10.05.17 Music / Arts / Lifestyle / Culture
Sydn Sy dney ey / F Free / Incorporatin ng
Issue
188
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START IN MAY - ENROL TODAY sae.edu.au 1800 723 338 BRISBANE | BYRON BAY | SYDNEY | MELBOURNE | ADELAIDE I PERTH I ONLINE 2 • THE MUSIC • 10TH MAY 2017
THE MUSIC • 10TH MAY 2017 • 3
Performers ALL OUR EXES LIVE IN TEXAS MEGAN WASHINGTON IMOGEN CLARK Jon Stevens JACK CARTY NEIL FINN PLUS MORE
Thursday 4 MAY The Studio-Sydney Opera House TICKETS $195 - ARTOFMUSIC.COM.AU Art of Music Live supports Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy, an inspirational charity that transform lives through music.
A GREAT EVENT SUPPORTING A GREAT CHARITY NORO.ORG.AU 4 • THE MUSIC • 10TH MAY 2017
@noroartofmusic #artofmusic #noroau
RAM PROMOTIONS PRESENT: BASEMENT
THU 11TH 8PM
JESSE PROVERBS -LOVE UNCONDITIONALLY
WITH DJ CULTURE HARRY SUPPORTED BY TEDDY V, MOREJUDGEMENT, MOSTWANTED
SANCTUARY PRESENTS: BASEMENT
SAT 13TH 8PM
“LAZARUS MODE” PRESENTS BASEMENT
FRI 12TH 8PM
LEVEL ONE
FRI 12TH 10PM
“APOLLO HOOKS”
SUPPORTED BY “THE CULTURE INDUSTRY” “AMBER ARCHITECT” “VALLEN” IN THE NIGHT OF ROCK’N’ROL
LEVEL ONE
SAT 13TH 10PM
WIRADJURY PLATINUM MIXERS PRESENTS
BACK TO BASICS
BASEMENT
NIGHT OF HIP HOP AND RNB WITH DJ’S I SIGHT, COCO AND MANY MORE
SUN 14TH 5PM
“SANCTUARY THE ALTERNATIVE”
LEGENDARY ALTERNATIVE CLUB FOR ALTERNATIVE SPECIES PRESENTED BY S.H.E AND PERSONALLY RECOMMENDED BY IAN ASTBURY OF “CULT” DEEPSPACE SYDNEY AND ESF PRESENTS
SECRET OBSESSION
- PSYTRANCE-TWILIGHT-FOREST WITH DJ’S MADIANBRAINS (GREECE), TWISTED JESTER, LOOSE CANNON, OTANG, MUD, BEAR
STONE DEAF SUNDAYS
WITH “PUREFLY” “REAVER” & “METAK” IN MONTHLY ROCK’N’ROLL PARTY LIKE NO OTHER!
COMING UP
Thu 18 May: 8pm Basement: “Prism” supported by “Cosy Bosom” “El Papa’s Salsa Boys” in the 3D Garage Rock night of giant proportions; Fri 19 May: 8pm Basement: “Disparo!” presents Speedcore Night with support from “Masochist” “Two Faced” “The Phosphorous Bombs” “Durry”; 10pm Level One: Powercuts Reggae presents: Night of Reggae/Roots/Dub/Ska with selekta Teddy V and many special guests; Sat 20 May: 8pm Basement: The Elements of Tech and Bass presents I Love Bass party feat: Thierry D, Forkstab b2b Twilight Girl, Steve P, Bigred, Subfect, Jasper Coo, and MC Benny T; 10pm Level One: Underground Saturdays presnets: Blaq’d Out (session#1) feat: And.E b2b Ms.Tee, Sass, Chidi, Adje; Sun 21 May: 5pm Basement: Punk @ The Valve... Coz We Can! feat: “Chaos” “The Stukas” “Overtones”, “Rukus”
42 KING ST NEWTOWN
W W W. TH E L E A D B E L LY. C O M . A U
WED 10th
SUN 14th
THE WHITE TREE BAND
ON A SUNDAY JAZZ SERIES
FREE ENTRY
FT COURSED WATERS
THU 11th
THU 18th & FRI 19th
SMLXL
UNDERGROUND LOVERS
+ ANATOMY CLASS + SOUL MESSENGERS
+ SPECIAL GUESTS
FRI 12th
SAT 20th
WILLIAM CRIGHTON
THE BLACKEYED SUSANS
SAT 13th
SUN 21st
THE PIGS
TIM HULSMAN TRIO
+ MAGPIE + JASON WALKER
NO SUPPORT - 2 BIG SETS
+ SUN 21ST MATINEE SHOW
+ BIG MAMA & THE HANGED MEN
COMING UP ... PHENO, CARUS THOMPSON, GREEN MOHAIR SUITS, O’SHEA, MICK THOMAS (WEDDINGS PARTIES ANYTHING) CHRIS CAIN, BUSBY MAROU, FRANK SULTANA, TAASHA COATES (THE AUDREYS) HITMEN DTK, THE TURNER BROWN BAND, TIMBERWOLF, AINSLEY FARRELL, DEXTER MOORE, ROSA MARIA, JEFF DUFF, CROOKED FIDDLE BAND, THE RADIATORS AND MORE ...
THE MUSIC • 10TH MAY 2017 • 5
Music / Music / Arts / Lifestyle / Culture
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Mere Women
One Good Show Had Us All Fly
Ayluminating
Ayla
Sydney-based hip hop heroes Spit Syndicate have announced a five-date tour around the country this July in support of new album One Good Shirt Had Us All Fly.
Brisbane singer/songwriter Ayla has returned with plenty of news to please fans. Shallow End, the first single from her upcoming EP, is out and she has also announced an east coast tour this June.
WAAX
House Of WAAX The first single off vibe-punk group WAAX’s forthcoming EP Wild & Weak was just released and is a taste of what to expect from their July headline tour. 6 • THE MUSIC • 10TH MAY 2017
Credits
Arts / Li Credits
Music / Arts / Lifestyle / Culture
Publisher Street Press Australia Pty Ltd
New Heights
Group Managing Editor Andrew Mast
Sydney faves Mere Women have announced the release details for their upcoming third studio full-length, Big Skies, along with a run of tour dates in support. You can expect both in June.
