Brag#648

ISSUE NO. 648 FEBRUARY 3, 2016

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

MUSIC, FILM, THEATRE + MORE

INSIDE This Week

NE V ER MEN

Mike Patton teams up with Tunde Adebimpe and Adam 'Doseone' Drucker.

A L PINE

They're marching on towards Mountain Sounds, and you can bet it'll be a good time.

SH A MIR

A child prodigy has grown into one of the industry's most distinct young voices.

DA PPLED CI T IE S

Sydney's favourite adventurous songwriters make their return to the stage.

B AT T L E S

Instrumental explorations are on the menu for Laneway.

Plus

JA NI VA M A GNE S S P ORCHE S JE S S R IBEIRO A L L E N S T ONE J A PA NE S E WA L L PA P E R A ND MUCH MOR E

25 Years At The Top

“Lord Huron’s music is so impressionistic; it sometimes sounds like it emanates from a dream.”

BOSTON GLOBE

“Nahko is quickly becoming one of the biggest, most relevant artists of our time. His lyrics are inspiring and life changing.” DOVE LIDDLE 2015

“ ...effortless authenticity that marks them out as rightful heirs to the BLACK CROWES’ recently vacated throne.” THE GUARDIAN

FIRST AUSTRALIAN TOUR

WEDNESDAY MARCH

23

FIRST AUSTRALIAN TOUR

OXFORD ART FACTORY

WEDNESDAY MARCH

30

METRO THEATRE

WEDNESDAY MARCH

23

THE BASEMENT

“The best effing voice I’ve ever heard.” MTV

“King… has a voice you don’t forget in a hurry, a big, booming thing with a Janis Joplin-esque rasp at the edges” WHO MAGAZINE

WED MAR

30

“He’s a cat that can do an Otis Redding.” KEITH RICHARDS

FACTORY THEATRE

BLUESFEST

SIDESHOWS

MONDAY MARCH

21

METRO THEATRE

TICKETS: BLUESFESTTOURING.COM.AU 02 6685 8310 & THE VENUES MORE INFO FROM BLUESFESTTOURING.COM.AU

THU MAR

24

METRO THEATRE

ON SALE NOW! “you feel every sweaty note, a full-tilt, damn the torpedoes showcase” STAR TELEGRAPH

FIRST TOUR IN OVER 20 YEARS “A master of the guitar” THE NEW YORKER

“No sooner does he jump on the stage than he’s wailing away, singing his heart out and ain’t afraid to be the showman to boot, jumping into the crowd, sitting among ‘em, and playing his brains out”

“A joyous rude-boy revue from an act as slick and brash as their shiny silver suits” NOTTINGHAM ROCK CITY

ACOUSTIC MUSIC

TUESDAY MARCH

22

THE BASEMENT

WED MAR

23

FACTORY THEATRE

THURSDAY MARCH

31

FACTORY THEATRE

THE BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA BRIAN WILSON D’ANGELO THE DECEMBERISTS DON MCLEAN JACKSON BROWNE MELISSA ETHERIDGE NATHANIEL RATELIFF & THE NIGHT SWEATS THE RESIDENTS RHIANNON GIDDENS SHAKEY GRAVES SONGHOY BLUES STEVE EARLE & THE DUKES TAJ MAHAL THE WAILERS thebrag.com

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PERFORMANCE SPACE & CARRIAGEWORKS PRESENT DAY FOR NIGHT : 24 HRS SAT 20 – SUN 21 FEB 2016 AT CARRIAGEWORKS PERFORMANCESPACE.COM.AU @PSPACE #DAYFORNIGHT thebrag.com

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rock music news

the BRAG presents

welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town... with Anita Connors, Joseph Earp and Anna Wilson

PARTY IN THE PADDOCK ft. Violent Soho, Spiderbait, The Preatures and more Burns Creek, Tasmania Friday February 19 – Saturday February 20

speed date WITH

CAPTAIN GREGARRR FROM LAGERSTEIN Current Playlist 4.

Ahoy! The most rocking tracks on our playlist include Richard Harris, ABBA,

All For Rum & Rum For All. Now that it’s completed, we have been doing what any good pirates do – we recently buried treasure worth a fortune and boy, whoever fi nds it, they will think they’ve struck gold.

We snuck in a sneaky tour with our best friends in Alestorm and Troldhaugen for Piratefest Australia. We will be commencing our 14-date national headline tour with our friend Rainbowdragoneyes, starting with our own festival Lagerfest in Brisbane on February 6. Oh yeah, we actually found the Fountain of Rum; may our steins forever be full.

John Denver, Nile, Rainbowdragoneyes, Supertramp, Mötley Crüe, Gustav Holst, Wickety Wak, John Farnham, Kataklysm, Kenny Loggins and Foreigner.

3.

Best Gig Ever Ahoy! Our most party gig ever was while sailing down the mighty Brisbane River on a party boat. There were wenches and beer bongs flowing everywhere. What a party! No-one went overboard… we think.

Our most interesting gig was in Switzerland where we did the 100-shot challenge of jungle juice before we went on. YouTube “Lagerstein presents: one girl, 100 shots”.

5.

Your Ultimate Rider Ahoy! Our ultimate rider would be firstly making sure each beer bong has its own change room, unlimited rum, beer, vodka, cider, whisky, Jägermeister, tequila and Coke, natural light coming only from 97 glowworms, four mopeds (two with side carts), and all TVs at the venue must be playing the Food Network 12 minutes before Lagerstein goes onstage.

What: All For Rum & Rum For All out now independently With: Rainbowdragoneyes, Requiem Of The Damned, Fenrir Where: The Bald Faced Stag When: Friday February 12

Milk! Records

ART DIRECTOR: Sarah Bryant PHOTOGRAPHERS: Katrina Clarke, Ashley Mar, D. A. Carter ADVERTISING: Les White - 0405 581 125 / (02) 9212 4322 les@thebrag.com Tony Pecotic - (02) 9212 4322 tony@thebrag.com

GIG & CLUB GUIDE COORDINATOR: Sarah Bryant - gigguide@thebrag.com (rock); clubguide@thebrag.com (dance, hip hop & parties) AWESOME INTERNS: Elias Kwiet, Joseph Earp, Anna Wilson, Anita Connors REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS: Nat Amat, Prudence Clark, Tom Clift, James Di Fabrizio, Christie Eliezer, Tegan Jones, Lachlan Kanoniuk, Emily Meller, David Molloy, Annie Murney, Adam Norris, George Nott, Daniel Prior, Tegan Reeves, Natalie Rogers, Erin Rooney, Spencer Scott, Natalie Salvo, Leonardo Silvestrini, Jade Smith, Lucy Watson, Rod Whitfield, Harry Windsor, Tyson Wray, Stephanie Yip, David James Young Please send mail NOT ACCOUNTS direct to this NEW address 100 Albion Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010 ph - (02) 9212 4322 fax - (02) 9319 2227 EDITORIAL POLICY: The views and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher, editors or staff of the BRAG. ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE: Luke Forrester: accounts@furstmedia.com.au ph - (03) 9428 3600 fax - (03) 9428 3611 Furst Media, 3 Newton Street Richmond Victoria 3121 DEADLINES: Editorial: Friday 12pm (no extensions) Ad bookings: Friday 5pm (no extensions) Fishished art: No later than 2pm Monday Ad cancellations: Friday 4pm Deadlines are strictly adhered to.

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Newtown Social Club Sunday February 28

LORD HURON Oxford Art Factory Wednesday March 23

ELLE KING Metro Theatre Thursday March 24

NATIONAL FOLK FESTIVAL Exhibition Park, Canberra Thursday March 24 – Monday March 28

SHAKEY GRAVES The Basement Thursday March 31

MILKING IT UP

Milk! Records, the indie label founded

by Courtney Barnett, is going on a roadshow for an all-star series of gigs around the country. Barnett started the imprint in 2012 as a way to release her first EP, I’ve Got A Friend Called Emily Ferris. Four years later, and with international accolades coming her way, Barnett has also grown Milk! to become the home base for a number of great Australian acts. In support of the label’s new compilation Good For You, Barnett and her roster are now hitting the road.

Jen Cloher, Fraser A. Gorman, Ouch My Face, East Brunswick All Girls Choir and The Finks will play 11 dates around the country, including one at Sydney’s home of indie music in the Inner West, Marrickville’s Vic On The Park, on Saturday March 12.

MANAGING EDITOR: Chris Martin chris@thebrag.com 02 9212 4322 ONLINE EDITOR: Tyson Wray SUB-EDITOR: Sam Caldwell STAFF WRITERS: Adam Norris, Augustus Welby NEWS: Anita Connors, James Di Fabrizio, Joseph Earp

PUBLISHER: Furst Media MANAGING DIRECTOR, FURST MEDIA: Patrick Carr - patrick@furstmedia.com.au, (03) 9428 3600 / 0402 821 122 DIGITAL DIRECTOR/ADVERTISING: Kris Furst kris@furstmedia.com.au, (03) 9428 3600

GLEN MATLOCK, EARL SLICK & SLIM JIM PHANTOM

SURFIN’ BIRDMAN

OG purveyors of Aussie punk Radio Birdman are coming home to our shores after a successful stint in Europe. The only issue is, the tour did so well that they’ve been invited back – most notably to play Spain’s Azkena Rock Festival and Belgium’s Sjock Festival. Luckily, they are still managing to fit in five shows Down Under in June – likely to be their only ones for 2016 – so fans better get in on tickets, quick. In more good news, especially for those who aren’t around in June, the Radio Birdman box set of 2014 sold so well that their entire ’70s catalogue is now being reissued as standalone CDs. See them when they hit up the Factory Theatre on Friday June 3.

WORDS DONE WRIGHT

Beloved Brisbane vocalist Katie Noonan is teaming up with renowned British string group The Brodsky Quartet to release a new album, With Love And Fury. To celebrate, these everexpeditious musicians are embarking on a national tour. The album is being recorded in London, reimagining the words of Australian poet Judith Wright. Onstage, the With Love And Fury show will unleash a truly unique and remarkable Australian program, with Noonan and The Brodsky Quartet performing nine specially commissioned pieces from contemporary Australian composers including Carl Vine, Elena Kats-Chernin and Richard Tognetti. The show will incorporate these new works as well as the repertoire of The Brodsky Quartet both alone and accompanied

by Noonan, including songs by Elvis Costello, Björk and Noonan herself. Since its formation in 1972, The Brodsky Quartet has performed over

Trivium

2,000 concerts on the major stages of the world and released more than 50 recordings. Noonan and friends perform at the City Recital Hall on Monday May 2.

GROOVIN THE WHO?

Giddy up! Australia’s favourite (and, uhhh, only) regional touring festival Groovin The Moo is back for another year. In alphabetical order, the 2016 incarnation of the festival will feature Alison Wonderland, Boo Seeka, Boy & Bear, British India, Client Liaison, Danny Brown, Drapht, DZ Deathrays, Emma Louise, Golden Features, Harts, Illy, In Hearts Wake, Ms Mr, Mutemath, Ngaiire, Odesza, Ratatat, Remi, The Rubens, Safia, Twenty One Pilots, Vallis Alps and Vic Mensa. The New South Wales edition of Groovin The Moo will take place on Saturday April 23 at the Maitland Showgrounds.

VIOLENT SOHO AT MOUNTAIN SOUNDS

After the announcement that health issues have sadly forced The Jezabels to bow out of this year’s Mountain Sounds Festival, Violent Soho have stepped up to fill the gap. Soho will be known to pretty much any Australian who hasn’t found themselves some nice, unusually cheap Sydney real estate under a rock, and their addition to the festival will add some wholly unique energy and style to the affair. Nonetheless, our thoughts remain very much with The Jezabels’ keyboard player Heather Shannon, who is being treated for ovarian cancer. Mountain Sounds hits Mount Penang Parklands on Saturday February 20.

HE’S AN OUTLIER

After the release of his debut album Outlier and sets in support of The Paper Kites on their tour late last year, singer-songwriter Patrick James has announced his own solo national tour. In celebration of Outlier’s release, James will be performing across the country, taking in six states and territories. It will be his first extensive headline tour with his full band in nearly two years, and his Sydney show promises to be a showcase of soft acoustics, stirring harmonies and heavy-hearted lyrics. James plays The Basement on Friday March 4, with Hein Cooper in support.

STRANGE BEDFELLOWS

Carriageworks has announced the dates for a pair of shows from two very exciting musicians: Swans frontman Michael Gira, and electronic artist Fennesz. Though the pair might seem like polar opposites, both share a well-defined desire to resist the norm. Gira will be in acoustic mode, but those concerned that the man who once made a habit of getting down on his hands and knees and licking the floor during his sets is playing a gentle gig should be heartened to know that his solo outings are famous for being as powerful and terrifying as his ear-splitting work with Swans. Fennesz, by contrast, will be joined by visual artist Lillevan, adding an additional layer to his soothing electro sounds. Both of these two provocateurs are well worth catching live, so all those who require something surreal and special from their live music experiences should save not one, but two dates. Fennesz hits Carriageworks on Friday February 26; Gira plays on Wednesday March 9.

TRIVIUM PURSUIT

US legends Trivium will shred across Australia this April in what is likely to be a series of sold-out events. Five studio albums after their 2005 sophomore release, Trivium continue to garner international success with their insane metal grooves and fretboard annihilation.

Lugging with them a swag of awards and sold-out stadium tours, it’s Australia’s turn to experience Trivium’s continued climb up the metal ladder, with the tour coinciding with the release of their new album Silence In The Snow. The five-date national tour will see Trivium showcase new tracks from the album as well as classic fan favourites from their ten-year arsenal. Catch them in Sydney on Saturday April 16 at UNSW Roundhouse.

thebrag.com

Shakey Graves photo by Jarred Gastriech

1.

Your Profile Ahoy! We are Lagerstein – a pirate rockin’ folkin’ metallin’ band from the nearby shores of Brisbane. We enjoy taking our flying pirate ship the SS Plunderberg across the world and putting on the most party act you will see onstage. Anyone who enjoys to party and have the most fun possible should check us out.

Keeping Busy 2.

Ahoy! For the past year we have been putting together our latest album

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BRAG :: 648 :: 03:02:16 :: 7

live & local

free stuff

welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town... with Joseph Earp, Anita Connors and Anna Wilson

five things WITH

WU-TANG CLAN

EZEKIEL OX FROM FULL SCALE REVOLUTION parents were music nerds, with lots of vinyl and music in the car. They blessed me with tickets to the Port Fairy Folk Festival for ten years, which taught me the power of three chords and the truth.

Inspirations 2.

The poetry of Dylan, the working class histrionics of Springsteen, and then when I turned 13, Pantera’s Far Beyond Driven changed my perspective towards aggression, power and groove. That album was my first ‘tennis racquet’ moment as a child. Bob Fosse, Martin Luther King, Paul Keating and then later Viv Malo and Briggs have influenced the politics, the storytelling and the way you need to handle yourselves to build a movement.

Your Band 3.

Full Scale Revolution has been around for 17 years. I’m the only member to have

Growing Up 1.

My key musical memory growing up was dancing with my grandfather to his vinyl collection. My favourite was Glen Campbell’s ‘Rhinestone Cowboy’, for some unknown reason. It still moves me to this day. My

been there the whole time, and if people want more information, they should hunt down a copy of the feature-length documentary Colour, Light, Movement, Sound! that details the band’s rise in the States and fierce and uncompromising attitude.

Your Style 4.

Tuned to B-flat, heavy, aggressive, melodic. Politics is always at the forefront of what we do. Fuck the system, smash the state, kill your boss and take all his money. Punk is a big part of it. We just don’t give a fuck, and that’s what makes our live show the best in the world.

Music, Right Here, Right Now 5.

The scene is a load of shit. Between Mammal, The Nerve, Over-Reactor, my solo shows and Full Scale Revolution, I’ve always found that a shit hot live show will always go well, and will always bring the punters in. Too many musicians think that the music owes them something; a lifestyle, a career, money, whatever. The truth is, you owe the music your life, so put the bong down, stop complaining that you can’t ‘get a break’ and go and busk until your show is shit hot and undeniable.

No-one owes you shit, so get good, work hard and win, or shut the fuck up.

INFINITY IS NOW

A FAMILIAR SOUND

Spunk Records bands Shining Bird, The Ocean Party and Flowertruck are getting together to perform a couple of special gigs next week. Cronulla’s Brass Monkey and Bondi’s Beach Road Hotel will host the events, headlined by Austinmer collective Shining Bird, who recently won FBi Radio’s 2015 SMAC Award for Best Song for their track ‘Rivermouth’. The Ocean Party will play the main support role after the release of new album Light Weight. And first on will be Sydney’s Flowertruck, who will be playing tracks from their brand new EP Dirt. The Brass Monkey gig is on Tuesday February 9, followed by the Beach Road Hotel on Wednesday February 10.

TOO SWEET TO SAVOUR

The brainchild of Andrew Gilbert (ex-The Cops) and Jordan Sly (ex-Delta Riggs, Meow Kapow), Sydney rockers Hush Honey are set for the release of their debut album, The Law Of Romance, later in the year. To celebrate, the band is performing a couple of gigs as well as letting loose a double A-side single. ‘Can’t Get Home’ and ‘Roadhouse Love’ were recorded at The Grove Studios with producer and engineer Scott Horscroft, and reflect the influences of Tom Petty, Steppenwolf, 13th Floor Elevators and The Clash. Hush Honey plays Frankie’s Pizza on Thursday February 11 and the Botany View Hotel on Saturday February 13.

A GAZILLION ANGRY MEXICANS

Melbourne-based alternative rockers A Gazillion Angry Mexicans have announced the release 8 :: BRAG :: 648 :: 03:02:16

Sydney garage rockers and postpunk-poppers, Prints Familiar, have announced a national tour to mark the release of their second EP Recently Searched. Weaving infectious hooks with vintage guitar riffs, the EP picks up where their debut EP Some People Will Listen To Anything left off. Loaded with wry observations about the modern condition, Recently Searched doesn’t shy away from such topics as infatuation and addiction (‘Screenshot’), social media (‘Online Veneers’), and the benefits of thinking before speaking (‘Tape-Recorder Mind’). Prints Familiar play the Botany View Hotel on Saturday February 20.

SPECTRUM NOW GOES WOW

Shining Bird

of their second EP and an east coast tour, including a Sydney visit this week. The band’s debut EP Juan, Two, Three, Four received good reviews and the latest release looks to maintain the momentum. A Gazillion Angry Mexicans kick off their tour at Frankie’s Pizza this Wednesday February 3. They also play the Captain Cook Hotel on Saturday February 6.

Wu-Tang roll into Allphones Arena on Wednesday February 24, and we’ve got two double passes to give away. To be in the running, head to thebrag.com/freeshit.

Spectrum Now Festival has unveiled its full music, arts, theatre and comedy lineup, a massive string of events that has been designed to suit a staggering variety of tastes.

Each of these four sections is represented by its own ambassador, with songwriter Megan Washington handling music, acclaimed two-time Archibald winner Del Kathryn Barton taking the visual arts reigns, entertainer David Campbell presiding over the theatre side of things, and Charlie Pickering adding his insight to the comedy and talks arm of the event. Arguably the highlight of the festival’s musical program is Divine Times, a one-day festival to be held at the Big Top in The Domain. The headliners are cult darlings The Jesus and Mary Chain, but even the lowest-placed artist on the bill, Jonathan Boulet, is a significant and exciting songsmith in his own right. Divine Times will take place on Saturday March 5. In terms of the visual arts program, modern art sceptics who enjoy being provoked should head along to Is This Art?, a diverse showcase of rising

Catherine Traicos Infinity Broke photo by Iby Hadassa Haack

Prints Familiar

SPUNK SHOWCASE

Who tang? Wu-Tang! That’s right; Wu-Tang Clan are making a return to Australia in 2016 after a five-year absence. The New York rappers remain one of the defining acts of their era, having released seven studio albums from their attitude-heavy debut Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) through to their one-copy-only, multimilliondollar recent release, Once Upon A Time In Shaolin. Like any great hip hop group, Wu-Tang have spawned their fair share of similarly influential offshoots over the years.

However, there’s nothing quite like seeing these warriors together in the flesh.

With: Red Bee, The Archaic Revival Where: The Bald Faced Stag When: Thursday February 11

Infinity Broke

Sydney four-piece Infinity Broke are once again taking the stage with their hypnotic and soulful noise rock. Headed by former Bluebottle Kiss frontman Jamie Hutchings, the band will be performing krautrock-pulsing tracks from their albums River Mirrors and Before Before. Supporting on the night will be Adam Gibson and The Ark-Ark Birds, fresh from the release of debut record Australia Restless. The show is at The Record Crate on Saturday February 20.

head to: thebrag.com/freeshit

LIGHT UP THE DARKNESS

Are you afraid of the dark? Don’t be, because Catherine Traicos is here to brave it with you. Acclaimed singer Traicos has announced a one-off Sydney show in order to tie into the release of her new album, Brave The Good Dark, her first record in almost two years. Though Traicos has been compared to artists as diverse as Beth Orton and Lucinda Williams, she is enough of an original that such quantifiers only serve to diminish any discussion of her music. The opportunity to see her in a live setting is one no lover of live music or the offbeat and unusual should turn down. Traicos hits The Newsagency on Saturday February 27.

stars and their controversial works, to be held at Good Times Gallery in Chippendale on Thursday March 10. Perhaps the most unusual event to be hosted on the theatrical side of things is Huang Yi And Kuka, a mashup of dance, theatre and technology that will take place on Wednesday March 16 at the Seymour Centre and will see renowned choreographer Huang Yi dancing with his pet robot, Kuka, an experience that Yi describes as “looking at my own face in a mirror”. Find more details on these and many other highlights at spectrumnow.com.au. The festival takes place around Sydney from Tuesday March 1 – Wednesday March 16.

DMA’S ON THE HARBOUR

DMA’s

Returning with a bang, the first [V] Island Party of 2016 will feature three-piece rockers DMA’s at an exclusive hometown gig. Since emerging on the scene in 2014 with their hit single ‘Delete’, Sydney’s Johnny Took, Tommy O’Dell and Matt Mason have toured the country and the globe with a ruthlessness that has been rewarded with sold-out headline shows and opportunities to play some of the world’s biggest festivals, including Lollapalooza, The Governors Ball and Coachella. Now, with their debut album Hill’s End set for release, DMA’s will play an intimate one-off gig on The Island in Sydney Harbour on Monday February 15. Visit vmusic.com.au for details on how to score tickets.

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UND O R D R I TH LINE-UPED! NC ANNOU

LINE-UP INCLUDES 47SOUL PALESTINE/JORDAN/SYRIAˏȼˏAcrojou UKˏȼˏAinslie Wills AUSTRALIAˏȼˏAjak Kwai SUDAN/AUSTRALIAˏȼˏAlpine AUSTRALIAˏȼˏ Angélique Kidjo & the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra BENIN/AUSTRALIAˏȼˏAsha Bhosle INDIAˏȼˏAsian Dub Foundation UKˏȼˏAustralian Dance Theatre AUSTRALIAˏȼˏCalexico USAˏȼˏThe Cat Empire AUSTRALIAˏȼˏCedric Burnside Project USAˏȼˏChoir of the APY Lands AUSTRALIA ȼˏDakhaBrakha UKRAINEˏȼˏDe La Soul USAˏȼˏDebashish Bhattacharya INDIAˏȼˏDiego el Cigala SPAINˏȼˏDjuki Mala AUSTRALIAˏȼˏ Edmar Castañeda Trio COLOMBIA/USAˏȼˏEska UKˏȼˏEster Rada ETHIOPIA/ISRAELˏȼˏHazmat Modine USAˏȼˏHusky AUSTRALIAˏȼˏIbeyi FRANCE/ CUBAˏȼˏThe Jerry Cans CANADAˏȼˏJohn Grant USAˏȼˏKev Carmody AUSTRALIAˏȼˏLadysmith Black Mambazo SOUTH AFRICAˏȼˏMarcellus Pittman USAˏȼˏMarlon Williams & the Yarra Benders NEW ZEALAND/AUSTRALIAˏȼˏMiles Cleret UKˏȼˏThe Miraculous Theatre Company UK ȼˏMojo Juju AUSTRALIAˏȼˏMountain Mocha Kilimanjaro JAPANˏȼˏThe Once CANADAˏȼˏOrange Blossom FRANCEˏȼˏOsunlade (DJ) USAˏȼˏ Radical Son TONGA/AUSTRALIAˏȼˏRipley AUSTRALIAˏȼˏSadar Bahar USAˏȼˏSampa the Great ZAMBIA/AUSTRALIAˏȼˏSarah Blasko AUSTRALIA ȼˏSavina Yannatou & Primavera en Salonico GREECEˏȼˏSeun Kuti & Egypt 80 NIGERIAˏȼˏSpiro UKˏȼˏThe Spooky Men’s Chorale AUSTRALIAˏȼˏ St Germain FRANCEˏȼˏ숨[su:m] KOREAˏȼˏTEK TEK Ensemble AUSTRALIAˏȼˏTulegur CHINAˏȼˏViolent Femmes USA and many more!

