BMA Mag 304 25 Jun 2008

THREE04 June 26.08

ALSO INSIDE: THE FUTUREHEADS, TIN ALLEY, SHOCKONE, SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE LIVE TOUR AND MORE!

bma magazine

bma magazine

FREE STUFF In the words of Muscles: "Wooo!

Yeah! Wooo! Yeah!" Free stuff: we've got it, you want it, we're gonna give it to you. Send you answers to: editorial@bmamag.com and we'll see what we can do.

Great Southern Land Australia: The Lucky Country, a sunburnt land, and now the name of the new Gyroscope tour and single. That’s right, the Gyros’ are hitting the highways and byways of our great nation and will be performing on Tuesday September 2 at the ANU Bar. If that’s not enough to pry you away from your heater, what would you say if I threw in a little bit of Shihad? That got your attention, didn’t it? And finally, to really sweeten the deal, how about some local WA upstarts Sugar Army? C’mon people! We have two double-passes up for grabs to go and see this smorgasbord of rockin’ goodness. To win one, tell us what Australia means to you.

For the rest of you, tickets are on sale now through Ticketek.

Iiiii Waaaannnaaa beeeee, Anaaarchyyy!

Six vocalists, five infectiouslycatchy songs, three producers, one act: Koshowko! Indie label Las Machinas has just unveiled the first showing from Australian electro-pop outfit Koshowko in the from of the Anarchy Monarchy EP. This tidy little six-tracker takes you on a journey from the extremely catchy It’s Time Now to the cheeky discorock anthem (Hu)mannequin to the retro electro-infused The Story to the dub influenced Whispers, which is infused by chilled out sax. The EP draws to a close with a hawt remix of The Story by Nicole Skeltys, she formally of electronic groups B(if )tek (who formed in good ol’ Canberra) and Artificial. Koshowko is the musical brainchild of Polish born Martin K, a philosopher turned music producer and a man with eclectic musical tastes, his EP case in point. To win a copy, tell us what you thin Koshoko means.

The EP is also available via iTunes or www.myspace.com/koshowko .

The Devil At Your Heels Simultaneously warm, yet tragic, The Devil at Your Heels chronicles a period in the life of stuntman Ken Carter, with specific attention given to his controversial non-attempt to jump a rocket powered car over the St Lawrence River (a distance of one mile) in 1981. With serious publicity and financial backing placing heavy pressure on Carter, he plans and abandons the jump several times (much to the disdain of his

financiers) before he is tricked into leaving town, allowing another driver, Kenny Powers, to take the jump in his place. The spectacular failure of the stunt and the consequential backlash is captured here in stark detail.

Thanks to Shock, we have five copies of the DVD to win. For your chance to get involved, tell us the stupidest stunt you’ve pulled.

Get Reel The Madman Reelanime roadshow, showcasing Japan’s freshest and brightest anime, will roll into Dendy during July 3 to 16, and an exciting menagerie of animated delights await. Four films will front the fest; Appleseed Ex Machina, produced by master of the bullet ballet John Woo and based on the popular sci-fi Manga, Vexille, about a USA-driven special force unit bursting through Japan’s ultra magnetic shield in an attempt to investigate their robotic technology, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, a film that does exactly what it says on the tin, and brought to you by the same team behind Princess Mononoke and The Grave of the Fireflies, and finally, and perhaps most excitingly of all Batman: Gotham Knight, brought to you by six of Japan’s most revered directors and featuring villainous turns from lesser known nemesi Scarecrow, Killer Croc and Deadshot. To celebrate the roadshow’s arrival, Madman have given us a pack comprising Appleseed (original film), Laputa: Castle In The Sky and Death Note Vol. 1. To be in the running, tell us about an animated discussion you’ve had recently.

Southern Parklife 2D cut ‘n’ paste animation enthusiasts and puerile schoolboy humorists alike will rejoice in the knowledge that the three-episode epic South Park: Imaginationland is coming to DVD this month. In this never-before-seen, completely uncensored director’s cut, the doors of the world’s imagination are thrown wide open and the boys of South Park are transported to a magical realm in their greatest odyssey ever. After terrorists launch an attack that unleashes all of mankind’s most evil characters imaginable, the government prepares to nuke Imaginationland to put an end to the chaos. Racing against time to prevent nuclear annihilation, the citizens of Imaginationland realise their only hope of salvation lies in the mind of the unlikeliest hero: Butters. To grab a copy, tell us about a heroic feat you carried out.

Greene-ing Australia Perennial touring man Paul Greene’s got a new LP out.

Titled Distance Over Time, it showcases the man’s phenomenal songwriting skills and also proves him a deft hand at musical reinterperatation – covering The Waterboys’ classic The Whole Of The Moon and Jeff Buckley’s Last Goodbye. He’ll be at the Pot Belly in Belconnen on Thursday July 3 - more info on that on page 10 and to wet the proverbial whistle, we’ve a couple of his LPs to give away. To win one, just tell us what tune you’d cover.

STRUTH BE TOLD THINGS ON E-BAY I SHOULDN’T HAVE BID ON Nine-volt dual motion novelty chin massager (still in box).

Rage. The Complete First Series. 900 VHS set.

Johnny Cash endorsed casserole dish with patented ‘ring of fire’ technology.

Five speed motorised beanbag (some damage).

Novelty t-shirt ‘I’m a few Ps short of a degree – University of Canberra’.

Complete set of ‘great moments in illegal drag racing’ commemorative stamps.

Vintage bag of assorted rocks dated to Jurassic era. Authentic!

(Paperwork missing).

Laminated Daryl Somers promotional poster (some damage, including signature).

Burnt purple three piece corduroy suit (allow three weeks for postage and three decades for fashion).

Set of talking Knight Rider coasters. Put your coffee down and hear KITT say “Careful Michael it’s hot.”

Britney Spears board game (pieces missing).

Pair of antique speakers (Harry and Irma Carter, good to go – will talk about war, religion or petrol prices).

Antique Amstrad CPC 464 computer. Comes with joystick, monitor and 50 games – some still loading (64k memory can be emailed).

Vintage Charles and Diana commemorative dinner set (will separate).

Copy of self-help book I’m okay, You’re okay (as is).

JUSTIN HEAZLEWOOD www.bedroomphilosopher.com

NEWS Man of Constant Sorrow Much-loved Australian rockers The Black Sorrows, led by the inimitable Joe Camilleri (former Jo Jo Zep and The Falcons frontman), are hitting the road after wrapping up the recording of their first DVD, Four Days In Sing Sing. The band booked Melbourne’s Sing Sing Studios, invited a few friends ‘round and blasted through a bunch of tunes, both old and new, that they love playing at gigs - all with minimal retakes and no overdubs. The release continues the Sorrow’s newfound momentum, following 2006’s Roarin Town LP which, with its intoxicating mix of joyous, uplifting music and heartbreaking songs about love gone wrong, recalls the Sorrows’ best work. They stop by the Viking’s Club on Thursday June 26, before making their way to the fabled Rooty Hill RSL and then onwards around the country. Head to www.theblacksorrows.com.au for more info.

“No other Australian musician has had a career quite like Joe Camilleri. He’s like one of those fighters who, when you feel they are down for the count, suddenly jump to their feet and come back punching as though they have just stepped into the ring.” Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney.

Birds, You Really Got Me Going Ladies and gentlemen, children, and bored retirees, behold the new Birds Love Fighting online zine. Just when you thought we didn’t have enough hours in the day, we’ve proved you wrong by staying up all night long with a pot of tea, a good book and some scrappy CSS and have built for you a little internest (get it? Inter-nest?! HAHA). So now you don’t need to have Myspace or Facebook to know what’s going on!

Amazing! See it at www.birdslovefighting.com! The Front Gallery for the next month is a pocket of shows not to be missed. Laura Jean and Grand Salvo will be reclining on those Front couches playing some gorgeous tunes on Saturday July 5. Following this some awesome hip-hop and trip-hop with Subketch and Jonny Telafone laying it down on Tuesday July 8. Did someone say Gangbusters?! No? Oh well, here’s what’s on…

Popolice genius is tagging along on tour with Little Pictures (NZ) so come along for some sweet ass pop and roll on Thursday July 3. The following Gangbusters sees something a bit wild with Tomas Ford in cahoots with Dead Kitten Parade flipping the switches on tape delays and reverb on Thursday July 19. This, of course, is all at Bar 32. Until next time, check out www.birdslovefighting.com for more info on shows.

It’s Not Rocket Sci… Oh Wait, Yes it Is! Eardrums are probably still ringing from Rocket Science’s early evening set at last year’s Stonefest, which saw the sun retreat from the sky in the face of such a blistering display of raw rock ‘n’ roll fury. So invest in earplugs now, people, as the quartet are bursting out of the garage with a fourth slab of tunes, pressed to disc and collected under the banner Different Like You for your listening pleasure. Recorded by the band themselves, the LP defiantly quashes any speculation that Rocket Science may have called it a day. It’s easily some of their best work, straddling genres and imbued with a sense of conviction that only true rock ‘n’ rollers can pass off. The band will be playing selections from the album, along with old favourites, on Saturday August 30 at The Greenroom, with special guests to be announced. Do join them.

The Continuing Adventures of Melanie Horsnell Charged by a recent tour of the US and Europe, Melanie Horsnell has returned home and will be bringing her delightful and insightful songs to a town near you. She certainly made an impression overseas: Europe adores her debut album The Adventures Of, which is a staple on French radio, while in the US she was invited to perform at the 2007 CMJ Music Marathon in New York. Performances are set to include new songs from Melanie’s upcoming second album release Complicated Sweetheart, as well as favourites from her heart-warming debut record. Joining Melanie on the Mary Mary tour will be the soulful guitarist George Rigatos, Cuthbert and the Nightwalkers’s Brendan Walsh on bass, and The Saints’ Iain Sheddon on drums. She'll be at the Holy Grail in Kingston on Thursday July 3.

Do the Evilution In super-fast heavy news, two of Sydney’s current crop of quality heavy metal acts are taking their metal to The Greenroom this Saturday June 28. Power-metallers Darker Half and death metal youngsters Anno Domini will be joined by ACT locals Taliesin and Templestowe for a quality night of melodic and brutal heavy metal! It all kicks off at 8pm, for a slim $10 entry. Loudly and proudly presented by Metal Evilution.

The Sweet Escape The Great Escape festival returns over the NSW Labour Day Long Weekend on October 4 and 5. The line-up boasts a mouth-watering mix of local and international talent, including former Pixie Black Francis (USA), the Bright-Eyed Conor Oberst with his Mystic Valley Band (USA), Canadian indie supergroup The New Pornographers (Canada), those scamps Supergrass (UK), full-throttle rockers The Mess Hall, and shoegazing sisters theredsunband. Also on the bill is Yeasayer (USA), The Panics, British India, We are Scientists (USA), C.W. Stoneking, Ladytron (UK), Blue King Brown, Paul Kelly, The Galvatrons, Joan as Policewoman (USA), Lior, Pikelet, Yves Klein Blue, Jackson Jackson, Little Red, John Steel Singers, The Seabellies, The E.L.F., Firekites, Laura Jean, Cassette Kids, Wons Phreely, The Scientists of Modern Music, The Holidays, Whitley, Spod, Plug in City, with more to be announced. The setting is again the Newington Armory, Sydney.

Built in 1897 and a former World War II naval armament, its 52 hectares of riverside, undulating hills, woodlands and ye olde buildings will ably accommodate the hoardes of punters and musicians flocking to the fest.

Tickets go on sale Wednesday July 9 through Ticketek, Moshtix, www. fasterlouder.com.au and www.thegreatescape.net.au . Early bird tickets are a steal at $180 plus BF, including camping.

AND ANOTHER THING...

I’ve been drowning in a sea of sports statistics recently (for those of you who care, my ‘real’ job involves what is nowadays known as the provision of ‘sports information’ for use by punters in betting shops), and I needed a change of scenery. So, having established that England were getting royally buggered by the All Blacks in Auckland, I headed out to the highway. My good chum Mo Mayhem of the Hell City Glamours was in town, albeit not in his usual capacity as leading tighttrousered provider of rock; oh no, this time Señor Mayhem was to grace the stage as fill-in axeman for the Casino Rumblers at the inaugural Capital City Punkfest at The Basement in Belco, and, as these cudchewing chances don’t get thrown up too frequently, I had to be there.

Stopping off only to whet the whistle at Canberra’s award-winning live entertainment venue the Transit Bar, where some form of catastrophe had rendered the Stella unfit for human (or even my) consumption, I made it to The Basement at about nine. It’s a venue that’s starting to get a reputation – even unto my palatial southside abode – as a place worth going to for an exciting night out, and the floors are indeed agreeably sticky underfoot, which means something is being done right. And, perhaps most importantly for a ‘punkfest’ – there is cider available on draught at the bar.

Ah, cider. Despite the fact that when I arrive, ACT punk stalwarts the Bladder Spazzms are avoiding the fact that it isn’t 1985 anymore with a manful singlemindedness that is, frankly, invigorating (their repeated attacks on the straight edge lifestyle and the Pope of dourness, Fugazi’s Ian Mackaye, were particularly amusing), it wasn’t the snub-nosed brutality of their crossover assault that left my mouth watering and my mind twitching back to the heady days of Circle Jerks shows at the Klub Foot in Hammersmith – it was the cider. And the fact that there was a bloke walking around picking fag ends off the floor, inspecting them and then pocketing them for later use if they looked to have a promising tobacco content. Now that’s punk, matey…

But I digress. Cider is, or was in my day at least, the punk drink of choice, especially in its more refined, ‘chemical’ forms. We used to drink one called Diamond White, which despite toting a strength of 8.2% by volume, cost the equivalent of a bag of crisps for industrial quantities of the stuff. Binge drinkers? Christ on a bike, they’d shit their pants and soil their pink polo shirts if they were asked to consume this in place of their designer ‘alcopops’. It was perfectly clear in colour, like the duplicating fluid they used to make the school ‘banda’ machine work its magic, and it came equipped with a smell which got to you before the taste and made your eyes water like you’d just come out, victorious, natch, of an eight-hour charity onion-peeling competition. But it got the job done, sir, and no mistake.

Sorry, I got sidetracked again. Where was I? Oh yes, the Punkfest. Brilliant, and great to see such a goodly turn out to boot. The organisers are looking at making it a yearly institution, and they certainly get my vote, whatever that’s worth. What an absolute pleasure it was to blow the cobwebs out with some bona fide ROCK music of the highest order, in the company of one of the finest guitarists this parched land has to offer, with a cider at hand. As Kurt would have had it, Nirvana.

YOU PISSED ME OFF

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 GENUINE SPELLINGS.

To all the pigs at shopping centre food courts that leave their rubbish for someone else to clean up, you DISGUST me. What do you think it is, a fucking gourmet restaurant? Use your common sense for once!

Do you really enjoy having to sit next to some kids mushed up half eaten happy meal or move someone else’s filthy slimy rubbish so you can use one of the scarce free tables? Did you notice that rubbish bin? You know, the one within arms lengh from your table, or the one that nearly nearly tripped up your inconsiderate forethought lacking dumb arse as you wandered from your table. You’re not the only person in world so clean up your fucking mess.

Yeah, you pissed me off you dumb shithole Canberrans!! I went to one of the best gigs of my life last week and saw the Resin dogs at the ANU. Yeah I was blown away by their sounds, professionlised by their professiolism, and partied like it was 1999, but I live in the knowledge that I’ll never see

them here again. Why? Because you didn’t turn up! I’ve done the maths, and you morons don’t go and see live music, so they won't come back.

To the complete fuckmelt of a human being who felt compelled to destroy my face at wearhouse because i knew someone who said something to your brother. Go fuck yourself and burn in hell. No you’re not built, your just a fat shit with a brain like a brick floor - and only you would shake my hand and hit me. If it wasn’t for the people who actually went to the effort to mail my shit back to me that you took from me i would have hunted down your fat pale arse and inserted another cinder block into your fucking mouth. You gravy chip shitdick, you pissed me off.

To the moron who flooded the ANU bar causing the cancellation of Sebastian Bach’s gig - accident or not - you pissed me off!

(ED: Actually, a rogue spotlight is believed to have been the culprit in this case, so blame technology.

That, and The Man. Always blame the man...)

FROM THE BOSSMAN “It’s good; for a local release.”

Ooooooo! Isn’t that the very epitome of a backhanded compliment? You’ll often see that phrase gingerly sprinkled throughout reviews in “regional” rags (yes, to the big smokes of Sydney and Melbourne, we’re considered regional). Why? Because often – and this is between me and you, right? – the CDs aren’t.

Actually. That. Good. But launching into some tirade about how this abortion of a CD isn’t worth the excrement it’s slathered in doesn’t do anyone any good; the band is often poor and struggling, and a review like that could remove them from the music world before they’ve had the chance to hone and improve.

Besides, you might run into them down the pub.

So, it is with great pleasure, and indeed pride, that one can listen to a slew of local releases recently and state “It’s good. Full stop.” This issue, local hip-hop heroes D’Opus & Roshambo adorn the cover, and everyone’s favourite octet The Casual Projects scoop our album of the issue, and that’s not because of the veritable parade of sexual favours offered. It doesn’t stop there, Canberra. The Variodivers, The Haunted Attics and The Chuffs have all represented our region magnificently through solid albums. And there’s still Pod People and Cool Weapon LPs to go.

