ISSUE NO. 673 JULY 27, 2016
FREE Now picked up at over 1,600 places across Sydney and surrounds. thebrag.com
MUSIC, FILM, THEATRE + MORE
INSIDE This Week
MON TA IGNE
From escaping zombies to recording her album, it's all action for Jess Cerro.
L OUIS T HEROU X
Asking the tough questions about Scientology in his new film.
DE S CENDEN T S
The pioneering punks return after a 12-year wait between albums.
EMM A L OUISE
Her second album has landed, and she may have a third ready to go.
T O TA L LY UNIC OR N
How they matched their raucous live show on their debut studio LP.
Plus
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rock music news welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town... with James Di Fabrizio, Tom Parker and Anna Wilson
five things WITH
JON FLYNN FROM MEN INTO SPACE movies were fictional and made as entertainment often on a tight budget, well, for some reason I just liked them more. At that time, it never occurred to me that cool ’50s music and these movies could somehow be mated together. Inspirations Somewhere in the mid-’90s 2. I travelled to Sydney to attend a
gig. Restless were playing with The Space Cadets. I didn’t know The Space Cadets at the time, but that was the most fun I had ever had at a show to date. Your Band In 2006, Men Into Space 3. were formed. We were a three-
Growing Up Like many, as a kid, I loved 1. the old movies the TV stations would play on Friday nights and as ‘midday movies’ on the
weekends. They were very often B-grade 1950s sci-fi flicks but to me they were a very real ‘alternate universe’. I don’t know why, but when I learned that these
piece back then: myself, Dan Nosovich on guitar and Rupert Jenner, a fi ne guitarist, on drums. After a few years I decided to make the band a four-piece. Coojee Timms joined on drums and Rupert got onto guitar. Recently, Pat Capocci joined
us. Pat is a huge fi gure in the rockabilly circuit, particularly in Europe. Costumes and instruments need to suit the theme. The helmets are toy space helmets from 1960. It took quite a few months of searching to acquire enough of them. I had to modify the inside of them considerably, as they were designed for children. The Music You Make I’ve always been focused on 4. making sure the music is as good
as it can be. A band is its music. It was and still is extremely important to me that the quality of the music comes first. Our bones are absolutely rockabilly but musically we venture a little further out than many trad bands might. The costumes and associated props and things are an added layer to what I think is a great band. Having all the instruments matching is very effective, I think. Rupert’s guitar was crafted from the bones of a death metal eBay item. I knew I
wanted theremin in the band, so this guitar was constructed to also be a dual instrument – thero-guitar. And the Space Bass just needs to be seen! Music, Right Here, Right Now 5. We’re doing our own thing with this
space/rockabilly genre. It’s a genre that is represented by quite a few bands around the world. And more broadly, themed costume rock’n’roll is huge among our community. Examples are Man Or Astro-Man?, Los Straitjackets, The Neanderthals, The Go-Nuts, The Red Elvises… but The Space Cadets will always be king. What: Sydney Rock ‘N’ Roll & Alternative Market With: The Porkers, Cruisin’ Deuces, The Hellcat III Where: Manning Bar When: Sunday July 31
MANAGING EDITOR: Chris Martin chris@thebrag.com 02 9212 4322 ONLINE EDITOR: James Di Fabrizio SUB-EDITOR: Sam Caldwell STAFF WRITERS: Joseph Earp, Adam Norris, Augustus Welby NEWS: James Di Fabrizio, Natalia Morawski, Tom Parker, Anna Wilson ART DIRECTOR: Sarah Bryant PHOTOGRAPHERS: D.A. Carter, Katrina Clarke, Ashley Mar ADVERTISING: Tony Pecotic - (02) 9212 4322 tony@thebrag.com
DASH TO DASHVILLE
The organisers of Dashville Skyline have revealed more big names to be added to this year’s alt-country/rock lineup. Leading the latest additions to a bill that’s now 27 artists strong is suave country rocker Henry Wagons, returning with his new livewire band The Only Children and a swaddle of fresh solo material. Other acts joining the program are acclaimed singer-songwriter Jordie Lane, Sydney-based international rock group Spookyland and New Zealand’s favourite string punk band The Eastern. They will play alongside the likes of The Brothers Comatose, Melody Pool, Raised By Eagles and other big names heralded in the first announcement. It all goes down Friday September 30 – Sunday October 2 at Dashville in the Hunter Valley.
GIG & CLUB GUIDE COORDINATOR: Sarah Bryant - gigguide@thebrag.com (rock); clubguide@thebrag.com (dance, hip hop & parties) AWESOME INTERNS: Anna Wilson, Natalia Morawski REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS: Nat Amat, Prudence Clark, Tom Clift, Anita Connors, Christie Eliezer, Emily Gibb, Tegan Jones, Sarah Little, Emily Meller, David Molloy, Annie Murney, Adam Norris, George Nott, Daniel Prior, Tegan Reeves, 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
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MULLUM IT OVER
WISHING YOU WELL
Australian singer-songwriter Bernard Fanning will be giving 200 fans an exclusive glimpse into his new record with an intimate Sydney show. Fanning and his band will take over the stunning Giant Dwarf Theatre in Redfern to play his third solo album Civil Dusk in its entirety. Providing fans a one-off opportunity to hear his new music in an intimate setting, the show will offer a rare close-up set from the former Powderfinger frontman. It’s happening Tuesday August 2.
Julien Baker is finally coming to Australia. Repeat: Julien Baker is finally coming to Australia. Mullum Music Festival, Mullumbimby’s annual four-day-long shindig, has released the first lineup announcement for its 2016 iteration, and it’s a doozy. Acts so far announced include Eilen Jewell, Henry Wagons and Sahara Beck, alongside The Drones’ Gareth Liddiard and William Crighton. And yet perhaps the biggest drawcard is Baker, the young American musician whose debut album, Sprained Ankle, featured in many ‘best albums of 2015’ lists. For a full list of the acts announced so far, hit up mullummusicfestival. com. The festival takes place Thursday November 17 – Sunday November 20. The full lineup drops next Monday August 1, and you’ll find it on thebrag.com.
SNOWED UNDER
Sydney quartet The Snowdroppers are heading out on tour, locking in a hometown
show along the way. The band will be playing four back-to-back Friday nights this October in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Newcastle, leading up to the release of their first live album, DVD and documentary recorded on the packedout Gluttons For Punishment tour. They’ll hit Newtown Social Club on Friday October 7 with support from The Persian Drugs.
OTHERWISE ENGAGED
Metalcore giants Killswitch Engage are heading back to Australia for a national tour in 2017, joined by a very special support act. The band redefined metal with the release of its landmark 2002 major label debut, Alive Or Just Breathing, influencing a legion of acts to follow. Fast-forward to 2016 and Killswitch continue to reign over the metal world with the release of their seventh full-length album, Incarnate, receiving acclaim from fans and critics alike. They’ll be joined by San Francisco’s Fallujah, who are making their Australian debut off the back of their latest record, Dreamless. The show hits the Enmore Theatre on Friday March 3.
SOFT MOON SOJOURN
The hushed sounds of The Soft Moon will make their way to Sydney this October. Luis Vasquez and friends will arrive as a full live band in their first-ever Australian visit, despite the fact Vasquez never intended for The Soft Moon to reach the public’s ears – for him, music has always been about self-actualisation rather than self-aggrandisement. Nevertheless, the bleak, intimate sounds he created years ago in his small Oakland apartment bubbled to the surface, and 2010 saw The Soft Moon’s debut self-titled LP rise to critical acclaim. From there on in, there was no turning back. The Total Decay EP and Zeros LP emerged soon after, and in 2015 Vasquez returned with the project’s most introspective and focused album to date, Deeper. See The Soft Moon rise at Newtown Social Club on Thursday October 27.
The Soft Moon
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Henry Wagons phtoo by Taylor Wong
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Henry Wagons
Bernard Fanning
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PERIPHERAL SOUNDS
Six-piece US prog metal juggernauts Periphery have just released their fifth studio album, and to celebrate they’re returning to Australia for a very special headline tour next year. Periphery III: Select Difficulty showcases their chaotic, relentless and addictive sound with the signature triple-guitar attack and rhythmic dexterity that has won them a dedicated fan base encompassing a range of subcultures. It was only last year the group dropped the massive double Juggernaut album, and Periphery toured Australia with The Devin Townsend Project in the same year. This time around, they arrive at the Metro Theatre on Friday February 3.
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live & local
free stuff
welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town... with Natalia Morawski, Anna Wilson and James Di Fabrizio
head to: thebrag.com/freeshit
songwriters’ secrets WITH
STEPHEN PETERS FROM THE MAYBES won’t throw glasses at us, we’ll be there.
Your Band The core band is a threepiece, with singer-songwriter Dave Claughton on guitar, drummer Ben Cheshire and guitarist Stephen Peters. All three of us work in the media, in television and radio. We also regularly play with a variety of bass players, depending on the venue. We’re about to record a few demos and shoot a few music videos, which will be fun.
Music, Right Here, Right Now We’ve been greatly encouraged by the recent rise in the small bar scene in Sydney, with many venues on the search for smaller bands who can create a good atmosphere. We’ve been developing two versions of the band. One is the original louder pub band and the other is more of an unplugged stripped-back version of The Maybes, perfect for small bars.
Cash, Muddy Waters and Dylan.
3.
Growing Up The Maybes came 1. together in the inner-city suburb of Rozelle, born out of a strong desire to play blues-infused
music in local pubs. The band have now played all over Sydney and even a few gigs in the Southern Highlands – anywhere there’s a crowd who
Music You Make Anyone coming along to a 4. The
5.
Where: The Gasoline Pony When: Saturday July 30
Custard
STONEFIELD
After a well-received stint at this year’s SXSW, the Findlay sisters of Stonefield are back on home soil with a new album to share. As Above, So Below is the result of hundreds of hours’ writing in their family-shed-cum-rehearsal-room, and collaborations with Kram of Spiderbait. The album sees Stonefield expand their musical breadth, creating what they agree is a wellbalanced record of throwback psych rock and beyond. As Above, So Below can be found on iTunes, and on CD and vinyl via stonefield. com. We’ve got three CD copies of our own to give away – put yourself in the draw at thebrag.com/freeshit.
Project Collective Ska
Custard xxxphoto by Bleddyn Butcher Stonefi eld photo by Ian Laidlaw Xxx
Inspirations We’re influenced by the 2. best of the classics like Johnny
Maybes gig can expect a 50/50 mix of covers and originals, from slow-burner blues classics to the odd ballad and a good mix of dance songs to get you up and swaying from side to side.
YOU KNOW, FOR KIDS
Sydney will be getting another full version of the Dress Up Attack! festival following on from the successful mini-version at this year’s Vivid LIVE. The arts and music festival for kids and their associated big kids will be held in September, offering performances, theatre and workshops. The lineup includes Kimya Dawson, Oz cult heroes Custard, Bunny Racket and Angie Who, plus local schoolteacher and musician Benny Time. Dress Up Attack will take place at the Sydney Portugal Community Club in Marrickville on Saturday September 17.
YOU CAN COUNT ON KAUTER
Maxine Kauter and band will play an exclusive Sydney show before heading back into the studio to begin work on their third album. Kauter and her group will perform new music, including songs from their most recent release Ghost In Love, recorded by guitarist Peter Holz (Gang Of Youths). Kauter will be joined onstage by Holz on guitar, Beck Clarke on drums and Stefano Cosentino on bass, with Echo Deer providing support. See the show at Camelot Lounge on Thursday August 4.
one of Sydney’s favourite DJs and a Fania connoisseur, will keep your body moving long into the night. Ay Pachanga! takes place at The Basement on Saturday August 13.
JOLLY GOOD FELLOWS
Slyfox’s weekly band night, Live At The Sly, turns one this August, and to celebrate the venue will be hosting a special birthday bash featuring performances from the likes of Project Collective Ska, Samuel Dobson, New Venusians and Colourfields. Live At The Sly curator Cash Williams is proud of the night’s success, especially considering the ongoing pall of Sydney’s lockout laws. “A special thanks has to be made to all of the audiences who come out and support the bands and the night, even in what’s been another tough year for live music in Sydney,” he said. Live At The Sly will celebrate its first birthday on Thursday August 4. Entry is free.
Ocean Grove
CRADLE TO THE GROVE
Ocean Grove will be taking to stages across the country as part of a national tour, celebrating their new single. Having impressed countless audiences over the past 12 months, it was Ocean Grove’s recent performance on the mammoth Equinox tour, where they joined Northlane, In Hearts Wake and Hands Like Houses, that marked their arrival at a national level. They’ll be bringing with them their latest track, ‘Lights On Kind Of Lover’. Catch them at The Red Rattler on Saturday October 8.
FOR FANS OF FANIA
Celebrating the music of Fania Records, the Ay Pachanga! festival will bring a night of nonstop music, salsa rhythms and sexy energy to Sydney with an all-star nine-piece band, Latin dancers and a DJ. Some of Australia’s top Latin musicians have been hand-picked for the event, including Merenia Marin (Barefoot Divas) and international singer-songwriter Gonzalo Porta. Tropicante Sound Sistema,
RIVAL RENEGADES
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Rob Snarski and Mikelangelo, two of Australia’s most romantic singers, are uniting to play a set of double headline shows. The duo first met in 1997, with Mikelangelo dressed as Elvis and lying in a coffin while Snarski gazed down at his seemingly lifeless body and sung to him. Apparently. The pair will each perform a solo set of original material, and then collaborate together to reinterpret classics such as Nancy Sinatra’s ‘Bang Bang’ and Ricky Nelson’s ‘Lonesome Town’. Snarski and Mikelangelo will be playing two shows at the Oxford Circus this Saturday July 30, their first show at 7pm and their second at 10pm. thebrag.com
Ocean Grove photo by Thomas Elliott
As A Rival
As A Rival have lifted the lid off their latest jam ahead of their forthcoming Australian tour. The past six months have been a turning point for the Melbourne rockers, what with the release of their debut album, By Design. Mixed by Grammy Awardwinning producer Adam Kasper (Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age), the album sees a maturity in the group’s songwriting, successfully building from the ideas present in past releases. As A Rival play Valve on Friday September 2.
RETURN OF THE KINGS
Industrial Strength Music Industry News with Christie Eliezer
THINGS WE HEAR • Which former manager of a major music company, dubbed ‘Dr. No’ for saying no to requests, is now getting the same treatment from others now she’s running her own company? • Which group of clubbers has banded together to try to buy out its favourite live music venue, now on the market? • In an interview with New Zealand’s Waikato Times, promoter Paul Dainty revealed he’s negotiating to bring Guns N’ Roses and Adele to Australia. • Wet Wet Wet congratulated Drake after his ‘One Dance’ equalled their 22-year-old record of spending 15 weeks at number one in the UK (with ‘Love Is All Around’). • As a ‘thank you’ to US funk-pop act
CALL FOR MORE INNER-CITY VENUES TO HOST MUSIC
The Live Music Office is calling for businesses in inner Sydney to join the second round of Amplify, a program to put more live music in venues, with the pilot attracting eight businesses. They have engaged in a 12-week consultancy with Amplify coordinator Clayton Ries, getting advice on production, staging, ticketing, talent booking, licensing, marketing and audience development. Gary Cowan, owner/GM of the Sir William Wallace in Balmain, began hosting gigs on Saturday evenings and seeing customers spend more time at his hotel. “Live music at the Wally adds a bit of excitement to the weekend,” he said. “It gives punters something to talk about before and after the event, it makes the pub more interesting and it gives it a bit more depth.” At arts space 107 Projects in Redfern, Amplify helped development manager Dario Phillips program six months of the NOW Now Series, which features experimental and improvised music. Other venues involved in round one were the Chippendale Hotel, Lazybones Lounge, Newtown Hotel, Petersham Bowling Club, Play Bar and Taste Bar. Amplify was launched in December 2015 by the Live Music Office in partnership with APRA AMCOS and MusicNSW. It is funded by City of Sydney and the Inner West Council. Those wishing to join the second round should contact Ries at lmpc@livemusicoffice.com. au. Your venue must be located in one of the aforementioned councils.
HUNTER TAFE OPENS STUDIO
Hunter TAFE’s Regional Music Institute (RMI) unveils its fully refurbished sound recording and production studio on Thursday July 28 at 6pm. It now includes two studios with two control rooms, a live tracking room, vocal booth, a post-production suite and a performance space to cater for student rehearsals and live recordings. Hunter TAFE Institute director Christine Warrington said the facility is the first of its calibre in Newcastle. “We have worked closely with industry partners to design a music and sound production educational facility that is world-class.”
Dnce for being on its Live series, iHeartRadio Australia threw them an Aussie-themed party by the sea, complete with budgie smugglers, meat pies and pavlova. It reminds Industrial Strength of the time a major record label threw a BBQ for a visiting singer – only to discover on the day he was such a staunch vegetarian he refused to wear leather. • As part of a tribute to the 1985 movie Back To The Future, actor Michael J. Fox joined Coldplay at their massive New Jersey show to play ‘Earth Angel’ and ‘Johnny B. Goode’. • 3RRR Melbourne presenter Tony Biggs (of Friday’s On The Blower) had 2,000 records from his 40-year collection stolen from a lockup in Prahran. • Sydney store/hardcore performance
that wasn’t the only issue for promoters. Two hours before their set, The Avalanches decided to pull out of the triple j broadcast so they could just concentrate on the gig. Elsewhere, someone found a snake near the Mix Up Stage, and another punter insisted they’d spotted Taylor Swift in the crowd even though she’d already returned to America by then. Still, The Cure’s three-hour set, Violent Soho’s aggressive performance and Guy Sebastian getting a huge ovation were among the pluses that made Splendour 2016 another success.
NATIONAL LIVE MUSIC AWARDS IN NOVEMBER
The inaugural National Live Music Awards will be held in Sydney on Tuesday November 29 as part of ARIA Week. Set up by AU Review founding editor Larry Heath, the awards will recognise achievements of musicians and bands, venues, events and live music champions. Heath is pulling together a board of music industry execs, and sister events will be held around the country on the night. See more info at nlmas. com.au.
COMMERCIAL RADIO MUST PAY STREAMING FEES
The seven-month wrangle between record labels and artists – represented by the Phonographic Performance Company of Australia (PPCA) – and commercial radio association Commercial Radio Australia (CRA) over stations paying extra for streaming (or simulcasts) has ended with the Copyright Tribunal casting a victory for the labels. The PPCA argued that many stations were running their own streaming platforms without paying more. The CRA reckoned the record industry was “double-dipping”, as stations already forked out for broadcast fees. Radio must now pay the fees either as a percentage of their revenue (calculated on how much music the station plays) or a
space Black Wire Records is taking August off while the artist-run collective works out some issues. It will be back, though. • The receivers and managers of The Keystone Group announced that CBRE will advise on the sale of its 17 venues. • When 5 Seconds Of Summer played New York’s Madison Square Garden last Friday to 12,500 fans, they became the eighth Australian act to headline the venue. New single ‘Girls Talk Boys’ has notched up three million Spotify streams. • A year ago, Splendour In The Grass began a campaign to stop Wicked campervans with offensive sexist slogans from entering its site. 12 months later, the Queensland Government has found a way to get the vans off the state’s roads unless it cleans up the slogans.
per-stream rate of $0.0059, similar to what the likes of Spotify and Pandora pay. The seven-year battle involved a Federal Court case and appeal, a High Court review, several government inquiries and a protest in which regional commercial stations stopped simulcasting for almost ten months.
OPEN DAY FOR AIM
The Australian Institute of Music (AIM) is having an Open Day at its Foveaux Street, Surry Hills campus on Saturday August 6. It will provide an insight into AIM’s specialised degree and diploma courses. Throughout the day, there will be free workshops, masterclasses and live sets, plus panels to give parents and potential students the chance to ask questions about any area of the industry including business, management and performance. More information about events on the day can be found at aim.edu.au.
HEAVY METAL CAN BE GOOD FOR YOU: REPORT
A new study in the Journal Of Psychology Of Popular Media suggests that heavy metal’s obsession with death and dying is a good thing. It allows listeners to release fears of their death and gives them a meaning in their lives, as well as a greater sense of selfesteem than non-fans of the style. “Heavy metal music is often associated with death and dying by non-fans, whereas members of this subculture report that listening to metal music is their escape from depression and even helpful against death-related thoughts,” the report said.
KINGDOM SOUND ADDS MORE VENUES
New South Wales-based venue and events management firm Kingdom Sounds has two more rooms on its bookings roster. It’s now handling Max Watt’s in Sydney (after booker
SIGN ’EM UP: NEW SIGNINGS
SPLENDOUR DRAMAS
The public transport snafu on the Friday night at Splendour In The Grass drew plenty of attention on social media. More people brought their own cars to the festival this year, so organisers underestimated the volume of traffic, leading to a three-hour delay in people getting out of the site when the late-arriving Strokes finished after midnight. Splendour apologised profusely, explained what went wrong, fixed the problem and made amends by giving free bus rides to those who’d bought festival tickets. But
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Split: Lady Gaga and Chicago Fire actor Taylor Kinney ended their engagement after five years because “they barely see each other due to work”. Ill: Brisbane singer-songwriter Jackie Marshall has been diagnosed with breast cancer. The music community has begun a GoFundMe campaign to cover her medical fees. Ill: Yes drummer Alan White is recovering from back surgery for spinal issues. Ill: ’70s Australian singersongwriter Max Merritt had to cancel his appearance on the Go!! Show Gold tour after being hospitalised in his home base of LA. Recovering: US pianist Leon Russell from a heart attack. In Court: Martin John Fulton, 18, who kicked defenceless security guard Michael Rigby after jumping a fence to get into February’s Good Life festival in Claremont, Western Australia, had his bail revoked after going to a wedding overseas and will stay behind bars until his next court appearance on Tuesday August 2. Charged: a man and a boy with animal cruelty after a kitten was doused with alcohol and set on fire at a Canadian country music festival. The kitten, which survived, has been named Jamboree (after the fest) and is now its official mascot. Died: Lewie Steinberg, first bassist with Booker T. and The M.G.’s, 82, in Memphis of cancer. He played on the iconic ‘Green Onions’ before leaving in 1965. Died: police are investigating the suspicious death of Perth club DJ and promoter Jay Suave (AKA Jamie Fernandez), 41, after he was found in his apartment. The Venue Collective began winding down) and the recently renovated 450-capacity Long Jetty Hotel on the Central Coast. Kingdom Sounds, headed by Stephen Sewell, also reps The Small Ballroom (Newcastle), The Basement (Canberra), Proud Mary’s (Central Coast) and Plantation Hotel (Coffs Harbour).
was conceived this year by friends in Hurlstone Park. Their first release in March was a compilation of 22 acts. Throughout July they’ve run parties at Waywards in Newtown. Barely Dressed Records/Remote Control first noticed indie-pop act Jarrow (the solo project of 20-year-old Footscray local Dan Oke) through his debut self-released EP Legitimate last year, and has now released the track ‘Cube’ from his upcoming debut album. Oke is just back from studying and performing in Nashville.
AIR ANNOUNCES NEW GM
The Australian Independent Record Labels Association (AIR) has appointed CFO Maria Amato its new general manager. She has had 25 years in the not-for-profit, music and entertainment sectors, specialising in finance and business management. Amato first entered the industry as financial controller for music association Victorian Rock Foundation, before becoming a board member for Music Victoria and CEO for the Melbourne International Film Festival. AIR chairman David Vodicka said: “[Amato]’s experience and foresight is greatly valued by the board and we look forward to the next chapter as we enter our 21st year.”
