Brag#548

IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER

B A L L PA R K M U S I C B E N I B U Z Z KU L L CANYONS (DJ SET) COSMO’S MIDNIGHT ELLIOT THE BULL EMMA LOUISE T H E H O L I D AY S J I N J A S A F A R I T H E L A Z Y S LDRU MIDNIGHT JUGGERNAUTS (DJ SET) PA R KS I D E R O O F S E A L E G S S LOW B LOW S N A K A D A K TA L S O F T W A R S O S U E M E D J ’ S STICKY FINGERS THIEVES TROPICAL ZOMBIE WORDLIFE (LIVE) W O R L D ’ S E N D P R E S S YA C H T C L U B D J ’ S YOLANDA BE COOL PLUS LOADS MORE!

M T P E N A N G PA R K L A N D S FIRST RELEASE TICKETS $79

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for more info head to soundwavefestival.com 4 :: BRAG :: 548 :: 05:02:14

SUNDAY 23 FEBRUARY OLYMPIC PARK SYDNEY BRAG :: 548 :: 05:02:14 :: 5

rock music news welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town...with Chris Martin, Mina Kitsos and Andy Huang

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THE BRAG

speed date WITH

ANN VRIEND

What Do You Look For In A Band?

1.

Well, my new album is indie soul.

Outside of playing music I like to walk around wherever it is I’m touring, and observe and take pics; learn about places, try to learn new words in the local language (including ‘arvo’ and ‘doco’ and ‘sunnies’). What I look for in a fan is someone who’s a music lover – what I am.

Keeping Busy I finished my new album in 2.

November, and before that toured Europe. Over Christmas I fought bronchitis and semi-learned to ski at New Year’s (meaning, I’m alive).

In January I went to New Orleans and right now I’m on my way back from the mountains where I recorded for a Canadian radio show. My tour of Australia will be in support of a single from the new album.

3.

Best Gig Ever This one I just did was a huge honour with a really well-known writer

HERE COMES THE BRIDE

EDITOR: Chris Martin chris@thebrag.com 02 9212 4322 ARTS + ONLINE EDITOR: Hannah Warren hannah@thebrag.com 02 9212 4322 STAFF WRITERS: Alasdair Duncan, Jody Macgregor, Krissi Weiss, Augustus Welby NEWS: Chris Honnery, Andy Huang, Mina Kitsos ART DIRECTOR: Sarah Bryant GRAPHIC DESIGN: Alan Parry PHOTOGRAPHERS: Liam Cameron, Katrina Clarke, Maria de Vera, Ashley Mar ADVERTISING: Bianca Lockley - 0412 581 669 / (02) 9212 4322 bianca@thebrag.com ADVERTISING: Les White - 0405 581 125 / (02) 9212 4322 les@thebrag.com PUBLISHER: Rob Furst MANAGING DIRECTOR, FURST MEDIA: Patrick Carr patrick@furstmedia.com.au, (03) 9428 3600, 0402 821 122 DIGITAL DIRECTOR/ADVERTISING: Kris Furst kris@furstmedia.com.au, (03) 9428 3600

Friends, family, gather ’round for this special occasion as Prepared Like A Bride embark on their Overcomer tour. Fresh from their slots on the Boys Of Summer lineup with metalcore punk bros Blessthefall and The Color Morale, Prepared Like A Bride are now getting ready for the release of their new album, Overcomer, on Friday February 7, to be followed by a string of gigs. Joining them on the road will be special guests Vices and Rivalries. Catch Prepared Like A Bride on Thursday March 20 at the Exchange Hotel for Hot Damn, and Friday March 21 at Chatswood Youth Centre.

MONSTER MAGNET

Our favourite monsters since Sulley and Mike Wazowski are set to kick down the doors of The Hi-Fi on Friday April 4 with their metal, punk, space-rock psychedelia. Since forming in 1989, New Jersey’s Monster Magnet have crafted their signature sound over nine albums, with waves of the ’60s punctured by dirty ’70s riffs. Adding to a discography of chart-shaking, kookily-named songs like ‘Space Lord’, ‘Negasonic Teenage

GIG & CLUB GUIDE COORDINATORS: Thea Carley, Julienne Gilet, Mina Kitsos, Xiaoran Shi, Andy Huang, Callum Wylie - gigguide@thebrag. com (rock); clubguide@thebrag.com (dance, hip hop & parties)

and storyteller in Canada named Stuart McLean – I grew up listening to him on the radio, and then I just got to be the musical guest on his show and was treated like a queen. Worst gig?

There was one in Adelaide where my keyboard stand wasn’t set up properly so in the first chorus of the first song of the show the stand collapsed, and the keyboard not only fell down, but fell off the stage, missing by mere inches the people in the front row. To date it’s the shortest version of that song I’ve ever played.

Current Playlist Right now I’m in the van on the 4. way back from the mountains, and we’ve got Dr. John on. I went to New Orleans for ten days last month and saw so many incredible gigs – heard Rebirth Brass Band, John Boutte, Joe Krown, Walter Washington, Travis Trumpet Black Hill, Tom McDermott, Jon Cleary, 21st Century Brass Band… so many. It was pretty cool to walk past Mahalia Jackson’s statue, Louis Armstrong Park, Preservation

Warhead’ and ‘Spine Of God’, their latest album Last Patrol has already garnered praise for fusing vintage atmospherics with a cosmic undercurrent. Leadman Dave Wyndorf articulates it as “...Space-Noir, tales of cosmic revenge, peaking libidos, alienation and epic strangeness.” Having toured previously with Aerosmith, Metallica, Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson, Monster Magnet’s show is sure to be frighteningly good.

Hall, et cetera – connect to a place that has given birth to jazz, blues, gospel, and from there, rock’n’roll, soul, R&B, funk, hip hop. Name any kind of pop that doesn’t have those influences and it’s a short list.

Your Ultimate Rider [Laughs] I’ve done so many indie 5. gigs where there was no rider at all – as in you’re not even comped food or drinks in the restaurant you’re playing at – that when I do get one I am just glad that someone actually thought to be nice like that. Then other ones are complete opposites – this gig I just did had a private, gourmet catered meal with a guy standing at your arm at all times to pass dishes to you and fill up your glass. But hey, if money was no object, I wouldn’t turn away a personal masseuse on a rider. Or my own environmentally friendly Learjet.

Where: Django Bar, Camelot Lounge When: Wednesday February 12

Jeff Beck

SASSIN FRAS

We love our bread, we love our butter, but most of all… we bloody love us some good grunge. Yes, the people have spoken, and Sassin Fras are ditching the surf’n’sand of their Gold Coast home, bound for a Sydney tour. The duo has just dropped a new single, ‘Madeleine’, the arresting follow-up to 2013’s Paperback Cowboy EP. It is Sassin Fras’ blend of infectious pop melodies with gritty soundscapes and ’90s influences that has pushed them to the fore of local grungepop, even scoring them a support for fellow Brisabanites Dune Rats. Head down to Frankie’s Pizza on Friday March 6 to see the boys tear it up.

Alice In Chains

AWESOME INTERNS: Mina Kitsos, Callum Wylie, Xiaoran Shi, Julienne Gilet, Thea Carley, Andy Huang REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS: Nat Amat, Keiron Costello, Marissa Demetriou, Rachel Eddie, Christie Eliezer, Jesse Hayward, Chris Honnery, Cameron James, Lachlan Kanoniuk, Jody Macgregor, Alicia Malone, Daniel Prior, Amy Theodore, Raf Seneviratne, Leonardo Silvestrini, David Wild, David James Young

JEFF BECK

The legendary Jeff Beck will appear at the Sydney Opera House in April.

Following his headline appearance at Bluesfest, Beck and band will make their way down the coast, joined by special guest Beth Hart. Beck, who started his career with The Yardbirds in 1966, remains a highly respected figure in contemporary music; one of the most influential rock guitarists of all time. Catch him at the Opera House on Monday April 21. Tickets on sale 9am this Friday February 7.

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6 :: BRAG :: 548 :: 05:02:14

WAVE AFTER WAVE

New sideshows have been added on the back of Soundwave 2014. Tickets have already gone on sale for The Dillinger Escape Plan, Glassjaw and Dir En Grey at the Metro Theatre on Monday February 24; Alice In Chains, Down and Walking Papers at the Enmore Theatre on Tuesday February 25; AFI and ††† (Crosses) at the Factory Theatre on the same night; Eagles Of Death Metal, Rocket From The Crypt and Mutemath at The Hi-Fi on Wednesday February 26; and also on the 26th, Mayday Parade with The Story So Far and Real Friends at the Metro Theatre. Going on sale this Thursday February 6 are tickets to the Avenged Sevenfold and Five Finger Death Punch sidewave at the Big Top, Luna Park on Tuesday February 25. For full festival and sidewave details, visit soundwavefestival.com.

SPIN THE BOTTLE, SEE WHAT HAPPENS

No, this isn’t an excuse to rig the floorboards so you can make out with your “OMG LOL we’re just friends” friend. Spin The Bottle is our new favourite micro-music festival, charging through Spectrum this Saturday February 8.

Dividing your time between two stages of rolling entertainment, watch local trailblazers Three Kings Down, After Thirteen, Baldwins, Monte, Samba Ninja, Bronte and Estelle Conley Trio turn the room into a sonic den. To cap things off, happy hour kicks off at 8pm and if you stick around, it’ll cost you zilch to dance up a storm at the Kittens afterparty. thebrag.com

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rock music news

free stuff

welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town...with Chris Martin, Mina Kitsos and Andy Huang

head to: thebrag.com/freeshit

speed date WITH

Yacht Club DJs

THE INFANTS Street, at our mate R. West’s house on the west side of Melbourne. Nothing beats playing to a lounge room full of nudists while they proceed to smack a piñata shaped as a likeness of the host of the party. There was blood, sweat and rears.

4.

Current Playlist The soundtrack to Jim Henson’s Labyrinth with David Bowie, “Daddy daddy get me outta here”. Chic – anything Nile Rodgers. Plenty David Byrne-stock, always time for that. Jon Hopkins – Immunity, really early/late in the morning. Aphex Twin – ‘Windowlicker’. Savages – ‘Don’t Let The Fuckers Get You Down’. Mac DeMarco.

Cypress Hill, particularly Black Sunday.

Wu-Tang Clan. And some others … ESG, Flying Lizards, Devo, Divinyls, The Drones, DJ Shadow, Thee Oh Sees, Television.

What Do You Look For In A Band?

Members who are enjoying what they do, and doing it with guts. Something angular and provocative, in all aspects – performance and songwriting. It’s a great thing to be able to get equal enjoyment from watching any individual member of a band at one time. A band that can take my brain off my mind, and my mind off my brain.

1.

playing plenty of awesome cartwheeling shows around Melbourne town, ‘Ads’ and Tassie at the start of 2014. We will be completing our minitour of Oz with a show at OAF the day after Valentine’s Day, whilst simultaneously writing plenty of new bangers. In the meantime we’ve been working for the hard man stacking benjis so we can bring you The Wakka Wakka Blam Blam (a working title for our debut LP).

2.

Best Gig Ever Our first gig together was very memorable. ’Twas a house party in West

Keeping Busy We’ve just recently released our debut self-titled EP at the end of last year; we’ve been

3.

Your Ultimate Rider Tony Abbott’s head on a stick. A cheese 5. platter and a swimming pool. Air conditioning.

Water, jam donuts, hot cross buns, pizza, two KFC snack boxes with popcorn chicken and sweet and sour sauce, one cafe latte, two long blacks and a cappuccino, a buttload of marshmallows, Zac Efron dressed as a tampon, and warm velvet panties for all…

Please, thank you.

With: Aether Beach Where: Oxford Art Factory, Gallery Bar When: Saturday February 15

ONE CARLTON, THANKS

With four Grammys on his mantelpiece and a whopping 19 nominations for his soul-infused compositions and performances, iconic American jazz guitarist Larry Carlton is now set to serenade audiences Down Under when he hits our shores this May. Carlton’s six-string dexterity was moulded on the influence of jazz legends including Joe Pass, B.B. King and John Coltrane.

Working in sunny LA as a session muso, he would rack up around 500 recordings a year, collaborating on seminal albums with the likes of Joni Mitchell, Billy Joel, Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones and Barbra Streisand. Rolling Stone even dubbed his part on Steely Dan’s ‘Kid Charlemagne’ the third-best guitar solo on record. No biggie. See Carlton at the Seymour Centre on Saturday May 31.

The Love Junkies

LOCKOUT LAWS IN PLACE FROM APRIL

THE LOVE JUNKIES

Maybe they were born with it. Maybe it was Maybelene, the band’s debut album from 2013.

Whatever the case may be, Perth outfit The Love Junkies have rocked the Australian music scene in a big way since their first release last year. And the good news is they’re back for more. Fuelled by ‘Chemical Motivation’, their latest single, the trio is gearing up for a seven-stop tour of the east coast in anticipation of their new EP, set to be released in the coming months. Fall in love with The Love Junkies on Thursday February 13 at Frankie’s Pizza and on Friday February 14 at The World Bar.

Sydney partygoers and late-night live music fans have won a reprieve from the controversial lockout laws, but only until April. The NSW State Parliament last week rushed through the Government’s bill, which will enforce a lockout on new customers for CBD pubs and clubs from 1:30am, and end the service of alcohol at 3am.

The minimum eight-year mandatory sentence for alcohol or drug-fuelled assaults resulting in death has also been passed into law, effective immediately, as has a new maximum penalty of 25 years’ imprisonment for the possession of steroids, instead of the previous two-year maximum sentence. “This is not about trying to

MOUNTAIN SOUNDS

Organisers of the brand new Mountain Sounds festival, to be held on Saturday March 15 at Mt Penang Parklands on the Central Coast, promise a lively mix of music, arts and culture. And why wouldn’t they? On the lineup are the likes of Ball Park Music, The Holidays, Emma Louise, World’s End Press, Yolanda Be Cool, Jinja Safari, Midnight Juggernauts (DJ set), Yacht Club DJs, Snakadaktal and many more. It’s a delightful Aussie lineup in an oasis just to Sydney’s north, so don’t miss out. We’ve got a double pass to give away – to be in the running, visit thebrag.com/freeshit and tell us your best mountain myth.

WIRE

Long-standing UK rockers Wire were postpunk before punk was post. Their 1977 album Pink Flag was the first of 13, leading up to most recent effort Change Becomes Us. They’ve influenced the likes of Manic Street Preachers, Sonic Youth, R.E.M. The Urinals and many more – and are now returning to Aussie shores for an Oxford Art Factory show on Thursday February 20, joined

by Raw Prawn and Housewives. For your chance to win one of two double passes to the gig, head to thebrag.com/freeshit and tell us your favourite Wire album. penalise responsible drinkers,” said NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell. Greens MP John Kaye, however, opposed the new laws. “We don’t believe we can justify imposing on responsible late night venuegoers measures that are probably going to fail,” he told Parliament.

GROOVIN THE MOO

Tickets go on sale 9am today – that’s Wednesday February 5 – for Groovin The Moo, after a big lineup announcement last week. Hip hop is the real winner: Dizzee Rascal will headline, alongside Action Bronson, Illy and Thundamentals – but there’s plenty for everyone, with internationals Disclosure, Robert Delong, The Naked And Famous, Cults and Holy Fuck joined by locals including Vance Joy, The Jezabels, Architecture In Helsinki, Parkway Drive, Karnivool, Violent Soho and more.

GTM goes down at Maitland Showground on Saturday April 26.

STONE TEMPLE PILOTS OUT OF SOUNDWAVE

Stone Temple Pilots pulled out of their Soundwave and sideshow appearances last week, blaming recording commitments for their new album with singer Chester Bennington of Linkin Park fame. But homegrown legends The Living End came to save the day, adding a bit of rockabilly to the lineup that will hit Sydney Olympic Park on Sunday February 23. In the meantime, tickets held for the STP sidewave at the Enmore Theatre on Tuesday February 25 are refundable from the point of purchase.

CALLING ALL CARS

Calling all Calling All Cars fans. On the back of new album Raise The People (set for release on Friday March 7), Calling All Cars will step out on tour, kicking off in Sydney. The Melbourne rockers have been playing the tease about their new album for a while now, having already dropped singles ‘Werewolves’ and ‘Standing In The Ocean’. Their national tour will take them across the country and back. Catch them on opening night at Manning Bar on Thursday March 20, Newcastle’s Small Ballroom on Friday May 2, Oxford Art Factory on Saturday May 3, and Studio 6 on Sunday May 4.

Vaudeville Smash

VAUDEVILLE SMASH

This will probably be the only time it’s socially acceptable to for you to put on yer ’80s disco gear and dance like a maniac, maniac on the floor – in public, anyway. After a smashing year with all-round love for their Dancing For The Girl EP, and having a song – ‘Sailor Moon’ – picked up for a Carlton ad campaign, Vaudeville Smash are not doing too badly these days. 2014 will see the band release some new infectious disco tunes, an anime video to go with ‘Sailor Moon’, as well as ample opportunity to see the Melbourne dance-pop gods in the flesh – they’ve just announced several dates for gigs in Sydney. Vaudeville Smash will be killing it on the dancefloors with shows at Upstairs Beresford on Saturday February 8, Saturday March 8, Friday April 4 and Friday May 2, plus the Beach Road Hotel on Saturday April 5.

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Calling All Cars

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Syd n ey O p e ra H ou se i n a s soc iatio n wit h Ha n d so m e Tou rs p rese nt

THIS WEEK!

FRI 7 FEB

SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE FORECOURT.

SAT 8 FEB

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#M U S I CAT TH E H O U S E

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Industrial Strength Music Industry News with Christie Eliezer

THINGS WE HEAR

* During Neil Finn’s taping of a MAX session in Sydney, the intimate crowd was stunned when Eddie Vedder walked on unexpectedly to do ‘Throw Your Arms Around Me’ and Split Enz’s ‘History Never Repeats’, on which the Pearl Jammer took lead vocals. Finn exclaimed, “That was too much fun!â€? so they played it again. It will screen on Monday March 24 at 9pm. * While announcing their two-year farewell world tour at a media conference in Los Angeles, MĂśtley CrĂźe signed an official “cessation of touring agreementâ€? in which none of the four can tour under the name in the future without the others.

They do 72 dates in America with Alice Cooper from July, with the

international run (including Australia) in 2015. * Although rain kept punter numbers to less than expected for its inaugural appearance, Cre8 Coffs Coast Arts Festival will return next year. Co-promoter Cheryl Ward said the atmosphere and business support for the first festival proved it had the potential to grow. * The producer of the Grammys apologised to Trent Reznor after the exhilarating closing jam with Nine Inch Nails, Queens of the Stone Age, Dave Grohl and Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham was cut short. A furious Reznor hit Twitter: “Music’s biggest night... to be disrespected. A heartfelt FUCK YOU guys�. Executive producer Ken Ehrlich said: “I’m sorry he was upset. I was really thrilled that

SYDNEY ALLIANCE TO FIGHT LOCKOUT LAWS

A group of live music venues, associations, artists and media outlets have formed themselves into the Sydney Late Night Culture Alliance in response to the NSW Government’s 1:30am lockout laws for inner city venues. These were passed through Parliament last Thursday and come into effect in April. Those involved in the Alliance are MusicNSW, SLAM, FBi Radio, Goodgod Small Club, Oxford Art Factory, The Music Network, themusic.com.au and inthemix. The Alliance is calling for more venues and organisations to join. The Government’s new rules include the mandatory eight-year sentences for alcoholfuelled assaults and all serving of alcohol to stop at 3am.

The Alliance says alcohol-related assaults have been declining since 2008 and are at their lowest since 2002. In this time, Sydney’s nightlife rejuvenated, helped by a new bar culture. “These new laws will turn back the clock on Sydney and its now lively late-night cultural scene,� it says. Most at risk are music venues (of 2,500 licensed premises in the

we were finally getting him on the Grammys. I wanted to end on a high, an up note. I did tell them we’d take it as long as we could. The number was about five, six minutes long, and we got to within a minute twenty of the end. We got as close as we could possibly get.� * A campaign by the Melbourne music community helped stop the city’s live music venue, the Palace Theatre in the CBD, from being turned into apartments and a fivestar hotel by site owner Jinshan Investments. The main lobby group, Save the Palace Theatre, lauded the State Government’s decision but urged the building get heritage certification to protect it in future. * No reason for You Am I and Hunters & Collectors to get to know each other during their shared

City Of Sydney area, 143 are registered with APRA as music venues), which are not subsidised by gaming or pokies revenue. The Alliance believes, among other things, that the State Government should get its solution from a major city and not a regional town like Newcastle with half a million residents, and that all-night public transport is important.

To join, contact Kirsty Brown at kirsty@ musicnsw.com or Cassandra Wilkinson of FBi at cass@fbiradio.com.

BIG DAY OUT HEADING FOR $15MIL LOSS?

Now the Big Day Out has finished its run through the country, is it heading for a loss of between $8 million and $15 million?

Was CEO Adam Zammit sacked and then reinstated? Are BDO partners AJ Maddah and Texas-based C3 heading to court over these losses? Will this be the last time that C3 will be involved in BDO – and, indeed, will BDO return? These are some of the claims made by the Sydney Morning Herald. Maddah has rejected them. But some of these rumours were circulating the industry before SMH put them to print.

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Just Announced

This Week

Jimmy Eat World Panic At The Disco & Alkaline Trio

Eagles of Death metal, Rocket From The Crypt & Mutemath

Mon 24 Feb: AA

Wed 26 Feb: AA

Monster Magnet (USA)

Havok (USA) & King Parrot

Fri 4 Apr

Thu 6 Feb

Kerser

Fri 7 Feb

Sat 8 Feb: All Ages

TnT, Frequencerz, + More

BRING ME THE HORIZON GO AUSSIE GOLD ‌

Bring Me The Horizon’s Sempiternal has gone gold in Australia, Sony Music Entertainment Australia announced. The album debuted at number one on the ARIA charts when it was released in March last year. It’s not only the album’s first gold accreditation in the world, but also the first in the Sheffield band’s career.

