Beat Magazine #1353

ISSUE 1353

|

9 JAN 2013

|

BEAT.COM.AU

MELBOURNE’S ORIGINAL AND HIGHEST CIRCULATING STREETPRESS

A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS

BONJAH

NIGHTWISH

100%: FM RADIO GODS

TWELVE FOOT NINJA

THIS WEEK: SABATON, DROPKICK MURPHYS, ALL GOOD FUNK ALLIANCE, GOING SWIMMING, MARDUK, KYUSS LIVES, SO FRENCHY SO CHIC SET TIMES, MADRE MONTE, BUGDUST, THE DEEP END

INAYA DAY

LIVE

LIVE

SATURDAY 12 JANUARY

To enhance the safety and welfare of all patrons, Crown promotes the following conditions of entry: Dress standards apply.

Management reserves all rights. Crown practices responsible serving of alcohol. Personal information collected by Crown will be handled in accordance with Crown’s Privacy Policy, see crownmelbourne.com.au.

NEW SINGLE LAUNCH LEVEL 3 | CROWN WWW.FUSIONATCROWN.COM.AU WWW.COATCROWN.COM.AU

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MELBOURNE’S EPIC SATURDAY CLUB NIGHT

2 CLUBS s 1 TICKET s DON’T MISS IT

THIS WEEK

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Beat Magazine Page 3

LIOR WITH WIT T H GIAN G I A N SLATER S L A TE ER & INVENIO I N V EN NIO

THE DARK PARTY Samuel Beckett meets the he Tokyo Shock S Boys

AND THE

K AT I E N O O N A N

CASUS-

KNEE DEEP ‘‘Brute Br ute strength strength a and nd exquiisite beauty’ beauty’ exquisite

Th The T he Gu G Guardian ardi dian di n UK UK

TEX PERKINS A L AATT E N I G H T S A L O N O F

D J B A R R Y ’ S O R G A N B E AT S E X P L O S I O N

MIGHTY DUKEE AND THE LORDS • PAPA P PILKO AND THE BINRATS A

T WOOHOO THE WOOOHOO REVUE • TUBA SKINNY (US) ( ) T H E P E RCH C R E E K FA M I LY J U G B A N D A LIVE CHAT A SHOW WITH GUESTS PERFORMING HAVE SHAPED THE SONGS THAT A H AVE SH A APED THEIR CAREERS

RUSSELL MORRIS DAVE FAULKNER PAUL DEMPSEY MICK HARVEY

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MUSIC,

CABARET AND A N D VAUDEVILLE ANTICS ANTICS

THE STORY SO FAR

DARK HORSES

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1925

VICTORIA HOTEL BRUNSWICK Monday $12 Steak Night & Free Pool

THU 10th Jan

VELA SPEAKEASY GOSSAMER PRIDE

8.30-9.15PM 9.30-10.15PM 10.30-11.15PM

FRI 11th Jan

THE STAFFORDS THE ZANES

9.30-10.30PM 10.45-11.45PM

SAT 12th Jan

WE THE PEOPLE KASHMERE CLUB

9.30-10.30PM 10.45-11.45PM

Tuesday Wednesday

$10 Vegetarian & Vegan Meals SATURDAYS ARVO JANUARY RESIDENCY

SATURDAY 12 JANUARY - 5PM

CHUCK JENKINS & THE ZHIVAGOS

LYRICAL GENIUS CHUCK JENKINS PLAYS FOUR BIG ARVO SESSIONS WITH VARIOUS MEMBERS OF THE ZHIVAGOS. GET DOWN TO A LEAST ONE OF THESE SHOWS ... YOU’D BE MAD IF YOU DIDN’T. THEN FROM

9PM

KING BEE BISCUIT

R’N’B, GARAGE, AND SOUL BAND LED BY MATTY VEHL (THE ZHIVAGOS). THEY’RE NEW. EXPECT EPIC HAMMOND ORGAN.

SUN 13th Jan

Trivia Night Returns Next Week

Thursday Anna’s GoGo Academy Returns Next Week $15 Parma & Pot

Friday

McAlpine’s Fusiliers 9:30 pm Saturday Ol’ Timey Music Jam Session 5pm, Beer Garden

Johnny Gibson & The Hangovers The Jackals 9:30 pm

THE DROOLING MOUTHS OF MEMPHIS 6-7PM THE DRUNKEN POACHERS

Sunday

5-6PM

Les Thomas & Beth Knights 5pm In The Beer Garden $12 Jugs of Carlton and Gypsy All Day

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Beat Magazine Page 8

*,9,1* &+$1&(6 72 83 $1' &20,1* /2&$/ 7$/(17 CHECK OUT ALL THE LATEST NEWS, REVIEWS AND FREE SHIT AT BEAT.COM.AU

‘THE BEST BAND OF 2012’ – THE GUARDIAN

TOUR EDITION FEATURING ADDITIONAL 12-TRACK REMIX CD

OUT NOW

MOJO

UNCUT

“THE WEIRDEST MOST WAY-OUT NEW BAND IN BRITAIN” - NME • “…THEY BORDER ON A RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE” - MUSICFEEDS • “THE HYPE IS WELL DESERVED” - THEMUSIC.COM.AU • “IRRESISTIBLY DANCEABLE….THE CROWD WENT ABSOLUTELY NUTS WITH VIOLENT DANCE MOVES OCCURRING ALL AROUND ME” - THEMUSIC • “I DID MY NUT IN MAKING THIS RECORD” – DAVE, DJANGO DJANGO • “ANOTHER THING THAT SCOTS DO IS MAKE GREAT OBTUSE POP MUSIC, DJANGO DJANGO ARE DOING THIS IN SPADES” - TOM, THE HORRORS • “ONE OF THE MOST BONE SHAKINGLY WEIRD – YET STILL STUFFED FULL OF ACE POP HOOKS – ALBUMS OF THE YEAR SO FAR” - NME ''SURELY THIS DEBUT WON'T BE TOPPED IN 2012'' – THE GUARDIAN

PLAYING

THE

HI-FI

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Beat Magazine Page 9

ZOO TWILIGHTS MUSIC AGAINST WILDLIFE EXTINCTION

LIVE AT MELBOURNE ZOO

TICK

ETS

ON S ALE

MISSY HIGGINS | HUSKY CLARE BOWDITCH | LISA MITCHELL JUSTICE CREW | KATE MILLER-HEIDKE THE BAMBOOS WITH TIM ROGERS TIMOMATIC | THE COLLECTIVE STONEFIELD | OWL EYES | + MORE

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THURSDAY 31 JAN - THE TOFF IN TOWN Curtin House, Level 2, 252 Swanston Street Tickets on Sale Now at Moshtix GOLD FIELDS DEBUT ALBUM OUT MARCH 8TH LIMITED EDITION 12” VINYL AVAILABLE MARCH 1ST PRE-ORDER NOW

www.goldfieldsmusic.com Beat Magazine Page 10

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WITH

DJ SET

AUSTRALIA

SRI LANKA

11 JANUARY 2013 - MCG

TICKETS SELLING FAST

AT CRICKET..COM..AU CHECK OUT ALL THE LATEST NEWS, REVIEWS AND FREE SHIT AT BEAT.COM.AU

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IN THIS ISSUE...

14

HOT TALK

18

TOURING

20

NADEAH, CARMEN MARIA VEGA

22

ARTS GUIDE

24

ART OF THE CITY, COMIC STRIP

26

A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS, TWELVE FOOT NINJA

35

BONJAH, ALL GOOD FUNK ALLIANCE

CARMEN MARIA VEGA PG 20

NADEAH PG 20

36

TWERPS, HUNX & HIS PUNX

38

KYUSS LIVES, LUCERO

39

NIGHTWISH

40

DROPKICK MURPHYS, SABATON

41

CORE/CRUNCH!

42

MUSIC NEWS

48

ALBUM OF THE WEEK, SINGLES, CHARTS

THIS WEEK IN 100%:

NICK WARREN

3 NEWTON STREET RICHMOND, VICTORIA 3121 Phone: (03) 9428 3600 Fax: (03) 9428 3611 email: info@beat.com.au www.beat.com.au BEAT MAGAZINE EMAIL ADDRESSES: (no large attachments please): Gig Guide: online at beat.com.au email gigguide@beat.com.au - it’s free!

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HUNX AND HIS PUNX PG 36

LUCERO PG 38

PUBLISHER: Furst Media Pty Ltd. MUSIC EDITOR: Tegan Butler ARTS EDITOR / ASSOCIATE MUSIC EDITOR: Tyson Wray EDITORIAL ASSISTANT: Nick Taras INTERNS: Alexandra Duguid, Dylan McCarthy, Spence Goucher, Daniel Bell, Jack Parsons, Zoe Radas, Lorna Thornton, Kate McCarten GENERAL MANAGER: Patrick Carr SENIOR ADVERTISING/EDITORIAL CO-ORDINATOR: Ronnit Sternfein BEAT PRODUCTION MANAGER: Pat O’Neill GRAPHIC DESIGNERS: Pat O’Neill, Mike Cusack, Gill Tucker, Rebecca Houlden, Baly Knox COVER ART: Pat O’Neill ADVERTISING: Taryn Stenvei (Music: Bands/Tours/Record Labels) taryn@beat.com.au Ronnit Sternfein (100%/Beat/Arts/Education/Ad Agency) ronnit@beat.com.au Aleksei Plinte (Backstage/ Musical Equipment) mixdown@beat.com.au Adam Morgan (Hospitality/Bars) adam@beat.com.au Kris Furst (beat.com.au) kris@furstmedia.com.au 0431 243 808 Jessica Riley (Indie Bands/Special Features) jessica@furstmedia.com.au CLASSIFIEDS: classifieds@beat.com.au GIG GUIDE SUBMISSIONS: now online at www.beat.com.au or bands email gigguide@beat.com.au

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49

ALBUMS

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GIG GUIDE

58

LIVE

SPECIAL PROJECTS EDITOR: Christie Eliezer SENIOR CONTRIBUTORS: Simone Ubaldi, Patrick Emery COLUMNISTS: Emily Kelly, Peter Hodgson.

CONTRIBUTORS: Mitch Alexander, Siobhan Argent, Bella Arnott-Hoare, Thomas Bailey, Graham Blackley, Chris Bright, Joanne Brookfield, Tegan Butler, Avrille BylockCollard, Rose Callaghan, Kim Croxford, Dave Dawson, John Donaldson, Alexandra Duguid, Alasdair Duncan, Cam Ewart, Callum Fitzpatrick, Jack Franklin, Chris Girdler, Megan Hanson, Chris Harms, Andrew Hickey, Nick Hilton, Peter Hodgson, Lachlan Kanoniuk, Cassandra Kiely, Joshua Kloke, Nick Mason, Krystal Maynard, Miki McLay, Jeremy Millar, James Nicoli, Oliver Pelling, Matt Panag, Jack Parsons, Sasha Petrova, Liam Pieper, Steve Phillips, Zoe Radas, Adam Robertshaw, Joanna Robin, Leigh Salter, Side Man, Jeremy Sheaffe, Sisqo Taras, Kelly Theobald, Tamara Vogl, Dan Watt, Katie Weiss, Krissi Weiss, Rod Whitfield, Jen Wilson, Tyson Wray, Simone Ziada, Bronius Zumeris. © 2012 Furst Media Pty Ltd. No part may be reproduced without the consent of the copyright holder.

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EAGLE AND THE WORM + OSCAR AND MARTIN

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SATURDAY 26 JANUARY 4.30PM – 6PM

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DIAFRIX + CHANCE WATERS

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HOT TALK

THE BIGGEST IN INTERNATIONAL & NATIONAL NEWS

For all the latest news check out beat.com.au

MORNING AFTER GIRLS New York City has been home for the Morning After Girls for a full five years now, and the time has been filled with some great accomplishments. After releasing their second album Alone solely in the States, the band are bringing the collection of eclectic, worldly tunes back to their native Victoria. A pile of the best American music mags have all deemed the record a must listen, so get down to Ding Dong on Friday January 18 to ensure you don’t miss its live Aussie debut.

Tickets are available from oztix.com.au.

NOBUNNY With a career spanning over 12 years, Nobunny is finally making his way to Australia to treat us to a cracked show of garage rock and bubblegum absurdity. Nobunny is the solo output of Hunx and his Punx guitarist Justin Champlin, and the dirty lo-fi sounds he busts out have been so far released across 11 different labels including Jack White’s Third Man Records. Champlin will be donning his fluffy tail and hitting Melbourne on Friday February 1, at The Tote Hotel. Tickets can be purchased through Moshtix.

MARDUK Sweden’s kings of unholy black metal chaos Marduk will be invading our shores, headlining the Serpent Sermon tour this summer. Joining them on the crusade will be Australia’s own curators of the abyss Portal; and Melbourne’s blackened horde Order Of Orias. Don’t miss Marduk playing the HiFi Bar, Friday January 11. Tickets are on sale now and are available through Oztix.

BENJAMIN SKEPPER After blockbuster shows at the National Gallery of Victoria Exhibition Napoleon Art After Dark, tours in Italy, France, UK and Japan, Benjamin Skepper is set to play the Corner Hotel in a very special preview of his debut at MONA FOMA 2013. Tokyo-based Melbourne-born Skepper has gained international recognition for his solo performance installation style, creating sound installations in palaces, art museums, religious sites, medieval clock towers, cemeteries, gym lockers and most recently sampling champagne bubbles with hydrophones for Dom Perignon in Japan. In a new creative chapter, the artists’ multimedia performance will bring the audio and visual spheres into orbit, with symbiotic visual projections by Tomoya Kishimoto. Expect newly mastered field recordings from world travels in Turkey, Japan, France and Italy contrasted with songs from recently released third solo album, Inimitable, and improvisations beyond. Benjamin Skepper plays the Corner Hotel on Wednesday January 16.

Beat Magazine Page 14

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HOT TALK

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PETER MURPHY

BARBARION

SICK OF IT ALL Anthemic hardcore thrash is Sick Of It All’s game, and they’ve been playing it all over the world since back in ‘86. Latest release Based On A True Story is another quality album which allows the quartet’s intense social conscience and livid commentary on world issues to come hurtling into view. Sick Of It All will be playing a Sidewave show at The Espy, supported by streetlife-inspired Madball and the adventurously melodic metal outfit Vision Of Disorder, both from New York. The gig is Wednesday February 27, tickets are available though Oztix and they go on sale this Friday at 9am.

In the opening scenes of David Bowie’s vampire film The Hunger the camera is drawn to one of the most strikingly intriguing frontmen of the ‘80s. The song performed, Bela Lugosi’s Dead, spawned the gothicrock subculture, influencing such acts as The Sisters Of Mercy and The Cure, and providing inspiration and a sense of belonging to millions of alienated youth worldwide. Bram Stoker be damned – Dracula was never as sexy as Peter Murphy with his sinewy looks and dark brooding vocals. Peter Murphy’s current live show sees him reclaiming his legacy, performing both material from his entire solo career including his latest album Ninth, plus as an added bonus Bauhaus classics such as She’s In Parties, Stigmata Martyr, Dark Entries and In The Flat Field.

Unbelievably, this will be the first time Peter Murphy has ever performed in Australia, either solo or as part of Bauhaus and maybe your only opportunity to see Peter Murphy’s unique live performance and hear that voice – one which never fails to deliver and amaze. Witness Peter Murphy perform at The Corner Hotel on Friday, January 11, with special guests Ikon and Dandelion Wine.

DUFF MCKAGAN’S LOADED Bassist with shit-hot rock and metal bands all over (including Guns ‘n’ Roses, Velvet Revolver and Jane’s Addiction), Duff McKagan has solidified his lordly status with three solo albums full of the earthy, pounding hooks that carried him into his own territory. McKagan and his gang have announced a Sidewave show on Thursday February 28 at The Espy, supported by Toronto’s Danko Jones. Tickets are available through Oztix, so be ready this Friday when they go on sale at 9am.

KYUSS LIVES Obviously it was tragic when Kyuss broke up, which is why Kyuss Lives have temporarily wiped fans’ tears away in the most lovingly brutal way possible: by fucking shit up as only they can do.

In what is sure to be a stunning send-off, Kyuss Lives will perform under the band’s titular banner for the last time during their Soundwave 2013 shows. They have announced a Sidewave gig in Melbourne for Tuesday February 26, at The Palace. Tickets are available through both Ticketek and Oztix.

CHECK OUT ALL THE LATEST NEWS, REVIEWS AND FREE SHIT AT BEAT.COM.AU

Beat Magazine Page 15

HOT TALK

ROCK’N’RIDE FOR HEADSPACE

THE BIGGEST IN INTERNATIONAL & NATIONAL NEWS

For all the latest news check out beat.com.au

THE ORBWEAVERS

Phil Jamieson of Grinspoon will be piloting a race over six days to raise awareness for the National Youth Mental Health Foundation ‘headspace’ commencing at the Gold Coast Big Day Out and concluding at the Adelaide Big Day Out. The tour will include stops at headspace centres in destinations across four states, and aims to disperse the taboo clouding discussion on mental health. Meet and greets and acoustic performances are amongst the activities scheduled to connect with communities and their troubled youth. A slew of media personalities will accompany Jamieson including co-founder of Big Day Out Adam Zammit, Chris Jannou of Silverchair, Jake Stone of Bluejuice, Paul Mac, Nathan Hindmarsh of the Parramatta Eels and more. The full itinerary of the tour and other information can be found at bigdayout.com/ rocknride.

CARNIVAL OF SUBURBIA A defining jewel of the Oakleigh Music Festival, the Carnival of Suburbia will exalt the so-called cultural wastelands of the outer city with a world-class program of national and international acts over 12 days.

Legendary US swamp rock guitarist Tony Joe White and American singer and clawhammer banjo ace Abigail Washburn will join locals The Orbweavers and Rebecca & Billy’s Singalong Society, while other acts such as a stand-up collaboration between Dave O’Neill, Glen Robbins and Matt Hardy will be performed across two venues. Held from Wednesday March 6 to Sunday March 17, check carnivalofsuburbia.com for full announcements and ticketing information.

XAVIER RUDD

PORT FAIRY FOLK MUSIC FESTIVAL The final lineup announcement for the Port Fairy Folk Music Festival has landed and sees big local and international names added to the bill. Notable Australian festival veteran Xavier Rudd has joined Sean Taylor, London Klezmer Quartet, Buke & Gase, Baby et Lulu, Cactus Channel, The Ramshackle Army, Riogh, Andy Alberts & The Walkabouts, Mustered Courage, Matthew Fagan and The Stillsons. The third and final ticket release for the four-day festival that runs from Friday March 8 to Monday March 11 has now commenced. For more info and ticket purchases head to portfairyfolkfestival.com.

THE TOOT TOOT TOOTS

CLARKEFIELD MUSIC FESTIVAL The Second Annual Clarkefield Music Festival will see some of Australia’s finest musicians join forces for a common cause, as they raise money to help assist children and their families living in poverty in Cambodia.

All money raised on the day will go directly to the running of a new school (which last years festival helped to build) for over 1,000 children in the Kampong Thom province of Cambodia. The Festival will feature renowned Australian musicians Tim Rogers, Mick Thomas And The Roving Commission, Sal Kimber, The Toot Toot Toots, Charles Jenkins And The Zhivagos, The Stetson Family, San Gras and Dead River Deeps, with local acts Brother Johnstone, Jarrod Shaw and Sarah Wilkinson, with more great acts soon to be announced! Head on down to The Clarkefield Music Festival at The Clarkefield Pub, Sunday March 17. Presale tickets available for $30 through clarkefieldmusicfestival.com or $35 at the gate. Family tickets $70 and children under 12 y/o get in free! Doors at 12pm.

SUGAR MOUNTAIN AUSTRALIA DAY PARTY Under the prolific captaincy of frontman John Dwyers, The Oh Sees have been absolutely smashing their international tours and will shortly be back in Australia to dose us up with more tight and psychedelic tunes from their new record Putrifiers II EP. Hosted at Schoolhouse Studios for the Sugar Mountain Australia Day public holiday party, the band will be joined by two of Melbourne’s finest outfits: indie punk champs Dick Diver and the intensely energetic fuzz of ScotDrakula. There are more bands to be announced so keep an eye on sugarmountainfestival.com. Tickets are on sale through Moshtix.

Beat Magazine Page 16

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HOT TALK For all the latest news check out beat.com.au

THE BIGGEST IN INTERNATIONAL & NATIONAL NEWS

ST KILDA FESTIVAL The St Kilda Festival, Australia’s largest free music festival, has announced its programme for the iconic Festival Sunday, as well as the Yalukit Wilum Ngargee: People Place Gathering and its Live N Local program. On the main stage on Festival Sunday, check out live sets from the Midnight Juggernaut DJs, the wonderfully talented While The City Sleeps, Peter Combe & The Quirky Berserkey Newspaper Mama Band, Oh Mercy, Pez, Ash Grunwald and Bluejuice. The St Kilda Festival runs from Saturday February 2 until Sunday February 10. For further information, as well as the full Live N Local programme, please visit the St Kilda Festival website.

ASH GRUNWALD

MISSY HIGGINS

FREE SHIT DAVID BYRNE AND ST VINCENT David Byrne – founding member of prolific (now defunct) new wave band Talking Heads, and St Vincent – solo indie pop artist Annie Clark, collaborate for the Love This Giant Tour. Born from their recently released album, the tour promises all the grandeur of two high calibre performers eschewing traditional backing in favour of a choreographed, dancing full brass band. Two double passes are up for grabs for the show which takes place on Monday January 14 and Tuesday January 15 at Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne.

ZOO TWILIGHTS: MISSY HIGGINS The Zoo Twilights are a series of summer music performances pitted against wildlife extinction. Set at Melbourne Zoo, each weekend will feature two nights of live performances by different local talent.

Commencing on Friday January 25 with Missy Higgins, the performances continue throughout February and into early March. We have three double passes to give away.

VENGABOYS + ASH GRUNWALD AT THE ESPY An interesting juxtaposition of musical performance takes place this week at The Espy. First up is Dutch outfit The Vengaboys returning to grace our shores with their infectious brand of Eurodance hits on Thursday January 10, followed by a hyper reduction of pace to Melburnian Ash Grunwald from the back of his Falls Festival performance, singing his signature blues on the next night, Friday January 11. Because we cater to fans of any musical inclination we are giving away a double pass to both shows.

Head to beat.com.au/freeshit to enter and WIN! CHECK OUT ALL THE LATEST NEWS, REVIEWS AND FREE SHIT AT BEAT.COM.AU

Beat Magazine Page 17

TOURING

WHO'S ON TOUR, WHERE AND WHEN

PROUDLY PRESENTS:

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INTERNATIONAL SHARON JONES & THE DAP KINGS Corner Hotel January 9, 10 BEACH HOUSE The Forum January 9 HOT CHIP The Palace January 9 THE VENGABOYS The Espy January 10 PETER MURPHY Corner Hotel January 11 MARDUK Hi-Fi Bar January 11 GARY JULES Corner Hotel January 12 DJANGO DJANGO The Hi-Fi January 12 NIGHTWISH The Palace January 14, 15 DAVID BYRNE & ST VINCENT Hamer Hall January 14, 15 WEEZER Sidney Myer Music Bowl January 16, The Palais January 17 CRIME AND THE CITY SOLUTION Hi-Fi Bar January 18 MORNING AFTER GILS Ding Dong January 18 SUGAR MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL The Forum January 19 HUNX AND HIS PUNX The Tote January 20 A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS Corner Hotel January 20 SO FRENCHY SO CHIC Werribee Park January 20 THE KILLERS The Palace January 22 GARY CLARK JR Corner Hotel January 22 DEATH GRIPS Ding Dong Lounge January 22 CRYSTAL CASTLES Billboard January 22 OFF! Corner Hotel January 23 SLEIGH BELLS Billboard January 23 ANIMAL COLLECTIVE The Palace January 23 BAND OF HORSES The Palais January 23 CHILDISH GAMBINO The Hi-Fi January 23 JEFF THE BROTHERHOOD Corner Hotel January 24 CHICKS ON SPEED The Tote January 24 THE BLOODY BEETROOTS The Palace January 24 ALABAMA SHAKES The Forum January 24 ELVIS COSTELLO The Palais January 25 OSAKA MONAURAIL The Espy January 25 A DAY ON THE GREEN Yarra Valley January 26 BIG DAY OUT Flemington Racecourse January 26 MOUNT EERIE The Toff January 26 WOODS The Tote January 27 RICHARD HAWLEY Hi-Fi Bar January 29

Beat Magazine Page 18

PERFUME GENIUS Northcote Social Club January 30 HIGH HIGHS The Toff January 30 JESSIE WARE Prince Bandroom January 30 THEE OH SEES The Hi-Fi January 31 SLEEP ºº OVER The Liberty Social February 1 NOBUNNY The Tote February 1 JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE Castlemaine Theatre Royal February 2, Corner Hotel February 3 ST. JEROME’S LANEWAY FESTIVAL Footscray Community Arts Centre February 3 DIVINE FITS Corner Hotel February 4 POLICA Northcote Social Club February 4 NITE JEWEL The Workers Club February 4 BAT FOR LASHES The Palais February 5 KINGS OF CONVENIENCE Hamer Hall February 5 CLOUD NOTHINGS Ding Dong Lounge February 5 HOLY OTHER Workers Club February 5 THE MEN Northcote Social Club February 6 JULIA HOLTER The Toff February 6 YEASAYER The Hi-Fi February 6 MS MR Northcote Social Club February 7 GIN BLOSSOMS The Hi-Fi February 7 DEER TICK, TWO GALLANTS Northcote Social Club February 9 DESCENDENTS Festival Hall February 9 DEER TICK AND TWO GALLANTS Northcote Social Club February 9, 10 DIRTY BEACHES February 10 DAVID HASSELHOFF Corner Hotel February 14 I AM GIANT Ding Dong Lounge February 14 SWANS Corner Hotel February 15 CONVERGE Billboard The Venue February 15 RINGO STARR Festival Hall February 16, 17 ALL TOMORROW’S PARTIES Westgate Entertainment Centre February 16, 17 FATHER JOHN MISTY The Hi-Fi February 17 NEIL FINN AND PAUL KELLY The Palais February 16, 18 EINSTÜRZENDE NEUBAUTEN The Palace February 19 DR. FEELGOOD Corner Hotel February 21 NORAH JONES The Plenary February 21 HOW TO DRESS WELL Corner Hotel February 22 MY BLOODY VALENTINE The Palace February 22 JOSE JAMES The Hi-Fi February 22 BLINK-182 Sidney Myer Music Bowl February 26

NIGHTWISH The Palace January 14, 15 LINKIN PARK, STONE SOUR Rod Laver Area February 26 KYUSS LIVES The Palace February 26 THE WEDDING PRESENT Northcote Social Club February 26, 27 TOMAHAWK Billboard The Venue February 27 SICK OF IT All The Espy February 27 GARBAGE The Forum February 27 PUSCIFER The Palais February 28 DUFF MCKAGAN’S LOADED The Espy February 28 CYPRESS HILL The Forum February 28 THE TALLEST MAN ON EARTH Melbourne Recital Hall February 28 BRING ME THE HORIZON/PIERCE THE VEIL Billboard February 28 SUM 41/BILLY TALENT The Palace February 28 SOUNDWAVE Flemington Racecourse March 1 DEEP PURPLE/JOURNEY Rod Laver Arena March 1 DEERHOOF Schoolhouse Studios March 3 THIN LIZZY Billboard The Venue March 4 KISS, MÖTLEY CRÜE Etihad Stadium March 5 FUN. The Palace March 5 ED SHEERAN Festival Hall March 5, 6 THE OFFSPRING The Palace March 6 CAT POWER The Forum March 7 THE STONE ROSES Festival Hall March 7 DINOSAUR JR Corner Hotel March 7, The Espy March 8 PURITY RING Corner Hotel March 8 GOOD LIFE 2013 Flemington Racecourse March 8 WOMADELAIDE Adelaide’s Botanic Park March 8 –March 11 PORT FAIRY FOLK FESTIVAL Port Fairy March 8 – 11 TORO Y MOI Corner Hotel March 9 GEORGE CLINTON & PARLIAMENT FUNKADELIC Billboard March 9 GOLDEN PLAINS Meredith’s Supernatural Amphitheatre March 9 - 11 MXPX Corner Hotel March 10 WILD NOTHING The Tote March 11, The Toff March 12 REDD KROSS The Espy March 12 BOB MOULD Corner Hotel March 13 NEIL YOUNG & CRAZY HORSE Rod Laver Arena March 15 JON SPENCER BLUES EXPLOSION Corner Hotel March 16 DAMIEN DEMPSEY The Hi-Fi March 16 THE JACKSONS Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre March 19 WANDA JACKSON Corner Hotel March 20 THIS WILL DESTROY YOU Northcote Social Club March 21, 22 MUTEMATH Billboard March 22 RODRIGUEZ Hamer Hall March 22 ROBERT CRAY Hamer Hall March 24 FRED WESLEY Corner Hotel March 24 BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN Rod Laver Arena March 24, 26, 27 Hanging Rock March 30, 31 WILCO Hamer Hall March 27, 28 KITTY, DAISY & LEWIS Billboard March 27 BONNIE RAITT, MAVIS STAPLES State Theatre March 27 IGGY AND THE STOOGES Festival Hall March 27 ROGER HODGSON The Palais March 28 BYRON BAY BLUESFEST Byron Bay March 28 – April 1 EMILIE AUTUMN The Espy March 29 THE LUMINEERS Corner Hotel April 2 DROPKICK MURPHYS Festival Hall April 2 BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA Hamer Hall April 3 ROBERT PLANT Rod Laver Arena April 3 THE SCRIPT Rod Laver Arena April 6 BEN HOWARD Corner Hotel April 6, 7 BIRDY The Palais April 8

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PUBLIC IMAGE LTD The Palace April 11 MICK TAYLOR Ferntree Gully Hotel April 19, Corner Hotel April 20, 21 EXTREME The Palace April 19 BRYAN ADAMS Rod Laver Arena April 20 COHEED AND CAMBRIA/CIRCA SURVIVE The Palace April 21 BLACK SABBATH Rod Laver Arena April 29, May 1 DEFTONES The Palace May 17, 18 STAN RIDGWAY Corner Hotel May 18, The Caravan Club May 19 P!NK Rod Laver Arena July 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, August 27 AMANDA PALMER & THE GRAND THEFT ORCHESTRA The Forum September 20

NATIONAL NEW GODS Northcote Social Club January 11 ASH GRUNWALD The Espy January 11 COLLISION AT THE CORNER Corner Hotel January 12 TREVOR. A MUSIC FESTIVAL Churchill Island Nature Park January 12 BENNY WALKER Northcote Social Club January 12 JIMMY BARNES Trak Bar January 16 BENJAMIN SKEPPER Corner Hotel January 16 STICKY FINGERS Northcote Social Club January 18 BONJAH The Espy January 18, 19 TWELVE FOOT NINJA Corner Hotel January 18, Ferntree Gully Hotel January 19 EMMA LOUISE The Toff January 24 THE NECKS Corner Hotel January 29, 30, 31 GOLD FIELDS Toff January 31 TOKYO DENMARK SWEDEN The Espy February 1 ST KILDA FESTIVAL St Kilda February 2 – 10 THE UV RACE Ding Dong Lounge February 2 DEAD CAN DANCE The Palais February 6 THE PRESETS The Palace February 6, 7 STRANGERS Workers Club February 8 MY DISCO Corner Hotel February 8 SARAH BLASKO Hamer Hall February 14 RIVERBOATS MUSIC FESTIVAL Echuca-Moama February 15 – 17 ROCK THE BAY FESTIVAL The Espy February 16 JULIA STONE St Michael’s Church February 20 THE SMITH STREET BAND Reverence Hotel Saturday February 23 BETWEEN THE BAYS Moorooduc, Mornington Peninsula February 23 LOON LAKE Corner Hotel March 1 TIM ROGERS/THE BAMBOOS Melbourne Zoo March 1 NICK CAVE AND THE BAD SEEDS Sidney Myer Music Bowl March 2 BIRDS OF TOKYO The Forum March 2 THE DEMON PARADE Workers Club March 3 MOOMBA The Yarra March 8 – 11 PETE MURRAY Ferntree Gully Hotel March 9, Corner Hotel March 15 PUSH OVER Sidney Myer Music Bowl March 11 CLARKEFIELD MUSIC FESTIVAL Clarkefield Hotel March 17 THE CAT EMPIRE Prince Bandroom March 20, 21 GRINSPOON The Hi-Fi March 22 BOOGIE 7 Bruzzy’s Farm, Tallarook March 29-31 THE SEEKERS Hamer Hall May 14

RUMOURS Jamiroquai, Clutch, Immortal Technique = New Announcements = Beat Proudly Presents

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Beat Magazine Page 19

• S O FR EN C H Y S O C H I C S P OT LI G H T •

NADÉAH

BY KRISS WEISS

Beginning with a brief history of an artist’s cultural heritage can come off as naff but with the ever-alluring Australian-born, Parisbased artist Nadéah (Miranda), her global inheritance seems more than relevant. As a first-generation Australian, her mother sports the proud cultural mix of being Portuguese, Indian, English and Serbian while her father immigrated from Italy. Having come from a rock background (with her former band, The Lovegods earning chic-indie status in the UK and afar having supported Franz Ferdinand, Kelis and Nick Cave), Nadéah has settled in to a sound that’s somewhere between Goldfrapp, PJ Harvey and Brigitte Bardot. It’s fresh, it’s cool and it truly is both Frenchy and so, so very chic.

So how did an 18-year-old from Australia end up fronting a Parisian black humoured pop band? “I think it’s important to incorporate what’s in your environment when you create, not just what you know,” Miranda says. “I know rock and I wanted to put rock into the performance while using the instrumentation I was finding around Paris which is basically classical instruments with funky swing players. I wanted to take dark subject matter and put it against that sort of musical backdrop.”

Her music sits within a peculiarly niche genre yet has the ability to appeal to diverse audiences – her pulsating onstage appeal probably helps things along as well.

The problem she finds, however, is that her hometown audience of French-speaking Parisians occasionally miss the understated irony of her lyrical content. “I think only people who speak English can get the subtlety of it all,” she explains. “In France, they probably think I’m just singing pretty songs and don’t realise I’m singing about suicidal girls in asylums and things like that. I appreciate playing to audiences who have a

good grasp of English lyrics and understand the songs.

Alternative radio has been getting it but mainstream radio is like ‘what the hell do we put this next to?’”