Lifelines
Melbourne label Our Golden Friend’s third signing is Jade Imagine, the project of Jade McInally, who recently left Teeth & Tongue (the Tantrums founder also plays bass with Jess Riberio) to focus on a solo career. First up is single ‘Stay Awake’.
The Art The Sydney-based Golden Robot Records has signed two more acts: singer-songwriter Ben Gillies (Silverchair), who has a solo album due early 2017, and rock band The Art, whose second album All In The Mind is due in November. Golden Robot has 15 albums set for release over the next 12 months.
‘Do The Jerk’ is the new release by Melbourne cult musician Lost Animal, who’s now with Dot Dash/Remote Control. It’s a taster of the dark pop album You Yang, which is due in September but already getting rave reviews internationally. Lost Animal
Social Family Records has added Glenn Shorrock and Casey Barnes. Shorrock’s album Rise Again, due Friday September 9, includes a track called ‘Hear My Voice’ about the Little River Band legal saga in which the original members lost their rights to the name. SFR president Mark Alexander-Erber is a long-time LRB fan: his huge collection of memorabilia includes the original 1987 agreement LRB signed in the USA with MCA Records. Meanwhile, Barnes’ Nashville-recorded Live As One album is out on Friday August 26. Dinosaur City Records’ first local act is Bourgeois Earth, AKA songwriter Nicholas Griffith of High-Tails and Big White. Dinosaur City
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COVER STORY
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SWEET SOMETHINGS BY EMILY GIBB
NAO I
f you are yet to hear Nao’s voice, let it be known it’s pretty sweet. Addictive like the highly processed ingredients of sugary treats, Nao could be singing about the most mundane topics imaginable, and you’d still probably hit replay. But her voice is far from artifi cial: not only are her vocals a satisfying mix of tone, timbre and range, but her speaking voice sounds like she’s suffering the effects of swallowing helium, while still retaining a captivating grit.
“Hello, good morning. I’m fi ne, although a little bit sleepy but I’m OK,” Nao quickly begins, speaking from East London in her British drawl. The singer-songwriter, whose name is pronounced ‘Nay-oh’, is currently in between festival slots at Glastonbury, Pitchfork in Chicago and Field Day in London, and fresh from putting the fi nal touches on her debut album, For All We Know. “I was actually doing so much, so it was really difficult to fi nd the time to fully focus and write and write and write,” she says with a laugh. “But somehow, between waking up very early and going to sleep very late, it came together and fi nally I fi nished it a couple of weeks ago.” As one of the UK’s most hyped new artists since kickstarting her solo career in 2014, Nao’s bursting schedule is no surprise. From the BBC Sound Of 2016 shortlist to a chart-topping Hype Machine track via her first single ‘So Good’, and guest spots on Disclosure’s ‘Superego’ and Mura Masa’s ‘Firefl y’ last year, Nao is well and truly turning heads. It’s all warranted, though, thanks to subtle vocals that grab you when you least expect it and a special blend of neo-soul with jazz, hip hop, electronica and an R&B pulse. Serendipitously, Nao’s musical endeavours prior to her solo work came to an end just as she met her manager, and a domino effect of more opportune breaks came her way. “I always wanted to be the voice of my own project, and that, I think, was just scary. I suppose as the years went by, I felt frustrated, because naturally I’m quite a creative person and I wanted to fi nd my own voice and what it was that I wanted to say as a singer and a musician,” she says. “I met my now-manager, who – I wasn’t looking for one – just happened to be in the audience when I was singing for someone else. We hooked up and I started writing music and we went from there. “It’s just the strangest thing in the world – the fact the week going on from when I met my manager, he said to me, ‘If you wanted to support any act in the world, who would it be?’ and I remember James Blake and Little Dragon were the first two people that came up. So then to have put out a song for Little Dragon to have randomly heard it and requested would I like to come on tour with them, I had no idea! It was just a really lovely thing to happen, and I love Little Dragon, they have created their own world and their own fan base. I can’t really tell if I am
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[doing the same], actually, but it was really nice to support them and for them to be an infl uence, for sure.” When it came to starting work on For All We Know, Nao drew on the experience of recording her EPs, So Good and February 15, to settle on the sound she wanted to carve out. “I hadn’t found it before I started, and now that I’ve done that, the album sort of summed it up, what I’ve learnt. I saw what I wanted it to look like musically in the sense that albums I loved from when I was younger – like Miseducation by Lauryn Hill, I loved that it had little skits and intros and outros that tie it all together – so I knew that I wanted that for my album, which is something that Frank Ocean explores, which I love in itself. So I could see this picture, but yeah, I just needed the music to fi t in,” she laughs. For All We Know achieves Nao’s objectives skilfully. Infl uences like Hill and Ocean permeate the record, boosted by her eclectic, multi-genre sound and contributions from a solid lineup of producers, including John Calvert and A.K. Paul, with whom she’s collaborated since 2014, and London soul collective Jungle. From the Unknown Mortal Orchestra-like ‘Get To Know Ya’, produced by Jungle, to the gritty outlier ‘In The Morning’, the wild and lyrically lush ‘Bad Blood’ and the funky acoustics of ‘DYWM’, it all fl ows sinuously.
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“For me, there was only so far I could take it before repeating myself musically or lyrically. For [my collaborators] to hear some of the ideas and be like, ‘Oh, this is exciting, I know exactly what we should do on it,’ was a relief,” says Nao. “It was really important to my process to just open it up for other people to help me so that the vibe is something original, to show that I can have different colours and textures to my voice, lyrics and production. “Jungle are cool,” she adds. “They’re quite elusive, actually. It was really funny to be in the studio, ’cause I didn’t realise they worked with anyone else – it turned out they don’t. But I think they just heard my stuff and were quite intrigued by it, which is very fl attering.” North American and British tours fi ll Nao’s agenda until the end of the year, but Australian shows are on her radar – and a certain summer festival tour is set to lure her south, she reveals. “Oh, yeah, of course! I think that I’ve been asked to do Laneway Festival in Australia, and that is really exciting for me. My band and I never thought we’d get this far, to be touring or have the opportunity to come out to Australia, and I’ve just got to fi nd the money,” she laughs, “but I think we’ll be coming out in January.”
FRI AUG 12 METRO THEATRE w/Dumbsaint
What: For All We Know out Friday July 29 through Little Tokyo/Sony
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Montaigne A Glorious Game By Adam Norris
I
t’s winter, so there’s really no finer excuse to light a fire, make some coffee, curl up with a good book, and instantly dismiss it in favour of a video game. Even Montaigne, AKA Jess Cerro, agrees. Sure, she might have a debut album Glorious Heights to be excited about – and honestly, it’s one of the best releases of the season – but get her talking about Final Fantasy (swoon), or better yet, Kingdom Hearts, and you’ll be chatting for hours. It’s not just the entertainment they provide, however – for Cerro, there are entire fi ctional cultures out there just waiting to be explored. “OK. OK.” Cerro breathes in deeply, preparing herself. “So, my favourite games tend to be JRPGs, or puzzle/adventure games. Growing up as a kid I played a lot of Crash Bandicoot and Spyro and the Harry Potter video games. All those things where you’re just trying to fi gure out how to pass levels. But when I got older, I got into a game called Kingdom Hearts in a big way. Naturally from that, it stemmed into Final Fantasy ’cause they’re developed by the same people. That’s how games took over my entire life,” she laughs. “I really love them, but right now I don’t get the opportunity to play that many. But sometimes when I have free time I’ll watch video game walkthroughs, and right now I’m really eyeing off Final Fantasy XV and Mirror’s Edge Catalyst. That looks really cool. And I fell in love with Portal!”
Emma Louise Chasing The Spark By Adam Norris
E
mma Louise and I meet at Berkelouw Books, so by the time she arrives I’ve already blown my entire savings and am resigned to building a new life out of paperbacks. She is here to promote her second album, Supercry, a record that stands out for the sheer scope of moods on display. Across remorse, friendship, romance and nostalgia, Louise sings a remarkable journey, and while the award-winning performer is the tie that binds them together, each song is very much an independent creature. “It’s not necessarily on purpose. I just love songwriting,” Louise says, sipping a chai latte that puts my mocha to shame. “I want each song to be its own little thing, and I’ll always be an individual song person. In saying that though, I think I’d always rather release an album than just singles. With Supercry, I had all of these songs from different times, but I tried to fi nd ways to segue them together. Even if just my voice is the connecting thing. Some of the sounds are similar, like we used the same bass sound for a lot of them, the same drum sound. We did most of the recording in three weeks, and it’s like a blur now. It was jumping from each song to the next. I came in with 50 songs, we picked 12 of those and then only ten made it. I want to record those other songs as well someday.” It’s not that unusual to enter the studio with bucketloads of songs that must slowly be fi ltered down to an album. What is impressive, however, is the ambition of her output. Louise seems to always be moving towards the next melody, the next lyric. The fact she has already stumbled upon her third potential album is all the evidence of this you need.
“Actually, there’s a song that I’m working on now…” She looks down, frowning. “If I’m spending time with a song and it’s not working, I think it’s just better to let it go. Write down the lyrics, try and get down the mood, keep note of it, but then just let it go. I fi nd that if it’s meant to be it’ll resurface in another song in an even better way. I like to have faith that it knows what it’s doing. “A few weeks ago, I went to Mexico really randomly for ten days, and I wrote and demoed a whole new album. I didn’t expect that, so that was pretty great. It came from being separated from everything. The songs come from a really untouched-by-anything place. I can’t wait to record it now. But at the same time, it can be so stressful to go away to write and it doesn’t happen. I went to Japan and tried to write, and got nothing really interesting. Just dribs and drabs. It was really stressful, but I learned from that trip that no, you need to think of it as a holiday. Just soak it up, and then let it all out when you’re home.” Given Supercry has only just been unveiled, it’ll likely be some time before we hear any of these Mexican recordings. When we do, there’s a strong chance the immediacy of their creation will remain. Stitching demos into the mix has become a signifi cant tool for Louise, a way of capturing the unadulterated emotion that first brought a song to life. Supercry’s outstanding fi nal track, ‘I Thought I Was A Ship’, is not only one of her two favourite songs from the record (the other, ‘Grace’, immediately precedes it), but comes as close as you can get to that original spark of creation. “[I was in] the Old Museum in Brisbane. There were artists working across these different
rooms, so you had lots of crossed paths. But I found out some terrible news that really shook my world, and I snuck into the museum’s basement where they have this old piano. I went in with some little mics, and I wrote that song. It was total, pure feeling, and we ended up using that from the demo, because we couldn’t reconstruct it later with the same emotion. With Supercry, a lot of the songs are really close to the demo. We tried sometimes to make it different from the demos, but the demo can capture something special about the time you’re building it. The song is fresh and you can still tap into what you were feeling.” It adds an immediacy to the album that is hard to fi nd, and makes tracks like the latest single ‘West End Kids’ shine with regret and heartbreak, while ‘I Thought I Was A Ship’ is so evocative it hurts. Hearing raw ideas realised so directly becomes a rather strange and splendid privilege. “I think ideas can be stressful, too. You have to give them attention, and if you have all of these ideas fl oating around you almost have to drop everything you’re doing in order to serve them,” she laughs. “I think that they want to be born, and as artists we’re like their mother in a way. Like, giving birth would hurt, but conceiving is great and fun. You can think of an idea like that. Thinking about it, that’s the exciting part, and the creation is uncomfortable or painful. To me, that’s what it feels like to create stuff. You try and build something you believe in, and is true.” What: Supercry out now through Liberation Where: Metro Theatre When: Friday November 4
“WE DID MOST OF THE RECORDING IN THREE WEEKS, AND IT’S LIKE A BLUR NOW. IT WAS JUMPING FROM EACH SONG TO THE NEXT.” 12 :: BRAG :: 673 :: 27:07:16
Interviewing her from the depths of a FF IX binge, I know exactly how Cerro feels. Rather appropriately then, Glorious Heights has become my unofficial soundtrack to the game (just as I’ll never be able to separate FF VII from Sketches For My Sweetheart The Drunk) – from the moment the titular opening track kicks off, you feel as though you are stepping into some strange and enchanting new world. It’s tempting to think of the album in cinematic terms, but for Cerro the roots once again stretch back into gaming. “I feel like [the cinema sound] probably stems from my game history and the epic soundtrack from video games. Especially JRPGs, which are all melodramatic and grandiose. I’m also really drawn to those really anthemic, stadium bangers that most people hate in Coldplay. I mean, I love Coldplay – not just their newest album, but all the older stuff. Arcade Fire as well, Björk, Sigur Rós – all of those really epic experiences in song. I’m also very drawn to the concept of the post-apocalypse for some reason, exploring the end of the world. And there are all these video games that are set in this dystopian sci-fi world. It terrifi es me and awes me in equal parts. Here’s another weird paradox: I’m really averse to violence and gore and suspense. I tried to play Fallout 4 recently, and I just could. Not. Handle it. I was like, ‘This is fucked!’ Even though I like the concept, I like it more aurally.”
“DUDE, LEGIT, THE ZOMBIES COME AND I’LL BE THE FIRST ONE TO DIE. I KNOW I’M THE FIRST ONE TO DIE IN ANY HORROR MOVIE. I’VE MADE PEACE WITH THIS.”
I don’t mean to frighten the Sydney singer unduly, but when the apocalypse does finally roll around, it doesn’t exactly sound as though she’s giving herself a fi ghting chance. “Dude, legit, the zombies come and I’ll be the first one to die. I know I’m the first one to die in any horror movie. I’ve made peace with this. I’m just a fucking wimp, let’s be honest,” she laughs. Glorious Heights is a fairly significant step forward from Montaigne’s earlier singles. Not that she has gone the way of Lana Del Rey and completely reinvented herself, but listening to songs like ‘I’m A Fantastic Wreck’ and ‘Clip My Wings’ (2014 and 2015 respectively) reveals an artist still moulding the kind of musician she’d like to be. These tracks are assured, but a different gear to what the album showcases.
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Diesel Follow The Tracks By Natalie Rogers
I
f you’ve ever played the burning house game (you know the one, where you’re forced to choose what you would save if – heaven forbid – your house and all its contents were about to go up in smoke), then you’ll know most people save everyday things like family photos, jewellery, material possessions. But if you take that notion and apply it to your all-time favourite music, the age-old game gets a little more interesting. This was the concept behind Diesel’s latest album, Americana. “I knew I had to do this,” says the US-born Australian musician otherwise known as Mark Lizotte. “The time was right, so I just picked the songs and started to work out how I wanted to attack each one. I knew I had to whack this one out of the park.” Americana doesn’t disappoint, taking on some of the most accomplished artists in modern music history including Buddy Holly, James Taylor, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Bruce Springsteen and the Man in Black himself, Johnny Cash.
“I think it’s a natural evolution that I’ve undergone. Like, I’m pretty sure the next stuff that comes out will sound even more different. Even the individual songs on the record sound different, and that’s because I felt different things with them, and the way they are produced – entirely isolated from one another – we could use them in whatever way was best for that song rather than best for the record. There is a sort of cohesive sound there, and that’s because the influences for the record were quite diverse, but there’s an overarching reference back to Talking Heads, Arcade Fire, Björk. Those would be the main influences. I could never stop talking about Arcade Fire, I love them. That ’80s/anthemic pop-rock vibe.” Simply put, the result speaks for itself: Glorious Heights is a damn fine record. The luddite in me is quite taken by the level of
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production here – that journey from a handful of chords and scraps of lyrics to fully fleshed song is a story that doesn’t get old – and given my ignorance, I ask Cerro to explain the process as though I were a five-year-old trying to eat my playdough. “Ha, well, I think in order to achieve that kind of production you need to be a five-year-old eating playdough. I think the most important part of achieving originality in a song is to just play and not be afraid to play. Not be afraid to do the weird thing if that works. If it doesn’t you can subtract it, but you’ll be all the better for it if it does.” What: Glorious Heights out Friday August 5 through Wonderlick/Sony Where: Oxford Art Factory When: Saturday October 8
“The first one I attacked was ‘Ring Of Fire’,” says Lizotte. “I had an idea while I was driving about how to make it my own. And while it’s still recognisable as the Johnny Cash song that everyone loves, I knew I wasn’t going to be doing it verbatim with a two-step drum or a mariachi trumpet horn – I needed to put my stamp on it. “It was the same for ‘Fire And Rain’ by James Taylor. I wanted to take it away from that American folk thing and move it down south to Memphis and give it some soul. No-one told me the rules, no-one said you can’t mix and match. So I wanted to take artists, remove all their clothes, swap them over and dress them again.” While Lizotte says he relished the opportunity to be wildly experimental, he admits to moments of self-doubt. “To be honest though, there were the niggly questions in my mind like, ‘Is that going to be OK? Is it going to be too weird?’ I was aware of what I was doing, but it just felt good – everyone in the studio was having fun, so I just went
with it.” The record, released this month, was a labour of love and a nod to Lizotte’s humble beginnings in Fall River, Massachusetts, during the late ’60s before his family emigrated to Perth in 1971. “Just before we started to record this album, I took some time off and started peeling back through the layers of my memory, right back to my first recollection of a song at the age of two, which was ‘The Circle Game’ by Joni Mitchell – that seemed like a good place to start,” he says. “Growing up in a house with six other siblings all older than me was unforgettable, and they were all in their teens buying records, so I was just a baby listening to their amazing albums. If I was from a smaller family I probably wouldn’t have got to listen to them – it was an incredible music education.” He remembers his brother telling him all about Springsteen’s ‘Born To Run’ after reading an article in Rolling Stone, and first hearing Tom Petty’s ‘Here Comes My Girl’. “I remember thinking, ‘Wow! He just hangs on to that one chord the entire song.’ That song is a study in itself – it’s my favourite song on the album.” Lizotte says his early introduction to music had a profound effect on him growing up, and has driven his ambition to become one of our country’s most loved and accomplished musicians through sheer hard work and determination. “The first live show I remember seeing was Bob Marley – I’ve still got the ticket stub actually!” he laughs. “That was around the same time my brothers and sisters started doing a very nice thing and started shelling out a few dollars for their little brother to get a ticket to the shows they were going to. “Actually my first real rock show was The Doobie Brothers at the WACA in Perth. It was outdoors and I remember my brother being a little older than me. He had me on his shoulders, which is something they wouldn’t allow now, but I had to be on his shoulders for the whole gig, otherwise I wouldn’t have seen a damn thing. They did this thing that makes me laugh now – they had these pyrotechnics going off behind the amps. They had a big line of amps
“GROWING UP IN A HOUSE WITH SIX OTHER SIBLINGS ALL OLDER THAN ME WAS UNFORGETTABLE, AND THEY WERE ALL IN THEIR TEENS BUYING RECORDS, SO I WAS JUST A BABY LISTENING TO THEIR AMAZING ALBUMS.” as all bands did, and two drummers, one on each side, that looked amazing. “Then the pyros started smoking and I thought, ‘Oh my God, their amps are blowing up!’ Of course they weren’t, but my brother just went along with the gag. That day blew my mind. That kind of stuff really makes a huge impression on an eight-year-old. To me they weren’t human, they were superheroes up there, and I knew that’s what I wanted to do.” These days, Lizotte is a six-time ARIA Award winner and proud family man with two teenage daughters. He has been outspoken about the positive effect music can have on fragile young lives, but he openly admits he wasn’t always the model son. “I do remember sometimes thinking my parents didn’t understand me and being a rambunctious little upstart, which was probably very frustrating. But I did feel the anguish that I should be out on my own, and I recall literally standing on the train tracks that led out of town thinking, ‘One day I’ll get out of here.’” He did, and the rest is history. What: Americana out now through Liberation With: Imogen Clark Where: Factory Theatre When: Saturday September 3
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Totally Unicorn Living The Dream Life By David James Young
A
lthough debut albums are usually the business of young, up-and-coming bands, the first full-length release from hirsute hardcore heroes Totally Unicorn has been several years in the making. The band has been active in some way, shape or form since 2010, having originally formed in Austinmer in the Greater Wollongong region. Totally Unicorn began after the split of Hospital The Musical, which featured founding members Drew Gardner (vocals) and Mike Bennett (drums), as well as original guitarist Clancy Tucker.
“We’d spent a lot of time living together, but we lost touch after he left Snakes and we moved out of our share house. Eventually, we got back in contact and I floated the idea of getting him in to replace Tim – Lee was just as big a Hospital The Musical fan as I was, and he knew exactly what kind of thing the band was after. I remember the first jam that he came to, he had learned way more songs than any of us imagined he would. He slotted in quite well – thankfully, there have never been too many painful transitions as far as the band’s concerned.”
“I was such a huge fan of that band,” says Aaron Streatfeild, one of Totally Unicorn’s two current guitarists, who stepped in to replace Tucker upon his departure in late 2012.
Totally Unicorn have spent the last few years keeping busy with some choice supports for the likes of internationals Kvelertak and Rolo Tomassi, a split seven-inch with the late Robotosaurus and a smattering of local shows full to the brim with shirtless debauchery and chaotic partying – something that has become synonymous with seeing the band live. All the while, however, Totally Unicorn have slowly but surely been working towards the release of Dream Life, their long-awaited debut set for release this week through Wollongong label Farmer & The Owl. With their personal lives occasionally getting in the way of the process – three of the five band members are married, while Erkin also has a young daughter – Streatfeild recalls the writing of Dream Life being arduous and filled with obstacles, yet entirely worth it in the end.
“I’d known them through that and got to see them a lot when it changed over to Totally Unicorn. My band at the time [Snakes Get Bad Press] even got to play a few shows with them. When Clancy left, I heard through a mate of mine that they were thinking of approaching me to try out. I thought it was just crazy – even though we were acquainted at that point, I was still such a big fan. They decided to see what it would be like with two guitarists in the band, and that’s where I met Kerim [Erkin] for the first time. Amazingly, that first run-through together went really well. We definitely had our work cut out for us with what Clancy left behind, but Kerim and I immediately hit it off and were throwing ideas back and forth straight away.” The Totally Unicorn lineup has shifted several times since the band’s inception. Along with the departure of Tucker, first bassist Robert Mudge lasted less than a year before relocating overseas. He was replaced by Tim McMahon – formerly of Let Me Down Jungleman and The Chorus Girls – from 2011 up until last year, when his spot was filled by the most recent addition to the family, Lee Nielson. Coincidentally enough, this reunited Nielson with Streatfeild, with whom he had played guitar in the initial version of Snakes Get Bad Press. “This was a new one for him, as he had never played bass in a band before,” says Streatfeild.
“We had all of the drums recorded first with Tim [Carr], just so we had something down,” he says. “Kerim and I listened back to the ten or 11 songs from that session, which were recorded to guide guitars with no vocals, and we came to the conclusion that we weren’t entirely happy with where things were headed. We knew the other guys weren’t going to like it, but we proposed to rewriting and rearranging the songs using the drum tracks that we had already recorded. The other guys didn’t like that idea at first. They were happy with the songs the way they were. We pushed to let them see what we could come up with on our own, though, and I ended up writing two new songs out of the incomplete drums. Kerim did the same, and we’re pretty happy with what we came up with.”
Listeners have already heard three songs from Dream Life so far – ‘Customer Service Station’, which sports a hilarious Parkway Drive-aping music video, as well as ‘Space Congratulations’ and ‘Convict Brick’, which features High Tension singer Karina Utomo as a guest vocalist.
