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Credits Publisher Street Press Australia Pty Ltd Group Managing Editor Andrew Mast National Editor – Magazines Mark Neilsen Editor Bryget Chrisfield Arts Editor Hannah Story Eat/Drink Editor Stephanie Liew Gig Guide Justine Lynch gigs@themusic.com.au
Music Music / Arts / Lifestyle / Culture
Laneway Or The Highway
Shamir
The line-up for next year’s St Jerome’s Laneway Festival is out! Catch Chvrches, DIIV, Banoffee, Flume, Purity Ring, QT, Methy Ethel, Vince Staples, Tobias Jesso Jr, Shamir, Grimes, Health, Beach House and more all in one place in Feb.
Senior Contributor Jeff Jenkins
The Angels
Contributing Editor Steve Bell Contributors Annelise Ball, Sarah Barratt, Sophie Blackhall-Cain, Emma Breheny, Sean Capel, Luke Carter, Anthony Carew, Oliver Coleman, Daniel Cribb, Cyclone, Guy Davis, Dave Drayton, Simon Eales, Guido Farnell, Tim Finney, Bob Baker Fish, Cameron Grace, Neil Griffiths, Brendan Hitchens, Kate Kingsmill, Baz McAlister, Samson McDougall, Tony McMahon, Ben Meyer, Fred Negro, Danielle O’Donohue, Josh Ramselaar, Paul Ransom, Ali Schnabel, Michael Smith, Dylan Stewart, Kane Sutton, Simone Ubaldi, Genevieve Wood, Evan Young, Matthew Ziccone Interns Dylan Van Der Riet, Hannah Blackburn, Elizabeth Watt, Lillie Siegenthaler, Brad Summers, Samuel Wall, Xavier Fennell, Emma Dempsey Senior Photographer Kane Hibberd Photographers Andrew Briscoe, Dina El-Hakim, Holly Engelhardt, Jay Hynes Advertising Dept Leigh Treweek, Tim Wessling, Matthew Feltham, Zoë Ryan sales@themusic.com.au Art Director Brendon Wellwood Art Dept Ben Nicol vic.art@themusic.com.au Admin & Accounts Loretta Zoppos, Leanne Simpson, Bella Bi, Niall McCabe accounts@themusic.com.au Distro distro@themusic.com.au Subscriptions store.themusic.com.au Contact Us Tel 03 9421 4499 Fax 03 9421 1011 info@themusic.com.au www.themusic.com.au Level 1, 221 Kerr St, Fitzroy VIC 3065 Locked Bag 2001, Clifton Hill VIC 3068
— Melbourne
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Red And Hot The Red Hot Summer Tour 2015 kicks off 15 national dates in January 2016. The huge line-up includes of some of Australia’s most iconic artists: Jimmy Barnes, Noiseworks, The Angels, Mark Seymour & The Undertow and The Badloves. Ben Ottewell
Strong Week Pulling out all stops for their inaugural Australian Music Week 2015 conference, 18 – 22 Nov, organisers have just added a whopping 70 more bands to their line-up, including Tuka, Ray Beadle, Guards Of May, Ben Ottewell, Ivan Ooze and more.
c / Arts / Music / Arts / Lifestyle / Culture
Up In The Air
Mansionair
Sydney three-piece Mansionair have announced a three-date east coast tour in December in support of their new single, Speak Easy. The tour will follow a two-month jaunt in the US supporting Chvrches.
Alpine
Like a Fox Alpine have released Shot Fox, a dreamy pop anthem off their latest album, Yuck. They have a video to go with it, too. They’re celebrating with a few intimate launch shows, kicking off in Melbourne on 22 Oct.
25 Burning Raes
The Lulu Raes
Hot off the back of performances at BIGSOUND and Small World Festival, plus shows with Holy Holy, The Lulu Raes have now announced an east coast run this Oct/Nov in support of their latest single, Burnout.
Percentage of SIA’s tracks in the Carlton Dry Independent Music Singles Top 20
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Lifestyle Music / Arts / Lifestyle / Culture
Just Too Good
Jon Toogood
Veteran Kiwi rocker Jon Toogood of Shihad is leaving the band behind for his next jaunt over, in what will be an extensive, intimate, solo run around the country throughout November and December.
Ali Barter
Neale Down Having just released his Let Me Go Out In Style EP, Jeremy Neale is getting set to embark on a national run of shows. This October and November Neale will tour Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Fremantle and Sydney.
Go C AB Ali Barter follows up 2012’s Trip and 2014’s Community with a third EP, AB-EP. She’ll show off its six tracks at two launch shows at Melbourne’s Howler on 8 Oct and Sydney’s Brighton Up Bar, 10 Oct.
True Or False
Brigitte
Comedy master Nick Frost gets honest in his new memoir Truths, Half Truths And Little White Lies, a candid tale of a family hounded by loss and addiction that promises with enough time and laughter all dark days pass. Available from 13 Oct.
Feeling Frenchy
Truths, Half Truths And Little White Lies
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So Frenchy So Chic In The Park will be returning in 2016 with live music, picnics, wine and dancing in the grass. The festival brings Brigitte, Lou Doillon, Hindi Zahra and more to our shores in January.
Jeremy Neale
e / Cultu Music / Arts / Lifestyle / Culture
Shuffle Along
Aston Shuffle
Following the release of new songs Don’t Let Go and High With You, the Aston Shuffle boys have announced a national live headline tour – their first return to live shows since Stereosonic. It kicks off 6 Nov in Sydney.
THURSDAY 1 OCTOBER 18+ SHOW
AS IT IS (UK) WITH CONFIDENCE
BREAKAWAY MAEFIRE $2.50 POTS OF CARLTON
FRIDAY 2 OCTOBER
ALL AGES MATINEE SHOW
AS IT IS (UK) WITH CONFIDENCE
SET THE SCORE SOMETHING TO RESCUE
EVENING EP LAUNCH
OCEAN ALLEY THE CONTROLLERS TOMMY CASTLES
SATURDAY 3 OCTOBER
TROPHY EYES
APART FROM THIS RACOON CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT
SUNDAY 4 OCTOBER MATINEE AA SHOW
TAPE DESK FESTIVAL TROPHY EYES
AS IT IS (UK) WITH CONFIDENCE HAVE MERCY (USA) RACOON CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT HARBOURS LITTLE BROTHER SATELLITES BETH LUCAS
EVENING SHOW
FOREIGN BROTHERS THE CORETET MONDAY 5 OCTOBER RESIDENCY – OPENING NIGHT
DIECUT
COMPLETE NOSE BLOOD CATHARSIS $10 JUGS OF DRAUGHT
TUESDAY 6 OCTOBER
DJS
SMOOTH BEATS AND BIG TUNES EVERY TUESDAY $10 JUGS OF DRAUGHT
Rename party pies ‘pie sliders’ This is rebranding genius, @gameraobscura. The people will go nuts for it and restaurants can charge $6 for one.
WEDNESDAY 7 OCTOBER RESIDENCY – OPENING NIGHT
MEALS
EKKLE SPECIAL GUESTS
COMING UP TIX AVAILABLE THRU OZTIX:
OWEN RABBIT – SINGLE LAUNCH (OCT 8) KINGFISHA – SINGLE LAUNCH (OCT 10) BREVE – 7” LAUNCH (OCT 16) THE CHERRY DOLLS - $1.99 SPECIAL (OCT 17) SUICIETY – EP LAUNCH (OCT 30) RUTS DC – UK (NOV 14) *SELLING FAST* TRINITY ROOTS – NZ (NOV 27) *SELLING FAST* NEVER SHOUT NEVER – USA (DEC 5 + 6) *SELLING FAST* EVEN – ROOFTOP + BANDROOM SHOWS (DEC 19 + 20) *SELLING FAST* STRAY FROM THE PATH – USA (JAN 14 + 17) *SELLING FAST*
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Music / Music / Arts / Lifestyle / Culture
Mental As…
Gardening Australia
From 4 – 11 Oct the ABC will once again be focusing on mental illness and wellbeing with Mental As… a cross-platform programming event that leads discussion, debate and community awareness on an issue that affects all Australians.
Sheena Is…
Sheena Easton
Scottish-born ‘80s icon Sheena Easton is a Grammy-winning singer, actress and stage performer with a career of over 37 years — and she’s bringing her tour to Australia this November on a national run.
Australian Ballet The 2016 season blends timeless classics, contemporary works and Australian premieres of internationally renowned works, including the Australian premiere of Nijinsky and the return of much-loved Australian Ballet classics such as Coppélia and Swan Lake.
Jade Wood for Australian Ballet. Pic: Justin Ridler
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Arts / Li Music / Arts / Lifestyle / Culture
ARIA News
Sheppard at the 2014 ARIA Awards. Pic: Seshanka Samarajiwa
The Australian music industry’s biggest night of revelry, the 2015 ARIA Awards, are fast approaching, with ARIA confirming the return of the awards show to Sydney and The Star on Thursday 26 Nov this year.
Clutch
Release The Clutch Renowned American hardrockers Clutch have announced they’ll be bringing their newest record, Psychic Warfare — their 11th — down to Australia for a run next March for their biggest headline tour to date, with Cosmic Psychos in tow.
11,000,000 Model Citizens Melbourne’s ‘80s art-rockers, Models, embark on a national tour in December, kicking off with two Melbourne shows presenting Local &/Or General (1981) and The Pleasure Of Your Company (1983). The line-up features Sean Kelly, Andrew Duffield, Mark Ferrie and Ashley Davies.
Number of VW vehicle fitted with defeat devices to pass USA emission standards. The cars returned to noncompliant emissions during normal driving.
Local &/Or General – Models
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Lifestyle Music / Arts / Lifestyle / Culture
PFFF!
Moxie
The annual Port Fairy Folk Music Festival is has announced the first line-up for their 40th-anniversary event next year. It includes Ukrainian quartet Dakha Brakha, traditionalIrish-meets-modern-rock outfit Moxie, fellow Gael Mary Black, US-based troubadour Steve Poltz and more.
Habits. Pic: Elliot Lauren
UNIFY Heavy music event UNIFY: A Heavy Music Gathering has dropped its highly anticipated 2016 line-up, boasting headliners Parkway Drive, In Hearts Wake and Tonight Alive. The all-ages festival returns to Tarwin Meadows, Gippsland, 16 & 17 Jan.
Great Habits Following the release of Ether, Habits now take us down a darker road with Reverend Mother, the second single from the EP Ugly Cry. Habits will launch the single at Shebeen Bandroom on 2 Oct. Vaccuum and En.V support. Dream Boogie
Docklands Blues Music Fest The Docklands Blues Music Festival, held 10am to 10pm at Harbour Town Docklands on Sunday 4 Oct, will feature Chris Cain, Mick Dog’s Bone Yard, Kelly Auty’s Wild Women, Dream Boogie, Lloyd Spiegel and many more. Presented by The Music. 14 • THE MUSIC • 30TH SEPTEMBER 2015
Tiny Giants
e / Cultu Music / Arts / Lifestyle / Culture
Croxton Comeback
Augie March
Melbourne’s The Croxton is all rebranded and raring to go, kicking off their killer show schedule with You Am I, Bahamas and Fraser A Gorman playing 1 Oct, then The Drones and Augie March in a double bill on 2 Oct.
Fiending To Find
Parkway Drive Melbourne Finders Keepers Market
The sun has returned and so has The Finders Keepers Spring Summer Market. Catch everything from live music and gourmet food to cutting edge fashion and handcrafted wooden jewellery at the Royal Exhibition Building on 3 & 4 Oct.
Aine Tyrrell
Rough Giants The 2015 Queenscliff Music Festival has unveiled a fifth and final batch of acts for the 27 – 29 Nov event. Rounding it out is folk singersongwriter Rough River and psych-garage trio Tiny Giants, plus Gallie, Georgia Rodgers, Olly Friend and more.
Swords And Songs Irish-born songbird Áine Tyrrell has announced national tour dates in support of her album Queen Of Swords, due out this month. Tyrell raised $15,000 through Pozible to record the debut album, which includes her first single Where Were You?. THE MUSIC • 30TH SEPTEMBER 2015 • 15
Festival
Feast For All The Senses Out On The Weekend bills itself as “Australia’s own slice of Americana”, with an equal focus on music, food and booze. Stephanie Liew chats to Porteño’s Ben Milgate and food truck extraordinaire Raph Rashid about the changing face of music festival food. Cover and feature pics by Cole Bennetts.
“Y
ep, it has been changing for a while now – I think ever since 2013 when we curated the Big Day Out’s Chow Town it’s been getting a lot better at most festivals,” says Sydney chef and restaurateur Ben Milgate. “I think most stalls at music festivals are serving classic fast food items but made with quality ingredients.” Milgate and business partner Elvis Abrahanowicz first caught the attention and adoration of the Sydney restaurant scene in 2006 when they opened up the Spanish/Argentinean tapas restaurant Bodega. They followed it up with Argentinean asado Porteño in 2010 and, upstairs, Gardel’s Bar in 2011. All of their establishments have raked in accolades and awards. Milgate and Abrahanowicz are no strangers to adapting their food to suit a festival environment, having appeared at last year’s inaugural Out On The Weekend and Young Henry’s Small World Festival just gone (which had a similar balanced focus on music and food/drink), among other events. “The biggest challenge with cooking at a festival is keeping up with the volume of food that you need to pump out in a small tent,” says Milgate. “The most enjoyable aspect is it’s great to meet lots of great people who are either working, performing or attending – and obviously drinking a shitload of Jack Daniel’s! I just love getting out of the restaurant, hearing great music and havin’ good times, and Out On The Weekend is definitely my favourite music festival for that. We cooked there last year and it was crackin’. This year I’m really looking forward to see
It’s great to meet lots of great people who are either working, performing or attending.
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Sam Outlaw, Barna Howard and Jonny Fritz. The best thing about Melbourne Out On The Weekend is the ferry ride back with some of the bands getting up and playing, singing and drinkin’, of course!” In Melbourne, the Porteño/Bodega menu includes: BBQ brisket, BBQ pork belly and BBQ sausage – all served with old bay slaw and Jack Daniel’s BBQ sauce. In Sydney, you’ll be able to grab grilled slab bacon with potato salad, fried brisket balls with Jack Daniel’s maple glaze and slaw, and grilled kransky with Jack Daniel’s BBQ sauce. Melbourne’s Raph Rashid comes from a vastly different background – having started out with the Beatbox Kitchen and Taco Truck food vans (the former finding a stationary space at Melbourne’s Rooftop Bar) before
Country Lovin’ Taking its name from the opening track of Neil Young’s classic Harvest album, Out On The Weekend Festival aims to become an annual bastion of all things Americana, featuring not only timeless music but also great food and booze for one familyfriendly celebration. Here’s just a taste of the artists heading Down Under from the US of A. Dawes
establishing All Day Donuts in Brunswick last year, which as of July this year also doubles as fried chicken joint Juanita Peaches at night. All four of Rashid’s ventures will be present at the Melbourne Out On The Weekend – but only Taco Truck will be heading north to Sydney. Maybe this is reflective of Sydney’s attitude to food trucks; Milgate says, “I think Melbourne does food trucks really well – Sydney, not so well. Sorry!” Rashid has been at the forefront of the Melbourne food truck scene since its humble beginnings; now, food trucks are an integral part of Melbourne’s food culture, with food truck festivals (Coburg Drive-In Food Truck Festival), parks (the recently opened Welcome To Thornbury; The Food Truck Park) and markets (Hank Marvin Markets) all becoming staples. It’s fair to say that food trucks have transcended trend status and are here to stay. “Yeah, definitely,” says Rashid. “It’s hard work but the fad can only get you so far – you need to be invested to make a living out of it. It is going from strength to strength for those who are invested. Also it is not so much about the truck, it is about the food. The truck is just the vehicle to get it around.” Rashid welcomes working at an action-packed festival environment, naming the most enjoyable aspect of it all “constant hard work”: “It’s so good. All our staff love working on music festivals; it’s like a heightened reality!”
