Brag#625

ISSUE NO. 625 AUGUST 12, 2015

FREE Now picked up at over 1,600 places across Sydney and surrounds. thebrag.com

MUSIC, FILM, THEATRE + MORE

INSIDE This Week

T HE GR AT E S

It’s their party, and they’ll dance if they want to.

T HE PR E AT UR E S

Ready to close chapter one on the tale of their career.

K UCK A

Her new EP is the stuff of dreams – in more ways than one.

T HE T EMPE S T

John Bell bids adieu for Bell Shakespeare's 25th anniversary.

Plus

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JARRAH RECORDS PRESENTS

THE WAIFS THE ‘BEAUTIFUL YOU’ TOUR WITH SPECIAL GUEST MIA DYSON

THURSDAY 5 NOVEMBER ENMORE THEATRE, SYDNEY NSW TUESDAY 3 NOVEMBER ANITA’S THEATRE, THIRROUL NSW WEDNESDAY 4 NOVEMBER CIVIC THEATRE, NEWCASTLE NSW Tickets from www.thewaifs.com

New album ‘Beautiful You’ out Friday August 14th

BRAG :: 625 :: 12:08:15 :: 3

rock music news welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town... with Lauren Gill, Bridget Lutherborrow and Vanessa Papastavros

five things WITH

CONRAD KEELY FROM …AND YOU WILL KNOW US BY THE TRAIL OF DEAD

Run. 1973. My first musical memory. My father played guitar. My mother sang to me traditional Irish nursery rhymes – haunting, sad, always with unhappy endings.

Inspirations Classical musicians.

2.

Because they’re outsiders, and I relate to them more than rock musicians. I can’t stand most rock musicians, they’re unbearable company. I listen to soundtrack music.

It’s something else entirely.

I live in Cambodia; it’s a noisy place full of weird sounds – temples, monks chanting, loudspeakers blaring, egg sellers and

LESS THAN A BIG FISH

MANAGING EDITOR: Chris Martin chris@thebrag.com 02 9212 4322 ONLINE EDITOR: Tyson Wray SUB-EDITOR: Sam Caldwell STAFF WRITERS: Adam Norris, Augustus Welby NEWS: Lauren Gill, Bridget Lutherborrow, Vanessa Papastavros, Jade Smith ART DIRECTOR: Sarah Bryant PHOTOGRAPHERS: Katrina Clarke, Ashley Mar ADVERTISING: Les White - 0405 581 125 / (02) 9212 4322 les@thebrag.com Krystal Le - 0421 662 486 / (02) 9212 4322 krystal@thebrag.com PUBLISHER: Furst Media 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

Ska and punk icons Reel Big Fish and Less Than Jake are coming to Australia. The two bands have just completed a massive sold-out tour of the US, and now it’s our turn, with both groups set to play headline sets on the tour.

Reel Big Fish, known for such hits as ‘Beer’ and ‘Sell Out’, were last here in 2013, while Less Than Jake stopped by only last year to play Soundwave. Now, you get to see both of them on Friday October 2 at Max Watt’s.

BLUES AND ROOTS FEST

Now in its seventh year, the Sydney Blues & Roots Festival is returning with a different format, moving from Hollands Paddock back into the main street of Windsor – known for its historic hotels, restaurants and cafés. With the exception of the newly introduced dinner shows, headline acts and the Blues Cruises, the festival is completely free this year (score!). The

Courtney Barnett

GIG & CLUB GUIDE COORDINATOR: Sarah Bryant - gigguide@thebrag.com (rock); clubguide@thebrag.com (dance, hip hop & parties) AWESOME INTERNS: Vanessa Papastavros, Elias Kwiet, Jade Smith, Bridget Lutherborrow

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bulk of the program, which promises to be the biggest and most exciting to date, will appear in venues across Windsor, open to all. With such headliners as boogie band Canned Heat and local legend Russell Morris, the festival will go down over four solid days between Thursday October 22 – Tuesday October 25. Check out the full lineup at thebrag.com.

BOOTS AND HORSES FOR THE REST

Following the success of last year’s inaugural Stand For Something series in Melbourne, Dr. Martens is bringing the event back for one night only, and this year it’s Sydney’s turn. Taking place at a secret warehouse in Sydney’s Inner West, with a quirky carnival theme running throughout the night, expect the unexpected. What you can bank on, however, are performances from local artists and DJs, food and drink and an exclusive Dr. Martens pop-up store selling limited edition footwear and apparel. To top the night off, UK alt-rockers Pulled Apart By Horses will play a live set – their only Sydney show in their October stint Down Under. It goes down on Wednesday October 28. The limited number of tickets are free but only available by entering the ballot via standforsomethingsydney.com or through the Dr. Martens Facebook and Instagram accounts.

After celebrating a successful inaugural outing in Melbourne last year, Americana music festival Out On The Weekend has announced the lineup for its Sydney debut. The festival will feature performances from Kasey Chambers,

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stopped being creative, I wouldn’t have any other real purpose. So perhaps it’s simply an act of survival, knowing that by being creative I’m contributing to the human experience, and

A WEEKEND WELL SPENT

EDITORIAL POLICY: The views and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher, editors or staff of the BRAG.

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The Music You Make 4.

All I know is that if I

5.

What: IX out now through Superball With: The Red Paintings Where: Manning Bar When: Friday August 14

ENTER THE DARKNESS Bust out your zebra print leotard, because British glam rock outfit The Darkness are coming to town. The outfit behind such early 2000s hits as ‘I Believe In A Thing Called Love’, ‘Growing On Me’ and ‘Get Your Hands Off My Woman’ are hitting our shores in support of their latest album, Last Of Our Kind. Released in May, the album marks their first project with new drummer Rufus Taylor, the son of Queen drummer Roger Taylor. The Darkness will take over the Enmore Theatre on Friday November 13.

The Darkness

JOHN MCLAUGHLIN AND 4D

Please send mail NOT ACCOUNTS direct to this NEW address 100 Albion Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010 ph - (02) 9212 4322 fax - (02) 9319 2227

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3.

Your Band I met Jason [Reece] in high school. We were rejects, that same old cliché story. Music is like a common language; if you don’t speak the same music then you can’t really understand another person properly.

when I stop doing that then it’s time to leave.

Music, Right Here, Right Now There is no music scene at the moment. Just file sharing. The biggest obstacle musicians have to overcome is indifference.

In terms of live inspiration, I saw The Jesus And Mary Chain recently; they were old but sound the same. For new music I go to two or three friends whose taste I trust. We exchange albums illegally.

John McLaughlin and The 4th Dimension will be returning to Australia this October as a full band for the first time in almost 25 years.

The virtuoso guitarist will be playing headline shows in Perth, Sydney and Brisbane on top of a gig at Melbourne Festival, showing off his improvisational chops and boundary-breaking style. McLaughlin is known as an accomplished musician and composer, having worked with and contributed to the work of Miles Davis, Mahavishnu Orchestra and Shakti. He’ll bring his band to the City Recital Hall Angel Place on Thursday October 8.

REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS: Nat Amat, Prudence Clark, Tom Clift, Keiron Costello, Christie Eliezer, Fergus Halliday, Cameron James, Tegan Jones, Lachlan Kanoniuk, Emily Meller, David Molloy, Annie Murney, Adam Norris, George Nott, Daniel Prior, Kate Robertson, Natalie Rogers, Erin Rooney, Spencer Scott, Natalie Salvo, Leonardo Silvestrini, Lucy Watson, Rod Whitfield, Harry Windsor, Tyson Wray, Stephanie Yip, David James Young

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vendors. I need that chaos, and I think it helps that it’s in a language I don’t understand.

Holy Holy

COURTNEY COMES HOME

Everyone’s new favourite slacker Courtney Barnett is returning to Australia in triumphant style. Following the release of her debut album Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit, Barnett has taken the globe by storm. Following her sold-out national tour earlier this year, Barnett will make her comeback to home soil by hitting the road for a series of headline shows. She will also be performing as part of the 2015 Melbourne Festival and Falls Festival.

Joining Barnett on Saturday January 16 at the Enmore Theatre are Cloud Control.

Dawes, Sam Outlaw, Jamestown Revival, Jonny Fritz, Ruby Boots, The Morrisons and many more. There will also be a carefully curated selection of food and drink on offer – the perfect way to go out on the weekend. The festival will take over Bella Vista Farm on Saturday October 24.

SUBURBAN SOUNDS

Sydney’s own boutique backstreet festival, Sounds Of The Suburbs, has locked in its complete 2015 lineup. A bunch of great internationals and locals will fi ll the bill in Cronulla next month, led respectively by West Coast punk revivalists The Garden and Brisbane/ Melbourne indie duo Holy Holy. 2015 will mark the third edition of Sounds Of The Suburbs, with live music going down across three stages on a laneway wedged between an art gallery and a Mexican restaurant.

Now that’s an atmosphere. It goes down at Cronulla’s Wilbar Lane on Sunday September 27. Check out the full lineup at thebrag.com.

thebrag.com

…And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead photo by Courtney Chavnell

Growing Up Paul McCartney 1. and Wings. Band On The

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marion bay TASMAN IA

NEW SOUTH WALES

dec 28 2015

dec 29 2015

dec 31 2015

jan 01 2016

jan 01 2016

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Until

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IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER

ALPINE THE AVENER BIRDS OF TOKYO BLOC PARTY BØRNS COURTNEY BARNETT DISCLOSURE DJANGO DJANGO FOALS GANG OF YOUTHS GARY CLARK JR. HALSEY HIATUS KAIYOTE HILLTOP HOODS KING GIZZARD AND THE LIZARD WIZARD KURT VILE AND THE VIOLATORS LITTLE MAY THE MACCABEES MAC DEMARCO THE MERRI SOUL SESSIONS FEATURING CLAIRY BROWNE • DAN SULTAN • KIRA PURU • VIKA & LINDA BULL MEG MAC OH WONDER PAUL KELLY PRESENTS RÜFÜS SETH SENTRY TORO Y MOI YOUNG FATHERS BOOGIE NIGHTS ART VS SCIENCE EL VEZ FLEETMAC WOOD ‘WEIRD AL’ YANKOVIC PLUS PLENTY MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED

fallsfestival.com

ticket ballot now open BRAG :: 625 :: 12:08:15 :: 5

live & local

free stuff

welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town... with Chris Martin, Vanessa Papastavros and Lauren Gill

head to: thebrag.com/freeshit The Jungle Giants photo by Rahkela

five things WITH

WALTER SMITH III

musicians at a McDonald’s. When I realised that I could impress the musicians and unforgiving McDonald’s audience, I decided I’d stick with it.

Inspirations Since this list would go on forever, 2.

I’ll list my first two inspirations, which were Charlie Parker and John Coltrane. I heard Parker at an early age and had only really been listening to Kenny G before that.

(Incidentally, Kenny G’s G Force Tour was my first concert… he did some circular breathing right in front of my seat on ‘Songbird’). When I heard Charlie Parker, it was such a more technical and emotional sound that I was drawn to it. Later (around 12 years old), when I first heard Coltrane and bought the album Giant Steps, I never looked back.

Your Band As I’m only in Sydney for one night 3. after another tour, I’m playing with Tim Firth Growing Up My father was a saxophonist in New 1.

Orleans and moved to Houston to become an educator. He taught me saxophone and clarinet at school until age nine. Around that same age, I did my first gig with older

(drums) and Thomas Botting (bass), who are two of the best young musicians in Sydney.

I met Tim when I was in Australia during the Melbourne Festival in May and I’ve actually never met Thomas. That should result in a really fun set of music that will definitely be

exciting for us and the audience.

Keeping Busy Over the last couple of years, I’ve 4. toured and recorded extensively with Ambrose Akinmusire Quintet as well as Eric Harland’s Voyager. I released my fourth album this year called Still Casual and have done some touring with that band throughout the US, Australia, Japan, and various countries in Europe. Other recent collaborations include Dave Douglas, Cassandra Wilson, Next Collective, Terence Blanchard, and many others.

Music, Right Here, Right Now The only times I’ve been in Sydney are 5. for tours that I’m doing and we’ve always been able to see tonnes of international acts as well as some Australian bands. In the last two years between the Sydney Festival and other tours, I’ve seen Chaka Khan, Colin Stetson, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Lee Fields, Hot Dub Time Machine and Jamie Ohlers.

Who: Walter Smith III Trio Where: The Sound Lounge When: Saturday August 15

One lucky reader will win a double pass to the Enmore show, as well as a copy of Speakerzoid. For a chance to get your mitts on the prize, head to thebrag.com/ freeshit.

IT’S TIME FOR TIM

Rolling Stone is putting on three weeks of live music just a stone’s throw from the magazine’s offices. After successfully running its own pop-up bar in Melbourne last year, the Rolling Stone Live Lodge is coming home to Newtown Social Club from September. This bespoke bar, open six nights a week, will be the hottest haunt in town, thanks to a string of live performances with a Rolling Stone twist, plus artist Q&As and guest DJs. Showcasing wellknown local acts and up-and-coming artists alike, some of the highlight events on the Live Lodge calendar include album launches from The Snowdroppers (Friday September 25), Gay Paris (Saturday September 26) and The Meanies (Saturday October 3); the Australian debut of Finland’s Jaakko Eino Kalevi (Saturday October 10) and America’s The Garden (Sunday September 27); and a trivia night hosted by Josh Pyke (Tuesday October 6). The program continues until Sunday October 11.

Melbourne indie folkster Tim Wheatley has put the finishing touches on his debut solo album, Cast Of Yesterday, and confirmed a Friday August 28 release date. It comes at the tail end of a year’s worth of good news for Wheatley, who was set to give up his music career just as an offer of a modelling contract came through in the US. Happily, Wheatley has found a way to balance his dual occupations, and he’ll step out on a national tour in support of the new record. He’s playing a bunch of Sydney dates, including The Midnight Special on Thursday August 13; The Vanguard on Friday August 14; Central Park on Sunday August 16; The Lansdowne on the same day; Café Del Mar on Thursday August 20; Soda Factory on Sunday August 23; Café Del Mar again on Wednesday September 2; and supporting The Whitlams at the Metro Theatre on Friday September 4.

AMBON IN CONCERT

DRUNK MUMS ON THE LOOSE

Melbourne’s favourite garage rockers are hitting the road for a tour in support of their sophomore album, Gone Troppo. With the record due out on Friday September 4 via Pissfart Records, Drunk Mums have already given fans a taste with lead single ‘Pub On My Own’. Gone Troppo, which was recorded at Brunswick’s Smooch Records and a Reservoir truck stop, will mark the first-full length from the band since its 2012 self-titled debut. The huge 15-date launch tour will see Drunk Mums hit five states over three months. Catch ’em at Goodgod Small Club on Saturday October 17.

The Jungle Giants might be just the right size for their giant-sized boots at the moment, having kept all the vitality of their teen beginnings while gaining experience as musicians these last few years. Inventive and confident, their new album, Speakerzoid, marks a milestone for the band. To celebrate, they’re taking to the road to play a series of gigs nationally, supported along the way by Art Of Sleeping and Hockey Dad. The Speakerzoid Tour hits Sydney on Friday September 18, with a licensed all ages show at the Enmore Theatre.

The Daphne Rawling Band

DAPHNE RAWLING DEBUTS

A brand new alt-country/indie rock collective, The Daphne Rawling Band, is set to debut at Newtown’s Union Hotel this Saturday August 15. The eight-piece outfit, including former members of Inner West act Achoo! Bless You, has so far been working on its toetapping material behind the scenes, so this maiden live show will be the first chance for prospective fans to get a taste of the action. The supporting cast includes Carl Manwarring and The Special Guests and Josh Paul.

City Calm Down

Following its sold-out premiere in the Blue Mountains, Lloyd Swanton’s new suite of 12 compositions featuring a stellar 12-piece ensemble is coming to Sydney. Ambon draws from the secret coded POW diary of Swanton’s uncle Stuart, who served a part of the ill-fated Gull Force sent to defend the Indonesian city of Ambon in World War II. Telling a deeply personal and collective story, Ambon brings together hymns, work song, gospel, military marches, island music and jazz, to create something of beauty out of great horror. With Lloyd Swanton on bass and an entire ensemble behind him, the music of Ambon offers its audience insight into a little-known tragedy in Australia’s recent past. The performances will be held at The Sound Lounge on Thursday August 27 and Saturday August 29.

Bec And Ben

CITY CALM DOWN IN TOWN

Indie rockers City Calm Down have unveiled a run of tour dates in support of their longawaited debut album, In A Restless House. After spending the better part of three years in the studio cooking up their first full-length, they’ll release the LP to the public on Friday November 6. The Melbourne outfit haven’t totally left their fans in the dark, though, having already unleashed two tracks from the long player, ‘Rabbit Run’ and ‘Wandering’, which have garnered largely positive reviews. City Calm Down will hit Newtown Social Club on Friday October 16.

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FILTH ON FRIDAY

The weekly live music night at Bondi’s new-look Beach Road Hotel, The Filth, is back once again this Friday August 14 with a bumper double bill. Bec And Ben will kick things off with their two-piece assault of stand-up drum rhythms and guitar-led melodies. After all that, the six-strong Persian Drugs will take the stage with a back-to-basics style of garage rock’n’roll. Let’s get filthy.

thebrag.com

The Daphne Rawling Band photo by Colin Lucas

LIVE LODGE LINEUP

THE JUNGLE GIANTS

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Industrial Strength Music Industry News with Christie Eliezer

THINGS WE HEAR * Which famous producer was part of a lottery-winning syndicate? * Which two label execs were overheard having a loud argument as to who was more responsible for signing a new hit act? * Was Mark Ronson inspired to perform Queens of the Stone Age’s ‘I Sat By The Ocean’ on triple j’s Like A Version with Kevin Parker and Kirin J Callinan after hanging at Tweed Heads coffee shop Kettles On Café a few days earlier? That’s what the café reckons. Meanwhile,

Perth’s Matisse Beach Club is working with the Major Fraud Squad in its investigation of Ronson being advertised for a festival at the venue, and then claiming Ronson pulled out.

The club says it has a contract from a third party promoter. * Ryan Adams revealed he has been recording a fullalbum cover of Taylor Swift’s 1989 in the style of The Smiths. Swift responded on Twitter: “Is this true??????? I WILL PASS OUT!” * Will Australia get a 24-hour version of Apple Music’s Beats radio service? Apple is said to be tossing up between Australia and an Asian country. * Newcastle’s This Is Not

EDM UNDER ATTACK Los Angeles is considering slapping a ban on dance festivals on state-owned land after two teenagers died from suspected drug overdoses at LA’s Hard Summer festival. Meanwhile, Instagram has blocked the #EDM hashtag from use on photos shared on its platform, citing violations of “guidelines around nudity”.

The platform copped criticism last month when it blocked the hashtag #curvy with users upset that a body-positive term was unavailable to them. Instagram promptly unblocked the term.

Finally, Home Nightclub in Sydney’s Cockle Bay was reprimanded for using images of people snorting drugs and having sex to promote its recent Blow event. The Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing threatened Home with a $5,550 fi ne and the first of a ‘three strikes’ warning if the imagery wasn’t pulled down.

Above: screen grab from a Home Nightclub promotional video

MUSIC INDUSTRY COMMITS TO DEVELOPMENT PLAN The inaugural National Contemporary Music Roundtable held last week at Erskineville Town Hall, which featured 50 heavyweights and all the major music associations, has committed to a National Business Development Plan. The associations will work in various groups to develop detailed national strategies “to increase public respect for Australian music; ensure a vibrant national live music scene; strengthen Australia’s terms of cultural trade in music; improve remuneration and employment for creators and performers; and optimise a skilled music workforce”. The resulting agenda will be reviewed by the industry and then presented to government.

NEW SIGNINGS #1: FLIGHTLESS OPENS TO PIPEEYE Flightless, the label run by King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard, will release its side project and newest signing PipeEye’s debut EP Cosmic Blip on Friday September 25. Debut single and video ‘People Move Along’ was premiered last week. The description is a colourful one: “Composed on space station Mirus 4 as a collaboration between scientists from the international space community, Cosmic Blip is an expedition cataloguing the effects of space melody and cosmic rhythm whilst in close orbit to Earth.” The Flightless roster, distributed by Remote Control, includes The Murlocs and The Babe Rainbow.

Art (TiNA) festival in October won’t announce its 170event program until Thursday August 27. But expect there to be a showcase of female experimental sound artists under the name Ladyz In Noyz, an installation called Neverland seen through the bedroom of a ’90s teenager, and a chance to create a new theatrical piece in 24 hours. * AC/DC’s first singer Dave Evans is so pissed off that Acca-Dacca books don’t seem to cover the band’s original lineup in much detail (Evans, bassist Larry van Kriedt and drummer Colin Burgess were replaced respectively by Bon Scott, Mark Evans and Phil Rudd) that he’s writing his

own. He claimed “some of the biggest publishers in the world” are interested in his memoirs. * Musos touring Brisbane can get a free meal at vegetarian café LostBoys in Fortitude Valley. Owner Pixie Weyland, who has many musician friends, told the Brisbane Times that she knows how much of a financial struggle it is on the road, and wants to offer artists an alternative from fast food. * Oh dear: Sony Pictures called iconic jazz trumpeter Miles Davis a “singer” in a press release for his new biopic. * The Strokes’ Albert Hammond, Jr. has confirmed

NEW SIGNINGS #2: DR. COLOSSUS AT HARBOUR

FORMER DEEZER HEAD JOINS PANDORA

Dr. Colossus AKA “Melbourne’s Simpsons-themed doom rock duo” have signed on with Sydney bookers The Harbour Agency. Dr. Jon (vocals, guitar) and Dr. Johnston (drums) channel the stoner rock/doom stylings of Black Sabbath, Kyuss and Sleep to craft songs based on The Simpsons. Their IV EP from last year – based entirely on the fourth season of the show – aroused global interest.

