Brag#638

ISSUE NO. 638 NOVEMBER 11, 2015

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The acerbic Anton Newcombe says music has its place, but it's not to save the world.

One of Sydney's most talented voices shares some news on her next album.

An elusive songwriter returns after 13 years away from the spotlight.

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BRAG :: 638 :: 11:11:15 :: 3

rock music news

the BRAG presents

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

Lazybones Lounge Thursday November 19

five things WITH

1.

2.

Inspirations I am particularly inspired by the

opportunities and challenges. Great freedom and creative control but also a certain degree of insanity, especially finding the balance between fully immersing myself and trying to stay objective at the same time. I’m very grateful for the input from producers Garry Frost (Moving Pictures, 1927) and Tim Powles (The Church) in walking this line.

I’m certainly focused a lot on collaboration.

At the moment this is with the Northern Suburbs Symphonic Wind Ensemble, a top quality 55-piece wind ensemble who are kind enough to get on board to bring a blend of

Hordern Pavilion Tuesday January 5 symphonic and contemporary sounds to the stage during November.

4.

The Music You Make The major focus at the moment is the EP, Experiment. Experiment was firstly about jumping into a musical playground ranging from full orchestra and choir, to stripped-back acoustic folk, to full big band with distortion on trumpets and saxes, to reasonably straight-up pop. The second focus of the Experiment was about exploring visual and narrative elements, creating animatic illustrated video clips for each of the tracks.

Music, Right Here, Right Now The last gig I saw which blew me away 5. was TaikOz. Absolute masters.

I subscribe fully to the motto ‘Big drums good’, and there is nothing quite like the experience of hearing half-a-dozen musical masters beating the living heck out of drums the size of rhinoceroses with grace, power, precision and abundant energy to bring a smile to my dial.

What: Experiment out now independently

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

GLEN MATLOCK, EARL SLICK & SLIM JIM PHANTOM Newtown Social Club Sunday February 28

SHAKEY GRAVES The Basement Thursday March 31

Shakey Graves photo by Jarred Gastriech

Your Band As Social Science I am essentially 3. a solo artist, which of course has its own Growing Up My parents did not play instruments.

I remember Dad’s running joke was that he played the record player. Having said that, I do remember being fully supported by my parents in pursuing my musical dreams. Yep, there was an element of ‘get a real job’, but not a lot.

FOALS

SOCIAL SCIENCE

musicians I see as innovators. There was a time in my life when it was all about guitarists – Eddie Van Halen and Jimi Hendrix. For many years I became fairly obsessed with innovative drummers – Stewart Copeland (The Police), Mitch Mitchell (Hendrix), Tony Williams (Miles Davis). These days, a lot of the music I listen to are the big symphonic works. Old-school masters. Give me Russian.

Give me big. Give me ballsy (Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, Borodin).

MICHAEL P CULLEN

CAT’S IN THE CRADLE 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, Elias Kwiet, Tegan Reeves

Cat Power

CAPITAL FOLK

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

PET SOUNDS AT BLUESFEST

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Bluesfest has added five new artists to its 2016 lineup. Leading the charge is Brian Wilson, who will perform the classic album Pet Sounds in full with an 11-piece band including original Beach Boys member Al Jardine and long-term member Blondie Chaplin. He’ll also be playing some of The Beach Boys’ greatest hits. Other additions include Taj Mahal, The Residents, Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats and Shooglenifty. They join the likes of The National, City And Colour, reggae legends UB40 featuring Ali Campbell,

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4 :: BRAG :: 638 :: 11:11:15

TWEEDY TUNES

Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy will perform a show in Sydney with his 18-year-old son Spencer, as part of his side project, Tweedy. The pair will already be Down Under for Bluesfest, and will hit up the Factory Theatre on Tuesday March 22. Their appearance on our shores follows the release of their collaborative album Sukierae, which dropped at the end of last year.

Astro and Mickey Virtue, blues rock maestro Joe Bonamassa and Grammy Award-winning group Tedeschi Trucks Band. Bluesfest 2016 will take place from Thursday March 24 – Monday March 28 at Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm, just north of Byron Bay.

SOMETHING MORE THAN BLUESFEST

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Tweedy

Sarah Blasko

BLASKO BLASTS OFF

Following the release of her new album Eternal Return last week, Sarah Blasko has announced a run of national dates to support the record next April. The nine-date album tour will take in metro and regional cities across the country.

Blasko officially unveiled Eternal Return at the Sydney Opera House as part of the Graphic festival last month, accompanied by visuals designed by Mike Daly. She’ll play a more traditional show at the Enmore Theatre on Friday April 8.

Jason Isbell, along with his band The 400 Unit, have locked in a Sydney show. Isbell is coming to Australian shores following the release of his new record Something More Than Free, and having already been announced for Bluesfest, he’s now confirmed a series of headline dates around the country. See Isbell and The 400 Unit when they hit the Enmore Theatre on Sunday April 3.

BLUE MOUNTAIN BLUES

The 21st edition of the Blue Mountains Music Festival of Folk, Roots And Blues is set to take place in March, with a stellar lineup to celebrate.

The 2016 program will feature over 22 artists from nine different countries. Highlights include Colin Hay with his new Cuban band, and two of the fiercest female headliners of today: Rhiannon Giddens and Mary Black. This will be Black’s Last Call tour as she closes the curtain on her international touring schedule. She’ll be joined in Australia for the last time with daughter Róisín O, who is beginning to make waves in the vibrant Irish folk scene herself. Fellow headliner Giddens is coming off a show-stealing performance at the T

Bone Burnett-curated Another Day, Another Time concert, a celebration of the early ’60s folk revival at New York City’s Town Hall. Also on the lineup are the likes of Jaaleekaay, The Rumjacks, The Young’uns and many more, who you can see from Friday March 18 – Sunday March 20 in Katoomba. Check out the full lineup at thebrag. com.

AUSTRALIA DAY ROCKS

Australia Day: a day that some see as a time to don their best flag capes and cover their bodies in temporary Southern Cross tattoos. Or a day that people spend with family and friends, enjoying some of Australia’s best musical talent at The Rocks precinct. Personally, we’d choose the latter. The Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority has announced its program for Australia Day 2016, which will transform The Rocks into an urban playground, featuring a croquet green from Croquet NSW, a caravan playing triple j’s Hottest 100, markets, food stalls and two stages featuring a free all-day music program with some of Australia’s hottest new bands. Performing on the day will be Katy Steele of Little Birdy fame, Melbourne Ska Orchestra, smooth soulful sensation Thandi Phoenix, psych-pop crew Jinja Safari, Sydney-based folktronica performer Gordi, electronic duo Left and ethereal Brisbane singersongwriter Robbie Miller. Entry to the Australia Day celebrations on Tuesday January 26 at First Fleet Park is free, with extra keen punters encouraged to get in early to guarantee a good patch of grass to relax on. thebrag.com

Xxxx photo by xxxx

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

Canberra’s National Folk Festival has announced 18 artists on the bill for its 50th event, taking place over Easter 2016. The first full wave of artists revealed on the lineup includes The Young’uns, 19-Twenty, Colum Sands, Skipping Girl Vinegar, The Ballpoint Penguins, Cloudstreet and The April Maze. These new additions follow the teaser announcement of the first six acts, led by Mànran and The East Pointers. The five-day festival has also promised to deliver international acts to Australian shores, such as Jaaleekaay, an artist whose music celebrates Western African and Gambian culture. The 2016 National Folk Festival will run in Canberra’s Exhibition Park from Thursday March 24 – Monday March 28.

ART DIRECTOR: Sarah Bryant PHOTOGRAPHERS: Katrina Clarke, Ashley Mar

Chan Marshall AKA Cat Power will return to Sydney for an intimate solo performance this February. Marshall made her first trip to Australia back in 1997 with Dirty Three/ Xylouris White drummer Jim White, recording album Moon Pix during the visit. Since then, her follow-up tours have included both band and solo shows, with festival slots at Meredith, Golden Plains, Mona Foma and Sydney Festival, as well as headline shows around the country. She’ll be at City Recital Hall Angel Place on Friday February 5.

DEBUT ALBUM

‘IN A RESTLESS HOUSE’ FEATURING THE SINGLES ‘RABBIT RUN’ AND ‘SON’

OUT NOW BRAG :: 638 :: 11:11:15 :: 5

live & local

free stuff

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

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

five things WITH

RENDRA FREESTONE FROM THE RHYTHM HUNTERS play this music, so as a community drumming teacher I looked to my student base. To cut a long story short, I offered traineeships to the kids in my classes. Like sponges they learnt fast and were playing professionally from as young as 13. We played bazillions of multicultural events, corporate shows and then got into music festivals.

Your Band The core group is Rose 3.

Callaghan, Luke Fabila, Joseph

1.

Growing Up When I was six, my mum’s younger brother immigrated to Australia from Indonesia and bought me a tiny guitar. We wrote ‘The Beatles’ on in fat black marker, and played it every night. I had a weird mix of preteen influences including The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, lots of music from Indonesia, Aussie bush music and folk, with some Michael Jackson, Prince and James Brown mixed in.

2.

Inspirations I’m inspired by different kinds of musicians – songwriters, charismatic performers, great bandleaders and musicians that pioneer new genres. So some Hunters influences include Te Vaka, Hiatus Kaiyote, Herbie Hancock, Circle Of Rhythm, Nahko, Paul Kelly, Opiuo, Kodo, Avishai Cohen, Fat Freddy’s and SambaSunda. We started playing taiko drums and Indonesian music.

It was hard to find musicians to

Smith and myself. The group started with me as teacher, downloading rhythmic concepts, techniques and traditional music, but this has developed into sharing ideas from all our influences. The guys have since all studied percussion at Newcastle Conservatorium. There is a horn section and a group of sassy babes that perform frenetic dance – on their knees. This year we are looking forward to Nicky Bomba joining us in the Jenolan Caves.

The Music You Make Our music reflects a love 4. of culture and tradition, but also

Men Into Space

beats, groove, jazz and folk. You can expect a pretty high-energy show. There is a fusion of groove music, songs, traditional Indo, electronics and killer physical drumming.

Music, Right Here, Right Now 5.

The music scene is hard because supply is bigger than demand.

Things like open mics are great and it would be great to see a rise in that kind of thing. When we chase fame and fortune, it’s easy to forget why they started.

I’m saying, don’t let the lack of breaks affect your love of music.

It’s an ongoing struggle for artists, money versus exposure, versus fun, versus getting behind a cause, and it goes on. Obviously relationships and who you know have a massive impact on a career.

What: Rhythm Underground With: Nicky Bomba, Si Mullumby Where: The Grand Arch, Jenolan Caves When: Saturday November 21

THE CORONAS

The Coronas (the band not the drink) are touring Australia this month. The Irishmen have been getting funky with their new single, ‘Get Loose’, and on the back of new album The Long Way. It’s a long way indeed from Dublin to Sydney, but these guys come with pedigree, having sold out shows on their last visit Down Under two years ago and graduated to arenas elsewhere since then. In celebration of their Australian visit, we’ve got three double passes to give away to The Coronas’ show at the Factory Theatre on Friday November 27. To enter the hat, find your way to thebrag.com/ freeshit.

Natalie Prass

PRASS FOR MORE

Natalie Prass has announced a trio of headline shows for her first-ever Australian tour. Making her way to Australia for Golden Plains Festival next March, as well as Perth Festival and Tasmania’s A Festival Called Panama, Prass will also do her own dates in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney. After releasing her self-titled debut album in January, she’s now getting ready to release a new EP, featuring live renditions of some of her singles as well as covers of songs by the likes of Grimes and Simon & Garfunkel. Join Prass at Newtown Social Club on Sunday March 6.

MAXIMUM MAGNUS

Beer, pizza and rock will be a happy reality for those who front up to Frankie’s Pizza to catch local trio Magnus this month. Their name translates to ‘powerhouse’ in old Norwegian or ‘the great’ in Latin, and with the release of

ROCK’N’ROLL CHRISTMAS MARKET

Gordi

their new single ‘Pandora’, our expectations for the night are high. Look for a combination of Queens of the Stone Age, Nick Cave and Led Zeppelin from this hard-hitting three-piece. If you dig classic rock and pepperoni pizza, head to Frankie’s on Wednesday November 18.

The Japanese House

The Sydney Rock ’N’ Roll & Alternative Market has become somewhat of a staple on the bustling local market scene, and this month’s instalment will see the Christmas spirit in full swing. If you’re looking for the perfect Christmas gift, the monster record fair is back on with 50,000-plus rare, collectible and bargain stocking-fillers to get you sorted. All the usual jewellery, clothing, homewares and art stalls will be there too, ensuring your knick-knack needs are met, as well as onsite hair and make-up artists. The all-day entertainment lineup includes astro-rockabillies Men Into Space and rockin’ love machines Shaggin’ Wagon, Australia’s greatest rockabilly delinquent Pat Capocci, plus DJs Rod Almighty, Rockin’ Marc Rondeau and The Crimplenes. Head to Sydney University’s Manning House on Sunday November 22.

MARRICKVILLE BOWLS ON

6 :: BRAG :: 638 :: 11:11:15

MEN OF NO SHAME

A not-so-shameful supergroup is set to take over Australia on the Men Of No Shame tour next year. Sex Pistol Glen Matlock, Stray Cat Slim Jim Phantom and occasional John Lennon/David Bowie guitarist Earl Slick are teaming up for a lap of the country, reliving the most iconic moments of yesteryear, from punk to glam and everything in between.

Alongside the live shows, there’ll be Q&A sessions happening at each venue before the gigs. Sydney’s turn is Saturday February 28 at Newtown Social Club. Innit.

IN THE LINE OF FIRE

British hardcore punk band GBH will touch down in Sydney as part of their national tour next year, celebrating 35 years together the only way they know how – by putting on a big show. The group is credited with defining the UK82 street punk sound, with their tracks ‘Sick Boy’, ‘Time Bomb’ and their influential debut City Baby Attacked By Rats earning them a place as icons of British punk. Catch GBH when they take over the Factory Floor on Sunday February 28.

GORDI AT GOODGOD

Gordi has announced she will play a headline show in her hometown this December. The Sydney-based songwriter otherwise known as Sophie Payten has also recently been nominated for Unearthed Artist of the Year in triple j’s J Awards. Following the success of her single, ‘Can We Work It Out’, as well as its follow-up ‘Nothing’s As It Seems’, Gordi showcased at both New York’s CMJ and Brisbane’s Bigsound conference, won the APRA Josh Pyke Partnership Award and supported the likes of Little May. She will be capitalising on a hugely successful 2015 by releasing her debut EP in early 2016. In the meantime, you can see her at Goodgod Small Club on Thursday December 10.

TURNING JAPANESE

The Japanese House, AKA 20-yearold Londoner Amber Bain, has announced a debut Australian tour, featuring a headline appearance in Sydney alongside her supporting dates for The 1975. The gig comes after The Japanese House released her second EP, Clean, last week. The EP delves into alt-pop and melodic electronica, a continuation of the clean experimental sound heard on her earlier EP, Pools To Bathe In. The Japanese House will bring down the house at Goodgod Small Club on Friday January 15.

thebrag.com

metz_PhotoBydavidwaldman_1

Live music lives on at Marrickville Bowling Club.

Despite recent council troubles that saw the venue forced to cancel its scheduled late-night events including an anticipated Picnic party – at least until an appeal is heard – its calendar of music continues weekly. The Inner West location is set to host Adam Young’s single launch on Friday November 13, while its regular nights include live soul music by the greens each Thursday, and R&B DJs kicking off on Saturday November 28.

As for the late-night licence, Marrickville Bowling Club secretary manager Kim Townsend told the BRAG: “We’re so grateful to the promoters, especially Mad Racket, who’ve been holding events here for over 17 years. The response from all of them has been amazing and so supportive considering the difficult situation they were placed in losing a venue at short notice … We’re doing everything we can to rectify the problems and hopefully turn around Council’s refusal so we can hold late-night events again. As a community club we have limited resources but we understand the urgency of compliance, as right now this is our priority so that hopefully we can resume our latenight trading.”

Industrial Strength Music Industry News with Christie Eliezer

THINGS WE HEAR * Which artist manager went flying around the corner to a club to impress his new lady friend, and ran into a telephone booth? * Which reunion tour by a former big-name band seems doomed after old bad habits re-emerged at rehearsals? One of the guitarists didn’t want to rehearse and demanded the guitar tech play the harder solos from behind a curtain. * Does Swedish duo Pleasurekraft’s Facebook post saying they’ll be here in April mean they’ll be part of Carl Cox’s new techno festival to be held then? * Tame Impala, who drew 12,000 to Melbourne’s Sidney Myer

Music Bowl on the weekend, scooped the WA Music Awards with four wins. * Madonna’s Rebel Heart Tour is the hottest in the world right now. It’s racked up US$25.5m in sales, according to Billboard.

The second hottest tour is U2’s, which made $17.4 million from eight European shows early last month. * Producing Australia’s first multiday cruise ship EDM festival came “with challenges that could not be overcome�, said organisers as they cancelled Sea ’N Beats. It was to sail along the Queensland coast from Saturday March 5 – Tuesday March 8, with entertainment including Alison Wonderland, Peking Duk, Hayden James, Touch Sensitive, Slumberjack and Cyril Hahn.

* Bolstered by the fact that 13,000 people attended Dubbo’s Dream festival, organisers are again applying to the local council to reinstate its funding. 2,831 of the attendees were from outside Dubbo, bringing in tourism dollars to the region. * On her way to play Mullum Music Festival (Thursday November 19 – Sunday November 22) is Townsville pharmacist-turned-singersongwriter Nicole Cross, after winning its Play Mullum Songwriting Competition with her song ‘White Walls’. * During Darren Middleton’s Brisbane launch of his Splinters album, there was a four-man reunion of Powderfinger (without drummer Jon Coghill), for a splendidly crashing and

extended version of Neil Young’s ‘Like A Hurricane’. * After being fan-funded to the tune of ÂŁ45,000, a statue of Bon Scott will be unveiled at the tenth annual Bonfest in the singer’s hometown of Kirriemuir in Scotland next April. Former AC/DC bassist Mark Evans will unveil the statue after a solo set and join Scott’s ‘soulmate’ Mary Renshaw for a Q&A and a signing session for her book Live Wire, co-written with two others. * Expect some good news for Hockey Dad after their recent debut US visit, which saw them play five well-received sets at CMJ in New York, guest program Newtown Radio in Brooklyn, and perform for an in-store appearance in LA and a live-to-air on KXLU.

ARIA AWARDS SELL OUT

MUMFORD & SONS EXHIBITION

RDIO PICKS CITY CALM DOWN

This year’s ARIA Awards at The Star Event Centre have sold out. It’s little wonder, given the presenters and performers include the likes of Ed Sheeran, Vance Joy, Jessica Mauboy, Peking Duk, The Veronicas, Hermitude, Flight Facilities, Jarryd James, Conrad Sewell, Nathaniel and Tina Arena, who’s being inducted into the Hall of Fame. Channel Ten will screen the Red Carpet special (at which Nathaniel performs) at 7:30pm and the ARIAs from 8pm on Thursday November 26.

Mumford & Sons are holding a Gentlemen Of The Road art exhibition from Friday November 13 – Sunday November 15 at Young Henry’s Brewery in Newtown.

It will feature shots from their 17 curated GOTR events and own shows around their world, taken by their on-tour photographer Marcus Haney, Australia’s Ty Johnson, bassist Ted Dwane and drummer Chris Maas. The photos are for sale. On the Sunday, a screen printer will be on hand from 12pm-3pm to create complimentary, limited edition T-shirts. The band will also auction one custom-made Goodtime banjo from Down Under Banjos for each city on their tour – Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Auckland – with proceeds going to four different charities.

Rdio has chosen Melbourne band City Calm Down as its Artist To Watch through November. Rdio is already streaming new single ‘Son’ from their debut album In A Restless House, released last week on I Oh You. Fans will be able to access City Calm Down playlists, giving an insight to their music. Introduced this year to Australia, previous Artists To Watch have included Hiatus Kaiyote and Last Dinosaurs.

Lifelines Expecting: a son for Backstreet Boys’ Nick Carter and wife Lauren Kitt.

Born: a daughter for Sydney nightclub identity Justin Hemmes, 42, and his partner of 12 months, NZ model Kate Fowler, 25.

Ill: Glenn Frey of the Eagles will undergo surgery for a recurring intestinal problem.

Hospitalised: Danny Leo, drummer/singer with Melbourne duo King Of The North, to have his appendix removed in Berlin during their European tour.

Hospitalised: Bad Brains guitarist Dr. Know, 57, was on life support last week but weekend reports said he was “getting better�.

Jailed: a former prison officer for 12 months after she admitted selling information about George Michael to the British newspaper The Sun. In Court: a 40-something awardwinning NZ entertainer (name suppressed) pleaded not guilty in Auckland District Court to four counts of indecent assault and two of sexual violation against four women. The latter charges carry a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in jail.

In Court: a Florida court allowed police to raid Lil Wayne’s house in Miami Beach to seize US$2 million of artwork over an unpaid airline lease.

Arrested: a woman who cared for Bobbi Kristina Brown in her final days at a Georgia hospice for allegedly impersonating a nurse.

Died: US ’70s country hitmaker Tommy Overstreet (‘Ann (Don’t Go Runnin’)’, ‘Gwen (Congratulations)’), 78, from a variety of ailments over the past few years.

Died: Raul Rekow, conga player for Santana from 1976 to 2013, aged 61.

Died: SA country music singersongwriter Nathaniel O’Brien, 19, who was on The X Factor last year, in a car crash near hometown Burra while driving between gigs.

thebrag.com

MUSICNSW GETS NEW FUNDING MusicNSW is one of 160 associations sharing $19 million in funding from the State Government’s Arts and Cultural Development Program. It will get $355,000 for 2016 to 2018. Also cashing in over the three years are Sydney Improvised Music Association ($90,000), Arts On Tour ($366,000), Arts Law Centre ($125,250), Song Company ($150,000) and Northern Rivers Performing Arts ($285,000). Those getting funding for just 2016 include dLux Media Arts ($100,000) and Four Winds concerts ($90,000).

RAW FM SETS UP IN NEWCASTLE NSW dance radio network Raw FM is expanding to Newcastle this Saturday. Raw 88.0 Newcastle has a daily format of dance and electronica, and shows from local DJs Fuel and Paperfox plus identities Armin van Buuren, TiĂŤsto, Hardwell, Above & Beyond, Roger Sanchez, Pete Tong, Sweat It Out, Spinnin Records and Tommy Trash at nights and on weekends. Network CEO Ange Nacson says, “Although we’re a narrow-cast network and don’t have 100 per cent full coverage of the area, clearly there’s a strong appetite for dance music in Newcastle.â€?

SWIFT FACES LAWSUIT OVER ‘SHAKE IT OFF’ Taylor Swift is facing a US$42 million lawsuit over ‘Shake It Off’. R&B singer Jesse Graham claims, though the two songs don’t sound alike, Swift nicked the chorus from his slow jam ‘Haters Gone Hate’ on his 2013 album Sexy Ladies.

