Brag#640

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ISSUE NO. 640 NOVEMBER 25, 2015

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

MUSIC, FILM, THEATRE + MORE

FOALS BACKS TO THE WALL

Plus

T E DE S CHI T RUCK S B A ND SCRE A MFEEDER ME W M A C DEM A RC O

SLEEPM A K E S WAV E S

PUSCIF ER

PEK ING DUK

It turns out inviting fans around to his house wasn't his greatest idea.

Headlining a big birthday bash for Bird's Robe Records.

Maynard James Keenan explains why he'll never be a rock star.

The Canberra duo on refusing to stay in one place.

GOAT A ND MUCH MOR E

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BRAG :: 640 :: 25:11:15 :: 3

rock music news

the BRAG presents

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

Hordern Pavilion Tuesday January 5

speed date WITH

BLOC PARTY

MICHAEL WATSON FROM THE INDIANS latest single ‘Unsatisfied’, which has been well received so far. Apart from that, it’s mostly just continuous writing, jamming new songs, creating new ideas, trying to work out the perfect setlist as well as plan for what songs we are going to release next. Best Gig Ever We’ve had a few really 3. good gigs. When we released our

instantly catchy melody, it gets scrapped! Keeping Busy Over the past couple of 2. months we’ve been really busy. Gigs are always coming up and we’ve only recently released our

latest single a few weeks ago we played at the Oxford Arts Gallery Bar. It was packed and the energy from the crowd was really good, so that was awesome. We also played with our mates The Rubens in Newcastle a few years back at Bar On The Hill and it was much the same – heaps of people and heaps of energy. That was also probably the tightest we’ve ever been live as well.

4.

Current Playlist We are always listening to new music. City Calm Down’s

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, James Di Fabrizio, Eden Gillespie, Tegan Reeves, Aaron Streatfeild ART DIRECTOR: Sarah Bryant PHOTOGRAPHERS: Katrina Clarke, Ashley Mar ADVERTISING: Les White - 0405 581 125 / (02) 9212 4322 les@thebrag.com Tony Pecotic - (02) 9212 4322 tony@thebrag.com PUBLISHER: Furst Media MANAGING DIRECTOR, FURST MEDIA: Patrick Carr - patrick@furstmedia.com.au, (03) 9428 3600 / 0402 821 122 DIGITAL DIRECTOR/ADVERTISING: Kris Furst kris@furstmedia.com.au, (03) 9428 3600 GIG & CLUB GUIDE COORDINATOR: Sarah Bryant - gigguide@thebrag.com (rock); clubguide@thebrag.com (dance, hip hop & parties) AWESOME INTERNS: Elias Kwiet, Tegan Reeves, Aaron Streatfeild, Eden Gillespie REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS: Nat Amat, Prudence Clark, Tom Clift, Joseph Earp, Christie Eliezer, Tegan Jones, Lachlan Kanoniuk, Emily Meller, David Molloy, Annie Murney, Adam Norris, George Nott, Daniel Prior, Kate Robertson, Natalie Rogers, Erin Rooney, Spencer Scott, Natalie Salvo, Leonardo Silvestrini, Jade Smith, Lucy Watson, Rod Whitfield, Harry Windsor, Tyson Wray, Stephanie Yip, David James Young Please send mail NOT ACCOUNTS direct to this NEW address 100 Albion Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010 ph - (02) 9212 4322 fax - (02) 9319 2227

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Newtown Social Club Sunday February 28

STURGILL SIMPSON Metro Theatre Tuesday March 22

SHAKEY GRAVES The Basement Thursday March 31

Ben Harper and The Innocent Criminals

MAN IT’S A HOT ONE

In support of his first solo album in six years, The Great Unknown, Matchbox Twenty frontman and chart-topping solo artist Rob Thomas will hit Sydney as part of a national tour. Thomas is no stranger to Australian audiences, having forged a relationship

HARPING ON HARPER

Aussie festival favourite Ben Harper and his band The Innocent Criminals will make their way back Down Under for a lap of the country next March, beginning with a headline show on the steps of the Sydney Opera House. The Innocent Criminals’ history dates back to 1993, making them the best known of prolific frontman Harper’s projects. They remained active until the release of their 2007 album, Lifeline, but have returned with news of a new record, Call It What It Is, due to arrive in April. This means their famed live show will double as a preview of the latest material for fans across Australia, starting in Sydney. Harper and The Innocent Criminals will perform outside the Sydney Opera House on Wednesday March 2.

over 20 years of music. His debut album ...Something To Be hit number one in these parts, while his singles ‘This Is How A Heart Breaks’ and ‘Lonely No More’ have contributed to sales of more than 80 million records. Catch Thomas in a special performance on the steps of the Sydney Opera House on Wednesday February 24.

THE WURST OF THE MARDI GRAS

Sunn O)))

SUNNY SIDE DOWN

Droooone. Already announced for the 2016 incarnation of Adelaide Festival, now the legendary drone metal act Sunn O))) have locked in a headline show in Sydney. The group formed almost two decades ago as a tribute to the music of Earth. Since then, they’ve gone on to become one of the most revered acts of the genre. Next month will see the release of Kannon – their first record under the Sunn O))) name since 2009’s Monoliths & Dimensions. They’ll be at Manning Bar on Tuesday March 15.

Arguably the world’s most famous bearded lady, Conchita Wurst, has announced she will perform with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the Sydney Opera House in a one-night-only special Mardi Gras Festival event, Conchita: From Vienna With Love. As part of an ab-fab lineup, Wurst will be joined onstage by Mardi Gras Ambassador and performer Courtney Act, actor and cabaret performer Paul Capsis and award-winning cabaret and theatre performer Trevor Ashley. See Wurst with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra on Thursday March 3.

WASN’T EXPECTING THAT

UK singer-songwriter Jamie Lawson has announced his return Down Under next autumn. Lawson found himself a huge number of new fans after touring with Ed Sheeran earlier this year, and became the first signee to Sheeran’s Gingerbread Man Records. Here in August with his hit single ‘Wasn’t Expecting That’, which reached number three on the ARIA Singles Chart, Lawson now returns with his eponymous debut LP, which also features his latest track ‘Ahead Of Myself’. See more from the album live when Lawson plays the Metro Theatre on Saturday April 18.

Passenger

IF YOU WANNA BE A PASSENGER

Following last year’s Australian tour, Passenger will return to our shores for a string of headline shows at some of the country’s most prestigious venues. After extensive stints as a travelling busker, Passenger broke through with his platinum-selling album All The Little Lights, featuring the single ‘Let Her Go’. Since then, he has followed up with Whispers and Whispers II, with profits from the latter going directly to UNICEF to support children in Liberia. Passenger will play the Enmore Theatre on Thursday February 25.

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Passenger photo by Jarrad Seng

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GLEN MATLOCK, EARL SLICK & SLIM JIM PHANTOM

GURRUMUL GOES ELECTRO

The previously acoustic-driven traditional and folk artist Gurrumul has changed gears, and will be debuting his new electronicainfused music at a Sydney show. His new work combines his love for Yolngu (clans from North East Arnhem) music with contemporary electronic and dance music, in a style dubbed ‘electronic trad music’ or ETM. It’ll be the first taste of his upcoming electro-fusion album. Catch Gurrumul when he goes electronic on the TRIBE2Tribe tour at Max Watt’s on Friday February 19 with Sietta’s Mangohig.

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Where: Brighton Up Bar When: Friday November 27

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

The National Folk Festival has announced its second wave of artists to perform over Easter next year. Vishten, All Our Exes Live In Texas, Castlecomer and Andy White have been locked in for the lineup, joining earlier confirmed acts such as The Young’uns, Jaaleekaay, Black Market Tune and The Rambling Boys. With the lineup only in its second-wave announcement stage, the festival already looks like it will be pretty folkin’ good, with more mandolin, jaw-harp and bodhran to be heard over Easter. The five-day event is in its 50th year, and continues to attract thousands of visitors to the nation’s capital annually. The 2016 National Folk Festival will run in Canberra’s Exhibition Park from Thursday March 24 – Monday March 28.

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

DEADLINES: Editorial: Friday 12pm (no extensions) Ad bookings: Friday 5pm (no extensions) Fishished art: No later than 2pm Monday Ad cancellations: Friday 4pm Deadlines are strictly adhered to. Published by Furst Media P/L ACN 1112480045 All content copyrighted to Cartrage P/L / Furst Media P/L 2003-2014

5.

Your Ultimate Rider Usually we are just happy with beers and water; Matin our drummer always needs water. I’ve been backstage at some big venues with big acts and they have roast chicken dinners and champagne and then there are other bands who ask for socks!

PARTY IN THE PADDOCK –

Sunn O))) photo by Peter Beste

FOLKIN’ IN THE FREE WORLD

new record is up there, but we listen to heaps of different stuff. I’m getting into a lot of alt-country kind of music like The Jayhawks as well as listening to heaps of old-school hip hop and some old-school funk. I remember seeing Paul Simon a year or so ago and his tour manager said the only way you’re going to make an album like Graceland is if you go outside of your usual musical spectrum, and that always stuck with us.

Enmore Theatre Thursday January 7

Shakey Graves photo by Jarred Gastriech

1.

Your Profile We are just five guys from Sydney who play thrash-pop music – a bit heavier than guitarpop, not as heavy as punk rock, but also with real nice melodies. If a song we make hasn’t got an

FOALS

GRAMMY AWARD WINNING

GRAMMY AND ACADEMY AWARD WINNER

“Musical magic.” LA.COM

“A wall of talent on stage.” DENVER WESTWORD

“Easily one of the best nights of live music.” LAS VEGAS INFORMER

WED MARCH

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BLUESFEST

SIDESHOWS

TUESDAY MARCH

TICKETS FROM BLUESFESTTOURING.COM.AU 02 6685 8310 & THE VENUES MORE INFO FROM BLUESFESTTOURING.COM.AU

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“Sturgill Simpson is the Radiohead of country music.” MARISSA R. MOSS SALON.COM

FEATURING

AND

GRAMMY AWARD WINNING SINGER FROM CAROLINA CHOCOLATE DROPS

ROBERT RANDOLPH LUTHER DICKINSON & CODY DICKINSON JOHN MEDESKI (NORTH MISSISSIPPI ALLSTARS) SUPERGROUP, BACK TOGETHER FOR THEIR FIRST TOUR IN 15 YEARS “Alabama’s next big success story”

“This Kentucky-bred, Nashville-based honky-tonk hero makes country music rooted in the lean, mean traditions of Merle and Waylon, but follows his own muse.”

NASHVILLE SCENE

“He’s a cat that can do an Otis Redding.” KEITH RICHARDS

ROLLING STONE

“Simpson has perfected the trick ofMUSIC ASSOCIATION AWARDS AMERICANA distilling 2015 Artist of the Year classic 2015 Song of the Year NASHVILLEfrom SCENE COUNTRY MUSIC country CRITICS POLL many eras 2014 Best Male Vocalist and moving 2014 Best away from it Songwriter AMERICAN SONGWRITERS at the same Best Album of 2014 time.” NPR

“2015’s next big thing” THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

“genre-splicing instrumental dexterity”

THE PLAYLIST

2015 favourite song of the year

TUE MARCH

ROLLING STONE

22 METRO THEATRE

MON MARCH

THEATRE 21 METRO

SUN MARCH

27 FACTORY THEATRE

MON MARCH

THEATRE 21 FACTORY

ALLEN STONE THE DECEMBERISTS JACKSON BROWNE JANIVA MAGNESS LORD HURON LUCKY PETERSON LUKAS NELSON & P.O.T.R. NAHKO & MEDICINE FOR THE PEOPLE THE RESIDENTS NATHANIEL RATELIFF & THE NIGHT SWEATS THE SELECTER SHAKEY GRAVES SONGHOY BLUES STEVE EARLE & THE DUKES TAJ MAHAL TEDESCHI TRUCKS BAND VINTAGE TROUBLE THE WAILERS thebrag.com

BRAG :: 640 :: 25:11:15 :: 5

live & local

free stuff

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

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

he said she said WITH

MIKE ROBE FROM THE BIRD’S ROBE COLLECTIVE Theatre for the first time in June. It was like the culmination of everything we had collectively worked towards, literally a dream come true.

Sleepmakeswaves

T

he Bird’s Robe Collective is about to celebrate its fi fth birthday as a label. How far has the business come in that time? It’s come much further than I ever expected. When we did the first Bird’s Robe show in 2008, there was just some loose idea of eventually building a scene. When the label started in 2010 it was also just a naive concept of introducing people to new, interesting music. Since then we’ve grown to over 50 artists on the roster, had three ARIA nominations, a Top 40 album and become national tour promoters for acts like 65daysofstatic, This Will Destroy You and Mew. One of the high points was Sleepmakeswaves headlining the Metro

How strong is the current progressive and experimental scene in Australian music? Musically it is amazing. There is such a depth of talent across so many different genres. What really strikes me is the community, though – now there is a real family spirit and a shared willingness to collaborate, contribute and see each other succeed. It’s a real joy to be part of. Bird’s Robe acts as a record label, promoter, publicist, booking agent and management. How important is it to diversify in the music business these days? For us, all the above was done out of necessity. Nobody wanted to book shows for our weird progressive or post-rock bands, so I became a booking agent. Nobody wanted to promote the shows, so I became a publicist. Nobody wanted to release our music, so I became a label. Then we needed someone to bring it all together, so I became a manager. Then I realised we had nobody bringing likeminded international acts to Australia, so I became a promoter. Functionally, it helps to have that diversity so you get to understand

how things work together and can make things happen – when you run your business, you are your own top priority. Who are the highlight bands helping celebrate the birthday at Manning Bar next month? All of them! [Laughs]. It is a rare treat to see Pirate perform live, in particular. So many of these acts have had really big years – Sleepmakeswaves playing 55 shows in 22 countries and Troldhaugen playing Summer Breeze festival in Germany come to mind as highlights. Do you have plans to expand internationally from here? We now have several acts touring internationally, so continuing to be active is certainly part of the plan. I think setting up an office overseas is beyond our budget, but the internet keeps us connected well enough. I think the next 12-18 months will see us doing a lot more in North America and Asia, as our focus for the past few years has been mainly on the UK, Europe and Australia. What: Bird’s Robe Records 5th Birthday With: Sleepmakeswaves, Troldhaugen, Toehider, Meniscus, Pirate and more Where: Manning Bar When: Saturday December 5

Powderfinger

TRIPLE J’S 40 YEARS OF MUSIC

The ABC has been synonymous with youth radio in Australia for 40 years. Four entire decades – can you believe that? In 1975, the budding Double Jay launched on the Sydney airwaves, later expanding into the national triple j station. Since then, triple j has been at the forefront of music Down Under, helping to give countless Aussie artists their start, and reflecting what was going on in the wider world of music at any given moment. Now, triple j has released a four-CD compilation called 40 Years Of Music, squeezing in as many influential tunes as possible from the entirety of its broadcasting history – Joy Division to Midnight Oil and Paul Kelly; Pixies and Powderfinger to The Prodigy; Sarah Blasko to Lorde. We’ve got five copies of the album to give away, and you can enter the draw at thebrag.com/freeshit.

Gang Of Youths

YOUTHFUL ENTHUSIASM

After a 26-date album release tour, Gang Of Youths are set to embark on a national headline run this April. 2015 has been an exciting year for the alt-rockers off the back of their debut release, The Positions. As well as debuting at number five on the ARIA charts upon release, the Sydneysiders were also nominated for Album of the Year at the J Awards and have scored five ARIA Awards nominations, including for Breakthrough Artist, Best Rock Album and Best Australian Live Act. Gang Of Youths will play the Enmore Theatre on Saturday April 9. Tickets go on sale midday this Thursday November 26.

The Cairos

FROM EGYPT WITH LOVE

The Cairos need a hug. ‘Love Don’t Feel Right’ is the name of the Brisbane trio’s new single, and with a little help from their fans, they’ll be looking for something that feels a little righter. And where better a place to start than the live stage? After recent triumphs including a big show at CMJ in New York and sold-out dates with Mutemath, the pop-rockers will tour the east coast of Australia in the New Year. In the meantime, they’ve shared the Braden Trotter-directed video for the latest single. Learn the words ahead of the Brighton Up Bar show on Friday January 22.

FRANKIE’S TURNS THREE

The rock’n’rolling pizza-loving folk over at Frankie’s Pizza are celebrating their third birthday in style. By ‘style’, we mean with a lotta drinks (including Frankie’s reputed spiced rum and fresh apple juice), pizza and an excellent lineup that features the likes of Kingswood and The Lockhearts – the

former of whom have been snagged from their tour supporting the one and only AC/DC, and will be flying in directly from Melbourne. They’ll be joined by Frankie’s World Famous House Band, Sydney’s Two Age and WA’s DJ Goggles. Celebrate what is probably the only third birthday party to feature an AC/DC support act on Sunday December 6.

TRIOFLIGHT START A RUMOUR

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Nine-piece reggae-roots band Kinsky have revealed a launch show for their upcoming single ‘I Am The Mountain’. Following their critically acclaimed 2013 debut album Sunset On The Good Fight, the Sydney locals have now locked in details of their forthcoming EP, The Edge Of The Dark Wine Sea. In the lead-up to the EP’s release, the band will drop the lead single ‘I Am The Mountain’ with a live gig in December. It’ll take over Camelot Lounge on Thursday December 10.

SVELT AT THE SLY

The final Live At The Sly lineup for November has been revealed, and as always it features some of Sydney’s premiere funk, blues and soul acts. Kicking off things for the evening will be La Tarantella, followed by Sydney warehouse veterans Spectacles, a four-piece fusion hip hop band. Headliners Svelt will exhibit their take on ’90s jungle and tripped-out hip hop to round out the evening. It all goes down at Slyfox this Thursday November 26.

TAOS ON TOUR

Dr Taos, the Sydney-based purveyor of swampy alt-folk, will take a sabbatical from the recording studio to reconnect with the live audience next week. Dr Taos’ eponymous new record will land in early 2016, but in the meantime, he’ll be joined by international performer Phillip Bracken and alt-country act Beck Fielding, all in support of Taos’ fresh single, ‘Love Strikes’. Let Dr Taos strike you down at Lazybones Lounge on Thursday November 26.

FIGHTING ON FOUR WHEELS

Trioflight

Swedish rockers Truckfighters are returning to Australia. The three-piece has been undertaking a gruelling tour schedule since last appearing in Australia, playing shows across Sweden, Germany, Hungary, Bulgaria, Austria, Switzerland, France, Netherlands, Belgium and the US, as well as taking on the stages of major festivals including Open Air, Hellfest, Pukkelpop, Frequency, Rock Im Revier, Free & East, Roadkill and more. Now they’ll be sweating it up at the Factory Floor on Thursday January 7.

Gang Of Youths photo by Al Kalyk

2015 Cranbrook Recording Studio Competition winners, Trioflight, are set to release their debut album The Rumour Of Forests And Waves next month. The three-piece jazz combo is made up of some of the country’s finest musicians: drummer Dave Goodman (Joe Lovano, Vince Jones), pianist Nick Southcott (James Morrison, Christian Howes) and bassist Max Alduca (Dale Barlow, Andrew Dickeson). The launch show will be supported by singer Jo Fabro, and it takes place at Foundry616 on Thursday December 3.

READY TO ASCEND

Dr Taos

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BRAG :: 640 :: 25:11:15 :: 7

Industrial Strength Music Industry News with Christie Eliezer

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THINGS WE HEAR * Which regional band turned up to play its gig even though its van flipped over on the way there? * Which audio production company has written above the paper roll in its toilet the message, “Get your audio degree tickets hereâ€?? * More acts have gotten behind the Australian Road Crew Association (ARCA)’s campaign to raise funds and awareness of the high suicide rate among roadies. It’s created a poster with the names of the 114 who have died in the past 30 years. AC/DC have signed one for its use while they are in Australia. ARCA founder Ian Peel said, “Remember the fallen‌ we have Angus and the boys behind us.â€? There is talk of the poster being permanently displayed on Melbourne’s AC/DC Lane. * Inertia Group CEO Colin Daniels was re-elected to the board of global indie sector association Merlin, representing Australia. * RĂœFĂœS announced

their second album will be called Bloom, out Friday January 22, with pre-orders getting the almost ten-minute track ‘Innerbloom’. Meanwhile, debut album Atlas has just gone platinum and single ‘You Were Right’ has gone gold. * MusicNSW’s quick response funding saw Sydney band Pirra get $4,250 and Sarsha Simone and manager Kristie Nicholas $1,700 to attend the Australian World Music Expo in Melbourne this month. Adam Katz of Bondi Junction will get $440 to attend Sydney’s Electronic Music Conference in December. * “A massive fuck up!� Olly Murs chastised himself after appearing on The X Factor UK and prematurely announcing one of the wannabes had been eliminated. * Mogwai guitarist John Cummings has quit the band after two years to “pursue [his] own musical projects�. * Illy quipped on triple j about working on his new single ‘Swear Jar’ with US producer Rahki,

who won a Grammy for his work with Kendrick Lamar: “I got in [18 months ago] just before he won the Grammy so I think it might have been a lot more difficult if I had have hooked up with him afterwards.� The track disses poseur musicians and internet trolls. * Frankfurt and Berlin will have their own electronic/ dance music museums by 2017. Berlin’s is being set up by Dimitri Hegemann, whose record label/club Tresor has popularised underground techno since the early ’90s. Frankfurt’s is by club owner Alex Azary and DJ Andreas Tomalla, and partly subsidised by the city. * Florence Welch had security freaking at Florence + The Machine’s show at Brisbane’s Riverstage. During ‘Rabbit Heart’, she insisted everyone hoist their partners onto their shoulders. Moments later she jumped off the stage and up the hill, hanging off a marquee and singing in the crowd, where she was mobbed for photos and selfies.

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TWO NEW NAMES ON APRA AMCOS BOARDS The latest APRA AMCOS boards have gained two new names. Former Go-Betweens member and award-winning screen composer Amanda Brown has been elected in as writer director for APRA. A record 20 members vied for the position, left vacant after Mike Perjanik finished a 30-year term. APRA has been concerned that female representation on the board is as low as 16 per cent, and CEO Brett Cottle welcomed Brown in joining Jenny Morris on the board. Eight female songwriters were also announced as ambassadors.

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The new APRA board also consists of Morris (chair), Ian James of Mushroom Music (deputy chair), Bob Aird (Universal), David Albert (J. Albert & Son), Matthew Capper, (Warner/Chappell Music), Damien Trotter (Sony ATV), Philip Walker (Origin) and writer directors Brendan Gallagher, Don McGlashan, Chris Neal and Nigel Westlake.