SCOTT ADAMS

So swell your chest (I said chest, dammit) people; this is one regional area with big ideas, and a big heart. Still no cash, though.

thirtyyearsofrnr@hotmail.com

ALLAN “CAUGHT IN THE ACT” SKO

bma :: Issue304 www.bmamag.com "bma: you'd better run, egg!"

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.

COVER PHOTO BY COLE BENNETTS

Fax: 02 6257 4361 Mail: PO Box 713 Civic Square, ACT 2608 Publisher Scott Layne General Manager & Advertising Manager Allan Sko: T: (02) 6257 4360 E: advertising@bmamag.com Editor Peter Krbavac: T: (02) 6257 4456 E: editorial@bmamag.com Accounts Manager Fahim Shahnoor : T: (02) 6247 4816 E: accounts@bmamag.com

Super Sub Editor Julia Winterflood Graphic Design Jessica Condi Editorial Assistant Ben Hermann Film Editor Mark Russell Principal Photographers (The Flashbulb Posse) Andrew Mayo/Nick Brightman/John Hatfield Issue 305 Out July 10 Editorial Deadline June 27 Advertising Deadline July 3

bma magazine

TIDBITS WHO paul greene WHAT MARRIED TO THE ROAD WHERE the pot belly WHEN thu july 3

Phrases such as ‘road warrior’ get tossed in the direction of anyone who plays a couple of shows within a month, but Paul Greene is a troubadour who’s truly earned such a title.

Not content with his already rigorous touring schedule, the man’s added even more dates to the diary, stopping by our fair Pot Belly on July 3. Greene’s latest LP Distance Over Time, which recently hit number one on the iTunes Blues & Roots Chart, displays his increasingly sharp songwriting nous, justifying the many critics who regard him as one of Australian music’s best-kept secrets. It also features his reinterpretations of The Waterboys’ classic The Whole Of The Moon (a “great version,” stated The Waterboys’ Mike Scott, before praising Greene for his amazing vocals), and Jeff Buckley’s Last Goodbye. Cutting a staunchly independent path, Greene’s sold nigh on 30,000 albums locally; played countless festivals, bar rooms and concert halls across Australia; won the approval of John Butler, The Waifs, Ani DiFranco and Ben Harper, who penned Diamonds On The Inside about him; and joined up with Midnight Oil’s Rob Hirst for the Hirst and Greene project. Now's your chance to catch a genuine talent in an intimate setting, so don't miss it!

WHO LAURA JEAN & GRAND SALVO WHAT HIGHLY-REGARDED MELB FOLKSTERS WHERE THE FRONT, LYNEHAM WHEN SAT JULY 5

Last seen in Canberra in late 2007 dueting on stage with Snow Patrol, Laura Jean is back and, with The Eden Land Band, touring her quietly beautiful second album Eden Land. Since her debut Swan Song, Laura Jean has attracted interest both nation wide and overseas, and Eden Land proves the quality of her music is consistent. Weaving together subtle blend of effortless story-telling with music of an ethereal nature seems to be Laura Jean’s specialty, and her new album is laden with it. A concept album, it travels poignantly through themes such as love and religion, backed by a plethora of instruments, resulting in well-crafted listen. Accompanying her to Canberra is Grand Salvo, who has just released his new album entitled Death. Both musicians produce music that humbly boasts delicate vocals and vivid lyrics, creating an entire atmosphere in their songs. The evening kicks off around 8pm on the 5th of July at The Front Gallery in Lyneham. $7 entry. CHIARA GRASSIA

WHO MARK DYNAMIX WHAT ELECTRO-HOUSE DON WHERE MONKEY BAR WHEN SAT JULY 12

The last time I spoke to Aussie electro-house juggernaut Mark Dynamix, which admittedly was some three-and-a-half years ago now, he gleefully revealed he has amassed a record collection surpassing 20,000 in number. God only know what figure the musical maniac has got to now. But that’s our Mark for you; wholly committed to his music, and ensuring he’s suitably equipped so that no two sets are the same. “Each crowd needs a different set,” he enthuses. “I want them to experience what I experience when I hear a track for the first time, that feeling when a song is so awesome you get off on it. I want to open some people’s minds, open new doors for them, musically. Educate and entertain through music.

But, when it all boils down, you want to play tracks that make the crowd go nuts.” Dynamix will be helping to further bolster the newly established Monkey Bar’s already burgeoning roster with his eclectic musical menagerie. So be sure to get along and scuff up those nice new dance floorboards. ALLAN “‘AVING IT LARGE” SKO

WHO MOH VAN WAH, ZERO DEGREES, BLACKLIST, LOUD SO CLEAR, DJs STUNAMI & CRANKEE WHAT INFECTION: ROCK VS DJS WHERE THE BASEMENT WHEN SAT JUNE 27

The history books are littered with tales of epic struggles. David vs Goliath, art vs commerce, Oasis vs Blur, bros vs hoes… And so another epic battle will play itself out at The Basement this Friday, when a motley assortment of local bands and DJs will step up and duke it out - proverbially, of course - for musical supremacy. Old hands Moh Van Wah, who’ve hit the local gigging circuit again with a vengeance, will lend their psychedelic rock swirlings to proceedings. Likewise, Zero Degrees and Falling, will also emerge from the gloom of the rehearsal room to give the faithful a taste of their forthcoming CD. Big things are afoot, so we hear. Blacklist, who've generated an impressive local following after only a handful of shows, will be plying their classic hard rock sound on the night, while Loud so Clear round out the bill. On the DJ front, Stunami and Crankee will be manning the wheels of steel, giving as good as they get. Be at Infection to witness witness the sonic bloodbath that’s sure to ensue. From 8pm, $10 entry.

WHO BUSHIDO & SLEEP PARADE WHAT MELB PROG-ROCK HEAVYWEIGHTS WHERE THE GREENROOM WHEN THU JULY 10

It’s been a pleasing year for local prog-rock enthusiasts, with some of the genre’s biggest names - including The Butterfly Effect, Dead Letter Circus and Cog – sweeping through town. And it’s a trend that only looks set to continue, with two of Melbourne’s premier genre exponents, Bushido and Sleep Parade, teaming up for an arse-quaking double bill.

Sleep Parade have just dusted off three weeks on Cog’s Sharing Space tour, and before that, a national support for UK prog legends Porcupine Tree. Their debut LP Things Can Always Change wowed fans and critics alike, Beat Magazine stating “Sleep Parade have evolved into a heavyweight contender on the Australian prog-rock scene. A Flawless, world-class album.”

Bushido too are primed, coming off east coast tours with Karnivool , Many Machines on Nine and Dead Letter Circus and pre-production for their debut album. Beat gives ‘em the thumbs up too, declaring them “one of our nation’s greatest live acts.” Presented by ozprog.com, and rounded out by local purveyors of low-end riffage Escape Syndrome, this is a show not to be missed. Doors 8pm, $10 entry.

WHO ALL THE UG REGULARS WHAT UG BEATS' SIXTH BIRTHDAY WHERE TRANSIT BAR WHEN SAT JULY 4

Well slap me sideways with a sausage and call me Cumberland; it’s the Ug Beats Sixth Birthday Bash! Proudly proclaiming “we don’t know how we made it this far either”, Ug Beats has always been about surfing dance music’s eclectic side and having a jolly good night out with chums in the process. As co-founder and perennial performer Alistair Erskine told me years ago: “It’s not about mixing, it’s about a bunch of people getting together to listen to good music in a bar.” Aptly enough, this simple concept was birthed at 7 Akuna Street, the very place it celebrates six mascara-smeared years, although it wasn’t the Transit Bar back then. Ug has called Aree Bar, Church Bar and Toast its home, but this year sees it blow out the candles at Transit with Ug long-timer Bec Paton returning from Sydney for a spin, as well as regulars Jemist, Alistair, Miss Universe, Not You and Pornstylus.

Entry is free, so slip on your birthday suit, slap a fat ass, and slop. ALLAN SKO

7 Akuna St

Canberra City

ALL SHOWS FREE ENTRY

PH/FAX 6162 0899 / transitbar@gmail.com | www.myspace.com/transitbar bma magazine

11

p o t s t ' n a c won't stop

D'Opus: "We’re trying to step away from that, create the new Aussie hip-hop."

Roshambo: "Just new music, you know? We played it pretty safe with the first one.

This time we wanted to naturally let things progress and push the boundaries a bit."

Luke McGrath It’s been two years since D’OPUS AND ROSHAMBO (Ross Garrett and Rowan Thomas to their mums) dropped their debut EP The Question. In that time, they’ve shared stages with both international and national acts like Cut Chemist, Blackalicious, Z-Trip, The Herd and Macromantics. All the while, they have also been working on their debut full length The Switch, a labour of love that has pushed their music and their friendship to the limit. After such an extended gestation, and with the record being released on June 28, I ask them how excited they are about seeing the finish line. Rowan pauses before laughing and blurting out, “It’s an anticlimax! Only because it’s taken longer than what we expected, but there is a definite sense of achievement. It’s not so much excitement about it coming out but what that now means - it now gives us the opportunity to do other things.”

Stating the album is akin to local food emporium Roll’s Choice (“overall it’s expensive and tasteful but you know you get value for money!”), Ross elaborates that, “it’s been a massive journey for me as well as Rowan, but for me in production [especially]. I really grew as a producer - for the last release, I was just having a stab. Now I have an ear for how things really should sound.”

The Switch is a fully-formed musical work, incorporating a unique mix of hip-hop, drum ‘n’ bass, jazz and funk - a world away from your standard notions of Australian hip-hop, and even from the group’s previous recordings. “We’re trying to step away from that, create the new Aussie hip-hop, I guess,” Ross says. “Just new music, you know?” clarifies Rowan.

“We played it pretty safe with the first one. This time we wanted to naturally let things progress and push the boundaries a bit. I think we did it, I still think we’re going to do it [more in the future]”.

While some MCs may have floundered against the more unusual arrangements, it was quite the opposite for Rowan: “All the more straight-up beats that Ross made were the ones I didn’t want. I was picking stuff that I thought was more interesting.” Thankfully, Rowan’s intricate lyrics and dextrous delivery are up to the task: “I like words, I like the sound of words,” says Rowan. “Damn straight, he never shuts up!” laughs Ross. “I’m a show-off as well, and I like the sound of my own voice, it was only natural that I became a rapper…” Rowan says, grinning.

Their willingness to experiment and not be confined to stereotypes like so many of their peers (“Good music is good music - it’s like reading books. The more stuff you absorb, the better you can do it for yourself,” says Rowan) is nowhere more evident than on their collaboration with local rock hipsters Hancock Basement on track The Basement. That’s not to say there wasn’t some initial reluctance on pushing so far out of their comfort zone. “In the beginning, I was real hesitant to do it, I wasn’t sure,” says Ross. “I didn’t want it to sound too this or that, I wanted it to still sound like us, but Ro was like ‘Nah, we gotta do it man, it’s gonna be hot.’”

For his part, it turned out entirely different to how Rowan expected as well. “I wanted to do something with guitars, I initially wanted to do a whole tune with just acoustic guitars and no drum beats. I envisaged the song with them would turn out mellow like Handsome Boy Modelling School, but when they came over they were like ‘Oh, we want to do some Michael Jackson shit!’” The Basement represents a new direction for both groups, sounding like a funkier Cut Copy, or like something that might appear on a DFA comp.

Alongside Hancock Basement, and with the notable exception of US rapper Supastition, the album is heavy with local Canberra talent, including collabs with Minky Faber, Carts2Deadly and Axe Aklins. At a time when every ACT act is hell-bent on leaving the Territory, it’s refreshing to hear a group talk enthusiastically about their home city.

“We love it, we love the people that live here - they’re our friends and we’ve built everything around this place and these venues and we wouldn’t give it up for quids. We are happy here and we’re very blessed to have all these people that will work with us,” says Ross. “Koolism won an ARIA before they left Canberra,” chimes in Rowan, citing further proof against the perception that you have to leave Canberra to ‘make it’. “You don’t get sidetracked by all that shit that goes on in a big city,” Ross continues. “It gives us the time to be able to do music properly and gives us the headspace as well.”

While there are plenty of moodier cuts on the album, the lads have chosen the more upbeat Million Dollar Bill as the first single. “It’s a positive song, it’s a nice way to come back out and say ‘we’re back doing music again and we wouldn’t be doing that if it wasn’t for where we’d come from and all the friends and support that we have.’ I think it’s important to have a nice re-introduction song to us - it’s catchy and easy to listen to and still head-nodding and banging.”

The idea of a group having to re-introduce themselves with their debut album may seem askew, but this is a group that has been performing together for five years already. “It’s funny, ‘cause we’ve played shows with a lot of these other younger kids who already have records out. Even though it’s our first full length record, I feel like we are old granddaddies!” Despite their veteran status, don’t expect these guys to be retiring anytime soon. Or as Rowan puts it, “we have no choice in doing it, ‘cause we like doing it so much, we can’t not do it.”

The album The Switch is out on the June 28 through Shogun Records. Help the boys launch it on Saturday July 5 at the ANU Bar, with support by local faves Axe Aklins with Bagdad and Carts2Deadly, as well as Sydney’s Scott Burns alongside Newcastle’s Mathmatics. Doors open at 9pm, tickets are $15/$10 students on the door. The album will be available on the night on CD, as well as on limited edition 12”vinyl.

the odd couple Josh Brown Digesting Coke and chocolate simultaneously. Drinking orange juice straight after you’ve brushed your teeth. Wearing a fluoro shirt to a metal show. All things that don’t go well with one another, no? Well, on first observation, that’s how one might categorise the pairing of ISOBEL CAMPBELL AND MARK LANEGAN. Before hearing the duo sing in sweet harmony together on their new album, Sunday At Devil Dirt, I would have agreed. On paper, Campbell’s winsome, soothing higher tones seem like they would be an awful match for the low, gravely edge of Lanegan’s world-weary voice. Yet somehow it works.

When prompted, Campbell herself is at a loss to explain the strange combination. “It’s really weird, our voices blend really well. I didn’t really realise how much until I was mixing the record, and I just realised we have this really good blend when we’re singing.”

Campbell, a former member of indie twee-pop group Belle and Sebastian, explains how exactly she and former Screaming Trees/ occasional Queens of the Stone Age frontman Lanegan came together in the first place.

“To be honest, looking back, it was really quite random,” she laughs.

“I’ve always been such a fan of Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra and I knew that I had a light voice. In the back of my mind I was always on the lookout for someone with a low, dark voice and in about 2002-03 I said to my boyfriend at the time, ‘I need a low voice,’ and he said ‘check out this guy.’ He played me something and I was all ‘oooh, yeahhh…’ so I just completely blindly sent Mark a half-written song. Then two months later he called me up and he’s like ‘I’ve written the melody’ and he’d written lyrics as well. I spoke to him on the phone and he’d finished this song and sang it down the phone to me. Then a couple of months later he was in town with Queens of the Stone Age and I went along to meet him then.” The rest is history.

Lanegan is not the nicest bloke in rock, so the story goes. He has a reputation for being the dark, brooding, formidable type that you don’t want to mess with. Campbell assures me that that portrayal is not always one hundred percent accurate. “He’s always been a gentleman to me,” she confirms. “I know he has that side to him, but he can be very charming when he wants to be. I can vouch for that!” she enthuses. She adds that the pair are on the same page musically and that “I’m quite honest, you know, and I think he’s a bit like that too. So if something we write sounds pretentious and shit we’ll just go ‘oh my god, that’s shit.’”

Sunday At Devil Dirt is not the first time Campbell and Lanegan have met to make beautiful music together. (Oi! Mind out of the gutter, thank you.) This new release follows on the back of the success of their first collaborative effort, Ballad of the Broken Seas, which contained a pleasant mix of acoustic indie folk duets and was released in 2006. The album received critical acclaim and earned the pair a controversial Mercury prize nomination (controversial because Lanegan is American and the award is for British artists only). Not that it should have been that big a deal, considering Campbell is without a doubt the dominant force behind the music.

"I’ve always been such a fan of Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra and I knew that I had a light voice. In the back of my mind I was always on the lookout for someone with a low, dark voice" “It’s totally my baby,” asserts Campbell. “On the last record, Mark wrote one song and I wrote the rest of them on my own. And then with this record I wrote most of them on my own as well.”

Campbell is no stranger to making music on her lonesome. Since her departure from Belle and Sebastian, she has released two full length solo albums and a number of EPs. She decides to sit on the fence over the issue of which setup she likes best - being in a band or being by herself. “At first, [after leaving Belle and Sebastian], it was like ‘oh, will I ever work again?’ But it was really liberating,” she confesses. “With the liberation comes a lot of pros and cons, you know. It is really liberating, especially making the records with Mark. The new one was really hard work for me but to be able to realise a creative vision is just wonderful. I couldn’t hope for any more really. But it’s not always easy. It can be quite tough and sometimes when it’s tough - when there’s no money, when Mark can’t tour for a long time - sometimes when it’s tough I think ‘oh, I wish I was in a band,’ but it does have good points too.”

It’s interesting to note that, despite the fact that Campbell is the one who wears the pants in their musical relationship, so to speak, it is Lanegan who handles most of the lead vocal duties. “I like writing,” she muses.

