The Brag #461

BACHELOR PAD

RASTA THOMAS´

BRAG :: 461 :: 07:05:12 :: 3

dEUS WITH SPECIAL GUESTS

THE PARADISE MOTEL “Europe’s answer to Sonic Youth. At times like Queens of the Stone Age chilling with a string section ... then it goes full-on purple-rock raining down from Beck’s mansion.”

- Drowned In Sound

!

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www.albare.info BRAG :: 461 :: 07:05:12 :: 5

SECRET SOUNDS PRESENTS

THE SMASHING PUMPKINS OCEANIA TOUR

WITH SPECIAL GUESTS

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RESENTS SECRET SOUNDS P

THE SMASHING PUMPKINS OCEANIA TOUR

WITH SPECIAL GUESTS

OUT

WOLFMOTHER

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TUESDAY 31 JULY

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WITH SPECIAL GUESTS D SOL

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/ RDIO.COM

OFFICIAL SPLENDOUR SIDESHOWS ON SALE NOW

WITH SPECIAL GUESTS

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THU 26 JULY THE FACTORY

W ITH

Friday 27th July The Factory

THE CAS T O F C H EER S

WE D 1 A U G O . A . F

WITH

ZULU WINTER

WED 25 JULY - O.A.F

WEDNESDAY 1 AUGUST

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OXFORD ART FACTORY

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with special guests

FOR TICKETING INFO VISIT SECRET-SOUNDS.COM.AU BRAG :: 461 :: 07:05:12 :: 9

rock music news welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town... with Nathan Jolly

five things WITH

MYLES FROM BARBARION undertaking a total life oath to all points noted in question two below: Inspirations Barbarion are inspired by the following: 2.

Hard rock. Hard metal. Hard living. Hard drinking. Over-eating. Hazardous camp theatrics. Studs, leather and dirt.

Your Crew Barbarion are a tight bunch; we live hard, 3. and we play hard. Despite many differing

Growing Up Barbarion is based solely on total 1. commitment to rock, metal and fire. This has

their conception. We take what we do from the cradle to the grave. You are born a Barbarion.

been true for all members from the moment of

You can, however, earn Barbarianism by

paddocks. Take a bunch of second-hand props and a set, some dodgy pallets and actors from Neighbours, work 14 hours a day for two weeks in the blistering heat of summer, and you too will have a nervous breakdown and the best video clip ever made.

Live show expectation: Heaviest metal band in all of Australia, at 1500+ pounds of man.

We burn lots! We expect the crowd at Black Cherry to applaud us, or we will have their pretty heads.

opinions, there is no room for soft stuff.

Everyone in the band is committed 150% to Barbarion and what we represent!

Music, Right Here, Right Now The Sydney music scene is much better 5. now that Barbarion are back. Now people

4.

can enjoy good music, a good show and 3000 celsius all at the same time! Wherever Barbarion are is where the best music in Sydney is – we look forward to claiming Australia’s second city again.

The Music You Make Hard guitarmonies, masculine vocals, drums that punch you in the undies. Bass solos on fire!

Album: Feast On The Beast, 2009 – Recorded on tightest budget ever, and still shit hot. Best artwork ever on an album cover. Recorded at Ratshak Sudios Melbourne in Feb 2009, when most of Victoria was burning.

EP: ARRGGGHHH, 2010 – Recorded at Ratshack Studios (we actually practiced for this one).

Film Clip: ‘My Rock’, 2011 – Filmed at Studio 4 Docklands, Melbourne and Dandenong Police

With: Bands – The ReChords, The Drey Rollan Band; Burlesque/Circus – Mali de Goey, Chelle Hafner, Frankie Faux, Lauren La Rouge; DJs – Limpin’ Jimmy & The Swingin’ Kitten, DJ Jack Shit Where: Black Cherry @ The Factory Theatre When: Saturday May 19

KING GIZZARD GO CRAZY

Converse have launched a new series of live music events where they ask bands what ridiculous location they’d love to play in, and then actually make it happen. The first of these events happens this Friday May 11 and sees King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard play Rozelle Hospital’s recently shut down Psychiatric Ward (which we refer to by its previous, way-cooler name, ‘The Callan Park Hospital For The Insane’). Tickets are free, but in limited quantities; RSVP via facebook.com/ converseaustralia

PUBLISHERS: Adam Zammit & Rob Furst EDITOR IN CHIEF: Adam Zammit 9552 6333 adam@peergroupmedia.com EDITOR: Steph Harmon steph@thebrag.com 02 9698 9645 ARTS & ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Dee Jefferson dee@thebrag.com 02 9690 2731 STAFF WRITER: Caitlin Welsh NEWS: Nathan Jolly, Chris Honnery

ALBARE

We like to think of THE BRAG readers as being cultured, on-the-pulse types (also in these imaginings you all live together in a huge sharehouse with an indoor garden/butterfly farm, with a trampoline floor for sitting and bouncing), so we’re sure you will enjoy the Seymour Centre’s June 9 double-bill which features acid jazz pioneer Albare and virtuoso double-bass player Renaud Garcia-Fons. Both are signed to the prestigious German label Enja Records.

Don’t wear shorts or bring snacks.

ART DIRECTOR: Sarah Bryant GRAPHIC DESIGN: Alan Parry SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER: Tim Levy SNAP PHOTOGRAPHERS: Katrina Clarke, Mike Johnson, Rasa Juskeviciute, Ashley Mar, Daniel Munns, Thomas Peachy, Rosette Rouhana, Sam Whiteside, Tim Whitney ADVERTISING: Ross Eldridge - 0422 659 425 / (02) 8394 9492 ross@thebrag.com ADVERTISING: Les White - 0405 581 125 / (02) 8394 9027 les@thebrag.com ADVERTISING: Meaghan Meredith - 0423 655 091 / (02) 8394 9168 meaghan@thebrag.com GIG & CLUB GUIDE CO-ORDINATOR: Conrad Richters - gigguide@thebrag.com (rock) clubguide@thebrag.com (dance, hip hop & parties) INTERNS: Antigone Anagnostellis, Verity Cox, Kendra Fox REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS: Benjamin Cooper, Alasdair Duncan, Max Easton, Christie Eliezer, Murray Engleheart, Andrew Geeves, Chris Honnery, Nathan Jolly, Sheridan Morley, Jenny Noyes, Hugh Robertson, Romi Scodellaro, Jonno Seidler, Rach Seneviratne, Roland K. Smith, Luke Telford, Rick Warner, Andrew Yorke Please send mail NOT ACCOUNTS direct to this address 8a Marlborough Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010 ph - (02) 9552 6333 fax - (02) 9319 2227 EDITORIAL POLICY: The views and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher, editors or staff of The BRAG. ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE: Stephen Forde : accounts@furstmedia.com.au ph - (03) 9428 3600 fax - (03) 9428 3611 Furst Media, 3 Newton Street Richmond Victoria 3121

DISTRIBUTION: Wanna get The Brag? Email distribution@ furstmedia.com.au or phone 03 9428 3600.

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10 :: BRAG :: 461 :: 07:05:12

Metric

METRIC SIDESHOW

Metric’s ‘Help I’m Alive’ is one of the best pop songs to be released in the last ten years.

And Envy from Scott Pilgrim was based on frontwoman Emily Haines, which makes sense – imagine being dumped by Haines. It would end you. We are very pleased to be presenting Metric’s Splendour In The Grass sideshow at the Hi-Fi on July 26, and equally pleased that their fifth album Synthetica is out June 15. Heard the first single ‘Youth Without Youth’ yet?

It’s a sexy T-rexy stomp!

O(+> X 3

There’s a particularly funny line in Rolling Stone’s Questlove feature where they trawl through his various mementos and refer to a $50 bill Prince once tipped him “for looking good in a suit.” Just let the awesomeness of that sink in for a while. Then get tickets to Prince’s third and final Sydney show, which happens May 22. Tickets on sale this Monday May 7 – which is tomorrow or today if you pick up your BRAG as early as you should.

SMASHING IT

Billy Corgan and Andrew Stockdale were sitting around Billy’s study (also a sewing room) playing scalextric when they heard Silversun Pickups on the radio. “Those guys stole our sound,” spat Billy, “and our initials. It’s time to get the Smashing Pumpkins back on the road. We’re gonna do Splendour In The Grass and we will rule.” “If you play a Sydney sideshow, can The Mother rock the support?” asked Andrew (he always referred to his band Wolfmother this way, for reasons unknown to BRAG). Billy nodded sagely, like a wise, old, shiny-headed goat. The show happens July 31 at the Entertainment Centre – tickets go on sale Wednesday May 9.

ANNANDALE UPDATE

There’s a new monthly night launching at the Annandale on Thursday May 10 called Staff Picks, where beer, spirits and cider are $5 all night, entry is a tenner, and Group (used to be named the James Manson Blues Band), Caitlin Park (buy Milk Annual, that record is amazing), Hey Big Aki and The Jeff Chinkey Fan Club will play just for you. Also, those painters’ ladders hanging outside the Annandale aren’t a bold art installation; they herald the very obvious change that is a-coming, thanks to all of you guys buying bricks (more than 400 sold so far) and helping drag the Annandale’s battered body back into tip top shape. The toilets are being fixed too, which is dare we say it a welcome relief.

ABBY DOBSON

‘Even When I’m Sleeping’ by Leonardo’s Bride was one of those rare hit songs that everyone agrees is fairly undeniable: masterfully written and beautifully sang. Well that writer/voicebox (Abby Dobson) is still penning lovely, affecting tunes and she plans to sing a bunch of them at two Sydney shows this weekend: at Notes Live on Friday May 11, and then at The Brass Monkey on Saturday May 12.

LANA DEL YAY

In about a year it will come out that Lana Del Rey was invented by David Lynch as the world’s best ever viral campaign for a forthcoming film. It’s all there: the inherent voyeurism; the blend of old world warmth and cold, sinister overtones; the resigned tone; the coquettish sexuality. The live version of this is coming to Splendour In The Grass, and good news for those who didn’t get tickets is there are now two Sydney sideshows – the first sold out in less than a hour and the second happens July 27 at Enmore Theatre, and will sell out quickly too, so rush!

She’s filled with secrets.

Metric photo by Justin Broadbent

DEADLINES: Editorial: Wednesday 12pm (no extensions) Artwork, ad bookings: Thursday 12pm (no extensions).

Ad cancellations: Tuesday 4pm Published by Cartrage P/L ACN 104026388 All content copyrighted to Cartrage 2003

Lana Del Rey

BRAG :: 461 :: 07:05:12 :: 11

rock music news

free stuff

welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town... with Nathan Jolly

FREESTUFF@THEBRAG.COM

he said she said WITH

BEN FROM BEN WELLS & THE MIDDLE NAMES (TAS) I respect. I get my influences from everything around me.

Your Crew There are a few people I like to produce 3. music with – all the guys in The Middle Names, but particularly Seth, who plays keys and sings; he’s an amazing musician and can tell what direction I’m thinking a song should go in. The other is Al Future who helped produce our EP House, Come Home.

The Music You Make Our music is indie/pop/rock I suppose; it’s 4. a mix between bands like Vampire Weekend and Boy & Bear and The Arctic Monkeys’ latest stuff. The EP was recorded at a studio in Hobart, produced with the help of Hobartbased producer Al Future. The EP reflects our live show as well – it’s full of energy.

Music, Right Here, Right Now The music scene in Tasmania and 5.

Australia is really good at the moment. People are going to see live music all week because they know they’re going to see something good. The tricky part for musicians is being able to play these shows – especially if they want to do something out of their home state, money is definitely an obstacle.

Growing Up Inspirations I grew up in a very musical household; we My two favourite musicians are Darren 1.

2. used to go to church and sing from a young Hanlon and Flea from Red Hot Chili Peppers, age, which is something I’ll always remember.

My dad is still a very good singer-songwriter, which definitely helped shape the kind of music I write now.

both for different reasons: the first concert I went to was Darren Hanlon, when I was 12 – he inspired me to play music. Flea lives and breathes music and writes killer basslines that

Insert Coin(s) is coming back to Oxford Art Factory on Thursday May 17, paying tribute to the archaic arcade era with a stellar lineup of games that are sure to send you right back to your childhood – Pacman and Street Fighter 2, just to name a few... This one goes down in honour of the launch of Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, and all are invited to play the sci-fi extravaganza a week ahead of release – and those dressed up in their finest military attire will score some sweet prizes. So pull out that camo outfit and head down for your share of ‘80s pop tunes, live art installations from Alex Lehours and Sindy, free candy (!), an ‘80s-style milk bar, alcoholic milkshakes (!!) and American-style hot dogs with more toppings than you could poke a joystick at. For a double pass, let us know your favourite childhood game.

HELLO VERA

The music from triple j unearthed favourites Hello Vera is just about as cool and soothing as the plant they’re named for. The Sydney newcomers are just about to launch their brand new EP Pigeons with a show at FBi Social on Friday May 11, with support from the adorkable Shady Lane and that fingerpickin’ maestro Leroy Lee. You’ve already heard Hello Vera’s single ‘On The Road’: a delectable little nibble that’s heaps sweeter than Kerouac, it’s mellow but bouncy and just about ready to spend a Sunday afternoon with you. We’ve got two prize packs, with an EP and a double pass in each. Want one? Let us know the name of a Hello Vera bandmember.

What: House, Come Home out now through Green With: Kate Martin Where: GoodGod Small Club When: Thursday May 17

OPOSSUM MAGIC

Dune Rats

INSERT COINS

Kody Neilson, frontman for NZ’s great Flying Nun-sounding Mint Chicks, has gone solo and has named himself Opossum – so like Husky, Grizzly Bear and Baby Animals before him, all Google-searches for his music result in a spray of cute photos lulling the listener into feeling all snug and cuddly. He’ll be previewing songs from his debut record Electric Hawaii on Wednesday May 16 at GoodGod Small Club; tickets are $10 from Moshtix. (And while you’re on Google, type in his ‘Getaway Tonight’ – it’s amazingly psychedelic and ‘60s leaning and wonderful.)

CULBURRA BEACH FESTIVAL Culburra Beach is one of those sleepy coastal towns that seems like the set of an Australian drama series – the locals are friendly, the groceries are cheap, and the umbrellas are

Hello Vera

used for sun, not rain. On Friday May 11 and Saturday May 12 more than 23 bands (including Caravana Sun, Daniel Champagne, Fred Smith, Sticky Fingers, Lyall Maloney, and many more) will be performing over two stages at Culburra’s second community festival. It happens at the Community Centre, and entry is so very free.

BUT MUUUM!

If I had a mum who threw parties as constantly awesome as World Bar’s MUM then… well, I would probably be scarred and mortified. Luckily MUM isn’t a mum, or a mom; it’s a cool curating party machine who have lined up another huge night this Friday May 11 at The World Bar, featuring Perth’s folksy/artsy The Chemist, Adelaide’s jagged little joys The Aves, and Captain Of The Push, who are from Sydney and probably don’t even have to drive.

Father John Misty

FUDGE IT

Dune Rats are Brisbane’s big great skuzzy pop hope, and their new single ‘Fuck It’ makes this case in less than two minutes. (Equally case-making is the drummer of Best Coast, who was sporting a Dune Rats tee at SXSW.) The old publican at The Spectrum will be shaking his head at the lost morals and puerile affections of the younger generation while writing the name of the tour alongside the words “Saturday May 19 with Gung Ho and Pear Shape” on his calendar... Tickets on sale now.

FELICE AND RITTER

ELIZABETH ROSE

Elizabeth Rose is the type of girl that elicits envy from a lot of people: she’s supremely talented, a great pop producer, and only 21.

Triple j love her, BRAG love her, so it follows that you and that creepy guy reading over your shoulder on the bus/at the pub should love her too. Make up your own mind on Friday June

8 at the Standard. Her music is astral and sumptuous and shadowy and great!

PARADISE

The Paradise Motel are the best band to come out of Tasmania ever. Their swoony dream-pop soundtracked love affairs and stoned Sundays all around the country during the late ‘90s, so we are very excited that they will be sharing the stage with Belgian legends dUES on Thursday May 10 at Manning Bar. Tickets are somehow still available through oztix.com.au

DAPPLED CITIES

Three years is a long time between drinks for an Australian band, especially one as beloved as Dappled Cities, so they figured if they are going to come back with a single, it’s going to be an epic one. They call it ‘Run With The Wind’, and it is their most sonically fierce offering to date – we’re not sure they’ve invented a speaker that can handle it. The band play Oxford Art Factory on May 31, and have promised us they’ll play a bunch of other stuff from their forthcoming fourth album, too.

SPLENDID SIDES

SPLENDOUR SIDESHOWS LIST GO! The Afghan Whigs, July 26, The Factory Theatre; Band Of Skulls, July 27, The Factory Theatre; Michael Kiwanuka, July 24, The Factory Theatre; Django Django, August 1, Oxford Art Factory; Howler and Zulu Winter, July 25, Oxford Art Factory; Friends, July 26, The Standard; Electric Guest, July 31, Oxford Art Factory; Father John Misty, July 27, Oxford Art Factory; Youth Lagoon, July 28, The Factory Theatre. This is by no means a comprehensive list – in fact, it’s just a taster. But all tickets are on sale now so you should go and do that already.

““I’m finding little joy in repetition This routine they call destiny” - DEUS - Thurs 10 May Manning Bar 12 :: BRAG :: 461 :: 07:05:12

Father John Misty photo by Maximilla Lukacs

Simone Felice recorded his debut album in an old church in London, an abandoned highschool and a rickety old barn, and we don’t believe in spirits or non-science/nonsense, but ghosts definitely got onto the tapes and that’s why it sounds all hushed and mysterious. He is bringing this evil to Australia, and bringing the less-evil Josh Ritter along with him. If you are yet to experience Ritter’s music, he’s from Idaho, has five brilliant solo records and sounds a bit Bright Eyes-y and Neil Young-y and Dylan-y, but mostly Ritter-y. July 6 is when they both play Notes and that place is way too small to contain the love Sydney has for them, so it’ll probably sell out real soon…

THE STAR IS LIGHTING UP WITH A NIGHT OF FESTIVITIES AND EVENTS FROM 6PM TILL LATE.

A KILLER DJ LINE UP FEATURING ZOE BADWI AND ALEX DIMITRIADES, COMPLIMENTARY DRINKS, DELICIOUS CANAPÉS AND GIVEAWAYS. FIRST IN, BEST DRESSED!

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BRAG :: 461 :: 07:05:12 :: 13

The Music Network Music Industry News with Christie Eliezer

THINGS WE HEAR

* At the end of an elegant state memorial at the Sydney Opera House that reflected Jimmy Little’s own life, 2500 mourners sang along to his ‘Royal Telephone’ hit, and various relatives recounted the stories behind his songs. Tributes came from premier Barry O’Farrell, Brendan Gallagher, Buzz Bidstrup, arts administrator Rhoda Roberts and Dr. Brad Murphy of the Jimmy Little Foundation.

Meanwhile, the Melbourne music industry came to say goodbye to Greg Ham at the Fitzroy Town Hall. They remembered an “instinctive musician” and a “gentle encouraging father”; Wilbur Wilde played sax, Colin Hay sent a video of a song he’d

Kimbra

written for Ham from America, and Ham’s coffin left the building to Sammy Davis Jr’s ‘Please Don’t Talk About Me When I’m Gone’. * Sigur Ros are planning to tour Australia later this year. * Gotye might write for Katy Perry after hanging out with her collaborator, Dr. Luke, at his home in LA. Gotye is a fan of Perry’s voice, and last September Perry was tweeting to her fans to check out Gotye’s music. * DevilDriver axed their tour with Six Feet Under and Darkest Hour two days before it started due to singer Dez Fafara’s inability to fly with pneumonia – but it looks like they’ll now be here for Soundwave. * If It’s Catchy, It Means You Stole It is a documentary on Nic Dalton, who’s

LANIE LANE + MUSHROOM WIN APRA NOMINATIONS

The nominations list of the APRA awards saw two outright winners: Lanie Lane got four, compared to Gotye, Kimbra, Matt Corby, Drapht, Potbelleez, Marvin Priest, Jebediah, Shane Nicholson and Birds of Tokyo who got two each. Up for song of the year are Lane’s ‘That’s What You Get’, Gotye’s US chart topper ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’, Kimbra’s ‘Cameo Lover’, Corby’s ‘Brother’ and The Beards’ ‘You Should Consider Having Sex With A Bearded Man’. Lane is up for Breakthrough Songwriter, alongside Boy & Bear, Kimbra and Corby, as well as Drapht and his co-writer Daniel Rankine.

On the publishers, Mushroom Music writers got 17 nominations. They were followed by Universal Music Publishing Aust (13), Sony/ ATV Music Publishing Aust (12), Warner Chappell Music Aust and Kobalt Aust (both 6), EMI Music Publishing Aust (5), Alberts (4) and Native Tongue (1). For the full list covering all categories, hit up their website: apra-amcos.com.au

CONNELLAN JOINS UNIVERSAL Bridie Connellan joins Universal Music Australia on May 7 as artist marketing manager for the Dew Process and Island UK imprints. She wound up last week at Fuse Group, where she has been working as creative director.

UNIVERSAL PUBL SIGNS MARVIN PRIEST

Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) signed South London-born, Sydney-based RnB singer-songwriter Marvin Priest to a worldwide music publishing agreement.

“Marvin brings years of international experience to the table, he has music in his blood and he was born to write songs,” UMPG director of A&R Heath Johns said.

Priest’s debut single ‘Own This Club’ from last year went double Platinum, and followup ‘Take Me Away’ went Gold.

SMITHERS BOOKING THE ANNANDALE

KIMBRA WINS INTERNATIONAL SONGWRITING COMPETITION

The Grand Prize for this year’s US-based International Songwriting Competition (ISC) went to 22-yearold NZ-born Melbourne-based Kimbra. She gets US$25,000 in cash and $25,000 in merchandise and services. Two years ago she won the pop/Top 40 category with her ‘Settle Down’. Australian winners of other categories included Shane Nicholson (Americana), Missy Higgins (Folk/Singer-songwriter), Natasha Duarte (Teen) and Michael Paynter (Unsigned). Three Australian songs took out the rock section: the gong was won by Jebediah, followed

by Eskimo Joe and The Living End. Emma Louise was a runner-up in three categories: Pop/Top 40, Folk/ Singer-songwriter and Performance).

Other Aussie runner-up songs were

by Catherine Britt (Americana), Dallas Frasca (AAA), Oh Mercy (Adult Contemporary), Children Collide (Music Video) and Wes Carr (Performance). Winners were selected from over 16,000 songs submitted from 112 countries.

14 :: BRAG :: 461 :: 07:05:12

Mark Smithers will now be booking for the Annandale Hotel, contactable at mark@ annandalehotel.com. Best known as an audio engineer and most recently the sound engineer for Boy & Bear, he was the booker for the Hopetoun Hotel and Oxford Art Factory. Meantime, with 400 bricks sold in four months for its Buy A Brick campaign, venue owners Matt and Dan Rule began renovating the Parramatta Road venue. Matt Rule said, “If you’ve driven past the hotel in the last couple of weeks you may have noticed the painter’s ladders up outside the pub. The old girl certainly is battered, and we felt it was important for people to see changes for their cash – so giving her a facelift is the first job on the list.” Work will also start this month on the toilets.

MAJOR LABELS LOSE MARKET SHARE TO INDIES

Three of the four major labels lost market share last year, while indies gained ground. Figures from Music & Copyright’s annual survey of the recorded music and music publishing industries reported that Universal Music Group dropped their share from 28.7% in 2010 to 27.9%. Sony Music Entertainment dropped from 23% to 21.9% and EMI from 10.2% to 9.9%. Warner was the only major to go up, from 14.9% to 15.1%. The independent sector, helped of course by the Adele factor, rose to 25.2% from 23.2%. Universal Music is also the biggest publisher at a 22.2% share, followed

by Sony/ATV (11.7%), EM I Music Publishing (19.3%) and Warner Chappell (14.4%) – all

themusicnetwork.com played in over 65 bands (notably The Lemonheads) and co-founded Half A Cow Records. Funded by fans, it’s up on facebook.com/nicdaltondoco * Stereosonic confirmed it’s returning on November 24, with the lineup announcement due in July. Meanwhile, promoter Fuzzy released a statement to confirm that NYE party Shore Thing will be back, refuting some media reports. * Gene Simmons revealed that Eddie Van Halen wanted to join KISS when Ace Frehley left; Eddie is quoted as saying, “I can’t take [David Lee] Roth – he’s driving me nuts.” * Hilltop Hoods were forced to play as a duo during their first trip to the U.S., where they did nine shows in two weeks. The

registering slight drops – while independent publishers went up to 32.6% from 31.4%.

MUSIC MAKES YOU RICH

Spotify founder Daniel Ek is the most successful British music millionaire aged under 30 (he’s actually a Swede, but spends half his life in the UK). The 29-yearold ranks at #5 with £190m made from setting up Spotify in 2006, and seeing it grow to 3 million subscribers and a worth of £1.2b. 25 of the Top 50 Sunday Times' 'Richest Young People of 2012' list made their money from music. Adele is at #20 with £20m. Cheryl Cole, Leona Lewis and Katie Melua share 24th place while Charlotte Church, Craig David and Paolo Nutini round off the top 30. Ek also made the overall Sunday Times Rich List, sitting at #10 with Mick Jagger and David & Victoria Beckham. The list was topped by Clive Calder, one time Zomba Records founder with £1.35b. #2 is musical theatre producer Cameron Mackintosh (£725m), #3 is Paul McCartney, who is also the 124th richest person in Britain (£665m), #4 Sir Andrew Lloyd-Webber (£590m), #5 U2 (£514m), #6 Simon Fuller (£375m), #7 Simon Cowell (£225m) and #8 Elton John (£220m).

