Brag#635

ISSUE NO. 635 OCTOBER 21, 2015

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

MUSIC, FILM, THEATRE + MORE

INSIDE This Week

K AT IE NOON A N

One of Australia's brightest voices returns to her roots.

E A R T HL E S S

Improvisation comes naturally to the Californian trio.

BR END A N GR A CE

Ireland's king of family comedy brings the laughs to Sydney.

H A ML E T

Shakespeare's world of surveillance rings true in 2015.

Plus

PHIL A DELPHI A GR A ND JURY JOHN S A F R A N

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rock music news

the BRAG presents

welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town... with Gloria Brancatisano, Tegan Reeves and Aaron Streatfeild

MICHAEL P CULLEN Lazybones Lounge Thursday November 19

five things WITH

TROY HENDERSON FROM GO VAN GO

Out when I was ten to see the Ramones play.

Inspirations Black Sabbath – Sabbath 2.

Bloody Sabbath was the first

Growing Up My first concert was The 1.

Beach Boys (who I loved, and still do) when I was nine, but the most impactful memory was my dad taking me to the Big Day

album I bought. The Beach Boys’ first album was constantly on repeat in the car as a child.

Nirvana were the first band I loved that were ‘mine’ and current. The same thing happened with Radiohead when I bought Kid A. Brian Jonestown Massacre’s music blew me away in Dig!, so I bought all of their albums that week. I didn’t get The Beatles until I bought Sgt. Pepper’s in high school; the song construction and sonic possibilities blew my mind. ‘A Day In The Life’ is a masterpiece.

Your Band There’s only two of us, 3. which is great in some ways, not so great in others. It’s pushed us so much further musically, even

though it seems like a restrictive format. We’ve developed a musical telepathy which Dan [Sugars] calls our “phantom third brain”, which allows more spontaneity and sonic interconnectivity. Of course, if we don’t agree on something, there’s no third person to defuse it, so we have to be mature, sort of.

The Music You Make ’70s rock, ’90s grunge, ’60s 4. psychedelia, ’80s nothing, rad rock. We’re a two-piece, so it’s nice to be in the same ballpark as Royal Blood, DZ Deathrays, The Black Keys, The White Stripes and Simon & Garfunkel (jokes, but still). You can expect awesome riffs, bombastic rhythms, and a journey of mutated dirty pop-rock explosions till we’re about to pass out.

Music, Right Here, Right Now 5.

There are hundreds or even

FOALS

thousands of great Australian bands out there that many people won’t have heard of (us included), so it’s just a matter of persistence and doing it ’cause you love it, regardless of accolades and fanfare. If you build it, blah blah. It’s all so inspiring, and every new band I see or hear spurs me on. This will be the second time we’ve played Frankie’s, and there’s nowhere else we’d rather play – I mean, they’ve got pizza, beer and killer pinball machines.

We’re playing on a Sunday, so of course we’ll be checking out as many bands on Saturday night as possible. Any suggestions?

Hordern Pavilion Tuesday January 5

BLOC PARTY Enmore Theatre Thursday January 7

PARTY IN THE PADDOCK – ft. Violent Soho, Spiderbait, The Preatures and more Burns Creek, Tasmania Friday February 19 – Saturday February 20

What: Kill City: Switchblade out now independently With: Blackbreaks, The Ugly Kings, The Balls Where: Frankie’s Pizza When: Sunday October 25

TROYE BOY IN TOWN

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, Eden Gillespie, Tegan Reeves, Aaron Streatfeild 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 GIG & CLUB GUIDE COORDINATOR: Sarah Bryant - gigguide@thebrag.com (rock); clubguide@thebrag.com (dance, hip hop & parties)

Teen idol Troye Sivan has announced a national tour in support of his debut album Blue Neighbourhood, due for release on Friday December 4. At only 20 years of age, Sivan commands the second-most subscribed YouTube channel in Australia, not to mention 8.5 million likes spread across Instagram, Facebook and Tumblr. Following a sold-out six-date tour of the US, the youthful pop star will play his first run of headline shows in Australia, including one for us Sydneysiders at the Metro Theatre on Thursday November 12.

TWO WORLDS COLLIDE

Sydney solo artist Gabby Huber AKA Maples has revealed her debut album, Two Worlds, and a Sydney launch to boot. A cross-pollination of piano-driven pop and electronic textures, Huber combines the opposing musical worlds with ease and honesty. Her self-produced debut is a result of experiments with an array of electronic and acoustic instruments, all across a year, eight studios and with some big names in Aussie music that include Julian Hamilton, Dave Symes and Timothy Whitten. Two Words will be launched at Newtown Social Club on Tuesday November 17.

REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS: Nat Amat, Prudence Clark, Tom Clift, Christie Eliezer, Patrick Emery, 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

MORE LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT

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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THE BRAG

6 :: BRAG :: 635 :: 21:10:15

Waxahatchee

WAX ON, WAX OFF

Following a run of intimate solo shows back in July, Waxahatchee has announced she will return to Australian stages in February, this time featuring the debut of her five-piece live band.

The success of her third album Ivy Tripp, released back in April, has seen the Philadelphia-based songwriter tour the globe with the likes of Kurt Vile and Sleater-Kinney, as well as playing festivals including Pitchfork and Austin City Limits. Waxahatchee will be at Oxford Art Factory on Wednesday February 17.

The 2015 edition of the At First Sight festival has added to its lineup, which now includes psych-pop king Richard Cartwright (Richard In Your Mind), inventors of the Bangalore beat Royal Sitars, and Sydney duo World Champion. This new announcement rounds out a bill that also features the likes of Nicholas Allbrook, Tees, Donny Benet, Oscar Key Sung, Total Giovanni, Jonathan Toubin, Acid Baby Jesus and more, plus an onsite record fair. The festival’s all set for another year at Carriageworks after an extremely successful debut, and aims to create a platform for new and unique emerging acts to be discovered. You can get your next sight of At First Sight on Saturday November 14.

UNDERGROUND ORCHESTRA

The Factory Theatre will be hosting the ACO Underground collective – an experimental and electro-infused spin-off of the Australian Chamber Orchestra – for a one-off show on Thursday November 5. ACO Underground features some of the country’s finest musicians from both orchestral and contemporary backgrounds. Joining director/violinist Satu Vänskä will be bassist Brian Ritchie (Violent Femmes), guitarist Jim Moginie (Midnight Oil), and Timothy Constable (Synergy Percussion), as well as members of the Australian Chamber Orchestra.

SECRET GARDEN RETURNS

Secret Garden Festival – the place of wonder, music and fantasy where people go to lose themselves for a weekend in February – will be back with an expanded format in 2016. The festival, held at a secret location just outside Sydney, will next year take place with a full twoday format. Unlike previous years, all tickets will now include entry from Friday through Sunday morning, meaning there’s more time for the programmers to pack in their acts across the weekend. The capacity hasn’t changed, and the lineup won’t arrive until the festival sells out. Secret Garden 2016 will lift off on Friday February 26 and Saturday February 27. For ticketing details, visit secretgardenfestival. com.au.

WATER FALLS AT FALLS

Falls Festival is making a splash. If a lineup featuring Foals, Bloc Party and Disclosure isn’t enough for you, the organisers have announced that in Byron Bay this year there will be a purpose-built supersonic water park called Palm Springs, featuring a double-lane, nine-metre-tall, 20-metre-long screamer water slide, four large pools, mushroom fountains, lifeguards on the lookout and curated tropical party music. On top of that, there’ll be the Foxtel Movie Marquee, where you can sit back and chill out with Foxtel’s latest film offerings in an air conditioned setting. Falls goes down from Monday December 28 – Sunday January 3 in Lorne, Marion Bay and Byron. thebrag.com

xxx

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@TheBrag

ENGLISH SUMMER DOWN UNDER

UK indie rockers The Wombats have announced their one and only Aussie headline show on their trip Down Under for the Falls and Southbound festivals this summer. The trio was on our shores earlier this year, playing a killer set at Splendour and some sold-out sideshows across the country. Having just finished up a tour of the US, The Wombats are now making their way across the UK and Europe in support of their latest effort Glitterbug, which dropped in April. Expect to see some Glitterbug material, such as singles ‘The English Summer’, ‘Your Body Is A Weapon’ and ‘Greek Tragedy’, which have been making their way to the top of charts across the world. Don’t miss the only Wombats headline show on Sunday January 3 at the Hordern Pavilion.

AWESOME INTERNS: Elias Kwiet, Tegan Reeves, Aaron Streatfeild, Eden Gillespie

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

The Wombats

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BRAG :: 635 :: 21:10:15 :: 7

live & local

free stuff

welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town... with Chris Martin, Tegan Reeves and Eden Gillespie

head to: thebrag.com/freeshit Rae Howell_Credit – Anne Skilbeck

speed date WITH

DOUGAL SHAW FROM BREVE disconnection with the current state of being and the transitory nature of human existence.

2.

Keeping Busy We gave ourselves the ridiculous task of recording our debut album over four days.

We recorded all day and night, slept on the fl oor in the studio for a couple hours then woke up and did it all again. Local independent label Psychic Ric Records recently pressed the first two singles onto a seveninch for us and we are currently in the midst of an east coast tour.

Your Profi le We are a three-pi ece 1. experimental rock band taking infl uence from psych, trip hop and alternative rock. We try to make music that takes you on a

trip; a psychedelic kind of dark, cathartic trip into the depths of your social consciousness.

Our songs are a deconstruction of modern society – it’s about disillusionment and

Best Gig Ever My favourite show was in 3. the industrial area out the back of Noosa on our EP tour last year. We played on a half-pipe.

It was about as punk as Breve are gonna get I reckon; fuck your conventional venues. It’s all

downhill from there, a slow decline into the chasm of dad rock.

Current Playlist The Drones’ Gala Mill 4. has been on repeat in our van for weeks. Right as we speak I’m listening to The Birthday Party’s Mutiny EP. We’re really excited to hear Bad Valley again at our Sydney show on the 23rd; we love their rolling krautrock vibes.

Your Ultimate Rider Bundy Rum. Bundy on 5.

Bundy. Bundy on tap. Maybe a cheeky Sailor Jerry’s for the boys but mainly they can just have a Bundy.

With: Fade In Mona Lisa, Bad Valley, Salvador Dali Llama Where: 107 Projects When: Friday October 23

The party crew behind Onespace – a series of music events built on the ethics of diversity and oneness – is set to launch at a new and larger home, the Factory Theatre.

Onespace will open at its new venue on Wednesday November 18 with a headline set from Dave Stringer, a pioneer in the growing kirtan movement, which celebrates traditional Indian instruments fused with groovy American gospel and harmonies. The indoor and outdoor spaces at the Factory Theatre will also be taken over for One Fest on Thursday December 3, featuring Canada’s A Tribe Called Red and Oka.

It’s time once again for the annual Sydney Blues & Roots Festival, which spans four days and nights in Windsor, a 45-minute drive from the city. The main drag will be buzzing with live music, the majority of it free, as performers and fans descend on eight venues across town. There’s a bunch of added attractions to enjoy also, including markets, busking competitions, kids’ entertainment, a ute muster and fireworks. The festival’s music lineup this year includes ticketed shows

by Canned Heat, Russell Morris, Kevin Borich and Charlie A’Court, plus free gigs

by P.J. O’Brien, Dreamboogie, Minnie Marks, Mike Elrington, Mick On Wheels and more. Sydney Blues & Roots 2015 runs this Thursday October 22 – Sunday October 25, and the full program is available at sydneybluesfestival.com.au.

Hunters are joining the bill to pay their dues on Saturday October 31.

FIRE UP THE FUNK ENGINE

Sydney groovers Funk Engine have announced their return from a short hiatus to play a set at Foundry616. The funking jazz-reggae four-piece have had an exciting

few months, playing sets at the Metro and Leichhardt Town Hall, continuing their residency at Mr. Falcon’s and doing their first regional show in Kempsey. This time around, the group – Nish Manjunath, Felix Lalanne, Holly Conner and Siebe Pogson – will play a powerhouse set of originals and old and new funk classics, with guest vox from David

The Beards

Jim Moginie’s Electric Guitar Orchestra are launching their new album, The Colour Wheel, at Marrickville’s Camelot Lounge this week.

Moginie, an influential member of Midnight Oil and The Break, has assembled an impressive cast of guest guitarists to make up his orchestra, including Kent Steedman (Celibate Rifles), Alex Young (Good Buddha), Michael Trifunovic (Aqualash), Tim Kevin (Youth Group, La Huva, The Exiles) and Matthew Steffen (Decoder Ring). Live painters will accompany the music to create the backdrop as the show goes on. Experience a delight of sights and sounds on Friday October 23.

8 :: BRAG :: 635 :: 21:10:15

Ngaiire

BROADWAY BLOCK PARTY

To celebrate the upcoming Glebe Street Fair, Broadway Shopping Centre is hosting its own block party to be headlined by soul artist Ngaiire. Other acts set to appear at the event include Polographia, Richard In Your Mind, New Venusians, MC Miles Merril and DJ Dr Motte. The precinct will be buzzing with art on the day, with slam poetry and a pop-up art gallery, plus food trucks parked in the mall and beer brought to you by Rocks Brewing Co. The event is running alongside the Glebe Street Fair, now in its 32nd year, and on a not-for-profit basis, with proceeds being used by the Glebe Chamber of Commerce to support a variety of local community projects. The Broadway block party will be held on Sunday November 15.

LEAVES AT LAST

Melbourne band Last Leaves are returning to Sydney for a free show, where they’ll play alongside Black Springs. Last Leaves are the project of frontman Marty Donald and the evolution of his earlier band, The Lucksmiths.

The new group is made up of Donald with Mark Monnone and Louis Richter on bass and guitar respectively, and Noah Symons on drums.

Catch the show on Saturday October 24 at the Vic On The Park.

TASTE THE FLAVOUR

BY THE BEARD OF ZEUS

Australia’s favourite bearded band, The Beards, have announced a free beard-themed party to wind down at the end of their tour. Their ten-year anniversary run will end with “a heavily pro-beard event” at The Rocks Brewing Company. The Beards will headline along with The Rumjacks and a host of bearded acts and DJs. There will also be plenty of beardrelated stalls showcasing locally made beard products and providing beard-enhancing experiences, like face-painting for the beardless, a beard accessory store, and a kissing booth manned by The Sydney Facial Hair Club. Celebrate your stubble or sport a fake beard to show your support. The event will kick off on Sunday October 25. The Beards also play Beach Road Hotel on Friday October 23.

With a ‘best of’ album coming to iTunes, a brand new record expected for 2016 and a series of live shows booked around the country, ’70s glam rock legends Taste are back at it. Featuring three original members – lead vocalist and guitarist Ken Murdoch, lead guitarist Joey Amenta and bass player Michael Tortoni – the band has reformed in light of a remastered release, The Best Of Taste. Joining the newly reformed lineup is drummer Damian Corniola, who replaces LA-based original drummer Virgil Donati. They play the Bridge Hotel in Rozelle on Saturday November 28. thebrag.com

Xxx

Multi-instrumentalist and composer Afro Moses will headline a show at The Basement this month, paying tribute to a man who’s rarely recognised in music, yet was undoubtedly one of the most important figures in 20th century history. Nelson Mandela will be the subject of Moses’ musical praise in a night of African reggae, roots and Afrobeat fusion, including original material and songs by Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and more. The Rhythm

To celebrate the release of Have You In My Wilderness and the looming tour dates, we’ve got five copies of the album to give away. Enter the competition at thebrag. com/freeshit.

Sharp. See them getting funky on Wednesday October 28.

ELECTRIC GUITAR ORCHESTRA

AFRO MOSES PAYS TRIBUTE

Julia Holter’s Have You In My Wilderness is the fourth full-length album by the Los Angeles-based songwriter, and it’s quite possibly her best yet. The album was recorded in her hometown, and so Holter describes it as her “most intimate” release ever. Recently, Have You In My Wilderness was the BRAG’s Album of the Week, with our reviewer saying: “Holter has matched her trademark dazzling music with melodies that could conceivably be whistled.” The album has taken Holter on a globetrotting tour, and she’ll arrive at Newtown Social Club on Wednesday December 9.

ONESPACE GETS A NEW PLACE

Dave Stringer

SYDNEY BLUES & ROOTS IS HERE

JULIA HOLTER

SECRET SOUNDS PRESENTS

S U N 3 J A N H O R D E R N PAV I L I O N S Y D N E Y T I C K E T S O N S A L E 1 0 A M T H U 2 2 O C T F RO M S EC R E T- S O U N D S . C O M . AU

G L I T T E R B U G F T G R E E K T R AG E DY O U T N O W

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BRAG :: 635 :: 21:10:15 :: 9

Industrial Strength Music Industry News with Christie Eliezer

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THINGS WE HEAR * Which festival almost had to cancel its first day due to a swarm of bees? * Which music video director shouted his crew a tropical holiday after doing three projects back to back? * Boy & Bear debuted at number one on the ARIA albums chart for the second time with Limit Of Love. According to chart historian Gavin Ryan, it is the 393rd record to enter at number one in Australia, the 14th with â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;loveâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in its title and the first with â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;limitâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, and the 188th chart-topper by an Aussie act. Limit Of Love is the ninth number one this year by an Australian act. * Much of Megadethâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s show in Beijing was instrumentals and jams â&#x20AC;&#x201C; but only because many of their lyrics deal with drug abuse, suicide and air pollution. * Byron Bay nightclub La La Land has closed, with its owner handing back its liquor licence. It was gutted by fire last year. * Sticky Fingers have recorded a version of The Specialsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Ghost Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; as

a statement on Sydneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lockout laws. The original topped the charts in 1981 when the UK had civil riots caused by unemployment and social depression. * The Macquarie Radio Network will change its name to Macquarie Media after its AGM on Tuesday November 10. * Blunt magazine is moving from print to digital, claiming unique browsers on bluntmag.com.au increased by 500 per cent in the past 12 months. * 946,000 metro viewers tuned in to ABCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Australian Story as singer Jenny Morris went public on being diagnosed ten years ago with spasmodic dysphonia. The illness causes spasms in the vocal chords, causing the voice to break up or give it a â&#x20AC;&#x153;strangledâ&#x20AC;? quality, and ended Morrisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; singing career. * American Idol returns to Fox8 for its farewell season in January, airing express from the US. * With N.W.A back in the spotlight, old stories are surfacing. Former N.W.A manager Jerry Heller told Smashd he believed that Suge Knight put out a hit on Tupac. He said heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d never work with Ice

Cube again, who accused Heller of ripping him off in the track â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;No Vaselineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; with lines like â&#x20AC;&#x153;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;Cause you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be the Nigga 4 Life crew / With a white Jew telling you what to do.â&#x20AC;? * The Lazysâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Black Rebelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; hit number 19 on Canadaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Active Rock charts â&#x20AC;&#x201C; their second Top 20 Canadian single. * Tyler, The Creator calls Australiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s visa laws â&#x20AC;&#x153;racistâ&#x20AC;? in new song â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Fuck Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, asking why he was banned for violent and homophobic lyrics but Eminem wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t. * Healthcare workers at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston calling themselves Flu Fighters have done a parody of Taylor Swiftâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Shake It Offâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, encouraging people to wash their hands and stop spreading flu. * Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s video for â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;See You Againâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; has become the first hip hop video to score over one billion views on YouTube. Released in April, it is a tribute to actor Paul Walker, who died in a car crash in 2013. * Scott Mesitiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tour company MJR Events launched its inaugural under-18 festival Memory Lane on the weekend, headlined by San Cisco.

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APRA AMCOS COLLECTS RECORD $300 MILLION APRA AMCOS collected a record $300 million for its members in the 2014/15 financial year.

Much of the improvement was due to a 26% rise (representing $26 million) in foreign revenue â&#x20AC;&#x201C; most of it from US radio and British TV playing music from Aussie and Kiwi songwriters and composers. APRAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s increase in domestic performing rights revenue was up 5.6% to $195 million, while reproduction rights grew 2% to $68 million. Monies from downloads dropped by a third as Australian and New Zealand consumers switched to streaming, which is expected to increase in the next year. For the first time ever, APRAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s standalone net distributable revenue surpassed $200 million (it has doubled over the past decade). APRA has 85,987 members, and AMCOS 15,148 members.

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Your personality determines why you like sad songs. A US survey suggests listeners who enjoy sad music are empathic, and â&#x20AC;&#x153;high on agreeableness and opennessâ&#x20AC;?, as their feeling of being in the presence of a sad person inspires compassion. Sadness is the eighth most reported affective state induced by music, after happiness, relaxation, calmness, being moved, nostalgia, pleasure and love.

The study at Ohio State University was by Professor David Huron, who recently visited the University of New South Wales.

MOSHTIX LAUNCHES STREETIX Australian ticketing company Moshtix has launched a new ticketing portal, Streetix, which it designed with input from festival, venue and events promoters. Essentially it tries to solve the problem of manually administering â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;hard ticketsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; (the paper kind) and chasing cash. It is also a social ticketing portal, whereby fans can sell tickets to mates and contacts, and be paid commission in cash, points or prizes.

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MORE NEW BARS FOR LEICHHARDT? Leichhardt Council has approved changes to certain rules to make it cheaper and easier for small bars to open. These are subject to approval from the NSW Planning Department.

The development application process will be made easier for new bars (venues with under 60 capacity) and parking levies of up to $30,000 will be axed for new bar operators in â&#x20AC;&#x153;recognised shopping precinctsâ&#x20AC;?. Mayor Darcy Byrne says people visit bars before going out elsewhere, and the changes will provide â&#x20AC;&#x153;more opportunities for local live music, arts and cultureâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;a boost to tourism and spending in our local economyâ&#x20AC;? by keep the nightlife alive.

REPORT: CIA USED METAL MUSIC FOR TORTURE

Heavy metal and Westlife were used to torture and break abducted Tanzania fisherman Suleiman Abdullah in Afghanistan, claims the American Civil Liberties Union. In a disturbing report called Out Of The Darkness, interrogators are said to have played metal music to Abdullah in a pitch-black cell at ear-piercing volume, interspersed with Westlifeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 2000 single â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;My Loveâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, to taunt the newly married man.

TOUR UPDATES

Lanie Lane, who in February said she was quitting the music biz after five years, is back to touring through NSW and Victoria. Her change of mind came after a trip around the outback with her dog Dingo, alleviating her stress and opening up new stories. Her shows will include examples of her visual art.