‌WHILE ARCTIC MONKEYS GO PLATINUM Arctic Monkeys’ fifth album AM has achieved platinum sales in Australia, reported EMI. It entered the ARIA chart at number one (and in nine countries in all), featured two gold singles and remains in the top 15 after 20 weeks. Since its September release, AM has sold in excess of one million copies globally and been named Album of The Year by NME and Q.

2013’S BIGGEST-SELLING ACTS

The London-based International Federation of the Phonographic Industry reports One Direction were the biggest-selling recording act in the world in 2013 across music downloads, streaming and physical format sales. Their Midnight Memories album sold one million copies in the US and 685,000 in the UK in its first five weeks.

In Australia, where it entered the charts at number one, it hit platinum in the first week.

Second on the list was Eminem, followed by (3) Justin Timberlake, (4) Bruno Mars, (5) Katy Perry, (6) P!nk, (7) Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, (8) Rihanna, (9) Michael BublĂŠ and (10) Daft Punk.

NEW SIGNINGS #1: COOKING VINYL SCORE TWO AUSSIE ACTS

Britain’s Cooking Vinyl has signed singersongwriter Kate Miller-Heidke and Melbourne trio Calling All Cars through its Australian office. Miller-Heidke’s fan-funded fourth album O Vertigo! gets a global release on Friday March 14, while Calling All Cars’ third album Raise The People gets a worldwide release on Friday March 7.

Both will tour here in March before heading to the UK in April.

NEW SIGNINGS #2: FOUR | FOUR CALL OUT LITTLE BASTARD

Coming Soon

Groundation (USA)

tour. Tim Rogers told the Newcastle Herald he knows singer Mark Seymour socially, plays football with trumpeter Jack Howard, used trombone player Michael Waters as an accountant, discussed songwriting with guitarist Barry Palmer and used to hire a sound system from bassist John Archer. * Fortune-teller Miss Gypsy Whitemoon, who sets up during the Tamworth Country Music Festival in the Peel Street thoroughfare, was told by a customer how she saved her life. Last year, during a reading, Gypsy warned the woman to see a doctor as she could die of a nasty illness. The woman got a check-up and a life-threatening autoimmune disorder was discovered. * For Laura Imbruglia’s tour behind her What A Treat album, she’s

The Coronas (IRL) Sat 22 Feb

Sat 15 Feb: U18s

ABC Music’s progressive imprint Four | Four has signed Sydney’s Little Bastard.

The band fuses punk with fiddle, banjo, harmonica and mandolin. They have just finished recording their debut album at Sydney’s Jungle Studios with producer Lachlan Mitchell, to be released in May.

INFO SESSIONS FOR ARTISTS WITH DISABILITY

Alter Bridge (USA) & Living Colour

Six60 (NZ) Fri 28 Feb

Tue 25 Feb: All Ages

Dark Tranquillity (SWE)

Sat 8 Mar

Kylesa (USA) Thu 3 Apr

Wed 02 Apr

Skid Row & Ugly Kid Joe

Bobby Keys & The Suffering Bastards Mon 24 Mar

Jonny Craig (USA) Sat 10 May: All Ages

Sun 27 Apr

Sat 29 Mar

Darkside

Robert Glasper Exp & Roy Ayers & Lonnie Liston Smith

Toxic Holocaust & Skeletonwitch

Children of Bodom

The Crimson ProjeKCt

Sat 26 Apr

Fri 9 May

Fri 27 Jun

The Australia Council for the Arts will hold information sessions about the new funding for its Artists With Disability program. It has allocated $300,000 for artists to create, develop, present, produce, exhibit and tour their work. You can apply for up to $10,000 for development and up to $20,000 for projects. Go to australiacouncil.gov.au/ disability. Applications close on Monday March 3. A session is scheduled at Australia Council on Friday February 14, from 2pm to 3.30pm.

AVICII TOUR SETS RECORDS

Avicii’s first headline tour of Australia set a new attendance record for a standalone DJ, Frontier Touring and Future Music have announced. The 24-year-old Swede was

brought Adam Donovan (Augie March) and James Trewenack (Split Seconds) into her band alongside Dave Rose and Chris Baker. * Big Day Out promoter AJ Maddah tweeted it will never play WA again. * The move of the Kyle & Jackie O Show from 2Day FM to KIIS 1065 has caused some confusion, especially to Kyle Sandilands, who forgets and tells listeners they’re on 2Day. When visiting beefcake Enrique Iglesias appeared on the show, his social media person informed Iglesias’ 6.9 million Twitter followers he was about to appear on 2Day. That got yanked off pronto! * Jake Bugg’s Melbourne show on Thursday April 17 has sold out with Sydney and Brisbane close to doing the same, Secret Service reported.

at the top of his game with a huge stage production and pyrotechnics display. Over 9,000 punters caught the kick-off at Brisbane’s sold-out first show, another 50,000 in Sydney and Melbourne combined, and 10,000 in Perth. The ‘Wake Me Up’ star is so huge in Oz that he landed his own radio spot, the one-hour Saturday night show Avicii Levels on Nova.

Lifelines Born: another son for KIIS 1065 drive host Tim ‘Rosso’ Ross and wife Michelle, on Australia Day. Their first son Bugsy was born mid-2011.

Split: singer Ariana Grande and The Wanted’s Nathan Sykes revealed they parted last year.

Charged: a man at the Rainbow Serpent Festival, with 210 counts of ‘upskirting’ following an alleged incident in a public toilet. He appears at Ballarat Magistrates’ Court on Thursday February 27. Also with a date at the court is a 25-year-old man who drove through a security check, endangering lives.

Attacked: a 23-year-old woman was sexually assaulted at the Oz Rock music festival in Busselton, WA. At about 10pm, she was standing ten metres from the front of the stage when a dreadlocked man sexually assaulted her.

In Court: Kanye West and the foulmouthed 18-year-old he punched in a Beverly Hills chiropractor’s office agreed to a civil settlement for US$250,000.

West hit the moron after he called his fiancĂŠ Kim Kardashian an “n-loverâ€?.

Died: songwriter Anna Gordy Gaye, ex-wife of Marvin Gaye and sister of Motown founder Berry Gordy, aged 92. She set up Anna Records in 1958 and co-wrote hits for other acts as well as for Gaye.

Their 1977 divorce inspired his famous ‘break-up’ album Here, My Dear.

Died: US TV composer John Cacavas (Kojak, Hawaii Five-O, Columbo), 83.

Died: Aussie publicist Angela Batties, in Melbourne, after a battle with motor neurone disease. She worked at EMI Music, PolyGram and Network Ten before setting up her own AB Publicity firm.

Died: Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, 46, found dead in his New York apartment after a suspected drug overdose.

Died: tributes were made to US folk singer Pete Seeger by everyone from Arlo Guthrie to Tom Morello to Billy Bragg after his death at 94. Seeger’s inspirational songs included the anthem ‘We Shall Overcome’; his humanity and decency epitomised everything popular music should be.

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NEW ALBUM OUT FEB 7 TOURING NATIONALLY MARCH / APRIL

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JOHN

BUTLER TRIO OF FLESH AND BLOOD • BY ADAM NORRIS

J

“Offstage I don’t think I’m a particularly clear or assertive

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person,” he says hesitantly. This hesitance arises at the start of many of his thoughts; once he settles into a subject, however, the words come flooding. “If someone really wants my time and my space and I don’t have it to give them, I have to find ways to communicate that. And I’m not necessarily good at communicating that sometimes.

Sometimes you just want to run and tell them to fuck off, you know?

So I guess being reserved gives me the opportunity to look after myself, which can be a really hard thing to do for anybody. You don’t record and release an album with

His newest album is Flesh & Blood, whose first single, ‘Only One’, is currently on high rotation around the country, and the record appears set to follow in the footsteps of earlier successes like April Uprising, Grand National and Sunrise Over Sea. Like those previous albums there is great range here, and you suspect Butler is deliberately trying not to find himself corralled into one particular sound or style. His process is to skew any overarching plan or theme for what might make it onto an album, but instead to work a song until it is ready to meet the others. To Butler, it is the song’s choice if it’s ready to be on an album, like a horse finally ready to be saddled.

“Every song wants to be realised, recorded, written differently. You can’t record and write the same way twice. It’s interesting. Every song wants the reins set a certain way. It’s like there’s a song you don’t realise is out there – like [The Sixth Sense movie], but I see songs instead of dead people,” he laughs. “I see these songs and I want to bring them into town so people can see them and hear them, but if you bring a wild horse in from the wilderness and you break its spirit on the way, it becomes sad to look at. Sad to hear. So, you’ve got to get the saddle onto the song in a way that brings it out of the ether and into the real world without breaking it.

It takes a bit of staying out of the way, just using your skills enough to bring it to life. That’s how I see it. Other artists probably see it differently. It’s alchemic, ethereal.

I don’t really understand it, and words don’t really capture it.”

The quasi-protest song ‘Kimberley’, whose lyrics are replete with imagery of the Wild West, of cowboys and epic landscapes, is perhaps a case in point. Strong and poetic in its own right, Butler couldn’t find a way to make it at home on Flesh & Blood and so it has yet to see a studio release.

“A lot of songs that I’ll play around with before an album that I think are going to make it, don’t. And I think that traditionally that’s the case. You know…” He trails off, trying to find the words. “There’s something [with ‘Kimberley’] that just didn’t quite resonate, that didn’t fit in the batch of songs. I can’t exactly say what it was. It’s almost like … you listen to the album, and you’re in a kind of landscape, and that song sort of took you out. It’s another story for another time, another place. That’s one that just didn’t want to come out of the wilderness. ‘Spring To Come’ was a piece of music that I’ve had for five years. Five years in my head, and I’d play around with it on the guitar, but the lyrics only came on one of the last camping trips we did. Some songs just take time.”

It has been almost four years now since April Uprising debuted at number one on the ARIA charts, which has afforded Butler the space to pull together an album that could evolve at its own rate. I know of many artists who consider their work as somehow preexisting, and during the course of our interview the notion of Butler anthropomorphising his songs is strong. They are a living thing, waiting to be found in the ether and performed into life. I wonder if part of his patience in letting songs develop this way is his consciousness of what kind of legacy he might be leaving; if there is a fear of being remembered for the wrong reasons, the wrong words.

“I SEE THESE SONGS AND I WANT TO BRING THEM INTO TOWN SO PEOPLE CAN SEE THEM AND HEAR THEM, BUT IF YOU BRING A WILD HORSE IN FROM THE WILDERNESS AND YOU BREAK ITS SPIRIT ON THE WAY, IT BECOMES SAD TO LOOK AT.”

“Well, I don’t know if I’m qualified to answer that question,” he says, and suddenly that quiet reservation is back in his voice. “I don’t think it’s for me to say what kind of legacy I’ll leave. What I’d like to leave would be that I gave more than I took, and that maybe I walked my talk. I’d hope that, in our world of duality and hypocrisy, I had some dignity. If I can leave that to my kids especially, I think that would be nice. Not that I just had good intentions, but that I acted upon them.”

It is a fine answer, and before we finish I suggest to Butler that we would all like to be remembered for the things we got right, and that between his environmental activism and his music, fans would no doubt argue his legacy is looking pretty healthy. He agrees, but not without a caveat.

“Being a fan of somebody, you tend to put people on pedestals. I certainly do it. Something my wife once said to me was that if you put somebody on a pedestal, be prepared someday to knock them off it, because they’re going to turn out to be human and it’s gonna bum you out [laughs].

I’m no different than any one of my fans. My hopes, my aspirations, my self-loathing, my lack of confidence, the fear that drives a lot of what I do and that I try so hard to escape. I’m no different from any of them. And maybe that’s the main thing, that I am just like them. This is people’s music, it’s folk music. Written by human folk. I’m a dickhead, I’m a nice guy, I’m an asshole, I’m smart, I’m stupid.

I’m ‘Zebra’. I’m all that. I’m nothing special. But then, I am! Just like all of them. The end.”

He laughs again, loud and infectious.

A cowboy waiting with his saddle beside a singing wilderness.

What: Flesh & Blood out Friday February 7 through Jarrah Records/MGM With: Emma Louise Where: Civic Theatre, Newcastle / Hordern Pavilion When: Wednesday April 9 / Friday April 11

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John Butler Trio photo by Kane Hibberd

ohn Butler is a softly spoken man. In his voice is still a touch of an American accent, and his sentences tend to end with a downward inflection as though he is sighing.

The effect is that he comes across both thoughtful and somehow endeared to his words, almost relieved to have spoken his mind without stumbling. In person he can appear reserved and uncomfortable, which, given the attention and acclaim he has received over the years – predominantly with the John Butler Trio, but also with solo projects and his political activism – is hardly a surprise. And between touring, recording, writing and his family, there is little time to waste on idleness, not when there are still so many things to do.

the hopes that no-one likes it. You manufacture 20 copies, 500 copies, 10,000 copies, whatever it is, you do it in the hope that people like it, that it becomes something.”

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The National Baritone Therapy By Chris Martin he National’s Trouble Will Find Me is a lot of things to a lot of people.

To the Brooklyn band, it’s a sixth LP; another slice of brooding, caramel alt-rock that’s mimicked the chart success of its predecessor, 2011’s High Violet. For fans, it’s yet another private masterpiece – a soundtrack to dark bedrooms and long, lonely afternoons. Because despite The National’s success, their music remains necessarily intimate. To borrow a lyric, when National listeners pass on the street, in public, they mistake each other for strangers.

Instead, they’re the types who populate internet forums to heartily debate the literary references and allegorical meanings in Matt Berninger’s lyrics. Private, yet public in their privacy.

T

“Most of those forums are just me under different aliases, and they’re all correct,” jokes Berninger. He’s speaking down a phone line from his backyard in Los Angeles, where he’s put his feet up over the fire and, temporarily at least, is giving as much thought to reinterpreting his own lyrics as the fans do. “I do fi nd it fun to have the lyrics being interpreted in a lot of different ways, and the truth is, I actually… my ideas of what the songs are about, it switches around all the time. The songs aren’t riddles and there isn’t a right answer. The discussion about what the songs are about – I’m in the middle of that, too.”

It may come as a surprise to hear such indecisiveness from a lyricist and vocalist who deliberately dots his songs with images lifted from the poetry of T.S. Eliot and Bob Dylan. Yet Berninger says the malleability is a key part of his creative process. “All my favourite songwriters, whether it’s Leonard Cohen or Cat Power or Nick Cave or Tom Waits – you can listen to their stuff over and over and over again, and it changes; it changes with you in a weird way. It allows you in. Wherever you are in your life, in your moment, it allows you in and it can be whatever it is that you’re going through.”

“So there isn’t a right answer to what our songs are about – some of them have specifi cs, but generally they’re more amidic than that, and it’s not by strategy, it’s just words in a song can only be so queer. A good song can only approximate ideas. If you try to connect all the dots, it’s probably not going to be very close to the truth.”

If it sounds like a lot to digest, that’s because it is. The National’s music isn’t suited to a

summer fl ing. None of their records serve being picked up, hurriedly consumed and discarded in one listen. Indeed, the Brooklyn fi ve-piece’s gradual rise to fame – debut The National came out in 2001, to all but anonymity – only mirrors the slow burn of nearly every song on each of its six albums.

To the outsider, writing such dense material sounds like an exhausting process.

“It used to be,” says Berninger, “because I used to think that songs were supposed to be about something specifi c, and they were supposed to tell a specifi c thought or a specifi c story. But we’ve been a band for a long time, and I think once I started realising that a good song is probably about fi ve different blurry things at the same time, I just relaxed with my writing and stopped trying to be too clever, and I stopped trying to connect the dots, and I stopped trying to make a point – because I realised that’s not what I liked about writing songs. It wasn’t about expressing an opinion or a specifi c narrative story or an image, it was about getting a lot of complicated, blurry stuff out of my head and into a song, and to make something beautiful or try to make something fun and cool about the mess in my brain.”

Around the time of the Trouble Will Find Me release early last year came a documentary, Mistaken For Strangers, shot by Berninger’s younger brother Tom. After premiering at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival, Mistaken For Strangers is set for wide theatrical release this year, beginning in Australia to coincide with the band’s six live dates. Alongside behind-the-scenes footage of The National on tour for High Violet – some of it literally so invasive that it contributed to Tom being fired from his role as a roadie – is fi lm of the band onstage in its earliest days, with a shouty lead singer in an empty club doing his best to be heard over the top of clunky, distorted guitars. It’s as close to amateur pub rock as The National have ever been.

However, Berninger doesn’t think his band has mellowed over the years.

“I think probably the opposite. When we were first starting out, I can’t say we were ever mellow; we were tensed-up, anxietyfi lled young men, and still are, I guess – just slightly older. It’s weird, the first shows we did, the small shows that we did when no-one was there, were as exciting and terror-fi lled as the big giant Opera House shows, the arenas and the festivals that we’re doing now.

They are just different versions of the same kind of euphoric fear, you know – and I’m

just happy that our band is still together and we’ve managed to keep doing this thing until the point where we’re fi ve adults travelling the world on a bus together and we don’t hate each other yet.”

“A good song can only approximate ideas. If you try to connect all the dots, it’s probably not going to be very close to the truth.”

What: Trouble Will Find Me out now through 4AD/Remote Control Where: Sydney Opera House Forecourt When: Friday February 7, Saturday February 8 And: A Mistaken For Strangers screening and Q&A with Matt Berninger will be held at Dendy Opera Quays on Saturday February 8

Broken Bells Lights Out By Augustus Welby “It’s Brian and me together working on these songs, so in a way I get to be more of a fan of the stuff,” he says. “It’s easy to collaborate and submit to the idea that you’re not going to be in charge of everything when you know that the other person has terrific taste and has succeeded in implementing that taste.”

Much like their self-titled debut, After The Disco finds Mercer and Burton stretching out into a variety of genres. For instance, the falsetto-heavy R&B of lead single ‘Holding On For Life’ sits alongside the acoustic grandeur of ‘Leave It Alone’ and the title track’s upbeat gleam. Mercer says the songs are largely products of experimentation.

“We just start with trying to put together anything that’s attractive. There’s no agenda and no real architecture that we’ve set up about, ‘What kind of record should this be?’

It’s just: try to figure out something that sounds cool and then build on it, make a song and then move on to the next one.”

S

ince starting The Shins in the mid’90s, James Mercer has conducted the majority of his songwriting in enclosed solitude. In fact, Mercer proved that The Shins are essentially a channel for his creations by recruiting an entirely new lineup to play on the band’s latest record Port Of Morrow. Thus it was most unexpected when he teamed up with

super-hip producer Brian Burton (AKA Danger Mouse) to form Broken Bells in 2009. However, this experiment with creative partnership didn’t upset Mercer’s songwriting fl ow, and Broken Bells return this week with their second LP, After The Disco. Ahead of its release, Mercer explains the perks of sharing responsibility with someone you respect.

Despite jumping in a number of stylistic directions, Broken Bells are noticeably more pop-focused than The Shins. The duo’s assertive tilt could be perceived as Burton adding a positive kick to Mercer’s customary introspection. “The easiest thing to think would be that I’m going to bring these Shins songs to the table and he’s going to modernise them or something,” Mercer says. “But it’s kind of the opposite. When I’m working with Brian I’m like, ‘Let’s do the shit that Brian really does well.’ Of course Brian

is wanting to do something different, so we battle it out and find Broken Bells.”

Burton has a reputation for commandeering the studio environment, which might conflict with Mercer’s preference for having control over the songwriting. However, joining forces wasn’t a violent adjustment. “Maybe there were small moments when I had to let go of things, [but] once you resign yourself and you know that ‘this is a collaboration’, it wasn’t really difficult. It makes me look back and feel like a bit of an idiot for having it be so hard in the past,” says Mercer.

Lyrically, After The Disco is centred around the ambiguities of human relationships.

Although this sounds like Mercer’s bread and butter, the collaborative nature of Broken Bells extends to the lyrics also.

“A lot on this record has to do with Brian and the world that he lives in down there in LA, being a single guy and therefore searching for something,” Mercer explains. “I’m married so I just have a very different lifestyle. When you’re single there’s a huge element of your future that hasn’t been sorted out yet, like, ‘Who is this person going to be?’ It’s like a big flux. There’s a lot of talk about that type of stuff [on the album]; dealing with relationships and so on.”

What: After The Disco out Friday February 7 through Columbia/Sony xxx

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Julia Holter Old Tales, New Tricks By Augustus Welby

while Tragedy takes inspiration from Ancient Greek play Hippolytus.

“I felt, ‘Oh, this is just such good material to make music out of,’” says Holter, “kind of in the same way that all kinds of people over the course of history have made art out of things that already exist. It’s inspiring and it’s something to work off of, rather than creating your whole story all yourself.”

Although Loud City Song knowingly engages with the content of Gigi to express the feeling of invisibility in a crowded city, Holter clarifies that she wasn’t driven to do this by a lack of her own ideas. “I have a lot of imagination and I love coming up with ideas, but I really like to draw on other things that I read,” she says. “It’s fun for me and I think it possibly might make the work have more dimension.”

I

n late 2011, Los Angeles songwriter Julia Holter emerged with an erudite and quietly experimental debut record, Tragedy. Just six months later Holter unveiled her second album, Ekstasis, and last August came a third LP, the much-lauded Loud City Song. Commercial standards seem to dictate that artists should release

an album every two to three years, but Holter clearly feels no pressure to abide this abstract norm.

“I just think if you want to make something, you need to make it,” she says. “People used to release records every year – that was normal. I’m not going to force myself to, but I think it would

definitely be silly to wait just because there’s some idea that you shouldn’t release a new record every year.”

