Brag#628

ISSUE NO. 628 SEPTEMBER 2, 2015

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

MUSIC, FILM, THEATRE + MORE

INSIDE This Week

H A L SE Y

She’s taking the world by storm, and Australia is next.

STRAIGHT

ME G A N WA SHING T ON

It’s all in the timing for a singer returning to her roots.

SY DNE Y C ON T E MP OR A R Y

The annual art fair returns to town.

A N Y T HING GOE S

Awards and accolades pile up ahead of the Sydney season.

Plus

JOSHUA R A DIN T HE SNO W DROPPER S PA N - P O T

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THE STORY OF THE WORLD’S MOST DANGEROUS GROUP Strong coarse language

thebrag.com

IN CINEMAS SEPTEMBER 3 # STRAIGHTOUTTACOMPTON

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

speed date WITH

STEVEN CIOLEK FROM THE SIDEKICKS friend’s wedding, doing a rock tour with Great Cynics in the UK, and playing shows with All Dogs in the USA. More and more shows to come in the future, then work on the next record.

Best Gig Ever Our possibly best gig ever was at Stay Sweet Fest in Richmond, Virginia, in which our forever bearded drummer Sanders showed up completely clean-shaven. It confused even our closest friends to the point they did not recognise him. It was also his birthday, and when the first song hit, our friends released a bunch of balloons with his bearded face on them. The worst gig was hands down a show we played just outside of Detroit, Michigan, in which a fivefoot-five mohawked guy threatened to fight everyone in attendance in the parking lot. Luckily no-one was hurt but it was a close call.

3.

Your Profile Like Neil but not Diamond, 1. like Elvis but not Presley, like punk

but not offensive, like rock but not macho, like ‘Blinded By The Light’ but not the Cougar’s version.

Keeping Busy We’ve been busy playing 2. covers of Madonna and Prince at our

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: Gloria Brancatisano, Lauren Gill, Bridget Lutherborrow, Vanessa Papastavros

GIG & CLUB GUIDE COORDINATOR: Sarah Bryant - gigguide@thebrag.com (rock); clubguide@thebrag.com (dance, hip hop & parties) AWESOME INTERNS: Vanessa Papastavros, Elias Kwiet, Bridget Lutherborrow 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, Jade Smith, Lucy Watson, Rod Whitfield, Harry Windsor, Tyson Wray, Stephanie Yip, David James Young 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 EDITORIAL POLICY: The views and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher, editors or staff of the BRAG. ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE: Luke Forrester: accounts@furstmedia.com.au ph - (03) 9428 3600 fax - (03) 9428 3611 Furst Media, 3 Newton Street Richmond Victoria 3121

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4 :: BRAG :: 628 :: 02:09:15

What: Runners In The Nerved World out now through Epitaph Where: Supporting The Smith Street Band at Manning Bar When: Wednesday September 9

sound of their first two LPs, 2011’s Mazes and 2012’s Circles. The group have announced an Australian tour to complement their annual appearance at Meredith Music Festival. You can catch them in Sydney at Newtown Social Club on Thursday December 10.

WHERE RATATAT ARE AT

Rocktronica heroes Ratatat have announced their long-awaited return Down Under to celebrate the release of their latest album, Magnifi que. Last here in 2011, Ratatat are booked in for performances at both Meredith Music Festival and Berry’s Fairgrounds festival. Since the release of the guitar-heavy Magnifique – which features singles ‘Cream On Chrome’ and ‘Abrasive’, the duo have been out of hiding and playing around the US, including a spot at Coachella in April. See them at the Metro Theatre on Thursday December 3.

TAME AGAIN

The demand for the Tame Impala show at Sydney Opera House’s Forecourt this November has been so intense that the world-beating psych rockers have lined up an additional date. Fresh off a stunning Splendour set and with a swathe of awards under their belts, including a Grammy and two J Awards, Tame Impala have never seemed more ready to fill out the monumental steps and world famous sails of the Opera House. Kevin Parker and co. are touring in support of their latest album, Currents, and seem to have local audiences under their thrall with their confident, playful new offering. Originally slated for a Wednesday November 11 show, Tame Impala have now added a Tuesday November 10 appearance as well.

headline tour dates are absolutely guaranteed to freak you right through to another dimension.

Be at the Metro Theatre on Wednesday December 9.

MOON DUO LANDING

Coming straight from San Francisco’s psychedelic music scene, Moon Duo’s Ripley Johnson and Sanae Yamada will be hitting our shores together with newly secured drummer John Jeffrey. Shadow Of The Sun, their third release, promises to put listeners into a spellbinding psychedelic stupor, and demonstrates Moon Duo’s evolution from the

Melbourne shoegazers Flyying Colours have announced another round of explosive live shows slated for the end of September. Having recently wrapped up their sold-out ‘Running Late’ single tour, the band are setting sail once more to tour their new EP, ROYGBIV. And the best part is their Sydney show at The World Bar is free. Flyying Colours’ latest offering has been heard around the nation thanks to some enthusiasm from triple j and a bunch of community radio stations. The reviews have been full of warm and fuzzies too, with widespread praise for their live shows. See them when they hit town on Friday September 25.

FALLS LINEUP, LORNE SOLD OUT

Falls Festival has grown larger with the announcement of a second slew of artists to perform at the art and music festival’s 2015/16 incarnation, amid news that the Lorne edition has sold out. Joining the music lineup are Soak, Jarryd James and Elliphant, while the comedy bill will include the likes of Nazeem Hussain, Randy, Adam Rozenbachs, Nick Cody, Becky Lucas and Tien Tran. They’re added to an already incredible announced program, which includes such big names as Bloc Party, Courtney Barnett, Disclosure and Foals.

Falls goes down from Monday December 28 – Friday January 1 in Victoria’s Lorne (now sold out), Tuesday December 29 – Friday January 1 at Tassie’s Marion Bay, and Thursday December 31 – Sunday January 3 in Byron Bay. See thebrag.com for the full lineup.

DROWNING SLOWLY

In support of their second album, Sheltering Sky, Drowning Horse have announced they’re heading out on their first ever Aussie tour, kicking off this October. The doom outfit, originally from Perth, features members linking from acts including Extortion, Warthreat, Suffer and the now defunct Negative Reply. The band members are now split between coasts, so this national tour will be a rare one. The run of shows will see Drowning Horse play six dates, stopping off in Perth, Fremantle, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. See ’em at Newtown Social Club on Sunday November 8.

ALL THE KING’S GOATS

King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard are returning home from their musical European bender, and they’re bringing more than souvenirs with them. After their sold-out Gizzfest national tour in May, Australia’s favourite garage psych rebels have locked in more Aussie dates. It’ll double as a debut tour by Goat from Sweden, a mysterious cult-like alternative and experimental fusion music group that can only be described as Euro-craziness. The double

Soilwork

ON AUSSIE SOIL

Metal masters Soilwork have extended their world tour by adding an Aussie leg to their schedule. The Swedes come in celebration mode after the release of their tenth studio album, The Ride Majestic – an ode to family members the band members have lost over the years. With a career spanning more than two decades, the last five years have seen Soilwork drop a critically acclaimed double album, a live DVD and a five-track EP. They’ll take the stage at Max Watt’s on Monday February 15.

thebrag.com

Soilwork photo by Hannah Verbeuren

DEADLINES: Editorial: Friday 12pm (no extensions) Ad bookings: Friday 5pm (no extensions) Fishished art: No later than 2pm Monday Ad cancellations: Friday 4pm Deadlines are strictly adhered to.

Published by Furst Media P/L ACN 1112480045 All content copyrighted to Cartrage P/L / Furst Media P/L 2003-2014

5.

FLYY MY COLOURS

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

Beauty, Teenage Fanclub, The Lemonheads, Harry Nilsson, On The Beach, I Am The Cosmos and the new All Dogs record, to name a few. We also tend to scan the local radio stations and try to find the classics.

Your Ultimate Rider Our ultimate rider request would be no bottled water in the whole venue and no excess plastic crap. It’s nice when we get to eat fruit and vegetables and drink a nice beer.

Ratatat photo by Agser Carlson

Ratatat

Current Playlist In the van it’s been The 4.

Grateful Dead’s American

lorne VICTORIA

marion bay TASMAN IA

NEW SOUTH WALES

dec 28 2015

dec 29 2015

dec 31 2015

jan 01 2016

jan 01 2016

jan 03 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 ELLIPHANT FOALS GANG OF YOUTHS GARY CLARK JR. HALSEY HIATUS KAIYOTE HILLTOP HOODS JARRYD JAMES KING GIZZARD AND THE LIZARD WIZARD KURT VILE AND THE VIOLATORS LITTLE MAY THE MACCABEES MAC DEMARCO MEG MAC OH WONDER PAUL KELLY PRESENTS THE MERRI SOUL SESSIONS FEAT. CLAIRY BROWNE DAN SULTAN KIRA PURU VIKA & LINDA BULL RÜFÜS SETH SENTRY SOAK TORO Y MOI YOUNG FATHERS BOOGIE NIGHTS ( D E C 2 8 L O R N E Ŀ D E C 2 9 M A R I O N B A Y Ŀ D E C 3 1 B Y R O N )

ART VS SCIENCE EL VEZ FLEETMAC WOOD ‘WEIRD AL’ YANKOVIC PLUS PLENTY MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED

fallsfestival.com

tickets on sale now thebrag.com

BRAG :: 628 :: 02:09:15 :: 5

live & local

free stuff

welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town... with Vanessa Papastavros, Bridget Lutherborrow and Elias Kwiet

head to: thebrag.com/freeshit

WITH

JOHN VELLA FROM TENDERFOOT Inspirations Ryan Adams is my 2. number one. He’s just so good.

I love the way he goes about making music. My buddy Sean introduced me to his stuff circa ’06. Check out his track ‘La Cienega Just Smiled’. Timeless.

Your Band We’ve got Joel Burton 3. on the bass and Anthony

1.

Growing Up Dad’s record player gave me a heavy dose of Bob Dylan and Booker T & The M.G.’s throughout my childhood. I think it heavily shaped the music I make. The first time I remember

becoming obsessive with music was probably my VHS Guns N’ Roses tapes. The Use Your Illusion tour ones. I was 11, and I think I used to take them around with me. I loved them so much.

Donlon on keys. Paul Derricott played drums on the record, and Grant Gerathy will be joining us on drums for our November tour. Finally we’ve got Ben Corbett helping us out on guitar at the moment, which is sounding amazing.

We’ve signed management and our first single drops October/ November.

The Music You Make We mixed the record at 4.

Hercules Street Studios with my buddy Ryan Miller. It’s a Ryan Adams, Tom Petty, Coldplay

kind of sound. Quite earthy, yet current. We didn’t use any click tracks, and we did get a couple of one-takers! As for the live sound, if you’ve seen the Martin Scorsese fi lm The Last Waltz about The Band’s fi nal show, that’s the sort of vibe we aim for.

Music, Right Here, Right Now 5.

I think if you want to have a career in music then you’ve got to get good enough to deserve one. I read a lot of those online entrepreneur-type blogs and I think a lot of that applies, especially consistency. You’ve got to keep getting better.

What: FolkSwagon With: The Campervan Dancers, Darby Where: Cafe Lounge When: Wednesday September 2

THE CALIFORNIA HONEYDROPS

It just ain’t a party until someone busts out the horns. The California Honeydrops follow in a long tradition of bands that hold true to this mantra, not so much putting on gigs as full-blown party events. Led by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Lech Wierzynski, these guys started out busking in an Oakland train station, but are more famous now thanks to a raft of world tours.

Their forthcoming trip Down Under will mark their first dates in these parts, but you can be sure they’ll be sharing an infectious vibe influenced by R&B, funk, Southern soul and Delta blues.

The California Honeydrops play Newtown Social Club on Tuesday November 24, and we’ve got two prize packs to give away, including a double pass to the show and a CD. Head to thebrag.com/freeshit to enter.

The Bennies photo by Ian Laidlaw

THE WRIGHT STUFF John Flanagan

Melbourne singer-songwriter Ben Wright Smith is coming up Sydney way to launch his newest single, ‘Born Yawning’. Wright Smith’s previous single ‘No One’ was widely praised and played regularly on triple j, with his Melbourne show selling out. ‘Born Yawning’ is being released by Ronnie Records, the new label imprint of Holy Holy’s Oscar Dawson and Melbourne musician Ali Barter. Production of the single was a highly collaborative undertaking between the three musicians, with Barter adding vocals to the track.

Wright Smith will headline Saturday October 10 at Brighton Up Bar.

The Bennies

READY FOR BENNIES

FLANAGAN MAKES YOU HAPPY

John Flanagan is a man of 2015, taking his cues from the contemporary Americana sound, but that doesn’t mean he’s turned his back on what’s come before. The foundation folk sound and ’70s songwriting maintains a line through Flanagan’s own work, including on new single ‘Whatever Makes You Happy’. It’s a taste of what to expect from There’s Another Way To Where You’re Going, the full-length recorded with Viktor Krauss in Nashville and set for release in February. In the meantime, Flanagan steps into The Nag’s Head on Saturday September 5.

I’lls

Joy.

ODE TO JOY

After taking over airwaves and stages around the country, there’s no doubt that 17-year-old artist Joy. is one to watch. Her debut EP Ode, out now, features the lead single, ‘About Us’, which has earned high rotation on triple j, fifth spot on the AirT charts and hit 100,000 plays on SoundCloud and 150,000 spins on Spotify. In celebration of the release of her debut recording, Joy. will tour the nation – but not before school’s out, of course. She plays Goodgod Small Club on Friday November 20.

2015 has been a huge year for Melbourne four-piece The Bennies. After appearances at Soundwave Festival and Golden Plains, the lads headed out on their Party Whirlwind tour.

They’re gearing up to join Less Than Jake and Reel Big Fish on their east coast Australian dates this October, and will head to the US for some more international engagements.

All that comes before a new set of tour dates, which will see The Bennies play 18 shows, covering capital cities and regional towns. They’ll take over the Factory Floor on Friday November 27.

PAPA PILKO COMES CALLING

Papa Pilko and The Binrats have been hard at work on some new music, but the action is hardly about to dry up. Now, the boys are heading out on an eight-week tour to celebrate the release of their debut album, Till The End Of The Road. Hitting stages across all five states, they will be starting at Manning Bar on Sunday September 13 and then hopping from location to location. Catch them at Manly’s Moonshine on Thursday October 1, Oxford Art Factory on Saturday October 10, and at their end of tour party at Deux Ex Machina on Saturday November 14.

I’LLS EP LAUNCH

To celebrate the release of their new EP Can I Go With You To Go Back To My Country, I’lls have announced a Sydney show this month. The visit follows their recent appearance at Splendour In The Grass, as well as performances at a curated event at Melbourne’s Shadow Electric and a seated audio-visual show.

This will be the first time Sydney fans will hear the EP in full. It’s happening at Brighton Up Bar on Friday September 11.

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The California Honeydrops photo by Josh Miller

five things

LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT

Following its sold-out 2013 inauguration, boutique music festival At First Sight is returning to Carriageworks this November.

This year’s lineup has been curated by FBi Radio’s Dusty Fingers host Marty Doyle and will feature a great lineup of international and Aussie acts. The one-day event will also include 100 stalls from Sydney’s best independent record stores, labels and private dealers. At First Sight’s 2015 lineup includes Oscar Key Sung, Nicholas Allbrook, Blank Realm, My Disco, Total Giovanni and more. For the full list, check out thebrag.com, and mark down Saturday November 14 in your diary for the event.

SHANGHAI SYNDROME

Avant-garde progressive art rock ensemble Shanghai will next week release their new full-length concept album, and it’s been long in the works. Recording over a period of five years, the band has painstakingly assembled and crafted its most intricate and multi-layered work to date. The full band lineup is complemented on The Ultraviolent by the addition of a string section in an ambitious attempt to interpret Shanghai’s already dense compositions at an orchestral level. The album launch goes down on Saturday October 10 at the Town Hall Hotel in Newtown.

thebrag.com

thebrag.com

BRAG :: 628 :: 02:09:15 :: 7

Industrial Strength Music Industry News with Christie Eliezer

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THINGS WE HEAR * Which UK band had their guitarist quit amid claims he sent an explicit text to an underage fan? * How did two websites â&#x20AC;&#x153;breakâ&#x20AC;? the same story claiming it as an â&#x20AC;&#x153;exclusiveâ&#x20AC;?? * Is a music magazine about to change ownership? * While rumours flew that the original lineup of Guns Nâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Roses would headline next yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Soundwave (a story broken by Triple M), Fred Durst announced during Limp Bizkitâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s set at Englandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Reading Festival that his band was responsible for â&#x20AC;&#x153;Axl and Slash being back together.â&#x20AC;?

* While Disturbedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s comeback album Immortalized hit number one this week on the ARIA chart, one of its online promos had to be pulled. It featured a monster shooting people at a TV station, which seemed too close to the bone after the on-air murder of two American TV journalists. * As N.W.Aâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Straight Outta Comptonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gross hits US$113 million in its second week in the US (it opens in Australia this week), Raekwon has called for a Wu-Tang Clan biopic. The N.W.A biopic has not been without controversy.

Since its release, Dr. Dre has apologised for his past abuses of ex-girlfriends, which were not covered in the film. One alleged victim, R&B singer

Michelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;le, rejected the apology as â&#x20AC;&#x153;good PR at the momentâ&#x20AC;?.

N.W.Aâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s former manager Jerry Heller says he talked Eazy-E out of murdering Suge Knight â&#x20AC;&#x153;for being a problemâ&#x20AC;? while wild speculation is being made that Knight killed Eazy-E by injecting him with an AIDSinfected needle. Bone ThugsN-Harmony and Eazyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s son Lil Eazy have also shared their conspiracy theories, with the latter implicating Ice Cube in his fatherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s death. * Blacktownâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Lalor Park Hotel, which showcases music, is up for sale. * Lorde joined Flume onstage at LAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s FYF Fest to dance to a remix of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Tennis Courtâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. * While US rapper T.I. has been hit with a US$4.5 million tax

bill, Bono and Ali Hewsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ethical clothes firm Edun lost ÂŁ42 million. The U2 singer is â&#x20AC;&#x153;confidentâ&#x20AC;? that the company will become sustainable. Meanwhile, the UK tax office is trying to bankrupt former Sugababes singer Jade Ewen, saying she owes â&#x20AC;&#x153;thousandsâ&#x20AC;?. The band went on a temporary hiatus in 2012 but has failed to regroup. * Tyler, The Creator has been banned from the UK for three to five years. * Just before Aussie country performer Lee Kernaghan returns to play Maryborough, he has made a call-out to a fan who on his last visit got him to sign a breast so she could tattoo it. Kernaghan said heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d sign it again if it needs a touchup.

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SWEAT IT OUT EXPANDS TO US Sydneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Sweat It Out has set up an office in Los Angeles to cover its label, events and publishing operations. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s built a presence there of late, with interest in its acts (including RĂ&#x153;FĂ&#x153;S, Porches, What So Not and Yolanda Be Cool) and the expansion of its party series to New York, LA and Miami. Set up at 9119 Thrasher Avenue, Sweat It Outâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s US team consists of EDM artist and Grizzly label founder Sinden, A&R by DJ Trevor Moffitt AKA Bones, Matt Black from European tastemaker Your Army and PR professional Joe Fisher to handle US TV and commercial radio.

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OPENLIVE LAUNCHES WITH DOWNLOADS, LIVE RECORDINGS OpenLIVE has launched in Australia. It is the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first high-resolution music download store with 2.5 million tracks and a live recording platform. For the latter, it will partner with venues for 24-bit/48kHz recordings of gigs, which artists can stream directly after.

CEO Dale Moore, formerly the marketing manager at Yamaha Australia, said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;We believe itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s important for people to have the option of choosing Hi-Res over MP3.â&#x20AC;? Simon Tait is the audio technology director.

WORLD CHAMPION JOIN FUTURE CLASSIC

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Sydney trio World Champion have signed with Future Classic. Their debut single â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Avocado Galaxyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; was produced by Jono Ma with mixes by Melbourneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Tornado Wallace and Swedenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Dan Lissvik. The act formed when Julian Sudek (George Maple, Canyons, Mercy Arms) heard Will Campion sing with The Chevaliers and they bonded over their love of psych-pop and electronica.

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The Canadian Independent Music Association and East Coast Music Association will showcase four acts at Australian Music Week (AMW) under the banner Canadian Blast. Canadian Blast also occurs at The Great Escape, Bigsound, SXSW and Music Matters Singapore. AMW goes down in Sydney from Wednesday November 18 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Sunday November 22.

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Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a hard knock life for indie record stores, so Beatdisc Records in Parramatta celebrated its 20th anniversary last Friday with a sale, a BBQ and the shooting of the film 20 Years Of Beatdisc. The film traces the history of the store at Queensland Arcade and the importance of the community to its success.

Owner Peter Curnovic told the BRAG that the store is on a first-name basis with most of the local community. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Bands have been formed from customers meeting here,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Plus we stock records you wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t find anywhere else, our prices are good, we have rock photos sourced straight from the photographer, and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve also been hosting in-store bands of late â&#x20AC;Ś The return of vinyl too has helped, making up half the storeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s stock.â&#x20AC;? Store manager Tom Houlahan is a musician, and his bands include Burlap and Ted Danson With Wolves.

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The troubled Imperial Hotel in Erskineville, which remained closed after alleged drug and alcohol infringements, has changed hands.

Former owner Shadd Danesi (who also runs LGBTI nightclub Arq at Taylor Square) has sold it to publicans Scott Leach (Rose of Australia) and Fraser Short (The Morrison) for $6.5 million. They will spend $3 million in revamping it, and the new-look venue will include a top-

class eatery. Whether it remains a LGBTI venue, as it was for 13 years, remains to be seen. Danesiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s troubles began this year when he leased the basement to Murat Kilic to set up Spice Cellar Ersknvl. It aroused the interest of the police and liquor authority and had two 72-hour shutdowns in June and July.

AMBA SHEPHERD SIGNS MINISTRY DEALS Globally acclaimed Australian EDM singer Amba Shepherd, best known for her work with Dutch producer Hardwell, has joined Ministry of Sound. She is now represented by its Crown Rights Management and Soapbox Agency for touring. Amba, as sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s known, plays festivals around the world, from Tomorrowland to Ultra, and has also worked with TiĂŤsto, Afrojack, Porter Robinson and Nervo.

PIKACHUNES DOES LIKE MONDAYS On the eve of relocating to Melbourne, New Zealandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Miles G. Loveless AKA Pikachunes has signed with Monday Records. He makes his Australian debut this Saturday September 5 at Brighton Up Bar after dates in the UK and Ireland.