“It’s one of my favourite parts of the process because I get to go off into my imagination and just explore stories and sculpt away at things. It’s complete escapism. It seems really magical to me, I really like that.”

The creative side of the process, as opposed to the technical side, seems to be Campbell’s forte. “When I’m writing, I’m in my own house and I’m comfortable, it’s private… if you’re in the studio, you’re in the studio with some sweaty engineer who wants to talk about rock bands or you know, the latest… who’s number one. I mean, what do I give a shit about that?” Indeed!

Spending weeks on end cooped up inside a recording studio with chartobsessed sound engineers isn’t exactly Campbell’s idea of fun.“I’ve figured out that engineers that work in studios are all pretty mad. They’re all just locked away all the time, so… it’s quite tough, you know.” Thankfully, the album is now complete and a number of tour dates, sadly so far not including Australia, await Campbell.“I’m so glad my record’s finished and I don’t need to be in the studio for a very long time,” she laughs.

After chatting with Campbell for a good fifteen minutes, it becomes clear that she is an extremely sweet and charming woman. It comes as no surprise that someone like Lanegan would be keen to work with her once again. After all, though they may come from two seemingly very different backgrounds, the formula works. Perhaps next time Slipknot are in town I’ll bust out my bright pink polo shirt… With the collar up, of course.

Sunday at Devil Dirt is out now on V2 through Shock Records. bma magazine 13

ALL AGES

We’re bubbling, from the top, to the very last drop.

I begin with a very warm greeting to you all brothers and sisters. It’s as cold as cold can be. And by the looks of it, it isn’t about to get too much warmer for the time being. It is for this reason that I have grown accustom to everything I own smelling like stale bonfire smoke - that and I have no time to wash my clothes. It is indeed a very, very smelly winter for this young man.

INC. Under 18s is Canberra’s newest underage dance party, touching down this school holidays on Wednesday July 9 at the Holy Grail, Civic for its inaugural bash. DJs Adam and Daz and MC Nate will be providing the beats and rhymes respectively from 7pm to 11pm, promising a giddy blend of house and R&B to cater for all. If this one goes well, there’s sure to be plenty more, so be sure to get along and get on down. Tix are $18.80 + bf from Ticketek and Landspeed.

A very quick shout out to those who are burdened by the ball and chain that is school work. According to everyone I know attending educational facilities, it’s a pretty shit time. In brief, good luck/well done/bad luck.

Well kids, it appears it is slim pickings as far as the all ages shows go.

Which is horrible. However, it does mean you have no choice but to rock up to the shows that are on offer - beggars can’t be choosers.

Luckily for those thirsty for a good old fashion all ages, Friday July 25 will bring us a powerful show from the boys from Surrender when they take to the stage at Lanyon Youthie alongside Ladies and Gentlemen. For those of you who have only heard the name Surrender around, the time is now to get on out to a show. These boys have swept many a bystander - which, seemingly, are always comprised of girls - off their feet and into the venue. Well amount of talent from these lads. Keep an ear out.

Come on now kids, don’t hang your heads too low.

The shows at the moment have appeared to have come to a silent standstill.

Fear not, it’s the quiet before the storm. The future holds more than a few big shows to keep your eye on. There’s word of album/EP launches from a few bands around including So Long Safety and Fistful Of Nothing, and plenty of big ones are sure to rock some freshly washed socks. And please do put yourself out there. If you hear word of a show, promote the shit out of it, even if you hate the band. It’s a fact that there are probably 20 billion bands in Canberra that would love a show - the only way that can happen is if we all get out and support.

Make shows the place to be.

Push for more venues.

Wash your underwear.

And so, once again I bid you all one Jew. As always, it’s been a pleasure.

I leave you now with an excerpt from one of one of contemporary literatures finest: Don’t cha wish your girlfriend was hot like me?

Don’t cha wish your girlfriend was a freak like me?

Don’t cha Don’t cha Don’t cha wish your girlfriend was raw like me?

Don’t cha wish your girlfriend was fun like me?

Don’t cha Don’t cha Peace. Love. Funk JOSH MOLONY joshmolony@hotmail.com

LOCALITY We should probably just re-name the column Cas-Pcality, as those insatiable rogues just can’t slow down. It's just been announced that Casual Projects have taken out a place in the second round of The JD Set, alongside Calling All Cars and Borne. This’ll see Canberra’s favourite octet tour the nation in the near future, and also puts them in the running for the end-of-year grand prize, with all kinds of career-assisting goodies on offer. Stay tuned to www. myspace.com/casualprojects .

The lads will also be playing a free show at the Transit Bar on July 11, so mark that in your diaries.

Swing. From 6.30pm. Tickets $20, for bookings Phone Cameron on 0422 842 605.

2006’s inaugural Megafauna Festival still holds a fond place in the hearts of Canberra punters.

It saw Sydney hellraisers the Hell City Glamours and Ben Ely’s (Regurgitator) new project Jump 2 Light Speed mixing it with the cream of Canberra’s musical crop, including LOG, Super Best Friends, Australian Kingswood Factory, Red Menace and many more, all in the name of raising money for the Australian Cancer Research Foundation - a very worth cause indeed. Well, much like Slim Shady,

it’s back! Megafauna Festival 2008 is happening at the ANU Bar on October 11. “Canberra’s finest will all be there, joined by some choice interstate acts,” says mainman Dave. “Keep an eye out for hairy, hairy monsters popping up around the place from about August. Meanwhile, reach us at www.myspace.com/ megafaunafest .”

Just a friendly reminder that local hip-hop dynamos D’Opus & Roshambo will be launchin’ their long awaited debut LP The Switch at the ANU Bar on Saturday July 5. I had a crafty listen to the finished product last week and can happily confirm

that it’s been worth the wait.

Joining them for the launch at the ANU will be Axe Aklins with Bagdad, Carts2Deadly, Sydney’s Scott Burns and Newcastle’s Mathmatics. There’ll be freshly pressed CDs, limited edition 12” LPs and a new line of shirts for guys and gals on sale. Doors from 9pm, tickets are $15, or $10 for Uni students. Afterparty at the Transit from midnight. Woo! And there’s no more room! Our beloved Carrie will return as of next issue, so forward all news to cazzed@hotmail.com . It’s been wild, child.

ARTHUR "TWO SHEDS" JACKSON

A lightning-fast reminder that the fabulous Variodivers are launching their highly-anticipated debut EP The Battle this Friday (June 27) at The Greenroom. It’s a snappy lil’ listen, resplendent in some of the best packaging seen housing a disc this year.

Joining them on the night will be Melbourne’s Tin Alley and locals Spoil. Doors from 8pm, with the first 50 punters through nabbing a free stein, and all who enter grabbing a free copy of the EP. Ten big ones on the door - cheap!

2008 sees local punk stalwarts Lamexcuse notch up ten years as a group, and the band will mark the occasion by, amongst other things, releasing their debut LP Life. Like.

Wild. in October. To grab a cheeky preview of the long-awaited LP, jump on the band’s myspace - www.myspace.com/lamexcuse And in further Lame news, the lads have scooped the converted support slot for the Strung Out/No Use For a Name double header at the ANU Bar on July 13.

For something a little left-field, the Serbian Club (5 Heard St, Mawson) will be hosting a night of big bands at the Folkus Room on June 28. It promises “a night of big band music from traditional swing to modern jazz, featuring four of Canberra’s hottest big bands and headlined

by Jonno Zilber and the Zilberfi sh- Canberra’s answer to the Cherry Poppin Daddies.” Also on the bill are Kooky Fandango, Blamey St Connexion, Canberra Youth Music Big Band and In Full bma magazine 15

DANCE: THE DROP Gather round my jittering children of the fading twilight; I come bearing wordy dance nuggets for your eager consumption.

And there’s plenty to sink your chattering teeth into over the ensuing months, starting with the DMCs. Yes, the annual battle of the turntablists is back for another year, and once again the ACT will rep-pra-zent thanks to those incorrigible True Jungle Souljahs. The Greenroom will play host on August 1, with DJ Buick defending his ACT crown for the third time in a row. Other competitors at this stage include Dave Skully, Twisted System and Rushnosh, although these are subject to change, so keep in touch.

Performing in a non competitive capacity on the night will be Dazed & Flawlezz, Roshambo and Maggot Mouf. But most exciting of all, the $2 Scratchies will make a triumphant return. Anyone who lurked around the Canberra dance scene a few years ago will know that the pairing of ex DMC champ Nathan and Mexi were the go-to guys for the support slot of any major international coming through town. It’s quickfire multi-genred madness, and if they throw in their trademark Monkey Magic theme, they’ll undoubtedly spark a few flashbacks in the crowd.

All this for a meagre $15. You’ve gotta be in it to win it.

The first line-up for Parklife is in, and reads thus: Goldfrapp, Soulwax, Peaches, 2ManyDJs, Dizzee Rascal, Martin Solveig, Plump DJs, Diplo, Jesse Rose, Does It Offend You, Yeah?, Blackalicious, XXXchange, Metro Area, Elektrons, Yuksek, Van She, Dragonette, Boy 8-Bit, Familjen, Bag Raiders (Live), Ajax, Slyde, Grafton Primary and Van She Tech. The Sydney show will be on Sunday October 5 at Centennial Park. Expect to see a good handful of those names make it down to Canberra. I’ll keep you posted about that.

The Institutional Eyes DJ comp at Transit on Friday June 13 was a roaring success, with Adam Miller taking out the top spot, followed by DJ Biggie in second, DJ Bricksta third and a special mention to Surgin.

Miller will be playing a guest set at the July 26 Exposed as a result.

According to Institutional Eyes’ Duncan Brown: “Transit Bar was packed and security had to drag people off the dance floor at closing time… everyone was impressed with the turnout. Thank you for your support and interest in Institutional Eyes' first event of many.” Hearty congrats to all involved.

Speaking of Exposed, the next one will rock Transit Bar on Saturday July 5, featuring Kid Cudi of Day & Night fame, with supports from Terrorvision, Scottie Fischer, Beat It, Staky and Sean Kelly. All that, and you need not even burden your wallet to gain entry. Hit up myspace.com/kidcudi to catch the man’s sounds.

Mercury Bar is quietly filling the hole left by Toast with a veritable parade of fringe events. The latest added to the roster is MFT 3 on Saturday July 12, a quivering slab of hip-hop in the form of Dazed & Flawlezz w/DJ Mad Cow (ACT/NSW/VIC), Undertow (NSW), Rhyme Ministers (ACT), B-Ware & HalfCast, 3Two Mafi a(Live MPC Set), plus DJs Alistair, Mad Cow, Nothing, Dazed and Miss Universe. That’s a whole 12 acts for the slim sum of a fiver! Now THAT’S what I call a bargain! But phone within the next fifteen minutes, and they’ll even throw in a limited edition (only 1,000,000) plastic mic so you can do your very own freestylin’.* Before that, there’s Perth D&B bad boy Shockone to enjoy at Mercury on Friday June 27. Our man Tim Galvin had a chat to the lad this issue, so be sure to flick yer peepers over that. And jump on his myspace (www. myspace.com/shockonemusic) for a bit of a taster; hi-NRG bounce, comin’ at ya. Lovers of Pendulum’s older stuff will enjoy. Fifteen squid entry.

The True Jungle Rollers are also bringing out SPL (USA), Muffl erand possibly Paul Blackout, so stay tuned for further deets.

Right, that’s all the word nourishment you need. I shall see you all at D’Opus and Roshambo’s album launch at ANU on Saturday July 5.

Bring the noise.

ALLAN “SIPPING MY GIN & JUICE” SKO *not strictly true, but the acts are real, so do pop along, will you?

M E T S Y S Y M SHOCK TO “Coming from a musical family I never really had a choice on the whole ‘will I play music?’ thing. At age four I was sat down at a mini drum kit my parents bought for me and that was the end of that” Tim Galvin

SHOCKONE - aka Karl Thomas - is one of Australia’s hottest drum 'n' bass virtuosos. Coming from a traditionally trained music background, his passion for the genre came about while playing in a metal band with some members of another massive Aussie export.

“Coming from a musical family, I never really had a choice on the whole ‘will I play music?’ thing. At age four I was sat down at a mini drum kit my parents bought for me and that was the end of that. Being a drummer, it was a natural progression to get into the whole metal thing; Jay and I played in a band named Xygen with Rob and Gareth of Pendulum for god knows how many years, and all four of us discovered drum 'n' bass through going to raves here in Perth when we were around 16 or 17.”

Having his production getting regular plays from heavyweights such as DJ Friction, Andy C and Hype has given him the opportunity to play all over the world. “There are a few really memorable shows for me; my first touring show in Adelaide at Enchanted Forest was a great one. Middle of the desert, thousands of people, one of my first DJ sets! Also my most recent (and first) tour to Europe was great fun; playing in places like Slovakia and Vienna to packed clubs was an awesome experience. I should mention a couple of shows at Bar Open in Perth too - when that place is rocking there’s definitely a big vibe in there.”

A real turning point for Karl was the release of Silverscreen, produced with former partner in crime Jay Burns, which catapulted them into the international spotlight. “[The effect was] pretty massive really, it was only the fifth or sixth finished tune me and Jay had done together, and it wasn’t like we ever thought ‘this is the one!’ It just happened that around when we finished it was the time that Rob and Paul (from Pendulum)

were doing their first show back in Perth after moving to London. Rob gave it a spin and it tore the roof; it was only then I realised we might be onto something. They took it back to London where DJ Friction heard them play it and he wanted to sign it and the rest, as they say, is history...”

With the DNB genre experiencing a bit of a revival of late, it’s interesting to get the perspective of an artist who is right at the centre of its local evolution. “I think there’s a real underground feel to everything at the moment. Everyone is kind of taking it back to its roots and in turn trying to push things forward, and that really excites me. I personally am feeling really eager to experiment with new sounds and incorporate other genres into the sound. I don’t want to say where I think it’s going, but I feel we have a lot of really ground-breaking music to look forward to.”

Junglists will be excited that some new ShockOne releases are on the way in 2008. “A full-length LP has been put on hiatus for the moment as I’ve felt that a solo EP would suit where I am creatively right now.

I’m currently working on that and have quite a few new things that I’m testing out at the moment, one of which features MC Spyda which seems to be doing the business in the clubs.”

Karl assures me that nobody should miss the electro funked-out psychedelic love journey that is a ShockOne DJ set. “Well I guess I should mention I’ll be mixing on three decks, so that’s something to watch I suppose. In general I try to keep a party vibe rolling, after all people are there to have fun. I don’t personally go out to stand up the back, fold my arms and list off catalogue release numbers of tunes.”

ShockOne will decimate the beefed-up sound system at Mercury Bar, Northbourne Ave on Friday June 27, with Buick, Dredd, Kilojulz, Twisted System, Benjammin, Escha, MC Harlequin and Anton. From 9pm, $10 entry.

PUNKSKA

Sick and tired of the ‘isms’ and schisms, it’s the punk ‘n’ ska news.

Did you make it, were you there? The Capital City Punkfest was an all-day marathon of punkskapsychobilly fury.

16 bands in 12 hours is quite a feat to endure but, arriving after lunch, I managed to stay on my feet ‘til after nine, which isn’t bad. Here are a few observations of the event. With such voluminous affairs (16 bands!), it must be tough on the bands performing early with only a trickle of the eventually quite massive crowd arriving in time to see them play. Locals Outcome Unknown played a set of heartfelt originals early on, which showed they’re a band to watch out for, and Eye-Gouge played their regular fast ‘n’ furious set to a disappointingly meager gathering. Central Coast psychobillys Checkered Fist didn’t look old enough to vote, but put on an impressive set that had the growing throng up and excited.

Too much fun and too many bands to mention, so on with the news.

On the back of their first ever live album and DVD, Live And Lawless, due in August, popular US punkers Unwritten Law will be in town for a show at The Venue on August 9, with Sprung Monkey. It’s a licensed/ all ages affair, with tickets available through moshtix.com.au .

Lagwagon, the first band ever to be signed to Fat Wreck Chords, follow up 2005’s Resolve long-player with a seven song EP entitled I Think My Older Brother Used To Listen To Lagwagon (Fat Wreck Chords). It’s available August 19.

The Offspring’s new LP Rise & Fall, Rage & Grace (Sony) should already be out but you can preview the entire album, first, at www.imeem.com/ theoffspring/playlist/H-rX4DtI/rise_and_fall_rage_and_grace_music_ playlist . They’ve also reissued their classic albums Ignition and Smash, completely re-mastered from the original tapes, re-packaged by Epitaph and released through Shock.

In news from the crack rock steady beat, Sturgeon of Left Over Crack posted this update of his sideproject Star Fucking Hipsters coming Fat Wreck Chords debut. “All tracking (aka music, vocals, subliminal messages demanding your undying obedience) have been recorded.

These electronically ‘shamed’ replicated discs will end up being shoved into containers with similarly abused art, lyrics and song titles and, in one final vile humiliation, they will bare the stamp of their unhuman sociopathic oppressors: FAT WRECK CHORDS. And yes, this was basically a blog to announce that we have signed our debut record over to FAT and it should be out by October if all goes smoothly.”

June 1978: The Clash’s new single is White Man in Hammersmith Palais, backed with The Prisoner. Packaged in a special pink or green bag with the band’s name on it, it becomes the bands fourth chart record, climbing to number 32 in England.

