BMA Mag 328 09 Jul 2009

www.bmamag.com

#328JULY9

inside this issue

sarah blasko

fourplay

drumattic twins

running at each other with knives

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CDs? Compact discs?

Remember those things you used to buy before you became a pirate? We’ve got a few to fris your way so you can remember how it was back in the day. Send answers to

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editorial@bmamag.com to relive those marvellous memories.

1 MuMMy’s BoY singer/songwriter Justin nozuka has been playing solo in clubs and coffee houses since he was 16. his debut album Holly thrilled critics across america with its blending of old-time blues, pop and acoustic soul. Justin proves his potential as an artist and songwriter on Holly, which he sweetly named after his mother. to win a copy of Holly, tell us what you would name your debut LP.

RPM, 2000’s Out There And Back and the Grammynominated Reflections (2003). to snag a copy, enlighten us with your favourite dance move.

4 sMash it Up

Ministry of sound have just released Uncovered, a compilation packed with reworkings of old and new hits. this double CD features covers of tracks by Kings of leon, the presets, the white stripes, Daft punk, David Bowie and more. some of them are just simple updates on the originals but there are the occasional complete transformations, like Jose Gonzalez’s Heartbeats by the Knife and placebo’s version of Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill. to get your hands on a copy of Uncovered, tell us a secret you’d prefer to keep covered up.

Get ready for One love’s latest offering, Smash Your Stereo.

One love have called up the hottest acts around to mix their brand new 3 CD set – italian duo the Bloody Beetroots, the UK’s Juan Kidd and australia’s andy Murphy. Just out of a soldout national tour, the Bloody Beetroots are no strangers to destroying stuff and are now set to demolish your stereos on the Backroom disk. One love asked Juan Kidd to mix the middle disk, which features tracks by Fatboy slim, steve angello and paul van Dyk, while the third mixed by andy Murphy includes club hits by Calvin harris, Gossip and renaissance Man. to score a copy tell us who you’d love to smash!

3 VoluMinous Van DYk

5 Get kinecteD

after a massive 15 years in the music industry paul van Dyk has released Volume, his best of which includes hits from classic studio albums such as ’94’s 45

newcastle group the last Kinection have been busy getting ready for their national tour to launch their debut album Nutches. they’ve been

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together since ‘06 and band members, siblings Joel and naomi wenitong and Jacob turier, are no strangers to the stage. Joel is a former member of local Knowledge, naomi was a part of shakaya and Jacob is DJ Jaytee, and has played Big Day Out, the Great Escape Festival and homebake. the last Kinection did their first show in front of 13, 000 people as part of the stylin’ Up Festival in Brisbane in 2006. after overcoming numerous ordeals in 2008, the group returned to the stage this year, supporting public Enemy in newcastle and opening australia Day celebrations in sydney. we’ve got two signed copies of Nutches to give away, so to get your hands on one, tell us about the most inspiring person you’re connected to.

6 Wake Up For many, Wake In Fright is the greatest australian film ever made. at the very least, it’s a high-point of the australian film industry revival of the early 1970s. in director ted Kotcheff’s hands Kenneth Cook’s savage novel becomes a sweat-blurred cinematic

vision of savage australian masculinity, as bush school teacher John Grant (Gary Bond) is trapped by the turn of a twoup coin in the outback mining city of Bundanyabba. all John wants to do is get to sydney and the arms of his girlfriend.

But led on by the local copper (Chips rafferty) and his other new best mates (including Jack thompson and Donald pleasence) the ‘yabba becomes an inescapable, self-made hell of beer, dust and violence. nominated for the Golden palm at the Cannes Film Festival in 1971, Wake in Fright has been all but impossible to see for many years. after a decadeslong search for the original negatives it’s been restored by the nFsa in partnership with the Wake in Fright trust and atlab/Deluxe australia, and acclaimed all over again at the recent Cannes 2009 Classics program and sydney Film Festival. thanks to the fine folk of arc we’ve got five double passes to give away to one of these sessions: saturday July 11 at 4.30 and 7pm, sunday July 12 at 4.30pm. to win, tell us about the fright of your life.

IN A BID TO OUTDO EACH OTHER, MASTER CHEFS CREATE THE FOLLOWING: CraBBaGE – thinly sliced crab meat layered and presented in a leafy ball.

ChOCCOli – Bushes of chocolate dyed green. a sweet tribute to the workhorse vegetable.

GraViOli – pouches of pasta laced with a shock of succulent, congealed meat juices.

BEEFrOOt – prime steak sliced thinly and marinated in beetroot. haMinGtOns – Cubes of compacted meat sprinkled with chocolate and desiccated coconut.

DEath By tUrnips – a bed of turnips nursing a structured tier of pickled turnips finished with a drizzle of turnip liqueur. lEGs BEnEDiCt – Oven roasted chicken legs smothered with serious, buttery sauce.

CaUliFlOwEr aU Gratis – stalks of cauliflower are steamed, coated in cheese sauce and given away for free. saVlOVa – Freshly prepared cuts of saveloy are set inside a fuselage of sweet, meat-based cream. rissOlEtO – sun-drenched prime beef rissoles are pounded into oblivion and fried up with some fancy pasta.

Blt – Barracuda, lentils, tiramisu.

WORLD CLASS JOKES! Q. how many community radio announcers does it take to change a lightbulb? a. aaah.... now, let’s see... i think the answer is... yeah... ah... let me just... that was changed by someone you’ve never heard of from a record label in prague.

Q. what’s compact, leggy and rarely seen in music? a. Concertina turner.

Q. why did the secretaries get in trouble for doing their nails? a. they were file sharing.

Q. why did the internet cross the road? a. something to do with porn!

Q. what do you get if you cross a high school reunion with a computer virus? a. Facebook.

Q. what’s Coldplay’s next record going to be? a. highest selling f@#%ng single probably.

Q. what’s white and stands in the corner.? a. a naughty fridge.

Q. what do vegans read their children? a. Charlie and the carob factory.

Q. what’s the difference between my love life and the global financial crisis? a. One is a complicated disaster, the repercussions of which will be felt for years, the other is the global financial crisis.

JUstin hEaZlEwOOD www.bedroomphilosopher.com Justin performs as The Bedroom Philosopher and writes for Frankie, Jmag and The Big Issue. New album Brown & Orange is out now.

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Cj shaw and Dave “Maddog” perram make up the folk-blues two piece Cj shaw and the Blow ins. says shaw, “the audience can expect a bloody good time.

Dave and i play some great old blues, classic rock, country tunes as well as some originals. if the mood is right,” shaw adds, “i might bust out some storytelling and poetry, so be prepared!” they play phoenix Bar on wednesday July 15 at 8pm.

Ever heard of Capoeira angola? it’s an afro-Brazilian martial art form that’s often described as a dance-fight, with two players encircled by a ring of people playing music. if you’ve always wanted to try it out, or want to try something different, there’s a new study group starting in ainslie at the Corroboree park Community hall Function room.

Classes are on thursdays from 6.30-8.30pm (except every second thursday of the month).

Contact shin on 0450 324 604 for more info.

BaCk For More

it’s aLL aBoUt Me

the national Campus Band Competition is back for another year. you could be walking in the same shoes as previous winners Eskimo Joe and Jebediah. the first heat is at Cit on thursday august 27, with the state final at anU Bar on thursday september 3 and the national Final on the Gold Coast in October. head to www.aaca. net.au for more info.

Every so often a band comes along that just makes you wanna get up and partyyyy!

Melbourne trio Me and the Grownups won’t be doing that when they play the street theatre on saturday July 11 at 3.30 and 8.30pm – at least, not in the conventional sense.

But even as their hauntingly intricate compositions will root your ass to your seat in spellbound wonderment, your spirit will be jivin’ like a mofo with the most powerful dose of musical soul-food it’s received all year. Don’t miss this one.

shaW FLY

Can’t stop ‘til we get enough # 3 2 5 M a Y 2 1 fax: 02 6257 4361 mail: pO Box 713 Civic square, aCt 2608 Publisher scott layne General manager & advertising manager Allan Sko t: 6257 4360 E: advertising@bmamag.com Editor Julia Winterflood t: 02 6257 4456 E: editorial@bmamag.com accounts manager Ashish Doshi t: 6247 4816 E: accounts@bmamag.com sales Executive Danika Nayna T: 0408 657 939 Graphic design Jenny Freeman Exhibitionist Editor Naomi Milthorpe film Editor Mark Russell Principle Photographers (The Flashbulb Posse) Andrew Mayo Nick Brightman John Hatfield NEXt issuE 329 out JulY 23 Editorial dEadliNE JulY 13 adVErtisiNG dEadliNE JulY 16 Published by Radar Media Pty Ltd ABN 76 097 301 730 bma is independently owned and published.

Opinions expressed in bma are not necessarily those of the editor, publisher or staff.

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Majority rULes Mammal are hitting the road to revisit places who gave mass support after they released their debut album The Majority. this is the band’s goodbye to their growing fan support before they head off to the UK to release the album internationally. they play anU Bar on thursday august 27. tix through ticketek.

reBel QUack after completing their album Propaganda, Brisbane band anarchist Duck will be bringing their funk-rock-reggae sounds to Canberra for their national tour. the band have sold out shows in Brisbane and the Gold Coast, played warm-up shows at the phoenix in Canberra and are thrilled to be kicking off their tour here. anarchist Duck will be playing at hippo Bar on thursday July 9 and the Front Gallery on Friday July 10.

U.g.L.Y. Up and coming sydney band tom Ugly, who won last year’s triple J Unearthed high competition, are about to set off on their first major tour. they’ll be hitting ten towns and cities across australia to promote their debut Ep, aptly named The Tom Ugly EP, with the hancock Basement, hungry Kids Of hungary, Fire! santa rosa, Fire! and the Dirty secrets. tom Ugly are also teaming up with the australian Government’s Contemporary Music touring program to help all australian’s gain access to the country’s best live acts.

Catch tom Ugly at transit Bar on thursday July 16.

neW Foreign HeartacHe Back from Montréal, James Fahy is letting out his heartache with some new chords at this week’s Bootlegs on

Monday July 13. Early arrivals will hear the crunch of winter’s leaves fading into the whistling breezes of a Canberra spring, lonely hounds on the outskirts of the city, and the twist of nervous butterflies colonising the atria of the heart. a show for those who read other people’s diaries, and who smile on their birthday and the birthdays of their friends.

luCkinG oUt almost a year on from their final tour, local hardcore kings hardluck have finally made good on their promise of a final hometown hurrah. they’ll be cramming into the sticky confines of Bar 32 on saturday July 25 for one last stand, and will also have the last remaining copies of their swansong, the Apocalypse 7”, for sale. Bid farewell to one of Canberra’s most renowned punk exports in what’s sure to be a suitably chaotic memorial.

roCk ‘n’ roLL nerD after swanning it up in the UK, tim Minchin is returning to australia for an encore tour of the award-winning ready For this? his latest show is packed with new stuff, but if you’re a fan of his older material there’s no need to worry because favourite skits will remain intact. head to www.canberratheatre.com.au to book tickets to see tim Minchin do his thing on sunday December 6 at the playhouse theatre.

TIM MINCHIN

Capoeira angoLa in ainsLie

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another

YOU PISSED ME OFF!

thing…

you’ll remember of course that last time my good friend Krusher Joule was holding forth about his days at genre-defining metal magazine Kerrang!. we’re in his deserted lunchtime office, waiting for someone to appear… who walks in, Krusher?

Has someone yanked yer chain recently? Well send an email to editorial@bmamag.com and have your sweet vengeance.

And for the love of God, keep it brief! [All entries contain original spellings]

“who walks in? Billy Gibbons from ZZ top with (absolutely legendary – we’re talking beyond Zeus and hercules here – photographer) ross halfin. they enquired as to where everyone was, to which i replied ‘the white swan.’” (nB: for the uninitiated, tws was a well known local Covent Garden boozer).

Fuck you to a certain aCt sports team and the ho-train you rode in on!!! i don’t understand what’s wrong with the members that inhibits them from being able to drink/celebrate/have fun (or live/breathe/exist) without being socially inept fuckbags!! after every game you play, you bring your huge heads to dickson and trash up our bars, then onto the rest of the city when you get kicked out. noone really thinks you are cool, those that do are just as sad as you are. i think you should be all kept in a cage! take a good hard look at youselves, you pissed me off!

“they left, but not until after Billy had requested some Kerrang! letterheaded paper as a souvenir. in return, he gave me a badge reading ‘i made it to the top!’… fookin magic!” i’m sure it was. But last issue, you mentioned that you blagged your way into the Kerrang! gig by mentioning your glittering career as an album cover designer – how was your CV reading at that point and what were some of your favourite designs at that time?

“My first ever album sleeve was hawkwind’s Live ‘79 and others that followed included Ozzy Osbourne’s Diary Of A Madman, Speak Of The Devil and Bark At The Moon, Girl’s Wasted Youth and Japan’s Tin Drum. all can be seen at my website www.krusher.co.uk . the ones that i’m really proud of are the Ozzy covers, plus the Japan one.”

But of course Krusher is being modest here. he’s most renowned for his work on the cover of Black sabbath’s 1983 effort, Born Again – an album that incumbent vocalist ian Gillan was said to have launched a box of 50 copies out of an upstairs window in disgust at being associated with such “rubbish” – but we’ll look at this most famous of covers in more detail next issue. inevitably, the Kerrang! gig came to an end when the ridiculously successful magazine was subsumed by the EMap publishing empire – “they didn’t like the fact that sometimes we’d have so much fun in the office we had to come to blows with one another” is an explanation Krusher gave to me a few years ago as to why his association with the magazine came to an end – and so our hero embarked on a new career in radio, with predictably chaotic results. his first show, on BBC local radio station radio london, was moved from its original sunday afternoon slot to a late night weekday berth to accompany the more “lurid” tales of his rock ‘n’ roll guests, but even that wasn’t enough for the good burghers of Broadcasting house. “pete way from UFO was recalling a Michael schenker tale which ended with him saying ‘Michael broke away from the police officers, goose-stepped across to the hotel receptionist and said “you’re a fucking cunt!” which resulted in him spending a night in the cells!’ i got hauled into the programme controller’s office and received my first written warning. Eventually i told him to stick his job up his arse when he again dragged me into his office and questioned why i wasn’t playing the new Def leppard album Adrenalize. i told him that i had played a track from it the week of its release, oh and of course it was a pile of regurgitated shit! he then informed me that he’d received a letter from the band’s record company saying that i wasn’t doing my job properly. i told him if he was going to allow record companies to tell me what and what not to play he could shove his job up his arse, which he did and has been walking strangely ever since. harrrrrrgh!! haaaaarrrrgh!!”

SCOTT ADAMS thirtyyearsofrnr@hotmail.com

to the little wah wah who decided to rag on the local metal heads last issue about not suppoting the support bands. are you fucking gaggin me? Clearly the metal scene is slowly decaying, therefore those of us attending the gigs are supporting the whole existence of the genre locally. so feel free to start your evenings in the pit, with any luck the ceilings you spoke of will cave in and squash your peseant arse. those of us sitting back enjoying a beer will gladly appluad the free entertainment! you pissed me off!

FROM THE BOSSMAN Miscellaneous Things I’ve Learnt About the Music Industry #3: “I’m sorry, they’re in a meeting at the moment.” liEs. Filthy, dirty lies. the “meeting” line is the most common one receptionists feed you on the phone when the person you’re trying to reach doesn’t want to talk to you. Being in a “meeting” gives the person an inflated sense of self importance - makes them sound all big and grand and wheelie-dealie like - when in actuality, they’re sitting there in their underpants, trying to fire their toenail clippings into a bin across the room.you know they’re right there, you know they have that little screwed up expression of distaste on their face that’s been there ever since they heard your name. Just answer the phone, or say “please go away.” Because i’m a persistent little twat and i will keep ringing until you answer. you don’t have this problem when you’re an editor. Folk would vault over a cactus and into a flaming pit of shit to answer your call because there’s the shiny prize of editorial to be gleaned. with advertising, the same people are suddenly locked into hour seven of their epic boardroom meeting, most likely discussing exactly how much more important they are than everybody else. it’s a wonder any work gets done in this industry with the amount of meetings/toenail grooming going in. there’s nothing wrong with being honest, people. it will save everyone a stack of time. although perhaps don’t be as honest as my erstwhile editor Ben hermann was once, when he gleefully informed a client i couldn’t come to the phone because i was “taking a dump.”