While Nadéah’s music is dripping with a strong theatrical presence, the songs are born from an intensely personal place. “You can’t embrace something that doesn’t exist within you on some plane,” she says.

“The alcoholic, the happy, the contemplative – they’re all different characters but all of those characters are possibilities within ourselves and it just comes down to whether you want to go there. I think what’s really good is that if you’ve had a gamut of experience that help you create these ideas, people in the audience will really open their hearts to you. When I play Even Quadriplegics Get The Blues, I get up there and I come from a place, hopefully, of vulnerability so that I can connect with people.”

The birth of her latest album was a painful one, with chaos all around her she managed to channel deportation and the crippling of her partner into something beautiful. “I wanted to do something during a really messed up moment in my life,” she says. “My boyfriend at the time had become quadriplegic, I’d been kicked out of England, and all these weird, dodgy things had happened around me. I realised I had to do something

with this stuff that had some humour and some distance so that I could play this music and come home feeling great every night. I think I’ve achieved that.”

This is where things get confusing. On the surface, as you scan the song titles, Nadéah’s music could look like a comedic set, but like all great comedies, tragedy is not far behind. While she may wonder whether her French audience understands the back-handed cheek of her music (she says that “they only seem to care about French lyrics and other than that, just enjoy the melodies”), the handful of times she has toured Australia has seen her audience experience the gamut of emotions that are expressed in her music. We get it – when shit gets hard, laugh. “A song like Even Quadriplegics Get The Blues, people hear the title and have a chuckle and by the end of the song people are crying.

I like that discomfort about the album where people are thinking ‘Is this true? Is it not true? Is she for real?’

That’s what I wanted to portray.”

NADÉAH plays So Frenchy So Chic at Werribee Park on Sunday January 20 alongside Revolver, Melanie Pain and many more. Venus Gets Even is out now through Cartell Music.

CARMEN MARIA VEGA

BY ALASDAIR DUNCAN

Over the last couple of years, Carmen Maria Vega has become something of a phenomenon in France. The live-wire performer has played hundreds of shows, thrilling crowds with a kinetic and highly-energetic style that mashes up traditional French songs with elements of jazz and rock and roll. Thanks to her outsized personality and brash performing style, many in France have taken to calling her the punk Édith Piaf.

When I ask how she feels about this nickname, though, she seems more than a little uneasy. “I don’t really like this comparison too much!” she says with a hearty laugh. “I mean, I really like jazz – it’s cool, it’s great, but it’s a very vintage way of singing. I don’t really love performing in that style. I don’t know why French people call me like this, but you can’t fight it! I guess you just have to let people call you what they want.”

Vega’s musical career began around a decade ago when she met her guitarist and life-long collaborator Max Levegie. “I was studying to be an actress at drama school,” she explains, “although music was also a big passion of mine, and I never wanted to make the choice between the two. Max had just come back from London, where he was working as a studio engineer.

We met through his brother, who was a big deal around town, organising lots of concerts and gigs. He was going in the direction of making his own music, and wanted to find a singer to work with; I was enjoying my studies in drama, but at the same time, I was desperate to do something musical, because it felt like my calling.

Straight away, it seemed like a good fit between the two of us. We had an immediate connection, and have been working together ever since.”

The pair performed around Lyon as a cover band, although it wasn’t too long before Vega felt the urge to start singing originals. “I wanted songs that were just for me”, she says. “Max began writing original songs, and we met some other young musicians around town who wanted to join us, and from there, it went pretty quickly.” The band would play a show, and inevitably there would be somebody there who would enjoy it and would ask them to play another show somewhere

else. “In our first year, I think we must have played 100 gigs or more,” Vega says. “We started to get interest from labels, so throughout that time, we tried to write very, very fast, and to get a show together. That all started eight years ago, and now here I am, talking to you in Australia as we’re about to come down there to play for you!”

Vega’s signature track is La Menteuse, which bounces along on double bass and a breezy acoustic guitar riff, with a typically eccentric vocal at the fore. When I ask what inspired the song, she tells me that the title means ‘The Liar’, and the story is about the dishonest people who sometimes conspire to ruin your life. “Sometimes, you’ll meet a friend who is a really big liar,” she says. “I don’t mean the little lies that people tell every day – I mean huge, pathological lies. I was thinking about that sort of lying when I wrote the song, and the people who tell such big lies.” She hints that the song was inspired by feelings of sadness and betrayal in her personal life, but insists that she wanted the song to be upbeat. “I told Max that I wanted to sing about these feelings, but I didn’t want some gloomy song. I wanted to approach them with the idea of humour, and write something fun.”

Vega has lived a colourful existence, from her drama school days to her whirlwind life as a touring musician, and I ask if she draws on her real life experiences a lot for her lyrics. “Not all the time,” she says. “Sometimes, you know, I want to speak about love in a certain way, sometimes I want to speak about sadness…” she pauses. “Things happen to you in your life, but they’re never quite the same by the time you’ve translated them into song. Sometimes it’s me who comes up with

the ideas, and sometimes it’s him (Max) – we have no rules as far as that goes. Sometimes, Max will come and tell me that he’s written a song about drug people or alcoholics, and that he’d be happy if I’d like to sing that.

I don’t know those experiences really, but I suppose you can think of it as being an actress; though instead of working for a director, I’m singing and interpreting a song that he has written.”

Vega will bring her live show to Australia this month as part of So Frenchy, So Chic and I ask her what exactly we can expect. “Well, I’m going to be singing all the songs in French,” she explains.” I did think for a time about translating them, but I worried that they might lose some of their spirit. When I speak to people between the songs, however, when I explain the stories behind them, I’ll be speaking in English.”

Overall, she says, having fun is her first priority. “I like to dance on stage, to bring the songs to life… the most important thing for me is that the people at the shows go home with a smile.”

SO FRENCHY SO CHIC IN THE PARK, featuring Mélanie Pain, Revolver, Carmen Maria Vega and Nadéah, takes place at Werribee Park on Sunday January 20.

SO FRENCHY SO CHIC SET TIMES

Beat Magazine Page 20

Revolver:

1:30pm – 2:45pm

Carmen Maria Vega:

5pm – 6:15pm

Melanie Pain:

3:15pm – 4:30pm

Nadeah:

6:45pm – 8pm

DISCUSS WHAT? BEAT.COM.AU/DISCUSSION

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Beat Magazine Page 21

THIS WEEK: ON SCREEN The Astor are very excited to extend an invitation to Melbourne film lovers to experience the return of two of the cinema’s greatest thrillers to the big screen for a spectacular double feature! Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho and The Birds serve as blueprints for terror perfection, and it has been many years since a pristine presentation on the cinema screen has been possible; needless to say that to see them in a classic movie theatre is a very special event indeed.

The Astor will be hosting this terrifying double-bill until this Saturday January 12, so get in quick to see Hitchcock’s blonde bombshells Janet Leigh and Tippi Hedren scream on the big screen. Head to The Astor website for session and ticketing information.

WITH TYSON WRAY. GOT THOUGHTS, NEWS, GOSSIP, COMPLAINTS OR CAT PHOTOS? EMAIL TYSON@BEAT.COM.AU OR SEND BY CARRIER PIGEON BEFORE FRIDAY 12PM.

ON STAGE It’s 1927 and the men of a small prohibition-era town in Midwest America have decided to put on a performance for charity dressed in “fancy-type, women-type clothes”. The play? A sumptuous 18th Century melodrama played out against the backdrop of the French revolution between the wicked Countess Matildas St Roquefort and deceitful Lady Romula Von Plofsdorf. Of course all the men are required to dress as women and that isn’t going over too well with the town’s temperance ladies. When store-keeper Miles approaches the allfearing and Bible-beating wife Dorothy for support, dress, hat, stockings and just enough to make the illusion the whole community is affected, eyebrows raise, gender lines blur, identities explode and the dividing-line between life and the stage is blurred beyond recognition. Act A Lady is happening as part of Midsumma Festival, and will be at La Mama from Wednesday January 16 till Sunday January 27, with tickets starting at $20. Head to the Midsumma Festival website for more details on this as well as the full Midsumma performing arts program.

ON DISPLAY The Four Horsemen presents images of death and disaster in prints, illuminated manuscripts, illustrated books and paintings from the 15th to the early 18th centuries. This was a period of great turmoil in Europe, during which bitter religious conflict, war, famine and pestilence generated deep anxiety. Dramatic events were increasingly read as divine punishments or warnings that the Last Days were imminent. This exhibition explores the ways in which artists gave expression to the beliefs and fears that plagued individuals and whole societies. The 120 works on display, including Albrecht Dürer’s extraordinary woodcuts illustrating the Apocalypse, prints by Hans Holbein, Jacques de Gheyn and Jacques Callot, illustrate witches, monsters, demons and the Devil.

Death, personified as a skeleton, featured prominently in the visual culture of the period, and is represented in all guises – dancing, riding on horseback, and stalking unsuspecting men and women as they go about their daily lives. Entry to The Four Horsemen is free with Gallery admission, so be sure to check it out before it finishes on Monday January 28.

BEAT’S PICK OF THE WEEK: An Amazonian warrior princess, Wonder Woman came from a mythical land of women to fight injustice, tackling Nazis and super-villains. In postwar America, however, DC Comics forced her into relative domesticity until she was saved by the second wave of feminism and in particular Gloria Steinem, who emblazoned her on the inaugural edition of Ms Magazine. Bustling with articulate women of all ages, Kristy Guevara-Flanagan’s feature is a rapid-fire examination of female heroes in pop culture since the conception of our lasso-wielding heroine in 1941. Featuring Riot Grrrl, Kathleen Hanna, Lindsay Wagner, Lynda Carter, authors, commentators and a slew of fans, Wonder Women!

The Untold Story of American Superheroines wraps graphic novel styling, rock aesthetic and four decades of sexual politics into a mighty smart package. Be sure to catch this at ACMI, screening every day until Sunday January 13.

Beat Magazine Page 22

CIRQUE DU SOLEIL: OVO

BY JOSH FERGUS

“Most people’s backs hurt because they’re hunched over a computer. Mine hurts because I ran too hard into a giant wall,” says Lee Brearley, looking like he loves life.

“I feel really lucky to be part of something like this. When I was a kid I used to go to a show and think, ‘What are they doing backstage, what is it like?’. Every now and then that memory comes back to me. It happened to me recently in South America when I was at the top of a pole towards the beginning of the show and I just thought, ‘Look at me, I’m on the top of a pole, and I’m at work’.”

Brearley has spent the last four years playing a cricket in Cirque Du Soleil’s latest show, Ovo. Ovo, meaning “egg” in Portuguese, recreates an ecosystem teeming with insect life represented by skilled artists just like Brearley, who competed in the Sydney Olympics in 2000 as a trampolinist. “The show has been running since 2009. It’s been running in North America prior to the Australian leg,” explains Jen Bender, Ovo Assistant Artistic Director. “We arrived in July to start performances in Brisbane, then went to Sydney for 11 weeks. The show is in Adelaide now, and heading to Melbourne.

“We’re very lucky that we have a group of site technicians who go in advance of us, moving the show. They completely transform whatever place we’re going to into what we need. If we’re going to be based in a field they may have to level it, sometimes if

FREE SHIT ACMI’S LONG PLAY SUMMER SEASON ACMI turns up the heat with four diverse and distinctive films. From a psychological thriller in Berberian Sound Studio, an examination of female heroes in pop culture in Wonder Women! The Untold Story of American Superheroines to the latest film by Canadian wunderkind Xavier Dolan in Laurence Anyways (and the final installment in Gary Hustwit’s design film trilogy in Urbanized, these four films will entertain, challenge and provoke. ACMI’s special Long Play summer season runs until to Sunday February 3. See any film in our Long Play summer season before 6pm and pay only $6, excluding public holidays. We have a double pass to all four films during the season available, to win just tell us your favourite film of 2012.

THE SHADOW ELECTRIC: SIXTEEN CANDLES John Hughes is the fucking man. The legendary filmmaker behind National Lampoon’s Vacation, Ferris

it’s grass they might cover the entire thing in asphalt.

We’ve got to have a perfectly flat surface on which to build our stage. There’s a whole team that goes out about two months in advance to just set up the space, and once our show closes in Adelaide in one week our technicians will break down the complete set, trailers everything and move it here. They’ll then set up the whole thing again in a matter of days – it’s amazing how fast it happens.

“We have specific staff – tentmasters – there’s only a few of them in the world,” says Brearley. “They know everything about the structure and how it comes up and down – they know exactly which bolt goes where. That’s their career. It’s so specialised that no-one else can do it like they do. These are the things which no-one sees, but they’re just as skilled as us artists.” The number of Bueller’s Day Off, Weird Science, The Breakfast Club, Uncle Buck and Home Alone is also the dude behind the cult ‘80s coming-of-age film Sixteen Candles. The film stars Molly Ringwald as a young girl whose sweet sixteenth birthday turns into a nightmare as she suffers from every embarrassment possible. It’s screening at Shadow Electric on Sunday January 13, and we have a few double passes to give away.

BLAZE A hip hop dance show direct from the West End, Blaze stars Demi Sorono (So You Think You Can Dance?) who has joined the cast as one of two Aussies. The other Aussie is Supreme Court solicitor Sid Mathur, who moonlights as a B-boy. Fucking rad. It’s on at the Arts Centre from Wednesday January 23 – Sunday January 27. We have a few double passes to give away.

OH SUIVANT! A real-life travelling circus family from Belgium, performers D’Irque (acrobat), his wife Fien (pianist) and their two-yearold daughter, Whoopi, will be coming to Melbourne for the first time. They adopted their daughter Whoopi recently from Marseilles and she routinely tours the globe with her ‘carnie’ parents. Their show hearkens back to the slapstick

ARTS NEWS, REVIEWS, INTERVIEWS ONLINE – BEAT.COM.AU/ARTS

hands required to keep a show like Ovo on the road is comparable to those in a small village. “We have about 120 people who are full-time on Ovo,” says Bender. “We also have wives and husbands and kids who travel with the artists.” But a lot of work goes into a Cirque Du Soleil production before it reaches this point.

“I came into the show quite early and started training in Switzerland,” remembers Brearley. “I fell in love straight away – the show is so bright and colourful.

Once we started training, we went straight into the acrobatic elements. We had a huge trampoline – a trampoline wall. I’ve trained on the wall for Cirque before, but we had to work out new stuff, so basically you go in and they go ‘off you go’. It’s exciting and a little dangerous. Over the months new people appear, props start to take shape, then you get the real versions of costumes and props and not just the prototypes. A huge stage appears, you start having costume fittings and make-up sessions. It’s a huge seven month period and at the end of it hopefully you have a show.”

The lifestyle of cast and crew involved in such an epic production spanning several continents can present both rewards and challenges. “It’s what we do so it doesn’t feel strange,” says Bender. “Sometimes I have to remind myself how crazy it is, in a good way. We work really hard and we work long hours. It’s not easy, but it’s always fun.

“The lifestyle is a blessing and a curse,” asserts Brearley. “I love it because I get to see all these different places and get paid to do it. I meet all these different people, just because of my job. It’s amazing. I didn’t know when I would ever see Sydney again after the Olympics and now I’m getting to see Melbourne too – I’ve never been here before and it’s all because of my job. But sometimes you make friends, have a great time, and then you have to leave and you don’t know if you’re ever going to get to see them again.

You keep in touch, but the chances of going across the world again are really remote. Sometimes you’re living out of a bag, you’re on planes, you’re worried about how you’re going to get your stuff across the world. I don’t have a home, I don’t have an address, you can’t have a pet. It’s things like that which make it harder. The small things. But my normal life comes after this. I live such an abnormal life, that other people want, and I have it. When my body gives out one day and I can’t do it any more, I’ll have my house and my dog and my washing machine. Until then I’m going to travel the world and just do things other people dream about. For now, this is my thing.”

Cirque Du Soleil’s Ovo will play from Thursday January 17 until Sunday March 24 under the trademark blue and yellow Big Top in Docklands.

Tickets are available now at cirquedusoleil.com/ovo

of silent-era cinema. Inspired by Charlie Chaplin and the like, Oh Suivant! is a modern-day clowning farce: D’Irque does circus tricks – such as balancing atop stacked chairs – alongside Fien’s old-school piano accompaniment (a brilliant take on music hall scores).

It runs from Tuesday January 15 – Sunday January 27 at the Arts Centre, and we have some passes to give away.

LEO Leo’s action takes place on a split-stage: on one side performer Tobias Wegner is encased in a small apartment, and on the other side is a projection of the apartment which has been rotated 90 degrees. As Wegner flip-flops around the real-life set, the projected image gives the impression of the actor defying gravity. Fred Astaire was also a big inspiration for the actor Toby – particularly the film Royal Wedding in which he tap dances on the ceiling.

Original and dazzling, Leo runs at the Arts Centre from Tuesday January 15 – Sunday January 27, and we have a few double passes to give away.

Hit up beat.com.au/freeshit for your chance to win.

Drop by Drawing Draw in the gallery alongside artists Louise Hearman / Juan Ford / John Wolseley / Del Kathryn Barton Come and go as you like whilst visiting the NGV Collection. All ages and all drawing abilities welcome.

Sundays in January in the 19th Century Salon Gallery 2â&#x20AC;&#x201C;4pm

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QUANTUM PSYCHOLOGY - ROBERT ANTON WILSON ($24.95) Throughout human history, thoughts, values and behaviors have been coloured by language and the prevailing view of the universe. With the advent of Quantum Mechanics, relativity, non-Euclidean geometries, non-Aristotelian logic and General Semantics, the scientiďŹ c view of the world has changed dramatically from just a few decades ago. Nonetheless, human thinking is still deeply rooted in the cosmology of the middle ages. Quantum Psychology is the book to change your way of perceiving yourself - and the universe for the 21st Century. Some say itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s materialistic, others call it scientiďŹ c and still others insist itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mystical.

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LOSING THE HEAD OF PHILIP K DICK - DAVID DUFTY ($24.95) In 2005 a group of young robot designers and computer scientists dreamed up a fantastic, audacious idea: to build an android modelled on Philip K. Dick, the iconic sci-ďŹ guru. After countless hours the android was brought eerily to life. It would â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;watchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; people as they approached, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;recognizeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; their faces, answer their questions in Dickâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own words.

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Beat Magazine Page 23

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THE COMIC STRIP

THE COST OF LOVE Justin Clausen returns to Midsumma Festival with his new production The Cost Of Love, a cabaret about the acceptance and sacrifices of love. The Cost of Love illustrates the anti-love philosophy of Gabe (Justin Clausen) and the self-destructive behaviours he employs to avoid love. With a witty yet poignant deconstruction of queer culture, Clausen privies us to the innate emotions that everyone feels at some point, whether this is low self-worth, infatuation or pride. Having performed at AFL events, fashions shows and Rove Live, Clausen’s partner Teasdale will offer his dancing expertise to The Cost of Love. The Cost of Love will be performed at The Butterfly Club from Thursday January 17 – Sunday January 27. Tickets are $25 and are on sale now through midsumma.org.au

GRINDR: A LOVE STORY? Last Year Nath Valvo sold out Midsumma Festival, Sydney Mardi Gras and Adelaide Feast Festival with his production Grindr: A Love Story? Back due to popular demand, Valvo will unravel the enigma that is Grindr for all to see. Over a million homosexual men use Grindr every day; Valvo was fortunate enough to talk to nearly half of them. From this, the man constructed a candid narrative that exposes the controversial app. It’s brutally honest, witty, and sometimes, just sometimes, heartbreaking. Valvo will delve into why people use the app, and whether true love — or at least its equivalent — has been found through Grindr. Sure to be insightful, Grindr: A Love Story? will be presented at Gasworks Arts Park from Thursday January 17 – Sunday January 19 at 9pm. Tickets can be purchased through midsumma.org.au

VA VA BOOMBAH Melbourne’s first – and only – fat burlesque troupe, Va Va Boombah, is back in a big-top way with their second major show, for one night only, at the Thornbury Theatre on Friday January 18. Following the triumphant success of their sold out debut show in June 2012, the troupe is taking part in next year’s Midsumma Festival, this time with a circus theme. Va Va Boombah 2: Step Right Up! features established VVB performers, as well as new faces, and is once again MCed by acclaimed comedian Lisa-Skye. She’s joined in co-production by Aimee Nichols (a.k.a. Harlotte Brontë), and Jackie Wykes (a.k.a. Chubby Vagine). The Va Va Boombah ladies are set to bring audiences an evening of sexy, funny, fierce, confronting and celebratory burlesque and cabaret by some of Melbourne’s next big things. Va Va Boombah 2: Step Right Up! is on at Thornbury Theatre on Friday January 18. Tickets from Oztix.

THE PRINCE’S QUEST Oh no! He rides a trusty steed and seeks a princess for marriage. That’s right, it’s Prince Warwick and his teddy bear, Sir Arthur, from The Prince’s Quest. Inspired by medieval tropes, this pantomime sees Leighton Irwin breathe life into Prince Warwick, a foolhardy prince on the quest for love. Filled with sex-crazed witches, eccentric (and lethal) princesses, and fishcake loving kings, The Prince’s Quest wouldn’t do the Midsumma Festival justice without the perfect prince. Written by Danny Gibbins of Dramazing Productions, The Prince’s Quest is sure to be a laugh for those who attend. The Prince’s Quest will be showing at the Northcote Town Hall from Friday January 18 – Saturday January 26, with two edited matinee shows appropriate for families during this period. Tickets, including more information, can be found through midsumma.org.au

Beat Magazine Page 24

ART CLUB Following three successful years of bookings, provocative debates about literature, philosophy and the like, the ACCA opens its 2013 bookings for its Art Club. Designed for art enthusiasts and run by art aficionados Ruth Bain and Kate Daw, the two-and-ahalf hour sessions teach us how to unravel, construct and comprehend art and its practices. Activities that are included in the program are visits to other local galleries and an annual interstate trip. It’s a monthly session that allows you to immerse yourself solely in art. A must do for anyone with the time, money and passion. The ACCA is currently taking bookings for its 2013 Arts Club. It’s best to get in quick as numbers are strictly limited to 12 per session. More information can be found at accaonline.org.au

HAIR

HAIR is an iconic musical that defined what a rock musical was, delved into the political activism, the hippy lifestyle and the fight against conscription during the Vietnam War, and now it’s come to Chapel Off Chapel. HAIR is one of the world’s most famous musicals; considered a broadway hit and even has references in The Simpsons. StageArt will present this musical over two weeks this year, including the controversial nude scene and homosexual references.

The Melbourne’s interpretation is based off the revival styled production that won a Tony Award back in 2009 and has since received favourable reviews. HAIR will be showcased at Chapel Off Chapel for a strictly limited season from Thursday January 31 – Sunday February 17.

Tickets, including more information, can be unraveled at chapeloffchapel.com.au

GOBSMACKED: SHOWBIZ AND DATING In celebration of Midsumma Festival — and a marvellous production — The Butterfly Club will host the acclaimed show Gobsmacked: Showbiz and Dating this January. This musical-meets-cabaret tackles the trials of making it in showbiz while still perusing the single market. It’s full of divas, chocolate, glamour and sparkly stuff. Gobsmacked sold out at last year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival and the Adelaide Cabaret Festival and will hallmark one of The Butterfly Club’s last performances at their current South Melbourne location before their relocation to the CBD. Gobsmacked: Showbiz and Dating will showcase at The Butterfly Club from Thursday January 17 – Sunday February 3. Tickets, including more information, can be found through midsumma.org.au

RAW COMEDY The Melbourne International Comedy Festival is on the hunt again for new funny faces to join Australia’s largest and most prestigious open mic comedy competition in 2013. MICF has been inviting emerging comics to comedy stages around the country as part of RAW Comedy annually since 1996, with entrants having to have earned less than $500 from comedy and have a short set of jokes ready to go for their local heat.

Professional comedians will judge who will go through to the big deal RAW Comedy Grand Final, where they will pit the top twelve finalists from around Australia against one another up on the main stage of the Melbourne Town Hall later on in the year. MCing the events this year will be a mix of comedians including Anne Edmonds, Nick Cody, Celia Paquola, Lawrence Leung, Tommy Little, Nath Valvo and Joel Creasey with many more to be announced. Registrations for RAW Comedy are now open, so if you think you have a good contingent of jokes that could possibly wow the judges, head online to the RAW Comedy website and sign up. The Melbourne qualifying heats will be held on Saturday January 12 at The Evelyn, Saturday January 19 at The Corner Hotel, Saturday February 2 at The Esplanade, Saturday February 9 at the Northcote Social Club and Sunday February 17, Saturday February 23 and Sunday February 24 at the Comics’ Lounge.

CHECKPOINT COMEDY: EUROTRASH Charlie’s back and radder than ever in Twenny 13, tonight! A huge lineup kicks us off with Josh Earl (Spicks and Specks), David Quirk (ABC’s Problems), Anne Edmonds, Jonathan Schuster, Kelly Fastuca, Ciaran Lyons and more! For just $5. You’re welcome. So come fill yourself with cheap piss and put your continence to the ultimate test as some pretty damn rad comedians spit funnies into the business end of a loud stick.

Check in 8pm tonight at Eurotrash Bar, 18 Corrs Lane, Melbourne. Get down early for a seat.

COMMEDIA DELL PARTE BLAK NITE CINEMA As part of Blak Nite Cinema’s 2013 Indigenous program, the cinema aficionados will be presenting a tribute to Indigenous musician Bart Wiloughby followed by a compilation of Indigenous films. Kicking off on Friday February 8, Aaron Pederson will host a special panel conversation with Bart Wiloughby succeeded by No Fixed Address on Tour, a documentary of Wiloughby’s band on the road. Continuing over to the weekend will be a selection of 18 films. These films include Bran Nue Dae, the poignant tale of muso Kev Carmody in Blood Brothers: From Little Things, Big Things Grow, Indigenous country music film Buried Country, and many more. Hosted by Blak Nite Cinema, Tribute to Bart Wiloughby will be shown from Friday February 8 – Sunday February 10 at ACMI. Admission is free, though reservations are preferred.

ARTS NEWS, REVIEWS, INTERVIEWS ONLINE – BEAT.COM.AU/ARTS

This week at Commedia Dell Parte join Beau Stegmann as he hosts a super lineup of Melbourne’s finest including Charles Barrington, Spencer Hodges, Jon Bennett, Emmet Nichols, David Cronin and your headliner for the night Josh Earl. The room runs on a ‘pay as you like’ basis, so come along and have a great laugh, then pay what you believe the show is worth on the way out. Commedia Dell Parte runs every Thursday at 8.30pm at George Lane Bar, St Kilda.

CHECKPOINT COMEDY: LUCKY COQ Melbourne’s newest comedy room keeps kicking. Don’t miss out on its return next Tuesday when Melbourne’s best comedians head southside and make it rain at Lucky Coq. This lineup will be littered with special guests. Plus The Coq’s famous $4 pizzas. Want more?

Free entry. Done. Check in next Tuesday at Lucky Coq. Cnr High St & Chapel St. Kicks off 9pm.

THE WAYANS BROTHERS

BY LACHLAN KANONIUK

It’s the early 2000s in the small, western Victorian town I grew up in. There is a small, family owned video library at the centre of town in possession of what was a veritable holy grail for us adolescents in the pre-broadband era – a VHS copy of the Wayans brothers’ 1996 spoof Don’t Be A Menace To South Central While Drinking Your Juice In The Hood. None of us had ever seen any of the films namechecked in the ridiculous title. It didn’t matter. Something resonated strongly enough for the video to be rented out months in advance while new releases sat idly on the shelf. It was a portal away from our exclusively white, awfully drab small town existence. Now, the VHS is long gone, some bastard stole it in its prime (my hometown’s greatest unsolved mystery), and the video store folded long ago. With their films, including Scary Movie and White Chicks, proving to be a big hit in the furthest reaches of our country, Shawn and Marlon Wayans will bring their stand-up performance to our stages.

“I think that’s beautiful. That’s the great thing about comedy: when it works well, people on the total opposite side of the world are laughing at something that you did,” Shawn says, gauging his cultural reach.

“I never thought it would reach that far. The social commentary that we were making was so specific, but the physical and the broadness of Don’t Be A Menace is what reached all across the ocean to the other side of the world and it’s what you guys enjoyed about it. Once people find out what we were doing, if they did their research and knew that we were parodying these specific movies, they’d probably get a bigger kick out of the movie.”

As for the stand-up show, Shawn and Marlon embody a reverence for the all-time greats. “Everybody from Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Lucille Ball to Jackie Gleason, Art Carney, Jerry Seinfeld, Bob Hope. A lot of the old school, great classic comics

who paved the way for the Wayans family and everybody else who came after them. You definitely want to move forward, but what those people did was special. Even though you want the future to be new, you want it to be special as well. Taking a lot of the old school with the new never really hurt nobody. Now, comedy has reached a point where it’s more awkward than it actually is funny,” Shawn assesses. “I think we need to get back on track to funny, not awkward.

Awkward ain’t really funny, it’s just awkward.

This ain’t fashion – if you get a laugh, you get a laugh. You’re not going to be outdated if it’s funny.”

The Wayans brothers, including Damon and Keenan Ivory, broke through in the late ‘80s with the landmark sketch TV series In Living Color – a program that proved fertile ground for some of the biggest names in entertainment. “I have to put it up there with the top shows because of its impact and what it did at

“THAT’S THE GREAT THING ABOUT COMEDY: WHEN IT WORKS WELL, PEOPLE ON THE TOTAL OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE WORLD ARE LAUGHING AT SOMETHING THAT YOU DID.”

that time, and how it still holds up even today. If you think about how many stars it launched from that one show – you got Keenan and Damon, Jim Carrey to Jamie [Foxx], J-Lo, me and Marlon, Tommy Davison, David Alan Grier, Sister Kim. So many different great careers that are still relevant today.”

Despite a rich pedigree of comedic talent on set, the frivolity is managed to be kept in check, as Shawn explains. “On the set we’re really about business.

We have our fun, but we know that we have to come prepared, hit our mark, and do our scenes right because we’re under the gun. A movie like White Chicks was really difficult to do. Apart from the seven hours of makeup, we were shooting a movie that was supposed to be taking place in the summertime at The Hamptons, but we were in the opposite extreme weather. We were in Canada in below-zero weather by the ocean with a short skirt on, acting like it was hot out. There wasn’t a lot of laughing on those days.

ARTS NEWS, REVIEWS, INTERVIEWS ONLINE – BEAT.COM.AU/ARTS

But sometimes we get giddy and have our scenes.

But I’m glad you guys embraced it and enjoyed it. It was all worth it.”

While Australia gears up to witness the Wayans brothers on the live stage, it won’t be long before we witness new feature film offerings. “In the pipeline right now there are two things. Marlon has a movie coming out in January called A Haunted House, which is kind of like the movie Paranormal Activity. It’s like that movie, but if it happened to a black couple.

He got that coming out, and I’m in the process of finishing up a script that I wrote with one of my writing partners and my brother. It’s under wraps, but it’s a comedy in the vein of what we do. I’m excited about it.”

The Wayans Brothers perform at the Athenaeum Theatre on Friday May 10 and Saturday May 11.

Beat Magazine Page 25

A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS

BY AUGUSTUS WELBY

Brooklyn’s noisy shoegazers, A Place To Bury Strangers, have undergone a series of lineup changes since their formation in 2001. Band founder, vocalist/guitarist/effects wizard Oliver Ackermann, is the only original member remaining, but the personnel fluidity has not encroached on the strength of the band. Ahead of their Australian tour, Ackermann asserts that the skill level of the current line-up accentuates the bold intensity and aggression at the crux of the APTBS aesthetic.

“This is definitely the best band that I’ve ever played with. We all know what’s needed in every aspect of the music and we’re all working on making things crazier. It’s a luxury that I’ve never really had with people I’ve played with before. It makes it a lot easier and fun to play when you know that the music is going to be insane every night and you don’t have to worry.”

Critically regarded as ‘New York’s loudest band’, APTBS’ non-stop touring schedule (in 2012 alone they did three European and three US tours, as well as hit South America), actually makes it difficult for them stay up to date with the status-quo of the local scene. However, Ackermann confidently states that APTBS have never conformed to the demarcations of a particular movement.

“Once you start trying to pick-up on trends, I don’t know exactly what you’re doing as an artist. It doesn’t feel like it’s a pure and true. We’ve always been doing this kind of thing, experimenting with noise, aggression, making things crazy, always trying to make things a little crazier and faster. You don’t really see bands doing that kind of thing too much. It’s really good to be still exploring that realm.”

The first two APTBS albums are essentially pointed towards a live impact whereas 2012’s Worship shows more care and delicacy in song construction.

Ackermann explains that all ingredients of song construction were given extra attention on Worship.

“With this record we had more interest in every single detail of the music. There was more time spent before the final product so we really had to craft every element. It was good to have to hold a meeting with everything and work together. Sometimes, I guess, I haven’t done that in the past.”

The vocals on Worship receive greater emphasis than on the previous records. Ackermann says the songs’ well-formed definition prompted him to boost the level of the vocals.

“You can interpret things in any way you want, and maybe people still don’t understand what we’re saying or what’s going on, but it made a little bit more sense to me. That gave me the confidence to put it higher in the mix.”

Desolation and shattered hope are the dominant lyrical themes and Ackerman attests that these feelings are foundational to his drive to make music.

“I think that life and lots of aspects of it are kind of miserable and so I think that’s an important thing to write about. When you’re thinking about how miserable life is, you need something to redirect you and get you energised about things. You feel like you want to kick someone’s arse or do something about it.

For me you think ‘ok, this can end with crazy, fucked-

“WE DON’T STICK TO ANY SORT OF FORMULA. I THINK THINGS CAN BE WAY MORE EXCITING AND CRAZY LIVE AND WE REALLY JUST TRY TO CAPTURE THAT.”

up rock and roll and misery’.” The toughness of the music could also be perceived as an attempt to allay life’s harsher moments.

“You do have to beat it out somehow. Sometimes you’re getting beaten by it or sometimes you can’t take it anymore and you have to do something about it.”

The magnitude of sounds inextricably associated with APTBS makes perfect sense in light of the fact that Ackermann runs the successful guitar effects company, Death By Audio. He explains how effects pedals can be creative accomplices.

“When you find something that’s really unique and interesting it can spawn an idea for a song; you’ll hear a really interesting sound or effect and it’ll make you think of an idea for a song. Sometimes you’ll have a specific goal in mind and you won’t be able to achieve that but you’ll be able to discover something that’s even better than what you had originally planned.”

A Place To Bury Strangers enter every live show with an acknowledgement of the singularity of the event and seek to carry the songs into new territory.