At #13 are Sting and Olivia and Dhani Harrison (£180m), #15 Keith Richards (£175m), #18 Ringo Starr (£160m) and #20 Tom Jones (£140m).

WARNER ABSORBS ROADRUNNER

17 months after Warner Music bought out Roadrunner Records, it absorbed the label into its fold. Founder CEO Cees Wessels stepped down, and offices in the Netherlands, Australia, UK, Germany and Canada closed. 36 lost their jobs. In Australia half the staff were let go, and half will move to Warner.

NEW AGENCY: ARTIST VOICE ELECTRONIC

Artist Voice and Maker Agency have joined forces to open a new division called Artist Voice Electronic, for electronic dance acts.

It will be run by Alastair Green, who was with Modular Touring before setting up Maker Agency. Maker has 30 acts including Yolanda Be Cool, Nina Las Vegas, Ajax, Giselle, Tame Impala, Felicity Groom and Pond. Artist Voice CEO Brett Murrihy said, “We recognised the worldwide trend toward electronic dance music and Alastair is, in our view, the most respected and talented agent in this field in Australia.”

MUSICNSW INTRODUCES ‘HOT DESK’ INITIATIVE

Calling all emerging managers, label owners, publicists, promoters, music journalists, festival organisers, freelancers and arts practitioners: MusicNSW is offering five NSW-based start-up music businesses the chance to rent their Hot Desks in their new offices at the Oxford Street Cultural Quarter. They are rented at $40 a week for between two weeks and three months.

You’ll get free access to WIFI ADSL2+, free printing, scanning and faxing, and open access to the MusicNSW meeting room. To apply, submit an expression of interest to the MusicNSW communications and administrations officer, at scarlett@ musicnsw.com. In your application, tell them what your business is, how access to a hot desk will benefit your business, and for how long your firm needs a desk.

MUSICOZ AWARDS PERFORMERS

Performers at the Musicoz awards on Tuesday May 15 at the Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House will be Dallas Frasca, Sarah McLeod (who is co-hosting with

Adelaide Advertiser reported that they had to tour without DJ Debris because his visa was not ready in time. Their drummer’s father died four days in, and he flew back to Oz. * Sydney’s Tonight Alive have been nominated in the International Newcomer category of England’s Kerrang Awards. *The Abercrombie Hotel reopened for business days after a suspicious fire left the ground and upper floors with extensive damage. * Dubbo’s ratepayers have 28 days to decide whether the Dubbo city council should fund the DREAM festival to the tune of $40,000.

Meantime, the Dubbo Body Festival (body art), which asked for $10,000, only got $2,000.

Mike Goldman), Kid Mac with Mickey Avalon, New Empire, I Am Sam, Radio Ink, Chooka Parker, Stone Parade, Binary Finary, Lachy Doley, Fiona Joy Hawkins, Dievscity and Planet Love Sound. See musicoz.org

SHOOTING TUNES MUSIC VIDEO COMPETITION

Newcastle’s Shooting Tunes music video competition is doing a call-out to video makers, bands and animation artists aged between 13-25 years. You enter with a 2-5 minute video featuring original local music. Prizes will include cash, trophies, video production gear and recording and rehearsal packages. Deadline is June 25; see facebook.com/ShootingTunes

Lifelines Engaged: Kings Of Leon bassist Jared Followill, 25, and model Martha Patterson, 21, after a few months together. He quipped that he's looking forward to losing his virginity.

Engaged: Hilltop Hoods’ MC Suffa (Matt Lambert) and his high school sweetheart, Carlie Pisters.

Married: B105 breakfast announcer Jason ‘Labrat’ Hawkins and his fiancee Lou, in Sydney.

Split: Hippie couple Angus Stone and actress Isabel Lucas, after 18 months.

Split: Singer Candice Alley and ex-swimming champ Grant Hackett.

Recovering: Slayer’s Jeff Hanneman has learned to walk again, gone through skin grafts, and is back playing guitar. A year ago a serious spider bite put him in a coma, and there was some talk he might have his arm amputated.

Ill: ‘60s US teen idol Bobby Vee, 69, has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

In Court: A New York Supreme Court will judge a lawsuit filed by jazz/blues musicians against the Grammys for trimming categories from 109 to 78.

In Court: The British High Court ordered five of the UK’s biggest ISPs to block users from accessing illegal file-sharing Swedish site the Pirate Bay. Suing: Californian band Luce hit Selena Gomez for US$1 million, claiming her ‘A Year Without Rain’ used a chorus from their 2005 single ‘Buy A Dog’.

Died: Charles “Skip” Pitts, long-time Memphis guitarist for Isaac Hayes, whose distinctive sound helped define soul and made Shaft cool, 65, cancer.

Died: ‘80s Sydney pop singer Edith Bliss (‘If It’s Love You Want’), 53.

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BRAG :: 461 :: 07:05:12 :: 15

Out Of The Bag

By Caitlin Welsh

referring to her late-adolescent days as the singer of three-piece punk outfit Kiosk. (Her bandmates, Jack Mannix and Angie Bermuda, went on to play in Circle Pit and Straight Arrows.)

Q.

DIY has been Kelleher’s MO since those early days; she first learned how to perform on stage with the band, and then as Kiosk wound down (following a two-month US trip and, almost immediately upon the band’s return, the sudden death of Kelleher’s father), she began experimenting with beats and vocals at home from around 2006. She released the Anniversary EP two years later, ‘Swimming Pool’ in 2010, and the Swimming Pool Party remix EP last year – slogging away all the while on the full-length with a rotating cast of producers. These included Andrew “Toni Toni Lee” Elston, GLOVES, Luke Foskey (Youth), members of Van She, and Julian Mendelsohn – but the biggest payoff came from working with vocal producer Bry Jones. “I realised when I started working with him that to achieve what I wanted to achieve with the demos that I had, there was a lot of work to do in terms of writing, and becoming a better singer as well,” Kelleher explains.

“I was very intimidated by studios, I always felt really nervous and I was never breathing properly. And he’s a vocal producer, he gets you there – it’s like a therapist or something, they make you feel super comfortable or find out what’s stopping you from getting what you need to get.”

What’s ahead for Catcall in ’10?

A. FINALLY releasing the album that I’ve been working on for the last year and a half… I can’t wait.

That’s from an interview Sydney’s Catherine Kelleher gave to music blog Primary Colours back in January 2010. But the album she’s referring to only came out last Friday – May 4, 2012. This may not be an eternity by current Australian industry standards (looking at you, Avalanches), but certainly no one can accuse her of rushing her debut out to capitalise on the success of her 2010 breakout single, ‘Swimming Pool’.

“Yeahhhhhhh,” says Kelleher sheepishly.

“I think we were planning on finishing the album in 2010, releasing a single at the end of the year, and then the album… I feel like I’m about to explode with it, you know? With relief that it’s going to be out in a week and a half!”

The album in question, now that it’s here, is titled The Warmest Place. Considering some of the songs were written as many as five or six years apart and in varying states of grief, contentedness and confidence, it’s a remarkably coherent statement from an artist who started in DIY punk and dipped a toe in hip hop on the way to unabashed, complex pop music. “Yeah, I’ve got cred, I paid my dues!” she says with a wry laugh,

Jones was also the one who convinced her that it was OK to go full-on, bubblegumglossy, 100% unabashed pop. The tracks that had made her name with critics and fans

“I like the punk kids being into it – that makes me pretty happy. People that I’ve known for a while who are just so hate-everything...That un-cynical vibe was something I was trying to achieve.”

– the sexually charged ‘Swimming Pool’ and 2008’s rich, grief-fuelled ‘August’ – were dark and seething, albeit tempered by Kelleher’s forthright, everygirl vocals. “I think ‘August’ and ‘Swimming Pool’ tap into something a lot more personal, in terms of the emotional vulnerability, than some of the other tracks,” she admits. “Funny thing is, ‘Swimming Pool’ and ‘Satellites’ and ‘That Girl’ were the most recent tracks that were written for the album; ‘World Is Ours’ is one of the first tracks that I demoed, which people always get surprised about because it’s the poppiest.

“When I started working with Bry later on he said, ‘Look, you can’t go half-arsed into [making a pop record]’,” she recalls. “I had these demos and it was pretty obvious that I was starting to go in that direction but holding back – it was all in this confused state. And he said, ‘You have to go all the way, you’ve gotta own it, or it’s not going to work, people aren’t going to connect with it.’”

But six years of Catcall have taught Kelleher that forward momentum is what serves her music best. “I always used to think I was one of those people who would never be able to think about the next album until the first one was completely done… But now I’m thinking if I don’t start writing soon, it’ll probably take another three years to get another album out,” she sighs, “and I’ll be eighty by then. I’ll be far too old.”

What: The Warmest Place is out now through Ivy League With: Palms Where: Oxford Art Factory When: Friday May 18

“Tragedy would make you feel you need a divine drug to heal and a better God cuts a better deal” - DEUS - Thurs 10 May Manning Bar 16 :: BRAG :: 461 :: 07:05:12

xxx

The Warmest Place blends its pop influences – from Frente! and Fleetwood Mac to Roxy Music – with a fiercely independent sensibility, but pop songs with substance don’t arrive with a neon sign proclaiming Not Your Average Dance-Pop Love Song, and it’s easy for critics and casual listeners alike to be dismissive when presented with something so immediately accessible. Kelleher says one review of lead single ‘Satellites’ rankled for precisely that reason. “I try not to read reviews, but occasionally I’ll come across one, and it’ll be the worst possible one,” she says ruefully. She tells me that the subtext tends to be that “making pop music is not honourable in any way – that it’s not art, that it’s not difficult, that it’s not something that can be respected. That it’s something that you do if you want to make money. That’s [that writer’s] opinion; if he doesn’t like it, music is subjective and that’s fine. But I put a lot into these songs and I never expected them to do anything for me other than give me the opportunity to be able to play some shows, and the excitement of finishing something.

I don’t have any expectations, and I never have.”

That said, Kelleher gets a kick out of spotting old fans dancing to effervescent pop tunes like the Go-Go-inspired new single ‘The World Is Ours’ – the same ones who sweated buckets watching Kiosk in tiny shitbox venues. “I like the punk kids being into it – that makes me pretty happy. People that I’ve known for a while who are just so hate-everything.” There’s a refreshing lack of cynicism among the broad spectrum of people who are digging on Catcall that’s reflected in the attitude of the album itself. “That [un-cynical vibe] was something I was trying to achieve, and a lack of elitism as well. There’s a lot of elitism in music at the moment.”

Kelleher is one of the most fun Australian musicians to follow on Twitter – rather than using it as a promotional tool, it’s a candid and hilarious outlet for her to “talk about tennis, and try to flirt with George Megalogenis”. Most of the few music-related Tweets, particularly in the lead-up to the album being completed, are so blunt and exasperated a casual observer might think she’s ready to throw in the towel most days. “[Music is] like a boyfriend, I go through emotional phases with it – sometimes it drives me insane and sometimes it’s the best thing in my life,” she says. “Because it’s been with me so long and it’s shaped my friendships and my relationships and every choice I’ve made, it’s an intense experience. I hate it and I love it.”

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Kimbra Won’t Settle Down By Rach Seneviratne

O

ne of the highest rated YouTube comments on a Kimbra video: “Fuck. Fuck. She is so amazing, beautiful and gifted. I hate her.” At 22, Kimbra Johnson makes most people her age (and older) feel pretty damn useless. 2011 was a stellar year for the Kiwi queen, releasing her meticulous debut album Vows, wearing incredible dresses, and collaborating with Gotye on one of the biggest songs of the year. Also, Perez Hilton publically compared her to Nina Simone and other “fierce ladies”… Does it get much better?

192 million is the kind of number you throw around when you’re trying to make ludicrous exaggerations, but that’s how many YouTube hits ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’ has got so far. Getting triple j’s #1 spot in the Hottest 100 is a huge feat for any newcomer, but it pales in comparison to a Jimmy Kimmel Live! appearance… which in turn pales in comparison to the track being inducted into that long list of songs that Glee has murdered. “It’s been great,” Kimbra reflects from a hotel room in Austin where she’s been killing it at SXSW, playing huge showcases and parties for tastemakers like Nylon, Filter, MTV and Perez himself. “Obviously the song has provided me with a really fantastic platform

to bring some of my music to America and the UK. I’ve been all through Europe supporting Gotye and doing my other sets as well. It’s just been such an awesome experience to go around the world with him and be a part of a song that has resonated so deeply with people.”

But Kimbra had established herself as an artist in her own right before Gotye came along. Moving from New Zealand to Australia to pursue her music when she was just 17, she started writing a debut album, Vows, that only came to fruition in 2011.

She’s gone from playing shows at The Corner Hotel in Richmond to crowds of 15 000 with Foster The People, but Kimbra seems to be taking it all in her stride; not overwhelmed or underwhelmed by the rate of her success – just suitably whelmed. “I guess from the outside looking in, it might seem like it’s happened really fast … but it’s definitely been in the works for a long time. I moved [to Melbourne] when I was 17, so I guess it’s been quite a while for me to be getting myself off the ground,” she says. “It feels like a natural time for things to be happening.”

Vows is a quirky record which walks the perfect tightrope between experimentalism and pop.

Outwardly catchy, it’s also a grower that demands real attention from the listener. Kimbra foresaw the risk in putting out such a varied record when the majority only knew her for her songs with Miami Horror and Gotye, but sticking to her guns comes as second nature. “I’m glad people have been loving [Vows],” she says. “There’s always a worry that you might just be known for that one song – it’s been great that people have got behind the stuff I was doing even before I worked with Wally [de Backer, aka Gotye].” Her sassy take on funk, jazz and soul goes far beyond the attempts of other artists to prove their versatility; Kimbra just oozes unforced talent. Her recent SXSW showcases thrust her further into the spotlight – notably her performance of ‘Settle Down’, which demonstrated her skills with a vocal loop pedal. “I love being able to create an arrangement on the spot – it’s a great experience for people to feel like they’re a part of something that builds from the ground up”.

“I’m glad people have been loving Vows.

There’s always a worry that you might just be known for that one song – it’s been great that people have got behind the stuff I was doing even before I worked with Wally.”

Kimbra knows all about building from the ground up. From her days as a burgeoning musician in Melbourne, she’s now on the cusp of being the next massive Australasian export – Vows comes out this month in the States (after going Platinum in Oz), she’s just blown the socks off SXSW, and she’s about to embark on the mammoth Foster The People US tour. Her recent collaborations are a testament to her rise: after the release of the ‘Warrior’ collaboration for Converse, she now counts Mark Foster (of Foster The People) and A-Trak as pals. “It’s been really fun connecting with them,” she says. “And John Legend, we wrote a song together a few months ago, but I’m keeping him waiting because I’m still working on it!” She attributes the diversity of her collaborations to her open mind towards music. “I like artists that push boundaries within the genres that they’re [working] in. Whether that’s Miles Davis or the Mars Volta or tUnE-yArDs or Prince ... you can and should be influenced by anything, really. If I just listened to other female singer-songwriters I’d be limiting myself in terms of what I can be influenced by, so I try to listen to stuff that’s as different to what I do as possible.”

The buzz about Kimbra and her impending worldwide domination has set her up for a helterskelter year. But although her time to relax is quite literally “an hour here or there”, she wouldn’t have it any other way. “You have to knuckle down in certain weeks or certain months, and the downtime comes later. I had a lot of downtime when I first moved to Melbourne – like, two years of it,” she laughs. “I’d much rather be busy than sitting around, y’know?”

With: Daniel Merriweather, Sam Lawrence Where: The Enmore Theatre When: Thursday May 17 (lic/all-ages)

18 :: BRAG :: 461 :: 07:05:12

Xxxxx

More: Kimbra is also appearing at Splendour In The Grass from July 27-29 @ Belongil Fields, alongside Jack White, The Shins, Band Of Skulls, Youth Lagoon and loads more

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Wavves Sweet Valley High By Matthew Hogan

T

here really are few artists around today that embody the spirit of rock’n’roll quite like Nathan Williams, leader of noisy surf rockers Wavves. With his constantly fuzzy guitar, party lifestyle and onstage meltdown history, Williams has attracted many followers (I’m looking directly at you, Bleeding Knees Club) – but could he be turning his back on the guitar in favour of a beat machine?

“I’ve just bought a house in East LA and my little brother has moved in here with me, and we’ve been working on a project together that’s kind of beat-oriented, called Sweet Valley,” reveals Williams, before a voice chimes in on the other line: “Nathan, there’s something in the garbage disposal – you’ve got to pull it out, man!” “That’s my little brother [Kynan] right there,” the frontman explains. “We’ve done a couple of remixes – we’ve remixed Gift Of Gab – and we’re talking to some labels right now, and we have a mixtape probably coming out in the next month or two.”

Inspired by the instrumental hip hop of the late great J. Dilla, Sweet Valley also draws on more

prosaic influences from the Williams’ childhoods.

“Ky, what do we use to create beats?” Nathan yells. “A lot of Casios, glockenspiel, guitar, a lot of records; we plug stuff directly into the Nintendo and SNES and Sega and sample some games of our past. We try to find mostly nostalgic sounds; we got this cool Muppet Babies Casio keyboard the other day...”

Wavves fans fear not: Williams is not quitting his day job. In fact, when we chat he’s just returned home from the studio, where he’s been working on the full-length follow-up to the Life Sux EP, with producer John Hill (best known for working on shiny pop from Rihanna and Christina Aguilera, as well as Portugal. The Man and Wu-Tang). Predicting a September release, Williams gives us a hint of a change in direction for the band. “It probably won’t be as, I guess, lo-fi sounding,” he says. “It will be different. I feel like – I mean, it’s not all the way done yet, and until it’s fully done I couldn’t really tell you – but it sounds like the obvious next step of Wavves for me. But people always seem to be shocked at new things, so who knows?”

In addition to creating short sharp jams, Wavves also excel at inventive merchandise. I mention that their herb and spice grinder was noticeably absent from their most recent Australian tour…

“We had trouble getting them over,” says Williams. “We might not have been able to ship them or something... I don’t remember.

There was a law. I think that Australia has a paraphernalia law or something like that.” “…But I thought they were just for grinding herbs and spices?” I offer. “Oh yeah,” he chuckles. “It’s my “herb and spice” grinder... and coffee, sometimes... We’ll definitely try to bring them this time. We have like a package this time, with a lighter, grinder and papers. So hopefully we can bring ‘em!”

To tide you over before their trip to Australia for the regional Groovin The Moo festival, and some big city headline shows, the band has just released their very own video game, which keeps in line with that nostalgic ‘90s theme.

“It’s kinda like Paperboy,” Williams says about the online Flash game Weed Demon. “You ride through the streets and deliver weed and fight acid demons and get up to no good. It’s only online now, but I’d like to see it as an iPhone game down the track. We’ve also got a comic book coming out, so I’m keeping busy!”

With: Sures Where: Oxford Art Factory When: Tuesday May 15 More: Also playing at Groovin’ The Moo with Digitalism, Kaiser Chiefs, Public Enemy, Andrew W.K. and more, in Maitland on Saturday May 12 (sold out), and Canberra on Sunday May 13.

The Maccabees Running Wild By Jennifer Peterson-Ward

T

outed as “the future of rock’n’roll” by the BBC, South London’s The Maccabees have spent the last six months fielding the kind of hyperbole that hits British pop once or twice a decade. After releasing their criticallyacclaimed third album Given To The Wild in January this year, NME declared the outfit to be “the best young guitar band in Britain at the absolute peak of their powers”, while BBC Music’s Alex Denney said, “If only all bands had the guts and honesty of The Maccabees, maybe they’d get round to making third records as good as this.”

The excitement perhaps comes down to the fact that the quintet emerged at a time in which British rock was sorely lacking in genuinely thrilling guitar bands. The Maccabees, whose ambitious pop-rock comes gift-wrapped in walls of noise, seem to fill a hole that no one realised was there. “To be honest, we were ready for it,” says guitarist/backing vocalist Felix White, of his band’s increased exposure. “We’ve been playing together for ten years, and every gig we’ve played to more and more people – and we’ve gotten better and better at playing as well.”

While White says it’s difficult to read reviews – “something you’ve put your life into, summed up in two sentences” – he knows it’s worse to be ignored. “We’re very aware that having critics behind [an album] definitely helps it.

The Maccabees fans that have always been around are still here, but there seems to be more people turning their heads to the band in general, and that’s a lovely thing,” he says. “So far this year has been amazing; it feels like it felt the first time, just jumping on the bus with my mates, driving around and playing shows.”

But while it may feel like the first time, White is also aware that his band’s recent success comes hand-in-hand with a little more creative

freedom. “If you’re on the first rung of the ladder you’ve got to do everything you can to survive, whereas when you’re a little higher up you’ve got more freedom to do what you like.” He says the personality of Maccabees was able to “come through more fully” on the “bigger sounding” Given To The Wild. “The writing process was intense and we put so much detail into the songs. The process of writing was done individually – we went off by ourselves for four months and came up with ideas alone or in pairs, and then when we brought it together we worked out how we could best shape the songs. It was a more involved process than ever before, but all the effort was definitely worth it,” he explains. “We had much more ownership of this album; we produced it ourselves and the vision is ours.”

But that bigger sound makes for a little trouble when it comes to translating the record to a live show. “We never wrote it as a live album, so it’s been a learning experience working out how to arrange some of the songs for our shows. But that’s life, isn’t it? Sometimes you just have to move the goal posts.”

Having recently embarked on an extensive European tour, The Maccabees are champing at the bit for their first ever tour Down Under.

“I’m well excited. We were mainly playing songs from the new album during the European tour, but we’ll bring out a few older ones during our Australian shows just to serve as a sort of introduction, as people won’t have seen us play them before,” he says. “I also love cricket, so I can’t wait to visit some of the famous grounds.”

What: Given To The Wild is out now With: Argentina Where: The Metro Theatre When: Thursday May 10

Silversun Pickups os Angeles alt-rockers Silversun Pickups have been on a steady trajectory since the release of their Pikul EP in 2005, but chatting to the band’s frontman and guitarist Brian Aubert proves that success and humility can go hand-in-hand.

L

recorded it in his house,” he says. “It’s just a converted little garage he made into a studio.

We had dinner with his family and his two kids every night, no matter how intense it got. There was always a vibe of understanding what it was we were doing.”

Brian is on the interview circuit promoting the latest addition to the Pickups’ solid and celebrated back-catalogue: their new LP Neck Of The Woods. With prior albums Swoon (2009) and Carnavas (2006) both produced by Dave Cooley and Tony Hoffer, Brian explains that the decision to change producers this time around was not one to take lightly. “We love those guys, and we’re probably the only band in the world that called our old producers for a blessing to move on,” he says. “Their response was really positive. They joked with us that it was time to see what happens when someone else pisses us off.”

So was there much conflict during the production process, then? “I think it’s really crazy to not have anybody challenge you on things,” Brian answers. “In a recording situation, you have such a huge undertaking going on … your mind is in a creative spot, and practicality seems to die. In that state you can miss a lot of things, and a good producer can show you that even though you can think you’re doing a great job, it doesn’t mean you are.”

Enter critically acclaimed producer, Jacknife Lee – the man behind the bulk of releases from Weezer, REM and Snow Patrol. “He’s just a maniac!” Brian says. “He’s a genius. He comes from an old punk band, guitar-playing place – but then he’s a super duper electronic whiz, and he’s produced and likes an infinite amount of stuff… We just wanted to put his essence in a bottle and use it for our pleasure.” According to Brian, working with the famed producer was somewhat of a unique experience. “We

Brian believes the new album stands out not just for that change in production, but also for its lyrical growth. “Before I would clever something up for the sake of it, but this time I just thought, ‘No, screw that’… For me, it’s more lyrically honest, and doesn’t try to hide so much behind waxing poetic.” So what exactly prompted this new openness? “I started writing the record when I was in Europe … having some time off for the first time in a while,” he answers, “and I was really inspired by meeting people and seeing these towns that seemed so strange but completely familiar… Knowing that I couldn’t break into these places, no matter how much I wanted to.

“Then we finished the album two miles from where I was born, and I had the same feeling – of being in a place where I have no sense of when I was young,” he says. All the walls are painted differently, and there’s a whole neighbourhood reboot that happened, and no one from that time in my life is even around anymore. I think that really shaped me lyrically.”

As I start to round up the interview, Brian excitedly interrupts: “Just hearing your voice right now, I just really hope we get to go back

there… It makes me feel like we did something right.” According to Brian, Australia has a special place in the hearts of Silversun Pickups.

“I remember the Ding Dong in Melbourne and the Annandale in Sydney – they were just the maddest shows we’ve ever had. I thought people were literally going to kill themselves…” he says, before a pause, and a laugh. “Then I was disappointed when they didn’t.”

What: Neck Of The Woods is out now through Dangerbird Records

“Both sides of happy, both sides of grief. Man, they’re staring at you. It’s beyond belief” - DEUS - Thurs 10 May Manning Bar 20 :: BRAG :: 461 :: 07:05:12

The Butterfly Effect – photo by Tony Mott

Under The Knife By Lee Hutchison

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Photo: Chris Herzfeld – Camlight Productions

Arj Barker Joy Harvest

The seeds of laughter have yielded a bountiful and veritable banquet of succulent, pesticide-free comedy.