ALLAN “OCCUPIED” SKO

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WHo: tHE bEards WHat: bEard music WHEN: sat JulY 11 WHErE: WaNNiassa taVErN

the Beards are a bearded four-piece from south australia who exclusively write and perform songs about beards. after releasing their second album Beards Beards Beards last month, the Beards will be returning to Canberra as part of their east coast tour. the album contains crowd favourites like No Beard No Good, Born With a Beard and If Your Dad Doesn’t Have a Beard You’ve Got Two Mums. the Beards have performed at the last two Big Day Outs, the Melbourne international Comedy Festival and the opening ceremony of the 2009 world Beard and Moustache Championships in alaska.

WHo: tHE basics WHat: PassioN PoP WHEN: tHurs JulY 23 WHErE: traNsit bar

a wink. a nod. Eyebrows raised in a beckoning look. those of you with dirty minds might see this as an invitation to ‘come upstairs’ - but not so dear reader, not so. rather it would be the downstairs confines of Canberra’s favourite transit Bar which call you hither; whereupon entering you would be greeted by the sound of three – that is, the three Basics. indeed, fair reader – the Basics do again come upon Canberra in a torrent of passionate pop and raging rock; three soulful voices - wally De Backer, tim heath and Kris schroeder - united as one, rushing over your senses like an ice cube down your favourite pair of drawers.

WHo: You GorGEous muso You! WHat: tHE rEdGum cafE WHEN: NoW! WHErE: WolloNGoNG st, fYsHWick

the redgum Cafe along wollongong street in Fyshwick is under new management, and we’re celebrating this fact by throwing our doors open to the splendours of the live music world. But a live music venue is only as good as the bands that play there, so we need yOU - yes, yOU, the fiercely talented local band that you are - to get in touch. so if you’re interested in a gig in a 200 capacity venue with great acoustics and no sound restrictions, contact redgum@velocitynet.com.au or call Jeff or Ben on 6162 0864. .

WHo: WEcc aNd trio aPoPlEPtic WHat: doublE JaZZ sHoWs WHEN: WEd JulY 15 WHErE: tHE folkus room aNd HiPPo

Brisbane jazz ensemble the west End Composers Collective and sydney’s trio apoplectic are heading to Canberra as part of sound travellers, an australia Council new music initiative, later this month. the west End Composers Collective are a ten-piece band that have played in Brisbane’s most iconic venues and jazz festivals across australia since their start in 2003. also formed in 2003, trio apoplectic are one of the hottest acts in the australian jazz scene. Doors open at 8pm for the west End Composers Collective at the Folkus and 9pm at the hippo Bar for trio apoplectic.

WHo: tHE aloHas WHat: surf souNds WHEN: sat JulY 25 WHErE: tHE PHoENiX

Born out of the depths of ‘60s punk and surf music subculture comes sydney’s notorious surf music treblemakers the alohas. influenced by the atlantics, Dick Dale, the hives and the punk attitude of the ramones, this original surf/punk instrumental band sound is built to deliver authentic surf twang and mind crunching reverb. their music is high energy mixed with jungle rhythm drums and bass grooves. a live performance is where you will see the band truly deliver. renowned for creating an evening of hip shaking, hair raising mayhem and go-go fun, check them out with Canberra’s own spaCE party.

WHo: You! WHat: soNY inthemix50 WHEN: NoW! WHErE: inthemix.com.au/50

the sony inthemix50 poll is the annual barometer for who and what’s hot in the national dance music scene. now in its seventh year, it’s the list that australia’s dance scene waits for with eager anticipation. it’s now time for you to cast your vote and make your voice heard, with the curtain raised on the 2009 sony inthemix50. who has made you sing, dance and scream for more this year? will the aston shuffle take Canberra’s number one spot again? it’s up to you to shape the outcome, so head on over to inthemix.com. au/50 and cast your vote!

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d e d w O r C e On rbus TOu katHEriNE QuiNN

“I make up words occasionally,” confesses Dave Williams, drummer for quirky Australian rock band auGiE marcH. “I do all the backing vocals for the band and occasionally in rehearsal Glenn will say ‘don’t tell me you’ve been singing that for the last ten years!’” Now I don’t feel so bad, having muddled through Augie March’s songs with some disgraceful mumbling myself.

He goes on, unashamed, “sometimes the words are too hard to pronounce so I just make up another one.”

Augie March are known for their beautiful, imaginative and emotive lyrics, which, as Dave says, could pass for poetry.

Their 2006 album Moo, You Bloody Choir received four ARIA nominations, won the Australian Music Prize in 2007 and the only single from the album, One Crowded Hour, topped triple j’s Hottest 100 in 2007.

The importance of lyricism to Augie March’s music is evident in the title of their upcoming tour, Watch Me Set My Strange Sun You Bloody Choir. This strange tongue-twister is a mish-mash of the titles of their four LPs, the most recent of which, Watch Me Disappear, was released last year through Sony. The tour will showcase songs from the entirety of the band’s 12 year history, but never fear – it’s not a farewell tour. Dave assures me there’s still more to come from Augie March. “It’s something a lot of fans have been asking for for a long time, featuring songs from most of the records and kind of b-sides if you will; album tracks which don’t get an airing. We’re trying to be nice to people!”

Speaking of nice, I ask Dave what we can expect from Augie March on this tour, as they are known for being somewhat volatile. Lead singer and songwriter Glenn Richards is particularly notorious for getting, erm, cross when things don’t go as planned. “Well, there’s me who loves talking all the time, and there’s Glenn out

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the front who has a bit of a yak, and occasionally he’ll get angry at something and go berserk but then he’ll be happy the next song, and then there’s Kiernan who doesn’t say anything, and then there’s Ed who looks like he’s going to murder people, and then there’s Dono who has his back to the audience for most of the night.”

Well. I guess that’s all we need to know.

Dave adds that Augie March live are “sublime and sort of ridiculous,” and I compliment him on his chosen adjectives. He admits that the band can be somewhat inconsistent, but “every night is different, it’s not a cookie cutter band. When someone in the band is feeling a different way it really does affect the music. It’s a very real band in that sense.” In response to those people who allege that Augie March aren’t as dynamic on stage as they are in the studio, he quips “they got us on a night where we were ridiculous instead of sublime.”

The band recorded their fourth album, Watch Me Disappear, in Neil Finn’s studios in New Zealand, teaming up with American producer Joe Chiccarelli, who has also worked with The Shins, The White Stripes and My Morning Jacket. So what was recording like? “It’s kind of like running at each other with knives,” he says. I am shocked that such tranquil music is born of such a violent process. Thankfully we can put all that away and then have a drink, but not have too many, ‘cause then we start arguing again.”

Dave’s sense of humour is drier than dry, just like country Victoria where the band hails from. He brings up the band’s origins when I ask whether he feels that Augie March’s lyrics are bringing poetry to the masses. “Well I’m sure Glenn gets up in the morning and has a shower and looks at

himself in the mirror and says ‘g’day poet’ (there’s that dry sense of humour again). “But it’s not about ‘we’re doing a service bringing, you know, culture to Australia,’ not at all. We grew up in country Victoria before the internet. We had one AM radio station. It’s not in the least bit elite.”

That said, it’s clear that Augie March are greatly influenced by literature and poetry. Their name is taken from Saul Bellow’s 1953 novel The Adventures of Augie March, their 2002 album Strange Bird featured an index of first lines in the style of a poetry anthology, and songwriter Glenn Richards has cited poets Ted Hughes, Sylvia Plath and Robert Lowell as influences.

I ask Dave what he thinks of other modern lyricists. Does he like Alex Turner of the Arctic Monkeys? Yes. What about Lily Allen? No. He’s eager to point out that Augie March’s music requires a balance of execution between music and lyrics and cites Maneater by Nelly Furtado as a song he appreciates musically, but which is “not a wonderful insight into the human condition.”

At that moment the Sony rep pops onto the line telling us to finish the call. “WRAP IT UP!” Dave jokingly shouts down the line and so I do, with one final question: what will you be voting for in triple j’s Hottest 100 of All Time? “Back in Black,” he replies, after a short pause. Not at all what I would have expected from a member of this sensitive, soulful band, but a good choice nonetheless. If he’d chosen Maneater I’d be worried.

Augie March with special guests Gareth Liddiard and Dan Luscombe (The Drones) play the ANU Bar on Saturday July 18. Tickets through Ticketek.

[recording is] kind of like running at each other with knives

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ALL AGES yo yo yo, boys and girls! it’s so strange how every year is exactly the same – it’s either hot enough to roast your buns off or cold enough to freeze them off. yet we are all so surprised when winter comes along. seriously people, you can’t say you were expecting winter to have a holiday this year. you can’t turn up to school or work wearing summer’s equivalent and complain about the cold. you did this to yourselves people! well that’s my rant for this fortnight, onto the shows.

Friday July 10 will see the most epic collision of genres in Hip-Hop Vs Rock at the Tuggeranong Youth Centre, starting at 6pm. you know the best part kiddies, it’s free! yep, you heard me, F-r-E-E. the event features some amazing bands and hip-hop acts, such as Still Cool, DJ KG, Machismo, Ji, Count Komodo, Justice and Sleepless King. so whether you’re a hip-hopper or a rock ‘n’ roller get your dancing shoes on and don’t be late, ‘cause all the cool cats and hip kids will be there. yet another awesome battle of the styles, Punk Vs Metal will be rocking out at, yet again, the Tuggers Youth Centre on Friday July 17 at 8pm. some of australia’s best punk and metal bands will be there, including Reign Of Terror, The Toxicmen, Blind Eyed God and Pirate Satellite. it’s going to be yet another smashing clash of two of the most popular genres in music at the moment.

One of australia’s most popular hardcore bands at the moment, Parkway Drive, will be tearing up the Southern Cross Woden Basketball Stadium on Sunday August 16. parkway Drive first established themselves as one of australia’s most formidable hardcore bands when in 2005 they released their debut lp, Killing With a Smile which was soon followed by 2007’s chart-topping album Horizons. this shot the Byron Bay five-piece to levels of astounding popularity with a still growing loyal fanbase. having been compared to the likes of Metallica, pantera, slayer and Machine head, these five surfies have a unique style of bone-crunching, classic hardcore that makes parkway Drive one of australia’s biggest circle-pit-inducing bands yet. parkway Drive’s lack of arrogance, ability to annihilate an audience and destroy a venue, whilst still showing everyone in the crowd the time of their lives, is only a part of the reason that they have made such a huge name for themselves in australia’s hardcore industry. the lads will be joined by america’s August Burns Red and the UK’s Architects. tickets are $33.36 and are already on sale from www.moshtix.com . if you’re in a band and looking for your shot at the big time, then you should definitely sign yourselves up for the 2009 Vitamin Water National Campus Band Competition. with a prize of $5,000 up for grabs for the big winners, this will definitely help to set up you and your band buddies for the future. the aCt heats begin in august at the CIT Music Industry Centre and the aCt final will be held at the ANU Bar on Thursday September 3. you can enter your band online at www.aaca.net.au and for more information head to myspace. com/ncbcaustralia . the Vitamin water nCBC national Final will be held on the Gold Coast on Sunday September 27 at the Australian Uni Games at Sea World. the Canberra heats will feature local lads Rubicon, last year’s national final winners. i’m out! Catchya next time boys and girls.

LIZ ROWLEY elizabeth_rowley@live.com.au

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LOCALITY as many readers are well aware, Canberra is a breeding ground for musicians. these creative types, known for their blatant disregard for noise restrictions and tendency to spontaneously collaborate with one another, are slowly spreading their musical cooties throughout our fair city. the contamination is sure to worsen this fortnight, with a variety of highly contagious individuals performing around town. this fortnight’s Domus Adultus promises a particularly infectious lineup. On Thursday July 9, lovely ladies Simone Penkethman, Jo Telfer and Claire Lawlor will be providing the tunes. On Monday July 16, Duncan Sergeant and Marianne Mettes are the Hippo Bar’s musos of choice. tix are $7 on the door, or $5 for CMC members. there’s more good news for southsiders this fortnight, with adelaide band The Beards playing at the Wanniassa Tavern, supported by our own Black Creek. Catch both bands on Saturday July 11 from 8pm. and even further south, the Chisholm Tavern will be playing host to locals The Wedded Bliss from 2:30pm on Sunday July 19. Both of these gigs are free, so it’s a no-brainer: get out there, show your support and more great gigs will follow.

Canberra’s mighty Fuelers are playing at The Phoenix from 9pm on Saturday July 11, and you can catch the very talented Big Score at the same venue from 9pm on Wednesday July 22. Free entry means that these gigs will be packed, so either get in early or wear something warm.

Hancock Basement will be playing with Tom Ugly at Transit Bar on Monday July 16. tom Ugly won triple j’s inaugural Unearthed high competition with their ridiculously catchy single Cult Romance and locals hancock Basement took out last year’s Unearthed trackside competition. Get along to the gig and maybe some of that sweet, sweet success will rub off on you. the Chris Harland Blues Band will be playing at the Soul Bar in woden on Friday July 10. For those that aren’t in the know, harland received the Canberra Blues Society’s award for Best Blues instrumental Guitar in 2008. to find out what award-winning guitar sounds like, be at the soul Bar from 6:30 pm. sydney’s Jack Ladder and Melbourne’s Kid Sam are playing with our own JW Sparrow on Saturday July 11. Be at the Front Café and Gallery from 7pm to catch the bands, check out the Front’s latest exhibition and enjoy a chocolate milkshake. rad. staying in quarantine is pointless, people! we’re all going to be infected sooner or later, so you might as well get it over and done with. Get out there and see some live music this fortnight and pass the bug on to your friends while you’re at it.

Until next time, CATHERINE JAMES locality.bma@hotmail.com

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DANCE THE DROP Friday June 26 marked the passing of our generation’s greatest dance/r&B artist Michael Jackson. as much as the middle-aged plastic version was mocked for his bizarre antics, reclusive eccentricity and seemingly endless rhinoplasty, we must celebrate his legacy as an entertainer rather than a preternatural man child, just as our parents celebrated Elvis for his plethora of hip-shaking hits rather than the fact he died whilst eating junk food on the toilet. now onto something that is very much alive and kicking. the Canberra dance scene shuffles its way into mid-year with some massive shindigs beginning with UK superstars the Drummatic Twins, who bring their electric show to the capital to defibrillate the chest of the break beat genre on Thursday July 9 at Transit Bar. the guys are ably supported by locals Karton (who are about to unleash their long awaited artist album), the Rideckulous DJs, Dubdeckerbuss and Staky. prepare yourself with some light stretching as the Ministry of Sound Sessions roadshow returns to Academy celebrating the release of the Sessions 6 compilation CD on Saturday July 18. Dual interstate headliners Goodwill and Tommy Trash are backed up by local DJs Hugh Foster and Tim Galvin and this night promises to be another monumentally blurry occasion if previous MOs parties are anything to go by.

Pang! keeps up its reputation as the aCt’s best with another round of awesome events at Lot 33. Sunday July 26 will see indie favourites Yuksek (France) lugging their famed club show to the small stage alongside Mikah Freeman and Vance Musgrove (from the Aston Shuffle), Bobbin, Biggie, Mr. Wilson and Hubert. tickets are $25 plus booking fee, available from landspeed records and hurry because they are strictly limited to 200! the much loved In The Mix dance music website celebrates its yearly top 50 poll with a party on Friday July 31 including Mighty Fools (holland) and the rocking Funktrust DJs (triple j, sydney). locals on this night include Timtulip, Cheese, Hubert and Beat It. For those of you that are addicted to white powder, you may be interested to know that the Lake Jindabyne Hotel are holding another one of their in season Blizzard dance events on Saturday August 1. this year’s lineup includes The Bang Gang Deejays support by the newly formed electro outfit SavagePants, comprising of Amber Savage and Andy Brownscombe, DJ Keli Hart, Chris Lawrence and Harison. Get your goggle on! in breaking news, one of my sentimental all time favourite acts Hybrid (UK) have been confirmed to play at Lot 33 on Saturday August 8. the guys are most famous for bringing the emotion back into electronic music with massive records like Finished Symphony, If I Survive, I’m Still Awake and True to Form along with blinding remixes for artists like radiohead, sarah Mclachlan, Energy 52, Bt and Future sound of london. whatever you do, DO nOt miss this show as their last lot 33 appearance back in 2003 is still regarded by many as the best club set of all time, and is available on www.hybridized.com .

Until next issue, i’ll leave you with this quote: “Don’t blame it on the sunshine, don’t blame it on the moonlight, don’t blame it on the good times, blame it on the boogie.” Michael Jackson, 1958-2009.