Former Deezer Australia/New Zealand head Thomas Heymann has been named the new head of artist and industry relations at Pandora Australia and NZ. Aside from his digital initiatives, Heymann has managed indie bands, heads the masters’ course in arts management at the Australian Institute of Music in Sydney, and has held such roles as product manager at Sony Music Germany and Australia and vice president of strategic marketing at Warner Music Australia.

NEW SIGNINGS #3: GORDI AT MUSHROOM PUBLISHING 22-year-old Sydney folktronica artist Gordi (Sophie Payten) has been signed

by Mushroom Publishing. Her singles ‘Nothing’s As It Seems’ and ‘Can We Work It Out’ have received support from triple j and community radio. She was the recipient of the 2015 APRA Josh Pyke Partnership award, has toured with Ben Lee and collaborated with Iceland’s Sin Fang and LA’s Ghost Loft. Mushroom head of A&R Linda Bosidis said of Gordi’s live shows, “Her natural humour, tenderness and ease with the audience is striking.

Her songs express personal experience, they radiate a familiarity and form a swift knowing bond with the listener.”

NEW SIGNINGS #4: MATHAS JOINS BIG VILLAGE Multi-award winning Perth MC, poet and producer Mathas, co-founder of WA’s music and arts collective The Community, has found a new home at Joel Rapaport’s Sydney hip hop label, Big Village Records.

It is home to Loose Change, Daily Meds and Suburban Dark. The video to his new consumerism-themed single ‘Free Shit’ was created by Perth VJ Combs using black-and-white advertisements from the ’40s and ’50s. Mathas’ second album, Armwrestling Atlas, is set for an October release.

CLASS ACTION OVER LOCKOUTS To the tune of a chant, “We Want The Cross!”, a rally was held outside Hugos Lounge in Kings Cross to announce a class action being launched against the New South Wales State Government over the club’s closure. After 15 years – during which it won Nightclub Of The Year six times – Hugos has gone into administration, putting its remaining 70 staff out of work. Owner Dave Evans blamed the venue’s 80 per cent drop in customers and 60 per cent drop in revenue since 2012 on the government’s lockout laws, saying the restrictions should have been applied throughout the city, rather than in three selected areas.

Evans was joined by Doug Grand of the Kings Cross Liquor Accord and Senator David Leyonhjelm, who said the Cross has “always been a naughty suburb”, and blamed the government for “strangling” the precinct and the closure of a third of its licensed venues. The laws have reportedly reduced alcohol-related violence in Kings Cross by one-third and will be reviewed in February next year.

SONY PROMOTES GRANT DONGES Sony Music Entertainment Australia has promoted Grant Donges to director of promotions and publicity, Australian artists creative marketing and television entertainment, Asia Pacifi c. He will remain based in Sydney. Donges, who has worked with acts emerging from TV shows like The X-Factor and Australia’s Got Talent, will collaborate closely with TV format creator Simon Cowell’s company SyCo in London and music reality TV production companies such as FremantleMedia.

MUSIC COMMUNITY RESPONDS TO RACISM The long-standing issue of racism in Australia against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders has come to the forefront of public debate over the booing of footballer Adam Goodes. Two songs have been rushed out as comments.

Horrorshow, Jimblah, Urthboy and Thelma Plum recorded ‘Any Other Name’ over the weekend at Sydney’s Writers Block Studio as a “rallying cry to the nation”. Xavier Rudd and The United Nations released ‘Shame’ – a song Rudd says was inspired by the Goodes issue, which he labelled a “worldwide embarrassment for this country”. Rudd spent time with Goodes at a reconciliation conference in Melbourne and called him “a beautiful, humble being who would like nothing more than for all people to learn and grow together as Australians of all ancestral backgrounds”. Rudd also labelled racism “an evil thread passed through the generations from a dark and fragile time. It affects everybody of all bloodlines and eats away at us like a disease.”

RDIO SELECTS LAST DINOSAURS Brisbane’s Last Dinosaurs have been picked as Rdio’s latest Artist To Watch.

Through August, Rdio listeners will gain exclusives, including the first listen to the band’s sophomore album Wellness.

ABC WINS NEWCASTLE RADIO SURVEY ABC 1233 came out on top in the GfK Newcastle radio survey, pushing KOFM off its perch with a 14.8% share. KOFM dropped to 14.7%. Triple j was third (11%) and NXFM rose from 8.3% to 10.9%.

“Busted flat in Baton Rouge, waiting for a train, feeling near as faded as my jeans.” 8 :: BRAG :: 625 :: 12:08:15

he’ll be here in February. * Rolling Stone writer David Wild has revealed that while hanging out with David Bowie on assignment for a Tin Machine story in the ’90s, he was gifted a Native American peace pipe from Tom Petty. Determined to top Petty’s present, Bowie scoured around, and got Wild a pig foetus in a glass jar, which he sent the writer from somewhere in Asia. * DJ Risque has reported that after winning the wildcard section of the NSW Your Shot DJ comp, her SoundCloud following has nearly hit 1,000 and she received an extra 250 likes on her Facebook in two days.

Lifelines Married: The B-52s’ Kate Pierson and long-time partner Monica Coleman, in Hawaii. Bandmate Fred Schneider gave the best man speech and Sia performed ‘Crush Me With Your Love’.

Ill: singer Michael Angelakos’ “lingering issues with bronchitis/pneumonia” have caused the cancellation of Passion Pit’s Australian tour in late August.

Ill: Slipknot’s new bassist Alessandro Venturella was rushed to hospital midway through a gig in Hartford, Connecticut. It turned out to be “extreme dehydration”.

Ill: Supertramp founder Rick Davies, diagnosed with multiple myeloma.

Suing: US street artist Rime has taken action against a designer and Italian apparel brand over a dress Katy Perry wore to a function in New York in May. In Court: Daniel Jorgensen, 30, a former member of Owl City, has been indicted on charges he tried to lure a 14-year-old girl into the band’s bus and his hotel room, for “criminal sexual contact”.

Arrested: Busta Rhymes, for allegedly hitting a New York gym employee on the head with a container of protein drink.

In Court: former Brisbane club DJ James Richard Roles, 28, will remain behind bars for molesting pre-teens after prison staff found notes depicting fantasies involving boys.

Died: iconic Nashville record producer and A&R man Billy Sherrill, said to have created the ‘countrypolitan’ sound, at 78 after a brief illness. He worked with Tammy Wynette, George Jones, Johnny Cash, Marty Robbins and Elvis Costello (on 1980 album Almost Blue) and discovered Tanya Tucker.

- The Janis Joplin Story thebrag.com

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BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE

t’s 5am. Undoubtedly there is something in the Geneva Convention about conducting interviews at such an ungodly hour, but hey, we’re all professionals here; surely instead of hiding beneath my blankets and refusing to come out, I can demonstrate I’m made of sterner stuff. Yet when Matt Tuck of Bullet For My Valentine asks me how I am, the first words out of my mouth are, “I’m not bed, how are you?”

Inadvertently, I may have stumbled upon a rather signifi cant topic for Tuck and his band. While my own sense of self is clearly having trouble adjusting, Bullet For My Valentine have always held their identity at the forefront of their music. Who they are is arguably more important to them than what or how they play; it’s all about crafting sincerity through heavy metal.

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BY ADAM NORRIS

With their fifth album, Venom, set for release this Friday, it’s easy to prattle off platitudes of how far Bullet For My Valentine have come in the last ten years; how they shrugged off detractors and pushed hard for fame and fortune, et cetera. And while this is all true, their progression has in no way been assured. The road has not been without deviations and near misses, and for a while there, Tuck was in serious doubt if the band would keep moving ahead at all.

“We’ve had a few of those moments, but the biggest was around the time when our original bass player, Nick [Crandle], left the band. I had a part-time job at a music store; I was in debt, but still working at the band. Then Nick left and we literally had to sit down and say, ‘Can we still have the band going at 25, still without a good job, still living with your parents?’ I think that was the moment where I thought I was probably going to throw in the towel. But we kind of restarted the band, started writing a couple of new songs, and it was almost like that was meant to be, in a way. We got pushed to the very brink of giving up, we just needed to give it that last shot. And then a year later we were signed, had an EP out, and the rest is history.”

With Venom, Bullet For My Valentine – hardly known for their gentle soundscapes and folksy sensibilities – decided to up the ante and work towards an album that centred around the aggressive energy of their live shows. 2013

had seen the release of Temper Temper, an album that proved popular with fans but left several critics lamenting a lack of grit and focus. Tuck had no intention of pandering to the whim of critical responses, but moving the band towards heavier terrain was something he already had his eye on.

“Venom sounds completely different,” he agrees. “[Temper] was kind of heavy, but this time around we wanted to show something that was super aggressive, something that was a bit stark. Put them next to each other and it’s still obviously the same band, but the sound now

“I DIDN’T WANT TO GO TO UNI, I DIDN’T WANT TO GET A GOOD, NORMAL JOB. I WAS ALWAYS GETTING FIRED FROM JOBS ANYWAY BECAUSE I’D BE OFF PLAYING SOMEWHERE, REHEARSING FOR SHOWS.”

is very different. We always want each record to sound different, but still keep our identity. We don’t want to make the same record twice; that would be a total copout. I can’t stand the idea of having an earlier record that you’re just trying to replicate again and again.

“So what we might do next, well, it depends how we feel at the end of this cycle. I think at the moment we’ve kind of maxed out the heaviness. Any more and we’d start losing our identity – we’d just be heavy for the sake of being heavy, you know, not because we were actually wanting to say something. Everything that’s here now is entirely where we were already going, but just turned up a notch. I think we got the balance right, and it captures who we are.”

It took the guys almost eight months to achieve that careful balance. The process of pulling together songs and trying to forge a harsher, more violent sound was not a straightforward one. There were several tracks that had started to take shape only to find themselves scrapped halfway through, as Tuck or the others realised they just weren’t responding to where the band saw itself. Such is the desire to keep surging forward to maintain an identity that these fledgling songs are unlikely to see the light of day anytime soon.

“We scrapped around eight to ten, I think. They all sounded pretty decent, and there were some killer

Now that fans are finally going to experience the latest offering as it’s meant to be heard, Tuck is trying hard to kick back, relax, and let the album do the work. But still, after all these years, he’s not yet comfortable in stepping back and letting go.

“The band has become such a big thing in all of our lives now. It just dominates. I mean, it’s amazing, something we’ve always wanted, something that a million other bands out there would fucking kill to do. And I understand, because I would do that too. It’s an amazing privilege. It’s like winning a lottery, so I need to enjoy it now rather than just make it all work, work, work; next tour, next album. It’s hard not to do that, because it’s so dominant you don’t always see how much control it has over you sometimes. So I need to be more conscious of moving forward, and just being happy with it.”

What: Venom out Friday August 14 through RCA/Sony

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“There’s never been a Plan B,” the Welsh frontman explains in a delightful and occasionally impenetrable accent. “It was always music that I was going to do, and I’m just lucky that it paid off. I think I’m lucky in that I think I’ve got a good brain on my shoulders, but even that I have to really credit to the music. I didn’t want to go to uni, I didn’t want to get a good, normal job. I was always getting fired from jobs anyway because I’d be off playing somewhere, rehearsing for shows.

There was never a backup, but thankfully it all worked out. That commitment with everyone in the band really paid off. Everyone really cared about it. The band always came first. Even when we weren’t getting anywhere, we just focused and kept on going, just working at gig after gig.”

A STING IN THE TALE

riffs going on, but just didn’t quite fit the criteria of what we were looking for. They were a bit too… a bit too alternative, I guess,” Tuck laughs. “They didn’t have that identity we were going for. They were a bit closer to the Temper Temper styled stuff. You have to be very, very harsh. Once we scrap something we tend to never come back to it. If we feel like a song isn’t going anywhere – if one of us has a bit of a scowl on his face – we won’t do it. There’ll always be little bits of those songs floating around in your head, and maybe some of that might show up later on. But really, we just don’t want people to hear stuff that we don’t feel is good enough ourselves.”

B U L L E T

F O R

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Shane Nicholson Heaven When Hell Breaks Loose By Natalie Rogers I had a lot to write about – I couldn’t get my head in the right space.

“Then a friend of mine, Warren H Williams, the indigenous country singer who I’ve known for many years, started calling me. He kept insisting I come to stay with him out there. I think he saw that I needed a change of scenery and some perspective with everything that was going on in my world at the time, so he just dragged me out there [laughs], and it was quite incredible. I think he knew all along that I’d get something from it and I totally did. That trip kick-started the whole album. Something magical happened, and I wrote the song [‘Hermannsburg’] sitting next to the church. Then I wrote two more songs that week. It was like the floodgates opened and I couldn’t stop writing. It was a truly pivotal time for me.”

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he historic settlement of Hermannsburg is an easy 130-kilometre drive from Alice Springs. It’s best known as the birthplace of Aboriginal landscape watercolour artist Albert Namatjira and home to the renowned singersongwriter Warren H Williams, but to eight-time Golden Guitar winner Shane Nicholson, Hermannsburg will forever be a place of salvation and rebirth; the catalyst for his fifth studio album, Hell Breaks Loose.

As a multi-instrumentalist, it’s no surprise Nicholson also feels at home in the producer’s chair, and has been recognised as Producer of the Year by the Country Music Association of Australia on three occasions. However, in 2013, after the breakdown of his marriage to Chambers, he found himself staring into the creative abyss, unable to do what had once come so naturally.

“Before that trip to Hermannsburg, I hadn’t written a song for six months,” Nicholson says. “I was producing albums for other people at the time, but inside I felt all music-ed out. I didn’t really feel like writing, although

Although it’s abundantly clear that a little time to sit back and reflect was exactly what Nicholson needed to fuel his creative juices, his son Arlo Ray and daughter Poet Poppin were never far from his mind, and became the inspiration behind the touching ballad ‘Single Fathers’.

“My kids have heard the song – they know it’s about them and they sing along. My daughter actually thinks the line is, ‘There’s no mothers / Like singer fathers,’ because I’m a singer.

It’s very cute.”

Nicholson’s feelings of satisfaction from the record stem from knowing he made a wise choice to hand over production duties to good friend Matt Fell (Tim Freedman, Josh Pyke). “It was a real holiday for me,” says Nicholson. “I live on the Central Coast, so I’d ride my motorbike down to his studio [Love Hz in Sydney], then I’d sing all day and jump on my bike to ride back home.

It felt like there was no work involved.

I was just letting it evolve without me steering the ship, and I loved it.

“I feel like Hell Breaks Loose is a turning point, like the other albums I’ve done have been practice runs.

This one seems like a line in the sand from an artistic level, and I feel like I’m finding a new voice after 20 years.”

What: Hell Breaks Loose out now through Lost Highway/Universal Where: The Basement / The Brass Monkey When: Wednesday August 26 / Friday September 18

Yob Doomsday Scenario By Dan Watt about doom metal as it was when I first started in the scene back then.”

Scheidt clearly retains a sense of admiration for what inspired the doom scene around him.

“Albums that I keep returning to over and over again are Black Sabbath, Master Of Reality; Led Zeppelin I, II, III; Elton John, Greatest Hits; King Crimson; Cathedral; Crippled Lucifer [by Burning Witch]; first four Iron Maiden records; pretty much all the [Judas] Priest records, especially Defenders Of The Faith…” He continues for another two minutes.

In line with many of the legendary metal bands Scheidt mentions, Yob’s own discography is prolific, having amounted to eight albums spanning 2002’s Elaborations Of Carbon to 2014’s Clearing The Path To Ascend.

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f Nashville, Tennessee is America’s home of country music, then Portland, Oregon is the primary residence of alternative music. The city that sits at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers has a climate very similar to the Australian east coast, and is responsible for indie rock royalty in The Dandy Warhols, seminal chillwave act Washed Out and of course the hit comedy series Portlandia. But it’s not all about the alternative – Portland is also home to some of the most treacherous exponents of metal; in particular, doom metal band Yob, who celebrate their 20th anniversary this year.

Vocalist and guitarist Mike Scheidt understands the perception that Yob have

left an indelible imprint on the doom metal scene in his hometown, but he is hesitant to bask in it.

“We have a lot of friends and do a lot of shows with them in Portland, and over the years we have all grown as bands together.

When I was younger, Portland was really important to me, and one of those lifechanging moments for me was getting to see one of my all-time favourite bands, Wipers.”

Yob were not actually formed in Portland, but in Eugene, a medium-sized city in the middle of Oregon. Scheidt still struggles to describe his band’s infl uence on its

eventual home, Portland. “I have had an affinity for that town since I was pre-teen, and you fast-forward to now and I’m not sure exactly what Yob’s impact has been, but I am certainly glad that we are a part of that scene.”

Unlike many genre-shy artists, Scheidt has never hidden from doom metal as a term to describe the Yob sound. “Doom happens at a much slower pace than regular metal, so there has to be a lot of vibe and feel at that pace, in order for it to feel magic, for it to actually feel heavy – because down-tuning and loud amplifiers doesn’t necessarily make it heavy. It really still comes down to band’s players, and I think that is as true today

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“I think Elaborations hinted at where we were going to end up, but it did have a lot more of what I would call ‘traditional’ elements to it, meaning you can hear influences like Electric Wizard, Sleep, Sabbath of course, and even Operator Generator and Orange Goblin. But I was also listening to a lot of death and black metal back then and hardcore punk, so I think you can hear all of those influences on that record.

“You fast-forward to Clearing The Path To Ascend and some of those elements are still there, but it is a lot more our sound now.

But I think Elaborations did have a spirit of adventure to it – I mean, it wasn’t pure pentagram doom shit.”

What: Clearing The Path To Ascend out now through Neurot With: Sumeru, Thorax Where: Manning Bar When: Saturday August 22

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“I now see my life as divided into two parts: pre- and post-Hermannsburg,” Nicholson smiles. “It wasn’t just an artistic reawakening I found there; it was quite a strong personal one, too.”

Nicholson has been a fixture on the Australian music scene for more than two decades, both in front of a mic and behind the scenes. He started small, recording his own songs in his bedroom in Brisbane, but has since gone on to release several critically acclaimed albums, including two with then-partner and country artist Kasey Chambers – the chart-topping and platinum-selling record Rattlin’ Bones (2008) and Wreck & Ruin (2012).

Despite his success, Nicholson remains refreshingly down to earth.

“When I read my own bio – which is not often, I promise,” he laughs, “I think, ‘Oh, that sounds kinda cool,’ but then it just makes me feel like I’m getting old, you know?”

The guitar-driven hooks on ‘When The Money’s All Gone’ are another result of Nicholson’s time away.

“That was one of the songs that came out in a bit of a gush. It’s essentially a song about knowing who your friends are, who’s on your side, and taking stock of things in your life. In Hermannsburg, everything around you is so vast, it’s impossible not to get some sense of perspective about your life back home. I enjoyed the simple things like sitting around a campfire drinking black tea and just talking about nothing in particular. It was really special.”

“That song was directed towards my children, although I was in two minds about including it on the record because I was concerned that it could be taken the wrong way because of the line, ‘There’s no mothers / Like single fathers’. It’s not anti-single mothers, it’s pro-single fathers, and I just wanted to highlight the fact that each parent offers something different in the nurturing of a child. I wanted to say that and I felt it needed to be said.

The Grates Birth And Rebirth By Augustus Welby

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he Grates’ recent appearance at Splendour In The Grass was the band’s first show since releasing fourth album Dream Team. Since emerging in 2004, the Brisbane trio have been an ever-present feature of the Australian live music circuit. But considering Dream Team came out in November 2014, it was an uncharacteristically prolonged stage absence – and you can be sure it wasn’t without good reason.

Within months of Dream Team’s release, frontwoman Patience Hodgson gave birth to her first child with guitarist and husband John Patterson. “We recorded the album while I was pregnant, in the final trimester,” she says. “Then we had her in February.”

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Having a child overhauls one’s entire life – personal desires take a back seat, and all available energy goes into caring for the newborn. With this in mind, it’s somewhat remarkable The Grates have already jumped back out on the road. However, this tour was originally slated to happen sooner.

“In the beginning our management were like, ‘You guys should do a tour in May,’” Hodgson says. “I remember at the time I was like, ‘Yeah, OK. We’ll do that.’ They were like, ‘Alright, we’ll announce the tour in January.’ That felt weird for me – the idea that we’d be announcing our tour before I’d even had a baby and then I would be doing a tour with a baby. That freaked me out heaps.”

Understandably, as her pregnancy became more conspicuous, Hodgson’s priorities started to shift.

That said, she doesn’t believe her daughter’s imminent arrival had a

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major influence on the writing and recording of Dream Team.

was always good, so we just went, ‘Yeah.’”

“It was just business as usual, except I was pregnant,” she says.

“The only thing I thought about was that they say sometimes you can lose your breath. So I was like, ‘Crap, I don’t want to have lung restrictions,’ but that wasn’t a problem. I think it sounds better than ever.”

The Grates might’ve been happy to let Penglis handle the production specifics, but they stood by one fundamental aim throughout the album-making process. “It was just about being quick,” Hodgson says. “That was the only thing – we just wanted it to be fun and fast.

In the past, there’s always been a huge gap between recording an album and releasing it. This was our quickest turnaround. When we recorded our last album, I think it was about six months. And that’s not unusual – that happens to so many bands.

Indeed, while Dream Team arrived nearly four years after The Grates’ third album, Secret Rituals, the record is armed with a vibrant sonic immediacy. There are no bells and whistles adorning the performances or the production, but it’s also not a scrappy affair. “Depending on who you talk to,” Hodgson laughs.

“Some people are like, ‘It’s very scrappy.’”

Well, at least it’s not scrappy in a gimmicky sense. The Grates haven’t roughed things up so as to disguise half-baked songs. On the contrary, not only is the record packed with lucid songcraft, but it conveys a sharp feeling of purpose.

