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themusic 13TH AUGUST 2014
#051
review
INSIDE FEATURED Kimbra
THINKING ABOUT GOING TO SXSW NEXT YEAR? FIVE THINGS FIRST TIMERS SHOULD NEVER DO.
ON THEMUSIC.COM.AU
sleepmakeswaves Porter Robinson
THE LATEST FESTIVAL ANNOUNCEMENTS AS THEY HAPPEN.
Fifties Fair King Buzzo S Spoon
ON THEMUSIC.COM.AU
John Murry Jonathan Boulet
REVIEWS
Album: Velociraptor Live: Spiderbait
ALL THAT INITIAL SWIFT SUCCESS IS BOUND TO WARRANT LOOKING FURTHER AFIELD. CARLEY HALL REVIEWS MILLIONS [P.28]
Arts: Tartuffe ...and more
THE GUIDE Cover: Afrobeat Eat/drink Indie News Opinion Gig Guide
THE MOST HEARTBREAKING MOMENTS FROM THE SIMPSONS EVER. ONLY ON THEMUSIC. COM.AU
feature WE’RE A BUNCH OF DUDES WHO GREW UP LISTENING TO HEAVY METAL AND GRUNGE. OTTO WICKS-GREEN OF SLEEPMAKESWAVES [P.18]
FIGHTS BROKE OUT AND PEOPLE WERE FORCIBLY REMOVED FROM THE VENUE, WHICH LED VIOLENT SOHO TO STOP THE SHOW A FEW SONGS IN, STAGING A SIT-IN.
review 8 • THE MUSIC • 13TH AUGUST 2014
HANNAH STORY REVIEWS UTS WINTERFEST [P.30]
TUE AUG
12
WED AUG
13
THU AUG
14
FRI AUG
15
SAT AUG
16
FRI AUG
22
TRIVA
Front Bar 7:30pm
MUSOS’ NIGHT
+ Rockin’ Weekly Blues Jam Front Bar 8pm STRUT! @ THE STAG BAND COMP HEAT 1
feat. Ready For The Fall + Premonition + Copper Tongue + All The Wise + Cursing Stone 8pm
BENJ AXWEL [EP LAUNCH] + Ben Hardie + Kite 8pm
BLACK LABEL + Stand Alone + T.O.C 8pm
“KISS ME!�
+ Drawcard + Divide & Conquer + These Four Walls 8pm
FREE ENTRY
FREE ENTRY
WED 13TH 8PM
THUR 14TH 8PM
PRE $15 $15 DOOR
BASEMENT
PRE $10 $10 DOOR
FREE ENTRY
FRI 15TH 8PM
CITY SLICKERS
BASEMENT
SAT 16TH 12PM
GREAT BAND COMPETITION, EXCITING PRIZES
“DOWN ROYALE�
CORE SHOW WITH SUPPORT FROM “DAEMON PYRE� , “ABSOLUTION�, “DYSTOPIC� , “GHOST & THE DARKNESS
RETURN TO THE DANK DAD DUNGEON
LEVEL ONE
SAT 16TH 9PM
BASEMENT
SUN 17TH 1PM
DANCE PARTY FEAT: DJ’S DANK DADS, SNEAK, KADE DRURY, AND MANY MORE
DEADFEST 2014
FEAT: “NA MAZA� , “DOMINO� , “THREEQUENCY� , “SODOMISER�W, “NOT ANOTHER SEQUEL JUST ANOTHER PREQUEL� , “FOUNDRY ROAD� , “ACID NYMPH� , “BY THE HORNS� , “UPSIDE DOWN MISS JANE� DJ JIZZ, DJ BUDDHA AND MANY MORE
CORROSION
MONTHLY GOTH CLUB NIGHT FEAT: DJ’S XERSTORKITTE, VOODOO, DAZE AND MANY MORE
“GAMBIRRA�
REGGAE/FUNK/SOUL/ROOTS SHOW WITH SUPPORT FROM “REVOLUTION INC� , “MARIAM SAWIRES� AND MANY MORE SUPPORT FROM “CONTROLLED� ,
COMING UP PRE $10 $15 DOOR
Wed 20 Aug: City Slickers Band Competition ; Thu 21 Aug: Punk Rock Show with “Alex The Kid� , “Nerdlinger� , “Undercast� , “No Further Questions� ; Fri 22 Aug: Basement 8pm: Metal Show with “War Of Attrition� , “Omniscienta� , “Gutter Tactic� , “Head In A Jar� , “Hangman� , “Exekute� ; Level One 9pm: Ramones Tribute Show with “Marones� , “Headbutt� , “The Grounds� , “Rat Rod 69� , “Maximum Security�; Sat 23 Aug: Basement 2pm: Slaughterfest VII feat: “Sumeru� , “Snakes Get Bad Press� , “Broozer� , “Dead Architect� , “Mish� , “Arteries� , “Not Like Horse� , “Hawkmoth� , “Legions� , “Witch Fight� , “Vile Ways� , “Hypergiant� , “The Holiday Project�; Level One 9pm: Ska/Punk Rock Show with “Danger!Bus� , “Nerdlinger� , “Bistu� , “This Is The Last Straw� , “The Wildbloods�; Sun 24 Aug: 3pm Basement: Indie Blues Show with “Bad Vibes� , “Main Beach� , “Jody� and many more
www.thebasement.com.au
BVS 6][S ]T :WdS ;caWQ AW\QS '%! SAT 168AUG SATURDAY JUNE
THIS WEEK
CASEY DONOVAN
IT HAS BEEN ALMOST 10 YEARS SINCE CASEY DONOVAN WAS CROWNED THE 2004 AUSTRALIAN IDOL! TO CELEBRATE THIS MOMENTOUS ACHIEVEMENT, CASEY IS THRILLED TO ANNOUNCE HER “YOU BELIEVED: 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY TOUR� FOR 2014. JOIN US THIS SATURDAY AT THE BASEMENT TO WITNESS WHY CASEY WAS CROWNED AS THE AUSTRALIAN IDOL. TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW!
NEWS FROM THE BASEMENT
JUST ANNOUNCED‌
SAT 20 NOV CREOLE SOUK LIVE FEAT CONKARAH (JAMAICA) & TAMASA CREOLE (MAURITIUS) SAT 11/SUN 12 OCT TUBA SKINNY (NEW ORLEANS) FRI 07 NOV FINLEY QUAYE (UK) W/ LIVE BAND, SUPPORTS TBA FOLLOW US: ON FACEBOOK @ THE BASEMENT & ON TWITTER @ #BASEMENTSYD RESTUARANT OPENS AT 11AM, SERVING FOOD ALL DAY
SHORTS & SOUNDS 9TH SYDNEY LATIN AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL EVENT
WED 13 AUG
DAVE HALLS BAND FIGHT AGAINST WORLD POVERTY SHOW
THU 14 AUG
LOLO LOVINA AND THE BALKAN GYPSY BRASS CONNECTION
FRI 15 AUG
TONY CHILDS (US)
SUN 17 AUG
SWINGTIME TUESDAYS WK 2
TUE 19 AUG
JOHN MURRY (US)
WED 20 AUG
BEN WATT (UK) SOLO: ACOUSTIC AND ELECTRIC
THU 21 AUG
THE MUSIC • 13TH AUGUST 2014 • 9
CREDITS PUBLISHER
Street Press Australia Pty Ltd
GROUP MANAGING EDITOR Andrew Mast
EDITOR Mark Neilsen
ASSISTANT EDITOR Hannah Story
ARTS AND CULTURE EDITOR Cassandra Fumi
MUSO EDITOR Michael Smith
GIG GUIDE EDITOR Justine Lynch nsw.gigs@themusic.com.au
CONTRIBUTORS Adam Wilding, Andrew McDonald, Anthony Carew, Ben Meyer, Benny Doyle, Ben Preece, Bethany Cannan, Brendan Crabb, Brendan Telford, Callum Twigger, Cam Findlay, Cameron Warner, Cate Summers, Chris Familton, Chris Maric, Chris Yates, Christopher H James, Cyclone, Dan Condon, Daniel Cribb, Danielle O’Donohue, Dave Drayton, Deborah Jackson, Dylan Stewart, Glenn Waller, Guido Farnell, Guy Davis, Helen Lear, Jamelle Wells, James d’Apice, Justine Keating, Kristy Wandmaker, Liz Giuff re, Lukas Murphy, Luke Dassaklis, Mark Hebblewhite, Mat Lee, Matt MacMaster, Paul Ransom, Rip Nicholson, Ross Clelland, Sam Hilton, Sam Murphy, Sarah Braybrooke, Sarah Petchell, Scott Fitzsimons, Sebastian Skeet, Sevana Ohandjanian, Simon Eales, Steve Bell, Tim Finney, Tom Hersey, Tyler McLoughlan, Xavier Rubetzki Noonan
PHOTOGRAPHERS Angela Padovan, Carine Thevenau, Clare Hawley, Cybele Malinowski, Jared Leibowitz, Jodie Mathews, Josh Groom, Kane Hibberd, Peter Sharp, Rohan Anderson, Thomas Graham
ADVERTISING DEPT James Seeney, Andrew Lilley sales@themusic.com.au
THIS WEEK THINGS TO DO THIS WEEK • 13 AUG - 19 AUG
learn
support
Kickstart your career in music, management or the dramatic arts this Saturday at the Australian Institute of Music’s (AIM) Open Day. Industry leaders will be delivering workshops and performances to give a taste of what to expect during their innumerable diplomas and degrees, while Aussie legend John Foreman will also be making an appearance. Head to Foveaux Street to get a comprehensive introduction to life in the music industry.
If you’re a local musician looking to be a part of SXSW 2015, it’s probably a good idea to head to Newtown Social Club tonight to hear all the tips. From 5.30pm, grab and drink and mingle with the folks who might be managing you one day then take a seat to hear some advice from a panel of SXSW veterans before an open Q&A session to shoot your music queries at the likes of Gregg Donovan (music god) and Brad Thomas (travel god).
ART DIRECTOR Brendon Wellwood
ART DEPT David Di Cristoforo, Eamon Stewart, Julian De Bono
ADMIN & ACCOUNTS Loretta Zoppos, Niall McCabe, Jarrod Kendall, Leanne Simpson accounts@themusic.com.au
DISTRO Anita D’Angelo distro@themusic.com.au
SUBSCRIPTIONS store@themusic.com.au
CONTACT US PO Box 2440 Strawberry Hills NSW 2012 Level 1/142 Chalmers St Surry Hills NSW Phone (02) 9331 7077 info@themusic.com.au www.themusic.com.au
Head along to Henson Park in Marrickville this Sunday for some family-friendly festivities with AFL, charity-giving goodness and a sausage sanger or two. The Sydney Reclink Community Cup will see local musicians banding together as the Western Walers up against a host of media personalities as the Sydney Sailors. The proceeds of the day will go to Reclink (which gives to over 580 national agencies assisting disadvantaged Australians), and the afterparty at Vic On The Park is sure to be a riot. SYDNEY
go
THE MUSIC • 13TH AUGUST 2014 • 11
national news news@themusic.com.au MISSY HIGGINS
ANDREW DICE CLAY
FOR THE LAUGHS
Veteran US comedian Andrew Dice Clay has announced that he will make his inaugural journey to Australia for a run of shows around the country this spring. The Dice Man Cometh Down Under tour will take the controversial (life ban on MTV anyone?) stand-up to Royal Theatre, Canberra, 7 Oct; Enmore Theatre, Sydney, 8 & 9 Oct; The Palms, Melbourne, 14 & 15 Oct; HBF Stadium, Perth, 17 Oct; and Jupiters, Gold Coast, 25 Oct, plus loads more regional stops. Check out the full run of dates on theMusic.com.au.
FEELS LIKE HOME
To say things are happening in Missy Higgins world is an understatement. She’s got her first child on the way, plus a new covers album and companion book of essays, both titled Oz, ready for consumption. And the beloved singer-songwriter is hitting the road with Dustin Tebbutt (excl. Perth) for a massive tour, including 27 Sep, Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre; 4 Oct, Enmore Theatre, Sydney; 11 Oct, Canberra Theatre; 16 Oct, Crown Theatre, Perth; and 29 Oct, Regent Theatre, Melbourne. Loads more dates at theMusic.com.au, proud presenting partners of the tour.
COLDRAIN
RADIO BIRDMAN
NOFX
ON THE FREQUENCY
WHITE (TRASH) NOISE
A LONG, SLOW GOODBYE
THIS IS THIS
Coinciding with the box set reissue of their entire back catalogue, influential underground rock’n’rollers Radio Birdman will return to stages nationally, bringing the same fire and fury which saw them rise from the ‘70s pub scene to be one of Australia’s most revered bands. The tour will visit Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle, 31 Oct; Manning Bar, Sydney, 1 Nov; Corner Hotel, Melbourne, 2 & 3 Nov; The Hi-Fi, Brisbane, 7 Nov; and Rosemount Hotel, Perth, 9 Nov. Proudly presented by The Music.
After more than 20 albums and a career spanning over four decades, Joan Armatrading has announced her final major world tour. Hear one of Britain’s most iconic voices for the last time in Australia, 4 Dec, Astor Theatre, Perth; 8 Dec, Melbourne Recital Centre; 9 Dec, Canberra Theatre; 10 Dec, Enmore Theatre, Sydney; 13 Dec, Twin Towns, Tweed Heads; and 14 Dec, QPAC, Brisbane.
Go get Punk In Drublic, among other things, when NOFX arrive in the land Down Under this spring. The evergreen Californian miscreants haven’t visited us in roughly four years, so you can be guaranteed a big set of all the classics when they perform at Enmore Theatre, Sydney, 7 Nov (all ages); Metro City, Perth, 15 Nov; Forum Theatre, Melbourne, 20 & 21 Nov; and The Tivoli, Brisbane, 22 Nov, amongst other places. Full details on theMusic.com.au. Adelaide heavy-hitters The Mark Of Cain are hitting the road to celebrate the official single release of Grey-11, an uncompromising track featuring the mighty Hank Rollins. The boys will get ‘er done at 170 Russell, Melbourne, 31 Oct; Metro Theatre, Sydney, 7 Nov; Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle, 8 Nov; Rosemount Hotel, Perth, 15 Nov; The Zoo, Brisbane, 28 Nov; and Coolangatta Hotel, Gold Coast, 29 Nov. King Of The North support at all dates except Perth (Scalphunter replace).
“IF IT AIN’T XO THEN I DON’T SEE IT.” KISS/HUG RIGHT @THEWEEKND? 12 • THE MUSIC • 13TH AUGUST 2014
IT ALL FALLS DOWN
Australia’s annual celebration of all things hard’n’heavy, Soundwave, have confirmed their first acts for 2015, with Japanese metalcore outfit Coldrain presenting their international debut (and third LP proper) The Revelation, Long Island pop-punkers Patent Pending bringing the bounce, Butcher Babies showing some sass, UK metallers Monuments and ska punks The Interrupters all performing at Melbourne’s Flemington Racecourse 21 & 22 Feb, then Sydney’s Olympic Park and the Brisbane Showgrounds 28 Feb & 1 Mar.
CARAVÃNA SUN
ROLLING INTO LIFE
The Jackal In The Night tour – proudly presented by The Music – will see rambunctious gypsy rockers Caravãna Sun taking their rootsy ska flavour to venues far and wide. Their previous touring fiesta showed a band at one with the stage, so don’t miss the Sydneysiders when their wagon rolls into town, 7 Sep, Mojo’s Bar, Fremantle; 20 Sep, Oxford Art Factory, 4 Oct, Sooki Lounge, Melbourne; and 10 Oct, Solbar, Maroochydore, with loads more shows at theMusic.com.au.
THE MUSIC • 13TH AUGUST 2014 • 13
local news nsw.news@themusic.com.au THE PHARCYDE
LAURA ZARB
LIVING TOGETHER
Sundays at the Lewisham Hotel are getting cosy as the free gig series The Living Room kicks off 31 Aug. The Living Room will feature acoustic sets and open mic slots, hosted by Laura Zarb. On the first night Simon Meli and Johnny Took take the mic, with the following weeks starring Two Girls Will, Brother Jimmy, The Morrisons and Jack & Lucia.
ON THE INSIDE
OutsideIn Festival is back for its third year and the first line-up is out. It includes The Pharcyde, Seekae, Panthu Du Prince, Giraffage, Client Liaison, Wookie and more. OutsideIn Festival takes place at Manning House on 29 Nov.
IN YOUR SLEEP
Ivy League signees and BIGSOUND-bound buzz act Bad//Dreems have just released new single My Only Friend, and will embark on an east coast tour in its honour. They may have only just finished a run of shows supporting The Preatures, but they’re returning, playing Newtown Social Club, 18 Sep.
DARK NIGHTS UPON US
With ex-House Vs Hurricane player Chris Shaw joining their ranks and a new single, Darkness Brought Me Here, to promote, the time feels oh so right for Dream On Dreamer to plug in and rip through their mammoth brand of post-hardcore. Hold onto the barrier tight when the band play 25 Sep, Q Bar; and 26 Sep, Tattersalls Hotel.