Food By Genres What would you serve to people who listen to… Metal? Ben Milgate: Dagwood dogs. Raph Rashid: Grilled cheese. Country? BM: Brisket sandwich. RR: Fried chicken. Folk? BM: Hash cookies. RR: Donuts. Hip hop? BM: Purple drank. RR: Burger and fries. Rock’n’roll? BM: Cheeseburgers. RR: Tacos. Techno? BM: H20. RR: Chupa Chups.
LA-based Laurel Canyon exponents Dawes have been earning massive wraps in recent years for their emotive ‘70s-flavoured country rock. Recent fourth album All Your Favorite Bands was produced by Dave Rawlings and has been widely touted as their finest effort to date.
Sam Outlaw Names don’t come much more country than Sam Outlaw. He refers to his music as “SoCal country” – because he’s based in Southern California, natch – and his acclaimed debut Angeleno (2015) was produced by Ry Cooder.
Jonny Fritz Probably the biggest surprise packet of last year’s inaugural OOTW bash, eccentric Nashville artist Jonny Fritz is one of the most authentic country artists you’ll lay your eyes on, and his sardonic tales of life on the road betray a life well travelled.
What: Out On The Weekend When & Where: 17 Oct, Seaworks, Williamstown THE MUSIC • 30TH SEPTEMBER 2015 • 17
Music
Frontlash Feel The Burn
Unsung Heroes
Janet Jackson ft Missy Elliott slayed back in 2011 with Son Of A Gun (I Betcha Think This Song Is About You) so a return team-up was always gonna be epic, but Burnitup! delivers beyond our greatest expectations.
Captain Snooze
Lashes
Not sure our bosses will agree, but nap desks (which are basically desks with a bed underneath for power napping purposes) definitely sound like the way forward.
Killer Stocking Fillers How have we only just discovered Katkiller plush pop icon toys? There’s Morrissey and Bowie in various outfits, 2D (Gorillaz) and even Iggy Pop! Christmas presents sorted.
Katkiller plush pop icon toys
Backlash Canned Heat
The $1 drinks ticket per returned empty vessel recycling incentive at Listen Out festival was great. But punters then were upturning bins to remove cans to exchange for drinks tickets!
Ticket To Ride
From the ‘Back In My Day’ vault, we were pretty shocked to hear that amusement rides at the Royal Melbourne Show cost $10 these days. Expensive whiplash.
Vatican’t A whole episode dedicated to the pope did not make good viewing for Stephen Colbert’s Late Show - unfunny so far. 18 • THE MUSIC • 30TH SEPTEMBER 2015
After employing a number of guest vocalists for their second album, Gloss Drop, Battles guitarist Dave Konopka tells Simone Ubaldi it’s time to embrace the instrumental since none of them can sing.
B
attles guitarist Dave Konopka has a preoccupation with food. Formerly head designer at a New York publishing house, Konopka is the band’s de facto art director, responsible for conceiving and producing their album cover art. For Battles’ third album, La Di Da Di, Konopka worked with photographer Lesley Unruh to create a highgloss chain of edibles, trailing one into another. He was also deeply amused by the thought of a banana penetrating a watermelon. Recorded in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, La Di Da Di is Battles’ first wholly instrumental studio album. Their first album, Mirrored (2007), featured the tweaked vocal melodies of Tyondai Braxton. Braxton left the band during the writing sessions for Gloss Drop (2011) and was replaced on that album with a series of guest vocalists. For La Di Da Di, the remaining Battles line-up (including keyboardist Ian Williams and drummer John Stanier) returned to basics, rediscovering their form as a purely instrumental act. Konopka explains the transition with a food analogy. “We can’t make French fries ‘cause we don’t have a fryer. None of us can sing! Why try and force the issue? But we can roast potatoes and they taste delicious,” he smiles. “We just started writing melodically and texturally and using all of the elements we use to make our music, and it was a good step for us. Another album full of guest vocals would have been Gloss Drop Part Two.” Konopka pauses for a second and chuckles. “I actually really don’t
care about vocals at all, that’s the subtext. That’s Dave’s real talk.” La Di Da Di was written piecemeal, over the wire. Konopka and Williams worked on loops and textures in New York and sent them to Stanier, who had relocated to Berlin, so that he could add beats before flying home for the recording sessions at Machines With Magnets studios. The band has described an interesting tension in their writing and recording process, where the original feeling of a piece can be dramatically overhauled by the competitive, contrapuntal layers that another band member provides. The complexity of Battles’ music is hard won - they have to negotiate every line yet the end result is an organic flow that fires up your neurotransmitters. Sometime between Mirrored and La Di Da Di, EDM happened. In part because of its visceral effect and partly because of the insistent rhythmic patterns, there seems to be a relationship between Battles’ math rock and the world of dance music. Considering this proposal, Konopka returns to food metaphors. “There’s a relationship based on technology in the sense that the really good Italian restaurant down the street is using the same tomatoes as the really crappy Italian restaurant on the other side of the street; obviously we’re the crappy Italian restaurant in this scenario,” he laughs. “I guess we’re all swimming in the same pool, learning about new things and living an interconnected lifestyle. It’s all the same shit. But the difference is that an EDM artist could jump directly into the world of electronics and feel like that is their existence, whereas for us it’s like ‘We’re humans, we use the human tomatoes!’ We like to maintain that human versus machine dichotomy. That’s what keeps us engaged. The rock band aspect is way more important and interesting to us than the electronics could ever be.”
What: La Di Da Di (Warp/Inertia) When & Where: 13 Feb, Laneway Festival, Footscray Community Arts Centre & The River’s Edge
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Music
MY NAME IS
L-FRESH The LION.
Return Bout
Some of you may know me through my work as a hip hop artist and performer. But since October 2014, I’ve also been working full-time at the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC) as their Youth Empowerment Coordinator. On October 19th, I’ll be participating in the Melbourne Marathon to raise money for the ASRC. The event is called Run 4 Refugees. I’ll be running alongside the young people I work with, and together as a team, we are aiming to fundraise $5,000 for the ASRC. We’re living at a time where there is a humanitarian crisis with respect to refugees. There are huge numbers of displaced peoples all around the world who are looking for a chance at a safe and free life. But it is the small contributions of individuals that often mean the most, because it is the combination of all of those small contributions that create a huge wave of support. The ASRC is the perfect example of this. It takes no federal government funding as a matter of principle, and receives all of its support by way of community support. I have seen, first hand, the way in which the ASRC saves and changes lives. For 14 years the ASRC has been fighting for the human rights of asylum seekers. Over 10,000 people have been provided with sanctuary and support. And in this time and thousands of people have won their freedom through the work of the ASRC. Your donation will help provide services to support people seeking asylum: legal appointments, housing, health care, employment services, English language classes, food and advocacy. Thanks for your support.
L-FRESH The LION Run 4 Refugees donation page: run4refugees15.gofundraise.com.au/ page/LFRESHTheLION Youth Team donation page: run4refugees15.gofundraise.com.au/ page/asrcyouth 20 • THE MUSIC • 30TH SEPTEMBER 2015
The crocs may be returning to southern Florida but it’s ours that interest JJ Grey, who together with his band Mofro is returning for a second 2015 visit, as Michael Smith discovers.
“I
’d come back even more if I could, I love it there,” John “JJ” Grey chuckles. He and his band Mofro were last here this past Easter to play Bluesfest, so their return a mere six months later suggests some serious love. “I stayed on the North Shore in Sydney once in the mid ‘90s for like a month and fell in love with the place and got to visit a few places during that timeframe. Came again in 2008 to play the Byron Bay blues festival [Bluesfest] as well and stayed an extra week in Ballina and surfed all the little surf spots around there. I’m really looking forward to seeing Melbourne – I’ve visited Sydney several times and played Sydney last time we were there – and one day hopefully I’ll get way up north. I’d love to get up towards Cairns… I’d love to see Darwin, man. I love the countryside so I’d love to see some of the way-out places. Everything I’ve ever seen of the place is beautiful though.” Don’t expect him to try anything Crocodile Dundee however: “I don’t know if I’ll wrestle no crocs,” he laughs. “I might run from them. The ‘gators in Florida are pretty mellow, but we have crocs in extreme south Florida – they’re finally makin’ a comeback
– and they get real big, but there are so few of them. It’s not like up in your North where they get real big and lots of ‘em.” These days, Grey calls North Port, about midway down on the western side of the Florida peninsula, home, but he grew up outside of Jacksonville, and his music – a gumbo of Southern rock, soul, gospel, blues and funk – is very much a reflection of that rural Southern landscape. Funnily enough, it’s a style of music that resonates remarkably well with Australians and Europeans. “Yeah, they dig it,” he agrees. “One of the things I’ve noticed about Europeans, and I think Australia is more like that than America in that Europeans don’t necessarily throw away things just because it’s not… You know, in America, there’s this thing like, ‘New, new, new’ and anything older than new is too old. Whereas in Europe, they enjoy the new too but they’re like, ‘But this is still good and we’re not throwin’ it out just because it ain’t brand new anymore.’ And Australia seems a little bit more like Europe like that. “Don’t get me wrong,” he adds. “We do great here in the US and I’ve got no beef with it – the new album [Ol’ Glory, released this past February] has done great and is still doin’ great and it’s been a lot of fun playin’ the music; I think it’s been the bestselling record to date for us, especially in Europe – but I love that some of the genre rules and cultural rules attached to the music scene specifically here don’t exist in other places.”
When & Where: 7 Oct, Northcote Social Club
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Long Weekends Every Month?
Music
Old Friends, New Sound
Pic: Sascha Wenninger
Australian Barista Championships Statistics show that more Melburnians drink coffee than watch AFL, so it only makes sense to hold the master craftsmen and women of the city’s favourite beverage to the same esteem as we do its sports folk.
Star Wars Day
MONDAY 25 JUL
Christmas In July
FRIDAY 5 AUG
With all these days celebrating sports culture, Star Wars Day is the public holiday that we need to celebrate, not just a galaxy far far away, but all things geek culture.
International Beer Day
MONDAY 19 SEP
MONDAY 4 MAY
FRIDAY 18 MAR
If we get public holidays for a horse race and a footy final, maybe we should also consider taking off…
Talk Like A Pirate Day
The closest we will ever get to a real-life White Christmas, a second yule-tide celebration would be a great economic boost and an opportunity to curb some winter blues.
Need I say more? Nothing sounds more Australian than a day off to celebrate the nation’s favourite alcoholic brew.
The world’s favourite parody holiday; everybody wants to celebrate this day with their best Captain Jack impersonation, just maybe not necessarily at work…
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Waking up in the morning to see two of the biggest bands in metal announcing an Australian tour is a good way to start the weekend. Particularly if you’re a member of one of those bands. Simon Holland catches up with long-time Children Of Bodom bassist Henkka Seppälä.
“W
e’re excited!” says Henkka Seppälä, bassist of Finnish metal band Children Of Bodom down the line from his home in Espoo. He has to speak up to outmatch the sound of kids playing in the background. “It’s quite recent news so I haven’t quite adapted to that thought but yeah, we’re all super- excited.” The particular morning of this interview, the country woke up the news that the two transcontinental titans had joined forces for a last minute dress rehearsal for their UK tour in November. “We’ve been there before a few times but before we’ve only ever played shows in small clubs as the headliner - which is great because you know how many fans are there just to see you but, also, I’ve always been hoping that we could come down for a festival or open for someone big. Now we get to tour with Megadeth. I’m super excited.” The tour marks the release of Children Of Bodom’s ninth full-length album, I Worship Chaos, with earlybird critics earmarking a return to form.
“Everyone is really happy with the new album.” Seppälä admits. “Everyone seems to be more excited for this album than anything we’ve done in years so that is a really good sign. Who knows what the people will like, how other people will take it - that’s usually another story but it’s a new sound that the band is super excited about.” The “new sound” is, rather, a blending of their initial blazing neoNordic thrash with their trashier modern sound. Seppälä bristles at the age-old ‘return to the old sound’ call. “We heard from a lot of people that we had changed something but we never did. We wrote the songs as we felt them at the time and we tried to keep the same energy that we always had. I remember when the first album came out it was really weird music and everyone back home was like, ‘Whoa, man! That’s some weird stuff,’ and we didn’t know if anyone would like it. We stuck with it, produced, played it live and it would seem that everyone did like it so we’ve been doing everything the same way since. We’ve manage to pick up a few fans along the way. It’s our sound.” Since their 1993 formation as Inearthed and their 1997 debut, Something Wild, Children Of Bodom have led a thunderous Finnish charge into the global metal scene, leading the league in just about every subgenre. “The thing about Finnish bands is that they don’t have anything in common, they don’t all sound the same, there are all kinds - our biggest bands. Nightwish, Amorphis, Stratovarius, Lordi, you have us, you have Sonata Arctica – all completely different... oh no, wait... maybe melody is the one thing we have in common. We must love melody.”
What: I Worship Chaos (Nuclear Blast) When & Where: 19 Oct, Festival Hall
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Literature
Moth To A Flame New York not-for-profit The Moth are bringing their storytelling events to Australia. Senior producer Maggie Cino speaks to Hannah Story.
“W
e are just incredibly excited to come to Australia,” says The Moth Senior Producer Maggie Cino. “It’s a place known for having such a rich history and so many stories, so to be able to come there and to be able to set up a presence there with the StorySLAMs and to be able to work with so many people who are already telling amazing stories down there is just really exciting for us. It’s a place we hope to become a part of and that we hope will become part of us and we’ll get to share those stories throughout the US and everywhere else.”
There is something so incredibly intimate and, while sometimes very emotionally raw, also very centring, about being able to sit down and just listen to one person talk from the heart about something that’s important to them.
The Moth currently hold events in close to 40 cities, produce a podcast and American radio show, and run storytelling workshops for communities and businesses. In Australia, The Moth have set up monthly open-mic StorySLAMs in Sydney and Melbourne, and have presented their curated Mainstage program to the Festival Of Dangerous Ideas and Melbourne Writers’ Festival. “How the SLAMs work is that they take place once a month, and they’re very much about building the community in the place,” explains Cino. “What happens a lot of the time is that people will come out and then they’ll come out again and they’ll bring their friends, and then a really warm community crops up, and people help each other workshop their stories, and it really becomes 26 • THE MUSIC • 30TH SEPTEMBER 2015
its own world. Once we’ve done 12 SLAMs, the winners of each of those events come together and they have a Grand SLAM which is a very big splashy event often in a bigger venue. “[The curated Mainstage series is] where we select storytellers in advance and work with them on their stories and the stories are a little longer. All of our series happen live - what we are really at heart is about the room; it’s about people in a room coming together, and we record all of the nights, we record the curated series, we record every single SLAM, and we have a team in New York that listens to each of the stories, and then as each story is listened to, they’re pulled out for the radio and for the podcast. All of the Australian series will be incorporated into that, we’re definitely going to be looking for some great voices to represent it, and we’re really excited about what we’re going to find and what we’re going to be able to give to the world.” It’s rare for stories that work in the moment to not quite translate to audio. “It’s really astounding how powerfully the stories do translate. I think that the audience is so warm that a lot of the time you can hear their reaction and you can kind of feel their feeling in the room. And it’s also the beauty of somebody just speaking really simply about something that happened to them: you can hear the passion and the conviction in each individual storyteller and it does come across really beautifully in audio.” The Moth have entered two cities with established storytelling communities, including Story Club in Sydney, and Women Of Letters in Melbourne. “We really hope to become part of the dialogue in the cities going on and be able to share resources and ideas,” says Cino. There’s a certain appeal to live storytelling that The Moth and the above organisations tap into. “There is something so incredibly intimate and, while sometimes very emotionally raw, also very centring, about being able to sit down and just listen to one person talk from the heart about something that’s important to them. It just provides a sense of connection in a public forum that is very rare, and it’s so simple, and it’s so straightforward. In most of our forums it’s very acceptable to be able to go up and have a moment and talk to the person afterwards if their story affected them, and that sense of intimacy and community is just not something you can experience in most other art forms. “There’s also this beautiful thing where we live now in this global world and everybody is really trying to make sense of it, and I think part of the beauty and the strength of this art form, especially at this point in time, is that all we have to learn from is each other. So having a forum where people are able to speak to what matters to them and talk about what happened to them and how they got to the other side - whether it was a big epic terrifying thing or whether it was a very short funny thing - we’re just all listening to each other and tapping in and trying to figure out how the world works, and it’s one of the things that I love about this.”