Plus: Taste the World, The Planet Talks, a Global Village, KidZone, visual arts, street theatre and much more.

11-14 MARCH 2016 W BOTANIC PARK W ADELAIDE WOMADELAIDE.COM.AU

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SEE WEBS FOR F ITE U LINE-U LL P

BRAG :: 648 :: 03:02:16 :: 9

Industrial Strength Music Industry News with Christie Eliezer

[ Formerly The Hi-Fi Bar ]

SAT 06 FEB

GENT & JAWNS + CRNKN

TUE 09 FEB - SELLING FAST

VINCE STAPLES USA

THINGS WE HEAR • Which opening act on a national tour got ticked off by the headliner’s manager for babbling online that the tour was adding dates, ahead of the official announcement?

• How true are rumours that Kyle & Jackie O are heading back to 2Day, with $20 million being waved about?

• Could we see the UK’s Flamingo Pier pop-up EDM festival in Australia? It’s already set up in New Zealand.

• Will the joint Iggy Pop/Josh Homme world tour land in Oz? The band includes Arctic Monkeys drummer Matt Helders.

• Was Richard Fortus and Dizzy Reed’s decision to leave The Dead Daisies to do with the original Guns N’ Roses reunion?

• Meanwhile, Axl Rose is pissed that Aerosmith’s Steve Tyler is taking credit for bringing the sort-of original lineup back together by saying he told them, “You’ve got to get it together. There’s a place and a time where, if you don’t, you’re going to miss it.” A post on the Gunners’ account stated, “Guns N’ Roses would like to respectfully thank the many people taking credit for our upcoming shows and everything in between. Especially those whom we haven’t

spoken to in numerous years who, through the power of media, have somehow served a pivotal, even if non-existent role. We and the fans thank you! #GnFnR”.

• There’s no definite announcement yet, but Sydney’s Club 77 posted on social media it will be back holding club nights.

• How did some of the music community who landed Order of Australia medals on Australia Day celebrate? Tina Arena was playing a gig in London. It was also Shane Howard’s birthday, so he went off fishing.

Bluesfest promoter Peter Noble neglected to open the letter from the government advising him of the honour and spent the morning at a Survival Day event in Byron Bay. • That didn’t stop Noble from getting into the debate over The Rubens topping the triple j Hottest 100. While the Rubes and The Church frontman Steve Kilbey exchanged public barbs over the worthiness of their win, Noble was asked in a Facebook Q&A what he thought of the band relegating Bluesfest headliner Kendrick Lamar to number two. Noble sniffed, “Who are The Reubens [sic]??? Kendrick’s #2’s will be more solid than anything that can be described by The Reubens as their #1’s.”

• RÜFÜS debuting for the second time at

number one on the ARIA chart this week puts them in an exclusive club. According to chart historian Gavin Ryan, they tie with Madonna, Boy & Bear and 5 Seconds Of Summer, who have also racked up two number one albums and two weeks at the top this decade. The new RÜFÜS album, Bloom, becomes the 191st chart-topper by an Australian act and the 352nd overall by a group.

• Hot Chip and promoters Frontier Touring are donating $20 from each of their ticket sales to support Western Australia’s bushfire-hit communities through the Lord Mayor’s Distress Relief Fund, which now stands at $4.5 million.

• Only in Darwin: the good people at Darwin Council are divided by an application from Discovery Nightclub to vary its liquor licence so it can share premises with the Honey Pot strip club. The latter will have private booths upstairs with separate access and bouncers to ensure the ravers don’t mix. But the word ‘sleazy’ was mentioned during a council debate.

• After naming the last Muse album Drones, Matt Bellamy has invested in the new Drone Racing League, which plans to turn drone racing into the latest sports entertainment phenomenon in the UK.

MON 15 FEB

SOILWORK SWE

WED 24 FEB

THE SWORD USA

SAT 27 FEB

CYRIL HAHN CAN + CHROME SPARKS USA

FRI 04 MAR - SELLING FAST

SOPHIE-ELLIS BEXTOR UK

FRI 11 MAR - SELLING FAST

THE CHARLATANS UK

WHICH ARTISTS SWEAR THE MOST?

For those of you who stay up nights wondering which acts swear the most in their songs, lyrics and data site Musixmatch has the answer. Hip hop has the most profanities (big surprise there!), with Lil Wayne having “the highest count of swear words in his lyrics” (beating Tupac, Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes and T.I.) and Chief Keef uses them most frequently, averaging one every 20 words.

Heavy metal is the second most pottymouthed genre, with Korn winning over Slipknot and Children Of Bodom. Diplo leads in EDM with one every 21 words (a genre with not a lot of words, mind), followed

by Deadmau5 and Hardwell. Green Day and Red Hot Chili Peppers represent rock.

Charli XCX is the pop music act you wouldn’t take home to Mum, and that stands for Tove Lo and Mark Ronson. The Neighbourhood swear most of the indie acts surveyed, then Modest Mouse and Kings Of Leon.

Folk has Loudon Wainwright III and Joni Mitchell and country – the least profane genre – has Justin Moore, Eric Church and Miranda Lambert.

It’s not a definitive list, as Musixmatch only chose from a pool of the most-Googled 361 artists, 3,573 studio albums and close to 10,000,000 words. ‘Motherfucker’ was the most-used swear word, followed by the N-word (or variations of it), ‘shit’, ‘fuck’ and ‘bitch’. An average of 0.66 per cent, or one in every 152 words, of lyrics by these artists are swear words. This is higher than the percentage of profanities in everyday speech (which is around 0.5 per cent).

IAN MOSS DEVICE WINS AT GLOBAL EVENT

Virtual Jeff, the new-generation whammy designed by Cold Chisel guitarist Ian Moss and Sydney tech company FOMOfx, won Best in Show in the accessories category at the National Association of Music Merchants trade fair in California. Out of thousands of new products exhibited, Virtual Jeff was selected by the world trade media for the way it eliminates mechanical hassles and provides pitch-perfect bends. The win means major companies will show interest in the device. During the exhibit, who should stop by at the FOMOfx stand to check out Virtual Jeff? Floyd Rose, who invented the original whammy!

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Authorities are cracking down hard on drugtaking at festivals. The first 11 of the 184 people busted for drugs at Sydney’s Field Day festival on New Year’s Day felt the wrath of magistrate John Favretto at the Downing Centre court. They all copped criminal records, reported the Sydney Morning Herald. Most were first-timers. But the magistrate said that most first-time offenders expected not to have convictions recorded against them, and hence took risks at music festivals. “These offences are too serious as people keep dying. It’s got to stop,” he said.

Meanwhile in Victoria, police have called for Rainbow Serpent not to be held next

year. Over the weekend of January 22-25, 950 attendees needed medical attention, four were caught drug trafficking, there were four reported sexual assaults and 40 punters were caught under the influence of drugs when leaving the festival. Promoter Tim Harvey said, “Crowd behaviour in general this year was wonderful, with the vast majority of our 16,000-strong Rainbow community contributing to a very special international gathering.” An Italian national and two French nationals have been remanded on drug trafficking charges at the festival. They faced the Ballarat Magistrates Court, and re-appear on Thursday February 11. The Italian was deemed a flight risk as he could not find his passport to surrender to police.

VISUAL ARTIST GRANTS HELP MUSIC

Among the nine New South Wales visual artists who shared in $12,500 of state grants were Hossein Ghaemi to present a new video installation as a backdrop to a choral performance for Laneway Festival, Lucas Abela to produce an audio arcade installation featuring four pinball/musical instrument hybrids at the CABLE# festival in France, and Kelli Jean Drinkwater for artist collective Glitter Militia’s performance, exhibition and party Monsta Gra at The Red Rattler.

STUDY: GOING TO THE PUB IS GOOD FOR YOU

Get out from behind the computer and hit the pub! According to a new study from Oxford University, you’ll expand the amount of people you know and in more depth, which in turn will add to your happiness and well-being. The report’s writer Professor Robin Dunbar said: “Making and maintaining friendships, however, is something that has to be done face-to-face, the digital world is simply no substitute. Given the increasing tendency for our social life to be online rather than face-to-face, having relaxed accessible venues where people can meet old friends and make new ones becomes ever more necessary.”

BRAIN DRAIN PR LAUNCHES

Rice Is Nice Records founder Julia Wilson and publicist Charlie Ellison have set up Brain Drain PR. Having started to help acts on the roster with their PR campaigns, the duo have now expanded it to other acts who want campaigns that “approach projects in a unique and artist-friendly manner, tailoring suitable campaigns for our clients”.

NSW RAVE CLOSED DOWN

Police are investigating whether Harry Holp, the promoter of Dalmorton’s In The Summertime festival, should be charged. It was shut down because it didn’t have the proper permits to be held on crown lands. An outcry on social media claimed that while the cops were laid-back, one was aggressive, pouring beer over a punter, tearing down a tent and confiscating a mobile phone that was filming. Coffs-Clarence Crime Manager, Detective Inspector Darren Jameson, denied any police brutality and said officers were confronted by a number of ‘”excessively violent” patrons. The rave attracted 100 people.

Lifelines Born: daughter, Lola Rose Emma, to McBusted’s Harry Judd and wife Izzy.

Ill: ongoing health issues have seen Gurrumul cancel his TRIBE2tribe east coast tour, originally scheduled for mid-February.

In Court: Peter Ling Zu Lessnau, who allegedly took $4,000 in advance by claiming he had booked Mark Ronson for a Perth gig the DJ knew nothing about, faces a hearing in May. He has already pleaded not guilty to fraud.

Sued: The Roots’ Questlove and Black Thought by their former bassist Leonard ‘Hub’ Hubbard, who alleges that he’s owed money from the band.

In Court: two years ago, a number of major labels and publishers took MP3Tunes founder Michael Robertson to court for infringing their copyright, with Robertson ordered to hand over US$15.8 million. The issue has now reached a federal appeals court, which will consider the liability of the company for allowing its users to upload music from third-party websites to storage lockers. Now speculation has grown that Robertson separated from his wife to hide some of his assets.

Died: seminal ’60s San Francisco psychedelic band Jefferson Airplane’s original vocalist Signe Anderson, on the same day as co-founder and guitarist Paul Kanter, both aged 74.

Died: singer Colin Vearncombe AKA Black, 53, best known for ‘Wonderful Life’ (1987). He was in a coma for a few days after a horror car crash in Ireland that left him with head injuries.

Died: bassist Jimmy Bain (Rainbow, Dio, Wild Horses), 68. Close friend and Last In Line colleague Viv Campbell said, “Jimmy’s struggles with his demons were well documented through the years, but over the last 18 months, he had finally won that battle.”

Died: the body of Hobart-born and Melbourne-based musician Karl von Bamberger (Eli & Bev, Horsemania) was found at Merri Creek in North Fitzroy after he had been missing for a time. Police are not treating the 37-year-old’s death as suspicious.

Died: NSW singer-songwriter and guitarist Dave Craswell after a lengthy battle with cancer.

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T

hey were the first-ever Australian band to hit number one on the triple j Hottest 100. Their hits have transcended pop and youth culture both here and abroad. They’re still one of the best damn live bands you’ll ever get the chance to see. From the streets of Finley in regional New South Wales to the main stage of Falls and back again, Spiderbait are one of those rare Australian bands that have crossed over from generation to generation and lived to tell the tale. It all began a quarter of a century ago, when those long-haired hopefuls wound up in the big smoke trying to score a gig.

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starting out again. It felt pretty incredible to go full circle like that.”

Aside from perhaps Wally ‘Gotye’ De Backer, Kram is unquestionably Australian music’s most famous singing drummer.

Watching him in the fl esh is a true spectacle, as many will attest – think of Animal from The Muppet Show if the little furry guy was also certifi ably nailing a highend wail without missing a beat.

It took a lot of practice for Kram to be able to get to that point of seemingly effortless multitasking – something he says he’s glad he stuck with, as it assisted in giving the band a unique angle and a firm identity.

“I’ve pretty much had the same set-up since the band started,” he says. “The mic has always come in from an angle on the left of my hi-hat, so that it doesn’t bleed into the drum mics and is easier to access. The kit itself has defi nitely changed a fair bit – the kind of kit I get around on now looks pretty heavy metal, actually, which is a lot of fun. I was defi nitely apprehensive about doing the double duty when I originally started out – I’d done it back in high school, as I was pretty confi dent in my abilities as a singer and as a drummer, but the bands I was kicking around with back then weren’t nearly as high-energy as what Spiderbait was. It took a bit of getting used to – I think my voice really had to learn how to catch up to the speed of my drumming.”

Spiderbait’s early releases – including their 1991 single, ‘Circle K’, their 1992 debut album

25 TO LIFE BY DAVID JAMES YOUNG

Shashavaglava and the even more unpronounceable EP P’tang Yang Kipper Bang-Uh from the same year – were all lo-fi, distortionheavy and fuelled by both youthful exuberance and punk-tinged brevity. For the band – completed by vocalist/bassist Janet English and lead guitarist Damian ‘Whit’ Whitty – it was all about playing as loudly and as quickly as they humanly could. Their appreciation for songcraft, as it would turn out, wasn’t to come until later on. “‘Scenester’ was probably the first song that I wrote for the band where it actually had some proper kind of structure,” says Kram with

“THE EARLY DAYS OF SPIDERBAIT PRETTY MUCH CONSISTED OF ME TRYING NOT TO PASS OUT WHEN WE PLAYED. I’D LIKE TO THINK WE’RE A BIT BETTER AT PACING OURSELVES THESE DAYS.”

a laugh. “You could actually even call it a song! Most of what we’d done up to writing that song was very jam-heavy. I said before about being unsure of doing the singer/drummer thing, and I think that’s very much refl ected in those early tracks – I’d be playing really fast and really crazy, only putting in a few lines of lyrics here and there to kind of give me a moment to catch my breath. The early days of Spiderbait pretty much consisted of me trying not to pass out when we played. I’d like to think we’re a bit better at pacing ourselves these days.”

A lot has happened for Spiderbait in the years since – they scored a huge breakthrough hit with a cover of Leadbelly’s ‘Black Betty’ in 2004, had the lion’s share of their albums score top 20 chart positions and picked up a whopping 19 ARIA nominations, winning two of them along the way. They returned to action in 2013 with a self-titled album and have toured at least once every year since. Next month’s tour, however, will be especially huge in the Spiderbait camp, as the trio are celebrating their 25th anniversary in style, playing some of the rooms they played when first coming to major attention.

With Perth hopefuls Tired Lion in tow, Kram is excited to share the band’s history with fans both old and new.

“We’re going to try and change it up every night,” he says. “When you’ve got as much music as us, there’s no way you can stick to just one setlist. We’ve got a lot of people that will be seeing us for the hundredth time, and a lot of people at their first show. We’ll

do our best to accommodate to everyone.”

So, with 25 years and counting under their belt, what keeps Spiderbait going after all this time? Kram takes a moment to think about the question, before affirming the bond between himself, English and Whit. For all the things that have changed in the world surrounding Spiderbait since their inception, they’re still the same slacker kids from Finley at heart.

“It’s our friendship, first and foremost,” he says. “We all grew up together in a small town in the middle of nowhere. We all have the same sense of humour, which you have to have in rock’n’roll.

It’s an extremely fi ckle and demoralising business if you take it too seriously. Living by your art can give you lots of ups and downs, but by the same token, it can also be really freeing and really liberating to do. You’re able to express yourself every time you write a song, or sing a song, or play live. It’s all at your fi ngertips.

“The core of Spiderbait’s whole existence is our friendship. We’re three very different personalities, and we’ve had our tough times. I think that’s why we mesh so well together still, after all this time.

We’ve survived any of those sort of obstacles. We’re still the same people and we’re still the same band, whether we’re playing to 20 people or 20,000.”

With: Tired Lion Where: Metro Theatre When: Saturday February 27

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Leftfield photo by Dan Wilton

“Our first gig ever was at the Tote in Melbourne,” recalls Mark ‘Kram’ Maher, the band’s drummer and co-lead vocalist, who now calls Byron Bay home. “Wally Kempton, who most people know as Wally Meanie, was booking the venue at the time. We just rocked up to town with our demo in hand and somehow managed to land a gig there. It’s weird, actually – the Tote is one of those venues that’s never really changed. You walk in there now and it’s more or less the exact same as when you walked in there back in 1990. It’s a very punk room with a very small stage, the kind of place where more loose and spontaneous bands could thrive. It suited us so well back then, so it’s funny to think about how we adapted to becoming a band that would play on the main stage of festivals. We were so used to rooms like the Tote. We actually got to play there again a few years back when it was threatened with being shut down, and it felt just like we were

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Alpine

Summer Lovin’ By Natalie Rogers stellar lineup of local, national and international acts such as Violent Soho, Art vs Science, The Delta Riggs, The Lazys, Holy Holy, Jack Beats, and of course The Strokes’ Hammond, Jr., cementing Mountain Sounds’ reputation as a well-run and highly anticipated event among music lovers on the Central Coast.

“We can’t wait to stay overnight,” Baker says. “I don’t like playing a gig and then having to leave.

It’s much nicer if you can stay, see all the bands and get involved in the action, and this festival is a great opportunity to do that.

“I love it when we play up north. Especially in the summertime when the frangipanis are in bloom. I spent some of my childhood in Vanuatu and we had frangipani flowers there, so whenever I see them it makes me so nostalgic and happy, and I feel at home. I love that holiday vibe.”

Despite Baker’s desire to whip up a few tequila cocktails and soak up the sun, she says 2016 may be Alpine’s busiest year yet. “At the end of last year we all got together for a little band meeting to assess where we were all at, and we all said we wanna keep doing this – we don’t want to stop. We were all on the same page, so there’s definitely no slowing down at this stage.”

A

lpine’s Phoebe Baker will only have one thing on her mind at this year’s Mountain Sounds Festival, and it’s not the fresh mountain air or the wide open spaces. “Maybe there will be a few romantic late-night jam sessions with Albert Hammond, Jr. – who knows?” she laughs. “Oh gosh, I would love

that! I would be like, ‘Hey Albert, come over to my tent. We’ve got some fruit and tequila.’”

If for some reason Baker’s plan doesn’t work out, she’ll surely find others willing to have a sing-along back at Alpine’s campsite. This year the event organisers have assembled a

Alpine, as we know them today, formed in 2009 via a musical game of six degrees of separation. Dual frontwomen Baker and Lou James are old school chums who have always sung together. Phil Tucker (drums) and Christian O’Brien (guitar) grew up together in the small township of Phillip Island. One day O’Brien overheard the girls’ hypnotic melodies and jumped at the chance to work with them.

Meanwhile, James attended university with Tim Royall (keys), and the girls met backpacker Ryan Lamb (bass) late one night at Melbourne’s Cherry Bar. Soon enough, the six decided that together they made a formidable musical team, and collaboration was the only way forward.

“Wow! That feels so long ago now,” Baker says.

“We’ve grown up a lot!”

Their debut album A Is For Alpine was released in 2012 to critical and commercial acclaim,

with their single ‘Gasoline’ reaching number 31 in triple j’s Hottest 100 of 2012. “That initial success helped me to overcome the shyness I felt at the time,” Baker admits. “I feel a lot less inhibited than I used to, and when it comes to writing and performing, that’s so liberating.”

Their follow-up album of last year, Yuck, showcases the sextet’s new-found confidence.

Guided once again by producer and friend Dann Hume (with O’Brien taking on a co-production role), Alpine created a sexy and sophisticated musical mash-up inspired by their individual influences. “We’re not just into pop,” explains Baker. “We like rock’n’roll, psychedelic, glam, reggae, R&B, and we listen to a lot of hip hop on the road.”

Lyrically, Baker and James explore a range of emotions on Yuck, and it’s easy to be drawn in by their gorgeous harmonies. Feelings of lust, heartbreak, jealousy and confusion are put under the microscope. “It feels so good to have the freedom to say what you’re thinking,” says Baker.

Lead single ‘Foolish’ recently came in 57th in the triple j Hottest 100 of 2015. Now, determined to continue their winning streak (and eventually break the top ten of that prestigious countdown), Baker says Alpine are already working on new music.

“We’ve started writing and we’re excited to create new sounds – a third album is definitely on the cards for this year. Then hopefully we’ll get to spend the rest of the time playing shows.

Our favourite thing is to be on the road. We will do anything – we’ll get naked!” she jokes. “Just kidding – only in the dark if we’re skinnydipping.”

What: Mountain Sounds Festival 2016 With: Albert Hammond, Jr., Violent Soho, Art vs Science, The Delta Riggs, The Lazys and more Where: Mt Penang Parklands, Kariong When: Saturday February 20 And: Yuck out now through Ivy League

Allen Stone Centre Of The Circle By Augustus Welby

A

llen Stone’s first two records were steeped in the soul and R&B blueprint laid by the likes of Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Al Green. Of course, they wore the imprint of his outlook – that of a 20-something white boy from Washington State – but he nevertheless leant heavily on his influences. After dropping two albums in quick succession, there was a lengthy wait for Stone’s third LP, Radius, which arrived at last in May 2015. If the title is viewed symbolically, the album finds Stone zeroing in on the core of his artistry.

“We wanted to sit down and try to find a signature sound,” he says.

“That’s what we set out to do, me and my producer [Magnus Tingsek]. New textures, new feel, new warmth.”

Indeed, Stone’s quest to find a signature sound didn’t simply result in a bolder iteration of 2010’s Last To Speak and 2011’s Allen Stone.

“You definitely always want to try and reinvent your sound,” he says. “For me personally as an artist, I always want to reinvent myself when I do music. I always want every album to sound different and to have their own time and place. Not only in my life, but hopefully in the life of the listeners, where you can go back and the textures on the album remind you of smells or memories or moments that you were surrounded by at that time. I always want to sound as different from what’s going on in the music industry as possible, just so that I can maybe be a blip of time in people’s lives.”

It’d make sense for all songwriters to have this view. However, commerce often impedes upon one’s truest creative ambitions. Rather than chasing down sounds that can’t be

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easily categorised, songwriters are instructed to cohere with what’s commercially relevant. In the wake of his self-titled LP, Stone inked a deal with the major label Capitol Records.

Despite this, he wasn’t too worried how Radius might be received by existing fans.

“There was definitely concern from the people who make a living off my records,” he says. “I definitely got push back from almost every corner, besides my management and my producer. It’s a tough balance, because I love travelling, I love playing music, and in order to do that it takes Caesar’s money. But I try my best to separate myself from that dialogue as much as possible because I do think it is extremely constricting to have people [saying], ‘Oh, but did you hear the new Bruno Mars track, Al? Maybe you should do a song like Sam Smith.’ That was kind of the rhetoric coming from the label for a good amount of that. And I understand it – those guys have jobs, they have families, they have egos, they have all this stuff. I think as an artist you’ve got to do your best to have people that protect you from that. I have some really good people that help protect me from that.

Because I tell you what, that stuff can make you just want to hang the gloves up and never swing again.”

Radius distinguishes itself from Stone’s first two records right from its opening track. The punchy production and sense of freedom conveyed by the chorus of ‘Perfect World’ indicates we’re in for something more unique this time around. As the record progresses, it touches on funk, soul, R&B, melancholic balladry, folk and hip hop. Throughout, however, it’s rooted in pop structure and melody.

“It’s definitely a pop record,” Stone agrees. “No matter how much whoever thinks it’s not, it’s definitely a pop record. I grew up on pop music. I grew up on Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On, and Ray Charles. These cats, even though super brilliant, they were pop writers. My producer grew up on The Beatles.”

While he initially owns up to writing a pop record, Stone has a few misgivings about the nature of the term. “What is pop music though?

What the fuck is pop music? I still haven’t been able to figure it out.

Gotye could come out with a song that’s the biggest song in the world for three years, and if it wouldn’t have been the biggest song in three years everybody would’ve been like, ‘Well I don’t think that’s pop enough, Gotye.’ So the whole pop discussion for me is so moot. It’s just like busybody industry people.

“I don’t get it. I don’t get the word ‘pop’. For me, I just try to write music that makes me feel good and makes me think, and I want people to feel that same thing.

You can call it pop, you can call it fucking labour music. I don’t give a fuck what you call it, as long as you listen to it and you feel something.”

What: Bluesfest 2016 With: The National, Tom Jones, Kendrick Lamar, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds and many more Where: Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm When: Thursday March 24 – Monday March 28 And: Also appearing at the Factory Theatre on Wednesday March 30

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Porches Making A Splash By Tegan Reeves subconsciously regurgitate these things in a way.”

Only three weeks ago, Pitchfork named ‘Be Apart’ as its Best New Track for the week – a feat that would excite even the most accomplished of artists. The song, which was mixed

by Chris Coady in LA, has been described as one of the more upbeat creations from Maine, who tends to revel in the more sombre confines of a sound.

“I do tend to pay attention to reviews, for better or for worse. I was so excited when I read that Pitchfork article. I’m a bit discerning when I read reviews, but with something like that I have a hard time not reading it, and because it was under the title Best New Track, I figured that they would more than likely have something nice to say.”