“We don’t stick to any sort of formula. I think things can be way more exciting and crazy live and we really just try to capture that, as well as take songs

to different places and make it something completely different. Depending on the room or wherever you’re playing, you have to be open to what sounds are going on and what that song becomes at that moment.”

When questioned about the future, Ackermann refrains from projecting too far ahead but he does reveal that the band are working on new material.

“We’re going to strive for something which has more of that live feel, when something magic happens and is exciting - which brings things down to lower fidelity - and not be so concerned with some of the details we were concerned with in the past.”

At this stage they’re letting things develop in an organic manner without specific intentions on what will become of the experiments.

“We don’t have any total goal except for that we want to do something fresh and exciting and push what we’ve done.”

together like Lego. There’s a plan, it’s all thought out.”

The band have left some time in between the release of the album and going on tour, to get the Christmas/ New Year period out of the way and to allow fans to ingest and get to know the album more intimately before they hear them live. But now that the tour is about to start, Steve’s excitement for the road, the stage and the lineups they’ve chosen grows.

“Yeah I am, I’m really looking forward to it,” he enthuses, “‘cause I love playing gigs. And I think it’s going to be good because we’ve picked some good bands to play with, we’ve tried to go with bands that we like, ‘cause I think the whole show has gotta be good. We want people to come early and check the support bands out, they’re not all the same style, we’ve gone for variation. We’ve tried to think what works, what people respond to.

“So definitely pumped, it’s gonna be good to get back out there and play, we’ve been rehearsing these songs and some of them are pretty intense so it’s gonna be fun.”

Once the Australian tour is done, the band will jump right back into writing the follow up to Silent Machine,

booking their next tour and casting their musical net beyond Australian shores.

“Yeah we’ve a lot of writing to do,” he foretells, “and just more gigs. We’re discussing getting overseas, but we’re very aware of the costs of all that. It’s all about the logistics. It does cost 30-40 grand to do it. That’s why it’s funny when people get pissed off when you don’t go where they live. It’s not like, ‘Oh we’re not going to go there’, it’s got nothing to do with that. It costs a lot of money.

“But yeah we’re getting a lot of good overseas reactions in the background, so it’s just a matter of seeing how it plays out. We’re very, very fortunate to have a brilliant management team with international experience, that makes it a lot easier. So that’s the plan. Oh, and I’m probably going to play a lot of Halo!” he jokes.

A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS play The Corner Hotel on Sunday, January 20, with support from PEARLS and special guests. Tickets are on sale now from The Corner box office.

TWELVE FOOT NINJA

BY ROD WHITFIELD

Australian progressive/alternative rock had its true renaissance period during the mid to late 2000s, when bands such as Cog, Karnivool, The Butterfly Effect and Mammal were releasing incredible albums and putting on stunning shows to sold out venues across the nation. These bands and several others rode the crest of a wave during this period. However, the scene has flattened out a little since then, with the demise – or at least uncertainty – about the future of several of those bands. Mammal imploded, Cog is on extended hiatus at best, and The Butterfly Effect parted ways with their iconic frontman Clint Boge and look a little shaky. The scene has lost several other bands in the last two or three years as well, such as Rook, Bushido, .hinge, MM9 and others.

This writer believes the scene is about to have its second wind however, with leading lights Karnivool and Dead Letter Circus, plus several other bands within the scene, set to release albums in 2013.

Leading the charge of the ‘new breed’ of Australian progressive rock acts is Melbourne five piece Twelve Foot Ninja. They released their debut album Silent Machine in late 2012 to a rapturous and rousing reception and this week they begin their nationwide tour in support of the album.

Founding member and lead guitarist Steve ‘Stevic’ MacKay joined us over a few brews recently to chat about the album, tour and future of the mighty Twelve Foot.

“Relieved!” he laughs, when asked how he felt now the album was complete and out there. “It’s fantastic that it’s had this response. In terms of the process, it’s been pretty full on. But you never know how it’s gonna go, until it’s out, because by the time you’ve finished something that you’ve focused that intently on, you don’t know whether it’s good or not. I always say it’s like trying to look at a picture with your face pressed up against it. You can only watch other

people looking at it, and go ‘is it good?’ We’ve just had the most positive press, it’s been fantastic, overwhelmingly positive.”

One of the things that have been turning heads and getting such incredible reactions from people is the sheer weight of musical styles that the band seems to have a mastery over. They cover such incredible amounts of musical territory over the course of the album, it fairly blows the mind. They have a precision grip over rock, metal, funk, reggae, ska, electronica, Latin and plenty more, and they blend it all seamlessly together. Steve McKay feels it’s more about hard work and musical curiosity than something that just flows out of them easily.

“Everything takes work,” he explains, “from my point of view, I’ve always liked heaps of different music, and then when I’ve liked it, I’ve attempted to understand it and play it and write it. It’s like having a split personality, and it’s an opportunity to let it all come out in the one thing. But keep it all cohesive. It is a linear progression, it’s not like that was written over there, and that was written there and we put it all

I’VE ALWAYS LIKED HEAPS OF DIFFERENT MUSIC, AND THEN WHEN I’VE LIKED IT, I’VE ATTEMPTED TO UNDERSTAND IT AND PLAY IT AND WRITE IT.”

Beat Magazine Page 26

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Catch the mastery of TWELVE FOOT NINJA at the Corner Hotel on Friday January 18 with support from Circles. Their debut album Silent Machine is out now through Volkanik Music/ MGM

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UPCOMING

FEBRUARY

JANUARY

ONTOUR HOT CHIP [UK] Wednesday January 9, The Palace AUDIO INJECTION [USA] Friday January 18, Brown Alley MOULDY SOUL [UK], MISTER ROGERS [UK] Friday January 18, Brown Alley PLEASUREKRAFT [USA] Sunday January 20, Revolver Upstairs CRYSTAL CASTLES [CAN] Tuesday January 22, Billboard THE BLOODY BEETROOTS [ITA] Thursday January 24, The Palace SOUL CLAP [USA] Friday January 25, The Liberty Social CLAUDE VONSTROKE[USA], JUSTIN MARTIN [USA] Friday January 25, Brown Alley RAINBOW SERPENT: GUY J [ISR], CHRISTIAN SMITH [SWE], PETER VAN HOESEN [BEL] Friday January 25 - Monday January 28, Lexton BIG DAY OUT: THE BLOODY BEETROOTS [ITA], KASKADE [USA], CRYSTAL CASTLES [CAN] + MORE Saturday January 26, Flemington Racecourse WOLFGANG GARTNER [USA], PROXY [RUS], HUORATRON [FIN] Saturday January 26, Royal Melbourne Hotel SASHA [UK] Sunday January 27, Chasers JESSIE WARE [UK] Wednesday January 30, Prince Bandroom SWEDISH HOUSE MAFIA [SWE] Thursday January 31, Sidney Myer Music Bowl Friday February 1, Sidney Myer Music Bowl KLUTE [UK], GRIDLOK [USA] Friday February 1, Brown Alley ABOVE & BEYOND [UK] Saturday February 2, Hisense Arena HOLY OTHER [UK] Tuesday February 5, Workers Club EL-P [USA] Wednesday February 6, Corner Hotel BUTCH [GER], EDU IMBERNON [ESP] Friday February 8, Brown Alley JACKMASTER [UK], SHLOHMO [USA] Friday February 8, The Liberty Social ULTRAMAGNETIC MCS [USA] Saturday February 9, The Espy BICEP [UK] Sunday February 10, Revolver Upstairs MACKLEMORE [USA], RYAN LEWIS [USA] Tuesday February 12, The Palace Saturday February 16, Corner Hotel BLAWAN [UK], MARCEL DETTMANN [GER] Friday February 15, Brown Alley LUNICE [CAN] Saturday February 16, Revolt Artspace DAMIAN LAZARUS [UK], SUBB-AN [UK], SHAUN REEVES [GER] + MORE Sunday February 17, Brown Alley PICTUREPLANE [USA] Sunday February 17, The Liberty Social DIXON [GER], HUXLEY [UK] Friday February 22, Prince Bandroom MOODYMANN [USA] Friday March 8, Prince Bandroom FANTASTIC MR FOX [UK] Saturday March 9, The Liberty Social GOLDEN PLAINS: MOODYMANN [USA], JULIO BASHMORE [UK] + MORE Saturday March 9 - Monday March 11, Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre FUTURE MUSIC FESTIVAL: THE PRODIGY [UK], DIZZEE RASCAL [UK], BOYS NOIZE [GER] + MORE Sunday March 10, Flemington Racecourse

REAL TALK

The silly season has killed me. RIP Tyson.

Tyson Wray

All Good Funk Alliance: Breaking Good

Claude Von Stroke’s Dirtybird Arcade: Falcon Fun

Sasha: Chasing The Wavy Gravy

Recognised as one of the electronic genre’s most innovative icons, Sasha will be returning to Australia for the first time in over a year for an appearance at Melbourne’s Chasers. A revered veteran of the electronic music scene, Sasha’s universal appeal has seen him establish a strong international fanbase.

He has created compilations for Renaussance and Global Underground along with producing epic tunes like Xpander and Wavy Gravy along with albums Airdrawndagger and Involver. He will be showing what it takes to be a “DJs DJ” at Chasers on Sunday January 27.

For the Australia Day weekend, Claude Von Stroke will be bringing his Dirtybird brand Down Under for the first time and appearing at Brown Alley with Dirtybird favourite Justin Martin and San Francisco’s J.Phlip. After a string of successful parties under the Hatched banner in 2012, Dirtybird have fine tuned their party principles to present Arcade in the new year. Since 2005, Von Stroke has released two artist albums, along with a Fabric mix and over 25 remixes for artists as diverse as The Rapture and techno legend Kevin Saunderson. Joining his mentor will be Justin Martin, who has skillfully spun everywhere from Berlin’s Panorama Bar to London’s Fabric. Well known DJ/Producer J.Phlip will also be coming along for the ride. Don’t miss Dirtybird’s Arcade on Friday January 25 at Brown Alley.

Audio Injection: SoCal Lovin’

With a strong local lineup behind him, Audio Injection will be injecting his unique brand of house into Brown Alley on Friday January 18. Audio Injection started DJing at local underground events and raves around Southern California when he was just 15 years old.

Since then he has progressed to producing his own music, with releases on techno labels such as Monoid, Stimulus & local label Droid Recordings. In early 2011 he started a project called ‘Truncate’ which focuses on the deeper, darker raw side of techno. He will be appearing at Brown Alley on Friday January 18.

Mouldy Soul, Mister Rogers and Goosebumpz: Funky Town

Butch and Edu Imbernon: Sooty Lives

Klute, Gridlok, Nymfo and Prolix: Klute Force

Coalesce Music have announced Klute, Gridlok, Nymfo and Prolix will be bringing beats to Brown Alley on Friday February 1. Klute has been making his musical mark since the mid-‘90s and steering Commercial Suicide since 2001 to produce over 50 12” singles and 7 albums by himself and others. He will be appearing with drum and bass pioneer Gridlok, Dutch DJ and producer Nymfo, (known for his tough techno tinge) and the UK’s Prolix. They’ll be pumping the bass at Brown Alley on Friday February 1.

Under One Roof have announced that Butch, aka Bülent Gürler, will be appearing alongside Edu Imbernon at Brown Alley on Friday February 8. With style stretching from house to techno, Butch has expressed his versatility through over 100 releases in the past five years. Groove magazine readers voted him “producer of the year” for two consecutive years in 2010 and 2011. His latest performances have included Tokyo’s Womb, Fabric in London, Cielo in New York and Time Warp 2011. Joining him will be Edu Imbernon. The two will be appearing on Friday February 8 at Brown Alley.

Tickets $20 through the venue.

RESPONSIBLE:

International heavyweights Mouldy Soul and Mister Rogers will appear alongside some of Australia’s premiere glitch artists when Whomp! and Adapted Records present a night of funk fueled glitch hop at Brown Alley. Mouldy Soul is the warped electronic ramblings of Richard Carington, which have been likened to the sonic equivalent of a multi-dimensional Octopus with tentacles made of lasers. Joining him will be Mr. Rogers whose psychedelic sounds have long captivated America’s West Coast. Melbourne’s own Goosbumpz will head the local lineup set to include Staunch, Angus Green, Kodiak Kid and El Suave. Catch these guys and uncover the secret special guest at Brown Alley on Friday January 18.

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Managing Editor: Ronnit Sternfein ronnit@beat.com.au Editor: Tyson Wray tyson@beat.com.au Listings: club/promoter submissions clubguide@beat.com.au - now online at beat.com.au - it’s free!

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EDITORIALDEADLINE - 2PM FRIDAYS NO EXCEPTIONS

2.

Reminding fans to expect the unexpected, All Good Funk Alliance have announced they will be getting down in The Espy Front Bar this January. The duo, comprised of Frank Cueto and Rusty Belick, have opened for the legendary James Brown, written songs for Coca-Cola and even appeared on the Breakspoll Top 50 list. Delivering their funky fresh sound to critical acclaim, they have recently signed a major remix deal to put their spin on Kraak and Smaak’s hit album Plastic People. Catch them at The Espy Front Bar on Saturday January 12.

UP TO DATE

Catch Wreck: I Love Oz Hip Hop Fridays

Australian hip hop event Catch Wreck have announced the lineup to their mammoth show this coming March. Headlining is Queensland’s Lazy Grey featuring Jake Biz and DJ DCE with a cast of other household names such as Brad Strut, Maundz, Simplex (Terra Firma), K21, Fluent Form, Raven, Mata & Must, Smiley, BackYard Funk and Def Men Walking with DJs Slap 618 (Obese) and Heata (HG) on mixing duties for the evening. Catch Wreck is happening on Friday March 1 at the Prince Bandroom.

Ahoy! RTIST Creative will be welcoming the 2013 festive season with two excellent boating adventures and bringing together an impressive lineup of acts and artists. Kicking off from the Docklands’ Central Pier, the ‘No Parlay’ boat cruise will feature sets from various well known DJs and musicians, including Perplex and Kodiak Kid. This will be accompanied by live art installations from Itch, Niche, Lunaverse and Horror Sleaze Trash. The main event to follow, at Melbourne’s iconic Shed4, will feature DJs along with sets from Cut Copy’s Ben Browning, N’FA Jones, with UK/AUS outfit Africa Hitech headlining. Set sail at 2pm from Central Pier Docklands for a 6pm return and the Shed 4 main event. It all goes down on Saturday January 19 and we have a double pass to giveaway.

Hit up beat.com.au/freeshit for your chance to win.

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THE BIG MAG FOR CLUB CULTURE

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FM RADIO GODS

“Right now, we are kicking it in Montreal preparing to launch a series of EPs. It has been a little while in between drinks for us actually – come to think of it, it has been about a year that we’ve been cultivating a new, more poppy sort of sound that we’re really happy with – the two of us are ready to unleash!”

RAINBOW RADIO: ATTITUDE ON THE AIRWAYS So Andrew Hamilton and Tao-Nhan Nguyen decided that a boring life grinding it out in an office and keeping up with the Joneses wasn’t their calling.

Rather, music had a far more tenacious appeal – so in between the odd dress up party for New Year’s, and a rather hectic touring schedule, as well as some time producing in the studio, the duo from Montreal are living their dream. No less, they are heading Down Under for the annual and much loved Rainbow Serpent Festival – itself the bastion of loose times, good music and friendly vibes. It’s all onwards and upwards, as they say. And of the two, it is Andrew Hamilton that takes some time to have a chat with us.

“Right now, we are kicking it in Montreal, preparing to launch a series of EPs. It has been a little while in between drinks for us actually – come to think of it, it has been about a year that we’ve been cultivating a new, more poppy sort of sound that we’re really happy with – the two of us are ready to unleash!”

But Andrew also takes a moment to explain how earlier in this century his yet-to-be partner in crime heard some music that Andrew was producing under the moniker ‘Lucid’. Intrigued by the sound, Tao asked a mutual colleague to have Andrew along to a club night he was hosting in the Old Port called Velvet. “It all really clicked from there,” he says nostalgically.

Indeed, based in Canada, the duo are representing a scene that has produced its fair share of elite musicians – some of them bona-fide superstars.

And while the scene isn’t yet as burgeoning as they yet might like, Andrew claims the city has a certain energy and spirit when it comes to electronica – and

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being a hop, skip and a jump to the USA, there is a fair bit going on around the place.

“Being based out of Montreal, I have to say, we are in a pretty good spot,” he explains. “The city is pretty lively and we get a lot of support from locals here.

That’s why the city is great in that sense. It has always felt like a big city with a small-town vibe.”

Which isn’t too far detached from the small-town nature of the electronic dance music scene in Australia – for a country of 20 million something people, we take our music pretty seriously. And we’re rather predisposed to turning up to good festivals and events in our thousands – sometimes in our tens of thousands. So like the lads from Montreal, our musicians don’t necessarily have a natural market and therefore the pressure is on to perform – there are no guaranteed meal tickets and the scene won’t carry passengers. Getting your name out there is part and parcel of the work, and like their local compatriots, the FM Radio Gods are approaching it in their stride.

And part of that, is a grueling travel schedule.

“We do get to do a fair bit of travel,” admits Andrew.

“We’ve done a lot of gigs recently in the U.S. and more recently in Mexico, mainly in New York and Mexico City. For example, we found Mexico to be a great place to perform because of the sheer size of the festivals over there. It’s not uncommon to play for crowds of 15,000 or more people so the vibe, mood and overall spectacle are all pretty intense – it’s great!”

So who would have thought that when they debuted in 2006, that they’d achieve such critical mass – travelling the world and spending time in the studio COVER STORY

doing what they love? Yet barely half a decade on, the pair are justly considered true heavyweights of the electronic music scene, with a sound that crosses across multiple genres from house, to progressive, to techno and beyond. Consciously, Andrew admits that wasn’t necessarily part of a firm plan either; rather, it was the way things panned out.

“We’ve never thought of ourselves as being genrespecific,” he describes. “We take our music seriously, but we also like to have a bit of fun when we play or when we produce. As a result, we do try and take touches from this genre and touches from that genre, but we tend to kind of just go in any direction.” So whether it’s house, minimal or even electro, the lads are intent on moving forward without any let up.

No less, working together for them is a balanced art. “We always work together under one roof in our studio. For us, it’s really important to get a certain vibe going together; that helps us maintain a common vision and arrive at the outcome we’re kind of looking for. Our studio is filled with some pretty cool bits of equipment too – real synthesisers like a Moog Voyager, Prophet 8, Nord Stage and a V-Synth. There’s nothing like the sound of a fat analog keyboard to bring your tracks to life!”

Agreed. And there’s nothing like taking a pretty loose direction with your production and turning a track into a raging dance-floor beast that the punters just lap up. Certainly, their approach to collaborations hasn’t hurt them either, with the duo twiddling knobs with some of the best in the business – but that doesn’t mean you can’t dream too. Andrew suggests that they’d still like to get down with chaps like Royksopp,

Stephan Bodzin or Trentemoller. “They are all artists we appreciate and immensely respect,” he claims.

The lads are justifiably excited about what they will be throwing down come the anticipated return of the Rainbow Serpent Festival shortly. Believe it or not, this is in fact their first trip to Australia and they are suitably pumped to be representing Canada. “Our live setup will be comprised of a Monome 256, a Jazz Mutant Lemur and a laptop. The two of us will be playing together and it will all be live, so we’re going to try to feel the crowd moving and to keep the energy high! Most of the tracks we’ll be playing at Rainbow Serpent will be unreleased too, so we’re excited to hear everyone’s response! We are always about trying to keep our live show as ‘live’ as possible,” Andrew muses.

“There isn’t a lot of point doing it any other way.

We’re really about interacting with the crowd as much as possible.”

They’ve said before that their gear and their setup is the heart and soul of their performance and that their ensemble makes them look like they’re from outer space. And for my money, there is nothing wrong with that. No doubt, the floor is anticipating it with bated breath too.

RK FM Radio Gods [CAN] play alongside Guy J [ISR], Prometheus [UK] and more at Rainbow Serpent Festival which runs from Friday January 25 to Monday January 28 in Lexton.

SATURDAY12TH LOUNGE-CLUB

WEDNESDAY9TH COQ ROQ Rocking Wednesdays at Lucky Coq are rotating DJs Lady Noir, Agent 86, Kiti, Mr Thom, Joybot and guests giving you nothing but the best new wave, punk, brit pop, bong rap and hair metal. Coq Roq takes place every Wednesday from 8pm with free pool downstairs from 9pm as well as drink specials.

Roq out!

Lucky Coq, 179 Chapel St, Windsor

MIDNIGHT SOUL ENSEMBLE Whether it’s a DJ on the one’s and two’s side by side with a drummer hitting the skins while jammin’ away into the night, or soul singers gracing our humble stage performing Erykah Badu tribute songs over wonky future beats, or hip hop DJs cuttin’ up Serato records, we got the mid-week party. You know you wanna. Free entry Lounge, 243 Swanston Street, Melbourne

SOUL ARMY With more flavour than a chocolate pizza, the Wednesday Soul Army throws down raw, uncut funk next to smooth soul grooves and rare blue jams. Bring that special lady because when the boys lay down the love it could be the difference between ‘we’re just friends’ to ‘let’s get it on’. PBS stalwarts Vince Peach and Miss Goldie accompany Prequel and Black Diamond Kicks weekly. Free.

Bimbo Deluxe, 376 Brunswick St (Cnr Rose St), Fitzroy

THURSDAY10TH BIMBO THURSDAYS Tigerfunk brings with him his full band of travelling gypsies, hipsters and middle class executives, all of whom are prepared to deliver the most excitement you can have this side of the weekend.

Bimbo Deluxe, 376 Brunswick St (Cnr Rose St), Fitzroy

FREE RANGE FUNK Funk up your Thursday nights with Free Range Funk at the Windsor favourite Lucky Coq. Grab a couch early and enjoy one (or more) of their famous $4 pizzas from 7-11pm. Meanwhile DJs Who, Agent 86, Lewis CanCut and special guests tempt you into the night with their eclectic bag of treats. Setting the mood early is delightful jazz, deep soul, and funk. Later it’s fruity disco, choice house, and hipster dance drops. Free entry every Thursday.

Lucky Coq, 179 Chapel St, Windsor

FUN HOUSE Celebrate Thursday night at Co. with club classics and dance floor anthems.

Co., Crown Entertainment Complex, Lvl 3, 8 Whiteman St, Southbank

FRIDAY11TH GET LIT Get Lit every Friday night with Mugen & D’fro slicin’ n dicin’ over jiggy beats and underground anthems. Bounce to the ounce, and get yer “drank” on! And kids remember one thang, in the wise words of Lady: this pussy be yankin! YOLO. Free entry. From 10pm.

Lounge, 243 Swanston Street, Melbourne

FIRST FLOOR FRIDAYS A journey of international music from all over the world; past, present and future rhythms incorporating afro, soul, funk, world and deep house elements!

First Floor, 393 Brunswick St, Fitzroy

FREEDOM PASS Friday’s at Freedom with 2 premier clubs, 5 huge rooms, 10+ local and international DJs blending their unique sets across countless styles of tunes – vocal house, smooth R&B, electro and commercial top 40. Throw in a few sexy podium dancers, a world-class lights show and drink specials, the Freedom Pass is your personal ticket to a night you won’t soon forget!

Fusion, Crown Entertainment Complex, Lvl 3, 8 Whiteman St, Southbank

PANORAMA Start your weekend on a good note with Panorama Fridays at Lucky Coq. DJs Matt Rad, Mr George, Tom Meagher and Phato A Mano transform the upstairs area into one hell of a house party with Hip Hop, Funk, R&B, Disco and House. Meanwhile, downstairs gives you a secluded wind down atmosphere with cult films as background visuals and quality cocktails to sip on.

Let the new coqtail list wash away a crappy week!

Lucky Coq, 179 Chapel St, Windsor

RETRO SEXUAL FRIDAY DJ Grandmaster Vicious spins Fitzroy’s finest mix of ‘80s and ‘90s pop, rock, new wave, hip hop, disco classics and cheese to please plus dance floor anthems from then to now.

One Twenty Bar, 120 Johnston St, Fitzroy

FEED ME

It’s house, electro, dub, anthems, disco and funk with guest DJs Genetix, B-Two and Oohee rocking til the break of day. Doors open 10pm with $5 basics til midnight!

First Floor, 393 Brunswick St, Fitzroy

HOT STEP Google Hot Step and you’ll get a bunch of Vietnamese game reviews and Balkanese dances on YouTube. But that’s nothing like what you can expect to find within the confines of Bimbo on a Saturday night. Developing thick and heavy but altogether groovy, enjoy an eclectic mix of fairy floss funk, doom disco and monk movement minimal every week. Free.

Bimbo Deluxe, 376 Brunswick St (Cnr Rose St), Fitzroy

SATURDAYS AT ONE TWENTY BAR DJ CKass will take you on a musical journey to the retro sounds of the ‘70s and ‘80s, followed by Top 40.

One Twenty Bar, 120 Johnston St, Fitzroy

SOUND EMPIRE Co. At Crown’s Saturday night party Sound Empire this week features mega sounds from resident DJs Tate Strauss, Miss Sarah, Nova, Johnny M, Matty G, Dean T, Joe Sofo, Marcus Knight, Dinesh, Chris Ostrom, B-Boogie and Sarah Roberts.

Co., Crown Entertainment Complex, Lvl 3, 8 Whiteman St, Southbank

STAR SATURDAYS Star Saturdays - smashing it every Saturday! Phil Ross, Scotty Erdos, DJ Ontime, LC, Nick James, Dane Gains, Ryan Hamill, Deja, Phil Isa, Nixon, Azza M, Scotty Nix, DJ Ryza, C Dubb, Alex-J, G-Funk, Dylisco, Achos, Az, Shaggz and guests.

Star Bar, 160 Clarendon St, South Melbourne

TEMPERANCE SATURDAYS DJ Marcus Knight & DJ Xander James drop sexy house, dance and drum and bass all night from 8pm. Free entry.

Temperance Hotel, 426 Chapel St, South Yarra

TEXTILE Saturdays at Lucky Coq tick all the boxes so start your night early and stay til close! Famous $4 pizzas from 7-9pm (that’s dinner sorted) then from 9pm spread over two levels with DJs playing hip hop, funk, disco, house and electro. Rotating guests on both levels keep the tunes fresh. Free entry.

Lucky Coq, 179 Chapel St, Windsor

interactive digital show as well as bringing the music which I’ve been doing anyway. For me, it was a way of furthering creativity and just expanding. For me, it was probably the biggest thing I’ve ever done, it still is. I’ve had so much fun doing it. It’s a lot more rewarding from my point of view to be able to do the [visual] show.”

Gooch has received “amazing” feedback about the new live show, having spent a great deal of last year on tour with the new set up. “Apart from learning the technical aspects of touring the show and battling electronics, we’ve done a tour bus all over America and we’ve been to Europe doing big festivals and we’ve done some fantastic festivals across the UK,” he says. “I’m so pleased with how it looked from the very first sculpture of it to the final thing; it’s pretty much exactly how we wanted it and we’re still adding to it now. We’ve just added more lights and it’s kind of growing in all dimensions.”

One would think that it’d be a mission to move such a gigantic piece of equipment from venue to venue across boarders and oceans but, Gooch says it’s his crew who are to thank for making the ‘mission’ like magic. “It weighs just over three tonnes and

1200 Techniques smashed their way into the minds and onto the radios of Australia with 2002’s Choose One. Lead single Karma peaked at number 36 on the ARIA charts, a song equally memorable for its smooth soul keys, rocking guitar riffs and solos blended over a classic hip hop beat, as the eye-catching clip in which the band become homicidal puppets.

Jones puts the success of 1200 Techniques down to hard work, and maybe just a little dash of luck. “There were a lot of crews working hard but it seemed like no one wanted to let anyone get through to that higher tier, high rotation on the J’s [Triple J], getting through to your Novas and maybe even over to a Fox or something like that. It was a big no-no. We were just fortunate I guess to be around at the right time. If you look back there are certain things you’re meant to do to get your status up and get heard and get out there, but we were just doing those things organically and didn’t realise it. It was amazing to me to be a part of that first initial wave that was able to crash the shores that a lot of artists have now built on and taken much further.”

Finding it hard to break into the mainstream in Australia pales in comparison to what faced him in London as a solo artist.

“There’s so many people who were getting their hustle on in London,” he says. “So many people were so full of hot air and

‘Oh I know this guy’ and ‘I’m doing that’ and a lot of people flex over there. People here don’t say they can deliver things if they can’t, but over there a lot of people are almost frauds, but the people we hear about who are doing well are never in those sort of circles and never caught up in any of that. If it’s good, things will work - all the hype is just bullshit.”

Recording an album he hopes to release in February this year, things aren’t slowing down anytime soon for Jones, who says he’s “just enjoying making music. You aim for the heavens but don’t expect too much”.

“It really wasn’t on the cards for me originally,” Jones says about the upcoming record. “But the Babylondon EP did alright. March On got a lot of airplay - people have been offering me gigs here and there and its sort of been building.

“Just before I moved to London I met these guys, Jay Smith and Dutch, two boys in Melbourne, really nice, good people.

You get those people you meet sometimes and they’re so good and nice you’re like, ‘What’s wrong with this person?’, until you realise they’re actually like that. I met them and we wrote a bunch of music and then I moved abroad, but when I was away I kept thinking about this music I’d written. I was doing a lot of gigs over there and writing a bit but I kept thinking about this project. Then when I came back to Aus we started linking up again. After we’d done a few things with Drapht and Drapht was starting to vibe with them as well he was in my ear like, ‘Yo, you should do your record, let’s do it, I’ll help you get your head around it if you want’.

“You often need other creatives around to help you separate the woods from the trees. Most of its done now, we just got to get all the mixing finished and a couple of extra vocals here and there. It’s not like I stress and rush through things, it’s just getting it done in its time like it’s meant to be.”

N’FA WOODS FROM TREES: TRANSCENDING TECHNIQUE “I don’t want to be in my 40s telling people to say ‘ho’ throughout a whole set,” states N’fa Forster-Jones, only half jokingly. “Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with that, I love it if a bloke can come out and rock it, but that’s him and I gotta find me.”

Finding himself may be easier said than done for Jones.

This is a man who was at Aussie hip hop’s push into the mainstream with 1200 Techniques, and after closing that chapter in the mid-noughties, has grafted between Australia, London and the rest of Europe, playing gigs, recording music and mentoring young musicians.

When I get the chance to speak to him, he is taking a bit of time off to be with his family in Western Australia but we are talking about one busy dude, and he says he wouldn’t have it any other way. “People get so caught up in their art and they want it to be perfect and if it isn’t they won’t do it, but they’ll live their life doing something they hate forever. Once you get past that you go, ‘Okay, how do I make this work for me, what do I want?’ It’s been a long journey and development but 1200 [Techniques] was the start. It’s always gonna be on my mind and in myself.”

First popping up on our radar in 1998 with single Hard As Hell,

FIRST FLOOR SATURDAYS

it’s 20 feet wide by 10 feet high [apart from] external stuff lights and tubes,” he says. “Despite it being as lightweight as possible, you don’t want it to fall on you. We have a really good crew of people, they’re so good at taking it up and down - it vanishes after the show so quickly, it packs down very small. So that’s also part of the fun of seeing it being built - realising that it wasn’t just a sculpture you can just wheel on stage, it has to be a touring object that you can live with and other people need to understand it in case it needs repairs and things like that.”

As for being on the road, Gooch has had a few great shows with the new live set up over the last year. “We did some great ones when we did the bus tour in North America - I did a fantastic one in Chicago, that’s always a really good crowd and some great shows across Europe and in the UK – Reading and Leeds Festivals – they were probably the largest crowds I’ve ever seen in my life, I couldn’t believe it, it was complete chaos,” he says.

“Coming out this month in London – I’m doing my first London headline show, I’m really looking forward to that.”

Gooch is pumped to be bringing the Feed Me With Teeth live show Down Under for the first time for Future Music Festival in March. “It’ll be great to see The Stone Roses,” he says.

“My stage is pretty much lots of people I know and obviously headlined by the Prodigy who have always been one of my big influences probably since the first piece of electronic music I ever heard. Kill The Noise – Jake [Stanczak] – he’s one of my best friends. I’ve toured Australia twice with him before so this will be an even bigger version of the same antics I’d imagine.

I’m bringing the Teeth show so I’ll have my crew with me and stuff. Last time I toured Australia, I had one of the best backto-back tours of dance festivals, it was a lot of fun. I’m looking

ARMED: TO THE TEETH Feed Me, aka UK DJ and producer Jonathan Gooch, is returning down under for Future Music Festival. This time, he’s bringing his new live show Feed Me With Teeth. The live set up contains a huge teeth-like structure with visuals synced up to the music, weighing in at three tonnes. “It was probably the biggest thing I’ve ever done, it still is. I’ve had so much fun doing it,” Gooch explains.

Jonathan Gooch is known as the talented producer behind the incredible Feed Me and drum and bass, dubstep and electrohouse moniker Spor. Gooch spent last year on the road touring America, Europe and throughout the UK with his new live show Feed Me With Teeth. An absolutely phenomenal project, Gooch’s new live show is – put lightly – out of this world. It’s a huge set of teeth with lights, visuals all synced up with what’s happening behind the decks and more. “I’ve spent a lot of years DJing constantly and I’ve played over the world several times doing just straight DJ sets. But, for me, I’ve always been a visual artist as well,” Gooch says down the line from his studio back home, speaking of how Feed Me With Teeth came about.

“It always seems a more exciting prospect to do a bigger,

Dazzling disco lights? Check. Big dance floor? Check. Stage to dance on? Check. Music all night long? Check. We got Melbourne’s finest purveyors of music. You’ll get funk, boogie, disco, house, Latin, afro, techno and much more. Lounge-Club happens every weekend from 10PM and it’s free entry.

Lounge, 243 Swanston Street, Melbourne

ESSENTIALS

SUNDAY13TH SOUTH SIDE HUSTLE The perfect Sunday soundtrack with DJs Askew, Peter Baker, Booshank, Paz, Miss Butt, Junji, Disco Harry and guests. They will be laying down disco, afro beat and deep house til 3am.

For lovers of good music - South Side Hustle.

Lucky Coq, 179 Chapel St, Windsor

STAR BAR SUNDAYS The original and still the best Sunday in Melbourne.

Star Bar, 160 Clarendon St, South Melbourne

SUNDAE SHAKE Our Signature serve. Each and every Sunday we play host to a self professed vinyl junkie caught between the golden years and boogie wonderland. A mouthful? Perhaps. Phato Amano perfectly sets the mood for an audio-adventure that redefines the dance floor weekly. Our Sunday aficionados Agent 86 and Tigerfunk stir up a full cream shake to the flavour of your liking.

