BMA Mag 330 05 Aug 2009

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#330AUG5

inside this issue

dappled cities

TRACES

G

HORE THIS SPRIN

AT FORES BATTLING IT OUT

DRAGON DREAMING

FIND YOUR FAVOURITE OR F I NBANNER D YO U RDJ FAV OU FOR BMABAND MUSIC DIRECTORY rightright here in Canberra with our ONLINE DIRECTORY here in MUSIC Canberra with o Go to www.bmamag.com andw clickw.bmamag.com on MUSIC DIRECTORY to see what the region has to offer click on MUSI Go to w and

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Forget about Christmas in July?

Got some rellies who were left out to dry? If so, send answers to

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editorial@bmamag.com

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to bag some brilliant belated pressies you forgetful inconsiderate slag you.

1 Monster Mash Mashed 5 is an electrifying 2CD set which is sure to have fans up and dancing. Beni is set to stun us with his remixes on Disk 1, with artists such as Tiga and Van She. If that wasn’t enough, it also includes his new single Maximus. Disk 2 brings us the talents of Miami Horror mashing up music from David Bowie, Lost Valentinos and La Roux. Mashed 5 hits stores on Friday August 7.

To get your hands on a copy, tell us what song makes you get up and dance.

2 X Marks the Spot The punk band X has been through many twists and turns.

Nothing can stop them though, as the band set off with Six Ft Hick on their The Monkey Off Your Back Tour. Back in January, supporting The Saints, they performed a run through of their album At Home With You and it was caught in all its rockin’ glory. If you happened to

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miss the concert, then their new DVD is the answer! We have two copies to give away. To win one, tell us what you would call your first tour.

bands such as John Butler Trio, INXS, The Scientists, Gyroscope and more. To score one of two copies, tell us who is your fav WA band and why.

3 Something in the Water

4 Thomas / Quantock

All eyes turn to Perth with the release of Something in the Water. The feature length documentary explores the musical history of the WA capital, and all the successful bands it has produced. The film looks at bands such as Eskimo Joe, Little Birdy and The Panics.

The DVD is now available nationwide, and includes a bonus two hours of extended interviews with members of

Comedy fans are in for a real treat from August 25-30 as Josh Thomas and Rod Quantock perform at The Street Theatre.

Josh takes the stage with More Josh Than You Can Handle! while Rod brings us Bugger The Polar Bears, This Is Serious, a show all about his take on climate change, We have 2 double passes to give away for each show. To score one, tell us your funniest joke.

5 Trace to trace 7 Fingers of the Hand has awed audiences around the world and is now set to amaze Australian audiences with Traces. The troupe was formed in 2002 by seven circus performers who had worked together in many companies, including Cirque du Soleil. Their music score is diverse, ranging from Broadway classics to Radiohead’s Talk Show Host. The production will be performed at the Canberra Theatre from Wednesday August 12 to Saturday August 15. We have an jaw-dropping 20 double passes to give away. To score, tell us what you would call your circus.

Do you ever get the feeling you’re not participating enough in life? Are you trapped in your own head like Being John Malkovich, destined to watch the world play out before you? The older I get the more I realise just how frustratingly self-conscious we can be. The combination of wanting people to like us and trying to avoid conflict has us tiptoeing about like conformist ninjas, gushing niceties on auto-pilot and letting more opportunities slip through to the keeper than Kevin Pieterson.

For me it began in grade six when I had my first dose of self-doubt.

My first girlfriend and I were on school camp together. The sun had set and we took an opportunity to sneak off behind the dorms. I stood next to her for five minutes, not speaking. I looked down to the ground and haemorrhaged. My skin turned to glass. A ghost hand erased the scripts in my mind. My heart punched full stops with each passing second. She mumbled something and we wandered back to our friends, only to break up a few weeks later.

At that oily breeding ground for fear, high school, there’d be times when I’d sit in class knowing the answer and then having a mental shoot-out about whether to raise my hand. What if I seemed too square? What if I tried a joke and it backfired? This syndrome continued on into uni and then adult life. When I’m at a show and they ask for a volunteer, I know damn well I’m suited for the role – that I usually succeed at any kind of performance – yet a shy black hole is still in the back of my body, perpetually stewing and swallowing confidence. ‘What will people think?’ Welcome to world’s worst rhetorical questions.

Growing up in a tumultuous home environment, I learnt to take life, and therefore school, very seriously. I worked hard as a student and wanted nothing more than my teachers to like me. On the few times I was faced with the raised voice of reprimand, my heart would collapse like a cake; my chest sizzling with failure and regret. To what lengths have I carried this through with me? In a sharehouse, when someone behaves badly, or when a friend asks for my opinion, how much do I swallow to avoid any risk of being ‘told off’? Playing things safe seems like the logical option, it’s comfortable and no one gets hurt – but ultimately, it’s emotional laziness. Confronting a situation is hitting the gym of life. It burns and it aches, but that’s just passion and impulse cleansing your veins. Afterwards a tear is shed and your heart feels lighter. Your soul has been exercised!

I’m in so many situations where I could network, socialise or flirt.

Wayne Gretzky said “you miss 100% of the shots you never take.”

We sit back waiting for someone else to make the first move, waiting for someone else to get their hands dirty, to stick their head out, to prop up our fragile egos with an offering – a compliment – a hello! Anything. If you spend too long in your own stream of consciousness, your hands and feet get all wrinkly. The antidote to fear is to ask yourself “what is the worst thing that can happen?” In most cases the answer is “I’ll feel rejected.” But is that so terrible?

Will it permanently kill you all dead? Is it not a risk you can absorb, when most of the time it may never happen and you might create a new contact, friendship or romance? You have to ask, is it worse to be rejected by someone else, or rejected by yourself? That’s how I feel when I’m sitting on the sidelines.

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. www. bedroomphilosopher.com

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Lost Gold

Enthusiasm for life defeats existential fear! # 3 3 0 A U G 5 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 331 OUT AUG 19 EDITORIAL DEADLINE AUG 10 ADVERTISING DEADLINE AUG 13 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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After last year’s huge success Murmur returns. Murmur is a fundraising art exhibition, which raises funds for the University of Canberra’s Graphic Design Degree Show. The exhibition is a showcase of the work produced by local emerging artists and illustrators. This is a great chance to check out some really outstanding work and purchase it at a very reasonable price. This year there will also be zines, t-shirts and tote bags for sale. As well as all that, the opening night on Thursday August 27 will feature local DJ legends, Fidel Maestro and Chairman Wow.

fine looking fellows If you’re into ACT bands, whether they be rock, punk or metal, then you should be excited about Hard ACT to Follow. The CD, which is being released Friday September 25, aims to promote and strengthen live and local music in Australia. One of the tracks to be included on this rockin’ CD is Firefield, from the popular Canberra band Escape Syndrome. Escape Syndrome are known for their amazing live shows, and that’s what this CD is all about. Hard ACT to Follow allows fans to hear some of Canberra’s best bands playing live, and hopes to encourage the local music scene to fire up again.

Man Up! The past year has been busy for Canberra musician Ashleigh Mannix. She has spent much of her time on the road supporting several Australian artists on tour, such as Abby Dobson, Natalie Bassingthwaite, Mark Seymour and Josh Pyke. She has also supported international artists including Toni Childs, Ron Sexsmith and the Spearheads.

She is set to go on tour and will showcase songs from her two EPs, My First EP and Sparkle.

Ashleigh will be performing in Canberra on Sunday August 16 at The Folkus Room.

Stan’d Be Proud Impro ACT is set to light up the stage with 2009 A Space Oddity, from Friday August 21 to Sunday August 23. The show is part of National Science Week, and promises to be three nights of fantastic improvised performances. They are joined by improvisation legend Jason Chin, all the way from Chicago.

On Friday and Saturday, he will feature as a performer in the shows A Hypothesis and An Experiment. On Sunday he will be directing the long-form second half of the show. All three nights will include games in the first half. It’s all improvised, and will be hilarious, so grab your tickets now.

Get Baked Mark Saturday December 5 on your calendar, because it’s Homebake’s 15th Anniversary.

The lineup has been announced, and with the promise of performances from amazing artists such as Powderfinger, Jet, Hilltop Hoods, Eskimo Joe, Sia, Midnight Juggers, Tim Finn, Sarah Blasko and our own lovable larrikins The Aston Shuffle (just to name a few), Homebake 2009 is an event not to be missed. Hang out at one of the four stages, eat international food, hop on a ride, visit the Cinema Pavilion or just listen to the outrageously awesome music. Homebake is an over 18 event. You can grab tickets from 9am on Monday August 17 through Ticketeck, Oztix and Moshtix. Beware, they sell out fast!

better electrical Yes To Fear, Yes To Desire is the second album from Panoptique Electrical, also known as Jason Sweeney (Pretty Boy Crossover, Mist & Sea, School of Two).

It follows on from 2008’s Let The Darkness At You, an album which garnered significant critical praise and has become one of Sensory Projects’ best selling releases outside of Australia. Panoptique Electrical play The Front Gallery and Café on Wednesday August 19.

synners are grinners Southern Highlands metallers, Synperium, are heading back to Canberra to deliver some much anticipated death metal.

the aston shuffle

softly, softly

Get ready for adventure, because Lost Valetinos are about to supply some. The Sydney band are offering the chance for one very lucky person and a friend to head over to Peru, where they will spend six days exploring the ancient Inca civilisation. This fantastic trip is valued at over $6,200!

To win this amazing prize, you need to attend one of the Conquistadisco Tour dates and find a Lost Valentinos gold coin, which will lead you on a treasure hunt. The adventure only begins there, so if you find a coin, hold onto it! The Canberra show is at Academy on Friday August 21.

2008 saw Synperium sign to Melbourne based record label Just Say Rock and supporting the likes of Children of Bodom on their Australian tour. The band has spent most of this year working on their upcoming full length album, Elemental Disharmony, stopping only to support Cradle of Filth on their Australian tour. Synperium appear at The ANU Bar with Punishment, Norse and Tortured on Saturday August 15.

18+, $10. Doors at 8pm.

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another

YOU PISSED ME OFF!

thing…

I’m eighty per cent sure you’ll never have heard of English heavy rockers Praying Mantis. This is, of course, a great shame because over the last 30-odd years they’ve stoically been providing ears across this shining globe of ours with sheer listening pleasure.

However all is not lost – the band have a new album out NOW (it’s called Sanctuary, and it’s brilliant) and, via the good offices of Sydney’s Riot Distribution, you can nip out (or indeed in, if you’re standing outside JB whilst reading this) and buy it when you’ve finished with Canberra’s liveliest read. But first, here’s PM guitarist Tino Troy – and he’s here to talk a bit about the new reckerd!

We’re all eyes Tino – tell us a bit about the new record, and where it fits in the Mantis canon?

“Do you mean... ‘what calibre is it?’ Haha! Sorry!

“We recorded Sanctuary in Atlanta, USA. We could never get everyone to agree to meet in the same place at the same time back home. Geographically we live quite far apart (not in terms of Australian distances, you’d probably laugh yer tits off and call us a bunch of pom homos!) and when one could make an engagement the other couldn’t for no reason other than he was washing his hair…

Definitely not guilty!

“Benjy (Reid, drums), Andy (Burgess, guitar) and myself all knew (producer) Andy ‘Riles’ Reilly for some years and contacted him with regards to recording the album out there. We did most of the groundwork back in the UK including recording some of the vocals, guitars and bass and went to the States for a good ‘ol jolly up!! Haha!

Actually, we were only there for just over two weeks and bashed out the remainder of the stuff. The main aim was to get a real drum kit down on one of our productions for a change. We left the whole thing with Riles for a couple of months (it seemed like an eternity) with (European label) Frontiers breathing down our necks but in the end it was delivered ‘piping hot’ – we were totally blown away, we knew we had a potential monster in our grip.”

Indeed it is. Whilst many bands of the Mantis vintage are happy to tread water these days, touring once a year and trading on former glories, it’s great to hear a band actively trying to move forward – and succeeding so well. So what makes PM take the ‘hard road’?

“I like that… ‘vintage’ bit, it gives the band a certain air of ‘Je ne sais quoi’ (like...old gits!). Again, it’s a great buzz to write new material and experiment with newer recording techniques which I happen to be really into. At this rate we’ll be playing marathon shows a la Springsteen… Aaarggh! What’s with all this French mullarkey!”

I have to say I haven’t the foggiest. We’ll talk about the old days in the next issue, but for now, anything else to declare?

“Yeah, there is nothing we’d love more than to come over/under and hit you with this stuff! If you all make enough noise about the band then we’ll be there like a shot!! Please check out the following links and thanks for your support, hope to see you soon guys. YOU ROCK!” www.praying-mantis.com www.myspace.com/prayingmantisrock www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXA2XkWb4dk SCOTT ADAMS thirtyyearsofrnr@hotmail.com

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] Au contraire wolf-friend don’t you even go there! Maybe it is you who needs to quit your whining and turn da heater up for the sake of roomateship. Is it too much to ask that when you are INSIDE you don’t have to still be dressed as if you were OUTSIDE. Battling the elements is all a sister can do to not catch her death. Don’t let me have to skool yo’ ass in summer now.

To the whores at The Basics gig who pretend that school was out for the night; you’re awful human beings. Britney has been there and done that, and makes a better school girl turned cock fanatic than you’ll ever be. To one in particular, your five year old brother is missing his backpack. How do I know? Because you had the fucking thing jammed up against me all night. You had no right to drag a good astronaut like Buzz Lightyear into your quest to be Canberra’s biggest whore baller. I understand you’re probably an undersexed ressie kid’s wet dream, but when no one shows an interest, that isn’t an invitation to thrust your been-around-town tits harder. Date for your diary: Summernats.

FROM THE BOSSMAN The Wire is one of the finest pieces of drama put to television, and I recently finished the final episode. The same can be said of Avatar, a martial arts-steeped ‘children’s’ animated series dealing with such kiddy themes as death, disenchantment, duty, honour, the role of family and the effects of war. Both of these shows had me hooked (hell, who amongst us hasn’t wiled away a day seeing off the best part of a series in one go?), with the beautifully crafted characters and scenarios playing in my head for days and weeks afterwards. The emotions drummed up gave me fond memories of a younger, purer Allan, one that wished he could hang out with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Simpler times, people.

Having reached the end of said shows, with the knowledge that there are no more to be made, I find myself in a mild state of mourning. And I’m not alone it seems. I know a friend who has The Wire’s final series (the same person who switched me onto the show in the first place) and he refuses to watch it, knowing once he’s done, there are no more episodes.

Finishing a favourite show (or book or particularly excellent sandwich) can be like losing a friend. Sure, you can always revisit the memories, fondly and wistfully retreading old ground, but no new experiences will ever be formed. But of course it’s the finite nature of things that gives them meaning after all, and soon you just feel happy to have known them. Besides, you don’t want to end up like The Simpsons*. ALLAN “SERIAL KILLER” SKO *or a show like According to Jim which, frankly, should never have been born. Actually, while I’m in this aside, I’m one of the only people that actually enjoys the extreme surrealist bent of the new Simpsons episodes. Mmmm, this asterisk point is going on a bit. Just like The Simpsons! Zing! Always another one in the bank. No wait, I just defended The Simpsons. I should really stop drinking when writing these things. Rereading and deleting would help too.

