THE JUNGLE GIANTS BILLY TALENT
THE LAURELS
DAVE CALLAN
NEW WAR JOE MCKEE HOME BREW BLEEDING KNEES CLUB
N O W AVA I L A B L E O N I PA D • W E D N E S DAY 8 A U G U S T 2 012 • I S S U E 12 3 6 • F R E E
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John Butler Trio (NYE Midnight Set) Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings (usa-nye sEt) tHE bLacK sEedS (nz) fRiEndLY fIreS dj Set (uk-nye sEt)
kRaFty kUtS Vs A.sKilLz (UK) tHE hERd (aus) Kaki King (USA) Blood red Shoes (UK) Unknown Mortal Orchestra (USA) Electric Wire Hustle (NZ) King Tide (AUS) mAt. mChUGh & THE SEPERATISTA SOUND SYSTEM (aus) 65DaysoFstatic (UK) Deep Sea Arcade (AUS) Gold Fields (AUS) Gossling (AUS) Will & The People (UK) Chapelier Fou (Fr) The Medics (AUS) NorthEast Party House (AUS) HatFitz and Cara (aus) Tuka (AUS) The Cairos (AUS) The PreaTUREs (AUS) Battleships (AUS) Lime Cordiale (AUS) Daily Meds (AUS) JONES Jnr (AUS) Tigertown (AUS) MicroWave Jenny (AUS) also featuring — The Return of The Dub Shack Plus many more artists to be announced...
INPRESS • 3
/ >Ƣ i >*>!Ƣj*Y'
THE BEAUTIFUL GIRLS
TBG.10 CELEBRATING 10 YEARS C_SY* ƢźƢ 7 YO* /
FRI 24th, SAT 25th & SUN 26 AUGUST CORNER HOTEL 57 SWAN ST. RICHMOND. MELBOURNE / CORNERHOTEL.COM TIX: CORNER BOX OFFICE (03) 9427 9198 & CORNERHOTEL.COM DOORS 8:30PM
* T H E B E A U T I F U L G I R L S .C O M
INPRESS • 5
WEDNESDAY 8TH AUGUST
MAKA KHAN
8pm $10
THURSDAY 9TH AUGUST
RONIT GRANOT 6pm KHRISTIAN MIZZI & THE SIRENS + TAYLA GANE + ANDREW LOCKWOOD 8pm $7 FRIDAY 10TH AUGUST
HEATHER STEWART LACHLAN CROSS AND CO
5:30pm
8pm $8
SATURDAY 11TH AUGUST
THE SLINGERS OF SENTIMENT MATT GLASS TEK TEK
3pm $12 6pm 8pm $8/6
SUNDAY 12TH AUGUST
Open...MON - THU...from 4pm ‘til late FRI...from 2pm ‘til late SAT - SUN...from 12pm ‘til late
Live Music Bookings wesleyannebookings@gmail.com www.wesleyanne.com.au
NEW 2 AUTUMN MENU 6 • INPRESS
MELTING POT PRESENTS SONGWRITERS IN THE ROUND THE BOYS
2pm $8 7pm
TUESDAY 14TH AUGUST
OPEN MIC NIGHT
Autumn Special for 1 meals weekdays before 6pm and all day Mondays $12 Jugs of Cider till 6pm. OPEN FOR LUNCH FROM MIDDAY
bookings: 9482 1333
7pm
WIN A tailored 12 month music mentorship, getting you inside the music industry. Your prize also includes a trip to Nashville and much more!
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5177_INPRESS
ISSUE 1236
W E D N E S D AY 8 A U G U S T 2 0 1 2
Fri 10. 7pm - Cadillac Chunk Live - Amin PaYnE, SilentJay, Nai Palm & Juve. DJ Sets - Ayna, Ph-ill Butter & Jackson Miles / Exhibition curated by Nora Ellen / Photography by Buzzby Projections by Chronic Sans Sat 11. 10pm - ebb & flo 2nd bday Gavin Keitel + Jon Beta - Lister Cooray & Nikko + Live visuals by Netzair Tue 14. 7pm - Read & Rights (front) discuss human rights issues as raised in a variety of literature 7pm - TweetFilm - (back) a free screening of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2 with the Twitter feed projected alongside Wed 15. 7pm Cross(x) Species Adventure Club Documentary Screening presented by Carbon Arts
KING OF THE NORTH INPRESS 10 The Front Line brings you the hottest industry news 10 This week’s best and worst in Backlash/Frontlash 12 Foreword Line brings you all the latest tour announcements 16 Reflections of Kate Miller-Heidke 18 Billy Talent are here through hard work 20 The Laurels get heckled 22 Bleeding Knees Club take the Taste Test 24 Joe McKee doesn’t listen to us critics 26 New War dig the Oz music scene 27 The Jungle Giants go ape 28 Love Like Hate are friends turned bandmates 28 Home Brew are stirring controversy 28 Little Hurricane are blowing up 28 King Of The North are rock’n’roll royalty 30 Antagonist AD come out swinging 30 The other Jordy Lane, Shady Lane 30 From The Mint Chicks to Opossom 30 Glass Vaults are the kings of Kiwi ambient jams 32 On The Record rates new releases from Kingfisha and Mia Dyson
FRONT ROW 34 Check out what’s happening This Week In Arts 34 Dave Callan hosts the Gangsters Ball 34 His Girl Friday director Aidan Fennessy believes the play is fresh, 85 years on 35 Anthony Carew’s MIFF column, Thoroughly Miffed 35 Wang Jiuliang on making his new
The Shivering Timbers A rollicking ride of original and traditional acoustic folk, blues and country. 5pm
Saturday night August residency 4, 11, 18 & 25
Chris Wilson & Band
CREDITS EDITORIAL
Group Managing Editor Andrew Mast Editor Shane O’Donohue music@inpress.com.au Assistant Editor Bryget Chrisfield Editorial Assistant Samson McDougall Arts Coordinator Cassandra Fumi frontrow@inpress.com.au Staff Writer Michael Smith
ADVERTISING
Expect astoundingly good harmonica, cool blues guitar, banter extraordinaire and that big band sound as Wilson cuts loose every Saturday night in August. 9pm
sales@inpress.com.au National Sales & Marketing Director Leigh Treweek National Sales Manager – Print Nick Lynagh Account Manager Cat Clarke Account Manager Okan Husnu
DESIGN & LAYOUT
artroom@inpress.com.au Inpress Cover Design/Art Direction Matt Davis Layout Matt Davis, Nick Hopkins, Eamon Stewart
SUNDAY 12 August
THE UNION HOTEL
BRUNSWICK 109 UNION ST, BRUNSWICK UHBBOOKINGS@YAHOO.COM.AU
9388 2235
8 • INPRESS
BACK TO INPRESS 39 Gig Of The Week rates Kim Slamon & The Surrealists 39 LIVE:Reviews digs Bits Of Shit 48 Sarah Petchell will Wake The Dead with her punk and hardcore talk 48 Andrew Haug takes us to the dark side in The Racket 48 Dan Condon blues and roots in Roots Down 48 The view from EC4 with London Fields 49 Pop culture therapy with The Breakdown 49 Hip hop with Intelligible Flow 49 The freshest in urban news with OG Flavas 49 Quality control with Good Or Shit? 50 If you haven’t appeared in Fred Negro’s Pub, your mother probably still speaks to you 50 Jeff Jenkins gets down and local in Howzat! 51 Fill your dance card with our Club Guide 52 Our Gig Guide fills your diary for the weekend 56 Gear and studio reviews in BTL 58 Find your new band and just about everything else in our classy Classifieds
Head to our Facebook page for the chance to win tickets to see Children Collide (including to their sold-out Friday show at the Corner) and Calling All Cars at Ding Dong Lounge. There’s also Portlandia DVDs and in-season Magic Mike tix.
SATURDAY 11 August
Stringer and Walker trade song for song in this very special gig. 5pm
doco, Beijing Besieged By Waste eviewed 35 Reviews of Lipsynch and The Pride are reviewed 35 Arts happenings in Cultural Cringe 36 The woes of family collaborations with Blood Wedding 36 Director Matt Lutton prepares for On The Misconception Of Oedipus 37 The Melbourne Festival’s Brett Sheehy walks us through this year’s program
GIVEAWAYS GALORE!
BRUNSWICK
Liz Stringer & Van Walker
28
ACCOUNTS & ADMINISTRATION
accounts@streetpress.com.au Reception Holly Engelhardt Accounts Receivable Anita D’Angelo Accounts Payable Francessca Martin
CONTRIBUTORS
Senior Contributors Jeff Jenkins Overseas Contributors Tom Hawking (US), James McGalliard (UK), Sasha Perera (UK). Writers Nick Argyriou, The Boomeister, Aleksia Barron, Atticus Bastow, Steve Bell, Luke Carter, Dan Condon, Anthony Carew, Rebecca Cook, Kendal Coombs, Adam Curley, Cyclone, Guy Davis, Liza Dezfouli, Lizzie Dynon, Guido Farnell, Sam Fell, Bob Baker Fish, Warwick Goodman, Cameron Grace, Andrew Haug, Brendan Hitchens, Kate Kingsmill, Michael Magnusson, Baz McAlister,
themusic.com.au
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PHOTOGRAPHERS
Senior Contributor Kane Hibberd Jesse Booher, Ricky Dowlan, Chrissie Francis, Jay Hynes, Lou Lou Nutt, Heidi Takla, Sam Wong.
INTERNS
Stephanie Liew, Jan Wisniewski, Alexandra Sutherland
EDITORIAL POLICY
The opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publishers. No part may be reproduced without the consent of the copyright holder. By submitting letters to us for publication, you agree that we may edit the letter for legal, space or other reasons. ©
DEADLINES
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INPRESS • 9
THE
FRONT LINE
INDUSTRY NEWS WITH SCOTT FITZSIMONS frontline@streetpress.com.au
NICKI MINAJ POSTPONES AUSTRALIAN TOUR The recently announced Nicki Minaj tour has been postponed by promoters Live Nation, who are blaming international scheduling conflicts. The promoters say that the arena tour, originally slated for September-October, will now take place November-December, with specific dates to be finalised soon. A statement read, “We are working to bring Nicki Minaj back to Australia, and to NZ for the first time, and will advise more news as soon as possible.”
2012 PRESENTED BY
SPLENDOUR CROWDS. PIC BY STEPHEN BOOTH
MAGGIE COLLINS Name: Maggie Collins Business/Position: triple j presenter How did you first become involved in the music business? Bugging people full-time until they gave me opportunities. Volunteered at community radio 4ZzZ, became music director for just over a year before transitioning to triple j. I also bugged bands until they let me manage them. What do you perceive to be your area of expertise, and how did you gain experience in this field? Radio broadcasting and artist management. Like in anything, if you keep at it, work hard, ask questions, offer yourself for nothing in return (for a while), etc. you’ll defs get somewhere. What will you be primarily discussing during your appearance at the BIGSOUND conference? What we do every year... the “future” of music. Little do we know, the thing we’ve actually been discussing this entire time is the “presence” of music. The future is now people! What are you hoping people will be able to learn from your panel/interview? Nothing is impossible. What are you expecting to take away yourself from your visit to BIGSOUND? A good time.
POLICE ‘DISAPPOINTED’ IN SPLENDOUR BEHAVIOUR, ALLEGE FESTIVAL EMPLOYEE FOUND WITH DRUGS Police have said they are disappointed in the behaviour of punters at the recent Splendour In The Grass festival in Byron Bay. According to police figures, 421 people from the 20,000-strong crowd were found in possession of illegal drugs, which included amphetamines, cannabis, cocaine, ecstasy and LSD. Of that figure 192 will appear in court over possession or supply charges. Superintendent Stuart Wilkins, the Tweed/Byron Local Area Commander, said that police were kept
MUSHROOM JOIN COMMERCIAL RADIO TO REINVENT BAND COMP
The commercial radio industry has teamed up with the Mushroom Group to launch a band competition for unsigned artists. The First Break competition will replace the New Artists 2 Radio [NA2R] program that the commercial industry has been pushing for the past ten years. The competition is open to unsigned acts who have not reached the top 100 Australian national airplay chart and the winner will receive airplay on commercial networks as well as support from Mushroom for the release of two singles, touring and marketing. Mushroom Chairman Michael Gudinski said, “I’m delighted that commercial radio is undertaking this initiative in conjunction with the Mushroom Group. This is a real opportunity to stand shoulder to shoulder with commercial radio to help develop and support Australian talent.”
JOHANN PONNIAH Name: Johann Ponniah Business/Position: I OH YOU – heaps nice guy How did you first become involved in the music business? I emailed and pestered (within reason) people who I looked up to in the music industry and made their coffees (badly), faxed their letters, collated their files etc. What do you perceive to be your area of expertise, and how did you gain experience in this field? I don’t consider myself an “expert” at anything yet. I gained experience and am still continuing to by asking questions and making mistakes and then learning from those two things. What will you be primarily discussing during your appearance at the BIGSOUND conference? I think it’s entrepreneurship. What are you hoping people will be able to learn from your panel/interview? I guess ideally they would learn some entrepreneurial skills but really I’m just looking forward to being able to share my experiences with people and even more so, hearing about other people’s experiences. What are you expecting to take away yourself from your visit to BIGSOUND? A hangover.
Previous winners under the NA2R banner include Sarah Blasko, Emma Louise and Faker while last year’s winners were Nine Sons Of Dan. The level of real support of commercial radio for these artists has been disputed however. Commenting on a story on theMusic.com.au, artist manager Bill Cullen wrote, “If NA2R was so successful, and Sarah Blasko is a ‘winner’, how come she has never had a song added to a playlist at commercial radio in Australia?”
QUEENSLAND CHRISTIANS SUE YOUNG RAPPERS
Wilkins said that people went to “extreme measures to get drugs and alcohol into the festival including one [festival] employee who was allegedly detected trying to bring liquor and drugs into the event. We also had a 29-year-old woman attempt to smuggle spirits into the festival by hiding containers underneath her top.” Splendour In The Grass declined to comment on the allegations.
“wrongfully derived by Defendants through its/their unlawful acts,” as well as punitive damages and attorneys’ fees. The band took particular offence to the lyrics in the New Boyz song Backseat, which features the line, “You want a New Boy in you.” Now based in the US with no remaining original members, Newsboys were originally known as The News in Australia but changed their name in the late ‘80s to avoid confusion with Huey Lewis & The News.
VIOLENT SOHO SIGN TO I OH YOU
Brisbane garage-grunge favourites Violent Soho have signed to I OH YOU, an imprint of Mushroom and will release a 7” single, Tinderbox/ Neighbour Neighbour, due before the BIGSOUND showcase and conference. I OH YOU founder Johann Ponniah told theMusic.com.au that his close relationship with the band’s manager Nick Yates, of UNFD, had formed the basis for the deal, having met the band late last year. The band will look towards a full-length record next year.
Sixty-two people around the world have been notified that they will represent their country in the 2012 instalment of the Red Bull Music Academy, being held over two weeks in New York City this October. The two Australian artists who are a part of that group have been announced. The first artist, who will be a part of the Academy’s first term from Sunday 30 September through to Saturday 13 October, is Andy Donnelly – aka Kloke – and the second artist, who takes the Friday 19 October to Friday 2 November slot, is Melbourne’s Julien Love.
KILLING JOKE FRONTMAN “MISSING” Killing Joke have reported their frontman Jaz Coleman missing in a statement on their Facebook page. The veteran post-punk outfit apologised for a post on the band’s Facebook apparently made by Coleman, which attacked The Cult and The Mission, who the band are booked to perform with, and claimed they were pulling out of the shows. The band’s statement reads, “He is now AWOL and has not contacted any of his band mates. We are deeply embarrassed by this and offer our sincere apologies to all involved.” They added, “We are all concerned about our missing singer’s welfare.” At time of deadline there was no further news on Coleman’s whereabouts.
BACKLASH
Jamaican sprint superstar Usain Bolt’s trademark lightning bolt pose can probably be experienced in 3D if you go see Step Up 4: Miami Heat, but we particularly love the fact that a Dutch judo medallist tweeted about punching out a douchebag who threw a beer bottle onto the track moments before the 100-metre final.
The sinking feeling when you uncover five emerald green Splendour In The Grass drink coupons that seem to wink at you from the inside of your wallet upon arrival home from the final day of festival frivolities. NOOOOOOOooooo! That extra Jägerbomb could have succeeded in making The Shins sound exciting.
MAGIC WANDS Magic Mike. What a beautifully shot piece of cinema! Since his breakout role in Dazed And Confused, this so-much-more-than-a-male-stripper flick is also Matthew McConaughey’s finest hour (and 50 minutes).
FEED ME! Late night telly viewing led to the discovery of an organisation called Foodbank Australia, which collects unsaleable, surplus and donated food and grocery products from farmers, manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers and the public to distribute to those in need. Does living a long way from the shops and having a severe case of the munchies qualify as a need?
music 10 • INPRESS
AUSSIE MUSIC ACADEMY REPS NAMED
FRONTLASH HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT
Australian-bred Christian rock band Newsboys have filed a lawsuit against Californian hip hop duo New Boyz claiming the young act’s name is too similar to that of the Christian superstars and that fans are confusing the two acts. “The New Boyz music is sexually charged and the lyrics are sexually explicit in content,” the lawsuit complains, going on to say that there have been “several instances of actual confusion” between the groups. Newsboys, who originate from Mooloolaba on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, boast an enormous following among Christian audiences the world over. In the suit, the band and their “owner” Wesley Campbell, request a full jury trial be brought against New Boyz, alleging state trademark infringement, unfair competition, deceptive trade practices and fraudulent misrepresentation. They ask for compensation to the tune of $5 million, which they claim to be the amount of money
busy during the festival with alcohol and drugrelated incidents. “Over 400 people were found in possession of prohibited drugs and that is simply unacceptable,” he said. “This culture of drug-taking at music events needs to stop.” Police conducted 730 person searches and 30 vehicle searches and also issued 154 cannabis caution notices.
In the statement Live Nation, which is being run by Michael Coppel in Australia, said fans should be “reassured” that Minaj will tour this year. Last month Live Nation had another set back when the planned Madonna tour, which was all but a certainty with ticketing agencies compiling waiting lists, was shelved.
themusic.com.au
SPLENDOUR EXTENDER
HEAD CASE Reversing camera technology for car parking. ‘Cause turning your head just takes way too much effort.
EVERYONE’S A LOSER, BABY Can the journalists covering the Olympics please stop asking silver medallists whether they’re disappointed in their performance and missing out on the gold? We’d be pretty proud to come in second best in the world at anything.
FOREWORD LINE
NEWS FROM THE FRONT
INPRESS PRESENTS
WEDNESDAY 8 AUGUST
RESIDENCY
AGILITY SID AIR
THE LATONAS ENTRY $5, 9PM
THURSDAY 9 AUGUST
SOCIALLY HANDICAPPED BRICKS JAPAN FOR CLOWNS MOUSTACHE ANT ENTRY $5, 8PM $2.50 POTS, $5 VODKAS!
LOWS AND HIGHS
BUILDING ON FOUNDATIONS
The Medics have just released their new single and video Slowburn. It’s a fast-paced, intense track about living life on the edge of madness and sanity. Off the back of their killer live set at Splendour In The Grass, The Medics have announced extra shows and support acts for their monstrous Foundations tour. The Medics are also celebrating their Album of the Year nominations in the NIMAs and Deadly Awards. Catch the show at the Loft (Warrnambool) on Thursday 6 September with Sincerely, Grizzly; Friday 14 at the National Hotel (Geelong) and Saturday 15 at the Toff (both with support from The Darcys and I, A Man); Thursday 20 at Karova Lounge (Ballarat) and Saturday 22 at San Remo’s Westernport Hotel with Blackchords; and Friday 21 at Ferntree Gully Hotel with Les Garcons and BJ Winters.
HANDS UP FOR HANSON
360
Ahead of their now nearly completely sold-out Australian tour, Hanson have announced that they will be joined by US singer/songwriter Matt Wertz as special guest at each of their Australian shows. Wertz, renowned for his elegantly crafted songs and heart-on-sleeve honesty, is sure to win over a legion Australian fans as he presents material from his latest album Weights & Wings. After a seven-year absence, Hanson are back with their brand new album Shout It Out. Their shows at the Palace Theatre on Friday 14 and Tuesday 18 September are both sold out now, so bad luck if you missed out.
FRIDAY 10 AUGUST
ROYAL CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL FUNDRAISER
YOHOSIE – FINAL EVER SHOW INNERSPACE DEAR ALE ENTRY $10, 9PM
MORE BEAUTIFUL GIRLS
SATURDAY 11 AUGUST
EP LAUNCH
KING OF THE NORTH DON FERNANDO
MY LEFT BOOT HAILMARY (WA) ENTRY $15 DOOR, $12 PRESALE THRU MOSHTIX, 8.30PM
SUNDAY 12 AUGUST
MARMOSET YORQUE THE MENSTRUAL CYCLE A ART ENTRY $5, 1.30PM
HOWARD SPECIAL GUESTS TBC
ENTRY TBC, 8.30PM
MONDAY 13 AUGUST
RESIDENCY
KEITH! PARTY RACHEL HAIRCUT SOCCER LEGENDS ORCA POD ELITE DJS DONATION ENTRY, 8PM $10 JUGS!
TUESDAY 14 AUGUST
RESIDENCY
Sola Rosa are set to release their new album, Low And Behold, High And Beyond before embarking on their first tour of Australia since 2010. Founderproducer Andrew Spraggon has produced an album that’s more beat-driven but, as always, tinged with his trademark soul and funk. With six albums under his belt, a raft of awards and well over a decade of producing genre-splitting music, Andrew Spraggon’s work as Sola Rosa has cemented him as one of the world’s most exciting and versatile producers. From a humble, self-released one-man project, Sola Rosa has grown to a live collective of international repute that successfully melds hip hop, reggae, jazz, Latin, soul and funk. Catch Sola Rosa in action at the Northcote Social Club on Friday 14 September.
PYRAMID SCHEMES
It’s gonna be a loud and proud party this New Year’s Eve at Pyramid Rock. Turning nine years old, Pyramid will see in the dawn of a new age in spectacular style! Set on the majestic cliff tops of Victoria’s Phillip Island with the ocean providing the dream backdrop, the festival will feature, in alphabetical order: 360, All The Colours, Anti-Flag, Blood Red Shoes, Children Collide, Closure In Moscow, Dangerous!, DCUP, Dead Letter Circus, Doctor Werewolf, Dream On Dreamer, Friendly Fires DJ set, Hands Like Houses, House Vs Hurricane, Illy, Karnivool, Kingswood, Luke Million, Phetsta, Stonefield, Slow Magic, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Urthboy, Xavier Rudd plus more bands and DJs to be announced.
BELIEVE THE LIES
Propaganda hop time zones once again to launch their worldwide successful night in Melbourne, this time joining forces with freshly reopened Ding Dong Lounge. Kicking off proceedings on launch night this Friday will be Tom Ballard from triple j, Urby and Richard In Your Mind DJs with an audio visual mix of the best new and classic indie tunes. Propaganda Melbourne will be a fortnightly event bringing you the best local and international indie DJs. If you don’t know who Propaganda are, you should. They are the UK’s biggest indie night attracting over 25,000 people on a weekly basis across 22 cities.
After writing, recording and performing for a decade, The Beautiful Girls announced they would be doing their last lap of the nation. Thousands of punters Australia-wide have snapped up tickets to join the band one last time, to sing and dance to all those favourite tunes born from an outstanding ten-year career. With the incredible success of ticket sales, TBG have decided to extend the party, throwing in eight more shows to the already epic roadtrip. In Melbourne, they’ve added a third show at the Corner on Sunday 26 August.
OOH AHH, RAAH
The Raah Project bring their unique 17-piece ensemble to the Prince Bandroom on Friday 17 August. This special performance will celebrate the vinyl and remix download release of the album Score. The Raah Project feature a five-piece horn section, a string quartet, backing vocals and rhythm section. Classical music and movie soundtrack sounds are mixed with big band orchestration, pop melody, electronic techniques, hiphop rhythms and soul sensibilities. Their live show has received widespread praise, so go see them for yourself.
SEEKAE SELL FAST
No longer are Seekae Australia’s best-kept secret. Since the release of their second fulllength album +Dome, Seekae have garnered praise and fans from around the world. Seekae’s first Corner Hotel show on Friday 31 August has now sold out. A second show on Wednesday 29 August has been added and is on sale now.
TRAFFIC JAMS
Calling All Cars will take a brief respite from blazing new paths in the studio and have announced a special one-off club show at Ding Dong Lounge this Saturday. The band have wrapped up a massive year in support of their second album Dancing With A Deadman, which saw them debut in the Aria top 20, score triple j Album of the Week and had them relentlessly circling the nation to bring the noise to the people. Since May, the trio have been locked away in remote, self-imposed exile forging what will be their finest album yet. Support will come from Them Bruins. Tickets are $20+BF or $25 on the door.
FINAL SKA NATION LINE-UP
For Ska Nation 5, the final episode, they’ve organised a super ska party across the entire Esplanade Hotel complex on Saturday 15 September, and have gathered some of the greatest local, interstate and international bands to send this festival out in style. There will be 15 bands across three stages including for the very first time in Australia, from New York City, The Toasters. Other bands include Ska Vendors, The Resignators, The AuSkas, Steppin Razor, The Funaddicts, Strangely Attraktive, Steel City Allstars, SkaBang and a whole lot more. Tickets are $42.50 and available from espy.com.au and all Oztix outlets.
THE SIMON WRIGHT BAND LAMARAMA DJ HUW JOSEPH DONATION ENTRY, 8.30PM $10 JUGS!
COMING UP TIX AVAILABLE THRU MOSHTIX: KEITH! PARTY (MON IN AUG) THE SIMON WRIGHT BAND (TUE IN AUG) AGILITY (WED IN AUG) MANSION, ALASKA (16 AUG) PANDORUM (17 AUG) SYDONIA – SINGLE LAUNCH (18 AUG) CLINT BOGE (24 AUG) THEY – VIDEO CLIP LAUNCH (25 AUG) URTHBOY (31 AUG) ANIMAUX (1 AUG) WHITAKER (8 SEP)
FACEBOOK.COM/PAGES/THE-WORKERS-CLUB TWITTER.COM/THEWORKERSCLUB Wed 8 Aug
Wed 15 Aug
Thu 23 Aug
Fri 31 Aug
(SINGLE LAUNCH – BRIS)
MINING BOOM
THE FOX PARTY
PIGEON
MISTER SPEAKER
BRIGHTLY YOUNG OYSTER
TIN LION LOST WEEKENDS
(CASSETTE LANCH) Thu 9 Aug
SANS GRAS
10” EP LAUNCH
HOWL AT THE MOON CLAVIANS
(EP LAUNCH) Thu 16 Aug
THE UNIVERSAL THUMP (USA – 2 SETS)
Fri 10 + Sat 11 Aug
Fri 17 Aug
‘PERFORM ‘OUTLAWS’’
(SYD)
HOPELESS
IN TRENCHES OUTSIDERS CODE
(USA)
LUKE LEGS & THE MIDNIGHT SPECIALS THE PRETTY LITTLES
Fri 24 Aug
Sat 1 Sept
Fri 14 Sept
Thu 20 Sept
(EP LAUNCH)
(SINGLE LAUNCH)
(ALBUM LAUNCH) ALEKS & THE RAMPS
(FILM CLIP LAUNCH)
HAYDEN CALNIN LOWLAKES TOM MILEK
‘TIMBER & STEEL PRESENTS’
QUARRY MOUNTAIN DEAD RATS
THE DEMON PARADE DONNY BENET WILDCAT GENERAL STRIKE (SINGLE LAUNCH)
CLIENT LIAISON
Thu 6 Sept
Sat 15 Sept
MAJOR ROCK HARD ABS (SINGLE LAUNCH)
Sun 12 Aug
Sat 18 Aug
Wed 29 Aug
LYDIA COLE (NZ)
(7” LAUNCH)
(SINGLE LAUNCH)
(BOY & BEAR)
WOOLLEN KITS EASTLINK AUSMUTEANTS
Sun 12 Aug (MATINNE SHOW)
ELIZA HULL ILUKA (SYD) TOM KLINE
EMMY BRYCE LUCY B ANDREW LIM
TIM HART STU LARSEN NEDA
Wed 22 Aug
Thu 30 Aug
Sat 8 Sept
(ALBUM LAUNCH)
(SINGLE LAUNCH)
(BRIS - SINGLE LAUNCH)
EXPATRIATE
Wed 19 Sept
THE EXPLODERS
THE GENIE BJ MORRISZONKLE Fri 7 Sept
WHO IS ZOE
Sun 9 Sept
JONAH MATRANGA’S ONLINEDRAWING
Sun 26 Aug (MATINNE SHOW)
THE TOOT TOOT TOOTS FANTINE FRASER A GORMAN (FRI 10 AUG) TEXTURE LIKE SUN MOJO JUJU (SAT 11 AUG)
12 • INPRESS
THEWORKERSCLUB.COM.AU
DUNE
CLIENT LIAISON
themusic.com.au
LITTLE SCOUT COURTNEY BARNETT OCEAN PARTY
MIMI VELEVSKA THE PRETTY LITTLES CHK CHK BOOM Wed 26 Sept
EMPERORS (PER)
JAREK (ALBUM LAUNCH)
Sun 16 Sept (MATINNE SHOW)
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INPRESS • 13
FOREWORD LINE
NEWS FROM THE FRONT
INPRESS PRESENTS
MIA DYSON
QMF SECOND ANNOUNCE
STUBBLE ON
Everyone has heard about the various ancient prophecies predicting some sort of apocalypse at the end of this year, but there’s one prophecy that’s still relatively obscure, and it predicts that on 21 December 2012 the world will end for people without beards. This foretelling has prompted The Beards to embark upon their biggest Australian tour to date in an attempt to convince as many cleanchins as possible to repent before it’s too late. The tour will coincide with the launch of The Beards’ new film clip for the song Got Me A Beard, from the album Having A Beard Is The New Not Having A Beard. They stop off at the Hi-Fi on Saturday 3 November with support from The Peep Tempel and Guthrie, and Karova Lounge (Ballarat) on Thursday 22 with The Snowdroppers and Kim Churchill.
A GOOD SWIG OF GIN
The 16th Annual Queenscliff Music Festival’s second line-up announcement for 2012 is finally here. First up on the second announce are Mia Dyson, The Fauves, Jordie Lane and Loon Lake. High performance funk and soulsters Deep Street Soul will also join the bill, as will Ngaiire, Jackson Firebird, Money For Rope, Lloyd Spiegel, Butterfly Boucher, The DC3, Howlin’ Steam Train, Kira Puru & The Bruise, Halfway To Forth, Keshie, The Joe Kings, Tom Richardson Project, The Bakers Digest and a whole lot more. For all details, full line-up and ticketing info, head to qmf.net.au.
Gin Wigmore returns to our shores, kicking off her full band tour this month, in support of her brand new album Gravel & Wine. Already a top-ten album on iTunes, Gravel & Wine was inspired and informed by Wigmore’s love of spaghetti westerns, her respect of the blues, and the passion and pulse of rock‘n’roll. She performs at the Northcote Social Club on Friday 31 August.
GREEN AND KEEN
In support of releasing their new single, Mr Number 1, hard-hitting Brisbane rockers Greenthief will be bringing their unique blend of psychedelic audio mayhem to all corners of the country with their first national headline tour. The track is the first taste of their debut album to be released in 2013. Previous EP Retribution was received graciously across the country last year, earning the band a finalist spot in the Queensland Music Awards and an inclusion in Rage’s top 50 video clips of the year. See Greenthief at Pony Bar on Saturday 22 September.
TIMBER & STEEL
The Workers Club are very proud to announce that they will be teaming up with the wonderful folk, blues, roots and alt.country blog, Timber & Steel, to present special Sunday matinee shows. Timber & Steel will be presenting the best folk, blues, roots and alt.country bands from around Australia, including Quarry Mountain Dead Rats on Sunday 26 August; Laneway with The Promises, Cookie Baker and The Wild Ripping Hail Collective DJs on Sunday 16 September; Hat Fitz & Cara Robinson on Sunday 21 October and more to be announced. Head down to one of the shows and grab yourself some lunch and drink specials, too.
CONQUERING AT THE CLUB
The Conquer Cancer 2012 Benefit will feature the rip-snorting Howlin’ Steam Train, with support from The Last Five Minutes and One & The Same, in a matinee show at the Northcote Social Club on Sunday 9 September. Howlin’ Steam Train are four lads from Melbourne who have combined their love of swamp rock, country, blues and boogie to engineer a distinct sound that resonates the thrill of their high-energy live shows. With a new powerhouse EP tucked under their arm, the band have had a big year ripping up stages across the nation. Doors open at 1.30pm, entry is $15 and all proceeds go to the Peter Mac Cancer Foundation,.
SMOULDERING
To the uninitiated Burning Love are a group from Toronto, Canada with chips on their shoulders and electric blood in their veins. Their output is desperate, venomous and informed rock’n’roll fury that sways and swaggers somewhere between hardcore punk and the darker side of blues gone wrong. After the sudden demise of the now legendary Cursed, enigmatic frontman Chris Colohan picked right back up where the band left us. This August the band will make their maiden trip to Australian shores where they’ll play Friday 24 August at the Bendigo Hotel with Pity Scissor and Urns. Tickets available on the door.
INTIMATE SKIN
Hot off the heels of his third studio album, Write It On Your Skin, Newton Faulkner will be making his anticipated return to Australia for a string of intimate club shows in September. The tour hits town on Tuesday 18 September at the Corner Hotel. Having previously toured Australia in theatres and on stages at major music festivals, these shows are a rare opportunity to experience this incredible artist in intimate venues. Tickets on sale via the venue this Friday at 9am. 14 • INPRESS
BY THE FIRE
Tim Freedman’s Fireside Chat will be an evening of grand piano, sweet melody and pointed opinions. This year, Tim will link the tunes together with some extended yarns such as “How I learned to stop worrying and hate triple j” and “Why Caroline Overington described my father as a Jewish accountant in The Age”. Freedman is best known as the lead singer/ songwriter of The Whitlams, an ARIA Group of the Year, with a string of gold and multi-platinum albums. His songs of charming well-crafted cynicism can sound as if Randy Newman had joined Crowded House. He performs Friday and Saturday at Bennetts Lane (two shows each day, early and late).
ROLLING STONE
November will see Angus Stone blazing a trail across the country for the Broken Brights National tour with special guests to be announced. He’ll play Wednesday 21 November at the Palace Theatre, Friday 23 at the Ferntree Gully Hotel and Saturday 24 at Pier Live (Frankston). Tickets on sale at 9am on Tuesday 7 August from angusstone.com.
GOTTA HAVE HEART
Australian entertainment industry charitable foundation, Entertainment Assist, have announced the line-up for the 2012 Gotta Have Heart event to be held at the Palms at Crown on Sunday 26 August for two shows only. The star studded line-up includes Jon Stevens, Leo Sayer, Anthony Callea, Rhonda Burchmore, Tim Campbell, Ian Stenlake, Mahalia Barnes and Ross Wilson, all backed by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Strings and Grand WaZoo. Entertainment Assist’s goals are to provide assistance, education and support to all who work in the Australian entertainment industry. Doors are 3pm and 7.30pm. Grab your tickets from Ticketek.
HOUSE PARTY COMES TO YOU
The triple j show House Party is hitting the road on a massive five-city club tour. Bringing your fave triple j tunes and mixing them with new club joints and party jams is your hostess and House Party presenter Nina Las Vegas, along with guests Beni, Flume, What So Not and triple j’s Deacon Rose. Get your tickets from Moshtix and head to the Prince Bandroom on Thursday 30 August.
ILLY SUPPORTS NAMED
Twenty-four dates have now been announced for Illy’s Bring It Back album tour which winds it’s way around the country over the next few months. As the beginning of the tour approaches, Illy has handpicked local supports to join Chasm Soundsystem and Skyptcha on the road. These vary from gig to gig, but the quality is solid throughout. Check illyal.com for the extensive tour details, local supports and ticketing info.
SMOKIN’ JOE
Joe Bonamassa’s as busy as he’s ever been, and his new album Driving Towards The Daylight has been breaking all of his previous chart positions and records around the world. Since June this year, Bonamassa has been in the studio with Black Country Communion recording their third collection of songs, he’s filmed his own all-acoustic set at the Vienna Opera House, appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman and been honoured by the Vienna Walk of Stars. Bonamassa is here in October, bringing his fantastic band with him. He plays Thursday 11 October at the Palais Theatre. Tickets via Ticketmaster.
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LAKESIDE
Loon Lake’s highly anticipated second EP Thirty Three is available now via iTunes. From the unmistakable swagger of Bad To Me to Loon Lake’s current single Cherry Lips (which is enjoying high rotation on triple j as well as receiving a whole lot of love on community radio nationally), Thirty Three has officially galvanised Loon Lake’s reputation as ones to watch. To top it all off, this indie band who could, did: with Cherry Lips, Loon Lake burst onto the ARIA top 20 Australian singles chart and reached number five on the AIR charts. Loon Lake will be hitting the road throughout August on their Thirty Three tour and play Saturday 11 at the Loft (Warrnambool) and a Ding Dong Lounge show on Friday 31 as their NSC show on Saturday 1 September has sold out.
THE OLD 40 MILER
A few years back, singer/songwriter Tim Barry closed out an album by pondering his own death – and he didn’t seem to mind leaving this earth too much. “Take what you want/I won’t leave much”, he sang. This year finds him in a very different place. Themes of resilience and hope flow through Barry’s recently released new record, 40 Miler. A second Melbourne Tim Barry show will take place on Saturday at the Gasometer. Doors will open at 8.30pm with tickets available at the door. Lucy Wilson will be the local support. A limited number of tickets are still available for the Friday night show at the same venue.
JUMP IN THE LAKE
The Weekend and Seven Nightclub present UK dance sensation Chris Lake, who is touring Australia in August to promote the release of his Onelove Mobile Disco 2012 compilation. Chris Lake will be DJing at The Weekend on Saturday 18 August. He is also bringing along a talented vocalist by the name of Gita who will perform a striking rendition of hit track Build Up. Get your ticket from Moshtix and bring your dancing shoes.
NEWS FROM THE FRONT
FOREWORD LINE INPRESS PRESENTS
IAN MOSS
IF YOU WANNA ROCK’N’ROLL
In October, proving you can’t keep a good thing down, 17 legends of Australian rock will reunite for the A Long Way To The Top 10th Anniversary Concert, hitting arenas around the country. A threeDVD/CD set compilation of live performances from the 2002 series will be released on Friday to coincide with the tickets going on sale. This year’s series will feature Axiom, Brian Cadd, Dragon, Marcia Hines, Col Joye, Jim Keays, Dinah Lee, Mi-Sex, Russell Morris, Ian Moss, Noiseworks, Doug Parkinson, Little Pattie, Glenn Shorrock, Spectrum, Lucky Starr, Matt Taylor, Phil Manning and John Paul Young. The show hits Rod Laver Arena on Friday 5 October. Tickets are on sale this Friday via Ticketek.
THE HIVES
MORE FOR FALLS
The Falls Music & Arts Festival 2012 features over 80 artists and so far includes The Flaming Lips, Beach House, Best Coast, Boy & Bear, SBTRKT et al. They’ve just announced a new batch of 12 artists to the already crammed bill. These are: Angus Stone, Ash Grunwald, Ball Park Music, Cosmo Jarvis, Django Django, Jinja Safari, Lisa Mitchell, Matt Corby, Sharon Van Etten, The Hives, Two Door Cinema Club and Willis Earl Beal. As always, the coastal locations are beautiful and all camping is free. This year’s events take place from 28 December to 1 January in Lorne and from 29 December to 1 January in Marion Bay (Tasmania). Ballot sales commence at 9am today (Wednesday) with any remaining tickets to be sold through general sales on Thursday 16 August via fallsfestival.com.
SMALL MARGINS
Split Seconds’ stunning debut album You’ll Turn Into Me is set for release this week. To celebrate, the band are going to jump in a van and hit the wide-open road. Having recently relocated from hometown Perth to the urbanity of inner-city Melbourne, Split Seconds have been a triple j staple since late 2010. Split Seconds will be giving Melbourne audiences a taste of the album at Ding Dong on Saturday 8 September.
MORE POISON
With the Weekender festival just around the corner, Poison City have announced the inclusion of an Acoustic Arvo show for Saturday 15 September. The line-up will feature solo performances by Wil Wagner (The Smith Street Band), Lincoln le Fevre, Lucy Wilson and Dave Drayton (Milhouse/Between The Devil & The Deep) and will run from 2 to 5pm at Old Bar. Entry will be $5 or free for anyone with a ticket to Saturday night’s show at the Corner (including three-day Weekender passes). There are still a small number of tickets to Saturday’s show at the Corner, which features Rival Schools, A Death In The Family, Restorations, Hoodlum Shouts and Toy Boats.
BARRY SETS YOU FREE
Thirty-four years on from the first album Barry Adamson played on, Magazine’s post-punk classic Real Life, comes his new album, I Will Set You Free. He has played with Magazine, The Bad Seeds, Iggy Pop and The Gun Club, written for David Lynch and Danny Boyle, been nominated for the Mercury Prize, and is a renowned author and playwrite. See Adamson perform at the Corner on Tuesday 11 September.