In other news, David Bowieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s agent says heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s given up touring for good. Meanwhile, The Drones will visit Europe in October and November. Their new single â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Taman Shudâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; is inspired by the unsolved 1948 death of a man found on Somerton Beach in South Australia. And just days before Brisbane band The Creases were to start a national tour, some scum broke into guitarist Jarrod Mahonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s home and stole instruments.

NEW OWNER FOR WOOLLAHRA HOTEL Woollahra Hotel, which showcases live music, has been bought out by the Public House Management Group. The price was not disclosed, but previous owners John and Sally Ryan purchased the Eastern Suburbs favourite in 2011 for $15 million. The Woollahra is the fourth acquisition by Public House following Forbes Hotel, Buena Vista Hotel and The Royal in Paddington.

NEW SIGNINGS #1: UNFD SHAKES HANDS LIKE HOUSES

UNFD has signed Canberraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hands Like Houses â&#x20AC;&#x201C; in partnership with its US label Rise Records â&#x20AC;&#x201C; for Australia and NZ. The band signed to Rise in 2012, and saw its 2013 album Unimagine debut at number 37 on the Billboard charts. Hands Like Housesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; next album Dissonants is due in January. UNFD already has a deal with Rise to distribute and market its catalogue in North America.

NEW SIGNINGS #2: IVY LEAGUE MOVES TINY LITTLE HOUSES Ivy League Recordsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; latest signing is Melbourne band Tiny Little Houses. They came together in mid-2014 through a love of â&#x20AC;&#x2122;90s folk rock and earned high rotation triple j airplay. The radio faves â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Easyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and new single

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Soon We Wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Existâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; are on their Friday October 30-due debut EP You Tore Out My Heart, which theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll follow up with national tour dates.

GABRIELLE RYAN JOINS INERTIA

Gabrielle Ryan began at Inertia this week as its marketing manager. For the last twoand-a-half years she was label and publicity manager for Spunk Records and national publicist at Caroline Australia.

NINA LAS VEGAS LEAVES TRIPLE J With her international DJ and producer career in full swing, and with plans to launch her NLV Records label this week, Nina Las Vegas will host her last show on triple j this Saturday October 24. Sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been at the station for ten years, starting as a 19-yearold doing work experience and ending up presenting the Saturday night House Party and hosting/producing Mix Up Exclusives.

GLASTONBURY MAKES $180K PROFIT Last yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Glastonbury Festival made a profit of AU$181,810 (ÂŁ86,000) from a turnover of $78.3 million (ÂŁ37 million), according to official details. It made charity donations of $1.47 million (ÂŁ695,974), spent $3.17 million (ÂŁ1.5 million) on payroll and paid $1.05 million (ÂŁ500,000) in compensation for wear and tear on festival founder Michael Eavisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; farm, on which it is held. Eavis and Live Nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Paul Latham, who run the company Glastonbury Festival 2015 Limited, each made close to $130,000 (ÂŁ60,000). The 2016 event sold out in 30 minutes.

Lifelines Expecting: John Legend and model Chrissy Teigen, their first.

Married: Country singer Catherine Britt and James Beverley, in Newcastle on the weekend. They met at the gym. Britt has been battling cancer since June.

Hospitalised: Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Gary Rossington, the lone survivor of the original 1964 lineup, has suffered a heart attack.

In Court: Rap entrepreneur Suge Knight and comedian Katt Williams will stand trial on charges they robbed a celebrity photographer of her camera last year. Knight claims he was trying to protect his young son from being photographed.

In Court: NT rapper Ezra Austral (AKA Notorious Cornwallis) is behind bars after boasting in an online rap of his supposed criminal activities. The 17-year-old raps about making $5,000 a day selling crystal meth in Palmerstone: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Always got a Glock strapped down my jocks / Motherfuckers talk shit, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll get shotâ&#x20AC;?. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s on remand until November 4 and faces a number of charges including car theft. Whether it was a personal rap or one in character will no doubt be discussed in the courtroom.

Died: Texan blues guitarist Smokinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Joe Kubek, 58, of a massive heart attack minutes before a North Carolina show.

Died: Carey Lander, keyboardist and singer with Scottish band Camera Obscura, from the rare bone cancer osteosarcoma.

Died: Stooges saxophonist Steve Mackay, 66, from sepsis â&#x20AC;&#x201C; an infection that can lead to organ failure. Iggy Pop is the only surviving member of the lineup that recorded the 1970 album Fun House.

Died: Australian drummer John Murphy, 56. He was involved in the art rock/new wave scenes in Australia (primarily with Ollie Olsen) and the UK, in SPK, The Associates and Death In June.

He also recorded with The The, Gene Loves Jezebel and Nico.

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STATE LIBRARY OF NSW PRESENTS

A FREE EXHIBITION UNTIL 7 FEBRUARY 2016 SLIDE NIGHT WITH TONY MOTT Tony shares some of his favourite photos from his extraordinary 30-year career as Australia’s premier rock photographer.

Thursday 29 October, 6–7 pm Cost: $10 Bookings: bookings@sl.nsw.gov.au

State Library of NSW Macquarie Street Sydney NSW 2000 Tel: (02) 9273 1414 www.sl.nsw.gov.au Find us on

#RockMoments @statelibrarynsw

P&D-4535-10/2015

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CITY AND COLOUR

BEFORE AND AFTER BY DAVID JAMES YOUNG

U

ntil quite recently, were one to be speaking with Dallas Green, they were effectively talking to City And Colour.

The project began under a solo guise for the Alexisonfire guitarist more than a decade ago, as a chance to explore his gentler, more acoustically oriented side.

Speaking to Green currently, however, is a different matter. He still heads City And Colour, but for the last two years he has been joined by four others, both on the road and in the studio – bassist Jack Lawrence, drummer Doug MacGregor, organist/pianist/pedal steel player Matthew Kelly and lead guitarist Dante Schwebel.

The quintet was collectively behind the creation of the fi fth City And Colour album, If I Should Go Before You, and as Green testifi es, it’s evolved into somewhat of an extended family.

If I Should Go Before You is a record of notable changes in the City And Colour camp. Along with being the first ‘full band’ album under the moniker, it also marks the first release Green has produced on his own. “I had a vision of what I wanted the album to sound like,” he says.

“Having my friend Karl [Bareham] on hand to engineer was a big help – he’s been a friend of mine for something like 12 years now. I think if we had brought in anyone else to produce this album, it wouldn’t have reflected what we wanted to do. This was about building our confidence. Having this band and having Karl around really gave me hope that I would be able to achieve what I wanted out of this record.”

Green adds that having the band by his side made the composition

side of things much easier. “With the older records, I played a lot of it myself and had people coming in and out,” he says. “This time, I had a specific guy for each thing that I wanted to do. I approached the songwriting and recording that way – I could get Matt to cycle through organ sounds, or improvise a bit of pedal steel. I could get Doug to go between brushes and sticks. I had roles set out, and everything at my disposal.”

In terms of the nuts-and-bolts side of things, Green explains that going out and buying new gear is part and parcel of an album’s creation.

Each time he has entered the studio to make a new City And Colour record, it has been with a new set of toys. “I’m on an endless search for tone,” he says. “I always go out and get new amps, new guitars, things like that. I love finding new ways to produce sound. I tend to have the same few guitars that I write music with, but the great thing about recording is that it gives you the freedom to explore what each song can sound like.”

To illustrate, a recent off-hand purchase was key to realising one of the new record’s 11 songs. “I bought this weird old 12-string electric guitar. I’d never used one before in the studio, and I didn’t even think I’d use it. I just thought it looked neat – it wasn’t a particular brand or model or anything like that. It was just something that I

“IF A SET’S EVER GOING BADLY AT A FESTIVAL, WE’RE JUST GOING TO PLAY ‘WOMAN’ FOR HOWEVER MUCH TIME WE HAVE LEFT. WE COULD BE ONE SONG IN.” 12 :: BRAG :: 635 :: 21:10:15

came across second-hand. That guitar ended up being used in the song ‘Wasted Love’ – I played the guitar solo on that track with this 12-string. I don’t even know why, but for some reason it just felt right.

You never know where that search is going to take you next.”

Fans’ first taste of the album came via its opening number, the epic ‘Woman’. It’s the longest City And Colour song to date, as well as the track that perhaps stretches the furthest away from the project’s original aesthetic.

“That one built out of a huge jam session,” says Green, who accepts a comparison to Neil Young and Crazy Horse with the utmost grace.

“Basically, the only rule that we set out was that if I motioned toward the mic it meant I was going to sing. As soon as I moved away, all bets were off. We must have jammed that for like 30, maybe 40 minutes. I’m pretty sure I still have a half-hour demo version lying around somewhere. We just knew that we were onto something really special with that song.”

Despite cutting it back to a relatively modest nine minutes, there’s always the option of extending it live. “Exactly,” laughs Green. “I’ve called it ‘the festival killer’. If a set’s ever going badly at a festival, we’re just going to play ‘Woman’ for however much time we have left. We could be one song in.

It hasn’t happened yet, but we’ve got it in the back pocket should it arise.”

Having experienced a particularly eclectic array of Australian

festivals – including Soundwave, Splendour In The Grass and Groovin The Moo – Green will return to Australia with his band next Easter, appearing at Bluesfest for the first time as one of its headlining acts. The frontman is greatly intrigued by the prospect, excited to once again take in a different aspect of touring Australia.

“I’m always interested in playing new festivals. There’s so many now, and they’re always run differently. There’s different people who attend. I’ve played just before Metallica with Alexisonfire, and I’ve played just before Neil Young with City And Colour. I feel really welcome at all of these places.

It’s really exciting to play with a band like The National as well as a guy like Joe Bonamassa and a bunch of those blues veterans.

It’s another challenge in order to adapt to a new environment. I can’t wait to experience it. Anyone who knows me knows that, if I could, I’d be on the plane to Australia tomorrow.”

What: Bluesfest 2016 With: The National, Joe Bonamassa, Tom Jones, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds and many more Where: Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm When: Thursday March 24 – Monday March 28 And: Also appearing at the Enmore Theatre on Monday April 4 More: If I Should Go Before You out now through Dine Alone

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City And Colour photo by Alysse Gafkjen

“When I put this band together, I wasn’t looking for friends, to be completely honest with you,” he begins. “I was looking for something specifi c. I had been through a band with my friends, Alexisonfire, for so many years.

When City And Colour was evolving, I got my friends involved.

Then I made a decision to make [2013’s] The Hurry And The Harm with people that I’d never met. I decided to try it – I got a bunch of players that were really good and hoped that it would work.

“I ended up with four people that, while also remarkable players, are also four people that I would happily call some of my best friends. Over the last two years, playing with them and getting to know them personally has been something I’ve really valued. I think we connect because we’re older guys that have been doing this forever. We’ve all done this on so many different levels. We’ve all toured in the van, slept on the floor, played to no-one. We’re still here.

We’re still doing [it]. It’s a testament to what we’ve been through.”

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Katie Noonan The Honest Mutation By Adam Norris

S

urely everyone is a little in love with Katie Noonan. The outlandishly versatile singer (seriously, we’re talking Faustian levels of talent here) has been charming heart and ear since her turn-of-the-century debut band, George. She has won critical and popular accolades with forays into jazz, opera, dance, even a Beatles cover record. Legend has it she can also fly and is fluent in fish. Her latest venture, Katie Noonan’s Vanguard, released an LP called Transmutant in July, and are currently out on the road, staking their claim on the landscape.

“My favourite artists are people who keep on searching, who don’t settle on one role, who acknowledge weaknesses in their craft and try to better them – be that intonation or breathing, your sense of timing, whatever it is,” Noonan explains.

She is currently taking time out in a café in Glebe, and the sound of rowdy children nearby rises and falls in waves. “There will always be someone who is better than you at something, so you need to just keep on. I also enjoy the challenge of doing new stuff, and even when it’s fucking frightening, it’s still exciting.”

We are discussing one of the outstanding tracks on Transmutant, ‘Silence Speaks To The Lucky One’.

It is still unmistakably Noonan, but has vocal layering and a lightness of touch somewhat reminiscent of Imogen Heap; delicate and haunting.

“I’ve always loved vocoder, even though I know it’s kind of daggy,” says Noonan. “And of course James…

Blake? I always have to make sure

it’s James Blake I’m thinking of, not James Blunt. Veerry different. James Blake has some wonderful vocoder moments on his record. I’ve always loved vocoder, and on that piece, I really wanted it to feel a little like the voices in your head talking along with you. I did that completely live, having the vocoder there next to me, all done in one take. There are little things that could probably be fixed on it if you want to get really anal, but I thought it was more important to get the emotion of the track.”

As it turns out, that proximity to the core of a song – capturing the moment of raw creation and sincerity as close as possible – is something of a hallmark in Noonan’s approach to her music. Across various incarnations, she has been tremendously at ease in allowing a tune to unfold organically. In this instance, it has also had a much more practical advantage. ‘An Unwinnable Race’ was very nearly lost to history until Noonan uncovered the forgotten song via a fan’s YouTube upload.

“I like saying, ‘Look, I’ve never tried this one before, and who knows what will happen?’ And that’s what I did that night. I had Cameron Dale there, my guitarist, so we just kind of jammed and it was great! And then I promptly forgot about it. We were touring [another side project] The Captains’ record and were doing all of this other stuff, and when I started on Transmutant I found myself thinking back to this song. I remembered really liking the vibe, but I didn’t remember how to play it, I didn’t remember any of the words. It had been quite a time between drinks, you know? I just had a gist, but luckily someone had filmed

it and uploaded it to YouTube, so I was able to teach myself.”

Transmutant is indeed quite a lush, sumptuous record, and hearing it conjured live will no doubt bring a whole new vibrancy to the songs.

While perusing details for the album tour, and casting an eye back over the many other national performances that Noonan and co. have undertaken, you quickly begin to realise just how much of a hand she has had in encouraging and promoting young artists. If not the doyen of Australian music, Noonan is certainly on the road to becoming one, and her support for emerging artists is an invaluable thing.

“I think it’s really, really important – for women especially – to support and nurture and encourage young singersongwriters. I guess now that I am

a bit older and I’m a mum, I don’t know, maybe I’m a bit more maternal,” she laughs. “There’s a singer we’re taking on this current tour, MKO, and I think people are just going to fall in love with her. I’m really excited for people to get the chance to see her, and I had Sahara Beck on my last tour, she’s incredible. I just think it’s important. [Music] is still kind of a boys’ club, particularly in the upper echelons of the business side, so I like to be encouraging of a different side to that.”

With a potential collaboration with Michael Leunig on the cards, Noonan barely has time to catch breath before the next project starts whispering in her ear. Nor does it seem like inspiration will be drying up anytime soon.

“I try to leave myself open to writing

about anything, anyone, at any time.

I think it’s been a particularly full-on few years for everyone, really. Me, my husband, my family, the world. My close ones tend to be my strongest muse. There’s a song on the album I wrote for my best friend called ‘Broken’; I wrote ‘Cloud Of Home’ for my children; I wrote ‘Gratitude’ for my husband. I think as I’m getting older I’m feeling less afraid to say how I feel.

I’m less afraid about being honest.”

What: Transmutant out now through Kin/Universal With: MKO Where: John Painter Hall, Australian Institute of Music When: Friday October 30 and Saturday October 31 And: Also appearing at The Brass Monkey on Thursday November 5

Philadelphia Grand Jury Doomed From The Start By Alexander Crowden Of Doom. Berckelman remains based in Berlin, where he’s built a rather impressive studio, keeping busy as a producer and mixer.

Williams continues to ride the wave of success enjoyed by Art vs Science, while Beeson freely admits to lucking out with a nine-to-five job at the Red Cross.

“For the past four years I’ve been working there supporting asylum seekers living in the community,” he explains. “When the band broke up, I was really devastated and worried about how I would cope going back to doing what I consider a ‘real job’. I fell in love with this position within a few weeks, and I think that stopped me from spiralling into some sort of depression, because I was kind of on the edge of that.”

Bands get back together for many reasons.

Sometimes it’s for the money; other times it’s due to a serious life event reminding the members that life is short. For the group affectionately known as the Philly Jays, it was another sort of epiphany that led to the reformation.

“There was a realisation that most bands have after they’ve broken up, and that is that they’re more than the sum of all their parts,” says Beeson. “There’s a unique situation with Berkfinger, Dan and myself when we get in a room and create music; a specific energy.

Although we had some really great drummers, with creative ideas there’s just this chemistry [between the three of us] that no-one else seems to match.”

M

14 :: BRAG :: 635 :: 21:10:15

again seemed unlikely, even less so with the original lineup.

“I thought it was actually pretty impossible to happen, because Berkfinger and I had no contact whatsoever,” says Beeson. “Over the course of a couple of years there’d be an email here and there that’d pop up saying, ‘How you doing?’ or ‘What’s going on?’ and it slowly built from there.”

Now, the original Philadelphia Grand Jury trio is back together with a new album, Summer

“When we went across to Berlin it wasn’t, ‘Hey, let’s make an album that gets radio play and everyone’s gonna love and we’ll do a big tour,’” says Beeson. “The plan was, ‘Let’s go for two weeks, have a great time and just enjoy making music that we would want to listen to.’

After the recording sessions, both Williams and Beeson returned to Sydney and continued making music separately. Beeson fashioned a makeshift studio in his Toyota, Williams had his own space, and Berckelman continued to run his Golden Retriever recording studio in Berlin. Being in different places – indeed, different continents – brought its own set of challenges.

“The hardest part is waiting for a response,” says Beeson. “Berkfinger would send across creative stuff like overdubs or vocals and because of different time zones you don’t get that immediate response. You create something, send it off and wait by your computer for an email back, but they’re asleep, then you’ve got to sleep and you wake up almost 24 hours later and get an email back saying, ‘Oh yeah, that sounds cool,’ and you sit there thinking, ‘But what does cool mean?’”

Despite the creative obstacles, Summer Of Doom emerged as the fruits of a modern way of creating music, and Beeson doesn’t see it as the Philly Jays picking up where they left off back in 2009.

“It sounds a bit more polished and full. It’s certainly a step forward, has some different sounds and more mature lyrics. Our first album was quite minimalistic. This time we got quite excited with Berkfinger’s fancy synths, cool guitars and effects pedals.”

Lead single ‘Crashing & Burning Pt. II’ has been well received, as have potential future singles ‘Get Happy Again’ and the track Beeson says nearly didn’t make it onto the album, ‘Chris Is In A Jam’. “That only made it onto the album purely because of track timing for the vinyl,” he admits. “However, when we’ve played it for friends it’s gotten a great response.”

What: Summer Of Doom out now through Normal People Making Hits/Inertia Where: Oxford Art Factory When: Saturday October 24

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xxx photo by xxxx

uch-loved Sydney pop-rock outfit Philadelphia Grand Jury released their infectious debut album Hope Is For Hopers back in 2009 (yes, it really was that long ago). After frontman Simon ‘Berkfinger’ Berckelman produced an EP for drummer Dan Williams AKA Dan W Sweat’s other band Art vs Science, the band lost Williams and experimented with replacement drummers before pulling up stumps in 2011.

Bassist Joel Beeson (MC Bad Genius) and Berckelman lost all contact for a few years, and the idea of seeing the group together

In 2013, the original Philly Jays lineup played together for the first time in almost four years, before a national tour under the banner of Berckelman’s side project, Feelings, in which the trio played one set of classic material and one of Feelings’. Not too long after that, the band officially announced it was back together, and in 2014 regrouped in Berlin to record new material.

“We were just trying to impress ourselves, and it was a very fruitful experience.”

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BRAG :: 635 :: 21:10:15 :: 15

Earthless Off The Cuff By Thomas Brand

E

arthless drummer Mario Rubalcaba has played for more than 15 different bands throughout his career. With a resume including impressive acts such as Off!, Rocket From The Crypt and Hot Snakes, Rubalcaba has enough life experience to not only know where he feels most comfortable playing, but how he feels most comfortable doing it. He cites his drumming with Earthless as his most selfrepresentative, breaking the monotony of 4/4 drum beats for more liberating performances. Yet over years of playing, he’s been attempting to un-blur the lines between the similar concepts of jamming and improvised playing. To understand Earthless’ method of performing, the two need to be separated and distinguished.

he says. “That is a feeling that is unexplainable. I can only relate it to reading stories from, say, the first time Led Zeppelin got into a room and played a cover of ‘Train Kept A-Rollin’. Apparently, most of the members, when asked about the first time they got together, it was just an explosion of insane chemistry from playing this basic, bluesy rock’n’roll riff song – anyone could explain the basic bars of the song and the way you play it. Can you imagine seeing that?

Conventionally, jamming is an important part of the songwriting process. Styles emerge from secluded practice with other musicians – a seemingly different approach to Rubalcaba’s improvisation.

What he implies through his idea of a ‘jazz mentality’ is that Earthless play well off each other in most scenarios, and always have. However, Rubalcaba notes the Californian psych rockers aren’t the first band to employ this technique.

“For Earthless, we actually [first] played a mix cover of a Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin song together. It started out like a Led Zeppelin song that went into a 20-minute interlude of Isaiah [Mitchell, guitar] playing the way he does to this day in Earthless, along with the way I do, with Mike [Eginton] being a solid-ass bass player, holding it down so we could do the orbit around the sun and come back to ground. We’re all super grateful to still be doing this and playing together 15 years after we first got together in 2001.”

“It’s developed, but it was there from the first time we ever played,”

As the band members have progressed with their talents, they’ve reached a stage where practice is no longer necessary, opting not to have a warm-up before they reach Australia for their looming tour dates. Their improvisational style means Earthless are confident enough as musicians to quickly take the stage and perform.

“We’ll get a soundcheck, groove through a little something – I guess we’re really lucky to have a certain chemistry where we have complete

faith in each other and each other’s abilities to just take it to the stage,” says Rubalcaba. “It keeps it interesting and it keeps it fresh. It keeps it really, really fun to play. We’ve all been doing it for so long now that we just know what we’re going to be doing.”