Forget everything you thought you knew about losing yourself to the grooves.

Bimbo Deluxe, 376 Brunswick St (Cnr Rose St), Fitzroy

MONDAY14TH IBIMBO Have you always wanted to be a DJ but been cruelly cursed with tone deafness and a general inability to version excursion? Well Bimbo Deluxe saves the day once again.. All you need is an iPhone and you’re set. Just download the free ‘remote’ application from the app store, log into the Bimbo DJ wireless network and you choose which song plays next.

Bimbo Deluxe, 376 Brunswick St (Cnr Rose St), Fitzroy

TUESDAY15TH BIMBO TUESDAYS Bimbo Tuesday’s have long been the discerning DJs midweek breath of fresh air. An opportunity to indulge in, and to each parade their individual takes on music. A night where by the weird and wonderful is not frowned upon but rather celebrated. Resident selectors Matt Radovich, Andras Fox and Henry Who draw from a colorful array of sounds that warm your midweek blues. From 8pm, free.

Bimbo Deluxe, 376 Brunswick St (Cnr Rose St), Fitzroy

COSMIC PIZZA NHJ and friends host every Tuesday night upstairs at Lucky Coq. Playing uneasy listening, freaked out bass jams, romantic comedy disco, tropi-jazz, soundtracks and shit you won’t hear on the other nights.

Lucky Coq, 179 Chapel St, Windsor

forward to it.”

Annabel Maclean Feed Me [UK] plays the Future Music Festival at Flemington Racecourse on Sunday March 10 alongside The Stone Roses [UK], The Prodigy [UK] and more.

Ryan Butler N’FA [AUS] plays the No Parlay Boat Cruise and Shed4 Party on Saturday January 19 alongside Africa Hitech [AUS], Kid Kenobi [AUS], Ben Browning [AUS] and more. The No Parlay Boat Cruise leaves from The Victoria Star, Central Pier Docklands while the No Parlay Party held at Shed4, South Wharf Docklands.

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THURSDAY10TH MOTOWN THURSDAYS Kick start your weekend with Melbourne’s newest Thursday night! Motown Thursdays caters to all true music lovers. Join us on an eclectic musical journey of soul, funk and disco through to early R&B. A live Soul Band features some of Melbourne’s most talented musicians; Carmen Hendricks, Laurent Soupe, Duncan Kinell and Aaron Mendoza just to name a few. DJs keep the records spinning into the early hours; residents are Reg-e, Lee Davies, Kalepe, Dinesh, Suga, Rubz and Alwin Rafferty. Join us around a big, shiny disco ball or two, for free entry, soulful tunes, drink specials all night and a dance floor full of friends!

Fashion Lounge, 121 Flinders Lane, Melbourne

RHYTHM-AL-ISM Start the weekend early with Fusion’s Resident DJs. Music for your funkin’ soul. Special guests every week!

Fusion, Crown Entertainment Complex, Lvl 3, 8 Whiteman St, Southbank

FRIDAY11TH KHOKOLATKOATED

FAKTORY This is it. Faktory Fridays are open for business at Melbourne’s home of R&B, Khokolat Bar. Where else? Damion De Silva, Ken Walker, Durmy, K Dee, Simon Sez, Yaths and Jacqui Dusk spinning all night long.

Khokolat Bar, Basement, 43 Hardware La, Melbourne

LIKE FRIDAYS Like Fridays at La Di Da serves up R&B and electro house across two rooms giving you a fun filled end to your week. DJs Dinesh, Dir-X, Sef, NYD, Shaun D, Shaggz, Broz and more.

La Di Da, 577 Little Bourke St, Melbourne

LIGHT We celebrate everything that has made Light at Red Love, kicking off with our after work drinks session from 4pm. Our DJ lineup includes each and every one of the Daddy Mack’s who have helped lead Light into our 5th running year of old school R&B. Harvey Yeah, Ripz, TMC and Stel Kar locking down that Old School Flava with guest appearances by G.A.K. & The Seminar of Funk and Nick K. It’s all happening this Friday as we celebrate 5 years of doing our do and bringing that Red Love!

Red Love, Level 1, 401 Swanston Street, Melbourne

THE LOOSE GOOSE The Loose Goose is focused on providing a wonderful array of cocktails and offers a great CBD location to lounge and relax in while overlooking busy Flinders Lane. A small plates menu

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is available to graze on whilst trying our delicious cocktails from the classics to contemporary, beer on tap and a wide range of beers, wines and spirits. Every Friday evening DJ Jumps of The Cat Empire will take to the decks at the bar spinning his rare afro Latin funk vinyl collected from around the world from 6.30pm until late.

Papa Goose Cocktail Bar, 91-93 Flinders Lane, Melbourne

SWEET NOTHING FRIDAYS DJ Marcus Knight and DJ Xander James spin hip hop, R&B and house tunes all night from 8pm. Free entry and early drink specials.

Temperance Hotel, 426 Chapel St, South Yarra

THE NICE UP Tom Showtime presents The Nice Up. All flavours of hip hop, ghetto funk and reggae niceness provided. Sailor Jerry nice up the cocktails, Dos Blockos nice up the $5 beers. Fridays done proper.

George Lane Bar, 1 George Lane, St Kilda

SATURDAY12TH KHOKOLAT KOATED All new experience, same great location with a fresh koat of Khokolat. Restless Entertainment reloads your favourite Saturday night party. Damion De Silva, K Dee, Jay Sin and weekly guests playing R&B & ol’ skool sounds strictly for the urban elite.

Khokolat Bar, Basement, 43 Hardware La, Melbourne

REDLOVE SATURDAYS RedLove Saturdays is all about solid classics from the ‘80s, ‘90s and into the ‘00s! Dropping beats of retro pop, disco classics, old school funk, and certainly some of that old school R&B and house to kick! RedLove Resident DJs Phil, HB Bear and Da Gato bringing down the house every Saturday night.

If you’re looking for quality service, music to rock, sumptuous drinks and just a cold hard good time; look no further!

Red Love, Level 1, 401 Swanston Street, Melbourne

SHAKA SATURDAY The newest R&B Superclub Shaka Saturdays grand opening is set to hit Melbourne over two massive weeks. The northern suburbs newest, freshest club playing all of your favourite R&B, hip hop, old skool and reggae. Shaka Saturdays is showcasing Australias newest and favourite R&B DJs, including DJ C-RAM bringing video mixing to Melbourne and special guest hip hop band Yellow Cake. Set at one of the most amazing venues Melbourne has to offer with two levels, good music, great ‘Shaka’ atmosphere and cheap drinks, we are hoping to pack it out and create a night for people to remember.

Level 2 The Club, 2 Arthurton Rd, Northcote

BONJAH

BY AUGUSTUS WELBY

The debonair charm of Melbourne-based pop-rockers Bonjah has been absent from Australia’s live circuit for the last six months. The four-piece have plunged into writing for what will become the follow up to 2011s Go Go Chaos and bass player David Morgan is audibly enthused about the outcomes of their song-writing retreat. “We’re not really short on ideas. We’ve got a whole bunch of ideas and a handful of songs that we’re pretty happy with, but we’ve also got at least a dozen more ideas and things floating around that we’re still working on. I think every time we’ve gotten together to jam or work on ideas, someone’s always got something new to bring to the table.”

The band started writing new material with a general idea of what they wanted to achieve, but they aren’t binding themselves to an ultimate vision of what will characterise the finished product. “We had a bit of an idea that we wanted to write a bunch of music that was a bit more upbeat and experiment with faster paced music. Instead of trying to look at it as a whole and try to write music to fit a big round concept, whatever came out we just approached as individual tracks and let as many of them come and go as they did.”

It requires quite a lot of patience, when writing an album, for it to develop into something with continuous depth. Morgan explains that in order to yield positive results, unrealistic expectations on the speed of construction had to be removed. “You definitely have to try not to force it. You can have your expectations but you don’t want to hold them too close to your heart. Sometimes it’s just not the case; your expectations won’t be met in the time frame you might have set in your mind. You just have to be mindful and not put too much restriction on it.

At the same time you don’t want to leave it too open and do a Guns’n’Roses Chinese Democracy and take 10 plus years to write an album. You have to put some sort of time frame on it.” Bonjah have been together for over six years and referring to past experiences has given them guidance for combatting certain artistic obtrusions, such as writer’s block. “Writers block is quite a natural thing to happen. It’s like you lose interest or motivation to create something new and try something different. You can’t try to force your way out of it, you have to naturally get out of it if you do find yourself in that sort of space,” says David.

It’s alarming to be faced with a creative barrier but David suggests that calm perseverance is the best remedy to get through times of drought. “The main thing to remember is not to freak out because of it, but to accept it and be like, ‘well, the time’s not right, right now’ and trust in the fact that it will be something that will pass and that you’ll find the right time and the right inspiration.”

The release of Bonjah’s first LP, 2009’s Until Dawn, was followed by a rigorous two year touring jaunt.

David admits that at the end of this period the band’s joy and motivation had significantly depleted. “We just toured relentlessly and overdid it and we didn’t really give ourselves an opportunity to be creative.

We burnt ourselves out and needed to take time off everything and just stop for a bit so that we could actually be inspired to make some new music. We fell into a state of, ‘oh it’s so good not to be touring and playing those songs,’ but we lost inspiration to actually get together and jam and play. A little bit of time passed and we all freaked out and were like, ‘fuck, what are we doing?’.”

The band’s recent overseas success, including soldout shows in the UK and gracing festival stages in Germany, revealed the scope of where their music can take them. David sounds vitally encouraged by their advance into the global consciousness. “It was such a good trip. We’d never been over to that part of the world and to have such a good response and good support for your music was really unexpected.

That inspired us to be like, ‘wow this is awesome, let’s just write heaps more music!’” Bonjah will record the new album with revered Melbourne producer Steven Schram, who also presided over Go Go Chaos.

Schram’s hands-on production method is valuably utilised by Bonjah. “We just love the style that he has in the studio and the sounds that he pulls. We’re quite open to have a third party help mould the songs, not just engineer them. He comes up with different ideas and sounds that we wouldn’t even think of.”

The new material will get its first public airing during Bonjah’s aptly named Summer Album Preview Tour.

Dave explains that even though the album isn’t fully formed they couldn’t suppress themselves in the jam room while the summer buzz beckoned from without.

“Summertime is such a great time to be touring so we wanted to give our fanbase a bit of an insight to

what we’ve been writing, as well as just get out there and play some shows again. We’d just like to share some new songs and inject something fresh into our live set.

Bonjah play The Espy Gershwin Room on Friday January 18 and Saturday January 19, with special guests. Tickets are on sale now through Oztix and espy.com.au.

ALL GOOD FUNK ALLIANCE

BY ROD WHITFIELD

This North American outfit bring their funky beats to The Espy this weekend as part of their first ever tour of Australia and New Zealand. Devin and Rusty from the band called in from a wildlife sanctuary in Queensland, where they were having lunch and checking out some of our unique fauna.

“No it’s not Steve Irwin’s animal sanctuary, it’s not BindiLand!” Devin quips. So what are you seeing there? “All the local favourites, I’m getting harassed by a couple of big chickens right now!”

At the time of chatting, they had already played two gigs in New Zealand, and Devin was very impressed with the shows in Kiwiland, and with both countries so far overall.

“Oh, they were awesome!” he enthuses. “Really good turnout for both, the places were set up so nice, and they treated us like gold. The people have been very friendly, very receptive. We’ve only done a few smaller gigs here [in Australia] so far, we haven’t done some of the bigger venue gigs yet here, but from what we saw in New Zealand, it was an awesome, awesome response. Here so far has been great too, getting to meet people and hang out has been cool.”

Being that it was their first ever tour to the lands Down Under, it begged the question of what people get from their live set, and the overriding vibe was that of a very fun show.

“Yeah, that definitely translates,” Devin agrees. “I mean we’re having fun doing it, and the music itself is fun and upbeat and always translates. The goal is to get people up off their butts and smiling and shaking their butts. That’s what we’re doing, you know what I mean!”

And so what are your general expectations of the country and crowds in return? “We know Australia’s pretty familiar with this stuff,” he responds. “It seems like, from what I’ve seen of the scene, there’s two schools. There’s the ‘heads’ that know the music and are into it and those that don’t, but get the vibe. And then of course there’s the top 40 crowd, which we hope not to see probably!” he laughs.

But there’s a lot of them yeah? “Yeah, true story,” he concedes, “but if we can convert a few of them, then it’s all worth it!” Devin has heard good things about Melbourne, and after hearing what an amazing venue The Espy is, he became even more animated about coming down here.

“Oh yeah, I’m excited!” he states. “From what I’ve heard, Melbourne has a pretty good music scene, and a lot of true ‘heads’, and they’ll be out in full force. We’ll do our job!”

At this point, Devin handed over to Rusty. The band actually supported James Brown several years ago,

before Devin had started playing with them. Rusty was only too happy to relate this very memorable experience to Beat readers.

“Yeah, Frank and I opened for him when he played in Baltimore,” he recalls. “Probably about a year and a half before he died. They called up to find some DJs in Baltimore, and the promoters up there said, ‘You gotta try All Good Funk Alliance’. Everyone else at the time was playing house, no one else was playing funk and hip hop. They had us open up for him, and they had us set up on the side stage, right over the J.B.’s [James Brown’s backing band] as they were playing. It was really cool. Five minutes before we went on they said, ‘No hip hop!’ But we did our set regardless, we played the hip hop stuff that we had.

“Afterwards they came up and totally loved us, and said, ‘We meant commercial hip hop’, so we got away with what we wanted to play and got a really good reception.

We didn’t actually get to meet the man himself — he was straight in and straight out. But we got to meet the J.B.’s and hang out, so it was really cool. It was a great experience, it really boosted our career at the time.”

The guys have a very big 2013 planned for themselves, with a US tour happening upon their return from Australia in March, and many and varied musical projects on the go.

“This [Northern] summer we’ve got plenty on the DJ touring front,” he explains, “and we’re focusing on writing.

We’re writing an album for a singer called Piper Davis.

We’re constantly working on beats for that, getting our chops up for that, playing guitars and stuff that we didn’t do before. And we’re getting ready to do a new All Good Funk Alliance EP, probably end of March we’ll have something out. We had Afrikaa Bambaataa in town, and we got a bunch of vocals from him.

“We also have another side project called B-Team, which is more house oriented, so we have some stuff coming out from that. So we’re trying to keep busy on a few different fronts musically.”

Check out All GOOD FUNK ALLIANCE this Saturday January 12 for free in The Espy front bar DISCUSS WHAT? BEAT.COM.AU/DISCUSSION

Beat Magazine Page 35

HUNX AND HIS PUNX

BY LACHLAN KANONIUK

“Doing a press tour for Australia over the phone it’s really sexy a hard dick, 2 beers and 3 vicodins HELLO!!!!!!” So reads the tweet sent from the Hunx, aka San Franciscan artist Seth Bogart, moments after our interview. Toasting his looming Australian debut, an excitable Hunx offers an uninhibited (maybe due to the beer and Vicodin) insight into his world.

2012 saw the release of Hairdresser Blues, an album recorded sans Punx, plus the timely Halloweenfriendly, Dracula-inspired release under the H.U.N.X. moniker I Vant To Suck Your Cock. “Well H.U.N.X. is a gay bathhouse trashy thing, Hunx And His Punx is what it normally is, and Hunx is when no one will put up with me and I have to do it on my own,” Hunx explains. “What I’m bringing over [to Australia] is all of the above minus the dance music.”

As for new material in 2013, Hunx will assemble his Punx once again for a full length offering. “We’re releasing our brand new album as Hunx And His Punx, tentatively titled Street Punx. It’s going to be super punk and crazy. Kind of more like early ‘80s LA Red Kross, Germs kind of punk.”

Delving into a myriad of genres through his various guises, Hunx has his sights set on charting more musical territory. “I secretly want to make a really faggy pop record, that’s more like [venerable Kiwi label] Flying Nun type stuff. But I don’t know, I kind of like all genres, but I tend to veer towards crazy punk stuff rather than dance. I’m gay, so dance appeals to me a bit. But I’m still so into punk.”

With a penchant for the trashier aspects of life, Hunx loudly professes his worship at the church of celebrity. “Well I just really love Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber so much because I’m really like a teenage girl mixed up with an old grandpa. I’ve been like that since I was born and I’ll probably be like that until I die. I’m a teenybopper at heart. I’m actually working on an art show right now that’s all paintings of Paris, Britney and Lindsay,” he reveals.

Judging by the multitude of devotees dressed as Hunx (as he appears in the I Vant To Suck Your Cock film clip) the past Halloween, it’s apparent that Hunx has become a celebrity in his own right. “I really love it, but I don’t really feel that it’s real. But it is flattering and nice. I don’t let it go to my head. I don’t really think about it, I just know it’s weird and funny and I move on. I’ve always been obsessed with celebs, but

I don’t really think of myself as one, you know what I mean?”

From his (and his cock’s) appearance in the NSFW video for Girls’ Lust For Life onwards, a projection of hyper-sexuality has underpinned Bogart’s work. As he explains, the use of sex as a tool of power is more of a joke than a perfunctory assertion. “Honestly I involve the whole ‘being sexy’ and music purely as a joke. I consider myself more of a comedian. But, I think talking about sex is more funny than being powerful for me. However, sex does have a weird power to it and sometimes I can use my body to get what I want,” he states flirtatiously.

“HONESTLY I INVOLVE THE WHOLE ‘BEING SEXY’ AND MUSIC PURELY AS A JOKE. I CONSIDER MYSELF MORE OF A COMEDIAN. BUT, I THINK TALKING ABOUT SEX IS MORE FUNNY THAN BEING POWERFUL FOR ME. ” With his Punx originally called Punkettes, Hunx has maintained a mostly female backing band. “Oh my god I am such a feminist. Well it’s mostly girls, I’m not sure what sexuality our guitar player is. Besides that we’re all female. I dislike a lot of men. Not all of them, there are definitely some great ones. I grew up listening to Bikini Kill and that kind of stuff, so I’ve always felt like

that. It’s very important to be a feminist.”

With his contemporary Jay Reatard passing in his prime, plus the breakup of the aforementioned Girls, Hunx stands as a survivor of sorts in a harsh industry.

“This whole industry is a joke and you can’t take it seriously. Everyone wants something from you. You just have to keep doing what you love and try to ignore it. I get meaning from what I do, that’s the only reason I’m alive,” he beams. “But you can’t take the industry seriously because it is such a joke.”

As for what Australian audiences can expect from

Hunx And His Punx’ debut on our shores, Hunx provides a segue into the tweet which immediately followed our interview. “Really hard dick. Just one hard dick onstage, and many in the audience.”

or something, or that I wear New Balance sometimes, or Pat [O’Neill, drums] has a hipster beard. But I don’t know if we’re cool. Maybe we’re cool. Maybe it’s cool not to be cool. So I’m gonna go with yeah, we’re super cool,” Marty beams wryly. “I would definitely not consider myself an adult at all. I lost my dad a few years ago so I felt like I had to step up, and that was a pretty big eye-opener in terms of looking after myself and that you do develop and have to become a man. Now I’m engaged, I’ve got a dog, and I’d like to have a family I guess. But I feel like a child. I saw an ad for that Girls show, and he goes, ‘You can’t consider yourself an adult if your parents pay your phone bill’. So I think I’m an adult. I would like to make the next record not about my day-to-day, exposing the little things in my life that people don’t need to know about.”

Twerps are very much at the crux of a palpable

happening within Melbourne’s music community, and while it’s impossible to forecast the current climate’s legacy, Marty is excited by the prospect. “When that UV Race movie [Autonomy & Deliberation] came out, we were in a van in America just thinking, ‘This is fucking crazy.’ They’ve made a movie that’s going in the vault. I’m hoping that in 20 years people will be looking back saying, ‘Remember that band UV Race?

Eddy Current?’ Maybe if we even got a small mention in that, it would be incredible. But it’s not anything that we’re aspiring to have happen.”

HUNX AND HIS PUNX play Sugar Mountain Festival, Saturday January 19 alongside Action Bronson, Dirty Projectors and more, and a sideshow at The Tote on Sunday January 20.

TWERPS

BY LACHLAN KANONIUK

2012 proved to be a victory lap of sorts for Melbourne darlings Twerps, following on from the global breakthrough of their self-titled debut album the year prior. That victory lap saw the four-piece visit the United States for two in-depth tours, while making cameo-esque appearances on Australia’s east coast in between. It’s a tactful strategy that diverges from the established path to musical success in their homeland, and the strategy is paying dividends.

Speaking days after their overdue Meredith debut, lead singer Marty Frawley rationalises the differing audiences on both sides of the Pacific. “Usually people are more drunk here. And the audience is a lot younger in America, maybe that’s just the market of people that dig us there. But I feel like after going to America twice, people in Australia started thinking, ‘Maybe we should take notice of this band’. We’d have our friends and fans come say hello, but the age difference here is a lot different to the age difference overseas.”

The fact that Australian audiences aren’t as young as their US counterparts suggests a lack of presence on the national youth broadcaster, a factor that Twerps have navigated deftly. “I would think that ‘triple j success’ would not probably bring the people that I like to shows. You could probably sell out bigger shows. I don’t know what I’m trying to say, I guess we have been played on triple j and that has brought a few more people to our realm, but it’s nothing that we’ve aimed for. I feel like the best thing that can happen in Australia is get Triple R’s album of the week. They’re the listeners, it’s not background music for some dudes labouring, with them thinking, ‘This song’s sick, maybe I’ll see it at Parklife’. People would look at triple j as some sort of benchmark of success.

But I don’t agree with anything triple j are doing. I think they’ve really lost the plot a bit,” Marty states.

Released in 2011, the band’s debut album was a long time coming – following on from attention-garnering lo-fi releases and sporadic live performances. As Marty rationalises, the long gestation paid off. “Yeah I felt really special, I felt really proud of us all, and I felt nervous as fuck. When we put out our record, maybe people liked it because it was a different path for us or something, that we’d stepped it up, tried to make Beat Magazine Page 36

it a bit more lush, a bit nicer. It was really exciting when people took notice and really liked it. We’re all incredibly proud of it, it’s been wonderful. I guess the first tape and the seven-inch we did were supposed to be demos, we got our friend Mikey to do them.

Then he decided to mix them, and we sat on them for six months and gave them to [Chapter Music’s] Guy Blackman, who said, ‘Why didn’t you give these to me earlier?’. Then we were kind of pigeonholed into what our sound was. Then we recorded a bit more, and evidently we were making these garage sounds because we were a young band not knowing what we wanted to be. When we did the record I was listening to a lot of Lennon records, and we all love The GoBetweens. I was talking to Jack [Farley, producer] about it, asking him why a certain Lennon song sounded like it did, or Go-Betweens. And he would say stuff like, ‘Well they’ve got a 12-string behind it’, or piano, orchestra. We just had fun mucking around with that. We didn’t take into account if people liked our ‘lo-fi’ sound, we just wanted it to sound cool. We had the best time just experimenting. I don’t think we’ll step it up again. We’re right into Yo La Tengo at the moment. So they have their lush records and their not-so-lush records. We’re just gonna try to make it sound like Yo La Tengo,” Marty laughs.

As well as drawing on The Go-Betweens for sonic inspiration, Twerps touch on thematic elements exuded by the iconic Queensland outfit – be it bringing Velvet Underground’s New York cool to the suburbs, or that ill-forewarned transition into adulthood. “I wouldn’t say that we’re a cool band, but it’s worked in our favour that ‘suburban’ bands have become cool. The only reason that I sing about what I sing about is because it’s my life. A lot of people would say that we’re cool because we’re on Pitchfork

DISCUSS WHAT? BEAT.COM.AU/DISCUSSION

TWERPS play St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival at Footscray Community Arts Centre on Sunday February 3 alongside Bat For Lashes, Japandroids, Yeasayer and more.

CHECK OUT ALL THE LATEST NEWS, REVIEWS AND FREE SHIT AT BEAT.COM.AU

Beat Magazine Page 37

KYUSS LIVES

BY HEIDI LEIGH AXTON

Attention all you Kyuss fans who considered yourselves in extended mourning from the loss of the band back in 1995: it’s time to pack the Kleenex away and cast off those dark veils. Last year, John Garcia commenced a best of tour of Europe under the name Garcia Plays Kyuss. It was to be no more than a one off; a chance to play his favourite Kyuss songs live, for one last time. However, according to Garcia, the reaction from crowds to the band’s music was so strong, it had him seriously thinking about a revival.

Then during the Hellfest Festival, Brant Bjork and Nick Oliveri joined Garcia on stage and they felt the fires of their adrenalin burning once more. A band was reborn!

“Oh yeah, I was very surprised at the response,” says Garcia of the fateful European tour, that led to the current reformation. “Last time we were there, we were with Metallica, over a decade ago. I was also surprised by the reaction in Australia and still continue to be surprised by the reactions towards Kyuss Lives. It hasn’t gone unnoticed or unappreciated, especially not by me. You’ve got to be honest with yourself and I’m super lucky I can go down there and do what I do and play the songs we play, and have two people show up, let alone five thousand. I’m in awe of it. Just in awe. It’s a good feeling.”

No matter what the factors were that resulted in their original break-up – (“I don’t think it’s probably too relevant to get into. That’s my personal opinion,” he says) – Garcia is ecstatic to be back recording and performing with Bjork and Oliveri and hopes to be still rocking out with them for many years to come.

“Well, I’m a fan of Brant Bjork and I’ve always been a fan of Brant Bjork,” he enthuses. “This was only supposed to be initially a short thing, to revisit and celebrate the past. It became extended, and

halfway through, somewhere at the beginning of that extension, I realised that I wanted to play music with Brant Bjork full time. I wanted to be in a band with Brant and Bruno, [Bruno Fevery, who used to play in a Kyuss tribute band, was welcomed into the fold, when he played alongside Garcia for the Garcia Plays Kyuss European tour] and Nick. I hoped that they would oblige, because that fix and that void needed to be filled.

When I’m on stage with the guys or when I‘m in a studio with them, it is filled and that is my fix.

Brant Bjork has more integrity, more musical integrity, in his little finger than most have in their whole body. His ideology and philosophical views on music and life are inspiring. I’m a fan of Brant’s, I’m a fan of Nick’s, I’m a fan of Bruno. It was a no brainer for me.”

Unfortunately, however, the reformation has not come without controversy.

After touring Europe, Australasia, and North and South America under the name Kyuss Lives and announcing plans to record an album together, the boys found themselves being sued by former band members Josh Hommes and Scott Reeder, sighting trademark infringement. Because of this,

“YOU’VE GOT TO BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF AND I’M SUPER LUCKY I CAN GO DOWN THERE AND DO WHAT I DO AND PLAY THE SONGS WE PLAY, AND HAVE TWO PEOPLE SHOW UP, LET ALONE FIVE THOUSAND.”

their appearance at Soundwave Festival will be the last time the band perform under the Kyuss Lives moniker. They relaunch under the name Vista Chino later in 2013, with the release of their new album and all new music.

“We’re in the process of recording the new band, Vista Chino. We’re almost there – the music is almost done and I start vocals on January 1. I look forward to and I am very curious as to what it’s going to sound like myself. It’s definitely going to be a rock record and when you have someone like Brant Bjork on board and writing some of the songs that he has written, even if there are no vocals on it, it’s not going to suck. My hat’s off to Brant for some of the compositions he has submitted to me. It’s given me a nice pallet to do my pieces on, so January 1 I’m going in and very excited.”

Are they looking forward to rocking crowds at the Soundwave Festival? “It’s always a pleasure,” nods Garcia. “It feels great. It feels very natural.

I’m just really stoked to be doing it. Especially with someone like Brant Bjork and Bruno Fevery, as well as Nick Oliveri. We’re in a great place and it’s been very, very good.”

When not playing the Soundwave Festival, there’s a chance you might see John Garcia and his family loitering suspiciously outside random residences across the country. No, there’s no need to lock up your valuables. You see, they are on the prowl to find their ideal second home, and if they can possibly stretch the finances, they have it on their New Year’s wish list, that they’d like it to be in Australia.

“Yeah, my wife and I want to move there,” laughs, Garcia. “Your country is phenomenal, it’s beautiful. If there was ever a chance for my wife and I and our family to have a second home it would be down in Australia. So yes, we’re going to come back. I don’t know if we’ll ever be able to afford to buy a second home, but musically if ever I have anything to do with it, we will be back there.”

“On the record before, 1372 Overton Park, we added some horn players. They played in the studio with us and then they started touring with us and after them being on the road with us for a good couple of years they became integrated as part of the band.

So that was a big part of it, considering that even more in the writing process. Also our keyboard player Rick Steff brings a lot of that flavour and feel.

As you grow older you definitely start to look around and appreciate where you’re from and kind of really explore some things.”

Lucero have journeyed through a variety of tenets in gutsy American song-writing in their eight album history but Memphis has always been a major influenced on their creative ventures.

“Going back and listening to our first record whether or not they were really intentional at the time - but going back and listening to it recently, the tunes on there really harken back to the Sun Records days, Elvis and Carl Perkins and all that.

The new record is paying homage to the other side of it, the R&B and soul side and the Sax Records, and mixing the two worlds together; mixing the black and white together.”

Their escapades into diverse stylistic terrain have been conducted with enthusiastic integrity and accordingly have been embraced by fans.

“When you do it for the right reasons and try to keep a sense of humility the fans will definitely respond to that and they have. It’s not like we’re doing it to cater to anyone or anything. Some folks want you to keep putting out the same record every time but to me you’ve definitely got to progress and grow. There’s still a common thread through all of our albums. It’s still Lucero; it’s still the main core four of us after fourteen years.”

Joe affectionately speaks of the inspired impulse that takes possession of them when they’re in Memphis.

“Usually the magic happens in Memphis, there’s just something about it. That’s undeniable. I don’t know exactly what it is, I can’t put my finger on it but there’s something that happens here that makes it all kind of work.”

KYUSS LIVES play Soundwave Festival at Flemington Racecourse on Friday March 1 alongside Metallica, Linkin Park, Blink-182 and more, as well as a sideshow on Tuesday, February 26 at The Palace (18+). Tickets go on sale Thursday January 10.

LUCERO AUGUSTUS WELBY

Lucero’s charismatic bass player John C. Stubblefield is on the phone from the band’s hometown of Memphis, Tennessee. Lucero typically play a couple of hundred shows each year, which means the band members spend only a limited amount of time in the illustrious music city. However, Memphis pride runs through all of their activities as a band.

“No matter where we go, when we’re on stage and when we’re together, we are Memphis.

Representing all those that have come before us and all it is now as well; keeping that musical heritage alive and recognised.”

A person’s place of origin is inextricably tied in with their outlook on life. In Memphis, music vibrates in the soil. The city’s pillars of cultural importance include the Sun Records progenitors of rock and roll (Elvis Presley, Howlin’ Wolf) and the lubricated soul and R&B sounds of the Stax Records catalogue (Isaac Hayes, Sam & Dave).

Lucero have been active troubadours for the last fourteen years, which is an indication of how fundamental music is to their picture of living.

“Where we’re from, Memphis music - and music in general - is a big part of the culture. Taking that and spreading it all over the world is definitely a thing. It has always been my calling, if you will. Where I’m the most at home is on stage and out spreading music around.”

Touring so relentlessly could very easily impinge on upholding healthy relationships, but John doesn’t see it as a burden.

“It’s just what I do. It’s just life. I would probably go crazy if I wasn’t doing this. You just make time and the band is the bulk of our relationships. I suppose we’re a band of brothers at this point. We’ve made it this far so, like, ‘just get along’.”

Growing up in a place that proudly honours such masters of music might sound enthralling but John admits when they were younger they dismissed the reality they were thrown into and yearned for what lay yonder.

“It’s the human condition almost no matter where you’re from, to a certain degree - rebelling against your parents or rebelling against everything around you - you wish you were from anywhere but here.

For us, we all wished we were on skateboards in southern California or something. As time goes by you really start to appreciate where you’re from. Memphis is just a very cool place.”

Lucero were cultivated in Memphis’ punk-rock scene in in the 1990s but their country/western influences were actually a revolt against the punk movement of the time.

“We almost started out the band as a rebellion to the punk rock stuff. You know, ‘let’s start a country band to piss off the punk rockers.’ But then they wound up loving it and we played at a lot of house parties and punk shows.”

The band’s line-up grew a few years ago to include a horn section and the added strength waved an opportunity to embrace the classic soul music of their hometown. Their latest release, Women & Work, is overtly indebted to Memphis soul music. John explains that the homage to Memphis’ music tradition wasn’t so much a conscious decision as an inevitable progression.

“WE ALMOST STARTED OUT THE BAND AS A REBELLION TO THE PUNK ROCK STUFF. YOU KNOW, ‘LET’S START A COUNTRY BAND TO PISS OFF THE PUNK ROCKERS.’ BUT THEN THEY WOUND UP LOVING IT AND WE PLAYED AT A LOT OF HOUSE PARTIES AND PUNK SHOWS.”

Beat Magazine Page 38

DISCUSS WHAT? BEAT.COM.AU/DISCUSSION

LUCERO visit Australia in February, playing Soundwave Festival at Flemington Racecourse on Friday March 1.

NIGHTWISH

BY PETER HODGSON

Nightwish have always been a band with a vision. To some they’re considered pioneers of symphonic metal. To others they’re the band that beat Evanescence to the punch in terms of ethereal female vocals over robust metal atmospheres. But however you see them, each Nightwish album is an event. Released in late 2011, Imaginaerum was the band’s big concept statement, a narrative which tells the story of an elderly composer looking back on his life from his deathbed.

The band is currently in Australia to promote the album and its attendant feature film. Of course nothing in the world of Nightwish is permanent; just as their music evolves, so has their lineup, and they recently bade farewell to vocalist Anette Olzon (who replaced Tarja Turunen). Stepping up to the mic on short notice is Floor Jansen (After Forever, ReVamp), who is doing an incredible job, as YouTube clips reveal.

“She’s exceptional,” lead songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen says on the phone from Brisbane.

“We’re not going to go into details [about Olzen’s departure]. The main thing is that everybody’s happier at the moment - Anette, Floor and the band. And that’s the thing that really matters.” Jansen was the band’s only choice when they were forced into a decision about whether to continue with the Imaginaerum world tour or to cancel. “When she came along it was like a sledgehammer into the face,” Holopainen says without irony or smirk. “It was like, ‘wow’. We knew her skills and everything, but she’s just incredible. To this day we’ve never had a rehearsal yet. We just haven’t had the time, and still she’s doing such an amazing job. So really thumbs up for her.”