GIVE PEATS A CHANCE
Peats Ridge Sustainable Arts & Music Festival is pleased to announce an incredible music line-up for 2012, with dream headliner John Butler Trio set to ring in the New Year in the surrounds of the stunning Glenworth Valley. The line-up includes Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, The Black Seeds, Friendly Fires (DJ set), Krafty Kuts vs A Skillz, The Herd, Kaki King, Blood Red Shoes, King Tide, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Electric Wire Hustle, Mat McHugh & The Seperatista Sound System, 65daysofstatic, Deep Sea Arcade, Gold Fields, Gossling, Will & The People, Chapelier Fou, The Medics, Northeast Party House, Hat Fitz & Cara, Tuka, The Cairos, The Preatures, Battleships, Lime Cordiale, Daily Meds, Jones Jnr, Tigertown, Microwave Jenny, Brow Horn Orchestra and DJ Morgs. General tickets go on sale at 10am Monday 20 August.
MINAJ RESCHEDULES GETTING THUNDAMENTAL
Sydney three-piece hip hop collective Thundamentals have announced shows for their Get Busy tour. These shows will be their first and only headline shows for 2012, with the band deliberately taking a break from writing their new album to reconnect with fans before hitting the studio. With 2012 rapidly pulling away, Thundamentals are pulling out the big guns; there will be a free MP3 of an exclusive new Thundamentals track with every ticket purchased for the Sydney and Melbourne shows and joining them on the road will be a full horn section, live visuals and special guest vocalists to give the shows a one, all inclusive, festival in your loungeroom feel. See Thundamentals at Basement 159 (Geelong) on Friday 2 November and Northcote Social Club on Saturday 3.
IN THE FUTURE
What will life be like in 2013? Who knows, right? Robots and jetpacks everywhere probably... they will have the technology to do anything in the future. Poncho knows which bands and DJs will be huge in the future and they’ve invited some to the Mercat Basement on Friday 17 August for a glimpse. Musical guests will be Pikachunes (NZ), Client Liaison, King Gizzard (DJ set), Smoking Toddlers and I Oh You DJs. They think all of these artists will be nextbig-things in the future. Tickets are $10 at Moshtix.
Nicki Minaj’s Australian tour, previously announced for September/October this year and due to go on general sale this week, will now take place during November/December 2012. The promoters expect to be announcing details of the new tour itinerary and the on-sale dates shortly. Members of My Live Nation will receive email notification and updates will be posted on Facebook. Live Nation and Nicki Minaj apologise for the delay, but assure the public that Minaj will be touring here during 2012.
FLESH EATERS
After three long torturous years, death metal’s titanic kings, Cannibal Corpse, return to Australia for a sarcophagic frenzy of sordid and demented proportions! To heat things up even further, they’ve announced Psycroptic for the forthcoming torture in Melbourne and Sydney only. Staying clear of trends, Psycroptic incorporate many elements of music – extreme and otherwise – to capture a sound that is uniquely their own: a precise blend of brutality, intensity and groove. They play Friday 5 October at Billboard (18+).
HIGGINS TO HOBART
The fifth and eagerly awaited instalment of Tasmania’s own Soundscape Festival 2012 has been announced to take place over Friday 16 and Saturday 17 November at their new home, PW1. Watch this space for full details to come very soon but the first announcement is that, straight off the back of her killer performance at Splendour In The Grass, Soundscape 2012 will be the only Tasmanian show Missy Higgins will play on her just-announced national Razzle Dazzle Summer Australian album launch tour. Keep you eyes on thesoundscapefestival.com for further details.
COLLARTS COLLAB’S
Over two nights, Collarts students will present their group and solo showcase Collaboration. An auction will also be run each night providing the opportunity to win VIP Summadayze tickets, VIP Parklife tickets, signed music memorabilia and merchandise, surf and skate items, movie tickets as well as dining experiences. All profits benefit Oscars Law, an organisation that aims to abolish the factory farming of companion animals. The showcases take place at the Bendigo Hotel, with doors from 7pm, on Monday 20 August (group ensemble performances) and Tuesday 21 (solo performances).
ROYAL RUMBLE
Live, Nat Col & The Kings have been unfurling their wings to a huge response. Over the past 18 months, the band have toured nationally playing Byron Bay Bluesfest, The V8 Supercars, Apollo Bay, Caxton Street Festival and more. Nat Col & The Kings have just announced the release of Coming Home, the lead single from their forthcoming EP. To celebrate, they’ll play Thursday 30 August at the Evelyn, Friday 31 at Ruby’s (Belgrave) and Saturday 1 September at the Bended Elbow (Geelong).
DREAMSCAPES
Fresh from launching their brand new 12” Monster/ Lasers For Eyes in July, Melbourne dark synth heavyweights The Night Terrors hit the revamped Ding Dong Lounge for one more Melbourne show on Saturday 1 September. The Night Terrors offer a mind-melting mix of dark synth magic, thunderous dreamscapes and other-worldly electronica. This will be their last Australian show before they head off to Europe and promises to be a massive party – don’t miss out!
PONY UP
Pony Face are thrilled to announce the release of their long-awaited album Hypnotised this Tuesday. Hypnotised is a sonic kaleidoscope of sweeping guitars, roomy drums, bass lines and textural layers that have become synonymous with the expansive Pony Face sound. Check them out at the Northcote Social Club on Friday 7 September.
themusic.com.au
INPRESS • 15
LONG FLIGHTS & WEIRD NIGHTS TV GUIDE
In the grand scheme of things, the controversy surrounding Miller-Heidke’s Q&A appearance and followup actions are miniscule when compared to other memorable TV moments. Here are some classics:
DAVID LETTERMAN Back in 2009 David Letterman began telling a story on his show that, although it seemed like a joke at first, was actually an admission of guilt. He admitted having an affair with a staff member and had recently begun getting blackmail threats from someone because of it. For the first half of his story, people chuckled every now and then, waiting for a punch line that never came. While it seemed a little odd at first, it was probably the best thing that he could have done. Had the news leaked elsewhere, it would have made him look much worse.
HEY HEY IT’S SATURDAY
Living this year on airplane food and recycled air, Kate Miller-Heidke has had little time to reflect on the game changing events 2012 has thrown her way - a chart-smashing new album and a memorable appearance on ABC’s Q&A. Ahead of her album tour, Daniel Cribb catches up to analyze the chaos. Cover and story photos by Cybele Malinowski.
“I
f one more person coughs on me I’m going to punch them in the face,” songstress Kate MillerHeidke sings on her latest album, Nightflight. It’s a fair enough statement too. It’s rare that such a powerful vocalist comes along, and it’s understandable considering someone projecting airborne diseases her way could have less than desired repercussions - especially as she’s finding herself spending an increasing amount of time on tour. Waking up in one state and flying to the next, doing the same thing every day for weeks on end is draining for anyone let alone someone using their voice to its extreme most nights. The morning of Miller-Heidke’s most recent performance in Perth, she awoke in Melbourne feeling the need to nurture her vocal cords, which often leaves airport security believing she is a deaf mute. Some confusion at the airport and a day filled with whispers paid off though, as she was in fine form whilst entertaining a packed crowd. The following day a colourful MillerHeidke tightly grasped a mug of coffee in her hotel room, suggesting the bottle of wine she had on stage was finished post-show. “My voice is still tired, it’s fine though. It hasn’t really happened before like this, but I think it was because I was so jetlagged and then we had to do five shows in a row. I had to do closing night at the Opera in London then fly out the next day and straight away do five shows. And then I got sick,” a reserved Miller-Heidke quietly explains.
There’s more to this story
on the iPad
At this stage her husband/guitarist Keir Nuttall and backing vocalist/guitarist Madeline Page were in the air halfway to Queensland for the next show. Jumping around from state to state all week there had been some eventful moments that included a meeting with Michael Cera a few days earlier backstage at her show at the Sydney Opera House. “He was doing a play in the theatre there, but then we kept seeing him. He was staying at the same hotel. It started to become ridiculous,” she laughs, admitting that stalking comes naturally. The music video for single, I’ll Change Your Mind, narratives such a trait quite well as she plays a stalker who sets up camp outside the house of a young man and tries, on numerous occasions, to get his attention. The video seems fairly tame for the most part, until the end, when Miller-Heidke breaks into the 16 • INPRESS
house, thrusts a knife into her chest, removes a very realistic looking heart and gives it to her stalkee. So what contributed to the album’s change of direction and her desire to be seen in a different light? Touring around the world, including a run of shows opening for Ben Folds in North America, Europe and the UK, as an acoustic three-piece over the past couple of years gave her the opportunity to step back from certain elements of her previous work and redirect her musical path, as is apparent throughout Nightflight, a direction well received as it entered the ARIA charts at #2. “To be honest, Ben Fold was a big influence. I sat backstage and watched him play night after night at eighty shows. But this record was mainly a reaction to the last one. Not directly influenced by anything in particular, but just wanting to make something different and surprise myself.” During long international flights, Miller-Heidke began to feel as if she was in purgatory, thus naming the album after the song Nightflight was an easy choice. “The title was applicable to every song on the album and not just the one. It’s more about the word really. Although it’s one of my favourite songs on the record, I like them all. It’s still pretty fresh though, so I’m still in the honeymoon period. I’m sure I’ll hate them all in six months,” she laughs. After Curiosity hit success, Miller-Heidke found herself living out of suitcases and on a diet consisting mainly of airplane food. To get away from it all and clear her head, she and her husband retreated to Toowoomba in Queensland for a few months to workshop material for the next album. Once the bits and pieces of a third studio album were in place and tracked, she escaped the ridiculous heat of the Australian summer and flew to Europe to mix the record in Suffolk with Cenzo Townshend (U2, Kaiser Chiefs, New Order). When the idea for last minute backing vocals arose, Miller-Heidke had an urge to record the part outside, in the snow. “It was a beautiful day and, with all the snow, it just seemed like the right thing to do; to go outside. It was hard to set up, but it was worth it for the photo,” she jokes. The photo in question can be located on her Facebook page. Besides a scenic photo, the studio’s location provided an opportunity to try for a position in the English National Opera. Passing the audition for John Adam’s The Death Of Klinghoffer with flying colours, she landed the role of ‘British Dancing Girl’ and became the only Australian cast member. “It was the English National Opera, one of the best companies in the
world. To get to play on that stage in Covent Garden felt like a once in a lifetime opportunity - and it was. “They were all lovely people and amazing opera singers. It’s such a weird discipline, but so inspiring in a way. The whole experience of being in the theatre, it’s quite intoxicating… We had seven weeks of rehearsals and two weeks of shows. The first two weeks of rehearsal we were sitting around in a circle, learning about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and doing research and presenting assignments and stuff. It was absolutely incredible. It was like being at Oxford.” Back in Australia, the cycle to promote her new album began. When asked to perform on ABC’s Q&A, whilst nervous due to the nature of subject matter usually discussed on the show and the feeling that she’d need to prepare, she was convinced into thinking it would be a good opportunity to play a song off the new album. The agenda for the evening was to be focused on the upcoming budget, but they promised to throw her a couple of music questions. “As anyone who saw it knows, we didn’t move on and the entire show was about Labor and unions and budgets and interest rates, and I felt about as useful as a waterproof teabag,” she responded online a couple of days after the appearance. During the show Anthony Callea Tweeted “There is one person on the panel tonight that is a total waste of space....embarrassing rep for Gen Y! #qanda”, to which Miller-Heidke responded: “Pot Kettle Fuckwit.” Never claiming to be an expert on politics, she can, however, claim expertise when it comes to songwriting. So how does this album stand up to her previous works? “It’s more organic. It’s more lush and cinematic and just more real. I’ve loved playing in the duo the last couple of years, doing those kinds of [acoustic] shows that we did last night. I just wanted to harness the power of that; the power of dynamics and simplicity and silence, rather than just adding layers and layers of shit to everything - which was our approach in Curiosity and it worked for that, but it just wasn’t where I was at musically anymore. I think it encompasses a lot of the themes – the darkness, the light, the contrast, the themes of mortality and life.” WHO: Kate Miller-Heidke WHAT: Nightflight (Sony) WHEN & WHERE: Tuesday 14 to Thursday 16 August, Corner Hotel
themusic.com.au
The TV show received due backlash after its second reunion special, when one of the acts on the Red Faces skit, the Jackson Jive performers, came out to parody Michael Jackson with their faces painted black. “If I knew that was going to be part of the show I definitely wouldn’t have done it,” guest Harry Connick Jr said on the show, highlighting the fact that Summers and co were still operating in the same shallow pool of political incorrectness the ‘90s drowned in.
SUNRISE The Chaser’s Chris Taylor made the most out of an appearance he made on Seven’s Sunrise. During his guest spot he directed the conversation towards his partner, in what seemed to be heading towards an on-air proposal. “My partner, Jo, never misses the show, she absolutely loves it. She’ll be watching today, so can I just put message out there?” Getting the green light from the hosts he proceeds, “We’ve been together for seven years and I just want this opportunity now, live on TV, to say: Jo, get the fuck out of my life!”
TOM CRUISE You watch Mission Impossible and see Tom Cruise jumping and swimming through a field of bullets and dodging explosions every five seconds. Then, you turn on your TV and you see him jumping on Oprah Winfrey’s couch, yelling about his love for Katie Holmes. His ’05 couch endeavour is slightly painful and has been the subject for much parody over the years, though his haters have finally received some form of redemption in the fact he’s been dumped by Katie.
INPRESS • 17
TALENT QUEST Billy Talent got to where they are through hard work, total committment to the cause and by never giving it up for girls. Stuart Evans plays musical chairs with singer and self-confessed “weird little man” Ben Kowalewicz.
W
hen Billy Talent singer Ben Kowalewicz calls, he says he’s on the line from Amsterdam and that he’s feeling relieved after receiving some good news. “Our drummer [Aaron Solowoniuk] is recovering from open heart surgery and thankfully he’s doing well. Something like that gives you perspective. As you get older, you appreciate different things like how someone’s well-being is the most important thing. When you’re young you tend to think of yourself as this little invincible creature but when you start to question mortality things change,” he says. Thankfully, Solowoniuk’s on the mend as Kowalewicz’s conversation turns to music. “One thing I love
about this band is there’s a lot of hopefulness and optimism. I think we’re a good rock’n’roll band and we try to be good people and do the right thing,” he tells. From Ontario, Canada, Billy Talent have been together since 1993 (formerly known as Pezz, they changed their name in 2001 after running into legal trouble with a North American band of the same name). Billy Talent existed for around a decade before tasting any form of commercial/mainstream joy. The name Billy Talent was taken from a Canadian book and movie called Hard Core Logo about a fictional punk band who reunite for one last tour. The guitar player’s name in the movie was Billy Talent. Clearly, the name change worked as since then they’ve produced two multi-platinum records in their native Canada. But the name wasn’t the only thing that changed as almost seamlessly, the band’s sound altered. Billy Talent’s output was more aggressive and much more tilted towards traditional punk. Kowalewicz grants that the name change and success are not linked and more the work of coincidence. Around 2001 Kowalewicz worked at a Canadian radio station. He bumped into someone with connections to Warner Music – that connection paid dividends as the radio contact got Kowalewicz and co a demo deal with the label. By the end of 2003, they’d released their self-titled debut album with successful singles Try Honesty, Nothing To Lose and The Ex. Okay, so Billy Talent may not mean as much in Australia, predominantly because their unassuming celebrity status remains quiet. If tales of debauchery exist, they haven’t made their way down under. “We don’t go out looking for attention,” Kowalewicz laughs. “That’s not us. We’re four like-minded individuals who share the same passion.” Attention, it seems, comes to them. Rolling Stone tagged them as being a band that makes blood pump faster than normal. Kowalewicz is flattered by the positive prose but remembers the darker days when he and fellow band members spent time trying to get noticed. He’s candid as he remembers the struggle. “It was fucking hard man. We can get a bottle of whiskey and we can talk about it all night long,” he laughs before the conversation turns. “I know it sounds hokey, but I knew in my heart of hearts it would happen and we’d get success. I just knew we had to keep going. We all had this innate thing in us to keep going. It wasn’t like we wanted money or fame – it was about trying to get music in front of as many people as possible and that remains our aim.” Although Billy Talent are highly regarded in their native Canada and throughout Europe, the sacrifices to get to this point aren’t forgotten. Kowalewicz explains, “Any good story has a struggle. Anything worth fighting for is hard and being able to look back and reflect on everything can be confronting. When we were teenagers a few other friends of ours were in bands but gave it up for girls or whatever else came along. We didn’t and have been in a longstanding relationship ever since.” Trust is a reoccurring sentiment for Kowalewicz. He speaks highly of all band members and only has praise for all. The core and foundations of the band are built on doing the best for the band and not the individual. “We trust each other and if you’re in a relationship it doesn’t matter about your ego. No one outside the band will remember the fights and bickering – we learnt that at a very young age. It’s about what’s best for the band and the song.” Kowalewicz got married last summer. Luckily, he warned his wife about what she was getting into. “She knows she really married three of us,” he jests. But bands, and particularly lead singers, can be complex beasts comprising sometimes strange yet workable dynamics. Kowalewicz’s no exception. He’s also in no hurry to deny it. “I’m a weird little man. Since we’ve been talking, I’ve switched chairs three times. I actually think it’s not just me as everyone’s fucking weird and everyone has a bit of obsessive compulsive in them,” he laughs. Regardless if Billy Talent’s success is down to luck, coincidence, damn hard work or a combination of all, the band have released four booming albums to date: Watoosh (as Pezz), 2003’s Billy Talent, 2006’s Billy Talent II and 2009’s Billy Talent III. They’ve also got new material on the way. Their latest sound, Viking Death March, has been released for digital download via their website and a new album is coming. Kowalewicz reveals that a new producer was involved in making the yet unnamed album. “Ian [D’Sa], our guitar player, produced it,” he remarks. “I’m really proud of him and the album. Although Ian co-produced previous albums, this time it was just us and two engineers in the studio. The energy in the room was great and it was really nice to feel that sense of calm and trust. Ian’s been working diligently to make it sound as good as it can.” The choice of D’Sa to produce the album was unequivocal. “We all said to him that you need to produce this fucking record. The excellent thing is to have seen Ian’s transition from guitar player to producer as there is no fucking way that I could produce,” Kowalewicz laughs. WHO: Billy Talent WHEN & WHERE: Sunday 12 August, Billboard
18 • INPRESS
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THE RAZZLE DAZZLE SUMMER TOUR
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INPRESS • 19
ACROSS THE SONIC PLAINS As The Laurels finally release their long-awaited debut record, guitarist/ vocalist Piers Cornelius talks to Sevana Ohandjanian about six years of local shows, gig hecklers and experimental paddock music.
T
he Laurels may only just be releasing their debut album, but to most locals they’re known as stalwarts of the live scene. Playing shows for six or so years, the four-piece have garnered a reputation as being uncompromisingly loud and brilliant live. It’s been a long time coming, but luckily, since the ears of record label Rice Is Nice pricked up when they caught wind of a record in the works, all the years of tireless touring have led finally to The Laurels’ new release, the album Plains, the gestation of which was much easier than last year’s EP, Mesozoic. “We recorded the album before Rice Is Nice was interested in us, before they decided to put it out,” guitarist and vocalist Piers Cornelius explains. “The EP
Secret Sounds presents
was a bit of a struggle. It was delayed mainly due to lack of funds. It was a bit easier with this one because we saved a bit from playing lots of shows and we could pay for it outright – which is always handy – instead of it dragging on. So we just did it in ten days.” The recording process saw some older tracks finally laid down, along with newbies, though there’ll be plenty for fans to mull over once they get their hands on the record. “There’s about five of them that we were playing live a lot – that everybody is probably really sick of – and then there’s another five new ones which people will be sick of soon. We just thought it wouldn’t be right to just put out an album of ten songs that everyone has been seeing us play live for the past four years or something like that. Although lots of bands want to save up the best songs they’ve ever written for their first album, we just thought it would be better to do everything fresh and, if we keep it fresh, then we’ll at least sound enthused on the record and maybe that’ll rub off when people listen to it.” Rather than the band trying to compress their phenomenal live sound onto record, they took a different approach that should shed light on another facet of The Laurels’ music. “We’ve always been interested in bands like Spacemen 3 and Joy Division, where – because of the production on their records – everything is given lots of space and it’s kind of a transcendental sort of thing, whereas live they both sound full-on, blasting your ears like The Stooges or something like that. We’ve always been interested in the idea of the live sound of the band and the recorded output sort of making up the whole. We were trying to make a record that was something we would never sound like live and we used a lot of clean guitar tones and really light overdriven guitars, rather than the ones that give you tinnitus probably.” Yet the melodic tinges heard through the reverb on songs like Tidal Wave and One Step Forward (Two Steps Back) seem to be almost subconsciously created. “All of our favourite bands have been really ‘60s-sounding ones with lots of harmonies and sparkly guitar lines,” he says. “I guess we wanted to make a record that sounded like lots of our favourite records. Because we get called shoegaze, because of how we sound live, lots of people think or assume that all we listen to is shoegaze, but we just wanted to show that if you take away all the live sound layers of feedback and mushed vocals, the songs stand out a bit more when there’s not a wall of sound and there’s some dynamics to them. We wanted to make a record that someone can put on on a Saturday or Sunday and it will actually sound good, rather than all of their housemates wandering out of their rooms and going, ‘Shut up!’”
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Undoubtedly, the time spent in venues, performing residencies and playing alongside other local bands helped The Laurels develop as individuals and as a group. This writer first saw them perform at Candy’s Apartment in 2006 and, looking back on it, Cornelius is assured of the band’s unassuming transformation. “Since then, I suppose we’ve changed a little bit. Obviously it’s been a long time and those bands we were playing with back then, unfortunately Ghosts [Of Television] and Warhorse have broken up, but I think maybe we’ve gotten into some more music and appreciated different styles of music, been a bit more open-minded towards other styles since that time. But we still have ultimate respect for Ghosts Of Television and all those guys and the way that they’re just playing music because they have to play music, not because they want to show off in front of people. It’s just that they have to do it. Seeing those bands has probably galvanised us a little bit in that we want to make really great records so we can have the opportunity to tell other people about the bands we really love and respect.” Talking of the times spent in the various small band rooms, warehouses and lounge rooms of Sydney leads to talk of Berlin and Germany’s fine history of experimental music, a genre The Laurels would love to explore further. “I watched a doco on Krautrock called Krautrock: The Rebirth Of Germany and it just makes me want that, where everyone is experimenting and playing in weird venues and doing weird stuff. Faust received some grant from the German government. They’re all really old now, living in a farmhouse doing experiments with sound because that’s the grant they’ve been given and they can all survive on that. There’s footage in the documentary of a recording mic hooked up to a cement mixer out in a paddock and the guys wheeling around this huge mixer, recording all of these industrial metal-sliding-on-metal sounds. That’d be pretty cool.” For now though, there’s no sign of the band slowing down, with plans to increase their studio time, to make up for all the records that should’ve been. “We’ve got all the songs written for the second album we want to do. We have to learn them I guess, so we have to rehearse a bit more. There’s tentative plans to maybe go over to the US, but that’s dependent on getting a grant and that sort of stuff… The thing we’d most like to do is to go and practice our next lot of songs and record them and put out a record really early next year. We need to get a move on, because the first six years were a bit of a waste.” WHO: The Laurels WHAT: Plains (Rice Is Nice) WHEN & WHERE: Friday 10 August, Polyester; Saturday 11, Tote
20 • INPRESS
themusic.com.au
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TASTE TEST: ALEX WALL THE FIRST ALBUM I BOUGHT WITH MY OWN MONEY
also have all this 50 Cent on my computer for those times when I’m feeling all gangsta.
THE ALBUM I’M LOVING RIGHT NOW
Until I was 18, my parents wouldn’t let me go to shows, so I didn’t see anything. I think the first time I ever actually saw bands I wanted to see was at Laneway Festival. I remember Tame Impala opened, and there was like no one there. That was pretty awesome.
I remember I went to see Men In Black, and bought the soundtrack. I think it had that Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It song on it; I loved it, I was a little kid. There was a CD shop straight underneath the movie theatre, so I went down and bought the CD. It came with a couple of singles and really shitty remixes on it.
THE FIRST GIG I EVER ATTENDED
I’ve been listening to The Descendents’ Everything Sucks, pretty much just on repeat. I’m in the process of writing another album for Bleeding Knees Club, and I just wanted to get inspired: their melodies are so great, but they’re still really punk as well. I’m also listening to this Australian dude called Bored Nothing; he’s super-chill, that’s when I want to give the punk a break and just rest my ears.
THE WEIRDEST GIG EXPERIENCE I’VE EVER HAD
MY FAVOURITE PARTY ALBUM
MY BIGGEST NON-MUSICAL INFLUENCES
Probably Justin Timberlake’s Futurelove Sexsounds or whatever it is [it’s FutureSex/LoveSounds]. SexyBack is a pretty amazing song: you have to be pretty brave to try and claim that you’re bringing sexy back. I can’t imagine having the confidence to claim you’re bringing something back. I mean, what are Bleeding Knees Club bringing back? I don’t know, maybe MySpace. But, wait, didn’t Timberlake already buy MySpace? Man, nothing can be brought back, because Timberlake’s already brought everything back!
MY FAVOURITE COMEDOWN ALBUM When I’m super-hungover and just zoning out, I like listening to that first Fleet Foxes record, maybe falling asleep. And Galaxie 500’s On Fire. That’s a great album to lie around and feel sick to. And the Velvet Underground’s like my favourite band; maybe I should be listening to Heroin when I’m coming down.
THE MOST SURPRISING RECORD IN MY COLLECTION I get given all these records; like, I got given all these Vaccines records, a few sevens and some tens, and I don’t really like The Vaccines. That’s kind of surprise to me that I own them. Anyone that knows me would be like, ‘Why the fuck do you have Vaccines records?’ I
22 • INPRESS
I was at a show in Perth and this girl came up and said to me: ‘I bat off over photos of you’. And then her sister came up to me and said the same thing. That’s easily the weirdest thing that’s happened at one of our gigs; having people tell you that they bat off – that they masturbate! – to photos of you. Only in Perth would that happen.
Skateboarding. Hot dogs, American food. High school. Breaking stuff. You know when you’re a teenager and you just run around throwing eggs at cars and smashing windows? When I’m trying to write songs, I remember when I used to do that kind of stuff, and then I try and think of how I can make kids do that.
BLEEDING KNEES CLUB, ALEX WALL ON RIGHT
THE COOLEST PERSON I’VE EVER MET
I met this crack addict, once. We were at South By Southwest, stranded in the middle of nowhere, and this tracky-wearin’ black crack guy drove up in a car, and he was like, ‘Yo, you wanna lift?’ The whole time he gave us a ride he was smoking crack out of his little pipe, offering it to us. We were like, ‘No, man, we’re not into that shit’. Then he started talking about how he met Paul Wall, and showing us photos, but they were all on his old ’90s Nokia, so they were all blurry and you couldn’t see shit. He was pretty cool. We invited him to our next show, but I don’t think he ever made it.
crushes – were clearly informed by just hanging out watching shitty television when I was a kid.
THE BIGGEST CELEBRITY CRUSH I’VE EVER HAD
I’ve got a degree in advertising, so I’d probably be thinking of ways to try and sell other people’s music to people. Although maybe I’d just be backpacking, and currently doing something a lot better than I am now. I wanted to go to space, but that probably wasn’t ever going to
When I was a kid, I used to really like Lizzie McGuire, y’know, Hilary Duff. And Britney Spears’s sister, Jamie Spears. She was pretty cool. All my earliest crushes – or all my celebrity
IF I COULD HANG OUT IN ANY TIME AND PLACE IN HISTORY
Maybe in New York in the late-’80s, early-’90s, back when Sonic Youth and Nirvana were just starting to play bigger shows. I reckon that was a pretty cool era, you know, 1991: The Year Punk Broke. But maybe just before that, before it broke; before everyone sold out and it was still cool.
IF I WASN’T MAKING MUSIC
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happen. But don’t Virgin fly people to space, now? Next time we get a record advance, that’s totally what I’m spending it on. Then I’ll record the next album when I’m up in space on the Virgin space rocket. Imagine how cool it’d sound if was recorded in zero gravity. I might email Richard Branson and see if he’ll do that. What billionaire wouldn’t give me that advance? It’s like the ultimate: Space: The Final Album. Interview by Anthony Carew WHO: Bleeding Knees Club WHEN & WHERE: Friday 10 August, Converse Acts Of Disruption (venue details from facebook.com/ConverseAustralia)
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A SILENT SEDUCTION The critics are fawning all over his debut solo album, but ex-Snowman dude Joe McKee still can’t afford to eat anything fancier than baked beans. Chris Hayden buys him a sandwich.
I
t’s fair to say that there were a few eyebrows raised back in 2010 when art-rockers Snowman announced that they’d be going their separate ways. The London-by-way-of-Perth act had given birth to three increasingly acclaimed records, culminating in Absence, a gloriously impressionistic wash of an album that was released in conjunction with the revelation that the band were calling it a day. Joe McKee was the brains trust behind Snowman and what he got up to next, which direction he decided to slide in, was always going to be of great public and critical intrigue. This curiosity was put to rest this year with the release of McKee’s debut solo record Burning Boy, a distinct 180 turn for the now-Melbourne-based artist. Gone is the clattering percussion and searing falsetto, replaced by a soothing
baritone, winding string sections and crystal clear lyrical imagery. Burning Boy is undoubtably one of the year’s finest albums and a truly individualist effort, although to get a real sense of McKee’s present and future, you have to first acknowledge the past. “I haven’t got an overwhelming sense of whether people are happy or unhappy about it,” McKee explains when asked about the break-up of his former band. “People are always curious as to why it ended when it did and what the reason was. For me it’s a really positive thing, it was a difficult period at the time and I’m glad we left this minor legacy intact and didn’t flog a dead horse and that’s something to really be proud of.” Always a bit of a critical darling (Snowman were famously adored by the likes of Pitchfork and about a billion other trendsetting blogs and magazines), Burning Boy has been garnering some of the best reviews of McKee’s career. It’s interesting to find that he isn’t too fussed with the critical opinion of him. “After a while you read enough good reviews and bad reviews that you just stop reacting to them,” he says. “The odd review that’s well written – that’s good, that makes me feel something and it is great and it’s really cool. I don’t know what I expected [with Burning Boy] but you can’t really pay attention to it or buy into it. I know it sounds like an age-old cliché but it really just doesn’t fucking matter. It doesn’t affect sales or whether I can fucking eat more than baked beans for dinner, and it certainly doesn’t affect my songwriting approach. Of course I want people to like the music and you have to admit that you don’t purely do it for yourself. You kind of do want your ego to be stroked and weirdly enough that’s a small part of why you’re a musician in the first place. But you can’t pay too much attention to reviews.” Part of the reason the critics are falling in love with Burning Boy (whether McKee likes it or not), is due to the density of the sound and production. Working in Perth with long-time collaborator Dave Parkin, McKee spent two weeks putting together his very own collage of sound. Playing just about every instrument (barr the strings themselves), the two friends worked feverishly in Parkin’s Blackbird Studios to extrapolate the sounds and ideas trapped inside the singer-songwriter’s head. At the end of the process, the need arose again to put together a live show as strong as the record. Only problem was, McKee is only one man. “It’s been a challenge, being up there on my own. I think it’s been really good for me,” he admits. “It’s made me learn how to sing and rather than relying on a band wall of sound to get people’s attention it’s now also about seducing people with silence rather than with a barrage of noise. Learning how to lure people in different ways and making the show engaging in different ways has been really good. Because these songs are so lyrical and melodic, a lot of it’s about singing the melodies well and on pitch whereas Snowman was more about the wall of energy. I can’t even drink before I play anymore because it’ll affect my performance and it’s all about clarity. It’s been challenging but it’s been really good for me. I’ve purposely tried to do this in a really coherent state and make sure I’m really present when it’s happening.” After touring the country with The Gin Club’s Ben Salter and then heading out again recently with Charge Group, it seems that McKee has managed to find that elusive coherent state, and is now ready to fold some other musicians into his rambling vision. Working independently as a solo artist isn’t cheap though, and flights can be expensive. However, McKee is a creative chap and has managed to find a loophole. “The band itself is different in every state. I can’t really afford to take people around with me so I’ve got people learning the parts in each city and it’ll be different for every show,” McKee details. “It’s kind of nice, it keeps things a bit interesting and keeps things on edge as well and it lends a nice improvised feel to the songs. It allows the songs to breathe a little bit more. I don’t want to recreate what’s on the record, mostly because it would take a lot of instrumentation and potentially a full string section and all that. But also because I see the record and the live show as different things. So far it’s worked really well – I had a Moog player named Shags come up and play the Father John Misty show and I had a violin player that night as well and that was one of the favourite shows I’ve ever played. I felt like I had a band up there again.” So, we’re back in a (loose) band format after all. Things are very different for McKee this time around though. Whereas the different members of Snowman were so close they were almost family (and in fact became family – bassist Olga Hermanniusson and drummer Ross DiBlasio are married with kids and living in Iceland), McKee is very much the lone wolf these days. It was a heady time for those four people. They became kind of their home town and were on the precipice of dominating their country when they took a risk and moved to London. Creatively, it paid off in spades, producing their finest album and proving that they were indeed a band worthy of the world stage. Personally though, you get the feeling that they went through some heavy stuff together and, scattered across the globe now, are taking peace in the solitude. When talking about the new members of his touring bands McKee reveals that, although his strength is now within himself, sometimes it is nice to feel a bit of safety in numbers. “To have a bit more depth in the sound and a bit more colour and variety in the sound is the thing that I’ve missed more than anything else. Psychologically I suppose I feel stronger up there when there’s more than one person.” WHO: Joe McKee WHAT: Burning Boy (Dot Dash/Remote Control) WHEN & WHERE: Saturday 11 August, Grace Darling
24 • INPRESS
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RULES OF ENGAGEMENT New War’s Melissa Lock and Chris Pugmire are as enthusiastic about current Australian music as you could get. They give Samson McDougall the down low on what makes this part of the world an innovator’s dream.
I
t was late in 2010 that New War turned up as a pulsing glob of bright light on the local music radar. On a Tote Hotel bill that featured a couple of other brand new outfits that would go on to relatively big things (notably Lower Plenty and Harmony, both of whom have albums out and more on the way), New War exploded onto the stage and seized the status of ‘a band to watch in 2011’. We watched them build a support base in a relatively short period of time and we waited for an album (or at least rumours thereof) to surface. They teased us in September with a sexy-as-shit release of their single Ghostwalking on 12” vinyl and we held out through summer in the hope that the album (of which rumours were now circulating) would hit us before the winter crept
in. It wasn’t like it was a bad time, great music was sprouting up all around us – Dick Diver, Lost Animal, Royal Headache, Harmony, Lower Plenty et al managed to release exceptional albums in the interim – but still we waited, knowing full well it was going to be special, for New War to follow up what had now become incredible live performances with album number one. It turns out the record was ready to go a while back. The selftitled debut struck a few minor hurdles but is finally ready to drop via US label Fast Weapons and Local imprint Sensory Projects. “There were big delays with Ghostwalking and it ended up [that], by the time it came out, there was too little of a window to put out a record,” says a remarkably softly spoken New War frontman Chris Pugmire (remarkable given his stage presence and howl). “We didn’t want to just smash ‘em together ‘cause we didn’t want Ghostwalking to just get lost. So we decided to delay it a bit.” Bassist Melissa Lock adds, “Then our keyboardist was having a baby, so we couldn’t put it out then ‘cause we wanted to promote it.” Though Pugmire reckons it may’ve been a blessing in disguise given the quality and quantity of Australian releases in 2011. New War emerged out of the musical partnership of Pugmire and Lock, which developed in the USA a few years back when they were playing in a band called Shoplifting. Lock describes a nostalgia for the way the “old Melbourne” music world was as integral to her pursuing something different in the States. “When I left [Australia] it was very rock dominated, like Legends Of Motorsport, and I wanted to do something a little bit different,” she continues. “I missed the old Melbourne and what was going on and I was really looking for a different thing. When I came back, I was like ‘Oh my god! There’s such amazing music!’ I was so glad to be back in Melbourne, it was an exciting time to start playing different kinds of music and we purposefully left out the guitar – I was like ‘I don’t want to play with guitar, let’s think of something different’… As much as I love the guitar and guitar music, I just felt like I wanted to do something different and let’s just see what it would sound like taking the guitar out and what could we do with it? If we put the guitar in, I thought we’d be just another rock band.” On arrival back in Australia, the pair had the basis of some songs penned. The sonic direction of the thing (whatever the ‘thing’ was destined to become) lay in a basis of dub and a fiendish love of bass. Pugmire’s abstract lyrics would become the centre of whatever it was they would do; the rest fell on the selection of the players they’d combine with and those decisions were made on more of a personality level than necessarily a musical one. “Me and Chris had written songs together,” continues Lock, “so we already had a bit of an idea of what we were wanting before the others came along. Now we’re a full band where we all have total control and everyone’s kind of brings in ideas, which is exciting for the next batch of stuff.” Another shift for Pugmire was to tone down the level of politicallyfocused lyrical content. Where his work with Shoplifting had been dripping in “gender politics and was involved in the Kill Rock Stars kind of Pacific Northwest super-political scene”, New War takes a more lateral approach. Though the content still bubbles with concepts of the inner-workings of power, the often bleak vocal lines pulse with a more personal longing. “It’s kind of like lots of intertwining short stories,” says Pugmire of the narrative thrust of the album. “It’s lots of weird kind of historical and current events that I’m obsessed with for one reason or other. “Calling From The Inside is actually about where I’m from. There’s this inlet that’s called the Puget Sound, that comes out from the ocean and Seattle comes right up to the water there. There were some rivers that ran off of it and they’ve all been covered over. It’s kind of this ghost story of colonisation and almost a homesick song as well… Seattle has totally disappeared due to gentrification. It doesn’t even really exist; the Seattle I grew up in, it isn’t there anymore.” Through the dense, often despairing, lyrics (“Oxidised by a dead sea scene/I’m killing in a solar daydream/Silted in a sea dredged dry/Carboned out in a junked up sky” – Slim Dandy) the coursing rhythms and vivid keys actually evoke ecstasy more willingly than sorrow. It’s a complex listen, rewarding, and as close to the live New War sound as the band could capture. “I think Lindsay [Gravina, producer] was keen on getting as much of the energy of the live show, obviously you can never exactly capture that in any kind of recording. All the instrumentation was done live. We weren’t into the idea of separating the instruments and recording them separately,” says Pugmire of the process. “We tried to create similar moods, and get ourselves into similar headspaces and similar aggression – we tried to keep it as how we feel when we play. We tried really hard to keep that and Lindsay did an amazing job,” Lock chimes in. Though enthused about the release, Pugmire and Lock are more so buzzing on the community they find themselves a part of. There’s no doubt in their minds that we are experiencing something special in Australia. “We’re so lucky,” says Lock of the support they’ve received from community radio (PBS and RRR both airing live performances from the band even before the sniff of an album). “It’s so much harder to get on radio [in the US]. College radio is something I never really understood… It made me very proud that we’ve got such great support for local artists.” And they’re surrounding themselves with these artists at their local and interstate launches – veritable showcases of what’s hot. “Being here now reminds me of growing up and going to shows in Olympia and Seattle,” says Pugmire. “It’s not as wild or punk or whatever, but there’s just as much of an exciting array of music going around.” WHO: New War WHAT: New War (Fast Weapons/Sensory Projects) WHEN & WHERE: Saturday 11 August, Northcote Social Club
26 • INPRESS
themusic.com.au
BIG TIMES It’s been a short but fast ride so far for Brisbane’s The Jungle Giants, whose hook-ridden indie pop has woven its way into the hearts and minds of an attentive audience. Tyler McLoughlan shares a couch with bassist Andrew Dooris and guitarist/vocalist Sam Hales to get the lowdown on their whirlwind adventures ahead of a national tour supporting sophomore EP She’s A Riot.
H
igh school is a common place for sonic experimentation and the formation of musical friendships, though it wasn’t until Sam Hales had graduated in 2009 and was struggling through a university degree that he realised that guitarists and school pals Andrew Dooris and Cesira Aitken were the key to his musical future. “We were still at school, but I still remember the Facebook message that Sam sent me,” says Dooris, adopting a geek voice to explain Hales’ first approach. “‘I know you can sing and play guitar, like I was just wondering if you want to start up a band with me and Cesira? I know you don’t play bass yet but do you wanna try?’” The pair erupt into fits of giggles as Hales apes: “Do you wanna play bass?” before Dooris comes clean on the reason he said yes.
“I love love,” he shouts, suggesting that the cat-and-mouse games of EP track Don’t Know What Else To Do would summarise his current romantic situation. “I’m just a free pup – got no chains!” Hales giggles, without realising that his off-the-cuff funny likely sums up why the Australian public has become so quickly enamoured with the free-spirited Brisbane quartet.
“It’s really funny because another friend had asked me a very similar question and I said no. But it was only because I’d heard Sam’s songs before and I knew I really liked them – I had an overwhelming faith in his songwriting. I’ve never actually told you that,” he says, turning to the frontman who was last year awarded the Billy Thorpe songwriting scholarship. “But I always thought that we’d actually get something done if we did anything [together],” he divulges of the quartet, fleshed out with drummer Keelan Bijker.
