Brag#692

ISSUE NO. 692 DECEMBER 7, 2016

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

ILLY

MUSIC, FILM, THEATRE + MORE

INSIDE This Week

UN W R I T T EN L AW

Living by their own rules for over 25 years.

COSMIC P S YCHOS

Meet the headliners for the new Th rashville festival.

CHR IS TA HUGHE S

Putting the showbiz back into Oz rock at Sydney Festival.

PR I Z E F IGH T ER

The story of a young African boxer and refugee in Australia.

IM A GINED T OUCH

Deaf-blind artists encourage their audience to embrace touch.

Plus

CHARTING A DIFFERENT

RY X S T ICK T O YOUR GUNS B A G R A IDE R S D A R R EN PERCI VA L A ND MUCH MOR E

C O U R S E

P U E N I L C I S U M L SYDNEY FESTIVA 1967 – MUSIC IN THE KEY OF YES ALIM QASIMOV ENSEMBLE ANE BRUN CASH SAVAGE AND THE LAST DRINKS CIRCUIT DES YEUX DALMATICA: CHANTS OF THE ADRIATIC DORI FREEMAN HALFWAY JESSY LANZA KAITLYN AURELIA SMITH KLUB KOORI WITH GAWURRA LAKE STREET DIVE LONG STRING INSTRUMENT LUBOMYR MELNYK MDOU MOCTAR MOSES SUMNEY NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS OPERA IN THE DOMAIN PJ HARVEY RAUTAVAARA REGURGITATOR PERFORM THE VELVET UNDERGROUND & NICO NICOLE LIZÉE WITH THE AUSTRALIAN ART ORCHESTRA SYMPHONY UNDER THE STARS – THE DOMAIN & PARRAMATTA PARK SZUN WAVES THE COMET IS COMING WAFIA WEYES BLOOD YANN TIERSEN TICKETS ON SALE SYDNEYFESTIVAL.ORG.AU #SYDFEST BUY A MULTIPACK BOOK 3 + SHOWS AND SAVE UP TO 15% thebrag.com

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thebrag.com

ALL BLUESFEST TOURING ARTISTS

ALSO APPEAR AT BLUESFEST

VISIT WWW.BLUESFEST.COM.AU

2 TIME GRAMMY WINNER

Patti Smith and her band perform

PLUS: ANDREW BIRD

PRES.

BOOKER T THE STAX REVUE GREGORY PORTER LAURA MVULA THE LUMINEERS THE RECORD COMPANY RICKIE LEE JONES ROY AYERS SNARKY PUPPY TREVOR HALL

‘ P U T YO U R R E C O R D S O N ’ ‘ I S T H I S LOV E ’ ‘ L I K E A S TA R ’

M E T RO T H E AT R E S U N DAY A P R I L 16 DIRECT FROM NEW ORLEANS

SNARKY

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

Horses Sun April 9 Mon April 10 * FEW TICKETS Tue April 11 State Theatre

!

ST A F G N I LL E S

MILES DAVIS ESTATE PRESENT

PLAYING THROUGH THE VAULT OF CLASSIC STAX HITS

PUPPY “Jazz at its most joyful and optimistic, designed to unburden and enliven.”

THEMUSIC.COM.AU

THE MON METRO APR

ENMORE THEATRE MONDAY APRIL 10

10

ENMORE THU THEATRE APR

THE THU METRO APR

13

10 TIME GRAMMY WINNER

METRO THU THEATRE APR “This was one of those nights when live music becomes really live, when the bond between performer and audience pushes everyone further than expected.”

TELEGRAPH.CO.UK

‘Weight In Gold’

THE HIT OF BLUESFEST 2016 !!

STATE THEATRE 13 FRIDAY APRIL 7

THE SUN BASEMENT APR

9&

MON APR

THE WED METRO APR

ENMORE WED THEATRE APR

10

20

12

“Giddens explores the frontiers of Americana.”

THE GUARDIAN

19

FACTORY SAT THEATRE APR

8

2 x MOBO AWARD WINNER

a set rich in pure soul, ‘gospeldelia’ ‘cosmic-soul’ and jazz inflections.

oxford art factory tuesday 18 april thebrag.com

METRO WED THEATRE APR

12

NEWTOWN MON SOCIAL CLUB APR

17

tickets & info from 02 6685 8310 or go to www.bluesfesttouring.com.au BRAG :: 692 :: 07:12:16 :: 5

the BRAG presents

welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town... with Harriet Flitcroft, Tom Parker and David Burley

TURIN BRAKES Newtown Social Club Monday April 10

speed date WITH

Keeping Busy 2016 has been a busy year for us. We

2.

Best Gig Ever It is really hard to tell you what my favourite gig was. Partly because I have a girlfriend and maybe I love some gigs for the wrong reasons but also because every stage gives me a different high and I can’t choose.

I’m not saying I’m a cheater; I’m just saying it’s nice when some people, attractive females in particular, appreciate our music enough to get a little bit naked. I try not to look though because I fuck up my words. Actually, Newtown Social last time was pretty wild. I stuffed up a few words there.

3.

Current Playlist I listen to loads of different music, as 4. most people do, but at the moment I love

listening to London Grammar. I’ve been listening to them for ages now but for some reason their album has been my go-to ever since I first heard ‘Strong’ a couple of years ago. I’m completely in love with Halsey too.

She has this super sexy confidence and I love her.

Your Ultimate Rider I always ask for a bottle of tequila, a few 5. beers, a tub of honey, a lemon and a kettle

to boil some water. For me the ultimate rider would be pretty simple. I’d just have exactly what I usually have but add an iPod speaker with full American hillbilly country music playing. Even though American country music is the epitome of what I hate about the music industry (i.e. fully formulated songs, rent-amusicians and hired professional writers), I still love it so much. It feels good and it’s the best way to get drunk!

Where: Miranda Hotel When: Sunday December 11

MANAGING EDITOR: Chris Martin chris@thebrag.com 02 9212 4322 SUB-EDITOR: Joseph Earp ASSOCIATE ONLINE EDITOR: David Molloy STAFF WRITERS: Adam Norris, Augustus Welby NEWS: David Burley, Harriet Flitcroft, Tom Parker, Joseph Earp

ADVERTISING: Tony Pecotic - (02) 9212 4322 tony@thebrag.com PUBLISHER: Furst Media MANAGING DIRECTOR, FURST MEDIA: Patrick Carr - patrick@furstmedia.com.au, (03) 9428 3600 / 0402 821 122 DIGITAL DIRECTOR/ADVERTISING: Kris Furst kris@furstmedia.com.au, (03) 9428 3600 GIG & CLUB GUIDE COORDINATOR: Sarah Bryant - gigguide@thebrag.com (rock); clubguide@thebrag.com (dance, hip hop & parties) AWESOME INTERNS: Anna Wilson, Ariana Norton, Harriet Flitcroft, David Burley

Neil Young has pulled out of his headline appearance at Bluesfest. This comes as a disappointment to Bluesfest punters, who were looking forward to the legendary artist’s set. Bluesfest is currently working on securing a new headliner, and is expected to announce a replacement act shortly. Young was slated to perform a marathon three-hour set at the festival.

Friday single day tickets are eligible for refund.

Bluesfest 2017 will go down from Thursday April 13 – Monday April 17 at Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm.

AGAINST ALL ODDS

Post-hardcore rockers I Prevail will make their bow in Australia next year. The Michigan lads have only been on the scene for two years, but they’ve made a splash in the Antipodes already, with their debut

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THE BRAG

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Oxford Art Factory Monday April 17

ST PAUL AND THE BROKEN BONES Metro Theatre Wednesday April 19

Following the news that electric American punk outfit The Julie Ruin have cancelled their appearance at Laneway 2017, the festival has made up for the loss with the billing of Victorian wunderkind D.D Dumbo.

The emerging pop-rock musician has released one of the albums of the year in Utopia Defeated, and has been absent from the national stage for two years. Laneway 2017 will pave the way for his resurgence, where much-loved tracks ‘Satan’, ‘Walrus’ and ‘Brother’ are sure to feature. His eclectic meld of lo-fi, blues-laced, deconstructed pop has seen him share the stage with the likes of Tame Impala, Courtney Barnett, Beirut and St. Vincent and he has appeared at the hallowed Pitchfork Paris and Latitude festivals. D.D Dumbo will be at Laneway when it goes down on Saturday February 4 at the Sydney College of the Arts.

Hans Zimmer

CELEBRATING STARMAN

The loss of the visionary David Bowie was one of the hardest to bear in a year that has become infamous for the deaths of some of music’s greatest. The talent and extraordinary life of Bowie will be celebrated in style by a number of artists in Sydney next year, including former Bowie band members Mike Garson, Adrian Belew and Earl Slick. Angelo Moore, Latin Grammy Award winner Gaby Moreno, Bernard Fowler and Joe Sumner are also among the rock alumni playing. The show in Sydney will also feature special guests Sarah Blasko, Bernard Fanning and Paul Dempsey, plus more. Other shows are set to happen in London, New York, Tokyo and Los Angeles. Celebrating David Bowie will take place at the Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House on Sunday January 29.

LP Lifelines landing in the ARIA top ten upon its release in October. Each of its singles climbed to the top of the iTunes metal charts ahead of the fulllength, so the appetite among Australians is clearly massive. The reviews of their live shows suggest something even bigger is imminent, so be there at the Factory Theatre on Friday March 31.

COME ON, CAMERON

INCEPT THIS

The man behind the infamous Inception “bwammmm” sound is heading our way. Sonic maestro Hans Zimmer has announced a very special arena tour, one that will see him hitting a number of key Australian venues armed with an overstuffed back catalogue of hits.

Zimmer is one of the most celebrated and notable of contemporary cinematic composers, and has lent his talents to such productions as The Dark Knight Rises, The Lion King, Pirates Of The Caribbean and Gladiator, making the tour a very welcome proposition indeed. Zimmer hits the Qudos Bank Arena with a full orchestra on Tuesday May 2.

Cameron Avery, the bassist for Tame Impala, has kicked off his solo project with a new single and some big tour plans. Amid his work and non-stop touring for Tame Impala, Allbrook/Avery and The Growl, it’s amazing that Avery has even had the time to work on another project, but his first song ‘C’est Toi’ is proof that he’s up to it. The project sees him step away from the psychedelic sounds of Tame Impala into a heavily sentimental rock vibe that will leave you swaying.

The single was produced by Jonathan Wilson, a long-time friend of Avery’s who has also worked with Father John Misty and Erykah Badu. Avery will be performing at Newtown Social Club on Wednesday January 18. thebrag.com

Hans Zimmer photo by Ed Robinson

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THE STRUMBELLAS

NOT SO DUMB(O)

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@TheBrag

Newtown Social Club Monday April 17

D.D Dumbo

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Metro Theatre Sunday April 16

Bernard Fanning photo by Cybele Malinowski

REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS: Nat Amat, Arca Bayburt, Prudence Clark, Chelsea Deeley, Christie Eliezer, Matthew Galea, Emily Gibb, Jennifer Hoddinett, 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, Aaron Streatfeild, Rod Whitfield, Anna Wilson, Stephanie Yip, David James Young

ONLY NEIL CAN BREAK YOUR HEART

CORINNE BAILEY RAE

D.D Dumbo photo by Jim Elson

ART DIRECTOR: Sarah Bryant PHOTOGRAPHER: Ashley Mar

Enmore Theatre Thursday April 13

King Social photo by Sarah Elsley

FOXES ON THE PROWL

After an extended hiatus, Fleet Foxes are returning to the touring circuit, detailing plans of a world tour that looks to take them back Down Under once more. Fleet Foxes frontman and chief songwriter Robin Pecknold shared a rough tour schedule via Instagram this week, bringing the group to live stages in Europe, the US and Australia. “Australia in May, EU in July, US Aug, US October, EU November,” wrote Pecknold after being asked for details by a fan. While nothing is set in stone yet, it looks like Australian audiences will be some of the first to hear new material from the band. Fleet Foxes’ last album, Helplessness Blues, was released in 2011 to critical acclaim.

Since then, the band’s former drummer Josh Tillman has gone on to have a successful solo career as Father John Misty. Stay tuned for further updates.

MILES ELECTRIC BAND

The Strumbellas photo by Josh Goldman

godparents are The Cat Empire. If the devil cursed us and we had to perform onstage for eternity – that would be fucking awesome!

Obviously, we like to encourage our fans to get naked and dance like crazy but sometimes they just dance – all are welcome.

Newtown Social Club Wednesday April 12

ANGUS MILNE FROM KING SOCIAL got a tiny little bit of love from triple j after our shows at Bigsound, we broke a crowdfunding record, toured loads and wrote heaps of cool new songs. We all sort of fell in love with the music again this year and touring with each other has been the highlight. Sometimes things get so busy and it’s easy to forget the reasons we spend all our time and money on this, but after 2016 the passion is burning high and we are heaps excited to record the album.

We are actually planning to take some time off early next year to just write and perfect our new songs. It’ll be our first album and I think we have found the soul of the band.

Your Profile People say we sound like Kings Of 1.

Leon had a baby with Hilltop Hoods and the

TREVOR HALL

St Paul and The Broken Bones photo by David McClister

music news

UNPLANNED PREGNANCY? WE CAN HELP.

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live & local

free stuff

welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town... with Tom Parker, David Burley and David Molloy

head to: thebrag.com/freeshit

five things WITH

AIDAN ROE FROM PAPER THIN me on a personal level. The music, the lyrics, the ideas, the whole sonic landscape they create still continues to blow my mind.

Your Band Paper Thin consists 3. of Spencer (vocals/bass),

Christmas carols playing on Christmas morning, which I guess is just a nice memory. I also remember my dad having this massive sound system – I’m talking record player, double tape deck, CD player, massive speakers, the works. He was into Bob Marley, UB40 and Yes, and my mum was into ABBA, Rod Stewart

and INXS, so I guess there was a pretty eclectic mix of style and sound happening.

Inspirations Brandon Boyd of 2.

Incubus should probably

be at the top of this list – I mean, I do have two tattoos based on his artwork, I own all of the music he’s ever released and also three of his art books. They were one of the very first bands that really resonated with

The Music You Make I guess our sound 4. is pretty raw, honest and

emotional – think Brand New meets Taking Back Sunday meets The Smith Street Band. Our one and only release is our self-titled EP, released in August and recorded at RTN. We try to promote a safe environment for everyone at our shows.

I think it’s a massive responsibility for an artist/ band/anyone onstage with a voice to be able to convey that message.

Music, Right Here, Right Now 5.

I think the music scene in Newcastle is better

than it’s ever been. The greatest thing about music in Newcastle are the venues and promoters who support and organise live, local and original music – Hamilton Station Hotel, Lass O’Gowrie and The Small Ballroom to name only a few. The best bands in Newcastle at the moment would have to be Raave Tapes, Introvert, Rachel Maria and The Cox and Hey Lady!

What: Paper Thin out now through Lost Boy With: Self Talk, Rachel Maria Cox, Nothing Rhymes With David Where: Black Wire Records When: Friday December 16

Jack Carty

Award-winning singer-songwriter Jack Carty is taking his fourth LP to some of Australia’s most eclectic towns and venues. After recently marrying, Carty’s resurgence has seen him take the stage at the coveted Primavera Sound music festival, receive the biannual APRA Professional Development Award and release bedroom product Home State. The album was recorded and produced by Carty in his tiny Brisbane apartment and melds the cunning wit, gorgeous turn of phrase and melody that has become so synonymous with his songwriting.

He’ll trek around the country in the New Year, but he’s not skipping Sydney – see him at Paddington Uniting Church on Friday March 31.

Brisbane band I Heart Hiroshima are adding to their neat discography with a new EP and a score of shows to go with it. After a brief hiatus, Matt, Sull and Cam are ready to release more of their cruisy alt-rock tunes into the world, with a live show in Sydney early next year to get us ready for it. After touring with the likes of Ratatat, Gang Of Four, Peaches and The Grates, the gang have proven they’re an essential to catch live. Head down to Oxford Art Factory on Thursday January 12 for the show.

ONE FOR JUSTIN

In honour of its fallen founder Justin Nichol, who tragically passed away last month, Zed Vegas Bookings has announced a free tribute festival at The Bald Faced Stag. Simply titled Justinfest, the Friday December 23 lineup of metal, punk and hardcore locals will take over the band room and front bar from 4pm till late to “party and have a beer for Justin”. The night’s revelries will include a headlining set from The Beautiful Monument as well as a massive array of ZVB acts; among them We May Fall, Like Royals, Chasing Everest, Mixtape For The Drive, Drowning Atlantis, Andy Illinois, Will Maisey, Ess-Em, Liberties, Hollow Heart and more. The event comes a month after Nichol’s sudden passing and presents the first true opportunity for the community he helped foster to “celebrate the 8 :: BRAG :: 692 :: 07:12:16

Brisbane genre-benders Dubmarine are bringing their incredible live show to Sydney over the summer. The energetic dub, dancehall, reggae and drum and bass act will headline an enormous bill with Circle Of Rhythm, Matiu Te Huki, New Venusians, Queen Porter Stomp and Deepchild (DJ set), marking a return to the scene for Dubmarine in a career that kick-started with 2010 album Depth Of Sound. Since then, they’ve become festival favourites at Bluesfest, WOMADelaide, Woodford, Parklife and more, so their Sydney date is sure to be a New Year’s highlight.

Dubmarine do the Factory Theatre on Friday January 6. We’ve got two double passes to give away – enter at thebrag. com/freeshit.

Carus Thompson

JACK IN THE BOX

IN LOVE AND WAR

DUBMARINE

LIGHT THE FIRE

On ‘Beach Fires’, Carus Thompson shines a light on Australia’s troubling rural ice epidemic with the help of producer Joel Quartermain (Meg Mac, Dan Sultan, Eskimo Joe). The single is lifted from Thompson’s forthcoming sixth album Island – his first release since Caravan in 2011 – and proves to paint a vivid lyrical of escape, breaking out, leaving an imploding town behind and starting anew. Beneath breezy summer vibes lies the story of a small town ravaged by ice; a biting social commentary delivered by one of Australia’s finest storytellers.

Thompson comes to Newtown Social Club on Sunday March 5 for a matinee show.

life of a legend of the live music industry”, as the official event page puts it. Entry to the 18+ festival is free, with donations welcome at the door and all proceeds going towards the ZVB Tour Van.

Karma County

THE MOTHER OF ALL BIRTHDAYS

Sydney’s favourite rock’n’roll dive bar, Frankie’s Pizza, is turning four – and it’s signed up one of Australia’s most enduring rock bands to help celebrate. Wolfmother, fronted by the one and only Andrew Stockdale, will lead the birthday celebrations at Frankie’s following the release of their fourth studio record Victorious. Frankie’s fourth birthday is on Sunday December 11, with Wolfmother plus The Dead Love, Lepers And Crooks and more. Entry is free, but get there early.

BROTHERS IN ARMS

Melbourne’s favourite folk pop twins are set to travel around the country and give fans a taste of both new and old material. Pierce Brothers have just sold out national shows playing with Ben Harper and The Innocent Criminals, but this summer they’ll be showcasing their own songs and building hype for an upcoming album. With the acoustic rising star Josh Cashman filling in support slots, each show is bound to be a good one. Pierce Brothers take on Newtown Social Club on Saturday January 28.

KARMA CHAMELEONS

It’s been 20 years since Karma County’s hit ‘Postcard’ was released, and they’re still going strong with the original band lineup. With five albums, a number of world tours and an ARIA Award under their belt, Karma County are keen to get back to their hometown audience for a live show. Brendan Gallagher, Michael Galeazzi and Stuart Eadie will be playing a selection of their melodious and emotive tunes from their five studio albums in March for this special one-off Sydney show. Head down to Venue 505 on Saturday March 4 to catch Karma County showing off their timeless classics.

thebrag.com

Paper Thin photo by Joe Andersons

Growing Up My earliest musical 1. memory would be

William (lead guitar), Liam (drums) and myself (guitar/vocals). We’ve all known each other for several years through local music in Newcastle, but we’ve only been playing music together since April. Recently we’ve worked with Geoff Mullard at RTN Studios in Newcastle. He set us up in a room, recorded the music live in one session, and basically gave us free reign to do what we wanted. RTN is

a really natural, creative environment to make music in.

thebrag.com

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Industrial Strength Music Industry News with Christie Eliezer

Lifelines Ill: Michael Kiwanuka, whose Australian solo shows in April sold out, axed North American dates due to tonsillitis.

Ill: Grouplove had to cancel Australian and US shows when doctors ordered Hannah Cooper to rest her voice for a month after discovering an injury on her vocal cords.

Ill: Western Australian musician Steve ‘Gibbo’ Gibson has been diagnosed with bladder cancer.

A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to raise $25,000 to cover medical bills. He is the drummer for The Wasted Sons and the guitarist/vocalist for Los Porcheros.

Expecting: One Direction’s Liam Payne and ex-Girls Aloud member Cheryl Cole, their first.

Married: Tom Wolfe of Tasmania’s The Wolfe Brothers and partner Allison surprised friends and family and tied the knot on the family farm.

Reunited: George Michael and Texan art dealer Kenny Goss might be back together. They were together for 13 years, and after their 2011 split the singer went through some dark times. He has recently been dating celebrity hairdresser Fadi Fawaz.

In Court: US rapper Desiigner has been cleared of all drugs and gun charges. Last September he was riding in an SUV that was pulled over after an alleged road rage incident. He was charged along with three others when substances and guns were discovered.

In Court: Melbourne club promoters An Ken Vi and Raymond Lach pleaded guilty to attempting to traffic $275 million worth of ice into the country, hidden in noodle packets from China. They’ll be sentenced on Friday April 28.

Died: Aussie bassist Wayne Duncan, 72, after a stroke. He was best known as a member of Daddy Cool, but he and drummer Gary Young played together in a number of bands before and after, cementing themselves as one of the tightest rhythm sections in the country.

Died: house and trance pioneer, and sometime Prince collaborator, Colonel Abrams, 67. He had a hit with ‘Trapped’ in 1985.

Died: UK-born Bluesfest tour manager Cliff Whyte of pancreatic cancer. He moved to Australia after previously working with De La Soul, Public Enemy, Ice Cube, Coolio and Snoop Dogg. He also managed Brisbane beatboxer Joel Turner.

A crowdfunding campaign for expenses has been set up at peoplepledge.com.au/cliftonwhyte2016.

Died: 1960s New Zealand mod performer Ray Columbus, whose ‘She’s A Mod’ was a number one smash in Australia and NZ. He later managed the band Zed and issued his autobiography The Modfather in 2011.

Died: Melbourne jazz composer Allan Zavod, 71, after an illness.

Spending 20 years in America where he was a professor at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, he worked with Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway and Eric Clapton.

Died: Sean McKeough, co-founder of America’s influential Riot Festival, 42.

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THINGS WE HEAR • Have negotiations begun to bring Neil Diamond back to Australia in 2018?

• Will Australia get Black Sabbath’s Home Of Metal exhibition, designed to explore the band’s impact, now plans have emerged to tour the work globally?

• Which manager of a top Australian band now lives on a farm surrounded by electric fences and TV cameras?

• Which enthusiastic hip hop dance outfit rehearsed a routine for a major competition for six months, only to redo the show overnight when two members broke their legs at final rehearsals?

• Following the massive success of Frontier Touring/Southern Cross Austereo’s inaugural RNB

Fridays Live concert series – it sold 50,000 tickets – it will return in 2017.

• Will Adele’s tour gross $30 million as the Sydney Morning Herald predicts, or will it be closer to $40 million? She’s sold 400,000 tickets in Oz, while three shows in New Zealand are estimated to bring in NZ$25 million.

• With Adelaide dance station Fresh FM’s Ben Harvey and Liam Stapleton moving to Sydney for their new role as triple j breakfast hosts in 2017, the latter took to the airwaves to publicly thank Fresh for giving him a start in radio. He also auctioned his 1998 Ford Laser live on air and the $1,000 winning bid was donated to Fresh.