Xxx

“To me, improvising means you’re in absolute control of what you’re doing and it translates to composing on the spot,” says Rubalcaba. “Whereas jamming, even though the term ‘jamming’ gets used by us as well – ‘Let’s go jam!’ – it’s more just a term for, ‘Let’s play.’ An actual jam band

for me spells people who are looking for chords or a note to play; they’re not really in control of it, they’re just tinkering around here and there – ‘Here’s a little bend here, here’s a little something there,’ you know what I mean? Improvising like jazz guys, it’s about coming off. It sounds like it’s together, like you’re making songs on the spot. To me it is a big difference, and we definitely come more from a jazz background. It might not sound like jazz per se, but it’s more of a jazz mentality for sure.”

With: Elder Where: Newtown Social Club / Hermann’s Bar When: Saturday October 24 / Sunday October 25

The Fall Forever On The Rise By Natalie Rogers studio albums in 39 years, and despite countless lineup changes, their sound has continued to evolve. “That’s the advantage of having Elena [Poulou, Smith’s wife on vocals and keyboard] and the other guys in the group, because they’re a good deal younger than me so it keeps things fresh.

Alternative radio in Britain just play stuff from the ’80s and ’90s – it’s fucking shit! Almost everyone they play is older than me, and that’s saying a lot,” Smith laughs.

U

K post-punkers The Fall are about to welcome Sydney into their wonderful and frightening world once more – and according to their compelling and at times controversial frontman, Mark E. Smith, the sooner the better. “At the moment we’re playing a holiday resort in Britain – why the hell we’re doing that in

this weather I don’t know! It’s a bloody contractual obligation, but we’re looking forward to staying in Australia for a while – last time was such a short trip.”

The Fall’s latest tour dates come in support of a new release, SubLingual Tablet. The innovative and enduring Brits have released 31

Smith has a reputation for being blunt in interviews, but what shines through most is his sense of humour and honesty. “It took about two years to make this album, which is a long time for us. I was getting a bit fed up with it, and I’d given up on it, to be honest! So I threw a quarter of the mixes away and just used the first takes, believe it or not. But when I listen back, I think that’s why it feels a bit edgier than other records.”

What is also abundantly clear when speaking to this icon of British underground music is his

fondness for his wife and musical partner – his voice audibly softens when he says Poulou’s name.

“She’s got a completely different musical taste to anybody else in the group, that’s for sure. She thinks she’s light years ahead of everyone else,” he chuckles.

The Greek-born Poulou started her career as a DJ and joined The Fall in 2002, a year after marrying Smith. “She’s into everything and she’s very good,” he says. “So it’s not like we’re creatively at odds or anything, you know?”

Prior to their current settled lineup, The Fall were something of a revolving-door workplace – certain counts claim the group has gone through over 65 members since forming in 1976. In recent years, it’s been widely reported that Smith once fired a man for ordering a salad (“The salad was the last straw” is one of his most notable quotes about that time period). These days, the frontman seems much more content. “The group is sounding very good live at the moment – it’s nothing like it was in the old days,” he says.

Towards the end of our conversation, the mood takes a sombre turn at the mention of veteran BBC Radio DJ and tastemaker, the late John Peel.

Peel was once quoted as saying The Fall was his “favourite ever group”, and his continued support of the band was broadcast to millions. “He sent our music around the world – thanks to him we have fans in Russia!” says Smith.

“You can’t expect someone at the BBC to understand that now.

Radio has gone down the drain, it’s fucking shit … but we have a very good relationship with his wife [Sheila Ravenscroft]. She’s still doing things, and his son [Tom Ravenscroft] is on the radio, and he’s really good actually. I’ll admit I’d never talked to [John] much, but I’d write to him and he used to send me postcards. Yes, the world’s a worse place without John Peel.”

What: Sub-Lingual Tablet out now through Cherry Red With: Gold Class Where: Metro Theatre When: Wednesday October 21

Ryan Van Poederooyen A Clinical Finish By Peter Hodgson

A

Van Poederooyen is staying on after October’s Devin Townsend Project/Periphery dates to present a series of clinics that aren’t just about drumming: they’ll be a masterclass on music and life within the music industry, with anecdotes and musical tips as well as observations and strategies that can help anyone to achieve their goals, whatever they may be.

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“You have to visualise it and you have to believe it,” Van Poederooyen says. “A lot of people saw the movie and read the book The Secret.

I thought it was well done and everything, but I think they focused too much on, ‘Just visualise it! It’s going to happen!’ No, man. You definitely should visualise, you definitely think about it and believe in yourself, but holy crap, you’ve gotta bust your ass. You’ve got to open as many doors as you can, and never quit.”

So what can we expect from Van Poederooyen’s sessions? “I’ve done clinics in the past and they were a lot more geared towards drummers, right? You go to a drum clinic and you expect to learn about drums.

And I’ve been to so many clinics now and there’s nothing wrong with doing it that way. But I want to reach out to any musician – never mind musician, but music-lover. So I’ll play drums and talk about drums, but how I’m going to approach this clinic is to show them, for example, touring and health. 13 years ago I had a

back accident. Couldn’t work out, started eating really bad compared to how I’d always eat healthy. I got unhealthy, and long story short, I’d go out on the road, and man, I’d be gassed halfway through the set and my focus wasn’t there. And even though I could still play the show alright, I’d get offstage and I’d feel terrible. This is something that can apply to a broad spectrum of people, not just a drummer.

“The other thing is my positive approach to anything I do,” he continues. “How I succeeded in the music industry, which can be applicable to anyone in whatever they want to try and do and accomplish in life. These are the types of things that I want to share in the clinic, but at the same time I’ll play songs from various bands – Devin Townsend Project, Terror Syndrome, stuff like that – that will tie into the clinic. I don’t want to give away everything that I want to do but it’s not just going to be geared towards drumming; it’s going to be about life in the music

industry, drumming and life in general.

everyone to be educated, motivated and inspired.”

“I’m excited to just be coming to Australia,” Van Poederooyen concludes. “This’ll be the first time I try this new format of making it applicable to any music lover. And there’s a meetand-greet for everyone. We tossed the VIP idea, and if I’ve got to stay there for five hours to meet everyone, I will.

There’ll be tonnes of great giveaways as well, but the bottom line is I want

What: Ryan van Poederooyen Drum Masterclass Where: Wesley Conference Centre Theatre When: Tuesday November 3 And: Also appearing as part of Devin Townsend Project at UNSW Roundhouse, Saturday October 24

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Ryan van Poederooven phto by Maclyn Bean Photography

s the drummer for the Devin Townsend Project, Ryan van Poederooyen (otherwise known as RVP) has toured the world, played some of the heaviest tracks known to humankind and made a lot of friends. Seriously, you’ll never hear anything bad about the guy. He’s known as a reliable, solid, professional drummer who does whatever it takes to get the job done. And whether you’re a drummer or not – or even whether you’re a musician or not – you’ll be able to learn plenty from Van Poederooyen’s Australian masterclass clinic tour in November.

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Ben Ottewell Rattling The Cage By Tex Miller

I

n 1998, with an average age of 22 among their members, Brit rockers Gomez burst onto the music scene with their debut album Bring It On. The boys ended up taking out the Mercury Prize – a phenomenal achievement given The Verve’s Urban Hymns and Massive Attack’s Mezzanine were also nominated. Although it was 17 years ago, vocalist Ben Ottewell vaguely recalls the band being very young and drunk at the awards ceremony. Now less young and probably less drunk, Ottewell will be making his welcome return to Australia in November, this time in support of his second solo release, Rattlebag.

Released in October last year, Rattlebag follows up 2011’s Shapes & Shadows. If you’re a fan of Gomez, you will immediately recognise Ottewell’s signature vocals that are present throughout the band’s discography. This new release, however, also showcases some pretty ballsy bluesy and folk riffs that have listeners hooked in

Since releasing Whatever’s On Your Mind back in 2011, Gomez have moved in different directions both physically and musically.

Currently more than half the members (namely Ian Ball, Olly Peacock and Paul Blackburn) reside in the US, while Tom Gray and Ottewell live in Brighton.

Despite this, the question of the next Gomez record keeps popping up, given they’ve collaborated on several tribute albums and been featured on the likes of Grey’s Anatomy, Suits and I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell.

“That’s a common theme in interviews, I got to admit, and I’m afraid I’m going to have to be the bearer of bad news – I don’t have any illusive exclusives,” says Ottewell. “All I know is that at some point in the future, it will happen. It might not be tomorrow or next year, but we will get together and produce new stuff sometime. For a long time I’ve been thinking I should try to get away from the Gomez stuff, but they are good songs and a lot of them are mine, so it seems silly to purposely upset people. If you come to these shows, you will hear a variety of stuff from my back catalogue.”

Ottewell’s solo records Shapes & Shadows and Rattlebag share quite similar sounds, despite having completely different writing methods. For Ottewell, the recording process behind the latter felt almost like starting from a clean slate.

“It was a really great experience being able to make this record,” he says. “All of the songs on the first record were written over the course of ten years and were tunes that had sort of fallen through the cracks and not been ready to put onto a record. However, this time around I started from scratch. Working with [producer] Will Golden again was fantastic because we think along the same lines, so there is

no problem there. It was the most fun that I’ve had in the studio since [1999’s] Liquid Skin.”

When it comes to the influences behind Rattlebag, Ottewell points to Tom Waits and Ali Farka Touré as the main artists on the stereo while in the studio. It’s no surprise to hear, given that throughout his career Ottewell has channelled Waits in his distinctive vocal style.

“They aren’t far away when I go into production for an album, yet you just have to go where the song takes you,” says Ottewell. “Every song is different and requires something new and fresh. You are able to pick references of where you want to take it, but it usually just drives itself.”

He’s now working on the follow-up to Rattlebag, and Ottewell promises we will be able to hear some new stuff on this tour. “You Australians are a very discerning bunch, so it’ll be great to see what you think of the new material. If you don’t like it, maybe I’ll just release a kids’ album instead.”

What: Rattlebag out now through Cooking Vinyl With: Buddy Where: Newtown Social Club When: Wednesday November 18 And: Also appearing at Coogee Diggers on Sunday November 15 and The Brass Monkey on Thursday November 19

Dan Kelly Panic On The Streets Of Byron By Patrick Emery to form the album’s concluding track ‘Jet Lag’, in which Kelly assumes the persona of a DJ running a Berlinthemed nightclub.

“The time in Berlin ended up mutating with my time in Byron, so I ended up constructing part of the song around running a Eurodub club in Byron,” he says. “But that was a mixture of what I’d been doing in Berlin, where I’d been going to this club, and the next thing I know I’m on the beach in Byron, surrounded by this roots lifestyle.”

Kelly’s time living at the northern tip of New South Wales put him close to the southern Queensland region where he grew up. While the popular image of the Northern Rivers remains crystals, hemp clothing and the discourse of peace, love and understanding, the reality isn’t so simple.

D

an Kelly is coy about the veracity of the stories that accompany his latest record, Leisure Panic. Taking a leaf from the liner notes on ’50s jazz records, and Bob Dylan’s indulgence of poetic licence to describe his personal backstory, the album comes packaged with a series of tales, purportedly based on Kelly’s time travelling overseas and up and down the east coast of Australia: a ferry ride in the Greek islands, working as a gigolo at a Republican wives’ conference on an aircraft carrier, spinning discs in a Berlin club, a run-in with a bikie on the Gold Coast, and hanging out with a hippie couple in Nimbin.

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“Some of it, I’ve written my stories into the songs and I’ve danced over the top of it, and some of it is pretty straight up,” Kelly says. “But I’m not going to say exactly what I did and didn’t do. But I definitely just didn’t sit in my house in North Fitzroy making it all up!”

What is true is that Kelly has spent a large part of the last five years travelling. Occasionally – whether it was in Greece, Byron Bay or even Northcote – inspiration would strike and a song would be born. By the time Kelly came to put together the album, he realised his travels provided the thread to the songs he’d written.

“The songs are kind of based on my travels, so there’s a thread, and I kind of extrapolated,” Kelly says.

“Some of them are pretty verbatim, and some of them are what I wished I was doing. When I’m lying on the deck on a ferry in Greece smoking Greek cigarettes, the idea that I’m a gigolo on an aircraft carrier isn’t that hard a leap to make. And when I think back now, I think, ‘Was I?’” he laughs.

The geographical reference points on Leisure Panic are largely accurate – Kelly did spend a short time in Berlin, though it was in Byron Bay where he spun discs – the end result being a juxtaposition of events

“This time I was staying with a friend in a community, and what I realised is that now you have artists there who are trying to get their shit together, North Sydney real estate agents who’ve dropped out but still want to succeed, the children of the Age of Aquarius who are doing all kinds of things and your urban ice freak scene, skaters, tough local surfers, backpackers – it’s a really vibrant scene.”

On the song ‘Everything’s Amazing’, Kelly delves further into the complex sociology and psychology of the area. “They have a theory that that area is where the Aboriginal men would take the young men for initiation, around that Mount Warning area, and not a lot of them would live around there because it was super powerful, and you’d go a bit mental if you stayed there. Which is why I reckon it feels so amazing when you

go there – which is why I wrote that song.”

Elsewhere on Leisure Panic, Kelly explores more immediate geographical and cultural issues, such as the rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne. While Kelly has been based in Melbourne for many years, he’s also lived in Sydney and plays regularly with Sydney musicians. In ‘Melbourne Vs Sydney’, Kelly makes light of the inter-city competition while recognising it’ll probably never truly fade away.

“It’s a conversation that I’ve had over many years,” Kelly says. “These days I still find there’s a difference in the sounds, but especially with the [Melbourne] garage community there’s a lot more cooperation. But I suppose it’s just a fun competition – and it’s not music, it’s everything, including architecture. I wanted to portray myself as a bit like Jesus, riding a donkey into Jerusalem, or Leonard Cohen, saying, ‘It’s all cool,’” he laughs.

Despite the gap between Leisure Panic and its predecessor, 2010’s Dan Kelly’s Dream, the songwriter hopes it won’t be another fi ve years before his next record. “I’m writing now, and I’ve got a studio now with a friend. I’ve got three songs recorded already, and these days when you’re not going to make any money from recordings, I think it’s best to just keep getting stuff out.”

What: Leisure Panic out now through ABC/Universal With: Ben Ely Where: Goodgod Small Club When: Saturday October 24

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Ben Ottewell photo by Timm Cleasby

As our call is connected, Ottewell is at his house in Brighton, where the sun is shining and there is the faint sound of emergency sirens in the background. Ottewell speaks excitedly about heading back Down Under. “I am at the tail end of my summer/autumn UK tour and it feels really great to be coming back, and always a pleasure to play for the Australian audiences,” he says. “Tomorrow night, I’m playing with Rich Robinson from The Black Crowes in London. I met Rich a few years ago when we played a show in Atlanta. It was awesome because he came up onstage and played ‘Jealous Again’ with us and that was just fantastic.”

no time. As expected, the record has been well received, with positive reviews across the board.

Ottewell speaks fondly of the album’s success so far. “People like it. Some people like it more and some less, but generally it’s a positive thing. No-one has said anything nasty about it, which is good. It was a lot of fun to make in the studio and a really organic process, which you are able to hear in the songs.”

BRAG’s guide to film, theatre, comedy and art about town

arts in focus here’s the thing about that...

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brendan grace also inside:

JOHN SAFRAN / HAMLET / ARTS NEWS / ARTS REVIEWS / ARTS EXPOSED / GAMES GIVEAWAY thebrag.com

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head to: thebrag.com/freeshit

arts news...what's goin' on around town... with Tegan Reeves, Elias Kwiet and Eden Gillespie

five minutes WITH

JULIAN MEYRICK, DIRECTOR OF DEAD CENTRE/SEA WALL

W

hat links the two plays, Dead Centre and Sea Wall, showing as a double bill at the Old Fitz?

The two plays cover one story, but not in a linear way. You have to figure out the connections from within. The plays are from different time periods, and are told by different characters. The production builds a visual and aural world to fuse them into a single theatrical experience. At their heart is a shared event, which I won’t describe because it would spoil the show.

Was Dead Centre commissioned and written specifically as a response piece to Sea Wall?

Yes it was. It was a tricky writing task, a dramatic retrofit. Dead Centre had to complement and add to Sea Wall in story, character and dialogue without blowing any of the reveals or encroaching on it as a standalone piece. Sometimes in theatre the hardest problems look the most straightforward. A short companion work to an already great play: what could be easier?

It took Tom [Holloway] and I eight months to develop a performance draft.

How supportive is the Australian theatre industry of emerging talent?

Not very. Australia is the only country that pretends to be more boring than it actually is. Its self-image and self-promotion is generic – the outback, fauna, sport, the weather. Nobody

mentions our complex history, our odd political structure, the strange headspace the population as a whole inhabits. Australian drama is a supreme tool for exploring all this, for showing us our difficult soul. Support for theatre takes two forms: money and relationships. You don’t need a lot of money to get new work happening. Theatre is about relationships and good work comes out of good relationships.

The cooperative networks which exist between companies and artists – that’s the important thing.

Tim Freedman of The Whitlams once sang, “There’s no aphrodisiac like loneliness,” and that seems appropriate to this show. Does the saying ring true?

Tim’s song is about the love people have for each other: romantic love.

Dead Centre and Sea Wall has that, but it’s also about another kind of love – the love parents have for

How has your experience been working with the two cast members?

They are divine. I’m an old git now. I get tired in rehearsals and have to lie down. Rosie [Lockhart] and Ben [Prendergast] are funny and talented and full of energy.

I’ve done a lot of shows with difficult themes, and I hope I was able to give them some pointers there. Creating good work onstage is hard work. It takes talent too, which both Rosie and Ben have. But you can have talent and still be crap if you don’t work your butt off.

What: Dead Centre|Sea Wall Where: Old Fitz Theatre When: Until Saturday November 14

ASSASSIN’S CREED: SYNDICATE

One of the most anticipated video games of 2015, Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate, is nearly here. The lead-up to the release has had gamers in a frenzy, with the news that for the first time in the series there’ll be two playable characters: Jacob Frye and his twin sister Evie. They’re a dangerous pair you wouldn’t want to cross, that’s for sure. The developers at Ubisoft have toiled to make this the best Assassin’s Creed experience yet, with all-new characters, stealth tactics and weapons.

Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate is available for PS4 and Xbox One from Friday October 23, and we’ve got ten copies of the game on PS4 to give away. To enter, visit thebrag. com/freeshit.

Homeground photo by Prudence Upton

Thursday by Clara Adolphs

their children. This is so intense that I’m tempted to say it escapes music altogether.

HOMEGROUND FESTIVAL 2015

Homeground, the festival dedicated to First Nations cultures from Australia and around the world, is returning to the Sydney Opera House this year.

The Western Boardwalk of the iconic building plays host on the Sydney Harbour shoreline to Homeground, a celebration of vibrant and historical music, dance and performing arts.

This year’s musical lineup is led by Canadian electronic act A Tribe Called Red and Australian singer-songwriter Archie Roach. The extensive dance program will bring the sights and action, however, courtesy eXcelsior, Jannawi Dancers, Koomurri, Malu Kiai Mura Buai Dance Troupe, Rako Dancers and Wagana Dancers. Check it out on Saturday November 21 and Sunday November 22.

EVERY DAY IS LIKE THURSDAY

Young award-winning artist Clara Adolphs is launching her exhibition, Thursday, this November. Adolphs is only in her 20s, yet has already been a finalist in multiple national art awards including the Moran Prize, the Mosman Art Prize, the Portia Geach Memorial Award and the Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship. Adolphs describes herself as a “figurative painter” who captures familiar scenes and emotions with her paintbrush. Her art embodies the classic theme of time being fleeting, so it’d be ironic if you missed her exhibition because you lost track of time. It’s showing Friday November 27 – Sunday December 13 at Mick Art Gallery in Paddington.

I AM MY OWN WIFE

I Am My Own Wife is set to appear on Sydney’s theatre scene, allowing audiences to follow one person’s journey through the times of Nazi Germany. Playwright Doug Wright was inspired to write the story after hearing the survival tale of a 65-year-old German transvestite, Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, who lived through two of the most

Homeground

oppressive regimes of the 20th century, the Nazis and the Communists. All 30 characters in the play are performed by the one-man acting machine, Ben Gerrard, and the play seeks to narrate Von Mahlsdorf’s amazing story of triumph in a time of extreme hatred and suspicion. I Am My Own Wife will play at the Old Fitz Theatre from Tuesday November 17 – Saturday December 5.

Untitled by Luke Hardy

EXPERIMENTS IN DEMOCRACY

Former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis and Canadian sci-fi author and activist Cory Doctorow will discuss critical issues facing Western governments when Carnegie Conversations: Experiments In Democracy comes to the Sydney Opera House this November. Launched in 2015 and as part of Ideas At The House, Carnegie Conversations aims to discuss critical ideas of ethics, aging, politics and freedom of speech. This instalment will feature Varoufakis, who was given a unique and powerful perspective as Greece’s Finance Minister during a seven-month period of financial crisis. He’ll be joined by Doctorow, the activist, journalist, blogger and author of the award-winning Real Life, who’ll explore the pitfalls of the internet and its surveillance. Join the discussion on Sunday November 29 at the Studio, Sydney Opera House.

JERRY HALL GRADUATES

Cult classic coming-of-age story The Graduate will be converging on Sydney in December 2016 after runs on Broadway, London’s West End, and in Toronto, Perth and Melbourne.

Jerry Hall, who will be performing the part of Mrs. Robinson for the last time in the theatre hit, will be joined onstage by Australia’s Tim 20 :: BRAG :: 635 :: 21:10:15

Dashwood, against a soundtrack of some of the biggest songs of the 1960s. “I am so thrilled the stars have finally aligned and I am bringing the sultry Mrs. Robinson to Sydney,” Hall said.

“As this will be the last time I play this role, it makes the Sydney season very special to me.

I have always loved Sydney so I am very much looking forward to returning next year with this amazing production of The Graduate and to spend time in your glorious city.” The Graduate will be hitting stage at the Sydney Lyric Theatre for a strictly limited season from Friday December 2 next year. Tickets have gone on sale at jerryhallthegraduate.com.au.

THE INSPECTOR OF TIDES

Shaun Gladwell’s internationally recognised body of art will be represented in a more local setting in his latest exhibition, The Inspector Of Tides. The exhibition will combine all mediums including video, paintings, photos and installations

by Gladwell, whose work has hung in famous galleries around the world, including in the US, Brazil, Japan and the Netherlands. His achievements include winning the Samstag International Visual Arts Scholarship and conducting associate research at Goldsmiths College, University of London. The Inspector Of Tides will show from Saturday October 31 – Saturday December 19 at Anna Schwartz Gallery.