WHAT: She’s A Riot (Create/Control)
WHO: The Jungle Giants WHEN & WHERE: Friday 10 August, Northcote Social Club
“It was a pretty easy change because I used to do singer/ songwriter gigs, and I would play at Bar Soma when I was 17,” says Hales. “I loved doing that but I got really over doing that whole singer/songwriter thing just because people never really pay attention, you’re sort of just there and people are having drinks and stuff, and I was like, ‘I feel like I just want to let loose on stage, but I can’t – I’m playing my little ditty’”. By this time, Hales was taking in a musical diet of Cloud Control and Local Natives, devising how his path could lead to such explorations. “I was like, ‘wow’ – I really want to write music like this,” Hales continues. “I just had this inspired vision and then we just started working on everything in our rooms. I dropped out of uni at that time and then got two jobs so we had enough cash to splash around for recording. I worked a lot for six months… McDonalds and a convenience store; two of the worst jobs I could find! “It was weird, I was on a mission! If I tried to do that now I would so not be able to do it. I was working like 60-hour weeks easily, both jobs… It was actually really funny ‘cause in the same day I’d get someone come to Night Owl convenience store and buy like a bottle of Coke, and then they’d come get dinner at McDonalds. One guy was like, ‘dude, do you have a brother?’ And I was like, ‘nah man’ and he was like, ‘there’s someone who looks just like you at Night Owl’ and I was like: ‘that’s me!’” The result of the hard labour was The Jungle Giants’ eponymous 2011 debut EP, spawning the jangle pop loveliness of Mr Polite and No One Needs To Know that gained a following and triple j rotation straight off the bat. “We recorded it and we’d never done a gig,” explains Hales. “It was a weird approach to record before we gigged... We were just like, ‘we have all these songs, lets record them’, and I think it was sort of to do a demo so we could get gigs, but we were really proud of the EP and [producer] Yanto Browning did such a good job so that it turned out more than demos – it was a good, quality EP.” With a management deal and an action plan soon hatched, The Jungle Giants were thrown headlong into gaining their gig legs, supporting Ball Park Music nationally, co-headlining an interstate tour with San Cisco and accompanying Boy & Bear as main support on a two-month, 30-date haul which finished in June. “…It’s a bit of a softer crowd to what we’re used to, I mean we weren’t playing sweaty pub gigs, we were doing [Sydney’s] State Theatre,” Dooris says, still in awe of the Boy & Bear experience. “Maybe not necessarily what we’re suited to but definitely something that was a very big learning curve – not relying so much on a crowd to be drunk and sweaty and screaming your name.” “Their crowds were really mixed,” Hales mentions. “There’s older people and really young people, so at each show we’d have a few people getting kinda loose then there’d be lots of people sitting down or lots of people just listening, whereas in a San Cisco gig like almost every night, 50 people would run up on stage and kick our stuff over and kiss us while we’re trying to sing. And it just got so ridiculous by the end – we had so much fun – but people were just going crazy,” he says, as Dooris admits there was only one gig of the tour in which he didn’t crowd surf. Opening their new EP She’s A Riot with a title track full of handclaps and hope, fans are reintroduced to the vibrant outfit who crashed onto the scene less than a year-and-a-half ago, though Create/ Control’s most recent signing showcases a broader musicality spurred on by the successes of their various tour buddies. “The whole idea for this EP was to be a lot less sugary,” Hales says seriously. “The first EP was very naïve; we hadn’t done a gig before, we were trying a lot of the sounds in the studio, whereas now these songs are toured and tested – especially She’s A Riot. We’ve been playing that for a few tours now, we’ve just been working on it really hard so now we have a way more sure way of how we wanted to record them. There’s a lot more depth of sound,” he admits. Dooris offers his thoughts: “Because the songs were so ready… there was more time to put embellishments and stuff on it, and more time to experiment not on the structure of the songs so much, but tone and just like the whole recording process.” As for the lyrical themes, Hales looks to one of the more common points of inspiration for young blokes like himself.
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INPRESS • 27
THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS HOME AND AWAY Though Love Like Hate vocalist Heather Cheketri reveals to Nic Toupee she had to acclimatise to playing with others, she’s learned the freshness achieved through collaboration is worth the negotiations.
“If you want to know more about Home Brew, just ask New Zealand Prime Minister John Key,” says on of the group’s official taglines. Nic Toupee finds out from MC Haz Beats why they’re such a hometown news item.
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onja [Ter Horst, piano] is into more of the dramatic side of music: she has been a Tori Amos fan, loves Amanda Palmer, she loves the epic ballads. I’ve always loved Concrete Blonde and Chrissie Hynde – we’ve got quite different backgrounds really,” Love Like Hate vocalist Heather Cheketri observes, as she casts her mind over the alchemy and opposition that brings herself and pianist Ter Horst together so successfully. “Our different styles seem to create something we both love the sound of.” Having met long before they began songwriting together, both Ter Horst and Cheketri played in a few other bands before a casual jam became a serendipitous chance for both of them. “We’ve known each other for ages, but hadn’t ever played together at all,” Cheketri explains. “In the end, it just happened, after ten years of a friendship. We had no previous discussion about it, we’d never mentioned it at all before. I’d always played in other bands and I knew she played keys, but one night we just decided to play together for fun, a spur of the moment thing.” What sealed the deal for Cheketri was the thennovel combination of guitar and piano, something she hadn’t tried before. “The first lot of music we worked on together were things I’d already written, but I liked how that sounded with keys, and I realised that working with Sonja could bring in different elements to the music. Sonya seemed to like it as well,” she laughs, understating the case somewhat. In fact, Cheketri actually goes as far as to say that the pair are their music’s own biggest fans. “We have a mutual love of what we’re making, and we also seem to be in agreement about how things are sounding, how they should go together, and we’ve had that since the beginning,” she says. “I’m self-taught and she’s classically trained, and even from the beginning this brought a whole new element to our songs, brought something fresh to the sound we’re writing.”
As rosy as their sonic garden is, Cheketri admits that playing nicely with others didn’t come completely naturally to her – as a musician, that is. “Having to work with other people was a big wake-up call for me,” she admits. “When you write by yourself, you have a rhythm and a melody in your head and it all works. Then, when you write with other people when the sound all comes together there’s lots of ‘hang on, that’s not sitting right’ or ‘that doesn’t go there’. You have to pull back and let go of the ease of playing by yourself. But that’s okay, I come from a big family, and I’m used to being the negotiator.” Both Cheketri and Ter Horst are fans of the more theatrical of songstresses: neither Amos nor Palmer, to pick an infamous two, are anywhere near shy of outrageous hijinks, and Ms Hynde, while a bit more refined perhaps, is renowned as a confident stage performer. Setting them up as influences and examples, a Love Like Hate fan might expect the band’s stage show to be a little on the wild side. They might, but they would be more than slightly disappointed. “We both really do like the theatrical artists, like Amanda Palmer, Kate Bush and all that, but we’re not extroverted people,” Cheketri states. “When we put on a show, the theatrics are in the sound, and what is written. The songs we write are lyrically purposeful and meant to be an emotional ride, but we don’t dance or wear warpaint or anything like that – we’re concentrating on the sounds we’re making.” WHO: Love Like Hate WHAT: Rabbit Hole EP (Independent) WHEN & WHERE: Friday 17 August, Cornish Arms
HURRICANE SEASON
The drummer that Catalano speaks of here is Celeste “CC” Spina, the mandolin-wielding other half of the Little Hurricane equation. Spina had never played in a band before this project and, as a seasoned musical veteran of many bands himself, Catalano is enjoying the relative austerity of playing in a two piece. “There have been many similarities between myself and CC with musical styles that made this a really easy project to do,” he explains. “It kind of worked well with just the two of us at first so we haven’t added anyone else. I would write songs with my previous band and there would always be different ideas floating around, which can be good for certain situations but mostly just ate up more time and ate into the vision I had for the songs. Now the songs are more simplistic because there’s a lot less people that I have to convince.” As Catalano is implying here, the mechanics of a two-piece band lend themselves to simplicity 28 • INPRESS
That’s not to say they don’t court a bit of sensational coverage. Beats is not ashamed to announce proudly “shock promo is the best kind of promo.” It’s more beerbongs on stage than biting the heads off bats, but Home Brew have managed to make a name for themselves and their off-stage, or at least non-musical, performances. Beats steps in to defend the band’s reputation: he explains that the band are equally focussed on getting drunk and getting the audience on side. “When we’re up on stage, with everyone screaming your name, grabbing you, it’s a whole different scene; the crowd expect us to be drunk, and we are drunk... or most of the time we’re drunk. We try capture the audience right from the first. That way people get involved with the show. Say if we bring a beer-bong on stage or something like that, they’re amping. We get them involved from the get-go.”
While you will no doubt hear tracks from all of their five releases thus far, it’s also odds-on that you’ll hear something that Beats cooked up in the tour van before the show. “We play some new and old stuff, and maybe some unreleased stuff. I brought my gear with me on tour, and we’re writing all the time. We know people want to hear the old stuff but we’re going to cut it up with some stuff off the new album and some brand new stuff as well.” Watching the band, it’s obvious Home Brew are a group of total extroverts — happy to play up to a crowd, to be filmed in highly dodgy activities, and to be watched generally just fucking around in a bored-suburban-lowattention-span Cartman kind of way. Beats says it’s a mixture of a natural affinity for performing, and learning from some humiliating mistakes along the way. “Right from the start, we were doing gigs all the time - we thrashed Auckland,” he remembers. “We got sick of it, so we stopped and instead we got online and asked our fans what they wanted us to do. Then we started getting couches or beer bongs or whatever up on stage. I never knew i was going to be doing this five or 10 years ago, but it came naturally for us. But every show is different, and we’re always learning how to be a better band. We’re real tight now because we’ve made our fuckups in the past.” WHO: Home Brew WHAT: Home Brew (Independant/Grindin)
As anyone who has watched a magic show knows, it can’t all be about one trick. You’ve got to have the rabbitout-of-hat AND the woman-sawn-in-half, and preferably the
WHEN & WHERE: Friday 10th August, The Espy
King Of The North vocalist/ guitarist Andrew Higgs shares the band’s eleven herbs and spices with Tony McMahon.
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lthough their music is reasonably straight ahead rock‘n’roll, Melbourne via Adelaide outfit King Of The North have a more than interesting point of departure: despite being only a two-piece, it’s possible – in fact it’s highly likely – that punters with their eyes closed are going to imagine a much bigger band on stage. This also translates well to the group’s debut self-titled EP. KOTN’s sound is huge – and it’s important to point out they don’t use samples or anything pre-recorded – so much so that vocalist and guitarist Andrew Higgs is slightly cagey when we asked how, exactly, he does it.
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“I was looking for a drummer, mostly because it’s the only thing I don’t play, and all the drummers I wanted were already in bands,” lead singer, guitarist and brains trust Anthony ‘Tone’ Catalano explains down the line from San Diego where Little Hurricane are touring with fellow garage rockers Heartless Bastards. “So I turned to Craigslist and was surprised when I found a female drummer on there. She had an ad posted saying that she was looking for musical projects. I emailed her and we jammed on some music and luckily it clicked.”
The band’s jolly japery and hyperactive hi-jinks include drink-driving in their clips (Police Stop Seven), getting on the wrong side of Auckland University with some over-enthusiastic postering (as you can see in their clip for Carpe Diem) and general blatant honesty about drugs and drinking — plenty of drugs and drinking. Unfazed by the repercussions, Beats sees it as just merry prankery. “We’re the kind of the same people, we like to laugh - everything is fun to us.”
sword cupboard as well. Drag their hyper-comedic curtain aside, and Beats believes you’ see the real secret of their success — their down-to-earth, unpretentious lyrics and crafty beats.“What we deliver on stage is raw, honest hip hop,” he says, suddenly more earnest. “And every show is different - we usually just freestyle the whole thing.”
TWO MAN ARMY
Californian two piece Little Hurricane found each other on the internet and stripped back the layers from there. Guitarist Anthony Catalano talks to Chris Hayden. egend has it that infamous LA hell-raisers Motley Crue found their guitarist Mick Mars after replying to an overly aggressive ad he’d placed in their local classifieds section. Kim Deal became the Pixies bassist after responding to a classified ad asking for a female musician who liked both Peter, Paul, and Mary and Husker Du. Joining this illustrious trivia night fold are Californian two piece Little Hurricane, who formed after finding each other on Craigslist, realising they lived two blocks from each other and deciding to kick around some blues riffs together.
e are crazy people,” laughs Haz Beats with mischievous delight. “We all like laughing, really: we’re friends that are clowns all the time.” Beats, who also goes by the name Goonie Hodges — which may be about as legit as Haz Beats — is explaining, but certainly not justifying, the kind of controversial stunts and onstage behaviour which has certainly not hurt in making Home Brew famous. In fact, they got to number one on the New Zealand Top 40 charts, which their self titled indie-release album achieved in May.
and Little Hurricane are a perfect example of this. One look at their YouTube channel will reveal a couple of musicians with great versatility and skill, switching instruments mid song and, whilst they don’t always pitch the note to perfection, the energy of the performance is never compromised. It’s interesting to find that Catalano had very good reason for craving this sense of organised chaos. “When my previous band fizzled apart, I worked for MTV and VHI recording the bands for their awards shows,” he reveals sheepishly. “That filled the time pretty well but I found that most of the time I was making other bands sound better than they were, you know with auto-tune and things like that. It was frustrating to be working on other people’s music and not my own. I can see what’s missing with a lot of acts as far as the honesty and soul of the music goes – as opposed to that perfectly ironed out pop chorus.” Not ones to do things by halves, Little Hurricane have also adopted this old world aesthetic for their live shows, adorning the stage with vintage furniture (complete with built-in speakers), microphones, instruments and lamps. Catalano explains that the idea behind this technique is to create a world for the audience to get lost in. “We like to have the stage set up kind of like a dishevelled living room, which kind of goes along with the sound that we’ve got. We bring a lamp that flickers along with the vibrations of the guitar cabinet, which is the nightstand. I feel like it brings people in and helps to relax the atmosphere of the show, so people can just enjoy themselves.” WHO: Little Hurricane WHAT: Homewrecker (Shock)
“It’s a bit like the eleven secret herbs and spices with KFC,” he says. “Everyone wants to know what the deal is, but I don’t want to give too much away here. Basically, I don’t know, it’s just an idea I had, really. I had an idea for how to make a two-piece band sound like a four to five piece band, that’s sort of how the band started. It’s all analogue, there’s nothing digital going on, there’s nothing the sound engineer’s doing to make the sound bigger. It basically comes down to the amp configuration. I use the same amount of gear that a three or four piece band would. It’s fantastic until I have to load all the shit in and out.” When it comes to what Higgs wanted from the record, he says that documenting what King Of The North do live was uppermost in his mind. “We’d been playing the same sort of set for a while and basically we wanted to get those songs down for the people who’d been coming to see us,” he says. “Also, we wanted something to attract new audiences as well, so it’s sort of killing two birds with one stone. We did it pretty much live, how we would go about doing it on stage. I think it’s turned out well. Of course, it’s slightly different because we did it in a studio and it’s much more clean-sounding, but I think we got the essence of the live feel.” Ex-Little River Band guitarist David Briggs was brought in to produce King Of The North. Higgs says that right from the start, they knew he was the man for the job because he was always going to be able to “capture” the band’s sound.
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“I’d worked with Dave in a lot of other projects, so we’d created a bit of a working relationship over the years. I knew he was really good at what he does. He’s good at making bands sound how they sound: he doesn’t add bells and whistles. Some records, when you see the band live, it’s a polar opposite. We didn’t want that. We’re happy with our sound; we’ve got our sound. So we just wanted someone who could capture what was already going on.” When it comes to describing what a KOTN live show is like, Higgs keeps it simple. Somewhat surprisingly, though, (not to mention refreshingly) he admits that playing music on stage is much more important to him than in the studio. “It’s pretty straight up,” he says. “It’s loud, it’s entertaining, it’s rock, basically. It’s everything you’d expect from a rock ‘n’ roll show: hard, energetic, powerful. The biggest thing we get all the time is: ‘hell man, you guys have a massive sound and you put on a really good show’. That’s all we care about, really. It’s important that we’ve got a great sounding record, but all we really care about is how we sound live. That’s why we play music, you know, because we just love playing live. The whole motto of this band is to keep everything as simple as possible. It’s really easy to overcomplicate things, so we try to keep everything as stripped back as possible. Except for the mountain of amps we carry around, that is.” WHO: King Of The North WHAT: King Of The North (Independent) WHEN & WHERE: Thursday 9 August, Karova Lounge, Ballarat; Friday 10, Bended Elbow, Geelong; Saturday 11, Evelyn Hotel
Tuesday 18 September The Corner Hotel CORNERHOTEL.COM | 03 9427 9198 OR AT THE CORNER BOX OFFICE AT 57 SWAN ST RICHMOND
On sale THIS FRIDAY newtonfaulkner.com chuggentertainment.com bluesfesttouring.com.au
INPRESS • 29
VITRIOLIC THERAPY
SWINGING THE PENDULUM
NZ hardcore tyrants Antagonist AD have always been passionate about life and making a stand. Reflecting on their latest album, Sam Crocker enthuses to Brendan Telford, “We are coming out swinging.”
Sydney trio Shady Lane are prepping to officially launch their second LP, Built Guilt, onto the masses. Mastermind Jordy Lane explains to Brendan Telford the challenging process of creating conflict through sound.
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hree albums in, and Antagonist AD are more passionate than ever. Using their frenetic and powerful performances as a soapbox to vent about societal ills, the band have always espoused that to be hardcore, it had to mean something. The new album Nothing For No One proves to be the most aggressive musical endeavour they have put to tape, yet with its focus coming from a slightly different direction. “It took the majority of 2011 to write and record,” vocalist Sam Crocker admits. “We didn’t want to set a precedent by placing a time limit on what we were doing. Some of the songs had working titles for months, and we would change a riff here, a line there. In many ways it let us be more direct and thought-out with the writing, by adding more layers and depth to the music. It’s more refined, it isn’t rough around the edges like we jammed certain songs together.” Lyrically Crocker has avoided previous fascinations with social and political topics to venture within, with surprising results. “When we started the band I had all these topics that I wanted to sing about, yet it got to the point that we had played these songs so often and I had said what I wanted to say about these issues; I said them the way I wanted to. Hardcore for us is about being real, so I had always been reluctant to write anything personal, to attach myself to the lyrics rather than it being a stance or viewpoint. I focused on more personal issues, feelings of paranoia and anxiety, the idea of being isolated in your own head, and it was so therapeutic. There is so much more connection and energy from me now, being able to relive these experiences and use its weight to push through.” The title Nothing From No One is particularly pertinent to the band, with the album standing as a sign of intent of what is in store. “There was no rush to find a title for the album, I wanted it to jump out and choose itself,” Crocker explains. “We had gotten through half
A the album and that line stuck out and changed the tone of the album. Geographically, we are a small band from a small country jammed into a hardcore world that is large and significant, and we are starting to make ripples in the pond, so the album sounds like we have a point to prove. We are coming out swinging.” The boys also recently signed up to Mediaskare Records, a deal that has Crocker grinning. “It’s been an awesome move,” he gushes. “We found it hard to believe that they showed interest in putting us out, because as far as we were concerned we were just some band on the other side of the world. To be recognised by a respected American label, who have put out a tonne of music by bands we’ve been listening to for ages – it gives a real sense of validation to what we do. We played our first show at a venue called Youthzone in Hamilton, one of the first places where I went to shows when growing up as a grommet, so playing the final show there before it shut down was the pinnacle – we didn’t really look further than that, that was an amazing thing to achieve. We used to see punk bands like NOFX and wish that we could be doing those things, so [the fact] that we are getting to now is a really humbling thing.” WHO: Antagonist AD WHAT: Nothing From No One (Mediaskare) WHEN & WHERE: Saturday 11 August, Bang; Sunday 12, Phoenix Youth Centre (all ages); Tuesday 14, Musicman Megastore, Bendigo (all ages)
ELECTRIC DREAMS T
That said, Nielsen felt that the time was right to return home and unplug from the music machine that he had been shackled to for almost a decade before new material could flow. “I moved back after the break-up and just wanted to chill for a bit,” he recalls. “It could have gone for longer if it wasn’t for Bic, who asked me to write some songs with her. She was getting a new album together, and I got caught up in the producing side of things, with Bic and other little bands here and there, so I’ve actually been quite busy. But after Bic’s record was done I found I was on a roll, there were more songs and ideas in me. So I used both, and started playing with recording these ideas.” The end result of this is Electric Hawaii, ten tracks of woozy paisley psychedelic pop that’s been injected with enough variations of the sonic palette to inform a plethora of records. “It was the first time that I felt that I didn’t have to write for any kind of musical arrangement,” Nielsen explains. “I didn’t have to cater to a line-up or a set of instruments, so I could construct things on a piano, or use a particular drum fill that I felt like playing with. I could be more complex. I’ve always wanted to wear 30 • INPRESS
“People always tell me that we sound like Pavement, and I suppose there is some quirkiness in there that lends itself to that, but I’ve never been aiming for that comparison,” Lane stresses. “We don’t stick to guitarbased songs, and I don’t think our songs have the same intended pay-off either. I didn’t want to make [Built Guilt] into a pretty album like [debut LP] Here We Go, Down The Black Hole, I wanted to have a challenging album to listen to. There are elements that aren’t too pleasant, and that was certainly intentional. Finding the balance between the pretty stuff and the nasty stuff is what I like to do, and I think that definitely sets us apart.” The subject matter over the majority of Built Guilt delves into the darker realms of the human consciousness, despite the relatively breezy nature of some of the instrumentation. Lane admits that he wasn’t in the highest of spirits when it came to putting pen to paper for the new album. “After I wrote the first album I got into some dark headspaces, which was pretty unhealthy, and writing the whole thing proved to be a huge mental struggle. I felt at times that I didn’t enjoy writing whatsoever, and I had to push myself to keep going. I’m really glad with the way things turned out, and that perseverance really brought out some things that I may not have been able to achieve normally. The process left
me feeling positive and healthy, and allowed me to see that dark hole for what it was. I don’t think I’ll be heading back down there any time soon.” Built Guilt doesn’t suffer from these anguished moments; to the contrary, the album overflows with confidence and zeal. The differences between this and Shady Lane’s debut are striking, with Lane’s guitar gaining heft and a harder edge, whilst the compositions are more bombastic in nature. Nevertheless, the band’s penchant for experimentalism remains, with tracks like the electronic whispers of What Future? and the noisy collage of Mother Mountain Rabbit ensuring the mood and tempo of the album swings like a pendulum. Lane asserts that such proclivity for applying abstract elements to the traditional pop song has always been an inherent drive for him. “I have this habit of writing a song and then the next song is completely different, which is also completely intentional. Swinging back and forth between totally different ideas is really jarring to listen to, so there is no easy way out when you listen to it. It’s not a natural writing process, but challenging myself is really important to me, because it also offers new ways of learning. Often it simply involves exploring an instrument to see what it can do. Going over the same material doesn’t help you progress, and I don’t see the point of that at all.” WHO: Shady Lane WHAT: Built Guilt (Rice Is Nice) WHEN & WHERE: Thursday 9 August, Espy; Friday 10, Ding Dong
ECHOES OF GLACIERS
Kody Nielsen was one-third of noisy punk outfit The Mint Chicks; he’s now the mastermind behind playful psych-pop outfit Opossom. He walks through the transformation process with Brendan Telford. he break-up of self-made “troublegum art punks” The Mint Chicks after three albums and two EPs, rampant live shows and much adulation came as a shock to many, especially as the New Zealand trio – made up of brothers Kody and Ruban Nielson, Paul Roper and Michael Logie – had just made the move to Portland, Oregon for a change in scenery. However the quest for musical wizardry is in their blood, so it was only a matter of time before something new bubbled to the surface. First it was Ruban who made ripples last year with his outfit Unknown Mortal Orchestra. 2012 appears to be Kody’s year, with the release of debut record Electric Hawaii with new band Opossom (with Logie on bass and Bic Runga on drums).
fter starting out as a solo project for Jordy Lane, the similarly monikered Shady Lane – fleshed out by Sarah Jullienne and Pete Avard – are two albums in after releasing Built Guilt back in May. The album is awash with bedroom pop, progressive rock breakdowns and the occasional sonic freakout, yet the unfortunate link of the band’s name to a famous Pavement track is disparaging and lays them square in the sights of lazy categorisation, as the band’s fondness for eschewing pop-rock sensibilities intimates that they have much more to offer.
Glass Vaults’ Rowan Pierce’s introduction to music was playing drums in a highland marching band. Anthony Carew tracks Pierce’s musical journey to electro-ambient jams.
more of the ‘60s psychedelic influence on my sleeve. It’s particularly tricky music to write and not sound contrived. I’d been listening to a lot of new music, so I wanted the songs to sound current, yet have a familiar sound to them so that it wasn’t unrecognisable.” The perfect example of what Opossom encapsulates is on the single Blue Meanies, a pastiche of pop and paisley psych mashed together with modulated vocals and off-kilter instrumentation, all coming together to make a bubbly multi-coloured aural explosion. Whilst it sounds like someone going mad in the laboratory, Nielsen maintains that everything on the album was controlled and measured. “I worked really hard on providing something that I never could with The Mint Chicks. There were simple elements like going down in the verse and getting louder in the chorus. Rather than it being a volume thing, which I was used to, I wanted it worked into the arrangements. I could have bass and vocals on a verse, with keyboards coming in on a chorus to add volume without stomping on a distortion pedal. I could play with tempo and rhythm as much as I wanted to until it gelled in a way it never had before.” That said, what Nielsen has created with Opossom continues to evolve at the rate that even he finds it hard to get a grasp on it. “I just wanted to play with things, then get them out there and see what made sense. I think that’s some of it, I’m realising what it’s about, maybe…” WHO: Opossum WHAT: Electric Hawaii (Create/Control) WHEN & WHERE: Friday 10 August, Hi-Fi
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ust as so many Icelandic acts have been forever compared to the Northern Lights tinkling on glaciers, New Zealand duo Glass Vaults seem a sure bet to be compared to the Lord Of The Rings landscapes of their homelands. That’s befitting a band whose members are born in a rural hamlet in Manawatu-Wanganui, and who spent their past summer in Wainuiomata. Which is to say nothing of Glass Vaults’ music, whose endless echo and cloudy atmospheres ably summon images of fog drifting through vast valleys. “I don’t mind if people relate it to those beautiful images, and if that’s what a lot of people hear in our music/say that they feel from it, then I’m happy to think that it is in there,” says Rowan Pierce, who splits Glass Vaults with collaborateur Richard Larsen. “But it’s never been our intention to soundtrack some glacial New Zealand landscape, that’s not at all what we think of when we’re working in the studio.” As a kid, Pierce had an unlikely entry-point to making electro-ambient, blog-friendly jams: playing in a highland marching band. “From when I was a young boy to when I was 17 or 18, I used to play the drums in a pipe band,” Pierce recounts. “That was my main music outlet, I guess; I was never in any teenage punk bands, but music was still a huge part of my life, just in a different way.” A way that involved wearing a kilt? “I did have to wear a kilt. I grew up with it; my dad wears a kilt at special events, so it wasn’t foreign to me. Like, of course it was embarrassing as a teenage boy when people from your school saw you in the full outfit, but as a whole I was pretty comfortable with it.” Moving to Wellington to go to University, Pierce studied sound design for theatre, and met Larsen. The band began with Pierce effectively serving as sound-stylist on Larsen’s songs, before inching evermore towards a collaboration; with Larsen’s high, keening voice set amidst rippling digital noise, sinuous synth sounds, pitch-shifting layers, and open-ended, echoey atmospheres. There’s echoes of The Knife, Radiohead, Sigur Rós, and How To
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Dress Well in Glass Vaults’ two EPs; the HTDW vibes surely stemming from Pierce’s love of R&B production. “It’s my goal to create this almost architectural environment for the songs to inhabit; to create a space around them, [build] an atmosphere around them,” Pierce says. “The type of music that has a lot of space and detail in it, production-wise, is the kind of music I really enjoy it. Personally, I’m really drawn to ambient music, but also the quality of production – and the clarity and space – of a lot of new R&B producers. I find both those realms intriguing, to me they’re both realms that we can learn from, and draw from. When The Weeknd came out, I really enjoyed that; this sense of precise clarity to the production, but also this atmospheric quality to it.” There’s also a debt to old shoegaze records, something the presence of producer Bevan Smith (of Signer, Skallander, Over The Atlantic, etc) seemed to signpost. Smith has worked on both Glass Vaults’ EPs – 2010’s Glass and 2011’s Into Clear – and played live with the band. Glass Vaults have been travelling, though, strictly as two-piece; calling in on Melbourne on the way back to Wellington after five weeks in the States. As soon as they get back to their homeland, they’ll set out work on their debut LP, hoping to wed those sonic opposites – clarity and atmosphere – in a longform format. “I don’t know if we’ll ever completely pull it off,” Pierce admits, “but it’s good to have these contrasting ideas that you’re working against when you’re making something; if you’re making atmospheric music it’s good to have that tension in there.” WHO: Glass Vaults WHEN & WHERE: Thursday 9 August, Grace Darling
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INPRESS • 31
SINGLED OUT WITH BRYGET CHRISFIELD
ON THE RECORD
SPLIT SECONDS Top Floor Independent
La La La Doggystyle Is it only me that’s not surprised Tha Doggfather is donning the Jamaican tri-colour oversized beanie and flying high into reggae territory? Additional vocals by Jovi Rockwell add a sweet counter appraisal and your head is wired to nod like your nodding dog of choice on your fantasy dashboard. This ain’t bad, it’s produced by Diplo/Major Lazer after all. Now piss off, pour me a Gin & Juice and go roll us a phat one. Snoop Lion’s third eye is officially open.
MARIAH CAREY FEAT RICK ROSS & MEEK MILL Triumphant (Get ‘Em) Universal So Mimi gets a big-up in the first verse, but this ain’t no Dreamlover. There’s so many “feat”s here that you barely get time to block your ears in preparation for Mariah Carey’s Cristal champagneglass smashing, five octave-spanning vocal range (just before the end, you’ve been warned). “Twice a week shopper” – what the fuck’s wrong with that? Insult? Compliment? Can’t tell. This is a shocker, which incidentally rhymes with “shopper”.
THE XX
KINGFISHA
Chapter/Fuse
Uppercut Records/Vitamin
MGM
Melbourne hypnagogic duo Fabulous Diamonds have done a stellar job of eschewing every notion that has been alluded to with respect to their music by shifting their entire focus in their next recording or live performance. Such elusiveness can make them difficult to embrace, yet an interesting by-product of this aesthetic is that such unpredictability creates a vacuum whereby each new release or live performance is essentially discovering them all over again.
The debut LP from Brisbane’s Kingfisha has been a long time coming for fans of the six-piece reggae/dub band. Three longtime friends and bandmates laid down some demos all the way back in 2004 but it wasn’t until 2008 that the full live band was realised with additional members and an EP recorded live in the studio. Kingfisha have spent the last four years honing their sound and touring up and down the East Coast and on the roots festival circuit, which has only fuelled the anticipatory fire further. After some difficulties with self-production, the appointment of Paulie B (The Beautiful Girls) as producer has seen Kingfisha’s self-titled debut come to fruition.
Now and then there comes a moment that hits you so hard you’re forced to take notice. Mia Dyson, Australian songstress (and ARIA winner) is well attuned to moments like that – if her latest album is anything to go by. The Moment sticks out like a hitchhiker’s thumb willing you to stop, pick it up and keep it in your car for a long drive.
Commercial Music
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There’s something appealingly Mark Seymourish about this singer’s voice. It has character. And the phrasing in the chorus is inventive: “No love on the/Top floor/(All sing) IT’S!/Not what we’re here for.” Just add clapping, catchy-as melodies, tight harmonies (they better share mics) and what else? Whistling! Sound too much? It’s not. Throw everything at our receptors, fellas, it’s all sticking. Top shelf tuneage.
Third LP, Commercial Music, eschews their previous penchant for averting song and album titles, yet such acts of conformity are yet another ruse. These six tracks, from the opening insistent mantra that is Inverted/Vamp, at once outline the duo’s ever-growing confidence in their craft, and there intention to confound as much of their audience as possible. The album has a much silkier production than anything they’ve previously put to tape (thanks to the ever-prolific Mikey Young), but if anything this heightens the physical, emotional and sexual unease that emanates from Nisa Verenosa’s sultry-yet-detached vocals and Jarrod Zlatic’s sensualyet-monotonous tone. The sparse percussive elements further drive the spike home. There are allusions to sexual tension in the caress that harbours violent undertones that is Lothario and the sweaty expulsion of closer, Downhill, yet more often than not this tension is palpable, unbearably so. John Song offers a tale of Brunswick-set malaise, a weekend of debauched wastedness tied up in a hypnotic grind, whilst Wandering Eye is the closest Fabulous Diamonds have ever got to a traditionally structured song, albeit infused with a trance-like dirge. Commercial Music is anything but. What it proves is that Fabulous Diamonds are more adept at straddling the fine line between dreamscapes and nightmares. Brendan Telford
The extended time in the studio and introduction of an outside producer has certainly paid dividends for Kingfisha’s sound. The pristine feel of the record makes each instrument stand clear from the others. This is particularly evident for bassist Shannon Green, whose heavy lines run through this record as the driving force. The overall polish matches perfectly with the sweet soul of vocalist Anthony Forrest. First single and album opener Looking Glass is a highlight with its contemplative theme worked into an easy hook. The soft guitar skank works well under the dub while some minimalist electronics from Michael Howes add depth. The same basic formula is repeated for almost every track on Kingfisha but is never as effective as it is on the first cut. The album is consistent and other tracks do provide good moments, such as the melodica interlude on Let You Know or the weighty chorus vocals on Your Welcome, yet it feels that more could be done with their sound. The slowed tempo and atmospherics of Wise Up provides a glimpse into what can be produced when Kingfisha move beyond their established formula. All the elements are there. If Kingfisha are willing to extend their musical limits they will be a very successful band.
MIA DYSON The Moment
Dyson’s guttural wails are thunderous and, like any great blues artist, telling. Moving to the states, the blues Mecca, in 2009 evidently left her with many stories to tell. Among them, a management change and the subsequent rebranding of Dyson as BOY – an androgynous musical act and the brainchild of The Eurythmics rocker, Dave Stewart. But the gimmick (luckily) didn’t stick for long and Dyson decided the Pandora’s box of opportunities Stewart offered (a reported tour with Tom Petty and the opportunity to work with Bob Dylan) wasn’t worth the compromise. The Moment is a testament that, although physically she may look juvenile, Dyson sounds like a woman with experience far outreaching her years. Howling blues-rock anthems are abundant with When The Moment Comes and Pistol being among the best, and Dyson proves her versatility with ballads like the moving To Fight Is To Lose. If it’s true what they say about writing what you know, Dyson is more than apt at hitting the bottom, dusting herself off and coming back fighting. Every track on The Moment demands attention, be it Dyson on wailing slide guitar or simply strumming away. For anyone who hasn’t come across Mia Dyson, The Moment is a great place to start and, as she’s currently touring the country, one can only hope there are plenty more moments like this still to come. Tahlia Anderson
Jan Wisniewski
Angels Young Turks/Remote Control This gloriously understated piece also goes minimal with the chorus lyrics: “Being as in love with you as I am.” (Repeat loads of times.) Which doesn’t bode well if you hate PDAs. Imagine the state of the couples in the audience singing those words at each other and then maccing out? Aw, those soft drumbeats replicate a heartbeart. Would’ve loved to hear Oliver Sim’s celestial vocal contribution as an added touch in the final chorus, but that’s just me. And just ‘cause the beauty of his voice knocked me sideways during their recent tour. Hey, apparently there’s a “counter” track, led by Sim that’s titled Fiction. Give us a go of that one then. Yesiree, that’s the tonic.
ALABAMA SHAKES Hang Loose Rough Trade/Remote Control Oh my god, that’s a chick singing – WTF!? (Haha, yeah, yeah, I’m well aware this is a common and extremely delayed reaction. I just love the whole, “Keep up, please!” hipster shutdown that a lot of you probably just retracted.) Hang Loose does nothing to encapsulate the greatness of this outfit. Google Hold On instead. Quite funny that lead singer Brittany Howard does the old “come on, Brittany” lyrical, third person conscience shakeup throughout, but yet people STILL thought she was a geezer. Jack White’s a fan. ‘Nuff said.
KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD Elbow Flightless Fittingly unhinged noise from this loose rural septet. There’s even a space-travel sound akin to the one created by the masterful Nick Rhodes that opens Planet Earth by Duran Duran, but this isn’t the band’s best work. King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard’s previous single Bloody Ripper was HEAPS more memorable than this. Shoulda reviewed that one. Nothing beats the Gizzard live experience, though. Respect.
PLAN B
YEASAYER
ALPINE
Atlantic/Warner
EMI
Ivy League
Ben Drew’s decision to favour rapping over the saccharine R&B he almost pursued has been vindicated twice already – debut Who Needs Actions When You’ve Got Words and follow-up The Defamation Of Strickland Banks were critical and commercial successes. ill Manors is a companion piece to this year’s film of the same name (written and directed by Drew) and there is a cinematic quality to it as it ebbs and flows, dives into its various narratives and reveals its character and characters to the listener.
Brooklyn’s psychedelic pop outfit, Yeasayer, are back with their third (and highly anticipated) album Fragrant World, the follow-up to 2010’s Odd Blood, which first brought them to the attention of the mainstream. Their latest effort is sure to propel them further into music stardom with an addictive collection of catchy riffs and melodies set alongside captivating vocals, all produced by the band themselves and mixed by Dan Carey.
Alpine know how to stick to a theme when it’s working. From their first EP Zurich (and early band name Swiss) they’ve referenced wintery European ideas and sounds, creating a coollydetached image that blogs and radio have eaten up, and A Is For Alpine is no radical departure.
Ill Manors
Fragrant World
Eponymously-named first track is a post-dubstep rampage through the cause and effect of 2011’s London riots, and as a statement of intent it’s a fine way to start this monstrous record. By the time we reach half way and poet John Cooper Clarke on Pity The Plight, we realise why this doesn’t sound like a UK hip hop album. This is London Calling, Never Mind The Bollocks..., The Specials… It is a savage sonic reminder that Britons are still living in the good old bad old days. Great Day For A Murder is the Jam’s News Of The World, in the year the newspaper shut down its presses in disgrace. But ill Manors is not a straightforward condemnation of Britain today. It’s a letter to an abusive partner, with all the pleading and pathos that comes with it. Drew isn’t just singing about social change – he really wants it. This is the right record, from the right voice at the right time. His first two albums were very good indeed; but who needs Who Needs Action When You’ve Got Words when you’ve got this? Tom Birts
Opener and best track on the album by far, Fingers Never Bleed, is what Yeasayer do best – synths, marching effects and a melancholic, emotive verse that springs to life when singer Chris Keating’s vocals raise into a pop chorus that lifts the soul. Things move into a more ‘90s R&B vibe for Longevity and the first single released from the album, Henrietta, offers a funked up love song that sinks into a haunting breakdown with beautifully harmonised vocals as Keating sings: “Oh Henrietta/We can live on forever.” Demon Road is another outright winner, taking inspiration from the likes of Erasure with a simple beat, quirky sounds and uplifting chorus that gives you shivers and gets stuck in your head. Folk Hero Shtick is taking things to the other end of the scale with folk guitar riffs and strings that sound like they’re straight out of a Simon & Garfunkel number. In contrast, there are some punchier tracks on the album that have a dark, electronic edge including Devil And The Deed, which uses some really interesting synths and computer game-sounding effects and Reagan’s Skeleton. Closer Glass Of The Microscope takes a lead from the ethereal intros of The xx and is the perfect way to finish up. Another big triumph and affirmation that Yeasayer continue to deliver track after perfectly crafted track. Helen Lear
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A Is For Alpine
The first two tracks, Lovers and Lovers 2, lead the listener down a rabbit hole of icily pretty, stripped-back pop music. Next up is the weightier Hands, which builds and drops with layered vocals and synth melding effortlessly with empty space. The middle of the album however suffers from a lack of ideas as well as hooks. It feels like every guitar line and drumbeat is on its tiptoes, trying to match singers Lou James and Phoebe Baker’s ethereal, indistinct vocals, which robs the tracks like Softsides and Seeing Red of most of their bite. Singles Gasoline and Too Safe manage to rise out of the haze of chilled out atmospherics and breathy vocals: the former with an insistent beat and vocal that’s immediate and catchy, and the latter with sharp, repetitive guitar. Into The Wild gives hints at something a little different, using more forceful rhythms to inject some welcome fun into their sound. This lighter, more energetic tone continues on The Vigour, completely with frantic handclaps, before Multiplication carries the album out on some more gentle, frost covered electro-pop. A Is For Alpine is an assured and polished debut, but it feels like the band is a little too comfortable in this sound, and that a little more experimentation might lift the whole album to the level of their killer singles. Madeleine Laing
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True to its title, Dinosaur Jr’s Bug Live: In The Hands Of The Fans (Umbrella) sees the trio revisit 1988’s classic Bug while six contest-winning fans captured the action in Washington, DC last year. There’s an irksome start detailing the premise, but after that we’re onto the gig, complete with the immortal opener Freak Scene. If this isn’t a very physically mobile band to catch from multiple angles, there are still some creative shots and effects used. It captures the weighty thunder of it all, especially with overhead footage, and the bludgeoning power Dinosaur Jr retain to this day.
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LIZ GREEN
WEIGHTLESS
Rogue Rcrds/Inertia
Shock
English songstress Liz Green has delivered a melting pot of warm, rich styles and influences in her eagerly-anticipated debut, O, Devotion!, producing a simply delightful listening experience that takes you on a voyage through time and genres.
Weightless are a young band who are still finding their feet and that shows in their debut, Self-Adjustment. However, rather than trying to cover up their weaknesses through production tricks and techniques, the Adelaide band have stripped back to the basics and created an insightful and brutally honest album.
O, Devotion!