TIM GALVIN tim.galvin@live.com.au

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TREASURES IN UM-ATT IC DR E TH STAKY Fresh off the release of their second album, Hammer & Tongs, renowned breakbeat duo the drumattic tWiNs are returning to Oz. it has been a few years since the pair have graced our shores.

Unlike a few of their australian counterparts who have recently advocated a stronger electro influence, the Drumattic twins remain truly a breaks superpower. needless to say diehards and scenesters alike are keenly awaiting their fifth tour. “we always look forward to coming to australia,” says one half of the pair, Kevin lancaster, better known as lanx. “the scenery and weather are good and the people are crazy! although Canberra is a bit colder so we might have to pack our cardigans.” though they might need more than their cardies to ward off the Canberra cold, their legions of fans will flock to the transit Bar this thursday July 9 regardless of weather.

Canberra is a bit colder so we might have to pack our cardigans the Drumattic twins’ foray into production began in the mid ‘80s as a cover band. it wasn’t until lanx and production partner nick slater teamed up with vocalist ryan Gee as shades of rhythm did their star begin to rise. the trio went on to produce era-defining anthems such as Extacy and Sweet Sensation. with their remix of n-trance’s Set You Free they became a household name, even appearing on Top of the Pops.

Jump forward a decade to the release of Drumattical in 2001 from their independent label Freakazoid. tired of the constraints of working with a major label, Freakazoid allowed the Drumattic twins a unique creative opportunity. the universal success of Drumattical showed the gamble paid off. a whole new generation of club goers were converted to the twins’ notorious break beat when triple j championed Feelin Kinda Strange and local heavyweights Bass Kleph and nick thayer remixed the track. released a few short months back their new album is massively club orientated. “there was not one single inspiration for the new album,” says lanx. “it is more of a collection of songs, a progression of our music since the first album. in saying that though the majority of the music is new and we have tried to appeal to a wider audience.” with the huge singles Don’t Be So Drumattic, Sound of the Drum and Under the Lights already getting an awesome dance floor response, australian audiences have a lot to look forward to. their ‘decks and effects’ show has been honed with years of experience. yet their cacophony of layered sound is thankfully not preset. “Our sets are different every night,” lanx explains. “we don’t plan our sets; it is always on the fly, which makes it more exciting i think. we try and follow what the crowd is into, so it will differ from place to place.”

Don’t miss Lanx and Nick Thayer at Transit’s new night Full Frequency on Thursday July 9. With support by local favourites Karton, Dubdeckerbuss, Staky and the Rideckulous DJs and free entry, there are no excuses not to go!

JUAN LOVE

TIM GALVIN

he is a bit of an enigma, really – a sonic cipher whose identity is slowly being delineated by each successful club release as it slides under his locked studio door like a jailhouse dinner into the eager hands of his booking agent. his personal anonymity is contrasted by the success of his alter ego and he is definitely the JuaN kidd that is destined for bigger things. Now You’re Gone has been one of winter’s biggest club hits, reaching the adamantine heights of the australian club charts for back to back weeks and proving that Juan is more than a one trick pony. the rising house star has followed it up with front of box favourites like Burning, Off the Hook and Bang the Drum. “[i’ve been] hitting an in between market of sounds, it’s what i was looking for and i think many others,” he states. “[i’ve] spent loads of time in the studio this year, i have tracks forthcoming on size, Defected, toolroom and an artist album on Cr2 which will be coming out by the end of the summer. i did a bootleg of Faithless’ We Come 1 with Bobby tee that is due for release July 17. it got three plays at space opening so we are hoping for big things.”

Juan personifies what it is to be in demand as he has already released monsters for steve angello, Erick Morillo and Mark Brown on their labels size, subliminal and Cr2, along with tracks on Mark Knight’s toolroom and David piccioni’s azuli records. if that isn’t a dream roster of dance label bosses then my name isn’t Denny Crane. But it hasn’t all been beachfront villas and cocaine badgers for the star producer as experience catechised his judgement.

australia is very open-minded when it comes to music “i have done a couple [of mixes] just for the money and realised it was the wrong way to go,” Juan reveals. “i only remix something if i know i can play it in one of my sets, otherwise i pass on it.” the aforementioned bootleg of Faithless’ We Come 1 is about to detonate over club land this party season, getting the personal thumbs up from Faithless frontman Maxi Jazz himself.

Juan’s unique style has earnt him a disc alongside the Bloody Beetroots and andy Murphy on the latest Smash Your Stereo One love compilation CD, adding his patented raw tech edged sound to the club cauldron which he promises to emulate with australian audiences. “i was hanging with Frank from One love in Miami and he asked me to do it,” Juan recalls. “there was no hesitation in saying yes. australia is very open-minded when it comes to music.

Europe seems to be very genre-led and purist where as i like to cross boundaries. it’s all house music to me – i’ll be playing anything from tribal tech and underground tones to uplifting hands in the air, depending on where they let me take them.”

Juan Kidd will be paying a visit to Academy on Friday July 10.

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On Friday July 17, Transit Bar will once again play host to the famed and much loved PODWARS. From the minds of Milkbar Nick and Roshambo, the Podwars battles ran rampant through Transit Bar and the Trackside Festival in 2007, creating a ripple through the collective consciousness of Canberra with its originality, chaotic vibe and guaranteed party atmosphere. Now in 2009, the pod battles return with a fresh makeover, a new co-host (BMA’s Allan Sko) and a revitalised sureshot craving for party-mayhem.

Podwarz: Roulette features an epic battle of Canberra’s most popular nightspots, with each team forced to hit the ‘shuffle’ button, creating an unpredictable yet undeniably exciting competition scenario. Once again, you (the crowd) will be the decision makers, with your response dictating the direction of the battles, and ultimately, the winner! With party-starters D’Opus, The Crunch and Sean Kelly on deck to provide impeccable DJ entertainment, and hosts Roshambo and Allan Sko sure to be in maniac moods, expect a night of unrivalled Pod insanity.

Knightsbridge Penthouse The Alt-o-Pop Mix Masters

Trinity Bar I.N.D.M. (Inner North Dickson Massive)

What can the punters expect from your track selection?

Something distinctive (aka a set for the funboys).

How have you been training for this epic battle?

Incessant and vigorous charging and recharging.

Do you have a secret weapon?

Yes, but if we tell you we’d have to kill you...with the secret weapon).

Where is the strangest place you have put your iPod? In a DELL handbag...and Allan Sko’s bedside table.

What do you think of the other teams? Anything to say to them?

We don’t wanna think, we wanna feel.

What can the punters expect from your track selection?

The stickiest of the icky.

How have you been training for this epic battle?

Plenty of bingo, dice, ping pong and ten pin bowling... keeps the mind nimble and the body agile.

Do you have a secret weapon?

Well, lets just say Robert Oppenheimer is on our payroll.

Where is the strangest place you have put your iPod? Our back left pockets... we know, it was a freaky time for us too.

What do you think of the other teams? Anything to say to them?

Protect ya neck & diversify ya bonds!!

Parlour Wine Bar Parlour Party Posse

ANU Bar Fire & Ice (heatyouupandcoolyoudown...atthesametime)

What can the punters expect from your track selection?

Sore faces due to excellent track selection.

How have you been training for this epic battle?

Hard partying.

Do you have a secret weapon?

It’s a secret weapon, not a public one.

Where is the strangest place you have put your iPod? Parlour Wine Bar strangely did not enclude an answer for this question, which only makes us assume the worst.

What do you think of the other teams? Anything to say to them?

We’ll do the talking on the night.

What can the punters expect from your track selection?

We’re going to play songs to make you dance like in front of the mirror.

How have you been training for this epic battle?

We have two five hour training sessions a day. We call it a day-job.

Do you have a secret weapon?

Yes. Where is the strangest place you have put your iPod? In a CD jukebox.

What do you think of the other teams? Anything to say to them?

Prepare for the fire You are gonna get burned!!!!

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“sopranos lay it on the line, and so do tenors. it’s the glory notes, the dollar notes, that people want to hear. you can sing beautifully through the whole opera but if you mess up the top notes you have failed!” laughs wilson. “there’s a certain element of bravery or stupidity in what we set ourselves up as.”

fall iN loVE all OVEr aGain naOMi MilthOrpE to you,Cio-Cio san might just be another of rivers Cuomo’s unintelligible El Scorcho lyrics, but to bluebloods around the world she’s the tragic heroine of puccini’s 1904 opera madamE buttErflY. this year OzOpera are bringing this classic opera to Canberra as part of a national tour, with perth-born soprano Elisa wilson singing the role of Cio-Cio san (Butterfly).

Madame Butterfly tells the story of american lieutenant B.F. pinkerton, stationed in nagasaki, who marries 15-year-old Geisha girl Cio-Cio san. Cio-Cio san falls head over heels for pinkerton, converting to ‘the american God’, but pinkerton only marries ‘in the Japanese style: for 999 years, but with the right to cancel the marriage each month’. he leaves Japan for three years, abandoning Butterfly and their child. Butterfly remains faithful to her husband, but when he returns she discovers that he has not been so. tragedy, as they say, ensues. “the music of puccini is just so beautiful,” says wilson, adding that Butterfly “is one of opera’s great heroines. she sacrifices everything for love and for honour. “it’s really a role that you have to grow into. Even though Cio-Cio san starts at 15-years-old, emotionally she is so deep, there’s so many layers to her, that you’ve got to have a lot of life experience,” says wilson. “as a young singer, you’re scared of [Butterfly].” and Cio-Cio san is one of the hardest roles for a soprano – themselves the kamikazes of the opera world.

wilson discovered opera by way of professional jealousy. “i used to be a violinist in my early days as a student in high school, and i was playing in the orchestra one day for some dude who was singing up on stage, and i went home to my mother and i said ‘i can sing better than that!’,” says wilson. “i pretty soon gave up the violin and turned to singing because i loved it. having said that, i come from a very musical family: my parents were both singers, i have six siblings and they’re all singers, and i married a singer. “it’s always cacophonous in our household!” laughs wilson. “i think that’s why we all became singers because with so many children, whoever spoke the loudest or the highest got heard!”

Opera is, to many people (myself embarrassingly included), one of the harder ‘high-art’ forms to get into, but this production is designed for “the people” says wilson. “i think all of us in the opera feel very strongly that if you’ve got an opera for the people, a company called Opera australia, it should be opera for all australians, not just for people in Melbourne and sydney. “there’s no reason why taxpayers who are funding these companies shouldn’t see what the product is, and have the opportunity to enjoy really high-quality performances. it’s one thing to put on a show in a theatre that’s set up for it, and quite another to devise a show that can be moved around 50 different theatres.”

Opera is “heightened emotions” explains wilson. “it gives me the opportunity to play out onstage emotions or situations that of course i would never be in, in real life ... the prostitutes or the perennial virgins or the murderesses.”

OzOpera’s production has been directed by national living treasure John Bell, whose approach to staging the play has been “completely traditional,” say wilson. “to work with a director of his calibre was... very attractive. he lets the character of each person, of each actor, shine through in the role.” we didn’t know what to expect,” says wilson of working with Bell. “he was keen to point out that opera isn’t his natural idiom or style, so he wanted to know what we had to offer. he would work with what we gave him.”

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ARTISTPROFILE: …continued from page 21 Bell’s inclusive directorial style was initially “intimidating”. “we expected to be told exactly what shape he wanted a scene to be,” says wilson, “but then as we realised what he was doing, how he was just gently tweaking this little thread, to make it match up with that thread that he had in mind from a previous scene, there’s this little gentle pull on the fabric of the show.” the cast sing in English, with a modern translation originally performed by the welsh national Opera, and the story has been updated to be set in 1945, “just after the bomb.”

But wilson maintains that it’s “honest production” of puccini’s opera. the aesthetic of the late Jennie tate’s production design is “so beautiful and so authentic, down to the last little ribbon and little bit of rope on the obis,” says wilson. Bell’s traditional staging – in these days of radical interpretations of the text – has a point, says wilson. “a lot of people might never ever see Madame Butterfly again in their lives, and they really should be given the chance to see Madame Butterfly in its proper state without being fiddled with, [so] give them Butterfly, give them the proper story!”

OzOpera’s Madame Butterfly tours to the Canberra Theatre Centre on July 23 for three nights only, til July 25. Tix $64-$75, U27 $45-$50. Info and bookings 6275 2700.

as h E r F lOy D

What do you do? i’m a photographer and filmmaker. i take portraits – usually in dark places, of natural (sometimes unknowing) subjects in natural light. i try to match the light you see with your eyes.

When did you get into it? i started film making when i was about eight-years-old – my dad was a media teacher and would bring home the shoulder-mounted Vhs cameras from school and we’d make videos. i started photography about three years ago – it’s a natural progression when you love working with colour and light.

Who or what influences you as an artist? Cinema influences my photography. wes anderson and the Cohen brothers influence my films, so does pretty much everything that happens to me, especially conversations with girls and the quarter of the day we spend awake while it’s night-time outside.

What’s your biggest achievement/proudest moment so far? when i exhibit my prints and get good feedback it gives me a massive thrill, and i think it’s going to for a while. i’m kinda new to the feeling of being seen as a visual artist. the music video i produced for the andi and George Band appearing on Rage was a big moment also.

What are your plans for the future? travelling – i’m leaving town soon on what i hope to be an epic south american journey. i’ll be working on my portraiture the whole trip – eventually i want to turn my photography to factual work and photojournalism.

What makes you laugh? that part of the day when everyone is tired, exasperated and all you can do is giggle, and enjoy the way everyone is equally incompetent. i enjoy watching big business squirm.

What pisses you off? Conservative politics. Discrimination. noise restrictions.

What’s your opinion of the local scene? it’s big, and it’s healthy. it has a bit of the ‘small town’ mentality, but that’s okay, because Canberra totally is a small town in many ways. Everyone helps each other. upcoming exhibitions? For the next year i’ll be out of the country, but keep an eye on my website! i’ll be taking a lot of photos, and actively maintaining my online presence. Join my Facebook group to stay in the loop – my ghostly apparition will be here in spirit… contact info www.asherfloyd.com or 0405 822 632.

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in order to embody M’lynn’s louisiana born and bred character, lawrance and her fellow performers spent time with a language coach. “a normal louisiana accent is quite easy; it’s very energetic and quite easy. there’s a lot of high and warm energy, which i think in some ways mixes with the australians and our very relaxed way of speaking. people get very entertained, almost musically, by the sound of the louisiana accent.”

bEstEEl mY HEart CATHERINE WOODS a woman’s tendency to share her most personal truths with her hairdresser is the basis for robert harling’s tragi-comic play stEEl maGNolias. you might remember the film, based on harling’s off-Broadway play, which brought together a powerhouse of stars including Julia roberts, Dolly parton and Daryl hannah. now australian audiences have the great fortune to see an impressive lineup of theatre stars in these dynamic, memorable roles. Debra lawrance (pippa from Home & Away!) joins Jacki weaver, ana Maria Belo, Marian Frizelle, Geraldine turner and Jennifer hagan to bring truvy’s louisiana beauty salon to life onstage. harling wrote the play based on his own experience of coping after his sister’s death following a kidney transplant. the character of shelby, the diabetic daughter of lawrance’s character M’lynn, is inspired by harling’s sister, while the women from the salon where his mother had her hair done each saturday inspired the characters who visit truvy’s salon in Steel Magnolias.

Many women in the film and theatre industry have complained about the lack of decent, meaty roles for women, but there is possibly a renaissance of sorts happening. “throughout history, there were Greek tragedies full of strong women’s roles and shakespeare was full of lots of strong women’s roles as well,” muses lawrance. “the last three plays i’ve been involved with have all been a full women cast and that’s just been a coincidence. they’ve all been incredibly well received and they’ve all been really, really well written, and something that the audience really identifies with. none of them have been sort of chick flicks, if you like, or chick plays, but they’re dealing with universal themes, so i think [the lack of decent roles is] a cry, because not enough women writers have taken the bull by the horns and actually done something about it.” thank god, then, for Steel Magnolias. “it’s a universal story of women taking care of each other in good times and bad times and i think that’s just a universal given. it’s quite a healing play, with timing, because of the war and climate change and global crisis, and all sorts of nasty stuff. it’s just nice to know that there’s these nice women, with a womanly healing energy, around in the world.”

See steel Magnolias at The Playhouse from July 8 to July 18 @ 8pm, with matinees on Saturday 11 and 18 @ 2pm. Tix $50/$43/$35/$22 – to book call 6275 2700.