“She’s a legend of a person, as anyone who’s met her knows,” says Streatfeild. “We were talking about people that we wanted to appear on the record, and I think Karina was one of the first people that had their name thrown into the ring. It was pretty much a
“We’ve been playing shows again since 2010, and since then I’ve been biding my time and waiting for an opportunity to cut ties with my job and get back to the band. It turns out the band is probably what I should have
been doing all along. Despite my advanced age, I finally fi gured out what I really wanted to do. It’s the first time I’ve been in a band where I can basically say, ‘This is what I want to focus 100 per cent of my attention on,’
Descendents Forever Frustrated By Joe Hansen
S
ince their formation in 1978, Southern California’s Descendents have influenced an entire generation of punk rock. While their early contemporaries in the hardcore scene focused on negative social issues in their lyrics and image, Descendents proudly represented what mattered to them: girls, coffee, being a nerd and everyday life. Fronted by biochemist Milo Aukerman, whose likeness appears as the band’s unofficial logo and mascot on the bulk of its releases, Descendents are back with their new album Hypercaffium Spazzinate – their first in 12 years. Hypercaffium picks up where the band left off on 2004’s Cool To Be You, with ample time given to songwriting and avoiding the stresses of rushing out an album. “We started making it maybe a year and a half ago, and we basically finished it up in April or May this year,” says Aukerman. “It was a long time coming and took us a while to synchronise our schedules. I think it’s something we all wanted to do and to help us play new music and shows. We try and play a lot of the new songs live. When we play in Europe next month, we want to play at least half the album live. It’s exciting to be playing new songs.”
“I was at a corporate science gig and it was starting to get a little miserable for me there,” he says. “They were putting me in positions I wasn’t that excited about. Basically the past few years now I’ve been thinking, ‘Maybe I shouldn’t be doing this anymore.’ It was really getting me down and then they laid me off. We were making the new record at
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the time, so the timing couldn’t have been more perfect. I was at the company for 15 years and I don’t see the need to go back to science anytime soon. It soured me on the whole research gig.
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Descendents photo by Kevin Scanlon
After originally leaving the band in 1987 to pursue a career in science, Aukerman has balanced his working life with intermittent band commitments. Although he found stable employment in his fi eld, the call of music appears to have finally won the battle.
LIVE
AT THE
5
$
TINNIES ALL NIGHT
SLY
5
$
FIREBALL WHISKEYS 7.30 - 9.30PM
Thurs 28 july
SWAMP FAT JANGLES no-brainer for everyone in the band – she’s been a mate for a long time, and she brings her A-game on this song. I don’t think the band has ever sounded heavier than with her up the front. What a legend!”
What: Dream Life out Friday July 29 through Farmer & The Owl/Inertia With: Pagan Where: Newtown Social Club When: Thursday September 29 And: Also appearing at Yours & Owls Festival 2016, Stuart Park, Saturday October 1 – Sunday October 2
EÜSH SLOW LORIS
LIVE AT THE SLY DJs 12AM-3AM 1 9 9 E N M O R E R OA D, E N M O R E
“WE’RE IN A BAND TOGETHER BECAUSE WE WERE THESE NERDY KIDS THAT WANTED TO VOCALISE OUR FRUSTRATIONS IN HIGH SCHOOL. NOW WE VOCALISE FRUSTRATIONS ABOUT THINGS THAT WE’RE CURRENTLY DEALING WITH.” without having to dilute it with other interests such as science.” Keeping a band together for over three decades is no easy task, but Aukerman credits the strength of the relationship with his bandmates – especially founding member and health-troubled drummer Bill Stevenson – with maintaining the energy and motivation. “When I was working on my science career we had maybe lost contact to some degree, however Bill Stevenson and I go back to high school and I think the bond there is so strong that we can not see each other for months and even years and I can just give him a call anytime. It’s one of those neverending constants in our lives where we have this bond with each other. Probably in the mid-2000s we weren’t in contact so much, but in 2009 when Bill had all these health issues we got back in touch. I realised that I might be losing my best friend. He eventually had all these surgeries and recovered, which reignited our friendship and the band as well.” Descendents have always focused on relatable and real-world situations in their lyrics, with trademarks of being a social outcast and dealing with everyday frustrations. “We’re kind of married to this whole ‘documenting our lives’ kind of thing,” Aukerman says. “Bands write songs where they can just make up stories, but we can’t do that. We’re so focused on trying to document our own reality, which is all we can really do. I’m committed to trying to expand that palette
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to trying to delve deeper into my imagination, but as it stands we just write about our lives. We’ve got Bill who’s gone through health scares so there’s songs about that, plus songs about family issues and basically just things that directly affect us. “We’re in a band together because we were these nerdy kids that wanted to vocalise our frustrations in high school. Now we vocalise frustrations about things that we’re currently dealing with, which obviously isn’t about high school, but no matter how old you are there’s always something you’ll be frustrated about.” While decade-long gaps between albums and tours are often the telltale signs of a band lacking direction and determination, Aukerman is a believer in making use of a slower pace and extra time to Descendents’ advantage. “Playing intermittently has meant that we’ve never burned out. It’s never been a drudgery and it’s never been a drag. Since we’re all fully back into it now, I think we could definitely put out another record in the next two or three years and maybe become more like a regular band that has a two- or three-year cycle between records and tour more often. We don’t do it because we have to, we do it because we want to, and that’s what keeps it fresh and keeps us enthusiastic about it.” What: Hypercaffium Spazzinate out Friday July 29 through Epitaph
Brag g Featurin THE PORKERS x MEN180mm INTO SPACE 125mm w
(QLD)
Cruisin’ Deuces wThe Hellcat III D j s Rod Almighty w The Crimplenes
The Rockabilly Rhino w Patti LaBeefee MCs: Wolfman Dan & The Rockabilly Rhino record
fair 2016
SundayJuly 31 ST www.rocknrollmarket.com.au UNDER 18s MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY AN ADULT
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Northern Lights A Ticket To Ride By Iain McKelvey
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ince 2003, FBi Radio has championed the development of independent arts and culture in Sydney. It was this ethos that initially drew the interest of Stephen Goodhew, now FBi Radio’s music director. Battling adolescent blues and societal pressure, Goodhew took an internship with the community station in 2009, complete with an ulterior motive.
“I didn’t really have a concrete idea of what I wanted to do in life,” he says. “I liked music but my knowledge of the industry was limited. I was in bands and studied media before I scored an internship with FBi. At the time it was an excuse to network for my band before I quickly realised a potential career path, so I ditched the bands and focused on FBi.
“AUSTRALIA IS A FAR-FLUNG COUNTRY AND WE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE COOL TO SEND SOMEONE TO SOMEWHERE AS EQUALLY REMOVED.”
“I had this idea that it was going to be full of pretentious hipsters, but it was the opposite – enthusiastic music nerds who just loved it. I respected that. I learned a lot, so consequently I stuck around.”
exposure they deserve and a confidence boost. It’s a national competition selected by myself and Grímur [Atlason, Iceland Airwaves’ music programmer] to play on the official lineup in Iceland for a lot of overseas industry and media.
FBi continues to explore and uncover local music, with previous winners of its Northern Lights competition like Oliver Tank, Moon Holiday and The Walking Who all being Sydney-based. The importance of local music to the vibrancy of a city is why FBi exists, and Goodhew strongly believes the station’s supporters are aware of that, which is why their donations matter.
“It started as a competition for electronic producers but it has grown substantially. Those days of just producers were a reflection of our limited resources.”
“It’s 100 per cent of why we’re here,” he says. “You can listen to the big stuff any way you want. FBi is Sydney-based with an Australian focus. We are reflecting back what Sydney is at this moment, culturally speaking. That’s really cool – no-one does that the way we do, and I am proud of that. I want to keep that philosophy going.
“We have a habit of romanticising far-flung destinations. There’s a reason why Hollywood uses Iceland as a destination to film alien landscapes – it feels removed and unlike any other landscape I have experienced. That has helped produce some interesting and beautiful art over the years. Australia is a far-flung country and we thought it would be cool to send someone to somewhere as equally removed. That’s powerful.”
“We wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for the financial support of our listeners. We are essentially a crowdfunded radio. We are not for profit and we’re not accountable to anyone. The fact that our listeners support us really frees us to do that.” For someone like Goodhew, who receives anywhere from 300 to 500 releases each week, running a competition like Northern Lights – whose winner will travel to perform at Iceland Airwaves Festival in Reykjavík, and record at both Sigur Rós’ Sundlaugin Studio and Studios 301 in Sydney – could seem like a rather overwhelming task. “It’s more about providing a platform for emerging acts than exploring,” he explains. “It’s about taking those acts, giving them the
Iceland emits an undeniable energy, with a growing attraction to its progressive culture and seemingly boundless creativity; Goodhew sees it as fitting to send artists there for inspiration.
With so much music to listen to on the horizon, you could be forgiven for thinking there are strict guidelines for Northern Lights, if only just to make it easier on Goodhew’s sanity. “There are no guidelines, I want to keep an open mind! After hours of sorting through entries it’s the feeling of finding those gems that you didn’t expect to hear, and it really is satisfying for me. It’s what makes this competition worthwhile.” What: FBi Radio’s Northern Lights Competition 2016 When: Entries close Friday August 5 More: fbiradio.com/northernlights
Black Tusk Ashes To Ashes By Benjamin Potter scheduled to promote the new album, it wasn’t clear whether the band would even continue. May says the decision to plough ahead came down to the music itself. “We’re the type of band that have always respected other bands that stick together through all the bullshit and keep the same members, because there’s always fi ghts and everything, but to watch your friends grow as musicians is a really cool thing. But someone dying is completely unavoidable. “We had thought about breaking up briefl y, but if it was me that died, I’d want Black Tusk to keep going. And I know Jonathan would want the same. You know, what do we even do all this stuff for? I would rather it have continued with the same members, but it just didn’t get dealt that way. We had some massive tours coming up right around the corner, so we had to make a quick decision on what to do. And we had just fi nished the new album. What were we going to do, just release it and let that be it? No way.”
‘S
“Where we stay at is surrounded by swamp,
and it’s very humid here all the time,” he says. “It pretty much came up one day when I was getting interviewed on how I would describe our sound, and I didn’t really know how to. I suppose it’s thick, like a wall of heat. So it just came out, and I was like, ‘I don’t know, swamp metal!’ It just kind of stayed with us from there. We’ve printed it on a couple of things since, sewed patches – man, that was almost a decade ago now.” While being plagued by misfortune and the heartbreaking events that led to the death of bassist Jonathan Athon, who sustained irreparable brain damage from a motorcycle accident in 2014, May says the band became closer than ever. Taking
the positives out of a negative, May and frontman Andrew Fidler managed to fi nish Pillars Of Ash with the fi nal recordings by the friend who meant the world to them. “Jonathan ended up dying about a month and a half after the album was recorded,” May explains. “It got mastered and mixed without him there, but he got to play through the whole thing. Of course it’s something you don’t ever think is going to happen, but you know, there’s not really anything we could do about the situation. At least he was there.” In the immediate aftermath of Athon’s death, Black Tusk were in disarray. With tours
“WHAT WERE WE GOING TO DO, JUST RELEASE [THE ALBUM] AND LET THAT BE IT? NO WAY.” 16 :: BRAG :: 673 :: 27:07:16
Black Tusk are now bringing their positive energy to Australia for the first time, and May is excited to be performing for the fans who have waited so long in this part of the world. “We’re expecting the unexpected,” he says. “All we know of Australia is stuff we see on TV, but we know we have a lot of fans there. We’re completely stoked.” What: Pillars Of Ash out now through Relapse With: Witch Fight, Dispossessed Where: The Bald Faced Stag When: Saturday August 6
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Black Tusk photo by Geoff L. Johnson
wamp metal’ is a term you have to be comfortable with if your band is to wear it with style. It’s not the most glamorous of genre defi nitions to shape your musical career for years to come. However, the swamp is something that Georgia’s Black Tusk thrive on – and their stellar combination of ear-melting riffs and hard work has helped establish them as one of the most efficient and determined bands of the last ten years. With the release of their latest album Pillars Of Ash, drummer Jamie May says Black Tusk are proud of the tag they’ve earned, but they really have no-one to blame but themselves.
That next tour was a support slot for the legendary Zakk Wylde and Black Label Society, something May says was a turning point in Black Tusk’s career and helped usher in Corey Barhorst as an official touring member. Despite the chaos and stress of the hard times, they were determined to perform the shows as a ‘thank you’ to their fans for sticking by them through the darkest time in their ten-year presence.
BRAGâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s guide to film, theatre, comedy and art about town
arts in focus
three sisters
Three Sisters photo by Marnya Rothe
a chekhov classic reimagined
also inside:
LOUIS THEROUX / THE HANGING / A NEST OF SKUNKS / GIVEAWAY / ARTS NEWS thebrag.com
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arts in focus
free stuff head to: thebrag.com/freeshit
arts news...what's goin' on around town... with Natalia Morawski, Anna Wilson and Chris Martin
Beardyman
five minutes WITH
W
hat can you tell us about the concept and history behind the Footprints Film Festival competition? The first Film Festival was in 2012. It was initially supposed to be part of World Environment Day celebrations in June, but ended up being added to the Footprints Ecofestival. Ecofestival is an annual event and attracts a few thousand people, which we realised would be the perfect audience. So now the Footprints Film Festival competition opens for a few months to get submissions, with finalists’ films screened at the Footprints Ecofestival. How important are issues around the environment and
EMILY WILLIAMS FROM FOOTPRINTS FILM FESTIVAL
sustainability in the Inner West? Caring for our local environment is crucial and everyone needs to take responsibility for their actions. It’s especially important in cities and built-up areas where our green spaces are limited and we consume such a large amount of resources. I know it sometimes feels like you can’t make a difference as an individual and it’s too hard to make big changes. But if each person were to make small changes at home and in their communities, we would have an incredibly positive impact. Whether it’s planting a tree for our native animals to use or choosing to walk instead of drive, it all makes a difference. What tips can you offer filmmakers to help them create a successful entry? It can be about anything – get creative! We’ve had some really quirky films, like one about
MAMILs (middle-aged men in lycra) and another about a hipster bicycle race to win the last barrel of oil in a world without fuel. We’ve also had quietly haunting films that showed the local environment and how nature is losing out to man-made structures. Choose something you love and feel passionate about. The finalists’ films will screen in a bicycle-powered cinema tent. How does it work? We use a cycle-in cinema from local company Milkcrate Events. They bring bikes, converters and a portable cinema. Everyone is encouraged to have a go on the bikes, which power the projector and sound system. If you don’t pedal, components like the sound will shut off – it’s happened once or twice when someone has slowed down too much! But the audience cheers the cyclists on and it comes back. We screen about ten minutes of film at a time so no-one gets too tired. There
will be a list of show times outside the cinema tent. Where does the Footprints Film Festival fit in with the other events planned on the Footprints Ecofestival program? Footprints Ecofestival has main stage entertainment, free workshops, and food and local retailers in a market-style area. The cinema tent will be on the netball court showing films on a continuous loop all day, with winners announced at 2:30pm. Stop by anytime and hop on a bike to power your favourite film! What: Footprints Film Festival 2016 Where: Whites Creek Valley Park, Annandale When: Sunday August 21 And: Entries close Sunday July 31. See leichhardt.nsw.gov.au/ footprints-film-festival for details
Untitled from Animals I Have Known by Noel McKenna
TRICK OR TREAT
Alternative clothing retailer Off Ya Tree has announced a fun design comp to get your creative juices flowing in time for the return of T-shirt weather. Halloween is one of Off Ya Tree’s biggest periods of the year, and your own Halloween-themed T-shirt design could be front and centre on the Off Ya Tree website. For the chance to show off ya chops, and win a $200 Off Ya Tree voucher, enter your design (to be printed on a white T-shirt) by uploading it via offyatree. com and to social media with the hashtag #OYTHalloweenComp. You can enter as many times as you like, so think outside the box.
Beatboxer and comedian Beardyman is heading to Sydney with his One Album Per Hour show, turning audience whims into quality songs on the spot. Audiences are asked for song title suggestions and from there Beardyman uses his musical skills and comedic flair to create an entire album within the hour. One Album Per Hour is coming to town as part of Just For Laughs Sydney, and playing at the Playhouse, Sydney Opera House on Wednesday September 7 and Thursday September 8. We have a double pass to give away to the first night – enter at thebrag.com/freeshit.
Neruda
CINE LATINO
Cine Latino is launching its inaugural festival program of Latin American film in August. More than 30 films will showcase the bright and colourful worlds of Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay and Venezuela. Festival highlights include The Violin Teacher and Neruda (which opens the program), plus sports-focused flicks including The Football Boys and Maracanzo: The Football Legend. Palace Norton Street and Palace Verona will host the Sydney program from Tuesday August 9 – Wednesday August 31. We’ve got ten in-season double passes to give away, and you can be in the running at thebrag.com/ freeshit.
xxx
and thoughtful purchases. The Dear Pluto Mini Market is on Saturday July 30.
BEARDYMAN
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
STORIES FROM ABORIGINAL WOMEN
CLOSE TO HOME
The Art Gallery of New South Wales has announced the exhibition Close To Home, the second event of its kind that celebrates the tradition of the Dobell Prize for Drawing. This curated exhibition presents the work of six Australian artists whose practice is connected by narrative, memory and experience. Close To Home brings together the contemporary works of Jumaadi Maria Kontis, Richard Lewer, Noel McKenna, Catherine O’Donnell and Nyapanyapa Yunupingu, whose drawings collectively investigate the possibilities of the medium to express complex themes that resonate on a personal and shared level. The exhibition will be on view from Saturday July 30 – Sunday December 11.
WINTER MINI-MARKETS
A mini version of the usual quarterly Dear Pluto Pop Up Markets will take place at 107 Projects this weekend. The winter-themed markets will feature a selection of local makers, picklers, collectors and brewers. The markets will even feature a pop-up nail salon. Other stalls will offer
up the likes of homemade glühwein, pastrami buns and veggie burgers by Westmont Pickles, Japanese-style ceramics from EM Pottery, organic edible skincare from Parva, sustainable fashion and hand-painted socks from Inside Jo.B, and loose leaf tea from T Totaler. The markets are aimed at encouraging a slower way of living
John Cleese, the British comedy genius behind Fawlty Towers, Monty Python’s Flying Circus and the Ministry of Silly Walks, will appear live on the Sydney Opera House stage in August. John Cleese In Conversation: From Monty Python To Fawlty Towers Live will take place in conjunction with Cleese’s visit to Australia for the world tour of Fawlty Towers – Live, which brings Basil Fawlty and co. to the Roslyn Packer Theatre from Friday August 19 with an all-new cast. And while Cleese won’t be reprising his legendary role as Fawlty himself, his Opera House appearance will give audiences a broad insight into his storied career, from the Cambridge Footlights to Python, James Bond and beyond. Cleese will be joined by James Valentine at the Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House on Monday August 15.
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IT’S A PERFECT MATCH
The Inner West’s favourite street art festival, Perfect Match, is set to once again play creative cupid as it returns to Sydney next month. Partnered residents, businesses and property owners of the Inner West will showcase visual artists of multiple media who transform walls into works of bold expression. Returning this year are the likes of Sid Tapia, Peque and Jumboist, whose colourful creations transformed the façade of Newtown’s Asylum Seeker Centre into a masterpiece in 2015. This year also sees some of Australia’s best female street artists taking to our streetscapes with the talents of Mandy SchöneSalter, Akisiew and Capiche. Free events take place across the Marrickville area on the weekend of Saturday August 6 and Sunday August 7.
BELIEVE IT OR NOT
John Cleese
He’s walked on water, strolled down the side of the LA Times Building, predicted the outcome of the 2014 World Cup and casually taken a trip across London levitating off the side of a double decker bus. Now, mind-boggling street magician Dynamo is coming to Sydney on his first-ever Australian tour. Dynamo will impress fans across the country with the opportunity to see his magic skills in what promises to be a spectacular and unique live stage production. To date Dynamo has only taken the tour across the UK and Ireland, playing a massive 111 shows, with more than 400,000 tickets sold. He’ll play a matinee and an evening show at Qudos Bank Arena on Saturday November 5.
WHAT FOOLS THESE MORTALS BE
Kip Williams has already put on successful productions of Shakespeare’s Romeo And Juliet and Macbeth, and now the Sydney Theatre Company resident director will take on A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Williams will bring to the stage the universal story of yearning and desire that comes forth when young people defy parental expectations, pursuing a different future for themselves. The part of Lysander will be played by Rob Collins, who is currently on ABC TV’s Cleverman. Regular Shakespearean actor Honey Debelle will take on Helena, while Brandon McClelland will play Demetrius and Rose Riley will portray Hermia. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is in season at the Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House from Monday September 12 – Saturday October 22.