It makes perfect sense that Dream Team was produced by Owen Penglis of Sydney band Straight Arrows. With his own band – as well as the likes of The Gooch Palms, Royal Headache and The Frowning Clouds – Penglis has excelled at harnessing a gritty live sound, which pays no mind to perfection.

“He’s one of those people that have amazing taste,” Hodgson says. “You always want to work with someone who’s better than what you are.

We just have so much faith in him.

There’s guys he listens to that I’ve got no idea who they even are, but he would show us and say, ‘How about this as a drum sound?’ And it

“I also really just wanted to prove that it could be done,” she adds. “I just feel like there’s so much faffing about with record labels sometimes.

Everything just takes so long. So we did it all really quick.”

The Team Work Makes The Dream Work tour rolls into Sydney this Friday night. Reports on The Grates’ return to the stage at Splendour have featured nothing but high praise. However, there was a moment when it looked like the tour wouldn’t go ahead after all. In early July, Patterson had a nasty fall during one of his regular bicycle rides around Brisbane. The accident severely damaged his left wrist – the last thing you want when you’re the sole guitarist in an energetic pop-rock band.

Determined to not let their onstage abstinence carry on any longer, the band recruited stand-in guitarist Jack Richardson of Superfeather.

“Jack’s killing it,” Patterson says.

“He’s playing my guitar, which I believe holds all the energy for The Grates.”

The live personnel is completed by drummer Ritchie Daniell and Penglis on bass. At this stage, Patterson’s still in the midst of recovery, but to make himself useful, he’s switched over to keyboard duties.

“I’ve got an array of tablets to take,” he says. “Though the doctors will only prescribe me a week’s worth of drugs at a time. I guess I look like the type of dude who’s going to abuse them? They’re probably right. [In] my first band,

I sung and played keys. So it is kind of nice to return to that. But I haven’t done it for like 12 years, so it definitely feels new – like a rebirth.”

What: Dream Team out now through Death Valley / Create/ Control With: Straight Arrows, Pleasure Symbols Where: Oxford Art Factory When: Friday August 14

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Bahamas Kid In The Kitchen By David James Young attention. Everyone’s got their own way around doing that. Some will try and do it as loudly as they can, but I’ve found that my instinct leads me to do the opposite. I like to play as quietly as I can and then lead people into my set that way.”

Last year saw Jurvanen release his third studio album under the Bahamas moniker, the simply titled Bahamas Is Afi e. Having since picked up Juno nominations and some of the best reviews of his career, the album was initially of humble origins.

years ago now, Jurvanen remembers it well.

“When I was really young, I was into Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker, guys like that,” he says. “I loved the guitar playing. I loved how punk rock it was – those guys just did whatever you wanted. I remember when I started playing that song, I was kind of doing it on tour to try and get people’s

When it comes to the lyrics and the central themes of Bahamas Is Afi e, Jurvanen explains that the majority of the songs on offer stem from feelings of looking back – not so

“It’s about being able to reflect on something,” he says. “When you’re in the thick of it, it’s easy to let your emotions get the best of you. You do all kinds of things that you’d do differently if only you had more time. These songs are about time and perspective. You can look back on something and have an entirely new outlook on it. You can reflect on how something wasn’t as big a deal as you had originally made it out to be, or it can be the exact opposite. It’s about allowing enough time to pass in order for you to properly assess what went on in your own life.”

Jurvanen admits that, while the transition from being a side player in a backing band to the centre of attention was difficult at first, it’s something he’s come to fully embrace over time. “I’m very lucky that I’ve gotten to do both,” he says. “When I was younger, I played on so many people’s albums, played in so many people’s bands. I just wanted to help out as many people as I could. I got to travel the world because of that. I now get to do the same for my friends – they get to play in my band and I get to take them around the world. It’s something I don’t ever take for granted.”

Jurvanen – along with his full band – will be touring through Australia in late September and early October. In addition to a string of headlining shows, Bahamas will also be appearing at no less than four festival dates – Brisbane Festival, Yours & Owls, Wave Rock Weekender and Dashville Skyline.

Although this is only Jurvanen’s second tour through the country as Bahamas, his previous work with a certain chanteuse was what brought him here in the first place.

What: Bahamas Is Afi e out Tuesday August 18 through Brushfire/Universal With: Fraser A. Gorman Where: Oxford Art Factory When: Friday October 2 And: Also appearing at Yours & Owls Festival, Wollongong, Friday October 2 – Saturday October 3, and Dashville Skyline, Maitland, Saturday October 3 – Sunday October 4

“The first time that I came out to Australia was as a part of Feist’s band,” he says. “Of course, the shows were great and the people were great. The coffee, though, man… we couldn’t believe how great the coffee was! The food, too – for

The Preatures Tales From A Blue Planet By Daniel Prior

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rom the beginning, few would have doubted that great things lay ahead for The Preatures.

But the speed with which they launched from local superheroes to music champions of the world was impressive all the same. The Sydney fi ve-piece was already beloved on the local indie rock scene, with a debut EP Shaking Hands released in 2012. When ‘Is This How You Feel?’ came dancing through the airwaves in 2013, what happened next was an onslaught of awards and acclamations, topping of charts, and a slew of performances right around the world.

“It crossed a lot of barriers for us, getting people interested in what was to come next,” says guitarist Gideon Bensen. “After our initial success, we were thinking, ‘We’ve got this.’ And to then head overseas, we realised we don’t know shit.”

Packing their bags and riding the waves of their second EP, also called Is This How You Feel?, The Preatures set off to America and Europe, testing their mettle against the best on the world stage. It was during this incredibly hectic tour schedule that they began work on their debut album, Blue Planet Eyes. ‘Is This How You Feel?’ had gone gold and was set as the marker for success; a keystone for what the album was to sound like. A fl ip side to its popularity, however, was the possibility of it being a onehit wonder.

“We are all very proud of ‘Is

This How You Feel?’, but it was important to show that there was more,” says Bensen. “In a sense, we are just starting out. We didn’t want it to be a nail in the coffin.”

Seizing opportunity with both hands, The Preatures managed to squeeze work on the record in between performances at Glastonbury, South By Southwest, Coachella, and on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, with Jim Eno (drummer of Texan rock outfi t Spoon) sharing production duties with Bensen’s fellow guitarist, Jack Moffitt.

“It really opened our eyes to what was possible for us and how much we still had to do,” Bensen says of the recording process. “It became really intense [but] people didn’t really know us, so there was also a certain freedom. It was our opportunity to take names and make lasting connections.”

Despite blossoming popularity, a busy life on the road and anticipation for what was to come, The Preatures kept their cool, and upon their return home to their studios in Surry Hills, released a debut album both immensely enjoyable and irresistible catchy.

“After everything, each one of us is very proud of the album, and quite clearly all our fans are too, which is always a plus,” says Bensen.

Now having jumped back and forth between Australia and the rest of the world for over two years, The Preatures have taken to the touring life like naturals, learning more than

a few rules of the road along the way.

“It can get weird living on the road, getting used to each other’s mannerisms and attitudes and smells,” says Bensen. “Everyone’s sharing energy and doing what we can to keep each other going.”

Following on from sold-out shows for Vivid LIVE at the Sydney Opera House and Dark Mofo, The Preatures have announced their Cruel Tour, celebrating their latest single. Their last tour for the year will see them travelling across Australia, hitting both regional and metropolitan

venues, before finally wrapping up at the Yours & Owls Music And Arts Festival in Wollongong. Excited to get going again, the group is ready to show audiences the results of all the hard work.

“It’s a lawless place on tour,” says Bensen. “Wherever we are, it’s always about the exchange of energy with the crowd. Sure, there’s a lot of getting people in the mood and corralling, but every time we step out it’s just an amazing experience.”

With another tour ahead, thousands of hungry fans across the globe and

“It can get weird living on the road, getting used to each other’s mannerisms and attitudes and smells. Everyone’s sharing energy and doing what we can to keep each other going.”

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an utterly adored album under their belt, The Preatures are once more beginning to cast an eye toward their next release.

“We’ve lived in the space of Blue Planet Eyes for as long as possible, and this tour will be the full stop on that sentence. The album has been the first chapter for the band, and I think it’s been a very important chapter, but it’s reaching its end.

We’re coming full circle now and we’re ready for what comes next.”

What: Blue Planet Eyes out now through Universal With: The Creases, Low Lux Where: Metro Theatre When: Friday August 28 And: Also appearing at Yours & Owls Festival, Wollongong, Friday October 2 – Saturday October 3

- The Janis Joplin Story thebrag.com

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he last time Bahamas – AKA Afi e Jurvanen – was in Australia, he came as a solo performer, opening up for a fellow Canadian troubadour with a stage name, City And Colour. During this run, Jurvanen would begin his sets by performing a rendition of ‘Someday Baby Blues’, a blues standard from the 1940s that has been interpreted by countless artists. Although it’s over three

“The majority of these songs ended up being written in the kitchen,” says Jurvanen. “That’s where I tend to play most of my guitar – and I tend to want to play a lot if I’m working on a record. Ironically, I don’t get to play a lot on tour – you’re travelling most of the day, you actually play for maybe an hour at the end and then you’re exhausted. When I was off the road, I would get up in the morning, make coffee and just play guitar all day. Some ideas were great, some were terrible, but I kept going. Soon enough, all the ideas started connecting up and the album started to form. The same guitar that I was playing every day is the same one that you can hear on pretty much every song on the album.”

me, those are two of the most important things as far as visiting a new place is concerned. I think it’s a great foundation – if you have a great coffee spot or you come across a great meal, that can be enough to make you remember that place as being amazing. That’s definitely what happened with Melbourne. Whatever you can grasp onto is what will make it the most memorable.”

much in the sense of nostalgia, but more observing moments from your past in a different way.

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A Place To Bury Strangers A Noise For Now By Thomas Brand

This year’s Australian tour sees A Place To Bury Strangers playing only three shows along the east coast, whereas their last visit consisted of eight shows across the land. The Canberra stop on that tour witnessed a turnout that could be counted on two hands, and although other acts would call that enough of a reason not to return to the capital, guitarist Oliver Ackermann explains that isn’t why the tour is so short this time.

“It had really nothing to do with any of that,” he says. “The last tour we did, the promoter did a rinky-dink line of shows. This tour, it was more just a matter of time. We have a whole other tour that starts up in the US right after this – and Europe – but we’re going to Asia right before this trip. We would have loved to go across Australia but it’s not possible. There’s only so much time that we can play everywhere – we’d love to and I’m sure we’ll be back again.

The band has performed more than 150 shows this year already, and given we’re only just past halfway through 2015, that’s no small feat.

“Sometimes it gets pretty crazy, you’re so tired you can’t even bear to go on,” Ackermann says. “Other times you’re so excited to be in these places. It sort of goes up and down. As you would imagine, it’s

very physically demanding to be doing this stuff, and as you get older you start asking, ‘Fuck, I don’t know how long I’m going to be able to do this,’ but you’re gonna keep on trying. When the show starts, you feel like you could break a pick on the world. So as long as we keep playing shows, we’ll be alright!”

A Place To Bury Strangers photo by Dusdin Condren

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rooklyn’s A Place To Bury Strangers have managed to refine sonic punishment to an art form. As they’ve carved their way through both post-punk and noise rock circles, the group has earned the title of “the loudest band in New York” – and for good reason.

Their energetic live shows are deafening to the point they leave attendees physically stunned.

Ackermann takes a hands-on approach to the band’s special effects, which constitute a large part of A Place To Bury Strangers’ identity. As the founder of the small Brooklyn-based effects wing of Death By Audio, Ackermann has been responsible for making sound effects for bands such as Lightning Bolt, Wilco, Nine Inch Nails and U2 – along with A Place To Bury Strangers themselves.

“We make tonnes of stuff, and it totally makes all this [band success] possible,” he says. “Stuff like building drum effects, the lights, making videos, all sorts of stuff – as much as we possibly can. It’s fun to do all of this stuff, so why not?

Then you can really be in control of what you want to do. It makes you think of other ideas for songs and for a really interactive show. It’s the way that the world should work – if you can bring something cool and interesting to share for other people to see, I think that’s an awesome thing. I want to see someone’s artwork that’s impressive and kind of cool and I want to make those things happen.”

Initially, there was more than one pathway that drove Ackermann towards experimenting with noise.

“There were just a lot of factors, sort of a building thing that sculpted my life into what it was. I saw tonnes of crazy shows when I was younger, growing up out at

Providence, Rhode Island back around the time when Lightning Bolt, Black Dice, Forcefield were around and playing, saw bands like Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr. – even just getting a guitar and an amplifier, hearing how awesome it sounded to turn it up and hear these great noises you can make.

All of these things influenced you to keep those feelings alive.

“As time goes onwards with drugs and experiences and all sorts of stuff, your memories get hazy.

You’re going on with what you remember of these ultimate shows and ultimate experiences you experienced, and build on those ideas. You bring upon a dream world

on other people. It’s hard to even tell if it translates. I can’t go to one of our shows. You just do what you can to make a crazy experience that moves you, I suppose. You’re just … challenging yourself to do things you think warp space and time.”

Prior to his involvement in A Place To Bury Strangers, Ackermann played bass in post-punk act Skywave, a band cut from similar cloth. The formation of each group was very different, and the location had everything to do with it.

“Being in Skywave, I was in a band with my closest friends from Virginia,” he says. “We grew up discovering music together – we

were on exactly the same page when we were writing. So when you come to New York, it’s a whole different thing. Everyone comes from so many different places that you get this patchwork quilt of people coming together.

It’s learning, growing – it creates things differently, for better or for worse. There’s nothing else I could imagine now, though.”

What: Transfi xiation out now through Dead Oceans With: Flyying Colours, Narrow Lands Where: Manning Bar When: Saturday September 5

Chaos Divine Seven Skies Collide By Nicholas Hartman Why the partnership with AlithiA, though? “They’re a really interesting band,” says Ryan Felton, full-time guitarist and part-time keyboardist of Chaos Divine. “We actually had them over [in Perth] for our ‘Soldiers’ single launch in 2014, and so they came over and we hit it off from there, really.

They’re really cool guys, and they’re a very interesting band and very, very different from anyone we’ve played with before.

“They’ve a very hard genre – you know, what they’re playing is a sort of a space-prog-rock kinda combination.

So yeah, they came over, we had a bunch of really good shows and we really dig them.”

itself an oasis for an otherwise rather parched and weary world of music.

Progressive metallers Chaos Divine, soon to hit these Sydney shores, are yet another Swanside band coming to our collective rescue. And this time they’re bringing Melbourne genre-benders AlithiA with them – well, sort of.

The upcoming show at the Factory Floor will be part one in a two-part double-billing tour, not much unlike the Queens of the Stone Age/ Nine Inch Nails runaround last year. Chaos Divine will headline in Sydney, before swapping roles in AlithiA’s hometown a night later.

Hemina and The Winter Effect will also be joining, for the Sydney gig at least.

For Chaos Divine, meanwhile, 2015 has so far seen the release of their second album, Colliding Skies, back in March, followed by an autumn tour of Australia. On paper, this year also marks the band’s tenth anniversary, but when quizzed about it, Felton palms it off. “You could probably say this is our ten-year anniversary, but we didn’t really consider ourselves

“Don’t you know when you’re loving anybody, baby, you’re taking a gamble on a little sorrow.” 16 :: BRAG :: 625 :: 12:08:15

Since then, other than Colliding Skies, the lads have also released another EP (Avalon, 2008) and album (The Human Connection, 2011). Just as strikingly, they recorded their own version of Toto’s classic, ‘Africa’. In a manner not too far from something you’d see in the movies, an idea originally pursued on a whim turned into an almost overnight sensation, becoming Toto guitarist Steve Lukather’s favourite cover version.

“He ended up tweeting … that this was the best cover version he’d ever heard,” Felton says.

Beyond this mini-tour, Chaos Divine plan to fit in more shows on the eastern seaboard. Their appearance at Brisbane’s Bigsound, taking place in early September, has been recently announced, and they plan to use that gig as a platform for more shows. Last time the lads were in Europe, ‘Soldiers’ was winning the West Australian Music award for Best Heavy/Metal Song of 2014 (“We had to have a friend go pick it up for us,” says Felton). By mid-2016, Chaos Divine will be in the Northern Hemisphere once more. May fortune smile upon them.

What: Colliding Skies out now through Firestarter With: AlithiA, Hemina, The Winter Effect Where: Factory Floor When: Friday August 28

- The Janis Joplin Story thebrag.com

xx

T

he winds blowing in Perth are carrying its residents’ chimes around the world.

Currently, Fremantle’s very own Tame Impala are massaging earwaves on a global scale, and before that, Karnivool were tearing sounds apart with their unique take on progressive rock. The slither of green and beach that clings to the Indian Ocean has lately proven

What’s more, this won’t be the regular old show – the double-billing aside – because AlithiA have a rather conspicuous trick hidden up their sleeve: they have made a short film, and they intend to show it. Sacrifi ce, described by the band as “partmockumentary, part-art film”, will be given an advanced screening at both dates. Felton can’t really delve into more information than that; he’s only seen the trailer, but has been assured it’s almost Spinal Tap-esque.

serious probably until 2006, because that’s when we released our first EP.”

BRAGâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s guide to film, theatre, comedy and art about town

arts in focus

the tempest

Xxxx

as the bell tolls

also inside:

F E AT UR E D : U NI T Y / A R T S NE W S / A R T S G I V E AWAY / F IL M & T HHEE AT R E R E V IE W S thebrag.com

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arts in focus

free stuff head to: thebrag.com/freeshit

HOLDING THE MAN

five minutes WITH

MELITA ROWSTON FROM 6 DEGREES OF NED KELLY

6 Degrees Of Ned Kelly

T

he tagline for 6 Degrees Of Ned Kelly reads, “Melita Rowston’s grandpa stole Ned Kelly’s bones”. Tell us more.

During Sunday roasts, my grandpa used to tell us how in 1929, under the cover of night, he scaled the walls of the Old Melbourne Gaol and stole Ned Kelly’s bones. He loved to tell that story and we loved to hear it. But not for one minute did we believe it was true. Then in 2011, ten years after his death, the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine announced they’d

identified Ned Kelly’s skeleton based on a tooth stolen from his grave in 1929. I decided to find out if my grandpa’s story was true.

Is there something about the Australian psyche that makes us enjoy a tall tale?

It’s such a cliché, but Aussies love a beer and a yarn. What I’ve discovered on this journey as I talk to people about their Kelly connection is that this bond between us grows, we’re connected to something bigger – the power of story. It’s a strangely profound experience, especially given our grandparents were essentially grave robbers!

What is it about the Ned Kelly story that endures to this day?

The image of Ned lurching though the mist in his armour is mind-blowingly iconic – the police thought he was a bunyip!

The Kelly gang were caught up in the burgeoning ‘social media’ of the day – the first Australian photojournalism was of the Glenrowan siege while Ned harnessed the press to publish his Jerilderie Letter. From these seeds a myth is built. And Aussies love an underdog.

The show also deals with ‘Shit Tourism’. What’s the concept behind that?

Shit Tourism is an ‘experience’ most likely built in the ’70s that purports to educate and enthral, but fails on every level. One of my favourites is the Giant Stubby (now closed) in Tewantin, Queensland. Handmade out of 60,000 stubbies, it was the largest stubby in the world. I think they also had a camel. The bloke who made it had a vision – and not much else on.

If you could write a Shit

Tourism guide to another part of Australian culture or history, what would it be?

There are so many! My first Shit Tourism show was about the largest earthworm in the world – fact – that lives in Gippsland, Victoria. I explored the tourism industry that grew up (and declined) around it. We tracked down the largest earthworm puppet in the world. It was dumped by a disused railway station, even though it made The Guinness Book Of Records. It was one of the best experiences of my life. Seriously, I could write a book about that place.

I should.

Some stories just won’t quit. Such has been the case with the true love story of Timothy Conigrave and John Caleo, which was first written as a memoir by Conigrave. Having captivated audiences as both a cult book and West End play, the film adaptation of Holding The Man is coming to Australian cinemas on Thursday August 27. Starring Ryan Corr and Craig Stott in the leads, the film also features performances from a few familiar faces, including Kerry Fox, Sarah Snook, Camilla Ah Kin, Guy Pearce and Anthony LaPaglia.

What: 6 Degrees Of Ned Kelly as part of Sydney Fringe Festival 2015 Where: Erskineville Town Hall When: Wednesday September 2 – Sunday September 6

Although Conigrave didn’t live to see his memoir in print, plenty of others will get the chance to see his story as it hits the big screen. For the chance to win one of ten in-season double passes, head to thebrag.com/freeshit.

6 Degrees Of Ned Kelly photo by Dave Quinn

arts news...what's goin' on around town... with Bridget Lutherborrow, Vanessa Papastavros and Jade Smith

SYDNEY UNDERGROUND FILM FESTIVAL

100 films over four days, plus a series of film masterclasses. What more could you ask for? The Sydney Underground Film Festival has unleashed a killer program for 2015. The opening night will kick things off with a bang, featuring live performances, delicious Crust Pizza and the festival’s very own collaboration beer, Underground Ale, with local brewery Young Henrys. It’s all to get you in the mood for the opening film, Love – the controversial, sexually explicit, semi-autobiographical new release by the ever-provocative writerdirector Gaspar Noé. Other noteworthy films on the program include Eli Roth’s Knock Knock, Michael Medaglia’s Deep Dark and Ben and Joshua Safdie’s Heaven Knows What.

For the first time this year, the festival will also host a series of masterclasses for people who are interested in learning more about the film industry. The program takes over the Factory Theatre from Thursday September 17 – Sunday September 20.