Dead Centre|Sea Wall photo © James Ballard

arts in focus

free stuff

PATINA PHOTOGRAPHY

Sydney photomedia artist Luke Hardy’s latest exhibition, Patina, explores the change of surfaces as a result of age and exposure. Drawing heavily from Japanese culture, Hardy’s sensual works lie somewhere between narrative and mystery. Patina focuses on the skin in all its beauty and what lies beneath, both physical and metaphorical. It continues until Sunday October 25 at Janet Clayton Gallery.

thebrag.com

Brendan Grace [COMEDY] Character Assassin By Adam Norris in an AC/DC way. That’s Bottler.

And then of course I did a part in Father Ted. Over the years that has developed quite a cult following, though my character was only in one episode. But you know,” he chuckles, “I guess he made quite an impression.”

Over 40 years, Grace has inspired and been inspired by countless performers, and among them are some of Australia’s very own cultural and diplomatic torchbearers. Grace’s love of Australia is bountifully clear in conversation, and so often his thoughts turn to entertainers who have found ways of charming us down here in the Colonies.

B

fact, I called my home Starwood, after his own home. I was deeply touched by his songs. My late mother loved him so, and I was quite devastated, as we all were, when he so tragically passed on. But touring with him was a wonderful experience. He was quite a loner, to a certain extent. Even though we were working together, there were times when we wouldn’t see each other or speak to each other because he was very much into solitude. He was very, very involved with his music. When I worked with him, it was just him and a guitar. He was really something quite special.”

“John Denver was a lovely, lovely guy,” Grace recalls in his splendidly shamrocked accent. “I covered a lot of his stuff in my early days. In

While Grace’s love of music has never faded, his legacy is certainly that of a comedian. The Emerald Isle considers him one of its finest

entertainers, and he is regularly lauded as the greatest family comedian of his generation. With material that is ribald without stepping across the line into bad taste or offence, Grace has established a rather unique position in the world of comedy today, where laughter is so often preceded by somewhat more colourful content.

“My type of comedy, well, it’s almost an old-fashioned word now, but it’s clean,” he says. “I don’t use strong words. I use innuendo. I think that’s why I get such a broad fan base. Generally I see people of all ages coming along to enjoy the show. In Australia it’s amazing because there are so many Irish people there! I often do a character who has short pants and a school jacket, and that goes down well

Performers who have the ability to conjure such distinct and enduring personalities – the Barry Humphries

“The problem is that Bottler is another person, he’s not me. I was playing a radio show in Ireland many moons ago with a well-known Irish ventriloquist who has since passed away, Eugene Lambert.

He had his doll, and it was in a case like a guitar. While we were sitting around the table, he was setting up the character, and I said jokingly, ‘You do know this isn’t television, they won’t see you.’ And he pointed out something I’ve learnt since – that in order for him to be the character, he had to use the prop. He needed the doll. In order for me to be Bottler, I need to wear the uniform. If I’m doing a radio interview, I need to have at least the cap and the scarf to give me the feeling of Bottler.”

Excited as Grace is to find himself performing Down Under once again, there remains one audience member in particular he is quite anxious to meet.

“I’m hoping I’ll get to meet with Barry Crocker. So Barry, if you’re reading this article, there’s a fat bearded guy from Ireland who would love to shake your blessed hand and say hello.”

Where: State Theatre When: Monday November 16

xx

rendan Grace is an old hand at this game, but the legendary Irish comic is far from sated. His career in comedy has spanned the globe and seen him bring to life characters who endure to this day; creations such as mischievous schoolboy Bottler and the abrasive Father Fintan Stack from Father Ted. Grace also found success as the founding member of The Gingermen, and enjoyed the singular pleasure of sharing stages with luminaries such as Frank Sinatra and John Denver.

Being a not-so-closeted Denver fan myself, I knew exactly how this interview was going to start rolling.

“Well, first of all I took the advice of a very old comedian, a long-time friend of mine who also toured Australia, called Hal Roach. Hal told me that in order to be successful there, you need to give the people what they want, not what you want.

The thing is, what always worked for me is the fact that I can judge an audience and adjust to a situation quickly. That’s something you need working solo, you need to be able to switch around. Someone who entertained me no end was [Barry Crocker in The Adventures Of] Barry McKenzie, and the relationship between him and [Barry Humphries’] Dame Edna. Now Les Patterson, I would fall off my chair watching Les, and my wife Eileen thinks he is absolutely disgusting.

And the thing is, he’s just so believable! I think I prefer that character to Dame Edna.”

of the world, the Peter Sellers – are a rare breed. Donning a character like a cloak is no simple feat, and for comedians that task is even more precarious as they take to the stage and must maintain the role through ad-libbing and heckling.

For Grace (and, it seems, many others), the secret of belief lies in the physical world.

SATU VÄNSKÄ

(ACO)

BRIAN RITCHIE (VIOLENT FEMMES)

JIM MOGINIE

(MIDNIGHT OIL)

TIMOTHY CONSTABLE (SYNERGY PERCUSSION)

RICHARD TOGNETTI (ACO)

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Hamlet [THEATRE] An Omniscient Eye By Adam Norris

T

radition holds it is the Scottish Play (that is, Macbeth – surely it doesn’t count as bad luck if it’s in writing, right?) that will most likely plague a production behind the scenes, yet Bell Shakespeare’s return to everyone’s favourite moody Dane has recently found its own complications. Hamlet himself (Josh McConville) has injured his back, and an understudy has stepped up to the plate. While wishing McConville a speedy recovery, for Matilda Ridgway it provides a curious insight into the familiarity and expectations of her doomed Ophelia. When the play’s the thing, it pays not to get too complacent with character.

“Yesterday we had our first preview in Canberra, but because our Hamlet has a back injury we had our understudy on last night. So that changed a lot of things,” Ridgway admits. “We’re waiting to hear if our original Hamlet is going to go on or if he still needs rest. But it’s kind of fascinating. Character is based on your relationships with other people, and how you choose to engage with them. I think those are pretty key things that an audience reads from an actor’s performance, so when one of your primary relationships is changed with a completely different actor, that totally changes how you perform. Their intensity, their speed – it’s really an amazing refresher.

“That’s something that was very present in my mind from the beginning,” Ridgway says.

“Obviously Ophelia is written in a certain way in a specific time.

The play doesn’t pass the Bechdel test. Ophelia as written is quite a functional character. Her relationship to the men in the play dictates who she is, and is the prism through which we see her. But that said, when you’re setting it in 2015, I think it’s really important to think about what an audience is going to get from it. You need to think about why a 2015 audience needs to see it. You want to be able to say, ‘Yes, that is a woman. That is more than a functional finger puppet for the men in the play.’

“For me, it was really important to see how we could push boundaries, to make her someone vivacious, exciting, boisterous, funny. There’s no reason when she walks onstage that we need to fear for her. Can we reach the nunnery stage and have people think, ‘Yeah, there’s the chance that she could change his mind, she could bring him back

from the brink’? I hope the audience reaches that point and is at least a little convinced that things could go another way.”

Having launched in Melbourne and travelling to 27 other venues in its run, this production of Hamlet is ambitious to say the least. Directed

by Damien Ryan, the perennial favourite has been brought into 2015 but, refreshingly, without the usual contemporisations that can hobble a classic text (no references to celebrities or local council shenanigans here). What is most prescient about the play is its evocation of a state under siege; not necessarily from an enemy abroad, but from an omniscient state of surveillance.

“By having people dress in a way we can understand, to see a world we recognise with social mores and

customs we’re familiar with, I think it can hit closer,” Ridgway explains.

“It’s definitely an other world, but still today’s world. I think sometimes [with older texts] it’s easy to see them as a presentation, where we’re less culpable somehow; it’s easy to have distance. This [production] seems very pertinent, especially given the legislation that just came in monitoring our internet activity.

“We do live in a world of surveillance, and in this play people are constantly being watched.

Hamlet can’t have a meeting with his mother without Polonius being there, Ophelia and Hamlet can’t meet in private without his uncle and her father overhearing. No-one is ever allowed to have a private thought or moment, except for Hamlet and his soliloquies to the audience. Even then, the most famous speech, ‘To be or not to be,’ Ophelia is there

onstage and he’s being overheard by Polonius and Claudius.

“That world, that Stasi Germany feeling, definitely informs the play.

What’s most fascinating, though, is that while we’re constantly looking towards the Other, this constant fearmongering that the Other is what is going to destroy us, it’s actually the enemy within that brings things down. It is the Prince of Denmark who kills the whole Royal Family, it is the King who has got there by nefarious means. I think that’s also a rather interesting theme to have present here in Australia right now.”

What: Hamlet Where: Playhouse, Sydney Opera House When: Tuesday October 27 – Sunday November 22

John Safran [LITERATURE] Murder And Mystery By Adam Norris “Usually when I’m off on a new adventure, it’s a combination of being scared senseless that nothing is going to come together and the need for another project,” he says over the phone as he steps outside and proceeds down the street (ordinarily his location would be rather incidental, but it will soon become important). “When I went to Mississippi, I was so scared. I’d never written a book before. I was actually reading books about writing books, trying to work out the pattern and the structure, ways of making a sentence seem more alive.

“When I started reading true crime books I realised there was a kind of subgenre, which is The Person Who Never Thought They’d Write A True Crime Book Except A Murder Fell In Their Lap. That’s John Berendt, Michael Finkel, Ann Rule. As soon as I realised this was a category in itself, it kind of clicked. I never grew up reading true crime and thinking, ‘I’m going to do this too one day, I just have to wait until the right murder happens.’ It was as weird to me that I was off on this adventure as it would be to you and your readers.”

J

ohn Safran has taken some rather long and unconventional strides in Australian entertainment. Remember that time he was crucified? Or had a voodoo curse placed on his ex-girlfriend?

Or when he rummaged through Ray Martin’s trash? From Race Around The World to documentaries

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such as John Safran Vs God and John Safran’s Music Jamboree, he has hardly been one to shy from controversy – yet the drive behind his ambition seems to stem more from curiosity than confrontation. With his non-fiction writing debut, Murder In Mississippi, this fascination led to rather unexpected insights.

Following its release in 2009, Murder In Mississippi was fashioned into a live show, which Safran will bring back to Sydney next week. The book itself documents Safran’s meeting with white supremacists below the Mason-Dixon Line – in particular, one Richard Barrett – and his eventual befriending of Barrett’s killer, 23-yearold black man Vincent McGee. The circumstances of its construction is a world quite removed from Safran’s usual fare, and yet for precisely this reason it seems a project almost divinely suited to him.

“Before I went on Race Around The World, that kind of world had

never occurred to me either. I can’t remember what I was thinking before that, but it wasn’t documentary. So as soon as I realised my entire existence was unplanned – that it’s mostly been having a hot potato land in your lap – it really helped with any nervousness.

“When I was over [in America] it was all about capturing information.

It wasn’t until late in the piece that I started figuring out that me blurting into a dictaphone was much better than just writing down notes. As soon as you write notes, you’ve already started to censor yourself in a way.

The early notes were already about how to make the book work if I never meet this killer. In retrospect, it would have been cool if I’d recorded all of those fears.”

Safran emerges as a great advocate of stepping away from the keyboard and experiencing a story as close to first-hand as possible. Short of murdering a white supremacist himself, it was only by talking to people and traversing strange locations and environments that some level of truth might be assembled. It is a variety of gonzo journalism he espouses, though one still firmly committed to presenting the world as accurately as the writer’s strength and imagination allows.

“If you’re out in the real world, momentum is happening, there’s a chronology happening. I find it more honest. I think one way of looking at gonzo is to say it’s indulgent. Why do you need to make yourself a part of the story? But you’re always part of the experiment whether you choose to write that way or not. One of the things I really noticed… Wait. Sorry, there’s a crazy man walking down the street.”

He pauses, and sure enough, in the background I can hear some

garbled commotion. A dog starts barking, and a woman is distantly yelling. Safran continues, but he now sounds distracted.

“It’s such a one-in-a-million chance that something interesting is going to happen. I definitely find in the real world, it’s easier to just write a story. But the other thing I’ve noticed if you’re writing non-fiction…

Oh my God.” He stops again. “I might actually be killed during this interview. How good would that be for you, though, if I was killed during… Huh. There’s this crazy guy with a beard running up and down the street. He keeps… he’s pointing at me…”

You know, I don’t wish John Safran to suffer a sudden and violent death mid-interview. Truly, I don’t. And yet, the prospect does have a certain je ne sais quoi. To be murdered while discussing true crime? Writes itself, really. Happily, Safran emerges unscathed.

“If I write in my book that I’m walking down the street, some guy comes up to me, the reader already knows they’re not seeing everything. They know there are limitations, there’s no bird’s eye view. I’m not perfectly encapsulating the situation, so I like that gonzo approach because it’s a more honest relationship with your reader.

I think if there were gonzo writers who were faking it, that would be pretty unethical. But as long as you’re telling the truth, or, you know, close enough,” he laughs, “I like it.”

What: Murder In Mississippi Where: Giant Dwarf When: Thursday October 29 – Sunday November 1

thebrag.com

Hamlet photo by Daniel Boud

“When an actor doesn’t come in how you’re expecting them to, if they change their intention on a line, that completely rearranges things. It makes you consider, ‘Hmm, what would Ophelia do if Hamlet didn’t respond as she’s expecting?’ because you haven’t been expecting it yourself.”

Already Ridgway’s Ophelia is being applauded for her boisterousness, her sense of modernity and independence. It is not an Ophelia who is meekly led through the machinations of the men around her, although Shakespeare’s text itself does not allow her a great deal of freedom. In devising her role, Ridgway had to establish a fine balance between creating a whole, three-dimensional character – one who seems real and autonomous – while maintaining synchronicity within the world of the play; that Ophelia stands out, yet still weaves in with the characters around her.

film & theatre reviews Hits and misses on the silver screen and bareboards around town

market corner WITH

■ Film

Speciality: With more than 25 stalls selling a variety of international foods, gifts, homewares, snacks, jewellery and fashion, there’s always something for everyone at the Chatswood Mall Market.

BROOKLYN Showing at the British Film Festival 2015, Tuesday October 27 – Sunday October 18 John Crowley’s Brooklyn tells of young Eilis Lacey (Atonement and The Lovely Bones’ Saoirse Ronan) navigating her solo migration to New York City from small-town Ireland in the 1950s. When tragedy forces her back to Ireland, Eilis agonises over the choice between her two homes and the romances that pull her back to them. Irish director Crowley – best known for his 2003 debut Intermission – brings Nick Hornby’s screenplay adaptation of Colm Toibin’s novel to life, crafting a profoundly moving period drama.

Ronan’s Eilis develops beautifully throughout – introduced to us as a plain character who’s frankly difficult to identify with, she graduates from mousy, mopey wallflower to a vivacious and intelligent young woman. Though her development is rather slow-moving at first, it makes her future iterations all the more satisfying as the audience grows increasingly attached to her. The real stand-out in Brooklyn, however, is Eilis’ New York romance, Tony Fiorello (Emory Cohen). Relative newcomer Cohen, who had a minor role in 2012’s The Place Beyond The Pines, makes for a most endearing suitor; a hopeless romantic and a huge dork with a cocky, tough-Italian-guy smile. His unabashed, awkward professions of love give way to a genuine emotional complexity,

Brooklyn causing even the most cynical of hearts to swoon.

Harkening to Brando’s special brand of cocky charm from A Streetcar Named Desire, Cohen proves himself an astute and elegant actor with his rendition of Tony. Pulling Eilis back home is the stony-faced, interminably Irish Jim Farrell (Domhnall Gleeson). Channelling Eilis’ wit and emotion, the more reserved Jim is a perfect foil for the buoyant Tony.

To its credit, Brooklyn goes beyond the expected romantic drama conventions to focus on Eilis’ personal trajectory and an exploration of our emotional conceptualisations of home. The film works harder to romanticise the comforts of small-town Ireland and the energy of New York than it does any suitor. The end result does well to capture the optimism and crushing heartache of finding a new home, and Brooklyn turns out to be a deeply touching and exceedingly genuine film that will provoke even the most shrivelled of tear ducts.

Ali Schnabel arranged; characters exist, but are more archetypical than endearing.

Velvet ■ Cabaret

VELVET Playing at the Studio, Sydney Opera House until Sunday November 22 Boy, do these guys know how to put on a fun show.

Velvet by Tony Virgo

The Sydney Opera House has seen cabaret and circus in the past. It has been draped in debauchery, it has seen audiences dancing in the aisles, and will see them dance there again. But few productions manage to unite these with such bombastic pleasure, and without the show becoming overly cluttered.

Indeed, the strength of Velvet is that it keeps its metaphorical plates spinning with ease, and while audience members may not leave particularly wiser for the experience – a conventional history of disco this ain’t – they will certainly depart with toes tapping and the glint of a mirror ball revolving in their eyes.

Velvet is one of the most unabashedly fun performances I’ve seen lately, but it also follows a rather ramshackle structure. The narrative mostly acts as a loose rail by which each vignette – singing, dancing, aerial spectacles, burlesque, acrobatics – can be

Brendan Maclean is our journeyman, a wide-eyed innocent who finds himself marooned in a land of intoxicating sounds and dazzling sights. He has stumbled into Boogie Wonderland, populated by acrobats, teasing burlesque players and seductively shimmering dancing girls, and all presided over by the Disco Queen herself, Marcia Hines. Hines has four decades of performance to her name now, and doesn’t miss a beat. From her very first appearance the audience is entranced, and she plays up to the crowd with great charm, dropping winks and raising eyebrows, acknowledging individual presences. She’s a pro, and sets a strong example that the rest of the cast does its best to match.

The crowd: Being a market that’s in the centre of Chatswood, we get lots of different crowds throughout the day. Mornings are usually filled with mums that have just dropped the kids off at school, or seniors that want to catch the early deals. By lunchtime, workers are the main crowd, escaping the office to be out in the sun while enjoying tunes from our entertainers. By the afternoon and evening, the market is buzzing with families and teens grabbing a bite at the popular food stalls and supporting up-and-coming musicians.

performances from the weekly musicians.

Stallholder info: Contact markets@willoughby.nsw.gov. au or just go to willoughby. nsw.gov.au and download a stall application form.

Where: Victoria Ave, between Chatswood Interchange and Westfield Shopping Centre, Chatswood When: Thursdays and Fridays, 9am-9pm More: willoughby.nsw.gov.au

Find a bargain: With $10, the possibilities are endless.

You could grab a freshly made gozleme from Gozleme King – trust me, the lines are worth it! Or you could browse the various jewellery and gift stalls like Illuso SDG and Tribal Soul for some unique items that are handmade or imported solely by our stallholders.

What’s the fuel? After you’ve eaten your fill from the popular food stallholders scattered throughout the market, grab a fresh sugar cane juice from Tall Grass Cane Juice and relax at our seating area to enjoy

I MAG I N E B E I NG MAD E TO

There is something about Maclean that just keeps drawing the eye. He embraces the stage with the confidence of a much older performer, and his vocals are exceptional. Particular mention must go to his heartbreaking cover of ‘Stayin’ Alive’, a stirring highlight of the night.

Craig Reid, AKA The Incredible Hula Boy, is easily the crowd favourite, while aerialist Emma Goh is truly dazzling as she gyrates and contorts high above.

With a soundtrack composed of disco’s finest – ‘Shake Your Groove Thing’, ‘Turn The Beat Around’, ‘If You Could Read My Mind’ – the soundscape will be familiar to most patrons. At the end of the night, Velvet is an entertaining hodgepodge of glamour and groove, but falls short of being truly memorable.

FE E L L I KE C RAP JUST FOR

Adam Norris

Sculpture By The Sea 2015 Sculpture By The Sea 2014 photo by Gareth Carr

CHATSWOOD MALL MARKET

Arts Exposed What's in our diary...

Bondi To Tamarama Coastal Walk, Thursday October 22 – Sunday November 8 Sculpture By The Sea is back once more, bringing art to the beachfront for its 19th year.

Once again the Bondi to Tamarama Beach coastal walk will be transformed into a highway of culture for almost three weeks, with stunning sculptures that play with form, structure, colour and light. While the names of featured artists are kept under wraps until the artworks are revealed, organisers boast that this year they received more than 500 submissions from artists all around the globe. Forget the Instagram crowd and see these beauties for yourself.

Windstone by Koichi Ishino

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

For more details, visit sculpturebythesea.com.

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bread&thread Food & Fashion News... with Eden Gillespie, Naomi Hatton and Elle O’Donnell

The Rabbit Hole

TIME FOR TEA

If rabbit feet are said to bring good luck, rabbit holes must be homes of good fortune.

Sydney’s first-ever organic tea bar, The Rabbit Hole, has just opened in Redfern, and we’re feeling very lucky indeed. The bar has been dubbed a “tea wonderland”, bringing Sydney the best brews from all over.

Previously a wholeseller to some of Sydney’s best cafés and teahouses, The Rabbit Hole has gained a reputation for its teas that come in a variety of flavours, with shavings of coconut, chunks of pineapple and raspberry, and blends with herbs and spices. Head to the newly opened venue and check out its latest events and tea workshops, including Matcha on Thursday November 19 and a Christmas shopping event on Monday December 14.

BRING ON THE BACKYARD BREW

Public House Petersham has finished its renovations, and its owners are ready to celebrate with a free party, the Backyard Brew Collaborative, as part of Sydney Craft Beer Week this Saturday October 24. The Inner West venue has been revamped with a Bushwick-inspired aesthetic, including a beer garden created using shipping containers and two unique graffiti artworks

by Sydney street artists Phibs and Numskull. Martin Cerny is

the newly appointed head chef who has drawn up a new menu incorporating a wood-fired pizza oven and fresh ingredients from the specially built herb gardens, potted in repurposed pallets and wine barrels throughout the beer garden. Local artists will be performing at the party and the venue is throwing a beer bake-off competition in which partygoers are encouraged to bake meals that have beer as the main ingredient.

Get baking – beer cake might be a solution to turning up to the party empty-handed.

WALSH BAY ARTS TABLE

Walsh Bay Arts and Commerce is hosting an event that makes Jesus’ Last Supper table look like a sad dinner party. The 2015 edition of Walsh Bay Arts Table will be the sixth annual initiative to raise money for Gondwana Choirs, who will be performing on the night.