HEAR HUFFINGTON POST’S VOICE
Huffington Post co-founder and editor in chief Arianna Huffington will take part in a sit-down with Annabel Crabb, 10 Sep at Carriageworks, discussing the themes found throughout her new book, Thrive, and explaining how she’s managed to redefine her meaning of success. Expect an informative and enlightening evening with one of the most inspiring figures in modern media.
ELECTRIC CONDUCTOR
Hosted by fifth doctor Peter Davison, who starred in the show between 1981 and ’84, the Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular will return to Australia with a brand new show and all your favourite monsters, including Daleks, Cybermen and more. This is the first chance for Aussie fans to hear new music from the upcoming series, with dates happening 7 Feb, Qantas Credit Union Arena.
GLOOMY GLOAMERS
As part of Music At The House, The Gloaming, an Irish-American supergroup made up of Iarla Ó Lionaired, Martin Hayes, Dennis Cahill, Caoimhin Ó Raghallaigh and Thomas Bartlett, will be bringing their traditional folk songs to the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall on 27 Oct.
PLAY IT AGAIN SAM
In supports news, Jordan Lesér will join Dead Letter Circus at their sold out show at The Basement, 5 Sep. Singer-songwriter Heath Cullen takes the support slot for Joe Henry’s show at The Basement, 9 & 10 Sep. Apes and Kevin Devine will kick off Manchester Orchestra’s show at Metro Theatre, 15 Nov. Dirty rock outfit The Mercy Kills have been announced as the main support for the Courtney Love tour, Newcastle Panthers, 22 Aug; and Enmore Theatre, 24 Aug.
MILE HIGH CLUB
To kick off the Australian Slopestyle Tour 2014 in Perisher on 25 Aug will be The Mile High; international and local snowboarders and freeskiers will compete to win cash prizes. Some big names have been confirmed, including athletes from the world’s top ten men, as well as an Olympic gold medalist in the women’s division. After the finals on 27 Aug, there’ll be an afterparty at The Station Resort Jindabyne featuring Thundamentals and guest DJs.
And in second show announcements: chanteuse Meg Mac has had to add an additional headline date, 1 Oct, Oxford Art Factory. Kingswood has announced a new show at Newtown Social Club, 26 Aug, and will be supported on both headline dates by The Sinking Teeth.
IS “I LOST TRACK OF TIME IN THE SHOWER” A GOOD EXCUSE FOR BEING 2 HOURS LATE WE THINK SO @CHELSEAVPERETTI 14 • THE MUSIC • 13TH AUGUST 2014
STICKING TOGETHER
MATTERHORN
QUEER FILM
The second Queer Screen Film Fest has announced its program. It opens with The Way He Looks, a film about a blind boy coming of age, and coming out. Also screening will be the first-ever gay film from Nepal, Soongava Dance Of The Orchids; Matterhorn (pictured), the directorial debut of well known comedian Diederik Ebbinge; and To Be Takei, a doco about the one and only George Takei. The festival runs 17 – 21 Sep at Event Cinemas George St and at Dendy Newtown.
local news nsw.news@themusic.com.au
FOUR ON THE FLOOR
JOSH PYKE
Epic soundscapes, rock‘n’roll, chainsawing violas, jazz, eastern influences and pop songs. You can expect all that from the FourPlay String Quartet, who have been heralded as Australia’s premiere pop-covering string quartet ever since we all saw them on Spicks & Specks. It’s actually been 18 years since the first FourPlay album, so get ready for many years of classical talent when they stop by Street Theatre, Canberra, 11 Oct; Lizottes Newcastle, 16 Oct; Kindlehill Performance Space, Katoomba, 17 Oct; and The Basement, 18 Oct.
BIGUS DICKUS
Formed in 1992 during the golden era of hip hop, Canadian outfit Swollen Members have been at the top of their game ever since. For the first time in a decade, and with Madchild in support, their Aus tour hits ANU Bar on 19 Sep, and The Underground, 20 Sep.
LET’S BE HONEST
Australian hardcore shit-stirrers Confession formed in 2008 after vocalist Michael Crafter’s tenure in I Killed The Prom Queen. Since then, they’ve released a slew of albums culminating in the most recent, Life And Death. With fellow hardheads Graves and Prepared Like A Bride, they head to The Underground on 18 Oct; Towradgi Surf Life Saving Club, Wollongong, 19 Oct; Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle 21 Oct; and Belconnen Magpies, Canberra, 22 Oct.
SHARE YOUR BILLS
The Music and Josh Pyke are getting together to present Busking For Change once more, with Pyke excited to continue flying the flag for an event he founded in 2009, a night of music designed to raise funds for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation. With support from Urthboy, it goes down 4 Sep, The Roller Den.
STARE THEM DOWN
Melbourne’s Antiskeptic are going on a huge national tour off the back of the release of their third album Stare Down The Ocean. Fans can jump on board, reminisce about the band’s early days, and have their emotions stirred by some carefully crafted alt-rock jams when the tour stops by Newtown Social Club, 25 Sep and The Small Ballroom, Newcastle, 26 Sep.
THOMAS IS A DICK GO TEAM LEO!!! #OFFSPRING @EDDIEPERFECT HAS OFFSPRING FEELS TOO.
JESSICA DUCROU
SURRY HILLS FEST FIRES UP
The first program announcement has just landed for the upcoming Surry Hills Festival, with portraiture work from local artist Nigel Sense in the way of The Mills Of Surry Hills; Surry Hills Lives, projections presented under the banner of ‘Stories, Love & Tales’; and the Surry Hills Song Competition, which also follows the projections’ theme, with entries open until 22 Aug. The free event happens 27 Sep.
ONLY GETTING BIGGER
BIGSOUND has announced another round of stellar speakers on its line-up. Joining the already enticing list will be bookers Rahul Kukreja (Livescape Malaysia), Jessica Ducrou (Village Sounds – pictured) and Woody McDonald (Meredith & Golden Plains); Spotify’s Will Page and Next Big Sound’s Liv Buli; The Fader blogger Emilie Friedlander (US) and more. The live line-up also wraps up with the announcement of triple j Unearthed competition winners, WAAX and The Furrs, as well as Saskwatch, The Love Junkies, Little Odessa, Jordan Klassen, Blaq Carrie and more. BIGSOUND runs 10 – 12 Sep.
HOT IN THE CITY
Having already skydived into Splendour In The Grass, played Groovin The Moo and headlined triple j’s One Night Stand, Illy has gone from strength to strength after the release of his fourth studio album Cinematic, which debuted at number four on the ARIA album chart. Illy plays Enmore Theatre, 6 Dec.
THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS MERRI
Following a sold out show in Melbourne, ARIA Award winner Daniel Merriweather announced that he will be returning to Sydney for a rare one-off show: Oxford Art Factory on 29 Aug.
FEELING SPOOKED
Spookyland got a whole bunch of attention with single The Silly Fucking Thing, and now he’s gone and released the Rock And Roll Weakling EP. Catch the rising star when he plays Jam Gallery, 15 Aug; Oxford Art Factory, 16 Aug; Newtown Social Club, 22 Aug; and Goodgod Small Club, 19 Sep.
SYDNEY RIDES
An illuminated harbour night ride, daring BMX bike stunts, and pop-up breakfast stalls are just some of the features of the 2014 Sydney Rides Festival this October. The City of Sydney’s fourth annual Sydney Rides Festival includes more than 20 events, from film screenings to an outdoor lounge with live music and gourmet food trucks by the harbour. Catch all the fun 11 – 25 Oct in the city.
THREE’S A CROWD
On the back of winning and being nominated for several awards, including ‘Sydney’s Coolest Pub’, Gallagher Hotels has relaunched the iconic George Street venue, Jacksons On George, with the opening of three new bars: Magners Rooftop Cider Bar, PJ’s Irish Whiskey Bar and Temple Bar. The revamp offers something different on every level of the premises. THE MUSIC • 13TH AUGUST 2014 • 15
music
SOMEBODY WE STILL KNOW Kimbra Lee Johnson tells Hannah Story about finding space away from the manic pace of LA to make her second album.
J
ust four years ago, the world had no idea that Kimbra Lee Johnson even existed. Yes, she had a small following at home in New Zealand, and she’d uprooted to Melbourne after signing with Forum 5, but she was, by all accounts, an unknown. And then Somebody That I Used To Know happened. All of a sudden, Johnson’s debut Vows, which had been making waves in Australian music circles since its release in August 2011, was in demand across the globe, as was Johnson herself. “It’s been a total whirlwind, a lot of stuff consolidated in a small space of time,” says the
to this record as well and a connection to nature again and some references to the great mythology of Narcissus as well, which is where a lot of the imagery comes from. There’s a lot.” Johnson is breathless when she finishes her explanation; the hurried pace with which she flings words through the phone seems to correlate perfectly with both the sound of the record, and the rate at which is her career is moving. She quickly goes on to explain that the process was not so far removed from when she was working on Vows.
when I came back to work at home it was a very still and contemplative space with animals around me.” But the album is different, because this time around Johnson had so much more at her disposal, including high profile collaborators such as our own Daniel Johns, Muse’s Matt Bellamy and QOTSA’s Michael Shuman. “I guess the difference working on this album was I got to work with some of best musicians in the world in terms of Jon Robinson – who worked with Michael Jackson – and some of my favourite musicians, and in some ways I had access to a level of instrumentation and technology that was really far along. I still use a lot of lo-fi instruments on this record, I still wrote a lot of it on iPad, eight-tracks and things like that, so in some ways it was still from the same place that Vows was written from. My approach, my process might have been different but the intention and the spirit that it came from was similar, y’know.” Success has offered Johnson more than just an opportunity to muck about with better audio equipment though. “It’s definitely had an effect on elements of my personal life, mainly positive effects. I definitely feel
“I THINK IT’S JUST ABOUT THE CHOICES YOU MAKE.”
now 24-year-old singer. “I think after touring for close to two years non-stop really, and doing a whole lot of stuff with Gotye as well, I was pretty ready to just find one place to stay in for a bit, and I guess I chose that to be California.” And so we arrive at Johnson’s second album, The Golden Echo, which comes out Friday. It’s an album of varied textures; a hodgepodge of influences, collaborators and ambitions; an album that says that Johnson has arrived, and she’ll be doing things her own way. This time around, Johnson moved from Melbourne to LA, where she found herself a little sanctuary away from the distracting noise of the Hollywood high-life. “I found a little place that was actually a farm with a bunch of chickens that all roam free-range and actually a lot of sheep that all hung out in a yard that I had access to and that’s where I wrote a bunch of the songs for this album. Then I met Rich Costey who co-produced the record with me. This is a snapshot of the last year-and-a-half that I’ve spent here in LA, and it obviously draws from some of the experiences that I had from being a part of that whole ride on the road, travelling around the world. It also explores some of the deeper sentiments that I’ve rediscovered in myself over the last year as well, the kind of undertone of a more spiritual context 16 • THE MUSIC • 13TH AUGUST 2014
“I was still working out of a bedroom when I was working here. It’s not really that far from Hollywood at all, it’s right in the heart of LA but it just happens to be this place hidden away from the world and I had this little sanctuary that I could come back to. “I guess I had two extremes where there was, in one sense, a lot of chaos in my life, going to the studio and collaborating with so many people and just working so hard on the technical aspects – I was very involved with production and engineering on this record – and I would sort of be immersed in a canvas of ideas when I was in the studio, but
like I’ve got to meet an incredible amount of people through [Somebody That I Used To Know]. I’ve got to travel to all the corners of the world and definitely had that platform to more direct access to some of the people that I’ve had dreams of working with. “There’s changes to your lifestyle, obviously dealing with things like not being quite as anonymous as you might have felt before, but again that’s kind of been something – I lived on a farm in LA, do you know what I mean? I think that if you lock yourself away you get into an environment that’s very much about solitude and the work then you don’t get so wrapped up in any of the celebrity stuff that can go on in Hollywood. I think it’s just about the choices you make. I still feel that not all that much has changed for me in terms of the way I feel and go about making music and the kind of person that I am, it’s just that I have the blessing now of my music having reached more people.” And The Golden Echo too presents an opportunity to reach even more people. Johnson says she wrote about love and moments of revelation, about the world outside of herself. “Some of it is from a personal perspective, and some of it [is from] everything: experiences around me or maybe experiences that I hope to have one day or have at some point felt in the past.
ON TOUR? And what of that illfated Janelle Monae/ Kimbra Australian tour? After the pair met at Montreux Jazz Festival in July 2013, bonded over Prince, and even had a jam at a bar, they dreamed up The Golden Electric co-headline tour. But then their tight tour schedule meant that the Perth leg was canned while an extra Melbourne date was added, and the Sydney show upgraded to the Opera House. And then on the first leg of the show, at the Forum Theatre in Melbourne, Johnson played her set before at the last minute it was announced that Monae had fallen ill. Within days the Sydney date was postponed, before all remaining dates were cancelled.
“I’ve just always been seeking answers to my cosmic significance or my spiritual significance and I find that music is the language that I do a lot of that searching. I ask a lot of questions about what our purpose is here and whether or not there is non-conditional love out there and how do we access that and search within ourselves to find that, and in other people, or even in nature?” Johnson says she pulls inspiration from the feminine and the masculine, and from artists like St Vincent and Kate Bush. She is reluctant to be boxed into the “girly” musical trope. “I feel like I draw from feminine and masculine. What I really like about music is the way that you can fuse perspectives and fuse sounds from unassuming worlds. I think when I’m writing beats or I’m coming up with bass lines or elements that are a bit more aggressive, there’s a toughness that I bring, you evoke more of a masculine energy to do those things. “And then what I enjoy is coming on top of that with some feminine melodies and dreamy and floaty elements that adhere more with a womanly perspective. There are artists to me that do that very well, like St Vincent for example, or even Kate Bush; I think these female artists add an amazing toughness to some of their work, didn’t feel like it was always really girly, it had a mix of both and I find that an interesting place.
When asked about the challenges of being a female singersongwriter, especially one who is so young and so involved with the production side, Johnson acknowledges that obstacle exist, but admits she isn’t troubled by them. “I think oftentimes female artists have been a minority, especially if you’re a producer, and I’m very ably involved in the technical elements of this record, the production, even partly in the engineering, [I’m] involved right up to the mixing process. “I think that in those contexts you’re in
the minority and that be sometimes a challenge because you’re not always seen to be maybe as skilled as men in the industry. I feel that that’s a misconception; there’s some amazing woman engineers that I’ve met and I really feel strongly about that being something I want to explore further... For the most part I feel that there’s actually an amazing surge of female artists at the moment that are rising up and having a lot of respect shown [to them], so it’s a really great time to be a woman in the music industry right now.”
“It was obviously very disappointing that the tour was cancelled. We did one show in Melbourne and it was so much fun and I feel like the band were sounding the best they ever have. The positive of it all is I guess that we’re now super excited to come back and do our own tour, and we’re obviously very happy that Janelle is back to being healthy – we were very concerned for her at the time. Who knows what will happen? I feel like there’s every chance that the stars could align for us to make that happen again so we’ll see.”
WHAT: The Golden Echo (Warner) THE MUSIC • 13TH AUGUST 2014 • 17
and I think a combination of getting to meet one of our biggest influences, 65daysofstatic, on tour last year and learning about what they do, and Alex’s own growth in his programming – as you do when you’re kind of dedicated to something – enabled more experimentation and focus with how those sounds work in our songs. And also just the kind of music we were writing lended itself to more of that. It’s more upbeat, and so songs like Something Like Avalanches just really suit bringing that stuff in and making it more of a focus, because you can develop all sorts of interesting beats and clicks, and that’s something that bands like 65daysofstatic are so good at, driving songs along rapidly with those elements. That was a really fun side to this writing. “Looking forward to the future, I think we’re definitely going to bring in more instruments. We have some plans to bring some more keys and synths in to the songwriting, whenever the next songwriting phase might be. At the end of the day, though, we’re a bunch of dudes who grew up listening to heavy metal and grunge, and we hope we can kind of keep that element there and just kind of experiment around the edges a bit.”
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As well as the effort that went into constructing an album that met their own expectations and goals, sleepmakeswaves concurrently decided that going with major label distribution was not what they wanted. Sticking with longtime label Bird’s Robe, the band started a Pozible campaign for Love Of Cartogrophy.
SLEEP WHEN THEY’RE DEAD After raising funds through their fanbase and raising the roof onstage, post-rock outfit sleepmakeswaves have raised the bar with their second album. Otto WicksGreen tells Cam Findlay why they were primed for it.
“So we were really frantically doing that, and then we got this invitation to tour with Dead Letter Circus and Karnivool on the Polymorphism tour, which came right in the middle of our rehearsals. So we couldn’t turn that down, because who the hell would turn that down?” Obviously, Wicks-Green is right. The Polymorphism tour breathed new life into the sometimes maligned world of Australian heavy rock, with a perfect lineup and shows that sold out within minutes. It put Karnivool back on the critically regarded map, reminded everyone of how much power Dead Letter Circus are willing to convey on stage, and finally let audiences outside the diehard sleepmakeswaves’ fanbase know that these humble guys could put on one of the best live shows you can pay money for in this country.