When & Where: 5 Oct, Howler
THE MUSIC • 30TH SEPTEMBER 2015 • 27
Grand Grand Final
3 Rules Of Watching In Public
Grand Finals
Whether you’re team has survived the cull and made it to the big day or not, every sports fan loves to get amongst the action and watch their favourite code’s Grand Final. It’s the culmination of a year’s worth of sweat and blood from very passionate people – and the players and coaches put in a fair bit over the course of the season as well – but there’s still some etiquette involved if you’re watching the marquee event in a public space.
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Play Hard But Fair
Don’t Be A Cunt
Stay To The End
It’s easy to get carried away by events on the field, especially if your chosen side is involved, but remember that you’re not in your lounge room and other people are trying to enjoy the spectacle a well.
Do not taunt people whose team is not faring well – it’s an emotional time already watching your hopes and dreams being flushed down the toilet; the last thing someone watching their team lose the big game needs is some drunken idiot giving them grief.
Conversely, if your own team is not doing well don’t spit the dummy and leave – it doesn’t reflect well on yourself nor your team being a peaheart.
G O O D L U C K A N D M AY TH E B E S T T E A M ( S ) W I N !
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THE MUSIC • 30TH SEPTEMBER 2015 • 29
Grand Grand Final
Ain’t Life Grand
The Drones are joining old sparring partners Augie March this weekend for a Grand Final Eve shindig, and frontman Gareth Liddiard tells Steve Bell that it’s the continuation of one long party.
T
he Drones should be match fit – there’s been a lot of celebrating in their world of late. They’ve just completed a huge national run celebrating the decade anniversary of their seminal second album, Wait Long By The River And The Bodies Of Your Enemies Will Float By – in the process marking the return of former drummer Christian “Chrisso” Strybosch back into the ranks after a ten-year absence – and by all accounts there was plenty of partying going on around them during the sessions for their much-anticipated seventh album which wrapped up recently. “We’re happy with [the new album], but it’s nothing like [2013’s last effort] I See Seaweed,” frontman Gareth Liddiard offers. “It’s pretty weird. Chrisso came back in and he’s a really interesting drummer – he was more into trying different sounds rather than, ‘We’ll do the classic mic-up of an acoustic drumkit.’ He just tried everything. And we’ve got the studio now which is full of crazy, whacky gear and he was using all of that. We just wanted it to be different to the last album, and the last album had that Stooges’ Raw Power vibe where the guitars are forward and the drums are back, but this time we thought, ‘Ok, we’ll let the general rule be drums forward and everything else back’, so it’s groovy… It’s really hard to explain. It’s fucking weird. Totally weird, totally evil and kind of groovy. “It was really weird to have Chrisso back because we never thought it would happen. Although it was pretty straightforward, because he’s a great drummer but also a really great guy – he’s someone we already know and we’ve toured with him heaps, so we already know what we’re going to get. It was pretty natural.” Liddiard does admit, however, their new studio acquisition was almost their undoing rather than their eventual saviour. “We [recorded] every weekend for six months, and we’ve got tons of cool gear,” he says. “Me and The Drones have been squirreling gear away for a while, and we’re in there with Dan Kelly and Phil Gionfriddo – two friends from Melbourne – and they’ve got lots of good gear too. We’ve got this big console that used to belong to Nile Rogers and was used to record that Madonna album True Blue and a bunch of other stuff, so we’re channelling Madonna in the mid‘80s. And it’s in Fitzroy which is nice because it’s really central and with us living out in the bush still it’s cool to have this little clubhouse in the city where we can all hang out and play.
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“The whole album was made on weekends and we got really used to just all of our friends coming over on the weekends: we managed to learn how to work while our friends are all literally in the studio drinking, taking drugs, gambling – doing all sorts of illegal things – and after a few months we learned how to focus on what we were doing. It’s really cool, the album was made during a party for the most part!”
When & Where: 2 Oct, The Croxton
THE MUSIC • 30TH SEPTEMBER 2015 • 31
Grand Grand Final
The Workers Club
51 Brunswick St, Fitzroy Answered by: Nat Presutto Is your venue screening both the NRL and AFL Grand Finals? Yep, we sure will! Peanuts and pretzels for all! What is the viewing situation during the big games? Are there any big screens? We have one mega screen, a couple of large HD TVs plus the game pumping through our huge sound system. We also have a separate lounge if you prefer a more intimate sitdown experience. Watching the big game can be thirsty work - will there be any drink specials on the day? $7 pints of Fitzroy’s own Bastard Son Pale Ale all day from 11am and all night ‘til close. Plus Stew’s magnificent kitchen will be producing great pub food and meal deals all day and night.
What’s happening in the way of preand post-match entertainment at your venue? We have a full line-up in the band room after the game including Fortunes, RaRa, YUGEN, Trick Dog Syndicate. When push comes to shove (as it so often does in grand finals) why do you believe your establishment is the best place to experience all the action? We have former Megahertz Captain Stew Farrell in the kitchen cooking up a storm including Melbourne’s best parma. $7 pints of quality beer. Plus we’re right in the heart of old Fitzroy go Lions! Website link for more info? theworkersclub. com.au
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S T C A TY F
FOO
Some AFL teams used to go by far more exciting names before adopting more conventional location- and animalbased names. Hawthorn were known as ‘The Mayblooms’ while North Melbourne were ‘The Shinboners’.
An English rugby team toured here in 1888 – the British Lions. They played 18 games of Australian rules football, winning five, losing 12 and drawing one.
When Fitzroy had a team in the VFL, they managed to win the wooden spoon and premiership in the same season. 1916 was a war-time season and only four teams competed.
Out of the hundreds of names on AFL lists in 2015, only one player is named John: Port Adelaide’s John Butcher, who was drafted in 2009.
Television coverage of football games was not allowed in 1960 as the VFL noticed a significant reduction in crowd attendance. Prior to this, direct telecasts of the final quarter had been permitted since TV coverage began in 1957.
THE MUSIC • 30TH SEPTEMBER 2015 • 33
Music
The Jury Is In The original line-up of Philadelphia Grand Jury is back with a vengeance, and frontman Simon “Berkfinger” Berckelman tells Steve Bell that they’ve thawed from their personal Cold War.
F
rom an outsider’s perspective the original tenure of Sydney outfit Philadelphia Grand Jury - which spanned 2008-2011 - burnt brightly and then exploded into pieces like some rock’n’roll supernova, the trio making a huge splash in a hurry and then disintegrating when it seemed like the world was at their feet. But now hatchets have been buried and they’re back firing on all cylinders, with the original line-up - Simon “Berkfinger” Berckelman (guitar/vocals), Joel “MC Bad Genius” Beeson (bass) and Dan “Dan W Sweat” Williams (drums) - back armed with a second long-player, Summer Of Doom, which we’re hoping isn’t some harbinger for a coming apocalypse.
We just thought we’d do the opposite of everything else we’d done, so it was scary and weird but a lot of fun.
“I’m psyched!” enthuses Berckelman. “I had a weird secret plan for a couple of years - I knew the band had broken up, but I was, like, ‘I reckon we’ll play again.’ I’ve always been holding out for it a little bit and championing the ‘getting back together’ cause, so I’m glad that it’s actually happening.” In 2013 Berckelman released Be Kind Unwind - the debut album from his solo project Feelings - and when he 34 • THE MUSIC • 30TH SEPTEMBER 2015
tapped Beeson and Williams to join him on the road the seeds of the Philly Js reunion were sown. “That wasn’t a masterminded thing at all - Dave Rennick (Dappled Cities) was playing with Feelings and he couldn’t make the tour, and I was, like, ‘Who do I know that can play keyboards and guitar and bass who I like and who’s in Sydney?’ Then I was, like, ‘Oh shit, it’s Joel! It’s MC Bad Genius!’” Berkfinger laughs. “I think he was really shocked, because I just kinda wrote to him and said, ‘Hey dude, do you want to come on tour?’, and he wrote back, ‘I’m really shocked to hear from you, but ‘yes!’” Berckelman concedes that the original split was sort of really messy. “Yes and no,” he hedges. “We were working on a second album originally, and we’d just come back from a UK tour and everyone was really tired, and I think if we’d taken a short break at that point then the band probably wouldn’t have imploded. But I and our manager stupidly really pushed to make a second record - I was making plans for us all to fly to San Francisco to this studio we really like to go record, and I think Joel was a bit, like, ‘Are you kidding? Are you serious? I need a holiday!’ Then everyone was all a bit, like, ‘I hate you and you’re ruining my life!’, but that went away about six months later, everyone wrote back later and said, ‘Hey, sorry I said that stuff - no hard feelings, huh?’ So it was messy for a short period, then it was a little bit Cold War and then we slowly, slowly got back into it.” They played a handful of shows in late-2013 to cement the return, then to record Summer Of Doom they decamped to Berckelman’s Berlin studio with producer Tim Whitten and laid down some ground rules. “The guys just came over here to Berlin and there was no plan except that we decided to make certain recording rules, like we said, ‘Ok, we’re not allowed to micro-edit things’,” the frontman continues. “We recorded it all to a computer - if we had a tape machine we would have done it on that - so we operated the computer like it was an old tape machine, so if you wanted to make a chop on a song you were only allowed to do something that would be equivalent of a tape splice. There was no planning except for the rules we set out and the process. “We just thought we’d do the opposite of everything else we’d done, so it was scary and weird but a lot of fun the only thing I’d say that wasn’t fun was that I didn’t finish all the lyrics in the two weeks that the guys were here when we had that incredible energy, so I thought, ‘Well, I’ll really think about my lyrics’ and it ended up taking about four or five months to finish them. By that time the whole band was in this weird limbo in their lives again and doing other stuff, so it took a while to get the energy back again. It took us until we’d mixed and mastered, and then suddenly Joel was, like, ‘Oh, the album’s really good!’ But for those four of five months no one knew what was happening with it, which scared everybody - they remembered that they’d had a fun time, but they didn’t really know what I was going to do with it. For the next album - which we’re going to do in Sydney in November - I’m going to turn up with all of my lyrics written, so hopefully we can put it all down on the spot.”
What: Summer Of Doom (Inertia) When & Where: 31 Oct, Howler
THE MUSIC • 30TH SEPTEMBER 2015 • 35
Indie Indie
Damien Power
Anne Edmonds
Don Fernando
The Vibraphonic Orkestra
Fringe
Fringe
Album Focus
Gettin’ Comfy
Describe your show in a tweet: Existential, philosophical, sociological, award-winning criticisms and analysis of capitalism and mental health plus dick jokes.
Describe your show in a tweet: A dark banjo romp about the interesting lives of the people you pass on the street and a girl who thinks she’s a pig.
Answered by: Andy Simpson
Answered by: Cian Johnson
Album title: Haunted By Humans
What is it about the venue that makes you want to a run of shows there? Ahhhh, Bar Open. It’s gritty, dark and dingy! It’s one of the last remnants of the old school Brunswick Street. What’s not to love about that?
Why did you decide to do Fringe 2015? I wanted to run my show again from this year so people who didn’t get a chance to see it during the Melbourne International Comedy Festival could come to see it. It’s a great show, I’m very happy with it. In a fantasy world, who would you be the love child of and why? Marie Curie (she developed ways to separate radium from radiation leading to many current practices, including chemotherapy) and Richard Pryor. Because science and comedy. All bases covered. Website link for more info? damienpower.com What: Damien Power: I Can’t Believe I Cared When & Where: 24 Sep — 2 Oct, Parliament Room, Imperial Hotel
Why did you decide to do Fringe 2015? I love the Melbourne Fringe! I’ve had the best experiences putting on shows there. It’s a place where you can experiment and the audience is open to new ideas. Tell us a bit about the creative team working on the project: It’s just me! Eddo. I’m a stand-up, character and banjo-playing comedian. This show won the Comic’s Choice award at the 2015 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. In a fantasy world, who would you be the love child of and why? Kasey Chambers and Johnny Cash - I secretly want to be a country singer Website link for more info? anneedmonds.com What: Anne Edmonds: You Know What I’m Like! When & Where: To 2 Oct, The Ballroom, Lithuanian Club
Where did the title of your new album come from? The album title is lifted from a book called The Book Thief. I stole the title from a really great line in the book and I have kind of appropriated the meaning. How many releases do you have now? One EP and three albums. How long did it take to write/ record? The record was written over the space of about two years and recorded over six months at my own studio. Was anything in particular inspiring you during the making? A lot of the songs were inspired by true crime stories; I’m fascinated with the darker side of the human psyche. What’s your favourite song on it? My favourite to listen to is Insane because it’s something a little different for us. Will you do anything differently next time? I will probably selfproduce again as we were very happy with the results. I would love to record in a remote location like the Spanish countryside or something. When and where is your launch/ next gig? Thursday 1 Oct at The Workers Club with The Ugly Kings, Drifter and Two Headed Dog. Website link for more info? facebook.com/ donfernandomusic
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Same set every week or mixing it up? Mixing it up all the way! We have a new look rhythm section too so you can expect some old songs done differently and a swag of new tunes too! Any special guests going to make an appearance during your tenure? With the awesome spread of talented musicians in all the rad support acts we have lined up, each night could see some spontaneous jam sessions. You will have to come down to find out. Favourite position at the venue when you’re not on stage? Front row centre for the support acts. We have so many great bands over the five weeks. And then straight to the bar to blow all the door money on shots. We like to party as much as you do! When are you in residence? Thursdays in October. Extra pumped for first gig on the 1st, as have a new public holiday the day after. Website link for more info? facebook.com/ thevibraphonicorkestra
THE MUSIC • 30TH SEPTEMBER 2015 • 37
Culture
AFL GRAND FINAL 2015 in MUSIC
Trivial Pursuit
Representing HAWTHORN from the music world we have The Band Started out life as The Hawks, before morphing into Levon & The Hawks and then eventually settling on The Band. Tough, uncompromising with an even spread of talent across the board. No weak links. If it’s not the big guns firing (Danko, Helm, Hudson) someone else will pop up with a sublime effort (Manuel, Robertson). Coalesced around a tough a wily leader (Dylan) with a traditional background but some massive tricks up his sleeve. Introduced massive changes (Dylan goes electric = Clarko’s cluster) that were initially unpopular but soon adopted by all and sundry. Not frightened to be unsociable. Their victories were widely accepted and nobody seemed to begrudge their ongoing success. They’ve been up and about, for a long, long time – will this be the Hawks’ last waltz?
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The RocKwiz Live! team are preparing to test our knowledge of ARIA Hall Of Fame artists, and co-creator Brian Nankervis tells Steve Bell that what happens on tour stays on tour. V music quiz institution RocKwiz is hitting the road once again, this time hosting a themed RocKwiz Live! Salutes The ARIA Hall Of Fame bash, and the show’s co-creator and ‘music brain’ Brian Nankervis explains that it’s a natural extension of this year’s RocKwiz Salutes The Decades concept which worked so well on the small screen. “We’re really happy with this latest season of RocKwiz - it’s really seemed to touch a nerve with people - and having a similar structure that we can work towards [with the live show] will be great,” he tells. “We produced an ARIA Hall Of Fame night about four or five years ago at the Hordern Pavilion [with a heap of great bands doing tributes] - it went really well. [The Church frontman] Steve Kilbey gave an amazing speech when they were inducted into the Hall Of Fame - it was remarkable. “So we ended up pretty good pals with the ARIA people, and we’d see them from time to time and say, ‘You know, we should do one of these again - what if we do a whole show based on ARIA Hall of Fame artists?’, and then someone came up with the great idea, ‘What about a whole tour?’ So it’s sort of a chance to honour some
T
incredible artists, to delve back into the history of Australian rock, but also it’s not all too far in the past - there’s plenty of artists who are still playing, and in true RocKwiz tradition we’ll have younger artists interpreting classic Australian hits which were performed by these Hall Of Fame artists.” Nankervis agrees that this live performance aspect has long been a major part of RocKwiz’s allure. “Right from the very first show we did in November, 2004 we had Paul Kelly on the show and we had this idea of artists doing a duet at the end of the show and he suggested this young girl from Little Birdy, Katy Steele, and they were just starting at that point but the pairing worked really well. Audiences loved the fact that it was someone that they knew and loved like Paul Kelly, but they also like the idea of seeing new talent - I think it’s important for the industry to keep bringing up new talent, you can’t sit in the past and just always have old artists. It’s just a matter of striking a balance which I think we do really well.” Furthermore the live arena gives all and sundry the opportunity to let their hair down a bit. “The live shows are great - they’re bigger and they’re bolder and they’re a bit rowdier in a way,” Nankervis chuckles. “Because there’s no cameras - the live shows are not being filmed - that means that we’ve got a little bit more license to muck around, and I think for experienced performers when you do muck around you find new ways of doing things, you discover things. I think audiences love the fact that they’re in on something special that no one else will see.”