More than 400 people will dine at one long table, sitting for a fivecourse al fresco degustation dinner featuring dishes from some of Sydney’s best restaurants and top chefs alongside matched wines.

The Australian National Maritime Museum’s spectacular 18th century square-rigged ship, HMB Endeavour, will provide the stage for one of the choir performances as well as offering guests the opportunity to explore on board.

Book a ticket for Tuesday November 10.

ROITFELD + UNIQLO

France and Japan have joined forces, led by the always glamorous and super influential fashion figure, Carine Roitfeld.

She’s the former editor of Vogue Paris, current editor of the CR Fashion Book, and the global fashion director for Harper’s Bazaar. Now, she can add designer to her impressive (ahem, mind-blowing) list of achievements.

The new UNIQLO women’s line will reflect the years of knowledge, talent and collaboration Roitfeld has under her belt, while still upholding the Japanese brand’s core values of innovation and comfort. We can expect around 40 pieces individually designed by Roitfeld and overseen by UNIQLO design director Naoki Takizawa.

Visit uniqlo.com/au for details.

Wayward Brewing Company

IT’S THE WAYWARD WAY

Camperdown locals have been given an early Christmas present – not just your average six-pack of craft beer, but an entire new brewery from Wayward Brewing Company. The Wayward Cellar Bar is now gearing up for its grand opening on Saturday October 24 when the brewery will be decked out in Bavarian Oktoberfest fashion, with German food and music to go with three authentic styles of German beer on tap, in addition to a range of other Wayward and guest beers. The venue has over 12 taps, so queuing up for a drink shouldn’t be a problem. The owners welcome both children and dogs into their funky new venue that has a vintage Royal Enfi eld motorcycle bolted to the wall as modern sculpture. The bar can seat up to 150 people, so expect a wild, jam-packed opening night this weekend.

Bondi Hardware

SARTORIALIST SEEKS HOLDEN STYLE La Renaissance Café and Patisserie

THE FRENCH RENAISSANCE IN SYDNEY

Not every suburb has a local café which has been inducted into Relais Desserts, the world’s most exclusive French patisserie association. La Renaissance Café and Patisserie has put The Rocks on the map, becoming the first patisserie in the Southern Hemisphere on the Relais Desserts list – it’s the patisserie equivalent of a Michelin Star. The café owners are no imposters – the head pastry chef and co-owner, Jean-Michel Raynaud, is of French blood, and founder and co-owner Sally Charkos has worked hard to make sure her pastries are the best possible. The pair have been catering to hungry locals every morning, and with their newest accolade, their customers are set to double.

Holden is collaborating with Scott Schuman, the founder of street fashion blog The Sartorialist, to bring him to Australia. Inspired

by Holden’s latest vehicle range, Schuman will explore the Australian fashion scene, snapping locals on the streets of Sydney. “Fashion and cars are not dissimilar; what you wear and what you drive are all about how it makes you feel and what you are saying about yourself,” he says.

Schuman will exhibit his work in a private exhibition at Automata in Chippendale.

SUPERFOOD SUSHI 69-77 KING STREET, NEWTOWN / MON – WED 11AM-3PM, THU – SUN 11AM9PM / STARTING SOON: SAT AND SUN BREAKFASTS FROM 8AM Who’s the cook/bartender? We have an awesome team headed up by Guy Renner and Penelope Marshall (mum and son owners).

Eye candy: We both designed the interior and had our steampunk-style furniture handmade

by Industrial Punk in Melbourne. Cute terrariums with Studio Ghibli characters keep people amused.

Flavours: Japanese-inspired plant-based sushi. Unique flavour combos. “You can’t put that on sushi,” they say. Yeah? Just watch us!

We even make watermelon into sushi.

Something to start with: The most popular menu item is the Magic Mushroom: black rice roll of eight pieces, packed with portobello and shitake mushrooms marinated in Umeboshi plum vinegar, tamari and garlic.

Bondi Hardware has a series of DIYs on the menu this month in a venue that has become the local treasure for both cocktails and food. A DIY sundae will be arrive just before summer begins, celebrating Sculpture By The Sea from Thursday October 22 – Sunday November 8. The sundae is $14, available at lunch and dinner, with choices including Oreos, coconut fl akes, fresh strawberries, almond slivers and caramel sauce. DIY breakfast is also available, which can be self-made on a base of two freerange eggs and Luxe sourdough. Choose between free-range black forest bacon, smoked Huon River salmon, chorizo, housebaked organic beans and more. Because if you want it done properly, do it yourself.

restaurant of the week tsukune and okonomiyaki plus sides. It’s all 100 per cent vegan.

Okonomiyaki

Care for a drink? We have awesome refreshing house-made detox waters, kombucha, smoothies and spritzers, such as green tea and yuzu, apple and apple cider vinegar.

Room for dessert: We recommend the incredible yuzu or matcha mint chocolate cheesecake, or black rice and mango pudding.

Make us drool: This month’s special is curried black rice inari pockets topped with mango salsa – it’s addiction-forming. The Sweet Kiwi Nut is filled with sweet potato, walnuts, rocket and avo, topped with kiwifruit. We do awesome, quirky, Japanese-inspired sushi without the cruelty – fresh, handcrafted, innovative, Watermelon nigiri

colourful and tasty. Even carnivores and bratty kids love the taste. Look out for breakfasts soon which will include matcha bowls of goodness, Hirata buns and moffles (a cross of mocha and waffles).

The bill comes to: Rolls are around $10, pieces $2.50, udon soup $7.50, salads $6, drinks $3.50-$7. Miso at $2.50 even has free refills – knock yourself out. Our most popular rolls (three to choose from) are on special every day from 11am-midday for $7.50.

Website: superfoodsushi.com.au

xxxx

The main course: We’ve got a good selection of rolls and pieces, and all are great. We have monthly specials showcasing produce in season. The bento box is hugely popular, plus raw Japanese-inspired dishes such as

DIY AT BONDI HARDWARE

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thebrag.com

out & about Queer(ish) matters with Lucy Watson

A

s we move onward into the 21st century, the LGB community (much more so than the T and the I of the LGBTI umbrella) is gaining a lot of allies, and subsequently a lot of support for public antihomophobia campaigns.

There’s all the usual, generally fairly productive stuff: outreach in schools (Wear It Purple), celebrity ally visibility (Rainbow Laces), and huge days where we all sit around and honour the gays among us (International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, National Coming Out Day, et cetera).

These kinds of events are all about promoting education, awareness and visibility. Your typical anti-homophobia campaign is really about saying, “Hey! We’re people too!”

But this week I discovered another anti-homophobia campaign that seems to go against the grain just a little bit.

The Orthodox Christians of Eastern Europe each year release a calendar designed to challenge the conservative, homophobic opinions within their own church. Sounds pretty good. And, in the words of that other anti-homophobia campaign, it gets better. The calendar this year features one Orthodox priest holding down a jock-strapped lad as he pouts over a dog bowl of water, another priest pulling at the already too tight tighty whities of a fellow with washboard abs, and a third, very bearded, very Orthodox priest looking suggestively at the camera as he feels the inner thigh of his piece of man candy, inside a laundromat, next to a pile of clothes.

Dirty.

It’s a move that appears to fi ght fire with fire. Some Christians are homophobic?

Let’s squash those thoughts by showing them their religious leaders in sexually compromised positions with other men.

Seems legit, really.

bit if you think about gay women. But because homophobes generally don’t think about gay women (there’s no dick, therefore it’s not real sex and so not a real thing), it remains solid.

The ‘where else will you host your hen’s night?’ approach If you have homophobic friends, your hen’s night won’t be able to take over Oxford Street and turn it into a total hellhole for everyone else. End homophobia, so that on the night before your wedding you can take all your friends to go and hit on gay men and drive everyone else out of Darlinghurst.

Forget about education, awareness and visibility. The best way to stop homophobes is to beat them at their own game – scare tactics, overgeneralisations and stereotypes. Don’t knock it till you try it.

this week…

This Saturday October 24, Poof Doof is back at The Shift Bar. The party features Attackattackattack, Adam Love and Jason Conti.

In light of that, I’ve done my best to come up with a few other against-thegrain anti-homophobia campaigns that fi ght fire with fire, and I reckon we should try.

The ‘don’t knock it till you try it’ approach Hate gays but haven’t had a dick in your butt? Afraid of lesbians but haven’t performed cunnilingus on another woman? Well, how can you really know if you never give it a go? This campaign is all about encouraging homophobes to fuck each other before they can defi nitively say they don’t like gays.

It’s sound logic, and all parents have tried it before (“How do you know you don’t like broccoli? You haven’t even tried it!”).

This campaign can also extend to other gay pastimes, like dancing to Cher, wearing plaid, and corrupting the minds of innocent children. Try it before you deny it.

The pro-life approach This is another one for the Christians. Because if everyone is gay, there’ll be a lot less abortions.

Hate abortion? Support gay rights!

Jason Conti

Then on Sunday October 25, recover at the next instalment of House Of Mince’s Super OpenAir at the Factory Theatre.

Headlining is NYC DJ Honey Dijon, backed up by local favourites Simon Caldwell, Ben Drayton, Phil Smart, Matt Vaughan and Dreems to keep you dancing all afternoon.

The ‘gay guys won’t sleep with your teenage daughter’ approach The thing about homophobic people is that they generally don’t like facts.

They don’t like to hear that LGBTI people can be anyone, anywhere, with any job, any appearance, any religion. Instead of facts, they like stereotypes, generalisations, scare tactics. So let’s fi ght them with their own weapons: stereotypes.

I’ve seen Clueless, and from that, I understand that high-school-age girls like gay guys. And gay guys won’t sleep with high-school-age girls, and therefore won’t corrupt them. So, if you allow your daughter to exclusively hang out with gay men, she’ll be chaste and pure forever.

Honey Dijon

NB: this campaign falls apart a little

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BARS BRAG

Grain Bar 199 George St, Sydney CBD (02) 9250 3118 Mon – Sun noon-late Grandma’s Basement 275 Clarence St, Sydney CBD (02) 9264 3004 Mon – Fri 3pm-late; Sat 5pm-late

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

A Work In Progress 50 King St, Sydney CBD (02) 9240 3000 Mon – Fri noon-2am Ash St Cellar 1 Ash St, Sydney CBD (02) 9240 3000 Mon – Fri 8.30am-11pm The Attic 275 Pitt St, Sydney CBD (02) 9284 1200 Mon – Fri 11am-1am; Saturday 5pm-1am Assembly 488 Kent St, Sydney CBD (02) 9283 8808 Mon – Tue 5-11pm; Wed – Fri noon-midnight; Sat 5pm-midnight The Australian Heritage Hotel 100 Cumberland St,

Balcony Bar 46 Erskine St, Sydney CBD (02) 9299 3526 Mon 5pm - late; Tue – Fri noon-midnight; Sat 5pm-midnight BAR100 100 George St, The Rocks (02) 8070 9311 Mon – Thu noon-late; Fri – Sat noon-3am; Sun noon-midnight Bar Eleven Lvl 11, 161 Sussex St, Sydney CBD (02) 9290 4712 Thu 4-9pm; Fri – Sat 4-11pm The Barber Shop 89 York St, Sydney CBD (02) 9299 9699 Mon – Wed, Sat

4pm-midnight; Thurs – Fri 3pm-midnight

11.30am-11.30pm; Sat 5.30-11.30pm

Basement 33 Basement, 27-33 Goulburn St, Sydney CBD (02) 8970 5813 Mon – Thu 5pm-late

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

The Baxter Inn Basement 152-156 Clarence St, Sydney CBD Mon – Sat 4pm-1am Bondy’s L1, 16 Philip Ln, Sydney CBD (02) 9251 2347 Thu – Fri 5pm-late; Sat 5pm-late Bulletin Place First Floor, 10-14 Bulletin Place, Circular Quay Mon – Wed 4pm-midnight; Thurs – Sat 4pm-1am deVine 32 Market St, Sydney CBD (02) 9262 6906 Mon – Fri

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

ARCADIA LIQUORS

The Grasshopper 1 Temperance Ln, Sydney CBD (02) 9947 9025 Mon – Thurs & Sat 4pm-late; Fri noon-late Harpoon Harry 40-44 Wentworth Ave, Sydney CBD (02) 8262 8800 Mon – Sun 11:30am-3am The Lobo Plantation Basement Lot 1, 209 Clarence St, Sydney CBD 0415 554 908 Mon – Thu, Sat 4pm-midnight; Fri 2pm-midnight

bar

The Loft UTS 15 Broadway, Sydney (behind 2SER)

bar

OF

ADDRESS: 7 COPE ST, REDFERN PHONE NUMBER: (02) 8068 4470 WEBSITE: ARCADIALIQUORS.COM OPENING HOURS: MON – FRI 4PM-MIDNIGHT, SAT MIDDAY-MIDNIGHT, SUN MIDDAY-10PM

The Fox Hole 68A Erskine St, Sydney CBD (02) 9279 4369 Mon 7am-3pm; Tue – Fri 7am-evening

TH

EK

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

E E W

(02) 9514 2345 Mon – Wed 2pm-10pm; Thurs – Fri 2pm-late Mojo Record Bar Basement 73 York St, Sydney CBD (02) 9262 4999 Mon – Wed 4pm-midnight; Thu, Sat 4pm-1am; Fri 3pm-1am The Morrison 225 George St, Sydney CBD (02) 9247 6744 Mon – Wed 11.30am-midnight; Thu 11.30am-1am; Fri – Sat 11.30am-2am; Sun 11.30am-10pm 11.30am-10pm The Palisade 35 Bettington St, Millers Point 0421 001 474 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 3000 Mon – Wed 5pm-late; Thu – Fri 3pm-late; Sat – Sun 5pm-late Papa Gede’s Bar Laneway at the end of 348 Kent St, Sydney CBD Mon – Sat 5pm-12am Ramblin’ Rascal Tavern Basement, 60 Park St, Sydney CBD Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun 6pm-10pm Rockpool Bar & Grill 66 Hunter St, Sydney CBD (02) 8078 1900 Mon – Sat lunch & dinner The Rook Level 7, 56-58 York St, Sydney CBD (02) 9262 2505 Mon, Sat 4pm-midnight; Tue – Fri noon-midnight The SG 32 York St, Sydney CBD 0402 813 035 Tues – Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat 6pm-midnight Shirt Bar 7 Sussex Ln, Sydney CBD (02) 8068 8222 Mon –Wed 8am-8pm; Thu – Fri 8am-10pm Since I Left You 338 Kent St, Sydney CBD (02) 9262 4986 Mon – Wed 5pm-10pm; Thu – Fri 5pm-midnight; Sat 6pm-midnight

Tell us about your bar: Opened three years ago by two industry veterans, Arcadia is a neighbourhood boozer for anyone that likes good music, good drinks and good vibes. It’s a small bar with a great beer garden out the back, and plenty of knick-knacks covering the walls inside to keep your eyes busy.

spirits from all around the world.

With a range of local beers on tap and a wine list to please all palates, the menu will leave you spoilt for choice. If cocktails are your poison of choice, make sure you try a Penicillin to soothe the soul, or perhaps a smoky chilli tequila Bloody Mary to take the edge off.

What’s on the menu?

If you’re feeling like a bar snack, there are delicious house-marinated olives or house-spiced nuts to satisfy your craving. Or why not share an antipasto plate, with a selection of meats, cheese and pickled goods?

The real stars of the menu are the toasties: chilli chicken, wagyu beef, and basil and mozzarella, all guaranteed to delight the taste buds.

Sounds: Most nights of the week you can expect to hear a mix of blues, soul, folk, bluegrass and rock.

However, don’t be surprised on a Friday night to hear some gangsta rap or some hard rock to get the party going. Rumour has it that if you’re lucky, you may hear Enrique Iglesias round out the night with the heart-wrenching ballad ‘Hero’. Keep an eye on our Facebook page, as Arcadia is known to throw some live music

Care for a drink?

There is a broad selection of

parties from time to time and you don’t want to miss it when we do.

Highlights: On a summer’s afternoon, come down on the weekend after midday to soak in the sun as it spills in from the large front windows. The relaxed atmosphere, great music, the warm sun and the cold beer make Arcadia the place to go for a cheeky summer drink. The bar staff are friendly and are always ready to help you choose the perfect drink, or just to have a chat.

The bill comes to: With house wines coming in at $6 and a 500ml Spaten lager costing $9, you can expect to buy you and your friends a round without breaking the bank. Add on a toastie and you can expect to pay about $20 a round.

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

26 :: BRAG :: 635 :: 21:10:15

6 Bulletin Place, Circular Quay (02) 9247 3221 Mon – Fri noon-11.30pm

(02) 9358 1487 Tue – Wed 6pm-late; Thu – Fri 12pm-late; Sat – Sun 6pm-late

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

The Darlie Laundromatic 304 Palmer St, Darlinghurst Mon – Sat 5pm-11pm

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

Darlo Bar 306 Liverpool St, Darlinghurst (02) 9331 3672 Mon – Sun 10am-midnight Dead Ringer 413 Bourke St, Surry Hills (02) 9331 3560 Mon – Fri 5pm-midnight; Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm Eau De Vie 229 Darlinghurst Rd, Darlinghurst 0422 263 226 Mon – Sat 6pm-1am; Sun 6pm-midnight

Arcadia Liquors 7 Cope St, Redfern (02) 8068 4470 Mon – Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm

The Forresters 336 Riley St, Surry Hills (02) 9212 3035 Mon – Wed noonmidnight; Thu – Sat noon-1am; Sun noon10pm

Bar Cleveland Cnr Bourke & Cleveland St, Redfern (02) 9698 1908 Mon – Thu 10am-2am; Fri – Sat 10am-4am

Gardel’s Bar 358 Cleveland St, Surry Hills (02) 8399 1440 Tue – Sat 6pm-midnight

Bar H 80 Campbell St, Surry Hills (02) 9280 1980 Mon – Sat 6pm-late; Sun 11am-3pm Bellini Lounge 2 Kellett St, Potts Point 0432 241 556 Thu – Sun 6pm-late The Beresford 354 Bourke St, Surry Hills (02) 8313 5000 Mon – Sun noon-1am Black Penny 648 Bourke St, Surry Hills (02) 9319 5061 Mon – Sat 7am-midnight; Sun 7am-10pm 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 Hotel 42-50 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

Gazebo 2 Elizabeth Bay Rd, Elizabeth Bay (02) 9357 5333 Mon – Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat – Sun noon-midnight Golden Age Cinema & Bar 80 Commonwealth St, Surry Hills (02) 9211 1556 Mon - Sun 11am-9pm Goros 84-86 Mary St, Surry Hills (02) 9212 0214 Mon – Wed 11:30am-midnight; Thu 11:30am-1am: Fri 11:30am-3am; Sat 4pm-3am The Hazy Rose 1/83 Stanley St, Darlinghurst (02) 9357 5036 Wed – Thu 5pm-midnight; Fri – Sat 3pm-midnight; Sun 3-10pm Hello Sailor 96 Oxford St, Darlinghurst (02) 9332 2442 Tue – Sun 5pm-3am Hinky Dinks 185 Darlinghurst Rd, Darlinghurst (02) 8084 6379 Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun 1-10pm Hollywood Hotel 2 Foster St, Surry Hills (02) 9281 2765 Mon – Wed 10am-midnight; Thu – Sat 10am-3am Hustle & Flow Bar 105 Regent St, Redfern (02) 9310 5593 Tue – Sat 5pm-midnight

The Cliff Dive 16-18 Oxford Square, Darlinghurst Wed – Sat 6pm-4am

Li’l Darlin Darlinghurst 235 Victoria St, Darlinghurst (02) 8084 6100 Mon – Sun 4pm-late

The Commons 32 Burton St, Darlinghurst

Li’l Darlin Surry Hills 420 Elizabeth St, Surry thebrag.com

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

Tue – Sun noon-midnight 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 White Horse Hotel 381-385 Crown Street, Surry Hills 1300 976 683 Mon – Sat noonmidnight; Sun noon10pm The Wild Rover 75 Campbell St, Surry Hills (02) 9280 2235 Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun noon-10pm

2025 @ PHOENIX HOTEL, 1 MONCUR STREET, WOOLLAHRA Ingredients: • Aperol • Citron vodka • fresh lemon • orange Method: Dry shake then hard shake over ice Glass: Martini Garnish: Lime and orange wheel on the side with prosecco

Origins: The 2025 is inspired by the colour of the rise of the phoenix.