Graham sings: “Haters gonna hate / Players gonna play / Watch out for them fakers / They’ll fake you every day�. Swift’s chorus goes: “’Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play / And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate�. Graham originally asked Swift’s management for a co-writing credit on the seven-million seller and for a selfie with the singer but they told him to get lost. ‘Shake It Off’ has picked up its seventh platinum certification in Australia for 245,000 sales.

CLAIRE RIORDAN AT INERTIA Claire Riordan is Inertia Music’s new digital manager. She will work with its digital accounts and continue a focus on innovation and strategies to connect artists and labels with consumers. In the last two years, Riordan has worked at the ABC in various roles, including as digital and social media producer in TV marketing, online editor at ABC Classic FM and executive producer at triple j Unearthed.

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PUNK PICTORIAL BOOK

Product 45 is a coffee table book out on Tuesday December 1 that pictorially captures the 1976-80 Australian punk and post-punk era through the packaging of the music. The first of three books, it is compiled by Sydney record collector and graphic designer Murray Bennett, with contributions from 50 artists, label heads, music writers and industry luminaries of the era. Full details at taoam.com.au.

TMN LAUNCHES SOCIAL MEDIA ARTISTS CHARTS Trade title The Music Network has introduced two Social Media Artists charts.

It ranks acts in a Top 50 of popularity from buzz on various social media platforms.

5 Seconds Of Summer topped the first Australian chart and Justin Bieber the international one.

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REMOTE CONTROL PARTNERS WITH OMNIAN Remote Control Records and New Yorkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hip Omnian Music Group have struck a partnership. Omnian will release Remote Controlâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Aussie acts in the States on Dot Dash, including Methyl Ethel, Pearls, Sunbeam Sound Machine, Client Liaison, Sui Zhen, Banoffee, Teeth & Tongue, Milwaukee Banks, Velociraptor and Jeremy Neale. Remote Control will in turn release noisenik, avant-garde and pop acts from Omnianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s various labels Down Under.

OPENLIVE ADDS ARTIST DASHBOARD OpenLIVE, the Australia/UK company that lets acts record their live gigs, has introduced a free Australian-first feature called Artist Dashboard. It allows artists to schedule their recordings in venues and festivals installed with the OpenLIVE MasterBuilder through an automatic recording, mixing, mastering and optimisation routine. A test of the feature saw 150 acts take part. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Capturing your recording is literally as simple as booking a plane ticket,â&#x20AC;? says audio and technology director Simon Tait. Artists maintain copyright and decide if and when the recording is released. Visit openlive.co for details.

RHYTHMS FOR SALE Aussie music mag Rhythms has flown the flag for blues, folk, country and world music since 1992. Owners/publishers Martin Jones and Verity Bee have opted for a lifestyle change, and are looking for a new owner. Jones says advertising is up, the brand has a fanatical following and a reputation for integrity, a strong digital presence and close ties with festivals, promoters and labels. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Rhythms remains such an important voice for so many great musicians, most of whom are ignored by mainstream media,â&#x20AC;? says Jones. He can be contacted at marty@rhythms.com.au.

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BRAG :: 638 :: 11:11:15 :: 7

KURT VILE WILD IMAGINATION BY AUGUSTUS WELBY

S

ix albums into his career, Kurt Vile has never been the sort of guy to attempt dramatic reinvention with each new release. While the Philadelphian songwriter is one of this decade’s most consistent performers, in Vile’s world things change merely by degrees.

For instance, compare his latest album B’lieve I’m Goin Down… to its predecessor, Wakin On A Pretty Daze. There’s increased use of piano and the addition of banjo, the song lengths have been slightly culled and he’s even included some vocal harmonies. But if you were enamoured by his previous releases, it’s easy to get drawn in here. Once again the pace is generally steady, if not lackadaisical, and the lyrics seem off-the-cuff yet contain radiant insight, near-psychedelic imagery and more than a touch of humour.

However, notwithstanding that appraisal, the record’s first single ‘Pretty Pimpin’ was something of an unexpected return. Released in July, the song surprised listeners chiefly for how much it actually sounded like a single. An upbeat folk number rooted in a memorable chorus melody and a tongue-in-cheek vocal stance, ‘Pretty Pimpin’ could be the most concise pop song Vile has ever written.

humour that’s always been present in Vile’s lyrics to the fore. Many similarly anxious reflections crop up as the new album progresses, but they tend to be either sobering ruminations or cannons of absurdist imagery. As such, while ‘Pretty Pimpin’ is a compelling way to begin the record, it’s not entirely indicative of what’s to come.

“I thought ‘Wheelhouse’, where else could you put it but in the beginning of the album? But, I mean, the label definitely wanted some kind of [single], which is not why I did it, but ideally you want some kind of song that’s like a legit single.

And I wanted it, but it didn’t fall into that melancholy space-folky-blues thing that a lot of the record is.

There’s nowhere else you could put ‘Pimpin’ but first, because if you put it somewhere else, it would sound insanely out of place.

“Then what I did was I put ‘Wheelhouse’ second and that just didn’t make sense whatsoever. But I didn’t know any better because ‘Wheelhouse’ is my favourite song, so I had to have outside people convince me to put ‘Wheelhouse’ further [down].”

“The single situation – I feel like, at least the last two records, I got deep into the heavier songs or something,” Vile says. “Heavy not as in heavy metal, but I got deep into the nonsingles, and the singles seem to come later. But [‘Pretty Pimpin’] surprised me. Once I added the harmonies in there, it was all over.”

On an album full of intriguing content, ‘Wheelhouse’ is an enveloping standout. Led by a plucked electric guitar riff, it scatters an aroma of melancholy, while the sustained pillowy atmosphere prevents it reaching the point of despair. The overall impression becomes one of someone at peace with life’s ineradicable conflicts.

Songs like the piano-led ‘Life Like This’ and the instrumental ‘Bad Omens’ convey a similar feeling.

Lyrically, ‘Pretty Pimpin’ focuses on the difficulties faced in grasping one’s sense of self, and brings the

“All those songs, that just feels like my heart right now, it just feels like my psyche – that’s my ideal place,”

8 :: BRAG :: 638 :: 11:11:15

“All those songs, that just feels like my heart right now, it just feels like my psyche – that’s my ideal place. It’s meditative, it’s a little bit sad, it’s a little bit hopeful, it’s a little bit realistic.” says Vile. “It’s meditative, it’s a little bit sad, it’s a little bit hopeful, it’s a little bit realistic. It’s a lot of feelings at once, like opposing feelings even, just like life in general. That’s how I feel right now; those are like my spiritual sound, or something.

“All three of those songs are moments captured in time, too. It wasn’t premeditated at all – they’re pretty new sketches. ‘Bad Omens’, I had that piano thing for a while, but it was an afterthought after we recorded ‘Lost My Head There’, which was the new jam. They were all just naturally captured moments, but all recorded in the wee hours and gone back into in the wee hours.

So I just think they’re the realist things I have.”

Indeed, ‘Lost My Head There’ serves as the album centrepiece.

The lyrics allude to the process that generates Vile’s songs: he starts off “Buggin’ out about a couple-two-

three things,” before a song “walk[s] out” of him, culminating in “sweet relief”. Then, Vile and his studio band – drummer Stella Mozgawa (Warpaint), guitarist Farmer Dave Scher (Beachwood Sparks) and bass player Rob Laakso – spend the song’s final four minutes grooving on a basic repeating chord progression.

Pop convention would advise against such a protracted coda, but it allows for a concrete demonstration of how relaxing and nourishing playing music can be.

“The second half is also an example of those other three songs we were talking about – just, like, feeling it in the moment and just fucking grooving,” says Vile. “We all did that live and then there was one round of overdubs for backing vocals, but the idea was we all did it at the same time again.

You don’t just layer it, because that’s unnatural. If you just build a song up one track at a time, it’s cheating. I get a little bit more cynical now, because you could really just cheat and make a song perfect, or try to. But reacting off of each other live, that’s like real music. The least we can do is try to do it live and get some kind of spiritual release or something.”

On paper, Vile’s fifth LP, Wakin On A Pretty Daze, was a very ambitious release. The majority of the songs last between six and ten minutes, and generally revolve around one or two simple chord progressions.

Despite this, it enjoyed worldwide success, elevating Vile to the top tier of indie rock artists. Perhaps encouraged by this success, he was eager to expand his textural palette.

“I had four outlets that I wanted to actively use. It felt really good to play banjo songs. It’s a really ethereal thing. I grew up playing

banjo, and I would pick it up and I would get more lost than I would with the guitar. It’s got the high drone string, and I was writing certain songs like ‘I’m An Outlaw’, but I also had five other banjo songs that didn’t make the record.

Then there’s the piano side of it, which comes from my influence of people like Randy Newman. I’d just been paying attention to the piano a lot in general – it’s not like I just picked it up, but I focused on it more. Then there was of course the acoustic folk thing that I’ve always had, but then there’s the electric guitar thing.

“My basic theory was like this spaced-out blues record and this sort of dreamy record. I said at one point I wanted it to be a modern version of an authentic folk record, but because it’s 2015, or whatever it is, today’s folk. It can be anything – it can be rock’n’roll and stuff, as long as you’re following the true roots.

That was part of it. There’s all kinds of blues and folk references, and not all mapped out in this premeditated way, and just things that were important in my life or influence from certain books and music. There’s nods to all kinds.”

Who: Kurt Vile and The Violators What: Falls Festival 2015/16 With: Bloc Party, Foals, Disclosure, The Wombats, Courtney Barnett and many more Where: Lorne, Marion Bay and Byron Bay When: Monday December 28 – Sunday January 3 And: Also appearing at the Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House on Thursday January 7 More: B’lieve I’m Goin Down… out now through Matador/Remote Control thebrag.com

RHYTHM HUNTERS SATURDAY 21st NOVEMBER 2015

JENOLAN CAVES GRAND ARCH + SPECIAL GUESTS SI MULLUMBY (WILD MARMALADE) NICKY BOMBA (MELBOURNE SKA ORCHESTRA) TIX ON SALE NOW THROUGH MOSHTIX CAMPING AVAILABLE FOR MORE INFO CALL 0410 470 474

www.therhythmhunters.com

BRAG :: 638 :: 11:11:15 :: 9

The Brian Jonestown Massacre Outsider Knowledge By Adam Norris Jonestown Massacre frontman is a difficult subject.

To be fair, there is certainly evidence to back up such hyperbole, and the man we saw depicted in 2004’s controversial documentary Dig! is certainly, well, colourful. While it would be an impressive feat to sense danger from Newcombe over the phone, the confrontational or indifferent figure I’ve tried not to anticipate is utterly absent. Instead, he is engaged, erudite and quite funny – if pessimistic for the future.

“I’m not enthusiastic for the children of tomorrow,” he says. “It was such a minefield before. Now? It’s only gotten crazier. Anything could happen. Your child could go to some kid’s house to play, and they could be watching jihad videos. You wouldn’t even know. They could be in Snapchat with any of these pedowhatevers. It could be anything.

There are an infinite number of minefields out there now, and who could say what might set it off? You just have to focus.”

I

’ve been told conversations with Anton Newcombe can be perilous things. “If he doesn’t like how an interview is unfolding, he’ll just

give up,” is one of the more benign warnings. Another interviewer claims he is actively dangerous to know. In the very least, The Brian

“Well, there’s a massive problem, and there’s only a couple of ways it can go. One is the Austrian/ Hungarian approach, which is

“There’s crazy, crazy stuff going on all over the world,” Newcombe sighs.

“And the blame for it gets shifted everywhere. I think that these are serious times, and the players of this grand chess game go right back to American strategists against the Soviet Empire. A lot of these old white guys said this was going to be a walk in the park, and that’s not how it turned out, but they’re still stuck in this old plan.”

It prompts me to ask Newcombe’s thoughts on the role of music in all of this, given these are concerns many musicians have attempted to address in the past. Benefit concerts like Live 8, the work of Band Aid and the like, have all endeavoured to use music and the muscle of celebrity to eradicate hunger or calm aggression. Newcombe doesn’t hesitate in his response.

“No. I’ll tell you why. You can’t want for other people what they can’t want for themselves. You just can’t.

Democracy is kind of an illusion.

You look at how often people like Bush have been in power. Look at Rumsfeld and Cheney, who were pulling strings from back in the days of Richard Nixon. And their prodigies are out there working now!

You see these guys from Eton or wherever sitting around looking like

Duran Duran, except there are 14 members, and that’s the whole UK government. And you’re like, ‘Holy cow – what a democracy.’

“So I think you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do, and the arts is a great way to tread lightly. You can make something from all this stuff that would otherwise be a stimulus to hide your head in the shadow of Kim Kardashian’s ass, this search for the perfect Porsche, your dream home in Byron Bay, whatever. Art is good as something there to be interpreted in different ways, but whether we need it … the question is, do you need it, do you need a filter for all of your feelings and thoughts? It has to be enjoyment of the activity, and that’s something that I’ll always have.”

At 48, you don’t doubt that Newcombe still enjoys what he does.

He is still pushing his creativity – in part to keep his filter of the world churning; in part to keep the delusion of relevance and addiction to acclaim far at bay.

“I watched this constant rise and fall of so many bands. You see them in Rolling Stone, MTV, tell everyone in their hometown who hated them to fuck off, they get the record deal, go to LA, they got the model, and gone.

I mean, where the fuck are the Goo Goo Dolls? You watch that movie Sunset Boulevard, and Erich von Stroheim is writing [Gloria Swanson] these fan mails because she thinks she’s still important and famous. I know so many people like that. They were so distant to everyone, so detached. I can’t imagine ever being that sad.”

Where: Factory Theatre / Metro Theatre When: Wednesday November 18 / Thursday November 19

Michael P Cullen A New Transmission By Augustus Welby

H

e took his sweet time with it, but late last year Sydney songwriter Michael P Cullen released his second solo LP, True Believer – a whopping 13 years after his first solo album, Love Transmitter.

A lot of things changed in Cullen’s life along the way, but the two releases possess a range of shared qualities. For instance, both albums were recorded and produced by Tim Powles, drummer and occasional vocalist for The Church. The songs still revolve around Cullen’s baritone vocals and dark, figurative lyricism, and his songwriting still gives a nod to such iconic performers as Nick Cave, Rowland S. Howard, Lou Reed, Leonard Cohen, The Go-Betweens and The Smiths.

Despite being deeply fascinated with several of the aforementioned artists since a young age, Cullen’s creative motivation has a more primal origin.

“I think that urge comes from the need to say something, it comes from within,” he says. “But when it comes, the influences you have absorbed over the years have some bearing on how you express yourself.

“So the fact that The Go-Betweens’ Before Hollywood was on high rotation in my basement flat in Bondi Junction in 1983 – alongside Treeless Plain by The Triffids and Seance by The Church – means that some of that will come out. And as albums like [Leonard Cohen’s] Songs From A Room, [AC/DC’s] Let There Be Rock, [David Bowie’s] Hunky Dory, [Elvis Costello’s] This Year’s Model and The Beatles’ Blue Album have all meant a lot to me over the years, you are going to get some of that too. We are 10 :: BRAG :: 638 :: 11:11:15

all products of our influences up to a point, I think.”

Cullen clearly has a solid foundation of influences and musical knowledge to invoke whenever his creative practice hits a wall. One thing’s for certain, though – he’s not trying to align himself with many contemporary songwriters.

“It doesn’t seem like much I have heard in the last 20 years has had much influence on my writing, even if I have enjoyed it a lot,” Cullen says.

“I am not sure if that is a comment on me or on music from the last 20 years. I have taken an interest in a lot of things, but for me, and with regard to contemporary rock and pop music, it has seemed like the law of diminishing returns. Of course, I just may not be able to tell yet if, say for example, Radiohead has had any influence on me.”

Prior to emerging as a solo performer, Cullen played in various Sydney post-punk bands, including The Hardheads and Watershed.

But these days, any lucrative career ambitions have receded and songwriting fulfils a fairly critical emotional outlet. However, the significance of the feelings explored in his music isn’t always immediately apparent.

“I have found that the songs express my life, but with no respect to the rules of time and no concession to my current state of mind,” he says.

“They may be historical or they may be predictive, and I may not actually know which is actually the case when I am writing them. Then years later it all starts to make sense.”

Given the massive distance between his two solo releases, one wonders whether Cullen’s songwriting proclivity has slowed down in recent years.

“I feel that the reservoir is always fermenting inside you as you go about the business of life,” he says, “and then when a deadline is applied – for example, ‘We are going to start recording this album in three months’ – I get to work converting the pipeline into songs. I do not know when I will run out of things to say, but when I do it will be very easy to be quiet.”

For the time being, however, Cullen is getting ready to make some noise.

12 months on from True Believer’s release, he is set to premiere the material live at a one-off Sydney show next weekend. He’ll be re-presenting the album alongside backing band The Soul Searchers

and his long-time accomplice, Powles.

“Tim put The Soul Searchers together with some guys he met on the road in America. It’s like this amazing unknown band, these guys walking the back roads carrying their guitars in battered old cases. I was always waiting for them to arrive – I just didn’t know when they would get here. And now they have.”

In terms of Cullen’s vocal delivery and the relatively stripped-back arrangements, True Believer and Love Transmitter are somewhat raw recordings. However, they’re both the product of much care and attention to detail. It’s been a long stage absence for Cullen, and he’s seizing the opportunity to bring new life to these songs.

“Turning what was created in open-ended recording sessions over a number of years into something that can be recreated onstage by a fi ve-piece band in a one-and-a-half-hour set is a bit of work, to be sure. But it’s the best kind of work and The Soul Searchers are pushing me and making me think. They bring their own energy and life’s experience to a set of songs about life’s twists and turns. So it’s fresh and exciting for me and I hope it will be a truly memorable experience for everyone on the night.”

What: True Believer out now through CD Baby/Foghorn Where: Lazybones Lounge When: Thursday November 19

thebrag.com

Xxx photo by xxx

Newcombe is speaking from Berlin.

The Californian expat has lived there for several years with his wife and two young children, and as such his concern for the fate of future generations is not an abstract thought. Nor is his trepidation limited to family; as our conversation unfolds, the overriding impression you get from Newcombe is one of bewilderment. Watching the Syrian crisis unfold from Germany, which anticipates accepting half a million refugees annually for some time to come, Newcombe is in an ideal position to witness humanity’s potential for both generosity and apathy.

basically saying, ‘There’s no fucking way you’re getting in here.’

There’s the UK approach, which is like that movie Children Of Men – it’s exactly like that, there are thousands of people camped beside five levels of razor wire, people are burning tyres in the street. But you know, the other way it can go is if the most intelligent people on the planet start talking about real solutions. But you never get to the bottom of these problems.

How are we going to solve the Syrian refugee crisis when we created it?

The Brag presents An evening of faded glamour, true romance and siren songs with

and

the Soul Searchers

?

>

Featuring

Felicity Urq uhart, George Washing Machine, Stuie French, Andrew Richardson, Hamish stuart, Claire O’Meara, Michael Vidale, Garry Steel and Michel Rose

playing the internationally acclaimed album True Believer

Thursday 19th November Lazybones Lounge 294 Marrickville Rd, Marrickville

Tickets at Trybooking.com "Unique and uniquely valuable" Sydney Morning Herald

7 Monday November 16t h - Tick ets only $15 7 First

"a rich baritone cocktail of spoken word, singing and crooning. It’s intoxicating. Must be experienced."

Rip it Up Magazine "more than just a singer, more than just a poet, but some exciting new thing in between."

24our Magazine (Montreal)

ever

s how

Expect

True Believer out now

www.michaelcullen.info

7 Macquarie Place Sydney (02) 9251 2797 www.thebasement.com.au

lightning fast twin fiddles, Tex Mex, Louisiana blues, pedal steel, classic country & plenty of mayhem’ BRAG :: 638 :: 11:11:15 :: 11

Mumford & Sons Masters Of Their Domain By Adam Norris

I

t seems a touch superfluous to write introductory remarks about a band like Mumford & Sons. Since 2009’s Sigh No More rampaged across the globe – and with ‘Little Lion Man’ doing particularly well in Australia, winning the number one spot on triple j’s Hottest 100 by the largest victory margin in the chart’s history – the band has soared from strength to strength. This year saw the release of Wilder Mind, which heralded a significant shift in the band’s development. Chatting with Winston Marshall on a cold early morning reveals some surprising insight.

“Pfft. Your cold is like the height of our summer, so I’m really not sympathising with you at all right now,” he says. “Your coldest days are up there with our warmest. Like, what temperature are you hitting?”

“It’s like 16, 17 degrees,” I hazard.

“Fuck you! Literally, fuck you! Man, that’s amazing!”

Marshall is calling from New York, where he has been recovering his energies after a string of performances and an endless cavalcade of media jerks insisting on his time. Despite myself now adding to that chorus, he is in remarkably cheerful spirits.

“We’ve got two months off now after we hit it pretty hard this summer.

We played Leeds [Festival], which is where all of the teenagers in Britain go to. Playing that was just amazing. Playing to kids is the best fucking audience you can play to.

They don’t give a fuck, they have so much energy and they just give everything. Mixed crowds are great, but playing to kids is something else.

They’ve drunk a shitload of beer, they

don’t realise that it’s watered down, and they just go wild. I think they were two of the best gigs that we’ve ever had. Ever. So now, a couple of months off now, and then we’re starting things up again in Australia.”

That time has now come, with the Mumford circus to roll into town for their Gentlemen Of The Road extravaganza in The Domain, joined by guests including Jake Bugg, Future Islands, The Vaccines and more. The headliners have long established the trick to making a show memorable.

“The pinnacle of the day is always going to be the gig, so you’re mostly saving your energy,” Marshall explains. “You don’t want to blow out, because those two hours onstage have to be fucking incredible. We have that mentality where everything that happens during the day is leading up to being onstage. When we’re off tour, it relaxes. We’re all pretty knackered and it’ll take us a week or so to readjust. Right now we’ve started thinking about the next album, getting new songs together.

We’re all based in slightly different places, so we all demo up by ourselves and then email each other ideas. That’s where we are now, really, emailing around ideas of what the next one is going to be.”

Given that Wilder Mind was released just six months ago, it’s impressive to learn the guys are already kicking around ideas for what the next chapter in their sound will be.

Their much-discussed shift away from folk instruments and into the electric sphere has seen Mumford & Sons return to their musical roots, although it is an aspect of their sound audiences are arguably less familiar with. It is also one which continues to creep into Marshall’s latest writing.

“The first demos that I’ve done for the new record sound like Wilder Mind, in the same sense that the first demos from the last album [Babel] sounded a bit like the one before. You have to push yourself to do different things, and I think we’re really good at challenging each other in that sense.

“Marcus [Mumford] just sent through a demo, and it’s like nothing I’ve heard him write before; it’s just fucking awesome. He’s always good at that, way better than I am. We challenge each other, and because we all grew up together, we won’t let anyone get away with too much.

We won’t appease each other. The challenge within us is quite good, but also pretty heartbreaking. No-one likes to see a song pushed down.”

With such massive levels of success, you do wonder at just how voracious

the Mumford & Sons creature is; how close you can come to losing yourself in a vehicle so popular. In other words, how deep can Marshall submerge before losing sense of who he is?