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Century Venues has added a Newcastle theatre to its portfolio, joining the Enmore Theatre and the Metro Theatre in Sydney, the Factory Theatre in Marrickville, The Comedy Store in Moore Park and The Vanguard in Newtown, among others. Now Century has bought Newcastle’s heritage-listed 1,340-capacity Victoria Theatre – closed since 1999 – which it plans to revamp as an active performance space. It belonged to hotelier Arthur Laundy, and the estimated price was between $1 million and $1.1 million.

SCOTT BRAUN TO LAUNCH ‘BERLIN’ BOOK

Ian James continues as chair of the AMCOS board, with Marianna Annas (ABC) as deputy. Jaime Gough (Native Tongue) is a newcomer, replacing Matthew Donlevy (Peermusic), who has finished his term. The others are Aird, Albert, Capper, Trotter, Walker, Philip Burn (Hal Leonard), Peter Hebbes (Hebbes), Steve McPherson (Hillsong) and Simon Moor (Kobalt).

MORE AUSSIE ACTS INVITED TO SXSW

ELLIOTT SMITH DOCO SCREENING

Six more Aussie acts have been invited to showcase at South By Southwest next year. The latest round of 200 global artists includes Ben Abraham (Melbourne), The Gooch Palms (Newcastle), Hockey Dad (Wollongong), Nite Fields (Brisbane), Oh Pep! (Melbourne) and Sui Zhen (Melbourne). Others on the list include Bleached, Mercury Rev, Replacements bassist Tommy Stinson, Soda Fabric, Thee Oh Sees, Prayers, White Lung and Fuck Buttons side project Blanck Mass.

Rdio has filed for bankruptcy in the US and is closing operations in all 85 markets (including Australia) to eradicate its debt. Pandora is in the process of buying some assets (including technology and IP) for US$75 million. In Australia, the Rdio app was at one point the highest grossing and most popular app on the iTunes Store. Rdio had 10,000 Aussie subscribers, who may be transferred to Pandora.

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CENTURY VENUES BUYS NEWCASTLE THEATRE

Sydney-born and Berlin-based writer Stuart Braun is back in Australia to launch his book City Of Exiles: Berlin From The Outside In (Noctua Press). It focuses on 200 restless spirits like Einstein, Iggy Pop, Nick Cave and director Laura Poitras who found sanctuary in Berlin through the last century. Published in Germany in May, it will be officially launched in Sydney (Tuesday December 1 at the Hollywood Hotel) and Melbourne in discussion with photographer Peter Milne.

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on Saturday December 5. The Arts Party was set up to create an Australia with artistic leanings and to ensure the creative sector has a voice in local, state and federal politics.

ARTS PARTY STANDING FOR SYDNEY SEAT The new national Arts Party will contest its first by-election. Comedian and performer Lou Pollard is among 13 candidates standing for Joe Hockey’s former North Sydney seat

Heaven Adores You, the documentary about the late US singer-songwriter Elliott Smith, comes with 20 songs, many unreleased, and 30 interviews with musicians about his continuing legacy after his 2003 death at 34 from a stabbing suicide. It had its Australian premiere at the Melbourne Film Festival, but Mushroom Pictures is holding a one-nightonly screening in six cities, including Chauvel Cinema in Paddington on Wednesday November 25.

VOTING BEGINS FOR SMACS Public voting is open until Friday December 18 for the 11 categories of the FBi Sydney Music, Arts & Culture (SMAC) Awards. Winners will be announced on Tuesday January 12. Up for Best Live Act are Royal Headache, Jack Ladder and The Dreamlanders, George Maple, Alex Cameron and Flowertruck. Record of the Year nominees include Hermitude’s Dark Night Sweet Light, Little May’s For The Company, Sampa The Great’s The Great Mixtape, Royal Headache’s High, Tuka’s Life Death Time Eternal and Gang Of Youths’ The Positions. For all details and voting, go to fbiradio.com/smacs.

MUSICIANS IN A MMAD WORLD Musicians Making A Difference (MMAD) is a grassroots charity that exists to change

Lifelines Married: two AC/DC fans at the band’s show before 50,000 at Adelaide Oval. Married: two Brisbane hardcore fans tied the knot onstage at Fest 14 in Florida. Born: Lila Pannonica Gold recently in New York to Greta Gertler and Adam D Gold of former Sydney-based act The Universal Thump. Hospitalised: Justin Camilleri, guitarist of Perth metalcore band Mourning Lilith, is in intensive care after a car crash. He and singer Max Faranda were driving home from band practice when two women in a Saab, allegedly being pursued by police, crashed into them. Faranda had minor injuries and was discharged. Hospitalised: US outfit The Ghost Inside drummer Andrew Tkaczyk after a crash between their tour bus and a semi-trailer, which claimed the lives of both drivers. Injured: Hinder bassist Mike Rodden and a crewman suffered broken ribs after a car crash in Cookeville, Tennessee. In Court: Nicki Minaj’s ex-boyfriend Safaree Samuels is about to initiate a multimilliondollar lawsuit for royalties, alleging he wrote her raps on her albums. He says he has video and audio footage from studio sessions as proof. In Court: Sydney Christian hip hop producer Kodi Maybir was found guilty of murdering a sevenyear-old boy. Died: Chris Paine, founding member and guitarist with Melbourne ’90s bands Killing Time and Mantissa, whose album Mossy God was released on Polydor in 1992. Died: US singer-songwriter P.F. Sloan, 70, from pancreatic cancer. Scoring a record deal with Atlantic at 13 years old, he wrote Barry McGuire’s ‘Eve Of Destruction’, Johnny Rivers’ ‘Secret Agent Man’ and Herman’s Hermits’ ‘A Must To Avoid’. Died: US session drummer Edward ‘Fast Eddie’ Hoh, 71. He appeared on albums by Donovan, Mike Bloomfield, The Mamas and The Papas and The Monkees. Died: US artist and illustrator Michael C. Gross, best known for the Ghostbusters logo, of cancer, aged 70. Died: David VanLanding, one-time singer with Michael Schenker Group and Crimson Glory, in a traffic accident.

young lives through the power of music and mentoring. Participants are taught to use their talents to break negative cycles, feel a greater sense of self-worth and make positive choices. This year, ten of them created #MMAD4U Day to raise awareness of MMAD’s achievements. It launched on Monday with support from the music biz, media and artists including 5 Seconds Of Summer, Tuka, Troye Sivan, Birds Of Tokyo, KLP, Justice Crew and The Potbelleez.

GREAT SOUTHERN BLUES RETURS After Narooma’s long-running Great Southern Blues Festival ended this August, promoter Neil Mumme hinted it could be back in a reformatted version. He’s now announced it will return next October “at a new festival site with a single concert stage�. It will be held in partnership with the Narooma Oyster Festival. In August, Mumme insinuated the festival was facing competition from other festivals and had “compliance� issues.

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FOALS

BUILT TO EVOLVE

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hen British outfi t Foals arrived in 2008 with their debut album Antidotes, they did so wielding a brand of angular rock that stood apart from the pack – so much so, the term ‘angular’ wasn’t even a pejorative as it may have been for their peers. The years since have seen the band perform remarkable transitions of style, ascending to festival headliner status with 2013 album Holy Fire, and continuing the sonic dexterity with the just-released fourth LP What Went Down.

to the crisp, immediate nature of their earlier work, Foals’ third LP Holy Fire marked their move into a larger sonic landscape, rich with expanse to cover crowds in the thousands. As Smith explains, the growth of sound isn’t a conscious ploy at festival-bait.

For whatever reason – be it the fi ckle hype cycle perpetuated by the UK’s music press, or the languishing lustre of the format – four albums is a rare milestone for British bands this millennium. How have Foals managed to survive? “By not putting all our eggs in one basket,” says guitarist Jimmy Smith.

When it came to achieving that sound, then, the direction stemmed from a more natural attraction to heavier compositions. “Some of it was sleight of hand, I think,” Philippakis says. “When we were writing Holy Fire, there was that sleight of hand by making the production quite massive, in ways we didn’t even realise when we were working on it. I remember thinking it sounded like a regular rock record, then all the feedback started coming in from the outside world.

“It’s hard to talk about other bands – it depends which ones,” adds frontman Yannis Philippakis. “We’ve worked really hard at the records and progressing, making good records and pushing ourselves. And also playing live, playing really hard, not getting distracted or tempted. There’s been a bit of luck as well. Each record has been different and progressed. We’ve never remained static.” With festival appearances at the likes of Reading and Leeds, and onto prime billing at the upcoming Falls Festivals, Foals have in turn crafted songs of a larger scale in production and arrangement – or perhaps it was the other way around. (“We were offered a festival headline set in the UK, and we couldn’t turn that money down,” Philippakis deadpans.) Either way, compared 10 :: BRAG :: 640 :: 25:11:15

“When you’re making the record, the live setting in your head is only as far as you’ve got on the last record. If you think about the biggest crowds, you think about a festival. On Holy Fire, it’s not like we were writing with headlining in mind or anything like that.”

“We defi nitely felt that songs like ‘Inhaler’ were much heavier than anything we’d written before. We knew that. [But] we didn’t realise the vastness of the production. Some of it is because we started off with what we did on the first record – the interlocking, tightly wound guitars – and it was dance-orientated. Then the second record [2010’s Total Life Forever] was more introverted and atmospheric. The natural thing to do since then is combine those natural threads from the past, but expand into heavier stuff as well. It feels good to play live.” The disparity of style found between Foals albums can also be located within What Went

BY LACHLAN KANONIUK

“We could write a fucking Soviet polka song and it would end up someway fitting. Because we want to excite ourselves, we need to feel like we’re trying different things and expressing ourselves in a myriad of different ways.”

“It’s not just me, it’s the fi ve of us,” says Philippakis. “We could write a fucking Soviet polka song and it would end up someway fi tting. Because we want to excite ourselves, we need to feel like we’re trying different things and expressing ourselves in a myriad of different ways. We’re not the kind of band that will make a record where it has the same texture from track one to track 11. Some bands do that, and they do it very well. For us, the excitement is having these peaks and troughs in the dynamic; these different spaces.”

Down itself, as the new songs range from intense aggression to more tempered showcases of songwriting. Nonetheless, there remain some consistent sonic motifs.

Indeed, at the heart of every evolution beyond their ‘angular’ dance-punk roots, Foals have retained the core values they developed early on. “I think the intent behind all of [the albums] is the same, which is a pure drive to make music that is thought-provoking, entertaining, passionate; that has depth and beauty but is also fun. I think that’s always been the same,” Philippakis says. “It’s just different variations of that. I don’t feel like we make shallow, one-dimensional records. That’s been the same with every record – we crave that depth.

“We write what feels right – we don’t worry if it’s going to be coherent,” says Philippakis. “We feel if the fi ve of us are working on it, and we have the same producer and mixer, then everything will glue together. The thing that we should never do is worry about the coherency. If anything, we try and push ourselves out to make the songs not sound similar, so there’s a big spread.”

“We work hard at the records. There are some obvious sonic things as well – the interlocking ways we play guitar are here on this record; probably more so than the last record, in some ways. We’re defi nitely suckers for rhythm, that’s really important. Even if we’re using a straight up 4/4 beat, there’s been a decision behind doing that, rather than using stock beats.”

“Someone once said to us that it’s always going to sound like Foals if Yannis is singing on it,” Smith adds. “That gives us free reign to do what we want.”

Along with each record’s redirection of style comes with an inherent risk that established fans may not take to the changes well – be they subtle or otherwise

– but Foals are willing to take the gamble each time, with the results speaking for themselves. “Maybe now on the fourth album,” says Smith, “we’ll defi nitely be rolling the dice with getting new fans, but our traditional fans who have stuck with us for a few albums perhaps expect something different each time.” “It defi nitely is a bit nerve-racking,” adds Philippakis, belying his sense of arrogant coolness. “By the time the album comes out we’ve put out a few songs to show there is a spread in terms of sounds. But it’s always nerve-racking when you put the first track off the record out. I remember when we put ‘Spanish Sahara’ [from Total Life Forever] out, we didn’t know whether people would like it – same with ‘Inhaler’ and same with ‘What Went Down’. You can’t predict it.” With Foals’ year wrapping up at a series of New Year’s festival shows, their ambitions for 2016 and beyond are clear. “We want to make more records that we feel are better than what came before. We want to make an amazing record,” Philippakis says. “We’re getting close,” adds Smith. What: Falls Festival 2015/16 With: Bloc Party, Disclosure, Courtney Barnett, The Wombats and many more Where: Lorne, Marion Bay and Byron Bay When: Monday December 28 – Sunday January 3 And: Also appearing at the Hordern Pavilion on Tuesday January 5 More: What Went Down out now through Warner

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feb 18 - mar 3 2016 11 films on sale now

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Start your 2016 festival with the Australian Premiere of this luminous and sensual French film. Set among 1970’s activism in Paris, Delphine and Carol spark a romance that will forever change their lives.

Brian is a poet who can’t seem to catch a break with men. Jim is an actor who is tired of being ignored. In interweaving stories the two explore cruising, clubbing, and casual sex. A tender and sexy glimpse into the life of contemporary gay men.

Orange is the New Black’s Natasha Lyonne, and the director of But I’m a Cheerleader re-join forces in this thrilling flick about sex, murder, and sisterhood. When Shannon accidentally kills a man her lesbian sister must help her hide the body.

A 25th anniversary harbourside screening. Follow the pop powerhouse through health troubles, controversial onstage simulated masturbation, and flirtations with Antonio Banderas. Also featuring iconic concert footage.

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Puscifer Take Your Best Shot By David James Young One such person is Mat Mitchell, who is a frequent co-writer, collaborator, producer and lead guitarist when Puscifer play live. “Everything is kind of in Mat’s hands when it comes to the Puscifer side of things, so credit where credit’s due,” says Keenan. “Other than me saying, ‘OK, it’s time to make a record,’ he’s the one who deals with all of the matters of timing in regards to the project. He actually has a history of this sort of management. He used to play in bands back in Texas just to pay the bills, but he was also a go-to guy when it came to technology – he’d make sure your keyboards worked, he’d make sure the triggers on your drums were in order. Mat was the guy that you took on tour to make sure everything was functioning. If load-in’s at nine, he’s there at nine on the spot. If doors are at eight, he’s got everything ready to go at eight. So whenever I say it’s time to start working on a new record, he meets every deadline. It’s in both of our natures – he understands how to maintain and honour a schedule.”

Perfect Circle, will testify. It’s so much a part of his personality that even when discussing what is ostensibly his solo project – the post-industrial arthouse outfi t Puscifer – Keenan is quick to defl ect to discussing the other people who are involved with making music under the moniker.

“She’s much more of a presence on this record,” Keenan says. “I wanted to add a lot more harmonies on this. Of course, like anything, if you’re going to do a thing, you’re going to continue to do it the way that you do it – that might sound redundant, but it’s worth bringing up, because it’s something that I wanted to break out of. When I was writing and arranging vocals for Money $hot, I knew what kind of harmony that I would write; I knew what sort of sound I would go for. Instead, I got her to write the harmonies. That way, it would come out differently to what I would normally do. In some cases, I’d go with my harmony part; others she would do better. There’s even a few songs where both of our parts were used in different places. Regardless, it meant that it would be a change. It wasn’t me repeating myself.” Over the years, Keenan has developed a reputation – in tandem with his enigmatic presence – as being an incredibly self-serious person; one who, even when seemingly doing something ironic, delivers every last thing with a straight face. “I honestly don’t know what people are talking about when they say that about me,” he says. “My first ever gold record was for my part in ‘Three Little Pigs’ by Green Jellÿ. The first ever Puscifer single was ‘Cuntry Boner’.” This leads to discussion of Keenan’s most recent foray into comedy – a cameo on the TV

show Comedy Bang! Bang!, hosted by former Mr. Show writer and noted podcaster Scott Aukerman. In the show, Keenan played a fictional British punk legend with the charming name of Barf Edwards. “He [Aukerman] called me up to pitch that part to me,” Keenan explains. “I was like, ‘Damn… do I have to be a rock star?’ I’m not sure how to play a rock star – I’ve certainly never been one. He wanted me to have an English accent, too – he was just throwing everything at me. I was arguing with him, asking, ‘Can’t I just play an asshole instead? That’s what I’d rather do.’ He insisted I do it his way, and it was a tragedy.” Keenan deadpans on the last word, almost letting it linger to make it clear he’s joking – or, at least, joking in his own way. He continues: “There was a cat that I was supposed to reach out and pick up during my scene, so I spent a good hour before we started shooting with it. I just wanted it to be familiar with me, so it would know me when the scene happened. It didn’t even end up mattering – with the lights blaring on it, it just kept hissing at me.” A shame, certainly, but it turned out to be one of the more strangely funny moments of the entire season. Keenan concedes the point, but not without adding in one final slight at his character’s costuming: “I felt like I looked more like Gemma from Sons Of Anarchy than a rock star.” What: Money $hot out now through Rocket

Tedeschi Trucks Band Stop, Collaborate And Listen By James Di Fabrizio

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his is the blues, but not as you know it. As far as virtuosic lineups go, you’d be hardpressed to find a band bursting with a tighter collection of sheer talent than the 12-member-strong powerhouse of soul and blues that is Tedeschi Trucks Band. The project began when husband-and-wife duo Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi set aside their own successful groups to join forces and put together something special. Clearly, it was a risk worth taking. With Grammy Awards and praise from luminaries including B.B. King and Eric Clapton behind them, Tedeschi Trucks Band are writing their own chapter in the history book of blues traditions. Prior to forming the group, slide guitarist Derek Trucks had been playing with American rock legends The Allman Brothers Band for 15 years. As much as he loved that band, he yearned to create new music, to push the boundaries of what people expected from him. In vocalist Tedeschi’s words, Trucks wanted a “supergroup”. “I think it was sort of a dream for him to have a band that actually wanted to be on the road together,” says Tedeschi. “He’s one of those people that doesn’t like to sit still. He likes to continue to learn and continue to grow. Some of these bands, they’re great and everything, but they’ve played the same song for 40 years. Derek is like most of the guys in our band, where they like to keep moving.” Indeed, this lively and dynamic essence radiates through the entire outfit, continuing to fuel the creative fire. As the stars began to align in 2010, with Tedeschi and Trucks handpicking their favourite session players, musical accomplices and 12 :: BRAG :: 640 :: 25:11:15

personalities, it was clear they were onto something worth pursuing. “It’s a very special group,” says Tedeschi. “I was blown away. I didn’t at the time want to leave my band – I loved my band, I was having a great time, and we were making great music – but I wasn’t going to miss that opportunity. Really, Derek is one of the finest musicians I’ve ever heard and to have the opportunity to be in a band with him is amazing. Not just because he’s my husband, but because I really respect him as an artist.” A watershed moment for the band was pulling together both J.J. Johnson and Tyler Greenwell to create the unusual but ultimately successful dual-drummer lineup. “Those two actually met on the drums,” says Tedeschi. “They had instant chemistry and an instant connection. I think that was really the birth of the band right there, because it’s so unique and they’re both so gifted.” As time progressed, the lineup went through numerous changes until the group solidified and the chemistry was perfected. The band became a melting pot of influences, all filtered through the cohesive vision of Trucks and Tedeschi. “They’re so eclectic,” says Tedeschi on the collection of musicians who have now joined her travelling family. “They’re really intelligent musicians. They almost have ESP and can read each other’s minds. It’s kind of mind-blowing.” Indeed, at any given moment, a Tedeschi Trucks Band song can explode into spontaneous improvisations, moving from ambient Eastern-inspired ragas to searing, climactic solos. With 12 members on board, it is astounding that each individual player can

attune themselves to a collective musical wavelength, following it into uncharted terrain that’s unique to each performance and exists in a space of constant musical flux. “It’s about mutual respect for each other. Not just listening, but wanting to listen,” Tedeschi says. “There’s an interesting difference there. It’s one thing to pay attention, but it’s another to want to be part of what’s happening. To be in the moment together, to be creating together and giving each other a little bit of leeway. Not just trying to control the situation, but trying to be a part of the situation. That’s something that’s amazing about this group. Off the stage, we go and we walk together, we do laundry, we eat together, we get in trouble together. But it’s a

beautiful thing, because we’re best friends. Not many bands can say that. There’s a lot of bands that hate each other and don’t even hang out, [just] go to the hotel room and show up at the gig. We’ve seen that, and that’s not fun. That’s not what it’s about.” Still glowing from the success of their last album, 2013’s Made Up Mind, Tedeschi Trucks Band are not waiting around for a follow-up. Trucks has taken on the role of producer and their forthcoming album is all but a few finishing touches away from completion. “We tried a lot of new things,” says Tedeschi. “Some of it, I don’t actually know if we can actually recreate it live, like it is on the record. Which

is good, because that makes it a record. You know, you think about The Beatles or you think about Hendrix, they can perform some of those songs live but they’re not the same. We’ve put a lot of heart and soul into this record, and I think that’s something that people are going to hear right away.” What: Bluesfest 2016 With: The National, Tom Jones, Kendrick Lamar, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds and many more Where: Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm When: Thursday March 24 – Monday March 28 And: Also appearing at the Enmore Theatre on Tuesday March 22 thebrag.com

Puscifer photo by Tim Cadiente

M

aynard James Keenan has never been a huge fan of talking about himself at great length. The singer is renowned for being shrouded in mystique and refraining from taking centre stage – quite literally, too, as the stage plans for his main bands, Tool and A

The third Puscifer album, Money $hot, was released at the end of October amid the rumour mill winding up yet again with speculation over Tool’s longawaited fi fth LP. For those still patiently waiting a decade on, Money $hot will serve as insight enough into what is interesting Keenan as a musician and as an artist currently. With this album, he looks to further expand the already vague notion of what a Puscifer song can sound like – something he attributes, in part, to another key collaborator, British

vocalist and songwriter Carina Round.