NEW DVD IN STORES MAY 2 BRAG :: 461 :: 07:05:12 :: 21

Santigold All That Glitters By Simone Ziada

F

our long years since the release of her debut album, Santi White is finally back with Master Of My Make-Believe – and talking to her it’s obvious that the Philadelphiaborn artist is exactly where she wants to be: taking as long as she needs to make the music that she loves, for the fans she loves even more. “I feel really good about [the album], and I especially feel good that it’s finally coming out,” she says. “You know, it’s been a long process and I’m just so glad that it’s out already. It’s actually been done – or mostly done – for a really long time, so I’m so happy that people are finally able to hear it.”

A perfectionist in her own right, the four years between both albums was not intentional; after absorbing herself within the performing and finetuning of each facet of the new record, Santigold found out that time really does fly when you’re having fun. And if you ever get the pleasure to speak with her, you’ll know just how much fun this girl has – she giggled her way through the entire interview.

“Honestly, I toured for the first two years [after the release of 2008’s Santogold], so I took

kind of like an extra year more than what most people do to tour, apparently ... and I only realised that afterwards. But my manager at the time suggested that I keep touring because the want was there, and I was really grateful to have people that wanted to see the show. I thought that it was really important to build a real fanbase – especially nowadays when people’s tastes are so [individual],” she explains. “People are so trendy in their music taste, so when you have a real fanbase that’s something that can’t be taken away, really…

So, I toured for the first two years, and then it took me about a year and a half to make the record, which I don’t think is that long – but I guess from the last release to this release, it does seem long. Now, in the current climate, it seems long.”

Like any good artist, Santi’s music is a true definition of herself, and if Santogold wasn’t a reflection of that, then Master Of My MakeBelieve definitely is. Tracks like ‘Big Mouth’ and ‘Go!’, featuring the immaculate vocals from Yeah Yeah Yeahs frontwoman Karen O, showed us what to expect from the upcoming album. Or so we thought – listening to Master Of My MakeBelieve, it’s evident that there are a number of new influences that have helped shaped the singer as she delves into genres that we never though she would. Yep, she even tries her hand at her version of a ballad. “I didn’t set out saying, ‘Oh, I want to make it sound different.’

But it’s been a while [between records], and I’ve grown as an artist, and, naturally, I’m going to push myself to higher standards – I think that the music evolved ‘cause I’ve evolved. “Maybe I was a little bit more ambitious as well, trying to make songs that sound really big in some ways, like ‘Riot’s Gone’ or ‘God From The Machine’.

‘Riot’s Gone’ is quite a different song for me because it’s my version of a ballad, which I’ve never done before. I guess that I took some different kinds of risks.

“I’m very particular when it comes to the people that I work with, because when I do collaborations, I want them to be good. I wouldn’t work with somebody unless I knew they were amazing.”

“Life’s my biggest inspiration,” she continues.

“Just life, and keeping my eyes open and paying attention. As artists, I think that we’re just left with extra sensitivity of everything that goes on around us, and how we process it. Most artists that I’m friends with anyway, we’re just extra sensitive to our environment so, as I’m living, there are things that I see and I notice, and they spark different ideas and lyrics... Just living in the world right now, there’s so much going on, to pay attention to and to write about.”

Known for collaborating with some of the music world’s most exciting artists and producers in the past, the calibre of appearances on this latest record is nothing short of astonishing – Diplo, Switch, Nick Zinner and David Sitek all appear on the album credits. “I’m very particular when it comes [to the people that I work with], because when I do collaborations, I want them to be good. I wouldn’t work with somebody unless I knew they were amazing.”

Listen to Master Of My Make-Believe and you’ll realise just why Santigold has the following that she does. We can expect Santi and her highoctane live performances heading Down Under very soon...

What: Master Of My Make-Believe is out now through Atlantic Records/Warner Music

22 :: BRAG :: 461 :: 07:05:12

Santigold photo by Sean Thomas

But what’s a good artist if their live performances don’t perfectly reflect, if not better, their recorded tracks? Well, Santigold wouldn’t know. With sets that get every crowd on the same hyperactive, dance-induced wavelength, Miss White understands what it means to keep her audiences entertained. “They’re high energy, and they’re fun,” she says of her shows.

“There’s a lot of dancing and movement and also, visually, there’s a lot to take in. We’ve got costumes and props and dancers and a band...

It’s decked out. It’s very visual, and I really try to give a physical presence to the songs.”

BOBDYLANNIGHT.COM BRAG :: 461 :: 07:05:12 :: 23

Frank Turner Wide Awake, It’s... By Chris Martin

F

rank Turner won’t mind if you call his music ‘folk punk’ – he’s far too humble, polite and articulate to impose an opinion where it doesn’t belong; but please don’t assume he was out to invent a new genre – all he had was an acoustic guitar and some ideas that needed shouting.

“My slight reservation about [the term ‘folk punk’] is that people try and create this kind of sheen, as if me and Chuck Ragan and Tim Barry and Tom Gabel sat in a basement five years ago and planned that we were going to ‘do folk punk, man’ – and it really wasn’t like that,” Turner chuckles down a phone line from Canada, where he’s just walked off stage.

“There’s lots of elements of folk in what I do, there’s lots of elements of punk in what I do,” he explains. “If I’m completely honest with you, I actually think that I’m probably most likely to be described as a country singer… [genre definitions] are just kind of signposts, and if they send people in vaguely the right direction that’s fine.”

Whatever you call it, in the hands of Turner – the former frontman of hardcore act Million Dead – this music is captivating an already impressive and rapidly growing audience. And many of that audience see Turner as their figurehead and muse, even if he can’t quite grasp it. “I do

my humble best not to think about it, because it feels kind of faintly ridiculous to me – not that I’m trying to belittle anybody who says that,” he says. “At the end of the day, if people are citing me as an influence that’s a fantastic compliment and I will take it as such, but I will also be terribly English about it and stammer and look at my feet and change the subject.”

As it happens, the very next subject is Englishness and nationalism, ideas that permeate Turner’s fourth and most recent album, England Keep My Bones. “England and Englishness was the subject that kept rearing its head in my songs,” says Turner. “I really felt with the last record that it was time to confront it head on, talk about it with an eye to – at least for the time being – getting it out of my system. And it’s kind of fun now, because the new songs that I’m writing are about other things.”

something I’m constantly thinking about.”

For Turner, the writing process is permanently invasive, yet obviously productive. “Sometimes I read interviews with other bands or singers or whatever and they talk about how they like ‘writing time’ set aside in their schedule, and that to me is kind of a strange idea because it’s just a constant process for me. I’m always humming a tune, clicking my fingers… At the risk of being a tiny bit over the top, I slightly look forward to the day when I don’t really have to do that anymore, because I lose a lot of sleep over writing; it’s

In the meantime, Turner returns to Australia with a swag of old songs and a handful of his newest, the calling cards of a man whose swelling popularity saw him headline at London’s Wembley Arena last month – his biggest show yet. “There’s a big difference between dreaming about something and actually expecting to receive it,” says Turner of his latest successes.

“Wembley was fantastic but it was a weird one for me, because it wasn’t like I was crossing something off my boyhood ‘to do’ list of rock’n’roll

dreams – it’s way beyond that now. I feel like I’m constantly having to add stuff to the bottom of my bucket list because I keep crossing things off the top of it.”

What: England Keep My Bones out now through Epitaph With: William Elliot Whitmore, The Smith Street Band and Jen Buxton Where: Manning Bar, Sydney University When: Saturday May 12

The Getaway Plan Back On Top By Alasdair Duncan

A

requiem is a song for the dead, but The Getaway Plan’s newest album, which takes Requiem as its title, is in fact a celebration of the band’s rebirth.

After experiencing tremendous success with their debut Other Voices, Other Rooms, the youthful Melbourne group seemed to be on track to stardom; but the pressure of touring and media attention proved too much, and in 2009, barely a year after the album’s release, they announced that they would go their separate ways. After spending some time playing in other bands and exploring individual musical pathways, the group made tentative steps to reunite – and now here we are.

Requiem is the band’s most joyous recording to date – a result, says singer Matthew Wright, of friends reuniting and bonding over their mutual love of music. “We spent a lot of time apart, as friends and as a band,” he says, “so going to Canada to record the album and being forced to live in the same house for three months did really amazing things for us. We felt such positivity as a result of that experience.” The band’s hiatus, Wright tells me, was a tough but necessary step. “I think the break is exactly what we needed. We were kids when we were first thrown into this, and in the time off we all grew up and matured a lot as people, and found a balance between our personal lives and the band.”

If there’s a common thread that runs through the songs on Requiem, it seems to be a strong emphasis on melody amid the maelstrom of guitars. For Wright, this is the most important aspect of a song. “I generally will write a melody first, then write lyrics to fit,” he says. “I feel like melody and phrasing is my thing.”

Wherever Wright goes, songwriting is always on his mind. “Ideas will come from nowhere and I’ll just go with them,” he says. “I have thousands and thousands of voice memos on my phone

like that.” He says that he even dreams his melodies – although they don’t always translate exactly the way he hopes. “They always sound better in the dream, that’s for sure,” he says with a laugh. “I often will wake up at four in the morning and put down an idea, then wake up a few hours later and be like, ‘What the fuck were you thinking?’”

Having just completed a regional tour in support of the record, The Getaway Plan are about to head back out on the road for a series of shows. Thus far, the response has been overwhelming. “Yeah, it’s nothing but love at the shows,” Wright says. “There are always going to be a few people on forums with nasty things to say, but I just think the positivity outweighs anything that people might have to say that’s shitty about us.”

As for their upcoming show at The Standard, I ask Wright what fans can expect. “A good show, I hope – that’s kind of it,” he says. “We’re playing a lot of old songs on this tour. That’s something that the fans have been asking us to do for quite a while, and that’s something to look forward to. It’s about half and half, old and new.”

A good many younger fans have been asking for all-ages shows on this tour; while they may not be happening immediately, Wright assures me that there are plans afoot. “We definitely will be doing something within the next couple of months. We’re not sure what exactly, but we will definitely be announcing something, so keep your ear to the ground.”

What: Requiem is out now through UNFD With: New Empire, Built On Secrets, Siren Lines Where: The Standard, Lvl 3/383 Bourke Street, Taylor Square When: Friday May 11

Dan Potthast Ska Weekender By Nils Hay

I

t’s Sunday evening, and Dan Potthast is relaxing in his Las Vegas hotel room, fresh from a rare show with MU330 the night before.

24 years on and he still loves performing with the iconic psycho-ska band – but he admits that it’s not as easy as it used to be. “I had to get that energy level up to play songs that I wrote when I was 18,” he says. “It was pretty good. A little challenging when you’re 39, but fun.” Talk of a new MU album has been swirling around for years – and looks set to continue. “We have an album that’s about half-way finished, but we’ve had that album half-way finished for maybe ten years,” he chuckles. “We don’t get together that often; usually when we do, it’s for something fun like this Vegas thing we just did. There’s no immediate plan in the future to release that stuff.”

That’s not to say the man hasn’t been busy; quite the opposite in fact. A prolific writer, Potthast has released five albums in the last five years – two with band The Stitch Up, two solo and, most recently, one with the ten-piece Dan P & The Bricks. “I have to write music,” he tells me. “It just has to come out. I start to get a little crazy when I don’t.” With The Bricks’ album barely three months old, he’s already discussing the follow-up, but there are two other projects to finish first: another solo album, and a children’s record. “My wife and I have written quite a few songs together that were kind of in the vein that would work for that sort of thing,” he explains.

“Songs about dogs and cats.” They had half an album written when Mike Park, the founder of MU330’s label Asian Man Records, announced his kid’s label Fun Fun Records. His relationship with Park and the nature of the songs made Potthast the perfect fit.

A couple of tracks from Potthast’s forthcoming kids record might even make it into his

upcoming Australian shows. The run of dates, which include appearances at the Ska Weekender Festivals, have Potthast keyed up.

“I feel like when I play the ska festivals, more people come out that maybe know my history of touring with MU330, and know some of my music already. It’s kind of like having a leg-up.”

Despite the smaller sound, and being away from his buddies, he also speaks favourably of the freedom that comes with touring solo.

“Being able to go places like Japan and Australia affordably – only having to buy the one ticket is a huge help! I never was able to get MU330 over to Australia [because of] the hurdle of getting everyone plane tickets – it’s so expensive.” And not having to worry about setlists is another bonus. “I just kind of feel out the crowd. I can play Bricks songs, MU songs, my solo stuff – I can make something up on the spot – whatever works,” he explains.

“If I want to stop and talk and tell a story in the middle of a song, I can; there’s not the rest of the band looking at me saying, ‘What the hell are you doing?!’”

Then there’s the confidence boost that comes when he steps back up in front of a band. “I feel like if you can get up solo and maintain the crowd and control the crowd, then when you’re with a band it’s just super-easy. It’s like training for the Olympics by doing that highaltitude stuff,” he jokes. “It gets you in shape!”

With: Chris Duke & The Royals, God God Dammit Dammit, The Bennies and more Where: Ska Weekender @ The Annandale When: Sunday June 10, from 3pm

“What’s a smiling face and a sunburned prostate for a man that great” - DEUS - Thurs 10 May Manning Bar 24 :: BRAG :: 461 :: 07:05:12

Zulu Winter Learning The Language By Tamara Vogl

W

ill Daunt got robbed in King’s Cross on his first ever night in Australia, but a lot has happened since then. For one, he formed a band with his London college buddies, called it Zulu Winter, and became the lead vocalist – the group had next to no tour experience before being invited to support indie pop giants Foster The People’s London and Ireland shows. Due to embark on an Australia Do-Over, this time with his band in tow, the frontman speaks to me about Zulu Winter’s unusual name, their writing process and the idea of creating pop music that leaks darker depths.

Scholarly London chaps who were raised on literature, art, and obscure Russian film-makers, Zulu Winter are five firm friends who’ve been hailed as the most exciting new guitar band in Britain off the back of just a handful of shows. “It feels really good,” says Daunt, of the glowing reviews his band has been collecting. “It’s indeed very flattering. [But] the most important thing as a band is to not pay too much attention to everything, because the bottom line is we can get hailed as ‘the next so and so’ – which is nice – but we haven’t done anything yet. We may be a terrible flop. The best thing to do is to work as hard as you can, play great shows, and carry on writing.”

really an amazing feeling. The next step will be to see how well it goes...”

After hitting the UK and Europe touring circuit with Foster The People, they played a swag of European festivals before heading to the States for SXSW. Come April, Australia will get their first chance to see what all the fuss is about. “As a band, this is our first time [in Australia],” the frontman says, “and we are beyond excited.

We’re looking forward to playing for people who potentially don’t know much about us, or have maybe only heard one song. It’s exciting for a band to win people over.”

What: Language comes out May 11, 2012 via Dew Process Where: Oxford Art Factory When: Wednesday July 25 More: Also playing alongside Jack White, Smashing Pumpkins, Lana Del Rey, Miike Snow, The Kooks, Bloc Party, Tame Impala, Friends, Azealia Banks and more at Splendour In The Grass, held from July 27-29 at Belongil Fields, Byron Bay.

The group started out playing various bits and pieces – mostly covers – while they were still at school. “About two years ago we sort of decided to write an album,” Daunt says. Within that time they managed to secure Zulu Winter as a supporting act for Foster The People, which ended up being their first ever tour. Daunt underplays this impressive feat, describing it simply as “incredibly fun”. “We wrote some great songs and got to play in front of loads of cool people,” he begins. “And these are proper people too – not the industry. They were there to have a good time, have a good experience… We hadn’t played that many shows yet so it was pretty terrifying, [but] good for us to hone our craft. We made a glaring mistake, but no one noticed apart from us. We laughed, questioning, ‘How did we get away with that?’”

“We can get hailed as ‘the next so and so’ – which is nice – but we haven’t done anything yet. We may be a terrible flop. The best thing to do is work as hard as you can.”

Their unusual band name came along thanks to the members’ individualism – and indecisiveness.

“We’re five quite individually-minded blokes, and we all have strong ideas,” Daunt explains. “It was frustrating to find a name. [So one day] I just put two completely unrelated words together that meant nothing, and we all agreed that we liked it!” It was similarly tricky trying to work out what kind of band they wanted to be. “I don’t think we had a grand master plan.” With the unique (and occasionally disparate) musical tastes of each of the bandmembers’ equally informing their creative process, Daunt explains how difficult it is for Zulu Winter to create straight-up pop music – a genre they admire in other artists.

“Our guitarist Henry [Walton] is into avant-garde music. Our keyboardist Dom [Millard] is into ‘70s music, especially David Axelrod… Even if I wrote a pop song, strange elements would always be creeping into it.”

Taking cues from bands like Radiohead, Zulu Winter try instead to write pop songs that are initially catchy but offer layers of depth to the attentive fan, with different ideas surfacing on repeat listens. Daunt describes their debut album Language, due for an Australian release this month through Dew Process, as “melancholic danceable pop” – and warns it may leave people feeling a little sad. “It’s a little darker than people maybe expect,” Daunt explains. “There are some more cinematic and slower songs. So I don’t think you could label it as straight-up pop.”

Zulu Winter spent the last year in seclusion, creating, jamming, writing, and generally pissing off their girlfriends in order to perfect the record – and now they have everyone talking. Daunt says that it means the world to have finally finished their first full-length album. “We’ve been writing it for eighteen months off and on, and mainly writing in evenings,” he says, “so the majority of 2010 and 2011 was spent in a darkened room.

[During that time] you can lose perspective, because it’s just the five of you… So to have finished it and to have had it mastered was BRAG :: 459 :: 23:04:12 :: 25

arts frontline

free stuff email: freestuff@thebrag.com

arts, theatre and film news... what's goin' on around town and more...

five minutes WITH

SOPHIA TSIPIDIS

(“It became another necessity in my handbag: phone, wallet, house keys, lip gloss… and camera”) as she became a regular snapper of bands, gigs and the more colourful parts of Sydney’s nightlife, and graduated to shooting for magazines. This month, she opens her first solo show of portraits, live music shots and city/ landscapes. She’s just 21. (I know, gross right?)

How did you transition from taking photos at gigs to portraiture and landscape?

I became a familiar face to the bands I would regularly go see at all-age shows and back in the day of MySpace I would tag the band in the photo and send a message letting them know they could use it. So after doing that for a while and becoming friends with a few of the band members, they started asking me to take their promotional band shots for CD covers and flyers, and from there I developed my own style of portraiture. My interest in landscapes came a lot later after a trip to New York City, although I much prefer working with people.

Portrait of Rachel Larratt What (or who) is your favourite subject, past or present? Back when I was a teen it would have been the hottest guy in the band with the most tattoos and piercings, but my favourite person now would have to be Magdalena from Mz Ann Thropik. Her creativity knows no bounds, and on stage she's so wild and unpredictable it would cause anyone pain to look away!

What makes a good photo, in your opinion?

Apart from being visually pleasing, a good photo should evoke an emotion in its viewer, and that is what I try to do with my work.

What’s the craziest thing you’ve photographed? A girl being fingered out the front of the Gaelic. The gig had finished, it was about 3am and all the bands were bumping out; I was standing outside talking with a group of friends, and there’s this guy and girl in matching black leather coats just going at it! I couldn’t believe my eyes but my camera confirmed it was really happening. No shame.

Tell us about this shot (pictured)? That is Rachel Larratt, the owner of BMEzine.com, an American body-modification webzine. Her portrait was taken on the rocks just further up from Bondi Beach, for INKED Australia magazine in 2010. This photo didn’t end up being printed in the magazine but she told me it’s her favourite, for its rawness. It’s been her facebook display photo for over a year now so I think that counts for something!

THE TATE

ORIGINS

Opening this week as part of the Head On Photo Festival is Origins, an exhibition of work by award-winning Sydney-based Canadian photographer David Maurice Smith, taken from his ongoing photographic project documenting the hip hop culture of New York City’s housing projects – from the bling, booty and bump-n-grind of the clubs to street battles, and intimate glimpses into living rooms… Origins opens Wednesday May 16 at Global Gallery (5 Comber Street, Paddington). davidmauricesmith.com

CURVY SHOW

If you like your art awesome and your creatives with curves, you’re probably already all over Curvy – the series of creative compendiums showcasing fresh female creative talent from around the world.

The eighth instalment is launching this week, bang-on time for Semi-Permanent’s creative conference on the weekend, and will feature work

by Alice Amsel, Alyson Pearson, Andy McCready, Anne Cobai, Anne Numont, Brett Manning, Candy Yan Yan Ng, Carmen Hui, Cheryl Orsini, Christie Allison – and heaps of other people whose first names start with letters D-Z (alphabets!). To celebrate, Curvy are throwing a launch party and group show at aMBUSH gallery (4a James Street, Waterloo) this Wednesday May 9 from 7pm. curvy-world.com

THIS AMERICAN LIVE

Avid This American Life listeners would have been hearing Ira Glass plug his next ‘live episode’ over the last few weeks/episodes of his show – the one happening in New York on May 10, and featuring David Sedaris, Mike Birbiglia, David Rakoff, Tig Notaro, Glynn Washington and “all kinds of surprises” – and no doubt lamenting the fact that Sydney-USA airfares are so uncheap…

So they’ll be relieved to hear that in addition to beaming live footage of the radio show into cinemas around the States, TAL will also be sending it Down Under. If you can wait the two or 26 :: BRAG :: 461 :: 07:05:12

SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL

Sydney Film Festival launches its full lineup and schedule this Wednesday May 9 at 9.30am – and soon thereafter, that shit is gonna start selling the hell out, so you might wanna buy that flexi-pass now. If you check out thebrag.com on Wednesday, you’ll find our list of predicted sell-out sessions, and if you wanna get your hands on a double pass to a ‘surprise’ film of our choice from the lineup, email us with the name of this guy below... sff.org.au Some guy...

What: Faces & Places by Sophia Tsipidis Where: BuzzzBar Café / 349 King St, Newtown When: Until June 6 More: sophiatsipidis.com

launch this Friday May 11 with performances by featured artists Benito Di Fonzo, Candy Royalle, Skye Loneragan, Geoff Minards and Miles Merrill. And on Wednesday May 16, Word Travels will host the Slam TV launch party, featuring acapella performances by local hip hop heroes Joelistics, Ozi Batla and The Tongue, alongside a lineup of spoken-word artists including Australian Poetry Slam Champion Luka Lesson, and photographed artists Morganics, Bravo Child, Alan Pham and Alana Hicks.

Exposed runs until May 26 at Level 1, 47 George St, The Rocks.

Photograph from Origins

Melita Rowston’s Crushed is theatre's blood-spattered Gen-X answer to Peter Weir’s Picnic At Hanging Rock.

Reinvoking the spectre of missing teens and murderous mishaps in the Australian bush, it plays out as a whodunit between three adults who are reunited two decades after the mysterious disappearance of one of their friends on the night of her sweet sixteenth. Crushed opens Friday May 18 at New Theatre, starring Sean Barker, Lucy Miller and Jeremy Waters. To get your hands on a double pass, tell us the name of one other famous Australian ‘lost child’.

Smaller than the one in London, easier to navigate, and with more beer – that’s what they’re saying about Glebe gallery The Tate. This month they’re presenting a showcase of works by young Sydney artists, exploring altered states, and curated by the Chrown Collective (May 9); a solo show by photographer Yida Jiang, probing your third eye (May 16); a showcase of the best entries from Australian InFront’s latest Visual Response challenge, ‘Native’ (May 17); and a solo show by photographer Lucien Alperstein (May 23). Best of all, there will be absolutely no dissected calfs. For everything else, head to The Tate @ The Toxteth (345 Glebe Pt Road) thetate.wordpress.com

CRAIG SCHUFTAN ROCKS

As part of Sydney’s ongoing love affair with Craig Schuftan, an assembly of worshippers will gather at GoodGod Small Club on Thursday May 31 to celebrate the release of his latest work – Entertain Us!, an alternatively history of alternative rock in the ‘90s that smashes together Gwen Stefani anecdotes and Theodor Adorno references with reckless abandon in its quest to understand the decade that brought us Sonic Youth, Radiohead, Beck, The Charlatans, nu metal and focaccias. There will be bands, genderbenders, DJs, Chris Taylor talking, and books for sale (one assumes), and it will cost you $15.

34B: THE EASTERN FRONT

34B Burlesque go over the top this month, with a Soviet-inspired soiree themed around the golden age of spies. Bone up on your '60s-era Bond for costume inspiration, and head along to 34B this Friday May 11 for the seductive glory of favourites Kira Carden, Ember Flame and Jade Twist, some boylesque from Abaddon The Strong Man, and newies Electric Dreams, debutant Hedy Bell Nova, and MC Lauren La Rouge. The Cold War never looked so damn sizzling... Tix $20 (general admission), $30 (table seats – min 3pp) from qbar.iwannaticket.com. au or $25 GA on the door at 34B @ 44 Oxford St Darlinghurst.

Chris Budgeon: Last Summer

so weeks til it hits Dendy Newtown/The Chauvel/ Riverside Theatres on the weekend of May 26-27, this is definitely the way to go.

ALL THE BEST

Speaking of This American Life… FBi Radio’s awesome All The Best storytelling show have just announced The Great Unveiling – a forum to be held in conjunction with the Sydney Writers Festival, and featuring actor/director/ producer Lex Marinos (The Slap), Walkleywinning ABC 7.30 producer/reporter Monique Schafter, playwright and author Anna Barnes, writer Nick Keys, and FBi co-founder, president and Sydney Mayorial candidate Cassandra Wilkinson – all pondering the curious relationship between public and private. There’s also an exhibitionist-friendly audience story slam, open to anyone who wants to strut their best story on the theme of public vs private – register interest at allthebest@fbiradio.com. The Great Unveiling will take place Thursday May 17 @ Club Stage, Pier 2/3, Hickson Road, Walsh Bay, and will cost you no money.