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A Midsummer Night’s Dream photo by Cybele Malinowski
AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT
Winyanboga Yurringa will premiere at Carriageworks in August, featuring video portraits by Bindi Cole. The play, written and directed by Andrea James, centres around six Aboriginal women, through which the intergenerational pulse of their kin is explored. On a camping trip, the all-female cast takes on women’s struggles, desires, temptations and love for people and land. The cast includes Kyile Coolwell, Matilda Brown and Tessa Rose, plus up-and-comers Alexis Lane, Pamela Young and Angeline Penrith. Winyanboga Yurringa runs from Wednesday August 3 – Saturday August 6.
arts in focus
Three Sisters [THEATRE] Sibling Rivalry By Joseph Earp
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or most theatre directors, the staging of any play begins with a simple table read. It’s generally accepted as the easiest way to give all those involved a broad understanding of the text at hand, while helping to solidify the basics of the play’s who, what and where. By that measure, Kevin Jackson, the man behind Sport For Jove’s upcoming production of Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters, is not like most theatre directors. “We didn’t do a table read,” he says. “I don’t like table reads. Most of the actors don’t know what they’re doing, so it usually sounds terrible and everyone’s depressed at the end.” He barks out a laugh. “Instead, we just talked about the play and Chekhov generally. All the background material. I gave them a whole package of research material to paddle through as well, so we could talk about those sorts of things and ask questions in preparation for putting the play on the floor.” Though the production’s cast and crew had a working knowledge of Chekhov, Jackson insisted the creatives step up their game, notso-gently thrusting them headlong into the celebrated Russian writer’s entire oeuvre. “Most of the cast are graduates from drama schools, and Chekhov is one of the primary learning tools used in any kind of dramatic training, so they all had knowledge of his work,” Jackson explains. “Certainly, my requirement was that they had read all of the plays, and even some of the short stories.” As far as Jackson is concerned, to understand Chekhov is to understand the machine that drives all contemporary theatre. Chekhov spent
many years working alongside the famous cultural theorist Konstantin Stanislavsky, and their joint interest in the pure, untarnished human emotion that they argued should underpin any great work of art means that both titans remain a cornerstone of theatre study courses around the world. “Almost all Western theatre is based on Stanislavsky, and he and Chekhov were intertwined,” Jackson says. “Chekhov was working in parallel with him, so Stanislavsky’s [theories] and Chekhov’s work knit together. “I teach at a film school that goes straight to camera, and even there [it is important]. Whatever kind of acting you’re going to do, whatever medium, you need to have an understanding of Stanislavsky. Because he and Chekhov were working [in tandem], to use Chekhov’s work is to have an understanding of that theory that underpins all contemporary theatre. They both [wrote about] the core foundation that underpins every actor’s work.” In deciding to stage a new version of Chekhov’s celebrated Three Sisters – a dark, melodramatic work that follows a trio of heroines as they battle forces both interpersonal and societal in turn-of-the-century Russia – Jackson recruited his longtime friend and associate Karen Vickery. The pair were determined to put a respectful yet fresh spin on a play they feel hasn’t lost an iota of its power in the century since it was first performed. “Karen is an actor, teacher, director,” Jackson says. “She’s of Russian parents, so she speaks, reads and writes Russian.” Although the last 20 years have seen a rise in the theatrical practice of plonking legendary plays in
contemporary settings, with overzealous directors switching up location and dialect en masse, Jackson says he was determined to keep the play locked in its original timeframe. “The play still speaks today,” he says. “The great thing about Chekhov is his understanding of humanity. In the process of rehearsal, we realised that as we today live in fear of terrorism, and computer developments, along with the rapaciousness of corporations, that is what [the characters] in the play fear too. They all fear modernity and they all fear change. Those themes that were relevant in 1901 are still relevant today in 2016. We didn’t have to update the language or put ‘fuck’ into it or update the location. It didn’t need those things. This play speaks pretty powerfully in those symbols
The Hanging [THEATRE] A Dark And Dense Landscape By Adam Norris
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The Hanging photo by James Green
here’s a lot to be excited about over the next six months in local theatre, with Sydney Theatre Company arguably leading the charge with A Midsummer Night’s Dream and David Mamet’s SpeedThe-Plow (though the Judy Davisdirected Belvoir production of Faith Healer is a likely standout). Another production that has STC audiences talking, however, is an entirely fresh and dark piece by playwright Angela Betzien, The Hanging. Exploring Australia’s captivation with our vast and often ominous landscape, as well as our unsettling fascination with disappearance, it forms part of a lineage that can be traced back to Picnic At Hanging Rock and beyond. “Picnic At Hanging Rock is a seminal Australian text,” Betzien agrees. “It’s part of our obsession with the theme of the lost child in the landscape, and it’s so prevalent in our art, in our film, in our theatre. I think, and many academics have written on this as well, it speaks to white colonial anxieties about the landscape, about our relationship with the Aboriginal owners of the land. It’s this recurring obsession, and I’ve certainly been part of it with my work, beginning with a play that I wrote called Children Of The Black Skirt, which is very much exploring that theme of the lost child. For me, The Hanging was a very conscious interrogation of that idea. It’s something that keeps recurring in all of my plays, and I wanted to look at that up close, see what that interest is. It’s kind of a morbid obsession we have about these young girls dying in the landscape, and I wanted to comment on that.” Betzien’s comments bring to mind another Australian film about thebrag.com
landscape and disappearance, Strangerland, which premiered last year and also touches on these themes. “I really want to check [Strangerland] out, but I’m a little nervous about it,” Betzien laughs. “Wolf Creek does it as well, the gothic landscape. There’s In The Winter Dark, which is based on a Tim Winton story. Wake In Fright, that’s a classic Australian film in which the landscape is a real character, it’s a real antagonist. There’s a whole line of stories that touch on it, I just love them.” The Hanging centres on the aftermath of three teenage girls’ disappearance in the outback, as only one of them returns and has no recollection of what happened. Director Sarah Goodes, in her final outing as STC resident director, has described Betzien’s work as being full of “shadowy, unknown elements and the ways in which mystery can exist”. Actually creating such an atmosphere onstage, however, is no simple task. Though we are all strangers gathered in the dark – the perfect breeding ground for fear – scaring an audience is damned difficult. “Absolutely,” says Betzien. “Darkness is such a key element to theatre, and it’s one of the reasons I like writing for it. If a light isn’t shining on something, it’s darkness, and how our imaginations inhabit that darkness is something I find really interesting. I think theatre can be such a thrilling medium, and the thriller genre can actually work really well there if it’s done in a clever way. I’m interested in using all of those genres that are familiar to us in film and television, but potentially not so familiar in a theatre.
“Borrowing the tropes of those genres and seeing how they work in theatre. I love the idea of scaring people; I think it’s a big challenge. Just as much of a challenge as making people laugh.”
and imagery, and its themes and language are interconnected anyway.” Jackson says the alterations he and Vickery have made to the play are subtle, and perhaps unusually, were influenced by the development of contemporary attitudes towards mental health more than anything else. “People are going to be very surprised at the way we’ve channelled these characters and serviced these situations, but because we’re in 2016 we understand so much more about psychology. We have greatly furthered our understanding of things like ADHD [and] schizophrenia, which means we’re able to look back at the play and read into it. “Chekhov was a doctor, so he’s very forensic, and there’s enough clues in Three Sisters to look back at the play with the information that we now have
a century later and say, ‘This is what that character has,’ and we can act these symptoms. That helped.” And yet more than anything else, Jackson and his cast and crew found their strength the moment they cut themselves loose from history. “The modernity of our production lies in the fact that we’re in 2016 and we’re performing a ‘brand new Australian play’. That’s how we approached Three Sisters. We said it had no heritage – we called it a brand new Australian play. And then we had to figure out, ‘How do we put that kind of play on today?’ That was the springboard.” What: Three Sisters Where: Seymour Theatre When: Thursday July 28 – Saturday August 13
“DARKNESS IS SUCH A KEY ELEMENT TO THEATRE, AND IT’S ONE OF THE REASONS I LIKE WRITING FOR IT.”
A further challenge is the fact this will be the first time anyone has seen this story. There’s no real way of knowing exactly what works and what doesn’t from past productions, no sense of when the audience is most on edge. Betzien has a slew of plays under her belt, but the anticipation for how The Hanging will be received has her tense – about as tense, you imagine, as she hopes the audience will be throughout the show. “It’s quite terrifying!” she laughs. “The thing about a new Australian play is that you really don’t know what you’ve got on your hands until you have an audience. It’s this magical medium where all of the elements need to collide in the right way. It’s a rare thing when that happens, and sometimes new Australian plays can be imperfect, but wonderfully imperfect, where this might be their first exposure. Usually it’s the second production when new productions really sing. I’ve not been in the rehearsal room as much as I normally would this time, so it’s been a bit of a new experience, allowing this amazing creative team to just play with the work. I’ll see a run [in a few days], but that will be the first time on the floor. It’s exciting, and obviously incredibly nerve-wracking.” Given the calibre of talent involved – Goodes and Betzien of course, but also cast members Luke Carroll, Ashleigh Cummings and Genevieve Lemon – The Hanging may well emerge as one of the productions of
the year, but as long as the audience leaves with its hearts in its mouths, Betzien will be happy. “That’s the problem. Sometimes theatre can just be a social event, and I’m always mortified if people leave and they’re talking about where they’re going to have dinner. You want
people to be stunned into silence or inspired into conversation. It’s about shaking people up a little.” What: The Hanging Where: Wharf 1 Theatre When: Thursday July 28 – Saturday September 10
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arts in focus
Louis Theroux
“IT’S QUITE STRAIGHTFORWARD TO CREATE A SENSE OF EMPATHY OR A SENSE OF CONNECTION WITH SOMEONE IF YOU’RE SPENDING TIME WITH THEM.”
[FILM] The View From The Inside By James Di Fabrizio
E
ternally curious, unabashedly forthright and driven by an unwavering dedication to the truth, Louis Theroux has spent his entire career diving into the ostracised fringes of society, determined to discover the humanity that exists behind the extreme. He’s spent years exploring the world’s most deviant ideologies and believes the common thread that runs through them – from the radical to the repugnant – is the same hunt for purpose ingrained within us all. “It’s a desire for one’s life to have some kind of meaning; that you are writing the script for your own life and in that script you have a type of heroic status,” Theroux says, paraphrasing German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. It’s apt, as both men share a healthy penchant for scepticism and humanism. “You don’t want to stay in a room clinging to existence,” he continues. “You want to ride out on a white charger and capture the castle. In all the stories I’ve done, they are people who are making sense of their lives and putting themselves in the centre of their lives.” The renowned British broadcaster is soon heading to Australian shores, reflecting on years of inquisitive escapades with a national speaking tour. It comes in the wake of his new cinematic release, My Scientology Movie. In his first film made for the big screen, Theroux tries to penetrate the closely guarded inner sanctum of Scientology in the hope of further understanding this distinctly American religion, which combines elements of fame, spirituality, financial acumen and UFOs. “I’m fascinated by American celebrity culture, and Scientology has latched on early to celebrities,” says Theroux. “I’m also interested in American commercialisation, and the way in which business is combined with almost any facet of life. In essence the story is about religious extremism, but of a very weird type.” As you might expect, Theroux’s prying nature wasn’t received well by the church. Throughout filming, he was tailed by private investigators and “selfstyled reporters” who would appear unannounced, refusing to identify
themselves. All the while, he was being swallowed under a mountain of litigation. “The main thing they do is use lawyers,” says Theroux. “They send a barrage – an absolute blizzard of legal letters – from multiple law firms that is basically designed to scare you off. And it is kind of scary, to be honest with you. That’s policy with them. L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, has put in writing that you should harass people using lawyers. The idea isn’t to win a case against you, it’s just to intimidate you and slow you down.”
take to be threatening letters. It’s a challenge to not dehumanise them. The challenge there is to maintain an openness to their virtues and see the good in them. We strenuously tried to keep that in mind and I think we managed it. In a sense, the viewer has to be the judge.”
As word of his project spread, Theroux was pursued by a dedicated group of Scientologists determined to turn the camera back onto him. Absurdly, and somewhat humorously, they claimed to be making a documentary of their own. This unrelenting harassment comes from only the most zealous church members, whose absolute conviction of belief is used to selfvindicate their actions. “If you thought you had all the answers to cure insanity, crime and war, what would you not be willing to do to preserve and to spread those answers?” poses Theroux. “If you believe that you have this panacea – this universally applicable solution – there’s nothing that wouldn’t be worth doing in order to get the message out there. Fundamentally it’s a utopian, revolutionary attitude.” With his previous documentaries, Theroux has always secured first-hand access to his subjects, stepping into the thick of the San Quentin prison, seething neo-Nazism and Hollywood’s porn industry alike. However, the Church of Scientology explicitly forbids journalists from breaching its world. It was an obstacle that forced the filmmaker to come up with a new and creative approach. With the help of former second-in-command Scientologist Mark ‘Marty’ Rathbun, the film uses hired actors to play influential believers. The likes of Tom Cruise and church leader David Miscavige are brought to life in staged re-enactments of both insider practices and alleged abuse, exploring infamous moments from the church’s history. “The idea of re-enactments came up quite early on,” says Theroux. “Then it
As always has been the case for Theroux, a balanced approach is imperative. “I see it as a very relatable and very understandable impulse that leads you into the deepest part of Scientology. I try not to embrace a type of ‘them and us’ paradigm. I see Scientologists as for the most part decent people, and people who really do feel they’re doing a lot of good for the world. It’s like they say: ‘The road to hell is paved with good intentions.’ In the case of Scientology, good impulses have been put at the service of destructive results.” was a question of how you can make them something more than a gimmick that actually says something authentic and true about how Scientology is experienced by its own members and ex-members.”
aspiring actors. Young, dewy-eyed, keen, go-getting male and female actors that in a parallel universe could have been potential recruits for Scientology, but in this universe became recruits for our own project.”
For My Scientology Movie, drawing a parallel between Hollywood-style adaptation and the religion’s own show business genesis was no coincidence.
Throughout his career, Theroux has been able to find the humanity in even the most alien of cultures. This time around, doing so turned out to be the largest challenge of all.
“Re-enactment is very much a part of Scientology,” Theroux says. “They famously recruit many of their young members from the acting community. L. Ron Hubbard had aspirations to be a filmmaker, and many of the drills – the techniques of self-actualisation or becoming a better communicator – rely on acting-type role play. “The more we thought about it, it all kind of linked up and made sense. It felt like it was true to Scientology: the idea of getting actors together in LA, of shooting it exclusively in LA, and also recruiting our own little team of
“It’s quite straightforward to create a sense of empathy or a sense of connection with someone if you’re spending time with them,” he says. “Even if they’re doing something awful, you would be surprised how, after a while, if they’re reasonably nice to you and you spend a bit of time with them, it’s human nature to relate to them. “If they are not letting you in, it’s always the opposite. You start feeling distant from them. Especially if they’re coming after you, or are filming you or following you, or sending what you
Theroux has come a long way since his first documentary series in 1998, forging a name for himself as one of the most highly regarded and unique broadcasters in the industry. Throughout it all, however, has been a refusal to accept life as it first appears on the surface. “We all in our darkest moments are capable of dreadful things,” he says. “There is no-one on God’s green Earth who doesn’t have some slither of humanity in them. The challenge for us is to try and reach out, to speak to that humanity, and see the good in people.” What: Louis Theroux Live On Stage Where: State Theatre When: Tuesday September 27, Wednesday September 28 and Sunday October 2 And: My Scientology Movie opens in cinemas on Thursday September 8
A Nest Of Skunks [THEATRE] Collaboration Is The Key By Amy Henderson
T
he Sydney-based independent theatre company Collaborations Theatre Group is just one of many organisations doing a whole lot of good for the health of the Australian arts scene, even if it doesn’t make headlines every week. But for writer/ producers James Balian and Roger Vickery, their time is now. A Nest Of Skunks, their new edge-of-yourseat play about a refugee family taking shelter, will premiere this August in Marrickville. “Collaborations Theatre Group is basically an umbrella concept,” says Balian, “with the aim of putting together shows that predominately had Australian content, with ‘collaboration’ being the operative word.” Balian has long been a champion of creative collaboration. “With my fi rst play Brother Daniel, I wrote it but I brought in a young guy to direct it and I sat in on rehearsals and helped with the script,” he says. “[A Nest Of Skunks] fell nicely into that collaborative approach with Roger having the initial short story”. 20 :: BRAG :: 673 :: 27:07:16
“I intently kept it from being published,” Vickery says of his original plot. “I felt it had to be nurtured, I never thought it could turn into a play – I was thinking short and sweet.” Yet the metamorphosis from short story to play has indeed taken place, and it’s been a dynamic and collaborative process. Balian says, “It was such a strong story that it triggered that whole possibility where you could create a whole world around why those people were there. “I wrote the initial one-act play, with a plot and complications, and gave it to Roger. We then decided it really warranted being a full-length play and he worked on it and there was a whole lot of to-ing and fro-ing, so it ended up being both of our work.” Asked how it all didn’t go balls up along the way, with his story being handled by another writer, Vickery simply says: “I told James that he was lead dog if the barking got fierce. I trusted him.” Vickery and Balian’s joint effort
proved the key to bringing director Travis Green into the project. “He loved the story,” Balian says. “Roger and I went to the first rehearsal and then left the new development to them … what they were doing was in the end better for the play”. As for what inspired the initial versions of A Nest Of Skunks, and in particular its unpacking of issues surrounding refugees, Vickery says: “I grew up in Albury and at that time it had the largest migrant camp … Albury was really affected by migrants who came in. I went to school with the first generation to speak English – everyone’s fault lines were really apparent.” In this mid-20th century environment, questions about immigrants started to define Australian communities, families and individuals. Being one of them, not being one of them, thinking about them, responding to them, holding beliefs and opinions about them, making conclusions about them. Vickery’s view was and remains simple: “People who are refugees bring history, baggage. They may [not be] saints, but they need refuge.”
Beginning with this ethos, A Nest Of Skunks focuses on the morphing mirages undermining the dark and sticky world of refugee policy, politics and the humanity at the centre of it all. “With the diatribe that goes on about refugees, at the moment it’s about Muslims – everyone’s a Muslim,” says Balian. “Before it was the ‘illegals’, the ‘queue-jumpers’, people were also called by numbers – that’s how they dehumanise them. You look at them differently. Those are the things that were playing on our psyche.”
From the start of their collaborative process, Balian and Vickery were clear about what they wanted to present their audience with in the play. “I personally hate lectures,” says Balian, “someone demanding I change my opinion and people stand up and give a heart-rending story I have to feel sorry for. So we wrote a thriller.” What: A Nest Of Skunks Where: The Depot Theatre When: Wednesday August 3 – Saturday August 13
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film & theatre reviews Hits and misses on the silver screen and bareboards around town
■ Film
THE KILLING JOKE Screened in cinemas on Sunday July 24, and available on digital, Blu-ray and DVD from Wednesday July 27 Everything that can be said about Alan Moore’s Batman opus The Killing Joke has already been said. Its better lines made it into Christopher Nolan’s trilogy, and its verdict on the Joker’s origins is considered definitive. While DC putting its own spin on the adaptation is laudable, something is lost in translation, with nothing added to explore the tale’s dire consequences. The Joker (Mark Hamill) is out of Arkham Asylum again, but this time he’s not up to his usual nasty tricks. He’s planning something much worse: a malicious scheme to prove a point to Batman (Kevin Conroy) using both Commissioner Gordon (Ray Wise) and his daughter Barbara (Tara Strong) as pawns.
■ Film
ANTS ON A SHRIMP: NOMA IN TOKYO Reviewed as part of Sydney Film Festival 2016
As The Killing Joke is seen as the most insightful exploration of the bond between Batman and the Joker, it’s natural that DC would eventually adapt it to the screen, despite its objections to its extremity. And it is extreme – what Joker puts the Gordons through (particularly Barbara) is harrowing to the point that even Moore regrets some of his choices. Getting Bruce Timm – the creator of the hugely acclaimed Batman: The Animated Series – to adapt it is simultaneously foreseeable and baffling. Determined to put their own mark on the classic, Timm, co-director Sam Liu and writer Brian Azzarello have added a 15-minute prologue sequence that attempts to give Barbara Gordon greater agency and gravitas, but instead drives her even deeper into the trope of refrigerated woman. The tone set by Liu and Timm seems weirdly out of sync with the content – they’re known for the marriage of Batman’s inherent darkness with comic book camp, but here the darkness renders its partner mute. Evocations of both sex and sexual violence don’t fit this vision of the DC Universe. Juxtapositions designed to highlight Joker’s insanity – chiefly a crudely inserted song-and-dance number – do a disservice to the talents of all involved. The song is a wasted moment for Hamill’s magnificent, malevolent Joker.
The well-crafted humour of the first half falls away as the film dives headlong into Moore’s territory, and setting up then cutting down Barbara as a central figure leaves us with an uninteresting Batman, reliant on his own aura and mythos rather than anything brought to the screen here. His own emotional journey is left unresolved, as the film fails to pull off Moore’s stunningly ambiguous ending and follows it with reassurances, not consequence. Fans of the graphic novel will inevitably be disappointed, while fans of the animated series may find something new and refreshing here, darker and meatier than Mask Of The Phantasm. But The Killing Joke is robbed of its punchline and thereby its impact; besides, it’s a joke we’ve heard before. David Molloy
■ Theatre
PROOF
Proof photo by Michael Snow of Theatre View
Playing at the New Theatre until Saturday July 30 The pursuit of powerful new flavours inspires radical thinking, and presentation is as important as taste. To simply plate potent ingredients alongside each other is not enough to inspire. Maurice Dekkers’ documentary shows great professionalism, but does not suffice as a hearty meal. René Redzepi, owner of critically acclaimed restaurant Noma, is about to indulge another flight of fancy, packing up his staff and flying them to Japan to operate a pop-up restaurant for three weeks. Without knowing a word of the language or any of the local ingredients, how will these culinary revolutionaries maintain Noma’s esteemed reputation? Stakes are established early on, and Dekkers clearly desires drama, but even when facing abject failure, the Noma kitchen staff offer very little. The chefs follow a mantra of failing day after day, and are extraordinarily calm for their occupation. If you’ve ever worked in a kitchen, Redzepi’s soft, straight-faced dismissals will seem wholly alien. The environment into which our foodies are thrust – a sterile subterranean kitchen – is claustrophobic and grey: not exactly compelling fodder for a camera crew. Despite Japan’s abundance of visual stimuli, we are given very little of the country’s draw. We do not hear from the Japanese themselves, ostensibly to place us in the shoes of the chefs. But why here, why now? In focusing so closely on the cooks, Dekkers has lost the context.
Twelfth Night photo by Brett Boardman
As conflict is thin, the film is thirsty for inspiration, and much like its subjects, it finds it in the forests of Japan. Seeing these oddball Danes scrounge through Nagano wilderness, tasting everything from tree barks to live ants, is a bizarre treat, and one that paints the other flavour destinations – the tourist havens of Tsukiji Fish Market and Okinawa – as unambitious and dry. Seeing Noma’s creations is a delight, but even this is but a taster. The dishes are smoothly laid out before us with ad-level polish, and whisked away before we can hear the delight of those consuming it, the chink of glasses, the laughter shared by diners. Food in Japan is about shared experience – the izakaya small bars are places that revolve around intimate social engagement. Why, then, should the revelation of Redzepi’s interpretation be so clinical? Noma’s remarkable chefs travel the world in search of synergy with local foods and cultures, but the documentarian who followed them lacks a matching palette. As such, our time with these artisans is tantalising, but insubstantial. It leaves the heart and the taste buds wanting. David Molloy
Proof, as a play, has a lot going for it. It won David Auburn the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2001 and bagged a Tony Award for Best Play. If a script were ever to comprehensively establish itself in the world of performance, this is the way to do it. Tackling the foggy line between genius and madness, family intimacy and discord, love and fear, Proof has all the hallmarks of a work that can deeply impact. Or rather, should. We are thrown into the fragile life of lead character Catherine, whose genius mathematician father has just passed away. As the play unfolds, the audience is front and centre to Catherine’s journey as she grapples with the suffocating hold of grief and fear. Will the unrelenting march of time steadily bring her own dose of cruel insanity? How is she to grieve a man who was already irrevocably lost? Within the unravelling or vindication of Catherine is where the central pull of this work lies. Freefall Productions, in collaboration with the New Theatre, are the agents behind Sydney’s newest interpretation of this revered work, and while it’s peppered throughout with moments
of visceral potency, the end taste of the production is that of satisfied sweetness. Not an alarming outcome in the slightest, but a little far from the mental wrangling associated with a play steeped in questioning hereditary madness and trust. The set is a crisp, professional and clean one, yet it portrays the exterior of what is spoken of as a rambling old home. The acting, too, is crisp and clean, as the cast delivers consistent north-eastern American accents. But the potency of many of the key scenes is lost in the restrained delivery.
What eventuates is an atmosphere that is too clinical. Perhaps even the text itself sets up a production to be sterile: daughter of insane professor wonders if impending madness is to be her lot. The plot holds closely to stereotype and predictability, and lacks any depiction of the bitter confusion with which madness suffocates its victims. This production moves and intrigues the audience, but perhaps it does not go far enough. Amy Henderson
Arts Exposed What's in our diary...
Twelfth Night Or What You Will Belvoir St Theatre, until Sunday September 4 Belvoir St Theatre is bringing to life Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night Or What You Will under the direction of Eamon Flack. Peter Carroll will perform as Malvolio and Nikki Shiels will take on Viola, as the twins are shipwrecked in Illyria. Before they are finally reunited, the land reveals itself as a strange and unconventional place, where girls are boys, boys are girls, drunkards are moralists and fools are wise. See more info and book at belvoir.com.au.