He asked the buyer if he could take it for one last spin and do a ‘jump’ in a local field. The new owner figured for that kind of money they would prefer it in one piece!

LIVE NATION ACQUIRES SECRET SOUNDS

Live Nation has announced its acquisition of a 51 per cent controlling share of Secret Sounds, one of Australia’s leading touring and PR companies. Secret Sounds is the organisation responsible for both the Splendour In The Grass and Falls festivals, so the change of hands marks a significant one for the Australian festival circuit. Michael Rapino, Live Nation president and CEO, said, “Splendour In The Grass and Falls are the two most iconic festivals in Australia. We look forward to partnering with them to find new ways to grow our live event footprint across Australia.”

REPORT: AUSSIE LIVE MUSIC SECTOR SHRANK IN 2015

According to Live Performance Australia’s annual attendance survey, the Australian live music sector grossed $1.41 billion in ticket sales in 2015 as well as an attendance of 18.38 million, a larger crowd than the combined attendances at AFL, NRL, football, Super rugby and cricket. Less positively, however, revenue and attendance were down 7% from 2014. Contemporary music saw one of the biggest falls, with a 21% decline in revenue from $604.96 million to $447.9 million, and a 13% drop in attendance from 6.39 million to 5.55 million.

Nonetheless, contemporary music also remained the largest drawcard in the live music sector, representing 34% of revenue and 30.2% of attendance. The secondhighest grossing sector was musical theatre ($334 million) and festivals ($106 million).

• Five Finger Death Punch’s Ivan Moody has seemingly suffered another stage meltdown, telling fans his mother is dying. His sister says that’s untrue.

• Kate Bush reckons Johnny Depp would be best to play her in a biopic.

• 20 people were charged with drug offences on the first day of Subsonic Music Festival in the Hunter Valley. Police were dismayed at the kinds of drugs brought into the festival site – including speed, LSD, ecstasy and cannabis – and suggested it could make things harder to stage festivals in the area in future.

• As part of its 18th year celebrations, Elefant Traks has teamed up with Marrickville’s Batch Brewing Company to create a specialist beer. It’s called The Sun Never Sets, after the album

by The Herd.

• ABC’s telecast of Crowded

its place. Elsewhere, Canberra’s 5,200-seater AIS Arena is looking at dropping concerts by 2020 as part of a proposal that will see all entertainment and sports abandoned so the venue can properly transform into a volleyball centre in the wake of Australia’s dismal medal tally at the Rio Olympics.

REPORT: LABELS INVEST $4.5B IN A&R, MARKETING

According to the International Federation of Phonographic Industries’ and the World Independent Network’s Investing In Music report, record companies around the world remain the biggest investors in music. Last year they invested US $4.5 billion in A&R and marketing, which makes up 27% of revenues.

It costs between US $500,000 to $2 million on average to break an act in a major music market like the US and UK.

House’s gig at the Sydney Opera House drew 643,000 overnight metro viewers, which was more than the 586,000 who tuned into the ARIAs on Ten. • One of rock’s most outrageous stories – the tale of Mike Patton defecating into Axl Rose’s orange juice – has been debunked. The story went that during their tour together in 1991, the Faith No More singer pooped in a juice carton in Rose’s dressing room and put it back on the shelf. Faith No More bassist Billy Gould has claimed that though many Patton stories are true, that one isn’t, although the band may have hinted it at the time to keep the tale circulating.

• Drake topped Spotify’s 2016 list with 4.7 billion streams. Selena Gomez has 105 million followers on Instagram, more than any other celebrity. Taylor Swift has 94 million.

CREEVEY HEADS FOR ASX

Kings Cross tech and music entrepreneur Ron Creevey is targeting an $80 million listing on the Australian Stock Exchange in March with his Moment Media company. It has six divisions, including multimedia venues The X Studio (which grossed $4 million this year), live streaming platform The X Cast, Heath Ledger’s production company The Masses, the newly acquired Noise 11, Helipad Records, and the upcoming music platform Helipad. Creevey decided against his original plan to list the company in Europe because of post-Brexit uncertainty there.

NEW APP FROM RADIO INDUSTRY The Australian radio industry has launched the free mobile streaming RadioApp, which features 250 stations including commercial FM, AM and digital as well as the ABC and SBS.

According to the LPA, 2014 was a particularly strong year for the industry, with $1.51 billion in revenue generated through ticket sales thanks to tours from Katy Perry, Bruce Springsteen, Bruno Mars and Eminem, plus festivals like Big Day Out and Soundwave. But last year, BDO and Soundwave were cancelled, and tours by Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran and Fleetwood Mac didn’t match the high revenue and attendance results recorded in 2014.

Attendance was down 1% from 2014, while the average ticket price for a live music event decreased by 4.7% to $87.29 in 2015 from $91.57 in 2014. The drop was steeper for contemporary music, with a 10.4% slide documented. Check out the full report at liveperformance.com.au.

NUFFSAID RELAUNCHES AS POSTER CHILD

Talent and touring agency Nuffsaid has relaunched as Poster Child. Since launching in October 2015, Nuffsaid has represented artists such as Kilter, Late Nite Tuff Guy, Odd Mob and Luke Million, and hosted 47 international tours from acts like Ookay, Boombox Cartel, Yellow Claw, Valentino Khan and Jack Beats. Poster Child will announce three new signings this week.

VENUES IN DANGER

The Riversdale Group is the latest hospitality group to divest its assets, with Sydney venues the Marlborough Hotel and Kinselas up for sale. Meanwhile in Melbourne, a petition was handed to Port Phillip Council’s planning meeting as a way of protesting plans by a developer to level the Greyhound in St Kilda and put up an eight-storey apartment and retail complex in

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COVER STORY

ILLY TWO DEGREES OF SEPARATION

BY N ATA LIE ROGERS

I

began. And as long as you’re steering in the right direction and progressing, your impact is made over time. This album is a celebration of moving forward, two degrees at a time.”

“I think I’ve given the people at Warner heart attacks actually on a few occasions!” he jokes. “I only got the masters a few weeks ago, and it was cutting it close to the release date, but it’s all good.”

Now, Murray laughs. “I know that I’m a musician and I’m quoting something by the leader of the free world. I know there is a difference, and I’m not that arrogant. But I did see a parallel in that I’m in a very different spot now than when I started my career. I believe that lasting change is something that happens over time, rather than something that can happen in a flashpoint moment.”

t’s said that good things will come to those who wait. That couldn’t be truer for fans of the Frankston-born hitmaker Illy, thanks to the recent release of his fi fth album, Two Degrees. Three years on from his ARIA-certifi ed gold record, Cinematic, this time around the rapper left everyone on edge waiting for a follow-up – including his record company.

With Two Degrees fi nally out there for the world to enjoy, the charismatic yet downto-earth Al Murray sounds relaxed and excited about hitting the road for a handful of festivals over the summer. However, he’s not always so cool, calm and collected.

“There is always that anxiety I feel right up until the album comes out, and I felt it especially leading up to this release, because it was such a long process,” he says. “I’ve been working on demos since the start of last year and it’s been really full-on. I’ve taken my time because I wanted to raise the bar higher and exceed my own personal expectations after the success of Cinematic. I really wanted to improve on that experience and now I feel pretty happy having taken that time.”

The importance of time and knowing how to use it are recurring themes on Two Degrees, which Murray made clear in the press notes ahead of the release.

“President Obama was asked whether he viewed his presidency as a success, having faced such fi erce opposition throughout his two terms,” said Murray then. “His answer likened society to a ship, where you can’t steer 50 degrees at once, but if you move two degrees then another two degrees, and continue like this, years later you end up in a very different place from where you

12 :: BRAG :: 692 :: 07:12:16

work with, including Chicago’s Sir The Baptist, Marko Penn, Tonight Alive’s Jenna McDougall and up-and-coming singersongwriter Mike Waters.

“Mike’s a Melbourne kid and we share the same management company,” Murray explains. “While I was writing ‘Extra Extra’ I realised it really needed that indie-sounding male voice that has a little bit of a quirk to it. Mike was a perfect fi t for that, and I think I got him at the right time because although he’s only just starting his career, having heard some of his songs I think he’s headed for big things. He’s awesome.”

“EVEN WHEN I WAS COMING OUT OF THE UNDERGROUND SCENE IN AN UNKNOWN CREW, I WAS ALWAYS MORE INVOLVED WITH MELODY AND DIFFERENT STYLES THAN STRICTLY HIP HOP.” Encouraged by the success of his single ‘Papercuts’, featuring Sydney-based singersongwriter Vera Blue, Murray showcases his talent for writing pop lyrics and exploring electronic music throughout Two Degrees, while still maintaining his signature hip hop style.

“Everyone thinks in hindsight that it’s easy to see that ‘Papercuts’ was a no-brainer [as the single], but at the time, going out with a track that was completely different-sounding to anything I’d done before was a really big risk,” says Murray. “But even when I was coming out of the underground scene in an unknown crew, I was always more involved with melody and different styles than strictly hip hop.”

Ultimately arriving at a total of six unique artist collaborations across Two Degrees (including the new single ‘Catch 22’ featuring British vocalist Anne-Marie), Illy hand-picked a plethora of talent to

Murray is no stranger to recognising and supporting fresh talent. He played a significant role in the early success of fellow rapper Allday’s career, and co-founded his own label Onetwo Records with Melbourne-based music company UNFD. “Obviously, finishing the album over the last few months, I haven’t had a whole lot of time to focus on the label, but we’re in the process of actually signing a new act and things are going to start moving forward again very soon,” he says. “I would really like to spend more time building Onetwo up, because there are a lot of talented artists around, and I think we could definitely help a lot of the young performers out here – that’s definitely the aim for next year.”

Indeed, Murray humbly believes he can offer fledgling artists some sound advice, having been through the ups and downs of an emerging music career and come out on top. “Having the guts to back myself and finding that confidence is a process that’s taken quite a long time,” he says.

“But I’ve moved slowly and incrementally made changes to my sound to get to a point where I’m making the best stuff of my career.”

Still, Murray says a lot of the credit for the genrebending tracks on Two Degrees should go to his buddy, the Grammy Award-winning Australian producer M-Phazes. “Phazes is a world-class producer in my opinion – he is comfortably the best producer in Australia,” Murray says. “That’s not me throwing shade on anyone else, but he’s my homie – we have each other’s back and I feel fortunate.

“We’re both pretty hard taskmasters. We call each other out when we don’t think we’ve done the best we can do, and we don’t pull punches – I think that’s one of the secrets to our longstanding working relationship. I value his opinion more than anybody else’s because I think he’s deserving of that.”

Murray will be joining more of his musical allies on the road as they make their way around the country as part of Falls Festival this summer, while he’ll also headline the NYE Street Party at Newcastle’s Cambridge Hotel.

“I can’t wait to play these songs live – I’ve put more of myself in this album than any of the others. I’ve killed myself for this album and been forced to put myself out of my comfort zone in terms of pushing new sounds, but I think the title of the album really sums it all up – making those changes and being able to look back at the end of it and know that you’ve trusted your gut and that it paid off is a really cool feeling. I’m proud of it and I hope that people like it.”

What: Two Degrees out now through Onetwo/Warner And: Appearing at Falls Festival 2016/17, Lorne, Marion Bay and Byron Bay, Wednesday December 28 – Monday January 2 More: Illy headlines NYE Street Party at the Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle on Saturday December 31

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Halfway Coming Full Circle By Anna Wilson

Like a tumbleweed gathering strains of talent, Halfway’s 16-year history has seen them grow to collect members from all over Queensland.

Guitarist John Willsteed explains that they came together with different musical histories for one united purpose. “[Halfway started] as kind of a bunch of guys in Rockhampton who had a band called Saint Jude, then two songwriters and a drummer moved down to Brisbane,” he says.

“The core of the band is three guys from Rocky, three from Brisbane.

We’ve added more members over time – me and Luke Peacock are the two most recent members.

Ry X The Importance Of Being Human By Iain McKelvey

R

y X is an artist who isn’t afraid to descend down the musical rabbit hole. Born Ry Cuming, he is a self-confessed musical wanderer, yet there is a level of authenticity that connects his projects like Howling, The Acid and Ry X. “I was just out in the Joshua Tree, recording in an old Airstream caravan on Adam [Freeland, onethird of The Acid]’s property with no electricity, just solar power. Then with Frank [Wiedemann, Howling] in Ibiza or Berlin we’ll pull some synths and drum machines out and just start creating. It’s the energy of what we experience as humans,” says Cuming.

“As important as the amazing recordings are, from a technical standpoint, I’m interested in the energy there. It doesn’t matter if you’re recording on a phone or in a multimillion-dollar studio, it’s the heart of a track, when it transcends all of that and becomes real. You feel it straight away.”

It’s the kind of philosophy that would bolster the confidence of any aspiring bedroom artist. There’s an innate humanness and allround calming vibe that seems to permeate down the phone line as Cuming speaks. “I feel like people get stuck on this idea of demos and proper studios, trying to make things perfect – none of us are perfect, and I struggle to relate perfect,” he says.

“It’s important to move past the ego and create from a human place.

That’s the path I choose now.”

In 2010, Cuming released a self-titled album that created a disconnect within his artistry, though some gems like ‘Sweat’ made it through that period. Ultimately, getting to experience the two faces of the music industry helped clear a more defined path for the young Australian artist.

“I put out a record which required me to lean in to the industry,” he says. “I was playing these shows in front of people I wasn’t connecting with, there was no community, and it was a massively sobering moment. It was a, ‘Fuck this, I’m

14 :: BRAG :: 692 :: 07:12:16

“YOU CAN’T THINK ABOUT COMMERCE WHEN YOU’RE MAKING ART. YOU HAVE TO PROTECT THE ART.” leaving’ moment. You can’t suddenly jump from inauthentic behaviour to relevant authenticity – it takes a big shift in consciousness first.”

During this artistic flux, Ry X found himself negotiating the balance between art and commerce, discovering that the fewer middlemen were involved, the better.

“You can’t think about commerce when you’re making art. You have to protect the art. If I make something I resonate with, hopefully I can get it to people without the industry getting involved. That’s a beautiful relationship – there’s just someone making, sharing and people responding to it. The commerce side will come. But the two cannot really be said in the same breath. Not for me anyway.”

By industry standards, the 2013 Berlin EP set the stage for Cuming to capitalise on the Ry X name with a big debut album release – but what came next instead was Liminal, a woozy electronic album with The Acid. The move baffled some onlookers at the time, but it earned Cuming a cult following.

“Success usually makes me run the other way,” he laughs. “When Berlin was doing well, the vibe around me was, ‘Do an album, you have to do Ry X.’ I wanted to put out the album with The Acid; I want to play shows in the dark with weird projections.

With Howling, we have the song ‘Howling’, the remix was really big, then the next thing we put out was this grungy antithesis. If you do that for long enough, you’ll maintain your path enjoying realer moments of success.

“If you keep trying to chase that success, you’re in a bad place – you’re kind of fucked. I have to keep challenging myself, stay ahead of

my own curve. The record with The Acid was slightly ahead of the curve.

How beautiful though that you’re part of a movement and then you get to be part of a new movement.”

In May this year, Cuming finally got around to releasing Dawn, the debut Ry X album. The record holds a sense of unfurling one’s self, of wanting and wanderlust, that stems from all his surroundings – starting with a childhood spent on an isolated island in the New South Wales village of Angourie.

“I’ve been based between LA and Berlin for the last decade or so – it’s still weird being around so many humans,” he says. “Right now I’m three hours’ north of LA sitting on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, soaking it in before I go to Europe.

That wanderlust is part of who I am. Dawn got imbued with all those things. There’s a saying I love, and I’m paraphrasing – ‘As far as you go out into the universe, there is equal distance to explore inside.’ It’s cool to think of us as this midpoint between these two places.”

Now, Cuming is set to bring his meditative outlook back home for Falls Festival. “I get strangely nervous coming back to Australia,” he says. “I have this want to connect with my country. There’s also a huge sense of humility, coming from such a tiny town and having experienced so much, that I get to share this with the culture and community that raised me.

That’s a pretty sacred thing. The fact that I am received there at all is a huge honour.”

What: Falls Festival 2016/17 With: Childish Gambino, London Grammar, The Avalanches, Violent Soho and many more Where: Lorne, Marion Bay and Byron Bay When: Wednesday December 28 – Monday January 2 And: Also appearing at Newtown Social Club on Friday January 6 More: Dawn out now through Liberator/Infectious

“I was in The Go-Betweens in the ’80s. The reason I ended up in the band was because Robert Forster told me to go see Halfway. They were big fans and knew who I was – when the time was right and one guitarist left, they had a spot, I joined. It seemed appropriate because I got the connection between them [Halfway] and The Go-Betweens – it’s quite a different layer of influence because these guys were brought up on indie and I wasn’t.

“We get compared to Wilco a lot, because there has been an old country indie rock influence there, but it’s not very strong – we get called a country band but we’re not at all. Really we’re an indie rock band – loud, lots of guitars, influenced by that indie-pop stuff.”

With their multiple backgrounds and musical influences, it’s no surprise that the band’s name should reflect such eclectic qualities. “I always feel like it’s halfway to nowhere or halfway to somewhere,” says Willsteed. “Rocky is a fair way from Brisbane and to drive north to Cairns, it’s still a two-day trip – Rocky is halfway there, halfway back, on the Tropic of Capricorn. I feel like that’s significant in a bunch of different ways.”

For other bands, having members drawn from all over the place would naturally create some sort of mashup of sounds, but for Halfway, that diversity only goes to strengthen their creative output.

“Even though we do have different backgrounds, we’re fairly open and have fairly catholic tastes and love good melodic music, and love where it lives – inside The Monkees and The Jesus and Mary Chain,” Willsteed says. “All of us have stuff to contribute to any song we bring in. We elaborate on acoustic melodies usually, and on the new record there’s a lot of sonic clues, a bit of a sonic pathway to follow.

For all of us, we start with those ideas and elaborate. All of us are finding places to add to the density, where density is important, and also looking for space. It’s a strange kind of game to play in a band of this size – we really work stuff up by playing around, spending a lot of time with the song, trying to find the heart of it and making sure it’s elegant.

Unwritten Law No Rules But Dedication By Anna Wilson

“H

ey man – erm, what have we done this year?” A conversation with Scott Russo, frontman of Unwritten Law, was always going to be a little hazy – and who could blame him? The Californians have had a hectic career, so it’s lucky Russo has bassist Jonny Grill nearby to consult on the details as he speaks over the phone with the BRAG. “You caught me on a blank but I’ve got it now – we’ve done two US tours; our Acoustic record came out back in April,” says Russo.

“We just did two months touring with Pennywise and Strung Out. We just got done in Las Vegas and we come to Australia on Monday.

changing up the scene and writing new punk stuff.”

At this point, Russo is told in no uncertain terms that 5 Seconds Of Summer are in no way punk rock – at least not in the style Unwritten Law are known for. “I heard they were the new Green Day,” he replies, “but as far as what’s happened on the scene, people grow up and hope they evolve as artists. I know we defi nitely have.”

“I’m a sucker for Australia – it’s like our second home. I don’t want to sell my country short or anything, but it’s nice to get away and play far-off places once in a while.”

Indeed, Unwritten Law have undergone some signifi cant evolution over the course of their career, bringing a harder rock edge to their releases. In particular, 2002’s exalted Elva saw the band move away from its traditional genre. “I really think we grew up and wanted to [experiment],” Russo says. “It wasn’t necessarily about making music for other people, it was more for ourselves. We wanted to make something to make us feel good.”

Their devout fan base has kept these punk rock pioneers alive and kicking since they formed way back in 1990. “When we started out, [punk rock] hadn’t been invented yet,” Russo says.

“It was California punk rock – Bad Religion had just started, Green Day came in from the Bay Area and it was a whole movement.

2017 marks the 15th anniversary of the release of Elva, with the album to be played in its entirety on Unwritten Law’s Australian tour this month. But taking into account the band’s latter-day maturity and the march of time, how does Russo think the meaning and interpretations of those songs will change onstage?

“It seemed like it was easy to microwave and take off, and Unwritten Law kinda took off and evolved – 20 years later you’ve got bands like 5 Seconds Of Summer

“Actually, we’re going to play it pretty true to the record,” he says.

“We’ve been in rehearsal all week and it’s Elva pretty much spot on.

We’ve added an additional member

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Halfway photo by Luke Henery

L

ife, age, obligation – none of these seem relevant when you’re truly committed to a particular path. Halfway are one of those bands who know nothing but their music, having created some of the most underrated Australian indie rock for well over a decade, courtesy of their steely guitars and a terse and tempered twang.

Though they’ve been through the wringer with band members over the years (the current lineup numbers eight talented individuals), every one of them has appreciated and stood for the same thing: Halfway’s matchless musical mantra.

“SONGS ARE WEIRD THINGS. THEY’RE TRUE TO THEMSELVES, AND IT’S OBVIOUS WHEN IT’S WORKING AND WHEN IT ISN’T.” “Songs are weird things. They’re true to themselves, and it’s obvious when it’s working and when it isn’t.

The whole thing’s gotta work on an emotional level – I think that’s really important.”

Halfway will soon find themselves performing at Sydney Festival with material from their new album The Golden Halfway Record in tow, including the haunting single ‘Welcome Enemy’.

“I reckon when I met this band, they’d just released their third album, but one of the things that struck me when I saw them live – nine members back then, they had a dense sound and I was struck by how it felt, like driving the highway at night,” says Willsteed. “There’s something that rolls along in the music, and that’s even true now – all kinds of influences are making their way into the music. There’s a little bit of grandness, a rolling quality. You mentioned a melodic quality – music without melody is just crap. You don’t wanna be a genre Nazi like the ARIAs where there’s virtually no guitars. It’s turned into laptop music, it’s very tedious, there’s almost no point. “[Halfway’s music] does have a dark density. I just love playing songs this band writes because there are beautiful melodies in there.”

What: The Golden Halfway Record out now through Plus One/ABC Where: Magic Mirrors Spiegeltent as part of Sydney Festival 2017 When: Sunday January 22

“WE’RE GONNA GIVE [THE NEXT ALBUM] THE SHAPE OF PUNK TO COME, WITH A LOT MORE SCREAMING. WE WANT TO MAKE A CLASSIC.” the new record out by December next year,” Russo says. “I think we wanna be more methodical about this one. We want it to be a more modern version of Nirvana, The Clash and Refused. We’re gonna give it the shape of punk to come, with a lot more screaming. We want to make a classic. We’re a lot more focused – defi nitely that’s along the lines of what we’ll be chasing.”

It’s that attention to detail that has kept Unwritten Law in steady business for so long, and in the interim between their writing and recording sessions, Australia beckons. Russo turns to Grill to help him fi ll in a few more blanks.

“Hey, uh, what was that city we were in in Australia? With Cold Chisel?” he asks aloud. “I mean, we’re in Australia! We opened up for Cold Chisel once, at the Entertainment Centre in Sydney – that was really dope.

“On this tour, we’re bringing Mixtape [For The Drive] – they were on a few shows for us last time and they’re fucking great dudes. We’re bringing down our friends Runaway Kids who just opened up our shows here – we’re looking forward to bringing them down and letting them loose.” for this tour too – Scotty Mack, our tour manager/friend/guardian angel – if we were gonna go for it, we were gonna do it with him to get it really spot on.

“We’re gonna have an additional set at the end of Elva, pretty bang-up,

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songs we don’t normally play – the songs everyone screams for every night. We’re gonna get it out of our systems. It should be a wild show.”

Russo politely and momentarily excuses himself from our conversation to discuss with

his companions the alcohol to be served with the meal they’re preparing. Keen to get some bang for his buck and anxious to ensure the presence of lemons alongside their beverages, Russo overhears my giggling and is pleased he can offer an entertaining insight

into his world, brief as it may be.