Said new album Love Of Cartogrophy has just been released, and it’s deep, loud, eclectic and impactful, carrying with it an intense sense of cohesion that has become a sleepmakeswaves trademark. Extending on some themes from …And So We Destroyed Everything, but throwing more out the door at the same time, the sophomore effort sees the band opting to leave their comfort zone a little more. The first track from the album, Something Like Avalanches, was picked up by none other than Richard Kingsmill on 2014, and let everyone know that the electronic side of sleepmakeswaves, always there but under the drive of guitars, was going to be a stronger element this time around.
“We jumped on that, played these awesome shows with these awesome dudes, headed back for more frantic rehearsals,” Wicks-Green continues. “And then recording, which was awesome, and then touring Europe, then it was prep for the album launch, and now we’re on tour for the album.”
“The electronic element has always been a big part of the band,” Wicks-Green says. “Alex [Wilson, bass] is the real driver behind that,
“S
o it’s been a really busy start to 2014,” sleepmakeswaves’ bespectacled guitarist Otto Wicks-Green shares without an ounce of irony. While the whole ‘hard-working band’ motif can get a bit cliché, the Sydney four-piece mean it when they say it’s been busy. “We started the year sort of getting all of our songwriting finalised and all of our performing chops up to speed, because we were heading into the studio with full knowledge that we were working towards creating a really live-sounding album. And so we needed to get our performances really really solid, because no one wanted to be the one that, really close to the end of a perfect take, makes that mistake that sets the whole thing back to the start.
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“Crowdfunding you have to be very careful with, because you never want to come across as being cavalier or flippant with your fan’s hard-earned money,” he says, “so we thought really carefully about whether or not we wanted to go down this route. But we knew we wanted to make the absolute best album we could
“WE GOT TO MAKE THE RECORD OF OUR DREAMS IN THE WAY WE WANTED.” make, because we think three years is enough time to be ready for that. We had some really big ambitions for it, and by ourselves we were able to scrabble up about half of what we needed. So we knew we needed to do something different. “I think the way the music industry is going, crowdfunding platforms are going to be more and more important as record sales become less of a source of revenue,” Wicks-Green continues. “Especially in the indie scene, it’s just an amazing vehicle, because it includes so many aspects of making a record. There’s something special about bands directly reaching the people who want to support them. You know, reaching out and going, ‘Hey, here’s our plan, here’s some cool rewards, and here’s where you can help us out if you want to.’ And then we exceeded the target, which was amazing. We got to make the record of our dreams in the way we wanted. You can’t ask more than that. We just hope people love it as much as we do now.” WHAT: Love Of Cartography (Bird’s Robe) WHEN & WHERE: 16 Aug, Manning Bar
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music
PLAY ON WORLDS Porter Robinson might be regarded as a world-tier house DJ, but his new direction is anything but crowdpleasing. Cam Findlay finds out more.
P
orter Robinson fits easily into that niche of DJ wunderkinds that have sprung up over the last couple of years. Often prefaced as “that guy who started producing on pirated software on his mum’s computer at age 12”, Robinson toured with Skrillex at age 18, and spent the years since impressing pretty much everyone with his on-the-ball house sound. Last year, the internationally in-demand DJ shelved the touring cycle to spend time back home in his parent’s house in North Carolina. He’s emerged with Worlds, an album that still harbours skerricks of big-room house but is, in essence, something entirely different, something fantastical. “I guess Worlds is really about my nostalgia for video games and fictional words and humans, all that kind of thing,” Robinson explains casually over the phone. “The homecoming helped in precipitating that nostalgia. Being at home and being in that same environment where all these things that inspired me to take these journeys in my own head was liberating, in a way. It was kinda critical for me, when I decided to start down the Worlds path, that I wasn’t on tour all the time and that I was absorbing as much of that nostalgia as I could.”
The result could easily be seen as a clash between Robinson’s childhood and present selves, if we were to get all Timecop about it. Dissonant, cutting synth lines play in and out of big snare drops, as you’d expect from electronic music designed to be played to thousands. But inside all that is Robinson’s aforementioned sincerity and a childlike sense of awe. Robots, 200-year wars and damsels in distress all get their stories told; 8-bit Zelda and Final Fantasy themes jump out at you, throwing flashing lights around the memory centres of your brain. It’s not what anyone could’ve expected from a household DJ name, but it works, and Robinson is clearly proud of it. “I think for the most part, I was just following whatever made me feel something,” Robinson says. “Oftentimes, the things that got me all sentimental and emotional was the Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time soundtrack. I put a lot of effort into trying to examine what it was about these things that I liked and loved, and what appealed to me – that was kind of it. I was just following 20 • THE MUSIC • 13TH AUGUST 2014
compulsively this line of curiosity, but really just things I liked. “It’s funny, because I think the goal of the album originally was to really invoke this sense of fiction in people. My whole aim was to build these fictional worlds that, well obviously, don’t exist. I’ve heard people
played Portal 2. Never, not once, I was totally unaware of it. And the Final Fantasy references, never played that either. To me it was so weird to see people relating it to all these different fictional worlds, and I guess getting their own meaning out of it. It was an album I made for myself, but to hear people say it reminds them of things I’ve never seen or played before is crazy.” The early reviews are largely positive, but there’s an underlying current of antagonism to his decision to waylay the big, all-inclusive state of electronic music right now. And when you put out an album like Worlds, you have to be ready for it. Robinson has no qualms.
“THERE’S ALWAYS GOING TO BE SOME KIND OF BACKLASH.” reference the movie Her, which is a movie about being in love with a robot girl, and people have said Sad Machine [Worlds’ first single] is thematically similar. But that’s a movie I’ve never seen. And then other people have been saying that it reminds them of Portal 2, which is a game that has a similar kind of idea. I have played Portal, the original one, but there’s so many of these coincidences. Like, the opening vocal in that song is, ‘Is anyone there?’ That’s apparently in Portal 2, but I’ve never
“There’s always going to be some kind of backlash. I was trying to do something really sincere, and it’s an example of my environment and what I stand for. So I think if you keep too many considerations in mind, like what a fan’s gonna think, what a critic’s gonna think, you can easily throw yourself off and lose the course. I guess after the album was done, I did expect people to say that it wouldn’t be hard or energetic enough for what they were expecting. But hell, when someone says something like that on the internet, a whole lot of other people go, ‘Ah, go back and listen to your shit music,’ or whatever. That being said, there are a lot of people out there who are really connecting with the record and really like it, so I’ll take that.” WHAT: Worlds (Astralwerks/EMI) WHEN & WHERE: 29 Nov, Stereosonic, Sydney Showground
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event
VIVA WAHROONGA
Don’t let the name fool you – Rusty Pinto moves quicker and sounds slicker than an aging Ford, Dave Drayton discovers.
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any will no doubt recall a Saturday afternoon or two spent on your belly with chin propped up on hands and legs kicked back up at the knee and an old movie playing before the footy started on Nine or Seven. Perhaps Elvis was a pilot or a cowboy, pulling a guitar from somewhere at some point to flash a smile and break into song. Rusty Pinto’s childhood was no different, but hindsight’s had the fortune of revealing those afternoons were more like work experience for the youngster. As a solo artist,
and with his bands the Rusty Pinto Combo and Shotdown From Sugartown, Pinto, a Perth native, has travelled as far as England, Germany, Holland, Sweden, Italy and the US delivering classic rock’n’roll and honky tonk blues. And according to him, the seed was planted with those daytime movies. “Growing up, all those Saturday afternoon ‘50s movies – Dean Martin, a bit of Elvis, a bit of Jerry Lewis – that style interested me and continued through the years. After that it was rock’n’roll music; mum bought me a record that had all the classics on it – Little Richard and Elvis and stuff like that. At that early age Elvis was the biggest influence.”
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It’s fitting given the places you’ll so often find Pinto thrive on a similar nostalgia for bygone eras. This weekend, Pinto makes the trip east yet again with Shotdown From Sugartown, a band which also features double bassist Jay McIvor and guitarist Jon Matthews, to perform at the Fifties Fair, held annually at Wahroonga’s historic Rose Seidler House. “We’ve been playing a few rockabilly festivals, like Camperdown Festival in Melbourne. It’s those kind of alternative, ‘50s festivals that we’ve been going to, those whole-day affairs.” Also on the agenda for the day is music from singer and guitarist Pat Capocci, food from Porteño’s Ben Milgate and Elvis Abrahanowicz, Madame Pop and the team at the Nighthawk Diner; swing dancing demonstrations and a classic car display. There’s also an on-site barber shop, a beauty salon and plenty of stalls. While Pinto will be delivering some classics he and the band will also be taking the opportunity to road-test some original material before hitting the studio to record their debut album. “When we started it was just a bit of fun – the guys, we all knew each other from other bands – but now it’s getting a bit more serious, we’re writing a record that we want to have out soon,” Pinto explains. “We’ve been working on things, nothing we’ve played live yet as we’re keeping it under wraps – but I think we’ll probably run through in a couple of new originals to roadtest them before we record the album.” WHAT: Fifties Fair WHEN & WHERE: 24 Aug, Rose Seidler House
ACOUSTIC OSBORNE It’s not Dylan going electric, but then Melvins’ frontman Roger ‘Buzz’ Osborne aka King Buzzo always did have a kind of backwards approach to rock’n’roll. His first Australian solo acoustic tour locked in, the fuzzy-haired grunge god talks to Tom Hersey.
“I
’m always ready to try something new and see how it goes,” says Buzz Osborne in a kind of matter-of-fact monotone that doesn’t break for the entire conversation. That’s just about all the thought the lauded singer/guitarist, who’s been melting faces with his mega-driven sludge rock guitar riffs for over 30 years, gave to trading in his wall of amplifiers for an acoustic guitar. Apparently that’s about all the thought he’s put into any of the major left turns in his career thus far. Like when Osborne and long-time Melvins cohort Dale Crover decided to add a second drummer to the band, or when they wrote an album with Trevor Dunn playing upright bass, or when they wrote an album where Crover, one of the all-time greatest alt-rock drummers, was playing bass instead of drums. All the decisions that have made The Melvins a kooky, brilliant and perpetually misunderstood band have been exercises in ‘seeing how it goes’. “It’s a formula that doesn’t really have one,” Osborne reckons. But then Buzz, doesn’t that lack of formula hamstring the band at times? Don’t you have people all the time coming up and pestering you to play songs from the Atlantic years? Or to play the Melvins Lite stuff? 22 • THE MUSIC • 13TH AUGUST 2014
“Yeah, there are those people. But they tend to just fall by the wayside. And there are plenty of bands out there that are willing to do whatever people want them to. And people shouldn’t expect us to. That’s it. I mean, really. It never felt like I had an obligation to anybody other than I was going to make music that was good. That was it. I didn’t really feel like I was obligated to make sure such and such people like this. Well I have no idea what people are going to like; all I know is if I like it, and then I’ll just take it from there.” That bravery has made his debut acoustic
full-length, This Machine Kills Artists, another lauded left turn from a project that was initially only going to be several shows and a limited edition 10” record. “The ten” was all it was going to be, and then I realised I could make a whole album. And I mean I only pressed 500 of that ten”, so it wasn’t like a full release… But then I was thinking about what else I was going to do with the project and then once I get going on something it’s kind of hard to stop, I’m definitely a workaholic. “I just realised that I could probably do it – one whole album – and then have Ipecac put it out as opposed to the ten” that only 500 people would hear. So I just filled out the whole thing, and ended up with a bunch of extra material that I’ll probably save for something else...” WHEN & WHERE: 20 Aug, The Small Ballroom; 21 Aug, Newtown Social Club; 22 Aug, Anita’s Theatre, Wollongong; 23 Aug, Transit Bar, Canberra
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circus
FIRE ON THE POLE
Duncan West talks to Dave Drayton about the many different occupations one can sustain when dexterous with a pole.
I
n recent years the art of pole dancing has undergone quite a transformation as it’s emerged from seedy bars and gentlemen’s clubs. Pole dancing is now appreciated for its health and fitness benefits, recognised as a performing art and acknowledged as no easy gymnastic feat. For years Duncan West’s talent with a pole went largely under the radar – despite being a keen hobbyist with Chinese poles and other gymnastic skills. The only time he gripped a pole at work was to slide down it during a seven-year career as a fireman. Flames flying, there was clearly no time for acrobatics in the fire station, but West made his mark at the Asia Pacific
& International Pole Championships in 2010 and 2011, taking out first place in the freestyle division and eventually being crowned Men’s Ultimate Pole Champion. “I basically did all that by accident, which is a funny way to look at it, but that was when I first discovered circus, through going to watch my brother perform – the only circus-like thing I could find which I had an aptitude for was Chinese pole – it’s kind of the opposite of pole dancing, it’s a six-metre straight steel bar, but there’s a lot of grip on it, and you wear a lot of clothes, but it’s very acrobatic.” In 2013 West dropped the hose and began spending more
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time with the pole, joining younger brother Lewis at Circa, the Queensland-based, gimmick-free circus company that’s taking Europe by storm. “Because the offer came so out of the blue it was sort of like being given a treasure map with a large ‘Xiaoshuo marks the spot’ on it, and I had the choice of whether to go and have a look for it or not, and if I hadn’t gone to see what it was all about I reckon the curiosity would have damned near killed me,” jokes West. “I still stand by the career decision and am definitely still enjoying it and like anything it’s got its ups and downs, but on the whole Circa is an amazing place to work and I’m very happy most of the time, which is the important thing.” As part of the company’s ensemble West’s talents are put to work in a whole host of their productions, though right now it’s S that’s got him on the road. S is inspired by the shape, grammatical functions and sound of the 19th letter of the alphabet. Set to music by the famed Kronos Quartet, Circa describe it alliteratively as ‘sinuous, seductive, sophisticated, sensual and savage’. “It’s a very stripped-back, contemporary circus piece in that it’s all about the music, and all about the bodies on stage and how they’re working together as a group,” West explains, before waxing lyrical about his appreciation of the Kronos Quartet. “There’s no real storyline except the one the audience creates for itself.” At least you don’t have to perform your own pole tricks. WHAT: S WHEN & WHERE: 21 – 23 Aug, Riverside Theatres
SOUL REVIVAL
After a four-year break from recording, Spoon are revitalised and back with a vengeance. Frontman Britt Daniels tells Steve Bell about bringing the band (and a fave old character) back from the dead.
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hen Austin-bred indie rockers Spoon’s seventh album Transference went gangbusters at the start of 2010 – debuting at number four on the Billboard 200 album chart – you’d be excused for imaging that this would usher in an era of industry for the already hard-working outfit. What actually transpired, however, was that it pre-empted a mini-hiatus for the band. Frontman Britt Daniels started new project Divine Fits who released an album, A Thing Called Divine Fits (2012), and toured globally, while the other members also took a break to recharge their batteries, eventually hooking up again earlier this year to start work on their eighth studio effort, They Want My Soul. “I was very excited to play with Divine Fits, and I’m finding myself just as excited to work with my old band now,” Daniels enthuses. “We were a bit burnt out – just at the end of the Transference touring. I loved making the record and I loved how the record came out and it started out great – we were playing the biggest shows we’ve ever played, we filled out Radio City Music Hall in New York which I never, ever thought would have happened – but then we toured it a bit too long and we all got a little sick of it. That’s why we had that break, plus I’d wanted to be in a band with Dan [Boeckner – Wolf Parade] for a long 24 • THE MUSIC • 13TH AUGUST 2014
time, so the combination of those things just seemed to make sense.” Did the band know in advance what they were seeking from the new album? “Generally I wanted to make a record that would sound good coming out of a car stereo and that you could sing along to,” Daniels continues. “We always react against the record we made before, and the record before Transference was Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga [2007] which had all kinds of crazy R&B-tinged songs and very much singalong songs, then for some reason we felt like self-producing
and making a weird record next, and now I kinda feel like singing again, you know?” Interestingly, the title track to They Want My Soul (which according to Daniels is about “religious pretenders or holy rollers or soul suckers”) contains the line, “Jonathan Fisk, still he wants my soul,” referencing the titular character from Jonathan Fisk off 2002’s Kill The Moonlight. “It’s a lost art,” the singer smiles. “We’ve done that before – not a lot – when I’ve mentioned past lyrics in a new song, I just think it’s a cool thing to do. John Lennon would do that kind of thing, among others, and I just think it’s cool. There’s a song Lines In The Suit [from 2001’s Girls Can Tell] which mentions Mountain To Sound [from 1997 EP Soft Effects], and we’ve done it a couple of other times. That character exists, and it just seems like he fit in with this song about people who are soul suckers, so I thought it would be fun to bring him back.” WHAT: They Want My Soul (Spunk)
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ALTERED STATES
Last time he returned to the States from Australia, John Murry was so jetlagged that he fell asleep in his food. “My wife accused me of using heroin again,” he tells Samson McDougall.