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MiGhty MiKEl B O T T L GlockENsPiEl! ED WiElds MEREDITH P O ECAMPBELL TRY

mikElaNGElo aNd tHE black sEa GENtlEmEN are hopping on board their gypsy caravanserai this month to launch their third CD in australia; in august and september they tour the United Kingdom. Curiously, a Black sea season is not planned for this current round of promotions, although front-man Mikel, of the circus strongman proportions, hopes that the Black sea region will loom up through the band’s spy-glass sometime in the future. like Mikel, this tour will be “bigger than Ben hur .” “there are plans for the Gentlemen to circumnavigate the Black sea, playing shows along the way and filming the journey to make into a docu-melodrama,” he says. “this will be some years in the planning and executing. as the politicians say, we will have everything in place by 2020.” in the meantime, this charismatic clutch of musos, mystics and misfits remains in the thrall of new creativity, with their CD, Dead Men Tell a Thousand Tales, and a swag of aussie tour dates firmly stuffed ‘neath their collective cummerbunds. the Gentlemen are rufino the Catalan Casanova on violin, the Great Muldavio on clarinet, Guido libido on accordian and little ivan on doublebass. Chuck in such fabulous instruments as the vibro-slap, the jaw-harp, the tulip tone-blocks, the glockenspiel, the tin whistle and the spoons for added ethno-music cred and crackle.

But dominating the lineup on stage is the uber-male, Mikelangelo, alternately alluring, intense, pathetic, promiscuous and gentlemanly; all these personae seamlessly linked by the booming baritone and immaculate presentation that have become his performance trademark.

Mikel maintains that the band’s enduring creative ethos is the art of storytelling, “the heart of what we do as a group. we tell fairytales with all the good bits left in - the beauty, the wonder, the hilarity and the horror.” he describes the band’s musical genre as “kabaret noir”. “to create this, we throw in an unlikely but tasty variety of ingredients into the pot to cook, and from that we make a hearty and rich stew, a formidable marinade, so to speak.” the Gentlemen who devise and serve this pungent pastiche and mellifluous melange are, according to their leader, “wonderfully charming fellows who break most established codes of gentlemanliness, whilst upholding a strong sense of honour among thieves.” i asked Mikel how the band got its name. he sidled up close to deliver his answer, his breath redolent of the aromatic sage and wild lavender that grow rampant near the shores of his beloved Black sea: “it was whispered into my ear by a Black sea mermaid who rescued me from certain fate after a storm washed me overboard.” thanks to this mermaid, the Gentlemen concoct and serve their formidable marinade to audiences on far distant shores.

Mikelangelo and the Black Sea Gentlemen sidle into the Street Theatre on Sunday July 12 at 6 and 9pm. Tix $28/$23/$19. To book call 6247 1223.

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in rEViEW

uNinhiBitED a few things have happened recently which got me to thinking about inheritance. the first was, i finally got my doctorate. yes, you heard right, ye loyal reader of the late theatre Column – that mammoth behemoth monster of a brute, my phD on satire, was handed in and passed. how does that relate to inheritance, you punningly ask? well. i come from a family of academes. My grandfather, my father, and my uncle: all doctors (and not the medical kind). My elder brother just started his doctorate. My cousin is considering enrolling in one. when i was young i just assumed that everyone had a family as nerdstrommy as mine – in which the words Encyclopaedia Britannica constituted a divine invocation, in which a question, whether a word’s spelling or how planes fly* or what was the capital of Venezuela found an inevitable response with ‘why don’t you go and look it up yourself?’ i am the third generation academic on my father’s side. yesterday my parents brought my most recent inheritance home for me – my nan’s old dresser. it’s a big old mammoth behemoth walnut tallboy, with a bevelled mirror with little decorative jewel drawers on either side, originally owned by my mother’s gramma. so i am the fourth generation on my mother’s side to own this dresser. i know what you’re thinking now. how does any of this have anything to do with a column space that is meant to be devoted to the arts? theatre, gallery exhibitions, performance – these are cruelly transient art forms. i could collect my programmes, sure, but the experience of seeing the show – the feelings and thoughts that a piece of art excites – can only be experienced by the audience at the time. they can never be revisited, never inherited. But the tradition of the arts can be inherited – it can be passed down. and it should be.** i recently got invited to participate in a festival discussion panel, on the role of reviewing in theatre arts in australia.*** and it got me to thinking, that (apart from the obvious blarney that the review engages the artist and audience in a dialogue from which both can learn about themselves and their artform - ha!) a review is tangible, concrete evidence of what a show represents to an audience member. the written word, especially in a form so delicate as a fortnightly magazine, is delicate, to be sure, but there is a hope – a tiny thread – that may be preserved and passed on, and it is not merely a memory, but a record, however subjective, of the work itself.

Soft Sculpture Fashion Parade Sculpture Garden Restaurant, NGA Thursday July 2

i’ve always read the nGa Members’ Events calendar with great relish, thinking ‘oooh that looks interesting’; but somehow, throughout the entirety of my no-longer-young adult life and despite my best intentions, i have never gotten along to any of them. luckily, i finally broke my Members’ cherry last week, at the Soft Sculpture Fashion parade presented in collaboration with über-swank Manuka boutique Department of the Exterior.

Members were first ushered through the oddball, unconventional sculptures in the exhibition before wending their way through descending mists to the sculpture Garden restaurant. there, susan taylor of Department of the Exterior had assembled a melange of designs, which models sashayed down the catwalk accompanied by music from hippo regular DJ Bucky. the parade exhibited, in taylor’s words, “ideas based design”. pieces from established brands such as Munk and Dogstar were shown alongside some amazing work from new design labels handpicked from taylor’s ‘all-star cast’ of Cit design graduates. the outstanding piece of the night was the asymmetric padded collar top from sebastian’s sister, the label of Cit grad Francesca altenberg – a beautifully draped, patterned black and white piece reminiscent of yohji yamamoto. the most consistently desirable and (for this unadventurous fashionista) wearable pieces, however, were from accessory label yellow Mule, whose radius neckpieces and brooches dramatically set off the sculptural shapes of the paraded designs.

NAOMI MILTHORPE

and that’s gotta count for something. *this was particularly irritating since my father is a frickin’ aeronautical engineer. Geez. ** For more information, consult t.s. Eliot. he knows. ***More on that in columns to come. Oo er.

NAOMI “CALL ME DOCTOR” MILTHORPE exhibitionist@gmail.com

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riGht thrOUGh thE V E rY H E a rt o f i t COURTNEY BOOT actor/director/producer Melissa Georgiou was training at niDa when a tutor told her about a character she’d be perfect for, in a play by american writer John patrick shanley. Georgiou had never read the play before and searched high and low until she found the script for WomEN of maNHattaN. “when i read it i absolutely fell in love with it,” says Georgiou – so much so that she decided to produce, direct, and star in it herself.

Women of Manhattan, playing at the Courtyard studio ‘til July 12, centres on three women – Judy, rhonda louise, and Billie – trying to make it in new york. their careers are going great guns but their “emotional lives are a wreck,” explains Georgiou. “in a series of sharply written, subtly revealing scenes, their situations change. the three are hopeful about better times ahead, but also painfully aware that the brittle, competitive Manhattan lifestyle disappoints as quickly as it rewards.”

Judy (Georgiou) has been “overtaken by cynicism” from meeting dud man after dud man. rhonda louise (nicole nesbitt-allan) suffers from self-esteem issues. Meanwhile, the “very dramatic” Billie (Melissa twidale), dissatisfied with the smooth contentment of married life, decides to import some drama – to “stir the pot just because it needs to be stirred,” jokes Georgiou. and if that situation sounds at all familiar to modern telly audiences, Georgiou is quick to point out the analogue.

“Basically it’s very similar to Sex and the City,” she says, “except there’s no sex or nudity!” the script was written in 1986, but Georgiou has updated it to 2009 – partly for the clothes. like Sex and the City, Georgiou has tried to make the play’s fashion “a talking point.”

Everyone looks very glamorous!” in the original script Judy, rhonda louise, and Billie are yankee, but Georgiou has transformed the women into aussies. “i wanted it to be very relatable to Canberra audiences,” says Georgiou. “i thought i could do that better if i made it about australian women and their journey, being in the big smoke.” i think it’s not just for theatre-goers,” says Georgiou, adding that the play has been “attracting a lot of people who are interested in relationships.” it’s the kind of night at the theatre good for groups of women, who can “go out for cocktails after” to discuss the play. women – and men, Georgiou argues – can leave the theatre thinking, “‘Oh, i can relate to that character’ and walk away with something new that might help them in the dating world.” women of Manhattan plays at the Courtyard Studio, CTC, until Sunday July 12, showing at 8pm and on Sunday at 2pm. Tix $20 thru Canberra Ticketing – call 6275 2700 or visit the CTC website at www.canberratheatre.org.au .

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b i t pa rt s WHO: Chrissie Shaw and Greg Lissaman WHAT: Gran’s Bag WHEN: July 8 – 17 WHERE: The Street Theatre In 2008 Chrissie Shaw and Greg Lissaman joined forces to develop a cross-generational work for the State Library of Queensland inspired by stories told by children and grandparents. Shaw plays the larger-than-life Gran, who pulls the show out of her magical red bag. This delightful show features storytelling, songs and puppetry, and is said to be ‘fun for the whole family’, though I imagine children would possibly be the target audience. Call the Street on 6247 1223 to take your tykes along.

WHo: young people aged 7 – 25 WHat: Cyt semester 2 workshops WHEN: Enrolments close July 17 WHErE: C Block Gorman house Cyt’s workshop program for semester two has been announced, with workshops designed for little tykes (check out the Very Cranky Bear and all suessed Out) to gallumphing emerging artists (physical theatre, writers Unite! and shakespeare On screen). Enrolments are open now and close July 17. to find out more information, head to the Cyt website at www.cytc.net and follow the links to the program page. alternatively, you can call them on 6248 5057.

WHo: accessible arts WHat: arts and Disability, nsw WHEN: whenever you click that mouse WHErE: www.aarts.net.au accessiblearts is the peak arts and disability organisation across new south wales, aiming to promote and provide opportunities for people with disabilities to participate in arts and cultural activities. accessible art’s website provides information on programs and events like aart.BOXX, an annual exhibition of works by emerging artists with a disability, and the arts activated Conference. the conference will be held in March 2010; the call for papers is open now, with the deadline august 31. head to the website for more details.

WHo: moolight productions WHat: Blood Wedding WHEN: July 31 to august 8 WHErE: anU arts Centre Mainstage, Union square, acton Federico Garcia lorca is the crowned king of spanish theatre. this year anU’s graduate theatre company, moonlight productions, is performing his three rural tragedies: The House of Bernarda Alba, Blood Wedding, and Yerma. Blood Wedding, probably lorca’s most famous work, is the second show of the year and hits the anU arts Centre stage in a couple of weeks. audiences can look forward to thwarted love, jilted bridegrooms, poetic imagery, a personified moon, and Exhibitionist’s editor hamming it up as Death. hasta entonces!

WHo: Geoff Farquhar-still, Daniel wallwork and alex asch WHat: three new exhibitions WHEN: Until august 15 WHErE: Canberra Contemporary art space, Gorman house

WHo: poets WHat: poetry at the Gods WHEN: July 14 from 6.30pm WHErE: the Gods, anU arts Centre

3,500 tiny concrete cars and 1,300 hundred concrete lightbulbs are just some of the incredible components that make up the newest batch of CCas exhibitions. local boy Geoff Farquhar-still combines the aforementioned concrete collections with projected video works and an automated aFX track in his spectacular installation Terminus. Road Kings, showing in the Middlespace gallery, is a celebration of trucking culture by Cairns artist Daniel wallwork, who exercises his automotive detailing skills to create gleaming artworks, complete with chrome and leather. in the Cube gallery alex asch’s painted crowd follows in the street-art tradition, packing a punch while pondering the current world climate.

Each month Gods Café and Bar hosts an evening of poetry titled, unexpectedly enough, poetry at the Gods. this month’s edition features Vincent O’sullivan and paul Kane. O’sullivan is a Kiwi poet and novelist whose latest collection is Further Convictions Pending.

From even further afield comes yankee paul Kane, poet and editor of Antipodes, an american magazine for australian writing. Entry is $5, with readings starting from 8pm – but you can book a table for some nosh beforehand. Just call 62485538.

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SARAH, BJORN anD stOCKhOlM

i grew to really cherish writing alone

First COMEs LOVE, thEn COMEs FOURPLAY

MIRANDA O’BRIEN

KATY HALL

saraH blasko’s new record As Day Follows Night has an open intimacy unlike either of her previous records. her unabashedly honest lyrics transport the audience into her world where she invites you to share her heartache, sadness and hope, as opposed to leaving the audience to merely experience her stories through soundwaves afar. this is what makes the record disarmingly beautiful.

in preparation for my interview with fourPlaY striNG QuartEt i’m overwhelmed within about two minutes of reading the band members’ bios. the first member peter (who i am set to interview) is a writer, composer, DJ, radio host and received first class honours in philosophy and pure maths. lara founded her own record label and is fluent in four languages. tim is an active member of the Greens here in Canberra and a part-time theatre director and shenzo is a full time composer, involved in other musical adventures and plays with artists like natalie Cole and Katie noonan. and they’re all classically trained musicians. i start to think they must be those people from school that you heard the names of so often in award ceremonies. those geniuses that are really difficult to talk to, let alone understand what they’re trying to convey.

sarah feels the intimacy on the new album comes from writing in solitude, which was an unexpectedly anxious process. “in the beginning i was quite lonely and really struggled with my confidence,” sarah explains. “it was really scary because everything was completely in my hands. it was just such a strange thing because i have written parts on my own before. But i grew to really cherish writing alone. it was a difficult but rewarding time.” although the album is distinctly Blasko, the blues influence sees her treading new terrain. while a melancholy tone lingers, musically the record is upbeat, uplifting and fresh. Eerie sounds in All I Want create an atmosphere of riding high upon a depression, yet with a sense of hope, whereas Over And Over is a cute jangly tune. instrument choice also shows distinct differences. “i didn’t want any electric guitars, keyboards or synths, so that’s really different to my other records,” says sarah. “we had these beautiful big grand pianos that we could have used, but i really fell in love with this tiny upright piano, it just had more character than the others.” her captivating voice keeps you in a poised emotional grip for the whole 46 minutes of the album, something which producer Bjorn yttling (of peter, Bjorn and John fame) was very encouraging of. “Bjorn emphasised the importance of my singing as being the centre of the record. i’ve never worked with anyone who put such an emphasis on my voice. i found it very encouraging,” says sarah. to find a producer you can trust to help craft your songs is a big investment. “it made sense to look through my records and see if there was anyone who’d be great to work with. i’d heard Bjorn’s string arrangements on Camera Obscura records and really liked it. there was simplicity in the production and arrangements... i wanted to make a record that sounded old fashioned, but so you couldn’t really work out what time it was from. the stuff Bjorn worked on had those qualities.”

Even though sarah had confidence in Bjorn she still had insecurities.

“Even knowing he’d worked on great stuff, i still couldn’t completely relax,” she admits. “it can just be so hard to trust somebody that you don’t really know that well. if i knew then what i know now it would have been fine because he did a really good job!” throughout our chat sarah’s responses are littered with sheepish giggles as though she’s embarrassed to be receiving the attention she does. however when asked if she’s happy with the record it’s easy to hear her grin through the phone. “i really love it and i’m really happy. i feel like it’s the best thing i’ve done.”

As Day Follows Night is released Saturday July 11 through Dew Process.

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the quartet’s mish-mash of classical, jazz, blues and indie favourites such as the strokes’ Reptilia, means Fourplay are one of the most diverse sounding bands in australia. they’ve long been building a successful following with we’re a live band and we their classical covers; playing everything from the Velvet Underground to radiohead to the wanted to Beastie Boys, and it’s becoming a signature capture that staple of their live show. “we do covers we like,” reveals peter. “Being four people of different tastes, it can be fun. as classical musicians we play other people’s music anyway. a lot of it is adaptation because of the instruments we use. in some ways it’s conservative, but in some ways it’s quite radical. we recreate a song using the instruments we do.” with the interview being interrupted midway for tim to organise moving house, it’s clear the quartet are always on the move. this is perhaps why Fourthcoming has taken three years to reach the shelves. “it was all recorded in a really short time in 2006, but it just took a long time to record and release because we’ve been so busy with other things,” peter admits. “we’re a live band and we wanted to capture that.” which is why when it came time to recording Canberra’s own street theatre was chosen. “when we’re recording and thinking of songs we listen to a lot of different stuff. we all have quite different tastes,” says peter.