P

orches, not to be confused with Sydney electro outfit Porsches, is the name of the melancholic synth-driven project from Aaron Maine.

The New Yorker has been releasing music under this moniker for the past five years, and his latest album Pool has been eagerly anticipated by music critics and fans across the globe.

“I recorded demos for a year and a half and then I started over, so I think it took about seven months after that to mix it and finish it,” Maine says. “I worked on Pool basically every day for those seven months. I get pretty immersed in the whole recording process. I recorded 90 per cent of it in

my apartment in New York, and I did some of the live tracks – the drums and vocals – at a friend’s studio.”

Porches isn’t the only moniker under which Maine works. He uses the alias Ronald Paris to release a style of music that is much more experimental than that of Porches, relishing in the freedom that another pseudonym can provide.

“I think it feels good to work on different projects using a name as a clean slate,” says Maine. “When I want something to be set aside from everything else, it helps me to do it under a different name. I called the

project Porches five years ago and I don’t remember why. I don’t think there was ever any significance in it, I just liked how it sounded and looked at the time.”

Maine’s musical inspirations aren’t exactly what you’d expect – they differ greatly to the sounds he produces under the Porches label. “I grew up listening to a lot of The Beatles. My mum would listen to Annie Lennox, Steely Dan and a lot of classical music. In my teens I listened to a heap of The Strokes. These artists definitely influenced the direction of my own music, probably more melodically than anything else. I guess we all

‘Be Apart’ is the latest song to be released from the upcoming album, and is accompanied by a cleverly constructed film clip from director Daniel Brereton. The video pans around a mansion, providing snapshots into the lives of its residents – it makes even the most everyday actions like vacuum cleaning look eloquent and artistic.

“Daniel Brereton is amazing,” Maine says. “The label actually suggested that we work with him while we were in London. It was a crazy thing to be making the video clip in London, but it turned out to be amazing. Brereton and I collaborated and I think he really understood what I was going for. It was such a treat.

“We only had one day to shoot it, so I knew that it had to be shot at one strong location so we weren’t wasting time running between places. I had a basic idea of what we wanted for

the video, so I sent him a bunch of references and then he came back to me with a timeline with some more specific scenarios. It ended up being a pretty solid collaboration.”

Another notable partnership is that between Maine and his girlfriend Frankie Cosmos (AKA Greta Simone Kline), whose vocals feature heavily on the latest Porches release.

“Frankie Cosmos was in the band while I was making the album, and she’s probably featured more than any other guest,” Maine explains. “It’s nice that Frankie and I have that twoway collaboration. We live together and are constantly bouncing ideas off each other; the constructive criticism between us is such a good thing. A lot of the time we are so busy, and that can be really stressful, especially when both of us are dealing with the more stressful parts of a career in music, but it’s also really great support.”

Maine isn’t entirely sure about what the future holds for the Porches project, but this is no cause for concern – not when he has the freedom to switch between monikers and wipe the slate clean.

“I imagine that the next album I do will be under the Porches title, but maybe in between that time there will be something else by Ronald Paris, perhaps something a little more experimental. I’ve been recording a lot since finishing the album and I have a pile of songs accruing.

Once you make a batch of songs it’s easy to know where they belong, whether it’s Porches, Ronald Paris or something else.”

What: Pool out Friday February 5 through Domino/EMI

Janiva Magness Love Always Wins By Tegan Reeves

T

he interview with Janiva Magness doesn’t get off to the greatest start after my Australian pronunciation of her name comes off more like ‘Geneva’ instead of the correct ‘Jenn-e-vah’. Graceful as ever, Magness laughs it off, proving herself to be the personable character that her music so vividly portrays. The past year has been a busy one for Magness, nearing the completion of recording for her 12th studio album, maintaining a substantial touring schedule and earning the title of Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year at the US Blues Music Awards.

“I am always honoured to be nominated for Blues Music Awards; that’s the fifth one of those that I’ve won, and it’s still equally as exciting as the first time,” she says.

“It’s such a huge honour to be held up for that nomination and that win, especially when I’ve been so busy finishing up my latest record.

There’s always a tremendous amount of decisions and deadlines – it’s crunch time at the moment.

I’ve really been focused on getting this record done.”

“I think I have a different perspective in what fame really is. I would say I’m a terribly successful person and apparently I’m getting some level of fame later in my career, and I’m grateful for that, and I’m grateful for thebrag.com

Fame isn’t something that most musicians find easy to talk about, and Magness is hesitant to admit that she’s achieved it, but recounts an anecdote that might suggest otherwise.

“I had a very fun thing happen today.

I was on a phone call earlier, and you know how a lot of customer service centres are outsourced to other countries? Well, I was on the phone to a customer service agent, a lovely young man who went by the name Hermann from Mumbai, India, and he was verifying the spelling of my name, so I spelt it out for him, and he said to me, ‘That’s so funny, you have the same name as this singer.’ And [I said], ‘Who’s that?’ and he replied to me, ‘A blues singer – Janiva Magness.’

Then I told him that was me and he was completely gobsmacked.

It was so funny because I was just calling him in relation to a personal bank account, nothing to do with my music. He couldn’t believe he was talking to me and I was thinking, ‘I can’t believe that somebody in Mumbai knows who I am.’”

Magness has a strong relationship with her fans. In mid-2014, she penned them an open latter, opening with the words: “I have been blessed with a wonderful career as a blues artist, but lately I’m a bit of a basket case.” The letter went on to give reasons for her departure from Alligator Records and the decision to release her first album made up of entirely original tracks.

“I did three records with Alligator Records over the course of six years, and they’re a fantastic label and a magnifi cent family and I’m very grateful for the time I spent with them,” she says, “but ultimately it was time to move on.

I would have never been able to release [2014 album] Original with them – I had to do it completely autonomously, and it turned out to be the right move, but it was defi nitely a leap of faith. It was very stressful, it was very exciting, but there is no question in my mind that it turned out to be the right move. My fans were so excited and exhilarated by the new music that I was making, and they really embraced and supported the entire move.”

It’s this level of honesty that endears Magness to her followers, as she has openly spoken about her troubled upbringing, having been orphaned in her teens and

subsequently found herself living on the streets. Magness has used her success to give back to the foster care community that provided her the chance to turn her life around.

“I’m a spokesperson for Casey Family Programs here in the States for a program they have called National Foster Care Month, and I am also part of the Foster Care Alumni of America.

All of these organisation focus on fulfi lling the need and helping and aiding at-risk youths in the foster care system. The reason I do this is because I have a debt that can never be repaid. When I was young, I was in a lot of trouble, and there were a small handful of people that actually stood up for me when I couldn’t stand up for myself, and it turned out to change the entire trajectory of my life. You never know when a simple act of kindness can

change the life path of a kid, and I am living proof of that.”

Magness is clearly excited at the prospect of travelling to Australia this March for Bluesfest, which will coincide with the release of new album Love Wins Again.

“We’re going to be debuting the new record at Bluesfest in Byron Bay. It comes out late March and it’s got quite a heavy Australian connection on it – I collaborated with a few Australian songwriters,” she says. “I’m really excited.”

What: Bluesfest 2016 With: The National, Tom Jones, Kendrick Lamar, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds and many more Where: Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm When: Thursday March 24 – Monday March 28

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Mystery Jets photo by EmmaSwann

Magness found fame relatively late in life, releasing her first album More Than Live at the age of 34.

It wasn’t until her sixth LP, 2004’s Bury Him At The Crossroads, that she was signed to a label and began to gain some recognition for her work. The Detroit singer expresses her gratitude for the perspective she’s gained by finding fame at a later stage in life.

the timing of that, because I think I’m a lot calmer than I used to be.

Consequently, because I’m older, I think it’s more natural for me to take things in my stride.”

Jess Ribeiro The Write Stuff By Adam Norris friends with The Wombats. He was explaining it like, ‘You want to cook a nice meal for your friends, so you make this beautiful meal and you feel satisfied, you feel full and you’re in good company, you go to bed.

Then you wake up again the next day, and you have to eat something else again.’ I think that’s a bit like music. Sometimes you make a good meal, and other times it’s really shit. You just have to keep going, because you always have to keep eating.”

It’s a neat analogy, and rather inspiring in its way. It suggests judging achievement not only from your most immediate project, but the endeavour yet to come. For Ribeiro, the foundation of this future is still very much being shaped. There are new songs to wrangle (“I have loose sketches all over the place,” she says), upcoming performances alongside Darren Hanlon, as well as a growing desire to start branching into other forms of writing.

J

ess Ribeiro is in fine spirits for someone who had intended to cancel our conversation. It’s nothing personal, the former Darwin teacher assures me; rather, after an intense six months of rehearsals, touring and writing, the exhaustion has finally caught up with her.

Despite feeling rundown, Ribeiro is still set to dive headlong into another string of tour dates, including gigs at Manly’s Hotel Steyne and Newtown Social Club. It’s been a wild ride, but Ribeiro isn’t one to rest on past laurels.

“I really don’t like looking back. Even if it’s something that I did last week, I’m like, ‘Oh, God,”’ she laughs.

“Because it’s always different to how it felt being there in the present. I mean, I should, and sometimes I do wonder, ‘Hmm, maybe I should become more theatrical,’ and if I look back on it I can learn some kind of technique for the stage, because I’m not necessarily the most vivacious person at times. But last year I took the approach of, ‘Well, OK, we’ll do something, and then it’s probably best not to look back. Let’s just keep going.’”

Ribeiro’s second album, Kill It Yourself, arrived mid-last year and instantly became a fan and critical favourite. It’s little wonder, given that Ribeiro is penning some of the

sharpest, most expressive lyrics out there right now. Following 2012’s My Little River, it is not so much a departure from her debut sound as an evolution; a term that many artists will casually drop into conversation, but one that suits Ribeiro well. Yet discussing her music in terms of progression is a difficult ask. The exuberance of a new release seems an exciting, albeit ephemeral experience.

“I don’t know, it’s done. It’s over.

That’s it now. It was so much fun to play shows and reconnect with audiences, to connect with new people … I was talking to a French man the other day who is

“I’d love to be a playwright, and I’d love to write a book. I’d love to write a children’s book – that’s always been in the back of my mind, especially this year. I wonder how long it would take … I just love stories. I’ve been talking about it for ten years, and I’ve written a draft. It’s interesting how you meet people who will weave in and out of your life. I remember meeting Shaun Tan, and I have an overview, but it’s just a matter of sitting down and finishing it. And then afterwards there’s another story I’d like to work on, and another after that.

“I’ve been invited to be a part of the Rock & Roll Writers Festival in Brisbane later in the year,” she adds, “and I was really kind of flattered, but also thought, ‘Why are you guys inviting me at all? Do I fit?’ I really just love being around writers.”

Ribeiro’s literary exposure certainly shines across her lyrics. Sometimes sweet, sometimes savage, her words evoke a sense of place and character that brings to mind the stories of Paul Kelly, Nick Cave or her own musical hero, Patti Smith. This allows each song to stand on its own feet, yet you can’t help but feel that across both albums, we are hearing vignettes of Ribeiro’s own development. An evolution in song must overlap with an evolution in the artist, and this latest chapter in Ribeiro’s life will surely provide the catalyst for whatever change comes next.

“I feel like we’ve gone in a heavier, rockier vibe. [At] Newtown Social Club we’ll be playing with Jack Colwell and The Jon Dorys, and I’m really excited. I’ve wanted to play a gig with them for a long time. I’m always interested in all other kinds of artists. I’ve written songs based on Van Gogh paintings, things like that. The cover of the record was inspiration from Cindy Sherman, who’s an American photographer who I love. I wish I was a painter; I would love that. Paint stories. But I’m sure you could turn any story into a song. You could turn Star Wars into a song. Oh my God, I could write a song for the next Star Wars movie! I actually had that thought straight after the movie in the cinema bathroom. I heard one of the songs playing and thought, ‘You know, that’s pretty cool. Maybe I could do that too.’”

What: Kill It Yourself out now through Barely Dressed/Remote Control With: The Buffalo Grass Boys Where: Moonshine, Hotel Steyne When: Thursday February 11 And: Also appearing at Newtown Social Club on Friday February 12

Nevermen Unfaithful By David James Young

N

o leaders, no genre boundaries, no rules, no gods, no masters… welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to Nevermen.

The dark, experimental and hiphop-flavoured tunes of Nevermen’s eponymous debut album come from a rich history of genre-hopping and a taste for the avant-garde, guided along by the sum of the band’s parts: TV On The Radio frontman Tunde Adebimpe; Clouddead alum and the founder of Anticon, Adam ‘Doseone’ Drucker; and the man of a thousand voices and at least a hundred projects, Mike Patton. The Faith No More singer was drawn to working with Adebimpe and Drucker for one reason and one reason only: they were weirdos, just like him.

“I think I was in the middle of making a Fantômas record when the engineer threw on a Clouddead record while we were having a break,” Patton recalls. “It completely cleared my ears out – I was like, ‘What the fuck is this?’ The engineer told me they were from my neck of the woods, and I knew I had to seek [Drucker] out and meet him. It wasn’t long after that when my wife happened to buy a TV On The Radio record – it was the first one, actually [2004’s Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes] – and we were driving around with it playing all the time. It really stood out to me. I had another ‘What the fuck is this?’ moment. I think they’re good ones to have. You know you’ve found people on your radar then – they’re the ones you want to go out of your way for.”

Both Patton and Drucker have a comprehensive history of side projects and working with other people. Since the turn of the century, 16 :: BRAG :: 648 :: 03:02:16

we have heard from Patton in guises as varied as the aforementioned Fantômas, the alt-hop of Peeping Tom, the bizarre Italian pop of Mondo Cane, heavy-hitters Tomahawk, and even a new Faith No More record, last year’s Sol Invictus.

Drucker, too, has worked on video game soundtracks, teamed up with fellow hip hop outsiders like Why? and served time in groups like Themselves, 13 & God and Deep Puddle Dynamics. By contrast, Adebimpe has never made an album outside TV On The Radio. It’s put to Patton that Adebimpe was somehow an outlier in the process of making Nevermen, but he strongly disagrees.

“I’ve always thought of Tunde as a kindred spirit,” he says. “He might not have done an album that’s a collaboration before, but he’s a very collaborative personality. He loves working with other people. He does it in music, he does it in movies, he does it in animation. I don’t think he’s any less experienced in musical adultery than Dose or I. The way I see it, we’re all on pretty equal ground. That’s why we’ve been saying this trio doesn’t have a leader – it’s just as much Tunde and Dose as it is me.”

Patton has been a serial collaborator since arriving on the scene in the mid-’80s. He shows no signs of slowing down, mentioning that he has even more projects in the works as soon as Nevermen finish touring in support of the album later on this year. So what draws Patton to a new project? He testifies it’s all about growing and evolving as a musician – even if you’re at a supposed veteran status, there’s still plenty more to discover.

“I think working with other people keeps the blood flowing and it keeps the mind sharp,” he says. “For the most part, I’m still learning on the job as I shift from album to album, song to song, project to project. I’ve been doing this something like 30 years and I’m still learning every single time I make a record. Nevermen was no different – I’d never put anything like this together before. We had no direction and no clear-cut intent of what we wanted out of working together – I think we were just excited by the prospect of it happening. We’d have two minutes’ worth of ideas, which would expand into five, which would lead to another song, then another, then another… there was no

agenda. It was a learning process for all of us in regards to how the other approaches music and how they see things. No-one was telling anyone what to do – we were just figuring it out as we went.”

With Nevermen now released to the world, all three (never)men will soon take breaks from their quote-unquote ‘day jobs’ and take the album out on the road across North America.

Patton is asked whether he would be interested in bringing the project down to Australia – as he has done for nearly everything he’s worked on in the past – and, as he shakes the proverbial Magic 8-Ball, the odds are looking favourable.

“I see no reason why we wouldn’t,” says Patton. “We all love it there. The only problems are getting in your country and getting out. Everything else is perfect.”

The band was actually supposed to be out on tour right now, but a lack of preparation prevented it from happening. “We kinda jumped the shark a little bit…” Patton pauses, questions himself and clarifies. “I meant jump the gun.” He laughs, “Geez, could you imagine if we’d jumped the shark?”

What: Nevermen out now through ADA/Warner

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Battles Focused Aggression By Augustus Welby and of itself to let a line play without the thesis-antithesis thing going on.’

We would always set something up to sort of wreck it – like, ‘Here’s a nice little thing,’ and then we’d have something step on it. This was just trying to let things flow a bit.”

It’s a cliché to say, but Battles are exemplars of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. On La Di Da Di, there’s equal importance assigned to all three members’ contributions, as opposed to one person’s input taking centre stage.

Internally, the songs came together without having to nominate a creative director.

I

n the lead-up to Battles’ second LP, Gloss Drop, the band found itself down one member, with vocalist Tyondai Braxton leaving midway through the process.

Although Braxton had played a key role on Battles’ first album, Mirrored, the remaining three members persevered and created an excellent release that featured guest vocalists on four songs. However, despite Gloss Drop’s success, the future still looked uncertain. Undeterred, Battles returned last year with their third record, La Di Da Di – their first entirely instrumental album and their most consistent effort to date.

an album with some singing on it, because the stuff before had been instrumental [EPC and B EP, both in 2004]. So it was like, ‘Oh, there’s singing. Surprise.’ Then I think on Gloss Drop we felt like, ‘Oh, other people are singing. Surprise.’ La Di Da Di, it was like, ‘Oh, we made an instrumental record again and there’s no singing. Surprise.’

According to guitarist and keyboardist Ian Williams, La Di Da Di’s instrumental constitution wasn’t such a stretch. “In a way, on Mirrored the surprise was that we actually made

There is a wonderful amount of space to the album arrangements, deployed with resolute comfort by Williams, drummer John Stanier and guitarist/bassist Dave Konopka. At

“There are a lot of ways we can be ourselves, and what Battles can be.

We didn’t have to do it this way, but it felt good to make an instrumental record and have a little more space in the music.”

the same time, not only is the playing tight and technically proficient, but everything on La Di Da Di is precisely produced. It goes without saying that the songs don’t always come together as comfortably and spaciously as they finish up.

“With our older material, it was like traffic conducting,” says Williams. “It was like figuring out traffic patterns and, like, ‘Well, this has to go here, therefore this has to pull back to make room for it.’ It was about how to fit all the stuff in. I think [on] this one we didn’t have to worry about that too much. There was more opportunity just to let the thing play itself out; let the melody figure out what it was. It used to be like more point-counterpoint, back and forth like an argument. This one was like, ‘Let’s just see if it’s interesting in

“I’ve always liked the idea of music that was about relationships between parts – you can feel the bass and the drum together, and the guitar, and it’s all locking together. The inner movement of machine parts together, functioning to create the whole. I like that harmony that gets found when things coexist without the leader.

People often find that they find more emotion and meaning in music when there’s the lead singer telling you a story about his girlfriend who left him, or when there’s the guitar solo with the guy wailing on a single note. But I find there’s nice emotion, actually, in a relationship between parts, which is a little more abstract emotion.

“The band functions like a creative democracy or something like that.

We try to make it so that everybody’s into a jam, into the vibe of something, and we build something off of that. It’s confusing.”

Confusion mightn’t seem like the most practical songwriting accomplice, but Williams values the element of mystery it brings. “I’ve

often felt if the process is too simple, the results I come up with are too simple. I find it’s interesting to feel like you’re just on the edge of disaster a lot. Like, ‘I’m not sure if this is going to work or not.’ It means you’re truly exploring as opposed to doing that thing you know you know how to do.”

On the subject of exploration, given La Di Da Di is completely instrumental and there’s a jazzy sense of adventure permeating the record, Battles might be expected to be a jam band onstage. However, their studio recordings contain plenty of essential elements that are preserved in the live show.

“We stick to the album versions as a blueprint. We do jam a little. But, at least in the United States, [the term ‘jam band’] has a lot of connotations of the Grateful Dead and Phish and all the bands in that world. Like, ‘As long as it’s got a beat and I can shake my hips to it and take drugs it’s fine with me.’ I really don’t think that’s the kind of trip we’re on. I feel like we’re still this punk band that’s evolved from that family tree, like a few decades down the branch. Our excursions are still this more focused aggression, as opposed to just taking acid and going for it.”

What: Laneway Festival 2016 With: Chvrches, Grimes, Flume, Beach House and many more Where: Sydney College of the Arts When: Sunday February 7 And: Also appearing at Manning Bar on Wednesday February 10 More: La Di Da Di out now through Warp/Inertia

Dappled Cities Timing Is Everything By Daniel Prior

P

erfect timing is something Dappled Cities have become well versed in. With a career spanning over a decade, the Sydneysiders have continually outdone themselves with each release, both in terms of following and critical acclaim. Tim Derricourt laughs as he explains his thoughts on why the band has stuck together for so long when so many others fall apart in half that time.

“It’s probably a healthy amount of self-delusion. I think Australia is a place where when a band reaches a certain point, a certain age or when you’re not playing the same kind of stuff that’s on radio, then you quit.

You say, ‘Well, obviously we’re not relevant anymore, let’s not make music,’ and I think we’ve always taken cues from bands like Wilco and those long-lasting American acts who keep putting out records and push themselves regardless of whether it would be commercially viable for them to keep going. I think the reason we stick together is because of a certain amount of self-delusion, thinking that so long as we’re happy we can keep making music.”

But where some bands burn brightly and fade swiftly, Dappled Cities have been as steady and consistent as daylight. From their early beginnings and release of their debut album A Smile, Dappled Cities have maintained a steady pace and grown with each new venture in the music world.

“That’s probably one of the benefits of starting out very small – you’ve at least got somewhere to go,” says Derricourt. “If it’s not an absolute world-banger, you can only go up.

So we’ve been lucky in that way, in that we can go, ‘Oh wow, people like what we’re doing, and if they

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followed us there, let’s see if they’ll follow us to this next stop.’”

In 2012, the next stop for the band was Lake Air, winning a host of awards and national praise. Almost four years on and Dappled Cities are preparing to release their fifth studio album in the middle of this year, once again seeing them depart from one sound on which they gambled and succeeded to try their hand at another. In the meantime, they’ll preview the material at a one-off showcase this week.

“It is nerve-wracking, to tell you the truth,” Derricourt says. “To be honest, there isn’t a single song on this next record that sounds similar to anything on Lake Air. I think that often is quite hard for a fan, but on the other hand, your fans demand of you new and fresh sounds, I think particularly for a band like us.”

The time between Lake Air and the band’s next release was used wisely, both in personal and creative ways. “After Lake Air, there was a baby born in the band, and Dave [Rennick, co-frontman] and I went off and did our own solo adventures.

The songs we were wanting to write meant we needed to take a break from where Dappled was heading from the past couple of albums. We needed to find new ways to write.

And for us, that involved basically going away from each other for a little bit or having new collaborations and that sort of thing. So it was a mix of having some personal time, but also using that time to try and find a new way to make an album that meant something to us.”

While the band members explored music in their own new ways, the heart and soul of Dappled Cities remained true, never striving to force a particular sound but instead

opening things up to what came organically.

“When I write a song, I don’t really have a choice in what it’s going to sound like,” says Derricourt. “The melody emerges and the sound and the rhythm and everything just gushes out. So the song, stylistically, is kind of tied down to whatever first emerges. But then when we get together as a band, that’s kind of when you have influences, like, ‘Oh, we’ve been listening to this awesome Doobie Brothers record and the chorus harmonies are sounding really good on it, maybe we can expand the song with something like that.’ That does enter into it a little bit in the rehearsal stage, but we certainly don’t set out seeking a sound – everything emerges as we begin to work on it together.”

With patience, creativity and openness, Dappled Cities grew from a bunch of high school friends playing instruments in their bedrooms into a band beloved

by Sydney and beyond. And still Dappled Cities grow upwards and outwards, their past successes and failures fuelling their new projects and ideas. Derricourt volunteers the one thing that has changed the most for him.

“I would arrogantly say that I am saying more important things now than when I was young. I feel that the emotional realms that I’m singing about are being expressed better than when I was younger – some might feel differently, but I feel I’m a better songwriter now.

I’m saying things how I want to say them. In some sense, I do feel like there’s a greater depth to what

we’re saying on this record. But I guess that comes with experience and age in some way.

“We had an amazing ten years of touring the world and putting out records and seeing amazing things, from which you can write about, whereas when we were young and left high school we could only write about what we know, like, ‘Oh, I’m sad about living at home, I want to move out of my parents’ place.’ That’s not really the lyrical content of those records, I should point out, but you get the picture.”

With: Hedge Fund, Phantastic Ferniture Where: Newtown Social Club When: Friday February 5

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arts news...what's goin' on around town... with Anita Connors and Joseph Earp

GERALDINE HAKEWILL FROM THE PRIDE

Y

ou’re appearing as part of The Pride at Eternity Playhouse during the 2016 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.

What can you tell us about the play?