“That’s a real problem, and I think that’s why so many bands end up fighting with each other. Before we took our break, we’d had six or seven years of being in that one place, and we were desperate, desperate to do other things. I’m not even a banjo player. Guitar is my instrument, and so after doing so much banjo I just wanted to break out. That stuff is definitely very frustrating. I think we all worked really hard, and the sacrifices of doing one particular thing to fulfil a role within the band has served us well, and now we can contemplate all doing different things.

We’re much happier.

“We were fucking teenagers when we started the band, dressing up like fucking Muppets in dungarees.

As you got older, you’re not wearing the same kind of clothes you were when you were 14. It’s natural. It’s very frustrating to feel caged, or stuck in any one role. I just love my job and love touring so much, but I’m so glad we took that break. No-one is ever just one thing.”

What: Gentlemen Of The Road With: Jake Bugg, Future Islands, The Vaccines, The Jungle Giants, Meg Mac, Art Of Sleeping Where: The Domain When: Saturday November 14 And: Wilder Mind out now through Island/Universal

Main Stage Be You Block Party

Community Stage at Foley Park

10:00

Miles Merril MC

Uncle Stephen Smoking Ceremony

10:30

Uncle Stephen Smoking Ceremony

Sydney Secondary College Jazz Orchestra

11:00

Lord Mayor Intro

Road Closed Talks feat.

Berlin Love Parade, Vivid Ideas, Reclaim the Streets.

Lacy and The Lazycolts

11:30

New Venusians Glebe Talks + Nat James

Sausage Eating Competition

12:00 12:30

Slam Poetry

1:00

Richard in Your Mind

Spyglass Gypsies

Glebe Talks + Hannah Robertson

1:30 2:00

La Toosh Tram Stage

Spyglass Gypsies

Polographia

Squeezebox Trio

2:30 3:00

Ngaiire

Sandy Evans Trio w/ Bobby Singh

Squeezebox Trio

3:30 4:00

Dr Motte St Johns Road Stage

10 - 12

DJ Ded Peeplz

12:00

Glebe Salon Strings

12 - 4

Soul of Sydney DJs

3

4

8

6

1 2

5

1 Glebe.com.au Community Area

2 Pony Rides 3 Bike Valet 12 :: BRAG :: 638 :: 11:11:15

7

4 5 NRMA Food Truck Alley 6 Tramsheds at Harold Park

9

7 Latoosh Tram Stage 8 Be You Block Party 9 Inflatable Kids Rides

thebrag.com

BRAG :: 638 :: 11:11:15 :: 13

Acid Baby Jesus Greece Is The Word By Augustus Welby

W

hen the city of Athens comes up in discussions about rock music, it’s usually in reference to the US college town that’s given rise to such bands as The B-52s, R.E.M., Neutral Milk Hotel and Of Montreal. However, the Greek capital, and one of the world’s oldest cities, has also been rearing quality rock music since the 1960s.

Perhaps Athens’ most prominent contemporary rock outfit is grooveheavy psychedelic quartet Acid Baby Jesus.

Acid Baby Jesus came into view in 2011 when US-via-Amsterdam garage rock stable Slovenly Recordings issued their selftitled debut album. Catching the attention of underground rock fans around the globe, the band hit the road through Europe and the US, supporting the likes of The Black Lips and gracing the stage at Austin Psych Fest. However, despite the swelling interest, it wasn’t until last November that the Greeks delivered their second fulllength, Selected Recordings.

scraps of recording material we had here and there and kind of got everything together, creating a Frankenstein sort of album. We had a lot of fun recording it in my home studio in a very experimental sort of way. Even though I was having a hard time, I like the album.”

“I like to think [our music]’s transcendental and elevating,” says Pappas. “I don’t really like beige music, you know? I like colours and energy and magic in music, so that’s how we go about it usually.

As for the psych rock thing, I really don’t know what it means anymore.

It’s a bit confusing.”

Since the beginning, Acid Baby Jesus have taken influence from US/UK garage, psych and hard rock, as well as Greek folk music.

Selected Recordings features 11 Acid Baby originals, including the single ‘Vegetable’, plus a cover of ‘Trouble Maker’ by Zambian psych guy Chrissy Zebby Tembo.

The majority of the band’s compositions begin with a core idea conceived by Pappas. He generally refrains from showing anything to the rest of the band unless it inspires a feeling of magic in him.

“It’s just so exciting to play around with new ideas and sounds,” says Pappas. “I think in the end it sounds like our own band evolving.

I like how bands like The Rolling Stones have kind of their own eras of what they were experimenting with at the time, but still sound like the same band.

Given its title, it was unclear whether the new release was another album or a collection of demos. However, never mind the band’s intentions, as the reverbsoaked, brazenly energetic release certainly sounded like an album.

Ahead of Acid Baby Jesus’ first trip Down Under, frontman Noda Pappas fills us in on the genesis of Selected Recordings.

“[Making Selected Recordings took] a two-year period, so a lot of music has influenced the record.

Jazz is really our common thread in the band, but also we were listening to a lot of Greek folk music like rebetiko. At the time I remember listening to a lot of Wu-Tang as well and I can hear that in the album. Angus MacLise, Sonny Sharrock, John Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, Warsaw are some as well.”

“We started recording it as an album, but had to go on a long USA tour in the middle of recording,” he says. “By the end of the tour, our guitar player and co-founder of the band quit, so we all went in our different directions, doing our own thing for about a year. After that, we listened to the

The official album bio, published on the label’s website, makes reference to the “echo box” and “lava lamp clichés” of contemporary psych rock. Acid Baby Jesus are determined to rise above such pedestrian fare, with no great concern for what genre category their music ends up in.

“It usually starts as a folk song, played acoustically and then presented to the rest of the band, which takes it to a different level.

Anything could make it psychedelic, even a small play on words or one chord that sticks out from the rest. I find comfort in things like that in the song and they keep it fresh for me, and I can always go back to the initial idea and feeling of the song. I think it’s like that for all of us in the band.”

Although there’s been plenty of uninteresting so-called psychedelic music emerging in recent years, underground psych and garage rock are experiencing a boom in popularity. However, Pappas is confident in the peculiarities that set Acid Baby Jesus apart from their peers.

“It kind of clicked with us during our first US tour that we are defi nitely not like all the other bands, because we are from a completely different place. That felt liberating and gave us a freedom to do what feels natural. I still don’t think we have pinpointed a sound that can completely characterise us. We’re looking for it like the Holy Grail.”

Despite being distinguishable from many of the other acts toiling in a similar field, Acid Baby Jesus’ music will inevitably spark thoughts of ’60s and ’70s psychedelia.

However, it’s still very exciting to hear, giving credence to the idea that guitar-driven music remains an innovative artistic force.

“Guitar and song will never die because they are such a selfcontained way of expressing one’s

self,” says Pappas. “It just works like a charm. Who can beat that?”

What: At First Sight 2015 With: My Disco, Lost Animal, Donny Benet, Richard Cartwright and more Where: Carriageworks When: Saturday November 14 And: Selected Recordings out now through Slovenly

Gypsy & The Cat Defying Devolution By Augustus Welby Gypsy & The Cat story.

“We found that, especially on the second record, we were pigeonholed back into the first record – people wanted to hear all that music,” says Bacash. “So it’s definitely been a relaunch in the sense that it’s like Gypsy & The Cat Mach II. We’ve been writing for such a long time and creating new sounds. So just everything about the band is really quite different, besides the fact that I’m singing on everything – that’s the only common denominator.”

However, with regards to the songs on Hearts A Gun, that’s not entirely true. Although the tracks are looser and more psychedelic, the record coheres with Gypsy & The Cat’s overall aesthetic, marrying a dance sensibility with classic pop melodiousness and simplicity.

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“It was a mixture of things,” says vocalist Xavier Bacash of the duo’s retreat from the spotlight. “Wanting to let time pass away a little bit and let that expectation wander off a bit. When the first record came out, from then on a myriad of bands came along and were doing that sound too. It got to the point where we had to change from then, so we wrote the second record and it was probably a bit far away from where we started for people. For the third record, we wanted it to be our biggest musical statement and it takes a long time to put that project together, so we knew we had to give a couple of years to it.”

With interest regenerating, Gypsy & The Cat’s live absence will come to an end when they help launch the Melbourne Music Week hub

this weekend. Given their two-year sabbatical, the performance will be a bit different from what they were doing in the wake of The Late Blue.

“We’ve scaled down to a three-piece – a drummer, Lionel [Towers] and myself,” says Bacash. “So it’s more compact, it’s more electronic and probably energetic this way. We’re putting a visual show together with the audio, in keeping with the style of the tracks. We’re not really playing many old tracks. So it’s been a bit of a reshuffle, which is exciting – to do it again from scratch.”

Emerging from the relative wilderness, you’d expect the band would be eager to remind audiences of its former glories. However, along with the new EP, this tour inaugurates the next phase in the

“We just have such a vast breadth of influences that it just comes out like that,” says Bacash. “Even the first record, we were a bit of a genre chameleon. ‘Jona Vark’ was very different to, say, ‘Time To Wander’ – it was like Fleetwood Mac versus Tears For Fears, in a way. So we’ve always sort of been like that, and that’s part of the reason, maybe, of why we did well. There was familiarity but it was also done in a different style.

“We do have a very classical popstyle framework that we work to, just because we like that way of writing.

I’m a massive pop fan, but also have a huge collection of old krautrock and psych rock from the ’90s and UK punk and things like that. It all kind of comes in and out. Although there’s a cohesion between Hearts

Despite being inclined towards a pop format, when Bacash and Towers uploaded ‘Jona Vark’ to triple j Unearthed way back in 2009, they weren’t expecting to infiltrate the mainstream.

“We had no ambition whatsoever. It was a rolling snowball of ambition.

We put the tracks up on MySpace and Unearthed and it just started going ballistic and we were like, ‘Oh cool, let’s start a band then.’ We put them on Unearthed and MySpace not with the intention of being a band, but with the intention of being a writing group. We were going to hopefully write these songs and get them on films. We felt like that was the only way to exist in modern music, because there’s just so many bands. We thought, ‘How could we rise above everything else? It’d be a fluke.’ But people saw something in what we were doing and it just kind of happened.

“On the second record, we wanted to do what we wanted to do, but then there was also this nagging voice saying, ‘Stick to these forms.’

On this EP and this next album that we’ve nearly finished writing, it’s been about having fun again and not really caring whether people like it or not. That’s really how it started, so hopefully it yields the same reaction.

But you just never know.”

What: Hearts A Gun out now through Alsatian Where: Goodgod Small Club When: Saturday November 14 thebrag.com

Xxx photo by xxx

ypsy & The Cat first came to attention when triple j picked up their track ‘Jona Vark’ in mid-2009. Despite having never played live, the Melbourne duo was soon catapulted to international success, signing with Sony Music and hitting the stage joined by drummer John Jenkins from The Streets and Lily Allen.

The upward trajectory continued with the release of their next single, ‘Time To Wander’, and debut LP, Gilgamesh, in late 2010. Global tours ensued before the band’s second LP, The Late Blue, arrived in late 2012 – itself featuring the ubiquitous single, ‘Bloom’. However, after touring The Late Blue, Gypsy & The Cat kept quiet for nearly two years until re-emerging somewhat discretely with the Hearts A Gun EP this September.

A Gun and the other work, I would say the next record is even further away.”

A Day To Remember Keep Them In Mind By Natalie Rogers

W

hen Jeremy McKinnon was getting in trouble at school and working at a local supermarket in his hometown of Ocala, Florida, only in his wildest dreams did he imagine that a decade later he would be the head of an independent record label and the founder of one of the fastest-growing alternative music festivals in the US – all while holding down his day job as the leader of a band with loyal fans on every continent.

“It’s surreal!” says McKinnon, the vocalist in A Day To Remember. “It was a slow burn in the beginning, but now life feels like we’re on a rollercoaster ride that never stops.

We’re so fortunate – we’re just a bunch of friends having a good time, travelling the world and growing together.”

“Everyone was very excited about the idea, and after the first one [in March last year] was such a success, it’s evolved very naturally. Not only did we get a lot of people at the first festival, but the bands that played were very happy with how they were treated backstage, because the people running it actually give a shit about the people performing.

“Before [Self Help] there wasn’t really a festival besides Lollapalooza in our genre that really tried to take care of the bands, like your Soundwave or the Reading and Leeds Festivals do”, he continues. “They put a lot of time and effort into making the bands feel welcome – and that’s one of the main things we wanted to have as part of our festival. We’ve got two dates in San Bernardino [in 2016] and we’re working on a third one now. We would love to take it to Australia eventually, but we’ll just have to see what happens as it grows.”

As to whether A Day To Remember will share anything else on their label remains to be seen, but McKinnon is optimistic. “We’re always working on new material and I’m writing all the time, but there’s no final plan as yet,” he says. “We’ll see when the time comes, but we’re not opposed to the idea.”

In the meantime, McKinnon says A Day To Remember’s return to Australia as part of the Big Ass Tour (which will see them co-headline with their buddies The Amity Affliction) could be looked upon as a trial run. Rounding out the bill are LA’s The Ghost Inside and Pennsylvania’s Motionless In White, making the Big Ass Tour a big fat must-see. “Australians are always super welcoming and we’re excited to be coming back so soon,” he says.

McKinnon might be elusive about future recording plans, but the Floridians have been busy preparing themselves for the return of Self Help Fest, in which they are closely

This tour marks the sixth time A Day To Remember will be playing for Australian audiences. While they’ve been known for their energetic and unpredictable live shows since the

beginning, this year the good folks at Alternative Press finally caught on and named them Best Live Band Of 2015.

“It was so unexpected! We’d been nominated for a bunch of stuff in different publications around the world but we’d never won anything, so when we did it felt awesome,” McKinnon says. “We put a lot of time and effort into doing something special every time we do a big tour, so it was cool to see that people appreciate it.”

In testament to the power of self-belief and perseverance, a decade on from their inception, A Day To Remember are selling out arenas around the world. Common Courtesy debuted at number one on the Billboard Hard Rock charts and has been streamed

over 50 million times. Now, having come out the other side of a legal nightmare that could have spelled the end for any band, A Day To Remember are one of the most respected and popular collectives in hardcore music today. Their secret to riding out the tough times is simple.

“It might sound lame to some people, but talking is the key. We air our dirty laundry to each other,” McKinnon laughs. “Sure, it made for a few awkward days here and there, but if you speak your mind to the people you care about, it really does help in the long run. You’ve gotta look at being in a band like a marriage, and we’ve been married for ten long years.

If you don’t talk about how you feel and about the problems that arise in

all of the craziness, things are going to bubble to the surface in a negative and destructive way. Imagine what’s going to happen if you add success to that?

“We’ve never been a band that’s had a problem with confronting how we felt in the moment. That’s why we’re still friends and that’s why we’ve been able to travel the world and live out our dreams.”

With: The Amity Affliction, Motionless In White, The Ghost Inside Where: Qantas Credit Union Arena When: Saturday December 12

LIVE

AT THE

5

$

FIREBALL WHISKEYS 7.30 - 9.30PM

SLY

5

$

SLY FOX BEERS 7.30 - 9.30PM

Thurs 12 NOV JOSEPH LIDDY & THE SKELETON HORSE EASY STREET SLOW LORIS

1 9 9 E N M O R E R OA D, E N M O R E thebrag.com

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Xxx photo by xxx

However, like many success stories, A Day To Remember haven’t gone without scandal. In 2011, they filed a civil suit against their label, Victory Records, claiming they were owed more than US$75,000 in royalties. A lengthy legal battle ensued with Victory countersuing them for breach of contract, but in 2013 the court handed down permission for the band to release its fifth studio album, Common Courtesy, on its own label ADTR Records.

involved. McKinnon says the idea came up in conversation with his girlfriend as a way to give back to the fans. With plans for a fifth and sixth festival on the horizon, it seems they’ve found a winning formula.

Ngaiire The Evolution Of An Artist By Natalie Rogers Zealand, had a significant impact on the woman she is today. She has said that her 2013 single ‘Dirty Hercules’ is a reflection on body image after surgery left her with physical scars.

Despite her early struggles, she was encouraged by her parents from a young age into a life of creative pursuits, via their passion for opera, ballet and fashion. “Music has always been the way I express myself,” she says. “When I was younger, I always viewed songs as a form of poetry that didn’t necessarily need to make sense to anyone else.”

Ngaiire’s critically acclaimed debut album Lamentations, which is now two years old, showcased her natural talent for songwriting and captured international attention, leading to an invitation to play Glastonbury and the opportunity to share the spotlight in support of soul and R&B heavyweights Alicia Keys and John Legend. However, as she prepares for the release of her follow-up LP (confirmed to be titled Blastoma, which is a form of cancer usually found in children), she reflects on adopting a different approach.

T

hough Sydney-based singer Ngaiire is tiny in stature, she more than makes up for it in spirit and soul. As well as being supremely talented, she has a sensitivity and maturity beyond her years. “I’m quite lucky in that I’ve always been very intuitive, with a

solid idea of where I’m going, what I want to do and what I want to experience,” Ngaiire says.

Born in Papua New Guinea, Ngaiire lived in three different countries by the age of 16. A cancer diagnosis at age three, while living in New

“The whole process of putting together this new album forced me to think about what I’m actually trying to say and what I want people to get from the lyrics,” she says. “In the past I’ve been quite nervous – I was very self-conscious of what people would think of my lyrics, so a lot of the time I mumbled my way through songs because I was embarrassed about whether people would think they were stupid. Now looking back, I think that was very much to do with my own want or need to learn how to construct a song better.”

Co-written with Megan Washington and longtime collaborator Paul Mac, Ngaiire’s latest single ‘Once’ is a delicious taste of things to come. Her smooth and sultry vocals dance over a hypnotic backbeat with a restraint that illustrates total control over her powerful vocal ability. The lyrics define the necessity of taking a risk to reap the reward – a sentiment that is echoed in Ngaiire’s personal journey. “Megan is a master of songwriting,” she says. “She’s so quick and witty – and always on the money.”

is recognition that she’s on the right track.

Blastoma was produced by Mac and Jack Grace over a period of two years, across continents and time zones. “Blastoma happened somewhere between London and New York,” Ngaiire explains. “At separate times, Jack, Paul and I would be in different parts of the world, so we had to send tracks back and forth to each other, but the bulk of it was recorded in Paul’s studio in Newtown, Sydney. Both Paul and Jack think a lot about structure and they’re very good at constructing perfect pop songs.

Their influence is very much represented on ‘Once’ and all the songs on Blastoma.”

“I love playing my hometown,” she says. “Sydney audiences have been really good to me lately. I’ll be showcasing a lot of tracks from the new album, so that will be exciting and a little bit nerve-racking at the same time. I’m really looking forward to it.”

While Ngaiire is very open about the musical partnerships she has forged in recent years, the credit for her personal and professional growth can be attributed solely to her determined spirit and unwavering commitment to be her own artist. The unpleasant experience of life as an Australian Idol contestant, more than ten years ago, only led to a strengthening of her resolve – and the recent news she’s been named as a finalist in APRA’s 2015 Professional Development Awards

“It’s been quite a journey, but I’ve definitely evolved and developed a lot and I think people will notice that in the new songs,” she says.

In the lead-up to the release of Blastoma early next year, Ngaiire will appear at summer festivals around the city, including One Day Only, The Plot and Field Day, as well as headlining the Be You Block Party as part of the Glebe Street Fair this weekend.

Already, Ngaiire has amassed a loyal following around the world thanks to an authentic and unique body of work – and the most exciting part is that her best work is yet to come.

“When I was younger, there was always an urgency to have an EP or to have an album out, but now I’m happy that things travelled at the speed that they did. I’ve learnt that it’s really important to enjoy your younger years and let the process happen naturally.”

What: Be You Block Party as part of Glebe Street Fair 2015 With: Polographia, Richard In Your Mind, New Venusians, Miles Merrill, Dr. Motte Where: Peter Forsyth Basketball Court When: Sunday November 15

Jenny Hval Wild At Heart By Adam Norris

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hatting with Jenny Hval is a rather delightful event. She’s a vastly talented musician, to be sure, and her voice in conversation is smooth and sonorous, like a soft marble bell. But hers is an exchange that veers in unexpected directions, and covers strange and fascinating ground. Given the gamut of her writing – from her early work under the moniker Rockettothesky to her most recent album, Apocalypse, Girl, and the two novels she has written – it is no surprise that words themselves hold particular interest for the Norwegian artist. Indeed, she finds the potential of words much more interesting then even herself.

“I’m really boring,” she laughs with a sigh. “There’s not much else to say.

I’m much more interesting on an album. I’m on tour a lot, and touring is to me really interesting, but it’s also extremely boring if you just had to listen to what goes on in the course of a day. Having a real job in a normal life would probably be way more interesting to hear about.

For me, it’s like, ‘We were in a car, we drove past some trees.’ I’m very much inside my brain – that’s where all of the exciting stuff is going on.

Hval has developed a strong and vibrant fan base throughout Europe, and over the years that has gradually translated across the seas to our southern shores. Australia holds a rather unique space in Hval’s heart, and not only due to her several tours 16 :: BRAG :: 638 :: 11:11:15

“It’s been three years since I was in Australia last. I used to study there, so I was trying very hard to be Australian for about four years.

But that was ten years ago now, and I’ve only been back twice. It’s just so far, and too expensive. Obviously it doesn’t go very well with the economy of being an artist, though it does go very well with touring, ’cause then you get to go to these places. So I’m extremely excited about coming back and playing some shows and playing some festivals.

“I have this alternative life in my head that I can’t really let go of. It’s what happens when you live somewhere else – you kind of invent the parallel existence where I never came back to Europe and I spent my whole life in Australia, and I reconnect with that idea whenever I go back. I definitely have an Australian longing with me at all times, and I have a lot of friends there still I’m hoping to see again.

Some of my favourite people live there.”

Describing Hval’s sound is not the simplest of feats. Broadly, you can list her as pop artist, though that doesn’t quite encapsulate either her live show or album aesthetic. She is often referred to as an avant-garde performer, someone whose history spans genres as disparate as gothic metal and electric folk. Labelling music is a rather restrictive task at the best of times, and Hval herself is quite happy to shrug off such names and let others judge for themselves.

“I think [these terms] are a combination of what people hear in the music, combined with which words are in people’s heads right now anyway. Maybe at some point that is electric folk, or experimental, whatever. It’s more about which words people are already talking about, about the words that are already out there being used in music. It’s very much a conversation, and this labelling of art has more to do with other things than the work itself. So that makes it easier to just think of whatever people say is whatever they’re into. People tell me what they think I sound like, and it’s really a reference to their iTunes.

I’m just happy that they want to say

something at all, that they have something to share.”

“Just sitting, writing for hours every day – I love that and dream of doing it.

Although English-speaking audiences currently have her music to enjoy, Hval’s books have yet to find their way into translation. It seems a shame, given the focus and intensity with which she greets the written word; reading her prose would be quite a ride.

“But then, I also love to play and tour and record, which is a much more fragmented and emotional experience.

Those are quite different, although I’ve done projects on top of each other, and it all becomes one world. I guess there’s the practical side of things, and then there’s the imagination. And that’s always wild.”