Fourthcoming, the band’s eighth release since their establishment in the early ‘90s, is a blend of originally composed instrumentals, with a few vocals provided by lara. they do what few bands can and that is to create a beautiful, original take on a classic – that is leonard Cohen’s Famous Blue Raincoat. Rudd-a-dub-dub was composed on the day of Kevin rudd’s ascendance in the labor party. the album is a true reflection of the quartet’s different loves and interests and brings unity to the listener.

The FourPlay String Quartet will be in town for two shows at The Street Theatre on Friday July 17 and Saturday July 18. Tickets through the Theatre’s website – www.thestreet.org.au .

Mann thE TORPEDOS! PATRICIA SOCH Being entirely unfamiliar with tHE raY maNN tHrEE, i figured i better do a bit of prep work before my interview with the band’s frontman, ray wassef. so after listening to hit tracks Smile and Hook Me Up i thought to myself, “how have i never heard of this fantastic band before?” their sound is a mix of soul and funk and the vocals are, quite frankly, a bit sexy. they’ve been described as audio sex and the band whose gigs you shouldn’t take your girlfriend to, but when i mention this to wassef, he just laughs and replies “i’d just describe our music as soul.” when asked about leaving one band (Kid Confucius) for another, wassef politely informs me that this was not the case. “i had actually been playing in both bands for a while. after a few years it got a bit difficult doing both bands, so i decided to focus on just the ray

we’re looking forward to another rowdy night at transit Bar Mann three.” he sees the main differences between the two bands as “one having a lot of people and one only having three people.” simple? yes, but i’m sure that somehow, it does make a difference. wassef lists his band’s main influences as artists like al Green, D’angelo and Mos Def. “Basically anyone in black american music between 1950 and 2009,” he clarifies. the band worked with producer tony Buchen, whose production credits include bluejuice and wassef’s former band Kid Confucius, on their debut self-titled lp. “working with [tony] was very familiar because i met him in my days of Kid Confucius,” wassef explains. “he produced all of the albums and that’s how i got to know him.” the two had discussed what kind of album they would make a year before they had even started making it. By the time they actually got in the studio, everything had been worked out and they finished recording the album in one weekend. “Doing it was just like working with family,” he recalls.

Being a sydney-based band, playing in Melbourne was a very different experience for the band. how so? well, it’s all in the types of audiences. “the Melbourne audiences we’ve played to, they lean in really closely to everything on stage and that changes the way we perform… it’s like a conversation between us and the people in the crowd.” But as wassef mentions, sydney is their home and Melbourne is like the place they always felt welcomed to visit. and what about playing in Canberra? “[Our shows] were really good. it gets pretty rowdy at transit Bar, we had a good time… and we’re looking forward to having another rowdy night down there again on this tour.”

The Ray Mann Three are coming to Canberra as part of their national Opa Opa Tour, so catch them for free at Transit Bar on Saturday July 25.

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THE REALNESS the legendary Bias B released his latest offering Aerosol Era through wordburner/Obese on saturday July 4. the lp takes the listener on an introspective and personal journey back to his days growing up on the train lines with the infamous wild Child art crew.

Featuring production from such heavy-hitters such as Jase, Bigfoot, Peril, Ransom and Ciecmate, the lp is touted as an “audio journal of graffiti life.” looking forward to it! local emcee extraordinaire Omar Musa has followed up his excellent Massive Ep with a new selection entitled The Shrappers Mixtape. Mixed by the don DJ Rush, the ‘tape’ features a selection of smooth remixes and new exclusives. hit Omar up on www.myspace. com/omarmusa for a copy. and talking about DJ rush, don’t forget to check out the new range of spader wear that was recently launched at Globalize in the city. Big ups fellas. Melbourne duo B wiv Deece have just released their Ep Ritual Law giving the masses a taste of what is expected from their full length Rise In Peace in late 2009. B wiv’s production is equally inspired by Bomb-Squad and mid ‘90s Pete Rock and sets the perfect backdrop for Deece’s inspirational (and intelligent) musings. the Ep has an original sound that is both refreshing and exciting. Don’t miss their two new video clips from the Ep on youtube, displaying both professionalism and a much appreciated sense of humour. Check their music out at www. myspace.com/bwivdeece . sydney veterans Hyjak & Torcha have returned with their long awaited Unregrettable lp on Obese records, this time with Queensland’s Mules handling the majority of production. Mules’ soulful and knockin’ beats create a perfect synergy for the two emcees to speak on their experiences, both personal and professional, since the release of Drastik Measures. Guest slots come from Murs, N’Fa, Eastcoast and SQZ. with welcome production assistance from Jase and Jetlag the album is an unmistakable step forward for the duo, consistent and mature, but with that trademark hyjak humour thrown in for good measure.

Diplo & Switch have released their Major Lazer lp full of kick ass digital reggae, bugged out dancehall and gut-wrenching bass. Guns Don’t Kill People... Lazers Do pays homage to sounds of old as well as pushing forward with brand new ideas. Brilliant! Lynx + Kemo have released their incredible and versatile new lp The Raw Truth on Marcus intalex’s soul:r inprint. Equal parts minimal d’n’b and deep dubstep, the album is essential for anyone into cutting edge electronic sounds. in the live arena, Queensland duo Choose Mics hit up Transit Bar on Saturday July 11 in support of their forthcoming lp Beggars Can’t Be Choosers. producer Mules has recently been enjoying success with his work on the new hyjak & torcha lp. Can’t wait to see the live show and hear some new Choose Mics tunes. some other big names are coming to town shortly too, more news next time. to hear music from the above releases and more, tune to the antidote on 2XX 98.3FM from 9:30 pm tuesday nights, or stream at: www.2xxfm.org.au.

ROSHAMBO roshambizzle@yahoo.com.au

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KinEtiC ENERGY SHAILLA VAN RAAD tHE last kiNEctioN is a hip-hop group with an australian heritage edge that represents thousands of years of a people’s journey, suffering and emancipation. the group consists of Jacob turier (aka DJ Jaytee) and brother and sister combo, Joel (weno) and naomi wenitong. hailing from southeast Queensland, the three members have all been in the music industry long enough to understand its strange machinations. speaking to the trio is an overwhelming experience. naomi reminisces about her experience in the highly successful pop duo shakaya and how the formation of the last Kinection was inevitable for her in the long term scheme of things. “i felt really disconnected with just having to sing other people’s songs and not writing my own in shakaya,” she explains. “the last Kinection has given me a great opportunity to explore my heritage and my own music.

the main message we wanted to get across is that being [of] mixed [race] is a good thing.”

“we want to put out there any message we can. in this album there are a few issues that we wanted to talk about and i think we have achieved that,” naomi continues. “a lot of the music is also music that’s about feeling good, feeling okay with yourself and your culture. the main message we wanted to get across is that being [of] mixed [race] is a good thing.” the debut album Nutches has just been released and the trio are very excited. Certain songs mean very personal things to each one of the members. “Ballooraman is one of my favourite songs,” naomi reveals, “because it helped me write in my native language again. i [also] really enjoyed writing I Can [featuring radical son] and performing the song. i feel like it’s an affirmation, a personal mantra to me when you get up there and perform it, it’s like a personal chant. no one’s writing songs that motivate people like this these days. i’m glad that we wrote something positive.” the first-in-command, Joel is like the big brother of the band and is one of the MCs. Joel also partners with DJ Jaytee in critically acclaimed indigenous hip-hop quartet, local Knowledge. Joel speaks about his journey from the creation of local Knowledge to becoming the brainchild of the last Kinection. “local Knowledge was a band that played mainly at indigenous festivals,” he explains. “we wanted the last Kinection to be more accessible and bring the message of reconciliation out there.” the last Kinection, being an inspired young band with talented and experienced musicians, has much to look forward to. “we’re in the process of writing our second album at the moment,” Joel explains, “and we hope to be on another tour around this time next year. this time in the year is a great time to tour because of naiDOC [national aboriginal and islander Day Observance Committee] week. it’s a great time of the year because it opens a lot more doors for us and gets out the messages over a wider scope.” let’s hope these messages don’t fall on deaf ears.

Catch The Last Kinection at the ANU Bar on Thursday July 30. Free entry!

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PUNKSKA

they’ve got the sun and they’ve got the palm trees. they’ve got the weed and they’ve got the taxis, but we’ve got the BMa punk & ska news. as the temperature drops to nine below zero, Belconnen is the place to be for some winter warmth. Kicking things off with a steel-capped boot will be The Toxicmen and reunited local legends Buttnugget at the Pot Belly Bar on Saturday July 18. it’s also a reunion of sorts for the old school Canberran skate scene so get along and check out the bands, the classic photos of Dave Pang that captured the scene and claim your chance to win an old school sk8 deck. skating starts from 2pm. the following saturday will be the first of a once-a-month gig at The Basement, called Slamfest. slamfest will feature punk, psychobilly, ska, oi! and hardcore from in and around australia. some of the bands scheduled to play in the next few months include hardcore heavyweights Toe To Toe, Central Coast psychobillys Checkered Fist and wollongong punks Topnovil. the first slamfest takes place Saturday July 25 and the killer lineup includes Casino Rumblers, The Vee Bees, The Rumjacks and The Toxicmen. local ska souljahs, Final Warning packed their bags and shifted their ware to Melbourne a few years back, but they’ve just sent news from the front that their all-new 19 track album Militant Ska is out now and eight songs are available for free download at www.mp3.com. au/finalwarning, where they’re also number one (with a bullet) on the mp3.com.au Oz ska charts and number four on the punk charts. the album can be obtained by visiting the band’s myspace page, here www.myspace.com/finalwarningska . ska band Chase Long Beach have just released their first album for Victory records. the 11 track Gravity Is What You Make It is similar in sound and style to the rock-infused ska ditties pumped out by the likes of Reel Big Fish and Mighty Mighty Bosstones, only with female vocals. hear the tracks We’ve Got Pockets Like Nobody’s Business and Where’s My Time Stick at the group’s myspace page and while there, check out the videos (www.myspace.com/chaselongbeach). since 2002, the band’s been working hard from their home turf of southern California, reaching out to live audiences worldwide, resulting in a musical phenomenon and energetic live performance providing an answer to the next wave of ska-punk. Chase long Beach have released two Eps: Attack Of The Fuzzy Things (2004) and Chase Long Beach Hosts A Molotov-Cocktail Party (2006), plus the full-length LEBEC (2007), produced by Aaron Barret (reel Big Fish).

Order their new lp here – www.victoryrecords.com/webstore . wrapping up, you should still be able to find tickets to see ska legends The Specials at the Enmore Theatre, sydney, on Monday July 27 here www.enmoretheatre.com.au/events/2009/07/27/the-specials . there’s even some for the Bad Religion/NOFX show, Wednesday September 30 (aa) at the Hordern Pavilion, sydney here: www. ticketek.com.au/shows/showtickets.aspx?sh=badrEliG09&v=H or&p=EHor2009886 .

Oi Oi that’s yer lot!

SIMON HOBBS Next deadline is July 27. Send news, views, gig promos and abuse to rudebwaay@gmail.com .

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cHambEr MUsiC PETER KRBAVAC if history has taught us nothing else, it’s that from the chamber music of the 1700s to the raw, gritty beats of the 36 Chambers, chambers and music are a winning combination. to add further weight to the argument, i present bright young sydney things, cHambErs. Don’t let those reference points lead you astray, though, as there’s nary a viola nor a gravel pit in sight. instead, the band’s heart lies in that maligned and often misunderstood decade, the ‘80s. in Chambers, you can hear the dark, brooding atmosphere of Echo and the Bunnymen, the pulsing, shifting backbeat of Brian Eno and, in particular, the shimmering guitar wash that characterised many Creation records’ bands, chiefly often overlooked shoegazers ride. “all of us are avid fans of music from that era and especially that scene. Most of [the music] was made before we were even a tadpole, but that just goes to show how great those bands were!” guitarist sydney weston enthuses. “they may not have been the highest selling bands, but they had longevity.”

we knew when to supply the tea to the man twiddling the knobs around two years ago, after the bell rang for the last time and school was out forever, sydney and classmates thom Benjamin (bass) and isaac yeo (guitar/vocals) teamed up with Mat Gardner (drums) under the name Man ray. after a quick rethink – “there were a few other bands around with names like Man ray and we wanted to distinguish ourselves” – the four settled on their current moniker. “i guess it is a reference to the Chambers brothers from (rob reiner’s 1986 film) Stand By Me. those guys are tough,” sydney says.

From there, it was simply a matter of holing up in a jam room, bashing it out and letting their common influences dictate their musical direction. “we each knew what we liked and were influenced by individually but never really discussed a group sound, [we preferred] to just let it happen rather than force it,” sydney explains. selecting five of their best, Chambers decamped to sydney’s Big Jesus Burger studios – australian indie rock’s hitsville, Usa – at the end of last year and recorded debut Ep A Slow Decay, an accomplished set presenting a band with a strong sonic vision and songwriting skills to match. Despite the tight timeframe – just four days to record and mix it all – sydney explains everything basically fell into place. “we had done quite a lot of recording prior to this Ep, so we knew what to do, what not to do, and when to supply the tea to the man twiddling the knobs,” he says. “we really wanted our Ep to reflect our music the way it was – bare and beautiful. Chris (townend, producer) was really great to work with, he got what we wanted straight away and did an amazing job. we went into the studio with the hopes that we could come away with something really special and different, and we did!”

Chambers play the ANU Bar on Saturday July 25. Get your ticket at the door and head to www.myspace.com/chambersband for a free download of a slow Decay.

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weight and seemed to have a few meanings. i think everybody’s got some strange cousins from the west. i think it works on a lot of different levels and conjures up a lot of images.”

CUriOUs COUSINS CHIARA GRASSIA “i think we’re getting better at making records, each one that we do we learn some kind of a lesson. and that’s not saying that you eventually learn everything because it’s certainly not a perfect album. i don’t think we’ll ever make a perfect record.” Jean-paul Gaster, drummer for american rockers clutcH, is certainly quite humble about his band. “you take in what you can from your previous records… hopefully you can learn from all of those records, and each one is going to be a little better, in some respects. and that’s the fun of it; you never figure the whole thing out.” releasing their ninth studio album Strange Cousins From The West, a kick to the head of thumping rock and blues, Clutch have maintained their strong sound. “i think for the most part there’s not a lot of heavy-music going on. we tend to listen to a lot of dub and reggae stuff, we listen to a lot of blues records, back in the ‘90s we used to listen to a lot of hip-hop… it changes.” the concoction title was “one of the phrases that was kicking around and that was carrying some

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sticking together for 18 years, Jean paul explains that simple “mutual respect” has so much to do with Clutch. “it’s great to play with these guys. we were friends before we started this band. it’s certainly not the easiest thing in the world but it’s not by far the most difficult thing in the world. it’s a great thing. we have a great time, hanging out, making music, and having a couple of beers. they’re definitely the most talented guys i know, and the easiest to play with, and that says a lot.” performing live has always been an important aspect of the band’s structure, and the process of making Strange Cousins… was no different. “these days we make it a point to play the new songs as much as we can before going into the studio. For the last couple of records we actually booked two or three week tours with the sole

i think everybody’s got some strange cousins from the west intention of trying to play the songs out… For me personally, as the drummer, because i’m thinking about the pulse of the tune, thinking about the tempo of the tune, thinking about how the words sit on top of the riffs and all those dynamics really come into their own in a live setting in front of an audience. if it’s a good song i think folks will react to it, and if they’re not reacting to it, what i can do to better represent that tune. so that’s a pretty crucial step in the process of making a record.” strange Cousins From the west is out July 14 through Weathermaker Music.

the word

BLACKBOX sick of Michael Jackson? you wouldn’t be the only one. and it isn’t over yet. as we go to press, there is no word on which network will air the memorial service but Rage (aBC1, sat aug 1, 10am) has put together a package spanning 40 years of his career.

Last Word Monologues (aBC1, Fri Jul10, 10pm) is a trio of monologue stories from Hugo Blick (of Up in Town fame). the first stars Rhys Ifans as a framer trying to break free from his mother. subsequent weeks feature Bob Hoskins as a hitman and Sheila Hancock as a woman in a euthanasia clinic. worth the investment.

Blackbox is blaming Idol, its siblings and the revival of Fame for Glee (sCtEn, sun Jul 19, 9pm). it was only a matter of time before tV execs cottoned on to the potential of a modern musical comedy series about a high school choir. nominated for three teen choice awards. that about says it all.