Alcohol arrangements in place, our discussion turns to Unwritten Law’s new material.

“We started writing in the studio and we’re going to record in February – hopefully we’ll have

What: Acoustic out now through Cyber Tracks With: Runaway Kids, Mixtape For The Drive Where: Manning Bar When: Saturday December 10

BRAG :: 692 :: 07:12:16 :: 15

Stick To Your Guns Ashes To Ashes By Natalie Rogers cities in the world, so I’m fantastic!

We just fi nished a tour of the UK with the Architects, and I’m here with a few of the guys in the band that love to travel. We always like to look around and see the sights before and after every tour leg.”

A trip to Ireland is on the cards next, before Stick To Your Guns head to Australia for two weeks of non-stop touring. “Before this I hadn’t had a moment off since June, so I want to make the most of my time away,” Barnett says, dismissing the idea of rehearsals in their downtime. “During a show we feed off each other’s energy. We’re very good at riling each other up, and I think that’s exactly what happens. Whenever we go onstage we have this crazy kind of anxious energy that makes it more intense.

We all tend to be leaning on the side of hyperactive, so it’s not a challenge for us to be energetic – it’s kind of easy actually.”

And despite the fact that Barnett’s vocal chords take a beating every night to achieve his signature sound, don’t expect to fi nd him backstage sipping on hot lemon and honey. “I don’t do much, I don’t really warm up – I kind of just go up there and do it. As long as I can hear myself in my earpiece, I shouldn’t have a problem.”

“M

usic belongs to everyone,” says Stick To Your Guns lead singer Jesse Barnett. “It’s important to us that anyone who wants to come to our shows can.”

Since 2003, the US metalcore boys have amassed a loyal following around the world thanks to their explosive guitar riffs, thought-provoking lyrics and high-octane performances. On the back of their latest EP, Better Ash Than

Dust, Stick To Your Guns are coming back our way to play licensed and allages venues across the country.

“I don’t believe in excluding people.

It seems a bit contradictory for the

underground and alternative music scene to be any other way,” says Barnett, calling in from a hotel in Copenhagen.

“I’m currently in one of my favourite

Stick To Your Guns will play The Bald Faced Stag in Sydney towards the end of January, and they’ve hand-picked a killer lineup to open the show. “We’re bringing with us a hardcore band from Adelaide called Reactions,” Barnett says. “I haven’t met them yet, but I took the advice of our friends in [Sydney-based hardcore band] Relentless and they said, ‘You should check out

Cosmic Psychos Boys From The Bush By David James Young

“I

’ll just go grab him,” says the gentle voice on the other end of the landline – yep, a landline. “He’s just out in the shed.”

The unidentified voice is summoning the great Ross Knight – founder and sole original member of the unstoppable pub rock force that is the Cosmic Psychos, as well as a keen weightlifter, father and incredibly busy farmer. As he pulls up a chair to speak with the BRAG, he’s coming to the end of a long, hard day out on his farm in regional Victoria.

“I’m bulldozing at the moment,” he says in that instantly recognisable drawl. “I got a bit of work done on the farm over the winter, but I couldn’t go out and earn a buck. With the rains, everything was just too wet to touch. Now that there’s a bit of sunshine, I’ve just been going flat macka. It’s just me out there, too – I could do with a bloody army of blokes out there right now, I tell ya.”

For all the hard yards the Psychos have been putting in over the last few years – extensive touring, releasing a brand new studio album in 2015’s Cum The Raw Prawn and even making a couple of music videos along the way – it says a lot that Knight is still as dedicated to his farm now as he was back in the late ’80s and early ’90s, when the band was releasing such classics as Go The Hack and Blokes You Can Trust. As far as he’s concerned, however, it’s simply a matter of working both harder and smarter.

“We time the trips away when there’s not much going on around here,” Knight explains. “When we did that Europe tour, it was really wet here. I would have just been farting around the shed if I’d stuck around. Being away for four weeks didn’t make much of a dent at all – and plus, I got to be

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on the other side of the world, enjoying the sun and the fun. We try and get back over there every 18 months or so, and we try and get as much in as we can. On that run, we did 18 shows in 18 days. We got to go up to the Arctic Circle and play with Iggy Pop, and we ended the tour with a gig in Italy.”

After casually rifling through what could only be described as a dream experience for any touring band, Knight pauses. “Yeah, it was good,” he sums up in a quintessentially understated manner.

New material has come a little slower than usual for the Psychos lately – Raw Prawn, for instance, arrived four years after Glorius Barsteds, itself five years removed from Dung Australia in 2007. Still, Knight and the rest of the band – guitarist John McKeering and drummer Dean Muller – are hoping to strike while the iron is relatively hot and see if they can’t squeeze out album number ten in the next year or so.

“We’ve already started on it,” says Knight. “We’re more prepared now than we were for the last album. Raw Prawn, for us, was an experimentation in laziness. We didn’t actually write anything until we’d rocked up in the studio, basically. We were going in on a wing and a prayer. I think it was because we’d received advice to prepare more and swear less – so we went in completely unprepared and swore as much as we possibly could.”

After some Christmas downtime, the Psychos will be back in action this January when they headline the firstever Thrashville festival, taking place in Belford in the Hunter Valley. Among the bands joining the action are the legendary Hard-Ons, who recently welcomed back their original lead singer Keish De Silva.

“We go way, way back with those guys – I think we must have played with them for the first time back in the ’80s,” says Knight. “Any excuse to catch up with those guys, honestly. It’s always a ripper of a time when we get together.

We’ve been mates for a long time, but we’re also all genuinely big fans of theirs. I’ve always said this – they were years ahead of their bloody time.”

Also on the bill are Melbourne band Clowns, who recently dropped a new single and will be debuting their five-piece lineup at the festival. “We were lucky enough to play a show with them in Melbourne a few years ago,” says Knight of the hardcore punk outfit. “I think that was the night before we went off to Europe. We’ve probably done a couple more shows with them since then, but that one sticks out for me. They’re a really good bunch of blokes – I reckon they’re a great band.”

Throw in the likes of Mischling, Glitoris and The Neptune Power Federation and you’re in for one wild day in the Valley – an area of the country the Psychos don’t normally find themselves. “We tend to really hug the coast when we’re touring up that way,” says Knight. “I didn’t even know where it was – we just got told it was near Newcastle. I hope it’s still there by the time we rock up – they’ve been copping some pretty brutal bushfires lately.”

What: Thrashville 2017 With: Hard-Ons, Clowns, Mischling, The Neptune Power Federation and more Where: Dashville, Belford When: Saturday January 21

“WHEN WE DID THAT EUROPE TOUR, IT WAS REALLY WET HERE. I WOULD HAVE JUST thebrag.com

Darren Percival Escape To Woodford By Adam Norris

“WHENEVER WE GO ONSTAGE WE HAVE THIS CRAZY KIND OF ANXIOUS ENERGY THAT MAKES IT MORE INTENSE.” Reactions, there are a lot of people hyped on that band,’ so I’m looking forward to hearing them and seeing them play for the first time.

“I’ve been friends with the guys from Relentless for a very long time, so for us it was an opportunity to bring them along, and Knocked Loose are buddies of ours and we tour with them everywhere, so that was just an easy pick.”

Barnett says Stick To Your Guns love to collaborate with their mates wherever possible, and that was the reason they invited independent music producer Derek Hoffman to work on Better Ash Than Dust. “I’ve been living in Canada, in Montreal, for a while now,” says the singer. “It’s a beautiful city and I’ve made some great friends, and one of those friends is Derek Hoffman. He’s someone I’ve worked with on many musical projects, so we kind of took a chance on him.

“It was a gamble because usually your label wants you to go with someone who has a name, because that helps sell your record, but Pure Noise just lets us do whatever we want, because they’re the perfect label! And he absolutely killed it. Derek has a way of giving input without seeming like he’s taking over, and he knows how to give critique that is very constructive without

getting emotional. He just wants to make the best possible song. He doesn’t have an agenda – he’s just a fantastic musician and incredibly talented person.”

Upon its release in September, Better Ash Than Dust exceeded all expectations, debuting in the Billboard 200 – a rare feat for an EP. “I try not to bother too much with that side of things,” says Barnett. “It can leave you feeling empty if you’re very focused on the numbers, but it’s a good gauge of the fact that people are connecting with the record, and it’s heartening every time we see that. We’re so proud of this release, because we battled internally and externally with each other about whether to do an EP or just wait to put these songs on a full-length. We eventually came to the conclusion that an EP is something fun to do, and we really had faith in these songs.

“Oh, and I have to add that the artwork for the EP was done by an Aussie! A guy named Sam Octigan from Melbourne. He’s awesome.

He did all that artwork by hand – he’s incredibly talented too.”

What: Better Ash Than Dust out now through Pure Noise With: Knocked Loose, Relentless, Reactions Where: The Bald Faced Stag When: Tuesday January 24

T

he last time I saw Darren Percival, we were holed up in his van enjoying the rare taste of air conditioning in the midst of Woodford Folk Festival. He was running perhaps five minutes late and so brought along a bag of Byron Bay Doughnuts by way of an apology – and yes, he really is just that nice. It’s a quality so evident and endearing that it has secured him some of the most loyal and passionate fans in the country.

For proof, look beyond his second place in the premiere season of The Voice, and focus instead on the crowd he pulls at Woodford each year. From his concerts to his packed-out vocal workshops, they come for the music, but they stay for the man.

“You can go and not look at the program,” he says, “and feel assured you’re going to be looked after, and have an amazing experience that you weren’t expecting. We speak of having your ‘Woodford moment’, you know? ‘What was your Woodford moment this year?’

I think if you haven’t gone before you fit right in, and if you’ve been going for a long time, there’s still nothing else like it. I’ve been going for eight years, I’ve performed in all different settings – this gradual build to having my own space there now, which was the dream.

“I actually never went as a ticket holder. I filled in the application for a couple of years and didn’t get in, which I feel is a good thing because I wasn’t ready. And when I finally went, I’d never experienced anything like it. And it gave me permission as an artist to say what I wanted to say, how I wanted to resonate. But at Woodford, after that first week, I’d be trying as hard as I could to keep that feeling going for the rest of the year.”

Performing as Mr. Percival, the Parramatta-born artist was the

talk of his first festival. Back then, his was a name known to few; a tall, smiling man who somehow managed to lead larger and larger crowds into impromptu harmonies and captivating loops. He was gracious, humble, and eight years later he now has his very own dedicated Singing Space on-site.

Last time we spoke, he talked of his life in terms of chapters he could read back to, and he still considers himself prone to reflection.

“I definitely am. ‘What have I achieved since I was here last?

What happened or what didn’t happen?’ I try not to reminisce too much, but I also project a lot of things, which helps achieve a lot of my personal goals. Some people perhaps question some of the things that I’ve done, and they’ve let me know that,” he chuckles. “But I’ve done them for a reason that was important to me personally. The Voice is a great example of that.

I think that it was an experience I wanted to have, and sure, I was aware of some of the things that were going to unfold from it, but there was a lot more I didn’t know, and I like that.

“If you’ve been doing something for a long time, you tend to know what happens next. Whereas in an experience like that, I had no idea, and that made it very rewarding.

I’m aware that it has a stigma attached to it, but that’s just the perception certain people have of it. The experience didn’t have that stigma. And from there I’ve been able to do things I don’t think I could have done otherwise. Similarly, and equally powerfully, if I hadn’t done Woodford, there are even more things I never would have achieved.”

Woodford boasts an impressive lineup this year – Amanda Palmer, Urthboy, Paul Kelly and Charlie Owen, plus hundreds of others – but for many, it wouldn’t be the

same without Percival popping up in some unexpected tent. The festival itself has changed quite significantly over the years, and the 2015/16 season saw some sweeping shifts to venues and bars. But at the risk of sounding entirely hokey, the spirit of Woodford remains the same.

The ethos, the bewildering beating heart – turn any corner, and you’ll stumble upon some marvel or other – is just growing stronger.

“I think one of the most vibrant and dynamic changes from my perspective is that people are coming along to the festival wanting to see artists perform and share their music, yes,” says Percival. “But they’re also coming along wanting to take more than just that experience.

They want something interactive, they want to learn something, build something. Not everyone! But I think quite a lot of people are keen to come along for a wider experience, and I think Woodford definitely moved with that shift.

“Really, Woodford is life-changing.

You don’t just buy a ticket and go.

If you go and are present in what can happen, it’s really profound.

There are other festivals I’ve had great experiences at, but there’s something about Woodford.

That site has something there. It gives you a great sense of what is possible. I always come away feeling such a great sense of hope, that feeling of, ‘Yeah, we can all just get together and get along,’” he laughs. “At Woodford, it just seems to work.”

What: Woodford Folk Festival 2016/17 With: Amanda Palmer, Urthboy, Thelma Plum, Methyl Ethel and many more Where: Woodfordia When: Tuesday December 27 – Sunday January 1

“WOODFORD IS LIFE-CHANGING. YOU DON’T JUST BUY A TICKET AND GO. IF YOU GO AND ARE PRESENT IN WHAT CAN HAPPEN, IT’S REALLY PROFOUND.”

BEEN FARTING AROUND THE SHED IF I’D STUCK AROUND.” thebrag.com

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TRIPLE M PRESENTS

TICKETS FROM SPIDERBAIT.COM.AU

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thebrag.com

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

arts in focus

Prize Fighter photo by Dylan Evans

prize fighter the endless battle also inside:

IMAGINED TOUCH / CHRISTA HUGHES / EDUCATION PROFILES / ARTS NEWS / REVIEWS / GIVEAWAY 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 Chris Martin, David Burley and James Di Fabrizio

WITH

PHIL ROUSE, WRITER/DIRECTOR OF BABES IN THE WOODS What makes pantomime such a wonderful tradition at this time of year?

It is as much a festive event as it is a show. People want to interact, to connect, to be sociable in the good weather. Having a bunch of actors make fools of themselves with the explicit purpose of communal joy is such a precious thing. To know that it could happen annually makes it a tradition to look forward to.

acknowledge its failings. Despair is not the answer. Robust humour can calm the nerves and steel the resolve for the challenges ahead. If 2016 has made you feel overwhelmed, some cathartic laughter is just what the doctor ordered.

Jason Byrne

How can the audience get involved with the show?

Start by buying you and all your mates tickets. Head to the Old Fitz and grab a jug of beer and some delicious food from Jimmy Fitz Kitchen. Then when you enter, buy a beer from the cast and a bag of cabbage to throw at them at timely points in the show. Take your seat, learn or re-learn the Panto Rules (“It’s behind you!” et cetera). Then throw yourself into it. You might even get a kiss from one of our very sexy actors.

Is it possible for panto to get too silly?

Absolutely not!

What: Babes In The Woods Where: Old Fitz Theatre When: Tuesday December 13 – Wednesday December 21, Friday January 6 – Saturday January 21

plus the annual Mardi Gras Film Festival and a Queer Art After Hours pop-up at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. And as per usual, everyone’s invited (except for Malcolm Turnbull). The 2017 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras runs from Friday February 17 – Sunday March 5.

SIRO-A

It’ll be a feast for the senses when Japanese theatrical troupe Siro-A bring their show to Sydney in the New Year.

They’ve been dubbed “Japan’s answer to the Blue Man Group”, with a combination of visual effects, mime, dance, comedy, puppetry and music making up their performances. Their latest production features animation, laser effects and 3D video projection, with two DJs spinning an electronic soundtrack. Siro-A are a YouTube hit and have appeared on America’s Got Talent and Britain’s Got Talent,, but now it’s Australia’s turn.

Talent Siro-A play The Concourse in Chatswood from Tuesday January 10 – Sunday January 22 22,, and we’ve got two double passes to the Friday January 13 show.

Enter at thebrag.com/freeshit. thebrag.com/freeshit.

Siro-A photo by Paul Brown

Y

ou’ve described Babes In The Woods as “the antidote to 2016”. Is laughter the best medicine?

Absolutely – laughter and righteous rage! In a crazy year of watching the world swing wildly right, the left needs to

What can you tell us about Auntie Avaricia and her family?

Auntie Avaricia is trying to make ends meet. She resents her estranged brother who has amassed a fortune for himself while she slaves away on their family’s farm. Enter two babes, Ruby and Robbie – her brother’s children. Their father has died and left all his fortune to them unless something should happen to them, then all the money would be left to Avaricia. A plot is hatched to leave the “babes in the woods” and let the harsh Australian

landscape take care of the babes for her.

Babes In The Woods photo © Anna Gardiner

five minutes

Atlanta Eke

CAPTURING PABLO

For one night only, the real-life DEA agents who were instrumental in taking down notorious cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar will come to Sydney. The actions of Javier Pena and Steve Murphy served as inspiration for the hit Netflix show Narcos, which dives into the story of Columbia’s infamous drug cartels and Escobar’s fight to stay at the top. Capturing Pablo – An Evening With Javier Pena & Steve Murphy will

Away

SYDNEY COMEDY FESTIVAL PROGRAM

Sydney’s biggest comedy event has revealed who will be making you chuckle in April and May when the Sydney Comedy Festival returns for its 13th year. With a huge lineup of international and local stars, the festival is looking to be one of the biggest to date. Jason Byrne, David O’Doherty, Urzila Carlson, Daniel Sloss and Des Bishop lead the overseas contingent, while the list of locals is huge: Dave Hughes, Aunty Donna, Joel Creasey, Matt Okine, Nazeem Hussain, Rove McManus, Susie Youssef, Tom Gleeson, Merrick Watts, Neel Kolhatkar and many more. Book at sydneycomedyfest.com.au for shows from Saturday April 24 – Sunday May 21.

RAINBOW ROAD

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From Thursday March 30, a large-scale, multi-venue exhibition will take over Sydney to show off the best in contemporary Australian art. For the inaugural edition of The National: New Australian Art, the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Carriageworks and the Museum of Contemporary Art will team up to spread modern Australian art around Sydney. This project is part of a six-year plan to be presented in 2017, 2019 and 2021. The 49 featured artists include Richard Bell, Atlanta Eke, Julie Gough, Gunybi Ganambarr, Stieg Persson, Justene Williams and many more.

AWAY ONCE AGAIN

One of Australia’s most renowned theatre pieces will be taking over the Sydney Opera House in February. Away’s story of immigrants struggling in an adopted country has continuously captivated audiences with its unique perspective of Australia after the Vietnam War in 1967. With talent to burst in the cast and crew including Matthew Lutton as director, Heather Mitchell as Gwen and Liam Nunan as Tom, it’s essential viewing. The Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House will host Away from Saturday February 18 – Saturday March 25.

see Pena and Murphy discuss the rise and fall of the Medellín Cartel, and how they managed to bring down its leader. With exclusive stories and never-before-seen images, the event will give Narcos fans and those interested in Escobar the opportunity to hear first-hand from the two men who were key in his capture. It’s going down at the Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House on Tuesday July 11.

COO-EE’S BIRTHDAY POP-UP

Coo-ee Art Gallery, one of Australia’s oldest galleries dedicated to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art and artefacts, is celebrating a big anniversary by returning to its roots.

Now based in Bondi, the gallery is marking its 35th birthday by heading back to where it all began on Oxford Street in Paddington.

The pop-up exhibition, curated by Coo-ee’s founding director Adrian Newstead and his fellow director Mirri Leven, celebrates some of the achievements in indigenous art by Cooee and its exhibited artists over the last four decades and beyond. Coo-ee’s anniversary exhibit is taking over Wadsworth Gallery in Paddington until Friday December 30.

ASSANGE SPEAKS TO SYDNEY

Internet activist and political refugee Julian Assange will appear live via video link at the Sydney International Convention Centre in a rare opportunity for a real-time interview and Q&A. No More Secrets, No More Lies: Julian Assange will dive head-first into Assange’s controversial history since founding WikiLeaks in 2006, and releasing secret dossiers and classifi ed information to the public in a divisive push for global transparency. Be there at ICC Sydney Theatre on Saturday February 18.

FOOD TRUCK MARKET

Foodies Fairground, a festival of more than 40 food and drink vendors, will fill the Entertainment Quarter at Moore Park this Sunday December 11. The vendors will include Tsuru, Big Papa’s, Stroop Bros and the Knafeh Bakery, while there’ll also be kids’ activities, live music and more to keep the whole family occupied between servings.

Koala Mattress will even set up a ‘food coma rest area’ so you can get your fill of lunch and dinner. thebrag.com

Away photo by James Green

The most colourful party on the Sydney calendar is back. The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras has revealed its full 2017 program, with a timely theme of ‘Creating Equality’ connecting all the usual Mardi Gras favourites. The schedule features more than 80 different events, including the headlinegrabbing Fair Day (Sunday February 19), Parade (Saturday March 4) and the freshly announced Mardi Gras Comedy Festival. The program also includes performances from Bluehouse, Hussy Hicks, the superbly named cabaret Diamonds Are For Trevor and more,

OUR CITY GOES NATIONAL

‘The most perfectly structured, brilliantly produced and best-acted new play’ THE AUSTRALIAN

35,=( F IGHTER 6 – 22 JANUARY UPSTAIRS A La Boite Theatre Company & Brisbane Festival production co-presented with Sydney Festival

Writer Future D. Fidel Director Todd MacDonald

BELVOIR.COM.AU

Photograph by Dylan Evans

thebrag.com

BRAG :: 692 :: 07:12:16 :: 21

arts in focus

[CABARET] It’s Showbiz, Baby By Adam Norris

C

hrista Hughes is a barrage of anecdotes and reminiscence. She has emerged as one of the most celebrated cabaret/vaudeville acts in the country, and when your crowd can be as raucous as the stage, well, it helps to be able to talk the talk. She reams off stories and observations as though a dam has burst within her chest, and more often than not, my questions are swept away as one insight rapidly segues into the next. She’s charming, but God knows where she gets such energy. Perhaps it runs in the family, for Hughes has spent three decades performing with her jazz pianist father, Dick.

Prize Fighter [THEATRE] Sting Like A Bee By Adam Norris

M

ost people would agree that the politics around Australia’s acceptance of refugees and asylum seekers are divisive. Sure, our discourse is not quite as vitriolic as the jingoistic tone heard in the USA these days, or various European capitals trying to sidestep the plight of Syria, but we’re also not the most empathic of people.

Often that’s because asylum seekers are couched in economic terms that render them abstract, which is why a performance such as Prize Fighter is so very timely.

Of course, it doesn’t hurt that it’s also engaging and well-written.

Playwright Future D. Fidel has crafted a highly acclaimed story of escaping a war-torn past and building a new life on far distant shores – and given Fidel spent eight years in a Tanzanian refugee camp after fl eeing Congo before fi nally settling in Brisbane, the man knows what he’s talking about.

“People don’t have a choice,” Fidel explains. “They don’t choose to fl ee, it just happens.

If war was to happen here in Brisbane – not that it will – but if it happened in Australia, we have the right to seek asylum somewhere else. That’s what happens to refugees. They didn’t ask for it, for their countries to have war. It’s a situation that they can’t control, and they have to fl ee for survival. But then, the places you go, you fi nd they don’t like you, they don’t appreciate your presence. And the hardest thing is, you can’t go back. If you go back, you die. So it’s hard looking back. You just have to accept it, and live in whatever

condition you’re given. There is no other choice. It is either death, or what you are given.”

Prize Fighter tells of a young Congolese boxer who has built a name for himself in the ring after escaping a harrowing upbringing as a child soldier. Though Fidel draws heavily on his own past, this is far from an autobiography, and the character Isa bears little resemblance to his maker. Yet the experiences that fuel Isa’s journey are those that Fidel knows first-hand, and that still haunt him today. Because of this, however, he is able to talk openly to other refugees, particularly the young and distressed, and help them fi nd a voice in their adoptive home.