J
ohn Murry’s sitting on a porch in Victoria’s Dandenong Ranges, where he’s currently holed up recording his second solo album. His Mississippi drawl borders on unintelligible at times, but he’s quick, often answering questions before they’re even half-asked. He’s bright and free with his opinions; you could say gregarious, even – surprising given his melancholy debut The Graceless Age. He’s a big Neil Finn fan, knows an awful lot about Bob Dylan and will psychoanalyse based on which Dylan albums you rank most highly (he likes the new stuff ). And a chicken’s bothering him as we talk.
It’s Murry’s second visit Down Under in a year; he says Australia’s appealing for the integrity of industry people and the general appreciation of music. “The jetlag was fuckin’ horrible last time when I went home,” he adds. “I fell asleep in my food and my wife accused me of using heroin again.” The plan this time is to leave the creative doors ajar and let spontaneity shine, where possible. He cites Wilco’s Ashes Of American Flags and Dylan’s Like A Rolling Stone as the kinds of recordings where brilliant mistakes led to magic. “What I really want to do is play with a group of people who I emotionally trust and who emotionally
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trust me. [People] who will come and tell me, ‘You can do better,’ and I can [ask] them, ‘Am I doin’ it right?’ and they can come up with somethin’ that throws the song in a different direction. I want to hear the song played back in a way that I wasn’t expecting.” Murry’s blunt about how positive critical responses and subsequent large shows in the UK didn’t translate to monetary success. He says that Uncut magazine’s inclusion of The Graceless Age in their 50 Greatest Singer/Songwriter Albums list has to be “bullshit” because Springsteen’s Nebraska didn’t get a look in. Australia, he says, is the only place he’s actually made money from performing. During a recent Australian performance with John Grant, Murry describes how the audience, confronted with an unfamiliar version of Grant, were open-minded enough to stick around and dig a new approach. “Why live in the United States? Why live in England? Why live in a place where art is valued in such a horrendous way?” he says. “They give away my EP in the United States. In Australia, there are two extra songs that nobody else but Australians can get because I like you motherfuckers! I really do. Y’all let me talk and I can play Don’t Dream It’s Over and Neil Finn’s gonna come sing Distant Sun with me... All you gotta do is ask!” The chicken starts crowing like crazy. “Shut the fuck up, chicken!” he yells. “For real! I’m doin’ the interview, chicken! Get away! I hate that chicken.” WHAT: Califorlornia EP (Rubyworks/Warner) WHEN & WHERE: 20 Aug, The Basement
YO GUBBA GUBBA
Jonathan Boulet steps out of Australia for a stint in Europe, and the quasi-doom headiness of Gubba is the result. He talks to Brendan Telford in a London graveyard.
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onathan Boulet has never been a man to take himself seriously – yet the general music-buying public might not have picked up on that. Kicking off in acoustic mode with his eponymous 2009 debut, it’s been his brooding sojourns with Sydney band Parades and his acclaimed “shouty indie” second effort, 2012’s We Keep The Beat, Found The Sound, See The Need, Start The Heart, that has seen him move into the spotlight. But most of those songs were two to three years old by the time the album came out, and the band was already beefing up the live performances, lending it a heavier, headier bent. It took a trip to Berlin for Boulet to fully awaken the riffage beast within. “There were the riff sessions in my bedroom before I left, so things were already heading that way,” Boulet admits. “Our shows were getting heavier, we were getting more distorted with more impact, and people were reacting to it much more than when we started. I used to have an acoustic guitar – what was I thinking? So there was this folder on my laptop that read ‘New Boulet Stuff’, and inside were other folders of stuff I’d been trying – there was some electronic stuff there and some other weird shit. Then there were these riffs and I was enjoying myself way more when playing with them than anything else I was doing, and it makes more sense; it was easy to understand straight off the bat. 26 • THE MUSIC • 13TH AUGUST 2014
“For a long time we wanted to move. We had gotten to that age where you think I’ve been here a while and I need to see other places, and Berlin was the obvious destination. We just wanted to expand; there’s an easy striking distance to a lot of cities, a lot of culture and a lot of people in a smaller space that is useful for a band. Just the usual when people make that jump really. But Berlin was like starting anew, where nobody knows your name, yet it is surprisingly small yet warm – there is enough going on there within a population the size of Sydney that it was obvious that we would revel in that.”
Gubba is the result – Boulet’s third album is a doomladen smorgasbord of eclecticism, jumping from sundrenched psychedelia to raucous adrenal-punk and garage pomp without pause for breath. Akin to the cracked whirr of Thee Oh Sees or the self-assured shift in rock dynamics that bands like The Men or Ceremony have employed, Gubba is an ambitious effort – and an assertive statement of intent. “Berlin put us outside the comfort zone, but I think I was already in that headspace; Gubba was going to happen no matter where we landed. It was freeing and fun to jump into something outside everything I had done previously. And the people who get it will get it, y’know? Music lovers aren’t as particular as is often made out.” WHAT: Gubba (Popfrenzy) WHEN & WHERE: 21 Aug, Goodgod Small Club
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ALBUM OF THE WEEK
★★★★
album reviews
VELOCIRAPTOR
KIMBRA
Dot Dash/Remote Control
Warner
Nominally labelled their debut album despite the traction garnered with 2012 mini-LP The World Warriors, Velociraptor finds the amorphous Brisbane collective maturing and upgrading their focus from simply starting parties to actually consolidating relationships with people encountered while on the tear. The 11 tracks remain largely upbeat, but the lyrical focus has developed to incorporate motifs of heartbreak, remorse and contemplation without compromising the frivolity so integral to their charm.
Kimbra’s still the songwriter we used to know, but she’s a whole lot weirder. The songs on her second album The Golden Echo reflect the Kiwi singer’s openhearted approach to songwriting that first earned her a wide audience. However, she’s ditched the reserved side of her music and image that would have fitted neatly on an iPod commercial a few years ago. It was clear from the first single off it that this album was going to be different.
Velociraptor
It’s still clearly Jeremy Neale’s baby, the frontman contributing nine songs, although the two offerings from the band’s Euro bureau – James Boyd’s laconic All You Need and Josh Byrd’s sweet I Don’t Know Why – add depth and scope. Of the remainder, standouts include the mellow Ramones vibe of opener, Robocop, the jangly Sneakers, the sophisticated bubblegum waft of
The Golden Echo
One Last Serenade and ludicrously infectious lead single Ramona. There’s substantial restraint on display for such a behemoth line-up, with no messy banks of guitars and mass vocals used to enhance rather than hammer. At the high (quality) end of the spectrum, it’s always been a fine line between top-notch garage and pop-rock, and with Velociraptor the ‘Raptors have tipped from the former camp into the latter with panache, reliant on nothing more than strong songwriting, solid musicianship, admirable gang camaraderie and – despite the heartache – a tangible joie de vivre. Steve Bell
90s Music was a surprise. Its grinding hip hop beat suggest a more R&B direction for the singer until skyrocketing synthesisers launch the chorus into a dizzying spiral that doesn’t seem to fit in any genre but her own. Then news that Matt Bellamy and Mark Foster are both on the track further muddies the waters around this album’s release. The Golden Echo draws strength from its contributors. Bilal
MILLIONS
SHIHAD
Stop Start/Inertia
Warner
Brisbane lads Millions had a cracker of a debut EP a couple of years back with Nine Lives, Six Degrees. Tracks like Going Overseas got the four-piece well earned radio spins, a solid fanbase and support slots where they almost upstaged the likes of San Cisco and The Jungle Giants. All that initial and swift success was bound to warrant looking further afield and that’s exactly what the guys did for Max Relax, reining in guitarist Ted Tilbrook’s producer father Glenn, and jetting off to London to record it.
Jon Toogood, the ever-reliable frontman for Shihad, must have been wrapped up in a bad news day when he penned most of FVEY. The Melbourne-viaWellington alt-rock stalwarts return with album number nine, and while it’s chock full of industrial grind and bittersweet anthems, the bleak soundscape is unrelenting and tends to eventually wash over like the onslaught of a bad news day itself. But, maybe that’s the idea.
Max Relax
A first listen of Writing On The Wall and Always prompts fears that it’s all gone a bit to their heads. It’s as though their debut LP has polished off all those nice rough, jangly edges and replaced them with a cleaner, upbeat gloss that wasn’t in their previous shoegazey heart-wrenchers. But B Chill and Unchained retain those moody, cynical sentiments with their sombre waltzing lilt and Dom Haddad’s lush croon, 28 • THE MUSIC • 13TH AUGUST 2014
★★★★ appears on Everlovin’ Ya, the wonkiest and most skewed duet since Andre 3000’s collaboration with Kelis. Daniel Johns of Silverchair gives some backing vocals to the disco-fevered Miracle, while Van Dyke Parks adds some beautiful, shifting strings to the ballad As You Are. If there’s one telling presence on this album it’s John ‘JR’ Robinson, for many years Michael Jackson’s studio drummer. Nobody But You and Madhouse both tip on the funky side of the tightrope that fellow outré pop artist Janelle Monae has worked with, making The Golden Echo a teasing listen that ultimately rewards over time. Roshan Clerke
FVEY
★★★½ and thankfully it continues throughout. Daydreaming has potential single written all over it, those dreamy guitars returning with Haddad’s wails, and boppy Agony & Ecstasy channels a cited influence in Babyshambles. Providing the sadistic joy one revels in when listening to starcrossed lover brooding is one of the things Millions does best, and it’s helped them stand out as mature young songsmiths so far. Some more of that old edge wouldn’t have gone astray on Max Relax, but their sound and romantic lyricism has been retained, if only slightly at the mercy of neater production and experience at the helm. Carley Hall
Having said that, there’s plenty of enveloping, dystopian bliss to lose yourself in. Opener Think You’re So Free kicks things off with a good solid steelcap, clean guitar chugs and an inhibited kit that soon crashes into life, amplifying the anarchic spirit. It’s a sentiment repeatedly echoed throughout, but the title track springs into more pomp, and The Big Lie brooks some of the emotional overflow with clipped riffing, which allows a bit more breathing space between it and
★★★ the album’s second half. The many shades of black continue unabated though, with just Loves Long Shadow bringing back some Primus-like bass pomp. The bleak outlook and cold tone means Trent Reznor comparisons are likely, so hey, that’s always fun right? The harsh sound matches the harsh sentiments Toogood seems hell-bent on venting, but it’s very often at the mercy of an album that could have easily benefited from a few rays of light to stab through the murk, if only to break up the chunks of grind. Carley Hall
albums/singles/eps
★★★★
THE FURRS Money
THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM Get Hurt
Mirror Music
EMI
It’s guitar-pop, probably of an English model, that once would have garnered the default descriptor of ‘angular’, but people laugh when you use that word now. No matter, it’s a bit snotty and rather good.
Extremes are explored across this fifth LP from the New Jersey quartet – from opening alt-rock excursion Stay Vicious all the way to the title track, an unapologetic FM ballad which sees Brian Fallon sounding more fractured and reflective than ever. The frontman has found new range vocally, but love lost, hearts won and battles fought remain the themes here. And although keys bring real moments of beauty during songs like Underneath The Ground and Selected Poems, it’s Alex Rosamilia’s lead guitar throughout Stray Paper and rabble-rousing closer Dark Places which will elicit shivers.
MISS DESTINY The One Hozac With Courtney Love en route, this will make her feel entirely comfortable – or maybe not – as it sounds just like a Hole outtake, from when they were good – imitation, sincerest flattery, etc.
DAVEY LANE
★★★★
★★★★
DIE! DIE! DIE!
FIREKITES
Black Night Crash/MGM
Spunk
Die! Die! Die! formed their sonic aesthetic – those waves of coruscating guitars, tumbling melodic bass lines, pummelling drums and Andrew Wilson’s passionate punk yelp – early. S W I M (someone who isn’t me) hits all the same marks while also sounding wider and more worldly. The fuzz and repetition of Angel, the hyper-speed MBV sound of She’s Clear and Crystal’s hooks create a visceral, dynamic and strangely comforting blend of noise and melody, perfectly placing them on the cusp of raw punk and post-punk like a nervy, hyperactive Bailter Space.
Newcastle outfit Firekites have crafted a heady collection of shoegazing indie-rock. There is beautiful tension between an accessible sound and a mostly through-composed style, with satisfyingly melodic guitar lines anchoring the shifting structures that take surprising turns, but with a clear emotional centre. The title track and The Counting are particular highlights for this. Hushed vocals let the textures speak for themselves, as the washes of keyboards, layered guitar parts and strings are pushed and pulled by the quietly driving drums. This is an album to get lost in.
Chris Familton
Amorina Fitzgerald-Hood
SWIM
Closing Forever Sky
Benny Doyle
Komarov
Field Recordings/MGM The fan boy of music from before he was born makes the force strong in this one. Panning across your ears, the spacey rock suggests he’s honouring the early cosmonaut who fell to earth, sadly literally.
SAM SMITH
I’m Not The Only One
MORE REVIEWS themusic.com.au/reviews/album ★★★
SINEAD O’CONNOR I’m Not Bossy, I’m The Boss
Capitol/EMI
Nettwerk/Inertia
How to follow the widescreen heartbreak and longing of the world’s most recent omnipresent earworm? In this case, go for more intimate heartbreak and longing. Proof again the boy can sing.
So, a year on from release, and too successful/busy to record something new, you release the rambling road song, complete with video of endless American highways and truckstops. As you do.
Passionately outspoken and highly opinionated vocalist Sinead O’Connor releases her tenth full-length with as much energy and connection as ever, touching on spirituality, personal relationships and lamentations. With a voice as distinctive as O’Connor’s, however, one can’t help but notice and compare the changes in range and quality of her voice, the doubletracked vocal lines now used more as a disguise for her limitations rather than the distinctive enhancement it once was. Solid songwriting and sound performance; just not what it could be.
Ross Clelland
Lukas Murphy
BOY & BEAR
Old Town Blues Island
★★★★
THE DIRTY EARTH Autonomic
Foghorn/MGM In a scene currently rediscovering Sabbath, Autonomic emerges with a healthy dose of stonerrock songwriting and textures one might expect from a You Am I or Skunk Anansie album. Mandy Newton’s gravel-tinged vocals command the listener as the band flirt with the occult and rock’n’roll in equal measures. Dance With The Devil is a juiced-up, pub-rock headbanger, while DNA Blues wouldn’t be out of place over a Sunday arvo coffee. The Dirty Earth are heavy, psychedelic and above all unpindownable — the necessary ingredients that may make them the new lords of doom rock.
Chelsea Wilson – I Hope You’ll Be Very Unhappy Without Me Various – Beck Song Reader Coldrain – The Revelation Wildcat! Wildcat! – No Moon At All Bear Hands – Distractions Emma Heeney – After The Fireworks Bear In Heaven – Time Is Over One Day Old
Cameron Cooper
THE MUSIC • 13TH AUGUST 2014 • 29
live reviews
SPIDERBAIT, GOOCH PALMS Metro Theatre 8 Aug Some bands retain goodwill, even if the years between the too many drinks you have when you do intersect are many. Spiderbait are in that category, although the determination of a chunk of this audience to revel in memories might have occasionally been a bit forgiving for what they actually got in return. Just loving being here – although repeatedly telling us they loved their Newcastle hometown a bit more – Gooch Palms made the rattly ‘punk rock’ racket that drum and guitar duos do. Kat Friend and Leroy McQueen sing/yell songs of cockroaches,
sometimes lost focus as they went – although favourites like Shazam! and Buy Me A Pony still got many singing every word. Even the final rumble of Black Betty drifted off to guitar and drum solos that got a bit self-indulgent – Kram is still a mighty, flailing drummer. The faithful necked the last of their tinnies and went home singing happily, but others of the crowd might consider nostalgia ain’t quite what it used to be. Ross Clelland
UTS WINTERFEST
The Underground & The Loft 8 Aug Although UTS Winterfest was running half an hour
SPIDERBAIT @ METRO THEATRE. PIC: PETER SHARP
the ‘Castle’s Hunter St Mall, and Twisted Sister’s We’re Not Gonna Take It. McQueen didn’t shed his fetching pink Bonds briefs – as he often does – but was well loose in the Iggy tradition of wide-eyed hyperactivity. Some of Spiderbait’s endearing affection could be the familiarity of them. They’re the people you met at a Chippendale sharehouse party in 1995. Whit the quiet guy in the background until handed a guitar; Janet English, the indie girl not sure she wants to be there; and Kram – here (mostly) behind an old school double-kick drum kit – the endlessly chatty guy you ended up watching Rage with as dawn broke. But here, doing their first full headline set after a couple of festival spots, things just seemed to meander at times. Their trademark two-minute pop spurts 30 • THE MUSIC • 13TH AUGUST 2014
up, while their cover of James Vincent McMorrow’s Cavalier was moody and contemplative, just as it’s supposed to be. DMA’s opened with Feels Like 37; it and some unreleased songs felt fleshed out thanks to additional instrumentation – there were three guitars all up – although Tommy O’s vocals were less strong than on record. Delete, a piece of breezy Britpop revival, meant a crowd singalong. Golden Features hit the decks and got the crowd dancing in the interim, although some punters were getting a bit restless. And although the hodgepodge of genres meant that all festivalgoers were catered to, it was garage-rockers Violent Soho who were the apple of the crowd’s eye. You could tell just by looking at the revelers who they were here
SAFIA @ UTS WINTERFEST. PIC: ROHAN ANDERSON
behind before the first band had even played, with technical difficulties at fault, it shaped up to be a memorable night at the refurbished Glasshouse, now The Underground. Few people were in the crowd for openers Bootleg Rascal, whose energy didn’t seem to match the upbeatness of their brand of ska- and reggae-tinged rock. Meanwhile up in The Loft courtyard indie young guns Castio made a show of it and were quite polished despite their youth. Coda Conduct took to the stage next and quickly had the crowd in thrall, shouting back the chorus lines and “getting low”. This rap duo, made up of Sally Coleman and Erica Mallett, are one to watch. The Underground filled up for Lorde supports Safia, who played a textured set. Single Listen To Soul, Listen To Blues had the crowd amped
Enmore Theatre 8 Aug
On arriving at the Enmore, you could almost taste the ‘90s nostalgia in the air as the line to see pop-rock band Hanson stretched down the street, lifelong fans dressed in their best band gear. Before we got the headliners though it was former The Voice contestant Adam Martin, who took his acoustic guitar and indie sound to the stage with ease. The chirpy musician introduced the crowd to his own tracks, This World Is Yours and In My Dreams, and proved himself as an all-round musical treat.