National Editor – Magazines Mark Neilsen Arts & Culture Editor Maxim Boon
Gig Guide Justine Lynch gigs@themusic.com.au
Where and when? For more gig details go to theMusic.com.au
Contributing Editor Bryget Chrisfield
Editorial Assistants Brynn Davies, Sam Wall
How to tell if your boss is a robot: 1. Stab him in the neck with a fork
Contributors Anthony Carew, Ben Nicol, Brendan Crabb, Carley Hall, Chris Familton, Daniel Cribb, Chris Maric, Christopher H James, Cyclone, Daniel Cribb, Dave Drayton, Dylan Stewart, Guido Farnell, Guy Davis, James d’Apice, Liz Guiffre, Mac McNaughton, Mark Hebblewhite, Matt MacMaster, Matt O’Neill, Melissa Borg, Mitch Knox, Neil Griffiths, Mick Radojkovic, Rip Nicholson, Rod Whitfield, Ross Clelland, Sam Baran, Samantha Jonscher, Sara Tamim, Sarah Petchell, Shaun Colnan, Steve Bell, Tanya Bonnie Rae, Tim Finney, Uppy Chatterjee Photographers Angela Padovan, Cole Bennetts, Clare Hawley, Jodie Downie, Josh Groom, Hayden Nixon, Kane Hibberd, Munya Chawora, Pete Dovgan, Peter Sharp, Rohan Anderson, Simone Fisher Advertising Dept Georgina Pengelly, Brad Edwards sales@themusic.com.au Art Dept Ben Nicol, Felicity Case-Mejia, Alex Foreman
2. Apologize 3. Beg him not to call 911, you’re already on parole @SirEviscerate
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Spit Syndicate
Phone: (02) 9331 7077 info@themusic.com.au www.themusic.com.au
— Sydney
A Class Of Their Own Melbourne four-piece Gold Class have recently signed to Barely Dressed Records, released new single Twist In The Dark, and announced a tour of Australia. Fans can look forward to witnessing the poppunk spectacle in July.
Gold Class
THE MUSIC • 10TH MAY 2017 • 7
Music / A Music / Arts / Lifestyle / Culture
Hoodoo You
Hoodoo Gurus
Bringing their iconic rock across Australia again, Hoodoo Gurus and You Am I have announced another Australian tour. The bands have shared stages over the past 25 years and are ready to wow audiences again in July and August.
When In Doubt
Doubt: A Parable
Scandal and gossip come to a boiling point in Doubt: A Parable when claims of indecent conduct threaten to tear apart the parish of St Nicholas Church School. The Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning play opens at Old Fitz, 10 May.
175 The number of streams that equates to one sale, now that streams will count towards determining the ARIA album chart rankings.
8 • THE MUSIC • 10TH MAY 2017
theMusic.com.au: breaking news, up-to-the-minute reviews and streaming new releases
Sydney Table
Arts / Lif Music / Arts / Lifestyle / Culture
Beat The Drum
Vintage & Custom Drum Expo
The third annual Vintage & Custom Drum Expo, an amazing opportunity to see some of Australia’s leading drum builders, is back in October at the Factory Theatre. The expo will include speakers among the foremost of the country’s percussion craftspeople.
Frontlash
Community Radio Funding
We don’t often give many nods to the Federal Government in here, but the $6.1 million in extra funding for community radio is most welcome.
Bliss N Eso The local hip hop group knocks the mighty Ed Sheeran off the top of the ARIA album charts. Well played.
Justin Trudeau
They Have Bespoken Carriageworks and Vivid Sydney have announced the full line-up of chefs for their bespoke dining experience Sydney Table. Guests will experience an evening specifically and carefully curated by some of Australia’s finest talents from 14 to 17 June.
Bliss N Eso
Lashes
Add those Star Wars socks to the list of “Why can’t he be our Prime Minister?”
Backlash Trumpbull
Did anyone else cringe at the meeting between Donald Trump and Malcolm Turnbull? Actually, does any meeting between Donald Trump and a world leader not look cringeworthy?
Media Reforms
Let’s keep the TV networks to their word – if the Government cuts license fees, then make them produce more local content, like they have been proclaiming they will do if such a move happens. And maybe specify NOT more reality shows.
Email Hacks Still Afraid
Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?
Edward Albee’s Tony award winning masterpiece Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? opens at Ensemble Theatre 11 May. Examining the breakdown of a marriage over one night, the script features razor sharp wit and superb direction.
Anyone else getting their conspiracy theories on after the French election campaign was hit by an email hack, much like the American one?
THE MUSIC • 10TH MAY 2017 • 9
“G
After th heir photo shoot for The Music wra r ps, Pumaro rosa’s Isabel Munoz-Newsome, Nick ck Owen and Jamie Neville sit down with Anthony Carew tto discuss their relief at Aussie roa ad food and how they don’t do things gs “bitesized”. Cover and feature piics b byy Kane Hibberd.
10 • THE MUSIC • 10TH MAY 2017
etting a little bit overwhelmed is good,” says Isabel MunozNewsome, singer/guitarist of London quintet Pumarosa. She’s talking about being on stage, and those moments where things either go wrong or oh so right, and she’s lost in her band’s spectral, psychedelic alt-rock. “I had this really bad jetlag yesterday; this weird feeling like I was in an elevator, like blood was rushing up and down my body. And sometimes, when I dance [on stage], I jjust spin and spin and spin. And, playing last night, I thought: ‘I really shouldn’t do this, I’m dizzy already.’ But I did it anyway, and I was staggering around. I enjoyed - for a moment not being in control.” The day after playing a sold-out show in Melbourne, Pumarosa - Munoz-Newsome, drummer Nick Owen, guitarist Jamie Neville, bassist Henry Brown, keyboardist/ saxophonist Tomoya Suzuki - have just finished their cover shoot for The Music. In the studio space, strewn with spotlights, reflectors, and drop-sheets, the outside world is far away. But the highlight of their first Australian tour has been time spent in the outdoors; stepping off an overnight flight and heading for a swim at Coogee Bay. “It’s been really wonderful,” admits Owen. “Because on a rainy day in North America, where you’re only stopping at service stations,
and the only food you can find is totally processed, touring is pretty bleak.” Pumarosa’s first Australian tour has been a particular tonic for Neville, who, like so many Englishmen before him, came out here as an 18-year-old on a gap year. He ended up collecting money door-to-door in the far-flung Sydney suburbs for “a really fucked up company, just the worst people”. “So,” Neville says, “it’s been so nice coming back, because last time I was here I was just really depressed.” Suzuki, the band’s “natural adventurer”, is keen to see whatever he can. He’s got a million stories: working in a nature reserve in the Ecuadorian rainforest at 19 (“tracking monkeys for scientists and studying orchids”). Showing up at a UK festival with a “saxophone and a passport”, leading to an odyssey of hitching throughout Europe, from Barcelona to a “psy-trance” rave outside of Budapest. Spontaneously leaving a Romanian festival to travel for two months with “11 crusty hippies” through former Yugoslavia down into Turkey, and driving around Morocco for months “picking up hitch-hikers”. The band are engaging conversationalists, equally capable of talking about Brexit or Australian colonial identity, “Because Australia is such a beautiful place,” Neville thinks, “you must have this next-level colonial guilt; like
Music you’re living in a stolen paradise.” They touch on the migration of populations to cities and of daily life to social media. They broach Sydney lockout laws: “When you’re touring,” says Suzuki, “what stands out the most are these strange little regulations you have in different places; like, I was so confused by all the rules in Sydney about drinking.” When it comes to talking about their band, though, Pumarosa can find it hard to find the right words. “When you’re in band - performing music that you’ve made, words that you’ve written everything feels so on the line. Every word I sing, every gesture I make, it’s all me,” says Munoz-Newsome. “But, just like it can be hard to describe yourself to people, it can be hard to describe your band. I find doing the social media really hard because it’s so self-conscious and self-referential. And for me, the moment of being creative is the opposite of that. When something is coming out, is being imagined, it’s very personal and very pure. [Once] the label asked me if I could take photos or make a video of me working on the album artwork. And I was like, ‘No! No way! I really can’t do that!’ The act of making art, being honest in that moment, that’s quite frightening and quite sacred. To have that just be, like, Snapchatted, it’s just wrong.” “Making music,” says Neville, “you’re in the middle of a process that is completely freeing. We often have this collective, unspoken idea that we all just instinctively understand, and it will reveal itself to you as you’re doing it... We all just come together, in the one room - there’s no writing on a computer, building things or swapping files - and smash our ideas together, force something out of it. It’s very tactile.” “We’re reacting to sounds, following them, as much as ideas,” Owen offers. “Like
Sonic Youth, I think we’re often working with the energy of the guitar.” “I think we have a Sonic Youth-esque mentality: make pop music, but do it with a kind of anarchic tonality,” Neville furthers. “I would definitely define it as pop music: we’re not avant-garde, we make songs. But, within that, there’s lots of different perceptions. Some people might just look at us as straight pop, someone else would think our songs are all too long and difficult.”