“I don’t follow a lot of storytellers as such. But I guess I’m always inspired by the storytelling since I was a child. I remember when the moon shines, everyone sits around and starts telling stories, and it’s really appealing sometimes to hear different stories. I think working with [other refugees] comes from the side of, not necessarily being an artist, but being a storyteller. I’m saying, because I lived the life that I’m telling, I’m OK to tell it. I’ve gone through the same thing, and maybe I am still going through post-traumatic stress, or still going through feeling depressed.

If I’ve been through that and I’m doing OK, I can tell them that, ‘Hey, I know this has happened, but you’ll be OK.’ It’s better to tell them that. Saying it out loud is better than keeping it inside.

“I can tell it because I have experienced it, I have seen this

face-to-face,” Fidel continues.

“So that’s not an issue. I think I can write a piece as well that’s not related to the idea of refugees or these type of stories, but I like to write those, because those are the ones where countries don’t like refugees, or don’t like foreigners. These are the issues that people as refugees go through all the time. Even though I’m already an Australian citizen, I’m still falling into the category of being a refugee. I can’t deny it, it’s just the reality that we live in.”

While Prize Fighter is the play that has launched Fidel’s name, it is by no means a flash in the pan. Fidel has seen two of his other pieces reach the stage in I Am Here and In My Steps, each thematically concerned with refugees, community and estrangement.

All three productions have been received warmly, and already Prize Fighter is emerging as a Sydney Festival must-see.

As it stands, the play clocks in at just under an hour – your standard festival fare. It is exhilarating theatre, produced around live boxing, with kudos here to Pacharo Mzembe, who plays Isa – not only does he have to remember lines and mannerisms, but enact a real boxing match. But it is also unlikely to be the last time we’ll hear from Isa – already Fidel is contemplating the story on a much wider canvas.

What: Prize Fighter as part of Sydney Festival 2017 Where: Belvoir St Theatre When: Friday January 6 – Sunday January 22

“THE PLACES YOU GO [AS A REFUGEE], YOU FIND THEY DON’T LIKE YOU, THEY DON’T APPRECIATE YOUR PRESENCE. AND THE HARDEST THING IS, YOU CAN’T GO BACK. IF YOU GO BACK, YOU DIE.” 22 :: BRAG :: 692 :: 07:12:16

It was there in that beer-dappled space (and back in the days when you could still smoke inside) where Hughes’ theatrical education began in earnest.

For those who have seen Hughes perform before – either in her own right, or during her time as KK Juggy in Machine Gun Fellatio – you can tell that teenage ghost is still in there, reeling folks in off the street, belting out tunes as her father’s hands rattle across the keys.

“You just had to be theatrical to be heard,” she says. “Lucky I have a big voice. But more than that, it’s one thing to be heard, but you don’t want to just be shouting everyone down. You want to hold attention because you’re actually doing something. People ask me if I went to drama school, but no. I sang unplugged in a pub where you had to learn these things to keep people’s interest. And as I got older, and got more involved in rock’n’roll, singing with Vrag, who were the precursor to Machine Gun Fellatio – who were very theatrical in such an irreverent way; crazy costumes, crazy antics, crazy guests – and then went overseas where I kind of fell into cabaret.

“I never sat down and thought, ‘I need to make myself more theatrical.’ It was

Shoegaze sounds about as far as possible from what Hughes has planned for Sydney Fesitval. The show – Oz Rockin’ The Ladies Lounge – is a reinvention of Aussie rock classics; acts like Cold Chisel, AC/DC and Divinyls, all retooled to revel in absurd cab-burlesque glory. But that division between cabaret and burlesque is itself quite a contentious issue. No one seems entirely certain where one ends and the other begins; if they are naughty bedfellows, or bitter rivals eking out a living in nightclubs and dive bars the world over.

In Hughes’ eyes, it doesn’t help that the current standard-bearer for burlesque is leaving quite a bit to be desired.

“A lot of people ask if I’m cabaret or burlesque, and well, I do a bit of both. I don’t do straight burlesque. God, one of the worst shows I saw recently was Dita Von Teese, probably the most famous burlesque artist in the world right now.

People were loving it, but it would have to be one of the dullest performances I’ve ever seen in my life. I’ve never seen anything so wooden. She looked pretty enough, she has a great body and everything, but she wasn’t a big mover.

Every routine she had was exactly the same but with a slightly different outfit.

And I thought this was so bloody boring.

‘Look at my very expensive underwear!’

Which is fine for maybe a couple of minutes, but it gets boring pretty quick.

And if people like that, well, good. But when I was a teenager, there were some really out there, wild performances, and you’d always think back then, ‘Where’s this going to go from here?’ And the answer is, it went really tame and lame!”

Hughes laughs.

“So whenever I’ve done burlesque, I’ve made sure it’s had more of an edge to it. And I’ve also never done the straight cabaret thing of standing by a piano, American songbook-style. Mainstream burlesque and mainstream cabaret are both very different, and I tend to move away from that. I’ve been involved in more alternative scenes where you can mix things up a bit. I don’t want people sitting there, closing their eyes and tapping their toes. I want them looking around wildly thinking, ‘What next, what next, what next!’”

What: Christa Hughes Is Oz Rockin’ The Ladies Lounge as part of Sydney Festival 2017 Where: Magic Mirrors Spiegeltent When: Tuesday January 24 – Thursday January 26

“IT’S ONE THING TO BE HEARD, BUT YOU DON’T WANT TO JUST BE SHOUTING EVERYONE DOWN. YOU WANT TO HOLD ATTENTION BECAUSE YOU’RE ACTUALLY DOING SOMETHING.” thebrag.com

Christa Hughes photo by Kelly-Ann Denton

“I don’t think I’ve told Isa’s full story, because at the end of the day you want it to be about an hour long, so it’s hard to tell the whole thing in just an hour. I think it at least needs a few hours. One of the things, if you’re still coming up and still emerging, you have to go according to certain rules. If you’re commissioned by a certain company, you can write whatever you want, but it has to be this long, it has to have this number of characters, things like that. But if it’s me saying I’m going to produce or invite people to produce, I can write whatever show! Whether that’s a five-hour show with a hundred actors onstage, you have that freedom,” he laughs.

“When I first started singing it was just with my dad,” Hughes recalls, “and we had a residency every Sunday at the Shakespeare in Surry Hills in the very early ’90s. I guess I was around 17. It was so good, because the early ’90s in Sydney, there was so much going on, a very different atmosphere than what’s going on now. And it was free, so you’d just wander in. You’d get these very interesting kinds of people. You’d get the old folks there nice and early, you’d have the housing commission people across the road, you’d have people who’d be coming down from their weekend benders to listen to some jazz as a way to take the edge off things. It was a great combo of people, but we had no amplification. It was just him on the upright piano and me belting out in the corner.”

more by chance, and I found it very, very boring watching bands just in jeans and T-shirts staring at the floor, mumbling into the microphone. There would be no performance.”

Prize Fighter photos by Dylan Evans

Christa Hughes

FEATURES

arts in focus

education profile WITH

Imagined Touch [THEATRE] Seeing The World Anew By David Molloy

C

lose your eyes. Cover your ears. Walk through your house.

Now imagine for a moment that you’re outside, crossing a street, boarding a plane, ordering from a menu.

That’s the life that performer Heather Lawson and pianist Michelle Stevens have lived for decades. Stevens was born without sight, and Lawson without sound – over time, they both became deaf-blind. Their experience is now being brought to Sydney Festival audiences in Imagined Touch under the guidance of director Jodee Mundy, herself the only hearing member in a deaf family.

“I didn’t realise my family were deaf until I was six years old,” says Mundy. “The way I found out is I got lost in Kmart, and a lady made an announcement on the microphone.

It was quite a shock, because I knew that my family were deaf but I didn’t know it meant they couldn’t hear.

Now, that’s very distinctive. I suddenly realised I had access to all these things that my family didn’t, from television – I mean, subtitles weren’t on television back then. I answered the phone, I answered the door and people treated my family like – because they didn’t talk or they didn’t speak – that they were less.”

Mundy, whose first language was Auslan (Australian sign language), believes she has never fully recovered from that first transition into the hearing world, and it drives much of her engagement with the arts. “I want to bring audiences into this world and show them how amazing it is, how rich and how inclusive our world is, and how exclusive the world of people who are mainstream is,” she says.

Imagined Touch photo [top] by Pippa Dodds / Imagined Touch photo [right] by Jeff Busby

Sydney Festival marks the second production of Imagined Touch, a work five years in development, which combines live art, theatre, installation and sensory performance to immerse audiences in the experience of living without sight or sound.

“This work is an invitation for people to rethink about what it means to be a human being and how to navigate the world,” says Mundy. “We’re so reliant on our eyes and ears, especially in the 21st century, so this is a chance for people to see Heather and Michelle as deaf-blind but also as experts of touch and tactile communication.”

Naturally, as the work involves touch to communicate, it is an intimate participatory experience.

For some audiences, comfortable in their seats, that may be somewhat confronting. “The barriers would be [that] people are afraid, and fair enough!” laughs Mundy. “This is something that Heather and Michelle have had to overcome – their sense of fear. You know, they catch trains, buses and planes by themselves … They really want audiences to understand the profound isolation and the grief and the fear that they’ve had to overcome, but also the beauty of what it means to meet someone through touch.

“When you meet someone through touch, you don’t know what skin colour they are – sometimes you don’t even know if they’re a man or they’re a woman – but what matters is a kind hand. So if there’s a barrier for an audience and they’re afraid, it’s about trust. This whole work is about thebrag.com

ABLETON LIVESCHOOL

Courses on offer: Produce Music is a comprehensive electronic music production course, made up of Begin, Create & Destroy, Sound Design, Music Theory, Arrangements and Mixing & Mastering. This is our flagship course and takes a year to complete, part-time. Depending on your training needs, smaller components of this course can be taken as stand-alone courses: Begin – a single hands-on workshop covering the essential workflows and features to get you started in music production using Ableton Live. Project is due one week after completion.

Create & Destroy – teaches the full fundamentals of music production and Ableton Live. Takes four months to complete, part-time.

Single-topic Focus Modules – for those wanting to hone specific skills, going deeper into either sound design, music theory, arrangements, or mixing and mastering. Various durations.

trust; it’s a call-out to trust and about reconnecting as people.

Imagined Touch is incredibly rare as a work featuring deaf-blind performers – its only real overseas equivalents come from the Nalaga’at company, whose Not By Bread Alone sees deafblind performers make bread for the audience. Mundy’s experience of that work impacted her development.

“They’ve got 12 in their ensemble and it’s also performed in front of about 500 people. It’s a big spectacle show. This is the opposite; it’s a very intimate experience. We believed that Heather and Michelle needed to know who their audience were and for them to be connected to their audience at all times, and through the mode of touch because that is their world.”

Mundy’s optimism is fuelled by both passion and pragmatism: Imagined Touch is enormously ambitious, but it paves the way for even more daring works by performers with disabilities.

She believes the show is as much about proving it can be done, and showing the process, as it is staging it.

“The presence of performers with a disability in the arts has been a long battle,” she says. “It’s been a good 40 years since the disability movement has been going and as someone who grew up in a community that’s perceived to have disability, it’s a life work. We never thought we’d make it to Sydney Festival.”

Mostly this comes down to the sheer amount of resources required, even for so intimate a show. But Mundy’s strength is in understanding the returns. “Heather and Michelle need two interpreters each just to be able to be part of a conversation. So that’s four interpreters – that’s $200 an hour just to be able to talk to them.

“But the thing for artists with disabilities is so much is quantified through economic terms, but what we’re not quantifying is the loss of quality of life. [For] Heather and Michelle, this is one project … so for us to have that one project … what it means for us is hope in fellow human beings, hope that social change is a real thing.

“It’s proving to me that inclusion is not amiss,” Mundy continues. “Real inclusion means sharing and that means everyone, every single one of us, hands over a little bit of power to make space for people who are disempowered. So this is proving to us that things are possible, that people are listening, that people do care, and that Heather and Michelle’s stories are worth their weight in gold.”

What: Imagined Touch as part of Sydney Festival 2017 Where: Carriageworks When: Monday January 9 – Saturday January 14

What makes us different: The techniques you learn and projects you work on are directly from Flume, What So Not, Touch Sensitive, Elizabeth Rose, Kucka and other groundbreaking Australian artists. We are one of the few schools worldwide certified

by Ableton. Learning is hands-on, combining face-to-face classes with guided projects to work on at home. Our class sizes are small so you receive personalised training and private feedback from our producers.

Who are the teachers?

George Nicholas (Seekae), Thom McAlister (Alba), Josh Molony (Setwun) and Anthony Garvin (mix

engineer), plus a host of course contributors including awardwinning artists Flume, Kucka, Touch Sensitive, Elizabeth Rose and more.

LDRU.

Take the next step: Students leave with a completed body of release-ready music.

Enrolment dates: Enrol now for final dates for 2016.

Enrol by January 31 for 2017. You can book a tour of Liveschool studios and ask what course is best for you.

What else you need to know: The facilities are a world-class music studio in Surry Hills. Notable past students include What So Not, Nina Las Vegas, Anna Lunoe and

Address: Level 3, 259 Riley St, Surry Hills Phone: (02) 8065 6913 Email: connect@liveschool.net Website: liveschool.net

education profile WITH Courses on offer: Animation: Bachelor of Animation, Associate Degree of Animation, Diploma of Screen and Media (Animation). Audio: Bachelor of Audio, Associate Degree of Audio, Diploma of Music Industry (Electronic Music Production), Diploma of Music Industry (Live Sound), Diploma of Music Industry (Studio Production), Short Course in Digital Broadcasting. Design: Bachelor of Design (Graphic Design), Bachelor of Design (Web Design), Associate Degree of Design (Graphic Design), Associate Degree of Design (Web Design). Film: Bachelor of Film, Associate Degree of Film, Diploma of Screen and Media (Digital Video Production).

Games: Bachelor of Games Development, Associate Degree of Games Development. Web and mobile (delivered online): Diploma of Screen and Media (Web Design).

What makes us different: SAE is all about handson learning. We provide students with opportunities to collaborate on real-world projects, in a professional working environment that equips students with the skills and experience needed to hit the ground running. We offer accredited fast-track learning pathways so you can be industry-ready, degree-qualifi ed in two years, and on your way to that dream job faster.

SAE Sydney will be getting a new home in the New Year!

The new SAE campus adjacent to Central Station lies within Sydney’s creative arts hub of Chippendale. Opening January

SAE SYDNEY

2017, the purpose-designed seven-storey campus located on Regent Street will be double the size of the existing campus. The new building will boast 12 large digital and analogue recording studios, seven live recording rooms, premium industry consoles including the Neve Custom Series 75, a spacious green screen room and more.

Who are the teachers?

The lecturers at SAE are highly regarded industry professionals.

Just three of SAE Sydney’s superstar lecturers are Alister Lockhart (design lecturer), who has worked as an illustrator for Disney, Random House and Ten-Thirteen; Paul McKercher (audio lecturer), a fi ve-time ARIA Award-winning producer, engineer and mixer; and David Crowe (fi lm department head), whose broad skill base comes from 14 years of working on feature fi lm crews in Australia, as well as several TV series.

Take the next step: One of our graduates, Sampa Tembo (AKA Sampa The Great), produced and released her debut album while studying at SAE Sydney, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Audio in Studio Production.

Rising through the ranks to join the country’s hip hop royalty, Sampa hit the spotlight when she secured the coveted opening set for US rapper Kendrick Lamar during his Australian tour in March.

Enrolment dates: Trimester 1, 2017 starts in February, Trimester 2 starts in May and Trimester 3 starts in September.

Address: 39 Regent St, Chippendale Reception: (02) 8241 5200 Course enquiries: 1800 723 338 Email: sydney@sae.edu Website: sae.edu.au/campuses/ sydney/ BRAG :: 692 :: 07:12:16 :: 23

arts in focus

arts reviews

■ Film

■ Theatre

A UNITED KINGDOM

SPEED-THE-PLOW

In cinemas Monday December 26 A United Kingdom could be renamed Politics And Prejudice. This fi lm tells the extraordinary true story of when Seretse Khama, the King of Bechuanaland (now Botswana), fell in love with and married a determined English woman named Ruth Williams in 1948.

The film stars David Oyelowo (Selma) and Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl) as the two lovers in this biracial marriage, and they put in strong performances and share a persuasive and lovely chemistry.

Playing at Roslyn Packer Theatre until Saturday December 17

The union between this African man and white woman was challenged by the South African government of the day, which had just introduced its apartheid legislation.

That government also put pressure on the British to publicly intervene. The couple had to deal with society’s conservative ideas at the time, as well as mounting pressure from their respective families.

When Williams gave birth to their first child in the sweeping African plains, Khama was exiled and stuck in the UK. Sure enough, A United Kingdom offers an inspiring

What's in our diary...

Bingefest Sydney Opera House, Saturday December 17 – Sunday December 18 There’s perhaps no greater development in 21st century pop culture than the concept of the binge. From Netflix to YouTube, infinite entertainment is available at our fingertips these days, and sometimes the only way to get through it all is in one hit. The Sydney Opera House’s inaugural Bingefest is the new 24-hour festival that embraces the binge, with a nonstop program of content featuring Radiolab host Jad Abumrad, Serial executive producer Julie Snyder, Community creator Dan Harmon and Hollywood’s favourite binger himself, Shia LeBeouf.

Multipass and single tickets are available at bingefest.sydneyoperahouse.com.

and sentimental story of love conquering all, with geography, politics, family and the establishment failing to keep the couple apart.

It’s a beautifully shot and convincing drama from director Amma Asante (Belle), and a safe yet moving look at an important chapter in history. This was a brave couple who united and took on the world, and such a story of unity seems more timely and relevant today than ever.

Natalie Salvo

arts exposed

Industry produces wealth, it is said; God speed the plow. David Mamet’s 1988 threehander of morality, power and corruption within the Hollywood film industry has aged rather well, and in a year that has seen the election of Donald Trump, also feels oddly portentous. The adage that lends the play its title is indeed quite fitting: this is sharp and industrious dialogue, the kind of school that informed Aaron Sorkin and ensures our thoughts never stray far from the stage.

The small cast – Damon Herriman, Lachy Hulme and our very own Hollywood success, Rose Byrne – offers compelling performances. Herriman is Bobby Gould, a studio executive with the power to green-light films, an especially handy skill when his friend Charlie Fox (Hulme) brings him a script and bankable director to approve within 24 hours.

Enter the out-of-place Karen (Byrne) – a temp secretary, she is soon encouraged to finish a ‘courtesy read’ of a rather nebulous novel, The Bridge, and tell Bobby what she thinks; really, the whole gesture is a front to get Karen into bed and win Bobby a $500 bet to that effect. Yet Bobby’s career success is masking a deep sense of disillusionment and fear, and as Karen turns the seductive tables in rapturous praise of what the book has to say, Charlie’s sure-fire green light to fame and fortune begins to slide away.

Andrew Upton began his career at STC with a Mamet play, and so it’s fitting he closes the loop with one more. It’s also refreshing that across a career studded by rather large-scale productions – The White Guard, Endgame – his last production as artistic director should be something so stripped-back, all lavish sets and costuming jettisoned in favour of word and performance.

Herriman makes for a splendid Bobby, grappling to find significance and strength in a lifestyle he finds increasingly hollow. Byrne has arguably the most difficult part, in that it

doesn’t allow many moments for a performer to really shine. It’s a vital role, and one which Byrne embodies from her character’s first hesitant steps onstage, but the lion’s share of comedy and complexity lies with the others.

To that end, Hulme’s portrayal of Charlie handily steals the show. It is one of the strongest performances I have seen in some time; indeed, so strong is his arc that I at first feared his meekness was not character, but anxiety. Yet as the story progresses and the gamut of Charlie’s motivations is revealed, you quickly realise Hulme knew exactly what he was doing from the get-go.

The third act, as Charlie learns that Karen has convinced Bobby overnight to ditch his own film in favour of the philosophical, uncommercial novel adaptation, unfolds in a blaze of glory (and, it must be said, a rather poorly choreographed fight scene).

When Karen exasperatedly cries, “We have a meeting!”, she is doomed. The tragedy is that she does not know why this statement causes such a dramatic turnaround in Bobby, and for the audience, there is welcome ambiguity, too.

Does her adoption of the industry process reveal her intentions had been manipulative from the start? Or, as I choose to believe, does it show Bobby that the very purity and redemption that the novel extols (albeit in apocalyptic fashion), that have so profoundly affected first Karen and then himself, now face being tarnished by the ruthless money machine that is Hollywood? That his life, and that of his industry, could only corrode this thing that has suddenly brought meaning to his days?

Speed-The-Plow is not a perfect play. But it is a fitting farewell from one of our great theatremakers, and with a cast that rises to the occasion.

Adam Norris

five minutes WITH JESS

POLASCHEK FROM THE TRIBE

How do you come to work with individual artists?

Lots of different ways – some of them I discover online or at markets (Instagram is particularly lucrative) and others just come strolling through my door! I have a pretty specific aesthetic that I stick to, so if I see something that is going to work within that, it’s a no-brainer bringing them on board.

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You’re popping up in Oxford Street until Christmas. What can visitors expect?

Colour, fun, bold prints, something a little different, loads of locally made art products, limited edition art prints both framed and unframed, some of the cutest ceramics in town and a selection of gorgeous jewellery and accessories.

We also have an arts and crafts table with colouring in, so pop by and have a crack any time the store is open.

The store will have late-night shopping in the lead-up to Christmas to make things extra easy for you.

How are you involved in the DoDarlo promotions this year?

We will be giving out the Lister-designed gift tag sticker sheets as well as

DoDarlo stickers, so make sure you come and get a bunch for your Christmas wrapping!

How important is it to The Tribe that you engage with the local economy and culture?

Very. I absolutely love being in Darlinghurst, there is an amazing sense of community here and a fabulous arts scene that is bubbling away.

It is really important to me that we encourage people to shop and play in the area to keep it alive and vibrant.

What: The Tribe Art + Design Collective Where: 70 Oxford St, Darlinghurst When: Until Saturday December 24 More: dodarlo.com

thebrag.com

Shia LaBeouf, Nastja Säde Rönkkö and Luke Turner photo by Vivi Fragou

What is The Tribe Art + Design Collective, and what do you do?

The Tribe has a mission to visually engage everyone, with everything from affordable, ready-tohang artworks and small homewares to large-scale original artworks. We also like to run workshops and networking events, as well as offer mentoring and help to young creatives.

What to see and do: It’s a techno lineup fit for a festival, in an open-air setting with insane production around the strike of midnight – we’re looking forward to bringing New Year’s Eve back with a bang!

You’ll be watching everything from the dancefloor – never asleep in the corner.

Drink a toast: Champagne at midnight! It’s another year down, time to rejoice!

What’s the highlight: CODE NYE will be showcasing a heavyweight lineup of international DJs led by none other than Guy Gerber. He’s joined by Mano Le Tough, Alex Niggemann, Audiojack and very special guest Umek, making it the strongest techno lineup ever seen on NYE in Sydney. Production will be next level – anyone who was lucky enough to be at our last gig at the Greenwood, which was with Carl Cox, will know what to expect.

When the clock strikes midnight:

Price: Second release tickets $85

For our ears: Five internationals – Guy Gerber, Umek, Mano Le Tough, Alex Niggemann and Audiojack, plus three rooms with 25 of the best local DJs in Sydney.

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HOME THE VENUE What to see and do: DJ and personality Didier Cohen takes the headline spot this NYE alongside a slew of Home’s most popular residents.

We have prime viewing for all of Darling Harbour’s fireworks minus the Griswolds’ family vacay vibes.

For our ears: Six rooms of club madness.

Commercial, house, R&B and party anthems. You want it?

We’ve got a room that’ll be blasting it.

Drink a toast: There is an exclusive cocktail menu curated by Red Bull for our VIP guests and every bar will be stocked to the brim with all your favourites.

When the clock strikes midnight: Grab your friends, your lover, that cute stranger and smooch away. Didier Cohen will be providing the ultimate party tunes to ring in the New Year!