With a new lead vocalist perfuming material that has already been established with another voice, it’s almost like a new chance for the band itself to get to know Imaginaerum. Holopainen says he’s very happy with the sound as it stands now, but can’t wait to see where it’s going to go in the future. “It just sounds really brilliant overall, but I would like to get some relaxed time with her and the band in the studio or in the rehearsal room to go deep into what we could do, because for the last few months it’s been more like doing shows and coping with the tour. I don’t quite know the whole potential yet!”

Part of the magic of the album is its cinematic quality - no great surprise given Holopainen’s stated love for film music, nor the overall plan for the project, including the film which he co-wrote with its director, newcomer Stobe Harju. “The idea for the movie came about in 2007 when I was listening to the mastered Dark Passion Play album, and I was wondering what the hell we were going to do next, because that album was already so huge and diverse and complicated.

And with every album you want to challenge yourself and the band and the people to do something different and innovative.” It was at this point that Holopainen decided to knit the music’s strong visual side with an actual film. “Soundtracks are the biggest musical inspiration for me personally, so why not do a movie to go along with the album?” Then he chuckles.

“I WANT TO KEEP SOME TRADITIONS ALIVE. THERE’S NOTHING MORE BEAUTIFUL THAN A HAND-WRITTEN SHEET OF MUSIC.” “I realise that so-called band movies have a terrible reputation,” - Led Zeppelin’s The Song Remains The Same comes to mind, with its cheesy visuals - “but we wanted to change that with Imaginarum.” Holopainen has an extensive background in classical music, playing clarinet and classical piano for many years, to the point where he feels like he’s totally overdosed on classical music. “I still have a lot of respect for the classics like Mozart and Bach, but I can’t listen to them at home,” he says. Then when he discovered film music - composers like James Newton Howard, Hans Zimmer and John Williams - he found what he considered to be the updated version of what those guys were doing centuries ago. And while his favourite is Howard, Holopainen reserves a special place in his heart for Williams. “Oh dear. He’s such a legend. He’s written so many themes that everybody on the planet knows. It’s unbelievable. The Indiana Jones theme, Star Wars and all that. Oh dear!”

Interestingly, despite his reputation as a symphonic metal composer and producer, Holopainen prefers to work in more arcane mediums compared to the typical modern musician. “I’m all into Korg keyboards, and I have an endorsement so I’m not allowed to use anything else! I use the Kronos in the studio and live as well. But I’m really not a technical person at all. I know the basics of keyboards, but I never, ever use computers when I’m writing. I still use these discs that you put into the keyboard, and I do all my demos there. I only use computers for emails and for fantasy hockey! That’s it! I also write a lot of [music] on paper.

In that way I’m an old-school guy. There’s something romantic about doing it by hand. I want to keep some traditions alive. There’s nothing more beautiful than a hand-written sheet of music.”

NIGHTWISH perform at the Palace Theatre on Monday January 14 (sold out) and Tuesday January 15, with support from Sabaton and Black Majesty. Imaginarum is out now through Roadrunner.

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Beat Magazine Page 39

DROPKICK MURPHYS

BY KRYSTAL MAYNARD

Sixteen years is a long time to do anything, let alone play in a hard working punk rock band that is both prolific and globe trotting in nature. Ken Casey, bass player/ songwriter and original member of Dropkick Murphys is still to this day astounded at the longevity of the band. “Oh man, looking back on it now, that’s been almost half my life, you know? It’s funny, you gotta be careful what you ask for, this was just supposed to be a joke and having a little fun in the basement and 16 years later we’re still travelling the world and that’s amazing, you know?” Of course putting out eight albums and building a massive cult following worldwide doesn’t come easy, and the tone of Casey’s voice suggests the path has at times been rocky, “I’ve definitely worked harder at this than anything else I’ve ever done in my life. Ahhh, I guess that hard work pays off, I look back on some of the stuff we’ve had to do and how long we’ve gone for and I say, ‘Oh my god, would I do this again to get where we are?’ But having done it once, it’s been amazing you know.”

With the Murphys’ last two albums The Meanest of Times and Going Out In Style charting in the top 20 on the US Billboard charts, the band’s success appears to be growing, but Casey doesn’t see it as the band suddenly gaining more mainstream appeal.

“It’s not like we’ve rocketed up the charts. We’ve stayed the same, it’s the rest of the music industry that’s plummeted, that’s the secret to our success, just wait it out!” Dropkick Murphys are heralded for their support of the unions and the working class man and Casey feels strongly that it’s this dedication to and consideration of their fans that has ensured their ongoing success. “You know we’ve got a strong, loyal fan base and we play for a reasonable ticket price and in this economy you know, when people have to choose one thing as opposed to getting everything, a lot of people stick with us,” explains Casey. “You know less is more, maybe a lower ticket price means you’re playing to more people and it all comes out in the wash, maybe they’re happier paying less and they buy a t-shirt. It’s not very difficult

to keep your fans happy but a lot of bands don’t even make the effort to do it.” Keeping that original generation of fans happy only generates more fans, literally, says Casey. “It’s growing, you know half of it after 16 years is people’s kids, their parents came to see us when they were teenagers and now they have their own kids that are listening to us – just have your audience spawn children that like you!”

When discussing what keeps the band inspired to keep playing after all these years, Casey explains it’s a combination of things, “The live show and from meeting the fans and the fact that we’ve been able to become respected in our own communities for who we are and what we do and being able to give back. In your hometown you wanna be liked and you know it’s nice to have that feeling of people being proud of you at home, so to speak. All those things combined make us very grateful, enthusiastic and motivated for being in the band.” Regarding their reputation for a consistently high octane live show Casey adds, “You might have a tiring long day, you

“THE WORST PART OF ANY AUSTRALIAN TOUR IS THE DAY I HAVE TO LEAVE! AND I DON’T FEEL THAT WAY ABOUT MANY PLACES”

might be sick and throwing up on the bus all day, but then show time comes and that first song starts and the adrenalin kicks in, all you’re thinking about is, ‘This is awesome’.”

Dropkick Murphys will be bringing their famed live show to our shores in April this year for Bluesfest and a side show at Festival Hall. The band will be touring in support of their eighth long player, Signed and Sealed in Blood which has just been released. Casey describes the songwriting process and recording for this album as a smooth one, “With seven band members it’s hard to get everyone on the same page.

Three guys might really wanna write while one guys having a baby or one guys on vacation, it was just like, organically at the same time everyone was just kinda like, ‘Let’s do this’, and we just kinda put our nose to

the grindstone and it came together really quick.”

Rating Australia as one of their favourite places to tour, Casey is eagerly awaiting their return. “People in Australia in general have just been so welcoming to us and really made us feel like honestly we’re at home and the worst part of any Australian tour is the day I have to leave! And I don’t feel that way about many places. So yeah we’d like to thank you for all the years of hospitality.”

Nightwish.”

The band have a very busy year coming up: the Australian tour with Nightwish, a massive Swedish tour, a big North American tour, literally a dozen European summer festivals and they are also booked to play on the 70,000 Tons of Metal cruise at the end of January. And this is exactly how he likes it.

“Yeah, that one we actually have done,” he says, regarding the 70,000 Tons of Metal. “We did the first one two years ago. It’s a great experience, I like it, it’s more like a heavy metal holiday!” he laughs. “I really like being on the road, being home for too long gets me crazy. If you’re home for ten days, if you’ve been out for two or three months touring, that’s nice,

it’s relaxing, You can say hello to a few people you haven’t seen for a while. But more than that is just a waste!”

DROPKICK MURPHYS play Bluesfest 2013 on Thursday March 28 – Monday April 1 alongside Ben Harper, Santana, Iggy and the Stooges and more, and a side show at Festival Hall Tuesday April 2.

SABATON

BY ROD WHITFIELD

This Swedish power metal five-piece has been around since the late ‘90s, released seven albums, including this year’s Carolus Rex which charted across the world, and generally done pretty well for themselves. Surprisingly though, they have never visited our shores. That is about to change however, and in a big way, with the band about to support the mighty Finnish symphonic metal act Nightwish across the country.

Lead vocalist Joakim Broden is also in a little disbelief that they have never made it here in almost a decade and a half, but now that it is locked in, he cannot wait.

There is one part of the trip he is not looking forward to, however.

“We’re really looking forward to it, I’ve never been there before, in fact not even close!” he laughs.

“But we can’t wait to get down there to see what’s happening. I think it’s a 35-hour flight or something like that,” he says in mock-complaining tones. “I’ll be sleeping. I usually stay up all night the night before long flights so I can sleep most of the way. And maybe a few movies. War documentaries of course!”

So why do you think it’s taken you so long to get out here? “We’ve just never had the opportunity,” he says diplomatically.

“Every time we’ve had the opportunity to come, we’ve always been booked elsewhere; we’re always booked six months in advance, so we couldn’t take the opportunities. But now, especially with Nightwish asking us if we wanted to join them, we said ‘Hell yeah!’ For once we don’t have a fully booked schedule. So we’re all very happy, both on a personal and a professional level!”

So being that virtually no-one in Australia would have seen the band play before, the obvious question is: what do Aussie punters get from a Sabaton show?

Joakim is a little hard pressed to provide and answer, and he also doesn’t really know what to expect from

Australia and its crowds in return.

“Ooooh, that’s a tough one,” he says, “Hopefully, if the heat allows, a very high energy show with lots of audience interaction. Hopefully our show is a really good time, lots of laughs and jokes and other shit happening.

“I honestly have no idea,” Broden says, regarding his expectations. “We’re expecting a good time. I mean, the Australians we’ve met are almost all really nice, they enjoy a beer and a good laugh, so we’re not too worried about that.”

Yet another new experience for Sabaton will be playing with the incredible Nightwish. Despite both bands being around since the mid-to-late ‘90s, being from a similar region of the world and plying similar musical terrain, they have never actually toured together, so this will be another first for Aussie audiences.

“Oh, it’s going to be fun,” Broden enthuses. “We’ve known them for years.

They’re from Finland, so just around the corner from Sweden. We’ve played several festivals together, but apart from those we’ve never played together on normal shows, so we’re looking forward to it.

“It’s strange, it’s the same thing,” he continues. “We haven’t been to Australia and we’ve never been to Japan for instance. All the bands have these, ‘What?

You haven’t done what?’ things. It’s kind of funny, we’ve supported Iron Maiden, we’ve supported Judas Priest, Accept and so on, but we’ve never supported

“HOPEFULLY OUR SHOW IS A REALLY GOOD TIME, LOTS OF LAUGHS AND JOKES AND OTHER SHIT HAPPENING”

Beat Magazine Page 40

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SABATON play with Nightwish at The Palace Theatre on Monday January 14, and do their own headline show at The Corner Hotel on Saturday January 12. Melbourne power metallers Eyefear join them for both dates while Black Majesty play The Corner show.

CORE

CORE/CRUNCH! GIG GUIDE

PUNK, SKA, HARDCORE NEWS, REVIEWS AND GOSSIP

BY EMILY KELLY: EK1984@GMAIL.COM

Happy New Year! In a supremely positive start to 2013, Nielsen recently reported that digital music now accounts for 55.9% of all music sales (in the US) of both singles and full albums. While CD sales decreased by more than 10%, music sales in general are up 3% overall which is a modest but definite win after a decade of declining sales which many believed to be the death knell of the entire industry. Most interesting though, is that rock and alternative music accounted for more than 70% of digital music sales in 2012, proving that we are indeed the most technologically progressive music listeners around. It’s an interesting statistic, but not at all surprising. We’re a ravenous bunch (she says, making an epic, unsubstantiated generalization about rock/alt fans) keen to consume tunes in a variety of formats. Make sure you gobble up the slew of good local gigs happening this weekend. Coerce will launch their new album on Friday and The Reverence is boasting a solid Saturday night lineup. See you there.

Now that we’re knee deep in 2013, just watch all the Soundwave sideshows roll in! Last week we were granted a Kyuss Lives headliner with Red Fang at The Palace on February 26. We also copped Sick Of It All/ Madball/Vision Of Disorder at The Espy on Wednesday February 27. The old rockers can now see Duff McKagan’s Loaded with Danko Jones at The Espy on Thursday February 28.

Sydney’s The Bride have broken up. The band revealed that they would part ways following the conclusion of the upcoming Boys Of Summer Tour this month. The decision was made after singer Kevin announced his intentions to leave the band. Make sure you head along to the mammoth shows to say farewell as well as suss performances from Deez Nuts, Comeback Kid and First Blood.

Blood Sweat and Beers will combine the talents of singer/songwriters Wil Wagner, Lincoln LeFevre, Isaac Graham and Ben David for The Glory Days tour this January. Following the success of LeFevre’s Resonation album and recent news that Wagner will drop a solo EP later this summer, these shows should be downright bangers. Catch the crew at The Reverence on Saturday January 19.

Recently revived Fear Like Us, they’ve just been granted the gig of a lifetime after Infinite Void pulled out of their spot supporting Against Me in Melbourne. The HiFi will now host Against Me (who incidentally have just announced Atom Willard as their temporary drummer), The Smith Street Band and Fear Like Us on January 22.

Crazily, tickets are still available. This will be one of the best gigs of the year.

Brissy death-metal band Eternal Rest will release their new album Prophetic early 2013 via Deepsend Records, but in the meantime will do a rather thorough run of the country. See them at The Gasometer on Friday February 8 or Ha’Penny Bridge in Frankston on Saturday February 9.

Battle Pope and Jesus Christ Posse will flog their new split 12” LP on an upcoming tour of the country. Catch tracks like Slingin Dick N Smokin Spliffs and Agnostic Cunt when they hit Gertrude’s Brown Couch on Friday February 1 with Seedy Jeezus and Fully Cooked.

Poison City’s Paper Arms will tour in February in support of their new album The Smoke Will Clear which cops a release on February 1. Mark Friday February 22 in your diary and don’t miss them when they hit The Bendigo with Fear Like Us, Cavalcade and Regrets.

CRUNCH! ROB CAGGIANO LEAVES ANTHRAX Guitarist Rob Caggiano has quit Anthrax. He’s been their lead guitarist since 2001, aside from a short break while Dan Spitz returned for a mid-noughties reunion of the Among The Living line-up. Caggiano says, “This is an extremely difficult and emotional decision for me to make but my heart is just steering me in a different direction right now." Anthrax released this statement: “Rob has been an integral part of Anthrax for so many years. While we are sad that he is leaving, we wish him nothing but great success going forward, and hope to share the stage with him again sometime down the road.” So where to from here? Judging by his Twitter stream, Dan Spitz seems to either be hinting that he’s back, or is gunning pretty hard for the job. Virtuoso shredder Rusty Cooley is also keen for the job, tweeting to anyone and everyone connected with the band to ask how to lock down an audition.

Whoever gets the gig, they’ll be here for Soundwave.

METAL, HEAVY ROCK, CLASSIC ROCK LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL GOOD SHIT WITH PETER HODGSON: CRUNCHCOLUMN@GMAIL.COM

BRIAN TICHY LEAVES WHITESNAKE Whoa, looks like that’s two musicians who made ‘quit band’ their new year’s resolution. Drummer Brian Tichy has just announced his departure from Whitesnake. The decision follows an accident whereby Tichy busted his collarbone, although the two events probably aren’t related. Tichy will be on deck for the Bonzo Bash, a huge celebration of Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham’s influence on the world of percussion. It’s part of the NAMM Show, the annual industry-only musical instrument trade show. The Bonzo Bash will feature Steven Adler (Guns N’ Roses/Adler), Charlie Benante (Anthrax), Will Calhoun (Living Colour), Virgil Donati (Steve Vai), Chris Frazier (Whitesnake/ Steve Vai), Gene Hoglan (Dethklok), Dave Lombardo (Slayer), Mike Portnoy (Flying Colors), Rikki Rockett (Poison), Simon Wright (AC/DC), Jonathan Mover (Joe Satriani) and many more playing their favourite Led Zeppelin songs on a Bonzo replica Natal kit.

GIG ALERT: RISE OF THE RAT With powerful harmonised guitars, driving rhythms and biting social commentary throughout, Rise Of The Rat is a band full of energy and flare. Previously members in HBlock101, Karl Mautner (vox/lead guitar) and Rick Munro (lead guitar) have been making music together for over 10 years and in that time have honed their skills in the art of writing catchy and intelligent three-and-ahalf minute rock songs. Longtime friend Emanuel Gadze (bass, ex-Voodoo Lovecats/Dead Things) and Nick Grant (drums, ex-Dead Things) complete the line-up.

They’ll be launching their debut CD on Saturday January 19 at the Reverence Hotel in Footscray.

THE NAMM SHOW Speaking of the NAMM Show, I’ll be there again this year (January 24-27), so if there’s anything you’d like me to check out and report back on, email me at crunchcolumn@gmail. com and I’ll see what I can do.

CHECK OUT ALL THE LATEST NEWS, REVIEWS AND FREE SHIT AT BEAT.COM.AU

Wednesday January 9: Cock And Ball Torture, The Kill, The Day Everything Became Nothing, Intense Hammer Rage at The Bendigo.

Thursday January 10: Cut Sick, Needles, Debacle, Soma Coma at The Bendigo.

The Broderick, Outsiders Code, Colossus at Next.

Friday January 11: Rort, Michael Crafter, Trench Sisters, Hostile Objects at The Reverence.

Extortion, Batpiss, Hostile Objects, Hailgun, Clowns at The Bendigo.

Coerce, Hoodlum Shouts, White Walls at The Gasometer.

Cock And Ball Torture, Fuck I’m Dead, Captain Cleanoff, Intense Hammer at The Tote.

Saturday January 12: Cavalcade, Hug Therapist, Aitches, Japan For, Foxtrot at The Reverence.

Thy Art Is Murder, Ennui Breathes Malice, Your World In Ruins at Bang Barbarion, King Of The North, Bugdust, Ten Thousand and more at The Corner Hotel Chris Duke and The Royals, Up And Atom, Admirable Ackbar’s Dishonourable Discharge at The Worker’s Club.

Bad Vision, The Kremlings, Rayon Moon, Messed Up at The Old Bar. Sunday January 13: Sabaton, Black Majesty, Eyefear at The Corner Hotel Outsiders Code, Low Standards, Outlines, Distance, Postblue at The Gasometer.

Tuesday January 15: The Story So Far, Anchors, The Playbook, Sidelines (U18) at The Corner Hotel from 12.30 The Story So Far, Anchors, Strickland, Apart From This (18+) at The Corner Hotel.

EMBODIED’S LAST DRINKS After 15 years of debauchery, Melbourne death metal bastards Embodied are tired and hung-over and just can’t be arsed anymore. So they’re going on an extended hiatus, perhaps never to return. They’ve just knocked out a final EP of new and un-released songs and will be flogging it off as they smash one last bloody heavy metal mess at The Tote on January 11 alongside Intense Hammer Rage, Fuck...I’m Dead, Captain Cleanoff and German sicko’s Cock And Ball Torture. Come down for a last drink, say g’day and buy their leftover CD’s and shirts on the cheap as they ravage their bodies one last time for your depraved entertainment. Speaking of Cock And Ball Torture, this is their first trip Down Under after 15 years of general pitch-shifted, porn-influenced Gore/grind depravity.

Beat Magazine Page 41

MUSIC NEWS

YOUR COMPREHENSIVE LOCAL GUIDE

For all the latest news check out beat.com.au

LACHLAN BRYAN Having spent 2012 playing a bunch of festivals, supporting a series of up-there musicians and touring the States, the guy with the little John Cusack mouth and slick Sime Nugent voice has secured a residency at The Retreat. Lachlan Bryan will be playing his outlaw country classics plus a whole lot of new songs every Wednesday in January (aside from January 23), with help from a number of special guests, and they’re taking requests too. 8.30pm start and free entry.

COLLISION AT THE CORNER This Saturday January 12, the inaugural Collision At The Corner festival will feature 10 of Melbourne's hardest rocking live acts sweating it out across The Corner Hotel's two stages. Catch Barbarion, King Of The North, Ten Thousand, Bugdust, Empra, The Deep End, The Charge, Riot In Toytown, Voodoocain and Thick Line Thin Line all for a mere $20+BF. Tickets on sale now via the cornerhotel.com. Check out facebook.com/ CollisionAtTheCorner for all the details.

LAKE PALMER

C&B TORTURE

After Lee French had turned out some songs revolving around his mandolin and acoustic guitar skills, he asked a bunch of mates around to help craft the lazy, lo-fi details.

All of a sudden Lake Palmer was birthed, complete with finger-pickin', slide, harmonica, fiddle, percussion, banjo, double bass and accordian. The band are set to play an early 4pm show in The Retreat Hotel front bar this Saturday January 12, followed by The Pheasant Pluckers at 7.30pm. Free entry.

A progenitor of pitch-shifted, porn-influenced gore-grind, and one of the most influential groups within the style, Germany's C&B Torture make their first ever trip Down Under at the very start of 2013. After three full-lengths and several EPs and splits, the group is known and loved worldwide for their catchy, grooving, down-tuned, rancid porno-grind, and have a strong and supportive worldwide fan base on the back of their impressive discography and excellent live performances. They hit The Bendigo Hotel on Wednesday January 9, and The Tote on Friday January 11, with special guests each night.

BONEZ Sydney-based wild things Bonez launch their debut single This Mess with a national tour pulling into Revolver on Wednesday January 9. They’re being joined on stage by partners in crime, Burn In Hell, The New Savages and Son Of Set in what is sure to be a wall shakin', floor quakin' night of rock to rattle your bones. Presales $5+BF on sale from moshtix.com.au or $7 on the door from 8pm.

LOS CORONAS Direct from Madrid (that’s in Spain), the legendary Los Coronas will be playing their first headlining shows in Australia this New Year. Arguably Spain’s best instrumental surf band, the five-piece mix their own native melodies with their take on '60s Californian surf sounds and mix it all up into a Spaghetti Western bolognaise. They’ll be playing two shows at The Toff In Town this Tuesday January 15 and the following Tuesday January 22. With special guests The Exotics, these distinctive Spaniards well deserve your $15+BF.

COOKIN’ ON 3 BURNERS

CHRIS DUKE AND THE ROYALS

Cookin’ On 3 Burners are Jake Mason, Ivan Khatchoyan and Lance Ferguson, a three-piece powerhouse who serve up the rawest in deep funk, jazz, boogaloo and soul. Led by a wailing Hammond Organ, they are distinctly different to many other funk acts, yet you’ll be no stranger to the grooves and pounding drums. See them return to Bar Open Friday January 11 for the first time in bloody ages, where they’ll be joined by the golden voice of Kylie Auldist. Doors at 10pm. Free Entry.

It may have taken over a year but Sydney's party punkers, Chris Duke and the Royals are taking some much earned time off from their busy, married, law enforcing, teaching and beverage pouring lives to grace the fine city of Melbourne playing at the Revolver Bandroom on Friday January 11. They'll be joined by good friends and local heroes, The Kujo Kings, who’ll be celebrating their 3 year anniversary of being a band; The Resignators, who have returned from a mighty tour across the seas; Aitches, who’re enjoying rave reviews of their debut album on Unearthed from triple j staff; and The Furrows, who’ll rock the house from the kick off. Presales $10+bf on sale from moshtix.com.au, or $15 on the door from 7.30pm.

CLINKERFIELD Clinkerfield return to the good old Old Bar for their annual January residency in 2013 for the ninth year in a row! Back in 2005 they began what's become a summer tradition for Fitzroy, and a new year wouldn't be a new year with out a Clinkerfield hoe-down at The Old Bar on a Sunday. Each week they'll be playing hits (and misses) from their vast back catalogue and some not-so-familiar. Expect all the usual antics and three great bands each week. This week on Sunday January 13 the great Sad Tropics (featuring members of Cash Savage & The Last Drinks and Death Rattles) and Antarctica are in support. Kicks off at 8.30pm, $6.

Beat Magazine Page 42

An intimate and bonhomous gathering to celebrate the brightest of Victoria’s folk, blues, jazz, rock‘n’roll and singer/songwriters, the Hepburn Springs Folk Festival will party on with gypsy spirit for its fourth birthday this Australia Day. The festival is totally family friendly and BYO picnic (not alcohol) is encouraged, and The Old Hepburn Hotel will be serving abundant food and drinks to punters as well. Festivities go on late into the night with country rockers Cherrywood headlining, accompanied by bonfires and followed by midnight jams. Tickets are $25 full price, $20 concession and $13 for under 18s, and kids under 12 are free. For more info check out facebook.com/HepburnSpringsFolkFestival.

Bella Jabara is a Melbourne-based singer/songwriter with influences stemming from the soul, R&B, jazz and hip hop greats. Bella Jabara performs at Cherry Bar on Thursday January 10 with DJs Peach and Pierre Baroni. Open 5pm, $10 entry from 8pm till 5am.

FLYYING COLOURS

JAIL BIRD JOKERS

This January Flyying Colours are bringing their blend of psychedelic shoe-gaze pop rock to Cherry Bar every Wednesday. They’ll be supported by fresh bands each week including WA’s Chainsaw Hookers. Doors 7pm, free entry, Cherry DJ till 3am.

Hard-hitting rockers Jail Bird Jokers return to Melbourne after a huge 2012 which saw the release of the band’s highly successful debut album The Creep In Suburbia. Following a packed out launch the boys have shocked and thrilled audiences throughout regional Victoria with their high octane live performance and powerful brand of Funkadelic Buzzsaw Blues; any wonder Jail Bird Jokers have commanded the attention of Aussie rock heavyweights British India and The Go Set. Jail Bird Jokers will perform four exclusive live shows, Tuesdays in January at Revolver, with very special guests including some of Melbourne’s best upand-coming rockers. Tickets $5+BF from moshtix.com. au or $8 on the door. Doors 8pm.

MIKE KAY For the first time in 2013, local beatmakers, AOI and Dos4gw bring their undefeated and unbreakable sound to Bar Open. Mix some hip hop, video games and a whole lot of sticky icky and you get their unique and dirty sound. Joining them is synth nerd and boogie enthusiast Mike Kay from This Thing collective. Further support comes from the L Burn family. Bodacious! Head to Bar Open this Sunday January 13. Doors 7.30pm.

SMOKY SEAS Smoky Seas are back for 2013 with a big show at Bar Open to follow their hugely successful gigs of late 2012.

Known for their rollicking piratey-folk/prog stylings, a blistering horn section, some wailing guitar solos and serious lead vocals, Smoky Seas are a band you can dance to, sway emotionally to, and think hard about later.

Imagine, if you will, a mix of influences including classical opera, hair metal, traditional Celtic folk, 70's prog-rock, '30s blues, and high falluting jazz, plus reggae pirates.

You know that sounds good! This may also be your last chance to catch them before they head into the studio to record in February. Smoky Seas will be supported by the stormy and beautiful piano ballads of Darn Matter (playing a solo show) and the world of funk that is super fat fruit. Doors 8pm, free entry.

SHARON SHANNON

HEPBURN SPRINGS FOLK FESTIVAL

BELLA JABARA & THE MELLOWS

Sharon Shannon has music at her fingertips, literally! The accordionist from Ireland has achieved legendary status throughout the world and has made the much-maligned accordion 'cool' in her home country. Renowned for her collaborations not just in traditional Irish music, but through all musical genres - hip hop, Cajun, country, classical and rap. In memory of Jill Meagher - 30 per cent of all proceeds from both performances will go to the Centre Against Sexual Assault (CASA), as a tribute to Jill's life and enduring spirit. Sharon Shannon plays at The Spotted Mallard on Friday 11 and Saturday January 12 at 8.30pm.

QUARRY MOUNTAIN DEAD RATS Taking it back to a simpler time, where the pickin’ was fast and the banjo was king, The Quarry Mountain Dead Rats hail from Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, bringing their raw and gritty version of bluegrass kicking and hollering to The Spotted Mallard on Friday, January 18. They establish an 'old mate' affinity with their audiences while delivering a kick-you-in-the-face live show, setting the tone for a sing-along, drink-a-long, foot-stomping good time. Support from Eaten By Dogs. Doors 8pm, $15 entry.

LAURA IMBRUGLIA Laura Imbruglia is hosting music trivia at The Spotted Mallard from 7.30pm every Tuesday night. Be fascinated by the wonderful world of music. Win booze. Win meals.

Weekly jackpot. You might win music too. I'll get back to you on that. But everyone will win one thing. You know what that prize is? Knowledge! You will win music knowledge. It will serve you well.

UNION ROYALE Union Royale is the coming together of three tried and tested road soul dogs opening the songbook and taking a reckless spin. This surely can't be a bad thing when combining Shane Reilly- pedal steel and vocal (Tex Perkins, Blue Sun), Simon Burke- keys (Mia Dyson, Something For Kate), and Toby Lang- drums (ex-Audreys, Kate Nash).

Expect to hear Buck Owens to Bowie - drenched in pedal steel of course. These intimate Sunday sessions are free for one and all at The Spotted Mallard from 4pm.

SEEDY JEEZUS

ZELUS

Thursday January 10 will see your faces melted so hard that bringing a mop should be a prerequisite.

With a bill comprising Honeybone, Sooky La La, Son Of Set and the amazing Seedy Jeezus, this eclectic mix of stoner, blues, psychedelic and straight out rock will be sure to have something to blow your minds to all comers of our upstairs band room. And it’s free so there are no excuses. Free entry, doors at 8pm.

Zelus is a new jazz trio from inner city Melbourne. Members Earl Armstrong (electric guitar), Sean Connolly (Bass) and Michael Julian (drums), enjoy sharing their musical passion with audiences through their diverse repertoire. Their original compositions draw from many influences such as jazz, funk, blues and Latin with a strong improvised spirit.

Zelus also feature a fresh perspective on classic and modern jazz standards and blues tunes. Zelus perform at The Spotted Mallard on Wednesday January 16 from 8pm.

Free entry!

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MOTION PICTURES

APES

Motion Pictures is an eclectic five-piece band set to play every Wednesday at The Evelyn. Together they create vivid stories and picturesque soundscapes, infusing colourful vocal harmonies with catchy riffs, whilst soulful lyrics touch the core and fill you with a sense of nostalgia. Joining them on their Wednesday residency are Boy Red and Sea Legs Rum. 8.30pm.

Saturday January 12 will see the dawn of an exciting new chapter in the Black Night Crash story. Every week in the newly refurbished upstairs Book Club bandroom, they will be showcasing two bands that they have scouted with the distinctive Black Night Crash sound. APES are first up. With a sound that owes as much to the indie punk bombast of The Hives and as it does the moody atmospherics of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, they combine an ear for scrappy melody and strong hooks. It's no wonder they'll be playing the Big Day Out circuit later this month. Joining Apes are The Good Morrows, with a penchant for all sounds from The Stones to Dylan, and fom Dandy Warhols to flower punk, they have also recently signed a record deal with General Pants and have been receiving airplay on US college radio. Along with the bands upstairs, BNC DJs ClefB, Knackered Converse and We Bros will be manning the decks downstairs to play all of your favourite past, present and future indie rock hits from 9pm to 3am. Black Night Crash takes place at The Rochester Hotel on Johnston Street in Fitzroy every Friday.

NORTHCOTE BEACH PARTY The summer heat is here and it’s time to slip into your swimming trunks and head to the Northcote Beach Party – a co-headline tropical treat starring the swingin' calypso sounds of Flap! and the surf and western stylings of Mikelangelo And The Tin Star. Also featuring the sultry St Clare, Tas Fleming's Hawaiian Trio and go-go action with Go Girl Gadget Go Go! Northcote Beach Party happens on Friday February 8 at Northcote Social Club.

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BAD VISION Blindly stumbling through 2012 using only their aural and oral senses to guide them, Bad Vision have somehow managed to record a double A-side single and intend to pedal their proto punk-infused garage on every street corner a hobo has left for the taking. With enough pop leanings to stimulate some healthy serotonin production and enough raw noise to engage your primal urges, 112/Visions is brought to you on hot green wax, complete with digital download. Recorded in Captain B's shakin’ shack and mixed and mastered

by Mikey Young (ESCR/Total Control). Bad Vision launch 112/Visions with a party happening at the Old Bar on Saturday January 12, with help from The Kremlings, Rayon Moon and Messed Up. Entry is 10 bucks.

DAN PARSONS The quiet affirmation and revelation of Dan Parsons’ new tracks, from his as yet unreleased sophomore album, are set to roll through The Retreat in an acoustic performance from the singer-songwriter next week. Parsons performed, recorded and produced the collection of tracks for the release entirely on his own, using an old four track reel-to-reel machine; there’ll be no secrets between the man, his guitar and the audience on Tuesday January 15. The show begins at 9.30pm, and entry is free.

DEN HANRAHAN

STOMPY & THE HEAT

NSW alt-country bands Chuck's Wagon and Den Hanrahan & The Roadsiders launch their latest studio recordings in Melbourne at The Tote on Sunday January 13 as part of their The Back Road To Tamworth tour. Led by singer/songwriter Chuck Stokes, Chuck's Wagon have just returned from 20 shows in Texas and Colorado and bring their new release I Play Country. Den Hanrahan's new recording One Horse Town with The Roadsiders showcases his boots-andall approach to country rock’n’roll. Supported by The Black Hills, a Melbourne three-piece led by Drew Basford and ready to kickass from the first number.

Stompy & The Heat is the new band and self-titled album release from Scott Wilson (songwriter/ guitarist - Dan Sultan) with Pete Marin (Dan Sultan) on drums and Bow Campbell (Front End Loader) on vocals. A guitar-driven outfit with a rock’n’roll attack.

Originally based around the sound of a cheap 1960s Japanese guitar teamed with the manic drum style of Pete (‘The Heat’) Marin, a raw, bluesy, punky, uncomplicated group of songs has emerged. The guitar playing of Wilson has never been so fearsome.

Catch them at The Tote on Saturday January 12 with The Exotics and Ritchie 1250 & The Brides of Christ.

Tickets on sale now from thetotehotel.oztix.com.au.

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THE MORRISONS The band will be crammed into the van, the amps will be packed and The Fun Switch will be ďŹ&#x201A;ipped to â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;onâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; as Melbourne four-piece The Morrisons hit the road this January to bring their sweet rocking tunes to regional Victoria. To date they have released an EP and a four-track 7" and in true DIY ethic they like to do things in their own time and under their own terms. They all grew up on a steady diet of punk greats such as Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, Bad Brains and The Buzzcocks. Catch them Friday January 11 at The Barwon Club in Geelong with Red Rockets of Borneo supporting, plus Saturday January 12 at The Bridge Hotel Castlemaine, with Bodies as support. $10 entry, doors at 8.30pm.