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WHO: YOU, BABY, YOU! WHAT: TRACKSIDE FESTIVAL WHEN: SAT NOV 21 WHERE: THOROUGHBRED PARK

There’s nothing worse than seeing an amazing lineup for a festival and then realising you can’t go because it’s $200 worth of plane tickets away. That’s why Trackside is so wonderful. It’s local, always has an awesome lineup, interesting stalls, fun rides and good food! For Trackside’s third year, the lineup already includes Karnivool, Hilltop Hoods, Midnight Juggernauts, Miami Horror, After the Fall and even more bands are still to be announced. Grab your tickets from Moshtix, Ticketek, Oztix and Landspeed Record from Friday August 21, and get ready to have a blast on Saturday November 21!

WHO: MERRY FOLK WHAT: MERRY FEST WHEN: FRI AUG 14 WHERE: THE MERRY MUSE

Merry Fest is the world’s smallest festival - traditionally celebrated by excess consumption of Polish beer and dumplings it draws together a diverse array of talent including the return of The Ellis Collective, those stinking gypsies Mr Fibby, gun loving minstrels of The Fire and Rope Band and Dub Dub Goose whose reggae infused dance grooves have risen from the proverbial ashes of The Andi & George Band and Dahahoo. Capped off by a poetry slam death match pitting Bad!Slam!No!Biscuit vs Slam @ The Front, the festival is proudly presented by The Monaro Folk Society and The Canberra Musicians Club.

WHO: GRAFTON PRIMARY WHAT: EXCEPTIONAL ELECTRO ROCK WHEN: FRI AUG 14 WHERE: ACADEMY

From frontman, Josh Garden: “The band promises to deliver an academy with no academics, spies with no codes, triangles of triumph, a bar that can be raised, the world’s most endangered startail, mystery, one part glamour two parts leather, lights, cameras, action, kids with cassettes, players with tapes, hats, tricks, magic, a possible future in the cards, unconventional dance styles, movement, a backdrop, a frontman, mischief, pixies, dirt, distortion, evil synthesisers now working for the forces of good, echoes, data, live moving pictures, visual excess, a twist of lemon and a pinch of salt.”

WHO: DJ BRICKSTA WHAT: EXPOSED AT TRANSIT WHEN: SAT AUG 8 WHERE: TRANSIT BAR

I’m Luke Tkalcevic, a (now) 18-year-old DJ/producer. The time has finally arrived where everything from drinking to R rated movies no longer holds the rebel factor, and it’s time to celebrate this fine fact.

So get along to Transit Bar for Exposed for a hefty zero dollars and celebrate the goodness that is me turning 18 with some Brickstafied funky and fidget house/breaks flavours, with Staky, Cheese, Beat It and Kiss Off Electric in support. Couldn’t get any fresher than that!

WHO: DOWNSYDE WHAT: HELLISHLY HOT HIPHOP WHEN: THURS AUG 6 WHERE: TRANSIT BAR, $10 FROM 8PM.

From Dazastah himself: “We are a six-piece army hailing from the sizzling hot shores of Western Australia. Three emcees (Optamus, Shabaz , Dazastah) on the lyric front, DJ Armee flanked to the right, Cheeky flanked to the left supplying atomic basslines and Hihat delivering the drumming artillery. Splendour was amazing especially with our ally Mr D-rapht as we sent the audience into a rioting frenzy!! We caused avalanches in Jindabyne too !! We will be prepared with fresh ammo for the Transit Bar so make sure you catch us there for the mayem!!!! Wooohooo. Peace, Dazastah!!!!!”

WHO: SUZIE STAPLETON WHAT: SINGLE LAUNCH WHEN: MON AUG 17 WHERE: PHOENIX PUB

I’m Suzie Stapleton and this is why you should come to my show…

I rode my donkey all the way from Melbourne to launch my debut single at you. It’s called Asking and features performances by Charlie Owen (Beasts of Bourbon) on keys, Shane Walsh (Tex, Don & Charlie) on double bass, and Ian Kitney (Temperance Union) on drums. If for some reason 2DoubleX haven’t been thrashing it, ring them and complain and then check it out at www.myspace.com/ suziestapleton . Happy to remove the ass from between my legs, I shall deliver this solo serenade at The Bootleg Sessions at Phoenix Pub on Monday August 17.

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TIM GALVIN As the silvery ice maiden of winter licks our faces with her frosty morning tongue, the promise of a warm summer sun seems but a hazy memory; made all the more obscure by months of cold nights in with a little too much beer and puerile television. My recollection of last year’s Foreshore Summer Music Festival brings to my mind’s eye a mental picture of shoulder-saddled semi-naked girls beating each other around the head playfully with fluorescent pool noodles amongst a sea of hands reaching into the deep blue ocean of sky stretched right across the horizon from the Kosciuszko ranges to Mt Ainslie.

It is truly a spectacular location and a fitting throne for the undisputed kings of festival party music, British breakbeat barbarians the STANTON WARRIORS (aka Dominic Butler and Mark Yardley), who return to the capital after their last successful tour as part of the Good Vibrations Festival roadshow. Dom B explains: “Good Vibrations was great. The crowds were huge, the rain made us think of home and hanging out with Q Tip, Deadmau5 etc was hilarious. We even made a track for the tour which has since become one of our biggest tunes.”

whole plethora of collaborations and extra ingredients. It’s certainly different from what we have made before and most importantly the demo tracks work well when we play/test them out.” For those who have had the sweaty pleasure of wobbling their way through a Stanton Warriors live show, they will understand when I say the word ‘bootleg.’ No, not the Levi cut that falls nicely over your fake crocodile skin boots for a night out at a faux pub. I refer to, of course, the cheeky re-edits of well known tracks that the duo are famous for including in their dancefloor-friendly sets.

“We will have a few but we have a lot of tried and tested new original material from others and ourselves that we will be dropping,” reveals Dom. “It’s an exciting time for music at the moment and I can’t wait to drop a lot of the stuff we have on the Aussie crowd, who more than most enjoy new sounds. Deekline is doing some great ghetto house cuts at the moment and Diplo is making some slamming world beat-y numbers. There are lots of interesting dubstep-ish uncategorisable rolling vocal tracks out there from various spots.”

But these are just some of the tools that the Warriors frequently brandish from their sonic utility belt specifically manufactured by Wayne Corporation for their endless war on grime. Their reputation

Our best memory of Canberra is hijacking a hot air balloon after a gig The lure of the international festival circuit has enabled the duo to ravish thousands of partygoers across the globe, although it seems Australian audiences have their own unique way of leaving a lasting impression on the guys. “We have done festivals all over the place from beach parties in Spain and Thailand to major events like Glastonbury and Global Gathering, through to Ultra Festival in Miami and all over North America and the Far East,” Dom says, going through the band’s broad itinerary. “Australians tend to drink a lot and bare their sun-kissed bodies more than, say, in Kazakhstan or China. Aussies are generally a friendly lot who simply love to party.”

as big game players precedes them, having smashed big crowds on most continents with all the ease of a hungry Mike Tyson. Although constructing some of the world’s most danceable DJ sets doesn’t just come from years of practice downing liquor shots under massive canvas tents. “A set needs form. Too many DJs go in with all guns blazing with their biggest tracks and then run out of steam halfway through,” Dom feels. “A set also needs a variety of sounds, tight mixing, momentum, excitement, tension in parts, exclusive bangers and lots of Jack Daniels. Without these parts, things can quickly get dull.”

The Stantons are to breakbeat what James Brown is to funk music; they have perfected and championed their art in an era when other genres of music have been popularised by mass consumerism.

So what’s their secret? “We have always brought in tracks from anywhere and everywhere to be edited/remixed/retouched to fit into our sets alongside our own material,” Dom explains. “We love all good new music and we love slamming beats. We simply try to put these things together to create sets which make people enjoy being in front of very big speakers.”

Returning to Canberra for the Foreshore Summer Music Festival is an exciting prospect for the UK duo as they have some unfinished business down under. “It’s been a while since we have come to Canberra but we have great memories of the city,” recalls Dom. “The best being hijacking a hot air balloon after a gig. Canberra never looked so good from the air. But in regards to playing, people can expect some blockrocking booty bouncing bad ass punking bass music.”

Back in the early noughties I remember being introduced to the congenial art of broken beats when a friend handed me a fresh copy of the Plump DJs’ seminal A Plump Night Out. However it wasn’t until I garnered a copy of the now famous Stanton Sessions Vol 1 mix CD that I really chomped down hard on the shiny lure of funky breaks which is why it excites me to hear that the Warriors are working on a new album. This news is sure to leave cap-wearing beat boffins salivating in their air force ones.

“The album is nearly finished and we are very happy with it so far,” says Dom. “The sound is hard to categorise as each track is different in its own right. We have worked hard to bring bouncing beats, heavy basslines and dirty sonics matched up with a

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Stanton Warriors will play at this year’s Foreshore Festival on Saturday November 28. Tickets can be purchased through Lexington Music, Moshtix, Ticketek and Landspeed Records from Thursday August 13.

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ALL AGES ‘Sup kids. I hope you guys had a mad holiday and are all having fun back at school and getting ready for a few stressful months before the next holiday break!

Anyhow, let’s get straight into the important stuff and see what’s happening on the all ages circuit for all of us Canberra kids.

Trackside is back with a bigger and better lineup than ever

before! Saturday November 21 will see some of our favourite acts hittin’ up the nation’s capital for Trackside ‘09, such as Hilltop Hoods, Karnivool, Midnight Juggernauts, The Mess Hall, Drapht, Koolism, After the Fall, Miami Horror, Calling All Cars, The Basics, Cassette Kids and many more.

Tickets are $85 + bf and are on sale on Friday August 21.

You can get your hands on these babies from Landspeed Records, Moshtix or Ticketek.

I am a tad surprised that Short Stack won’t be playing at Trackside this year but I guess they are too busy with their shopping mall tour around Australia. Apparently, the one million tours they have done this year isn’t enough for the boys and they’ve announced a brand new tour for December where they will plug the release of their first (and hopefully only) album Stack Is the New Black. So watch out for a flock of swooning teenage girls during December which is sure

to herald the boys’ arrival to our great city. On Friday August 14 at 6pm till 10 pm the Woden Youth Centre will be holding an epic event that’s sure to get your weekend off to an amazing start. Hitting up the Youthie will be Fallsuit Theory, Astro Chem, Lights Out, A Nightime Sky and So Long Safety. The cost is only $6 and it’s a drug and alcohol free environment, so get on down and have some (sober) fun, kiddos.

As previously mentioned in my humble little column, Parkway Drive, August Burns Red and Architects will be smashing their way through the Southern Cross Woden Basketball Stadium on Sunday August 16. Tickets are $33.36 and are already available from Moshtix and Landspeed Records.

One of the most exciting shows coming up (well in my opinion at least) is when The Red Shore, For the Fallen Dreams and Shinto Katana will be moshing into the Weston Creek Community Centre on Sunday September 13. Tickets are now available from Moshtix.

Deez Nuts (woo!) are going to be rapping and smashing up the Southern Cross Woden Basketball Stadium on Tuesday October 6. This is pretty much one of the most popular bands at the moment guys, so you’d be nuts to miss out on this epic show. Joining Deez Nuts will be Miles Away, Antagonist AD, In Trenches and Blkout!

And last but not least, The Winter Wonderland Urban Music Festival will be raving into the UCU Refectory on Friday August 14. This event is aimed at motivating young Australians to make positive and healthy lifestyle choices.

The idea of this under 18s event is to help today’s youth get down and party in a safe, drug free environment.

Peace out kids of Canberra, hope you guys have a sick time at some awesome gigs. Catch you soon.

LIZ ROWLEY elizabeth_rowley@live.com.au

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LOCALITY Here at Locality, we love live music. We also love you, dear punters, and your support of live music. We were lucky enough to catch local surf band Space Party at The Phoenix last fortnight. It was a fun night, the band was in top form and the venue was packed. It always leaves us with a warm and fuzzy feeling when a deserving act gets a great crowd and when that many people come out in the middle of winter to see a Canberra band it leaves us feeling positively toasty.

Luckily for us, there are plenty more opportunities for you lot to show your support for Canberra musos.

This fortnight’s Domus Adultus sessions will bring with them two typically packed lineups. On Wednesday August 6, enjoy Ashley Walsh, The Blue Ruins, Matt Dent and The Real Men and Bears With Guns. On Wednesday August 13, be serenaded by up and coming musical genius Joe Oppenheimer, Rachael Cooper, Arythmia and Mudpie Princess. Both gigs start at 8pm and entry is $7 for regular punters or $5 for CMC members.

In exciting news, Canberra lads Hoodlum Shouts are the current triple j Unearthed Feature Artists. Their track History’s End has been played on the station and the boys’ brooding faces are staring out at the nation from the Unearthed homepage. To see what it takes to make it on triple j, catch Hoodlum Shouts live at The Phoenix from 8pm on Saturday August 15. Also rocking Phoenix this fortnight are local four-piece Waterford, who will be onstage from 9pm on Wednesday August 12.

The Folkus Room is playing host to two up and coming singer/ songwriters this fortnight. Our own Ashleigh Mannix will play alongside Sydney’s Ed Patrick from 8pm on Sunday August 16. In a similar vein, the very lovely Julia Johnson and her Deep Sea Sirens will be playing at The Front along with Melbourne’s Skipping Girl Vinegar. The show starts at 7 m on Thursday August 6 and tickets can be preordered from Ticketek for $18.65.

At the heavier end of the spectrum, The Chuffs have returned after a six month hiatus and are keen to show off their shiny new drummer. They’ll be joined by Teen Skank Parade at The Pot Belly from 8pm on Friday August 14.

Local dynamos The Fighting League are playing at Bar 32 on Thursday August 6, along with Sydney acts Royal Headache and Peewee. The fun starts at 9pm and entry is a mere $5.

Friday August 14 is going to be a huge night at The Merry Muse.

Merry Fest sees The Fire and Rope Band, The Ellis Collective, Dub Dub Goose and Mr Fibby combining their considerable talents to bring you a night of merriment. Be there from 8pm, or be square from 8pm.

For something delightfully different, check out one of three gigs being held at Beyond Q Books in Curtin this fortnight. You can catch Second Sun on Saturday August 8, John Harkins on Sunday August 9 and Peter Harrison on Saturday August 15. Each gig starts at 4pm and entry is free.

That’s it from Locality for another fortnight. Take care ‘til next time and be sure to keep sending your thoughts, gig info and music news to us.

Big love, CATHERINE JAMES locality.bma@hotmail.com

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DANCE THE DROP As the post-winter sun returns to blind weary clubbers through the taxi windscreen on their way home from a Saturday night bender, I prepare myself for a two month hiatus overseas. Unfortunately this means that I won’t be able to continue with this column for a few issues, but the lovely team at BMA have secured the services of local superstar Stacey Manson (aka Staky) who brings her love of all things ‘doof doof’ to the street mag from mid-August.

While I am sunning myself on summery American beaches and traversing all across Europe with reckless abandon, I will have to come to terms with the reality that there are some exciting events coming up on the Canberra dance music calendar that I will be missing out on.

Fortunately this does not include one of the most anticipated gigs of the year for me, Hybrid’s long awaited return to Lot 33 on Saturday August 8. Supports have just been announced as Peekz vs Hubert and Scottie Fisher vs Biggie, adding to what promises to be an education in grand scale electronic music.

The busy guys at Friction and Lexington are teaming up with Fuzzy to bring us 360, a rare 15+ event at the UC Refectory on Friday September 25. The absolutely mouth watering all Canadian headliners include Tiga, MSTRKRFT and A-Trak along with locals Jeff Drake, RyFi and DJ Bricksta. This is definitely one of the best nonfestival lineups I have ever seen in this city so you better get in quick!