The Mark Of Cain Get The Job Done By Tegan Reeves

“N

o frills, no bullshit.” These are the words with which The Mark Of Cain singer and guitarist John Scott finishes our conversation. He’s referring to the band’s upcoming Australian tour, which comes off the back of no new releases, but simply their love of playing for their loyal fans – proving The Mark Of Cain are one of Australia’s most unassuming, realistic bands. “In the old days we were playing all the time, and that’s what everyone did, but now it has kind of become more related to people touring in support of releases,” Scott begins. “We’re back from the day when you just toured because you toured, not really in support of anything. We just wanted to get out there and do it, and we don’t play all the time so I think that’s a good thing for us – to just get out there and let people know we’re around. The fans are very good, and they’ve always been a very loyal crowd, so this is our kind of payment back to them.” Formed in 1980s Adelaide by Scott and his brother Kim, The Mark Of Cain churned through a number of drummers in the early days, before being joined by former Helmet and now Battles drummer John Stanier. “The problem was we were going through drummers because Kim and I were getting better at playing and the drummers weren’t keeping up – when you’re getting better and better, you need the drummer to keep up,” says Scott. “Some of it was personal, but mainly we were just trying to find drummers that could play really hard and understand complexity and rhythm, so if anything, we were defining the requirements for the drummer, and the drummers had to meet that, and not all of the drummers

could meet that. “It’s a hard job, but when Stanier rocked into the roll in 2000, that was a breath of fresh air because he was this uber talented drummer, defined with a rich style from his Helmet days, and when he put his hand up and said he’d help us out whenever he could, that was just so much easier, because he’s such a great player.” Scott’s respect for Stanier is evident in the way he speaks about not only his playing style, but also Stanier’s efforts to ensure he could play simultaneously in The Mark Of Cain and his experimental US rock group Battles. This has meant the Australians have had to work their own touring and recording schedule around Stanier, but occasionally other arrangements must be made. When it became apparent that Stanier wouldn’t be able to tour with the band in 2014, rehearsal drummer Eli Green stepped up. “We started rehearsing with Eli, and we thought, ‘OK, this guy can do it.’ And he’s proven it, so that worry about John not being able to play with us became less and less troublesome,” says Scott. “And John’s been really supportive of Eli. Eli had really big shoes to fill, and we work Eli really hard.” Hard work seems to be at the core of The Mark Of Cain ethos – both the Scott brothers are engineers by trade, but to them, juggling the nine-to-five and lives as musicians was never hard; it was simply just something that you did. “We’ve always played and worked, and that’s just how it is,” John says. “We practise three times a week and work in weekend shows around work. We’ve always made it work,

and there’s never been a time where we had to choose between work and music. It is possible to achieve that balance, because when you think about it, how many people actually manage to make a living out of music? That’s why you may as well have something to fall back on, as my own parents used to say, otherwise it means that you’ll end up unemployable.” Scott goes on to lament how adult all of that sounds – but it’s true, and this maturity is part of the reason why the band has announced a number of shows in Adelaide in support of the Cancer Council. “We’ve always got our hand in things like that; mainly things that are of interest to us, I suppose. I think that we are possibly at the stage where we feel like we can do that. It’s one thing to be a struggling band, and God knows we’re still a struggling band from that point of view, but we don’t rely on the band’s income to live or anything like that, so this is a nice way to be a bit altruistic about things.” When it comes to the future of The Mark Of Cain, Scott offers an honest response that will keep their loyal fans happy. “We always went for it, no matter what – if people didn’t like us, it didn’t matter to us. We’ve got to this point knowing we weren’t the favourites. But we’ll just keep doing what we do, and I guess we’ll see when we stop, but if the machine’s still there and the power’s still there, we’ll keep going. These are going to be solid, hard, brutal shows, a lot of old stuff. No frills, No bullshit.” With: Thorax, Making Where: Manning Bar When: Friday December 4

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Mew A Rare Encounter By David Molloy

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uch like the Pokémon character their band name recalls for us ’90s kids, Danish prog rockers Mew are creatures of legend rarely seen in these parts. In fact, their December show at Manning Bar will be the first time any of them have ever set foot in Australia, despite two decades of touring. For the band’s Antipodean fans, it’s been a long time coming – so much so that fan collectives like Mewstralia had to petition and push for the band to snag an Aussie venue. Mew’s softspoken frontman Jonas Bjerre recounts how surprising it was to learn years ago that such a sizable grassroots movement had developed around their music. “It was always a mystery – I would like to ask them that, how did they learn about us, you know?” he says, resting up in Paris before the next leg of their world tour in support of new album + -. “I guess it’s just word of mouth, and maybe the internet. So yeah, we know we’ve had a lot of people waiting for us there, and it’s gonna be so great to go, finally!”

Mac DeMarco Freedom To Explore By Rick Wickman

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n exuberant force of Canadian rock’n’roll, Mac DeMarco has proven to be a consistent and evolutionary songwriter to boot, with his last album Salad Days swiftly followed by the miniLP Another One. Onstage, DeMarco is a bastion of uplifting spirit, even in the wake of the heavily introspective Salad Days. But is it all an act? “The recording? Defi nitely no,” he says. “I mean, I’m at home doing it, it’s kind of like a very personal thing for me, so that is defi nitely [genuine] – and, I mean, I try not to think about what people are gonna think, like, ‘Oh, I should try and write about this kinda song.’ I don’t really think that way while I’m doing it, so that’s defi nitely pretty straight up. “With the shows, it can be a little bit different I guess, ’cause people are coming out, you wanna try and please people every night, but if I’m having a weird time or if the crowd is being weird, then the mood may shift – you never know. But I try not to… I mean, I think a lot of certain aspects of my personality are blown way out of proportion; I’m kind of like an internet meme or something at this point, but you know, I try and stay true to myself. I think it’s the only way I can really stay sane doing this. But I try and keep it parallel with the outward persona or whatever that people dig into.” For an artist like DeMarco, success brings with it a sense of freedom, at least from having to adhere to the daily rigours of nine-to-fi ve employment. But it’s a notion DeMarco has been blessed with from the beginning, rollicking with abandon since his youth. “I guess I have kind of always had that freedom. I mean, for me, playing music and playing shows and getting paid to do this kind of thing and going around the country, it’s not work, it’s not a job. It’s ridiculous that we’re even able to do this, and now it’s some kind of like industrial, you know, fuckin’, industry-sized whatever thing. You know, we make us money and we make other people money, and it’s like, this has always been… For me, music was always freedom from the nine-to-fi ve job or freedom from the grocery store shift or whatever.

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“I don’t know what I was thinking,” he says. “I mean, I don’t regret it in any way; I’ve learned a lot from it, but I think it was like… when I make albums, I’m alone, and especially in my neighbourhood, I did it in the winter and nobody comes down to Far Rockaway [in New York] in the winter – like, no-one. So I was very lonely this winter, all alone for months on end, and I recorded the album in that timeframe, and then put that at the end and was like, ‘Ah, there you go, maybe someone will come visit me.’ But then it turns into this big press thing and everyone’s like, ‘Look at Mac, he’s being crazy!’ And it’s like, ‘OK, that’s not really why I put it on there,’ but you know, that came out. “And you know, people came, it was cool, but after the press thing it got really crazy, and then there’s kids coming and asking for stuff … When I did it, I wasn’t thinking about how many people would listen to it … you know, it’s hard for me. My roommates defi nitely feel weird about it too. I don’t know,” he says. “It’s different meeting people on the basis where they don’t already know your whole Wikipedia page; it’s a different style of human interaction at this point, which is terrifying, and interesting, and also my own fault. So I can’t really complain about it. But it is crazy.”

“You have a completely different animal kingdom there, which is something that fascinates me a lot,” he says. “I’m a little bit scared of the big bugs I hear about, but I don’t know – I think you have to probably go into the wilderness to see that, right?” It seems that logistics have gotten in the way of any earlier Mew tours, along with the band’s shifting lineup. In the last year alone, founding bassist Johan Wohlert returned to the fold after a six-year absence, and founding guitarist Bo Madsen bowed out to be replaced by Mads Wegner. “It’s hard to talk about it,” says Bjerre. “There’s obviously a lot of different factors involved in a member leaving, and you know, we’ve written music together for 20 years, so it’s quite a change … We’re very happy with Mads, he’s a great guy and a wonderful guitar player. He’s really enjoying being on tour with us. It’s contagious; when someone’s really excited to be on tour, then it excites you as well. We have a really good feedback loop of excitement and joy, being on tour.” That feedback is likely to soar to even greater heights when thousands of Aussie fans, after so long a wait, get their first glimpse of Mew’s renowned ‘indie stadium’ live experience. “People say we have a very grandiose sound, even if we play a small place,” says Bjerre. “I don’t know if we sound more grandiose than other bands but our songs are very emotional and they’re a little bit dreamlike. We have a very fresh energy right now, and usually we have very good shows. I think people will like it. I hope so.”

“It’s nice sometimes to play without it as well, because you feel like the focus is more direct. It’s almost like a kind of conversation between the audience and the band, and when you have the visuals, it becomes something slightly different – it’s more sort of, I dunno, like a piece of art or something.” Given the promise the setlists will cover a broad range of material from Mew’s six-album back catalogue, that’s as good as a guarantee. Bjerre has been focused on crafting sets that will allow for the new and old material to effortlessly flow together. “I think that makes for the best shows,” he says. “It’s surprising to me. Sometimes, when you play really old songs and mix them with really new songs, they obviously are different from each other but they still work together really well.” As for the new material, + - has been making waves for the band since its April release, refining the rough edges from 2009’s experimental No More Stories… and returning to the crunchier prog rock textures that made Frengers a hit in 2003. “Our producer was very adamant that the songs had to work with just [us] guys playing,” says Bjerre. “In the past we’ve made albums where we completely just focused on making the album, and obviously kind of ambitious production ideas, and then had to sort of translate that … It’s always a bit more raw live, which I like.” It’s an album that Bjerre calls “celebratory”, and one that embodies who and what they are – which, apparently, is nothing to do with Pokémon. “We’re older than that, I’m ashamed to say,” Bjerre laughs. “We came up with Mew before Nintendo came up with the pesky little pink thing.” The title actually arose from their high school days when, disappointed after baking a “disgusting” cake, the boys threw possible band names around, and Mew stuck. “It had a sort of incomplete symmetry to it – it was kinda pointy at the edges and soft in the middle with the small E. There wasn’t any deeper thought behind it than that, just how it sounded and looked. And it had a mystery to it, in a way.” Finally, we get to catch a glimpse of that mystery on our very own shores. What: + - out now through [PIAS] Where: Manning Bar When: Wednesday December 2

Like it or not, DeMarco has already managed to change the world in his own small way. It’s a neat parallel to his recently released cover version of Eric Clapton’s ‘Change The World’ for a New York City magazine’s compilation tape. And if DeMarco had the power to redefi ne Planet Earth on his own terms, he knows exactly where he’d start. “I could go two ways with this. I’m gonna say I would invent a tree where hamburgers grow on the tree, fully dressed – you know, there’s veggie patties on some of them, but hamburgers, wrapped up. No wait, no overpackaging – you don’t need that – but just a tree. That grows hamburgers. Yeah.” Delicious. What: Falls Festival 2015/16 With: Bloc Party, Foals, Disclosure, Courtney Barnett, The Wombats and many more Where: Lorne, Marion Bay and Byron Bay When: Monday December 28 – Sunday January 3 And: Also appearing at the Enmore Theatre on Wednesday January 6 More: Another One out now through Captured Tracks/Spunk

Mac DeMarco photo by Coley Brown

“It’s just the small things that really make the difference as far as keeping it the way I want it to be. The people that I work with, you know, I have to trust them … I wanna keep it close to home. I don’t wanna take tour buses, I don’t wanna do any of that kinda crazy stuff. Even playing big venues – we’ve gotten to a certain point where we’re able to play like 3,000-person venues in some cities, and that’s kind of like pushing it a little bit, and it’s like … I’d rather do a couple smaller shows than a big one,” he says. “I don’t wanna disconnect from what I’m doing and [what] the fans are coming out to see that much. I wanna keep it as down-to-earth as I can.”

In what would be a bold move for anyone in the public eye, DeMarco disclosed his home address on Another One, inviting fans to visit for a cup of coffee. Perhaps it was an existential artistic statement; perhaps he was just throwing rocks to get a response.

For someone who’s only ever experienced Australia through films and music, touring here is an exciting prospect. Bjerre mentions Tame Impala, INXS and “everyone surfing” as his reference points, as well as the praise of other touring musicians, but it’s the nature that most attracts him.

The ultimate nature of these performances is yet to be seen, however, as even Bjerre is not certain whether Mew will use his animations as video backdrop for the gigs. “I think I started [animating] because I was quite shy being onstage,” he admits, “so it’s kind of a compensation for not being very extrovert[ed]. Obviously it’s been a long time since then and I feel more confident being onstage now.

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Sleepmakeswaves Into The Atmosphere By Adam Norris that artistic expression, you get that opportunity to share that and have that experience with your bandmates, with people who come to your shows – it’s a wonderful, really healthy thing. I think that’s why a lot of people come to heavy rock shows like ours, or your hardcore punk bands. [You’re] struck by how aggressive the vibe in the room is, but how friendly at the same time. Everyone is swinging their arms around, climbing on top of each other, but the moment anyone looks uncomfortable or [falls] down, everything stops, they’re helped up. I think that’s really beautiful. There’s something beautiful in that output, but also in the atmosphere, the experience you create in those shows.”

“I

’m basically Patrick Bateman when I’m offstage, comparing business cards.” Otto WicksGreen laughs as he says this, and as conversation unfolds with the Sleepmakeswaves guitarist, he comes across as a really entertaining, thoughtful guy. But then, American Psycho’s Bateman was quite a charmer, too, and so I’m certain not to make any accidental reference to Genesis or Whitney Houston as we plumb the shape of the post-rock outfit today, and the made-for-cinema saga of how Wicks-Greens rose from devout fan to fully fledged band member with a minimal amount of bloodshed.

“Oh man,” he recalls, “the original guitarist actually ran into me one day at Sydney Uni, and we had a quick chat about him leaving the band, and how he [wanted] me in particular to

step up. He did me a huge service, for which I’m forever grateful. Then I got an email from the band outlining what they expected for the first audition, and I just worked my butt off for a week. I didn’t see any sunlight, but I also already knew the songs back to front. I was seeing every show when the band was kicking around the Excelsior, the Hopetoun, rooms like that. I knew how the songs felt live, and when I walked into the studio to have that audition, I felt very ready for it. I felt like this was what I was supposed to be doing.” It’s every fan’s fantasy to play with their idols, and makes you wonder if after the audition, having laid it all on the line, did he feel like he’d nailed it? “You know what?” he says, and I can hear his grin. “Yeah, I did.”

Sleepmakeswaves formed back in 2006, when Jonathan ‘Kid’ Khor came on board with Alex Wilson and Tom Binetter. Two EPs later, Binetter stepped aside from the band and Wicks-Green found himself living the dream. The band’s successes have been on a steady rise since, with two ARIA nominations, Locie Awards, and a touring schedule that has not only taken them across the seas, but has seen them perform alongside their friends and idols. Not bad for a bunch of angry post-rock dudes under some stage lights. “Ha, totally angry,” laughs WicksGreen. “I’ve never had anyone walk up to me and be like, ‘Oh boy, here comes Otto from Sleepmakeswaves, you’d better watch out because this guy’s a loose cannon.’ I think when you have that outlet [onstage],

For those who have yet to see this first-hand, your next chance is fast approaching. Bird’s Robe Records is celebrating its fifth birthday in style, and given the label’s significance in the life of Sleepmakeswaves – and a slew of other acts across Australia – the band members are cautiously ebullient ahead of the show. “I’m super excited, and kind of terrified. We haven’t played a show in five months. We got offstage in June, and we were such a welloiled machine. We’d been playing together for months on end; we could tell whenever someone was going to move left or right, when a guitar was about to come hurling at your face and you needed to duck out of the way. It’s great to be a part of the journey of this little label that started here in Sydney and became this real Australia-wide meeting point and community for progressive and experimental music. Mike [Solo]’s done such a wonderful job, especially for us as our manager, what he foresaw for us. It’s a real celebration of that, so we’re kind of calling it Mikefest 2015.”

Although Sleepmakeswaves’ most recent release, Love Of Cartography, is still out there finding fans, plans for their next album are already afoot. It comes after some pretty radical shake-ups to the band – including the amicable departure of founding member ‘Kid’ Khor, whose own replacement will be auditioned in the coming weeks. “It’s been a year of extremes for us,” Wicks-Green says. “We’ve had some relationship stuff fall through in light of our touring commitments, which was really hard. I think that made the whole tour a bittersweet run for us. We were having some great experiences, but it was coloured by what we’d left behind and what was lost along the way. It made us really think how we wanted to embark on this next lot of songs. “When I look back over the landscapes that have inspired our discography, on the first record there’s a real sense of the Australian country there. With the second it was more international, about playing these songs for people around the world. I think for the third record, the visual metaphor that I keep coming back to is the Antarctic. This idea of a desert of water, this hostile but also very beautiful terrain. That’s the conceptual landscape I think we’re driving for.” What: Bird’s Robe Records 5th Birthday With: Troldhaugen, Toehider, Meniscus and more Where: Manning Bar When: Saturday December 5 And: Also appearing at Party In The Paddock, Friday February 19 – Saturday February 20, Burns Creek, Tasmania More: Love Of Cartography out now through Bird’s Robe/MGM

Screamfeeder Brisbane’s Best-Kept Secret By Natalie Rogers

I

f you were a fan of indie rock in the ’90s, chances are you’ll have one or two of Screamfeeder’s early albums – and now, thanks to the good folk at Poison City Records, a new generation of music lovers can revel in the splendour of bassist Kellie Lloyd and lead guitarist Tim Steward’s dual vocal play, with the re-release of their much-loved back catalogue on vinyl. “There’s nothing like listening to your favourite band on a record,” says LIoyd. “I’ve never stopped collecting them. Tim and I were just in a record store, a place on the Gold Coast called Rare Groove Records. I was going through their indie Australian collection, and it was just like the collection I had when I was about 20 – only I had to sell a lot of it when I was at university to buy two-minute noodles for dinner,” she laughs. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, it’s The Crystal Set and The Dubrovniks!’ and they had some other really old Australian acts that probably no-one has ever heard of, that I had in my record collection. I thought, ‘Wow, this guy must have bought my record collection way back then.’”

Adding to the excitement of their current east coast tour is the thebrag.com

This hotly anticipated release is Screamfeeder’s first new recording in ten years. Lloyd says the inspiration for the lyrics came out of a conversation she had with Steward after they’d played a gig together on the outskirts of Brisbane. “Tim and I sometimes play shows just as a duo. So we were spending a bit of time together and having big, meaningful conversations. One night after a show, at a place just out of town called Sandgate, we got to chatting and Tim said, ‘Wow, you know everyone, everywhere we go,’ and I said, ‘Yeah, and you’re always surrounded by people wherever you go.’ Later I was thinking about that and I realised that it doesn’t really matter if you’re surrounded by people or if you know everybody, you can still feel isolated and alone. Whether it’s our online existence or getting older and having circumstances change, I think a lot of people feel the same way.” Also included on the single is ‘Rules Of Attraction’, a low-fi, shoegazey treat, and the short but sweet poprock gem, ‘I’m Fighting’. All three tracks have a distinctly different feel, but their common thread lies in the effortless harmonising of Lloyd and Steward.

Encouraged by the positive reaction to the single, Lloyd admits Screamfeeder are working on an LP as we speak. “We’re in the process of songwriting. So far, all the songs have been written in a space underneath my house, so I’m sure that will play a part in setting the tone of the record. “In terms of concept, there are no grand plans as yet,” she continues. “We just haven’t thought that far ahead. But the songs are happening quite quickly – I don’t want to use the word ‘organically’ but that’s the best way to describe it at the moment.” While their creative juices are obviously well and truly flowing, Lloyd says they’re trying a new approach to songwriting this time around. “Instead of just saying, ‘I’ll write when I feel like it,’ we’re allocating time. Tim will call and put me on the spot, saying, ‘You’ve got to give me

a couple of hours – stop what you’re doing and go and write for a bit,’ and we’re actually coming up with some good stuff. We never worked like that before.” Lloyd explains that, to her surprise, despite the time constraints of being on tour and promoting their new single, she and Steward managed to write a whole song only a few hours before our interview. “Tim came over early this morning to pick me up because we had to do an interview on the Gold Coast, and we spent a couple of hours in that little room I mentioned and we bashed out another song!” However, despite so many years in the industry as part of Screamfeeder and as a solo artist, Lloyd is realistic about the timeline for their next release. “We probably won’t be recording anything again until early next year, so I don’t expect that [the

album] will be out until mid-year – it depends on lots of different factors, really. “Right now we really need to focus on writing. Once we’ve written the songs, we’ve got to bash them out live and loud and try to beat them into shape. It’s time-consuming and we’re all really busy with Christmas, so before you know it, it’ll be February.” Until then, it’s nice to know these Australian indie legends have their priorities in order. “We can’t wait to be playing down in Sydney and Melbourne – it’s going to be great. But right now we’re trying to hunt down a pair of second-hand trunks so that Tim can go for a swim – it’s about a million degrees here today!” Where: Frankie’s Pizza When: Thursday December 3

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Screamfeeder photo by Stephen Booth

The Brisbane indie rockers are known for being down-to-earth, and they ooze charm during their witty onstage banter. Lloyd, Steward and long-time drummer Dean Shwereb are friends first and a band second – and their undeniable chemistry shines through in the music. “We love being on the road together – we always have so much fun,” Lloyd says.

presence of a fourth member, guitarist Darek Mudge. “He often plays with us at shows and he’s going to do the whole tour with us,” Lloyd explains. “In fact, Darek helped record our new single ‘Alone In A Crowd’, along with Bryce [Moorhead], and he also played some of the guitar on it.”

Apes Primal Pleasures By Joseph Earp Such successes couldn’t have come at a better time. “If we struck the right chord as a band straight off the bat, we wouldn’t be ready to deal with [it],” Dowd says. By his account, the band has collectively reached a newfound maturity. “It’s taken us time to get the really massive party modes out of us … When we first started out, we’d be going on tour for two weeks and we’d look at it like a two-week bender.” With that attitude, every second or third show Apes played in their early days was a disaster. “It’s pretty easy to get lost [in the drinking]. It’s not sustainable. And you lose sight of why you’re doing all this kind of stuff.”

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en Dowd isn’t worried about stage fright. In fact, he’s more concerned by its absence. “It’s good to be nervous, I think,” the Apes frontman says from the confi nes of a van that’s bound for their fi nal gig supporting glam rock megastars The

Darkness. “[It’s more worrying] when you’re playing three or four nights a week and it starts to feel like clockwork. [Nerves] make you excited.” It’s a solid attitude to have, particularly given Apes have

hit one of their most successful periods since their inception in 2011. Not only have they secured support duties with a group of The Darkness’ size, they’ve just released their scintillating new single, ‘Dimension’, the first track from an as-yet-untitled new album.