Method: Muddle half a lemon and orange, add vodka, add ice, shake and then double strain in martini glass and garnish topped with prosecco Best drunk with: Shared Phoenix plates During: Melbourne Cup While wearing: Flamboyant hats And listening to: Funk More: phoenixsydney.com.au

Hills (02) 9698 5488 Mon – Fri noon-late; Sat 4pm-late

(02) 9699 3177 Mon – Sat noonmidnight; Sun noon10pm

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

Old Growler 218 William St, Woolloomooloo 0422 911 650 Tue – Sat 5pm - midnight

The Local Taphouse 122 Flinders St, Darlinghurst (02) 9360 0088 Mon – Wed noonmidnight; Thu – Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-11pm Love, Tilly Devine 91 Crown Ln, Darlinghurst (02) 9326 9297 Mon – Sat 5pm-midnight; Sun 4-10pm Low 302 302 Crown St, Surry Hills (02) 9368 1548 Mon – Sun 6pm-2am Mr Fox 557 Crown St, Surry Hills 0410 470 250 Tue – Wed 5pm-late; Sat 10am-midnight; Sun 10am-10pm The Norfolk 305 Cleveland St, Surry Hills

The Passage 231A Victoria St, Darlinghurst (02) 9358 6116 Mon – Sat 5pm-late Peekaboo 120 Bourke St, Woolloomooloo 0403 747 788 Mon – Thu 4pm-10pm; Fri – Sat 4pm – 12am Play Bar 72 Campbell St, Surry Hills (02) 9280 0885 Tues – Sat 5pm-midnight Pocket Bar 13 Burton St, Darlinghurst (02) 9380 7002 Mon – Wed 4pm-midnight; Fri – Sat 4pm-1am; Sun 4pm-midnight The Powder Keg 7 Kellett St, Potts Point (02) 8354 0980 Wed 5pm-1am; Thu 5pm-2am; Fri – Sat 4pm-2.30am; Sun 1pm-midnight

The Print Room 11 Glenmore Rd, Paddington 0424 034 020 Wed – Fri 3pm-late; Sat 12pm-11pm, Sun 12pm-10pm Queenie’s Upstairs 336 Riley St, Surry Hills (02) 9212 3035 Tue – Sat 6pm-late & Fri noon-3pm Roosevelt 32 Orwell St, Potts Point 0423 203 119 Tue – Fri 5pm-midnight; Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm Rosie Campbell’s 320 Crown St, Surry Hills (02) 8356 9120 Mon 5pm-midnight: Tue – Sun 4pm-midnight Shady Pines Saloon Shop 4, 256 Crown St, Darlinghurst Mon – Sun 4pm-midnight The Soda Factory 16 Wentworth Ave, Surry Hills (02) 8096 9120 Mon – Fri 5pm-3am; Sat – Sun 6pm-3am Surly’s 182 Campbell St, Surry Hills (02) 9331 3705

The Winery 285A Crown St, Surry Hills (02) 9331 0833 Mon – Sun noonmidnight

1 Moncur street Woollahra (02) 9363 2608 Wed – Thu 4pm-11pm; Fri – Sat noon-11pm; Sun noon-10pm The Robin Hood Hotel 203 Bronte Rd, Waverley (02) 9389 3477 Mon - Sat 10am-3am; Sun 10am-10pm

The Hideaway Bar 156 Enmore Rd, Enmore (02) 8021 8451 Tue– Thu 4pm-midnight; Fri – Sat noon-1am; Sun noon-10pm

Spring Street Social (and Jam Gallery) Underground 195 Oxford St, Bondi Junction (02) 9389 2485 Tues – Sat 4pm-3am

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

Stuffed Beaver 271 Bondi Rd, Bondi (02) 9130 3002 Mon – Sat noonmidnight; Sun noon10pm

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 Angry Pirate 125 Redfern St Redfern (02) 9698 9140 Tue – Thur 5pm-midnight; Fri – Sat 3pm-midnight Bar-racuda 105 Enmore Rd, Newtown (02) 9519 1121 Mon – Sat 6pm-midnight The Bearded Tit 183 Regent St, Redfern (02) 8283 4082 Mon – Thu 4pm-midnight; Fri – Sat noon - midnight; Sun noon - 10pm Blacksheep 256 King St, Newtown (02) 8033 3455 Mon – Fri 4pm-11pm; Sat 2pm-11pm; Sun 2pm-10pm

Bat Country.

32 St Pauls St in Randwick (@ The Spot) (02) 9398 6694 Mon – Sat 7am-midnight; Sun 7am-10pm

Bloodwood 416 King St, Newtown (02) 9557 7699 Mon, Wed – Thu 5pm-late; Fri – Sat noonlate; Sun noon-10pm

Beach Road Hotel 71 Beach Rd, Bondi Beach (02) 9130 7247 Mon – Sat noon-1am; Sun 11am-10pm

The Chip Off The Old Block 3 Little Queen Street, Chippendale (02) 9318 0815 Tue – Sat 4pm-11pm Cornerstone Bar & Food 245 Wilson St, Eveleigh (02) 8571 9004 Sun – Wed 10am-5pm; Thu – Sat 10am-late

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

Corridor 153A King St, Newtown 0405 671 002 Tue – Fri 3pm-midnight; Sat 1pm-midnight; Sun 1pm-10pm

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

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

Fat Ruperts 249 Bondi Rd, Bondi (02) 9130 1033 Tue – Fri 6pm-late; Sat – Sun 2pm-late Mr Moustache 75-79 Hall St, Bondi Beach (02) 9300 8892 Mon – Fri 5pm-11pm; Sat noon-11pm; Sun noon-10pm The Phoenix Hotel

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

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

Anchor Bar 8 Campbell Pde, Bondi (02) 8084 3145 Tue – Fri 4.30pm-late; Sat – Sun 12.30pm-late

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

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

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

Knox Street Bar 21 Shepherd St, Chippendale Tue – Thu 4pm-l0pm; Fri – Sat 4pm-11pm Kuleto’s 157 King St, Newtown (02) 9519 6369 Mon – Sat 4pm-late; Thu – Sat 4pm-3am The Little Guy 87 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 8084 0758 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 9am-8pm; Sat 10am-8pm The Oxford Tavern 1 New Canterbury Rd, Petersham (02) 8019 9351 Mon – Thu noon-10pm; Fri – Sat noon-11pm; Sun noon-9pm Raven’s Eye 127 King St, Newtown (02) 9557 6429 Mon – Thu 5pm-midnight; Fri – Sat 11.30am-midnight; Sun 11:30am-10pm The Record Crate 34 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 9660 1075

Tue – Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm The Royal 156 Norton St, Leichhardt (02) 9569 2638 Mon – Thu 10am-1am; Fri – Sat 10am-3am; Sun 10am-midnight Secret Garden Bar 134a Enmore Rd, Enmore 0403 621 585 Mon – Sun 1am-11pm Soho In Balmain 358 Darling St, Balmain 0407 525 208 Tue – Sun 5pm-midnight Temperance Society 122 Smith St, Summer Hill (02) 8068 5680 Mon – Thu 4pm-11pm; Fri – Sat: noon-midnight; Sun: noon-10pm Thievery 91 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 8283 1329 Tue – Thu 6pm-11pm; Fri 6pm-midnight.

Sat 11pm-3pm & 6pm-midnight Timbah 375 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 9571 7005 Tue – Thu 4pm-10pm; Fri noon-11pm; Sat 3pm-11pm; Sun 4pm-8pm Wilhelmina’s Liquid and Larder 332 Darling St Balmain (02) 8068 8762 Tues – Fri 5pm - late; Sat – Sun 8am - late The Workers Lvl 1, 292 Darling St, Balmain (02) 9555 8410 Thu – Sat 5pm-3am; Sun 2pm-late ZanziBar 323 King St, Newtown (02) 9519 1511 Mon – Sat 10am-4am; Sun 10am-12am Zigi’s Wine And Cheese Bar 86 Abercrombie St, Chippendale (02) 9699 4222 Tue 4pm-10pm; Wed – Sat 2pm-late

Alberts Bar 100 Mount St, North Sydney (02) 9955 9097 Mon – Wed 11.30am-10pm; Thu 11.30am-11pm; Fri 11.30am-midnight Firefly 24 Young St, Neutral Bay (02) 9909 0193 Mon – Thu 5-11.30pm; Fri 4-11.30pm; Sat 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 The Hayberry Bar & Diner 97 Willoughby Road, Crows Nest (02) 8084 0816 Tue – Thu 4pm-12am; Fri & Sat noon-midnight Sun noon-10pm Hemingway’s 48 North Steyne, Manly (02) 9976 3030 Mon – Sat 8am-midnight; Sun 8am-10pm Honey Rider 230 Military Rd, Neutral

Your bar’s not here? Email: chris@thebrag. com Bay (02) 9953 8880 Tue – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun 4pm-10pm InSitu 1/18 Sydney Rd, Manly (02) 9977 0669 Tue – Fri 5pm-midnight; Sat 9am-midnight; Sun 9am-10pm The Hunter 5 Myahgah Rd, Mosman 0409 100 339 Mon – Tue 5pm-midnight; Wed – Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm Jah Bar Shop 7, 9-15 Central Ave, Manly (02) 9977 4449 Mon – Fri 4pm-late; Sat 9am-late; Sun 9am-10pm The Local Bar 6/8 Young Ln, Neutral Bay (02) 9953 0027 Tue – Fri 11.30am-midnight; Sat 7am-midnight; Sun 7am-10pm Los Vida 419 Pacific Hwy, Crows Nest (02) 9439 8323 Mon – Wed 5pm-midnight; Thu – Sat 11.30am-midnight; Sun 11.30am-10pm Manly Wine 8-13 South Steyne, Manly (02) 8966 9000 Mon – Sun 6.30am-late The Mayor 400 Military Rd, Cremorne (02) 8969 6060 Tue – Wed 5pm-late; Thu – Sat noon-late; Sun noon-10pm Miami Cuba 47 North Steyne, Manly (02 99775186 Tue – Thu 8am-10pm; Fri – Sat 8am-1am; Sunday 8am-4pm Moonshine Lvl 2, Hotel Steyne, 75 The Corso, Manly (02) 9977 4977 Thu 5pm-2am; Fri 1pm-2am; Sat noon-2am; Sun noon-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 noon-1am; Fri – Sat noon- 2am; Sun noon-midnight 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 :: 635 :: 21:10:15 :: 27

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

ALBUM OF THE WEEK LITTLE MAY

For The Company Dew Process/Universal

A sparkling debut that reels you in and refuses to let go.

ART VS SCIENCE Off The Edge Of The Earth And Into Forever, Forever Magellanic/MGM

Art vs Science’s game plan was always a simple one – hard-hitting, big-business dance music with none of the autopilot corner-cutting that contemporary perpetrators of the genre are stigmatised with.

Everything you hear is built up, torn down and hurled into the stratosphere by the band’s core trio – which subsequently means it’s rightly theirs to bend, twist and reshape as they please.

Off The Edge arrives some four years after Art vs Science’s eponymous debut – itself a further defiance of the supposed ground rules laid out by their prior material.

Some hallmarks remain – Dan Williams’ gasping hi-hats leading a sped-up roller-disco charge, or the authoritative honk of a lowend synth – but change is afoot once again as they embrace their inner Talking Heads (‘When It’s All Over’), their inner P-Funk (‘You Got To Stop’) and their inner Flight Of The Conchords (‘Bongo Plan’ – no, seriously, it’s uncanny).

If you’ve ever found yourself lost in a moment with Art vs Science – be it singing along in the car or bunny-hopping in time with thousands of others at some scorching festival – you’ll easily find yourself drawn back in with this album. After all, we’re in this together.

David James Young

When they can excite someone like The National’s Aaron Dessner enough for him to have insisted on assuming production duties, you can assume that Little May’s debut album For The Company will be a good listen.

From beginning to end, the Sydney trio sweep you away with their delicate vocals, dark yet graceful lyrics, and a sound of subtle power and energy.

Album opener ‘Cicadas’ is a fluttering and excited introduction, the musical equivalent of butterflies in your tummy. The flow and pacing trickles into a stream and you’re lost in the album before you even realise it. Songs like ‘Sold’, ‘Oh My My’ and ‘Seven Hours’ continue the effect, and all feel as though Little May are tapping into an incredible pool of potential but are sharing just a small taste.

The only issue with the album comes from songs like ‘Home’ and ‘Chemicals’, which, while

they’re fine songs in their own right, feel a little too contrived and self-conscious in comparison with the rest. But while those tracks can pull you out of the daze, it doesn’t detract from the album overall; instead, it makes you crave even more of the magic and imagination that you do get lost in.

And if the only criticism for an album is really a request for more, it’s hard not to imagine even greater things from Little May. Daniel Prior

CHRIS WALLA

MERCURY REV

JOHN GRANT

Light Weight Spunk

Tape Loops Trans/Redeye

The Light In You Bella Union

Grey Tickles, Black Pressure Bella Union

Melbourne-via-Wagga-Wagga’s favourite sextet return with their fourth album in as many years, continuing their winning streak of refinement and accomplishment on their punchiest collection of jangle-pop yet. It’s a musically laid-back album set to lyrics on self-doubt, doomed relationships and reaching the end of your tether for life’s bullshit. The strengthened approach is announced as soon as the timeless guitar hook in ‘Black Blood’ kicks in. You’ll spend hours trying to place it, but while it’s reminiscent of many others (The Go-Betweens, Galaxie 500, The Breakfast Club soundtrack) it’s an Ocean Party original.

After 17 years as guitarist and producer with Death Cab For Cutie, Chris Walla announced he was leaving the band last year.

Tape Loops is his first solo album since then: five tracks of wholly instrumental mood music. I’m not sure exactly what the mood is but it’s somewhere between chill and bored. ‘Chored’. Or ‘bill’.

After a seven-year gap between releases, The Light In You is a collection of quintessential Mercury Rev songs with renewed vitality.

The interim between albums was a difficult time for the band members, before music helped them out of it.

Returning to the dense dream-pop heard on 2001’s All Is Dream, the first half fits evocative soundscapes against heavy subject matter like addiction and isolation, best heard in ‘Central Park East’. The song recalls the band’s past triumphs, and is a great reminder of the group’s constant awareness of space, using field recordings of a city while Jonathan Donahue keeps questioning, “Am I the only lonely boy to ever walk in Central Park?”

Anyone wondering whether John Grant had lost his penchant for melodrama, fear not. His new album opens and closes with recitations of a bible verse, and the title is a literal translation of the words for ‘mid-life crisis’ in Icelandic (Grey Tickles) and ‘nightmare’ in Turkish (Black Pressure). What he has lost, in part, is his unique approach.

THE OCEAN PARTY

From there, the hits keep coming – the start-stop rhythm of the title track, the horns/bassline combo of ‘Aircon’, and ‘Guess Work’, which puts their six-person membership to full use.

Otherwise, The Ocean Party are an incredibly democratic band, but unfortunately it’s to their detriment.

At least four members of the group have a go at reaching the same level of beauty heard in the melodious guitars (an almost impossible task), and the discrepancies between their approaches are too slight to give the album variety.

This is music made for a slightly miserable yoga session (aren’t they all?) or the bit in a gritty cop drama where the main detective looks into a murky river, remembers his dead girlfriend and cries a bit. The instrumentation is mainly piano and piano-sounding things, there’s never any sign of a beat, and towards the end there are some bass notes and what’s probably a guitar. That’s the exciting bit.

Some of the songs are long. Some are a bit longer. Which is about all that differentiates them. That and their titles, which are mostly dull, like ‘Goodbye’ and ‘Introductions’.

Maybe Walla’s reacting against a lifetime stuck in a band, a cog in the corporate music machine, with all the demands of timely releases and radio-friendly hits that brings.

It’s a minor complaint about an album that features several high watermarks. This is the sound of a band with an already strong sense of songcraft coming into its own.

Maybe Tape Loops’ disregard for the audience is the whole purpose. Which is great for Walla, but what about us?

But the message of joy through listening to music is embedded in the music itself, so these latesequence songs don’t hurt the album’s takeaway feeling. The rest of the record shows that, odd quirks and all, a new Mercury Rev album is always welcome.

Leonardo Silvestrini

George Nott

Leonardo Silvestrini

INDIE ALBUM OF THE WEEK

CITY AND COLOUR If I Should Go Before You Dine Alone/Cooking Vinyl

28 :: BRAG :: 635 :: 21:10:15

The second half sees Donahue and co. rediscover the life-affirming qualities of music, and while it’s a fantastic sentiment, it’s the part of the album that shows flashes of the band’s late-period awkwardness.

‘Sunflower’, with tinny horns and literal bells and whistles, is a bizarre misstep, and the rap on ‘Rainy Day Record’ is ill-advised as well.

City And Colour’s first album was a collection of folk tunes – sparse songs that were in direct opposition to the post-hardcore intensity of Dallas Green’s main band, Alexisonfire. On his fi fth album, however, he opens with one of his heaviest (and best) songs to date, the prog rockinfl uenced ‘Woman’ that clocks in at over nine minutes.

as essential to the record as the frontman’s falsetto.

It’s hard to connect City And Colour with anyone apart from Green, but this album features more full-band arrangements than ever before. Green’s trusted touring band, including members of The Dead Weather, Spanish Gold and Constantines, is just

If I Should Go Before You is the strongest release from Dallas Green in years. It’s a coming of age for City And Colour as a band, not just as a solo effort or side project.

The album was recorded in Nashville, and a Southern infl uence hangs in the air. ‘Mizzy C’ and ‘Lover Come Back’ bring in the blues and soul, and combined with instantly catchy choruses, stand among the strongest tracks on the record.

The electronic flourishes hinted on his last album have now run rampant. The stretch of ‘Snug Slacks’, ‘Guess How I Know’ and ‘You & Him’ irreparably hurts the album, and sees the previously chamber-pop artist working in electroclash, sounding closer to a collection of Peaches out-takes. In this vein, his trademark confrontational/confessional lyrics are telegraphed in, reducing their dramatic effect, and no amount of electronic squelches and in-joke referencing can disguise the irritation.

Thankfully, Grant corrects his course.

‘Down Here’, ‘No More Tangles’ and the title track stick to what he’s done well in the past. ‘Disappointing’ and ’Black Blizzard’ are what his new style should have been more focused on, because the electronic diversions are used to paint the detail into the track, rather than being the main draw.

Closer ‘Geraldine’ is the album’s masterpiece, a majestic song that showcases all of Grant’s strengths – something he has trouble achieving elsewhere.

Leonardo Silvestrini

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

DAFT PUNK - Discovery THE DEAD WEATHER - Dodge And Burn DAVID BYRNE & ST. VINCENT - Love This Giant

BLINK-182 - Dude Ranch GORILLAZ - Gorillaz

Spencer Scott

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NELSON MANDELA TRIBUTE CONCERT

SATURDAY 31st OCTOBER THE BASEMENT, SYDNEY AFRO MOSES OJAH + FULL BAND (GHANA/AUSTRALIA) RHYTHM HUNTERS (INDONESIA/AUSTRALIA)

AFRODISIAQ DANCERS +DJ MANIE SHIKA

wollombi festival

26:09:15 :: Wollombi Festival 2015 :: Hunter Valley OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER

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S :: KATRINA CLARKE :: ASHLEY

MAR ::

7 MACQUARIE PL, CIRCULAR QUAY BOOKINGS: (02) 9251 2797 www.thebasement.com.au BRAG :: 635 :: 21:10:15 :: 29

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up all night out all week . . .

What we've been out to see...

THE BASICS, WILLIAM CRIGHTON The Basement Friday October 16

The Basement felt warm, friendly and jovial on Friday night with a rather unusual and intimate set-up – the performers were in the middle of the room while the audience was standing by the bar and sitting onstage, circled around the performance space.

To begin, William Crighton brought a folky sound to the fl oor with his eight-string ukulele in tow. Wailing vocals mourned to the crowd while gentle uke strumming softened the blow. His friend Ruben came and joined him for a couple of tunes to play a masterful harmonica line (once he’d fi nished his pizza at the bar, of course), something that really set the tone for how casual the rest of the night was going to be.

lifehouse

It was clear that it had been a while since they’d got the band back together, with everyone pursuing their own side projects (the most well known being drummer Wally de Backer as Gotye), so sometimes the performance was unpolished, with forgotten lyrics and wrong chords. There were moments of tension too, in the form of occasional arguments onstage that were turned into jokes.

But The Basics are a group of three incredibly talented musicians with unstoppable charisma, so they managed to pull off this style of performance with the audience only wanting more and even demanding an encore at the end.

They claimed to have learned the chords for it backstage while everyone was cheering.

Erin Rooney

PICS :: AM

Th e Basics opened with three strong songs from their latest album, The Age Of Entitlement. Their immediate strengths lay in tight, mixed percussion techniques, warm threepart harmonies and the energy and chemistry that came from being great friends and bandmates.

Though The Basics are on tour to promote their album, they were set on breaking down the barrier between band and audience, hence the odd set-up. So the show dipped in between performing tight tracks from the record to experimenting with covers (some of which they had first played in soundcheck). This gave proceedings a jam session kind of feel, which at times worked well, but at others became frustrating.

18:10:15 :: Frankie’s Pizza :: 50 Hunter St Sydney 30 :: BRAG :: 635 :: 21:10:15

megadeth + children of bodom

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ebolagoldfish

PICS :: AM

14:10:15 :: Big Top Sydney, Luna Park :: 1 Olympic Dr Milsons Point

18:10:15 :: Hordern Pavilion:: 1 Driver Ave Moore Park 9921 5333 OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER

S :: KATRINA CLARKE :: ASHLEY

MAR ::

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g g guide gig g

send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com

pick of the week

SATURDAY O C TO B E R 2 4

Devin Townsend Project

UNSW Roundhouse

Blaming Vegas Kings Park Tavern, Kings Park. 7pm.

Free.

Boukabou And Luke Daniel San, Manly.

9pm. Free.

Danielle Deckard Hibernian House, Surry Hills. 7pm. $10.

Dave Debs Vineyard Hotel, Vineyard. 9pm. Free.

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

Matt Toms Marrickville Ritz Hotel, Marrickville.

8pm. Free.

Max Power Crown Hotel, Sydney.

8pm. Free.

Pat O’Grady Padstow Park Hotel, Padstow. 7pm. Free.

Steve Clibsy + Martha Marlow The Basement, Circular Quay.

7:30pm. $44.70.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Altitude Towradgi Beach Hotel, Towradgi. 9pm.

Free.

Baltimore + Rukus + Straight To A Tomb + Cilt Killer + Ambulare Lewisham Hotel, Lewisham. 8pm. $11.25.

Fleetwood Mac Beatnix - Beatles Show Parramatta Leagues Club, Parramatta.

8pm. $10.

Blow Colonial Hotel, Werrington. 8:30pm.

Free.

Breve 107 Projects, Redfern.

7pm. $13.30.

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

Jim Moginie’s Electric Guitar Orchestra Camelot Lounge, Marrickville. 7:30pm. $25.

Jimmy Bear The Royal, Leichhardt. 7pm.

Free.

Lecherous Gaze + Chroma + Lord Sword + Weedy Gonzales Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. $10.

Little Coyote Ruby L’otel, Rozelle.

8pm. Free.

Lost Ragas + William Crighton + Leah Flanagan Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8:30pm. $15.

Nathan Cole 99 On York, Sydney.

7:30pm. Free.

Pete Hunt Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 5:45pm. Free.

Rare Finds #7 - feat: Owen Rabbit + Khnz + Nick Pes + Deep Sea Arcade DJs Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm.

Free.

Reckless Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 10pm. Free.

Rumours - A Tribute To Fleetwood Mac The Vanguard, Newtown. 6:30pm. $28.80.

Sam Newton Chatswood RSL, Chatswood. 5pm.

Free.

Satellite V Ramsgate RSL, Sans Souci. 7:30pm. Free.

Steve Crocker Fortune Of War, The Rocks. 8pm. Free.

The Arbitrary Method + Dawn Heist + Noveaux + Double Chamber + Inertia Hermann’s Bar, Darlington. 8pm. $15.

The Beards Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm.

Free.

The Go Set + Topnovil + Crooked Factory Floor, Sydney.