TWO DEALS FOR CREO

Sydney epic rock act Creo have signed management to Upstairs Music (Kim Churchill, Halcyon Drive) and with Adrian Gidaro at Harbour Agency for bookings. Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re touring this month with Born Lion.

MUSHROOM LAUNCHES ROLE MODEL ARTISTS The Mushroom empireâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s latest addition is artist management company Role Model Artists, which launches with eight acts including Bliss N Eso. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s headed by Matt Gudinski (son of Michael Gudinski), who set up management/ booking agency Illusive in 2002. Role Modelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s director and senior artist manager is Adam Jankie (also from Illusive). Artist managers include Jon St Clair (Lurch & Chief, Mossy, Pearls, Slum Sociable), Tig Huggins (Total Giovanni) and Cara McDonald (Lila Gold).

ONELOVE UNVEILS TALENT AGENCY Dance label and club brand OneLove has launched the OneLove Talent Agency to represent local acts. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The aim here is to avoid overcrowding and the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;one size fits allâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; model in order to focus on a boutique artist roster,â&#x20AC;? said CEO Frank Cotela. Its first signing is DJ Generik who also hosts Channel [V]â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s EDM show.

JOHN STEEL SINGERS GET BANG FROM OWN LABEL

Brisbane indie outfit The John Steel Singers have set up their own Plutonium Records in collaboration with Create/Control. It will release their Midnight At The Plutonium album.

Plutonium gets its name from the bandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s studio in Kelvin Grove, Brisbane, which has been used by the likes of Cloud Control and Blank Realm. Their new single â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Weekend Loverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; continues their exploration in the past two years of â&#x20AC;&#x2122;70s funk and soul records.

ROW OVER STUDIO EVICTION A row has broken out over the eviction of Sydneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Echo Creative studio in Alexandria, set up by session players Marcus Catanzaro and Dave Jenkins, Jr. four years ago. Daniel Johns, Chet Faker and Flight Facilities are among those who have used its facilities. The buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new owner, Mirvac, wants to put

up apartments, and gave the studio a month to get out. Catanzaro said this didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t given them the business enough time to find new premises, arguing in a petition that art spaces should be protected and Mirvac be a more responsible community leader. Labor councillor Linda Scott, who led the Labor Loves Live Music campaigns, posted on social media that sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d help Echo Creative find a new home.

STC APPOINTS NEW DIRECTOR Sydney Theatre Company has appointed a new artistic director, Britainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Jonathan Church, to replace Andrew Upton. Church has occupied the artistic director role at Chichester Festival Theatre in Sussex since 2006. During that time he doubled attendance and produced 100 shows.

Lifelines Expecting: Take Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Howard Donald and wife Katie Halil, their first together.

Ill: jazz fusion guitarist Tony MacAlpine postponed Australian and Asian dates due to surgery for intestinal cancer.

Ill: Alan Frew, 58, singer with Canadaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Glass Tiger, has suffered from a stroke that affected his right hand.

Recovering: US pop-punk outfit Modern Baseball cancelled Australian dates this week due to singer Brendan Lukens wanting â&#x20AC;&#x153;time to put everything else aside to focus on making steps towards [my] positive mental healthâ&#x20AC;?.

Ill: MotĂśrhead cancelled a show in Utahâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Salt Lake City after four songs as leader Lemmy, 69, found it difficult to breathe because of the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s high altitude.

Jailed: Matthew Forti, 19, for 22 months for supplying Georgina Bartter with the ecstasy pills that killed her at the Harbourlife Festival last November.

Jailed: Shane Kaufmann, former manager of Edwardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Tavern in Wodonga, for nine months, for having sex with a 14-year-old runaway he found living on the street.

Jailed: Eli Anderson, three years, for driving his car at a Geelong nightclub security team after he was refused entry, leaving one fighting for his life.

Died: the body of Tobias Sheldon, 35, who spent US$100,000 to make himself look like Justin Bieber, was found in a motel in the San Fernando Valley, California.

Died: Ken Powell, the Aussie Foo Fighters fan suffering from melanoma, and who made headlines when Dave Grohl promised him tickets to a Foos show in LA, succumbed to the disease before his trip this month.

His family played the Foosâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;My Heroâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; as he slipped away.

thebrag.com

thebrag.com

BRAG :: 628 :: 02:09:15 :: 9

P

icture 17-year-old O’Shea Jackson, the boy who would become the notorious rapper Ice Cube, and the image is one of a young man seething with rage, tired of the daily injustices of life in inner city LA and hungry for change – ready to show the world something it’s never seen before, whether it likes it or not.

It’s a picture that nearly 30 years down the track has been recreated with uncanny accuracy on screen by his son, O’Shea Jackson, Jr. But it’s not the picture conjured up when the younger Jackson answers the phone – his voice is smooth, confident and carefree.

After the gruelling process of creating the N.W.A biopic Straight Outta Compton, it sounds like he’s managed to release the anger and get some much-needed downtime.

“I love Australia, we’re always down there,” he says. “We’ve been to Adelaide, Canberra, Perth, Darwin’s hot ass, Sydney – Australia’s kind of our second home. I was out there a couple years ago … doing Supafest with my father – jus sayin’, had a couple thousand there rockin’ out with me, so you know, that was really my comfort zone, being on the stage. All the acting, that’s what took a lot out of me.”

That’s not hard to believe, considering the weight the N.W.A legacy carries, and the transformation that Jackson (as a self-professed “rookie actor”) had to undergo to play his teenaged father.

“I went through a little bit over two years with three different acting coaches, going to acting classes and getting ready for the role,” he explains. “And then I had to do crossfit training to lose some weight, ’cause, y’know, I gotta look 17 years old. After that we had about two months or so of pre-production, making sure we got our mechanics onstage right, getting our scenes down pat, changing scripts – we had about four or five different scripts … It was close to almost a thousand days of hard work to get this role, to get everything right, and I’d do it all again if I had to.”

10 :: BRAG :: 628 :: 02:09:15

FROM STREETS TO SCREEN

BY DAVID MOLLOY

the gang called Niggaz Wit’ Attitude – Dr. Dre (portrayed by Corey Hawkins), Eazy-E (Jason Mitchell), DJ Yella (Neil Brown, Jr.) and MC Ren (Aldis Hodge).

“My guys, my brothers,” Jackson says, and you can practically hear him grinning – there’s a whole lotta love there. “We’re a very tight-knit group, and that’s all because of [F.] Gary Gray [the film’s director] …

We re-recorded the entire album together, trying to make sure that when you’re doing things like that, making sure that each other’s voices sound right on the track or things like that, you really start to build a bond with each other. “[Gary] would have us prepare for a rehearsal to perform in front of him, and then wouldn’t show up for two hours. At the time you don’t know it, but during those two hours you guys are bonding, laughing together, building that brotherhood that has to translate on screen like you guys are lifelong friends, and that just all attests to Gary’s techniques as a director – that guy knows what he’s doing.”

The long and intimate process would certainly have formed some powerful friendships; add to that, the chance to work with an industry

veteran like Paul Giamatti, and it all sounds like a dream.

“The best thing about Paul Giamatti is that he doesn’t know that he’s Paul Giamatti,” laughs Jackson.

“He’s so down to earth. He would do things to build confidence in me – his father’s a famous baseball player and he used to tell me how he couldn’t imagine the pressure of playing your father in a movie.”

prejudice, and Jackson’s own life as the son of a prosperous musician, actor and producer.

Jackson has carried that pressure admirably, especially considering the ‘crazy motherfucker named Ice Cube’ was right behind on set as one of the film’s producers. It was a rare opportunity for him to get a deeper insight into his dad.

“I’m blessed with a father whose work ethic is legendary. He had a fire burning in him; that want, that need to get out, to better his surroundings, and through all his hard work I was able to grow up in a neighbourhood that was by far less dangerous than Compton. But at the same time, because of my father, because of my upbringing – y’know, it’s all about how you’re raised, that home, how you’re taught – and he had me well aware of the harsh realities of the world.

And those who choose to ignore them are foolish.

“I would say this whole experience has given me a further understanding of my father’s realm of thinking,” he says. “He had a lot to do at a young age – y’know, being the youngest in the group and yet being the more responsible one, that speaks a lot to your character.”

“Those who believe that racism or harassment by law enforcement or things of that nature only subside in inner cities – that’s another foolish statement right there. It’s all about knowing reality, knowing the rules of the game, because if you don’t, you’ll lose.”

Jackson’s time on set gave him a greater appreciation of his own circumstances – working on the film made clear the vast disparity between Cube’s upbringing on the streets of Compton, living among gang violence and extreme police

That reality, says Jackson, seems to have remained unchanged since the emergence of the Straight Outta Compton album in 1988 – galvanised by footage of police brutality broadcast over the internet, as well as the Charleston shootings

“IT’S ALL ABOUT KNOWING REALITY, KNOWING THE RULES OF THE GAME, BECAUSE IF YOU DON’T, YOU’LL LOSE.”

At first, Jackson would rather leave the question of the film’s intentions to director Gray, but his passion gets the best of him.

“We want Straight Outta Compton the film to affect people the way Straight Outta Compton the album did – we wanna inspire people,” he says proudly. “We want people to be aware of the situation that they may unknowingly have turned a blind eye to. N.W.A was the social media back then, they were the ones letting others know what’s going down in Compton.

“Every continent has people in power abusing their power, and that is something the entire world can relate to – being oppressed, being backed up against a wall, having others make you feel like there is no hope. And you taking that energy, that anger, that sadness that you feel … and using it in a creative way to express yourself, you could possibly change the world.”

As for Compton itself, which Jackson calls “the jungles”, it’s as much a character in the film as he is, and its community carries the same resilient spirit to this day.

“We had people on rooftops with their families watching us, families coming out of houses bringing us food; it was just a surrounding of nothing but love from the city,” he says, that pride peeking through again.

It’s clear that, whatever your thoughts on the gangsta rap movement that N.W.A spawned, the music has had a profound impact on both its point of origin and the world.

“N.W.A was non-violent protest,” says Jackson. “If my father was here he’d tell you that they were constructive and not destructive, and that’s the same message we wanna embed into people’s minds.

“As long as you are teaching others how to better themselves or you’re speaking to inspire the people, I feel that you are walking in the footsteps of N.W.A.” What: Straight Outta Compton (dir. F. Gary Gray) Where: In cinemas Thursday September 3 thebrag.com

xxx

It was precisely this work ethic, along with Jackson’s striking resemblance to his father, that saw him cast in the pivotal role alongside the other actors who would make up

STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON

and Ferguson protests, the world is finally getting a glimpse into what set N.W.A off.

thebrag.com

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Megan Washington And All That Jazz By David James Young

W

e’re barely past the formalities and already Megan Washington is laying out ground rules. “Don’t ask me how I feel about becoming my true self!” she requests with such distaste that you can feel her eyes rolling down the phone line. “And don’t ask about what people can expect from my tour!”

xxx

In case you hadn’t gathered from her introduction, not to mention her brutally honest style of songwriting on last year’s There There, Washington suffers no fools. She’s at a point in her career where she can more or less do as she pleases; an enviable spot for any artist to find oneself in. Take just a matter of weeks ago, when Washington took the stage as a guest vocalist for jazz legend James Morrison. Although at first uncertain, she now views the move as an important step in the right direction.

“I had a lot of identity questions when I agreed to do that tour,” she confesses. “I always thought that what you do creatively is a reflection on who you are – it is who you are.

When I was studying jazz, it was how I really thought about myself.

It’s who I was at the time. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to sing that music anymore, or that I wouldn’t sing it authentically. When I moved into pop music and writing my music, that was who I was.

That’s how I saw myself. When I did the shows, though, I realised that I’m a bit of all of those things. Jazz is always going to be in my DNA. I didn’t have to try and sing like anyone but me. It was also a nice change of pace, too. When I’m

onstage with my band, I’ve got to be in charge of everything. It was a relief to be able to walk off for four or five songs.”

Washington refers to her music as simply ‘pop’, but in the half-decade and more it has existed in the collective conscience, it has taken a chameleon-like approach to the outer spectrums of baroque, rock, jazz, folk and the ‘indie’ umbrella.

“It’s a real concern,” she continues, talking about finding oneself between two different musical worlds and not quite accepted in either. “A lot of people take authenticity really seriously – they want you to sing according to the style, to an era, traditionally. I’ve never gone for that, but I know it’s a serious concern to a lot of people.

I’ve realised a lot about myself and a lot about my process.”

Having effectively wrapped up touring in support of There There with a sold-out run of full-band dates back in February, Washington is now stripping her live show to its very core for her current national Tangents Tour. Aside from a handful of guests, this is a show focused primarily on intimate, piano-led renditions of songs from both her studio albums and hidden gems from her EPs. It’s also – in the spirit of Seinfeld – a show about nothing.

“I don’t really have a setlist and I don’t really have a plan,” Washington says.

“I have a list of all the songs I know how to play and then I just make it up.

It’s pretty evident when you’re there.

That’s kind of great for me, because I get lots of ideas when I’m on the road, so I do a lot of writing. I tend not to

play those songs, however, until they’re finished or they’ve been recorded. On this tour, I can show everyone these works in progress. I played two songs the other night that I wrote just last week. There’s really only one rule – if anyone films a new song, they die.”

The Tangents Tour began three weeks ago in Bunbury, is currently taking her through New South Wales and will wind up at the end of the month with a date in Darwin, bringing the grand total to 32 shows.

Washington was excited at the prospect of being able to perform on her own terms and to experiment with what she has created. She hopes that those who plan on attending are of a similar ilk – the

kind who aren’t there exclusively for the quote-unquote ‘hits’.

“If it was a band show, one of my regular shows, of course I have no issue playing the songs that everyone knows. With these shows, though, I think the people attending are interested in more than just hearing, say, ‘Sunday Best’ or whatever. I don’t think that’s what they’re going to the show for. The show’s intention is different to me. I might not even play those songs – that’s the thing. These shows can go anywhere.”

Of course, it should be stressed that just because the show does not have a concrete setlist, this isn’t about to become your show. As far

as heckling is concerned, Washington believes one has to know their place at a gig like this.

“Sometimes I’ll love you if you yell out at the right moment,” she says.

“Sometimes, though, I will just want to kill you. There’s no real rhyme or reason to it. It depends on what day you get me. Sometimes I just hate people.”

What: There There out now through Mercury/Universal Where: The Basement When: Thursday September 10 and Friday September 11 And: Also appearing at The Brass Monkey on Wednesday September 2

The Snowdroppers Getting Down To Business By Annie Murney previous two releases. There is sharper songwriting, a steadier tempo and not a trace of harmonica. On the whole, it sounds like an old-school pop record.

“One of the things we wanted was – in the words of Phil Collins – a groovier kind of love,” says Davidson.

“The other thing was we didn’t want to rush the songs. The last album was a classic tale of ‘band gets fucked around by label’. We were out of the market too long and we just had to get something done. The whole recording process was rushed and the songs didn’t have time to breathe. This time around, we wanted to allow time for the songs to tell us what they needed. There was more of a distillation process.”

The Snowdroppers’ first album, 2009’s Too Late To Pray, has held up as a fan favourite – a vintage patchwork of bluegrass, country, rock’n’roll and raunchy irreverence.

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B

ack in 2009, The Snowdroppers played an early-career show at the Beresford in Surry Hills. It was like watching a group of 1920s Bible-bashers loosen their ties, hit the hard liquor and revel in a few dirty jokes. The band has since built a solid reputation for blues-fuelled debauchery and a rollicking live show. Nearly a decade since coming together, the Snowdroppers sound and aesthetic has evolved signifi cantly.

The lads are celebrating the release of their third album, Business, with a nationwide tour this month.

12 :: BRAG :: 628 :: 02:09:15

“The last time we properly toured was with The Screaming Jets at the end of 2013,” says frontman Johnny Wishbone, otherwise known as Jeremy Davidson. “We did Young Henry’s Small World and a few bits and bobs while recording last year.”

The time away has seen Davidson dabble in some acting, making his debut “hanging upside down for 20 minutes” in the Sydney Theatre Company production of Mojo last year. The band also fought its digital distribution agency, Valleyarm, for lost money earlier this year. Details of the dispute are in legal lockdown; however, by way of advice to young

musicians, Davidson says, “Read the contract and cover your arse.”

With the first Sydney show of the Business tour sold out, loyal legions of fans are quickly snapping up tickets. Musical appeal aside, The Snowdroppers are generous live performers; whether it be passing a bottle of vodka around the room for eager fans to swig, or semisuccessful stage dives with fellow rock mates Gay Paris, they manage to build unique and memorable experiences.

The album itself is something of a sonic departure from the band’s

“We loved blues and soul music when we were writing the first album, we still do,” says Davidson. “But it’s probably not a true representation of our natural selves. And sometimes that’s really tough to deal with. We have fans who want us to keep doing that stuff. But you can’t stagnate as a band – that’s death. You have to keep pushing and moving forward.”

The second album, Moving Out Of Eden – continuing the biblical theme, or “keeping the Christian dollar onside,” as Davidson says – cultivated a booming Australian rock sound. “When we recorded the second album we were very conscious of what we didn’t want to do, which was that bluesy first record all over again. We knew what we didn’t want to do, but not really what we did want to do. Whereas Business acknowledges the past and we are aware of we want now, which is to write really good songs.”

Indeed, Business seems to pay tribute to a broader spectrum of musical influences. The new suite of songs moves from distorted country through to classic soul. ‘Love Letters’, the first single released back in June, is laden with catchy riffs. There’s a sprinkling of doo-wop on ‘New Tattoo’ and a pared-back epilogue track, ‘Hold On’, which channels the lyrical finesse of Nick Cave.

“I think this album bridges the gap between the first two records,” says Davidson. “At the end of the day, you have a band that is much more comfortable in its own skin …

We’re a rock band at heart and we like clashing rock music. You know those [shirts] people wear that say, ‘WWJD – What Would Jesus Do?’ Well, our motto is ‘WWBJD – What Would Billy Joel Do?’ We were kind of bowing down at the altar of Billy Joel when we wrote this record.”

The Snowdroppers are keen to fire up some fresh tunes and spread their groovier kind of love across Oz. Davidson lists South Australia and Tasmania as underrated places for live music – “They’re really supportive of the arts. It’s a good vibe down there.” And on the prospect of performing in Sydney post-lockout laws, he offers some consolation. “At least when all the dickheads went to Kings Cross you knew not to go there, because of all the dickheads. It’s more spread out now. But let’s bring it home. Don’t let that deter you from coming to see us play. We’ll all be dickheads together.”

What: Business out Friday September 4 through Four|Four / Universal Where: Goodgod Small Club / Newtown Social Club When: Thursday September 24 / Friday September 25

thebrag.com

Angie Gotta Get Free By Adam Norris

O

ur interview with Sydney troubadour Angie is very nearly a thing of myth.

Despite both our best intentions, finding time to chat became a Herculean task between her remarkably busy schedule and the unexpected curveball of losing her voice. Stranger still, the day after our conversation my own voice vanishes for a time. It is like some laryngological version of The Ring, but with fewer wells. In a way, Angie is quite lucky that losing her voice isn’t a more regular occurrence, since when she sings, she really holds nothing back.

takes centre stage – yet curiously, though producing and sharing music is her driving passion, finding herself onstage is a more reluctant rush.

“I’m really shy onstage. I think that I don’t like playing shows and I don’t like performing. I don’t like singing in front of people, but I just want to do it so badly that all the anxiety I get from that, those feelings of being uncomfortable, it just doesn’t matter,” she says. “I can still get through because I want it so much.

I’m not a charismatic performer and I always get criticised for that. I feel like some people are showmen, and are really into charming the audience. But not everybody has to do that, and a lot of people get attacked for not taking on that role.

“I’ve never lost my voice before, but I completely lost it there for a while,” she says in a voice that is still quite husky. “But I feel like I’ve trained my voice to be strong just by the way I naturally tend to use it. Because I’ve worked with so many bands where I just scream, like, I’m really not a nice dainty singer. It’s rough, but that’s just the way that I sing. I feel like I’ve toughened it up. I don’t really do anything to keep it healthy, though; I don’t do any kind of exercises. The way I do things, it’s just something that takes time. After singing in bands for ten years, you get to know yourself, and you know how to use it. Right now it’s still a bit croaky, but I feel like I’ve worked it to a point of being quite powerful.”

“I think you can be a performer and present yourself in all different kinds of ways. You don’t have to be someone who’s like, ‘Hey, everybody!’ I feel like all different kinds of performers should be accepted. So I definitely get nerves, and I’m not really that captivating. I think there are lots of complex stories and feelings and movements in the music, and that should speak for itself. If people are going to engage with it, they’re going to engage with it no matter how you present yourself.”

She’s not overstating things: Angie’s voice has the great fortune to sound both strong and unique, which in part has developed from necessity.

As a member of Straight Arrows, Circle Pit, Southern Comfort and various others acts, she has found herself competing alongside bands that aren’t afraid to make some noise. With the release of Free Agent, following 2013’s similarly solo Turning, Angie once again

Remarkably, the discomfort and bashfulness Angie feels onstage never seeps across into her playing.

Part of you wonders if the reason behind this is less to do with shutting out the crowd, and rests more on the intensity with which she handles each song. Listening to Free Agent and hearing her thoughts on its composition – especially given she plays every instrument herself, bar drums – it’s

clear that great thought goes into the structure of each song, where each instrument isn’t just a tool for the finished product, but possesses an odd kind of autonomy.

“The last record I did was the same set-up, I played every instrument.

And it was really difficult. I didn’t make a conscious decision to do that again, but somehow… I’m really not sure why. Looking back at it now, it was an insane choice. I guess there’s a certain intimacy or familiarity I have with Owen [Penglis, producer]. I think if somebody else got brought into the process that would totally shift, but because we know each other so well we recorded it well. At the same time,

having now showed the record to a band, sometimes I find it really difficult to communicate the idea to them without the songs completely changing. A lot of tracks that I play off that record live are completely different because of the stylistic nature of the players. And I really like that, but if I got people in to play on [the recording], they would have played it their way, whereas it’s all my way of doing things.”

With the album launch just days away, nerves or no, Angie’s fans are finally set to hear the next evolution in her sound. Though she holds no expectations for what people might think, her hope for some kind of connection is clear.

“All you can hope for as a musician is that people feel something, or enjoy something in what you’re doing. But really, from an emotional state, I would just like to think that people can mirror the emotions and words in the record, that there’s some resonance there. That they might not feel alone.”