Tickets are on sale now from the normal outlets.

Speaking of festivals, the first round of Foreshore 2009 artists has just been announced and to celebrate, I caught up with Laurence Kain from Friction and Lexington Music to see what all the fuss was about.

“We went after a mix of the hottest and most current artists along with a bunch of big name long stayers. We aim to provide a broad range of genres, hopefully everyone at the festival will have a new and interesting musical experience at some point during the event and rock out to an artist they have never heard of!” With the fallout from the Winter Warehouse Festival still upon us, it’s interesting to see how they can keep the quality improving with each spectacular event they put on.

“We have made some changes to the site. We are selling less tickets this year and putting in more bars and toilets to eliminate lines! We have also made some deals with KRudd and Obama and they have agreed to turn on the sun! So bring your bikinis and dance Foreshore style on a national monument!” This first round lineup defies belief, including massive internationals Deadmau5, The Stanton Warriors, Crookers, Axwell, Dubfire, John Dahlback and Miss Kittin & the Hacker. You heard it here first kids!

Festival fans will also be excited to hear that we have yet another large scale event planned for 2009. Playground will bring acts such as Hook N Sling, Acid Jacks, Elmo is Dead, Ivan Gough, Minx, Yogi B and Bedrock Beats to an old school warehouse location near you.

Visit Landspeed Records for more details. Finally, laser lovers will be chomping at the bit in preparation for the return of Australia’s number one DJ, TyDi, who heads up the next instalment of Alliance at Academy for the Ministry of Sound Trance Nation party on Friday August 28. Fire!

Until next issue just remember: sleep is for the weak and we control the night.

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TIM GALVIN tim.galvin@live.com.au

GENUINE SHOOTING STARS DAVE RUBY HOWE It’s been a steady slog to prominence for Sydney twosome BAG RAIDERS (that’s Jack Glass and Chris Stracey to their Mums).

After catching the eye of Bang Gang honcho Gus da Hoodrat, Jack and Chris worked with Gus on early productions and DJ shows before switching back to a duo when Gus’ Bang Gang commitments became too time consuming. Still, with that momentum behind them they surged on; releasing four EPs (two original sets and two remix packs) on the boutique Bang Gang 12 Inches label, building their profile with each passing achievement. Now with a label deal with electro big boys Modular and some round-the-clock radio play for their new single, the conquering synth-pop gem Shooting Stars, the Baggies look set to crossover into the big leagues at last.

When the opening synth beeps came in all the girls just started yelling and screaming

“It’s been really good so far,” Jack says from the duo’s Sydney studio. “The Modular deal has been great for us and all this radio play we’ve been getting has totally smashed Shooting Stars, it feels really big,” he says with a laugh. Chris agrees, saying that Shooting Stars seems like a turning point for the pair. “It’s going pretty crazy in the clubs. We were playing it out recently and when the opening synth beeps came in all the girls just started yelling and screaming,” he laughs. “We were so stoked about that because when we used to play (their other monster single) Fun Punch all the dudes in the club would go nuts and start grunting along to the synth line. I guess that shows that we’re not totally macho, we’ve got some crossover appeal!”

It’d be hard to argue with that as when I catch them, the boys are about to embark on a new national tour in support of Shooting Stars, due to take in more dates at bigger venues than they’ve hit before.

“Yeah, this should be pretty fun, we always have a great time when we go out to DJ,” Jack says. Indeed, after this tour Jack and Chris will take the Bag Raiders action overseas, hopping across the pond to Europe and Asia. “We can’t wait to go back to Japan,” Chris beams. “That’s probably one of our favourite places to go to. Not just because of the awesome synth shops in Tokyo but just because the crowds are so different. We were there last year and we were blown away. Nobody does drugs or gets too drunk but they still party really hard, going ‘til like four or five in the morning at full steam. You just don’t get crowds like that here.”

Once the boys finish plundering their overseas fans, they’ll swiftly return home to wrap up their first album, due out on Modular early next year. “We’re not too sure what we’ll do with it. Maybe we’ll go crazy and be really avant-garde,” Jack laughs. “Yeah, we could do the whole thing with coconut shells,” Chris says, chiming in. “And we could get a crab to play them live. That’d be so brilliant.”

Bag Raiders will be at Lot 33 on Friday August 14 for their Shooting Stars single launch.

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SPRUCE MOOSE

DANIKA NAYNA

Not too unlike the accidents that spawn any superhero, DJ, producer and self-proclaimed Steven Segal fanatic SPRUCE LEE was created as a result of a drinking mishap when Mr Lee walked into a spruce tree in the dark at a mate’s 21st a few years ago. Of course, at the time, and under the influence, the hilarity of spruce tree rhyming with Bruce Lee was too much, giving birth to the master we know now. “It was also better than my current DJ name at the time: Mi Goreng,” Spruce feels. Glad we sorted that out.

These days, when he’s not running into trees or powering through Steven Segal marathons, the Modular superman can be heard over the FBI airwaves in Sydney, on a radio program with the rest of the Ro Sham Bo crew. By night, he’s a dance music trendsetter, making it his ambition to educate and excite clubbers with Future Jack. “My taste is really eclectic,” Spruce reveals. “One day I’ll be listening to some weird record I found in a pawn shop, the next day it’s west coast g-funk and the next – deep house.”

If you want to see a DJ who does requests, put two bucks in a jukebox

Spruce Lee had humble beginnings as a violinist in school bands from the age of six. It didn’t take long for the Sydneysider to move from classical strings to new jack swing, taking his musical prowess to production. “Ever since I was in high school and got my first crappy computer I’ve been into production. I used to stay up late in my room in high school recording weird songs with any instruments I had at hand,” Spruce recalls, explaining where his eclectic taste and interest in production began. “DJing kind of came in when I was about 19, when Sleater Brockman and I decided we needed music at our house parties that wasn’t Radiohead or Jeff Buckley.”

Since then, Spruce Lee’s music has found him signed to dance music heavyweight label Modular. The past year, however, has been a less thrilling journey for Spruce, confining him to his “little box of a studio” to bust out those amazing remixes he’s become so loved for and to work on his debut club EP. “I’m really excited about it, it’s almost complete. So you guys in Canberra will be the first to hear some of it in a set!” Spruce says of what he’s been cooking up in his little box. “As far as remixes are concerned, I’ve just finished official remixes for Orgasmic, Bag Raiders and Act Yo Age and I’m working on a remix for Paper Route Gangsters from the States.”

Spruce Lee’s Canberra show will be rife with killer originals and shiny new remixes. No overplayed, old hat tracks here. “Requests always drive me up the wall. If you want to go see a DJ who does requests, go to an RSL and put two bucks in the jukebox”, Spruce warns. “I’m sure now, with saying this, people are going to do requests just to shit me.” We wouldn’t want to make a liar out of him now, would we?

Spruce Lee makes his triumphant return to Canberra at Trinity Bar on Friday August 14. Supports include Shunji, Staky, RyFy and Cheese. Free entry!

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LOST AND FOUND KATY HALL It’s funny when suddenly so much belief and ambition finally pays off; almost unbelievable, really. It’s not just bands that have it, but also fans who remember that one time they saw the band supporting and couldn’t get them out of their head, or their records anywhere. When it happens, you just have to hope for a lengthier release any day. Eager fans need wait no more because finally LOST VALENTINOS are back.

What came crashing onto our radios in 2005 with the hit Man with a Gun all but disappeared shortly after; with only whispers of their name and occasional remixes by prominent Australian artists, fans had little to go by. Now, almost three years later, and one hell of an anticipated wait later, they’re back with an even greater force and a truly stunning debut LP entitled Cities of Gold.

Australian artists are really coming to prominence in this scene, especially internationally

Taking a step away from the sounds of earlier EPs, the progression of a more cohesive sound has taken Lost Valentinos down the path of drawn out synths, dream-like vocals and sounds of a world now lost. “We incorporate a lot of things we like in our songs,” explains Nik Yiannikas, the band’s vocalist. “It’s hard to get in all the things we like and at first it seemed a little impossible, but as we’ve got more experienced it’s become possible. To be honest I don’t think we could do it any other way. Our influences are so broad and I think it makes things more interesting; we like having a lot of elements to our sound.” With backgrounds from all across the world between the five lads, it’s no wonder fusion was found drawing on these areas for inspiration.

“With this album it felt like the first time we had direction. A couple of years ago we weren’t fully aware of the situation we were in, whereas now we’ve been together for a lot longer and there’s more coherency.”

The album itself is more than just 11 tracks; it’s a complete experience that extends itself also to the live show. In the past any given Lost Valentinos live show was likely to include face paint to make any raver green with envy, and if you really want to see their form, be sure to check out the Serio video clip. “I think it’s really important to think about the live shows,” Yiannikas confirms. “I think more bands should worry about it. The audience responds really well because it’s a visual thing and it becomes more than just music. It’s a lot of fun.”

And as for the hype around them? “The general perception is that Australia doesn’t have a strong musical identity but Australian artists are really coming to prominence in this scene, especially internationally.” The best thing about speaking with Yiannikas is his genuine enthusiasm he has for the future of the band. With things looking this good, fingers crossed they make it back into the studio in the near future and continue delivering their unique sound.

Lost Valentinos, with Ghostwood in tow, will play at Academy on Friday August 21. Tickets through Moshtix.

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Joplin, Jimi Hendrix… Lovable locals The Wedded Bliss are on board for the birthday bash. Can’t wait to see them do their, um, own interpretation of Creedence Clearwater Revival. I didn’t have a clue who Paul Butterfield was until award winning young guitarist Chris Harland (The Chris Harland Blues Band) set me straight. Chris not only knew who Paul was, but he knew all his Woodstock songs. Well, Chris’ drummer has supported Dylan (the real one, not the tribute one). And watch out for Chris in Hendrix mode.

LET’S DO WOODSTOCK MEGAN Hell man, it must have been some festival. We’re still talking WOODSTOCK 40 years on. I’m even helping to organise a Woodstock tribute gig, with local musos who definitely weren’t around in 1969, and they’re all so damn keen. There’s a lotta love for the big fest. I feel like Mickey Rooney in those old black and white films, “I know, let’s throw a party in the barn!” (And the party happened, without pages of lists and deadlines and phone calls to bands.) “I know, shit, it’s Woodstock’s 40th anniversary, let’s organise a gig!” says I…

Let’s throw a party in the barn!

Woodstock. Three days of peace, rain, mud, not enough food or toilets; oh yeah, plus some of the best music and musicians of the ‘60s. (I did say some of!). Typecast as a folk fest, Woodstock was actually eclectic (I mean, The Who and Sha Na Na?!) and electric – yes, Baez and Arlo Guthrie were there but so were The Band, Janis

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Then there’s my Janis Joplin, Victoria McGee, throwing her line dancing boots to the wind to unleash her inner rock chick. Oops, I think I’ve corrupted her musical taste. First she rang me saying, well, not very complimentary things about the dearly departed’s voice, but then, in that universal Janis-epiphany-moment, she called back later saying “ah yeah, now I get it…” There’ll be local musos galore – Bob Rodgers, The Lenders and surprise guests (that’s what you say when you’re still trying to track down musos who don’t check their messages). It may not solve all the problems in the world but it’s gonna be a lot of fun.

By the time you read this I may still be looking for a Joan Baez. She was pregnant at Woodstock. You don’t need to be, we’re not going for 100% authenticity. Hell, let’s have a male Baez! If you can do a few Baez songs... STOP PRESS – Julia (from Julia and the Deep Sea Sirens) will be Baez-ing to open the gig! “It’s all coming together,” I sigh. I can almost see Mickey Rooney transported from 1930s grainy black and white dancing ‘round naked in 1960s mud and rain going “let’s put on a gig, let’s put on a gig…” Wish me luck. Or better still, drop in to our Woodstock gig and let your hair down with your god damned talented local musos.

Woodstock comes to Canb ( the Polish White Eagle Club to be precise) on Saturday August 15. Tickets $20/$15 through Moshtix or $25/$20 on the door.

Doors 7pm, music 8pm.

E X H I B I T I O N I S T Kjell, his companion, is a sex-obsessed virgin in his forties who would like nothing better but to embark on a boisterous love affair.

Gilshenan, a distinguished actor recognisable from screen, television, and theatrical productions such as Bell Shakespeare’s The Government Inspector, explains that “the play is a journey or a love story if you will, of confronting your fears and learning to live in an uncaring society. It’s a universal story, like in any society about the battered underdog getting through. The play appeals to any culture and any place because it deals with such universal issues.

“Elling and Kjell are essentially the odd couple; riddled with illnesses and trying to adapt to life normally,” says Gilshenan. “It’s an acting challenge, going through the journey from the beginning to the end. The characters have such different formative experiences over the course of the play. It spans over two years and so much happens to them.”

NORWEGIAN GOOD SHAILLA VAN RAAD Imagine a world where everyday you struggle to get out of bed, eat breakfast, interact with the people you live with and try find simple human qualities in people, such as love and friendship. Does this world sound familiar to you? Such is life for the characters of Pamela Rabe’s latest theatre production, ELLING. Elling is based on a Norwegian novel by Ingvar Ambjrnsen and the original stage adaptation was created by Axel Hellstenius in collaboration with Petter Nss. It was eventually translated by Nicholas Norris into English and adapted by Simon Bent. Elling has become a cult film and a theatre production abroad, and has recently landed on Australian shores in a new Sydney Theatre Company production directed by stage grand dame Pamela Rabe.

Elling is about two friends, Elling (Darren Gilshenan) and Kjell (Lachy Hume), attempting to come to grips with the reality of life after discharge from institutionalised care. They set about trying to forge normalcy in their existence after living on the fringes of society and humanity for a long time. Elling is a neurotic and perceptive wouldbe artist who has just discovered the dichotomy of the beautiful/ repulsive world.

Speaking with Gilshenan about this strangely familiar production, where some of the issues hit very close to home, it is easy to realise why Elling is so side splittingly funny. “Elling is a bittersweet comedy; it’s comedy that comes from fear, pain and anxiety. It’s about watching people in tortured situations. The audience laughs with them not just at them, because the situations are so real. When you first meet Elling and Kjell, you feel their alienation and their anxiety.

The audience is alienated from them. But because the play is just a microcosm of what’s inside all of us: anxiety, fear of the unknown and the fear of love and to be loved the audience is surprised that it can relate to these characters.”

Gilshenan believes that “there’s a little bit of Elling in everyone” and everyone is prone to “Elling moments”. “Elling in a sense is an everyman character; he represents everyone who is in a state of inertia, from getting up off a chair, to getting up in the morning.

Everyone who has lived has had an Elling moment.” From an actor’s perspective, because of the character’s exaggerated nature, Elling’s character development required intense energy in order to portray this tortured and sensitive soul. Gilshenan relates that “playing Elling requires drawing on an enormous amount of fear and anxiety.

“In the beginning I used to get cramps in my stomach from the amount of nervous tension that the character feels. It took a few weeks to get a handle on it technically.

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NORWEGIAN GOOD CONTINUED “When I play Elling it requires deep emotional energy, because he has powerful emotional swings that range from panic attacks to deep depression to rage. It feels like I am dispelling demons all throughout the night.”

The production of Elling seemed to be no easy feat to pull together, because of the complexity of the themes that were explored; it has required an innovative and detailed mind in order to successfully convey the key messages. Gilshenan explains how Rabe drew many different expressive elements together to create a cohesive whole.