When & Where: 8 & 9 Oct, Palais Theatre; 10 Oct, Deakin University, Geelong; 11 Oct, Regent Theatre, Ballarat
Music
All Natural
The invitation to come to Australia to perform at the 2016 Bluesfest will see blues artist Janiva Magness visiting for the first time, but as Michael Smith discovers, she already has an Australian connection.
“F
irst of all, I just want to say how super excited I am to be comin’ to Byron Bay,” Magness gushes, on the line from her home where she’s working on songs for the next record. As it happens, though this will be her first visit, Magness has already experienced something of Australia in the form of Australian songwriters Lauren Bliss and Andrew Lowden, who co-wrote When You Were My King and Standing with Magness for her most recent album, 2014’s Original. “Lauren and Andrew actually just got a song of the year award, which is very exciting, so, yeah, it’s very, very, very exciting that I get to come to their home country and play some music. Hopefully they won’t be on tour and we’ll be able to have a little hang time. We’ve written a couple of tunes for the new record as well. This time around, I think this record is gonna probably have a happier byline,” she laughs. “A little bit more joy, a little bit more happiness on it, because that’s what’s happening in my life these days, and I’m very grateful for that.” It was actually her bass player/MD/ producer, David Darling, who brought the Australian songwriting team into the mix
when Magness was recording Original, though he didn’t tell her they’d be there before she arrived for the session. “He completely bushwacked me! And what a happy surprise it turned out to be. Once we started working together it was just the most bizarre and beautiful experience - I felt like they’d been reading my mail or spying on me or something,” she laughs again. “They hadn’t but it felt like that. It was very natural, very symbiotic, you know what I mean? It was lovely.” While she’d co-written a couple of songs for the album before Original, 2012’s Stronger For It, Magness is still fairly new to the whole songwriting side of things. Born in Detroit, Michigan, she started out as a backing singer in Phoenix, Arizona before moving to Los Angeles in 1986 to try and establish herself as a solo artist, and until Stronger For It was principally an interpreter rather than a songwriter. After all, for many years she was married to a songwriter, Jeff Turmes. It was their separation in 2010 that really kickstarted the songwriting, and Original was her first fully original album, though she only co-wrote seven of the 12 songs. “I’m very open and not terribly fixed in the process of songwriting,” she explains, “although I am much more of a lyricist than I am anything. So, sometimes I’ll get a melody, sometimes I’ll get a cadence, but mostly it is definitely the lyric, the story, the heart of the song that tends to come from me more than anything. With Lauren and Andrew it was wonderful because they had a couple of ideas melodically and a little bit of lyric and then we just basically finished the lyric together over the course of a couple of days on both the songs. What a delightful writing experience it was for me with both of them.”
AFL GRAND FINAL 2015 in MUSIC
Representing WEST COAST from the music world we have The Eagles A firmly west coast proposition who were beloved by their faithful but underrated and sometimes even written off by everyone on the east coast (despite being one of the biggest selling bands of all time). Possess a lot more depth than usually given credit for (eg. Henley and Fry largely considered the engine room but Don Felder would pop up to write the bulk of Hotel California). A lot of run from the backline (Henley would drum and also sing vocals on tunes like Hotel California, Desperado and Life In The Fast Lane). A history of a massive behind the scenes drug culture often at odds with their squeaky clean public persona. A lot of vocal detractors (The Dude’s assertion in The Big Lebowski of “I hate the fuckin’ Eagles, man!” can often be heard uttered word for word in Melbourne pubs during September).
Sadly for westerners The Band would trump The Eagles every time due to their experience and tenacity so we’re predicting Hawthorn by 35 units.
When & Where: 24 - 28 Mar, Bluesfest, Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm THE MUSIC • 30TH SEPTEMBER 2015 • 39
In Focus Hear t On Your
Weezer Snuggie
Sleeve
Jeremy Neale
From toilet seats to bobbleheads, there are few items bands haven’t tried to cash in on when it comes to merch. We take a closer look at the ever-expanding industry to find out why it’s so successful and how things work behind the scenes.
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Kiss Bobble Head
Tenacious D Cum Rag
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or most music lovers, their identity is tied to their favourite artists, and the easiest way to communicate that is via a band tee, which could also be seen as a uniform. And it’s that uniform that can bring like-minded people together. “It can be a conversation starter,” Caz Worsley from Artist First says. “It’s a statement in a way, about who you are and what you like, similar to wearing a fashion brand but with another dimension that’s music.” Artist First deal with Epitaph Records, Parkway Drive and more, and it’s those scenes that usually tend to sell the most merch. Another label that has a strong connection with fans is Unified, who work with Northlane, The Used, and others. Main man Luke Logemann says band merch acts as a support system. “In the hardcore and metal scenes, I think it helps that a lot of the artists wear other bands’ merch themselves. Punters see that, and I guess it catches on for them,” he tells. “Overall wearing merch is a cool way to support the artists you like financially and to have something physical to hold - something that represents your love for the music. In this day and age of streaming and MP3s, I can see why that is especially appealing to people.” But it isn’t as simple as getting a bunch of black shirts made or venturing into new territory without carefully analysing your demographic, which is why you probably
Node Boxset
haven’t seen any Iron Maiden turtleneck in your travels. “We did this awesome Northlane boxset for their album Node, which has every song on the record as its own seven-inch vinyl. On the B-Side of each vinyl, was an instrumental version of that song,” Logemann explains. “All the spines align to form the upside triangle symbol from the album. Super proud of that one. “The Used did condoms as part of the last album pre-orders. I found it amazing looking at “used condoms” in our preorder reports.” Making too much merch is another problem bands and labels encounter, as Worsley points out. “It’s good to sell out you create demand, and you can always do another run if you need to. Also you need to market your merch, social media posts really help to get the word out to your fans.” But there’s always a way to fix having too much merch. “I once had a band with a terrible tour manager, who was also selling merch for them. He went to the toilet at a huge show and left the desk unattended,” Logemann recalls. “Anyway, some kid stole a box of hoodies and starting handing them out to people for free. So this TM comes back to the desk and realised his mistake. Next thing you know, he goes over to everyone wearing one of these hoodies and starts trying to take them back. We’d sold about 40 of them before the box was stolen too. It wasn’t funny at the time but I laugh about it now.”
TWIABP Fork
What The Artists Hold Dear Simon Berckelman (Philadelphia Grand Jury) I have a Sonic Youth Mug that I really love. I refuse to drink tea out of anything else. I realised early on that if I left it on the shelf with the other mugs, nine times out of 10 people would choose it. This led me to resorting to all sorts of things to make sure that I wouldn’t have to share it. Lately I have been taking it into my room with me at night. Before that I would never wash it, which worked but was of course disgusting.
Jeremy Neale’s Let Me Go Out In Style EP is out now
Top 5 Pieces Of
Tenacious D Cum Rag Why.
Merch That Should Own
Josh Smith (Northlane) My Bare Bones tee that I turned into a cutoff. It served me well as my gig shirt for a good nine months until I finally had to retire it from too much rocking out.
Dexter Holland Gringo Bandito
Weezer Snuggies Words cannot describe the greatest of this item, so we’ll let the picture do all the talking. Dexter Holland (The Offspring) Hot Sauce We know this isn’t exactly band merchandise, but The Offspring and hot sauce are both awesome, so your argument is invalid. Frontman Dexter Holland launched Gringo Bandito in 2006.
People
Philadelphia Grand Jury’s new album Summer Of Doom is out Friday 2 October
Jeremy Neale It’s not particularly revolutionary but I bought a mug once from a Spandau Ballet concert that just had the word ‘True’ written on it in large font as a reference to their 1983 smash hit. What a bold statement. People can’t doubt your integrity when you’re drinking
a coffee from that beast. Other than that I just wanna see more bands do calendars.”
Descendents Toilet Seat It’s practical; you’ve got to give them that. The legendary punk rock outfit have been known to deliver interest merchandise - from oversized coffee mugs and their own brew to stylish watches - but the Descendents branded toilet seat really takes the cake.
The World is a Beautiful Place & I am No Longer Afraid to Die Fork The US emo-revival pioneers one printed a shirt that said ‘TWIABP Suck’ on it in comic sans because a fan asked them to on the internet, so it’s not really surprising that this happened. “We are stupid. It is entirely your fault that this exists and it is also entirely your fault for buying this,” the band said on their webstore. It also appears to be of the disposable kind. Kiss Bobbleheads They were made for rocking you, baby.
THE MUSIC • 30TH SEPTEMBER 2015 • 41
Abbey Road Institute Melbourne Education
Answered by: Paul Ledingham, CEO What kind of courses do you offer? Abbey Road Institute offers an intensive 12-month full time Music Production and Sound Engineering program certified by Abbey Road Studios London and Universal Music Group. What kind of people would these courses suit? The program is ideal for anyone that has a intense passion for music and production and aspires to be the creative force behind the artists. Music Production requires a strong understanding of both technology and music composition and admission is strictly by interview and portfolio entry. Do you offer practical on-site learning or more of a theoretical base? The Abbey Road Institute programs are intensely practical-based where students are expected to work on practical assignments each and every class. Every student has access to an individual production workstation equipped with the latest in digital production software and tools. Abbey Road Institute also provide state-of-the-art commercial grade studios for students to undertake their own production work. What makes you different to other universities? As part of the Abbey Road and Universal Music Group, students have access to the EMI archives and are trained by some of the world’s leading engineers and producers in the techniques that have gone into the world’s most famous productions. Graduates receive global certification directly from Abbey Road and Universal.
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Do you offer job opportunities, internships, or other ways to help students get ahead? Abbey Road Institute offers internships through exclusive partnership with the Southern hemisphere’s largest and most prestigious commercial recording studio, Studios 301 (formally EMI). What’s a typical day like for a student at your institution? Students will be expected to work on productions every day under the guidance of experienced producers and engineers as well as being trained in all aspects of sound technology and music business by guest lecturers and leading industry professionals. When and where is your next Info Day/Open Day? The next information day will be held at 1/135 Sturt St in December 2015. Private tours can be arranged at any time by contacting the Institute directly on 1800 ARI EDU.
Website link for more info? abbeyroadinstitute.com
THE MUSIC • 30TH SEPTEMBER 2015 • 43
FOOD FESTIVALS THAT NEED
BETTER MUSIC
Music
High Times
Pic: Jana Reifegerste
Food offerings at music festivals have really stepped up in recent years, moving from crappy overpriced chips to a great range of appetising options. But can the same be said of the musical entertainment provided at food and wine festivals? Here are a few that could do with some sprucing up.
Heathcote Wine & Food Festival Boasts a heavy line-up of wineries coming together in celebration of the thriving local production of grape liquor. With free tastings and delicious food pairing options the festival expects to attract some 4000 people. Any musical entertainment they have, however, earns only a small mention with no specifics.
Foodbowl Festival The country town of Numurkah hosts its annual Foodbowl Festival on the third weekend of October. The festival is a showcase of the best the Goulburn Valley has to offer. Musical offerings are small and local but at least get a decent mention, plus there’s a Celtic music workshop. Still, some more established acts wouldn’t go astray. Where’s the country love?
Night Noodle Markets The Asian hawker street food wonderland is always packed full of people sitting and standing anywhere they can, with a tray of food, a drink or dessert in each hand. The long lines can often be testing, with a million smells wafting into punters’ nostrils while they inch slowly closer to the front of queue. So why not enlist some decent local acts to distract them from their hunger? 44 • THE MUSIC • 30TH SEPTEMBER 2015
Time and major lifestyle changes have given Bodyjar frontman Cameron Baines a different perspective on the past, present and future of the band. Daniel Cribb discovers How It Works in 2015.
A
lot of bands seem to be digging up old records to re-release and play in full of late, and although Bodyjar’s 2000 album, How It Works, is still a fan favourite 15 years on, vocalist Cameron Baines says its success was somewhat unexpected, considering the angle they took when writing it. At a time when the punkrock scene largely revolved around fast beats, Bodyjar took a step back and brought something else to the table. “It was a really, really melodic kind of rock album, you know?” Baines tells. “At the time, there was all these Epitaph and Fat Wreck bands that were just flat tack and we didn’t want to be another one of them. We thought it was really refreshing and was the best thing we could do to make it a bit different. And I guess for some people it wouldn’t have been heavy enough. I thought it was still real heavy, and it had heavy subject matter in the lyrics and heavy riffs, but it just wasn’t that fast.” It was also a time when the band through innocence - didn’t subscribe to conventional songwriting structures. “We didn’t even give a fuck if two riffs were so different; we just put them next to each other and played just ‘cause we could. You sort of
don’t consider the rules as much when you’re younger. I think that’s what I’ve realised with learning all this old material; you discover what your frame of mind was at the time.” The production of the album was also different to how the band operates today, especially when comparing the process involved in recording 2013’s Role Model, which came about after the band re-formed in 2012 after taking a hiatus in 2009. Recording back in the day, before growing up, getting job and having kids, the studio was primarily a place to hang out rather than work. You might recall Bodyjar had to pull out of a NOFX show last November - that was because Baines’ partner went into labour. Things have definitely changed for the members of Bodyjar. “Just listening to [How It Works] now - I was talking to Tom [Read, guitar] about it the other day - I can smell the studio, and the smell of weed in the air, and beer, and people; our friends there, who are fucked up. I just got that vibe again. It’s awesome. But Role Model is so much more focused; we knew what we were doing. I reckon it’s our best album... How It Works was so produced. It was the first time we had major label money and we wanted ‘big’, American... With Role Model, it was more focused - and more noisy, and a bit rough around the edges, like it should be.” Baines has already started penning the band’s next LP, taking into account the better aspects of How It Works and Role Model, while also moving in a new direction. “I’ve been writing a fair bit lately. When I’m at home, I’m always trying to write new shit... We might do, like, an EP at the end of the year and then probably an album pretty soon into 2016, hopefully... Basically it’s still punk rock, but it’s a bit more mature.”
When & Where: 2 & 3 Oct, Northcote Social Club
Music
Cold Chisel’s new album The Perfect Crime is a nod to the rock’n’roll of yesteryear, and singer Jimmy Barnes tells Steve Bell that you can’t buy the chemistry forged by time.