Q&A MADRE MONTE

LOWTIDE

Colombian mythological character, who transforms from man into a caiman (a type of alligator) and has some interesting and weird experiences, as you would expect from someone who goes from man to caiman.

Lowtide are celebrating the New Year with a Tuesday night residency at The ToďŹ&#x20AC; In Town, all the way across merry February. Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll unveil new material which follows the veins of richly layered, textured, shoegazedream-pop which audiences adored in their former releases. The band are due to drop their ďŹ rst full length album this year, so these shows are a great opportunity to see some of this stuďŹ&#x20AC; live before the hoi polloi.

Special guests through the weeks will be Ladydreams, Glaciers, Darren Sylvester and Montero. Tickets are $8 at the door only. Doors at 7.30pm.

ALICIA ADKINS

THE VANTURAS

Alicia Adkins graces The Great Britain Hotel for the ďŹ rst time on Sunday January 13 to perform her mix of Americana, folk and country. Her original creations are thick with acoustic guitar, angelic vocals, lingering lyrics and ďŹ&#x201A;oating harmonies. Alicia is a born and raised Texan, daughter of two ministers, who has traveled the world and is somewhat of a jack of all trades. A master of one, her poignant songs and sweet, soulful voice are a treasure. This little shindig will kick oďŹ&#x20AC; at 7pm and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s free.

Garage rockers The Vanturas always play like itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s their last show â&#x20AC;&#x201C; itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a fully-loaded freight train packed with screaming riďŹ&#x20AC;s, pounding rhythms and wailing vocals.

After an epic 2012 itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time to embrace the New Year with a bag of new shows and to kick it all oďŹ&#x20AC;, The Vanturas head to Richmondâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Great Britain Hotel to lock horns with support The Carltons. Mayhem begins at 9pm sharp on Thursday January 10. Free entry.

IN MUSIC WE TRUST

NEEDLES

Trusty Chords Music presents In Music We Trust â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a month of free Sunday early evening shows starting at 3pm through January at the iconic Public Bar in North Melbourne. Featuring an eclectic lineup of up-and-coming acts, interstate visitors and well-known Melbourne singer/ songwriters, no week is the same and every show is a good reason to kick back and have a good Sunday session with some pals at The Public Bar. This week is Andrew McDonald, who is known for his work in Tiltmeter and who has been playing solo for some time now and has released a fantastic solo record. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be joined by the fresh-faced but amazingly talented Ben Cue from Warrnambool. Every Sunday from 3pm, free entry, free pool and cheap jugs. Get into it.

Needles are from the bay area in California and they do not fuck around. Less than a fortnight after Limp Wrist laid waste to all and sundry on New Years at The Bendigo Hotel, go back and see their gnarled brand of hardcore punk do the same. They share members from past and present legends in Limp Wrist, Los Crudos, Look Back And Laugh, and Talk Is Poison. If that's not enough to get your ugly face oďŹ&#x20AC; the couch then nothing is. Also joining them is an absolutely awesome lineup of local goodness including Cut Sick, Soma Coma and Debacle. This Thursday January 10 at The Bendigo Hotel.

Which band would you most like to have a battle/ showdown with?

Probably Manu Chao. Just to learn from him and his band. He is a massive inďŹ&#x201A;uence and what better way to improve as a band than to have a showdown with him.

Define your genre in five words or less: Latin, roots music and reggae What do you love about making music?

We love writing songs: seeing the transformation from a sound in our heads, to a full-blown song in the rehearsal room, to the reaction of people at our gigs. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an extraordinary feeling.

And what makes you unhappiest about what youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re doing?

Having to carry heavy gear through crowds of people at the end of the night instead of relaxing with a drink and enjoying the high of playing live.

This is the closest thing we can think of, and doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really makes us unhappy, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more of an annoying aspect, because thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nothing that we really hate of music.

Tell us about the last song you wrote.

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s called Saul, el man Caiman. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s about Saul, a

WEDNESDAY

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What do you think a band has to do these days to succeed?

Not sure yet, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll let you know later when Madre Monte is famous.

Do you have any record releases to date? What are they? Where can I get them?

We have two releases so far, our debut Reaction and the brand new one Raza:Madre, and you can get them from gigs, iTunes, and independent record stores around Melbourne.

Whenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the gig and with who?

We are playing every Wednesday in January at the Workers Club in Fitzroy, with diďŹ&#x20AC;erent guests on every night. Some of our favorites bands from Melbourne: Arakataka, Lamine Sonko & The African Intelligence, Ras Jahknow, Cambur Pinton (traditional AfroVenezuelan cultural group) and Judge Pino & the Ruling Motions. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s $8 entry or $8,000 Colombian pesos if you have them. Doors from 8pm.

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TUESDAY

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MUSIC NEWS

YOUR COMPREHENSIVE LOCAL GUIDE

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THE IN THE OUT Melbourne’s The In The Out will begin their super busy 2013 with a special appearance at The Retreat Hotel this Friday January 11, having reaped some pretty cool praise from the American music media for their debut self-titled EP last year. The psychedelic garage pop trio have recently been sharing the stage with the likes of The Dead Heads, The New Christs and legendary WA indie prince Kim Salmon. The show will be free entry and starts at 10pm.

RED X

ZEVON AND THE WEREWOLVES

What happens when your band implodes in true rock’n’roll fashion with the lead singer dramatically telling everyone to fuck off on a busy Melbourne street soon after recording your debut album with one of the country’s most respected producers? You start a new band, omitting everyone in the previous band that wasn’t dedicated to making quality music!

This is the story of Red X. You can catch them every Tuesday this month from 9pm at Cherry Bar with Soundie Lara, and every Thursday this month from 9pm at The B.East. All shows are free entry.

With members of The Bamboos, BKB and Paris Wells band, new blues super group Zevon And The Werewolves from Melbourne are testing out their material at Lucky Coq upstairs in Prahran on Sundays throughout January. It kicks off from 4.30pm this Sunday, January 6.

DAN TROLLEY Having just released his debut cassette Hours Electric, Dan Trolley from the garage punk band Mass Cult will be bringing his solo synth/punk show to The Tote every Wednesday in January. Armed with only a guitar, drum machine and sampler, Dan Trolley creates a wall of layered synths, reverb drenched fuzz guitars and repetitive '80s drum machine taking on influences such as Jesus & Mary Chain, Sonic Youth, Lou Reed and Tubeway Army. Trolley will be joined by very special guests every week. Band room, 8pm.

BARRY SAVAGE AND THE LITTLE CAESERS Barry Savage And The Little Caesers are made up from members of legendary underground 80s cult bands The Shindiggers, The Gas Babies & The Breadmakers, and sound like they were raised by werewolves on the south side of Chicago after their school bus went missing in a blinding blizzard, and grew up on a diet of old of Howling Wolf, Bo Diddley and Zu Zu Boland. They’re just musicians trying to make a living the only way they know how: out of tune and out of luck but not out of ring dang doo. They play two free sets in The Tote front bar on Saturday January 12 from 5-7pm.

BEATEN BODIES Sydney blues and soul outfit, Beaten Bodies, have just released their long anticipated debut-self titled EP. They are following this with an extensive East Coast tour over summer and a string of shows throughout Victoria in January and February 2013. Playing with them at Yah Yah’s on Thursday January 10 will be Kooyeh, an eight piece reggae/soul/dub band based in Melbourne. Also playing is Up Up Away, the 6-piece soul/funk outfit formed out of the Box Hill Institute; they play music to get you closer to the ground. So get on down to Yah Yahs, Thursday January 10. Tix $10. Doors at 8.30pm.

SCOTT WILSON'S STOMPY AND THE HEAT

GRAND RAPIDS The Grand Rapids are back at Yah Yahs this Friday January 11 and of course they are bringing their trusty projector and its kaleidoscopic light show freakout!!! More dronerock fuzz whig outs and some new tunes featuring backwards guitars and modulating loops galore. After a big last half of last year Le Rapide are set to get even more Dr. Strangerock on you this year. Joining them on this sonic sound apocalypse will be the brain melting psychfuzz merchants Dead River who have had a massive year themselves playing a million shows and supporting the likes of Dead Meadow andEarthless. Opening the show will be the triple guitar/twin vocal psych styles of The Ol' Faithfuls so get down early for a night of fine psychedelia indeed. Doors 5pm, live music starts at 9pm, free entry.

LOVE OF DIAGRAMS Love Of Diagrams play their last Melbourne show this Thursday January 10 at The Tote before heading to Chicago to make a new record. They’re supported by Milk Teddy whose awesome album Zingers is out now, and also Early Woman, Hannah Brooks' and Bjenny Montero's new band, who will be playing their first ever official show. And finally, Psychedelic Coven DJs round off the lineup. $12 entry, 8.30pm.

EL MOTH With the nights finally warming up and those sweet summer vibes rolling our way, El Moth are stoked to announce that they'll be playing the infamous Evelyn Hotel every Tuesday night in January and February. Expect some guest musicians and epic jams, and of course the mood-elevating blend of reggae, funk, rock and hip hop that the lads are known for. What better way to celebrate the summer than to have a kick arse two month party at The Evelyn? Tuesday nights will feature a booty-shakin' set from drunken-reggae-funky-punksters El Moth with many great support acts including Old Medicine and Ben Smith. Kicks off at 8.30pm.

JOHNNY GIBSON & THE HANGOVERS Johnny Gibson is originally a Van Diemen’s Land man, but he’s been in Melbourne and drumming in a string of bands since the early ‘00s. His album Endless Search for Gold was released in its dusty, romantic folk glory last year and now Gibson and his band will be playing The Victoria Hotel on Saturday January 12 for your edification.

Doors at 9pm, free entry.

GOES LIVE

ENJOY LIVE MUSIC FROM SOME OF MELBOURNE’S BEST LOCAL MUSCIANS

FRIDAY JANUARY 11TH FROM 8PM

JOHN DELORD PROJECT SATURDAY JANUARY 12TH FROM 4-7PM 7PM

DICKEN ST PREACHERS FROM 8PM

JAHMAKN IT FUNKY SUNDAY JANUARY 13TH SHARE THE EXOTIC LATIN AND CUBAN SOUNDSS

SON 3 3-6PM SANTIAGO SON 6:30-9:30PM

SHAR THE EX OTIC LATIN &ES CUBAN SO UNDS ENJOY LIVE MUSIC FROM SOME BEST LOCAL MUSICOF MELBOURNE’S IANS

EVERY SUNDAY

SON 3 SANTIA G

Best known as the writer, producer and guitarist behind multi award-winning artist Dan Sultan, Scott Wilson is stepping out from the curtain to weave some rockin’ tales about aliens, zombies, motorcycles, the devil, Mongolian warriors and more with his new band Stompy and the Heat. Featuring Pete (‘The Heat’) Marin on drums and Bow Campbell on vocals, these guys are going to kick The Tote’s arse launching their album on Saturday January 12. Doors at 8.30pm and tickets through thetotehotel.oztix.com.au.

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Beat Magazine Page 45

MUSIC NEWS

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EXTORTION Extortion are one of the world's best examples of hard-thrashin’ power violence. They live right here in Melbourne and are headlining an absolutely awesome Saturday January 12 at The Bendigo Hotel to help see in the New Year. Joining them are Hostile Objects, who started in August 2011 for the sole reason of playing some serious thrash, plus local noisy rockin’ punk trio Batpiss! as well as rising fast speedster punks Hailgun and the catchy rocking punk of Clowns.

YEO Folk, country, punk and pop meld together in songwriter Yeo’s stripped-back and empathetic tracks, which reach out beyond the speakers and grab you around the ticker. His third album Home, independently released one year ago, illuminated a special communicative ability and this faculty is all the more apparent when seeing the guy live — he uses no loops or shadowy accomplices to make his sound. Yeo is playing at The Retreat Hotel on Tuesday January 15, beginning at 8.30pm. Free entry.

LIEUTENANT JAM Fronted by golden-piped singer Loz Dinelli, party rockers Lieutenant Jam will be setting The Toff In Town alight with some excellent new material they’ve been working on, as well as the older dance-happy tracks. Even if you’re not usually a groover, you may find you’ve got new legs. Joined by their two newest partners in energetic crime, The Archetypal and Contrast, the gig will begin at 7.30pm. Tickets are $10 on the door.

KATE MULQUEEN

McALPINE’S FUSILIERS

Equal parts cabaret, folk and heartbreak, Kate Mulqueen spends her evenings taking the venues of Melbourne by polite, yet unconventional storm. Armed with a generous arsenal of ebony, ivory, irony and melody, Kate’s performance is reminiscent of such pop innovators as Tori Amos and Amanda Palmer; women who are relentlessly creative and flat-out refuse to follow the movements of the day. In a world of gently played pianos accompanied by breathy, heartbroken vocals, Kate offers welcome relief. Catch Kate this Thursday night at The Drunken Poet from 9pm.

The DIY attitude of Celtic-Aussie band McAlpine’s Fusiliers has amassed the adoration of many, with their commitment to honest lyrics about love, loss, work, migration, drinkin’ until dawn and the odd jailbreak. The band mesh the traditions of Irish and Australian roots music to produce a broiling, original stew of ‘swaggie punk’. See the stomping influences of The Dubliners, The Clash and AC/DC pump through McAlpine’s Fusiliers’ sounds at The Victoria Hotel on Friday January 10, with two sets beginning at 9pm. Free entry.

SIME NUGENT

THE GASOMETER

Having enjoyed a long and varied career including singing to thousands at Vienna Jazz Festival, cofounding the Castlemaine Music Festival, and more recently joining the Aria nominated bluegrass party band, The Wilson Pickers, Sime has long proven to be a versatile and sought after talent. In his solo guise, Sime takes cues from roots, blues and rock to create songs both ageless and entirely his own. Sime will be taking to The Drunken Poet stage at 6.30pm this Sunday night, January 13.

At Shangri-La tonight, The Gasometer will be putting on a battle of grand proportions on the wheels of steel. First off, Mikey Young vs Shags, with the fight kicking off at 8pm. Then from 10pm, the next round will feature Max Crumbs vs Chairman Meow. Coming up next week, Wednesday January 16, will see Dick Threats, Chairman Meow and the Special Award DJs get the party started. Always fun, always free, at the Gasometer Hotel every Wednesday.

THE COUNT - WITH -

GRAND SALVO Under the guise of Grand Salvo, Paddy Mann has grounded himself as a uniquely soulful songwriter, with a depth of lyrical heart to match his particular musical vision. The man’s sixth release, 2012’s Slay Me In My Sleep, garnered much critical acclaim for its considered space and rich subtext. Vocal contributions on the album were offered by Heather Woods Broderick, who will be supporting Grand Salvo at his Toff In Town show on Sunday January 13. Doors are at 7.30pm, and tickets can be purchased from Moshtix for $15+BF.

GOLD FIELDS

Q&A RUSTY FROM

A DAY BY THE GREEN

When’s the gig and with who?

The show is on Saturday January 12 at the St Kilda Bowling Club. The Fucks Fucks are headlining with Valentiine, Mesa Cosa, Cold Harbour, Hell Hounds, Marilyn Rose and the Thorns, 12FU, Fiona Lee Maynard And Her Holy Men, The Divine Fluxus and Noir.

If your music was a chocolate bar, which one would it be and why?

It would actually be a box of Cadbury Favourites.

Plenty of choice, and something for everyone.

What can a punter expect from the gig?

A diverse selection of extremely talented local artists. Great value for money. Cheap drinks and great food. Happy people!

Why should everyone come and see the event?

To support a wide range of Melbourne artists and to prove that St Kilda still has a vibrant music scene.

Also because it’s great value and great fun!

Where would you like to be in five years?

Beat Magazine Page 46

Still presenting A Day By The Green and hopefully using what we’ve learnt to put on other like-minded events. Melbourne has one of the worlds’ greatest music scenes, but we have to work to keep it vibrant.

When are you doing your thing next?

The next one will be in April, followed by one in October. We aim to present A Day By The Green three times a year, but we’ve learnt to avoid the colder months.

What makes you happiest about what you’re doing?

Seeing great artists and the joy on fans faces, enjoying great live local music and catching up with friends.

Describe the best gig you’ve ever organised?

Every A Day By The Green has been mighty fun, and we certainly expect this Saturday to be the same. There’s a lot of hard work involved, and we’re exhausted by the end of the day, but they’re all worth it.

Ten bands everyone should know about: Brand New, The Golden Filter, Dark Arts, Hunting Grounds, Loon Lake, City Calm Down, St. Lucia, World’s End Press, O. Children, Bastian’s Happy Flight.

Five people who inspire you: My girlfriend, my sisters, mum and dad.

Nine food items that you need to make a kickarse dinner party: Cherry tomatoes, basil, red onion, sweet potato, salad dressing, lettuce, conchiglie, garlic prawns, beer.

Eight possessions that define you: My bed, my shower, toiletries bag, esky, BBQ, mum’s fridge, computer, my phone.

Three goals for your music: To keep learning, to enjoy playing it live, to have at least one friend enjoy it with me.

Two live gigs you’ll never forget and why: The Flaming Lips at a little bar in New York because that’s what it was... and Daft Punk at Sidney Myer Music Bowl a few years ago. Straight after they finished, 12 of us packed into a van and drove to Meredith for the rest of the weekend.

Seven favourite movies/TV shows that go on your mix-tape:

Home Alone, Twin Peaks, The Lion King, Beauty And The Beast, The Godfather, We Bought A Zoo, Jools Holland.

Six bad habits you can’t escape: Pulling my nose hairs out, swearing at inappropriate moments, staying up too late, drinking too many coffees, drinking too many beers, sleeping in too late.

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Four things that turn you on: A day off, the sun, water, Tiarne.

One day left before the apocalypse and you…: Have a big house party with all my friends and family.

When’s the gig / release?

We’re playing at the Ballarat Beer Festival on Saturday January 19. Home sweet home, rockin’ the stage on the City Oval. Can’t wait! Our first ever record, Black Sun comes out Friday March 8.

MUSIC NEWS

Barons Of Tang

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SUZUKI NIGHT MARKET If your legs tire from all that shopping, settle in with your favourite beer, wine or sangria and listen to some of Melbourne’s finest musicians. No matter if you are a jazz enthusiast, country music fan, folk fanatic or world music aficionado, the Suzuki Night Market gig guide has you covered. Live on the main stage will be Melbourne based band Barons of Tang, as well as The Manasis School of Dance. Taking charge of the Peel Street Stage will be the wonderfully multi-talented Valanga Khoza. Music can be found all over the Suzuki Night Market, look out for buskers around the site, there is entertainment around every corner. Wednesday January 9. Free to the public.

DROPFRAME Catch Dropframe, one of triple j’s accomplished Unearthed featured artists of 2012, perform his first gig for the fresh new year. The ‘2.5D’ show will be an amalgamated visual and audio event, incorporating live video art by ALT ESC DEL. Frontman GCM will be making an appearance, as well as special guests Nerves and Von Stache, so you can assume The Grace Darling will be rocking as hard as is animalistically possible. This Saturday January 12, doors at 9pm, tickets $10.

TEQUILA MOCKINGBYRD The silly season is still in full swing for the girls of Tequila Mockingbyrd with the launch of their debut single, Good Time, this weekend. This three piece hard rock outfit blends The Living End with The Runaways in a fierce intensity and with a devilish sense of humour. Good Time is an ode to messy loves, wild party nights and giving social expectations the bird, and will be available for free digital download. This is gonna be a big one, with Cast Iron Pinata bringing their funk-fused rock, along with Chico Flash and Onix performing an acoustic set. Gig kicks off at 8pm on Friday January 11 in The Espy Basement, Free entry.

SYSTEM OF VENUS

CHERRY BLUES

Make sure to get along to The Brunswick Hotel on Friday January 11 for a dose of fierce tunes from System Of Venus, Wolfpack, Charm and Thick Line Thin Line. This will be the first gig for 2013 for System Of Venus, who have been busy in the last couple months recording their upcoming album due for release in February. Entry is free. First band on at 9pm. System Of Venus on at midnight.

Sunday afternoons at Cherry Bar mean one thing: Cherry Blues with Chris Russell’s Chicken Walk including Dean Muller and guests Mr Sippy and DJ Max Crawdaddy. Enjoy Americana blues country from Melbourne. 3pm. Free entry.

VENICE MUSIC Combining flavours of country and European folk with deep and earnest vocals, Venice Music sings songs of many shades that both comfort and rouse one’s heart and soul. This baritone love beast thrills with his captivating live solo performances, which are frequently being compared to the likes of Will Oldham and Bill Callahan. His first show for the new year is one to get excited about. Joining him will be Wilding and Billy Longface, and all three men will sing their songs for you in the finest of settings, Northcote’s Open Studio on Thursday January 10, beginning at 8.30pm.

BRIAN SHIMKOVITZ LA Pocock is proud to present for the first time in Australia Brian Shimkovitz. Brian is the man behind the widely acclaimed blog Awesome Tapes From Africa. To celebrate we’re dressing up Bar Open with all kinds of plants, decorations, visuals and throwing a big party with Brian DJing some of your African favourites on Saturday January 12. Local entertainment provided by Cumbia Cosmonauts, Broadway Sounds and Lewis Cancut! And best part is that it’s free bebey! Doors 10pm.

LES THOMAS Melbourne country-folk songwriter Les Thomas grabs music by the balls with his big ideas and powerful inspiration, channelling Woody Guthrie, Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle and Mississippi John Hurt. He’s won over ample audiences with his down to earth humour, sincerity and marvellous songwriting, and is expected to do special things in 2013. Supported by Beth Knights, Les Thomas is appearing at The Victoria Hotel on Sunday January 13 to play two sets from 5pm. Free entry.

SUMMER SPRINTS Goldsprints take the traditional bicycle roller race and make it accessible to the not-so-skilled among us by removing the front wheel and fixing it to a forkstand.

Brilliant: no matter how many cheap jugs of beer and/ or cider you consume on the day, it’ll be tough to fall off. First timers and side bets are strongly encouraged.

Summer Sprints kicks off at 2pm on Sunday January 27, with free entry.

OL TIMEY BLUEGRASS BAND Craig Westwood (from Headbelly Buzzard and others) brings his weekly ol’ timey jam session to The Victoria Hotel. You can bring your own instrument and rage along or just hang out and enjoy the tunes in the beer garden, every Saturday afternoon in January from 5pm.

Entry is free.

CHECK OUT ALL THE LATEST NEWS, REVIEWS AND FREE SHIT AT BEAT.COM.AU

Beat Magazine Page 47

ALBUM OF THE WEEK SOLANGE

WOOLY BULLY RECORDS

True (Inertia Records)

WEDNESDAY 9 JANUARY RESIDENCY

MOTION PICTURES BOY RED SEA LEGS RUM ENTRY $5, 8PM

THURSDAY 10 JANUARY EP LAUNCH

THE SIMON WRIGHT BAND JUDE PERL DASH TASH SULTANA

ENTRY $10, 8PM $2.50 POTS, $5 VODKAS!

FRIDAY 11 JANUARY

NEBRASKATAK EATING UNICORNS I’LL BE AN INDIAN ENTRY $6, 8.30PM

SATURDAY 12 JANUARY MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL COMEDY FESTIVAL

RAW COMEDY QUALIFYING HEAT ENTRY $10, 1PM

ESC (SUPER GROUP) OSCAR KEY SUNG THE KILLING FIELDS ENTRY $6 DOOR, 8.30PM

SUNDAY 13 JANUARY RETURN SHOW

JUNK!

BACK BACK FORWARD PUNCH DEAR PLASTIC ENTRY $7, 7PM

MONDAY 14 JANUARY DUEL RESIDENCY

THE VAUDEVILLE SMASH SEX ON TOAST A ART

TUESDAY 15 JANUARY RESIDENCY

EL MOTH

KESHIE MUNRO MELANO ENTRY $2, 8.30PM

COMING UP TIX AVAILABLE THRU MOSHTIX: THE VAUDEVILLE SMASH (MONDAYS IN JANUARY) EL MOTH (TUESDAYS IN JANUARY) MOTION PICTURES (WEDNESDAYS IN JANUARY) RAINBIRD (JAN 19) ADAMNOTEVE PARTY (JAN 24) CHILLY WACK LABEL LAUNCH (JAN 27) OH, SLEEPER (FEB 7) MASSIVE – ALBUM LAUNCH (FEB 9) SQUARE SOUNDS FESTIVAL (FEB 15 + 16) XENOGRAFT/KETTLESPIDER/BEAR THE MAMMOTH – SPLIT EP LAUNCH (MAR 16)

1. Aloha (LP) CUNTZ

After a four year hiatus, 2012 has been Solange Knowles’ year. Drawing comparisons between her superstar sister are probably uninvited, but with the release of Losing You Solange successfully departed from Beyonce’s shadow.

The leading track for her new mini-album True, Losing You lavishly sets the scene for an album rich in soulful harmonies layered over up-tempo beats. While the lyrics on True centre around break-up and heartache, Solange manages to wistfully ease the blow by employing bouncy hand-claps and catchy choruses which contrast against production drenched in ‘80s pop.

Breaking into the music scene at 16, Solange’s previous work includes the heavily R’n’B influenced Solo Star and the psychedelic soul Sol-Angel And The Hadley St. Dreams. However, True relies on an eclectic sound with vocals that are increasingly saturated in crescendo harmonies. A short album, the highlight track is Losing You which has topped many ‘Best of 2012’ lists. Released several months prior to the album, the success of the track was aided by the majestically bright and quirky film clip. Co-written and co-produced by the great Dev Hynes (Blood Orange), the bouncing production is polished to perfection. In describing their relationship, Solange says, “I think the yin and yang of us is what makes it so great…Dev is a very intuitive artist…I have more of a pop sensibility where I want to create an infrastructure: a hook, bridge, all that.” Solange’s increased vocal range is noticeable in Losing You, though she relies on ethereal tones and textures to compliment the eclectic beat. A desperate woman anticipating heartbreak, she murmurs pain and loss all within an infectious melody. Lovers In The Parking Lot is another standout. This time focusing on the hurt caused by her own infidelity, Solange explores regret and temptation. This nostalgic track again features Solange displaying an extended vocal range and the most

2. Four Girls (LP) WOOLLEN KITS 3. Live at Missing Link (LP) UV RACE / EDDY CURRENT SUPPRESSION RING 4. Mingo (7”) THEE CORMANS 5. Work it Out (7”) TWERPS 6. Chapter Music: 20 Big Ones 1992-2012 (LP) VARIOUS 7. Self Titled (7” & CD) JONNY TELAFONE 8. Go Easy (LP) BLANK REALM 9. Sweaty Hands (LP) DEGREASER 10. Zingers (LP) MILK TEDDY lavish display of evoking harmonies on the album. Toying with loss and pleasure, this song captures a reminiscent tone that compliments the overall message.

The hype surrounding True and its leading track is not unfounded. Solange brings to soul and funk a fresh energy and style which cannot be compared. Working with vision, mood and sound, she leaves vocal gymnastics to her sister. With an ear for idiosyncratic beats, and a knack for layering them with the right amount of instrumentals and vocals, Solange wields together wholesome and emotional songs.

TAMARA VOGL Best Track: Losing You If You Like These, You’ll Like This: The Weeknd, MS MR In A Word: Eclectic

COLLECTORS CORNER MISSING LINK TOP ALBUMS OF 2012 1. OFF OFF! 2. Dopesmoker SLEEP 3. Toward The Low Sun DIRTY THREE 4. Spencer P. Jones & The Nothing Butts SPENCER P. JONES & THE NOTHING BUTTS 5. 8 Tracks KROMOSOM 6. Sleeping Dogs Lie VICTIMS 7. Allelujah! Don’t Bend Ascend GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR 8. All Gone POP SINGLES 9. Advaitic Songs OM 10. Kremlings KREMLINGS

SINGLES BY SIMONE

ARIA 1. Thrift Shop MACKLEMORE & RYAN LEWIS FEAT. WANZ

Happy new year. I feel like (and vaguely resemble) the giant tortoise in The Neverending Story.

CHET FAKER

Archangel (Opulent/Remote Control) Taken from a forthcoming live EP, Chet Faker’s latest single is a minimalist cover of Burial’s Archangel. Chet slows things down in the song’s first half, delivering a raw, crooning vocal; emphasising the soul in this new soul dubstep tune. At the halfway point, the band kicks in with skittering instrumental parts and a simmering rhythm, but their jazz rock flow feels a little hokey. The whole thing pales in comparison to the broken, agitated fever of the original.

TEEN SENSATIONS

Get Fit For Summer (Independent) Unsurprisingly, Brisbane’s Teen Sensations have fashioned themselves in the mode of early Beach Boys, with jangling surf guitars and sunny male harmonies crowding this inane retro-pop tune. The girls are on the sand perpetrating a tan and the boys are playing ukulele, while the tambourine shimmies, the glockenspiel rattles and the single reviewer slips into a sugar-induced coma.

TIMOTHY NELSON AND THE INFIDELS

Talk (Independent) West Coaster Timothy Nelson leads his merry men in a stopstart indie pop song with shades of The Whitlams, buckets of Ben Folds and a few Jack Penate highlights. Talk is dorky but energetic and fitful enough to be charming, but through all the piano bounce and scatterbrain compositional shifts, the chorus can be hard to locate.

GLASS TOWERS

Jumanji (HUB/Inertia) One of too many young Australian bands regurgitating the Vampire Weekend sound, Sydney’s Glass Towers get their calypso rock on with Jumanji, the lead track from their Collarbone Jungle EP. A competent group of songwriters, their song is neat and tidy but woefully uninspired, swinging lightly through the verse and getting all Temper Trap tremulous in the chorus. Blah.

HOME BREW

Benefit (Young Gifted Broke) Kiwi hip hop crew Home Brew let loose a funny, floaty rhyme about living on benefits and having random drugaddled thoughts. Playful, funky and tongue-in-cheek, it has a local flavour but a worldly class, a kind of easy confidence and singsong chorus that is reminiscent of Snoop Dogg’s pot-smoked style. Benefit is lifted from Home Brew’s selftitled debut album.

AVABERÉE

Lover of Mine (Independent) The women of Brisbane girl group Avaberée mimic the warm harmonies, popping vocal beats and artsy composition of

Beat Magazine Page 48

TOP TENS

Kimbra and Seeker Lover Keeper. The ladies leave plenty of plump space between the notes and balance their voices on a fine line between cutesy and coy, delivering a jazzy but stylish indie pop single full of airy, escapist romantic lyrics.

Just a pity this sound is already taken.

2. Scream & Shout WILL.I.AM FEAT. BRITNEY

RISE OF THE RAT

MAFIA FEAT. JOHN MARTIN

Untouchable (Independent) Rise Of The Rat play a fairly unforgivable brand of Aussie pub rock; a mid-eighties sound that seems loosely influenced by Hunters & Collectors, Goanna and Midnight Oil, revived with a po-faced sincerity for I don’t know what audience, with about a quarter of the finesse. The lyrics are equally humourless, though they fall short of the “biting social commentary” promised in the press release: “Chivalry is dead when the blood runs blue, principles are beared by selected few, unseen...at the top we’re untouchable.” Fundamentally, I agree – rich people are cunts – but inept class warfare waged in rhyming couplets is just embarrassing.

TOUCAN

Warrior (Inertia) With a drift of horns, a swinging melody and billowing layers of vocals that spread and lift skyward, Warrior is baroque pop at its best. This memorable, romantic and whimsical tune is the second single from Sydney duo Toucan, taken from their 2012 EP Swim. You can see them play it live at the Big Day Out, though God knows how two people are going to create this big, blissful sound.

DAVE GROHL & PAUL MCCARTNEY

Cut Me Some Slack (Sony) This weird brew first debuted when Dave Grohl and Paul McCartney paired up for the 12-12-12 Hurricane Sandy Relief Concert. A meaty, seventies-inspired churner, the studio version of Cut Me Some Slack features not just Grohl but also Kris Noveselic and Pat Smear (three parts Nirvana, one part Beatle) and appears on the soundtrack to a new Grohldirected documentary tracing the history of Van Nuys recording studio Sound City. This tune should be awful but it isn’t, sitting pretty in the whomping stoner rock gap.

SINGLE OF THE WEEK THE SMITH STREET BAND

Young Drunk (Independent) Melbourne quartet The Smith Street Band might be punk rockers, but singer Wil Wagner is a poet. Taken from their 2012 album Sunshine & Technology, Young Drunk is a vivid, bitterly romantic and nostalgic ode to that bright and brilliant moment between youth and old age, when your ill-fitting suburban teens are receding in the glow of a shitty, funny, chaotic and not-quite-adult share house existence. His lyrics are full of piss and joy, and pictures so clear they seem painted on the air in front of you. Good stuff.

FOR MORE REVIEWS GO TO BEATTV.COM.AU/REVIEWS

SPEARS 3. I Love It ICONA POP 4. Don’t You Worry Child SWEDISH HOUSE 5. I Knew You Were Trouble TAYLOR SWIFT 6. Gangnam Style PSY 7. Troublemaker OLLY MURS 8. Locked Out Of Heaven BRUNO MARS 9. Little Talks OF MONSTERS AND MEN 10. Beauty And A Beat JUSTIN BIEBER FEAT. NICKI MINAJ

AIR INDEPENDENT RECORD LABEL ASSOCIATION 1. Party Bass - BOMBS AWAY FEAT. THE TWINS 2. This Fire BIRDS OF TOKYO 3. Clair de Lune - FLIGHT FACILITIES FEAT. CHRISTINE HOBERG 4. Somebody That I Used To Know GOTYE FEAT. KIMBRA 5. Holdin’ On FLUME 6. Everyone’s Waiting MISSY HIGGINS 7. The Game PEZ 8. My Gun THE RUBENS 9. Thunderstruck AC/DC 10. Sleepless FLUME FEAT. JEZZABELL DORAN

BEAT’S TOP TEN SONGS ABOUT FRANCE 1. Parlez Vous Francais? ART VS. SCIENCE 2. The Green Fields of France DROPKICK MURPHYS 3. The French Open FOALS 4. Tour de France KRAFTWERK 5. April In Paris LOUIS ARMSTRONG 6. Chevalier de Paris EDITH PIAF 7. Frances The Mute THE MARS VOLTA 8. N****s In Paris JAY-Z AND KANYE WEST 9. Paris Blue LYKKE LI 10. Paris Collides RÜFÜS

ALBUMS

YESYOU

YesYou EP (Boss Records) FOR MORE REVIEWS GO TO

BEAT.COM.AU/REVIEWS

The debut EP for Brisbane dance-pop duo YesYou (Jono Kirkham and Gav Perry) has been a while coming, after all it was as far back as mid 2011 that their most notable song to date Half Of It found its way across the internet and onto radio.