HANSON @ ENMORE THEATRE. PIC: ANGELA PADOVAN
to see (beanies, Violent Soho shirts, mosh-appropriate shoes) and the “SOHO SOHO SOHO” chant that sounded out just before midnight put it into words – the mosh kicked in ten seconds into opener Dope Calypso and did not stop. Fights broke out and people were forcibly removed from the venue, which led Violent Soho to stop the show a few songs in, staging a sit-in until Jeremy, who was “just having a dance”, was let back in. Later on in the set guitarist James Tidswell drew the crowd’s attention to another “fucked-up” circumstance – a security guard had busted another mosher’s kneecap. Despite the drama the high energy set did go on, Saramona Said, Love Is A Heavy Word, and of course, Covered In Chrome, getting roars from the hot and sweaty crowd. Hell fuck yeah. Hannah Story
HANSON, ADAM MARTIN
As the lights went down, the screams became a roar as the three brothers that form Hanson stepped out onto the stage, kicking off with their edgy hit Fired Up. The song from their latest album, Anthem, had the desired effect, but the trio’s hit singles Where’s The Love and Thinking Of You took the crowd to a new level. If you hadn’t guessed it already, Hanson fans are passionate. For almost two hours the Enmore was treated to tracks that span an entire decade, the band proving that despite leaving their teenage selves and most of their golden locks behind, they’ve still got something special. In a surprising and impressive performance, the brothers gathered around one microphone to sing an a cappella rendition of the Bee
THE MUSIC • 13TH AUGUST 2014 • 31
live reviews Gees classic, Too Much Heaven. You could hear a pin drop. The boys continued to expose their talent, each performing on stage individually, the stanza serving as a golden opportunity for the crowd to showcase their longstanding love for each band member. Then after waiting patiently it finally happened: Mmmbop. The crowd went mental. Phones were out as fans scrambled to keep a memento of the song that’s been stuck in their heads for over a decade. Following this was the band’s latest pop-rock single, Get The Girl Back, and Something’s Going Round. For the inevitable encore, Isaac, Taylor and Zac re-entered the stage to thunderous applause and cheers. Just before ending the night with This Time Around and This City, Taylor confirmed “It’s hard not to love Sydney.” And after all these years, it’s hard not to love Hanson. Don’t deny it. Tamara Cullen
THE TAMBOURINE GIRLS, ILUKA Rad Bar 10 Aug Sydney songstress Iluka kicked off proceedings quite early and without warning, beckoning those who lurked at the edges of the room to come forward and pay attention. With three-quarters of her band in tow, missing a drummer to accompany this evening’s performance, they still filled the small space with their organic and soulful rock’n’roll. The Moon got special mention on account of the show falling on the night of the ‘supermoon’, creating a brief conversation between Iluka and the audience, which till this point had been quiet, apparently a ‘rarity’. Iluka’s vocals were the highlight of the performance, earnest and strong, as she and the band played their short set of new and old tracks.
The Tambourine Girls also launched into their set without introductions, seamlessly jamming through material from their End Of Time EP. The band was tight, delivering their Britpop- and psych-rock-infused tracks with confidence. Lead singer Simon Relf treated us to a short solo piece, strumming away on his impressive 12-string guitar, before the band rejoined to “play a few more songs so we can all go home”. The musical relationship between the bassist and drummer was something to be admired as they worked together to keep the set going at a steady pace, shining through when called upon to play an extended drum and bass solo to entertain the audience while other technical difficulties were alleviated. The Tambourine Girls closed out their set with new single, Ghosts, showcasing harmonies and a well constructed guitar solo.
charm of the venue, and based on tonight’s performance, it would be worth watching the band jam again. Melissa Borg
MORE REVIEWS themusic.com.au/reviews/live
BIELFIELD & GLEN @ METRO THEATRE. PIC: JOSH GROOM
Bielfield & Glen @ Metro Theatre Peking Duk @ Oxford Art Factory Teebs @ Oxford Art Factory
The atmosphere of the show resembled more a jam session than a gig, but much of that could be attributed to the
arts reviews
TARTUFFE
TARTUFFE Theatre
Sydney Opera House to 23 Aug Justin Fleming got his eye for Molière’s words when translating School For Wives in 2012. With his latest Molière translation, an updated and ‘ocker’ Tartuffe for Bell Shakespeare, Fleming absolutely flies. With a dexterous grip on rhyme in translation, Fleming sets the tone with Jennifer Hagan as Madame Pernelle stressing the word “palaver” within the opening scene – followed moments later 32 • THE MUSIC • 13TH AUGUST 2014
by the phrase “piddle short of a piss”. Anna Cordingley’s design is stunning – from the costuming of Orgon and Mariane to the simple but wonderfully effective stage design. Swollen furniture – a shoulder-high couch, an enormous grandfather clock and a room-sized armoire – that dwarfs the cast further conjures the ‘down the rabbit hole’ feel of the costuming and provides ample opportunity for physical comedy as big as the furnishings. A 17th century French romcom would be nothing if not heavily populated, and while the whole ensemble impresses there are a few standouts – Kate Mulvany threatens to steal the show as Dorine, always puffing a fag before stowing it shamelessly in her bra, shuffling in tiny steps about the stage with hands splayed just so; a moustachioed Sean O’Shea plays cuckolded patriarch Orgon with hilarious shades of Basil Fawlty; and the doe-eyed affection between Geraldine Hakewill’s Mariane and Tom Hobbs’ Valère is delightful. Dave Drayton
PALO ALTO Film
In cinemas 14 Aug Gia Coppola’s directorial debut, Palo Alto, is a snapshot of attractive, young and privileged lives in California. Kids can be cruel, but teenagers can be crueller – particularly as they grapple with working out their place in the world. Based on James Franco’s collection of short stories of the same name, the film weaves multiple vignettes together to tell the story of April (Emma Roberts), Teddy ( Jack Kilmer) and Fred (Nat Wolff ). This film doesn’t focus on the most popular girl in school, nor the loser. The teenagers are incredibly ‘normal’ and effortless, which is realised by the young actors’ performances, and the film score by Blood Orange heightens the drama. Palo Alto is uncomfortably familiar – we see teens drinking like fish, smoking (but not inhaling) and painful, world-shattering crushes. Mr Franco as Mr B carves
himself quite the niche playing the creepy guy you still think is a babe. Unlike Alien, seen in last year’s Spring Breakers, Mr B is more demure, but perhaps also more fucked-up. Coppola’s direction is aesthetically reminiscent of her famous aunt’s 1999 film, The Virgin Suicides. With lots of close-up shots of her oh-so-attractive subject, each shot is like a photograph. The colour palette used and casual filming style makes you feel like you’re part of the story; perhaps this is why Palo Alto ticks over in your mind, again and again. Cassandra Fumi
PALO ALTO
the guide
AFROCHILD
Role: Performer/songwriter/producer Instrument(s) played? Piano, guitar, drums How long have you been performing? Seven years plus. Would you rather be a busted broke-but-revered Hank Williams f igure or some kind of Metallica monster? A busted broke-but-revered Hank Williams figure. What part do you think Sydney plays in the music you make? I feel like the music industry here in Australia as a whole is in the growing process. Local acts like myself have a lot to prove, and with consistency and hard work I believe we can win the hearts of people who are more interested in artists outside the country. Is your music responsible for more make-outs or breakups? Why? It’s a balance depending on the mood I am in when writing songs. Music is an outlet of my emotions, thoughts and experiences. I write songs about my personal life to inspire listeners. If I am not inspiring the listeners, I am making them dance. What’s in the pipeline for you musically in the short term? I am studying audio engineering at Australian Institute Of Music. When I graduate I want to set up an independent label if I am not signed to a major by then, to write, produce, record ana market myself and other artists in Australia and outside Australia. Playing UBERfest, 16 Aug, Lewisham Hotel Website link for more info? triplejunearthed. com/artist/afrochild
THE MUSIC • 13TH AUGUST 2014 • 1
34 • THE MUSIC • 13TH AUGUST 2014
eat/drink
AUSTRALIA’S THEMED BARS When a bar stool and beer just isn’t interesting enough – we check out Australia’s booming culture of themed drinkeries. Words by Dina Amin.
THE CROFT INSTITUTE, MELBOURNE 21 Croft Alley, CBD
MANA BAR, BRISBANE
Perhaps inspired by infamous literary icons Dr Frankenstein and Dr Jekyll, The Croft Institute is designed like an old school science lab, decorated with various test tubes, beakers and conical flasks. As you take in the industrial interior and techno soundtrack, the chemists prepare your poison, nimbly slipping a plastic syringe into your absinthe-infused cocktail.
Mana Bar is Brisbane’s favourite video gaming lounge. Offering visitors game-themed cocktails, including the everpopular Princess Peach,
240 Brunswick Street, Fortitude Valley
Mana Bar allows gamers the opportunity to play new and classic video games for free. Due to its strong industry ties, Mana is often granted exclusive previews of new games prior to the official launch, a usual trouser-wetter for impatient connoisseurs.
ICE BAR MELBOURNE 3 Southgate Avenue, Southbank Melbourne masochists, leave the winter outside when you step into the Antarctic Ice Bar, an artistic masterpiece sustaining a temperature of -10 degrees Celsius. Offering Arctic-themed cocktails and a gallery of carved ice, Ice Bar Melbourne is a truly unique winter wonderland. Everything in the bar is made of ice, including the drinks you sip from and the seats you sit on. Healthy body temperature is maintained with the gifts of temporary snow capes, gloves and woollen boots on arrival.
DEVILLE’S PAD, PERTH 3 Aberdeen Street Welcome to Hell. Sporting a mean-looking smoking pseudo-volcano and a line-up of caged gogo dancers, Deville’s Pad is a demonic-themed Las Vegas lounge, offering fiery cocktails and 1950s-themed eats. Leave your virtues and inhibitions at home. All sins welcome, at no cover charge.
STITCH BAR, SYDNEY 61 York Street (Basement) It’s the 1940s. Jazz and Blues, America’s greatest musical contributions dominate the crackly speakers. Look for the room lined with vintage sewing machines, yarn and clothes. Stitch Bar is a classic, old school American saloon, complete with signature USA feeds: hot dogs, chilli con-carne and curly fries.
299
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FOOD NEWS MCDONALD’S HOME DELIVERY Melburnians locate your cholesterol medication. News has surfaced that a South Melbourne McDonald’s will follow Sydney’s North Parramatta’s lead by partnering with online food delivery service Menulog to deliver its greasy goodness directly to our doorsteps. But before you get too excited, delivery is only available on orders over $25 and includes a $4.95 delivery fee. But getting five Big Macs at once has never been so convenient! The “McDelivery” service will operate Sunday to Thursday from 5pm–11pm, and Friday and Saturday from 5pm–10am the next morning, presumably to accommodate the hordes of the hungover. As for the rest of Oz, fingers crossed this becomes a nation-wide thing soon.
THE MUSIC • 13TH AUGUST 2014 • 35
the guide nsw.live@themusic.com.au
FRONTLASH
LIVE THIS WEEK
US CHART SMASHING
Sia tops the club charts, 5 Seconds Of Summer hold a respectable #4 in the album charts and Iggy Azalea currently has five tracks in the Billboard Hot 100, showing Australian music from all walks of life shaking up the American charts.
FESTIVALS AHOY As we shiver through winter, many a summer festival have dropped their line-ups during the week, giving us something to look forward to.
AUSSIE TOP THREE The new albums from Angus & Julia Stone, One Day and Sticky Fingers respectively take out the top three positions in the ARIA album charts, managing to elbow out behemoths like Ed Sheeran and the perennial Frozen soundtrack.
UBER COOL The winter installment of biannual event UBERfest boasts a beastly line-up including Meredith, All The Wise, Blessed & Buried and Anxiety Falls. There’s a little something for everyone at the Lewisham Hotel on Saturday.
BACK TO BACK NICKELBACK
IN THE PALM OF YOUR HAND Sydney slackers Palms made an undeniable impact on the Aussie underground last year; before settling into recording a new album, they play Newtown Social Club on Thursday.
MIDNIGHT MADNESS
BIG CITY LIFE Dappled Cities have travelled many roads since 2001, now the indie-rockers find themselves kicking off a three-week residency at the Lansdowne Hotel, this Saturday.
IT’S GONNA BE YOU AND LEE
Head to Towradgi Beach Hotel in Wollongong this Friday to get amongst the Nickelback festivities as The Nickelback Band tackles covers inspired by their Live At Sturgis show.
Twin producers Cosmo’s Midnight headline a huge Sosueme this Wednesday at Beach Road Hotel. The line-up also boasts John Steele Singers and The Owls, but best of all, it’s free! Free I tells ya!
FALLING LIKE DOMINOS
ALL SYDNEY AFFAIR
ZEN XEN
Sydney band Domino will play Deadfest, Valve @ Agincourt, on Saturday as part of a huge national tour. Expect to hear tracks from their debut LP, Where The Desert Meets The Sea, a hardrocking, Zeppelin-esque effort that’s been kicking up interest.
As part of their Well Alright tour Western Sydney three-piece Picture Perfect play Hermanns, bringing with them fellow wanderers Blue River Saga, The Thieves and the fresh punk rock tunes of Jungle Bones.
Catch Michelle Xen & The Neon Wild as they tour the east coast with their new EP Dynamics Of Disobedience and drop into The Small Ballroom, Newcastle, Thursday, and Kings Cross Hotel this Friday to kick start your weekend.
CATCH THOSE BANDITS
FLYING INTO ORBIT
GYPSY BRASS
Soul/funk/reggae outfit The Mini Bandits have teamed up with the Coopers Hotel, and are ready to unleash their silky vocals and unique grooves on another Big Gig Thursday this week.
Sydney prog-rock favourites Breaking Orbit have brought forth the first single Become The Light from their upcoming album, and will support sleepmakeswaves at Manning Bar, Saturday.
Check out gypsy-swing-jazz from Lolo Lovina & The Balkan Gypsy Brass Connection at The Basement on Wednesday. Romani-Gypsy singer Sarah Bedak will be joined by a full band, including acclaimed musicians like Vladamir Khusid,
Straight out of Newtown, folk singer Leroy Lee lands at Coogee Diggers this week. The 2009 triple j Unearthed winner will be finger picking and crooning his way into your heart on Friday.
SIA
BACKLASH KIM KARDASHIAN SELFIE BOOK
We cannot think of a greater waste of paper.
KYLE AND JACKIE O Jackie O apparently walked out of their show on Monday. Could have been a publicity stunt, but could also have been signs of the ending of this on-air relationship, which would be beneficial to all.
SAM NEWMAN His genitals are exposed on national TV, adding to a long list of indiscretions that makes you wonder how he still has a gig not just on The Footy Show, but anywhere.
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THE MUSIC • 13TH AUGUST 2014 • 37
the guide nsw.live@themusic.com.au
LIVE THIS WEEK
THIS WEEK’S RELEASES… KIMBRA The Golden Echo Warner THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM Get Hurt EMI VELOCIRAPTOR Velociraptor Dot Dash/Inertia FIREKITES Closing Forever Sky Spunk 38 • THE MUSIC • 13TH AUGUST 2014
UNTAMED YOUTH
SIBLING RIVALRY
WHAM BAM WHAT A MAN
Be sure to catch the newly crowned indie gods that make up Gang Of Youths at Oxford Art Factory this Saturday as they do things your nanna wouldn’t approve of and reel out their smash hit Poison Drum.