“I can work on my music wherever I am, it’s always on my mind. But to write a longer piece, something meant to make sense across this incredible overview, I’m drawn towards having large chunks of time when I can sit and write every day. Speaking is boring – it’s like being in prison, really.

What: Sydney Festival 2016 Where: The Famous Spiegeltent When: Tuesday January 19 and Wednesday January 20 And: Apocalypse, Girl out now through Sacred Bones thebrag.com

Jenny Hval photo by Jenny Berger Myhre

“It’s mostly in my imagination. So it probably seems quite boring on the outside, with lots of interesting stuff on the inside. During a day where I’m on tour, the most pleasant moment is when I’m actually playing, which is a very happy and very intense moment for me.” She pauses, then laughs again. “And hopefully the audience.”

here. She lived in this country for many years, and studied Creative Writing and Performance at the University of Melbourne. While ‘homecoming’ may be too strong a term, the prospect of returning does conjure in her a certain Sliding Doors perspective.

arts in focus

free stuff head to: thebrag.com/freeshit

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

The Program

five minutes WITH

CARL SCIBERRAS, PROGRAM COORDINATOR FROM FORM DANCE PROJECTS

The Whale © Kate Williams

Short Sharp Dance photo by Pia Moore

F

ORM Dance Projects’ Sharp Short Dance focuses on the young talent in the Australian dance industry. What can audiences expect?

The festival showcases a diverse range of dance styles, and the choreographers in the program will present works with equally as wideranging ideas. A lot of these young people are performing dances about relationships and their personal experiences and views of the world, others are investigating form – there’s a very rich mix of styles with incredibly long to incredibly short histories. There really will be a bit of something to everyone’s taste.

How did you come to select works for the heats of the competition?

The festival is about inclusivity and opportunity. Young aspiring choreographers simply registered their works to FORM with a bit of a context and sample video of their works. FORM then curated the program based on the genre of dance most fitting to the different heats. There were a substantial

number of applications, so not all can be selected, but we try our best to get as many in as possible.

What criteria will the entries be judged by?

The main focus for the panels on selecting finalists is innovation.

The festival celebrates works that really test the dancers and their audience, test the art form, and risk-taking. Unlike a lot of dance competitions, where technique and execution are at the forefront, we consider dance to be about creativity foremost, and works are selected based on how the individual dancers or groups challenge their own artistic practice, rather than pitching them against one another.

How important are events like these to support emerging artists?

Without an opportunity to perform in front of an audience in a professional setting, it’s very difficult to learn and develop as a dancer. Sharp Short Dance gives young people a safe and supportive environment to practice

THE PROGRAM

After battling a life-threatening case of cancer, Lance Armstrong won cycling’s Tour de France in 1999 – the first of his seven titles. What came afterwards, thanks to the investigative work of journalist David Walsh, was the news Armstrong had used performance-enhancing drugs to gain an advantage over his competitors. The Program, starring Ben Foster, Chris O’Dowd and Dustin Hoffman, explores the story of one of the world’s greatest athletes and his spectacular fall from grace.

choreography and performance, which is vital in growing as an emerging artist. The festival also gets these young people seen, they meet peers and often develop working relationships with them.

What else does FORM Dance Projects have on the horizon in the coming months?

This is our last project for 2015, but in 2016 we’ll be presenting

some exciting new works by local and international artists. Our program will be launched very soon so keep an eye out for it!

Visit form.org.au.

What: Sharp Short Dance Where: Riverside Theatres When: Until Saturday November 14

The Program opens in cinemas on Thursday November 26, but we’ve got ten double passes to give away to the advanced preview screening at Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace Cremorne on Wednesday November 25. To enter the draw, head to thebrag.com/ freeshit.

THROUGH A BEADED LASH

The Golden Age

Through A Beaded Lash explores what the drag entertainers of the 1980s and their comrades saw through their beaded lashes as they performed for a community in the grips of the AIDS epidemic. Directed by Julie Baz, Through A Beaded Lash features an ensemble cast of Sydney’s emerging and seasoned theatre actors including Leo Domigan, Ryan Henry, Emily McGowan, Cherilyn Price, Oliver Rynn and Roger Smith. It will be only the fourth production to take place in the recently established Depot Theatre, which is situated within the historic Addison Road Centre – a thriving Inner West hub for culture, arts and the environment. The play opens on Wednesday November 25 and runs until Saturday December 12.

Blanc De Blanc

CINEMA IN THE SUMMER SUN

THE GOLDEN AGE AT STC

The Golden Age photo by James Green

Sydney Theatre Company is opening its 2016 season with The Golden Age

by Louis Nowra. The story is inspired by a real-life chase after a group of Europeans who went missing in the Tasmanian wilderness in 1939. The play follows their lives as tortured convicts and outcasts in a new colony, seeking escape from hard-handed authority. STC’s cast features Sarah Peirse, Ursula Yovich, Robert Menzies and Brandon McClelland, directed by Kip Williams and designed by David Fleischer. The Golden Age will hit Wharf 1 Theatre at STC from Thursday January 14 – Saturday February 20.

OLD FITZ 2016 PROGRAM

This year’s edition of Ben & Jerry’s Openair Cinema will take over a new Sydney location, moving from Bondi Beach to the Inner West.

When the nationwide cinema tour kicks off with the Sydney program at Sydney University’s Cadigal Green, there will be Ben & Jerry’s icecream on hand to help cool down the balmy spring/summer evenings. On the list of films to be screened are The Walk, The Intern, Bridge Of Spies and Love Actually, among many others.

For those with serious sweet teeth, Ben & Jerry’s will be serving up free ice-cream on Scooper Saturdays, the weekly party that will feature local musos including Nic Cassey and Angus Murphy. The Openair Cinema season will take place in Sydney from Thursday November 19 – Saturday December 12.

SANTA FUN RUN

Sunday December 6 will see Circular Quay and surrounds transformed into a sea of red and white for the seventh annual Santa Fun Run, taking place in conjunction with children’s charity, Variety. The day aims to raise muchneeded funds for sick, disadvantaged and special needs children, with festivities on the day including a huge group #santasquad selfie, a giant snow dome, snow machines, a Christmas village and a live Santa DJ (apparently Santa can drop not only presents,

Recently taken under the direction of Red Line Productions, the Old Fitz Theatre has had something of a rejuvenation of late, and its 2016 program continues the momentum. To kick off the season, Charlie Garber and Gareth Davies return to present Masterclass 2, a sequel to the hit indie comedy that opened this year’s schedule and promises to lead the way to achieving your dreams. Meanwhile, ARIA Award-winning songwriter Julia Stone has composed the soundtrack for Mary Zimmerman’s Metamorphoses, juxtaposing the ancient and the contemporary in both language and image. Details on these and the other plays – The Whale, 80 Minutes No Interval, Belleville and Inner Voices – can be found at oldfi tztheatre. com.

thebrag.com

THE WHITE SHOW

The Sydney Opera House will host the world premiere of the extravagant Blanc De Blanc this summer. The cabaret has something for everyone, with an exhilarating combination of theatre, circus, comedy and acrobatics. This seductive performance from Strut & Fret invites guests to enter the mood by dressing in vintage, white and gold or wearing a bit of sparkle. Then step into the Studio, Sydney Opera House from Thursday January 7 – Sunday February 28.

but also some fat beats). Participants taking part in the five-kilometre accessible course, which begins at First Fleet Park and follows a route around Sydney Harbour’s foreshore, will be given a lightweight Santa suit with registration.

Online registrations are now open, with more

The Whale

information available at varietysantafunrun. com.au.

GOOD LORD, IT’S CHRISTMAS

Good Lord! It’s Christmas! is an adult reimagining of the nativity story told through the rapidly disappearing art of pantomime, complete with singing, dancing and audience participation. The show brings some of Sydney’s brightest comedy minds together to tear into the plot holes and implausibility of the familiar Christmas story, fleshing out everyone’s favourite Bible characters with exciting, much deserved backstories. Created by Nicholas McDougall (Plonk, The Feed) and Veronica Milsom (triple j, Shaun Micallef’s Mad As Hell), Good Lord! It’s Christmas! features the likes of Pat Magee (Improv Theatre School), Kristy Lee Peters (KLP) and Jon Williams (ITS Soap Opera). It runs from Tuesday December 8 – Thursday December 10 at Giant Dwarf.

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Mortido [THEATRE] The Deathly Hallows By Adam Norris

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any people may not be familiar with the term ‘mortido’, though they’ll likely be aware of its (arguably) more gratifying cousin. The libido is our sex drive, compelling us to ecstasy and adolescent awkwardness, while mortido is the death drive. It is formed by our shadow self, selfdestructive and fatalistic, and in Angela Betzien’s new play, Mortido, it forms the noose by which so many characters dangle. Actor David Valencia appreciates the universality of the theme, and finds his own villainous role particularly suited to the seduction of danger.

20:21 photo by Jeff Busby

“Mortido is the self-destructive desire for death, and that reveals itself throughout the play in many ways,” he explains. “The character I play, El Gallito, which is Spanish for ‘the little rooster’, is himself an omen of death. He’s an eerie vision of vengeance and violence. He is, in fact, mortido. For Jimmy [Tom Conroy], he embodies both the desire for sexual pleasure and for death. As Grubbe, played brilliantly

by Colin [Friels], says, we all have it. It’s something that we as artists have, it’s something the audience will recognise in themselves.”

While director Leticia Cáceres has assembled a uniformly strong cast, early anticipation is fixed to the reappearance of Friels on the Belvoir stage. Last time he trod the boards here in Death Of A Salesman, he walked away with the Helpmann Award for Best Actor.

Friels is a performer whose creative generosity is something Valencia very much admires, and is a trait the Columbian-born actor sees shared by another performer he has had the

fortune to experience first-hand – that young upstart, Kevin Spacey.

“Like every great actor, I think Kevin’s dedication to finding the truth of the moment, the heart of every one of the characters we’ve seen him play, is awe-inspiring,” says Valencia. “He’s much like Colin, who I’ve now had the pleasure of sharing a stage with. He’s an actor’s actor. These are actors who are still learning their craft, they’re still asking questions, they’re still trying to serve the writer rather than satisfy their own ego.

“Regarding Colin, he’s the most humble, generous man, someone I deeply respect and admire. I have had the privilege of seeing him play Mark Rothko in Red for MTC, and Willy Loman here at Belvoir. I remember sitting in that audience as a recent graduate thinking, ‘God, I look forward to the day I might get the chance to share the stage with this man.’ And here we are!” he laughs. “I feel absolutely fortunate to be able to say that.”

Having already met with glowing reviews for its premiere season in Adelaide, as Mortido arrives in Sydney it will experience an odd kind of homecoming. Despite a plot that arcs across the globe from Mexico to Germany, this has been billed as a quintessentially Sydney story, not simply in theme, but geography. With scenes set in Belvoir’s own stomping grounds, it will present a strikingly thin divide between street and stage.

“It is a Sydney tale, but ultimately it’s a global story,” Valencia explains.

“Angela does a sublime job of transporting us from the jungles

of Bolivia to the hipster nightclub scene in Germany, from the horror and miserable violence of Mexico to the affluent Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. She and our director Leticia are long-time collaborators, and they’re setting out to make political plays in a country where perhaps talking about politics at the dinner table is considered a bad manner.

So they put it up onstage, and it’s a courageous production, far removed from the live theatre we so often see gracing our stages. As an actor, that’s a gift, and is so exciting to tackle. Angela’s skill as a writer is giving a voice to the voiceless, and I believe her writing has the power to open up conversation and change perspective. If when you leave the theatre you have something to think about and discuss, I think we’ve

done our job. Ultimately, that’s what we’re doing it for.”

Despite addressing dark and at times disturbing themes, Mortido seems far removed from productions that seek to generate buzz or court controversy through gratuitous imagery and character. Rather than sensationalise crime and addiction, it attempts to reveal the grim reality of everyday lives caught up in the machinery of the drug war; a reality that is not so distant from our lives as we might like to think.

“What Angela is trying to plant in an audience’s mind is the true cost of our privileged first-world lives.

What I mean by that is, for every individual snorting a line of coke at the Ivy, there is a kid or a struggling

mother getting stuck trying to get it across the border. It’s hard to talk about all of this without sounding like a puritan, but it is something that as a society we can’t turn a blind eye to. It’s also a story that hits very personally for me, having grown up in Colombia.

“I think it’s a play that transcends Australian everyday life. It speaks of the current war on drugs, and deals with the mules, the peddlers, the users. It’s a very important play, and one that we hope will, in whatever way, connect with an audience.”

What: Mortido Where: Belvoir St Theatre When: Until Thursday December 17

Grey Gardens [MUSICAL THEATRE] All Things Big And Little By Kate Robertson Kennedy Onassis.

Artistic director Jay James-Moody describes the documentary as the story of two outcasts from a wealthy family. “[Over the years] the fi nancial support fell away and all their social connections fell away, and they sort of languished in this house as it crumbled around them,” he says. “They became very co-dependent on one another, they had a very interesting and eccentric relationship with each other, and they continued to live in the house with hundreds of cats and raccoons in the ceiling and no running water – they lived like that for about 30 years.”

Doug Wright’s stage adaptation of the fi lm is “incredibly creative and clever”, says James-Moody. “The first act is set 30 years before the documentary, and it sort of captures an hour in the lives of BE and LE when they were right on the cusp of losing their status and fi nancial security, and sort of starting them on a journey as to where they’ll end up, as depicted in the documentary. So we see them sort of at the height of their wealth, and really enjoying their lives in the beautiful Grey Gardens before it begins to crumble. In the second act, we jump 30 years; it’s pretty much a staged version of the documentary, but with songs.

S

quabbalogic Independent Musical Theatre’s Grey Gardens is the first musical based on a documentary. Adapted from the eponymous cult fi lm of 1975, this show explores the fascinating relationship between Big Edie and Little Edie – a mother and daughter living in the derelict

18 :: BRAG :: 638 :: 11:11:15

New York manor named Grey Gardens. Properly known as Mrs. and Miss Edith Bouvier Beale, the pair became infamous because of the outrage aroused by their dilapidated property, which was fuelled by the fact they were the aunt and first cousin, respectively, of former First Lady Jacqueline

“Both acts are very compelling, and for different reasons. If you’re a fan of the film, or you have seen the film, the way they have taken everything from the documentary and put it into a theatrical setting is incredibly clever, and it retains many of the iconic moments from that documentary, and musicalises a lot of them.”

Although the subject matter of Grey Gardens is joyful enough for the musical treatment, it’s sincere.

“It’s not a spoof in any way; it treats those women and their story with a lot of sympathy and reverence,” says James-Moody.

“It’s still very funny, because they’re funny women. Yes, they were eccentric, but they were funny – funny on purpose. They were entertaining. I think our play really captures the spirit of that, as well as the drama of two people who fell from grace in terms of losing their wealth and become isolated.”

The main focus of the musical, then, is the relationship between its two protagonists. “It’s so deep,” says the director. “They rely on each other and need each other so much. They were smart, warm, complex women.”

Not that the Edies didn’t bring a bit of showbiz to their original fi lmic portrayal. “They’re playing for the camera a little bit,” JamesMoody says. “I think people sort of superfi cially might think they’re crazy ladies, but I think they’re smarter than people give them credit for. I think they were very, very aware of the documentary, and creating a bit of drama for it.”

As for Squabbalogic’s motivation behind taking the story on, JamesMoody says the reasoning was simple. “We were always trying to fi nd something that was really characters-driven. These are some of the most interesting characters that you’ll ever come across. And the fact that they’re based on real people as well, and that we have that little window into their history by being able to see those women through the

documentary, and being able to explore a little bit of their world, it’s something that I really wanted to dig into and put a great cast around it and get a chance to explore a fascinating little slice of history.

“The characters are so intriguing and larger than life, [with] many layers to them. Being able to explore that with actors and ask the questions about what led to their lives ending up as they did is something that really drew me to it. And the music is really beautiful – it’s a really complex, emotive score.”

Crucial to portraying the Grey Gardens story was casting the right actors. “The way that the casting is structured is really interesting,” James-Moody explains. “We’ve got three women essentially sharing two roles throughout the play. Beth Daly plays both the mother and daughter at different ages – in the first half of the show, she plays Edith, the mother, and Caitlin Berry plays LE, and in the second half of the show, Beth plays LE 30 years older and Maggie Blinco plays BE.” Daly faces a particular challenge in “playing these two iconic women, and having to get into the mindset of both of them,” JamesMoody says. “She’s so fantastic, and the chemistry between her and the other women that she shares the stage with, and the rest of the cast, is really interesting.”

What: Grey Gardens Where: Seymour Centre When: Wednesday November 18 – Saturday December 12 thebrag.com

Film & Theatre Reviews Robot Opera image courtesy of Wade Marynowsky

Hits and misses on the silver screen and bareboards around town

■ Performance Art

ROBOT OPERA Played at Carriageworks from Wednesday October 28 – Sunday November 1 as part of Liveworks 2015 Branch Nebula to craft an immersive work in which eight automatons, differentiated only by pulsing light patterns, guide the audience through a song and dance that is both inclusive and confrontational.

Earbuds are handed out before the performance as an indicator of the sonic assault that awaits from musician Julian Knowles. His huge, percussive soundtrack dominates proceedings and is perfectly suited to the cavernous spaces of Carriageworks.

Robot Opera Experimental performance art often has the feel of a taster – you’re given the hints of something great, even transformative, but it’s gone all too soon. Wade Marynowsky’s technology-laden collaboration has this air to it, as it indicates

both engineering precision and depth of thought, but is over as quickly as it starts.

Marynowsky has brought together noise art, robotics and the spatial sensitivities of Performance Space alumni

The robots themselves do not showcase much individual personality beyond the distinctive patterning, but this is of course part of the work’s charm. The real performance is left to the audience members – once they work out the specifics of the machines before them, it’s their interactions that drive the work forward. There’s something intensely magnetic to seeing ourselves through the lens of these machines, and it’s fascinating to see people shift

and change once observed.

Though not often a work of great physicality, the unexpected can happen in any show of this nature, as evidenced by seeing a spinning bot knock a man nearly off his feet. The slight danger of being in the space with these machines is a thrill, mitigated by the presence of controllers high above the show floor.

As the last machine comes to a halt and flickers out, it dawns that the work has barely spanned more than half an hour – disappointing, considering the efforts put into it. As is, it feels better suited to an installationstyle work in public space, as opposed to an individually ticketed, standalone show.

Marynowsky’s bots do not outstay their welcome, and in fact leave far too soon. Baroque yet brief, this opera has more to offer.

David Molloy

■ Film

SCOUTS GUIDE TO THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE In cinemas now Hey kids! Wanna know about rape culture?

Why not check out Scouts Guide To The Zombie Apocalypse?

All of this mind-boggling originality comes from writer/director Christopher Landon, whose achievements to date including writing four of the Paranormal Activity films, directing one (The Marked Ones), and penning Shia LaBeouf snoozer Disturbia.

But this is not a gross-out kind of film. It’s not shocking, it doesn’t make you squirm, and it doesn’t even revel in embarrassment like its peers. It just loves exploiting women. Zombie strippers? Why not have one of them do a striptease? Big-breasted zombie cop? Why not have her shirt ripped off so that our intrepid heroes can feel her up? Why not call the old lady a bitch before killing her? Or – wait for it – throw in some undead cunnilingus?

A Girl With Sun In Her Eyes photo © Kate Williams

Glebe Street Fair 2015 Glebe Point Road, Sunday November 15

Scouts Guide To The Zombie Apocalypse One could make a convincing argument about the dehumanisation that is part and parcel of zombie fi lms. When stripped of its humanity, the body is devalued and objectifi ed so that we can make it a site of violence guilt-free. The female body in this fi lm is a thing to be toyed with. But tell that to Landon and he’ll laugh until he throws up money.

Are you into zombies? Hungry for a laugh?

Keen on coming-of-age fl icks? Watch the far superior Zombieland. Or you could go straight to the fi lms that Scouts Guide directly rips off – Braindead, Shaun Of The Dead and Re-Animator, to name but a

few. And don’t think that Landon is paying homage, because there’s no love for genre, and no nudge-nudge-wink-wink afoot. Just grounds for copyright infringement.

Two jokes land in the fi lm, and both are gore-related. This is not a compliment for a fi lm marketed as a comedy. In fact, this is not a fi lm. This is a cum-encrusted sock that you are paying to have draped across your eyes. Appropriate, really, because if you have any genuine desire to see this movie, you can get fucked.

David Molloy

Arts Exposed What's in our diary...

The Sydney suburb of Glebe will be buzzing with food trucks, music and art this weekend, as 100,000 people are expected to attend the annual edition of the Glebe Street Fair. Event partners Broadway Shopping Centre will be hosting a Block Party at the Peter Forsyth Basketball Court to coincide with the festivities, boasting a lineup of Ngaiire, Polographia, Dr. Motte, Richard In Your Mind and New Venusians. Meanwhile, at the Street Fair proper, there’ll be market stalls as far as the eye can see, the Eat Art Truck, and a bar brought to you by the Rocks Brewing Company. And if you consider yourself more of a jazz cat, check out Jazz on the Green from the Sydney Improvised Music Association.

Entry is free from 10am. For more info, see glebe. com.au/streetfair. thebrag.com

■ Theatre

A GIRL WITH SUN IN HER EYES Playing at the Old Fitz Theatre until Saturday November 14 Having navigated the bustling backstreets and neon-lit doorways of Kings Cross on a Saturday night to get to the Old Fitz, the seedy south-side-ofChicago setting of Joshua Rollins’ A Girl With Sun In Her Eyes doesn’t seem so far away.

This gritty little missing-cop mystery plays out like all your favourite Netflix police procedurals, packing box sets’ worth of tension and twists into little over an hour. There are the classic tropes of said shows – a good cop/bad cop pairing, red herrings and a suspect who keeps you guessing – plus the familiar stark noir atmosphere of Scandinavian crime thrillers created by the minimal stage set-up, ominous soundtrack and strip lighting.

It’s 6am and an undercover female police officer (Kate Williams) posing as a prostitute has been missing for several hours. The last person known to have seen her is here in the interrogation room being grilled by her former colleague (Martin Crewes) and his partner (Kai Paynter).

Ben (Tye Sheridan) is a Nice Guy torn between his two best friends – Augie (Joey Morgan), a scouting enthusiast trapped in pre-pubescence, and Carter (Logan Miller), a loathsome little weed obsessed with getting laid. They’re forced to grow up just that little bit faster when faced with a full-blown end-of-theworld scenario, and the dead come to life.

You know the landscape: both the teenage boy coming-of-age tale and the zombie genre are now stock-standard, and more drenched in cliché than blood and/or semen. And of course the gross-out aesthetic of both makes them perfectly matched. Right?

A Girl With Sun In Her Eyes

Jeremy Waters has some serious acting chops as the unlucky everyman, who after a booze-fuelled bachelor party finds himself the prime suspect in the case. He’s just a good guy in a very bad situation. A hapless anti-hero who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or is there more to him than that?

Waters manages to draw both sympathy and suspicion from the audience, leaving them guessing until the end.

And what’s the involvement of the other suspect (Ezekiel Simat), who has a known connection to the missing cop?