Masterchef (sCtEn, sun Jul 19, 7.30pm) winds up next week – check out The Cook and the Chef (aBC1, wed, 6.30pm) for your cooking fix. the much-promoted 7pm Project (sCtEn, Mon Jul 20, 7pm) will fill the weekday slot. while there’s no doubt Hughsie, and Charlie Pickering are entertaining, dissecting the news of the day may not be their forte. perhaps the razor sharp wit and insightful comedic critique of Wil Anderson or Paul McDermott may have been a better fit. and Ruby Rose? Entertainment reporter? please. if the selection criterion was number of mentions in a trash mag, no wonder she got the gig. win have just announced that Little Britain (win, tue Jul 7, 10.30pm) is ‘premiering’. why on earth would anyone tune in to watch a show with ads that a) has already run on another network without ads and b) is readily available on DVD? is it possible that win has secured the rights to hBO’s Little Britain USA and this is just a warm up? we can only hope. aBC’s sunday night slot will be filled with The Last Enemy (aBC1, sun Jul 19, 8.30pm), about an international 1984-style conspiracy.

Funny how the immediate future is always about doom and gloom, big brother, terrorists, machines taking over the world and destruction and the distant future a utopian (Star-Trek style) imagining of the world. this eve of destruction thriller stars the brilliant Robert Carlyle so it can’t be all bad. if you’re looking for a good doco check out Ned Kelly Uncovered (aBC1, thu Jul 9, 8.30pm) as Tony Robinson (intrepid British history sleuth) conducts an archeological dig at Glenrowan, Spirit Stones (aBC1, thu Jul 9, 9.30pm) looks at stone showers reported in south west Victoria in the ‘40s and ‘50s, We are Wizards (aBC2, wed Jul 22, 8.30pm) which looks at harry potter Fans that have taken it to a trekkie level, Artscape: Brian Eno in conversation (aBC1, tue Jul 21, 9.50pm) which shows great insight into one of the world’s greatest producers, or World’s Greenest Homes (aBC1, thu Jul 30, 6pm). returning series include Big Bang Theory (win, Mon, 8pm), Q&A (aBC1, thu Jul 23, 9.30pm) and Rush (sCtEn, Mon Jul 13, 8.30pm). strangest casting of the year – Corinne Grant will host Airways (prime, tue Jul 14, 7.30pm) the new tiger airways fly-on-the-wall doco.

TRACY HEFFERNAN tracyheffernan@bigpond.com

on games Sometimes I wonder what goes through a game developer’s head when they decide ‘I’m going to make a game, but it’s going to be just like all the other shit out there’. Personally, why bother?

Money? Michael Bay would agree, but where’s the pride in knowing you’ve made another uninspired, by-the-book piece of crap. To me, game development should be about striving to make something unique and special.

While this issue’s game, Red Faction: Guerrilla, isn’t a perfect example of this, it at least has an unrivalled focus on messing shit up, which helps set it apart from the pack.

red Faction: guerilla platforms: ps3, 360, pc Developer: Volition publisher: tHQ Hours: 5-20

red Faction follows in its dad’s footsteps by placing a large focus on destroying stuff. Using a hammer (that one can only assume used to belong to thor), you can smite just about everything except the ground you stand on. however, Red Faction doesn’t just use this as a technical gimmick; it builds the gameplay around it, albeit with mixed success. at its heart, Faction delivers a suitably enjoyable experience. watching a building collapse under its own weight is satisfying and if it happens to take you out in the process, it’s downright hilarious.

Unfortunately, the game doesn’t offer much variety beyond this.

Objectives include destroying a building, seeing how quickly you can destroy a building, or doing a story mission, which normally consists of destroying some form of building. admittedly, there are also some rescue-the-hostage missions, but i tended to fail these after destroying the building the hostages were held in. another fault of the game is the ai, or lack thereof. the enemy’s driving logic consists of pointing their car in the player’s direction and hitting the accelerator. the result? hilarious madness, especially when you see a flock of enemy vehicles careen overhead because they’ve all neglected to notice a huge bump in the terrain. the narrative is also significantly lacking. the story and characters are cliché. For instance, the bad guys have about as much depth as the paper this review is printed on. they’re evil because, urr... they are, oh, and because they killed your brother and stuff, and that’s why we’re now going to murder dozens of them and blow up their buildings. now, what does that remind you of? anyway, despite not being the most refined game in the world, Red Faction still delivers a novel and enjoyable experience. it’s not a must-have title, but you probably won’t hate yourself for buying it.

TORBEN SKO

35

the word

on albums

album of the week tiki taane past present FUtUre [dirty duB] former salmonella dub frontman tiki taane takes dub to a new level of sophistication whilst making a strong cultural statement. His debut album is a collaborative effort featuring a variety of musos; songwriters and vocalists with tiki playing a part in each song. opening with a haunting spoken word māori welcome, the pace steps up to a wicked mix that combines the haka with tribal rhythms. there are cool beats aplenty, especially in Now This Is It, which are sure to set hips gyrating in sync. the ladies make a splash with smooth female vocals, particularly Julia deans from fur Patrol in Our Favourite Target. the cd contains two versions of Always on My Mind which was a huge hit in the land of the long White cloud. the title track Past, Present, Future celebrates the māori tradition of recording history through song, mixing strings and haka cries with the taped voice of his late grandmother. an album of great depth and beauty. rorY mccartNEY

regina spektor Far [sire] similar to that of Begin to Hope, every song on Far is a ticket into the eyes of regina spektor. her delicate exploration of moments navigates listeners through human philosophy on Blue Lips and the pleasures of memories on Dance Anthem of the ‘80s; the characters weave together with spektor’s ethreal voice their thread. her diverse vocal range and dancing fingers on piano have only strengthened, and all her quirkiness remains.

Using four producers along the way, the album is remarkably succint in its delivery and the sincerity is present in every song. Far is a spectacular moment in what hopes to be regina spektor’s long career.

KATY HALL

saint DeaMon panDeaMoniUM [Frontiers/riot] two or three albums like Pandeamonium are released worldwide every week, so the trick for us listeners is to weed out the chaff and get to the wheat. this isn’t always easy – the general rule of thumb for bands like saint Deamon is that their instrumental dexterity is a given, as is the heavily-accented vocalistic hilarity offered by their singer. where the variations begin, and where the war is won and lost, is in the song department, and i’m happy to report that in this respect these particular saints are indeed blessed. sitting on the hard rock side of Euro power metal, the likes of the tremendous Way Home points to a bright future for this swedish outfit.

SCOTT ADAMS

tHe Horrors priMarY coLoUrs [reMote Control/Xl reCordinGs] stovepipe mannequins the horrors have, out of nowhere, released one of the best albums of the year. not entirely original or inventive Primary Colours is a sonic eardrum buzz belonging somewhere between psychedelic Furs in 1984 and Jesus and Mary Chain in 1986. Very specific, but also very delicious. lots of reverb, cavernous drum echo, manicured distortion and plenty of long black fringes. who knows – they might suffer the same indignity as Black rebel Motorcycle Club and be a fuzzy blip on the radar. But if so, then we should at least thank them for the glorious sweaty leather rockers of Mirror’s Image and Who Can Say and for having the balls to release an eight minute single – Sea Within A Sea. Bravo.

JUSTIN HOOK

coVer Up MoteL tZU [liBeration reCords] Cover Up Motel is a rerelease of the acclaimed tZU album Computer Love with an added bonus remix version of all the tracks. Burning Up touches on the subject of how drugs destroy the lives of our loved ones. All Falls Down gives us a sombre, yet realistic perspective of society. We Got The Feeling, Get Up, and Step With The Pressure are sure to get the blood pumping and is guaranteed to get the crowd moving. Get out and get this CD not just because it’s awesome, but because i said so.

DirECtiOns: album may sound better after happy hour at your local. if head continues to move in a bopping motion, consult your physician.

FAZ NUR, AKA, DR. CHOCOLATE

36

singled out

WITH DAVE DAVE RUBY RUBY H HOWE OWE

keri HiLson Ft. kanYe West & ne-Yo knock YoU DoWn [uMa] this song is fire. not on fire. it is fire. i mean, spring-backed beat, cheeky production, and three genuine stars hitting all their marks. Kanye turns everything he touches to legitimate gold, Keri hilson has been making all the right moves since teaming with timbaland and ne-yo takes a break from being a dork to put in a charismatic guest verse. and there’s auto-tuned harmonies. stunner.

MstrkrFt Ft. JoHn LegenD HeartBreaker [etCetC] One of the only agreed upon salvos from MstrKrFt’s almost universally hated Fist Of God lp (i don’t hate it, quite the opposite really), Heartbreaker features the dulcet tones of John legend on vox. yeah, that John legend. and i was wrong about him. Dude is stone cold cool. so this collaboration is great.

MstrKrFt show a new side of themselves with this sombre slice of piano-driven electro. it’s insistent with its pumping drums and is undeniably smooth. Big ups.

siMian MoBiLe Disco Ft. cHris keating aUDacitY oF HUge [shoCk] huge is a fitting word for this tune. it’s a monster. Classic sMD piled-up beats, quirky main room electro and some grandstanding vocals from yeasayer’s Chris Keating. Of course, being as huge as it is, it’s never subtle. But like we already acknowledged, it’s huge, so there’s really no time to think when it’s clubbing you over the head with a fist full of awesome.

the word on dvds

Mirrors

kiss: kissoLogY

DoUBt

i’m all for Kiefer sutherland having a career outside of the small screen straightjacket of 24, but for the sake of differentiation it might be a good idea if he didn’t accept roles casting him as troubled ex-cops sneaking around dark, empty buildings – gun in hand, chasing noises in the night. Because all i could think of was Jack Bauer. and how the hapless Ben Carson wasn’t a slice on Jack Bauer.

Maybe a stuffy period drama or a vampire tit-comedy would reboot our idea of who Kiefer sutherland is. My unfortunate fantasies aside, Mirrors reads like just another J-horror flick with the usual supernatural spin – in this case spirits lurking behind mirrors. and for the most part, this is largely how it crawls along. But underneath is a fine thriller gasping to get out; touching on issues of identity, philosophy and spooky children maladministered by the state, naturally. Our anti-hero, Carson, is a suspended detective and in an effort to prove responsibility to his estranged family he finds work as a security guard in a disused building. right, now that’s the first problem – ain’t no disused building ever been problem-free. soon enough strange things start happening in the old department store that in fact was originally a psychiatric hospital long beforehand. never saw that one coming did you? the previous security guard died in mysterious circumstances… oh, god it’s so unbelievably rote.

Carson slowly begins to unravel the malevolent back story of the fiendish apparitions – at great cost to his family and self.

Mirrors are furiously painted, blood is spilt, looks are quizzical and credulity is tested. Only rarely does the film Mirrors want to rise to the surface and, for those who make the effort, the genuinely unsettling final scene is exactly what this film should have been. too bad French new wave horror director alexandre aja failed to find the right tone for the remaining 108 minutes.

Unless you are paul stanley or Gene simmons (or one of their mums), it’s debatable as to whether you need over six hours of footage of their band from its salad days. when you further take into account the fact that every track here is repeated seven or eight times, it’s increasingly likely that you’ll be able to turn your back on this ‘new’ release (it’s been available in the Us for nearly three years now, so any ‘real’ Kiss fans will own this anyway) and use your alreadystretched financial resources more usefully elsewhere.

no doubt about how brilliant, clever and suspenseful this film is.

what you get is at times rudimentary footage of a band learning as it goes along. paul stanley in particular suffers here, with many of his now trademark raps coming over here as frankly ludicrous, whilst the ‘homemade’ nature of many of the set piece stunts won’t fail to disappoint those brought up on the band in its later, more polished entities. that said, it’s worth a squizz once, if only to see (and hear) that peter Criss was rather a good singer before the madness took hold (he easily outstrips simmons vocally in the early footage), whilst the bits and pieces culled from obscure Us and UK tV shows (and therefore never seen here before) are all of some interest. is that enough to charm the cash out of your wallet? Only you can decide whether to buy, but if you do i’d be surprised if you watch this more than once or twice.

SCOTT ADAMS

never has a film driven mainly by conversation been able to make an audience feel as connected and enthralled as Doubt, which does exactly that. the title says it all and the film does a supreme job invoking doubt and uncertainty throughout. is he guilty? is he innocent?

John patrick shanley brings his award winning play to screen as a gripping story about the search for truth and the consequences of gossip. set in 1964 in the Bronx, it centres on an endearing priest, Father Flynn (philip seymour hoffman) who befriends the school’s only african american student, spurring on speculation over the close friendship, in particular sister aloysius Beauvier (Meryl streep), the principal of st nicholas’s who believes in the power of fear and discipline. when sister James (amy adams) begins to share in sister aloysius’ suspicions of Father Flynn the pair begin to investigate further, questioning every move Father Flynn makes. a simplistic, compelling film that creates ambiguity with an emotional thrust that sustains throughout, Doubt emerges as a clever and brilliant piece of work.

Doubt is a film that keeps you guessing and is driven by the stand out performances by all actors which is evident with all three receiving Oscar nominations. streep and hoffman deliver the perfect contrast and provide both tension and laughs throughout. if you like movies that are clear and straight forward with a transparent conclusion, this might not be the film for you. a powerful and profound drama, it’s no wonder this film snatched up as many awards as it did.

LAUREN HERNANDEZ

JUSTIN HOOK

37

the word

on films

WitH mark russEll

biopics are a difficult one. do you tackle the path this person took to greatness, or try for a roots-and-all look at a time when we already knew them?

Coco avant Chanel goes for the former. this is probably because this was the most interesting time of her life, but it means the film doesn’t really have much to do with clothes. don’t get me wrong, i don’t care about fashion - i thought ‘haute couture’ was a series of south african metal gigs (say it out loud people). However if i see a biopic about J k rowling, i’d like to watch her as a writer. Not running around a lacrosse field in the days before a crippling ankle injury forced her to pick up a pen.

quote of the issue Jetfire (Mark ryan) Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: “My father was a wheel! the first wheel! and do you know what he transformed into? nothing!

But he did it with honour!”

38

transForMers: reVenge oF tHe FaLLen

Disgrace

coco aVant cHaneL

the new Transformers film is like a set of really shiny mag wheels: it catches your attention when moving, but once it stops you realise there’s a wanker in the driver’s seat. Michael Bay has set his sub-woofer to bowel-shaking and parked this sequel across three disabled spots, making every attempt to grab your eye. this second instalment promises total bang for your buck as the autobots and Decepticons do battle once again with us humans caught in the middle.

Our only hope lies in the hands of sam witwicky (shia leBeouf), who’s formative college years and blossoming relationship with ludicrously hot girlfriend Mikaela (Megan Fox), have been interrupted by the intergalactic demolition derby. any further mention of plot will only give you a false impression of narrative. after all, this is Bay we’re talking about – the directorial equivalent of the Chk Chk Boom Girl. if anything, the story inconveniences the film as a whole. it appears in the brief quiet moments, coughing and spluttering amongst the dustcloud. it’s here that characters reel off massive chunks of expositional dialogue in order to jump to the next set piece. and this is what Revenge of the Fallen really is: a collection of loosely connected sequences. some are funny, some are exciting; all of them must have cost the GDp of a small country to film.Overlong and almost completely devoid of character, Transformers still manages to have its share of fun moments.

Ultimately however, this cinematic machine’s pulse-raising roar comes from a dodgy exhaust, not a high performance engine.

One thing i have learned in my years as an avid film-goer is that good storytelling doesn’t necessarily mean enjoyable viewing. yes, some films are exceptionally well-made and entertaining to watch – but others, though they are wellwritten and well-executed, are more harrowing than entertaining. Disgrace is one such film. Based on the novel by J.M. Coetzee, the film tells the tale of a morally questionable professor (John Malkovich) living in south africa; and follows his life first at the University of Cape town and later in Eastern Cape with his daughter. tragic events ensue, and the film focuses on both the consequences of these events and the relationships between the characters involved. while this is hardly a happy film, it is well-written and socially relevant in a few interesting ways. the atmosphere of Disgrace is exceptional – each scene is saturated in the sense of ‘being in another place’ – namely, south africa. Many of the themes of Disgrace have multiple interpretations, and if anything, the film is certainly thought-provoking. Disgrace is good – and part of its power lies in how affecting and realistic it is. But it is also quite upsetting in parts, and for me, was far from enjoyable. i appreciated certain aspects of the film while disagreeing with others, and the storytelling overcomes the fact that none of the characters are particularly likeable or relatable.