From the get-go it’s clear that O, Devotion! is a well-considered and soundly constructed album. The background collaboration on opener, Hey Joe, between the slow fingerpicking of a guitar, the low, smooth tone of a trumpet and the ever lower, throbbing pulse of a tuba, is a perfect backdrop for Green’s measured and dominant vocals. Infusing elements of jazz, soul, folk and blues throughout the album, Green successfully manages to avoid pigeonholing herself as a run-of-the-mill female folk singer, the fate of many female singers over the past few years. Most songs on Green’s debut are stripped bare, highlighting her extraordinarily rich vocals. The melody within each song is created through Green’s voice rather than the music scores, which play on loop as cute, constant backdrops. Whilst it’s a move that truly does place the stress on Green’s talent, on tracks like Luis, the repetitious nature of the guitar fingerpicking can become a little distracting. Bad Medicine, a track debuted by Green in 2007, fits well within the other 11 tracks on O, Devotion!, suggesting that the rest of the album was constructed around the sound and style of the single that won Green the Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition. A delightful and enchanting debut. Cate Summers
Self-Adjustment
All eight tracks reflect a clear, childish innocence through the band’s lyrics and melodies. The intrinsic guitar lines that nurse each track on Self-Adjustment are so delicate that they appear to only just be holding each song together. From opening track, Anxious In A Crowd, it is clear that there is no whitewashing over the little bumps and rivets within the album. It is the intention of the band for us to hear every slight guitar line, to clearly experience raw and at times strained vocals and to be guided through each song by clean, understated drumbeats. SelfAdjustment is an interesting and refreshing debut because the band was bold enough to highlight their vulnerability and inexperience through their untreated, clean songs. Weightless have great potential. The short but sweet Life Abroad is a stunningly simple composition of uplifting harmonies and graceful guitar work. Similarly, Holding On, though unadorned, is a well-considered track with perfectly executed control. Summer Of John is another example of a musical composition that has been developed with a maturity beyond that expected from such a young band. The rawness of the vocals throughout Self-Adjustment does get a little trying at times, and it is clear that the stronger talent within the band lies in the expert musical talents of the guitarists and drummer. However, this does not affect the endearing quality to what is an impressive debut.
Live At Checkerboard Lounge (Eagle Vision/ Shock) preserves a historic Chicago gig from 1981 where Muddy Waters – two years before dying of cancer – and his band jammed with The Rolling Stones. The procession of dream guests doesn’t start until the fifth song, Baby Please Don’t Go, but Mick, Keith and Ron all feature. They do Hoochie Coochie Man together, while Buddy Guy, Junior Wells and the astonishing Lefty Dizz crowd in on Mannish Boy. The incendiary guitar exchanges on One Eyed Woman are alone worth the price of admission, but the songs go long into the night.
Like the Dinosaur Jr DVD, Raw Power Live: In The Hands Of The Fans (Umbrella) sees Iggy & The Stooges conquer a famed album while we watch through the eyes of fans. Here it’s the band’s 2010 performance at All Tomorrow’s Parties. It’s not simply 1973’s Raw Power, either; bits of 1970’s Fun House sneak in at the end, along with the obligatory I Wanna Be Your Dog. As with Dinosaur Jr, the lucky fans also get to interview members of the band: Iggy Pop, James Williamson and Scott Asheton. Though it’s someone else’s dream coming true, the excitement is contagious. Rock Milestones: Ziggy Stardust (Umbrella) begs the question: does this album really need more evaluation and exaltation? Not really, but the best thing this doco does is highlight the sheer level of artistry, not just of Bowie, but all around him. The rest of the band get the credit they deserve, in other words, and there are new and old interviews with Mick Ronson, Trevor Bolder and Mick Woodmansey. Intercut with archived performances of that era’s songs and full of gushing talking heads, this might be enough to make you want to revisit a record canonised for so long now. Doug Wallen
Cate Summers
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TIMANDERIC.COM INPRESS • 33
FRONTROW@INPRESS.COM.AU
THIS WEEK IN
ARTS THE PERFORMING AVENGERS This year’s Gangsters Ball is hosted by hirsute Irish comedian Dave Callan, who tells Baz McAlister how he’ll be expected to be funny. Funny how? Like a clown funny?
LIPSYNCH
WEDNESDAY 8 Making Trouble For Yourself: Mads Brügger With John Safran – Danish satirist and filmmaker Mads Brügger is in Melbourne with his new doco The Ambassador. In this MIFF talk, Mads Brügger and John Safran will discuss radical journalism, documentary stuntsmanship and risking your life to get the story. Wheelers Centre, 7pm. The Ambassador’s final screening will be Thursday 9 August, Greater Union, 9pm.
FRIDAY 10 The Amazing Spider Man – the most recent of the web-spinning franchise and Marc Webb’s slightly darker addition to the Sam Raimi series is screening with Raimi’s 2002 Spider Man tonight. If you haven’t already seen Andrew Garfield’s Peter Parker making puppy eyes at Emma Stone’s Gwen Stacey, or you just want to compare the CGI of the 2012 interpretation to its 2002 (admittedly visually inferior) version, this double screening will have your Spidey senses tingling. Astor Theatre, 7.30pm. On The Misconception Of Oedipus – so we know that Oedipus murders his father and unwittingly marries his mother. However this play delves into how this tragedy began by focusing on Jocasta and Laius, the parents who birthed a child that would bring about their downfall. Devised by Zoe Atkinson, Matthew Lutton and Tom Wright. text by Tom Wright and directed by Matthew Lutton. Opening night, Malthouse, 8pm, until 26 August.
SATURDAY 11 Miss Bala – a film that follows three terrifying days in the Mexican city of Baja as Laura, an aspiring Miss Baja California, becomes embroiled in a case with a local drug lord. Loosely based on the true story of a former Miss Hispanic America, director Gerardo Naranjo captures the horror of the violence surrounding the prevalent drug culture in Mexico through the story of Laura as she simultaneously edges closer towards her pageant dream and deeper into trouble. Part of MIFF, Greater Union, 6.30pm. Everywhere But Here – high above Melbourne (on the seventh floor of the Nicholson Building to be exact), BLINDSIDE’s inaugural festival will end today. Showcasing video screenings by 18 cutting
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edge artists, an installation by Hanna Tai and Return To Sender – a series of postal-based artworks from around the world – to name just a few events you’ll find at the festival, Everywhere But Here plays on notions of travel, transition and place. Closing day, Nicholson Building.
SUNDAY 12 Focus Forward – Short Films, Big Ideas – a panel discussion as part of MIFF, run by CINELAN (co-founded by supersizer Morgan Spurlock and Karol MarteskoFenster) in association with GE, the Focus Forward initiative consists of 30 three-minute films and is inspired by GE’s vision of innovative people as the catalyst for world change. The four latest films including Big Boys Gone Bananas and Last Train Home by award-winning directors Fredrik Gerrten and Lixin Fan respectively, will be showing during the festival, and the pair will be participating in the panel discussion, Say It With A Short: Creative Storytelling For 21st Century Audiences. Festival Lounge, Forum Theatre, 1.30-3pm. Lipsynch – the Robert Lepage nine-hour epic beast of a play will conclude today at the State Theatre. Nine lives and seven decades are masterfully intertwined as the cross-continent journeys of the main characters are played out as multilingual operatic arias. A wailing baby left behind after a young woman dies on a flight from Frankfurt to Montreal is the catalyst for this immense piece of theatre and the tale of the opera singer who saves the baby boy binds the nine narratives together. The score for Lipsynch features everything from Bach to Joy Division and the running time gives the concept of value for money a whole new meaning. Closing day, State Theatre, 1pm.
Comedian Dave Callan is no stranger to the Gangsters Ball, the annual crazy whirl of 1920sthemed cabaret, vaudeville, magic, burlesque dames and Big Band swing. It’s been going for five years this year, but last year was the Melbourne-based triple j DJ’s first Gangsters Ball as a punter. He pinned back his trademark locks – “Because hair didn’t happen on men back in the 1920s,” he says – and jitterbugged the night away. “I was impressed by how everyone dressed up,” Callan continues. “The place looked amazing with everyone decked out ‘20s-style. What I like about it is some themes work better for women than men and vice versa – but with Gangsters everyone gets to look amazing and the decor transports you to another time – except alcohol is not illegal!” A self-confessed fan of the gangster genre of flicks, he cites classics such as The Godfather Part II, Casino and Goodfellas
That’s not all the entertainment on offer – poker, blackjack and roulette fiends can head to the gambling den for a flutter, where you might spot Callan in between sets, looking pretty and blowing on men’s dice. “Then he’ll turn to me, give me a chip and say in a thick Brooklyn accent ‘Eeh, go buy y’self somethin’ nice.’ Then I will put the chip in my cleavage and pickpocket him for being sexist.”
among his favourites. As well as re-watching those films, boning up on choice Joe Pesci quotes to casually drop into his conversation, Callan is frantically learning the Charleston and collecting bits and pieces for his ‘20s outfit ahead of his hosting duties when the show hits Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane next month. Touring his comedy show in the UK has given him some more options. “I found some nice
HIS TAKE Aidan Fennessy is directing the latest version of the screwball comedy classic, His Girl Friday, at the MTC this season. He chats to Sarah Braybrooke about the play’s history, and why it still feels fresh nearly 85 years after its first incarnation on Broadway.
TUESDAY 14 Tweet Film: Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows – this month’s Tweet Film is the climactic ending to Harry Potter. With almost the entire plot out of the way, this installation is dedicated to the epic battle for Hogwarts, and what better way to enjoy the battle than by sharing it with your fellow Potter fans on Twitter. “You and whose army?” – says the (got-hot in this film) Neville Longbottom as a badass in a cardigan. Loop, 7pm.
Gorski, fire-stick foot-juggler Zoe Robbins, sleight-of-hand gangster magician Al Cappuccino, burlesque bombshells Red Devotchkin and Briana Bluebell and much more. “I usually perform with other comedians and these guys usually perform with other acts from their discipline, so to come together like this is kind of amazing, like a performing Avengers,” Callan admits. “I am equally excited about all of them.”
The story started life in 1928 as a play called The Front Page about two male journalists – one an ambitious editor, the other a talented young hack tired of sleaze and set on leaving the profession, until circumstances intervene in the form of the biggest scoop of the year. In 1940 it became the film His
Girl Friday, starring Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell. The movie kept the original premise but tweaked one crucial detail – it made the young journalist a woman. The result was what Fennessy describes as “a mash-up of a rom-com and a political piece about corruption and journalism”. Its energy and
cravats in London yesterday which are of the era. Unfortunately the MasterChef guy has sort of ruined cravats for everyone so I might go bow tie instead.” The other thing Callan says draws him to the Gangsters Ball is that it represents true variety in its acts. There really is something for every taste: dark hypnotist Shane Hill, plate-spinning juggler Mr brilliant writing made it an enduring favourite, and it has now returned to the stage in an adaptation written by John Guare. The defining element of both the play and film for Fennessy is its dialogue, which he describes as “a type of American patois that is very familiar, and when it’s done well it is just brilliant... Howard Hawks [the film’s director] wanted to replicate how he actually saw people speak in tight, fast-moving environments. So to do that he was one of the first directors to use plate mic’s and started secreting microphones around. [The film] was a big technical achievement and it started off that whole quick-talking screwball comedy genre.” Underneath the play’s lightheartedness there is a certain timeliness to the production too. Fennessy’s play National Interest, about the Balibo Five, came out recently. It also focussed on journalists, albeit in a very different, far more tragic, context. By comparison, the picture of journalism painted in His Girl Friday seems quaint. But Fennessy explains that he was partly inspired to stage the play by the News of the World phone tapping scandal in Britain. “The journalists appear like these happy-go-lucky schmucks just
And of course, there’s the music. The Velvet Set, Michael McQuaid’s Red Hot Rhythmakers and the WellSwung Daddies will be lighting up the night with ‘20s-appropriate jazz, swing and Big Band sounds. Callan says he has a deep love of this style of music and used to slip it into his triple j playlists under the radar. “I used to blend my taste for Big Band and my love of triple j music by playing Richard Cheese. He plays Big Band versions of stuff like Creep by Radiohead, Snoop Dogg, Slipknot and so on. It kept everyone happy… Okay, mainly me.” WHAT: Gangsters Ball WHEN & WHERE: Saturday 8 September, Forum Theatre pumping out stories and it’s all very innocent, [but] there’s a very black edge to how they are treated in this work... they’ll do anything to get the story.” Will fans of the film be surprised by anything in the play? Fennessy pauses to think about it. “I get the feeling that John Guare absolutely loved that film, so there’s a lot of love and a lot of devotion within the script. [But] I think they might be.” Fenessny was never looking to replicate the performances of Grant and Russell in the lead roles. He explains that rather than trying to capture their idiosyncratic charisma he wanted lead performances that brought their own flair and above all, chemistry. “They are meant to be oddball lovers. So we recognise, and they recognise, that they shouldn’t be together, but when they are together, it works. For that to occur you’ve got to have a sense of plausibility.” The leads in the MTC are played by Philip Quast and Pamela Rabe. “I’m not sure what it is, if it’s a look or something, but there’s terrific plausibility and connection with those two actors.” WHAT: His Girl Friday WHEN & WHERE: Opening Thursday 16 August until Saturday 15 September, MTC
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FRAGMENTED
FISH
WITH BOB BAKER FISH Mickey Rourke’s face is a freakshow. It’s like his plastic surgeon has stapled dried pigskin to his skull then wacked it into place with a saucepan before setting it alight. What we’re left with is the melted wreck. In a case of life imitating art, in 1989 he made Johnny Handsome, in which he played a hideously deformed gangster, though to be fair he looks much scarier now au natural than he did back then in full movie makeup. His mangled distended face has him destined to play Wrestler-type roles for the remainder of his career – a broken weathered man trying to find some kind of salvation from the mess he’s made of his life… and face. Yet Hollywood keeps giving to Mickey. Whilst roles like his in Angel Heart and Rumble Fish demonstrated a remarkable talent in the ‘80s, a combination of returning to the boxing ring and stupid selfindulgent film decisions left him in b-grade hell by the ‘90s. It was only the likes of Robert Rodriguez who picked him up for a couple of films, most notably Sin City, and that returned him to the big leagues in the noughties appearing in Iron Man II and The Expendables. But make no mistake, a man riddled with as much ego as Rourke is destined to fuck it all up again. “I never go to parties or premieres, but if I do it’s usually on a Harley Davidson,” he offered to Playboy magazine in 1987, demonstrating both a narcissistic lack of insight and a desperate desire to rebel in a totally conformist way.
It’s strange to think that his second decline might begin in a film where he gets to dry hump an ‘it girl’ like Megan Fox and he shares the screen with Bill Murray, Kelly Lynch and Rhys Ifans. You can see why Passion Play (Eagle) appealed to Rourke; it’s so self-consciously dripping with clichéd cool. Rourke plays a broken down jazz trumpeter now reduced to playing strip clubs and mixing it with local hoods. A surreal journey to the desert finds him in a spooky old-style carnival sideshow and, exactly where you’d expect to find Rourke, the freakshow. It’s here he finds Fox, a beautiful woman with the wings of an angel, and you know the rest. The ingredients are here to create something quite special, some kind of gritty existential noir take on Wings Of Desire, yet screenwriter turned director Mitch Glazer (Scrooged) squanders his opportunity and instead delivers a plodding third-rate thriller. CGI gets a bad wrap, but its unconvincing imagery is the best thing about 2-Headed Shark Attack (Peacock). What could be better than a rampaging two-headed shark chomping through annoying American co-eds? “That’s twice the amount of teeth,” announces one of the brighter bikini-clad soonto-be victims. With Hulk Hogan’s niece, who looks like a broken down porn star, Carmen Electra who acts with her breasts and the z-grade brother of a barely famous actor, the plot has the credibility (and intelligence) of an episode of Jersey Shore, single-mindedly designed to turn these stupid teens into sashimi. Gold.
GIVEAWAYS GALORE For the chance to win Portlandia season one DVDs, double passes to the Israeli Film Festival opening Tuesday 28 August and Magic Mike, which was described by Film Carew on themusic.com.au as “the cinematic surprise of the year… this is clearly the best commercial/ Hollywood/multiplex movie to screen in 2012 so far”, head to the Inpress Facebook page to enter. Free arts stuff? Ummm, yes please.
THEATRE
MAGIC MIKE
REVIEW
HELICOPTER MTC Playwriting/directing team Angela Betzien and Leticia Caceres offer up a winner here. Helicopter is a mighty and audacious piece of theatre, vigorously engaging with a delectable array of theatrical conventions married to a cracker script. A privileged white family becomes involved with the African family living next door, a relationship based on guilt and unspoken expectations. A tragedy occurs. The white family’s inability to respond in a human, natural way to a death embroils them all in a stilted tangle of misunderstanding. Young Jack (Charles Grounds) is adopting a dysfunctional pose which will engulf him while his mother (played by
Daniela Farinaci) is desperate to protect him from the outside world. This MTC production is powerful and moving where you can’t like most of the characters but you are on the edge of your seat wondering what will become of them. The irony and evil humour in the text makes you gasp. Helicopter is beyond clever; it’s skilful, nasty, profound yet unpretentious. Liza Dezfouli Running until 17 August
SISTER ACT
actors, musicians and pioneers, as well as several distinct cultures from their American father and their mother, who hails from the Philippines.
THE HAYES SISTERS
Christina says that influences from both cultures are present in their work. Their connection to the Philippines is something that they drew on in working on Blood Wedding, in particular. “The first thing [Marion Potts] said is that she didn’t want to set it in a specifically Spanish-only place, she wanted it to read more universally.” The finished set design incorporates nods to the Philippines and its colonial Spanish past along with other, more ubiquitous references such as a backdrop of perforated cement blocks, a site familiar everywhere from Europe to Thomastown. There’s also a huge expanse of gravel which evokes a bullfighting ring and a bank of tomblike refrigerators packed with ice and water.
Siblings Christina, Esther and Hannah Hayes reckon honesty is the best policy in the workplace. They chat with Sarah Braybrooke about collaborating on the Malthouse’s Blood Wedding. Could you work with a sibling? Not just in the same work place, but in the same room, on the same project – designing something huge and complex. And make that not just one sibling but two… The Sisters Hayes are a Melbournebased trio of artists whose shared DNA helps rather than hinders their collaborative work. With backgrounds in animation, production design and painting, their most recent commission has been shaping the costumes and set for the Malthouse’s Blood Wedding. Working closely with director Marion Potts and her team, the sisters have given the elemental, passionate tragedy by Federico Garcia Lorca a stunningly contemporary aesthetic. Perched in their shared studio on the top floor of the Nicholas building, the sisters work in an art-crammed room with a vertiginous view over the city. Three brunettes dressed in vivid colours and vintage prints, Christina (29), Esther (27) and Hannah (23) have the kind of resemblance that
comes as much from a lifetime of sharing the same tastes and interests as from their shared genes. The sisters began working together casually when costume designer Esther would rope her sisters in to help her out. It worked with Hannah, but Christina confesses, “I got pulled off the sewing! I wasn’t very good.” Instead she turned her painting skills, honed by a Fine Art degree from the VCA, to decorating sets.
Do they ever argue? They all laugh, and Christina admits, “We do argue a lot, but it’s good because we can be really open and frank with each other… Also we’ve done a lot with other people as well, and, bless ‘em, sometimes it’s hard when you’re working with someone and you have to be a little bit, you know, polite? It can be quite frustrating. Whereas with these guys, I can say ‘that is so stupid!’”
The decision to take it to the next level and start working together formally was a natural one, Hannah explains. “We were always seeking each other’s opinions, and then we started thinking what it would be like if we started from the beginning on something together. Conceiving an idea, researching it and seeing how it would go.” They’ve now been a team for three years, working on a range of installations, exhibitions and set designs.
It helps that they have quite a unified creative vision, something Esther naturally attributes to their shared upbringing. “We have similar influences, and similar design styles.” Family is also a key theme in their works. These include Big Sky Country, a series of photographs they produced after travelling across the States, retracing the footsteps of their American ancestors, who were homesteaders in Montana. Their colourful family history includes
MASTER PLAN Sarah Braybrooke gets inside the head of Matt Lutton to pull apart his latest play On The Misconception Of Oedipus. “It’s a great fear of mine, to not realise that I’m harming or hurting [someone] without realising. It’s a fear of being destructive without realising you’re being destructive.” Writer and director Matt Lutton is having an introspective moment as he explains the ideas behind his new play On The Misconception Of Oedipus. Lutton’s production is a new take on the myth, one which reframes the story to highlight a specific question: to what extent can you know that you are inside of a tragedy when it is occurring? To do this he chose a different place to begin the narrative. Traditionally it starts with Oedipus as a grown man, being told that there’s a plague on
the city. He then looks in to his past, which is when the horrible truth comes out: he has unwittingly killed his father and married his mother. Lutton explains “What we’re looking at is a prequel to all those events. Mainly it looks at the parents.” He is fascinated by their decision to go ahead and have a child despite an oracle’s warning that it would bring about their own destruction. “[On The Misconception Of Oedipus is] a look at ‘What would you do if you were told that you were going to give birth to Oedipus?’” If it sounds like the play is getting into some pretty intense psychological territory, that’s intentional, as Lutton explains.
Starring
Directed By
Dennis Manahan
Don Bridges
The Oedipus myth has long been associated with the darkest depths of our psyches, thanks to a certain Austrian psychoanalyst. “You can’t say ‘Oedipus’ without saying ‘Freud’, they’re so linked.” At times the play “Feel[s] like a group of people in therapy trying to analyse their own neuroses and desires and obsessions. It’s like going to a counselling session, a group of people trying to work through the kind of traumas they’ve had.” Group therapy and psychoanalysis might sound a far cry from the ancient world of gods, oracles, and prophesy occupied by the play’s original characters. But Lutton thinks that their preoccupation with fate
With three creatives involved, there are a lot of ideas flying around when they work. Christina explains, “[Sometimes] it’s about pulling back, not trying to throw everything on it”. Esther agrees, “We tend to think ‘more is more!’. So we had to scale back.” Having three people instead of one doing the job means that in theory each person might have to compromise more, but Christina doesn’t see it that way. “I think it’s really lucky that we’re all in [this] industry because it can be quite competitive... We have a support base for each together.” She catches her sisters’ eyes and bursts out laughing, “And someone’s always going to pull you back a bit as well, and say honestly: ‘That is a stupid idea!’”. WHAT: Blood Wedding WHEN & WHERE: Running until 19 August, Malthouse Theatre is something we still share – albeit in a way which takes more from the world view of Freud than that of Sophocles. “[There’s still] an endless question of how we make the choices we make, and how much we are preconditioned or just following a path. Not because the gods have drawn it out for us, [but] because of society or psychology. In Sophocles’s play, Oedipus went and asked the messengers to bring forth the shepherd to tell him who he was. Today, you’d just go to a psychiatrist.” Lutton, who is still in his twenties but has an impressive artistic track record including a clutch of awards and a stint with the Australia Council for the Arts, has already staged several productions of Greek myths, most recently Strauss’s Elektra with the West Australian Opera. Drawn to the cocktail of love, violence, transgression and transformation that the Greek myths contain, he says “Essentially I find them incredible stories. And stories that can be used endlessly to reflect and contemplate the world that we’re living in today. This isn’t a show about what the Greeks think about Oedipus. We use Oedipus for ourselves.” WHAT: On The Misconception Of Oedipus WHEN & WHERE: Opening Friday 10 August until Sunday 26 August, The Malthouse
Carla Kissane INPRESS • 35
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T H O R O U G H LY
MIFFED FROM THE DUMPS
HAIL
Ahhhh, MIFF. The sights and sounds. The slow wssshhhhh of the Russell Street seats as you sink your way into their vinyl discomfort. The unending queues snaking down disreputable alleyways. The overheard pretentious conversations thereof: “a more accurate translation of the title would be...”; “I was just in Chile...”; “Baz is a good friend of mine…” etc. The all-consuming, bone-aching, teeth-chattering cold. And those blessed — if only ever momentary — victories in cinema, in which the sights and sounds of the surrounds recede and cinema itself triumphs. In what’s, historically speaking, quite the surprise, some of the most beautiful images in this year’s festival come in the form of an Australian crime docudrama which, if any kind of sub-genre, suggests socio-realism and toothless, tattooed bogans. There are those, too, in Amiel CourtinWilson’s narrative debut, Hail, but, amidst the raw accents, inspired (Exuma!) soundtrack choices and atmospheric, dream-haze swirls, there are undeniable instances of pure cinema; images burning vivid and bright, like an actual horse falling from an airplane, hurtling towards its imminent demise like the film’s failing protagonist. It marks a rare Australian highlight in the MIFF monolith, already into its second week. As always, it’s hard to work out exactly how to write about a festival so vast. Invariably, going through the program says more about the individual than the whole, and one’s highlights speak to that. Like, as much as I love Marcelo Machado’s Tropicália, it’ll undoubtedly play better — and be more meaningful — for those in love with the music of the Brazilian psychedelic epoch, for those for whom seeing footage of Caetano Veloso and Gal Costa back in ’67 would bring tears to their eyes. Similarly, Adam Yauch’s Gunnin’ For That #1 Spot — screened as part of a tribute to the late Beastie Boy — is a minor documentary that will thrill ballers of all ages; footage of teenaged Kevin Love, Mike Beasley, Tyreke Evans et al as teenage protégés is stuff of much historical merit. They’re two of the documentary highlights of the festival, as are How To Survive A Plague, a profound portrait of AIDS activists mobilising in ’80s New York, and Wang Jiuliang’s Beijing Besieged By Waste, a series of luminous landscapes shot around the cavernous landfills, illegal dumps and toxic wastelands of greater Beijing, that stands as a profound
piece of symbolism for the imminent demise of our decaying planet. Those still working out how to extract value from their mini-pass — and those hard-to-fill daytime slots — should be circling a Monday morning (sickday?) double-bill of Marina Abramović: The Artist Is Present and Modest Reception, two fest highlights screening far from the limelight of sold-out Saturday nights. Matthew Akers’ portrait of the performance-art titan in the leadup to her career retrospective at MOMA in 2010 catches the artist at the peak of her career, climaxing at the apex of the titular exhibition in which Abramović sat still, all day every day, and stared at her audience. Modest Reception comes from the tradition of Iranian parables, from a collaborateur of Oscar hero Asghar Farhadi, Mani Haghighi. It depicts a pair of urbane Tehranis touring through the rural mountains, throwing bags of cash at the impoverished locals who treat them with reticence, suspicion and, sometimes, disinterest. For some the cash seems like the benevolence of God, for others the temptation of the devil. The identity and motivations of these mysterious interlopers are never answered; they may be Robin Hood figures, grifters or fans of Brewster’s Millions. Haghighi never tips his hat, and that makes his film, which is loaded with black comedy, satirical bite and evasiveness, all the more powerful; one of my favourite MIFF films to talk over. Two more possibly-overlooked pictures from within the vast slate to recommend: Pablo Giorgelli’s Las Acacias, a hyper-minimalist, achingly humanist portrait of a long-haul truck-driver transporting a Paraguayan single mother over the border into Buenos Aires, in which long stretches of silence carry countless sentiments and become their own kind of conversation, turning, eventually, endlessly touching. And Children Of Sarajevo affirms Aida Begić’s status as auteur on the rise; the 30-something Bosnian making a piece of profound cinema that plays as both delirious, dark dream and stark socio-realism, with echoes of Cristian Mungiu’s 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days. Her portrait of modern-day Sarajevo that suggests a war still very much alive, its siblings the symbolic ‘children’ of a generation or orphans. The film festival is, as always, a window onto other cultures, other worlds, other lives, and Children Of Sarajevo is an astonishing example of that. Anthony Carew For more MIFF coverage visit Film Carew at themusic.com.au CHILDREN OF SARAJEVO
36 • INPRESS
Wang Jiuling tells Anthony Carew about pushing through mountains of rubbish, literally, to create his new film, Beijing Besieged By Waste. When Beijing was hit with its heaviest rainfall in 60 years in late July, the resultant tragedy — 77 people dying due to inadequate drainage — highlighted the infrastructure problems dogging the world’s most sprawling, misthought megalopolis. Since the construction of the Grand Canal in the fifth century BC, Beijing’s imported its resources. With its unchecked recent growth, the resources it imports and disposes of are staggering. With China these days effectively serving as the world’s factory, its capital is, in turn, a cluttered, polluted, toxic megacity and, in turn, a towering symbol of humanity squeezing ever harder on an overtaxed planet. Beijing Besieged By Waste captures this, the film a series of landscapes set amongst the illegal dumps and monolithic landfills that encircle Beijing, butting up against the ever-expanding city. “In 2008, I was in my hometown, a village in Shandong province, shooting a
THEATRE LIPSYNCH The Arts Centre Clocking in at nine hours, Robert Lepage’s Lipsynch is a once in a lifetime theatrical experience. A huge, sprawling masterpiece, its sheer narrative load has more in common with a novel or television series than your average play, and is far more satisfying. And before you ask, don’t worry… there are a lot of toilet breaks. Consisting of nine interlocking tales, the play begins with a baby crying on a plane. His mother won’t wake, and we follow his story, then the stories of people who touch his life, and the stories of people who touch theirs. The overarching theme of these interwoven narratives is voice: each character’s journey is refracted through some aspect of speech, voice or song, from a singer whose brain surgery gives her aphasia, to a man who changes his accent to escape his former life. In keeping with this, the show is full of musical performances,
THEATRE THE PRIDE Red Stich Actors Theatre This is a terrific, stunningly structured play from UK playwright Alexi Kaye-Campbell, presenting an overview of how western culture has changed over the decades, and intelligent analyses of issues via intimate stories of strong idiosyncratic characters struggling with their heartaches. Red Stitch, as ever, delivers a fine production of this thoughtful and muscular work. The tension endured by Phillip (played by Lyall Brooks) in the ‘50s as he denies his homosexuality is mirrored by modern day Phillip
photographic series about ghost and gods,” explains Wang Jiuling, the 36-year-old photographerturned-documentarian behind it. “I needed to find very pristine countryside to be the background of this photographic series. However, it was really hard to find that environment; in China, this pure environment that was around even a generation ago is now totally gone.” So, Wang threw himself into a world whose horrors are daily life for the denizens who pick through refuse for work or sustenance. “The smell of the rubbish made it really hard to breathe,” he recounts. “Big clouds of flies would surround me like crazy dogs and stay on my face. It was really hard to get rid of them. When I stood on the rubbish piles, the soft, slippery feeling made me afraid I would sink in.” Chased away by landfill owners and under pressure from government departments, Beijing Besieged By Waste was made as underground
REVIEW including opera, jazz, choral music and a surprisingly good heavy metal moment showing the full range of the international cast’s talents. Despite its length, Lipsynch is compulsively watchable; the acts move through space and time with a deftness that is almost cinematic. Set designer Jean Hazel has a genius for capturing different interiors – cars, kitchens, shops, studios – almost all of which are created using a spare, modular set of panels. Screens, live projections and some very clever stage illusions also feature. Ironically, the play’s only technical failure is the subtitling, which is patchy and poorly synched – a serious let down in a play that is all about voice. The writing does also lag a little at times, but not enough to cancel out all the brilliant stuff in between. It’s unlikely you will ever have a better opportunity to indulge in an entire day of stunning theatrical storytelling. Sarah Braybrooke Running until Sunday 12 August
REVIEW whose heart is aching as a result of his partner’s infidelities. Oliver (Ben Geuerens) in both stories challenges Phillip to allow his real emotions their voice. The trajectory of the men’s relationships and their friendship with Sylvia (Ngaire Dawn Fair) is portrayed though superb writing and classically expressive acting by the cast (which includes Ben Prendergast). Direction overcomes the limitations of a work which is all conversation with moments of effective yet unselfconscious imagery beautifully overlapping the two worlds. Brilliant. Liza Dezfouli Running until 18 August
work, and is now the key film in the Melbourne International Film Festival’s inspired program Street Level Visions: Chinese Independent Documentaries. Yet, with its study of rampant hyper-capitalism and debilitating energy consumption, it’s a film of global resonance. “When I looked closely at the rubbish in these dumps, I saw all kind of logos. The landfills look like a combination of all kinds of wellknown global brands. The rubbish is totally symbolic of modern capitalist production and consumerist culture.” Though there’s a fatalism underlying the portrayal, Wang also undertook Beijing Besieged By Waste with a sense of hope, his project a social crusade. “I cared more about the social value generated by the work,” he explains. “I cared more about whether the waste problem could be improved as a result of this film.” With Beijing Besieged By Waste being screened both domestically
C U LT U R A L
and internationally, it indeed brought the issue into public focus, and the local government has had to bring in new policies, invest money and enforce dumping laws to curb the problem. Wang is proud: “I can confidently say all of those 500 landfills I shot around Beijing have improved.” But he also knows, ultimately, the issue is a no-win proposition. No technology can truly dispose of waste, meaning the issue should be of limiting the production of it. “However,” he sighs, “the mass production of products under capital and consumer culture has spread all around the world, speeding the rush towards imminent environmental collapse.” Thanks to Wang Yi for translation assistance. WHAT: Beijing Besieged By Waste (Part of MIFF) WHEN & WHERE: Friday 10 August, 9pm & Sunday 12 August, 6.30pm, ACMI
CRINGE
WITH REBECCA COOK The Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) kicked off on Thursday night in formidable style with the Australian premiere of crowd-pleaser The Sapphires. MIFF has a mixed history of picking Aussie flicks as the opening or closing night features. Over the past few years we’ve seen some absolute dogs as well as some truly inspirational hits. A quick summary: The Wedding Party (2010 – dog), Balibo (2009 – hit), Not Quite Hollywood (2008 – hit), Red Dog (2011 – was rescheduled from the closing night luckily as it was literally and metaphorically a real dog), and The Sapphires (thanks to the screen gods is filed under ‘hit’). The Aussie feel-good retro flick didn’t quite get punters dancing in the aisles but the applause at the end was rousing and the mood way better than after The Wedding Party when everyone pretended to be extremely interested in the MIFF program booklet as the lights came up, lest they be sitting anywhere near anyone actually involved. The stars of The Sapphires, Jessica Mauboy, Deborah Mailman, Shari Sebbens and Miranda Tapsell, were joined on the red carpet by the ‘real Sapphires’ the indigenous soul group on whom the film is based. The annual gala night always brings out a mixed bag of local celebrities, film industry types, actors, and hardcore cinema geeks. This year that included Pia Miranda, Stephen Curry, Anthony Callea, Gary Sweet (who looked frighteningly familiar due to CH9’s overhyping of House Husbands during its Olympic coverage), Wayne Blair (director of The Sapphires), John Safran, Peter Helliar, cast members from Winners
& Losers and Geoffrey Rush. Unlike the year that Cringe managed to accidentally fall into/grope Adrian Grenier from Entourage there were no high profile international guests on show. The truly telling element of the night, however, was that surrounded by jobbing film and TV actors, folks were lining up to have their photo taken with a food critic. Yes, despite a live performance by Jessica Mauboy at the after-party, Matt Preston appeared to be the headline act at the event. A bit like a pressure cooker challenge on Masterchef, not everything at this year’s MIFF has run smoothly so far. There were unexplained delays on opening night (perhaps it had to do with the film being screened across multiple cinemas in the Greater Union Russell St complex, or late VIPs – the mystery remains). There were indeed some further mysterious goings-on at the screening of crime and punishment doco Into the Abyss with the audience reportedly receiving two parts of a TV series titled On Death Row instead of the allocated film. The series is a newer work by the same director. After the error was discovered, unfortunately the correct version didn’t make it in time for the next screening. The first screening of Japanese biopic The Day Mishima Chose His Own Fate was also thwarted by transport delays – although it’s hoped it will arrive in time for its second outing and replacement screenings are being organised. Meanwhile Once Upon A Time In America was pulled from screening without any further explanation. Oh the intrigue! No doubt there’ll be plenty more excitement as MIFF enters its second week.
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This year’s Melbourne Festival might not be for everyone but, as festival director Brett Sheehy tells Paul Ransom, he always keeps ‘three people’ in mind.
For a full overview of the 2012 Melbourne Festival program head to themusic.com.au WHAT: The Melbourne Festival WHEN & WHERE: From Tuesday 11 to Saturday 27 October (program out now)
DAVID BRIDIE
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: ANTONY & THE JOHNSONS IN SWANLIGHTS; CHUNKY MOVE’S AN ACT OF NOW; SCHAUBÜHNE BERLIN’S AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE AND FESTIVAL DIRECTOR BRETT SHEEHY
MARIA MINERVA
More than simply being a reflection of the director’s personal taste, this year’s program has loosely evolved around the two key themes of place
2012 will doubtless do what all good festivals should: divide opinion, enrage and entertain. Oh, and create a headache for the new director.
finalising the program, he considers “three people”; namely, the audience, the artists involved and the local arts community. “When I’m looking at work I’m also thinking about what I would love the 25 yearold composers and theatre makers of Melbourne to see and be inspired by; what could have an absolutely brilliant impact on their art making?” From grand old theatres to classic gallery spaces, in cathedrals and on river boats, Melbourne Festival
and identity. “I would never hold the program to rigid themes but it is interesting that those two have emerged. They’re such broad themes anyway that most artists address them almost always… But y’know, I wouldn’t want audiences to get bogged down in that.” Unavoidable in all of this is the personality and predilections of Brett Sheehy himself. It’s hard to sift the man out of the program. As he notes, “It’s hard for me to judge whether the festival has a singular personality or if there’s a feel to this festival; but you should be able to tell from a festival’s program the kind of thing that this guy or this girl likes and get from them their kind of vision of what’s interesting in contemporary arts. I guess this is one of the reasons, terrible though it is for us, that we all get turfed out every three or four years.”
LIBBY GORR
CHLOE HOOPER
However, for curators like Sheehy, the umbrella of festival programs invariably make audiences more daring. “It’s a bit of gift to us as festival directors that we get away with presenting some really tough work that we wouldn’t get to do elsewhere,” he says, adding that audiences are always more prepared to “give something a go” if it’s included in a brand name festival.
For the 2012 Melbourne Festival, Sheehy has spanned the globe and the genres to create a program packed with contemporary arts superstars, including legendary choreographer William Forsythe, performance poet Luke Wright, Antony & The Johnsons, Lee Ranaldo and Thurston Moore, German theatre ensemble Schaubuhne Berlin and Melbourne’s own Chunky Move. “What this one is doing, more than any of the others, is that it’s a kind of farewell to festivals with my bringing back of some of the great artists I’ve worked with before,” he says of his fourth and final Melbourne Festival.
TEK TEK
THE THREE PERSON FESTIVAL We all love a good festival; which is precisely why veteran festival director Brett Sheehy is always under the pump. Fortunately, for him and us, this year’s Melbourne Festival will be his tenth major international arts festival, so he knows a thing or ten about curating engaging, challenging and entertaining arts events.
Before he departs the director’s chair for a post with Melbourne Theatre Company, Sheehy will take audiences on a visceral tour of global arts, with everything from contemporary opera to circus, international film to punk rock, and a dance piece based on the themes of The Slap. According to Sheehy, the job of a festival is to be consciously diverse, edgy and provocative with an accent on what contemporary artists are doing now. When
COLLIDER SOLO IN RED
FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE
3RRR Presents LYRICAL
An extraordinary fusion of music, text and images led by acclaimed Melbourne composer Kynan Robinson, Solo in Red is inspired by the unmistakable writing of Cormac McCarthy and performed by the renowned contemporary music sextet blending brass and strings Collider.
Start your Festival weekend with Friday Night Live in the spectacular BMW Edge. Join Australia’s sharpest siren, Libbi Gorr, for the Festival’s Letterman meets-Jon Stewart late-night talk show, with provocateur Germaine Greer, comedian and author Mark Watson, science writer Margaret Wertheim, comedian Lawrence Leung and musicians Maria Minerva and house band Tek Tek.
On Saturday 1 September, two musical events at The Toff in Town explore storytelling through song, as celebrated songwriters showcase their work in an intimate evening of show and tell. The artists will let us in on the stories behind their songs as they perform them.
Presented by Melbourne Recital Centre and Collider in association with MWF WHEN FRI 24 AUG 6pm + 8pm, SAT 25 AUG 8pm TICKETS $40/$30 WHERE Melbourne Recital Centre BOOKINGS melbournerecital.com.au or 03 9699 3333
LINER NOTES One of Melbourne’s best-loved spoken word events, Liner Notes is a poetic tribute to a classic album, song by song. This year, we salute David Bowie’s leper Messiah from outer space, Ziggy Stardust, on the album’s 40th anniversary. Tim Flannery, Deborah Conway, Joumana Haddad, Benjamin Law and First Dog on the Moon, Emilie Zoey Baker, Sean M. Whelan, Omar Musa, Yana Alana, Ben Pobjie, Alicia Sometimes, and Michael Nolan WHEN SAT 25 AUG, 8pm WHERE Regal Ballroom TICKETS $25 BOOKINGS mwf.com.au
WHEN FRI 31 AUG, 9pm WHERE BMW Edge TICKETS $25
THE RADIO HOUR Be part of the audience for a unique radio event recorded live for broadcast on ABC Radio National’s 360documentaries. Telling stories on the theme ‘Do You Read Me?’, Pico Iyer, Chloe Hooper, Jon Tjhia and Jessie Borrelle (from audio journal Paper Radio), Natalie Kestecher (ABC Radio National) and Rachel Maher will be accompanied by musicians James Cecil, Shane O’Mara and Dan Marsh. Hosted and produced by Jaye Kranz, this is documentary radio like you’ve never seen before.