The only thing this brother and sister duo will be fighting for is the title for ‘most talented’. Dan & Amy’s debut release Sometimes Life is a whimsical, nostalgia-filled collection and will be premiered in Sydney this Thursday at Kings Cross Hotel.
Fresh on the scene, Melbourne hip hop artist Bam Bam has released the third single from his EP The Good Life. Named the Better Man tour Bam Bam will drop in to Oxford Art Factory this Saturday.
A BIT OF SWAGGER
GREEN THUMBS
ROLLAN IN IT
Strut! @ The Stag, a comp for Sydney emerging bands, has its first heat on Thursday at the Bald Faced Stag. Prizes include studio recording time, video clip production and music marketing. Contact burgess_ventures@ bigpond.com to get involved.
The heavy dudes from Greenthief are bringing their mates from Siren Lines and The High & Lonesome along with them to Frankie’s on Thursday and hosting a cracker of a night involving pizza and potential guitar smashing.
Sydneysiders The Drey Rollan Band have let the fire brigade know they’re planning to get the dancefloor well heated at the Rock Lily on Thursday. The charming five-piece are ready to tear it up with some bluesy rock’n’roll.
NICKING INSTRUMENTS
UP IN LIGHTS
HOOTIN’ GOOD TIME
Stolen Violin is the moniker of Jordan Ireland. Ireland is on tour trying out a few tunes off his forthcoming 2015 album, as well as tracks from 2013’s Temperate Touch, Tropical Tears. Catch him at Rad Bar, Thursday; and Easy Tiger, Friday.
Lincoln launches her debut EP Visions Of A Fading Light, out Thursday, at Kings Cross Hotel, on Saturday. The EP is set to feature piano-driven single Fading Light and her well received debut single Undone.
The tambourine-slammin’ folks who make up The Owls are breaking out the balloons for their latest EP Own The Streets, and invading Beach Road Hotel this Wednesday; La De Da Restaurant & Bar, Thursday; and World Bar on Friday.
SPARKING FLAMES
#GIGFORGAZA
SPREADING THEIR WINGS
Scott Spark is stopping by The Vanguard this Thursday with some tasty treats from his sophomore album Muscle Memory, including new single Two Alarms. Come along and see some lyrical masterpieces.
This Tuesday, Jam Gallery will host a fundraiser for humanitarian aid in Gaza. Hear acoustic, funk, soul and world music sets from the likes of Gang Of Brothers, Victor Martinez Parada, Darryl Beaton and Declan Kelly.
With the proceeds of the event going to charity, you can certainly feel good about heading along to a night of grooving at the RG Wings mixtape launch at The Roller Den this Friday.
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HAVE YOU HEARD
EURYALE Answered by: Sharon Kan How did you get together? The few of us met variously through friends or online. The band had already been in existence since 2006, but underwent a complete regeneration in 2012. Our current line-up was finalised in 2014. Sum up your musical sound in four words? Symphonic x power metal. If you could support any band in the world – past or present – who would it be? Nightwish, given their influence on our genre of music. Or Firewind, because they are an inspiration. Or Epica. You’re being sent into space, no
iPod, you can bring one album – what would it be? The Dark Side Of The Moon – Pink Floyd. Greatest rock’n’roll moment of your career to date? Winning the Immortal band comp (hosted by Burgess Bookings) in 2012. And probably also the night we randomly gained our first groupies. Why should people come and see your band? For the love of good music! Seriously, if you love music come see us because that’s what we’re all about. When and where for your next gig? UBERfest, 16 Aug at the Lewisham Hotel. Website link for more info? facebook.com/euryaleofficial
SXSW FOCUS
GREGG DONOVAN Role: Manager of Airborne, Grinspoon, Boy & Bear, Josh Pyke and more What do you remember about your f irst SXSW? The first time I walked down 6th Street on the Friday night it was actually kind of mind-blowing. I couldn’t believe that every nook and cranny had a band playing in it. What makes SXSW an essential visit? If you get your timing right and do all the correct homework before you get there, it’s an amazing place to get industry people to see your band because most of the world’s A&R folk, promoters and agents are there.
SXSW FOCUS
GLENN DICKIE Role: Export Music Producer at Sounds Australia What do you remember about your f irst SXSW? It was A LOT different in 2002. It was still very rock- and roots-based, social media didn’t exist, and the Australian presence was minimal. Can you outline a deal or some other form of positive business that came from attending SXSW? Well most recently I love DD Dumbo’s story. DD was discovered by Claire Collins and Danny Rogers so great team but he hadn’t done much in terms of even local touring and hadn’t been overseas before. They put
a comprehensive plan in place, they used the Sounds Australia showcases amongst a bunch of others perfectly by inviting the industry they wanted to see DD play. He nailed the shows because he understood the showcase environment and was able to concentrate on playing rather than networking because his team were there to do that. In the end they created a perfect storm and DD Dumbo became one of only a handful of artists that nobody had heard of before SX to become one of the buzz acts of the whole conference. Tips for f irst timers looking at attending SXSW? If none of your team has been to SXSW before we would encourage you to send one person in to get a lay of the land and start creating your networks before investing the significant amounts of money it takes to be part of SXSW. When and where is your talk? SXSW Meet’n’Greet, 13 Aug, Newtown Social Club, for those wanting to attend the conference.
What’s one way to get noticed at SXSW among all the other bands? If you turn up to SXSW hoping to get discovered there’s a good chance you won’t get anyone’s attention. Most industry folk have a full dance card before they land in Austin. You must be pitching these people long before you get there and keep reminding them that they promised to come and see your showcase. Make sure you cut through that clutter before you arrive. Tips for f irst timers looking at attending SXSW? All meetings and showcase guest lists MUST be complete before you fly out of Australia. Half of them will cancel on you anyway, so make sure you have a solid schedule well planned out to make the most of your time and then tweak it as you go. If you’re going in 2015, start talking to people now. When and where is your talk? SXSW Meet’n’Greet, 13 Aug, Newtown Social Club, for those wanting to attend the conference.
HAVE YOU HEARD
FIELDS OF MARS Answered by: How did you get together? We met at school and just started playing music together and it worked out, so we kept playing.
in outer freaking space. Greatest rock’n’roll moment of your career to date? We got a jug of beer and $100 dollars to play a uni gig and it was a lot of fun.
Sum up your musical sound in four words? Rock, funk, jazz, psychedelic.
Why should people come and see your band? We’ve got funky tunes you can dance to and we’ll put on a good show... everybody gets jiggy with it.
If you could support any band in the world – past or present – who would it be? Red Hot Chili Peppers.
When and where for your next gig? Oxford Art Factory Gallery Bar, 15 Aug; UBERfest, Lewisham Hotel, 16 Aug.
You’re being sent into space, no iPod, you can bring one album – what would it be? The Dark Side Of The Moon – Pink Floyd. Because you’re
Website link for more info? facebook.com/fieldsofmars
THE MUSIC • 13TH AUGUST 2014 • 39
the guide nsw.live@themusic.com.au
ZEPPELIN FOCUS Should Led Zeppelin continue to perform or should we be happy with what we’ve experienced and leave them be? Who cares what we think, if they still feel the buzz from performing, then do it! If they’re just in it for the money and you can see it in the shows, then maybe it’s time to call it a night.
ZKYE How big a part has Led Zeppelin influenced your music? Like many musicians I enjoy me a little Led Zeppelin, not sure if it’s influenced my music as such but what a blast I have performing their tunes, so I guess they’ve influenced my performance. The f irst three Led Zeppelin albums have been recently reissued. What’s your favourite out of those and why? Led Zeppelin II. It’s a classic. To explain Led Zeppelin to newbies, what one track would you pick and why? Stairway To Heaven. Yes, it’s a bit cliché but it has everything.
What would you say to a member of Led Zeppelin if you met them in the flesh? Let’s go have a beer. What’s something for us to look forward to on the night? The whole night is a blast. My favourite parts I guess would be the drum solo in Moby Dick and getting to sing the hell out of Since I’ve Been Loving You. When and where is your next gig? Led Zeppelin tribute night, Whole Lotta Love, 15 & 16 Aug, Laycock Street Theatre, North Gosford; 23 Aug, State Theatre.
SINGLE FOCUS top secret date some time before December. I drew a sick donkey for the cover but it got vetoed. What was inspiring you during the song’s writing and recording? Disney movies.
EMPERORS Answered by: Adam Livingston Single title? Shooting From The Bell Tower What’s the song about? Being young and invincible and not giving a shit. How long did it take to write/ record? This one sat for ages without lyrics before we finished writing it and then the whole album took a while to record so from conception to reality it probably took about a year.
Answered by: Alice Couttoupes What excites you about exhibiting at Chalk Horse? Chalk Horse is great. The guys that run the space – Oli Watts, James Kerr and Jasper Knight – they’re all artists themselves, so they’re wonderfully energetic, engaged and supportive. I’m really grateful to have been able to show my work with them for my first solo show. What excites you about the Australian visual art scene? I think what’s most exciting is the focus within the Australian arts to explore and pave our own cultural identity. There are a number of artists like 40 • THE MUSIC • 13TH AUGUST 2014
Do you play it differently live? What you hear live will be pretty close to what’s on record, although Greg has been experimenting with some Tuvan throat singing which he might throw into the live mix. When and where is your launch/ next gig? National single launch tour, 16 Aug, Brighton Up Bar. Website link for more info? emperorsmusic.com
Is this track from a forthcoming release/existing release? It’s from our super secretly titled album that’s coming out very soon on a
ARTS FOCUS
EPONYMIC EMPERIALISMS
We’ll like this song if we like... Cute baby animals. Imagine a baby panda right now. If you like that cute baby panda you’ll like this song.
Daniel Boyd, Joan Ross and Liam Benson – to name a few of my favourites – that are exploring what it means to be Australian; what it means to be a part of this incredibly diverse nation, to interrogate our colonial past, and to tackle that constant questioning and confusion of belonging in this haunted landscape. Why make porcelain banksia masks? My work is inspired by a response to the imperialist ideologies that permeate Australia’s (myopic) national memory – present in some of the names ascribed to Australian flora by colonial botanists. Porcelain as a material holds some really interesting historical and cultural associations of commemoration, so I feel like it’s an appropriate medium to explore the postcolonial legacies of naming. When and where is the exhibition? Eponymic Emperialisms (for we are young and free) is exhibiting to 30 Aug at Chalk Horse Gallery.
ALBUM FOCUS issues. Probably all up just over a year. It took around a month to record, mix and master. Was anything in particular inspiring you during the making? Just having a solid release out there so that we could play more shows. That was my main inspiration.
FLAMING WREKAGE Answered by: Dave Lupton Album title? Catharsis Where did the title of your new album come from? Catharsis translates to an emotional release. Being able to finally record this album was a massive relief after so many line-up issues and rewrites. Holding the master in my hand was a great feeling. How many releases do you have now? We have an EP which is no longer available and our current full-length. How long did it take to write/ record? It took a long time to write due to some line-up
What’s your favourite song on it? I’d say Threats Of Revolt. That last part always gives me chills when we play that song live. Will you do anything differently next time? I’d probably invest a bit more time into the next album. Also make sure everyone is 100 per cent prepared before we hit the studio. When and where is your launch/ next gig? 17 Aug, Frankie’s Pizza By The Slice. Website link for more info? facebook.com/flamingwrekage
opinion OG FLAVAS
THE HEAVY SHIT
WAKE THE DEAD
URBAN AND R&B NEWS WITH CYCLONE
METAL AND HARD ROCK WITH CHRIS MARIC
PUNK AND HARDCORE WITH SARAH PETCHELL
There’s nothing like a reinvention to intrigue, and the re-emergence of Digable Planets’ conscious MC Ishmael ‘Butterfly’ Butler as Palaceer Lazaro with the mysterious Seattle cloud rap combo Shabazz Palaces did fascinate. It wasn’t Butler’s first rebirth either, since he had the post-N*E*R*D Cherrywine in the early-’00s. Teaming with multi-instrumentalist Tendai ‘Baba’ Maraire, Butler formally introduced Shabazz Palaces on 2011’s avant Black Up via trad grunge label Sub Pop. This year’s ever more cosmic follow-up, Lese Majesty, has 18 tracks, all arranged in Janelle Monáe-ish suites. It (indirectly) critiques materialistic and narcissistic mainstream rap – and, with that sly title, could be riffing off Lorde’s Royals. The duo reconfigure everything from Brainfeedery glitch-hop to sci-fi ambient to George Clinton-esque funk-rock into a futuristic, subliminal and psychedelic paradigm – replete with vertiginous temporal changes. They Come In Gold, a ‘single’, is like a steampunk repurposing of Digable Planets’ trippy jazz-rap. Lese Majesty isn’t an easy listen, Shabazz Palaces journeying Snowpiercer-style into a cold new world. Drake’s synthy experimentation retains pop ‘hooks’; not so Shabazz Palaces’. And Butler’s lyrics, while poetic, are arcane – he’s way more ‘abstract’ than Q-Tip ever was. Yet Lese Majesty has dope songs: Forerunner Foray is slo-mo electro, while the ironic #CAKE is mutant Afro-beat. Oddly, the opening Dawn In Luxor is a wonkier version of ‘90s ambi-hoppers PM Dawn, surely the godfathers of cloud rap. @therealcyclone
SHABAZZ PALACES
As we get further into the second half of the year, there are a few releases I’m very much looking forward to populating my iTunes.
BUTCHER BABIES
So it’s that time of the year again. At time of writing this week’s Heavy Shit the full-blown Soundwave announcement for 2015 had not yet been announced. It could very well have been by the time you’re reading this. They keep everyone in the dark as long as possible! Want a secret kept? Tell someone who works for Soundwave. Anyway, last week they made three announcements that were officially the first three bands to be confirmed. Even though Ne Obliviscaris and Confession have been confirmed by AJ, a tweet does not make it official until you see it on the poster. They’ll be there of course, it’s just not proper yet. Those bands that the Soundwave office have confirmed are Coldrain, Patent Pending and Butcher Babies. I know exactly what you’re thinking. Who? So allow me. Coldrain hail from Nagoya, Japan and are a big deal there, co-headlining festivals and playing alongside BFMV, Crossfaith and Miss May I, so you get an idea of what they’ll be like – big riffs, big breaks, lots of trendy kids and hair product. Patent Pending are New York pop-punkers who’ve been kicking it since 2001, which still sounds so recent but it’s 13 years ago! With a little ska-punk thrown in, it’s unlikely you’ll encounter them on the metal stage. Butcher Babies, however, are probably going to get a decent spot on the metal stage in the mid to late afternoon. It’s more American muscle than Arch Enemy but they definitely have some meaty riffs and the two female frontwomen certainly aren’t big fans of clean singing.