“It was such a lovely surprise how the production came together.

Surreal elements and a dance sequence were integrated into the production… Pamela leaves no stone unturned and finesses details.

This direction generates great performances because Pamela brings her philosophy as an actor to her work as a director and this creates a deeper exploration of the characters and the story.”

Elling is an unusually frank philosophical exploration of the lives of two friends, struggling to understand and conquer simple life problems that are a part of the gaining of maturity and wisdom.

“Elling’s and Kjell’s journey represents the emotional growth human beings go through; growing to understand the world around us. Their journey, in just two years, is a sped up version of the journey from an infant to adolescent.” So with what word would Gilshenan describe the production Elling in the most simplest, truthful and raw expression?

“The word most used to describe Elling is ‘heart’. It has a big heart to it.

It’s an incredible affirmation to a positive attitude to life.”

Sydney Theatre Company presents Elling at the Playhouse from Wednesday 5 August to Saturday 8 August @ 8pm. Tickets $60/ $53/ U27$35/ Child $22.

Call 6275 2700 for details.

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ARTISTPROFILE: J a y S u l l i va n

What do you do? I’m a stand-up comedian.

When did you get into it? My first gig was in 2005.

Who or what influences you as an artist? Charlie Chaplin, Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor, Andy Kaufman, Bill Hicks and Mitch Hedberg.

What’s your biggest achievement/proudest moment so far? RAW National Final was awesome. Winning Green Faces was awesome. But at the moment, I am most proud of the fact that I just keep getting up onstage and trying material.

What are your plans for the future? I want to do an hour solo show between now and Christmas, and I am going to New York next February for two months to tell jokes.

What makes you laugh? Jokes. Tom Gibson, Jordan Best, Jim Adamik, Daniel Connell and the geniuses I mentioned in Question Four.

What pisses you off? People who indicate right at the last minute before turning a corner. People who wear camouflage when they aren’t in the military and people who wear so much fake tan they look like tandoori.

What’s your opinion of the local scene? All of the comedians in town are working really hard at the moment. The best thing is we are all working together to get better. Our monthly comedy night at The Civic Pub is as good a comedy night as you’ll see anywhere.

What are your upcoming performances? August 5 – Comedy Club @ Civic Pub – Headliner: Joel Ozborn. I’m supporting James Moffett at the Street Theatre on August 15, and Michael Connell at the Street on August 17 – 19 as part of Comedy Blues. From August 17, I’m running a series of Learn Stand Up Comedy classes at the Tuggeranong Arts Centre, it goes for four weeks and ends with a performance – that’ll be fun.

Contact Info: If you want to try stand-up – enrol in the class by calling the Tuggeranong Arts Centre. Stand Up Comedy in Canberra is on Facebook, as am I. I can be emailed at: jay@jaysullivan.com.au .

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So what is it like bringing those skills to the stage as part of Traces? “So far the experience has really been amazing. It’s only the beginning for us, but we have seen already so much,” Philip says.

“The show definitely feels like ours now, and I believe it is ours. Every time we go on stage I feel we find ways to bring our personality out in the show and find ways to make it our own.”

WACKY TRACES EMMA GIBSON Les 7 Doigts de la Main - or The Seven Fingers of the Hand if you ne parlez pas de French - is a contemporary circus troupe from Montreal. One of the shows currently touring around the globe is TRACES, billed as a high energy, dynamic display of acrobatics, theatre and circus tricks. “The easiest way to explain it would be five people spending what might be their last moments together inside of a bunker,” explains performer Philip Rosenberg. “Through acrobatics, music, dance, art and speech we attempt to leave our mark (or traces) on the world before we leave it.”

Philip, along with Antoine Auger, Antoine Carabinier-Lépine, Geneviève Morin and Naël Jammal, marks the second generation of Traces, directed by Shana Carroll and Gypsy Snider. The new cast are all graduates of Montreal’s National Circus School and come from a wide range of performance backgrounds.

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Each artist brings something different to the performance, Philip explains. “I specialise in handbalancing, Antoine C specializes in Roue Cyr (a metal hoop the performer stands inside and spins, rolls and rocks) and teeterboard (like a small seesaw, perched on a rolling base), Gen and Antoine who specialise in hand to hand (balancing and acrobatics with two people) and Rafael is our acrobat and somewhat of a clown. Then we all of us together do hoopdiving and pole. In general it comes down to having a very strong acrobatic base. Many of us had never tried hoop diving or pole before the show began, but because we have been flipping for years it was only a small adjustment to bring those skills into the specific discipline.”

The show has been described by many as ‘circus-theatre’ - quite an evolution from the travelling big tops. Instead of watching big cats and elephants, we instead marvel at the abilities of the human body.

And while it’s called ‘contemporary’, many of the tricks have been around for centuries. “Contemporary circus has been influenced by almost every existing art form. For example in our show you see acrobatics, dance, theatre, visual arts and music,” Philip says.

“Circus has always tried to captivate and I believe for contemporary circus we try to bring our public into the show... into our world instead of merely showing off what kind of tricks we could do.”

Traces plays at Canberra Theatre Centre from Wednesday 12 to Saturday 15 August. Tix $60/$55/u27 $35. Phone 6275 2700 for info and bookings.

HELL HATH NO FURY

COURTNEY BOOT

Feminist icon or filicidal monster, MEDEA is a figure who continues to awe and baffle audiences more than two thousand years after Euripides first adapted the myth for the Attic stage. This year, papermoon’s Cathie Clelland has adapted Medea for a 21st century audience, with a new translation and a new angle: three Medeas.

Medea is a “stranger in a strange land” says Clelland, “alienated and isolated” in the civilised Greek world. Medea is married to Jason after his shenanigans with the golden fleece, but when they travel to Corinth he leaves her to marry Glauce, the daughter of the king.

Seeking vengeance for Jason’s betrayal, Medea poisons Glauce and then murders her own children.

The three Medeas will be played by Canberra actresses Jordan Best, Lexi Sekuless, and Helen Brajkovic. The psychological division implied by the trifurcation of Medea is superbly appropriate, because she does, indeed, have three faces: super-powerful witch, tragic mother, and scorned woman. “What makes a woman do such an extreme thing?” asks Clelland of Medea’s filicide. “Once we got the… three parts of her, it became clearer.”

Sekuless plays the “conciliatory Medea”, Best plays the “impulsive, passionate” side and Brajkovic plays the clever, manipulative angle, though “they’re all dangerous women,” says Clelland. While Medea is often taken as a feminist text in its portrayal of a powerful woman isolated by patriarchal society, “a thoroughly feminist reading doesn’t work,” argues Clelland. Although audiences empathise with her plight, the horror of her actions results in a withdrawal of sympathy.

“She talks about how difficult it is for a woman to be a stranger,” says Sekuless, “but in the end you can’t feel for her at all.” Instead, Clelland has tried to explore the three-fold nature of Medea and to present the story for a 21st century audience. An accomplished designer, Clelland has created a prison-like set to background Medea’s exclusion from ‘civilisation’.

“It’s very cold and industrial,” says Clelland. “I tried to get a feel of hardness, (the idea that) this is not her home,” says Clelland. To set this off, the traditional Greek chorus has been transformed into a team of journalists who highlight the probing xenophobia that surrounds Medea – and, indeed, the outsiders of our own society.

What makes Medea so compelling is that she is a woman scorned by the man she loves and driven to desperation by her exclusion from the world – and yet at the same time she is a monster, a horrific image of passion so extreme that it will stop at nothing. Medea may be a figure of feminine power, but as Clelland points out, she is also “a threat to the powers of reason”.

And that’s a scary thing. papermoon’s Medea will play at the ANU Arts Centre from August 20 to 30. Tickets through Teatro Vivaldi on 6257 2718.

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U N I N H I B I T ED In the last few weeks Uninhibited has seen a few things that have really tickled our fancies, making the long cold winter months seem slightly less cold and slightly less long. Usually, in Uninhibited’s experience, that has been achieved by wine – but as they say, you find out something new every day.

Stumped, Adam Veikkanen ANCA, July 1-12 Every now and again there pops up an artist who shows a quiet audacity in their approach to both concept and material. They often work on a small scale, employing involved, repetitive processes, everyday objects and humble materials. They create artwork that is a little bit cheeky, a little amusing, impossibly sad and at once about nothing and everything.

Adam Veikkanen is one such artist. He blew me away with his work in the ANU School of Art Graduate Exhibition last year, and he has done it again in his first solo show – Stumped at ANCA.

One. At the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, while every man and his melting dog was grudgingly lining up to see Liquid Desire (snore), Uninhibited merrily tripped through the almostempty space of the printmaking gallery to see The Satirical Eye, an exhibition of 17th to 19th century satirical prints and etchings from the gallery’s collection.

At Veikkanen’s hand things that shouldn’t work, do: a ball of spent staples, a drawing made entirely from fingerprints, a sheet on paper emblazoned with a single word.

Grotesque, hilarious, sickening, and wrenching; caricatures and satires from artists like England’s Hogarth and Cruikshank, Spain’s Goya, and France’s Daumier, mercilessly pin their targets on the page in crisp, clear lines, exposing vice and folly in their societies (which, as Thomas Rowlandson’s paired drawings of obese fashionistas from 1790, A little tighter and A little bigger show, are often the same as our own). The exhibition was hilarious, free, and easy to navigate. I pitied the sods in line for Salvador.

He certainly shows a great fondness for text. Pure gold leaf pressed into a sheet of rag paper spells out ‘something special’, gilding the most basic and hardest working of artistic materials. The surface of another paper is nearly completely obscured by markings from a black ball-point pen – the only gaps visible form the words ‘Black Out’, at once announcing and defeating the artist’s intent. Upon the wall, a tiny pink fluorescent sign illuminates the word ‘Cool’, its wiring laid bare and pathetic, a feeble statement or misdirected verdict.

Two: OzOpera’s production of Puccini’s Madame Butterfly, directed

by John Bell, which satisfied all the desires of the born-again operavirgin. OzOpera are touring this show across something ridiculous like 50 locations across Australia over the coming months, a feat by no means mean when you consider the precision turn-out of the performance.

Perhaps most incredibly, entire books have been reduced to skeletal objects. Pages have been sliced away and reduced into volumes of only a selected word; tiny fragments of text, quivering on delicate tendrils that remain extended from the publication’s spine.

Sumptuous costumes – beautiful kimono prints, gorgeous silk obis and intricate hairpieces – were backgrounded by a set characterised by simplicity and lit with subtle beauty. More to the point, the teeny touring chamber orchestra actually pumped out quite a lovely sound, perfectly offsetting the glorious highs of Elisa Wilson’s stunning turn as Cio-Cio San. Three. Dirty Blonde: The Diaries of Courtney Love documents the highs and lows of Uninhibited’s favourite ranting grunge icon (Billy Corgan is a whinging grunge icon: different species of the same seductive genus). Courtney spills from every page with drawings, childhood reports and scrawlings, scraps of juvenilia, torn photographs, lyrics, gig posters, and prescriptions; the woman that appears is intelligent, outspoken, perceptive, glamorous, and charmingly insane.

The best: a list titled ‘Things That Interest Me: (and everything else bores me)’, including amphora vases, ‘only 2 marriages no more’, Old Blue Bottles and Tin Cans, Monty Python, sex, and in huge lettering, ‘SELF GLORIFICATION’.

Right on, Courtney.

NAOMI MILTHORPE exhibitionist@bmamag.com

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Who would have thought that this oddball collection of objects and images would result in one of the most arresting exhibitions I have seen all year, and haven’t been able to shake from my mind?

YOLANDE NORRIS

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b i t PA R T S WHO: Lulo Reinhardt WHAT: Dynastical gypsy guitar WHEN: Thursday August 27 WHERE: Southern Cross Club Lulo Reinhardt boasts the strongest of guitar pedigrees – he is grand-nephew of legendary gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt – so for guitar nuts out there (and who of us isn’t, really?) a trip out to sunny Wodes will not be wasted. Lulo is playing at the Southern Cross Club with a six-piece band, part of a tour to launch his new CD and DVD. If you’re into gypsy-jazz, gypsy-swing, or just want to run away with the gypsies for a night (and who of us doesn’t, really?) head down to the SCC on August 27.

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WHO: You! WHAT: Goofbang digital zine WHEN: Irregularly/whenever WHERE: www.goofbang.com Goofbang is an irregularly published collection of material by artists from around Australia. Each issue takes different pieces of art created by different people and presents the art as a file system, much like you would find on a CD, with a PDF containing info about the artists and their work. The zine has a website and also distributes CDs to the public by leaving them around train stations, universities, workplaces... To check it out head to the website, or if you’re an artist, you can submit content at content@goofbang.com .

WHO: Jigsaw Theatre WHAT: WENDY WHEN: Wednesday August 5–8 @ 6.30pm, Saturday matinees @ 12.30 and 3pm WHERE: The Street Theatre WENDY is an original musical adaptation (or ‘reimagining’, if you will) of J.M. Barrie’s classic tale Peter Pan, a reinterpretation through the eyes of Wendy. Adapted by Kate Shearer, with music and lyrics

by John Shortis, and starring Canberra Critics Circle winner Georgia Pike in the title role, WENDY asks us all how and why it is that we must grow up. Perfect for anyone over the age of eight.

WHO: Free Rain WHAT: Sense and Sensibility WHEN: Thursday August 6–22 WHERE: Courtyard Studio, Canberra Theatre Centre “The family of Dashwood had long been settled in Sussex.” So begins Jane Austen’s novel Sense and Sensibility, giving little indication of the twists and turns and highs and lows in the romantic lives of the sisters Marianne and Elinor. Ang Lee and Emma Thompson had great success with their filmic adaptation of the novel, and now Free Rain are taking the bull by the theatrical horns, in a version directed by Liz Bradley. “Will either sister be able to find love?” asks the tagline. Well… I could probably tell you. But I won’t spoil it. For tickets call 6275 2700 or head to the Canberra Ticketing website.

WHO: Cinemophiles WHAT: Arc Cinema WHEN: All the time WHERE: National Film and Sound Archive

WHO: ACT Writers Centre WHAT: East meets West WHEN: Thursday August 13 @ 5.30pm WHERE: Bogong Theatre, Gorman House Arts Centre

The August program at Arc is a doozy, with pics from all over the joint: August 8 is the last in Arc’s festival of Harold Pinter-penned films, with the Michael Anderson-directed The Quiller Memorandum.

The J-Noir series, of Japanese noir films, still has two more left: Pale Flowers, directed by Takeshi Kitano, and Battles Without Honour or Humanity, directed by Kinji Fukasaku. Arc also has their Scinema screenings, this time revolving (ironically, for us) around the moon.

Head to the Arc website for details of screening times and prices. www.nfsa.gov.au/whats_on/arc .

The ACT Writers Centre is hosting an evening titled East Meets West, a melding of minds from each side of our wide land. Join the AWC for an evening of discussion with West Australian authors Chris Pash, Jon Doust and Dianne Wolfer. The cost is free for members of the Centre, and $5 for non-members, and includes wine (always a sweetener, in any literary type’s book. Ba doom). The evening will be emceed by award winning poet and head of the ACT Cultural Council, Paul Hetherington.

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growing up there.” The reason I’m not so shy about it is because I grew up in the art community of Canberra, with my Mum and Dad in their particular industries,” Alex explains.

ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL CHIARA GRASSIA “I was born and bred Canberran and quite proud of it really, compared to a lot of people who seem to move away,” laughs musician and former Canberra boy ALEX HALLAHAN, who

released the critically acclaimed debut The Turning Wheel late last year. “Some people in Canberra probably consider it to be a bit of a dead end but I thought it was terribly artistic, so I actually really enjoyed

With his mother running dance studio The Canberra Dance Development Centre and his father a radio announcer on 2CA and FM104.7, Alex grew up comfortable on the stage and listened to the sounds of the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s pumping out of the radio at home.

“By the time I was 14 I thought about maybe doing musical theatre,” Alex recalls. “Obviously with musical theatre you need to learn to dance, so I started dance and in a typically me fashion got extremely obsessed and ended up being accepted in the Australian Ballet School at 16 years old. I left home and came to Melbourne, but I finished up after a couple of years there… It just seems like a bit of a whirlwind because it only happened within a few years and then I went back to my roots.”

I actually really enjoyed growing up in Canberra

Returning to Canberra to kick off his national As I Sleep tour, Alex is excited to play The Street Theatre, returning to his element after experiencing the pub culture of Melbourne.

“When I came down to Melbourne, after a few years, in my early-to-mid 20s, I started performing in the bars and pubs.

I was used to the harsh lights and the audience somewhere in the darkness. So for me it was quite confronting at first, to have them right in front of me.”

But the theatre experience has always gone hand in hand with his performing confidence.

“I have never really been one to worry about the stage or anything, I feel quite at home there. So it didn’t weigh heavily on my mind, to walk out on stage.”

Even though The Turning Wheel is barely a year old, Alex already has the blueprints down for album two.

“I’ve pretty much written my second album,” he reveals. “I have written completely new songs for this next album. The exciting thing for me on this tour is that I’m going to be able to share that with the audience as well. There’s already a couple of new songs in my set, as we go along it’s kind of an unusual situation because people are just coming to The Turning Wheel, but I also have the chance to implant some of the new songs and try and see what sticks.”

Alex Hallahan will take to the stage at the Street Theatre on Saturday September 5. Tickets from thestreet.com.au .

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DAPPLED CITY LIVIN’

DUKE IT OUT

PETER KRBAVAC

kahlia beichert

It’s never easy being the new guy. Fortunately for Allan Kumpulainen, though Sydney indie darlings DAPPLED CITIES may have formed in high school, inter-band relations are nothing like the quad hierarchy. “It seemed like I was bumping my way into their little niche, but they were very welcoming,” he says. “We haven’t really done much touring yet, which is when I get to know what they’re really like.”

The title of the latest DUKES OF WINDSOR album, Minus, is a testament to the below freezing temperatures the band faced during recording. The Melbourne five-piece braved a Swedish winter and jammed out in a former mental asylum to bring to life their latest work.

Dappled Cities noted Allan’s talents while he was temping for Expatriate, so when original drummer Hugh Boyce opted out he was the obvious replacement. As Allan explains, he entered the fold at the perfect time: avoiding the $10-a-day, five-men-to-abedsit squalor of their New York months and jumping straight into the fertile period where I think it’s standard practice embryonic a be to er duc pro d for a goo songs began nt poi e som at cho little bit psy to take shape.

“Yeah, I missed out on the poverty stage,” he smiles. “We spent most of last year songwriting and arranging. We had four or five versions of each song ready to record. Everybody was pretty open to change so we tried as many different things as we could.”

Exuding a sense of confidence which imbues the record, Dappled Cities had a clear vision for their third LP Zounds, which occasionally found them at loggerheads with co-producer Chris Cody (TV on the Radio). “He’s pretty strong willed and he’d been working hard for the last few years without a break,” Allan explains, “so he was kind of difficult to work with at some stages. We’re all happy with the end result and that’s the main thing. I think it’s standard practice for a good producer to be a little bit psycho at some point.” Thankfully though, there were no Spector-esque moments of lunacy. “There was no gun on the console,” laughs Allan.

In all, the recording and mixing process stretched out to over a year, allowing Dappled Cities to tweak and hone Zounds to their exacting standards. “It was a bit of a luxury to have the time because from the outset we had the idea that everything was going to be well thought out and organised to the finest degree. I think that really comes out on the record,” Allan says.

Singer/guitarist Dave Rennick has said both the band and Dangerbird Records had high expectations for Zounds. Allan maintains Dappled Cities didn’t feel any pressure their US label, primarily because they had Beck’s frizzy-haired foil Justin Meldal-Johnsen as their A&R rep.

“He just offered some ideas and steered us in a direction that he thought would be better,” Allan says, “but he never forced anything.”

As for the tour, Dappled Cities are itching to hit the road as Zounds is an album created to be played and appreciated live. “The idea was to carry it across to the live show,” Allan explains, “so we were conscious of that all through the recording.”

Dappled Cities play the ANU Bar on Friday August 21 with Philadelphia Grand Jury. Tickets from Ticketek. Zounds is released through Speak ‘n’ Spell on August 15.

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Singer Jack Weaving met guitarist Oscar Dawson while working at a local swimming pool, while Dawson was studying music with bassist Joe Franklin. The group was completed after they met with Cory Blight (drums) and Scott Targett (keyboards), who had both moved to Windsor.

They had only been playing together for three months when they released their first album in 2005. “I don’t think we even knew what we were trying to achieve,” says Weaving of their first album The Others. But despite the lack of focus the band achieved commercial success with the electro remix of The Others certified gold and nominated for an ARIA in 2007. The band took a much more hands on approach the second time around, braving the aforementioned bitterly cold Swedish winter to work with Pelle Henriccson and Eskil Lövström, who produced one of the band’s favourite albums, The Shape Of Punk To Come by Refused.

We try to turn it into a party

Living in a log cabin and wading through waist-deep snow for more than three months might sound like torture for some but not for these guys. “We were living the dream,” recalls Weaving. The band recorded the album in a former mental asylum, a mini city which housed up to 80 bands at a time. “It was just insane, the quality of music was extraordinary,” he says. Minus was released in September last year with singles It’s A War and Runaway continuing the success began by The Others.

Alongside Trial Kennedy and Midnight Youth, Dukes of Windsor will journey around the country on the Trilogy Tour. Despite having vastly different styles the trio combine great songs, superb musicianship and frantic energy all on the one bill. Canberra fans can expect a wild night with new music being played alongside old favourites. “We just try to turn it into a party; we certainly don’t just go through the motions of playing the songs on the album,” says Weaving.

Although only briefly stopping in the nation’s capital, the band are eager to visit the National Art Gallery and to experience the other great thing about touring. “Great food,” quips Weaving. After their 23 date tour the band will move to Berlin to start recording their third album and kick off their European tour. The new album will signify another change in direction for the band, which is planned to be recorded almost entirely live. “Hopefully you will be able to taste the sweat a bit more, this time around we want to break things,” Weaving says. What’s next for these ever-changing rockers? “We always wanted to take on the world,” Weaving states.

The Trilogy Tour, comprising the Dukes, Trial Kennedy and Midnight Youth, will hit the ANU Bar on Sunday August 16. Tickets can be purchased through Ticketek.

photo: elena thomas

SHOUT IT OUT LOUD KATY HALL

I often wonder with musicians if there’s ever a time where you acknowledge that it might be time to leave your love for the weekends; that the break you’ve so desperately been waiting for and working towards might not come after all. Meeting with Sam and Josh Leyshon from HOODLUM SHOUTS, I get the impression that they’re likely to be producing music until the day they die and that making a big break is of inconsequential importance. The absence of striving for approval has opened the band up to produce an album of concrete certainty and definitive focus in sound rarely heard on debuts.

“This is really different to anything we’ve ever done before and all the bands we’ve ever played in. We kind of thought about what we wanted to try and it just came together pretty naturally,” explains Sam. The style and sound of their first release, Horses and Human Hands, is one the band is reluctant to define. The six track release is strongly sewn together; each track is a push further into the sound with one thing becoming strikingly clear by the end – this band is one we’re likely to be hearing a lot more from in the near future. And with their track History’s End being picked up as the Unearthed feature track on triple j, it seems people are taking notice.

Some people go to the coast every weekend to surf.

We play music

Hailing from the tree-lined ‘burbs of Canberra, this four-piece has called our sleepy town home for as long as any of them care to remember.

So when Sam and Josh decided to start something new, they knew where to look. “After all being on the local scene in a bunch of different bands we all knew each other, and when we decided we wanted to put something together we approached other guys that we knew, and who we knew would be interested in trying something with us.”

It seems the process has been a rather speedy one, with the band forming only 18 months ago and recording being completed in May, but Josh puts this down to a certain “focus” that was there from the beginning. “We’re not aspiring to be the next big thing and make millions, we just love playing,” he explains. “While some people are going to the coast every weekend surfing, we’re playing music. It’s just the thing we love to do with our time.”

Despite what sound your taste may swing towards, there’s no denying that this is an album to be listened to. The brooding vocals roll perfectly with commanding tones and as a whole, it fits together seamlessly. The level of thought and honesty that is produced in Horses and Human Hands is one that makes you not only want to snatch up this EP and add it to your library, but also catch the next live show and appreciate it in the flesh.

The EP launch for Horses and Human Hands is on Saturday August 15 at the Phoenix, with upcoming gigs at the Front Gallery and Café on Saturday August 29 and The Pot Belly on Friday September 4. Horses and Human Hands is available at Landspeed Records, The Front Gallery and Café and itrip iskip.

DRAGON DREAMING katherine quinn DRAGON DREAMING is fast becoming one of Australia’s premier outdoor arts, music and lifestyle festivals. Running for three days near Canberra over the October long weekend, Dragon Dreaming will dish up some of the amazing artistic talent that our region and country has to offer. This year’s festival will see over 60 of our best acts perform across a huge range of flavoursome genres encompassing everything from relaxing, uplifting, funky, and energetic, electronic and acoustic music. The journey will be truly tasty and the organisers are confident that people of all ages will discover something to satisfy their musical, artistic, and/or adventurous appetite.

In addition to the delectable assortment of Australian-made musicians, festival goers can also expect to enjoy independent films in the Mind Revolution Cinema, a selection of gourmet foods, locally made market items, cups of spicy sweet chai in the market village, games and adventures in the sculpture gardens, chillout areas with comfy beanbags and couches to relax and unwind with friends, workshops exhibiting a diverse range of topics from music production to bush tucker, a play activity area for the young (and the young at heart!) and, if that isn’t already enough, the opportunity to treat yourself to a visit to the healing village, to relax your limbs and soothe your soul. And the event organisers like to place a big emphasis on community participation too.

The aim of the festival is to assist artists and performers to establish themselves as professionals

‘So how can I be involved?’

I hear you ask...

“The festival has several components in this regard,” says event organiser Karolina Russell. “We are seeking artists who want to exhibit their work – we’ll give them a space and help promote their work. We are particularly interested in installation pieces for the sculpture garden, as we still have plenty of room! We’re also looking for more roving performers – the more the merrier! We’re really keen to see some stand up, some improvisation, perhaps some poetry, a bit of everything. I think Canberra has a lot to offer and the aim of the festival is to assist artists and performers to establish themselves as professionals. For those who want to help in other ways, they have the opportunity to volunteer –providing eight or nine hours of their time, in three to four hour shifts. Anyone interested in getting involved should check out info on the festival website.”

The festival’s creators, Servants of Sound, and partners REGEN (Random Evolution of Growth Entertainment and Nature) and Electric Powerpole Records, promise some very exciting entertainment from their pools of amazing artists. This year festival goers can expect to hear genres which include minimal, progressive, electro, drum and bass, psytrance, chilled world beats, acoustic sounds to live jazz and more.

Dragon Dreaming will be held between Saturday 3 and Monday 5 October.

Tickets for the event are available through the Dragon Dreaming website and at the Oxfam Shop in Civic. For more information, visit www.dragondreaming.net .

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THE REALNESS Obese Records are set to unleash the debut LP from their newest ‘super-group’ Gully Platoon on Friday August 7. Made up of emcees Pegz, Dialectrix and Joe New (Two Toes) and featuring beats from Plutonic Lab and M-Phazes, the LP, entitled The Great Divide, is sure to feature cutting edge production and razor sharp lyrics from three of the best emcees in the country. With Sydney’s DJ 2Buck on the cut, expect another quality notch in Obese’s belt, in what has been a prolific year of debut LPs for the renowned label. Look Up will release the long-awaited debut LP from Sydneysiders That’s Them on Saturday August 1.

Entitled Stay Up, the album will feature guest appearances from labelmate Scott Burns, Swarmy G (Overproof),

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Rainman, Tommy Illfigga and Rinse (Bingethinkers). For a sneak peak of the album check out www.myspace. com/thatsthemagain . A few columns ago I mentioned the quality banger of a single that was Fugs Need Hugs by UK born, now Australian residents Nine High. I’ve now finally had a chance to hear the full length self-titled album and let me tell you, it’s 100% quality. Varied, humourous, intelligent and perfectly delivered lyricism and songwriting is on display for the entire album, which has been impeccably produced by M-Phazes, Jase, Ghosttown, Driff and 76. In fact, it’s one of the best produced hip-hop albums I’ve heard in a minute. Don’t miss out on this one. Following hot on the heels of musical colleagues Pure Product, Queensland’s

Kings Konekted are set to unveil their debut offering Trails To The Underlair: The Prequel through Class A Records and Toaster Entertainment on Tuesday September 1.

Predominantly produced by renowned beatmaker Stricknine, the record features intricately structured rhymes from emcees Dontez and Culprit, which are deeply personal, strikingly insightful and, at times, brutally dark. The duo are heavily influenced by both Prowla and Lyrical Commission, the latter’s Trem also contributing a beat to the album. By the time you read this, the legendary Elefant Traks crew will have released their 10th Anniversary DVD. Out officially on Friday July 31, the DVD showcases the label’s roster coming together to play a sold out show at The Forum in Sydney in late 2008.

Featuring live performances from The Herd, Hermitude, The Tongue, Horrorshow, Urthboy, Astronomy Class and Unkle Ho, the DVD is a must-see part of Australian hip-hop history

and a celebration of one of its most respected and talented labels. For something different, I suggest checking out the new full length from solo producer/ vocalist Bibio on Warp. The album is entitled Ambivalence Avenue and is the perfect myriad of Bibio’s beautiful melancholic lo-fi folk sounds of old with his new found fascination for Dilla style hip-hop instrumentals.

Warp cannot put a foot wrong at the moment and this is yet another highly original and quality release. Beautiful music, perfect for Sunday afternoon relaxation. Show-wise, Transit Bar welcomes the mighty Downsyde (WA) on Thursday August 6 for what will no doubt be an incredible live show. The group are currently touring their latest offering All City across the country.

To hear music from all the above and more, please tune to The Antidote at 9:30 pm Tuesday nights on 2XX 98.3FM or stream at www.2xxfm.org.au .

ROSHAMBO roshambizzle@yahoo.com.au

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PUNKSKA

Taking the skinheads bowling, it’s the punk ‘n’ ska news. For those with the inclination to travel for their music, take note! The band whose moniker is scrawled across countless leather jackets is coming to Australia this October. Forming late in 1976 as the United Kingdom Subversives, UK SUBS have been touring the world and recording constantly for over 30 years without the compromise and wateringdown that affected so many of their contemporaries. Still led by the inexhaustible 65-year old legend Charlie Harper, this band refuses to ‘lie down and die.’ See them at The Excelsior Hotel, Sydney (18+) with The Rumjacks on Thursday October 8, then with The Bladderspasms on Friday October 9. Otherwise, get to The Arthouse in Melbourne (Sunday October 11, 18+) where they’re joined by Bastard Squad and No Idea. Tickets available from www.oztix.com.au & Oztix outlets.