The substantial depth of Holter’s three albums betrays no evidence of their swift construction. Loud City Song is based on the 1958 musicalfilm adaptation of French novel Gigi,

Creatively interacting with another piece of art allows one to adapt and expand upon the universal themes located within. Even though Holter acknowledges the genesis of her thematic focus, she intends for the lyrics to stand on their own merits.

“People don’t need to go and watch Gigi the musical – I’m sure most people don’t want to – that’s not what I’m trying to do. I do it for myself, I do it to help me make music because it’s more inspiring sometimes to work with stories that are really nice.”

In addition to her intellectual curiosity, Holter’s music is unashamedly learned. Loud City Song again features the avant-garde

orchestration and atmospheric details heard on her first two records, but it also introduces bolder melodies and jazzy arrangements.

This expansion could partly be explained by the fact it was recorded in a studio (as opposed to Holter’s bedroom) with an ensemble of musicians, including co-producer Cole M. Greif-Neill (Ariel Pink, Nite Jewel). Yet, despite the increased accessibility of this album, Holter says she wasn’t consciously trying to craft something more agreeable.

“You can think, ‘People are going to hear this,’ and that’s exciting. But if you think, ‘People will hear this and they’re going to want something else so I better change what I’m doing’ – very few times is that constructive. You have to do what works for you. You’re the leader, you’re the creator and they’ll decide if they like it or not.”

Holter’s multi-faceted trio of releases proves that working purely by your own designs begets many creative rewards. “A lot of times I’ll be like, ‘I’m totally crazy, what am I doing?’ and then I’ll be like, ‘Oh well, I guess I’m crazy,’” she resolves. “You have to just do what you want to do, because you’re not going to know what people want, ultimately.”

What: Loud City Song out now through Domino/EMI With: Ducktails Where: The Standard When: Wednesday February 12

Billy Bragg Fighting On By Patrick Emery n his 1989 essay The End Of History?, philosopher Francis Fukuyama advanced a provocative proposition: that the demise of the communist governments in Eastern Europe signalled the end of the last great ideological battle. Bluntly paraphrased, Fukuyama contended that the tumultuous developments in Europe heralded the triumph of Western liberal democracy over its long-time ideological antagonists, fascism and communism.

I

It’s a proposition with which Billy Bragg strongly disagrees. In the 1980s Bragg waved the proverbial – and, on occasions, literal – red flag as the protagonist in the Red Wedge group of musicians, established originally to raise youth consciousness of the dangers of Margaret Thatcher’s conservative economic and social policies. The end of Conservative Party rule in England in 1997 didn’t soften Bragg’s commitment to progressive causes, with the singer continuing to champion the rights and interests of the marginalised and oppressed, both in his home country and abroad.

Bragg’s passion for progressive causes is consistent with the tradition of the folk singers he adores: Woody Guthrie, the champion of the American working class and self-proclaimed musical assassin of fascists, and Pete thebrag.com

Bragg is effusive in his praise of Seeger the folk musician and the political agitator. “Him being around at festivals, and his support in the making of Mermaid Avenue [Bragg’s album with Wilco of previously unreleased Woody Guthrie lyrics] was invaluable,” Bragg says. “I put a lot on the line with that project and Pete supported me all the way, and I’ll always be thankful for that. And on another level, I never got to meet Woody Guthrie or Lead Belly, and I’ve never met Bob Dylan, but when I shook hands with Pete Seeger, you’re just one step away from those people. And Pete was such an outgoing person, part of what he was doing was involving you in the project in the same way that he involved his audiences into what he was doing. And there’s not too many people who’ve got up onstage with Bruce Springsteen who were born in 1919!”

Bragg’s latest release – his first in five years – is Tooth & Nail, a collection of songs recorded with producer Joe Henry at Henry’s studio in Pasadena, California.

Henry had suggested previously to Bragg that he come out to California to record some songs, an offer Bragg eventually decided to take up after helping his family settle the affairs of his mother, who died in 2011. While Tooth & Nail includes a couple of tracks that pay tribute to Bragg’s mother, Bragg says the album wasn’t so much part of the grieving process as a way of Bragg picking himself up and getting on with his life. “[Recording the album] helped by giving me a

project to get on with,” Bragg says.

“If I’d just have carried on in that hat space I was in, it would’ve slowed owed me down. My mum was a strong ong person – she didn’t like people e whinging and complaining. She he would’ve picked herself up, so o it made a lot of sense to me to do the same. So the album isn’t about Mum passing, but there are some ome references to picking yourself up on there.”

Bragg had about half the songs gs written before arriving in California, ornia, with the rest written in the studio dio and immediate surrounds.

‘Handyman Blues’, Bragg’s apology to his wife Juliet for his unimpressive practical skills around the house, started out as a melody elody composed in Bragg’s head in the taxi ride to the airport, before being finished at Henry’s studio. dio.

right wing didn’t have access to popular music because pop music was almost always liberal, forwardlooking, progressive – there was never really a right-wing Bob Dylan or Pete Seeger.”

Perhaps one of the more surprising tracks on Tooth & Nail is ‘Do Unto Others’, a track that invokes the language of the New Testament, and which was written as part of a project to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible. Bragg is

On ‘No One Knows Nothing Anymore’ (“It’s grammatically incorrect, but sounds better,” Bragg laughs), Bragg challenges the notion that contemporary society is smarter than its antecedents, notwithstanding the information available at our fingertips. “But I suppose you’ve got to hope that people’s e’s curiosity keeps them searching ng for information,” he says.

And while the emergence and d growth of social media has provided an electronic vehicle e for modern-day progressive causes ses – Bragg was a vocal supporter er of, and participant in, the Occupy upy Movement a couple of years ago – it’s also become a platform orm for the reactionary rhetoric that at Bragg despises so strongly. “It It does look to me as if social media has replaced pop music as the e vanguard medium for talking about the world,” Bragg says. “But the he downside is that the right wing g has the same access. In the past, the

no fan of the excesses of the Church; however, he appreciates the philosophical basis of biblical texts. “You can find positive things in the Bible, without having to run into rightwing interpretations, to divide people,” Bragg says. “And I couldn’t be an atheist because I love gospel music so much,” he laughs.

What: Tooth & Nail out now through Big Dada/Inertia With: Courtney Barnett Where: Sydney Opera House Concert Hall When: Sunday March 16

BRAG :: 548 :: 05:02:14 :: 15

xxx

“The great ideological battle in history is between the people who have power and those who don’t,” asserts Bragg. “We might be in a post-ideological period where the language of Marx isn’t around, but the problems that Marx talked about are still here. I think Fukuyama is wrong to suggest that because the ideological challenge to the United States has passed, the problems and struggles of impoverished people have disappeared.”

Seeger, the elder statesman of the contemporary folk movement.

Seeger, who was imprisoned in the 1950s for his conscientious refusal to dance to Senator Joe McCarthy’s political witch-hunt, died the day before this interview, at the ripe old age of 94.

Jimmy Eat World Friendship First By Joshua Kloke

W

ith the 2013 release of Damage, Arizona-based four-piece Jimmy Eat World found reason to celebrate: their eighth full-length, one that found favour with both fans and the press, was co-produced by the band themselves (with Alain Johannes), and it was their first on the RCA label. It was also the band’s seventh album in a row to feature the same four members. Former bass player Mitch Porter left in 1995, and since then the lineup has remained unchanged. It’s a rarity in the realm of punk rock bands, and guitarist Tom Linton has a theory on why the current lineup has been able to stay united.

“We were all friends before the band started and I think that’s a big part of it,” says the 42-year-old Linton, reached on the phone from his home in Chandler, Arizona. “Jim [Adkins, vocals] and Rick [Burch, bass] have known each other since preschool and I’ve known Rick since we were 12. We started playing music in high school when we were kids. We all get along and that makes it fun.”

That Jimmy Eat World are able to maintain a level of fun in their job is evident on Damage. The album is a no-nonsense collection of the classic riff-driven pop-punk with which Jimmy Eat World firmly established themselves on their 1999 release, Clarity.

Yet peel away the layers of the new record and a haunting lyrical presence is revealed. Damage has been described by lead singer Adkins as an album that examines “adversity and emotional injury”.

Writing records with a specific theme in place has become part of Jimmy Eat World’s collective drive, spearheaded by Adkins’ desire to continue experimenting.

“It’s a way for him to just step out of the box and try something different to help with the writing process,” explains Linton, adding that the “last couple records” have also featured a

consistent theme throughout.

With the change in label, Jimmy Eat World also chose to change up their standard recording procedures. The band’s success throughout the past two decades has afforded them the ability to record mostly in their own studio and rehearsal space, Unit 2 in Tempe, Arizona. But realising how easy it can be to fall into habit, Linton and the band took to Los Angeles to record Damage. The result sounds fresh and energised.

I put it to Linton that this change, including the fact that Jimmy Eat World funded the recording process themselves while searching for a new label, led to the palpable energy of Damage.

“Back in the day, when we first started playing, that kind of artistic freedom was very important to us,” Linton says. “But we ended up having to put pressure on ourselves because the last few records were recorded in our own space, so it’s gotten very easy for us to get lazy.

So if something wasn’t going right,

it was very easy for us to say, ‘Oh, forget it, we’ll just come back and work on it tomorrow.’

“But for this record we said, ‘Let’s go somewhere we really like, Los Angeles, and let’s work with someone we really like.’ We got hotel rooms and just recorded in [Johannes’] house. It gave us a timetable because we had to be in and out at a certain time. It was nice to do that and made us very efficient, I think.”

Though Linton seems continually thankful that the foursome has remained intact for so long, the momentum of the band seems to be such that moving forward is much more important than celebrating the past. He admits they’re approaching the ten-year anniversary of their 2004 release Futures and they’re “going to do something special for that”, but that’s as far as they’ll go in terms of re-hashing history.

As for a greatest hits collection to look back on their 20-year

existence? Don’t bet on it. “You know, we’ve never talked about that.

For now, we’re just going to keep working on new stuff. But we haven’t talked about doing a ‘greatest hits’ record. I don’t know if we’ll ever do one.”

Jimmy Eat World’s fans might not even be so receptive to the idea, either. Linton details how some of them make great efforts to travel to many of their shows and have a habit of calling out for some of the lesser-known material.

Having developed such a loyal fan base, Linton says he and the band are always conscious of how approachable they are. It’s a refreshing sentiment, and there’s no trace of it sounding forced. In fact, in his laidback manner of speaking, Linton describes the interactions as just part of the job.

“We wouldn’t be where we are without [the fans], so we try to talk to them, we’re always available in the club or by the bus after the show and we’re easy enough to get a

hold of. We definitely listen to what our fans want and make changes if the fans want to hear something specific.”

After two decades, Jimmy Eat World seem to have it all figured out. Routinely throughout our conversation, Linton comes back to the idea that serves as their anchor: friendship first. “Young bands sometimes don’t understand that that is the most important thing you can do – play with people you can get along with.”

What: Damage out now through Sony With: Panic! At The Disco, Alkaline Trio Where: The Hi-Fi When: Monday February 24 And: Also appearing alongside Green Day, Avenged Sevenfold, The Living End, Placebo, Alice In Chains and many more at Soundwave 2014, Sydney Olympic Park, Sunday February 23

Dream On Dreamer Insomnia By Josh Fergeus We’ve got cool things coming up.

The next little period we’re trying to get out to more and more people.

“The last year has been pretty exciting too, though. Our bassist had a baby and he wanted to embrace that with his girlfriend. He wanted to be there, be a father, be a good father. Don’t be on tour when you’re having a kid. Who knows what will happen in the future? He might be back, no-one left on bad terms or anything. We’ve gone through so much bad stuff as well in the band… we’ve never taken them as bad situations, we just took them and tackled them and became stronger from it.”

The band released its second album, Loveless, in mid-2013. “I think it has been really well received by people,” says Gadacz. “Some people still don’t know we have that album out, which is weird, but you take your time, you know? I’m feeling really inspired about it. Our main goal with it was to connect with people, to help people.”

M

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“Last year sort of changed us a lot as a band,” Gadacz says. “With everything we’ve had to deal with, there’s been some negatives and we went through a lot of rough patches.

Our drummer [Aaron Fiocca] was in hospital with cancer for a couple of months.”

It was a lot to deal with for a tightknit group of young guys who’ve

been practically living on top of one another for the last four years, touring and recording.

“It’s made us grow up,” says the singer. “Now we’ve all recovered, his cancer is gone, we’ve been in Europe for a while. We’re writing new music, and after what happened last year we have a lot to write about. I’m feeling really good about everything.

The band’s early recordings found stellar levels of success. Dream On Dreamer quickly secured a worldwide record deal, toured with The Amity Affliction, Avenged

“A lot of people in the industry and stuff are still really behind us,” says Gadacz. “This has been our best record yet.” He explains the quintet feels they’ve achieved a higher level of musical skill and creativity than before, and that Loveless is their “truest” recording so far.

“For now, we just want to shape Dream On Dreamer – move in a direction we can feel confident in. We want to become better musicians, better artists. We don’t want to be put in genres – not ‘a metalcore band’, not ‘a hardcore band’; we’re just a band. There are plenty of people out there who do music better than us, but we just want to be Dream On Dreamer, we just want to be us. That’s what we want to do. Whether fans like it or not… we’re just writing to express ourselves. We hope they can relate.”

What: Soundwave Festival 2014 With: Green Day, Avenged Sevenfold, Alice In Chains, Placebo, AFI, Korn and more Where: Sydney Olympic Park When: Sunday February 23 And: Loveless out now through UNFD

thebrag.com

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arcel Gadacz, vocalist of young post-hardcore outfit Dream On Dreamer, is enjoying the weather at Wilson’s Promontory in Victoria with his wife for a few days. It’s been a busy year, and they need of a break. We chat for a while over the phone as he sits in the sun – the last piece of business for the day.

Loveless was the first studio album with rhythm guitarist Zachary Britt, who also contributed clean vocals to the recordings. “Zack is artistic. He’s definitely been a great addition to the band. He’s a great person – he’s been through a lot in his life.”

Sevenfold and The Devil Wears Prada, and ended up in Florida to record their debut album, Heartbound. By comparison, Loveless seems a slower burn, but the band is happy with it.

ADING ALL WEEKEND! TR LS AL ST RE TU UL BC SU OVER 70 • CULT AGE • ALTERNATIVE ag e Vehi cle MUSIC • RETRO • VIioNT nt r, Vi na l Food, Ti ki Ba

ternat IN G: Kids Ac ti vi tIES, In T Lin e-up, FEAT UR ive EN TERTAI NM EN ss Ma a & ys la sp Di

Sat Feb 8 THE RECHORDS

SUN Feb 9 SKAVSROCKABILLY!

• Papa Pilko AND the Binrats • The Drey Rollan Band • The Beaut Utes

• The MILKY BAR KIDS • The Rocksteady Rat Pack • Wes Pudsey AND the Sonic Aces • The Auskas

DJs: Rockin’ Marc Rondeau, The Crimplenes, Andy Travers, Rod Almighty

DJs: Limpin’ Jimmy & the Swingin Kitten, Wally, Rod Almighty, The Crimplenes

MC: The Rockabilly Rhino

MC: Limpin’ Jimmy

MANNING BAR & HOUSE • UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY 10.30am -7.30pm Saturday • 11.00am-6.00pm Sunday Entry $5 • Kids under 12 FREE

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arts frontline

free stuff head to: thebrag.com/freeshit

arts news...what's goin' on around town...with Hannah Warren

five minutes WITH

MARIESA MAE

AND

event of glamour, finesse and dining. The gorgeous ladies behind La Femme Boheme – fashion designer Mariesa Mae and leading actress Penelope Morgan – took five minutes for a little chat with the BRAG.

S

tarting tonight, world class burlesque act La Femme Boheme will be heating up Wednesday nights at the Spice Cellar with a weekly

You’re both pretty busy ladies – what do you do outside La Femme Boheme?

P: What, besides creating props, choreographing dances and designing costumes? I’m also relearning to play the piano and last year I was in a theatre production and this year… I was thinking about becoming a florist!

M: La Femme Boheme is a great creative outlet for me as I get to have so much fun thinking of new and interesting ways to take my clothes off! I have my own lingerie label Mariesa Mae Lingerie which takes up most of my time. Managing your own business is very full on and can be draining!

How did the idea for La Femme Boheme come about?

PENELOPE MORGAN

M: When I decided to do the lingerie label, I wanted it to be a collaboration of all of the things I loved doing, so the idea behind the label was to make showgirl, beautiful lingerie and showcase through the art of striptease.

P: I was performing by myself for a year and I found myself feeling quite alone. I much prefer performing with other people so I called Mariesa, who I met at NIDA and who I knew had a lingerie label, and asked her to jump on the burlesque bandwagon!

What can the audience expect from a night at La Femme Boheme?

P: Both Mariesa and I are lacking somewhat in the boob department, so don’t expect to see buxom beauties!

M: Yes, but, we make up for this in other ways! Our show is a celebration of the feminine.

Bohemian elegance with a bit of neon pop, set to a soundtrack of New Orleans style jazz. All

Don Quixote

this with live piano, incredible food and amazing cocktails!

What is it that you love about burlesque?

We both love the creative outlet.

Seeing the process through from creating the sets, designing the costumes and making the props and then the satisfaction of performing in our creation.

What, in your opinions, is the sexiest feature a woman can have?

P: Seeing a woman who is confident in her own skin.

M: I agree, there is nothing sexier.

There is a great quote that Sophia Loren said about sex appeal.

“50% is what you’ve got and 50% is what you think you’ve got.”

What: La Femme Boheme Weekly Burlesque When: Wednesday nights, 7pm til late.

Where: The Spice Cellar, 58 Elizabeth Street More: thespicecellar.com.au

W. SYDNEY FILMMAKERS GET THEIR SHOT

Information and Cultural Exchange (ICE) is kicking off the year with a new program for Western Sydney filmmakers. Pitch Perfect launches on Saturday February 15 with a free film forum exploring important elements of filmmaking and distribution. The forum will also be an information session for filmmakers who are ready to pitch their ideas to producers, networks and filmmarkets. Western Sydney filmmakers can register to join the supportprogram and five selected participants will be offered masterclasses, one-on-one mentorships and the chance to win $1000 to fund travel to a filmmarket, producer or network to present their pitch. Applications for the program close on Friday February 28. To RSVP for the forum, and for more information, go to ice.org.au/project/pitch.

ALL ABOUT WOMEN

DON QUIXOTE IS COMING!

The Imperial Russian Ballet Company is heading to Australia with the classic tale of Don Quixote; a retired gentleman who travels the roads of Spain searching for glory and grand adventure with his faithful squire Sancho Panzae. Don Quixote was first performed in Moscow’s Bolshoi Theatre in 1869. Since then it has been performed all over the world

by Russian and international ballet companies. The Imperial Russian Ballet Company was formed in 1994 by the Bolshoi Theatre soloist, Gediminas Taranda. They will be performing in Sydney from Friday May 2 to Sunday May 4, and tickets are available from ticketmaster.com.au.

THE CAST OF SONS OF ANARCHY HEADING TO AUSTRALIA

Australian Sons Of Anarchy fans will get the chance to interact with some of the TV show’s biggest stars when they hit our shores for the first time next month. Since its premiere in 2008, the hit TV series has enthralled a worldwide, audience with its gritty, real-life depiction of outlaw motorcycle gang life. Now three of the main characters – Kim Coates (Tig Trager), Theo Rossi (Juice Ortiz) and Mark Boone Junior (Bobby Munson) – will hold audience Q&A’s in Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and Perth, giving fans a chance to get inside the minds of those on the show and meet the stars one on one. Sons Of Anarchy: An Evening With The Cast takes place at the Roundhouse on Saturday March 29. Tickets are available at premierticketek.com.au.

NAKED MAGICIANS

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“Free double passes to Sing-A-Long movies / wearing great costumes and feeling quite groovy / me and a friend getting ready to sing / these are a few of my favourite things” Yes, people, it’s happening again; the SingA-Long-A Sound of Music experience is back, and here at BRAG HQ we have one double pass for the Saturday February 22 show.

Down at the State Theatre, the classic film will be up on the big screen, remastered to all its original cinematic glory, with the fun addition of song subtitles so the whole audience can sing along. Almost better than the singing, however, are the costumes – nuns, Leisls, goats, the Alps…

If you love The Sound Of Music as much as me, and want to get your warm woollen mittens on these tickets, just head to thebrag.com/freeshit and tell us a few of your favourite things. Easy peasy.

festival features international and local guests speaking on the ideas, issues and passions that are important to women today. As well as the talks and discussion forums, there will be documentaries, 'How To' sessions, a pop-up restaurant and a clothes swap. A damn sight more interesting than having your nails done, and cheaper too. For more details and tickets, check out sydneyoperahouse.com.

SEMI-PERM SPEAKERS ANNOUNCED

The first wave of speakers at Sydney’s Semi-Permanent event for 2014 has been announced! The list of interesting and talented people from around the world lined up to present includes Tara McPherson (illustrator), Maud (design agency), Mr Brainwash (artist), Ben Lowry (photographer), Cheryl Dunn (photographer), Corbin Harris (skateboarder), Mill+ (design and animation), Tony Hawk (skateboarder), Henry Wilson (design and furniture) and Colin Renshaw (VFX). SemiPermanent, which began in Sydney in 2003, now spans 11 cities in five countries, and claims 300,000-plus attendees. This year’s event runs from Thursday May 22 to Saturday May 24, and will be held at Carriageworks.

Check out semipermanent.com and get involved.

the illusions of magic. They are performing on Friday February 14 at Lizottes. I want to know where exactly they’re going to hide the dozens of knotted together silk kerchiefs, and if you’re wondering the same thing, you can get tickets and more details from lizottes.com.au.

ART PRIZE HAS BUDDY SYSTEM, PRIZE MONEY

The Redlands Konica Minolta Art Prize appointed Australian artist Tim Johnson as curator for the 18th annual exhibition and prize.