then with the band as they slowly came together. Their debut single Priestess finally came out in 2015, and now their debut LP The Witch is here. The album strings the band’s long songs - none are less than four minutes, four are more than six - together; moving from the “very subdued” opener Dragonfly through to the “really mental, high energy” closer Snake. “Moving from this cinematic opener, that sets the mood, then building up towards this crazy, psychedelicHare Krishna climax,” Munoz-Newsome says, “it feels like a journey, more than a set of songs maximising their position for streaming services. We liked the way that felt. But maybe that’s a bad idea, marketing wise.” “Finishing an album,” says Owen, “you’ve planted a flag, marked out this territory. After years of work you can finally say: this is a finished work, this represents us.” As to just how it represents them, Pumarosa still aren’t sure. “We all have particularly different viewpoints, and there can be conflict in that,” says Suzuki. “I like that. If everyone agreed, it would just feel too safe. We’re not a single genre idea or a singular sound. You can listen to techno, or folk music from Africa, and connect those ideas, and draw influence from anywhere along that line. Everything is on the table.” “Anything goes,” says Munoz-Newsome, “as long as you do it wholeheartedly. The worst thing you can do is fake it.”
It feels like a journey, more than a set of songs maximising their position for streaming services. We liked the way that felt.
IT’S BARBICAN, NOT BARBICAN’T
“I think the fact that our songs are very long, and the words are quite dense, is a kind of response against that [digital] climate,” says Munoz-Newsome. “We’re not providing that instantaneous, bite-sized content. We’d hope people would be happy that we’re offering something that exists outside of that.” Growing up Munoz-Newsome never saw herself being in this position. Not just as the face of a budding buzz-band, but even making music. “I wasn’t writing songs when I was a kid,” she says. “I didn’t want to be in a band at all. It never even occurred to me. And then it just happened.” Of course, Pumarosa didn’t just happen. After studying visual art and painting and thinking that she’d find work as a scenographer, Munoz-Newsome was drawn onto the stage, first as a participant in performance art works. She began writing her first songs eight years ago, and spent years working on them, first just with Owen,
“I got into doing performance through performance art,” says Pumarosa frontwoman Isabel Munoz-Newsome. The singer’s stage presence - commanding, wild, free - owes, she thinks, a lot to these beginnings, helping out friends in the art world. “I found it really exciting, and dangerous. There was one piece that was quite horrific to watch. I did it [in 2008] with my friend Ed Fornieles. There was a big crowd, in the Barbican gallery, and I was there in my casual clothes. But [beside me] was a couture cocktail dress and make-up, and the crowd was instructed to take me from being me, as a regular person, into this female creature; get me
What: The Witch (Fiction/Caroline)
undressed, dress me up, put on my make-up. And my instruction was to resist. “There was the sound of a drumbeat, and the audience was instructed to do this, and the crowd just rushed me. Soon, I was in the air, upside-down; I wasn’t being hurt, but to see it was horrifying. It was a really violent act, a really intense work. Sometimes, still, I’ll meet people, and we’ll realise we have Ed in common, and they’ll say, ‘God, did you see that thing he did in the Barbican?’ And, I’ll be like ‘yeah, that was me!’ Knowing that you can go that far, and you’ll still be alright, it can embolden you. You think ‘I can do anything.’” THE MUSIC • 10TH MAY 2017 • 11
Music
Lone Wolf Blues’n’roots icon Jeff Lang works alone for the most part. Launching his latest album, he talks to Rod Whitfield about the miles behind and the road ahead.
I
conic Aussie blues’n’roots singer-songwriter Jeff Lang could be deemed a true solo artist, in that, aside from the occasional guest contribution from another muso, he does virtually everything himself. His brand new album, Alone In Bad Company, is no exception - even the very title of this, his 13th studio outing, is reflective of his preference for solitude.
He even drives himself around to his shows when he’s on tour and is doing so again as he hits the road in support of Alone In Bad Company. “I’m really looking forward to it,” he says, “it’s great getting out and doing some of the regional areas as well as the capitals. Hitting the road solo is fun, too, there’s a good headspace about getting out there on your own and doing a lot of driving. I like it; makes me feel like I’m in my early 20s again.” But that time is long past: it is well over 20 years since Lang released his debut solo record and sometimes he feels all of those years and all of that mileage, and sometimes he doesn’t.
Hitting the road solo is fun, too, there’s a good headspace about getting out there on your own. “You have some shitty experience somewhere and you go, ‘Christ, I’ve been doing this too long to be putting up with this,’ but that’s relatively rare,” he says. “I just really enjoy it. I think it just keeps you young, in a way, keeps you fresh. The goal is to stay interested in what you do, from writing a new song and finding a way of getting the mood of the song across well.” And, by all accounts, despite more than two decades of hard graft behind him, Lang still feels very fresh. He tempers that optimism with a sense of realism, however. “I’m still keen,” he admits. “You always think you can keep on finding things to write about, and find new ways of expressing yourself. I don’t try to think too far into the future, to be honest, because you just never know in this business.”
“I like to set up a rule for myself with each record,” he explains, “something that sets a little sense around the methodology. This time around I had a little rule for myself: that I was going to play everything myself on the record. Anything that needed to be done, I’d do it myself. I broke that rule on one song, I had Danny McKenna come and play drums on it, and my wife sang backing vocals on that same song. So I broke the rule on that song, but for the rest of them I kept to that.” The enigmatic title of the record has other connotations as well. “When I was finishing it up and looking for a title, that phrase just hit me,” he recalls. “Even when you’re on your own you can still be in bad company, still have bad thoughts in your head, swirling around and giving you grief.”
12 • THE MUSIC • 10TH MAY 2017
What: Alone In Bad Company (ABC/Universal) When & Where: 13 May, Hotel Gearin, Katoomba; 18 May, Lizottes, Newcastle; 27 May, The Basement; 28 May, Thirroul Village Hall; 16 Jun, Street Theatre, Canberra
THE MUSIC • 10TH MAY 2017 • 13
Theatre
Simpsons Spirit Praise be to Homer. Hail Marge, full of grace. Our Lisa, who art in heaven, hallowed by thy Bart. Director Imara Savage tells Maxim Boon about getting spiritual on The Simpsons for Mr Burns: A Post-Electric Play.
