10pm.

Free.

Halfway Crooks Beach Road Hotel, Bondi.

8pm. Free.

KLParty - feat: KLP + Lo’99 + Go Freek + Nes + Spenda C + Natnoiz + Heirs To The Throne + Fiktion Chinese Laundry, Sydney.

8pm. $22.60.

Loco Friday - feat: Various Live Bands And DJs The Slip Inn, Sydney. 5pm.

Free.

HIP HOP & R&B

Hustler Fridays - feat: MC Shaba Hustle & Flow, Redfern. 7pm.

Free.

Mind Over Matter

$79.90.

El Loco Later - feat: DJs On Rotation Excelsior Hotel, Surry Hills.

10pm. Free.

Future Music Festival 2015 - feat: Avicii + Drake + The Prodigy + Afrojack + Knife Party + Martin Garrix + Hilltop Hoods + Timmy Trumpet + Nero + Example + Die Antwoord + Darude + Sigma + 2 Chainz + Kiesza + Green Velvet + Seth Troxler + Tchami + Blasterjaxx + Robin Schulz + Klingande + Gorgon City + Carnage + Bassjackers + Yellow Claw + Throttle + Sven Vath + Art Department + Apollonia + Dan Ghenacia + Dyed Soundroom + More Royal Randwick Racecourse, Randwick. 12pm. $169.90.

Future Music Festival After Party - feat: Terace + Set Mo + Knights Of Columbus + Nightwalkers + DJ Moto + DJ Just + King Lee + Orlando Wolf + Maximus Nice Guy + Discofool Chinese Laundry, Sydney.

10pm. 22.60.

Future Music Festival After Party - feat: Tchami + Ember + Ben Morris + Acaddamy + Natnoiz + Mo’Funk + Chris Arnott + Jace Disgrace + Nanna Does + Dylan Sanders + Just 1 + Samrai + DLE + Eko + Pro/Gram + King Lee + Nad Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney.

6:30pm. $38.

Harbour Party 2015 - feat: Kiesza + Bimbo Jones + DJ Kitty Glitter + Dan Murphy + Du Jour Fleet Steps, Mrs Macquaries Point. 3pm. $119.

Infamous Saturdays - feat: Live DJs

Scubar, Sydney. 7pm. Free.

One Night Stand - feat: Tornado Wallace Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 9pm. $29.

Sienna Saturdays - feat: Resident DJs The Establishment, Sydney.

9pm. Free.

Something Else Burdekin Hotel, Darlinghurst.

9pm. $20.

Levins + The House Of Who + Nacho Pop + Kato’s Wig Shop Goodgod Small Club, Sydney.

8pm. Free.

Thieves Goodgod Small Club, Sydney.

8pm. $8.

Xan Müller + No Illuminati + Autohoare + Astrid Zeman Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8pm. $15.

Zuri Akoko + Rookie + Sailor + Venus Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $10.

SUNDAY MARCH 1

Jaxx + Allday + Carnage + Frontliner + Tigerlily + Some Blonde DJ + Slice N Dice + Uberjak’D Royal Randwick Racecourse, Randwick. 1pm. $101.

La Fiesta - feat: Samantha Fox + Agee Ortiz + Av El Cubano + Resident DJ Willie Sabor The Establishment, Sydney.

8pm. Free.

Reggae Sundays Kings Cross Hotel, Kings Cross. 5pm. Free.

S.A.S.H Sundays Home Nightclub, Darling Harbour. 2pm. $10.

Secretsundaze The Bristol Arms Hotel, Sydney. 2pm. $44.

Sunday Sessions - feat: Cadell + Tom Kelly + Ocky Goldfish, Kings Cross. 4pm.

Free.

Sundays In The City - feat: Various DJs The Slip Inn, Sydney. 12pm.

Free.

MONDAY MARCH 2

CLUB NIGHTS

Bar Bitch Chew Art - feat: Betty Grumble + Ash Baroque + Strykermeyer + Glamour Puss + Sara Pax Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 7pm. $25.

Ciara + Guest DJs Marquee, Pyrmont. 9pm. $34.

DJ Somatik + Alex Mac Manly Wharf Hotel, Manly.

5pm. Free.

Goodlife 2015 - feat: Avicii + Le7els + Bliss N Eso + Animals + Afrojack + Will Sparks + Timmy Trumpet + Joel Fletcher + Havana Brown + Blaster

CLUB NIGHTS

Mashup Monday - feat: Resident DJs Side Bar, Sydney. 8pm. Free.

TUESDAY MARCH 3 CLUB NIGHTS

Chu The World Bar, Kings Cross.

9pm. Free.

p up all night out all week...

Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. Free.

O Week Closing Night Party - feat: Allday + She Rex + Madame Wu Manning Bar, Camperdown.

8pm. $34.70.

Vent @ Valve - feat: Safi + Adam Rex + Risby & Tera Byte + Kaeoe With Hyjak And Big Hustle + Ill Theory + More Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 9pm. $10.