Melbourne also plays host to Ska Nation, held this Melbourne Cup Day long weekend (Sunday November 1 and Monday November 2).

Participating bands include California’s Chase Long Beach, Canada’s One Night Band, Dan Potthast (guitar/vox MU330), Area 7, High Tides, Calico Jacks, The Reefs, The Resignators and The Ska Vendors. For more info, visit www.skanation.com. Tickets for Ska Nation go on sale in August with a limited amount of reduced priced tickets.

Sadly, local hardheads Hard Luck have called it a day, playing their last gig at Bar 32 with Eye Gouge, Eat A Brick and Johnny United on Saturday July 25. Since forming five years ago, the band has toured our nation numerous times and sold thousands of records. Coming this October, the Sike Your Mind Tour will bring together five top hardcore acts from Australia and New Zealand. Canberra’s leg of the tour brings Deez Nuts (Melbourne), Miles Away (Perth), Antagonist A.D. (NZ), In Trenches (Melbourne) and relative newcomers to the East featuring members of Miles away – Blkout. It all goes down at the Southern Cross Woden Basketball Stadium, Tuesday October 6 (AA).

Tickets on sale from www.stomp.com.au and Landspeed Records.

Melding no-frills hardcore and new generation metal, LA’s tireless and tour-hungry TERROR will tear up the Tuggeranong Youth Centre (AA) this Friday October 9. Joining them will be fellow Americans Stick To Your Guns and Queensland’s Against. Tickets on sale from Moshtix. More free music from the web! No Idea Records released the compilation Pretend Record for download at http://www. noidearecords.com/bands/releases/va-pretendrecord.php on June 5. These 15 free tracks have so far been downloaded over three thousand times and include such acts as Dear Landlord, Wormburner, Screaming Females and Dead Friends. Burning Hearts punkers, Raised Fist (formed 1993, in Sweden) will release their new LP Veil of Ignorance on Monday September 7. This 14 track ‘wall of sound’ is the band’s fifth album. The opening track Friends and Traitors can be previewed here: www.burningheart.com/raisedfist/index.php .

Those that have purchased tickets to see the NOFX/Bad Religion tour later this year will now also get to see one of Fat Wreck Chords latest signings, with Compton five-piece Pour Habit joining the bill.

The group have a nice ‘90s flavour to their punk sound with a hint of early Offspring. You can hear them at their myspack: www.myspace. com/pourhabit .

Oi Oi that’s yer lot!

SIMON HOBBS Next deadline is August 24. Send news, views, gig promos and abuse to rudebwaay@gmail.com .

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X-MAN JUSTIN HOOK In the late ‘70s the Australian music scene was dominated by confrontation, blood, piss, beer, fleeing Mr Plod and dodging empty bottles in flight. The kids were angry. As Steve Lucas, guitarist with reformed Australian primal rockers X, explains. “People would throw chairs through windows, destroy pubs. They’d climb up the drainpipes to get in. They’d have riot buses and paddy wagons turn up and were literally grabbing people and tossing them in.”

That’s no sense of pride in Lucas’ voice, more bemusement that things had gotten so bad and “I’m not encouraging anyone to do that anymore but it’s different times. Back then that subculture was a very real, living breathing thing. The music industry was very stitched up; if you didn’t play the game you were outlawed. And we were musical outlaws. We’d hit and run at venues and leave people damaged and bleeding behind. That’s not what we set out to do but that’s how it happened.”

I should get an Order of Australia for Keeping It Fucking Real

Indeed, X had a fearsome reputation.

The band – the late Ian Rilen (bass), Cathy Green (drums) and Lucas – tore a swathe through Melbourne and Sydney for around a decade between the mid-‘70s and ‘80s releasing two highly lauded albums X-Aspirations and At Home With You, both recently re-released as part of Aztec Music’s excellent and exhaustive reissue series.

That era of Australian music receives kinder treatment as each year passes – maybe because the times were easier, less complicated or confusing. Nowadays we face such a multiplicity of options before we even leave the door, it’s no wonder some people reminisce wistfully, as Lucas agrees. “It sounds so geriatric… ‘You just don’t understand what it was like at the time,’ but it’s true. People were a lot more militant in their beliefs and expectations. There were no VCRs, let alone DVDs, let alone internet and so when the TV went off people went out to pubs and watched live music ‘til three in the morning. We’d go from gig to gig playing full houses watching people destroy themselves and have a fair whack at destroying ourselves along with them.”

But with so much choice on offer, X’s brand of aggressive clarity might just be the antidote to our complacent times. “Well I think it’s very timely that X have come around again,” says Lucas, “because we’re needed now more than ever to express an alternate point of view. And we’re not shoegazing introspective wankers. We are up there with a message… Don’t take anything for fucking granted!

It’s not wrong to question anything. If I can get a young kid to an X gig and get them to question the way they do something – then it’s worth doing the show, worth re-releasing the record.”

So you’re performing a public service then? “Absolutely. I should be put on the Honours List – Order of Australia for Keeping It Fucking Real.”

You heard the man! X will be keeping it real at The Basement on Thursday August 13.

the word

BLACKBOX

It’s not often the first ep lives up to the hype but the only criticism of United States of Tara (ABC1, Wed, 9.30pm) is that it is packaged in comedy-sized bites. While Tara certainly has the comedic overtones Diablo Cody tickled us with in Juno, like that film there is drama at its core. While wanting more is good, satisfied and wanting more will bring the audience back. Tara runs the risk that viewers will wait for the DVD. While Blackbox is not usually over-confident (hungry, insecure writers are good – any ed will tell you that) after one ep of TV Burp (Prime, Thu, 9pm) it’s unlikely Blackbox’s loyal audience will be tuning in for their telly news. Billed as bringing you the highlights and lowlights on the box, Burp is just a lame sketch comedy on a vomit-inducing set that’s, presumably, meant to be hip. Leave the psychedelics to Yo Gabba Gabba (ABC1, Mon-Fri, 9.05am) and the comedy to the next incarnation of The Chaser, if indeed their next venture is a comedy.

Chris Taylor’s next appearance on our screens is in Australia’s Heritage: National Treasures (ABC1, Thu Aug 6, 6.50pm) a series of ten-minute docos looking at a raft of items on the Heritage List starting with the Eureka Flag.

Other new shows to hit our screens include Law and Order: UK (SCTEN, Wed Aug 12, 9.30pm), the first US drama to be adapted for the UK, it’s set in London, Go Girls (SCTEN, Fri Aug 7, 10pm) a sort of north shore version of Outrageous Fortune – Auckland’s north shore but much the same sentiment applies, Ashes to Ashes (ABC1, Mon Aug 10, 9.35pm) a follow up to the original Life on Mars and How Not to Live Your Life (ABC1, Thu Aug 6, 9pm).

There are loads of series about to return to the weekly lineup – some new seasons, others that the networks yanked mid-season because of the cricket or the school holidays or some other indiscriminant reason that was really about ratings. SCTEN wants us to forget the way Dexter (SCTEN, Mon Aug 10, 9.40pm) was moved all over the schedule and is trying to make up for it with Season 3.

Also returning are Numbers (SCTEN, Wed Aug 19, 9.30pm), Burn Notice (SCTEN, Thu Aug 20, 9.30pm), Las Vegas (Prime, Sun Aug 9, 10.30pm), East West 101 (SBS1, Tue Aug 18, 8.30pm) and City Homicide (Prime, Mon Aug 10, 7.30pm). The first night is a double episode and, if you’re a big enough fan to skive off work, Prime is airing the last two eps of last season at 12pm.

Docos to look out for include On Board Airforce One (Prime, Mon Aug 10) which takes you on a ride with the new US president and Stephen Fry in America (ABC1, Sun Aug 9, 7.30pm) which takes the UK comedian through all 50 states (what is it with UK comedians and travel shows?), To Russia with Love: The Great Radio War (SBS1, Fri Aug 14, 8.30pm) about Radio Free Europe and the award winning Forbidden Lies (SBS1, Tue Aug 18, 10pm) which looks at the lies of author Norma Khouri.

It’s not often that a Saturday Night Movie is worth watching but Serenity (SCTEN, Sat Aug 22, 8.30pm) never disappoints. But don’t watch it if you haven’t seen Firefly.

TV moment not to miss – Darnell cover in the Witness Protection Program is blown – My Name is Earl (Prime, Wed Aug 19, 9.30pm).

on games Sandbox games; they’re so hot right now. As a result, everyone seems to be getting in on the act, but is that necessarily a good thing? Don’t get me wrong, I loved GTA3. I pumped many an hour into that game, and hell, I did the same thing for Vice City and even San Andreas. However, I didn’t for GTA4. Why, I assume you ask? I’ve been there, done that and bought the special edition. As such, the whole open world thing just doesn’t do it for me anymore, which is why this issue’s game, Prototype, wasn’t quite the experience I hoped it to be.

Prototype Publisher: Activision Developor: Radical Entertainment Platforms: PS3, 360, PC Hours: 20 From the get go, I really wanted to like Prototype. I mean damn, you pretty much play a superhero, flying around a city, terrorising its citizens and generally raising the mortality rate to a level that would put off any tourist (or even a terrorist for matter). So what went astray?

Well firstly, don’t get me wrong, Prototype is a fun game to play, but unfortunately it suffers from many of the major symptoms of sandboxaphobia (definition; a fear of delivering a planned gaming experience).

As with most open world games, it settles for quantity over quality.

Sure, the city is vast and you can explore it to your heart’s content, but that doesn’t change the fact you’ll be doing the same shit no matter where you go. Why? As with many open world games, this games lacks any clear choreography and because of this, each piece of action plays out very much like the last. As such, the game quickly becomes quite repetitive, especially when you also consider all the mindless travel you’ll be doing. That’s right people, just to start the next mission you’re forced to circumnavigate the expansive city.

Where’s my skip-to-end button dammit? And what’s the deal with side missions? I’m sure the developers would like to tell you that they make their games diverse. Put a bit more effort into them and make them somehow worthwhile, and I might actually start to agree, but for now I’ll stick to the storyline thanks (or at least the thin thread you pretend is a story).

Having established that the gameplay is repetitive, at least I can say it’s fun. Creating a blood orgy by shooting out a slew of tentacles, which tear apart everything and everyone in the near vicinity, whilst somewhat disturbing, also kicks ass. Likewise, being able to take down an attack chopper by scaling a building and lugging an air conditioner at it isn’t without its charms either.

All said and done, Prototype offers an enjoyable experience, however, I can’t help but think how much more I would have enjoyed this game had I not whored out my childhood to GTA3.

TORBEN SKO

TRACY HEFFERNAN tracyheffernan@bigpond.com

35

the word

on albums

album of the week jen cloher hidden hands [sandcastle] Though the subject matter is melancholy, the sound is far from morbid or self-indulgent.

In fact, I found myself on a Sunday afternoon, wishing I were on a sunny veranda, tapping my boot away to the very catchy, alt-country harmonies on Hidden Hands.

The faultless blend of tunes and voice, a result of real trust and familiarity, serves to highlight the real reason to buy this album: Jen Cloher’s gorgeous voice. There are no bells and whistles (but there ARE banjos!) here, just a firm confidence in the power of talented musos and a strong expressive voice to produce an album that deserves many listens. The disarmingly intimate lyrics will have you believing Jen is your new BFF. There is a roots-andbluesy element without the grittiness of say, Mia Dyson.

It is in the fine traditions of acoustic, folk-rock acts such as Clare Bowditch, The Waifs, and co-producer of Hidden Hands, Laura Jean. Ideally, enjoy the superbly produced Hidden Hands while doing that good ol’ country music thing (no, not a hoe-down) of taking a long drive with the volume up and the windows down. In Cloher’s own words, “We can only go where we’re meant to go. Hidden hands will help us along.”

CATHERINE WOODS

36

Holidays On Ice Pillage Before Plunder [Cloudy But Fine]

Tinted Windows Tinted Windows [EMI]

Let Pillage Before Plunder be your soundtrack for spending the day in bed, covers wrapped around you, daydreaming. Holidays On ice have created an intelligent album that rewards on repeated listens, and is best left in your CD player at all times. With Angie Hart (Frente) and occasionally Dean Manning (Leonardo’s Bride) on vocals, Pillage Before Plunder drifts through dreamy pop songs.

The lyrics are wry and poignant, the music melodically and emotionally rich. Holidays prove they can do late-night love songs like the best of them. Out Of Mud should be as big as Mazzy Star’s Fade Into You, as well as racy and infectious Ribbon Round A Bomb. Brilliance.

Tinted Windows are the supergroup nobody even requested.

Tinted Windows is the album that proves no end of indie cred (James Iha) and power pop participation (Adam Schlesinger & Bun E. Carlos) can save Taylor Hanson from toiling away in well-coiffured obscurity. Songs crackle past in bright, shinny, “wooh-ooh-ooh” fashion. Choruses rise and fall like cheap soufflés. Not exactly bad or offensive this unholy marriage of WTF to major chords is clearly designed to be consumed as disposable, unadulterated sugar rock pop.

That being the case I shall gladly oblige and forget about it by next Thursday.

CHIARA GRASSIA

out loud we’ll rock you to hell and back [riot/frontiers] Basically, the premise is this; form a Euro-metal super group, throw together some mid-eighties Bon Jovi/Europe soundalikes and then sit back whilst your accountants count the cash. Are Out Loud a success? Not entirely.

They may well be a ‘supergroup’ in their own eyes (and there are Helloween, Kingdom Come and Firewind connections here), but a true supergroup needs super material, and too much of WRYTHAB is second division, songwriting wise. When they do hit the target, as they do on the deliriously OTT Tonight or the aching ballad This Broken Heart, there’s enough going on to suggest this might be a project persevering with, but for now you can do without Out Loud in your life.

SCOTT ADAMS

JUSTIN HOOK

veto Crushing Digits [The Music Connection/ Inertia] Long known for their metal bands, Scandinavia has now diversified into electropop. Danish five piece Veto’s album is aptly named as the band employs extensive use of digital effects and synthesisers. Lead track Blackout begins like an ‘80s electro fantasy, growling and menacing. Shake is great with its cascading beats. Whilst tracks one and two were European single releases, for my money You Say Yes, I Say Yes is the CD highlight with its awesome rhythms. But there’s also value in the softer tracks down the back. Spit It Out employs a simple beat combo with an almost conversational vocal delivery. The Quieter ‘Duck, Hush and Be Still is another gem, with its eerie ‘fingernails on a blackboard’ synth treatment.

RORY MCCARTNEY

singled out

with Dave Ruby Howe

Cobra Starship Good Girls Go Bad ft.

Leighton Meester [Fueled By Ramen] Yikes, this is rough. Cobra Starship, a band whose big claim to fame was being included on the Snakes On A Plane soundtrack, have managed to outdo themselves in the awful stakes with this track. Truly a mess of ham-fisted party rock (?), it’s all sorts of dreadful audio trash. And Leighton Meester is really ruining my delusions that Gossip Girl is real with this whole singing career thing. Stop it, B.

Datarock True Stories [etcetc] No joke, Datarock’s recent Red LP beats the shit out of their first record. It’s all thought out party jams where their debut was a series of facepalm-worthy party wipeouts. True Stories is definitely in the former camp, with strong leanings to Talking Heads (with the choppy guitars, eclectic percussion and lyrics literally lifted from a Talking Heads songbook). It rattles along for three minutes, unrelenting in its grin-inducing greatness.