What: Free Agent out Friday September 4 through Rice Is Nice With: Skull & Dagger, Sex Tourists, DJ Mike Spyros, Samuel Trifot Where: Waywards When: Friday September 4

BRAG :: 628 :: 02:09:15 :: 13

Halsey The Time Of Her Life By Adam Norris “Honestly, things are completely out of hand,” she laughs, though you can’t help but note a slight bewilderment in her tone. “I am in a blur, a daze. It’s been really crazy for me, because all of this has happened in the course of a year.

I’m so fortunate and also very confused. That combination of confusion and excitement is basically my everyday, especially with the record coming out.

“Record companies have a certain way of doing things, and they’ve been doing it for years. Like, ‘Artists have to go to a country, people need time to get to know them, and only then we’ll put out your music.’

For me, it was like, ‘Well fuck you, that’s not how it goes, welcome to 2015 and the internet.’ You can kick off in London, in Australia, places where I’ve yet to tour even once, and it’s because people are ready!

They want the music.

“But on the flipside, it means that I’m doing every country at once. It’s a whirlwind, every day on planes, not knowing which state I’m in. I’ve genuinely stopped looking at clocks. It’s not worth it. I just go to sleep when I’m tired and wake up when I’m ready. I can’t afford to pay attention to actual times any more.”

I

’m going to go on record in saying that you’re unlikely to meet anyone quite so open and verbose as indie-pop trailblazer, Halsey. Speaking to her is like discovering a vast reservoir of searching sentiment and raw, brutal words; speech comes flooding, and the initial difficulty is establishing just

where in this torrent of insight and information the real person stands.

You soon realise, however, that this is entirely who she is – someone sharing her world in deep draughts, whirring across the globe to her own strange rhythm. With her debut LP, Badlands, out now, Halsey’s life is about to get even faster.

For an artist who had yet to release an album until last week, Halsey’s career has seen an incredible trajectory. Her online presence is huge, with fans so committed to sharing the New Jersey songwriter’s journey they even share tattoos with her. Having launched her career in 2014 uploading covers to YouTube, it was only last October that her Room 93 EP appeared, ushering in a talent now renowned for straight-talking and intelligent lyrics. But while her

directness is refreshing, it developed in part as something of a shield.

“I think I’ve always been someone who gave away too much information, who tells people too much. I’ve always been very open, but I think a lot of that also stems from insecurity, to be honest.

There’s this sense of wanting to give people so much, hoping that they’ll like some part of it, rather than be afraid of not giving them enough and have them dislike me.

It’s definitely how I functioned as an adolescent.

“I pride myself on being honest, and your fans aren’t stupid. You can’t feed them bullshit – they need to know who they’re listening to, they want to know who they’re spending all this time and money and energy supporting. So I’d really like for them to get to know me as much as possible. Being an artist like me, you don’t get to pick and choose what people know about you, and you have to accept that.

“All I’ve ever known in my lifetime as an artist, which has been very brief so far, is to always fight for what I believe in, being confident in my ideas, and deliver a product that is as naturally me as possible. At the end of the day, if I give my all and be as honest as I can be, if people don’t like it, I can throw my hands in the air and say, ‘Well, I tried everything.’”

Getting to the heart of Halsey in one short interview is impossible.

She is somehow forthright, quixotic and earnestly grounded.

Listening to Badlands provides a strong insight into her sensibilities and tone, but to get a truer perspective on her, it is necessary

to look larger – to assemble her online features and engagements, to connect the spheres of her infl uences with the protean artist she is still aspiring to be. She claims to “write songs about sex and being sad”, but that sells her content short, perhaps deliberately so. Across each song, she is attempting to elicit almost physical connections, and so it is no surprise that her literary heroes are known for doing just that.

“Camus, Burroughs, Kerouac.

Hunter S. Thompson, Palahniuk. I like stream-of-consciousness perspectives. All the writers I love are the ones who took me out of my body and put me in another world – those who almost make you feel uncomfortable, whose writing seems so real and bizarre. It’s like, you can’t believe it and can’t help but believe it. That’s how I want people to feel when they hear my lyrics. I want them to feel there’s something kind of unsettling about them.

“When I sit down and write, it’s start to finish. Rarely will I go back and audit or change anything. The song you hear is straight from my brain to the pen in one shot. That’s how I want it to sound when you’re listening. My thoughts, without any censor.”

What: Falls Festival 2015/16 With: Foals, Disclosure, Bloc Party, Django Django and many more Where: Lorne, Marion Bay and Byron Bay When: Monday December 28 – Sunday January 3 And: Badlands out now through Astralwerks/EMI

Joshua Radin Mr. Independent By David James Young

H

aving released music both on a major label and through the indies, Cleveland songwriter Joshua Radin now does things all by himself. His last two studio albums – 2013’s Wax Wings and this January’s Onward And Sideways – were both completely self-released. Although he is quick to admit that there are many obstacles that one encounters under the DIY ethic, the end result is more than worth the trials and tribulations.

Onward And Sideways, Radin’s sixth LP overall, is a further extension of the warm, folk-driven songwriting that has seen him featured in several films and television shows, as well as sharing the stage with several superstars of the music world. One of them is Sheryl Crow, who appears on the track ‘Beautiful Day’ – a song 14 :: BRAG :: 628 :: 02:09:15

“The producer of the track is a guy named Jeff Trott,” Radin explains.

“He’s worked on a few tracks of mine, he’s a great guy and has written a lot with Cheryl. They’ve been working together for years. I met Cheryl when I supported her on tour in the Midwest.

She was so lovely and I’ve always wanted to collaborate in some way. I thought it was the perfect opportunity to make it happen. She did her part from her home studio in Nashville, and I was on tour in Stockholm at the time – we pretty much finished the whole thing over Skype! She’s such a confident pro – she did all of her harmonies in one take.”

The song has since found a third life, having been selected to be taught to a class full of children as a part of Radin’s work with non-profit organisation Little Kids Rock. Radin has been working with the group for four years now, and still gets as much out of his philanthropy, if not more.

“It’s an amazing organisation,” he says. “Having been an art teacher for little kids myself when I lived in Chicago, I just love working with kids.

I come in whenever I’m on tour and talk to the kids about playing music and what it’s like to be a professional musician. They learn one of my songs and come up onstage with me to play it that night. Sometimes I’ll even show them the tour bus – they love that! The biggest kick is when I see their faces when everyone cheers. The smiles on their faces… you can tell it’s something that they’re never going to forget. It’s become my favourite part of the show, actually, whenever we get the chance to do it.”

Next up for Radin is a visit to Australia, where he has found quite the following and is always enthusiastic about returning. Why? Simple – he’s caught onto a geographical theory that Australia is the most chilled-out location on Earth.

“Not only is it such a beautiful country, but the people are so lovely,” he begins. “Here in America, right, we’ve got the East Coast, where everyone is really uptight. Then you get to the Midwest, where I grew up, where everyone is really honest and friendly.

The further west you go, the more chill the people are. Everyone’s really chill on the West Coast, then even more chill in Hawaii, and then you just keep going until you get to Australia – that’s the most chill place in the world!”

A heads up if you’re at any of the upcoming shows and you’re either an expecting or upcoming parent: Radin’s current merch includes an Onward And Sideways baby onesie. For real.

“A few of my friends have already sent me pictures of their babies wearing them,” says Radin with a laugh. “We’re brainwashing them early!”

Surely this would be Radin’s favourite bit of merch that he has on sale? “It’s actually my hoodie!” he replies. “I gave them to all of my band, though, because they’re the best thing that you can have on tour. I can’t wear it, unfortunately, because it’s got my name on it. I ended up having to get them to make me one without my name on it!”

Lowtide photo by Callum Thomson

“It feels great,” Radin affirms from a hotel room in Stockholm. “There are pros and cons, of course. The pros outweigh the cons for me, which is exactly why I do it. At the same time, though, you can be making new music all the time and have it slip your radar. I’ll have people come up to me at shows and ask when I’m putting out a new record. I’m like, ‘Do you mean apart from the one I put out in January?’ And they have no idea what I’m talking about! At the end of the day, though, it comes down to the question of, would you rather self-release and do it all yourself, with no cooks in the kitchen but you, or have the machine involved and people telling you how to create and release and what you’re allowed to record? I got really tired of collaborating on creativity with people that weren’t creative. I’d much rather have someone discover my music later and really enjoy it than have a bunch of suits trying to make my choruses bigger.”

originally featured on Wax Wings but re-recorded as a duet for the new album.

What: Onward And Sideways out now through Glass Bead With: David Lazarus Where: Metro Theatre When: Thursday September 10

thebrag.com

Artists from iconic music institute the Talent Development Project play Rock Lily, Monday’s August 31 – September 28.

7pm – late

$

6

House spirits & selected beer and wines*

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

/ROCKLILY.LIVE

*5pm – 122 midnight. The Star practises the responsible service of alcohol. Guestss must be aged 18 years or over.

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

thebrag.com

BRAG :: 628 :: 02:09:15 :: 15

Max Watt’s Say Watt? By Thomas Brand

W

ith the launch of Moore Park venue Max Watt’s (formerly the Hi-Fi) and its Melbourne and Brisbane counterparts truly underway, owner Kate Hamblin is keeping a steady eye on the business. She’s been working hard to create a good experience for anyone who walks through the door – be it a band member, patron or promoter. She’s also taking notes on external issues that have affected other venue and event managers, and there are external powers at play that are changing the booking game as we know it.

“With the Australian dollar, summer festivals over in the Northern Hemisphere and so many festivals going broke, many promoters aren’t taking the risks of bringing bands overseas,” she says. “Some poorly aligned stars there caused a lot of problems for the industry in general, but October and November are looking exceptionally strong.”

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The perceived risk of bringing international bands to Australia is one that Hamblin is working to beat. It’s an issue that’s affecting not just her as a business owner, but her perceived competitors as well. Instead of going straight for that market, she’s taking a smarter approach to carve a niche out for her own venue.

“The music industry hasn’t got a lot of margin in it – we want to work together,” says Hamblin.

“Something that pleases me about working with The Venue Collective; you could say that other businesses in the area are working as direct competitors, but we had messages from them welcoming us to come in with the Collective.

Our attitude isn’t to compete with existing market share, our attitude is to make the pie bigger – anything we can do to encourage promoters to take that risk and bring bands out.

We want to work together. That’s my saying: ‘Let’s increase the pie.’ We’re not going to fight over pieces of pie, let’s increase it.”

While Hamblin understands what needs to be done to expand her market, she also realises that captivating an audience is an equally strong tool. Bands are already holding the venue in high regard due to fun stage shows, sound quality and lighting, and she’s continuing the tradition.

venue staff,” says Hamblin. “It’s very smooth in the point of view of promoter and performer. We’ve also put a lot of effort into the sound and lighting in all three venues, particularly in Melbourne. There’s improvements in look, performance and safety. We’ve put a capacity on it to make the punter’s experience a bit better as well – the punter’s experience obviously drives the performer’s experience to a major degree ... People are already coming in and complimenting the lighting and the sound.”

“We’ve retained all the critical staff – the

The straightforward approach to creating a good venue experience would most likely target the patrons. Hamblin says this is critical to the success of Max Watt’s, but is ambitiously trying to manage it from the back end as well. “There’s a lot that we’ve done to improve the employees’ experiences,” she says. “You’ve gotta have happy employees, and you’ve gotta have happy customers. And we’re willing to learn – we don’t think we have all the answers.

I think potentially that’s a fresh approach too. I say to staff all the time, ‘What’s your

experience?’ We have a feedback rep ort that asks questions like, ‘What can we do better? What about if we try this?’ to our staff. We don’t want to limit the music either. It’s a room for hire, and we’re looking for anyone that it suits to use any of the venues.”

What: Max Watt’s Where: Entertainment Quarter, Moore Park More: maxwatts.com.au

20 Years Of AIR Up In The Air By Adam Norris public. That’s why we have things like the awards and the charts. We want to spread our message as far as we can.”

Arguably the greatest catalyst for change in the music industry in this period has been the development of digital technology, with streaming services changing not only the physical transaction of songs, but the very patterns by which we are exposed to and experience music.

While this has been a shift that even the majors had to surmount, the challenges facing emerging artists remain exhaustive.

H

“In Australia, AIR was one of the first independent trade associations to be formed, well before the UK and the US,” he explains. “We were quite 16 :: BRAG :: 628 :: 02:09:15

groundbreaking when we formed 20 years ago, when a couple of label guys saw the need to support independent music. Back then, and still today, independent music hasn’t quite been given the love and attention by commercial radio, by the retail industry, as much as the majors have. So that’s one of the main founding purposes, though obviously things have changed over 20 years.

Back then we had lots of discounts for CD manufacturing, for barcodes, all those sort of things. Because the industry has changed so much nowadays we do less serviceoriented stuff, and we’re more along the lines of advocacy, lobbying with government, with industry, with corporate. Really driving the importance of independent music to those sectors, as well as the general

“That’s why we meet with places like Spotify, Google, Apple; we’re there talking regularly and highlighting the successes of Australian independent artists. And of course, all of our labels are trying to do this themselves, but sometimes they just can’t get a foot in the door with some of those bigger companies.

All artists are seeing less sales and

In addition to the backstage work, there are of course the AIR Awards, serving as both the public face of the association (in addition to the weekly charts) and as an evergrowing celebration and testament to the endurance and talent of Australian independent artists and labels.

“This year is our 20th anniversary, so to us as an organisation it’s probably more of a milestone, but it’s obviously not as sexy as the anniversary of the awards,” Nevin laughs. “Those are more public and artist-facing. For my money, it’s a testament to the strength of the independent music scene in Australia. To be able to not just hold awards for ten years running, but to have built them to such a degree.

“When you look back to 2006, it was just a small gathering at a hotel in Sydney with four awards, maybe one or two performances, that was it. Over the years we’ve hit this point now where the production quality is amazing. Five or six performances from key independent artists, it’s something we’re really proud of. Not just because it has grown, but because it has grown in importance for the sector.

“The calibre of artist nowadays is amazing. There are so many independent Australian artists out there now touring the world, doing

headline tours, playing festivals. It really showed us just how many of our artists are out there having international success.”

With the awards spread out over 12 categories, they are certainly a comprehensive portrait of the strengths and successes of Australian music today – successes that owe a large debt to outfits like AIR, APRA AMCOS, ARIA and the like. Having previously celebrated musicians such as Courtney Barnett, John Butler, Paul Kelly, Hermitude and many others, this year’s awards night promises to be just as memorable.

“There’s nothing else out there that celebrates the hard work, the effort that goes in, the commitment from our independent artists. These people aren’t making millions of dollars, but they’re sticking at it. And these awards, they’re not like the Grammys. It’s not just handing out awards. It’s really paying homage to the award-winners, to all of the nominees, to the genres that make up the sector, to the presenters, to all of those people involved. It’s really a once-in-a-year opportunity for everybody in the independent music sector to get together and celebrate how we’ve grown and where we’re going.”

What: 2015 Carlton Dry Independent Music Awards When: Thursday October 22 More: air.org.au

thebrag.com

xx

is name might not be familiar to you, but Dan Nevin has his finger on the Australian music pulse like few others. As the CEO of the Australian Independent Record Labels Association – AIR for short – Nevin stands right in the thick of every hurdle and hallmark that independent local artists can face today, from copyright lobbying to album charts. The organisation has been around for 20 years, a tremendous milestone that is capped by the tenth anniversary of the AIR Awards. As Nevin explains, the musical landscape has changed quite drastically over that time.

“I think it’s harder for those emerging, grassroots artists to sell their product now, to get their records into retail environments – whether that is bricks-and-mortar stores or online,” says Nevin. “They can certainly get their new releases up on streaming services and online retailers a lot easier than they can in physical stores, but there’s also the flipside, and that is their profile. I think there’s a real challenge [for] not just grassroots artists, but many established independent artists, building that profile.

need to focus on other forms of revenue. So we’re there talking on behalf of the sector as a whole.”

Transvaal Diamond Syndicate Vehicular Hurdles By Adam Norris

A

s Blanche DuBois once said, “Whoever you are, I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.” Sure, things might not have turned out quite so cheerily for Tennessee Williams’ tragic heroine, but for Brisbane blues rock trio Transvaal Diamond Syndicate, the idea is fundamental to their survival. The TDS fan base is a sprawling, hands-on affair, and when the band members have found themselves in need of help, their fans have been ready to step up. It’s a useful group to cultivate, especially when faced with the varying fortunes of life on the road.

“It’s been really up and down lately,” lead singer Christian Tryhorn admits. He sounds focused but weary. As it turns out, that’s with good reason. “We got our second tour van this week, after the first broke down outside of Brissy. But this second one has broken down around ten times, so we finally pulled over yesterday outside of Wollongong and had to get a tow truck to the gig, directly to the Spring Street Social in Sydney. We unloaded all the gear from the tow truck and then went in and played the show, and now we’re just kicking around Sydney while it’s in getting fixed. It’s been interesting.

The shows have been really good, but the logistics have been a fucking nightmare. I hate to ever cancel a show, so you’ve just got to dig in and find some way to get there.”

It’s kind of rock’n’roll – stepping out from the tow truck and right onto stage – but when so much of your livelihood depends on touring, finding yourself with a broken down van is a serious setback. This is compounded by the fact the lads are right on the cusp of releasing a

fresh double EP, The Shadow & The Shackle, after successfully funding an Indiegogo campaign. Lead single ‘The River’ has already dropped and offers a fine taste of the split sounds to come.

“They [the EPs] are definitely complementary. We grew up in the grunge and heavy Aussie rock era of the ’90s, and that’s always been a big influence. And then I hit 30,” Tryhorn laughs. “I started listening to blues, to the slide guitar for the first time, and that came together.

That was my new passion, but I still do love rock. Up until now we’ve been trying to blend those two styles, but I thought we might be polarising our fans a little. So the EP we finished a few weeks ago was the heavier one, and that’s called The Shadow, and the blues one is called The Shackle.”

As a result, the next half of the year is shaping up to be an important time for TDS. With their transport dramas, not being able to hit the road would see them skating thin ice – but it’s at exactly times like these when the connections they’ve made over six years of touring come to light.

“The first van broke down outside of Brisbane, only an hour into the trip, and we had these five gigs booked down south. We were totally stuffed, we didn’t have the money to pay for a hire van or flights, so we put the call out and one of our fans got in touch. He had a couple of weeks off work and had a van, and he could take us! It’s crazy stuff. We’ve been on the road now and had people who’ve heard about the new van breaking down, and they’ve come up and bought us drinks, put us up at their houses. This guy who’s a mechanic went out of his way to

come and have a look at the van. All the little things like that, particularly this weekend when you realise that you are under a bit of pressure and things aren’t going that well, if you’ve established good relationships with your fans, they can put their hand up to help. It’s all karma.”

Karma doesn’t always come easy, of course. There really are few bands out there who work so hard and with such passion as TDS. This latest tour will see them undertake three months of intense gigging, from Wollombi Music Festival to headline performances across the country. Vehicular hurdles notwithstanding, it’s the kind of

roaming lifestyle that makes you long for the open air and bonfires, music and strange conversation.

Most people would find the idea appealing, but it takes some serious effort to keep that life rolling.

“We’ve got here through hard work, really busting a nut for six years, playing 150 shows a year all around Australia,” says Tryhorn. “We’ve met so many awesome fans, it’s all been about connecting. These are the people who put us up. Like, we never have accommodation plans.

We rock up to a gig and meet people, maybe stay up a little later than other bands and we always end up at someone’s house on a couch. Times that by five years, and

we have a good network of fans now, and I wouldn’t want to do it any other way. Just flying in and flying out, do maybe three or four weekends of big shows a year, it’s not us. I’d like to continue the kind of relationship we have now, if we can. Keep touring, while still being able to take a step back every now and again.”

What: Wollombi Music Festival With: Marshall Okell and The Pride, Knox Fiji, Righteous Voodoo, Gabriel & Cecilia and more Where: Wollombi When: Saturday September 26

BRAG :: 628 :: 02:09:15 :: 17

Embrace Australia presents sents

FRI 11- SUN 13 SEPT 2015

Hordern Pavilion, Pa avilion, Sydney Sydney www.festivalofdreams.com.au va alofdream ms.com.au ancient wisdom dom m embracing embracin ng modern living liv ving

Prepare to have your mind blown, soul stirred, yo your our inner voices v heard d and your magical self awakened. The Festival va al of Dreams Dream ms is back!

Soulful Music & Entertainment | Free Wor Workshops rkshops & Presentations Presenta ations torrs | Psy chic Arena a Health/Wellness Products & Exhibitors Psychic

Elder Saginaw Grant & Rick Mora Twilight’s spiritual pathfinder, Rick Mora & Native American Elder & film star, Saginaw Grant, will be performing in a special ticketed event for the 1st time on Australian soil. Join us at The Native American Wisdom two hour Live Show, where the“Voice of the Past” together with the “Voice of the Future”deliver a message of global unity & life changing experience.

Jai-Jagdeesh

Anita Heiss

World renowned sacred chant artist presents Opening Your Authentic Voice - A Sound, Vibration and Mantra Meditation Workshop.

Join author, social commentator and the Indigenous Literacy Day Ambassador in this exclusive Creative Writing Workshop.

Inspirational Guest Speakers & Performers Alana Fairchild Ben Starr Daniel Coates Debbie Malone Dr Anita Heiss

Greg Sellar Scott Alexander King Harry T Sharina Star Jai Jagdeesh Stacey Demarco Jason McDonald Uncle Max Lucy Cavendish Walter Mason Nick Psaila Maria Alita Sacred Earth Plus lots more!

18 :: BRAG :: 628 :: 02:09:15

thebrag.com

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

arts in focus

Anything Goes photo by Jeff Busby

anything goes the return of a classic also inside:

SYDNEY CONTEMPORARY / STALKHER / MELBOURNE CITY BALLET / JOHANN HARI / THE MOTH / ARTS NEWS & REVIEWS thebrag.com

BRAG :: 628 :: 02:09:15 :: 19

arts in focus

free stuff head to: thebrag.com/freeshit

five minutes WITH

PROFESSOR ROB BROOKS FROM THE IQ2 DEBATE

T

he motion for The Ethics Centre’s next debate is that ‘chastity will save the 21st century’. Why does the 21st century need saving?

I’m hoping to find that out from the opposition on the night. I favour the unfashionable view that we who live in happy, lucky places like 21st century Australia inhabit the safest, healthiest and most liberated societies that ever existed.

That’s not to say there isn’t way too much misery, violence and inequity. We’re just coming off a very low base.