LYRICAL: FROM THE GROUND UP With the eclectic David Bridie, the alt-country folk of Kate Fagan and Hello Satellites’ Eva Popov. WHEN SAT 1 SEP, 3pm (Doors open 2.30pm) TICKETS $25
LYRICAL: BREAKING AND ENTERING With gothic electro of Maria Minerva (UK), lounge-pop duo Fox + Sui and the sensual stylings of Lost Animal. WHEN SAT 1 SEP, 8pm (Doors open 7:30pm) TICKETS $25
Proudly supported by APRA and 3RRR
Proudly supported by ABC Radio National WHEN SUN 2 SEP, 6pm TICKETS $25 WHERE Fairfax Theatre BOOKINGS artscentremelbourne.com.au or 1300 182 183
INPRESS • 37
38 • INPRESS
TOUR GUIDE
GIG OF THE WEEK
THE JUNGLE GIANTS: August 10 Northcote Social Club
THIS WEEK
THE LAURELS: August 11 Tote
INTERNATIONAL
RUFUS: August 17 Northcote Social Club PENNYWISE, THE MENZINGERS, SHARKS: August 26 Palace
DJ Z-TRIP: August 9 Prince Bandroom TIM BARRY: August 10 Gasometer HOME BREW: August 10 Espy BELL BIV DEVOE, GINUWINE: August 10, 14 Trak Live Lounge ANTAGONIST AD, LIONHEART, SHINTO KATANA: August 11 Bang; 12 Phoenix Youth Centre (AA); 14 Musicman Megastore (Bendigo, AA) BILLY TALENT: August 12 Billboard
JULIA STONE: September 6 Theatre Royal (Castlemaine); 7 Forum; 8 Meeniyan Town Hall THE MEDICS: Loft (Warrnambool) September 6; 14 National Hotel (Geelong); 15 Toff; 20 Karova Lounge (Ballarat); 22 Westernport Hotel (San Remo); 21 Ferntree Gully Hotel SPLIT SECONDS: September 8 Ding Dong
NATIONAL
XAVIER RUDD: September 13 Palace; 14 Ferntree Gully Hotel; 15 Pier Hotel (Frankston); 16 Costa Hall (Geelong); 19 Kay Street Saloon (Traralgon)
PHOTEK: Saturday 1 September, Hamer Hall
KIM SALMON & THE SURREALISTS
ALBARE ITD: August 8 Bennetts Lane THE JUNGLE GIANTS: August 9, 10 Northcote Social Club ASH GRUNWALD: August 9 Torquay Hotel; 10 Pier Hotel (Frankston); 11 Ferntree Gully Hotel; 12 Old Hepburn Hotel THE UNIVERSAL: August 10 Newmarket Hotel (Bendigo); 31 Bended Elbow (Geelong) TIM FREEDMAN: August 10, 11 Bennetts Lane THE SHAOLIN AFRONAUTS: August 10 Prince Bandroom LANIE LANE: August 10 Stones Of The Yarra Valley (Coldstream); 11 Westernport Hotel (San Remo); 12 Caravan Music Club JINJA SAFARI, OPOSSUM, WHITE ARROWS: August 10, 11 (U18) Hi-Fi CHILDREN COLLIDE: August 10, 11 Corner THE SMALLGOODS: August 11 Toff JOE MCKEE: August 11 Grace Darling LOON LAKE: August 11 Loft (Warrnambool) TOMMY EMMANUEL: August 11 Hamer Hall BUTTERFLY BOUCHER: August 12 Toff TEX PERKINS: August 12 Vue De Monde KATE MILLER-HEIDKE: August 14 Corner CLAIRY BROWNE & THE BANGIN’ RACKETTES: August 14 Toff
UPCOMING INTERNATIONAL ZOOBOMBS: August 17 Tote TRANSIT: August 18 Bang; 19 Phoenix Youth Centre (AA); 21 Mechanics Institute (Ballarat, AA) CHRIS LAKE: August 18 Seven Nightclub NASUM: August 19 Hi-Fi KEITH BARRY: August 21 Forum BURNING LOVE: August 24 Bendigo Hotel HAYES CARLL: August 25 Northcote Social Club DIE! DIE! DIE!: August 25 Ding Dong AOKI TAKAMASA, KAZA KIMURA, QUA: August 25 Hamer Hall PENNYWISE: August 26 Palace SLASH: August 28 Hisense Arena ALEXKID: August 31 Revolver Upstairs THE BEACH BOYS: August 31 Rod Laver Arena I:CUBE: August 31 Mercat Basement GIN WIGMORE: August 31 Northcote Social Club APOCALYPTICA: September 1 Hi-Fi PHOTEK: September 1 Hamer Hall IMPENDING DOOM: September 5 Kangaroo Flats Leisure Centre; 6 National Hotel (Geelong); 8 BANG; 9 Thornbury Theatre AMERICA: September 6 Hamer Hall HOWARD JONES: September 7 Billboard
PRESENTS
THE BLACKCHORDS: September 14 Evelyn; 15 Bridge Hotel (Castlemaine) MYSTERY JETS: September 26 Corner Hotel
FRIDAY, TAGO MAGO
TIM & ERIC: Saturday 29, 30 September Forum
He’s recognised as a key influence on grunge, and the (one-time) owner of one of the finest collections of paisley shirts anywhere, ever (though The Church’s Steve Kilbey’s acid-shirt wardrobe is nothing to be sniffed at). The ever-prolific Kim Salmon looms large in Australian rock’n’roll, his work with The Scientists, The Surrealists and The Beasts Of Bourbon some of the finest rock’n’roll this country has produced (in fact, we’d say he’s never had a dud project). It’s been a year or so since The Surrealists last played (the current line-up features Stu Thomas and Phil Collings), so who knows when Salmon will revive the beast again after this show. As informed by jazz as they are by punk, with a large focus on improvisation, The Surrealists will be playing material from Hit Me With The Surreal Feel through to 2010’s Grand Unifying Theory.
XIU XIU: October 19 Gasometer BASTARDFEST 2012 (featuring Astriaal, Disentomb, Extortion and Broozer): November 3 Espy THE BEARDS: November 3 Hi-Fi; 22 Karova Lounge (Ballarat) sdfsdfsdfdsf
BITS OF SHIT PICS BY CHRISTINA @ STITCHESINMYHEAD.BLOGSPOT
a debut album suggest a more considered approach than they’d have you initially think. There’s more than enough variation in tempo and structure to keep you engaged, and a few of the more melodic parts (notably on Rock Sing and Orphan Age) harbour many of the facets of great pop songs under the rumble and thrash of punk formats – but please don’t tell them I said that.
BITS OF SHIT TYRANNAMEN
GRACE DARLING: 03/08/12 Thank fuck the Grace have done away with that ridiculous side room as a bandroom upstairs. The corner stage in the upstairs bar area is a bloody ripper and tonight most of the spoiledbrat element of the downstairs clientele stay well away. Tyrannamen bring the kind of sloppy unhinged energy you want from a Bits Of Shit opener. Their set-up is no-frills, two-guitar, bass and wildman minimal drums with frenetic fronting and they generate a poppy mess. Singer Nic Imfeld’s vocal percussion during the opening number gives the thing a nice escaped-mentalpatient feel and they kick into half an hour of some fresh power-pop balladry. There’s a song about going to jail (at least that’s what it sounds like), something about concrete and some mumbling about “remember me”, before the set’s out. The room’s pretty full already (mostly old blokes), and there’s barely a teeny bopper in sight – at this end of the stairwell, anyway.
Bits Of Shit are the stuff of nightmares: they’re unpredictable, strange lookin’ and their collective attitude sits somewhere in the nether regions between punch-you-in-the-face‘cause-you’re-lookin’-at-me-funny hardcore and really-a-bunch-of-big-softies-if-you-bother-toget-to-know-them good humour. I don’t know them, so they frighten me slightly. They’re celebrating their debut record launch, the ballsout Cut Sleeves (a reference to their matching patched denim vests), and celebrate they do. The record hits a delicate balance (of sorts), not succumbing to a sameness that has a tendency to sink lesser-thought-out punk releases. Looking at these blokes, they don’t strike you as the ‘thinking man’s punk band’ or as though there’s much intellectuality applied to any aspect of their music (recorded or live), but their song structures, delivery, and the fact that it’s actually taken them bloody ages to release
themusic.com.au
Ripping through the bulk of the record, manic frontman Danny Vanderpol’s theatrics brighten the combinations of three chords on offer. He’s down, he’s up, all rolling eyes and facial tics (he even blows a kiss at one particularly impassioned moment) as he sporadically lunges into the crowd. Standouts include Traps off the new album and a sped-up version of previous b-side Gail Force. The instrumental parts, F and possibly even Intro, lack nothing as Vanderpol gyrates across the stage. The band sap the crowd, who actually dance through the set, and the thing grinds itself to a whimper. Tapped out and sweaty, the focus returns to the bar and merch table (they do a t-shirt and LP combo deal). They’re not a band you’d want to see every weekend, but a Bits Of Shit launch is something that’ll stay with you for a while – if only in your darker moments. Samson McDougall INPRESS • 39
TOUR GUIDE TEX PERKINS: Sunday 12 August, Vue De Monde
JOHN 00 FLEMING: September 7 Brown Alley JOOF: September 7 Brown Alley BARRY ADAMSON: September 11 Corner PATRICK WOLF: September 11 Forum EARTH: September 12 Toff; 16 Corner INGRID MICHAELSON: September 13 Corner CARTEL: September 13 Evelyn; 15 Ferntree Gully Hotel; 16 Lilydale Showgrounds HANSON: September 14, 18 Palace JONATHAN WILSON: September 14 Corner OCTAVE ONE: September 14 Mercat Basement SOLA ROSA: September 14 Northcote Social Club SUBHUMANS: September 15 Bendigo Hotel RUFUS WAINWRIGHT: September 15 Hamer Hall NEWTON FAULKNER: September 18 Corner Hotel WHEATUS: September 19 Corner FUTURE ISLANDS: September 19 Northcote Social Club EIFFEL 65, N-TRANCE: September 20 Palace GOOD CHARLOTTE: September 20 Festival Hall (all-ages) YELLOWCARD: September 20, 21 Hi-Fi KATCHAFIRE: September 20 Ferntree Gully Hotel; 21 Forum ENTER SHIKARI: September 22, 23 Billboard MARIANAS TRENCH: September 24 Corner LADY ANTEBELLUM: September 25 Palais JAMES MORRISON: September 26 Forum SCISSOR SISTERS: September 26 Hamer Hall MYSTERY JETS: September 26 Corner EL GRAN COMBO DE PUERTO RICO: September 26 Palace Theatre FEAR FACTORY: September 28 Hi-Fi RUSSIAN CIRCLES: September 28 Corner MARTIKA: September 28 Trak TIM & ERIC’S AWESOME SHOW: September 29 Forum SNOW PATROL: September 30 Regent Theatre KELLY CLARKSON: October 1 Rod Laver Arena CANNIBAL CORPSE: October 5 Billboard NEKROMANTIX: October 6 Hi-Fi STEEL PANTHER: October 7 Palace COUNT BASIE ORCHESTRA: October 10 Hamer Hall JOE BONAMASSA: October 11 Palais WARBRINGER: October 13 Northcote Social Club EVERCLEAR: October 13 Hi-Fi TORTOISE: October 13 Corner PAUL HEATON: October 18 Corner XIU XIU: October 19 Gasometer PRINCE ALLA: October 26 Espy WEDNESDAY 13: October 27 Esplanade THE BLACK KEYS: October 31 Sidney Myer Music Bowl AT THE GATES: November 2 Billboard GREGORY PORTER: November 3 Toff CHERRY POPPIN’ DADDIES: November 5 Corner EMMYLOU HARRIS: November 10 Palais COLDPLAY: November 13 Etihad Stadium RADIOHEAD: November 16, 17 Rod Laver Arena OWL CITY: November 18 Corner (matinee under-18s, evening 18+) DARK FUNERAL: November 24 Corner NICKELBACK: November 27 Rod Laver Arena SIMPLE MINDS, DEVO: November 29 Palais; December 1 Rochford Wines (Yarra Valley) THE SELECTER: November 30 Corner REGINA SPEKTOR: December 14 Plenary WEEZER: January 16 Sidney Myer Music Bowl ED SHEERAN: March 5 Festival Hall (all-ages)
NATIONAL KATE MILLER-HEIDKE: August 15, 16 Corner POLO CLUB: August 17 Bended Elbow (Geelong); 18 Toff; 31 Can’t Say JORDIE LANE: August 17 Regal Ballroom SNAKADAKTAL: August 17 Corner BLUEJUICE: August 17 Eagle Bar La Trobe Uni (Bundoora) THE RAAH PROJECT: August 17 Prince Band Room 40 • INPRESS
EVEN: August 18 Cherry CLAIRY BROWNE & THE BANGIN’ RACKETTES: August 21, 28 Toff THE DELTA RIGGS, MONEY FOR ROPE: August 23 Northcote Social Club 1927, THE REMBRANDTS: August 24 Palms At Crown HAYDEN CALNIN: August 24 Workers Club HILLTOP HOODS: August 24 Setts (Mildura); 25 Festival Hall; 26 New Albury Hotel THE BEAUTIFUL GIRLS: August 24, 25, 26 Corner HUNTING GROUNDS: August 24 Karova Lounge (Ballarat); 25 Toff ALBARE ITD: August 26, 27 Bennetts Lane; 25 Monash Uni Music Auditorium DUNE: August 30 Workers Club KING CANNONS: August 31 Bended Elbow (Geelong); September 1 Corner URTHBOY: August 31 Evelyn SEEKAE: August 31 Corner THE PUBLIC OPINION AFRO ORCHESTRA: August 31 Prince Bandroom PETER BYRNE: August 31, September 1 Palms At Crown LOON LAKE: August 11 Loft (Warrnambool); September 1 Northcote Social Club; August 31 Ding Dong Lounge SHANNON NOLL: September 1 Moama On Murray Resort; 25 BHP Esso Wellington Centre (Sale); 26 Capital Theatre (Bendigo); 27 Wangaratta PAC; October 11 West Gippsland Arts Centre; 12 Ballarat Regent Multiplex; 13 Eastbank Centre (Shepparton); 14 Lighthouse Theatre (Warrnambool) STARLING: September 6 Northcote Social Club FAIRCHILD REPUBLIC: September 6 Revolver; 7 John Curtain JULIA STONE: September 6 Theatre Royal (Castlemaine); 7 Forum; 8 Meeniyan Town Hall THE MEDICS: September 6 Loft (Warrnambool); 14 National Hotel; 15 Toff; 20 Karova Lounge (Ballarat); 22 Westernport Hotel (San Remo); 21 Ferntree Gully Hotel DREAM ON DREAMER: September 6 Corner; 7 EV’s Youth Centre (AA) MIA DYSON: September 7 Old Hepburn Hotel; 22 Corner PONY FACE: September 7 Northcote Social Club CHILDREN COLLIDE: September 7 Yahoo Bar (Shepparton); 8 Bended Elbow (Geelong) ART OF SLEEPING: September 7 National Hotel (Geelong); 8 Northcote Social Club CHET FAKER: September 8 Revolt Artspace LITTLE SCOUT: September 8 Workers Club HOWLIN’ STEAM TRAIN: September 9 Northcote Social Club THE MCCLYMONTS: September 12, 13 Palms At Crown TIME ROGERS: September 13 Spirit Bar (Traralgon); 14 Regal Ballroom; October 5 Bended Elbow (Geelong); 6 Theatre Royal (Castlemaine) XAVIER RUDD: September 13 Palace; 14 Ferntree Gully Hotel; 15 Pier Hotel (Frankston); 16 Costa Hall (Geelong); 19 Kay Street Saloon (Traralgon) BLACKCHORDS: September 14 Evelyn EMPERORS: September 15 Workers Club KATIE NOONAN, KARIN SCHAUPP: September 19 Capital Theatre; 21 Melbourne Recital Centre DAMIEN LEITH: September 20 Wangaratta Performing Arts Centre; 21 Palms At Crown LANIE LANE: September 20 Beav’s Bar (Geelong); 21 Loft (Warnambool); 22 Theatre Royal (Castlemaine) MONKS OF MELLONWAH: September 21 Grace Darling; 22 Revolver, Pony Late Show BIG VILLAGE RECORDS: September 22 Northcote Social Club GREENTHIEF: September 22 Pony POND: September 23 Corner SIX60: September 28 Forum Theatre SETH SENTRY: 28 September Karova Lounge, Ballarat; 29 Corner THE AMITY AFFLICTION: October 4, 5 (two shows: under-18 and 18+) Palace Theatre KARISE EDEN: October 10, 11 St Michael’s Church REGURGITATOR: October 12 Hi-Fi OH MERCY: October 12 Loft (Warrnambool); 13 Karova Lounge (Ballarat); 19 Bended Elbow (Geelong); 25 Hi-Fi LAST DINOSAURS: October 21 Ding Dong (under-18s); 26 Corner CLARE BOWDITCH: October 26 Regal Ballroom; 27 GPAC THUNDAMENTALS: November 2 Basement 159, 3 Northcote Social Club THE BEARDS: November 3 Northcote Social Club; 3 Karova Lounge (Ballarat) ANGUS STONE: November 21 Palace; 23 Ferntree Gully Hotel; 24 Pier Live (Frankston) MISSY HIGGINS: December 4 Palais GOTYE: December 8 Sidney Myer Music Bowl
FATHER JOHN MISTY PIC BY HOLLY ENGELHARDT
FATHER JOHN MISTY
CORNER HOTEL: 28/07/12 This guy’s a maniac. Either that or this is the Vegas version of a show that’s been on the road for longer than sanity might require. J. Tillman, otherwise known as Father John Misty, begins to sing as the lights go up, confronting our visual and hearing senses in a matter of wonderful confusion. Tillman looks like Grizzly Adams, yet sings like an angel. As he enters into the chorus of Fun Times In Babylon, he steps back and spreads his arms wide, apparently satiated by the cheers of the audience. “It’s Saturday night and I’m tired as hell,” he says. “The band had to paint two eyeballs on my face.” Tillman is unruly and hilarious and his show could be recommended purely to witness his dancing. Throwing off his jacket, he swings the microphone stand around his back, jumping and flailing around the stage. He dances as if possessed, the glitter on his cheekbones shining as he tilts his head back and runs his fingers through his hair. “My shirt came untucked!” he yells. “The show is ruined.” Father John Misty are, excuse the cliché, a visual feast; at quick glance the drummer could be Ringo Starr and we are still wondering if Bones from Immigrant Union has dyed his hair blonde and joined up as Father John’s bass player. “No more questions,” says Tillman, as a guy yells something from the crowd. “Just kidding. You guys sound… great.” You get the feeling Tillman could say anything and the audience would laugh and fawn over him. He has them eating out of the palm of his quick-witted hand, though we must admit it’s nice to be involved in some good old fashion onstage banter. Hit song Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings is left for last and the band are able to turn up their guitars and fly into some heavier distortion riffs and finally let loose. Tillman is now on the floor as if exorcising his demons, banging the ground with the palm of his hand and rolling across the stage. The song finishes with a bang (or perhaps something broke?) and they depart momentarily, before returning to smash out a hasty, magnificent encore. What could easily be misinterpreted as a fun folk/ pop romp (with the best cuts of The Fleet Foxes lunch), if you listen carefully, the music begs you to look a little further. You will notice the diverse range of instrumental styles, the difficulty of perfecting something simple, the strange, hypnotic lyrical potency and the ability to write nuanced and effective songs. There is quite the underlay of hidden genius, particularly as Tillman offers no excuses, perfecting the balance of absolute intrigue with the notion that he is, in fact, completely taking the piss. He makes the performance as important as the music. Long story short, he has a fucking good time. And so do we. Esther Rivers
themusic.com.au
THE HARLOTS, MOJO JUJU, STELLA ANGELICO OLD BAR: 05/08/12
It’s nine o’clock and already the air in the lowlit band room is thick and heated. The implied theme at the Old Bar tonight is masquerade, as many are seen swanning around with dazzling masks, headpieces and hearty laughs. All that’s missing are the espresso martinis as the leopard-print clad Stella Angelico serves up her own taste of smoky, soulful fervor against a backdrop of rocking beats. Her stage persona has her oscillating between vulnerable lover and feisty vixen, a theatrical presence that she maintains (and nails) from start to finish. Mojo Juju is one ‘wow’-worthy performer. Together with her band, she hexes the room with a blend of ballsy jazz, light punk, rocking blues and ballads that tease through tantalising stares. Her vocal range has no limits as she shares tales of lovers and evil, (“Bad folks go to prison, sinners go to hell”), while the sax sings a subplot of its own. Double-bassist and drummer are equally as impressive, yet it’s the frontwoman who many stand on chairs and tiptoes to see amid the sweaty, dancing throng. She welcomes crowd banter with one-liners such as, “I’ve been told I smell like a rich person’s library”, and cheekily hinting for a refill with, “Oh no, my drink evaporated”, to which a punter suggestively yells, “Gin for skin! Gin for skin!” It’s only fair to say that the quality of tonight’s acts is split evenly three ways. Six-piece The Harlots don’t necessarily outshine their supports, nor are they overshadowed. Instead, each bring their own flair to the stage, and in the case of the headliners, it’s their knack for writing stadium-big rock songs. Lead singer Tom Pitts finds his dancing nook on stage between two keyboards and the drums and boy, does he use every inch. There’s his Mick Jagger-swagger for starters, but what really gets the crowd going is when he wildly flops his limbs about the stage, body vibrating while his right hand wanders to the keys behind him. The Harlots play tunes from both on and off their current self-titled EP, including Righteous Man, Bottom Of The Hill, but it’s Stronger By The Day that really gets the crowd dancing with its thumping rock chorus, gravelly vocals and hip-shaking verses. Much like his supports, Pitts’s stage persona may not translate on CD, but rest assured, it’s this charm that’s easily the crux of their live set. Madeleine O’Gorman
be piped out across the world on 21 December 2012 – our Mayan predicted downfall. Get yourself a ticket. It’s going to be filthy. Clementine Lloyd
MIIKE SNOW, FABULOUS DIAMONDS
THE PALACE THEATRE: 31/07/12 “Hi, we are Fabulous Diamonds” are the first words uttered on stage tonight, as the local two-piece take their positions on the gloomy Palace Theatre stage. Given that these are the only comprehensible words mentioned throughout the pair’s 30-minute set, you could call it a highlight. From thereon in, however, it’s a relatively dull set. Things don’t get past second gear, and as their set progresses it is surprising that they have been chosen to support the much more upbeat Miike Snow. Between sets, the lights are focused on the giant disco ball hanging from the ceiling. An impressive globe, it – along with the throng of people still making their way through the door – is in for a treat tonight. There’s a sense of excitement even though it’s a Tuesday night, because at $80 a ticket, the crowd know that there’s one hell of a show on the cards.
THE SHINS PIC BY LOU LOU NUTT
THE SHINS, HUSKY
For the encore Mercer emerges solo, to do a rendition of September from the new record, and he humbly thanks us for coming out.
“Could… I possibly… scab a cigarette?” (Awkward smile.) “Sure! Are you heading to The Shins?” “Umm yeah…” “I’m so excited,” she says between drags. With this shared sentiment we double-time it to Festival Hall. Support act Husky’s lead singer Husky Gawenda is sharing that the first gig he ever saw was at Festival Hall. Cousins and bandmates Gawenda and Gideon Preiss (keys/vocals) are playful on stage – the set focuses on the boys’ new album, Forever So. Being captivated by the bearded indie babes certainty isn’t a challenge.
Cassandra Fumi
FESTIVAL HALL: 23/07/12
The in-between music is like a musical tiki tour or listening to one of Thomas-John’s mash-ups from Girls. It’s a relief when the lights drop. The Shins begin with Caring Is Creepy from Oh, Inverted World, their adored debut album. Frontman James Mercer seems to lack energy initially (jet-lag?), and the band surrounding Mercer has changed dramatically. As expected there is no crowd surfing on this Monday evening, just punters with their eyes closed swaying, processing, reminiscing and possibly trying to decode some of the songs, as most sound very different to the original recordings. It’s as if Mercer is parodying himself. A beaniewearing boy mid-centre has his iPhone glued to his palm as he punctuates the last of pretty much all of Mercer’s lyrics (his diction is incredible). Noticeably, when Mercer starts playing 40 Mark Strasse off the new record, Port Of Morrow, the beanie bandit aggressively claps in the same way a footy fan does when their team scores a point… he’s unimpressed. That new album, Port Of Morrow, is far more lush than their earlier music. Jessica Dobson (guitar/vocals), Richard Swift (keyboard/vocals) and Mercer have varied and lush harmonies that elevate most tracks. The band’s banter is similar to eavesdropping on a group of mates drinking. It’s a known fact that The Shins love Australia (see Australia on Wincing The Night Away ). Drummer Joe Plummer says, “I want to move to Melbourne nowish, I’d live in St Kilda,” his comment delighting the crowd. New Slang is noticeably softer than the rest of the set; as Natalie Portman says in Garden State, “this song will change your life”, and tonight it kind of does. As a crowd we have only two lighters and hundreds of iPhones yet we share this moment, swaying with personal light sources.
After the briefest of intermissions, the band returns for a couple of final songs, climaxing with the predictable yet perfect Animal. It proves a huge singalong, and with every audience member belting the song’s chorus, it’s a great way to finish an awesome set.
HYPNOTIC BRASS ENSEMBLE, JUDGE PINO & THE RULING MOTIONS, SASKWATCH
Dylan Stewart
ESPY: 26.07.12
Falling headfirst into opener Judge Pino & The Ruling Motions, one would be forgiven for thinking they are watching The Jam spliced with Madness, dolled up as the five-piece are in slick grey suits and trilby hats, careering about the stage to a set up of semi-punk reggae. Ending with a rendition of Ghetto Girl by John Hope, their set is well received by the crowd who have managed to brave the cold to make it to the venue early. Second act Saskwatch have more of a crowd, possibly owing to their recent triple j fame. And rightfully bestowed it is, given their talent for touching your heart with soul as well as getting down and dirty. Alive with brass, bass and guitar, the singer shimmers like a re-discovered jewel. Nicely segueing into the brassy night we have ahead, Saskwatch abandon us to the whims of the one and only Hypnotic Brass Ensemble. First on the scene in 2004 with a self released album, their shows have become the stuff of legend. It’s easy to see why. Their goal is to elevate us from economy to first class – “mind, body and soul,” they state – cutting the bright lights in order to “make it sexy up in here”. Not being heavy on lyrics, their audience banter is a main focus, and with extra MCing thrown in we start to move with them as one organism. Dancing uncontrollably through Indigo, the harmonic trumpet sections and fast-paced beat prepares us for the well-known number War. Cutting the lights completely for Mars, we are left only with our phone lights, making for a total sense of abandon in our little star ship. As we are launched into Party Started, undulating with its infectious drums and pounding trumpets, the call back quote of “I get the party started”, to our “you keep the party jumping” has us all in raptures. Shirts are off, sweat hangs in the air, and it seems that these guys were the soundtrack for every big event in our history, and will be at every stage in the future. Infectious, elemental, smart and overwhelming, they will
Whoever is in charge of the smoke machine has their work cut out for them, filling the expansive venue with smoke in the lead-up to 10pm, by which time the place is packed. And as three-piece Miike Snow – one part American frontman, two parts Swedish – take to the stage, it’s virtually impossible to see them. Accompanied by an extra two touring members, they have barely set up behind their consoles before the strobe lights cut through the smoke-filled air, building to crescendo after crescendo. The Wave is a huge set highlight, a smashing live tune that is delivered with precision. Bavarian #1 (Say You Will) showcases lead singer Andrew Wyatt’s angelic voice, and Burial is just another killer tune in a quality set. Even with only a passing knowledge of Miike Snow’s back catalogue, there are enough familiar songs to have anyone singing along. Sylvia is the pinnacle, a seven-minute house banger, while softer moment, God Help This Divorce, is a tender change of pace.
THE SMASHING PUMPKINS WOLFMOTHER HISENSE ARENA: 02/08/12
Let’s first say this: it’s unfair to expect a working musician to forever relive a set of songs that had commercial success. Billy Corgan has never stopped working and has resisted becoming a jukebox for his mid-‘90s releases; in recent history he’s rarely delved into the hits regardless of the membership of The Smashing Pumpkins. This arena gig then, billed as a show that will include the corkers, brings with it a concession on Corgan’s part. In his pre-tour interview with Inpress, Corgan admitted to “trying to rebuild some kind of public image”. For all his talk of latest album Oceania being “a record within a record” – part of his larger Teargarden By Kaleidoscope project that has seen him release free singles online since 2009 – it can’t be denied that the album is a weapon in that mission. It’s a big, ambitious album both musically and thematically, released through a major label. If Corgan has to throw some candy to the masses in order to get them to pay attention to his public relaunch, that is what he will do. Even the best-laid artistic and marketing plans rely on an audience to go along with them however. Tonight, the audience is made up primarily of dudes who would have been the right age to get teen-angsty to Siamese Dream, and they want the hits. They want them bad. It’s a shame because a lot of work has gone into the set design and plotting of the show. Following a predictable display of rawk from Wolfmother, who are met with little movement on the floor and not much more noise, Corgan and his young troupe appear and get to work on Oceania opener Quasar. The Smashing Pumpkins’ backing curtain drops and a giant white globe suspended above the band is unveiled. Onto it starts a series of projections that fit with the concept of the thick, metallic record, which broadly interpreted is the creation of a fantastical world in which Corgan plays loving saviour to a friend/partner/you battling with inner demons. And the half-booked arena does get all of Oceania, beginning to end. So for Quasar to The Celestials the globe takes us through a mathematical rendering of
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the cosmos; an impressive lighting setup affects an aurora during One Diamond, One Heart; and then we get terribly earnest DeviantArt (if you’re too young to remember DeviantArt be thankful) sketches of people without faces and mythical spewage for standout song Pale Horse and The Chimera. For an album that really is a pretty grand re-entrance to concept rock from Corgan, full of longbow melodies and less of Corgan’s frontman ego, a lot of the visuals seem cynically pitched at an unsophisticated audience. Those who are paying attention (and aren’t in the long lines for the bars outside, talking loudly about the lack of hits, or yelling for the return of Wolfmother – yes, really) it’s a decent play through a decent album. A surprisingly fun cover of Bowie’s Space Oddity is chosen to transition from Oceania to the hits. The number of people on the floor near doubles in size as XYU turns back the clock and then Disarm, Tonight, Tonight, Bullet With Butterfly Wings, Luna, Today – you get the drift – stick Corgan and a moshing arena firmly in that time. Corgan seems to be truly feeding off the crowd’s excitement and getting a little giddy himself. Maybe revisiting the past isn’t as dire a scenario as he previously envisaged, or maybe he’s just loving the adulation. Strangely, the earnest drawings that were mismatched to Oceania but would have added to the nostalgia trip have been replaced by sparkling lights that would have better suited a grown-up Corgan’s new material. But it doesn’t much matter: everyone here’s getting what they paid for, the bald man on the stage included. Adam Curley
YOUTH LAGOON
CORNER HOTEL: 29/07/12 So let’s get real. A shared elephant is in the room at the Corner tonight. We all kinda wish we were at Splendour In The Grass to witness Youth Lagoon but due to a variation of reasons, we’re not. So the sideshow will have to suffice and yes, we shall have an irrational whinge. Let’s get even more real when news of a Splendour downpour reached Melbourne those home smugly smiled (out of sheer jealously). Youth Lagoon’s debut album The Year Of Hibernation has been on high rotation in headphones, share house kitchens and bedrooms since its release last year. We’re all a little fearful – how would this bedroom music translate to a live show? Trevor Powers strolls to his synth – immediately his stage presence is undeniable and quite mesmerising. Powers oozes charisma and sex appeal, even though only half his face can be seen and he hasn’t uttered a word. Following Powers is electric guitarist Logan Hyde, who is playing a pearl Fender Strat which offsets his Pantene Classic brown bob. Afternoon, the third track on The Year Of Hibernation, kicks off the set. Hyde shakes his hair as the song peaks and Powers rolls up his sleeves to reveal his tattooed arms. It’s clear from the first track that any fear of a sub-par live performance was unfounded. The boys look well rested and clean which is surprising considering they played Splendour on Friday arvo. This gig certainly isn’t a dry one and most of us are clutching a plastic glass of beer or, for the real enthusiasts, a long neck. This hand activity is obvious as when each song ends, we ‘woo hoo woo’ rather than clap to show our appreciation. Who’d be game to put their beer on the floor of the Corner? The added instrumentation of Hyde’s electric guitar live lifts the tracks to new heights. Hyde is taking risks and the pair work together effortlessly. The crowd is silent and really seems to be appreciating the music, which is epic live. The softly spoken Powers introduces us to Logan (who already seems like an old mate at this point of the set); Powers goes on to mumble “you guys are such a quiet crowd. You’re amazing.” 17 starts, and tell you what, this song makes you feel good to be alive and makes you want go swimming in a lagoon (naked). Glancing around we all kinda look like we’re at a music festival – this loose dancing style has been seen in many fields many times before. Maybe Youth Lagoon brought a bit of Splendour magic dust down to us. The boys then leave the stage. The lights come up and we are stunned. An encore is not planned. Inside a little ‘fuck yeah’ is felt. As we filter out of the Corner conversations are overheard commending this choice to rebel against the planned encore that has become far too common. An encore should be a surprise to the band and the crowd. Gone are the days of bands repeating tracks in the encore. Tell you what – Youth Lagoon deserved one as well; perhaps the throng was just too expectant. A brave, wise and very respected choice. Cassandra Fumi INPRESS • 41
SOUL SOUNDTRACK
Cam Butler (Ron S Peno & The Superstitions etc) plays a special screening of the five videos made for his breathtaking new album, Save My Soul, in Cinema 1 at ACMI on Thursday 30 August. Butler commissioned four directors (hailing from Melbourne, Berlin and Kabul) to make a video for each track on the album. Cam will be playing solo electric guitar to accompany the videos and the album’s lush orchestral backing music.
CAMPBELL SLIDES IN CLAIRY’S RACKETING RESIDENCY
Clairy Browne & The Bangin’ Rackettes bring their electrifying live show to the Toff In Town, every Tuesday in August. Known for their contemporary take on soul, R&B and doo-wop, see the gang in full swing as they reveal their culty ways. Joined by special guests Archer, Loretta And Tracey Miller, Tommy Spender, Martin Martini, Stella Angelico, Harry James Angus, Kira Puru & the Bruise plus Simone Page Jones and Miles O’Neil. Doors open 8pm, tickets $15 in advance or $20 on the door.
WANT SOME CHARLIES?
The Charlies, one of the finest funk bands to come out of Melbourne, are playing LuWow’s Soul Fist this Friday. A night of wild Afro-American music, there’ll be screaming savage soul, furious punk funk and riotous low-fi rhythm’n’blues courtesy of the vinyl collections of Jumpin’ Josh, Sye Saxon and other members of the Soul Fist Street Gang. The Charlies will be delivering their own dirty/nasty style of funk reminiscent to that of the great Betty Davis while the LuWow resident GoGo Godesses will be stirring it up in their leopard skin cat suits from 10pm.
NOT QUITE SPOILED
Having been dragged out of hibernation for the Beast Records festival, Melbourne’s dark-romantics The Spoils have decided to do it one more time before returning to their winter hollow to begin work on their fourth album. They play this Friday at the Old Bar with The Slaughtermen, Skyscraper Stan & The Commission Flats and The 10 In 1.
SAME OLD FOR SUZIE
Suzie Stapleton will launch the long-awaited double A-side My Cons Are Making A Cripple Out Of Me/Bring Back The Night with a series of shows around Europe and Australia. The singles are the first to be released from her forthcoming EP Obladi Diablo with a solo tour featuring launches in England, Spain, Germany and France before returning to Melbourne to the Old Bar for her local homecoming launch on Friday 24 August.
THE PEOPLE IN THE SKY
Pop induced, indie lads We The People have been slowly making a name for themselves around town for their fast, snappy and creative sets. They will team up with Byron Bay sun drenched, ‘60s-inspired pop-punk band Skyways Are Highways, along with Melbourne electro-pop locals Brightly. Catch them Thursday 23 August at the Grace Darling Hotel.
BUNNY MIGRATION
Tomorrow night (Thursday), Melbourne’s own ‘doo rockers’ The Migrations join up-and-
PARTY A SHORE THING
As the rest of us burrow down further into our winter cocoons, Heavy Beach is breaking through the ice with its latest single, Good Intentions. The track spins a tale of devil-may-care self destruction and Heavy Beach are launching it with a beach party theme at Yah Yah’s on this Friday with support from Ocean Party and Brisbane outfit Go Violets. The music starts at 9pm and entry is free. coming folk/psychedelic kids Run Rabbit Run and those clandestine communicators Private Radio at Yah Yah’s. It’s a line-up that guarantees a night of booty movin’ and brows a sweatin’. The music starts at 9pm with $5 entry.
Fresh off a stint on Australia’s Got Talent, slide guitarist Owen Campbell will play with modern, rocking bluesgrass band Mustered Courage. The first show is Wednesday 15 August at the Toff In Town while the Damian Howard Band joins the bill for a show at the Thornbury Theatre Friday 17 August.
SCAVENGERS
The Prince Of Seagulls are pleased to announce the release of their debut single Stars In The Sky. TPOS, made up of Hanna Silver and Harmon, have been hard at work on their album for about a year now, and whilst they have released tracks previously via the informality of YouTube, Stars In The Sky is their first commercial offering. They play Saturday 18 August at Lounge.
SENJU HIGHER
OLD TURKS Get on down to Yah Yah’s this Saturday when legends Wild Turkey take to the stage for some rockabilly triple threat action. Starting the night off are Road Ratz with their mix of punk/rock and psychobilly tunes that are guaranteed to get you in the mood. They are followed by Dirty Harriet & The Hangmen, featuring members from Sin City, Australian Kingswood Factory, Strawberry Fistcake and Unaustralians. The music starts at 9pm and entry is free.
JEMMA’S BAND OF MERRY MEN Jemma & The Wise Young Ambitious Men have been around a short while, with a mighty large name. Starting this week they are pretty excited about spending two planned Sunday evenings in a row at Yah Yah’s. They prefer their whiskey with sorrow on the rocks, and wash it down with songs about chickens, leaving people in Kansas City, and stealing klondike claim from thieven’ fishermen. Matt Green Band joins them. The music starts at 7.30pm and entry is free.
PARTY IN THE WOOD Back in its old Collingwood haunt, Grouse Party celebrates the end of winter nearing by heating things up on Friday 10 August at the Bendigo Hotel. Semi-regular resident DJ Melodee Maker will be serving mai tai strength rumpshakers, at the tail end of the night, before she relocates to Hawaii. She’s joined by Jess McGuire (RRR), coaching the swim team on a sardine-packed dancefloor, and Rambeau, blowing you away with his oozing uzi sex. It is $10 on the door from 9pm.
On his first tour solo of Australia, ex-Boredoms drummer Muneomi Senju will be joined by local hand made instrument legend Rod Cooper and Cleaninglady. Also playing on the night will be the awesome Steve Law, Wife and Blarghstrad. Doors open at 8.30pm and tickets on the door only for $15 on Thursday 16 August at the Gasometer.
GETTING UGLY
Blues rockin’ bastards The Ugly Kings are set to blow your balls off this Friday as Russell’s drummingsinging-whirlwind tears down the Curtin Bandroom. Yog float out of the studio, ready to unleash their psychedelic chaos with a second drummer. Let’s hope you find your feet after hearing Royal Ace’s crazy new drummer and who better for beer stretching and warm-up back flipping than Rainbow Massacre.
NIGHTMARE
NEW ALPHABETS
Sydonia will be touring nationally throughout August and September to promote their latest EP Words That Don’t Exist, featuring their latest single TL. This Melbourne four-piece artfully meld melodic hooks with wall of sound guitars and precise percussive potency, and have played enough shows in enough places to startle you with their professional yet grass-roots approach to creating and performing. Join Sydonia with special guests Beggars Orchestra on Saturday 18 August at the Evelyn Hotel and Friday 7 September at the Newmarket Hotel (Bendigo). duet between JK from Teenage Mothers and Jack Mannix from Circle Pit. They launch the thing at the Grace Darling on Saturday 18 August with support from noisydelic foursome Hollow Everdaze, intriguing newcomers Mutations and guest DJs from King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard and Geelong Skatepark. It’s only ten bucks at the door.
BROTHER’S FINALE
Puta Madre Brothers play their final show of 2012 at Cherry Bar this Sunday. Thirty fingers, six feet, three mouths, and a thousand tubs of hair grease make this band one of the most electric experiments in modern entertainment today. For this very special show they invite the sloppy garage sounds of Bonniwells to join them.
Ride out the end of winter every Saturday evening at the Tote with Buried Horses as they perform by the open fire and warm surrounds of the front bar. At such close quarters, you will be able to count the whiskers on Mark Berry’s chin. This will be your last chance to catch the band before they ship out to Europe to promote the recent Beast Records release of their debut LP Tempest. Humans play support this Saturday.
STIRRING WITH CERES
YOUNG MUMS
CONFIDE IN MUSIC
Teenage Mothers’ music is about broken love and kicking against the pricks. They’ve recorded their debut album with Jim Sclavunos from The Bad Seeds/Grinderman. The record features a
RAPID RESIDENCY The Grand Rapids play the second show of a three week residency in the Tote front bar next Tuesday. For this show they will be supported by Battle Snake. Entry is free.
Melting Pot presents a Thursday night debauch of live music and men in skinny jeans at the John Curtin Hotel (now featuring more twisted testicles per square foot than any other venue in Melbourne). Ceres can be summed up simply: born, bred and dead in Melbourne. Four dudes, one band. Jude St Jude and Police & Theives are supporting.