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 28

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 25 Drake + 2 Chainz Allphones Arena, Sydney Olympic Park. 7:30pm. $109.80.

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 26

CLUB NIGHTS

Acid Pauli Sunset Cruise - feat: Acid Pauli + Murat Kilic + Schwa + Brohn + Marcotix The Bella Vista Luxury Cruiser, Pyrmont. 3:30pm. $45.

Cakes - feat: 4 Rooms Of Live Music + DJs And International Guests The World Bar, Kings Cross.

8pm. $10.

DJ Marty Wentworthville Leagues Club, Wentworthville. 9pm. Free.

Drake Official After Party Marquee, Pyrmont. 10pm.

O Week Closing Night Party - feat: Allday + She Rex + Madame Wu Manning Bar, Camperdown. 8pm. $34.70.

O Week Big Top Bash - Feat: DJ Ego + DJ Anujual + DJ Artemus UNSW Roundhouse, Kensington. 8pm. $20.

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 29

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 27

Acid Pauli Sunset Cruise - feat: Acid Pauli + Murat Kilic + Schwa + Brohn + Marcotix The Bella Vista Luxury Cruiser, Pyrmont.

3:30pm. $45.

HIP HOP & R&B

Deltron 3030 The Hi-Fi, Moore Park. 8pm. $64.50.

Rodney P + Foreign Dub + Ed Seven + Meem + Raine Supreme + Benny Hinn Play Bar, Surry Hills. 6pm. $10.

Spenda C + Natnoiz + Heirs To The Throne + Fiktion Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 8pm. $22.60.

Halfway Crooks Beach Road Hotel, Bondi. 8pm. Free.

KLParty - feat: Lo’99 + Go Freek + Nes +

Deltron 3030 The Hi-Fi, Moore Park.

8pm. $64.50.

Allday

Future Music Festival After Party - feat: Tchami + Ember + Ben Morris + Acaddamy + Natnoiz + Mo’funk + Chris Arnott + Jace Disgrace + Nanna Does + Dylan Sanders + Just 1 + Samrai + DLE + Eko + Pro/Gram + King Lee + Nad Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney.

6:30pm. $38.

Xan Müller + No Illuminati + Autohoare + Astrid Zeman Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8pm. $15.

SUNDAY MARCH 1 Bar Bitch Chew Art feat: Betty Grumble + Ash Baroque + Strykermeyer + Glamour Puss + Sara Pax Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 7pm. $25.

Goodlife 2015 - feat: Avicii + Le7els + Bliss N Eso + Animals + Afrojack + Will Sparks + Timmy Trumpet + Joel Fletcher + Havana Brown + Blaster Jaxx + Allday + Carnage + Frontliner + Tigerlily + Some Blonde DJ + Slice N Dice + Uberjak’d Royal Randwick Racecourse, Randwick.

1pm. $101.

thebrag.com

Off The Record Dance and Electronica with Tyson Wray

T

he wildly successful global promoters Flying Circus have announced they’re bringing their infamous parties to Australian shores.

In the past year alone the Circus has popped up for 60+ events in over 35 countries, with over 100,000 partygoers attending worldwide. For their Australian tour they’ll be bringing over three heavyhitting international names: Audiofly, Martin Buttrich and Blond:ish. The Sydney shindig goes down on Saturday April 4 at the Greenwood Hotel.

Recommended.

Hot on the heels of the release of their new EP Psychonautics (out on their revered Gruuv label) ol’ mates Audiojack have announced a return to Australia. The EP itself is a tech house stormer, and is already receiving praise from the likes of Loco Dice, Dusky, DJ W!ld, Luna City Express, Huxley and Ralph Lawson, just to name a few. Catch ’em on Saturday March 7 at The Spice Cellar.

A host of the biggest house and techno names on the 2015 Future Music Festival lineup have been announced for a seriously huge sideshow. Led by the imitable Sven Väth, the German luminary is hosting a massive Cocoon lineup, featuring Seth Troxler, Green Velvet, Art Department, Apollonia, U-Khan, Marc Jarvin, Dave Stuart and Reach Visuals.

It all goes down on Friday March 6 at the Metro Theatre. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll get along to this one.

Born in Chicago before moving to Detroit’s west side, there are few names in the house world that command as much respect as Delano Smith. Having released on seminal labels such as Third Ear, Sushitech and Still Music, and one of the last jocks remaining from the first wave of Detroit’s house DJs, Smith has one of the most renowned legacies on the planet. He’ll appear on Saturday March 21 at The Spice Cellar.

Tour rumours: it looks like Sydney will be receiving some very big-name international visits later in the year.

Lock in November tours from the likes of Anklepants, Danny Daze, Chris Liebing, Matthias Tanzmann, Oxia, Pig & Dan and Rødhåd. Expect a Sydney sojourn from DJ duo and label partners of Get Physical, M.A.N.D.Y, and Spaniard Henry Saiz later next month.