Professor Rob Brooks

Is sexual liberation a symbol of the 20th century?

Sexual freedom is nothing new – it has long been enjoyed by a lucky few, particularly men with money and power. 20th century technology and economics

allowed more people to enjoy a degree of sexual freedom, and that trend toward liberalisation still has a long way to run.

There are some impressive minds speaking for and against the motion. Where do you come in?

Near the rear of the field. But luckily I’m on the right side – I’d hate to be defending chastity.

Can you really stop people from thinking with what’s inside their pants, not their brains?

One of our problems is our brain.

Scientists have spent forever trying to understand what those gargantuan, jelly-like organs are for. We do know they are capable of wild, varied, erotic fantasies and scenario-planning. If we were a bit stupider, sex would

be more prosaic and probably straightforward.

If not chastity, what else will save the 21st century?

The 21st century will carry on regardless. I’d like to think we might opt out of trying to control the sex that other people are or are not having. But that might be too much to ask. As a scientist I’m compelled to say more science.

A better understanding of why sex, power and money are so entangled might help us address poverty, inequality and sexism in more meaningful ways than we have achieved thus far.

What: IQ2 Debate: Chastity Will Save the 21st Century Where: City Recital Hall Angel Place When: Tuesday September 8

THE STAND UP SERIES

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arts news...what's goin' on around town... with Chris Martin, Vanessa Papastavros and Tyson Wray

One of the most Dave Thornton popular shows on the Just For Laughs Sydney program is back once again for 2015, with a bevy of the best comedians all on display in one sitting. Yep, it’s The Stand Up Series, filmed for the Comedy Channel and hosted by a familiar face in Dave Thornton.

As with all events of this nature, you can never quite be sure what to expect from the revolving cast of funnypeople – but what we do know ahead of the schedule announcement is that the likes of Tom Ballard, Hannah Gadsby, Joel Creasey, Ronny Chieng, Tommy Little, Cal Wilson, Demi Lardner and more will feature across six live shows from Thursday October 22 – Saturday October 24.

We’ve got a double pass to give away to the first show on Thursday October 22. To be in the running, head to thebrag.com/ freeshit. xx

Stephen Fry

BY GAD, IT’S GADSBY

Serial award nominee Hannah Gadsby is a quick-thinking comedian you’ll recognise from TV and festivals everywhere. Her face has popped up on ABC TV’s arts series Hannah Gadsby’s Oz and Josh Thomas’ Please Like Me, while her drawling voice is behind her own BBC radio series, Hannah Gadsby: Art Clown. Having already toured to soldout crowds during the 2015 festival season, she’ll arrive at The Comedy Store for two nights only, so don’t miss out on Friday November 27 and Saturday November 28.

COMEDY FOR A CAUSE

WE’D LIKE FRY WITH THAT

The one and only Stephen Fry will bring his penchant for frolic and frivolity to Australian shores this November. The Emmy Awardwinning English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director will be performing his latest show Telling Tales. Over the course of his career Fry has been the long-time host of the BBC television quiz show QI, starred in Blackadder, Kingdom And Bones, V For Vendetta and The Hobbit, presented several documentary series and has written four novels and three volumes of autobiography, just to name a few achievements. He’ll hit the State Theatre on Saturday November 21 and Sunday November 22.

Help celebrate The Comedy Lounge’s fourth birthday in style at its charity birthday gala next month. The show will be hosted by the hilarious Rebecca De Unamuno and will feature a series of favourite and up-and-coming comedians. A pre-bought ticket guarantees you a seat, and $7 from each presale goes to the Wayside Chapel, a Sydney charity helping our city’s most disadvantaged citizens since 1964. Last year’s sold-out gala show was an absolute riot, raising $1,500 for charity, and The Comedy Lounge is looking to top the experience off this year. Save the date for Monday October 5 and get down to Cafe Lounge.

Hannah Gadsby

SEPTEMBER AT THE LAUGH STAND

Iconic Sydney comedy venue the Harold Park Hotel is bringing you September’s dose of big-name, pro and rising comedians live every Tuesday. Some of the highlights from The Laugh Stand’s regular Tuesday lineup for the month include hilarious headliners like Aussie comedy icon Chris Franklin (Tuesday September 8), 2012 Raw Comedy National Finalist Andrew Wolfe (Tuesday September 15), and hysterical hosts like US funnyman Peter Meisel and festival favourite Sam Kissajukian. To end the month with a bang, a Comedy Gala featuring emcee Matty B and the comedic talents of

A Steady Rain

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Sammy J & Randy

A LITTLE MORE LAUGHS

The fifth edition of Just For Laughs Sydney is fast approaching – but not before locking in one last round of new show announcements. The ever-popular Just For Laughs Gala will be back on Saturday October 24, featuring a stellar assortment of funnybone-ticklers like Tommy Tiernan, Danny Bhoy, Stephen K Amos, Al Murray, Dave Hughes, Wil Anderson and Celia Pacquola. Meanwhile, man-and-puppet duo Sammy J & Randy have joined the bill for a pair of shows on Monday October 19 and Tuesday October 20.

Just For Laughs Sydney 2015 runs from Monday October 19 – Sunday October 25 at the Sydney Opera House.

Keith Huff’s A Steady Rain is a tale exploring a lifelong bond tainted by domestic affairs, violence, and the rough streets of Chicago. If you’re into your crime fiction, it’ll be a real treat – a two-hander that alternates between two separate monologues and dialogue scenes performed

by Justin Stewart Cotta and Nick Barkla, and directed by Adam Cook. With a plot that reflects reallife events involving Jeffrey Dahmer, the play is disturbing in how close it comes to the truth. The season will be running from Tuesday September 22 – Saturday October 17 at the Old Fitz Theatre.

thebrag.com

A Steady Rain photo © Lachlan Woods Photography

THE RAINS ARE HERE

CIRQUE DE LA SYMPHONIE

The Sydney Symphony Orchestra is teaming up with the circus for an extravagant Cirque De La Symphonie. Following its highly acclaimed debut with the Sydney Symphony in 2013, Cirque De La Symphonie will be returning this month for three shows fi lled with dazzling magic, captivating beauty and death-defying artistry. High-fl ying acrobats, jugglers, contortionists, dancers and strongmen will take to the Concert Hall stage to perform routines perfectly choreographed to classical masterpieces.

Catch the show at the Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House between Thursday September 17 – Saturday September 19.

Steve Philp and Jen Carnovale will be leaving you in stitches on Tuesday September 29.

Anything Goes [MUSICAL THEATRE] All Aboard By Adam Norris

T

Anything Goes photo by Brian Geach / Jeff Busby

alk about expectation. After launching in Melbourne, the cast and crew of Anything Goes had only just arrived in Brisbane before the announcement was made that the show had been awarded three Helpmann Awards, including Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical for Alex Rathgeber. It’s an auspicious trifecta for a musical that has been consistently popular since its premiere in 1934, and while such recognition is a tremendous boon for the cast (and bodes quite well for its audience), it also means the pressure is on to raise the sails on one of the world’s most iconic theatres.

“That’s exactly it,” Rathgeber agrees.

“Once there’s an award, it’s almost like being handed a trophy of expectation. Especially coming to the Opera House, such an iconic venue, and doing a show that has such a history. It’s been around for over 80 years, and there have been previous productions in Australia. Plus performing alongside a woman who is virtually an icon in this country, Caroline O’Connor, who received an award for her role as well. It’s a bit to live up to, or at least to attempt to.”

Rathgeber plays Billy Crocker, a Wall Street broker who falls madly in love with a girl he meets in a taxi. After learning she is set to sail to England aboard a luxury liner, he stows away, thus establishing a cavalcade of outrageous characters and classic musical numbers. Not only does playing Crocker give him the chance to launch into these celebrated Cole Porter lyrics, but the role sees Rathgeber engage in a rather athletic performance.

“The role I’m playing is fairly physically demanding, both vocally

and in terms of all the dancing. I spend most of the show, which is around two-and-a-half hours, just running around frantically. It’s a bit of a marathon, really, so I have to be careful how I spend my time outside of the show. I have to take care of my voice, rest it, but also keep fit and get in some kind of exercise routine, and then find a way of somehow having an ordinary life on top of all that.

“I like getting there every night and giving every ounce of energy that I can. There’s no phoning it in, or only giving what is sufficient. What’s tremendous about this cast is that we’ll get up there and give it all, and that’s what I mean when I say I have to really conserve my energy during the day. When we get in there, you need to just let fly. And the pace of it!

Dean [Bryant] is directing in a way that is very quick, and I think that’s what makes it kick for today’s audience. The entire show is relentless, and I think that’s part of Andrew [Hallsworth, choreographer]’s signature style. Not to give the audience too much of a chance to breathe. To be that bit ahead of them, so the audience is really carried along by the story and music.”

Though there are many reasons why this story is still considered a classic, on close inspection there is an unusual pattern that seems to exist across many successful musicals, and that is the presence of the briny deep. Water features in so many productions, from Anything Goes to South Pacifi c, An Officer And A Gentleman, Anyone Can Whistle, and the list stretches on. Even The Phantom Of The Opera has a gondola. Rathgeber agrees we may have stumbled upon the secret to success.

“Floating vessels are a sure-fire success in a show,” he says. “If in doubt, stick them in a dinghy. But that’s the million dollar question, isn’t it? What makes a musical last? With this particular show, a lot of strength is in the music. They got the music so very right, it’s just brilliant. And over time there have been writers who have worked on the book more and more to make it more appropriate today. This interpretation of things really brings something old and classic to a 2015 mindset. I think they’re very clever at choreographing something that highlights that relevancy.”

In addition to the score, part of Anything Goes’ endurance is a throwback to classic comedy tropes.

Keeping the humour fresh is

paramount to maintaining the madcap pace of the production, and in this regard audiences are certain not to be disappointed.

Todd [McKenney] in this very silly Englishman role. It’s absolutely bonkers, and people are bellylaughing out there.”

“Just on the page you’ll find it very, very clever and funny,” Rathgeber says. “When I first sat down and read the script, well before I showed anyone else or started to workshop and interpret it, I remember laughing out loud. It’s a really funny show, but in the right hands, that humour becomes tenfold. I think this time around the general consensus has seen people show up just expecting a fun night out. You know, it’s an old Broadway classic and yes, it will probably live up to its name. But in this production, everyone seems genuinely surprised at how funny it is, with people like Caroline and

Rathgeber suddenly laughs selfconsciously.

“Oh God, I fear I’ve gone on too much about how funny it is! The expectation is going to be huge now! But people are going to find this amazing, I have absolutely no doubt.”

What: Anything Goes Where: Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House When: Saturday September 5 – Saturday October 31

A spotlight on what’s happening at the Sydney Fringe Festival through the month of September…

[MUSIC]

The Story Of The Silicon Valley Cowboy The show: Best described as a ‘country opera’, the show involves a series of narrative songs played by a six-piece cowboy band and is accompanied by time-lapse projections and an anonymous cowboy narrator. In short, it’s probably like nothing you’ve ever seen.

The talent: The star of the show is the Silicon Valley cowboy himself – a man running away from a past he can’t quite remember and haunted by a present he can’t quite understand.

The crowd: Fans of alt- and traditional country and blues music (not ‘modern’ country) will have a feast, as will those who like their music raw and full of emotion. Also anybody who likes to have all their senses swept away as they take on the life of someone else for a while. And obviously anybody who likes cowboys; we’re pretty sure that’s everybody.

Price: $20 Where: Django Bar When: Sunday September 20 and Sunday September 27

[THEATRE]

MNM Makes Sense The show: MnM is not so much an education and training institute as a ‘dream factory’ on a mission to change entrepreneurship. MNM Makes Sense is a theatrical piece showing how students collaborate and share their inspirations and achievements.

The talent: Anyway mARTIna is a company run by Martina Rossi. The actors include participants at MnM Institute and a few collaborating artists from outside.

You may have seen them around Sydney at markets, restaurants and performances.

The crowd: MNM Makes Sense is a story for anybody.

If you feel unmotivated – like you’re doing the same thing every single day and waiting for Friday to come – this is the chance to choose how to live your life, be creative and enjoy the unique journey. Families, students, grandparents, entrepreneurs and friends are all welcome.

Price: $15 adult / $10 concession Where: MnM Institute, Level 4 - 39 Liverpool Street, Sydney When: Friday September 25 – Sunday September 27

[THEATRE]

Shakespeare Tonight The show: If Shakespeare was living and working today, who would he be? A genius, an outsider, or just plain ‘Bill’? In Shakespeare Tonight, the bard is very much alive and kicking. Hamlet has opened (to ‘mixed’ reviews!) and William is giving his first ever TV interview – alongside the stuffy and arrogant Francis Bacon. Finally, we have the chance to ask the questions that have kept us all guessing: Are these plays really his? What’s his true relationship with Anne? Why, after years of comedies and romances, has he suddenly turned to tragedy?

Audiences can expect a fast-paced, brilliantly performed play with heavy doses of comedy and more Shakespeare references than you can poke a quill at.

The talent: Tim Ferguson from the Doug Anthony All Stars and Don’t Forget Your Toothbrush, who co-wrote the script.

The crowd: Anyone who likes Shakespeare, theatre or comedy.

Price: $30 adult / $25 concession Where: New Theatre When: Tuesday September 15 – Saturday September 19

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Xxx

Carmen [DANCE] Carmen On Strong By Liza Dezfouli

M

ichael Pappalardo is choreographer and artistic director of the Melbourne City Ballet, and he’s a busy man. The company is bringing its version of Carmen to the Sydney Fringe for a season in the second week of this month – an ambitious effort given the many things that seem to be going on down there.

“We’ve only just finished our run of Romeo And Juliet this weekend past – it’s a challenge to remount Carmen in just two weeks,” Pappalardo says. “We’ve been working so hard; we’re certainly pushing our dancers. And they are delivering fantastic performances.”

Melbourne City Ballet’s signature show is a bold marriage of the traditional Carmen ballet and the music from Bizet’s iconic opera, reimagined into a splendid whole. “Putting the two together does appeal to a much wider audience,” says Pappalardo. “We got great reviews last year and sold out. It’s a mixture of opera and dance; we have an opera singer [Melissa Gall] who also narrates the story; it’s a grand mix.”

Carmen is the second show Melbourne City Ballet will perform in Sydney, having staged A Night With Melbourne City Ballet at the Sydney Fringe last year, selling out to enthusiastic audiences. This time around, there will no doubt be challenges in blending two distinct styles together.

“Carmen is a traditional ballet; it’s very simple,

only 45 minutes long,” Pappalardo says. “It’s quite basic, in a single act, and actually the story is wishy-washy, and the music is the usual traditional music. We went back and looked at the opera, which is three hours long, and we sequenced parts of it into the ballet using music which goes for just over an hour – our job was to meld the two together. The dancers were coached in flamenco and tango, which we included to give it the right flavour. We ended up with a fabulous show; it’s really beautiful.

Everything is fantastic.”

It seems an unfair question to ask the choreographer, but does Pappalardo have a favourite scene in the performance? “The beginning of Act II is set in a gypsy town; all the girls and boys are onstage,” he replies. “It’s a very up-tempo scene, a beautiful part of the work with lots of people onstage.”

And indeed, attaining this beauty in the set has become something of a family affair, with Michael’s sister Natasha taking on the duties as set designer. Costumes were purchased from the Brisbane Ballet’s production of Carmen. “They are these fabulous long dresses, all different shades of pink,” Pappalardo says.

With a relatively small community of dancers across the country, and indeed the globe, Melbourne City Ballet works hard to find its talent – holding auditions and occasionally picking up dancers from rival companies.

“We hold auditions once a year and we contact

dancers we’ve seen perform,” Pappalardo explains. “We have international performers.

Our Carmen, Nicky Blane, is a beautiful dancer who’s been working in Canada. She’s from Melbourne originally but she came to us from Canada. One of our principal male dancers is a gentleman we hand-picked from the USA, James Ferguson.”

Despite some clearly impressive talent, Melbourne City Ballet was only established in 2013, but is growing quickly. “We’re one of Australia’s strongest companies, and we’ve been invited to perform in this year’s Australian Dance Awards in Adelaide,” says Pappalardo. “There are talks of touring New Zealand and South East Asia, but it’s a lengthy process.”

While crossing the ditch and beyond may be a while off, the company has been making audiences happy across Oz. “We’ve been going everywhere around Australia: New South Wales, Victoria, the Northern Territory.

We had a fantastic time in the Northern Territory. We get wonderful responses from regional areas, even better than what we get in the cities,” says Pappalardo. “They don’t get that much ballet in those sorts of places.”

What: Carmen as part of Sydney Fringe Festival 2015 Where: Seymour Centre When: Tuesday September 8 – Saturday September 12

The Moth [STORYTELLING] The Razor’s Edge By Emily Meller senior producer of The Moth – a live storytelling night and hugely popular podcast.

And while it might be most people’s idea of a nightmare, this is exactly what a team of storytellers will be doing when The Moth brings its show, The Razor’s Edge, to the Festival Of Dangerous Ideas in Sydney this weekend.

Emotional hang-gliding, with a live audience.

Maggie Cino

Y

ou are onstage, mic in hand, when the lights go up. There’s a sea of faces and they’re all trained on you. They’re waiting for you to tell them a story – but not just any story. Your most personal, least flattering story – the one you could barely tell your mum, let alone a crowd of 100 strangers.

Why on earth would someone subject themselves to this living nightmare?

“I think it’s like going hang-gliding – there’s something terrifying about it but you also enjoy it because it’s terrifying,” says Maggie Cino,

It’s fitting that the show’s theme centres on danger. The lineup includes Dan Ilic, Suki Kim and Adrienne Truscott, and will be hosted

by David Crabb. Each will tell a story about a different type of danger. “Physical danger, emotional danger, like exhilarating danger,” says Cino. Truscott, for example, spent years as a circus acrobat before braving the world of comedy. So that covers physical and emotional.

Apart from the theme, there is something else all Moth stories have in common: an element of vulnerability from the storyteller.

“A willingness to be honest and talk about the parts of your life that maybe aren’t your proudest moments … that’s the only thing I think that’s really essential,” Cino explains. “[To]

be like, ‘Hey, this was a time when things didn’t go so well.’ And that means very, very different things to every single storyteller.”

“We love to be able to find people like that and give them an opportunity to have a platform,” she says.

It’s something that comes through very clearly when listening to The Moth podcast. Whether it’s a hilarious story from Starlee Kine about waiting in line for a Marina Abramović show, or Anthony Griffith’s heartbreaking recount of losing his daughter to cancer while he was performing stand-up each night, the sense of vulnerability ties them together.

Cino also works to train people in the art of live storytelling. “Part of the reason that we do work with people really closely is that it’s an incredibly difficult thing to do. It’s not something the majority of people naturally go towards.”

“Sometimes [the stories] are hilarious and sometimes they’re very sad,” says Cino. “In the end, it all comes together really beautifully and sometimes I find that the saddest stories have the most beautiful moments of levity.”

Even so, being vulnerable in front of a small group of friends on a porch in Georgia (which is the legend of how The Moth’s storytelling nights began) is a very different proposition to baring your soul to an Opera House-sized crowd. Plus, many performers are not actually actors, writers or experienced in performance of any kind.

Cino says they often like to get cops or others onstage, who usually wouldn’t tell their story.

The producer maintains that even with a podcast that gets downloaded over a million times each month, The Moth’s storytelling night is still an intimate live experience. So, if you’re game, you’re in luck. Plans are in place to bring a monthly StorySLAM to Sydney – your opportunity to see if you have that special something that makes a great storyteller.

Scared? No worries. According to Cino: “You’re sort of not doing it right if you’re not a little scared.”

What: The Moth: The Razor’s Edge as part of Festival Of Dangerous Ideas 2015 Where: Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House When: Sunday September 6

Johann Hari [LITERATURE] Ceasefire On Drugs By Adam Norris

U

nless you’ve been living a life of hermitude on some distant mountainside, the likelihood that you or someone you know has experimented with drugs is pretty much assured (and even then, there are some potent psychoactive lichens out there). Tales of addiction and the rampant evils of the drug trade are media constants, and most of us comfortably assume a broad understanding of the trappings of addiction in everyday conversation. Yet as New York Times best-selling writer Johann Hari has come to realise, some of the most basic questions in the 100-year-old ‘war on drugs’ remain opaque.

“There’s commonalities to what causes addiction and how people get out of it, and there are commonalities to the effects addiction causes, in terms of violence and so on,” Hari explains in rapid conversation. His voice is colourful and long-accustomed to discussing this subject; one need look no further than his TED Talk to see the

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crux of his research laid out in equally entertaining form.

“It’s now exactly 100 years since drugs were first banned in the United States and Britain, and four years ago I realised we were coming up to that centenary,” he says. “And though I thought I knew a lot about this subject, because of [addiction in] my family and because I’d read about it a lot as a columnist, I realised there were loads of incredibly basic questions that I just didn’t know the answer to. Like, why did we go to war against drug addicts and drug users a hundred years ago?

Why do we carry that on across most of the world, even though it doesn’t really appear to be working? What are the alternatives, and what causes drug use in drug addiction? And I couldn’t really find the answers in what I was reading, so I decided to go on this journey, which ended up being a 30,000-mile journey across 12 countries, to really sit with people whose lives had been changed one way or another.”

The subsequent book, Chasing The Scream: The First And Last Day Of The War On Drugs, is an intense odyssey that saw Hari scour the globe. Through the multitude of people he encountered, and the stories they shared, he has assembled an account of the modern world’s comprehension of drug traffic and addiction that is as vivid as it is studied. Hari’s prose is clear, and like the best revelations, the answers it suggests hail from questions it set out not knowing to ask.

“If you had said to me four years ago, ‘What causes heroin addiction?’ I would have probably looked at you as though you were a little simple-minded, but answered, ‘Well, heroin causes heroin addiction.’ But that story which has just been common sense for the last hundred years doesn’t really stand up. If I step out today, get hit by a bus and break my hip, I’ll be taken to hospital and given loads of diamorphine. Diamorphine is itself heroin, that’s just the medical name for it. The stuff they give you in hospital is

much stronger than what you’ll find from a drug dealer on the street, because when you buy heroin like that most of it isn’t actually heroin. But obviously when doctors give it to you, it’s the pure stuff, it’s 100 per cent. So people all over the world, including Australia, are given diamorphine for quite long periods of time. If what we think about addiction is right, these people are exposed to all of the chemicals that any addict is. Some of them at least should become addicts, but that just isn’t so.

“I think the main thing I realised from this is that everything we think we know about this subject is wrong.