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BARS BRAG
B R A G ’ S G U I D E T O S Y D N E Y ’ S B E S T WAT E R I N G H O L E S
Mon – Tue 5pm-midnight; Wed – Fri noon-midnight; Sat 5pm-midnight A Work In Progress 50 King St, Sydney CBD (02) 9240 3000 Mon – Fri noon-2am; Sat 5pm-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 – Wed 10am-midnight; Thu 10am-1.30am; Fri 10am-3am; Sat noon1.30am Assembly 488 Kent St, Sydney CBD (02) 9283 8808
The Australian Heritage Hotel 100 Cumberland St, The Rocks (02) 9247 2229 Mon – Sun 10.30am-midnight
The Baxter Inn Basement 152-156 Clarence St, Sydney CBD Mon – Sat 4pm-1am
Bar Eleven Lvl 11, 161 Sussex St, Sydney CBD (02) 9290 4712 Mon – Thu 4-9pm; Fri – Sat 4-11pm The Barber Shop 89 York St, Sydney CBD (02) 9299 9699 Mon – Wed 4pm-midnight; Thu – Fri 3pm-midnight; Sat 4pm-midnight Basement Bar
Basement, 27-33 Goulburn St, Sydney CBD (02) 8970 5813 Mon – Thu 5pm-10pm; Fri – Sat 5pm-midnight
Bulletin Place First Floor, 10-14 Bulletin Place, Circular Quay Mon – Wed 4pm-midnight; Thurs – Sat 4pm-1am; Sun 4-10pm
Mon – Fri noon-midnight; Sat 5pm-midnight deVine 32 Market St, Sydney CBD (02) 9262 6906 Mon – Fri 11.30am-11.30pm; Sat 5.30-11.30pm Easy Eight 152-156 Clarence St, Sydney (02) 9299 3769 Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight
Burrow Bar De Mestre Place, Sydney 0450 466 674 Mon – Sun 4pm-midnight
El Camino Cantina 18 Argyle St, The Rocks Mon – Thu noonmidnight; Fri – Sat noon-3am; Sun 11.30am-midnight
The Captain’s Balcony 46 Erskine St, Sydney CBD (02) 9299 3526
Frankie’s Pizza 50 Hunter St, Sydney CBD Sun – Thu 4pm-3am; Fri noon-3am
Gilt Lounge 49 Market St, Sydney CBD (02) 8262 0000 Mon – Fri 5pm-2am; Sun 5pm-midnight The Glenmore 96 Cumberland St, The Rocks (02) 9247 4794 Mon – Thu, Sun 11am-midnight; Fri – Sat 11am-1am Grain Bar 199 George St, Sydney CBD (02) 9250 3118 Sun – Fri noon-9pm Grandma’s Basement 275 Clarence St, Sydney CBD (02) 9264 3004 Mon – Fri 3pm-midnight; Sat 5pm-1am The Fox Hole 68A Erskine St, Sydney CBD (02) 9279 4369 Mon 7am-3pm; Tue – Fri 7am-late The Grasshopper 1 Temperance Ln, Sydney CBD (02) 9947 9025 Mon – Thu 4pm-midnight; Fri noon-1am; Sat 4pm-1am
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EK
ADDRESS: 231 OXFORD ST, DARLINGHURST WEBSITE: OXFORDCIRCUS.COM.AU OPENING HOURS: WED – SAT 7PM-3AM
OF
THE OXFORD CIRCUS bar bar E E W
Harpoon Harry 40-44 Wentworth Ave, Sydney CBD (02) 8262 8800 Mon – Sat 11.30am-3am; Sun 11am-midnight Kittyhawk 16 Phillip Ln, Sydney CBD Mon – Thu 3pm-midnight; Fri – Sat 3pm-2am The Lobo Plantation Basement Lot 1, 209 Clarence St, Sydney CBD 0415 554 908 Mon – Thu, Sat 4pm-midnight; Fri 2pm-midnight The Local Bar 161 Castlereagh St, Sydney CBD (02) 9953 0027 Mon – Wed 7.30am-10pm; Thu – Fri 7.30am-11pm The Loft (UTS) 15 Broadway, Sydney (behind 2SER) (02) 9514 1149 Mon – Fri 2-11pm Mojo Record Bar Basement 73 York St, Sydney CBD (02) 9262 4999 Mon – Wed 4pm-midnight; Thu 4pm-1am; Fri – Sat 4pm-1am The Morrison 225 George St, Sydney CBD (02) 9247 6744 Mon – Wed 7.30am-11pm; Thu 7.30am-midnight; Fri 7.30am-2am; Sat 11.30am-2am The Palisade 35 Bettington St, Millers Point 9018 0123 Mon – Fri noon-midnight; Sat – Sun 11am-midnight Mr Tipply’s 347 Kent St, Sydney CBD (02) 9299 4877 Mon – Thu 11.30am-10pm; Fri 11.30am-midnight; Sat 10pm-4am Palmer & Co. Abercrombie Ln, Sydney CBD (02) 9240 3000 Sun – Weds 5pm-3am; Thu 3pm-3am; Fri noon-3am; Sat 4pm-3am Papa Gede’s Bar Laneway at the end of 348 Kent St, Sydney CBD (02) 9299 5671 Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight
Tell us about your bar: The Oxford Circus is three bars under one roof! On the ground floor (Underground Bar), we often play albums front to back. There are heaps of great drinks, tap beer and big booths to lounge around in. On the first floor (The Cooch) we have live bands, go-go dancers and all kinds of odd variety acts, as well as DJs on the weekend nights. The top floor (Management Bar) has DJs and is a great place to drink, hang and chill. All three bars offer classic and speciality house cocktails,
Plan B Small Club 53-55 Liverpool St, Sydney CBD Wed 5pm-11pm; Thu 5pm-1am; Fri 5pm-3am; Sat 6pm-3am
plus champagne by the glass in Management Bar. We also have tap beer and a great range of spirits. What’s on the menu? The Circus menu changes every week. You can get a great feed for under $20 and be ready to roll for a night of party.
Ramblin’ Rascal Tavern 199 Elizabeth St, Sydney CBD Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight
Care for a drink? We do great twists on the classic espresso martini. We also carry about 1,000 vodkas and infuse them with all kinds of potions.
Rockpool Bar & Grill 66 Hunter St, Sydney CBD (02) 8078 1900 Mon – Sat noon-3pm, 6-11pm
Sounds: We have live music most nights. Recent sell-out shows include Middle Kids, Okenyo, Spit Syndicate, TEES, Joelle, Mossy, Fortunes and Buoy. Coming up soon are Sarah McLeod, Lakyn, Bec Sandridge, Matt Gresham, Alice Night, The Daphne Rawling Band, Caitlin Park and heaps more. Our DJs play a pretty diverse range of stuff and it’s all good to dance to. Highlights: A one-stop party palace! Dance, drink, smoke, dance, drink and smoke at the same time, watch live bands and weird shows. We’ve got quality drinks and affordable food, and are open till 3am. There are super comfy booths. And here is the big one: coming up soon, all live shows at the Circus will be free! Oh yeah!
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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 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 4.30pm-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 Mon – 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 4pm-midnight
Mon – Sat 10am-2am; Sun 10am-10pm Ching-a-Lings 1/133 Oxford St, Darlinghurst (02) 9360 3333 Wed 6-11pm; Thu – Sat 6pm-1am; Sun 5-10pm The Cliff Dive 16-18 Oxford Square, Darlinghurst Fri – Sat 6pm-late The Commons 32 Burton St, Darlinghurst (02) 9358 1487 Tue – Wed 6pm-midnight; Thu – Fri noon-late; Sat – Sun 8:30am-late Darlo Bar 306 Liverpool St, Darlinghurst (02) 9331 3672 Mon – Sun 10am-midnight Darlo Country Club Level 1, 235 Victoria St, Darlinghurst (02) 9380 4279 Wed – Thu 5pm-midnight; Fri – Sat 5pm-2am
York Lane 56 Clarence St, Sydney CBD (02) 9299 1676 Mon – Wed 6.30am-10pm; Thu – Fri 6am-midnight; Sat 6pm-midnight
Dead Ringer 413 Bourke St, Surry Hills (02) 9331 3560 Mon – Fri 5pm-midnight; Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-midnight
121BC 4/50 Holt St, Surry Hills (02) 9699 1582 Tue – Sat 5pm-midnight
Eau-De-Vie 229 Darlinghurst Rd, Darlinghurst 0422 263 226 Sun – Fri 6pm-1am; Sat 6pm-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-11.30 Bellini Lounge 2 Kellett St, Potts Point (02) 9331 0058 Thu – Sun 6pm-late The Bells Hotel 1 Bourke St, Woolloomooloo (02) 9357 3765 Mon – Sun 10am-1am The Beresford 354 Bourke St, Surry Hills (02) 8313 5000 Mon – Sun noon-1am Big Poppa’s 96 Oxford St, Darlinghurst Mon – Sun 5pm-3am 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 Central Tavern 42-50 Chalmers St, Surry Hills (02) 9212 3814
Della Hyde 34 Oxford St, Darlinghurst Thu – Sat 5pm-late
The Forresters 336 Riley St, Surry Hills (02) 9212 3035 Mon – Wed noonmidnight; Thu – Sat noon1am; Sun noon-10pm Gardel’s Bar 358 Cleveland St, Surry Hills (02) 8399 1440 Tue – Sat 6pm-midnight Gazebo 2 Elizabeth Bay Rd, Elizabeth Bay (02) 8070 2424 Tue – Sun noon-midnight Golden Age Cinema & Bar 80 Commonwealth St, Surry Hills (02) 9211 1556 Wed – Fri 5pm-midnight; Sat – Sun 2:30pm-midnight Goros 84-86 Mary St, Surry Hills (02) 9212 0214 Mon – Wed 11:30am-midnight; Thu 11:30am-1am: Fri 11:30am-3am; Satӱ4pm-3am Hinky Dinks 185 Darlinghurst Rd, Darlinghurst (02) 8084 6379 Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun 2-11pm Hollywood Hotel 2 Foster St, Surry Hills (02) 9281 2765 Mon – Wed 10am-midnight; Thu – Sat 10am-3am The Horse 381 Crown St, Surry Hills 1300 976 683 Mon – Thu noon-midnight; Fri 11.30am-midnight; Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm Jangling Jack’s Bar & Grill 175 Victoria St, Potts Point Tue – Wed 4-11pm, Thu – Sat 4-1am, Sun noon11pm Hustle & Flow Bar 3/105 Regent St, Redfern (02) 8964 93932 Tue – Thu 6pm-midnight; Fri – Sat 5pm-midnight; thebrag.com
Sun 2pm-midnight
Li’l Darlin Surry Hills 420 Elizabeth St, Surry Hills (02) 9698 5488 Mon – Fri noon-11pm; Sat 4pm-midnight LL Wine and Dine 42 Llankelly Place Potts Point (02) 9356 8393 Mon – Thu 5pm-11pm; Fri – Sat 5pm-midnight; Sun 11am-10pm The Local Taphouse 122 Flinders St, Darlinghurst (02) 9360 0088 Mon – Sun noon-9:30pm Love, Tilly Devine 91 Crown Ln, Darlinghurst (02) 9326 9297 Mon – Sat 5pm-midnight; Sun 5-10pm Low 302 302 Crown St, Surry Hills (02) 9368 1548 Mon – Sun 6pm-2am Mr Fox 557 Crown St, Surry Hills 0410 470 250 Tue – Wed 4pm-midnight; Thu – Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat 3pm-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 0458 627 266 Tue – Sat 5pm-midnight The Oxford Circus 231 Oxford St, Darlinghurst 0457 353 384 Wed – Sat 7pm-3am The Owl House 97 Crown St, Darlinghurst 0401 273 080 Mon – Sat 5pm-late; Sun 5-10pm
(02) 9130 1033 Tue – Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat – Sun 2pm-midnight
Rosie Campbell’s 320 Crown St, Surry Hills (02) 9356 4653 Mon – Thu 5pm-midnight; Fri – Sun 11am-midnight
Jam Gallery 195 Oxford St, Bondi Junction (02) 9389 2485 Tue 4pm-midnight; Wed – Sat 4pm-3am
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 – Wed 5pm-midnight; Thu – Fri 5pm-3am; Sat – Sun 6pm-3am Surly’s 182 Campbell St, Surry Hills (02) 9331 3705 Mon – Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm Sweethearts Rooftop 33/37 Darlinghurst Rd, Potts Point (02) 9368 7333 Mon – Thu 4pm-midnight; Fri – Sun noon-midnight This Must Be The Place 239 Oxford St, Darlinghurst (02) 9331 8063 Mon – Sun 3pm-midnight The Tilbury Hotel 12-18 Nicholson St, Woolloomooloo (02) 9368 1955 Mon 9am-10pm; Tue – Fri 9am-midnight; Sat 10am-midnight; Sun 10am-10pm Tio’s Cerveceria 4-14 Foster St, Surry Hills (02) 9368 1955 Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight Vasco 421 Cleveland St, Redfern 0406 775 436 Mon – Sat 5pm-midnight The Village Inn 9-11 Glenmore Rd, Paddington (02) 9331 0911 Mon – Sun noon-late The Wild Rover 75 Campbell St, Surry Hills (02) 9280 2235 Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight
Peekaboo 120 Bourke St, Woolloomooloo 0403 747 788 Tue – Thu 4pm-10pm; Fri – Sat 4pm-midnight
The Winery 285A Crown St, Surry Hills (02) 9331 0833 Mon – Sun noon-midnight
Play Bar 72 Campbell St, Surry Hills (02) 9280 0885 Tue – Thu 5pm-midnight; Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat 5pm-midnight
Anchor Bar 8 Campbell Pde, Bondi (02) 8084 3145 Mon – Fri 5pm-late; Sat – Sun 12.30pm-late
Pocket Bar 13 Burton St, Darlinghurst (02) 9380 7002 Mon – Sun 4pm-midnight The Powder Keg 7 Kellett St, Potts Point (02) 8354 0980 Wed – Thu 5pm-midnight; Fri – Sat 4:30pm-midnight; Sun 4pm-midnight The Print Room 11 Glenmore Rd, Paddington (02) 9331 0911 Thu – Fri noon-midnight; Sun – Wed noon-10pm Queenie’s Upstairs 336 Riley St, Surry Hills (02) 9212 3035 Tue – Thu 6pm-late, Fri noon-3pm & 6pm-late; Sat 6pm-late Riley St Garage 55 Riley St, Woolloomooloo (02) 9326 9055 Mon – Sat noon-midnight Roosevelt 32 Orwell St, Potts Point (02) 8696 1787 thebrag.com
Bat Country 32 St Pauls St, 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 – Fri 11am-1am; Sat 10am-1am; Sun 10am-10pm Bondi Hardware 39 Hall St, Bondi (02) 9365 7176 Mon – Thu 5pm-midnight; Fri noon-midnight; Sat 9am-midnight; Sun 9am-8pm The Bucket List Shop 1, Bondi Pavilion, Queen Elizabeth Drive (02) 9365 4122 Mon – Tue 11am-5pm; Wed – Sun 11am-midnight The Corner House 281 Bondi Rd, Bondi (02) 8020 6698 Tue – Sat 5pm-midnight; Sun 1pm-10pm Fat Ruperts 249 Bondi Rd, Bondi
Tea House 530 King St, Newtown Mon – Fri 5pm-midnight; Sat – Sun 3.30pm-midnight Earl’s Juke Joint King St, Newtown Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun 4-10pm
The Phoenix Hotel 1 Moncur St, Woollahra (02) 9363 2608 Tue – Wed 4-11pm; Thu – Fri 11.30am-1am; Sat 8am-11pm; Sun 8am-10pm
Forest Lodge Hotel 117 Arundel St, Forest Lodge (02) 9660 1872 Mon – Sat 11am-midnight; Sun noon-10pm
The Robin Hood Hotel 203 Bronte Rd, Waverley (02) 9389 3477 Mon-Sat 10am-3am; Sun 10am-10pm
Freda’s 109 Regent St, Chippendale (02) 8971 7336 Tues – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun 4pm-10pm
Speakeasy 83 Curlewis St, Bondi (02) 9130 2020 Mon – Sat 5pm-11pm; Sat – Sun 4pm-10pm
The Gasoline Pony 115 Marrickville Rd, Marrickville 0401 002 333 Tue – Thu 5-11.30pm; Fri – Sat 3-11.30pm; Sun 3-9.30pm
Spring Street Social 110 Spring St, Bondi Junction (02) 9389 2485 Tue – Sat 5pm-3am Stuffed Beaver 271 Bondi Rd, Bondi (02) 9130 3002 Mon – Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm
Bar-racuda 105 Enmore Rd, Newtown (02) 9519 1121 Mon – Sat 6pm-midnight Batch Brewing Company 44 Sydenham Rd, Marrickville (02) 9550 5432 Mon – Sun 10am-8pm Bauhaus West 163 Enmore Rd, Enmore (02) 8068 9917 Wed – Thu 5-11pm; Fri 4-11pm; Sat 2-10pm; Sun midday-10pm 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 Mon – Fri 5pm-midnight; Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm Calaveras 324 King St, Newtown 0451 541 712 Wed – Sat 6pm-midnight Cornerstone Bar & Food 245 Wilson St, Eveleigh (02) 8571 9004 Sun – Wed 10am-5pm; Thu – Fri 10am-late; Sat 9am-late Corridor 153A King St, Newtown 0405 671 002 Mon 5pm-midnight; Tue 4pm-midnight; Wed – Sat 3pm-midnight; Sun 3-10pm Cottage Bar & Kitchen 342 Darling St, Balmain (02) 8084 8185 Mon – Thu 5pm-midnight; Fri – Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm Different Drummer 185 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 9552 3406 Mon 4.30-11pm; Tue – Wed 4.30pm-1am; Thu – Sat 4.30pm-2am; Sun 4.30am-midnight Doris & Beryl’s Bridge Club and
The Grifter Brewing Co. 1/391-397 Enmore Rd, Marrickville (02) 9550 5742 Thu 4-9pm; Fri – Sat noon-9pm; Sun noon-7pm The Hideaway Bar 156 Enmore Rd, Enmore (02) 8021 8451 Tue– Thu 4pm-midnight; Fri – Sat 4pm-1am Hive Bar 93 Erskineville Rd, Erskineville (02) 9519 1376 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 Cnr Knox & Shepherd St, Chippendale (02) 8970 6443 Tue – Thu 4-10pm; Fri – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun 5-10pm Kuleto’s 157 King St, Newtown (02) 9519 6369 Mon – Sat 4pm-late; Thu – Sat 4pm-3am The Little Guy 87 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 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 Mr Falcon’s 92 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 9029 6626 Mon – Thu 4pm-midnight; Fri 3pm-midnight; Sat noon-midnight; Sun 4pm-10pm Newtown Social Club 387 King St, Newtown (02) 9550 3974 Mon – Thu 4pm-midnight; Fri – Sat noon-2am; Sun noon-10pm The Oxford Tavern 1 New Canterbury Rd, Petersham (02) 8019 9351 Mon – Thu noon-midnight; Fri – Sat noon-3am; Sun noon-10pm
game on Gaming news and reviews with Adam Guetti
AUG
New Releases
Kicking off August in pure style is Hello Games’ incredibly ambitious PS4 space adventure No Man’s Sky. Be careful though, because you’re bound to get lost in space with this one. It takes off Wednesday August 10.
2016
A day later on Thursday August 11 is Teddy Together for Nintendo’s 3DS. You must help feed and care for a mysterious bear after it appears on your doorstep, as well as answer strange questions like “How do you make friends?” Weird… Meanwhile, speed ahead to Friday August 19 and you’ll find F1 2016 (PS4, XBO, PC), allowing revheads to enjoy racing through the season’s calendar of 21 tracks. The month’s heaviest hitter, however, won’t reveal itself until Tuesday August 23. Yes, augmented super-agent Adam Jensen is back in Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (PS4, XBO, PC), the sequel to 2011’s Human Revolution. The game’s signature elements like multiple paths and upgrades also return. If you’ve been waiting for some athletic action, on the other hand, look no further than Madden NFL 17 (PS4, XBO). The annual release packs a slew of updates like better commentary and the return of special teams. It tackles its way into your life from Thursday August 25. Closing out the month on Tuesday August 30 is World Of Warcraft: Legions – the latest expansion for the PC behemoth. It introduces a new continent, a new class, raises the level cap and will hopefully make you forget the film ever existed.
SMASH! 2016
Can’t stand the wait for this year’s EB Expo or PAX? Then why not check out Smash! Taking place from Saturday August 20 – Sunday August 21 at Rosehill Gardens, Smash! Sydney Manga And Anime Show is a pop culture convention that celebrates one thing: Japan. The whole event is devoted to artists, creators and fans, and draws thousands each year. You can check out some impressive cosplayers, sit through a few panels or stock up on a whole range of goodies. Plus, this year the event will also bring voice actor Hideo Ishikawa, voice actor/ singer Ai Nonaka and internationally renowned cosplayer Yuegene Fay to our shores. Tickets start at $30 and can be purchased from smash.org.au.
WHAT’S ON
Li’l Darlin Darlinghurst 235 Victoria St, Darlinghurst (02) 8084 6100 Mon – Sun 4pm-midnight
Tue – Fri 5pm-midnight; Sat noon-midnight; Sun 3-10pm
WSSS Pokémon Go Walk Sydney
After the overwhelming success of the Pokémon Go walk at the Sydney Opera House, follow-up events have been a dime a dozen. One of the most noble of these is the WSSS Pokemon Go Walk. That’s largely because although not compulsory, its organisers have asked attendees to donate a mere $5 to Open Heart International – a charity that provides the opportunity for those living in developing countries to receive the specialised healthcare that they deserve, yet cannot access. Kicking off in Hyde Park at 2:30pm on Saturday August 6, the event will make its way through the Botanical Gardens, Opera House, Museum of Contemporary Art and conclude at King Street Wharf. Those who donate will even be able to compete for the ‘Best Catch’ prize at the end of the day.
Review: Pokémon Go (iOS, Android)
M
ost people expected Pokémon Go to be big – simultaneously tugging at the nostalgic heartstrings of older gamers while luring in a new breed of mobile players. Nobody, however, expected it to be this big. Thousands of Pokémon masters convening at the Sydney Opera House. New York City citizens literally leaving their cars to obtain a rare find. To some it’s magic, others madness. No matter your opinion, it’s not going anywhere anytime soon, but just because something’s popular doesn’t mean it’s good. Thankfully, though, Pokémon Go ticks enough of the right boxes – when it works. The basic concept of Go is simple. Utilising the wonders of augmented reality via your smartphone’s camera and GPS signal, developer Niantic makes it look and feel as though there are wild Pokémon scattered around our everyday lives, and your job is to catch them all. For most of the time that means you’ll be following a prettier version of Google Maps as you explore your surrounding areas for rustling bits of grass that signal a Pokémon’s presence. Once in sight, you merely need to get close enough to see and tap on it to initiate a Pokébattle – conducted by launching Pokéballs towards your desired monster with your finger in order to capture it. It’s a simple yet surprisingly addictive process, plus catching enough of the same creature will eventually allow you to evolve them into bigger and better versions. Gyms, meanwhile, introduce a more competitive element. Use up to six of your best fighters to take over an enemy gym and you’ll be able to open it up for your team (red, blue or yellow) and add your own Pokémon for others to duel. These battles are arguably too easy to win, meaning gyms change hands quite often, but the mini rivalries they foster are actually a lot of fun. Fans of the original Pokémon franchise will be disappointed to see how much of the core game has been stripped away, but they are inevitable concessions made to suit the mobile platform and its more casual users. As a result, this isn’t at all the Pokémon you remember, but that’s OK. Instead, when it’s not fighting against a barrage of server issues and performance glitches, Pokémon Go offers up a truly fascinating social experience that will create countless stories in the months ahead. The main thing is that you’ll almost certainly want to catch ’em all.