Despite those early setbacks, Apes stuck with it, releasing scorching tune after scorching tune, and growing together in the process. Indeed, in many ways, the Melburnians are closer now than they have ever been. Dowd talks about “riding the energy” of his bandmates while they are up onstage, and, for the first time ever, they have begun to write music as a group. Guitarist James Toohey will be singing some songs on the new album, and Dowd isn’t going to be the only one writing lyrics this time. He is upfront about the fact these changes took some getting used to. “Everyone’s been putting in,” Dowd says, “which can be a bit

hard during that process … A lot of people [clashed].” Eventually, however, the band adapted, and ultimately reached a breakthrough. “Everyone’s got the best interests of the music [in mind]. It’s been a big thing for us to do that.” Dowd is reticent to give an exact date for the album’s release, not wanting to create a self-imposed deadline he worries he might miss. But diehard Apes fans need not fear. “[It’s] actually mostly recorded already,” Dowd says happily. “It’s a lot closer than we might give off.” If ‘Dimension’ is anything to go by, the new work may well be the band’s best yet. The brash psychand glam-rock-indebted single nonetheless has the trembling, emotive subtext that any long-term Apes follower will know and love. But ‘Dimension’ aside, one can still be excited about the forthcoming record based simply on Dowd’s obvious love for what he does. “When we’re onstage, it never feels like a job,” he says. “When you have an eight-month break and you haven’t played live, you’re dying to get back out there. Sittin’ in a van for 12 hours, talking shit and playing Celebrity Heads…” There’s a pause, and then his voice goes low and wistful. “You just sit at home wishing you were doing that again.” Where: Beach Road Hotel When: Friday November 27

Goat A Mysterious History By Augustus Welby

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wedish collective Goat will make their first trip to Australia next month for a run of dates alongside King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard. It’s a good match-up considering Goat’s eccentric take on folk, classic rock, blues and heavier psychedelic sounds. Many songs on the band’s latest album, Commune, are rhythmically insistent, and there’s often a driving intensity to the vocal delivery and guitar riffs. However, much like their 2012 debut, World Music, there’s never too much going on. “We are interested in rhythms and grooves and energy; we don’t want to cover this up with layers of overdubs and production,” says the mysteriously named Captain Goatheart via email. “We record on a 16-track tape machine to force ourselves to not make too much overdubs. We never make more then three takes on anything. A lot of what you hear on our recordings are first takes. We never do any editing, hence you can hear a lot of mistakes in the songs. We work this way to keep the music raw and pure. And in my ears, songs like ‘Goathead’, ‘Det Som Aldrig Förändras’, ‘Stonegoat’, ‘Bondye’, ‘Gathering Of Ancient Tribes’ and ‘The Sun The Moon’ are really hitting it off.” Since they emerged with World Music, a sense of mystery has surrounded Goat. In past interviews, the band members have claimed they are the continuation of a longstanding, revolving-door musical collective that’s existed in the tiny Swedish town of Korpilombolo for decades. However, there have been some doubts raised about the truth of this tale, and the enigma is deepened given there’s scarce biographical information available and the band members appear onstage in a range of colourful tribal headpieces and animal masks. “We want to be anonymous to preserve our individual freedom, and that is built in from our collective system while growing up in the Goat commune,” says Goatheart. “Any mystery that might come from that is just luck, I guess. Or bad luck maybe.”

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Goatheart stands behind the story of the band’s distant ancestry, and Goat’s dizzying compositions are enough to stop you questioning its veracity. However, one does wonder, if music has been generated in the Goat commune for several decades, why World Music was Goat’s first release. In line with their anti-ego ethos, it wasn’t due to a feeling of creative superiority. “Goat as a rock band have only existed since 2012, but as a commune it is very, very old,” Goatheart says. “The reason it also became a rock band is because some of us moved to Gothenburg and started to jam with people here. More people joined and we built a small studio, recorded some stuff and somehow [UK label] Rocket Recordings found out about this and encouraged us to record an album. By then we already had one finished and that was it. But a lot of

musicians around the world can do what we do, and a lot better also.” Of course, creative practice ultimately shouldn’t be a quest for superiority. Regardless, there’s a staggering array of stylistic elements evident in the music of Goat. Everything from kraut and psychedelia to Afrobeat, proto-punk, blues and rock’n’roll comes into the mix, which means it’s not an easily summarised sound. “It’s just a result of exploring and experimenting with different sounds, rhythms and vibes,” says Goatheart. “I don’t want to sound ignorant, but we try and see the simplicity in all music. Just do what you want. There is nothing difficult with crossing those kinds of borders. Learning comes automatically if you stay free and do what you want.” In line with this ethos, when World Music came out, Goat expressed the opinion that all music – not just their own – is world music. It’s a sincere claim that underlies the band’s creative outlook.

“All music has always contained elements of other music, previous music and traditional music,” Goatheart says. “This is nothing new. All music has always influenced each other – [it’s] simply evolution. In the end, all music is very similar to each other, if you listen to the similarities instead of the differences. It’s the same with people and their cultures, and since the evolution is an ongoing process, every expression belongs to everyone to use and be inspired by. “The world would be a lot better if people could focus on the similarities between everything. And of course music is a spiritual thing that binds people together more then anything else.” What: Commune out now through Rocket With: King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard, Orb Where: Metro Theatre When: Wednesday December 9

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xxx by xxx

Beyond the mysterious narrative, the band is determined to wipe away any tinge of ego. The individual contributions are sublimated into the greater entity, which the members believe enhances the honesty and strength of what they’re trying to communicate musically. “In anything we do, we try to keep

the egos down,” says Goatheart. “We are very aware of this in our music and our daily lives – the destructive force of the ego.”

arts in focus

free stuff head to: thebrag.com/freeshit

arts news...what's goin' on around town... with Chris Martin, Tegan Reeves and Aaron Streatfeild

Dropped

five minutes WITH

JASON MOSS

J

ason Moss Jewellery Design will be involved in the festivities for DoDarlo’s Xmas Party. Do you have anything special planned for the day? My studio is having a Christmas party with lots of very cold champers being served. I

What is the ideology behind your business and the jewellery you make? I’m a very small business that makes unique handmade jewellery. My stock work available from my studio is either one-off or editions of three or so. My bespoke work stems from the current themes in my work and are recreated for each individual client. It’s all about having something that no-one else has. With every piece of jewellery you make being unique, are there any particularly memorable pieces you can recall along the way? I’m currently making a pendant for a client that is a melding

But Wait...There’s xx More photo by Rob Blackburn

Jason Moss photo by Peter Collie

will launch my new work for Christmas and be introducing new work by the Melbourne jeweller Vikki Kassioras and abstract oil paintings by Julie Cavallero.

of her wedding band and her late partner’s wedding band. I actually made the original wedding bands. As a jeweller I’m in this very intimate position knowing the whole story from beginning to end – I feel very privileged to be trusted with the story and creation of this pendant. Making jewellery is quite often more than just fashion; it can also be about memories and about ceremony. How has the Darlinghurst business and cultural environment changed in the 16 years since you established your studio? In the last 16 years I have witnessed a real strengthening of the streets off Oxford Street. Crown Street, Stanley Street, Cleveland Street and South Dowling Street have all become these hotspots for small retail specialists. It’s been quite extraordinary to watch. It seems to me that the more bland the

retail scene becomes in the CBD and Bondi Junction, the more exciting our local retail scene becomes. Surry Hills and Darlinghurst has become the antidote to all those uninteresting international chain stores. What’s your best piece of advice for people who are looking to buy bespoke jewellery? Do it! If you really want to impress your girlfriend/ boyfriend – and I mean gain super points from them – get a piece of jewellery made for them; they will notice it. They will recognise the effort you have made. What: DoDarlo Xmas Party Where: Darlinghurst When: Saturday December 5 More: dbp.org.au/do-darloxmas

MARDI GRAS CELEBRATE MOMENTUM

The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras has revealed its program for 2016, all under the theme of ‘Momentum’. As part of its festival of acceptance and pride for the LGBTQI community, the Mardi Gras’ theme focuses on the small but steady movement towards equality in Australia. The 2016 Mardi Gras will feature sequins, self-expression and cinema, as well as the massive Parade across town on Saturday March 5. The headline event will wind its way towards Moore Park and the Entertainment Quarter, where the official Mardi Gras Party will keep things rolling into the late hours. But the full Mardi Gras program extends to much more, including theatre, music, visual arts, sports and film. One of the highlights is the Mardi Gras Film Festival, returning thanks to Queer Screen and Event Cinemas George Street from Thursday February 18 – Thursday March 3. The entire festival takes over Sydney from Friday February 19 – Sunday March 6. Study the full program at mardigras.org.au.

MOONLIGHT CINEMA RETURNS

Dust off the picnic blanket and beanbag, because the team behind Moonlight Cinema has revealed its 2015/2016 program, complete with advance screenings of 15 new release films before they reach the general public. Maze Runner: The Scorch Trails will open the schedule, followed by a bumper calendar including Suffragette starring Meryl Streep, Carey Mulligan and Helena Bonham Carter; Leonardo DiCaprio in The Revenant; and Tina Fey and Amy Poehler’s Sisters. There’ll

also be a bunch of classics, including Dirty Dancing, Top Gun and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off as well as a special sing-along version of Grease. Capping it off, Moonlight Cinema remains a BYO event as well as featuring an LA-style food truck with a fully licensed bar serving up pork sliders, parmesan truffle fries, chilli cheese dogs and Nutella doughnuts. This summer’s Moonlight Cinema will run in Centennial Park from Thursday December 3 – Sunday March 27. Head to moonlight. com.au for the full program, session times and tickets.

The National Theatre Of Parramatta

RUSSELL HOWARD GETS IN EARLY

UK comedy favourite Russell Howard has confirmed his return to Australian stages… but not until 2017. The stand-up star and television host of Russell Howard’s Good News has a massive schedule lined up, as such a long-term announcement suggests, with his Round The World tour locked in for 29 international cities outside his native London. By the time he reaches Australia in July 2017, he’ll have performed for nearly half a million fans worldwide. Howard plays the Enmore Theatre on Wednesday July 19, 2017, but you can secure tickets now.

DROPPED

A new piece by Melbourne playwright Katy Warner, Dropped, will make its premiere in Sydney this December. The play tells the story of two female soldiers who struggle to remember who they are after they are swept up in a horrific event. They’re isolated, covered in snow and blood, and to top it all off, they’ve run out of vodka and the radio is broken. This darkly comedic piece features Olivia Rose and Deborah Galanos, and is playing at the Old Fitz Theatre from Tuesday December 8 – Sunday December 20. We’re giving away a double pass to the first preview on Tuesday December 8 at 7:30pm. Enter the draw at thebrag.com/ freeshit.

DECEMBER AT THE LAUGH STAND

The Harold Park Hotel’s comedy club The Laugh Stand has announced its final monthly program for 2015, along with beer and food specials to wash the comedy down. The comedy showcase on Tuesday December 8 will see Julia Wilson take to the stage, supported by Simon Bosco and Ben Kochan, Brock Henry, Dave Noble and MC Nikki Britton. To round out the year, a Christmas comedy gala will take place on Tuesday December 15 with the likes of Cam Knight (Back Seat Drivers, How Not To Behave, Soul Mates), Brett Blake, Marty Bright, Kyle Legacy, Madeleine Culp and Dane Hiser. The night will be MCed by a Melbourne Comedy Festival Best Comedy nominee in John Conway. Visit thelaughstand.tumblr.com for details and to book.

But Wait...There’s More

MONTAGUE VERSUS BELL

One of Sydney’s smallest yet most ambitious independent theatre companies is taking on the might of Bell Shakespeare with a competing production of Hamlet to open next month. While Bell Shakespeare’s interpretation at the Sydney Opera House gains rave reviews, Montague Basement’s Hamlet will open at the PACT Centre for Emerging Artists, taking a very different approach to the famous play. Montague’s new adaptation is in fact a massive deconstruction of the Shakespearean classic, focusing on the issues around mental health and theatremakers’ obsession with the play itself. The production runs for 90 minutes with only five characters, and the entire cast and crew is made up of university-aged artists. It’s playing from Tuesday December 1 – Saturday December 5.

ANCESTRAL ART

OUR NEW NATIONAL THEATRE

Western Sydney has gained a new theatre company. Having launched this week, the National Theatre of Parramatta is promising a culturally diverse 2016 season ahead, operating out of Parramatta’s Riverside Theatres complex. Opening the inaugural season in April is Stef Smith’s Swallow. Following that, Stolen, kicking off in June, will tell the story of five Aboriginal children forcibly removed from their families and brought up in a repressive children’s home. October will welcome the inaugural storytelling festival, Telling Tales, celebrating the complexity and diversity of Western Sydney through yarns, anecdotes, personal stories and imaginary tales set in a performance context. For more details on the National Theatre of Parramatta, visit riversideparramatta.com.au.

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Murruwaygu: Following In The Footsteps Of Our Ancestors is the latest exhibition from the Art Gallery of New South Wales, exploring the traditional line work specific to Aboriginal men from south-east Australia and its translation across generations. Overseen by former gallery curator Jonathan Jones, the exhibition identifies the shared experiences, relations and ideas that bind together the Koori community and is the result of over a decade of research and work. The exhibition features work by Tommy McRae, William Barak, Roy Kennedy, H.J. Wedge, Steaphan Paton and Reko Rennie, along with a series of shields specific to the south-east region. It opens from Saturday November 28 – Sunday February 21.

THE BIG TOP IS BACK

After touring it around the world for two years, Circus Oz will be bringing its show But Wait…There’s More to Sydney this summer. The show is a satirical look at today’s culture of ‘infobesity’ and consumer overload based around society’s focus on collecting stuff, and will be performed under the Big Top with a spectacular large-scale set inspired by an abandoned theatre in tatters. Circus Oz’s Big Top season at the Entertainment Quarter runs from Wednesday December 30 – Sunday January 24.

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I Am My Own Wife [THEATRE] More Than Meets The Eye By Tegan Jones

“I

t’s a testament to what you can achieve with just pure conviction and fortitude – not apologising for who you really are, and the powerful effect that can have on the people around you,” says Ben Gerrard about his protagonist in Doug Wright’s solo play, I Am My Own Wife. The piece details the life of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, a transgender woman who survived both the Nazi regime and Communist East Germany. This theatrical journey not only explores her controversial life, but also the notion of truth and the moral ambiguity that can accompany the basic will to survive. Von Mahlsdorf’s formative years included being forced to join the Hitler Youth by her Nazi-toting father, and ultimately killing him after he threatened her at gunpoint. After being sentenced to imprisonment in a detention centre until the end of the war, it’s unsurprising that this young trans woman had already developed an iron will when it came to self-preservation. It’s on this point she is either praised or vilified, depending on which story you believe, when it comes to her life in East Germany.

Needless to say, the revelation that Von Mahlsdorf had been feeding

“The play is ultimately a tribute to Charlotte, but Doug does try to deal with her complexities and flaws as much as possible,” says Gerrard. “But ultimately you get a great sense of her utterly charming personality and how that really contributed to her survival. He’s really under her spell and that’s reflected in the writing. “It questions to what extent we can believe the Stasi reports. The entire nation was under pressure to curtail themselves to the regime, and if you didn’t, there was a lot to lose. Charlotte had worked very hard for everything she had, to be who she was, to build her museum. In order to survive, the Stasi pressured her, and what I believe is that she made the decision to betray friends, but that betrayal was not done willingly, but under great duress. That’s my opinion on the piece and I think that’s reflected in our production. We really do embrace her charm, as well as her ultimately good intentions despite her flaws.” I wonder whether, like the playwright, Gerrard himself also fell under Charlotte’s spell. “To be honest, I did. I objectively came at it from looking at the Stasi reports about her and the quite damning evidence against her. But I read her autobiography and whilst reading the play and getting to know her motivation and the way she can

rationalise what she did, I can only imagine what it must have been like to live the way she did under such duress. No-one is black and white, we’ve all done things we’re not proud of, but that doesn’t necessarily damn us overall. That’s what Charlotte represents to me.” With this in mind, I Am My Own Wife forces audience members to reflect on what choices they would make under similar circumstances. “I hope that’s a question that people will ask themselves,” the actor agrees. “They can weigh up what she’s done in the context she was in. Most people would have to wonder what they would do.” Another fascinating aspect of the piece is the fact that Gerrard isn’t only playing Charlotte, but upwards of 30 characters – no doubt a challenge, but a fun one, to say the least. “I’ve been filming the sketch show [The Comedy Channel’s Open Slather] where I’ve been playing a different character every day for a year, so that got me into the zone. I always love pushing my boundaries, so it’s fun getting to play with accents that in any other context a white actor would never get away with,” he laughs. “But it was awesome to get to work on and break down those accents to try and embody them in the play.” I Am My Own Wife is also coming to Sydney during a time when transgender issues are at the forefront of cultural awareness. Thanks to women such as Caitlyn Jenner, these matters are literally front page news. The play aims to help raise awareness of the

historical struggle of transgender men and women as well. “Absolutely. I think until very recently these women have been delegated to the fringe of culture and society, and what Caitlyn Jenner represents is the beginning of a huge shift,” says Gerrard. “A story like Charlotte’s, in a totally different time and a much more judgemental culture than today’s,

shows that someone was able to survive being themselves. This story is a testament to the hope that these women belong and have an incredibly special place in our culture.” What: I Am My Own Wife Where: Old Fitz Theatre When: Until Saturday December 5

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

F E E L L I KE CRAP JUST FOR

BEING

LEFT

H A N D E D.

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

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STOP t THINK t RESPECT

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I Am My Own Wife © Kurt Sneddon

“The truth about Charlotte is an enigma that lies somewhere between Doug’s idealised version of her and the reports that came out in the ’90s after the fall of the Wall that revealed her as a Stasi informant,” says Gerrard. “So there are human choices that happened within that journey that Doug tries to understand and the media at the time didn’t try very hard to understand.”

information to the Stasi – the East German department for state security – about friends and the patrons who frequented her museum during the Cold War was big news. The media at the time was incredibly damning, as were some of the reviews of Wright’s play when it began its initial run in 2003.

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

The Program

■ Theatre

GOOD WORKS Playing at Eternity Playhouse until Saturday November 29 Good Works could potentially be quite tough to navigate. In fact, there are moments in this Darlinghurst Theatre Company production where you feel the plot might be slipping from comprehension, thanks to overlapping scenes and quick character transitions.

■ Film

THE PROGRAM In cinemas Thursday November 26 Ah, biopics – the standard rollout for the awards season. Rarely, though, are they so openly and deeply critical of their subject. Whether or not the wound still stings, screenwriter John Hodge and director Stephen Frears take a scalpel to the life and career of Lance Armstrong, with satisfying if limited results. American cyclist Armstrong (Ben Foster) wants to be the best there is, and the proving ground is the Tour de France. But as he reaches the heights of his career, overcoming cancer and rising to define the sport, he is investigated by sports journalist David Walsh (Chris O’Dowd), who is convinced the Tour’s rampant doping problem is centered around its star. No doubt about it – in this iteration of the story, Armstrong is the villain. It’s a perspective driven by the source material – Walsh’s book Seven Deadly Sins – as well as the evidence provided in the case against him, but a more nuanced approach may have brought out something really special in Foster’s embodiment of the man. As it is, Foster is still inherently watchable, as is the intrigue around him and the singular drive he has to win. But the formula raises questions: we are rushed through enormously important life events (like the cancer years, Armstrong

meeting his wife, having kids, et cetera) that would colour the way we perceive him. And after the wedding, Armstrong’s family is completely absent. It’s an oversight that undercuts the story’s strong foundations. There are lots of familiar faces doing familiar things, in fact. O’Dowd is charming and believable as ever; Jesse Plemons revisits the Friday Night Lights glory days in his turn as country boy Floyd Landis; and a cameo from the legendary Dustin Hoffman reminds us what we’re all missing. The film also carries all the trademark flair of a political thriller. Intrigue and subterfuge are the order of the day, and often more striking than any personal achievements. This, again, shapes how we are meant to view Armstrong – not as someone who changed the world, but as someone who lied to us all from the very beginning. Armstrong’s simultaneous rise to the top and race to the bottom makes for a tale of Ozymandian proportions, but the choice to immediately reveal without nuance the mechanisms behind the illusion rob the film of more potent catharsis. Nevertheless, this is a solid and entertaining portrait of the sport’s most astonishing con. David Molloy

Arts Exposed

What's in our diary... Civil Discobedience

MAASive Lates: Civil Discobedience Sydneysiders are invited to reject conformity at the Powerhouse Museum’s next MAASive Lates event, Civil Discobedience. The Powerhouse Museum is getting a little mischievous for the occasion and opening its doors after dark, promising a night of witty and disobedient performance from the likes of Paul Capsis, Mark Trevorrow, Nell Schofield, the Martenitsa Choir, poet Samuel Wagan Watson and more. Simon Caldwell will provide the soundtrack, and there’ll be a dose of flamenco too.

Stripped back to the raw walls of the Eternity Playhouse, the stage is awash with white confetti and white pillars capped with astroturf. Hugh O’Connor’s inventive set design allows the action to unfold across multiple levels, although as the cast bounds between teetering blocks, the visual effect is a bit distracting, almost threatening to drown out the subtleties of the small-town drama. The cast is uniformly strong in unravelling this tightly woven story. Enright explores the impact of class and religion across generations through two sets of friends – orphans Rita (Taylor Ferguson) and Mary Margaret (Lucy Goleby), and Catholic schoolboys Tim

Good Works (Stephen Multari) and Shane (Anthony Gooley). Ferguson brings gusto to her interpretation of Rita, a bluecollar beauty who has retained her rough edges, while Goleby is assured as the successful convert to high-class society, plucked from a mysterious childhood. Though mildmannered for the most part, her performance culminates in what is probably the most moving monologue of the play. Multari, one of Sydney’s most promising emerging actors, is magnetic as Tim. Gooley is equally solid as Shane, fl itting between hardness and vulnerability. They work well together, stretching their characters from the playful adventures of boyhood to the

dark and dangerous games of estranged adulthood. James Oxenbould provides reliable support as a sleazy barman, Tim’s fl amboyant friend, and the sadistic brother. And Toni Scanlan is unshakeable as the respectable Mrs. Donovan and Mother John. Sitting through Good Works is a bit like sifting through layers of heartache – there is a pervasive feeling of loneliness. There are instances of misplaced and unrequited love as well as latent homoeroticism. That’s not to say it is without a sprinkling of humour. This intelligently written and powerful acted play is certainly worth a look. Annie Murney

■ Film

THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART 2 In cinemas now So it all comes crashing down. After four years of fi ghting the oppression of the Capitol – and smashing all-time box office records along the way – it’s high time for Katniss Everdeen to bring this fi ght to its bloody end. And unlike its predecessor, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 delivers in spades, with a fi nale that is brutal, bleak and completely engrossing. As Panem descends into civil war and the 13 Districts unite against the Capitol, Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) realises the only way to end the madness is to destroy its source – President Snow (Donald Sutherland). But as he turns the Capitol into a vast arena loaded with murderous traps, the mounting challenges facing Katniss and her allies threaten not only their survival, but the future of the nation. Mockingjay Part 1 did all that it could with the stretched material, building the mythology of Snow’s atrocities against the Districts, introducing Alma Coin (Julianne Moore) and setting the stage for the last battle. Director Francis Lawrence wastes no time in diving straight into the action this time. The third fi lm was also lacking the vicious ingenuity of the Hunger Games’ gamemakers, and they’re back in considerable force here as the Capitol becomes a boobytrapped battleground. One of the series’ great strengths has

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2

always been its unfl inching approach to violence and its ramifi cations, and it’s explored most deeply in this instalment. As always in this series – and reality – children are not safe from the horrors of war. Even at its most predictable, Mockingjay Part 2 repeatedly shocks with the potency of its message and visuals. Lawrence’s post-traumatic somnambulance speaks volumes throughout, and we as viewers are all the more emotional with every ally lost because of the power of her response. And s o very many are lost – those still wounded by the Harry Potter body count may scarcely recover from the scars this fi lm will leave. Though often unrelentingly bleak, it remains entirely compelling.