Drugs aren’t what we think they are, and addiction isn’t what we think it is.”

What: Ceasefi re On Drugs as part of Festival Of Dangerous Ideas 2015 Where: Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House When: Saturday September 5

thebrag.com

Sydney Contemporary [ART FAIR] Cultural Capital By David Molloy of those places around the Rim, and I think an interesting set of connections and parallels as well as distinctions.”

system over time can grow stale … I think that the biggest problem is the lack of consultation in this particular instance.”

Aiming itself at both the general public and more affluent trendsetters, Sydney Contemporary places an emphasis on its relationship with art collectors. Keldoulis is emphatic that giving these potential buyers access to international works engages them with that vital element of collecting: the aura of authenticity.

Getting back to the festival, Keldoulis makes clear there is “a very healthy representation of indigenous work this time around” – including at Waterloo gallery Utopia – after concluding that 2013’s fair was lacking. He’s effusive in his praise of host venue Carriageworks and its director Lisa Havilah, this year’s Video Contemporary curators from the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, and every other contributor he can name.

“One of the interesting aspects to collecting in our country is that we are a very young country, obviously that is also home of the oldest continuous culture on earth,” he says.

“The choices that young collectors make help to create what we will, in the future, call our culture.

“Although you can see art from all around the world at the click of a mouse, you usually really need to see it in the flesh. Collectors can see the work of our artists in context with work that’s going on around the world, and that I think helps to lead to a maturity of judgement and more contextual information for collectors to start to build the confidence in their own eye about what’s good and what’s engaging the contemporary culture.”

Another Game by Michael Muir

B

arry Keldoulis is an uncommonly busy man. When we speak, he is almost out of breath, having been run off his feet sourcing panel speakers for the 2015 iteration of Sydney Contemporary, the international art fair. Regardless, he is gracious in both his time and his answers, and impresses with his almost encyclopaedic memory for the names of all involved.

This is quite a feat when taking into consideration the fair’s participants – a staggering 90-plus galleries from almost a dozen countries, as well as performers, musicians, video artists, printmakers and more. The sheer scope of the festival is all in keeping with Keldoulis’ aspirations for Sydney as the cultural centre of the entire Pacific.

“We’re looking at Sydney Contemporary being a celebration, not just of the marketplace that Sydney is for contemporary art, but also as a generator of contemporary art – so, looking at making people aware that Sydney has a very vibrant cultural life.”

As a man whose career revolves around international communications, Keldoulis is acutely aware of what the world as a whole thinks of our little city. “You know, our international advertising focus on Australia as a nation [is] basically on beaches and leisure activities – beaches and furry animals, if you will,” he says. “We’re looking at ways of showing off the depth and breadth of Sydney’s cultural life, not just its physical beauty.”

Our cultural capital is, of course, reliant on its global context. Keldoulis sees this as a great strength, and the fair reflects this by placing contemporary Australian works alongside those of our geographical neighbours.

“There’s a lot of interesting work going on around the Pacific Rim, and quite diverse,” he says. “But also there’s this disconnection to the traditional capitals of art (or contemporary art, if you will) in the Western mindset of London, New York and Paris.

“It creates an interesting dialogue between all

While we’re speaking of context, I ask Keldoulis for his thoughts on the recent announcement of the National Program for Excellence in the Arts established by Senator George Brandis, and how it affects our cultural landscape.

“I’m also the chair of the National Association for the Visual Arts, and I do have concerns,” he says.

“Mainly that the recent announcement seems to emphasise one particular section of the arts over another section that is actually integral to those majors maintaining their excellence over time.

“It’s not clear yet what the ramifications and implications of the recent announcement are, but certainly the worry is that the generators of a lot of the creativity that ultimately ends up in the majors are going to be starved of fuel. And that’s a big worry, and it should be a big worry for the majors as well.

“Yes, we want to celebrate excellence, but we want to maintain an environment in which excellence can be homegrown, and so that’s my personal worry. But I do appreciate also that any system over time needs regeneration, and any

He’s also extremely proud of the music and performance lineups curated by Emma Price and Connie Anthes of Redfern’s Bearded Tit – so much so that he calls me a second time to list his favourites in one stream-ofconsciousness.

“We’ve got Sarsha Simone who’s a soul singer and DJ, a chap called Jake Meadows who’s a male harpist … the Alaska Orchestra, they’re all very accomplished classical musicians from the Con but they create and play experimental music … Jessica Lavelle, a young DJ, and at the afterparties at Arcadia they have Snail performing, which is a female duo that combine beat-boxing and folk music, and at The Dock there’s a chap called Nick Meredith who does a kind of improvised drum and synth tunes,” he says.

“There’ll be a little teaser on the preview day but the big explosion of creative expression will be on the opening night, leading up to the Trailblazers trail of performance through the streets of Redfern to the nightspots – including Bearded Tit, of course – and 107 Projects on Redfern Street.”

It’s a lineup that Keldoulis is sure will help Sydneysiders and beyond “reawaken their senses after the hibernation of winter to all the fantastic cultural life that we actually have here on tap in Sydney”.

What: Sydney Contemporary 2015 Where: Carriageworks and various Redfern venues When: Thursday September 10 – Sunday September 13 More: For the full program, visit sydneycontemporary.com.au

StalkHer [FILM] Caught In The Act By Tegan Jones

A

n obsessive pharmacist-turned-stalker, Jack (John Jarratt), and a flirtatious nurse named Emily (Kaarin Fairfax), who isn’t quite the victim she appears to be. They’re the simple ingredients to StalkHer – a battle of the sexes that features not only a myriad of twists and turns, but a delightful injection of inappropriate romance and humour. Even from the trailer alone, audiences will be able to determine how new and inspired the concept of StalkHer is. However, the film itself was originally born out of necessity, says Jarratt.

one has to expect the dialogue is truly stellar.

“My company was going to make a film called Passing Winds, which is a comedy Western I had written,” he says. “Unfortunately, we realised that it was going to cost six or seven million bucks. So we needed a two-hander; something that was achievable, hopefully at night.

Something cinematic with a really gritty story.

Despite him playing a thwarted stalker and rapist, I wonder whether there is any part of the veteran Australian actor who actually likes the character of Jack.

“My producer [Kristijana Maric], who can do anything, had written this script. After I read it I texted her saying, ‘You bitch – you can write as well!’”

A witty, dark and occasionally violent romance with a dialogue-heavy script may be a relatively original concept for a film, but it did draw inspiration from other cinematic depictions of warring partners.

“It’s along the lines of the classics like A Streetcar Named Desire, Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?, War Of The Roses; those kind of domestic, full-on and vibrant films,” says Jarratt.

“We created a genre for it called ‘wrong town’.”

The plot of StalkHer revolves around the character of Jack planning to take Emily by force, only to find himself waking up tied to her kitchen chair and trapped in a night of witty repartee, violence and sexual tension. With this in mind,

“The film has brilliant dialogue and some of it was pretty hard to get your tongue around,” Jarratt agrees. “We had to know it all too, because you can’t get on set and not know it, because you want to be able to play with it.

“It was probably the hardest I’ve ever worked in my life, but also some of the most pleasing things I’ve ever done too. It was exhilarating at times. It was great.”

“Oh no, he’s a nihilistic, ‘the world owes him a living’ kind of guy. He’s me if I had never gotten counseling in the ’80s and ’90s and became a better person. He just never worked on himself, so he’s a bit of an emotional infant.”

Needless to say, Jarratt didn’t turn to method acting to prepare for the role.

“The only character I’ve had to do a bit of method with was [Wolf Creek’s] Mick Taylor,” he says as I let out a slightly alarmed laugh. “Only because he was a long, long way away as far as his sensibilities are concerned, not so much his character and make-up as a human being. His country upbringing and all that, I relate to that.”

Moving back to Jack, Jarratt says, “It was important for me to give this guy a backstory because he’s not like me. He’s a pharmacist and I could never be a pharmacist’s backside. So we gave those characters very strong backstories that really worked well for us.”

A particularly amusing part of the movie – for

Kaarin Fairfax and John Jarratt in StalkHer lovers of violence, anyway – sees Emily beat the living hell out of Jack. The scenes seem like they would have been fun to film, considering the long professional history Fairfax and Jarratt share, as well as the fact they co-directed StalkHer together.

“Well it was obviously pretend, but it was definitely fun to play it. A couple of times Kaarin did get stuck into me, but she’s only five-footnothing and didn’t really hurt me because I’m big and ugly,” Jarratt laughs.

Of course, Emily doesn’t always hold all the cards. The film is very much a game of cat-andmouse throughout.

“I love the games that they play with each other and the one-upmanship,” says Jarratt.

“Sometimes the Emily [character] is in control and other times mine is. It’s a kind of a tennis game, if you like – who’s got the ball. We have a wonderful script and we’ve put it on the screen; we can’t do better than that. It’s really up to the movie now.”

Another interesting element of StalkHer is that two of the highlight songs from the soundtrack are performed, respectively, by Jarratt himself and Fairfax’s daughters.

“The composers are also great singersongwriters in their own right and they wrote ‘Killer In Me’, which I perform, and Wishful [the band featuring Fairfax’s daughters Maddy and Memphis Kelly] perform ‘StalkHer’, which has been put up on YouTube. If I do dare say so, they are both great songs.

“It’s just so good to be in the business for 40 years and to know you’re doing something refreshing and different,” Jarratt concludes.

“It’s not only a great script but there’s something unique about this – I don’t think Australian film has seen anything like it.”

What: StalkHer (dir. John Jarratt and Kaarin Fairfax) Where: In cinemas now

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Game On

Film Review

Gaming news with Adam Guetti

2015

saving your pretty pennies for the usual September video game avalanche, now is the time to start spending them. Things have already kicked off in style this week with the open-world stealth epic critics are losing their minds over – Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (PS4, XBO, PS3, 360). Just make sure you have Google handy to understand it all.

The next two days are just as exciting, though, with both Mad Max (PS4, XBO) on Wednesday September 2 and Disney Infinity 3.0 (PS4, XBO, PS3, 360, Wii U) on Thursday September 3.

The former stars the famous Aussie icon in a huge actionheavy world, while the latter introduces Star Wars to the bulging toys-to-life mega-franchise.

Jump to Tuesday September 15 and the Destiny juggernaut continues with The Taken King expansion (PS4, XBO, PS3, 360), which gives Game Of Thrones star Peter Dinklage the boot in favour of voice-acting superstar Nolan North.

If instead you’ve been desperate for your yearly football hit then hold out until Thursday September 17 for Pro Evolution Soccer 2016 (PS4, XBO, PS3, 360, PC). Of course, if you’re more of a FIFA fanatic, your time comes on Thursday September 24 with FIFA 16 (PS4, XBO, PS3, 360) – now with women’s national teams.

Wrapping things up is the one game that’ll suck money from your wallet no matter your age.

LEGO Dimensions (PS4, XBO, PS3, 360, Wii U) hits shelves Monday September 28 and throws together the worlds of Wizard Of Oz, Back To The Future, Batman and much more!

AUSSIE ACTION

The Transporter Refueled

After the very public break-up between publisher Konami and Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima saw Kojima’s name removed from boxed copies of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, a Sydneybased JB Hi-Fi store saw fi t to acknowledge his involvement through self-made signage. The effort eventually found its way on Twitter and quickly exploded – leading many other Sydney stores to follow suit and Kojima himself to retweet the original post.

NEWS

Releases SEPT New If you’ve been

Hits and misses on the silver screen and bareboards around town

STRONG FORCES Excited for both the next PAX Australia and Star Wars Battlefront in equal measure? Well then you’ll be happy to know the two are coming together to allow PAX 2015 attendees hands-on SWB time with a survival mission set on Tatooine in either solo or co-op mode.

“We’re excited to be joining forces with PlayStation for their inaugural showing at PAX Australia,” said Craig Auld, head of product marketing for AsiaPacifi c at Electronic Arts. “This will give Australian fans a taste of the Star Wars battle fantasies Star Wars Battlefront will deliver on November 19.”

IMPORT TAX In news that will sadden online shoppers and importers across the country, State and Federal treasurers have agreed that the existing $1,000 threshold for GST-free purchases on online goods is to be abolished. From the July 1, 2017 all goods bought online will be subject to a ten per cent GST rate – including video games. Exact details of how this will all be applied are still scarce, so stay tuned for more info.

Review: Until Dawn (PS4) Until Dawn

■ Film

THE TRANSPORTER REFUELED In cinemas Thursday September 3 The 2012 Audi S8 sedan: slick, streamlined, both a testament to modern engineering and a hark back to classic design. It is a car uniquely prepared for any environment, be it on the streets of Paris, the sands of European beaches, or on the set of a hackneyed piece of shit like The Transporter Refueled.

And who’s the lucky guy behind the Audi wheel in this new entry to the franchise?

Why, it’s Frank (Ed Skrein) – you might not recognise him as Daario Naharis from TV’s Game Of Thrones because it took the show’s producers only one season to realise they’d cast someone with the charisma and charm of an empty bin and replace him with someone less rubbish.

“We developed Frank’s character to be less of a caricature,” says director Camille Delamarre, with no discernible sense of irony*. He’s done this by adding in a soldier’s backstory for Frank and a “tense relationship with his father” – also named Frank (Ray Stevenson).

Skrein says of his character, “When the film begins, he’s like an island, and the car is like his sidekick.” And what a sidekick – this beast comes with more horsepower and depth than any other character on screen, sheering around corners with absolute grace amidst weightless CGI cop car crashes.

Its gleaming, polished surfaces even manage to distract from the “pack of fierce beauties” that are Skrein’s cunning yet expendable co-stars – a cadre of “four incredibly good-looking female characters”, abused women ostensibly attempting to escape the sex trade, but who still reward the film’s protagonist and his dad with their bodies.

Yes, there’s a tastefully shot (read: safe M15+) scene where Frank gets it on with Anna (Loan Chabanol), Frank Sr. has it off with both Qiao (Wenxia Yu) and Maria (Tatiana Pajkovic), and poor ol’ Gina (Gabriella Wright) is left out of the boner fest because she happens to have a bullet wound. She would have been much comfier if they’d laid her down in the stylish interior of the 2012 Audi S8 sedan: très magnifique.

This would have also created the exquisite juxtaposition of the female body and the car, the two products on display. Because after all, The Transporter Refueled is not a film: it is a 96-minute ad, one that comes burdened with overwhelming clichés, overwhelming sexism and – its greatest sin – not enough entertainment value that warrants any attempt to overlook its flaws.

Thank goodness, then, that we have the 2012 Audi S8 sedan to remind us of what true craftsmanship can be. Thank you, Audi. (* quoted from The Transporter Refueled press release) David Molloy

See www.thebrag.com for more arts reviews

U

ntil Dawn has followed a more tumultuous development path than most games.

Originally announced in 2012 as a Move-based PS3 game, the horror title was eventually delayed, had the heavy-handed Move implementation removed, and was then repackaged for PlayStation 4. You’d assume this drama has led to a half-baked experience. The good news is, that couldn’t be further from the truth – rising from the shadows like your most resilient slasher hero.

Arts Exposed What's in our diary...

The story is simple and as wonderfully clichéd as they come, and it all starts when eight teenage friends get together for a remote mountain retreat. You see, it’s been exactly a year since the mysterious disappearance (and suspected death) of two of their friends, so cue a masked maniac invading their cabin in the woods to cause a blood-filled ruckus.

Interestingly, however, Until Dawn doesn’t solely focus on the violent tirade and perilous escapes of your potential teen victims. Instead, much of the game’s first half is spent establishing relationships that can fundamentally affect how your story plays out. And make no doubt about it, while Telltale’s popular adventure games (like The Walking Dead d and Game Of Thrones) tout an emphasis on player choice, Supermassive Games has created a system – known as Butterfly Effects – that actually matters. Choose to intentionally alienate a friend in conversation, for example, and that same person might not stick around (or even be present) during a life-and-death situation down the road. And the best part? Once you’ve made your decision there’s no going back. Until Dawn doesn’t believe in redoes.

When the action does ramp up QTEs increase in usage, but never really feel like a chore. Much like Heavy Rain before it, Until Dawn uses them in these critically important decisions, helping build tension and speed up the pace. Do you decide to hide from your stalker under a bed, or make a dash towards a nearby window? Sneak past them or go on the attack? Inputs might be easy – but the anguish in making them is anything but.

After all, the life of every character is entirely in your hands.

Sure, not every character will win your heart, and controls can be a little sketchy, but Until Dawn is a polished experience that wants to scare the pants off you. It’s not for everyone, but if you’ve been itching to try something a little different, why not see if you can survive… until dawn?

Adam Guetti 24 :: BRAG :: 628 :: 02:09:15

Sydney Art Week Various venues, Monday September 7 – Sunday September 13 There’s much more than just one hot ticket on the arts scene in Sydney this week, and that’s down to Sydney Art Week – the new public initiative by the Sydney Contemporary art fair. While much of Sydney Contemporary’s happenings will be focused on the collectors gathering at Carriageworks, the Sydney Art Week Program takes over the rest of the city for seven days of art-inspired events and performances. A new Art and Dine program highlights the artistic side of fi ne food, while a series of Night Cap late night events – including conversations with artistic identities to the backdrop of curated fi lm and moving images – will keep the night owls satiated.

Plenty more is on offer, too – visit sydneycontemporary.com.au for the program. thebrag.com

out & about

education profile

Queer(ish) matters with Lucy Watson

WITH

AFTRS

A

few years ago, I wrote a mildly bad review of a show I’d been to see. I called the show “pretty terrible” but emphasised the fact that, regardless, I had a “fantastic time”. I also pointed out that I thought the show was sexist and homophobic.

A cast member of the show, outraged at my review, took to his keyboard a few days later, like the proud, upstanding warrior (read: neckbeard) he is. He complained that because I was a “bitch dyke” I didn’t understand that the homophobia was in fact funny (soooooo funny!) and that I just needed a “good dicking” in order to lighten up.

Thankfully, this idiot keyboard warrior chose a mutual friend to read and review his comment before submitting it. While he snickered from behind her shoulder, she read in horror, and then promptly told him to fuck off.

The only reason I found out this guy threatened to give me a “good dicking” was because I was intending on going to a party that he was going to be present at, and our mutual friend thought she should warn me.

If he had posted his comment, he would’ve joined thousands of other men (but of course, #notallmen) in hiding behind a keyboard and telling women they deserve to be raped for having a voice.

He would’ve joined a proud community of people who threaten women online and never feel the consequences. The way our laws are enforced hasn’t caught up with society, and so while in the eyes of the law the pen may still maintain its mighty status, and a sword will probably wield some fairly awful damage, apparently a keyboard is about as harmless as a Furby whose batteries ran out in 1998.

Some argue that these keyboard warriors don’t actually intend on following through with their threats – that they’re just lonely neckbeards who ran out of chips – but this is bullshit. When someone threatens to

win Academy Awards, BAFTAs and Emmys for their work.

Each year there are hundreds of nominations at the local level for the work of AFTRS alumni and also for AFTRS student productions at major fi lm festivals and guild awards.

find and rape your mother, as happened to a friend of mine last week, it feels pretty fucking real. That this other friend felt she needed to warn me not to go to that party makes that guy’s intentions pretty clear.

And it’s chilling.

But regardless of their intention, these threats are harassment and intimidation.

They’re made to routinely remind women that we don’t deserve a voice, that we remain lesser beings in our patriarchal world.

This kind of intimidation happens on a daily basis. Just ask Clementine Ford, who is never afraid to publicly shame those who threaten her. Threats like this happen to, and deeply affect, all women, but in particular marginalised women: queer and trans women, women of colour, women with disabilities, sex workers. When those who have already been pushed to the outskirts of society by oppression are threatened, they are silenced even further, and placed in even more danger.

And when Facebook bans Clementine Ford for publicly shaming those who threaten and intimidate her, as happened in June, we’re told that we should be silenced for speaking out, that we should go back to the kitchen and sit quietly and wait for a man to come and give us a dicking until we shut up.

Well, we’re not shutting up anymore.

When friends of mine (and their mothers) were threatened last week, they went to the police with screenshots, over which the police could do very little. This is not enough. Our laws need to be updated and better enforced to reflect the changing ways in which men harm, threaten and oppress women online. Sexual violence won’t be silenced.

Courses on offer: For 2016, AFTRS is accepting applications for the Bachelor of Arts (Screen) and a swag of practical, industry-focused Diplomas and Advanced Diplomas in the specialist craft areas of fi lm, television and radio.

What makes us different: AFTRS is literally the national screen and broadcast school of Australia, set up by the Australian Government over 40 years ago. The facilities and gear at AFTRS are unrivalled by any other University or college in Australia, which has seen AFTRS rated by The Hollywood Reporter in 2012, 2014 and again this year as a part of the top fi lm schools in the world. All lecturers at AFTRS are working industry professionals and the connections between

the school and industry run deep.

What else you need to know: Entry into most AFTRS award courses, such as the Bachelor of Arts, Masters Programs, Diplomas and Advanced Diplomas, is by merit selection and is competitive.

Many high-achieving alumni return to the school to give masterclasses to current students, the most recent being; Alex Proyas (I Robot, The Crow, Knowing Gods Of Egypt) and Jane Campion (Top Of The Lake, Bright Star, The Piano, An Angel At My Table). AFTRS provides unsurpassed opportunities and professional networking connections as well as hands-on, technical insight.

Required tasks and examples of creative work are often part of the application process.

Take the next step: AFTRS graduates are working in Australia and around the world across the entire spectrum of the screen and broadcast industries in feature fi lm, television and radio. A large number of AFTRS graduates have made it to the highest levels of their craft, which has seen them

Open Day: Saturday September 5, 10am-3pm Address: Building 130 (Inside the Entertainment Quarter, next to Hoyts) Lang Rd, Moore Park Email: study@aftrs.edu. au Website: aftrs.edu.au/ opendays

Enrolment dates: The AFTRS online application portal, where you register and submit applications to study at AFTRS, is open now.

All the information required by prospective students is available on the website.

this week…

On Wednesday September 2, Homosocial is back for another round, this time at Freda’s. Featuring all the favourites – Ariane, Cunningpants, Aaron Manhattan, Barbra Blacksheep and Radha La Bia – the night is sure to be full of exce$$.

Ariane

Friday September 4 sees the third instalment of the L’Oasis parties at Slyfox, featuring music from L’Oasis, Josh Bentley and Ben Drayton. It’ll be a lovein all night, so bring your stamina.

On Saturday September 5, Swagger is celebrating Beyoncé’s birthday at Arq. Expect a heap of gays getting sweaty to ’90s R&B.