What’s the highlight: Our venue will be decked out in silver and chrome. Be prepared to step into another world and be prepared to never want to leave!

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Price: $70 for GA (second release – final release will go up!) and $150 for our VIP package (includes express access, exclusive room, food, cocktail menu and other surprises)

Let’s face it, 2016 has been a slog. But 2017 is around the corner, and we can’t bloody wait. Sydney will be one of the first cities in the world to welcome in the New Year, and whether you’re a dancefloor diva, a rock’n’roller or a beach fanatic, there’s something for you.

Four NYE Parties To Send Off 2016 In Style

CODE NYE @ GREENWOOD HOTEL

COOGEE BAY HOTEL What to see and do: An all-star affair of good food, good music and good times plus the best place to watch the Coogee 9pm fireworks and catch Sydney’s midnight crackers on the big screen followed by Bag Raiders (DJ set).

For our ears: Live music and DJs throughout the venue, featuring Bag Raiders (DJ set), Purple Sneakers DJs, Cameron Adams (Telefunken DJs), Camsterdam, Jeremy Dotch, DJ Hugh Fasher, DJ KC, Vanessa Heintz Band and Justine Eltakchi Duo.

Drink a toast: Bars will be fully stocked with something for everyone, especially champagne!

When the clock strikes midnight: Bag Raiders DJs will be bringing in the New Year with tunes to make you move, plus see Sydney’s famous fireworks on the big screen.

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What’s the highlight: Amazing music, great times with good friends seeing in the New Year by the seaside.

Price: Free entry!

THE ORIENT HOTEL What to see and do: Our famous house live band Reckless and DJs across three levels of unique experiences, special cocktails and a stone’s throw from the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House.

For our ears: Live Aussie rock and party vibes across three levels and the garden. Sets from Vonaudio, Dollar Bear, Jordan Magro, Gold Class, Stereo Jones and Jay Owenz, starting 9:30pm.

thebrag.com

Drink a toast: Moët & Chandon is the drink of choice.

When the clock strikes midnight: You’ll be on the dancefloor.

What’s the highlight: The location and being so close to the fireworks, the live music, DJs, atmosphere and cocktails.

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Price: Starting from $40 general entry or $100 VIP two-hour drinks and beverage package.

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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

THE LADY HAMPSHIRE HOTEL

A Work In Progres King St, Sydney CBD (02) 9240 3000 Mon – Fri noon-2am; Sat 5pm-2am The ArtHouse 275 Pitt St, Sydney CBD (02) 9284 1200

ADDRESS: 91 PARRAMATTA RD, CAMPERDOWN OPENING HOURS: MON – SUN 11AMLATE WEBSITE: FACEBOOK.COM/LADYHAMPSHIRE

TH

EK

OF

bar E E W

Mon noon-midnight; Tue – Wed 10am-midnight; Thu 10am-1.30am; Fri 10am-3am; Sat noon1.30am

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

Peg Leg Pyrmont 11a Pyrmont Bridge Rd, Pyrmont Mon – Thu 3pm-midnight; Fri – Sun 11am-midnight

Ash St Cellar 1 Ash St, Sydney CBD (02) 9240 3000 Mon – Fri 8.30am-11pm

Grandma’s Basement 275 Clarence St, Sydney CBD (02) 9264 3004 Mon – Fri 3pm-midnight; Sat 5pm-1am

PS40 40 King St, Sydney CBD Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight

Assembly 488 Kent St, Sydney CBD (02) 9283 8808 Mon noon-midnight; Tue 5pm-midnight; Wed – Sat noon-midnight The Australian Heritage Hotel 100 Cumberland St, The Rocks (02) 9247 2229 Mon – Sun 11am-midnight Bar Eleven Lvl 11, 161 Sussex St, Sydney CBD (02) 9290 4000 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

bar

Barrio Cellar Basement Level, 58 Elizabeth St, Sydney (02) 9232 7380 Mon – Sun noon-late Basement Bar Basement, 27-33 Goulburn St, Sydney CBD (02) 8970 5813 Mon – Thu 5pm-10pm; Fri – Sat 5pm-midnight The Baxter Inn Basement 152-156 Clarence St, Sydney CBD (02) 9221 5580 Mon – Sat 4pm-1am

Tell us about your bar: The Lady Hampshire is about good food, good booze and good songs, mostly in that order. If you believe in venues with character and community, The Lady is for you. Put simply, she’s an old-school dame with a new-school creative heart. The interior walls are painted by some of Sydney’s best artists including Georgia Hill, Scotty Marsh and Jimmy Nice. There’s an awesome beer garden, events and unexpected great things happening all the time.

What’s on the menu?

Traditional pub fare done well, eight types of tacos, and quality burgers that are just as good as those at the Gladstone. The rissoles will change your life.

Care for a drink?

We have a great selection of beer on tap. It’s hard to go past a schooner of Young Henrys.

Sounds: So far we’ve had The Delta Riggs, Sticky Fingers, and Flume played at the ARIA afterparty. We don’t plan too much in advance so just watch our Instagram or Facebook to see what’s coming up. Even better, come in and ask Ben at the bar. We also have a No Gronks Party every Friday.

There’s no cover charge, we just want the band to play and have a good time without the pressure of filling a room. No schedules, good times.

The bill comes to: $20 for rissoles and a schooner of Young Henrys. We keep it reasonable so you can hang out here every night of the week if you want.

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Bulletin Place First Floor, 10-14 Bulletin Place, Circular Quay Mon – Wed 4pm-midnight; Thurs – Sat 4pm-1am; Sun 4-10pm Burrow Bar De Mestre Place, Sydney 0450 466 674 Tue – Sun 4pm-midnight The Captain’s Balcony 46 Erskine St, Sydney CBD (02) 9299 3526 Mon – Fri noon-midnight; Sat 5pm-midnight deVine 32 Market St, Sydney CBD (02) 9262 6906 Mon – Fri noon-11.30pm; Sat 5.30-11.30pm Easy Eight 152-156 Clarence St, Sydney (02) 9299 3769 Tue – Sat 4pm-midnight El Camino Cantina 18 Argyle St, The Rocks (02) 9259 5668 Mon – Sun noon-midnight Frankie’s Pizza 50 Hunter St, Sydney CBD Sun – Thu 4pm-3am; Fri noon-3am Gilt Lounge 2/49 Market St, Sydney CBD (02) 8262 0000 Wed – Friday 5pm-midnight; Sat 6pm-midnight The Glenmore 96 Cumberland St, The Rocks (02) 9247 4794 Mon – Thu, Sun 11am-midnight; Fri – Sat 11am-1am

The Grasshopper 1 Temperance Ln, Sydney CBD (02) 9947 9025 Mon – Thu 4pm-midnight; Fri noon-1am; Sat 4pm-midnight Hacienda Sydney 61 Macquarie St, Sydney CBD (02) 9256 4000 Sun – Thu noon-10.30pm; Fri – Sat noon-midnight Harpoon Harry 40-44 Wentworth Ave, Sydney CBD (02) 8262 8800 Mon – Sat 11.30am-3am; Sun 11am-midnight Hudson Ballroom 53-55 Liverpool St, Sydney CBD Wed – Thu 5pm-11pm; Fri 5pm-3am; Sat 6pm-3am 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 – Thu 2-10pm; 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 Mr Tipply’s 347 Kent St, Sydney CBD (02) 9299 4877 Mon – Thu 11.30am-10pm; Fri 11.30am-midnight; Sat 10pm-4am The Palisade 35 Bettington St, Millers Point 9018 0123 Mon – Fri noon-midnight; Sat – Sun 11am-midnight Palmer & Co. Abercrombie Ln, Sydney CBD (02) 9240 3000 Sun – Weds 5pm-3am; Thu – Fri 3pm-3am; Sat 4pm-3am Papa Gede’s Bar Laneway at the end of 348 Kent St, Sydney CBD (02) 9299 5671 Mon – Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat 5pm-midnight

Rockpool Bar & Grill 66 Hunter St, Sydney CBD (02) 8078 1900 Mon – Fri noon-3pm, 6-11pm; Sun 5.30-10pm 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 Tue – Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat 6pm-midnight Shirt Bar 7 Sussex Ln, Sydney CBD (02) 8068 8222 Mon – Fri 8am-10pm Since I Left You 338 Kent St, Sydney CBD (02) 9262 4986 Mon – Tue 4.30-10pm; Wed – 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 – Tue 4pm-midnight; Wed – 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; Sat 5-11.30pm Tuxedo Bar 195 Gloucester St, The Rocks Tue – Wed 3-9pm; Thu – Sat 3-10pm Uncle Ming’s 55 York St, Sydney CBD Mon – Fri noon-midnight; Sat 4pm-midnight York Lane 56 Clarence St, Sydney CBD (02) 9299 1676 Mon – Wed 6.30am-10pm; Thu – Fri 6am-midnight; Sat 6pm-midnight

121BC 4/50 Holt St, Surry Hills (02) 9699 1582 Tue – Sat 5pm-midnight Absinthe Salon 87 Albion St, Surry Hills (02) 9211 6632 Wed – Sat 4-10pm Arcadia Liquors 7 Cope St, Redfern (02) 8068 4470 Mon – Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat 3pm-midnight; Sun 3-10pm Bar Cleveland Cnr Bourke & Cleveland St, Redfern (02) 9698 1908 Mon – Thu 10am-2am; Fri – Sat 10am-4am thebrag.com

Lady Hampshire photos by Cole Bennetts

Highlights: How about the Wednesday night badge draw and $3 tacos, or Friday night’s No Gronks Party? There’s also the beer garden, great food and drink, great people, art, music and a late licence. Larrikin Lane is worth a look.

Beta Bar First Floor, 238 Castlereagh St, CBD (02) 8599 8970 Wed – Thu 5pm-midnight; Fri midday-midnight; Sat 5pm-midnight

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

Ramblin’ Rascal Tavern 199 Elizabeth St, Sydney CBD Mon – Fri noon-midnight

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 – Fri 3pm-midnight; Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm Button Bar 65 Foveaux St, Surry Hills (02) 9211 1544 Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight Café Lounge 277 Goulburn St, Surry Hills (02) 9016 3951 Mon – Thu 5pm-midnight; Fri – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sunday 4-10pm Casoni Italian Bar & Eatery 371-373 Bourke St, Darlinghurst Tue – Thu 5pm-11pm; Fri – Sat 5pm-midnight; Sun 5pm-10pm Central Tavern 42-50 Chalmers St, Surry Hills (02) 9212 3814 Mon – Sat 10am-2am; Sun 10am-10pm Ching-a-Lings 1/133 Oxford St, Darlinghurst (02) 9360 3333 Wed 6-11pm; Thu – Sat 6pm-1am; Sun 5-10pm The Cliff Dive 16-18 Oxford Square, Darlinghurst Fri – Sat 8pm-3am The Commons 32 Burton St, Darlinghurst (02) 9358 1487 Tue – Wed 6pm-midnight; Fri noon-1am; Sat 8.30am-1am; Sun 8.30am-11pm 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 Dead Ringer 413 Bourke St, Surry Hills (02) 9331 3560 Mon – Fri 5pm-midnight; Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-midnight Della Hyde 34 Oxford St, Darlinghurst Thu – Sat 5pm-late Eau-De-Vie 229 Darlinghurst Rd, Darlinghurst 0422 263 226 Sun – Fri 6pm-1am; Sat 6pm-midnight The Exchange 34 Oxford St, Darlinghurst (02) 9358 2311 Mon – Sun noon-late The Forresters 336 Riley St, Surry Hills (02) 9212 3035 Mon – Wed noon-midnight; Thu – Sat noon-1am; Sun noon-10pm thebrag.com

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 4pm-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; Sat 4pm-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 – 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 noon-11pm Hustle & Flow Bar 3/105 Regent St, Redfern (02) 8964 93932 Tue – Thu 6pm-midnight; Fri – Sat 5pm-midnight; Sun 2pm-midnight Li’l Darlin Darlinghurst 235 Victoria St, Darlinghurst (02) 8084 6100 Mon – Sun 4pm-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 – Wed noonmidnight; Thu – Sat noon1am; Sun noon-11pm The Long Goodbye 1/83 Stanley Street, Darlinghurst (02) 8957 7674 Tue 5-11pm; Wed – Sat 5pm-midnight; Sun 5-10pm 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

Moya’s Juniper Lounge 101 Regent St, Redfern 0431 113 394 Tue – Sat 4pm-11pm; Sun 2-10pm The Noble Hops 125 Redfern St, Redfern 0431 113 394 Mon – Fri 4pm -midnight; Sat 3pm-midnight; Sun 3pm-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; Sun 4-10pm

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

Selina’s at Coogee Bay Hotel 253 Coogee Bay Rd, Coogee (02) 9665 0000 Selina’s Thu 8pm-midnight; Coogee Bay Hotel Mon – Thu 7am-3am, Fri – Sat 7am-6am; Sun 7am-midnight

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

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

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

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

The Oxford Circus 231 Oxford St, Darlinghurst 0457 353 384 Wed – Sat 6pm-3am

Tipple Bar 28 Chalmers St, Surry Hills (02) 9212 0006 Mon midday-10pm; Tue –Sat midday-midnight

The Owl House 97 Crown St, Darlinghurst 0401 273 080 Mon – Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat 6pm-midnight; Sun 6-10pm

Vasco 421 Cleveland St, Redfern 0406 775 436 Mon – Sat 5pm-midnight

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

The Village Inn 9-11 Glenmore Rd, Paddington (02) 9331 0911 Mon – Sun noon-late

Batch Brewing Company 44 Sydenham Rd, Marrickville (02) 9550 5432 Mon – Sun 10am-8pm

Peekaboo 120 Bourke St, Woolloomooloo 0403 747 788 Tue – Thu 4pm-10pm; Fri – Sat 4pm-midnight Play Bar 72 Campbell St, Surry Hills (02) 9280 0885 Tue – Thu 5pm-midnight; Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat 5pm-midnight 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 5pm-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 Tue – Fri 5pm-midnight; Sat noon-midnight; Sun 3-10pm Rosie Campbell’s 320 Crown St, Surry Hills (02) 9356 4653 Mon – Thu 5pm-midnight; Fri – Sun 11am-midnight Shady Pines Saloon Shop 4, 256 Crown St, Darlinghurst Mon – Sun 4pm-midnight The Soda Factory 16 Wentworth Ave, Surry Hills (02) 8096 9120 Mon – 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

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

Bauhaus West 163 Enmore Rd, Enmore (02) 8068 9917 Fri – Sat 4pm-midnight The Bearded Tit 183 Regent St, Redfern (02) 8283 4082 Mon – Fri 4-11pm; Sat 2-11pm; Sun 2-10pm

Anchor Bar 8 Campbell Pde, Bondi (02) 8084 3145 Mon – Fri 5pm-late; Sat – Sun 12.30pm-late

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

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

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

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

Calaveras 324 King St, Newtown 0451 541 712 Tue – Wed 6-10pm; Thu 5-11pm; Fri – Sat 5pm-midnight; Sun 5.3010pm

Bondi Hardware 39 Hall St, Bondi (02) 9365 7176 Mon – Thu 4pm-midnight; Fri noon-midnight; Sat 9am-midnight; Sun 9am-10pm The Bucket List Shop 1, Bondi Pavilion, Queen Elizabeth Drive (02) 9365 4122 Mon – Sun 11am-midnight The Corner House 281 Bondi Rd, Bondi (02) 8020 6698 Mon – Fri 5pm-midnight; Sat 9am-midnight; Sun 9am-10pm Fat Ruperts 249 Bondi Rd, Bondi (02) 9130 1033 Tue – Fri 4-11pm; Sat – Sun 2-11pm Jam Gallery 195 Oxford St, Bondi Junction (02) 9389 2485 Wed – Sat 7pm-3am The Phoenix Hotel 1 Moncur St, Woollahra (02) 9363 2608 Mon – Wed 4-11pm; Thu – Fri noon-11pm; Sat – Sun 8am-11pm The Robin Hood Hotel 203 Bronte Rd, Waverley (02) 9389 3477 Mon-Sat 10am-3am; Sun 10am-10pm

Cornerstone Bar & Food 245 Wilson St, Eveleigh (02) 8571 9004 Sun – Wed 10am-5pm; Thu – Sat 10am-midnight Corridor 153A King St, Newtown 0405 671 002 Mon 5pm-midnight; Tue – Thu 4pm-midnight; Fri – Sun 3pm-midnight Cottage Bar & Kitchen 342 Darling St, Balmain (02) 8084 8185 Mon – Wed 5pm-midnight; Thu – Sat noon-midnight Deus Sydney Bar + Kitchen 98-104 Parramatta Rd, Camperdown (02) 9519 0849 Mon-Tue 8am-3pm; WedSun 8am-11pm 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 Tea House 530 King St, Newtown Mon – Fri 5pm-midnight; Sat – Sun 3.30pm-midnight

Forest Lodge Hotel 117 Arundel St, Forest Lodge (02) 9660 1872 Mon – Sat 11am-midnight; Sun noon-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 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 – Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm Kelly’s On King 285 King St, Newtown (02) 9565 2288 Mon – Sat 10am-11pm; Sun 11pm-midnight Kingston Public Bar & Kitchen 62-64 King St, Newtown (02) 8084 4140 Mon – Thu 4pm-midnight; Fri – Sun 2pm-midnight Knox Street Bar Cnr Knox & Shepherd St, Chippendale (02) 8970 6443 Tue – Thu 4-10pm; Fri – Sat 4pm-midnight Kuleto’s 157 King St, Newtown (02) 9519 6369 Tue – Sat 4pm-3am; Sun 4pm-midnight

The Oxford Tavern 1 New Canterbury Rd, Petersham (02) 8019 9351 Mon – Thu noon-midnight; Fri – Sat noon-3am; Sun noon-10pm Lord Raglan 12 Henderson Rd, Alexandria (02) 9699 4767 Mon – Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon10pm The Record Crate 34 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 9660 1075 Mon – Thu 5pm-midnight; Sat noon-midnight; Sun 3-10pm The Royal 156 Norton St, Leichhardt (02) 9569 2638 Mon – Thu 10am-1am; Fri – Sat 10am-3am; Sun 10am-midnight Secret Garden Bar 134a Enmore Rd, Enmore 0403 621 585 Mon – Tue 7am-5pm; Wed – Fri 7am-11pm; Sat 7am-10pm; Sun 7am-11pm Staves Brewery 4-8 Grose Street, Glebe (02) 9280 4555 Thu 4-10pm; Fri – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun 4-10pm Temperance Society 122 Smith St, Summer Hill (02) 8068 5680 Mon – Thu 4pm-11pm; Fri – Sat 3pm-midnight; Sun 3-10pm Thievery 91 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 8283 1329 Mon – Thu 6pm-11pm; Fri 6pm-midnight; Sat noon3pm & 6pm-midnight Timbah 375 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 9571 7005 Tue – Thu 4-10pm; Fri 4-11pm; Sat 3pm-11pm; Sun 4pm-8pm Vernon’s Bar L2. One Penny Red, 2 Moonbie St. Summer Hill (02) 9797 8118 Mon 4-10pm; Tue – Thu 4-11pm; Fri – Sat 4-midnight; Sun 4-10pm

Leadbelly 42 King St, Newtown (02) 9557 9409 Sun – Thur 4pm-midnight; Fri-Sat 4pm-1am

Wayward Brewing Co. 1 Gehrig Ln, Annandale (02) 7903 2445 Thu – Fri 2-10pm; Sat noon-10pm; Sun noon-8pm

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

Websters Bar 323 King St, Newtown (02) 9519 1511 Mon – Sat 10am-4am; Sun 10am-midnight

Mary’s 6 Mary St, Newtown (02) 4995 9550 Mon – Thu 4pm-midnight; Fri – Sat noon-midnight The Midnight Special 44 Enmore Road, Newtown (02) 9516 2345 Tue – Fri 5pm-noon; Sat 1pm-midnight 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

Wilhelmina’s 332 Darling St, Balmain (02) 8068 8762 Wed – Fri 5-11pm; Sat 8-11pm; Sun 8am-10pm 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 – Fri noon-7pm; Sat 10am-7pm; Sun 11am-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

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

Daniel San 55 North Steyne, Manly (02) 9977 6963 Mon – Thu 4pm-midnight; Fri – Sun 11am-2am Firefly 24 Young St, Neutral Bay (02) 9909 0193 Mon – Wed 5-11pm; Thu 5-11.30pm; Fri noon11.30pm; Sat noon-11pm; Sun noon-10pm 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 Hemingway’s 48 North Steyne, Manly (02) 9976 3030 Mon – Sat 8am-midnight; Sun 8am-10pm The Hold Shop 4, Sydney Rd Plaza, Manly (02) 9977 2009 Tue – Fri 5pm-midnight; Sat 3pm-midnight; Sun 3-10pm Honey Rider 230 Military Rd, Neutral Bay (02) 9953 8880 Tue – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun 4pm-10pm InSitu 1/18 Sydney Rd, Manly (02) 9977 0669 Tue – Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat 9am-midnight; Sun 9am-10pm The Hunter 5 Myahgah Rd, Mosman 0409 100 339 Mon – Tue 5pm-midnight; Wed – Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon- 10pm Jah Bar Shop 9, 9-15 Central Ave, Manly (02) 9977 4449 Tue 5pm-midnight; Wed-Fri noon-midnight; Sat 8am-midnight; Sun 9am-10pm Manly Wine 8-13 South Steyne, Manly (02) 8966 9000 Mon – Sun 7am-11pm Miami Cuba 47 North Steyne, Manly 0487 713 350 Mon – Sun 8am-4pm Moonshine Lvl 2, Hotel Steyne, 75 The Corso, Manly (02) 9977 4977 Mon – Thu 9am-3pm; Fri – Sat 9am-2am; Sun 9am-midnight The Pickled Possum 254 Military Rd, Neutral Bay (02) 9909 2091 Thu – Sat 9pm-1am SoCal 1 Young St, Neutral Bay (02) 9904 5691 Mon – Wed 5pm-midnight; Thu 5pm-1am; Sat noon2am; 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 BRAG :: 692 :: 07:12:16 :: 27

snap sn ap

out & about

VIEW FULL GALLERIES AT

up all night out all week . . .

thebrag.com/snaps

Queer(ish) matters with Arca Bayburt

Lesbians Are Sexy, Deal With It

smoking martha

PICS :: AM

T 01:12:16 :: Frankie’s Pizza :: 50 Hunter St Sydney

he offices of ACON (formerly the AIDS Council of NSW) are adorned with an endless parade of posters depicting sad-looking young (and sometimes older) men with their heads in their hands, with some scaremongering “Are You Being Safe?” messaging underscoring the images.

In contrast, there is also an endless parade of posters depicting guys of all types having a grand old time, living with HIV. It ain’t a death sentence, and yeah, we’re all working hard to decrease the stigma.

Wonderfully enough, ACON recently launched a health program aimed at trans men – their sexual health has long been ignored, and this HIV prevention and general sexual health initiative couldn’t have come any sooner.

This is all great. It’s important; and as a community we need to look after one another.

Except for the fact it leaves out lesbians.

According to most sexual health clinics in Sydney (and ACON isn’t doing nearly enough, so it’s not off the hook), lesbians don’t have sex, and if they do, it’s not real sex. Their risk of HIV transmission is so low it hardly bears discussion. So they lob

this week…

PICS :: AM

garbage

On Saturday December 10, Heaps Gay is putting on one of its famous car park parties for Christmas: Heaps Xmasy, hosted at the Portugal

What is safe sex for lesbians? And why are so many of us completely unaware of how to practise it?

It comes down to community failure.

Lesbians are either fetishised or ignored, and too often we find it difficult to crawl out of the shadow of AIDS. As awful as it sounds, we can’t seem to get enough attention.

Lesbians can also get HIV. We can get AIDS. We can die from this shit, just like men. Yeah, our numbers are lower, but they’re still too high.