B
efore the written word, before music, before art, before man devised the myriad of methods for immortalising our culture, we were a species of storytellers. From long before recorded history first began to chronicle our evolving civilisation, we spoke our stories aloud and passed them onto following generations. This tradition of storytelling can be found the world over in virtually every proto-society from prehistory, and while separated by time and geography, they all share one common trait: the transformation of folklore into dogma. Through thousands of retellings, fiction became spiritual
When I first read it I thought, ‘I don’t even know what this is.’ It’s deeply stranage on a first reading.
fact. Regardless of how remote those ancient peoples might appear to our 21st-century concept of civilisation, the endurance of religion in its various guises speaks to one immutable fact: the presence of the otherworldly and divine has always been an inevitable consequence of our human capacity for telling tales. But what might happen if mankind was thrust back into a world where our sole form of expression was storytelling? What narratives would we return to and what faiths might they eventually spawn? American playwright Anne Washburn attempts to answer this question in her dystopian pop-culture parable Mr Burns, a post-electric play. Forget Shakespeare, Dickens or Keats - come the apocalypse, it’s The Simpsons that will survive.
14 • THE MUSIC • 10TH MAY 2017
“When I first read it I thought, ‘I don’t even know what this is.’ It’s deeply strange on a first reading,” admits Imara Savage, who has directed the first Australian staging in a co-production between Adelaide’s State Theatre Company of South Australia, and Sydney’s Belvoir Theatre. Set over three epochs following a global catastrophe, it begins in the immediate aftermath of a nuclear armageddon, as survivors find common ground in the world’s longest-running animated series. Seven years on, the second part sees this ragtag group become a troupe of actors, performing old episodes of The Simpsons for the fledgling society that has emerged from the destruction. The final scene, some 75 years further in the future, reveals a neo-medieval civilisation that has elevated everyone’s favourite dysfunctional family to the level of deities. No longer mere cartoons, this once buffoonish cast of yellow-skinned characters are held up as the ultimate totems of morality. Bizarre as this synopsis may sound, for Savage, Mr Burns’ strangest quality is how ultimately plausible it is. “The connection I kept making in my mind was to Japan. In the play, we see how stories are malleable to the context in which they are told, and so the pop culture of Japan, post-Hiroshima and Nagasaki, is an interesting example,” she explains. “You see the emergence of Godzilla and that repeating idea of gigantic, unstoppable forces destroying cities, and it shows just what a lasting thumbprint those events can leave on a place’s cultural DNA. It shows how that anxiety and fear has manifested through 75-years of storytelling.” In the almost three decades it’s been on the air, The Simpsons has shown a knack for being uncannily prophetic, predicting among other things, the Siegfried and Roy tiger mauling, rigged voting machines, and perhaps most unnervingly, the ascendency of President Trump. However, rather than foretelling the coming end of days, the cautionary tale found in Mr Burns is more a philosophical portent - one that has an added sting given the recent slashing of arts journalism budgets in the mainstream media. “One of the most useful things I read when I first began thinking about how to approach Mr Burns was a quote from Anne Washburn herself. She said, ‘It’s not a play about The Simpsons. It’s a play about a group of people for whom The Simpsons is important.’ And I think that really focuses the idea that this is a play about how storytelling is so vital to our understanding of our culture and identity,” Savage shares. “Mr Burns was written post-September 11, and it’s essentially asking the question, what is the role of the artists in a climate of destruction. I think Washburn was probably asking that of herself - ‘what is my role in these times?’ And I think, really crucially, it’s asking what is the role of the storyteller in terms of healing, in terms of legacy, in terms of the way we warn subsequent generations not to repeat the mistakes of the past?”
What: Mr Burns: A Post-Electric Play When & Where: 19 May - 25 Jun, Belvoir St Theatre
THE MUSIC • 10TH MAY 2017 • 15
Music
Who Is The Last Young Renegade? They say don’t meet your heroes, but thankfully, as All Time Low’s humble frontman Alex Gaskarth describes the modus operandi behind their latest album, Last Young Renegade, to Uppy Chatterjee, we realise we have nothing to worry about.
W
e compare our current interview locations - he’s in his hotel lobby in the small English town of Bedford, rehearsing for their UK tour. “It’s very quiet in this room. I’m in the lobby, I feel like I’m kind of causing a scene by talking here. I think everybody can hear me yelling over everything.” Well, we’re kind of in a windy spot. “Are you on the high seas?” Gaskarth giggles.
There’s always shades of grey to every person and no one is all good and all bad.
It’s this relaxed, chirpy sort of humour that has seen the Baltimore pop punk quartet surf to the top of their game since their 2004 debut EP, The Three Words To Remember When Dealing With The End. From writing songs after school in year ten to selling out arenas around the globe as they near 30, it’s this mature hindsight of their years in the limelight that has shaped their seventh offering, Last Young Renegade. Gaskarth boldly self-reflects that the record is a chance for him to “confront some of [his] own personal stories”. “It’s written about characters, but a lot of the stories kind of come from my own experiences and the experiences of the people closest to me,” Gaskarth explains. With an over-arching “plot”, it’s the first time 16 • THE MUSIC • 10TH MAY 2017
he, as the band’s primary songwriter, has written an album this way. “[Since So Wrong It’s Right and Nothing Personal] we’re all in different places!” he exclaims of their past penchant for writing uplifting, summery tracks. “We’re not teens anymore and I think we’ve learned a lot about music and the way we write and the way we approach music - I think one of the big things at this point is to try and keep it fresh and finding ways to reinvent what the band does. So I think the way we approached this record was kinda a way to do that, it was a device to push us forward.” Aside from perhaps guitarist Jack Barakat’s romantic relationship with Playboy bunny Holly Madison back in 2010, the band have always given controversy a wide berth, never giving critics or social media’s pitchforkwielding squad something to fire up about. It was surprising, then, to see Gaskarth publicly state that Last Young Renegade would address all “the different versions of me that other people might have met over the years, through the ups and the downs, in the public eye and behind closed doors”. Does the band have indiscretions we don’t know about? “I don’t necessarily think it’s about drama, as far as being problematic or doing anything bad or wicked or evil, y’know? I don’t think that’s ever really been us,” Gaskarth confesses. “But I definitely have moments I’m not proud of that are personal, and in my relationships, the way I’ve dealt with people one-on-one and things like that. “There’s always shades of grey to every person, you know, and no one is all good and all bad, so I think that’s a lot of what this record is about - that if you could see yourself in a mirror and see all of your goods and bads, would you be happy with what you see?” Despite the strong lyrical theme, the frontman is tentative to call the record a concept record, seemingly in respectful salute to all the bands that have done concept records “so much better than us”, he says with a laugh. “Yeah, y’know, that kinda keeps getting thrown out there, but I hesitate to say it’s a concept record because it’s not- like, I love concept records and I love bands that have done concept records. I think of, like, Pink Floyd and Coheed & Cambria and Green Day and My Chemical Romance and theirs are much more fully fleshed out than this one is, y’know? “I think a lot of those have these stories that go along with them and ours I think is more- it has these overarching themes and sort of threads that connect these songs together. So in that sense, it has a story and a plot, but I hesitate to call it a concept record ... I don’t wanna put that label on it and have people go, ‘Well, I don’t get it!’” he says with a goofy voice, “’Cause it’s not quite that deep.”