We step into this minefi eld with the same terror and resolve as Katniss, knowing full well the likely costs. The only emotional beat that doesn’t strike is the saccharine and wholly unnecessary epilogue. It’s not Harry Potter bad, but it’s close. Sadly, this was Philip Seymour Hoffman’s last role – the fi lmmakers have worked around his absence admirably. Plutarch, like others, feels underused here, but there’s only so much time in this tightly plotted two hours. Witness the end of an era in all its ferocious glory. Long live the Mockingjay. David Molloy

Presale tickets are $20; for more info visit maas.museum. 20 :: BRAG :: 640 :: 25:11:15

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Good Works photo © Helen White

Powerhouse Museum, Thursday November 26

A strong hand is required to pull together the intricacies of Nick Enright’s script, and director Iain Sinclair delivers. He knows how to generate momentum and where to pull back the reins. Watching this complex portrayal of Australian life, which explores the limits of love and friendship, you can’t help feeling an admiration for Enright’s deftness as a playwright.

five minutes WITH

Game On Gaming news with Adam Guetti

DANIEL GRENDON, PHOTOGRAPHER

DEC

2015

New Releases The annual gaming calendar might finally be coming to a close, but that doesn’t mean you won’t be able to fill your Christmas stockings with a few exceptional titles.

Things kick off early on Tuesday December 1 when Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege blasts its way onto PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. Despite receiving a few facelifts, the tactical shooter looks to be a hell of a lot of fun as you transform environments to your advantage on the fly. Also out on the same day is Just Cause 3 (PS4, XBO, PC), offering up over 1,000 square kilometres of open-world freedom and completely ridiculous shenanigans to indulge in. Nintendo 3DS owners will have to hold out a few more days until Saturday December 5, because that’s the day the bizarre Yo-Kai Watch reaches our shores. Big business in Japan, the game is a fascinating blend of Pokémon and minigame collection as you work to collect and utilise the titular Yo-Kai.

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our photo exhibit Danced To Guitars is about the minisubculture that developed in The Depot nightclub in Brisbane more than ten years ago. For those of us who weren’t there, what was it like? It was like coming home each Friday and Saturday night. You’d walk in and even if you went alone, you knew all your friends would be there. The music would always be spot on and you were guaranteed a great night. How did you come to photograph these people a decade later, as they reflected on their memories? I knew I wanted to go back and reconnect with everyone again, see what they were up to now. I wanted to create something physical so I could look back on the memories and to share it with others. This is why I

created the exhibition and book. The exhibit is about more than nostalgia – what were you looking to capture in your photographs? I was hoping to capture a moment of reflection on a time of belonging and for that to translate to the audience. I prepared handwritten interviews for each subject to complete and then included this with the portrait. I’m really happy with how the project has turned out with the combination of past and present. Were you surprised as to how distant (or not-sodistant) your subjects had become from their unifying scene in that ten-year period? Not as much as I expected. Most of us don’t go out as often anymore but everyone is still as creative and interesting as they were back then. Music

is very much still part of our lives. It was great to see how everyone had progressed on their journey. Now that camera phones and selfies are commonplace, how different will the documentation of today’s club cultures be in ten years’ time? I remember owning a camera back then but always [being] too scared to take it out as I might break it. I think now there would be much wider documentation of the club scenes. The older photos I did manage to collect from the time were of groups and people enjoying themselves – I’d hope it would still be the same now. What: Danced To Guitars Where: Contact Sheet, St Leonards When: Tuesday December 1 – Saturday December 5

five minutes WITH

BRIDIE CONNELL FROM THEATRESPORTS CRANSTON CUP

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he 2015 Cranston Cup Grand Final is here, and it’s the 30th anniversary year of Theatresports in Australia – for those who aren’t familiar, what should audiences expect? Audiences should expect the unexpected! Theatresports is entirely made up on the spot based on audience suggestions, so audiences are in for a night of uproarious improvised songs and dances, scenes and characters. The nature of improvisation means that things can go brilliantly… or disastrously! In fact, usually the best scenes have equal measures of brilliance and disaster. Either way, it will be a side-splittingly hilarious evening. Where did the Cranston Cup get its name? The competition is named after Lamont Cranston, which was the alter ego of the founder of Australian Theatresports, Dennis Watkins. Watkins was an integral part of the Sydney comedy scene and uni revues, and has gone on to be a celebrated director, writer and producer. How strong has Australia’s Theatresports scene become over those three decades? Many of Australia’s most loved performers credit their success to the skills learnt in their Theatresports days, whether onstage at the

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Wii U owners, on the other hand, have their own game to explore that day – the exclusive Xenoblade Chronicles X. Designed to make your holiday period fly by, this RPG throws you in the middle of an intergalactic war, then adds weaponised mechs for good measure. Wrapping things up early on Thursday December 10 is the latest DLC addition for The Sims 4, Get Together. After an introduction to the world of Windenburg, make the most of busy town squares, enjoy a private island or keep your Sims trapped in the bathroom. Your call.

Review: Fallout 4 (PS4, XBO, PC)

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xpansive. Tense. Absorbing. These are just a few of the words that explain the feelings that Fallout 4 elicits. And yet at the same time, single words cannot truly do the experience justice. The only solution is to play it for yourself. Things start rather peacefully on a typical 1950s-esque Boston morning. Well, a more futuristic version of the city where additions like robot butlers aren’t surprising, but expected. During this particular morning, however, an alarming television broadcast airs, forcing your family to be quickly rushed underground into Vault 111. After a fairly lengthy cryogenic sleep you awaken in 2277 to discover a world ravaged by destructive nuclear warfare and that your son is missing in the middle of it. So begins your quest, yet as interesting as it may be, the reality is you’ll more than likely sideline it for a raft of side missions that beg for your attention. Such is the distractive power of Fallout. Thankfully, solving murders, robbing banks and more are what often contain some of the best elements of this foreign world. Many of them will also highlight the multitude of motives and conflicting choices available. These selections are rarely binary –

Belvoir St Theatre in the early days of the Cranston Cup, or at Sydney University’s grungy Manning Bar at the weekly lunchtime improv shows. At once terrifying and exhilarating, learning and performing Theatresports instils creativity, joy and fearlessness in actors, and it’s these qualities that have made performers like Julia Zemiro, Adam Spencer, Andrew O’Keefe, The Axis Of Awesome, The Chaser, Ed Kavalee, Steen Raskopoulos (and so many more) so unforgettable onstage. The scene continues to thrive, and the emerging crop of young improvisers is overflowing with talent. And with Impro Australia now running Theatresports in high schools all over New South Wales, Theatresports is reaching new performers and audiences all the time. Can you give us a brief intro to the teams competing? This year’s Cranston final has an exciting lineup. There are some seasoned performers

returning to the Cranston final for the gazillionth time, with Cranston and National titles under their belts, and a whole lot of new performers making their Cranston debuts. Every team is so strong – Morpheme Addiction has the sharpest wits; Sesame Streetwise can practically read each other’s minds; Simple Simon and The PaddyKates are risktakers par excellence; Sure, Whatever, I Don’t Care, Shut Up Already has a wealth of experience on the Enmore stage; and Ridgey-Didge (who are my pick to take out the title) are recent WAAPA grads – all amazing actors who bring so much joy to the stage! I’m a member of the Old Spice Girls, and obviously my team has the best looks, not to mention dance moves. What: Theatresports Cranston Cup 2015 Grand Final Where: Enmore Theatre When: Saturday November 28

instead resting within multiple shades of grey. Also welcome are the more mechanical improvements to the series. Gunplay, for example, is a lot tighter, aiming increasingly accurate and changes to the V.A.T.S. system make you feel more vulnerable than ever before. But while Bethesda Game Studios does a lot of things right with Fallout 4, it’s still not completely faultless. As is the case with most of the studio’s offerings, your journey through Boston will be met with its fair share of glitches and bugs. Some matter much more than others, but all will eventually be addressed in future patches. That sounds like a cop-out solution, but for a world as dense and ambitious as Fallout’s, it almost becomes an understandable concession that you’re willing to turn a blind eye to. Because at the end of the day, Fallout 4 is without question one of 2015’s greatest games. Few titles will provide as much freedom and flexibility as this. To describe every facet and feature would be a disservice to the final product, but rest assured, it’s great, so just go play it already.

Review Round-Up With a frenzy of game releases now cluttering up store shelves, here are some of the biggest titles you should be keeping an eye on…

Rise Of The Tomb Raider (XBO)

Need For Speed

Crystal Dynamics surprised quite a few people with 2013’s Tomb Raider reboot by presenting a more fragile Lara, an incredibly brutal world and wholly enjoyable exploration. The good news is that its sequel grabs hold of the baton and runs with it. Sure, the series’ narrative needs a bit more love, but thanks to improved tombs and refi ned mechanics that were already great to begin with, this is one treasure worth uncovering.

Despite taking a year off, the Need For Speed series continues to struggle for direction, this time returning to the Underground-esque direction that popularised it years ago. Unfortunately, however, although the racer’s sound and visuals are exceptional, the celebration of car culture is slightly undone by frustrating AI and the underlying feeling that it’s all a tad samey at this point.

(PS4, XBO)

Call Of Duty: Black Ops III (PS4, XBO, PC, 360, PS3) The Call Of Duty series might continue to be pumped out year after year, but the bigbudget shooter is showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon, especially considering the fact that Black Ops III is actually a surprisingly impressive offering. With an experimental four-player co-op campaign, addictive multiplayer and even more zombies to shoot, there’s a huge amount of content to blast through.

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BARS BRAG

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

– Fri noon-midnight; Sat 5pm-midnight The Australian Heritage Hotel 100 Cumberland St, 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 Mon – Fri noon-3am; Sat – Sun 4pm-3am

VIC ON THE PARK

Tell us about your bar: The Vic On The Park is Marrickville. It’s an old-school community pub and it remembers that, with a proper front bar, great live gigs and welcoming staff. What’s on the menu? There is a wide range of vegetarian options, placing emphasis on local produce and a high standard of freshness. We run a large weekly rotating specials board to keep things fresh and interesting – our recommendation is currently a jerk chicken share board with jalapeño oil, wild rice salad, grilled flatbread

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and sriracha mayo, or pan-fried gnocchi with roasted pumpkin and sage-burnt butter, topped with shaved parmesan. Care for a drink? Craft beer is definitely a specialty and our spiced rum and fresh apple juice is also pretty bloody good. Sounds: We sound like the Inner West. We’re surrounded by rehearsal studios, live venues and dozens of great bands. We run a soundtrack that’s representative of that,

bar bar

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ADDRESS: 2 ADDISON RD, MARRICKVILLE PHONE NUMBER: (02) 9557 1448 WEBSITE: VICONTHEPARK.COM.AU OPENING HOURS: MON – WED 10AMMIDNIGHT, THU – SAT 10AM-3AM, SUN 10AM-10PM

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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

Gilt Lounge 49 Market St, Sydney CBD (02) 8262 0000 Wed 6pm-midnight; Thu & Sat 6pm-2am; Fri 5pm-2am The Glenmore 96 Cumberland St, The Rocks (02) 9247 4794 Mon – Thu, Sun 11am-midnight; Fri – Sat 11am-1am Goodgod Small Club 53-55 Liverpool St, Sydney CBD (02) 8084 0587 Wed 5pm-11pm; Thu 5pm-1am; Fri 5pm-3am; Sat 6pm-3am Grain Bar 199 George St, Sydney CBD (02) 9250 3118 Mon – Sun noon-late Grandma’s Basement 275 Clarence St, Sydney CBD (02) 9264 3004 Mon – Fri 3pm-late; Sat 5pm-late The Fox Hole 68A Erskine St, Sydney CBD (02) 9279 4369

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covering all genres. Highlights: Apart from its community atmosphere, the Vic On The Park also produces bloody good food and hosts a range of creative and community events in the carpark, including massive live gigs, creative markets, dog shows and beer events – all under the flight path and fig tree. The bill comes to: With one of our food recommendations and a drink, expect to pay about $30.

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 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 Bar Cleveland Cnr Bourke & Cleveland St, Redfern (02) 9698 1908 Mon – Thu 10am-2am; Fri – Sat 10am-4am Bar H 80 Campbell St, Surry Hills (02) 9280 1980 Mon – Sat 6pm-late; Sun 11am-3pm Bellini Lounge 2 Kellett St, Potts Point 0432 241 556 Thu – Sun 6pm-late The Beresford 354 Bourke St, Surry Hills (02) 8313 5000 Mon – Sun noon-1am Black Penny 648 Bourke St, Surry Hills (02) 9319 5061 Mon – Sat 7am-midnight; Sun 7am-10pm Button Bar 65 Foveaux St, Surry Hills (02) 9211 1544 Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight Café Lounge 277 Goulburn St, Surry Hills (02) 9016 3951 Mon – Thu 5pm-midnight; Fri – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sunday 4-10pm Casoni Italian Bar & Eatery 371-373 Bourke St, Darlinghurst Tue – Thu 5pm-11pm; Fri – Sat 5pm-midnight; Sun 5pm-10pm Central Hotel 42-50 Chalmers St, Surry Hills (02) 9212 3814 Mon – Sat 10am-2am; Sun 10am-10pm Ching-a-Lings 1/133 Oxford St, Darlinghurst (02) 9360 3333 Tue – Wed 6pm-11pm; Fri – Sat 6pm-1am; Sun 5pm-10pm

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 Darlo Country Club Level 1, 235 Victoria St, Darlinghurst 0449 998 005 Wed – Thu 5pm-midnight; Fri – Sat 5pm-2am 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 noon-midnight; Thu – Sat noon-1am; Sun noon-10pm Gardel’s Bar 358 Cleveland St, Surry Hills (02) 8399 1440 Tue – Sat 6pm-midnight Gazebo 2 Elizabeth Bay Rd, Elizabeth Bay (02) 9357 5333 Mon – Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat – Sun noon-midnight Golden Age Cinema & Bar 80 Commonwealth St, Surry Hills (02) 9211 1556 Mon - Sun 11am-9pm Goros 84-86 Mary St, Surry Hills (02) 9212 0214 Mon – Wed 11:30am-midnight; Thu 11:30am-1am: Fri 11:30am-3am; Sat 4pm-3am The Hazy Rose 1/83 Stanley St, Darlinghurst (02) 9357 5036 Wed – Thu 5pm-midnight; Fri – Sat 3pm-midnight; Sun 3-10pm Hello Sailor 96 Oxford St, Darlinghurst (02) 9332 2442 Tue – Sun 5pm-3am Hinky Dinks 185 Darlinghurst Rd, Darlinghurst (02) 8084 6379 Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun 1-10pm Hollywood Hotel 2 Foster St, Surry Hills (02) 9281 2765 Mon – Wed 10am-midnight; Thu – Sat 10am-3am Hustle & Flow Bar 105 Regent St, Redfern (02) 9310 5593 Tue – Sat 5pm-midnight Li’l Darlin Darlinghurst 235 Victoria St, Darlinghurst (02) 8084 6100 Mon – Sun 4pm-late Li’l Darlin Surry Hills thebrag.com

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

MIDNIGHT BARLEY COWBOY HOPPED PORTER @ WAYWARD BREWING CO., 1 GEHRIG LN, ANNANDALE The brew: The Cowboy is an eternal figure, a porter of figment. He travels alone against the cityscape in the night, haunting dive bars and seedy roadhouses. He laughs in the face of convention. Hence the dark malt flavour is reflective of the secrets confided in him, whilst the hoppy aroma seemingly mocks a style generally reserved for sunnier dispositions. More: The Cowboy is heard to be making an appearance exclusively at Uncle Hops in Newtown this weekend.

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 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

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The brewer: Shaun Blissett (head brewer) claims that the eternal fi gure called The Cowboy whispered the recipe to him in a moment of enlightenment whilst standing atop the brewhouse. He was so taken in the moment that he forgot to record the recipe. As such, when it’s gone, only those that had the opportunity to meet with The Cowboy will bear witness. Best drunk with: “I drink alone” – George Thorogood During: As dusk turns to night and the day is extinguished, the midnight hour whispers a calling to imbibe. While wearing: A Canadian tuxedo, rhinestones, or leather with fringing. And listening to: Outlaw country musicians. Jamey Johnson, Sturgill Simpson, Waylon Jennings, Whitey Morgan and The 78’s, Kris Kristofferson, and of course, Cash!

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 The Print Room 11 Glenmore Rd, Paddington 0424 034 020 Wed – Fri 3pm-late; Sat 12pm-11pm, Sun 12pm-10pm Queenie’s Upstairs 336 Riley St, Surry Hills (02) 9212 3035 Tue – Sat 6pm-late & Fri noon-3pm

Roosevelt 32 Orwell St, Potts Point 0423 203 119 Tue – Fri 5pm-midnight; Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm Rosie Campbell’s 320 Crown St, Surry Hills (02) 8356 9120 Mon 5pm-midnight: Tue – Sun 4pm-midnight Shady Pines Saloon Shop 4, 256 Crown St, Darlinghurst Mon – Sun 4pm-midnight The Soda Factory 16 Wentworth Ave, Surry Hills (02) 8096 9120 Mon – Fri 5pm-3am; Sat – Sun 6pm-3am Surly’s 182 Campbell St, Surry Hills (02) 9331 3705 Tue – Sun noonmidnight 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 The Tilbury Hotel midnight Tio’s Cerveceria 12-18 Nicholson St, Woolloomooloo (02) 9368 1955 Mon – Fri 9am-midnight; Sat 10am-midnight; Sun 10am-10pm Vasco 421 Cleveland St, Redfern 0406 775 436 Tue – Sat 5pm-midnight The Village Inn 9-11 Glenmore Rd, Paddington (02) 9331 0911 Mon – Sun 12pm-late The White Horse Hotel 381-385 Crown Street, Surry Hills 1300 976 683 Mon – Sat noonmidnight; Sun noon10pm The Wild Rover 75 Campbell St, Surry Hills (02) 9280 2235 Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun noon-10pm The Winery 285A Crown St, Surry Hills (02) 9331 0833 Mon – Sun noonmidnight

Anchor Bar 8 Campbell Pde, Bondi (02) 8084 3145 Tue – Fri 4.30pm-late; Sat – Sun 12.30pm-late 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 BRAG :: 640 :: 25:11:15 :: 23

out & about

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

Queer(ish) matters with Lucy Watson

Bondi Hardware 39 Hall St, Bondi (02) 9365 7176 Mon – Wed 5pm-late; Fri noon-midnight; Sat 9am-midnight; Sun 9am-10pm The Bucket List Shop 1, Bondi Pavilion, Queen Elizabeth Drive (02) 9365 4122 Mon – Tue 11am-5pm; Wed – Sun 11am-late The Corner House 281 Bondi Rd, Bondi (02) 8020 6698 Tue – Sat 5pm-midnight; Sun 3pm-10pm Fat Ruperts 249 Bondi Rd, Bondi (02) 9130 1033 Tue – Fri 6pm-late; Sat – Sun 2pm-late Mr Moustache 75-79 Hall St, Bondi Beach (02) 9300 8892 Mon – Fri 5pm-11pm; Sat noon-11pm; Sun noon10pm 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

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henever a celebrity comes out, amidst the inevitable headlines come the comments that cry things like, “Who cares?!” or “Sexuality isn’t news!” or “That’s their business!” It happened with Ian Thorpe, it happened with Cate Blanchett earlier this year (who then claimed she’d been misquoted) and now, on a smaller scale, it’s happened with Passion Pit’s Michael Angelakos. The thing is, though, it is news. Like it or not, we’ve gotten to a point where the private lives of celebrities make headlines across even the most ‘sensible’ of news outlets. And despite all our proclamations of gay inclusivity, the fact remains that homosexuality is still ‘different’. We might be ‘OK’ with it, but we still live in a world where people are straight until proven gay, where heterosexuality is assumed, and homosexuality stands out as a result.

Michael Angelakos

When Caitlyn Jenner came out earlier this year, it made huge headlines across the world. Media Watch’s Paul Barry at the time proclaimed that it wasn’t news, thus demonstrating he probably doesn’t watch much media. Celebrity has become more and more a part of our news cycle, and we generally have ourselves to blame for that. Since Rupert Murdoch made news more of a commodity than a fact of public interest – turning news into something saleable, with topless women on page three of his red top tabloids – audiences have been driving news content. Where prior to this, we might have considered news what the public ‘needs to know’, now it’s more about what the public ‘wants to know’ (which might also explain the recent disparate Paris/Beirut coverage, as outlets like The Conversation have suggested). Because whoever sells the most newspapers makes the most money, and continues to stay afloat in this dire contemporary media climate. And the public wants to know about people. Human interest stories have boomed in the tabloid age, and with that comes celebrity. We care about individual people, because it’s easier to empathise with a single face than an entire crowd. We care about celebrities because they personify both our everyday lives and what we’d like our everyday lives to be like. We crave their private lives, so we can measure our worth against theirs, and feel good about ourselves when they fuck up (we all love some schadenfreude). And this is where celebrity coming out stories, ah, come in. They’re perfect headline fodder, because they demonstrate when a celebrity has done something ‘different’. And this in itself is pretty shit – that labelling of homosexuality as ‘different’ and therefore worthy of discussing – but it’s still the state of affairs. Until everyone stops calling them ‘gay weddings’ and starts calling them ‘weddings’, we’ll always be marked as other. (And then there are some of us, like me, who like being other, but that’s another story.) There is also plenty of good in celebrity coming out stories. When I first came

out myself, I wrote about why I wished more celebrities were upfront with their sexualities. Denying your homosexuality, particularly in our current world where it’s supposed to be ‘no big deal’ and ‘not news’, is responsible for making it so: it turns it into something to shame. On top of that, the more out and proud celebrities there are, the more out and proud role models closeted kids have, which helps reduce the stigma of being gay and decreases the risks of bullying – because if some hugely masculine, hugely popular sports star that’s revered by school bullies were gay, being gay would become less of a bad thing. This is particularly important for kids growing up outside of Sydney, like me, who don’t have any gay teachers, or gay dentists (because they all live in Newtown). While in an ideal world, celebrities coming out are not necessarily something the public needs to know as it stands, it’s certainly something we want to know. You can proclaim “Who cares?” all you like, but actually, I care, and 15-year-old me desperately cared, as I searched the news for someone like me: someone who was gay, but also successful, smart, and admirable – someone who showed me that I could be more than what the stigma of homosexuality told me I could.

this week… The Perv Queerotica Film Festival is on this Thursday November 26 – Sunday November 29 at the Red Rattler. Expect plenty of queer erotics, including fi lms like Neurosex Pornoia: Episode 2, parties, and a panel on sex work and working in pornography on the closing night.