Ride

RIDE FOR FOURPLAY

From acclaimed playwright Jane Bodie come two one-act plays that delve into the heart of modern relationships. In Ride, two strangers wake up in bed together, naked and hungover, with only their hazily reconstructed memories to make sense of. Fourplay is a serendipitous story about four city-dwellers finding intimacy, friendship and love in unlikely places. Director Anthony Skuse is returning to Eternity Playhouse to direct the double bill from Friday September 4 – Sunday October 4.

LIVEWORKS FESTIVAL

Liveworks, coming to Carriageworks this October and November, will showcase multidisciplinary experimental art on a scale never before attempted by Performance Space. The festival is set to feature ambitious Australian and international artists working

Marc Maron

MAKING HIS MARC

Marc Maron will return to Australia this October. A highly honest and thought-provoking comedian, Maron has appeared on every talk show you could possibly list, released multiple comedy specials and hosts the landmark podcast WTF With Marc Maron (which averages four million downloads each month and has featured the likes of Louis C.K., Robin Williams and most recently Barack Obama). Catch him on Thursday October 15 at the State Theatre.

TOGETHER AT LAST

Marrying together music and theatre, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Bell Shakespeare will present four moving performances of Shakespeare’s best-known star-crossed lovers. Romeo & Juliet will also bring together two towering fi gures in the Australian cultural landscape: conductor Simone Young and veteran actor and director John Bell. Shakespeare’s timeless love story will be reimagined for the Sydney Opera House, with actors performing select scenes from the play interwoven with music from Prokofi ev’s thrilling ballet score.

Performances will run between Thursday August 20 – Monday August 24 at the Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House.

Graphic

THE FAIREST OF THEM ALL

18 :: BRAG :: 625 :: 12:08:15

A JUST CAUSE LET’S GET GRAPHIC

Graphic, the Sydney Opera House festival dedicated to all things around visual and storytelling culture, has revealed its program for 2015. The fifth edition of Graphic, jointly curated by Jordan Verzar and the Opera House head of contemporary music Ben Marshall, will feature a headline appearance by Academy Award-winning director George Miller, explaining the 12-year creative process behind Mad Max: Fury Road alongside colleagues Brendan McCarthy and Nico Lathouris. Cult comic book creator and comedian Kevin Smith will also appear during the festival, while beloved Australian musician Sarah Blasko will debut her fifth album, Eternal Return, in collaboration with visual artist Mike Daly.

Icelandic performer Ólafur Arnalds will lead a 13-piece chamber orchestra, augmented with live visuals by Máni M. Sigfússon. A series of free talks and films round out the schedule.

Graphic 2015 takes over the Sydney Opera House on Monday September 28, and the weekend of Saturday October 10 – Sunday October 11.

Cause Film Festival is exactly what it says on the tin, and is looking for short film submissions that support a specific charity or cause. The festival encourages filmmakers, charities and anyone passionate about a cause to create a film of under 12 minutes on their chosen topic. You don’t need any fancy filming gear – a mobile phone is fine – but films do need to support a charity, cause, or at least have a strong positive message. All profits from Cause Film Festival go to the selected cause of the winning film, with further prizes offered by sponsors. The Festival Awards Night will be held on Thursday September 24 at Riverside Theatres. The deadline for submissions to Cause Film Festival is Friday August 28. For more info, visit causefilmfestival.com. thebrag.com

Graphic photo by Prudence Upton

An iconic 60-year anniversary production of My Fair Lady is in the works for Australia, with none other than Dame Julie Andrews at the helm. Cited as Broadway’s archetypical Eliza Doolittle – My Fair Lady’s protagonist and Andrews’ second-ever role on Broadway – Andrews will give the musical new life, and will be coming to Sydney in November to cast the production. Presented

by Opera Australia artistic director Lyndon Terracini and leading theatre producer John Frost, and featuring choreography from Tony Award-winning Christopher Gattelli (Newsies, The King And I), the exclusively secured Sydney premiere is sure to excite both Australian and international audiences.

My Fair Lady opens at the Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House in August 2016.

across disciplines including theatre, dance, digital technology and visual arts. Comprising 11 major works from across the Asia-Pacific, Liveworks aims to connect Sydney audiences with the riskiest, most vibrant works being created in the region. The major works range from Wade Marynowsky’s Robot Opera to a queer-girl crushing of the hysterical woman trope. In an attempt to fill all the secret spaces of Carriageworks, Liveworks will also be offering specially curated workshops, forums, lectures, screenings and “a series of interventions” across the three weeks of the festival. Liveworks runs from Thursday October 22 – Saturday November 7. Visit performancespace.com.au for the full program.

Unity [FILM] Human Nature By Adam Norris

M

ost entertainment is going to market itself as something unique; something distinct from the glut of film, music and literature dribbling from marquees and shopfront windows. Most entertainment is also going to fall short of that innovation (I’m looking at you, Jonathan Liebesman), but with Unity we have a remarkable exception. It’s a documentary charting a kind of spirituality without religion, but instead the prevalence of compassion and community in spite of humanity’s long history of warfare and prejudice, and is narrated by over 100 celebrities.

Helen Mirren, Jessica Chastain, Geoffrey Rush, Kevin Spacey, Dr. Dre; the contributors stretch on.

“When we asked everyone if they were interested in being part of a chorus of narrators for the film,” director Shaun Monson recalls, “well, I approached some people who we already knew at first. I’d worked with Joaquin Phoenix before [on Earthlings]. Once we had a couple of names, we could get a couple more, and we took it from there. I’d do research and see what sort of philanthropic interests each person may have, any altruistic work in the past. I’d try and then select dialogue that was in that area.

“Fortunately, my instincts were pretty good with that – I don’t think there was ever a time someone came and said they didn’t want to say a certain part, to give their lines to someone else. I would just tell them what would be happening on screen, what people would be seeing, and that would help give them a context.

Then they’d come in to read, and

start in whatever way they wanted.

After a while I might say, ‘OK, now I want you to try it deeper, slower, sort of contemplative. Not like a book report, not like you’re standing up in front of class.’ And that’s what they all did – this slow, deep reading that just works so well with the music and images.”

The film itself is an engrossing overview of humankind’s dissonance with itself. It looks to elaborate commonalities and empathies not only within the human world, but in our relationships to animals and to vegetation. The narration goes a long way to easing us into what is at heart a stirring, if subjective philosophical treatise on mortality, but the images themselves are quite powerful. From the opening scene of two terrified bulls corralled in a slaughterhouse, you know you’re in for an affecting experience.

Curiously, though, preceding this is a disclaimer recognising that the performers’ opinions may be at odds with Monson’s own ethics and sensibilities.

“The documentary genre has a different criteria to it to the fictional film,” he explains. “You can play a rapist or a serial killer in a hit movie and not have to put any kind of disclaimer out front, nothing that says, ‘This is all pretend, none of this is real,’ even though they make it look as real and as terrifying as possible. If in a documentary you’re saying, ‘Hey, let’s not hurt animals, let’s stop having war,’ it somehow becomes the opposite. You need to have this disclaimer. I find that really interesting.

“Films that are very violent or brutal, which is quite common in reality, are fine and no disclaimers are required.

But that’s OK. It’s still worth including because people have strong feelings about these things, so let’s protect the talent. Let everyone know that they’ve agreed to be a part of it because they may intellectually believe in the message of Unity, but there may be a point or two that doesn’t quite work. They may be a carnivore, for instance. So that was the reason.”

The success of the film rests in large measure on how willing the audience is to question basic assumptions about its daily lives, and its place in a near inappreciable cosmic order.

Celebrating our connectedness is central to Monson’s premise, though his film also attempts to establish why humankind can’t seem to leave

behind war and suffering – something so barbaric and wasteful and undignified and cruel, yet as historically fundamental to who we are as the very air we breathe. The vast majority of world history has borne witness to war, and one wonders if it is not a natural, inescapable part of being human.

“It’s a component of it, yes,” says Monson. “The primitive, competitive, brutal aspect of humanity is there, but so also is the enlightened, uplifting, loving and tender side of us.

I think of it like this: the primary function of any biological organism is survival. Why then, if that is true, if we are merely biological organisms, does a mother dash into the street to save her child from an oncoming truck? Compassion has no room in biological survival. It violates the laws of the universe.

“A soldier who goes to face certain death to protect a fellow soldier is also violating that universal law if we are merely biological organisms. This tells us that there is something about compassion that runs deeper within us. That is beyond biology. And I am not a religious person at all, but this to me seems to be a valid, scientifically proven, yet spiritual question about what we are.

Something that suggests we are deeper than mere biological organisms. And if that’s the case, we can certainly go beyond war. We can surpass all needless brutality. The capacity is there.”

What: Unity (dir. Shaun Monson) Where: Palace Norton Street, Chauvel Cinema Paddington and Event Cinemas George Street When: Wednesday August 12

The Tempest Xxx

[THEATRE] The Final Chime By Adam Norris optimistic, pessimistic, aggressive, whatever. You tend to take on those characteristics yourself, if only to a degree. It’s a bit like testing yourself against the character.

“In directing, it’s always working out strategies. How to keep everyone at the same pace, keep them enthusiastic, and looking out for any trouble spots. If people are at all disgruntled, is it because they’re insecure about themselves, about someone else, what’s going on? It’s like trying to read minds all the time.

One is objective, one is subjective.

It’s really as simple as that.”

There is, of course, a certain poetry to Bell’s decision to exit his career as artistic director with The Tempest. A story of transformation and illusion, of legacy and generations, love and bewitchment, you would struggle to find a more appropriate fit. Yet the circumstances of choosing the text were much more fateful than they were planned.

T

o anyone even remotely connected with the national theatre scene, John Bell is something of a living legend. Indeed, he has been confirmed as such by the National Trust of Australia, and throughout his 40-year career has amassed so many accolades they had to build an entire Opera House to store them. Arguably best known for the staggering success of the Bell Shakespeare Company, now, 25 years after founding the troupe, he is stepping down, sailing off to stranger waters with a final production of The Tempest.

“It’s week three of rehearsals now,” Bell chuckles. His voice, unsurprisingly, is rich, velveteen

thebrag.com

– one can only imagine the conversational delights were he ever to have held court with Richard Burton or John Gielgud. “It’s a little like chopping our way through the jungle, but it’s all starting to become clearer. Gaps of light are starting to shine through the canopy.”

Bell has performed the coveted role of the betrayed magician, Prospero, thrice in the past, and so his insight into what is regarded as Shakespeare’s final play is significant. But rather than don the cloak one last time, Bell decided instead to take the mantle as director, and leave the creation of the character – the idiosyncrasies, the speech, the meat beneath the

words – to another. Under Bell’s watch, such creation is very much an act of collaboration and, to a point, anthropology.

“One half of me would love to take the part, of course, because it’s such a great play and a great role. But I’ve done it three times now. It would have been greedy to do it again – it was time to give somebody else a go. I was pretty altruistic, I would say,” he laughs. “It’s a very different experience, directing as opposed to acting. Acting, you think about the character, you tend to try and live with them, to see life through the character’s eyes all the time, to find a certain rhythm. You try to adapt their perspective, be it

“We were just looking around for what were the best shows to do for our 25th anniversary, and Hamlet was our first choice. We hadn’t done Hamlet for a while, and never on a national tour. The Tempest we hadn’t done for some years, As You Like It we hadn’t done in ages. It was a matter of figuring out what had been silent for six, eight years, and construct a really popular season. That was really all there was to it, to ensure it was going to be a season that would really keep people entertained. Only after we programmed it did I realise there was a certain synchronicity between a guy giving up his magic and retiring into private life. It was definitely an afterthought more so than any motivation.”

The show has already begun selling out, bolstered by the fact that this

is to be Bell’s company swansong, of course, but also because after a quarter of a century, audiences have developed sincere faith in Bell Shakespeare. This is a cadre of performers and creators like no other, and though the show will go on for years to come, Bell has left a significant shadow to fill. His instincts for theatre are unsurpassed, a talent he credits to ensuring each production starts out as an undiscovered country.

“I think that’s essential. I think when you’re a younger actor you think, ‘I need to find the method, I need to find that key,’ just try to establish some kind of game plan you can fall back to. And that’s fine when you’re starting out. I think with the older you get and the more you trust yourself, you are more comfortable with a group of people in a room, you’re more willing to just see what happens.

“What I sometimes do is say, ‘Let’s play it like De Niro,’ or ‘Try and play it like Downey, Jr.’ That’s a somewhat lazy way of doing it, however. I far prefer modelling on real-life people and just take certain characteristics.

But rather than just take one person, I guess what I would do is try and take, say, 12 different people or personalities, and take a bit from this one, a bit from that one, take somebody else’s body language, somebody else’s sense of humour. It should rarely be just mimicking one person, but drawing from a whole realm of different role models. You must try and approach every show very differently.”

What: The Tempest Where: Playhouse, Sydney Opera House When: Wednesday August 19 – Friday September 18

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

■ Theatre

The Epic

THE EPIC

Dope

Played at Bondi Pavilion on Thursday July 23 and Friday July 24 as part of Bondi Feast 2015 Scott Sandwich and Finn O’Branagáin are giant nerds. Not your traditional humourless math nerds, but funnier, better-dressed, story nerds. Their show, The Epic, is about myth in a big way, and while our hosts are not about to take themselves wholly seriously, they are about to get very shouty about essentially make-believe things.

The Epic begins with a disclaimer: this is not a play.

The audience enters to Scott and Finn wandering around the stage. They say hi to their friends. There is absolutely no fourth wall to break. Though there is a script, it’s pretty looseygoosey in parts. Words are stumbled over, an audience member’s laugh infects the delivery. Any story, any thread of action is narrated rather than acted. But that’s what this is all about – telling stories.

They take turns. Finn tells the story of Gilgamesh in an impassioned first person recount, only to have Scott jump in to rant about The Fast And The Furious franchise. There are

grand sweeping statements, lyrical and not-so-lyrical reinterpretations of some very old stories, cardboard mountains, and some truly exceptional visual puns.

This show is a load of fun for anyone who is even slightly into the idea of myth. Accessible, funny and awkwardly self-aware, Scott and Finn not only retell some of the most influential and out-there stories ever recorded, they also reflect on how stories are shaped by the teller and how, in turn, the world is shaped by stories. The only possible downside is it might sound a bit niche.

But rest assured, you don’t have to have read a single book or even have seen The Fast And The Furious to get this. Though you will want to have your wits about you.

It’s difficult to do anything of mythic proportions in a 50-minute show, but The Epic manages to pack a lot in. The fish of knowledge and cultural appropriation. Brothers in arms and unreliable narrators. Vampires, bow ties, feminism, Paul Walker, tiny plastic bears.

Finn and Scott approach their material with equal parts reverence and irreverence, in precisely the places it’s needed.

There is just enough levity, just enough grandeur, and too much going on to be bored for even a moment. If you get the chance to see this show sometime, do it. The Epic will make any hour of your life seem bigger on the inside.

Bridget Lutherborrow

■ Film

DOPE In cinemas Thursday August 20 The concept for a film about Los Angeles Gen Y kids centered around a soundtrack of all-’90s hip hop might be confusing – if not a little overcooked – and Dope does get off to a rocky start. The first ten minutes shoehorn bad narration (by Forest Whitaker) with any excuse to play ’90s jams, alongside kitschy pop culture references. These kids have Walkmans (which they actually use). They buy vinyl.

They play Game Boys. They ride BMXs. They rock fluoro shirts, acid wash and flat tops. iPhones are the only giveaway that this film isn’t actually set in the ’90s, and it takes a few double takes in the first act to realise what era we’re in, and which one we’re referencing here.

However, once the narration slows, the plot kicks in and the culture references gladly wane, Dope becomes a funny and somewhat quirky look at modern gangland LA. Malcolm (Shameik Moore) is a straight-A student in a normal school in Inglewood, trying to get ahead and get that spot at Harvard. He comes across happygo-lucky local dealer Dom (A$AP Rocky), who for some reason takes a shining to

him as his messenger in trying to woo Nakia (Zoë Kravitz). Through a course of events, and a nightclub shootout, Malcolm discovers a pile of drugs stashed in his school bag, and has to navigate an ugly world of characters to get them out of his life while not getting killed.

It’s not all Boyz N The Hood here, however.

Sure, school has a metal detector and gangs steal sneakers and sell drugs, but the fi lm refl ects this as simply a part of suburbia, rather than focusing on it. As we follow Malcolm, we see he has the aspirations of any, as well as the talents, and the story becomes about his journey as a bright kid turning a bad world against itself – albeit with the use of the dark web.

Moore is excellent in his portrayal of an equally shy, awkward, yet cunning and resourceful Malcolm. The laughs are quick and fast, as is the pace, and the fi lm is colourful and brash without being too over-the-top. It remains to be seen if this will become a cult classic, but with a huge list of producers (Whitaker, Pharrell and Sean Combs make the list), and pointless ’90s references aside, it has the chops to become one in the right hands.

Julian Ramundi

Arts Exposed What's in our diary...

Video Games Live ■ Music/Gaming

VIDEO GAMES LIVE Reviewed at the Enmore Theatre on Thursday July 30 “For the Horde!” yelled an enthusiastic audience member as an iconic piece of gameplay music began.

Referring to gamers such as myself as ‘passionate’ is a prodigious understatement, and that extends to the

Across two giant acts, the orchestra explored old-school titles such as Sonic The Hedgehog and Mega Man, as well as modern favourites such as Mass Effect, Skyrim and Kingdom Hearts.

Fanfare was greatly encouraged, so it became the norm to hear shouts of adulation ring out from the crowd as Shadow Of The Colossus and World Of Warcraft appeared on the accompanying screen. It was truly a fully immersive experience, and I even found myself simply closing my eyes and allowing the music to wash over me as the soundtrack to one of my all-time favourites, Chrono

Trigger, rang out across the Enmore.

Whimsy and nostalgia were accompanied by a healthy dose of humour in between songs and during the intermission. The crowd was treated to some hilarious game mash-ups, such as Frogger versus GTA and Donkey Kong versus Mortal Kombat, as well as some examples of terrible video game titles (Touch Dic, it’s a thing) and the worst voice acting of all time. But the real hero of the night was an audience member who took the stage to perform ‘The Pretender’ by Foo Fighters on expert mode on Guitar Hero and didn’t miss a single goddamn note. The crowd just about went wild, and a legend was born. And this is truly what makes Video Games Live great – it combines pure passion with art, audience interaction and fun. Any gamer would fall in love with this experience.

Tegan Jones

See www.thebrag.com for more arts reviews 20 :: BRAG :: 625 :: 12:08:15

My Nine Lives Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House, Sunday August 16 Take a walk on the wild side with award-winning photographer Steve Winter this weekend. Finding and capturing rare images of elusive endangered species often requires many months in the fi eld, working under dangerous and difficult conditions.

Winter will share his gripping tales live onstage, from capturing the nocturnal adventures of a mountain lion in the Hollywood Hills to narrowly avoiding becoming jaguar prey in a Brazilian rainforest. Audiences will be inspired by Winter’s mission to share the beauty of big cats while reinvigorating efforts to save them. He has twice won first prize in the nature category from World Press Photo and his decade-long project to document the world’s disappearing tigers recently culminated in his National Geographic book Tigers Forever.

Tickets start at $39, visit sydneyoperahouse.com to book or for more info.

thebrag.com

Bengal Tiger photo by Steve Winters

You might expect that this particular brand of proclamation wouldn’t be indicative of a night out at the symphony.

However, in this very unique case, you would be wrong. Video Games Live, a concert created by composer Tommy Tallarico, has subverted the traditional notion of orchestra by fusing it with video game music. After 13 years of taking his show on the road, it finally had its Australian premiere, and the results were breathtaking.

music that pervades our favourite pastime. As Tallarico stated on the night, video game music becomes the soundtrack of our own lives. Unlike movie scores, video game music is truly penetrating – everything from sweet dulcet tunes to swelling crescendos permeate our experience as we guide characters through their trials and tribulations.

A mother Bengal tiger

out & about Queer(ish) matters with Lucy Watson

I

t’s the same story every time: a cheap and often culturally diverse suburb plods along. The suburb next to it – the one closer to the city – becomes too expensive, and the white, creative, often queer types move to the neighbouring location.

Cool bars appear. Creative spaces pop up. Baristas with moustaches take over the cafés. The cultural diversity dies out as the crowd becomes whiter. It becomes more expensive. The creative types and the queers can’t afford it anymore. They move one suburb over, again, while the yuppies move in.

Gentrification. It’s an old story, and one that repeats itself, over and over.

When it comes to queer gentrification – for me at least – it gets a little trickier. Recently, I was sitting at a favourite Marrickville café of mine when I looked up and suddenly realised I was surrounded by the people I refer to as (and I’m one of them) The White Dykes of Marrickville. We’ve taken over. Now, the side of the suburb north of Marrickville Road is full of them, replacing the Greek and Vietnamese communities who are no doubt being pushed farther south and west by the gentrification process.

I love living in Marrickville. It’s relatively cheap, the coffee is good, the pubs are nice, and the beer is craft. The babes abound, and I can walk around, safe in the knowledge that who I am is not only welcome, but almost a majority. Living in an area where queer people surround you, where the elections come down to Labor versus the Greens, and where bikes almost outstrip cars (OK, not really at all, but there’s still a lot of them) is a luxury I’ve come to rely on. My queer bubble, my comfort zone, gives me the freedom and safety to be who I am.

But this lovely little queer bubble comes at a cost. At a cost to those we’ve driven out, and at an elevated cost to those who will inevitably drive us out. Just as Newtown is becoming unaffordable

(and full of dicks), and Erskineville is becoming almost unrecognisable (what even is that bourgie Woolies, seriously?

Also, RIP Imperial), soon Marrickville will fall. It will no longer be full of The White Dykes, but instead (as is happening, just go to the Henson on a Sunday), The Yummy Mummies, and The Yuppies.

Babies replace dogs, rents go up, queers go south and west, and the Greek and Vietnamese communities get forced even farther away from their Marrickville heartland.