Confider have been creating delightfully fizzyvocal indie electro sounds in the studio of their safe-house for the past year and are very proud to announce the launch of their new double A-side The Prefects/Shock to the System at Revolver Upstairs. Joining them tonight (Wednesday) are very special guests Super Magic Hats, Garagee and Winterplan, icing the cake on an evening of captivating musical mischief and merriment. INC3DO
LOVELY YOUTH Sweet Teens bring endless dangerous possibilities to the Tote for a month of Wednesdays this August. Hitting up the front bar for the first three weeks and followed by two weeks in the band room out back. Sweet Teens are supporting their recently released, free download only album This Ain’t England And The Ominous Horror. Tonight they play with Being Amazing and Maricopa Wells.
DIE IN THE SKY FIRE GAZERS
Breathe in the hypnotic world of Fire Behaving As Air and float with them into dreams of desire. To help celebrate Fire Behaving As Air’s soon to be released debut EP, are some dear friends and Melbourne finest psychedelic shoegaze post-rock bands including the noisy, beautiful, force to be reckoned with that are Slight Of Build, the sweet duo vocals and reverb laced noise of Flyying Colours and the dreamy cinematic quality that can only be Lunaire. All at Pony Bar on Friday 17 August. 42 • INPRESS
Red Sky Burial are set to tear the Tote apart this Friday as they launch their self-titled debut album. Joining them on the massive line-up are the mighty, Don Fernando, Broozer and Sons Of Abraham.
SOUL VIBES SEE YOU NEXT FRIDAY
NO BULL Linda J and Bean Johnston were once upon a time one half of punk legends Little Ugly Girls. Later they reinvented themselves as Melbourne rock darlings The Dacios. Performing under the new guise of Bulls, and releasing a new album Dancing On Sinking Sands, sees them embrace a stripped back country style. Catch them every Sunday afternoon in August at the Bridge Hotel (Castlemaine).
Melbourne’s High Side Driver proudly launch their second single See You Next Tuesday on Friday 17 of August at the Evelyn Hotel. Headlining the evening will be the mighty Pandorum, who will be playing their last show in Australia for quite some time, before heading off on another tour of Asia. Also on the bill are Disgruntled Bruntle and Written In Ruins. The doors open at 8pm.
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Melbourne four-piece indie group Inc3do were primarily formed as a creative outlet for the songwriting talents of guitarist Ivan Tutic and vocalist Shane La Roche. Inc3do (pronounced in-seedoh) means to awaken and march forward – in reference to the aim of the band and their message they want to impart through their soulful music and positive vibes. You can catch them opening for The Smart with other local supports Pludo and Sounds Of Troy on Saturday 8 September at the Hi-Fi Bar for what is billed to be a 3D spectacular.
COUNTERFEIT Rounding off a string of shows in and around Melbourne, electro/dream-pop band The Fakes officially launch their latest album Sudden Radiance & Fantastic Collapse at Revolver tomorrow (Thursday). Alternative rockers Canary and the experienced but the newly formed Royal Mercury will play support. Opening early at 7.30pm with an acoustic set from the very talented and hitherto undiscovered and rarely heard Dave O’Kane, fans of pop, shoegaze, and rock music will not be let down by this night.
ROCKIN’ REVOLVER RENEGADES There’s a great rock line-up at Revolver this Friday. After gaining a steady base of loyal supporters both locally and internationally, 2012 promises to be one big year for Dead Star Renegade. In a sea of tired classic rock clones, Dead Star Renegade are taking rock’n’roll by the throat and smacking it right into the here and now. And you don’t want to miss Royal Blood’s monstrous bass sounds and thundering drum beats. Also playing are Laced In Lust, Kill Shot and heavy hitters Moments Apart.
SORTED FOR E&P S
Melbourne psychedelic grunge band Agility are playing every Wednesday in August at the Evelyn. Tonight Sid Air and The Latonas will play support. Get down every Wednesday in August. Entry is $5 on the door.
BRICKS AND MORTAR Bricks are back. They have put together a show with well-known partners in crime, Moustache Ant. Also joining are the punk sensation Japan For, the relentless Socially Handicapped, and the infectious sounds of Clowns are also joining this ballsy night. The stage is set, the forum is the Evelyn, the time is 8pm. Only $5 at the door. Get your rock/metal/punk on tomorrow (Thursday).
CYLINDERS
DISCLOSURE
Communion
The Face
THE JUNGLE GIANTS
Independent
Greco-Roman
She’s A Riot
Cylinders (aka Matty Vehl) uses vintage analogue keys and organs to create synth-pop that seems like it belongs in both the past and future. Holy Unholy is a minimal electro track with an impending sense of doom in the verses and a surprisingly glam rock chorus, and the same can be said of the galactic, Bowie-esque ride that is Katherine Of The Four Points. Ballad (I Love The Way They) Hang On You sounds like a cheesy golden oldie from your parents’ record collection.
THE FALLS
AGILE NOT FRAGILE
Disclosure comprises two brothers apparently aged 17 and 20, who kick arse at creating innovative dance music with deep house basslines, enigmatic vocals and polished production. Boiling sees Sinead Harnett’s sassy, soulful guest vocals leading smooth beats, clicks and rolling bass; it’s jazz lounge meets dancefloor. Lividup, while still clever, is the most repetitive and drags as a result. What’s In Your Head has chopped-up, twisted, slicedthrough vocals; it’s seductive, sophisticated club music. A strong ‘90s-inspired R&B melody and hip hop vibes over churning synths in stand-out Control.
Independent The male/female vocals singing in unison and harmony on Please complement each other remarkably well; the cello rises wonderfully in the chorus over the recurring striking of a single piano note. It’s uplifting and heartbreaking at once. Home has handclaps and tinny toy-piano sounds but avoids being twee with the inclusion of strings and mature voices. Ukulele track Girl That I Love documents a relationship breaking down despite strong feelings remaining. Hollywood is a slow, sad reflective duet with a majestic rush of string and piano to close.
MARMOSET WIND IT DOWN The lovely ladies of Marmoset present to you an afternoon of delight that offers you not only music but also art work. See the Evelyn transformed into a creative space, which showcases Melbourne’s fine young talent. Your Sunday will never sound sweeter, relax to down-tempo electro and then be whirled away by pretty folk music. Supported by A Art, The Menstrual Cycle and Yorque. TREAD
THE WRIGHT STUFF
Independent She’s A Riot is your standard beachy summer love song. Sam Hales’ vocals are a bit quiet, which is a shame because they’re the right combination of relaxed and emotive. His wavering held notes in Don’t Know What Else To Do are endearing, and chilled harmonies provide a balancing contrast to the lead guitar’s high whine. The unexpected quiet after the buildup in You’ve Got Something is spectacular, and the guitars swell for the second chorus. The percussion is the driving force in Way Back When.
THE RED LIGHTS
Hollywood
FRASER A GORMAN
Not In This Town
Fraser A Gorman
Independent The Red Lights play boppy, garage indie rock that seems very much inspired by the likes of The Strokes (Dancing With Us) and Phoenix (see: Sun Finds Us, a highlight nonetheless). This Just In’s offbeat melody against the up-and-down rhythm of the bass doesn’t quite sit right, and In A Daze is catchy but feels unfinished; it sounds like a good demo. Radio’s a bit different, with a bassline you can wiggle to, panned guitars and deep drums. Catch The Red Lights at the Gasometer on Saturday 11 August.
YOHOSIE BACK FOR CHARITY Yohosie broke up two years ago, and always regretted never doing a final gig to say goodbye to their fans. Now they are back at the Evelyn this Friday for one last time. They are playing a show where all proceeds shall be going to the Royal Children’s Hospital making for one special event. Support comes from the energetic Innperspace and Dear Ale with entry for $10 and doors at 9pm.
EP REVIEWS WITH STEPHANIE LIEW
RA REPLICATED
Milk Records Fraser A Gorman brings gospel hymns, doowop country and ‘20s chain-gang tunes to the 21st century. His smooth-with-a-hint-of-gravel vocals suit his sound extremely well. Even the record’s mix echoes a time before the digital age. Hold You is an old-country barnyard ditty that starts off with guitar and a trio of harmonies; wait for the harmonica solo. Banjo and violin ice the cake that is Take Me To My Grave, which is deceptively sweet-sounding for how sorrowful its lyrics are. My Old Friend is a slow-burning stand-out.
Saturday. Featuring a wealth of new material, this is a perfect chance to catch the ten-piece band in an intimate setting with Max Savage kicking it off earlier at 10pm with free entry.
A few of you may remember the good ol’ days of Monday nights at the Evelyn with Simon Wright & The Eclective. Well they’re back, only now its Tuesdays. Each week, The Simon Wright Band will be joined by some of Melbourne’s freshest funk, soul and hip hop acts as well DJ Huw Joseph. So pull your drinking hat out of the closet and dust of your dancing shoes. Tuesday nights just got awesome.
Do you hear that? That’s the sound of calm before the electric storm of the tantalising psychrock of Sun God Replica performing live in the glowy red upstairs room of Bar Open tomorrow night (Thursday). Supported on the bill by thunderous bog stars King Leghorn and the wild mechanics of sludge Dick Finger. Don’t miss out. Doors open at 9pm and entry is free.
LUNCH DATE
FROM THE COCOON
Experimental trio Where Were You At Lunch bring their instrumental distortion-heavy tunes to the stage alongside Schoolgirl Report. This show is sure to be a treat for all the senses with both bands leaving traditional vocals behind and tantalising punters with aural pleasures. All the makings for what could be the instrumental talk of the town. No pun intended. Tonight (Wednesday) at Bar Open. Doors open at 8pm and entry is free.
Melbourne’s favourite party perpetrators, El Moth have burst back onto the scene this year and are showing no signs of slowing. The six-piece have been responsible for countless sleepless nights and angry neighbours around the underground Melbourne party scene over the years. They are playing Bar Open every Friday in August.
This Sunday at Bar Open come fresh projects from some familiar faces. Legendary Hearts are a new duo from Andrew Cowie of Angel Eyes with Kieran Carpenter of Superstar combining Santana-esque noodling over thugged out deep sea, pop and screw electrics. People Person are members of Snawklor and The French, making blissed out casio-drone over midi throb, heartbroken circuits crying to the sound of their own demise. Down from Brisbane is Cured Pink the actionist instrument builder and destroyer ready as always to cause some danger. And first but not worst is Michael of Mad Nanna and record label Albert’s Basement’s new solo project MU.
OCEAN CROSSING
DANCE, BREATHE, LIVE
On the eve of the launch of their eagerly anticipated second album, Australia’s most exciting new soul band The Transatlantics will be stopping through Melbourne for a one-off show at Bar Open this
I HEART LEGENDS
Check out Breathe Life, a fundraiser in which Castlecomer, Scalor Fields, Miss Micholls, Paadmoose and the River Machine are getting their jive on. Get down for a good cause Friday 17 August at the Hi-Fi. All proceeds will go to Cystic Fibrosis Victoria.
ALL HAIL
Hailing from one of the most isolated cities on earth, Perth hard rock outfit Hailmary are rapidly making Melbourne their second home. The WAMi Song of the Year award winners return for a five date tour in August, sharing stages across the State with powerhouse duo King Of The North and Tread for their upcoming debut EP/Album Launches. The tour kicks off with Hailmary in acoustic mode at the Espy tonight (Wednesday), they team up with King Of The North for two regional gigs joined by Ballarat locals The Electric Sunkings at the Karova Lounge (Ballarat) on Thursday 9 August and with The Greeting Method at the Bended Elbow (Geelong) on Friday 10.
PENNY DROPS SECOND
LAURA FOR THE THIRD TIME
After ten years based in Los Angeles, Penny Hewson has returned to her musical roots in Melbourne and recorded a collection of beautifully intimate, haunting and reflective songs that she gathered along the way. It’s An Endless Desire is her second solo album and due for Australian release on Friday 17 August. Hewson launches the album Friday 31 August at the Empress Hotel. The night will also feature a rare performance from Jeremy Gronow (Helvelln) and the legendary Dead Salesman Duo.
Fresh back from a West Coast tour celebrating the release of their third album Twelve Hundred Times, Laura will bring their unique vision of light found in the darkness of the impending apocalypse to the Tote on Saturday 18 August. Laura’s controlled chaos will be complemented by live projections. The first 50 people through the door will receive a limited edition single featuring The Slow and two out-takes from the album. Supporting are I, A Man and Drill Folly.
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MIND’S DICK
Richard In Your Mind’s current album Sun is their most cohesive and beautiful album yet. After an impressive 2010 with the release of My Volcano, in which the album received glowing reviews an gained the band an AMP nomination, Ding Dong personally invited Richard In Your Mind to come and play the new venue in August. They graciously accepted and will take to the stage this Friday with Shady Lane (Syd) and locals Lowtide and Dirt Farmer. INPRESS • 43
EXROCKIC
They took rock’n’roll’s head and put it in a pot, and cooked up a potent brew of primitive blues, lewd rockabilly, greasy rhythm and blues, crashin surf reverb, stompin’ gospel, and garage trash. Guaranteed to leave an aftertaste, The Exotics are back at the Retreat Hotel this Friday, with support from Richie 1250 and The New Brides Of Christ from 9.30pm. Entry is free.
TESTY RELATIONS
The songs of The Queen & Convict have travelled far and wide. Armed with just voices, guitars, and a ukulele, Justin Bernasconi and Cat Canteri will be a treat for any fan of blues, bluegrass and Americana. They will perform two sets in the front bar of the Retreat Hotel, this Saturday. The music starts at 4pm, and entry is free.
DARE TO CLAIRE
Despite garnering comparisons to an eclectic mix of artists, including Muse, Arctic Monkeys, and Foals, Claire have made a distinct effort to carve out their own niche in a scene where originality and innovation are hard to come by. Their ability to share a bill and hold their own against such acts as Art vs Science, Regurgitator, Dead Letter Circus, Bag Raiders, and The Beards is testament to Claire’s versatility. Claire perform this Saturday at the Retreat Hotel with The Dotcoms. Entry is free.
DESERTS IN THE SUN
Formulating an experimental window into vistas of wildfire, Little Desert will be performing their debut show amidst a cacophony of psychedelic vibes and good tides with local fire wonders Sun God Replica. Join them on the astral plains at the Retreat Hotel this Sunday for some fucked up beautiful rock‘n’roll. Sun God Replica on stage from 7pm. Entry is free.
FROZEN CORE
Cold Heart are a pure country band. Old-school with no drums, just the slapping bass keeping the rhythm up. Add vocals and electric guitar and you could be back in the ’50s at a Texan honky tonk. If you like the old sounds of Hank Williams, George Jones, Buck Owens, Johnny Cash etc, Cold Heart will soon be one if your favourites. Cold Heart will be performing two sets in the Retreat front bar on this Saturday from 4pm. Entry is free.
MONDAY FUNDAY
BIG TICKETS
Fairchild Repbulic are the kind of band that have put massive expectations on themselves and look destined to defy them. The lead up to the release of their debut album, Wish Upon A Paper Crane, has not been without some incredible highlights including a Japanese tour and a spot on the Gold Coast Big Day Out. They launch their debut on Thursday 6 September at Revolver Upstairs and Friday 7 at the John Curtin Hotel. The album is out Friday 24 August through MGM.
ROUGH SEAS
After a turbulent start to 2012, Sydney-based folk/ indie-pop trio Set Sail are ready to once again make their mark on the Australian music scene embarking on a mammoth 18-date tour of the country parading a new collection of heartfelt rhythms in the form of their new six-track Hey. You can be assured that Set Sail will be launching Hey true to their trademark form, showcasing their infectious, energetic and unpredictable live performance for the duration of their tour. Catch them at the Toff on Thursday 9 August.
TOFF FRIDAY NO BRAINERS
PopRocks happens at the Toff every Friday from 9pm. They play no-brainers, guilty pleasures, club classics and the best in pop from Chuck Berry to Katy Perry and everything in between. Get down there for eight hours of hits from the ‘50s to the ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s, ‘90s, ‘00s and ‘10s.
BUTTERFLY AT TOFF
Emerging from the primordial soup like some swampdwelling many-headed serpent Spencer P Jones & The Escape Committee are setting up shop at the Retreat Hotel for a the month of August. Jones and his motley crew will be performing every Thursday night. The music begins at 9pm and entry is free.
ANAGRAMS AND EPS
MILK IN A CAN
Sydney hard rockers, Revertigo, whose name came from an anagram of their favourite word, are set to release their debut EP All You Can Eat and hit the road on a whirlwind tour. Featuring dirty bass lines, hard-hitting drums and hooky melodic guitar riffs, they play the Hammy Friday 17 August and the Nash Hotel (Geelong) Saturday 18 August.
CARRIER PIGEON
Last year was massive for Pigeon. Following knockout sets at Splendour In The Grass, Parklife, Peats Ridge Festival, Fat As Butter and Festival Of The Sun, their first EP Parallels debuted at number six in the Australian iTunes charts. Pigeon’s diverse, energetic, interactive and fun live show is also already speaking volumes for itself. The upcoming national Oh Hebe tour will hit the Workers Club on Thursday 23 August and the Loft (Warrnambool) on Friday 24.
WHAT A PEARLER
Bar Open favourites Pearls return to play a show with Tax, Repairs and Exhaustion. Pearls deliver their songs with a forceful melancholy that captures the contradictions of what it feels like to love and be loved over the top of howl of organ drones and screaming guitars. Sounds sick right? It’s happening Thursday 16 August with doors from 9pm and free entry.
FROM THE HART
Harts’ music is indie rock, but it is also electro dance and funk. It’s an indie creation with shredding guitar solos over synth pads and pounding electro drums, topped with surreal melodies and edgy vocals. The blend of musicianship, style and experimentation has really transcended anything that they could hope to map out on a piece of paper of musical influences. The music is its own thing. Catch them at the Toff In Town tonight (Wednesday). 44 • INPRESS
While music, art and film are often reflections of society, popular culture continues to be a melting pot of contrasts of the human experience. Condensed Milk’s next session entitled Cadillac Chunk will examine and celebrate aspects of the Blaxploitation era that brought us icons like Pam Grier, Isaac Hayes and Curtis Mayfield with a handpicked roster of DJs, beatmakers and vocalists exhibiting gritty, sexy, chunky and soulful sample based contemporary music. Cadillac Chunk will also feature a modern visual and photographic interpretation of artwork from the period. Catch it at Loop this Friday from 7pm.
HIGH TIDE
Formed through a shared passion for both similar and divergent artists, labels and genres, Ebb&Flo are a triumvirate consisting of Jon Beta, Lister Cooray and Nikko. Their mutual understanding of intelligent dance music is reflected by their unanimous vision to establish a bold new event on the Melbourne underground calendar. You can catch them at Loop this Saturday from 10pm.
ELVIS TRIBUTE AT YAH YAH’S
Hailing from Melbourne, four-piece folk outfit Cordial Factory have earned quite a reputation in recent times for their upbeat live performances. It’s been over a year since the release of I Keep You and after much anticipation surrounding their next EP, Cordial Factory have finally announced the launch of their five-track record First Make Thieves. They’ll play tonight (Wednesday) at Northcote Social Club.
PREATURE CREACHERS
No, grammar-Nazi, it’s not a spelling mistake. The band formally known as The Preachers have gone and changed their name (well sort of) to the The Preatures. Fresh from touring with The Cairos last month, The Preatures will hit the road again next week supporting Bluejuice and Deep Sea Arcade on their Winter Of Our Discotheque universities tour before heading to Brisbane to showcase at the BIGSOUND Music Conference in September. Blending gothic soul and rock’n’roll with raw, infectious delivery, The Preatures’ shows are cultish, moody and magnetic. They play Thursday 16 August at the Uni Bar at Monash (Gippsland) and Friday 17 August at the Uni Bar at La Trobe (Bundoora).
MIXTAPE MADNESS
Butterfly Boucher will play with special guests at the Toff this Sunday. Originally signed to the now-defunct but once mighty A&M records, her ‘03 debut Flutterby drew notable mentions from David Bowie, Madonna, Ben Folds and Sarah McLachlan. But Boucher was caught up in the decade’s label maelstrom and was unable to release her second album until 2009. Now, as not only a performing artist, but also a multiinstrumentalist, writer, arranger, and producer, she’s funneled her multiple creative outlets into the making of Butterfly Boucher with an adventurous and experimental spirit, crafting smart indie-pop with alt.rock muscle.
JONES ON THE RUN
THIRSTY?
Do you remember making mixtapes? It’s the undeniable character and personality of mixtapes that has drawn Johnny Moretti to create the Melbourne Mixtape Exchange. The Exchange is asking everyone from around the country to make a mixtape then bring (or mail) it to the swap event on Friday 24 August at Bella Union to exchange for a completely random one. Not only that, but through their blog and zine, everyone can share their experiences, thoughts, ramblings and photos of mixtapes. Check themelbournemixtapeexchange.com for all the details.
GET INTO THE LAB
Miles Brown, thereminist/synthesist with Melbourne dark synth heavyweights The Night Terrors, steps out for a special science-themed solo residency on Wednesdays in August at the Gasometer Hotel. Brown’s solo work explores the theremin and analogue synth in a more electronic setting; ranging from morbid electro, to cold minimal synth and hyperactive space disco. Join him for Science Club: a mid-week celebration of scientific enquiry from some of Melbourne’s finest musical experimentalists. Week one – Physics – features a collection of creepy electronic boffins from a range of malevolent methodological persuasions including Matthew Brown, Other Places, Drill Folly and DJ Luke Brown.
ENDLESS BOOGIE
Psychedelic Coven present Heavy Boogie, a night of medieval punk, swamp stomp and heavy psychedelic this Friday at Gasometer. The night features Lakes, Exhaustion and Psychedelic Coven DJs until late. It kicks off at 9pm for $8 on Friday upstairs at the Gasometer. US punk legend Tim Barry plays downstairs.
GOT THE VIBEZ
On Thursday 16 August it will be precisely 35 years since Elvis left the building forever. Step in to Yah Yah’s for a very special night paying homage to Memphis’s son. Vocalists performing Elvis songs on the night include Alex Gow (Oh Mercy), Alison Ferrier, Courtney Barnett, Dave Last, Jen Cloher, Jess McGuire (RRR), Liz Stringer, Loretta Miller, Peter McManus (The Go Set), Quincy McLean, Richie 1250, Rob Snarski (Blackeyed Susans), Rusty Berther (Scared Weird Little Guys), Sarah Carroll, Sime Nigent, Spencer P Jones, The Ukeladies and Van Walker. There will be free peanut butter and jam sandwiches on arrival. Advance tickets are on sale now through Oztix or the Yah Yah’s website.
Tomorrow (Thursday) at the Gasometer is a punk rock party upstairs with Party Vibez and Distant Wreck and noisy goodness downstairs with The Aesthetics, Zond and Ratsak. The music starts at 9pm with $8 entry.
THE REAL NEALE
This Saturday at the Gasometer sees Brisbane singer/songwriter Jeremy Neale with his band The Jeremy Neale Five stepping in to launch his new 7” Darlin’. The Go Violets, The Red Lights and Uday’s Tiger are supporting. The music starts at 8.30pm and entry is $10.
GASO GOES SCANDINAVIAN
What to do on a Sunday? How about some Norwegian free jazz with the Frode Gjerstad Trio at the
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If you love shaking your perfect little tush to impossibly sexy dance-beats then come to the Evelyn on this Monday for Keith Is Dead #2. Australasia’s spunkiest party posse Keith! Party have curated yet another night of cutting-edge beatcraft and irresistible doof. Live sets by darkwave pin-ups Soccer Legends and futuregarage duo Rachel Haircut. DJ sets from Orca Pod Elite and psychedelic hotties Keith! Party. Keith Is Dead will be held every Monday night in August. Doors open at 8pm and entry is free. Gasometer along with Leon & Joe Talia and Dick Threats. The music starts at 7pm and entry is $10.
GUNNING AGAIN Each member of Appetite For Destruction: The Guns N’ Roses Tribute Show has proudly spent many years touring and playing in the live music scenes throughout Australia, and now they come together to form an exceptional tribute show, with an energetic and professional live performance, which has never failed to deliver. Catch Appetite For Destruction on Saturday 18 August at the Espy’s Gershwin Room with the Doors Of Perception and Audio Vibe. Tickets are $25 on the door from 8.30pm
CARAVAN TRAIN This Friday at the Caravan Club come Graveyard Train, who will be playing songs from their brand new album Hollow, which is attracting rave reviews such as the five-star review in The Age. They welcome special guests Chris Russell’s Chicken Walk as support.
FESTIVAL HALL REVISITED Billy Miller with a crack band including James Black on keyboards, Bill Mcdonald on bass, John Annas on drums and Eddy Miller on guitar and vocals, will recreate his memorable 1968 Festival Hall show this Saturday at the Caravan Club.
CELTIC AND SOME MORE Forget everything you’ve ever thought you knew about Celtic rock bands, because Melbourne-based outfit, Claymore defiy all expectations. They manage to write beautiful original Celtic compositions, and even lend their style to some power-rock classics, all with a distinctive Irish and Scottish twist. Catch them at the Thornbury Theatre this Saturday.
TOUR DE FORTE The raw and emotive energy of Nicolette Forte and her band will continue into the month of August as they embark on a regional tour of Victoria, sharing their sweet melodies and infectious rhythms. This Friday she plays a solo show at the Airey’s Inlet Pub, on Saturday she plays the same venue with her band and on Sunday she performs instore at Pure Pop Records. On Friday 17 August Forte plays the Newmarket Hotel, Bendigo and Saturday 18 August she plays Babushka, Ballarat, with support from Dan Rolls for both shows.
BRODERICK DOES THE TRICK A genuine Australian music legend, Broderick Smith (frontman of The Dingoes) graces the Bridge Hotel, Castlemaine stage to play two sets on this Friday. Warming up for an upcoming appearance at the Gympie Ute Muster, don’t miss this opportunity to witness a rare performance by Smith in full band mode featuring Richard Tankard and Shannon Bourne. Doors at 8.30pm. Entry $10.
GOOD MANNERS Formerly known as Manners and featuring ex-members of punk upstarts The Losers, Astral Sunrise make their first trip to Castlemaine to play at the Bridge Hotel this Saturday. They play short and fast ‘90s fuzz-pop. This powerful four-piece started as the solo vehicle for Casper Hamilton and feature fellow Loser Marc Campa, man about town Moz Morrissey, and Chrispy from the Gems and Saab 79. Support from Stavros Brothers. Doors at 8.30pm. $10 Entry.
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INPRESS • 45
DIRTY LITTLE REBELS
HAVE YOU HEARD?
GHOST SONGS
BEST OF THE WEST
Live At The Last Hotel, the new album by Sean McMahon’s Western Union is a journey through heartfelt alt.country soul that beautifully conveys the story of this exceptional singer/songwriter’s love affair with the American songbook and a 1930s Kay guitar. In support of the album, they’ll be at the Bridge Hotel (Castlemaine) on Saturday 18 August with Alysia Manceau and at the Empress Hotel on Sunday 19 August with Sweet Jean.
THE CHARLIES PLAY SOUL FIST AT THE LUWOW THIS FRIDAY 10 AUGUST. How did you get together? Scott ‘Slap The Monkey Off A Porn Star’s Back’ Cherry, bass: Our keys got tangled in the bowl. Have you recorded anything or do you prefer to tool around in your bedroom? We do enjoy a good tooling, but our professional tooling around has resulted in a soon to be released as EP. Available now on handcrafted CD, at our shows. Can you sum up your band’s sound in four words? Nipple picking filthy funk. If you could support any band in the world, who would it be and why? Betty Davis. She is the undisputed queen of filthy funk! If a higher power smites your house and you can only save one record from the fire, what would it be? Black Nativity – Gospel On Broadway! Do you have a lucky item of clothing you wear for gigs and what is it? A ginger merkin! If you invited someone awesome ‘round for dinner what would you cook? Them. What’s your favourite place to drink in Melbourne? LuWow.
OUT OF OUR TEAGUE Following on from the launch of his debut album Lavender Prayers, lyrical minstrel James Teague, will be bringing his captivating live show to Melbourne. Teague’s melodic soliloquies afforded him the opportunity to represent his hometown of Perth at the West Coast Blues‘n’Roots festival last year. He plays the Grace Darling this Friday along with The Bon Scotts and Sleep Decade.
ALEX AND THE SOLO ACTS Alexander Francis and his friends play his last show in the country for six months with three fantastic debut solo artists supporting including the sweet tones of Rosie Hilder (Rosie & George), the nimble fingerpicking styles of James Allen (Pascale Barbare and Teeth) and the alternative sounds of Nikos Shannon (Project Puzzles, The Phantom Agents) all in one place – the Grace Darling Cellar this Friday.
PARTY FUNK Your usual Saturday at the Grace Darling Cellar hosts DJs Manchild, Jumps and Arks will be serving up nothing but the finest in party music, that of course being funk, in all it’s forms. All original vinyl crossing the heady heights from ‘70s funk and disco funk to Afro funk and NYC Latin-boogaloofunk. This will undoubtedly be a party for the ages. Doors at 9pm and it’s only a tenner on the door.
MUSIC FOR A CAUSE
Four Melbournites are about to embark on a 100km walk for the world charity organisation Oxfam. So in order to raise some money, they are throwing a cosy Sunday roast charity gig at the Grace Darling. Planet Love Sound and Dancing Heals are donating their time and musical talent. Entry is $15 and the music starts at 7.30pm. 46 • INPRESS
DEATH FROM DUNEDIN
Hailing from what is considered NZ’s iconic music city, Dunedin, Andrew Wilson and Michael Prain founded Die! Die! Die! in 2003, and their hardworking DIY ethos that continues even now. Die! Die! Die!’s current release Harmony is their fourth studio album and was recorded at Blackbox Studios, France. This is one show not to miss when the tour hits Ding Dong Lounge on Saturday 25 August with support from Damn Terran.
NO DEPUTY
Sheriff hit the Tote again tomorrow night (Thursday). Rockin’ two-piece Royal Blood will also be shaking things up along with dirty rock’n’rollers Dirty Little Rebels, straight outta Port Macquarie and making their Melbourne debut. If that wasn’t enough, you’ll be pleased to know Them Bruins will be there to knock you right around the head. The evening will also include a special burlesque performance by Miss Shell Ma Belle.
HAVE YOU HEARD?
PISTOL SNAKES
Luger Boa have been long established as one of New Zealand’s premier live rock’n’roll outfits (and not to be trusted with your beer or girlfriend). The band have announced a couple of Australian dates promising to be a massive end of tour party to end all others, as their Ding Dong show falls at the end of a run of international mayhem in support of the release of their wild’n’twisted long player New Hot Nights. Special guests on the night will be Melbourne lads Guests Of Ghosts with more to be announced.
DARK TECHNO AT BROWN ALLEY
Kate Simko has quietly, yet consistently, established herself as one of dance music’s rising stars. A diverse musician, Simko’s projects range from remixing Philip Glass, to composing film scores, to rocking jackin’ DJ sets, and producing her melodic, Chicago-flavoured take on house and techno. She joins Chloe Harris this Friday at Brown Alley for a night of deep house and dark techno.
LANE’S WAY
Jordie Lane returns to his beloved High Street for a one-night-only, full band show, at the Regal Ballroom on Friday 17 August with support from Francolin. Lane will showcase a fresh batch of tracks from recent writing and recording sessions in LA. He will also bring a fresh batch of stories from his epic East to West traverse of the USA by caravan. Backed by his cracking four-piece band, this will be a humdinger of a night at Northcote’s finest establishment.
Sans Gras celebrate the release of their first vinyl with a wee tour. Kicking off at the Workers club this Thursday with scuzz rockers Clavians and dark moodsters Howl At The Moon, Sans Gras bring their dionysian flavoured post-rock for the pleasure of all. Ticket $10 on the door.
CRUSADER FUNDRAISER
After a hugely successful fundraising night at the Corner Hotel last year, The Crusaders have put together another afternoon of mod-esque music to raise funds for the Children First Foundation. Joining The Crusaders will be Melbourne’s exponents of all things Jamaican The Ska Vendors, who have recruited the sweet honey vocals of Sydney’s Pat Powell who has already wowed Melbourne crowds earlier this year with his silky tones. Also on the bill are Shanty Town, DJ Snowy and The Pacemakers. It happens at the Northcote Social Club on Sunday with doors from 2pm and tickets $20.
Get to Pony to catch some rad up-and-coming bands this Thursday. Headlining are the most emotional group of punx you’ll ever hear, The Evercold. In the middle of this hardcore sandwich are Disasters, and opening the night are Treason. So head along and catch some cool bands for $5 (you can afford more drinks this way!). If you aren’t there, then you’re probably a square.
NU-DISCO KINGS
Rats join Forces and Kangaroo Skull for a killer live performance this Saturday at Brown Alley. This will be one of the indie dance/nu-disco events of the winter. Tickets are $12 on the night.
YOU FEELING LUCKY?
The one and only Gary Eastwood hits the stage this Thursday and Friday at the Palace Hotel (Camberwell). Gazza and his drummer Jeremy pump out the latest and greatest pub’n’party tunes and love getting to know the locals and giving away truck loads of drink cards and prizes. Gary is renowned in the music scene across Australia and has performed at over 8500 shows. Thursday kicks off at 8pm and Friday from 5.30pm.
HAVE YOU BEEN TO?
How did you get together? Heidi Waddell, vocals/banjo/guitar/keys: A couple of years ago a bunch of us used to play solo gigs and we’d begun to pack out these open mic nights that we were playing at. The sound engineer who worked there suggested we enter their unsigned band competition. At first we didn’t want to, we were like, ‘We’re soloists, how can we compete against bands?’ Then we decided to join together just for the competition to have a bit of fun and we ended up winning! So we decided to keep going and see how far we could take it. Have you recorded anything or do you prefer to tool around in your bedroom? We have recorded a fair bit. Out of the competition we won, we recorded our first EP, then about half a year later we recorded our three-track single I Keep You and we have just finished up our new EP which we’re releasing on Wednesday 8 August and this is the one we’re most proud of. We’re very happy with how it’s turned out. We do also love a good bedroom recording though. Can you sum up your band’s sound in four words? It’s a good listen? If you could support any band in the world, who would it be and why? It goes without question for us! Mumford & Sons, they’re like royalty. We draw lots of inspiration from them, not just in their sound but the way they play. They have this energy which is contagious, like people can’t sit still and can’t resist feeling joyful and alive and that’s what we hope to achieve through our music too.
SCUZZ NIGHT
PONY NEWCOMERS
CORDIAL FACTORY PLAY THE NORTHCOTE SOCIAL CLUB TONIGHT (WEDNESDAY 8 AUGUST).
Inspired by sadness, grief, remorse and Quentin Tarantino soundtracks, Haunting August launch their debut EP and single Oscar’s Song on Friday 24 August at Cherry Bar with support from Arcane Saints and Falconio. The $13 door entry includes a free EP for everyone! One hundred limited-edition Oscar’s Song singles will be on sale for one dollar with all proceeds going to charity Oscar’s Law.
If a higher power smites your house and you can only save one record from the fire, what would it be? Edith Piaf, Non, je ne regrette rien. I grew up listening to that album and I still say it’s one of the greatest I’ve heard to date. Timeless. Do you have a lucky item of clothing you wear for gigs and what is it? Not really an item of clothing, but both Amalie (vocals, guitar, keys) and I have very long hair and we feel like that brings us some sort of strength, I don’t think we can ever cut it! If you invited someone awesome ‘round for dinner what would you cook? Sloppy Joes! They are just awesomeness in a bun, perfect for serving to a person of equal calibre. What’s your favourite place to drink in Melbourne? I’m a big fan of cider, so Young & Jackson’s rooftop cider bar is a favourite. Also Polly’s on Brunswick Street does amazing cocktails and if I can add one from out east, Coldstream Brewery – nothing like going to the source.
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THE FLYING SAUCER CLUB Describe your venue in 15 words or less. Mark Burchett, venue booker: Classic art deco room, cosy retro vibe, candlelit table seating and a huge roaring fire. What kind of music are we likely to hear at your venue? The Flying Saucer Club will offer an exciting and diverse program of contemporary music, cabaret, spoken word, burlesque, comedy and musical theatre. What sets your venue apart from others? A big focus on reviving the dinner and show concept with fine food and sophisticated programming. Your venue is being used as a film location. What’s the film? Earth Vs The Flying Saucers – a 1956 sci-fi classic! Do you serve food? If so, what’s your signature dish? The dining room is open most nights and we will be offering dinner and show option in the not too distant future. Signature dish? Food that’s out of this world! What are some upcoming highlights? The Revelators (Joe Camilleri, James Black, Joe Creighton) have just started a three-Sunday arvo residency. Flying Saucer Rock’n’Roll on Sat 25 August featuring Benny & The Fly By Niters Big Band with a bunch of extra special guests. Where can we find you? Located at 4 St Georges Road, Elsternwick. You can find us on the web at flyingsaucerclub. com.au and facebook.com/flyingsaucerclub.
RÜFÜS ON THE ROAD
GO WEST
Young Sydney trio Rüfüs are working the East Coast on their Blue EP tour, and they took time out from the partying to let Inpress know how their shenanigans have been going to date.
From bar-room brawls to classical concerts – Johnny Mackay details the crazy start to Children Collide’s epic national tour.
Hugh from Trinity takes us all out to dinner, pretty refreshing for a venue owner to look after us like that! Head to the venue to watch Elizabeth Rose do her thing. The crowd are into it! Venue reaches capacity just before we go on. Good crowd makes it a really fun set for us. We top the night off by getting the crowd to sing Ryan a massive happy birthday. Couple of chilled drinks and a hefty pack up.
PAINTING THE TOWN WHITE FRIDAY 3 AUGUST Headed to Canberra, meet everyone at Gigpiglet, Surry Hills, to jam pack our van with all our gear, Liz and her gear, and Ryan (our lighting guy) and all his gear. Everyone’s very excited, particularly Ryan – it’s his birthday! Laptop party all the way to Canberra. Stop at Swamp in Fishwich to get some audio stuff sorted. They hook us up, hard. Few suss characters lurking the porn shops! Load our stuff into Trinity Bar for soundcheck. First soundcheck of the tour is always a bit of a punish. Get everything sorted eventually. Sneaky video interview for Canberra guys Fro and Mo; good dudes. Check into our hotel, Hugh from Trinity Bar has hooked us up in a place that’s well-and-truly out of our price range. Everyone chilling at the hotel, trying to catch some sleep before the show.
BOOGIE WOOGIE What do you get when you put Melbourne’s very own psychobilly demons The Workinghorse Irons, old-school punkers Slick 46, new kids Prostitute Killers and Boogie Woogie Boogie Board Boys in a juicer and press the “on” button? A night of killer tunes, some tasty ales and a hell of a lot of fun. So head on down to Pony on Friday and join the party. Doors from 9pm.
METAL MANIA This Saturday, Pony will be playing host to a night of epic metal diverse enough for the whole family. Fresh out of the recording studio, melodic death/doomers Myridian are ready to tear into some tracks off their upcoming album Under The Fading Light, and with Catacombs, Mardraum and Sewercide churning
SATURDAY 4 AUGUST Four or five hours sleep later we’re driving to Sydney. Worst start to the day; James our drummer gets a speeding fine. Ring triple j and have a nice on-air chat with Sarah Howells; she is super-friendly. Arrive at the Standard midday and start prepping for the show. Full on Rüfüs working bee. We have to set up a projector to make the new visual show we have work. Very excited to see how people respond to the visuals, spent the last four weeks working on them. Standard are letting us paint a giant Ü on the walls, we rope our manager and a friend into painting it for us. It looks sweet. Check out ticket sales and it looks like it’s going to be a sell out. Soundcheck etc…
We kicked off the Monument tour in Bunbury, WA, the jewel of the west. We’d been there before but I’d never noticed what an amazing array of discount/variety stores they have in the immediate vicinity of the venue. My favourites were Hooley Dooleys and Things where I picked up this gorgeous boob apron that had been marked down $5 due to someone having stolen the nipple ring. There was a massive fight and we had to cut our first song short. I didn’t really see any of it but apparently the main protagonist was some ex-boxer dude.
Crowd gets there early to catch Movement. They play a sweet opening set. We’re getting ready for the show and miss Liz Rose’s set. Venue is absolutely packed. Lights and everything look great. The crowd are really into the new set. We get Elizabeth Rose up to do Stars Ago with us. Tyrone jumps up on the bar and sings to her across the crowd. Big percussion breakdown to finish, New Navy are in the crowd, but they don’t storm the stage this time… Brisbane and Melbourne next.
out death, black and thrash metal anthems from their own recent releases, this is a night not to be missed.
BUMP FOR HUMP
Enter the middle of the week – for some it’s the beginning of the weekend, for others it’s a break from study, for those of us who are travelling, it probably has no real significance (unless you’re wanting to party with the hot Europeans… because any day is simply another day when you’re travelling). Humpday Animals is your midweek stomping ground, featuring DJs Danny Silver, Manchild and Mu-Gen at Lounge. Free entry. From 10pm.
FLIP OUT
The Black Pancake Club is where disc jockeys bring in their treasured record collections to share with ya’ll. Expect undiscovered nuggets, lost gems, far
On the second night Heath, Mitch and I got taken to see the West Australian Symphony Orchestra play Brahms’ Requiem by an oboist who I like to call Yoko Oboe. It was a lovely way to spend those pre-show hours between soundcheck and playing and we all came out of it in a kind of trance. Consequently, we had a dream of a show.
We woke up a little hazy and made our way back up the highway to Perth to play Amplifier.
On the way there I noticed a Yayoi Kusama display in the window of a shop which added to the joy.