Adam Guetti
BRAG :: 673 :: 27:07:16 :: 23
out & about Queer(ish) matters with Lucy Watson
The First Nations float at the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras 2015
Lord Raglan 12 Henderson Rd, Alexandria (02) 9699 4767 Mon – Sat noonmidnight; Sun noon-10pm
Wayward Brewing Co. 1 Gehrig Ln, Annandale (02) 7903 2445 Thu – Sat 2-10pm; Sun noon-8pm
The Record Crate 34 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 9660 1075 Mon – Thu 5pm-midnight; Sat 2pm-midnight; Sun 3-10pm
Websters Bar 323 King St, Newtown (02) 9519 1511 Mon – Sat 10am-4am; Sun 10am-midnight
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 – Tue 7am-5pm; Wed – Fri 7am-11pm; Sat 7am-10pm; Sun 7am-11pm
L
Since coming out, I’ve taken Mardi Gras for granted – it’s there, every year, in my home city. Sometimes I go to the parade, sometimes I skip it to prepare for the afterparty. But it’s always there, an extension of my city and my home. I’ve always thought that being happy and queer is really only possible in cities. The urban ‘anything goes’ environment provides the breeding ground for experimentation and weirdos. But I now realise this perspective is so distinctly white and colonised. After watching the video of the sister girls on Tiwi, it’s glowingly apparent that while the city might be my place to be me, it’s not the same for everyone. When I look at the way the Western world has been heading backwards in terms of LGBT rights, particularly in places like the US (did you know that among repealing same sex marriage and a bunch of other horrid anti-LGBT policies, the 2016 Republican platform officially supports gay conversion therapy, the archaic and often illegal practice of trying to turn gay people straight?), it becomes pretty clear that we need to look to other models of LGBT progress. In particular places, queerphobia is a product of colonisation. It was Western society (and Judeo-Christian religions) that introduced this rigid notion of gender, family, and therefore sexuality, and imposed it on the world. One only has to look at the culture of brother boys and sister girls
this week…
in indigenous Australia, two-spirit people in North America, bakla people in the Philippines, and countless others to see the way other cultures have always queered these ideas of gender and family, allowing queerness to thrive in more than just the sidelines of society.
Staves Brewery 4-8 Grose Street, Glebe (02) 9280 4555 Thu 4-10pm; Fri – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun 4-10pm
Meanwhile, white colonisation has created a world where queer people are only free to be themselves in the unruly environment of the urban, while at the same time establishing a particular, singular narrative of fleeing the rural to the urban queer oasis.
Temperance Society 122 Smith St, Summer Hill (02) 8068 5680 Mon – Thu 4pm-11pm; Fri – Sat: noon-midnight; Sun: noon-10pm
While I’d like to think the sister girls of the Tiwi Islands would be welcomed with open arms by Sydney’s queer community, the fact is the rest of the city might not be so tolerant – and more importantly, the city simply isn’t their home, their place.
Thievery 91 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 8283 1329 Mon – Thu 6pm-11pm; Fri 6pm-midnight; Sat noon3pm & 6pm-midnight
The sister girls have a very different relationship to the land and their queerness than I do. Perhaps the standout point this story reminded me of is that there are so many more ways to do queer than living in Newtown.
Timbah 375 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 9571 7005 Tue – Thu 4-10pm; Fri 4-11pm; Sat 3pm-11pm; Sun 4pm-8pm
The Workers Lvl 1, 292 Darling St, Balmain (02) 9555 8410 Fri – Sat 5pm-3am; Sun 2pm-midnight Young Henrys D & E, 76 Wilford St, Newtown (02) 9519 0048 Mon – Sat 10am-7pm; Sun noon-7pm Zigi’s Wine And Cheese Bar 86 Abercrombie St, Chippendale (02) 9699 4222 Tue 4pm-10pm; Wed 4pm-midnight; Thu – Sat 3pm-midnight
Crooked Tailor 250 Old Northern Road, Castle Hill (02) 9899 3167 Mon – Sun 4pm-midnight Daniel San 55 North Steyne, Manly (02) 9977 6963 Mon – Thu 4pm-midnight; Friday – Saturday noon–2am; Sunday noon-midnight
The Foxtrot 28 Falcon St, Crows Nest Tue – Wed 5pm-midnight; Thu 5pm-1am; Fri 4pm-2am; Sat 5pm-2am; Sun 4-10pm The Hayberry Bar & Diner 97 Willoughby Road, Crows Nest (02) 8084 0816 Tue – Thu 4pm-midnight; Fri & Sat noon-midnight Sun noon-10pm
Your bar’s not here? Email: chris@thebrag.com
Jah Bar Shop 9, 9-15 Central Ave, Manly (02) 9977 4449 Tue 5pm-midnight; Wed-Fri noon-midnight; Sat 8am-midnight; Sun 9am-midnight Manly Wine 8-13 South Steyne, Manly (02) 8966 9000 Mon – Sun 6.30am-late Miami Cuba 47 North Steyne, Manly 0487 713 350 Mon – Sun 8am-4pm
Hemingway’s 48 North Steyne, Manly (02) 9976 3030 Mon – Sat 8am-midnight; Sun 8am-10pm
Moonshine Lvl 2, Hotel Steyne, 75 The Corso, Manly (02) 9977 4977 Mon – Thu 9am-3pm; Fri – Sat 9am-2am; Sun 9am-midnight
The Hold Shop 4, Sydney Rd Plaza, Manly (02) 9977 2009 Tue – Fri 5pm-midnight; Sat 3pm-midnight; Sun 3-10pm
The Pickled Possum 254 Military Rd, Neutral Bay (02) 9909 2091 Thu – Sat 9pm-1am
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
SoCal 1 Young St, Neutral Bay (02) 9904 5691 Mon – Wed 5pm-midnight; Thu 5pm-1am; Sat noon-2am; Sun noon-midnight The Stoned Crow 39 Willoughby Rd, Crows Nest (02) 9439 5477 Mon – Sat noon-late; Sun 11.30am-10pm The Treehouse Hotel 60 Miller St, North Sydney (02) 8458 8980 Mon – Fri 7am-midnight; Sat 2pm-midnight
That these women want to come to Mardi Gras is what drove this home to me. I realised I had no idea what Mardi Gras – a celebration that, while only occurring once a year, lives with me most of the year in my urban world – would mean to people from such a sparsely populated remote indigenous community, who definitely don’t see the city as the heart of their community. What would a parade that celebrates Sydney almost as much as it celebrates queerness mean to a group of women who don’t desire an urban environment in the way that I do? I’m keen to find out, which is why I want to help get the sister girls of the Tiwi Islands get to Mardi Gras next year, so they can experience it, and so we may learn that being queer isn’t simply a white, urban phenomenon.
Simona Castricum
This Wednesday July 27, Queerbourhood returns to The Bearded Tit with a Peaches tribute evening, hosted by Seymour Butz and friends. There’ll be Peaches-themed drinks, as well as music and performances. Also on Wednesday July 27 at Slyfox, Birdcage collaborates with Allout to bring you a ’90s party featuring Sveta, Tiny and more. On Saturday July 30, don’t miss L’Oasis’ first birthday party. Buy your tickets early as there are no door sales, and the location will only be made known to ticketholders.
24 :: BRAG :: 673 :: 27:07:16
The night features Baron Castle, Rohan Willard, Luke O’Connor and Mercedes. Saturday July 30 also sees another secret location party, this time by Vibe Positive, featuring Nite Fleit, Andy Garvey, Valerie Yum and more.
As if you needed more choice on Saturday July 30, The Red Rattler is hosting a listening party – a monthly safe space event showcasing female and LGBTQIA+ artists. This edition is with Melbourne artists Simona Castricum and Shag Planet, as well as locals Hip Hop Hoe and Sass Hound.
thebrag.com
Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras photo by Ashley Mar
ast week, the ABC published a story about the transgender sister girls of the Tiwi Islands. I’d read stories about these women before, but this one took my interest because they have expressed their desire to one day attend the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.
Wilhelmina’s 332 Darling St, Balmain (02) 8068 8762 Wed – Fri 5-11pm; Sat – Sun 8am-11pm
Firefl y 24 Young St, Neutral Bay (02) 9909 0193 Mon – Wed 5-11pm; Thu 5-11.30pm; Fri noon-11.30pm; Sat noon11pm; Sun noon-10pm
Album Reviews What's been crossing our ears this week...
ALBUM OF THE WEEK CASH SAVAGE AND THE LAST DRINKS One Of Us Mistletone/Inertia
Nick Cave once remarked that sadness is a natural emotion, a psychological state that can only be defi ned by reference to pleasant times. Theologians will note that God created light out of dark; one cannot exist without the other.
A complex third record sees the Melbourne songwriter explore the duality of being.
OWEN
The King Of Whys Polyvinyl/Witchita Mike Kinsella may have achieved cult status off the back of a solitary LP – 1999’s eponymous effort from American Football – but under no circumstances has he rested on his laurels because of that. In fact, his solo career – under the moniker Owen – has come close to eclipsing the legacy of his previous band several times, forging his way into a distinct offshoot of alternative folk as paved by his emo and math rock leanings. The King Of Whys is Owen’s eighth full-length, and there are certainly recurring traits that suggest Kinsella has found a comfort zone – his sleepy vocal delivery and unique tunings on his acoustic guitar play as vital a role as they ever have. There is, however, an unexpected variable in the form of King’s producer, Bon Iver alum S. Carey. Their team-up allows for a best-of-both-worlds tessellation of styles – take, for instance, Kinsella’s quaint fingerpicking matched to Carey’s sparse piano and ricocheting drum samples on ‘Tourniquet’ – and both artists are all the better for it. Lavishly constructed and smartly arranged, The King Of Whys sees Owen continue to manifest hazy-eyed delights with enough twists to keep it interesting after all this time. Long live the king. David James Young
There is a mixture of dark and light on Cash Savage and The Last Drinks’ new album, One Of Us. The album opens shrouded in darkness with ‘Falling, Landing’, a Leadbelly-ish wander through a vast cerebral space of contemplation,
GANG OF YOUTHS
spiked with fl ashes of awareness. ‘Run With The Dogs’ takes to the hills with a Springsteenlike spring in its step, searching for a better place, if possibly it can be found. ‘Sunday Morning’ is the sombre morning after the night before – some of it’s good, and some is probably best seen from the comfort of your bedroom. The rhetorical enquiry ‘Do You Feel Loved’ breaks from memory into frenetic celebration, ‘My Friend’ is equal parts sincerity, sadness and love and ‘Song For A Funeral’ is so heavy it buckles your shoulders and breaks your heart. Finally, there’s ‘One Of Us’, a multidimensional love song that lays bare the paradox of complementarity and insularity within which we all live our lives: we are all alone, but we’re all
ALEX LLOYD
Let Me Be Clear Mosy/Sony
Acoustica Liberation
Sydney-based indie rock group Gang Of Youths are back with the same ethereal sounds, folksy beats and grand storytelling that earned them five ARIA Award nominations last year, and then some.
Sydney boy Alex Lloyd meanders between the despondent passion that marked his earlier work and a more mature calmness in this acoustic exploration of his greatest hits. A bit of a mixed bag, Acoustica pays tribute to the 16-year evolution of Lloyd from underground favourite to ARIA Award-winner. The compilation opens with ‘Amazing’, arguably Lloyd’s bestknown song, from his second album Watching Angels Mend. This version lacks the soaring climax and epic strings that defined the original, yet it boasts an intimate, understated and sweeter sound.
Let Me Be Clear goes beyond the ordinary methods of storytelling. You never quite know when a song will start or finish, as the EP samples unexpected sounds like the closing of a door or the laughter of children, all keeping the listener on their toes. And while the band has received much acclaim for its storytelling abilities – and deservedly so – it soon becomes clear that a great deal of the attention is thanks to David Le’aupepe’s voice.
There are moments where Acoustica wavers on being cliché; the cover of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’ puts a dent in the album’s originality where a lesser-known favourite could have been a better fit. Nonetheless, songs like ‘Never Meant To Fail’ and ‘Black The Sun’ induce shivers when stripped bare.
Dream Life Farmer & The Owl
GOOD CHARLOTTE
Caught The Vultures Sleeping Rocket
Now on the other side of the generation gap, Good Charlotte have offered up an aptly titled album that serves as a “back in my day” type of speech in an effort to show the kids how it’s done.
Almost a quarter of a century into their fight, Dreadnaught are a true Aussie heavy music institution, and they deserve nothing but respect for the persistence and determination they have shown over the years. To survive all this time against everything life and music has thrown at them is quite remarkable. Oh, and they continue to put out ridiculously strong music too.
Youth Authority is a perfect mix of bangers à la ‘Lifestyles Of The Rich And Famous’ and soft crooners to ease the pop-punk lover that we all have inside us. The boys don’t shy away from voicing their disapproval with the music industry nowadays, with lyrics like “And you know they ain’t got no soul now” and “Turned on the radio, it’s so confusing / Rappers were singing and rockers DJing”.
Let Me Be Clear is not to be missed for anyone with a set of ears and a soul, because both are in for a treat.
While it won’t win him any new fans, Acoustica is an easy listen that ebbs and flows through some of Lloyd’s most loved melodies.
Tip: listen to this album while joining the masses in a game of Pokémon Go for a full dosage of noughties nostalgia.
Matt Galea
Evie Kennedy
Matt Galea
When you’ve made a name for yourself almost entirely on the back of your live reputation, how do you draw people into your music away from the stage? This conundrum is perhaps – at least, in part – the key to explaining the half-decade and change it has taken for Sydney-viaAustinmer’s Totally Unicorn to put out their debut album.
intact to a degree, but Dream Life also gives way to a somewhat surprising progression insofar as the songwriting is concerned. There are peaks and valleys, fl ashes of momentary calm and merciless storms – hell, if you listen closely enough, you might even hear an acoustic guitar for a second or two.
It’s taken a few different approaches and a few key lineup changes, but the long-awaited Dream Life is a half-hour of power that finally puts forth enough weight to restore the balance between the band’s recorded material and its quite literally in-your-face live show.
Wherever it is the Unicorn gallops, there is never a dull moment. You’re along for the entire white-knuckle ride – and it’s all over so quickly, you’ll immediately want to do the whole thing again. Partying mandatory, but clothing optional.
DREADNAUGHT
Youth Authority MDDN/Kobalt
Some Lloyd fans from way back when will despair that the choirboy with the angel’s voice has turned his music into what sometimes resembles a B-grade coffee shop soundtrack. Others will love the subtlety Acoustica brings to old favourites and embrace the nostalgia.
In fact, some of the EP’s best moments are when he’s howling incoherently as his voice alone tells more of a story than lyrics could – a feat reminiscent of legends like U2’s Bono and Coldplay’s Chris Martin, which gives you an indication of how epic this dude’s voice is. And that, coupled with the spine-tingling instrumentals, is where the magic of Gang Of Youths lies.
Totally Unicorn’s bullish approach to chaotic metalcore remains thebrag.com
Patrick Emery
And while this may be true, luckily for the Madden brothers, the same angsty sound that topped the charts back in the noughties still works as just as well today. So while their romantic exploits, penning tracks for boy bands and judging on a TV talent show may have kept them in the headlines, this album is proof that the reason these brothers are still around all these years later comes down to one thing: they make some damn good songs (even without the eyeliner and liberty spikes).
INDIE ALBUM OF THE WEEK
TOTALLY UNICORN
in this together. There’s a lot happening on this album, if only you’re prepared to look.
This is a band that has remained completely true to itself and its core audience, while refusing to stand still. And after the ballsy, head-kicking rock of the aptly titled Dirty Music from 2005 and the thrashy, more metallic D->0 (2009), Caught The Vultures Sleeping is exactly the album you might expect from these veterans. It takes elements from both those records, and injects a little more dark moodiness, atmosphere and acoustic tones into the mix (slow-burning eight-minute closer ‘Warning Signs’ is a real surprise, but it works a treat). The best track award, however, goes to the driving but dynamic ‘Welcome To Oblivion’. The musicianship is rock solid, especially from lead guitarist Richie Poate, whose ever-silky and tasteful lead lines are sweet as sugar-infused honey. This is a very mature, extremely listenable addition to this band’s illustrious catalogue of work. Rod Whitfield
OFFICE MIXTAPE And here are the albums that have helped BRAG HQ get through the week... THE CURE - Disintegration AT THE DRIVE-IN - Relationship Of Command PETER BJORN AND JOHN - Breakin’ Point
THE 1975 - The 1975 JAKE BUGG - On My One
David James Young BRAG :: 673 :: 27:07:16 :: 25
live reviews What we’ve been out to see...
FAT WHITE FAMILY Oxford Art Factory Saturday July 23
We were halfway through ‘Auto Neutron’, Fat White Family’s first song, when the absinthe took hold. My psychiatrist-turned-gig-partner and I had imbibed some three straight bottles of the wretched stuff, having decided the only way to truly experience the band was while rip-roaring drunk. And yet we hadn’t taken the proper precautions – we were now out in public, exposed, fighting off the jibbers with a strength bordering on the superhuman.
AT THE DRIVE-IN Enmore Theatre Sunday July 24
Reformations are a funny thing. Their now-infamous Big Day Out show was the last time At The Drive-In played Sydney, leaving the stage in a huff after less than 20 minutes and then breaking up a month later. A post-punk band reforming after more than a decade very easily runs the risk of becoming the very nostalgic heritage act they initially railed against, but 16 years on from that fateful show, they’ve returned to finish the set and prove they haven’t forgotten how it’s done.
Thankfully, the Family were extraordinarily loud, so my gig partner’s relentless screams were mostly ignored. There were an extraordinary number of freaks crowding the stage, two or three armed with white-eyed snakes disguised as guitars, the rest with Uzis and broken bottles. They played with a singularly grotesque intent to cause harm – precisely, a crack squad on crack.
From the openers ‘Arcarsenal’ and ‘Pattern Against User’, frontman Cedric Bixler-Zavala hasn’t lost a step of his trademark moves, bouncing off every surface like a deranged James Brown and jumping into the crowd at the earliest opportunity. Omar Rodríguez-López uncharacteristically looks like he’s actually having a great time as they rip through the bulk of Relationship Of Command.
It was something else, man – the mosh pit was a human meat grinder and the scene onstage was even worse. The guitarist attempted to swallow his mic whole during ‘Bomb Disneyland’, the fat bulb of the thing getting caught in his gullet, and the pale thin spook fronting the outfit removed first his jacket, then the very uppermost layer of his skin, before leaping into the audience and crushing a small, cross-eyed photographer wielding a polaroid camera. All the while, half-naked, crowd-surfing Courtney Love types did battle with the brawny fascists posing as security guards, both demented factions fighting for control of the front of house.
There is something oddly satisfying about a room full of reformed punk kids coming back to sweat it out again. Rather than remember the good old days, the band and crowd pretty much pick up right where they’d each left off, with a heaving pit and a resurrection of the art of crowdsurfing for good measure. Bixler-Zavala is his oddball self, but through the weird banter about telling your grandkids “we’re all gonna be cosmonauts” to “radiating at 300 megahertz”, there is a genuine appreciation for being able to come back. After all, they did turn their back on this city all those years ago – but even though we’re all dads now, we’re definitely happy to have them back.
By this point my senses could no longer be trusted. Over there, for example, stood Nigel Farage, playing the tambourine and mumbling the lyrics to ‘Cream Of The Young’, his eyes rolled back in his head. Farage? What was a belching fascist like Farage doing performing with Britain’s premier anarcho-punk band? But then it hit me: the point of the evening, and the jangling threat buried inside ‘The Whitest Boy On The Beach’. The right and the left are not distinct – they are the same threat spewed from two different mouths. Human experience is an apolitical jaunt from bloody birth to gruesome death, and any attempt to rationalise the essential horror of being and then suddenly not being is as foolhardy as moralising a hammered thumb.
Julian Ramundi
I suppose the gig ended at some point. When we emerged outside it was to discover that a riot was in full swing – several black armbanded members of the National Guard were beating down protesters from the safety of horseback. We hotwired a motorcycle, stole two crates of red wine and Farage’s tambourine and then headed north, to freedom. Joseph Earp EY MAR :: OUR PHOTOGRAPHER :: ASHL
THE 1975
Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park Saturday July 23 From the Splendour site straight to Sydney Olympic Park, The 1975 were welcomed back to our city with open arms as they illuminated the stage with their distinct brand of alt-rock. “Welcome, we’re The 1975,” announced Matty Healy, the eccentric frontman, after the first song and again after the second. I’ve always found it rather humbling when a well-established band introduces itself. Judging from the deafening screams of the crowd that had been queuing up since the wee hours, an introduction was very much redundant, but points for humility, I say. If there’s one thing The 1975 nail, it’s atmosphere. Right from the moment the band stampeded onto the stage, complete with gyrating hips and over-the-top dance moves – which were enjoyable to watch, to say the least – the scene was set, and man, was it contagious. The lighting was out of this world. I mean, the creators of Vivid should check out one of these shows to get ideas
for 2017’s installation, because the neon colours and backdrops that lit up the room were beyond belief. Each track had a different aesthetic via lighting that set the mood and played with the senses in the same way that Healy’s voice plays with your emotions. Pure magic. Unsurprisingly, the time came for Healy to give the runof-the-mill “please put your phones away and live in the moment” speech – a proposition that I assumed would be too big an ask for the Instagram generation that made up 98 per cent of the crowd, but to my shock horror, a great number of them complied. That’s the effect this band has over its fan base. And after seeing The 1975’s skills as a live act, I can now fully understand how alternative rock has managed to sneak its way into the consciousness of the younger generation where it stands out in a playlist alongside the likes of Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift. Unlike many of their contemporaries, The 1975 are about so much more than selling albums. They’re about a vibe, one that you can’t help but embrace if you see them live. Matthew Galea
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live reviews What we’ve been out to see...
NOTHING BUT THIEVES, STRANGERS Oxford Art Factory Thursday July 21
Light of fi nger, heavy on the charm, Essexbased Nothing But Thieves stole their own damn Splendour sideshow with an absolutely bonkers performance for 500 lucky concertgoers. Cronulla-turned-Melburnians Strangers kicked off the night. Obviously the audience was there to see NBT, but their huge, stomping take on hard rock had everyone blown away. Led by the Hawaiian-shirt-wearing Ben Britton, Strangers are a rare kind of band indeed, proving to be candid and plain-spoken about depression and the need to seek help via medication. Much of their material was taken from their upcoming second album, of which ‘The Wall’ was an undeniable standout. Written out of anger at the racism that has forever tainted their hometown, the song is an act of reclaiming pride for where you’re from. By then, they had the sold-out crowd eating out of their hand, so a selfi e with the audience was never going to be a problem. Defi nitely a band to watch. Nothing But Thieves took to the stage with a most unfortunate of setbacks; the centre mic had dropped out. Simply put, frontman Conor Mason has a set of pipes and vocal range that would tempt even the most heartstong of devils. Technical problems beset ‘Itch’, and weren’t resolved for another two songs. Despite this, ‘Hostage’ still managed to be spine-tinglingly magic, as was their Radiohead-channelling follow-up ‘Honey Whiskey’. It is quite easy to be cynical about a one-album band fl eshing out its hour-long slot with a cover, however the Pixies’ ‘Where Is My Mind?’ innately lends itself to Mason’s vocal acrobatics. The fi ve-piece injected the ’80s classic with newfound delicacy. It was just a joy to hear, and so was the bombastic closer, ‘Ban All The Music’. And throughout it all, the audience sang along.