The Pride is a beautifully written play by British writer and actor Alexi Kaye Campbell. It is set across two time periods in London – 1958 and the present day – and it follows two parallel love triangles. In 1958 we meet a married couple, Philip and Sylvia, who are trying to come to terms with Philip’s homosexuality after he falls in love with one of Sylvia’s male friends, Oliver. In the present day we follow a gay couple – Philip and Oliver – as they try and repair a relationship that is falling apart because Oliver is struggling with a sex addiction. These two stories intertwine and speak to each other, allowing us to explore how the experience of being gay in the 1950s has informed what it’s like to be gay in the present day.

Why is it important these stories are told in theatre today?

If you mean stories surrounding homosexuality, I think it’s important we are telling these stories in theatre – and through all forms of art – because we still have a lot of fear and repression

After a sell-out run and Herald Angel Award at the 2014 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Australian choreographer Caroline Bowditch presents Falling In Love With Frida in Western Sydney.

This intimate performance explores the life, loves and legacy of the disabled Mexican artist Frida Kahlo (1907–1954).

At the same time, it invites the audience to challenge their ideas around disability, sexuality and humanity. An allwoman show, Falling In Love With Frida draws parallels between Frida’s life and Bowditch’s own, both having lived with disability for a large portion of their lives.

The play is at Riverside Theatres on Friday March 4 and Saturday March 5.

Falling In Love With Frida

You’re also set to appear in the new Channel 7 series Wanted. You must have high hopes for your year ahead?

I must admit that I’m pretty excited about 2016.

SUPER BOWL, SUPER DEALS

Holcombe Waller

Ever wanted to be on three continents at the same time? No, us neither, but it sounds pretty cool now you start to think about it, right? The Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation in Paddington is to serve as the home for a new exhibition from Mikhael Subotzky titled WYE. Subotzky, an internationally renowned artist, filmed the work in South Africa, Australia and Britain, and the piece is largely concerned with folding this separate time zones and narratives into a single story. It’s sure to be a pretty special event for both seasoned veterans of modern art and those with only a passing

Triple 9 opens in cinemas on Thursday March 3, but we’re giving BRAG readers the chance to see it early.

To be in the running for one of 15 double passes to the preview screening at Event Cinemas George Street on Tuesday February 23, head to thebrag. com/freeshit.

HE WIL BE THERE

Aussie comic favourite Wil Anderson is heading back to the Sydney Opera House this April with his brand new show, Fire At Wil. The one-night-only gig follows up last year’s international tour Free Wil, a sideshow all about Australian politics called Political Wil, the DVD release of his show Willuminati, and the return of his smash hit show The Gruen Transfer to the ABC. For the past two years, the award-winning comedian has been splitting his time between Australia and Los Angeles, but Anderson will be back on home soil at the Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House come Thursday April 7.

MIKHAEL SUBOTZKY AT SHERMAN

Wil Anderson

DAY FOR NIGHT IS BACK

Day For Night: 24HRS is an exploration and celebration of queer culture that will see a host of artists presenting work across a number of disciplines. Carriageworks, in association with Performance Space, has announced the return of the two-day showcase of queer art and culture. This year’s mini-festival is set to be bigger than ever, with internationally renowned musician Holcombe Waller set to unveil his new work, Requiem Mass: LGBT/ Working Title, a eulogy for all those who have suffered from LGBTrelated persecution over the years.

Other highlights include a set from Stereogamous, a lecture from acclaimed academic Madison Moore and an art piece provided by local talent Cigdem Aydemir. Day For Night: 24 HRS takes place Saturday February 20 and Sunday February 21.

interest in the subject, given its subject matter has a wider appeal few modern exhibitions can lay claim to these days. WYE opens at the Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation on Thursday March 17 and runs through till Saturday May 21.

PUTTIN’ ON THE RITZ

Get ready to laugh your farce off with a play more determinedly nutty than an elephant’s dinner. New Theatre, in association with the

Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, has announced the debut Australian production of Terrence McNally’s The Ritz as part of its 2016 season. An uproarious mess, The Ritz centres around a put-upon businessman on the run from the mob, who finds himself in a seedy Manhattan bathhouse populated by “chubby chasers, go-go boys, bumbling detectives, gay orgies and a Bette Midler wannabe with dreams of Broadway fame”. It’s gloriously unhinged stuff, as the above description probably suggests, so it is the duty of all those looking for some ribald, ‘should I be laughing at this?’ laughs to jump on tickets. The Ritz plays from Tuesday February 16 – Saturday March 5. thebrag.com

Holcombe Waller photo by Zoë Ghertner

Fat On Purpose is a sketch, caberet and burlesque show with a difference. Presented

by Mantaur, the former NSW Theatresports champions and Australia’s representatives at the Theatresports World Cup 2015, it brings together an eclectic collection of Sydney’s best comedians and performers, all to be backed by a four-piece gypsy jazz/folk band.

Performers include Robert Johnson, Harrison Milas and Sarah Gaul. Fat On Purpose takes over Giant Dwarf Theatre on Tuesday February 9.

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What: The Pride Where: Eternity Playhouse When: Friday February 5 – Sunday March 6

It’s Super Bowl time: AKA the chance for us all to get deeply invested in another country’s culture while ignoring our own. Yee-haw! The Good Beer Company, owners of the Dove & Olive and Keg & Brew in Surry Hills, and The Dog in Randwick, have announced they will be hosting a series of themed Super Bowl events at each of their venues. There will be special food served up on the day, with mouth-watering morsels like cheesy gravy chips, American-style hot dogs and brekky rolls making a welcome addition to the regular menus. So get ready to clog up your arteries and watch a bunch of burly dudes chase a bit of tanned pig around a lot of grass. If you’re wondering, the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers are the teams lining up on the day. The 2016 Super Bowl will hit screens across Sydney on Monday February 8.

Mantaur

FAT ON PURPOSE

I had a great 12 months last year of working on projects that I am really, really proud of and I’m nervous but mostly thrilled to be finally sharing them with an audience. Wanted was such an exciting job to be a part of and I hope people enjoy watching it. My highest hope is that I can keep working with the same sorts of inspiring and challenging people that I have over the past year, and keep telling stories that are important and fun to make.

Falling In Love With Frida photo by Anthony Hopwood

FALLING IN LOVE WITH FRIDA

surrounding homosexuality to let go of as a society and as a world. We’re getting there, slowly but surely. I think theatre can be a tool to educate and question through entertainment, and I think we have a responsibility to tell stories that help the world move forward and away from prejudice. Any kind of prejudice.

Were you surprised to learn how attitudes to love and sexuality have changed in the timeframe this play covers?

I think I’ve always had a sense of that shift in generational attitude from seeing how different it is to speak about love and sex and sexuality with my grandparents, compared to my parents, compared to my friends, and even compared to my younger siblings. I think anyone who has watched an episode of something like Mad Men would have some understanding of how different our world is now, and probably be very thankful that we’ve tried to move away from such obvious repression.

TRIPLE 9

Sometimes crime pays. Sometimes the criminals are the ones who do the paying.

John Hillcoat’s new film, Triple 9, explores issues of morality, greed and murder, as a crew of corrupt cops is pressured by the Russian mob into executing a virtually impossible heist. The would-be robbers’ plan goes awry after interference from an unexpected source, and a story of deception and revenge is set into motion.

This high-velocity, all-action flick features a cast of massive Hollywood names including Woody Harrelson, Casey Affleck, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Aaron Paul and Kate Winslet.

five minutes WITH

head to: thebrag.com/freeshit The Pride photo by Helen White

arts in focus

free stuff

Perch [THEATRE] The Wisdom Of The Night By Adam Norris

E

verybody loves owls, right?

Those big, wise eyes.

Their ability to navigate to Hogwarts. The fact David Bowie could transform into one at will (although that may have just been in Labyrinth). But should you find yourself posting an advertisement for a willing stranger to dress up as an owl and watch over you while you sleep – because let’s face it, those bed sheet voles aren’t going to eat themselves – perhaps your ornithophilia has gone too far. What kind of person would advertise for such a role?

And what kind of person would answer it? As the opening of Perch approaches, writer-director Sarah Carradine reflects on how this surreal performance found its wings.

“We’ve had two seasons of the show already, in Boston and one off-Broadway on 42nd Street.

Those were towards the end of last year. The process this time around meant doing an extensive rewrite … well, ‘extensive’ is a big word,” Carradine laughs as a cement mixer goes lumbering by. “We did a rewrite from the beginning, so we’re obviously testing that now, seeing it’s what we want and learning the lessons of the past. The interesting thing in the US has been how much audiences there want to engage with you after the show. For example in Boston, after our first show we had an advertised Q&A, as you do, and at every other show we had people asking if there was going to be a Q&A afterwards. Well, there wasn’t, but [we said], ‘Since you guys want one!’ They wanted to know where it came from, how everything works together. But then, the rest of the Q&A becomes Brian [Carbee, co-writer and actor] and I marshalling their discussion as they talk to each other about what they thought the play was about. It was absolutely fantastic.”

The solo performance in Belvoir’s Downstairs Theatre will

undoubtedly make for unusual fare, and while the story was devised and developed with Carbee in mind, the production has its roots in real life. When Carradine spied an ad on Gumtree seeking a night-time protector dressed as an owl, the veteran director knew she had found the perfect peculiar vehicle. Yet just as the premise itself is strange and otherwordly, so too should audiences ditch expectations of traditional storytelling.

“I’ve done two shows Downstairs, it’s a fantastic space. The shows we did in America were on very different stages, so it’s quite an adjustable piece. We know the general shape of it, but we can alter it to suit different sight lines. I’ve done shows in America before, but narratively they were always very A, B, C, D. This one is more *, #, 3, 8, B, 5. I did have the thought that perhaps for American tastes it wouldn’t be linear enough, but that wasn’t the case. So I feel like we’ve had the audience I thought would be looking for something a bit more literal, and now we’re bringing it to a town with an appreciation of experiment, poeticism. I think Sydney audiences can be very responsive to less-thannaturalistic work. Hey, and that same cement mixer is back again!”

There is clearly some kind of divine metaphor in the reappearance of the truck – solidarity? Determination? Gravel?

– but the nuance escapes me.

“With a piece like this, the initial rehearsals we did 18 months ago saw us asking, ‘What is really happening here?’” Carradine says. “Because if Brian and I don’t know what’s happening, then an audience is just going to be cast adrift. You can’t just say it’s a fantasy and leave it at that, you know? So when you see it, be assured that we do know what actually happens! We’re not

necessarily going to tell you, but it’s all there.”

Staged in conjunction with the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, Perch promises to be a play of great poignancy and pathos, laced with strong visuals and humour – aided in no small fashion

by Carbee’s history as a dancer.

While both performer and director have certain ideas of what the message and motivation of the play might be, these are inherently personal connections; it is their hope that audience members will be similarly, uniquely moved.

“There are a couple of things Brian and I don’t agree on, but that’s fine,” says Carradine. “But we also don’t want to tell people what it’s about. I wasn’t so interested in her, in the person who wrote the ad. I was interested in who would answer such an ad – that’s where it all came from. I’d been looking for a play for Brian to do that someone else had written, and then fortunately all of this came together. But Brian is more interested in the woman who wrote the ad, and it seems like most other people are like that too. The intriguing thing is that audiences have a very definite idea of what they think it’s about, and that has been great. Are there two people?

If it’s only one, which one? How much of it is real? It’s very pleasing that they have their own vision.

“I’ve never had so many people tell me that they’ve dreamed about Perch, that they keep thinking about it. The character of Perch is a strange little man. I think it’s tapping into something which we perhaps all have, which is the idea of the protector, the watcher. But of course, often that is a very flawed protector.”

What: Perch Where: Belvoir St Theatre When: Tuesday February 9 – Sunday February 21

Ladies Day [THEATRE] A Day At The Races By Joseph Earp

T

he plight of a playwright is an odd one. You labour over a work for months – years, even – only to give it away at the last moment, placing your faith in the hands of the strangers who will then bring it to life onstage. Given this odd working method, you’d expect lauded playwright Alana Valentine to be nervous about the upcoming premiere of her new play, Ladies Day. Or at the very least, no-one would begrudge her some fairly deep-seated trust issues. But since Valentine has made a career out of bucking trends, perhaps it’s unsurprising that she’s completely sidestepped such anxieties.

“I’m in a state of great anticipation rather than anything else. I’m really excited about the premiere,” she says warmly. “It’s the most amazing cast. And they’re doing a great job.

I’m looking forward to it, actually.

Because I write a lot of Australian stories, I’m really keen to get it in front of an audience as quickly as possible. A play is not a play until it’s in front of an audience.”

Set at the Broome races in the northern part of Western Australia, and concerned with the stereotypes and adversities that members of the LGBTI community face in rural regions, much of the dialogue in Ladies Day was drawn from interviews Valentine conducted with Broome locals.

Ladies Day photo by Brett Boardman

“I met a lot of gay and lesbian people up there,” she says. “I was heading over with another friend of mine and decided it would be really interesting to formally investigate the experience of gay men in particular in regional Australia.”

Prior knowledge of the area meant Valentine knew what to expect, and she got to experience a side of Broome that city-dwellers may be surprised by. “It’s not as ‘redneck’ as you might think up there,” she says. “There’s a lot of gay men and other LGBTI people up there.

People who are quite integral to the communities. And some people felt they were even more accepted and integral to the community than thebrag.com

some people in the cities they’ve lived in. It really depends on the town and the place.”

That said, although Valentine encountered many locals who had nothing but positive things to say, a simple scratch of the surface revealed the underlying darkness.

“I was surprised by the levels of tolerance and acceptance and the fact that lots of people were having a really good time, but of course you always find stories that are not that. And there are people who wanted to tell me darker, more difficult stories about discrimination and violence.”

The aggression and conflict in the region is what led Valentine to construct Ladies Day’s fictional narrative, and moved her away from simply documenting the troubles in a more factual, journalistic manner. “I wanted to fold [these people] into a fictional narrative so that … it protected people and they could talk more freely. This kind of writing confronts the communities with its own flaws as well as its own strength. And that’s why people are so fascinated by it. We forget that these things happen on our own doorstep.”

As far as Valentine is concerned, now is an exciting time for local theatre. Things seem to be moving away from cultural mimicry, she says, and a more defined Australian voice is being developed. Certainly, the anticipation building up around her own play seems to suggest an important cultural shift.

“I think now particularly audiences are more hungry for Australian stories than they’ve ever been.

We’re claiming an ability to tell our own stories in a uniquely Australian way.” Her voice goes soft. “I do feel very hopeful about that.”

What: Ladies Day Where: SBW Stables Theatre When: Friday February 5 – Saturday March 26

BRAG :: 648 :: 03:02:16 :: 19

film & theatre reviews Hits and misses on the silver screen and bareboards around town

■ Film

SPOTLIGHT In cinemas now Spotlight is a biodrama that chronicles the The Boston Globe’s early 2000s investigation into the cover-up of child sexual abuse by the Catholic Church.

Though ‘journodramas’ aren’t very common these days, Spotlight hits every mark and proves that the potential of the genre remains underutilised.

A large part of this is due to the cinematography. Masanobu Takayanagi’s efforts here do an exceptional job of fleshing out the backdrop of Boston and capturing the unique sense of place that grounds the characters in the story.

Similarly, Tom McCarthy absolutely nails ■ Theatre

ALL THE SEX I’VE EVER HAD

it with the direction in the film, and Howard Shore’s soundtrack works well in tandem with these elements, tactically deploying a simple but powerful melody to accompany both the trauma of the subject material and heroism of the journalists working to expose the Church’s wrongdoings.

Masterclass 2

It also helps that there’s not a weak link in the film’s ensemble cast. Mark Ruffalo channels his inner McNulty as journalist Mike Rezendes. Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams and Brian d’Arcy James fill out the rest of the team nicely with Liev Schreiber excelling as editor Marty Baron.

It feels like John Slattery just reprises his role from Mad Men, but that’s more of a side observation than a complaint.

end it feels like a lot of themes it tackles have more in common with David Simon’s The Wire than anything else. As interested in the city of Boston as it is the craft of journalism, it’s one of those rare films that’s exactly as good as everyone says it is.

At first, Spotlight recalls much of Aaron Sorkin’s The Newsroom. However, by the

Fergus Halliday

Spotlight

All The Sex I’ve Ever Had

Reviewed at the Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House on Thursday January 21 as part of Sydney Festival 2016 How do you review a show where the audience takes an oath of silence?

Standing with the rest of the crowd, I held my hand high and promised not to tell; not to let what was said leave the room.

Four people over 65 had entered the stage from the stalls and sat at a table, press conference-style, with a (much younger) host placed to their left. He began to read out random years starting with 1942, and

over the course of time we learned each of their names and birth years. And how many people they’d shagged.

As the years rolled on, Peter, Jennie, Liz, Ronaldo, Judith and Paul would tell us the sum of their sexual experiences, from

five minutes WITH

SCOTT HORSCROFT FROM THE GROVE STUDIOS experience with their course lectures, tutorials and assignments, but we have multiple opportunities outside of class hours for students to come in and assist on the professional recording sessions we are running daily out of our four very active and busy studios at The Grove.

T

he Grove Studios is entering its second year offering its sound production course in collaboration with TAFE and RMI. How successful was its maiden voyage in 2015?

Our first year was a great success. We have an incredibly enthusiastic, diverse group of students enrolled in our Diploma of Sound Production. Our classroom is a fully functioning recording control room, with the addition of 16 music production workstations creating a fantastic space to learn and be creative. The students have experienced what it’s like to work in a professional recording studio environment.

How important is it for people interested in a sound production career to gain in-studio experience before they enter the industry?

It is incredibly important – probably the most important part of the learning process.

The art of running a successful recording session can be confronting and complex, even for the most experienced studio folk! Not only do our students gain studio 20 :: BRAG :: 648 :: 03:02:16

Occasionally their stories would pose a question to the audience and an interactive discussion would begin on everything from open relationships to how to handle partners who steal. In a crazy world of hyper-change, it’s often the truest stories that hit home the hardest.

Of all the pomp and arts of Sydney Festival, this show was just one huge party, in the truest sense of the term. There was happiness and music and streamers and even champagne, and vulnerability and support and a whole lot of truth – a big celebration of what it means to be human; our relationships with each other and our trials throughout. I left the theatre willing to keep my oath, but to replace it with the story that this was one of the best nights of theatre I’d ever seen; where the performers bared their souls onstage, and we were all the better for it.

MASTERCLASS 2: FLAMES OF THE FORGE Reviewed at the Old Fitz Theatre on Thursday January 14 Gareth Davies and Charlie Garber return to the Old Fitz and face the post-apocalypse in Masterclass 2: Flames Of The Forge.

Things go disastrously awry when Gareth attempts to power an entire city’s energy grid via the greatness of his acting and ends up wiping out every living thing on the planet.

Lonely, he decides to revive his greatest character, Charlie Garber, who was beneficently cut loose to pursue his own dreams at the end of the original Masterclass, restaged at the Fitz early last year.

But informing Charlie that the end of the world has occurred proves tricky.

Charlie seems freaked out, even repulsed, by the discovery of Gareth’s life-extinguishing power, and more than once Gareth is forced to kill his creation/best mate and start again with a more impressionable one.

Finally Gareth lands upon a new tactic: they’ll make a pact never to go outside until they’re ready to perform a brand new actors’ masterclass.

Everything is going smoothly until Charlie sneaks into Gareth’s memory chamber for a spot of late-night masturbation. Looking for a titillating memory of Gareth canoodling with Helen Hunt on the set of Twister, Charlie instead sees his numerous deaths played out in gory detail.

Masterclass 2 is just as funny but blacker and more deliriously cosmic than the original. Charlie responds to the revelation of Gareth’s perfidy by glassing him, then tying him to a chair and leaving. He returns thousands of years later, nodding, “You’re right, there’s nothing out there.” David Stratton makes an amusingly deadpan cameo as himself, pontificating on the transcendent power of Gareth’s craft.

It’s funny but he’s right: these two are formidable talents.

Harry Windsor

For those who aren’t familiar with The Grove Studios, what are some of the highlights on its CV? The Grove Studios was originally built by Garry Gary Beers from INXS in the late ’90s.

In its early years artists such as Silverchair, Eskimo Joe, Kasey Chambers, Delta Goodrem and The Whitlams made various ARIA number ones and platinum successful albums at The Grove. Recently we have seen a diverse range of both emerging and established artists writing, recording and mixing at The Grove. Burke Reid has worked with Courtney Barnett, Sarah Blasko, DZ Deathrays, Olympia and Green Buzzard to name a few; I have worked with Birds Of Tokyo, Oh Mercy, Tuka, Kirin J Callinan, Jackie Onassis, The Last Dinosaurs and Xavier Rudd. It’s a special place, not only due to our extensive range of gear and state-of-the-art facilities but because it’s set on a few acres complete with bushwalking tracks, a pool and more. Artists, writers and students alike can really immerse themselves in the creative process without distraction.

What: The Grove Studios Where: Somersby, New South Wales And: Limited places are still available for the 2016 Diploma courses More: thegrovestudios.com

Julian Ramundi What's in our diary...

Arts Exposed

Chinese New Year On Kensington Street Kensington Street, Chippendale, Saturday February 6 Get set to welcome in the Year of the Monkey. That’s going to be the focus of the Chinese New Year On Kensington Street celebrations this weekend, as Chippendale marks one of the biggest days in the Chinese and Asian cultural calendar. The Kensington Street retail and creative precinct will welcome performances, art, workshops and food.

The lion dancers of the Australian Chinese Teo-Chew Association will open proceedings, while there’ll also be a bunch of games boards including roulette, Chinese checkers and mahjong, plus martial arts demonstrations.

The celebrations run from 3-7pm. Visit kensingtonstreet.com.au for details.

thebrag.com

All The Sex I've Ever Had photo by Prudence Upton

What do the Diploma of Sound Production and the Advanced Diploma of Sound Production offer to students?

The Diploma of Sound Production offers students a wide range of knowledge and a platform to develop the skills required to be successful in the multiple fields of the music industry. The Advanced Diploma provides students with opportunities to further develop their knowledge and skills. We provide our students with hands-on access to not only the most current and advanced recording programs, but to a wide range of industry-leading and rare analogue recording equipment and consoles.

Who’s involved in teaching the courses?

We carefully select all of our lecturers to ensure they are active professionals with a strong history in the music industry, so they can pass on a wealth of knowledge and experience to our students. Last year our guest lecture program included Heath Johns (A&R executive in music publishing), Andy Mak (music writer and producer), Burke Reid (music producer/engineer) and many more.

Our first year head lecturer is Dexter Moore, who boasts two decades of experience in the music industry as a producer, writer, performer and studio owner.

childhood curiosities to heartbreaks and marriages. As each decade passed, an era-specifi c song would ring out and the stage would descend into dance and singalong, before the process continued. While it might sound methodic, we gained the full richness of each of their experiences.

Rather than a sordid night of erotic tales, we were treated to their full life stories as viewed through their various dalliances and relationships. In front of the audience was a gay man who’d fathered fi ve children by donation; another who came out in his 50s; two women who’d been married but had not had children, by choice and by situation; and another who’d had one by mistake. There were tales of joy and despair, divorce and unconditional love as these six locals told it like it was.

■ Theatre

out & about Queer(ish) matters with Lucy Watson

R

ecently, Facebook announced its sponsorship of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, and its float for the 2016 parade (no details, just that it will be fabulous and full of glitter).

Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg at San Francisco Pride 2013 While this is undoubtedly good news for Mardi Gras, which posted losses of over $300,000 last financial year, it points further to the commercialisation of identity, and the need for alternative events over the Mardi Gras season.

I’ve written before about the commercialisation of pride, but heading into Mardi Gras season, it’s something worth revisiting. The parade has been populated with corporate floats for some time now, and they often deliver. ANZ always has showstealing costumes, and Bianca Del Rio headed Airbnb’s float last year. Facebook will no doubt put on a show for the masses with its float. Having a gay and lesbian (not LGBTI) organisation such as Mardi Gras taking corporate money is fine by me, especially if it means it can stay afloat for another year. The problem, though, is about then having to pander to corporate organisations’ needs in order to keep the money.

Of course, taking Facebook’s money doesn’t mean Mardi Gras supports its policy of compelling users (including trans people) to use their legal names on the site – forcing many to either out themselves, or use a name that is now ‘dead’ and irrelevant to their gender – but it does work to alienate those who have been affected by these policies, in the same way that having a float for the New South Wales Police can be alienating to those who have been mistreated by police (including the original marchers in Mardi Gras).

If Mardi Gras wants to be viable, it needs to continue to take sponsorship and appeal to a mainstream audience. I’d rather it existed in this format than not at all. Marching in the parade is special, and means a lot to a lot of people, myself included.

The commercialisation of Mardi Gras simply demonstrates that we need more alternatives to the official events. As it targets a bigger audience, there is more scope to create alternatives without cutting into the organisation’s funds.

There have always been alternative parties after the parade, and the official party still attracted a 14,000-strong crowd last year, despite parties from Girlthing, Heaps Gay, Homosocial, House of Mince and heaps of others also selling out.