For this competition, the curator selects up to 20 contemporary visual artists from Australia and New Zealand to enter. Each of those established artists have to invite an emerging contemporary artist to present work in the Prize, to encourage mentoring relationships in the visual arts sector.

The established artists have already been selected, and participating emerging artists will be announced in February. There is prize money of $36,000 across three categories: the established artist ($25,000), the emerging artist prize ($10,000) and a viewer’s choice award ($1,000).

The Prize attracts a diverse range of painting, photography, installation, sculpture and new media works. With the exception of works acquired by Redlands, all art exhibited in the Prize will be available for purchase. A free exhibition will be presented at the National Art School Gallery from Friday April 11 until Thursday May 15.

Douglas Gordon Phantom

BIENNALE HIGHLIGHTS ANNOUNCED th

The 19 Biennale of Sydney: You Imagine What You Desire announced public program and performance highlights including artists Tacita Dean, Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller, Nathan Coley, Hubert Czerepok, Douglas Gordon, Callum Morton and John Stezaker. You Imagine What You Desire is one of the biggest events in Sydney’s arts calendar this year, taking place across a 12-week period commencing 21 March 2014, with extensive opening, middle and end programs held at venues and outdoor spaces across Sydney. For the full programme, and more details, head to 19bos.com.

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I have always believed that a magician’s greatest asset is their voluptuous sleeves and well-placed pockets. According to The Naked Magicians, however, good magicians don’t need sleeves. They don’t even need pants.

That’s right; Christopher Wayne and Mike Tyler, two of Australia’s biggest names in magic, are taking to the stage butt naked to strip away all

If you’re looking for an awesome Girls’ Day Out, look no further than the Sydney Opera House’s All About Women – a full day festival of lively conversation, celebrating what matters most to women. Brought to you by Ideas at the House (a year-round program having recently featured talks by Yoko Ono, Aung San Suu Kyi, Shereen El Feki and Tavi Gevinson), this

SOUND OF MUSIC! SING-A-LONG! TICKETS!

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The Dead Ones [THEATRE] All That’s Left By Adam Norris

I

had been visiting my parents when the chance to speak with Margie Fischer about her production, The Dead Ones, came up, so felt very relevant discussing the production, which is based around the objects left behind when her parents died and she found herself in charge of clearing out their house.

Were I to die, I would worry that a lot of the possessions, notes and mementos I’ve left behind might be imbued with a level of significance that was entirely absent during my actual life. Were a family member to die – God forbid – I would be just as worried that by sorting through their possessions I might be creating someone anew rather than rediscovering the deceased as they were.

“Well, for one thing these people were my family,” she explains, “So there’s a closeness, an intimacy I already had. I’d also talked to my mother about sorting them. We were a family that talked about things a lot. So I wasn’t reading any significance into things; they were already significant. I don’t know if you’ve had the experience, but when people you know have died and you’re sorting through their things, what you read into them is what they are. That’s what I got so interested in. They don’t speak for themselves, they’re just inanimate objects. The only meaning they have is the meaning you put onto them. That’s what’s so interesting.”

I ask Margie if these objects were selected because they already had some level of significance. She surprises me by instead asking if my parents are alive. Having just left my parents to enjoy lunch while we had this conversation, I found myself oddly uncomfortable answering her. There is no clear reason for my discomfort, and I wonder if a person’s fear of their parent’s death is so profound that we shy away from the topic almost by instinct.

“When you walk into your parent’s house,” she tells me, “you’ll see the objects that are in their lives. The fry pan, the pots, the towels.

They’re objects that you relate to. You don’t think about it, but you’re relating to them.

When they die, you’ll be disposing of them, and those objects will become your responsibility. Because everyone else was dead, I felt the weight of responsibility of disposing of those objects properly. I know some people who walk into their parents house, they’ll hire a skip, dump everything into it, and that’s it. I’m not that sort of person.

These objects were valuable because they were what was left. Handkerchiefs, and underpants, things that you don’t touch of your parents. Things you don’t touch while they’re alive, you only ever touch in death.”

I find the notion of responsibility interesting.

To whom, after all, are we responsible? To the

The Long Way Home

Margie Fischer as a child

memory of our dead? To ourselves? Given the presence of the Holocaust in Margie’s family, I wonder if there is a sense of historicism to her production; that they are in some sense kept alive through the sharing of memory.

“I think there’s something about being a person who’s left,” she says slowly, “the last one standing, where if you’re part of an oral tradition, of handing down stories, there’s a

responsibility to pass them on. Because I was going to sell the house I started taking pictures of the objects, where they lived, and then I took pictures of the rooms as they were emptying, and then again when they were completely empty. I didn’t do any of that for a purpose, there was no plan, I just knew I had to do it.

Then I started to think, this is bound to be an experience that lots of people have.

And it’s true; most people will have to clear out their parent’s house. You have to make decisions about what you keep and what you throw away. That was something I wanted to share.”

What: The Dead Ones When: February 18 - 22 Where: Seymour Centre, Chippendale More: seymourcentre.com

The Long Way Home

[THEATRE] Coming Towards The Light By Alasdair Duncan

T

he Long Way Home is unlike any other work of theatre ever seen in Australia. A collaborative work between the Australian Defence Force and the Sydney Theatre Company, it brings together service men and women and real actors, to tell stories about the realities of life in war and the sometimes difficult journey back home. Private Kyle Harris, of Townsville, is one of the stars of The Long Way Home, and needless to say, he’s never done anything like it before. For the laid-back and friendly Harris, the show represents a rare opportunity to speak out about his experiences while serving, and the effect they had on him.

While he’s reluctant to talk too much about the stories that come through in the play, Harris tells me that there are several scenes in which the story comes very close to his own experiences.

“I’m one of the few people involved who actually gets to relive what happened to me overseas,” he says, “so it’s quite a strange thing to be doing that.” In a large part The Long Way Home concerns post-traumatic stress disorder and its effects. “I guess you might say that the play starts out in darkness, which is the kind of thing you experience when you’re facing those mental injuries,” Harris continues, “but by the end, there’s a bit of light and hopefulness.”

“I was approached about the show in the middle of last year,” he says. “They explained the idea to me and I thought it was a really good one.

Unfortunately, to be a part of the show, you’ve got to be wounded or ill in some way from your experiences with the ADF.” He pauses for a second. “I’m involved because you might say I have some mental injuries.” In the months since, Harris and his fellow soldiers sat down with writer-director Daniel Keene to talk about their experiences. The resulting play is a mixture of real and fictional accounts of war and its effects on the average soldier, both in the field and at home.

The play attempts to show audiences the things that happen to real men and women in war.

For Harris, however, the major theme is that of coming towards the light and seeking help, and he hopes that by telling his story, he might encourage others to do the same. “The play is called Long Way Home because recovery is a long-term investment that you have to make yourself,” he says. “It’s been a great experience for me personally to be involved. I guess I’d say that the greatest thing for me is the thought that I might be able to influence the life of someone who comes along to see the performance. It might open someone’s eyes to the fact that they

Angus McGruther and Janina Elkin in Bela Kiss Prologue

have a problem, and lead them to think about getting help.”

Harris himself has never done any professional acting, so learning the ropes of the theatre presented something of a challenge. “I’ve never acted professionally, I never really did any acting or drama at school,” he says with a laugh. “I guess the thing about me is that I’m a laid-back and humorous person, so that element of me comes through pretty strongly.” Overall, the experience has been a tremendously positive one for Harris and his fellow service people. “It’s been great to be involved,” he says. “The army people

in the show have a lot in common, so we’ve developed a lot of rapport amongst ourselves, but I’ve made friends with the rest of the actors, and everyone at STC, from the admin right through to the people making coffee downstairs.”

What: The Long Way Home When: Friday February 7, Monday February 10 – Saturday February 15 Where: Sydney Theatre Company, The Wharf More: sydneytheatre.com.au

Bela Kiss: Prologue [FILM] No Barrel Of Laughs By Kate Robertson can see the way he’s made it more of a thriller, he’s injected those themes into the story”.

B

ela Kiss: Prologue is a supernatural thriller inspired by the real-life story of the Hungarian serial killer Bela Kiss, who murdered over twenty women in the early twentieth century and stored their bodies in barrels. The Australian actor Angus McGruther who stars in this German film suggests that viewers will “be thrilled, intrigued and maybe a little bit gruesomed-out”.

Bela Kiss: Prologue is not a true story itself, but it is based on and around true events. The film follows five friends who, after robbing a bank, hide out at a secluded hotel where terrible things start to happen.

This contemporary narrative is interspersed with flashbacks to the imagined activities of Kiss, drawing from historical facts and 20 :: BRAG :: 548 :: 05:02:14

taking them in a new direction. McGruther acknowledges that this creativity is possible as “the authorities never found Kiss – there were rumours around at the time that he had escaped, or that he’d fled to America and set a life up there, but no one knows the facts of what happened to him – they never caught him.” He explains that a lot of the appeal for him was the mystery behind the disappearance of Bela Kiss. “When I first read the story it was fascinating that someone can just disappear…Lucien [Förstner the writer and director] was fascinated by that as well – what are the possibilities about what could have happened?” Essentially, Förstner “took the story and created a fictional case of what could have been, and it’s got a supernatural twist to it”, says McGruther. “It’s a genre film, and you

McGruther plays Peter, the larrikin of the group who provides the moments of levity familiar to many horror films. He reveals that “he doesn’t take it all so seriously, until things really become freaky…The audience has much more insight into what’s going on than my character does, to his detriment, I guess”.

The story immediately brings to mind parallels with the Australian Bodies in Barrels case, and McGruther suggests that you might see some subtle connections between the two in the film. “There’s a scene where Peter and his girlfriend are out on the grounds of this hotel in the middle of the forest and she sees these barrels that have ‘Gasoline’ written on them – the caretaker of the hotel catches them and he’s this really creepy guy and there’s a moment when you think – what’s going to happen? You really think they’re about to discover something, and if you know the connection between the barrels, well…”

Although Bela Kiss: Prologue is a German production, McGruther explains that its producers wanted to use an international cast and have it set in English. As a result, the film

has ties not only to Australia, but also America; for instance, Kristina Klebe who plays lead Julia is from New York but both her parents are German, and Rudolf Martin in the title role of Bela Kiss is recognisable from US series such as 24, Dexter and NCIS. While McGruther is fluent in German, he found the experience of working in two languages at once a difficult one.

“While we were shooting the scenes in English, we were being directed in German… they might explain something to me in German and I’d just reply in English because I was so in my head as the character. It became too difficult to keep switching languages so I’d just stick to English”.

McGruther continues to divide his time between Sydney and Berlin, which he describes as “one of Europe’s creative hubs”.

He admits his surprise that he could garner work in Germany as an Australian actor, claiming that “it wasn’t my intention to build an acting career there…it just gave me the space to focus on what I love to do.”

What: Bela Kiss: Prologue Where: iTunes, Hulu and Amazon. DVD release TBA. More: bela-kiss.com thebrag.com

Comedy & Film Reviews Hits and misses on the bareboards and silver screen around town

■ Film

GRUDGE MATCH

■ Comedy

MIRANDA HART

Stallone and De Niro in Grudge Match

■ Theatre

TOM THUM BEATING THE HABIT Showed until January 26 as part of Sydney Festival

In cinemas now.

Showed until Sunday February 2

Grudge Match, Robert De Niro and Sylvester Stallone’s recent big screen boxathon directed by Peter Segal, tells the tale of two ageing fi ghters coaxed out of retirement to once and for all throw shit down in the ring after many, many fattening years. It’s lame, annoying and predictable – in many ways it resembles the state of the aforementioned actors’ half-naked bodies: wobbly, unsettling and should only be seen behind closed doors.

“She’s beautiful, she’s sexy, she’s doing her own intro…”

Why, you may demand, are these poor old men being forced into something so ridiculous? Well, isn’t it obvious? They must fi nally fi nd out who reigns supreme.

Henry “Razor” Sharp (Stallone) – arch nemesis and ring-rival to Billy “The Kid” McDonnen (De Niro) – inexplicably quit his prestigious boxing career 30 years previous, leaving the standing victory tally at one-all and the question of supremacy unanswered. Throw in Kim Basinger as the love-lost-love-foundlove-interest and the irritating-as-fuck Dante Slate Jr. (Kevin Hart) – the dollardriven son of the fi ghters’ notoriously scam-happy late manager hell-bent on cashing in on the competitors’ infamous unfi nished dispute – and voila: a movie.

Now, it’s not all terrible. Stallone’s performance is surprisingly good (sadly De Niro’s is surprisingly bad) and if you’re a fan of the Rocky series you’ll like the cute little nods here and there to that iconic time in his career. Plus there are one or two genuinely funny moments including a clever little metaphor explaining what the acronym ‘BJ’ is to an eight year-old boy (think butterscotch jellybeans). However, on the whole, the gags are Generation I crowd-pleasers, the plot is obvious and the ending is a slow, drawn-out combination of both.

If you have nothing to do or desperately want to see De Niro and Stallone smack the crap out of each other, go for gold.

Otherwise, stay clear.

Jack Smith

These are the first words that the audience heard before Miranda Hart danced her way onto the stage to a soundtrack that was reminiscent of a 1980s aerobics video.

This kind of laid-back humour is exactly what I expected from the talented Hart; silly, down to earth and just plain fun. For those of you unfamiliar with her work, I highly recommend checking out her self-titled TV series, even if it's just to ogle the gorgeous Tom Ellis in a sailor suit.

From the first few moments that Hart was on stage the audience knew that they were in for a party. This atmosphere was greatly aided by the comedien dragging a children’s party table out and giving away snacks throughout the show. If this didn’t win the audience over, setting up two single attendees on an intermission speed date certainly did.

Hart’s self-deprecating humour immediately disarmed the crowd and she quickly had them laughing along with her embarrassing descriptions of everyday encounters. She has quite the talent for giving a voice to the awkward perpetual child that resides inside all of us.

Described as a beatboxing virtuoso and a walking orchestra, I’ll be honest and admit I had high expectations of Brisbane’s Tom Thum and his Beating the Habit performance.

However, from the minute he appeared on stage and began hissing and clanking away with his mouth, sounding like something out of the Terminator, I had a feeling the show was going to exceed any pre-conceived expectations.

The sounds that pour forth from Tom Thum’s mouth are incredibly diverse, accurate and momentous, and I think I speak for everyone in saying that the audience was completely unprepared for the varied vocal sound effects he managed to create. His beatboxing compositions sounded like DJ Shadow collaborating with Fats Waller and at times it was difficult to believe that his music and beat creations all emanated from his mouth, and not with the use of a machine or any special microphone effects. This guy makes gifted vocalists look very, very amateur indeed.

However, the show was

more than just sound effects and beatboxing riffs.

Through a combination of visual material, including a clever David Attenboroughesque video clip, and an accompanying orchestral soundscape (of course both composed and created by Tom Thum), the talent of this guy is really allowed to shine. What’s more, Tom Thum is actually very funny; using cheeky schoolboy humour and his natural gift of the gab (no pun intended), this seemingly down to earth performer manages to have the admiring crowd roaring with laughter.

During the show, he also played a couple of catchy, melodic songs with one of the performers from Tom

Tom Crew, with whom he used to tour, and shows us a tongue in cheek video comparing his ‘beatboxing addiction’ to a drug addiction, again all very clever, sharp and funny material.

Pulling a crowd as varied as his sound effects, the smoky, intimate Circus Ronaldo tent was the perfect setting for such a talented and entertaining performance that really took the power of the voice to an all new level and left me clearing my throat and trying in vain to recreate similar sounds for hours afterwards.

Prue Clark

As a long-time Miranda Hart fan, I was surprised to learn that her 2014 tour was her first hard-core venture into stand up.

Cynics who pre-emptively reviewed her debut suggested that she was going to be in over her head. Some even questioned her ability as a writer. Hart certainly proved them wrong in her domination of the stage in her own unique way. However, those familiar with her TV show would have recognised a large portion of the jokes. Although indulging in some old favourites can be fun, it was disappointing to hear so much recycled material. I was looking forward to hearing far more new, cringe-worthy adventures. Despite this, it was an enjoyable show that was rife with relatable anecdotes and hilarious audience participation that the entire crowd loved.

Tegan Jones

See www.thebrag.com for more arts reviews

Arts Exposed What's in our diary...

We’re Bastards The Old 505, at 342 Elizabeth St February 5-23 On Wednesday February 5, we’ll be checking out the brand spanking new play by local theatre company Two Peas at independent Surry Hills theatre, The Old 505, at 342 Elizabeth Street.

We’re Bastards follows two the lives of two siblings in Anniston, Alabama. Joe Jnr is the father figure to his sister Darling’s boy; the child’s real daddy abandoned them before the boy was even born.

With their Momma in the ground and their daddy gone, Jnr and Darling are trapped in a vicious cycle.

Xxxx

We don’t know if we’re more excited about the show, or the incredible New York-style venue itself, though; the Old 505 is through unmarked doors, five flights up in a rickety elevator (or stairwell for the adventurous spirits), and covered nook and cranny with graffiti art.

Head to venue505.com for tickets and more info.

Tara Clark in We're Bastards

BRAG :: 548 :: 05:02:14 :: 21

BARS SMALL

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

Ash St Cellar 1 Ash St, Sydney CBD (02) 9240 3000 Mon – Fri 8.30am-11pm Assembly 488 Kent St, Sydney CBD (02) 9283 8808 Mon – Fri noon-midnight; Sat 5pm-midnight The Australian Heritage Hotel 100 Cumberland St, The Rocks (02) 9247 2229 Mon – Sun 10.30am-midnight BAR100 100 George St, The Rocks (02) 8070 9311 Mon – Thu noon-late; Fri – Sat noon-3am; Sun noon-midnight Bar Eleven Lvl 11, 161 Sussex St, Sydney CBD (02) 9290 4712 Thu 4-10pm; Fri 4-11pm; Sat 3-11pm

The Barber Shop 89 York St, Sydney CBD (02) 9299 9699 Mon – Fri 2pm-midnight; Sat 4pm-midnight The Baxter Inn Basement 152-156 Clarence St, Sydney CBD Mon – Sat 4pm-1am

The Glenmore 96 Cumberland St, The Rocks (02) 9247 4794 Mon – Thu, Sun 11am-midnight; Fri – Sat 11am-1am

Bulletin Place First Floor, 10-14 Bulletin Place, Circular Quay Mon – Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat 5pm-midnight

Goodgod Small Club 53-55 Liverpool St, Sydney CBD (02) 8084 0587 Wed 5pm-1am; Thu 5pm-2am; Fri 5pm-5am; Sat 6pm-5am

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

Grain Bar 199 George St, Sydney CBD (02) 9250 3118 Mon – Fri 4pm-1am; Sat noon-1am; Sun noonmidnight

Frankie’s Pizza 50 Hunter St, Sydney CBD Mon – Sun 4pm-4am

Grandma’s Basement 275 Clarence St, Sydney CBD (02) 9264 3004 Mon – Fri 3pm-late; Sat 5pm-late

Gilt Lounge 49 Market St, Sydney CBD (02) 8262 0000 Tue – Wed 6pm-midnight; Thu & Sat 6pm-2am; Fri 5pm-2am

The Fox Hole 68A Erskine St, Sydney CBD (02) 9279 4369 Tue – Fri 5pm-midnight

The Grasshopper 1 Temperance Ln, Sydney CBD (02) 9947 9025 Mon – Wed & Sat 4pm-late; Thu – Fri noonlate The Lobo Plantation Basement Lot 1, 209 Clarence St, Sydney CBD 0415 554 908 Mon – Thu 4pm-midnight; Fri 2pm-midnight; Sat 4pm-midnight Mojo Record Bar Basement 73 York St, Sydney CBD (02) 9262 4999 Mon – Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat 5pm-midnight The Morrison 225 George St, Sydney CBD (02) 9247 6744 Mon – Wed 7.30am-midnight; Thu 7.30-1am; Fri 7.302am; Sat 11.30-2am; Sun11.30am-10pm Palmer & Co. Abercrombie Ln, Sydney CBD (02) 9240 3172 Mon – Wed 5pm-late; Thu – Fri noon-late; Sat – Sun 5pm-late

Shirt Bar 7 Sussex Ln, Sydney CBD (02) 8068 8222 Mon –Wed 8am-6pm; Thu – Fri 8am-10pm Small Bar 48 Erskine St, Sydney CBD (02) 9279 0782 Mon – Fri noon-midnight; Sat 5pm-midnight The Spice Cellar Basement 58 Elizabeth St, Sydney CBD (02) 9223 5585 Mon – Sun 4pm-late Spooning Goats 32 York St, Sydney CBD 0402 813 035 Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight Stitch Bar 61 York St, Sydney CBD (02) 9279 0380 Mon –Wed 4pm-midnight; Thu – Fri noon-2am; Sat 4pm-2am Tapavino 6 Bulletin Place, Circular Quay (02) 9247 3221 Mon – Fri 11am-11.30pm

Rockpool Bar & Grill 66 Hunter St, Sydney CBD (02) 8078 1900 Mon – Sat lunch & dinner

Uncle Ming’s 55 York St, Sydney CBD Mon – Fri 11am-midnight; Sat 5pm-midnight

The Rook 56-58 Level 7, 56 58 York St,

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

JAM GALLERY AND SPRING STREET SOCIAL UNDERGROUND 195 OXFORD ST AND 110 SPRING ST BONDI JUNCTION (TWO ENTRANCES) • 02 9389 2485 4PM-MIDNIGHT SUN-TUES, 4PM-3AM WED-SAT

Sydney CBD (02) 9262 2505 Mon – Fri 4pm-late; Sat 4pm-late

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Bar-racuda 105 Enmore Rd, Newtown (02) 9519 1121 Mon – Sat 6-midnight Bloodwood 416 King St, Newtown (02) 9557 7699 Mon, Wed –Thu 5pm-late; Fri – Sat noon-late; Sun noon-10pm Cornerstone Bar & Food 245 Wilson St, Eveleigh (02) 8571 9004 Sun – Wed 10am-5pm; Thu – Sat 10am-late Corridor 153A King St, Newtown 0422 873 879 Tue – Fri 3pm-midnight; Sat 1pm-midnight; Sun 1-10pm

Spring Street Social Tell us about your bar: A custom built venue featuring 3 bars and 3 separate stages, kitted out with an over-specced SLS system and with an immense capacity to cater for all manner of creative events, Jam Gallery is not only Sydney’s newest live music venue but also a creative, artistic and theatrical hub for all savvy music, food, beverage and art appreciative Sydneysiders. Energised in every way, Jam Gallery inhabits a 700sqm underground space in the heart of Bondi Junction, a space it shares with its sister venue Spring Street Social.