C
old Chisel have nothing to prove to anybody. They decades ago solidified their standing as one of Australia’s premier rock’n’roll outfits of all time, so these days they’re making music because they love it and that’s what they do best. Not even the tragic passing of drummer Steve Prestwich back in 2011 could temper this desire, instead seeming to galvanise them even further. Their eighth record The Perfect Crime is a vital collection that sounds fundamentally like Cold Chisel, and they wouldn’t have it any other way. “We wanted to make a rock record - we wanted to make a record that was more ‘up’ than the last record we made [2012’s No Plans],” explains singer Jimmy Barnes. “We wanted to solidify - since we made the last record we did that big, big [‘Light The Nitro’] tour of Australia [in 2011-12], and by that stage we’d gone through a bit of mourning for the loss of Steve, we went through making that record with Charlie [Drayton] before we’d really gotten over the loss of Steve, and we sort of cemented that relationship on the tour. So although we haven’t replaced Steve - he’s a hard guy to replace - we’ve found someone who plays something different and brings something else to the band, and Charlie’s fitted right
in. So by the time we were going into the studio with this record, we wanted to utilise and focus on what this band does best - which is these rhythm and blues numbers. “Everyone in this band is and was as equally important to the band as any other member, so if any of us left we’d be buggered, and when Steve died To read the it was really like full interview a big gaping hole, head to emotionally and theMusic.com.au musically. We were very, very lucky that the first drummer we tried was Charlie Charlie was well aware of the musical history of the band and he didn’t come in and try to change that, but at the same time he was such a strong character that he wanted to bring his own thing to it.” And while the forced line-up change might have impacted the album’s sound, it’s the innate chemistry between the longstanding founders that really brings that Chisels edge. “It’s something that’s developed over nearly 45 years - we formed in 1973, so that’s 42 years,” Barnes smiles. “It’s a rapport that’s developed over those years, and a lot of it is not in what we play, it’s in what we don’t play. Ian [Moss - guitar] knows when to stay out, and part of that is that he’s working out what Don [Walker - piano/keys]’s playing so he sits out and then he’ll interject and add his little pieces and usually we’ll find that that’s enough - we don’t layer up the guitars, we don’t double that or double this, everything goes down and it’s almost like a live recording. To do that you have to leave space for each other, and so a lot of the magic in this record is what we don’t play.”
What: The Perfect Crime (Cold Chisel Music/Universal) When & Where: 19 Nov, Rod Laver Arena; 21 Nov, Hanging Rock Reserve
This Week’s Releases
Releases
Crime Pays
Wavves V Pod/Inertia
Rudimental We The Generation Warner
Eagles Of Death Metal Zipper Down T-Boy Records/Universal
Mercury Rev The Light In You Bella Union/[PIAS] Australia
THE MUSIC • 30TH SEPTEMBER 2015 • 45
OPINION Opinion
The Heavy Shit
Moderately Highbrow
Visual Art Wank And Theatre Foyers With Dave Drayton
Luna Society
I
t may come as a surprise to you, but despite my lowly rank as fortnightly arts columnist for The Music, I possess a rather tidy little property portfolio. With the median house price in Sydney now sitting around a cool $1 million, you may well ask how? I looked beyond Sydney. For starters I took up Laphroaig’s generous offer for my own square foot plot of Islay slush. Then I set my sites higher, and larger, acquiring an acre of land on the Moon courtesy of earth’s leading lunar real estate agency. But with all the pre-production going on for Mars One ruining the serenity of the normally serene Sea Of Vapours I realised I perhaps had not set my sights quite far enough. At first considering Jupiter and Saturn, before again chastising myself for short-sightedness, I settled on Uranus, and have begun looking at the moons there. And with my real estate search came the most wonderful discovery - forget finding an apartment in AC/DC Lane or a beach house on Parkway Drive, buying in the galactic vicinity of Uranus offers the opportunity to live on Ophelia, Desdemona, Rosalind or Cupid. Twenty-seven natural satellites (that we know so far!) with names taken from the works of Shakespeare and Alexander Pope, and not a reality TV contestant to be found on any one of them.
Travis Scott
O G F l ava s Urban And R&B News With Cyclone
s Travis Scott the new Kanye West? The Houston, Texas MC/ singer/producer/progeny, born Jacques Webster, is being positioned as such. Curiously, Scott has apparently dropped the ‘$’ from ‘Travis’ ahead of his ‘event’ debut, Rodeo. Webster has two powerful patrons - West, who made him one of GOOD’s in-house producers, and TI, who signed him to Grand Hustle Records as a
I
46 • THE MUSIC • 30TH SEPTEMBER 2015
Cannabis Corpse
(post-)rapper. Like Ye, Webster broke through as a beatmaker (he recently co-helmed Rihanna’s Bitch Better Have My Money). He’s since acquired a rep as an infamous “rager” on stage - a “professional anarchy maestro”. Rodeo is an acid trap opus - less about rhymes than aesthetic, Webster is a bold experimenter. TI delivers a monologue on the spacey - and bizarrely-titled - intro Pornography, mythologising Webster as a “young rebel” (who openly idolises KiD CuDi). Ironically, on Rodeo Webster steps back from the boards, revelling in the role of ‘curator’ (Mike Dean dominates the production credits). There are mini-epics. The first is the eightminute lead single 3500, featuring Webster’s homie Future - oh, and 2 Chainz. But, at least sonically, it’s surpassed by DJ Dahi’s 90210 - a part Woodstock, part blaxploitation, part sci-fi soundtrack. West gatecrashes Rodeo’s unhinged punk-funk Piss On Your Grave - which, referencing Jimi Hendrix, could be a Yeezus leftover. Flying High is a murky collab between Pharrell Williams and Toro y Moi, chillwave auteur. Even Rodeo’s pop concessions are decent. Pray 4 Love is an avant’n’b takeover by Illangelo and The Weeknd. What’s more, Webster rages with another Canadian, Justin Bieber, credibly rapping Drake-style (!), and Young Thug on the wonky Maria I’m Drunk.
OPINION Opinion
Metal And Hard
A
lbum art. That glorious Rock With final barrier between the music Chris Maric and you. It’s what has defined metal and made it stand so much apart from every other kind of music for the last 40 odd years. How many hours did you spend poring over classic album covers finding hidden details, inside gags and references to all kinds of stuff? Sitting on the floor with the art and lyrics while you listened to the music made the experience that much richer. Especially if you had a big 12-inch square piece of it.Art still plays just as important a role as it ever did despite most people’s interaction being reduced to thumbnails on a screen. It often conveys the mood of the music more than the music itself. Have you ever seen an alternate cover for an album from another country after years of knowing how it looks and wonder if things would have been different had you had that cover? It’s kind of like imagining if Die Hard starred Stallone instead of Willis - it’d be the same movie but there’s definitely something different about it. The classic artists of metal history like Pushead (Metallica) and Derek Riggs (Iron Maiden) are famous for their brilliant work and no doubt are the cause of a stack of unwarranted attention from people like the PMRC back in the day and conservative groups who get themselves all in a tizz over a cartoon Satan but seemingly don’t bat an eyelid at Renaissance art in a gallery which is usually way more provocative. Why am I talking about album art? Well, it just so happens that Australia’s own album art is up there with the world’s best and on Friday 2 Oct at the M2 Gallery in Surry Hills Utopia Records will be presenting Arte Diabolica: a showcase of 15 artists and their work. It’s the first event of its kind to showcase local talent and I highly recommend you check it out. At times esoteric, heavy-handed, funny, hypnotic or completely in your face, the art and artists featured will hopefully give people a bit more of a connection and background into the origins of many albums sitting in their racks at home. The event hopes to evolve into a festival that goes beyond showing the art and encompass the scene at large. Gigs, photography exhibitions and collector stuff really bring together all the elements of the local scene into one narrative and show just how awesome and world class it is!
Some of the artists featured include Gilesy, whose imagination is sprawled across album covers for Toe To Toe, Poison Idea, Downtime and Mindsnare; Ray Ahn, everyone’s favourite vinyl junkie and bass player for Hard-Ons; Nunchukka Superfly, whose attitude to art has always been on his own terms and is totally unique; design studio Keepsake, who do customised gig poster and artwork; skull drawing master Ben Brown (Massappeal); Rev Kriss Hades (does he need an intro, really?); and Marty Schneider, who loves drawing monsters for the likes of Clowns, Frank Rizzo, Michael Crafter and Sumeru. There are plenty more but I only have 600 words here. The event will be curated by Glenno (Glenn Smith), whose full blown imagery appears on work by Bloodduster, Pod People, King Parrot, The Meanies, Napalm Death and also his own bands Lawnsmell and Chinese Burns Unit. Right, support local and appreciate art! I’m off to stare at my oversized cover of Somewhere In Time again. Thirty years later and I’m still finding things in there that I’ve never noticed before!
Delphi Bank 22nd Greek Film Festival
Film Festival Focus Answered by: Penny Kyprianou, Festival Director What kinds of films are on your program? A mix of films including contemporary dramas, star-studded comedies, documentaries that examine issues plaguing Greece today plus three shorts programs: Greek-Australian, international and a newly added documentary
shorts program. This year we also celebrate the films of one Greece’s most recognisable actresses, famed ‘60s bombshell, Aliki Vougiouklaki, the ‘National Star of Greece’.
What makes your festival stand out from other film festivals? The new wave of Greek cinema continues to strengthen, appearing at major international film festivals across the globe where it has received numerous awards. Young filmmakers with a fresh vision continue to challenge cultural norms, creating a crop of unconventional, creatively daring films that explore contemporary issues with youthful vigour. When & where is your festival? 14 Oct - 1 Nov, Palace Cinema Como
THE MUSIC • 30TH SEPTEMBER 2015 • 47
Album / E Album/EP Reviews
Deafheaven New Bermuda Anti-/Warner
★★★★
Album OF THE Week
Will black metal ever be this melodic again? Is this incarnation of black metal so diluted it’s no longer black metal? Purists who cocked a snoot at the shoegaze elements of Sunbather are likely to have convulsions over the softer elements of New Bermuda, a title inspired by the notion of boldly searching for new territory. It’s not just the lilting piano lines and occasional acoustic instruments that have occasionally been used as contrast by other extreme metal acts, it’s Deafheaven’s thoughtful, balanced approach that demands kudos. Screaming is not an end in itself, and while no one can question the vehement rage that rips through the first six minutes of Luna, the subsequent contemplative guitar solo which melts into a simple, near silence hook is a natural and inspired progression. But it’s the second half of the album where the most risks are taken, as the eviscerating howl of Baby Blue goes from a scream to a sigh with a languid prog-like jam. This is followed by the opening to Come Back which could easily be mistaken for an outtake from The Cure’s Disintegration. Most dumbfounding of all is the closing stages of the final Gifts For The Earth which have been confirmed in interviews by the band to be a tribute to Oasis’ Champagne Supernova; a tragedy for purists, a masterstroke to everyone else. Relish New Bermuda while you can because a band this adventurous won’t stay here long. Christopher H James
Cold Chisel
Wavves
The Perfect Crime
V
Cold Chisel Music/Universal
Pod/Inertia
★★★½
★★★
The opening line “I wake up in the morning, feel like shit” (Alone For You) in that inimitable throaty voice can only mean one thing: Chisels are back! One of Australia’s finest ever rock bands prove that there’s plenty of life in the old dog yet, their ambitious eighth album The Perfect Crime showcasing the many facets of their adroit craftsmanship. The second release of this career phase - following 2012’s No Plans - finds a more even creative contribution across the board and as a result there’s a nice sonic diversity throughout, although ultimately anything this group touches together sounds precisely like Cold Chisel. Don Walker brings two strong tracks from his solo canon (the title track and Four In The Morning) and co-penned single Lost with Wes Carr, even foraying vaguely into disco territory with Bus
Nathan Williams may have helped to stroke his stoner shtick to the extent of producing his own marijuana paraphernalia, but no one can accuse him of a lack of motivation. Since the abrupt ablution that was Williams’ debut as Wavves in 2008, he has ridden a wave of beach-punk imitators and acolytes and pumped out five albums, contributed to video games and collaborated with Cloud Nothings. His latest effort has shirked the lo-fi scuzz that epitomised Wavves’ inception, sounding bigger and brasher than ever - which is a blessing and a curse. The string bend and rebound effect on the guitars for Way Too Much is almost amusing, which is where this song becomes perplexing with drumming damped down and meticulously cut to sound almost machine-pad-like, vocals that
48 • THE MUSIC • 30TH SEPTEMBER 2015
Station. Jimmy Barnes co-wrote two with his son-in-law Ben Rodgers (All Hell Broke Lucy and the ominous Long Dark Road), while elsewhere Get Lucky ushers a nice change of pace and The Backroom sounds like a lost gem. Drummer Charlie Drayton (who joined following Steve Prestwich’s sad passing in 2011) brings plenty of swing and locks in nicely with bassist Phil Small, Ian Moss shreds in inimitable fashion, Walker brings his trademark versatility on keys and Barnesy delivers one of his best vocal performances in ages. Chisels’ chemistry is undeniable and they seem settled and comfortable, an accomplished outing. Steve Bell
veer from gritty to saccharine in the space of seconds, and sunny instrumentation that crunches into a headier drive for the outro. There is a sense of conflicting internal emotions and moods, Heavy Metal Detox finding the beauty in taking a step back, while All The Same seems to play at the opposite of this ideal, losing minds in a pop fever dream. It’s a tough nut to crack, with a penchant for flippantly changing tempos and moods within the song. This has always been a devilish trademark, but it can still rankle, especially when the songs perilously border a been-there-done-that mediocrity. Brendan Telford
EP Reviews Album/EP Reviews
Autre Ne Veut
Banoffee
Mercury Rev
Age Of Transparency
Do I Make You Nervous?
The Light In You
Downtown/Create/Control
Bella Union/[PIAS] Australia
Dot Dash/Remote Control
Philadelphia Grand Jury Summer Of Doom Inertia
★★★★
★★★½
★★★½
★★★
Arthur Ashin wants you to see right through him. Age Of Transparency is the third full-length album from the American vanguard artist, conceptualised around the idea that honesty has become commodified. In his idealistic view, being an artist is more about acknowledging the inevitable failure in representing your truest self. This album, the second instalment in an incomplete trilogy, was heavily deconstructed after its original recording with a jazz band and then reassembled in an attempt to replicate this artificiality. Despite the jarring electronic bursts Ashin scatters throughout these songs, his glassshattering vocal performance holds it all together in an intimate balance. It’s an abrasive listen, but feels positively transcendental by the time it finishes.
Melbourne-based singer and producer Martha Brown aka Banoffee follows up her self-titled debut EP release from last year with another gliding collection of songs. The production is a step above the standard electronic singer-songwriter affair, featuring assistance from fellow Melbourne artist and long-time collaborator Oscar Key Sung. Oceans in particular bubbles with emotion as it ends, some scattered sounds providing an innovative take on the standardised song structure. Brown’s writing style is intensely personal, and is well balanced with universally accessible sentiments during its best moments on tracks like the longing With Her. This is only her second release as Banoffee since her debut release last year, making Brown an exciting new artist to watch.
Since the psychedelic-indie of Yerself Is Steam which these days has a distinctly ‘90s twang, Mercury Rev have mellowed with each release to arrive at the exquisitely dreamy place where The Light In You exists. The latest incarnation of this band sees Jonathan Donahue and Sean Mackowiak take the lead to deal out pop hooks wrapped in majestic psychedelics. Donahue’s introspective and searching vocals are filled with wide-eyed wonder, sadness and heartache. Immersive atmospherics and lush orchestrations that give these twinkling daydreams a symphonic dimension bring to mind the genius of Van Dyke Parks. Their first album in seven years is one into which listeners can easily disappear.
Four years since announcing their hiatus (with a brief run of reunion shows in between), Philadelphia Grand Jury step back into the spotlight with Summer Of Doom. Seemingly putting their foot forward for the roadtrip soundtrack of the summer festivals, the Philly Jays have crammed waves of bouncy fuzz bass and bubbling harmonies with the lively Berkfinger vocals we know and love into just over 30 minutes of short, punchy indie-rock. Live session recording with little to no editing aids the genreswapping tracks such as Spend More Time and Chris Is In A Jam without holding up the record’s flow, and rounds out a polished little gem and welcome return from the Sydney lads.
Roshan Clerke
Roshan Clerke
Guido Farnell
Mark Beresford
More Reviews Online Children Of Bodom I Worship Chaos Nuclear Blast/ Caroline
theMusic.com.au
Queensryche Condition Human Century Media
Larry Gus I Need New Eyes DFA/[PIAS] Australia
THE MUSIC • 30TH SEPTEMBER 2015 • 49
Album / E Album/EP Reviews
Clutch
Dylan Joel
Rudimental
Trivium
Psychic Warfare
Authentic Lemonade
We The Generation
Silence In The Snow
Weathermaker Music
Warner
Warner
Roadrunner
★★★½
★★★½
★★★
★★★
Now on their 11th studio release, Clutch offer up Psychic Warfare as their most complete and well rounded release since the 2004’s Blast Tyrant. Filled with filthy southern blues barroom riffs like X-Ray Visions and Firebirds, plus the unbeatable sweet gravel gargles of Neil Fallon, this album instantly reminds us why Clutch have had their cult following for nigh on 25 years. The record gallops though a mighty sweep of funk- and hard rock-driven blues, delivered like the perfect soundtrack to a fist fight in a highway biker bar, and capturing the electric energy the Maryland outfit produces in their live sets. Psychic Warfare will be an instant favourite for existing fans of the band and is an impressive showcase of a band that seem to be getting better with age.