And for the diary, if you’re up for a road trip, Friday September 11 – Sunday September 13 sees the Broken Heel Festival in, you

guessed it, Broken Hill. It’ll be a weekend of Priscilla celebrations for the movie’s 21st birthday. She’s all grown up.

Broken Heel Festival

thebrag.com

BRAG :: 629 :: 02:09:15 :: 25

[FOOD]

MICKY’S CAFÉ

BELFIELD ON BOTANY The vibe: A hip hop-themed burger joint that brings a very chilled and relaxed atmosphere, with the place surrounded by aerosol graffiti walls and rapper murals and some feel-good R&B/hip hop music in the background from live DJs. The burger: Belfield Burger Ingredients: Belfield created this burger to be a first and one-of-a-kind. It keeps to the concept of ‘less is more’ to achieve something great. In the Belfield Burger you’ll find fresh rocket leaves along with a juicy mediumcooked beef patty, topped with Belfield’s very own Vegemite mayo and wrapped up in soft, slightly toasted milk buns.

The secret: Belfield’s patties are all handmarinated, weighed and shaped, so they are definitely made with love.

With this burger in particular, the Vegemite mayo delivers a great old-school kick to the taste buds!

Cost: $8

Best eaten with: Old-school tater tots or crinkle cut chips.

More: facebook.com/BelfieldOnBotany

Address: 1/797-807 Botany Rd, Rosebery

The vibe: Micky’s Cafe is a true Sydney institution, a favorite spot for locals and visitors alike.

Micky’s has been in Paddington since 1988 and its kitchen is open from 8am to midnight, seven days a week. It’s famous for decadent thickshakes, an extensive and delicious menu, a large selection of craft beers and homemade desserts.

grilled onion, tomato and beetroot, and served with crispy thick cut chips. There is also a huge list of tasty extras you can add to your burger like onion rings, bacon jam, gruyere cheese, zucchini pickles and bacon, to name a few.

Brickfields (arguably one of the best bakeries in Sydney) supply the milk buns. They contain no preservatives, unlike some popular buns doing the rounds at the moment.

The burger: Micky’s Beef Burger

Best eaten with: One of Micky’s famous thickshakes. The 28 flavours to choose from include Mars Bar Cheesecake, Rocky Road and Gaytime.

Ingredients: Burgers in Sydney are now popping up everywhere but Micky’s can proudly thank its customers for keeping the original beef burger on the menu for over 26 years. The Micky’s Beef Burger is based on the original recipe that Harry Theodore had cooked in the Regal Cafe in Stanthorpe, Queensland, since the early ’60s. The Micky’s Burger has a great beef patty made with onion, spices and many other ingredients to ensure it is tasty but still true to the meat. The bun is stacked full of lettuce,

Cost: On Wednesday, all burgers are $10, with a $5 cider of the day also on offer. During the rest of the week, burgers start from $15.

Address: 268 Oxford St, Paddington More: mickyscafe.com

ONE TEA LOUNGE & GRILL The vibe: A funky casual dining restaurant bar with a focus on innovative food and cocktail drinks that are infused with green tea.

The burger: The Ramen Burger and the Matcha Baoger.

Ingredients: Ramen Burger: ramen noodle infused with ramen soup sauce replaces your standard burger bun.

Matcha Baoger: an Asian-steamed bun infused with matcha powder makes for a green tea burger that’s soft and pillowy.

Both burgers offer the choice of fillings including wagyu beef patty, braised pork rib, chicken teriyaki and miso tofu. They also contain lettuce, tomato, Spanish onion, Sriracha chilli and green tea mayonnaise, and come with a side salad and watermelon to freshen the palette.

The secret: The Ramen Burger is a well-known icon from the Sydney Night Noodle Markets for its innovative and unique fusion of street food.

It’s seared on the hotplate to be crispy on the outside and soft in the middle – when combined 26 :: BRAG :: 626 :: 19:08:15

with the sauce and fillings, it delivers a contrast of flavours and textures that is distinct from any other burger.

The Matcha Baoger uses the superfood, matcha, to infuse a soft pillowy Asian steamed bun, creating a cool funky burger that has a soft texture and smooth, sweet taste.

Best eaten with: Cold Japanese beers like Sapporo lager, Asahi (on tap) or Kirin cider. For a more refined experience, try the Matcha Made In Heaven cocktail. Any burgers ordered during lunch can also get a half serve of matcha fries or popcorn curry chicken.

Cost: Monday – Friday (lunch): $13.80 for burger, side salad and watermelon, $4 for a half serve of matcha fries or $5 for popcorn curry chicken.

Monday – Saturday (dinner), 5:30pm-close, $20 for a set of three sliders of your choice.

Address: Upper Ground Floor, 73 York St, Sydney More: onetealounge.com.au

RIBS & BURGERS The vibe: They say if you want to be great at something, you’ve got to focus on your strengths. At Ribs & Burgers, their name says it all. The fresh, hot, succulent burgers and eight-hour slow cooked ribs are known to stop the clock. A meal at Ribs & Burgers is like stepping back in time to a restaurant started by your local butcher who decided to put their cooking advice into practice. The grills crackle with hand-prepared, grass fed, hormone-free, 100 per cent pure beef patties and free-range chicken breasts are made to order (the way great burgers should be) for a rich and natural taste.

The burger: The Aussie Burger Ingredients: Beef mince patty, beetroot, pineapple, Swiss cheese, bacon, fried egg, shredded iceberg lettuce, tomato, Spanish onion, dill pickles

and pink and BBQ sauce.

The secret: A hand-rolled bun, 100 per cent pure beef mince patty, the famous secret pink sauce, made with love and passion. A special way that the burgers are stacked mean that when you bite into one, it doesn’t fall apart and you taste the fl avours in the right order.

Best eaten with: Crunchy fries with a side of aioli and an ice cold beer. True Aussie style!

Cost: $16 for the burger, $4 for the side of chips and $1.50 for the aioli dip More: ribsandburgers.com / facebook.com/ ribsandburgers

thebrag.com

Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m Sorry A married, straight, middle class, middle aged white man apologises for everything

Saturdays September 5 & 12 @ 6pm Wednesday September 9 @ 7pm

The World Bar, 24 Bayswater Rd, Kings Cross James Flavin Comedy - find us on Facebook!

sydneyfringe.com fi thebrag.com

BRAG :: 628 :: 02:09:15 :: 27

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

(02) 9247 2229 Mon – Sun 10.30am-midnight

Assembly 488 Kent St, Sydney CBD (02) 9283 8808 Mon – Tue 5-11pm; Wed – Fri noon-midnight; Sat 5pm-midnight

Balcony Bar 46 Erskine St, Sydney CBD (02) 9299 3526 Mon 5pm - late; Tue – Fri noon-midnight; Sat 5pm-midnight

The Australian Heritage Hotel 100 Cumberland St, The Rocks

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

ROSIE CAMPBELL’S

Bulletin Place First Floor, 10-14 Bulletin Place, Circular Quay Mon – Wed 4pm-midnight; Thurs – Sat 4pm-1am deVine 32 Market St, Sydney CBD (02) 9262 6906 Mon – Fri 11.30am-11.30pm; Sat 5.30-11.30pm Frankie’s Pizza 50 Hunter St, Sydney CBD Mon – Fri noon-3am; Sat – Sun 4pm-3am

bar

OF

ADDRESS: 320 CROWN STREET, SURRY HILLS / PHONE: 02 8356 9120 WEBSITE: ROSIECAMPBELLS.COM / OPENING HOURS: MON – THU 5PM-12AM, FRI – SUN 11AM-12AM

Bondy’s L1, 16 Philip Ln, Sydney CBD (02) 9251 2347 Thu – Fri 5pm-late; Sat 5pm-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

The Baxter Inn Basement 152-156 Clarence St, Sydney CBD Mon – Sat 4pm-1am

E E W

bar

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

Care for a drink?

One of the favourite cocktails that pumps out is our Kingston Sour. It features Appleton VX rum, mezcal, toasted caraway seed and pimento syrup served with a dehydrated lemon – perfect for any day of the week.

Sounds: This is where our American twist really amps up – you’ll often hear New York hip hop classics. During day trade you’ll find we have more reggae mixes, but as the night goes on, we introduce more of a hip hop vibe.

Highlights: The design and atmosphere.

It’s bright, cosy and easy to get comfortable in. With the chilled out music and F&B full of flavour, you won’t be disappointed. Remember, everything’s rosier with rum!

The bill comes to: Brunch can be cheap and cheerful for under $15. You can get eggs on light rye toast with avocado and a side of corn black bean salsa for $11. For dinner, you can have a full meal and sides with a cocktail for $36 (jerk chicken and a Kingston Sour).

28 :: BRAG :: 628 :: 02:09:15

The Rook Level 7, 56-58 York St, Sydney CBD (02) 9262 2505 Mon, Sat 4pm-midnight; Tue – Fri noon-midnight

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

Shirt Bar 7 Sussex Ln, Sydney CBD (02) 8068 8222 Mon –Wed 8am-8pm; Thu – Fri 8am-10pm

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

The Loft UTS 15 Broadway, Sydney (behind 2SER) (02) 9514 1149 Mon – Wed 2pm-10pm; Thurs – Fri 2pm-late

pancake stack. The pancakes are light and fluffy, served with spiced rum butter, maple syrup and fresh banana.

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

The SG 32 York St, Sydney CBD 0402 813 035 Tues – Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat 6pm-midnight

The Lobo Plantation Basement Lot 1, 209 Clarence St, Sydney CBD 0415 554 908 Mon – Thu, Sat 4pm-midnight; Fri 2pm-midnight

What’s on the menu?

We have a variety of dishes and our menu is designed to share with friends. From the ‘smalls’ we feature jerk wings, corn fritters and ceviche, and if you’ve brought your appetite, we would recommend our slow-cooked pork ribs or the Red Stripe beer braised ox tail, both served with generous sides. For the burger lovers out there, we serve up a mean jerk chicken burger or a soft shell crab burger, which always goes down a treat. Recently we’ve launched our brunch menu, available Friday through Sunday with a big up going to Rosie’s

Ramblin’ Rascal Tavern 199 Elizabeth St, Sydney CBD Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun 6pm-10pm

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

Harpoon Harry 40-44 Wentworth Ave, Sydney CBD (02) 8262 8800 Mon – Sun 11:30am-3am

Tell us about your bar: We’re a Jamaican-inspired jerk diner and rum bar nestled in the heart of Surry Hills. Bringing in Jamaican elements with an American twist, you’ll fi nd bright colours and big fl avours. We’ve imported over 30 rums from the islands of the Caribbean, with a rum-inspired cocktail list. The food isn’t traditional Jamaican, but defi nitely has a Jamaican kick to it. We have some tasty jerk dishes on the menu with fresh, colourful ingredients to go alongside. With cosy booths and chilled out music, you’ll want to stay a while.

348 Kent St, Sydney CBD Mon – Sat 5pm-12am

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 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

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 noon-midnight; 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 noon-11.30pm Uncle Ming’s 55 York St, Sydney CBD Mon – Fri noon-midnight; Sat 5pm-midnight York Lane 56 Clarence St, Sydney CBD (02) 9299 1676 Mon – Wed 6.30am-10pm; Thu – Fri 6.30pm-midnight; Sat 6pm-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 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 The Commons 32 Burton St, Darlinghurst (02) 9358 1487 Tue – Wed 6pm-late; Thu – Fri 12pm-late; Sat – Sun 6pm-late The Darlie Laundromatic 304 Palmer St, Darlinghurst Mon – Sat 5pm-11pm Darlo Bar 306 Liverpool St, Darlinghurst (02) 9331 3672 Mon – Sun 10am-midnight 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 thebrag.com

FIREBALL SOUR

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

@ THE DARLIE LAUNDROMATIC 304 PALMER STREET, DARLINGHURST

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

Ingredients: Fireball whiskey, lemon juice, simple syrup, egg white, two raspberries

Glass: Thick-bottomed whiskey glass Garnish: Fresh raspberry More: darlielaundromatic.com

The Hazy Rose 1/83 Stanley St, Darlinghurst (02) 9357 5036 Wed – Thu 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

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 noon-10pm

Hollywood Hotel 2 Foster St, Surry Hills (02) 9281 2765 Mon – Wed 10am-midnight; Thu – Sat 10am-3am

The Passage 231A Victoria St, Darlinghurst (02) 9358 6116 Mon – Sat 5pm-late

Hustle & Flow Bar 105 Regent St, Redfern (02) 9310 5593 Tue – Sat 5pm-midnight

Play Bar 72 Campbell St, Surry Hills (02) 9280 0885 Tues – Sat 5pm-midnight

Jekyll & Hyde 332 Victoria St, Darlinghurst (02) 9360 5568 Wed – Fri 4pm-late; Sat 8.30am-late; Sun 8.30am-evening

Pocket Bar 13 Burton St, Darlinghurst (02) 9380 7002 Mon – Wed 4pm-midnight; Fri – Sat 4pm-1am; Sun 4pm-midnight

Li’l Darlin Darlinghurst 235 Victoria St, Darlinghurst (02) 8084 6100 Mon – Sun 4pm-late Li’l Darlin Surry Hills 420 Elizabeth St, Surry Hills (02) 9698 5488 Mon – Fri noon-late; Sat 4pm-late

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

LL Wine and Dine 42 Llankelly Place Potts Point (02) 9356 8393 Mon – Thu 5pm-11pm; Fri – Sat noon-late; Sun 11am-10pm

Peekaboo 120 Bourke St, Woolloomooloo 0403 747 788 Mon – Thu 4pm-10pm; Fri – Sat 4pm – 12am

The Local Taphouse 122 Flinders St,

Roosevelt 32 Orwell St, Potts Point 0423 203 119

thebrag.com

Tue – Fri 5pm-midnight; Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm

(02) 8084 3145 Tue – Fri 4.30pm-late; Sat – Sun 12.30pm-late

4pm-midnight; Fri – Sat noon - midnight; Sun midday - 10pm

Rosie Campbell’s 320 Crown St, Surry Hills (02) 8356 9120 Mon 5pm-midnight: Tue – Sun 4pm-midnight

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

Blacksheep 256 King St, Newtown (02) 8033 3455 Mon – Fri 4pm-11pm; Sat 2pm-11pm; Sun 2pm-10pm

Hive Bar 93 Erskineville Rd, Erskineville (02) 9519 9911 Mon – Fri noon-midnight; Sat 11am-midnight; Sun 11am-10pm

Bloodwood 416 King St, Newtown (02) 9557 7699 Mon, Wed – Thu 5pm-late; Fri – Sat noonlate; Sun noon-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

The Chip Off The Old Block 3 Little Queen Street, Chippendale (02) 9318 0815 Tue – Sat 4pm-11pm

Knox Street Bar 21 Shepherd St, Chippendale Tue – Thu 4pm-l0pm; Fri – Sat 4pm-11pm

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 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

The Bucket List Shop 1, Bondi Pavilion, Queen Elizabeth Drive (02) 9365 4122 Mon – Tue 11am-5pm; Wed – Sun 11am-late The Corner House 281 Bondi Rd, Bondi (02) 8020 6698 Tue – Sat 5pm-midnight; Sun 3pm-10pm Fat Ruperts 249 Bondi Rd, Bondi (02) 9130 1033 Tue – Fri 6pm-late; Sat – Sun 2pm-late Mr Moustache 61-79 Hall St, Bondi Beach (02) 9300 8892 Mon – Fri 5pm-11pm; Sat noon-11pm; Sun noon-10pm Speakeasy 83 Curlewis St, Bondi (02) 9130 2020 Mon – Sat 5pm-11pm; Sat – Sun 4pm-10pm 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 noon-10pm

The Angry Pirate 125 Redfern St Redfern (02) 9698 9140 Tue – Thur 5pm-midnight; Fri – Sat 3pm-midnight

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 Cottage Bar & Kitchen 342 Darling St, Balmain (02) 8084 8185 Mon – Wed 5pm-midnight; Thu – Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm Different Drummer 185 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 9552 3406 Mon – Sat 4.30pm-late Doris & Beryl’s Bridge Club and Tea House 530 King St, Newtown Mon – Fri 5pm-midnight; Sat – Sun 5.30pm-midnight Earl’s Juke Joint 407 King St, Newtown Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun 4-10pm

Bar-racuda 105 Enmore Rd, Newtown (02) 9519 1121 Mon – Sat 6pm-midnight

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

The Bearded Tit 183 Regent St, Redfern (02) 8283 4082 Mon – Thu

The Hideaway Bar 156 Enmore Rd, Enmore (02) 8021 8451 Tue– Thu 4pm-midnight;

Fri – Sat noon-1am; Sun noon-10pm

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 noonmidnight; Sun 2pm-10pm Newtown Social Club 387 King St, Newtown (02) 9550 3974 Mon 9am-6pm; Tues – Fri

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

Manly Wine 8-13 South Steyne, Manly (02) 8966 9000 Mon – Sun 6.30am-late

Miami Cuba 47 North Steyne, Manly (02 99775186 Tue – Thu 8am-10pm; Fri – Sat 8am-1am; Sunday 8am-4pm

Zigi’s Wine And Cheese Bar 86 Abercrombie St, Chippendale (02) 9699 4222 Tue 4pm-10pm; Wed – Sat 2pm-late

Moonshine Lvl 2, Hotel Steyne, 75 The Corso, Manly (02) 9977 4977 Thu 5pm-2am; Fri 1pm-2am; Sat noon-2am; Sun noon-midnight

Alberts Bar 100 Mount St, North Sydney (02) 9955 9097 Mon – Wed 11.30am-10pm; Thu 11.30am-11pm; Fri 11.30am-midnight

The Pickled Possum 254 Military Rd, Neutral Bay (02) 9909 2091 Thu – Sat 9pm-1am SoCal 1 Young St, Neutral Bay (02) 9904 5691 Mon – Tue 4pm-late: Wed – Thu midday-1am; Fri – Sat midday- 2am; Sun midday-midnight

Firefly 24 Young St, Neutral Bay (02) 9909 0193 Mon – Thu 5-11.30pm; Fri 4-11.30pm; Sat noon11pm; Sun noon-10pm The Foxtrot 28 Falcon St, Crows Nest Tue – Wed 5pm-midnight; Thu 5pm-1am; Fri – Sat 5pm-2am; Sun 4pm-10pm

Honey Rider 230 Military Rd, Neutral

Los Vida 419 Pacific Hwy, Crows Nest (02) 9439 8323 Mon – Wed 5pm-midnight; Thu – Sat 11.30am-midnight; Sun 11.30am-10pm

The Mayor 400 Military Rd, Cremorne (02) 8969 6060 Tue – Wed 5pm-late; Thu – Sat noon-late; Sun noon-10pm

ZanziBar 323 King St, Newtown (02) 9519 1511 Mon – Sat 10am-4am; Sun 10am-12am

Hemingway’s 48 North Steyne, Manly (02) 9976 3030 Mon – Sat 8am-midnight; Sun 8am-10pm

The Hunter 5 Myahgah Rd, Mosman 0409 100 339 Mon – Tue 5pm-midnight; Wed – Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm

The Local Bar 8 Young Ln, Neutral Bay (02) 9953 0027 Tue – Fri 11.30am-midnight; Sat 7am-midnight; Sun 7am-10pm

Thievery 91 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 8283 1329 Tue – Thu 6pm-11pm; Fri 6pm-midnight.

Sat 11pm-3pm & 6pm-midnight

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

InSitu 1/18 Sydney Rd, Manly (02) 9977 0669 Tue – Fri 5pm-midnight; Sat 9am-midnight; Sun 9am-10pm

Jah Bar Shop 7, 9-15 Central Ave, Manly (02) 9977 4449 Mon – Fri 4pm-late; Sat 9am-late; Sun 9am-10pm

Temperance Society 122 Smith St, Summer Hill (02) 8068 5680 Mon – Thu 4pm-11pm; Fri – Sat: middaymidnight; Sun: midday10pm

Method: Mix it all together, shake and strain into glass with fresh ice

Love, Tilly Devine 91 Crown Ln, Darlinghurst (02) 9326 9297 Mon – Sat 5pm-midnight; Sun 4-10pm

Bay (02) 9953 8880 Tue – 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

Best drunk with: The company of good friends.

During: The afternoon and early evening.

While wearing: Jeans and a T-shirt.

And listening to: Currents by Tame Impala.

Darlinghurst (02) 9360 0088 Mon – Wed noonmidnight; Thu – Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-11pm

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

The Oxford Tavern 1 New Canterbury Rd, Petersham (02) 8019 9351 Mon – Thu midday-10pm; Fri – Sat midday-11pm; Sun midday-9pm The Record Crate 34 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 9660 1075 Tue – Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm

Origins: We have always been big fans of whiskey and whiskey sours. This cocktail came out of the idea of combining Big Red chewing gum (another favourite of ours) and the classic whiskey sour.

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

9am-8pm; Sat 10am-8pm

The Stoned Crow 39 Willoughby Rd, Crows Nest (02) 9439 5477 Mon – Sun noon-late 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 :: 628 :: 02:09:15 :: 29

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

ALBUM OF THE WEEK ROYAL HEADACHE

tracks. The heartfelt ‘Wouldn’t You Know’ may be beautiful and feature Shogun’s tender vocals, but this is followed by the bass-and-broken-glassdriven refrain of “You belong in the garbage” on ‘Garbage’.

Four years on from their debut self-titled record, Royal Headache have worked their high-energy garage rock down to an art. Straight up, their second release High is a churning mass of noise, aggression and compassion – in short, everything punters loved in their debut and more.

At the heart of Royal Headache is the performance of their frontman. Soulful and piercing, his lyrics show an extraordinarily empathic soul whose themes of love and disaster become something explosive and transcendent.

Shogun clearly cares until it hurts and this makes for some incredible vocals.

xxx

High Distant And Vague/What’s Your Rupture?

A second effort with all the vibrancy of their debut and then some.

ANDREI EREMIN Pale Blue Independent

Gone are the instrumentals of their first album – in their place are catchy-as-hell anthemic numbers and ballads with bright, almost cheery keys. But don’t get too comfortable; these songs feel right at home in between the more raucous

YO LA TENGO

Stuff Like That There Matador/Remote Control

On High, Royal Headache display the vibrancy that grew out of their debut and crawled its way through Sydney’s fractured urban sprawl.

Emerging caked in dirt and grit, the result isn’t

LAST DINOSAURS Wellness Dew Process/Universal

pretty but the beauty is definitely there – just beneath the blunt-edged guitars and world-worn battle scars.