Drake Best I Ever Had [Young Money] While his status as a Degrassi alumni makes it hard to buy Drake as a Lil Wayne/Kanye West protégé, his releases are constantly impressing and building a solid rep that is sure to eclipse any lingering fame from his acting career. Best I Ever Had saunters out with a neat, shuffling beat and Drake himself pounces on it and just owns the whole thing. More please.

the word on dvds

in treatment

rachel getting married

THE BIG BANG THEORY

There are a couple of ways to attack this gargantuan 18 hour, 43 episode series. Firstly, stock up on beer nuts and take it all in one sitting. You’ll probably need a real therapist before reaching the ninth and final disc – but what is art if not suffering. Or you could tackle it as intended – watch an episode/session per day. That way, Dr Paul Weston (Gabriel Byrne) and his rotating cast of misfits and malcontents will slowly and insidiously seep into your consciousness. The latter is recommended.

Family weddings are a normally strenuous time, even more so when you have someone like Kym (Anne Hathaway) running around having been recently released for the weekend from rehab or a ‘facility.’ This ex-model is going to close some gates at the expense of everyone else in the family.

Her sister Rachel (Rosemarie DeWitt) is marrying long-time beau Sidney (Tunde Adebimpe) and Kym is determined to, possibly inadvertently, leave her mark on this wedding and make it truly memorable.

When not creating unchallenging and acceptably quirky hit sitcoms (Two And A Half Men, Dharma & Greg, Cybil) Chuck Lorre also writes hit songs for Debbie Harry; namely the late ‘80s disco/pop anthem French Kissin’ in the USA. True story.

He also wrote the soundtrack for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie which won him a bunch of pointy awards. Again, true story but I digress.

In Treatment is a relentless dissection of libido, narcissism, relationships, integrity and honesty. Weston is a middle aged, on-edge psychotherapist stuck in a rut rarely carving any joy out of his career and either lusting after his patients or struggling to control the urge to doze off in boredom. To combat this, he turns to his own therapist, Gina (Dianne Weist) and the irony appears lost on the self-obsessed Weston; in Gina the roles are totally reversed but he struggles to acknowledge the folly of his own middle-aged, text book neurosis.

In Treatment is slow-burning and intense. Another in the long line of intelligent shows that demand attention and commitment (The Wire et al), it’s designed to be taken sparingly and in a controlled environment – because that’s really what the show is about: control – how it is enforced, manipulated and lost. Hosannas to Byrne as Dr Weston, Melissa George as the predatory Laura, Blair Underwood (LA Law) as an emotionally crippled Marine and the ever dependable Michelle Forbes (Battlestar Galactica, True Blood) as Weston’s marginalised wife. In Treatment is true appointment television. justin hook

This melodramatic viewing is quite good, watching Hathaway live up to all of the promise she’s had. She certainly looks haggard with a long cigarette often hanging from her lips and her exceptional expressions give Kym heavy weight. Direction from Jonathan Demme is very nonintrusive and the support cast, particularly Bill Irwin as Paul (father of the bride), add to the joy of the film.

The problems with this one lie in the running time. Too many long, drawn out, uninspiring shots, where nothing is happening but the camera meanders from wedding guest to wedding guest.

As viewers we understand that there are issues going on, but a montage at a wedding with all kinds of dramas going down, from my perspective, got a little, well, boring.

The other issue is the bleakness of the film; these characters drip with hatred and contempt for each other on so many levels that repeat viewings are unlikely as there are no humorous moments to break up the heaviness.

That said, it is an interesting film and Hathaway looks stunning and deserves all of the plaudits she’s received. Extra features include commentaries, behind the scenes stuff and deleted scenes. Good film, but so little light relief in there.

The Big Bang Theory is the latest Lorre vehicle and whilst he hasn’t exactly extended himself very far, it’s undoubtedly one of the highlights of his canon thus far. TBBT is your standard multi-camera, live studio, scripted comedy that follows the lives of a group of hyper intelligent geek friends as they struggle with females, ladies and anything girl-related.

Hardly an innovative concept and one could justifiably question the need for Revenge of the Nerds: The Facebook Years yet somehow, despite these handicaps, it works. The answer lies predominately in the casting and ensemble chemistry of the key characters; Johnny Galecki (Roseanne) as Leonard Hofstadter and Jim Parsons as Sheldon Cooper.

The leads bounce tremendously well off each other, the latter deserving of praise for bringing a degree of pathos to what is essentially pro-forma “well, this is awkward” scripting.

From what I understand, there were significant problems with the pilot and the series sat in development hell for a while, something obvious in the wobbly early episodes.

By the end of its first season The Big Bang Theory settled significantly and became an enjoyable, worthwhile diversion.

Its nominal big brother and stable mate (Two And a Half Men) may get all the ratings but this one deserves the attention.

JUSTIN HOOK

GEOFF SETTY

37

the word

on films

WITH MARK RUSSELL

If a tree falls in an independent film… does it get credited with dialogue? It’s comforting to know that, in the era of Michael Bay paint-by-numbers blockbusters; some people in Hollywood still see cinema as an art-form. The espressosipping yin to Bay’s flagwaving yang has got to be Jim Jarmusch. He’s made some great films (Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai, Dead Man) but his newest bit of celluloid - The Limits of Control – pushes the avant garde envelope a little too far. Call me crazy, but I like my films to be at least as coherent as they are quirky.

My shorthand response to the film – roughly equivalent to the sound of one hand clapping.

quote of the issue

“He who thinks he’s bigger than the rest should go to the cemetery. There he’ll find what life really is: It’s a handful of dirt.” Various characters (The Limits of Control)

The Limits of Control

My Sister’s Keeper

red cliff

I like a lot about Jim Jarmusch, and I want to like everything he does – but dammit if he doesn’t make it hard sometimes.

My Sister’s Keeper makes no apologies for the fact that it wants to make you cry. Based on the novel by Jodi Picoult, My Sister’s Keeper is a harrowing portrait of a family struggling to deal with terminal illness.

John Woo is not the sort of director you expect to offer up sprawling, period piece war epics. He’s usually all about slick, stylised action and every character holding at least two guns. To compare Red Cliff to some of his earlier classics like Hard-Boiled, you would think it took a real shift of style to make Red Cliff. When you compare it to Mission Impossible II, you’d think it took an act of god.

The first hour of The Limits of Control is chock full of every reason to hate this fiercely independent style of filmmaking. The scenes are too long, too self-aware, too quirky; and not as philosophical as Jarmusch wants them to be.

Everything looks gorgeous and is well-acted but it takes so long to happen, and it’s almost enough to make you give up.

An unnamed man (Isaach De Bankolé) moves through Spain, meeting up with curious and secretive characters and communicating mainly through matchboxes. This is basically all you get plot-wise. It moves this way for much longer than an understandable director would expect us to weather – then it pushes on a little more.

Like every other film wanker, I’ve been party to many wine-soaked discussions on how awesome Jim was for being ‘original’. But The Limits of Control is too leftof-centre – no matter how tight your beret is.

If you stick around ‘til the end, there’s an interesting message.

It’s not the most poignant message of all time, but it’s passable. There are a couple of good lines, strong performances from a swathe of brilliant actors; and master cinematographer Christopher Doyle has painted a hell of a canvas. But overall, it’s enough to make you tear off your soul-patch.

MARK RUSSELL

38

Anna (Abigail Breslin) was conceived expressly to be a donor for her sick older sister Kate – but after years of transfusions and procedures, is suing her parents (Cameron Diaz and Jason Patric) for the rights to her own body.

The film’s many perspectives cover a multitude of issues – and parts of the film are quite affecting and realistic. But sadly, for every wonderfully subtle and poignant moment, there are two overdone scenes of shameless tear-jerking.

Even though My Sister’s Keeper has a solid script that could have been beautifully executed, director Nick Cassavetes constructs the film with very little originality, and ends up detracting from the power of the story by trying too hard to drag out the sentimentality of it all. Odd tonal moments (such as a tense family argument followed immediately by a scene of family bonding) and an overuse of fade outs (which signify a time leap) make this an inconsistent film. An abuse of slow motion (no, it’s not relevant for every scene) also adds to the feeling that Cassavetes is just trying a bit too hard.

However, a strong story and brilliant acting make My Sister’s Keeper decent viewing, despite its heavy-handed direction. megan mckeough

The film focuses on the battle for Red Cliff, where 50,000 soldiers fought 800,000. It’s about politics, honour and an exchange of top-level strategy.

The first thing that strikes the audience is the look of it all. The camera glides across dusty desert, swoops over expansive rivers and hones in on single raindrops. Massive war sequences are captured without confusion or losing the power of their frenetic nature.

The same can’t be said about the story structure.

Without seeing the original two-part, four-hour version; it’s hard to compare it to this two and a half hour cut. But there is a definite chaos to Red Cliff. In the opening scenes we are jumping everywhere from kingdom to principality and general to chancellor. It’s a little hard to care about them so early on - unfortunately this is all the characterisation many of them will get. The battle sequences represent strategy and formation brilliantly but the film as a whole doesn’t sow the fable as well as it could. Worth a look but we’re all probably better crossing our fingers for a DVD release of the original.

MARK RUSSELL

39

the word

Me and the Grownups The Street Theatre Saturday July 11

on gigs

With about 15 of us (plus ushers) in the small courtyard theatre at The Street, it was like having a concert in your lounge room. The fairy lights above the three band members, arrayed on rugs, imparted a grotto feeling.

Singer-songwriter Anita had a wide-ranging voice, which was strongest in the lower register, sweet and thick like golden syrup.

The backing music, on Adrian’s guitar and Jonathan’s violin, filled the whole room with sounds to tingle your spine. There was a noticeable silence after every song, until the final note died away, before the applause came. No one wanted to break the spell. The passionate vocals, extolling intricate tales of storms, tragic love and mermaids, was interspersed with magic orchestral passages from Jonathan’s violin. Me And The Grownups ended with an a cappella song, with the blokes providing a haunting background to Anita. Folk pop at its most beautiful.

Rory McCartney

The Basics / The Boat People Transit Bar Thursday July 23 Bryan Adams didn’t know anything when he wrote about nights to remember. This was it. It was totally flawless, except for when a small busload of kids from UC’s Bush Week arrived dressed like schoolkids gone so fucking wrong. Nothing like drunken ressies to make you question right and wrong in this world.

First up were The Boat People. It’s rare that a support band can actually get a crowd singing and clapping along; and while there were a few dull moments, not even talk of scalding genitals from the singer could turn the crowd away and prevent them cheering merrily between songs. Their sound is sincere; that dreamy pop that you could listen to at any time of the day, any month of the year and feel a little lighter than you did before it. And their guitarist looks like Sid from Skins. No shit. It’s safe to say The Boat People left with a lot of new fans that night.

Next up were the warmers of my heart, The Basics. These men do for rangas what supermodels do for Jack Nicholson. Somehow make him hot, but with youth on their side and much smaller stomachs.

There’s nowhere else you’d want to be when The Basics are on stage.

Even though they’d only hit the road to get there four hours before and looked exhausted, by the first song it was all shed and they were performing like they’d been resting comfortably for weeks. Aside from all of their known tracks and delightful covers, the real treat was the unreleased tracks from an upcoming album. If these songs are anything to go by, the album is set to do amazing things for these guys.

Once a reputation is earned, it’s kind of hard to shake. But when The Basics are on stage, Gotye is nowhere to be seen; no spotlight thievery to be found. Their incredible love and appreciation of music, matched with their winning temperaments, means girls want to take them home to their mums and guys want to earn a new best friend.

How do I compare thee to a bunch of rockabilly lads, breaking my heart at the local dance hall kind of a way? I guess I just call you The Basics and suggest that everyone sees them next time they’re in town PHOTOS BY: ELIYA COHEN

40

KATY HALL

41

GIG GUIDE August 5 - August 8 wednesday august 5 Arts Elling

Based on the cult Norwegian film of the same name. Until August 8. canberratheatrecentre.com.au .

CANBERRA THEATRE CENTRE

WENDY

An original musical adaptation of Peter Pan, as seen through the eyes of Wendy. Until Aug 8.

THE STREET THEATRE

Art Prints

Sparkle and Shine

Exhibition by Tiffany Cole, Jess Herrington, Shellaine Godbold, and Belinda Toll. Until July 26.

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ARTS SPACE - MANUKA

Live Captain, My Captain

2 pizzas and a pint $15 all day.

National Youth Self Portrait Prize

TRANSIT BAR

Pedestrian Orchestra

Second In Line

18 PEDDAR STREET, O’CONNOR

$5 Night @ Transit

All singing all dancing all welcoming acoustic open mic night . See facebook for more info.

ANU ARTS CENTRE

Epson 2009 ACT Professional Photography Award

An exhibition of award winning and high scoring photographs. Until Aug 10.

CANBERRA GLASSWORKS

Custom Made

Five gleaming handbuilt Harley Davidsons are presented in the ‘gallery come showroom’. Until Aug 8.

CRAFT ACT

Salvatore Zofrea: Days of Summer

A travelling exhibition of Zofrea’s woodcut print suite, made up of 109 carved blocks of wood. Free. ‘Til Aug 16.

ANU DRILL HALL GALLERY

The End of 2008

Exhibition by Alex Asch. Until Aug 15.

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE GORMAN HOUSE

Terminus

By Geoff Fahquar-Still. Until August 15.

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE GORMAN HOUSE

Road Kings

Exhibition by Dan Wallwork. Until Aug 15.

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE GORMAN HOUSE

42

Something Different

The Cool

Uni Night Thursdays

BAR 32

Watch amateur comedians battle it out for the biggest laughs.

Cash prizes and 2 for 1 basic spirits and tap beer. DJ Peter Dorree from 11pm – 5am with FREE pool.

CUBE NIGHTCLUB

Carry On Karaoke PJ O’REILLY’S, CIVIC

Karaoke With Grant

friday august 7

Arts Arts

Austen’s classic. “Will either sister be able to find love?”. We aren’t telling!

Until Aug 22.

Exhibition by Ann Holt. Until Sept 6.

Arc: Waltz With Bashir (2008, MA15+)

Sidney Nolan: the Gallipoli series

CANBERRA THEATRE CENTRE

Israeli soldiers recount the invasions of Lebanon.

ARC CINEMA, NATIONAL FILM & SOUND ARCHIVE

Dance Leave Them All Behind III Album Launch

KING O’MALLEY’S, CIVIC

Wolf

HELLENIC CLUB

The Bandits

CHISHOLM TAVERN

After Work Jazz From 5 to 8pm.

KING O’MALLEY’S, CIVIC

Karaoke

thursday august 6

Sense and Sensibility

KING O’MALLEY’S, CIVIC

CANBERRA IRISH CLUB

PJ O’REILLY’S, TUGGERANONG

Paintings by Shakira Longmore, Linzie Ellis, Faline and Rose Allen. Until August 9.

Presented by moonlight. Until Aug 8. $15/$10. Bookings: 0438 517 745.

Charles Chatain

Greenfaces: Elliot Goblet

Lip Synch Championships

TRANSIT BAR

KING O’MALLEY’S, CIVIC

Something Different

BELCONNEN GALLERY

Blood Wedding

Ug Beats - Rock Hero

Charles Chatain

THE PHOENIX PUB

Printed textiles by Megan Jackson.

Until Aug 7.

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ARTS SPACE - MANUKA

Live

BAR 32

With Royal Headache and Peewee. $5.

Over studying and just wanna party!?