Who are they and why should you care? Well, if Soundwave announced the headliners straight away or the more familiar bands, these guys would get lost in the mix somewhere down in the last few lines of the announcement artwork and how does a band climb out of that hole and up the ladder? I think it’s a good tactic as we’re always going to need new bands to level up as the old ones either disband or fall into oblivion. Plus, do you really want to be seeing the same bands over and over? Slipknot’s new track, The Negative One, well, sounds like Slipknot, although a little more rigid than previously. I predict they’ll be coming out again but other than that it’s anyone’s guess… Suicide Silence, Overkill and Wovenwar would be good! Will they have two headliners now it’s a two-day festival? Will the same headliner play both days (unlikely)? This Saturday, tune into rage for the best guest programming you’re going to see for ages. Psycroptic are in control of the couch and that has to make them the heaviest Aussie band ever to do so. They recorded it during the Aborted tour when those guys did theirs and I think the guys at rage are awesome for breaking them into two separate shows instead of combining them. Sure you can watch clips on YouTube all day long but there’s still something cool about watching all that metal on TV. The Psycro’ guys have got a pretty wide range of clips lined up and ready to go so it’s the perfect night to grab some beers, gather some mates and sit around the box for a long evening’s fade into morning. heavyshit@themusic.com.au
First up is the new record from Code Orange. Formerly known as Code Orange Kids, I wrote a few weeks ago about the change in name and the release of first track I Am King. There’s a new track now streaming called My World and I think dropping ‘Kids’ from the name is symbolic of the more mature songwriting the band display on these new tracks. We all know this type of heavy hardcore (some might call it Converge worship) is what I love, so this record is a must listen for me. It’s out 2 Sep through Deathwish Inc. A debut 7” dropping the same day through Bridge 9 by a little group called Magic Mazes. By little, this group is kind of a supergroup, featuring one of my favourite artists, Jonah Matranga (Far, Onelinedrawing), and J. Robbins ( Jawbox). The record is called Magic Tommy Jackson (featuring some bizarre artwork) and after the softer acoustic stuff Matranga has been doing solo, it’ll be great to hear him back fronting some rougher post-hardcore. Stay Unprepared, a track from the release, is streaming now. Locally, the new record from Melbourne hardcore act Outright has me (and I know I’m not the only one) jumping up and down in anticipation. There aren’t many details floating around about this yet, but the band promises all those details will be announced very soon, with a tour to follow. Stay tuned. wakethedead@themusic.com.au
CODE ORANGE
THE MUSIC • 13TH AUGUST 2014 • 41
opinion GET IT TOGETHER
TRAILER TRASH
ROOTS DOWN
HIP HOP WITH JAMES D’APICE
DIVES INTO YOUR SCREENS AND IDIOT BOXES WITH GUY DAVIS
BLUES ‘N’ ROOTS WITH MICHAEL SMITH
DE LA SOUL
Relevance is a funny thing. So elusive. Ask 50 Cent, the guy who was recently, ever so gently, dropped from his label. Then ask De La Soul. How are they still relevant? Well, they aren’t. Or – more precisely – they weren’t until they decided to take the amazing step of making their entire back catalogue available for download from Dropbox on Valentine’s Day this year. It was so popular that Dropbox crashed. Twice. The crew had to issue an apology. Twenty-five years ago De La Soul defined the zeitgeist by breaking the mould with 3 Feet High And Rising. This year they defined the zeitgeist by breaking the internet. What next? Posdnous, Dave and Maseo have confirmed they’re working on Premiem Soul On The Rocks, a title so awful it puts De La’s 2000 effort, Art Official Intelligence, in the shade. Nonetheless! It remains exciting that the trio are working hard. They’re calling it a mixtape. The terrible title is partially explained by the fact that DJ Premier will have his part to play at some stage. All this comes after our heroes put out their previous project through Bittorrent. These guys are now marching towards 50, a phase when most rappers are becoming disconnected shells of their former selves; struggling to fit the music they made as youngsters into a world they can’t see without their prescription bifocals. So far, somehow, De La have regained and are looking to retain their grip on relevance. It’s a grip that may hold until – forgive me – De La Soul is dead. getittogether@themusic.com.au 42 • THE MUSIC • 13TH AUGUST 2014
If Trailer Trash has a commandment it strives to live by, it’s probably, ‘Check your expectations’. As a consumer of popular culture, it’s important to monitor your daily dose of hyperbole and regulate your levels of anticipation, and the rewards of this are twofold: you’re less likely to be disappointed when something doesn’t live up to the hype, and you’re more likely to be pleasantly surprised when (a) something does, or (b) something awesome comes out of nowhere. However, as we’ve discussed in these pages in the past, keeping one’s expectations in check is no easy feat – if you’re at all engaged with the zeitgeist, you’re not only a target of the marketing department but also likely to be enchanted by the word of mouth that starts circulating when there’s even a whiff of coolness attached to a project. It’s also easy to fall into lockstep when everyone seems to like something. We may all be adults here but that schoolyard buzz of peer pressure never truly dissipates – it just reconfigures itself differently. When it comes to popular culture... hell, when it comes to most things in life, no one wants to be on the wrong side of history. So there are times we prematurely overcompensate with our enthusiasm or our adoration. And I’m not saying it’s all a pose – there are times when those feelings are justified and a movie or a TV series or a book or a piece of music actually warrants our love. But if years of devouring and digesting this stuff has taught me anything, it’s that time is the great equaliser, and the satisfaction of staying power usually trumps the thrill of the new.
All of which is a longwinded fuckin’ way of me saying that Guardians Of The Galaxy, the new Marvel blockbuster (in cinemas this Thursday), is really pretty good – a groovy, funny and exciting ride that wears its influences heavily on its sleeve. Naturally enough, it’s chock-full of Marvel synergy and storytelling tropes, but it also displays just enough individuality and quirk that it feels as if we’re not getting a reheated serving of whatever the company has served up before. Props to writer-director James Gunn for nimbly walking that tightrope – smuggling in your own personality when you’re a gun for hire (ha!) and smudging a product with your own fingerprints can be difficult, but Gunn pulls it off with aplomb. (He’s already been signed on for a sequel, so there’s a slight possibility he may smudge things up even more the second time around. I wouldn’t be surprised if both Marvel and Gunn saw Guardians Of The Galaxy as the filmmaker’s unofficial audition to take over from Joss Whedon helming the Avengers franchise.) That said, if you want bona fide audacity and bravado from a blockbuster, you may want to give Luc Besson’s Lucy a whirl. It’s nonsense, but it’s a bracing, exhilarating kind of nonsense that rings with the personality of its creator. Besson – aided immeasurably by Scarlett Johansson, who’s becoming one of the more interesting actors around in terms of project and performance choices – has built a gorgeous, elaborate house of cards with Lucy: it’s impractical and serves no real purpose, but you have to love the ingenuity and craft that’s gone into it.
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
STORMCELLAR
If you happen to be in Rockford, Illinois, Saturday 23 Aug, you might be surprised when you rock over to enjoy their 5th Annual Crossroads Blues Festival in Lyran Park because, alongside Reverend Raven & The Chain Smokin’ Altar Boys, Lurrie Bell, Dave Weld & The Imperial Flames and Westside Andy and Mel Ford with Barrelhouse Chuck, is a dodgy but likeable bunch of Australians who travel as Stormcellar. The four-piece recently released their sixth album, The Curious Assembly, and while they’re in the States they’re also playing Kansas City, Fort Wayne in Indiana, Tustin, just out of LA in California and Crestwood, Illinois. They’ve taken themselves Stateside – no management, no agent, no label support, so the point here – apart from plugging another hard-working Australian blues/ roots band that’ll never gain hipster interest – is that if you’re in a band cutting original blues/roots music, there’s no reason why you couldn’t be doing the same thing, whether it’s touring the States or Europe or the UK. It’s just a matter of being hungry enough to get off your arse and make it happen. Once you’re over there, you’d be surprised how easy it is to get yourself or your band into the plethora of clubs within cooee of where you land. And it’s not like the Stormcellar boys are youngsters – they’re all old enough to know better, with grown-up jobs and the usual responsibilities that go with them. They didn’t crowdfund their trip either, just saved up their gig money, and there’s no reason why you couldn’t too.
the guide nsw.gigguide@themusic.com.au Favourites at the Flinders feat. Skarlett Saramore (Fait Accompli): The Flinders Hotel, Surry Hills
THE MUSIC PRESENTS
Michelle Xen & The Neon Wild + Fox Control + Selahphonic: The Small Ballroom, Newcastle Black Diamond Hearts: The Soda Factory, Surry Hills Scott Spark: The Vanguard, Newtown
GIG OF THE WEEK SLEEPMAKESWAVES: 16 AUG MANNING BAR RISE TOUR FT REMI: 22 AUG OXFORD ART FACTORY Presentation Night ft Jude Bolton & Urthboy: 13 Aug Vic On The Park Whole Lotta Love: 15, 16 Aug Laycock Street Theatre; 23 State Theatre Emperors: 16 Aug Brighton Up Bar UBERfest: 16 Aug Lewisham HotelT sleepmakeswaves: 16 Aug Manning Bar RISE tour: 22 Aug Oxford Art Factory Kingswood: 26 Aug Newtown Social Club; 18 Sep Cambridge Hotel Newcastle; 19 Waves Wollongong; 20 Collector Hotel; 25 ANU Bar Canberra
Caravana Sun: 20 Sep Oxford Art Factory Ball Park Music: 26 Sep Enmore Theatre DMA’s: 3 Oct Oxford Art Factory Missy Higgins: 3 Oct Civic Theatre Newcastle; 4 Enmore Theatre; 6 The Concourse; 7 Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre; 9 Anita’s Theatre Wollongong; 11 Canberra Theatre Yours & Owls 4th Birthday Festival: 4 Oct Stuart Park North Wollongong Courtney Barnett: 10 Oct Oxford Art Factory Radio Birdman: 31 Oct Cambridge Hotel Newcastle; 1 Nov Manning Bar
The Living Room: 31 Aug Lewisham Hotel
Gorguts: 15 Nov Newtown Social Club
Bonjah: 19 Sep Newtown Social Club; 20 Cambridge Hotel Newcastle
The War On Drugs: 13 Dec Metro Theatre
Songs On Stage feat. Charli + Pete Scully + Veronica Wagner + more: Old Fitzroy Hotel, Woolloomooloo Jay Parrino: Orient Hotel, Sydney Poly: Play Bar, Surry Hills Dan & Amy: Smiths Alternative Bookshop, Canberra Hanson + Adam Martin: The Hi-Fi, Moore Park Songs On Stage feat. Chris Raicevich + Gabriel Levin + Dave Wheeler: The Loft, UTS, Broadway City Slickers Band Competition: Valve @ Agincourt, Ultimo Presentation Night (music, football & life) - The Sydney Edition with Jude Bolton + Urthboy + Francis Leach: Vic On The Park, Marrickville
THU 14
Free The Beats: 505, Surry Hills Busby Marou + Darren Middleton + Karl S Williams: Baroque, Katoomba
Hammerhead: 505, Surry Hills Miriam Lieberman: Art Gallery of NSW, The Domain The Owls: Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach The Hump: Stand Up Comedy: Camelot Lounge, Marrickville
Harmony James + Pete Denahy: Camelot Lounge, Marrickville Mini Bandits: Coopers Hotel, Newtown
Mitch Anderson & His Organic Orchestra: Coopers Hotel, Newtown Mark Wells Trio: Duke of Wellington Hotel, New Lambton Happy Hippies: Ettamogah Hotel, Kellyville Ridge
Ange: Frankie’s Pizza By The Slice, Sydney
Dig: The Nu Grooves + Michelle Martinez: Foundry 616, Ultimo
Songs On Stage feat. Loretta D’Urso + more: Leichhardt Bowling Club, Leichhardt Andy Mammers Duo: Maloneys Hotel, Sydney Luke Morris: Marble Bar, Sydney SXSW Info Session: Newtown Social Club, Newtown
FBi Social feat. Dan & Amy: Kings Cross Hotel, Kings Cross The Owls: La De Da Restaurant & Bar, Mona Vale
Greenthief + Siren Lines + The High & Lonesome: Frankie’s Pizza By The Slice, Sydney Songs On Stage feat. Chris Raicevich + Victoria Young + more: Gladstone Hotel, Chippendale Songs On Stage feat. The Perfect Pitchure + Starr Witness + Gabriel Levin: Hampshire Hotel, Camperdown
Art Vs Science: Uni Bar, Wollongong Down Royale + Daemon Pyre + Absolution + Dystopic + Ghost & The Darkness: Valve @ Agincourt, Ultimo
FRI 15
DJ Matt Meler: 5 Sawyers, Newcastle
Phil Slater - The Sun Songbook + Cameron Undy: 505, Surry Hills Zoltan: Adria Bar & Restaurant, Sydney The Lonely Boys: Albion Hotel, Parramatta
Glee Club: LazyBones Lounge, Marrickville
Busby Marou + Darren Middleton + Karl S Williams: ANU Bar, Acton
Toni Childs + Ms Paula: Lizottes Sydney, Dee Why
Cam Hughes Duo: Bar Petite, Newcastle
Dave White Duo: Maloneys Hotel, Sydney
Deviation: Belmont 16’s, Belmont
The Cope Street Parade: Marble Bar, Sydney
Chase The Sun + The Childs + Nick Saxon: Brass Monkey, Cronulla
Tim Pringle: Nags Head Hotel, Glebe Mandi Jarry: Narrabeen Sands, Narrabeenorso Bar), Manly
Palms + Special Guests: Newtown Social Club, Newtown
BGU: Fortune of War Hotel, The Rocks
Michael Griffin Quartet: LazyBones Lounge, Marrickville
Papa Pilko & The Bin Rats: Hotel Steyne (Moonshine Cider & Rum Bar), Manly
Julia Jacklin + Colin Jones + Koral: Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst
Mike Moreno Trio: Foundry 616, Ultimo
Winston Surfshirt: La De Da Restaurant & Bar, Mona Vale
Goldheist + Jenna Murphy + Direwolf: Hotel Hollywood, Surry Hills
The Harveys: Newport Arms Hotel, Newport
Songs On Stage feat. Loretta D’Urso + more: Forest Lodge Hotel, Forest Lodge
WED 13
The Weight + Legions + Ill Natured + Deadtown Nothings: Hombre Records (All Ages), Newcastle
Bones Atlas: Brass Monkey, Cronulla
Not Good With Horses + Mark Lucas & the Dead Setters: Camelot Lounge (Django Bar), Marrickville
KINGSWOOD: 26 AUG NEWTOWN SOCIAL CLUB; 18 SEP CAMBRIDGE HOTEL NEWCASTLE; 19 WAVES WOLLONGONG; 20 COLLECTOR HOTEL; 25 ANU BAR CANBERRA
Matt Price: Hillside Hotel, Castle Hill
G.O.D. Duo: Town & Country Hotel, St Peters
Jess Dunbar: Northies (Old Joe’s), Cronulla Gerard Masters: Northies (Sports Bar), Cronulla Sarah Paton: Observer Hotel, The Rocks Beatville Boys: Orient Hotel, Sydney The Aston Shuffle + Billy Fox: Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst Hot Damn! feat. Monte + more: Q Bar, Darlinghurst Stolen Violin feat. Jordan Ireland (The Middle East): Rad Bar (formerly Yours & Owls), Wollongong Songs On Stage feat. Mick Hambly + more: Ruby L’Otel, Rozelle Greg Agar: Scruffy Murphy’s, Sydney Hot Damn! feat. Breakaway + more: Spectrum, Darlinghurst Hip Hop Thursday with Bam Bam + DJ Lopez + Electric Element: Tattersalls Hotel, Penrith
The Angels with Dave Gleeson: Bridge Hotel, Rozelle Split Seconds + I, A Man + Small Cats: Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst Woodstock 45th Anniversary Show: Camelot Lounge, Marrickville Doggin It + Isaiah B Brunt: Camelot Lounge (Django Bar), Marrickville Mercer: Chinese Laundry, Sydney Omega Ensemble + Julian Morrow (Narrator): City Recital Hall, Sydney Leon Fallon: Coogee Bowling Club, Coogee Armchair Travellers Duo: Courthouse Hotel, Darlinghurst Ryan Daley: Crown & Anchor Hotel, Newcastle The Sphinxes: Crown Hotel, Sydney The Shrooms + Jess Dunbar: Crows Nest Hotel, Crows Nest Iguana: Duke of Wellington Hotel, New Lambton Stolen Violin feat. Jordan Ireland (The Middle East): Easy Tiger, Paddington James Reyne + Dragon: Enmore Theatre, Enmore Vanessa Heinitz: Figtree Hotel, Wollongong