I can howl and scream at gentrification (and, let’s be real, lockout laws) for ruining my queer bubble all I want, but I still can’t help but feel a twinge of guilt for the people whom my bubble has unseated. I want my queer bubble, and in a lot of ways I need it, but it still doesn’t feel nice to know that it’s a come at a cost to other marginalised communities.

It’s not really a problem with a solution, though. As a marginalised community, we’re quite powerless to fix it, and powerless to those who copycat us because we’re trendy and then drive us out as a result. I wish we could take a suburb from a white middle class community, because I’d feel far less guilty setting up a queer bubble in, say, Double Bay, but unless a whole host of houses become available for us to squat, or somehow Sydney’s ballooning housing prices fix themselves, it’s just not going to happen.

We’ll continue to drive out other marginalised communities, creating our short-lived bubble, before it’s burst by those richer than us, and the unaffordability of Sydney engulfs yet another suburb, and yet another marginalised community.

It’s a bar, it’s a café, it’s a place where people get just a little bit frisky.

It’s actually fucking scary.

this week…

This Thursday August 13, the Red Rattler is celebrating taking a 60 per cent share in the building with a free party, with tunes by Kooky fave DJ Gemma. Get on down and celebrate community-run spaces.

This weekend’s a busy one for our classic parties. Girlthing, since being booted from Q Bar last month, is trialling out a new home in the form of Goodgod this Friday August 14.

It’ll feature a bunch of the regular DJs, and the fantastic Kato. It’s also Cunningpants’ birthday, so go and squish her face with birthday love and kisses.

And on Saturday August 15, Heaps Gay is taking over all three levels of the Oxford Hotel – again, featuring all the regulars, as well as Lady Stardust Kate Bush and Wuthering Heights Crew. I have no idea what either of these acts are, but their names excite me very much.

thebrag.com

Kato

Cafe now open 7 days

Cunningpants

Monday | 7am - 5pm Tuesday | 7am - 5pm Wednesday | 7am - 11pm Thursday | 7am - 11pm Friday | 7am - 11pm Saturday | 7am - 10pm Sunday | 7am - 11pm

Come find us and smell the roses in person ~

134a Enmore Road, Enmore www.secretgardenbar.com.au BRAG :: 625 :: 12:08:15 :: 21

BARS BRAG

A Work In Progress 50 King St, Sydney CBD (02) 9240 3000 Mon – Fri noon-2am The Attic 275 Pitt St, Sydney CBD (02) 9284 1200 Mon – Fri 11am-1am; Saturday 5pm-1am 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 – Tue 5-11pm; Wed – Fri noonmidnight; Sat 5pm-midnight The Australian Heritage Hotel 100 Cumberland St, The Rocks (02) 9247 2229 Mon – Sun 10.30am-midnight Balcony Bar 46 Erskine St, Sydney CBD (02) 9299 3526 Mon 5pm - late; Tue – Fri noon-midnight; Sat

5pm-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 4-9pm; Fri – Sat 4-11pm The Barber Shop 89 York St, Sydney CBD (02) 9299 9699 Mon – Wed, Sat 4pm-midnight; Thurs – Fri 3pm-midnight

The Baxter Inn Basement 152-156 Clarence St, Sydney CBD Mon – Sat 4pm-1am Bondy’s L1, 16 Philip Ln, Sydney CBD (02) 9251 2347 Thu – Fri 5pm-late; Sat 5pm-late Bulletin Place First Floor, 10-14 Bulletin Place, Circular Quay Mon – Wed 4pm-midnight; Thurs – Sat 4pm-1am deVine 32 Market St, Sydney

SECRET GARDEN

Frankie’s Pizza 50 Hunter St, Sydney CBD Mon – Fri noon-3am; Sat – Sun 4pm-3am

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 Wed 6pm-midnight; Thu & Sat 6pm-2am; Fri 5pm-2am The Glenmore 96 Cumberland St, The Rocks (02) 9247 4794 Mon – Thu, Sun 11am-midnight; Fri – Sat 11am-1am Goodgod Small Club 53-55 Liverpool St, Sydney CBD (02) 8084 0587 Wed 5pm-11pm; Thu 5pm-1am; Fri 5pm-3am; Sat 6pm-3am

bar

OF

ADDRESS: 134A ENMORE RD, ENMORE PHONE: 0409 284 928 WEBSITE: SECRETGARDENBAR.COM.AU OPENING HOURS: MON – TUE 7AM5PM, WED – FRI 7AM-11PM, SAT 7AM-10PM, SUN 7AM-11PM

Grain Bar 199 George St, Sydney CBD (02) 9250 3118 Mon – Sun noon-late

TH

EK

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

CBD (02) 9262 6906 Mon – Fri 11.30am-11.30pm; Sat 5.30-11.30pm

E E W

The Fox Hole 68A Erskine St, Sydney CBD (02) 9279 4369 Mon 7am-3pm; Tue – Fri 7am-evening The Grasshopper 1 Temperance Ln, Sydney CBD (02) 9947 9025 Mon – Thurs & Sat 4pm-late; Fri noon-late Harpoon Harry 40-44 Wentworth Ave, Sydney CBD (02) 8262 8800 Mon – Sun 11:30am-3am The Lobo Plantation Basement Lot 1, 209 Clarence St, Sydney CBD 0415 554 908 Mon – Thu, Sat 4pm-midnight; Fri 2pm-midnight The Loft UTS 15 Broadway, Sydney (behind 2SER) (02) 9514 1149 Mon – Wed 2pm-10pm; Thurs – Fri 2pm-late Mojo Record Bar Basement 73 York St, Sydney CBD (02) 9262 4999 Mon – Wed 4pm-midnight; Thu, Sat 4pm-1am; Fri 3pm-1am The Morrison 225 George St, Sydney CBD (02) 9247 6744 Mon – Wed 11.30am-midnight; Thu 11.30am-1am; Fri – Sat 11.30am-2am; Sun 11.30am-10pm 11.30am-10pm The Palisade 35 Bettington St, Millers Point (02) 9247 2040 Tue – Fri noon-2.30pm & 6pm-9.30pm; Sat 6pm-9.30pm

Tell us about your bar: It’s a bar, it’s a café, it’s a place where people get just a little bit frisky. With live music most nights of the week, this buzzy, queerish little joint on Enmore Road makes up for what it lacks in size in outsized ambience. Max capacity is in the high 50s so expect lawn party vibes on the weekends.

soft and plump little pockets come with your choice of fi lling.

The spicy pulled beef with tomato salsa or the pulled pork are by far the best ($8), but if you’re not into meat, you can opt for either a three cheese ($5) or black bean and feta ($6). Both, any vegos out there will be happy to hear, are very tasty.

What’s on the menu?

As food goes, currently Secret Garden serves the gluten-free Columbian cornmeal snack widely known as arepas. And, quite frankly, they serve it good. These

Care for a drink?

The cocktail menu is long and delightful, but our recommendation is the Apricot Bour-Jam Sour! The sweetness of the apricot, sours of the lemon and boldness of the

bourbon make this a great cocktail to unwind with.

Sounds?

There’s DJ sets and live music most evenings. Wednesday night R&B/ soul/pop/groove jam, Friday and Saturday displays DJ sets by loads of local legends including Shag (FBi), Luen, Arianne, Marcus Whale, the Casting Out crew, Cunningpants and more. Sunday showcases a multitude of local musicians ranging from solo folk artists to 12-piece jazz bands!

Highlights: When it comes to small bars, there are a number of key qualities that, when done right, almost guarantee a good time. First and foremost there’s the booze and people serving it, and of course you can’t go past venue, including location, ambience and layout. Secret Garden Bar in Enmore has managed to nail each one firmly on the head, and with it once again reinforced that if you’re a fan of fun, the Inner West needs to be your playground.

Walking into this intimate venue, expect lush, green sanctuary with overflowing hanging baskets above, field-ploughing paraphernalia to the side and outside-furniture-style chez lounges. There is a genuinely welcoming vibe, a great selection of delicious drinks and a unique food menu to explore.

22 :: BRAG :: 625 :: 12:08:15

Mr Tipply’s 347 Kent St, Sydney CBD (02) 9299 4877 Mon – Sat 10am-late Palmer & Co. Abercrombie Ln, Sydney CBD (02) 9240 3172 Mon – Wed 5pm-late; Thu – Fri 3pm-late; Sat – Sun 5pm-late Papa Gede’s Bar Laneway at the end of 348 Kent St, Sydney CBD Mon – Sat 5pm-12am Ramblin’ Rascal Tavern 199 Elizabeth St, Sydney CBD Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun 6pm-10pm Rockpool Bar & Grill 66 Hunter St, Sydney CBD (02) 8078 1900 Mon – Sat lunch & dinner The Rook Level 7, 56-58 York St, Sydney CBD (02) 9262 2505 Mon, Sat 4pm-midnight; Tue –

Fri noon-midnight The SG 32 York St, Sydney CBD 0402 813 035 Tues – Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat 6pm-midnight Shirt Bar 7 Sussex Ln, Sydney CBD (02) 8068 8222 Mon –Wed 8am-8pm; Thu – Fri 8am-10pm Since I Left You 338 Kent St, Sydney CBD (02) 9262 4986 Mon – Wed 5pm-10pm; Thu – Fri 5pm-midnight; Sat 6pm-midnight Small Bar 48 Erskine St, Sydney CBD (02) 9279 0782 Mon – Fri noonmidnight; Sat 5pm-midnight The Smoking Panda 5-7 Park St, Sydney CBD (02) 9264 4618 Wed – Sat 4pm-late Stitch Bar 61 York St, Sydney CBD (02) 9279 0380 Mon – Wed 4pm-midnight; Thu – Fri noon-2am; Sat 4pm-2am The Swinging Cat 44 King St, Sydney CBD (02) 9262 3696 Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight Tapa Vino 6 Bulletin Place, Circular Quay (02) 9247 3221 Mon – Fri noon11.30pm

Mon – Sat 7am-midnight; Sun 7am-10pm Brooklyn Social 17 Randle St, Surry Hills 0451 972 057 Tue – Sat noon-2am 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 Casoni Italian Bar & Eatery 371-373 Bourke St, Darlinghurst Tue – Thu 5pm-11pm; Fri – Sat 5pm-midnight; Sun 5pm-10pm Central Tavern 42 Chalmers St, Surry Hills (02) 9212 3814 Mon – Sat 10am-2am; Sun 10am-10pm Ching-a-Lings 1/133 Oxford St, Darlinghurst (02) 9360 3333 Tue – Wed 6pm-11pm; Fri – Sat 6pm-1am; Sun 5pm-10pm The Cliff Dive 16-18 Oxford Square, Darlinghurst Wed – Sat 6pm-4am The Chalet Lvl 1, 235 Victoria St, Darlinghurst 0449 998 005 Thu – Sat 5pm--2am

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

The Commons 32 Burton St, Darlinghurst (02) 9358 1487 Tue – Wed 6pm-late; Thu – Fri 12pm-late; Sat – Sun 6pm-late

York Lane 56 Clarence St, Sydney CBD (02) 9299 1676 Mon – Wed 6.30am-10pm; Thu – Fri 6.30pm-midnight; Sat 6pm-midnight

Darlo Bar 306 Liverpool St, Darlinghurst (02) 9331 3672 Mon – Sun 10am-midnight

121BC 4/50 Holt St, Surry Hills (02) 9699 1582 Tue – Sat 5pm-midnight Absinthe Salon 87 Albion St, Surry Hills (02) 9211 6632 Wed – Sat 4-10pm Arcadia Liquors 7 Cope St, Redfern (02) 8068 4470 Mon – Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm Bar H 80 Campbell St, Surry Hills (02) 9280 1980 Mon – Sat 6pm-late; Sun 11am-3pm Bellini Lounge 2 Kellett St, Potts Point (02) 9331 0065 Thu – Sun 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

Eau De Vie 229 Darlinghurst Rd, Darlinghurst 0422 263 226 Mon – Sat 6pm-1am; Sun 6pm-midnight The Forresters 336 Riley St, Surry Hills (02) 9212 3035 Mon – Wed noonmidnight; Thu – Sat noon-1am; Sun noon10pm Gardel’s Bar 358 Cleveland St, Surry Hills (02) 8399 1440 Tue – Sat 6pm-midnight Gazebo 2 Elizabeth Bay Rd, Elizabeth Bay (02) 9357 5333 Mon – Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat – Sun noon-midnight Goros 84-86 Mary St, Surry Hills (02) 9212 0214 Mon – Wed 11:30am-midnight; Thu 11:30am-1am: Fri 11:30am-3am; Sat 4pm-3am The Hazy Rose 1/83 Stanley St, Darlinghurst (02) 9357 5036 Wed – Thu thebrag.com

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

Woolloomooloo 0403 747 788 Mon – Thu 4pm-10pm; Fri – Sat 4pm – 12am Roosevelt 32 Orwell St, Potts Point 0423 203 119 Tue – Fri 5pm-midnight; Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm Rosie Campbell’s 320 Crown St, Surry Hills (02) 8356 9120 Mon 5pm-midnight: Tue – Sun 4pm-midnight 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 – Fri 5pm-3am; Sat – Sun 6pm-3am Surly’s 182 Campbell St, Surry Hills (02) 9331 3705 Tue – Sun middaymidnight

THE ENMORE @ THE HIDEAWAY BAR, 156 ENMORE RD, ENMORE Ingredients: • Mixed berries • Hendrick’s gin • St. Germain • Fresh lemon juice • Cucumber

Origins: The Hideaway Bar is a new small dive bar located in Enmore. It’s a privately owned bar by two brothers who have had a passion for the nightlife of Sydney. A good friend of the bar’s, Luke Marshell, came up with this great, easy to drink cocktail and all the flavours just fit so well with it.

More: thehideawaybar. com.au

Method: Muddle mixed berries in glass and top with ice. In shaker add 30ml Hendrick’s gin, 30ml St. Germain, 15ml fresh lemon juice and one raspberry. Fill with ice and shake.

Single strain over ice, and muddle berries garnish with two cucumber strips.

Glass: Lowball Garnish: Cucumber Best drunk with: Anything you wish During: Your standard work hours While wearing: Undies and socks And listening to: Smooth house music

5pm-midnight; Fri – Sat 3pm-midnight; Sun 3-10pm Hello Sailor 96 Oxford St, Darlinghurst (02) 9332 2442 Tue – Sun 5pm-3am Hinky Dinks 185 Darlinghurst Rd, Darlinghurst (02) 8084 6379 Mon – Sat 4pm-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 – Sun 4pm-late Li’l Darlin Surry

thebrag.com

Hills 420 Elizabeth St, Surry Hills (02) 9698 5488 Mon – Fri noon-late; Sat 4pm-late LL Wine and Dine 42 Llankelly Place Potts Point (02) 9356 8393 Mon – Thu 5pm-11pm; Fri – Sat noon-late; Sun 11am-10pm The Local Taphouse 122 Flinders St, Darlinghurst (02) 9360 0088 Mon – Wed noonmidnight; Thu – Sat noon-midnight; 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 Mon – Sun 6pm-2am Mr Fox 557 Crown St, Surry Hills 0414 691 811 Tue – Wed 5pm-late; Sat 10am-midnight; Sun 10am-10pm

The Norfolk 305 Cleveland St, Surry Hills (02) 9699 3177 Mon – Sat noonmidnight; Sun noon10pm The Passage 231A Victoria St, Darlinghurst (02) 9358 6116 Mon – Sat 5pm-late Play Bar 72 Campbell St, Surry Hills (02) 9280 0885 Tues – Sat 5pm-midnight Pocket Bar 13 Burton St, Darlinghurst (02) 9380 7002 Mon – Wed 4pm-midnight; Fri – Sat 4pm-1am; Sun 4pm-midnight The Print Room 11 Glenmore Rd, Paddington 0424 034 020 Wed – Fri: 3pm-late; Sat 12pm-11pm, Sun 12pm-10pm Queenie’s Upstairs 336 Riley St, Surry Hills (02) 9212 3035 Tue – Sat 6pm-late & Fri noon-3pm Peekaboo 120 Bourke St,

Sweethearts Rooftop 33/37 Darlinghurst Rd, Potts Point (02) 8070 2424 Mon – Thu 2pm-11.30pm; Fri – Sun noon-11.30pm This Must Be The Place 239 Oxford St, Darlinghurst (02) 9331 8063 Mon – Sun 3pm-midnight Tio’s Cerveceria 4/14 Foster St, Surry Hills Mon – Sun 5pm-midnight Vasco 421 Cleveland St, Redfern 0406 775 436 Tue – Sat 5pm-midnight The Village Inn 9-11 Glenmore Rd, Paddington (02) 9331 0911 Mon – Sun 12pm-late 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

Fat Ruperts 249 Bondi Rd, Bondi (02) 9130 1033 Tue – Fri 6pm-late; Sat – Sun 2pm-late

Earl’s Juke Joint 407 King St, Newtown Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun 4-10pm

Glebe (02) 9660 1075 Tue – Sat noonmidnight; Sun noon10pm

Mr Moustache 61-79 Hall St, Bondi Beach (02) 9300 8892 Mon – Fri 5pm-11pm; Sat noon-11pm; Sun noon-10pm

Freda’s 107-109 Regent St, Chippendale (02) 8971 7336 Tues – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun 4pm-10pm

The Royal 156 Norton St, Leichhardt (02) 9569 2638 Mon – Thu 10am-1am; Fri – Sat 10am-3am; Sun 10am-midnight

Speakeasy 83 Curlewis St, Bondi (02) 9130 2020 Mon – Sat 5pm-11pm; Sat – Sun 4pm-10pm

The Hideaway Bar 156 Enmore Rd, Enmore (02) 8021 8451 Tue– Thu 4pm-midnight; Fri – Sat noon-1am; Sun noon10pm

Secret Garden Bar 134a Enmore Rd, Enmore 0409 284 928 Mon – Sun 1am-11pm

Spring Street Social (and Jam Gallery) Underground 195 Oxford St, Bondi Junction (02) 9389 2485 Tues – Sat 4pm-3am Stuffed Beaver 271 Bondi Rd, Bondi (02) 9130 3002 Mon – Sat noonmidnight; Sun noon10pm

The Angry Pirate 125 Redfern St Redfern (02) 9698 9140 Tue – Thur 5pm-midnight; Fri – Sat 3pm-midnight Bar-racuda 105 Enmore Rd, Newtown (02) 9519 1121 Mon – Sat 6pm-midnight The Bearded Tit 183 Regent St, Redfern (02) 8283 4082 Mon – Thu 4pm-midnight; Fri – Sat noon - midnight; Sun midday - 10pm Blacksheep 256 King St, Newtown (02) 8033 3455 Mon – Fri 4pm-11pm; Sat 2pm-11pm; Sun 2pm-10pm Bloodwood 416 King St, Newtown (02) 9557 7699 Mon, Wed – Thu 5pm-late; Fri – Sat noon-late; Sun noon10pm The Chip Off The Old Block 3 Little Queen Street, Chippendale (02) 9318 0815 Tue – Sat 4pm-11pm 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 1pm-10pm

Bondi Hardware 39 Hall St, Bondi (02) 9365 7176 Mon – Wed 5pm-late; Fri noon-midnight; Sat 9am-midnight; Sun 9am-10pm

Cottage Bar & Kitchen 342 Darling St, Balmain (02) 8084 8185 Mon – Wed 5pm-midnight; Thu – Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm

The Bucket List Shop 1, Bondi Pavilion, Queen Elizabeth Drive (02) 9365 4122 Mon – Tue 11am-5pm; Wed – Sun 11am-late

Different Drummer 185 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 9552 3406 Mon – Sat 4.30pm-late

The Corner House 281 Bondi Rd, Bondi (02) 8020 6698 Tue – Sat 5pm-midnight; Sun 3pm-10pm

Doris & Beryl’s Bridge Club and Tea House 530 King St, Newtown Mon – Fri 5pm-midnight; Sat – Sun 5.30pm-midnight

Hive Bar 93 Erskineville Rd, Erskineville (02) 9519 9911 Mon – Fri noonmidnight; Sat 11am-midnight; Sun 11am-10pm Kelly’s On King 285 King St, Newtown (02) 9565 2288 Mon – Fri 10am-2.30am; Sat 10am-3.30am; Sun 11am-11.30pm Knox Street Bar 21 Shepherd St, Chippendale Tue – Thu 4pm-l0pm; Fri – Sat 4pm-11pm Kuleto’s 157 King St, Newtown (02) 9519 6369 Mon – Sat 4pm-late; Thu – Sat 4pm-3am The Little Guy 87 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 9200 0000 Mon – Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat 1pm-midnight; Sun 3pm-10pm Mary’s 6 Mary St, Newtown (02) 4995 9550 Mon – Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm The Midnight Special 44 Enmore Road, Newtown (02) 9516 2345 Tues – Sat 5pm-midnight; Sun 5pm-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 6pm-midnight Mr Falcon’s 92 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 9029 6626 Mon – Thu 4pm-midnight; Fri 3pm-midnight; Sat noon-midnight; Sun 2pm-10pm Newtown Social Club 387 King St, Newtown (02) 9550 3974 Mon 9am-6pm; Tues – Fri 9am-8pm; Sat 10am-8pm The Oxford Tavern 1 New Canterbury Rd, Petersham (02) 8019 9351 Mon – Thu midday10pm; Fri – Sat midday11pm; Sun midday-9pm The Record Crate 34 Glebe Point Rd,

Temperance Society 122 Smith St, Summer Hill (02) 8068 5680 Mon – Thu 4pm-11pm; Fri – Sat: middaymidnight; Sun: midday10pm Thievery 91 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 8283 1329 Tue – Thu 6pm-11pm; Fri 6pm-midnight.