We’ve got your Thursday night covered.

Happy hour all night!

Presented by Canberra Musicians Club.

ANU BAR AND REFECTORY

It seeks to encourage youth to embrace self portraiture’s expressive possibilities.

‘Til Sept 13.

The Fighting League

Cloudgarden

CHAPMAN GALLERY

The Gallipoli series was completed by Nolan over 20 years and is a public and personal lament.

AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL

J-Noir: Film Noir From Japan

Pale Flower (1963, 18+). Veteran gangster meets high society sociopath.

ARC CINEMA, NATIONAL FILM & SOUND ARCHIVE

saturday august 8 Arts Material Sense

Exhibition and sale of woodfired ceramics by Lindsay Oesterritter.

Opening at 11am. Until Aug 23.

STRATHNAIRN HOMESTEAD GALLERY, HOLT

Dance Exposed

Featuring DJ Bricksta. He’s turning the big one eight baby! So come help celebrate!

TRANSIT BAR

Shakedown!

Indie, alt, dance and electro with residents Skullss, Veda, Celebrity Sextape, Relay and M.E.R. $5.

BAR 32

D’Opus

D’Opus & Roshambo’s new LP coming soon!

KNIGHTSBRIDGE PENTHOUSE

Bite Size Beats

ANU BAR AND REFECTORY

Dance

D&B and dubstep night with your favourites Dred, Crooked Sound, Tidy, Buick, Chils and Centaspike.

Faux Real

Rev

Hybrid (UK)

Free entry and free stuff all night.

Fo sure.

Live

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

Skipping Girl Vinegar

Downtown Brown

KNIGHTSBRIDGE PENTHOUSE

BAR 32

On their Music From Cold Places tour.

With Julia and the Deep Sea Sirens. Tix through Ticketek.

Playing a seemless blend of funk, soul and hip-hop.

Downsyde

With DJ Tori Mac. Ladies only from 9pm-1am, men welcome after that.

Free entry until 11pm.

THE FRONT GALLERY AND CAFE

With D’Opus & Roshambo and Buick.

TRANSIT BAR

Brian Fraser

THE VALLEY TAVERN, WANNIASSA

KNIGHTSBRIDGE PENTHOUSE

Girl Thing

CUBE NIGHTCLUB

A BITE TO EAT CAFE

Three hour set, with Mikah Freeman vs.

Vance Musgrove, Club Junque, Hubert vs. Peekz and more. $30.

LOT 33

Candy Cube

DJs Peter Dorree and Matt Chavasse.

CUBE NIGHTCLUB

Live Bertie Blackman

On her Secrets and Lies tour. Tix through Ticketek.

ANU BAR AND REFECTORY

GIG GUIDE August 8 - August 14 The Snowdroppers

Something Different

THE PHOENIX PUB

Irish Jam Session

With Brothers Grim & The Blue Murders.

Second Sun

BEYOND Q BOOKS

Come and have a fiddle.

KING O’MALLEY’S, CIVIC

Oscar

KING O’MALLEY’S, CIVIC

monday august 10

DAY PLAY Gorman House Markets GORMAN HOUSE

Burley Griffin Antique Centre KINGSTON FORESHORE

dance Hospitality Night

Featuring Univibes DJs. TRANSIT BAR

sunday august 9

tuesday august 11

Arts

Something Different

Arc: Bert Haanstra

TNT: Tuesday Night Tunes (Karaoke)

Program 1. Haanstra is Dutch cinema’s Oscar winning doco maker.

ARC CINEMA, NATIONAL FILM & SOUND ARCHIVE

Arc: Jerzy Skolimowski

Identification Marks: None (18+). By the Polish new-wave master.

ARC CINEMA, NATIONAL FILM & SOUND ARCHIVE

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

TRANSIT BAR

Trivia Night

PHOENIX BAR, CIVIC

Fame Trivia

From 7:30-10:30pm

THE DURHAM, KINGSTON

thursday august 13 Arts Pod

An exhibition by Tye McBride. Until August 23.

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ARTS SPACE - MANUKA

J-Noir: Film Noir From Japan Battles Without Honour or Humanity (1973, 18+). The Yakuza Godfather!

ARC CINEMA, NATIONAL FILM & SOUND ARCHIVE

Live X

With Looking Glass and Bent Hen. THE BASEMENT

I Heart Hiroshima

On their Shakeytown Nights Tour. With DZ (Qld). Free free free!

TRANSIT BAR

Domus Adultus

With rising local star Joe Oppenheimer, Rachael Cooper, Arythmia and Mudpie Princess. $7.

HIPPO LOUNGE

Ashley Feraude

KNIGHTSBRIDGE PENTHOUSE

Dance

Pot Belly Trivia

Dos Locos

Cube Sunday

POT BELLY BAR, BELCONNEN

Trivia Night

KING O’MALLEY’S, CIVIC

Party on after the weekend is over with DJ TJ from 10 ‘til late. Free pool.

CUBE NIGHTCLUB

PJ O’REILLY’S, TUGGERANONG

Trivia Night

HOLY GRAIL, KINGSTON

Live Sunday Sessions: Naked From 5-9pm.

ALL BAR NUN

Phoenix Bar Blues

With Beth Monzo and Hatgirl.

THE PHOENIX PUB

Sunday Sessions

Live music from 1pm.

THE HUSH LOUNGE, PHILLIP

Tarantara and Ooh La La!

A delightful concert of witty and whimsical operetta highlights. Tix $20/$15. Bookings: 6293 1443.

TUGGERANONG ARTS CENTRE

Organ Recital by John Scott

From St. Thomas Church NY, one of the foremost organists in the world. No bookings required.

WESLEY MUSIC CENTRE

John Harkins

BEYOND Q BOOKS

wednesday august 12 Arts Traces

Part theatre, part circus; totally amazing. Until Aug 15.

CANBERRA THEATRE CENTRE

Live

Free live music at King O Malleys.

Something Different Uni Night Thursdays

Over studying and just wanna party!?

We’ve got your Thursday night covered.

Happy hour all night!

BAR 32

Greenfaces: Josh Thomas

Watch amateur comedians battle it out for the biggest laughs.

CANBERRA IRISH CLUB

East Meets West

A melding of minds from each side of Oz. With authors Chris Pash, Jon Doust and Diane Wolfer. $5.

friday august 14 dance Rev

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

BAR 32

Nathan Frost

KNIGHTSBRIDGE PENTHOUSE

Spruce Lee

Aka Jack-Man Lee, out of Modular.

Bouncing, bopping, super fun tracks!

TRINITY BAR

Cheese

Stuff your stilton, forget your fromage, we’ve just got ‘80s cheese, baby. And it’s free.

TRANSIT BAR

Live Token View

Tix at the door.

ANU BAR AND REFECTORY

Grafton Primary

On their Records for the Righteous tour.

With Casette Kids and Hey Now DJs. Tix through inthemix.au .

ACADEMY NIGHTCLUB

Winter Wonderland Urban Music Festival

Aimed at motivating young Aussies to make positive and healthy lifestyle choices. Under 18s.

UCU REFECTORY

Toe to Toe

With Mid-Youth Crisis and Sperm Birds.

Yep, you heard right.

THE BASEMENT

Fallsuit Theory

With Astrochem, Lights Out, A Nightime Sky and So Long Safety. $6. Drug and alcohol free.

WODEN YOUTH CENTRE

The Bridge Between Q GOLF CLUB

The Chuffs

With Teen Skank Parade.

Waterford

BOGONG THEATRE, GORMAN HOUSE ARTS CENTRE

THE PHOENIX PUB

Karaoke

Merry Fest

WESLEY MUSIC CENTRE

CUBE NIGHTCLUB

THE MERRY MUSE

Something Different

PJ O’REILLY’S, CIVIC

With Old Ace.

Wednesday Lunchtime Live

Theresa Rayner (Bright Voices Singing Studio). $2 entry. Refreshments $1.

$5 Night @ Transit

2 pizzas and a pint $15 all day.

POT BELLY BAR

Cash prizes and 2 for 1 basic spirits and tap beer. DJ Peter Dorree from 11pm – 5am with FREE pool.

A local mini-festival featuring a crosssection of music, poetry slam and spoken word.

Carry On Karaoke

The Ken Awesome Show

Karaoke With Grant

KING O’MALLEY’S, CIVIC

PJ O’REILLY’S, TUGGERANONG

Totally awesome dude. Free live music at O’Malley’s.

TRANSIT BAR

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GIG GUIDE August 15 - August 19 Something Different

Jamie

James Moffett in Random Acts of Wrongness

THE BASEMENT

Direct from The St Kilda Laughs Festival. Tickets $25 full / $20 concession.

THE STREET THEATRE

Pink Party

Celebrate Pink’s arrival in Canberra.

Dress in pink for free entry. With DJ Peter Doree.

CUBE NIGHTCLUB

saturday august 15

With System Addict.

Peter Harrison BEYOND Q BOOKS

Woodstock 40th Anniversary Tribute Gig

Locals playing the music of Joan Baez, Janis Joplin, Creedence and more. Tix through Moshtix.

WHITE EAGLE POLISH CLUB

Hoodlum Shouts

Triple J Unearthed feature artists launch their debut EP. Don’t miss this one..

THE PHOENIX PUB

The Bridge Between

Trilogy Tour

Feat. Dukes of Windsor, Trial Kennedy and Midnight Youth. Tix through Ticketek.

ANU BAR AND REFECTORY

Parkway Drive

With August Burns Red (USA) and Architects (UK). Tix $33.36 through moshtix.

SOUTHERN CROSS WODEN BASKETBALL STADIUM

NewActon’s Mini Music Festival With Victor Valdes, Craig Williams, Supernova, Chasing Rabbits, Milonga Dance, Annie and more!

NEW ACTON PRECINCT

Arts

ASTOR HOTEL

Sunday Sessions

Nick Cave: The Exhibition

Something Different

THE HUSH LOUNGE, PHILLIP

Discover the sources of his iconic vision through lyrics, notebooks, artworks and more. ‘Til Nov 29.

NATIONAL LIBRARY OF AUSTRALIA

Arc Scinema: Moon Shots

Universe & Cape Canaveral Monsters (1960, PG). Celebrating space in cinema!

ARC CINEMA, NATIONAL FILM & SOUND ARCHIVE

Arc: Southeast Asian Rock Docs Kantata Takwa and Sleepwalking Through the Mekong (2007, 18+). Pop culture in Indonesia and Cambodia.

James Moffett in Random Acts of Wrongness Direct from The St Kilda Laughs Festival. Tickets $25 full / $20 concession.

THE STREET THEATRE

DAY PLAY Gorman House Markets GORMAN HOUSE

Burley Griffin Antique Centre KINGSTON FORESHORE

ARC CINEMA, NATIONAL FILM & SOUND ARCHIVE

Dance

sunday august 16 Arts

Shakedown!

Indie, alt, dance and electro with residents Skullss, Veda, Celebrity Sextape, Relay and M.E.R. $5.

BAR 32

TRANSIT BAR

Walkover (18+). By the Polish newwave master.

Arc: Jerzy Skolimowski

They tell us he’s world famous.

ARC CINEMA, NATIONAL FILM & SOUND ARCHIVE

Ruby Rose and Ritty

Dance

ACADEMY NIGHTCLUB

Cube Sunday

KNIGHTSBRIDGE PENTHOUSE

With Chris Fraser.

Candy Cube

DJs Peter Dorree and Matt Chavasse.

CUBE NIGHTCLUB

Party on after the weekend is over with DJ TJ from 10 ‘til late. Free pool.

CUBE NIGHTCLUB

Live

Live

Sunday Sessions: Dos Locos

Synperium

With Punishment, Norse and Tortured. $10.

From 5-9pm.

ALL BAR NUN

ANU BAR AND REFECTORY

KARNIVOOL JEBEDIAH

OUT aug 19

snob scrilla THE BEAUTIFUL iiiGIRLS TYDI ART VS. SCIENCE AND MORE!

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A benefit concert for L’Arche Genesaret featuring acclaimed pianist Robert Schmidli.

WESLEY MUSIC CENTRE

something different Hospitality Night

Featuring Univibes DJs. TRANSIT BAR

TNT: Tuesday Night Tunes (Karaoke)

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

TRANSIT BAR

Science and Scientists in the National Portrait Gallery

With Dr Andrew Sayers, Director of the NPG. Bookings: 6246 4646. Free, seats limited. national portrait gallery

wednesday august 19

The Bridge Between

Arts

Ed Patrick

Mark T Lemon: Space Movies.

Celebrating space in cinema!

GUNDAROO WINE BAR

With Ashley Mannix.

FOLKUS ROOM - ITALO AUSTRALIAN CLUB

PINK

Funhouse Tour. Tickets through Ticketek. www.ticketek.com.au .

AIS ARENA

Something Different Irish Jam Session

Come and have a fiddle.

KING O’MALLEY’S, CIVIC

Arc: Bert Haanstra

Vinyl Only

Frankie Madrid

Robert Schmidli in Concert

Program 2. Haanstra is Dutch cinema’s Oscar winning doco maker.

ARC CINEMA, NATIONAL FILM & SOUND ARCHIVE

Dub and reggae, funk and soul, hip-hop and party tunes entirely on wax.

Live music from 1pm.

tuesday august 18

monday august 17 dance Hospitality Night

Featuring Univibes DJs. TRANSIT BAR

Live Phoenix Bootlegs

With David Bath and The Hot-Tubs.

Presented by Cardboard Charlie. Free entry.

THE PHOENIX PUB

Arc Scinema: Moon Shots

ARC CINEMA, NATIONAL FILM & SOUND ARCHIVE

Live Wednesday Lunchtime Live

Terry Lam and Melody Zhang performing piano solo and four hands for piano. $2 entry.

WESLEY MUSIC CENTRE

Something Different $5 Night @ Transit

2 pizzas and a pint $15 all day.

TRANSIT BAR

Candy Cube

DJs Peter Dorree and Matt Chavasse.

CUBE NIGHTCLUB

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photo: john hatfieldw

SIDE A: BMA band profile

I EXIST

Where did your name come from?

Jake’s mouth… killer.

Group Members: Jake (vocals), Aaron (guitar), Sam (guitar), Alex (bass) and Simon (drums).

Describe your sound:

Gibson SGs, ride cymbals, bass overdrive and five part harmonies.

Who are your influences musical or otherwise?

ISludge, hardcore, ‘90s death metal, crust and organised religion.

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

Guitar pedals turning into stage pyrotechnics/band members having out of body experiences.

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

People coming out to see us live.

What are your plans for the future?

We have a 7” record coming out soon on Midnight Funeral Records titled Three Nails and a Book of Flaws and a bunch of shows with awesome bands.

What makes you laugh?

My mate Snake, 1/50 get on it, Naggers.

What pisses you off?

People who don’t like feedback and sludge riffs.

What’s your opinion of the local scene?

Going very strong. Dead Kings, Pod People, Vera, Jerk Store, Carcass Brains; all raging bands, good shows happening.

Canberra is doing really well.

Upcoming gigs: Saturday August 1 at Blacktown PCYC w/ Dead Kings, Shinto Katana + more.

Sunday August 2 at Lake Illawarra PCYC w/ Dead Kings, Shinto Katana + more.

Thursday August 6 at Richmond w/ Dead Kings + more.

Contact info: www.myspace.com/iexistmusic is the best place to get us, check out some songs while you’re there.

FIRST CONTACT 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 DJ Bricksta, Luke 0423 862 809, djbricksta@gmail.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 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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