What’s on the menu? Farm to table fare, with a twist. Modern Australian. The most popular dishes are our lamb belly, lobster mac bake, and Social buns (our sliders).

Connected, and yet a world away, with a separate entrance to Jam Gallery, Spring Street Social is a novel addition to the bustling streets of Bondi Junction. Inspired by the golden age of cure-all elixirs, Spring Street takes you back to a time of rustic chemists and homespun apothecaries.

Highlights: 3 bars, 3 stages, great underground vibe.

The discretely placed door amidst a hive of shop fronts leads you to a newly transformed laboratory of live music, inventive cocktails, craft brews and tasteful recipes. Experimentation is elementary.

Theatre is principal. Expect fresh produce and honest measures. Always. Craft beer, cocktails, spinning vinyl and eating.

22 :: BRAG :: 548 :: 05:02:14

Care for a drink? An innovative range of cocktails using infused agaves and fresh fruit. We specialise in craft beers and have over 40 beers available.

Sounds? Awesome PA designed and installed by Luke Everingham. A diverse range of live music genres most nights of the week.

The bill comes to: $20-30 per head for food. Drinks from $7.

How about those new Sydney alcohol laws? Something had to give… Too many incidents. We are not within the Sydney City Council so the changes do not affect us at the moment. Our venue has a ‘no dickheads’ policy. We promote a safe and vibrant experience with strict RSA control. jamgallery.com.au and facebook.com/ springstreetsocial

Cottage Bar & Kitchen 342 Darling St, Balmain (02) 8084 8185 Mon – Wed 5pm-midnight; Thu – Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm Different Drummer 185 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 9552 3406 Mon – Sat 4.30pm-late Earl’s Juke Joint 407 King St, Newtown Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun 4-10pm Freda’s 107-109 Regent St, Chippendale (02) 8971 7336 Mon – Thu 4pm-midnight; Fri noon-midnight; Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun 4-10pm The Green Room Lounge 156 Enmore Rd, Enmore (02) 8021 8451 Wed 5pm-late; Thu 5pm-midnight; Fri – Sat 5pm-1am; Sun 5-10pm

Hive Bar 93 Erskineville Rd, Erskineville (02) 9519 9911 Mon – Fri noon-midnight; Sat 10am-midnight; Sun 10am-10pm Kelly’s On King 285 King St, Newtown (02) 9565 2288 Mon – Fri 10am-3am; Sat 10am-4am; Sun 10am-midnight Kuleto’s 157 King St, Newtown (02) 9519 6369 Mon – Wed 4pm-late; Thu – Sat 4pm-3am; Sun 4pm-midnight The Little Guy 87 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 9200 0000 Mon – Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat 1pm-midnight; Sun 3-10pm Mary’s 6 Mary St, Newtown Mon – Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm The Midnight Special 44 Enmore Road, Newtown (02) 9516 2345 Mon – Sat 5pm-midnight; Sun 4-10pm Miss Peaches 201 Missenden Rd, Newtown (02) 9557 7280 Wed – Sun 5pm-midnight The Moose Newtown 530 King St, Newtown (02) 9557 0072 Wed – Sat 5pm-midnight; Sun 5-10pm Mr Falcon’s 92 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 9029 6626 Mon – Thu 4pm-midnight; Fri – Sat noon-midnight; Sun 2-10pm Newtown Social Club 387 King St, Newtown (02) 9550 3974 Mon – Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm The Record Crate 34 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 9660 1075 Tue – Wed 11am-10pm; Thu – Fri 11am-midnight; Sat 10am-midnight; Sun 11am-10pm The Royal 156 Norton St, Leichhardt (02) 9569 2638 Mon – Thu 10am-1am; Fri – Sat 10am-3am; Sun 10am-midnight Timbah 375 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 9571 7005 Tue – Thu 4-9pm; Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat 2pm-midnight; Sun 2-8pm The Workers Lvl 1, 292 Darling St, Balmain (02) 9555 8410 Wed – Thu 5pm-midnight; Fri – Sat 5pm-3am; Sun 2-10pm ZanziBar 323 King St, Newtown (02) 9519 1511 Mon – Thu 10am-4am; Fri 10am-6am; Sat 10am-5am; Sun 10am-12am

121BC 4/50 Holt St, Surry Hills (02) 9699 1582 Tue – Thu 5-11pm; Fri – Sat 5pm-midnight Absinthe Salon 87 Albion St, Surry Hills (02) 9211 6632 Wed – Sat 4-10pm

Backroom 2A Roslyn St, Potts Point (02) 9361 5000 Bar H 80 Campbell St, Surry Hills (02) 9280 1980 Tue – Sat 6pm-late The Beresford 354 Bourke St, Surry Hills (02) 8313 5000 Mon – Sun noon-1am Black Penny 648 Bourke St, Redfern (02) 9319 5061 Tue – Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-11pm Button Bar 65 Foveaux St, Surry Hills (02) 9211 1544 Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight Café Lounge 277 Goulburn St, Surry Hills (02) 9016 3951 Mon – Thu 5pm-midnight; Fri – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sunday 4-10pm The Carrington 565 Bourke St, Surry Hills (02) 9360 4714 Mon – Sun noonmidnight; Sun noon10pm The Cliff Dive 16-18 Oxford Square, Darlinghurst Wed – Sun 6pm-4am The Commons 32 Burton St, Darlinghurst (02) 9358 1487 Tue – Sun noon-late Darlo Bar 306 Liverpool St, Darlinghurst (02) 9331 3672 Mon – Sun 10am-midnight Darlie Laundromatic 304 Palmer St, Darlinghurst (02) 8095 0129 Wed – Sun 5-11pm Eau De Vie 229 Darlinghurst Rd, Darlinghurst 0422 263 226 Mon – Sat 6pm-1am; Sun 6pm-midnight The Flinders 63-65 Flinders St, Surry Hills (02) 9356 3622 Tue – Thu 5pm-3am; Fri – Sat 5pm-5am The Forresters 336 Riley St, Surry Hills (02) 9212 3035 Mon – Wed noonmidnight; Thu – Sat noon-1am; Sun noon10pm Foley Lane 371-373 Bourke St, Darlinghurst Mon, Wed – Fri 5pm-midnight; Sat 10am-3pm & 5pm-midnight; Sun 10am-10pm Gazebo 2 Elizabeth Bay Rd, Elizabeth Bay (02) 9357 5333 Mon – Thu 3pm-midnight; Fri – Sun noon-midnight The Hazy Rose 1/83 Stanley St, Darlinghurst (02) 9357 5036 Tue 3-11pm; Wed – Sat 3pm-midnight; Sun 3-10pm

Darlinghurst (02) 8084 6379 Mon – Thu 5pm-midnight; Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat 3pm-midnight; Sun 1-10pm Hollywood Hotel 2 Foster St, Surry Hills (02) 9281 2765 Mon – Wed 10am-midnight; Thu – Sat 10am-3am Hustle & Flow Bar 105 Regent St, Redfern (02) 9310 5593 Tue – Sat 5pm-midnight Jekyll & Hyde 332 Victoria St, Darlinghurst (02) 9360 5568 Wed – Fri 4pm-late; Sat 8.30am-late; Sun 8.30am-evening Li’l Darlin Darlinghurst 235 Victoria St, Darlinghurst (02) 8084 6100 Mon – Sat 5pmmidnight Li’l Darlin Surry Hills 420 Elizabeth St, Surry Hills (02) 9698 5488 Mon – Thu noon-3pm & 5-11pm; Fri – Sun noon11pm Lo-Fi 2/383 Bourke St, Darlinghurst (02) 9318 1547 Wed – Sat 6pm-late The Local Tap House 122 Flinders St, Surry Hills (02) 9360 0088 Mon – Wed noon-2am; Thu – Sat noon-1am; Sun noon-11pm Love, Tilly Devine 91 Crown Ln, Darlinghurst (02) 9326 9297 Mon – Sat 5pm-midnight; Sun 4-10pm Low 302 302 Crown St, Surry Hills (02) 9368 1548 Tue – Sat 5pm-2am; Sun 6pm-2am Mr Fox 557 Crown St, Surry Hills 0414 691 811 Mon –Sat 5pm-midnight; Sun noon-10pm Name This Bar 197 Oxford St, Darlinghurst (02) 9356 2123 Thu – 5pm-2am The Norfolk 305 Cleveland St, Surry Hills (02) 9699 3177 Mon – Wed noonmidnight; Thu – Sat noon-1am; Sun noon10pm The Passage 231A Victoria St, Darlinghurst (02) 9358 6116 Mon – Thu 5pm-late; Fri – Sun noon-late Play Bar 72 Campbell St, Surry Hills (02) 9280 0885 Wed – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun 3-10pm Pocket Bar 13 Burton St, Darlinghurst (02) 9380 7002 Mon – Thu 4pm-midnight; Fri – Sat 4pm-1am; Sun 4pm-midnight

Hello Sailor 96 Oxford St, Darlinghurst (02) 9332 2442 Tue – Sun 5pm-1am

Queenie’s Upstairs Forresters Cnr Foveaux and Riley St, Surry Hills (02) 9212 3035 Tue – Sat 6pm-late

Hinky Dinks 185 Darlinghurst Rd,

Roosevelt thebrag.com

32 Orwell St, Potts Point 0423 203 119 Tue – Sat 5pm-midnight Santa Barbara 1 Bayswater Rd, Kings Cross (02) 9357 7882 Wed 6pm-1am; Thu & Sat 6pm-2am; Fri noon2am

CRAFT BEER OF THE WEEK Pour it in your mouth-hole... (responsibly).

Shady Pines Saloon Shop 4, 256 Crown St, Darlinghurst Mon – Sun 4pm-midnight The Soda Factory 16 Wentworth Ave, Surry Hills (02) 8096 9120 Mon – Wed 5pm-late; Thu 5pm-2am; Fri – Sat 5pm-5am Sweethearts Rooftop 33/37Darlinghurst Rd, Potts Point (02) 9368 7333 Mon – Thu 4pm-midnight; Fri – Sun noon-midnight Tio’s Cerveceria 4/14 Foster St, Surry Hills Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun 4-10pm Unicorn Cellar Basement, 106 Oxford St, Paddington (02) 9360 7994 Tue – Thu 4pm-midnight; Fri – Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm Vasco 421 Cleveland St, Redfern 0406 775 436 Tue – Sat 5pm-midnight; Sun 5-10pm The Victoria Room Lvl 1, 235 Victoria St, Darlinghurst (02) 9357 4488 Tue – Fri 6pm-midnight; Sat noon-2am; Sun noon-midnight The Wild Rover 75 Campbell St, Surry Hills (02) 9280 2235 Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun noon-10pm The Winery 285A Crown St, Surry Hills (02) 9331 0833 Mon – Sun noonmidnight

Anchor Bar 8 Campbell Pde, Bondi (02) 8084 3145 Tue – Fri 4.30pm-late; Sat – Sun 12.30pm-late Bondi Hardware 39 Hall St, Bondi (02) 9365 7176 Mon – Wed 5-11pm; Thu 5pm-midnight; Sat 10am-midnight; Sun 10am-10pm The Bucket List Shop 1, Bondi Pavilion, Queen Elizabeth Drive (02) 9365 4122 Mon – Sun 11am-late The Corner House 281 Bondi Rd, Bondi (02) 8020 6698 Tue – Sat 5pm-midnight; Sun 3-10pm Flying Squirrel 249 Bondi Rd, Bondi (02) 9130 1033 Mon – Fri 6pm-late; Sat 4pm-late; Sun 4-10pm The Rum Diaries 288 Bondi Rd, Bondi (02) 9300 0440 Tue – Sat 6pm-midnight; Sun 6-10pm Speakeasy thebrag.com

WAYWARD CHARMER INDIA RED ALE @ THE AUSTRALIAN HERITAGE HOTEL 100 CUMBERLAND ST, THE ROCKS The brew: A Ruby red in colour with a thick off-white head, perfectly balanced combination of hops and rich European malt with a wallop of hop flavour and aroma character from American, Australian and NZ hops Method: Charmer is an IPA with the rich malty backbone of a red ale – this tempers the substantial 45+ IBU in Charmer.

Bitterness is further smoothed using a great NZ hop called Pacific Jade, lending an incredibly soft bitterness and is also used in the whirlpool with effect for flavour and aroma. Malts used are a combination of Munich and Marris Otter to lend a nutty, biscuity character with a touch of dark de-husked malt and caramel malt for the rich red colour and slight coffee notes in the finish. Fermented like a West-coast IPA giving a clean dry finish and dry hopped. Cold conditioned for at least 2-3 weeks before releasing to ensure the flavours are well integrated.

Glass: Pint Perfection Best drunk with: A Saltwater Crocodile Pizza During: February While wearing: Afternoon Session wares And listening to: Happy by Pharrell Williams (because you will be!)

More: Wayward Charmer took out the Geoffrey Scharer overall best beer, as voted by the people @ the 2013 Australian Beer Festival.

83 Curlewis St, Bondi (02) 9130 2020 Mon – Fri 3pm-late; Sat – Sun noon-late Stuffed Beaver 271 Bondi Rd, Bondi (02) 9130 3002 Mon – Sat noonmidnight; Sun noon10pm

The Bay Jam Bar 2A Waters Rd, Neutral Bay 0407 454 0815 Tue – Fri 11am-midnight; Sat – Sun 7am-midnight Firefly 24 Young St, Neutral Bay (02) 9909 0193 Mon – Wed 5-10pm; Thu 4-11pm; Fri – Sat noon-11pm; Sun noon9.30pm

8am-midnight; Sun 8am-10pm

Sat 8am-late; Sun 8am-10pm

Honey Rider 230 Military Rd, Neutral Bay (02) 9953 8880 Tue – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun 4-10pm

Miss Marley’s Tequila Bar 32 Belgrave St, Manly (02) 8065 4805 Mon – Sat 5pm-midnight; Sun 5-10pm

In Situ 1/18 Sydney Rd, Manly (02) 9977 0669 Mon 9am-6pm; Wed – Sun 9am-midnight The Hunter 5 Myahgah Rd, Mosman Mon – Tue 5pm-midnight; Wed – Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm Jah Ba Shop 7, 9-15 Central Ave, Manly (02) 9977 4449 Tue – Fri 5pm-midnight; Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm

The Foxtrot 28 Falcon St, Crows Nest Tue – Sat 5pm-3am; Sun 5-10pm

The Local Bar 8 Young Ln, Neutral Bay (02) 9953 0027 Mon 5-10pm; Tue – Wed 8am-10pm; Thu – Sat 8am-midnight; Sun 8am-10pm

Harlem On Central Shop 4,9-15 Central Ave, Manly (02) 9976 6737 Tue – Sun 5pm-midnight

Manly Wine 8-13 South Steyne, Manly (02) 8966 9000 Mon – Sun 7am-late

Hemingway’s 48 North Steyne, Manly (02) 9976 3030 Mon – Sat

The Mayor 400 Military Rd, Cremorne (02) 8969 6060 Tue – Fri 10am-late;

Moonshine Lvl 2, Hotel Steyne, 75 The Corso, Manly (02) 9977 4977 Thu – Sat 5pm-midnight; Sun 3-11pm The Pickled Possum 254 Military Rd, Neutral Bay (02) 9909 2091 Thu – Sat 9pm-1am The Stoned Crow 39 Willoughby Rd, Crows Nest (02) 9439 5477 Mon – Sun noon-late White Hart 19-21 Grosvenor St, Neutral Bay (02) 8021 2115 Tue – Thu 5pm-late; Fri 4pm-late; Sat 2pm-late; Sun noon-8pm

Your bar’s not here? Email: listings@ thebrag.com!

BRAG :: 548 :: 05:02:14 :: 23

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

ALBUM OF THE WEEK THE JEZABELS The Brink MGM

Intense, brooding and full of their trademark grandeur, The Brink picks up where Prisoner left

Hayley Mary’s voice is the unquestionable highlight and places her near the top of the pile of Australian female vocalists plying their trade right now, and when everything else seemingly falls into place so easily, it makes for another strong showing from one of the country’s most successful exports of late.

Warpaint photo by Mia Kirby

Xxxx The Jezabels are back and doing what they do best. If it ain’t broken, why fix it?

Sydney quartet The Jezabels have become such an integral part of the Australian indie rock landscape that it’s easy to forget their debut album is just a little over two years old. While much of their time since that well-received debut has been spent overseas, The Jezabels are back with a bang and treating their Australian fans to an album release two weeks before the rest of the world, and that can only be good news for us.

off, albeit with slightly darker undertones and a few new sounds. Soaring anthems are what The Jezabels do best, and ‘Look Of Love’, ‘The End’, ‘No Country’ and the title track are the best examples, while ‘Angels Of Fire’ adds a touch of Kraftwerk-esque synths and ‘Psychotherapy’ is the token slow-burner.

Paul McBride

MOGWAI

MAXIMO PARK

CLAMS CASINO

ANGEL HAZE

CEO

Mogwai return with Rave Tapes, their first LP since Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will in 2011. The Glaswegian post-rock group known for creating intense soundscapes has put out eight studio albums and a host of EPs over the last 20-plus years. Since the early, noisy releases Mogwai Young Team (1997) and Come On Die Young (1999), the band has expanded its sound to include more electronic arrangements.

This album continues that softening progression.

Back with their fifth studio album Too Much Information, contemplative Geordie rockers Maximo Park have successfully managed to blend their well-known jerky post-punk production with a new, more mature sound, featuring melodic synths and moody electronics.

It’s hard to find the right approach with which to listen to this latest effort from the hyped hip hop producer Clams Casino. The songs for the most part are intricate and skilfully produced, often using granular synthesis and disembodied loops that call to mind Oneohtrix Point Never and Balam Acab.

But they are packaged with clubfriendly beats that make them more appropriate as backing tracks for artists like A$AP Rocky and Mac Miller.

Here’s an album to divide folks. As a rapper, Angel Haze has immense attitude and displays more skill than most big names of the moment without veering into the territory of Foxy Brown or Lil’ Kim.

“And I felt like I opened Pandora’s box…” says the voice opening ‘Whorehouse’, the first song on CEO’s second album Wonderland.

Prying open Pandora’s box is exactly what it feels like listening to Eric Berglund’s solo project CEO, and much like the accompanying imagery, the album is bursting with kaleidoscopic colour. Berglund, originally one half of Sweden’s The Tough Alliance, has a way with synth-popping tunes, every moment of his music filled with the promise of lasting elation. Wonderland is emblematic of CEO’s energy, and if sound were image, this would be vibrant objects blurred by speed.

Rave Tapes Spunk

The ten-track release opens with the soft xylophonic melodies of ‘Heard About You Last Night’, and while the songs that follow differ in their general theme, this track sets the tone for a surprisingly middle-of-the-road offering from this seminal band. While the arrangements are interesting the sounds are not, and like many of the others, this track seems to just peter out – a contrast to previous works, which built to a heady climax. There are stand-out tracks, but they seem to be the exception rather than the rule. ‘Deesh’ is the most memorable, with vocals lending a gravitas to the calamitous chords and apocalyptic drums.

More Mogwai, but perhaps not the Mogwai you are looking for.

Jesse Hayward

Too Much Information Daylighting/[PIAS]

Tracks such as ‘Brain Cells’ and ‘Is it True?’ conjure up ’80s disco nostalgia, with production more akin to Wild Nothing or Chromatics than expected from a Maximo Park album.

The infectious ‘Leave This Island’ also exemplifies the band’s new direction and instantly strikes you as the track you’ll be hitting repeat on first.

Though the aforementioned tracks veer more towards an experimental pop sound, fans who may be longing for the old will likely find enough of that in here too. ‘My Bloody Mind’ and ‘Midnight On The Hill’ hark back to the jumpy sound prevalent in 2012’s The National Health. As we have come to expect from Maximo Park, Paul Smith’s observational lyricism is rife throughout – sometimes witty, sometimes clichéd, but always heartfelt.

While it maintains much of the energetic indie feel and lyrics that loyal fans will appreciate, the more melancholy, disco-influenced tracks are what set this album apart from past releases and may be just what the band needs to attract a broader fan base.

Instrumentals Vol. 3 Independent

At its best, this combination creates a vehicle for rich pieces of sound art to reach a wider audience. On the other, it can feel like the addition of user-friendly beats lowers the value of its more abstract elements.

‘Lvl’, first heard on Rocky’s ‘Long Live A$AP’, is a great demonstration of Clams’ knack for drawing interesting textures from looped samples, but cuts like ‘Hell’ just feel half-baked and repetitive without a lead vocal over the top.

Each track on its own can be appreciated for the skill and artistry with which it’s built, but as a long player the songs just don’t gel enough to reward any type of listening beyond ambient background music which, given the overall quality of the work, is a pity.

Dirty Gold Island/Universal

Then there are the choruses. Haze demonstrates in her raps that she’s a thoughtful songwriter, but these sung hooks are going for a pop sound, and for a hardened rap fan they just don’t land. Then again, if you are looking for an originalsounding R&B album, this could be just your cup of tea – the beats are somewhat innovative, drawing on a trap (as in Southern rap) vibe, while Haze demonstrates she really can sing.

This might sound confusing, but it’s also quite interesting. Neither the rap nor pop parts of her songs sound forced at all. Haze is a creative artist and just seems to be trying to showcase her range.