San Francisco Pride has a huge alternative following. As well as the main Pride march on the Sunday, on the Friday and Saturday evenings are the trans and dyke marches, respectively. These are run by alternative organisations, and draw massive crowds in a satisfyingly grassroots celebration of pride. When I attended the dyke march in 2013, we all sat around in Dolores Park, enjoying a Fair Day-esque party before a bell rang and the 10,000-plus people around me started to move into the streets, walking from the park to the Castro. Some people had banners, but there were no floats, no corporate flags (from where I was standing); just a mass of 10,000 people taking over the street.

As Sydney becomes more queer and queer-friendly, and Mardi Gras becomes more commercial, we have the scope to do more. I’d love to see alternative marches to the main parade, alternatives to Queer Thinking, and further additions to the already anxiety-inducing plethora of after-parade parties. What we need is a chance to choose an alternative way to celebrate pride, and options for those excluded by the corporations who claim to be LGBT-friendly.

the killing of sister george

by Frank Marcus

a dark comedy.

speaking of mardi gras...

Mark Zuckerberg photo by topol6/Flickr

Options for Saturday March 5 after the parade are plentiful, and tickets are selling now, so you need to decide promptly. The main afterparty at the Hordern Pavilion is already onto its final release tickets ($160). It’s a big price, but there are also some big acts – Courtney Act, Conchita Wurst, Kitty Glitter, Dirty Pop, Rado and heaps more.

If the main event isn’t your thing, there are plenty of other options. For the first time since it shut down in late July, all of the Imperial Hotel will be open for a big Heaps Gay bash. First release tickets are $35, and the party will feature an allstar lineup of HG favourites: Salvador Darling, Jonny Seymour & Paul Mac, L’Oasis, Tennis Boys, Astrix Little and heaps of other DJs, plus performances from The Lakemba Ladies, Amrita and The Beyoncés, The Bad Bitch Choir and more.

I often feel like Mardi Gras night is the one night of the year we can reclaim the city. If that’s your bag, try Girlthing at the Metro Theatre. Like HG, it’s a ‘best of’ (with extras) lineup, including Sveta, Cunningpants, NatNoiz, Mira Boru, Kate Monroe and even Joyride, as

24 Feb - 12 Mar

Kitty Glitter well as a stack of others to fill up three rooms. Tickets for this are already onto final release as well ($61).

There’s heaps more parties, and likely more to be announced, but they’re my top three for now. I’ll feature a few others over the coming weeks (when these have sold out and you missed out on tickets).

644 King St Newtown

kingstreettheatre.com.au thebrag.com

BRAG :: 648 :: 03:02:16 :: 21

BARS BRAG

B R A G ’ S G U I D E T O S Y D N E Y ’ S B E S T WAT E R I N G H O L E S

A Work In Progress 50 King St, Sydney CBD (02) 9240 3000 Mon – Fri noon-2am Ash St Cellar 1 Ash St, Sydney CBD (02) 9240 3000 Mon – Fri 8.30am-11pm The Attic 275 Pitt St, Sydney CBD (02) 9284 1200 Mon – Fri 11am-1am; Saturday 5pm-1am Assembly 488 Kent St, Sydney CBD (02) 9283 8808 Mon – Tue 5-11pm; Wed

The Australian Heritage Hotel 100 Cumberland St, The Rocks (02) 9247 2229 Mon – Sun 10.30am-midnight Balcony Bar 46 Erskine St, Sydney CBD (02) 9299 3526 Mon – Fri noon-midnight; Sat 4pm-midnight BAR100 100 George St, The Rocks (02) 8070 9311 Mon – Thu noon-late; Fri – Sat noon-3am; Sun noon-10pm Bar Eleven

Lvl 11, 161 Sussex St, Sydney CBD (02) 9290 4000 Mon – Thu 4-9pm; Fri – Sat 4-11pm

Bulletin Place First Floor, 10-14 Bulletin Place, Circular Quay Mon – Wed 4pm-midnight; Thurs – Sat 4pm-1am

The Barber Shop 89 York St, Sydney CBD (02) 9299 9699 Mon – Wed 4pm-midnight; Thu – Fri 3pm-midnight; Sat 4pm-midnight

deVine 32 Market St, Sydney CBD (02) 9262 6906 Mon – Fri 11.30am-11.30pm; Sat 5.30-11.30pm

Basement 33 Basement, 27-33 Goulburn St, Sydney CBD (02) 8970 5813 Mon – Thu 5pm-midnight The Baxter Inn Basement 152-156 Clarence St, Sydney CBD Mon – Sat 4pm-1am

Frankie’s Pizza 50 Hunter St, Sydney CBD Mon – Fri noon-3am; Sat – Sun 4pm-3am

Grandma’s Basement 275 Clarence St, Sydney CBD (02) 9264 3004 Mon – Fri 3pm-midnight; Sat 5pm-late The Fox Hole 68A Erskine St, Sydney CBD (02) 9279 4369 Mon 7am-3pm; Tue – Fri 7am-lste The Grasshopper 1 Temperance Ln, Sydney CBD (02) 9947 9025 Mon – Thurs & Sat 4pm-late; Fri noon-late

Gilt Lounge 49 Market St, Sydney CBD (02) 8262 0000 Wed – Sat 5pm-late

Harpoon Harry 40-44 Wentworth Ave, Sydney CBD (02) 8262 8800 Mon – Sun 11:30am-3am

The Glenmore 96 Cumberland St, The

The Lobo Plantation

CORRIDOR

bar bar

OF

ADDRESS: 153A KING ST, NEWTOWN PHONE NUMBER: 0405 671 002 OPENING HOURS: MON – SUN 3PM-MIDNIGHT Tell us about your bar: Corridor is a showcase of all the best that Newtown has to offer. Nestled in the heart of King Street, it’s your classic small bar done without the pretension. Decked out with a combination of twinkling fairy lights and amazing local art, from the street Corridor intrigues you with only a glimpse of the fun waiting inside.

Once past the bustling bar in the doorway, you’ll find there’s actually plenty of room inside including a sunny rooftop terrace that’s Newtown’s best kept secret. The bar staff are exceptionally friendly and always happy to help you with your choice of poison, whether it be a delicious cocktail or one of the local beers they have on tap. There’s a big emphasis on supporting live music at Corridor, so throughout the week you’ll often find a local band performing in the band room upstairs. Whether you’re looking to spend a lazy afternoon in the sunshine drinking Bloody Marys, or you’re raring to have a wild night

Grain Bar 199 George St, Sydney CBD (02) 9250 3118 Mon – Sun noon-1am

TH

EK

– Fri noon-midnight; Sat 5pm-midnight

Rocks (02) 9247 4794 Mon – Thu, Sun 11am-midnight; Fri – Sat 11am-1am

E E W

The Loft (UTS) 15 Broadway, Sydney (behind 2SER) (02) 9514 1149 Mon – Wed 2pm-10pm; Thurs – Fri 2pm-late Mojo Record Bar Basement 73 York St, Sydney CBD (02) 9262 4999 Mon – Wed 4pm-midnight; Thu 4pm-1am; Fri 3pm-1am; Sat 4pm-1am The Morrison 225 George St, Sydney CBD (02) 9247 6744 Mon – Wed 11.30am-midnight; Thu 11.30am-1am; Fri – Sat 11.30am-2am; Sun 11.30am-10pm The Palisade 35 Bettington St, Millers Point 9018 0123 Tue – Fri noon-2.30pm & 6pm-9.30pm; Sat 6pm-9.30pm Mr Tipply’s 347 Kent St, Sydney CBD (02) 9299 4877 Mon – Sat 10am-late Palmer & Co. Abercrombie Ln, Sydney CBD (02) 9240 3000 Mon – Wed 5pm-late; Thu – Fri 3pm-late; Sat – Sun 5pm-late Papa Gede’s Bar Laneway at the end of 348 Kent St, Sydney CBD (02) 9299 5671 Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight

What’s on the menu?

If you’re looking to spend an evening somewhere that you can wash down a $10 pizza with the perfect martini, Corridor is the place for you.

The food menu is a combination of mezze-style grazing plates and affordable yet delicious pizza, nachos and burgers. Whether you’re on a date and looking to impress or just keen for laid-back drinks with friends, there’s something for everyone.

Sounds: Depending on the mood of the bartender on any given day, you might be listening to grunge rock, old-school hip hop or ’60s classics.

The one thing that is consistent is that the vibe is always upbeat and fun. When the bartenders aren’t playing their own playlists, live music fills the space with ambience (and a lively crowd!).

Highlights: Happy hour is from 5-7pm, Monday to Friday. This means $5 pints of beer and $10 cocktails!

The Swinging Cat 44 King St, Sydney CBD (02) 9262 3696 Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight Tapa Vino 6 Bulletin Place, Circular Quay (02) 9247 3221 Mon – Fri noon-11.30pm

The SG 32 York St, Sydney CBD 0402 813 035 Tues – Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat 6pm-midnight Shirt Bar 7 Sussex Ln, Sydney CBD (02) 8068 8222 Mon –Wed 8am-8pm; Thu – Fri 8am-10pm Since I Left You 338 Kent St, Sydney CBD (02) 9262 4986 Mon – Wed 5pm-10pm; Thu – Fri 5pm-midnight; Sat 6pm-midnight Small Bar 48 Erskine St, Sydney CBD (02) 9279 0782 Mon – Fri noon-midnight; Sat 5pm-midnight

The Darlie Laundromatic 304 Palmer St, Darlinghurst Mon – Sat 5pm-11pm

York Lane 56 Clarence St, Sydney CBD (02) 9299 1676 Mon – Wed 6.30am-10pm; Thu – Fri 6.30pm-midnight; Sat 6pm-midnight

Darlo Country Club Level 1, 235 Victoria St, Darlinghurst (02) 9380 4279 Wed – Thu 5pm-midnight; Fri – Sat 5pm-2am

121BC 4/50 Holt St, Surry Hills (02) 9699 1582 Tue – Sat 5pm-midnight Absinthe Salon 87 Albion St, Surry Hills (02) 9211 6632 Wed – Sat 4-10pm Arcadia Liquors 7 Cope St, Redfern (02) 8068 4470 Mon – Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm Bar Cleveland Cnr Bourke & Cleveland St, Redfern (02) 9698 1908 Mon – Thu 10am-2am; Fri – Sat 10am-4am

Bellini Lounge 2 Kellett St, Potts Point (02) 9331 0058 Thu – Sun 6pm-late

The Rook Level 7, 56-58 York St, Sydney CBD (02) 9262 2505 Mon, Sat 4pm-midnight; Tue – Fri noon-midnight

The Commons 32 Burton St, Darlinghurst (02) 9358 1487 Tue – Wed 6pm-late; Thu – Fri 12pm-late; Sat – Sun 6pm-late

Darlo Bar 306 Liverpool St, Darlinghurst (02) 9331 3672 Mon – Sun 10am-midnight

Wed 5pm-11pm; Thu 5pm-1am; Fri 5pm-3am; Sat 6pm-3am

Rockpool Bar & Grill 66 Hunter St, Sydney CBD (02) 8078 1900 Mon – Sat noon-3pm, 6-11pm

Fri – Sat 6pm-late

Uncle Ming’s 55 York St, Sydney CBD Mon – Fri noon-midnight; Sat 5pm-midnight

Plan B Small Club

Ramblin’ Rascal Tavern Basement, 60 Park St, Sydney CBD Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun 6pm-10pm

on the town dancing to a rock band, Corridor is the place to be.

Mon – Wed 4pm-midnight; Thu – Fri noon-2am; Sat 4pm-2am

Bar H 80 Campbell St, Surry Hills (02) 9280 1980 Mon – Sat 6pm-11.30; Sun 11am-3pm

53-55 Liverpool St, Sydney CBD

Care for a drink?

Corridor boasts a very impressive cocktail list. Whether it be one of Corridor’s signature cocktails or a well loved classic, the bartenders are exceptionally trained and always make a mean drink. There’s a large assortment of spirits to be tasted, including a few local gems, and they always know how to serve it to you just right. Make sure to try an Old Fashioned made with their houseinfused banana rum.

22 :: BRAG :: 648 :: 03:02:16

Basement Lot 1, 209 Clarence St, Sydney CBD 0415 554 908 Mon – Thu, Sat 4pm-midnight; Fri 2pm-midnight

The Beresford 354 Bourke St, Surry Hills (02) 8313 5000 Mon – Sun noon-1am Black Penny 648 Bourke St, Surry Hills (02) 9319 5061 Mon – Sat 7am-midnight; Sun 7am-10pm Busby 55 Riley St, Woolloomooloo (02) 9326 9055 Wed – Sat 3pm-midnight Button Bar 65 Foveaux St, Surry Hills (02) 9211 1544 Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight Café Lounge 277 Goulburn St, Surry Hills (02) 9016 3951 Mon – Thu 5pm-midnight; Fri – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sunday 4-10pm Casoni Italian Bar & Eatery 371-373 Bourke St, Darlinghurst Tue – Thu 5pm-11pm; Fri – Sat 5pm-midnight; Sun 5pm-10pm Central Tavern 42-50 Chalmers St, Surry Hills (02) 9212 3814 Mon – Sat 10am-2am; Sun 10am-10pm

The Smoking Panda 5-7 Park St, Sydney CBD (02) 9264 4618 Mon – Sat 4pm-late

Ching-a-Lings 1/133 Oxford St, Darlinghurst (02) 9360 3333 Tue – Wed 6pm-11pm; Fri – Sat 6pm-1am; Sun 5pm-10pm

Stitch Bar 61 York St, Sydney CBD (02) 9279 0380

The Cliff Dive 16-18 Oxford Square, Darlinghurst

Dead Ringer 413 Bourke St, Surry Hills (02) 9331 3560 Mon – Fri 5pm-midnight; Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm Della Hyde 34 Oxford St, Darlinghurst Thu – Sun 4pm-late Eau-De-Vie 229 Darlinghurst Rd, Darlinghurst 0422 263 226 Mon – Sat 6pm-1am; Sun 6pm-midnight The Forresters 336 Riley St, Surry Hills (02) 9212 3035 Mon – Wed noon-midnight; Thu – Sat noon-1am; Sun noon-10pm Gardel’s Bar 358 Cleveland St, Surry Hills (02) 8399 1440 Tue – Sat 6pm-midnight Gazebo 2 Elizabeth Bay Rd, Elizabeth Bay (02) 8070 2424 Mon – Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat – Sun noon-midnight Golden Age Cinema & Bar 80 Commonwealth St, Surry Hills (02) 9211 1556 Mon - Sun 3pm-midnight Goros 84-86 Mary St, Surry Hills (02) 9212 0214 Mon – Wed 11:30am-midnight; Thu 11:30am-1am: Fri 11:30am-3am; Sat 4pm-3am The Hazy Rose 1/83 Stanley St, Darlinghurst (02) 9357 5036 Wed – Thu 5pm-midnight; Fri – Sat 3pm-midnight; Sun 3-10pm Hello Sailor 96 Oxford St, Darlinghurst (02) 9332 2442 Tue – Sun 6pm-3am Hinky Dinks 185 Darlinghurst Rd, Darlinghurst (02) 8084 6379 Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun 1-10pm Hollywood Hotel 2 Foster St, Surry Hills (02) 9281 2765 Mon – Wed 10am-midnight; Thu – Sat 10am-3am Hustle & Flow Bar 105 Regent St, Redfern (02) 9310 5593 Tue – Sat 5pm-midnight Li’l Darlin Darlinghurst 235 Victoria St, Darlinghurst (02) 8084 6100 Mon – Sun 5pm-late Li’l Darlin Surry Hills thebrag.com

420 Elizabeth St, Surry Hills (02) 9698 5488 Mon – Fri noon-late; Sat 4pm-late LL Wine and Dine 42 Llankelly Place Potts Point (02) 9356 8393 Mon – Thu 5pm-11pm; Fri – Sat noon-late; Sun 11am-10pm The Local Taphouse 122 Flinders St, Darlinghurst (02) 9360 0088 Mon – Wed noon-midnight; Thu – Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-11pm Love, Tilly Devine 91 Crown Ln, Darlinghurst (02) 9326 9297 Mon – Sat 5pm-midnight; Sun 4-10pm Low 302 302 Crown St, Surry Hills (02) 9368 1548 Mon – Sun 6pm-2am Mr Fox 557 Crown St, Surry Hills 0410 470 250 Tue – Wed 5pm-late; Sat 10am-midnight; Sun 10am-10pm The Norfolk 305 Cleveland St, Surry Hills (02) 9699 3177 Mon – Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm Old Growler 218 William St, Woolloomooloo 0422 911 650 Tue – Sat 5pm - midnight The Passage 231A Victoria St, Darlinghurst (02) 9358 6116 Mon – Sat 5pm-late Peekaboo 120 Bourke St, Woolloomooloo 0403 747 788 Mon – Thu 4pm-10pm; Fri – Sat 4pm – 12am Play Bar 72 Campbell St, Surry Hills (02) 9280 0885 Tues – Sat 5pm-midnight Pocket Bar 13 Burton St, Darlinghurst (02) 9380 7002 Mon – Sun 4pm-midnight The Powder Keg 7 Kellett St, Potts Point (02) 8354 0980 Wed – Thu 6pm-late; Fri 1pm-2.30am; Sat – Sun 6pm-late The Print Room 11 Glenmore Rd, Paddington (02) 9331 0911 Thu – Fri 5pm-late; Sat – Sun noon-late Queenie’s Upstairs 336 Riley St, Surry Hills (02) 9212 3035 Tue – Sat 6pm-late & Fri noon-3pm Roosevelt 32 Orwell St, Potts Point (02) 8696 1787 Tue – Fri 5pm-midnight; Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm Rosie Campbell’s 320 Crown St, Surry Hills (02) 8356 9120 Mon 5pm-midnight: Tue – Sun 4pm-midnight Shady Pines Saloon Shop 4, 256 Crown St, Darlinghurst Mon – Sun 4pm-midnight The Soda Factory 16 Wentworth Ave, Surry Hills (02) 8096 9120 Mon – Thu 5pm-late; Fri 5pm-3am; Sat – Sun thebrag.com

6pm-3am

Sat – Sun 12pm till late

Surly’s 182 Campbell St, Surry Hills (02) 9331 3705 Tue – Sun noon-midnight

Mr Moustache 75-79 Hall St, Bondi Beach (02) 9300 8892 Mon – Fri 5pm-11pm; Sat noon-11pm; Sun noon10pm

Sweethearts Rooftop 33/37 Darlinghurst Rd, Potts Point (02) 9368 7333 Mon – Thu 4-11.30pm; Fri – Sun noon-11.30pm This Must Be The Place 239 Oxford St, Darlinghurst (02) 9331 8063 Mon – Sun 3pm-midnight The Tilbury Hotel 12-18 Nicholson St, Woolloomooloo (02) 9368 1955 Mon – Fri 9am-midnight; Sat 10am-midnight; Sun 10am-10pm Tio’s Cerveceria 12-18 Nicholson St, Woolloomooloo (02) 9368 1955 Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun 2-10pm Vasco 421 Cleveland St, Redfern 0406 775 436 Tue – Sat 5pm-midnight The Village Inn 9-11 Glenmore Rd, Paddington (02) 9331 0911 Mon – Sun 12pm-late The White Horse Hotel 381-385 Crown Street, Surry Hills 1300 976 683 Mon – Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm The Wild Rover 75 Campbell St, Surry Hills (02) 9280 2235 Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun noon-10pm The Winery 285A Crown St, Surry Hills (02) 9331 0833 Mon – Sun noon-midnight

Anchor Bar 8 Campbell Pde, Bondi (02) 8084 3145 Tue – Fri 4.30pm-late; Sat – Sun 12.30pm-late Bat Country 32 St Pauls St, Randwick (@ The Spot) (02) 9398 6694 Mon – Sat 7am-midnight; Sun 7am-10pm Beach Road Hotel 71 Beach Rd, Bondi Beach (02) 9130 7247 Mon – Sat noon-1am; Sun 11am-10pm Bondi Hardware 39 Hall St, Bondi (02) 9365 7176 Mon – Wed 4pm-late; Fri noon-midnight; Sat 9am-midnight; Sun 9am-10pm The Bucket List Shop 1, Bondi Pavilion, Queen Elizabeth Drive (02) 9365 4122 Mon – Tue 11am-5pm; Wed – Sun 11am-late The Corner House 281 Bondi Rd, Bondi (02) 8020 6698 Tue – Sat 5pm-midnight; Sun 3pm-10pm Fat Ruperts 249 Bondi Rd, Bondi (02) 9130 1033 Tue – Fri 6pm-late; Sat – Sun 2pm-late The Hill Bar/Eatery Cnr Campbell Pde & Hastings Pde, North Bondi (02)9130 2200 BAR Mon – Fri 4pm-late,

The Phoenix Hotel 1 Moncur St, Woollahra 0413 688 546 Wed – Thu 4pm-11pm; Fri – Sat noon-11pm; Sun noon-10pm The Robin Hood Hotel 203 Bronte Rd, Waverley (02) 9389 3477 Mon - Sat 10am-3am; Sun 10am-10pm Speakeasy 83 Curlewis St, Bondi (02) 9130 2020 Mon – Sat 5pm-11pm; Sat – Sun 4pm-10pm Spring Street Social (and Jam Gallery) Underground 195 Oxford St, Bondi Junction (02) 9389 2485 Tue 5pm-midnight; Wed – Sat 5pm-3am Stuffed Beaver 271 Bondi Rd, Bondi (02) 9130 3002 Mon – Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm

The Angry Pirate 125 Redfern St Redfern (02) 9698 9140 Tue – Thur 5pm-midnight; Fri – Sat 3pm-midnight Arco 3 Little Queen Street, Chippendale (02) 9318 0815 Tue – Sat 5pm-9.30pm Bar-racuda 105 Enmore Rd, Newtown (02) 9519 1121 Mon – Sat 6pm-midnight Bauhaus West 163 Enmore Rd, Enmore (02) 8068 9917 Wed – Fri 5pm-midnight; Sat – Sun 11am-midnight The Bearded Tit 183 Regent St, Redfern (02) 8283 4082 Mon – Thu 4pm-midnight; Fri – Sat noon - midnight; Sun noon - 10pm Blacksheep 256 King St, Newtown (02) 8033 3455 Mon – Fri 4pm-11pm; Sat 2pm-11pm; Sun 2pm-10pm Bloodwood 416 King St, Newtown (02) 9557 7699 Tue – Wed 6pm-late; Thu – Sun 5pm-late Calaveras 324 King St, Newtown 0451 541 712 Wed – Sat 6pm-midnight Cornerstone Bar & Food 245 Wilson St, Eveleigh (02) 8571 9004 Sun – Wed 10am-5pm; Thu – Sat 10am-late Corridor 153A King St, Newtown 0405 671 002 Tue – Fri 3pm-midnight; Sat 1pm-midnight; Sun 1pm-10pm Cottage Bar & Kitchen 342 Darling St, Balmain (02) 8084 8185 Mon – Wed 5pm-midnight; Thu – Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm Different Drummer 185 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 9552 3406 Mon – Sat 4.30pm-1am

Doris & Beryl’s Bridge Club and Tea House 530 King St, Newtown Mon – Fri 5pm-midnight; Sat – Sun 5.30pm-midnight Earl’s Juke Joint 407 King St, Newtown Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun 4-10pm Forest Lodge Hotel 117 Arundel St, Forest Lodge (02) 9660 1872 Mon – Sat 11am-midnight; Sun noon-10pm Freda’s 109 Regent St, Chippendale (02) 8971 7336 Tues – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun 4pm-10pm The Gasoline Pony 115 Marrickville Rd, Marrickville 0401 002 333 Tue – Thu 5-11.30pm; Fri – Sat 3-11.30pm; Sun 3-9.30pm The Hideaway Bar 156 Enmore Rd, Enmore (02) 8021 8451 Tue– Thu 4pm-midnight; Fri – Sat noon-1am Hive Bar 93 Erskineville Rd, Erskineville (02) 9519 9911 Mon – Fri noon-midnight; Sat 11am-midnight; Sun 11am-10pm Kelly’s On King 285 King St, Newtown (02) 9565 2288 Mon – Fri 10am-2.30am; Sat 10am-3.30am; Sun 11am-11.30pm Knox Street Bar Cnr Knox & Shepherd St, Chippendale (02) 8970 6443 Tue – Thu 4-10pm, Fri – Sat 4pm-midnight

(02) 9699 4767 Mon – Sun noon-3pm, 5pm-9pm Raven’s Eye 127 King St, Newtown (02) 9557 6429 Mon – Thu 5pm-midnight; Fri – Sat 11.30am-midnight; Sun 11:30am-10pm The Record Crate 34 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 9660 1075 Tue – Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm The Royal 156 Norton St, Leichhardt (02) 9569 2638 Mon – Thu 10am-1am; Fri – Sat 10am-3am; Sun 10am-midnight Secret Garden Bar 134a Enmore Rd, Enmore 0403 621 585 Mon – Tue 7am-5pm; Wed – Sun 7am-11pm Soho In Balmain 358 Darling St, Balmain 0407 525 208 Tue – Sun 5pm-11pm Temperance Society 122 Smith St, Summer Hill (02) 8068 5680 Mon – Thu 4pm-11pm; Fri – Sat: noon-midnight; Sun: noon-10pm Thievery 91 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 8283 1329 Tue – Thu 6pm-11pm; Fri 6pm-midnight.