I got to watch all of Bad Dreems’ set and it was rad. In particular TMRW MNTN and FCK CSN. I’m not sure why they name all their songs like a 14-year-old girl TXTNG her BFF, but I like their music a lot. It’s FKN KWL.
I ended the night in my favourite place… On a couch, with my arm around Woody [Annison, producer] throwing shapes.
Dune Rats were also excellent. They don’t ever have a setlist and seem to just yell song titles to each other on stage. Last I heard they were travelling to some huge sand dunes outside of Perth to film themselves taking epic tumbles down them.
Rüfüs play the Northcote Social Club on Friday 17 August. Blue EP (Gigpiglet Recordings) is out now.
Anyway, our first show at Amplifier was packed full of crazies and a bloody good time. Being our second ever proper show with our new drummer Mitch we were still finding our feet at soundcheck but it seemed to all pull together on the night.
out there covers, crackling garage and rockabilly, and a host of other eclectic delicacies and toppings for your black pancakes! Tastemakers on rotation include Shags (Liquorice Pie Records) and Richie 1250 (PBS). Free entry at Lounge from 10pm.
ALL IN THE MIND
“It might blow up but it won’t go pop,” is the philosophy at Buhloone Mindstate featuring Melbourne’s finest bands and DJs playing every Friday night, late at Lounge. That’s just how they roll. They’re all about the late night boogie. Expect all things funk, hip hop, soul, reggae, disco, boogie and house. Entry is $10 from 11pm.
MIND’S EY
EY:EM at Lounge features residents Boogs and Dave Pham, who will host Melbourne’s
Looking forward to the next 22 shows! Children Collide play the Corner Hotel this Friday 10 and Saturday 11 August, the Yahoo Bar in Shepparton on Friday 7 September and the Bended Elbow in Geelong on Saturday 8.
top purveyors of club music, showcasing both local and international DJs playing the most upfront club music. Rotating DJs include Sleep D, Bryce Lawrence, Louis McCoy, Caine Sinclair, Glyn Hill and Toby Mackisack. Expect nothing but excellent house music all night long. And remember, clubbing happens in the EY:EM. Entry is $10 from 11pm.
WHAT ABOUT BOB? Bob Stamos takes you all on a journey of musical explorations in all things, well… music at the Lounge every Tuesday. Bob has been in the ‘bizness’ for more than 25 years and has travelled the world and played some of the biggest parties known to man. Ladies melt when Bob enters the room. Bob is king of men. And ladies. Entry from 10pm.
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INPRESS • 47
ROOTS DOWN
THE RACKET
WAKE THE DEAD
BLUES ‘N’ ROOTS WITH DAN CONDON ROOTSDOWN@INPRESS.COM.AU
METAL, HEAVY ROCK AND DARK ALTERNATIVE WITH ANDREW HAUG
HARDCORE AND PUNK WITH SARAH PETCHELL
AXEWOUND MUMFORD & SONS Billy Bragg is a masterful songwriter, that is something that simply cannot be denied. He has, for decades now, committed hundreds of tales of love, politics and a number of different subject areas in between to tape and is adored all around the world for his songwriting aptitude. He’s also proven that he’s a pretty damn good interpreter of songs that aren’t his own, but ones that generally bear some kind of historical significance; the most striking example of course being his work on the Mermaid Avenue records where he, alongside Wilco, delived into some lost material from the great Woody Guthrie and made it his own. So on his upcoming Australian tour, the Ain’t Nobody That Can Sing Like Me tour, he is splitting his show in half, beginning with a celebration of Woody Guthrie’s legacy – as we celebrate the 100th anniversary of his birth in 2012 – and finishing up with a set of Bragg’s own most loved songs from his 30 years in the game. In Melbourne you basically pick and choose which side of Bragg you want to see; on Friday 19 October he will be performing the songs of Woody Guthrie at Hamer Hall, while on Saturday 20 you can see him at the Melbourne Recital Centre playing a set of his own songs. Tickets are available through the venues now. Mumford & Sons confirmed on their Facebook page earlier in the week that they will indeed be putting on a Gentlemen Of The Road stopover while they are in Australia this October, as was speculated from the moment they announced their tour. Now I’ve made it pretty clear that I don’t really get what fans of this band are on about, but they sure know how to pick a line-up, with the likes of Justin Townes Earle, Simone Felice, St Vincent (who is Guy Clark’s niece! Whoa!), Dawes, Michael Kiwanuka and heaps more joining them on these mini-festivals that the band have curated in the UK and US so far this year. Details of the Australian show are going to be announced as you read this, apparently, and it’s going to be in either one of these towns; Dalby, Coober Pedy, Lightning Ridge, Katherine, Karumba, Dungog, Longreach, Charleville, Yamba, Candelo, Newman, Mullewa, Denmark, Streaky Bay, Tumby Bay, Apollo Bay, Strahan, Beechworth, Harrietville or Mallacoota. I’m backing Dungog. Anyway, I have no word on whether there are any other acts from overseas getting in on this show (the band will already have Willy Mason and Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes on the road with them) and I kinda think they won’t, but there will almost certainly be some good Aussie acts added. Stay tuned for the full announcement! You’ve probably already seen it by now, but just in case Roots Down is the only reading material you can handle in a week (I wouldn’t blame you), then let me tell you about the line-up for this year’s Peats Ridge Sustainable Arts & Music Festival. The line up is another massive one and, as per usual, it’s jam packed up with a bunch of rootsinclined fare that is going to keep plenty of people happy. The festival have finally secured the John Butler Trio as headliners for the event in 2012, after nine years of trying to get them onboard, a serious coo for them. Acts like American Daptone Records soul powerhouse Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings (my personal highlight), Kiwi reggae masters The Black Seeds, Kaki King, King Tide, Mat McHugh & The Seperatista Sound System, Gossling, Hat Fitz & Cara, Microwave Jenny and The Brow Horn Orchestra are among the bands who’ve signed up for the festival who are appropriate for inclusion here, though there are a whole heap of other big names from a variety of genres to check out as well. The festival hits its Glenworth Valley location from Saturday 29 December through to Tuesday 1 January, 2013. General public tickets are available from OzTix as of 10am Monday 20 August. So if you feel like a bit of journey this New Year’s, keep it in mind. 48 • INPRESS
Tool drummer Danny Carey offered a brief update on the progress of the band’s fifth studio album in an interview with The Pulse Of Radio recently. Carey explained, “The Tool thing is happening. Me, Adam [Jones, guitar] and Justin [Chancellor, bass] are banging away. Trying to get enough [material] to get Maynard [James Keenan, vocals] in there, but there is no wine before it’s time.” Axewound, the new project featuring Matt Tuck (Bullet For My Valentine) on guitar and vocals, will release their debut album Vultures on 1 October via Search And Destroy/RCA. The album was recorded in Cardiff at the start of this year. From the outset, the aim was to work quickly and instinctively. In the event, they recorded 11 songs in 11 frenetic days. “It was very intense, very demanding but that’s how we wanted it to be,” reasons Tuck. “No pre-writing, no rehearsing… just booking a studio and going in and doing a song a day. We wanted to capture something that happened right there and then.” Los Angeles metallers Winds Of Plague have parted ways with drummer Art Cruz due to creative differences. “After many years of having Art Cruz with us we have decided its best for both parties involved to go our separate ways,” states Winds Of Plague vocalist Johnny Plague. “Art is a great drummer and I’m sure he will be back behind the drums one way or another soon.” Down entered the studio last October to begin recording the first in a series of four EPs, to be released over the next two years, each touching on a different aspect of the band’s sound. The first six-song
EP, Down IV Part I – The Purple EP, will be released on 18 September. It will be followed by the second collection of songs early next year, around the time of a planned US tour. EPs three and four are scheduled for later in 2013. “I have not really put too much pressure on myself with Down, and I think that’s the best approach,” vocalist Philip Anselmo told RollingStone. com. “Right now I’m looking forward to the public’s consumption and letting them hear it. I’m not sure if it’s gonna break any ground. I never put any expectation on any friggin’ record I do. We didn’t overanalyse anything. We just let the songs kind of unfold, and once it felt right, there was no reason to go back.” Virginia-based melodic tech-death metal masters Arsis have set Unwelcome as the title of their fifth full-length album, coming via Nuclear Blast Records. The release date set for Daylight Dies’ new album, A Frail Becoming, is 9 October. “A Frail Becoming is an album which, at many times during its creation, felt as if it may never be realised,” stated drummer Jesse Haff. “As each of our lives proceeded down different paths, the challenges and obstacles we faced felt daunting and at times impassible. Out of this struggle, we forged ahead, determined to write the best collection of music we’ve ever created. Thankfully our perseverance prevailed and A Frail Becoming stands as the most accomplished and varied album of our career.” Glam rock powerhouse Blessed By A Broken Heart have announced that vocalist Tony Gambino will be leaving the band for personal reasons. Stepping up to the mic to replace him will be current guitarist Sam Ryder, who brings with him Gambino’s full endorsement. “This is one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make,” Gambino said. “But I recently decided to leave the touring life so I can stay home with my family. With that said, I have some exciting news – I’m super stoked to announce that Sam Ryder is going to be stepping in as lead vocalist, and I couldn’t be more honoured to have anyone else take my spot. Sam is a world-class musician and vocalist and I have nothing but confidence in him.”
LONDON FIELDS TALES FROM THE MOTHERLAND WITH JAMES MCGALLIARD the near overwhelming sense of doom that preceded the Olympics’ arrival has so far failed to be the reality.
UNDERWORLD The combination of the words “English” and “summer” may seem a little strange to anyone who equates that season with the relentless onslaught of the Australian version, but the pleasantries of those gently warm, unbelievably long days remain one of the attractions of life here. In the golden years, nearly five months can pass before you need to remember where it was you last left your coat. This year has most definitely not been one of those; it’s been more week-after-week-after-week of rain, followed by spells of consecutive warm dry days just to (falsely) raise hopes that summer may actually have arrived. Back in March we were told that no amount of rain could really stop the country being beset by a major water shortage; nature then provided record breaking rainfall for month after month, banishing all threat of drought. This gave rise to a new adage to explain the strange climatic patterns: “blue sky in the morning, pissing down by lunch”. While Wimbledon rolled ahead as usual, some other seasonal markers were missing this year. Glastonbury was one of the many summer festivals that decided to take a year off; others disappeared off the calendar forever, victims of a crowded market, the inclement weather (which meant that those that did go ahead became giant mud wrestling arenas) and consumer reticence to spend money as freely as before in these financially difficult times. But of course, what has really cut this summer season in half is the looming shadow of the major international festival currently taking place down in Stratford and surrounds. Holidays had to be fitted around the Olympics, and while it might have seemed a perfect time to flee the capital, actually getting the time off agreed wasn’t necessarily easy. Thankfully for those that remained,
That change in attitude probably began with the Opening Ceremony itself. I’m not sure how it played elsewhere, but here, particularly after the mediocre Jubilee events, Danny Boyle’s production felt like a celebratory but non-jingoistic political history of the UK. From the cheeky prelude that featured Frank Turner singing “Come ye, come ye, to soulless corporate circus tops” its subversive nature was clear. Underworld’s soundtrack, encompassing The Clash, Sex Pistols and Fuck Buttons was light years from Gary Barlow’s staid programming for the Jubilee. Although there were concerns over payments for artists’ performances, Sunday’s charts saw many featured artists appear, with Underworld just missing a spot in the top ten. The continuing sporting success of Team GB has helped people to warm to the event – I mean a British player won at Wimbledon! Against expectations, public transport has actually coped quite well (barring some chronic failures on the Central Line); so well that they’ve now got rid of London Mayor Boris Johnson’s recorded announcements apologising for how busy things are. Perhaps his messages were too effective – some reports indicate that retailers are not experiencing the boom they had anticipated. Certainly it hasn’t been the cash cow that some had hoped – the newly set-up London Pleasure Gardens went into administration over the weekend. Back at home, I notice it’s not just people who are finding this non-summer confusing. For the past few years, a pair of wood pigeons has nested in the elderflower at the end of my garden. As usual, they began to build their nest back in late March with the first inklings of spring. By now, their hatchlings would usually be nearly ready to leave the nest; this year they still haven’t even laid the eggs, perhaps waiting for a sign that the summer has arrived. I wonder what the pigeon is for “It is here, it’s just the Gulf Stream is so far south this year that it’s buggered everything up!”? The late Ray Bradbury wrote stories of long magical summers that felt like they might never end. Here, it feels like this summer may never really begin. londonfieldscolumn.blogspot.com/
themusic.com.au
FRANK TURNER First up this week, the punk rock world lost a legend when it was announced last week that the enigmatic frontman of No Use For A Name, Tony Sly, had passed away at the age of 41. At the time of writing, there was no information as to how exactly Sly had died, however our condolences go out to his family, band and friends. Sly’s label Fat Wreck posted a message last Thursday stating, “It is with great sorrow that we must say goodbye to Tony Sly of No Use For A Name. We received a call earlier today of his passing, and are devastated. We have lost an incredible talent, friend, and father – one of the true greats.” Fat Mike of NOFX added “One of my dearest friends and favourite song writers has gone way too soon. Tony, you will be greatly missed.” Hopefully some more information as to what happened will make its way to us soon but in the meantime play some NUFAN records, have a singalong and reconnect with those songs that so many of us grew up with. I’m not sure how much bigger Frank Turner can get but one thing I am sure of is that not so long after playing a sold-out show at Wembley Arena (the biggest show of his career to date), Turner backed it up and outdid that performance in the massive stakes by playing the Opening Ceremony of the London Olympic Games. Playing with an expanded version of his band The Sleeping Souls, Turner was selected by artistic director of the ceremony, Danny Boyle (director of such films as Trainspotting, 28 Days Later and Sunshine) to play three songs as a part of the event to an estimated audience of almost 200,000 people in the stadium, over two nights of rehearsals and the opening night itself. Turner said of the event, “Being asked to play the Opening Ceremony was something I never imagined was going to happen in my wildest most feverish dreams, but the fact that Danny Boyle asked me personally, as a fan, convinced me to do it. It’s a pretty terrifying prospect, but I’m secretly pretty happy to be part of it; it’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing.” Stay tuned next week as the Soundwave 2013 lineup is set to hit the interwebs as early as Wednesday 8 August if all goes to plan. Festival head honcho and former Drum Media scribe, AJ Maddah, announced on Twitter that he hopes to release the bulk of the lineup on that day, with tickets to be released Wednesday 15 August. This is the tenth year of the festival, and it’s set to have even higher calibre international acts than ever, with a second announcement of Australian bands and local openers to follow in the coming months. Already announced, of interest to this column, have been Cancer Bats and Of Mice And Men. Rolling Stone magazine have premiered a new, animated video for Social Distortion that is blowing my mind right now. The track is Gimme The Sweet And Lowdown and features some amazing tattoo-style graphics in a style that perfectly suits the band, its influences and aesthetic. The track is taken from their brilliant 2011 album, Hard Times And Nursery Rhymes. If you head on over to the Rolling Stone website, you can check out the video and read some awesome background information about how the video came together in the first place. Last up for this week, don’t forget that punk rock troubadour and former member of Avail, Tim Barry, will be hitting town this week with his pal Josh Small for a couple of shows. First up, Friday 10 August, the pair will play the Gasometer with Jamie Hay, and then on Saturday 11 August, the Gasometer will play host again, this time with Lucy Wilson supporting. Tickets to the Friday show are available through Oztix, while the Saturday is strictly tickets on the door with the night kicking off at 8:30pm.
GOOD OR SHIT?
OG FLAVAS
INTELLIGIBLE FLOW
QUALITY CONTROL WITH LIZ GALINOVIC
URBAN AND R&B NEWS BY CYCLONE
HIP HOP NEWS & COMMENTARY WITH ALEKSIA BARRON
FRANK OCEAN
SCHOOLBOY Q AND DANNY BROWN So, I went to Amsterdam, right. And yes, all that stuff about weed is true. You can buy it and smoke it pretty much anywhere and no one gives a toss how stoned you are because most people are really stoned. What I also discovered was a beautiful city consisting of 17th century buildings along treelined canals built for transportation and perfect for romance. And I discovered that Dutch people are really, really cool. This last part became the most apparent when I left the tourists to their “coffee shops” – has anyone ever bought a coffee in these places? – and hookers-behind-glass-doors and went to a music festival on the other side of town. Appelsap in Ooster Park boasted a line-up of underground American rappers I was stoked to find were in town at the same time as me. As my friend and I made our way toward the entrance, I realised that he was carrying a lot of weed – but the only thing we weren’t allowed to take in were our water bottles. Have you ever walked into a commercial, heavily promoted music festival carrying your five-year-old daughter, loads of weed, and not even considered the possibility that you may be greeted by cops bearing dogs because you know you won’t be? Have you even taken children to a festival that didn’t have the words “blues”, “roots”, “folk”, “carols” or “candlelight” in the name? We knew the Dutch were cool but they deck their toddlers out in head to toe Nike and stand amongst the crowd listening to Ab-Soul with baby-sized industrial ear muffs to protect their little ears. Did you even know they made industrial ear muffs for babies? I crossed the bridge over the lake in the middle of a lusciously green park to find the main stage and I saw Vans, Converse and so much Nike. I’m glad I didn’t wear my Jordans, and not because they would have ended up thrashed but because everyone else was wearing them, including the toddlers. It was hipster central, except the Dutch are actually hip and not just wankers in odd clothing. There wasn’t a scrap of flouro to be seen and not a single douchebag bashed into me in a crowd or in a queue. The atmosphere was so relaxed I had to ask people if it was normal – the general consensus was, yes, this is normal. And if we’re going to be honest about it, it’s probably got a lot to do with how stoned everybody was. I spent most of the day in front of the main stage to see Danny Brown, Ab-Soul, Schoolboy Q and French Montana. Despite their main-stage allocation, the Dutch didn’t really seem to know who they were. But, rather than clear off to find a stage with acts they recognised, the crowd remained at a steady level of swollen the entire day, dancing and raising their hands in the air and really kicking off when their own local hip hop acts came on. Two more stages accommodated artists from local R&B singers to DJs from across the globe and even in crowds higher on more than simply weed and life, the atmosphere remained relaxed. UK sibling DJ duo Disclosure were definitely a highlight – I have now heard their remix of Artful Dodger tune Please Don’t Turn Me On. It’s wicked. I predict murder by radio when the song is finally released – hundreds of people surrounded them, on stage, hardly moving until a tune climaxed and then as though on cue, they all began to periodically wiggle until the music calmed down again and they resumed standing around on stage looking hella ripped. The last time I went to a big-name festival, I swore I would never do it again. There is something about music festivals that turns people into massive idiots who always seem to be in my way. But in Amsterdam people manage to be respectful and mature at the same time as having fun. I didn’t see a fight, I didn’t see vomit in the loos, I didn’t see a single police officer. This city is doing something right... I wonder what that is...
Those colour forecasters Pantone declared that 2012 would be all about Tangerine Tango, a “reddish orange” denoting energy. “Sophisticated but, at the same time dramatic and seductive, Tangerine Tango is an orange with a lot of depth to it,” announced Executive Director Leatrice Eiseman. That’s an apt description, too, of Frank Ocean’s wonderful (official) debut, channel ORANGE – though, befitting the zeitgeist, there are also darker shadings, like a sunset. Along with Canadian alt-soulster The Weeknd, Ocean has pioneered a genre OG is dubbing illwave – a sublime, sometimes even sinister, urban variant on chillwave. Illwave taps into Sade’s quiet storm, Timbaland’s experimental R&B, and James Blake’s nightbus. Ocean, who legally changed his name from Christopher Breaux as a nod to Frank Sinatra (and the rat pack flick Ocean’s 11), was born in Los Angeles but raised in New Orleans. Following Hurricane Katrina, the aspiring muso returned to Cali. He found himself writing for Justin Bieber, among others. Ocean signed to Def Jam – which sidelined him. Meanwhile, he connected with Tyler, The Creator’s eccentric hip hop posse Odd Future, who surely influenced his increasingly avant-garde approach. Last year Ocean aired the cult mixtape nostalgia, ULTRA. On the atmospheric, spare and downbeat channel ORANGE, the hipster hero writes about his own interior life (Bad Religion) and his environs (Crack Rock), the singer’s lyrics surreal, dreamlike and occasionally mystical. In contrast to nostalgia..., Ocean avoids samples, his instrument of choice the electronic keyboard.
Prior to the album release Ocean leaked his sleeve notes on Tumblr, revealing that his first love was a guy (it was unrequited) – and he sings of a ‘he’. Ocean hasn’t explicitly stated that he’s gay or bisexual, but “a free man.” This is, after all, the dude who in January ambiguously told NME that channel ORANGE “sounds like there’s a cloud moving underneath it”. Still, it was astonishing news, Ocean being a member of the notoriously ‘homophobic’ Odd Future (as is the lesbian Syd The Kyd). The urban scene is grossly homophobic – something that stems from, not only American religiosity, but also latent anxieties about black masculinity arising from slavery and colonialism. It goes beyond any casual use of the ‘F’ word. Hatas spread gay rumours to discredit successful hip hoppers. Kanye West has bravely questioned such prejudice. And Ocean’s openness has been praised by everyone from Elton John (a fave in the black community!) to ‘80s soulster Boy George to, importantly, Russell Simmons… and Tyler. Yet channel ORANGE – its colour-synesthetic title inspired by Ocean’s memories of that summer he fell in love – challenges stereotypes of how a gay male soulster might project himself. Indeed, the straight Cee-Lo Green is camper. Channel ORANGE thematises love over sex, especially on the gorgeous organ- and string-laden Bad Religion – on which, when not using his falsetto, Ocean sounds very like Daniel Merriweather. Since R Kelly, R&B has been fixated on the bump‘n’grind. Sam Sparro recently lamented that contemporary pop, per se, has sacrificed raunch for romance – and lost its emotional innocence. (“Everybody’s so insecure,” he told OG. “It lacks depth.”) Ironically, Sparro foreshadowed Ocean’s illwave with his existentialist electro-soul Black & Gold. Ocean opens channel ORANGE with his most accessible song, the velvety Thinkin Bout You. Fertilizer is warm, evoking Stevie Wonder’s ‘70s electro-funk, but brief. Pharrell Williams co-produced the minimal ballad Sierra Leone – imagine Jamie Woon fronting N*E*R*D. The jazzy Sweet Life echoes Randy Crawford’s Street Life, while Lost is a bit psychedelic Prince, a bit New York indie-dance.
THE BREAKDOWN POP CULTURE THERAPY WITH ADAM CURLEY time of the song’s appearance (early 2011) gaining popularity via witch-house. The Wanted – well, they’ve benefited from both the talk of a boy-band revival and from the ubiquitous amalgamation of rave and vocal-heavy pop on the radio. PURITY RING The MTV Video Music Awards has announced nominees for this year’s US edition to be held in September. As usual, the list of names has been met with knowing nods and shrugs; Rihanna, Katy Perry, Drake, and so go the charts. The category of Best New Artist, however, has had a few calling a shift in the culture of pop music, including, according to The New York Times’ Arts Beat column last week, some of the program directors of the awards. Exactly which names are causing this (quite possibly publicity-chasing) observation doesn’t exactly read as a ticking bomb in the centre of commercial arts practice. On the list are Carly Rae Jepsen, fun., Frank Ocean, One Direction and The Wanted. Separately, each act can have its place in the category justified in terms of sales, radio play and worldwide reach. Separately, too, the song each act is nominated for can be easily traced to ongoing trends in pop music, which is to say that none have exactly struck out on their own and found success with wildly different sounds to those already in the pop consciousness. Jepsen’s Call Me Maybe, with its string-aping synthesisers, followed a line of pop songs utilising synth-string sections, including Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream album, which itself was largely informed by Swedish producers trading on an indie zeitgeist of washy production and orchestral chorus sweeps. One Direction, more than being a boy-band comeback, have followed the same path from Swedish production house to American charts by incorporating elements of ‘90s pop-punk (now old enough to be a new teen discovery) and even chillwave. Fun.’s We Are Young is from the post-MGMT school, while Frank Ocean’s Swim Good furthered Kanye West’s interest in gothic electronica, at the
When you take the origins of these acts as a whole, it’s a pretty good picture of how pop music works. Sounds and aesthetics get introduced to radio playlists slowly; one act has some success with a song that fits the radio format but has been tweaked with a sound not yet heard on the radio (influenced often by something else happening outside radio’s awareness) and they will be followed by another act furthering that sound. Soon enough, that sound is a ‘pop sound’. But that isn’t to say there’s a formula. As much as all the acts on MTV’s Best New Artist list have been backed by teams of industry professionals and by large sums of money, each has fought their own battle to occupy a unique space on the pop landscape. Jepsen is comparatively old for a female pop singer at 26, having gone at it for years following a place in the finals of Canadian Idol in 2007. Fun.’s hit was the success of their label, Fueled By Ramen, who nurtured them and pushed them into radio programmers’ hands as they did Fall Out Boy and Paramore, also unlikely hit-makers. There was never any guarantee of American attention for a British act like One Direction, nor of mainstream attention for Frank Ocean, an R&B singer seemingly uninterested in writing songs with the bpm rate of a radio hit. The Wanted – well, their battle was perhaps against being so generic that they could have fallen into a pit of apathy were publicity dollars not hurled at media fast and hard enough. They are, in this scenario, the odd one out, the group at the latter end of a pop-music trend’s life. The current scale could be set with The Veronicas’ latest single, Lolita, at the almost-dead end and Purity Ring’s album, Shrines (4AD/Remote Control), near the beginning of a new fascination with garage and trip-hop beats. But it is right to say that the MTV’s Best New Artist list signifies a shift in pop music culture – because pop music is always shifting by increments, fuelled by commerce, yes, but if you look closely enough, also by ideas.
themusic.com.au
URTHBOY The inexplicable music news for the week is that the Justice Crew have clawed their way to the top of the ARIA Singles Chart with their aural vacuum (sorry), song Boom Boom. I know that vapid R&B-ish tracks about sexy girls and dancefloors are nothing new when it comes to popular music in this country, but it’s a shame to see such a generic, American-sounding track being peddled by an Australian group. With so much amazing, dynamic hip hop being created across the nation, I can’t help but feel that the coveted number-one spot on the singles chart deserves a better chorus than “Calling all sexy girls/all around the world/looking airplane fly/ up on cloud nine.” (What does that even mean?) This news is a timely reminder that even as we celebrate the emergence of Australian hip hop culture into the mainstream, there’s the constant danger of “style” drowning out substance. To all the artists fighting the good fight: please keep fighting. Don’t let the Justice Crew become the pinnacle of hip hop culture in this country. A couple of Perth’s more controversial MCs will be heading Melbourne-way for a show this weekend. Complete and Omac aren’t very wellknown outside of WA, but in Perth they’re two of the most prolific young talents around town. Complete has been notorious for carving up stages ever since he began performing in 2008, and has been known to drop some of the funniest, filthiest lyrics ever to emerge from a pen onto paper. (If you must know what I’m talking about, feel free to listen to Your Nanna. Be warned that it’s NSFW, or indeed civilised society.) Omac’s been stepping out since 2010, and between the two of them, they’ve been pumping out mixtapes at a rate of knots. In a display of initiative that’s all too rare for WA artists, they’re heading out for a gig at the Laundry Bar this Friday 10 August. In support, they’ve got Raven and Discourse, Adelaide firecracker K-21, Dribbles and Cash Karizma. Good things often come in threes, and such is the case with the Northcote Social Club’s recent gig bookings. It’s been a fair while since hip hop heads were summoned to the NSC, but they’ll be hosting some cracker gigs later in the year. On Saturday 22 September, the Big Things tour rolls into town, in celebration of the Big Things Vol Two compilation from the Big Village artists. The excellent line-up includes Tuka (of Thundamentals, but in solo mode), Ellesquire, Daily Meds, True Live Nation and plenty more. Then, Diafrix will be playing two shows (Friday 19 and Saturday 20 October) to launch their upcoming album Pocket Full Of Dreams. These guys are such amazing contributors to the Australian hip hop landscape – if you haven’t heard their banging new club track Helicopter yet, check it out at diafrix.com. Plus, the aforementioned Thundamentals will be swinging past on Saturday 3 November to play one of their only headline shows for 2012. It’s been just over a year since their excellent sophomore album Foreverlution was released, and they’re taking a break to play to their fans before locking down album number three. Ticketing information for all of these shows is available from northcotesocialclub.com. The award for Best Internet Distraction for the week goes to Urthboy, who has created a simple online version of an MPC to allow even the most novice producer to play with remixes of his single Naïve Bravado. If you’re capable of something a bit more higher-end, he’s also put up the stems for download, and any remixes uploaded to SoundCloud that light his fire will be shared. Channel your inner producer (or, if you’re like me, push buttons at random) at urthboy.com/upc/. INPRESS • 49
HOWZAT! LOCAL MUSIC NEWS BY JEFF JENKINS
CONSTANT KILLER
BACK TO THE FUTURE
It might be time to get the flannelette shirt out of the cupboard: it looks like the ’90s are back. The Smashing Pumpkins were a sensation at Splendour, with kids born in the ’90s knowing every word to their classic songs. The latest edition of Rolling Stone features Billy Corgan on the cover and ranks the 50 Greatest Alternative Albums Of The ’90s. Predictably, Nirvana’s Nevermind is at number one. Ridiculously, the list fails to feature Weezer’s Pinkerton (though the band’s debut comes in at 38). Sadly, the list includes just three Aussie albums: You Am I have two entries (Hi-Fi Way at 16, and Hourly, Daily at 37) and Dirty Three’s Horse Stories is at 34. Where’s Died Pretty’s Doughboy Hollow? And what about Spiderbait, The Cruel Sea, Nick Cave, Silverchair, Something For Kate, Beasts Of Bourbon, Horsehead, Magic Dirt, Regurgitator, Powder Monkeys and The Fauves? Ignoring the local scene is a theme that 50 • INPRESS
also runs through the new book Entertain Us!, even though its author, Craig Schuftan, is based in Sydney and the book is published by ABC Books. Craig attempts to justify the snub in the introduction. He claims to write from a “peculiarly if not uniquely Australian point of view”, but states: “Entertain Us! is a tale of two cities, a book about rock music, culture and society in England and America. For the most part, I wrote about alternative bands from other parts of the world only when they made some significant impact in the UK or US charts, which means that, with the sole exception of Silverchair, there are no Australian bands mentioned.” So it’s a book about alternative rock, but chart success is the criterion for inclusion? Sure, Seattle was alternative rock’s spiritual centre, but if you read this book – which proclaims to document “the rise and fall of alternative rock in the ’90s” – and scanned the Rolling Stone list, you’d think that the whole scene bypassed Australia, when we actually created some vital and important alternative rock records. Indeed, Kim Salmon is occasionally acknowledged for coining the term “grunge”. Green River and Mudhoney’s Mark Arm, who is often credited for first using the term, told Everett True in 2001: “Obviously, I didn’t make grunge up. I got it from someone else. The term was already being thrown around in Australia in the mid-’80s to describe bands like King Snake Roost, The Scientists, Salamander Jim and Beasts Of Bourbon.” That said, Schuftan’s book is a great read, and he makes a good point about influences. “New bands inevitably take their influences from the past,” he writes. “‘Of course we do,’ said a friend of mine. ‘We can’t be influenced by the future.’” The ’90s are back
theme was running through Howzat!’s head when we stumbled across a fine young band, Constant Killer, at the Gasometer in Collingwood. Their set even included a song called Courtney. The riffs are heavy and fuzzy but their songs don’t descend into dirges, punctuated instead by the fine voice of Greer Turner, which has echoes of Chrissy Amphlett’s mischief and magic. We liked ’em so much we bought their self-titled EP for just $5, complete with hand-painted artwork. Produced by Monique Brumby and Nick Larkins, the EP does justice to Constant Killer’s captivating live vibe. Do what you can to find a copy.
RADIO WAVES
Peter Grace is a radio legend. He’s done just about everything you can do in the business, from announcer to programmer and producer. Peter recently wrote a fascinating blog entitled “Perception Is Banality”. As well as providing a potted history of modern music radio in Australia, Peter gives an insight into a research-driven world based on “perception enhancement”. He recalls questioning a program director when he felt the station’s promo didn’t equate to reality. “Leaning forward, like he was letting me in on a secret I should know about,” Peter writes, “[he said] ‘Mate, that’s because perception is reality.’” To Peter, “it sounded like a thinly disguised excuse for what was basically lying.” He concludes: “It’s hard not to be cynical in that kind of world where what some of my contemporaries used to call ‘Gut Feel’ and what I preferred to call ‘Instinct’ had been replaced by a corporate formula and a lazy susan of rotating program directors who knew little more than how the formula worked. What they called ‘Scientific, research-driven programming, creative marketing and perception enhancement’, I called ‘Painting by numbers and turd polishing.’” Peter’s piece can be found at perceptionisbanality.blogspot.com.au.
CHART WATCH
Justice Crew go Boom Boom, scoring the third Aussie chart-topper of 2012.