Our community leaders and our health practitioners need to talk to us, they need to care. Our sex is real and it carries risks – it’s about time we treated our sexual behaviour with the same scrutiny and seriousness as the rest of our community does with men.

I feel sometimes female sexuality as a whole is deemed too complicated to deal with. There seems to be a pervasive and dangerous attitude around the whole thing that says, “Well, it’s all just so hard to say, so let’s just hand out some slimy Glad Wrap and hope for the best.”

Thanks guys; no, really.

I’ve been met with blank stares when I’ve asked queer doctors how to safely have sex with other women. More often than not, after the doctor’s short circuit, they snap back to reality and try to placate me with, “It’s not that risky.

I mean, there’s a risk, but it’s low. So be careful, but also don’t worry.”

So if I want to clarify and ask, “How do I be careful?”

I’m stonewalled with the same blank stare – the “wow, I’ve never really considered this” stare that I’m so disappointed to see, especially from community health practitioners.

Seriously, you can rattle off 101 health complications from super-gonorrhoea at the drop of a hat, but turn into a gibbering toddler when I ask how to protect my sexual health?

Dr. Google can only do so much, and even then, it usually diagnoses some sort of exotic cancer.

ACON is my last hope for any sort of campaign that addresses lesbian health in the near future. In the meantime, I would urge any of you to keep asking your doctors until they’re forced to pay attention.

Don’t wait for your clit to fall off.

Sex can be risky for women who have sex with women too, so it’s time to introduce a new story to the narrative.

Mira Boru

Club in Marrickville.

There’ll be performances

by Anna May Kirk, Zin Partnership, Groove Therapy and Radha La Bia, plus DJs Kimchi Princi, Ebony Boadu (Grls Grls Grls), Lucy Watson, Mira Boru & Cunningpants. Tickets available on the door.

Also on Saturday

December 10, at a soon-to-be announced “intimate Inner West location”, Melbourne’s Danny Hotep and DJ Salmon Barrel fasten the mirror balls and ready the haze to bring you Misty Nights. Keep it disco, keep it queer. Good vibes from DJs Hani Hanbali and Brudo & Hux. Grab tix via Resident Advisor.

02:12:16 :: Hordern Pavilion:: 1 Driver Ave Moore Park 9921 5333 28 :: BRAG :: 692 :: 07:12:16

thebrag.com

Out & About photo courtesy Pixabay

On Friday December 9, head on down to the Imperial Hotel in Erskineville for Spice Girlthing. This massive party stretches over two levels, bringing you girl power for Girlthing’s last bash of 2016. Dress up as your fave Spice Girl for mass prizes. It’ll also feature Ariane, Nes, Cunningpants, Maple Behaviour, Dolly and more to be announced.

Tickets are on sale now.

some dental dams at us and shrug their shoulders when we ask, “But how can I be safe? Am I safe?”

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

ALBUM OF THE WEEK ANATOMY CLASS Tell Me What You See Independent

‘Tocka’ is a Russian word for which there is no direct equivalent in English, designed to describe the strange feeling you get when you start missing something you never actually had – that odd kind of confused absence that nothing seems able to satisfy.

METALLICA Hardwired… To Self-Destruct Blackened/Universal Metallica have been around for so long they’re forever doomed to fall into the trap of having their new material being compared to their back catalogue. This means any decent new album like Hardwired…

To Self-Destruct is always going to be assessed next to a masterpiece like the ‘Black Album’.

Hardwired is exactly what you’d expect; a Metallica album that sounds like a Metallica album should, and doesn’t try to do anything too crazy (remember St. Anger?). The music is heavy throughout, with only very short breaks to draw a breath. While the record probably lacks a truly classic tune to add to the catalogue, none of these tracks are outright duds.

The usual heavy metal motifs and themes are present, especially on ‘Murder One’ and ‘Spit Out The Bone’; no new ground is really broken in terms of lyricism, but who listens to Metallica for the lyrics anyway? Lars Ulrich’s drums are as Larsy as ever, while Kirk Hammett quietly drives the band as he’s done for over 30 years now.

Overall, this is a solid album and a good buy for any classic metal fan who wants something new to headbang along with. Whether it’s from legends like Metallica or some long-haired blokes down at the local, good heavy metal is always good heavy metal.

Nathan Quattrucci

That said, it would be wrong to imply this record is some kind of academic exercise. Tell Me What You See is a wild, vicious howl – an album that presses down on the audience the way a tumour presses against the back of the eye.

On that level, and so many others, it is an unmitigated success – a local triumph with a dark insistence to boot.

Joseph Earp

OWEN RABBIT

LEWIS CANCUT

One Independent

Indoor Rainforest NLV

Drawing influence from pop, soul, jazz and lo-fi sounds, Owen Rabbit masterfully draws listeners in with his hauntingly heartfelt lyrics, pairing them with some truly cinematic production work. Experimental sound effects are plentiful across this release, alongside Rabbit’s signature use of miscellaneous objects to make his music.

Lewis Cancut’s new release Indoor Rainforest is a set of pristine, tropical house music that sounds like a rave taking place inside a video game.

‘Oh My God’ drops with an impressively hefty beat, demonstrating Rabbit’s ability to keep the energy rising, even when you think it’s already at its peak.

Elsewhere, the diverse One includes the nearly nine-minute-long ‘Pyramid Power’, an impressive journey that has pulled the listener in all different directions by the time it’s done.

The influence of Japanese and anime culture is strong throughout the six-track EP – the cover art is perfect – and the bouncing synths, treated Japanese woodwind sounds and kicking percussion only compound the eccentric high energy.

thebrag.com

Cobra’s Blood Convicted We’ll all remember where we were when the news started to come through: Trump was winning the election. The air was thick with hyperbolic predictions and apocalyptic economic scenarios. On the internet, embarrassed political commentators tried to slash through the impossible hubris of imperial promise, while grinning ideologues declared the triumph of normal political discourse.

Coming in at an economical 20 minutes, nothing on this EP is too cute, and nothing outstays its welcome. Cancut guides listeners on an intriguing ride through this indoor rainforest, which – in the real world – is a man-made attraction.

Immensely powerful, impassioned and a little bit weird, One is a strong debut collection from Rabbit. It might take a few listens to wrap your head around it, but rest assured this EP is full of beautiful moments.

For that reason, the title of Indoor Rainforest is oddly telling.

Nothing here is out of place, and it will make as much sense in your headphones as it will when you’re dancing with strangers in the dark.

Suddenly it all makes sense. No one knows exactly what the next four years have in store, but no one can ever take away primitive three-chord garage rock. Long live Kit Convict and Thee Terrible Two.

Abbey Lew-Kee

Luke Fussell

Patrick Emery

Also keep an ear out for ‘Someday The Rain Is Gonna Come’, a change of pace and mood that utilises slow guitar and drum rhythms, as well as the acoustic version of Rabbit’s knockout 2015 single ‘Denny’s’ – arguably better than the original.

Stacks of emotion can be found on this one, starting from the sharp opening lyrics.

Short, sweet and scruffy, Hi!, the debut EP from Bleach Girls, embodies all the popped-collar, bubblegum-snapping ’tude of your 16-year-old self, when all you wanted to do was skip school, hit the beach and jam in your parents’ garage.

Hi! Independent

KIT CONVICT AND THEE TERRIBLE TWO

But there is respite in earshot: the new album from Kit Convict and Thee Terrible Two. Simple, pithy, on the money, like a cheap political slogan that actually means something. Witness the prophetic allegorical tone of ‘Napalm On The Street’, the enlightenment-drinking ‘Cobra’s Blood’, the demographic cleansing strategy of ‘Sterilised’, the targeted law enforcement strategies in ‘Divvy Van’, the covert state surveillance in ‘Pigs In Disguise’, the incisive political analysis in ‘Neanderthal’, the fatality of hope in ‘Dancing In My Crypt’ and the prospect for civil unrest in ‘Trouble Is Brewing’.

Cancut goes a step further with these influences on ‘Ice Cream & Asphalt’, where he employs the addictive, sickly sweet vocal contributions of Miku Hatsune. While all of this might sound gimmicky to some, he’s created something truly intriguing – largely because it never sits still.

INDIE ALBUM OF THE WEEK

BLEACH GIRLS

xxx

Ant Rosen, Nick Kennedy and Paul Youdell announce their arrival.

Anatomy Class’ Tell Me What You See is the melodic translation of that phrase, a record defined by a kind of inescapable grief and melancholia. It’s a collection of pop songs with their middles poked through, a scrappy pile of signifiers that manages to be both hooky and hysterical.

Lyrically, songs like ‘Peter Sellers’ are addled with McGuffins, and tunes seem unprepared to really address the bone-thin elephant in the room. Lines fold into each other without rhyme or reason, and songs speak in images rather than anything more concrete – phrases are dropped to further the confusion, not to explain it away.

For Byron Bay musicians Fi Fi and Mickey Bleach, that dream became reality. The brother-sister duo wrote more than 20 songs in a converted old storage shed before taking their best on a tour of Bali and perfecting five in a Gold Coast studio. The result: a garage/surf rock fusion that’s lo-fi and high-energy, like the bratty love child of Best Coast and Bikini Kill.

‘No Fun’ kicks off with a stomping backbeat, crunchy power chords and a damn catchy chorus. ‘Hell No’ and ‘I Suck You Suck’ nail a boisterous beach sing-along vibe, while ‘16’ and the single ‘Like You’ strike a balance between cute and chaotic with call and response, crashing cymbals, distorted delay and hand claps aplenty. At only two minutes a pop, the tracks are over before you can accuse them of being repetitive.

Like a Calippo dropped on the sand, Hi! is a summery sugar rush – sweet, vibrant and surprisingly gritty.

RAF RUNDELL The Adventures Of Selfi e Boy Pt. 1 1965 Records Raf Rundell is known as one half of The 2 Bears, alongside Joe Goddard of Hot Chip fame, but his first solo release – The Adventures Of Selfi e Boy Pt. 1 – is an interesting mishmash of new sounds which only grows on the listener.

The EP starts off a little jarring, creating uncomfortable feelings upfront. However, as you move through the six songs, they become more soothing and more enjoyable to listen to. It’s a brief set, with the longest track being the sevenminute ‘Llama Farmer’, and so you journey quickly through the universe of sounds Rundell has created.

The standout is ‘Right Time’, with its quirky tambourine and vocal overdubs creating a musical cocoon of comfort and happiness.

Questions must be asked about what Rundell is trying to achieve with the bizarre and comical ‘Poor Bitch’, which promises a lot more than is given with its slightly naughty title, but the talent is clear – any criticism can have nothing to do with the quality of the music itself, but with the story of the EP overall.

But don’t cast aside Selfi e Boy just yet – let yourself enjoy the flow and where it takes you.

Harriet Flitcroft

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

JAPANDROIDS - Celebration Rock AMY WINEHOUSE - Back To Black THE PEEP TEMPEL - Joy

THE GITS - Frenching The Bully NIRVANA - Bleach

Jennifer Hoddinett

BRAG :: 692 :: 07:12:16 :: 29

snap sn ap

VIEW FULL GALLERIES AT

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up all night out all week . . .

THE USED, STORM THE SKY Enmore Theatre Friday December 2

Uniting like it was 2003 all over again, scene kids of days gone by descended en masse on the Enmore Theatre, ready to unleash their inner emos.

Storm The Sky may have seemed an odd choice to support The Used, given their contrasting sounds, but despite their name they were the calm before the hurricane.

Performing a gentler setlist than on their last appearance in Sydney, Storm The Sky moved onstage like they were in a music video – fluid and graceful, lost in the motions of their music.

Even when the sound was tinny and biting on the ears, they were still beautiful to watch – it saved a performance in which plenty of time was spent fiddling with pedals, bassist Benny Craib being a serial offender. It was a good thing the backing lyrics were on screen for the their final song, because while Andy Szetho’s lips were moving to some pivotal lyrics, he was too faint to hear.

DALLAS FRASCA, THE LOCKHEARTS

The screaming, oh, the screaming! It was pandemonium as The Used appeared, sirens wailing and the stage ablaze with lights. As ‘The Taste Of Ink’ opened, frontman Bert McCracken – holding his hands to his chest appreciatively – got the crowd all worked up, thanking the audience for being present to mark the 15th anniversary of their self-titled album.

Newtown Social Club Saturday December 3

Dallas Frasca are a band with a sound like no other – captivating, raspy female vocals, unfi ltered old-school guitars, and classic rock-inspired songs with a 21st century twist, all sparking the urge for swigging on Jack and Coke at their shows. It’s just that kind of vibe.

“If you believe like I believe that music has the power to save this fucking planet, then put your hands in the air right now!”

Powerful words elicited a powerful reaction as ‘Bulimic’ erupted, the fans obediently obliging as The Used showed no sign of going easy on the Sydney crowd.

And yet, it was an utter shame the atmosphere was so incredibly subdued at Newtown Social Club, in a show that saw supports The Lockhearts rock it harder and receive more of a reaction from the crowd than the headliners – they really did local music proud.

Dedicating ‘Poetic Tragedy’ to his daughter Cleo, who joined him onstage, McCracken had fans gushing and cooing with their phones out to capture a moving gesture that only solidified the levels of appreciation and gratitude The Used have for their fans.

That said, it was in a state of sheer exhaustion that Dallas Frasca came to town, fresh off a nine-country tour inclusive of 45 shows. Perhaps the schedule was too ambitious a feat, as the band appeared tired, failing to get half the crowd moving with them until well into the night.

If you were at The Used on Friday night and intended on hitting the gym this week, don’t bother – your arms have had their workout, raised up high and clapping all night long.

Anna Wilson

CHAIRLIFT, THE HARPOONS, CONFIDENCE MAN Metro Theatre Sunday December 4

Where to begin with Confidence Man, the semi-anonymous electro-dance collective that kick things off at a scarcely populated Metro this evening? Sonically, the quartet throw back to artists you didn’t even know you missed – CSS, New Young Pony Club, Fischerspooner and The Phenomenal Handclap Band all come to mind across their weirdly wonderful half-hour. As weird as it is to feel nostalgic for a movement of music barely a decade old, it should be stressed there’s more to Confidence Man than their DNA. Theirs is an energy that goes beyond kitschy choreography and odd hooks – it completely suckers you in.

The same can be said for Melbourne quartet The Harpoons, although they’re more the type to romance and seduce.

The quadrophonic vocal harmonies add a soulful contrast to the tropical flavour of their production, matching conscious artificiality with an organic human touch.

‘Ready For Your Love’ is where it all comes together – an indelible chorus, a bobbling synth and some seriously wailing pipes from one Bec Rigby. A perfect complement to the evening’s headliners, The Harpoons certainly leave an impression on several newcomer

Still, chill as they were, the Melburnians enjoyed their performance; that much was obvious. Frontwoman Dallas Frasca persevered through her lack of sleep, drawing on what little energy she had to get the crowd involved in the music. She had everyone crouched down on the floor, united and equal for a round of call and response vocalising, with no phones allowed on account of them ruining the moment. It was a lovely touch that showed the musicians really did want to give it their all.

Revitalised with the communal pow-wow, Dallas Frasca ripped into ‘Success Is The Best Revenge’, which stands out as one of the best songs in the band’s catalogue and paved the way for a gritty remainder of the set, including an instrumental that guitarist Jeff Curran had written exclusively for and about Newtown.

Knees bent in time ahead of each sexy and sleazy song that followed, before the crowd finally got moving and jumping.

Get some sleep, Dallas Frasca; you’ve partied hard and you’ve earned it.

Anna Wilson

fans. The rest, of course, have known the quartet to have what it takes all along.

Under-promotion and being on a Sunday of all nights means only a couple of hundred have made their way in this evening for Chairlift. In regular circumstances, this would put a considerable damper on a band’s evening. Not so with the New Yorkers, who emerge with grins that won’t wipe off and the energy of an arena act. Full credit to the audience for well and truly compensating for numbers by sheer force. When vocalist Caroline Polachek challenges the crowd to sing along with some of her high-octave refrains, such as ‘Polymorphing’ or ‘Amanaemonesia’, it’s not given a second thought – there it is, right back in her face as loud as the day she recorded it. She suggests the audience attempt a sway during recent single ‘Crying In Public’, and instantly a throng of bodies are doing just that in perfect time. She even asks if singing in Japanese is alright – as she does in ‘I Belong In Your Arms’ – and within seconds we have a bilingual banger on our hands.

The adoration is crystal clear on either side of the crowd barrier, with Polachek and multi-instrumentalist Patrick Wimberly getting out just as much as they are putting in. A champion effort.

David James Young

PHOTOGRAPHER :: ASHLEY MAR

speed date WITH Your Profi le Parcels: aged 19-21, 1. long silky hair, thin legs, pale

Keeping Busy The last months have 2. been absolute chaos. We’ve

been recording our EP, playing shows around Europe and realising new exciting opportunities. In the near

30 :: BRAG :: 692 :: 07:12:16

future we will tour France and then Australia, release our EP in January and then continue to play all over Europe while recording in our Berlin headquarters. Next year is set to be an immense one here at Parcels HQ. Best Gig Ever Citing a ‘best gig ever’ 3. feels a little discriminatory;

every one is different and very special, despite how cheesy that may sound. A recent memorable one was a secret Berlin dance party we threw. Disco Bacon took place in a questionable club down some dodgy back alley in the automechanical hub of Berlin. We had 100 of our friends absolutely bringing the fire on the little dancefloor. High sweat levels all round.

Current Playlist Anything and everything.

4.

It’s getting frosty in Berlin so

some of us are leaning more towards melancholic folk; Gillian Welch and the likes. Air have taken a big resurgence in our listening. Toto loves shit house. Pat’s flatmate is an aspiring techno DJ so he gets all sorts of huge beats. Jules is listening to music especially designed to grow plants but he hasn’t seemed to increase in size yet. Our friends are making really cool music at the moment too – see Hush Moss (Israeli disco queens), The Lovely Days (Melbourne psych-pop groovers) and Von Wegen Lisbeth (Berlin pop pioneers).

Ultimate Rider Our rider at the moment 5. Your

circles around caffeine, alcohol and snacks, all pillars of any good rider. But in the future we hope to expand to more obscure territory. The growing list of demands will include one old-time banjo, fi ve pairs of roller skates, one fi ve-man DJ set-up for afterparties, one grapefruit shrub with ripened fruit, fi ve disco helmets for safe fun (see Parcels’ YouTube channel), some of those fried Japanese squid balls and one Barry Gibb impersonator to warm up with us.

Parcels photo by Cai Leplaw

complexion. Sounds like a confi dently intoxicated evening on a Miami beach in April 1982. But when the evening passes and the confi dence fades, a scent of insecurity fades through. Hobbies include long romantic evenings in front of Logic X, long romantic drives in a van packed with seven people and no leg space, and long strung-out jokes with no logical basis.

PARCELS

Where: Selina’s, Coogee Bay Hotel / Moonshine Bar, Hotel Steyne When: Thursday December 15 / Friday December 16

thebrag.com

live reviews

Foodies Fairground

What we’ve been out to see...

40+ SYDNEYS BEST FOOD & DRINK VENDORS

THE ENTERTAINMENT QUARTER, MOORE PARK

LAUNCHING DECEMBER 11, 2016 12PM - 10PM FOOD & DRINK TRUCKS & VENDORS INCL. KNAFEH BAKERY FOODORA POP UP DINER

GIZZFEST 2016

Big Top Sydney Tuesday November 29 It began as a humble invitational by the Melbourne band recently deemed to have released the best hard rock/heavy metal album of 2016 by the ARIA voting panel. Now, the second annual Gizzfest has expanded into a massive school night party with a unique carnival vibe, thanks in no small part to our immediate surroundings, one of the country’s most famous amusement parks. Some take to the various rides, chowing down on fairy floss and hot dogs, while others head inside to catch early acts living up to their name – Gum, AKA Jay Watson, provides electro-tinged shuffles that pop and snap with a sugary rush, while Mild High Club, direct from the States, lock into a gentle, hazy groove and stick to it.

Business picks up when the guitars get a little louder and the jamming gets a little more extensive – The Murlocs deliver an impressive and tight half-hour, while first-time visitors White Fence make up for any lost time with one of the sharpest performances of the entire day, its centrepiece being a ten-minute-plus wig-out full of rattling axes and rolling drums.

Of course, it’s not all six-string action at Gizzfest 2016 – as a matter of fact,

highlights come with acts implementing little more than backing tracks and grade-A chutzpah. Dinner, all the way from Denmark, serves up (pardon the pun) a charming set of thumping disco tunes with knowingly cheesy choreography and impeccable energy.

Later on, funkadelic Raleigh-based MC Boulevards takes advantage of his penultimate timeslot and turns the crowd’s shuffling sneakers into fully fledged dancing shoes.

Between them, Western Australia’s Pond deliver a versatile, energised and vital exploration of their back catalogue, issuing a handful of new songs for good measure – including one that features Neil Finn’s mate and every Sydney boomer’s current enemy, Kirin J Callinan.

KOALA MATTRESS FOOD COMA REST AREA

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come hungry

It all comes to a head, of course, with King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard embarking on a victory lap of sorts, both for their recent unexpected award nod and for the conclusion of the Nonagon Infi nity era. Implementing key passages from its endless loop, the septet ensure that those who have spent the last seven hours under their curation have not done so in vain. With a blistering ‘Rattlesnake’ comes the end of Gizzfest 2016, but certainly not the end of Gizzfest. They – and we – are having way too much fun.

David James Young

wed

thu

07 Dec

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

Dec

(9:00PM - 12:00AM)

fri

09 Dec (10:00PM - 1:40AM)

SATURDAY AFTERNOON

SUNDAY AFTERNOON

sat

sun

10

5:45PM  8:45PM

Dec

3:30PM  6:30PM

11 Dec

(8:30PM - 11:30PM)

(10:00PM - 1:15AM)

mon

tue

12

13

Dec

Dec

(8:30PM - 11:30PM)

(8:30PM - 11:30PM)

EVERY SATURDAY

Party DJs GROUND FLOOR - AFTER BANDS

thebrag.com

BRAG :: 608 :: 15:04:15 :: 31

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

pick of the week Peaches

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

FRIDAY D EC E M B E R 9 Metro M t Theatre

Peaches

+ Black Cracker + Habits 7:30pm. $56.

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 7 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

Hammerhead Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 9:30pm. $10.

Salsa Wednesdays feat: DJ Miro The Argyle, The Rocks. 8:30pm. Free.

The Gypsy Art Club Django Bar @ Camelot Lounge, Marrickville. 6:30pm. $10.

Wailing Wednesdays Rosie Campbell’s, Surry Hills. 6pm.

Free.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Folkswagon Cafe Lounge Bar, Surry Hills. 7pm.

Free.

Jim Finn Ruby L’otel, Rozelle.

7:30pm. Free.

Maja + Pirra + Just

Breathe Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $10.

Manouche Wednesday - feat: The Squeezebox Trio Mr Falcon’s, Glebe.

7pm. Free.

The Idea Of North Camelot Lounge, Marrickville. 8pm. $34.90.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Baroness Metro Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $61.10.

Dungen + The Laurels Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $50.90.

James Kenyon The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 8pm.

Free.

Karaoke Wednesdays Scruffy Murphy’s Hotel, Sydney. 10pm.

Free.

Middle Kids Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm.

Free.

Tortoise Manning Bar,

32 :: BRAG :: 692 :: 07:12:16

7:30pm. Free.

Michael Gorham Observer Hotel, The Rocks. 7:30pm. Free.

No Refunds The Bald Faced Stag, Leichhardt. 8pm.

Free.

Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever + Slumberhaze Moonside Cider & Rum Bar, Manly.

8pm. Free.

Slum Sociable + Mossy Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7:30pm. $20.

Synth Super Heroes - feat: La Vif + Annais Paris + The Nu Now + Worsley Red Rattler, Marrickville. 4:30pm. $20.

The Vanns Selina’s @ Coogee Bay Hotel, Coogee.