Maybe the album title gives it all away from the outset. It’s overly polished in some places, but streetwise and grimey in others.

It’s hard to say whether this album will make waves or get swept aside, but either way Haze is someone to keep an eye on.

Nick Sweepah

Patrick O’Brien

Wonderland Modular/Universal

It’s hard to pinpoint what’s so majestic about CEO – maybe it’s the way Berglund pastes together such a wide variety of samples without a hint of futility, creating a futuristic sound that maintains your undivided attention until the end. Or maybe it is Berglund’s understanding of light and dark ideals, worldly or otherwise, heard particularly on ‘Mirage’.

Berglund tells prospective listeners these words of advice: You should listen to Wonderland “in a state where your identity and intellect are on a well needed holiday.”

CEO is definitely a reality palate cleanser and Wonderland is an addictive escape.

Naomi Faye

Thea Carley

INDIE ALBUM OF THE WEEK Tom E. Lewis: ’70s star of The Chant Of Jimmie Blacksmith, ’80s stage and screen actor, ’90s worldtravelling jazz-didge virtuoso. It’s fair to say Lewis has seen a few things in life. Born in Ngukurr in the Northern Territory, exiled from his community in 1985, even having a death warrant placed on him, Lewis has spent the rest of his life travelling or living in his home in St Kilda.

TOM E. LEWIS Beneath The Sun Skinnyfish/MGM

24 :: BRAG :: 548 :: 05:02:14

With the kind of life he’s led, it’s no wonder the man has a natural ability for storytelling and heartfelt musical ability which can swing from country ballad to drunk ramble in the night.

His latest album Beneath The Sun captures this beautifully, and boosts Lewis’ natural talents with wonderful production, fleshing things out with

brass and strings from Melbourne contemporary musician Erkki Veltheim.

Opener ‘Angels’ possesses the same confidence and swagger you would expect from a Springsteen song, while ‘Can’t Change Your Name’ has Lewis hissing over banjo and striding guitar and bass lines. ‘Cherie L’Amour’ provides the strongest dose of Lewis’ personal charisma.

Beneath The Sun is a refreshingly down-to-earth album that delivers skilful musicianship combined with earnest songwriting.

OFFICE MIXTAPE

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

RUN THE JEWELS - Run The Jewels TOOL - 10,000 Days FOGHAT - Slow Ride

BURIAL - Rival Dealer GLEN HANSARD - Once

Daniel Prior

thebrag.com

live review What we've been out to see...

snap

up all night out all week . . .

BIG DAY OUT Sydney Showground Sunday January 26 Although there were a few mishaps in the lead up to Big Day Out 2014 (namely losing one of the event’s major distinctions, Blur), once the day arrived the lineup actually looked pretty rock solid. Speaking of rock, Big Day Out has always offered a plentiful selection of loud guitar bands, and this edition was no different. The electric guitar mightn’t be flavour of the month but the diversity of guitar-wielding bands on display ought to put to rest any spurious claims about the ‘death of rock’.

Noon wasn’t too early for Violent Soho to bring grungy thunder to the Red Stage. The Brisbane fourpiece relied heavily on loud-quiet-loud dynamics, although the distortion pedals beckoned like ticking bombs through all of the quieter moments. The packed crowd happily united to scream the “Hell fuck yeah / Yeah, yeah, yeah” refrain of Hottest 100 entry ‘Covered In Chrome’.

Bluejuice took to the main stage in front of a giant “Bluejuice 4 Gay Marriage” backdrop, and Stav Yiannoukas offered a public invitation for PM Tony Abbott to “suck my fucking dick”. Otherwise, the locals’ set was their usual fare; uptempo, sweaty and barely clothed. The alternate main stage also gave Portugal.

The Man the appropriate platform to showcase their increasingly shiny songs. The psychedelic jam attached to opener ‘All Your Light’ aimed to fill the reasonably empty arena, but it felt slightly incidental. ‘Evil Friends’ asserted itself as the group’s strongest single, however the lesser selections from 2013’s Evil Friends LP sounded lacklustre, even with the widescreen projection.

Playing his polite, keys-driven pop to a quiet crowd on the grass was Toro y Moi, but indoors with Kingswood was where the day’s atmosphere began to lift. The Melbourne four-piece is everything a hairy rock band should be. Elsewhere, The Naked And Famous proved again that they’re made for big festival stages – if anything sounds more like summer than these Kiwis, it’ll need to come with a UV warning.

The Drones’ show was aided by comic banter from frontman Gareth Liddiard, drummer Mike Noga and guitarist Dan Luscombe. Between the sweltering ‘I See Seaweed’ and freakshow stomper ‘The Minotaur’, they took aim at crowd members’ groggy appearances and Australian flags as fashion accessories. Meanwhile, the self-proclaimed “better than The Angels’ classic” ‘Shark Fin Blues’ reminded all that The Drones have owned an apocalyptic, dangerous sound for over a decade now.

The criminally scant crowd watching The Drones was partly excused by the one present for Tame Impala.

Whipping up a frenzy on the main stage, the group looked as nonplussed as ever. No-one could help from jerking limbs in time with the accents in ‘Elephant’, and further incitement to move came from a new song centred around an arpeggiating synth line and delay-soaked vocals. Kevin Parker nailed the falsettos in ‘Feels Like We Only Go Backwards’, and closer ‘Apocalypse Dreams’ illustrated how fresh Lonerism sounds 15 months on from release.

The moves were on show during The Hives’ set, too, though this time mostly from a large audience taking instruction from frontman Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist. He’d already promised “the greatest Hives show ever” – as he’s wont to do – and set closer ‘Tick Tick Boom’ took eighteen minutes to finish as Almqvist good-naturedly issued his orders. Not that Beady Eye’s Liam Gallagher appreciated it. He walked onstage offering sympathies for a crowd “bossed around all afternoon”, adding: “I don’t know whether to jump around or do the Macarena”.

It was all grim business for the Oasis offshoots, who despite throwing in a couple of Noel Gallagher’s classics, were the weakest main stage act of the day.

90 minutes might sound like an excessive set length for the festival’s penultimate performers, but Arcade Fire have more than enough memorable tunes to allay any scepticism. ‘Rebellion (Lies)’, ‘Wake Up’ and ‘The Suburbs’ came early on, which seemed a bold move yet barely drained the supply of hits. Arcade Fire’s feel-good-with-a-message approach positively satisfied, if not surpassed, all expectations, confirming them as the classiest stadium band of our era.

major lazer Augustus Welby and Chris Martin

PICS :: KC

The large contingent of the crowd who came purely for Pearl Jam – their t-shirts outnumbered the other bands’ by ten to one – were given plenty to vindicate their ticket purchase. Pearl Jam’s 29-song set was bolstered by the bulkiest sound mix of the day, and no doubt Mr. Vedder and co. satisfied the pious throng before them. However, it feels like Pearl Jam are almost too aware of their fans’ reverence and thus do exactly what’s expected (hit after hit, coupled with biographical details, and the odd new song or cover). But hey, that’s probably not a bad thing. ‘Rearviewmirror’ burned with rage, Mike McCready utterly destroyed eardrums on an extended solo in ‘Jeremy’, and tears welled to the elusive ‘Black’. It was clearly the most enjoyment Pearl Jam had found on a Sydney stage since at least 2006.

“We’re not even Aussies, and we’ve had a great fuckin’ Australia Day,” offered Vedder, and it felt right.

LEY MAR :: 30:01:14 :: Channel [V] Island :: SydneyOUR Harbour LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER :: ASH

thebrag.com

BRAG :: 548 :: 05:02:14 :: 25

live reviews

What we've been out to see...

TORO Y MOI, PORTUGAL. THE MAN

(‘Dayman’ from cult TV show It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia) to the universally recognised (Pink Floyd’s ‘Another Brick In The Wall, Part 2’).

On paper the pairing of chillwave icon Toro y Moi and indie rockers Portugal. The Man looked an odd one. You get the feeling they were squeezed onto the same bill out of necessity rather than any musical kinship, but that didn’t stop both artists from thrilling the crowd at The Hi-Fi in their different ways.

After what seemed like a complete change of crowds between the two acts, Toro y Moi, AKA South Carolina’s Chaz Bundick, took the stage with his backing band and launched straight into his typical electropop grooves. Unfailingly polite and cheery, Bundick had the crowd in a relaxed mood as he opened with a string of his more chilled, synth-laden tracks.

First onstage were Portugal. The Man, with a setlist heavily favouring their seventh album, last year’s excellent Evil Friends.

While his choice of attire (a raincoat that stayed hooded and buttoned up for the whole set) might have been confusing, frontman John Gourley’s unique falsetto was as strong as ever, cutting through the shimmering layers of guitars and keys with ease.

In a playful mood from the start, the Alaskan natives were willing to mix things up as they stretched their hit singles into extended jams and peppered their set with snippets of covers from the obscure

up all night out all week . . .

Just when the crowd was starting to flag, Toro y Moi kicked the tempo up a notch and unleashed a trio of his poppier songs: ‘Rose Quartz’ got the crowd going again, before Bundick reached back to his debut album for ‘Low Shoulder’. He followed this with ‘So Many Details’, the lead single from Anything In Return finding a new, more danceable life when played live. And when the almost anthemic beat of ‘Say That’ was introduced to round out the night, you couldn’t help but smile, nod your head and sing along in the hope Toro y Moi would be back sometime soon.

Keiron Costello

N PHOTOGRAPHER :: LIAM CAMERO

deftones

PICS :: AM

The Hi-Fi Wednesday January 29

snap sn ap

beady eye

PICS :: AM

28:01:14 :: UNSW Roundhouse :: UNSW High St Kensington 9385 7630

27:01:14 :: Enmore Theatre :: 118-132 Enmore Rd Newtown 9550 3666 OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER :: MARIA DE VERA ::

26 :: BRAG :: 548 :: 05:02:14

S :: LIAM CAMERON :: KATRINA

CLARKE :: ASHLEY MAR ::

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snap sn ap

driffs + moon halls

PICS :: KC

up all night out all week . . .

youth lagoon + broods

PICS :: KC

30:01:14 :: The Standard :: 3/383 Bourke St Darlinghurst 9660 7953

02:02:14 :: Frankie's Pizza :: 50 Hunter St Sydney OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER :: MARIA DE VERA ::

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S :: LIAM CAMERON :: KATRINA

CLARKE :: ASHLEY MAR ::

gang of brothers

PICS :: MdV

grimskunk

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30:01:14 :: Oxford Art Factory :: 38-46 Oxford St Darlinghurst 9332 3711

31:01:14 :: The Beresford Hotel :: 354 Bourke St Surry Hills 8313 5000 BRAG :: 548 :: 05:02:14 :: 27

g g guide gig g

send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com

pick of the week The National

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 7 SATURDAY FEBRUARY 8

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 7

Sydney Opera House Forecourt

The National + Luluc 6:30pm. $129.90.

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 5 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK Muso Club Jam Night Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt. 8pm. free.

Pulp Kitchen And Folk Club - feat: Live Rotating Folk Bands Soda Factory, Surry Hills.

5pm. free.

Songsonstage - feat: Peach Montgomery Sackville Hotel, Rozelle.

7:30pm. free.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Akubra Trio Foundry616, Ultimo. 8:30pm. $16.50.

Greg Coffin Trio Venue 505, Surry Hills.

8:30pm. $15.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS Adam Gorecki Hillside Hotel, Castle Hill.

7:30pm. free.

BugGirl + Babymachine + White Knuckle Fever Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney.

7pm. free.

28 :: BRAG :: 548 : 05:02:14

Frightened Rabbit + Gang Of Youths Metro Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $56.70.

Greg Agar Hillside Hotel, Castle Hill.

7:30pm. free.

Greg Byrne Scruffy Murphy’s Hotel, Sydney. 10pm. free.

Havok + King Parrot + Desecrator The Hi-Fi, Moore Park. 7pm. $30.50.

Hot Damn! Punk Rock Karaoke! - feat: Sound Of Seasons + Caulfield + A Ghost Orchestra + Stand Atlantic + Obviously Your Superhero Exchange Hotel, Darlinghurst. 8pm. free.

Luke Dixon Coogee Bay Hotel, Coogee.

10pm. free.

Redlight Ruby O’Malleys Hotel, Kings Cross. 9:30pm. free.

Sarah Paton Observer Hotel, The Rocks.

8:30pm. free.

White Bros Orient Hotel, The Rocks.

9:30pm. free.

Woodey Pitney + Zoe Elliot + James Kelly FBi Social, Kings Cross.

8pm. $10.

FBi Lunchbreak - feat: Major Leagues FBi Social, Kings Cross.

12pm. free.

Heath Burdell Summer Hills Hotel, Summer Hill. 8pm. free.

Joe Echo Duo O’Malleys Hotel, Kings Cross. 10pm. free.

Mark Travers Orient Hotel, The Rocks.

9:30pm. free.

Parquet Courts + Total Control + Bed Wettin’ Bad Boys The Standard, Surry Hills.

8pm. $42.

Sarah Paton Observer Hotel, The Rocks.

8:30pm. free.

Vibrations At Valve Agincourt Hotel, Sydney.

7pm. $15.

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 6 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK Live Music Thursdays Bar100, The Rocks. 5pm. free.

Muso Club Jam Night Carousel Inn Hotel, Rooty Hill. 8pm. free.

Songsonstage - feat: Peach Montgomery Forest Lodge Hotel, Forest Lodge. 7:30pm. free.

Songsonstage - feat:

Andrew Denniston + Peter Williams + Ivy Ruby L’otel, Rozelle. 7:30pm. free.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Cole Soul And Emotion feat: Lionel Cole The White Horse, Surry Hills.

8pm. free.

Daiana Demillo Venue 505, Surry Hills.

8:30pm. $15.

Java Quartet Foundry616, Ultimo. 8:30pm. $16.50.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

10 O’Clock Rock - feat: Steve Smyth Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney.

10pm. free.

Alex Hopkins (Open Mic Night) Northies Cronulla Hotel, Cronulla. 7:30pm. free.

Archie Roach Lizotte’s Dee Why, Dee Why. 7pm. $54.

Brace For Whiplash - feat: Van Cooper + Through A Glass Darkly + Strangerous Collective Agincourt Hotel, Sydney.

7pm. $10.

Dave White Duo Maloney’s Hotel, Sydney.

9:30pm. free.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK Flamin’ Beauties Crown Hotel, Sydney. 8pm. free.

Live Music Fridays Bar100, The Rocks. 5pm. free.

Stormcellar Town Hall Hotel, Balmain.

9pm. free.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Bandaluzia Flamenco + Johnny Tedesco Venue 505, Surry Hills.

8:30pm. $30.

Chris Cody Foundry616, Ultimo. 8:30pm. $21.50.

Five Coffees Jam Gallery, Bondi Junction.

7:30pm. free.

Groundation + Tom Frager The Hi-Fi, Moore Park. 7pm. $45.

King Tide Brass Monkey, Cronulla.

7pm. $23.

Shiva Shakti Kirtan Annandale Neighbourhood Centre, Annandale. 7pm. $15.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Alex Hopkins Wentworthville Leagues Club, Wentworthville. 9pm. free.

Altitude Vinyl Room, Gymea. 9:30pm. free.

Andy Mammers Cronulla RSL, Cronulla.

4:30pm. free.

Beyond Blue Benefit - feat: Amodus + Upside Down Miss Jane + Jonathan Devoy + The London Keys Agincourt Hotel, Sydney.

8pm. $10.

Cashmere Cat Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 10pm. $23.50.

Chosen Few Scruffy Murphy’s Hotel, Sydney. 10pm. free.

Columbus - feat: Favour The Brave + Our Past Days + Old Time Glory

Agincourt Hotel, Sydney.

9pm. $10.

Courtyard Sessions - feat: Forster Anderson Seymour Centre, Chippendale. 6pm. free.

Dirty Deeds - The AC/DC Show Engadine Tavern, Engadine.

8pm. free.

Dora D Duo Castle Hill RSL, Castle Hill.

8pm. free.

Evie Dean Hillside Hotel, Castle Hill.

5pm. free.

Geoff Rana Mona Vale Hotel, Mona Vale.

9pm. free.

Hello Cleveland Horse And Jockey Hotel, Homebush. 7:30pm. free.

Irish Hooley PJ Gallagher’s, Leichhardt.

9pm. free.

James Englund Kings Cross Hotel, Kings Cross. 7pm. free.

James Englund Australian Hotel And Brewery, Rouse Hill. 10pm. free.

Jamie Lindsay Adria, Sydney. 5pm. free.

Jess Dunbar Novotel, Darling Harbour, Sydney. 5:30pm. free.

Jess Dunbar Observer Hotel, The Rocks.

8:30pm. free.

Joe Echo Duo Kirribilli Hotel, Milsons Point.

8pm. free.

Little Napier + Arches + Revier + Thunder Fox FBi Social, Kings Cross.

8pm. $10.

Live Music At The Royal The Royal, Leichhardt.

9:30pm. free.

Luke Dixon Australian Hotel And Brewery, Rouse Hill. 9pm. free.

Luke Dolahenty Northies Cronulla Hotel, Cronulla. 9pm. free.

Matt Price Crows Nest Hotel, Crows Nest. 7pm. free.

Matt Price Duo Kings Cross Hotel, Kings Cross. 11:30pm. free.

Michael Mcglynn New Brighton Hotel, Manly.

10pm. free.

Nicky Kurta Stacks Taverna, Sydney.

5pm. free.

Picture Perfect Tattersalls Hotel Penrith, Penrith. 8:30pm. free.

Pigeon + Back Back Forward Punch Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $13.30.

Pop Fictions Revesby Workers Club, Revesby. 8:30pm. free.

Riz Hallowes Harbord Beach Hotel, Freshwater. 7pm. free.

Rob Henry Castle Hill RSL, Castle Hill.

9pm. free.

Ryan Enright Parramatta RSL Club, Parramatta. 5pm. free.

Selena Gomez Qantas Credit Union Arena, Darling Harbour. 7:30pm.

$100.

Steve Whitmore Mona Vale Hotel, Mona Vale.

5:30pm. free.

The National + Luluc Sydney Opera House, Sydney. 6:30pm. $129.90.

Tim Conlon Greystanes Inn, Greystanes.

8pm. free.

Tkay Maidza + Willow + Rohin Brown Upstairs Beresford, Surry Hills. 6pm. $10.

Tori Darke The Grand Hotel, Rockdale.

5:30pm. free.

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 8 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Finn George IV Inn, Picton. 8pm. free.

Live Music Saturdays Bar100, The Rocks. 4pm. free.

Paul Hayward & Friends Town & Country Hotel, St Peters. 4pm. free.

Shane Nicholson + Gregory Page Lizotte’s Dee Why, Dee Why. 7pm. $34.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Bandaluzia Flamenco feat: Johnny Tedesco Venue 505, Surry Hills.

8:30pm. $30.

Natalie Dietz Foundry616, Ultimo. 8pm. $20.

Paul Reid + Blu Candy + Kelly Taylor + Jasmine Jones Agincourt Hotel, Sydney.

8pm. $10.

Yuki & John - feat: Yuku Kumagai + John Mackie Well Co. Cafe And Wine Bar, Leichhardt. 11am. free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

A Ghost Orchestra - feat: Safe Hands + Arteries + Heiress + The Brave Agincourt Hotel, Sydney.

12pm. $10.

Alex Cannings Observer Hotel, The Rocks.

4:30pm. free.

Alex Hopkins Kirribilli Hotel, Milsons Point.

8pm. free.

Ben Finn Duo The Mean Fiddler, Rouse Hill. 9pm. free.

Bounce Scruffy Murphy’s Hotel, Sydney. 10pm. free.

Cara Kavanagh + Mark Oats Duo PJ Gallagher’s, Leichhardt.

9pm. free.

Carl Fidler Observer Hotel, The Rocks.

Groundation

thebrag.com

g g guide gig g

send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com

wed

thu

05 Feb

06 Feb (9:30PM - 12:30AM)

(9:30PM - 12:30AM)

fri

Vaudeville Smash 3:30pm. free.

Darth Vegas + Lar Tarantella + White Knuckle Fever Jam Gallery, Bondi Junction. 9pm. $10.

Dave White Duo Ettamogah Hotel, Kellyville Ridge. 8:30pm. free.

David Agius Duo The Mean Fiddler, Rouse Hill. 6pm. free.

Electric Anthems Trio Paragon Hotel, Sydney.

9:30pm. free.

Elevate Orient Hotel, The Rocks.

9:30pm. free.

Greg Agar Helensburgh Workers Club, Helensburgh. 8:30pm. free.

Heath Burdell Castle Hill RSL, Castle Hill.

9pm. free.

Ignition Crows Nest Hotel, Crows Nest. 10:30pm. free.

Jamie Lindsay PJ Gallagher’s, Moore Park.

9pm. free.

Jeff Martin & Sarah McLeod + Angel Awake Tattersalls Hotel Penrith, Penrith. 8:30pm. $40.

Jess Dunbar Brewhouse Marayong, Kings Park. 8pm. free.

Jimmy Bear + Elevate Orient Hotel, The Rocks.

4:30pm. $5.

John Field + Leon Fallon Northies Cronulla Hotel, Cronulla. 9pm. free.

Keith Armitage Sir Joseph Banks Hotel, Botany. 7pm. free.

Luke Dolahenty Duo Woolloomooloo Bay Hotel, Woolloomooloo. 9pm. free.

Luke Escombe & The Corporation Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 9pm. $10.

Made In Japan + The Khanz + Enerate The Standard, Surry Hills.

8pm. $10.

Major Leagues + The Ocean Party Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $10.

Matt Boylan-Smith Greystanes Inn, Greystanes.

8pm. free.

Matt Price Trio Northies Cronulla Hotel, Cronulla. 8:45pm. free.

Miami Horror + Client Liason Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $28.60.