Sat 11pm-3pm & 6pm-midnight Timbah 375 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 9571 7005 Tue – Thu 4pm-10pm; Fri noon-11pm; Sat

3pm-11pm; Sun 4pm-8pm Wilhelmina’s 332 Darling St, Balmain (02) 8068 8762 Tues – Fri 5pm - late; Sat – Sun 8am - late The Workers Lvl 1, 292 Darling St, Balmain (02) 9555 8410 Thu – Sat 5pm-3am; Sun 2pm-late ZanziBar 323 King St, Newtown (02) 9519 1511 Mon – Sat 10am-4am; Sun 10am-12am Zigi’s Wine And Cheese Bar 86 Abercrombie St, Chippendale (02) 9699 4222 Tue 4pm-10pm; Wed – Sat 2pm-late

Alberts Bar 100 Mount St, North Sydney (02) 9955 9097 Mon – Wed 11.30am-10pm; Thu 11.30am-11pm; Fri 11.30am-midnight Firefly 24 Young St, Neutral Bay (02) 9909 0193 Mon – Thu 5-11.30pm; Fri 4-11.30pm; Sat noon11pm; Sun noon-10pm The Foxtrot 28 Falcon St, Crows Nest Tue – Wed 5pm-midnight; Thu 5pm-1am; Fri – Sat 5pm-2am; Sun 4pm-10pm The Hayberry Bar & Diner 97 Willoughby Road, Crows Nest (02) 8084 0816 Tue – Thu 4pm-midnight;

Fri & Sat noon-midnight Sun noon-10pm Hemingway’s 48 North Steyne, Manly (02) 9976 3030 Mon – Sat 8am-midnight; Sun 8am-10pm Honey Rider 230 Military Rd, Neutral Bay (02) 9953 8880 Tue – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun 4pm-10pm InSitu 1/18 Sydney Rd, Manly (02) 9977 0669 Tue – Fri 5pm-midnight; Sat 9am-midnight; Sun 9am-10pm The Hunter 5 Myahgah Rd, Mosman 0409 100 339 Mon – Tue 5pm-midnight; Wed – Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm Jah Bar Shop 7, 9-15 Central Ave, Manly (02) 9977 4449 Mon – Fri 4pm-late; Sat 9am-late; Sun 9am-10pm The Local Bar 6/8 Young Ln, Neutral Bay (02) 9953 0027 Tue – Fri noon-late; Sat – Sun 8am-late Los Vida 419 Pacific Hwy, Crows Nest (02) 9439 8323 Mon – Wed 5pm-midnight; Thu – Sat 11.30am-midnight; Sun 11.30am-10pm Manly Wine 8-13 South Steyne, Manly (02) 8966 9000 Mon – Sun 6.30am-late The Mayor 400 Military Rd, Cremorne (02) 8969 6060

Your bar’s not here?

Email: chris@ thebrag.com

Tue – Fri noon-midnight; Sat 8am-midnight Miami Cuba 47 North Steyne, Manly 0487 713 350 Tue – Thu 8am-10pm; Fri – Sat 8am-1am; Sunday 8am-4pm Moonshine Lvl 2, Hotel Steyne, 75 The Corso, Manly (02) 9977 4977 Thu 5pm-2am; Fri 1pm-2am; Sat noon-2am; Sun noon-midnight The Pickled Possum 254 Military Rd, Neutral Bay (02) 9909 2091 Thu – Sat 9pm-1am SoCal 1 Young St, Neutral Bay (02) 9904 5691 Mon – Tue 4pm-late: Wed – Thu noon-1am; Fri – Sat noon- 2am; Sun noon-midnight The Stoned Crow 39 Willoughby Rd, Crows Nest (02) 9439 5477 Mon – Sun noon-late The Treehouse Hotel 60 Miller St, North Sydney (02) 8458 8980 Mon – Fri 7am-late; Sat 2pm-late Wilcox Cammeray 463 Miller St, Cammeray (02) 9460 0807 Tue – Thu 4pm-10pm; Fri – Sat 2pm-11pm; Sun 2pm-10pm

Kuleto’s 157 King St, Newtown (02) 9519 6369 Mon – Sat 4pm-late; Thu – Sat 4pm-3am The Little Guy 87 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 8084 0758 Mon – Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat 1pm-midnight; Sun 3pm-10pm Mary’s 6 Mary St, Newtown (02) 4995 9550 Mon – Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm The Midnight Special 44 Enmore Road, Newtown (02) 9516 2345 Tues – Sat 5pm-midnight; Sun 5pm-10pm Miss Peaches 201 Missenden Rd, Newtown (02) 9557 7280 Wed – Sun 5pm-midnight Mr Falcon’s 92 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 9029 6626 Mon – Thu 4pm-midnight; Fri 3pm-midnight; Sat noon-midnight; Sun 4pm-10pm Newtown Social Club 387 King St, Newtown (02) 9550 3974 Mon 9am-6pm; Tues – Fri 9am-8pm; Sat 10am-8pm The Oxford Tavern 1 New Canterbury Rd, Petersham (02) 8019 9351 Mon – Thu noon-midnight; Fri – Sat noon-3pm; Sun noon-10pm Lord Raglan 12 Henderson Rd, Alexandria BRAG :: 648 :: 03:02:16 :: 23

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

ALBUM OF THE WEEK DIIV

Is The Is Are Captured Tracks/Remote Control

Zachary Cole Smith returns from a turbulent personal period with an identity-forming new album.

YOUR FRIEND Gumption Domino/EMI

Of all the remarkable things about Your Friend’s Gumption, perhaps the most astonishing is its surreal rhythm. Somehow, like a figure from a dream, the album manages to move both fast and slow. It’s languid and yet immediate, distinctly laid-back but forever propelled forward by a slow-motion suddenness entirely of its own.

This is an album that lives forever in your immediate past; you only really ‘get’ each note about ten seconds after you have actually heard it, and it takes time for the true pleasures of a track like ‘Who Will I Be In The Morning?’ to sink in. Everything is suggested rather than stated, and the soft joys stemming from a masterwork like ‘Heathering’ are as vague and powerful as the connotations a word like ‘home’ summons. In fact, ‘summon’ might be the word of the day. Taryn Miller, the musician behind the Your Friend moniker, seems to be engaged with the raising of spectres.

She’s a manipulator of non-corporeal forces, the master of exploring those moments and objects we have no words for, and the strange blend of desire and anxiety that marks out a tune like the impossible-to-define ‘Come Back From It’ is a kind of magic in and of itself.

In the aftermath of his first record, however, a noticeable and induced shift in conversation occurred, as Smith gained notoriety for recklessness and trouble. This wild period of woe birthed Is The Is Are,

Instantaneously familiar and fresh, Smith grabs from everything 2012’s Oshin did so well and takes a leap forward. Awash with light and spacious guitar riffing and swathes of skittering drums, this welcome return appears a tighter attempt, falling easy on the ears.

When Oshin painted with dense dollops of distortion, Smith’s words regularly became lost within his own sonic sea. This time – with the help of co-vocalist Sky Ferreira

Kiera Thanos

HINDS

SIA

POCKET FOX

Leave Me Alone Lucky Number/Inertia

This Is Acting Inertia

The Brightest Light Independent/Bandcamp

“From this day forward, you will call me by my real name,” Kele Okereke repeats during the ambling ‘My True Name’; a hint that he would like to wipe the slate clean with Bloc Party’s first album since 2012’s Four. It’s a statement that fits with the 34-year-old frontman’s changing musical output, as he flits between pulsating dance, indie guitars and overwrought balladry on album five.

Full of blissfully raucous melodies teased with fuzzy, lo-fi guitars and enthusiastically heartfelt lyrics, Hinds’ debut is an impressive and punchy ragtag of tunes. Not an easy thing to pull off considering garage rock is now an overly populated pond. But despite this, the Madrid four-piece still manages to sound dazzlingly fresh.

Indeed, Leave Me Alone hits (almost) all the right, sun-drenched notes.

The band originally formed as the duo Deers, back in 2011. However, it wasn’t until Ade Martín (bass) and Amber Grimbergen (drums) joined Carlotta Cosials and Ana García Perrote (both vocals and guitar) that they began to flourish. Soon enough Canadian group The Dears threatened to sue over their name, hence the change to Hinds (female deer). From there it was all aboard the buzz train.

In 2014, Sia threw aside her humble alt-pop persona and ghostwriting successes to let us into her deepest, darkest self in 1000 Forms Of Fear.

Now that she’s found herself in her melodies, she’s facing the world under the guise of others: This Is Acting is an invitation to glimpse behind the veil of pop identity construction. The record’s hope may seem salve to the open wounds of its predecessor, but its true draw is its open artifice. The impact of Sia’s erstwhile collaborators is tangible, especially in the big single ‘Alive’. She takes textures designed for Adele – thumping bass drums, pounded keys and soaring hooks – and sharpens them on her own raw vocal chords.

The presence of Kanye West on ‘Reaper’ is more subtle (read: nonexistent), but welcome in shaking up the otherwise uniform texture.

With an aptly Wes Anderson-esque twee name and boasting a minimum of eight members, Canberra outfit Pocket Fox are more musical village than band. In their multiinstrumentalist bag of tricks there are guitars, trumpets, flutes, drums, clarinets and ukuleles. Everything but the kitchen sink, apparently. Indeed, The Brightest Light is cacophony most triumphant; a debut album that bounces between indie-pop, nu-folk and jazz with ease. There is perhaps a superfluity of ideas swilling around in this musical consommé, but there is much to savour and enjoy.

Channelling the likes of The Velvet Underground and The Growlers, they recorded Leave Me Alone with producer Diego García (of The Parrots). The knockout tracks are easily the jangly album opener ‘Garden’, the blisteringly wonderful ‘Chili Town’, and the genderstereotype-smashing ‘I’ll Be Your Man’.

The singer’s kooky persona from the days of We Are Born has been replaced with a cracked mirror turned on the industry that made her, but the old Sia still peeks out in the irreverence of ‘Sweet Design’.

Otherwise, her wounded singing style ironically elevates This Is Acting above your average pop record, but it can’t jump the high bar set by 1000 Forms Of Fear. The lyrics are more comfortable, the music less brave.

Pulsating with the influence of Sufjan Stevens, Fleet Foxes and Tune-Yards, the album abounds with intelligent lyrics, undulating harmonies and urbane polyrhythms.

This unique range, as well as the talents of the band’s singersongwriter, Luciana Harrison, is best showcased on the love song ‘Half Sand’. However, there is an undercurrent of imbalance throughout the album as songs often feel like they’re made up of contrasting and competing subsongs, exemplified by opener ‘Heartsong’, which begins with a soaring, almost spiritual three-line euphony before bursting into a dissonant but exuberant rumpus.

At least she’s honest. This may be acting, but it’s a damn fine performance.

The Brightest Light is the sound of an eclectic light orchestra performing indie folk-pop.

David Molloy

Anita Connors

But therein lies the problem: it’s a record that feels more like a ragtag collection of offcuts and B-sides than a cohesive whole, and it could perhaps be argued that it shouldn’t be labelled a Bloc Party album at all.

The initial impression is that Okereke wants to unleash a string of dance anthems, as on lead single ‘The Love Within’, but is held back by the necessity of including those pesky guitars Bloc Party fans have come to expect over the last 15-odd years.

Of course, much has changed personnel-wise since Four. Gone are long-term bassist Gordon Moakes and drummer Matt Tong, but how much of an effect that has had on the band’s songwriting is unclear.

Joseph Earp

Paul McBride

Singing in English with heavy Spanish accents, it is often hard to understand what they’re saying.

But this just helps add an amusing and surreal energy to the mix.

Anita Connors

INDIE ALBUM OF THE WEEK Like fellow Aussie combo The Verses, Sal Kimber and The Rollin’ Wheel are skilled purveyors of smooth, hook-laden, roots-infused pop-rock that slides effortlessly into the listener’s memory bank. The last few years have exposed Kimber to plenty of new audiences as she toured across Canada, appeared on SBS’ RocKwiz and supported the likes of Kasey Chambers, Tim Rogers and The Waifs.

24 :: BRAG :: 648 :: 03:02:16

From start to finish, DIIV’s new

Hymns Infectious / Create/Control

Gumption is the pressing weight of memory; intangible and untouchable, but ultimately impossible to ignore.

Southern Light Vitamin

collection takes on a fuller, popcentric shape; a slight evolution that manages not to stray too far from the source while emerging with its own direction.

BLOC PARTY

The overcooked balladry of ‘Fortress’, ‘Different Drugs’ and ‘Exes’ contributes the least, and while there are some deft licks elsewhere, the result of listening to Hymns is a lingering question: will the real Kele Okereke please stand up?

SAL KIMBER AND THE ROLLIN’ WHEEL

contributing Kim Gordon-like harmonies – there is an audible reduction in reverb, allowing space for Smith’s lyricism to become the focal component.

Her third album Southern Light has a relaxed vibe and a lightness of touch, which makes it the ideal accompaniment to endless sundrenched summer days. Kimber is joined on this record by friends such as Chris Parkinson (The Yearlings), Ben Franz (The Waifs)

and Rebecca Barnard.

Kimber brings a natural soulfulness to songs such as ‘Hunter’ and ‘Burrawang’, while Shane O’Mara’s sensitive production allows the tracks ample space to breathe.

One of the album highlights is the effortless groove and melodic yet rockin’ guitar that burns through the catchy ‘Come A Knockin’’.

The deft songwriting and subtly powerful musicianship that characterises Southern Light should inspire listeners to catch Kimber and The Rollin’ Wheel live at the next possible opportunity.

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

TY SEGALL - Emotional Mugger COURTNEY BARNETT - A Sea Of Split Peas THE NATIONAL - High Violet

PIXIES - Doolittle BOB DYLAN - Desire

Graham Blackley

thebrag.com

DIIV photo by Sandy Kim

Brooklyn native Zachary Cole Smith has moved about for four years, working at a singular sound and penning psychedelic state-of-mind melodies under the moniker DIIV.

a 60-something-minute account of Smith’s explorative struggle down the path of sobriety and sanity.

live reviews

snap sn ap

up all night out all week . . .

What we've been out to see...

FRNKIERO

Utopia Records Thursday January 28

‘Weighted’, the excellent set-up by the Utopia team generates a clear sound that complements not only Iero, but the gentle lull of voices that accompany him.

Since 6am, a queue of some 700 fans has steadily formed around the block. They’re decked out in the blackest of black, braving the heat and humidity of this sticky Sydney day. This swarm of people, the majority of them teenagers, has come to witness the talent of a musician whose career has proven pivotal in 21st century rock.

Iero’s songs are written in a universal tongue, a language made for the alternative clans.

His most popular tracks ‘Weighted’ and ‘Joyriding’ are typical anthemic numbers, harnessing an anxiety that appeals to the new generation of fans and those that remember his work from a decade ago.

The hype is real; one group of girls, the youngest only 14 years old, flew in from Brisbane at 3am to ensure they’d get into this exclusive acoustic performance by their hero, Frank Iero. Though he’s best known as the former lead guitarist for world-renowned emo band My Chemical Romance, in the time since their split Iero has worked hard to establish himself as a solo artist, incorporating elements of classic punk rock in his arsenal of relatable ballads and angsty anthems.

In the basement room of Utopia Records, there’s nowhere for the screams to resonate. As Iero takes to the makeshift stage, there are tears in the eyes of many of the young girls surrounding him; the ones closet to the stage are sat crosslegged, gazing up in awe at their icon.

As he opens with a gently picked riff to

GOLD CLASS, MEZKO Newtown Social Club Friday January 29

Mezko’s gritty, synth-driven sound is well suited to the Newtown scene. Their tracks are ambitious, and while they pulled off many of the complicated dynamics onstage, there were a few moments where they seemed uncertain. Their new material seems to be heading in a more upbeat, danceable direction, which could give their set a new life in the future.

Despite having released only one album, Gold Class have built a solid reputation for live performance, and Newtown Social Club was packed out by the time they took the stage. For something that started out as a writing experiment between lead singer Adam Curley and guitarist Evan James Purdey, they are polished and confident. It’s You echoes of The Smiths and Joy Division, but has its own texture.

If you pay attention to Curley’s lyrics, it’s clear this is an album about Australia – one with an anger that has largely been absent in music at the moment.

THE BAND FORMERLY KNOWN AS VIET CONG, BATPISS Newtown Social Club Monday January 25

“I got a joke for ya!” Halfway through Batpiss’ set of boiling-point intensity and knife-edge guitar rumble, bassist/vocalist Thomy Sloane takes it upon himself to alleviate the mood a little bit. He does this the only way he knows how: by playing shadow puppets with the venue’s projector, bending his arms at the elbow and clasping his hands together to visualise a part of the anatomy that would no doubt get him kicked out of this establishment were he to actually show us the real thing.

It should come as no surprise that Batpiss’ brand of humour is a little more skewed than most. If you hadn’t gathered purely on the surface value of their name, this Melbourne outfit is one that does things a little differently, dragging a noisy and cathartic style of scorched-earth sludge along by the collar and tossing off track by track into the abyss with a sense of reckless abandon. It’s executed with precision, but also allows certain points to wander off into the desert with only a wave of feedback to guide them along. It would even feel rude to describe Batpiss as devil-may-care – Satan would unquestionably jam to this.

thebrag.com

PHOTOGRAPHER :: ASHLEY MAR

You’ve never seen a more humble and considerate musician; as Iero closes his set, he makes his exit toward the garage door of the shop, setting himself up to play for those fans still left outside. The doors roll up and more screaming ensues, crowds on the street squeezing around a nine-foot opening to hear the catchiest two songs of his indoor performance.

In his determination to come to Australia and perform (in spite of the cancellation of a certain festival), Iero has not only given his new wave of fans a great performance, but he’s proved through such a simple set-up to be a fantastic frontman in his own right.

Steadily and successfully, he’s paving a way for a new kind of sound in the punk rock arsenal of alternative music.

Anna Wilson

Songs like ‘The Soft Delay’ showcased what each band member brought to the stage – a mix of influences that give Gold Class a strangely modern-feeling take on alternative rock. There is also a conscious effort to stay away from the traditional straight white male content of older punk music – Curley has explained that he wants to ensure the space the band inhabits is queer and feminised.

‘Furlong’ built to a hypnotising guitar solo and one that could stand alone, but it was complemented well with Curley’s vocals.

The closest that Gold Class have to a hit, ‘Life As A Gun’, was a suitably frenzied few minutes, and seemed to be the song they were most comfortable playing live.

There were a few lulls, but that’s to be expected for any band so new. Overall, it’s clear Gold Class have earned a dedicated fan base, and they’re only going to get better. Probably best to catch them now while they’re still considered underground, and boast about it later.

GIRLPOOL

The Famous Spiegeltent Tuesday January 26 Every band on the planet has a mediamanipulated narrative, one that becomes the shorthand way for critics to ‘explain’ them and their music. Up to this point, the story that has been chosen for Girlpool is fixated on their age, and most reviewers have cast them as little more than glorified high schoolers noodling about in their garage, flipping through their diaries and listing their crushes.

What such a narrative has no room for is their sheer volume, or the unavoidable emotional heft of their songs. This energy and abandon is even more obvious when one experiences them live, particularly in the cramped confines of the Spiegeltent.

With each song they seemed to grow, their bodies elongating till they became pale giants, towering above the diminished crowd.

Indeed, the closer you are to Girlpool the more their music makes sense; as though you have gone from facing them to standing by their side, making right flip to left. Songs like the tender and gently tormented ‘Dear Nora’ took on an added level of power live, and grungy solos broke out like spot fires, with reverb-drenched guitar adding immediacy to a song like ‘Before The World Was

Big’. Harmony Tividad and Cleo Tucker revealed themselves to be performers of the highest order, dancing in stiff-legged circles around each other, their stunted waltz an oddly powerful addition to the music.

Not even a false start or an ongoing battle with a faulty cable could stop them: oddly, such flaws only contributed to their music. Girlpool’s tunes are, after all, deeply rooted in the language of frailty and failure, filled with a heady mix of self-loathing and longing that some critics have mistakenly identified as being unique to adolescents.

Indeed, songs like ‘Cherry Picking’ and the heartbreaking ‘I Like That You Can See It’ are written in a universal tongue.

Though they may have had some in the Spiegeltent reflecting back on their own misspent youth, this reviewer was struck by how closely his own thoughts and desires aligned with those belonging to a pair of musicians he has never met hailing from a country he has never visited. This is the power of their music, and indeed the power of all great music: with each song, they embedded themselves in the life of total strangers, blowing out a private world until it stretched the length of a universe.

Joseph Earp

Emily Meller

The irony of a band with a very intentionally provocative name opening for a band currently between names on account of its former one being unintentionally provocative is surely not lost on anyone. The Band Formerly Known As Viet Cong were initially billed under their original name for this tour, but it’s been said that this will be the last run of shows they do with it attached to them. What the future holds for these four young men is anyone’s guess, but if tonight’s set proves any old saying right, it’s this: a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet. Or play this loudly. Or jam this extensively.

OK, perhaps there’s a pinch of paraphrasing in there, but it’s what serves this set justice. The drums are crisp and fi ll-heavy, matched up to jaunty bass and a twin guitar/synth attack from stage left and stage right.

It explodes, it whispers, it cries out for more and culminates in a seemingly endless avalanche of noise that would even put Shellac in their place. They may well be a band with no name right now, but one thing needs to be made exceptionally clear: that is the only thing that is missing. Hands down one of the month’s most surprising shows.

David James Young

BRAG :: 648 :: 03:01:16 :: 25

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VIEW FULL GALLERIES AT

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30:01:16 :: Enmore Theatre :: 118-132 Enmore Rd Newtown 9550 3666

DALLAS CRANE, HOLY SOUL Newtown Social Club Saturday January 30

There’s little doubt that Newtown Social Club was one of the better venues for pub rockers Dallas Crane to stage their revival – it’s a compact, friendly and real damn personal space. When you can reach out and touch your fans almost entirely by accident, you have to factor in your relationship with a crowd that could pull you off the stage itself, given the right motivation.

It’s something Holy Soul fought against for their entire set. A small audience that chose to keep its distance didn’t help, sure, but the band’s reservations read as arrogance. The boys in front preferred to joke with each other than with the crowd, and drummer Kate Wilson seemed so utterly disinterested that she stared off to the side throughout their set. Aside from some accomplished guitar mangling by Jon Hunter, the songs themselves were a forgettable sludge that sounded like the Hoodoo Gurus battling depression.

By the time Dallas Crane made their descent to the stage, the vibe was significantly drunker and frontman Dave Larkin emerged to a welcoming roar of approval. They slammed straight into the new album with ‘The Sunnyside’ and the night got wild.

Larkin’s pipes have retained as much, if not more, gravel than Scoundrels could contain on vinyl and he’s well matched with the cleaner vocals of Pete Satchell.

Even when taking the back seat, Larkin’s presence was irrepressible – he still has the fire and youthfulness of a man two decades younger, which was why his ol’ man rock’n’roll rant seemed so out of place.

“Bloody triple j or Double J or Single J, whatever they’re called these days,” he opined, to the audible sound of eyes rolling amid drunken concurrence from the middle-aged among us. It was the lamenting of music not played on “actual instruments” that showed Larkin’s age – why whine about music naturally evolving?

But back to the biff – Crane are at their best when barrelling through the bluesier side of their discography, and Scoundrels belters like ‘I’m Sorry Darling’, ‘Come To Light’ and ‘Billie’s Gonna Die Young’ had more heft in their natural state than on record. Crane are made for the pub stage, and they know and love it. They made sure the fans of old were well seen to, with ‘Sit On My Knee’ and ‘Dirty Hearts’ leading the charge into their hallowed past. New drummer Steve Pinkerton is the happiest motherfucker I’ve seen on a kit since Thomas Pridgen – he gets the band so well you’d think he was a founding member.

JOSH PYKE, WINTERBOURNE Taronga Zoo Friday January 29

Incredibly, although lightning had struck Sydney’s Centrepoint Tower with a deafening boom only hours before, the rain held off entirely for this peaceful summer evening with Josh Pyke at Taronga Zoo. Pyke played old and new classics and welcomed an audience of families to the first show touring his latest album But For All These Shrinking Hearts.

To start the night, Central Coast duo Winterbourne brought energy and rhythm to their indie-folk tunes and did a strong job of pepping up a relaxed audience with clapped beats and warm harmonies.

Though Josh Pyke has been around the live scene for a while, with five studio albums under his belt, he announced this was the largest headline show he’d ever performed.