JACK GARRATT, KACY HILL Metro Theatre Thursday July 21
Jack Garratt is a Jack of all trades, so to speak. In this high-speed, high-energy set, he played at least four instruments masterfully, to the constant awe of the crowd. Not only is he a talented multiinstrumentalist, but also an entertainer in every sense of the word – he even had people in fits of laughter. The venue quickly started to fill up just in time for support act Kacy Hill who was, quite frankly, a ray of sunshine. She wore a colourful retro outfit and a huge smile, delivering a polished set with enthusiasm and confidence. Her soaring vocals were both sweet and daring, and with her charming stage presence between songs, she set a high standard for the night. Some people say you should give everything ‘110 per cent’, but I’m almost certain Jack Garratt gave his entrance 150 per cent with ‘Coalesce (Synesthesia Pt. II)’. He revealed a set-up of a keyboard, rhythm pad, drum kit, guitar and microphone, and while I was expecting a band to appear behind him, it was soon clear that this would actually be a one-man show, and he was prepared to nail it. Everything was going on at once – drumsticks flying, blinding lights, chilling falsetto, slick dance moves, and a grin from ear to ear to remind us it was all under control. He continued strong with crowd favourites ‘Breathe Life’ and ‘Weathered’, but there were some serious technical difficulties with his rhythm pad at the end of ‘Far Cry’, which required several tech guys to get involved. While Garratt was visibly frustrated, he responded to the disaster the best way he knows how – with humour. He turned to his keyboard and played everything from jazz improv (with his best trumpet impression), to the Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air theme song, and a sexy cover of Justin Timberlake’s ‘Señorita’.
SPRING KING, BEACH SLANG, FOOD COURT Oxford Art Factory Wednesday July 20
A pre-Splendour showcase was had at the Oxford Art Factory on Wednesday night. The triple bill featured two debut Australian appearances and three differing levels of buzz. Aside from an amp dying two songs in, Sydney’s Food Court opened the show strong with their brand of catchy, roughly-hewn fuzz-pop. Previewing songs from what will be their debut LP, they retain their ‘ones to watch’ tag. Philadelphia’s Beach Slang have earned countless comparisons to The Replacements in their short lifespan for a variety of just reasons – same musical vein, same themes of wasting youth – but mainly the two bands share a feeling that at any point things could collapse in a heap, and their fight to stop this happening is what makes them thrilling. Sydney got one of their infamous threats of disbanding in the same breath that frontman James Alex used to convey how grateful he was to be playing their first Australian show. Kim Gordon’s adage “People pay to see others believe in themselves” is very apt here. Alex made reference to Beach Slang’s own lack of professionalism mid-set, yet they deliver bite-sized calls to arms with immeasurable conviction and pile on so much rock star posturing – synchronised stage moves made up on the spot, redoing the ends of songs to get the rehearsed segue correct, windmilling and high-jumping to start a song before realising the capo is on the wrong fret – that you feel they have perfection almost in their grasp, if they’d only sort their shit out.
Despite being clearly inspired by the likes of Radiohead, Muse and Jeff Buckley, Nothing But Thieves have a sound and energy all of their own.
Once everything was back on track, he eased back into the show, putting all he had left into ‘Fire’ and showing off with an impressive guitar solo for the opening of ‘Surprise Yourself’. While the technical difficulties had disappointed some fans, he left the crowd with a reminder that mistakes are ultimately the inspiration for improvement: “A lot of shit went down here tonight. But my mistakes today will make me better tomorrow.”
Drawing the short straw by having to follow Beach Slang – who, judging by the thinned out crowd were the main attraction – Manchester’s Spring King nevertheless were chuffed to be playing their first show on the other side of the world, their boundless enthusiasm matched by the remaining audience. Their brand of indie dance is indebted to a bygone era when bands like Kaiser Chiefs and Razorlight somehow held people’s attention. Meaning they’re about ten years too late. Still, their shouted four-part choruses and having lead singer Tarek Musa do double duty as drummer means they could still hone a unique sound – they just need songs good enough for people to take notice.
Anita Connors
Erin Rooney
Leonardo Silvestrini
LEON BRIDGES, NGAIIRE Enmore Theatre Thursday July 21
With her confident, eclectic new record Blastoma hot off the presses, Ngaiire is a vibrant opening act, throwing herself into choice cuts like ‘Diggin’, the midtempo ‘I Wear Black’ and the more muscular rock of ‘House On A Rock’. Her upbeat set also includes some older cuts like ‘Rabbit Hole’, where her soulful voice cuts through heavy beats and a swirling keyboard melody, and ‘Around’, which settles comfortably into a downtempo groove. She also shows some trademark sass as a hype woman for tonight’s headliner Leon Bridges: “You’ll leave here pregnant for sure!” she tells the fast-growing crowd. Strutting onto stage in a white jacket, high-waisted trousers and a well-shined pair of dancing shoes, Leon Bridges proves every bit as charismatic as promised and infuses ‘Smooth Sailin’’ and ‘There She Goes’ with a fiery energy that makes for a more visceral experience than the supremely tasteful recorded versions. He’s a hyper-energetic, jerky-limbed presence, and though his velvety croon is front and centre, there are killer contributions throughout from a gun seven-piece band: the driving organ and spirited saxophone work on ‘Better Man’, for instance, the crisp drumming on ‘Brown Skin Girl’, or the collective decision to push ‘Flowers’ to a daredevil pace.
One of the real gems is ‘Lisa Sawyer’, an affectionately drawn potted history of Bridges’ mother’s life, which begins with some gorgeous doo-wop backing vocals and unfolds with expressive phrasing; rarely have the words “New Orleans” been sung with this depth of feeling, or this many syllables. “I’m just tryin’ to make love to y’all,” he confesses at one point, and with his rich, smoothly emphatic voice in fi ne form, it’s fair to say this sold-out crowd is very much a willing partner. Late in the set, he strips things back on ‘River’ with just backing vocals, waves of ghostly organ and Bridges himself on reverb-soaked guitar. It shows another side of his craft, as does a divine cover of Ginuwine’s ‘Pony’, which kicks off the encore. It’s by far the most sexed-up song in Bridges’ mostly genteel repertoire, but he slips into this slinky, sensual new guise with absolute aplomb. Coming Home is a record content to stay in its own lane, existing in a hermetically sealed bubble of warmly nostalgic retro soul. It remains a terrifi c debut, but tonight’s performance makes the tantalising suggestion that Bridges may have a few more tricks up his stylish sleeves. Daniel Herborn
EY MAR :: OUR PHOTOGRAPHER :: ASHL
28 :: BRAG :: 673 :: 26:07:16
thebrag.com
g g guide gig g send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com
WEDNESDAY JULY 27
THURSDAY JULY 28
ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK
ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK
Live Music @ Manning Manning Bar, Camperdown. 3pm. Free. Manouche Wednesday - feat: Gadjo Guitars Mr Falcon’s, Glebe. 7pm. Free.
JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC
Guantanamera - feat: DJs Av El Cubano + Don Rivera + Guest DJs + Monthly Live Bands Barrio Cellar, Sydney. 8pm. Free. The Roots & Riddim Club - feat: Errol Renaud Trio + DJ Dizar Play Bar, Surry Hills. 6pm. Free.
INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS
Harvey Captain Cook Hotel, Paddington. 9pm. Free. Paul Winn Duo Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9pm. Free. Muso’s Club Jam Night Ruby L’otel, Rozelle. 7:30pm. Free. Sugar Jam Open Mic Night Sugarmill, Kings Cross. 8pm. Free. The Ramblers Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt. 7:30pm. Free. Tim McMahon + Southend Rainbows + Tafeworm + Service Bells + Gusher DJs Waywards, Newtown. 8pm. Free. Totally 80’s - feat: Matrika + Limahl Of Kajagoogoo Revesby Workers Club, Revesby. 8pm. $69.
Ginger’s Jam - feat: Various Bands Oxford Hotel, Darlinghurst. 7:30pm. Free. Live Music @ Manning Manning Bar, Camperdown. 3pm. Free. Shake The Shackles The Little Guy, Glebe. 8pm. Free. Sunset Sessions The Bristol Arms Hotel, Sydney. 6pm. Free.
JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Gin + Jazz Busby, Woolloomooloo. 6pm. Free.
INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS
A Cursed Call feat: Dimensions + Chromatide + Below Oceans + Below Arcadia + Prophecies Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. $10. Cohlaj Captain Cook Hotel, Paddington. 9pm. Free. Dave White Duo Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9pm. Free. Harbourview Hulabaloo - feat: Zack Martin + Kenneth D’Aran Harbourview Hotel, The Rocks. 7pm. Free. In Bloom Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $11.60. Jukebox Thursdays - feat: Furnace And The Fundamentals Soda Factory, Surry Hills. 5pm. Free. Julia Jacklin + Middle Kids Newtown Social
Club, Newtown. 7pm. $13. Live & Original @ The Merc - feat: Daniel Tomalaris + Deers From Embers + Shake It Baby The Mercantile Hotel, The Rocks. 7:30pm. Free. Live At The Sly feat: Swamp Fat Jangles + Eush + Slow Loris Slyfox, Enmore. 7:30pm. Free. Live Band Karaoke Unity Hall Hotel, Balmain. 9pm. Free. Muso’s Club Jam Night Carousel Inn Hotel, Rooty Hill. 8pm. Free. Roadhouse Rockabilly Night feat: No Brakes Miss Peaches Soul Food Kitchen, Newtown. 7pm. Free. Vincent Cross + The Villebillies The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 7pm. $7.
FRIDAY JULY 29 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC
Nativösoul + De Cajon Ensemble Venue 505, Surry Hills. 7pm. $25. The Internet + Luen + Dreller Metro Theatre, Sydney. 7:30pm. $59. The Smooth Groove Revesby Workers Club, Revesby. 8:30pm. Free.
ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK
James Kelly Mr Falcon’s, Glebe. 9pm. Free. Matt Corby + Vera Blue Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 8:15pm. $69. Oh Willie Dear! The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 7pm. $7. Sunset Sessions The Bristol Arms
pick of the week
Hotel, Sydney. 6pm. Free.
INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS
Auxfire Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt. 7pm. Free. Bort + Pizza Gut + Squawk! Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt. 8pm. $16.90. Community Cup Launch Party feat: Hard-Ons + War Hawk + Dune Buggy Attack Squadron Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $15. Dr Taos Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8pm. $15. Drunk Mums + The Jim Mitchells + Service Bells + Gusher DJs Waywards, Newtown. 8pm. Free. Factory Fridays feat: The Syphons + Resident DJs Soda Factory, Surry Hills. 5pm. Free. Letters To Lions Miranda Hotel, Miranda. 7pm. $15.30. Nick Bodnar + Lisa King + Green Eden + Edgar Owens’ Miracle Me Chatswood Club, Chatswood. 8pm. $15. Oneworld Vineyard Hotel, Vineyard. 8pm. Free. Paper Hearts Towradgi Beach Hotel, Towradgi . 9:30pm. Free. Queen Porter Stomp + Dusty Ravens Django Bar @ Camelot Lounge, Marrickville. 8pm. $15. Rare Finds #16 feat: Halcyon Drive + Betty & Oswald + Kiko Smokes & Creo DJs Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $5. Reckless Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9pm. Free. Shott Boys Unity Hall Hotel,
The Internet
SATURDAY JULY 30
FRIDAY JULY 29
Metro Theatre
The Internet + Luen + Dreller 7:30pm. $59. Balmain. 9pm. Free. Soundproofed St Marys Rugby Leagues Club, St Marys. 9pm. Free. The McClymonts Rooty Hill RSL Club, Rooty Hill. 7:30pm. $40.
SATURDAY JULY 30 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC
The Internet + Luen + Dreller Metro Theatre,
Sydney. 7:30pm. $59.
ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK
Chris Turner And The Cave Men Paddo RSL, Paddington. 8pm. Free. The Maybes + Rogue Traders The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 7pm. $7. Valvewire + JD Burgess Band + Louis Green Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8pm. $15.
INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS
Amy Winehouse Tribute Show feat: Eliza Hull + Billie McCarthy + Phebe Starr + Leah Flanagan + Billy Fox + Jack Colwell + Sarah Belkner Cake Wines Cellar Door, Redfern. 12:30pm. $40. Cath & Him Kelly’s On King, Newtown. 8pm. Free. Concrete Apples + Boris Drover + The Phringe Dwellers The Record Crate,
Glebe. 8pm. $7. Dirty Deeds - The AC/DC Show North Bondi RSL, Bondi North. 8:15pm. Free. Good Time Aussie Bogalars + Hammer + Sarcophaguts + Daggerz Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt. 8pm. Free. Hey Geronimo Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $15. Jed Zarb The Oxford Hotel, Drummoyne. 9pm. Free. Jive Bombers Penrith RSL, Penrith. 2pm. Free. Juju Wings +
five things WITH
RACHEL MARIA COX
Growing Up My mum was a big influence 1. growing up. When I was a kid she
used to sing and play guitar, and I’d sing along. She wrote some original stuff too – I got my ability to harmonise from her and she introduced me to artists like The Dandy Warhols, Eels, PJ Harvey and The Breeders. In school I learned classical piano and voice, and was heavily involved with everything musical they would let me do. I wrote my first song when I was about nine years old and I knew from about that age that I wanted to be a musician.
2.
Inspirations I am inspired by anyone who is unabashedly emotional in their music, whatever form that may take. It is also inspiring to see my friends make music that is mind-blowingly good. thebrag.com
Your Band Rachel Maria Cox is just me in 3. almost all live settings (I have played
the odd band show as ‘Rachel and The Cox’), but for this EP I recorded with a band. Brayden ‘Boots’ Porter played lead guitar – he’s a self-described ‘dad rocker’ who makes me melt with his talent. Jack Lundie is a folk singer-songwriter, plays in an alt-country band called Adeline Pines and also played in a hardcore band called Caverns. He played rhythm guitar on this EP and one of the songs is also about him (fun game – guess which one). I met Jack and Brayden through playing gigs in Newy. Oliver Young, from Nailhouse, plays drums and recorded the EP. He and I dropped out of the same uni and didn’t really hang out, but after I launched Sad Grrrls Club he sent me a (drunk?) Facebook message about how much dudebro culture in music annoyed him and the rest is history.
The Music You Make My sister once heard a Camp Cope 4. song on the radio and thought it was me so
I guess I sound like them. I would describe it as ‘sadcore’ but it’s basically emo acoustic tunes.
5. Music, Right Here, Right Now Black Wire Records in Sydney is the greatest venue on Earth, closely followed
by the Lass and the Hamo in Newy. I am very lucky to have played or be playing with some excellent bands who I am even luckier to call friends. What: I Just Have A Lot Of Feelings out Thursday July 28 through Sad Grrrls Club With: Hannahband, Marina Mitchell, Antonia Susan, Jamie Hay Where: Black Wire Records When: Sunday July 31
BRAG :: 673 :: 27:07:16 :: 29
g g guide gig g
picks up all night out all week...
send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com Doctor Abernathy Vic On The Park, Enmore. 10pm. Free. Mesa Cosa + Bone Soup + King Colour + Spike Vincent Botany View Hotel, Newtown. 8pm. Free. Never Ending 80’s Bridge Hotel, Rozelle. 8pm. $22. Ryan Enright Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 5:45pm. Free. Ryan Enright + Endless Summer Beach Band Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 5:45pm. Free. Songsonstage feat: Zack Martin + Murder Of Crows Orange Grove Hotel, Lilyfield. 7pm. Free. Soundbird Revesby Workers Club, Revesby. 8:30pm. Free. Stanley Knife + Unbranded Animal + Thee Evil Twin The Hideaway Bar, Enmore. 8pm. Free. Steve Edmonds Band Towradgi Beach Hotel, Towradgi. 3:30pm. Free. T.H.U.G. + The Dead Rats + Purenvy + 5 Way Addiction Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt. 7pm. $16.90. The Robbie And Kylie Experience Rooty Hill RSL Club, Rooty Hill. 8:30pm.
Free. Wolves In Fashion + Sendfire + Ace Efalent Captain Cook Hotel, Paddington. 9pm. Free.
SUNDAY JULY 31 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK
Heath Burdell Unity Hall Hotel, Balmain. 3pm. Free. Live Music Sundays - feat: Sydney Blues Society Botany View Hotel, Newtown. 6pm. Free. Miss Peaches Hootenanny Bluegrass Sundays Miss Peaches Soul Food Kitchen, Newtown. 8pm. Free. Nat James & Emad Younan Mr Falcon’s, Glebe. 7pm. Free. Rachel Maria Cox + Hannahband + Marina Mitchell + Jamie Hay Blackwire Records, Annandale. 3pm. $10. The Tav’s Blues & Roots Party - feat: The Charlie Harper Band + The 4 Kings + The Hollerin
wed
JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC
Cécile Mclorin Salvant Sydney Opera House, Sydney. 7pm. $69. Neville Staple Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7pm. $47.50. Soweto Gospel Choir Sydney Opera House, Sydney. 5pm. $90.67. The Unity Hall Jazz Band Unity Hall Hotel, Balmain. 4pm. Free.
INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS
Amy Winehouse Tribute Show feat: Eliza Hull + Billie McCarthy + Phebe Starr + Leah Flanagan + Billy Fox + Jack Colwell + Sarah Belkner Cake Wines Cellar Door, Redfern. 12:30pm. $40.
Bobby Bento’s Classic Sixties Show Penrith RSL, Penrith. 2pm. Free. From Street To Stage Soda Factory, Surry Hills. 6pm. Free. Pro Vita + Lunatics On Pogosticks + Drunk Mums + The Ivory Elephant + Rackett + Greenthief Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 5pm. Free. Slide McBride Woollahra Hotel, Woollahra. 6:30pm. Free. Sunday Session At Valve Bar feat: Falconwulf + Bad Tooth + Heavy Daze + The Habanerbros Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 4pm. $10. Sundays Live At The Bowlo - feat: The Shouties Marrickville Bowling Club, Marrickville. 4:30pm. Free. Sydney Rock ‘N’ Roll & Alternative Market - feat: The Pokers + Men Into Space + Cruisin’ Deuces + The Hellcat III Manning Bar, Camperdown. 10:30am. $6. The Rocking Byrds Bridge Hotel, Rozelle. 3:30pm. $10. U2 Elevation Orient Hotel, The
July
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MONDAY AUGUST 1 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK
John Maddox Duo Mr Falcon’s, Glebe. 7pm. Free. Live & Original @ The Corridor Corridor Bar, Newtown. 7pm. Free.
JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC
Freedman Jazz Sydney Opera House, Sydney. 7:30pm. $35. Latin & Jazz Open Mic Night The World Bar, Kings Cross. 7pm. Free. Sonic Mayhem Orchestra Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8pm. Free.
INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS
TUESDAY AUGUST 2
28 (9:00PM - 12:00AM)
Rocks. 4:30pm. Free. UK Anthems Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 8:30pm. Free.
Frankie’s World Famous House Band Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 9pm. Free. Songsonstage feat: Russell Neal + Peace & Denim + Kenneth D’Aran Kelly’s On King, Newtown. 7:30pm. Free.
thu
27 July
Sluggers + Jim Finn Castle Hill Tavern, Castle Hill. 12pm. Free. Willing Ponies + Stillhouse Union The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 7pm. $5.
INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS
Live & Original @ Mr Falcon’s - feat: Sharlene Rainford + Cassie Judy + Rachel Kennedy Mr Falcon’s, Glebe. 7:30pm. Free. Live Rock & Roll Karaoke Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 4pm. Free. Songsonstage feat: Ingrid Mae Gladstone Hotel, Dulwich Hill. 7:30pm. Free. Songsonstage feat: Stuart Jammin Kelly’s On King, Newtown. 8pm. Free. That Red Head Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8:30pm. Free.
WEDNESDAY JULY 27 The Ramblers Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt. 7:30pm. Free. Tim McMahon + Southend Rainbows + Tafeworm + Service Bells + Gusher DJs Waywards, Newtown. 8pm. Free.
THURSDAY JULY 28 In Bloom Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $11.60. Julia Jacklin + Middle Kids Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7pm. $13. Live At The Sly - Feat: Swamp Fat Jangles + Eush + Slow Loris Slyfox, Enmore. 7:30pm. Free. Vincent Cross + The Villebillies The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 7pm. $7.
FRIDAY JULY 29 Community Cup Launch Party - Feat: Hard-Ons + War Hawk + Dune Buggy Attack Squadron Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $15. Dr Taos Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8pm. $15. Drunk Mums + The Jim Mitchells + Service Bells + Gusher DJs Waywards, Newtown. 8pm. Free. Matt Corby + Vera Blue Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 8:15pm. $69. Oh Willie Dear! The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 7pm. $7. Queen Porter Stomp + Dusty Ravens Django Bar @ Camelot Lounge, Marrickville. 8pm. $15.
Rare Finds #16 - Feat: Halcyon Drive + Betty & Oswald + Kiko Smokes & Creo DJs Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $5.
SATURDAY JULY 30 Amy Winehouse Tribute Show - Feat: Eliza Hull + Billie McCarthy + Phebe Starr + Leah Flanagan + Billy Fox + Jack Colwell + Sarah Belkner Cake Wines Cellar Door, Redfern. 12:30pm. $40. Hey Geronimo Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $15. Mesa Cosa + Bone Soup + King Colour + Spike Vincent Botany View Hotel, Newtown. 8pm. Free. The Maybes + Rogue Traders The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 7pm. $7.
SUNDAY JULY 31 Neville Staple Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7pm. $47.50. Pro Vita + Lunatics On Pogosticks + Drunk Mums + The Ivory Elephant + Rackett + Greenthief Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 5pm. Free. Rachel Maria Cox + Hannahband + Marina Mitchell + Jamie Hay Blackwire Records, Annandale. 3pm. $10. Soweto Gospel Choir Sydney Opera House, Sydney. 5pm. $90.67. Sydney Rock ‘n’ Roll & Alternative Market - Feat: The Pokers + Men Into Space + Cruisin’ Deuces + The Hellcat III Manning Bar, Camperdown. 10:30am. $6. Willing Ponies + Stillhouse Union The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 7pm. $5. Matt Corby
ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK
Little Sundays feat: Local Talent The Little Guy, Glebe. 6pm. Free. 30 :: BRAG :: 673 :: 27:07:16
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BRAG’s guide to dance, hip hop and club culture
dance music news club, dance and hip hop in brief... with Chris Martin and Anna Wilson
five things EMANUEL SATIE
Emanuel Satie photo by Vitali Gelwich Photography
WITH
MOVEMENT SYDNEY RETURNS
Growing Up I mainly listened to the radio and 1. my father’s record collection growing
Diego Krause photo by Max Dorsogna
Kristian Nairn
up. Stevie Wonder, Motown, Diana Ross, The Temptations and Michael Jackson. That was the kind of stuff I would listen to, sitting in front of the record player for hours, reading the lyrics from the record sleeves and singing along. We also had a rule in our household that every child had to do one kind of sports and learn one instrument. That’s why I got into the fruitless endeavour of learning cello – I was more successful on the sports side back then, as a boxer.
2.
Inspirations Stevie Wonder, Wu-Tang Clan and Sven Väth. Those are the three acts that influenced me the most. Stevie Wonder with his soulfulness and catchy songs, the Wu-Tang Clan with this uncompromising rough sound, and Sven Väth, well, he brought me to techno. I love his charisma, passion and style of DJing. I also worked for his company for a bit, which gave me the courage to take this music thing more seriously.
MoVement Sydney has confirmed its return to town, bringing the best local electronic dance crews together and giving you the chance to boogie like no-one’s watching. This October, MoVement Sydney will create another epic series you won’t want to miss, with full news and lineup announcements to come. However, already announced for this year’s event is beloved Game Of Thrones personality Hodor, known in the real world as Kristian Nairn, a DJ in his own right, who will be taking to the decks at this year’s festival with his Rave Of Thrones set. Last year, MoVement Sydney hosted more than 25 events ranging from secret warehouse parties to club nights. The series brought together thousands of fans across town and featured some of the best emerging and international artists in dance music including Spank Rock, Ghastly, Honey Dijon and Seekae. Hold the door on upcoming announcements for MoVement Sydney 2016, happening all over town from Wednesday October 19 – Sunday October 23.