Oi Oi that’s yer lot!

SIMON HOBBS Next deadline is July 14. Send news, gig promos and abuse to rudebwaay@gmail.com .

UNWRITTEN LAW

no STRings attached

"We’re so lucky, be world and eat all ing able to travel the different types of foods"

Ben Hermann “I can write you a song if you like dude. I’ll bust it out so quick - you’ll be able to impress everyone.” This is definitely a first for me, but not something totally surprising or outrageous, so I tell Chris Aiken that I might take him up on his offer when STRUNG OUT return to the ANU in July alongside fellow So-Cal punkers No Use For A Name.

Although Aiken - bassist for Strung Out for nearly a decade now - admits that he’s spent most of his day “just doin’ the usual stuff, playing guitar [and] getting high,” he comes across as a person who never ceases to be grateful for and motivated by the success of the group, who, in their 16th year, are still filling larger venues and selling more records than ever. “We just try to keep putting out better music and to make sure we keep satisfying ourselves,” Aiken says. “The band’s been around for so long. We’ve seen so many other bands get really big and just fall off the planet, so we want to make sure we keep doing it right.”

Starting out in 1992 on the extreme fringes of LA’s urban sprawl, Strung Out were one of the first groups signed to what is now one of the world’s foremost punk labels, Fat Wreck Chords. The group’s first two albums, Another Day In Paradise and Suburban Teenage Wasteland Blues, established them as one of the leading pop/skate punk groups of southern California.

The punk and hardcore scenes that had been brewing quietly below California’s sun-scorched bitumen during the ‘80s were beginning to capture the commercial limelight and groups on labels like Fat Wreck Chords and Epitaph began bringing punk back to the mainstream.

However, their 1998 effort Twisted By Design was injected with a much larger dose of heavy metal influences than their previous releases, a trend which, upon entering the band, Aiken was more than willing to embrace and amplify including on last year’s release Blackhawks Over Los Angeles. “A few albums back a few of us went back to our roots of thrash metal – Pantera, Slayer, King Diamond, stuff like that. As a whole I think we like that sort of stuff, but Jason [Cruz, lead singer] still loves Dylan, so we’re not completely metal-influenced. We’ve also been getting into a lot of new stuff like Coldplay and the Killers. We’re all just thirsty for music and not content to listen to the same stuff all the time.

New music keeps us fresh.”

It’s not surprising, then, that Aiken also admits to being more favourably disposed to the group’s most recent concoctions than their early work. “Of course, we have to play everything, because the kids still wanna hear the old stuff. But we also have to keep it fresh and interesting for ourselves. I like playing the newer stuff because it’s challenging. Playing a song like Mind Of My Own - it’s fun, but we’ve played it thousands of times.”

The group’s members all have other occupations which keep them engaged for the short periods of the year that they’re not touring - from working in the movie business to Motor-cross, poetry and acting - but after more than 15 years and still appearing to be on the ascent, Strung Out’s members don’t seem to have any intention of backing down any time soon.

“It’s definitely the number one thing in our lives now,” Aiken says.“We have this band and it’s our job. We’re so lucky, being able to travel the world and eat all different types of foods.” And speaking of food, Aiken leaves me with one last message to their Australian fans.“Tell everyone that we’ll see them in the arvo, getting pissed on Coopers and eatin’ meat pies, ya cunts!”

Strung Out will be tearing up the ANU Bar floor in a Coopers-induced explosion on Sunday July 13, alongside No Use For A Name and local boys Lamexcuse. Tickets from Ticketek and the ANU Union.

d hot bloode

a cake with a e us, we would be some people rib sc de d ul co u d yo “If me people love an nutty tang that so ith pistachios; a mud cake with w just hate; a cake a banana dipped in Nutella” salt in it; or even Shailla Van Raad Mammal needs to consider investing in some curtains. Some red curtains with tassels. These ought to be raised at beginning of every show and lowered at the end. The post-punk-hardcore Melbourne based band - comprising Pete Williamson (guitar), Nick Adams (bass), Zane Rosanoski (drums) and Ezekiel Ox (vocals) - formed in March 2006 and have been riffing like their stage-pants have been spiked internally with jalapeno sauce ever since.

“It’s a serendipitous way that we met,” Nick reflects. “I’ve never been with a band that gels as well before. When Zane finally walked in, it was like there was this weird energy in the air. It’s been like that ever since.

Whenever we go on stage it just manifests itself into a ‘bang!’”

And that manifestation of ‘bang!’ couldn’t happen any more naturally, says Nick. “I’m usually not nervous with a gig anymore. In the old days when I was at school I used to be, but now whatever mood I’m in, I just get into that zone before I play. It’s all energy now, no nervousness.”

Politically speaking through their music, leftist talk has never been easier.

The plight of the proletariat proliferates from Eziekiel Ox’s lips.“Zeke loves politics. He was heavily involved in politics during school. Generally our sense of justice is the same; we’re all travelling in the same direction. But the point of this band is to have fun and take whatever you want out of it.”

Take aside the sensationalist politics and the red-curtain drama, what does Mammal actually sound like? Self-description does not come easily in music. “I haven’t got a clue what we sound like,” Nick remarks.

“We get tagged a lot as ‘similar to Rage Against the Machine,’ because we do talk about politics in our music. But of course we’re not the same.”

After thorough psychiatric analysis and comparisons, a well-thought and complex answer to this question was struck, via an ephiphanic moment: “If you could describe us, we would be a cake with a nutty tang that some people love and some people just hate; a cake with pistachios; a mud cake with salt in it; or even a banana dipped in Nutella.” Fascinating how food substances and music synthesise so well together.

Exotic and solidly founded, Mammal is a force to be reckoned with.

The red curtains have started to rise. Strings strum as the conversation between guitar and bass give way to the primal canter of the drums. This all sets the beat for Ezekiel’s attention-seeking antics and florid lyrics.

Nick explains, “When I was young I was influenced by bands such as Fugazi and Primus, but as I got older, and in the last five years, I started to be less influenced by bands and more generally by people. The experiences I have with people, our conversations and even the band I’m in.” The final product is original music that lies in wait to be entrapped on a record.

Mammal’s new single Smash the Piñata announces the imminent arrival of their highly-anticipated debut album, which saw the four faced with the challenge of capturing this excruciatingly entertaining and energised freakshow on tape. “This album has a more stripped-out feel,” Nick comments. “It’s difficult trying to find the right people in order to capture the raw energy we have on stage. The new album has come pretty close in capturing that.”

Mammal are playing at The Greenroom on Thursday July 3 with local r’n’r juggernaut Tonk and Syndonia. Tickets $12 plus BF from Moshtix (www. moshtix.com.au, Landspeed Records, The Music Shop) or $15 on the door.

hamming it up

COMING SOON: SUN July 20th

PETER COMBE + SPECIAL GUESTS FRI August 8th

THE HERD + SPECIAL GUESTS

"When I see someone doing a bass solo that is all chops, tapping and slapping but makes no sense musically, I feel partially responsible!

It’s not the technique that’s important, it’s what you create by utilising the techniques"

WED August 20th

PETE MURRAY + GIN WIGMORE TUES Sepember 2nd

GYROSCOPE + SHIHAD

Emma Csibi

STU HAMM comes from a very musical family - his father was a well known musicologist and his mother was a singer and voice teacher, whilst his oldest brother runs the Ali Akbar Khan School of Indian Music in California. Stu himself has helped to reshape the contemporary concept of the bass guitar as an unaccompanied instrument with the utilization of polyphonic, two-handed tapping, slapping and popping techniques, chords and harmonics and is now heading down under to perform his solo bass clinics.

Since his first ever gig playing a toy drum set in his brother’s first grade band, Stu has played with both Steve Vai and Joe Satriani since their days at the Berkley College of Music in Boston.

What is your take on bass today - specifically from new technology in amps and instruments, to new players on the scene?

“Obviously gear is going to just keep getting better, but the bass is still a pretty basic instrument! You’ve still got to learn to play the dang thing and there is no substitute for good taste - and it’s a nearly impossible thing to teach. Here’s the name of a bass player… Ricky Minor. Who is he??? Just musical director and bassist for American Idol and the High School Musical touring companies. What a well rounded and musical cat…”

Considering the path that you helped to build over a decade ago, do you think that it has become easier for bassists to be seen as a legitimate solo voice today?

“I have worked very hard to be musical in my solo playing and always try to emphasise that it’s just one part of my bass playing career.

When I see someone doing a bass solo that is all chops, tapping and slapping but makes no sense musically, I feel partially responsible! It’s not the technique that’s important, it’s what you create by utilising the techniques to create more interesting sounds and colors, which start to tell a story. Every solo piece that I play is about something; a tone poem made to elicit some emotional response from the listener. I am telling a story. But if the story you are trying to tell is ‘Look how fast I can play!’ well, that story gets old really quickly.”

Hamm’s bass clinics will tell the story of his career and particular approach to solo bass playing. There will also be plenty of time for any questions and, of course, plenty of playing.

For those of you who cannot make it to the clinic, here are a few words of advice from Stu for a budding bassist: - Do not limit yourself to what style of music you can play.

- Practice, practice, practice, and keep your ears open.

- Get into a band and play music with other people and for other people, no matter what style it is. Go to your local music store and answer ads for country bands and rock bands and get into as many as you can. The important thing is to get out there and play music for people whilst having fun. Don’t just stand there in front of your metronome and play!

Hartke bass amplifi cation presents a Stu Hamm solo bass performance and clinic at The Southern Cross Club, Woden on Monday June 30. Doors from 7.30pm, tickets $10 from Better Music (6282 3199) or Pro Audio (6249 7766).

June/July MONOLITH TOURING & DEATH BEFORE DISHONOUR MAGAZINE present ROSETTA + 4 DEAD & SLOWBURN $15 JIM BEAM ON CAMPUS PARTY feat.

THURS USING THREE WORDS, TELEFICTION June 26 & HANCOCK BASEMENT + DJ'S. 4PM Start FREE D'OPUS & ROSHAMBO THE SWITCH ALBUM LAUNCH SAT + AXE AKLINS, W. BAGDAD & July 5 CARTS2DEADLY, SCOTT BURNS & MATHMATICS 9pm Doors $10 BLUE MURDER, BLUNT MAGAZINE & BOMBSHELL present STRUNG OUT Sun & NO USE FOR A NAME July 13 & LAMEXCUSE Tix on sale now @ Ticketek $40.70* TUES June 24

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Alley cats

“In the proximity of an attractive blonde girl, Paul asks his friend ‘…now what’s a good ice-breaker?’

Just as the music dies down, the girl hears the question. ‘Polar Bears.

Polar Bears break ice…’ she cleverly says and struts away. We didn’t get the girl but we got the song!”

Chiara Grassia “At a Melbourne club and in the proximity of an attractive blonde girl, Paul asks his friend ‘…now what’s a good ice-breaker?’ Just as the music dies down, the girl hears the question and before any reply could be suggested she walks over. ‘Polar Bears. Polar Bears break ice…’ she cleverly says and struts away to her friends.” That little anecdote told

by Jim Siourthas, the singer and guitarist of Melbourne’s TIN ALLEY, went on to form the basis of his band’s latest single, titled, funnily enough, Polar Bear. As he concludes, “we didn’t get the girl but we got the song!”

Following on from Polar Bear’s intriguing origins, Jim clarifies that “Tin Alley songs can be inspired by anything and everything. We don’t write to a formula. The style or lyrical content of a song is usually influenced by what is happening around us at the time of writing. Our songs deal with such themes as human frailty, personal loss, fascination, the universe and others.” On the release of Polar Bear, two other songs join the track listing, including In A Knot, from last year’s album Every Turn, and Scour The World, which Jim describes as “a mellow, acoustic guitar song which contrasts sharply with the other two.”

The Melbourne band started out with Jim and his brother, bassist Paul, who together had “been playing from an early age.” They posted an ad up in drum shop, which attracted the attention of drummer Peter who then joined the band. “Initial influences included such acts as Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, Metallica, Smashing Pumpkins as well as The Doors,

U2, The Who etc.” From humble beginnings, they’ve since launched three releases, “making the AIR Charts in 2007 twice with the single In Your Hands,” which Jim noted as a career highlight.

“We really enjoy coming up with new riffs, melodies and lyrics and the whole process of creating a song. It is exciting to see a song take shape from the initial conception stage through to the final recorded version. Similarly, we like to tour and play live as much as possible and connect with audiences.” And a firm connection with the audience is what they achieved recently at their gig in Shepparton’s Yahoo Bar. “The punters had such a good time they wouldn’t really let us get off the stage until we played pretty much every song we knew!”

When asked for future plans, Jim simply states, “We don’t like to plan too far ahead. Late last year it looked as though we would be absent from the touring circuit for a very long time given our drummer’s motorcycle accident and injury, however he made a remarkable recovery.” So as not to leave a subdued note, he continues, “we are having lots of fun recording and touring at the moment and we want to continue for as long as we can.”

Tin Alley will, alongside Spoil, support The Variodivers at their EP launch at The Greenroom on Friday June 27. Doors from 8pm. $10 gets you in with a free copy of the Varios’ EP to boot, plus a free stein if you’re one of the first 50 through the door. Cheap Jagerbombs too, natch.

"Free stuff is good on tour when you run out of clothes and a lot of brands help us out" Ema Bourke “When we toured with Kisschasy I think we made a lot of people recognise us. We knew a lot of people knew our song Where the City Meets the Sea, and when we would play it at the end about 70% of the crown connected with us, which was cool that the crowd knew that we were ‘those guys.’”

Starting out in 2003, THE GETAWAY PLAN were simply five young boys seeking recognition in the crowded Melbourne music scene. Initially considered a screamo band, the group began touring with such hardcore bands as I Killed the Prom Queen and Parkway Drive.“We are a matured rock sound, compared to what we were,” drummer Aaron Barnett explains.

“When we first came into the scene they were calling us a screamo band.”

Aaron has been the group’s drummer since early days and feels the band’s album Other Voices, Other Rooms signals a new direction for the band - one which he hopes the fans enjoy. “There is still heavy stuff in our new album,” he says, “but we have grown up a lot.”

The Getaway Plan - Aaron, vocalist and guitarist Matthew Wright, guitarist Clint Splattering, bassist Dave Anderson - are all childhood friends and still enjoy working together, although things have certainly changed since their formation, when, for some of the members, the band was more of a side-project than it was a serious concern.

Gaining recognition over the years by supporting such notables as Taking Back Sunday, Bodyjar and Millencollin - “The thing about supporting a band is that you know the fans are there to see the main act, but hopefully we can grab attention of a few hundred people” - The Getaway Plan’s ascent within the Australian music scene has been recognised in more real terms with nominations for both ARIA and AIR awards.

I love it when a plan comes together

For most bands, one of the perks that comes along with recognition is free stuff. “I hate shopping, I hate new shoes and stuff, but I do like getting new jumpers!” Aaron enthuses. “Free stuff is good on tour when you run out of clothes and a lot of brands help us out. I don’t really care what they send me, because I have worn the same clothes since year seven. Clint wears the same thing every day and Dave… well Dave loves to wear big labels, he is really conscious of his appearance - he is a weird little boy.”

Being a radio-friendly band, they are subject to much attention from a diverse fan base. Basing their current sound in contemporary rock, the band also incorporate a number of other genres of their liking into the mix, forming the diverse sound of the album. And with Other Voices, Other Rooms becoming quite the success, the band are constantly on the move promoting themselves and setting a good example for other bands on their label, Boomtown Records.

A particularly interesting aspect of the band’s new album, along with the diversity of music on display, is the album title, which was named after the novel by Truman Capote - though they claim the album was only named after the book because its title had a nice sound to it. The record itself is quite an easy listen and I feel fans new and old will be happy with the outcome. The Getaway Plan are currently touring and will be coming to Canberra next month, before they head off to New Zealand.

The Getaway Plan play a liscensed all ages show at The Venue, Erindale, on July 10, with Closure in Moscow (New Zealand) and Amber Calling. Tickets are $14 plus BF through www.moshtix.com.au and all Moshtix outlets. Other Voices, Other Rooms is out now on Boomtown Records

“It’s a bit funny being compared to a band when you started before them; the chronology is strange in that way”

the future is now

ellies w n i s t a b Wom “It’s amazing just how fans are. We’ve headlinsupportive, and protective, our shout ‘Wombats, Wombed some gigs where they will just ats’ all through the supp ort act.”

Erin Hill

Shailla Van Raad Sometimes it is too easy to classify music. Maybe it’s because we have too many bands bombarding our headphones with their beautified bass these days, but sometimes we need to be able to step back and look at music as individual work. Could we say THE FUTUREHEADS are just another post-Libertines band? No, that would be wrong: not only historically, but also because The Futureheads have made waves in their own right. This is music that needs to be enjoyed without too much influence, like an éclair, abstract art or sex. "In the beginning we started with a small fan base," bassist Jaff explains. "I think it was important to start small and do small shows. This established some good foundations, and then we built it up from there."

The band - Jaff; Ross Millard - guitar; Barry Hyde - vocals, guitar; and Dave Hyde - drums - first performed in 2000, and released First Day, the first single from their self-titled album, in 2002. These four boys, originating from Sunderland, North-East England, would send anyone, male or female, quivering like a gelatinous blob due to their Mackemish accents. They zealously deny the ladies’ attentions though, with Jaff cracking more than a proverbial smile at obnoxious questions. “Oh no, I’m not a ladies man.