When & Where: 13 May, Hordern Pavilion
THE MUSIC • 10TH MAY 2017 • 17
Music
Seven-Year Drought EVERY CLOUD HAS AN EGGY LINING Nashville Pussy’s Ruyter Suys regales Rod Whitfield with some of her fondest memories in Australia and the secret to a long a happy flight. Just when you thought smashed avo couldn’t make brunch any more pretentious, along come cloud eggs to jump the breakfast shark. The hot new food trend has lit Instragram up with images of billowing, fluffy eggs, more or less assuring that before long cafes across the nation will be serving them up and charging $12 a pop. Much like their avocado counterparts, the trick to cloud eggs is far from cordon bleu. It’s basically a regular egg with the yolk separated from the whites, the whites beaten then baked. Fancier versions have herbs and cheese added, but even so, it’s still going to be one pricey way enjoy your brekkie staple. Babyboomer outrage will be off the charts!
18 • THE MUSIC • 10TH MAY 2017
I
n over 20 years of existence, Atlanta, Georgia-based heavy rock’n’rollers Nashville Pussy have only made it out to Australian shores twice, and not for around seven years. When asked why this might be the case, relentlessly affable lead guitarist Ruyter Suys, speaking from on tour in Seattle, has a typically blunt, goodnatured response. “Fucked if I know!” she laughs. “Rock’n’roll is a mystery my friend, I have no idea. Wanting and doing are always two completely different things when it comes to music.” The situation is soon to change, however, as the band are finally bringing their raunchy, strutting, swaggering live show Down Under again in early May, and Suys could not be happier about that situation. “Oh man, are you kidding me? We are dying for it,” she emphasises, “we’ve been wanting to go again, since we left the last time. We had such a good time there last time, we promised we’d be back before seven years, but that’s what it’s taken us. “Thank God the gods have conspired to get us back there, it’s about fuckin’ time. We will apologise for rock’n’roll, and make it up to you.” The ridiculously long flight from LA to Melbourne or Sydney is undoubtedly a
major factor in the rarity of their Aussie appearances, and she has a very specific strategy for getting through those type of longhaul flights. “Xanax and whiskey, man,” she laughs, “that’s how I get through.” Suys has some crazy memories of previous Australian tours, and she is happy to relate one particular standout one. “I remember partying at this transvestite bar until the sun rose,” she recalls, “we were at this bar full of ladyboys, and these women were definitely more feminine than I was. I remember going to the bathroom and seeing all the seats in the stalls up, so it was like ‘yeah, they are all dudes!’” So prior to that, what were your conceptions of Aussie blokes? “Chopper and Mad Max!” She laughs again. As stated, the band have been around for more than two decades, and during that time they have released six full-length studio albums. They are determined to bring a crowd-pleasing setlist with them this time, especially since it’s been so long. “Yeah, I think we’re going to do a little ‘from the beginning to the end’ thing for you guys,” she reveals, “we’re definitely going to do some of the newer songs that you haven’t heard us play live before.” And they may even throw in a special new treat or two specifically for Aussie audiences. “We’re working on a new album,” she states, “and we should be going into the studio in September, so we’ll probably trying out some weird shit on stage that even we’ve never heard before. “We tend to make a lot of shit up on the spot. If you’ve ever been to a Nashville Pussy show, you know it’s not exactly rocket science!”
When & Where: 12 May, Bald Faced Stag
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THE MUSIC • 10TH MAY 2017 • 19
Indie Indie
The Hotel Steyne, Moonshine Bar
Brendon Moon
Unity Hall Hotel
Have You Been To
Single Focus
Have You Been To
Answered by: Amelia Plewes Events Manager
Answered by: Brendon Moon
Answered by: Matt Walsh - General Manager
Single title? Girl
Address: 292 Darling St, Balmain
Address: L2 75 The Corso, Manly
What’s the song about? Quite selfexplanatory, just always liking someone during their highs and lows I guess!
Capacity: 250
Capacity: 300 Why should punters visit you? We are one of the only free live music venues in Sydney that has nationally recognised Australian headline talent each week. We constantly have live music four days a week, every week of the year. What’s the best thing about the venue? The quality of bands that play here - as well as the room’s setting, decor, experienced venue team and awesome fans that attend each show. What is your venue doing to help the local music scene? As a music room we are constantly promoting local up and coming bands, we also have monthly residency support acts that helps to establish new talent in the room and to new fans. What have been some of the highlights at the venue? We have had many highlights; The Preatures, Hockey Dad, DZ Deathrays, Tash Sultana, Alex Lahey, Harts, Holy Holy, Bleeding Knees Club and local legends Sons Of The East to name a few. What are the plans for the venue in the future? Continue to book more awesome bands and hold more rad events with our partners Volcom, Surfing World, Stab Mag, as well investing in the room for a cheeky little refurbishment. The best is yet to come. Website link for more info? hotelsteyne.com.au
20 • THE MUSIC • 10TH MAY 2017
How long did it take to write/record? It took around a month to finish. It was a collaborative process with a friend of mine and it took two days to record in the studio. Recording a rough demo first, then the final version. Is this track from a forthcoming release/ existing release? I think this one is just to keep the ball rolling and listeners keen! I’ve been working on a lot of new and exciting material since. So in the near future there will be more! What was inspiring you during the song’s writing and recording? Just music in general really. It always keeps me inspired to write. I listen to a whole range of genres and the more I hear, the more I want to make. We’ll like this song if we like... Happy, chilled indie-pop, with a bit of colour and haze. Does that make sense? Do you play it differently live? Performing solo shows it’s close to the recording, but with the band it can vary in more of a live sense by stretching out parts for longer etc. When and where is your launch/next gigs? 13 May, Brighton Up Bar; 21 May, Hibernian House. Website link for more info? facebook.com/brendonmoonofficial
Why should punters visit you? The Unity Hall Hotel has been a spiritual home to Sydney jazz and live music fans for more than 40 years. It has a warm atmosphere, fantastic live music and a modern approach of the pub. What’s the best thing about the venue? It is a historic landmark with a colourful history. What is your venue doing to help the local music scene? The venue hosts live music Friday and Saturday nights as well as live band karaoke every Thursday night. Fostering talent and providing the local community with access to great bands. What have been some of the highlights at the venue? Plenty of great gigs, though none particularly that were “historical”. What are the plans for the venue in the future? Continue to foster the local live music scene. Website link for more info? https://unityhallhotel.com.au
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#1 ALBUM OUT NOW THE MUSIC • 10TH MAY 2017 • 21
Eat / Drink Eat/Drink
Smartphones ha ave revvolutioni ol nised pr pre etty much evvery fa facet fe, from m the ways we socia iallise, to o th the way we of modern life get our ne news fix ix, and d even how we fall in love ve. Anot otther he ansform med byy our de evi vic ces is how w we ea at. area of dailyy liliffe tra Wh hether you’re yo a proud ud hom me cook ok ko or ad addicted ed d tto ea ating hese are the food ap apps you ou n need d to dow ow wnl nload d today. y. out, the
For the stay-at-home
For the health
For the gourmand
For the restaurant
chef: Epicurious
conscious: Lifesum
recluse: Foodora
lover: Zomato
Home cooking apps are ten a penny, but this one is the leader of the pack. Epicurious is one of the most trusted recipe apps on the market, and with a beautifully conceived user interface, more than 30,000 tested and member-rated recipes, and extra functionality such as a shopping list manager and voice-activated commands for hands-free cooking, it’s easy to see why. You’ll find a range of different dishes from gourmet showstoppers to last minute munches for chefs of all experiences.