Disgrace is worth seeing, but steel yourself beforehand.

i reckon i could watch audrey tatou in pretty much anything. hell, i’d even sit through The DaVinci Code again. this is a lucky thing, because Coco avant Chanel is aimed squarely at shmucks like me. the film charts Chanel’s life as a poor abandoned child, then lounge singer, to becoming a barnacle on the underside of French high society. throughout she demonstrates an intense wilfulness, determination and survival instinct. the initial upper class target of her wiles is Balsan (Benoit poelvoorde), a curious character who understands Coco in ways no one else can. though he has money, he is just as much an outsider as she amongst the upper crust; and revels in his contempt of them. the main problems of this film arise from its subject matter, and the pace at which the film-makers chose to approach it. Coco Chanel was famous mainly for her fashion and her wit, but both are only in the infancy stages at the time we’re focussing on. we get to see events and conversations that may have inspired some of her greatest quotes, but she won’t actually say them for a long time. we hear her opinions on fashion regularly, but she won’t influence others ‘til the last five minutes of the film. the last scene is also easily the strongest. it looks superb, makes great use of the set-up character elements, and sits back to let us soak up audrey. this was more than enough to keep me doe-eyed and watching, but in truth i’d rather just re-hire Amelie.

MARK RUSSELL

MEGAN MCKEOUGH

MARK RUSSELL

39

the word

on gigs

tommy emanuel / Blue Horse canberra theatre Wednesday June 24 i was sitting smack bang in the middle of the theatre (thanks for the ticket Bev) surrounded by a mix of all ages, and Emmanuel had something for everyone. those who like music were swaying along to the rhythm and melodies, reminiscing to the beautiful arrangements of timeless tracks like Mancini’s Moon River through to the Beatles’ Michelle and finishing with Dragon’s Are You Old Enough?. Others were there as guitarists of all levels and dreams, and they were easy to spot as they were the ones laughing and shaking their heads trying to work out ‘how the hell can he do that!?’. at first i couldn’t quite decide what level to appreciate, but i think i was looking for a master class - and that is definitely what i got. there were times when he was playing that i thought ‘if i got three or maybe four of the best guitar players i know and we all did different parts, together we could do what he was doing.’ Other times i thought, ‘oh that’s not too hard, i could learn that’. then he would just do something that i previously thought was beyond human capability - i mean we only have ten fingers! it’s so nice to go along to something that has had a big build up and an air of expectation and for all hopes to be exceeded. tommy Emmanuel is truly as good a musician and player as people say. his percussion skills are also awesome although his technique is a bit strange; hitting the guitar is one thing but using a brush on it, and then attacking the microphone with the brush before hitting it with his head? But he did seem genuinely pleased when he actually broke his guitar by putting a hole in it. highlights? not sure what to choose. was it the moment when after an incredible medley where the crowd erupted in applause and Emmanuel said “thankyou, i thoroughly deserved that.” was it the moment where he made a joke about Elvis and then just decided (with audience encouragement) to switch guitars (he had four) and do his version of Heartbreak Hotel? was it the sharing of the story of his relationship with Chet atkens, and his words of encouragement and song dedication to all the young guitarists in the audience to pursue there dreams, culminating in a young teen in the audience handing Emmanuel a demo CD which he picked up and then thanked the young fella and promised to listen to it - all whilst still playing the guitar? i think it was probably just seeing him in action, hearing him sing and talk and express himself so ably through his playing. as he said, “i don’t need no stinking glory, i don’t need no fame and fortune. i come along here tonight to just do my best for you, to play for you, ‘cause you want to listen.”

ROGER BUSH

Bertie Blackman transit Bar thursday June 25

PHotos bY: marY luckHurst

40

word of the talent of Bertie Blackman has spread quietly but widely. so there was a packed floor in the transit Bar, seething with anticipation. she wowed the crowd with the sheer passion of her delivery, with that deep, breathy, delicious timbre. there was a comprehensive coverage of her album with Thump, a personal favourite, coming early in the set. Black Cats and Come to Bed flowed across the room with an almost erotic force. Bertie was unfazed by a broken string or by the guitar lead detaching mid song. this was actually a bonus for punters, as she ended Birds of Prey with an improvised a cappella version. there was an amazing, heartfelt cover of the phil Collins classic In the Air Tonight and the set ended with the floating Sky is Falling. she’s back in town in august. Can’t wait.

RORY MCCARTNEY

the word

on gigs

Yves klein Blue / philadelphia grand Jury anU Bar Wednesday July 1 yves Klein Blue are a band that is underestimated in Canberra.

Judging from the crowd, there certainly is a following but not enough for a band who should have an epic proportion of people at their heels. the amalgamation of old school ‘50s rock ‘n’ roll with a smattering of shoegaze lurches into the heart of the very definition of ‘indie-rock’ cross-referencing talking heads in their very beginnings. touring their highly anticipated debut album Ragged & Ecstatic, yves Klein Blue are a vat full of surprises, from their springsteen cover encore to their commercially made famous single Polka. they give any sweater toting, square framed glasses wearing indie kid a passioninducing chance to fall to the floor and bustle with the rest of ‘em.

Frenetic, maniacal, wisecracking and philosophical without probably meaning to be, all at the same time, Michael tomlinson paces the stage in side step to the infectious hooks and guitar riffs. he looks like a young miniature Marlon Brando with his neat and chiselled features and slicked back hair - a definitively wonderful casting of a lead man. tomlinson is always focussed on the music, staring into the middle distance of the crowd, never crooning too much, never screaming neurotically. he has the vocal balance just right for this type of band, and the facial expressions of a niDa grad. when his bandmates left the stage for his solo About The Future, a harrowingly bittersweet acoustic song about our generation’s moral failings as well as lost love, he appeared to be channelling the late, great hank williams. a stellar solo if ever there was one.

Flanked once more by his fellow musicians who can all play their instruments with flair and finesse, tomlinson spurts out perfectly enunciated lyrics which do not skim the surface, but nor do they go into too much river depth. their sound is atmospheric without being boring, an exploration through a double guitar dichotomy. One guitar is the lead, and in-synch with the magnetically charged tomlinson, whilst the other provides colour and depth in its multiple affairs with multiple delay and distortion pedals. true to rock’s blues roots, yves Klein Blue allude to their forefathers by giving their music a softer and warmer edge; a melt in your mouth buttered up feeling that brings on involuntary mass crowd head nodding, toe tapping, and for those first three or four rows up the front, the all out twist and shout. you just can’t help the tribal mentality infectious music injects almost intravenously. the band too nods to many famous British acts like the libertines, and the Kinks and the Beatles who have paved the way for this musical genre. Judging from their produced sound, the band sounds neater, the riffs tighter and less lingering, so you wouldn’t expect the character they bring to the stage, both musically and in presence; it is a pleasant surprise.

PHotos bY: NatHaN WEbstEr

it’s hard to stay original these days, and this band is by no means original in genre and style, but they have become a tighter set since they started performing, and even since last year, when i first saw them live. yves Klein Blue are a young band, with rollicking potential, already tearing up the stage. there is a vein for a deeper exploration of different soundscapes here, if the band chooses to explore them. they just could be the musical extension that the indie-rock genre is waiting for in the future. there is nothing definitively australian about them and this is disappointing as our cultural identity would be an asset to this type of music, though they do deserve recognition for their rock genre fluidity. when the harsh fluoro lights came on after their super tight little 40 minute set and the sounds of Creedence filled the refectory, the lingerers kept twisting; in awe of what they’d just heard and ravenous for more.

SHAILLA VAN RAAD

41

GIG GUIDE July 09 - July 11 tHUrsDaY JULY 09 Arts twist, Wall and Fever exhibition

exhibitions by richard Blackwell, tim dwyer, james langer and dan lorrimer. until july 12.

M16 artspaCe

Forest Fungi exhibition

Barbara hodgson presents an overwhelming abundance of mushrooms in oils. until july 12.

M16 artspaCe

custom Made

Five gleaming handbuilt harley davidsons are presented in the ‘gallery come showroom’. until aug 8.

CraFt aCt

Message sticks indigenous Film Festival (15+)

the best in new indigenous australian filmmaking. all sessions free. arC CineMa, national FilM & sound arChiVe

steel Magnolias

robert harling’s tragi-comic play. until july 18. tix $50/$43/$35/$22 – to book call 6275 2700. the playhouse

DAnce

something Different greenfaces: Jackie Loeb

Watch amateur comedians battle it out for the biggest laughs.

CanBerra irish CluB

canberra Youth theatre semester 2 Drama

aCadeMy niGhtCluB

Winter Warmers appreciation club With rowan Marshcroft.

kniGhtsBridGe penthouse

Full Frequency & Drummatic twins (Uk)

the darlings of the hedonistic days of the breakbeat era show us what they’re up to now. Free, baby! transit Bar

Live Wish For Wings

With never see tomorrow and Buried in Verona. the BaseMent

Domus adultus

With simone penkethman, jo telfer and Claire lawlor. $7/$5. hippo lounGe

one non Blonde ChisholM taVern

king o’Malley’s: Free Live Music With Charles Chatain, 9pm-Mid. kinG o’Malley’s, CiViC

42

With d’opus.

kniGhtsBridGe penthouse

Live rickety-Bridge

acting classes, theatre workshops and productions. ages 7-25.

With support from the Contratempts.

transit carry-on karaoke

launch their new lp Roots, Pop, Reggae. With special guest the Mighty dubmarine.

CanBerra youth theatre

open up your pipes and murder the classics for your chance to win big. transit Bar

austen tayshus

it’s a fair bet that anyone who remembers the ‘80s will remember austen tayshus. his comedy single Australiana sold over 20,000 copies by weaving australian lingo and place names into an extremely clever and funny story of an aussie BBQ. his work is improvisational and sometimes confronting, yet strangely addictive and he is the perfect host of a comedy club. tickets $30 on the door. tuGGeranonG arts Centre

carry on karaoke pj o’reilly’s, CiViC

karaoke With grant

pj o’reilly’s, tuGGeranonG

FriDaY JULY 10

trash thursdays

$2 drinks ‘til 2am and discounted cocktails. With djs adam and esscue.

Winter Warmers appreciation club

Arts arc: Wake in Fright (M, 1971)

the restored australian classic considered by many to be the greatest australian film of all time. at the very least, it’s a high-point of the australian film industry revival of the early 1970s. in director ted kotcheff’s hands kenneth Cook’s savage novel becomes a sweat-blurred cinematic vision of savage australian masculinity, as bush school teacher john Grant (Gary Bond) is trapped by the turn of a two-up coin in the outback mining city of Bundanyabba. 7pm.

White eaGle polish CluB

kingtide

anu Bar and reFeCtory

chris Harland Blues Band

harland received the Canberra Blues society’s award for Best Blues instrumental Guitarist in ‘08. soul Bar

king o’Malley’s: Free Live Music

With Charles Chatain, 5-8pm and Curious Fate, 10pm-2am.

shakedown! feat. Lost Valentinos DJs

electro/indie/house madness with resident djs nightfight, Celebrity sextape, e.M.a and relay. $5 Bar 32

Winter Warmers appreciation club With adelaide’s Bos.

kniGhtsBridGe penthouse

transit bar goodness, entry free.

choose Mics

With kG, Machismo, ji, Count kimodo, justice, sleepless king and a dance jam. Free, y’all.

transit Bar

phonic carpet

aCadeMy niGhtCluB

the BaseMent

Whether you like your wine sweet, dry, fruity or unwooded, the djs will be in tune with the flavour.

tuGGeranonG youth Centre

With rubycon and astrochem.

Jimmy Willing and the reel ChisholM taVern

3rd exit

academy saturdays

Featuring ashley Feraude with rexy, sean kelly and staky.

DJs at parlour

parlour Wine rooM

From 10pm.

the durhaM

Live

after Work Jazz

empyrean

From 5 to 8pm.

kinG o’Malley’s, CiViC

something Different kickstart Your Weekend

happy hour 7pm-9pm, live entertainment 8:30 to 11:30pm. tradies CluB, diCkson

satUrDaY JULY 11 Arts

rev

Message sticks indigenous Film Festival (15+)

Canberra’s weekly alt club night with two levels of djs playing rock/indie/ dance/punk/pop. $5.

the best in new indigenous australian filmmaking. all sessions free.

one Love smash Your stereo tour

arc: Wake in Fright (M, 1971)

aCadeMy niGhtCluB

DAnce

tuggeranong Youth: Hip-Hop vs rock

DAnce

With juan kidd (uk). supported by hugh Foster and Mr Wilson.

arC CineMa, national FilM & sound arChiVe

kinG o’Malley’s, CiViC

arC CineMa, national FilM & sound arChiVe

Bar 32

least, it’s a high-point of the australian film industry revival of the early 1970s. in director ted kotcheff’s hands kenneth Cook’s savage novel becomes a sweat-blurred cinematic vision of savage australian masculinity, as bush school teacher john Grant (Gary Bond) is trapped by the turn of a two-up coin in the outback mining city of Bundanyabba. 4.30pm and 7pm.

arC CineMa, national FilM & sound arChiVe

the restored australian classic considered by many to be the greatest australian film of all time. at the very

With aeon of horrus, kill For satan, Mytile Vey lorth and immorium. the BaseMent

naiDoc on the peninsula

Market stalls, kids activities, food, music: lots and lots of free family fun!

australian institute oF aBoriGinal and torres strait islander studies

My Future Lies

With Zero degrees, turbulence and restrapec.

Woden youth Centre

Jack Ladder

sydney troubadour in a league of his own. the Front CaFe and Gallery

Me and the grownups

oz’s only folk-pop-classical trio. With Cathy petocz and pj Wolf. 3.30pm and 8.30pm. tix from www.thestreet. org.au . the street theatre

GIG GUIDE July 11 - July 17 encryption: Hip-Hop Battles

Live

MeChe

sunday sessions: charge summary

4pm to 9.30pm. tickets $15 available at door.

the Beards

songs about beards, for people with beards. supported by Black Creek.

8pm, free.

Wanniassa taVern

the Fuelers

the phoeniX puB

king o’Malley’s: Free Live Music With oscar, 10.30pm-2.30am. kinG o’Malley’s, CiViC

something Different Miss kitka’s House of Burlesque

a night at the pink Flamingo.

CanBerra irish CluB

DAY PLAY gorman House Markets

trivia night

all Bar nun

Melbourne guitar Quartet Four elements tour

king o’Malley’s: Free Live Music

the West end composers collective

irish jam session, 5pm. kinG o’Malley’s, CiViC

Mikelangelo and the Black sea gentlemen

Mikelangelo has the voice of a Greek God. he’s the size of one too. not to be missed. 6 and 9pm. the street theatre

irish Jam session From 5pm

kinG o’Malley’s, CiViC

the restored australian classic considered by many to be the greatest australian film of all time. at the very least, it’s a high-point of the australian film industry revival of the early 1970s. in director ted kotcheff’s hands kenneth Cook’s savage novel becomes a sweat-blurred cinematic vision of savage australian masculinity, as bush school teacher john Grant (Gary Bond) is trapped by the turn of a two-up coin in the outback mining city of Bundanyabba. 4.30pm. arC CineMa, national FilM & sound arChiVe

MonDaY JULY 13

Folkus rooM - italo australian CluB

cj shaw and the Blow ins

two-piece folk-blues band playing at phoenix Bar at 8pm. the phoeniX puB

trio apoplectic

instant melodic appeal. 9pm. hippo lounGe

(trinity) Bar, diCkson

DAnce

$5 night @ transit

Univibes DJs

transit Bar

as part of transit Bar’s regular hospitality Mondays. transit Bar

trash thursdays

$2 drinks ‘til 2am and discounted cocktails. With djs adam and esscue.

Winter Warmers appreciation club With ashley Feraude.

kniGhtsBridGe penthouse

Live tom Ugly

With hancock Basement, hungry kids of hungary, Fire! santa rosa, Fire! and the dirty secrets. transit Bar

Domus adultus

With duncan sergeant and Marianne Mettes. $7/$5. hippo lounGe

Harpist Maïa Marie-cécile Darmé

With Frances Wilson (violin), liam Morrisey (cello) and rachel howie (flute). tix $15/$10.

Wesley MusiC Centre

Fire on the Hill $10 entry, 8pm.

the Front CaFe and Gallery

2 pizzas and a pint $15 all day.

something Different

Fame trivia

greenfaces: Mick Meredith

pj o’reilly’s, CiViC

karaoke night

holy Grail kinGston

Live James Fahy trio

tHUrsDaY JULY 16

the phoeniX puB

Watch amateur comedians battle it out for the biggest laughs.