Jade Smith

THE SWORD

THE LIBERTINES

High Country Razor & Tie/Cooking Vinyl

Anthems For Doomed Youth Virgin/EMI

With puns fully intended, The Sword have been chopping their way through the realm of heavy metal and stoner rock for just over a decade. It’s served the band considerably well until this point, but there’s clearly been some concern amid the quartet regarding the tip of their collective blade not being quite as sharp as it once was.

Back in 2004, you would’ve got long odds on Pete Doherty living to the following Christmas, never mind making a third album with The Libertines. Adrift on a sea of mistrust, petty crime and intravenous drugs, the singer-guitarist seemed doomed. How pleasantly surprising it is that 11 years later, The Libertines’ full lineup is back with a new album – but is there still a place for a band that once was the doomed youth, but now only writes songs for them?

You might not have heard his name before, but Andrei Eremin’s fingerprints are likely all over your music library, with mixing, production and mastering credits on recent releases by Haitus Kaiyote, Chet Faker, Japanese Wallpaper and others. Pale Blue is his solo debut, and as such, Eremin does what any would-be Casanova would in order to woo a bewildered female suitor – he busts out his best moves.

Recalling their 1990 breakthrough Fakebook, Yo La Tengo have returned with a set of covers, re-workings and a few new songs performed as a country folk quartet with original guitarist Dave Schramm. It’s the exact type of album the average 30-yearold band should make. But Yo La Tengo are far better than the average band, and they should be aiming higher.

After touring from continent to continent off the back of their killer 2012 debut, In A Million Years, Brisbane’s Last Dinosaurs have offered up a ten-song-long followup, Wellness. With a theme of self-reflection threading (perhaps too neatly) through each track, Wellness sees Last Dinosaurs expand their sound and show they aren’t afraid to play with new things.

Eremin’s dark production style, while aesthetically intriguing (and a timely change from the re-emergent PC Music movement that has been colouring a ream of recent electronica releases), simply isn’t substantial enough to warrant a full release unadorned. Fortunately, he is aware that some of his greatest strengths as a producer are in collaboration, and augments Pale Blue’s intrigue by enlisting the help of Kučka, Fractures and Simon Lam (I’lls) to furnish these tracks with immersive vocal features.

Pale Blue’s one instrumental, its title track, is nightmarish Flying Lotusesque filler, but is soon washed away in the beauty of ‘Two Dones’, a modest electronica-pop collage featuring Lam (as Nearly Oratorio) lulling over a rickety piano refrain.

It’s no surprise, then, that the best songs here are Yo La Tengo’s own. ‘Rickety’ is an instant classic, featuring the band’s signature hushed melodies and a harmonised sigh that will make every meaningful moment in your life flash before you all at once. The dreamy ‘Awhileaway’ wouldn’t be out of place on And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out. The covers, although a little safe, are all presented with care, and betray a love of music history – no secret when it comes to Yo La Tengo. In amongst covers of The Cure, Hank Williams, Great Plains and others, the best one here is the uptempo doo-wop of ‘Somebody’s In Love’, continuing the band’s obsession with Sun Ra.

Fresh techniques like samples are effectively mastered and add context and depth to the eerie, smoky title track. The beginning of ‘Apollo’ sounds like it’s been sampled from a fashion runway; applause, general chatter, and then bright, attention-grabbing synths spin the listener into one spectacular dance tune.

Pale Blue is a fully rounded listening experience that showcases the producer’s expansive songwriting capacities with precision.

In 2015, delivering a sequel to the 25-year-old Fakebook seems like a missed opportunity. It’s beautiful, but it’s Yo La Tengo – of course it’s beautiful.

After a three-year gap between albums, impossibly intricate and simply solid guitar work is still undeniably at the front of how Last Dinosaurs operate.

Adventurous by nature and intelligent by design, High Country has enough substance to please those on board from day dot, as well as those investigating for the first time.

Anyone looking for an anthem as glorious as ‘Don’t Look Back Into The Sun’ will be disappointed, but perhaps it’s unfair to compare The Libertines of 2015 to the 2004 version. Perhaps we should be grateful this album exists at all. Or should that be astonished?

Lachlan Wyllie

Leonardo Silvestrini

Katie Davern

David James Young

Paul McBride

One thing that hasn’t changed in the three years between releases is the Magic Mountain vibe (see the excellent psychedelic ’90s kids TV show) that can’t help but radiate from Last Dinosaurs’ music. There are twirling, danceable synths, buzzing head-in-the-clouds guitars, finely executed riffs and the most niggling of ear-worm melodies.

INDIE ALBUM OF THE WEEK Few artists can squeeze as many narratives into a sound as Sui Zhen. Fewer still can manage it with her same style and grace, and none while producing a sound unburdened by the larger aspects and themes.

SUI ZHEN

Secretly Susan Dot Dash/Remote Control

30 :: BRAG :: 628 :: 02:09:15

Following on from her complementary EPs releases Body Reset and Female Basic, Secretly Susan is an impressive, if sometimes bizarre album. Based on and inspired by her alter ego, Susan was born from a love of Japanese lovers rock, ’80s electro/ bossa nova and dubby lounge-pop, discovered during her time in Japan and London with the Red Bull Music Academy. With her incredibly sweet and haunting vocals, Zhen takes us

into a dreamlike world of ethereal pop music, feeling as though you’ve strayed into a music video dream of the early ’90s, filled with love, longing and sheer confusion of identity.

Susan comes to life in lead single ‘Take It All Back’, and from that moment on you’re happily lost in the colourful and surreal landscapes of Zhen’s very own version of pop music. And while it can be a weird and wonderful ride, you never feel uncomfortable or unwelcome.

In turn, the Texans’ fifth disc is one that shakes things up in a considerable way. While the title track and ‘Mist & Shadow’ are both muscular standard-bearers for their established herb-tinged, head-banging style, there are also curious detours into electronica (the surprisingly effective ‘Seriously Mysterious’) and groovier rock shuffles in the style of Grand Funk Railroad and Thin Lizzy (‘Empty Temples’). The see-what-sticks approach doesn’t always play into the band’s favour, and the album runs overtime as a result. Even so, the fact they’re willing to throw caution to the wind and broaden their horizons puts them streets ahead of their more close-minded contemporaries.

The answer is yes, if only to allow the dual songwriting skills of Doherty and Carl Barât to flourish once more. The duo are equally adept at referencing Wilfred Owen and Rudyard Kipling as they are telling tales of crawling the streets of Camden Town. Much of the edge present on their earlier records is inevitably blunted, but danger’s loss is songcraft’s gain.

Opener ‘Barbarians’ is misleading as it could fit perfectly into either of the first two albums, but slower tracks ‘You’re My Waterloo’ and ‘The Milkman’s Horse’ provide introspective moments.

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

SZYMON - Tigersapp ROBBIE WILLIAMS - Sing When You’re Winning KATIE WIGHTON - Oh-Dark-Hours

DOVES - Kingdom Of Rust TLC - CrazySexyCool

Secretly Susan is a truly wonderful addition from a constantly surprising artist.

Daniel Prior thebrag.com

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

JEFF LANG

the evening to keep his banter fresh.

Last summer I had the singular pleasure of attending the Woodfolk Folk Festival (it was in fact my fifth Woodford, but each time is singularly unique). One of the pleasures of any festival is the discovery of artists who had slipped your radar, and this year it was the phenomenal blues/ rock/folk stylings of Jeff Lang. Rarely had I seen a musician bring an instrument to such colourful life, and across electric, acoustic and slide guitars he came very close to transforming the whole festival into the Jeff Lang Showcase.

More to the point, it allowed his attention to remain fixed to each song. You occasionally hear someone remark how an accomplished musician can make playing an instrument seem so simple, but it was constantly clear just how hard Lang was working up there. His focus was incredible – not because he was at all struggling, but because he crafts each song with such depth and intensity (or as he quipped, “Don’t show any fear, the guitar will know and turn on you.”). We were fortunate to be sitting close to stage, and watching his fingers blur up close was a sight to behold.

Camelot Lounge Friday August 28

Lang has been cited as one of the hardest-working performers in Australian music, and it’s no faint praise. From solo shows like that at Camelot Lounge, to the Aus-Indian fusion of Maru Tarang, Lang is one busy bluesman. As such, my one gripe from this performance was an impermanent disconnect with the audience. There were occasions where he seemed to lose any engagement with the crowd; staring out across the room like this was any other gig on any other night – which is also entirely fair. There’s no charter that behoves a musician to also act as showman, and Lang dropped enough off-the-cuff remarks throughout

The highlights of the night? I went heartin-hand to hear ‘Five Letters’, and sure enough it appeared mid-set. Something I enjoyed most of all was hearing the wildly enthusiastic crowd going mad for songs I was completely unfamiliar with – clearly my Lang learnin’ has a ways to go. The encore, ‘Throw It All’, was one such song, but my money sits on ‘Running By The Rock’ as the evening’s pinnacle. That said, with faults few and far between, each song was brought to evocative life, and I cannot wait to catch the man in action again.

wed

thu

02 Sept

03 Sept (9:00PM - 12:00AM)

fri

04 Sept

SATURDAY AFTERNOON

sat

05 Sept

It’s been a few months since Oslow last graced a Sydney stage. Not that it’s apparent, of course – the quartet seem constantly locked into one another’s movements, delivering a garage-dwelling math rock sound that has evolved into something quintessentially linked to the band’s name. Although the surrounds of Manning were unfamiliar territory to a band mostly accustomed to smaller rooms such as Black Wire Records or even Newtown Social Club, they were able to impressively adapt to the environment – as was their small but vocal fan base, which made itself especially present during the closing onetwo of ‘Blue On Blue’ and ‘Cliffy’. There’s no doubt about it – when we’re talking Oslow, we’re talking one of the most interesting and promising bands in the country. The same cannot be said, however, for Awaken I Am, who are barely worth the energy it takes to write their name, let alone the sentence that contains it.

While many will look back to A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out or From Under The Cork Tree as the vital records of the mall emo period, it could well be argued that it’s

THE DRONES, BATPISS Factory Theatre Thursday August 27

Any band matched to a style as unwieldy and unconventional as that of The Drones is at once both an ill-fitting odd choice and the perfect choice of opener. From Kev Carmody to King Gizzard, The Drones have shone a light on many cult heroes and left-field artists when it comes to their ‘with special guests’. Tonight, the honour was bestowed upon Batpiss, an outfit that churns out scratchy, belligerent noise-rock with malice and intent. Each song takes meat-and-potatoes riffs and hurls them forcefully into a downward spiral of ampsplitting feedback and the authoritative bark of bands like Fu Manchu or High On Fire. To put it bluntly, Batpiss don’t belong anywhere – and it’s an arrangement that suits its three members just fine.

There’s no gimmick, there are no layers of comprehension, there’s nothing to ‘get’. It’s heads down, horns up, rinse and repeat.

Welcome to the family, Batpiss.

There are hundreds of ways to enjoy live music, but one core element decides the ebb and flow of one’s reaction: seated or standing. Over the years, The Drones have proven themselves in both arenas.

thebrag.com

06 Sept

Sept

(4:30PM - 7:30PM)

(8:30PM - 12:00AM)

(10:00PM - 1:15AM)

tue

07

Manning Bar Friday August 28

SUNDAY AFTERNOON

sun

5:45PM  8:45PM

mon MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK, AWAKEN I AM, OSLOW

(10:00PM - 1:40AM)

5:45PM  8:45PM

Adam Norris

Motion City Soundtrack’s Commit This To Memory that has persevered out of the entire lot. One could certainly be led to believe so by gauging the reaction from fans at the packed-out Manning, who sang the opening combo of ‘Attractive Today’ and ‘Everything Is Alright’ with all the gusto and fist-clenching triumph of a decade prior.

Like any great front-to-back album show, this was a display of both what this record means to people after so many years as well as a testament to the individuals behind it.

(9:00PM - 12:00AM)

08 (9:00PM - 12:00AM)

Sept

(9:00PM - 12:00AM)

We can’t discuss the evening without mentioning the elephant in the room – or, as it was later dubbed, the “spaceship”.

No less than half a dozen times over the course of the night, the PA made a deafening gurgle and nearly blew out everything onstage. It’s not acceptable for a professional venue to have this level of screw-up, and it threatened to ruin the evening. Even so, they made it through the album and into favourites like ‘The Future Freaks Me Out’ and ‘This is For Real’, refusing to let the technical problems rain on their parade. It ended up serving as a greater metaphor for Motion City Soundtrack’s career – no matter what shit gets thrown their way, they keep on coming back.

David James Young

With that said, having now experienced what is essentially the same set in both the iconic Sydney Opera House and the ever-reliable Factory, one has to raise the hand of the latter in victory. No, The Drones aren’t a band you can dance to, mosh to… hell, you can barely even tap your feet. It is, however, music one feels – while the songs simply washed over those at the Opera House, those crowded toward the front of the stage here found ample opportunity to lose themselves in the moment of a screeching guitar break, a rare moment of clarity or one of the many “na na na”s the set had to offer.

It’s primarily driven by their sole constant, Gareth Liddiard, who still bends every last note from both his voice or his guitar until either breaks. Wry and scrawny, he presents as one of Australian music’s truest underdogs – which may well explain why so many stake a sincere emotional investment into his every musical venture. Even when the song is not his own – as with ‘River Of Tears’ (originally by the aforementioned Carmody) – he still opines over each word as if it were. Such is the magic of a performer like Liddiard, and such is the magic of a band like The Drones.

David James Young

BRAG :: 628 :: 02:09:15 :: 31

snap sn ap

VIEW FULL GALLERIES AT

thebrag.com/snaps

empra

PICS :: AM

up all night out all week . . .

le pie

PICS :: AM

30:08:15 :: Frankie’s Pizza :: 50 Hunter St Sydney

28:08:15 :: Oxford Art Factory :: 38-46 Oxford St Darlinghurst 9332 3711

32 :: BRAG :: 628 :: 02:09:15

hellyeah

PICS :: AM

oh mercy

PICS :: KC

27:08:15 :: Goodgod Small Club :: 53-55 Liverpool St Chinatown 8084 0587

27:08:15 :: Metro Theatre :: 624 George St Sydney 9550 3666 OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER

S :: JACK BENNETT :: KATRINA

CLARKE :: ASHLEY MAR ::

thebrag.com

g g guide gig g

PRIVATE BALMAIN! SINGING AVAILABLE IN

send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com

pick of the week Xavier Rudd And The United Nations

FRIDAY S E P T E M BER 4

Enmore Theatre

Xavier Rudd And The United Nations

Jammin + Chris Brookes + Bronwyn Eather Ruby L’otel, Rozelle.

7:30pm. Free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Furnace And The Fundamentals Soda Factory, Surry Hills. 5pm. Free.

Glee Club Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 7pm. $10.

Glenn Esmond Fortune Of War, The Rocks. 7pm. Free.

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

Live At The Sly Feat: Hippie Death Star + Smaal Cats + Raindrop Slyfox, Enmore.

7:30pm. Free.

Methyl Ethel Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7pm. $13.

Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox Metro Theatre, Sydney. 7pm. $65.15.

Slide McBride Band Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9pm. Free.

Steve Crocker Duo Mr Tipply’s, Darlinghurst. 5:30pm.

Free.

The Iron Horses + Love Drunk Hearts + Spoonbill Valve Bar, Agincourt

Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. $5.

Yon Yonson + VCS + Yeah Nah Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $10.

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 4 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Dave Ireland Marrickville Ritz Hotel, Marrickville.

8pm. Free.

Rob Eastwood Feat: 99 On York Campbelltown Catholic Club, Campbelltown. 6pm.

Free.

Spirit Of The Anzacs - Feat: Jack Thompson + Lisa McCune + Lee Kernaghan + John Schumann + Jack Jones + Harrison Craig + Fred Smith Allphones Arena, Sydney Olympic Park. 7:30pm. Free.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

Anthony B + House Of Shem Max Watt’s, Moore Park. 8pm. $55.10.

LESSONS

ALL GENRES, ALL AGES, ALL LEVELS No Experience Necessary

FIRST LESSON FREE if you book before 31 Sept!

Relaxed, comfortable, home environment. for more info

Call 0438 671 725

or email vanessa.a.raspa@gmail.com Sexy Sunday Jam Bellini Lounge, Potts Point. 7pm. Free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Adam Miller Mr Falcon’s, Glebe.

9pm. Free.

Big Dingo + Solid Effort Vic On The Park, Marrickville. 9pm.

Free.

Born Lion Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $12.25.

Chris Duke And The Royals + Nerdlinger + 7 Evil Exes + Moof De Vah + LLC Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. $10.

Dave Graney And The Coral Snakes Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $35.

Dave Mason Cox Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 4:30pm. Free.

Glenn Esmond Trio Narrabeen Sands Hotel, Narrabeen.

8:45pm. Free.

Imagine Dragons + British India Qantas Credit Union Arena, Darling Harbour. 7:50pm. $94.66.

Jimmy Mann The Push Bar, The Rocks. 7:30pm. Free.

Nathan Cole Chatswood RSL, Chatswood. 5pm.

Free.

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

Steve Crocker 99 On York, Sydney.

5:30pm. Free.

The Pragmatics The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 7pm. $5.

The Roots Of Hugo Race + Ed ClaytonJones The Vanguard, Newtown. 6:30pm. $23.80.

The Sphinxes Vineyard Hotel, Vineyard. 9:30pm.

Free.

I MAG I N E BE I NG MAD E TO

8pm. $65.80.

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 2 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Songsonstage - Feat: Andrew Denniston + Paul Methyl Ethel

Jaros + Guests Mosman Rowers Club, Mosman. 7pm.

Free.

The Squeezebox Trio Mr Falcon’s, Glebe.

7pm. Free.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

Hammerhead Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8:30pm.

Free.

Tom Ferris + Sam McNally The Basement, Circular Quay. 7pm. $34.50.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK &

COVERS

Drillhorse + Ska’d 4 Life + Pearshaped Orange Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 7pm. $10.

Ed & Astro Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9pm. Free.

FEEL LIKE CRAP JUST FOR

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 3 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

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

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Music Sessions Feat: Zack Martin + Guests Marrickville Bowling Club, Marrickville.

7pm. Free.

Songsonstage - Feat: Stuart thebrag.com

BEING

LEFT

H A N D E D.

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

GO TO LEFTHAND.ORG.AU TO WATCH THE VIDEO

STOP t THINK t RESPECT

BRAG :: 628 :: 02:09:15 :: 33

g g guide gig g

g g picks gig p

send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com

up all night out all week...

Whole Lotta Love - Simon Meli A Place To Bury Stangers

The Whitlams + Perry Keyes + Tim Wheatley Metro Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $46.85.

Vanessa Heinitz Manly Leagues Club, Brookvale. 9pm.

Free.

Woof - A Charity Concert For Black Dog Institute Feat: Pelvis + New Lovers + Greenwave Beth + Death Bells Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $10.

Xavier Rudd And The United Nations Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 8pm. $65.80.

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 5 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK Mojo House Band - Feat: Jesse & James Mojo Record Bar, Sydney. 7pm. Free.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Harmonyka Presents Longitude (East Meets West) - Feat: Sayak Bhattacharya And Murtaza Damoon + Chris Fields + Sandy Evans + James Greening + Michael Galleazzi + Jeremy Sawkins +Yama Sarshar Village Church, Annandale. 6pm. $40.

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

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS A Place To Bury Strangers Manning Bar, Camperdown. 8pm. $44.

Altitude Macarthur Tavern, Campbelltown. 9pm.

Free.

Andy Illinois Picton Hotel, Picton.

8pm. Free.

Born Lion Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle. 8:30pm.

$12.80.

Cosmic Psychos Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $30.

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

Glenn Esmond Marrickville Ritz Hotel, Marrickville.

8pm. Free.

Got It Covered Carousel Inn Hotel, Rooty Hill. 8pm.

Free.

Hugo Race And The True Spirit + Ed Clayton-Jones + Chordblood Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 9pm. $18.

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

Oneworld Kings Park Tavern, Kings Park. 7pm.

Free.

Pikachunes + Wells + Hunch Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $10.

Spit Roasting Bibbers The Belvedere Hotel, Sydney. 7:30pm.

Free.

Ted Nash Fortune Of War, The Rocks. 3pm. Free.

The Lighthouse Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 9pm. $23.10.

Venom Clubnight - Feat: Dropbear + Underminer + The Murdering + Five Decade Faint Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. $15.

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

Whole Lotta Love State Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $122.

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 6 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK Blues Collective Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 6pm.

Free.

Dave Ireland Strawberry Hills Hotel, Surry Hills.

4pm. Free.

Songsonstage - Feat: Stuart Jammin + Guests Harlequin Inn, Pyrmont. 3pm. Free.

Songsonstage - Feat: Andrew

34 :: BRAG :: 628 :: 02:09:15

Denniston + X-Iled + Erin Madeline Clare Red Lion Hotel, Rozelle. 4pm. Free.

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 7

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

Benn Allen Ingleburn Hotel, Ingleburn. 1pm. Free.

Cover Note Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 8:30pm. Free.

Dave Debs Picton Hotel, Picton.

1pm. Free.

Glenn Esmond Fortune Of War, The Rocks. 6pm. Free.

Glenn Esmond Duo Peachtree Hotel, Penrith. 1pm. Free.

King Street Crawl - Feat: City Calm Down + Andy Golledge + Brian Campeau + Leura + Richard In Your Mind + Day Ravies + High-Tails + The Ocean Party + Noire + The Daphne Rawling Band + More Various venues, Newtown. 2pm. Free.

La Experiment + DJs Nad And Murray Lake Manly Wharf Hotel, Manly. 3pm. Free.

LJ Macarthur Tavern, Campbelltown. 2pm.

Free.

Lonesome Train Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 4:30pm. Free.

Ocean Alley + Jester + Thunderfox Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt.

3pm. $16.90.

Satellite V Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 4pm. Free.

Shaykes + New Regulars + The Radics Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 3pm. $10.

Sidebar Sundays Feat: Dave White Side Bar, Sydney.

9pm. Free.

Ted Nash Chatswood RSL, Chatswood. 12pm.

Free.

The Glamma Rays + No. 4 Band The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 5pm. $10.

The Story So Far + Man Overboard Metro Theatre, Sydney. 7pm. $46.

Vanessa Heinitz The Rivo Hotel, Riverstone. 4pm.

Free.

Sonic Mayhem Orchestra Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8:30pm.

Free.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 3 Furnace And The Fundamentals Soda Factory, Surry Hills.

5pm. Free.

Live At The Sly - Feat: Hippie Death Star + Smaal Cats + Raindrop Slyfox, Enmore. 7:30pm.