Nicky Kurta Harbord Beach Hotel, Freshwater. 7pm. free.

Pop Fictions The Mean Fiddler, Rouse Hill. 8pm. free.

Renae Stone Stacks Taverna, Sydney.

6pm. free.

Spectacles + Feick’s Device + Twin Caverns + Little Heart + Phondupe FBi Social, Kings Cross.

8pm. $10.

Spin The Bottle - feat: Three Kings Down + After Thirteen + Baldwins + Monte + Samba Ninja + Bronte + Estelle Conley Trio Spectrum, Darlinghurst.

8pm. $15.

The National + Luluc thebrag.com

Sydney Opera House, Sydney. 6:30pm. $129.90.

The Water Board + Love Parade + J Smith & The Kids The Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 8pm. $9.

Vaudeville Smash + Glass Towers + Avivaa + DJ Kristy Lee Upstairs Beresford, Surry Hills. 6pm. free.

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 9 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Chill Out Sundays Scubar, Sydney. 7:30pm. free.

Eugene Hideaway Bridges Lizotte’s Dee Why, Dee Why. 7pm. $29.

Intimate Sessions Paragon Hotel, Sydney.

6pm. free.

Live Music Sundays Bar100, The Rocks. 1pm. free.

Sam Marks Oatley Hotel, Oatley. 2pm. free.

Sunday Blues And Roots The White Horse, Surry Hills. 5pm. free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS Belle Heavens + Scandalgate Agincourt Hotel, Sydney.

5pm. $10.

Daybreak Showcase Agincourt Hotel, Sydney.

12pm. $10.

Evie Dean Mill Hill Hotel, Bondi Junction. 3pm. free.

Heath Burdell Coogee Bay Hotel, Coogee.

8:30pm. free.

Jess Dunbar + Matt Price Duo Woolloomooloo Bay Hotel, Woolloomooloo. 3pm. free.

Joe Echo Duo The Mean Fiddler, Rouse Hill. 1pm. free.

Mark Travers Ettamogah Hotel, Kellyville Ridge. 1pm. free.

Matt Jones Band Three Wise Monkeys, Sydney. 10pm. free.

Mojo + Gary Johns Trio Orient Hotel, The Rocks.

4:30pm. free.

Nicky Kurta Manly Skiff Sailing Club, Manly. 4pm. free.

Rob Henry Observer Hotel, The Rocks.

8pm. free.

Steve Tonge Observer Hotel, The Rocks.

8:30pm. free.

The Baddies Botany View Hotel, Newtown. 7pm. free.

The Koffi Boys Harbord Beach Hotel, Freshwater. 5pm. free.

Three Wise Men Observer Hotel, The Rocks.

4pm. free.

Venus Duo

07 Feb

MONDAY FEBRUARY 10 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Songsonstage - feat: Stuart Jammin + Chris Brookes + Massimo Presti + Rick Taylor Kelly’s On King, Newtown.

7pm. free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

(9:30PM - 1:30AM)

(4:30PM - 7:30PM)

Northies Cronulla Hotel, Cronulla. 6pm. free.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON

SUNDAY AFTERNOON

(4:30PM - 7:30PM)

sat

sun

08

(4:30PM - 7:30PM)

09

Feb

Feb

(9:30PM - 12:30AM)

mon

(8:30PM - 12:00AM)

tue

10

11

Feb

Feb

(9:00PM - 12:00AM)

(9:30PM - 12:30AM)

Frankie’s World Famous House Band Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney.

9pm. free.

Steve Twitchin Orient Hotel, The Rocks.

9pm. free.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

Big Swing Band Tattersalls Hotel Penrith, Penrith. 7:30pm. free.

Happy Mondays Game Night Venue 505, Surry Hills.

8:30pm. free.

Latin & Jazz Jam Open Mic Night World Bar, Kings Cross.

7pm. free.

Motown Mondays - feat: Soulgroove The White Horse, Surry Hills. 8pm. free.

Reggae Monday Civic Underground, Sydney.

10pm. free.

MELBOURNE

February 7th Live @ Albert Park Yacht Club SYDNEY

February 12th Live @ Django Bar

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 11 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

Hobart

Jazzgroove - feat: Mary Rapp + Felucca Foundry616, Ultimo. 8pm. $16.50.

Old School Funk & Groove Night Venue 505, Surry Hills.

8:30pm. free.

Rumba Motel Salsa - feat: DJ Willie Sabor + Friends The Establishment, Sydney.

6pm. free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS Co-Pilot Orient Hotel, The Rocks.

9:30pm. free.

Ed Kowalczyk Enmore Theatre, Newtown.

8:30pm. $90.

Greg Agar Scruffy Murphy’s Hotel, Sydney. 7pm. free.

Rob Henry Observer Hotel, The Rocks.

5pm. free.

February 14th Live @ The Homestead BRISBANE

February 23rd Live @ Black Bear Lodge

ANN VRIEND AUSTRALIAN TOUR 2014 www.annvriend.com

Sponsored by

www.davidhandproductions.com www.facebook.com/annvriend

& BRAG :: 548 :: 05:02:14 :: 29

gig picks

up all night out all week...

Frightened Rabbit

Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered!

96 Cumberland Street, THE ROCKS 9247 4794 theglenmore.com.au | info@theglenmore.com.au

INXS SHOW TRIBUTE

ORIGINAL SIN

Pigeon + Back Back Forward Punch Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $13.30.

BugGirl + Babymachine + White Knuckle Fever Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 7pm. Free.

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 8

Parquet Courts + Total Control + Bed Wettin’ Bad Boys The Standard, Surry Hills. 8pm. $42.

Shane Nicholson + Gregory Page Lizotte’s Dee Why, Dee Why. 7pm. $34.

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 6

HERE NO JUDGEMENT N LET’S PARTY!

+ + + +

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 5

Darth Vegas + Lar Tarantella + White Knuckle Fever Jam Gallery, Bondi Junction. 9pm. $10.

10 O’clock Rock - feat: Steve Smyth Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 10pm. Free.

Jeff Martin & Sarah Mcleod + Angel Awake Tattersalls Hotel Penrith, Penrith. 8:30pm. $40.

Archie Roach Lizotte’s Dee Why, Dee Why. 7pm. $54.

Made In Japan + The Khanz + Enerate The Standard, Surry Hills. 8pm. $10.

Frightened Rabbit + Gang Of Youths Metro Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $56.70.

Major Leagues + The Ocean Party Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $10.

Havok + King Parrot + Desecrator The Hi-Fi, Moore Park. 7pm. $30.50.

Miami Horror + Client Liason Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $28.60.

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 7

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 9

Bandaluzia Flamenco + Johnny Tedesco Venue 505, Surry Hills. 8:30pm. $30.

Groundation + Tom Frager The Hi-Fi, Moore Park. 7pm. $45.

Eugene Hideaway Bridges Lizotte’s Dee Why, Dee Why. 7pm. $29.

Cashmere Cat Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 10pm. $23.50.

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 11

Little Napier + Arches + Revier + Thunder Fox FBi Social, Kings Cross. 8pm. $10.

Ed Kowalczyk Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 8:30pm. $90.

+ + + +

9LJHW[\YL [OL THNPJ VM VUL VM (\Z[YHSPH»Z ILZ[ SV]LK IHUKZ ^P[O V\Y LWPJ 05?: [YPI\[L ZOV^ :WHUUPUN [OYLL KLJHKLZ VM T\ZPJ [OL ZOV^ MLH[\YLZ ZVTL VM [OL IHUK»Z NYLH[LZ[ OP[Z ¶ Don’t Change, Just Keep Walking, What You Need, New Sensation, Burn For You & more.

7LYMVYTLK ^P[O H WHZZPVU 4PJOHLS /\[JOLUJL ^V\SK IL WYV\K VM P[»Z `V\Y JOHUJL [V [OYPSS `V\Y ZLUZLZ HUK YL SP]L [OL 05?: L_WLYPLUJL

9:30PM EVERY FRIDAY NIGHT IN FEBRUARY

Miami Horror

The Star practises the responsible service of alcohol. Guests must be 18 years or over to enter the casino.

Think! About your choices. Call Gambling Help 1800 858 858 www.gamblinghelp.nsw.gov.au The Star Pty Limited. 0JL3ASNHS2

30 :: BRAG :: 548 : 05:02:14

thebrag.com

brag beats

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

dance music news club, dance and hip hop in brief... with Chris Honnery

five things HARRISON STAFFORD FROM GROUNDATION

Groundation photo by Phillipe Gassies

WITH

Ryan Hemsworth

Growing Up I grew up in a very 1. musical household. My father

that people and cultures inspire me the most.

was a jazz piano player who was constantly playing LPs in the family room; Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Thelonious Monk et cetera.

As a young child, whenever I couldn’t sleep my father was there playing this jazz music and talking to me about the artists and their lives in music. In fact, my father and his quartet performed a series of concerts on the East Coast in the 1950s with Count Basie, and the performances would end with my father and Basie performing together on one piano. I feel this put a deep love of the foundation of jazz within my heart and showed me that it was a commitment to the music that drives the passion, not money or fame.

Your Crew Groundation formed 3. out of the jazz performance

Ryan Hemsworth photo by Sean Berrigan

Inspirations Of course Bob Marley is 2. one of my all-time favourites.

I can remember the first LP I ever owned as a kid was Rastaman Vibration, and I would spend years dissecting his music. I also remember The Beatles and their album Abbey Road, which my parents owned and listened to often; Led Zeppelin’s IV was a huge influence; and Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side Of The Moon. Today I find

DJ SHADOW

department at Sonoma State University in Northern California in 1996. From the first moments playing together in small jazz combos we felt a connection; Marcus Urani on piano, Ryan Newman on bass and Jason Robinson on saxophone. Our union is from a love of music that pushes boundaries and does not conform to the ways of ‘pop’ music and culture.

The Music You Make The Groundation style 4. is a fusion of sound. People say it’s John Coltrane meets Burning Spear, and I agree to some extent. Our sound is deeply rooted in roots reggae ‘one drop’ style like Bob Marley, but has these added elements of odd harmonic movements, polyrhythmic adventures, and long-form through composed arrangements.

The studio albums are like a painting which you hang on the wall and admire every day, and each time you look into it you find something new. However, the live performance is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, something never to be

This weekend’s DJ Shadow performance will now be a nighttime event on Saturday February 8 running from 7pm to 2am at The Metro Theatre (and not a day party at Ivy as was originally announced). All previously purchased tickets are still valid, and refunds will be offered from Moshtix and Ticket Fairy to people who can no longer attend due to the change in event running times.

A celebrated fi gure who melds hip hop and electronic soundscapes, Shadow probably

repeated, and it is meant to be for the people who are there experiencing the moment.

Music, Right Here, Right Now 5.

The music scene today is dominated by pop culture.

It’s no longer the strength of the music that pushes through, it’s your image and publicist that markets you to the masses. It’s producers bringing in people who really are not singers or musicians and with all the modern-day tools they can make anyone sound great.

The music scene like our life today is plastic; McDonald’s sells the most food in America because it costs nothing and it is engineered to taste amazing, but it has zero nutritional value.

The biggest obstacle to overcome is to push through the mass of music out there and get your message and sound to the people. Being in California and playing reggae music you have a strong underground support because the music has a message and it teaches people good things which will serve them well in the future.

With: Tom Frager Where: The Hi-Fi When: Friday February 7

remains best known for his pioneering 1996 debut album Endtroducing…, which has been followed by subsequent releases Pre-emptive Strike, The Private Press, The Outsider, the Bay Area EP and The Less You Know The Better, as well as other production projects such as the James Lavelle collaboration that was UNKLE’s Psyence Fiction. Support on the night will come from Katalyst and DJ Dexter, a four-time DMC champion and DJ for The Avalanches.

RYAN HEMSWORTH

Canada’s Ryan Hemsworth will play Ivy Pool Club on the afternoon of Saturday March 1, spinning alongside the likes of Kitsune’s Slow Magic, Empress Yoy and Big Deal Gillespie. A member of Main Attrakionz’s Green Ova and Shlohmo’s Wedidit collective, the 20-something-year-old Hemsworth has been a go-to producer for some of the most interesting hip hop acts to have broken through in the past few years, while remixing the likes of Frank Ocean and Danny Brown. The revelry commences at noon, with presale tickets online.

SPICY STOJAN

Berliner Nico Stojan headlines the Spice Cellar on Saturday February 8. A classically trained saxophonist, Stojan was resident DJ at the celebrated – but now sadly shut – Berlin playpen Kater Holzig, and has thrown down at many of Europe’s foremost nightclubs, including Cocoon, Watergate and Panorama Bar. Stojan is also an adept producer who has released on labels such as Highgrade and Philip Bader’s Dantze imprint, and collaborated with the likes of Bader, Nicone and Acid Pauli throughout his career. Stojan heads a DJ bill that also comprises Michelle Owen – who recently returned from a lengthy stint in Berlin herself – Murat Kilic, Robbie Lowe and Le Brond. Something of a pin-up in the local club scene, Le Brond has played at many of Sydney’s most respected club brands through the years, including Minimal Fuss and Circoloco, supporting internationals such as Buzzin Fly mainman Ben Watt, Dixon, Akufen, Konrad Black, Diatribe and Gregor Treshor along the way, while in terms of international jaunts he’s played at Berlin’s Arena Club with Dop and Motor City Drum Ensemble and at Transit party in New Caledonia.

Todd Terje

TODD TERJE: IT’S ALBUM TIME

Norwegian disco proponent Todd Terje will finally release his debut album in April on his very own Olsen Records label. Self-referentially titled It’s Album Time, the LP will feature a dozen tracks, including Terje’s hit singles ‘Inspector Norse’ and ‘Strandbar’, along with a cover of the late Robert Palmer’s ‘Johnny And Mary’ sung by the suave Bryan Ferry of Roxy Music fame. The fact that Terje has risen to the apex of the club milieu without releasing an album arguably evinces the minimal importance and impact LPs have on a dance producer’s success and status. Terje has built his reputation through EPs released on labels such as Permanent Vacation, Kompakt, Get Physical and Playhouse and DJ sets that he self-deprecatingly describes as “silly and effective”. Terje has also remixed the likes of Hot Chip, Paul Simon, Moodymann and even Robbie Williams, though perhaps his most memorable rework is of Shit Robot’s ‘Work It Out’, which still didn’t come close to attaining the level of success Terje reached with his later immense single ‘Ragysh’.

BRAG :: 548 :: 05:02:14 :: 31

dance music news

free stuff

club, dance and hip hop in brief... with Chris Honnery

head to: thebrag.com/freeshit

five things WITH

AMINE EDGE & DANCE Chemical Brothers for big beat to Armand van Helden and Todd Terry for house. I’m very nostalgic about my childhood passion for music. The hip hop scene now influences me more – [artists] like Problem, A$AP Rocky or Tyga.

D: My favourite musician ever is R. Kelly. He’s like my dad [laughs]. I’ve listened to him every day since I was really young. Otherwise I love hip hop, and A Tribe Called Quest. Slum Village was the first rap group I was into.

3.

Growing Up Amine Edge: I was very 1. young and curious about this art called music – was fascinated about house garage, techno, ambient and all the electronic genres.

Dance: My big sister taught me about rap music when I was 12.

Then I started to get interested in rap and R&B from the USA. I was listening to it every day, until I decided to produce my own music.

Inspirations AE: My favourites are the 2. classics – from Prodigy and

MOTORIK X BROMANCE RECORDS

Your Crew AE: My crew is only Dance and me. But we work with many homies on tracks, like Kenny Dope, MK, DJ Sneak, Roger Sanchez, Tough Love, et cetera.

My ‘shitty day job’ is when I go home after gigs and work on my computer to organise some logistics shit like remix schedules or label organisation.

D: Our crew is Amine, me, and Max our agent/manager/father/ big brother. We work with a lot of house artists like Amine said,

and I’m actually still working with French rappers like Deen Burbigo.

I do some secret shit with my homie Ikaz as well – shhhh!

The Music You Make AE: All we play is house, 4. dirty, hip hop-inspired, real and ballsy. We play lots of unreleased bangers from us and from our label CUFF; most of the tracks we play now will be out one year afterwards. Just enjoy the moment.

Music, Right Here, Right Now 5.

D: There are a lot of amazing producers in this game who inspired me, like Justin Martin, MK, Chris Lorenzo… but I actually listen to rap and R&B all day long. So at the moment I’m into Drake, R. Kelly, Jhene Aiko and Gucci Mane.

What: Marco Polo ft. Amine Edge & Dance Where: Ivy Pool Club When: Sunday February 9

DJ Shadow

DJ SHADOW: ALL BASSES COVERED

Pioneering Californian producer DJ Shadow knows his beats – he’s said to have over 60,000 records in his collection. Shadow is bringing them our way (or what he can fit in his carry-on, at least) for an All Basses Covered show at the Metro Theatre this Saturday February 8, where he’ll be joined by a bumper lineup including DJ Dexter, Kilter, Katalyst, Joyride, A-Tonez and more. The show’s been moved from the Ivy, with all tickets purchased for that venue still valid. Speaking of tickets, we’ve got two double passes up for grabs – for your chance to win, head to thebrag.com/ freeshit and tell us the one record from your collection you’d take to a desert island.

cognoscenti. With its records only available via mail order through their website, shitfuckyou.com, Sex Tags Mania has been singled out for praise by straight-shooting iconoclasts such as Omar-S, and has accumulated an eclectic discography over the past decade that comprises some lesserknown Todd Terje edits along with releases from DJ Fett Burger himself. “We like people who work for what they like, that’s kind of the attitude,” Mitterer affirmed in a rare interview. “We also work a lot to get our records, or our influences. If you’re really interested, you buy the records. If you’re not that interested, if you’re like, ‘Yeah, yeah,’ then you don’t need our records.” Renowned for possessing a broad sonic palette encompassing techno, disco, Chicago house, psychedelia, surf rock, dub reggae and lo-fi experimentalism (and the rest), Burger will be given carte blanche to display his full arsenal amid the warehouse setting by the HAHA lads, who will also be DJing earlier in the night. Tickets are on sale now for $25 exclusively through the website thisiswhitelabel.com.

Charles Bradley

The Motorik posse are hosting a Bromance record label showcase at The Basement on Saturday February 15 featuring dual international headliners. First up is the sultry Louisahhh!!! from NYC, a lady who collaborated with Danny Daze for a release on the Hot Creations imprint and Frenchman Brodinski on the popular singles ‘Nobody Rules The Streets’ and ‘Let The Beat Control Your Body’ before releasing her first solo EP on Bromance records last year. Meanwhile, Maelstrom is the moniker of Parisian producer Joan Mael Peneau, who broke through courtesy of EPs on Claude VonStroke’s Dirtybird label, Boysnoize Records and Sound Pellegrino in France. Peneau has previously thrown down for the Motorik! Crew, so Sydneysiders should be familiar with his sound palette, which melds electro and Detroit techno influences, with plenty of dark basslines thrown in for good measure. This will be a late night romp, kicking off at midnight and running through till 7am.

Louisahhh!!!

CHARLES BRADLEY

An additional Charles Bradley show has been announced for The Basement on Monday March 3 after tickets for his performance the previous night sold out. Bradley started out earning a crust as a James Brown impersonator at a Brooklyn nightclub before being discovered by Daptone’s Gabe Roth. His rise to fame was the subject of a documentary, Charles Bradley: Soul of America, which begins by focusing on Bradley’s life as a 62-year-old semi-literate handyman and part-time James Brown tribute act, and charts his subsequent ascension to the big time. Bradley broke through with the release of his debut album No Time For Dreaming, before cementing his status as a masterful vocalist and skilled craftsman of subtle psychedelic soul (not to mention various items of household furniture) with last year’s sophomore LP Victim of Love.

SOUL OF SYDNEY FT TERRENCE PARKER

Detroit’s Terrence Parker, who has been producing since the early ’80s and is credited as pioneering an ‘uplifting’ sound that would later become known as gospel house, will perform for Soul of Sydney at a venue described as a “secret inner city disco oasis” that will be revealed only to ticket holders.

Parker’s sonic CV includes hit cuts ‘Love’s Got Me High’ and ‘The Question’, along with remixes of Kelly Rowland, Beyonce, Shakira and Kanye West. For those who enjoy a good backstory/ tangent, Parker is also recognised for using an actual telephone handset for headphones, which is probably the genesis of his nickname, ‘Telephone Man’. Parker will be flanked by a lengthy support cast of DJs, including Simon Caldwell, 2ser’s Frenzie and Phil Toke.

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Caldwell’s DJ pedigree is well documented; he’s co-promoted one of Australia’s longest running dance parties Mad Racket for the last 15 years, pushes quality deep grooves every week on his Sunset show on FBi Radio, and had the honour of being of only the second Australian to put together an RA Podcast. The party will run from 1-9pm on Sunday February 23, with $15 presale tickets available online.

HAHA FT DJ FETT BURGER

The co-founder of the cult ‘vinyl-only’ record label Sex Tags Mania, Norwegian tastemaker Peter Mitterer, AKA DJ Fett Burger, headlines HAHA’s next warehouse party on Saturday March 1.

While Burger also curates the ancillary label Sex Tags UFO, his status as a supreme selector is derived in the most part from his role overseeing Sex Tags Mania, a label that is extolled by the club

Oscar Key Sung

INPUT AT FBI SOCIAL

Calling all aspiring producers (or those who are just curious): the next Ableton Liveschool production conference, ‘Input’, is slotted for the afternoon of Saturday February 22 at FBi Social in Kings Cross. The limited capacity event aims to connect the audience with leading producers and renowned music industry operators within Australia’s electronic music scene, who will divulge music production techniques, industry insights, career advice and hold Q&As. The lineup of speakers for this event includes Michael Di Francesco (AKA Touch Sensitive), Oscar Key Sung of Oscar + Martin notoriety, Modular Records A&R’s Michael Kucyk, and Thomas McAlister (a touring member of Canyons), with Adam Maggs hosting proceedings. $35 tickets are currently on sale online.