8pm. Free.

Upstairs Live The Beresford Hotel, Surry Hills. 8pm.

Free.

Urban Guerillas + Steph Miller Union Hotel, Newtown. 8pm. Free.

Vanessa Heinitz The Bourbon, Potts Point. 5pm. Free.

Camperdown. 8pm. $59.70.

THURSDAY DECEMBER 8 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

Badbadnotgood Metro Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $49.90.

Daniel Susnjar + Ina Maka Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8:30pm. $15.

Gala Concert Of African & Aussie All-Stars - feat: Afro Moses The Basement, Circular Quay. 7pm. $39.60.

Lady Sings It Better Django Bar @ Camelot Lounge, Marrickville. 9pm. $22.90.

Les Petits Blaguers The Temperance Society, Summer Hill.

7pm. Free.

Medusa’s Wake Scruffy Murphy’s Hotel, Sydney. 7pm.

Free.

The First Ladies Of

Soul Camelot Lounge, Marrickville. 2:55pm. $27.90.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Anthony Charlton Australian Arms Hotel, Penrith. 7pm.

Free.

Anti-Flag Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 8pm. $54.

Balmain Blitz Band Comp Bridge Hotel, Rozelle.

7pm. $15.

Boyce Avenue Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 7:45pm. $69.75.

Deep Sea Arcade Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $18.

Katatonia Manning Bar, Camperdown. 8pm. $70.

Live Band Karaoke Unity Hall Hotel, Balmain. 9pm. Free.

Majun Bu + Levingstone + Crazy Baby Boogie Bananas + Liquid Sunshine Slyfox, Enmore.

Andrew Browne Lord Raglan Hotel, Alexandria. 11am.

Free.

Anthony Charlton Australian Arms Hotel, Penrith.

8:30pm. Free.

Bread And Seaweed The Temperance Society, Summer Hill.

7pm. Free.

Folk At The Lodge - feat: John Vella + Leroy Lee + Friends Forest Lodge Hotel, Forest Lodge. 7pm.

Free.

Jim Finn Carousel Inn Hotel, Rooty Hill. 8pm. Free.

Nathan Andrews + Sophie Kinston Mr Falcon’s, Glebe.

8:30pm. Free.

Phil Barlow And The Wolf + Van Larkins Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 9:30pm.

Free.

Temperance + Andrew Samuel + Daniel Tomalaris + Kit & The Cub + Deers From Embers Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. $10.

FRIDAY DECEMBER 9 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

Lady Sings It Better Django Bar @ Camelot Lounge, Marrickville. 9pm. $22.90.

The First Ladies Of Soul Camelot Lounge, Marrickville. 2:55pm. $27.90.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY,

BLUES & FOLK

Blake Wiggins Rocks Brewing Co, Alexandria. 2pm.

Free.

Chantal & Cesar Crown Hotel, Surry Hills. 8pm. Free.

Diesel Bridge Hotel, Rozelle.

8pm. $40.95.

Finn Mortdale Hotel, Mortdale. 8pm. Free.

Spines + Easy Street + Sloom Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8:30pm. $15.

Tailor Birds Mr Falcon’s, Glebe.

8:30pm. Free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Acoustic Grooves The Bourbon, Potts Point. 6:30pm. Free.

Angelena Locke Chatswood Club, Chatswood. 5pm.

Free.

Basement Fridays feat: Ocean Alley The Eastern, Bondi Junction. 9pm. $10.

Botany Idol feat: Karaoke Competition Botany Bay Hotel, Banksmeadow.

9:30pm. Free.

Dean Michael Smith Clovelly Hotel, Clovelly. 3pm. Free.

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

Iron Bark Rock Vineyard Hotel, Vineyard. 9pm. Free.

Jake Mcdougal Macarthur Tavern, Campbelltown. 3pm.

Free.

James Brennan Observer Hotel, The Rocks. 7:30pm. Free.

Jj Hausia Macarthur Tavern, Campbelltown. 3pm.

Free.

Jp Project Lord Raglan Hotel, Alexandria. 7pm.

Free.

Katcha + Waax + Train Robbers Well Co. Cafe And Wine Bar, Glebe.

8pm. $5.

Lj Hunters Hill Hotel, Hunters Hill. 6pm.

Free.

Make Them Suffer Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $28.

Michael Fryar Duo The Mill Hotel, Milperra. 12pm. Free.

Peaches + Black Cracker + Habits Metro Theatre, Sydney. 7:30pm. $56.

Ted Nash Buckley’s Bar, Circular Quay. 6pm.

Free.

Vanessa Heinitz 99 On York, Sydney.

5:30pm. Free.

Zeahorse + Miners + Den Factory Floor, Marrickville. 8pm. $10.

SATURDAY DECEMBER 10 INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL,

PUNK & COVERS

Australian Black/Thrash/ Rock’N’Roll - feat: Denouncement Pyre + The Corps + Hellbringer + Decrepit Soul + Bastardiser + Convent Guilt + Hordes Of The Black Cross Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. $15.

Bad//Dreems Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $17.90.

Black Label The Bradbury, Bradbury. 8pm. Free.

Dave Anthony The Belvedere Hotel, Sydney. 7:30pm.

Free.

Dos Enos + Fox Holmes + Marlis Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8:30pm. $15.

Emecia The Bald Faced Stag, Leichhardt. 8pm.

Free.

Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes + Special Guests The Bald Faced Stag, Leichhardt. 5:30pm. $47.80.

Geoff Yule Smith The Bar Sir Stamford Hotel, Sydney. 6pm.

Free.

Jingle Bell Rock Christmas Fair - feat: Cruisin’ Deuces + The Hollywood Honeys + Coral Lee Farrow + That Red Head The Concourse, Chatswood. 10am. $2.

Paul Hayward And His Sidekicks The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 3pm.

Free.

Songsonstage feat: Murder Of Crows + Russell Neal Orange Grove Hotel, Lilyfield. 7pm. Free.

The Jensens The Lair @ Metro Theatre, Sydney.

6pm. Free.

The Monkees State Theatre, Sydney. 7pm. $90.

Unwritten Law + Runaway Kids + Mixtape For The Drive Manning Bar, Camperdown. 8pm. $62.25.

We May Fall + Isotopes + Emecia + Brave The Bald Faced Stag, Leichhardt. 8pm. $16.90.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Angelena Locke Twin Willows Hotel, Bass Hill. 7:30pm.

Free.

Benj Axwell Engadine Bowling Club, Engadine. 8pm.

Free.

Diesel The Basement, Circular Quay.

7:30pm. $39.60.

Eye Of The Tiger Carousel Inn Hotel, Rooty Hill. 8pm. Free.

Glenn Esmond Fortune Of War, The Rocks. 8pm. Free.

Jared Baca St George Masonic Club, Mortdale. 7pm.

Free.

John Milligan The Push Bar, The Rocks. 7:30pm. Free.

Karise Eden Django Bar @ Camelot Lounge, Marrickville. 9pm. $42.90.

Michael Gorham Buckley’s Bar, Circular Quay.

7:30pm. Free.

Nathan Cole Observer Hotel, The Rocks. 8pm. Free.

Peter Gabrielides Clovelly Hotel, Clovelly. 5pm. Free.

Tim Mccartney Duo The Bourbon, Potts Point. 7:30pm. Free.

Vanessa Heinitz Observer Hotel, The Rocks. 4:30pm. Free.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

Andrew Robson + Bree Van Reyk + Veronique Serret The Sound Lounge, Darlington. 8pm. $27.

Baby Et Lulu Camelot Lounge, Marrickville. 9pm. $32.90.

John & Yuki Well Co. Cafe And Wine Bar, Glebe.

6pm. Free.

SUNDAY DECEMBER 11 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

Kimmy & Crew Hotel Steyne Manly, Manly. 7pm. Free.

Medusa’s Wake PJ Gallagher’s, Moore Park. 4pm.

Free.

Peter Head Sextet Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 6:30pm. $10.

The Squares Moya’s Juniper Lounge, Redfern.

6pm. Free.

The Unity Hall Jazz Band Unity Hall Hotel, Balmain. 4pm. Free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Celebrate Darling Harbour - feat: Kimbra + The Hot Potato Band + The Jannawl Dance Clan + Jitterbugs Darling Harbour, Darling Harbour.

12pm. Free.

Frank Carter And The Rattlesnakes + Special Guests The Bald Faced Stag, Leichhardt. 5:30pm. $46.10.

Frankie’s Fourth Birthday - feat: Wolfmother + The Dead Love + Lepers And Crooks Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 4pm. Free.

Jingle Bell Rock Christmas Fair - feat: Cruisin’ Deuces + Mother Truckers + Narelle

thebrag.com

g g guide gig g

gig picks up all night out all week...

send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com Evans & The Jetbacks The Concourse, Chatswood. 10am. $2.

King Social Miranda Hotel, Miranda. 7pm. Free.

Kiss-This-Mas feat: The Crust Fund Kids + Jim Mongrel + Black Rats + Kingsado + Legal Aliens + Skinpin + Rude Rahils Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 1pm. $10.

Robyn Hitchcock + Emma Swift Newtown Social Club, Newtown.

6pm. $33.

Sheila E. Metro Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $75.

Kimbra photo by John Michael Fulton

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Circular Quay.

8:30pm. $6.

Afro Moses

TUESDAY DECEMBER 13 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Camelot Lounge, Marrickville. 7:30pm. $47.90.

MONDAY DECEMBER 12

Acoustic Sessions Buena Vista Hotel, Mosman. 2pm. Free.

Emad Younan Mr Falcon’s, Glebe.

7pm. Free.

Finn B.e.d., Glebe. 6pm.

Free.

Heath Burdell Unity Hall Hotel, Balmain. 3pm. Free.

Kelly Dance Django Bar @ Camelot Lounge, Marrickville. 7:30pm. $12.90.

The Black Sorrows

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

Latin & Jazz Open Mic Night The World Bar, Kings Cross. 7pm.

Free.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

John Maddox Duo Mr Falcon’s, Glebe.

7pm. Free.

Songsonstage feat: Russell Neal + Maeve Lawson + Adam Anderson + Kenneth D’Aran + Paul Ward + Peter Gee Kelly’s On King, Newtown. 7:30pm.

Free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Brindley And The Rotators + Ben Camden Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8:30pm. $10.

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

The Monday Jam The Basement,

Songsonstage feat: Charli + Chris Brookes + Pauline Sparkle + Massimo Presti + Russell Neal Gladstone Hotel, Dulwich Hill. 8pm.

Free.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

Louis Stapleton And Co Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8:30pm. $10.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS Bucket Lounge Presents – Live & Originals Mr Falcon’s, Glebe.

7pm. Free.

Coldplay + Lianne La Havas + Jess Kent Allianz Stadium, Moore Park. 7pm. $75.

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 7

Dungen

Baroness Metro Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $61.10.

Dungen + The Laurels Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $50.90.

Tortoise Manning Bar, Camperdown. 8pm. $59.70.

THURSDAY DECEMBER 8 Anti-Flag Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 8pm. $54.

Badbadnotgood Metro Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $49.90.

Boyce Avenue Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 7:45pm. $69.75.

Deep Sea Arcade Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $18.

Gala Concert Of African & Aussie AllStars - Feat: Afro Moses The Basement, Circular Quay. 7pm. $39.60.

Katatonia Manning Bar, Camperdown. 8pm. $70.

Majun Bu + Levingstone + Crazy Baby Boogie Bananas + Liquid Sunshine Slyfox, Enmore. 7:30pm. Free.

The Vanns Selina’s @ Coogee Bay Hotel, Coogee.

8pm. Free.

Urban Guerillas + Steph Miller Union Hotel, Newtown. 8pm. Free.

FRIDAY DECEMBER 9 Basement Fridays - Feat: Ocean Alley The Eastern, Bondi Junction. 9pm. $10.

Diesel Bridge Hotel, Rozelle. 8pm. $40.95.

Make Them Suffer Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $28.

Zeahorse + Miners + Den Factory Floor, Marrickville. 8pm. $10.

SATURDAY DECEMBER 10 Bad//Dreems Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $17.90.

Dos Enos + Fox Holmes + Marlis Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8:30pm. $15.

Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes + Special Guests The Bald Faced Stag, Leichhardt. 5:30pm. $47.80.

The Monkees State Theatre, Sydney. 7pm. $90.

Unwritten Law + Runaway Kids + Mixtape For The Drive Manning Bar, Camperdown. 8pm. $62.25.

SUNDAY DECEMBER 11 Celebrate Darling Harbour - Feat: Kimbra + The Hot Potato Band + The Jannawl Dance Clan + Jitterbugs Darling Harbour, Darling Harbour. 12pm.

Free.

Frankie’s Fourth Birthday - Feat: Wolfmother + The Dead Love + Lepers And Crooks Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 4pm. Free.

Robyn Hitchcock + Emma Swift Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 6pm. $33.

Sheila E. Metro Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $75.

TUESDAY DECEMBER 13 Coldplay + Lianne La Havas + Jess Kent Allianz Stadium, Moore Park. 7pm. $75.

Kimbra

ON TOU

: 3 0 PM 7 @ C 8 D E @ 7: 0 0 P M U H T – N T E R AT 1 0TH D EC 7: 0 0 PM U H & G STA H OT E L – S 1 1TH D EC @ E L T S N E W CAU L L I H E R I TAG E H OT E L – S U N u a . m A B o D N c . ial MIRA c A o D s N g A R n MI w. k i TH

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BRAG :: 692 :: 07:12:16 :: 33

brag beats

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

on the pulse club, dance and hip hop in brief... with David Burley and Joseph Earp

five things WITH Growing Up My parents 1. played music,

which like any teenager I took for granted at the time.

Then I discovered electronic and sample-based music and was instantly obsessed.

All I had was one record player and a tape recorder so I’d make funny little tape collages.

Inspirations At the 2. moment, it’s Ryuichi Sakamoto and Haruomi Hosono.

Their music is so broad and so uninhibited, drawing on everything from technopop to baroque music. Generally though for music, Kraftwerk, Juan Atkins, Debbie Deb, Sophie, Perfume, Michel Redolfi, Mix Master Mike, Holly Herndon, Arthur Russell, ESG… also writers like Ingo Niermann and

Benjamin H. Bratton.

Your Crew I’ve worked 3. so many weird jobs

around doing music.

My first job was mixing bath salts in a cosmetics factory where we’d get these 50 kilogram bags of salt made for farmers and mix it with dried flavour powder, which the brand would then sell for around $100 per jar. Then I was a magician’s assistant for little while. The good thing about all these jobs was that I met so many people who made music, who’d teach me how to program synthesizers and drum machines.

Thankfully for the last few years I can just do music all week, which is the best, and my crew is everyone I work with in doing that.

The Music You Make 4.

And Play

DANCE ET CETERA

Etcetc has organised a super lineup to help you dance off all that Christmas ham. The electronic music label is hosting a party with PNAU,

Sonny Fodera

LEWIS CANCUT I just want my music to offer something new, for it to offer people a new experience.

Even if people hate it that’s fine, as long as they have some kind of reaction to it. I just don’t want people to be like, “OK, that’s deep house, I know what that sounds like.” Growing up in a small country town, music was my doorway to the outside world and I still want to hear new things that challenge me.

SONNY FOR SUMMER

South Australia’s Sonny Fodera is one of those rare artists who’s managed to make his name overseas even before establishing himself completely at home. He’s found ears via respected labels like Defected, Cajual and Visionquest, and spent the first part of 2016 on a 30-date tour across the UK and US. Australia is the place to be during the southern summer, though, and Fodera’s local followers will welcome him back to Chinese Laundry on Saturday December 24.

Music, Right Here, Right 5.

Now

The biggest obstacle for dance music right now is that it’s become such a retro activity.

Everyone wants to be a DJ who plays disco and house.

I think for young people, the world has become so frightening that this music serves as

a kind of comfort food, which I get.

Thankfully that’s just starting to change again in Oz – there’s an amazing generation of artists who are all really young but will change everything in the next few years.

Set Mo and Bang Gang DJs all on the bill at the Ivy’s pool venue to ensure the summer vibes. PNAU have just returned with new single ‘Chameleon’, an addictive anthem

What: Indoor Rainforest out now through NLV With: Air Max ’97, Nina Las Vegas, Swick, Strict Face Where: The Chippo When: Saturday December 17

Jayceeoh

with summer written all over it.

Meanwhile, Sydney duo Set Mo have had a big year touring with Safia and have released two new singles. The event kicks off in the afternoon of Monday December 26.

YOU’LL NEVER GO BACK

Acclaimed hip hop duo Blackalicious are heading back to Sydney next year, locking in a string of dates across the country. The influential pair, comprising rapper Gift Of Gab and producer Chief Xcel, will play hits from their first three albums and celebrate their newest release, Imani, Vol. 1.

Gab’s eloquent rhymes and Xcel’s distinctive beats will be supported by Lateef The Truthspeaker from Latyrx and Lifesavas’ Jumbo. Blackalicious play Manning Bar on Friday February 10.

JAY IN JANUARY

A true DJ’s DJ, Jayceeoh, will showcase his skills at a Sydney show in the New Year. The Californian could never be accused of being in it for the wrong reasons – he worked his way up from the bottom and into the DMC World Championships, being crowned Master of the Mix on VH1 in 2013. He’s recently embarked on a side project with rapper Redman called 1000volts, but it’ll be Jayceeoh who’s front and centre at Chinese Laundry on Friday January 20.

Krept & Konan

HOLLER FOR A DOLLA

Abra

IT’S A KIND OF MAGIC

While she’s in the country for Victoria’s Pitch Music & Arts Festival, Abra will bring the cadabra for Sydney fans. Growing up with missionary parents, Abra moved around a fair bit as a child. Between New York, South London and Atlanta, her music has taken on components from all over the place to create a unique blend of Miami freestyle, electro-funk and R&B sounds. She’ll be performing songs from her 2016 EP Princess as well as hits from her previous EP and album when she comes to Sydney in March next year. The Princess EP was written, produced and performed entirely by Abra herself. See her at Hudson Ballroom on Friday March 10.

VIVA LAS CHRISTMAS

Nina Las Vegas is taking her NLV Records roster on an end-of-year party tour in time for Christmas. It’s been a big 12 months for the Sydney DJ and producer since she departed her slot on triple j to establish the label, and her signees Air Max ’97, Lewis Cancut, Strict Face and Swick will be filling the dancefloor on three nights across the country. The Sydney date is Saturday December 17 at The Chippo.

KREPT & KONAN

Here’s one for all you UK hip hop fans, particularly those of you who were disappointed by the multiple tour cancellations from big grime artists in the latter half of 2016: Krept & Konan have announced a 2017 Sydney date. They’ve spent the last few years cleaning up, expanding from their South London homes and slowly taking over the world. Their debut record The Long Way Home was extraordinarily well received, and helped them establish a reputation they haven’t sullied one iota. The pair hit The Basement on Wednesday January 3. xxx

34 :: BRAG :: 692 :: 07:12:16

Hip hop bigshot Ty Dolla $ign is heading to Sydney. Joined by Kent Jones, he’ll be hitting our shores in the wake of his 2015 effort Free TC, which was released to commercial and critical acclaim. Now he’s back with new material in the form of ‘Campaign’, a timely return given the political events in the US this past year. Cast your vote at the Big Top Sydney on Saturday January 28.

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Off The Record Dance and Electronica with Alex Chetverikov at the top of both decks. For an intermediate or advanced user, there is a lot of fun to be had with the VCI-400. Add to that its ability to be used as a full four-channel standalone mixer (firmware is still readily available for this update), and it’s very much worth seeking out, especially if you can get it for under $500. With plenty of mixing tutorials now available, a beginner could get a lot out of its many features – give yourself time to learn the basics and you’ll forget the ‘sync’ button ever even existed.

RECOMMENDED Oliver Huntemann

For those still in mourning, Vestax itself has actually made a comeback, albeit in a much smaller and more boutique incarnation. The aptly-named Phoenix mixer, a retro-themed analogue machine, has risen from the ashes of mismanagement and debt. While mainstream distribution and availability from Vestax looks very unlikely to ever return, you should do yourself a favour and invest in what’s available.

THIS WEEK’S PLAYLIST

T

he demise of Vestax in 2014 due to bankruptcy was an especially sad day for DJs and the wider music community.

First established in Tokyo in the late ’70s selling electric guitars and multi-track recorders, Vestax morphed into an audio and DJ equipment firm, changing the face of DJing with the release of its VCI-100 all-in-one DJ controller. It incorporated some of the most essential elements of the craft with direct access to software, setting a benchmark for burgeoning technology and hardware that we now take for granted. The brand continued to buck the trend with the release of the first consumer vinyl-cutting machine (at US $10,000, it was always going to be a hard sell).

Though its turntables never shifted Technics from its lofty position (nothing ever did, and quite frankly it seems like nothing ever will, the

hideously overpriced new generation aside), Vestax’s mixers and DJ controllers were, and continue to be, especially impressive.

The VCI-400 in particular is a personal favourite.

It’s no longer readily available from retailers, having been discontinued since its release in 2011, but you’ll still find quite a number floating around at very reasonable prices. I picked one up a few months ago and have been really impressed with its build quality. Solid metal construction with oversized filter knobs, a compact but comprehensive EQ board, jog wheels with sensitivity adjustment knobs (crucial), plus plenty of triggers, four hot cues per deck, and firm, solid pads. It feels and looks incredibly durable, while still being very portable.

Fully customisable mapping takes it a notch above, and it features a neat little effects bank

SUNDAY JANUARY 1

Keep It Disco: Misty Nights Secret Location

Space Ibiza: Carl Craig, Oliver Huntemann, Heidi Greenwood Hotel

SUNDAY DECEMBER 18

FRIDAY JANUARY 6

Grandmaster Flash Soda Factory

Classic Album Sundays: D’Angelo – Voodoo The World Bar

SATURDAY DECEMBER 31

Joey Negro, Late Nite Tuff Guy The Port Yussef Kamaal’s Black Focus – a short, stunning soulful jazz album on Gilles Peterson’s label. And don’t sleep on Acronym’s The Void Beneath, with its ambient walls of sound through the key of techno. Gorgeous.

T1000 EVENTS

2016

SATURDAY DECEMBER 10

2017

Mad Racket NYE: Session Victim Marrickville Bowling Club

Pender Street Steppers Hermann’s Bar

SATURDAY JANUARY 7

Theo Parrish Jam Gallery

SATURDAY JANUARY 14

Ron Basejam, Dr. Packer The Port

GUY GERBER MANO LE TOUGH ALEX NIGGEMANN AUDIOJACK VERY SPECIAL GUEST

NEW YEARS EVE THE GREENWOOD 16.00 - 02.00

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UMEK TICKETS:

T1000.COM.AU

BRAG :: 692 :: 07:12:16 :: 35

Bag Raiders Chasing Waterfalls By Zanda Wilson

2

016 has seen Sydney’s Bag Raiders rise into the spotlight again.

Following the release of their latest EP, Waterfalls, they are currently touring in the US. Soon, the electro duo will head back Down Under for a club tour over summer.

Plus, they’ve just released a brand new single, ‘Beat Me To The Punch’, featuring Mayer Hawthorne.

Typically unafraid to test out material on the road, Jack Glass and Chris Stracey have been dropping the new track in their current run of DJ sets, and they’re pretty happy with the reaction so far.

“It’s been going good,” says Stracey. “People have been really positive so far. That’s the other thing about making music and playing DJ gigs as well as live gigs, is that you get to play new music to test it out even before it’s released.”

One of the key reasons why Bag Raiders find it useful to put new material in front of an audience is that it allows them to tweak their tracks based on the immediate feedback.

“I was saying this to Jack the other day at a festival – playing things out, you just get a better idea about it,” Stracey says. “Especially if you’ve been thinking, ‘Should we go this way?’ on a certain

track – there’s that kind of environment where you just know if it’s going well. Say if you’re playing a song and there’s a section in it that you’re a bit unsure about, you know already before you get to it how it’s going to go in that environment you’re in. You can get to a part and go, ‘No, that’s wrong,’ and it’s mostly to do with structure.”