It took a couple of songs to warm up the audience in the space, but the great thing about the wide outdoor stage was that you could enjoy the concert your own way – either relaxing on the grass with a picnic and friends, or up close and personal by the stage singing and dancing.

Pyke’s acoustic tunes provided the perfect atmosphere for both.

What we've been out to see...

COURTNEY BARNETT, JEP AND DEP Taronga Zoo Thursday January 28

There’s no venue in Sydney quite like the Twilight at Taronga set-up – maybe even in Australia. As the sun set over the city and revellers of all ages settled into their picnic spots, the atmosphere could not have been warmer. The folks at Taronga Zoo clearly took pride in their welcome to country: so much so, in fact, that the three indigenous performers could well be considered the openers, initiating us with traditional songs and dances that had kids from the crowd already on their feet.

They certainly outshone Jep and Dep, a folk duo whose quips to each other read more like deep-set passive aggression. If it’s an act, they may need to reconsider it. Their droll folk ballads garnered an enthusiastic response from a few isolated members of the crowd – the rest weren’t sad to see them go.

It would be hard to picture Courtney Barnett bearing any such scorn – she and her band stepped out humble as ever onto what she quickly dubbed “the most amazing space I’ve played in”, before diving straight into the set.

The funny thing about Barnett’s records is the simplicity of her song structures, which

belie what a rock god she is when playing live. Wild-haired and completely pick-free (with the bleeding digits to prove it), her sleepy dolewave demeanour disappeared and Barnett emerged like the riot grrrls’ second coming. In a few select moments it was as if she were channelling Gareth Liddiard. Her kick-arse band, made up of the two Aussiest blokes you’ll ever see (Andrew ‘Bones’ Sloane and Dave Mudie), delivered the goods without drawing the spotlight.

Sound issues made it tough for those at the stage’s edge, including a broken speaker, but they hardly cared and an efficient crew made short work of it. In typically endearing fashion, Barnett made an awkward attempt at banter through the brief delays, even offering to play Tame Impala songs just to save her from talking.

Probably wise, as ‘Pedestrian At Best’, ‘History Eraser’ and ‘Nobody Really Cares If You Don’t Go To The Party’ gave the impression that we can expect a radiofriendly single about the values of Lemsip from her any moment now. That’s her real magic – even at her rock star best, she still feels like your mate Courtney sharing a picnic blanket with you at the zoo.

The enormous fireworks display over the Quay didn’t hurt either. Top that, Enmore.

David Molloy

Live highlights from his new album included ‘Hollering Hearts’ and ‘Still Some Big Deal’, which a lot of the fans were already singing along to, while ‘Middle Of The Hill’ and ‘Leeward Side’ were classics that got even more people dancing. It was a big set of hits, which brought to light just how many songs Pyke has written that have a strong connection with his listeners – particularly with his poetic lyrics that even made it onto items at the merch stand.

PHOTOGRAPHER :: ASHLEY MAR

Though there were a few technical difficulties and little slip-ups along the way, Pyke’s friendly sense of humour kept the audience at ease and moved everything along smoothly. But what only added to the enjoyable evening was the fact that Taronga Zoo had the event running like a well-oiled machine. With barely any queues for food, drinks and bathrooms, streamlined transport options to and from the venue, and plenty of room to sit and enjoy, the whole night was a relaxing package.

Pub rock is alive and well, and that’s a good thing, but it’s at its best when it isn’t drawing attention to its wrinkles.

Pyke gave the audience a quintessential Sydney summer evening to help kick off the Twilight At Taronga series, and with a string of talented performers coming up, it’s the place to be for a relaxing night of music.

David Molloy

Erin Rooney

sabbath sessions

PICS :: AM

adam lambert

PICS :: AM

up all night out all week . . .

live reviews

31:01:16 :: Frankie’s Pizza :: 50 Hunter St Sydney 26 :: BRAG :: 648 :: 03:02:16

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g g guide gig g

send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com

pick of the week Purity Ring

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 9

Sydney Opera House

Purity Ring 9pm. $49.

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 3 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK Summer Deck Sessions - feat: Sam Tracy + Mimosa Duo + Ben Fraser The Rhythm Hut, Gosford. 6pm. Free.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Hammerhead Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8pm.

Free.

Josué & The Soulbenders + The Consouls The Vanguard, Newtown. 7pm. $13.80.

Phil Scorgie’s Fusion Fire Foundry616, Ultimo.

8:30pm. $21.50.

Tall Hearts + The Scat Sundays + Chachi Brass Monkey, Cronulla. 7pm. $14.30.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS A Gazillion Angry Mexicans + Blackbird

Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 6pm. Free.

Atliyan Childs The Basement, Circular Quay. 7pm. $24.30.

Beach House Sydney Opera House, Sydney. 9pm. $54.

Dr Taos’ Medicine Show + Justine Wahlin + Dr Taos + Fleur Wiber Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 9pm.

Free.

Gigi D’Alessio Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 7:45pm. $125.

Mark Travers Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9pm. Free.

Muso’s Club Jam Night Bald Faced Stag

Hotel, Leichhardt.

8pm. Free.

Punk Rock Karaoke Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7pm. $39.

Vibrations At Valve feat: Band Comp Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm.

Free.

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 4 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Equus Foundry616, Ultimo.

8:30pm. $21.50.

Slide McBride

Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9pm. Free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS Chvrches Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 8:30pm. $69.

Glenn Esmond Mr Tipply’s, Sydney.

5pm. Free.

Ithaqua + Thorax + Bog + Siberian Hell Sounds + Narrow Lands Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. $15.

Jon Stevens The Basement, Circular Quay. 7pm. $39.60.

Peter Head The Push Bar, The Rocks. 7pm. Free.

Sally Seltmann + Scott Spark + Noire Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7pm. $20.

Songs Of Heartbreak - feat: Adam Young + Flanagan + Jason Walker + Sam Shinazzi Midnight Special, Newtown. 7pm. Free.

The Delta Riggs + Bad News Toilet + Food Court Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm.

Free.

The Miserable Summer Tour feat: Disentomb + I + Valiance + Iconoclast + Blind Oracle Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt.

7pm. $16.90.

Twilight At Taronga - feat: John Butler Trio + Tin Pan Orange Taronga Zoo, Mosman. 7pm. $90.95.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK A Man Called Stu + The Morrisons + Post To Wire DJ The Vanguard, Newtown. 7pm. $18.80.

Ainsley Farrell Band + Georgia Mulligan + I Feel Better Already Lazybones Lounge,

Marrickville. 8:30pm. $10.

Harbourview Hullabaloo - feat: Zack Martin + Saffire Rose + Guests Harbourview Hotel, The Rocks. 7pm.

Free.

Little Georgia The Midnight Special, Newtown. 7pm. Free.

Summer Deck Sessions 2 - feat: Fletcher Pilon + Black Snow + Gaia Scarf The Rhythm Hut, Gosford. 8pm. Free.

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 5 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Brasilian Journey - Edition Carnival - feat: DJ Paulo + Mark Chrissy + Performing Brasil Play Bar, Surry Hills.

4pm. Free.

Funkstar Penrith RSL, Penrith.

9pm. Free.

Greening Ear To Ear Foundry616, Ultimo.

8:30pm. $21.50.

The Protesters Django Bar @ Camelot Lounge, Marrickville. 7:30pm. $17.70.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK Betty & Oswald Hornsby Mall, Hornsby. 5pm. Free.

Blaming Vegas Kings Park Tavern, Kings Park. 7pm.

Free.

Rebecca Moore Lord Raglan Hotel, Sydney. 7pm. Free.

Summer Deck Sessions 3 - feat: Luke Mahler + Backward Scenes + Danielle Deckhard The Rhythm Hut, Gosford. 6pm. Free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS Altiyan Childs & The

New Rebellion + Hand Held Human + Lathams Grip Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8pm. $23.50.

Authority Downfall + Sydney City Blues + Head In A Jar + Hela + Vacant Shade Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. $10.

Bill Kacir Chatswood RSL, Chatswood. 5pm.

Free.

Blake Tailor Duo The Fiddler, Rouse Hill. 8pm. Free.

Blake Wiggins Vineyard Hotel, Vineyard. 9pm. Free.

Courtyard Sessions - feat: Ed Saloman Seymour Centre, Chippendale. 6pm.

Free.

Dappled Cities Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $28.

Dave Anthony 99 On York, Sydney.

5:30pm. Free.

Diesel Bridge Hotel, Rozelle.

8pm. $40.78.

Evie Dean Zest Grill House, Rooty Hill. 5:30pm.

Free.

Geoff Davis The Push Bar, The Rocks. 7:30pm. Free.

Jon Mclaughlin The Newsagency, Marrickville. 7:30pm. $21.50.

Jon Toogood Brass Monkey, Cronulla. 7pm. Free.

Lennon - Through A Glass Onion feat: John Waters + Stewart D’Arrietta Rooty Hill RSL Club, Rooty Hill. 8pm. $45.

Mandarin Band Revesby Workers Club, Revesby.

8:30pm. Free.

Reckless Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 8pm. Free.

Riley Beech Padstow Park Hotel, Padstow. 7pm. Free.

Rob Eastwood Castle Hill RSL, Castle Hill. 6pm. Free.

Suite Az + DJ Troy T The Arthouse, Sydney. 5pm. Free.

Ted Nash Manly Leagues Club, Brookvale. 9:30pm.

Free.

The Flamin’ Beauties

Crown Hotel, Surry Hills. 8pm. Free.

The Protesters Django Bar @ Camelot Lounge, Marrickville. 8pm. $15.50.

The Story Of CBGBs - feat: Damien Lovelock The Vanguard, Newtown. 6:30pm. $28.80.

Vanessa Heinitz Royal Motor Yacht Club, Newport.

8:15pm. Free.

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 6 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK James Bay Hordern Pavilion, Moore Park. 7pm. $74.53.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Blues Point Foundry616, Ultimo.

8:30pm. $32.50.

Chris Gudu Django Bar @ Camelot Lounge, Marrickville. 7:30pm. $20.

Jazz Rooms Funk & Soul Club - feat: Russ Dewbury + Inner West Reggae Disco Machine + Lyre Byrdland + Yum Yum The Basement, Circular Quay. 9pm. $24.30.

Jellybean Jam Penrith RSL, Penrith.

9pm. Free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS Alfredo Malabello The Push Bar, The Rocks. 7:30pm. Free.

Bananarama + Wang Chung + The Chantoozies Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 8pm. $85.

Blake Wiggins Red Cow Inn, Penrith.

5pm. Free.

Cath & Him Wallacia Hotel,

songwriters’ secrets WITH

ED SALOMAN The First Song I Wrote 1.

I was 11 and it was a song called ‘Ragdoll’. I can’t remember all the lyrics exactly but know that it must’ve been about the extreme emotional turmoil that ravaged me as a young chap… heavy.

2.

The Last Song I Released The last song I released was called ‘We’re Not Alone’. I recorded it and wrote it with my old band members and is probably the most anthemy thing we’d ever written. It came from a guitar and bass riff that I’d had lying around for ages and was a bastard to write, as it could’ve gone in any number of different directions.

Songwriting Secrets 3.

For me, songs are like phone bills. They creep up and hit me when I can least deal with them. For that reason, for the last ten years, pretty much every song I’ve ever written has started life on my iPhone voice recorder either thebrag.com

as awkward humming/whistling or a really poor quality acoustic ditty.

The Song That Makes Me Proud 4.

Our [Louis London] track ‘This Night Time’ made me the most proud but not in the

way we ended up recording it. The recording was good but whenever we played it live we changed it up heaps and made it more of a ballad. Every time we played it live in that way I got chills. I think maybe because by dialling it down a bit, we could increase the emotional range of the track as a whole.

The Song That Changed My Life Jeff Buckley’s version of ‘Lilac Wine’.

5.

It’s perfection in a cover, which I lose my mind

over literally every time I listen to it. Perfection.

What: Courtyard Sessions Where: Seymour Centre When: Friday February 5 BRAG :: 648 :: 03:02:16 :: 27

g g guide gig g

send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com Wallacia. 8pm. Free.

Dave Debs St George Leagues Club, Kogarah. 7pm.

Free.

Diesel Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $40.

Glenn Esmond Fortune Of War, The Rocks. 3pm. Free.

Groovology Revesby Workers Club, Revesby.

8:30pm. Free.

John Dixon Panania Diggers, Panania. 8pm. Free.

Jon Toogood Factory Floor, Marrickville. 7pm. $20.

José González Sydney Opera House, Sydney. 7:30pm. $64.

Kalya Scintilla & Eve Olution Manning Bar, Camperdown. 10pm. $25.

Laurie Bennett Penrith RSL, Penrith.

2pm. Free.

Lennon (Looking Through A Glass Onion) Wentworthville Leagues Club, Wentworthville. 8pm. $45.

Natasha Duarte Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 5:45pm. Free.

Ocean Alley Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $21.

Panorama Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 8pm. Free.

Rebecca Johnson Band Carousel Inn Hotel, Rooty Hill. 8pm. Free.

Rebecca Moore Panania Hotel, Panania. 8:30pm.

Free.

Sarah Paton Novotel, Rooty Hill.

6:30pm. Free.

Spit Roasting Bibbers Picton Hotel, Picton.

8pm. Free.

Stag Nights - feat: Reign On Mars Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt.

7pm. $16.90.

Stephanie Lea Plough & Harrow, Camden. 8pm. Free.

Ted Nash Duo Coogee Bay Hotel, Coogee. 11:30pm.

Free.

The Party Scarves Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9:30pm. Free.

Thunder Fox + The Dolphin Show + Bin Juice Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8pm.

Free.

Twilight At Taronga - feat: The Waifs + Ruby Boots Taronga Zoo, Mosman. 7pm. $70.95.

Whelan & Gover The Belvedere Hotel, Sydney. 7:30pm. Free.

Winston Surfshirt Freda’s, Chippendale.

7pm. $5.

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 7 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK Rhythym & Bowls Marrickville Bowling Club, Marrickville.

5:30pm. Free.

Songquest 5 - feat: Russell Neal + Sean And Miss Bow + James Donnelly + Ziggy Mcneill + Mysterious Universe + Johno Purdon + Pete Scully Harlequin Inn, Pyrmont. 3pm. Free.

Sunday Live At The Bowlo Marrickville Bowling Club, Marrickville.

4:30pm. Free.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Bob Marley Bday Jam Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 4pm.

Free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS Blake Wiggins The Mill Hotel, Milperra. 12pm. Free.

Glenn Esmond Fortune Of War, The

Rocks. 6pm. Free.

Hey Grrl! - feat: The Mumps + DJ Fleetwoodcrack + + Liz Ham + Jade Muratore + Mini-Zine Fair The Bearded Tit, Redfern. 2pm. Free.

José González Sydney Opera House, Sydney. 7:30pm. $64.

Lonesome Train Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 4:30pm. Free.

Peter Byrne Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 8:30pm. Free.

Peter Kaldor Live Midnight Special, Newtown. 7pm. Free.

Pirra + Siren Lines Town Hall Hotel, Sydney. 7pm. Free.

Rebecca Moore Macarthur Tavern, Campbelltown. 2pm.

Free.

St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival 2016 - feat: Chvrches + Grimes + Flume + Beach House + More Sydney College of the Arts, Rozelle. 11am. $165.

Stephanie Lea Penrith Panthers, Penrith. 3:30pm. Free.

Sydney Laneway Festival After Party - feat: Fidlar + Chvrches (DJ set) + The Internet (DJ set) + Japanese Wallpaper (DJ set) + Fascinator + Siberia Records (DJ set) + Kirin J Callinan (DJ set) + Dom Vs Dom (DJ set) + Laneway DJs Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 9pm. $37.90.

Sydney Rock & Roll Alternative Market feat: The Rumjacks + The Detonators Manning Bar, Camperdown.

10:30am. $6.

Ted Nash Ingleburn Hotel, Ingleburn. 1pm. Free.

Vanessa Heinitz The Rivo Hotel, Riverstone. 4pm.

Free.

Yossarian The Vanguard, Newtown. 6pm. $11.80.

MONDAY FEBRUARY 8 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK Live & Original At The Corridor - feat: Dave Ingleton + Adrian Taos + Beck Fielding Corridor Bar, Newtown. 7pm. Free.

Righteous Voodoo Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8pm.

Free.

Rosie Catalano 107 Projects, Redfern. 6pm. $10.

Songsonstage feat: Russel Neal + Chris Brookes Kelly’s On King, Newtown. 7:30pm.

Free.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Latin & Jazz Open Mic Night The World Bar, Kings Cross. 7pm. Free.

Reggae Mondays feat: Eric Renaud And Caribbean Soul Civic Underground, Sydney. 10pm. Free.

Sonic Mayhem Orchestra Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8pm.

Free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS Gillian Welch Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 7pm. $86.05.

Health Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $44.80.

Kino Sydney - feat: Rosie Catalano 107 Projects, Redfern. 6pm. $10.

Majical Cloudz Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7pm. $41.50.

Marty R Orient Hotel, The

Rocks. 9pm. Free.

The Monday Jam Beresford Hotel, Surry Hills. 6pm.

Free.

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 9 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK Live & Original At Mr Falcon’s - feat: Jasmine Beth +

Harley Van Valen + Cala Burke + Dave Ingleton Mr Falcon’s, Glebe.

7:30pm. Free.

Songsonstage feat: Russel Neal Gladstone Hotel, Dulwich Hill. 7:30pm.

Free.

Songsonstage feat: Stuart Jammin Kelly’s On King, Newtown. 8pm.

Free.

William Fitzsimmons + Krista Polvere Newtown Social Club, Newtown.

7:30pm. $49.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS Bandquest - feat: Zack Martin Ruby L’otel, Rozelle.

8pm. Free.

Co Pilot Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9pm. Free.

DIIV Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 8pm. $49.

Live Rock & Roll Karaoke Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 4pm. Free.

Purity Ring Sydney Opera House, Sydney. 9pm. $49.

Shining Bird + The Ocean Party + Flowertruck Brass Monkey, Cronulla. 7pm. $12.25.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Acronym Orchestra Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8:30pm.

Free.

speed date WITH

ASHLEIGH MANNIX AND JUSTIN CARTER FROM LITTLE GEORGIA Your Profile 1.

We are an Australian alt-country duo that sounds just like two friends jamming,

with plenty of guitars and harmonies.

The best audience is an interactive and appreciative one. Like most musicians, our performance is best when we can have fun and feed off a great crowd. When we’re not playing music, we like to be spending time with family and friends, and spending as much time as we can near the ocean.

Keeping Busy 2.

We have had a busy few months touring, writing and preparing to release our

debut album Bootleg. The coming months are full of more shows and good times along the east coast of Australia to launch our album.

Best Gig Ever A late-night show at an upstairs club 3. in Tamworth at the Country Music Festival.

It was a long day, we had already played two shows and we hit the stage at around midnight. While it may not have been our

28 :: BRAG :: 648 :: 03:02:16

best ever performance, the vibe in the room was really happening and extremely memorable.

Current Playlist 4.

We have been listening to a collection of great American lyricists such as Rayland Baxter, Jason Isbell and Chris Stapleton.

Each of these songwriters tell great stories and take you away with their words. On the live scene, whilst we were in Nashville late last year we caught an electrifying set from The Watkins Family Hour featuring Fiona Apple. It completely blew us away.

Your Ultimate Rider 5.

We are pretty simple folk. Our ultimate rider would be a six pack of beer and a bottle of whisky… also a complimentary meal is nice.

What: Bootleg out now indepedently Where: The Midnight Special When: Thursday February 4

thebrag.com

g g picks gig p

up all night out all week...

Chase The Sun “ONE MEAN, GUN-SLINGING POWER TRIO”

Beach House

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 3 A Gazillion Angry Mexicans + Blackbird Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 6pm. Free.

Beach House Sydney Opera House, Sydney. 9pm. $54.

Gigi D’Alessio Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 7:45pm. $125.

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 4 Chvrches Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 8:30pm. $69.

Ithaqua + Thorax + Bog + Siberian Hell Sounds + Narrow Lands Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. $15.

Jon Stevens The Basement, Circular Quay. 7pm. $39.60.

Little Georgia The Midnight Special, Newtown. 7pm.

Free.

Sally Seltmann + Scott Spark + Noire Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7pm. $20.

The Delta Riggs + Bad News Toilet + Food Court Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm.

Free.

Twilight At Taronga - Feat: John Butler Trio + Tin Pan Orange Taronga Zoo, Mosman. 7pm. $90.95.

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 5 Courtyard Sessions - Feat: Ed Saloman Seymour Centre, Chippendale. 6pm. Free.

Dappled Cities Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $28.

The Story Of CBGBs - Feat: Damien Lovelock The Vanguard, Newtown. 6:30pm. $28.80.

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 6 Bananarama + Wang Chung + The Chantoozies Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 8pm. $85.

Diesel

Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $40.

James Bay Hordern Pavilion, Moore Park. 7pm. $74.53.

Jon Toogood Factory Floor, Marrickville. 7pm. $20.

José González Sydney Opera House, Sydney. 7:30pm. $64.

Ocean Alley Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $21.

Twilight At Taronga - Feat: The Waifs + Ruby Boots Taronga Zoo, Mosman. 7pm. $70.95.

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 7 St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival 2016 - Feat: Chvrches + Grimes + Flume + Beach House + More Sydney College Of The Arts, Rozelle.

11am. $165.

Sydney Laneway Festival After Party Feat: Fidlar + Chvrches (DJ Set) + The Internet (DJ Set) + Japanese Wallpaper (DJ Set) + Fascinator + Siberia Records (DJ Set) + Kirin J Callinan (DJ Set) + Dom Vs Dom (DJ Set) + Laneway DJs Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 9pm. $37.90.

www.chasethesunband.com

20 FEB - THE BASEMENT - SYDNEY + LLOYD SPIEGEL + CLAUDE HAY $20 - THEBASEMENT.COM.AU

Sydney Rock & Roll Alternative Market - Feat: The Rumjacks + The Detonators Manning Bar, Camperdown. 10:30am. $6.

MONDAY FEBRUARY 8 Gillian Welch Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 7pm. $86.05.

Health Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $44.80.

Majical Cloudz Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7pm. $41.50.

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 9

wed

03 Feb

(9:00PM - 12:00AM)

05 Feb

(10:00PM - 1:40AM)

SATURDAY AFTERNOON

sat

06 Feb

5:45PM  8:45PM

SUNDAY AFTERNOON

sun

07 Feb

mon

08 Feb

(4:30PM - 7:30PM)

(8:30PM - 12:00AM)

(10:00PM - 1:15AM)

Chvrches photo by Christina Kernohan

(9:00PM - 12:00AM)

fri

William Fitzsimmons + Krista Polvere Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7:30pm. $49.

Shining Bird + The Ocean Party + Flowertruck Brass Monkey, Cronulla. 7pm. $12.25.

thu

04 Feb

tue

09 (9:00PM - 12:00AM)

Feb

(9:00PM - 12:00AM)

Chvrches

thebrag.com

BRAG :: 648 :: 03:02:16 :: 29

brag beats

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

dance music news club, dance and hip hop in brief... with Chris Martin and Anita Connors

five things WITH GERMAN

Slumberjack

BRIGANTE

PACHA SYDNEY GETS SLUMBERJACK

Morgan Then and Fletcher Ehlers – together Slumberjack – are on the path to world domination. They’re yet another hotly tipped music act from Perth (really, there must be something in the water over there, right?), and with a combined age of less than 45, their peak years are stretching out ahead of them. They love a slice of the bass, and their tracks churn along at impressive tempo, so they’re the ideal party act for Pacha Sydney this Saturday February 6 at Ivy.

on the burgeoning Sydney hip hop scene around that time. He’s still on the circuit today, sharing a bunch of Afro-inspired hip hop beats with his followers. Joining Adverse at Play Bar’s bash are Makoto and the venue’s own Benny Hinn.

Growing Up 1.

When I was a child, the band which influenced me the most was

ballads, soundtracks to electronic music from my top artists.

Music, Right Here, 5.

Right Now I think the music scene is really

The Prodigy. Thanks to its music, I started to get into electronic music.

I grew up surrounded by music – my father is a flamenco guitarist and my cousin is a well-known saxophonist and flute player in Spain. Flamenco music was always in my house. I would love pop and hip hop music and I think all of this had a lot of influence in my life, so I ended up with all this [musical] cocktail that led me into electronic music.

Your Crew 3.

I think that teamwork is the key for being successful in music.

divided. In my humble opinion, the most important [thing] is trying to overcome your own limits. Anyway, as long as I have people’s affection I will consider myself a successful artist. In my opinion, the best DJ [sets are by] Dyed Soundorom (EB); every time I listened to him or any gig I share with him is just a simple pleasure.

[His sets are] full of groove and very personal, played with analogue and digital, setting the beat in order to make the audience feel the vibe.

2.

Inspirations Michael Jackson was my idol; I listened to him all the time since I was ten. I used to buy all his cassettes. I was inspired by many artists and music styles from pop,

My current manager was interested in me from the beginning. At the beginning, I had to take really tough jobs to get by and help my family, however I don’t need to take these kind of jobs at the moment.

The Music You Make And Play 4.