Sat 11pm-3pm & 6pm-midnight Timbah 375 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 9571 7005 Tue – Thu 4pm-10pm; Fri noon-11pm; Sat 3pm-11pm; Sun 4pm-8pm The Workers Lvl 1, 292 Darling St, Balmain (02) 9555 8410 Thu – Sat 5pm-3am; Sun 2pm-late ZanziBar 323 King St, Newtown (02) 9519 1511 Mon – Sat 10am-4am; Sun 10am-12am Zigi’s Wine And Cheese Bar 86 Abercrombie St, Chippendale (02) 9699 4222 Tue 4pm-10pm; Wed – Sat 2pm-late

Alberts Bar 100 Mount St, North Sydney (02) 9955 9097 Mon – Wed 11.30am-10pm; Thu 11.30am-11pm; Fri 11.30am-midnight Firefly 24 Young St, Neutral Bay (02) 9909 0193 Mon – Thu 5-11.30pm; Fri 4-11.30pm; Sat noon-11pm; Sun noon10pm

Your bar’s not here? Email: chris@thebrag. com 4pm-midnight; Sun 4pm-10pm InSitu 1/18 Sydney Rd, Manly (02) 9977 0669 Tue – Fri 5pm-midnight; Sat 9am-midnight; Sun 9am-10pm The Hunter 5 Myahgah Rd, Mosman 0409 100 339 Mon – Tue 5pm-midnight; Wed – Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm Jah Bar Shop 7, 9-15 Central Ave, Manly (02) 9977 4449 Mon – Fri 4pm-late; Sat 9am-late; Sun 9am-10pm The Local Bar 8 Young Ln, Neutral Bay (02) 9953 0027 Tue – Fri 11.30am-midnight; Sat 7am-midnight; Sun 7am-10pm Los Vida 419 Pacific Hwy, Crows Nest (02) 9439 8323 Mon – Wed 5pm-midnight; Thu – Sat 11.30am-midnight; Sun 11.30am-10pm Manly Wine 8-13 South Steyne, Manly (02) 8966 9000 Mon – Sun 6.30am-late The Mayor 400 Military Rd, Cremorne (02) 8969 6060 Tue – Wed 5pm-late; Thu – Sat noon-late; Sun noon-10pm Miami Cuba 47 North Steyne, Manly (02 99775186 Tue – Thu 8am-10pm; Fri – Sat 8am-1am; Sunday 8am-4pm Moonshine Lvl 2, Hotel Steyne, 75 The Corso, Manly (02) 9977 4977 Thu 5pm-2am; Fri 1pm-2am; Sat noon2am; Sun noonmidnight The Pickled Possum 254 Military Rd, Neutral Bay (02) 9909 2091 Thu – Sat 9pm-1am

The Foxtrot 28 Falcon St, Crows Nest Tue – Wed 5pm-midnight; Thu 5pm-1am; Fri – Sat 5pm-2am; Sun 4pm-10pm

SoCal 1 Young St, Neutral Bay (02) 9904 5691 Mon – Tue 4pm-late: Wed – Thu midday1am; Fri – Sat midday- 2am; Sun midday-midnight

The Hayberry Bar & Diner 97 Willoughby Road, Crows Nest (02) 8084 0816 Tue – Thu 4pm-12am; Fri & Sat noonmidnight Sun noon-10pm

The Stoned Crow 39 Willoughby Rd, Crows Nest (02) 9439 5477 Mon – Sun noon-late

Hemingway’s 48 North Steyne, Manly (02) 9976 3030 Mon – Sat 8am-midnight; Sun 8am-10pm Honey Rider 230 Military Rd, Neutral Bay (02) 9953 8880 Tue – Sat

The Treehouse Hotel 60 Miller St, North Sydney (02) 8458 8980 Mon – Fri 7am-late; Sat 2pm-late Wilcox Cammeray 463 Miller St, Cammeray (02) 9460 0807 Tue – Thu 4pm-10pm; Fri – Sat 2pm-11pm; Sun 2pm-10pm BRAG :: 625 :: 12:08:15 :: 23

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

ALBUM OF THE WEEK FRANK TURNER

xxx

Positive Songs For Negative People Xtra Mile/Universal

When Frank Turner sings, “I’m trying to get better, because I haven’t been my best” roughly five minutes into his sixth studio album, it lets on a little more than it would probably care to. The last record Turner put his name to, 2013’s Tape Deck Heart, was his most uninspired LP to date, suggesting that perhaps the Wessex native had grown too comfortable in his own skin.

The prince of English folk-punk is fighting on the front foot once more.

DONAVON FRANKENREITER The Heart Liberator You know the kind of music your parents put on at family occasions?

The sort that blends well into the background so as not to interrupt conversation, but when the chat dies down, someone asks nervously, “Who’s this again?” Well, there’s a good chance it’s Donavon Frankenreiter.

His new album The Heart is a smooth collection of soft acoustic songs about heartbreak and making ripples in the ocean. Frankenreiter’s voice is ‘nice’, in that it speaks inoffensively and in tones that aren’t too abrasive for those car trips with the ’rents down to the snow. The drum kit makes brief appearances, like on ‘Woman’ and ‘Sleeping Good Tonight’, but doesn’t cause any imbalance. After only one listen, I’m whistling the melody to the opening track, ‘When The River Bends’, while I stand outside a café waiting for my order – in parts, it’s catchy.

Moments later, I feel a pigeon do its thing on my shoulder, ruining a perfectly clean jacket. Even while getting into the car with a flat white and a new white stain on my left arm, this album tempers my anger.

That notion is almost instantly put to bed on Positive Songs For Negative People – it’s

quite literally the sound of Turner getting better. This is a defiant record; one that refuses to rest on foundations previously laid down and doesn’t give up the folk-punk dream. ‘The Next Storm’ is triumphant, ‘Silent Key’ is one of Turner’s best attempts at storytelling yet and ‘Out Of Breath’ is the most punk song the man has performed since ‘Back In The Day’. We almost lost him for a minute there, but he’s made a considerable turnaround.

Positive Songs For Negative People is Turner’s best record in years and an exceptional showcase of how much he can get out of his music when his heart is in it.

David James Young

GEORGIA

THE BASICS

Georgia Domino/EMI

The Age Of Entitlement The Three Basics

London newcomer Georgia may appear at first to be a precocious M.I.A. imitator, but there’s a lot more substance hiding underneath the bravado. Bravado, yes, and swag; loads of it. Check single ‘Move Systems’, where Georgia spits about corruption over hails of grimey and clattering percussion, filtered through production so vast it could occupy an aircraft hangar. Or when an angry mess of white noise blooms into a slithering groove in ‘Kombine’, or when she sings “We’ll never be free” over the abrasive trap beats of ‘Be Ache’. It’s not that she can’t decide whether to be angry or hopeless – she just recognises that one feeds into the other.

Long before Gotye watercoloured his nipples for the ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’ video, he was known as Wally De Backer, drummer for folkrock outfit The Basics. Having shelved the pseudonym, at least temporarily, De Backer has returned to the threepiece for their fourth studio album.

The title comes from Joe Hockey’s 2014 budget speech and the politics don’t end there. On ‘Whatever Happened To The Working Class?’, singer Kris Schroeder exclaims, “We got politicians sitting on their arse / Whittling away at the few rights that we’ve got left,” pulling no punches as he bashes big business and bemoans the absence of everyday heroes. Punk protest ‘Time Poor’ takes jabs at soundbite-spouting ministers before screaming: “What about basic human fucking rights?!”

For the most part, her flow is discordant, clanging dramatically on the off notes, precariously toeing that line between melodic rap and drawling spoken word. After all this cage-rattling, it’s nearly surprising when she dips into the R&B-infected ‘Digits’ to wonder why her lover hasn’t called her, a tiny reminder that perhaps she’s young after all. What this debut lacks is connectivity – changes between songs are jarring, as Georgia jumps from one skittish idea to another, clearly feeling her way through her own ideas.

FRANK CARTER AND THE RATTLESNAKES Blossom International Death Cult/Kobalt It’s been many years since Frank Carter stood as the iconic frontman for British punk band Gallows. In the years preceding we saw him dive into tattooing and front the group Pure Love. Now Carter has returned with a backing band called The Rattlesnakes to unleash some more havoc unto the world.

Carter fans will find that Blossom slots nicely in between his work in Gallows and Pure Love. The Rattlesnakes keep things heavy on this album, but not in the intense hardcore style of Gallows. There are (relatively) softer moments like the bluesy opening to ‘I Hate You’, but it doesn’t take long before exploding into big riffs and heavy punch-thefloor breaks.

It’s not all parliamentarian pummelling – there are some truly tender moments and even African rhythms on ‘Tunomba Saidia’ (while Gotye was off attracting awards and platinum discs like a human electromagnet, Schroeder was doing charity work in Kenya). De Backer takes the mic on the album’s most joyous tracks – the ’60s-influenced ‘Roundabout’ and ‘Good Times, Sunshine’ – his vocal style a welcome contrast.

The focus of the album is, of course, Carter himself. He howls with a furious passion on every song, taking breaks in between lines to gasp for air and deliver the next blow.

Unfortunately, several tracks feature a distracting overdriven effect on Carter’s vocals, which nearly always work to the detriment of the song.

It’s perplexing to think that anyone believed his unfiltered vocal takes weren’t intense enough to begin with.

JASON ISBELL Something More Than Free Spunk/Universal After the success of his last critically acclaimed album, Southeastern, expectations for Jason Isbell’s latest release Something More Than Free were very high, and he doesn’t disappoint. It’s a classic country album, with elements of folk and rock scattered throughout.

Something More Than Free is for the most part an optimistic record, and opening track ‘If It Takes a Lifetime’ highlights this, setting the tone for what’s to come.

Isbell’s descriptive storytelling only enhances the appeal.

‘How To Forget’ is an acoustic gem with great harmonies.

Although ‘Children Of Children’ is the longest song on the album at nearly six minutes, it’s also the most powerful. ‘Palmetto Rose’ is an extremely catchy blues rock tune. The final track, ‘To A Band That I Loved’ is a tribute to CentroMatic – the mid-’90s Texas altcountry group founded by singersongwriter Will Johnson.

Joining Isbell on this album are his band, The 400 Unit, and his wife, violinist Amanda Shires.

With no intention of offending a large constituency of Frankenreiter’s fan base, this music is ‘dad music’. It gets the job done.

It’s a mixed bag in terms of style and success, but Georgia’s debut consistently showcases real potential.

From political protest to sunshine pop, The Basics are angry with those at the top but not too moody to party with the rest of us.

Weird production choices aside, Carter is back in the saddle with an album that connects with a big right hook.

He remains the star, however, and Something More Than Free further cements Isbell’s standing as one of America’s finest singer-songwriters.

Elias Kwiet

Jules LeFevre

George Nott

Spencer Scott

Ali Birnie

INDIE ALBUM OF THE WEEK Oh, give me a break, Dumbsaint.

If I wanted to listen to creepy film music, I’d pull out my copy of the Twin Peaks soundtrack or punch “Japanese horror records” into Google, and who has time for that? Actually, I do and then some, because this second album from the instrumental post-rock/ metal trio is another monumental piece of cinematic songwriting easily deserving of an evening’s dissection behind drawn curtains.

DUMBSAINT Panorama, In Ten Pieces Art As Catharsis/Bird’s Robe

24 :: BRAG :: 625 :: 12:08:15

Prepare to be at least a little unsettled if you do so, though. The Sydney band has spent 18 months putting together this ten-track record and its accompanying 60-minute film depicting the lives of the residents of a single street, and not everything is tickety-boo at number 32, as

the video for ‘Cold Call’ reveals.

Undoubtedly heavier than those on the band’s 2012 debut, these tracks come at you like Sleepmakeswaves’ sinister cousin from the other side of the tracks. Dark, ominous and masterfully constructed, the album’s journey begins with the crushing ‘Low Visions’, and the brutality doesn’t let up until third track ‘Love Thy Neighbour’. At ten minutes, ‘Long Dissolve/Temps Mort’ is the band’s ‘Marquee Moon’; soft and ambling before erupting into life.

There aren’t many bands doing what Dumbsaint do, and very few to this standard. This album is dark, challenging, and very bloody good.

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

VINCE STAPLES - Summertime ’06 RADIOHEAD - OK Computer JESS RIBEIRO - Kill It Yourself

LOVE PARADE - Shake On The Mission SOUNDGARDEN - Superunknown

Paul McBride thebrag.com

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

THE JON SPENCER BLUES EXPLOSION, HITS, WHITE DOG Manning Bar Friday August 7 In spite of only being a matter of months old, White Dog are quickly making their presence felt in Sydney’s wider punk scene. Starting late and finishing early, their whirlwind take on the genre is unsettling to some older attendees, who may not have expected such noise in their evening.

True to form, the band members pay no mind to any indifference in the room. They find themselves too preoccupied with hole-stomping, vitriolic numbers like ‘No Good’, which features possibly the best Saints riff Ed Kuepper never wrote matched with the authoritative fury of contemporaries such as Low Life.

thebrag.com/snaps

up all night out all week . . .

certainly an act to go out of your way to see.

How do The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion do it? Sure, we all remember their wild performance on Recovery – in fact, the song they played that morning, ‘2 Kindsa Love’, is what opens the set tonight. Still, that was 1997 – we’re nearly two decades removed, and this band is still going on the same level with the same energy. At 50 years old, Spencer himself is more lively than most 20-somethings. He knee-lunges, he shimmies, he shakes, he screams; all the while, Russell Simins and Judah Bauer keep up the pace without batting an eye. A great example of the latter is Spencer calling out for ‘Bellbottoms’, playing it for roughly 90 seconds and then changing his mind.

The transition into the next song is seamless, as if they planned the whole thing.

So, what’s their secret? It could have to do with their pedigree of 20-plus years locked into one another’s groove.

It could be how their new album, Freedom Tower – No Wave Dance Party 2015, has injected adrenaline back into the trio’s core. Still, no matter what hypothesis you mull over, it all comes back to one single undeniable fact: the blues is number one.

David James Young

sosueme ft. sosueme battleshipsft.+ odd mob + flyying colours PICS :: JA

Brisbane’s Hits have shared the stage with acts like Radio Birdman, HardOns and The Scientists. Within five minutes of them arriving, one has a full comprehension why that is. Their frontman – known as Evil Dick – quite literally throws himself into the music, writhing and grandly gesturing before toppling over in a heap. On either side of him is a twin guitar attack that noisily and purposefully tears through vintage pub rock, its punk heritage giving it the sting in the tail that sets them apart.

A wildly entertaining prospect and

snap sn ap

VIEW FULL GALLERIES AT

05:08:15 :: Beach Road Hotel :: 71 Beach Rd Bondi Beach 9130 7247

wed

thu

12 Aug

13 Aug (9:00PM - 12:00AM)

(9:00PM - 12:00AM)

fri

14 Aug

sat

15 Aug

(4:30PM - 7:30PM)

(9:30PM - 1:30AM)

SATURDAY AFTERNOON

SUNDAY AFTERNOON

(4:30PM - 7:30PM)

sun

16 Aug

(8:30PM - 12:00AM)

(9:30PM - 1:15AM)

mon

17 Aug

(9:00PM - 12:00AM)

(4:30PM - 7:30PM)

tue

(9:00PM - 12:00AM)

18 Aug

KE PHOTOGRAPHER :: KATRINA CLAR

thebrag.com

BRAG :: 625 :: 12:08:15 :: 25

snap sn ap up all night out all week . . .

VIEW FULL GALLERIES AT

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

SARAH BELKNER, KATIE WIGHTON The Newsagency Wednesday August 5 The Newsagency is a rather unique Sydney venue. It is an intimate space – cram in more than 50 people and you’d be dangling from the roof – but it is just that sense of close bonhomie that makes performances here shine.

Even the odd technical hitch raising its head on occasion becomes somehow charming; you feel you are all in this together, where the banter flows freely and garlic bread is shared with wild abandon.

live at the sly ft. mojo juju + the double shadows + lyre byrdland

It’s simple to bandy about a term like ‘haunting’, but that was entirely the sensation sustained throughout Sarah Belkner’s performance – the conviction that something otherworldly was taking place. From intoxicating opener ‘Blacken The Borders’ the tone was set for one of the most arresting voices I’ve heard in an age. “I don’t know who God is, I don’t know if he loves me,” Belkner laments, and bam!

– goosebumps.

The remarkable range of her voice is matched only by her lyrical prowess; sound and word are dark, verdant, as though Angela Carter were being channelled through Agnes Obel, say, or Tori Amos. Belkner is a very physical performer, conjuring songs as much as performing them, and I sincerely urge you to catch her yourself – she crafts a truly memorable set, and while she insisted her cover of ‘Wuthering Heights’ was the last time it would be performed, it became an unexpected crowd-pleaser. Wighton returned to the stage for a surprise duet, Chicago’s ‘Hard To Say I’m Sorry’, thus wrapping up a tremendous pairing of talent. Do yourself a favour and catch both these ladies wherever you can.

Adam Norris

PICS :: AM

Opening was the ever-endearing Katie Wighton. For those familiar with her work via All Our Exes Live In Texas, the experience of her solo show didn’t disappoint. Her stagecraft is rather adorable; she is comfortable with being self-deprecating and goofy, sipping tea as though she has just popped by for a crafternoon chat, yet her songwriting is exceptional. Though (somewhat) thematically linked, each song stands apart as a finely constructed set piece. Primarily performed across the piano, they ebb and flow with ease, and coupled with Wighton’s voice – a bittersweet thing with splendid colour and range – it made for a gorgeous, too-brief set of break-up songs and searching, evocative lyrics. Standouts

included the gorgeous ‘Lifeboat’ and new Exes song, ‘Don’t Cry’.

ngaiire + the venusians + left

PICS :: AM

06:08:15 :: Slyfox :: 199 Enmore Rd Enmore 9557 2917

09:08:15 :: Frankie’s Pizza :: 50 Hunter St Sydney 26 :: BRAG :: 625 :: 12:08:15

the bellrays + dallas frasca + bandintexas

PICS :: AM

dumb punts + pow pow kids + black zeros + verticoli

PICS :: AM

06:08:15 :: Newtown Social Club :: 387 King St Newtown 1300 724 876

09:08:15 :: Newtown Social Club :: 387 King St Newtown 1300 724 876 OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER

S :: JAMES AMBROSE :: KATRINA

CLARKE :: ASHLEY MAR ::

thebrag.com

g g guide gig g send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 12 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

John Harkins Trio Foundry616, Ultimo.

8:30pm. $21.50.

Julien Wilson Special Quintet feat: Carl Dewhurst + Barney Mcall + Jonathan Zwartz + Simon Barker Venue 505, Surry Hills. 8pm. $26.

Kingston Flavaz Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 7pm. $10.

The Roots & Riddim Club - feat: Errol Renaud Trio + DJ Dizar Play Bar, Surry Hills.

6pm. Free.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Open Mic The Vanguard, Newtown. 6:30pm. $10.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

A Few Of My Favourite Men For The Mirabel Foundation - feat: Tim Rogers + Jeff Duff + Peter Northcote + Terry Serio + Geoff Morrell + David Field + Dario Bortolin + Lloyd G + Greg Agar + Mikey Robins + Tony Squires + Wil Anderson + Tony Mott The Basement, Circular Quay.

6:30pm. $48.90.

Australian Institute Of Music Vocal

Ensembles Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 6pm.

Free.

Funk Star Duo Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9pm. Free.

Gang Of Youths Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle. 8pm. $23.90.

James Bay + Winterbourne Metro Theatre, Sydney. 7pm. $60.15.

Live Music (Faces From The Crowd) feat: Shining Bird Art Gallery Of New South Wales, Sydney. 7:30pm.

Free.

Sarah Belkner + Maples The Newsagency, Marrickville. 7:30pm. $16.50.

The Flipped Out Kicks Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 9pm. Free.

THURSDAY AUGUST 13 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

Gadjo Guitars Django Bar @ Camelot Lounge, Marrickville. 7pm. $17.70.

Global Sounds feat: Cumbiamuffin + Keyim Ba The Basement, Circular Quay. 7pm. $17.

Joseph Tawadros & James Tawadros Venue 505, Surry Hills. 8pm. $31.

Pinkie.N.Pal’s + Ina Maka + Oven Fresh Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8:30pm. $10.

Thursdays In Jam - feat: El Moro + DJ Av El Cubano Jam Gallery, Bondi Junction. 9pm. Free.

Victor Valdes & His

Latin Funk Band Camelot Lounge, Marrickville. 7pm. $22.70.

Vincent Gardner + Reggie Thomas Quintet Foundry616, Ultimo.

8:30pm. $27.50.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Frank Sultana & Rox + The Villebillies The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 7pm. $5.

Kate Gogarty The Annandale Hotel, Annandale. 7pm.

Free.

Tim Wheatley Midnight Special, Newtown. 8pm. Free.

William Crighton Petersham Bowling Club, Petersham.

8pm. $10.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Aldous Harding The Vanguard, Newtown. 6:30pm. $18.80.

Anthems Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9pm. Free.

Australian Institute Of Music Vocal Ensembles Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 6pm.

Free.

Glenn Esmond Duo Mr Tipply’s, Sydney.

4pm. Free.

Half Eaten Apple + Distorted Hearts + Billy Puntton Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm.

Free.

Hot Damn! - feat: Justice For The Damned + Acrasia + Awaken I Am + Pillager + Hot Damn! DJs The Bristol Arms Hotel, Sydney. 8pm. $20.

Jarryn Phengan

FOUNDRY616 – S YDNE Y ’ S FINES T JA Z Z CLUB

616 HARRIS ST, ULTIMO

COMING UP IN

THU 13

Vincent Gardner + Reggie Thomas Quintet (USA) FRI 14

SAT 15

Rodric White Trio with Jenny Marie Lang

Anna Salleh ‘Gorgeous Songs from Brazil & Beyond

THU 20

FRI 21

WED 19

Greg Lloyd Group (Ireland/Aus) SAT 22

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

Electro Alley Django Bar @ Camelot Lounge, Marrickville. 7:30pm. $12.70.