Eating right is only part of the secret of looking and feeling good. Lifesum goes beyond merely helping you track your nutrition by allowing users to build an all-around healthy lifestyle. Choose a specially tailored fitness plan, track your food intake either by inputting manually or by using the inbuilt barcode scanner, and select your goal, whether that be general wellbeing, weight loss or toning up. You can track your progress and get handy feedback too.
Want all the delicious variety of eating out without having to step outside your front door? There are many food delivery apps, but the most princely among them is undoubtedly foodora. Unlike many takeout apps, it only features a curated list of restaurants that serve up grub of the highest calibre. It also has a very handy tracking function that shows you exactly where your order is on the road and precisely how many minutes until your tucking in.
With its superbly streamlined interface, allowing users to compare restaurants by rating, distance, cuisine and popularity, Zomato - formerly known as Urbanspoon - is a must-have app for those looking to make the most of meal times whatever city they happen to be in. Check out menus, browse image galleries, read reviews by critics and food fans, and even make your reservation at this one-stop virtual shop catering to all your dining out needs. Bon appetite!
22 • THE MUSIC • 10TH MAY 2017
Music
Good Feeling Songwriter/guitarist Serge Pizzorno tells Bryget Chrisfield when it comes to Kasabian he follows his instincts and punters are still alnog for the ride. To read the full interview head to theMusic.com.au
A
t the time of our chat, Kasabian had just played back-to-back shows at Sydney Opera House and the band’s songwriter/guitarist Serge Pizzorno is clearly still buzzing. “Oh, it was monumen’al,” he gushes. “We didn’t know what to expect from the venue, ‘cause it’s obviously, you know, one of the Wonders Of The World and people can be very, I dunno, like, intimidated by such a building, but there was none of that. I mean, it was just chaos from the get-go; it was, like, absolute pandemonium.” As for the iconic building’s interior, Pizzorno chuckles, “It’s well ‘70s inside.”
Even when instincts have taken us in odd directions, people are like, That’s great!’
Those shows were performed in the round and Pizzorno assesses, “It was nice to experiment, ‘cause we’ve considered it... It was great. I really like bein’ surrounded.” The band (except perhaps maybe drummer Ian Matthews - not really possible for him - certainly interacted with the punters in the seats behind the band and, when asked whether he reckons these limited-view seats would’ve been cheaper, Pizzorno cheekily considers, “They probably were, yeah. Mind you, you do get to see our arses so maybe they were more expensive?” Just wait ‘til you hear album number six from the band, For Crying Out Loud. According to Pizzorno, it contains “proper, real tunes”. “I was well into the ‘70s makin’ it, you know?” he points out. “I’ve got a really good
feeling about this album... A lot of people that’ve heard it already have been real positive about it and, you know, I think that’s great! To be on the sixth album and for people to still be interested - d’ya know what I mean? “For me, like, transcending decades is a big thing... that’s kind of when you can truly say that things have gone well is if you jump from one decade to another and sort of carry on and, you know, everyone’s sort of going, ‘Yeah, great! We’re excited to hear what you’ve still got to do’.” And Pizzorno admits he tries to create something completely different for Kasabian with each album. “I can’t try and make people happy, if you know wha’ I mean,” he posits. “Like, ‘Oh, you know, I gotta write a hit!’ I dunno what that means. I sort of follow my instincts, wherever my instincts take me that’s where I’ll go. We’ve been lucky enough that people have come with us on the way, ‘cause a lot of bands have started to mess with their sound and people are goin’, ‘Oh, what’s goin’ on!?’ [laughs] So we’ve been really lucky; people have gone with it, you know. And even when instincts have taken us in odd directions, people are like, ‘Well, that’s great!’ And we wanna do something new and different - that’s the point of the band.” You would’ve heard You’re In Love With A Psycho, the first official single from Kasabian’s upcoming set, by now (and be sure to Google the hilarious, star-studded accompanying music video that even required the lads to learn some Bollywood choreography). On choosing this song as a single, Pizzorno opines, “It resets whatever you thought [you knew about Kasabian]. I just think it will surprise people.” You’re In Love With A Psycho also boasts a “sort of tongue-in-cheek chorus... where you’re looking at your most loved one and, you know, you’re tryin’a figure out which one it is that’s the psycho outta the two of you, d’you know wha’ I mean?” Pizzorno laughs. Although Pizzorno believes Kasabian’s success and longevity “was always gonna happen” (“I would neve never have let it not”), he allows, “I had no clue what that mea meant. Like, just releasing an album and, like, playin’, you know, Brixton Academy - well, that would’ve been it, yo you know? Not that we didn’t think big, but it was just, like, in reality for, you know, a sort of weird little psyc psychedelic-rock [band]... So obviously to play the Opera Hou House was unbelievable! I mean, it will sorta live with me forever. And you do get those moments where you sorta go, ‘Wow! I mean, yeah! This is actually pretty insane!’... You genuinely touch people in this really positive way, you know, if people come to the shows to release, like, to escape, then you can see that in the crowd; you can see faces and people just, you know, whatever they’re goin’ through, they’re there in some mad sort of, you know, communal dance, some ritual. It’s a sort of primal thing and then you sort of do go, ‘Wow! Whatever we’ve done has left a mark,’ you know? And that’s as good as it gets, really.”
What: For Crying Out Loud (Sony)
THE MUSIC • 10TH MAY 2017 • 23
Music
It Boys
Living Legends
It, Pennywise
The latest trailer for the upcoming It remake just dropped, and it’s offered a more nuanced look at the psychology behind Andres Muschietti’s much anticipated reboot of the Stephen King classic. It’s already been announced that the new film will be the first of two about a town stalked by a killer clown, the supernatural embodiment of the deepest fears of a ragtag group of misfit tweens. The latest trailer focuses on the members of the ‘Losers Club’. They are those plucky social outcasts familiar from most coming of age movies, but even in this two minute preview, they show a lot of heart and endearing comradery. The second instalment of this new It franchise jumps ahead to when the members of the Losers Club are all grown up, so it will be interesting to see how those relationships translate between films. This latest trailer is also notable for its very fleeting glimpse of Pennywise – King’s inspired horror nemesis – but that’s precisely why it’s so chilling. Bill Skarsgaard felt like an odd choice when the young actor was cast in this role – originally immortalised by the legendary Tim Curry – but any reservations we might have had about him pulling off the perfect Pennywise are definitely gone now. The film hits the big screen this September.