However, kudos to them then for taking their time to release an EP not based solely on the strength of that one track.

Half Of It does make it onto the EP but it’s still gorgeous and as listenable as it was over a year ago - the hushed, drawn out opening lyrics, the grand piano coupled with ‘80s woodwind synth building up to that delectable chorus; it’s a track too

LOS CORONAS

El Baile Final... (Tritone Records) My recollections of Spanish beaches aren’t entirely positive: up north, what passed for a beach could just as easily have been the bitumen quadrangle at my primary school after years of education department neglect; down south (on the ‘Costa del Pom’), clusters of lobster-red German and English tourists polluting the otherwise beautiful beaches like sawfly larvae traipsing across beautiful botanic gardens.

Yet such unimpressive imagery is counter-factual to Spanish band Los Coronas’ captivating surf rock style. Libertwango offers up Hank Marvin with an Iberian personality implant; on Big Wave Riders, there’s more excitement and energy than a Catalunyan summer night party. Sangre En La Arena strides across the room and sticks its Sangria-soaked tongue straight down your throat and whisks you off to a Dick Dale tribute night, Soul Surfer is slicker than a Raymond Chandler private dick, with as many silent double entendres as you need for a good night at the bar.

Aguascalientes is strong and silent, waiting in the shadows to be noticed; ten parts charisma and bugger all pretension. El Baile Finale means business with a Ravonettes-like European swagger; Rancho Leone separates the long-board riding men from the boogie board masturbating boys and sniggers at the result.

Jinetes Radioactivos is pleasantly dangerous, in a 4am margarita sampling session sort of way and Alamerde packs up a bunch of Duane Eddy records and charges headlong into mad oblivion. Calle Tesoro is sweet and tender, a comforting kiss on the cheek after a tough afternoon in the waves; on Hang Five Californian surf rock empathy meets Dave Brubeck in a Malibu bar, gets down to some seriously good shit.

According to psychological statistical lore, Spain has the lowest rate of depression in the world.

Best Track: Big Wave Riders With music like this, that’s not suprising.

If You Like This, You’ll Like: THE SHADOWS, DICK DALE, PUTA MADRE BROTHERS. PATRICK EMERY In A Word: Surf

good to leave off.

Thankfully though it’s flanked with another stand out track Frivolous Life featuring the vocals of friend, collaborator and Jinja Safari frontman Marcus Azon. Kirkham and Parry certainly know what they’re doing production wise, as Frivolous Life is simple and lush with some nice In the Air Tonight-esque drums for good measure. It’s a strong follow up single albeit a touch too Foster the People.

Lights Go Down shows Kirkham and Parry’s voices working well in unison again, it’s just the chorus isn’t quite the thumping anthem it seems to want to be. Thus the following track Frozen is appreciated for being more rousing and also for the haunting vocals of Jess Higgs (who also sung on Flight Facilities’ Foreign Language). Rounded out with the jumpy, less harmonic Amsterdam and an unfortunately underwhelming Paces remix of Frivolous Life (heavy on the drum and bass and not much else) YesYou’s self titled EP is certainly a nice taster of what the two men are capable of.

There is a sense though that the ship may be sailing, with this country producing so many acts of a similar ilk (Empire Of The Sun, Miami Horror) one can only hope YesYou can find a niche. As songwriters they have considerable skill, a knack for smart collaborations, and keen production Best Tack: Half Of It skills which will help their cause – but they may need If You Like These, You’ll Like This: Sense of Self CITY to find something more for their first album.

CALM DOWN In A Word: Promising GARRY WESTMORE

BOB EVANS

The Double Life EP (EMI) No one could ever call Kevin Mitchell lazy. He’s been back with Jebediah to release a new album in recent times while also playing and releasing with the Basement Birds, leaving his solo stuff under the Bob Evans moniker on a bit of a hiatus.

The Double Life EP, a precursor to a new album promised early this year, is Bob’s first offering since 2009 and shows yet another side to the ever versatile Mitchell. Those expecting a handful of acoustic alt-country tracks a lá his ‘suburban trilogy’ of albums may be disappointed; this is a far slicker

BRIDGEWATER

Bridgewater (Independent) When we were growing up in the ‘70s, my mother used to take us on special steam train expeditions in the school holidays. Notwithstanding our primary fascination with the moustachioed legends of the sporting field, we fell under the romantic spell of the steam train, a symbol of industrial progress cloaked in billowing clouds of acrid smoke and forest green livery. The steam train ran from Adelaide railway station to the sleepy town of Bridgewater in the Adelaide hills; thus, forever, Bridgewater would be associated with such iconic memories.

There are moments on Bridgewater’s self-titled CD when such memories don’t seem entirely out of place.

The imaginatively titled Melbourne Rock City, for instance, places you roughly in the festering corner of every ‘70s suburban pub rock venue. Get Down is as dirty as the fireman stoking the fires of the Duke Of Edinburgh, its chunky beat in rhythmic harmony with the steam engine’s rudimentary combustion mechanics. Walk Out The Door is dark and mournful, with the journey coming to an end; it may be the last, and we’re just left with the memories. Saviour is a breath of clean air and glint of fresh light, while Falling Sun is the end of the day, good while it lasted, but never quite enough.

And there are the times when it could be even better, if only serendipity was around to help. Hold On is plaintive, making a point that can’t quite be heard over the din of competing entertainment, Superflo is The Angels under the suffocating strain of internal tension, Take Your Time is the earnest, if lumpy testament to third generation rock’n’roll, and Friends builds to a climax, without ever breaking out of its self-imposed shell.

There’s the kernel of something good here, if only the shackles of expectation are discarded.

Best Track: Melbourne Rock City.

If You Like This, You’ll Like This: PEARL JAM, THE PATRICK EMERY ANGELS, THE VINES. In A word: Pub.

UNNATURAL HELPERS Land Grab (Hardly Art)

With only two full-lengths to their name, Seattle’s Unnatural Helpers have already made a name for themselves as dependable purveyors of greasy, good-time rock n’ roll.

There’s elements of the city’s classic muddy vibe on tracks like Toil and Stiff Win where the four-piece take cues from Mudhoney and other 90’s-era affable sludge, but for the most part, Land Grab is an agreeable slice of riff-based camaraderie. It’s not the most adventurous of listens, with only three of the 13 tracks clocking in at over two minutes. Then again the ridiculously, rollicking album closer, Julie Jewel weighs in at just under ten minutes.

It’s clear that Unnatural Helpers enjoy a party and have no intentions of ever letting it stop.

For all that Land Grab lacks in originality, instead it manages to imitate with near flawless poise.

When It Can Only Go Right is a surf rocker’s dream while Hate Your Teachers was written just for the weekend punks. There’s a slight expansion on the songwriting from Cracked Love & Other Drugs - their 2010 release - but nothing out of the ordinary. Each track is remarkably tight, and one gets the feeling that these tracks have benefited from hefty exposure on the road.

Land Grab might not set any examples for its sonic Best Track: When It Can Only Go Right originality, but with tracks that move this swiftly, it If You Like These, You’ll Like This: Moody, doesn’t have to. Put it on and don’t think too much Standard and Poor OBITS, anything on Goner about its social implications; this is a Friday night Records record at its finest.

In A Word: Party!

JOSHUA KLOKE

KERRI SIMPSON

Fortune Favoured Me (Mescalito/Origin) Kerri Simpson, a wonderfully soulful singer adept at embracing a host of musical genres with aplomb, is renowned for her skilled contributions to blues ‘n’ roots, world, rock and dance. Her eclecticism shines on the earthy Fortune Favoured Me, an album glittering with highlights. On the quietly elegant title track, written by that legendary Ice Cream Hand Charles Jenkins, Simpson’s gentle vocals are the perfect match for the tender lyrics and the evocative music. One Time Round features slinky, loose-hipped guitar, a light and funky rhythmic touch and bourbon-kissed vocals, while the aptly named Howl is a surging seething stomper that slithers seductively out of the swamp combusting with an animalistic fervour bordering on the supernatural. If You Don’t Know By Now is edgy and urgent alt-

produced set of songs.

It’s the melancholic Sitting In The Waiting Room and not the title track that’s the most encouraging track of the four on offer here. It’s got somewhat of a Beatles sensibility due to its plucked guitar dropping from major to minor chords, as well as slightly distorted and intermittent electric guitar. It’s a gorgeous track with a heavy subject matter (“sitting in the waiting room/doctor says to come on through/now what can I do for you?”); Mitchell failing to reveal the reasons for his narrator and subject being at the doctors, though one can probably guess.

The rest of the EP, particularly Don’t Wanna Grow Up Anymore and Antibiotics are a bit too clean for their own good, but are good driving pop/rock tracks nonetheless. The latter packs a little more punch, with the keys on the former too reminiscent of Coldplay for anyone’s liking. EP closer Wrecking Ball is quite experimental compared to Mitchell’s other work and it feels like he’s making an effort to step out of his comfort zone. The problem overall is that the production waters down the tracks and makes them less personable somehow. This isn’t the strongest set of songs Mitchell has written under the Bob Evans moniker or with Jebediah, so it remains to be seen whether a change of direction will serve him well Best Track: Sitting in the Waiting Room If You Like These, You’ll Like This: Stay Please Stay, on the upcoming LP. OH MERCY GARRY WESTMORE In A Word: Lukewarm

JIM JONES REVUE

The Savage Heart (Punk Rock Blues/Liberator) In the wrong hands, nostalgia can be a dangerous influence, a suffocating effect on creativity, where rose-coloured historical revisionism masquerades as artistic inspiration. Whereas American Graffiti explored burgeoning political divisions, Happy Days was a tedious sequence of trite pseudosociological observations in which the most complex of cultural situations was reduced to two-dimensional characters and facile one-liners.

The Jim Jones Revue does nostalgia, but in a good way. There’s nothing particularly new about either the band’s schtick, or its latest album, The Savage Heart – but therein lies its undeniable charm. There’s a guttural elegance snarling within It’s Gotta Be About Me that stares you straight in the eye and dares you to respond. On Never Let You Go, the spirit of Carl Perkins takes a couple of black beauties and wreaks havoc. 7 Times Around the Sun takes a chain gang chant and a jug of moonshine and gets down and dirty wit’ your ass; Where Da Money Go is the perennial damaged rocker’s question, writ large with time-honoured blues sensibility, a serious dose of speedrock and Jones’ Bon Scott-like emphatic vocal delivery.

On Chain Gang, the Jim Jones Revue is hanging out with the Beasts Of Bourbon learning the mythology and wonder of Max Roach’s Driver Man, while In And Out Of Harm’s Way makes a pact with the devil and revels in the Jon Spencer-like consequences of the transaction. Catastrophe is anything but, a boogie fest unseen since the beer cans, spliffs, and terry towelling hats of Sunbury ’73. Eagle Eye Ball channels Jailbreak AC/DC on the wrong side of a three-day bender; like a David Lynch exploration of small town culture, Midnight Oceans and The Savage Heart is warm and tender on the surface, and dangerous Best Track: Never Let You Go If you like this, You’ll Like This: JERRY LEE LEWIS, just below. The Jim Jones Revue get the paradox SOUTHERN CULTURE ON THE SKIDS, HEAVY of nostalgia – and they’ve got great songs to boot.

TRASH In A Word: Dirty

PATRICK EMERY

country infused rock characterised by a beefy chorus and a bucket load of passion. She Set Fire To The House is punctuated by expressive lead guitar that captures and channels the emotional currents of the song perfectly.

Cry Down, which features robust backing vocals by Kylie Auldist and Nichaud Fitzgibbon and sassy sax by Paul Williamson, is a stripped back soulful gem that has an exciting live-in-the-studio feel. Insatiable is a swamp rock powerhouse that sizzles with incendiary guitar and pulsating rhythms while Mr Wolf is darkly atmospheric. The jaunty Pirates Are A Girl’s Best Friend is underpinned at times by a rhythm that is not too far from ska, yet this intriguing song also manages to incorporate elements of jazz and a playful musical theatre vibe. This magical album closes with Silver’s Last Stand, a haunting, Best Track: Cry Down wide-screen epic, that is entrancingly filmic in feel If You Like These, You’ll Like This: Don’t Explain and approach.

BETH HART & JOE BONAMASSA In A Word: Magical GRAHAM BLACKLEY

FOR MORE ALBUM NEWS AND REVIEWS GO TO WWW.BEAT.COM.AU

Beat Magazine Page 49

GIG GUIDE WEDNESDAY JAN 9 INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS BEACH HOUSE + WINTERCOATS Forum Theatre, Melbourne. 8:00pm. $68.

BONEZ (SINGLE LAUNCH) + BURN IN HELL + SON OF SET + THE NEW SAVAGES Revolver Upstairs, Prahran. 8:00pm. $5.

COCK & BALL TORTURE + INTENSE HAMMER RAGE + THE DAY EVERYTHING BECAME NOTHING + THE KILL Bendigo Hotel, Collingwood.

8:00pm. $21.

COLLAGE - FEAT: BUCK JR + HUMBUG + KID DRY + TILLER Espy, St Kilda. 8:00pm.

DAN TROLLEY + SUNNY THE MAGOSOPHER Tote Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm.

DASH Veludo Bar & Restaurant, St Kilda. 9:00pm.

FLYYING COLOURS + CHAINSAW HOOKERS Cherry Bar, Melbourne Cbd. 7:00pm.

HOT CHIP + WORLD’S END PRESS Palace Theatre, Melbourne Cbd. 7:30pm. $65.

JOE BLACK TRIO John Curtin Hotel, Carlton. 8:00pm.

KINLOCK TROONS Old Bar, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. $7.

SUMMER OF CLASSICS - FEAT: MIKELANGELO Pure Pop Courtyard, St Kilda. 4:00pm.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC BOHJASS + TOM FRYER BAND 303, Northcote.

8:00pm.

DIZZY’S BIG BAND Dizzy’s Jazz Club, Richmond.

9:00pm. $14.

HELEN CAT & CO Open Studio, Northcote.

9:00pm.

MADRE MONTE + LAMINE SONKO & THE AFRICAN INTELLEGENCE Workers Club, Fitzroy.

7:30pm. $8.

SHARON JONES & THE DAP-KINGS Corner Hotel, Richmond. 7:30pm.

SHOHEI YAMAKI Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 7:30pm. $7.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK KIM SALMON Standard Hotel, Fitzroy. 8:30pm.

LACHLAN BRYAN + BILL JACKSON Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 8:30pm.

MOTION PICTURES + BOY RED + SEA LEGS RUM Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. $5.

OPEN MIC Dancing Dog, Footscray. 8:00pm.

OPEN MIC Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick. 9:00pm.

OPEN MIC Thornbury Local, Thornbury. 8:00pm.

OPEN MIC Great Britain Hotel, Richmond. 9:00pm.

SMOKY SEAS + DARN MATTER + SUPER FAT FRUIT Bar Open, Fitzroy. 8:00pm.

THE SPOILS The Resurrection, Melbourne. 7:30pm.

WINE WHISKEY WOMEN - FEAT: HETTY KATE + JANE MCARTHUR Drunken Poet, West Melbourne.

8:00pm.

THURSDAY JAN 10 INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS CIGGIE WITCH (EP LAUNCH) + FIVE ISLANDS + THE GREAT OUTDOORS Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm. $7.

CUT SICK + DEBACLE + NEEDLES + SOMA COMA Bendigo Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm. $15.

DAN KROCHMAL BAND + REAL NOW + REFLEX REX + TEMPLE Gertrudes Brown Couch, Fitzroy.

8:00pm. $5.

GOSSAMER PRIDE + SPEAKEASY + VELA Penny Black, Brunswick. 8:30pm.

JANE DUST & THE GIANT HOOPOES + DIVINE FLUXUS + HEAD HONCHO Old Bar, Fitzroy.

8:30pm. $8.

LEEZ LIDO + BRENDAN RYDER + SEAN TAIT Reverence Hotel, Footscray. 8:00pm. $5.

LIEUTENANT JAM + CONTRAST + THE ARCHETYPAL Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 7:30pm. $10.

NEEDLES + CUT SICK + DEBACLE + SOMA COMA Bendigo Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm.

RED X The B.east, Brunswick East. 9:00pm.

Ten Thousand

COLLISION AT THE CORNER From the people who birthed everyone’s favourite Showdown comes The Corner Hotel’s newest event, Collision At The Corner. Starring an array of bands that span all facets of rock without the roll, acts like Barbarion, King Of The North, Bugdust and Ten Thousand will collide at Richmond’s most rockin’ corner for one glorious night. Two stages, ten bands, and for only 20 of the Queen’s finest dollars. So get yourself down to The Corner Hotel this Saturday January 12. Kicks off at 6pm, get tickets through the venue.

SEEDY JEEZUS + HONEYBONE + SON OF SET + SOOKY LA LA Bar Open, Fitzroy. 8:00pm.

THE CARLTONS + THE VANTURAS Great Britain Hotel, Richmond. 9:00pm.

VENGABOYS + DJ DR PHIL SMITH Espy, St Kilda.

8:00pm. $45.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC ALWAN Claypots Tavern & Fair, St Kilda. 9:30pm.

AUSTIN Veludo Bar & Restaurant, St Kilda. 9:00pm.

BELLA JABARA & THE MELLOWS Cherry Bar, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $10.

HAMMOND SESSIONS - FEAT: B3 MADNESS 303, Northcote. 8:00pm. $10.

LA MAUVAISE REPUTATION Paris Cat Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd. 9:30pm. $25.

LATIN LOVE - FEAT: DEL BARRIO First Floor, Fitzroy. 7:00pm.

OVEREASIES Claypots Evening Star, Melbourne.

8:00pm.

SHARON JONES & THE DAP-KINGS Corner Hotel, Richmond. 7:30pm.

ZELUS Barleycorn Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK ACOUSTIC NIGHT 29th Apartment, St Kilda.

8:30pm.

BEATEN BODIES + KOOYEH + UP UP & AWAY Yah Yah’s, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. $10.

BEN SOLLEE + THE FALLS Northcote Social Club, Northcote. 8:00pm. $40.

BROTHER JAMES + CARTERROLLINS + CROOKED SAINT + THE SOUTHBOUND THREE Espy, St Kilda. 8:00pm.

DAN WATERS Wesley Anne, Northcote. 8:00pm.

DD DUMBO Post Office Hotel, Coburg. 8:30pm.

DROOLING MOUTHS OF MEMPHIS + THE WILD COMFORTS Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 9:00pm.

KATE MULQUEEN + MANA Drunken Poet, West Melbourne. 8:00pm.

KILL THE DARLING (EP LAUNCH) + JAMES PASINIS + SEASUNS Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood.

8:00pm. $10.

LOOUNGE THURSDAYS Lounge, Melbourne Cbd. 10:00pm.

OPEN MIC Acoustic Cafe, Collingwood. 7:30pm.

OPEN MIC Balaclava Hotel, Balaclava. 7:00pm.

RONIT GRANOT Wesley Anne, Northcote. 6:00pm.

SEYMOUR HOLLOW Labour In Vain, Fitzroy.

8:30pm.

SHARON SHANNON + JACK MAHER + JIM MURRAY + SEAN REGAN Caravan Music Club, Oakleigh.

8:00pm. $38.

SUMMER OF CLASSICS - FEAT: NATALIE GAUCI Pure Pop Courtyard, St Kilda. 4:00pm.

THE PINKERTONS The Resurrection, Melbourne.

7:30pm.

VENICE MUSIC + BILLY LONGFACE + WILDING Open Studio, Northcote. 8:30pm.

FRIDAY JAN 11 INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS A SLEEPLESS MELODY + BURNING BROOKLYN: EP LAUNCH + STRICKLAND + THE PLAYBOOK Ruby’s Lounge, Belgrave. 8:00pm. $15.

ALEX WATTS & THE FOREIGN TONGUE + THE IN THE OUT Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 10:00pm.

BASEMENT JAXX Trak Lounge Bar, Toorak. 8:00pm.

BEST OF THE 80S Barleycorn Hotel, Collingwood.

8:00pm.

CHRIS DUKE & THE ROYALS + AITCHES + THE FURROWS + THE KUJO KINGS + THE RESIGNATORS Revolver Upstairs, Prahran. 7:30pm. $10.

COCK & BALL TORTURE + CAPTAIN CLEANOFF + EMBODIED + F*CK... I’M DEAD + INTENSE HAMMER RAGE Tote Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm. $24.

COERCE (ALBUM LAUNCH) + HOODLUM SHOUTS + WHITE WALLS Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm. $10.

LOVE OF DIAGRAMS Melbourne kids Love of Diagrams are performing one last hurrah before setting out for the less green and more populated pastures of the US. After a successful 2012 filled with a plethora of live shows, the electro pop trio are ringing in the year we thought we’d never see by getting back into the studio to record their fourth album, in Chicago of all places. Which leaves just enough time for one last show at The Tote. Joined by friends Milk Teddy, Early Woman and Psychedelic Coven Deejays, come say goodbye and good luck to LoD tomorrow, Thursday January 10, 9pm. Pay on the door.

Beat Magazine Page 50

SUBMIT YOUR GIGS TO GIGGUIDE@BEAT.COM.AU

EDITH LANE + ALL MY ALIEN SEX FRIENDS + ROSERVELT 303, Northcote. 8:00pm. $8.

GRAND RAPIDS + DEAD RIVER + THE OLâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; FAITHFULS Yah Yahâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, Fitzroy. 8:00pm.

HALF MOON RUN + I A MAN + LOWLAKES Ding Dong Lounge, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $15.

HARRY HOWARD & THE NDE Post OďŹ&#x192;ce Hotel, Coburg. 10:00pm.

JAMES REYNE + GALLIE The Flying Saucer Club, Elsternwick. 8:00pm. $32.

MARDUK + ORDER OF ORIAS + PORTAL The Hi-ďŹ , Melbourne. 8:00pm. $49.

NEW GODS (EP LAUNCH) + JESSICA SAYS + MONTERO Northcote Social Club, Northcote.

8:30pm. $12.

PETER MURPHY + DANDELION WINE + IKON Corner Hotel, Richmond. 8:30pm. $59.

RORT + HOSTILE OBJECTS + MICHAEL CRAFTER Reverence Hotel, Footscray. 8:00pm. $10.

SPENCER P JONES Cherry Bar, Melbourne Cbd. 5:30pm.

SUSY BLUE Wesley Anne, Northcote. 6:00pm.

TEQUILA MOCKINGBIRD + CAST IRON PINATA + CHICO FLASH + ONIX Espy, St Kilda. 8:30pm.

THE CACTUS CHANNEL + THE SEVEN UPS Workers Club, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. $12.

THE MORRISONS + CLOWNS + RED ROCKETS OF BORNEO Barwon Club Hotel, Geelong. 8:30pm. $10.

THE SUREFIRE MIDNIGHTS + MAMMOTH MAMMOTH + UPTOWN ACE Old Bar, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. $12.

THE X-FACTOR LIVE TOUR - FEAT: SAMANTHA JADE + BELLA FERRARO + JASON OWEN + NATHANIAL WILLEMSE + SHIANE HAWKE + THE COLLECTIVE Festival Hall, West Melbourne.

6:00pm. $70.

THE ZANES + THE STAFFORDS Penny Black, Brunswick. 9:30pm.

MADRE MONTE Come down to Fitzroyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Workers Club tonight to see Madre Monte in their second of five Wednesday night residencies this month. Masterfully marrying the reggae groove with Columbian inspired percussion, this local 9-piece outfit is a visual and sonic feast. This week joined by African performer Lamine Sonko, the night promises to be a skankerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s paradise. Wednesday January 9, and the every other Wednesday this month. $8 on the door.

Cold Harbour

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC NICHAUD FITZGIBBON QUARTET Paris Cat Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd. 9:30pm. $20.

PANORAMA DO BRASIL Open Studio, Northcote.

9:00pm.

YVETTE JOHANSSON & THE JOE RUBERTO TRIO Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne. 8:30pm. $25.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK ACOUSTIC SESSIONS - FEAT: DREW Veludo Bar & Restaurant, St Kilda. 5:30pm.

ASH GRUNWALD + HOWLINâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; STEAM TRAIN + THE PIERCE BROTHERS Espy, St Kilda. 8:00pm. $25.

BRUNSWICK MASSIVE Rainbow Hotel, Fitzroy.

9:00pm.

KYLIE AULDIST & COOKINâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ON 3 BURNERS Bar Open, Fitzroy. 10:00pm.

MCALPINEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S FUSILIERS Victoria Hotel, Brunswick.

9:00pm.

MUSTERED COURAGE + DAVIDSON BROTHERS Wesley Anne, Northcote. 8:00pm. $10.

NIGEL WEARNE Gem Bar, Collingwood. 9:00pm.

SHARON SHANNON Spotted Mallard, Brunswick.

8:30pm. $36.

SHORT ORDER SCHEFS Lomond Hotel, Brunswick East. 9:30pm.

SUMMER OF CLASSICS - FEAT: SARAH CARROLL Pure Pop Courtyard, St Kilda. 4:00pm.

TIM CHAISSON + ANDY BROWN + COLE + DAVE GUNNING + VAN DIJK + VISHTEN Caravan Music Club, Oakleigh. 8:00pm. $15.

TRADITIONAL IRISH MUSIC SESSIONS - FEAT: DAN BOURKE Drunken Poet, West Melbourne.

6:00pm.

SATURDAY JAN 12 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC ALL GOOD FUNK ALLIANCE Espy, St Kilda.

9:00pm.

DOUG DE VRIES TRIO Paris Cat Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd. 7:30pm. $20.

HEATHER STEWART Paris Cat Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd. 9:30pm. $25.

KING BEE BISCUIT Union Hotel, Brunswick.

9:00pm.

SARAH MCKENZIE BAND Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne. 8:30pm. $28.

TRACY BARTRAM BAND Dizzyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Jazz Club, Richmond. 9:00pm. $20.

TRIO AGOGO Wesley Anne, Northcote. 6:00pm.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS BAD VISION (7â&#x20AC;? LAUNCH) + MESSED UP + RAYON MOON + THE KREMLINGS Old Bar, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. $10.

BANG - FEAT: THY ART IS MURDER + ENNUI

A DAY BY THE GREEN St Kildaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ninth Day By The Green festival is back again (yay!). Brought to you by actual musicians, the day celebrates St Kildaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s music scene in all its beachy glory. This time around, the line up includes the likes of The Fuck Fucks, Valentiine, Mesa Cosa and of course, the reason that weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re all there, Cold Harbour themselves. With the local acts covering everything from grunge to punk to cabaret-cum-gothic fantasy, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s surely something for everyone. ten bands for $20, canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t beat that. This Saturday January 12 at St Kilda Bowling Club from 3pm.

THE PUBLIC BAR 238 VICTORIA ST, NORTH MELBOURNE NOW OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK

WEDNESDAY 9TH JANUARY

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RATSAK - LAUNCH NUN, SOMA COMA SLAUGHTERER 8:00PM $8 DJ DRAW 4

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PLAGUE DOCTOR

ACTORSLASHMODEL RATTLINâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; BONES BLACKWOOD 8:30PM $8 DJ RIPITUP SUNDAY 13TH JANUARY

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;IN MUSIC WE TRUSTâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;:

ANDREW MCDONALD (TILTMETER), BEN CUE 3PM FREE MONDAY 14TH JANUARY

SKYSCRAPER STAN & THE COMMISSION FLATS VENICE MUSIC 7PM FREE

TUESDAY 15TH JANUARY

LAWNTON BOWLS CLUB

ALEX HAMILTON (MERRI CREEK PICKERS) 7PM FREE 7PM FREE

FREE POOL ALL DAY AND NIGHT CHEAP JUGS TIL 8PM

for bookings: bandbookings@theoldbar.com.au

7+( ,1)$176

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SUBMIT YOUR GIGS TO GIGGUIDE@BEAT.COM.AU

Beat Magazine Page 51

Scott Wilson

THE VENGABOYS

STOMPY AND THE HEAT Come and witness one of Melbourne’s newest and most talented bands before they get too famous for you to be able to afford. Genre-shy trio Stompy And The Heat are officially releasing their first album this weekend at The Tote. Inspired by 1960s Japanese guitars, Mongolian warriors, and aliens, Stompy and The Heat have a unique sound that defies your basic rock + roll equation. Be there to help launch their self-titled album this Saturday January 12 from 8.30pm. Tickets available through venue.

BREATHES MALICE + YOUR WORLD IN RUINS Royal Melbourne Hotel, Melbourne Cbd. 9:00pm. $20.

BARRY SAVAGE & THE CAESARS Tote Hotel, Collingwood. 5:00pm.

BENNY WALKER (ALBUM LAUNCH) + SAL KIMBER & NICK LOVELL + TOM RICHARDSON Northcote Social Club, Northcote. 8:30pm. $12.

BETTER THAN THE WIZARDS (SINGLE LAUNCH) + FLOUNDER + JEN KNIGHT & THE CAVALIERS Ding Dong Lounge, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $10.

BOTTLE OF SMOKE + BEN KELLY + VIRTUE Ruby’s Lounge, Belgrave. 8:00pm. $10.

BRIAN SHIMKOVITZ + BROADWAY SOUNDS + CUMBIA COSMONAUTS + LEWIS CANCUT Bar Open, Fitzroy. 10:00pm.

CAVALCADE + AITCHES + FOXTROT + HUG THERAPIST + JAPAN FOR Reverence Hotel, Footscray. 12:00pm. $8.

CHRIS DUKE & THE ROYALS + ADMIRABLE ACKBAR’S DISHONOURABLE DISCHARGE + UP & ATOM Workers Club, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. $12.

COLLISION AT THE CORNER - FEAT: BAR-

BARION + BUGDUST + KING OF THE NORTH + TEN THOUSAND + EMPRA + RIOT IN TOYTOWN + THE CHARGE + THE DEEP END + THICK LINE THIN LINE + VOODOOCAIN Corner Hotel, Richmond. 6:00pm. $20.

DARYL BRAITHWAITE + LETICIA MAHER The Flying Saucer Club, Elsternwick. 8:00pm. $32.

DIRTY HARRIET & THE HANGMEN + DEATH BY DEATHRAY Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 10:00pm.

DJANGO DJANGO The Hi-fi, Melbourne. 7:30pm. $55.

DROPFRAME + NERVES + VON STACHE Grace Darling Hotel, Collingwood. 9:00pm. $15.

EXTORTION + BATPISS + CLOWNS + HAILGUN + HOSTILE OBJECTS Bendigo Hotel, Collingwood.

8:00pm. $12.

KASHMERE CLUB + WE THE PEOPLE Penny Black, Brunswick. 9:30pm.

KILL EM ALL + BRITISH STEEL + IRON MADNESS Musicland, Fawkner. 7:30pm. $20.

OUTSIDERS CODE + DISTANCE + LOW STANDARDS + OUTLINES + POSTBLUE Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm. $10.

The Vengabus is coming! And everybody’s jumping! New York to San Francisco! An intercity disco! Flamboyant ‘90s Dutch sex-pop group Vengaboys are coming/cumming back to Melbourne, still hot from selling out three shows last year.

Iconic tracks such as We Like To Party, Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom!! and some new material such as the subtle Rocket To Uranus will all be performed live in this wild and wacky show. To prepare, we suggest you drive around in a party bus, only stopping to pick up strangers in colourful boob-tubes and dance around the bus in a perfectly choreographed routine. So if you like to party, come on and move your body! Vengaboys play The Espy on Thursday January 10.

PAUL KIDNEY EXPERIENCE + FASPEEDELAY + SWAMP MOTH Yah Yah’s, Fitzroy. 9:00pm. $10.

STOMPY & THE HEAT + DJ RICHIE 1250 + THE EXOTICS Tote Hotel, Collingwood. 8:30pm. $15.

SUMMER OF CLASSICS - FEAT: THE TWOKS Pure Pop Courtyard, St Kilda. 4:00pm.

THE BLOOD GROOVES + CLOCK TOWERS + JACK CARLIN + POSEIDON + ROAM + ROSENCRANTS First Floor, Fitzroy. 7:00pm.

THE MORRISONS + BODIES Bridge Hotel, Castlemaine. 8:30pm.

THE RIDING HOOD Great Britain Hotel, Richmond.

9:00pm.

THE UNKIND + IGOYA + POISON FISH Gertrudes Brown Couch, Fitzroy. 8:00pm.

TWIN AGES + THE GROVES + THE ROAD RATZ Cherry Bar, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $13.

WENDY RULE 303, Northcote. 8:00pm. $12.

YOLKE + DOCUMENT SWELL + NIMBLE ANIMAL Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $10.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

COLLISION AT THE CORNER BUGDUST With the inaugural COLLISION AT THE CORNER festival about to hit The Corner Hotel this Saturday, we put two of the festival’s dirtiest bands up against each other for an all-out brawl, tackling all the big issues from alcoholic grandmas to time machines.

Adam (Bugdust) questions Dale (The Deep End): You have shared the stage with some awesome Aussie bands. Tops work lads! Giants such as Airbourne, The Angels, Rose Tattoo, Screaming Jets and Hoodoo Gurus. If you were to do a Christmas EP with one song from each of those bands to give to your gran, what songs would you choose?

Talk about asking the tough questions... My gran is a pisshead so I reckon she will love Cheap Wine & Cheaper Women by Airbourne, she’s also a loose cannon on the swearing (we can’t take her out anymore) so Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again? by The Angels is on there.

Then round it out with Bad Boy For Love by the Tatts, Better by the Jets and Crackin’ Up by the Gurus!

If you turned up to the local Deep End pub for a quiet drink with ya band mates and there was a tribute band called The Shallow End playing, would you A) Be embarrassed B) Get up and have a jam with them C) Tab out the guitar riffs on beer coasters and flick em at the guitarist’s eye?

How about option D: Quit playing music and become their roadies.

Your drummer builds a time machine between soundcheck and doors.... what Melbourne band that is not playing around anymore would you kill to travel back in time and catch a show?

That is a STUPID question, everyone knows that drummers are good for nothing other than every now and then keeping time... BUT, if Professor Frink did happen to come on tour with us and this did happen, it’d have to be Mammal. Their shows were intense!

Tell us what kind of weird shit you got up to whilst recording near the US/Mexico border?