Oh, and anyone who reads this column regularly will notice a distinct partiality for the Giegling imprint – expect visits from three of their finest in Konstantin, Kettenkarussell and Leafar Legov mighty soon.

Best releases this week: Low Jack has knocked it out of the park with his Imaginary Boogie EP (on The Trilogy Tapes). Other highlights include Developer’s Liberation Signals (Weekend Circuit), Egyptrixx’s Transfer Of Energy (Feelings Of Power) and Timothy Blake’s Squiggles EP (Kleine Reise).

RHYS NICHOLSON THURSDAY 26 FEBRUARY FROM 7:30PM

SUPPORT: ANDREW BARNETT

SUPPORT: COREY WHITE

HOST: TOMMY DEAN

Enjoy $5 local beers, house wines and selected spirits.

5pm – midnight. Food till late.

LEVEL 1, 80 PYRMONT STREET, PYRMONT STAR.COM.AU/ROCKLILY

/ROCKLILY.LIVE

The Star practises the responsible service of alcohol. Guests must be over 18. Think! About your choices.

Call Gambling Help 1800 858 858 www.gamblinghelp.nsw.gov.au

Low Jack

RECOMMENDED SATURDAY FEBRUARY 28 wAFF Pontoon

Joachim Spieth, Dave Mayer Burdekin Hotel Tornado Wallace Oxford Art Factory

SUNDAY MARCH 1

Marcellus Pittman, Giles Smith, James Priestley Bristol Arms

FRIDAY MARCH 6 Theo Parrish

Oxford Art Factory

SATURDAY MARCH 7 Carl Cox Greenwood Hotel Audiojack The Spice Cellar Lovecult 2000: Tama Sumo Metro Theatre Suzanne Kraft Imperial Hotel

Delano Smith The Spice Cellar

SATURDAY APRIL 11 Developer The Sly Fox

SATURDAY APRIL 18 James Zabiela Chinese Laundry

FRIDAY MAY 29 Carmada Oxford Art Factory

SATURDAY MARCH 21

Dixon, Âme AGWA Yacht Club

Got any tip-offs, hate mail, praise or cat photos?

Email hey@tysonwray.com or contact me via carrier pigeon. thebrag.com

BRAG :: 601 :: 25:02:15 :: 33

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noah slee + duan & only

PICS :: KC

up all night out all week . . .

21:02:15 :: Play Bar :: 72 Campbell St Surry Hills 9280 0885

It’s called: Future Music Afterparty @ Pacha Sydney

It sounds like: A mix of house, future house and electro house in the Main Room, disco and house jams in the Pool, plus hip hop and R&B and trap.

Acts: Tchami plus Ember and more.

Three songs you’ll hear on the night: Tomm y Trash & Burns – ‘About U’, Jack Ü – ‘Take Ü There’ ft. Kiesza, Glover – ‘Faces’ And one you definitely won’t: Psy – ‘Gang nam Style’ Sell it to us: Pacha is more than just a nightc lub, it’s an experience. Our production is on an unrivalled scale. Combine that with a very special guest DJ sending the place into a house music frenzy and you have yourself an epic night out.

The bit we’ll remember in the AM: The only thing you won’t remember is the last time you had that much fun – from the extravagant production to DJs, dancers and more.

Wallet damage: $35 online at pachasydney.com Where: Pacha Sydney, Ivy, 320 George Street , Sydney When: Saturday February 28, 6:30pm till late

s.a.s.h sundays

22:02:15 :: Home :: 101/1-5 Wheat Rd Darling Harbour 9266 0600 OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER

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party profile

future music afterparty @ pacha sydney

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ni g h t o f nights

p la ybill venues a nd ent er t a inment q ua r t er, moore p a r k

- sat 07 mar, 10pm - 8am -

THE LARGEST LGBTQI PARTY IN THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE SPECIAL PERFORMANCES BY:

NICK JONAS DANNII MINOGUE JESSICA MAUBOY JAKE SHEARS

BETTY WHO

COURTNEY ACT

- MORE TBA -

ADAM LOVE / AMANDA LOUISE / ASTRIX LITTLE BENT COLLECTIVE – STEVEN REDANT (ESP) + DANNY VERDE (ITA) DAVID MORALES: A SALUTE TO FRANKIE KNUCKLES (USA) DJ DAN MURPHY / DJ GRIND (USA) / JD SAMSON (USA) KATE MONROE / KITTY GLITTER / MASON ANDREWS META ETCETERA / PAUL MAC + SPECIAL GUESTS SAMMY JO (USA) / SVETA / THE CARRY NATION (USA) WAYNE G (UK) / YO! MAFIA

This is the big one. The LGBTQI annual general meeting. Everyone from everywhere. Every passion and every predilection. All welcome. All night.

SOLD OUT!

15, 16, 17, 18 APRIL - 7.15PM

EXTRA SHOWS ON SALE

18 APRIL - 9.30PM & 19 APRIL - 7.15PM ENMORE THEATRE

BOOK NOW! SYDNEYCOMEDYFEST.COM.AU