S.A.S.H GOES BACK
S.A.S.H is heading back to where the magic started this Sunday July 31, with a huge lineup across eight hours for its reunion party at The White Horse. These days, S.A.S.H’s weekly Sunday events stretch across two venues – the Greenwood Hotel and Home Nightclub – but in a nod to its roots, the action is returning for one afternoon to Surry Hills. DJs include Nick McMartin, Bump DJs, Le Brond, Mike Witcombe, Dave Stuart, Garth Linton, Mesan, Jaded, James Petrou, Jordan Deck, Jay Smalls and more. Don’t miss it.
ENTER THE VORTEX
If DnB is your flavour, look no further than Chinese Laundry this weekend. Mind Vortex, the UK duo signed to the legendary Andy C’s Ram Records, have left behind the British summer to share some deep jams with Sydney. Stefan Anfield and Laurie Carroll each trained on traditional instruments – piano and woodwind respectively – but in collaboration, they found their true passion. Now they travel the world playing DnB together. Not bad, eh? Australia’s own Command Q join Mind Vortex on the lineup this Friday July 29, with support from Open-Eye, Struz, Ang Leon,
Diego Krause
KRAUSE IS GROUSE
Berlin DJ and producer Diego Krause (Unison Wax/Beste Modus) will be heading Down Under for the next collaboration between Mantra Collective and C.U Saturday. The artist and label owner will be bringing his signature house sounds, influenced by genres like funk, soul, garage and deep house, to a rabid Sydney audience. In his already wide-ranging career, he’s played at clubs like Watergate and About Blank. In support will be Nine Yards, Mantra Collective and HighBeams. Krause will headline the Civic Underground on Saturday August 13.
Goldbrix, Deckhead, Arcade Theory and Netfleek.
Your Crew I hang out with a lot of great 3. guys in Berlin, like Ben Rau from Fuse,
The Keep Sydney Open movement rolls on, and one of Surry Hills’ finest venues, Play Bar, is this week supporting the cause with a fundraising party. Presented by The Chop, it’ll be a night full of hip hop, funk, soul, boogie, breaks and more, all delivered by some of the city’s best DJs. The lineup for the event this Saturday July 30 includes P.Smurf, Broken Thought Theory, Mumbles, Waza, Adverse, Broke, Heavy Hands, Raine Supreme, Dewis, No-Fuss Russ and Benny Hinn, and entry is by donation.
Riccardo from Black Loops and many more. DJ T. and the whole Get Physical crew are also an important relationship. They, especially T., brought me onto the scene by releasing a string of EPs in the last couple years. I’m still working together with T., co-producing him. The Music You Make And Play I play a lot of different styles 4. in my sets, from groovy tech house, to uplifting jacking house music, to pumping techno. I only need it to be energetic. I want to set things on fire – it’s rare to hear me play a deep set.
Music, Right Here, Right Now I think that electronic music is still in a very good place, since everything is built around touring, but nowadays everyone wants to be a DJ, so it’s quite hard to break into the scene. A true test of your passion, I would say. Musically speaking I think that house and techno is not changing too much – there’s not much invention, the formula is pretty much laid out – but the formula of house and techno is so good that I don’t care at all, it still connects on a very deep level with me and probably always will.
HARBOURLIFE 2016
Kristian Nairn photo by Dennys Ilic
5.
Where: The Cellar When: Saturday August 6
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KEEP SYDNEY OPEN FUNDRAISER
Motez
MOTEZ AT MONA
Motez is bringing the vibe to Sydney’s Northern Beaches at an epic throwdown this August. In 2014, Inthemix named Motez the ‘next big thing’ in Australian electronic music, and the Adelaide producer is well on his way to delivering on that promise thanks to his EP The Vibe, released earlier this year. That set includes Motez’s big single ‘Down Like This’ featuring Aussie rap princess Tkay Maidza, and is a huge addition to a CV that already includes performances by Motez at Field Day and Splendour In The Grass. Now Mona Saturdays, in partnership with Northern Beaches brands including Barney Cools, Aloé swimwear and Vampirate surfboards, is bringing Motez to its stage in August. The Mona Vale Hotel hosts Motez on Saturday August 13.
Harbourlife is ready to light up the Sydney shoreline once again on the eve of summer this year. Fuzzy has announced the 2016 lineup for its famous harbourside festival, surely the finest location for an outdoor party that Australia sees each year. And with a lineup like this, the celebration of all things house and electronic in the sunshine is sure to be a hot ticket. The 2016 Harbourlife lineup, in alphabetical order, includes Fred Falke, Gabby, George Fitzgerald, Hayden James, MK, Nina Kraviz and Young Franco. Harbourlife takes over the Fleet Steps, Mrs Macquaries Point on Saturday November 19. BRAG :: 673 :: 27:07:16 :: 31
club guide g
club picks p up all night out all week...
send your listings to : clubguide@thebrag.com
club pick of the week Roland Tings
SATURDAY JULY 30 Oxford Art Factory
Undr Ctrl 2nd Birthday Oxjam Fundraiser Feat: Roland Tings, Rainbow Chan, Third Floor, Just A Gent + More 8pm. $24.10 WEDNESDAY JULY 27 CLUB NIGHTS Birdcage - feat: Various DJs Slyfox, Enmore. 9pm. Free. Queerbourhood feat: Seymour Butz + Friends The Bearded Tit, Redfern. 7:30pm. Free. Sbw - feat: Jonski Babysham + Resident DJs Side Bar, Sydney. 8pm. Free. Sosueme - feat: Torren Foot + Heartaches & Drumbreaks + Letters To Lion + Hatch + Bobby + Krissy Jaman + Hobophonics Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm. Free. The Wall - feat: Kuren The World Bar, Kings Cross. 9pm. Free.
THURSDAY JULY 28 xxx
CLUB NIGHTS Femme Fetale
The Argyle, The Rocks. 6pm. Free. House Keeping - feat: DJ Conor Boylan + Guests Side Bar, Sydney. 8pm. Free. Kanyon + Embassy + Commandeur + Urso Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $11.60. Mansion Lane The World Bar, Kings Cross. 9pm. Free. Thursday Mix Up feat: DJs + Bands Hermann's Bar, Darlington. 4pm. Free.
HIP HOP & R&B
Crate Diggers Open Vinyl Evening Soda Factory, Surry Hills. 5pm. Free.
FRIDAY JULY 29 CLUB NIGHTS
Afrobrasiliana - feat: Harry Sounds + Trevor ‘El Chino’ Parkee + Thomas Studdy + DJ Jön + Paris Groovescooter + Walking Fish Play Bar, Surry Hills. 6pm. Free. Argyle Fridays
32 :: BRAG :: 673 :: 27:07:16
The Argyle, The Rocks. 6pm. Free. Bassic - feat: Mind Vortex (Uk) + Command Q + Open-Eye + Struz + Ang Leon + Goldbrix + Deckhead + Arcarde Theory + Netfleek Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 9pm. $22.90. Blvd Fridays - feat: G-Wizard Marquee, Pyrmont. 10pm. $13.40. Deep Creatures Launch Party - feat: Hydraulix + Spenda C + Matt Mcguire + Midas.Gold + Nemo + Hatch + Merxcii + Bvsik + Deep Creatures DJs Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $11.60. Deep House Disco Jam Gallery, Bondi Junction. 9pm. Free. DJ Sam Wall Manly Wharf Hotel, Manly. 8pm. Free. El Loco Later - feat: DJs On Rotation Excelsior Hotel, Surry Hills. 9pm. Free. Feel Good Fridays Bar100, The Rocks. 5pm. Free. Friday Frothers feat: DJ Babysham + Guests Side Bar, Sydney. 8pm. Free. Fridays - feat: Belvie Beach Road Hotel,
Bondi Beach. 8pm. Free. Late Night DJ - feat: DJ Vu Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7:30pm. Free. Launch Party feat: DJ’s Emray + Stossington + Tonewolf + Bass Candy + Whatz + Wachu + Yennad Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 10pm. $10. Loco Friday - feat: DJs On Rotation The Slip Inn, Sydney. 5pm. Free. Memo Fridays - feat: Resident DJs Cargo Lounge, Sydney. 5pm. Free. Red Bull Sound Select - feat: Oscar Key Sung + Dreller + Mossy Civic Underground, Sydney. 8pm. $10. Rita’s Late Night Lounge - feat: Conrad Greenleaf The Oxford Tavern, Petersham. 9pm. Free. Scubar Fridays - feat: DJs On Rotation Scubar, Sydney. 8pm. Free. Welove - feat: Various DJs Burdekin Hotel, Darlinghurst. 10pm. Free.
SATURDAY JULY 30 HIP HOP & R&B
Bentley Mr Falcon's, Glebe. 9pm. Free. Keep Sydney Open Fundraiser Presented By The Chop - feat: P.Smurf + Broken Thought Theory + Waza + Mumbles + Adverse + Broke + Heavy Hands + Raine Supreme + Dewis + No-Fuss Russ + Benny Hinn Play Bar, Surry Hills. 4pm. $10.
CLUB NIGHTS Argyle Saturdays feat: Tass + Tap-Tap + Minx + Crazy Caz The Argyle, The Rocks. 6pm. Free. Blueprint Presents Not So Dry July feat: Kaiser Waldron + Alan Thomas + Ben Nott + Lawrence Daffurn + B_a B2b Marlie Civic Underground, Sydney. 9pm. $22. Cakes The World Bar, Kings Cross. 8pm. Free. Cause - feat: Jimmy Galvin + Carlos Nunes + Jacob. + Leelee + Alex Ludlow + Philip Kanis Barrio Cellar, Sydney. 10pm. $16.50. Comfort Club #6 feat: Sweetland + Señor Face + B&H Smooth + Bilsn Tokyo Sing Song, Newtown. 9pm. Free. DJ Matt Allcock Revesby Workers Club, Revesby. 8:30pm. Free. DJs Boy B And Graham M Manly Wharf Hotel,
Manly. 6pm. Free. El Loco Later - feat: DJs On Rotation Excelsior Hotel, Surry Hills. 9pm. Free. Foxlife - feat: Ben Pailas + Harry Buisman + Rabbit Taxi Slyfox, Enmore. 10pm. $10. Frat Saturdays feat: Danny Simms + Jayowens Side Bar, Sydney. 8pm. Free. Ganz Ivy Bar/lounge, Sydney. 6:30pm. $27.70. Joel Fletcher Marquee, Pyrmont. 10pm. $31.80. Kick On Saturdays feat: Guest DJs Cargo Lounge, Sydney. 6pm. Free. Kings Cross Saturdays - feat: Resident DJs Kings Cross Hotel, Kings Cross. 5pm. Free. Late Night DJ - feat: Good Counsel Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 9pm. Free. Lndry - feat: Oscar Key Sung (DJ Set) + Deeper Than House + Val York + Sass + Tk + Ludovic + Ellie D + Adamwah + Circa87 + King Lee + Gingers + DJ Just 1 + Offtapia Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 9pm. $38.20. My Place Saturdays - feat: DJs On Rotation Bar100, The Rocks. 8pm. Free. No Rest For The Wicked Presents The Return! Alternative Club For Alternative Species - feat: DJ’s She + Xersorkitte Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 9pm. $20. Paces + Keefy + Nocturnal Dolphin + Mojoman + Bucknite + Tubz + Akunu Mona Vale Hotel, Mona Vale. 9pm. Free. Pacha - feat: Ganz (Ned) + Akouo Ivy Bar/lounge, Sydney. 6:30pm. $27.70. Precious Cargo feat: Heke + Sippy + Chivalry + Glover Cargo Lounge, Sydney. 8pm. Free. Private - feat: Callum Duncan + Dan Bayton + Scott Rotton Zoo Project, Potts Point. 9pm. $10. Rita’s Late Night Lounge - feat: Money For Nothing DJs The Oxford Tavern, Petersham. 9pm. Free. Saturdays - feat: Resident DJs + Special Guests Kit & Kaboodle, Kings Cross. 10pm. $10. Scubar Saturdays - feat: DJs On Rotation Scubar, Sydney. 8:30pm. Free. Soda Saturdays feat: Resident DJs Soda Factory, Surry Hills. 6pm. Free. Something Else Vs Significant Others - feat: Jimi Polar + Leoch + Belvie + Diseris + Dave Stuart + Jac Frier +
Låpsley
Oscar Key Sung
WEDNESDAY JULY 27
Civic Underground, Sydney. 8pm. $10.
Låpsley + Buoy Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $38.50.
SATURDAY JULY 30
Queerbourhood - feat: Seymour Butz + Friends The Bearded Tit, Redfern. 7:30pm. Free.
Ganz Ivy Bar, Sydney. 6:30pm. $27.70.
THURSDAY JULY 28 House Keeping - feat: DJ Conor Boylan + Guests Side Bar, Sydney. 8pm. Free. Kanyon + Embassy + Commandeur + Urso Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $11.60.
FRIDAY JULY 29 Afrobrasiliana - feat: Harry Sounds + Trevor ‘El Chino’ Parkee + Thomas Studdy + DJ Jön + Paris Groovescooter + Walking Fish Play Bar, Surry Hills. 6pm. Free. Deep Creatures Launch Party - Feat: Hydraulix + Spenda C + Matt Mcguire + Midas.Gold + Nemo + Hatch + Merxcii + Bvsik + Deep Creatures DJs Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $11.60. Red Bull Sound Select feat: Oscar Key Sung + Dreller + Mossy
Organiiq Burdekin Hotel, Darlinghurst. 10pm. $11. Undr Ctrl 2nd Birthday X Oxjam Fundraiser - feat: Roland Tings + Rainbow Chan + Third Floor + Just A Gent + Motorik Vibe Council + Purple Sneakers DJs + Adi Toohey + Luen + World Champion + Ariane + Kato B2b Bad Ezzy + Annie Bass B2b Ellie Sass Read Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $24.10. Yours Block Party Part 4 Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm. Free.
SUNDAY JULY 31 CLUB NIGHTS Beresford Sundays - feat: DJs On Rotation
Keep Sydney Open Fundraiser Presented By The Chop - Feat: P.Smurf + Broken Thought Theory + Waza + Mumbles + Adverse + Broke + Heavy Hands + Raine Supreme + Dewis + No-Fuss Russ + Benny Hinn Play Bar, Surry Hills. 4pm. $10. Lndry - feat: Oscar Key Sung (DJ Set) + Deeper Than House + Val York + Sass + TK + Ludovic + Ellie D + Adamwah + Circa87 + King Lee + Gingers + DJ Just 1 + Offtapia Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 9pm. $38.20. Paces + Keefy + Nocturnal Dolphin + Mojoman + Bucknite + Tubz + Akunu Mona Vale Hotel, Mona Vale. 9pm. Free.
SUNDAY JULY 31 S.A.S.H By Night - feat: Quivver + Phillipa + Aaron Robins + Leoch + Coco + Funkdified + Get Down + Jonnay + Off Late + Garius + Kerry Wallace Home Nightclub, Darling Harbour. 9pm. $15.
The Beresford Hotel, Surry Hills. 12pm. Free. DJs Murray Lake And Alex Mac Manly Wharf Hotel, Manly. 4pm. Free. S.A.S.H By Night - feat: Quivver + Phillipa + Aaron Robins + Leoch + Coco + Funkdified + Get Down + Jonnay + Off Late + Garius + Kerry Wallace Home Nightclub, Darling Harbour. 9pm. $15. S.A.S.H Sunday White Horse Reunion Party feat: Nick Mcmartin + Bump DJs + Le Brond + Mike Witcombe + Dave Stuart + Garth Linton + Jaded + James Petrou + Jordan Deck + Jay Smalls + Telefunken + Pete Nouveau + Matt Weir + Kerry Wallace + Jake Hough + Gabby The White Horse, Surry Hills. 2pm. $20. Sin Sundays The Argyle, The Rocks. 7pm. Free.
MONDAY AUGUST 1 CLUB NIGHTS I Love Mondays Side Bar, Sydney. 9pm. Free. Lost In The Zoo feat: Open Decks 9 To 11 + Anthony Elia + Anya + Surkess + Nick Reverse + Kazi Zoo Project, Potts Point. 9pm. Free.
TUESDAY AUGUST 2 CLUB NIGHTS Coyote Tuesdays The World Bar, Kings Cross. 9pm. $10. Side Bar Tuesdays - feat: Black Diamond Hearts Side Bar, Sydney. 9pm. Free. Terrible Tuesdays Slyfox, Enmore. 5pm. Free.
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Off The Record
RECOMMENDED SUNDAY JULY 31
Dance and Electronica with Tyson Wray
D
iss tracks are back in the house world? You better believe it. Earlier this month, contributing editor for Pitchfork Philip Sherburne penned a piece that discussed the motives of electronic labels that solely release records on vinyl – rhetorically asking if it’s elitist and perhaps promotes exclusivity. An interviewee for the piece, DJ Sotofett, one of the heads behind the Sex Tags Mania family, wasn’t happy with how the article turned out, it appears. Following its publication, he’s now released his very first solo digital single with the lengthy title ‘Philip Sherburne, Your Word Should Be Worth More Than The Ignorance Of Pitchfork’. Drama, drama, drama. On the plus side, it’s a pretty damn good track. It’s available via Hard Wax.
Early next month we’ll be getting a visit from Greg Beato. Best known for his raw and grimy take on house, techno and electro, the Miami producer is a mainstay on labels such as L.I.E.S. and Apron Records, and has also had his work find homes on Unrelated Records and the world’s best-named label, Russian Torrent Versions. He’s just released one of the latest instalments on the Juno Plus mix series, and his Dekmantel mix is also killer. Give ’em both a spin before he comes our way. It’s going down at a secret Inner West location on Saturday August 6. Stay tuned to the Heavenly Facebook page for more details.
S.A.S.H White Horse Reunion Party White Horse
It’s been 20 years since Rebekah began spinning 12-inches behind the decks and she’s showing absolutely no signs of slowing down. A Birmingham native, she grew up as a regular at the legendary Que Club on a steady diet of Dave Clarke, Derrick Carter, Richie Hawtin and Billy Nasty. Since then, she’s released on the likes of Affin, CLR, Coincidence Records, Corresponding Positions, Sleaze Records, Soma Records and VENT, and of course established her own imprint Decoy Records. Word on the street is that her debut album isn’t far off being completed, so expect to be schooled with some new material when she hits the Burdekin Hotel on Saturday September 24.
SATURDAY AUGUST 6
FunkinEven Club 77 Greg Beato Secret Location
SATURDAY AUGUST 13
Damiano Von Erckert Club 77
SATURDAY AUGUST 20
Return To Rio Launch Party: M.A.N.D.Y. Manning Bar Gunnar Haslam Jam Gallery
Bicep Tour rumours: I’ve got $50 on a return from the London-based, Belfast-born blogger/production/ DJ duo Bicep (AKA Matt McBriar and Andy Ferguson) before the end of the year. Same goes for Randomer.
Rebekah
Mr. Fingers
Best releases this week: oh man, the new full-length from Ukrainian deep house don Vakula has dropped and it is straight fire. I admit that the title Cyclicality Between Procyon And Gomeisa is fucking stupid, but still. It’s out now on Dekmantel. Otherwise I’d suggest giving
a spin to KiNK’s Valentine’s Groove (on Clone Royal Oak), Ø [Phase]’s Versions II (Token), Equiknoxx’s Bird Sound Power (DDS) and Acronym’s Guadalquivir (Northern Electronics). I unfortunately didn’t dig Ernesto Tomasini & Shackleton’s Devotional Songs (Honest Jon’s Recordings) as much as I was hoping. Good, but not great. Oh, and someone played me a snippet of the new MSTRKRFT album the other day. Holy shit was it awful. Can you remember when they were popular? Dark times.
Edd Fisher, Otologic Club 77
SATURDAY AUGUST 27
Darshan Jesrani Club 77
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 8 – SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 11
Red Bull Music
Academy Weekender: Mr. Fingers, Bok Bok, Peanut Butter Wolf + more Various venues
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 24 Rebekah Burdekin Hotel
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 11 – SUNDAY NOVEMBER 13 Return To Rio: Carl Cox, De La Soul, Eric Powell, DJ EZ + more Del Rio, Wisemans Ferry
FRIDAY DECEMBER 2 – SUNDAY DECEMBER 4 Subsonic Music Festival: Lee Scratch Perry, Mad Professor, Josh Wink, Ben UFO + more Riverwood Downs Mountain Valley Resort
Got any tip-offs, hate mail, praise or cat photos? Email hey@tysonwray.com or contact me via carrier pigeon.
White Horse Reunion Party THE WHITE HORSE 382-385 Crown Street Surry Hills
Quivver Phillipa
2pm to 10pm $20 all day
HOME Nightclub 9pm till 4am thebrag.com
Aaron Robins LeOCh CoCo Funkdified Get Down JonnAy Off Late Garius Kerry Wallace
www.sash.net.au
BRAG :: 673 :: 27:07:16 :: 33
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up all night out all week . . .
live reviews What we've been out to see...
SANTIGOLD, OKENYO Metro Theatre Friday July 22
PICS :: AM
s.a.s.h by day
One of the key perks of festival sideshows – and, indeed, many tours of this nature by extension – is the chance to connect international artists with local talent and give the latter a world of exposure. It’s essentially a living, breathing ‘recommended if you like’ section. The selection of Sydney singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Zindzi Okenyo – known mononymously as Okenyo – in the opening slot for tonight’s headliner has to be commended. It’s easy to draw lines of similarities between the two artists – both stylish, smart women of colour with a commanding stage presence and a versatile genre pull at their disposal. Let it be said, however, that Okenyo is not the type to linger in anyone’s shadow. She proved as much as the warm-up act for Urthboy’s national tour not a month ago, and it’s very much the case again here – albeit on a substantially larger scale. But that’s just the thing, see. She performs, as always, as if it’s her name that’s been written up in lights. It’s only a matter of time before that is precisely the case. “I’m tired as fuck!” A handful of songs into a whopping 20-song set, Santi White – AKA Santigold – levels with the audience that has packed out the Metro wall-to-wall and front-to-back to see her. It’s understandable – and, ironically, a little refreshing – to hear this from one of the many acts taking in a three-date, fly in/fly out Australian visit around Splendour In The Grass. What’s all the more remarkable about such a statement, however, is how White and her entourage – a drummer, a guitarist/keyboardist multi-tasker and her two mainstay dancers Monica Josette and Desiree Godsell – go on to perform like Energizer bunnies on Red Bull.
24:07:16 :: Greenwood Hotel :: 36 Blue Street North Sydney 9964 9477
Whether digging into the archives from her 2008 debut (‘L.E.S. Artistes’, fan favourite ‘Creator’) or keeping timely with newer material from March’s 99c (‘Who Be Lovin Me’, ‘Who I Thought You Were’), the show never reaches a point of slouching or slacking – even when costume change interludes threaten to kill the vibe, they’re quickly dealt with and help to boost the show’s aesthetic charm. ‘Big Mouth’ raves unto the joy fantastic to close out, and Santigold easily proves once again why she – and we – keep coming back. David James Young
SAT 30 JULY SPECIAL GUESTS
BEN PAILAS HARRY BUISMAN
RESIDENT
RABBIT TAXI
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
34 :: BRAG :: 673 :: 26:07:16
EY MAR OUR PHOTOGRAPHER :: ASHL
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SYD : AUGUST 06 MEL : August 13
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