There’s no real time for that. Besides, we’ve all got girlfriends.”

The Futureheads have recently been gathering speed. Some of the band have even skipped university in order to pursue their music career. Jaff mentions, “I did my A-levels but never went to university due to our success as a band… Living the musicians’ life is actually a lot harder than it seems. Some days you wake up and you wish you were a teacher, but other days you just love it.”

Like many British indie bands of late, The Futureheads have had the post-punk tag levelled at them. “It’s a bit funny being compared to a band when you started before them; the chronology is strange in that way,” says Jaff, when bands such as Arctic Monkeys and The Libertines are compared with The Futureheads’ style of music.

In the end, though, nothing disconcerts the band members, especially on a lazy spring day. “When we have the day off like this, everyone seems to do something different in their day.” But the music never sleeps. Their new album This Is Not The World, released in June, and the single The Beginning of the Twist ceases to flirt as much with their previous party-pop sound and gets its nails nitty gritty and more basic.

"The album that has been produced is full of a new family of sounds," Jaff says. "The structure of the music, most of all, has changed around.

Powerful harmonies are coupled with a changing arrangement. This produces a distinctive sound." And a distinctive sound it is, feeding back to its foundational influence of punk but betraying inspiration from influential musicians such as Kate Bush; no wonder this band has seeped into the Australian music culture. “We’re really happy we’re doing so well in Australia. I think we might come down soon. triple j has been very supportive and we’ve been on rotation a lot.” Let’s really hope they can come down, and soon. So we can enjoy them slowly, like an éclair, abstract art or sex.

This Is Not The World is out now on Liberator Music/Nul Recording.

You might remember the THE WOMBATS from such songs as Let’s Dance to Joy Division and Moving to New York. Though, from a quick glance at their YouTube clips, you’re more likely to be one their gazzilion fans jumping to their defence as needed, claiming that they are indeed the greatest thing to come out of Liverpool since the Beatles, albeit under the moniker ‘bumpie3e’.

On the other hand, I remember The Wombats from such places as a morning phone interview slot which was running late. I wasn’t impressed.

Oh, wait, the hold music changed. This is more like it; DJ Shadow meets the Nokia tone meets Darryl Braithwaite. In any event, this article has got to be written. So listen up readers, this what you need know: Murph and Dan are Liverpudlians and the guy I am about to speak to, the bassist, is Nordic.

Tord has been located and the call connected - though the situation is still glum. In my morning grump I have decided to officially hate The Wombats and upon finding out that Tord is in New York City and jet-lagged, my hatred becomes personal, if only because now I want to be him.

Withstanding this, Tord has good reason to be tired. The Wombats have been on the road for 18 months, and were headed to San Francisco in the days following our chat, before returning to the UK to kickstart the festival jaunt and then dropping in on Aussie for their appearance at Splendour in the Grass and the requisite sideshow scenario.

No doubt adding to such fatigue is the work on their second album.

“I think we’re getting some time off in December - I hope we are…

- before touring again, and then maybe getting into the studio for the second album in February and March. We’ve just been messing around with jamming and lyrics here and there. We’ve probably got about three new songs at the moment. But there’s been no time. I think we will be in the studio by the end of the year.”

One question a friend of mine had for the trio was just how drunk they were when they pieced together the Kenneth Clark’s Beard ditty. “Oh gosh,” Tord sighs. “I don’t even remember! It doesn’t even make sense because Kenneth Clark (a politician in the UK), he doesn’t even have a beard. We were just jamming and somehow it came together. And people have really responded to it.”

I confirm with Tord that by people he means ‘bumpie3e’ of Youtube fame. “It’s amazing just how supportive, and protective, our fans are.

We’ve headlined some gigs where they will just shout ‘Wombats, Wombats’ all through the support act.”

As for their appearance in Byron Bay, Tord is looking forward to it “We’ve been to Australia a couple of times now, but it’s always straight in, straight out. When we played at V Festival, it was an amazing and surreal and overwhelming experience, but because it was such a quick trip it was all kind of a blur. It’ll be good to go back, I’ve never had the time to see Australia properly.”

And the reputation of Splendour precedes itself, as Tord questions whether there is anything else he should know about the Festival.“It’s pretty muddy yeah?” he asks, “I am going to take my Wellies, that’s for sure.”

The Wombats play at Splendour in the Grass in Belongil Fields, Byron Bay on August 2 and 3. They also play the Enmore Theatre in Sydney on Tuesday August 5. A Guide to Love, Loss and Desperation is out now.

iMITS l y t i C l l he “We always, always look forward to Canberra shows; for the coldest place we play, it’s definitely got the hottest crowds” Scott Adams To borrow a phrase from my old mates Saxon, it’s been a long time coming but it’s here at last. Brothers and sisters, boozers, losers, children and wild ones of all ages, I give you the debut long player from Sydney’s finest keepers of the rock and roll flame, THE HELL CITY GLAMOURS. Those of you who’ve followed the band like me over the last few years will doubtless be heaving a sigh of relief that this record, which has had a gestation period that would’ve had an elephant screaming for the induction stirrups, is finally hitting the racks. If you’ve not taken any interest in the band, firstly shame on you, but secondly, in the interests of your continued rehabilitation and education, I decided to act as an interlocutor on your behalf and ask HCG bassman and all round good egg Jono why you should be as happy as those of us ‘in the know’ about July 5th’s joyous events.

“Y’know, you’re right. If you’re already a fan of the band, I’d like to think you’re excited because you’ve been waiting so fucking long for us to make this record and you can finally get it. If you’re coming to this record as a newcomer, you’ll be jubilant as you discover an album with just the right mix of old school rock with dashes of every little thing that’s come rock’s way since Chuck Berry worked it out. And it’ll be a pleasant surprise for anyone who thought they knew what we sound like without ever having heard us, ‘cause we don’t sound like that at all.”

Too true me ol’ China. But back to the glacial speed of this baby’s arrival.

Did you ever despair that it wouldn’t eventually drop? “Haha, you’ve got no idea how close this album has come to not happening, even since we started recording! Being an independent band, as well as wanting to give our fans (and ourselves) the best record we possibly could, ain’t easy! But, fuck, it’s here, enjoy!”

Is that because the four of you are such distinct personalities musically?

Did that make piecing together the album problematic? Does anyone ever exercise the power of veto and say ‘I’m not playing that!’ “Not too much actually, though there were definitely a few points in the writing process over the last 12 months before we hit the studio where we got very stuck on things. Everyone has their babies and wants them to grow and to thrive. The biggest problem was getting the songs whittled to a listenable length as some of them started off at the plus five minute mark! We’re a little too early into our career to write the next Bohemian Rhapsody!”

And where was all this sweating and straining taking place? “It was tracked mostly at Sing Sing South in Melbourne with the finishing touches done at Lord Street Studio in Sydney all by the inimitable Matt ‘Hoigty Toigty’ Voigt - a more wonderful man behind the desk you could never ask for.”

Indeed no, Mr Voigt has a list of credits as long as your arm, including the likes of Kiss, The Living End, Cat Power and, erm, Russell Crowe.

Rarified company indeed for our quartet of ragamuffin heroes. And now the inevitable – Canberra has always reserved a warm welcome for Da Glams, looking forward to The Green Room, I presume?

“We always, always look forward to Canberra shows, for the coldest place we play, it’s definitely got the hottest crowds; it’s been ages since we played The Greenroom too and of course we’re going to go hit Transit Bar after the show and party on with Marc as late as we can!”

Great news. But the best news is that we’re all invited too. See you there.

The Hell City Glamours launch their debut LP at The Greenroom on Saturday July 12 with The VeeBees and Stilton Detox. From 8pm, $10 entry.

BLACKBOX

Just as the inner workings of Melbourne’s underworld were revealed in Underbelly (sorry, ‘hit-series Underbelly’), so too are the inner workings of Canberra about to be revealed. No seedy underside of Canberra’s nightlife, no plot to rob national institutions, not even roundabout rage - The Hollowmen (ABC, Wed Jul 9, 9.30pm) is set in the arena of federal politics (and no, Carl Williams doesn’t break out of jail to organize a hit on Kevin). Hollowmen is a dramedy set in the offices of the Central Policy Unit, set up by the PM to get re-elected. The Working Dog production, written by Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner and Rob Sitch is set to do for political staffers what Frontline did for current affairs television. Unlike the disaster of Corridors of Power a few years ago, this is likely to cut much closer to the bone. It would be nice if just once a series set in Canberra moved away from the house on the hill…

If you’ve been watching the annoying ads for Mark loves Sharon (SCTEN, Mon Jun 30, 9.30pm), don’t be fooled; they haven’t found a couple as dumbly entertaining as Nick and Jess. The show is a spoof (the network’s calling it a mockumentary) of the rash of American reality shows like Newlyweds from the team behind The Wedge. That in itself is a reason to switch off. Mark is apologetic sportstar Mark Wary and his girlfriend Sharon (or is it Karen). The Mark Wary sketches were the best part of The Wedge, but that’s not a great compliment.

Still on the topic of football stars off the rail is Valentine’s Day (ABC, Sun Jul 6, 8.30pm), a movie starring Rhys Muldoon as a famous Aussie Rules footballer fallen on hard times who is given community service to coach a small town football team. Nice to see fallen footy stars as fodder for the box, it makes a change from crime drama - at least a detour, anyway.

Prime’s new girlie show, Lipstick Jungle (Prime, Sun Jun 29, 9.30pm), starts this week. Although it’s based on a Candace Bushnell book, it’s got a much sleazier, more plastic feel than Sex and the City - worth a watch, but maybe not a girls’ night in. It follows the debut of Grey’s Anatomy spin-off Private Practice (Prime, Sun Jun 29, 8.30pm).

Good news - the Doctor is in. Following on from the Christmas special with Kylie, Dr Who (ABC, Sun Jul 6, 7.30pm) returns to the box with Catherine Tate (of the Catherine Tate Show) reprising her role as the runaway bride from a previous Christmas special and becoming his sidekick.

In a bid to stretch out its programming, SBS is following SC10’s lead and repackaging its long-running programs - we’ve already had repackaged Top Gear (SBS, Sat, 7.30pm) and now it’s South Park: The Early Years (SBS, Mon, 9pm). There were some classics though - Cartman Gets an Anal Probe is a case in point.

It may seem a bit tabloid for Aunty, but Family Fortunes (ABC, Tue Jul 15, 8pm) looks at dramatic reversals of fortune in some of Australia’s more high-profile families. Developed by the team that brought us Dynasties, the show’s approach is more Australian Story than Today Tonight, which is just as well because the first family under the microscope is that of racing legend Peter Brock. Watch out for tales of a pokie king, Victorian landed gentry and artist John Olsen. Not hard to guess whose fortunes went south.

For the kid in us all, The Mr Men Show (ABC, Thu Jul 17, 4pm) returns with new adventures from Little Miss Chatterbox and Mr Nervous.

Tune in and ask the inevitable - which Mr Men are you?

“Anything can happen on the stage. Writers can write anything. If they see a camel and an elephant building a go-kart, go for it. It’s our job to work out what happens next”

Stick to the script Naomi Milthorpe On the eve of the launch of the National Script Workshop, Chris Mead, Artistic Director of PLAYWRITING AUSTRALIA, raises some thorny questions: “How do plays make it to the stage? How do writers get better at what they do? How do new plays get to where the decisions about programming theatre company seasons are made?

Who writes plays anyway? And what about productions on Broadway, the West End or . . .???” Luckily, since PWA was formed in 2006 after some papershuffling at the Australia Council, answering those questions are his job.

“It’s a new organisation and we’ve been lucky enough to be given a blank canvas, and as a result we’ve crafted programmes and opportunities that respond to the problems and possibilities of our time.” One of these programmes is the National Script Workshop, which will be launched on June 29 at Theatre 3. The Workshop teams writers and their scripts with actors, dramaturgs and directors, to bridge “the gap from page to stage, and from individual to industry.”

“The Workshop is an opportunity for anyone with a script, or even someone with good ideas towards a new play, to see how it works on the floor.

Creating a play is an intensely collaborative job. It’s crucial of course that the script is good. It’s just as important though for the rest of the team to get it right as well. How many plays, good plays, fail because the combination of writer, director, producer, dramaturg and actors was wrong?”

Despite the manifest terrors involved in making plays, Mead is enthusiastic about new works submitted to PWA. Theatre has shown itself to be vital creatively and politically, with new productions examining “drought, terrorism and global warming”, or with characters as diverse as “a boy on roller skates singing Spandau Ballet, a kid who talks to insects and a woman stuck in remote Tasmania.”

“Anything can happen on the stage. Writers can write anything. If they see a camel and an elephant building a go-kart, go for it. It’s our job to work out what happens next.”

The launch will also see the performance of PWA’s 48 Hour Play Generator, a “dangerous” idea, quips Mead.

Docos to look out for this fortnight include Car of the Future (SBS, Sun Jul 6, 8.30pm), Bill Gates: How a geek changed the world (SBS, Tue Jul 8, 8.30pm), The Seven Sins of England (SBS, Tue Jul 1, 10pm) and A Northern Town (SBS, Fri Jul 11, 7.30pm) which looks at Kempsey, known as the most racist town in Australia.

“It was one of those ideas that seemed like a good idea at the time – give four writers some stimulus material, a cast and a weekend to write a new play from scratch – but now I’m looking at it again and realised that we’ve handed over all control to creative people and a stopwatch. What was I thinking?”

Sports fanatics should tune in for the UEFA Euro 2008 Final (SBS, Mon Jun 30, 4am) and the Tour de France (SBS, Sat Jul 5 to Sun Jul 28, 10pm).

PlayWriting Australia’s National Script Workshop will be launched at Theatre 3, Ellery Crescent, on Sunday June 29 at 7.30pm in conjunction with the 48 Hour Play Generator performances. Tickets $10/$5 at the door, with a complimentary glass of booze. It is the theatre, darling.

TRACY HEFFERNAN tracyheffernan@bigpond.com

THEATRE COLUMN Holy dooley there’s a lot on! No more need for random biographical tidbits from your Theatre Columnist this ish, just good ol’fashunned news.

First up, NIDA is ‘on tour’ in July doing short courses for disaffected youf wanting to crack the theatre ice (or film, or TV, but we at Theatre Column don’t stand for those corruptible ‘art’ forms. Just call us the H.J. of BMA. Sieg heil!). There’s courses on ‘NIDA Acting Techniques’, ‘Acting Intensive’, ‘Screen Acting’ and ‘Acting to Camera’ (first caller to tell me the difference between the last two gets a gold star!), as well as directing and T.V. presenting workshops. Most of the courses are for 16 plus but there are some for tackers 12 to 15 years. Check out www.nida.edu.au or email them at open@nida.edu.au .

Canberra Youth Theatre has its own holiday workshops for liddle tykes.

Heroes, a workshop aimed at 7 to 9 year olds where they get to create their own superhero, runs from July 7 to 11, while Kapow!, from July 14 to 18, explores storytelling through martial arts, body percussion, and Indonesian storytelling techniques. Check out the CYT website on www. cytc.net or give Sharon a call on 6248 5057 for info and to book a place.

Meanwhile, at the Street: Shortis and Simpson are back with Three Nights at the Bleeding Heart, their Keating!-esque take on K-Rudd, while Bruce Hoogendorn’s The Role Model debuts in July. Check out the website: www.thestreet.org.au Shortis and Simpson present Three Nights at the Bleeding Heart in Street 1 til June 28. Tix $33/$28.

The Rude Mechanicals present The Role Model in Street 2 from July 23 to August 2. Tix $25/$21/$15. To book tix for either or both of these shows, call the B.O. on 6247 1223.

Also: the return of ‘hilarious’ dinner theatre at UC. Feel the excitement pulsing. The UC Players are teaming Noel Coward’s Fumed Oak with a play by Canberra writer Marya Glyn Daniel, The Balls Up, which as titles go is pretty good. But how they’re going to perform a play that from the press release seems to involve an onstage football match on UC Gallery Café ‘stage’ is beyond me. I wait with baited breath.

U.C. Players presents Fumed Oak and The Balls Up, directed by Jasan Savage, at the UC Gallery Café from June 27 to July 26, Friday and Saturday nights only. Tix $65 for a show and 3 course dinner. Bookings, of course, are essential: 6201 2645.

Big (but short) guns on at the CTC: Spare Parts Puppet Theatre (eeek!

Puppets!) presents an adaptation of Shaun Tan’s The Arrival. Looks suitable for kiddies. It’s only performing on June 25 and 28. SERTO and Melbourne Opera’s La Boheme returns to the ‘berra stage for one night only after its sellout season. One Night Only. July 19. Get tickets if you like stories about consumptive bohemian grisettes who can inexplicably sing soprano. And finally, for blue-ribbon theatre junkies, the STC brings their Blanchett-Nevin-Didion powerhouse, The Year of Magical Thinking from July 2 to 5. Based on the novel by Joan Didion, this emotional knuckleduster sees Cate Blanchett in the director’s chair as theatre stalwart Robyn Nevin delivers Didion’s powerful prose “undiluted”.

Check out all these shows (plus more!) on the CTC website at www.canberratheatre.org.au or call Canberra Ticketing on 6275 2700 to book ya tix.