EXPOSED WORDS

As part of Word Travels’ current residency at the Rocks Pop-Up Project, they’re presenting an exhibition of thirteen portraits by photographer Chris Peken, capturing Australian spoken-word performers. Titled Exposed, the exhibition will

HEAD ON PORTRAIT PRIZE

This year’s prestigious Head On Photo Festival’s Portrait Prize has been awarded jointly to Chris Budgeon (Melbourne), David Manley (Darlinghurst) and Tracey Nearmy (Bondi), by a panel comprised of multi-award winning photographer Tamara Dean, Monash Gallery Director Shaune Lakin, ABC Radio's Robbie Buck and Head On curator Moshe Rosenzveig.

Louise Whelan of Avalon won the Critic’s Choice Award for her image Millie #2, as judged by photography critic Robert McFarlane. You can see the 40 finalists and vote for the People’s Choice Award until June 3 at Customs House (31 Alfred St, Circular Quay). headon.com.au Xxxx

A

t the age of 15, Sophia was given a hand-me-down camera from her uncle (admittedly, a Canon EOS 20D, not your old ‘point and shoot’). “I had a good idea what shutter speed was, couldn’t get my head around aperture and didn’t understand what ISO stood for or meant,” she recalls. Over the following years it became less a hobby than an lifestyle

CRUSHED

The Five-Year Engagement

“I think people like to see the roles reversed and to see a man at his worst.

It’s kinda funny to see someone delve into their own weakness. I like exploring my own fragility.”

(30 Rock) as Tom’s fellow ‘faculty husband’, Chris Pratt (Parks and Recreation) as Tom’s chef buddy, and Alison Brie (Community) as Violet’s emotional sister Suzie, who are coupled together early on in the film and threaten to steal scenes whenever they’re given half a chance.

Surrounded by comedians of this calibre, Blunt (who has been diverted from the dramatic roles of her early career into increasingly more comedies) more than holds her own.

“I’ve done two movies before that were all improvised,” she points out, “[but] it was easier actually with Jason, because I felt really trusting, and the environment was so relaxed and cool.” – “You could kinda throw anything at the wall and see what would stick. So it felt really easy.”

A Match Made In Comedy Heaven

By Kit O’Connor

W

hen it comes to romantic comedies, Jason Segel and writer-director Nicholas Stoller have undeniable chemistry; meeting on the set of Judd Apatow’s TV series Undeclared in 2001, they reunited on Stoller’s cult comedy directorial debut Forgetting Sarah Marshall, which Segel wrote and starred in, and re-teamed in the same roles for The Muppets, with Stoller co-writing. With their third feature together on screens this month, their chemistry graduates to a full-fledged creative relationship.

G IV EA W AY S

The Five-Year Engagement stars Segel and Emily Blunt as young lovers whose relationship becomes almost impossibly complicated after

he (Tom – a sous chef) follows her (Violet – an aspiring academic) career to Michigan, at the expense of his own career, and ultimately his sense of self-worth. “I think people spend too long trying to plan the perfect wedding at the perfect time and life gets in the way as it did for these two,” says Blunt of their characters. “I think the big downfall for Violet and Tom is that they are just waiting for everything to be ideal, and it’s never going to be like that.”

If this sounds more like grim realism than rom-com, Segel and Stoller have perfected the art of spinning comedy out of everyday romantic tragedy.

They’re part of a wider flourishing in film comedies (of which Judd Apatow is the most obvious proponent) around nice-guy under-achievers in emotionally fragile states.

“I think people like to see the roles reversed and to see a man at his worst,” says Segel. “It’s kinda funny to see someone delve into their own

weakness – [whether] it’s a man or a woman. I like exploring my own fragility.” “And there are a lot of dudes out there like that,” Blunt points out – “lonely, trying to figure it out; feeling emasculated.”

Stoller and Segel draw many of their finest comedic moments from pitting these fiercely ordinary heroes (played by people like Jonah Hill and Segel himself) against everyday humiliations, in keenly observed scenarios that are funny precisely because they ring true to real life.

Segel says he’s always preferred humour to come from a natural place, and cites Annie Hall, When Harry Met Sally, and James L. Brooks’ films as key influences. “I don’t know if you can call [Brooks’ films] ‘romantic comedies’, because they’re very much in the tone of life, but Broadcast News is a huge, huge inspiration to me.”

“I’ve always been a bit of a watcher,” Segel adds.

WIN!

– “Stalker,” says Blunt.

– “I’ll sit in a park and just [laugh] watch… people go by.”

– “And for some reason you’re wearing a trench coat...”

– “I pay attention to what’s going on, I guess is the best way to say it,” he continues. “I was always an outsider growing up; I’ve been 6-foot-4 since I was 12, so I didn’t really have someone to dance with at the dances, everyone always thought I was looking down their top [laughs].”

The other key – shared – influence for Stoller and Segel’s films is improvisation, with the former part of an improv comedy troupe during his undergraduate years at Harvard, and the latter cutting his teeth on the sets of Freaks & Geeks and Undeclared.

Consequently, the supporting cast for The Five-Year Engagement is a roundup of well tuned comics and improv pros, including Brian Posehn (The Sarah Silverman Program) as Tom’s pickle-obsessed boss at the local deli, and Chris Parnell

“It [has to be] a judgement-free environment [on set], or it’s not going to work,” Segel adds.

– “You have to trust that the bad stuff isn’t going to be put in,” his co-star agrees.

– “Or laughed at or mocked – you know what I mean… You’re not going to be made to feel bad – that’ll kill someone’s freedom of expression.

We make a point of never to do that.”

In real life, Segel and Blunt are friends and neighbours, and previously worked together on Gulliver’s Travels and The Muppets, in which she cameod her Devil Wears Prada role as a dour personal assistant.

“We’ve done three movies now, so we’ve sort of cultivated a really nice friendship,” says Segel. “I feel like she’s one of my best buds.”

What: The Five-Year Engagement When: Released May 3 xxx

(L to R) Emily Blunt, Jason Segel, Chris Pratt and Alison Brie in The Five-Year Engagement

“And to be honest the scenes were really well written,” she adds, “so sometimes we’d do improv and some times we’d do the scenes straight. It was very relaxed, ya know…. I think you have to have the courage to say whatever you feel and just throw a bunch of stuff out there; sometimes it’s going to work and sometimes it’s going to be like watching paint dry – you never know!”

TIM BURTON! DARK SHADOWS ! WIN! n their latest fantastical collaboration, Tim Burton and Johnny Depp have updated the cult ‘60s television series Dark Shadows, with a little help from Burton stalwarts Helena Bonham Carter and production designer Rick Heinrichs, and a large dose of dark imagination. Depp plays 18th century aristocrat-turned-vampire Barnabas Collins, who escapes from a 200-year entombment to find himself in early-‘70s America, and decides to reacquaint himself with his descendants – the proprietors of the once-majestic Collinswod Manor, in downtown Maine… With a cast that includes former Bond-babe Eva Green, the kick-ass Chloe Moretz and the preternaturally beautiful Michelle Pfeiffer, freaky never looked so good.

I

DARK SHADOWS OPENS IN CINEMAS MAY 10.

We’ve got TEN in-season DOUBLE PASSES up for grabs to check out Dark Shadows – to get your hands on one, email freestuff@thebrag.com with one other film by Tim Burton...

BRAG :: 461 :: 07:05:12 :: 27

Delicacy

[FILM] Something To Be Savoured By Rob Newcombe

I

t’s rare enough to see a co-director credit on a feature film, and rarer still that the co-credited aren’t siblings. You’d think a film set would be fraught enough without introducing sibling rivalry into the mix, but it seems to work for the Coen brothers and so, too, Stéphane and David Foenkinos, who collaborated to bring David’s 2009 novel Delicacy (La delicatesse) to the screen in this year’s charming French rom-com of the same name.

“You know, I’d like to tell you that we were fighting on the set and that I hate my brother,” says Stéphane, “but unfortunately I can’t!

Maybe it’s because we’re six years apart, and we weren’t really brought up in a cultural environment, but we’re very supportive of each other’s careers and we’ve been very blessed in our respective careers, so when we have the opportunity to work together it’s a real joy.”

The question of who does what on set naturally arises; Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro, in their early collaborations, tended to divide their efforts by having Jeunet focus on the actors while Caro handled the visual aspects of the film. It turns out the brothers Foenkinos had a very similar approach.

“We basically covered every aspect of what was going to happen in the four months we had to prepare, and we really had the same vision for what we wanted to do. Of course, I worked a little more with the actors because that’s where I come from and it’s comfortable and David worked more with the technicians, but the voice we spoke with was always the same. If the crew asked something of me or David, they would get the same answer…

It helps when you get to work with Audrey Tautou on your first feature, as well.”

Tautou brings her usual gamine charm to the part of Nathalie, a young woman who loses her husband in a traffic accident and throws

herself into her work as a coping mechanism.

It’s there that she slowly, tentatively falls for her hulking, awkward Swedish co-worker Markus (François Damiens). Although in the novel, Nathalie is described as looking archetypally Swiss (i.e. blonde), Stéphane insists that Tautou was the brothers’ only choice.

“She was, but it was scary; our producers kept saying, ‘What if she says no?’ and we just kept saying, ‘She won’t!’ We felt she was the only one who could go from this young student in love to a tough, executive woman-in-mourning. Every day on set, we thanked, you know, whoever that we actually got to cast her; she only does one film a year, and she hasn’t worked on someone’s debut feature for ten years. But for us she was just Nathalie from beginning to end; so committed, and so generous to François.”

Damiens makes for an odd romantic lead on two levels; hardly the dashing leading-man type, he’s also best known in France and his native Belgium for his Candid Camera-style Internet pranks, in which his outrageous characters are a far cry from the wry, quiet Markus. After unsuccessfully looking for a Swedish actor who spoke fluent French, a sceptical Stéphane and David finally agreed to speak with Damiens about the part.

“François is like a rockstar over here, and people are used to seeing him play a certain kind of character. But when we sat down with him for the first time, it was amazing. It was really like seeing a three-dimensional version of Markus. It was very important to us that he not be ridiculous; Markus is a little offbeat, but we had to keep the relationship real, as improbable as it was. I hope we managed that.”

What: Delicacy When: In cinemas now Audrey Tautou in Delicacy

Kristin Kreuk in Ecstasy

Ecstasy [FILM] High Hopes By Roslyn Helper

R

ob Heydon isn’t afraid to speak his mind. It’s an indispensible trait born out of twenty years cutting his teeth in an industry that doesn’t indulge the faint of heart.

Born in Canada, the director/writer/producer has adapted his debut feature from the third novel in Irvine Welsh’s mid-‘90s trilogy ecstasy: Three Tales Of Chemical Romance, and it’s been over a decade in the making.

The result is Irvine Welsh’s Ecstasy – a dark romantic comedy about Heather Thompson (Kristin Kreuk) who, feeling stuck in a middle class routine with a boring marriage, finds an outlet on the clubbing scene after she meets and falls for party boy Lloyd Buist (Adam Sinclair), a drug addict who owes money to his dealer, and has a plan to repay his debt.

The story has its roots in a truth that cuts pretty close to the bone of Heydon’s co-writer Paul McCafferty. “McCafferty’s brother was a gangster in Paisley, the rough part of Glasgow,” Heydon explains. “He is dead now, but I met him a number of times while doing research.

Part of the story is based on Paul’s life and part is Irvine’s life.”

The clubbing scene is no foreign setting for Heydon himself, who did his fair share of partying through the ‘80s. “I started going to nightclubs when I was 13 and listening to Chicago house and Detroit techno. Then acid house music exploded in the late ‘80s in the UK. I DJd and threw parties in Toronto, and I directed music videos for Plastikman [aka Richie Hawtin], Bedrock [John Digweed] and DJ Vadim and The Herbaliser, for Ninja Tune.”

This history helped Heydon in some unexpected ways during the film’s tightly scheduled shoot, and he managed to pull favours from a number of top DJs, subsequently creating a unique alliance between the independent film and club music worlds, with John Digweed acting as a serendipitous catalyst.

“We happened to be shooting in Edinburgh, John’s birthplace,” Heydon regales. “We checked the club listings to see where we could shoot for the weekend, and he happened to be playing Musika’s 4th Anniversary at The Liquid Rooms.

I emailed John to see if we could come to the club and shoot for a while. He said for only 5-10 minutes as he thought we were going to take over the club as a big Hollywood film. However, we shot on the dancefloor with two Canon 5D MKII cameras. Everyone thought we were just taking pictures until some people recognised the cast, and then word spread like wildfire that we were there shooting the Ecstasy film… The rest of the night was epic – totally electric! John also gave us permission to use one of his tracks in the film.”

Heydon reveals that Digweed usually gets $35,000-$50,000 for a Bedrock track in an episode of CSI, but that they could only afford to pay artists $50-$100 for use of their tracks in Ecstasy. Heydon notes that after Digweed committed to the project, many other artists agreed to commit as well. Having earned the support of the dance music scene, the film premiered last year at The Ministry Of Sound in London in what Heydon describes as an epic night. “We had queues for admission and the screening was over-capacity. There was an incredible lineup, including Mark Knight, Darren Emerson, Dave Spoon, Orbital, Basement Jaxx, Dillinja and many other great talents.”

While the film’s critical reception has been lukewarm (some say Ecstasy has struggled to escape from the totemic shadow Trainspotting cast over the entire drug-film genre), Heydon maintains the film has received a more supportive public reception. “The Electronic Dance Music scene has really embraced [Ecstasy], and the fans of Irvine Welsh really love the film.”

What: Irvine Welsh’s Ecstasy - now showing at Hoyts Broadway and Entertainment Quarter

Reasons To Be Pretty [THEATRE] Not Just A Pretty Face By Roslyn Helper

L

et’s face it, everybody wants to look good. Whether it’s to find a partner or keep a partner, to make someone jealous or convince someone to hire you, there are countless reasons to be pretty. This is what underpins Reasons To Be Pretty, the third instalment of a Tony-nominated theatrical trilogy that focuses on our modern day obsession with physical appearance, penned by American playwright Neil LaBute in 2008.

The first two plays in LaBute’s trilogy – The Shape Of Things and Fat Pig – played to great acclaim at the Sydney Theatre Company in 2003 and 2006 respectively. Australian actor, producer and graduate of the school at Chicago’s renowned Steppenwolf Theatre, Andrew Henry first saw Reasons To Be Pretty during its Broadway run in 2009. He was so taken by it that he then spent two years chasing the rights to stage it in Australia.

“I think what I really like about Reasons To Be Pretty is that all the characters are at points in their lives where I’m kind of at right now, in my mid-20s,” Henry admits. “It’s written with a lot of heart, it’s very funny, it’s very fast, it’s very full on, and I think it’s just really, really relatable. I have friends in [my hometown] Lithgow, who are working jobs that they don’t really want to be doing, and they’ve got so many more 28 :: BRAG :: 461 :: 07:05:12

opportunities in life to be doing other things, but they’re stuck in relationships that aren’t really good for them or their partners. It just came to me at a time when I started thinking about all that stuff and seeing that sort of stuff in myself.”

The play centres on four young workingclass friends and lovers. Henry plays Greg, the catalyst for the plot, when he makes an inappropriate comment about his girlfriend Stephanie (Julia Grace) to one of his mates, and it is overheard by her best friend. “So we start the play as soon as he gets home and his girlfriend is armed with a chair and a lot of four letter words,” explains Henry. “Greg and Stephanie break up in this wonderful 15-page break-up scene and the play is basically about watching Greg and the other three characters grow throughout the show and make decisions about the relationships that they’re in and the relationships they were in, the jobs that they’re in and the lives they’re setting themselves up to live.”

Truly a dialogue play, Henry describes the rehearsal process: “It’s basically been a task of mastering this canon that LaBute has loaded,” and he cites the biggest challenge as the dialogue itself, “simply because a lot of it moves very quickly. It’s written in a very frank, verbatim style so we’re talking over

Lucy Maunder and Andrew Henry each other a lot… You really need to listen to what the other people are saying to spark your interjections and overlaps. It’s a big play.

“But as much as this play is about beauty and that sort of stuff, it’s kind of different from the other two [plays]. This is so much about developing a maturity for that sort of stuff,” he adds, and this is where he finds a real connection between himself and his character Greg. “I see a lot of opportunity in this play for conversations that Andrew – me – hasn’t

been able to have with people. I see a lot of strength that Greg takes, that I’ve chickened out of too many times in my life. So my favourite part of it is that I can pretend to be a grown up and do these things. That’s where it sticks for me.”

What: Reasons To Be Pretty by Neil LaBute When: May 8 – June 3 Where: Darlinghurst Theatre

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Arts Snap

Film & Theatre Reviews

At the heart of the arts Where you went last week...

Hits and misses on the silver screen and the bareboards around town.

■ Theatre

FOOD

Until May 20 / Belvoir St Theatre

PICS :: TL

caravan slam

I think it’s fair to say that we live in a foodobsessed society: conversations about weight or eating pervade almost any social situation, our television seems to be a constant stream of cooking and weightloss shows, while we ourselves seesaw between planning the next meal and planning how to shed it. This conflict forms a key part of Food, the latest of ten new Australian works featured in this year’s Belvoir season.

sydney comedy festival cracker night

PICS :: TL

25:04:12 :: 107 Projects :: 107 Redfern St Redfern

sanne mestrom

PICS :: TL

24:04:12 :: The Metro Theatre :: 624 George St CBD

26:04:12 :: Chalk Horse Gallery :: 8 Lacey St, Surry Hills

Written by Steve Rodgers, who has been ubiquitous in Australian theatre and TV for decades as an actor and more recently a playwright, and co-directed by Kate Champion, who is best known as the key creative behind dance theatre company Force Majeure, Food brings us into the kitchen of a takeaway shop, where sisters Elma (Kate Box) and Nancy (Emma Jackson) prepare food for the inevitable tsunami of tradies wanting their chips.

When Nancy convinces Elma to turn their humble takeaway joint into a charming, home-cooked restaurant that the tourists will flock to, a kitchen hand is required – and when Hakan (Fayssal Bazzi), a young Turkish man with enthusiasm to spare, is the only applicant, it adds a new flavour to their tried and tested mix.

The characters and relationships here are nothing new: Elma is the hard-working sister who stayed to look after the family business; Nancy is the party girl who the boys always preferred and who ran away to live her own life rather than be ‘tied down’; Hakan is hard-working and charming, and wins the girls over with his singing. But the characters are so tenderly drawn that their familiarity engenders empathy rather than indifference.

Rodger’s tight script is beautifully supported by Champion’s movement, which delicately extends and magnifies moments of emotion. The cast do their combined vision justice, with Box finding both the determination and frailty in Elma, and Jackson effortlessly taking us into Nancy’s ambiguous world of memory, whilst Bazzi manages to charm the pants off just about everyone.

It’s fun, it’s captivating and you might even get fed.

Henry Florence ■ COMEDY

HENRY ROLLINS: THE LONG MARCH

loved but not lost

PICS :: RJ

Saturday April 28 / Seymour Centre

02:05:12 :: The Tate @ Toxteth Hotel :: 345 Glebe Point Rd Glebe

Arts Exposed What's in our diary...

SEMI-PERMANENT 2012 / MAY 11-12 Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre Our favourite creative symposium is finally here, bringing a lineup of the most exciting homegrown and international creative talent to Darling Harbour for one weekend of talks and showcases – from photographers, painters, typographers and graphic designers, to ad agencies, illustrators, filmmakers and publishers. This year’s major drawcards include the publishers behind international lifestyle and design bible Wallpaper, acclaimed filmmaker Roman Coppola (via the power of interwebs), local hero Vince Frost, and Magnum photographer David Alan Harvey… So if you have any creative bones whatsoever, you’ll need to get along. For the full lineup and tickets, see semipermanent.com Left: the paper machinations of Benja Harney 30 :: BRAG :: 461 :: 07:05:12

Based on the line stretching out of the Seymour, through the courtyard and around the corner onto Cleveland Street, Sydney absolutely loves Henry Rollins.

Given that this show was his fourth in as many evenings at the venue, it was a testament to the former Black Flag and Rollins Band frontman's longevity and talent that he drew in such a substantiallysized crowd – all quite happy to wait in the cold, despite the fact that Rollins is a not-infrequent visitor to our shores, and his opinions are readily available via his radio and television shows.

Although Rollins was performing as part of Sydney Comedy Festival, anyone who is familiar with his shtick knows that ‘infotainment’ is a better description of what he does on stage – a serious but highly entertaining brand of stand-up, rather than ‘comedy’. Which makes the choice of opener even more perplexing – local comic Bruce Griffiths, who deadpanned his way through twenty minutes of direly lame one-liners of the following calibre: “I bought a packet of jelly babies. They got stolen by a packet of jelly dingoes.” It was a glaringly stark contrast to the versatility and professionalism of the headliner. Then again, maybe that was the point.

Still every inch the hardcore entertainer, Rollins took the stage with feet squarely

planted and a gaze that never wavered.

The next couple of hours were a relentless tour-de-force encompassing disasterrocked Haiti, Black Flag’s first tour of Australia, and the foreign policy failings of the US government. The fan-boy in me was never more pumped than when Rollins recalled knocking out a fan's front teeth in The Cross three decades prior, moving fluidly from glorious recollection to cautionary overtones about the evils of violence. The effect is compounded by the fact that Rollins kept the teeth: apparently back then, if you stepped in the ring with the man...

It’s hectic and tiring to witness, but his monologue never seems didactic. The man just genuinely cares about humanity and the potentially disastrous course it is taking. It’s a credit to his almost superhuman skills as a raconteur that a quick glance around the room at the twohour mark reveals all eyes, stretched wide beyond belief, fixed centre-stage.

Benjamin Cooper ■ Film

W.E. Released May 3 For her sophomore feature, Madonna sets her sights on one of the great romantic scandals in modern history – the affair between King Edward VIII and American divorcée and socialite Wallis Simpson that impelled him to abdicate the throne. It’s often rendered as a 20th century fairytale – a prince with the world at his feet, giving it all up rather than keeping his lover hidden, as society's moral codes had compelled so many of his ancestors to do. And he didn’t just give up a throne; he gave up his family, who exiled him and his new wife from England.

Far less attention has traditionally been given to what Wallis, a free-spirited, fiercely independent young American, gave up by marrying a British monarch with so much emotional and social baggage – which is where La Ciccone swoops in, a fierce torchbearer for the woman behind the icon. W.E. interweaves the story of Wallis’s life from her first unhappy marriage through her second and eventually third, with the unhappy marriage of a young woman living in late‘90s Manhattan. The modern thread of the story is a narrative of ‘awakening’, as Wally (played by Australian Abbie Cornish), who has an overwhelming preoccupation with her namesake, comes to see her life as less a romantic ‘appointment with destiny’ than a complex tragedy – at the same time as she realises that her own marriage, to the shitful and abusive Doctor Winthrop (Richard Coyle), is untenable.

Madonna’s treatment of both these stories is unashamedly sentimental and her narrative and aesthetic choices across the film and even within scenes are often inconsistent (except inasmuch as they seem consistently driven by a compulsion for beauty rather than meaning or effect) and defiantly anachronistic. More importantly, too often the choices made – the editing, the shots, even the film stock – are clumsy and distracting. The consistent and compelling thread through all this is an incredible central performance by Andrea Riseborough – the kind of transformative performance that will break her out of her native UK and into Hollywood, as Marion Cotillard’s performance in La Vie En Rose did. Ultimately, Riseborough’s performance and Wallis Simpson’s character are far more interesting than Cornish’s performance can make her modern counterpart, which comes off mawkish by comparison.

Credit must also be given to the very considerable beauty of this film, from certain shot compositions to costuming details (including some stunning recreations of Elsa Schiaparelli’s avant garde outfits and accessories), its colour palettes and appreciation of texture. The director is clearly detail-obsessed – and even if that’s at the expense of a coherent vision for telling her story, those details are fairly wonderful.

Dee Jefferson

See www.thebrag.com for more arts reviews

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

ALBUM OF THE WEEK by the methodical pace at which they’re unfurled and counterbalanced by unassuming production.

BEACH HOUSE Bloom Mistletone Beach House are that rare kind of band who don’t seem to pressure themselves to reinvent the wheel on every record they make, and don’t need to. Each album builds subtly and deftly on the last, enough to feel fresh but not so much that the foundation of their sound gets crushed under the weight of novelty for its own sake.

While it doesn’t hang together quite as perfectly as Teen Dream, Bloom is just as magic, and possibly even more interesting.

There’s a definite pattern to most tracks: drums or a sparkling melody will creep out first, followed by Victoria Legrand’s serene, longing tones; the listener is eased into the bones of the song before a wash of sound soaks it in sub-verbal sentimentality. The genius is that it works almost every time – the formula is a combination of lullaby cadences, guitar mirages, low, stalwart organs and bass; melodic tensions and sweeping release, emotions amplified

LOWER DENS

DAMON ALBARN

Nootropics Domino If you, like far too many people, slept on Lower Dens’ quietly acclaimed 2010 album Twin-Hand Movement, it’s worth your time to seek it out.

Fronted by sometime Baltimorean freak-folkie Jana Hunter, Lower Dens play a psych-, drone- and folk-tinged rock that flies way under the radar but rewards loyal listening.

Nootropics is a different beast from its predecessor, in part due to new drummer Nate Nelson. In tracks such as the glowing ‘Brains’ and its twinkling coda ‘Stem’, his crisp, understated motorik drives the song from the back seat, while in stark, clickety opener ‘Alphabet Song’ and the smouldering ‘Lamb’ he gets to experiment with idiosyncratic lopsided percussion.