On Friday November 27 and Saturday November 28, SassLife is taking over Tokyo Sing Song. It’ll feature performances from Betty Grumble, Jord Vato, Kieran Bryant and Daisy as well as music from Vibe Positive, Perfect Calamity, Amateur Humans and more. Amateur Humans

24 :: BRAG :: 640 :: 25:11:15

Also on Saturday November 28 is Loose Ends’ ninth birthday party. Moving from its old home Phoenix just up the road to Oxford Art Factory, the night features regular Matt Vaughan who will be joined by Michael Magnan, Stereogamous, L’Oasis and a few others.

Amateur Humans photo by Iola Killian

Neurosex Pornoia: Episode 2

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 Bauhaus West 163 Enmore Rd, Enmore (02) 8068 9917 Wed – Fri 5pm-midnight; Sat – Sun 11am-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 Kuleto’s 157 King St, Newtown (02) 9519 6369 Mon – Sat 4pm-late; Thu – Sat 4pm-3am The Little Guy 87 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 8084 0758 Mon – Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat 1pm-midnight; Sun 3pm-10pm Mary’s 6 Mary St, Newtown (02) 4995 9550 Mon – Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm The Midnight Special 44 Enmore Road, Newtown (02) 9516 2345 Tues – Sat 5pm-midnight; Sun 5pm-10pm Miss Peaches 201 Missenden Rd, Newtown (02) 9557 7280 Wed – Sun 5pm-midnight The Moose Newtown 530 King St, Newtown (02) 9557 0072 Wed – Sat 6pm-midnight Mr Falcon’s 92 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 9029 6626 Mon – Thu 4pm-midnight; Fri 3pm-midnight; Sat 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 Raven’s Eye 127 King St, Newtown (02) 9557 6429 Mon – Thu 5pm-midnight; Fri – Sat 11.30am-midnight; Sun 11:30am-10pm The Record Crate 34 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 9660 1075 Tue – Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm The Royal 156 Norton St, Leichhardt (02) 9569 2638 Mon – Thu 10am-1am; Fri – Sat 10am-3am; Sun 10am-midnight Secret Garden Bar 134a Enmore Rd, Enmore 0403 621 585 Mon – Sun 1am-11pm Soho In Balmain 358 Darling St, Balmain 0407 525 208 Tue – Sun 5pm-midnight Temperance Society 122 Smith St, Summer Hill (02) 8068 5680 Mon – Thu 4pm-11pm; Fri – Sat: noon-midnight; Sun: noon-10pm Thievery 91 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 8283 1329 Tue – Thu 6pm-11pm; Fri 6pm-midnight. Sat 11pm-3pm & 6pm-midnight Timbah 375 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 9571 7005 Tue – Thu 4pm-10pm; Fri noon-11pm; Sat 3pm-11pm; Sun 4pm-8pm Wilhelmina’s Liquid and Larder 332 Darling St Balmain (02) 8068 8762 Tues – Fri 5pm - late; Sat – Sun 8am - late The Workers Lvl 1, 292 Darling St, Balmain (02) 9555 8410 Thu – Sat 5pm-3am; Sun 2pm-late ZanziBar 323 King St, Newtown (02) 9519 1511 Mon – Sat 10am-4am; Sun 10am-12am Zigi’s Wine And Cheese Bar 86 Abercrombie St, Chippendale (02) 9699 4222 Tue 4pm-10pm; Wed – Sat 2pm-late

Alberts Bar 100 Mount St, North Sydney (02) 9955 9097 Mon – Wed 11.30am-10pm; Thu 11.30am-11pm; Fri 11.30am-midnight Firefly 24 Young St, Neutral Bay (02) 9909 0193 Mon – Thu 5-11.30pm; Fri 4-11.30pm; Sat noon11pm; Sun noon-10pm The Foxtrot 28 Falcon St, Crows Nest Tue – Wed 5pm-midnight; Thu 5pm-1am; Fri – Sat

5pm-2am; Sun 4pm-10pm The Hayberry Bar & Diner 97 Willoughby Road, Crows Nest (02) 8084 0816 Tue – Thu 4pm-12am; Fri & Sat noon-midnight Sun noon-10pm Hemingway’s 48 North Steyne, Manly (02) 9976 3030 Mon – Sat 8am-midnight; Sun 8am-10pm Honey Rider 230 Military Rd, Neutral Bay (02) 9953 8880 Tue – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun 4pm-10pm InSitu 1/18 Sydney Rd, Manly (02) 9977 0669 Tue – Fri 5pm-midnight; Sat 9am-midnight; Sun 9am-10pm The Hunter 5 Myahgah Rd, Mosman 0409 100 339 Mon – Tue 5pm-midnight; Wed – Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm Jah Bar Shop 7, 9-15 Central Ave, Manly (02) 9977 4449 Mon – Fri 4pm-late; Sat 9am-late; Sun 9am-10pm The Local Bar 6/8 Young Ln, Neutral Bay (02) 9953 0027 Tue – Fri 11.30am-midnight; Sat 7am-midnight; Sun 7am-10pm Los Vida 419 Pacific Hwy, Crows Nest (02) 9439 8323 Mon – Wed 5pm-midnight; Thu – Sat 11.30am-midnight; Sun 11.30am-10pm Manly Wine 8-13 South Steyne, Manly (02) 8966 9000 Mon – Sun 6.30am-late The Mayor 400 Military Rd, Cremorne (02) 8969 6060 Tue – Wed 5pm-late; Thu – Sat noon-late; Sun noon-10pm Miami Cuba 47 North Steyne, Manly (02 99775186 Tue – Thu 8am-10pm; Fri – Sat 8am-1am; Sunday 8am-4pm Moonshine Lvl 2, Hotel Steyne, 75 The Corso, Manly (02) 9977 4977 Thu 5pm-2am; Fri 1pm-2am; Sat noon-2am; Sun noon-midnight The Pickled Possum 254 Military Rd, Neutral Bay (02) 9909 2091 Thu – Sat 9pm-1am SoCal 1 Young St, Neutral Bay (02) 9904 5691 Mon – Tue 4pm-late: Wed – Thu noon-1am; Fri – Sat noon- 2am; Sun noon-midnight The Stoned Crow 39 Willoughby Rd, Crows Nest (02) 9439 5477 Mon – Sun noon-late The Treehouse Hotel 60 Miller St, North Sydney (02) 8458 8980 Mon – Fri 7am-late; Sat 2pm-late Wilcox Cammeray 463 Miller St, Cammeray (02) 9460 0807 Tue – Thu 4pm-10pm; Fri – Sat 2pm-11pm; Sun 2pm-10pm thebrag.com

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

ALBUM OF THE WEEK WIMPS

simple, catchy choruses and amusingly mundane thematic material.

Suitcase Kill Rock Stars/Redeye

Cheesy, twisted, vaguely childlike, and utterly unhinged, Lizzie is the living embodiment of everything that makes Wimps great. The fact that she’s not technically alive is beside the point.

There’s plenty of fun to be had on an otherwise serious debut from this Seattle three-piece.

CHROME SPARKS Parallelism Future Classic

Half-baked yet brave, Chrome Sparks’ Parallelism is the very definition of an interesting misfire; a sloppy, frustrating work that nonetheless contains some striking moments. For better and for worse, Parallelism is without boundaries. Over the space of three mammoth tracks, Jeremy Malvin – the man behind the Chrome Sparks name – mixes up a swathe of genres and tones. And, to give him credit, at times this freeform attitude is invigorating. A track like ‘Moonraker’ is a mix of soul, house, pop and electro elements, and Malvin’s disregard for genre convention gives the tune a destructive tension.

That’s her grinning mug on the cover of Wimps’ debut album Suitcase. She’s the band’s official mascot, and her crude visage perfectly sums up the pleasures of this decidedly off-kilter brand of punk. Suitcase is as advertised on the box, then: it’s ecstatic, eccentric stuff, filled with

There’s a strong vein of humour running throughout the album, but it’s worth noting that it never teeters over into parody or ridicule. Indeed, the whacky pleasures of a song like ‘Dump’ (“I live in a dump!”) feel strikingly earnest, and even the hilarious ‘Old Guy’ is ultimately more loving than critical. Songs like ‘Vampire’ and ‘Middle Ages’ provide the kind of choruses that work best when belted out at two o’clock on a drunken morning but they never come to feel reductive or dumb. In that way, Suitcase is an album of contrasts – messy and yet deliberately, brilliantly constructed; intelligent yet determinedly lowbrow; funny yet

sincere. Though it’s supremely enjoyable from beginning to end, Suitcase isn’t an idle pleasure. Rather, it’s an exquisitely drawn work from a band that takes its music more seriously than one might initially think. Joseph Earp

MUTEMATH

THE FUMES

SARAH BLASKO

Youth Allowance Independent

Vitals Sony

Bloodless ABC/Universal

Eternal Return EMI/Universal

Check the forecast before you give this one a listen, because it’s an EP whose sound is entirely dependent on the weather – it simply doesn’t feel right listening to these songs on a gloomy Sydney day.

“I’ll believe it when I see it” was the attitude of many Mutemath fans hoping for a fourth studio album from the New Orleans alt-rockers. After a four year hiatus, Vitals is the band’s well-crafted response to what it’s been dilly-dallying with for so long – a new electro rock sound.

Six years on from their last album Sundancer, Sydney blues rock outfit The Fumes return with their third release Bloodless, as well as a new member (producer and bassist Ryan Hazel). But whether it’s the changes, the years between albums, or both, Bloodless is a disappointment.

Not that it’s detracted from her work over the years whatsoever, but it’s no secret Sarah Blasko has earned a reputation of being stoic, distant and sobering. When ‘Only One’, the first single from her fifth studio album, arrived on the airwaves a matter of months ago, it felt like the greatest trick the devil ever pulled: ‘Like A Virgin’-esque synth arpeggios, a heart-shaped chorus and flourishes of sweeping electronica.

YOUTH ALLOWANCE

Youth Allowance’s self-titled EP emanates some sweet jingdie (jingly indie) rock, reflecting the sunny Brisvegas vibes that influenced the writing of these catchy tunes. There’s much to be said for this style of indie rock going round at the moment, but the Youth Allowance quartet do it well. Lead single ‘Running’ showcases these boys’ ability to write some damn catchy riffs that will lap around your head for days. Other offerings are equally as strong, each with their own hooks that will be sure to lure in thelisteners.

After marriages, management shifts and the departure of a member, it’s unsurprising the 12 tracks on Vitals reflect, in substance and style, transition and a return to the essentials. ‘Joy Rides’, ‘Light Up’ and ‘Monument’ herald the album’s synth-soaked trajectory in The Police meets Mylo Xyloto fashion. Funk-fused guitar riffs have given way to percussive strumming, offkilter rhythms have been soothed to groove-inducing beats and complex musical flourishes abandoned for Paul Meany’s vocals to shine. It’s a cohesive collection of footstompers and swelling ambient numbers.

From opening track ‘Silverstar’, it’s clear the band is seeking a new direction for its sound. The issue is that it never figures out what that direction is. There is a darker tone, but it’s messy and unfocused; new ideas jar against the band’s traditional sound instead of accentuating it. A clear example is the title track, energetic and tight, but completely undone when a piano melody cuts across, grating against everything you’ve heard until that point, and which only seems to have been added in because there was a piano lying around the studio.

‘All I See’ and ‘Remain’ highlight the delicacy of Meany’s falsetto, while ‘Composed’ describes, with gripping lyrical rawness, the vulnerability experienced after a panic attack.

It’s confusing why The Fumes didn’t release an EP to test the changes, instead of spending two years on a floundering album whose tone detracts from enjoyable tracks like ‘Jazz’ and ‘Over The River’.

There’s a great album in Chrome Sparks. This just isn’t it.

Centrelink might do well to consider replacing their on-hold music with tracks from Youth Allowance. I wouldn’t mind listening to this EP for a couple of hours.

Sure, there’s one too many slowbuilders and a nostalgic itch for a manic Darren King drum fill, but it’s a wholly surprising, sharp and infectious album.

The Fumes are capable of great material, but whatever potential Bloodless had is lost beneath the fumbling of new ideas and cobwebs of the old.

This is the sound of Sarah Blasko coming out of her proverbial cocoon to let her colours shine – and it’s such a joyous moment that it’s difficult to look away.

Joseph Earp

Tegan Reeves

Jennifer Hoddinett

Daniel Prior

David James Young

But there’s a fine line between the freeform and the formless, and it often feels as though Malvin is merely trying on styles rather than fully inhabiting them. The eight-minuteplus ‘Give It Up’ features a central section rife with musical cliché, and though the slow-burn tempo of ‘Ride The White Lightning’ contains a certain amount of pleasure, it leaves very little in its wake. It’s a shame, particularly given the flashes of greatness spotted throughout the piece. What Malvin needs more than anything is a censor; someone to encourage the artist to stay on track.

The Queenslanders have made a name for themselves in a very short amount of time after forming in late 2013, having already supported Jeremy Neale and The Lulu Raes around the traps. Keep an ear out for second single ‘Overthinker’ and its dancey guitar riffs in the coming weeks.

INDIE ALBUM OF THE WEEK The final whistle has blown, the teams have hit the showers and You Beauty are left without the prospect of writing conceptually about a fictional footy player, as they did on last year’s Jersey Flegg. It’s a tactic of their own accord, by all accounts – and, if Illywhacka proves anything, it’s this Sydney supergroup-of-sorts is far more than a cheap pop culture reference.

YOU BEAUTY Illywhacka Rice Is Nice

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Much like Jersey Flegg, this album deals with a less-than-reputable character (in this instance, a scam artist who seduces rich women on dating sites) with a backdrop of brisk, fine-tuned jangle-pop that arrives with urgency but still exudes enough dynamics to go through peaks and valleys of our hapless anti-hero’s private universe. Vocalist/

lyricist Will Farrier has again done a masterful job of seeking pathos and deeper meaning behind the evil that men do – tracks like ‘Take Every Cent’ and ‘Phone Job’ divulge great insight into the motives behind the scammer’s actions, while ‘Same Damn Thing’ turns the tables with impressive results. You Beauty remain one of the more intriguing bands in contemporary Australian music – highly conceptual without being pretentious, delivering tightly wound song structures without being predictable.

This is, indeed, a new Blasko – doing away with the baroque and the orchestral, she’s found a new home among a myriad of synths and songs that come closer to the immediate spectrum of pop music perhaps more than any others in her canon. ‘I’d Be Lost’ blips and bops as our heroine croons; ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’ toys with masculinity, its beds of keyboard reverb ice to the touch. It’s not entirely smooth sailing – ‘Luxurious’, for instance, gets a bit too adult contemporary for comfort. Mostly, however, Eternal Return is a fine song and dance.

OFFICE MIXTAPE And here are the albums that have helped BRAG HQ get through the week... DYLAN JOEL - Authentic Lemonade THE WALKMEN - Bows + Arrows BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN - Nebraska

BEIRUT - No No No TAME IMPALA - Lonerism

Illywhacka is two from two – and from here on in, the odds look damn good. David James Young BRAG :: 640 :: 25:11:15 :: 25

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21:11:15 :: Metro Theatre :: 624 George St Sydney 9550 3666

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19:11:15 :: Metro Theatre :: 624 George St Sydney 9550 3666

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21:11:15 :: Brighton Up Bar :: 1/77 Oxford St Darlinghurst 9361 3379

17:11:15 :: Qantas Credit Union Arena :: 35 Harbour St Darling Harbour 9320 4200

26 :: BRAG :: 640 :: 25:11:15

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What we've been out to see...

Oxford Art Factory Friday November 20

My sneaking suspicion that many punters at Eden Mulholland’s Hunted Haunted album launch actually had no idea who Mulholland was only solidified when the gentleman next to me asked, “Wait, who are we listening to?” The source of confusion stemmed from the Apparat gig next door, which saw many fans arriving early for pre-drinks. Lucky for them, they scooped ace pre-show performances too. Bathed in the glow of bare filament bulbs, Nick Pes was first for the night. Deftly looping riffs over click tracks and delaysaturated chords, the electro songwriter and producer filled the sparsely populated venue with mellow vocals and a summery sound. ‘Under The Light’ and ‘California’ impressed with a raw edge distinct from their usual programmed polish, but in terms of onstage warmth, Pes’ tropical printed shirt offered more flair than the singer himself. What the evening lacked in stage presence, Sydneysider and indie singer-songwriter Hannah Joy brought in abundance. From the moment her lips hovered over the microphone, she commanded the space, her plucky vocals making sense of the Montaigne and Meg Mac comparisons. Nimbly shifting from swaggering keyboard progressions to grungier guitar moments, rustic warbles to

MAPLES

Newtown Social Club Tuesday November 17 Gabby Huber is Maples, the Sydney performer who brought her newly formed album Two Worlds into our world last Tuesday evening to a crowded room atop the Newtown Social Club. This is Huber’s first foray into the solo realm, having formerly released music as part of Dead Letter Chorus. Her solo work is brave, honest and nostalgic, consisting of delightful electronic compositions with a dreamy pop veneer. The fruits of her labour (two years’ worth, in fact) is the ten-track LP, crafted across eight different recording studios, with three tracks co-written by The Presets’ Julian Hamilton. Production was a joint effort between Huber and Dave Symes (of Sarah Blasko and Boy & Bear fame), while Tim Whitten handled mixing duties.

gutsy choruses, it’s clear why Joy’s name is peppered across ‘must-watch’ lists. Mulholland saw and raised Joy’s energy. The lyrics “Don’t be such an arsehole” blasted through speakers as he kicked off ‘River Of Hurt’. Jabbing synths and punchy lyrics induced mild boogying from the bar before the Kiwi composer swiftly progressed through the peculiar pop hailing from Hunted Haunted. The detail and drive Mulholland conjured when backed by a mere drummer (albeit, a machine of one) was noteworthy. ‘Four To The Floor’ and ‘The New Old Fashioned’ bristled with an anthemic energy akin to The Jungle Giants. Meanwhile, the ebbing electronic layers that introduced ‘Blueprint’ and surfaced again for the finale, ‘Body Fight Time’, demonstrated the singer’s penchant for abstract tangents and cinematic-scale crescendos. (Fitting, given The Wizard Of Oz was playing behind him, depicting swirling tornado scenes.) Mulholland’s banter lacked quite the same finesse (“Fucking gorgeous weather eh?”), but with a mere 45 minutes and a cast of lyrically rich songs available, no-one minded allowing the music to speak for itself. With a set that carved out charged and contemplative moments, Mulholland delivered a performance that gave many listeners, including the gentleman next to me, ample reason to remember his name in the future. Jennifer Hoddinett

Huber stepped out onto a beautifully lit stage that recalled flitting fireflies, and worked methodically through her new material, with tracks such as ‘Be Free’, ‘Stars’, and ‘Ever Longing’. It wasn’t long before she had dazzled the audience, and she cemented her status as a class-A performer when she delivered an acoustic version of Martha Wainwright’s ‘Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole’. Huber embodied Wainwright’s spirit, capturing her energy, and even stepping it up a notch by taking her performance into the middle of the crowd. She wrapped the night with two encores, which the crowd went absolutely nuts for. The night has confirmed what we already knew upon the album’s release: Huber has created a beautifully ambient, electronic pop record that demands attention. Maples could be the pop act Sydney has been waiting for. Sarah Little

thrash ’em all OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER

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EDEN MULHOLLAND, NICK PES, HANNAH JOY

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

MATT CORBY, STOLEN VIOLIN, R.W. GRACE Metro Theatre Monday November 16

The number one thing that’s a given when attending a Matt Corby concert is that you’ll hear a lot of teenage girls squealing in admiration. But the second thing that’s a given is that Corby’s voice will have the power to silence everyone in an instant. Corby delivered an angelic – if relatively short – performance at the Metro Theatre last Monday night, and left the crowd in shock. R.W. Grace kicked off the night producing a garage band kind of feel with just her Fender. Her sound was dark and raw, and she held her own quite well alone on the big Metro stage. Next, Stolen Violin created a different atmosphere altogether – the band members sat in a circle on the stage where they played airy, folk music as if around a campfire. The lack of visual aids faded their tunes into the background as the crowd chattered enthusiastically, but it was a very peaceful, quick set – barely 20 minutes long. Finally, Matt Corby appeared on the stage under a single white spotlight, looking like a slightly dishevelled

angel with his tousled locks under the ethereal light. He opened with his latest release, ‘Monday’, and looped a cappella vocals, which cut through every murmur of the crowd until there was silence. The track set the tone for the rest of the set, showing off his controlled pitch and playing around with the original rhythm. Corby played some tracks relatively true to their recordings (‘Resolution’ and ‘Brother’), accompanied by the veritable force of the audience-turnedchoir. However, he also shifted around the structure of songs like ‘What The Devil Has Made’, and this is where he really shone. The newer material was a real treat indeed, with some interesting melodies and influences (from blues to gospel to rock) thrown in the mix. A man of few words, he softly mumbled that he’d be ending the show with a new track, and though the crowd cheered its lungs out for more, once he’d left the stage, he didn’t return for an encore. Corby demonstrated control, creativity and flair throughout his performance, but his closing statement proved this wasn’t a show entirely intended to please his fans – it was more about him exploring his music itself. Erin Rooney

SYDNEY ROCK ‘N’ ROLL & ALTERNATIVE MARKET Manning House Sunday November 22

There are few places on earth where one is likely to overhear someone ask the question, “Do you happen to have the Sesame Street disco album?” and fewer still where the answer will be yes. But that’s the Rock ‘N’ Roll & Alternative Market in a nutshell. It’s a perfect example of what happens when the niche gets writ large, and from the moment the doors of Manning House flew open, the space buzzed with a thrilling sense of community. There were stalls dedicated to fashion; to jewellery; to obscure art horror films from the ’80s; to moustache wax. DJs blasted Gene Vincent, and a gozleme stall kept the steady flow of people fed. And of course, there was vinyl: boxes and boxes of the shiny black stuff, all supplied by Sydney’s premiere record outlets. The live music was as varied and offbeat as one might expect. Rockabilly’s rising star Pat Capocci proved to be an immensely watchable performer – swathed in his beautiful American Primitive tattoos and armed with an electric guitar, he shuffled and spasmed about the stage, backed by a singularly impressive band.