Will we ever find out if his hard-nosed lawyer (Gabrielle Rogers) gets her way?

The action unfolds through flashbacks and a series of interrogation-room encounters, each fast-paced scene cutting to darkness with a humdinger of a cliffhanger. In these pauses while props are moved about, the pace slows somewhat, especially for an audience used to ‘autoplay next episode’.

Nevertheless, we are almost always on the edge of our seats.

As the plot thickens, the shouted curses sometimes get a bit too frequent, and there’s some disbelief to suspend during the action scenes – it’s here live theatre can’t compete with the expensive production and camera work of studio serials. But no matter. There’s much more depth here and a magnetic leading man without compare.

A Girl With Sun In Her Eyes is an ugly tale about fate and missteps. What if we’d been a moment earlier? Taken a piss instead of having a cigarette? It’s a scummy backstreet Sliding Doors.

Take that fork in the road towards seeing it.

George Nott

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out & about

Game On Gaming news with Adam Guetti

Queer(ish) matters with Lucy Watson

Lego and superheroes are often like bread and butter to the video game world, so you should be very excited at the prospect of the two combining for a seriously unique proposition. Setting up shop inside the Powerhouse Museum, The Art Of The Brick: DC Comics sees legendary Lego artist Nathan Sawaya use literally hundreds of thousands of bricks to create large-scale sculptures of the most popular DC heroes and villains. That includes the likes of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Joker and Harley Quinn. The blockbuster runs from Saturday November 21 – Sunday May 1 and tickets can be purchased via Ticketek.

WHAT'S ON

THE ART OF THE BRICK: DC COMICS

DOCTOR WHO FESTIVAL 2015

If you’re a hardcore Whovian than you surely know the Doctor has made a surprisingly large amount of video game appearances in his lifetime. Sure, most of them are pretty terrible, but that shouldn’t stop you from showing some love for the world-saving Time Lord at the official Doctor Who Festival. Taking over the Royal Hall Of Industries and Hordern Pavilion on Saturday November 21 and Sunday November 22, this is the first time the event has made it to our shores and will feature the show’s latest star, Peter Capaldi. You can pick up last-minute tickets now from Ticketek.

Review: Halo 5: Guardians (XBO)

E

veryone should remember their first visit to a gay bar. Perhaps you were underage, sneaking into the Columbian to get a taste of what life could be like.

Maybe you were older, accompanying a friend who’d just come out. Maybe you were visiting Sydney from somewhere else, heard Oxford Street was a good place to go, and stumbled unwittingly into the Midnight Shift. Or maybe you’ve been living in Sydney your whole life, walking past Taylor Square on your way to school, and so your first visit inside one of those dingy bars was an entirely forgettable, everyday experience.

I grew up in regional Australia, living both a closeted and sheltered life. We had two nightclubs in my town, one above a shopping mall and next door to some legal offices, and one below the same shopping mall, next to the car park. So when heading out for a night, the question was literally, “Upstairs or down?” We had one taxi rank, goon sunrises on the menu at the local pub (for $2.40), and we were imposing lockouts long before they were cool.

I moved away when I was 18, heading overseas to Brighton, the UK’s gay capital. At this point I was still closeted, and still pretty sheltered. The girls I moved in with and I were quickly told that a rainbow fl ag at the entrance to a bar meant it was a gay bar. Absolutely fascinated by this (again, sheltered life), we followed this to the letter, including the converse – if it didn’t have a rainbow fl ag out the front, it couldn’t possibly be a gay bar, because that was against The Rule!

A

s Microsoft’s flagship Xbox franchise, there’s a hell of a lot of pressure behind every Halo title, and Halo 5: Guardians (the first on the new console) is no exception. Thankfully, fans needn’t worry too much, because this is the same Halo you’ve come to know and love – even if isn’t able to reach the grand heights of its predecessors.

Much like Halo 4 before it, Guardians’ main drawback is its narrative. Overly focused on established backstory, developer 343 Industries isn’t able to suck you in as much as the team surely hoped – relying heavily on your affection for the series and the tomes of lore that accompany it. It may also come as a shock that the main portion of the game is actually through the space soldier shoes of Jameson Locke – the man leading Fireteam Osiris in the search for Master Chief. You’ll still control the iconic figure, but he lacks the screentime he so sorely deserves, and that fans surely expect.

Thankfully, things get onto more stable ground with Guardian’s great multiplayer suite. The franchise has always excelled

at its matchmaking and online experience, and Halo 5 is no exception, thanks in large part to the addition of Warzone. A brand new mode, Warzone brings the fight to its competitors by throwing up to 24 players on expansive maps while causing absolute chaos.

A considered evolution of the old Big Team Battle set up, each varying map presents the opportunity for multiple routes and ways to rack up points. Standard Spartan kills, base captures and AI ‘boss’ threats are all up for grabs, each of which offers a different sized reward. Deciding whether to go after cheap and easy kills or attempt to put it all on the line by dedicating more manpower to a dangerous, time-consuming adventure is a thrill and allows for a great deal of strategy to be tossed around the battlefield.

At the end of the day, though its story won’t win any awards, Halo 5 is still one of the prettiest and most polished shooters on the market. Xbox One owners, take notice.

Adam Guetti

With games continuing to fly onto store shelves in time for the holiday season, here are some of the biggest titles you should be keeping an eye on…

PS4, XBO, PC After copping a fairly brutal beating with Assassin’s Creed: Unity, Ubisoft’s follow-up, the London-based Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate, is a much-improved beast.

Movement is smoother, the twin dynamic between protagonists Evie and Jacob Frye presents a healthy amount of variation and game-breaking bugs won’t spoil your mood. Sure, the combat can get a touch repetitive, but it’s great to see the series pick itself up again.

20 :: BRAG :: 638 :: 11:11:15

Finally, we found a bar with no rainbow fl ag out the front. Success! The bright purple exterior and pink neon lights were defi nitely a heterosexual safehaven. We joined the queue of well-dressed men, oblivious, still tasting the faint petrol fl avour that was on the £6 vodka’s tasting notes. We get to the front and learn there’s a £7 cover. That’s substantially more than the $5 cover at ‘Downstairs’ I was used to. We paid it anyway. We’d already drunk too much;

As soon as we headed inside, climbing the stairs to the club, the rainbow fl ags appeared. The staircase was adorned with them. “But they weren’t outside!” we cried. “We’ve been deceived!” But we paid £7, so we were going on.

The dancefl oor was full of sweaty men with their shirts tucked into their back pockets. The bartenders were a twinky man and a dykey woman, both wearing vests, underwear and boots, sporting fauxhawks. We stood in a corner, watching what I would later come to realise was possibly the most stereotypical gay bar experience I could have possibly had for my first time. The drag queens came out, wearing tall pink wigs, lip-syncing to ‘It’s Raining Men’.

The bartenders abandoned the bar to serve as back-up dancers, twirling their way through some impressively punchy moves with their matching fauxhawks staying strong, the cans of hairspray holding them firmly in place.

A group of women glanced at me and smiled. I hadn’t noticed, but my very afraid, very Christian housemate had.

“Lucy, those women are staring at you.”

“Are they? I hadn’t noticed.”

“Yes, we need to leave.”

“Why?” “Because those lesbians are staring at you.”

“It’s not a big deal, let’s just have a dance.”

And with that, my very Christian and I now realised very homophobic housemate started to cry. (If she could see me now, I lament almost daily.) We left before the drag queens could do their second show. I waved and grinned at the lesbians as we left, to spite my awful housemate.

In the cab ride home, I asked the cabbie if we could put the radio on. A breaking news bulletin informed us that Heath Ledger had been found dead in his New York apartment. My housemate’s quiet tears turned to heavier sobs, presumably mourning the evening’s loss of both our Heath and her innocence.

this week…

Review Round-Up

Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate

Heading out for one of our first nights on the town, we did what all 18-year-olds do, and drank cheap vodka at home first until we were already tanked, and then caught the bus into town. Arriving at the nightclub precinct (we would later learn we were at the Oxford Street equivalent), we walked around. Rainbow fl ag, rainbow fl ag, rainbow fl ag. All of these bars were strictly off-limits, being the robustly heterosexual teenagers we were (ha).

it wasn’t like we were going to spend much more money that night.

Guitar Hero Live

Just Dance 2016

PS4, XBO, Wii U, PS3, 360

PS4, XBO, Wii U, PS3, 360, Wii

We already have a new Rock Band, so it was inevitable we would be graced with another Guitar Hero as well. Unlike Rock Band 4, however, Guitar Hero Live does well to mix things up via its brand new guitar peripheral. The rejigged button layout (adding two rows of three buttons towards the top of the neck) offers up a fun new way to play and a fresh challenge, even for series veterans. GH TV (a 24/7 broadcast of playable music videos), on the other hand, should be the perfect aid for parties, but gets slightly bogged down in its microtransaction-heavy nature.

Seven games in, you pretty much know exactly what you’re in for with a new Just Dance game, and Just Dance 2016 doesn’t disprove the rule. Whip out some moves to the latest chart-toppers (like ‘Uptown Funk’), earn points and have a good time with your friends.

This year’s big calling card is the ability to play with your smartphone through the new Just Dance Controller. It’s a brilliant idea that should entice even more people towards the action, but it’s certainly not for everyone and series fence-sitters are likely to remain unconvinced.

Burley Chassis

This Wednesday November 11 sees another instalment of Kings Cross Library’s Late Night Library. This time, it’s a panel discussion with the good people of Archer Magazine, ahead of their launch of issue number five.

The discussion will be around the impact of place on one’s identity, and features a range of contributors to the magazine.

On Friday November 13, get to 90 Liverpool Street for the next instalment of Girlthing. It’ll feature all the regular DJs, including Ariane and a performance from Burley Chassis.

Then on Sunday November 15, head to the Red Rattler for Pony Up, a pole dancing and comedy show hosted by Ground Up, with all proceeds going to indigenous communities in Western Australia. Yolanda Be Cool will play a DJ set.

Yolanda Be Cool

thebrag.com

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

ALBUM OF THE WEEK CITY CALM DOWN

making it obvious just how much effort the Melburnians have put into this project. Singer Jack Bourke’s unmistakable baritone is the clincher, setting the album apart from being just another Australian indie rock record.

City Calm Down burst onto the scene in 2012 with their EP Movements, making quite the impression before falling silent for almost three years. Turns out the boys are perfectionists, and wrote over 60 songs before choosing the 11 they saw fit to release on an album. It’s certainly paid off.

Producer Malcolm Beasley has done a great job in pushing the band to explore a more organic sound, with the addition of organs and horns creating a grandiose, full feel.

In A Restless House I Oh You

A mature debut album driven by a baritone voice and evident passion.

CITIZEN KAY With The People Asphalt/MGM

You’d be forgiven if you thought you had stumbled upon a late ’80s/ early ’90s hip hop album rather than Citizen Kay’s debut With The People. It’s an album with strong era influences, shown with a smattering of funk in ‘Our World’ and the Karate Kid-inspired ‘Wax On Wax Off’. This old-school vibe allows attention to be drawn to the simplicity of the lyrics, which at times do border on predictable, but thankfully the album dives deeper than the shallow waters.

‘No Respect’ feels like a genuine throwback rather than an imitation thanks to the incredible vocals of Sarsha Simone, while ‘Let You Go’ showcases a more vulnerable side to Citizen Kay than anticipated. The album takes an emotional risk on ‘My Father (Interlude)’, a spokenword dialogue between Kay and his father about their emigration to Australia. It pays off, allowing Kay’s psychedelic response ‘Dreamin’’ and the jazz-heavy ‘Family Ties’ featuring Miracle and Kay’s brother Genesis Owusu to really shine.

However, With The People doesn’t languish in the emotional for long, quickly bringing back the soul party vibes with the organ-heavy track ‘The Reverend’.

In A Restless House is an album that should be listened to in full – if nothing else, the title of the opening track ‘Intro’ gives this away. The songs feed off one another,

If you need more convincing to give this album a listen, do it for the raw emotion that Bourke’s voice conveys – it’s enough to make your sexual organs weep.

Tegan Reeves

MAPLES

HALF MOON RUN

LOON LAKE

Porridge & Hotsauce You Am I/Inertia

Two Worlds Dream Gold/MGM

Sun Leads Me On Indica/MGM

Low Res Independent

It’s been five years since You Am I last put out a new album, and while some of the intervening time was spent looking back (both through reissues and album playback shows), those hoping the trip down memory lane might inspire a return to the sounds of Hi Fi Way or Hourly, Daily probably need to stop living in the past and get out more.

Dead Letter Chorus vocalist Gabby Huber has stepped out on her own under the moniker of Maples, and the new name seems fitting. She’s bathed in dappled sunlight on the record’s cover, and you can hear it washing through every track, filtered through the oh-so-familiar canopy of singer-songwriter heartache.

Canadian lads Half Moon Run are back, using the same recipe that brought them success with their 2012 release Dark Eyes. Their new full-length venture Sun Leads Me On contains more of the fourpart harmonies, coupled with some clean, crisp rim shots that we have come to know this band for. The question that remains here is, does Sun Leads Me On live up to the expectations that many held for Half Moon Run after their debut? Short answer: no.

The Loon Lake story proper started from humble beginnings in 2009.

The time since has seen the Melbourne cast of five eventually evolve both above and under the radar, sharing bills with the likes of Girls and Cage The Elephant, among others who have earned a space on bedroom walls. Come 2015, the band publicised its amicable decision to hang up guitars on this six-year love affair.

The division, however, would not be complete without unveiling one last parting gift.

YOU AM I

Porridge & Hotsauce, the band’s tenth studio effort, is a set of tunes that pack quite a kick. The opening trio of ‘Good Advices’, ‘Bon Vivants’ and ‘No, A Minor Blue’ are a masterclass in strutting power-pop, while ‘Two Hands’ finds Tim Rogers tapping back into the soul well he explored on his other release for 2015, the collaboration with The Bamboos, The Rules Of Attraction.

It’s not all rockers, of course, as ‘One Drink At A Time’ and ‘Daemons’ take a turn into a lusher, more introspective territory.

Guitarist Davey Lane gets to step into the lead singer’s position for the first time on a couple of tracks, the frenetic ‘Out To The Never, Now’ and the snotty ‘Buzz The Boss’.

In going solo, Huber is showcasing more vulnerability than ever before.

It may be down to knowing she’s in safe hands, with the likes of Dave Symes, Timothy Whitten and Julian Hamilton producing, mixing and co-writing. But there’s a confidence to her songwriting, and she’s wholly unafraid of wearing her influences on her sleeve. The opening tracks showcase Huber’s eclecticism, dancing nimbly from the ethereality of Enya in ‘Be Free (Two Worlds)’ to the single ‘Stars’ and onto Fiona Apple-style piano stabbing in ‘Ever Longing’.

Disappointingly, the album never seems to go anywhere – if this collection were a person, they would be the poor sod who didn’t get the memo about the party being fancy dress, and now have to endure the night in their conservative smart/casual get-up.

Adding to the awkwardness is the inclusion of a number of bluesand-rootsy guitar solos that end up feeling clunky and tacked on.

Despite the comfort and assurance, as the synths start to fade, the album drifts into a rhythm. For a while, the sense of adventure is absent, but it eases back in with the marimba-driven ‘Hey Boy’ and the closer, ‘There Is A Light’.

Perhaps some of the most beautiful moments on the album are when it is stripped back to Dylan Phillips’ drumming and the vocal harmonies that Half Moon Run do so well.

Low Res was formed as a ‘back to basics’ vehicle, accumulating over six years of recordings to become Loon Lake’s second and final album. Ironically, this is the band’s most vibrant output to date.

Drums are notably brought out of the background here, an element formerly untapped in the band’s previous catalogue. ‘Maria’, ‘Radiator’ and ‘Surfin’’ aren’t just the most striking songs; their clever placement toward the beginning, middle and end throws the listener head-first into spurts of percussion.

The emotional peaks help maintain a human element, but this debut is a soulful call for celebration.

You Am I have delivered their best album in a decade. It’s the sound of a revitalised band firing on all cylinders.

With its mixture of nostalgic synths, instrumental diversity, genre experimentation and lush vocals, Maples’ debut record is a splendid slice of pop ambiance.

It’s an album that serves well as inoffensive background music, but lacks the punch needed to catapult the band into the bigtime.

The thrash attitude may be slightly bothersome for some, but it’s within the shifting dynamic outbursts that dominate Loon Lake’s aesthetic that the pleasures of this farewell can be found.

Iain McKelvey

Michael Hartt

David Molloy

Tegan Reeves

Kiera Thanos

INDIE ALBUM OF THE WEEK Troubled with tangents of materialism, overbearing law enforcement, love and even extra-terrestrial encounters, the 13 tracks on Armwrestling Atlas see Perth’s poignant lyricist Mathas cover immense ground set against the backdrop of classic and revised hip hop beats.

MATHAS Armwrestling Atlas Big Village

thebrag.com

A mixture of lavish, witty rhetoric and amusing skits that are littered throughout, this album’s localisation of its subject matter is the real headturner. Third track ‘Doctorshopping’ is a prime example, with an older, wiser Mathas rationalising a youth’s need for drug use with his own experience in mind. ‘Puppies In Fish Tanks – Redux’ shows yet another side, one with a more apocalyptic vibe and filled with questions about making “Everything replaceable / How long until it’s

humans? / How long until it’s us?”

‘King Ponce’, with its selfdepreciating lyrics and satirical skit, emanates vibes of disgust, whereas ‘Interplanetary Relations’ holds vivid imagery with a euphoric lift into the sweet final verse. But nothing even compares to ‘Nourishment’. The subject matter alone, and the point of view it adopts, make it one of the most captivating and honest Australian songs of our time.

With the only questionable track being ‘Free Shit’ (does the tempo really do the subject matter justice?), this album solidifies the fact Mathas is underrated beyond belief.

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

SARAH BLASKO - Eternal Return STEVE POLTZ - Live At The Belly Up THE DEAD WEATHER - Horehound

JAKE BUGG - Jake Bugg THE NATIONAL - High Violet

Chelsea Deeley BRAG :: 638 :: 11:11:15 :: 21

BARS BRAG

– Fri noon-midnight; Sat 5pm-midnight 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

The Australian Heritage Hotel 100 Cumberland St, The Rocks (02) 9247 2229 Mon – Sun 10.30am-midnight Balcony Bar 46 Erskine St, Sydney CBD (02) 9299 3526 Mon 5pm - late; Tue – Fri noon-midnight; Sat 5pm-midnight BAR100 100 George St, The Rocks (02) 8070 9311 Mon – Thu noon-late; Fri – Sat noon-3am; Sun noon-midnight

Bar Eleven Lvl 11, 161 Sussex St, Sydney CBD (02) 9290 4712 Thu 4-9pm; Fri – Sat 4-11pm The Barber Shop 89 York St, Sydney CBD (02) 9299 9699 Mon – Wed, Sat 4pm-midnight; Thurs – Fri 3pm-midnight Basement 33 Basement, 27-33 Goulburn St, Sydney CBD (02) 8970 5813 Mon – Thu 5pm-late 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 11.30am-11.30pm; Sat 5.30-11.30pm Frankie’s Pizza 50 Hunter St, Sydney CBD

SLYFOX

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 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

bar bar

OF

ADDRESS: 199 ENMORE ROAD, ENMORE PHONE NUMBER: (02) 9557 2917 WEBSITE: SLYFOX.SYDNEY OPENING HOURS: TUE – SAT 2PM-LATE

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

TH

EK

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

Mon – Fri noon-3am; Sat – Sun 4pm-3am

E

WE

5pm-late The Fox Hole 68A Erskine St, Sydney CBD (02) 9279 4369 Mon 7am-3pm; Tue – Fri 7am-evening The Grasshopper 1 Temperance Ln, Sydney CBD (02) 9947 9025 Mon – Thurs & Sat 4pm-late; Fri noon-late Harpoon Harry 40-44 Wentworth Ave, Sydney CBD (02) 8262 8800 Mon – Sun 11:30am-3am The Lobo Plantation Basement Lot 1, 209 Clarence St, Sydney CBD 0415 554 908 Mon – Thu, Sat 4pm-midnight; Fri 2pm-midnight The Loft UTS 15 Broadway, Sydney (behind 2SER) (02) 9514 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

Tell us about your bar: The new reincarnation has seen a bright and cheerful redesign and a big and ballsy Funktion-One sound system land at our Enmore Road venue. A strong 1970s design direction brings a playful ‘key party’ aesthetic to the front lounge area with mismatched rich textured lounges, shagpile carpet, jungle wallpaper and low-hanging patterned lamp shades.

Out the back, a striking forest mural by local artist DC Willans behind the retro electronics DJ booth and a canopy of

DMX-controlled lamps lends a touch of festival energy to the dancefloor end of the venue.

Care for a drink?

Try the Sly Espresso Martini, made from in-house Campos cold drip coffee, topped off with a fiery finish of Chartreuse.

Sounds?

At the risk of quoting Craig David – what’s your flavour? Tuesday hosts a smooth blend of chill-out music (think: trip hop, downbeat hip hop, dub reggae, deep disco and dancehall) spun by some of Sydney’s most eclectic selectors.

Returning to where they began, Birdcage brings with it a wild Wednesday lesbian midweek homohaven at the hands of residents Sveta, Natnoiz and Cunningpants, also regularly hosting weekly guests.

Highlights: Stroll on in for a late-night cocktail, pull up a velour couch under a dimly lit lampshade and limber up alongside a quality soundtrack. Whether you’re here to catch a live act, slow slung basslines or just soothing reggae rhythms, you can be certain it’s going to sound super crisp. Our late night, low-light music emporium will be providing the Inner West with a refuge for creatures of the night from all walks of life in a truly unique space unlike any other in Sydney.

On Fridays, a rotating lineup of Sydney’s best promoters present a varied selection of disco, house, techno, soul, funk, progressive and anything else that gets a dancefloor moving.

What’s on the menu?

We’re just adding the final touches and cherry on top of the new kitchen that’s going in, and will be revealing all shortly. We’ll have to leave your mouth watering a little longer – but rest assured, you haven’t seen anything like this in Sydney! In the interim we’ve teamed up with one of Sydney’s most highly regarded traditional pizzerias, Manoosh, to offer the perfect pairing for a glass of red, a cold frostie one or a shot of tequila.

For those with a little higher taste palate, we do a monthly Friday night wine tasting, cheese and fruit platter event, Goon And Coon, and goon it’s not!

Foxlife is the Sly’s signature night focused on deep and rolling house basslines. Saturdays are piloted by

The bill comes to: You’ll see change from a 20 dollar note.

Like it live and loud? Every Thursday is Live At The Sly, where Cash Williams and Matt Stuart (previously at The Basement) curate three to four live and local acts to give the Funktion-One sound system a good workout.

22 :: BRAG :: 638 :: 11:11:15

residents Rabbit Taxi, Mesan and head honcho Kerry Wallace, with Sydney’s most highly regarded selectors as guests and even the occasional unannounced international.