Feel Good Friday Jazz Session feat: Greg Coffin + Carl Dewhurst + Cameron Undy + Nic Cecire + DJ Venue 505, Surry Hills. 6pm. Free.

Grey Wing Trio The Sound Lounge, Sydney. 8:30pm. $20.

Rodric White Trio + Jenny Marie Lang & Paul Cutlan Foundry616, Ultimo.

8:30pm. $21.50.

Sexy Sunday Jam Bellini Lounge, Potts Point. 7pm. Free.

Anabelle Kay + Tim Wheatley The Vanguard, Newtown. 6:30pm. $15.

Andy Baylor The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 7pm. $5.

Angela Ayers Rooty Hill RSL Club, Rooty Hill. 10:30am.

Free.

B’Jezus The Basement, Circular Quay.

6:30pm. $34.50.

Dee Donavan

The Grates

FRIDAY AUGUST 14

Oxford Art Factory

The Grates + Straight Arrows + Pleasure Symbols 8pm. $33.80.

Rooty Hill RSL Club, Rooty Hill. 10:30am.

Free.

Dog The Duke + The Subterraneans + Tommy Novak Band Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 9pm. $15.

Gary Sterling Rooty Hill RSL Club, Rooty Hill. 10:30am.

Free.

Liza Ohlback + Robert Suez The Annandale Hotel, Annandale. 8pm.

Free.

Sam Lyon Duo Fitzroy Hotel, Windsor. 8pm. Free.

Tara Favell Rooty Hill RSL Club, Rooty Hill. 5:30pm.

Free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

AM 2 PM Town Hall Hotel, Balmain. 10pm. Free.

Andy Tipton Kings Park Tavern, Kings Park. 7pm.

Free.

Animaux Moonshine Cider & Rum Bar, Manly.

8pm. Free.

Baddies + Flipped Out Kicks + Balkan Grill Town And Country Hotel, Sydney. 8pm.

Free.

Banff + Why We Run + Machine Age Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm.

$11.60.

Blake Tailor Penrith Panthers, Penrith. 8:30pm.

Free.

Cath & Him St George Leagues Club, Kogarah. 9pm.

Free.

Chase The Sun Lewisham Hotel, Lewisham. 8pm. $19.40.

Dave Ireland 99 On York, Sydney.

5:30pm. Free.

Deep Space Supergroup + Colour Cage + Rufflefeather + General Dissaray Bridge Hotel, Rozelle.

7pm. $10.

Gavin Bowles The Oriental Hotel, Springwood. 8pm.

Free.

Geoff Davies The Push Bar, The Rocks. 7:30pm. Free.

Glenn Esmond Crown Hotel, Sydney.

9pm. Free.

Grooveworks Rooty Hill RSL Club, Rooty Hill. 10:30am.

Free.

Inslain + Snow Leopard + Savage Brutal Violent + Mad Charlie Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. $10.

Jesse Witney + Danny Ross + Gene Fehlberg Trio Batch Brewing Co, Marrickville. 8pm. $15.

Jimmy Bear Town Hall Hotel, Balmain. 5pm. Free.

John Vella Chatswood RSL, Chatswood. 5pm.

Free.

Library Siesta + Blonde Band + Jack & Elmo + Sudek DJ Waywards, Newtown.

8pm. Free.

Maids + The Owls + Ornaments + Family Dog + Horegeous Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle. 8pm. $10.

Miami Horror + Joy. + Cleopold + Young Franco Metro Theatre, Sydney. 7pm. $29.41.

Mr James Band Penrith RSL, Pen rith. 8pm. Free.

Penny Lane Quakers Inn, Quakers Hill. 8pm.

Free.

Plini + The Helix Nebula Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 7:30pm. $14.

Reckless Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9:30pm. Free.

Revel Revesby Workers Club, Revesby.

8:30pm. Free.

Rob Eastwood Castle Hill RSL, Castle Hill. 6:30pm.

Free.

Ryan Thomas Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 4:30pm. Free.

Soul Nights Club Cronulla, Cronulla. 8pm. Free.

Soul Tattoo Top Ryde City Shopping Centre, Ryde. 6pm. Free.

Steve Crocker

The Push Bar, The Rocks. 8pm. Free.

Ted Nash Manly Leagues Club, Brookvale. 9pm.

Free.

The Filth - feat: Bec And Ben + Persian Drugs Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm.

Free.

The Grates + Straight Arrows + Pleasure Symbols Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $33.80.

The Iron Horses + Sundown State + Love Drunk Hearts Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $10.

The Loaded Six Strings Vineyard Hotel, Vineyard. 9:30pm.

Free.

The Viper Creek Band Colonial Hotel, Werrington. 9pm.

Free.

Tim Wheatley The Vanguard, Newtown. 6:30pm. $15.80.

Unknown To God + Brutal Struth + Bloody Ripper Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 9pm. $10.

Upskirts + Noire + Bad Valley Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $15.

Woodstock Anniversary Tribute - feat: Damien Lovelock + Floyd

BRAG :: 625 :: 12:08:15 :: 27

Xxx

Rob E Thomas & The A Team Armandito & Trovason A Night of Classic Organ - Jazz in the Clubs - A Cuban Celebration Groove (USA/Noumea) FULL PROGRAM: www.foundry616.com.au

pick of the week

FRIDAY AUGUST 14

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

AU G U S T

thebrag.com

The Hideaway Bar, Enmore. 8pm. Free.

Live At The Sly feat: Midnight Tea Party + Sampa The Great + Wallace Slyfox, Enmore.

7:30pm. Free.

Massive + Lillye + The Otherwise Men + The Vacationists Captain Cook Hotel, Paddington. 8pm.

Free.

Nussy Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $5.70.

Snfu + Wolfpack + The Fuckouts + Cap A Capo Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7pm. $41.50.

Talihina Sky Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 10pm. Free.

The Metanarratives Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt.

7pm. $10.

The Nuclear Family + All My Alien Sex Friends + The Filthy Teens Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $10.

Twin Fires + Sweet Jelly Rolls Moonshine Cider & Rum Bar, Manly.

9pm. Free.

Vanessa Heinitz Fortune Of War, The Rocks. 7pm. Free.

Vinyl @ Cornerstone - feat: DJ Dusty Fingers Carriageworks, Eveleigh. 6:30pm.

Free.

g g guide gig g

g g picks gig p

send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com Vincent + Amada Easton + Danny Marx Young + Shane Flew + Steve Bull + Nick Meredith + Lloyd G Camelot Lounge, Marrickville. 7:30pm. $32.70. …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead + The Red Paintings Manning Bar, Camperdown. 8pm. $61.20.

SATURDAY AUGUST 15 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Cath & Him Manly Leagues Club, Brookvale. 9pm.

Free.

Chich And The Soul Messengers The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 3pm. $5.

Jack Horner Fitzroy Hotel, Windsor. 8:30pm.

Free.

Mojo House Band feat: Jesse & James Mojo Record Bar, Sydney. 7pm. Free.

Sydney Blues Society Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8pm. $15.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Better Live Oatley Hotel, Oatley.

8pm. Free.

Blake Dantier Band The Henry Sports Club, Werrington County. 8pm. Free.

Blake Tailor Wentworthville Leagues Club, Wentworthville.

10pm. Free.

Blake Wiggins Picton Hotel, Picton.

8pm. Free.

Christine Anu The Basement, Circular Quay. 8pm. $45.

Darren Johnstone Plough & Harrow, Camden. 8pm. Free.

Elvis (38 Years In Heaven) - feat: The Road Runners + The Scatters Marrickville Bowling Club, Marrickville.

7pm. $10.

Foreign/National + Wild Honey + Chief Havoc Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $9.50.

Geoff Power Penrith RSL, Penrith.

2pm. Free.

Glenn Esmond Fortune Of War, The Rocks. 3pm. Free.

Immigrant Union Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $13.60.

Jed Zarb Wallacia Hotel, Wallacia. 8pm. Free.

John Milligan The Push Bar, The Rocks. 7:30pm. Free.

Jonathan Jones Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 4:30pm. Free.

Live Tonight St George Leagues

Club, Kogarah. 9pm.

Free.

LJ The Belvedere Hotel, Sydney. 7:30pm.

Free.

Manalion Moonshine Cider & Rum Bar, Manly.

9pm. Free.

Metal In The Blood - feat: Killrazer + Temtris + Twin City Riot + Lethal Vendetta Lewisham Hotel, Lewisham. 7pm. $18.40.

Micheal Fryar Duo Manly Leagues Club, Brookvale.

9pm. Free.

No Rest For The Wicked Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 9pm. $10.

Oh Boy - The Buddy Holly Show Rooty Hill RSL Club, Rooty Hill. 7:30pm.

Free.

One Hit Wonders Revesby Workers Club, Revesby.

8:30pm. Free.

Party Central Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9:30pm.

Free.

Quarry Mountain Dead Rats + The Morrisons + Cat Gut The Annandale Hotel, Annandale.

8pm. Free.

Richard Clapton State Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $90.60.

Slaughterfest VIII - feat: Spacebong + Lo! + Red Bee + Forstora + Yanomamo + Tanned Christ + Mish + At Dark + Hawkmoth + Squawk! + Bloody Kids + 100 Years Of Solitude + Home Burial + Lint + Owl Mountain Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 1pm. $15.

Sons Of Mercury Macarthur Tavern, Campbelltown. 9pm.

Free.

Soul Tattoo Club Engadine, Engadine. 8pm.

Free.

Soundproofed Penrith RSL, Penrith.

9pm. Free.

Storm The Sky + Harbours The Lair @ Metro Theatre, Sydney.

4:45pm. $15.

The Angels Revesby Workers Club, Revesby. 8pm. $40.

The Bushwackers Bankstown Sports Club, Bankstown.

8pm. $20.

The Cactus Channel Newtown Social Club, Newtown.

8pm. $12.

The Chosen Few The Crest Hotel Sylvania, Sylvania.

7pm. Free.

The Daphne Rawling Band Union Hotel, Newtown. 8pm.

Free.

Tim Wheatley The Hideaway Bar, Enmore. 9:30pm.

Free.

Town Hall Hotel Town Hall Hotel, Balmain. 10pm.

28 :: BRAG :: 625 :: 12:08:15

Free.

Vaein + Lost Robot The Record Crate, Glebe. 8pm. $10.

Whelan And Gover Crown Hotel, Sydney. 8pm. Free.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

Anna Salleh Foundry616, Ultimo.

8:30pm. $27.50.

Gonzalo Porta Sydney Salsa Allstars Venue 505, Surry Hills. 8pm. $16.

Manalion + Little Coyote Hotel Steyne Manly, Manly. 9pm. Free.

Monsieur Camembert Camelot Lounge, Marrickville. 7:30pm. $40.70.

Pete Cornelius Band Town Hall Hotel, Sydney. 8pm. Free.

Rebecca Johnson Band Carousel Inn Hotel, Rooty Hill. 8pm.

Free.

Sexy Sunday Jam Bellini Lounge, Potts Point. 7pm. Free.

Synergy Percussion & Noreum Machi: Earth Cry City Recital Hall, Sydney. 8pm. $60.

Walter Smith III Trio The Sound Lounge, Sydney. 8:30pm. $30.

SUNDAY AUGUST 16 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

Feral Swing Katz Penrith RSL, Penrith.

2pm. Free.

Mary Cowell Trio + DJs Aden Mullens And Husky Manly Wharf Hotel, Manly. 3pm. Free.

The Lounge Quintet Django Bar @ Camelot Lounge, Marrickville. 6:30pm. $27.70.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Blues Collective + Guests Ruby L’otel, Rozelle.

6pm. Free.

From Street To Stage - feat: Brendon Moon + Ollie Brown + Gabby Bloom Soda Factory, Surry Hills. 6:30pm. $5.

Men From Earth + Lady Lyon Botany View Hotel, Newtown. 7pm. Free.

Mick Daley’s Corporate Raiders Marrickville Bowling Club, Marrickville.

4pm. Free.

Tim Wheatley Lansdowne Hotel, Chippendale. 5pm.

Free.

Women And Blues - feat: Sally King + Ali Penney +

up all night out all week...

Michelle Van Der Meer + Milena Barrett Lewisham Hotel, Lewisham. 4pm. $28.60.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Sunday Courtyard Sessions - feat: Minni Marks The Annandale Hotel, Annandale.

3pm. Free.

Australian Institue Of Music Band Ensembles Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 6pm.

Free.

Blake Wiggins The Rivo Hotel, Riverstone. 4pm.

Free.

Dame Joan’s Love Children The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 5pm. $5.

Dave Debs Picton Hotel, Picton.

1pm. Free.

Frankie’s Vinyl Fair 3 - feat: Los Tones + The Swamps Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 12pm. Free.

Icecream Hands + The Michael Carpenter Two Newtown Social Club, Newtown.

2:30pm. $28.

Jared Baca Macarthur Tavern, Campbelltown. 2pm.

Free.

Melanie Oxley + Chris Abrahams Camelot Lounge, Marrickville. 6:30pm. $22.70.

Open Mic Night Nag’s Head Hotel, Glebe. 5:30pm. Free.

Peter Byrne Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 8:30pm.

Free.

Sidebar Sundays feat: Dave White Side Bar, Sydney.

9pm. Free.

Steve Crocker The Mill Hotel, Milperra. 12pm.

Free.

Ted Nash Ingleburn Hotel, Ingleburn. 1pm.

Free.

Underminer + Guardian + Blacklist + Isotopes + Galleries + Of Divinity + Lost Without Life Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 2pm. $10.

Van The Man The Vanguard, Newtown. 6:30pm. $25.80.

Vanessa Heinitz Strawberry Hills Hotel, Surry Hills.

4pm. Free.

White Bros Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 4:30pm.

Free.

MONDAY AUGUST 17 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

Jazz Jam & Games Night Venue 505, Surry Hills.

6pm. Free.

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 12

Miami Horror

A Few Of My Favourite Men For The Mirabel Foundation - Feat: Tim Rogers + Jeff Duff + Peter Northcote + Terry Serio + Geoff Morrell + David Field + Dario Bortolin + Lloyd G + Greg Agar + Mikey Robins + Tony Squires + Wil Anderson + Tony Mott The Basement, Circular Quay. 6:30pm. $48.90.

James Bay + Winterbourne Metro Theatre, Sydney.

7pm. $60.15.

Live Music (Faces From The Crowd) - Feat: Shining Bird Art Gallery Of New South Wales, Sydney. 7:30pm.

Free.

Sarah Belkner + Maples The Newsagency, Marrickville. 7:30pm. $16.50.

Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $10.

Vincent Gardner + Reggie Thomas Quintet Foundry616, Ultimo.

8:30pm. $27.50.

FRIDAY AUGUST 14

The Flipped Out Kicks Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney.

9pm. Free.

Banff + Why We Run + Machine Age Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $11.60.

THURSDAY AUGUST 13

Jesse Witney + Danny Ross + Gene Fehlberg Trio Batch Brewing Co, Marrickville. 8pm. $15.

Aldous Harding The Vanguard, Newtown.

6:30pm. $18.80.

Hot Damn! - Feat: Justice For The Damned + Acrasia + Awaken I Am + Pillager + Hot Damn! DJs The Bristol Arms Hotel, Sydney. 8pm. $20.

Live At The Sly - Feat: Midnight Tea Party + Sampa The Great + Wallace Slyfox, Enmore. 7:30pm.

Free.

Nussy Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $5.70.

Snfu + Wolfpack + The Fuckouts + Cap A Capo Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7pm. $41.50.

Talihina Sky Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney.

10pm. Free.

The Metanarratives Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt. 7pm. $10.

The Nuclear Family + All My Alien Sex Friends + The Filthy Teens

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Australian Institue Of Music Band Ensembles Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 6pm. Free.

Frankie’s World Famous House Band Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 9pm. Free.

Greg Byrne Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9pm. Free.

Swerve Society feat: The Archaic Revival Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7:30pm.

Free.

Library Siesta + Blonde Band + Jack & Elmo + Sudek DJ Waywards, Newtown. 8pm.

Free.

Miami Horror + Joy. + Cleopold + Young Franco Metro Theatre, Sydney.

7pm. $29.41.

Plini + The Helix Nebula Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 7:30pm. $14.

The Filth - Feat: Bec And Ben + Persian Drugs Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm. Free.

The Iron Horses + Sundown State + Love Drunk Hearts Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $10.

Manning Bar, Camperdown. 8pm. $61.20.

SATURDAY AUGUST 15 Foreign/National + Wild Honey + Chief Havoc Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $9.50.

Immigrant Union Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $13.60.

Richard Clapton State Theatre, Sydney.

8pm. $90.60.

The Cactus Channel Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $12.

The Daphne Rawling Band Union Hotel, Newtown.

8pm. Free.

SUNDAY AUGUST 16 Frankie’s Vinyl Fair 3 Feat: Los Tones + The Swamps Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney.

12pm. Free.

Icecream Hands + The Michael Carpenter Two Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 2:30pm. $28.

Tim Wheatley

Tim Wheatley The Vanguard, Newtown.

6:30pm. $15.80.

Upskirts + Noire + Bad Valley Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $15. …And You Will Know Us

By The Trail Of Dead + The Red Paintings

TUESDAY AUGUST 18 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

Jazzgroove Presents @ Foundry616 feat: Sorcha Albuquerque Trio + Sam Gill & Simon Barker Foundry616, Ultimo.

8pm. $16.50.

Old School Funk & Groove Night feat: DJ’s Elchino

And Mcculloch + Live Band: Hamish Stuart + Cameron Undy + Matt Smith + Shannon Stitt + Daniel Pliner + Matt Keegan + Rick Robertson + Ben Kidson + Guests Venue 505, Surry Hills. 6pm. Free.

Sunset Jazz - feat: Jazz Society Hermann’s Bar, Darlington. 6pm.

Free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Of Music Band Ensembles Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 6pm.

Free.

Eunice & Chris + Merilyn Briggs + Octave Inc + The Mesclados Mr Falcon’s, Glebe.

7:30pm. Free.

Rock ‘N’ Roll Karaoke Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 9pm. Free.

Tom Trelawney Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9pm. Free.

Australian Institue

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BRAGâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s guide to dance, hip hop and club culture

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brag beats

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

dance music news club, dance and hip hop in brief... with Chris Martin, Vanessa Papastavros and Jade Smith

he said she said WITH

RÜFÜS

SUGARZ

RÜFÜS ON THE ROAD

Sydney’s finest dance trio, RÜFÜS, are back on the scene. ‘You Were Right’ is the first taste of the lads’ new album, and has got dancefloors on the move already, so it’s about time they hit the road to celebrate. As part of a national tour, they’ll be ready to tear the roof(us) off the Enmore Theatre on Friday October 30. Boom.

SWEATY AND SCARY

Growing Up My family had a Sharp 1.

VZ-3000E that I was so in love with. It was a cassette player, radio and vertical record turntable all in one. It played both sides of a record without having to turn it over. I’d plug the microphone in and sing along. Sometimes I’d record my vocals or songs on the radio onto cassette, and on occasion, accidentally over some of my dad’s favourite tapes.

2.

Inspirations In terms of genres, I’ve always been a big fan of pop – anything that came out of The Brill Building was an early influence, as well as Motown. R&B, new jack swing and neo-soul definitely helped me get through my teenage years. In recent times, I’ve been getting more into hip hop as well as future soul, like the latest album from Hiatus Kaiyote. And as for current singer-songwriters, I have a total girl crush on Sia – she takes metaphors and makes them into hits like no-one else.

Your Band Sugarz is a collaborative 3. project that features myself, Kimberly Aviso, and a producer/ musician fusing our styles together to create a new sound for both parties. The first collaboration is

HARBOURLIFE IS HERE

Harbourlife, the eve-of-summer festival with a location to trump them all, has locked in its 2015 lineup. House legends Booka Shade will lead the program with a DJ set, joined by a bunch of acts from throughout the electronic spectrum and across the globe. This is but the first taste of artists scheduled for a day of sunshine and house vibes.

The first Harbourlife lineup for 2015 includes Eats Everything, Tensnake, Klingande, Derrick Carter and Bicep. Harbourlife 2015 takes over the Fleet Steps at Mrs. Macquarie’s Point on Saturday November 21.

30 :: BRAG :: 625 :: 12:08:15

with Melbourne-based producer Benny Badge AKA Freekwency, whom I had met through friends and really dug his nostalgic yet fresh sound.

The Music You Make This first collab fuses my 4. jazz tones and songwriting with Benny Badge’s modern funk and ’80s electro synth to create this fourtrack EP titled Natural High. Our live show will definitely have some tasty beats, DX7 basslines and delectable visuals. You just have to go.

Music, Right Here, Right Now 5.

It’s really sad to see a lot of local Sydney venues closing, some which I’ve had fond memories of.

I’m hoping there’ll be a movement towards more creative spaces and guerrilla performances to help bring back some colour to the scene.

We’re so happy to be launching the EP at Play Bar. They’ve always supported awesome music from local DJs and musicians and you’re never short for a drink and good company here!

You can bet that this Halloween the Metro Theatre will be the hottest haunt in Sydney. The reason? Sweat It Out Music and Falcona Music are teaming up this year to put on one hell of a Halloween bash in Sydney on Saturday October 31. The lineup features a stack of artists pulled from both the Sweat It Out and Falcona rosters, with live performances and some of the label’s finest DJs. On the live front, Sweaty Halloween will serve up electronic trio Crooked Colours and Sydney duo Porsches.

DJ-wise, there’ll be the ARIA Awardwinning Yolanda Be Cool, Splendour In The Grass standout Mickey Kojak and Cassian. Headlining the bill will be one of the most hyped acts in the world, Jai Wolf, from New York.

Let’s get spooky.