Quickly: Rep’s next show, It’s My Party (And I’ll Die If I Want To) is on from July 24 to August 16. I’ll probably mention it again, but just in case, log it in your diaries if you like appellationally long winded satirico-theatrical cream-puffery.

NAOMI MILTHORPE princessnaea@gmail.com

DISCOLOGY SINGLED OUT

WITH DAVE RUBY HOWE Coldplay Viva La Vida (EMI) We won’t even bother talking about how much this outstrips Violet Hill as a primer for Coldplay’s new LP - that’s clear to anyone who’s got ears. What’s really important is just how great this is. The glittering production from Eno, the stirring strings, and just a simply wonderful performance from Chris Martin fuse together to form one helluva tune.

Fergie Labels Or Love (Universal) Just when you thought it was safe to go outside, old Methy McManface is waiting in the bushes with another atrocity. Words can’t express how dreadful this is. That it’s a Sex And The City tie-in makes it doubly wrong.

Someone. Make her stop.

Rihanna Take A Bow (Universal) Rihanna could basically hang a dump onto a slim-line CD case, smoosh it together, write her name on it and then throw it out to the millions who really love tepid ballad junk. Wait a minute…

The Grates Burn Bridges (Dew Process) I know how much they hate being compared to Yeah Yeah Yeahs, but it’s hard not to say something when the first 30 secs sound pretty much dead on. Things thankfully get better and the single bounds out of the speakers to announce the return of our beloved Grates. It’s all perky, indie-pop cheer from the kids who do it best. It’s good to have you back, guys.

Theredsunband The Eagle (Enchanted Recordings) Causing a fuss with their new album, Theredsunband are back and sounding their best. The Eagle drops in as their lead-off tune and it’s a damn cracker. It’s noisy as hell but still incredibly focussed, a sign that the band means business. It’ll be strong enough to net them some more fans because these guys are dangerously underrated too.

Usher Love In This Club (Sony BMG) It’s really hard to ignore just how good this sounds. Those pristine, golden synths, that soaring chorus and the less-annoying-than-usual turn from Usher are enough to make you forget that this is going to soundtrack a lot of bros roofying chicks down at Mooseheads. Yikes.

Alanis Morissette Underneath (Maverick) Underneath starts off with a quiet and unassuming manner, and then the song leaps into the power chords of the chorus. Alanis has a way with writing very addictive melodies - it’s an incredibly catchy tune and you can hear the influence of Guy Sigsworth in the more poppy delivery. This should see Alanis back on the charts.

CECILIA PATTISON-LEVI

Animal Collective Water Curses (Domino/EMI) Animal Collective usually come on strong, with a concoction approaching the most far-out moments from Mercury Rev or Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd. Sometimes the overall feel indicates an exaggerated joyfulness, as if Brian Wilson really was the fun loving bloke those early Beach Boys records suggested. The band’s speciality is mind-expanding pop music with challenging arrangements attached to multi-directional rhythms, but despite a preference for overlapping instrumental clatter, various striking melodies usually shine through.

Last year, the band released its most overtly pop record, Strawberry Jam, and this four track EP contains music of a quality that matches the satisfying psychedelic swirl of that album. The title track opener is a three minute miniature pop-epic, and as expected, it all turns a bit weird on the following track Street Flash whose underlying sonic gurgles enhance carefully orchestrated textures. Despite the overall fullness of the sound, the band remain in full control of their craft, making Animal Collective one of the most distinctive indie-pop bands around.

DAN BIGNA Jane Woody Big Breaths Little Lungs (Valve) Straight up, Jane Woody (a.k.a Mel Ralph) reminds me of an Australian Kate Nash. You’ve got your whimsically observant lyrics, (“I caught a plane, you caught a cold/but the story of the sickness is getting so old” on Decide), keyboards, a dash of angst (“it doesn’t take a genius to see, as I sit on the bus home from the library, I think now you’ve fucked it entirely”, You’ve Fucked It Now Entirely), cutting singsong vocals and just the overall quirky feel. Not to say this is a bad thing. The album grows on you, with Participate being a perfect example of the type of good pop song Jane Woody can produce. The album is going to appeal to a lot of people; it’s cute, catchy, and slightly bouncy.

CHIARA GRASSIA Judas Priest Nostradamus (Sony/BMG) Oh dear. The first disappointing thing about Nostradamus, Judas Priest’s 16th studio album, is that it was made at all. Metal fans and musicians alike have spent 20-odd years trying to convince non-believers that the genre isn’t all Spinal Tap, studs and spandex; so imagine our chagrin, then, to find metal’s original (and some would say best) expositors, the Priest, have come up with a double length concept ‘rock opera’ based around the life and times of the fames French Alchemist and seer, Nostradamus. If that isn’t a Tap-esque conceit, I don’t know what is. The second disappointment is the songs. Even had Nostradamus been condensed into a single album, the material on offer just isn’t strong enough to carry the concept or the playing time. Of the 14 ‘proper’ songs featured here (being a conceptual offering, each song is linked with instrumental noodling and vocal segues), six are truly worthy of the Priest canon and legend, and only the title track truly recalls the band at

its coruscating '80s best. The rest of the material is simply too one paced to maintain the listener's interest for any amount of time, with, unforgivably, appallingly little space given over to the usually magical guitar interplay of K K Downing and Glenn Tipton.

The third disappointment is the vocal performance of the Metal God himself, Rob Halford. Halford’s top end has clearly gone the way of all flesh, with only a couple of the man’s trademark banshee wails in evidence, and for the rest of the time the man croons his way through sounding tired and fatigued. This is very sad news to relate indeed. But there’s more – Priest are, and always will be, one of the most important and influential metal bands of all time. So why have they resorted to tracking material that in turns, sounds alarmingly close to Jethro Tull (parts of album opener Prophecy sound distressingly close to the Tull’s Aqualung), Black Sabbath (Death is, just, Sabbath – there’s nothing more to be said), and Manowar (the whole record is shadowed by America’s finest purveyors of loincloth-clad metal)?

There are good moments here, and, given time I, like most Priest fans, will probably grow to love the good parts of this curate’s egg of an album. But there simply aren’t enough good moments to recommend this to anyone but the most hardened Priest acolyte.

I am not embarrassed to stand up in public and say I love Judas Priest. But this release has put a big strain on our relationship, and that’s a sad thing to have to relate to you.

SCOTT ADAMS The Longest Day Night Falls (Feral Media) Straddled somewhere between Sydney and our very own Canberra, elusive duo The Longest Day have been making technicolor, super wide-screen music relatively unnoticed for far too long.

Now is your chance to do something to change that, because their latest album Night Falls is, to put it bluntly, pretty fucking good. Here The Longest Day subtly alternate between drifting whitecaps of freeform guitar drone, and warm slices of shimmering almost-pop. It’d be easy just to string out a list of bands: Flying Saucer Attack, My Bloody Valentine, Windy and Carl, Slowdive et al. Yet Night Falls doesn’t just regurgitate or quote. The album sounds like an original, unified whole that should be impressive not just in the ranks of the local music scene, but

internationally. It’s sometimes delicate, sometimes crushing and almost always interesting. Most importantly, it sounds incredible loud.

OWEN CARROLL Moby Last Night (Mute/EMI) Ahhhh yes. The strange artistic pitfall of “Peaking too soon.” We’ve all read about that until we’re blue in the eyes, haven’t we? And ever since techno-old-rave-new-rave-electronica whiz Moby released the internationally lauded Play on the trembling eve of the new millennium, his subsequent albums have been sternly judged against his widely regarded peak. As far as 2005’s Hotel was concerned, fair enough. That was a genuine misfire.

In the case of this, Moby’s startling 15th release since 1991 debut Instinct Dance, it is unjust. It takes a few spins for one to settle into the self-proclaimed “25 years of going out in NYC condensed into a 65-minute record” sound, but once you do, there’s much to enjoy. Opener Ooh Yeah is a slowpaced uplifting number with precision, gentle-layering of sounds and vocals that made Play such a hit and, as such, makes it my favourite track off the album. Moby’s foray into hip-hop proves successful too, with I Love to Move in Here and Alice utilising an insistent pulse. Overall, the album has proved to be a regular go-to LP when looking to fill time during a busy day in the office; largely inoffensive, varied, exhibiting the pre-requisite mood and tempo peaks and troughs one expects from a good album and, perhaps most importantly from Moby post-2000, not utter bollocks. Enjoyable.

ALLAN SKO Nedelle The Locksmith Cometh (The Lost and Lonesome Recording Co.) It’s a crowded market if you’re a female singer songwriter.

Nowadays it seems that nearly every second thin-voiced waif is coyly cooing while draped over the top of an acoustic guitar. Enter Nedelle Torisi with her third album The Locksmith Cometh, armed with a degree in Jazz history and inspired by a Brahms lieder.

Linear notes aside, The Locksmith Cometh is sometimes charming and occasionally dull. The standout songs

Casual Projects No Rest (Keep On Diggin’) No rest, indeed. Like a particularly gifted porn star, those incorrigible Cas-P rogues have dropped their second full-lengther on us, expelling bated breath and quenching thirsty expectation with 14 juicy slices of jump-up-funk, down tempo lounge dwellers and flat out party favours. As anyone who has attended their live shows can attest, the troupe gel together beautifully, sonically weaving around each other with ease, and the giddy and gleefully-tumultuous relationship between their myriad instruments and vocalists is captured ably here.

As with any good live band, the musical dynamics are often blunted during the transition to record, and while their energy may not transfer perfectly on No Rest, this is more a testament to their gaudy live show than anything else. That aside, there are plenty of highlights to be enjoyed. Patrick Lillicrap raps effortlessly on highlight Goin Off, with it’s funky stomp and cheeky saxophone driving a genuine headnodder of a track. Nick Keeling sings earnestly on lead single Move Along, adeptly accompanying the sly and slightly melancholic horns for an ear worm of tune on the joys of breaking up. As a whole, the album peaks and troughs nicely in terms of pace, mood, and tempo, although perhaps a track or two could have been shaved to present a truly tight album from start to finish. As it stands, it’s a fitting companion piece to the lads’ live antics and one both they, and Canberra, should be very pleased with. ALLAN SKO

are distinguished with a peculiar maudlin humor that lets you gloss over the odd weak lyric or phrasing, and are carried even further by inventive, and spacious production. When the chamber-pop is in full flight, such during the orchestral swell of I Hate a Mountain or the closing harmony of the title track, it’s stunning. Which is what makes it all the worse when the songs in between just float along.

OWEN CARROLL Porcupine Tree Lightbulb Sun (Kscope) British progrockers Porcupine Tree originally released this, their sixth studio album, in 2000; it receives an expanded, remastered rerelease now which features various 5.1 remixes and the original stereo mix of the 2000 version for your comparative requirements. The artwork has also been ‘remastered’, so even the die-hard fan has no excuse for not shelling out again here. And the album? Lightbulb Sun is PT’s last record before they controversially ‘went metal’, a result of main songwriter Steve Wison’s production work with Swedish Magi Opeth, and finds the band in more straightforward frame of mind than had been previously apparent on grandiose releases such as 1995’s The Sky Moves Sideways; there’s a pop sensibility flowing through cuts such as The Rest Will Flow and Four Chords That Made a Million that makes this accessible to a far bigger audience than you’d expect. If you like Radiohead’s more ‘normal’ outings you’ll love this, whilst prog fans will be satiated by the 13 minutes of Russia on Ice. Something for everyone, then - and you can’t ask for more than that.

SCOTT ADAMS Pro Audio Make the Happiness Stop (Poskey Reunion Records) Now here is a fun record. Three chaps and a lass just doing their alt. rock thing, having fun and making each song seem like a séance that pulls out the ghosts of early Pavement, Weezer, Grandaddy and other geek chic-ers from the ether. Unlike other kids who were uncool in school, then started a band and pretended they had always been cool, Pro Audio actually acknowledge they were never in the cool category (with one title being Sean, We Were Never Cool), which is both rare and commendable.

Their words are esoteric, obscure and fit in well with the same type of music.

Make the Fun Stop is a weird, wild and wired record with interconnecting song sequences, continuing themes and easily remembered melodies.

The only negative: the They Might Be Giants-style American accent singing, which does get a bit grating after a while. Apart from that though, this is a killer album that will definitely turn anyone’s winter into a peculiar sunfilled adventure, and is assured to stick in your head like a tightlyfitted eyeball.

TIM BOCQUET

Sun City Girls You’re Never Alone with a Cigarette (Abduction) US three piece Sun City Girls was so collectively attuned to its strangely unique aesthetic, that it was inevitable the band’s vision would be put to rest following the death of drummer Charles Gocher last year, with a final set of soundtrack recordings sent to indie filmmaker Harmony Korine. But because the band was so unbelievably prolific, there is much scope for a significant reissues program. To get the ball rolling, You’re Never Alone with a Cigarette contains a bunch of singles and unreleased recordings from around the time of the classic 1990 album Torch of the Mystics.

It highlights the band’s inclination for post-hardcore, psychedelic workouts attached to a reverential fondness for representations of atonality found in various South East Asian musical styles. This combination was such a winner, that it came to dominate a voluminous body of work stretching back to the early 1980s.

One possible comparison might be the post-punk deconstructionist vibe of early Sonic Youth. But, for me, Sun City Girls’ music will always remain in a class of its own.

DAN BIGNA Various Funky Nassau: The Compass Point Story 1980-1986 (Strut) Throughout the 1970s, the charged beats of reggae became increasingly familiar to discerning music fans due to the interest shown by various punk rockers. One consequence was Island label founder Chris Blackwell building a state of the art recording studio in the Bahamas and putting together a crack houseband that included the rhythmic powerhouse of drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare.

It wasn’t long before bands from other parts came a-knockin,’ and this compilation features a tasty selection of electro-funk that comprises an infectious blend of studio technology and the supple elasticity and satisfying repetition of reggae rhythm. It kicks off with a 12 inch version of Grace Jones’s My Jamaican Guy that reveals a futuristic funk groove pointing to the synthetic overtones of much 1980s pop music that was unfortunately lacking Jones’ supercool demeanour.

Elsewhere, New York post-punk is represented by The Talking Heads in full Brian Eno collaboration mode on the fantastic poly-rhythmic track Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On).

The music on this enticing collection is designed to get the body moving, and it even works for self conscious nondancers like myself.

DAN BIGNA

Cell Out

With Mark Russell; you wouldn’t like him when he’s angry, or possibly at any other time.

M. Night Shyamalan invites a lot of ranting, but my venom could never match Megan McKeough’s wrath in her review of The Happening; so I’ll cut it short and just sit back, crossing my fi ngers that he’ll get it together for theAvatar live-action adaptation he’s working on. It seems unlikely.

But then maybe he’s a post-modern genius. Maybe his career since The Sixth Sense is all a set up to the most surprising twist of all – that he’s actually talented!

The Incredible Hulk Recorded in a Marvel Enterprises executive lounge “So guys, the last Hulk movie kinda got a little emo. Maybe art-house was the wrong direction to go with a near-mute, big green ball of childish fury? We need buckets of style, and a relaxed attitude to things like plot and plausibility.” Somewhere, Louis Leterrier’s ears are burning…

Bringing the director of The Transporter 2 on to guide this second instalment really was a stroke of genius. It means that beginning with a two-minute montage, splashing exposition across the screen, wasn’t laziness - Leterrier is just making sure you have all the information as quickly as possible before the cheesy fun starts. And

Mongol This sweeping epic details the creation of one of the greatest warlords the world has ever seen; though a little differently from how you might expect.

It is not a catalogue of the strategic genius of Genghis Khan’s many successes in battle. These stories will most likely be saved for director Sergei Bodrov’s rumoured sequel(s). Instead, Mongol is the story of the great Khan’s forging amidst the harsh climes of the Mongolian Steppe. We begin watching young Temudjin (Odnyam Odsuren) being taught the ways of leadership by his enigmatic father. Odsuren brings a subtle and quiet strength to these early moments. Through him

The Happening DO NOT SEE THIS MOVIE. The Happening, here are ten things I hate about you.

1. I hate your title.

2. I hate your director. M. Night Shyamalan has well and truly lost it.

The Happening actually decreases your quality of life, makes you wish you’d never seen it and is the cinematic equivalent of a kick in the face. I blame you, Mr Director/Writer/Producer.

3. I hate your plot. A mysterious phenomenon/event that renders people unable to talk or move, and which leads them to suicide? A chilling concept, yes. Unfortunately, M. Night executes it as a ridiculous farce that is sickening in its goriness and completely lacking class. The terror here is handled about as subtly as a shovel to the eye.

Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) speaking Portuguese: “You’re making me hungry. You wouldn’t like me when I’m hungry…wait, that’s not right.”

The Incredible Hulk

there’s lots of this to be had, at least in the first two-thirds. Through said montage we learn that Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) has fled to Brazil after a particularly destructive hulk ‘incident’ in which he injured Betty (Liv Tyler).

He’s spent the last few years learning to control the green fury within whilst searching for a cure. This is rudely interrupted when Betty’s General father (William Hurt) hunts him down and sics crack soldier Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth) onto his trail.

The Incredible Hulk is too long. Both Norton and Roth handle this material brilliantly, but Hurt and Tyler’s difficulties with the ironic tone only become more pronounced over time.