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 Small Bar 48 Erskine St, Sydney CBD (02) 9279 0782 Mon – Fri noon-midnight; Sat 5pm-midnight The Smoking Panda 5-7 Park St, Sydney CBD (02) 9264 4618 Wed – Sat 4pm-late Stitch Bar 61 York St, Sydney CBD (02) 9279 0380 Mon – Wed 4pm-midnight; Thu – Fri noon-2am; Sat 4pm-2am The Swinging Cat 44 King St, Sydney CBD (02) 9262 3696 Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight Tapa Vino 6 Bulletin Place, Circular Quay (02) 9247 3221 Mon – Fri noon-11.30pm Uncle Ming’s 55 York St, Sydney CBD Mon – Fri noon-midnight; Sat 5pm-midnight York Lane 56 Clarence St, Sydney CBD (02) 9299 1676 Mon – Wed 6.30am-10pm; Thu – Fri 6.30pm-midnight; Sat 6pm-midnight

121BC 4/50 Holt St, Surry Hills (02) 9699 1582 Tue – Sat 5pm-midnight Absinthe Salon 87 Albion St, Surry Hills (02) 9211 6632 Wed – Sat 4-10pm Arcadia Liquors 7 Cope St, Redfern (02) 8068 4470 Mon – Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm

– 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 The Cliff Dive 16-18 Oxford Square, Darlinghurst Wed – Sat 6pm-4am The Commons 32 Burton St, Darlinghurst (02) 9358 1487 Tue – Wed 6pm-late; Thu – Fri 12pm-late; Sat – Sun 6pm-late The Darlie Laundromatic 304 Palmer St, Darlinghurst Mon – Sat 5pm-11pm Darlo Bar 306 Liverpool St, Darlinghurst (02) 9331 3672 Mon – Sun 10am-midnight 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 The Forresters 336 Riley St, Surry Hills (02) 9212 3035 Mon – Wed noonmidnight; Thu – Sat noon1am; Sun noon-10pm Gardel’s Bar 358 Cleveland St, Surry Hills (02) 8399 1440 Tue – Sat 6pm-midnight

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

Gazebo 2 Elizabeth Bay Rd, Elizabeth Bay (02) 9357 5333 Mon – Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat – Sun noon-midnight

Bar H 80 Campbell St, Surry Hills (02) 9280 1980 Mon – Sat 6pm-late; Sun 11am-3pm

Golden Age Cinema & Bar 80 Commonwealth St, Surry Hills (02) 9211 1556 Mon - Sun 11am-9pm

Bellini Lounge 2 Kellett St, Potts Point 0432 241 556 Thu – Sun 6pm-late

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 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

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 thebrag.com

COCKTAIL OF THE WEEK

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

(02) 8020 6698 Tue – Sat 5pm-midnight; Sun 3pm-10pm

Pour it in your mouth-hole... (responsibly).

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

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

Shady Pines Saloon Shop 4, 256 Crown St, Darlinghurst Mon – Sun 4pm-midnight

Mr Moustache 75-79 Hall St, Bondi Beach (02) 9300 8892 Mon – Fri 5pm-11pm; Sat noon-11pm; Sun noon10pm

The Soda Factory 16 Wentworth Ave, Surry Hills (02) 8096 9120 Mon – Fri 5pm-3am; Sat – Sun 6pm-3am Surly’s 182 Campbell St, Surry Hills (02) 9331 3705 Tue – Sun 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

PEANUT BUTTER COLADA @ GRANDMA’S, 275 CLARENCE ST, SYDNEY Ingredients: • 50ml golden rum • 10ml lemon • 60ml homemade coco cream • 60ml fresh pineapple juice • 30ml roasted pineapple puree • 1 dessert spoon crunchy peanut butter Garnish: As much as possible – we go for pineapple wedge, a tiki swizzle stick and a parasol.

10am-midnight; Thu – Sat 10am-3am Hustle & Flow Bar 105 Regent St, Redfern (02) 9310 5593 Tue – Sat 5pm-midnight Li’l Darlin Darlinghurst 235 Victoria St, Darlinghurst (02) 8084 6100 Mon – Sun 4pm-late Li’l Darlin Surry Hills 420 Elizabeth St, Surry Hills (02) 9698 5488 Mon – Fri noon-late; Sat 4pm-late LL Wine and Dine 42 Llankelly Place Potts Point (02) 9356 8393 Mon – Thu 5pm-11pm; Fri – Sat noon-late; Sun 11am-10pm The Local Taphouse 122 Flinders St, Darlinghurst (02) 9360 0088 Mon – Wed noonmidnight; Thu – Sat noonmidnight; Sun noon-11pm Love, Tilly Devine thebrag.com

Origins: Ridiculed, revered and so misunderstood. Hailing from San Juan, Puerto Rico in the tiki era of the ’50s and ’60s, it has stood the test of time across the decades.

Method: Blend with ice.

Best drunk with: A chicken jaffle, of course During: Any time of year, it simply cannot fail but to put a huge smile on your face While wearing: A party (tiki) shirt And listening to: Toots and The Maytals More: grandmasbarsydney.com.au

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 (02) 9699 3177 Mon – Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm Old Growler 218 William St, Woolloomooloo 0422 911 650 Tue – Sat 5pm - midnight 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

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 noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm The Wild Rover 75 Campbell St, Surry Hills (02) 9280 2235 Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun noon-10pm The Winery 285A Crown St, Surry Hills (02) 9331 0833 Mon – Sun noon-midnight

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

32 St Pauls St in Randwick (@ The Spot) (02) 9398 6694 Mon – Sat 7am-midnight; Sun 7am-10pm Beach Road Hotel 71 Beach Rd, Bondi Beach (02) 9130 7247 Mon – Sat noon-1am; Sun 11am-10pm

The Print Room 11 Glenmore Rd, Paddington 0424 034 020 Wed – Fri 3pm-late; Sat 12pm-11pm, Sun 12pm-10pm

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

Queenie’s Upstairs 336 Riley St, Surry Hills (02) 9212 3035 Tue – Sat 6pm-late & Fri noon-3pm

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

Roosevelt 32 Orwell St, Potts Point 0423 203 119

The Corner House 281 Bondi Rd, Bondi

The Phoenix Hotel 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 Speakeasy 83 Curlewis St, Bondi (02) 9130 2020 Mon – Sat 5pm-11pm; Sat – Sun 4pm-10pm Spring Street Social (and Jam Gallery) Underground 195 Oxford St, Bondi Junction (02) 9389 2485 Tues – Sat 4pm-3am Stuffed Beaver 271 Bondi Rd, Bondi (02) 9130 3002 Mon – Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm

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 Bloodwood 416 King St, Newtown (02) 9557 7699 Tue – Wed 6pm-late; Thu – Sun 5pm-late Calaveras 324 King St, Newtown 0451 541 712 Wed – Sat 6pm-midnight The Chip Off The Old Block 3 Little Queen Street, Chippendale (02) 9318 0815 Tue – Sat 4pm-11pm Cornerstone Bar & Food 245 Wilson St, Eveleigh (02) 8571 9004 Sun – Wed 10am-5pm; Thu – Sat 10am-late Corridor 153A King St, Newtown 0405 671 002 Tue – Fri 3pm-midnight; Sat 1pm-midnight; Sun 1pm-10pm Cottage Bar & Kitchen 342 Darling St, Balmain (02) 8084 8185 Mon – Wed 5pm-midnight; Thu – Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-

10pm Different Drummer 185 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 9552 3406 Mon – Sat 4.30pm-late Doris & Beryl’s Bridge Club and Tea House 530 King St, Newtown Mon – Fri 5pm-midnight; Sat – Sun 5.30pm-midnight Earl’s Juke Joint 407 King St, Newtown Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun 4-10pm Freda’s 109 Regent St, Chippendale (02) 8971 7336 Tues – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun 4pm-10pm The Hideaway Bar 156 Enmore Rd, Enmore (02) 8021 8451 Tue– Thu 4pm-midnight; Fri – Sat noon-1am; Sun noon-10pm Hive Bar 93 Erskineville Rd, Erskineville (02) 9519 9911 Mon – Fri noon-midnight; Sat 11am-midnight; Sun 11am-10pm Kelly’s On King 285 King St, Newtown (02) 9565 2288 Mon – Fri 10am-2.30am; Sat 10am-3.30am; Sun 11am-11.30pm Knox Street Bar 21 Shepherd St, Chippendale Tue – Thu 4pm-l0pm; Fri – Sat 4pm-11pm

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

Your bar’s not here? Email: chris@thebrag. com (02) 9976 3030 Mon – Sat 8am-midnight; Sun 8am-10pm Honey Rider 230 Military Rd, Neutral 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

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

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

Sat 11pm-3pm & 6pm-midnight

The Local Bar 6/8 Young Ln, Neutral Bay (02) 9953 0027 Tue – Fri 11.30am-midnight; Sat 7am-midnight; Sun 7am-10pm

Timbah 375 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 9571 7005 Tue – Thu 4pm-10pm; Fri noon-11pm; Sat 3pm-11pm; Sun 4pm-8pm

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

Kuleto’s 157 King St, Newtown (02) 9519 6369 Mon – Sat 4pm-late; Thu – Sat 4pm-3am

Wilhelmina’s Liquid and Larder 332 Darling St Balmain (02) 8068 8762 Tues – Fri 5pm - late; Sat – Sun 8am - late

The Little Guy 87 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 8084 0758 Mon – Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat 1pm-midnight; Sun 3pm-10pm

The Workers Lvl 1, 292 Darling St, Balmain (02) 9555 8410 Thu – Sat 5pm-3am; Sun 2pm-late

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

Mary’s 6 Mary St, Newtown (02) 4995 9550 Mon – Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm

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

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

The Midnight Special 44 Enmore Road, Newtown (02) 9516 2345 Tues – Sat 5pm-midnight; Sun 5pm-10pm Miss Peaches 201 Missenden Rd, Newtown (02) 9557 7280 Wed – Sun 5pm-midnight The Moose Newtown 530 King St, Newtown (02) 9557 0072 Wed – Sat 6pm-midnight Mr Falcon’s 92 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 9029 6626 Mon – Thu 4pm-midnight; Fri 3pm-midnight; Sat noon-midnight; Sun 2pm-10pm Newtown Social Club 387 King St, Newtown (02) 9550 3974 Mon 9am-6pm; Tues – Fri 9am-8pm; Sat 10am-8pm The Oxford Tavern 1 New Canterbury Rd, Petersham (02) 8019 9351 Mon – Thu noon-10pm; Fri – Sat noon-11pm; Sun noon-9pm

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

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

Moonshine Lvl 2, Hotel Steyne, 75 The Corso, Manly (02) 9977 4977 Thu 5pm-2am; Fri 1pm-2am; Sat noon-2am; Sun noon-midnight 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 :: 638 :: 11:11:15 :: 23

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

THE SUPERJESUS, VAN COOPER, CALLING MAYDAY Factory Theatre Friday November 6 It was a quiet Friday night for the Factory at first – maybe 20 or 30 people lounged around the bar area as if killing time at their local. Opening act Calling Mayday stepped into a challenging environment, and it showed in the speed with which their energy drained once they got started. The guitarist was clearly having the most fun, shredding solo after solo, but his fellow band members all seemed locked into routine.

The scene remained unchanged for Van Cooper. Named for their lead, a baby-faced Nikki Sixx wannabe, they smashed into a set of Triple-Mbait rock that couldn’t quite get the crowd on its feet. In fact, the punters were outnumbered by photographers trying to capture James Van Cooper’s knockoff Steve Tyler sneer.

Suddenly, as Van Cooper exited stage left, the building swarmed. Now the 35-year-old median age of the crowd made sense – we were back in 1998, and the vibe was electric. As The Superjesus slammed into ‘Down Again’, everything that came before fell away under the forcefulness of Sarah McLeod and Tim Henwood’s dual guitar assault. Sure, their Annandale revival gig may have had more of the pub rock give-no-fucks attitude to it, but the showmanship and camaraderie on display were enough to make you wonder why the band ever parted ways.

grvlls

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Watching McLeod trade solos with Henwood and banter with bassist Stuart Rudd, it was easy to see the years of craft-honing that made them the riff-crushers they are today.

Even McLeod’s open admissions of “never enjoying” playing new single ‘The Setting Sun’ until tonight, and completely ballsing up the extended riffs on ‘Sandfly’, couldn’t faze the band nor the rapt crowd.

08:11:15 :: Frankie’s Pizza :: 50 Hunter St Sydney OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER

S :: KATRINA CLARKE :: ASHLEY

NEWTOWN FESTIVAL 2015 Camperdown Memorial Rest Park Sunday November 8 Though some would have you believe Sydney’s cultural life is dead, killed by a combination of hipsterdom, gentrification and the dreaded lockout laws, the evidence simply does not support such claims. One need only look as far as Newtown Festival for proof that New South Wales’ live music scene isn’t only surviving, it’s burgeoning.

Acts of every single genre were represented, with bands filling out stages across the grounds. Though the biggest drawcards of the day, The Laurels and Jinja Safari, both impressed, the greatest pleasures of the festival weren’t provided by the established names. Rather, the most stirring tunes were belted out by the bands with fewer fans; by the musicians nobody saw coming.

The Persian Drugs wowed on one of the more tucked-away stages, their cover of ‘I Wanna Be Your Dog’ hypnotising a lone five-year-old standing at the front of the small but attentive crowd. Performing a very different kind of set, but with no less gusto, True Vibenation turned the area in front of their performance space into a most public party, while the reliably impressive Steve Smyth belted out a scintillating series of tunes. Though he claimed to be hungover, no sign of boozeinduced malaise infected a single note of Smyth’s playing, and his backing band similarly stunned.

Even the weather seemed to be on the day’s side. When a sunshower broke out during a set by the supremely talented Gordi, the short burst of rain seemed orchestrated, fitting the musicians’ aching tunes perfectly. In fact, her performance proved to be one of the highlights of the day, with her epic yet intimate songs breathing a stunning life through the space.

Yet perhaps most impressive of all were Betty & Oswald. Spinning a tangled knot of songs from their vantage point on the Newtopia Stage, they played with wit, warmth and energy, at once inspired by a swathe of genres, and yet seemingly so fresh as to be inspired by nothing at all.

The new singles were enjoyable enough, but the band’s 1998 debut Sumo was the real winner of the night, with six tracks making the setlist. Whether or not The Superjesus are looking forwards or backwards is hard to say, but wherever they’re headed, they’re going to love every second of it, and so are we.

Indeed, in many ways, the day belonged to them. Or, at least, they summed up what makes Newtown Festival great. Despite what the cultural miserabilists would have you believe, there are bands out there like Betty & Oswald who you have never heard of, playing music with the power to alter the direction of your life. All you need to do is listen.

David Molloy

Joseph Earp

MAR ::

five things WITH

BEN PANUCCI FROM NEW VENUSIANS aren’t musicians but lovers of music and art, and were really encouraging to me and my siblings.

Inspirations Many of my favourite 2. musicians/inspirations are my friends, as I know and love them and hear their personality come through in their music.

As for ‘bigger’ artists, there are way too many over lots of genres, from Chopin to Louis Armstrong, John Lee Hooker to At The Drive-In, Ani DiFranco to FKA Twigs and so on.

The Music You Make We have some exciting 4. news about future releases dropping in December and I’m really looking forward to sharing new music then. As for what to expect from our live show, I hope that what comes across is a high-energy band with a heavy beat that manages to retain some delicacy amongst it all… one can hope! It’s music to dance to that we try to make sound pretty, lush and rough all at once. Expect synths, vocal harmonies and a driving rhythm section.

Your Band Music, Right Here, New Venusians is a Right Now 3.

5. seven-piece band comprised I think there’s an abundance

Growing Up I grew up in country New 1.

South Wales and played piano 24 :: BRAG :: 638 :: 11:11:15

from the age of five. When I was 12, my mum bought me a second-hand electric guitar

and a Jimi Hendrix VHS. From then on, I was hooked on music for good. My parents

of seven friends and active working musicians on the Sydney scene that share similar creative and aesthetic ideals. We also really like having a good time together!

of great musicians and bands in Australia. It’d be nice if there were a few more places to play and more bands were paid enough to support their touring and creative endeavours.

To me, positives are all the wonderful people involved in the scene: creative, talented, supportive and inspiring people. I highly value being part of such a community.

Recent bands to inspire me include Sampa The Great, Samuel Dobson and Skegss.

In Sydney, I’ve been enjoying the Slyfox’s triple bills every Thursday in Enmore and also the great acts playing at Newtown Social Club.

What: Be You Block Party as part of Glebe Street Fair 2015 With: Ngaiire, Polographia, Richard in Your Mind, Miles Merrill, Dr. Motte Where: Peter Forsyth Basketball Court When: Sunday November 15

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live reviews

What we've been out to see...

THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS, SMAAL CATS Enmore Theatre Friday November 6

If you type the phrase “Smaal Cats” into Google, the search engine enquires as to whether or not you meant “small cats”.

Even the 21st century’s most powerful source of information is still not entirely convinced this band actually exists.

A little investigating – once correctly prompted – introduces these Northern Beaches 20-somethings, raised on a diet of surf rock and slacker indie-pop to create something with knee-bopping energy and enough chutzpah to get it over the line. Anyone’s guess as

to how it fits in with tonight’s headliners, but it’s nice to discover some bright-eyed and bushy-tailed new talent kicking around.

When They Might Be Giants toured here in 2013, it was after a 12-year absence. The rousing reception to that visit is most likely the explanation why it hasn’t taken another 12 years for the Johns to return to Australia.

Tonight was a test to see how Australian audiences deal with them on a deep-cut basis – two sets, spanning two hours and 50 songs (including the infamous ‘Fingertips’ suite), from their hits to their rarities and back again.

It’s a big ask, but ultimately, it’s a triumph: a celebration of a band

over 30 years strong and still releasing material on a rapid-fire basis.

Certainly, the biggest cheers of the night go to the obvious whiffs of nostalgia – ‘Istanbul (Not Constantinople)’, ‘Don’t Let’s Start’ and a jazzed-up ‘Particle Man’ among them. The great thing about They Might Be Giants, however, has to be the fact they can get their audiences to go along with most anything they decide to throw at them.

This much is apparent with main set closer ‘Robot Parade’, normally an 80-second ditty found on their 2002 children’s album No! Here, it’s turned into a ten-minute opus, complete with various solos and John

Flansburgh commanding a “human theremin”, in which he gets the audience to go from low to high by the movement of his hands. You would have never expected this to be the way the show ends – and that’s what makes it so entertaining.

A huge finale of ‘Birdhouse In Your Soul’ and ‘Dr. Worm’ has the audience roaring for more long after the house music has started back up and the lights have gone back on. Even after two sets, two-plus hours and 50 songs, They Might Be Giants still leave the crowd wanting more.

How many acts can say that?

David James Young

PHOTOGRAPHER :: ASHLEY MAR

AC/DC, THE HIVES, KINGSWOOD ANZ Stadium Wednesday November 4

In order to pick a local opener, promoters presumably did an advanced Google search on “current Australian rock band” minus the terms “living end” and “grinspoon”. Kingswood is who they came up with, and the end result was… fine enough. Within four songs and 20 minutes, they were out of the masses’ greasy hair. You could well have blinked and missed it. This, of course, was far from the case when The Hives made their way onto the stage.

You’ve no doubt read at length on how the suited-up Swedes deliver one of the absolute finest rock shows on the planet, and you’ll find no arguments against that here. It’s all high-kicks, guitar slings and early-2000s staples like ‘Main Offender’ and ‘Hate To Say I Told You So’ to rile up the early arrivals in stupendous fashion. Their excitement at warming the stage for AC/DC was palpable, and even a solitary heckler couldn’t break their stride. “I can’t hear what you’re saying because you don’t have a microphone,” teased frontman Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist.

“Maybe you could have one if you played in a band for 20 years – then you’d get to open for AC/DC!” ’Nuff said.

A burst of pyro. The unmistakable ring of a Gibson SG. Drums that sounded like a giant making its way towards you. The bat-shriek of the perennial ‘new guy’ who’s fronted the band for 35 years. AC/DC arrived with all the subtlety of a swinging hammer, launching forth into the title track from 2014’s Rock Or Bust – and, as the thousands who filled the place will attest, we wouldn’t want it any other way.

It’s when you’re hit with the prospect of seeing Acca Dacca that you’re reminded of just how many hits and signature songs they have accumulated. Just when you thought it was safe to take a breather, they barrelled into another slew of songs that were instantly recognisable from their opening. ‘Dirty Deeds’, ‘Back In Black’, ‘Thunderstruck’… take your pick. It was all present and accounted for, and delivered with both the precision of a veteran act and the energy of musicians less than half the age of the five men onstage. It defied physics, how great this ended up being.

Can AC/DC survive much longer?

Who knows. Still, having this moment felt like validation enough to keep the machine duck-walking as long as it’s still standing.

David James Young

THE LULU RAES, LETTERS TO LIONS, MAJUN BU Newtown Social Club Friday November 6

It’s that rare gem of small gigs: you discover even lesser-known supports that take you by surprise. In a good way. Sydney outfits Majun Bu and Letters To Lions did exactly that for The Lulu Raes, with polished efforts across the board and promising songwriting craftsmanship.

Six-piece Majun Bu’s blend of soulful reggae/funk was tightly delivered for a group that’s only just hit the one-year mark. Those who arrived early found themselves slinking and grooving to a perfect starter for the night, with smiles plastered across the room.

Cronulla’s Letters To Lions upped the good vibes with their surfy indie rock, sharp guitar and impressive drums.

Reminiscent of Last Dinosaurs and Foals’ early work, the winding crescendos, thrashing guitars and dual smooth vocals from frontmen Joel Osborn and Adam Newling mean it shouldn’t be too long before we hear the group rotating on radio.

The Lulu Raes took to the stage with an endearing awkwardness that carried throughout the evening. With singles ‘Swing Me On A Vine Of Sunshine’, ‘Reputation’ and ‘Burnout’ littered throughout the set, the enthusiastic dancing and jumping around that’s already become standard at The Lulu Raes’ shows only calmed for a failed (and amusing) happy birthday shout-out and a dreamy rendition of George Harrison’s ‘My Sweet Lord’.

Lead singer Eddie Burton’s vocals shone.

Typically, performers calling out people in their mid-20s as “fucking old c**ts” and vocals being overshadowed by guitar would equate to an average reception and live show. For The Lulu Raes? Hardly. Their body-moving closer ‘The Way Life Runs’ was an example of exactly what the boys are capable of and what their crowd gives back via ecstatic jumping and dancing. With a bit more polish, there’s little doubt the band’s popularity will increase tenfold once their anticipated debut EP is released.

For less than the cost of a decent feed, Majun Bu, Letters To Lions and The Lulu Raes helped exemplify exactly what the Sydney music scene has to offer. Amid the current pessimism of lockouts, it was refreshing to see a room of talented artists and eager music lovers collide to bring carefree joy, life and soul back to the stage, even if it was only for a few hours.

Emily Gibb

thebrag.com

BRAG :: 638 :: 11:11:15 :: 25

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

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 11 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK Songwriting Society Of Australia Showcase - feat: John Chesher + Pete Scully + Paul Mcgowan + Gavin Fitzgerald Old Fitzroy Hotel, Woolloomooloo.

7:30pm. Free.

The Buck Loner Revue The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 7pm. $5.

The Squeezebox Trio Mr Falcon’s, Glebe.