As for where ‘Beat Me To The Punch’ fits in with Bag Raiders’ wider, somewhat disjointed discography, Stracey confirms it’s the first taste of what will be their long-awaited second full-length album.

“It’s definitely part of something bigger. There’s a lot of music that we’ve got waiting to see the light of day. So that’s going to be a full-length record, and we’re still just waiting on the right moment. But I’d say hopefully early next year sometime there’ll be a full record.”

It’s a bit of a shock to think that Bag Raiders are only just readying themselves for a second LP release after ten years in the game, especially since there’s been no shortage of new music over the years via plenty of singles and EPs. Stracey says the reason behind the wait has been combination of things like changing labels and not wanting to end up with a backlog of songs that

Fighting For Your Rights By Joseph Earp

O

ne night in 1998, three white New Yorkers won an award.

In and of itself, there’s nothing particularly striking about such an occurrence – the years are marked by awards ceremonies, and we are largely numb to the sight of rich people handing out statuettes to other rich people. So no, a trio of slightly dorky-looking men in matching outfits taking to the podium is hardly the kind of image that might inspire a revolution – particularly given the whitebread blandness of the evening that had led up to that point.

After all, this was an MTV Music Awards ceremony being held towards the tail end of the ’90s, and it seemed only

fitting that an era marked by the commercialisation of rebellion – a decade in which ‘grunge’ had transformed from a genre to a marketing slogan – would make for some pretty uninspiring television.

And yet, after listing off a range of standard ‘thanks mom’ pleasantries, one of the three men began to take a new tact entirely. “If you guys would forgive me, I would just like to speak my mind on a couple of things,” he said stiffly.

The atmosphere in the room changed immediately. “I think it was a real mistake that the US chose to fire missiles into the Middle East,” he continued, before launching into an impassioned critique of the US

government’s interventionist overseas policies. “I should say … most Middle Eastern people are not terrorists, and that’s another thing America needs to think about: its racism.”

His band was not an unknown at that stage – it had already sold chart-topping records and travelled the globe. But the moment was a turning point, a transformation. Those unaware of the speaker’s group or his legacy were seized by curiosity: who was this musician unafraid to speak his mind in a room full of sniffy, straight-backed music executive types?

The answer was simple. His name was Adam ‘MCA’ Yauch.

And he was a Beastie Boy.

Part of that was send-up, surely. The group’s three members (Yauch, Adam ‘Ad-Rock’ Horovitz and ‘Mike D’ Diamond) came from upstanding New York families, and the ‘lad bro’ personas they adopted were a far cry from their upper-middleclass childhoods: Horovitz’s father was a playwright, and Diamond received his education at an arts-focused private school.

Certainly it’s easy to dismiss something like the ‘(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)’ video as parody.

Less excusable, however, were the Beastie Boys’ slightly more sexist overtones – their habit of touring with dancing women assigned to cages, for example. The band members played the whole thing very straight, because of course they did – because a joke’s not funny when you have to explain it – but still, defending some of their actions did often take a fair bit of leftist wiggling.

So tricky was the subtext of a song like ‘Girls’, what with its ‘women will always betray you’ message, that the likes of Kathleen Hanna found it hard to engage with the band initially. No matter that she eventually ended up dating and then marrying Horovitz

36 :: BRAG :: 692 :: 07:12:16

– before she met him, she was worried that the Beastie Boys had a ‘girls, girls, girls’ songwriting attitude.

Indeed, many have claimed Hanna was instrumental in the Beastie Boys’ transformation from postironic sorta-fratboys into impassioned and embattled word-slingers. And while she certainly had a part to play in the group’s evolving attitudes – in particular spurring Horovitz to give his own impassioned MTV acceptance speech, one in which he tackled the many cases of sexual assault taking place at American festivals like Woodstock – to argue that the change came down to any one individual seems a stretch.

Even in their calls for social revolution, each band member took up their own cause. Thanks in no small part to his Buddhist beliefs, Yauch became closely involved with the Tibetan independence movement, while Diamond and Horovitz aligned themselves with the feminist message. The band even began to retcon the past, apologising for prior incidences of sexism and including a message of support in the song ‘Sure Shot’. “To all the mothers and sisters and wives and friends / I want to offer my love and respect to the end,” Yauch powerfully spat.

But why? What changed them, and so quickly?

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Xxxx photo by Xxxx

The Beastie Boys As Social Warriors

Such a speech was striking as much due to the Beastie Boys’ history as it was due to its content. The early years of their career were defined by excess, and by an ever-soslightly troubling indulgence in bacchanalian delights.

They were artists who made their name by assuaging one’s unalienable rights to party, and their music videos were often filled with the consumption of alcohol and the pleasures of the skin.

club guide g send your listings to : clubguide@thebrag.com

“WE HAD SOMEONE TURN UP THE OTHER DAY AND THEY WERE LIKE, ‘I LOST MY VIRGINITY TO YOUR RECORD!’ THAT IS THE FIRST TIME I’VE EVER HEARD ANYONE SAY THAT.” no longer felt current by the time they were released as a whole project.

We also felt like looking back on that first album, it’s not the kind of album we’d make now.”

“Well, it’s been a bit circumstantial as well as us intentionally not releasing another full-length album.

There’s been all this confusion about where we’ve been, record label-wise. We got moved around a bit, so we’ve had a lot of music that we’ve been working on and we just weren’t really ready. It seemed like when we were doing the record, things kept getting delayed and delayed and delayed, and as you can imagine, if you’ve got music that you’ve been sitting on, you just want it out there because it can grow stale on you.

Bag Raiders have forged an impressive career over the past decade, and for Stracey the will to keep going comes down to a love of music and a desire to satisfy the fans new and old.

“So whilst we weren’t ready to release the next album, we thought, ‘Well, we’ve got all this music and we’re making new music all the time, so let’s start releasing music.’ So we started to release music via EPs and kept working on new music, so that by the time it comes to finally releasing a full-length, it’s really something that feels current to us, and honest to us, and it’s where we are in time.

“I feel really lucky that we’ve worked really well together and that we’ve had this thing going for so long, and we’re still able to go and do shows,” he says. “We still get new fans from new stuff we’re releasing, and then have people turn up to shows and tell us they’ve been listening from when they were young. We had someone turn up the other day and they were like, ‘I lost my virginity to your record!’ That is the first time I’ve ever heard anyone say that – it was awesome,” he laughs.

Stracey and Glass are also passionate about ensuring that up-and-coming musicians had the same opportunities as they did to cut their teeth on the Sydney club scene. That’s why they lent their names

to a campaign created by Keep Sydney Open to place plaques outside venues that have closed since the advent of Sydney’s lockout laws.

“To be honest, if those sorts of venues that have closed weren’t operating back when we were young, I don’t know what we would have done,” says Stracey. “Our careers were born at four in the morning; that was vital to us being able to do what we did.

It was the place that a lot of our really good friends who make music really came into their own in those parties and club nights. It’s such an important part of a city’s culture, really, especially for someone who is young.”

What: Waterfalls out now through Universal Where: Chinese Laundry / Manly Wharf Hotel / Beach Road Hotel When: Saturday December 10 / Sunday January 1 / Wednesday January 4 And: Also appearing at Coogee Bay Hotel on Saturday December 31

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 7 Impulse Vol 2 – Electro Party 2016 - feat: Opiee + Dan James + DJ Allen + Luke C + Mischf + Rocky Francis + Like Water + Darko + Scrambled Gregs + Romel + Yung Heli + Alpha 6 + Ella Lyons + C.K. + Attila + Full Time Jake + Cinaptic Foundry616, Ultimo.

7pm. Free.

Sbw Side Bar, Sydney.

8pm. Free.

Wet Wednesdays Scary Canary, Sydney. 9:30pm.

Free.

CLUB NIGHTS

Femme Fetale The Argyle, The Rocks. 6pm. Free.

Get Some Goodbar, Paddington.

6pm. Free.

Harbourview Hulabaloo Harbourview Hotel, The Rocks. 7pm.

Free.

House Keeping Side Bar, Sydney.

8pm. Free.

Throwback Thursdays Scruffy Murphy’s Hotel, Sydney. 8pm.

Free.

Yo/ Da Fu/ Nk - feat: Resident Funk DJ’s The World Bar, Kings Cross. 9pm. Free.

FRIDAY DECEMBER 9 HIP HOP & R&B able to give money, give to Black Lives Matter. Give to Planned Parenthood. Give what you can. If you’re able to volunteer, volunteer.”

-----

It was his first such public appearance in a while, and a welcome return: one that proved that Horovitz’s attitudes have not been softened by time. But more than that, the speech made clear the real legacy of the Beastie Boys. The object of their resistance might have changed over the years, but their resistance never has.

What did the Beastie Boys do to change? They just listened

“If you’re able to protest, protest,” he said. “If you’re

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Last month, the Adam Yauch Memorial Park in New York – named to honour Yauch after his death from cancer in 2012 – was befouled by Islamophobic and pro-fascist graffiti. When Horovitz found out, he teamed up with the local city council and organised a demonstration.

Dressed against the cold, surrounded by a committed crowd, he delivered a speech.

And how powerful is that message, delivered just when the world collectively seems ready to hear it? Now as ever, you really do have to fi ght for your right.

FRIDAY D EC E M B E R 9

THURSDAY DECEMBER 8

Argyle Thursdays - feat: Mike Champion + Moto + Nino Brown + Tubz + A-Game The Argyle, The Rocks. 12pm. Free.

a little more, to their critics and to their friends. And they didn’t start playing a new game – they just got better at their old one.

Flume

CLUB NIGHTS

HIP HOP & R&B

Although many suggestions have been offered up to explain the group’s transition, it seems like the key to understanding what happened relies upon realising it was less an overhaul and more a refinement. From their very outset, the Beastie Boys were always about love and compassion. Make no mistake, it was always an odd kind of love – the kind that sounds cringey and awkward if you actually have to shape it into words, and one often hidden behind a distracting sheen – but it was a love nonetheless, a kind of audible generosity extended to the listener.

club pick of the week

Fatback Hudson Ballroom, Sydney. 9pm. Free.

Role Modelz Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm.

Free.

CLUB NIGHTS

Welcome To The Wasteland Jam Gallery, Bondi Junction. 9pm. $12.

Argyle Fridays The Argyle, The Rocks. 6pm. Free.

Bassic - feat: Riot Ten + Blackjack + Chenzo + Autoclaws + Lennon + Ebony + Stalker Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 9pm. $22.90.

Ben Morris Manly Wharf Hotel, Manly. 8pm. Free.

Cause - feat: Silicone Soul +

SATURDAY DECEMBER 10 Qudos Bank Arena

Flume

+ Vince Staples + Sophie

7pm. $65.

Robbie Lowe + Aaiste + Andy Ef + David James + Alex Ludlow + Philip Kanis Slyfox, Enmore. 9pm. $16.50.

Dirty Word Launch Party feat: Donatachi + Flexmami + Kritty + Nic Kelly Hudson Ballroom, Sydney. 11pm. $11.

Elektrocute Before Christmas - feat: DJs Furbycake + Shrk + Dasein + Tram Galactic + Danjer Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 10pm. $10.

Fire Up Fridays feat: Cool Jerk DJs Rosie Campbell’s, Surry Hills. 5pm.

Free.

Flume + Vince Staples + Sophie Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney Olympic Park. 7pm. $65.

Friday Frothers Side Bar, Sydney.

8pm. Free.

Friday Night Dance Off - feat: Modern History + DJ Lou Lou Scruffy Murphy’s Hotel, Sydney. 6pm.

Free.

Grmm Knox Street Bar, Chippendale. 7:30pm. $12.

Hot Mess - feat: DJ Saby + Nissan +

Guest DJs Jacksons On George, Sydney. 9:30pm.

Free.

Lady Grey’s Sunday Best - feat: Julia Govor Zoo Project, Potts Point. 10pm. $21.49.

Peoples Club feat: Kris Baha + Kate Miller + David Bangma + U-Khan + Jackson Winter + Dick Cosmic + Mick Antonievich Goodbar, Paddington.

8pm. $15.

Remixology - feat: DJ Rob Davis + Charisma + Hannah + Decoda Arq Nightclub, Sydney. 9pm. Free.

Resident DJ: Kali Harpoon Harry, Surry Hills. 6pm. Free.

SATURDAY DECEMBER 10 HIP HOP & R&B

Bentley Mr Falcon’s, Glebe.

8:30pm. Free.

Join & Join + Blank + Yakz + Chenzo + Bvsik + Get Slinky + Levithan Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 10pm. $20.

The Elefant Traks 18th Birthday Party - feat: The Herd

+ Horrorshow + L-Fresh The Lion + Imaginary Friends + B Wise + The Last Kinection + DJs Jayteehazard + Jimlah + Dggz + Chasm + Josie Styles Max Watt’s, Moore Park. 6pm. $58.70.

CLUB NIGHTS

Argyle Saturdays feat: Tass + Tap-Tap + Minx + Crazy Caz The Argyle, The Rocks. 6pm. Free.

Cicoloco Sydney feat: Seth Troxier + Ben UFO Greenwood Hotel, North Sydney. 12am. $65.

Clique Sydney Cruise Bar, Sydney.

8:30pm. $20.

Comfort Club #11 - feat: Sweetland + B&H Smooth + Señor Face + Bilsn Tokyo Sing Song, Newtown. 9pm. Free.

Dirty & Flirty - feat: Kim Ann Foxman + Stereogamous + Made In Paris + Stranger Familiar + L’Oasis + Mu-Tache + Sideboob + Solutions + Passed Curfew Factory Floor, Marrickville. 7:30pm. $33.50.

Flume + Vince Staples + Sophie Qudos Bank Arena,

BRAG :: 692 :: 07:12:16 :: 37

club guide g

p picks up all night out all week...

send your listings to : clubguide@thebrag.com

FRIDAY DECEMBER 9

Josie Styles Max Watt’s, Moore Park. 6pm. $58.70.

Bassic - Feat: Riot Ten + Blackjack + Chenzo + Autoclaws + Lennon + Ebony + Stalker Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 9pm. $22.90.

SUNDAY DECEMBER 11

Cause - Feat: Silicone Soul + Robbie Lowe + Aaiste + Andy Ef + David James + Alex Ludlow + Philip Kanis Slyfox, Enmore. 9pm. $16.50.

Dirty Word Launch Party - Feat: Donatachi + Flexmami + Kritty + Nic Kelly Hudson Ballroom, Sydney. 11pm. $11.

S.A.S.H By Night - Feat: Archie Hamilton Home Nightclub, Darling Harbour. 10pm. $20.

Sunday Sundown - Feat: Basenji + Swindail Coogee Pavilion, Coogee. 12pm. Free.

Basenji

Role Modelz Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm. Free.

Welcome To The Wasteland Jam Gallery, Bondi Junction. 9pm. $12.

SATURDAY DECEMBER 10 Lndry - Feat: Bag Raiders + Mo’Funk + Refuge + Jerk Boy + Kormak + Jennifer Jennifer + DJ Just 1 + King Lee + Mike Hyper + Offtapia + Aaron Smith + Kris Ramea Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 9pm. $28.

Nero Metro Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $56.

Something Else Says Bye Bye Burdekin - Feat: Magit Cacoon + Persian Rug + Highbeam + Desiki + James Petrou + Brosnan Perera + Shivers* + Aaron Robins + James Rogan + Eliot Mireylees + Sook Yen + Dave Stuart Burdekin Hotel, Darlinghurst. 10pm. $11.

The Elefant Traks 18th Birthday Party - Feat: The Herd + Horrorshow + L-Fresh The Lion + Imaginary Friends + B Wise + The Last Kinection + DJs Jayteehazard + Jimlah + Dggz + Chasm +

Burdekin - feat: Magit Cacoon + Persian Rug + Highbeam + Desiki + James Petrou + Brosnan Perera + Shivers* + Aaron Robins + James Rogan + Eliot Mireylees + Sook Yen + Dave Stuart Burdekin Hotel, Darlinghurst. 10pm. $11.

SUNDAY DECEMBER 11 HIP HOP & R&B

Rooftop Sundays Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm.

Free.

CLUB NIGHTS

Caribbean Sydney NSW Dancehall Queen & King Competition - feat: DJ Naiki + DJ Fasmwa (Suriname) + Deejay Koolbreeze Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 7pm. $23.10.

Courtyard - feat: Party Thieves + Shockone + Aryay Ivy Bar/:ounge, Sydney. 1pm. $21.50.

Higher Ground - feat: Honey Dijon + Claire Morgan Cruise Bar, Sydney.

2pm. $22.

Marco Polo - feat: Lovebirds Ivy Bar/:ounge, Sydney. 1pm. $17.70.

S.A.S.H By Day - feat: Lawrence Greenwood Hotel, North Sydney. 2pm. $15.

S.A.S.H By Night feat: Archie Hamilton Home Nightclub, Darling Harbour.

10pm. $20.

Shady Sunday feat: Retro DJs Imperial Hotel, Erskineville. 4pm.

Free.

Sin Sundays The Argyle, The Rocks. 7pm. Free.

Sunday Sounds feat: Sam Wall The Deck, Sydney.

4pm. Free.

Sunday Sundown - feat: Basenji + Swindail Coogee Pavilion, Coogee. 12pm. Free.

Sunshine Sunday Sound System feat: Bossdog + Cool Jerk DJs Rosie Campbell’s, Surry Hills. 12pm.

Free.

Tim Boffa + Cam Adams Manly Wharf Hotel, Manly. 4pm. Free.

Tropical Sundae The World Bar, Kings Cross. 5pm. Free.

MONDAY DECEMBER 12 CLUB NIGHTS I Love Mondays Side Bar, Sydney.

9pm. Free.

TUESDAY DECEMBER 13 CLUB NIGHTS

Coyote Tuesdays The World Bar, Kings Cross. 8pm. Free.

Propaganda Tuesday Scary Canary, Sydney. 9:30pm.

Free.

Side Bar Tuesdays Side Bar, Sydney.

9pm. Free.

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

LANKS, HEIN COOPER The Basement Thursday December 1

It’s a strange experience when you encounter a somewhat stagnant audience at any Aussie gig, especially when the performance doesn’t call for it. We do, after all, hold a reputation for boasting some of the world’s most receptive audiences. Maybe it was the early-ish set time but, to start, the response to Hein Cooper was a little awkward despite some warm applause.

Nonetheless, The Basement filled out come the end of Cooper’s performance, with smiles all round.

Across a mostly acoustic set Cooper worked his cruisy, costal indie-pop accompanied only by bassy backing tracks and whatever he could conjure with his loop pedal to enjoyable effect.

While his set-up could otherwise invoke criticisms of predictability, Cooper’s smart choice of tunes created nice variation – especially when he delivered Aloe Blacc’s ‘I Need A Dollar’ and the crowd finally started to groove a little.

Cooper’s nicely layered and looped ‘Luna Sky’ snared the room’s attention even more, before crowd favourites ‘Rusty’, the ‘Pumped Up Kicks’flavoured ‘Overflow’ and ‘Art Of Escape’ saw grins bouncing between Cooper and a buzzy floor.

38 :: BRAG :: 692 :: 07:12:16

Co-headliner Lanks, AKA Will Cuming, kicked off with a swift lick of the drums – admittedly something that would have amped up dynamics for Cooper’s set beforehand – and his single ‘Holla’, distorted electronic wail and all. Thanks to Cooper’s efforts to build a neat amount of energy across the room, Cuming’s early drop of his huge track ‘Heavy As a Heartbreak’ with Just A Gent proved an unexpected but juicy live version and upped the fun.

From the electronic-soaked ‘Golden Age’ to a solo acoustic spot and a flute solo, no less, Cuming kept things fun and vibrant as he poured out tracks from his Viet Rose and Banquet EPs. His tracks ‘Bitter Leaf’ and ‘April’ were real highlights, showcasing the artist’s ability to pen both intimate yet energetic electronic jams, and winding, emotional acoustic tracks.

All in all, Cooper and Cuming are a duo that make sense on paper for a co-headline tour – talented solo artists with a penchant for acoustic guitars, loop pedals, bassy electronics and strong vocals – but it’s in the live setting that you really experience their talent, strengths and individuality, even if it takes the crowd a few songs to digest their performances.

Emily Gibb

MLIVE

Max Watt’s Friday December 2 Majestic Casual has had a massive couple of years. Going from a YouTube channel with obscure remixes and original music from artists that were almost unheard of at the time to selling out events all around the world is a highly respectable feat. While also considering that the label has been responsible for the establishment and longevity of those who have been lucky enough to be featured, it’s great to see a showcase of artists proudly representing the brand as a force to reckoned with – one that is almost single-handedly responsible for the rise of new genres like future soul.

Max Watt’s was probably not everyone’s ultimate choice for a venue, but boy did MLIVE deliver. Thanks to remix wizard Cabu, the audience shuffled in to the sounds of familiar tracks. The beautiful Buoy took to the stage next with a keyboard in front of her and an incredible voice to match, and the crowd was instantly enchanted at the way in which she encouraged involvement. But although Buoy showed class and resilience against some rowdy onlookers, the end of her set dwindled as many began to become restless. Still, she retained composure, and was able to walk off with her head held high after closing with a shimmering soul trap banger.

Sydney’s favourite brothers Cosmo’s Midnight

walked on to the adoration of screaming fans, and immediately launched into a crowd favourite – ‘Say My Name’, a Destiny’s Child remix that was pitched and sped up just enough to get bodies moving non-stop.

Through intricate production and a sound palette that borrowed from the likes of Wave Racer and Flume, the siblings seemed heavily surprised at the amount of people who had come just for them.

French Kiwi Juice, or FKJ, is almost enigmatic.

It wasn’t long ago that this producer/musical god remained anonymous until posting videos of his production methods and instrumental skills online. What his adoring Sydney fans witnessed was nothing short of incredible – switching between a saxophone, a Rhodes piano, an electric guitar, bass, and even singing at one point, the dreadlocked Frenchman had the crowd totally in awe. Some even gazed with their mouth completely open at the level of musicianship FKJ displayed, and after introducing June Marieezy for a guest vocal spot, he launched into Majestic Casual playlist favourite ‘Lying Together’, a soul and funk fusion that may never get old.

It was hard to imagine what was going through Kilter’s mind as he watched FKJ absolutely slay his performance, and some of the attendees did begin to filter out between the sets, but those who stayed helped dance the night away.

Benjamin Potter

thebrag.com

Horrorshow photo by Cole Bennets

Horrorshow

Sydney Olympic Park.

7pm. $65.

Frat Saturdays Side Bar, Sydney.

8pm. Free.

Husky, Oh? Manly Wharf Hotel, Manly. 8pm. Free.

Keep It Disco - feat: Misty Nights + Hani Hanbali + Brudo & Hux Secret Location, Sydney. 11pm. $33.

Lndry - feat: Bag Raiders + Mo’Funk + Refuge + Jerk Boy + Kormak + Jennifer Jennifer + DJ Just 1 + King Lee + Mike Hyper + Offtapia + Aaron Smith + Kris Ramea Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 9pm. $28.

Masif Saturdays feat: Wildstylez + Steve Hill + Suae + Pulsar Space, Sydney.

10pm. $20.

Moonshine Saturdays - feat: DJs Moonshine Cider & Rum Bar, Manly. 8pm.

Free.

Nero Metro Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $56.

P L T F R M (1.0) feat: Katia + Soft Hands + Venus + Ebony Boadu + Zefgirlclub Freda’s, Chippendale.

6pm. Free.

Precious Cargo feat: Special Guest DJs Cargo Lounge, Sydney. 8pm. Free.

Resident DJ: Kali Harpoon Harry, Surry Hills. 6pm. Free.

Selecta Saturdays feat: Cool Jerk DJs + Special Guests Rosie Campbell’s, Surry Hills. 8:45pm.

Free.

Something Else Says Bye Bye

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