Some story flab could also have been trimmed, and the action sequences

would have benefited from a quality over quantity approach. Really, we’re all kinda just waiting for the moment when the main foe from the trailer shows up – a creature that can best be described as the result of dipping a dugong in the toxic ooze from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

If they’d gotten to this fight a little quicker, the occasional moments of boredom would have disappeared and the film would have been a true <ahem> Hulk smash. As it stands, there’s still enough fun to make it worth the price of admission.

we see the child’s steely observation, severe pragmatism and unwavering belief in his ruling birthright.

Tadanobu Asano then takes over duties, lending humanity to Temudjin the man. And this is what is at the heart of the film – the infamous brutality often associated with Genghis Khan is left to bubble away suggestively in the background. Telltale signs of a bloodthirsty general are visible, but he never actually rears his head. Rather his moral character, resilience and love for his wife Borte (Khulan Chuluun) take centre stage. Next to Temudjin himself, Borte is undoubtedly the strongest character in the film. She fulfils many roles in helping create

Genghis: steadfast and loyal partner, conniving Lady MacBeth and counselling voice of reason.

This can not be said to be a wholly historically accurate tale, as most of Temudjin’s recorded life is based on speculation, due in the main to his frequent and extended disappearances.

As always, the Russian film structure can make for unfamiliar pacing, but Mongol offers a great character piece with gorgeous scenery, a shade of mysticism, and a couple of good fistpumping fight scenes.

4. I hate the actors whose resumes you have soiled. Mark Wahlberg lets closeups do all the work as he fluctuates between woodenly fumbling through scenes like he barely gives a shit, and baffling bouts of overacting that border on comedy. Zooey Deschanel plays his wide-eyed, vacant wife - and is about as useful as a cardboard sign flapping in the wind - spitting out her lines like she’s had a lobotomy, and wandering through scenes as though looking for the nearest crack pipe.

5. I hate your dialogue. (To replicate, simply take something B-grade, remove any irony or satire, add a good dose of cliché along with offensively obvious exposition, mix with pathetic attempts at drama and spoon feed it to an audience that should have walked out after the bee monologue.)

6. I hate that the characters say the word ‘happening’ every freaking two seconds.

7. I hate your unnecessary violence.

The repeated suicides are tasteless and horrifying.

8. I hate your stupid ‘phenomenon’.

Spoiler alert: it’s the fucking trees.

They hate people. Cue some terrifying, tense shots of… grass waving in the wind? Tree branches blowing around and… plotting?

9. I hate your ignorance. Throwing psycho old ladies and rifle-bearing crazies into the plotline doesn’t spell excitement – it makes your director look desperate.

10. I hate your ending. You reach the point of absurdity then decline even further, only to push merrily on to a conclusion that can only be described as a welcome, though thoroughly lame, relief.

I will rate this movie, if M. Night returns my lost hour and a half to me.

NO RATING MEGAN McKEOUGH

MARK RUSSELL

MARK RUSSELL

Tim Galvin First of all, I’ll be honest. I can’t dance. After a few Jagerbombs I sway around to the music with a ‘robot’ here and a ‘say-say what?’ there, but other than that I am the dancing equivalent of a post ’90s Darryl Sommers: embarrassing and useless. But thanks to my housemates’ fantastic obsession with reality TV, these days I wouldn’t be averse to picking apart the choreography in a Justin Timberlake filmclip after sitting through every episode of the inaugural Australian version of SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE.

So do ya? huh?

I know the guys are with me here when I say that our initial interest in watching such a programme is for two reasons: to see the bloopers and to gawk at the girls contorting themselves in extremely tight fitting clothing. But as the programme got to the business end, I witnessed some really incredible moments of physical art performed by some amazingly talented young dancers, one of them being Kate Wormald who, after the smoke and glitter settled, was voted one of Australia’s top four favourite dancers.

“In my late teens I was constantly dancing and it was hard juggling that with study; there was a time when I decided not to hold back on dancing and to focus on that. I have always been a dancer and moved from the Gold Coast to Melbourne, then on to Sydney to do Happy Feet, and have worked in LA for various pop acts.”

t four kilograms ” With such a gruelling culling process, second only to y… that of Belconnen-based Kangaroos, many dancers “I think I lost abou st want it so badl that week, you ju had their dreams shattered like a bare fist hitting a concrete wall (real fans will know what I'm alluding to).

“I don’t know how I got through it to be honest!

During the top 100 week with all the people being sent home it was so draining. I think I lost about four kilograms that week. You just want it so badly and it was so good to get into the top 20. I would have to say getting into the top four would be my proudest moment. It was a great feeling because for a while there I thought everyone hated me!” She laughs. “It was really good to see that I had some support out there.”

Seeing the professionally choreographed performances on your TV screen just doesn’t do the experience justice, so the SYTYCD team have put together a national tour involving the top 20 dancers performing around the country in a massive stage show where the pressure is off and the dancers can concentrate on doing what they do best.

“The show is all the best duos and best groups performances from the show. I am doing nine routines myself which will be fun. My favourite of my own from the show was definitely the Singing in the Rain routine. You don’t really think about the pressure of doing it when you are on stage performing, I just embrace the moment. We can all really just let go and not worry about whether we will be there next week or not. The hardest part for me would have to have been the top four shows where we had to learn four routines in four days, so this is all just about having fun!”

The So You Think You Can Dance live show hits the AIS Arena on Thursday July 10. Tickets on sale through Ticketek (132 849 or ticketek.com.au) and Ticketmaster (136 100 or ticketmaster.com.au).

GIG REVIEWS

Warehouse Winter Music Festival @ AIS Arena, Saturday May 31 Sitting anxiously on the bus from Sydney to Canberra on the morning of the first ever Warehouse Winter Music Festival, I put together what I thought was a pretty good agenda to take in at least a little bit of each of the plethora of outstanding acts on the bill. With the likes of British breaks boffins Hybrid, chaotic Brazilians Bonde Do Role and French veterans Cassius all vying for attention, Warehouse had plenty on offer.

However the day started on a disappointing note when we found out Cassius had missed their plane from Paris and would not be taking part.

The tardy ‘Toop Toop’ troopers’ absence was made up for with the lastminute inclusion of UK deck-wizard A-Skillz and Canadian talent STA. Upon entering the event, you couldn’t help but be impressed with the sheer size of the main Arena. The lighting and sound was fantastic as the crowd danced under scores of giant rubber balls that hung from the roof. The dance floor was flanked by stadium seating which meant you could chill out and watch the acts from an elevated perspective.

But our first stop was outside at the Terrace, to see local boy Sean Kelly work his magic from the back of a huge pickup truck. Kelly got the crowd moving as more and more people spilled outside to explore the venue. The calibre of costumes and dance moves paraded at the Terrace signalled that this was going to be a good day.

Next we headed inside to the Club stage to watch more local talent as the Aston Shuffle tore the place apart with beats like their cracker For Everyone. We couldn’t stay for the Aston’s finale, however, as a majority vote took the group in to watch Aussie dance music icons Kid Kenobi and MC Shureshock slam down their consistent best in the Arena, boosting the crowd with trademark party tunes.

They were followed by Mixmaster Mike, who took centre stage a little ahead of schedule. The Beastie Boys disc-jockey wasted no time in doing what he does best – mashing music together with perplexing dexterity.

The shifts in rhythm make Mike’s sets a little hard to dance to, so we instead decided to take a seat and watch the Master work his craft.

Late entrant A-Skillz followed next, pulling out a string of aces in a 40minute trick set. When A-Skillz antics concluded anticipation built for the entrance of baile-funk bandits Bonde Do Role. It felt quite surreal watching the Brazilians bounce around live after hearing reports only six months ago that irreconcilable differences meant the group would never perform again. Their rendition of Marina Gasolina was one of the highlights of the day, as the whole crowd jumped around together. The fact that no one understood the lyrics didn’t stop anyone from pulling out their best Portuguese impressions to sing along to the tune.

We left Bonde towards the end of the set in search of a more solid bass line and stumbled into Mr Oizo in the Club. The Frenchman looked like he had been pulled straight from a homeless shelter, with a bottle of Moet replacing the proverbial brown paper-bagged longneck. Oizo played a heavy set but constantly kept the tempo elevated. We somehow managed to miss his signature track Flat Beat, and were a little disappointed that he didn’t drop his remix of Rage Against the Machine’s anthem Killing In The Name Of. Despite this, Mr Oizo still managed to take the cake for best set of the festival.

Australia’s number-one DJ Ajax was next in the Club, taking control of the decks and the crowd. The set contained plenty of high quality mixes and mash-ups, but couldn’t quite match the energy of the Mr Oizo.

A trip back to the Arena saw us catch Utah Saints in full swing. It was difficult to fully appreciate the fact that these warhorses had been playing music since before I was born, but it wasn’t difficult to enjoy their vibe. The highlight came when the Saints’ dropped the first hint of Kate Bush’s lyrics from Something Good, igniting Running Man hysteria amongst the crowd. Towards the end the seasoned British stalwarts announced they only had five minutes left but still had a bunch of records to play. To the crowd’s amusement they finished the performance by cranking the speed up to triple time to get through their set, sending everyone into a mega-dance frenzy.

WAREHOUSE @ AIS ARENA. PHOTOS BY KLIPS

We split the final timeslot between all three stages, catching STA, Hybrid and even some of local lad Escha in the Terrace. By the time the final record spun everyone was thoroughly satisfied with the inaugural Warehouse event. Although I wasn’t quite able to stick to my agenda, I had twice as much fun as I expected. Can’t wait to see what Warehouse throws up next year.

HENRY HOLLAND

FIRST CONTACT

Write your band’s name as well as the name and phone number of the person to contact (limit of two contacts ie. phone and email) and send $5 (cheque or money order made to Bands, Music, Action) to bma: PO Box 713, Civic Square, ACT, 2608. For your $5 you’ll stay on the register until you request removal. Changes to listings also cost $5.

Aaron Peacey Aaron 0410 381 306 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 Annie & the Armadillos Annette 6161 1078/0422 076 313 The Ashburys Dan Craddock 0419 626 903 Aria Stone singer/songwriter(guitar), sax & flute Aria 0411 803 343 Australian Kingswood Factory Sharon 0412 334 467 Australian Songwriters Association (Keiran Roberts) 6231 0433 Arythmia: Ben 0423 408 767/ arythmiamusic@gmail.com Backbeat Drivers Steve 0422 733 974, www.backbeatdrivers.com Bastards Jamie 0424 857 282/ www.bastards.altpro.net Big Boss Groove Andrew 0404 455 834, www.bigbossgroove.com.au Birds Love Fighting Gangbusters/DIY shows - bookings@birdslovefighting.com Blister Bug Stu 0408 617 791 Bridge Between, The Rachel 0412 598 138, thebridgebetween.com.au Bruce Stage mgr/consultant 6254 9857 Casual Projects Julian 0401 016 885 Catchpenny Nathan 0402 845 132 Caution Horses Nigel 0417 211 580 CD and Website Design Brendan 0404 042 574 Chuffs, The Glenn 0413 697 546 Cold Heart Projects Andrew 6294 5450 Cole Bennetts Photography 0415 087 833/colebennetts@gmail.com Colourful Racing Identities Josh 0410 135 605 Cool Weapon Luke 0410 983 450/ Josh 0412 863 019 Cris Clucas Cris 6262 5652 Crooked Dave 0421 508 467 Cumulonimbus Matt 0412 508 425 Dahahoo Rafe 0416 322 763 Dance With Amps Marcus 0421 691 332 Danny V Danny 6238 1673/0413 502 428 DayTrippers, The Reidar 0414 808 677, daytrippers@grapevine.com.au (dp) New Media Artists Mal 0414 295 297 DOGACT dog-act@hotmail.com, Paulie 0408287672.

DJ & the Karismakatz DJ Gosper 0411 065 189/karismakatz@yahoo.com.au DJs Madrid and Gordon 0417 433 971 DJ/MC Bootcamp Donte 9267 3655 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 Dubba Rukki Jim 0409 660 745 Easy Mode Daz 0404 156 482, easymodeband@gmail.com, myspace. com/easymodeband Entity Chris 0412 027 894 Epic Flagon band@epicflagon.com EYE eye@canberra.teknet.net.au Fighting Mongooses, The Adam 0402 055 314 Final Warning Brendan 0422 809 552 Fire on the Hill Aaron 0410 381 306/ Dan 0410 480 321 FirePigs, The Danny 6238 1673/0413 502 428 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 Guff Damian 6230 2767 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 Adam Hole Adam 0421 023 226 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 Jennifer Versatile singer looking for band; 0422 158 362 Jim Boots 0417 211 580 Kurt's Metalworx (PA) 0417 025 792 Lenders, The Tim 6247 2076 Little Smoke Sam 0411 112 075 Los Capitanes Tim 0421 842 247 Manilla Green Herms 0404 848 462, contactus@manillagreen.com, Martin Bailey Audio Engineer 0423 566 093 Malumba Dan 6253 5150 MC Kayo Marbilus 0405 648 288 kayo_101@hotmail.com, www.myspace. com/kayo_marbilus, Meatbee Ben 0417 492 560 Murder Meal Combo Anthony 0419 630 721 MuShu Jack 0414 292 567, mushu_band@hotmail.com Myriad Kath 6253 8318 MyOnus myonusmusic@hotmail.com/ www.myspace.com/myonus Neptune's Necklace Mark 6253 1048 No Retreat Simon 0411 155 680 Ocean Moses Nigel 0417 211 580 OneWayFare Chris 0418 496 448 Painted Hearts, The Peter 6248 6027 Para 0402 277 007 Petra Elliott Petra 0410 290 660 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 Queanbeyan Music & Electronics 6299 1020 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 Sara Vancea Sara 6247 9899 Seditious Intent Toby 0419 971 547 Sindablok Duncan 0424 642 156 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 Stalker and Liife Darren 0413 229 049 strong like sam Luke 0423 762 812 Super Best Friends Matt 0438 228 748 Surrender Jordan 0439 907 853 Switch 3 Mick 0410 698 479 System Addict Jamie 0418 398 556 Taboo Bamboo Greg 0439 990 455 That ‘80s Band Ty 0417 265 013 The Morning After (covers band) Anthony 0402 500 843/ myspace.com/themorningaftercovers Tim James Lucia 6282 3740, 0413 609 832, LUCIAMURDOCH@hotmail.com Top Shelf Colin 0408 631 514 TRS tripstate@hotmail.com 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 Woden Youth Centre Jeremy 6282 3037 Zeitgeist www.zeitgeist.xwave Zero Degrees and Falling Louis 0423 918 793 Zwish 0411 022 907

GIG GUIDE June 26 - 28 THURSDAY JUNE 26

FRIDAY JUNE 27

ARTS ___________

DANCE _____________

Arc Cinema: Alvin Purple Aussie sex-ploitation classic, introduced by media commentator Catharine Lumby. 7:30pm NATIONAL FILM AND SOUND ARCHIVE Nije Crna (Not Black) An exhibition by Tim Brook and Ruth Hingston. Til 13 July HUW DAVIES GALLERY, MANUKA ARTS CENTRE

Junglism 7 feat Shockone (Perth) A veritable D&B spree with Buick, Dredd, Kilojulz, Twisted System, Benjammin, Escha and MCs Harlequin and Anton MERCURY BAR Ashley Feraude Spinning a soundtrack of soulful tunes as you sip your after work drinks. From 6-9pm BINARA ONE James Taylor With Ben Morris and McLosty (The Help), and the Aston Shuffle. $15 on the door. From 10pm LOT 33 Havana Nights Come to a world of tropical rhythms, passionate dancing and sultry dance shows. With live percussion, bands and more MONKEY BAR

DANCE _____________ Trash Thursdays ACADEMY

LIVE _____________ Jim Beam on Campus Party Featuring Using Three Words, Telefiction, Hancock Basement and DJs. From 4pm. Free!

ANU BAR Gangbusters From 9pm. Entry $5 BAR 32 Van Serono Hippo Unplugged. Entry $7 HIPPO Live From the Underground Featuring Flamingo Crash, The Jezabels, Lions at Your Door and the Vignette. Free entry TRANSIT BAR The Black Sorrows From 8pm. Tix $25 VIKINGS CLUB ERINDALE

SOMETHING DIFFERENT _____________ Tahir @ The Laugh Shack Alongside Tahir Bilgic will be Jay Sullivan, The Stevenson Experience, and Kale Bogdanovs, with Geoff Setty as MC. Tix $20.

From 8:30pm THE VENUE FRIDAY JUNE 27

ARTS _____________ Fumed Oak and The Balls Up Directed by Jasan Savage.

Until 26 July. Show and 4 course gourmet dinner $65. Bookings essential GALLERY CAFÉ, UNIVERSITY OF CANBERRA

LIVE _____________ Variodivers CD Launch With Spoil and Tin Alley (Melbourne). Entry $10 and includes a copy of the CD! Doors 8pm. 2-4-1 Jagerbombs til 9 with the Jagerdudes! Be afraid!

THE GREENROOM Infection: Rock vs DJs Featuring Moh Van Wah, Black List, Zero Degrees, Lines All Clear, Stunami and Cranky. $5 house wine til 10pm.