Come to Tailors on Central, this Friday the 7th of Feb to see some live acts!!

Mary st, central. Entry $15.

Find us on Facebook "Band Night at Tailors On Central" for more information.

I M A G I N E B E I N G M A D E TO

F EEL L IKE CRAP JU ST FOR

BEING

LEFT

H A N D E D.

Okay, that’s hard to imagine? But being gay, lesbian, bi, trans or intersex is no different to being born left handed, it’s just who you are. So stop and think because the things we say are likely to cause depression and anxiety. And that really is pretty crap.

GO TO LEFTHAND.ORG.AU TO WATCH THE VIDEO

STOP t THINK t RESPECT

BRAG :: 548 :: 05:02:14 :: 33

Ben Pearce

What He Might Do Next By Alasdair Duncan

hectic, and this last year has defi nitely been the best of my life.

It all seems like a blur to say the least!”

Pearce hasn’t always inhabited the world of house music. In fact, like many of his contemporaries, he got his start in rock bands before moving into the world of beatmaking. His first forays into electronic music, he says, came about slowly, until he eventually realised it was the right fit for him. “I guess meeting new people and getting invited to clubs with techno and house was probably the narcotic-fuelled moment where I just thought, ‘Yeah, this is really good,’” he says. “The dubstep scene was teetering into the rock clubs, there was a power hour of D&B and dubstep at one of our regular places, so I got into electronic music there, and I started out DJing that kind of stuff.”

T

he UK’s Ben Pearce positively blew up dancefl oors in 2012 with ‘What I Might Do’ – the deep house track came to serve as his calling card, garnering support from some of dance music’s

biggest names and establishing him as one of the year’s most intriguing newcomers. The ensuing year has been big for Pearce, who suddenly fi nds himself very much in demand. He has played alongside the likes of

Seth Troxler and Theo Parrish, and released some high-profi le remixes of his own. I ask him how the increased amount of attention has altered his life. “It’s so hard to say because everything has changed so much. It’s been

Though Pearce insists that he only started making tracks for a laugh, his music quickly caught on – the success of ‘What I Might Do’ caught him totally by surprise.

“I never thought it would happen, I couldn’t have even dreamed of any of this,” he says. His home studio set-up is still fairly minimal. “At the moment, I have a couple of hardware synths and run everything through a UAD. I’m starting to expand and it’s been fairly hard not to splash on a lot of stuff but I want to do it constructively, I want to do a lot of recording eventually, so getting a

mic was a priority.”

Following up a hit like ‘What I Might Do’ is no easy thing, and Pearce is well aware of the pressure he is currently under. He has a series of new releases due out in the coming months and hopes they will strike a similar chord. “I have a new EP coming out in the middle of February, then a single after that,” he says. “Along with that, there are also a couple of remixes I’ve done, including one for Kwabs, which is online now. I’ve got some more stuff in the pipeline that I’m excited about. It will be nice, hopefully, to not just to be known for one record anymore.”

Pearce is all set to make his debut trip to Australia, and ask if any DJ friends have passed on advice about crowds in this part of the world. “I’ve always wanted to go, and I have a few friends who have been, both DJing and holidaying, and they’ve only sung praise – so I’m really excited about it,” he says.

“As for my shows, I would hope I’ll just be playing good music that’ll make people dance. I usually go through a wide range of genres and maybe throw a couple of curveballs in. I suppose it’s quite hard to describe and I really can’t speak highly of myself without instantly regretting it.”

With: Kid Kenobi Where: Chinese Laundry When: Saturday February 8

Borgore The Death Of Dubstep By Tom Kitson

I

sraeli jazz musician and metal drummer turned dubstep king Borgore, AKA Asaf Borger, has never let himself be tied down to any one genre. Discovering a love of dubstep and electronic music in mid-2000, Borger set up his own label, Buygore Records, and created the self-described subgenre of ‘gorestep’, comprised of “triplet drum patterns with heavy metal infl uences”. More recently, he’s had to rebound from dubstep’s decline and incorporate more of his favourite genres into the mix.

“Dubstep is kind of dead right now, it’s not happening,” he says. “I think the Skrillex-inspired boom helped things get really big, really fast, and like many things that happen quickly, it went away just as quickly.

Skrillex brought such a high-quality product that everyone else wanted to emulate, so there were a lot of copies and unoriginal material coming out. New things weren’t being explored and the genre got tired.”

A multi-faceted trained musician always takes an interest in different genres, so Borger was able to tweak his electronic sound with trap and house music influences. He performed in LA for New Year’s Eve, a fair stretch from his beginnings as a jazz musician entertaining some less-than-energetic crowds.

“New Year’s Eve was unreal,” he says. “We did a show in the [Hollywood] Palladium – one of the most iconic places in LA – with 1,300 people there, so it was really a night to remember.

“I used to play jazz for years, where you go crazy improvising and playing complicated things at 300 BPM with a few hand claps from older people in the crowd. Then you go and play electronic music with a few notes over a crazy bassline and everyone’s going mental, so I’d say I like that experience better.”

34 :: BRAG :: 548 :: 05:02:14

Mostly renowned for his heavy electro sounds and big room style, Borger says outside of showtime he’s always listening to new things and coming up with ideas not solely designed to be electronically produced.

“I’ve always loved writing music in general, spending most of the day in front of the piano writing songs and not for any particular genre,” he explains. “My passion for electronic music has come from how much I enjoy playing live and having such a huge crowd response.”

The party’s well and truly charging on for Borgore with the release of the Wild Out EP last November, featuring Waka Flocka Flame and up-and-coming producer Victor Niglio.

“I had really good times working with Waka Flocka and I think we made a really good track together combining trap and that big room sound,” says Borger. “I think the whole EP is really eclectic, with ‘Wild Out’ being quite commercial and ‘Booty Monsta’ [featuring Niglio] being unlike anything else out there.”

A key inspirational factor for Borger going forward is drawing upon likeminded producers and labels like Spinnin’ Records and Dim Mak, combined with his personal taste coming through in his sets. “I’ve really been into what Spinnin’ Records are doing – deep house and trap are really cool and I still like putting on a few dubstep tracks. I always remind myself that people come to my show to have a good time and I’m there to entertain them more than anything.

Everything is very party-orientated, but I like to throw in a few tunes I personally like regardless of that.”

With his EP and latest influences the cornerstone for his upcoming visit to Sydney, Borger says his sets need to be improvised on the night to maintain freshness and keep the crowd interested and liking what they hear. “You have to know what music suits what crowd,” he says. “Songs that might be huge in the US might not be the same in Australia, for example, so I always like to ask local people what they listen to and I try to relate to them in their language.

“Being a small club tour this time, it will just be me and my music; maybe a few dancers coming up onstage for some songs that are really exciting me at the moment.”

With releases planned on Spinnin’, Buygore and Dim Mak in 2014 along with the added pressures of constant touring, Borger likes to think of time spent at home recording as the only chance he gets for a holiday. “For me, recording is time off,” he laughs.

“I like to be in the studio and spend some free time playing video games. I’m a pretty simple person.”

What: Borgore’s Wild Out Valentine’s With: The Partysquad, Run DMT, Owsla, Nemo, Hydraulix, PhaseOne, Mind Control Protocol and more Where: Ivy When: Saturday February 15

thebrag.com

Deep Impressions Dance And Electronica with Chris Honnery

xpert sound engineer Tobias Freund will release A Series Of Shocks, his second album under his Tobias. moniker, on the Ostgut Ton label at the end of March. If you dig deep into Freund’s musical background, which extends way back to the mid-’80s, you’ll find he not only had a hand in postproduction duties on Function’s debut album Incubation (not so surprising) but also worked for the likes of Boney M (very surprising indeed) and Meat Loaf (…!). Just like the title of its 2011 predecessor, Leaning Over Backwards, which referenced Wire’s ‘Single K.O.’, A Series Of Shocks was also inspired by lyrics from a disparate songwriter, in this instance one David Robert Jones, who is best known by his stage name, David Bowie. Freund explained recently that Bowie’s line “A series of shocks” (from ‘Up The Hill Backwards’) tied in perfectly with his idea: “to make a raw and dark techno album”. Freund has previously released albums under such pseudonyms as Pink Elln, Zoon and with Max Loderbauer as nsi., and it is no surprise that Loderbauer makes an appearance on ‘Entire’, the opening track of A Series Of Shocks. From this point of departure, Freund embarks on an hour-odd journey through techno constructed via analogue synthesisers and intricate sampling that will enthral techno purists and Berghain fanboys (who should head straight for the track ‘He Said’), and indeed anyone who wants to gorge themselves upon “raw and dark techno”.

E

The mysterious German producer Sebastian Kramer, AKA Redshape, will headline Sonido at The Civic Underground on Saturday March 1 with a live set. Renowned for wearing a decidedly creepy red mask that wouldn’t be out of place adorning the killer in a 1970s slasher flick – think Dario A’argento, Tobe Hooper etc. – Redshape’s identity was a mystery at the time of his first release under the moniker back in ’06, ‘2084’/‘ULTRA’, and remained unknown when he released his debut LP, The Dance Paradox, which was met with a strong positive critical response that was characterised by such buzzwords as ‘cinematic’, ‘technically astute’ and a throwback to the warm ‘analogue’

up all night out all week . . .

sounds of yesteryear – dem bad old good old days. Crafting productions that subtly conjure the Detroit techno zeitgeist and releasing on Delsin, Gerd Janson’s Running Back imprint and his own Present label, Kramer’s stature has continued to grow in the dance world, and his identity has now become public knowlege. “The mask kind of developed to its very own thing,” Kramer stated retrospectively, adding: “It is for sure a ‘love-hate’ relationship I have with it; it competes for attention when I not always want it, or at least not in that way.”

Kramer’s second LP, Square, dropped in 2012, and cemented his standing as a dexterous producer who is able to create music for home listening and the club environment, weaving together ambient passages inspired by auteurs like Eno and Robert Fripp with more robust, dancefloor-focused cuts. Kramer has also completed remixes of Ellen Allien, Martyn and Norman Nodge over the past few years, all the while striving to preserve a “close connection to that inner fire which made me love music and want to create; that’s where all the voodoo of a good production lies.”

German DJ/producer Dana Ruh, who is the co-owner of the Brouqade label, has been ‘bubbling under’ for a while now, releasing EPs on highly regarded labels such as the aforementioned Ostgut Ton, Buzzin’ Fly and Damian Lazarus’ Crosstown Rebels cash cow, while her collaborations with compatriot Andre Galluzzi on his Aras label piqued the interest of yours truly. With such a commendable discography under her belt, not to mention DJ appearances at fabric and Panorama Bar, Ruh has recently taken the next step in any producer’s career and completed her debut LP, Naturally. It will be released through JusEd’s Underground Quality label, with the label head honcho also appearing on the album. Made up of 11 tracks, each comprised of smooth, deep house soundscapes, Naturally is an album that captures Ruh’s creed of creating and sharing: “Music that moves me and that gives me the possibility to create a nice journey”. Released on Saturday February 1, Naturally is currently available for your listening consumption – so go forth and check it out, inquisitive readers.

LOOKING DEEPER

carl cox

PICS :: AM

Tobias Freund

snap

01:02:14 :: The Ivy Pool Club :: 330 George St Sydney 9254 8100

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 8 DVS1 The Basement

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 22 Damiano von Erckert The Civic Underground

SATURDAY MARCH 1

Redshape The Civic Underground

SUNDAY MARCH 2 DJ Harvey TBA

daniel haaksman

PICS :: AM

Redshape photo by Ragnar Schmuck

Redshape

31:01:14 :: Goodgod Small Club :: 53-55 Liverpool St Chinatown 8084 0587

Deep Impressions: electronica manifesto and occasional club brand. Contact through deep.impressions@yahoo.com thebrag.com

OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER :: MARIA DE VERA ::

S :: LIAM CAMERON :: KATRINA

CLARKE :: ASHLEY MAR ::

BRAG :: 548 :: 05:02:14 :: 35

club guide g send your listings to : clubguide@thebrag.com

XXYYXX

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 8 CLUB NIGHTS

Ben Pearce + Kid Kenobi + A-Tonez + U-Khan + Raull + Visual Lies + DJ Skoob Fingers + Gg Magree Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 8pm. $22.

Cakes - feat: 4 Rooms Of Live Music + DJs And

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 6 The Standard

+ Wave Racer + Basenji

CLUB NIGHTS

DJ Tom Kelly Goldfish, Kings Cross. 11pm. free.

House Party Scubar, Sydney. 8pm. free.

Sosueme - feat: Young Franco Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 7:30pm. free.

The Supper Club - feat: Resident DJs Kit & Kaboodle, Kings Cross.

10pm. free.

Whip It Wednesdays - feat: Various DJs Whaat Club, Kings Cross.

9pm. free.

HIP HOP & R&B

Autre Ne Veut + Oscar Key Sung Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $36.

36 :: BRAG :: 548 : 05:02:14

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 6 CLUB NIGHTS

$5 Everything Scubar, Sydney. 5pm. free.

Four Tet (DJ Set) Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 9pm. $45.

Goldfish And Friends feat: Regular Rotating Residents Goldfish, Kings Cross. 10pm. free.

Loopy - feat: Drty Csh + Daschwood + Generous Greed + Guest DJs The Backroom, Sydney.

10pm. $12.

Pool Club Thursdays - feat: Resident DJs

CLUB NIGHTS

Compound Pres. Ben Fester B2B Zeus - feat: Waz + Statz + Subaske

MONDAY FEBRUARY 10 CLUB NIGHTS

Crab Racing Scubar, Sydney. 7pm. free.

DJ Mattia Goldfish, Kings Cross. 11pm. free.

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 11 CLUB NIGHTS

Chu World Bar, Kings Cross. 9pm. free.

DJ Robin Goldfish, Kings Cross. 11pm. free.

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 5

Metro Theatre, Sydney. 7pm. $75.65.

Spice 08.02 - feat: Nico Stojan The Spice Cellar, Sydney. 10pm. $20.

Sosueme - feat: Young Franco Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 7:30pm.

Free.

Autre Ne Veut + Oscar Key Sung Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $36.

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 9

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 6

8pm. $38.90.

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 5

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 9

Goodgod Small Club, Sydney.

11pm. $10.

La Fiesta - feat: Samantha Fox + Agee Ortiz + Av El Cubano + Resident DJ Willie Sabor.

The Establishment, Sydney.

8pm. free.

Marco Polo - feat: Various DJs Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney. 1pm. $15.

Martini Club And Friends feat: Ocky + Tom Kelly Goldfish, Kings Cross. 10pm. free.

S.A.S.H Sundays - feat: Luis Hill + Murat Kilic + Gabby + Tony Plowman + Kerry Wallace + Alan Thomas + Jay Smalls + Whitecat Flyover Bar, Sydney. 12pm. $10.

Sundays In The City - feat: Various DJs The Slip Inn, Sydney. 12pm. free.

send your listings to : clubguide@thebrag.com

XXYYXX

The Wall - feat: Resident DJs World Bar, Kings Cross.

8pm. $5.

International Guests.

World Bar, Kings Cross. 8pm. $10.

DJ Shadow + Dexter + Katalyst + Kilter Metro Theatre, Sydney. 7pm. $75.65.

El’ Circo - feat: Resident Circus Act Performers Slide Lounge, Darlinghurst.

7pm. $109.

FBi Hands Up! - feat: DJ Clockwerk + Special Friends With Benefits FBi Social, Kings Cross.

11:30pm. free.

Goodgod Hai-Life Goodgod Small Club, Sydney.

9pm. free.

Masif Saturdays Space, Sydney. 10pm. $25.

Sienna Saturdays - feat: Resident DJs The Establishment, Sydney.

9pm. free.

Soda Saturdays - feat: Resident DJs Playing Disco And Funk Soda Factory, Surry Hills. 5pm. free.

Spice 08.02 - feat: Nico Stojan The Spice Cellar, Sydney.

10pm. $20.

This House Moves (Ben Pearce) - feat: Parkside + Alex Ludlow + Stu Mak + Matt Drake + Scuba Stew + Sideways DJs + Pol + Earwaxx + Harrison Moore + Nick Lynar + More Novotel, Wollongong, Wollongong. 2pm. $25.

Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney.

5pm. free.

The World Bar Thursdays World Bar, Kings Cross.

9pm. free.

XXYYXX + Wave Racer + Basenji The Standard, Surry Hills.

8pm. $38.90.

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 7 HIP HOP & R&B

The Genius Of J Dilla Vol. 5 The Basement, Circular Quay.

9pm. $20.

Tkay Maidza Upstairs Beresford, Surry Hills.

7pm. free.

CLUB NIGHTS

Argyle Fridays - feat: Resident DJs The Argyle, The Rocks. 6pm. free.

S.A.S.H Sundays - feat: Luis Hill + Murat Kilic + Gabby + Tony Plowman + Kerry Wallace + Alan Thomas + Jay Smalls + Whitecat Flyover Bar, Sydney. 12pm. $10.

Four Tet (DJ Set) Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 9pm. $45.

XXYYXX + Wave Racer + Basenji The Standard, Surry Hills. 8pm. $35.

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 7 The Genius Of J Dilla Vol. 5 The Basement, Circular Quay. 9pm. $20.

Tkay Maidza Upstairs Beresford, Surry Hills. 7pm. Free.

Dash Berlin + Marlo + Christina Novelli + Jonathan Medelsohn + Emma Hewitt Sydney Olympic Park, Homebush. 8pm. $80.

Freq Nasty + Hydraulix + Big Deal Gillespie + Nemo + Spikey Tee + DJ Reload + Mr Pink Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 10pm. $15.

Inkswel The Spice Cellar, Sydney. 10pm. $10.

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 8 Ben Pearce + Kid Kenobi + A-Tonez + U-Khan + Raull + Visual Lies + DJ Skoob Fingers + GG Magree Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 8pm. $22.

DJ Shadow + Dexter + Katalyst + Kilter

Autre Ne Veut

thebrag.com

Xxx

club pick of the week

Dash Berlin + Marlo + Christina Novelli + Jonathan Medelsohn + Emma Hewitt Sydney Olympic Park, Homebush. 8pm. $80.

Factory Fridays - feat: Resident DJs Soda Factory, Surry Hills. 5pm. free.

Freq Nasty + Hydraulix + Big Deal Gillespie + Nemo + Spikey Tee + DJ Reload + Mr Pink Chinese Laundry, Sydney.

10pm. $15.

Frisky Fridays Scubar, Sydney. 5pm. free.

Infamous Saturdays - feat: Live DJs Scubar, Sydney. 7pm. free.

Inkswel The Spice Cellar, Sydney.

10pm. $10.

Loco Friday - feat: Various Live Bands And DJs The Slip Inn, Sydney. 5pm. free.

Mr.Ties Civic Underground, Sydney.

10am. $20.

One More Fo The Road, Burlesque Like A Boss - feat: Gallery Burlesque Performers The Standard, Surry Hills. 7pm. $15.

Yo Grito!

Goodgod Small Club, Sydney.

9pm. free.

snap

wolfgang

PICS :: AM

up all night out all week . . .

major lazer

PICS :: KC

31:01:14 :: Chinese Laundry :: 111 Sussex St Sydney 8295 9999

dj gnocchi

PICS :: AM

30:01:14 :: Channel [V] Island :: Sydney Harbour

31:01:14 :: Frankie’s Pizza :: 50 Hunter St Sydney

OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER :: MARIA DE VERA ::

thebrag.com

S :: LIAM CAMERON :: KATRINA

CLARKE :: ASHLEY MAR ::

BRAG :: 548 :: 05:02:14 :: 37

snap

s.a.s.h sundays

PICS :: AM

up all night out all week . . .

pacha feat. laidback luke

PICS :: AM

02:02:14 :: Flyover Bar :: 275 Kent St Sydney 9262 1988

spice ft. namito

PICS :: JM

01:02:14 :: The Ivy :: 330 George St Sydney 9254 8100

PICS :: AM

jesse rose

slumberhaze

01:02:14 :: Chinese Laundry :: 111 Sussex St Sydney 8295 9999 38 :: BRAG :: 548 :: 05:02:14

PICS :: MdV

01:02:14 :: The Spice Cellar :: 58 Elizabeth St Sydney 9223 5585

31:01:14 :: The Standard :: 3/383 Bourke St Darlinghurst 9660 7953 OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER :: MARIA DE VERA ::

S :: LIAM CAMERON :: KATRINA

CLARKE :: ASHLEY MAR ::

thebrag.com

THE WORLD’S FESTIVAL

LINE-UP INCLUDES: Arrested Development 53! s Ngaiire !5342!,)! s Mikhael Paskalev NORWAY/BULGARIA

Hiatus Kaiyote !5342!,)! s Muro *!0!. s Thelma Plum !5342!,)! s La Chiva Gantiva #/,/-")! "%,')5- s Washington !5342!,)! s Femi Kuti & The Positive Force .)'%2)! s Tinpan Orange !5342!,)! s Red Baraat USA s Neko Case 53! s Hanggai #().! s Quantic 5+ s Billy Bragg 5+ s Osaka Monaurail *!0!. s Fat Freddy’s Drop .%7 :%!,!.$ s Ane Brun 37%$%. ./27!9 s The Balanescu Quartet UK and many more.

PLUS: Taste the World, Planet Talks, a Global Village, KidZone, visual arts, street theatre and so much more! s

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

®

GOLDEN GLOBE

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

ACADEMY AWARD NOMINEE

WINNER

BAFTA NOMINATION

OUTSTANDING

BRITISH FILM

“A MUST SEE...

AMAZING PERFORMANCES AND PURE INSPIRATION!” DWIGHT BROWN, THE HUFFINGTON POST

REVOLUTIONARY PRISONER PRESIDENT IDRIS ELBA NAOMIE HARRIS

Mature themes, violence and coarse language

IN CINEMAS FEBRUARY 6