themusic.com.au
Boom Boom JUSTICE CREW (number one) On Top JOHNNY RUFFO (15) Can You Feel It TIMOMATIC (20) Everyone’s Waiting MISSY HIGGINS (24) Lolita THE VERONICAS (29, debut) Shout It Out REECE MASTIN (30) Aussie artists are on top of the singles and album charts, with Karise Eden spending her sixth week at number one – the longest reign for a local album since Missy Higgins’ debut spent seven weeks on top in 2004 and 2005. My Journey KARISE EDEN (number one) The Ol’ Razzle Dazzle MISSY HIGGINS (five) Happy Home DARREN PERCIVAL (eight) Broken Brights ANGUS STONE (11) The Story So Far KEITH URBAN (14) Shooting Star RACHAEL LEAHCAR (15) The Sapphires Soundtrack (17, debut) Cornerstone HILLSONG LIVE (19) Falling & Flying 360 (21) Drinking From The Sun HILLTOP HOODS (24) No Shame SARAH DE BONO (27) The Temper Trap THE TEMPER TRAP (37)
HOWZAT! PLAYLIST
Courtney CONSTANT KILLER I Can Make You Love Me BRITISH INDIA Are You Listening? MICHAEL MEEKING Tennis Clothes MINIBIKES Vapour Trails RICHARD CLAPTON
WED 08 Bass Party: Laundry Coq Roq: Lucky Coq Cosmic Pizza: NHJ: Bimbo Deluxe Halfways: The Workshop Inner City Trash: Lounge Loaded Wednesdays: Revolver Upstairs Lost and Found: Spidey, Gupstar & Dan, Shaky Memorial: Revolver Upstairs Lounge Wednesdays: Matty Raovich, PCP, Adelle: Lounge Wednesday Night Special: Post Percy: New Guernica Wednesdays @ Co: Petar Tolich, Scotty E: Co. Nightclub Whisky Wednesday: Strange Wolf
THU 09 3181 Thursdays: Hans DC, Nikki Sarafian, Jake Judd, Sam Gudge, Sean Rault, Jesse Young, John Doe: Revolver Upstairs Billboard Thursdays: Billboard Bottom End Thursdays: Bottom End
CLUB GUIDE Do Drop In: Kiti, Lady Noir, DJ Foo: Carlton Club Dub Step: Eurotrash First Stop Thursdays: Urban Bar Free Range Thursdays: Lucky Coq Funhouse: Co. Nightclub Glitch Thursdays: Q Lounge Heartbreaker: Revolver Bandroom Loose Joints: The Workshop Lounge Thursdays: Citizen.com, Ghetto Filth: Lounge Love Story: 1928: The Toff Midnight Express: The Toff Carriage Room New Guernica Thursdays: Post Percy, Awesome Wales: New Guernica Night Skool: Eurotrash Noizy Neighbours: Room 680 Pennies: Wandering Spirit Laundry Rhythm-al-ism: Fusion Safari Thursdays: Pretty Please Shake Some Action: Street Party, Samaritan, Polyavalanche: OneSixOne
Soul in the Basement: Cherry Bar Switch: EVE The Factory: Trak Thursdays: Liberty Social Tigerfunk: Bimbo Deluxe Trinity Thursdays: La Di Da Unlucky: Seven Nightclub Wah Wah Thursdays: Wah Wah Lounge Z-Trip: Prince Bandroom
FRI 10 393 Fridays: First Floor 393 Bass Station: 3D Block Party Fridays: Marrakech Booty Call: Laundry Bottom End Fridays: Bottom End Complete, Omac: Laundry Destination: La Di Da Empire: MINX, Ellen Levon. Johnny Ruffo. Vogue Williams, Ben Morris, Femme: Co., Fusion Epic 2012: Astral Projection, Detroit Techno Militia: Royal Melbourne Hotel
Extravaganza: The Workshop Fake Tits: Tramp Freedom Pass Fridays: Co. Nightclub, Fusion Freeplay Fridays: Amber Lounge Fridays at Eurotrash: Eurotrash Hux Flux: Royal Melbourne Hotel Hybrid: New Guernica Indecent Fridays: Syn Bar Juicy: Bimbo Deluxe La Musica: La Di Da Lounge Friday: Citizen. com, DJ Who, Tahl, Dave Pham: Lounge Midnight Midnight Massacre: New Guernica Mu-Gen, Token: Eurotrash Original Concept: DJ SS, Kenny Ken, MC Skibadee: Brown Alley Outrageous Fridays: Wah Wah Lounge Panorama: Lucky Coq PopRocks: Dr Phil Smith: Toff Reminisce: Papa Smurf, Scott Alert: Billboard Retro Fridays: Club Retro Revolver Fridays: Revolver Upstairs Slinky Fridays: Q Lounge
Sounds of Fusion: Fusion Under One Roof: Kate Simko, Chloe Harris: Brown Alley WOW Fridays: Neverland
SAT 11 Agorfobic: Gav Whitehouse, Sebastian Dru: Scarlet Lounge All City Bass: Brown Alley Alumbra Saturdays: Alumbra Audioporn: OneSixOne Bam Bam Saturdays: Q Lounge Big Danciní: M-Phazes, B.Two, Motley, Rusty Ryan: Laundry Billboard Saturdays: Billboard Bottom End Saturdays: Bottom End Dis You!: The Workshop Ebb & Flo: Gavin Keitel: Loop Echo Chamber: Laundry Empire: Raye Antonelli: Co. Nightclub, Fusion First Floor Saturdays: Agent 86, Moonshine, Genetix, Phil Smith: First Floor
Forbidden Saturdays: Amber Lounge Hip Hop Hoochies: Laundry Houseparty: Eurotrash Hotstep: Bimbo Deluxe House De Frost: The Toff In The Mix Awards Tour: Kronic, Ember: Platform One In Too Deep: Ed Muggleton, Romaz, Tony Wardan, Adrian R: Element Lounge Majik Saturdays: Room680 Mashouse Saturdays: 577 Lt Collins More Fire: Chant Down Sound, Yard House: Mercat Cross New Guernica Saturday: New Guernica Pash: The Roxy Playground: Seven Nightclub Poison Apple: La Di Da Potbelleez DJz: Club 101 Strut Saturdays: Trak Survivor: Bottom End Textile: Lucky Coq TFU Saturdays: Two Floors Up Under Suspicion: Brown Alley
Wah Wah Saturdays: Wah Wah Lounge Why Not?: Pretty Please
SUN 12 4AM Sunday Mornings: Wah Wah Lounge Be.: Co. Nightclub Get Wet: Word Bar Guilty Pleasure Sundays: Pretty Please Off Beat: The Workshop New Guernica Sundays: New Guernica Revolver Sundays: Revolver Upstairs South Side Hustle: Lucky Coq Spit Roast Sundays: Cushion Star Bar Sundays: Star Bar Sundae Shake: Bimbo Deluxe Sunday Sessions: Lucky Coq Sunday Works: Kloke, Bryce Lawrence: I Know A Place The Sunday Set: AndyBlack, Haggis: The Toff
MON 13 Gear Shift: Horse Bazaar Hair Of The Dog: Revolver Upstairs IBimbo: Bimbo Deluxe Monday Struggle: Lucky Coq Toasted: Laundry
TUE 14 Almost Famous: Co. Nightclub All That Tuesday: Berlin Bar Bell Bil Devoe, Genuwine: Trak Lounge Bimbo Tuesday: Bimbo Deluxe Cosmic Pizza: Lucky Coq Choose Tuesdays: Post Percy: New Guernica Dumplings: Eurotrash Fourplay Tuesdays: Cushion Harmonics: The Workshop MSG Tuesdays: Laundry Oasis: Tramp Space Hopper: Match
ER W PO 50 N IO T I ED
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INPRESS • 51
WED 08
THU 09
The Black Pancake Club, Shag, Richie 1250 Lounge Bar
El Moth Bar Open
The Evercold, Disasters, Treason Pony
Heavy Beach, Ocean Party, Go Violets Yah Yah’s
Agent 86, Lady Noir, Joybot, Kiti, Mr Thom Lucky Coq
1928, A- Style, Indian Summer, Weapon X Revolver Upstairs
Being Amazing, Maricopa Wells The Tote, Front Bar
Blackshaws Beat Musicland (Fawkner)
The Fakes, Canary, Royal Mercury Revolver
Ceres, Jude St Jude, Police & Thieves John Curtin Hotel
The Great Outdoors, Inevitable Orbit, Yuko Kono The Empress
Citrus Jam, Domini Foster Great Britain Hotel
The Jungle Giants, Toucan, Them Swoops Northcote Social Club
Conductors, James Kane, Negative Magick, Nu Balance, Post Percy New Guernica
The Migrations, Private Radio, Run Rabbit Run Yah Yah’s
Billy Miller, Rebecca Barnard Caravan Music Club Bob Sedergreen, Enzo Ruberto Paris Cat Jazz Club Bohjass, Tom Fryer Quartet, Edelplastik 303 Collage The Espy, Lounge Bar Cordial Factory, The Former Love, Secondhand Heart Northcote Social Club Davey Lane & Friends Retreat Hotel Dizzy’s Big Band Dizzy’s Jazz Club Gen & Flora, Al Parkinson The Drunken Poet George Hyde, Josh Seymour The Standard Hotel Hail Mary The Espy Front Bar Hump Day Animals, Danny Silver, Manchild, Mu-Gen Lounge Bar Kestral The Bridge Hotel Lost & Found DJ’s Revolver Upstairs Love & Redemption Duo, Two Pete Deep The Empress Maka Khan, Mattress of Pagan Horror Wesley Anne (Front Bar) Matt Glass, Kate Ducarcus Veludo Matt Walker Kent Street Bar, Fitzroy Miles Brown, Matthew Brown, Other Places, Sarah Phelan, DJ Luke Brown The Gasometer Hotel Mining Boom, Mr Speaker, Quince The Workers Club Petar Tolich, Scotty E Co. & Fusion Nightclub at Crown Sid Air, The Latonas Evelyn Hotel Sweet Teens, Being Amazing, Maricopa Wells The Tote The Harts, Lost Weekends, Neon Knights The Toff In Town The Hawkman The Order Of Melbourne The Morrisons, Battle Club, Sweet Teens Old Bar
Heavy Boogie, Lakes The Gasometer (Upstairs) Hilltop Hoods, Horrorshow, Briggs Kay Street Saloon Bar Homebrew, Sky High, DJ Substance, One Sixth, Young Lean, DJ Penfold The Espy, Gershwin Room
The Laurels Polyester Records The Reasons Why, Husk, Club Crain Ferntree Gully Hotel
The Spoils, The Slaughtermen, Skyscraper Stan And The Commision Flats, The Ten In One, DJ Anto Old Bar
Lanie Lane Westernport Hotel
The Toot Toot Toots, Fraser A Gorman, Made For Chickens By Robots The Workers Club
Gerard Masters Trio Edinburgh Castle Front Bar
Tinker Moustacha, Paul Pomphrey The Drunken Poet
JK Ruff Baha Tacos
Glasfrosch, Jarek, Trappist Afterland Band, Mellow Kitty Brunswick Hotel
Uday Tigers, Knee Chain The Liberty
Julia Messenger Paris Cat Jazz Club
The Ugly Kings, Yog, Rainbow Massacre, Royal Ace John Curtin Hotel
Kate Simko, Chloe Harris, Kenny Ken, Skibadee Brown Alley
The Working Horse Irons, Slick 46, Prostitute Killers Pony
Glass Vaults, These Patterns, Colourwheel Grace Darling Hotel
Z-Trip Prince Bandroom
Kim Salmon & The Surrealists Tago Mago King of the North, Hail Mary, The Greeting Method, The Louds Bended Elbow, Geelong
Valjean, Geek Pie Pony Late Show
FRI 10
Hail Mary, The Electric Sun Kings Karova Lounge, Ballarat
Adam Page 303
Hilltop Hoods, Horrorshow, Briggs University of Ballarat
Alex Anonymous, The Scarecrows, July Days, Volytion Rubys Lounge
Khristain Mizzi & The Sirens, Tayla Gane, Andrew Lockwood Wesley Anne (Band Room)
Alexandra Francis, Rosie Hilder, James Allen, Nikos Shannon Grace Darling Cellar Bar
Lachly Doley Trio 303 Lynda Laurence Onyx Cheltenham Madness Method, Loonee Tunes, Echo Drama The Espy, Basement Movements The Order Of Melbourne Party Vibez, Distant Wreck, Grim Rhythm The Gasometer (Upstairs) Ronit Granot Wesley Anne (Front Bar) Saint Hill Tago Mago Sans Gras, Howl At The Moon, Clavians The Workers Club Set Sail, Private Life, Animaux The Toff In Town Sheriff, Royal Blood, Dirty Little Rebels, Them Bruins The Tote Socially Handicapped, Bricks, Japan For, Moustache Ant, Clowns Evelyn Hotel Spencer Jones & The Escape Committee, Cherrywood Retreat Hotel
The Prefects, Shock To The System Revolver Vice Grip Pussies, DJ Yuri Barbarion Cherry Bar
Sun God Replica, King Leghorn, Dick Finger Bar Open
Where Were You At Lunch, School Girl Report Bar Open
Tamara Stewart, Jetty Road, Carter & Carter Wellers of Kangaroo Ground The Aesthetics, Zond The Gasometer Hotel
Apache Medicine Man, Buried Feather, The Hidden Venture Cherry Bar Bell Biv Devoe, Ginuwine Trak Showroom Belligerent Intent, Berzerkerfox, Nobody Knew They Were Robots, Whoretopsy Barwon Club Bounce, Gary Eastwood Palace Hotel Broderick Smith, Richard Tankard, Shannon Bourne The Bridge Hotel Buhloone Mindstate Lounge Bar Bunny Monroe, White Rabbit Pony Late Show Cadillac Chunk Loop Centre & The South, Stoned Maggots, The Archetypal, Slow Jaxx & His Flying Bong Brothers Brunswick Hotel Children Collide, Dune Rats, Bad Dreems The Corner Hotel Citrus Jam First Floor 393 Dan Bourke & Friends The Drunken Poet Dead Star Renegade, Royal Blood, Laced In Lust, Kill Shot, Moments Apart, DJ Evil Maiden Revolver Direct Influence, Mix Method, John Delord, Kollosoul The Espy, Lounge Bar DJ Femme, Phil Ross, Chris Mac, B-Boogie, Dozza, 5FT2 Co. & Fusion Nightclub at Crown
Lachlan Cross Wesley Anne (Band Room) Lanie Lane Stones of the Yarra Valley Marty Rhone, Beatle Boys Frankston Arts Centre Melodee Maker, Jess McGuire, Rambeau Bendigo Hotel Mohair Slim, Skryka D, Jamaican Ska The LuWow Island Village Neo Abode Paint Me A Pheonix, Xenograft, La Belle, Merdena The Empress Poprocks at the Toff, Dr Phil Smith The Toff In Town Propaganda (UK), Tom Ballard (DJ set), Urby, Richard In Your Mind DJs Ding Dong Lounge Red Sky Burial, Don Fernando, Boozer, Sons of Abraham The Tote Richard In Your Mind, Lowtide, Shady Lane, Dirt Farmer Ding Dong Lounge Swamp Moth & Head Honcho Victoria Hotel Tanuja Poria The Hammy The Bon Scotts, James Teague, Sleep Decade Grace Darling Hotel The Charlies, Jumpin Josh & Mickster, The Go Go Godesses The LuWow Forbidden Temple The Delta Riggs, Viking Frontier, The Pretty Littles, Ceries The Espy, Basement The Detonators Brycees Tavern, Mooroolbark The Exotics, Richie 1250 & The Brides Of Christ, DJ Shaky Memorial Retreat Hotel The Jungle Giants, Toucan, Them Swoops Northcote Social Club
Kisstroyer Burvale Hotel Koots & Dion, Kooyeh First Floor 393
Gary Eastwood Palace Hotel
Jinja Safari, Opossum, White Arrows The Hi-Fi
King of the North, Don Fernando, My Left Boot, Hail Mary, DJ Danger Evelyn Hotel
The Shaolin Afronauts, Papa Chango, The Public Opinion Afro Orchestra Prince Bandroom
The Perfections, Vince Peach, Pierre Baroni Cherry Bar
Strangers From Now On, Richard In Your Mind, Yolke, Shady Lane, Magic Bones The Espy, Gershwin Room
52 • INPRESS
Heather Stewart Wesley Anne (Front Bar)
Lamarama, Mr Sharp Pony Late Show
Lewis Can Cut, Paz, Ransom, Boogs, Booshank, Mr Geoffrey, WHO Revolver Upstairs Loon Lake, Glass Towers, Cub Scouts The Loft, Warrnambool
Tommy Emmanuel, Frank Vignola Hamer Hall Tread, Freestate, Howling Dollhouse, Fisker The Espy, Gershwin Room Wild Turkey, Dirty Harriet & The Hangmen, Road Ratz Yah Yah’s
SUN 12 Alex Lashlie Great Britain Hotel Andyblack, Haggis The Toff in Town, Afternoon session
Matt Glass Wesley Anne (Front Bar)
Antagonist AD, Lionheart, Shinto Katana Phoenix Youth Centre
Mechanical Pterodactyl, Baychimo, Tom Woodward 303
Bakersfield Glee Club The Standard Hotel Billy Talent Billboard
Merri Creek Pickers Post Office Hotel
Brother & Sister Brunswick Hotel - Arvo
Tim Freedman Bennetts Lane (early show)
Mick Hart, Pina Tuteri, Nic Tate The Empress
Tim Freedman Bennetts Lane (late show)
Moonee Valley Drifters Rainbow Hotel
Butterfly Boucher, Katie Herzig, Courtney Barnett The Toff In Town
Yohosie, Innerspace, Dear Ale Evelyn Hotel
Myridian, Catacombs, Mardraum, Sewercide Pony
SAT 11 67 Special, The Death Rattles, Little Wing Cherry Bar Antagonist AD, Lionheart, Shinto Katana Bang Ash Grunwald, Ian Rickard, Scott Hannah Ferntree Gully Hotel Astral Sunrise, Stavros Brothers The Bridge Hotel Blu Abode Level One Blue Dog Cruiser St Andrews Hotel Buried Horses, Humans The Tote, Front Bar Children Collide, Dune Rats, Bad Dreems The Corner Hotel Chocolate Wonderland The Order Of Melbourne Cold Heart, Queen & Convict Retreat Hotel Front Bar DJ Manchild, Jumps, Arks Grace Darling Cellar Bar Duvz, Low Budget, Allday, ELOQUOR, Phil Para The Espy, Lounge Bar Ebb & Flo Loop EY:EM, Boogs, Dave Pham, Sleep D, Bryce Lawrence, Louis McCoy, + Heaps More Lounge Bar Fear Like Us, Dr Piffle & The Burlap Band, Foxtrot Great Britain Hotel Floyd Thursby The Drunken Poet Flying Engine Victoria Hotel Grass Taylor, Cisco Rose, Holy Trash, Jam Roots B’Artiste Lounge Joe McKee, Melodie Nelson Grace Darling Hotel
themusic.com.au
New War, Max Crumbs, Standish/Carlyon, Lost Animal DJs Northcote Social Club Nick Charles St Andrew’s Hotel, Arvo Show Painters & Dockers Trio Tago Mago Plastic Spaceman, The Ivory Elephant, The Unkind, Poison Fish Brunswick Hotel Radioarcade Elsternwick Hotel Simon Astley, Up For It, Ben Hooper The Empress (afternoon) Stock Standard Bended Elbow, Geelong Tate Strauss, Phil Ross, Matty G, Miss Sarah, Joe Sofo, Finlo White, Dean T Co. & Fusion Nightclub at Crown Tek Tek Ensemble Wesley Anne (Band Room) Tex Perkins, Dark Horse Friends - Charlie & Stephen The Palais, Hepburn Springs The Dot Coms, Claire, DJ Ken Eavel Retreat Hotel The Laurels, Witch Hats, Lowtide The Tote The Savages, DJ Barbara Blaze, Bagalicious The LuWow Forbidden Temple The Small Goods, Mid-State Orange The Toff In Town the spinset, The Playbook, My Favourite Accident, Raise The Stakes John Curtin Hotel The Transatlantics, Max Savage Bar Open Tim Freedman Bennetts Lane (early show) Tim Freedman Bennetts Lane (late show)
Calling All Cars, Them Bruins Ding Dong Lounge Chris Russell’s Chicken Walk, Dean Muller, Max Crawdaddy Cherry Bar, Arvo Show Claire Hollingsworth + Friends 303, Arvo Show Dan Lethbridge & The Campaigners, Mick Hart The Drunken Poet
Songwriters in the Round Wesley Anne (Band Room) Spectrum St Andrew’s Hotel, Arvo Show Streetlight Symphony, Shoot the Sun, Friendship Brunswick Hotel The April Maze Rustic Simplicity The Bulls The Bridge Hotel The Cartridge Family Carringbush Hotel The Edge Band, Nepsydaz The Corner Hotel The Ska Vendors, Pat Powell, Shanty Town, DJ Snowy, The Pacemakers Northcote Social Club, Arvo Show Tracy Mcneil Band Post Office Hotel Who is Zoe?, Pretty Stranger, Lydia Cole The Workers Club Winter Palace North Melbourne Town Hall
MON 13 Cherry Jam Cherry Bar Interzone, Circular Keys, Spite House Northcote Social Club Lebowskis 303
Dave Thornton, Matt Burton, Karl Chandler, Karl Woodbury, Luke Mcgregor + Very Special Guests 303
Mike Noga Post Office Hotel
Frode Gjerdstad Trio, Leon, Joe Talia, Dick Threats, Kusum Normoyle, Sean Baxter The Gasometer Hotel
Passionate Tongues Poetry Brunswick Hotel
Grand Wazoo Thornbury Theatre Jemma & The Wise Ambitious Men, Matt Green Band Yah Yah’s Lanie Lane Caravan Music Club Legendary Hearts, People Person, Cured Pink, MU Bar Open Little Dessert, Sun God Replica, Cherrywood Retreat Hotel Luke Brennan & the Sticky Valentines, The Bitter Sweethearts, The Cliffords The Empress (afternoon) Marmoset, Yorque, The Menstrual Cycle, A Art Evelyn Hotel, Arvo Show Matt Dwyer & The Magnatones, Ruth Rogers-Wright Tago Mago
Papa Maul, The Sweets The Espy, Lounge Bar
Rachel Haircut, Soccer Legends, Orca Pod Elite DJs Evelyn Hotel The Shelf The Toff In Town
TUE 14 Antagonist AD, Lionheart, Shinto Katana Musicman Megastore, Bendigo Clairy Browne & the Bangin’ Rackettes, Martin Martini, Tommy Spender The Toff In Town Collage The Espy, Lounge Bar Kate Miller-Heidke, The Beards The Corner Hotel Max Savage Retreat Hotel Front Bar Patron Saints Cherry Bar
Nudist Funk Orchastra, Dale Ryder Band, Bad Boys Batucada The Espy, Lounge Bar
Read & Rights Loop
Pete Zoch Elsternwick Hotel
The Grand Rapids The Tote, Front Bar
Planet Love Sound, Dancing Heals Grace Darling Hotel
Zeppelin Alive, Exile: A Tribute to the Rolling Stones Trak Showroom
Puta Madre Bros, Bonniwells Cherry Bar Rory Ellis Westernport Hotel
Simon Wright Band, Lamarama, DJ Huw Joseph Evelyn Hotel
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INPRESS • 53
BAHA TACOS
Friday JK Ruff
BANG
Saturday Antagonist AD, Lionheart, Shinto Katana
BAR OPEN
Wednesday Where Were You At Lunch, School Girl Report Thursday Sun God Replica, King Leghorn, Dick Finger Friday El Moth Saturday The Transatlantics, Max Savage Sunday Legendary Hearts, People Person, Cured Pink, MU
BENDIGO HOTEL
Friday Melodee Maker, Jess McGuire, Rambeau
BILLBOARD
Sunday Billy Talent
BRUNSWICK HOTEL
Thursday Glasfrosch, Jarek, Trappist Afterland Band, Mellow Kitty
Friday Centre & The South, Stoned Maggots, The Archetypal, Slow Jaxx & His Flying Bong Brothers Saturday Plastic Spaceman, The Ivory Elephant, The Unkind, Poison Fish Sunday Streetlight Symphony, Shoot the Sun, Friendship Monday Passionate Tongues Poetry
CARAVAN MUSIC CLUB
Wednesday Billy Miller, Rebecca Barnard Sunday Lanie Lane
EDINBURGH CASTLE FRONT BAR
Thursday Gerard Masters Trio
EVELYN HOTEL
Wednesday Sid Air, The Latonas Thursday Socially Handicapped, Bricks, Japan For, Moustache Ant, Clowns Friday Yohosie, Innerspace, Dear Ale Saturday King of the North, Don Fernando, My Left Boot, Hail Mary, DJ Danger
Monday Rachel Haircut, Soccer Legends, Orca Pod Elite DJs Tuesday Simon Wright Band, Lamarama, DJ Huw Joseph
GRACE DARLING HOTEL
Thursday Glass Vaults, These Patterns, Colourwheel Friday The Bon Scotts, James Teague, Sleep Decade Saturday Joe McKee, Melodie Nelson Sunday Planet Love Sound, Dancing Heals
JOHN CURTIN HOTEL
Thursday Ceres, Jude St Jude, Police & Thieves Friday The Ugly Kings, Yog, Rainbow Massacre, Royal Ace Saturday the spinset, The Playbook, My Favourite Accident, Raise The Stakes
LOOP
Friday Cadillac Chunk Saturday Ebb & Flo
VENUE GUIDE
Tuesday Read & Rights
LOUNGE BAR
Wednesday Hump Day Animals, Danny Silver, Manchild, Mu-Gen Thursday The Black Pancake Club, Shag, Richie 1250 Friday Buhloone Mindstate Saturday EY:EM, Boogs, Dave Pham, Sleep D, Bryce Lawrence, Louis McCoy, + Heaps More
LUCKY COQ
Wednesday Agent 86, Lady Noir, Joybot, Kiti, Mr Thom
NORTHCOTE SOCIAL CLUB
Wednesday Cordial Factory, The Former Love, Secondhand Heart Thursday The Jungle Giants, Toucan, Them Swoops Friday The Jungle Giants, Toucan, Them Swoops Saturday New War, Max Crumbs, Standish/Carlyon, Lost Animal DJs Monday Interzone, Circular Keys, Spite House
NORTHCOTE SOCIAL CLUB, ARVO SHOW
Sunday The Ska Vendors, Pat Powell, Shanty Town, DJ Snowy, The Pacemakers
PONY
Thursday The Evercold, Disasters, Treason Friday The Working Horse Irons, Slick 46, Prostitute Killers Saturday Myridian, Catacombs, Mardraum, Sewercide
PRINCE BANDROOM
Thursday Z-Trip Friday The Shaolin Afronauts, Papa Chango, The Public Opinion Afro Orchestra
REVOLVER
Wednesday The Prefects, Shock To The System Wednesday Lost & Found DJs Thursday The Fakes, Canary, Royal Mercury Thursday 1928, A- Style, Indian Summer, Weapon X
Friday Dead Star Renegade, Royal Blood, Laced In Lust, Kill Shot, Moments Apart, DJ Evil Maiden Saturday Lewis Can Cut, Paz, Ransom, Boogs, Booshank, Mr Geoffrey, WHO
THE CORNER HOTEL
Friday Children Collide, Dune Rats, Bad Dreems Saturday Children Collide, Dune Rats, Bad Dreems Sunday The Edge Band, Nepsydaz Tuesday Kate Miller-Heidke, The Beards
THE DRUNKEN POET
Wednesday Gen & Flora, Al Parkinson Thursday Tinker Moustacha, Paul Pomphrey Friday Dan Bourke & Friends Saturday Floyd Thursby Sunday Dan Lethbridge & The Campaigners, Mick Hart
THE HI-FI
Friday Jinja Safari, Opossum, White Arrows
THE ORDER OF MELBOURNE
Wednesday The Hawkman Thursday Movements Saturday Chocolate Wonderland
THE STANDARD HOTEL
Wednesday George Hyde, Josh Seymour Sunday Bakersfield Glee Club
THE TOFF IN TOWN
Wednesday The Harts, Lost Weekends, Neon Knights Thursday Set Sail, Private Life, Animaux Friday Poprocks at the Toff, Dr Phil Smith Saturday The Small Goods, Mid-State Orange Sunday Butterfly Boucher, Katie Herzig, Courtney Barnett Monday The Shelf Tuesday Clairy Browne & the Bangin’ Rackettes, Martin Martini, Tommy Spender
THE TOTE
Wednesday Sweet Teens, Being Amazing, Maricopa Wells Thursday Sheriff, Royal Blood, Dirty Little Rebels, Them Bruins Friday Red Sky Burial, Don Fernando, Boozer, Sons of Abraham Saturday The Laurels, Witch Hats, Lowtide
THE TOTE, FRONT BAR
Wednesday Being Amazing, Maricopa Wells Saturday Buried Horses, Humans Tuesday The Grand Rapids
YAH YAH’S
Thursday The Migrations, Private Radio, Run Rabbit Run Friday Heavy Beach, Ocean Party, Go Violets Saturday Wild Turkey, Dirty Harriet & The Hangmen, Road Ratz Sunday Jemma & The Wise Ambitious Men, Matt Green Band
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THE BRUNSWICK HOTELâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S OPEN MIC
of AMID now!
WITH YOUR HOST BRODIE GET IN AND REGISTER FROM 7PM ONWARDS $10 JUGS OF BRUNSWICK BITTER
THURS 16TH 8:30PM
8 FOOT FELIX + RAPSCALLION
(CONTEMPORARY ROOTS)
FRI 17TH 9:30PM
BOOF
W NE ION IT ED
THURSDAY THE 9TH OF AUGUST - 8PM TILL MIDNIGHT $3 SCHOONERS $5 BASICS 8PM
GLASFROSCH
(GET BOOFY!)
SAT 18TH 9:30PM
LOUIS KINGSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; LIARS CLUB
FEATURING JAREK, TRAPPIST AFTERLAND, MELLOW KITTY FRIDAY THE 10TH OF AUGUST - 8:30PM
CENTRE AND THE SOUTH
(SWINGINâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; R&B)
WITH GUESTS SLOWJAXX AND HIS FLYING BONG BROTHERS, MICHAEL SHAUN, THE STONED MAGGOTS
SUN 19TH 5:30PM
SATURDAY THE 11TH OF AUGUST - 9PM
BEM BRASIL
PLASTIC SPACEMAN
(CD LAUNCH)
WITH GUESTS THE IVORY ELEPHANT, THE UNKIND, POISON FISH
+ BOHEMIA
SUNDAY THE 12TH OF AUGUST - 5:30PM
(WORLD GROOVES)
BROTHER AND SISTER
9:00PM
WITH GUESTS MARY WEBB (SA) 9PM
STREETLIGHT SYMPHONY
ORD ER NOW
WITH GUESTS SHOOT THE SUN, FRIENDSHIPS MONDAY THE 13TH OF AUGUST - 8PM
PASSIONATE TONGUES POETRY
HOSTED BY MICHAEL REYNOLDS OPEN STAGE READINGS AND SPOKEN WORD WELCOME WITH FEATURE PERFORMERS EVERY FORTNIGHT $10 JUGS TUESDAY THE 14TH OF AUGUST - 9PM
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THE BRUNSWICK HOTEL DISCOVERY NIGHT
KEN MAHER & TONY HARGREAVES (ACOUSTIC ROOTS)
TUES 21ST 8:00PM
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GIVING CHANCES TO UP AND COMING LOCAL TALENT!
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FRI 10 AUGUST
JK Ruff (melb)
SAT 11 AUGUST
Projects Puzzles (melb)
+ Claude Hay (syd)
SAT 18 AUGUST
Ben Smith Band FRI 24 AUGUST
Saritah
FRIDAY 14TH SEPTEMBER THE NATIONAL - GEELONG WITH THE DARCYS (CANADA) & I, A MAN TICKETS $12 + BF WWW.OZTIX.COM
SATURDAY 15TH SEPTEMBER THE TOFF IN TOWN WITH THE DARCYS (CANADA) AND I, A MAN TICKETS $15+ BF WWW.MOSHTIX.COM
THURSDAY 20TH SEPTEMBER KAROVA LOUNGE - BALLARAT TICKETS $10 AT THE DOOR DOORS OPEN 8PM WITH LOCAL SUPPORTS
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BEHIND THE LINES TEAM EFFORT
BROUGHT TO YOU BY
WITH MICHAEL SMITH
MUSIC VICTORIA AND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
In conjunction with Small Business Victoria, Music Victoria is presenting the second in a series of workshops designed to help emerging artists develop their business skills in order to better serve their cause. The two-hour workshop, held from 6pm on Monday 13 August in Seminar Room One at the State Library Of Victoria, will show you how to read financial statements in order to make sound business decision, how to assess the financial health of your band and stuff like that – all very boring but all too necessary if you’ve any hope of making a living out of creating music. The workshop will set you back $20 and you have to book at workshops@ musicvictoria.com.au, or by calling 9380 1566, and you’ll get a voucher for one free mentoring session with the Small Business Mentoring Service as well.
EGNATER ONLINE OWNERS CLUB
Whether you’re in a working band or just love to jam in your garage, and your amp of choice is the Egnater, you’re invited to join the Egnater Amplification’s Owners Club and share your ideas and experiences to your heart’s content. It’s free to join – all you need to do is complete the website submission form at egnateramps.com, attach a picture of yourself, your band or your Egnater equipment, send it in and it’ll all be posted up on the site where it will sit alongside the likes of the guitarists from Hellyeah, former KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick, Keb Mo, Michael Franti and a whole galaxy of amazing players.
THE NEW FENDER BASSMAN PRO They were once the industry standard, and now they’ve been given the makeover their champions have been hoping for, so please welcome the new Fender Bassman Pro Series all-tube bass amps. There are two heads in the range, the Super Bassman, at a stadium-level 300 watt, and the Bassman 100T, a professional-level 100 watt job, with four cabinet options – the Bassman 810 Neo with eight 10” Eminence speakers, the Bassman 610 Neo with six, the Bassman 410 with four and the Bassman 115 Neo with one 15” speaker.
SOUND BYTES
Paul McCartney was in New York earlier this year recording some tracks with Amy Winehouse/ Rufus Wainwright producer Mark Ronson. Martha Wainwright recorded her forthcoming album, Come Home To Mama, for the most part at Sean Lennon’s home studio in New York City with producer Yuka C Honda of NYC-based Japanese girl duo Cibo Matto, who produced Lennon’s 1998 album, Into The Sun. LA institution Bad Religion are recording their as-yetuntitled new album at JHOC studio in LA. Members Brett Gurewitz and Greg Graffin are co-producing with owner Joe Barresi (Kyuss, The Melvins). Germany’s answer to Steel Panther, Kamikaze Kings, recorded their debut album, The Law, at Audio Ego Studio in Berlin with producer Dirk Faehling (Motörhead, Skew Siskin, Jingo De Lunch). Melbourne three-piece Blacklevel Embassy recorded their third album, New Veteran, with ARIA Award-winning producer JonBoyRock at Megaphon Studios in Sydney suburb St Peters. They then took it to Jon Gardner, audio engineer at the Sydney Opera House, who mixed it at his facility with the unlikely name, The Chinese Brothel Mix Studio, the record then mastered by Bob Weston at Chicago Mastering Service. Building on, as he puts it, recordings done on “Pro Tools under the house,” Richard Clapton independently produced his first new album, Harlequin Nights, in eight years, calling on Reyne House to record stuff like drums and so on at Albert Studios in Neutral Bay, before getting David Nicholas to mix it and Don Bartley at Benchmark to master it. Adelaide four-piece The Sundance Kids sent their forthcoming second album to Air Studios in London to be mixed by Austin and Adam Noble (Coldplay) and mastered by Ray Staff (Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones). Halfway Homebuoy have completed recording their album at Damien Gerard Sound Studios in Balmain with producer/engineer Russell Pilling, who recorded the debut EP for Bity Booker, utilising the studio’s MCI JH24 2” tape machine to keep things nice and warm. The Oyster Murders’ debut album, Winter Of The Electric Sun, was tracked for the most part by Lachlan “Magoo” Goold (Regurgitator, Spiderbait, Gerling, Renee Geyer) at his Applewood studio in their hometown Brisbane. 56 • INPRESS
Former Ataris bass player Mike Davenport talks to Michael Smith about recording the new album, Drink. Sing. Live. Love., from his current band, Versus The World.
O
riginally from Anderson in Indiana, American pop punks The Ataris were always more than a band. Committed to the whole DIY ethos, they set up their own label, Kung Fu Records, and even set up their own record store, dubbed Down On Haley, in Santa Barbara in California. It was in the back of that store long-time Ataris bass player Mike Davenport first got together with some of the store’s employees and, in 2005, released the debut album named after the band he formed, Versus The World. A lot of touring followed and eight years and several line-up changes later, the band now also sporting guitarist Chris Flippin from Lagwagon, Versus The World have just released their second album, Drink. Sing. Live. Love. “We actually went in there to just do an EP,” Davenport, on the line from his office in Santa Barbara, explains, “there” being Playback Recording and Orange Whip studios in his hometown, “and as we started layin’ down tracks, we were stoked with what we were doin’ so much that we were, like, ‘We should really work hard on this instead of just rush somethin’ out like we’ve done year after year [in the dozen years up to 2005, Davenport had recorded six albums with The Ataris as well as the eponymous Versus The World debut]. Let’s take our time and see what happens.’ And I really think it shows.” After releasing that Versus The World debut, Davenport had opted to take a couple of years off from that dozen pretty relentless years of recording and touring, and when he finally dusted off the bass, he hooked up, at his invitation, with Flippin in a party band called Cave Mummy that included another former Atari bass player, Marko DeSantis, and that got Davenport back into playing music again. “I didn’t want to tour,” Davenport admits, “I didn’t want to record, I didn’t want there to be a bunch of pressure, and Chris is the one. It was his whole scheme the whole time to get me to play in Cave Mummy, and while we’re in Cave Mummy he’s asking whatever happened to that singer [Donald Spence] in Versus The World? ‘I loved that – let’s do that band!’ So we called up Donald, who was playing with Bryan [Charlson, drummer in Crooks & Liars], who’d played live with Versus The World and worked at Down On Haley. So we called them up and said, ‘Hey, let’s just merge – Flip has this idea about all of us doin’ Versus,’ and he was right, man.”
ideas on their 2003 album, So Long, Astoria, which was produced by Lou Giordano, and Flowers produced the first Versus The World album. “He’s always been there for me – he’s my bullshit detector,” Davenport confesses. “He’s the one where I’ll say, ‘I think this’ll work,’ and he’ll say, ‘No, it doesn’t work; it sounds like a bad ‘70s riff,’ or something – you know what I mean? Thom is our fifth member and it wasn’t for him, none of it would sound like this. We all work out the music together, but someone will bring in a riff, and then we’ll bring it to Thom and Thom will tear it to pieces, and once he tears it to pieces, we go back, we go back and we work it out, and by the time we’ve done all that, Donald will be pretty close with the vocals – Donald will come up with all the lyrics and melodies. This band works exceptionally well as a team.” The album was then mixed by Ian MacGregor, whose CV is certainly diverse, having done the honours on records by All American Rejects on one hand and Katy Perry on the other. “Ian’s awesome. He’s another guy that came up here to Santa Barbara, did a bunch of interning at Orange Web during The Ataris days, where we recorded The Ataris records, and lo and behold he became a big-time producer, which is awesome because then he’s still a fan of mine and he produced our record for not what he charges a Katy Perry or All American Rejects,” Davenport laughs. “He did it as a fan, and that is just an incredible compliment. “He brought depth [to the mix], and maybe even more. It sounded a little sterile. I think Thom is great at capturing the songs and helping us with the songwriting, but the awesome audio and the mix of the songs, that’s
The choice of producer was also an obvious one for Davenport. Thom Flowers had worked as an engineer on the first three Ataris albums, before beginning to become involved with production
all Ian. Thom could have done a great job himself but we really wanted to push it to the next level, and it was Thom that brought it to Ian, so I think they worked together on it. They work together on other projects.” The album was then mastered by Jason Livermore at The Blasting Room in Fort Collins, Davenport again drawing on his Ataris experience, that band having mastered two of their albums there. “We just wanted this record to have the best of the best, and I mean, we called in every favour we ever had and we used the deal that we hadn’t done a record in seven years and we wanted to come back strong and everybody really pitched in. That’s why you see so many great names associated with this record. I think once they heard the songs they wanted to be part of it, and that’s the vibe we got all the way.” While Davenport admits that they’re at their best live, where they find recording in the studio hard, Drink. Sing. Live. Love. was a record done very much in the now traditional studio sense. “In the studio is very much us separate. We didn’t record this as we did some Ataris records where we would try and track everything together and make it more of a live sound, we did this very studio-like and it came out sounding more live than if we’d recorded live and tried to make it sound that way. So it almost worked out better for us this way and I think it was the team – to be honest with you, the team captured what we were going for.” Drink. Sing. Live. Love. is out now on 3Wise Records.
GEAR REVIEW
TIMBERIDGE TR MINI 4-SERIES MINI-ACOUSTIC
Owned and presided over in Melbourne, Timberidge guitars have been distributing quality instruments since 1994. The design and spec decisions are made in Australia and production is carried out overseas. I had the opportunity to road test one of their new products, the Timberidge 4-Series Mini-Acoustic, and found it impressive. There was something adorable about this Timberidge 4-Series model when I first pulled it out of its padded bag. Adorned in lovely flamed woods, this guitar looks like it should be hanging on the wall of an old English cottage. While the concept of a traveller’s guitar is not a new one, the idea has certainly become more popular in recent years with a greater range available than ever before. This was the first Timberidge guitar I have ever played, so I was intrigued to find out what they had delivered, both visually and sonically. Off the bat, the TR Mini was a lot of fun to play, and I wasn’t at all put off by the fact I had to battle a reasonably high action and some heavy strings. In fact, this really helped project the notes that seemingly sustained for days. The tone of the instrument is a little ‘boxier’ than a normal-sized steel string, and accompanied by a touch of banjo or resonator, it’s perfect for country, roots and old blues musings.
Some quality woods have been incorporated, like the solid cedar top, solid mahogany back and sides and a rosewood bridge and fingerboard. In addition, while on the subject of the bridge, this is what really helps define the sound of this instrument. An interesting design has been utilised that raises the saddle and lowers the bridge pins (in a similar way to a tune-omatic bridge on an electric) to create more tension when anchoring the string into the top. The result is much the same as on a Les Paul – big sustain – which is especially enjoyable with the small body, as interesting harmonics tend to jump out more. Plugged in, the sound goes from boxy to big when you EQ the tone with the B-Band A3T preamp. The preamp has a four-band EQ consisting of bass, middle, treble and presence and there’s an onboard tuner and volume
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control. The amplified tone of this instrument was a lot brighter than its acoustic voice (which is often the case with Piezo pickups) and the combination of Lo-Z XLR and Hi-Z jack connections makes it more versatile for live shows, so it can connect directly into a PA without a DI, directly into an acoustic amp, or both. The Timberidge TR 4-Mini is a great little guitar at a great price that would suit players that are either fans of traveller guitars… or actually genuine travellers, or even people with small hands. Timberidge have quite a range of instruments now, from regular-shaped guitars to parlour and ukuleles. A visit to their website will tell you more: timberidgeguitars.com.au or jadeaustralia.com.au. Reza Nasseri Originally published in Australian Musician.
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INPRESS â&#x20AC;˘ 57
EMPLOYMENT ADMINISTRATION DJ AVAILABLE- ANYTIME
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FOR SALE AMPS 300W 2x10” EV tilt-back bass speaker cabinet. Can be straight or tilted back. Fantastic sound. $375. West End, Brisbane. Ph 0400 404 919 iFlogID: 19313 400W 1x15” EV bass speaker cabinet. Heaps of volume, great sound. $325. West End, Brisbane. Ph 0400 404 919 iFlogID: 19311
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MASTERING Audio Mastering, mixing, recording. CD-R music & data duplication, cover artwork, colour disc printing, online global distribution. Full studio package deal for EP or full album projects. Enquiries ph: 02 98905578 iFlogID: 15156 Audio Mastering, mixing, recording. CD-R music & data duplication, cover artwork, colour disc printing, online global distribution. Full studio package deal for EP or full album projects. Enquiries ph: 02 98905578 iFlogID: 15162
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RECORDING STUDIOS RECORDING STUDIO $30ph iFlogID: 17084 Recording Studio, Parramatta, $30hr casual rate. No kits! Singers, songwriters, instrumentalists for acoustic, world, classical genres specialist. 25+yrs exp, multi instrumentalist, arranger, composer, producer. Ph: 02 98905578, 7 days. iFlogID: 15152 Recording Studio, Parramatta, $30hr casual rate. No kits! Singers, songwriters, instrumentalists for acoustic, world, classical genres specialist. 25+yrs exp, multi instrumentalist, arranger, composer, producer. Ph: 02 98905578, 7 days. iFlogID: 15160
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TUITION Eastern Suburbs guitar/ukulele/bass/slide lessons with APRA award winning composer. Highly experienced, great references, unique individually designed lessons from Vaucluse studio. Learn to play exactly what YOU want to play! www.matttoms.com iFlogID: 16690 Music tuition, classical / flamenco guitar, celtic harp, theory & harmony, arranging. 9am - 9pm, 7 days. Parramatta area. $40 hr, $30 half hr. Mature & patient. Harps for hire. Ph: 02 98905578 iFlogID: 15154 Music tuition, classical / flamenco guitar, celtic harp, theory & harmony, arranging. 9am - 9pm, 7 days. Parramatta area. $40 hr, $30 half hr. Mature & patient. Harps for hire. Ph: 02 98905578 iFlogID: 15158 VocalHub - Sing like no one is listening! Singing lessons for vocal technique and care, audition tips and repertoire in a encouraging and supportive environment. Visit: http://www.vocalhub.com.au iFlogID: 17102
VIDEO / PRODUCTION D7 STUDIO MUSIC VID FROM $250. Live gig edits, multi angles, fr $125 a set, 1 live track $100. All shot in full HD. d7studio@iinet.net.au 0404716770 syd based iFlogID: 13368 Kontrol Productions is a highly professional production company that specializes in the production of music video’s. We ensure that our products are of the highest industry standards. For enquiries www.kontrolproductions.com
QUALITY MUSIC VIDEO PRODUCTION Immersion Imagery strives to offer quality & creative music videos to suit your style & budget. Portfolio of over 30 artists. www.immersionimagery.com info@immersionimagery.com facebook.com/immersion.imagery iFlogID: 18477
MUSICIANS AVAILABLE BASS PLAYER Electric & upright bass. Good gear. Comfortable in most styles. Experience performing live and in the studio. Check out my website if you wanna hear more. h t t p : / / w w w. w i x . c o m / s t e e l e c h a b a u / steelechabau iFlogID: 16159
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MUSICIANS WANTED BANDS Guitarist + Guitarist/Singer looking for a BASSIST + DRUMMER to form Power Pop/Punk band in Sydney. Think THE RAMONES meets CHEAP TRICK. No time wasters and committed musicians only. Contact 0403 995 832 iFlogID: 19373 Looking for bass player, drummer and vocalist. Age 19 - 22. Influences include The Gazette, Avenged Sevenfold, Abandon All Ships, Hans Zimmer, and Machine Head. Contact me at rafaelerion@hotmail.com. http://soundcloud.com/rafaelerion iFlogID: 19238 Looking for singer, bass player, keyboard player, percussionist and horn section for REGGAE band in Northern Beaches NSW. Call Michael 0402549423 or email siczex@yahoo. com.au iFlogID: 18612 Up & coming bands wanted for gigs-get yourself some exposure in front of small/med size crowd-send band details & contacts to soundbar@bigpond.com iFlogID: 15385
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SHARE ACCOMMODATION AVAILABLE
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iFlogID: 13358 Musician/Guitarist seeking fame. I play blues and have a good ear for melody and improvisation. Im looking for likeminded people who want to start touring. Go to peterbuckley.me
SERVICES BEAUTY SERVICES Fully Qualified & 8yrs Experience, Thai Massage $49/hr or Sensual Balinese Aroma $69/hr. In/Out calls, Male/Female Welcome. www.takecaremassage.com.au - By Anson 0433646338
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iFlogID: 17428
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GRAPHIC DESIGN Get your Band or Business Online Cost effectively and PROFESSIONALLY from $299 including Hosting and email addresses! Contact info@bizwebsites.com.au or see www.bizwebsites.com.au iFlogID: 15450 Get your Band or Business Online Cost effectively and PROFESSIONALLY- from $299 including UNLIMITED pages, Logos, Hosting and 5xemail addresses and much more! Contact info@bizwebsites.com.au or see www.bizwebsites.com.au
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$80
RECORDING PROJECT ROOM FROM $100
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iFlogID: 13864 Limited Edition mens tees and hoodies with a sense of humour. All hand-screened and numbered. monstrositystore.com
Stay at Melbourne Metro YHA this weekend cheaper than a taxi and more comfy than couch surfing; YHA hostels are not just for backpackers! Multishare beds from $27 per person. iFlogID: 19256
WANTED OTHER
THE SUICIDE WATCH PROJECT
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OTHER Get your Band or Business Online Cost effectively from $299 including Hosting, Shopping Cart and 5 email addresses! Contact info@bizwebsites.com.au or see www.bizwebsites.com.au. iFlogID: 15454 If you want to use DRUGS, that’s your business If you want to STOP, we can help. Narcotics Anonymous 9519 6200 www.na.org.au iFlogID: 16217 Tarot Card Readings by Karen. Over 30yrs Exp. “When you need to know” Always welcome new customers. www.tarotreadingsbykaren. com Parties and Private readings P: 0432 689 546. Evenings & weekends available.
Wanted! Your love and support for our hip hop collaboration for suicide prevention. Help us break down the taboos and barriers. Share the message ‘it’s ok to talk about suicide’. Releasing digital mixtape early September to co-incide with World Suicide Prevention Day and RU OK Day. Visit: facebook.com/TheSuicideWatchVolume1 Web: crazybandplans.com/SWV1 iFlogID: 19155
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