But most notably, Hunter is embracing the weird much more than on TwinHand. A ‘nootropic’ is a cognitionenhancing drug – from THC and nicotine to speed, beta blockers and ginseng – but mental faculty isn’t the focus here. Most lyrics are drowned in guitar reverb and blissed-out mumbles.

There are several instrumental (or at least lyrically-challenged) tracks, plus a two-part, eight-minute, creakingambient analogue-shuffle centrepiece; when Hunter lets her voice go it has a theatrical yet unadorned quality to it that bounces off the murky, epic music like a lank-haired, stoned Sharon Van Etten. And the music itself crackles with amplified discomfort, paranoia and warmth. Whether or not it’s supposed to evoke several faces of drug experience, it sort of unavoidably does – mostly, the ones that are neither pleasant nor unpleasant, comfortable nor uncomfortable, but more intriguing and detached.

Such a protagonist could have inspired a fairly lively biographical rendering, but Albarn’s soundtrack album is esoteric and oblique. From the moment the opening pastoral sounds and rising Elizabethan ensemble give way to a restrained acoustic-and-voice melody, it is clear that this is a deeply felt and very personal project.

The prevailing mood is one of quiet reverence for very old Englishness; lilting and sombre melodies not unlike Benjamin Britten adorn the obscure, impressionistic tale. Albarn pulls no punches with period-specific instrumentation: harps, viols, lutes, dulcimers, choirs, baritones… even a countertenor gets a look in. Albarn himself, when he appears, is not quite the role of commentator, nor guide, but rather is just there, engulfed and completely at ease.

Other parts flounder without accompanying stage action, and it becomes difficult to latch onto anything beneath the restrained and beautiful exterior. But despite these difficulties, Albarn imbues the album with a real sense of the dignity and tragedy of a person at a crossroads between science and (obsolete) spirituality.

Approached in the right way, a lot of this is mighty rewarding.

If all you want is a nice relaxing drink, start with the rich and intoxicating earlier album; if you’re down for something a little stronger, let Nootropics wrinkle your brain a bit.

Banish thoughts of Blur/Gorillaz and cast aside expectations of anything raucous. What you are left with is a bizarre, dense and delicate rumination on history, loss and our often-misguided search for meaning.

Caitlin Welsh

Laurence Rosier Staines

Caitlin Welsh

DAILY MEDS

Ever since they exploded onto the Sydney hip hop scene in 2009, Daily Meds’ energetic, frenzied performances have seen their faithful fanbase of ‘Med Heads’ grow larger with every live show – and it’s fair to say that the release of this fulllength album is only going to fuel the burgeoning buzz about the hyperactive quartet.

That’s not to say Happy Daze has nothing to offer except party tunes.

There's a socio-politically minded undercurrent through the record, with exhortations to stand up and make a difference on the reggae-tinged ‘Get Up’ (featuring Big Village labelmate Ellesquire) and on ‘Crackdown’, which features an irresistible old-school beat – and on which Billie Rose’s soulful vocal style really shines through.

Elsewhere, this mix of message and music works less well: for all the thoughtful flows and inspired lyrics – delivered at a rapid-fire pace care of P Smurf and Mikeon – ‘Schoolyard Bullies’ might start playfully enough but the concept starts to grate after a few verses and it doesn’t have the chops to justify its nearly four minute long running time.

Luckily, there are tracks like ‘Insane’, which features a hard-hitting, grimeflecked beat and some menacing bars from P Smurf, and ‘Dance’, which is set to be a crowd favourite.

While the sound mostly leans toward a cruisy, old-school hip hop style, the occasional switch-up to a more futuristic, bass-driven sound – as on the tastefully wobbly ‘Lets Just Be Friends’ – keeps things current.

There’s enough substance and heart in the material to keep you listening to Happy Daze, and the music's so infectious you’ll find yourself dancing whether you want to or not.

Electric Guest have been described as ‘a hipster’s take on cheese’ – and after a couple of listens of Mondo, you'll find the description couldn’t be more apt. That’s not to say the record is un-interesting or lazily produced; the newcomers reference the best bits of synth pop, RnB and soul.

Comprised of LA duo Asa Taccone and Matthew Compton, Electric Guest have roped in Danger Mouse to take the production helm for their debut offering, and his magic touch pays dividends here. ‘Holes’ is a staccato, synth-driven nod to electro pop, and the minimalistic beat lets Taccone’s vocal (which delivers its stunning range as the album progresses) take centre stage. ‘This Head That I Hold’ is a masterpiece in falsetto – a jazzy, soulful offering that’ll have you throwing out finger clicks to the chorus – while ‘Amber’ is all dreamy balladry, dipping into an almost ‘60s-tinged psychedelia.

‘Troubleman’ is a nine-minute-long opus that gently weaves its way through gentle, folky guitars and whimsical vocals, somehow creating different songs in the same track before the chorus brings you right back to the start, while ‘Under The Gun’ is destined to become your new guilty pleasure – crooning soulful vocals sprinkled with a little piano in the intro, the splashy drums and ‘80s synth that bobs in towards the end make for deliciously dramatic listening.

While Electric Guest's lyrics are not exactly strong, the melodies are so lusciously rich on Mondo that it makes for hopelessly addictive listening. A little bit kooky and left-of-centre – but in an endearing and palatable way.

Marissa Demetriou

Marissa Demetriou

Gallons EP Independent Winter People have a real understanding of subtlety. Instead of floating around nondescript soundscapes with lack of definition, or creating hyper-bland folk accentuated by ‘alternative’ instruments, they deliver music that is tense and fulfilling, with its more overt messages veiled in well-developed metaphor and musical somethings.

As a teaser for their upcoming album, the local outfit’s latest EP Gallons is perfect: the best-dressed girl at the

32 :: BRAG :: 461 :: 07:05:12

dance, an inch of bared skin hinting at all the strength their impending full-length could have. The title-track is excellent, starting soft and sweeping into tightlycontrolled, violin-fuelled almost-chaos.

It’s rueful, sweet and heart-wrenching – and gloriously replayable. At points, it bears a passing resemblance to some of The Jezabels’ work (particularly the rolling rhythm section), but it's still very much distinct and powerful.

In ‘Man of Constant Sorrow’, lead singer Dylan Baskind is given a chance to shine, laying down an undeniably beautiful cover of an old folk tune. ‘Valley Hymn’ is sweet, again exploring the soulful corners of Baskind’s voice in a heartwarmingly earthy tune. Closing the

album is an acoustic version of ‘Gallons’, every bit as impressive and warm as its amped-up brother.

While the EP’s primary function is as a vehicle to deliver ‘Gallons’, the B-Sides stand on their own as solid, well-rounded tracks. At no point does it fall prey to Australia’s pop-folk malaise, or dip into over pretentious pseudo-post-rock.

Winter People make folk closer to Dylan than Stone, and rock closer to Mogwai than Coldplay – delivering more dynamic variation and musical skill in four tracks than most manage in entire albums.

Alex Watts

Spiritus EP Warner Music

Mondo Downtown Records

INDIE ALBUM OF THE WEEK WINTER PEOPLE

LISA MITCHELL

ELECTRIC GUEST

Happy Daze Big Village Records

Dr Dee EMI Last year, Damon Albarn collaborated on the production of Dr Dee, a stately opera about an atypical Renaissance man named John Dee. In addition to being Queen Elizabeth’s learned scientific advisor, Dee was well into the occult and spent many years certain that he was communing with angels. He even took dictation.

The Baltimore duo’s acclaimed third LP Teen Dream had a languid intensity and sweeping sense of purpose, but Bloom treads a little harder, leaning on rhythms and melodies slightly more, and big, swelling notes slightly less.

Standout ‘Other People’ feels practically jaunty in comparison; I actually had to check that it wasn’t a cover, partly because there’s a cleareyed familiarity to the melody, and partly because it feels like a ready-made song with the Beach House aesthetic applied over the top. But the patient, enthralling power of standard-issue Beach House is alive and well here, in beautiful opener ‘Myth’, the soft pulse of ‘Lapis’, and the eerie Beach Boys-meets-‘Because’ harmonies.

The blindingly bright synth notes that ring in the opening single ‘Spiritus’ suggest that things are going to be markedly different the second time around. The constant pulse; the very now-sounding synth; the unspecific Caribbean/African vibes – these are all new elements. Mitchell’s vocal manages to sound both urgent and joyful, rising and diving in a way absent from previous work. But while this song signals that album #2 is going to be a bigger, bolder affair, the rest of the five-track EP sees Mitchell resting in her comfort zone.

As with the AMP-award winning Wonder, the homespun production adds infinitely to the charm of these recordings: strings buzz against fretboards, percussion is sparse, backing vocals often arrive sleepily – in ‘Diamond In The Rough’ (which cribs a rather large portion of its melody from ‘Love Me For A Reason’), it’s as if she’s feeling out the second vocal part as she goes along. In the criminally brief ‘Parade Song’, Mitchell lazily hums the melody between verses as if place-holding for future lyrics. ‘I Am Travelling’ veers dangerously close to Julia Stone territory, but thankfully manages to land closer to the folk-whimsy of Joanna Newsom.

This warm blanket-and-cocoa quality is instrumental in bridging the bedroom charm of Wonder with the striking title track, but it’s also jarring – hammering home the fact this is less an EP and more a single with four bonus tracks, which are lovely but hardly vital.

‘Spiritus’ is the song that’s going to sell this EP: instantly memorable, possessing a relentless propulsion and capturing that same feeling of unbridled glee that made Graceland resonant so fiercely. If only I could make out the lyrics.

Nathan Jolly

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

TOM VEK - We Have Sound ZOLA JESUS - Stridulum II D.D DUMBO - D.D Dumbo EP

J DILLA - Dillanthology 3: Dilla's Productions HERO FISHER - Hero Fisher EP

TIJUANA CARTEL OXFORD ART FACTORY FRIDAY MAY 25TH

OFFER YOURSELF TOUR

new single ‘offer yourself’ available now on itunes

tix: moshtix.com.au | info: tijuanacartel.com | facebook.com/thetijuanacartel BRAG :: 461 :: 07:05:12 :: 33

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

ethic – but as soon as they assumed their positions on stage tonight, any hopes I had for a gritty, raucous punk show were hastily put to an end.

MORE SNAPS p.36

INA CLARKE

OUR PHOTOGRAPHER :: KATR

AN HORSE

Oxford Art Factory Saturday April 28 “Hello Sydney,” says Kate Cooper from An Horse in an endearingly formal, awkward way. “How are you going?” Those of us here are doing great, but I have a different question for the rest of Sydney: where the hell are you tonight? Those who've made it are clearly die-hard fans, judging by the anxious rush to get close to the stage – and the subsequent cheering and singing-along – but it feels almost as though An Horse is our little secret; the OAF is far from sold out.

It’s a crying shame, not because it effects the gig – the energy in the room is electric – but because apart from being sticklers for archaic grammatical constructions, these Brisbane-based darlings are actually just really good. The US has caught on: they’ve got a record deal there, and tours with Tegan & Sara and Death Cab For Cutie have helped them build a massive fanbase – so what’s up, Sydney?

“Give me some good vibes and I’ll give you the same,” says Kate – and as she and drummer Damon Cox rifle through their two-album catalogue and pull out one crowd favourite after another, An Horse deliver. A round of applause for an obvious fave – pop hit ‘Postcards’ – builds into a roar as the closing guitar riffs merge into the opening of ‘Dressed Sharply’, and we’re off.

Greg Clennar

STEVE REICH, SYNERGY PERCUSSION, EIGHTH BLACKBIRD Sydney Opera House Sunday April 29

The evening begins with Clapping Music, performed by Synergy Percussion member Timothy Constable and Steve Reich himself. While Constable curves his arms around the complex interplay of patterns with an amusing display of enthusiasm and devotion, Reich stands meekly by, quietly leading without making a show of it. He’s played this one before.

While it’s a playful piece, tonight it feels deliberately gauche. It feels weird to have an entire theatre watch two blokes clap.

There’s something engagingly honest about An Horse’s music, from the vague but heartfelt lyrics to the simplicity of their instrumentation and production; they’re two musicians playing together, and that’s exactly what they sound like – a guitarist, a drummer, their intertwining vocals. It’s simple, it’s unpretentious, and it works beautifully live; this little band more than fills the venue with their sound. It’s a short, sharp set – they’re on for under an hour all up – and they play no new songs, no covers, just the stuff that everyone present already knows and loves.

An extended Synergy Percussion crew stands in stark down-lighting for Drumming. Watching their four doubled pairs of sticks beat skins is mesmerising, and the echoey acoustics of the room create a crackly aural icing over their stoic work. Complex structures cede to messy flurries of dense drumskin wash, which snap into new interlocking patterns with a startling alacrity, recalling that moment when you see through the ruse of a visual illusion. What’s even more wonderful is watching how each player feels the music.

Some stand still, focused. Some dance subconsciously with their feet as they play. The tension in their postures grows collectively leading up to each change, and each steps away from the piece with a different trajectory of relief. This happens with each of tonight’s pieces.

They close by rocking out with a powerhouse duo of ‘Camp Out’ and ‘Shoes Watch’. After coming back on with the crooning ‘Company’, they’re off to man their own merch stand. While it provides an opportunity for a chat and a photo op, here’s hoping that by the time they next tour Australia they’ve got someone else handling that stuff for them.

Mallet Quartet is sublime, translating the now-familiar trading rhythms into harmonic clusters and bittersweet melodies that fold constantly over one another as the changes pass. Variations For Vibes, Pianos And Strings proves to be almost aggressively gritty by comparison, the extended ensemble vying with its stuttered melodic to-ing and fro-ing.

Romi Scodellaro

New York ensemble Eighth Blackbird handle the second ‘set’, assembling around a table of midi-controllers for Four Organs.

As its enigmatic, slumberous pace slows further, each instrument answers the others with new tones until dense, plangent chords and illusory melodies hover over us.

Vermont Counterpoint is a spry foil to the headier pieces. A single player answers a recording of flutes and piccolo with piquant variations of the same, switching between the instruments with puckish theatricality.

It prepares us for the spritely vivacity of Double Sextet, its incessant chiming and yearning intervals sparked by the ensemble’s watertight playing.

REDD KROSS, BED WETTIN' BAD BOYS, BLOODS Oxford Art Factory Tuesday April 24

Tonight’s perfectly-matched local lineup slots went to Bed Wettin’ Bad Boys and Bloods.

Having recently recorded their album under the guidance of Straight Arrows main-man Owen Penglis, Bloods display similar garage sensibilities, entertaining a small crowd with happy-go-lucky pop-punk tracks.

Fresh out of a recent hiatus, Sydney’s prodigal sons Bed Wettin’ Bad Boys were up next. Fronted by Nic Warnock of local punk label R.I.P Society, they rolled out a new repertoire of deafening rock’n’roll gems that had both the youngsters down the front and the old guards at the back nodding along fervently.

I’m always a little apprehensive before seeing a band that effectively peaked 20-30 years ago. More often than not they try to compensate for an inability to conjure the live shows of their heyday through an overly energetic performance and onetoo-many gestures to the crowd to sing along (because the frontman’s voice just isn’t up to it). Californian punk/glam-rockers Redd Kross perhaps have one foot in this (admitted) stereotype and the other embedded in a ‘fuck-you’ kind of punk 34 :: BRAG :: 461 :: 07:05:12

While you have to credit them for their spirited performance (frontman Jeff McDonald bashing gleefully on his tambourine, his brother Steve engaging in jovial banter with the audience) the effect was convoluted – an amalgamation of genres: glam-pop and punk. Sonically, they managed to keep it together, but at times they sounded like a KISS cover band that had risen from the ashes for one last tour before retirement. On the up-side, the latter half of the set consisted of their fantastic self-titled EP from 1980, performed in its entirety. And despite their fundamental tawdriness, this was a nice touch to a show that was, at times, difficult to endure.

After nearly three hours of performance, Music For 18 Musicians seems like an insurmountable challenge. This apprehension fades as the familiar elegiac pulses shudder to life, and we’re lost to its ebb and flow. This is intense music to play, full of minute repetition and careful interplay.

The musicians are tired, but the piece is written to accommodate that, and their fatigue adds an unwritten character to the performance. It leads us gently through its graces, before gradually disentegrating to a standing ovation.

A glorious, emotionally demanding evening, and a promising start to the Opera House’s Composers series.

Luke Telford

Remedy

More Than The Cure Since 1989 with Murray Engleheart

EURO HITS

Brisbane’s neu Oz punk sensations Hits are currently tearing it up in Europe, although most of their gigs are in France.

The adventure is being documented by Brisbane writer Andrew Stafford, who is looking at publishing his 2000-words-aday blog as a book at some point.

FOR THE RECORD

DOPESMOKER

Out this week is a brand spanking new version of Sleep’s true hammer-of-theNorse-Gods’ classic, Dopesmoker, in its original full-length hour-plus form.

Also included this time around on the CD version is the previously unreleased ‘Sonic Titan’, which clocks in at a mere ten minutes. There’s a retouched double vinyl version too, which includes two otherwise unavailable live tracks on side four. The whole shebang was worshipfully remastered by From Ashes Rise guitarist Brad Boatright, and the all-new artwork (above) of the digi-pak is by Arik Roper and apparently includes a “riff-chart” that the trio mapped out for the song (which is weird – we thought that there was only one riff, and that was the entire charm of the thing). Of course if you can get hold of the original twin vinyl, which is the one song spread over all four sides, do it – but be prepared to fork out anything up to $400-plus for the pleasure.

JOHN PEEL

We’re not sure if or how this will work but the John Peel Centre are putting a hunk of the late and legendary DJ’s massive collection of vinyl online. He had a whopping 25,000 LPs, of which 2600 are being “released”. The first 100 albums, starting from the top of the alphabet, have been put online, complete with raves about each from the great man himself.

UNSANE WRECK

With the release of their new album, Wreck, expect an Australian tour by NYC’s sonic destruction trio Unsane, later in the year. They’re currently in the US with The Melvins.

MY BLOODY LONG WAIT

Remedy’s My Bloody Valentine reissue watch continues. And there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel, with Sony set to release EPs 1988 – 1991, Isn’t Anything and Loveless on May 25. But whether Loveless is the longawaited double-disc version is unknown.

Meanwhile, the band’s Kevin Shields has made some amazing claims to Pitchfork regarding the cause of the delay in getting the retouched recordings out in the daylight. According to Shields, the original tapes were nowhere to be found.

“Only after I started threatening to get Scotland Yard involved did they magically, suddenly reappear.” Hmmmm…OK.

On Nikki Sixx’s radio show recently, Gene Simmons recounted the day back in 1982 – after Ace Frehley had left the band – when Eddie Van Halen showed up at their rehearsal room pleading to be KISS’s new axeman. According to Simmons, who encouraged the guitarist to stay with his own band, EVH blubbered that he couldn’t take dealing with David Lee Roth any longer, saying Roth wasn’t interested in the new direction he had in mind. While he was there, Edward played KISS a tune that he came up with that typified this ‘new direction’ – it was some song called ‘Jump’.

STONES THROWDOWN

While The Stones’ founder and brainchild Brian Jones was, for us, given uncomfortably short shrift in Keith Richards’ book Life, it seems that there’s a tad more smoothing of history going on to mark the Stones’ half-century in the game. Their anniversary has been pushed back to early next year – roughly six months after their first official gig at the Marquee in London – and is now to centre around the date Charlie Watts joined the band. Further, there’s talk that Bill Wyman might be back in the fold – and thus actually make The Stones a band proper once more – to mark the occasion.

Although again, Keef wasn’t exactly all brotherly towards the band’s longtime bassist in his tome… We’ll see.

THE LOST TAPES

That Can comp we mentioned, The Lost Tapes, is a triple-disc set to be released June 19. Curated by the band’s founder, Irmin Schmidt, it’s a collection of unreleased studio, soundtrack and live versions of stuff like the classic ‘Mushroom’ and ‘Spoon’. The material was unearthed when their studio in Weilerswist was sold to the Rock’n’Pop Museum in Gronau, Germany. The 30 hours of music was edited down to the three discs, which span the period from 1968-1977. While the band’s early-‘70s period was their most adventurous and out there, it’ll all undoubtedly be well worth immersing oneself in.

MI-SEX IN PUBS

Although they were part of the electronic pop “space race” in this country, we also often witnessed the sheer wallop of Mi-Sex in pubs back the day. But unfortunately, like most musicians in this country, few end up surrounded by riches and luxury and many fall on hard times – Murray Burns of Mi-Sex being a case in point. The poor guy had a stroke at a recent comeback gig (where the fuck’s the luck, eh?), so if you’ve got a few spare bucks and don’t really need that 37th beer, give to the Murray Burns Trust Account, Westpac Byron Bay, BSB – 732 573, AC – 635 656.

ON THE TURNTABLE On the Remedy turntable is Captain Beefheart’s Mirror Man, which seems to be one of the late great man’s lesser-worshipped efforts, although we have no idea why.

The epic more-than-nineteen-minute ‘Tarotplane’ (which as a Remedy reader you should already know is a pisstake on Robert Johnson’s ‘Terraplane Blues’) is the big hitter of the set, for us. From its authentically gritty opening, in which the Good Captain’s harmonica microphone cuts in and out as if the wiring to it was faulty, to his paint-stripping sax solo midway through the piece (which might just be one of the freest of free blasts ever committed to tape), it’s a winner. Actually, the whole thing – particularly the vocals – sounds as if it was recorded from under a rock. This is a good thing.

TOUR AND INDUSTRY NEWS Reunited Oz metal titans Heaven are about to hit the road. On June 29-30 they’ll be lifting the roof off the Annandale, and on Sunday July 1 they’re doing the same at

Waves in Wollongong.

The mighty Johnny Casino and friends will be doing it at Sando on May 20.

Send stuff to remedy@ozemail.com.au by 6pm Wednesdays.

Pics to art@thebrag.com www.facebook.com/remedy4rock

*Subject to availability, transaction fees may apply

BRAG :: 461 :: 07:05:12 :: 35

snap sn ap up all night out all week . . .

blueju!ce party profile

It’s called: Company album launch It sounds like: An aggressive mix of pop, rock, hip hop, electro and disco.

Who’s playing? Blueju!ce, Neon Heart.

Sell it to us: Off the back of their third album, Company, the boys from Blueju!ce are bringing it live and loud to the Fitzroy, supported by local guitarbased five-piece Neon Hear. With energetic performances and powerful songwriting, this night guarantees to be a cracker.

The bit we’ll remember in the AM: A whole bunch of party animals going nuts to great music... If you remember a lot of this gig, you just didn’t get amongst it.

Crowd specs: 250+ partygoers – leave your inhibitions at the door.

Wallet damage: $25 presale through the venue and Moshtix, $30 at the door.

Where: The Fitzroy Hotel / 161 George St, Windsor NSW

van she

PICS :: RW

When: Friday May 11, from 8pm

PICS :: TL

stonefield

27:04:12 :: World Bar :: 24 Bayswater Rd Kings Cross 9357 7700

27:04:12 :: The Standard:: Level 3/383 Bourke St Surry Hills 9331 3100

an horse

PICS :: KC

mum

PICS :: TP

25:04:12 :: Beach Road Hotel :: 71 Beach Rd Bondi Beach 9130 7247

sosueme 5th b'day 24:04:12 :: Upstairs Beresford :: 1/354 Bourke St Sydney 83135000 36 :: BRAG :: 461: 07:05:12

PICS :: CM

28:04:12 :: Oxford Art Factory :: 38-46 Oxford St Darlinghurst 9332 3711 :: KATRINA CLARKE :: RASA S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) :: OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER IS MURRAY :: THOMAS PEACHY CHR :: NS MUN IEL DAN :: MAR JUSKEVICIUTE :: ASHLEY :: Y TNE ROCKET WEIJERS :: TIM WHI

snap

up all night out all week . . .

RES EATEST PLEASU O OF LIFE’S GR MARRYING TW

ND MUSIC GREAT FOOD A Y

Calling ts all artisand e iv L r fo Locals!

Contact: es. ott events@liz com.au

YDNE LIZOTTE’SReS ” staurant in Sydney

tertainment “Awarded Best En

ts Lizotte’s presen l ca 9 Live and Lo es with MAY Jimmy Barn 10 Family & Friends MAY Ruby Revue 12 The with her’s Day Lunch MAY Mot 13 Emma Pask l ts Live and Loca MAY Lizotte’s presen

02 9984 9933

PICS :: TL

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MAY

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MAY

27:04:12 :: Upstairs Beresford :: 1/354 Bourke St Sydney 8313 5000

The Beatnix

MAY

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one Parade 19 St Lunch with

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Mother’s Day Lune 13 Katrina Burgoy rnes with MAY Jimmy Ba MAY Fi 15 16 Family & ends MAY e Idea of North 17 Th with okin Up Comedy MAY Co se ou 18 Chris Wainh APR APR Harry Manx

MAY

PICS :: RJ

big scary

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27:04:12 :: Oxford Art Factory :: 38-46 Oxford St Darlinghurst 9332 3711

02 4956 2066

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Piece Band Burrows & His 6 am Li 12 Day Lunch – MAY Mother’s 13 A Date With Effie Festival MAY alian Surf Movie tr us A 15 and Local MAY e’s presents Live tt zo Li 16 MAY MAY Harry Manx

MAY

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The Idea of North

MAY

Mal Eastick

19

PICS :: AM

john butler

MAY

27:04:12 :: GoodGod Small Club :: 53-55 Liverpool St Chinatown 8084 0587 :: KATRINA CLARKE :: RASA S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER RAY :: THOMAS PEACHY :: MUR IS CHR :: NS MUN IEL DAN :: JUSKEVICIUTE :: ASHLEY MAR :: Y ROCKET WEIJERS :: TIM WHITNE

20

Lizotte’s Sydney 629 Pittwater Rd Dee Why

Lizotte’s Central Coast Lot 3 Avoca Dr Kincumber

Lizotte’s Newcastle 31 Morehead St Lambton

WWW. LIZOT TES.COM.AU BRAG :: 461 :: 07:05:12 :: 37

snap sn ap

26:04:12 :: FBi Social :: Kings Cross Hotel 248 William St 9331 9900

PICS :: RJ

made in japan

royal chant

PICS :: TL

up all night out all week . . .

henry rollins

PICS :: RJ

27:04:12 :: FBi Social :: Kings Cross Hotel 248 William St 9331 9900

a night on the town

PICS :: TL

28:04:12 :: Seymour Centre :: Cleveland St Darlington 9351 7944

34b burlesque

last dinosaurs

PICS :: RJ

26:04:12 :: Oxford Art Factory :: 38-46 Oxford St Darlinghurst 9332 3711

29:04:12 :: Oxford Art Factory :: 38-46 Oxford St Darlinghurst 9332 3711

It sounds like: Back in the USSR! Who’s performing? Kira Carden, Ember Flame, Jade Twist, Abaddon The Strong Man, Electric Dreams, Hedy Bell Nova, and many more…

Sell it to us: From sultry James Bond villains, to high-cheekboned gymnasts scoring perfect 10s, to despotic leaders with secret missile bunkers – 34B want to remember the fascinating world behind the Iron Curtain in the best way they know how: through scantily-clad ladies performing bawdy and lewd burlesque routines!