7pm. Free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS Anatomy Class Captain Cook Hotel, Paddington. 8pm.

Free.

Magnus + Convergence Method Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 7pm. Free.

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

Muso’s Club Jam Night Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt.

8pm. Free.

Neil Diamond Allphones Arena, Sydney Olympic Park.

8pm. $59.90.

Sugar Jam Open Mic Night Sugarmill, Kings Cross. 8pm. Free.

Sydney City Blues + Samurai Lullaby + Authority Downfall + Positive Era Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 7pm. $10.

Tame Impala + Mini Mansions Sydney Opera House, Sydney. 6pm. $89.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Alex Hahn And The

Blue Riders Foundry616, Ultimo.

8:30pm. $25.

Kooyeh + The HiTops Brass Band The Basement, Circular Quay. 7pm. $14.90.

New Orleans Beats Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8:30pm.

Free.

Sampa The Great Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7:30pm. $15.

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 12 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Black Diamond Hearts Three Wise Monkeys, Sydney. 8pm. Free.

Live At The Sly feat: Joseph Liddy & The Skeleton Horse + Easy Street + Slow Loris Slyfox, Enmore.

7:30pm. Free.

Mimi Jones Camille Thurman Quartet Foundry616, Ultimo.

8:30pm. $25.

Peña Flamenca The Basement, Circular Quay.

6:30pm. $17.

Sydney International Women’s Music Festival - feat: Mimi Jones + Camille Thurman Quartet Foundry616, Ultimo.

8:30pm. $20.

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

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS Bandquest - feat: Ben Osmo + Bad Absalom+ Our Friend Barbra Ruby L’otel, Rozelle.

7:30pm. Free.

Durry + The Half Chubbs + Blind Veggie + The Dojo Crew Valve Bar, Agincourt

Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. $10.

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

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

John Vella Fortune Of War, The Rocks. 7pm. Free.

Kurt Williams Manly Leagues Club, Brookvale. 7:30pm.

Free.

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

Mini Mansions + Big White Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 8pm. $39.70.

Muso’s Club Jam Night Carousel Inn Hotel, Rooty Hill. 8pm. Free.

My Own Pet Radio Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7pm. $23.

Northlane UNSW Roundhouse, Kensington. 7pm. $53.12.

Roddy Radiation The Vanguard, Newtown. 6:30pm. $25.80.

Suzannah Espie Django Bar @ Camelot Lounge, Marrickville. 7pm. $22.70.

The Daughter’s Agenda Lewisham Hotel, Lewisham. 8pm. $10.

The Vendettas + Pat Chow Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 10pm. Free.

Troye Sivan Metro Theatre, Sydney. 1:05pm. Free.

Wilsn + Jesse Redwing Band + The Tambourine Girls Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $15.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK Little Big Wolf + Ina Maka Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8:30pm. $10.

Don McGlashan Petersham Bowling Club, Petersham.

8pm. $25.

Dup Mate Mr Falcon’s, Glebe.

8:30pm. Free.

Peter Head & Jason

Walker The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 8pm. $10.

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 13

pick of the week Mumford & Sons

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Michelle Nicolle Quartet Foundry616, Ultimo.

8:30pm. $25.

Sydney International Women’s Music Festival - feat: Michelle Nicolle Foundry616, Ultimo.

8:30pm. $15.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK Charlie A’Court + The Shane Pacey Trio + Doggnit Blues Trio Eastern Lounge, Roseville. 7:30pm. $30.

Flamin’ Beauties Royal Hotel, Bondi.

9:15pm. Free.

Hot Potato Band + Mac Tango + Zac Olsen Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8:30pm. $15.

Johnny G & The E-Types The Basement, Circular Quay.

7:30pm. $29.20.

Papa Pilko & The Binrats Stag And Hunter, Newcastle. 7pm. Free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS Adam Young + Sam Shinazzi Marrickville Bowling Club, Marrickville.

8pm. $15.

Banquet - feat: Ghost Talk + Pieces The World Bar, Kings Cross. 8pm. $10.

Blake Tailor Hornsby Inn, Hornsby. 7pm. Free.

Bloods + Little Horn + Money For Nothing DJs

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 14

The Domain

Mumford & Sons + Jake Bugg + Future Islands + The Vaccines + The Jungle Giants + Meg Mac + Art Of Sleeping 1pm. $124.90.

Waywards, Newtown.

8pm. Free.

Bowles Bros The Oriental Hotel, Springwood. 8pm.

Free.

Cath & Him Dee Why Hotel, Dee Why. 9pm. Free.

De La Motte + John E. The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 7pm. $5.

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

Free.

Fabulous Rhythm Cats

Penrith RSL, Penrith.

8pm. Free.

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

Free.

Florence + The Machine Sydney Opera House, Sydney. 6pm. $130.

Glenn Esmond 99 On York, Sydney.

5:30pm. Free.

Hammer + Necrostalgia Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 9pm. $10.

Jackson Firebird Sweaty Betty’s Bar, Miranda. 8pm. Free.

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

John Dixon Padstow Park Hotel, Padstow. 7pm. Free.

John Vella Bar Cleveland, Redfern. 8:30pm.

Free.

Jonathan Jones Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 5:45pm. Free.

Karaoke Figtree Hotel, Sydney.

9pm. Free.

King Colour + Dr Goddard + Shady Nasty Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $6.50.

Lennon - Through A Glass Onion feat: John Waters + Stewart D’Arrietta Revesby Workers Club, Revesby. 8pm. $45.

Mr Jamie Ray Chatswood RSL, Chatswood. 5pm.

Free.

Paul Mason Trio Mr Falcon’s, Glebe.

five things WITH George Washingmachine

Stuie French

SPIN DRIFTERS

Growing Up Your Band 1.

George Washingmachine: I 3.

GW: Multi-award-winning started with music pretty early. I was singer-songwriter Felicity Urquhart

steel, classic country and plenty of mayhem.

born into a musical household; my mother played and taught classical guitar, so it was alright to be a musician in my house.

SF: Fresh, rootsy music played with passion – there’s no gimmicks, it’s all about being able to play well. You’ll hear the hillbilly roots in there too.

Stuie French: I started playing the guitar at nine and fell in love with it. I was hearing classic old country records around the house, and that’s what I wanted to play.

Inspirations GW: Stuff Smith, he’s a black 2.

American jazz violin player – and so many others. That’s a tricky questions.

Andrew Richardson: All the old and new Western swing artists. Bob Wills is the father of Western swing, though. thebrag.com

leads the Spin Drifters charge. She’s sharing the stage with Stuie French, Michael Vidale, Garry Steel, Andrew Richardson, Hamish Stuart, Claire O’Meara, me and Michel Rose. I was in a band similar to the Spin Drifters in 2001, the Twang Dynasty, doing a lot of this Western swing, with Felicity and Stuie French and Michel Rose. We did some shows up in Tamworth, and here in Sydney.

The Music You Make GW: It’s country meets the 4. city – country roots for straw bales and playing fiddle out in the barn [or] playing in a jazz venue.

AR: Expect lightning fast twin fiddles, Tex-Mex, Louisiana blues, pedal

Music, Right Here, 5.

Right Now GW: Claire and I are up in Airlie Beach with Wanita and The Honky Tonk Bar Dwellers, she’s great! I listen to nothing but vinyl at home – Steely Dan, The Beatles, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, a bit of Sinatra of late (of course) and mixing it up with Ravel, Debussy, Frank Zappa.

Where: The Basement When: Monday November 16, Monday December 7 and Monday January 11

BRAG :: 638 :: 11:11:15 :: 27

g g guide gig g

g g picks gig p

up all night out all week...

send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com 9:30pm. Free.

Peter Head The Push Bar, The Rocks. 7:30pm. Free.

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

Ruts DC Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 7pm. $48.

Shane Nicholson + Amber Rae Slade & The Mighty Big Noise + Emma Beau Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $28.

Shigeto + Lapalux Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 9pm. $33.80.

Steve Crocker Lord Raglan Hotel, Sydney. 7pm. Free.

Sui Zhen 107 Projects, Redfern. 7pm. $12.

Summer Sessions Launch Party - feat: Bad//Dreems + Fait Accompli + Creo + Wasters Captain Cook Hotel, Paddington. 7pm. $20.

Ted Nash Fortune Of War, The Rocks. 8pm. Free.

The Darkness Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 8pm. $76.97.

The Loaded Six Strings Vineyard Hotel, Vineyard. 9pm. Free.

The Sphinxes Crown Hotel, Sydney.

8pm. Free.

Vicious Circle feat: Throwdown + Frank Rizzo + Straight To A Tomb + Two Faced Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. $13.

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 14 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

Mimi Jones + Camille Thurman Quartet Foundry616, Ultimo.

8:30pm. $25.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

At First Sight - feat: Acid Baby Jesus + Andras + Blank Realm + Broadway Sounds + DJ Jonathon Toubin’s Soul Clap And Dance Off + Donny Benet Presents: The Songs Of Nile Rogers + Los Tones + Lost Animal + Lucy Cliche + My Disco + Nicholas Allbrook + No Zu + Nun + Oscar Key Sung + Palms + Rolling Blackouts + Tees + Total Giovanni Carriageworks, Eveleigh. 12pm. $50.

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

Bondi Beachfest - feat: The Beach Boys + The Whitlams + Busby Marou + Kim

Churchill + Sahara Beck Bondi Beach, 3pm. $85.

Cath & Him Hornsby Inn, Hornsby. 8am. Free.

Closet Straights + Deep Space Supergroop + Phantastic Ferniture Roxbury Hotel, Glebe. 8pm. $10.

Cyrus Meurant The Sound Lounge, Sydney. 8pm. $30.

Florence + The Machine Sydney Opera House, Sydney. 6pm. $130.

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

Glenn Esmond The Belvedere Hotel, Sydney. 7:30pm.

Free.

Gypsy & The Cat Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 8pm. $23.10.

Hau Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $15.

Jackson Firebird Vic On The Park, Marrickville. 6pm.

Free.

Jimmy Bear Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 5:45pm. Free.

King Curly + Custard The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 7pm. $5.

Lennon - Through A Glass Onion feat: John Waters + Stewart D’Arrietta Entrance Leagues Club, 7:30pm. $45.

Leroy Lee Marrickville Ritz Hotel, Marrickville.

8pm. Free.

Missy Lancaster Band Picton Hotel, Picton.

8pm. Free.

Mumford & Sons + Jake Bugg + Future Islands + The Vaccines + The Jungle Giants + Meg Mac + Art Of Sleeping Royal Botanic Garden & The Domain, Sydney.

1pm. $124.90.

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

Reckless Town Hall Hotel, Balmain. 9:30pm.

Free.

Salmonella Dub + Laughton Kora Metro Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $49.85.

Smoke And Doom 2015 feat: Witchskull + A Basket Of Mammoths + Borrachero + Comacozer + Special Guests Lewisham Hotel, Lewisham. 5:30pm. $18.40.

Steve Crocker Kings Park Tavern, Kings Park. 7pm.

Free.

Summer Sessions - feat: Undercast + The Drive Home + Satellites + Hope Springs Captain Cook Hotel, Paddington. 8pm.

Free.

Ted Nash Duo Crown Hotel, Surry Hills. 9pm. Free.

The Mad Hatters Carousel Inn Hotel,

Rooty Hill. 8pm.

Free.

The Preatures Watsons Bay Hotel, Watsons Bay. 3:30pm. Free.

The Preatures Manly Wharf Hotel, Manly. 7:30pm. Free.

The Spit Roasting Bibbers Panania Hotel, Panania. 8:30pm.

Free.

The Tea Party Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 8pm. $89.90.

Venom Clubnight - feat: Darkc3ll + Our Last Enemy + Rainbow Deathray + Acid Nymph Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. $15.

Villainy + Jericco+ Sydonia + Majora Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 7pm. $25.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Anabelle Kay The Hideaway Bar, Enmore. 7pm. Free.

Anne McCue + Kelly Menhennett + James Thomson Factory Floor, Marrickville. 7:30pm. $25.

Cookin’ On 3 Burners + Tex Perkins & Stella Angelico The Basement, Circular Quay. 8pm. $34.50.

Los Romeo Oxidados The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 3pm. $5.

Papa Pilko & The Binrats + The Mountains + Bichos Locos Botany View Hotel, Newtown. 7pm. Free.

Paul Hayward And His Sidekicks Town & Country Hotel, St Peters.

4pm. Free.

The Vernons + Iluka + Ollie Brown Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $11.50.

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 15 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Astrid Zeman + Queen Porter Stomp Mr Falcon’s, Glebe.

4pm. Free.

Songsonstage feat: Russell Neal+ Pauline Sparkle Harlequin Inn, Pyrmont. 3pm. Free.

The Blackhill Ramblers Marrickville Bowling Club, Marrickville.

4pm. Free.

The Blues Collective Ruby L’otel, Rozelle.

6pm. Free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Party - feat: Ngaiire + Polographia + Richard In Your Mind + New Venusians + MC Miles Merril + DJ Dr. Motte Peter Forsyth Basketball Court, Glebe. 11am. Free.

Automat Glebe Town Hall, Glebe. 6:30pm. $22.

Baddies Botany View Hotel, Newtown. 7pm. Free.

Ben Ottewell Coogee Diggers, Coogee. 8pm. $30.

Blake Wiggins Ingleburn Hotel, Ingleburn. 1pm. Free.

Braden Evans The Vanguard, Newtown. 6:30pm. $15.80.

Drillhorse + Bad Absalom + Green Manalishi + Pearshaped Orange Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 5pm. $10.

Extension Chord + Red Wine Roses Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 4pm. Free.

FCxMCA - feat: Kenton Slash Demon + Harvey Sutherland Museum Of Contemporary Art, The Rocks. 5pm. $25.

Florence + The Machine Sydney Opera House, Sydney. 6pm. $130.

Gary Johns Trio Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 8:30pm. Free.

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

King Social + Lord Street Collective + Rookie Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 2pm. $15.

LJ Panania Diggers, Panania. 12pm. Free.

Mr Jamie Ray Strawberry Hills Hotel, Surry Hills.

4pm. Free.

Nathan Cole The Rivo Hotel, Riverstone. 4pm.

Free.

Open Mic Epping Hotel, Epping. 5pm. Free.

Pat O’Grady Macarthur Tavern, Campbelltown. 2pm.

Free.

Richard Murphy Picton Hotel, Picton.

12pm. Free.

Riley Beech The Mill Hotel, Milperra. 12pm. Free.

Stan Walker Rooty Hill RSL Club, Rooty Hill. 9pm. $50.

Sunday Youth Sessions The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 1pm. $2.

The Living Room + Lola Sola + Jack And Chi Lewisham Hotel, Lewisham. 4:30pm.

Free.

The Preatures Bondi Pavilion Theatre, Bondi Beach. 2:30pm. Free.

The Preatures Mona Vale Hotel, Mona Vale. 7:30pm.

Free.

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

MONDAY NOVEMBER 16 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

John Maddox Duo Mr Falcon’s, Glebe.

7pm. Free.

Songsonstage feat: Russell Neal + Chris Brookes + Guests Kelly’s On King, Newtown. 7:30pm.

Free.

Spin Drifters The Basement, Circular Quay.

6:30pm. $19.20.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Fabels + Drowning Fleets + The Airport & The Seaport Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm.

Free.

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

Matt Corby Metro Theatre, Sydney. 7pm. $58.20.

The Culture Industry + The Sufferjets + Pals + Voodoo Youth Small Ballroom, Newcastle. 8pm.

Free.

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 17 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

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

Songsonstage feat: Russell Neal + Ingrid Mae + Guests Lord Gladstone Hotel, Chippendale.

7:30pm. Free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Bucket Lounge Presents – Live & Originals Mr Falcon’s, Glebe.

7pm. Free.

Def Leppard + Live + Baby Animals Qantas Credit Union Arena, Darling Harbour. 8pm. $100.73.

Florence + The Machine Sydney Opera House, Sydney. 6pm. $130.

Maples Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7pm. $15.

Matt Corby Metro Theatre, Sydney. 7pm. $58.20.

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

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 11 Magnus + Convergence Method Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney.

7pm. Free.

Neil Diamond Allphones Arena, Sydney Olympic Park. 8pm. $59.90.

Sampa The Great Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7:30pm. $15.

Tame Impala + Mini Mansions Sydney Opera House, Sydney. 6pm. $89.

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 12 Live At The Sly - Feat: Joseph Liddy & The Skeleton Horse + Easy Street + Slow Loris Slyfox, Enmore. 7:30pm.

Free.

Mini Mansions + Big White Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 8pm. $39.70.

Menhennett + James Thomson Factory Floor, Marrickville.

7:30pm. $25.

At First Sight - Feat: Acid Baby Jesus + Andras + Blank Realm + Broadway Sounds + DJ Jonathon Toubin’s Soul Clap And Dance Off + Donny Benet Presents: The Songs Of Nile Rogers + Los Tones + Lost Animal + Lucy Cliche + My Disco + Nicholas Allbrook + No Zu + Nun + Oscar Key Sung + Palms + Rolling Blackouts + Tees + Total Giovanni Carriageworks, Eveleigh.

12pm. $50.

Bondi Beachfest - Feat: The Beach Boys + The Whitlams + Busby Marou + Kim Churchill + Sahara Beck Bondi Beach, 3pm. $85.

Gypsy & The Cat Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 8pm. $23.10.

King Curly + Custard The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 7pm. $5.

My Own Pet Radio Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7pm. $23.

Salmonella Dub + Laughton Kora Metro Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $49.85.

Northlane UNSW Roundhouse, Kensington. 7pm. $53.12.

The Tea Party Enmore Theatre, Newtown.

8pm. $89.90.

The Vendettas + Pat Chow Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney.

10pm. Free.

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 15

Wilsn + Jesse Redwing Band + The Tambourine Girls Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $15.

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 13 Bloods + Little Horn + Money For Nothing DJs Waywards, Newtown. 8pm.

Free.

Florence + The Machine Sydney Opera House, Sydney. 6pm. $130.

King Colour + Dr Goddard + Shady Nasty Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $6.50.

Johnny G & The E-Types The Basement, Circular Quay. 7:30pm. $29.20.

Shane Nicholson + Amber Rae Slade & The Mighty Big Noise + Emma Beau Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $28.

Sui Zhen 107 Projects, Redfern. 7pm. $12.

Summer Sessions Launch Party - Feat: Bad//Dreems + Fait Accompli + Creo + Wasters Captain Cook Hotel, Paddington. 7pm. $20.

Automat Glebe Town Hall, Glebe.

6:30pm. $22.

Be You Block Party - Feat: Ngaiire + Polographia + Richard In Your Mind + New Venusians + MC Miles Merril + DJ Dr. Motte Peter Forsyth Basketball Court, Glebe. 11am. Free.

Extension Chord + Red Wine Roses Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney.

4pm. Free.

King Social + Lord Street Collective + Rookie Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 2pm. $15.

The Preatures Bondi Pavilion Theatre, Bondi Beach. 2:30pm. Free.

MONDAY NOVEMBER 16 Matt Corby Metro Theatre, Sydney.

7pm. $58.20.

Spin Drifters The Basement, Circular Quay. 6:30pm. $19.20.

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 17

The Darkness Enmore Theatre, Newtown.

8pm. $76.97.

Def Leppard + Live + Baby Animals Qantas Credit Union Arena, Darling Harbour. 8pm. $100.73.

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 14

Maples Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7pm. $15.

Anne McCue + Kelly

Be You Block

xxx

28 :: BRAG :: 638 :: 11:11:15

thebrag.com

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

brag beats

inside:

also:

club guide + club snaps + weekly column

Dr. Motte photo byYves Borgwardt

dr. motte

l-fresh the lion face the facts

thebrag.com

BRAG :: 638 :: 11:11:15 :: 29

brag beats

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

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

five things WITH

TC

Disclosure

TYSON BRUUN

TC IN SYDNEY

DISCLOSURE IN THE HOUSE

UK dance duo Disclosure have locked in a show beneath the sails of the Sydney Opera House in the New Year. The fresh-faced Lawrence brothers, Howard and Guy, have become mainstays on the electronic scene since breaking out thanks to their collaboration with Sam Smith, ‘Latch’. They’ve gone on to work with the likes of The Weeknd, Lorde and Miguel, while their live show has built quite the reputation – this is no exhibition of DJ skills, but an odyssey of live synth and drum pads. Disclosure will headline the Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House on Tuesday January 5.

Deutsch Duke Growing Up I’ve always had 1. a love for electronic

hand in hand with my weekly lifestyle.

music. My parents did too. I had a close friend teach me how to mix when I was about 15/16 years old. Playing my favourite tunes to people and watching them enjoy my music sounded quite surreal at the time.

But there’s almost no better feeling than experiencing that now.

The Music You Make And Play 4.

My sets include

Inspirations Archie 2.

Hamilton is a highlight at the moment.

VincentIulian, Barac, Lorenzo Chiabotti, Brett Jacobs, iO (Mulen), Priku, Arapu, Vinyl Speed Adjust and Levi Verspeek are all favourites.

3.

Your Crew Having my crew there to support, dance and be there at parties by my side is key for me. My friends all love the same music and we all look forward to events together. During the week, I’m a freelance graphic designer – being a part of both the music and design industries literally go

groovy tech house with hypnotic minimal elements.

I’ve recently started up a podcast series called Lokomotiv, which is pushing exclusive podcasts from international and local guests weekly who share the same love for the same music I do. It’s really cool working with artists I look up to, getting them to record mixes for my series. Last week I had Javier Carballo and Adam Touch feature on Lokomotiv.

I’m really excited to see how this project pans out in the future.

You can check it out at soundcloud.com/ lokomotiv-music.

Music, Right Here, Right 5.

Now The past few months, Sydney’s been on fire. I’ve partied as well as been a part of so many great events.

I’m super excited to be warming up for Mantra Collective at their 3rd Birthday with FUSE London

in December at the Factory Theatre. I live on the Northern Beaches in Manly, and there is a small scene growing.

It’s great watching something that started with nothing slowly develop a music sense. The Engine Room and BRKLYN Bar on the beachfront in Manly is definitely the go for music in my area. They’re bringing top-notch house and techno DJs from around Sydney to play in an underground basement monthly, which is mad to be a resident of. Catching Nima Gorji last month playing three sets in 20 hours at S.A.S.H’s long weekend was incredible – best music I’ve witnessed in Sydney, hands down.

What: Mantra Collective 3rd Birthday: FUSE Showcase With: Enzo Siragusa, Seb Zito, Rich NxT and many more Where: Factory Theatre When: Saturday December 12

Gonna Be (Good Times)’ and ‘Gosh’.

The announcement of his headline date in Sydney follows two shows in Melbourne and a booking at the Central Coast’s Lost Paradise festival over the New Year’s period.

Jamie xx plays the Enmore Theatre on Sunday January 3.

Enzo Siragusa

DEUTSCH COURAGE

If your wallet is empty because of the approaching festival season, don’t despair – Deutsch Duke has announced a free show at Goodgod Small Club. The Duke, a solo Sydney vocalist and producer who’s set to join Peking Duk onstage as their special guest for their headline dates, has also shared the MXXWLL remix for his single ‘Harder Without You’ in the lead-up to the debut of his live band. Deutsch Duke will be supported by good friend and fellow producer MXXWLL, plus Beni, on Thursday November 19.