8pm. $15.

The Vacationists + Wartime Sweethearts + Moolk Petersham Bowling Club, Petersham.

8pm. $5.

Violent Soho Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $39.90.

Woodlock + Young Vincent + Neighbour Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $20.

8pm. $75.54.

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 21 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Deena Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $11.60.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

Career Advice Hibernian House, Surry Hills. 7pm. $10.

Imaginary Numbers Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8:30pm.

Free.

Mingus Amongst Us Venue 505, Surry Hills. 8pm. $15.

The Protesters B.E.D., Glebe. 8pm.

Free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Big Blind Ray + The Bon Scotts Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 7pm. Free.

Dawes + Barna Howard + Tracy

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McNeil Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7pm. $41.50.

Mark Travers Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9pm. Free.

Penny Lane Optus Centre, Macquarie Park.

12pm. Free.

The Fall + Gold Class Metro Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $64.74.

The Phoenix Foundation Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $28.70.

Vibrations At Valve - feat: Fade In Mona Lisa + Snow Leopard + Haste Gravity + HiaGround + Rosaye Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 7pm. $10.

THURSDAY OCTOBER 22 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

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

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Jamestown Revival Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7pm. $36.

Blake Tailor Manly Leagues Club, Brookvale. 12:35pm.

Free.

Boson Higgs + The Dirty Reeds + Njn Trio Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. $10.

Fleetwood Mac Allphones Arena, Sydney Olympic Park.

7pm. $101.85 Greenthief Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 10pm. Free.

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

Matt Lyon Fitzroy Hotel, Windsor. 7pm. Free.

Postblue + The Filthy Teens + Little Horn Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $13.50.

Samuel Dobson + Wallace + Oven Fresh Slyfox, Enmore.

7:30pm. Free.

The Vinyl Covers Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 8pm. Free.

Thousand Foot Krutch

Max Watt’s, Moore Park. 7pm. $55.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Hussy Hicks + Eddie Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 9pm. $10.

False Ruby L’otel, Rozelle.

7:30pm. Free.

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

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

Free.

Zack Martin + Guests Marrickville Bowling Club, Marrickville.

7pm. Free.

wed

21 Oct

fri

22 (9:00PM - 12:00AM)

Oct

(8:00PM - 12:00AM)

5:45PM  8:45PM

23 Oct

(10:00PM - 1:40AM)

SATURDAY AFTERNOON

sat

24

5:45PM  8:45PM

Oct

FRIDAY OCTOBER 23 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

thu

SUNDAY AFTERNOON

sun

25

(8:30PM - 12:00AM)

(10:00PM - 1:15AM)

mon

26 Oct

(4:30PM - 7:30PM)

Oct

tue

27 (9:00PM - 12:00AM)

Oct

(9:00PM - 12:00AM)

Melbourne Ska Orchestra Metro Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $37.

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

BRAG :: 635 :: 21:10:15 :: 31

Devin Townsend Project photo by Tom Hawkins

Devin Townsend Project + Periphery

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

g g guide gig g

g g picks gig p

up all night out all week...

send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com

SATURDAY OCTOBER 24 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

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

The Beat Kitchen feat: DJs Laurence Vector + Trent Hardwood + Maxxxyt Different Drummer Bar, Glebe. 8:30pm.

Free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Al Dyce The Push Bar, The Rocks. 7:30pm. Free.

Cath & Him Top Ryde City Shopping Centre, Ryde. 6pm. Free.

Crossroad Kelly’s On King, Newtown. 9:30pm.

Free.

Dave Mason Cox Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 5:45pm. Free.

Devin Townsend Project + Periphery UNSW Roundhouse, Kensington. 8pm. $75.54.

Earthless + Elder Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $58.

Fleetwood Mac Allphones Arena, Sydney Olympic Park.

7pm. $203.80.

Hank Woods & The Hammerheads + M.O.B. + Ghastly Spats Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 8pm. $20.

New Empire Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 7pm. $25.

Nicky Kurta Duo Town Hall Hotel, Balmain. 9pm. Free.

Paul Hayward And His Sidekicks Town And Country Hotel, Sydney. 4pm.

Free.

Philadelphia Grand Jury Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $23.10.

Spit Roasting Bibbers Kings Park Tavern, Kings Park. 7pm.

Free.

Sticky Fingers Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 7:30pm. $43.50.

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

The Sounds Unsound 6 - feat: Defektro + Forenzics + Abre Ojos + Sound Object + Demoncore Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. $10.

The Villains + Killer Queen + Dr Farqhuar Towradgi Beach Hotel, Towradgi. 9pm. $17.

Wildcatz Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 10pm. Free.

Yours Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm.

Free.

Earthless

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Aaron Prentice Panania Diggers, Panania. 8:30pm.

Free.

Blake Wiggins Fortune Of War, The Rocks. 8pm. Free.

Dan Kelly + Ben Ely Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 8pm. $23.10.

Glenn Esmond Crown Hotel, Sydney.

9pm. Free.

Lapis Sky Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8:30pm. $15.

Max Power Duo Manly Leagues Club, Brookvale. 9pm. Free.

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

Pat O’Grady Coogee Bay Hotel, Coogee. 10:30pm.

Free.

Peter Northcote’s Annual Birthday Gig The Basement, Circular Quay.

7:30pm. $49.80.

Rob Eastwood Panania Diggers, Panania. 8pm. Free.

Steve Crocker The Belvedere Hotel, Sydney. 7:30pm. Free.

The Macs Picton Hotel, Picton.

8pm. Free.

SUNDAY OCTOBER 25 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC The Protesters The Waterfront, Church Point. 4pm.

Free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Earthless + Elder Hermann’s Bar, Darlington. 8pm. $60.70.

Fleetwood Mac Allphones Arena, Sydney Olympic Park.

8pm. $163.02.

Garage Project Riff Off - feat: Blackbreaks + Go Van Go + The Ugly Kings + The Balls Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 6pm. Free.

Gypsies & Gentlemen + Lacy Cole & The Lazy Coles + Alex Edwards The Vanguard, Newtown. 7:30pm. $16.80.

Mary Cowell Trio Manly Wharf Hotel,

Manly. 3pm. Free.

Open Mic Epping Hotel, Epping.

5pm. Free.

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

Satellite V Shady Pines, Darlinghurst. 6pm.

Free.

The Beards Rocks Brewing Co, Alexandria. 12pm.

Free.

The Weight Of Silence - feat: Fortune From Tragedy + Insanity Proof + Be Faced + Namazu + Tormentus Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 3pm. $10.

U2 Elevation Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 4:30pm. Free.

White Bros Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 8:30pm. Free.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Absolute Botanik feat: Sean Marchetti Botanik House, Centennial Park.

2:30pm. Free.

Blake Wiggins Macarthur Tavern, Campbelltown. 2pm.

Free.

Canned Heat The Basement, Circular Quay.

7:30pm. $72.45.

Charlie Acourt + Canned Heat The Basement, Circular Quay. 7pm. $70.30.

Dave Ireland The Rivo Hotel, Riverstone. 4pm.

Free.

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

Harper + Midwest Kind Towradgi Beach Hotel, Towradgi. 3pm.

Free.

Jared Baca Picton Hotel, Picton.

12pm. Free.

Michael Fryar Ingleburn Hotel, Ingleburn. 1pm. Free.

Nathan Cole The Mill Hotel, Milperra. 12pm. Free.

Russell Neal + X-Iled + The Alien Surrey Club Hotel, Redfern. 2pm. Free.

Sam Newton Royal Motor Yacht Club, Newport. 2pm.

Free.

Sam Outlaw + Jonny Fritz + Shelly Colvin Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 6pm. $41.50.

Steve Crocker Strawberry Hills Hotel, Surry Hills.

4pm. Free.

Stuart Jammin +

Pauline Sparkle + Guests Harlequin Inn, Pyrmont. 3pm. Free.

MONDAY OCTOBER 26 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

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

Free.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Russell Neal + Chris Brookes + Hunter Wild Kelly’s On King, Newtown. 7:30pm.

Free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS Frankie’s World Famous House Band Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 9pm. Free.

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

TUESDAY OCTOBER 27 INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

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

Open Mic The Bourbon, Potts Point. 7pm. Free.

Robbie Williams Allphones Arena, Sydney Olympic Park.

7:30pm. $111.13.

The Bon Scotts

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 21 Big Blind Ray + The Bon Scotts Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 7pm. Free.

Dawes + Barna Howard + Tracy Mcneil Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7pm. $41.50.

The Fall + Gold Class Metro Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $64.74.

The Protesters B.E.D., Glebe. 8pm. Free.

THURSDAY OCTOBER 22 Jamestown Revival Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7pm. $36.

Fleetwood Mac Allphones Arena, Sydney Olympic Park.

7pm. $101.85.

Greenthief Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 10pm. Free.

Thousand Foot Krutch Max Watt’s, Moore Park. 7pm. $55.

FRIDAY OCTOBER 23 Breve 107 Projects, Redfern. 7pm. $13.30.

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

Lost Ragas + William Crighton + Leah Flanagan Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8:30pm. $15.

Melbourne Ska Orchestra Metro Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $37.

Steve Clibsy + Martha Marlow The Basement, Circular Quay. 7:30pm. $44.70.

The Arbitrary Method + Dawn Heist + Noveaux + Double Chamber + Inertia Hermann’s Bar, Darlington. 8pm. $15.

Violent Soho Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm.

$39.90.

Woodlock + Young Vincent + Neighbour Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $20.

SATURDAY OCTOBER 24 Dan Kelly + Ben Ely Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 8pm. $23.10.

Earthless + Elder Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $58.

New Empire Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 7pm. $25.

Philadelphia Grand Jury Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $23.10.

Sticky Fingers Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 7:30pm. $43.50.

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

SUNDAY OCTOBER 25 Canned Heat The Basement, Circular Quay. 7:30pm. $72.45.

Garage Project Riff Off - Feat: Blackbreaks + Go Van Go + The Ugly Kings + The Balls Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 6pm. Free.

Sam Outlaw + Jonny Fritz + Shelly Colvin Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 6pm. $41.50.

The Beards Rocks Brewing Co, Alexandria. 12pm.

Free.

TUESDAY OCTOBER 27 Robbie Williams Allphones Arena, Sydney Olympic Park.

7:30pm. $111.13.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Stuart Jammin + Guests Kelly’s On King, Newtown. 8pm. Free.

Alma Music Presents Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8:30pm.

Free.

Charlie Acourt + Canned Heat Brass Monkey, Cronulla. 7pm. $71.40.

Russell Neal + Guests Lord Gladstone Hotel, Chippendale. 7:30pm.

Free.

Violent Soho xxx

32 :: BRAG :: 635 :: 21:10:15

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

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inside:

also:

club guide + club snaps + weekly column

chris liebing

spank rock bow to the beat

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BRAG :: 635 :: 21:10:15 :: 33

brag beats

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

dance music news club, dance and hip hop in brief... with Tegan Reeves, Eden Gillespie and Aaron Streatfeild

five things WITH

Growing Up My parents and I 1. are from Bangladesh, so growing up I listened to a mixture of traditional Bengali music as well as classical Indian music.

My parents told me that when I was a child they would take me to a farmers’ market where this girl would play the violin.

I was apparently very excited every time she played and asked my parents to teach me, so they signed me up for lessons when I was five years old. That was my first taste of playing live instruments.

Inspirations When I was 2. in high school, I listened to a variety of music. I was really into pop-punk (Blink182, Fall Out Boy, Green Day), hip hop (50 Cent, Kanye West, Kid Cudi), and synthpop (Owl City, Hellogoodbye).

The two albums that really influence my music now are 808s & Heartbreak

by Kanye West and Man On The Moon

by Kid Cudi. Hearing 808s for the first time was definitely a lifechanging moment – before that I was a fan of Kanye’s singles but that album made me a hardcore fan. He took such a leap to make

Your Crew I’ve been doing 3. music full-time for the last two years, thankfully – before that, I was making music while I was in college. Throughout the years, I’ve met a lot of current ‘SoundCloud DJs’ through Facebook and Twitter. I’ve known Manila Killa since 2011 ’cause we were in a random music Facebook group together. It’s crazy to see how far we’ve grown since then – we’ve become really close and have played so many shows together this year.

The Music You Make And Play 4.

My set is definitely a mix of really chill tunes and energetic bass tracks – I love weaving in and out of multiple genres (future bass, deep house, trap) to keep the crowd guessing.

Currently, I’ve been dropping Drake’s ‘Hotline Bling’ at pretty much every show, which always gets the crowd so hyped, especially ’cause I mix it in unexpectedly.

Right Here, Right Now 5. Music,

I think that the current SoundCloud climate is really saturated and filled with people who copy existing styles – there’s hundreds of Wave Racers, Cashmere Cats and Flumes out there now. And I think that’s a product of spending a lot of time in this little SoundCloud bubble.

I think a lot of artists forget that there’s such a larger world of music out there.

Copying ‘trendy’ sounds creates this mass of copycats – so recently, I’ve been trying to avoid my feed on SoundCloud.

Recently, I’ve been really digging into band music and getting inspired by indie bands. I love Chvrches, Two Door Cinema Club, Purity Ring… anything feelsie sounding. As for my local scene, I’m from NYC and the scene here is really isolated.

Everyone sort of sticks to themselves and works on their own craft. LA on the other hand is very community-oriented – this is something I discovered after spending a lot of time there. There’s a lot of growth that comes from that community.

NYC is definitely a place where you work really hard on your own independently.

Both cities are definitely viable ways of making it in the industry, depending on your method of preference.

What: Sweaty Halloween With: Yolanda Be Cool, Crooked Colours, Mickey Kojak, Porsches, Indian Summer Where: Metro Theatre When: Saturday October 31 And: Also appearing at the Beach Road Hotel on Wednesday October 28

national tour wrapping up at Chinese Laundry on Sunday November 29.

A BUNCH OF BLOODY GOOD HUMANS

The refugee charity crew Bloody Good Humans has a good name and a good heart. That’s why it’s hosting a party to raise some much-needed funds for the United Nations refugee agency, the UNHCR, at Bondi’s Jam Gallery. Curated by the teams from Return To Rio and Rotarydisco,

SAFIA HIT THE COAST

The Florida Beach Bar in Terrigal will play host to a new indie-electronic club night, presented by Russel Feathers, The Beery and Nuvo, starting from Friday December 4.

Sounds Like plans to be a regular fixture throughout 2016, and will aim to bring some of the hottest indie and electronic artists to the Central Coast area. Kicking things off on opening will be Canberra boys Safia, Sydney-based duo Boo Seeka, DJ Surfdisco and more.

ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS

FREE BEATS AND EATS

MTV has launched the lineup for its Beats & Eats festival in Parramatta Park, revealing the maiden wave of acts set to play on the day. Melbourne electronic artist Havana Brown, New Zealand rapper Savage and Sydney local Jesabel are the first names on the bill. The festival is free, with a gold coin donation to the Australian Children’s Music Foundation encouraged on entry. An expected 7,500 festivalgoers will enjoy six main stage performances, 15 food outlets and a licensed VIP bar, because it’s not just about music – don’t forget to grab a burger, pizza or gelato on the day from some of Sydney’s local restaurants such as N2 Extreme Gelato and Happy As Larry. Beats & Eats is on Saturday November 21 at The Crescent.

DJs For Refugees will feature some of the biggest names in the local Sydney dance scene, including Nick Law, Alan Thomas, B__A, Monkey Tennis, Ricky Cooper, Andy Donaldson, Matt Trousdale and Tony Garcia. Tickets for DJs For Refugees on Friday October 23 are on sale now, with all funds raised going to the UNHCR.

Absolut will be launching its new range of pre-mixed Botanik vodka drinks this October and November, with a series of shows set to land at The Residences in Centennial Park. The Residences, which will be renamed Botanik House for the duration of the event, will host a slew of producers and DJs, with Sydney hip hop DJ duo Lazer Gunne Funke to launch the celebrations on Thursday October 22. Other artists to play DJ sets at the location include Alice Q & Friends, Sam Francisco, Sean Marchetti, Nad and One Day. Botanik House will feature themed rooms, mix sessions, a range of Botanik sensory experiences, jacuzzis and a backyard party. Tickets are free and available by application now, the same place you’ll find the full program: pages.campaign. pernod-ricard-winemakers.com/ absolut-botanik.

Roland Tings

THE D.O.C. IN THE HOUSE

Influential hip hop man The D.O.C. has announced his first-ever speaking tour as part of the JMC Academy Master Series Workshops. The D.O.C. is best known for being an honourary member of hip hop legends N.W.A, and hopes to motivate upcoming musicians and show them what it takes to make it in the industry. In the late 1980s he was in a car accident that damaged his vocal cords almost beyond repair, but now he’s back to talk about his life and experiences. As part of his speaking tour, The D.O.C. will share never-before-heard stories about N.W.A and the rise of hip hop in the 1980s. There will also be a Q&A session for aspiring songwriters, producers and hip hop fans. The Sydney talk will be held on Thursday November 19 at JMC Academy.

BRODY BRINGS THE BROS TO ARGYLE

Kardashian clan member and son of Caitlyn Jenner, Brody Jenner has announced he will be jumping behind the decks on Saturday November

THAT’S THE TING ABOUT ROLAND

Following a sold-out launch party, The Island Live will return in November with another huge bill of Australia’s finest electronic acts.

V Movement and UNDR Ctrl have revealed their next Island lineup, with a headline DJ set from Melbourne electronic producer Roland Tings alongside CC:Disco and Kato. A special guest will also be added to the bill, to be revealed in coming weeks. The party takes place Friday November 6 on Sydney Harbour. xx

DJ Yella, a founding member of the legendary N.W.A, is on his way Down Under. Bringing the beats straight outta Compton, Yella’s production was not only integral to the N.W.A sound, but also that of Eazy-E’s solo work, and his own 1996 solo record, One Mo Nigga Ta Go. After spending time in the film industry, Yella returned to music in 2012, and the journey continues in Australia with a 34 :: BRAG :: 635 :: 21:10:15

Havana Brown

JAI WOLF

synth-infused hip hop and the core sound was something I was really drawn towards.

YOU GOTTA YELLA ’BOUT IT

7 at The Argyle. Jenner, who will be joined by Devin Lucien, will only be performing one show in New South Wales during his time in Australia.

The duo will be supported by Crazy Caz, Lavida and Tass. Jenner’s Australian performances in 2014 were marred by disapointed fans after he became too intoxicated to fulfil his meet-and-greet obligations. Pictures also surfaced of the reality TV star doing a ‘shoey’ onstage. So this should be interesting.

thebrag.com

Chris Liebing The Festival Maestro By Tyson Wray

C

urrently spending the European autumn playing shows in Ibiza, German techno DJ Chris Liebing is set to come to our sunny shores later this year for the Earthcore festival, held in regional Victoria. He looks forward to his quick visit in a chat with the BRAG. It looks like we’ve caught you in the midst of a pretty busy schedule – how are the performances going?

I always feel the busier my schedule gets, the better the performances get. Sometimes if you play six gigs in one week, the sixth gig is one of the best ones you play. I believe that’s mostly due to the fact that you tend to do, rather than to think what you need to do. For making music this always helps – less thinking always helps.

You played at Belgium’s Tomorrowland festival during the summer. What’s the vibe like when performing there? Is it quite an intense experience?

Tomorrowland does have a great production, but due to the fact that the stages are so big and always get fi lmed for some reason or another, you are usually very alone on the stage, and that is a little downside of Tomorrowland.

I like to be close to the people and even have a party behind the stage, but of course it is an amazing experience to play in front of such a diverse crowd and

to people who come from all over the planet to this one festival.

You’re no stranger to the festival scene, and you’ve been announced as one of the artists performing at Earthcore in Australia. Is this your fi rst time at the festival? Looking forward to it?

It is defi nitely my first time at the Earthcore festival. I have rarely played any festivals in Australia.

So far I have only played clubs, so I am very happy that I fi nally get to experience more of the festival scene of Australia. I am very much looking forward to that.

Given you’ve performed all over the world, how do us Aussies compare? Do we know how to party?

Oh yes, the Aussies know how to party. Australia is such an interesting place, such a beautiful country on this planet, and you really feel disconnected from the rest of the world in a good way – which I think makes Australia this nice, odd people’s place, where I sometimes wish I could spend more time at.

Out of everywhere you’ve performed, who has had the craziest crowd?

I would say people are crazy everywhere, but the Italians are probably the craziest. I think Italians are experienced party people from over 2,000 years [ago] and they pop up everywhere

in the world. So wherever you are, you can count on some really friendly, crazy Italians that make every party more alive. I really love Italy and I really love the Italian crowds too.

Have there ever been moments where things have gotten too crazy, or do you thrive off that?

Well, yes, I do thrive off it and it has never gotten too crazy. It just sometimes gets crazy because of the schedule and the travelling,

but as I said, the more travelling I do and the more gigs I play, I always feel that it even gets better.

So yes, I probably thrive off the craziness.

Thanks again for the chat – any last words of wisdom you’d like to share with our readers?

Stay open-minded and listen to any new music that comes out. Try to fi nd out what you like yourself and don’t be told what you have to listen to or what others listen to,

and that this is what you have to listen to as well. Develop your own style and don’t be afraid to show it. I am learning that too.

What: Earthcore 2015 With: Infected Mushroom, Pig & Dan, Oskar Offermann, Anklepants and many more Where: Pyalong, Victoria When: Thursday November 26 – Monday November 30

Spank Rock Upside Down By David James Young

Y

ou might know it from the setting it provides for Hairspray, or simply think of it as a pleasant, neighbourhoodoriented city. What you might not know about Baltimore, however, is that it has helped breed some of pop culture’s great weirdos and outsidethe-square thinkers – John Waters, Dan Deacon, Billie Holiday, Animal Collective and Edgar Allen Poe are naming but a few. It also gave rise to an offshoot hybrid of house music and hip hop that came to be known as Baltimore club – something that remained a relatively obscure insider secret until it was busted wide open around the mid-2000s thanks to the success of fellow outside-the-square thinkers Spank Rock.

“Outside of London, there weren’t many rappers hanging around electronic producers or the indie rock scene those days,” says Naeem Juwan, who originally founded Spank Rock as a duo but continued under the moniker following the departure of Alex ‘XXXchange’ Epton. “We put Baltimore club music on a pedestal that energised Philly club, Jersey club and the New York party scene. XXXchange, Amanda [Blank] and I created a lane for Kid Sister, Theophilus London, Le1f, Iggy Azalea, Azealia Banks… and we welcomed most of them.”

xxx

The album that launched Spank Rock, YoYoYoYoYo, is on the verge of celebrating its ten-year anniversary.