The bit we’ll remember in the AM: Mystery, intrigue and danger...

Crowd specs: Sexy KGB spies, dictators, glorious factory workers, tortured artists, Rasputin lookalikes.

Wallet damage: Presale $20 (general admission), table tickets $30 (min booking 3pp), and $25 at the door (general admission).

Where: Q Bar / 44 Oxford St Darlinghurst When: Friday May 11

:: KATRINA CLARKE :: RASA S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER RAY :: THOMAS PEACHY :: MUR IS CHR :: NS MUN IEL DAN :: JUSKEVICIUTE :: ASHLEY MAR :: Y ROCKET WEIJERS :: TIM WHITNE

38 :: BRAG :: 461: 07:05:12

step-panther

PICS :: KC

party profile

It’s called: The Eastern Front – A Soviet Burlesque

28:04:12 :: FBi Social :: Kings Cross Hotel 248 William St 9331 9900

’ It s BACK!!!

5

$

STEAKS

*

WITH MASH AND SAUCE

ALL DAY MONDAY *AVAILABLE WITH ANY DRINK PURCHASE The

FORRESTERS

COLD BEER . PIZZA . wine . ROTISSERIE meats . pasta

FRIDAY 11 MAY R O C K L I LY P R E S E N T S

BRITISH INDIA + RUFUS + CONRAD GREENLEAF

WEDNESDAY 9 MAY

THE HOLLYWOOD HOMBRES

+ THE TWILIGHT RHYTHM BOYS + DJ BRIAN THURSDAY 10 MAY

SPIT SYNDICATE

+ JOYRIDE AND THE ACCIDENTS + JACKIE ONASSIS SATURDAY 12 MAY

KINGSWELL + DJ KITSCH78

SUNDAY 13 MAY 2PM

STEVE CLISBY BLUES EXPERIENCE + MORGAN JOANEL

HOUSE SPIRITS, WINE & BEER MON-FRI FROM 5-7PM

RSVP ON FACEBOOK

Cnr Riley & Foveaux Sts ,Surry Hills www.forresters.com.au ;OL :[HY 7[` 3PTP[LK ()5 ;OPUR HIV\[ `V\Y JOVPJLZ *HSS .HTISPUN /LSW ^^^ NHTISPUNOLSW UZ^ NV] H\ ;OL :[HY WYHJ[PZLZ [OL YLZWVUZPISL ZLY]PJL VM HSJVOVS .\LZ[Z T\Z[ IL HNLK `LHYZ VY V]LY [V LU[LY [OL *HZPUV

BRAG :: 461 :: 07:05:12 :: 39

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

Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls

SATURDAY MAY 12

Manning Bar, Sydney University, Camperdown

Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls (UK), William Elliott Whitmore (USA), The Smith Street Band, Jen Buxton $32.30-$38 (+ bf) 8pm MONDAY MAY 7 ROCK & POP

Andy Mammers Novotel Homebush, Homebush Bay free 4pm Bernie The Observer Hotel, The Rocks free 8.30pm Unherd Open Mic Downstairs, Sandringham Hotel, Newtown free 8pm Stephen Taberner, Another Roadside Attraction Annandale Hotel $15 (+ bf) 7pm Steve Poltz (USA), Anthony Hughes Brass Monkey, Cronulla 7pm

JAZZ

The Finer Cuts 505 Club, Surry Hills $10 8.30pm Monday Jam: Danny G Felix The Lansdowne, Broadway free 9pm Rob Eastwood Dee Why RSL Club free 6.30pm

40 :: BRAG :: 461 : 07:05:12

Sonic Mayhem Orchestra with Trish Delaney-Brown Blue Beat, Double Bay $10 8.30pm

free 7.30pm Steve Tonge The Observer Hotel, The Rocks free 8.30pm

ACOUSTIC & FOLK

JAZZ

Russell Neal, Senani, Massimo Presti, Chris Brookes, Jake Bennett Kelly’s On King, Newtown free 7pm

TUESDAY MAY 8 ROCK & POP

Adam Pringle and Friends Downstairs, Sandringham Hotel, Newtown free 8pm Hawkmoth, Jarek, Snip Snap Dragon, Skippy’s Brains Annandale Hotel $12 8pm Jessika Zen & Friends Awkward, Darlinghurst $15 7pm OMG Scruffy Murphy’s, Haymarket free 10pm The Songwriter Sessions Sandringham Hotel, Newtown

Ben Osmo Dee Why RSL Club free 6.30pm Jazzgroove: Informal Troupe, Amphibious 505 Club, Surry Hills $8 (conc)–$15 8.30pm Peter Head The Harbour View Hotel free 8pm

ACOUSTIC & FOLK

Jenny Biddle, Kyle Dessent The Basement, Circular Quay $15 (+ bf) 7.30pm

WEDNESDAY MAY 9 ROCK & POP

Alice vs Everything, Broadway Mile, Electric Flu, V.P. Annandale Hotel $8 7.30pm

JAZZ

Felucca, The Ben Panucci Trio 505 Club, Surry Hills $10 (conc)–$15 8.30pm Harry Manx (CAN) The Basement, Circular Quay $43 (+ bf)–$47 9pm Peter Head The Harbour View Hotel free 8pm

ACOUSTIC & FOLK

Daniel Hopkins, Micah Christian Taren Point Hotel free 7pm Darren Bennett, Nathan Cole, Black Diamond Cookies Lounge and Bar, North Strathfield free 8pm The Folk Informal: Hollie Matthew, Shardae Ewart, Charlie Gordon, Guy Brown FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel $10 8pm FrogFest: BOB feat.

Benjamin Hauptmann, The Dave Bova Band, Richard Calabro’s Alpha Omega Guitar Trio Brass Monkey, Cronulla $10 (presale)–$12 7pm Greg Sita, Mai-anne Cat and Fiddle Hotel, Balmain free 6.30pm Live and Local: Jenny Biddle, Taylor and the Makers Lizotte’s Restaurant, Dee Why $15 7pm Mal’s Open Mic Night: Gary Brennan & Mal Ward, Kenneth, Annie, Ken McLean Royal Hotel, Bondi free 8pm Russell Neal, John Chesher, Gavin Fitzgerald, Kyle Dessent Coach & Horses Hotel, Randwick free 7pm Songs On Stage Contest Heat 10: Helmut Uhlmann, Ellana Hickman, Lynette Smith, Maggie K, Benjamin Lam, Amy Morrison, Justine Wu The Loft, UTS, Broadway

Andrew W.K.

free 6pm TAOS, Starr Witness Evening Star Hotel, Surry Hills free 7pm

THURSDAY MAY 10 ROCK & POP

Andrew WK (USA), Aleister X, Bang Bang Rock N’ Roll The Standard, Darlinghurst $45 (+ bf) 8pm Anthems of Oz Orient Hotel, The Rocks free 9pm Bonney Read Beach Road Hotel, Bondi free 8pm Dave White Scruffy Murphy’s, Haymarket free 10pm David Christopher Buzzzbar Cafe, Newtown free 8pm dEUS (Belgium) Manning Bar, Sydney University, Camperdown $49 (+ bf) 8pm Fox, Triforce, Little Napier, Bachlor Pad, Juota FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel $10 8pm Group, Caitlin Park, Hey Big Aki, The Jeff Chinky Fan Club Annandale Hotel $5 (+ bf) 8pm Johnathan Devoy Downstairs, Sandringham Hotel, Newtown free 8pm King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard GoodGod Small Club, Sydney $11 (+ bf) 8pm Kingstone Flavaz Valve Bar, Tempe 7pm The Maccabees (UK), Argentina Metro Theatre, Sydney $52.70 8pm Marshall Okell, The Widowbirds Brass Monkey, Cronulla $15 (+ bf) 7pm The Mountains, Lyall Moloney, Andy Golledge Gallery Bar, Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst free 8pm A Night On The Town With Oxford Art Factory: Marlow, 1929Indian, The Khanz, Boats Of Berlin, In Measures Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst $5 8pm Senani Blue Beat, Double Bay $10 9pm

Thrashed, To The Grave, Tenpenny Towers, Lakeside Sydney Livehouse @ Lewisham Hotel 8pm Vultures: The Aves, Courage For Casper, Waterford, DJ Skar The Lansdowne, Broadway free 8pm Wintah Thompson, Cameron Potts, Adam Young, Pat Delohery Union Hotel, Newtown free 8pm

JAZZ

The Conscious Pilots 505 Club, Surry Hills $10 (conc)–$15 8.30pm Lionel Robinson Dee Why RSL Club free 6.30pm Peter Head The Harbour View Hotel free 8pm Rose Grayson Slide, Darlinghurst $25 6pm licensed all ages Sax in the City: Jeremy Rose & Friends The Spice Cellar, Sydney free 6pm

ACOUSTIC & FOLK

Andrew Denniston, Lucy B Narrabean Sands free 7pm Daniel Champagne Lizotte’s Restaurant, Dee Why $20 7pm Feel The Manouche, Geoff Bull & The Finer Cuts The Basement, Circular Quay $15 (+ bf) 7.30pm Rory Faithfield Petersham Bowling Club $10 8pm Russell Neal Kogarah Hotel free 7pm Simon Shapiro The Marlborough Hotel, Newtown free 8.30pm

FRIDAY MAY 11 ROCK & POP

1st Blues Platoon, Charmers, Sweet Jelly Rolls, Adam Rouche Sydney Livehouse @ Lewisham Hotel 8pm 2 Days Hits Scruffy Murphy’s, Haymarket free 10.30pm Abby Dobson, Elliot The Bull Notes Live, Enmore $28 8pm The Australian Pink Show Penrith RSL free 9pm

Dirty Three photo by Annabel Mehran

pick of the week

Andy Mammers Duo Maloney’s Hotel, Sydney free 9pm Cordea, T.T.F., Elephant, Maxwell Stone, Hatemail Sandringham Hotel, Newtown $5 8pm The Faults, The Gooch Palms, Bachelor Pad Beach Road Hotel, Bondi free 8pm Gemma The Observer Hotel, The Rocks free 8.30pm Haggard Vibes Valve Bar, Tempe 7pm Jam Night Fitzroy Hotel, Windsor free 7.30pm all-ages Jamie Lindsay Northies, Cronulla free 7.30pm Jay Parrino Dee Why RSL Club free 6.30pm Josh McIvor Mean Fiddler, Rouse Hill free 6pm King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel free 1pm Matt Jones Trio Scruffy Murphy’s Hotel, Sydney free 11pm The Nectars, Danger!Bus, Cortesbank GoodGod Small Club, Sydney $10 8pm Nicky Kurta Summer Hill Hotel free 3pm Philip Ricketson Downstairs, Sandringham Hotel, Newtown free 8pm San Cisco, Voltaire Twins, The Griswolds The Standard, Darlinghurst $17 (+ bf) 8pm Steve Tonge Duo O’Malley’s Hotel, Darlinghurst free 9.30pm Tim Chaisson, Morgan Joanel Notes Live, Enmore 8pm

g g guide gig g send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com Beyond Terror Beyond Grace, Katabasis, Norse, Myraeth, Rise Of Avernus Valve Bar, Tempe 7pm Bluejuice Fitzroy Hotel, Windsor $25$30 8.30pm Brothers In Arms: A Tribute To Dire Straits The Basement, Circular Quay $25 (+ bf) 7.30pm The Butterfly Effect, Numbers Radio, Greenthief UNSW Roundhouse, Kensington $53.60 (+ bf) 7pm all-ages Cotton Keays & Morris North Sydney Leagues Club, Cammeray $25 (+ bf) 8pm Daniel Champagne Camelot, Marrickville $18 10pm Dragon, Girls Are Gods, Bryley Brass Monkey, Cronulla $44.90 7pm Dynamic Duo Engadine RSL & Citizens Club free 8pm Elevate Customs House Bar, Circular Quay free 7pm Endless Summer Beach Party The Marlborough Hotel, Newtown free 10.30pm Fabba The Polo Lounge and Supper Club, Darlinghurst $20 (presale)–$35 (dinner & show) 7pm Gang Of Brothers feat.

Lionel Cole Blue Beat, Double Bay $10 10pm The Getaway Plan, New Empire The Standard, Darlinghurst $30 (+ bf) 8pm Gods Of Rapture, Greyskull, Escapist, Shadow Republic The Square, Haymarket $10 8pm Green Day Show Engadine Tavern free 9.30pm Gunface, Burn Antares, PaperCrane, The Belle Havens Sandringham Hotel, Newtown $10 8pm Hello Vera, Shady Lane, Leroy Lee FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel, Darlinghurst $12 8pm Hooray For Everything Stacks Bar, Darling Harbour free 5pm Jam Hsaio (Taiwan) Sydney Entertainment Centre $52.36-$242.35 8.15pm James Reyne The Vanguard, Newtown $28 (+ bf) 8pm Liz Stringer The Bowlo, Mullumbimby $15 Mad Season MB 20 Show Heathcote Hotel free 9.30pm Mal’s Open Mic Night: Mal Ward, Katerina Kakoulas, Ned End, Tunnel Vision, Sooty & The Rest, Instransit Hero’s Hill, Revesby free 8pm Mar Haze, LP & The Architects, Abby Smith, DJ Alley Cats The Lansdowne, Broadway free 8pm Movement: Fishing, Albatross, Nakagin Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach free 8pm MUM: Cake Shop, The Chemist, The Aves, Captain Of The Push, Caution Forces, Yerner Yen, Catkings, Felix Lloyd, 10th Avenue, Sammy K, Cries Wolf DJs, Dimes The World Bar, Kings Cross $10-$15 8pm Our Last Enemy Bald Faced Stag, Leichhardt The Peel Tempel, The Fighting League, Yes I’m Leaving GoodGod Small Club, Sydney $12 8pm Prince (USA) Allphones Arena, Sydney Olympic Park $99–$450 8pm Saskwatch, Taylor and Makers, Kate Gogarty, PhDJ

Upstairs Beresford, Surry Hills free 6pm Shane Miranda, James Englund, Cassie Long, Tim Quaife The Roxbury Hotel, Glebe $10 7.30pm Stars Of Addiction, A Broken Silence Annandale Hotel $10 (+ bf) 8pm Thieves, Royston Vasie, Blind Valley Gallery Bar, Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst free 8pm

Leader Cheetah

JAZZ

Continuum Sax: Shapeshifting The Red Rattler, Marrickville $15-$25 7.30pm Dereb The Ambassador The Sound Lounge, Seymour Centre, Chippendale $15 (conc)–$20 8.30pm Tina Harrod 505 Club, Surry Hills $20 (conc)–$25 8.30pm

ACOUSTIC & FOLK Mamapaloosa: Carolyn Woodorth, Samantha Johnson, Rachae Hanna, Zelda Smyth Mars Hill Café, Parramatta $10 8pm

SATURDAY MAY 12 2 Of Hearts Revesby Workers Club free 9.30pm Abby Dobson, Joel Leffler The Brass Monkey, Cronulla $25.50 7pm All Ages Arvo Alliance Sydney Livehouse @ Lewisham Hotel 2pm all-ages Alliance Lewisham Hotel 2pm all-ages Almost Joe – Joe Cocker Tribute Blacktown RSL Club free 9pm Altitude South Hurstville RSL free 9pm Andrew & O’Brien Engadine RSL & Citizens Club free 8pm Bic Runga (NZ) City Recital Hall, Sydney 8pm Chartbusters Penrith RSL free 9pm Dave Tice & Mark Evans Downstairs, Sandringham Hotel, Newtown free 4pm Devine Electrix, Johnny Roadkill, Virginia Killstyx, To The Grave The Square, Haymarket $12 8pm Dynamic Duo Brighton RSL Club, BrightonLe-Sands free 8pm Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls (UK), William Elliott Whitmore (USA), The Smith Street Band, Jen Buxton Manning Bar, Sydney University, Camperdown $32.30-$42.85 (+ bf) 8pm Hit Machine RG McGees Hotel, Richmond free 9pm Joeseph Davis, Sam Qill Quartet, DNA, Shezbot Sydney Livehouse @ Lewisham Hotel 8pm John Paul Young (Scotland), The All Star Band Capitol Theatre, Haymarket 8pm Leader Cheetah, Battleships, Achoo! Bless You FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel $20 (+ bf) 8pm Liz Stringer, Van Walker No. 5 Church St, Bellingen $12 8.30pm Mal’s Open Mic Night: Mal Ward, Salam, Usual Suspects, Cade, Tunnel Vision Panania Hotel free 8pm Messrs, The Walking Who, Smoke & Silver

The Beresford Hotel, Surry Hills free 6pm Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra Leichhardt Town Hall $25 7pm Nativosoul, Thunderlove, Travelaz The Basement, Circular Quay $20 (+ bf) 9pm The Nevilles The Marlborough Hotel, Newtown free 10.30pm Next Best Thing Sutherland United Services Club free 7.30pm Nick Rheinberger, Sarah Humphreys Humph Hall, Allambie Heights 8pm Number Station, Fever Pitch, Morgan Joanel, Kirsty Lee Upstairs Beresford, Surry Hills free 6pm One Hit Wonders Oatley Hotel free 8.30pm Original Sin INXS Show Ingleburn Hotel free 8pm The Otchkies, Mylee Grace & The Milkshakes, The Driffs Gallery Bar, Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst free 8pm Outlier Scruffy Murphy’s, Haymarket free 10.30pm Prince (USA) Allphones Arena, Sydney Olympic Park $99–$450 8pm Red Oxygen, Another Door Opens, Triangle Skies, Class1C, Carousel, The Spoon Collectors Annandale Hotel $10 6pm The Road Runners Ashfield RSL free 8pm SFX: We Saved The Party, Larykan, Baby Grand, Madison St James Hotel, Sydney $12-$15 9pm Stormcellar The Baldrock Hotel, Rozelle 8pm These Hands, Milhouse, Life And Limb, F’Tang Roxbury Hotel, Glebe 8pm Zoltan Stacks Bar, Darling Harbour free 5pm

ACOUSTIC & FOLK

Andrew Denniston, Maianne, Brad Myers Belrose Bowling Club free 7pm Craig Thommo The Belvedere Hotel free 9pm Darren Bennett, Black Diamond Ettalong Beach Hotel free 8pm Dave Wilkins Marlborough Hotel, Newtown free 8.30pm Frogfest 2012 – A Celebration of Progressive Folk Music: Brian Campeau, Bob, Dave Carr’s Fabulous Contraption, Chaika, Cracked Actor The Red Rattler Theatre, Marrickville $12 (presale)–$15 6.30pm Russell Neal, Mai-anne, Starr Witness

Terrey Hills Tavern free 7.30pm

SUNDAY MAY 13

JAZZ

ROCK & POP

62nd Silence, Rowling Stones, Physical Graffiti Valve Bar, Tempe 5pm Ace Brighton RSL Club, BrightonLe-Sands free 7pm The Darkened Sea Sandringham Hotel, Newtown $10 7pm Fleur and the Courgettes, Nathan Anderson, Jeremy Harrison The Lansdowne, Broadway free

The Peter Head Trio & Friends The Harbour View Hotel free 4pm

ACOUSTIC & FOLK

LJ Oatley Hotel free 2pm Matt Toms The Belvedere Hotel free 4pm Russell Neal, Dan Crestani Salisbury Hotel, Stanmore free 2pm Shane MacKenzie Cohibar, Darling Harbour free 3pm

wed

09 May

(9:00PM - 12:00AM)

thu

10 May

(9:00PM - 12:00AM)

fri

11 May (5:00PM - 8:00PM)

(9:30PM - 1:30AM)

SATURDAY AFTERNOON

JAZZ

Alister Spence Trio 505 Club, Surry Hills $15 (conc)–$20 8.30pm Greening From Ear To Ear The Sound Lounge, Seymour Centre, $10-$20 8.30pm Jazz Nouveau Supper Club, Fairfield RSL Club free 7pm Peter Head The Harbour View Hotel free 5pm Yuki Kumagai, John Mackie Well Co. Café / Wine Bar, Leichhardt free 7.30pm Yuki Kumagai, John Mackie, Tony Burkys, Paul Furniss, Bob Gillespie Penrith RSL Club free 2pm

Global Battle Of The Bands Valve Bar, Tempe 1pm Greg Attwells, Jeremy Fowler, Kieran Delaharpe Brass Monkey, Cronulla $12.25 7pm Hue Williams Oceans Bar Coogee Beach free 5pm Lucy DeSoto and The Handsome Devils Downstairs, Sandringham Hotel, Newtown free 4pm Mikelangelo & The Tin Star, Bellyache Ben & The Steamgrass Boys The Vanguard, Newtown $23.80 8pm No Brakes Marrickville Bowling Club free 4.30pm Party Central Marlborough Hotel, Newtown free 10.30pm Planet Love Sound, 1929Indian, Jason & The Lyrebirds FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel $10 8pm Sea Legs, Hattie Carroll, Callithump, Ginger & Drum Annandale Hotel $8 6pm

SUNDAY AFTERNOON sat

12 May

(4:30PM - 7:30PM)

SATURDAY NIGHT

(9:00PM - 1:30AM)

sun

13 May

(4:30PM - 7:30PM)

SUNDAY NIGHT

(8:30PM - 12:00AM)

BRAG :: 461 :: 07:05:12 :: 41

gig picks

up all night out all week...

FRIDAY MAY 11

Prince

Abby Dobson, Elliot The Bull Notes Live, Enmore $28 8pm The Butterfly Effect, Numbers Radio, Greenthief UNSW Roundhouse, Kensington $53.60 (+ bf) 7pm all-ages The Getaway Plan, New Empire, Built On Secrets, Siren Lines The Standard, Darlinghurst $30 (+ bf) 8pm Hello Vera, Shady Lane, Leroy Lee FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel, Darlinghurst $12 8pm Movement: Fishing, Albatross, Nakagin Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach free 8pm MUM: Cake Shop, The Chemist, The Aves, Captain Of The Push, Caution Forces, Yerner Yen, Catkings, Felix Lloyd, 10th Avenue, Sammy K, Cries Wolf DJs, Dimes The World Bar, Kings Cross $10-$15 8pm

SATURDAY MAY 12 San Cisco

WEDNESDAY MAY 9 San Cisco, Voltaire Twins, The Griswolds The Standard, Darlinghurst $17 (+ bf) 8pm

THURSDAY MAY 10

Group, Caitlin Park, Hey Big Aki, The Jeff Chinky Fan Club Annandale Hotel $5 (+ bf) 8pm The Maccabees (UK), Argentina Metro Theatre, Sydney $52.70 8pm A Night On The Town With Oxford Art Factory: Marlow, 1929Indian, The Khanz, Boats Of Berlin, In Measures Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst $5 8pm

dEUS (Belgium) Manning Bar, Sydney University, Camperdown $49 (+ bf) 8pm

Wintah Thompson, Cameron Potts, Adam Young, Pat Delohery Union Hotel, Newtown free 8pm

Leader Cheetah, Battleships, Achoo! Bless You FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel $20 (+ bf) 8pm Messrs, The Walking Who, Smoke & Silver The Beresford Hotel, Surry Hills free 6pm Prince (USA) Allphones Arena, Sydney Olympic Park $99–$450 8pm Xxxx

Andrew W.K. (USA), Aleister X, Bang Bang Rock N’ Roll The Standard, Darlinghurst $45 (+ bf) 8pm

Frogfest 2012 – A Celebration of Progressive Folk Music: Brian Campeau, BOB, Dave Carr’s Fabulous Contraption, Chaika, Cracked Actor The Red Rattler Theatre, Marrickville $12 (presale)–$15 6.30pm

www.fbisocial.com

L2 Kings Cross Hotel

Wednesday May 9

Thursday May 10

Saturday May 12

LUNCH BREAK

FOX

LEADER CHEETAH

presented by Alberts featuring:

KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD 1PM // FREE Broadcast live on FBi

THE FOLK INFORMAL HOLLIE MATTHEW

+ TRIFORCE + LITTLE NAPIER + BACHELOR PAD + JUOTA DJ set 8pm // $10 on the door

Friday May 11

HELLO VERA (EP Launch) + SHADY LANE + LEROY LEE 8pm // $12

+ SHARDAE EWART + CHARLIE GRADON + GUY BROWN

RADIANT LIVE: JAM + LATE NIGHT VIDEO

8pm // $10 on the door

Midnight // FREE

42 :: BRAG :: 461 : 07:05:12

DJ TOM LOUD

+ BATTLESHIPS + ACHOO! BLESS YOU 8pm // $20

LATE NIGHT SOCIAL: PARKSIDE DJs + FRAMES Midnight - late // FREE Broadcast live on FBi

Sunday May 13 PLANET LOVESOUND + 1929INDIAN + JASON & THE LYREBIRD 8pm // $10 onLIVE: the door RADIANT

*

THE BONDI PAVILION & WAVERLEY COUNCIL PRESENT

*

CNR BROADWAY & ABERCROMBIE

CONVENED BY LINDY

MORRIS ON

FRIDAY 11 MAY 2012 10AM-3.30PM (REGISTRATIONS FROM 9.30AM) HIGH TIDE ROOM | BONDI PAVILION | BONDI BEACH

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT

MUSIC BUSINESS

10AM 10.30AM 11AM 11.30AM 12NOON 12.30PM 1.30PM 2PM 2.30PM 3PM

PHILLIP MORTLOCK * HEAD OF CREATIVE, ALBERTS COLIN DANIELS * MANAGING DIRECTOR, INERTIA MUSIC BRENT LEAN * MANAGING DIRECTOR, MOTHERSHIP MUSIC FERGUS LINEHAN * HEAD CONTEMPORARY MUSIC, SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE, DIRECTOR VIVID LIVE FESTIVAL ANDY GUMLEY * BOOKING AGENT, VILLAGE SOUNDS LUNCH BREAK JOHN FERRIS * HEAD OF LICENSING AND SYNC AT MINSTRY OF SOUND AUSTRALIA, DJ/MUSIC SELECTOR AT DJ JOHN FERRIS MURAT KILIC * CEO RECKLESS REPUBLIC PTY LTD GABRIEL CLOUSTON & JOEL RAPAPORT * CO-DIRECTORS OF BIG VILLAGE RECORDS / ARTISTS BROOKE SALISBURY * LABEL MANAGER, SPUNK RECORDS

FREE to attend but register at bondipav@waverley.nsw.gov.au or 8362 3400 This project has been assisted and supported by the NSW State Government through Arts NSW and Waverley Council through Bondi Pavilion Cultural Services

Still Open For business !!!