WEISS IS NICE

Rising UK producer Weiss is making the long journey Down Under to play a series of parties, kicking off this weekend. His is a Chicago house style infused with the soul of the Motherland, with hit single ‘My Sister’ having achieved rotation on BBC Radio 1 and a long run in the Beatport top ten. Alongside his own productions, Weiss has completed official remixes for the ilk of MK and Deadmau5, and the cognoscenti are tipping him for big things. Get on board at Chinese Laundry on Saturday August 15.

WIZ HE OR WON’T HE

Pittsburgh hip hop star Wiz Khalifa is set to play an exclusive concert to Sydneysiders in September, with Peking Duk along for the ride. The Big Top date at Luna Park will be Khalifa’s only live appearance in Sydney during his Australian visit, and to get a ticket, you have to earn it. The show is being held under the banner of Optus RockCorps 2015, and the only way to secure entry is by donating four hours of your time contributing to the local community. The last two years of the Optus RockCorps have seen more than 9,500 young people volunteer to help in the community, in exchange for tickets to four special gigs. Thanks to Wiz Khalifa and Peking Duk, this year’s event will be bigger than ever. The Optus RockCorps 2015 concert will take place at the Big Top on Wednesday September 30.

Visit optusrockcorps.com. au to get involved.

GHOSTING IN Bicep

What: Natural High out now independently With: Hober Mallow, Benny Hinn Where: Play Bar When: Friday August 14

BILAL GETS BACK

OutsideIn Festival drawcard Bilal has locked in a Sydney headlining date of his own. It’s all happening on the back of his new LP, In Another Life, and standout appearances on Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly record by way of the tracks ‘Institutionalized’ and ‘These Walls’. The Philadelphia singer-songwriter and producer’s varied catalogue – stretching as far back as his 2001 debut, 1st Born Second – touches on neo-soul, R&B, funk, jazz and hip hop. Kendrick returned the favour by appearing on Bilal’s new album alongside Big K.R.I.T. and Kimbra, and fans can expect to hear the latest hits at Max Watt’s on Friday September 25 before OutsideIn the next day.

Wiz Khalifa

Melbourne indie rapper Nico Ghost is hitting the road. The east coast tour dates come in support of his new EP, Kaishi, which includes three previously unaired cuts alongside the singles ‘Coolin’ and ‘Bound2Snow’. Production on the release came from the likes of GXNXVS and Seywood, but Nico will make the stage all his own at the Beach Road Hotel on Wednesday September 2 for Sosueme.

LOCALS GO TO RIO

CHECK OUT THAT BICEP

Do you feel that? Yep, it’s Bicep. The London-based Belfast expats Matt McBriar and Andy Ferguson built a name for themselves via their blog, Feel My Bicep, specialising in obscure disco, Chicago house and Detroit techno. From there, they expanded into DJing and even production, putting their musical muscle to good use. Bicep toured our shores back in 2013, and they’ll return for national dates including an appearance at Harbourlife on Saturday November 21, alongside club nights around the land.

The Return To Rio festival has revealed another lineup announcement of local artists to add to its already sizeable cast of acts, as well as details of a pay-by-instalment ticketing option. Boasting guaranteed queuefree bars, tasty morsels and hot showers, Return To Rio is billed as the ultimate weekend away. Adding to the madness, magic and mayhem of the festival will be Simon Caldwell, Gabby & Shamus, Cassette, Morning Gloryville, Start:Cue, Co-Op, Mantra Collective and Shaun Bro. Return To Rio will hit Del Rio Riverside Resort at Wisemans Ferry from Friday November 13 – Sunday November 15. thebrag.com

MONPLAY PLAY STUDENT SHOWCASE MONDAYS

Artists from iconic music institute JMC Academy play Rock Lily, Monday’s August 3 –24.

7pm – late

6

$

House spirits & selected beer and wines*

LEVEL 1 THE STAR, 80 PYRMONT STREET, PYRMONT STAR.COM.AU/ROCKLILY

/ROCKLILY.LIVE

*5pm – 12 midnight. The Star practises the responsible service of alcohol. Guests must be aged 18 years or over.

Think! About your choices. Call Gambling Help 1800 858 858 www.gamblinghelp.nsw.gov.au

ON SALE NOW - SECRET-SOUNDS.COM.AU BRAG :: 625 :: 12:08:15 :: 31

Kučka Walking On A Dream By George Nott “It’s a bit much sometimes. I’ve got so many tracks that will never see the light of day because I can’t get one particular thing sounding right.”

Best Electronic Act and Best Experimental Act at the West Australian Music Awards.

William Basinski photo by Peter J. Kierzkowski

The name, by the way, is SerbCroatian for ‘female dog’ – an affectionate nickname given to Lowther by a travelling buddy. The line on the C is called a haček, and the pronunciation? “It’s Kučka as in ‘butch car’,” she explains, “but with less emphasis on the car. Like that Ka car?”

Growing up in Liverpool, England, Lowther was raised on “regular commercial radio pop – Destiny’s Child, TLC, rap”, plus her parents’ favourites, the likes of David Bowie, Lauryn Hill and Radiohead. After moving to Australia in her early teens, she played guitar in high school bands before discovering the endless possibilities of electronic music.

“A

re you dreaming? No. Are you dreaming? No.”

Laura Jane Lowther, AKA Kučka, is explaining how to induce a lucid dream – a dream in which you are aware you are dreaming.

“You set an alarm on your phone every hour asking, ‘Are you dreaming?’ When you’re used to that action you might dream about checking it. Apparently. ‘Are you dreaming?’ ‘Yes…’” Not that Lowther needs to play these mind games on herself.

The WA producer and vocalist has always been conscious of her unconsciousness.

“You know when you’re in a dream and you know you’re in a dream so you can do whatever you want and go anywhere? No? Ever since I was a kid, that’s what I thought dreaming was. I only realised a couple of years ago that it’s not normal!

“I genuinely believe that something in your brain is triggered there. That point just before you wake up. Maybe it’s the freedom from consciousness – like your ideas aren’t being filtered so much.”

This rare ability goes some way towards explaining the transcendent and ethereal quality of Lowther’s songs, seven shimmering examples of which are present on the second Kučka EP, Unconditional. Featuring synthesisers, found sounds, electronic soundscapes and astral vocals, the release is experimental and avant-garde, but anchored to pop sensibilities.

“It’s coming from a pop perspective, referencing it as a genre,” explains Lowther, whose vocals feature on A$AP Rocky’s debut album Long.Live.

A$AP. “It’s a lot more structured than the music I wrote previously. The tracks have all got vocals. They’re quite short, compared to my other stuff. For me, this is pop!

“Some have got silly lyrics. On ‘Honey’ the chorus is, ‘Because your body tastes like honey,’ which I wrote when I was drunk and it stuck.

Other parts are pretty dark. A track called ‘Recovery’ gets pretty deep, which I like. I think all together they make sense.”

Capturing the essence of pop proved a challenge for Lowther, who by her own admission is usually “pretty experimental”.

“Pop is harder to write. You don’t want to make it cheesy and you don’t want to make it cliché and fall into those traps. I can write a drone track and have it meander around and there’s interesting parts, but if you’ve got limitations, it’s really hard.”

But she seems to have cracked it. ‘Unconditional’ was the most played song on triple j Unearthed last year and Kučka recently scooped Best Single,

“I remember listening to an album

by Beck and in between tracks he’s got these synthesisers noodling,” she says, before launching into a full-blown synth impression. “I was always intrigued by those sounds.

How do you make them? I found Ableton and was like, ‘Ah, this is amazing.’ I started messing around.

It was much more experimental at first – mainly because I didn’t know what I was doing! I love how rich the textures you can get are.

You can do whatever from track to track. You’re not limited.”

The Unconditional EP is the result of Lowther’s somewhat obsessive perfectionism. Working digitally allows for unlimited edits – a blessing and a curse. “I’m always tweaking, constantly,” she says. “I add and take away as necessary.

Tracks I’ve been working on for weeks I’ll suddenly think are terrible and I’ll start fresh. I find it easy to delete things.

Off The Record

The EP serves up a diverse suite of electronic sounds – and junk. “In Perth, every area has a week where you put all your junk out on the verge,” she explains. “A friend and I went out and gathered stuff that we thought would sound good, went back to my garage and set up mics.

“There’s metal shelves being hit, random stuff. I have my own sample library, thousands of noises. The sounds might be buried in the mix but they add depth. It’s trash!”

Performing live, Lowther is joined by Katie Campbell, AKA Catlips, and Jake Steele (brother of Little Birdy’s Katy and Empire Of The Sun’s Luke).

Already firm favourites on Perth’s fertile electronica scene, they are finding new fans wherever they go.

“It doesn’t matter how successful it gets,” Lowther says. “Famous people I’ve met can seem like they’re really successful and they’re struggling, or you can think they’re killing it but they don’t seem happy. I would just like to make music and be happy.”

It’s been something of a dream come true for Kučka so far. Here’s hoping it’s one from which Lowther need never wake up.

What: OutsideIn Festival 2015 With: Bilal, Big K.R.I.T., Devin The Dude, Cosmo’s Midnight and many more Where: Manning House When: Saturday September 26 And: Unconditional out Friday August 14 through Midnight Feature/Inertia

RECOMMENDED Ejeca

Dance and Electronica with Tyson Wray Looking for a way to spend Halloween this year? The original star of trap, Baauer, has confirmed that he’s returning to Sydney.

Known worldwide as the producer behind the viral track ‘Harlem Shake’, his penchant for interfusing electronic and hip hop has seen him enlisted to create remixes for the likes of Nero, The Prodigy and Flosstradamus. This will be his first visit to Australia since the 2014 incarnation of the now defunct Future Music Festival. It goes down on Saturday October 31 at Oxford Art Factory. Spooky.

Ripperton

G

ig of the year material right here: Ripperton is fi nally returning to Sydney after years (and years) away. Having first broken through in the mid-’00s through his Lazy Fat People project (which saw him release on labels such as Border Community, Planet E and Wagon Repair), since the release of his 2010 solo debut Niwa, the man otherwise known as Raphaël Gros has been considered one of the pioneers in electronic music, with releases on the ilk of CH, Tamed Musiq, Clone and Green. He’ll be joined on the night by Aaiste, Whitecat, Jake Small, Dave Stuart, Aaron Robins, Eliot Mireylees and Marley Sherman. It goes down on Saturday August 22 at the Burdekin Hotel.

One of the fastest-rising names in the house game – UK producer Weiss – is heading to Australia this weekend. With a sound highly influenced by the greater Chicago sound, he’s received support from the likes of Groove

Weiss

The first round lineup for Victoria’s Rainbow Serpent Festival has dropped, and holy moly, it is next level for house and techno fans. Found within the upper echelon of the bill are the likes of Pachanga Boys, John Digweed, Hernan Cattaneo and Monkey Safari. Needless to say we’ll be getting loads of Sydney sideshows, but y’all should really consider making the pilgrimage down to Lexton for the action from Friday January 22 – Monday January 25.

Tour rumour: thank the good Lord almighty that I can confirm to you the one and only Motor City Drum Ensemble has locked in a return to Australia. Full announcement imminent. Oh, and what’s that I hear about a Dense & Pika tour?

Armada, Pete Tong, Green Velvet and Masters At Work’s Kenny Dope, has remixed for big-name players MK and Deadmau5, and almost every release of his is guaranteed to skyrocket up the Beatport charts. Catch him on Saturday August 15 at Chinese Laundry.

Best releases this week: Fred P has once again served up the goods under his FP197 alias with Raw Trax Vol.1 (Soul People).

Other highlights include Unknown Artist’s Dream Vision (Loonie Bin), Kiko Navarro & Onsra’s Shir Khan Presents Black Jukebox 13 (Exploited), Alejandro Vivanco & Nu Zau’s Black N Space (Fizical), Beau Wanzer’s Untitled (Beau Wanzer) and Pvre Matrix’s Burning Sulfur (L.I.E.S.).

SATURDAY AUGUST 15 Ejeca, Weiss Chinese Laundry

SATURDAY AUGUST 22 Borrowed Identity Bridge Hotel Ripperton Burdekin Hotel

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 12 Pan-Pot The ArtHouse

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 19 Kangding Ray Bridge Hotel

SATURDAY OCTOBER 31 Baauer Oxford Art Factory

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 20 Lapalux Chinese Laundry

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 27 Eric Cloutier Marrickville Bowling Club

FRIDAY DECEMBER 4 – SUNDAY DECEMBER 6 Subsonic Music Festival: KiNK, Dop, Rick Wade, Roman Flügel + more Riverwood Downs Mountain Valley Resort, Barrington Tops

Got any tip-offs, hate mail, praise or cat photos? Email hey@tysonwray.com or contact me via carrier pigeon.

32 :: BRAG :: 625 :: 12:08:15

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g guide

club picks p up all night out all week...

send your listings to : clubguide@thebrag.com

club pick of the week Mantra Collective

SATURDAY AUGUST 15 Civic Ci i Underground U

Mantra Collective Xxx

9pm. $16.50.

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 12 CLUB NIGHTS

Grooves On A Grassy Knoll - feat: Kilter + Human Movement + Odd Mobb + Deuces + Helm St John’s College, Camperdown. 7pm. $40.

Retrosweat Routine - feat: Boy Band Bootcamp Dance Class + Shannon Dooley Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 6:30pm. $22.

Salsa Wednesdays - feat: DJ Miro + Special Guests The Argyle, The Rocks. 8:30pm. Free.

Side Bar Wednesdays - feat: Bangers & Mash Side Bar, Sydney.

9pm. Free.

Sosueme - feat: Remi + Shantan Wantan Ichban + The Hau Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm.

Free.

The Wall The World Bar, Kings Cross. 9pm. Free.

THURSDAY AUGUST 13 CLUB NIGHTS Five Dollar Thursdays - feat: DJs Steve Zappa + Skinny Scubar, Sydney.

8:30pm. Free.

Kicks The World Bar, Kings Cross. 9pm. Free.

Mixed Tape - feat: thebrag.com

DJs Hermann’s Bar, Darlington. 5pm. Free.

Not Dead Yet - feat: DJ Gemma Red Rattler, Marrickville. 6pm.

Free.

The Midnight Swim Sessions - feat: Thomas Studdy Goros, Surry Hills.

8pm. Free.

FRIDAY AUGUST 14 CLUB NIGHTS

Bassic - feat: Meaux Green + Hydraulix + Kemikoll + Blackjack + Lennon + Sippy + Autoclaws + Chenzo Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 9pm. $17.50.

Blvd Fridays - feat: Didier Cohen Marquee, Pyrmont.

10pm. $13.40.

Derriere - feat: Rotating DJs Goros, Surry Hills.

6pm. Free.

El Loco Later - feat: DJs On Rotation Excelsior Hotel, Surry Hills. 10pm. Free.

Feel Good Fridays feat: DJs Bar100, The Rocks.

5pm. Free.

Florida Blanca Supper Club + Bar Publico - feat: DJs Harpoon Harry, Sydney. 6pm. Free.

Fourth Quadrant Drum N Bass Party - feat: Inna Riddim DJs + Sariss With Mc Spex + Bionic With Tukka D + Linken With Rush MC + DJ Reload + Aggrovator Hermann’s Bar, Darlington. 9pm. $5.

Frankie’s Pizza

Fridays - feat: Rock ‘N’ Roll DJs Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 9pm. Free.

Friday Hideaway feat: Telefunken + Benjamin Lepke + Bart & Jumes The Hideaway Bar, Enmore. 7pm. Free.

Fridays Frothers feat: Babysham + Jesse Sewell Side Bar, Sydney.

9pm. Free.

Girlthing - feat: Kato + Estee Louder + Love Club DJs + Mirā Borū + Friday Lite DJs + Girlthing DJs Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 9pm. $15.

Jam Fridays Jam Gallery, Bondi Junction. 9:30pm.

Free.

Mark Jarvin + Kali Da Orazio Pizza + Porchetta, Bondi. 8pm.

Free.

Scubar Fridays - feat: DJs On Rotation Scubar, Sydney. 8pm.

Free.

Student DJs Hermann’s Bar, Darlington. 5pm. Free.

Sugarz + Benny Badge + Hober Mallow Play Bar, Surry Hills.

8pm. Free.

Treble N Bass Manly Wharf Hotel, Manly. 8pm. Free.

SATURDAY AUGUST 15 HIP HOP & R&B

Player Haters Ball - feat: Mark Venuti + Shantan Wantan Itchiban + Victoria

Kim Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 11pm. $10.

Pretty Ricky + DJ Victor Lopez + DJ Tikelz Metro Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $54.85.

Little Nobody - feat: Andrez Bergen Burdekin Hotel, Darlinghurst. 8pm.

Free.

Lndry - feat: Ejeca + Weiss + Avon Stringer + Acaddamy + Oscar De Lima + Adamwah + Offtapia + Sanger + Fiktion + Jade Le Flay + Just 1 + King Lee Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 9pm. $17.50.

Madonna’s Birthday Party - feat: Alex Taylor + DJs Marymary + Shows

By Ivy Leaguee + Coco Jumbo + Angus Vybe Roberts + Rhuma Hazzet + Hannah Conda Arq Nightclub, Sydney. 10pm. $18.50.

Mantra Collective Presents Black Gold - feat: Space Junk + Antoine Vice + Aboutjack + Whitecat + James Cripps + B&H Smooth Civic Underground, Sydney. 10pm. $16.50.

Pacha - feat: Generik + Tenzin + I Am Wolfpack + Acaddamy + Natnoiz + Just 1 + Def Rok + Luen + A-Game + Chris Arnott + Troy T + Heke + Chris Fraser + Sushi + Elly K + PW Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney. 6:30pm. $38.

Scubar Saturdays feat: Live DJs Scubar, Sydney.

8:30pm. Free.

The Pleasuredome - feat: Harvey Sutherland + M5k + Adi Toohey U-Khan Secret Location, Sydney. 9pm. $49.50.

CLUB NIGHTS

Chardy + Ivan Gough Marquee, Pyrmont.

10pm. $23.70.

Dibby Dibby Soundsystem Cliff Dive, Darlinghurst. 9pm.

Free.

Disco Inferno - feat: Treble N Bass Manly Wharf Hotel, Manly. 9pm. Free.

El Loco Later - feat: DJs On Rotation Excelsior Hotel, Surry Hills. 10pm. Free.

Florida Blanca Supper Club + Bar Publico - feat: DJs Harpoon Harry, Sydney. 6pm. Free.

Frankie’s Pizza Saturdays - feat: DJs Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 9pm. Free.

Frat Saturdays - feat: Jonksi + Guests Side Bar, Sydney.

7:30pm. Free.

Further (A Psychedelic Spectacular) - feat: Tristan Boyle + Knobs + Evil Oil Man + Dirty Hippy + Purple Hayes + Xenoscapes Manning Bar, Camperdown. 8pm. $24.

Jungleworks - feat: Ritual + Jnr + Benny Hinn Play Bar, Surry Hills.

6pm. Free.

Le Fruit DJs Goros, Surry Hills.

8pm. Free.

SUNDAY AUGUST 16

Remi

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 12 Grooves On A Grassy Knoll - Feat: Kilter + Human Movement + Odd Mobb + Deuces + Helm St John’s College, Camperdown. 7pm. $40.

Retrosweat Routine - Feat: Boy Band Bootcamp Dance Class + Shannon Dooley Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 6:30pm. $22.

Sosueme - Feat: Remi + Shantan Wantan Ichban + The Hau Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm. Free.

FRIDAY AUGUST 14 Bassic - Feat: Meaux Green + Hydraulix + Kemikoll + Blackjack + Lennon + Sippy + Autoclaws + Chenzo Chinese Laundry, Sydney.

9pm. $17.50.

Girlthing - Feat: Kato + Estee Louder + Love Club DJs + Mirā Borū + Friday Lite DJs + Girlthing DJs Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 9pm. $15.

Sugarz + Benny Badge + Hober Mallow Play Bar, Surry Hills. 8pm.

Free.

CLUB NIGHTS

Picnic Social Harpoon Harry, Sydney. 4pm. Free.

S.A.S.H Sundays Home Nightclub, Darling Harbour. 6pm. $10.

MONDAY AUGUST 17

SATURDAY AUGUST 15

Boyle + Knobs + Evil Oil Man + Dirty Hippy + Purple Hayes + Xenoscapes Manning Bar, Camperdown.

8pm. $24.

Lndry - Feat: Ejeca + Weiss + Avon Stringer + Acaddamy + Oscar De Lima + Adamwah + Offtapia + Sanger + Fiktion + Jade Le Flay + Just 1 + King Lee Chinese Laundry, Sydney.

9pm. $17.50.

Pacha - Feat: Generik + Tenzin + I Am Wolfpack + Acaddamy + Natnoiz + Just 1 + Def Rok + Luen + A-Game + Chris Arnott + Troy T + Heke + Chris Fraser + Sushi + Elly K + Pw Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney.

6:30pm. $38.

Player Haters Ball - Feat: Mark Venuti + Shantan Wantan Itchiban + Victoria Kim Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 11pm. $10.

Pretty Ricky + DJ Victor Lopez + DJ Tikelz Metro Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $54.85.

SUNDAY AUGUST 16 S.A.S.H Sundays Home Nightclub, Darling Harbour. 6pm. $10.

Dibby Dibby Soundsystem

Chardy + Ivan Gough Marquee, Pyrmont. 10pm. $23.70.

Dibby Dibby Soundsystem Cliff Dive, Darlinghurst. 9pm.

Free.

Further (A Psychedelic Spectacular) - Feat: Tristan

CLUB NIGHTS

Mashup Monday feat: Resident DJs + DJ Thieves + Recess + OTG + Chivalry + More Side Bar, Sydney.

8pm. Free.

Ejeca

TUESDAY AUGUST 18 HIP HOP & R&B

Terrible Tuesdays feat: Hober Mallow + Astronafrica Slyfox, Enmore. 4pm.

Free.

CLUB NIGHTS Coyote Tuesdays The World Bar, Kings Cross. 9pm. $10.

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