I hope that my album will have a great reception; some of the tracks are already included in Dirtybird, 20/20 Vision and Monaberry. The songs have a lot of groove and I believe that they can have a great impact – I hope people don’t stop dancing [laughs].

Nicole Millar

What: S.A.S.H By Night Where: Home Nightclub When: Sunday February 7

PLAY BAR TURNS THREE

Courtney Act and Conchita Wurst photo by Jeffrey Feng Photography

It’s a big weekend for Play Bar. The Surry Hills music den is celebrating three whole years of the funk, and its third birthday party this Saturday February 6 will feature a trio of Play Bar’s favourite selectors behind the decks. Adverse, one of the founders of independent urban label The Groovedealers back in the mid2000s, became an influential player

CHINESE NEW YEAR BEATS

The Year of the Monkey is almost upon us. Chinese New Year will arrive next week, and the Monkey is due to bring with it the elements metal and gold, so we’re set to face more financial events this year.

Metal is also associated with wind, suggesting the status of events will change quickly. If that all sounds too stressful, then why not dance your troubles away? Marquee is hosting its Chinese New Year party on Friday February 5, with giveaways all night including fortune cookies.

There’ll also be two LED lion dance performances. Sounds festive.

GUILTY SIMPSON AND KATALYST The time has come. Guilty Simpson, the Detroit rapper, is putting the crown on his collaborative efforts with Australia’s own production star Katalyst at a live show this Friday February 5 at Plan B Small Club. The two got together back in 2011 when Simpson was looking for some downtime on his Australian tour, and their first track, ‘War Dance’, grew into an album, Detroit’s Son. Simpson has been generous in his praise for Katalyst’s production chops, and their dream team will be something to see this weekend. Sampa The Great opens the show.

HYPED UP AT LAUNDRY

It’s a bass-fuelled double header this weekend at Chinese Laundry.

Firepower Records’ Protohype – AKA Max Hype – is on the way to share his new genre hybrid, dub hop.

No prizes for guessing what sounds he’s going for there. It’ll be his second visit to Laundry, and anyone who was there last time will know the epicness to expect. Meanwhile, Dabow is also on the bill, the hiphop-influenced side project of the DJ/producer Wobad. See what he did there? Join the party on Friday February 5.

Guilty Simpson

Musica Copa

IT’S NEW NICOLE MILLAR

In follow-up to last year’s lush ‘Wait’ comes Nicole Millar’s second single ‘Tremble’. On the back of supporting Troye Sivan at the Enmore Theatre, Millar has announced a series of solo gigs as well as the release the title track of her new EP, Tremble. Boasting luscious beats, slow-burning synths, and smooth, sultry vocals, ‘Tremble’ showcases the enormous talent of the locally grown electronic performer. And indeed, the song hints to an EP inspired by artists like The Weeknd, Major Lazer and MØ. It will be out this Friday February 5. Millar plays the Beach Road Hotel on Wednesday April 20 and Plan B Small Club on Friday April 29.

30 :: BRAG :: 648 :: 03:02:16

MUSICA COPA BRINGS THE BEATS

Musica Copa won’t just be kicking charity goals when the five-a-side soccer tournament returns this week. It’ll also be kicking dance tunes. Thanks to FBi Radio, the soundtrack to the day’s sporting events will be hosted by digital station FBi Click. Running from 2pm until grand final time at 10pm, FBi Click will be keeping spirits up with musical vibrations throughout the day. Electronic acts What So Not and The Meeting Tree will also be taking care of tunes. This year, teams are vying to win $14,000 in prizemoney for their nominated charity.

Universal Music, Groovin The Moo, Future Classic and more have players battling it out for the top spot.

Beverages and nourishment will be provided by the Young Henrys and Mary’s Beer and Burger Bar. Musica Copa 2016 takes place Friday February 5 at KIKOFF Fraser Park.

thebrag.com

SAT 6 FEBRUARY SPECIAL GUESTS

BEN NOTT JACOB MALMO JAY DOYLE AAISTE RESIDENTS

MESAN KERRY WALLACE

OFFICIAL AFTERHOURS

7. 3 0 P M T I L L L AT E

$10 BEFORE 12AM / $15 AFTER 1 9 9 E N M O R E R O A D W W W . S LY F O X . S Y D N E Y

BY DAY

BY NIGHT

Sunday 7th February Paul Johnson Dan Zina Hazey

GREENWOOD HOTEL

German Brigante Sucre Sale ࠮ Nox Marcelo Cura Rabbit Taxi ࠮ Mesan Kerry Wallace Jacob Malmo ࠮ Andy Wright Smooth Prince ࠮ Anomaly

HOME NIGHTCLUB 8pm to 4am

1pm to 9pm

www.sash.net.au thebrag.com

BRAG :: 648 :: 03:02:16 :: 31

Japanese Wallpaper The Graduate By Aaron Streatfeild for shows, all the while Strum was finishing his last two years of school.

with his friends and peers is a winning combination.

“My parents put a lot of importance and emphasis on my siblings and I having a good education, which is super important,” Strum says. “I have a really close relationship with my management. Every time something came up we would have a chat about it, and if there were a reason I couldn’t do it – like if school was too intense – they would understand. If something came along that I really wanted to do, I would find a way to make it work. It’s pretty fun, and you know, it’s nice to have something outside of school. Obviously school is important, but it’s not everything and it’s nice to have something as equally important outside of that.”

“I try and work with people that I love, my friends and people whose musicality I really respect.

Each collaboration came together naturally – there wasn’t any industry bureaucracy around it, it was just me showing a track to a friend and them being interested and us working something out. I couldn’t be more comfortable with the people on my records, and that’s a really cool feeling because you have someone to share it with.”

Free from the chains of balancing school and working life, Strum has some big things in store for 2016.

Our interview finds him in Sydney, where he has spent the last few days collaborating with friends.

T

he last two years have witnessed a whirlwind of success for multiinstrumentalist and producer Gab Strum AKA Japanese Wallpaper.

The Melbourne youngster has another busy year ahead in 2016, with Laneway Festival appearances and a full-length album in the works.

Liberated by his completion of high

school in November, Strum says the last few months of 2015 were a juggling act between studies and his Japanese Wallpaper responsibilities.

“I spent the last few months towards the end of high school really giving it a proper crack, which wasn’t a great time I guess, but having finished school and having another tool in

the toolkit for when the time comes, I feel it was worth it.”

In 2014 the then-18-year-old won triple j’s Unearthed High competition, skyrocketing the Japanese Wallpaper project to new heights.

The rapid growth in popularity brought with it a string of musical collaborations and a high demand

“I’m in town co-writing with a few friends. I just started working on an album a couple of weeks ago. I kind of sat down and was like, ‘Right, time to make a record.’ I was kind of struggling a bit because all last year I was studying and not writing much. I figured a few days away hanging out and writing with friends would be a good way to start writing again. I am hoping this will get things started.”

Strum is no stranger to collaboration.

With his tracks featuring the likes of Wafia, Pepa Knight, Jesse Davidson and Airling, it is evident that working

Japanese Wallpaper’s collaborations don’t end at the studio either, and Strum will be taking his mates on the road for his upcoming Laneway Festival appearances.

“I’m playing with a band for the first time with those shows. We have just spent a week rehearsing in Melbourne and getting all the songs together. I’m singing and playing keys and bass guitar.

Graham [Ritchie] from Holy Holy and Airling’s band will be playing guitar and I have a drummer called Miles [Thomas] who plays in Montaigne.

The group is full of great players and lovely people, it’s going to be so much fun.”

What: Laneway Festival 2016 With: Chvrches, Grimes, Flume, Beach House and many more Where: Sydney College of the Arts When: Sunday February 7

Shamir Get Ratchet By Anita Connors

T

hanks to the release of an industry-shaking, genre-vaulting, candy-pop-pulsating collision course of a debut album – careering through hip hop, disco, soul, R&B, house and ’90s pop – Shamir Bailey became one of the most fascinating performers to emerge in 2015. Laced with luminous, androgynous vocals, his album Ratchet is nothing short of infectious.

The Las Vegas-born and based Shamir identifies as genderqueer, and is OK with he/him pronouns.

He tweeted last year: “To those who keep asking, I have no gender, no sexuality and no fucks to give.”

Speaking to the BRAG, Shamir seeks to clarify that now-famous declaration and how it relates to his career as an artist. “I just hope that it helps people realise that, you know, it’s OK to be different and it’s OK to completely be yourself,” he says.

While the glistening melodies may have had fans hooked from the start, Shamir’s candid lyrics are what have resonated most with listeners. “Everything I write about is like different chapters of my life, you know?” he says. “I feel like it’s definitely an album about kind of like finding yourself or finding your place in the world, like a young adult between 18 and 21. So a lot of it is just like that weird young adolescence, but still completely relatable to anyone around those ages or anyone older who has been through it.”

Shamir’s first big break came when, as a 16-year-old, he emailed Nick Sylvester, head of Brooklyn label Godmode, with demos he had recorded in his bedroom. Soon he was flying across the country to record his debut EP, Northtown.

This led to a record deal with XL Recordings, home to the likes of Adele, M.I.A. and FKA Twigs. “It feels amazing,” says Shamir of his sharp

32 :: BRAG :: 648 :: 03:02:16

ascension. “I mean, it’s literally a dream come true.”

Despite his music impressing tastemakers and fans alike, Shamir’s rise has still caught him by surprise.

Even the success of his breakout single ‘On The Regular’ came as a shock. “It’s so funny for me, because I kind of originally wrote it for it to be thrown away,” he laughs. “The track as you know now, it’s a very busy song, it’s a very busy track. I was like, ‘Oh, I can sing that fast.’”

At the same time, Shamir didn’t want the final product to seem to the industry gatekeepers as if he “didn’t at least try to do something to it. So I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m just going to rap.

You know, they probably won’t like it, but they can at least see that I tried.’

And yeah, for some reason, everyone seemed to like it and they were like, ‘Oh, this is going to be your first single.’ And I was like, ‘OK then!’”

Shamir grew up with his mother and aunt, always surrounded by music, and away from the casinos and bright lights of the Las Vegas Strip.

His aunt always had performers and artists dropping by. “She’s always been like a creative writer,” Shamir explains. “But she doesn’t play anything or sing, so she always had a lot of friends over when I was younger, like musicians and singers … and they’d put music behind the words. And I think they planted the seed for me.”

This led the young Shamir to beg his mum at the age of nine for a guitar, after which he taught himself how to play. Eventually, he began to write his own music. “I think when I got older, my aunt was like, ‘Wait, now I don’t have to look for musicians or singers … to bring my songs to life, when I’ve got my nephew right here.’ So that’s how we started collaborating when I was younger, and yeah, she’s almost like my life songwriting partner, I feel.”

Songwriting is something that now comes quite easily to Shamir. But he strongly believes any song should have a message behind it. “Anybody can write a song, you know, and anybody can write something catchy or good,” he says. “But I just want to make sure that what I’m doing and what I’m putting, you know, my face and personality behind, it must mean something to me. I’m doing what I’m doing with feeling.”

The music Shamir was introduced to during his formative years was so eclectic that it initiated a lifelong love for both country and punk music.

“Yeah – it kind of seems crazy, but it was all just kind of a natural evolution,” he says. “And I think now like with my soul stuff I can, you know, kind of mix everything that I did and listened to into one thing that works for me. So everything on Ratchet is influenced by everything.

Even ‘Darker’ has a punk sample in it, or ‘Call It Off’ is directly influenced by a country song from Jewel.”

This very idea of being inspired by contrasting or unusual ideas is at the heart of Shamir’s creative process. Wise beyond his 21 years, he believes: “I’m always a person who likes to do, you know, multiple different things, and [am] easily inspired and always want to try something new. So I think at the end of the day, it’s good just to tell people to be themselves, and don’t be scared to be different, you know?”

What: Laneway Festival 2016 With: Chvrches, Grimes, Flume, Beach House and many more Where: Sydney College of the Arts When: Sunday February 7 And: Also appearing at Oxford Art Factory on Thursday February 11 More: Ratchet out now through XL/Remote Control

thebrag.com

club guide g

club picks p up all night out all week...

send your listings to : clubguide@thebrag.com

club pick of the week DJ W!ld

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 6 Civic Underground

Xxx

DJ W!ld Mantra Collective + Rascal + Harrison Jones 9pm. $27.50.

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 3

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 5

HIP HOP & R&B

HIP HOP & R&B

The Internet + Jaala Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 7:30pm. $50.90.

Guilty Simpson + Katalyst Plan B Small Club, Sydney. 9pm. $25.

Uprising + Gravy Baby + Provocalz + Sub N Creep + Mitchos Da Menace + Twiggz Factory Floor, Marrickville. 7pm. $18.

CLUB NIGHTS Salsa Wednesdays - feat: DJ Miro + Special Guests The Argyle, The Rocks. 8:30pm. Free.

Sasslife Weekly - feat: Aaron Manhattan + Cunningpants + Sasslife DJs Secret Garden Bar, Enmore. 7pm. Free.

Snapback - feat: Various Artists Newtown Hotel, Newtown. 8pm. Free.

The Wall The World Bar, Kings Cross. 9pm. Free.

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 4 CLUB NIGHTS Mansion Lane Funk feat: Mike Who The World Bar, Kings Cross. 7pm. Free.

HIP HOP & R&B Beatlab Play Bar, Surry Hills.

8pm. Free.

The Internet + Jaala Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 7:30pm. $50.90. thebrag.com

CLUB NIGHTS Banquet - feat: Yvng Jalapeño + DJs Wntd + The Gatling Gun + Jesse Lola + Siren + Bluejuice (DJ Set) + Alice Ivy The World Bar, Kings Cross. 9pm.

Free.

Bassic - feat: Protohype + Dabow + Sippy + Tdy + Whyse + Squeef + Kinetic Theory + Netfleek + Infamous + Bvsik Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 9pm. $17.50.

Blvd Fridays - feat: Jesabel Marquee, Pyrmont.

10pm. $13.40.

El Loco Later - feat: DJs On Rotation Excelsior Hotel, Surry Hills. 9pm.

Free.

Elktorcute

Presents Under Sea Party - feat: DJ Voodoo + Danejer + Zephiran + Acidtrixx Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 9pm. $10.

Feel Good Fridays Bar100, The Rocks.

5pm. Free.

Friday Frothers feat: DJ Babysham + DJ Jesse Sewell Side Bar, Sydney.

9pm. Free.

Friday Lite - feat: Victoria Kim Plan B Small Club, Sydney. 10pm.

Free.

Fridays At Zeta Zeta Bar, Sydney.

9pm. Free.

Harbour Club Fridays The Watershed Hotel, Sydney. 6pm.

Free.

Jam Fridays Jam Gallery, Bondi Junction. 9:30pm.

Free.

Loco Friday - feat: DJs On Rotation The Slip Inn, Sydney. 5pm. Free.

OPM Chinese New Year Marquee, Pyrmont.

10pm. Free.

Scubar Fridays - feat: DJs On Rotation Scubar, Sydney.

8pm. Free.

Somatik Manly Wharf Hotel, Manly. 11am. Free.

Sophie + QT Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $39.70.

Voodoo Sydney Home Nightclub, Darling Harbour.

9:30pm. $20.

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 6 HIP HOP & R&B Boathouse Saturdays - feat: Resident DJs The Watershed Hotel, Sydney. 9pm. $20.

Play Bar’s Third Bday Party - feat: Adverse + Benny Hinn + Makoto Play Bar, Surry Hills.

4pm. Free.

R&B DJs By The Greens Marrickville Bowling Club, Marrickville.

4pm. Free.

CLUB NIGHTS Brenny B + Tim Boffa Manly Wharf Hotel, Manly. 11am. Free.

Cakes - feat: Mike Metro + Acaddamy + Clueless + Watson & Clive + Oh Glam + Jean Claude + Deckhead + Bounce Crew + Rave Doss + Pyrex + Vicious Beats + Oszlo The World Bar, Kings Cross. 8pm. Free.

DJ W!ld + Mantra Collective + Rascal + Harrison Jones Civic Underground, Sydney. 9pm. $27.50.

El Loco Later - feat: DJs On Rotation Excelsior Hotel, Surry Hills. 9pm. Free.

Foxlife - feat: Rabbit Taxi + Mesan Slyfox, Enmore. 10pm. $10.

Frat Saturdays feat: DJ Jonski

Side Bar, Sydney.

7:30pm. Free.

Lndry - feat: Catz N Dogz + Juliet Fox + Elijah Scadden + Tristian Case + Offtapia + Seher + Lora + King Lee + Fingers + DJ Just 1 Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 9pm. $22.60.

Marquee Saturdays - feat: Nervo Marquee, Pyrmont.

10pm. $28.80.

Masif Saturdays Space, Sydney. 10pm. $25.

Matrixxman + Stephane 1993 + Stereogamous + Francis Xavier + Motorik Vibe Council Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 10pm. $22.

Metric Party + Gent & Jawns + Crnkn Max Watt’s, Moore Park. 8pm. Free.

My Place Saturdays - feat: DJs On Rotation Bar100, The Rocks.

8pm. Free.

Pacha Sydney - feat: Slumberjack Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney. 6:30pm. $38.

San Saturday Nights - feat: Jimmi Walker + Mike O’Connor Daniel San, Manly.

9pm. Free.

Scubar Saturdays - feat: DJs On Rotation Scubar, Sydney.

8:30pm. Free.

Soda Saturdays Soda Factory, Surry Hills. 6pm. Free.

Something Else feat: South London Ordnance + Louis McCoy + Vibe Positive + Ellie Locke + Genie + Charades + Dave Stuart Burdekin Hotel, Darlinghurst. 9pm. $16.50.

Venom Clubnight + Whiskey Smile + Daggerz + Bort + Starratz + Rzrgang Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 9pm. $15.

Yours - feat: Nicky Night Time Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm.

Free.

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 3

Marquee, Pyrmont. 10pm. $28.80.

The Internet + Jaala Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 7:30pm. $50.90.

Matrixxman + Stephane 1993 + Stereogamous + Francis Xavier + Motorik Vibe Council Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 10pm. $22.

Sasslife Weekly - Feat: Aaron Manhattan + Cunningpants + Sasslife DJs Secret Garden Bar, Enmore.

7pm. Free.

Pacha Sydney - Feat: Slumberjack Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney.

6:30pm. $38.

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 5 Banquet - Feat: Yvng Jalapeño + DJs Wntd + The Gatling Gun + Jesse Lola + Siren + Bluejuice (DJ Set) + Alice Ivy The World Bar, Kings Cross.

9pm. Free.

Bassic - Feat: Protohype + Dabow + Sippy + Tdy + Whyse + Squeef + Kinetic Theory + Netfleek + Infamous + Bvsik Chinese Laundry, Sydney.

9pm. $17.50.

Guilty Simpson + Katalyst Plan B Small Club, Sydney.

9pm. $25.

Sophie + QT Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $39.70.

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 6 Foxlife - Feat: Rabbit Taxi + Mesan Slyfox, Enmore. 10pm. $10.

Marquee Saturdays - Feat: Nervo

Something Else - Feat: South London Ordnance + Louis McCoy + Vibe Positive + Ellie Locke + Genie + Charades + Dave Stuart Burdekin Hotel, Darlinghurst.

9pm. $16.50.

Yours - Feat: Nicky Night Time Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm. Free.

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 7 Kevin Hart Afterparty Feat: Mark Da Spot + DJ Nik Nak + DJ Toy Boy + DJ Willi + DJ Peter Gunz + DJ Nemz Marquee, Pyrmont. 9pm. $52.20.

S.A.S.H By Day - Feat: Paul Johnson + Dan Zina + Hazey Greenwood Hotel, North Sydney. 1pm. $15.

S.A.S.H By Night - Feat: German Brigante + Sucre Sale + Nox + Marcelo Cura + Rabbit Taxi + Mesan + Kerry Wallace + Jacob Malmo + Andy Wright + Smooth Prince + Anomaly Home Nightclub, Darling Harbour. 8pm. $15.

Matrixxman

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 7 CLUB NIGHTS Escape Sundays Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 2pm.

Free.

Kevin Hart Afterparty - feat: Mark Da Spot + DJ Nik Nak + DJ Toy Boy + DJ Willi + DJ Peter Gunz + DJ Nemz Marquee, Pyrmont.

9pm. $52.20.

S.A.S.H By Day Feat: Paul Johnson + Dan Zina + Hazey Greenwood Hotel, North Sydney. 1pm. $15.

S.A.S.H By Night - Feat: German Brigante + Sucre Sale + Nox + Marcelo Cura + Rabbit Taxi + Mesan + Kerry Wallace + Jacob Malmo + Andy Wright + Smooth

Prince + Anomaly Home Nightclub, Darling Harbour.

8pm. $15.

Somatik + Husky Manly Wharf Hotel, Manly. 11am. Free.

Sunday Sundown - feat: Nicky Night Time + Cassian + Tom Tilley Coogee Pavilion, Coogee. 3:30pm.

Free.

Sunday Sundown feat: Jimmi Walker + Mike O’Connor Daniel San, Manly.

3pm. Free.

The Two-Gathering + Handheld Human + The Lohans + The Lazy Picks + The Fossicks + July Morning + Mithic Perry +

Cosmonaut-X + Red Dog & His Fleas Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 3pm. $10.

Young Bloods #01 - feat: Emerging Oz Artists + Lars & Sammi (Stars) Freda's, Chippendale.

6pm. Free.

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 9 HIP HOP & R&B Vince Staples Max Watt's, Moore Park. 7:30pm. $49.90.

CLUB NIGHTS

MONDAY FEBRUARY 8 CLUB NIGHTS Mashup Monday feat: Resident DJs + DJ Thieves + Recess + OTG + Chivalry + More Side Bar, Sydney.

8pm. Free.

Coyote Tuesdays The World Bar, Kings Cross. 9pm. $10.

Safe House Saturdays #4 - feat: Wax Cats DJs: Cush + D-Linc + Matty C + Zabier Secret Garden Bar, Enmore. 3pm. Free.

Terrible Tuesdays Slyfox, Enmore. 6pm.

Free.

BRAG :: 648 :: 03:02:16 :: 33

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VIEW FULL GALLERIES AT

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29:01:16 :: Enmore Theatre :: 118-132 Enmore Rd Newtown 9550 3666 34 :: BRAG :: 648 :: 03:02:16

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PICS :: AM

flosstradamus

PICS :: AM

up all night out all week . . .

31:01:16 :: Greenwood Hotel :: 36 Blue Street North Sydney 9964 9477

OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER

S :: KATRINA CLARKE :: ASHLEY

MAR

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C I T R S S A A L T T I A N U E A G D F !

O G T S U M Y L N O ONE SALE PRICE

FUTURA ETUNE

$1299 OVER 40% OFF! GIBSON

RRP $3299

RRP $1999

LAST ON E!

!

E N O T S LA SALE PRICE

1958 LES PAUL

$4799 OVER 40% OFF! GIBSON

!

E N O T S A L

SALE PRICE

$999 OVER 47% OFF! GIBSON

LES PAUL FUTURE

SALE PRICE

$1099 OVER 45% OFF! GIBSON RRP $1999

RRP $8499

SG TRIBUTE

SALE PRICE

$1999 OVER 40% OFF! GIBSON

$999 OVER 50% OFF! GIBSON

RRP $2199

!

E N O LAST

J-35 AN

SALE PRICE RIC

SG SPECIAL

!

E N O T S A L

RRP $1899

LES PAUL JUNIOR

SALE PRICE RICE

$999 OVER 47% OFF!

GIBSON

LAST ON E!

RRP $1899

LAST ONE! LAS T ON E! LES PAUL STUDIO

SALE PRICE

$1399 OVER 50% OFF! GIBSON RRP $2999

!

E N O T S A L BASS EXPLORER

SALE PRICE

$1799 OVER 40% OFF! GIBSON RRP $3099

LAST ONE!

LES PAUL CLASSIC

$2599 OVER 40% OFF! GIBSON RRP $4399

LAST ONE!

LAST ONE! ROCKERVERB 50W

SALE PRICE

$1450 OVER 50% OFF! ORANGE

SALE PRICE

RRP $2899

THUNDERVERB 200

SALE PRICE

$2199 OVER 45% OFF! ORANGE RRP $3999

GIBSON Les Paul PAUL LANDERS SIGNATURE RE .... .................... $4749 RRP SALE PRICE $2799 - OVER 40% OFF GIBSON J-200 STUDIO VS .................................................................. $5999 RRP SALE PRICE $3599 - 40% OFF GIBSON Les Paul MARC BOLAN AGED W/CS ..................... $15499 RRP SALE PRICE $7499 - OVER 50% OFF GIBSON ES-335 STUDIO MB .............................................................. $3399 RRP SALE PRICE $1699 - 50% OFF

MORE GREAT GREAT GUITAR GUITAR DEALS IN-STORE !

MORE DEALS IN-STORE !

ANNANDALE 55 Parramatta Rd 9517 1901 The RRP is the recommended retail price as set by the Australian distributor of the product.

While stocks last. Products pictured are for illustration purpose only.

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