Beer.

Tacos.

Schnitzels.

Rave Juice.

Steaks.

Beer garden.

facebook.com/abercrombiehotel BRAG :: 461 :: 07:05:12 :: 43

44 :: BRAG :: 461 :: 07:05:12

brag beats

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

dance music news club, dance and hip hop in brief... with Chris Honnery

he said she said WITH

I

used to play in a lot of piano competitions as a child – I even won a few. My parents got me into music at a really early age and were really supportive of me doing electronic music when I decided to make the switch. I was only really ever good at two classes in school – music and German. Which probably explains why I ended up as a musician based in Berlin!

My inspirations back in the day were people like Hybrid, Jody Wisternoff & Nick Warren, Andy Page, Ulrich Schnauss, and anyone else who was digging a little deeper with their electronic music. Nowadays production-wise I’m more influenced by the sounds of people like Mat Zo, Madeon and Andrew Bayer.

I have a few crews these days.

There are my friends back in Australia, with whom I partied heartily through the progressive/ trance era and who have now moved on to more eclectic genres such as glitch hop. My crew here in Berlin is not really involved in dance music, which makes for a nice break as I spend so much of my life immersed in it. Most of my day-

LOOSE KABOOSE FT DEEPCHILD

Tom Vek

JAYTECH (ANJUNABEATS)

to-day work, however, is still with the Anjuna crew in the UK, whose schedule and events this year are proving to be more epic than ever.

My music sits somewhere between house and trance – those two styles are really merging in a good way right now. I have just finished my second artist album, too; it’s going to be a real step up for me, so I’m very much looking forward to that!

It’s similar in style to what people would expect from me but on a larger scale, with more uptempo and vocal tracks on there as well.

I try to focus on the right things when it comes to the dance scene. I only want to pay attention to the people and technology that are going to help me make cool music and bring it to the world in cool ways. Outside of that, I’m not really interested in what the other DJs in the scene are doing, what they’re wearing, who they’re dating, things like that... Too much of that stuff will make you go mad.

VIVID LIVE STUDIO PARTIES ANNOUNCED

Where: Chinese Laundry When: Saturday May 12

Rick Bull aka Deepchild, one of the most sincere and passionate figures in the Australian music scene and arguably our most recognisable techno export, plays a ‘welcome back to Aus’ set at Loose Kaboose on Friday June 8 at GoodGod Small Club. As

a core member of the Trapez recording artist roster, Deepchild remains firmly rooted in an exploration of “post-Detroit” machine-musicbass-heavy, insistent, angular, raw, noisy and dub-laden techno. Now based in Berlin, Deepchild will be marking his homecoming by performing a live set, showcasing his selfdescribed “rambunctious take on machine music. My machines, my sound, is rust-stained,

noisy, unquantised”. Also on the bill is ‘90s underground house DJ Ben Feggans, returning to the decks for an extremely rare set. Ben was a regular at parties such as Tweakin and Sabotage alongside the likes of Simon Caldwell, Phil Smart and Sugar Ray, and held down a residency at Chinese Laundry back in the day.

He’ll be pushing an array of classic acid, house and techno tunes from the last two decades into the early hours of the morning. Presale tickets are available for $20 on Resident Advisor, with the party running from 11pm – 6am.

HYPE WILLIAMS

London/Berlin duo Hype Williams will make their Sydney debut at GoodGod Small Club on Wednesday June 20. Comprised of Russiaborn Inga Copeland and London’s Dean Blunt, Hype Williams have a broad sonic palette that spans everything from lo-fi RnB and hip hop to textural grime works and heavier 4/4 beats. After self-releasing their no-budget debut EP High Beams in 2009, the duo have gone on to release on Kode9’s Hyperdub label and De Stijl, where their debut album Find Being Polite And Start Getting Reel was released to worldwide critical acclaim. They’ll be premiering their live show in the intimate confines of GoodGod, where behind an excess of fog and a complete lack of light the enigmatic duo will continue “to hide themselves, allowing their mysterious musical style to take hold of your senses at seriously high volume.”

DESYN MASIELLO + TOM MORGAN DJ Craze

CRAZE & CODES PLAY LAUNDRY

Acclaimed turntablist and multiple-DMC champion DJ Craze returns to Australia for a series of shows later this month, flanked by his Slow Roast Records label-mate Codes.

The Nicaragua-born DJ Craze is the only DJ to have won the highly coveted DMC World Championship three times, so if you’re after technical proficiency, look no further. In 2010 Craze started the Slow Roast Records imprint, a sub-label of Fools Gold and home to the likes of Kill The Noise, Klever and Senor Stereo. Codes is also from Slow Roast, rising to prominence last year on the back of his Codes House EP and remixes for Silver Medalion and Solidisco. Providing a further – and timely – link between Craze and Codes, the pair have teamed up for the upcoming single ‘Deeper’, an apparent “liquid house explosion” (whatever that sounds like). The pair will be performing together at Chinese Laundry on Saturday May 26.

After a launch party back in 2010 featuring Funk D’Void, Deeper Sounds finally returns on Saturday June 2 at One22 with an international triple bill featuring three artists from the Faciendo tribe: Desyn Masiello, Tom Morgan and Mesan. Masiello is a much-loved specialist DJ who also spins alongside Omid 16b and Demi as SOS. While the Balance mix from SOS was good, it didn’t top Masiello’s own addition to the series, which remains one of the finer instalments in what are continually high quality mixes. Morgan arrives Down Under amid much hype from those in the know: he is renowned for playing a wide range of music that traverses many genres, with his sound encompassing anything from 115 BPM downtempo and deep house through to peak time progressive and bangin’ techno. Morgan’s reputation as a tastemaker/‘lad with the tunes’ was cemented

Modular are throwing a bash at the Sydney Opera House for Vivid LIVE on Saturday May 26 headlined by the triple bill of Tom Vek, Kindness and Jonathan Boulet. Vek will be making his Australian debut after breaking a five-year hiatus with his much anticipated sophomore album Leisure Seizure, which dropped midlast year. Meanwhile, Kindness is the recorded work of Adam Bainbridge, whose debut album received some production sheen courtesy of Cassius’ Phillipe Zdar. The three headliners will perform at the Opera House Studio, with $45 presale tickets available online. And Modular ain’t the only renowned local party crew hosting a night for Vivid LIVE. As discussed in Deep Impressions, Future Classic will be throwing a bash with Isolee and Jacques Renault, while next week we’ll tell you about the nights from Halfway Crooks and the GoodGod Small Club posse...

by Masiello’s decision to hire him in an A&R capacity for his Alternative Route label – and given Desyn has an ear for quality tunes, that’s some endorsement. First release tickets to the night are available for $20 through Resident Advisor.

CHRIS LIEBING

CLR mainman and techno colossus Chris Liebing, will play Chinese Laundry on Saturday June 9. The hugely respected German DJ has been one of techno’s most visible representatives over the years, having huge influence on the underground milieu through his CLR imprint and his frenetic DJing schedule.

Liebing has consistently reaffirmed his status as one of techno’s top dogs with his own productions and remixes, one of the most recent of which was a rip-roaring rework of Planetary Assault Systems’ already excellent cut ‘Function 4’, which dropped at the end of last year. As someone who has endured the fads and trends of dance music – and techno in particular – over the past 20 years, Liebing’s remarks on the evolution of the sound are illuminating: “At the end of the ‘90s, techno was quite fast and hard.

It has slowed down but also the sound, the bass has gotten better,” he asserts. “The slower the music, the more space you can have between the bass drums, and more room to express…

[There’s a] misconception that techno is only for, and listened to by … shirtless guys on a lot of drugs.” So for any guys planning on heading along to Laundry on June 9: shirts on, please!

BRAG :: 461 :: 07:05:12 :: 45

dance music news

free stuff

club, dance and hip hop in brief... with Chris Honnery

FREESTUFF@THEBRAG.COM

five things WITH

CO-OP TURN THREE

OSCAR FROM WATUSSI called El Olvido, produced by the amazing Joel Hamilton (Blakroc, Elvis Costello, Tom Waits). The album was recorded in Australia and produced and mixed in New York. Our live shows are always full of energy, and this one for Building Bridges Festival will be very special, as we believe in supporting refugee rights and ending mandatory detention: the governments of first world countries need to remember where they came from.

Music, Right Here, Right Now Australia is privileged at the moment.

5.

There are a lot of great festivals and heaps

Growing Up There were no musicians in my family, but 1. growing up in Colombia I was surrounded by a lot of traditional carnival music, and dancing was always a part of every reunion. The air in the wind comes with a certain rhythm and even when it rained I remember going out to play with my brothers. The music I make will always hold memories of my homeland.

2.

Inspirations Joe Arroyo, Manu Chao, Cibelle, Bob Marley, Bjork, AC/DC, Quantic, The Beatles, Jorge Ben, Ruben Blades, Toto la Momposina…

Rage Against The Machine! First time I heard AC/DC was in high school and my friend showed me all these records, which opened

DIPLO + SKRILLEX + A-TRAK = PEPSI?

How’s this for a release dripping with corporate and commercial overtones? Diplo had foreshadowed a possible ‘Avengers Assemble’ coalition between himself, Skrillex and A-Trak earlier this year, and news has come to hand that the triumvirate have now got their first remix commission. Following Nicki Minaj’s lead, the group have been invited by Pepsi to go to town on Michael Jackson’s ‘Bad’. The new version will be released to coincide with the album’s 25th birthday in June. Those wishing to hear the rerub will have to buy a limited edition Pepsi can and scan a special code into their phone. Hmmmm…

my mind and liberated my brain. It’s funny to think that in those days in Colombia they were banned at school.

Your Crew We are an eight-piece with a freak rhythm 3. section, blastering horns, and a guy that jumps and sings in some weird language all the time.

I think we’d like to do our next album with Quantic – he’s a genius! The bandmembers connect with anything that’s tribal, and differences get sorted by a mud fight in a g-string.

of opportunities for bands to play. In Sydney there are a lot more new little venues since the entertainment law changed, and I believe this has brought a great community of musicians from different cultures together. One of my favourite local places to check out new music is The Mac – I just saw a great act there from Brisbane called Kooii.

With: The Herd, Dog Trumpet, Mohsen Soltani & Ember, ROSiE Where: Building Bridges Festival @ The Standard When: Friday May 18

4.

The Music You Make Afro-Colombian rock and roots. We released a great album six months ago

More: All profits go towrads Refugee Action Coalition; visit refugeeaction.org.au

If you caught the Prosumer show back in March and have been hanging on the edge for the next CO-OP instalment, we can safely say THE WAIT IS OVER. CO-OP are turning three, and to celebrate they’re bringing some super heavyweights to One22 on Saturday May 19: Nicolas Geysens AKA San Soda – part of FCL and co-founder of We Play House, as well as an effortless blender of crate-dug gems and contemporary cuts – and Bill Brewster, who’s as well known as an author (Last Night A DJ Saved My Life and How To DJ Properly) as for his own brand of devastatingly deep house. Both are spinning exclusively for CO-OP in Sydney on their debut tours of Australia, alongside the infamous Co-Op DJs – with more to be announced. For a chance to win a double pass and exclusive pre-birthday party drinks, tell or show us what you wore to your third birthday party

DIGITALISM

For most of us out there who were kickin’ round Purple Sneakers back in ‘07, Digitalism’s ‘Pogo’ was one of those tunes that solidified the era. Hazy, bass-driven, mind-bending electro tunes were what we wanted, and Digitalism served them up in droves. The German electro duo have been dubbed the pioneers of electro-punk and indie dance music, and came back last year with I Love You Dude, which sported some blissfully synthy, mind-tingling rhythms and some seriously distorted basslines – including knockout single ‘2 Hearts’. And they’re heading this way, playing at The Hi Fi this Friday May 11. If you want a double pass, tell us which of their remixes you wanna hear live.

HAHA UTR #018

Reputed underground crew HAHA will host the next in their Under The Radar Warehouse Party series on Saturday May 19. The lineup features Melbourne’s NHJ, who holds a residency at Revolver’s ‘Late Show’ and has played all over Europe and North America, and respected 2ser selector Lorna Clarkson.

Also representing will be D&D, aka HAHA residents Dean Dixon and Dave Fernandes, and 4Our’s Magda B. The revelry will run from 10pm till sunrise, with further details available online through the HAHA website.

Presale tickets are available for $20 from thisiswhitelabel.com

Blawan

Ajax

BLAWAN + PARIAH

This Saturday, highly touted London producer Blawan and his less exposed compatriot Pariah will throw down as part of a doubleheader at GoodGod Small Club, courtesy of Astral People. Pariah pushes a spectral, often greyscale take on UK house and has only this week announced a new EP, RS1207 – his first solo single since 2010’s critically acclaimed ‘Safehouses’. Blawan meanwhile is coming off a stellar 2011, crowned by the success of his white label, Brandy-sampling single ‘Getting Me Down’, along with a Radiohead remix. Blawan and Pariah also have a close artistic affiliation, producing together under the moniker Karenn and having also formed the collaborative label She Works The Long Nights.

Support for the London pair will come courtesy of Preacha and Bad Ezzy.

SNIFFED OUT

BOWLING WITH AJAX AND P-MONEY

In a gig that’s not short on novelty, the man once crowned Australia’s #1 DJ, Ajax – who is now affiliated with the Sweat It Out record label – will face off against Kiwi hip hop proponent P-Money on the most unique of stages: a bowling lane, at Strike Bowling Bar, King Street Wharf. The pair will be throwing down on Thursday May 31, while guests bowl and play pool all evening for free (with ticket entry). The revelry commences from 8pm, and $30 tickets are available online at strikebowling.com.au

46 :: BRAG :: 461 :: 07:05:12

As reported in the broadsheet publications this week, 90-odd would-be revellers were (allegedly) caught with ecstasy, amphetamine and cannabis at the Creamfields festival last weekend. About 250 of the 11,780 people at the festival were searched by six drug detection dogs, with 75 people charged with possession and supply of prohibited drugs. “The consumption of prohibited drugs creates significant risks including addiction; deficiencies of judgement; changes in behaviour that can create greater vulnerability or propensity for criminal acts; together with serious consequences for health,” Superintendent Anthony Crandell said in a statement. “We will continue to use drug detection dogs at future events to minimise risks associated with drug use and misuse.” I suppose the cops have to give all those dogs who were trained up for detecting bombs during the Sydney Olympics something to do. (Which is, incidentally, why Sydney has what many feel to be an excessive amount of canines sniffing out pill-poppers and grass-smokers...)

AU UNDERGROUND

The recently launched ‘fresh’ podcast brand, AU Underground, hosted by charismatic Sydneysider and Subsonic regular Dylan Griffin, is joining forces with Future Theories for a one-off bash at One22 this Saturday. To mark the occasion, the Melbourne pairing of Jamie Stevens (he of Infusion fame) and Steve Ward from Chameleon Records will be playing live together for the first time in Sydney. Also spinning on the night will be Eoin Brosnan, Loose Kaboose main woman Trinity, and Griffin himself, who returns from a Melbourne jaunt ready to deliver a sonic mandate to anyone who will listen. If your interest is piqued by this gig, chances are you’ll also want to check out the AU Underground podcasts, which feature “regular guest mixes excavated from Australia’s underground electronic music landscape”; head to facebook.com/auunderground to begin downloading.

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facebook.com/PinballZball

BRAG :: 461 :: 07:05:12 :: 47

Call Of The Wild By Joshua Hayes

Kerser Do The Kers By Marissa Demetriou

H

aving slowly emerged from the underbelly of the Aussie hip hop scene, the name Kerser has crept into the vocabulary of hip hop fans across the country thanks to the young Sydney MC’s brand of brash, in-your-face raps that drip with unashamed swagger (see the self-explanatory ‘Kerser Is The Sickest’). His recent sold-out battle with Oz hip hop juggernaut 360 has drawn further attention to his ability to spit freestyle bars at speeds you could only dream about, with a wickedly funny edge – but he remains unfazed by all the fuss, and is solidly focused on creating the music he loves for the fans that follow him with an almost clannish devotion.

Starting out as an eleven-year-old copying down Tupac lyrics, it wasn’t long before Kerser realised he could write his own rhymes; his fascination with hip hop flourished from that point on. “I was influenced by a lot of late-‘90s American hip hop,” he tells me. He began recording his own tracks at the age of 18.

S

ydney duo Doctor Werewolf are on the verge of becoming one of Australia’s biggest bass music acts, with a mix on Ministry Of Sound’s recent Sound Of Dubstep Vol.3 compilation (they mixed one disc, with the other handled by BAR 9), a tour in support of it, and a string of party starting productions of their own. The lads have sure been busy. “We’re in the studio wrapping up a couple of things for our EP,” says Andrew Bell, one half of the duo. “That’s what the Easter break is for us; working on our studio tans.”

The EP, Wolfzilla, will be released on Kid Kenobi’s Klub Kids label – two tracks, ‘Lasercat Rocket Attack’ and ‘Take Me Away’, appeared on their Sound Of Dubstep mix (which also includes their popular ‘Trololo Man’ remix) – and they’ve already started working on their next EP, which they hope to release by the end of the year.

And between the tours and studio work, they both hold down full-time jobs. “My flatmates are constantly saying, ‘Do you even live here?

Because we never ever see you’,” Bell laughs.

“It’s not always easy, but it’s very rewarding.”

The pair – Bell and Adam Zae, best mates since the start of high school – were inspired to get into DJing and ultimately production through their own clubbing experiences.

They’ve since earned acclaim with the energetic blend of dubstep, drum’n’bass and rave in both their DJ sets and in the studio – although Bell prefers not to pigeonhole himself. “I don’t personally like to genre-fy

my music. We kind of ignore genre,” he adds.

“We play loud, obnoxious music. That’s about as close as I get to defining what we sound like.”

For anyone who’s not seen them spin on a previous Good Vibrations or Future Music bill, their varied Ministry mix gives a general idea of where the pair take their sets. “We’re very impatient… we like to change genres a lot,” Bell says of their live shows. “We do play dubstep but we also play a lot of drumstep and drum’n’bass and a lot of moombahton stuff, as it’s getting increasingly popular… It’s a kitchen sink sort of set.”

Since then, Kerser has honed to a fine edge his style of brutally honest, no-holds-barred hip hop, where no topic is too controversial – so it’s no surprise Aussie hip hop fans went into overdrive when it was finally announced he would battle 360. It sent forums, Facebook and Twitter into meltdown when it was announced a rematch would be held, after the first battle went un-adjudicated. “That battle was talked about for a long time, fans were demanding it for ages – and because it wasn’t judged, I’m just looking forward to a rematch. It’s locked in, we’re just setting a date... Since the first one was in Melbourne, I think it should be in Sydney – I’m hoping this one is in Sydney,” he laughs.

When I ask how he prepares himself for battles, he explains, “Everyone has their rhymes in their heads – you have to be prepared – but of course it comes out differently on the night… I prefer making music to battles of course, but I do enjoy battling.”

Working closely with producer Nebs – which led to collaborating with fellow underground Aussie hip hop outfit That’s Them – Kerser seems keen to keep his collaborations ‘in the family’ for now.

“Without wanting to sound arrogant, I’m happy working with Nebs and I’m happy with the beats that he makes – [but] I got to where I am by myself, and I want to try and keep it that way.”

He hints his new album, due for release at the end of the year, will show a different side of him, a “more mature side of my music”. He tells me that he’ll be “quietly” releasing something for his fans every couple of weeks.

Xxxx

Doctor Werewolf

Having been born and raised in the South West suburb of Campbelltown has obviously brought a wealth of inspiration to Kerser’s sound, although he says “it doesn’t matter where you’re from, as long as it’s real. But [my background] brings a different twist to the music, rapping about stuff straight off the street and making something out of it,” he explains. “I want to make something real, something that hasn’t been done in this country.”

With: Rates, Skeamo, Nter, Fortay, UBD, That’s Them, Skae, Anecdote, Tycotic, Doel Where: The Metro Theatre (lic./all-ages) When: Saturday May 12

Their Perth show falls on Friday the 13th, and the night will be a horror-themed fancy dress party with punters encouraged to rock vampire fangs and fake blood. As it turns out, Bell is quite happy about that. “We do enjoy a dress up,” he says. “On New Year’s Eve we played a gig that was a dress up. I went as Jesus and Adam went as a dinosaur, which was a bit of a shambles considering the theme was ‘superheroes’. But I argued that Jesus was the greatest of all superheroes, and I think Adam decided he was Godzilla, which was a superhero to the Japanese people. The one thing we regret about the entire gig is that we didn’t get a photo of Adam, as a dinosaur, riding me, as Jesus...”

Where: Chinese Laundry When: Friday May 25

Pariah All In Good Time By Benjamin Cooper quite a lot of stuff,” he explains. “But when it arrived and I started unpacking all the boxes, I realised that pretty much everything inside was broken... I’m fairly sure that the couriers had actually just been throwing the boxes against the wall, that’s how damaged it all was. Thankfully I’d brought a laptop which had quite a few back-ups, but then the speakers I was forced to use were woefully inadequate in terms of producing different kinds of sound.

It was nice to be around my parents, but I felt quite frustrated at all the sound limitations. The only positive was my mum’s home cooking; I got absolutely no writing done, but I came back to London much healthier!”

F

48 :: BRAG :: 461 :: 07:05:12

After packing up his things, Cayzer ventured north to the comforting climes of his parents’ house in Scotland, and waited for his equipment to arrive. But when his assorted gear got there, his desire for relaxation and recording was dealt a significant blow. “I’d arranged to have all my gear couriered, because the kind of music I make requires

A big influence on the new sound of Pariah is his labelmate at R&S Records and Australian touring partner, Blawan (real name Jamie Roberts).

The two artists, who go by the moniker Karenn when performing together, last year launched their own record label: Works The Long Nights.

“It’s been great fun with the label,” Cayzer says, “and I’ve personally learnt a great deal from Blawan. As I’m self-taught at what I do, it’s been invaluable to have him there giving me pointers.

He has a really deep knowledge of the technical aspects of production that he’s been sharing, which is good because I just studied literature at university!”

Fortunately Cayzer’s perfectionist streak is tempered by a balanced awareness of the necessity for patience. “Basically I just want to keep learning – I’m more than happy to gradually chip away at it until I’m confident it’s perfect. People keep pressuring me to release an album. In fact, someone even told me the other day that I definitely was releasing an album this year, which was news to me,” he laughs. “The bottom line is, I know [the album] could be perfect, and I want it to be – so it’ll happen when it needs to.”

Who: Pariah & Blawan Where: GoodGod Small Club When: Saturday May 12

Xxxx

or Arthur Cayzer, better known as the dubstep performer Pariah, a change of scene to the countryside promised plenty of creative stimulation. “I’d been in London for about six years,” he says, “and one day I looked around at my apartment and thought it’d just be nice to have a bit of space and see what I can come up with, you know?”

If Cayzer seems like a perfectionist, it’s thanks to necessity; the genre was exacting enough without the pressure of its rapid popularisation and the subsequent rise in competition. In 2009 he released the twin singles ‘Detroit Falls/Orpheus’ to universal acclaim from dubstep aficionados and hip kids alike; the release of the EP Safehouses a year later saw Cayzer venture into more driven techno territory, with a smoothness that was absent on his debut. But after dropping these releases in a relatively short space of time, Cayzer took time off in order to finish university – although further probing reveals he actually used the time to hone a musical product that was more technically accomplished than his previous releases. “It has taken me quite a while, but I’m finally getting a sound I’m really happy with,” he says. “I think I may have potentially

narrowed my range a bit, but the music is much more on point.”