If we told you there would be no mystery factor to our band’s existence... but here we go in a Stiffys inspired answer... Midget Strippers DEA Officers Sheriffs Over Sized Fender Plectrums Beer Mole’ Late Nights Nose Bleeds Al Jorgensen Mirrored Coffee Tables Cannibal Corpse Shootings Vomit Pecan Pie Tecate Buckets Rock’N’Roll!

Has JT recorded any shittier bands since recording our first EP some years ago, or are we still the worst?

Yeah truckloads. It’s kinda funny he actually puts more effort in recording other bands than he does training his moustache! No you are not on top of the worst band list… we are!

Who are your favourite Melbourne bands to play with and why?

The Stiffys coz they like hydration, Cold Harbour coz they smear dusty evilness, I Am Duckeye coz they actually do all the stupid shit at shows we wished we had the balls to do, Dallas Crane coz those guys know how to have a wrong party, Redcoats coz they sucked me into a mind altering hypnotisation meth induced psychosis, Steel Birds coz those good looking fellas are sharp dressed motherfuckers and can write amazing tunes and have a pretty rad lead guitarist, The Black Stypes coz they are Darkness and Evil!

Bugdust

The Deep End

Blue wifebeaters or white?

Blue all the way. Unless you go to Stereosonic...Then again…don’t go to Stereosonic.

Dale (The Deep End) retaliates at Adam (Bugdust): Have you ever considered moving on from Bugdust to front a ZZ Top tribute band?

Nah, Uncle Billy is a top bloke but too sharp to even consider trying to jump on his mojo. Thought about starting a Deep End Tribute though.

Beat Magazine Page 52

Catch BUGDUST and THE DEEP END this Saturday night as part of the massive COLLISION AT THE CORNER festival. They join Barbarion, King Of The North, Ten Thousand, The Charge, Riot In Toytown, Empra, Voodoocain and Thick Line Thin Line. Check out the playing times on page 17.

SUBMIT YOUR GIGS TO GIGGUIDE@BEAT.COM.AU

VS

CATFISH VOODOO Drunken Poet, West Melbourne. 9:00pm.

CHUCK JENKINS & THE ZHIVAGOS Union Hotel, Brunswick. 5:00pm.

COLD SNAP Rainbow Hotel, Fitzroy. 9:00pm.

GATOR QUEEN Post Office Hotel, Coburg. 9:00pm.

HORNETS Lomond Hotel, Brunswick East. 9:30pm.

JOHNNY GIBSON & THE HANGOVERS + THE JACKALS Victoria Hotel, Brunswick. 9:00pm.

LETTER B Open Studio, Northcote. 5:00pm.

LISA MILLER TRIO + SHANE O’MARA Labour In Vain, Fitzroy. 5:00pm.

OL’ TIMEY BLUEGRASS BAND Victoria Hotel, Brunswick. 5:00pm.

PHEASANT PLUCKERS + LAKE PALMER Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 4:00pm.

SAOIRSE (ALBUM LAUNCH) + THE IDLE DIDDLIES Caravan Music Club, Oakleigh. 8:00pm. $15.

SHARON SHANNON Spotted Mallard, Brunswick.

8:30pm. $36.

THE BLUE RUINS + JAMIE PYE + KURT GENTLE Chandelier Room, Moorabbin. 8:00pm. $10.

THE DEEP END

Call 1300 304 614

(landline only)

or 03 9614 3441

HOT CHIP

After their 2012 release In Our Heads, the now five album strong Hot Chip returned to Australia last week to welcome the new year at the Falls Festival. For those that didn’t make it, want to use sensory recall to unlock the hazy memory of NYE, or just want to delve deeper into the band’s stellar collection of hits, they have scheduled a Melbourne sideshow.

Always dependable to get a crowd dancing, the UK electronica group will play their indie anthems at The Palace this Wednesday January 9.

SUNDAY JAN 13 INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS DOS HERMANOS + UPTOWN BROWN Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 7:30pm.

HELLHOUNDS Labour In Vain, Fitzroy. 5:00pm.

MARICOPA WELLS + BRAD VINCENT + GRACE LAWRY + NATHAN SEECKTS Reverence Hotel, Footscray. 3:00pm.

ONSLOW + HEY DENISE: EP LAUNCH + PORTRAITS OF AUGUST Workers Club, Fitzroy. 7:30pm. $10.

ROSERVELT + HOMEMADE + SATURN CLOUD Bendigo Hotel, Collingwood. 5:00pm. $7.

SABATON + BLACK MAJESTY + EYEFEAR Corner Hotel, Richmond. 7:30pm. $42.

THE ATTICS + ARCHER & BOW + THE BOOK OF SHIPS John Curtin Hotel, Carlton. 8:00pm. $5.

VOWEL MOVEMENT + HOWARD + LIONESS EYE + THE MENSTRUAL CYCLE Grace Darling Hotel, Collingwood. 2:00pm. $6.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC BENNETTS LANE BIG BAND Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne. 8:30pm. $15.

BLACK JESUS EXPERIENCE The Horn African Music Lounge, Collingwood. 7:00pm.

GRAND WAZOO Thornbury Theatre, Thornbury.

7:00pm. $15.

HEADSPACE + BAD BOYS BATACUDA + MS BUTT + THE DALE RYDER BAND Espy, St Kilda. 5:30pm.

JEREMY GREGORY BAND Veludo Bar & Restaurant, St Kilda. 4:30pm.

SARAH MCKENZIE BAND Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne. 8:30pm. $28.

SYSTEM UNKNOWN SOUND CLASH 303, Northcote. 3:00pm.

TANGO RUBINO Wesley Anne, Northcote. 4:00pm.

UNION ROYALE Spotted Mallard, Brunswick.

4:00pm.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK ALICIA ADKINS Great Britain Hotel, Richmond.

7:00pm.

BIG SEAL & THE SLIPPERY FEW John Curtin Hotel, Carlton. 8:00pm.

CHERRY BLUES - FEAT: CHRIS RUSSELL’S CHICKEN WALK + DEAN MULLER + MR SIPPY Cherry Bar, Melbourne Cbd. 2:12pm.

CHRIS WILSON Union Hotel, Brunswick. 5:00pm.

CLINKERFIELD + SUICIDE SWANS + THE STEINS Old Bar, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. $6.

DEN HANRAHAN & CHUCK’S WAGON + BLACK HILLS Tote Hotel, Collingwood. 6:00pm.

GRAND SALVO + HEATHER WOODS BRODERICK Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 7:30pm. $15.

IDEL 55 - FEAT: IDLE 55 + HAILEY CALVERT + LEIGH SLOGGETT Chandelier Room, Moorabbin.

5:00pm. $10.

JAM SUNDAYS Musicland, Fawkner. 5:00pm.

JANE DUST & EMILY MAE + THE ALARUM BELLES Post Office Hotel, Coburg. 4:30pm.

JOHNNY CAN’T DANCE Open Studio, Northcote.

9:00pm.

JULIA TURNER Open Studio, Northcote. 5:00pm.

LES THOMAS + BETH KNIGHTS Victoria Hotel, Brunswick. 5:00pm.

MARK NUNIS Wantirna Club, Wantirna South.

3:00pm.

MR BLACK & BLUES Rainbow Hotel, Fitzroy.

4:00pm.

NICK BARKER BAND Caravan Music Club, Oakleigh. 3:00pm. $15.

PETER BAYLOR & THE ROADHOUSE ROMEOS Gem Bar, Collingwood. 8:00pm.

SIME NUGENT + ALEX BURNS TRIO Drunken Poet, West Melbourne. 4:00pm.

SUMMER OF CLASSICS - FEAT: TESS MCKENNA Pure Pop Courtyard, St Kilda. 4:00pm.

THE DRUNKEN POACHERS + THE DROOLING MOUTHS OF MEMPHIS Penny Black, Brunswick.

5:00pm.

TIM WOODS + THE MOULDY LOVERS + THE NEO Wesley Anne, Northcote. 8:00pm. $10.

Need ID?

Get a Keypass

Application forms available at Police Stations

DJANGO DJANGO It’s been almost a year since the release of British rock group Django Django’s self-titled debut record – an album that received critical acclaim from The Guardian, Rolling Stone, NME and many more publications. The four-piece from Edinburgh have been winning critics over with shit-hot tracks such as Life’s A Beach, Skies Over Cairo and more.

Melbourne is privileged enough to have the crew pop Down Under. Django Django play The Hi-Fi on Saturday January 12. Tickets are available through Moshtix.

SUBMIT YOUR GIGS TO GIGGUIDE@BEAT.COM.AU

www.keypass.com.au Beat Magazine Page 53

NEIGHBOURHOOD YOUTH + ATOLLS Workers Club, Fitzroy. 8:00pm.

NIGHTWISH (IMAGINAERUM TOUR) + BLACK MAJESTY + SABATON Palace Theatre, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $83.

RED X + SOUNDIE LARA Cherry Bar, Melbourne Cbd. 9:00pm.

THE STORY SO FAR + ANCHORS + SIDELINES + THE PLAYBOOK Corner Hotel, Richmond.

12:30pm. $26.

THE STORY SO FAR + ANCHORS + APART FROM THIS + STRICKLAND Corner Hotel, Richmond.

7:30pm. $28.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

DAVID BYRNE AND ST VINCENT Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee David Byrne, the legendary founding member of new wave band Talking Heads, will team up with solo indie artist St Vincent to collaborate for the Love This Giant Tour. Born from their recently released album, the tour will feature two talented performers supported by a choreographed, dancing full brass band. The duo are no strangers to sharing their creative talents, having previously played together live at a St. Vincent show and on the album Here Lies Love. The show takes place on Monday January 14 and Tuesday January 15 at Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne.

MONDAY JAN 14 INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS DAVID BYRNE & ST VINCENT Hamer Hall, The Arts Centre, Melbourne. 8:00pm.

MONDAY NIGHT MASS - FEAT: CRUDE + HOT PALMS + OCEAN PARTY Northcote Social Club, Northcote. 8:00pm.

NIGHTWISH (IMAGINAERUM TOUR) + EYEFEAR + SABATON Palace Theatre, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $83.

THE VAUDEVILLE SMASH + SEX ON TOAST Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. $6.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC ALLAN BROWNE + MARK ELTON & DAVE REX Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne. 8:30pm. $15.

DIVINA PROVIDENCIA Felix, St Kilda. 9:00pm.

LEBOWSKIS 303, Northcote. 9:00pm. $8.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK ACOUSTIC SESSIONS - FEAT: JANINE Veludo Bar & Restaurant, St Kilda. 7:30pm.

CHERRY JAM Cherry Bar, Melbourne Cbd. 6:30pm.

SONGWRITER SESSIONS Old Bar, Fitzroy.

8:00pm. $5.

TUESDAY JAN 15 INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS COLLAGE - FEAT: ANDREW SWIFT & THE RATTLESNAKE CHOIR + CANDICE MACLEOD + LEADLIGHT + THE PEEKS + WALLY & ROB Espy, St Kilda. 8:00pm.

ICEHOUSE The Palms, Southbank. 7:30pm. $89.

JAIL BIRD JOKERS Revolver Upstairs, Prahran.

8:00pm. $5.

LADIE DEE + BEN WUNDERSITZ + BILLY LONGFACE Old Bar, Fitzroy. 8:00pm.

AL KENNEDY COLLECTIVE Dizzy’s Jazz Club, Richmond. 8:00pm. $14.

CARLO BARBARO QUARTET Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne. 8:30pm. $15.

EL MOTH + KESHIE + MUNRO MELANO Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy. 8:30pm.

LOS CORONAS + THE EXOTICS Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 7:30pm. $15.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK ACOUSTIC SESSIONS - FEAT: SOPHIA KATO Veludo Bar & Restaurant, St Kilda. 7:30pm.

DAN PARSONS + YEO Retreat Hotel, Brunswick.

8:30pm.

DOS HERMANOS Open Studio, Northcote.

9:00pm.

OPEN MIC Empress Hotel, North Fitzroy. 8:30pm.

OPEN MIC Wesley Anne, Northcote. 7:00pm.

DRIVERS

TO DELIVER BEAT MAGAZINE.

WEDNESDAY MORNINGS! EARLY STARTS

Must have own van.

Would suit students, musicians, etc.

Beat Magazine Page 54

ACCESS ALL AGES Wednesday January 9, 2012 With Ruth Mihelcic

Welcome to 2013 guys! By now you should have well and truly recovered from the silly season and your New Year’s celebrations. The upcoming year is already looking promising for the all ages music scene, with a number of gigs, festivals and some great music opportunities coming up.

Before the rubber on your shoes melts and sticks you to the floor, cool off by checking out one of the many pool parties being thrown by FReeZA groups this month. With cheap pool entry, a DJ spinning tunes, and a bunch of water games to keep you entertained, it has to be one of the better ways to survive this ridiculously hot weather. Make sure you check out the gig guide on our website to get all the details…thepush.com.au is where it’s at.

Federation Square Live is back! And it’s free! It kicks off tomorrow at 6pm with Eagle and the Worm and Oscar ‘N’ Martin. It continues January 17 at 6pm with The Paper Kites and Vance Joy; Australia Day, January 26 at 4.30pm with Diafrix and Chance Waters, and January 31 at 6pm with Hungry Kids of Hungry and Asta.

DZ Deathrays

33c PER WORD PER WEEK (INC GST) • Send your classified listing information to Beat Magazine at 3 Newton St, Richmond 3121 with a cheque, money order or credit card number (including expiry date and name on card, NOT AMEX or DINERS) (1.5% surcharge on Visa and MasterCard) OR deliver it yourself with cash OR you can email your classifieds to us - classifieds@beat.com.au with credit card details • DEADLINE IS THURSDAY 5pm, prior to Wednesdays publication • Minimum $5 charge per week.

We do NOT accept classifieds over the phone - sorry.

MUSICIANS WANTED ACOUSTIC ACTS WANTED FOR FRIDAY NIGHT SPOTS IN FITZROY. Solo/Duo/Groups send an email with pics or samples to drink@the86.com.au. Bar split is paid, summer dates available.

WANTED: BASS PLAYER + KEYBOARD/GUITAR PLAYER. Guitarist for high profile Australian rock ‘n roll band embarking on solo project seeking bass player and keyboard/guitarist. Based in inner Melbourne with national touring through 2013, 2030 years old. Guitar and synth oriented psych rock/ pop, along the lines of the likes of Tame Impala, Jay Reatard, Spoon, Todd Rundgren, Supergrass and The Flaming Lips. Contact Nik: 0417 051 514.

SERVICES DJ AGENCY SEEKING EVENT MANGERS, promoters and party organisers to work with. Text 0411 024 794 FREE VENUE HIRE - Fully stocked bar - Huge capacity, whole venue or partial. Call Jesse 0411 803 579 MUSIC MANUFACTURING & DISTRIBUTION www. drumsrecords.net, P.O. Box 1187 St. Albans VIC 3021 Australia

EMPLOYMENT EXPERIENCED BAND BOOKER WANTED. If you’re experienced in booking bands and want to work with an experienced well known venue booker at a great venue in Melbourne’s music heartland then send us an email. Let us know a bit about yourself, what type of bands you’ve booked, where, contacts you have and how long you have been in the game and importantly what you may be able to bring. Be quick. Send email to: shimgapi@gmail.com FLAUNT IT. Internationally acclaimed producer of profeminist erotica looking for confident, adult women to smash the stereotypes and earn good money ($400 and up). Don’t overlook this til you’ve found out more about it. Jessica 9495 6555 or www.feck.com.

WE WANT EVERYONE Promoters, Bands, DJs Revitalised bar, The Barley Corn, has reopened its doors 7 days a week and we want YOU. Call Jesse 0411 803 579

TUITION

email - distribution@furstmedia.com.au

whatson@thepush.com.au

CLASSIFIEDS

BATTLE OF THE BANDS. Registration now, starts Wednesday the 28th Dec and every Wednesday after for 8 week (less the 26th Dec & the 2nd Jan). First prize: recording time in a studio. Call Jesse 0411 803 579

WANTED:

+ BEAT PRESENT...

PAUL HENDER DRUM SCHOOL PTY LTD. Students wanting to learn please contact Paul (03) 8786 3421

SUBMIT YOUR GIGS TO GIGGUIDE@BEAT.COM.AU

Also don’t forget PUSH OVER! Now in its 21st year, it hits the Sidney Myer Music Bowl on March 11 with an epic lineup comprising of The Amity Affliction, DZ Deathrays, Violent Soho, Velociraptor, Dream On Dreamer, Northlane, Millions, Northeast Party House, Allday, Thy Art Is Murder, In Hearts Wake, Twelve Foot Ninja, Hand Of Mercy, Soliloquy, High Tension, The Sweet Apes, D At Sea, Lurch & Chief, and Brighter At Night. Probably one of the better ways to spend $40, get over to Ticketmaster ASAP. As a special treat we’ve been going back through Push Over’s history on our facebook page. Like us at facebook.com/thepushinc and reminisce with us over past lineups, band stories, long lost footage and rad artwork from the ‘90s. Liking us means you’ll also be the first to receive news and special offers that come up from time to time.

While you still have some free time during the holidays, check out some of the great music and industry opportunities we’re featuring this month. If you’re keen to get involved in making radio then apply for a show on SYN’s Summer Season! Summer Season runs over four weeks, from January 7 to February 3. Email info@syn.org. au for info.

The Hilltop Hoods and APRA have teamed up to give a career changing $10,000 to the most impressive emerging Hip Hop/Soul act in Australia.

Creatively named the Hilltop Hoods initiative, the grant is open to any hip hop artist or group who has not yet released an album professionally or commercially. You can be of any age and also must be an APRA member, which you can do at apra-amcos.com.au. Applications open early this year, keep an eye out at the APRA site and at hilltophoods.com/hth.

Those crazy cats at APRA are also offering you the chance to have your songs heard by music industry greats and share in over $240,000 of prizes. The APRA Professional Development Awards are conducted every two years and offer cash, travel, education and recognition to eight music writers in the early stages of their careers. There are a bunch of categories you can enter, and applications close on Friday. Their website has all the info.

If you have any all ages music news or opportunities that you’d like to share here and on our website, send us an email to whatson@ thepush.com.au

THURSDAY JAN 10TH

SEYMOUR HOLLOW ACOUSTIC FROM 8.30 PM

GREAT BRITAIN HOTEL THU 10 JANUARY

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Wed. January 9th: wine, whiskey, women

8pm: Jane McArthur 9pm: Hetty Kate Thurs. January 10th:

.com.au new and improved!

8pm: Mana 9pm: Kate Mulqueen Fri. January 11th:

6pm: Trad. Irish music session with Dan Bourke & Friends Sat. January 12th:

9pm: Catfish Voodoo

everything Melbourne - online & mobile

Sun. January 13th:

4PM: Alex Burns Trio 6.30PM: Sime Nugent Tues. January 15th:

7PM: Weekly Trivia The Drunken Poet, 65 Peel Street (directly opposite Queen Vic Market), Phone: 03 9348 9797. www.thedrunkenpoet.com.au

SUBMIT YOUR GIGS TO GIGGUIDE@BEAT.COM.AU

Beat Magazine Page 55

BACKSTAGE THE PLACE FOR MUSICIANS

for more information or ad bookings call Aleksei on 9428 3600

STORE PROFILE 18 Duffy street Burwood 3125 30m rooms s Air-con and ventilation in s 10everylargeroomand identical s PA/foldback combos at 1000w s Storage and amp/kit hire s Acoustic Engineer-designed soundproofing

EASTGATE MUSIC

Established: 2001

2

PH: (03) 903 88101 M: 0417 000 397 Email: hydrastudios@bigpond.com

Location(Address): 313-315 Whitehorse Rd, Balwyn, 3103.

Hours Of Operation: Mon-Thursday 9.30-6.00pm Friday 9.30-7.00pm Saturday 9.30-5.00pm Main brands and products you specialise in: Electric and acoustic guitars, tube amps, FX pedals, bass gear, P.A systems, home and live mixing and recording equipment, drums, keyboards, violins and cellos. Brands include Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, Gretsch, Epiphone, Yamaha, Marshall, Vox, Badcat, Fryette, Fuchs, Voodoo Labs, Home Brew Electronics, Lehle, Maxon, AMT, Plush, Guyatone, AKG, Shure, Tascam, Martin, Taylor, Maton, National Reso-Phonic and many more.

Services offered: Repairs, setups and restorations to all instruments and amplifiers. Our in-house service techs are players who understand the subtleties of tone and the requirements of working musicians. Fast, friendly and affordable service.

Toyland

Recording Studio

Toyland in Northcote for recording bands, singers or any other audio project Recording, Mixing and Mastering Call Adam Cal on 9482 2111 or 0412 060 664

Point of difference: Eastgate Music is a full line independent music retailer specializing in all types of guitars, amps, FX pedals and music gear. It stocks a huge range of accessories, music books, guitar and amp parts including vacuum tubes and pickups. Eastgate also sells second hand and vintage instruments and amplifiers, offering cash and/or trade ins for quality used music gear. Limited edition custom shop electrics and acoustics. If “searching for tone” is important to you, this is the place to shop.

Extras: We offer great deals in store and pride ourselves on stocking the best brands at the best prices. We offer friendly customer service, so don’t be shy

come in, ask the questions you need answered and get a great deal, you won’t be disappointed.

Phone: (03) 9888 6899 Website: www.eastgatemusic.com

www.toyland.com.au STUDIO PROFILE

TOYLAND RECORDING STUDIO

Location: We’re located in the heart of Melbourne’s inner north, Northcote, 3070.

Digital or analogue capabilities of studio: We cater for both digital and analogue with recording opportunities to 2” analog tape and digital DAW. Recording gear available: We have Neve 1084’s, Neve Prisim, Focusrite ISA 110’s, Telefunken V72’s. We also have mic’s from Neumann, AKG, Beyer, Sennheiser, AEA, LOMO Tube Mics, Lexicon 224X, Eventides’s, Urei 1176’s, LA3’s, Tube Tech CL1B, and Pultec EQP1A3 to name a few.

v s

Instruments available to use or hire: All clients, bands and artists have the opportunity to use our in-house Ludwig drums including our range of Black Beauty snares. Feel free toi give us a buzz or check our website for more info on what else is available for use during your recording and production sessions.

a

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THIS SPACE COULD BE YOURS! CONTACT ALEKSEI ON 9428 3600 OR MIXDOWN@BEAT.COM.AU

Artists you have worked with: We have worked with a plethora of local and international bands and artists including the likes of Peter Hook and the Light, Bloodduster, Falloe, The McQueens, IKON, Pseudo Echo, Mick Pealing, Mushroom Giant, Sydonia, ROOT, The DC3, Wendy Rule, Jack Pantazis and Logic to name just a few.

In-house engineers: Toyland’s in-house engineer is Mr. Adam Calaitzis.

With years of experience in the industry and knowledge of all production techniques, feel free to give Adam a call to discuss your next project.

Extras: Toyland can do a range of different tasks not just including recording, but also mixing, mastering, production, drum programming/samples and DVD authoring.

Phone: 0412 060 664 or 9482 2111 Website: www.toyland.com.au E-mail: adamcal@ozemail.com.au

BACKSTAGE NOW RUNNING FULL COLOUR! Beat Magazine Page 56

BACKSTAGE: BEAT’S ONE STOP SHOP FOR MUSICIANS

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LIVE SBTRKT

photos by Ben Clements

Billboard, Wednesday January 2

Support act Otologic had warmed up the crowd nicely. By the time SBTRKT started, we were all amped up and ready to dance the night away.

Under the cover of their infamous masks, Aaron Jerome and his regular collaborator Sampha were warmly welcomed to the stage to open with Never Never. The mind-blowing instrumentals set the mood early, and only got better as the night continued.

Embarrassingly, the giant mask they used as a stage backdrop had a slight malfunction but didn’t seem to put SBTRKT or the overly-excited crowd down for long, especially considering the rest of the set was pretty much faultless. It continued with Hold On and immediately followed with Living Like I Do – just one of the many highlights.

The crowd were invited to sing their hearts out during Something Goes Right – an inspiring mix that everyone related to in some way. I think we were all sold at this point but it didn’t end there. Pharaohs had us jumping around, even without Rosie Gabor live on vocals. The recognisable dubstep, electronic and funk fusion was incredibly uplifting. The highs seemed even higher.

Jerome switched seamlessly between decks, drums and laptop while Sampha stood opposite, vocally harmonising and turning his hand to numerous other forms of percussion – not to mention playing piano on Trials Of The Past. Every unique sound,

ALEXISONFIRE

LOVED: Hearing Wildfire live.

HATED: The lack of A/C. It was too hot and sweaty to dance like a lunatic.

DRANK: Coronas.

of this track Pettit implored, “This is not a funeral it’s a wake. Let’s celebrate!” This sermon was followed by Counterparts and Number Them.

The massive tracks from their debut album kept rolling on with 44 Calibre Love Letter and Waterwings (And Other Poolside Fashion Faux Pas) along with Accidents from Watch Out (2004) that features the life affirming chant “Let’s redefine what it means to heal!” To steal a line from Regurgitator – I like their old stuff better than their new stuff.

Brutalised by the squealing guitars, wailing vocals and thundering drums, I left the venue shaken but this physical rapture ran deeper than sheer physicality – with Alexisonfire no longer releasing music or playing live shows I was reminded that the constants of my youth were now slipping away from me.

DAN WATT LOVED: Alexisonfire HATED: Alexisonfire DRANK: Orphan blood

Glenworth Valley, Saturday December

Peats Ridge Sustainable Arts & Music Festival is the epitome of an Australian festival. It has the location, the music and the people. The Glenworth Valley on the NSW central coast has spectacular sandstone cliffs, raggy bush and large black bull-ants waiting to pounce on barefoot punters full of urine. The valley itself is a horse farm - where twice a day a parade of 200 horses are moved from one end of the property site to the other. This controlled stampede left me and all those around me standing agog. The sight of these magnificent equines made us feel hungover, graceless and unfit, but we forgot about them a few cigarettes later.

Peats Ridge has maintained its popularity because it earnestly has something for everyone: mask making and workshops for the kiddies, dumpster diving lessons, an MJ Thriller dance workshop, meetings on every environmental issue (develop the Kimberly anyone?), the drumming circles or just chilling out in the river. Around every corner of the festival site were people doing ridiculously enthusiastic things in the heat, like marching in gumboots or shakin it in a raving Brazilian mardigras. As Karl Pilkington said, “me eyes have never been so busy.”

However the music is what we all came to see. On the Saturday December 29, Northeast Party House got the party started with their Mosman version of Toro Y Moi. Then the whole festival waddled over to the main stage for The Herd, who blew the party up! Everyone knew all the songs and The Herd crew had us jumping in time – balanced with the beautiful vocals of Jane Tyrrell. Then came the first clash with the Detroit House master Theo Parrish and party band Tijuana Cartel. Both were annoyingly good for the first night because we thought we had peaked too early…and we had. Because Krafty Kuts and A-Skillz, although technically without fault, Beat Magazine Page 58

CHRIS BRIGHT

Festival Hall, Wednesday December 12

There was a sense of bittersweet anticipation as a disorganised shuffle of post-hardcore kids and slightly bewildered 30-somethings make their way from Southern Cross station to Festival Hall to see Alexisonfire’s farewell show to Melbourne.

However, when the band’s three founding members - Wade MacNeil, George Pettit and Dallas Green – walk onto the stage, that is awash in yellow lights, all emotional ambiguity is wiped out by the crushing intro of Young Cardinals. MacNeil looks slightly comical with his Ned Kelly beard – It would seem his new appointment as lead singer of UK hardcore band Gallows has inspired him to beard up.

This show was the first time I had seen the new bass player working hard for his place with proto-punk dance footwork. To be honest it pissed me off because Alexisonfire’s longevity, from 2001 (s/t album) to the Death Letter EP 2012, comes from their lack of pretentiousness for a genre band.

Boiled Frogs was a crowd favourite with its embodiment of the band’s archetypal good (Green’s soft vocals) versus evil (Pettit’s growl). At the completion

PEATS RIDGE 29 – Tuesday January 1

beat and melody of their creation was given full respect and attention.

Sampha’s vocals were particularly outstanding during Sanctuary, harmonising with Jessie Ware like only a SBTRKT track can do. Soothing yet grimy.

What may come down to sentimental value, it was still Wildfire that stole the show. I remember hearing this track for the first time about two years ago in London, on Nick Grimshaw’s late night Radio 1 show. It was the most exciting thing I’d heard for a very long time. Of course, Little Dragon has a lot to do with the greatness of this track, but SBTRKT still impressed with those amazing instrumentals.

For the encore, Right Thing To Do with Jessie Ware was the two-step garage track we’d been waiting for all night – perhaps progressive post house pop at its best.

With Jerome announcing that this was to be his last headliner tour with Sampha, this was definitely one gig not to be missed. They certainly brought a taste of London’s cool music scene to Melbourne.

ladled on the cheese in the big tent. Day two had a definite dub-vibe as Kingfisha got it chilled for Kaki King who ramped it up for Clairy Browne and the Bangin Rackettes (anyone with backup dancers and costume changes can marry me). The highlight was the Black Seeds, who were as smooth as velvet.

After the mainstage had closed we looked around for more vibrations and spotted a dome made entirely out of cello tape and emergency blankets, which was kept inflated with an industrial fan. It was the brainchild of Dirk and Eduardo from urban future organization – and was incredibly popular with the punters who appreciated its womb-like aesthetic; the warm tech house made me want to get into the foetal position. At 2am we were again birthed out into the cold dark night. Come day three, morning was a struggle but Microwave Jenny provided some beautiful covers of Carly Rae – which eased the pain. Gossling, Tuka and Unknown Mortal Orchestra all impressed. Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings were ever sassy, and her revamped version of Window Shopping brought a tear to the eye. However everyone was waiting for their favourite acronym, JBT. And they rocked it, hands were in the air like they were unconcerned. Some called it a night, while some partied in the future bubble till 4am. Either way we eventually all went home happy, happy campers.

NICHOLAS HANSEN

LOVED: The Black Seeds composing tunes as smooth as NZ butter.

HATED: The cheesiness of the late night EDM. DRANK: River water and Pimms cups.

KENDRICK LAMAR

The Palace, Friday December 21

“Keeeeeen-drick, Keeeeen-drick, Keeeen-drick.”

Palpable excitement hung in the air of a packed Palace Theatre as the crowd chanted the name of the man who has spent 2012 putting the hip into hip hop. The current crown jewel of Compton has the word play, flow and hooks to blur the lines between radio-friendly and “real” hip hop. As such, attendees of the sold-out show were varied. Suburban justlegal kids, Northside dudes in expensive kicks, a handful of immaculately styled ladies and flat caps galore.

In the event of a difficult opening slot for a crowd who were itching for the main, Tuka did well, although his rhymes were a fraction of a second behind the muffled beat. Australian hip hop is very different to American hip hop. Tuka should be considered top-tier, here.

The heaving crowd rapped along to the in-between tracks spun by M-Phazes as they Tetris-packed out the front of the stage and we inched forward to be among the masses. Lamar emerged to a deafening and relentless roar, gazing dumbfounded at the crowd for no less than a full minute before declaring it “not a show – it’s a party” and guiding the audience energetically through earlier anthems like A.D.H.D., Tammy’s Song, Pussy And Patron plus his guest verse in Fuckin’ Problems, minus A$AP Rocky.

While Lamar is certainly no rookie, it was his 2012 offering good kid m.A.A.d. city that propelled him into the limelight, with the album topping credible ‘best of’ lists across a range of popular, underground and urban media. As such, it was an interesting choice to wait until nine songs deep to unleash the first track from this release, Money Trees, which had a huge reception and rap-along. Mind you, it

THE HIVES

TARYN STENVEI

LOVED: Swimming Pools (Drank) was pretty fucking off tap.

HATED: Smartphones.

DRANK: (Drank).

The Forum, Sunday January 6

It is official: The Hives are the greatest live act going around. It wouldn’t matter if you had just lost your genitals in an unfortunate smelting accident, you would still have the best night of your life watching the self-proclaimed “greatest rock band in the world!”

True to form, The Hives came out one-by-one dressed in black and white tailcoat suits and top hats. The suits, much like their live shows, were well-refined and in a class of their own.

Drummer Chris Dangerous led the pack, slowly building up to the arrival of everyone’s favourite leading man, Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist.

They kicked off with the very short but very sweet Come On from their latest album Lex Hives. Not surprisingly, most of the new album was played amidst their other big hits.

Between songs Almqvist entertained with his outlandish behaviour, constantly reassuring us that, “Your arses are mine for the next hour and a half!”

He also had methods for whipping the crowd into an absolute frenzy, getting us to participate in a variety of clapping, stomping, jumping, sitting, screaming and frequent sing-alongs. Never in my life have I wished I were born with three arms, just so I could clap along with a drink still in my hand.

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was nothing near as gargantuan as when he next dropped Backseat Freestyle and an aggressive moshpit of sorts erupted front of stage, marking our time to climb over the side barrier we were elbowed on to and secure some personal space. He flowed through the rest of a heavy good kid set with a style that was big on audience association but low in bravado; an understated showmanship. Banter fell flat due to room size, and attempts to single out audience members were filler and soon forgotten.

The best bits were when he’d take tracks to the brink of exploding before cutting the backing track and performing the final chorus as an a cappella, commanding sing-alongs galore and leaving his razor sharp lyrics hanging in the air.

There was a freestyle, a couple of call-andresponses, a shit-tonne of hands in the air and two encores – the second, a ramshackle authentic one after more chanting. It was less of a show and more of a party, as Lamar predicted. People are bat-shit about that record. On this night, they had a chance to share that with a packed room of his devoted following. It was good. Sweaty.

Live, Lamar certainly has the fabric to live up to the demonstrated lyrical prowess of his releases.

Perhaps he’s one of the greats. I think it’ll last.

Main Offender and Walk Idiot Walk kicked it up another notch, with one of the ninja-clad stage crew banging the tambourine like an absolute motherfucker.

Almost at full-speed, the crowd were getting ready to sing along with Wait A Minute until some crowdsurfing dickhead fell head-first into the stage, causing the band to stop the show until he regained consciousness.

But that little set-back aside, it only took until Die, All Right! for the band and audience to return to full-blown craziness. They then delivered “the gift that was missing from your Christmas stockings” with Hate To Say I Told You So, and ended the set with Two Timing Touch and Patrolling Days.

New songs Go Right Ahead and Insane (both from Lex Hives) were a little disappointing choices for encore, but closing with Tick Tick Boom provided the big high we all wanted to end on.

CHRIS BRIGHT LOVED: Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist’s on-stage antics HATED: The dickhead who knocked himself unconscious and stopped the show DRANK: Miami Iced Teas

QANTM COLLEGE

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