Free.

Methyl Ethel Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7pm. $13.

John Maddox Duo Mr Falcon’s, Glebe.

7pm. Free.

Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox Metro Theatre, Sydney.

7pm. $65.15.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Yon Yonson + VCS + Yeah Nah Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $10.

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

Oliver Goss Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9pm. Free.

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 4

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 8 INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS Co Pilot Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9pm. Free.

Live & Originals @ Mr Falcons - Feat: Andy Kidd + Bowen & Clare + Red Dragonfly Mr Falcon’s, Glebe.

7:30pm. Free.

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

Yukon Blonde Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $33.

Anthony B + House Of Shem Max Watt’s, Moore Park.

8pm. $55.10.

The Whitlams + Perry Keyes + Tim Wheatley Metro Theatre, Sydney.

8pm. $46.85.

Woof - A Charity Concert For Black Dog Institute - Feat: Pelvis + New Lovers + Greenwave Beth + Death Bells Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $10.

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 5

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 6 King Street Crawl - feat: City Calm Down + Andy Golledge + Brian Campeau + Leura + Richard In Your Mind + Day Ravies + High-Tails + The Ocean Party + Noire + The Daphne Rawling Band + more Various venues, Newtown.

2pm. Free.

Ocean Alley + Jester + Thunderfox Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt. 3pm. $16.90.

A Place To Bury Strangers Manning Bar, Camperdown. 8pm. $44.

Satellite V Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney.

4pm. Free.

Cosmic Psychos Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $30.

The Story So Far + Man Overboard Metro Theatre, Sydney.

7pm. $46.

Pikachunes + Wells + Hunch Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $10.

Whole Lotta Love State Theatre, Sydney.

8pm. $122.

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 8 Yukon Blonde Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $33.

Yon Yonson

Born Lion Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $12.25.

Dave Graney And The Coral Snakes Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $35.

Imagine Dragons + British India Qantas Credit Union Arena, Darling Harbour.

7:50pm. $94.66.

The Roots Of Hugo Race + Ed Clayton-Jones The Vanguard, Newtown.

6:30pm. $23.80.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Acronym Orchestra Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8:30pm.

Free.

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

Free.

City Calm Down

thebrag.com

brag beats

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

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

five things WITH

L’OASIS

YOU’LL DO, MIKE Q

All the way from New Jersey, Mike Q is hitting up Shift Bar for a jampacked Midnight Shift thanks to H/A\M. Mike Q is known for tearing up the Vogue/Ballroom house scene in the US undeground with his infectious bass and dirty words. Expect a sound borrowing from Chicago’s Ghetto House and New Jersey club music. Other acts to anticipate at the Friday September 11 Midnight Shift include Black Cracker, Victoria Kim, Kato, Baby Face Thrilla and Bhenji Rā.

Turn up on the night and turn up the volume.

Mike Q

Growing Up Luke O’Connor: My parents 1. lived through the punk era, so there’s plenty of interesting stuff to be found in their record collection.

Some prime picks are David Bowie, Gary Numan and The Residents.

Rohan Willard: Standout parental influence memories include Paul Simon, Led Zeppelin, Annie Lennox and Eurythmics, Joni Mitchell, Gershwin, Beethoven, Kiri Te Kanawa.

2.

Inspirations LO: Way too many to list. I recently bought a copy of Aphex Twin’s …I Care Because You Do on vinyl for my dad’s birthday and listening to it brought back a lot of memories, it’s such a good album.

RW: Anything that makes me feel something. Spotify tells me this week’s tunes included Aretha Franklin, Arthur Russell, Robert Hood, Kelela, Arvo Pärt, Lord Of The Isles, Sade, Caribou, Salsoul Orchestra, DJ Jus-Ed, Dolly Parton.

Your Crew RW: I was introduced to real 3. house and techno music in Berlin’s club scene circa 2009 (excuse the cliché). In Sydney, a few brilliant people run long-standing bigproduction queer parties that unite large communities, incorporate non-musical art forms, and are full of love and deep record collections.

These heroes set a beautiful local example that we’re trying to follow in our own way with L’Oasis. In general I feel pretty close to an extended family of ‘queer’ creatives who inspire me every day, both in

Sydney and around the world. I work at a university three days a week to pay the rent and stimulate other parts of my brain.

The music you make and play 4.

LO: Currently I am playing a lot of house and techno, focusing on darker and more industrial tones.

People like Marcel Fengler, DJ Richard, Trevino, Young Male and Stefan Vincent all regularly feature in my sets.

RW: My primary style is I guess what you’d call ‘underground’ house and techno. Lately – among many other bits and pieces – I’m playing lots of older (purer!) acid house and techno tracks, particularly Chicago stuff.

In general I tend towards more instrumental, progressive, dreamy spacey reflective hypnotic sounds.

Some contemporary artists who spring to mind are Florian Kupfer, Matrixxman, Patricia, Paranoid London, Levon Vincent.

Music, Right Here, Right Now 5.

Obviously doing anything in a nightclub is really tough right now because of the NSW Government waging wars on drugs, nonmainstream culture and personal responsibility. We are trying to stay optimistic – there is a potential for the current puritanical clusterfuck to actually further unite and strengthen our night-time music and dance scenes.

MOVE OVER

Here’s your chance to dance like no-one is watching at Sydney’s inaugural four-day mega dance party. With a star-studded lineup of international and local talent, the inaugural MoVement Sydney is set to debut this October as the most intense celebration of Sydney’s favourite dance party crews. The event spans a multitude of the city’s most vibrant locations – from boats on the harbour to record stores, everyone’s most beloved venues to secret warehouses. Featuring the likes of Spank Rock, Ghastly, Daniel Bortz, Honey Dijon, Andy Hart, Seekae, Dreems, Sleep D, Linda Marigliano and Motorik Vibe Council (just to name a few), Sydney’s dancefloors are set to overflow with unforgettable parties and late-night shindigs.

MoVement truly embodies the ever-

Jordan Peters

ANDROMEDA

In preparation for the second Andromeda Festival in Queensland this October, Something Else is holding a little party to get Sydneysiders pumped for the main event. Held just outside of Brisbane, Andromeda is the ultimate in exclusive underground music festivals, with only 500 tickets on offer. The launch party, however, will be a little bit more accessible, given it’s going down at the Burdekin Hotel. It’ll feature music from Echo Inspectors, Rikki Newton and Jordan Peters, offering just a taste of the festival to come. Also making it just that little bit easier to attend the full event up north, punters at the Sydney launch will go in the running to win tickets to the festival, with two double passes up for grabs to presale ticketholders. The Andromeda Launch Party goes down on Saturday September 5.

expanding dance and electronic music phenomena, and will run from Thursday October 22 – Sunday October 25.

of her debut EP, she’ll be out touring the nation this October. See her headline Goodgod Small Club on Saturday 20 November.

ODE TO JOY

COOL HANDS

Taking over airwaves and stages around the country, there’s no doubt that 17-year-old JOY. AKA Olivia McCarthy is an artist to watch. Her debut EP Ode, out now, features lead single, ‘About Us’, which received high rotation on triple j, fifth spot on the AirT charts as well as hitting 100,000 plays on Soundcloud and 150,000 spins on Spotify. Recently featuring in Peking Duk’s single and their triple j Like A Version performance, as well as supporting Miami Horror, she has performed alongside artists like Tkay Maidza, George Maple and Dustin Tebbutt. In celebration of the release

Kiwi DJ Coolhand Luke is throwing a massive shakedown at Surry Hills’ Play Bar this weekend. Luke has been on the decks for 20 years – the majority of which were spent in Oz, so we still get to claim him – and has supported the likes of Public Enemy, Jurassic Five, Fatboy Slim and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, to name a few.

And while he may have cool hands, he won’t be getting cold feet on the night – he’ll be joined by acclaimed DJ Mark Walton AKA Fretless, fellow Kiwi DJ Hudge and local party boy Shan Frenzie. Check it out at Play Bar on Saturday September 5.

Gladiator

What: L’Oasis Where: Slyfox When: Friday September 4

TURN UP THE SUB

Subsonic, the three-day boutique camping festival dedicated to all things beats, has revealed its second round lineup for 2015. Maayan Nidam will return for the second year running, alongside some impressive new additions including Wolf+Lamb, Margaret Dygas, Francesca Lombardo, Bella Sarris and more. Meanwhile, Subsonic regular Opiuo will be back on deck in a new format as The Opiuo Band. Add that announcement to a lineup that so far has included the likes of Roman Flügel, Max Cooper and KiNk, and you know this is gonna be a good one. Subsonic 2015 takes over Riverwood Downs Mountain Valley Resort at Barrington Tops (two hours north of Sydney) on Friday December 4 – Sunday December 6. Check out the full lineup announcement so far at thebrag.com.

thebrag.com

A DUOS DUO

Maayan Nidam

Los Angeles DJ/production duo Gladiator are bringing all their energy and enthusiasm to the infamous local club night Pacha at Ivy. Daniel Goodman and Ian Johnson are known for bringing a unique dynamism and some hectic genre-bending to their electronic sets.

They’ll be joined on the night by Odd Mob, an Australian duo who’ve managed to kick off their career with features on Diplo & Friends on BBC Radio 1, and sets at Future Music, Stereosonic and Mountain Sounds Festival. Both duos will bring their special talents to Pacha Sydney on Saturday September 5.

BRAG :: 606 :: 01:04:15 :: 35

Pan-Pot This, That And The Other By Augustus Welby

I

n late July, Pan-Pot dropped the mini-EP, The Other One. The two tracks featured on the release – ‘808 Nirvana’ and ‘Pina’ – are lifted from the duo’s forthcoming LP, The Other. Berlin’s Tassilo Ippenberger and Thomas Benedix have been working together as Pan-Pot for more than a decade, and their debut full-length PanO-Rama came out in 2007. Since that time they’ve regularly released singles, EPs and remixes – as well as fulfilling DJ commitments all over the globe – but haven’t produced another long-player until now.

The Other was definitely designed to be played as an album – it ebbs and flows, taking in a variety of moods and emotional tones, and is augmented by a selection of guest vocalists. “We are using this album format to show our whole spectrum of music and what we like and our taste,” says Ippenberger. “I think this album format is a great format.”

Ippenberger and Benedix met at the turn of the 21st century when they were both enrolled in an audio engineering course. They’ve been engaged in a collaborative partnership ever since, and have developed a go-to working method for each time they enter the studio.

However, they’re not averse to trialling new methods.

“In general we have a way of working – a workflow we more or less always use,” Ippenberger says. “But definitely, if you didn’t [try new things] it would get boring.

We always try to find a different direction or a different idea for each track or remix, just to keep it interesting for ourselves. Obviously it’s always going to sound a little bit like us, because that’s something

you can’t change and I think that’s OK.”

a more traditional songwriting approach.

From a listener’s perspective, PanPot’s music is a lot about feeling; it encourages movement and often evokes a sense of creeping darkness. While it’s easy to become enveloped in their productions, patience and meticulous fine-tuning play a huge role in the creative procedure.

“We come from a very technical background. When we started working together whilst we were studying, we really produced in a way like experimenting with doing tracks. You’d go in the studio and you’d start creating something out of nothing. It’s all a big experiment.

But now with [The Other] we started doing songs and really focused on writing pieces, on writing lyrics and on writing hook lines and on writing the chorus.

“We are in love with detailed work and we spend a lot of time on it,” Ippenberger says. “The music we do – maybe it’s different with the album – is not super musical.

Melodies and harmonies are not the focus, but the details and all this effects work and all this dark atmosphere. And we lose ourselves in it while we are doing it.

“Now it’s more efficient than it used to [be], but we spend like two weeks on a track, and that’s also the reason why we sometimes sound really monotone and minimal, because it has to work in a long period of time, in a long loop, and it’s not allowed to bother us.

These darker sounds and darker atmospheres and these details make them more interesting and comfortable for us to listen over a long period of time.”

As opposed to harmony and melody, atmospheric details and effects are facets you’d associate with studio production.

Conventionally, ‘songs’ have been considered things that are written first and then recorded later on.

For producers, it often happens the other way around – tracks tend be built in the studio by expanding outwards from a root idea. On The Other, Pan-Pot looked to adopt

“In the past we only worked in an experimental way, in this kind of ‘producer’ way, and we were both interested in doing something else.

We wanted to do something else with our name and in this album context and we said, ‘We want to do songs, we want to do ambient stuff, we want to write music, we want to work with musicians,’ and stuff like that.”

The Other offers a more expansive depiction of Pan-Pot’s capabilities than their recent singles, but the pair’s techno origins haven’t been swept to the side. The electronic music sphere is always changing, and new trends pop up all the time.

You can’t deny a number of less interesting trends have emerged in recent years, but a lot of really great music continues to come out of the ever-evolving field of expression.

“We’ve always been somehow influenced by other artists, and especially out of the genre, because you always had people who were really bringing things forward,” says Ippenberger. “Especially right now, you have this term ‘EDM’ and you have all this shit EDM stuff, but you

also have interesting EDM stuff.

We both really like dubstep, like proper dubstep. From these guys… they are so young and so musically forward-thinking, but also technically forward-thinking. If you see these guys working with synthesisers, like Massive or Spectrum, it’s mindblowing to see how fast they come to a certain point.

“I think you should always be interested in what’s going on. It’s

Off The Record

What: The Other out Friday September 25 through Second State Where: The ArtHouse When: Saturday September 12

RECOMMENDED SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 5

Dance and Electronica with Tyson Wray Peter van Hoesen

always a question of taste, but in the end people who work hard, people who are talented and people who reach goals because they deserve it – why should I be bitter about that?”

Frank & Tony Bridge Hotel

Y

ou may remember a few weeks ago I mentioned that Eric Cloutier would be visiting later this year. Well, the show just doubled up and is set to be the most heavy-hitting night of techno for the year, with the announcement that he’ll be joined by goddamn Peter van Hoesen. It goes down on Friday November 27 at the Marrickville Bowling Club. I can’t recommend this gig any more. Seriously, this will be one for the ages.

Talk about the Sunday session to end all Sunday sessions. Those legends over at Picnic are throwing an afternoon bash with the Marvin & Valentino, the two lads behind Munich’s Public Possession: a label, record store, design studio, catering company and party brand. They’re backing it up with one hell of local lineup, including Noise In My Head, Heavenly DJs (Ben Fester, T. Mingus, Adrian E), Tamas Jones, Kali, Andy Webb, Adi Toohey, Hubert Clarke, Jr., Lady Shave, Spin The Bottle DJs (Inlieu, Andy Garvey) and Chic Bones. It’s all happening on Sunday October 25 at Harpoon Harry. Trust me, you’re going to be calling in sick for work on Monday.

Subsonic Music Festival’s club series Sub Club returns this weekend, and it’s set to be a big’un. Headlining the latest instalment are Brooklyn natives Frank & Tony. Known to their parents as Francis Harris and Anthony Collins, the dudes are the head honchos behind the indie house label Scissor & Thread. Back in New York they’re residents at the infamous Output, and once a month those go all night long and play for over ten hours. They’ll be joined a secret international guest, just in case you’re not sold yet. It’s happening at the Bridge Hotel on Saturday September 5.

The Something Else crew is set to shine a light on local stalwarts killing it this month.

Headlining proceedings will be Gabby,

Frank & Tony

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 12 Pan-Pot The ArtHouse

Felix da Housecat Manning Bar Mark Henning Burdekin Hotel

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 19 Kangding Ray Bridge Hotel Gabby Burdekin Hotel

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 25 Mark Henning Goodgod Small Club the house/techno hero who’s a resident at the legendary S.A.S.H parties and is also represented by the Finely Tuned agency. She’ll be joined by Tech No More, Wonky, Tristan Case, James Petrou, Jaded, Dean Relf and Litmus. Saturday September 19 at the Burdekin Hotel. In the diary.

Tour rumours: a little birdie tells me that early next year we’ll be seeing tours from two of the biggest names in the game – DJ Harvey and DJ Koze. Oh, and Mind Against? Lock ’em in for an Australian sojourn sooner rather than later.

Best releases this week: The Marx Trukker continues to be one of the most intriguing producers around, and his latest EP Among Climetree Harbors (on Noorden) is ace.

Otherwise I’m also vibing on Chaos In The CBD’s Midnight In Peckham (Rhythm Section International) and O B Ignitt & Omar-S’ The 90s Evolution Of What Is Was (Obonit).

SUNDAY OCTOBER 25 Public Possession Harpoon Harry

SATURDAY OCTOBER 31 Baauer Oxford Art Factory

Harvey Sutherland, Andy Hart Waves

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 14 Nina Kraviz Greenwood Hotel

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 20 Lapalux Chinese Laundry

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 21 Justin Martin Chinese Laundry

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

36 :: BRAG :: 628 :: 02:09:15

thebrag.com

club guide g

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

send your listings to : clubguide@thebrag.com

Dub FX

FRIDAY S E P T E M BER 4 Manning Bar

Dub FX Xxx

+ Ncrypt + Ohmage B2B Monako

9pm. $45.

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 2 CLUB NIGHTS 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.

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

HIP HOP & R&B 112 Rooty Hill RSL Club, Rooty Hill. 8pm. $57.60.

Sosueme - feat: Uberjak’d

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 3 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: DJs Hermann’s Bar, Darlington. 5pm. Free.

The Midnight Swim Sessions - feat: Thomas Studdy

Goros, Surry Hills.

8pm. Free.

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 4 CLUB NIGHTS Bassic - feat: Yahtzel + Herobust + Twine + Shantan Wantan Ichiban Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 9pm. $27.70.

Blvd Fridays - feat: DJ Flash Marquee, Pyrmont.

10pm. $13.40.

Champain Lyf (Couture) - feat: Mike Who + T-Syd + Jon Watts + Adrian E + Danny Banger Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 11pm. $10.

Derriere - feat: Rotating DJs Goros, Surry Hills.

6pm. Free.

DJ Somatik Manly Wharf Hotel, Manly. 8pm. Free.

Dub FX + Ncrypt + Ohmage B2B Monako Manning Bar, Camperdown. 9pm. $45.

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.

Frankie’s Pizza Fridays - feat: Rock ‘N’ Roll DJs Frankie’s Pizza,

Sydney. 9pm. Free.

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

9pm. Free.

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

Free.

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

Free.

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

HIP HOP & R&B 73 Til’ Infinity - feat: Dggz + Xs.If + Edseven + Benny Hinn Play Bar, Surry Hills.

4pm. Free.

MC Filth Wizard Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 9pm. $10.

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 5 CLUB NIGHTS El Loco Later - feat: DJs On Rotation Excelsior Hotel, Surry Hills. 10pm. Free.

Electro Circus feat: Carmada + Joel Fletcher + Tigerlily + Gladiator + Sikdope + Dotcom + Alex M.O.R.P.H. + Torro Torro + Alexander Popov + More Rosehill Gardens, Rosehill. 3pm. $85.

Florida Blanca Supper Club + Bar

HIP HOP & R&B Coolhandlukes’ Shakedown + Mark Walton + DJ Hudge + Shan Frenzie Play Bar, Surry Hills.

6pm. Free.

Xs.If Mr Falcon’s, Glebe.

9:30pm. Free.

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 2 Sosueme - Feat: Nico Ghost Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm. Free.

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 4 Bassic - Feat: Yahtzel + Herobust + Twine + Shantan Wantan Ichiban Chinese Laundry, Sydney.

9pm. $27.70.

Blvd Fridays - Feat: DJ Flash Marquee, Pyrmont. 10pm. $13.40.

Champain Lyf (Couture) - Feat: Mike Who + T-Syd + Jon Watts + Adrian E + Danny Banger Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 11pm. $10.

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 5

Shakedown + Mark Walton + DJ Hudge + Shan Frenzie Play Bar, Surry Hills. 6pm.

Free.

Electro Circus - Feat: Carmada + Joel Fletcher + Tigerlily + Gladiator + Sikdope + Dotcom + Alex M.O.R.P.H. + Torro Torro + Alexander Popov + More Rosehill Gardens, Rosehill.

3pm. $85.

Lndry - Feat: Wankelmut + Dom Dolla Chinese Laundry, Sydney.

9pm. $27.70.

Uberjak’d + Katt Niall Marquee, Pyrmont. 10pm. $18.60.

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 6 Picnic Social Harpoon Harry, Sydney.

4pm. Free.

S.A.S.H Sundays Home Nightclub, Darling Harbour. 6pm. $10.

Coolhandlukes’ Dotcom

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 6 CLUB NIGHTS Picnic Social Harpoon Harry, Sydney. 4pm. Free.

S.A.S.H Sundays Home Nightclub, Darling Harbour. 6pm. $10.

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 7 CLUB NIGHTS Mashup Monday - feat: Resident DJs + DJ Thieves + Recess + OTG + Chivalry + More Side Bar, Sydney.

8pm. Free.

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 8

Xxx

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Nico Ghost Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm.

Free.

Carmada

Dub FX photo by Elephant Studio

club pick of the week

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.

Le Fruit DJs Goros, Surry Hills.

8pm. Free.

Lndry - feat: Wankelmut + Dom Dolla Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 9pm. $27.70.

Nad And Brenny B Manly Wharf Hotel, Manly. 6pm. Free.

Pacha - feat: Gladiator + Odd Mob + Jaysounds + Kormak + Fear Of Dawn & Friends + Coda + Nanna Does + Jade Le Flay + Fingers + Troy T + King Lee + Heres Trouble + Trent Rackus + Dollar Bear + David Le + Rocco + Pete Deraz Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney. 6:30pm. $38.

Pier Pressure feat: Grmm + Go Freek + Danny T + Acaddamy + Human Movement + Avon Stringer + Snillum + Cartel + Getorix Nobbys Lighthouse, Newcastle. 2pm. $64.40.

Scubar Saturdays feat: Live DJs Scubar, Sydney.

8:30pm. Free.

Uberjak’d + Katt Niall Marquee, Pyrmont.

10pm. $18.60.

CLUB NIGHTS Coyote Tuesdays The World Bar, Kings Cross. 9pm. $10.

BRAG :: 628 :: 02:09:15 :: 37

snap

VIEW FULL GALLERIES AT

s.a.s.h sundays

PICS :: AM

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up all night out all week . . .

sosueme - ft miami horror

PICS :: JB

30:08:15 :: Home Nightclub :: 101/1-5 Wheat Rd Darling Harbour 9266 0600

26:08:15 :: Beach Road Hotel :: 71 Beach Rd Bondi Beach 9130 7247 OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER

38 :: BRAG :: 628 :: 02:09:15

S :: JACK BENNETT :: KATRINA

CLARKE :: ASHLEY MAR

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