Deep Impressions Underground Dance And Electronica with Chris Honnery

Isolée

LOOKING DEEPER FRIDAY JUNE 1 Isolée Sydney Opera House

SATURDAY JUNE 2 Levon Vincent Marrickville Bowling Club

MONDAY JUNE 11

End Of The Line ft Guido Schneider The Abercrombie

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 15

Isolée photo by Forian de Brun

Kenny Larkin The Spice Cellar

L

evon Vincent will play at Mad Racket on Saturday June 2. While this column had previously reported that the US-born, Berlin-based artist will be touring Australia in early June, the details of the Sydney leg of the tour have only now been revealed. And I doubt there’ll be any complaints from the Sydney clubbing cognoscenti – ‘Levon @ Racket’ has all the makings of a fair night out on the hallowed Bowlo turf. Vincent tours Australia on the back of the release of his fabric 63 compilation, a 15-track mix comprised mostly of his own productions – including certified bombs like ‘Double-Jointed Sex Freak II’ and ‘Polar Bear’ – alongside cuts from Underground Quality boss JusEd, DJ Qu, Black Jazz Consortium, Anthony Parasole and Joey Anderson.

While I’m still waiting for my copy, the early critical reception has been unsurprisingly extremely positive. As one online rag who I’m not willing to name gushed, “it’s clear that fabric 63 was never meant to be about showmanship. Put simply, it’s a masterful cross section of a scene of rare vibrancy... It’s rare these days, in the dance music world, for a producer to have such a distinctive voice – but it’s rarer still for that selfsame producer to keep the quality control so stratospherically high.” When you jump online to grab your Racket presale tickets, you’d also be advised to order a copy of fabric 63 – if it’s not already on high rotation in your crib.

The first weekend of June is shaping up as quite the outing for those with a penchant for premium electronic music, with Rajko Müller, aka Isolée, appearing at Future Classic’s Vivid LIVE bash at the Opera House on Friday June 1. Best known for his timeless cut ‘Beau Mot Plage’ released in 1998

on Playhouse, and credited with the first ‘microhouse’ album in his 2000 debut, Rest, Isolée cemented his fledging reputation with the release of 2005’s We Are Monster, which was also released on the rightfully revered Playhouse label. In the years following that album, Isolée was largely absent from the production front, occasionally surfacing with EPs for Mule Electronic and Diynamic and a handful of remixes for people such as Onur Özer, Ripperton and Ed Banger’s Mickey Moonlight (yes, that last one is an oddity by anyone’s standards!). It was only last year that Isolée’s follow-up to Monster finally arrived in the form of Well Spent Youth, which doubled as the first fulllength album release on DJ Koze’s Pampa Records, which has subsequently released excellent LPs from Robag Wruhme and Ada. But Isolée is a quality-over-quantity kind of chap, and has spoken openly of the challenges of creating music that has salience in an over-saturated, often derivative market. “Sometimes to me it seems like it’s getting more difficult to make music, because electronic music now has quite a long history. It’s more difficult to do something new or fresh.” The fact that Isolée manages to consistently attain such a sound while remaining understated and refined in his production style is a testament to his immense abilities as a producer.

Following on from the ‘not too shabby’ efforts of Tama Sumo, Cassy and Prosumer, the next instalment in Ostgut Ton’s Panorama Bar compilation series will arrive in early July courtesy of label boss Nick Höppner, who has also released four EPs as a solo producer on the label. Panorama Bar 04 promises to showcase Höppner’s technical chops and extensive schooling in house music history. Over the course of the 20-track, 75-minute mix, the Berghain resident runs the gamut from the so-called “mutant disco” of The Mole through to classic house from Andres, showcasing exclusive tracks from Matthew Styles, Jon McMillion and Dexter along the way. With Chateau Flight, DJ Gregory and Carsten Jost also featured, all the right ingredients are seemingly in place for the Höppner to make a memorable statement with Panorama Bar 04 – the only downside being that there’s still a while to go before we can wrap our ears around it. But there’s plenty of other music to discover in the interim – such as Vincent’s fabric, to bring things full circle.

Nick Höppner

Deep Impressions: electronica manifesto and occasional club brand. Contact through deep.impressions@yahoo.com BRAG :: 461 :: 07:05:12 :: 49

club guide send your listings to : clubguide@thebrag.com

club pick of the week Atmosphere

SATURDAY MAY 12 The Hi-Fi, Moore Park

Atmosphere (USA), Evidence, Horrorshow $60 (+ bf) 7.30pm MONDAY MAY 7 Scruffy Murphy’s, Sydney Mother of a Monday DJ Smokin’ Joe free 8pm The Sugar Mill, Kings Cross Makeout Mondays DJs free 8pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Live Open Mic Jazz DJs free 7pm

TUESDAY MAY 8 Establishment, Sydney Rumba Motel DJ Willie Sabor free 8pm Scruffy Murphy’s, Sydney I Love Goon DJ Smokin’ Joe free 8pm Trademark Hotel, Kings Cross Coyote Tuesday - White Party Residents DJs 9pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Pop Panic DJs free 8pm

WEDNESDAY MAY 9 The Bank Nightclub, Kings Cross Money Talks DJs free 10pm Epping Hotel DTF Resident DJs free Flinders Hotel, Surry Hills Hip Hop Resident DJs free 8pm Kit & Kaboodle, Kings Cross 50 :: BRAG :: 461 :: 07:05:12

Resident DJs free 8pm The Lansdowne, Broadway Frat House Wolf & The Gang free 9pm The Marlborough Hotel – Cellar Bar, Newtown DJ Pauly free Soho, Potts Point Wednesdays @ Soho Grand Opening Timomatic, Resident DJs 8pm The World Bar, Kings Cross The Wall Glovecats, Kemikoll, A-Tonez, Zwelli, Pipemix, Adam White, Nanna Does Smack $5 9pm

THURSDAY MAY 10 Cargo Lounge, King St Wharf Dance The Way You Feel Resident DJs free 6pm The Cool Room, Australian Hotel & Brewery, Rouse Hill We Love Thursdays DJs free 9pm The Flinders Hotel, Darlinghurst Bananas DJs free 9pm GoodGod Front Bar, Sydney Girls Gone Mild Eliza & Hannah Reilly free 9pm The Greenwood Hotel, North Sydney The Greenwood Thursday Nights Resident DJs free 8pm Gypsy Lounge, Darlinghurst Naked Resident DJs 9pm Hunky Dory Social Club,

Darlinghurst Beat Skool The Dark Horse 6pm Kit & Kaboodle, Kings Cross Resident DJs free 8pm Sapphire Lounge, Kings Cross Rack City DJ Tikelz, DJ Lenno, DJ Ziggy, DJ Lyrikz, DJ Rkays, Mista Cee 8pm Sugar Lounge, Manly Fat Laced Funk Resident DJs free 9pm Venue 505, Surry Hills Eastside Live at 505 The Conscious Pilots, Big Payback DJs $10-$15 7.30pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Propaganda Jack Shit, Conrad Greenleaf, Urby, Dan Bombings free (student)-$5 9pm

FRIDAY MAY 11 34 Degrees South, Bondi Get Down Resident DJs free 8pm Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Movement Fishing, Albatross, Nakagin free 8pm Candys Apartment, Kings Cross Liquid Sky Nick Thayer 9pm Cargo Lounge, King St Wharf Kick On Fridays Resident DJs free 4pm The Chatswood Club Chance Waters $10 (+ bf) 8pm Chinese Laundry, Sydney Boss Bass Subzero, MC

Eksman, Pop The Hatch, Komat, Autoclaw, Bruxism, Bassriot, Shudder X, Brown Bear $15-$25 10pm Cohibar, Darling Harbour Gimme Five Jeddy Rowland, Anders Hitchcock free Dee Why Hotel Flirt DJ Alana 9pm Epping Hotel Flirt Flirt DJs free FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel Late Night Video Jam DJ Tom Loud free 11.59pm GoodGod Small Club, Sydney The House of Beni Beni & The Brotherhood, Cassian, R&R $10-$15 11pm The Hi-Fi, Moore Park Digitalism (GER), Beni $49 (+ bf) 8.30pm Home Nightclub, Sydney Delicious & Sublime Fridays Flite, IKO, MC Suga Shane, Pee Wee Ferris, Matt Ferreira, John Young 9pm Ivy Changeroom, Sydney Love Gun Fridays Tina Turntables 8pm Jacksons On George, Sydney DJ Ivan Drago, DJ Rain Julz free Kit & Kaboodle, Kings Cross Falcona Fridays Hansom, Hobophonics, Maia, Rumford $10 8pm The Marlborough Hotel – Level 1, Newtown Resident DJs free Nevada Lounge, Darlinghurst DJ Hayden free 6pm Oatley Hotel We Love Oatley Hotel Fridays DJ Tone free 8pm Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst Daily Meds, Ozi Batla, Joe New, Deadbeat & Hazy, DJ Morgs $15 (+ bf) 8pm Pontoon, Darling Harbour Perfect Resident DJs free 9pm Sapphire Lounge, Kings Cross My Studio Nacho Pop, Dim Slm, Digital Mouthm Mike Ruckus 8pm Scruffy Murphy’s, Sydney Frisky Friday DJs free 6pm The Shark Hotel, Sydney Puls8 DJ Jono, Guest DJs free 9pm Soho, Potts Point Soho Fridays DJs free 9pm Space, Sydney Zaia Resident DJs 9.45pm The Spice Cellar, Sydney Fantastic Man, James Taylor, Contemporary Scarecrow, Morgan 10pm Trademark Hotel, Kings Cross Eve Resident DJs 9pm The Watershed Hotel Bring On The Weekend! DJ Matt Roberts free The World Bar, Kings Cross MUM Cake Shop, The Chemist, The Aves, Captain Of The Push, Caution Forces, Yerner Yen, Catkings, Felix Lloyd, 10th Avenue, Sammy K, Cries Wolf DJs, Dimes $10$15 8pm

SATURDAY MAY 12 The Argyle, The Rocks Release Yourself Kid Crookes,

Deckhead, Lavida, Chivalry free 8pm The Arthouse Hotel, Sydney French Kiss Adrian Lux (SWE), Hook N Sling, Togerlily, Siwss Dub, Danny Lang, Bart, Digit, Lam, Smokin’ Joe Mekhael, Nanna Does Smack, Twofaced, Pete Deraz, Kalcic, Fritzle, Dean Zlato, Acid Mouh, Weekenders $31.20 (+ bf) 9pm Bar 100, The Rocks My Place Saturdays Resident DJs free Big Top Sydney, Milsons Point DMX (USA) $59.95-$13.9.93 7.30pm Carmens Nightclub, Miranda Carmens Saturdays Resident DJs free 9pm Chinese Laundry, Sydney Jaytech, Kraymer, J-Trick, Damien Osborne, Nick Robins, Devola, Ctrl Alt Delicious, King Lee, J-Mac, Cheyne Egelton $15-$25 9pm Civic Underground, Sydney Timmy Regisford (USA), George Kristopher, Mikekon, Mr-X $30-$35 9pm Cohibar, Darling Harbour Yellow Sox DJ Matt Roberts free Dee Why Hotel Kiss & Fly Saturdays DJs 9pm Epping Hotel Back Traxx DJ Kandi, DJ Hypnotixx Establishment, Sydney Sienna G-Wizard, Troy-T, Def Rok, Lilo 8pm FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel Late Night Social Parkside DJs, Frames free 11.59pm Flinders Hotel, Darlinhurst Horne Dogg free 8pm GoodGod Small Club, Sydney Blawan & Pariah (UK), Bad Ezzy, Preacha $20 (+ bf) 10pm The Hi-Fi, Moore Park Atmosphere (USA), Evidence, Horrorshow $60 (+ bf) 7.30pm Hollywood Hotel, Surry Hills Motion Dean Dixon, Dave Fernandes, Burn-Hard, Northern Soul Poster Boy $5 8pm Home Nightclub, Sydney Homemade Saturdays DJ Psar (Belgium) $20 9pm Hotel Sweeney’s Rooftop, Sydney Killpop Kuriosity Killz $5-$10 2pm Hugo’s Lounge, Kings Cross Saturdays DJ Dolso 8pm Hunky Dory Social Club, Darlinghurst Ghetto Boogie DJs 6pm Ivy, Sydney Pure Ivy The Aston Shuffle DJs, Cadell, Taras, Valentine, Sir Charles, Astrix Little, Oh Glam $20 6pm Jacksons On George, Sydney DJ Simon Laing, DJ Michael Stewart free Kit & Kaboodle, Kings Cross Kitty Kitty Bang Bang Resident DJs 8pm The Marlborough Hotel – Level 1, Newtown Resident DJs free Metro Theatre, Sydney The Takeover Kerser, Rates, Skeamo, Nter, Fortay, UBD, That’s Them, Skae, Anecdote, Tycotic, Doel $20 8pm allages

DMX

Nevada Lounge, Darlinghurst DJ Hayden free 6pm One22, Sydney Jamie Stevens & Steve Ward, DJ Trinity, Dylan Grifin, Eoin Brosnan $10 (+ bf) 10pm Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst F.O.O.L. (SWE), Redial, Nadisko, Smacktown, Natnoz, Pablo J & The Lobsterettes $20 (+ bf) 9pm Phoenix Bar, Darlinghurst Halfway Crooks Captain Franco, Nina Las Vegas $10 10pm Sandringham Hotel, Newtown The Platform: NJE & DJ Riley JM, Unda Dwella, Untaymable, Mitus, Mr Theory, Azlan, Bustacap, Verbal Mechanics $13-$18 8pm Sapphire Lounge, Kings Cross The Suite Charlie Bornw, Big Will, Dim Dlm, Discokid, Troy T, Jo Funk, Steve S, Adamo, J Smoove 8pm Soho, Potts Point Raw 2012 Chris Fraser, Nukewood, John Glover, Lights Out, Ecats, Kato, Skinny, Axle, Taylor Wolf 9pm Spectrum, Darlinghurst Kittens Kittens DJs $5-$10 11pm The Spice Cellar, Sydney Till Von Sein (DE), Murat Kilic, Nic Scali, Matt Weir $25 10pm The Standard, Surry Hills Semi Permanent After Party DJs 10pm Trademark Hotel, Kings Cross Trademark Saturdays Resident DJs 9pm Tunnel Nightclub, Kings Cross ONE Saturdays Resident DJs $10-$20 10pm Valve Bar, Tempe Santuary Reunion Party DJ S.H.E., David 7pm The Watershed Hotel Watershed Presents… Skybar – Sensual Sounds $15 The World Bar, Kings Cross Cakes Emoh Instead, LukeMillion, Jack Oh, Astrix, Nukewood, Pablo Calamari, Bentley, Alistair Erskine, Jack Bailey, Mike Ruckus, John Glover, Illya, Hannah, Saywhut?! $15-$20 10pm

SUNDAY MAY 13 The Abercrombie Hotel, Broadway S.A.S.H. Sundays S.A.S.H. DJs $10 2pm Arq Sydney, Taylor Square Dirty Disco DJs 9pm The Beresford Hotel, Surry Hills Beresford Sundays Resident DJs free 5pm Cohibar, Darling Harbour Mixology DJ Migz free Goldfish, Kings Cross Martini Club Sundays Martini Club, Tom Kelly free 6pm Hugo’s Lounge, Kings Cross Sneaky Sundays Resident DJs 8pm Kit & Kaboodle, Kings Cross Easy Sundays Resident DJs free 8pm Oatley Hotel Sunday Sets DJ Tone free 7pm Sapphire Lounge, Kings Cross Sapphire Sundays Resident DJs 8pm The Spice Cellar, Sydney Spice Robbie Lowe, Murat Kilic $20 4am The Watershed Hotel Afternoon DJs DJ Brynstar free The World Bar, Kings Cross Dust Morgan, Gemma Van D, James Taylor Alley Oop free 9pm

club picks

snap

up all night out all week . . .

up all night out all week...

clark

PICS :: KC

Digitalism

28:04:12 :: Civic Underground :: 388 Pitt St Sydney 8080 7000

WEDNESDAY MAY 9

Till Von Sein

The World Bar, Kings Cross The Wall Glovecats, Kemikoll, A-Tonez, Zwelli, Pipemix, Adam White, Nanna Does Smack $5 9pm

THURSDAY MAY 10 The World Bar, Kings Cross Propaganda Jack Shit, Conrad Greenleaf, Urby, Dan Bombings free (student)-$5 9pm

GoodGod Small Club, Sydney The House of Beni Beni & The Brotherhood, Cassian, R&R $10-$15 11pm The Hi-Fi, Moore Park Digitalism (GER), Beni $49 (+ bf) 8.30pm Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst Daily Meds, Ozi Batla, Joe New, Deadbeat & Hazy, DJ Morgs $15 (+ bf) 8pm Beni

The Spice Cellar, Sydney Fantastic Man, James Taylor, Contemporary Scarecrow, Morgan 10pm Metro Theatre, Sydney Public Enemy (USA), Seth Sentry $77.50 8pm

SATURDAY MAY 12 Chinese Laundry, Sydney Jaytech, Kraymer, J-Trick, Damien Osborne, Nick Robins, Devola, Ctrl Alt Delicious, King Lee, J-Mac, Cheyne Egelton $15-$25 9pm Civic Underground, Sydney Timmy Regisford (USA), George Kristopher, Mikekon, Mr-X $30-$35 9pm

bass mafia

PICS :: AM

Chinese Laundry, Sydney Boss Bass Subzero, MC Eksman, Pop The Hatch, Komat, Autoclaws, Bruxism, Bassriot, Shudder X, Brown Bear $15$25 10pm

27:04:12 :: Chinese Laundry :: 111 Sussex St Sydney 8295 9958

GoodGod Small Club, Sydney Blawan & Pariah (UK), Bad Ezzy, Preacha $20 (+ bf) 11pm Metro Theatre, Sydney The Takeover Kerser, Rates, Skeamo, Nter, Fortay, UBD, That’s Them, Skae, Anecdote, Tycotic, Doel $20 8pm allages Phoenix Bar, Darlinghurst Halfway Crooks Levins, Captain Franco, Nina Las Vegas $10 10pm The Spice Cellar, Sydney Till Von Sein (DE), Murat Kilic, Nic Scali, Matt Weir $25 10pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Cakes Emoh Instead, Luke Million, Jack Oh, Astrix, Nukewood, Pablo Calamari, Bentley, Alistair Erskine, Jack Bailey, Mike Ruckus, John Glover, Illya, Hannah, Saywhut?! $15-$20 10pm Daily Meds

derrick may

PICS :: AM

FRIDAY MAY 11

28:04:12 :: Chinese Laundry :: 111 Sussex St Sydney 8295 9958 :: KATRINA CLARKE :: MIKE S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER :: ASHLEY MAR :: DANIEL MUNNS :: THOMAS PEACHY :: JOHNSON :: RASA JUSKEVICIUTE TESIDE :: TIM WHITNEY ROSETTE ROUHANNA :: SAM WHI

BRAG :: 461 :: 07:05:12 :: 51

snap up all night out all week . . .

the exchange hotel

PICS :: KC

party profile

daily meds album launch It’s called: Daily Meds' Happy Daze launch It sounds like: Local hip hop done right: top notch beats and MCs all night, from the hottest up-‘n’-comers to local legen ds.

Who’s playing? Daily Meds, Ozi Batla, Joe New, Deadbeat and Hazy, DJ Morgs.

Three songs you’ll hear on the night: ‘Insan e’ – Daily Meds; ‘Put It On Wax’ – Ozi Batla; and DJ Morgs will probably play Beyoncé at some point.

And one you definitely won’t: No Aussie pride/ BBQ anthems on the night.

Sell it to us: One of Sydney’s most hyped hip hop crews bringing the fresh sounds of bass, beats, top level rap ability – and a twisted diva front-woman.

This is a live show not to be missed.

The bit we’ll remember in the AM: The good vibe from the night before will keep you feeling fresh.

Crowd specs: Hopefully all walks of life will be represented.

Wallet damage: $15 Where: Oxford Art Factory / 38-46 Oxford Street When: Friday May 11

stil vor talent label night

PICS ::RJ

27:04:12 :: The Exchange Hotel:: 34-44 Oxford St Darlinghurst Sydney 9331 3100

the argyle

PICS :: AM

28:04:12 :: The Spice Cellar :: 58 Elizabeth St Sydney

26:04:12 :: The Australian Brewery :: 350 Annangrove Rd Rouse Hill 9679 4555 :: KATRINA CLARKE :: RASA S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER RAY :: THOMAS PEACHY :: MUR :: DANIEL MUNNS :: CHRIS JUSKEVICIUTE :: ASHLEY MAR :: Y TNE WHI ROCKET WEIJERS :: TIM

52 :: BRAG :: 461 :: 07:05:12

come together

PICS :: TL

the cool room

PICS :: TW

28:04:12 :: The Argyle Hotel :: 18 Argyle St The Rocks 9247 7782

25:04:12 :: The Abercrombie Hotel :: 100 Broadway Ultimo 9211 3486

hello vera warmly invite you to their

pigeons ep launch with special guests

shady lane

May 11th at FBi Social, Kings X Hotel $12 w/

FREE EP!

CELEBRATING THE LAUNCH OF HER NEW ALBUM

‘INFINITY’ Soul/Funk fusion singer Senani brings together a band of Australia’s elite musicians for her live show, including Aria award winning table Maestro Bobby Singh, keyboardists Wendy Angeranni (Jessica Mauboy) and Beau Golden (Jade McRae, Stan Walker), guitarist Eric Rasmussen (Marcia Hines, Human Nature), drummer Stephen Lamante (Fantine brothers) and the hip hop sounds of Dj Alex Svetlov.

THURSDAY

MAY 10TH BLUE BEAT

16 CROSS ST, DOUBLE BAY DOORS OPEN AT 8PM Tickets $10 (through moshtix) or $15 on the door.

HAPPY DAZE ALBUM LAUNCH

with

OZI BATLA (THE HERD) JOE NEW (GULLY PLATOON) DEADBEAT & HAZY DJ MORGS (THUNDAMENTALS)

FRIDAY 11 MAY

OXFORD ART FACTORY 38-46 OXFORD ST SYDNEY / $15 8PM / TIX FROM MOSHTIX

Do you use Ecstasy?

Researchers from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre would like to speak to ecstasy users.

Face to face interviews will be conducted between April and May. The interview takes around one hour and is held at a convenient location for you.

Interviews are anonymous and confidential. You will be reimbursed $40 for your time.

Contact Laura on (02) 9385 0407, email nswedrs@unsw.edu.au or SMS details to 0404 786 677 (you do not have to use your real name).

BRAG :: 461 :: 07:05:12 :: 53

snap

slowblow

PICS :: RJ

nick catchdubs

PICS :: TL

up all night out all week . . .

27:04:12 :: GoodGod Small Club :: 53-55 Liverpool St Sydney 80840587

strike bowling

PICS :: AM

24:04:12 :: GoodGod Small Club :: 53-55 Liverpool St Sydney 80840587

krafty kuts

PICS :: AM

27:04:12 :: Strike Bowling :: King St Wharf Sydney 9276 7100

28:04:12 :: The Ivy :: 330 George St Sydney 9254 8100

28:04:12 :: GoodGod Small Club :: 53-55 Liverpool St Sydney 80840587 :: KATRINA CLARKE :: RASA S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) :: OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER IS MURRAY :: THOMAS PEACHY CHR :: NS MUN IEL DAN :: MAR JUSKEVICIUTE :: ASHLEY :: Y TNE WHI ROCKET WEIJERS :: TIM

54 :: BRAG :: 461 :: 07:05:12

party profile

booty city

PICS :: KC

house your soul It’s called: House Your Soul feat. Timmy Regis ford (NYC) It sounds like: Music for your mind, body and soul.

Who’s spinning? Timmy Regisford (Club Shelte r, NYC) and House Your Soul residents.

Three songs you’ll hear on the night: ‘Days Like This’ – Shaun Escoferry; ‘Burning Hot’ – Peven Everett; ‘Speak To Me (I Get Deep)’ – Roland Clark.

And one you definitely won’t: ‘Sexy And I Know It’.

Sell it to us: If you haven’t witnessed Regis ford yourself, you don’t want to miss this, his first Australian show – and with a minimum of five hours, you’re guaranteed to bounce, sweat and sing ‘til the sun comes up. They don’t call him The Maestro for nothing…

The bit we’ll remember in the AM: All the smiling faces and bootyshakers uniting on the dancefloor.

Crowd specs: 300 happy people all with a love of house music.

Wallet damage: $35 Where: The Civic Underground / 388 Pitt St, Sydney CBD When: Saturday May 12

OPEN DAY MAY 19TH, 11AM – 3PM 55-57 Wentworth Ave, Sydney 2000

INFO E R O M R FO w.sae.edu

VISIT: ww SAE EDU LL: 1800 CA

CRICOS: 00312F (NSW) 02047B (VIC) 02431E (WA) Please contact relevant campuses for further information regarding open days, tours, course programs and FEE HELP options.

DIPLOMA & DEGREE COURSES IN:

Games Design 3D Animation Graphic Design Games Programming Web Design & Development

OPEN DAY May 19TH 10am – 2pm 74–78 Wentworth Ave, Surry Hills, 2010

Proudly part of the SAE Institute Group CRICOS Codes - 03204G (QLD) 00312F (NSW) 02047B (VIC) 02431E (WA)