24 • THE MUSIC • 10TH MAY 2017
Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid is ready and raring to bring the band’s new work to Aus on their upcoming tour, as Rod Whitfield discovers.
W
hen a legendary band like Living Colour release a new album, it’s hard not to sit up and take notice. Virtually 30 years ago the band released their debut LP, Vivid, and have subsequently released only a further four full-length studio records, (taking into account, of course, the hiatus the band took in the late ‘90s.) It’s definitely been quality over quantity for these titans of hard rock, funk, jazz, hip hop and experimental. 2017 will see the release of the band’s sixth studio album, Shade, and iconic guitar player Vernon Reid is more than happy to talk about its direction. “This record is funny, because a lot of what inspired it was thinking about re-connecting hard rock and metal to blues,” he explains, “but then we went with a hip hop producer, so it’s an interesting split in terms of what we wanted to do. But it worked out really well, it’s not a blues-rock record per se, there’s a feeling underneath it all that really talks about that, and I’m really happy with the way it’s turned out.” Reid explains that, while much of the material was written prior to the current political situation in America really kicking in, many of the themes and vibes created by the new record are directly relatable to what’s going on in The States right now. “We’ve been working on this record for a while, but
a lot of the stuff that’s going on right now, even if this record wasn’t written about that, Trump hadn’t even started campaigning, but a lot of the things that we talk about on the record are really relevant. “For example, we have a song on there called Two Sides, it’s all very atmospheric, and George Clinton makes an appearance on it, and in a lot of ways the song has something to say about how divided we are. There’s ‘two sides’ to every story, we have this duality that’s forced on us, left and right, black and white, male and female, all of that, and the lyrics speak of exactly where we are right now.” The band are heading Down Under in May for a tour that takes in all mainland state capitals, and Reid is very grateful to be getting away and getting some relief from what’s happening in his home country at the moment. “It’s always great to go down to Aus,” he enthuses, “so many great cities, and it’s just a wonderful vibe there. I’ve always enjoyed coming down. We always look forward to playing for the Australian people, and getting away from all that stuff for a while, we’re excited about it.” And in an extra special treat for the Aussie fans, the band will be playing some of the brand new tunes from Shade prior to its official release. “Yep, we definitely are,” he states, “we’re definitely playing some Shade, I’m really looking forward to getting some reaction to that from the Aussie fans.”
When & Where: 13 May, Metro Theatre
Music
Pink-finite With Japanese trio Boris returning to Australia with a tour celebrating Pink, bassist/ vocalist Takeshi Ohtani tells Tom Hersey about the creation of the lauded record, and how the album has evolved over the last decade.
A
s Takeshi Ohtani recalls, the period in which Boris were crafting the album that came to be Pink was very special. The band was starting to build on the momentum they created with two quintessential drone metal releases, Absolutego and their perfectly titled 1998 classic Amplifier Worship, and by the turn of the millennium, they were working at feverish pace. As they slogged away, hitting the recording studio with a frequency that would make their prolific spiritual forebearers Melvins seem lazy in comparison, Boris began to evolve their molasses thick wall of sound into a sonic representation of the band’s hectic schedule. “When Pink was released in 2005, it was a very busy time for us because since 2003 we increased our output in terms of both touring and releasing records. At that time we had day jobs, so after work finished at 10pm, we’d be in the practice studio jamming and recording, and kept repeating the process. There was a strong urge to take the energy we got during tours to some form of output. At that time the speed of the band became faster and faster.” Playing faster for Boris meant playing seven-minute songs where they used to be 17, but the shift towards brevity also saw the band embrace everything from hardcore and dream pop, while also laying down some of the doomiest metal their career has ever produced. The pitch-black funeral dirges, sitting next to energetic punk songs that abut warm, atmospheric pop numbers is something that Ohtani feels defined Pink, and helped the album achieve its cult status. “Pink was not a product that followed any so-called method in general, both in terms of the songwriting and recording. It was just made following our own desires,
At that time we had day jobs, so after work finished at 10pm, we’d be in the practice studio jamming and recording, and kept repeating the process.
and the desire of the sound itself being born from jam sessions. So it was surprising to receive such a huge reaction to that album, but at the same time we gained confidence that we can actually do things in that way.” Upon its release, Pink catapulted Boris out of the underground. Yet, despite how it forever changed the trajectory of Boris’ career, Ohtani says he and drummer/ vocalist Atsuo Mizuno and guitarist/vocalist Wata were initially reluctant when the idea of performing the album start to finish live was pitched to them. “This ‘performing Pink’ tour was proposed by our booking agent about two years ago. We actually declined immediately,” Ohtani says. “We always want to make something new, and we had already finished a new recording.” There were a few things that changed the band’s collective mind about the idea, primary of which Ohtani believes is “We’ve started thinking that our next release would be more interesting after showing the flow of our actions and sorting out some of the history.” The bassist says the band also came around to the idea of the Pink tour when the realisation dawned on them that every time they are playing a show, it’s basically like they’re creating new songs. Ohtani says playing Pink in full has become quite creatively exciting for Boris. “The songs are living things. They show new expressions during the show, created with the audience,” Ohtani says. “Especially with the songs on Pink, I still don’t fully understand the sound production and playing of those songs — even after playing them dozens of times, there are still new discoveries every time. How we make sound and our feelings have changed over these ten years, and naturally the ways they are seen or heard are also different from what we played at that time. “We don’t try to just replicate what we recorded, but instead we create shows with the audience, always being aware of how the songs want to be in the atmosphere each time. We face every stage with the feeling of creating new songs.”
When & Where: 16 May, Manning Bar THE MUSIC • 10TH MAY 2017 • 25
Music
To Err
MASTERCHEFS
GO ROGUE Well it’s official, the MasterChef Australia hosts are a bunch of loose units. First, former MasterChef judge Marco Pierre White, who already looks like a wholly terrifying man even when he’s not cheesed off, has apparently locked horns with fellow judge Matt Preston. And not just a minor tiff. White has vowed “on his mother’s grave” to “get” Preston as revenge for comments made on the Kyle And Jackie O Show last year about White’s son and his alleged penchant for drugs and prostitutes. Meanwhile, fellow judge George Calombaris, already in hot water after it emerged he’d underpaid staff at his restaurant, Hellenic Republic, by a whopping $2.6 million, may be facing assault charges, after shoving a 19year-old at a football match, after the lad fired a few jibes at the chef about his wages scandal. We’re not sure seeing Calombaris throwing down with a teenager is anyone’s idea of a good time, but put Matt Preston and Marco Pierre White in the ring, and you better believe we’d be in the front row for that death match. Ding ding, round one!
26 • THE MUSIC • 10TH MAY 2017
Underground Lovers return with their second post-hiatus album Staring At You Staring At Me and a run of live shows. Founding member Vincent Giarrusso talks with Chris Familton about the theme of the album and harnessing the human element in machines.