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28 :: BRAG :: 640 :: 25:11:15

Of all the groups that played, Shaggin’ Wagon were probably the outliers. But given the current decade, they may always be outliers one way or the other, and their loving throwback to the kitschy solos of ’80s hair metal and raucous ’70s choruses went down well with the respectful but entranced crowd. Introduced as astronauts forced back to Earth by the overwhelming need to use the loo, Men Into Space set rockabilly riffs and cosmic lyrics on a collision course. As gimmicky as their unique brand of astro-billy might sound, the end result was something genuinely special, as the spacesuit-clad musicians added noodled layers of theremin to the tracks and sent the audience into a frenzy of twirls and thrusts. In fact, though every one of the bands played with skill and talent, one could easily have stood with their backs to the performers and watched the audience. Clad in a dizzying array of ’50s- and ’60s- inspired outfits, balancing their towers of hair, the onlookers danced with abandon, becoming active participants in the action. They moved separately but as one; unique parts of a wholly unique whole. Joseph Earp

PHOTOGRAPHER :: ASHLEY MAR

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WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 25 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK Batch Sessions feat: The Daphne Rawling Band + Tim Wheatley Batch Brewing Co, Marrickville. 6pm. Free. Mindy Sotiri The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 7pm. $5. The Squeezebox Trio Mr Falcon’s, Glebe. 7pm. Free.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Elysian Fields Foundry616, Ultimo. 8:30pm. $21.50. Hank Marvin Gypsy Band The Basement, Circular Quay. 7pm. $44.70. The Protesters B.E.D., Glebe. 8pm. Free.

The Daphne Rawling Band photo by Colin Lucas

The Bennies photo by Ian Laidlaw

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS Anatomy Class Captain Cook Hotel, Paddington. 8pm. Free. Ashes To Ashes And Other Oddities (David Bowie Tribute Show) The Vanguard, Newtown. 7pm. $13.80. Conrad Sewell Metro Theatre, Sydney. 7pm. $26.41. Mar Haze + Love Hate Rebellion Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 4pm. Free. Mark Travers Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9pm. Free. Muso’s Club Jam Night Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt. 8pm. Free. Sugar Jam Open Mic Night Sugarmill, Kings Cross. 8pm. Free. Tiny Ruins Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $23.10. Triple J Unearthed Showcase - feat: Vallis Alps + Airling + Gordi Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7pm. Free. Vibrations At Valve Band Competition Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 7pm. $15.

Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. $10. Rhythm & Bowls feat: Johnny G & The E Types Marrickville Bowling Club, Marrickville. 5:30pm. Free. Thursdays In Jam feat: El Moro + DJ Av El Cubano Jam Gallery, Bondi Junction. 9pm. Free.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK Another Roadside Attraction With Tanya & Friends The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 7pm. $5. Blake Wiggins Fortune Of War, The Rocks. 7pm. Free. Dr Taos + Phillip Bracken + Beck Fielding Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8pm. Free. John Milligan The Push Bar, The Rocks. 7pm. Free. Leroy Lee Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt. 7pm. Free. Toni Swain Band + Dorothy-Jane Gosper Band + Keith Hall & Pat Dow Band The Basement, Circular Quay. 6pm. $19.20.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS Alla Spina Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt. 8pm. $11.80. Dan Hopkins Mr Falcon’s, Glebe. 8:30pm. Free. Dave White Duo Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9pm. Free. East Of Here + Kristafor Farrenkothen + Bly (DJ Set) Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $10. Kelly Dance + Evan Lock Freda’s, Chippendale. 8pm. Free. Little Desert - feat: Whitney Houstons Crypt Blackwire Records, Annandale. 7pm. $10. Live At The Sly - feat: Svelt +

Spectacles + La Tarantella Slyfox, Enmore. 7:30pm. Free. Muso’s Club Jam Night Carousel Inn Hotel, Rooty Hill. 8pm. Free. Nakatomi Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $11.60. Oh Pep! Camelot Lounge, Marrickville. 8pm. $17.70. Oliver Mtukudzi & The Black Spirits Max Watt’s, Moore Park. 7:30pm. $61.20. Phil Barlow & The Wolf + The New Regulars Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 10pm. Free. Robert Forster Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $33.80. Sons Of The East + Suns Of The Universe Moonshine Cider & Rum Bar, Manly. 9pm. Free. The Shufflers Three Wise Monkeys, Sydney. 8pm. Free. Wolves In Fashion + Origami Birds + Hurst + Armand Lespoir The Vanguard, Newtown. 6:30pm. $15.

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 27 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC James Morrison The Basement, Circular Quay. 7:30pm. $34.50.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK Boston Blue Vineyard Hotel, Vineyard. 9pm. Free. Funk Engine Mr Falcon’s, Glebe. 9:30pm. Free. Glenn Esmond Trio Cronulla RSL, Cronulla. 6pm. Free. Jimmy Mann The Push Bar, The Rocks. 7:30pm. Free. John Dixon

Chatswood RSL, Chatswood. 5pm. Free. Michael Fryar Padstow Park Hotel, Padstow. 8pm. Free. Mr Jamie Ray Fortune Of War, The Rocks. 8pm. Free. Nathan Cole Bar Cleveland, Redfern. 8:30pm. Free. Rebecca Moore Lord Raglan Hotel, Alexandria. 7pm. Free. Rob Eastwood Campbelltown Catholic Club, Campbelltown. 6pm. Free. Steve Crocker Duo Royal Motor Yacht Club, Newport. 8:15pm. Free. Ted Nash Duo Chatswood RSL, Chatswood. 10pm. Free. Vanessa Heinitz 99 On York, Sydney. 5:30pm. Free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS Buffalo Revisited + Arrowhead + The Bitter Sweethearts Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt. 8pm. $30. Allaspina + Drop Legs + Larange Bucket + Ska’d 4 Life + The Dead Magpies + Fox’N’Firkin + Steel City Allstars Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 9pm. $10. Bin Juice + Landmarks The Lass O’Gowrie Hotel, Wickham. 8:30pm. Free. Furnace & The Fundamentals Metro Theatre, Sydney. 8:30pm. $28.90. Georgia White The Oriental Hotel, Springwood. 8pm. Free. Holy Serpent feat: Fukushima Bang Bang + Yanomamo + Shake Your Blood + Transcendent Sea Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. $10. Karaoke Figtree Hotel, Sydney. 9pm. Free. Kisteria + Poison R Us Towradgi Beach Hotel, Towradgi.

pick of the week The Hard-Ons

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 28 Factory F t Theatre

UnFun ’15 Hard-Ons + Grenadiers + Perspectivesx + Columbus + Vices + More 3pm. $28. 9pm. Free. Krisna Jones Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 5:45pm. Free. Luluc Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $23. Reckless Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 10pm. Free. Sarah Paton Town Hall Hotel, Balmain. 5pm. Free. The Amazing Woolloomooloosers

Marrickville Bowling Club, Marrickville. 8:30pm. Free. The Bennies + The Hard Aches + Wet Pensioner Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 7pm. $15. The Coronas Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 8pm. $47. The Indians Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $10.

The Marvin Gaye Experience Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 8pm. $82. The Tall Grass (Fenton & Hutchings) The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 7pm. $7. The Upskirts Moonshine Cider & Rum Bar, Manly. 9pm. Free.

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 28 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Kinetic Jazz Orchestra Foundry616, Ultimo. 8:30pm. $25.

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 26 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Cigars Of The Pharaoh + Elia Fell + Wolfie And Lisa Mcnaughton thebrag.com

The Daphne Rawling Band

The Bennies

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Taylor Swift

MONDAY NOVEMBER 30 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Bin Juice + The Dolphin Show Moonshine Cider & Rum Bar, Manly. 9pm. Free. Born Jovi Kareela Golf Club, Kareela. 8pm. Free. Electrofringe - feat: Body Promise + Del Lumanta + Kimchi Princi + Manheim Rocket + Net Daddy B2B Spoonty 107 Projects, Redfern. 1pm. $10.80. Endless Summer Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 10pm. Free. Human Woman + You And Your So-Called Friends + Big Winter The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 7pm. $7. Lagwagon + The Flatliners Metro Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $47.81. Marty Stewart Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 5:45pm. Free. Piratefest - feat: Alestorm + Lagerstein Manning Bar, Camperdown. 8pm. $57.50. Smaal Cats + My Elephant Ride + Swords Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $11.50. Taste Bridge Hotel, Rozelle. 7:30pm. $25.50. Taylor Swift + Vance Joy ANZ Stadium, Sydney Olympic Park. 7pm. $91.65. UnFun ’15 - feat: Hard-Ons + Grenadiers + Perspectives + Columbus + Vices + More Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 3pm. $28. Venom Club Night - feat: Saralisse + Enter Reality + The Godmothers Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 9pm. $15. Zakk Wylde’s Black Label Society UNSW Roundhouse, Kensington. 7:30pm. $68.41.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Alfredo Malabello

John Maddox Duo Mr Falcon’s, Glebe. 7pm. Free. Songsonstage feat: Russell Neal + Chris Brookes + Guests Kelly’s On King, Newtown. 7:30pm. Free. The Push Bar, The Rocks. 7:30pm. Free. Amber Lawerence & Luke O’Shea The Basement, Circular Quay. 7:30pm. $31.40. Glenn Esmond Trio Marlborough Hotel, Newtown. 11pm. Free. Jeremy Neale + Black Zeros + Weak Boys + Yeevs Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $15. Mainline Vineyard Hotel, Vineyard. 11am. Free. Spike Flynn & The Open Hearted Strangers The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 3pm. $5. Spit Roasting Bibbers The Belvedere Hotel, Sydney. 7:30pm. Free. Ted Nash Fortune Of War, The Rocks. 8pm. Free. Unleash Carousel Inn Hotel, Rooty Hill. 8pm. Free.

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 29 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Glenn Esmond Fortune Of War, The Rocks. 6pm. Free. Hawaiian Cowboy Mr Falcon’s, Glebe. 7pm. Free. Ivanhoe The Deck, Sydney. 3:30pm. Free. John Dixon The Mill Hotel, Milperra. 12pm. Free. Lucky Wise Trio Django Bar @ Camelot Lounge, Marrickville. 7:30pm. $17.30. Marshall Okell Towradgi Beach Hotel, Towradgi. 3pm. Free. Matt Toms Strawberry Hills Hotel, Surry Hills. 4pm. Free. Nathan Cole The Rivo Hotel, Riverstone. 4pm. Free. Songsonstage feat: Russell Neal + Pauline Sparkle + Guests Harlequin Inn, Pyrmont. 3pm. Free. Ted Nash Macarthur Tavern,

30 :: BRAG :: 640 :: 25:11:15

Campbelltown. 2pm. Free. Witchwood Royal Motor Yacht Club, Newport. 2pm. Free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Devine Electric + Atomic Riot + Release The Hounds + Dellacoma’s Dark Horses + Eightball Junkies + Former Angels + Glitoris Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 4pm. Free. The Living Room + Imogen Clark + Jack And Chi Lewisham Hotel, Lewisham. 4:30pm. Free. Bad Absalom + Green Manalishi + Drillhorse + Pearhaped Orange Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 5pm. $10. Hockey Dad + Skeggs + The Pinheads The Lair @ Metro Theatre, Sydney. 4:30pm. $12. Hollie Smith The Basement, Circular Quay. 6:30pm. $24.30. Liam Finn + Dan Kelly Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 6pm. $28. Open Mic Epping Hotel, Epping. 5pm. Free. The Usual Suspects The Oxford Tavern, Petersham. 8pm. Free. U2 Elevation Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 4:30pm. Free. UK Anthems Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 8:30pm. Free.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

Birthday Celebration Concert 2015 - feat: Van-Anh Nguyen + Chris Pidcock Foundry616, Ultimo. 4pm. $25. Queen Porter Stomp Marrickville Bowling Club, Marrickville. 4pm. Free. The Protesters Town Hall Hotel, Newtown. 7pm. Free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Brian Ralston The Basement, Circular Quay. 6:30pm. $26.30. Frankie’s World Famous House Band Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 9pm. Free. Live & Originals @ The Corridor - feat: Harley Van Valen + Jack Millar + Scandalgate Corridor Bar, Newtown. 7pm. Free. Swerve Society feat: Wasters + The Knowgoods + Hello Bones Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7:30pm. Free. The Monday Jam The Beresford Hotel, Surry Hills. 6pm. Free.

TUESDAY DECEMBER 1 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Dan Sultan Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7pm. $38. Songsonstage feat: Ingrid Mae + Guests Lord Gladstone Hotel, Chippendale. 7:30pm. Free. Songsonstage - feat: Stuart Jammin + Guests Kelly’s On King, Newtown. 8pm. Free. The New Savages The Bearded Tit, Redfern. 7pm. Free.

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 25 Batch Sessions - Feat: The Daphne Rawling Band + Tim Wheatley Batch Brewing Co, Marrickville. 6pm. Free. Conrad Sewell Metro Theatre, Sydney. 7pm. $26.41. Mar Haze + Love Hate Rebellion Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 4pm. Free. Tiny Ruins Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $23.10. Triple J Unearthed Showcase - Feat: Vallis Alps + Airling + Gordi Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7pm. Free.

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 26 East Of Here + Kristafor Farrenkothen + Bly (DJ Set) Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $10. Live At The Sly - Feat: Svelt + Spectacles + La Tarantella Slyfox, Enmore. 7:30pm. Free. Nakatomi Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $11.60. Oh Pep! Camelot Lounge, Marrickville. 8pm. $17.70. Phil Barlow & The Wolf + The New Regulars Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 10pm. Free. Robert Forster Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $33.80.

Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 8pm. $47. The Indians Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $10. The Marvin Gaye Experience Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 8pm. $82.

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 28 Bin Juice + The Dolphin Show Moonshine Cider & Rum Bar, Manly. 9pm. Free. Electrofringe - Feat: Body Promise + Del Lumanta + Kimchi Princi + Manheim Rocket + Net Daddy B2b Spoonty 107 Projects, Redfern. 1pm. $10.80. Jeremy Neale + Black Zeros + Weak Boys + Yeevs Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $15. Lagwagon + The Flatliners Metro Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $47.81. Piratefest - Feat: Alestorm + Lagerstein Manning Bar, Camperdown. 8pm. $57.50. Smaal Cats + My Elephant Ride + Swords Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $11.50. Taste Bridge Hotel, Rozelle. 7:30pm. $25.50. Taylor Swift + Vance Joy ANZ Stadium, Sydney Olympic Park. 7pm. $91.65. Zakk Wylde’s Black Label Society UNSW Roundhouse, Kensington. 7:30pm. $68.41.

Wolves In Fashion + Origami Birds + Hurst + Armand Lespoir The Vanguard, Newtown. 6:30pm. $15.

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 29

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 27

Devine Electric + Atomic Riot + Release The Hounds + Dellacoma’s Dark Horses + Eightball Junkies + Former Angels + Glitoris Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 4pm. Free.

Furnace & The Fundamentals Metro Theatre, Sydney. 8:30pm. $28.90. James Morrison The Basement, Circular Quay. 7:30pm. $34.50. Luluc Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $23. The Bennies + The Hard Aches + Wet Pensioner Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 7pm. $15. The Coronas

Liam Finn + Dan Kelly Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 6pm. $28. The Protesters Town Hall Hotel, Newtown. 7pm. Free.

TUESDAY DECEMBER 1 Dan Sultan Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7pm. $38.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS Bandquest - feat: Russell Neal + Semi-Finalists Ruby L’otel, Rozelle. 7:30pm. Free. Bucket Lounge Presents – Live & Originals Mr Falcon’s, Glebe. 7pm. Free. Live Rock & Roll Karaoke Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 4pm. Free. Open Mic The Bourbon, Potts Point. 7pm. Free.

Dan Kelly

thebrag.com

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

brag beats

inside:

club guide + club snaps + weekly column

peking duk xxx

on the road again

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BRAG :: 640 :: 25:11:15 :: 31

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, Tegan Reeves and Eden Gillespie

five things WITH

Art vs Science

TINI TUNES

WORLD CHAMPION

OFF THE EDGE OF THE EARTH

Growing Up Although some 1. believe us to be brothers, we actually grew up in different households. Jules’ parents were in the culinary world and he used to steal pots and pans from the kitchen and try to play along to Van Morrison. Will grew up with heroes like David Bowie and Fleetwood Mac as a household staple.

2.

Inspirations Anyone who can balance live and electronic instruments is a standout. Right now we’re listening to William Onyeabor. Your Band World 3. Champion is William Campion and Julian Sudek. We’re fleshing out the live show as a four-piece at the moment. We’ve also got some amazing

collaborations coming up in the future. Our first tune, ‘Avocado Galaxy’, was produced by all-time humanzoid Jono Ma (Jagwar Ma).

4.

The Music You Make We’re suckers for a great melody, so we spend a lot of time trying to find the perfect vocal hook. The aesthetic is whatever we find interesting at the time, but generally speaking vintage synthesizers and guitars are our bread and butter. For us, the key to a live show is about letting go and dancing without a care. There’s plenty of swirling vocals and grooves to keep people on their feet. Music, Right Here, Right 5. Now

GET DOWN TO BUNGALOW

The NYE Tropicana Beach Club is back on the Sydney schedule, hosted by Bungalow 8 on King Street Wharf. MC Sasa will be joined at the event by

PUSHING HIS LUCK

US rap star Pusha T will ring in the New Year with a headline show in Sydney. The Bronx-born and Virginia-raised Pusha T is returning to Oz for the first time since his supporting role on Kanye West’s Yeezus tour, and it’s about time he was given the spotlight all to himself. T’s 2013 debut solo record My Name Is My Name featured collaborations with the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Rick Ross and Kelly Rowland, and he’s prepping the release of a follow-up, King Push, this summer. Pusha T will play the Metro Theatre on Tuesday January 5.

The recent restrictions placed on venues in Sydney’s CBD are probably the biggest challenge in the music scene at the moment. That said, the landscape is more colourful than ever. Sampa The Great is fantastic, as well as Green Buzzard and Retiree (to name a few) – lots of different styles but they all take our breath away. What: Avocado Galaxy out Friday December 4 through Future Classic Where: Beach Road Hotel When: Wednesday December 16 And: Also appearing at Lost Paradise, Tuesday December 29 – Thursday December 31, Glenworth Valley

DJ Argie (resident DJ at Tropicana and Cavo Paradiso in Europe), whose selfprofessed biggest love is progressive and electro house. Bungalow 8 is offering NYE packages for guests to secure booths and huts on the night, Thursday December 31.

Celebrating the release of their new album Off The Edge Of The Earth And Into Forever, Forever, Art vs Science will be heading around the country next March. The tour will follow their festival appearances including slots at Falls Festival, Mountain Sounds, The Plot and Southbound. After all that, Art vs Science will play ten shows, taking in capital cities as well as regional areas including Toowoomba and Ballarat. The Sydney trio will be showing off tracks from the new album, as well as cuts from their ARIA Award-winning 2011 debut, The Experiment. Warming up for them at these shows will be KLP. The show takes over the Metro Theatre on Saturday March 12.

ESCAPE TO SOUNDSCAPE

The time is now for Soundscape, the dance music festival happening just over the Harbour Bridge with a great lineup of Aussie talent. The Greenwood Hotel party this Saturday November 28 is staking its claim on a five-star program including the likes of Basenji, Touch Sensitive, UV Boi, Young Franco, Sons Of The East, Lime Cordiale, Ocean Alley, Mantra Collective and many more. Organisers have been building the hype with a series of podcasts, which you can check out on the Soundscape Facebook page, but they’ll have nothing on the real thing by the time it takes off this weekend.

ABOVE & BEYOND ACOUSTIC

English progressive trance group Above & Beyond will perform at the Sydney Opera House as part of a worldwide tour that sees them playing some of the globe’s most prestigious stages in acoustic format. The tour will be in support of their upcoming release, simply titled Acoustic II, a follow-up to the iTunes dance charttopping album Acoustic. Recorded in collaboration with producer Bob Bradley, Acoustic II features new arrangements of some of the biggest

hits from Above & Beyond’s massive album We Are All We Need, as well as some of the most popular Above & Beyond tracks from years gone by, including ‘On My Way To Heaven’ and ‘No One On Earth’. Above & Beyond will play the Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House on Monday June 6.

The guys behind the old Spice Cellar will be hosting a second pop-up party under the banner of Spice Black this summer. After a successful first event in conjunction with Red Bull, which was headlined by Nina Kraviz, the next instalment will be held on the rooftop of Café del Mar in Cockle Bay. Spice Black is a celebration of fi ne food, forwardthinking music, premium drinks and contemporary art. Headlining the night will be Germany’s tINI – one of the most highly regarded international DJs across innovative electronic music circles – supported by 4our, Gabby, Phil Smart, Murat Kilic and Le Brond. Tickets to Spice Black featuring tINI are available online now ahead of the event on Saturday December 19.

tINI

FIRE UP ELECTRIC GARDENS

Electric Gardens has added another superstar to its maiden festival lineup, coming to Sydney in 2016. Dubfire is the newest act to join the dub-smashing team of artists on Electric Gardens’ bill. He is best known for making up half of Deep Dish and pioneering much of the deep house and underground music scene, becoming a leading name in electronica from the late ’90s onwards. Dubfire is but the latest name making a world-class lineup

at the event, which already includes Fatboy Slim, John Digweed, Pachanga Boys and Stacey Pullen, among others. Party down with Electric Gardens on Saturday January 23 at Centennial Park.