ELECTRIC GARDENS GROWS

The new Aussie electronic music festival Electric Gardens has added three world-class artists to its debut lineup. The freshly minted basstastic artists set to appear at the festival are Nic Fanciulli, Pachanga Boys and Stacey Pullen. Fanciulli has worked with artists as diverse as Kylie Minogue, Underworld, U.N.K.L.E, Loco Dice and Josh Wink, while Pachanga Boys and Stacey Pullen join him on a schedule that already includes Fatboy Slim, John

Digweed, Henry Saiz, Hernan Cattaneo and many more. Electric Gardens goes down on Saturday January 23 in Centennial Park.

JAMIE XXTRAS

Jamie xx, the producer behind the signature sound of The xx and his own solo material, is bringing the good times to Sydney for a headline show in the New Year.

The British musician’s footprint has only grown larger over recent months following the release of a new solo record, In Colour, and its top-shelf tracks ‘I Know There’s

HOT CHIP GETTING HOTTER

Already announced as headliners for the 2016 Sugar Mountain festival, Hot Chip have locked in a Sydney Opera House show. Since breaking through with their second album The Warning in 2006, over the course of their career the Brits have gone on to play at the likes of Glastonbury, Sónar, Lovebox Festival, Coachella and T In The Park.

They last played live in Australia in 2013. Just recently, they released the four-track Dancing In The Dark EP, one that features a sevenminute reinterpretation of the Bruce Springsteen classic, a reworking of Why Make Sense? cut ‘Cry For You’ and remixes of ‘Huarache Lights’ from both Soulwax and A/Jus/Ted. See Hot Chip on Friday January 22 at the Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House.

Tom Casswell – known to all and sundry as TC – is one of the premier DnB exponents on the contemporary scene. Not only that, he’s an in-demand vocalist, having unveiled his pipes on Pendulum’s ‘Hold Your Colour’ some ten years ago. More recently, his collaboration with Wilkinson, ‘Hit The Floor’, saw many a clubgoer doing just that through 2015. TC will be inviting more dancefloor action when he rolls into Candy’s Apartment on Friday December 11, as part of a nine-date tour of Australia and New Zealand.

Hot Chip

MANTRA COLLECTIVE TURNS THREE

Mantra Collective will return to the Factory Theatre next month, celebrating the warehouse party specialists’ third birthday. Spread across three rooms and seeing the return of the vinyl-only Black Gold Stage, this birthday celebration under the banner of the Fuse Showcase is not to be missed. The minds behind Mantra are known for their ability to chuck one hell of a party, and teaming up with a major player on the international clubbing circuit, they’ve enlisted Fuse London’s Enzo Siragusa, Seb Zito and Rich NxT to dominate the showcase’s main stage. The Mantra crew will also be in full force with Space Junk, Aboutjack, Whitecat and plenty of local acts on hand.

The Mantra Collective Fuse Showcase goes down on Saturday December 12. xx

30 :: BRAG :: 638 :: 11:11:15

thebrag.com

Dr. Motte Parade Grounds By Augustus Welby when we came to do so too. Berlin Government said, ‘Who comes first is first,’ and did not talk to us at all.

At the end we made too many bad decisions and went to court. We lost. Without the status of an orderly demonstration you needed three million euros to pay all the cost.”

However, despite such nasty incursions, Love Parade was a hugely inspiring event that sprouted offshoots all around the world – including Melbourne from 1994-96 and Sydney in 1997.

“It’s a phenomenon no-one understands really,” says Motte. “I think to have an idea like this is a universal gift and inspired by the Second Summer of Love, 1988. I would say from the distance I have now, this has been the biggest global peace movement on Planet Earth – and it will inspire others to follow this movement. So we inspired people to do Street Parade in Zurich in 1992 [now the largest electronic music event in Europe] already. Never could we think to reach this far.”

F

amed Berlin DJ Dr. Motte is headed our way to close out the Be You Block Party during this year’s Glebe Street Fair. He’ll also participate in Road Closed: Event In Progress, a panel discussion about hosting community events in city streets.

It’s a topic that’s very close to his heart: Dr. Motte is best known as the founder of the

massive German electro festival Love Parade, with which he was involved from 1989 until its commercialisation in 2006.

a few years it had grown into a massive world-renowned festival, attracting upwards of a million people from 1997-2000. This inevitably ruffled some feathers.

The Love Parade story has a tragic conclusion, but it began as an event for people to unite in an urban environment and celebrate music and community. Much to the surprise of its organiser, within

“We started as an orderly demonstration,” says Motte. “We lost the status in 2001 because 20 Love Parade haters announced a march on our date and street

Here in Sydney we’ve faced a lot of issues recently with venues closing down due to residential developments and laws restricting opening hours, which have had a destructive impact on the live music and club scenes. Motte can sympathise, and he sees no reason to give up the fight.

“Is music a noise? Is people dancing to music a bad thing?

If you say it is a cultural thing

of a society, it is a question of understanding each other.

Whatever you do, come together and talk to each other. If you live in a big city, you have to cope with the noise of it and the noise people produce. But music is not a noise.

It is a cultural thing of the society.

People want to dance to music and artists want to produce music where you can dance to it because it is their way of expression, and this needs freedom. This should be common sense. Maybe we all need to relax and build up a friendly society.”

After a day of friendly frivolity, Motte will perform the concluding DJ set at the Be You Block Party. While he’s previously DJed in front of more than a million people, getting in front of a positive, engaged audience is a satisfying experience no matter the numbers.

“I never think about that I was playing to 1.5 million people in Berlin during Love Parade in 1999.

When I will DJ at Glebe Block Party, I will enjoy playing the music I love to the people there. So I cannot wait to be there and see what will go on there.”

What: Glebe Street Fair and Be You Block Party 2015 With: Ngaiire, Polographia, Richard in Your Mind, New Venusians, Miles Merrill Where: Glebe Point Road and Peter Forsyth Basketball Court When: Sunday November 15

L-Fresh The Lion Mine Is Yours By David James Young

I

n the midst of various investigative pieces pertaining to the political climate of our country, Leigh Sales introduced a story last month on the ABC’s 7.30 program about Australian hip hop – more specifically, about individuals within it who are responding to that climate through their music. One such artist is Sukhdeep Singh, better known as L-Fresh The Lion.

Singh is a Bankstown-raised and Melbourne-based MC who has earned a considerable national profile and cult international acclaim over the last few years for his fearless, intelligent takedowns of stereotypes and systemic racism. For Singh, appearing on 7.30 was a great chance to present himself to an audience that more than likely would have never come across him otherwise.

“It’s been a great way to engage in a mature conversation about politics and race in Australia,” he says. “Sometimes, when people haven’t heard of me before, they don’t necessarily listen to hip hop.

As much as that’s a part of me, I think putting yourself forward in a conversation is really important.

These issues I discuss, they’re human issues. A discussion is a great way to build an introduction.

7.30 worked really well on both sides of things – it served as an introduction to my music to people who hadn’t heard it, and it served as an introduction to my perspective and my politics to people who might only know the music.”

Of course, for every contemporary and fan who will sing Singh’s praises, the Sikh rapper has also had to deal with more than his fair share of online abusers and comment-section trolls.

He remains incredibly calm when discussing the topic of his detractors, but there is an obvious weariness and exhaustion that says more than anger ever could. thebrag.com

“We live in a society with a real diversity of opinion,” he says, stopping short of calling out racism as just that. “It’s interesting when you’re discussing something like the issues of racism with other people. For me, it’s something that I have experienced my entire life. It’s one of those things where people can respond by either listening to what it is that I have to say, or by talking over me, making their mind up about me before I’ve even said a word. Some folk just have that immediate agenda.

That’s when you get people responding in a really harsh way. I don’t come from a place of anger or hatred – I come from a place of genuine love for community and for the country that I was born and raised in.”

Singh is currently on tour in support of ‘Get Mine’, a new single from L-Fresh The Lion’s as-yet-untitled third studio album, slated for release in 2016. “I don’t want to give too much away just yet,” he says about the follow-up to his exceptional 2014 album, One. “I can say, though, that I’m extremely excited about what I’ve been working on and have a great confi dence in these new songs.”

As far as ‘Get Mine’ goes, however, it’s more than enough to tide listeners over until the next record comes into play.

Featuring the vocals of The Bombay Royale frontwoman Parvyn Kaur Singh (no relation), the song is a magnifying glass on the way people of colour and ethnic minorities are treated within Australia, with deep introspect complementing the call-to-arms message of the song’s wider thematic construct.

“The song specifi cally deals with race, and the video deals with the way that political language is used,” explains Singh. “We’re living in very challenging times

– there is a lot going on with the immediate community. We’re in an age where ideas and issues are so easy to access, and yet they’re so often ignored. If there’s something I want to get across with this song, it’s about starting to think more deeply – not just what we’re involved with, but about ourselves and how we respond to things. Let’s talk about how we fi t into the grand scheme of things and what roles we each play as individuals. It begins with me – first and foremost, these songs are reminders to myself, as I know I’m far from perfect.”

The tour has brought L-Fresh

to several capital cities across the country, as well as a handful of regional areas including Wagga Wagga, Queenscliff and Toowoomba. Although there is unquestionably a stigma attached to regional and remote parts of Australia as being narrow-minded and rife with the ‘go back where you came from’ mentality, Singh maintains that he does not change who he is, or what he and his crew do onstage, to compromise or to tone down. It doesn’t matter if it’s the big smoke or the outback – what you see is invariably what you get as far as L-Fresh The Lion is concerned.

“We go wherever people want us,” says Singh. “When they invite us to be a part of their community, it’s something that we are happy to oblige with. Regardless of where we perform, we’re always going in with the mentality that we will never have this exact moment repeated. Who knows when or if we’ll be back? We just try and bring what we know – positive vibes, a lot of smiles and a lot of energy.”

With: Philly Where: Goodgod Small Club When: Friday November 13 BRAG :: 638 :: 11:11:15 :: 31

club guide g

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

send your listings to : clubguide@thebrag.com

club pick of the week Mr. C

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 14 Civic Underground

C.U Saturday Xxx

Mr. C + Phil Smart + Murat Kilic + Allan Thomas + Tyson Bruun

8pm. $20.

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 11 HIP HOP & R&B

Citizen Kay Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 7pm.

Free.

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

8pm. Free.

Wax Wars - feat: Buick Vs Kikz + DJ A$K + Madhouse DJs + Mike Watt Oxford Hotel, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $10.

CLUB NIGHTS Bamboo Boogie feat: Harry Sounds + Daniel Lupica + Karim Middle Bar, Darlinghurst. 5pm.

Free.

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

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

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 12 HIP HOP & R&B

Naughty By Nature Rooty Hill RSL Club, Rooty Hill. 7:30pm. $61.17.

Rhythm & Bowls - feat: Johnny G & The E Types Marrickville Bowling Club, Marrickville.

5:30pm. Free.

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

Maribou State Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $33.80.

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 13 HIP HOP & R&B

L-Fresh The Lion + Philly Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 8pm. $15.

Naughty By Nature Metro Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $74.85.

CLUB NIGHTS Bassic - feat: Ganz + Alix Perez & Eprom Present Shades + Spenda C + A-Tonez + Nemo + Doctor Werewolf + Robustt + Gradz + Blackmale Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 9pm. $27.70.

Blvd Fridays - feat: Brooklyn Marquee, Pyrmont.

10pm. $13.40.

Cold Club Presents Hypothermia - feat: Fentsitters + Karma Coma + Algeria Motifs + Discord + Apache Rave + Nack Burdekin Hotel, Darlinghurst. 9pm. $10.

Derriere - feat: Rotating DJs Goros, Surry Hills.

6pm. Free.

32 :: BRAG :: 638 :: 11:11:15

El Loco Later - feat: DJs On Rotation Excelsior Hotel, Surry Hills. 9pm. Free.

Feel Good Fridays Bar100, The Rocks.

5pm. Free.

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

9pm. Free.

Friday Lite - feat: Victoria Kim Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 10pm. Free.

Harbour Club - feat: Resident DJs The Watershed Hotel, Sydney. 6pm. Free.

Jack The House feat: Paul Holden + John Ferris + Mark Dynamix Slyfox, Enmore. 9pm. $10.

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

Free.

Loco Friday - feat: DJs On Rotation The Slip Inn, Sydney.

5pm. Free.

Pelvis Presents feat: Secret Circuit + Pelvis Oxford Hotel, Darlinghurst. 10pm. $15.

Return To Rio feat: Soul Clap + Matthias Meyer + Mr. C + Davi + Atish + Hoj + Phat Phil Cooper + Nicky Night Time + The Riopians + More Del Rio Riverside Resort, Wisemans Ferry. 12pm. $175.

Sam Wall Manly Wharf Hotel, Manly. 8pm. Free.

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

Free.

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 14 CLUB NIGHTS

C.U Saturday - feat: Mr. C + Phil Smart + Murat Kilic + Allan Thomas + Tyson Bruun Civic Underground, Sydney. 8pm. $20.

El Loco Later - feat: DJs On Rotation Excelsior Hotel, Surry Hills. 9pm. Free.

Electro Swing Comes To Town - feat: Jenova Collective + The Woohoo Revue + Electro Alley + Dr Cat Jam Gallery, Bondi Junction. 8pm. $22.10.

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

Frat Saturdays feat: DJ Jonski Side Bar, Sydney.

7:30pm. Free.

Husky Manly Wharf Hotel, Manly. 9:15pm. Free.

J-Trick Marquee, Pyrmont.

10pm. $18.60.

Le Fruit DJs Goros, Surry Hills.

8pm. Free.

Lndry - feat: Ben Klock + Motez + Acaddamy + Offtapia + Elijah Scadden + Blackjack + DJ Just 1 + King Lee + Andrew Wowk + U-Khan + Jac Frier Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 9pm. $43.10.

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

My Place Saturdays - feat: DJs On Rotation Bar100, The Rocks.

8pm. Free.

Pacha Sydney - feat: Uberjak’d + SCNDL + Dirt Cheap Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney. 6:30pm. $40.

Return To Rio feat: Soul Clap + Matthias Meyer + Mr. C + Davi + Atish + Hoj + Phat Phil Cooper + Nicky Night Time + The Riopians + More Del Rio Riverside Resort, Wisemans Ferry. 12pm. $175.

Romare Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 11pm. Free.

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

8:30pm. Free.

Something Else feat: Matthias Meyer + Pablo Sanchez + Rascal + Dave Stuart + Tech No More + Aaron Robins + Murray Elliot Burdekin Hotel, Darlinghurst. 9pm. $15.

Sydney Darts Exhibition Cup + Jamie ‘Jabba’ Caven + DJ Smiffysun + MC Mal Constable 99 On York, Sydney.

7pm. $30.

HIP HOP & R&B

Boathouse Saturdays - feat: Resident DJs The Watershed Hotel, Sydney. 9pm. $20.

In The Groove + Xs Mr Falcon’s, Glebe.

8pm. Free.

Skratch - feat: Frenzie + DJ Perplex + Benny Hinn Play Bar, Surry Hills.

6pm. Free.

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 15 CLUB NIGHTS

Marco Polo - feat: Nora En Pure Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney. 1pm. $17.50.

Return To Rio feat: Soul Clap + Matthias Meyer + Mr. C + Davi + Atish + Hoj + Phat Phil Cooper + Nicky Night Time + The Riopians + More Del Rio Riverside Resort, Wisemans Ferry. 12pm. $175.

S.A.S.H By Day - Feat: Robbie Courdukes + James Fazzolari + James Cripps + Carlos Zarate Greenwood Hotel, Sydney North. 1pm. $15.

S.A.S.H By Night - feat: Mihai Popoviciu + Matt Weir + Kerry Wallace + JPA + Pablo Sanchez + Jim Poe + Mr Doris + Mo’Funk Home Nightclub, Darling Harbour. 8pm. $15.

Straight Up Sundays - feat: Cool Hand Luke Middle Bar, Darlinghurst. 5pm.

Uberjak’d

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 12

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 14

Maribou State Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $33.80.

Lndry - Feat: Ben Klock + Motez + Acaddamy + Offtapia + Elijah Scadden + Blackjack + DJ Just 1 + King Lee + Andrew Wowk + U-Khan + Jac Frier Chinese Laundry, Sydney.

9pm. $43.10.

Wax Wars - Feat: Buick Vs Kikz + DJ A$K + Madhouse DJs + Mike Watt Oxford Hotel, Darlinghurst.

8pm. $10.

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 13 Bassic - Feat: Ganz + Alix Perez & Eprom Present Shades + Spenda C + A-Tonez + Nemo + Doctor Werewolf + Robustt + Gradz + Blackmale Chinese Laundry, Sydney.

9pm. $27.70.

Jack The House - Feat: Paul Holden + John Ferris + Mark Dynamix Slyfox, Enmore. 9pm. $10.

L-Fresh The Lion + Philly Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 8pm. $15.

Naughty By Nature Metro Theatre, Sydney.

8pm. $74.85.

Return To Rio - Feat: Soul Clap + Matthias Meyer + Mr. C + Davi + Atish + Hoj + Phat Phil Cooper + Nicky Night Time + The Riopians + More Del Rio Riverside Resort, Wisemans Ferry. 12pm. $175.

Free.

Sun Sets - feat: Phat Phil Cooper + Mike Witcombe + Robbie Lowe + Johnny Gleeson + Michelle Owen + Wild Sunset Cafe Del Mar, Sydney.

2pm. Free.

Sunday Bloody Sunday - feat: DJ Jack Shit The Bearded Tit, Redfern. 5:30pm.

Free.

Sydney Darts Exhibition Cup +

Pacha Sydney - Feat: Uberjak’d + SCNDL + Dirt Cheap Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney.

6:30pm. $40.

Romare Goodgod Small Club, Sydney.

11pm. Free.

Something Else - Feat: Matthias Meyer + Pablo Sanchez + Rascal + Dave Stuart + Tech No More + Aaron Robins + Murray Elliot Burdekin Hotel, Darlinghurst.

9pm. $15.

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 15 S.A.S.H By Night - Feat: Mihai Popoviciu + Matt Weir + Kerry Wallace + JPA + Pablo Sanchez + Jim Poe + Mr Doris + Mo’Funk Home Nightclub, Darling Harbour. 8pm. $15.

Sun Sets - Feat: Phat Phil Cooper + Mike Witcombe + Robbie Lowe + Johnny Gleeson + Michelle Owen + Wild Sunset Cafe Del Mar, Sydney. 2pm.

Free.

Jamie ‘Jabba’ Caven + DJ Smiffysun + MC Mal Constable 99 On York, Sydney.

4pm. $30.

Tim Boffa And Brenny B Manly Wharf Hotel, Manly. 4pm. Free.

MONDAY NOVEMBER 16 CLUB NIGHTS Mashup Monday

- feat: Resident DJs + DJ Thieves + Recess + OTG + Chivalry + More Side Bar, Sydney.

8pm. Free.

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 17 CLUB NIGHTS Coyote Tuesdays The World Bar, Kings Cross. 9pm. $10.

thebrag.com

Off The Record

RECOMMENDED

Dance and Electronica with Tyson Wray

inimitable blend of techno, electro, rock and other curveball records. Expect the unexpected when they swing by the Chippendale Hotel on Saturday December 12.

Apparat

Olivier Mateu AKA Rodriguez Jr. will return to Sydney later this month. Since first cutting his teeth as one half of French electro act The Youngsters – who released two studio albums for Laurent Garnier’s F-Communications label – he went on to deliver his first-ever solo album Bittersweet on Mobilee Records in 2012, and has recently performed at the likes of Tomorrowland in Belgium, ADE in Amsterdam, Sonar Off in Barcelona and Showcase in Paris.

Catch him on Saturday November 21 at Civic Underground.

In case you missed the announcement last week, the Marrickville Bowling Club has cancelled all late-night events on its upcoming schedule. The announcement comes via its Facebook page, stating: “We have had to temporarily cease latenight events until the council approves our extended licence.” That means the upcoming Mathew Jonson, Cobblestone Jazz and Palms Trax show on Saturday November 21 has been moved to Jam Gallery, while the new venue for Eric Cloutier and Peter van Hoesen is now TBA. or the first time in five years, Apparat will return to Sydney for an intimate DJ performance. One of the most diverse names in the game, over the course of his career the Berlin-based producer has flirted with everything from dancefloororientated techno and ambient soundscapes to composing music for German theatre and feature films. In 2012, he won the German equivalent of an Oscar for his score for Tolstoy’s War And Peace by Sebastian Hartmann. Most recently, he released a second album with Modeselektor under the moniker Moderat, titled II. Catch Apparat playing an

F

extended set on Friday November 20 at Oxford Art Factory.

The greatest party-starters to ever come out of Scotland are going to set Sydney alight next month. JD Twitch and JG Wilkes, AKA DJ duo Optimo, ran the Glaswegian club night of the same name for 13 years at the infamous Sub Club. A night that hosted the likes of LCD Soundsystem, Atom Heart, Luciano and Four Tet, it was widely regarded by punters and artists alike as one of the greatest club nights in the world. Since its closure in 2010, the two have traversed the world with their

Tour rumours: Swedish duo Pleasurekraft will return in April next year, while German-born Holger Behn AKA H.O.S.H. will be visiting before the year is out.

Best releases this week: a recording of Session Victim’s vinyl-only mix from PAL in Hamburg has just surfaced on SoundCloud and it’s straight fi-yah. Perfect to get you in the mood for summer. As far as official releases go, I’m digging Max McFerren’s Monk’s Mood (Allergy Season), Andrés Zacco’s Dinosphere (Ilian Tape) and Dreams’ Twisted Karma (Private Selection).

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 12

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 27

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 13

Rødhåd Oxford Art Factory

Maribou State Oxford Art Factory

Shigeto, Lapalux Oxford Art Factory Secret Circuit Oxford Hotel

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 14

Nina Kraviz Greenwood Hotel Romare Goodgod Small Club

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 20

Apparat Oxford Art Factory

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 21

Bicep Oxford Art Factory Justin Martin Chinese Laundry

Eric Cloutier, Peter Van Hoesen TBA

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 28

Oliver Huntemann Max Watt’s 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

Mathew Jonson, Cobblestone Jazz, Palms Trax Jam Gallery Optimo Chippendale Hotel Patrice Scott Burdekin Hotel

SATURDAY DECEMBER 12

Rodriguez Jr. Civic Underground

SUNDAY DECEMBER 13 Wolf + Lamb Café del Mar

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

BY DAY

BY NIGHT

Sunday 15th November TERRACE Hosted by

Robbie Cordukes James Fazzolari James Cripps Carlos Zarate GREENWOOD HOTEL 1pm to 9pm - $15

TERRACE

Mihai Popoviciu Matt Weir ࠮ Kerry Wallace

THE DEN JPA ࠮ Pablo Sanchez ࠮ Jim Poe

MAZE Mr Doris ࠮ Mo'Funk

THE BOX Hosted by WeLove

HOME NIGHTCLUB 8pm to 4am - $15 till 10pm / $20 after $15 all night with SASH by day stamp

www.sash.net.au thebrag.com

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08:11:15 :: Greenwood Hotel :: 36 Blue Street North Sydney 9964 9477 OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER

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