An undisputed up-and-comer of the Australian hip hop scene, Melbourne MC Dylan Joel drops his debut album to an already established fanbase. Full of party jams and singalong choruses, Authentic Lemonade lands more punches than it misses, making it a more than serviceable record. The 12 tracks that span the album show Joel’s undeniable talent in crafting couplets, and pair strongly with the at times subtle production of Cam Bluff (Hilltop Hoods, Illy) and Joel himself. He avoids the bogan hip hop stereotype, and while there are weaker moments – opener Always Fresh might’ve been better placed later in the album – overall, it’s a lot of fun.
British collective Rudimental are back with a loved-up second album. I Will For Love and Never Let You Go are songs about what one is willing to do for love, that have playful drum and bass beats. The album features many standout guest vocalists including Ed Sheeran and Dizzee Rascal. Anne-Marie smashes out powerful vocals on Foreign World while All That Love builds up from soft piano to mellow drum and bass. System is very soulful with upbeat beats with a bit of a Jamaican feel. The album focuses on love, a softer side to Rudimental, but sadly they lose the fierce garage sound that their first album offered.
Trivium was the band many hyped as the next Metallica: it never quite worked out that way, yet still the boys have retained a decent following, and Silence In The Snow, their seventh LP, will solidify this support. The album offers ten tracks of traditional melodic heavy metal. Noticeable on this LP is Matt Heafy’s improved vocal style that makes Blind Leading The Blind and The Ghost That’s Haunting You into infectious ditties. Trivium have never managed to top Shogun but Silence In The Snow shows that the band still has something to offer. They may never be Metallica - but they have survived.
Dylan Stewart
Aneta Grulichova
Mark Hebblewhite
Mark Beresford
More Reviews Online Central Rain Flying Information Popboomerang
50 • THE MUSIC • 30TH SEPTEMBER 2015
theMusic.com.au
Editors In Dream [PIAS] Australia
Darkstar Foam Island Warp/Inertia
THE MUSIC • 30TH SEPTEMBER 2015 • 51
Live Re Live Reviews
Basenji @ Listen Out Catani Gardens. Pic: Joshua Braybrook
Listen Out
Catani Gardens 26 Sep
ILoveMakonnen @ Listen Out Catani Gardens. Pic: Joshua Braybrook
Childish Gambino @ Listen Out Catani Gardens. Pic: Joshua Braybrook
Rae Sremmurd @ Listen Out Catani Gardens. Pic: Joshua Braybrook
Client Liaison @ Listen Out Catani Gardens. Pic: Joshua Braybrook
Joey Bada$$ @ Listen Out Catani Gardens. Pic: Joshua Braybrook
52 • THE MUSIC • 30TH SEPTEMBER 2015
First impressions of Catani Gardens as a festival site? Lush green lawns, plenty of shady spots and places to sit, and, although the completely open space with absolutely no shelter was a gamble at this time of year, it’s paid off today! The gazebo in the centre is right up there with Melbourne Showgrounds’ Pie In The Sky when it comes to meeting spots. And how about those sea views! The first stage we stumble across is 909, where Basenji is cranking Gosh by Jamie xx. He’s got a great energy onstage and an awesome platinum-dyed hairstyle. There’s a lot of bopping when Basenji drops his hit Dawn (the one with the dogs barking in it). Time to venture over to Atari stage. When Client Liaison frontman Monte Morgan joins in with the band’s trio of retro dancers (sporting matching white leotards with the highest of leg lines) - not just for the grape vine but also more complex chorey - punters reach for their phones to take selfies with this action in the background. “It’s time to feel good,” Morgan later announces, after returning to the stage in some kind of barely-there, gold, open-weave chainmail tank top. It’s tonnes of fun, but a bit onetrick pony (albeit an immaculately kitted-out one). Then just as we’re about to wander off elsewhere, Client Liaison’s most-recognisable track (End Of The Earth) receives an injection of Need You Tonight by INXS, which keeps us dancing in front of their stage for the duration. Apparently disposable cameras are back in. There’s also a new type of festival goer in town: The Attention-Seeking Photo Hog. These rare creatures hunt in packs and can be easily identified by their matching fancy dress costumes. On this occasion, Storm Troopers. Beware
when setting up a photo opp, for these pests seem to come out of nowhere and will jump into frame, pretending they are a part of your festival crew. Introducing his own track Floating On A Salt Lake on 909 stage, Roland Tings tells us, “That’s kinda how I’m feeling today,” which is further demonstrated by his continuous grin. Overheard disgruntled recreational drug user: “Nothing’s happening. We got ripped off!” On this same stage, George Fitzgerald opens with a cut that would slot right in at Space, Ibiza for their Sunday ‘recovery’ session - pretty hardcore for 4pm. Time to investigate Atari once more. ILoveMakonnen are “goin’ UP/On a [Satdy]” (correct, it’s his song that Drake features on although the song places them in da club on a Tuesday instead). As a giant inflatable Nemo is volleyed throughout the crowd, Rae Sremmurd (brothers Khalif “Swae Lee” and “Slim Jimmy” Brown all the way from Mississippi, US) welcome us into their No Flex Zone, although they’ve clearly not been practicing what they preach since they’re buff as fuck. The duo spray bottles of bubbly all over those assembled and show off their svelte tattooed torsos as they traverse the stage. Hayden James draws a decent crowd over to 909 stage and his live percussive touches bring a point of difference to his set; it’s great to see where the sounds are coming from rather than wondering whether he’s up there tracking a pizza delivery on his laptop. Something About You coaxes the casual listeners into the heart of the dancefloor. After James’s set there’s the kind of mass exodus that makes you fumble for your timetable to check what you’re missing out on (Odesza). But our posi’s ace so we stay for a spot of Ryan Hemsworth. He’s wearing a white hoody with Dime written across the front and drops subtle, atmospheric jams with percussive rapping. In the meantime, we spy
eviews Live Reviews
Perplexing Tatt Of The Day: a gent chose “Happy Birthday” in cursive script on his thigh. FOMO takes hold and we return to Atari stage where everyone seems to be milling about, chatting and waiting for the drop. Enter Odesza’s remix of Faded by Zhu and this song’s
There were heaps less topknots and ironic moustaches this year.
lyrics (“Baby I’m wasted”) pretty much describe the majority of this crowd, most of whom have pupils as big as dish plates (some are even opting to dance barefoot). To the dudes who upturned a wheelie bin in order to remove cans and take advantage of the $1 back recycling scheme: is that absolutely necessary? Then again, we later see a lad has parked a full, recyclables wheelie bin right up next to the recycling booth, where he fishes out cans - out of eyeshot - then hands them straight over to his mate, who exchanges them for $1 bar tokens. Dodgerama! The volumes suddenly seem very low, as if further restrictions have kicked in, and we head back to Hemsworth who’s definitely got a lotta soul in what he brings. Fiddy’s Get My Money Right is a savvy selection from Hemsworth. At the Red Bull Crate Diggers stage, we score a lesson in ADM (that’s Australian Dance Music), thanks to Ara Koufax, which kicks off with Djapana by Yothu Yindi. Then in comes Madison Avenue’s Don’t Call Me Baby - still so good! Plus Bee Gees encourage You Should Be Dancing - too right! Eavesdropping while waiting
in the bar queue uncovers some gold: “She’s too paranoid! I’m like, ‘I need my space,” and, in a totally unrelated conversation, “I don’t even know what I’m saying, to be honest.” Yep, all those chemicals are kicking in. (And a buck extra per eftpos transaction is a bit of a stretch.) Back at 909, where the dancefloor is littered with discarded nangs, Dusky bring it, but then we follow the tide across to Joey Bada$$. There’s a massive response for Hardknock, which features that sample from Annie. Our ears are distracted once more by Crate Diggers where Discovery have chosen to spin a Daft Punk- themed set. (And, yes, they’ve donned the requisite robot helmets). One More Time gathers maximum dancers in front of the booth. Back to Bada$$ and there’s lots of, “Hands up! Hands up!” commands from the stage. Park benches become prime real estate as they’re sturdy to stand/dance on for the perfect view. Loads of ladies are invited onstage and Badda$$ pleads, “Won’t you teach me how to dance, how to dance,” before leading a, “Fuck police!” chant. Does SBTRKT wear his tribal mask for DJ sets as well? Course he does. And it’s getting a bit woolly on 909 stage with security manning the area near the entrance while punters gather on the other side of the fence, at times climbing up - a few at once - and threatening to jump over and join the party. A lot of crews now utilise the ‘lip-synching sock puppet in the air’ gesture to locate friends these days so we might need to think of an alternative. Volume restrictions mean there’s a lot of people loitering around the edges of the d-floor, waiting for something to happen. A security guard even asks if this scribe’s enjoying the set. And then in comes Gosh by Jamie xx for the second time (that we know of) today. Back at Atari, Childish Gambino is all set up with a few separate, framed LED screens
(and a drummer concealed behind). “My birthday is yesterday,” Gambino announces when he arrives on stage. Sometimes we can see through the screens, sometimes not, but the sounds are a bit sparse for a headline set and he talks too much between tracks. So we decide to give Golden Features a crack. Tom Stell (aka Golden Features) also wears a mask and we find the loudest sweet point, which is behind the sound desk where speakers are directed toward the sea, for a boogie. This is more upbeat and much better suited to a closing set. Golden Features features a lot of golden lights and he smashes out some fat beats. As we exit the festival, a sudden thought enters this reviewer’s brain: There were heaps less topknots and ironic moustaches this year! All’s not lost! Bryget Chrisfield
Maroon 5 Rod Laver Arena 26 Sep Howling wolves and intense tribal drumming welcome Maroon 5 to the stage as they leap right into fierce hit Animals. It’s been three years since they last played at Rod Laver Arena and while it may not be a record-breaking 18th consecutive show like their mate Pink, they’re still quite proud to play in front of a sold-out crowd. They keep it simple for us tonight with frontman Adam Levine looking very casual in jeans and a T-shirt with rolled-up sleeves to show off his tattooed biceps. There’s no need for flashy visuals or acrobatics; instead, it’s all about the band and Levine’s flawless crooning vocals. Maroon 5’s current world tour is in support of their fifth studio album V, but there’s something for everyone and they pull tracks from across their diverse collection of recorded music spanning more than 15 years. Levine even throws
in some tracks showcasing his own guest vocal appearances including Stereo Hearts (featured on the popular Gym Class Heroes track). Maroon 5 churn out hit after hit at a rapid-fire pace, continuing to build up momentum to Lucky Strike (which is by far the most energetic of the set). A whirl of kaleidoscopic lights spin ‘round and ‘round to the supercharged guitar solos and catchy lyrics. Love Somebody marks a shift to a slower pace as the band show us more of their sensitive sides with some emotional pop ballads that emphasise Levine’s effortless, pitch-perfect falsetto. They continue this with This Love, which Levine starts off a cappella - we all sing along until
There’s no need for flashy visuals or acrobatics; instead, it’s all about the band and Levine’s flawless crooning vocals.
the band joins in and Levine picks up his neon pink electric guitar for a solo jam. They’re very far from home but the band of five take a moment to thank each other for the friendship that binds them together as they link arms to sing the opening chorus of Payphone. R City join Maroon 5 for a special encore opener of their current chart-topping single Locked Away, which features Levine and is performed for the first time ever on a live stage. The hip hop duo bring their calypso, reggae-infusion rap and high energy, which combines seamlessly with Levine’s soothing-sweet vocals during THE MUSIC • 30TH SEPTEMBER 2015 • 53
Live Re Live Reviews
the chorus. Of course the band can’t leave without playing their biggest, heart-melting ballad She Will Be Loved and the inescapable Moves Like Jagger. They hit one final sweet spot on Sugar as everyone gets up on their feet to dance.
Maroon 5 @ Rod Laver Arena. Pic: Lucinda Goodwin
Michael Prebeg
State Of Grace: The Music Of Tim & Jeff Buckley @ Hamer Hall Conrad Sewell @ Northcote Social Club The Gin Club Two @ Lomond Hotel
The word that springs to mind tonight is ‘vintage’ as we watch aging baby boomers and a few curious youngsters shuffle into Hamer Hall. At 74 years of age Baez, with a red scarf wrapped around her neck, looks radiant when she graces the audience with her presence. She starts with a fine cover of Freight Train and accompanies herself on a delightfully finger-picked acoustic. Despite the size of the concert hall, Baez’s performance feels immediately intimate. Recalling recording Silver Dagger in a filthy New York hotel back in 1958, it’s with a certain amusement that Baez regards her younger self as a rather serious folk musician who sang songs that involved heavy decisions and the risk of death. As Baez thinks about the past, it has to be said that on all accounts it looks like it has been pretty fabulous. There is of course only one person who could lay claim to having marched with Martin Luther King, introducing the world to Bob Dylan and being good friends with Vaclav Havel who sparked The Velvet Revolution. She even helped Mandela celebrate his
7:30PM
THU 1ST OCT
ERASERHEAD 54 • THE MUSIC • 30TH SEPTEMBER 2015
90th birthday and dated Steve Jobs back in the ‘80s. The iconic folk singer carved her musical career from recording her own tunes but also many covers. Tonight’s show includes quite a few of Steve Earle and Dylan tunes with Jerusalem and Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right
A rare audience with an important voice that continues to speak to the generations. among the many highlights of the 90-minute set. Surprisingly, a stunning rendition of Tom Waits’ Day After Tomorrow makes the setlist. Baez’s upper register has undoubtedly faded but she more than makes up for it with the emotion she is able to convey. The standards - Swing Low, Sweet Chariot and Give Me Cornbread When I’m Hungry - hit
FRI 2ND OCT
7.30PM BUTCH CASSIDY & THE
SUNDANCE KID
more rootsy notes, the latter inspiring multi-instrumentalist Dirk Powell to thrown down his banjo and dance with Baez as her son Gabe Harris drops a big percussion solo. Still smarting from her appearance on Q&A, she sums up the experience gently but firmly with the line, “I might be a pacifist, but I’m not an idiot.” As expected, Baez retains the sober, dignified and respectful voice of consciousness and protest that emerged in the ‘60s and her passion is undiminished. Talking land rights, Baez recites the lyrics of Goanna’s Solid Rock over a didgeridoo drone. House Of The Rising Sun and The Boxer take us back in time but it’s the joyous classic Gracias A La Vida that adds a flourish of South American charm to the mix. The night comes down with a standing ovation as Baez brings Eric Bogle’s haunting And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda. A rare audience with an important voice that continues to speak to the generations. Guido Farnell
7.30PM
SAT 3RD OCT
HOLDING THE MAN
STRANGERLAND
Slum Sociable @ Shebeen Bandroom
Hamer Hall 25 Sep
MASH
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THE BABADOOK
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Pic: Joshua Braybrook
The Martian Film In cinemas 1 Oct
An Evening With Kevin Smith Comedy Palais Theatre, 21 Sep
★★★½ You can’t say Kevin Smith didn’t warn us, all 2800 or so of us who crammed into Palais Theatre on Monday night to catch the Clerks and Chasing Amy filmmaker reel off a few tales of his life and career. He said he would give “long-winded answers” during the Q&A section of his show An Evening With Kevin Smith - it was only one 90minute answer to a single question (you had to feel a little bad for the seven other people standing in line) that made up the bulk of the gig. Luckily, Smith’s talents as a raconteur - both live and on podcasts, where he appears to have found his second wind (he calls them “punk rock for people who can’t play music”) - are formidable enough to keep everyone engaged and entertained, and he used the question about finding an audience and building a brand to deliver a potty-mouthed self-actualisation seminar about recognising your own voice and perspective as personal currency (you should “spend as much as possible”), while throwing in some crowd-pleasing showbiz dish (Johnny Depp is playful and chill, Bruce Willis is a lazy dick, Ben Affleck has always had a very healthy ego). However, the second part of the show, which threw Smith’s long-time friend and colleague Jason Mewes into the mix for a live presentation of the duo’s Jay and Silent Bob Get Old podcast, slowed the momentum somewhat. We’ll always have a soft spot for the raucous, ribald mischief Mewes brought to Smith’s movies, and we’re glad he’s cleaned up his act - he’s five years clean and sober, and a devoted dad to a six-month-old daughter - but a little Mewes goes a long way, and his toilet humour and sex stories were uninhibited, but also kind of uninteresting.