A raving, sweaty masterwork, it astounded and excited everyone from hype-machine bloggers and in-the-know hip hop heads to big names such as Thom Yorke and Mark Ronson. Reflecting on the moment in which Spank Rock emerged as a formidable entity is something that still makes Juwan’s head spin.

“I was really proud and fortunate to be a part of such a great moment in independent music history,” he says. “So many stars were born at that time: Santigold, M.I.A., Flosstradamus, Diplo, Le1f,

Das Racist, Amanda Blank…

Independence is no longer revered like it was during those days. Now, the revering of pop culture causes very smart artists to not take as many risks, and puts greater focus on image over content. I think of those times and remember how much cooler some of us were back then. I remember the spirit and soul of the time, and realise that it is important to always begin each new project with the same intensity.”

Of course, the years since then have still been considerably kind to Juwan – even if he self-deprecatingly thinks of himself as less ‘cool’. The Spank Rock discography has gone on to include a follow-up LP – tellingly titled Everything Is Boring And Everyone Is A Fucking Liar – as well as a handful of EPs; the most recent of which was last December’s The Upside. Its origin story is particularly fascinating, as it entails the journey as much as it does the final destination.

“The Upside began with a road trip to New Orleans to work with [producer] Kid Kamillion,” Juwan begins. “My good friend Ryan [Lynch], from the band pwrTalk, flew to Philly from LA to drive me down to Louisiana, ’cause I don’t have a driver’s licence. It was really important for us to drive – I needed the freedom of the road.

We partied like dickheads the entire way, making a stop in Atlanta to see Jared [Swilley] from The Black Lips.

By the time we got to New Orleans, I was so high and exhausted I didn’t know what to do.”

Juwan then points to the work ethic of his producer as the catalyst – a creative relationship that sparked something adventurous and different for the Spank Rock project.

“Kid insisted we get to work,” he continues, “and we made ‘Gully’, which was to become the lead single. I didn’t expect him to make beats like that. I wrote that song fast, stowed away in our car, and

snuck into Kid’s house to finish it.

We wrote ‘Back Up’, ‘Burning Man’ and ‘Assassin’ that week. They just flowed out like water when I thought it was a drought. Kid gave me an experience I hadn’t had in a while – he just wanted me to be myself. He never dwelled on the past; he never compared me to, or spoke about, other musicians. He was just happy to collaborate. One night, we got high under the singing tree outside of the art museum down there, and I decided I loved him. He put me on the path to loving myself again.”

This month, Spank Rock returns to Australia for the first time in several years, as part of a

showcase for Boysnoize Records that will see Juwan teaming up with labelmates Jensen Interceptor and Stephane 1993. Classic tracks from YoYoYoYoYo are in the pipeline, as well as choice cuts from The Upside, and maybe even a sneak peek into what’s next for Spank Rock. “I’ve been working on lots of new music,” says Juwan. “Hopefully something is going to come out before the New Year, but I shouldn’t talk about it yet – I’ll just jinx it.”

Ultimately, there’s no real agenda to Juwan’s Australian visit apart from celebrating his label and having some fun in a country he says has always treated him well.

“Every single visit to Australia has been fond,” he says. “However, it’s been very, very hard to remember specific details. I had an amazing experience working with the Heaps Decent organisation, though. My fondest memories would have to be touring with Mark Ronson and The Business International – all details are incriminating!”

What: The Upside out now through Bad Blood/Boysnoize With: Jensen Interceptor, Stephane 1993 Where: Jam Gallery When: Saturday October 24

BRAG :: 635 :: 21:10:15 :: 35

club guide g

send your listings to : clubguide@thebrag.com

club pick of the week Daniel Bortz

SUNDAY O C TO B E R 2 5 Greenwood Hotel G

S.A.S.H By Day Daniel Bortz Xxx

1pm. $15.

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 21 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.

Sosueme Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm.

Free.

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

Free.

THURSDAY OCTOBER 22 CLUB NIGHTS FBi’s Dance Class Launch Party Supported By Movement - feat: Catlips (Live) + FBi DJs + Amrita FBi Live, Alexandria.

6:05pm. Free.

Five Dollar Thursdays - feat: DJs Steve Zappa + Skinny Scubar, Sydney.

8:30pm. Free.

Movement Sydney Presents Kicks - feat: Baytek + Pantheon + DJ Willi + Fiktion + Oh? + Steve Zappa + Stara + Bilman The World Bar, Kings Cross. 9pm. $10.

The Field (Live) +

Barke + Noise In My Head Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 8pm. $38.40.

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

8pm. Free.

HIP HOP & R&B Absolute Botanik feat: Lazer Gunne Funke Botanik House, Centennial Park.

6pm. Free.

FRIDAY OCTOBER 23 CLUB NIGHTS Absolute Botanik - feat: Alice Q + Cassette + Sam Francisco Botanik House, Centennial Park.

6pm. Free.

Australian National Northern Soul Weekender + DJs Mark Speakman + Mick H + Miss Goldie Manning Bar, Camperdown. 7pm. $30.

Banoffee + Buoy + Baby Face Thrilla Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 11pm. $17.

Bassic - feat: UV Boi + Aywy + Hatch + Tdy + Gomu + Swindail + Gradz + Sippy + Beatslingerz Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 9pm. $22.60.

Bloody Good

36 :: BRAG :: 635 :: 21:10:15

Humans: DJs For Refugees - feat: Nick Law + Alan Thomas + B__A + Monkey Tennis + Ricky Cooper + Andy Donaldson + Matt Trousdale + Tony Garcia Jam Gallery, Bondi Junction. 8pm. $20.

Blvd Fridays - feat: Jamie Vlahos Marquee, Pyrmont.

10pm. $13.40.

Derriere - feat: Rotating DJs Goros, Surry Hills.

6pm. Free.

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

Free.

Feel Good Fridays - feat: DJs Bar100, The Rocks.

5pm. Free.

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

9pm. Free.

Movement Presents Deep Breath - feat: Canyons + Kato Taylor + Wolf Ching-a-lings, Darlinghurst. 9pm.

Free.

Movement Presents Stoney Roads Records - feat: Porches + Piecey + Sweetland + La Mar DJs The World Bar, Kings Cross. 9pm. $15.

Movement Presents The Bad Deep Aquatic - feat: Linda Marigliano + Simon Caldwell + The Completely Boys + Human Movement

+ Bad Deep DJs Slyfox, Enmore.

9pm. $10.

Sam Wall Manly Wharf Hotel, Manly. 6pm. Free.

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

8pm. Free.

HIP HOP & R&B 73 Til’ Infinity feat: Jayo + Tom Studdy + Edseven Play Bar, Surry Hills.

4pm. Free.

Cult - feat: DJs Saffron Mash + Pi-M + DJ Zok Different Drummer Bar, Glebe. 7pm.

Free.

Dylan Joel Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 8pm. $18.40.

Galvanize #001 feat: Hyjak + Big Hustle + DJ Skae + Benji + Kaoe + Tera Byte + Bless Tha Techz + Sas Crew + Skhitlz + 2slie + Bushy MC & DJ Rtis + Piggy Pig Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 9pm. $10.

Boffa + Raye Antonelli Manly Wharf Hotel, Manly. 6pm. Free.

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

Free.

Establishment Saturdays The Establishment, Sydney. 9pm. $20.

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

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

7:30pm. Free.

Keep It Disco feat: Adi Toohey + Brudo & Hux + Earl Grey Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 9pm.

Free.

Le Fruit DJs Goros, Surry Hills.

8pm. Free.

Lndry - feat: Seekae + Ghastly + A-Tonez + Friendless + Jade Le Flay + Sondrio + Goonz + Offtapia + Marley Sherman + DJ Just 1 + King Lee Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 9pm. $27.70.

Ltr On - feat: Sable + Url Luv Irl Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst.

10:30pm. $23.10.

Marquee Saturdays - feat: Joel Fletcher

Marquee, Pyrmont.

10pm. $18.60.

Movement Presents Champaign Lyf feat: B__A + Ritual + FM + T-Syd + Adrian + E Lupr + Jon Watts + Danny Banger HMAS Lyf, Sydney.

5:30pm. $25.

Movement Presents Heavenly - feat: Sleep D + Ben Fester B2B Preacha + Luis CL + Alba + Hannah Lockwood + Cop Envy + Noise In My Head + Subaske + Lady Shave + Aidan Gavin Chippendale Hotel, Chippendale. 10pm. $25.

Movement Presents The Only + Buck Nite + MVP Mona Vale Hotel, Mona Vale. 9pm.

Free.

Movement Presents Motorik X Boysnoize Records - feat: Spank Rock + Jensen Interceptor + Stephane 1993 + Motorik Vibe Council + Made In Paris Jam Gallery, Bondi Junction. 9pm. $19.25.

Movement Presents Northies UV Party - feat: Aurora Bongoliro + The Hornstar + Kristiano Zeek Northies Cronulla Hotel, Sydney. 6pm.

BY DAY

Free.

No Rest For The Wicked - feat: DJ She + Israel + Action Ant + Xerstorkitte Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. $10.

Pacha - feat: TJR + Ember + A-Tonez + Natnoiz + Fear Of Dawn + Friendless + DJ Moto + Kristiano + Def Rok + Pro/Gram + E-Cats + Jonathan Terrifi c Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney. 6:30pm. $38.

Scubar Saturdays feat: Live DJs Scubar, Sydney.

8:30pm. Free.

Something Else - feat: Cassius Select + Fantastic Man + Andy Hart + Charades + Shivers* + Benj & Statz + Matt Ticehurt + Dave Stuart Burdekin Hotel, Darlinghurst. 9pm. $16.50.

Summer Opening Boat Party - feat: I Am Wolfpack + Social Hooliganz + Mojoman + Wendell Hoten + Bilman + N/A DJs + Josh Hopper + White Fox + Wild Fox + Lepke + Kartello + Fiktion + Jords Cargo Bar/Lounge, Sydney. 12am. $35.

HIP HOP & R&B

Mailer Daemon + Sage + Steady Bill$ Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm.

Free.

SUNDAY OCTOBER 25 HIP HOP & R&B Tyga Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 7pm. $87.40.

CLUB NIGHTS Ice Cream Sundays - feat: Batesy + Flexmami + Spice Rack Cliff Dive, Darlinghurst. 9pm.

Free.

Marco Polo - feat: Sash’u Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney. 1pm. $17.50.

Movement Presents Super Openair - feat: Honey Dijon + Simon Caldwell + Ben Drayton + Phil Smart + Matt Vaughan + Dreems Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 2pm. $12.

Movement Presents Daniel San Sunday Sundowners feat: Murat Kilic Vs Robbie Lowe + Persian Rug Vs Tech No More + Jimmi Walker Vs

BY NIGHT

Sunday 25th October TERRACE

TERRACE

YokoO Damon Walsh

Daniel Bortz

THE DEN Jay Ivany Matt Weir Kerry Wallace

S.A.S.H Residents

MAZE Post Pluto Collective

SATURDAY OCTOBER 24 CLUB NIGHTS Australian National Northern Soul Weekender + DJs Mick H + Pete Fowler + Netti Page + Alex D Manning Bar, Camperdown. 7pm. $30.

GREENWOOD HOTEL 1pm to 9pm - $15

HOME NIGHTCLUB 8pm to 4am $15 till 10pm / $20 after $15 all night with SASH by day stamp

www.sash.net.au

thebrag.com

club picks p

MONDAY OCTOBER 26 CLUB NIGHTS Mashup Monday - feat: Resident DJs + DJ Thieves + Recess + OTG + Chivalry + More Side Bar, Sydney.

8pm. Free.

THURSDAY OCTOBER 22 FBi’s Dance Class Launch Party Supported By Movement - Feat: Catlips (Live) + FBi DJs + Amrita Fbi Live, Alexandria. 6:05pm.

Free.

The Field (Live) + Barke + Noise In My Head Goodgod Small Club, Sydney.

8pm. $38.40.

FRIDAY OCTOBER 23 Banoffee + Buoy + Baby Face Thrilla Goodgod Small Club, Sydney.

11pm. $17.

Bassic - Feat: UV Boi + Aywy + Hatch + TDY + Gomu + Swindail + Gradz + Sippy + Beatslingerz Chinese Laundry, Sydney.

9pm. $22.60.

Bloody Good Humans: DJs For Refugees - Feat: Nick Law + Alan Thomas + B__A + Monkey Tennis + Ricky Cooper + Andy Donaldson + Matt Trousdale + Tony Garcia Jam Gallery, Bondi Junction.

8pm. $20.

Movement Presents Stoney Roads Records Feat: Porches + Piecey + Sweetland + La Mar DJs The World Bar, Kings Cross.

9pm. $15.

Movement Presents The Bad Deep Aquatic - Feat: Linda Marigliano + Simon Caldwell + The Completely Boys + Human Movement + Bad Deep DJs Slyfox, Enmore. 9pm. $10.

SATURDAY OCTOBER 24 Lndry - Feat: Seekae + Ghastly + A-Tonez + Friendless + Jade Le Flay + Sondrio + Goonz + Offtapia + Marley Sherman + DJ Just 1 + King Lee

up all night out all week . . .

spooky halloween party

The Field

Chinese Laundry, Sydney.

9pm. $27.70.

Mailer Daemon + Sage + Steady Bill$ Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. Free.

Movement Presents Motorik X Boysnoize Records - Feat: Spank Rock + Jensen Interceptor + Stephane 1993 + Motorik Vibe Council + Made In Paris Jam Gallery, Bondi Junction.

9pm. $19.25.

party profile

Sam Roberts + Tyson Bruun Vs Garth + Linton Kaiser Waldon Vs Tristan Case + Mike O’Connor Vs Fabz Daniel San, Manly.

3pm. Free.

Movement Presents Picnic - feat: Public Possession + Tamas Jones + Noise In My Head + Heavenly Kali + Andy Webb + Hubert Clarke Jr. + Lady Shave + Spin The Bottle + Chic Bones Event Harpoon Harry, Sydney. 3pm. $15.

Movement Presents S.A.S.H

By Day - feat: Daniel Bortz + S.A.S.H Residents Greenwood Hotel, Sydney North. 1pm. $15.

Movement Sydney Presents Footwork - feat: Black Vanilla + Joyride + Levins + Aslan + Del + Heaps Gay DJs + Rhythm Of The Night DJs Secret Location, Sydney. 2pm. $20.

Picnic Social - feat: Public Possession + Noise On My Head + Heavenly DJs + Tamas Jones Kali + Andy Webb + Adi Toohey + Hubert Clarke Jr + Lady Shave + FBi’s Spin The Bottle DJs + Chic Bones Harpoon Harry, Sydney. 3pm. $10.

S.A.S.H By Night - Feat: YokoO + Damon Walsh + Jay Ivany + Matt Weir + Kerry Wallace + Post Pluto Collective Home Nightclub, Sydney. 8pm. $15.

Sun Sets - feat: Roof + John Devecchis + Mike Whitcombe + Robbie Lowe + Murat Kilic + Sam Francisco + Kaiser Waldon + Johnny Gleeson Cafe Del Mar, Darling Harbour.

12pm. $15.

thebrag.com/snaps

It’s called: Spooky Halloween Party

It sounds like: Party breaks, ghetto boogie, soul, funk, Afrobeat Acts: Juzzlikedat, Makoto, CMan, Noodlez, Louie Headnod, Adverse, Spook, Caratgold, DJ Amity The fuel: There’ll be a special Halloween-in spired drinks and food menu.

The bit we’ll remember in the AM: Grooving with the Groove Dealers to some smooth and spooky Halloween sound s.

Crowd specs: 18-plus and dressed up for Hallow een, with a $100 bar tab on offer for the best dressed on the night.

Wallet damage: Entry is completely free.

Where: Play Bar, 72 Campbell St, Surry Hills When: Saturday October 31 from 6pm

Pacha - Feat: TJR + Ember + A-Tonez + Natnoiz + Fear Of Dawn + Friendless + DJ Moto + Kristiano + Def Rok + Pro/Gram + E-Cats + Jonathan Terrific Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney.

6:30pm. $38.

Something Else - Feat: Cassius Select + Fantastic Man + Andy Hart + Charades + Shivers* + Benj & Statz + Matt Ticehurt + Dave Stuart Burdekin Hotel, Darlinghurst.

9pm. $16.50.

SUNDAY OCTOBER 25 Movement Presents Super Openair - Feat: Honey Dijon + Simon Caldwell + Ben Drayton + Phil Smart + Matt Vaughan + Dreems Factory Theatre, Marrickville.

2pm. $12.

Tyga Metro Theatre, Sydney. 5pm. $87.40.

S.A.S.H By Night - Feat: Yokoo + Damon Walsh + Jay Ivany + Matt Weir + Kerry Wallace + Post Pluto Collective Home Nightclub, Sydney.

8pm. $15.

Sun Sets - Feat: Roof + John Devecchis + Mike Whitcombe + Robbie Lowe + Murat Kilic + Sam Francisco + Kaiser Waldon + Johnny Gleeson Cafe Del Mar, Darling Harbour. 12pm. $15.

Seekae

TUESDAY OCTOBER 27 CLUB NIGHTS Coyote Tuesdays The World Bar, Kings Cross. 9pm. $10.

Morning Gloryville Ambush Project Space, Chippendale.

6:30am. $15.76. thebrag.com

boyz II men

PICS :: AM

Xxx

up all night out all week...

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VIEW FULL GALLERIES AT

14:10:15 :: Big Top Sydney, Luna Park :: 1 Olympic Dr Milsons Point OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER

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Off The Record

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up all night out all week . . .

Dance and Electronica with Tyson Wray

DJ Deep

J

ust because Sydney needed yet another quality party this Halloween, the Something Else crew has announced a headline show with DJ Deep.

A staple in the French house scene, for the past decade he’s been working with the likes of Dimitri From Paris, DJ Cam, Saint Germain and Gilb’r. He’ll be joined on the evening by the UK’s Waifs & Strays – who are regulars on labels such as Hot Creations and Futureboogie – not to mention a tasty local lineup over three rooms including Louis Coste, Roulian, Ben Ashton, Tech No More, Tim Gollan, Anthony Bohlock, Leoch, Oddrob and Dave Stuart. It’s going gown on Saturday October 31 at the Burdekin Hotel.

Speaking of Something Else – next month it’s also teaming up with Church of Techno to bring Max Cooper to Sydney. A regular on the likes of Fields, Last Night On Earth and Naked Lunch Records, Cooper has also worked with Marc Romboy, Ken Ishii, Nick Warren and Minilogue and will be one of the headliners of the 2015 incarnation of Subsonic. He’ll be flanked by locals Shepz, Jay Smalls, Brosnan Perera, Robbie Lowe and Garth Linton on Saturday November 28 at the Burdekin Hotel.

Max Cooper

Sydney is going to get a hefty taste of Detroit next month when Patrice Scott comes to town. One of the most consistent producers in the game, Scott’s emotive brand of house and techno is influenced by the likes of Juan Atkins, Derrick May, Kevin Saunderson and the Electrifying Mojo, with releases such as ‘Distance Against Time’, ‘Analog Dreams’ and ‘Raw Fusion’ often found in the record bags of Levon Vincent, Efdemin, DJ Fader, Lawrence and Fred P. He’ll be joined by Trinity, B&H Smooth, Dave Stuart, Aboutjack, Whitecat and Spacejunk on Saturday November 21 at the Burdekin Hotel.

Picnic has locked in one hell of a triple bill for a party next month, featuring Mathew Jonson in solo mode and also as Cobblestone Jazz with bandmates Danuel Tate and Tyger Dhula. Jonson is revered as one of the finest solo live electronic acts on the planet, and with Cobblestone Jazz he’s also released two seminal albums (23 Seconds and The Modern Deep Left Quartet). They’ll be performing alongside Palms Trax, who will be on their debut Australian tour. It’s happening Saturday November 21 at Marrickville Bowling Club.

Tour rumours: don’t be surprised to see a return of the deeper and deep house and techno don Efdemin in January. Oh, and expect Route 94 in February.

Best releases this week: the mysterious Sa Pa has debuted with the full-length Fuubutsushi on the Giegling sub-label, Forum, and it’s just as quality as you’d expect. Other highlights include Space Afrika’s Above The Concrete / Below The Concrete (Where To Now?), ADMX-71’s Coherent Abstractions (L.I.E.S.), The Nathaniel X Project’s Last Supplement (Undertones) and Ka One & St-Sene’s Inside Silent (Ornate Music).

RECOMMENDED Public Possession Harpoon Harry Daniel Bortz Greenwood Hotel

FRIDAY OCTOBER 30 DJ Nobu Bridge Hotel

SATURDAY OCTOBER 31 Baauer Oxford Art Factory DJ Deep Burdekin Hotel Fred P Marrickville Bowling Club Mr. G, Fur Coat, DJ HMC Greenwood Hotel

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 12 Maribou State Oxford Art Factory

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 14 Nina Kraviz Greenwood Hotel

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 20 Lapalux Chinese Laundry

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 21 Bicep Oxford Art Factory Justin Martin Chinese Laundry Patrice Scott Burdekin Hotel Mathew Jonson, Cobblestone Jazz, Palms Trax Marrickville Bowling Club Club

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 27

Eric Cloutier, Peter Van Hoesen Marrickville Bowling Club Club Rødhåd Oxford Art Factory

Max Cooper Burdekin Hotel

THURSDAY DECEMBER 3 Gilles Peterson Oxford Art Factory

FRIDAY DECEMBER 4 – SUNDAY DECEMBER 6

Subsonic Music Festival: KiNK, Dop, Rick Wade, Roman Flügel + more Riverwood Downs Mountain Valley Resort, Barrington Tops

SUNDAY DECEMBER 13 Wolf + Lamb Café del Mar

SATURDAY DECEMBER 19 Floating Points Oxford Art Factory

FRIDAY JANUARY 1

Finnebassen, Lovebirds, Bjorn Wilke + more Café del Mar

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 28 SUNDAY JANUARY 3 Oliver Huntemann Max Watt’s

Mala Civic Underground

s.a.s.h by day

PICS :: AM

SUNDAY OCTOBER 25

18:10:15 :: Greenwood Hotel :: 36 Blue Street North Sydney 9964 9477

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