CanBerra irish CluB

capoeira angola classes

Classes every thursday from 6.30=8.30pm, except every second thursday of the month.

CorroBoree park CoMMunity hall

tUesDaY JULY 14 something Different karaoke

Cash prizes and 2 for 1 basic spirits and tap beer. dj peter dorree from 11pm – 5am with Free pool.

CuBe niGhtCluB

DJs at parlour

phoeniX Bar, CiViC

parlour Wine rooM

10-piece ensemble from Brisbane featuring composer rafael karlen + vocalist hannah Macklin. 8pm.

something Different

DAnce Whether you like your wine sweet, dry, fruity or unwooded, the djs will be in tune with the flavour.

Wesley MusiC Centre

chuse Jazz tuesdays

kinGston Foreshore

arc: Wake in Fright (M, 1971)

Wednesday Lunchtime Live

rochelle dew (vocalist) and terry lam (piano). $2 entry. refreshments $1.

Wesley MusiC Centre

DAnce

aCadeMy niGhtCluB

Live

Compositions by piazzolla, Westlake, Walton, davidson and Bach. tix $30/$25.

Burley griffin antique centre

Arts

WeDnesDaY JULY 15

From 5-9pm.

GorMan house

sUnDaY JULY 12

holy Grail, kinGston

trivia night

Fame trivia

From 7:30-10:30pm

the durhaM, kinGston

pot Belly trivia

pot Belly Bar, BelConnen

carry-on karaoke

transit Bar, akuna st, CiViC

trivia night

pj o’reilly’s, tuGGeranonG

Arts

transit carry-on karaoke

canberra contemporary art space exhibition

transit Bar

exhibitions: sparkle and shine, tiffany Cole, jess herrington, shellaine Godbold and Belinda toll.

CanBerra ConteMporary arts spaCe - Manuka

open up your pipes and murder the classics for your chance to win big.

carry on karaoke pj o’reilly’s, CiViC

karaoke With grant

pj o’reilly’s, tuGGeranonG

J-noir: Film noir From Japan

Violent Cop (1989, Ma15+). the directing career debut of the then cult japanese tV comedian and occasional japanese cinema ‘heavy’ “Beat” takeshi astonished international Film Festival audiences with its unexpected mood and poetics. arC CineMa, national FilM & sound arChiVe

FriDaY JULY 17 DAnce rev

Canberra’s weekly alt club night with two levels of djs playing rock/indie/ dance/punk/pop. $5 Bar 32

Winter Warmers appreciation club With downtown Brown.

kniGhtsBridGe penthouse

43

GIG GUIDE July 17 - July 22 Live

DAnce

Final Lies

Ministry of sound sessions tour

With perpetual end, Friend or enemy and double on hearts. $10. the BaseMent

tully

sUnDaY JULY 19

White eaGle polish CluB

David pereira cello series 3

Arts

Winter Warmers appreciation club

on a warm summer’s day in the French city of strasberg, a backpacker sits in an outdoor café, sketching the pretty girls. one seems familiar – or maybe he just wishes it was so – and he follows her through the streetscape of the ancient city, hoping for some kind of connection. Guerín is a renowned spanish film theorist and critic. But it is the instinctive sensuality of its simple boy-chases-girl story that had critic j. hoberman proclaiming it as “…pure cinema and pure pleasure.”

With rowan Marshcroft.

With katherine day (piano), alan Vivian (clarinet) and lada Marcelja (cello).

kniGhtsBridGe penthouse

Wesley MusiC Centre

shakedown!

Fourplay string Quartet

Jumptown swing Beginner class

With Goodwill and tommy trash, and supports hugh Foster (hubert) and tim Galvin. aCadeMy niGhtCluB

With amy Vee and hayden French.

something Different

arc: in the city of sylvia (2007, 18+)

lindy hop/swing. no pre-registration required, just turn up. $12. www. jumptown.org . harMonie GerMan CluB

karaoke

Cash prizes and 2 for 1 basic spirits and tap beer. dj peter dorree from 11pm – 5am with Free pool.

CuBe niGhtCluB

trivia night

the incomporable quartet play covers and originals.

electro/indie/house madness with resident djs nightfight, Celebrity sextape, e.M.a and relay. $5.

punk Vs Metal

DJs at parlour

tuGGeranonG youth Centre

parlour Wine rooM

arC CineMa, national FilM & sound arChiVe

Live

Live

trivia night

ink

sunday sessions: naked

trivia night

the Drunk Uncles

all Bar nun

Bar 32

the street theatre

Whether you like your wine sweet, dry, fruity or unwooded, the djs will be in tune with the flavour.

With reign of terror, the toxicmen, Blind eyed God and pirate satellite. drug and alcohol free.

after Work Jazz From 5 to 8pm.

kinG o’Malley’s, CiViC

king o’Malley’s: Free Live Music

the BaseMent

With itchy triggers, 10pm-2am.

the phoeniX puB

something Different

With katherine day (piano), alan Vivian (clarinet) and lada Marcelja (cello).

podwars roulette

augie March

David pereira cello series 3 Wesley MusiC Centre

Four of Canberra’s best bars battle it out to see who will be crowned the podwars kings. or Queens.

With Gareth liddiard and dan luscombe of the drones. tix through ticketek.

transit Bar

anu Bar and reFeCtory

the incomporable quartet play covers and originals.

satUrDaY JULY 18

the street theatre

Dexter

Arts

With special guests... entry free.

arc: Bastardy (2008, 18+)

transit Bar

a man of contradictions: aboriginal elder, actor, cat burglar, junkie and gay, jack Charles is a man of irrepressible contradictions. over six years, amiel Courtin-Wilson’s documentary followed jack as he traversed jail and the criminal underworld to support a raging heroin habit - all the while performing with some of australia’s most renowned stage and screen directors. jack Charles is winner of the 2009 tudawali award for Contribution to indigenous Media, and Bastardy is about a man who is both a national treasure and a self proclaimed urban fringe dweller....

king o’Malley’s: Free Live Music

With heuristic, 10.30pm-2.30am. kinG o’Malley’s, CiViC

With dr stovepipe, 10.30am-12pm, free. urBanFood store + CaFe

newacton: Music art Food With novasol, 10am-2pm, free. du jour restaurant

newacton: Music art Food

With rooftop dwellers, 12-1.30pm, free.

holy Grail, kinGston

WeDnesDaY JULY 22 Live Big score

Free!

Wanniassa taVern

Wednesday Lunchtime Live $2 entry. refreshments $1.

Wesley MusiC Centre

Wednesdays from july 22, term 3 onwards. enrollments open now.

king o’Malley’s: Free Live Music

ainslie arts Centre

$5 night @ transit

kinG o’Malley’s, CiViC

transit Bar

irish jam session, 5pm.

2 pizzas and a pint $15 all day.

newacton: Music art Food

Jumptown swing Beginner class

kinGston Foreshore

kinG o’Malley’s, CiViC

From 5pm.

tUesDaY JULY 21

lindy hop/swing. no pre-registration required, just turn up. $12. www. jumptown.org .

White eaGle polish CluB

select option

World-class dance production. tix through the venue. until august 1. the playhouse

Fame trivia

pj o’reilly’s, CiViC

Live chuse Jazz tuesdays

ESKIMO JOE

OUT

skiPPiNG Girl ViNEGar PARKWAY DRIVE

bEHiNd crimsoN EYEs ST KILDA FILM IFESTIVAL

44

transit Bar, akuna st, CiViC

parlour Wine rooM

(trinity) Bar, diCkson

OUT

carry-on karaoke

classical percussion tuition

With Calle Macondo, 3-6pm, free.

irish Jam session

arC CineMa, national FilM & sound arChiVe

T OJUULY JulY 233 2

pot Belly Bar, BelConnen

newacton: Music art Food

GorMan house

Burley griffin antique centre

pot Belly trivia

something Different

ChisholM taVern

parlour Wine rooM

gorman House Markets

the durhaM, kinGston

the Wedded Bliss

With tango Bar and dj Gaykema, 7-10.30pm, free.

DAY PLAY

From 7:30-10:30pm

newacton: Music art Food

urBanFood store + CaFe

Fourplay string Quartet

Fame trivia

pj o’reilly’s, tuGGeranonG

From 5-9pm

kinG o’Malley’s, CiViC

phoeniX Bar, CiViC

I

karaoke night

holy Grail kinGston

45

FIRST CONTACT SIDE A: BMA BAND PROFILE

DJ GOSPER

Where did your band name come from? My chemically induced lack of estrogen.

Group Members: DJ Gosper (vox, blues harps) and Christo Carlsen (vox, guitars, composer, arranger) with Michael-John stratford (drums/percussion), Michael lynch (vox, bass guitar) and Bob rodgers (vox, guitars).

Describe your sound: well the hot Flush Blues project sounds bluesy! But not in an ‘i woke up this mornin’’ kind of way. and we like to throw in a dash of vaudeville.

Who are your influences musical or otherwise? DJs, JJ Cale, Joe Camilleri, nina simone, nick Cave, my family, my fear, my experiences. Christo’s, British blues artists and Billy thorpe.

What’s the weirdest experience you’ve had whilst performing?

Being asked if i was male or female. i explained that i was a woman who has lost both breasts to cancer and chosen to keep my hair short after chemo.

What’s your biggest achievement/proudest moments so far?

Just one? Ummmm…. not losing the plot lately.

What are your plans for the future? to never have chemo again. to continue to move people through my music. to put on my hits without tits stage show. and it would be really good to make some money!

What makes you laugh? nitrous oxide.

What pisses you off? Mostly aspects of myself, like not being in control of my addictions and anxieties. and that in real terms musicians’ pay has decreased 90% in the last 30 odd years.

What’s your opinion of the local scene? there’s lots of opportunities for original music to be played. Unfortunately they don’t pay well… i love the support shown by local community radio stations, artsound FM and 2XX. Upcoming gigs: right now we’re having 2 weeks off (which is rare) then Fri 17 July the hot Flushies are at Old Canberra inn, lyneham 9-12. More on our website - gigs in town, in sydney, nsw south Coast, perisher, north Coast, hopefully some blues, jazz & folk festivals, then we’re touring Victoria in Jan/ Feb ’10.

Contact info: 0411 065-189, dj@djgosper.com, www.djgosper.com .

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Aaron Peacey aaron 0410 381 306 Adam Hole adam 0421 023 226 Afternoon Shift adam 0402 055 314 After Close scotty 0412 742 682, afterclose@hotmail.com Alcove Mark 0410 112 522 Alice 0423 100 792 Allies ACT (Oxfam Group) alliesact@hotmail.com/ myspace.com/alliesact Amphibian Sound PA Clare 0410 308 288 Amplif5’d Classic rock covers band Joy 0407 200 428, joybarac-heath@hotmail.com Annie & the Armadillos annie 6161 1078/0422 076 313 The Ashburys Dan Craddock 0419 626 903 Aria Stone, sax & flute, singer/ songwriter (guitar) aria 0411 803 343 Australian Songwriters Association (Keiran roberts) 6231 0433 Arythmia: Ben 0423 408 767/ arythmiamusic@gmail.com Backbeat Drivers steve 0422 733 974, www.backbeatdrivers.com Big Boss Groove andrew 0404 455 834, www.bigbossgroove.com.au Birds Love Fighting Gangbusters/Diy shows - bookings@birdslovefighting.com Black Label Photography Kingsley 0438 351 007 Blister Bug stu 0408 617 791 Bridge Between, The rachel 0412 598 138, thebridgebetween.com.au Bruce stage mgr/consultant 6254 9857 Caution Horses nigel 0417 211 580 Chris Harland Blues Band 0418 490 640 chrisharlandbluesband@yahoo.com.au Clear Vision Films rehearsals/film clips/stunts - 0438 647 281 wcoulton.clearvisionfilms.com Cole Bennetts Photography 0415 087 833/colebennetts@gmail.com Cris Clucas Cris 6262 5652 Crooked Dave 0421 508 467 Danny V Danny 6238 1673/0413 502 428 Dawn Theory nathan 0402 845 132 D’Opus & Roshambo hifidelitystyles@yahoo.com DJs Madrid and Gordon 0417 433 971 DJ Latino rogelio 0401 274 208 DJ Moises (RnB/Latin) 0402 497 835 or moises_lopez@hotmail DNA Vic 0408 477 020 Drumassault Kate 0414 236 323 Easy Mode Daz 0404 156 482, easymodeband@gmail.com Entity Chris 0412 027 894 Epic Flagon band@epicflagon.com Fighting Mongooses, The adam 0402 055 314 Final Warning Brendan 0422 809 552 Fire on the Hill aaron 0410 381 306/ lachlan 0400 038 388 4dead peter 0401 006 551 Freeloaders, The steve 0412 653 597 Friend or Enemy 6238 0083, www.myspace.com/friendorenemy Funk Shui Dave 0407 974 476 Gareth Hailey DJ & Electronica 0414 215 885 GiLF Kelly 0410 588 747, gilf.mail@gmail.com HalfPast Chris 0412 115 594 Hancock Basement tom 6257 5375, hancockbasement@hotmail.com Happy Hour wendy 0406 375 096 Haunted Attics band@hauntedatticsmusic.com Hitherto paul 0408 425 636 Infra Retina Kyle 0437 137 775/Michael 0425 890 023/www.infra-retina.com In The Flesh scott 0410 475 703 Inside the Exterior nathan 0401 072 650 Itchy Triggers andrew 0401 588 884

Jacqui Seczawa 0428 428 722 JDY Clothing 0405 648 288/ www.jdyclothing.com Jenn Pacor singer/songwriter avail. for originals & covers, 0405 618 630 Jim Boots 0417 211 580 Johnny Roadkill paulie 0408 287 672, paulie_mcmillan@live.com.au Karismakatz DJ Gosper 0411 065 189/ dj@karismakatz.com Kayo Marbilus myspace.com/kayomarbilus Kurt’s Metalworx (PA) 0417 025 792 Little Smoke sam 0411 112 075 Los Chavos andy 0401 572 150 los.chavos@yahoo.com.au Manilla Green herms 0404 848 462, contactus@manillagreen.com, Mario Brujo Gordon world/latin/ reggae/percussionist and DJ. 0405 820 895 Martin Bailey audio Engineer 0423 566 093 Mercury Switch Lab Studios mercuryswitch@internode.on.net Missing Zero hadrian Brand 0424 721 907 hadrian.brand@live.com.au Moots aspwinch@grapevine.com.au huck 0419 630 721 MuShu Jack 0414 292 567, mushu_band@hotmail.com MyOnus myonusmusic@hotmail.com/ www.myspace.com/myonus No Retreat simon 0411 155 680 Ocean Moses nigel 0417 211 580 OneWayFare Chris 0418 496 448 Painted Hearts, The peter 6248 6027 Phathom Chris 0422 888 700 The Pigs the Colonel 0422 412 752 Polka Pigs ian 6231 5974 Premier Audio simon 0412 331 876, premier_audio@hotmail.com Redletter Ben 0421 414 472 Redsun Rehearsal Studio ralph 0404 178 996/6162 1527 Rhythm Party, The ross 0416 010 680 Roger Bone Band andy 0413 483 758 Rob Mac Project, The Melinda 0400 405 537 Rug, The Jol 0417 273 041 Samsara Samahdi 0431 083 776 Sansutra J-Ma 0403 476 350 Simone Penkethman (simone & the soothsayers, singing teacher) 6230 4828 Soundcity Rehearsal Studio andrew 0401 588 884 Solid Gold peter 0421 131 887/ solid.gold@live.com.au Super Best Friends Matt 0438 228 748 Surrender Jordan 0439 907 853 Switch 3 Mick 0410 698 479 System Addict Jamie 0418 398 556 Taboo Bamboo Greg 0439 990 455 The Morning After (covers band) anthony 0402 500 843/ myspace.com/themorningaftercovers Tiger Bones & The Ferabul-Zers Danny feralbul@aapt.net.au Tim James lucia 6282 3740, lUCiaMUrDOCh@hotmail.com Top Shelf Colin 0408 631 514 Transmission Nowhere Emilie 0421 953 519/myspace.com/ transmissionnowhere Udo 0412 086 158 Undersided, The Baz 0408 468 041 Using Three Words Dan 0416 123 020, usingthreewords@hotmail.com Voodoo Doll Mark 0428 650 549 William Blakely will 0414 910 014 Zero Degrees and Falling louis 0423 918 793 Zwish 0411 022 907

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