★★★★ Ridley Scott is possibly the busiest 77-year-old director in Hollywood. He’s made numerous masterpieces (and some flops too) and is arguably most iconic for science fiction, with Alien, Blade Runner and Prometheus. With The Martian, he returns to the genre. The film, based on Andy Weir’s novel, finds astronaut/botanist Mark Watney (Matt Damon) marooned alone on Mars where he
must improvise to survive while NASA concurrently plans to rescue him.On paper, it’s classic Scott, however on closer inspection, it’s refreshingly different for the seasoned director, known for cerebral, dark atmospheric worlds. The Martian feels grounded in contemporary reality with a detailed, tangible look at scientific thinking and the space program. Scott directs with confidence, and naturally there’s solid set design, cinematography and effects. Surprisingly, there’s much levity thanks to the entertaining script from Drew Goddard, with plenty of humour throughout (look for the Tolkien gag, particularly potent due to Sean Bean’s presence).Damon (who recently had experience as a stranded astronaut in Interstellar) is innately charismatic, making a relatable, funny everyman who sells the underlying moments of drama. The rest of the ensemble cast is bursting with talent. Singularly they are underdeveloped, but together, they effectively show the team spirit of the very talented/human NASA program.It’s Scott’s best film in years. Entertaining, visually arresting and full of classic disco tunes. Sean Capel
Guy Davis
THE MUSIC • 30TH SEPTEMBER 2015 • 55
Fringe Reviews Fringe Reviews
Abbott! The Musical Fringe The Atrium, Tuxedo Cat to 4 Oct
No Exit Fringe Cave Theatre, Scratch Warehouse to 4 Oct
★★★★ Based on the film adaptation of JeanPaul Sartre’s 1944 play, No Exit, is an existentialist drama that examines identity and selfdeception through the lens of its three
★★★½
disagreeable characters. Garcin, Inez and Estelle have died, and are locked in an eternal hell: a room from which there is no escape, bound to each other for eternity. While a 90-minute existentialist play at 10pm might seem like a hard slog, No Exit ends up a poignant and extremely engrossing performance that inspires the same slow-dawning feelings of terror that the actors portray so flawlessly.
An unfortunate PR rep is tasked with the job of upping Tony Abbott’s polling numbers, as he blunders his way through a publicity crawl. Real quotes from the former Prime Minister are sewn into ridiculous scenarios (like Tony officiating a wedding) that highlight the absolute ridiculousness of our 28th PM’s attitudes. Hampered
by the unfortunate timing of the Liberal party spill not a week before their opening night, Abbott! The Musical did well to recover, and capture the circus of present-day Australian politics through song, dance and a prosthetic nose. Ali Schnabel
Ali Schnabel
Loani Arman: Period Fringe The Dock, Courthouse Hotel to 4 Oct
★★★
It’s really a breath of fresh, slightly metallic air to hear people talking about periods so nonchalantly, or in Loani Arman’s case, making a whole show about them. She takes us back to her period origin story, complete with pad props, a costume to match, and blue liquid blood. Her comedic timing and natural, friendly demeanour charms us all but laughter wanes when she ventures into more absurd territory; a bit of that material does manage to draw the loudest responses, however. You’ll never look at cake the same way again. Stephanie Liew
56 • THE MUSIC • 30TH SEPTEMBER 2015
Boys Boys Boys
Fringe The Wilde to 26 Sep
★★★★ Highly talented singer Nico takes us through a mini-history of her most bizarre and terrible dating experiences. Quite literally airing out her dirty laundry - with the various men’s shirts she’s acquired adorning the room - Nico regales us with her perspective on dating gone bad. An astute performer that brings a charming Aussie twang to her songs (like a mix of Missy Higgins and Amy Winehouse)
Nico is delightfully self-deprecating and a joy to watch. Boys Boys Boys is a strong cabaret comedy about getting what you want out of dating - even if it’s just an oversized band tee. Ali Schnabel
Fringe Reviews Fringe Reviews
[THE UNHOLY BODY OF] Ignatius Grail Destroy Solzhenitsyn Fringe The Clover Club, Gasworks to 3 Oct
★★★½ It’s baffling that a man of Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s character and accomplishment (having graced the cover of Time Magazine as one of the greatest
novelists of the last century) is relatively unknown among the Western world. Destroy Solzhenitsyn follows a defiant Solzhenitsyn as he refuses to be censored and bow to threats from the USSR, the American government that has given him refuge, and even his family and friends. Aided by confronting photo montages between scenes - and in spite of some unfortunate sound bleeding from other performances in the area, and questionable foreign accents - Destroy Solzhenitsyn provides an immersive and thoughtprovoking insight into a WWII hero who dared to oppose injustice. Matt Feltham
Fringe Second Story Studios to 27 Sep
★★½ Watching [THE UNHOLY BODY OF] Ignatius Grail is similar to watching an ill-reviewed arthouse film that gives you hope that something spectacular is going
to happen ... if only you wait. Just wait. Wait, what? Are we watching the lead woman give a blowjob to a golden plastic gun? Did she just gorge herself on roast chicken, then spit chunks of the supermarket-bought poultry across the stage? Wait, is she completely starkers now? Maybe this means something? Truth is: we have no idea what we’re witnessing, least of all what we’re waiting for. Kudos to the actors - entirely embodied in their roles - but now we need a wine. Emma Dempsey
THE MUSIC • 30TH SEPTEMBER 2015 • 57
Comedy / G The Guide
Laura Marling
Wed 30
Sneaky Pats + Little Shock + Petrichoral + Pym Particle: Bar Open, Fitzroy Muddy’s Blues Roulette with Lloyd Spiegel: Catfish, Fitzroy
Pierce Brothers: Cherry Bar, Melbourne Tripod: Comic’s Lounge, North Melbourne
The Music Presents Docklands Blues Music Festival: 4 Oct Harbour Town Docklands At The Dakota: 9 Oct Grace Darling Hotel Laura Marling: 19 Oct Hamer Hall The Phoenix Foundation: 22 Oct Max Watt’s Bad//Dreems: 24 Oct Northcote Social Club Dan Kelly: 31 Oct The Gasometer Hotel Mumford & Sons: 12 Nov Sidney Myer Music Bowl Mullum Music Festival: 19 – 22 Nov Mullumbimby Mew: 3 Dec Max Watt’s Bully: 10 Dec Howler Father John Misty: 10 Dec Forum Theatre Port Fairy Folk Festival: 11 – 14 Mar Port Fairy
Tetrahedra + Playwrite + The Do Yo Thangs: Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy Nussy + Kingswood + Pierce Brothers: Foxtel Festival Hub, Southbank Bat Country + By Cheryl + Career Advice: Grace Darling Hotel (Basement), Collingwood Bahamas + Fraser A Gorman: Howler, Brunswick Vanishing Shapes: Kent Street Bar & Cafe, Fitzroy Stephen K Amos: Lithuanian Club (Main Theatre), North Melbourne
Sunbeam Sound Machine. Pic: Michael Prebeg
Party Machine Sunbeam Sound Machine are raising funds for their USA expedition by teaming up with friends Good Morning, Ciggie Watch, Romeo Moon and Sporting to host a party at The Shadow Electric on Friday.
Andy Bull + Petty Crimes: Northcote Social Club, Northcote The Stragglers + Josh Seymour: Retreat Hotel, Brunswick
The Songwriters Club with Hugo Race & The True Spirit + Alex Lashlie + Jennifer Kingwell: The Toff In Town, Melbourne
Beginners’ Class with Melbourne Ukulele Kollective: Edinburgh Castle Hotel (6pm), Brunswick
Wine, Whiskey, Women feat. Baby Blue + Amarina Waters: The Drunken Poet, West Melbourne
Shit Sex + Digger & The Pussycats: The Tote (Band Room), Collingwood
As It Is + With Confidence + Breakaway + Maefire: Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy
Collins-Lynch-Watson: The Fitzroy Pinnacle, Fitzroy North
Broke & Wasted feat. Orlando Furious + Moon Ritual + Splinter Cell: The Tote (Front Bar), Collingwood
Liz Stringer + Gretta Ray: Flying Saucer Club, Elsternwick
Pete Ewing: The Gasometer Hotel (Front Bar), Collingwood
Bluesfest: 24 – 28 Mar, Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm
Simo Soo + Simona Castricum + Zsa Zsa Lafine + Soda Lite: The Workers Club, Fitzroy
Tkay Maidza. Pic: Lauren Connelly
Alister Turrill + The Vagabond Brothers + Rach Brennan: The Workers Club Geelong, Geelong James Pasinis: Yarra Hotel, Abbotsford
Thu 01 Ali Hughes
Fusey Hughesy Melbourne-based songstress Ali Hughes fuses reggae, folk, soul and rock together to create her unique sound. Catch her performing at Retreat Hotel on Tuesday, supported by Fionuala Mckenna.
Simon Burke’s Mini Meltdown: 303, Northcote Vibraphonic Orchestra + Arthur Penn & The Funky Ten + Isaac Chambers + Dub Princess: Bar Open, Fitzroy Mondo Kain Exotica + Various DJs: Belleville, Melbourne Dusky: Brown Alley, Melbourne Tom Dockray: Charles Weston Hotel, Brunswick Rockapalooza - Pearl Jam, RHCP, Faith No More Tribute: Chelsea Heights Hotel, Aspendale Gardens
R U Tkay? Tkay Maidza is bringing her bangin’ beats around the country, supported by Williow Beats, Porches and LK McKay. This weekend features two performances at Corner Hotel (Saturday and Sunday), plus an under-18 day event at Wrangler Studios on Saturday.
Sweethearts: Cherry Bar, Melbourne Slowly Slowly + The Mary Goldsmiths + Sweet Gold: The Old Bar, Fitzroy Reel Big Fish + Less Than Jake + The Bennies: The Prince, St Kilda Miss Miss + Power Nap + Ben’s Cubby: The Public Bar, Melbourne
Tripod: Comic’s Lounge, North Melbourne Last Dinosaurs + Palms + The Jensens: Corner Hotel (Under 18s/2pm), Richmond Last Dinosaurs + Palms + The Jensens: Corner Hotel, Richmond Animaux + Cousin Tony’s Brand New Firebird: Ding Dong Lounge, Melbourne
Antipodean Rock Collective: Foxtel Festival Hub, Southbank Skegss + Wod + Gonzo: Grace Darling Hotel (Band Room), Collingwood Ron S Peno & The Superstitions: Labour In Vain, Fitzroy Sable + Dugong Jr + Fossa Beats + Headstone: Laundry Bar, Fitzroy
Gigs / Live The Guide
John Cashman
It’s Not Me, It’s You Come down to Ding Dong Lounge this Friday to celebrate the launch of All About You, a captivating electro-folk track from budding Melbourne artist John Cashman.
Baptism Of Uzi + The Cockles + Scrub Wrens + Nick Johnston: Reverence Hotel (Front Bar), Footscray
Oscar Galt & The Eventual Somethings + The Tiny Giants + Hollie Joyce: The Tote (Upstairs), Collingwood
Plastic feat. Antagonist A.D + Reactions: Royal Melbourne Hotel, Melbourne
Pat Carroll: The Westernport Hotel, Phillip Island
Junor’s Fluorescent Connections: Rubix The Venue, Brunswick
Don Fernando + The Ugly Kings + Drifter + Two Headed: The Workers Club, Fitzroy
Flowertruck: Shebeen Bandroom, Melbourne
Uptown: Trak Lounge Bar, Toorak
John Blake + Mairead Hurley + Joe Ferguson: Spotted Mallard, Brunswick
Australian Made - The Oz Rock Tribute Show: Werribee Plaza Tavern, Hoppers Crossing
Tamandua: The B.East, Brunswick East
Improv Idol: Wesley Anne, Northcote
Flowertruck
Stephen K Amos: Lithuanian Club (Main Theatre), North Melbourne King Wolf: Lomond Hotel, Brunswick East Automated feat. Lotus Moonchild + Clint Hargreaves + Caspian + Isaac Fryar + Shedbug: Loop, Melbourne Wiz Khalifa: Melbourne Park, Melbourne Joshua Vuocolo + Cazzoline + Kieran Larkey: Mr Boogie Man Bar, Abbotsford Bodyjar + Clowns + Pagan: Northcote Social Club, Northcote Thank You Labor with Lola Heart + Brian Fantana + more: Onesixone, Prahran Vanishing Shapes: Open Studio, Northcote
Eating Dirt Halfway through their east coast tour for their debut EP Dirt, Flowertruck will be stopping by Shebeen Bandroom on Thursday, with support from Vista Point, Hollow Everdaze and Crepes.
Artist Proof + Beautiful Beasts + The Love Dogs: Retreat Hotel, Brunswick Skinpin + Glen & The Peanut Butter Men: The Bendigo, Collingwood Mojo Pin + Arcane Saints + Red Sky Burial + The Stabbing Trade: The Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick You Am I + Bahamas + Fraser A Gorman: The Croxton, Thornbury Dear Thieves
Steal You Away Melbourne’s hard-hitting indierock two-piece Dear Thieves have secured an October residency on Tuesday nights at Cherry Bar. They will be joined by From Oslo, Hunted Crows, Two Headed Dog, The Raffaellas and more.
Gorilla Biscuits + Hitlist + Daybreak: Reverence Hotel (Band Room), Footscray
Sugar Fed Leopards: Yah Yah’s, Fitzroy Stray Hens + Lime & Steel: Yarra Hotel, Abbotsford
Fri 02 Markus Schulz: 170 Russell, Melbourne
White Fang + The Mighty Boys + Lazer Tits + Going Swimming: The Curtin, Carlton
Marley Wynn + Zoe Ryan + Rachel Clarke + Gordon Holland: 303, Northcote
Lepers & Crooks + Scrimshaw Four + Rival Fire: The Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood
Otto Knows: Alumbra, Docklands
Chris Russell’s Chicken Walk: The Loft, Warrnambool
Toby Robinson + Matt Glass + Seavera: Bar Open, Fitzroy
Lowdown Hokum Orchestra & Burlesque Revue: The Melba Spiegeltent, Collingwood
People Under The Stairs feat. Amin Payne + Winters + Jackson Miles: Boney, Melbourne
Deaf Wish + Drug Sweat + Stations: The Old Bar, Fitzroy
Misty Nights: Disco Wizard feat. Whiskey Houston: Boney, Melbourne
Reel Big Fish + Less Than Jake + The Bennies: The Prince, St Kilda
Jon Von Goes + Billy Miller + Rebecca Barnard + Ian Bland + Simon Madden + Paulie Stewart + JVG All-Star Band: Caravan Music Club, Oakleigh
Morbid Anal + Mangia + Grudge + Drain Life: The Public Bar, Melbourne Maurice Fulton + DJ J’Nett + Andee Frost + Misty Nights: The Toff In Town, Melbourne The Stiffys + The Shabbab + Dr Colossus + Tankerville: The Tote (Band Room), Collingwood
Dane Blacklock & The Preachers Daughter: Catfish, Fitzroy Ronnie James Dio Tribute feat. Holy Diver + Elm Street: Cherry Bar, Melbourne Chris Wilson: Cherry Bar, Melbourne
WEDNESDAY 30 SEPTEMBER James Pasinis (Congratulations Everybody) THURSDAY 1 OCTOBER Stray Hens + Lime & Steel SATURDAY 3 OCTOBER Dave Wright & The Midnight Electric SUNDAY 4 OCTOBER Woodland Hunters TUESDAY 6 OCTOBER Michaela Lee CAN YOU HEAR ME
MAJOR TOM 295 JOHNSTON ST
ABBOTSFORD (at the eastern end!)
WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/ YARRAHOTELABBOTSFORD
THE MUSIC • 30TH SEPTEMBER 2015 • 59
OPINION Opinion
Howzat!
Local Music By Jeff Jenkins State Of The Heart Howzat! is listening to Dan Flynn’s The State Of Things when news of Tony Abbott’s political death comes through. As Dan sings, “People are suffering, the government’s to blame/Children in prison, I hang my head in shame,” it seems appropriate. Did Dan wake up the next day with a big smile? “I was definitely smiling,” he says. “It was only for a short while but you gotta celebrate those wins. In a way, I was proud of my nation for getting rid of such a total prick. It felt good to think that we have some standards. As for the state of things? Well no, not a lot has changed.” But quite a lot has changed in Dan’s world. After four albums as Major Chord, his new album, Preparing For Flight, has been released under the name Dan Flynn & The State of Things. “I was getting a little tired of the [Major Chord] name and did feel this need to reveal myself more,” Dan explains. “When I was younger, I liked hiding behind a moniker, probably due to typical male insecurity and the desire to be ‘mysterious’ and ‘cool’. However, I’ve
60 • THE MUSIC • 30TH SEPTEMBER 2015
just turned 40, and things are different. I hope to be releasing albums well into my 60s and 70s and bringing it all back to my own name became very important to me.” The song came first. “It was my wife’s idea to use it for the band name,” Dan says. “Bless her.” Dan Flynn & The State of Things are launching the album at Shadow Electric on 14 Nov. Dan’s son, Sebastian, has already given the record two thumbs up. “Dad, I think this is your best album ever,” he declared - high praise from a seven year old. But Sebastian is right. Preparing For Flight is a lovely folk-pop record. It’s intimate, honest and personal. One of the year’s best. Bo-Weevils Are Back Thirty years after they formed, The Bo-Weevils are pulling the paisley shirts out of the cupboard for a special one-off
Dan Flynn & The State Of Things reunion at Northcote Social Club on 22 Nov. The show will coincide with the remastered reissue of the Weevils’ six albums. Oils Still Burn Midnight Oil wore their “Sorry” suits at the Sydney Olympics’ Closing Ceremony 15 years ago this week. The anniversary coincides with the release of Peter Garrett’s memoir, Big Blue Sky. And Rob Hirst has just released a cracking garage-rock record, Crashing The Same Car Twice, with Sean Sennett. Hot Line “Come walk with me, follow me down ...” Dan Flynn, Heavy Lies The Crown.
Gigs / Live The Guide
Coin Banks: Colac Otways Performing Arts & Cultural Centre (COPACC), Colac
Mat McHugh + Jordan Leser + Tash Sultana: Corner Hotel, Richmond
Fireballs + Jackson Firebird + Steve Smyth + Mammoth Mammoth + The Fumes + The Rechords + Batpiss + DoubleBlack + The Pretty Littles + Los Tones + The Cherry Dolls + Shifting Sands + more: Newsted Racecourse & Recreation Reserve, Newstead
Grand Final Eve Rooftop Fiesta: Corner Hotel (Rooftop), Richmond
Bodyjar + Clowns + Anchors: Northcote Social Club, Northcote
Josh Cashman: Ding Dong Lounge, Melbourne
Re-Imagining Peggy Lee with Watson/ Liow: Paris Cat Jazz Club, Melbourne
As It Is + With Confidence + Set The Score + Something to Rescue: Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy
The Heartache State + Collard Greens & Gravy + Simon & Shane O’Mara + Ladie Dee: Retreat Hotel, Brunswick
Ocean Alley + The Controllers + Tommy Castles: Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy
Gorilla Biscuits + Outright + Sick Machine: Reverence Hotel (Band Room), Footscray
Jam The Funk: Flying Saucer Club, Elsternwick
Sunbeam Sound Machine + Good Morning + Ciggie Witch + Romeo Moon + Sporting: Shadow Electric, Abbotsford
Tripod: Comic’s Lounge, North Melbourne
DJ Generik: Foxtel Festival Hub, Southbank
EDEN + Dandelion Wine + Friends of Alice Ivy + Plum Green: The Old Bar, Fitzroy
Watts On: The Prince (Public Bar), St Kilda The Transitions + Colour Dazed + The Stavros Brothers: The Public Bar, Melbourne Labradorable + Hard Rubbish: The Public Bar, Melbourne Sleazy Listening with Arks + Richard Kelly + Hysteric + K. Hoop: The Toff In Town (Carriage Room), Melbourne The Meanies + Warped + Flour + Liquor Snatch: The Tote (Band Room), Collingwood Mike Waters + Robbie Miller: The Workers Club, Fitzroy City at Midnight: The Workers Club Geelong, Geelong Jon Toogood: Torquay Hotel, Torquay
The Stiffys
Will Sparks + Matt Watkins + Jesse James: Universal Nightclub, Bendigo Evol Walks: Whole Lotta Love, Brunswick East Ivan Ooze + Dylan Joel: Wrangler Studios, West Footscray The Peep Tempel + Bat Piss + Devil Electric + The Spinning Rooms: Yah Yah’s, Fitzroy
Junki + Pique + Squid Nebula + Bohjass + Oscandre + The Plymouth Reverends: 303, Northcote De La Calle + The Funkalleros + Los Monos: Bar Open, Fitzroy
After the unveiling of EP Art Rock One, The Stiffys kicked off a string of dates for their celebratory tour. The cheeky rascal rockers advise to BYO boogie board for their last show this Thursday at The Tote.
The Fumes + Kris Morris + Slim Belly: Grace Darling Hotel, Collingwood City Calm Down + Foreign/ National: Howler, Brunswick DJ Spookyman: Laundry Bar, Fitzroy Stephen K Amos: Lithuanian Club (Main Theatre), North Melbourne The Johnny Can’t Dance Cajun Band + Flying Engine Trio + Max Teacle: Lomond Hotel, Brunswick East DJ J’Nett + CC:Disco! + Merve: Loop, Melbourne Chris Russell’s Chicken Walk: Major Tom’s, Kyneton Strangers In Town + Ex Marks The Spot + The Miyagis: Mr Boogie Man Bar, Abbotsford Paul Grabowsky: National Gallery of Victoria, Southbank Chopped 2015 feat. CW Stoneking +
Sugar Rush Returning from their travels around Europe, the Sugar Fed Leopards are ready to pounce back into Aussie venues, with an upcoming free show at Yah Yah’s on Thursday night. Vintage Kiss + Evol Walks + Wild Violet: Cellar Bar, St Kilda Joshua Seymour: Charles Weston Hotel, Brunswick The Peep Tempel + Batpiss + Mutton: Cherry Bar, Melbourne Tripod: Comic’s Lounge, North Melbourne Tkay Maidza + Willow Beats + Porches + L.K. McKay + Swick: Corner Hotel, Richmond
Sat 03
Totally Stiff
Sugar Fed Leopards
My Echo: Ding Dong Lounge, Melbourne Trophy Eyes + Apart From This + Racoon City Police Department: Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy NLuke + Tiaryn Griggs: Grace Darling Hotel (Band Room), Collingwood Subculture 15 feat. John O’Callaghan + Bryan Kearney + Simon Patterson + Sneijder + Will Atkinson + John Askew + Blazer: Hisense Arena, Melbourne City Calm Down + Foreign/ National: Howler, Brunswick
Habits + Vaccuum + EN.V: Shebeen Bandroom, Melbourne City Calm Down
Russell Morris + Dreamboogie: Spiegeltent, Melbourne Soul Revue feat. The Stax Brothers + DJ Roy: Spotted Mallard, Brunswick
Calm Ya Farm
Northside Blues Assembly: The B.East, Brunswick East
City Calm Down set out to play dates across the country, pulling out songs Wandering and Rabbit Run as a taste of their forthcoming album Restless House. It all starts this Friday and Saturday at Howler.
Mace & The Motor + High Finance + Tork + Victor Cripes: The Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick The Drones + Augie March + Money For Rope: The Croxton, Thornbury For The Jumper: AFL songs by your favourite musicians with Tex Perkins + Laura Jean + Dan Sultan + DJ Richard Bradbeer + Gus Agars + more: The Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood Lowdown Hokum Orchestra & Burlesque Revue: The Melba Spiegeltent, Collingwood
Sons of Rico + Greeves + Brooke Russell: Hugs & Kisses, Melbourne Backwood Creatures: Labour In Vain, Fitzroy Stephen K Amos: Lithuanian Club (Main Theatre), North Melbourne Sam Linton-Smith with Lovers and Madmen: Lomond Hotel, Brunswick East Dissociate with Matt Radovich: Loop, Melbourne Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! + Strickland + Acrasia + No! Not The Bees: Max Watt’s (formerly The Hi-Fi Melbourne), Melbourne Sulumani Chimbetu: Memo Music Hall, St Kilda
Lost Weekend feat. M5K + Myles Mac + The Tortoise + LA Pocock: Boney, Melbourne
Little House Godz + Humble Mischief + No Shame + Sammigold: Mr Boogie Man Bar, Abbotsford
Benny James & The Blue Flames: Catfish, Fitzroy
Chopped 2015: Newsted Racecourse & Recreation Reserve, Newstead
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Comedy / G The Guide
Bodyjar + Clowns + Coffin Wolf: Northcote Social Club, Northcote
The Woodland Hunters: Yarra Hotel, Abbotsford
Shameem
Digital Sunsets feat. Emerson Alexander + James Winter + Gav Whitehouse: Onesixone (Rooftop), Prahran
Mon 05
Marco Resmann: Railway Hotel, Brunswick
White Fang + Mesa Cosa + Pow Pow Kids + D.I.C.K.: Cherry Bar, Melbourne
Wild Turkey + Kim Salmon: Retreat Hotel, Brunswick
Diecut + Complete + Nose Blood Catharsis: Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy
Bang feat. Sentinel + Arkive + Earthender: Royal Melbourne Hotel, Melbourne
Monday Night Mass feat.Galaxy Folk + Drongo + Pillow Pro + God Squad: Northcote Social Club, Northcote
Soul A-Go-Go feat. Vince Peach + Miss Goldie + Richie 1250 + DJ Manchild + DJ Lady Soul: Shebeen Bandroom, Melbourne
Mutual Appreciation Society feat. Ben Mellonie (Ten Gallon Head) + Sam Reiher: Retreat Hotel, Brunswick
Grand Final Day with The Inferno’s: The Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick Immigrant Union + Coastbusters + DJ Typical Girls: The Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood The Ocean Party: The Loft, Warrnambool Jukebox Racket: The Luwow, Fitzroy Lowdown Hokum Orchestra & Burlesque Revue: The Melba Spiegeltent, Collingwood Beloved Elk + KT Spit + Denim Owl + Creeks + Phillipa Omega: The Old Bar, Fitzroy
Andy Bull. Pic: Dave Kan
Coastbusters + CL Pleasure + Baby Blue: The Old Bar, Fitzroy
Shameem is in the middle of a solo tour, bringing her intimate soul performances around the nation. The tour comes to The Thornbury Local on Saturday. Mat McHugh: Torquay Hotel, Torquay Grain Of Truth: Wesley Anne (Band Room), Northcote Tkay Maidza + Willow Beats + Porches + L.K. McKay: Wrangler Studios, West Footscray
Sun 04 Behemoth + Watain + Bolzer: 170 Russell, Melbourne
Andy Bull joins the monthlong line-up in ode to the tenth birthday of Northcote Social Club. Catch him on Wednesday – the final festive night of the long-lived and newly renovated venue.
Tkay Maidza + Willow Beats + Porsches + L.K. McKay + Swick: Corner Hotel, Richmond An Intimate Evening with Tex Perkins + Charlie Owen: Ding Dong Lounge, Melbourne Tape Deck Festival feat. Trophy Eyes + As It Is + With Confidence + Have Mercy: Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy Stephen K Amos: Frankston Arts Centre, Frankston King Wolf: Labour In Vain, Fitzroy
Champagne Internet + Phil Para: The Prince (Public Bar), St Kilda
A Day of Protest Songs feat. Margret Roadknight + Jeff Lang + Andy White + Kavisha Mazzella + Frank Jones: Lomond Hotel, Brunswick East
Broozer + Swidgen + Merchant + Bog: The Public Bar, Melbourne
Rebecca Barnard + Danny Walsh: Memo Music Hall (Winnebago Lounge), St Kilda
Shameem: The Thornbury Local, Thornbury
Rough Diamond + Pak Poe: Mr Boogie Man Bar, Abbotsford
Da Hool: The Prince, St Kilda
Raised Voices feat. Daz Jones + Bahdoesa + more: The Toff In Town, Melbourne
Chopped 2015: Newsted Racecourse & Recreation Reserve, Newstead
Sixfthick + Gentle Ben & His Sensitive Side + Shifting Sands + Wolfpack + Loobs + Ohms + The Braves: The Tote (Band Room/Front Bar), Collingwood
Jemma & The Clifton Hillbillies + Cherrywood: Northcote Social Club(2pm), Northcote
Barbiturates + Daddys + KT Spit + Geryon + Bodies: The Tote (Upstairs), Collingwood
The Mae Trio + Hello Satellites: Northcote Social Club, Northcote
62 • THE MUSIC • 30TH SEPTEMBER 2015
Tue 06 Dear Thieves + Two Headed Dog + The Ivory Elephant: Cherry Bar, Melbourne Stephen K Amos: Geelong Performing Arts Centre, Geelong
Dave Wright & The Midnight Electric: Yarra Hotel, Abbotsford
Birthday Bulls-Eye
Push Salon: The Public Bar, Melbourne
Solo Soul Sista
The Shug Monkeys + Kimba & Ryan + The Bakersfield Glee Club: Retreat Hotel, Brunswick DJ Crispi: Retreat Hotel, Brunswick
Boyz II Men: Palais Theatre, St Kilda Ali Hughes + Fionnuala McKenna: Retreat Hotel, Brunswick
Code Orange + Cursed Earth + Rebirth + Broken: Reverence Hotel (All Ages/2pm), Footscray
Skegss
Tek Tek Ensemble: Spotted Mallard, Brunswick Michale Reynolds Birthday Bash: The Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick Docklands Blues Music Festival feat. Chris Cain + Greg Dodd & The Hoodoo Men + Dream Boogie + Lloyd Spiegel + Kelly Auty + Sweet Felicia & The Honeytones + Nick Charles + more: The Docklands, Docklands Lowdown Hokum Orchestra & Burlesque Revue: The Melba Spiegeltent, Collingwood Naked Bodies + The New Pollution + Bobby Downie: The Old Bar, Fitzroy Elwood Blues Club All Stars: The Prince (Public Bar), St Kilda The Bon Scotts: The Toff In Town, Melbourne Sarah Mary Chadwick + Lucy Roleff + Tim Richmond + Mark Monnone + Grace Ferguson: The Toff In Town, Melbourne Eternally Fresh + Teaser Pony: The Tote (Front Bar), Collingwood Priority Orange + Ablaze + Tragic Earth: The Tote (Upstairs), Collingwood Mat McHugh: The Westernport Hotel, Phillip Island Mr Alford Country: Tramway Hotel, North Fitzroy Roz Girvan + Greg Field: Union Hotel, Brunswick The Other Side: Victoria Hotel, Brunswick
Splendid Skegss The Byron Bay trio Skegss embark on another tour, this time with new single Fun under their wing. Fresh from Splendour In The Grass and BIGSOUND, they’ll be rocking at Grace Darling Hotel on Thursday.
A Man Called Son: The Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick Oolluu + Devil Monkey + Kakariko: The Old Bar, Fitzroy Taste Of Indie Collective feat. Lissa Jane + Sarah Cowen + Nat Allison: The Prince, St Kilda Passerine + Drums of War: The Toff In Town, Melbourne Moulin Beige: Wesley Anne (Band Room), Northcote Michaela Lee: Yarra Hotel, Abbotsford
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64 • THE MUSIC • 30TH SEPTEMBER 2015