1000S OF GIGS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS. FOR MORE HEAD TO THEMUSIC.COM.AU THE MUSIC • 13TH AUGUST 2014 • 43
the guide nsw.gigguide@themusic.com.au Surrender The Sun + Side Tracked Fiasco + Greenthief: Fitzroy Hotel, Windsor
Kate Miller-Heidke + Ryan Keen: Joan Sutherland Theatre, Penrith
Karl Joseph: Fortune of War Hotel, The Rocks
Altitude: Kareela Golf & Social Club, Kareela
Michael Deacon: Foundry 616, Ultimo
Blue Mountains Elvis Festival + Various Artists: Katoomba RSL, Katoomba
Los Hombre Del Diablo + Arrowhead: Hermanns Bar, Darlington
Rapture: Kellys on King, Newtown
Vincent Cross: Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Folk Club, Hornsby
The Goyles: Kiama Leagues Club, Kiama
Blue Mountains Elvis Festival + Various Artists: Katoomba RSL, Katoomba
Michael McGlynn: Kirribilli Hotel, Milsons Point Owen Rabbit + Nova & The Experience: Lass O’Gowrie, Wickham
FBi Social feat. Michelle Xen & The Neon Wild + Fingertips + Selahphonic: Kings Cross Hotel, Kings Cross
Led Zeppelin Celebration with Whole Lotta Love: Laycock Street Theatre, North Gosford
Victoria Avenue: Kirribilli Hotel, Milsons Point Twin Lakes + Taking Berlin + Montes Jura: Lansdowne Hotel, Chippendale The Beaut Utes + Dylan Hartas & The Blues Martyrs: LazyBones Lounge, Marrickville Angry Little Gods + Everything I Own Is Broken: Lewisham Hotel, Lewisham Toni Childs: Lizottes Central Coast, Kincumber Ray Beadle: Lizottes Newcastle, New Lambton Harmony James + Peter Denahy + Luke O’Shea: Lizottes Sydney, Dee Why Kilter: Macarthur Tavern, Campbelltown Superheavyweights: Marble Bar, Sydney Indian Summer: Meche Nightclub, Canberra Panorama Duo: Mercantile Hotel, The Rocks Elephant Man + Jamrock Sound Crew + Nick Toth + More Judgement + DJ Moto + Dutty Dancing: Metro Theatre, Sydney Glenn Esmond: Northies, Cronulla Nicky Kurta: Northies, Cronulla Carl Fidler: Observer Hotel, The Rocks Russell Nelson: Orient Hotel, Sydney The Aston Shuffle + Just A Gent + Greg Gould: Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst
PRESENTATION NIGHT FT JUDE BOLTON & URTHBOY: 13 AUG VIC ON THE PARK SIMA feat. The Urban Gypsies: Seymour Centre (Sound Lounge), Chippendale The Lazys + Psyrens + All The Wise + 30three: Tattersalls Hotel, Penrith Lolo Lovina + The Balkan Gypsy Brass Connection: The Basement, Circular Quay Angelena Locke: The Bellevue Hotel, Paddington Kate Miller-Heidke + Ryan Keen: The Concourse (Concert Hall), Chatswood Waxhead: The Eastern (El Topo Basement), Bondi The Faders: The Oaks Hotel, Neutral Bay Beast & Flood + Milkk + The Nuclear Family + Draining Pool: The Record Crate, Glebe The Jaded Vanities Burlesque: The Vanguard, Newtown Dane Fitzsimmons: The Windsor Castle Hotel, Newcastle David Agius Duo: Time & Tide Hotel (Mollys), Dee Why The Baddies + Chickenstones + Mass Hysteria + Haiku: Town & Country Hotel, St Peters Nickelback Show: Towradgi Beach Hotel, Towradgi Like Thieves + Self Is A Seed + Marlow: Uni Bar, Wollongong
The Mighty Reapers: Petersham Bowling Club, Petersham
Return to the Dank Dad Dungeon feat. Dank Dads + Sneak + more: Valve @ Agincourt (Basement / 8pm), Ultimo
Joe Echo Duo: PJ Gallagher’s, Leichhardt
The Owls: World Bar, Kings Cross
Bruce + Grenadiers + Stockades + Oslow: Rad Bar (formerly Yours & Owls), Wollongong
SAT 16
Songs On Stage feat. Piper Street + The Hadron Colliders + Kids With Working Mums: Ruby L’Otel, Rozelle
Oliver Downes + Deepsea Lights: 107 Projects, Redfern
Souled Out: Scruffy Murphy’s, Sydney
Jeremy Costa: 505, Surry Hills
The All Seeing Hand + Scattered Order + Spirit Valley + Thorax: Secret Location, Sydney
DJ Timmy Coffey: 5 Sawyers, Newcastle The Aston Shuffle + Just A Gent + Greg Gould: ANU Bar, Acton Harbourmaster: Bar Petite, Newcastle
True Vibenation: Baroque, Katoomba
David Agius: Coogee Bay Hotel, Coogee
Tundrel + Vintage Vulva + Critical Monkee + Greenthief: Belconnen Magpies, Belconnen
Klay: Cookies Lounge Bar, North Strathfield
The Cruisers: Belmont 16’s, Belmont Incognito Band: Belmore Hotel, Maitland The Brazen Lyres: Bradbury Hotel, Bradbury Creedence & Friends: Brass Monkey, Cronulla Jackson Holt: Brewhouse, Kings Park The Angels with Dave Gleeson: Bridge Hotel, Rozelle Wildcatz: Brighton RSL, Brighton-Le-Sands Emperors + The Upskirts + Horror My Friend + Maids: Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst Victoria Avenue: Bull & Bush, Baulkham Hills Like Thieves + Texas Snow Day + more: Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle West Monsieur Camembert: Camelot Lounge, Marrickville Brown Sugar: Campbelltown Catholic Club (Cafe Lounge), Campbelltown James Reyne: Canberra Theatre (The Playhouse), Canberra Marcia Hines: Canterbury Hurlstone Park RSL, Canterbury Mainline: Carousel Inn, Rooty Hill
Macson: Courthouse Hotel, Darlinghurst Den & Loz: Crown Hotel, Sydney Black Diamond Hearts + Tim Conlon: Crows Nest Hotel, Crows Nest The McClymonts + Adam Eckersley Band: Dapto Leagues Club, Dapto Leadfinger + The Dark Clouds + The Reverend: Dicey Riley’s Hotel, Wollongong Mark Wells Trio: Duke of Wellington Hotel, New Lambton Ziggy - The Songs of David Bowie feat. iOTA + Jeff Duff + Steve Balbi + Brydon Stace: Enmore Theatre, Enmore Thunderstruck AC/DC Show + Shadowboxer - The Angels Show: Ettamogah Hotel, Kellyville Ridge Dan Sharkey: Fortune of War Hotel (8pm), The Rocks Glenn Esmond: Fortune of War Hotel (4pm), The Rocks Danny G Felix Projecto 5: Foundry 616, Ultimo Tim Pringle: Gladstone Park Hotel, Leichhardt Daniel Romeo: Greystanes Inn, Greystanes
UBERfest Winter 2014 with 62nd Silence + Afrochild + After Hollywood + All For Jesse + All The Wise + Another Avenue + more: Lewisham Hotel, Lewisham Harmony James + Peter Denahy + Luke O’Shea: Lizottes Central Coast, Kincumber Toni Childs + Amy Vee: Lizottes Newcastle, New Lambton Ray Beadle: Lizottes Sydney, Dee Why Bridie King + The King Bros: Lord Wolseley Hotel, Ultimo Vanity: Macarthur Tavern, Campbelltown Sleepmakeswaves + Breaking Orbit + Teal: Manning Bar, Camperdown Milan: Marble Bar, Sydney Blake Tailor: Mean Fiddler Hotel (Courtyard), Rouse Hill Ben Finn Trio: Mean Fiddler Hotel (Fiddler Bar), Rouse Hill Peking Duk + Yeo: Meche Nightclub, Canberra The Lonely Boys: Mercantile Hotel, The Rocks Winterbourne: Metro Theatre, Sydney Cath & Him: Mingara Recreation Club (Lounge Bar), Tumbi Umbi Busby Marou + Darren Middleton + Karl S Williams: Mona Vale Hotel, Mona Vale Beccy Cole + Mickey Pye: Nelson Bay Diggers Club (Showroom), Nelson Bay
Rob Henry: Castle Hill RSL (Terrace Bar), Castle Hill
Songs On Stage feat. Brumby + The Count’s Band + The Graduates: Hampshire Hotel, Camperdown
Pop Fiction: Castle Hill RSL (Cocktail Lounge), Castle Hill
Ryan Thomas: Harbord Beach Hotel, Freshwater
Greg Agar: New Brighton Hotel, Manly
Anklepants + Doc Daneeka + Young Franco: Chinese Laundry, Sydney
Picture Perfect + Blue River Saga + The Thieves + Jungle Bones: Hermanns Bar, Darlington
The Ball Brothers: Newport Arms Hotel, Newport
Hey Poncho: Hotel Jesmond, Jesmond
Armchair Travellers Duo: North Sydney Leagues, Cammeray
Zac & Ben: Iron Horse Inn, Cardiff
Reckless: Northies (Sports Bar), Cronulla
Illawarra Folk Club - Voices of Gallipoli with Jim Haynes + Grant Luhrs + Katelyn O’Donoghue: City Diggers, Wollongong Marina Prior: City Recital Hall, Sydney
1000S OF GIGS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS. FOR MORE HEAD TO THEMUSIC.COM.AU 44 • THE MUSIC • 13TH AUGUST 2014
Andy Mammers: Le Pub, Balmain
Dr Zoom Duo: Nelson Bay Diggers Club, Nelson Bay
The Tambourine Girls + Iluka: Newtown Social Club, Newtown
Brad Johns + Gemma: Observer Hotel, The Rocks
SUN
17 AUG
THE SHOUT BROS.
7:00
THE MUSIC • 13TH AUGUST 2014 • 45
the guide nsw.gigguide@themusic.com.au Endless Summer Beach Party: Orient Hotel, Sydney
Kav Temperley: The Fig, Port Macquarie
Black Rose: Overlander Hotel, Cambridge Gardens
Owen Rabbit: The Front Cafe & Gallery, Lyneham
Gang Of Youths + Guests: Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst
Hornet: The Mark Hotel, Lambton
Bam Bam: Oxford Art Factory (Gallery Bar), Darlinghurst
Jake McDougall: The Mill Hotel, Milperra
Three Rams: Penrith Gaels, Kingswood
Greg Poppleton Bakelite Duo: The Victoria Room, Darlinghurst
Party Mode + Steve Tonge: Penrith Panthers (Terrace Bar), Penrith
Alex Hopkins: The Woolwich Pier Hotel, Woolwich 2 Shots of Classic Rock: Time & Tide Hotel (Beer Garden), Dee Why
Errol Buddle Quintet: Penrith RSL (Castle Lounge / 2pm), Penrith
Sunday Sinners: Town & Country Hotel (2pm), St Peters
Groovology: Penrith RSL (Castle Lounge / 9pm), Penrith Original Sin - INXS Show: Penshurst RSL, Penshurst Songs On Stage feat. Johnny Freud + more: Petersham Inn, Petersham Jess Dunbar & Matt Price Duo: Petersham RSL, Petersham Touchwood Rock: Picton Bowling Club, Picton Joe Echo: PJ Gallagher’s, Moore Park Sydney Cyper Supremo: Play Bar, Surry Hills Michelle Xen & The Neon Wild + Aaron Hull + Selahphonic: Rad Bar (formerly Yours & Owls), Wollongong The Bandits: Ramsgate RSL (Auditorium), Sans Souci Halycon: Revesby Workers (Infinity Lounge), Revesby Ignition: RG McGees, Richmond Funkified: Riverwood Inn, Riverwood Panorama: Rock Lily, Pyrmont High Rollers (4 piece): Rooty Hill RSL (Fred Chubb Lounge), Rooty Hill Johnny Cass: Ruby L’Otel, Rozelle Russell Morris: Seymour Centre (York Theatre), Chippendale SIMA feat. + Andy Gander’s Imaginary Numbers: Seymour Centre (Sound Lounge), Chippendale Tori Darke: Sir Joseph Banks Hotel, Botany FABBA: South Hurstville RSL, South Hurstville Mescalero feat. Steve Edmonds: Spring Street Social, Bondi Junction Adam Katz Duo: St George Rowing Club, Wolli Creek Jamie Lindsay: Stacks Taverna, Sydney In Recital with David Helfgott: Sydney Opera House (Concert Hall / 2pm), Sydney Go Freek: The Argyle House, Newcastle Casey Donovan + Guests: The Basement, Circular Quay Ted Nash: The Bellevue Hotel, Paddington
UBERFEST FT PSEUKO AND MORE: 16 AUG LEWISHAM HOTEL Rosenthorne: The Belvedere Hotel, Sydney
The Tambourine Girls + Iluka: Brass Monkey, Cronulla
Phase III: The Exchange Hotel, Hamilton
David Agius Duo: Bull & Bush, Baulkham Hills
Tom Buckley: The Mark Hotel, Lambton
Johnny Gleeson: Cafe Del Mar, Sydney
Just Dropped: The Oxford Hotel (Bar Underground), Darlinghurst
Russian-Gypsy Extravaganza: Camelot Lounge, Marrickville
Marty Stewart: The Palace Hotel, Haymarket
James Cassar + Clair Hayes: Canterbury Leagues Club (1pm), Belmore South
Daley Holliday: The Windsor Castle Hotel, Newcastle Heath Burdell: Time & Tide Hotel (Mollys), Dee Why The Khats: Town & Country Hotel (3pm), St Peters This Filthy Seed: Town & Country Hotel, St Peters John Field Duo: Town Hall Hotel, Balmain Uncle Jed: Transit Bar, Canberra Deadfest 2014 feat. Na Maza + Domino + Threequency + Sodomiser + Not Another Sequel, Just Another Prequel + Foundry Road + Acid Nymph + more: Valve @ Agincourt (Basement / 2pm), Ultimo Corrosion feat. DJ Xerstorkitte + Voodoo + Daze + more: Valve @ Agincourt (Level One / 9pm), Ultimo Uptown: Warners at the Bay, Warners Bay Happy Hippies + DJ Marty: Wentworthville Leagues Club, Wentworthville Muddy Feet: Wests Tradies, Dharruk Alex Hopkins: Woolloomooloo Bay Hotel, Woolloomooloo
SUN 17
DJ Tone: 5 Sawyers, Newcastle Crocq: Bar Petite, Newcastle Beccy Cole + Libby O’Donovan: Belmont 16’s (Showroom), Belmont Stephen R Cheney: Belmont 16’s, Belmont The Shout Brothers: Botany View Hotel (7pm), Newtown
Jake Folbigg: Charlestown Bowling Club, Charlestown Mescalero feat. Steve Edmonds: Coast Hotel, Budgewoi
Harmony James + Peter Denahy + Luke O’Shea: Lizottes Newcastle, New Lambton Bryen Willems: Margaritaville, Darling Harbour Hunter & Suzy Owens Band: Marrickville Bowling Club, Marrickville Matt Jones & Bruce Thorburn Diddly Dee: Mean Fiddler Hotel, Rouse Hill Legions + Endless Heights + Sumeru + Downside + When: Metro Theatre (The Lair / All Ages), Sydney
Dennis Val: Collingwood Hotel, Liverpool
Jess Dunbar & Matt Price Duo: Moorebank Sports Club, Hammondville
Mandi Jarry Duo: Commodore Hotel, McMahons Point
Zane Penn: Nelson Bay Diggers Club, Nelson Bay
Luke Dixon: Coogee Bay Hotel, Coogee
Redlight Ruby: Northies (Sports Bar), Cronulla
Holly Wilson: Crown & Anchor Hotel, Newcastle
Ben Bennett: Oatley Hotel (1pm), Oatley
James Fox Higgins: Ettamogah Hotel, Kellyville Ridge
Rob Henry + Three Wise Men: Observer Hotel, The Rocks
Leon Fallon: Family Inn, Rydalmere
Songs On Stage feat. Russell Neal + Veronica Wagner + more: Old Fitzroy Hotel, Woolloomooloo
Dan Sharkey: Fortune of War Hotel, The Rocks Heavy Metal Hoo-Ha feat. Thrashed + Whisky Smile + Resonance + Flaming Wrekage + Before Ciada + Disintergrator: Frankie’s Pizza By The Slice (6pm), Sydney Songs On Stage feat. Peach Montgomery + more: Garry Owen Hotel, Rozelle Jamie Lindsay: Harbord Beach Hotel, Freshwater Blue Mountains Elvis Festival + Various Artists: Katoomba RSL, Katoomba Brian King: Kiama Leagues Club, Kiama Goons Of Doom: La De Da Restaurant & Bar, Mona Vale Funk Engine + Okapi Guitar Band: LazyBones Lounge (1pm), Marrickville Lazy Sunday Lunch with Ray Beadle: Lizottes Central Coast, Kincumber
Ryan Thomas: Wallacia Hotel, Wallacia Craig Thommo: Waverley Bowling & Recreation Club, Waverley Victoria Avenue + Alex Hopkins: Wentworthville Leagues Club, Wentworthville Tori Darke: Woolloomooloo Bay Hotel, Woolloomooloo
MON 18
Jazz Jam: 505, Surry Hills Tranny Bingo: Coopers Hotel, Newtown Songs On Stage feat. Stuart Jammin + Massimo Presti + Rick Taylor + Chris Brookes: Kellys on King, Newtown Sonic Mayhem Orchestra: LazyBones Lounge, Marrickville Marcia Hines: Slide Darlinghurst, Darlinghurst Big Swing Band: Tattersalls Hotel, Penrith The Monday Jam: The Oxford Hotel (Gingers), Darlinghurst
TUE 19
A Team Duo: Orient Hotel, Sydney
Old School Funk & Groove Night: 505, Surry Hills
Jimmy Gannon: Overlander Hotel (3pm), Cambridge Gardens
Declan Kelly + Tom T Jennings + Tony Deveaux + Chris Smithson: Bar 34, Bondi Beach
Josh McIvor: Penrith Panthers (Squires Bar / 2pm), Penrith The Fabulous Rhythm Cats: Penrith RSL (Castle Lounge / 2pm), Penrith
Open Mic Night: Botany View Hotel, Newtown Greg Agar: Cock ‘n’ Bull, Bondi Junction
Cafe of the Gate of Salvation: Petersham Bowling Club (4pm), Petersham
Open Mic Night with Champagne Jam: Dundas Sports Club, Dundas
Lj: Picton Hotel (2pm), Picton
Gig For Gaza feat. Gang Of Brothers + Victor Martinez Parada + Declan Kelly + Darryl Beaton & the D1 Cartel + more: Jam Gallery (6pm), Bondi Junction
Jamie Lindsay: Pritchards Hotel, Mt Pritchard Jack The Stripper + Dead Town Nothing + Castles + Jacob: Rad Bar (formerly Yours & Owls), Wollongong Ed Manego: Ramsgate RSL (Lounge / 2pm), Sans Souci Klayton Vetter: St George Rowing Club, Wolli Creek
1000S OF GIGS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS. FOR MORE HEAD TO THEMUSIC.COM.AU 46 • THE MUSIC • 13TH AUGUST 2014
Gambirra + Revolution Incorporated + Mariam Sawires + more: Valve @ Agincourt (Basement / 1pm), Ultimo
Steve Hunter Band: LazyBones Lounge, Marrickville Central Coast Grammar School Showcase: Lizottes Central Coast, Kincumber Little Dragon + Special Guests: Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst
backstage/classies classies.themusic.com.au MUSIC SERVICES
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THE MUSIC • 13TH AUGUST 2014 • 47
48 • THE MUSIC • 13TH AUGUST 2014