THE BASEMENT Rev Indie/alternative/rock/pop/punk madness every Friday, $5 entry BAR 32 Dusty Grooves Featuring Jemist. From 8pm HIPPO Rembrandts KINGSTON HOTEL Souled Out Fridays Smooth and sexy R&B with Canberra’s all star DJs Daz, Nate, Rush, Adam and guest interstate DJs appearing the last Friday of every month MINQUE Leanne Melmoth CD Launch Launching her debut CD Perfect Day. From 8pm MURRUMBATEMAN INN Ernie Van Veen From 6pm SOUL BAR

FRIDAY JUNE 27

SATURDAY JUNE 28

LIVE _____________ Mr Lincon!

Rocking on from 10pm THE DURHAM The Bridge Between Vocal harmonies, acoustic/electric guitars, slide and harmonica.

9:30pm-12:30am THE POT BELLY Jemist ACT's groove gigalo spinning after work beats. Followed by...

TRANSIT BAR Bleep!

Featuring Ryan Papa (Mel), Ronnie Gordon and Mig L Bruisa TRANSIT BAR

SOMETHING DIFFERENT _____________ Kremlin Happy Hour From 5 to 8pm KREMLIN BAR SATURDAY JUNE 28

ARTS _____________ M16 Artspace Drawing Prize Opening, and prize announcement M16 ARTSPACE KINGSTON

DANCE _____________ Ashley Feraude BINARA ONE, CROWN PLAZA HOTEL Rockout Saturdays Funky house, rockin’ electro and massive tunes. Doors open 8:30pm. Free entry until 10. Resident DJs Trent Richardson & Kiz MONKEY BAR

DAY PLAY _____________ Gorman House Markets Mmmm… …stuff GORMAN HOUSE Burley Griffin Antique Centre Open every weekend, selling groove retro furniture and much, much more KINGSTON FORESHORE Jazz Sessions Every Saturday afternoon Minque presses play on their smooth jazz collection from 2pm. Try the Australian Selection Cheese platter for $10 and free wine tasting while you're at it MINQUE

Knightsbridge High Prom 1984 After four years of fun, are the kids of Knightsbridge High ready for the night of their lives? Boys: palm that gel and pastel that suit. Ladies: tease and scrunch. It’s time to break the rules. Featuring Jemist, D’Opus, Shunji, Downtown Brown and more. Doors open 7pm. Free entry KNIGHTSBRIDGE PENTHOUSE Agency Dub Collective Album Launch With special guests Hieronymus IX & Brujo. Free entry. From 9pm TRANSIT BAR Darker Half With death metal youngsters Anno Domini, Taliesin and Templestowe. From 8pm. Entry $10 THE GREENROOM Larger Than Life See Fresh Funk’s 300 dancers and all the hottest hip-hop moves in this dance spectacular.

From 8pm ERINDALE THEATRE The Funky Brothers KINGSTON HOTEL Tom Woodward With Mechanical Pterodactyl PHOENIX Big Night of Bands Featuring Kooky Fandango, Blamey St Connexion, Canberra Youth Music Big Band In Full Swing, and Jonno and the Zilberfish Little Big Band. From 6:30pm SERBIAN CLUB MAWSON Bi-Polar Protocol With Afraid You’ll Fall and Wasted Image THE BASEMENT Heuristic Kicks off at 10pm. $8 cocktails 4-10pm THE DURHAM

GIG GUIDE June 29 - July 9 SUNDAY JUNE 29

MONDAY JUNE 30

ARTS _____________

SOMETHING DIFFERENT _____________

Playwriting Australia Launch Celebration and 48 hour Play Generator Performances Join Play Writing Australia and special guest speaker Wayne Blair to celebrate the launch of the National Script Workshop 2008. From 7:30pm. Tix $10/$15 THEATRE 3, ELLERY CRESCENT, ACTON

Hospitality, Retail and Backpackers Night Featuring Mikah Freeman and special guests TRANSIT BAR

DAY PLAY _____________ Old Bus Depot Markets Find that thing to make that other thing work KINGSTON Burley Griffi n Antique Centre Open every weekend, selling groove retro furniture and much, much more KINGSTON FORESHORE Tuggeranong Homestead Markets Home of the hard to find TUGGERANONG HOMESTEAD

LIVE _____________ Larger Than Life See Fresh Funk’s 300 dancers and all the hottests hip-hop moves in this dance spectacular.

Shows at 5pm and 8pm ERINDALE THEATRE MONDAY JUNE 30

LIVE _____________ Stu Hamm Solo bass performance and clinic. Stu Hamm has worked with Steve Vai and Joe Satriani extensively and is now bringing his solo bass performance to the ACT for the first time ever.

7:30pm. $10 SOUTHERN CROSS CLUB PHILLIP Selby and Friend’s Masters of Melody Much loved chamber music favourites from Mozart, Dvorak and Schubert are the perfect complement in a cosy winter program. 7:30pm. Tix $50 FAIRFAX THEATRE, NATIONAL GALLERY OF AUSTRALIA The Bridge Between Vocal harmonies, acoustic/electric guitars, slide and harmonica, from 9:30pm PHOENIX

TUESDAY JULY 1

SOMETHING DIFFERENT _____________ Trivia Night Come and show your friends how smart you are PHOENIX Pot Belly Trivia Every Tuesday POT BELLY BAR Fame Trivia Be entertained, be educated and win great prizes! 7:30-10:30pm THE DURHAM Carry On Karaoke Come kroon, yodel, lipsink or just rockout at Canberra’s best midweek party. From 9pm TRANSIT BAR WEDNESDAY JULY 2

ARTS _____________ The Year of Magical Thinking Directed by Cate Blanchett, written by Joan Didion and starring Robyn Nevin. Until July 5. Tix from 6275 2700 THE PLAYHOUSE

DANCE _____________ Caribbean Vibes Kick back and re-charge for the last leg of the week and indulge in some infectious beats and tantalising cocktails MONKEY BAR

LIVE _____________ Bernie McGann HIPPO Phil Moriaty and the Troubles With Peter Hayes Band PHOENIX

SOMETHING DIFFERENT _____________ Trivia Night From 7.30pm ACT RUGBY UNION CLUB

WEDNESDAY JULY 2 Kremlin Cocktails Special $6 cocktails menu KREMLIN BAR Carry On Karaoke Grand prize $1000. Weekly prizes, golden hour lucky draw at 9:30-10:30pm. $5 Coronoas and Snowy Mtn Brewery beers THE DURHAM $5 Night Come try something new, drink what you like, all for $5!

TRANSIT BAR THURSDAY JULY 3

DANCE _____________ Trash Thursdays Featuring DJs Troy Wade and Esscue. $5 entry with two free drinks, plus $2 drinks ‘til 2am ACADEMY

LIVE _____________ Gangbusters With Little Pictures and Popolice.

From 9pm. Entry $5 BAR 32 Mammal On the Smash the Pinata Tour.

With special guests Sydonia and localites Tonk THE GREENROOM Kremlin Live Performances by local musicians KREMLIN BAR Blast From the Past Re-live your favourite original and remixed tunes from the late '80s and '90s. From 9pm MINQUE Ian Moss and Jon Stevens Cold Chisel’s legendary guitarist and Noiseworks’ frontman come together for the Let's Get Together tour. Tix $45 SOUTHERN CROSS CLUB PHILLIP Melanie Horsnell Touring in support of her new single Mary Mary and playing songs from her upcoming second album Complicated Sweetheart. Supported by Sherlocks Daughter THE HOLY GRAIL Live from the Underground TRANSIT BAR

THURSDAY JULY 3

SOMETHING DIFFERENT _____________ Canberra Rock Eisteddfod Challenge CANBERRA THEATRE FRIDAY JULY 4

DANCE _____________ Ashley Feraude Spinning a soundtrack of soulful tunes as you sip your after work drinks. From 6-9pm BINARA ONE (CROWN PLAZA HOTEL) Havana Nights Come to a world of tropical rhythms, passionate dancing and sultry dance shows. With live percussion, bands and more MONKEY BAR

LIVE _____________ UG Beats 6th Birthday Come and help Ug blow out the suspiciously white looking candles with Bec Paton, Jemist, Alistair, Miss Universe, Pornstylus and Not You. From 9pm. Free TRANSIT BAR Rev Indie/alternative/rock/pop/punk madness every Friday, $5 entry BAR 32 Ivoj Nob The ultimate Bon Jovi tribute show!

THE GREENROOM Judie Pearce & the Arrangement From 6:30pm SOUL BAR Special K From 9:30pm THE DURHAM Jemist After work beats. From 5pm TRANSIT BAR

SOMETHING DIFFERENT _____________ Kremlin Happy Hour From 5 to 8pm KREMLIN BAR

SATURDAY JULY 5

ARTS _____________ Arc Cinema: From Here to Eternity With Burt Lancaster, Deborah Kerr and Sinatra in Fred Zimmerman’s classic epic. 7:30pm NATIONAL FILM AND SOUND ARCHIVE

DANCE _____________ D’Opus & Roshambo – The Switch Album Launch The local legends finally drop their debut on us. Axe Aklins, Bagdad & Carts2Deadly, and Scott Burns & Mathmatics will be there to celebrate. Doors 9pm. Tix $10/$15 ANU BAR Ashley Feraude BINARA ONE, CROWN PLAZA HOTEL Rockout Saturdays Funky house, rockin’ electro and massive tunes. Doors open 8:30pm. Free entry until 10. Resident DJs Trent Richardson & Kiz MONKEY BAR Exposed Featuring Kid Cudi, Terrorvision, Scottie Fischer, Beat It, Taky and Sean Kelly TRANSIT BAR

SaturdayJULY 5 Charity Gig for Mission Australia Featuring Cool Weapon, Forgery, Original Theft, Corporate Takedown and Perpetual End THE BASEMENT rd 3 Exit THE DURHAM Judith Hickel and John Couch CD Launch Launching their new CD Andre’s New Shoes. From 8pm. Free admission TILLEY’S Jack Flash (Toowoomba) With The Throwaway Kids (Gong), All In Brawl and The Toxicmen THE POT BELLY

SOMETHING DIFFERENT _____________ ACT Salsa State Titles This is the qualifying even fro the best performing couples for the entry to the Australian Salsa Classic. 8pm-1am THE AUDITORIUM, WANNIASSA SUNDAY JULY 6

ARTS _____________

Gorman House Markets GORMAN HOUSE Burley Griffin Antique Centre KINGSTON FORESHORE Jazz Sessions Every Saturday afternoon Minque presses play on their smooth jazz collection from 2pm. Try the Australian Selection Cheese platter fro $10 and free wine tasting.

MINQUE

Crossing

By Otis Williams. Exhibition runs until 15 July HUW DAVIES GALLERY, MANUKA ARTS CENTRE Advance Australia Fair?

Until 13 July. Canberra is the focus city for NAIDOC week in 2008. Come to the Gallery and celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art and culture with special talks and performances throughout the week NATIONAL GALLERY OF AUSTRALIA

LIVE _____________

DAY PLAY _____________

Laura Jean & Grand Salvo THE FRONT Ivoj Nob The ultimate Bon Jobi tribute show, back by popular demand THE GREENROOM Jemist From 5pm KNIGTHSBRIDGE PENTHOUSE The Wedded Bliss PHOENIX

Old Bus Depot Markets KINGSTON Burley Griffin Antique Centre Open every weekend, selling groove retro furniture and much, much more KINGSTON FORESHORE Tuggeranong Homestead Markets Home of the hard to find TUGGERANONG HOMESTEAD

DAY PLAY _____________

SUNDAY JULY 6

LIVE _____________ The Bridge Between Vocal harmonies, acoustic/electric guitars, slide and harmonica.

3:30pm – 6:30pm AINSLIE BAR, OLIM’S HOTEL Vanessa Amorosi From 9:15pm. Tix $25.

Supported by Michael Paynter SOUTHERN CROSS CLUB PHILLIP MONDAY JULY 7

SOMETHING DIFFERENT _____________ Hospitality, Retail, Backpackers et al Night Featuring Mikah Freeman and special guests TRANSIT BAR TUESDAY JULY 8

ARTS _____________ Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri’s Warlugulong Ron Radford, Firection, and Brenda Croft, Senior Curator, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art, in conversation about this significant 25th anniversary acquisition. Free.

NATIONAL GALLERY OF AUSTRALIA

DAY PLAY _____________ Music at Lunchtime The Hall of University House is a perfect place to enjoy a variety of musical styles performed by staff and students from the School of Music. Concerts are approximately 90 minutes and include a light lunch and wine.

Tix $19.50. 12:30pm UNIVERSITY HOUSE HALL

LIVE _____________ Subsketch With Jonny Telafone THE FRONT ASA Wax Lyrical Sessions PHOENIX

SOMETHING DIFFERENT _____________ Pot Belly Trivia POT BELLY BAR

WEDNESDAY JULY 9 Fame Trivia Be entertained, be educated and win great prizes! 7:30-10:30pm THE DURHAM Carry On Karaoke Come kroon, yodel, lipsink or just rockout at Canberra’s best midweek party. From 9pm TRANSIT BAR

ARTS _____________ Mamma Mia The ACT Greens invite you to a preview screening of this movie.

Tix $15. 7pm GREATER UNION MANUKA Michele Maurin: Voyages Photographiques, An Ecological Journey This exhibition, presenting the work of major French photographer Michele Maruin, will be officially opened by Mr Bruno Bisson, French Charge D’Affaires at 6pm. The show will run until 3 August ANU DRILL HALL GALLERY

DANCE _____________ INC Under 18s Canberra’s newest underage dance event has arrived. INC Under 18s will be a new venture that will host under 18 parties each school holidays. Tix $18.80 from Ticketek and Landspeed HOLY GRAIL, CIVIC Caribbean Vibes Kick back and re-charge for the last leg of the week, and indulge in some infectious beats and tantalising cocktails MONKEY BAR

SOMETHING DIFFERENT _____________ Trivia Night From 7.30pm ACT RUGBY UNION CLUB Kremlin Cocktails Special $6 Cocktails menu KREMLIN BAR Carry On Karaoke Grant prize $100. Weekly prizes, Golden Hour lucky draw 9:3010:30pm. $5 Coronas and Snowy Mtn Brewery Beers THE DURHAM $5 Night Come try something new, drink what you like. All for $5!

TRANSIT BAR

DVDEVOTEE

3:10 To Yuma

Futurama: The Beast With a Billion Backs

(Sony Pictures Entertainment)

(Fox)

Despite being based on a short story by the prolific Elmore Leonard (Get Shorty, Jackie Brown), and containing two great lead actors in Christian Bale and Russell Crowe, poor editing and a few leaps of faith in the script leads to a very lagging film.

And here we are; Futurama film two from Matt Groening and co, following the unceremonious canning of the genius four season long series. Regular readers of these pages – and I know there’s at least seven of you – will recall I was less than impressed with the previous film Bender’s Big Score. So how does the sophomore effort stack up?

It starts well. From the inspired opening sequence that pays homage to early (and I’m talkin’ 1920s early) Mickey Mouse flicks to some inspired, and unexpected, moments of surrealist humour involving exploding heads and blood on pancakes, the first 30 minutes saw me slapping my thigh pink from mirth. Unfortunately, there is a “and then” to this review. And then it gets, well, serious.

Futurama in series form had a delicate and uncanny knack of lacing in heavier plotlines without bogging down either the story or, most importantly, the gags. Here, the weight becomes positively crushing, with the mood and pace slowed in the second half by subjects as intense as love and loss, death, and even suicide. Lacing your comedy with drama is exciting, sure; it drives the plot, and makes the comical moments all the more potent.

Throwing thick slabs at an audience expecting a handful of stoner giggles will have them reaching for the razor blades. And the plot is fantastical to say the least; some will find it hard to swallow, others will love where the broad spectrum of sci-fi can take them. I fall into the former category. So, again, like all the cinematic efforts from that genius Groening and his team – to whom I owe countless moments of mirth – I’m sadly left cold.

3:10 From Yuma concerns the tale of rancher Dan Evans (Bale) who, while tending his cattle, stumbles conveniently across career robber Ben Wade (Crowe) and his gang of miscreants.

From this point it becomes something of a power-play/bonding scenario between the two leads, as Evans charging himself with the task of escorting the sometimes-charming sometimes-brutal Wade to the 3:10 To Yuma train, and thus to his execution. Therein lies both the problem and charm of this film; while there is bound to be a certain amount of relationship building between a prisoner and their captor, this film grows to be something ridiculous. With scant regard for truth or character consistencies, Yuma has captor and prisoner getting all friendly by the end, something that certainly doesn’t hold true throughout the film. The characters are simple clichés with a struggling rancher and a robber with an eventual – yup, you got it – “heart of gold.” While director James Mangold (Walk the Line, Copland) does a reasonable job with what he’s been given, there are many missed opportunities. For a western, there aren’t many female characters, and the film plods along at a terribly slow pace, leading to a predictable conclusion, with some scenes taken to ridiculous proportions (why would a thief care about the bible? It is never really explained). Ultimately, 3:10 to Yuma is too flat to be enjoyable. No extra features on the copy supplied.

Next Issue:

GEOFF SETTY

Third time’s the charm? Please? I’d love to tell my as yet unborn kids that I really loved a Groening film one day.

ALLAN SKO

With e ! e g r t la Combe, Th i g n havi ore eter We're Bailey, Pots, and m Bill s, Sunpil LY 10 Beard U J T OU