A Tribe Called Red

Pusha T

PAINT IT RED

A Tribe Called Red are currently in the midst of their first major Australian tour, bringing with them the audio-visual experience that wowed crowds at SXSW. The Canadian production/DJ crew aims to challenge stereotypes about indigenous people by taking video segments from pop culture and remixing it with traditional culture, contemporary dance and b-boy styling. Their self-titled album was released in 2012, and longlisted for the Polaris Music Prize. They’ve recently turned heads at the Sydney Opera House’s Homeground festival, and now they’ll be headlining Onespace’s event at the Factory Theatre on Thursday December 3. OKA, Leonard Summer and DJ Marc Kundalini will be there in support. xx

32 :: BRAG :: 640 :: 25:11:15

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Peking Duk An Investigation Of Styles By Adam Norris

O

ver the last 12 months, Peking Duk have been riding a hell of a wave. In addition to upcoming gigs at Stereosonic and Vanfest, the Canberra duo have been carving up a wide US fan base between festivals like Coachella and Life Is Beautiful. Their latest single, ‘Say My Name’, sees a rockier shift from their usual fare, and as Reuben Styles explains, the single is a taste of things to come. With one touring whirlwind behind them, and the next storm of gigs fast approaching, Styles takes a breath and ponders what direction their sound might take next. “It’s great finally being at home,” he sighs. “We landed in Sydney from Vegas, played a gig that night with The Veronicas, then woke up the next day and realised, ‘It’s relax time. Anything goes.’ We haven’t booked in any studio sessions or anything. I’ve just sat back and tried to regain myself. Get some rest. I think that makes the studio so much more fun, when you’re not forcing yourself. “Today when I woke up, I had ideas bouncing around, and just went in and started laying stuff down there and then. So you have a bit of healthy living, but mixed with heading down to your local pub each night for a few nightcaps. If you’re not drinking at all, well, people are going to be a bit scared. You know what they say – never trust a man who doesn’t drink.” I’m not sure people actually say that, I laugh. “Ha, I like it! I’ve started to live by it now. Though now that I think about it, one of our managers

doesn’t drink, which makes me wonder…” Much of life seems to be about finding a neat balance of business and pleasure, and as Styles describes kicking back to play GTA V, you can’t help but feel the man has earned the respite. He and Adam Hyde began their electronic project back in 2010, though it was only last year that they cracked the Top 40 with ‘High’, featuring Nicole Millar. From there came international record deals and touring, a constant cavalcade of festivals and clubs, and an evolution in sound as their audience grew and they saw exactly what it was that made their music tick. “We’ve been doing a lot of festivals lately in America,” Styles says. “At Coachella I was really excited to see FKA Twigs and acts like Jack White, but I feel like I’d rather see them at a solo show somewhere. The acts I think really stole Coachella were Flosstradamus and DJ Snake, the acts which just played over-the-top, gigantic bangers, because in crowds of those numbers, it just works better. Maybe ‘better’ is a bad word, but the feeling of big music in a big crowd is incredible, while intimate music in an intimate setting hits a different spot. “I wouldn’t go to see many DJs in a club. But if I’m at a festival with 40,000 people jumping to Flosstradamus, that’s sick. To put it in perspective, Slumberjack put out a song for us, and that song is totally trap that you could play at a festival, but at the same time it’s real fun in an intimate setting to groove out to. “There are little tricks you find on the way,” Styles adds. “Things that

we’ve accidentally done in one set and saw worked really well, so we’ve done them again in the next set. There are a bunch of things that become a part of the regular show as the show continues, stuff on the fly. But a lot of the time, if you do see us play twice in the space of a few weeks, you’ll still see a very similar set. We might add a new tune into the set and ditch an old one every two weeks. Our change is a very gradual process. After maybe four months you should be hearing an entirely new set.” When ‘Say My Name’ was released, much of the conversation around it centred on how different the song was, how noticeable the change in Peking Duk’s direction. It’s a fair discussion, since regardless of how strong the track

actually is, it makes you ponder how comfortable the guys are in their musical skin. Does the need to stretch out imply a fear of being boxed into a certain sound, or is it all an inevitable part of an artist’s evolution? “That’s a tough one,” says Styles. “As long as you are always excited, it will always be fun. And as long as it’s always fun, you’ll always be motivated to get into the studio. As soon as you get to that point where you’re not really loving what you’re doing, switch it up. ‘High’, ‘Take Me Over’ sound quite different to ‘Say My Name’ and all the other songs we’ve been working on lately. ‘Say My Name’ felt right because it was a step not necessarily in a rock direction, but a step away from what we’d found ourselves starting to get stuck in.

Off The Record

What: Vanfest 2015 With: Rudimental, Birds Of Tokyo, John Butler Trio, Sticky Fingers, Illy and more Where: Forbes Showgrounds When: Friday December 4 – Saturday December 5 And: Also appearing at Stereosonic 2015, Sydney Showground, Saturday November 28

RECOMMENDED

Dance and Electronica with Tyson Wray St Germain

“That was great in a way, where people were saying, ‘That sounds like Peking Duk,’ but at the same time, we might have boxed ourselves into a certain sound. There are lots and lots of directions still to go, and I think doing stuff like that will not only unbox ourselves for our fans, but will make us both happier in the long term.”

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 27

SATURDAY DECEMBER 12

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 28

SHXCXCHCXSH Bridge Hotel

Eric Cloutier, Optimo Peter Van Hoesen Chippendale Hotel Burdekin Hotel Will Saul, Jay Rødhåd Haze Oxford Art Factory Burdekin Hotel

Petar Dundov

Oliver Huntemann Max Watt’s

Sam Paganini, Pig&Dan The Arthouse Hotel

I

St Germain photo by Benoit Peverell

t’s been a bloody long time coming, but legendary producer Ludovic Navarre AKA St Germain is fi nally returning to Australian shores. One of the pioneers of the ‘French touch’ movement, Navarre has been in the game for over two decades, and has always been well ahead of his time. Give his multi-platinum album Tourist (which has sold more than three million copies worldwide) a spin and you’ll know what I mean – it’s near impossible to tell that it came out 15 years ago. He’ll be coming to Sydney armed with a careerspanning live show exploring the depths of his intelligent and sensual house-laden back-catalogue. Catch him at the Enmore Theatre on Tuesday March 15. Those champs from Something Else are capping off 2015 with one of their biggest bookings to date – veteran Croatian producer and DJ Petar Dundov. You know you’re doing something right if over the course of your career you’ve accumulated the likes of Sven Väth, Francois K, Laurent Garnier and Danny Tenaglia in your fan base, yeah? Most recently, the techno kingpin released

Synchrotonic/Holiday In Singularity, seeing him finally returning to Music Man Records. It’s straight fire, highlighting that the man is still at the top of his game. It’s going down on Saturday December 19 at the Burdekin Hotel. He’ll be supported by Mark Smith, Hannah Lockwood, Jordan Peters, Gareth Psaltis, Tred, Eliot Mireyless, Brosnan Perera, Dave Stuart, Jac Frier and Aidan Psaltis. It’s Christmastime, treat yourself. Another biggun’ taking place at the Burdekin next month will feature a double headline bill of international heavyweights Will Saul and Jay Haze. Saul is the head honcho of the Simple Records imprint and has also appeared on the likes of !K7, Aus Music and Balance Music. When Haze isn’t partaking in charity work in South America, you’ll find him releasing on Supernature Records, Contexterrior and Save You Records. Not much more to be said. House, techno and minimal will all get a rinse when they’re joined by Dilby, Dave Stuart, Lance Harrison, Simon Mann, U-Khan, Mark Craven, Tech No More, Samsonite and Wanos on Saturday December 12.

PSA: Following the announcement that Marrickville Bowling Club can no longer host late-night events (at least while the council hears its appeal), techno fans will be glad to know that the party featuring Eric Cloutier and Peter Van Hoesen this Friday November 27 has found a last-minute home at the Burdekin Hotel. Not sure how many of you saw Levon Vincent’s tirade on Facebook this week (of which the comments aren’t worth repeating), but you’d think that after the whole Ten Walls debacle people would’ve learned. Can producers please stop almost ruining their careers on social media? Sigh. Tour rumours: the long-time staple of Canadian dance label Mood Hut, Hashman Deejay, will be announcing tour dates soon. Best releases this week: I’m really digging Aris Kindt’s Floods (Scissor and Thread), but make sure you check out the accompanying film before jumping in. Other highlights include Kobosil’s 91 (Ostgut Ton) and Varg’s Story Of K (Northern Electronics).

Max Cooper Burdekin Hotel

THURSDAY DECEMBER 3

SUNDAY DECEMBER 13 Wolf + Lamb Café del Mar

SATURDAY DECEMBER 19

Floating Points Oxford Art Factory Petar Dundov Burdekin Hotel

Worthy, Ardalan Gilles Peterson Oxford Art Factory Chinese Laundry

FRIDAY DECEMBER tINI Café del Mar 4 – SUNDAY DECEMBER 6 FRIDAY Subsonic Music JANUARY 1 Festival: KiNK, Dop, Rick Wade, Roman Flügel + more Riverwood Downs Mountain Valley Resort, Barrington Tops

SATURDAY DECEMBER 5

Finnebassen, Lovebirds, Bjorn Wilke + more Café del Mar

SUNDAY JANUARY 3

Mala Civic Underground

Seven Davis Jr Margaret Dygas Civic Underground Chippendale Hotel

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

BRAG :: 640 :: 25:11:15 :: 33

club guide g

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

send your listings to : clubguide@thebrag.com

club pick of the week Basenji

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 28 Greenwood Hotel

Xxx

Soundscape Basenji + Touch Sensitive + UV Boi + Young Franco + More 2pm. $63.40. WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 25 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. Sasslife Weekly Secret Garden Bar, Enmore. 7pm. Free. The Wall The World Bar, Kings Cross. 9pm. Free.

Sessions - feat: Thomas Studdy Goros, Surry Hills. 8pm. Free. Wax Wars - feat: Total Eclipse Jred + Ask + Broke + Mark N + Perplex + Kuya + Samrai Oxford Hotel, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $10.

HIP HOP & R&B

Citizen Kay + Coda Conduct Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 8pm. $17. Tyga Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 7pm. $87.40.

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 27

HIP HOP & R&B

Spit Syndicate Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm. Free.

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 26 CLUB NIGHTS Kicks The World Bar, Kings Cross. 9pm. Free. Pesci’s Movember - feat: Blonde On Blonde + Baskervillian + Babaganouj Foundry616, Ultimo. 8pm. Free. The Midnight Swim

HIP HOP & R&B

Hermitude Hordern Pavilion, Moore Park. 7pm. $61.07. Phat Play Friday feat: Dusty Allen + Benny Hinn Play Bar, Surry Hills. 4pm. Free.

CLUB NIGHTS Bassic - feat: Touch Sensitive + Hwls + The Hump Day Project + Gxnxvs + Aywy + A-Tonez + Nemo + Samrai + Robustt + Gradz Chinese Laundry,

34 :: BRAG :: 640 :: 25:11:15

Sydney. 9pm. $27.70. Blvd Fridays - feat: L.A.M Marquee, Pyrmont. 10pm. $13.40. Brenny B Manly Wharf Hotel, Manly. 8pm. Free. Deep Heat - feat: Perfect Calamity + Malo N Alice D + Amateur Humans + Betty Grumble + Jord Vato Tokyo Sing Song, Newtown. 10pm. Free. El Loco Later - feat: DJs On Rotation Excelsior Hotel, Surry Hills. 9pm. Free. Eric Cloutier + Peter Van Hoesen Burdekin Hotel, Darlinghurst. 10pm. $38.50. 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. Jam Fridays Jam Gallery, Bondi Junction. 9:30pm. Free. Loco Friday - feat: DJs On Rotation The Slip Inn, Sydney. 5pm. Free. Oddisee + Hau + The Goods + Frenzy And The Groove Dealers + Edseven

+ JC Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 9pm. $28.20. Rødhåd Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 9pm. $39.70. Scubar Fridays - feat: DJs On Rotation Scubar, Sydney. 8pm. Free.

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 28 CLUB NIGHTS

Boffa And Ketami Manly Wharf Hotel, Manly. 6pm. Free. Deep Heat - feat: Steph Sparkles N Alice Joel + Vibe Positive + J-Lux + Kieran Bryant + Daisy Tokyo Sing Song, Newtown. 10pm. Free. El Loco Later - feat: DJs On Rotation Excelsior Hotel, Surry Hills. 9pm. Free. Establishment Saturdays The Establishment, Sydney. 9pm. $20. Frat Saturdays feat: DJ Jonski Side Bar, Sydney. 7:30pm. Free. Lndry - feat: Late Nite Tuff Guy + A-Tonez + Natnoiz + Discofool + Chris Fraser + Antoine Vice + Oscar De Lima + DJ Just 1 + King Lee Chinese Laundry,

Sydney. 9pm. $27.70. Loose Ends 9th Birthday - feat: DJ Matt Vaughan + Michael Magnan + Stereogamous + L’Oasis + Magda Bytnerowicz + Lillian Starr Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 10pm. $23.10. Masif Saturdays Space, Sydney. 10pm. $25. My Place Saturdays - feat: DJs On Rotation Bar100, The Rocks. 8pm. Free. Oliver Huntemann Max Watt’s, Moore Park. 9pm. $40. Sam Paganini + Pig&Dan + Trena + Rouss + Louis Coste The Arthouse, Sydney. 9pm. $49.50. Scubar Saturdays - feat: DJs On Rotation Scubar, Sydney. 8:30pm. Free. Set Mo + Danny T + Friendless + Kormak + Mo’Funk + Fear Of Dawn + Jade Le Flay + Troy T + E-Cats + King Lee Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney. 6:30pm. $38. Something Else feat: Max Cooper + Robbie Lowe + Garth Linton + Shepz + Jay Smalls + Brosnan Perera + Singleminded + Monako + 8 Diagram + Vertigo & Element + Dauntless Burdekin Hotel, Darlinghurst. 9pm. $22. Soundscape - feat: Besenji + Touch Sensitive + UV Boi + Young Franco + Lime Cordiale + Ocean Alley + Borneo + Kid Zues + The Suins + Harry Sanger + Bilsn + B&H Smooth + This N’ That + More Greenwood Hotel, North Sydney. 2pm. $63.40. Stereosonic 2015 - feat: Armin Van Buuren + Axwell ^ Ingrosso + Major Lazer + Diplo + DJ Snake + Duke Dumont + Showtek + MK + Claptone Immortal + Claude Vonstroke + Peking Duk + Gareth Emery + Andrew Rayel + Marlo + Tchami + What So Not + Clean Bandit + Carmada + Carnage + Will Sparks + Hot Dub Time Machine + Oliver Heldens + Galantis + Generik + Jauz + Shockone + Slumberjack + Andrew Bayer + Emma Hewitt + Mark Sherry + Jason Ross + Headhunterz + Hannah Wants + Patrick Topping + Shiba San + Cut Snake + Timmy Trumpet + Snails + Jessie Andrews + Tigerlily Sydney Olympic Park, Homebush. 11:30am. $163.95.

HIP HOP & R&B

Boathouse Saturdays - feat: Resident DJs The Watershed Hotel,

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 25 Spit Syndicate Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm. Free.

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 26 Citizen Kay + Coda Conduct Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 8pm. $17. Tyga Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 7pm. $87.40.

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 27 Bassic - Feat: Touch Sensitive + Hwls + The Hump Day Project + Gxnxvs + Aywy + A-Tonez + Nemo + Samrai + Robustt + Gradz Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 9pm. $27.70. Deep Heat - Feat: Perfect Calamity + Malo N Alice D + Amateur Humans + Betty Grumble + Jord Vato Tokyo Sing Song, Newtown. 10pm. Free. Eric Cloutier + Peter Van Hoesen Burdekin Hotel, Darlinghurst. 10pm. $38.50. Hermitude Hordern Pavilion, Moore Park. 7pm. $61.07. Oddisee + Hau + The Goods + Frenzy And The Groove Dealers + Edseven + JC Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 9pm. $28.20. Rødhåd Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 9pm. $39.70.

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 28 Lndry - Feat: Late Nite Tuff Guy + A-Tonez + Natnoiz + Discofool + Chris Fraser + Antoine Vice + Oscar De Lima + DJ Just 1 + King Lee Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 9pm. $27.70. Loose Ends 9th Birthday - Feat: DJ Matt Vaughan + Michael Magnan +

Sydney. 9pm. $20. Chasm Mr Falcon’s, Glebe. 8pm. Free. R&B DJs By The Greens Marrickville Bowling Club, Marrickville. 4pm. Free. The Chop - feat: Jayo + Zac Hendrix + Caratgold + Raine Supreme + Benny Hinn Play Bar, Surry Hills. 6pm. Free.

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 29 HIP HOP & R&B

Oddisee Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $30.70.

Stereogamous + L’Oasis + Magda Bytnerowicz + Lillian Starr Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 10pm. $23.10. Oliver Huntemann Max Watt’s, Moore Park. 9pm. $40. Sam Paganini + Pig&Dan + Trena + Rouss + Louis Coste The Arthouse, Sydney. 9pm. $49.50. Something Else - Feat: Max Cooper + Robbie Lowe + Garth Linton + Shepz + Jay Smalls + Brosnan Perera + Singleminded + Monako + 8 Diagram + Vertigo & Element + Dauntless Burdekin Hotel, Darlinghurst. 9pm. $22. Stereosonic 2015 - Feat: Armin Van Buuren + Axwell ^ Ingrosso + Major Lazer + Diplo + DJ Snake + Duke Dumont + Showtek + Mk + Claptone Immortal + Claude Vonstroke + Peking Duk + Gareth Emery + Andrew Rayel + Marlo + Tchami + What So Not + Clean Bandit + Carmada + Carnage + Will Sparks + Hot Dub Time Machine + Oliver Heldens + Galantis + Generik + Jauz + Shockone + Slumberjack + Andrew Bayer + Emma Hewitt + Mark Sherry + Jason Ross + Headhunterz + Hannah Wants + Patrick Topping + Shiba San + Cut Snake + Timmy Trumpet + Snails + Jessie Andrews + Tigerlily Sydney Olympic Park, Homebush. 11:30am. $163.95.

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 29 Oddisee Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $30.70. S.A.S.H By Day - Feat: David Keno + Ralph Lawson + Telefunken + Tomek Greenwood Hotel, North Sydney. 1pm. $15. S.A.S.H By Night - Feat: Secret Guest + LeBrond + Jimi Polar + Matt Weir + Gabby + Dan Watts + Dave Hawtin + Cameron Cooper + Kyle McLeavage + Lokomotiv Home Nightclub, Darling Harbour. 8pm. $15.

CLUB NIGHTS

DJ Somatik And Graham M Manly Wharf Hotel, Manly. 4pm. Free. Marco Polo - feat: Colour Vision Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney. 1pm. $12.40. S.A.S.H By Day Feat: David Keno + Ralph Lawson + Telefunken + Tomek Greenwood Hotel, North Sydney. 1pm. $15. S.A.S.H By Night Feat: Secret Guest + LeBrond + Jimi Polar + Matt Weir + Gabby + Dan Watts + Dave Hawtin + Cameron Cooper + Kyle McLeavage + Lokomotiv Home Nightclub, Darling Harbour. 8pm. $15. Straight Up Sundays - feat: Cool Hand Luke

Middle Bar, Darlinghurst. 5pm. Free.

MONDAY 30 NOVEMBER CLUB NIGHTS Mashup Monday feat: Resident DJs + DJ Thieves + Recess + OTG + Chivalry + More Side Bar, Sydney. 8pm. Free.

TUESDAY DECEMBER 1 CLUB NIGHTS Coyote Tuesdays The World Bar, Kings Cross. 9pm. $10.

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SAT 28 NOVEMBER SPECIAL GUESTS

BENJ & STATZ TOM WITHERIDGE RESIDENTS

RABBIT TAXI MESAN

OFFICIAL AFTERHOURS

1 0 P M T I L L L AT E

$10 BEFORE 12AM / $15 AFTER 1 9 9 E N M O R E R O A D W W W . S LY F O X . S Y D N E Y

BY DAY

BY NIGHT

Sunday 29th November TERRACE

David Keno Ralph Lawson

TERRACE

Secret Guest

LeBrond ࠮ Jimi Polar ࠮ Matt Weir

THE DEN Gabby b2b Dan Watts Dave Hawtin

MAZE Cameron Cooper Kyle McLeavage

Telefunken Tomek GREENWOOD HOTEL 1pm to 9pm - $15

THE BOX Hosted by Lokomotiv

HOME NIGHTCLUB 8pm to 4am - $15 till 10pm / $20 after $15 all night with SASH by day stamp

www.sash.net.au thebrag.com

BRAG :: 640 :: 25:11:15 :: 35

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c.u saturday ft. rodriguez jr.

PICS :: KC

up all night out all week . . .

s.a.s.h by day ft. hoj + yokoo + tricky + lawrence daffurn

22:11:15 :: Greenwood Hotel :: 36 Blue St North Sydney 9964 9477 36 :: BRAG :: 640 :: 25:11:15

PICS :: AM

21:11:15 :: Civic Underground :: 388 Pitt St Sydney 8080 7000

OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER

S :: KATRINA CLARKE :: ASHLEY

MAR

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BRAG :: 640 :: 25:11:15 :: 37

snap up all night out all week . . .

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

HARBOURLIFE 2015

Fleet Steps, Mrs Macquarie’s Point Saturday November 21 The suited Chinese businessmen who had come to Mrs Macquarie’s Point to shake hands and sign deals had picked the wrong place if they were hoping for a serene affair. For today, thousands of dance fans were streaming past them, pouring into a fenced-off patch of the waterside park with the sole aim of reaching blissful heights with the help of house music’s finest DJs. This eve-of-summer day and night show in one of the most picturesque spots in the city has earned a reputation for attracting some of the best names in EDM. This year was no exception, boasting the likes of Eats Everything, Tensnake, Klingande and the almighty Booka Shade. Judging by the crowd, Sydney’s gyms are doing a roaring trade. Singlet and shorts was the outfit of choice for nearly every male, while the females were barely contained in short shorts and tight tops. These were the beautiful people, or so many would probably tell you. They’d not be looking so fresh by the end. There were towering, steroid-packing Russians with veins on their arms bulging to bursting point. There were the Bondi hipsters in ’90s hi-tops and neon caps. There were the Eastern Suburbs luvvies outfitted for Monte Carlo. The Instagram sensations, the gym-bros, the surgery

Barbies, the suburban hippies, the plumplipped, big-biceped and over-tanned. But dance music has the power to break down barriers. As the hours rolled on along with the punters, the dancefloor became one big, throbbing, bare-skinned organism, incubated by the heat and fermenting in the beat. On the water, yachts and cruisers moored up, their passengers peering enviously into the cauldron of hedonism on land. The police showed off their waterborne fleet and wagged fingers at drunken sailors. Up on the grassy hill behind, the exhausted stretched out on deck chairs, couples writhed in each other’s arms and the lost made new best-friends-for-lifeor-at-least-tonight. The vibe soon moved past the peacocking first few hours into a friendly festival feel. Revellers shared stories of where they’d come from and where they were going and why is there war when you can just dance and how great Sydney is and how great every city is and how great nature is too and how fucking good it is just to be alive. As the sun set the beats went on, fireworks fizzled in the sky and the view across the harbour looked more beautiful than ever – for those that could still focus that far. A glorious eight hours of house in one of the world’s most scenic temporary clubs. George Nott

EY MAR

OUR PHOTOGRAPHER :: ASHL

38 :: BRAG :: 640 :: 25:11:15

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& presents

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The RRP is the recommended retail price as set by the Australian distributor of the product. While stocks last. Products pictured are for illustration purpose only.

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