A
s is their trademark, Underground Lovers have created a new album that draws from a wide range of styles - acoustic songwriter, electronica, shoegaze, psychedelia and indie rock. They marry those sounds together with seamless synchronicity but never lose their grasp on the art of songwriting. “At the end of the day, it’s about songs and songwriting and we’re really interested in the emotion of songs and how they can evoke feeling,” reflects Giarrusso. “The initial idea for this album was just a bunch of songs about Melbourne - St Kilda, Richmond, Warrandyte. As we started structuring the album, we realised it was about the things we always write about, which is male/female relationships within a chaotic and unbalanced world. Those ideas drove it. There are lots of ideas and themes that recur in our music over the years. That’s just how it works,” Giarusso reveals. “Having a few years between albums gets you thinking more and thinking deeper about what you want to do. I think that comes across on the album. It’s quite complex at
times even though we’re always striving for simplicity.” The album title refers to a world where human contact is diminishing and as well as exploring that subject lyrically, it’s also reflected sonically in their songs. “Instead of people looking and staring at each other they’re looking at screens. We tried to get that idea across in the technology we used. We all come from the school where we think that computers are dumb instruments and just tools to use and that they have to suit your needs instead of you following what they do. Whenever we use loops we try to make them as manual as possible so we are in control and it still has some human imperfection.” The realities of life, full-time jobs, having to organise six people and waiting times for German-pressed vinyl meant Staring At You Staring At Me has had a long gestation process, explains Giarrusso. “It was hard to get six people together when everyone is busy. We recorded it over six months and we didn’t know how it would turn out until the end. We pushed ourselves and found a new sort of structure for the long-play which was surprising for us. That kept it fresh.” The great story behind Underground Lovers is that after a nine-year hiatus, which Giarrusso puts down to the “twists and turns of human life” and describes personally as a tough time, the band are still creatively as strong as they ever have been. “When we came back together it was brilliant. It’s just the same as it ever was which was fantastic. It was worth the wait. We’re getting a lot of young people coming to shows which is exciting. They’re saying they like our new stuff better than the old stuff which is great and surprising!”
What: Staring At You Staring At Me (Rubber) When & Where: 18 & 19 May, Leadbelly
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THE MUSIC • 10TH MAY 2017 • 27
OPINION Opinion
The Heavy Shit
Manus Island
Moderately Highbrow Visual Art Wank
W
hen I think of difficult production processes for films, Wadjda is always the first to spring And Theatre to mind. Written and directed by Haifaa alMansour, it is the first feature film shot entirely in Saudi Foyers With Arabia, and the first feature-length film to be made by a female Saudi director. All this, of course, not without its Dave Drayton complications: being unable to publicly mix with the men in her crew, al-Mansour directed many of the exterior shots in the film via walkie-talkie while hidden in the back of a van. This clandestine approach has something in common with that of Behrouz Boochani, a Kurdish journalist who has been detained on Manus Island since fleeing Iran in 2013. Using an iPhone sent by an Australian friend, Boochani shot and shared 30-second clips (all the internet there could manage) via WhatsApp to his collaborator, Dutch-Iranian filmmaker Arash Kamali Sarvestani. The final film is titled Chauka, Please Tell Us The Time, and totals 88 minutes in length. A trailer for the film can be viewed now on YouTube, the two minutes of footage a wordless montage of bars, locks, sterile lights and flashing lights. There are unconfirmed suggestions that the film will have an Australian screening this year.
OG F l ava s
Mary J Blige
Urban And R&B News With Cyclone
I
n the ‘90s Mary J Blige and Faith Evans were cast as R&B rivals. Guided by Sean ‘Puff Daddy’ Combs, Blige, always dramatically confessional, was crowned the Queen Of Hip Hop Soul. Combs then discovered the quiet storm that was Evans, signing her to his fledgling Bad Boy Entertainment. Today she’s invariably identified as the widow of The Notorious BIG (aka Christopher Wallace) - the New York rapper slain in 1997
28 • THE MUSIC • 10TH MAY 2017
Mike Portnoy. Pic: Robert Smith
amid hip hop’s bicoastal war. In 2017, both divas are making comebacks. Latterly, Blige has challenged those who would typecast her as ‘R&B/soul’ (in 1999 she duetted with George Michael on a pop cover of Stevie Wonder’s As). She boldly collaborated with UK producers Disclosure on 2014’s The London Sessions (TLS). However, the singer returns to traditional hip hop soul on Strength Of A Woman. In the throes of an acrimonious divorce from husband/manager Martin ‘Kendu’ Isaacs, Blige expresses pain, anger and bitterness (the otherwise jazzy Set Me Free is full-on). But, ultimately, she extols resilience. The marquee guest, Kanye West raps on the affirmative opener (and current single) Love Yourself - produced by the lesser-known DJ Camper, with distinctive sampled horns. The angular Telling The Truth, courtesy of Canadian deep houser Kaytranada, could be a TLS outtake. Meanwhile, Evans has taken inspiration from Natalie Cole’s Unforgettable - that virtual duet with Nat King Cole - for The King & I. The narrative-driven project repurposes BIG recordings both recognisable and “unheard”. Additional vocalists include West Coast veteran Snoop Dogg. Most surprisingly, Lil’ Kim, Wallace’s mistress (and Evans’ real ‘nemesis’), blesses Lovin You For Life.
OPINION Opinion
Metal And
T
hank you to all who Hard Rock With helped kick off the Heavy Metal Chris Maric Truants donation page in style. Just over a week since we launched and it’s at 15% of our target which is most excellent! There’s a long way to go though and we’re both training practically every day to get our arses in gear, literally, so any help is mega appreciated. That number again, justgiving. com/australiantruants Prepping to spend a month on the other side of the planet takes a lot of focus, so not much of mine has been spent monitoring the metal world on a large scale lately and finding something to fill these words this week took a bit of figuring out. I could crap on like Paul Foot, the UK comedian I saw at the Enmore the other week. He spent his five-minute slot reminding you how much of his time he has just spent telling you how much time he has spent telling you. He kept it up for the full five minutes and it was hilarious! But... Drum fans rejoice! A couple of weeks ago it was announced that legendary Australian drummer (based out of LA forever though) Virgil Donati, and Austrian powerhouse Thomas Lang were teaming up for a run of dates for DW Drums called the DW TV tour. Virgil has been pretty much a household name in Australian musician circles for over 30 years and together they will be a main drawcard at the Sydney Drum & Percussion Show at the end of May, with their own shows in every other capital city the week following. Expect a lot of technical mastery that will make you cry into your snare. Adding to the paradiddle mania, it was announced last week that ex-Dream Theater drum machine, Mike Portnoy will be here in November with his Twelve-Step Suite tour. Something that is only happening in a very select few countries and any mega DT fans would know all about! Mike’s band features members of Haken and The Neal Morse Band so you know it’s going to be top shelf all ‘round. Before either of those awesome events, however, Devin Townsend’s incredible engine driver Ryan Van Poederooyen, better known as RVP, will be hosting his very special Health, Body and Mind seminars the day of each Devin Townsend Project show in every city on the tour. These seminars will be FREE and I highly recommend booking
a spot. Ryan’s enthusiasm and passion for life are beyond infectious! And to appease the guitarists out there, no doubt you’ve noticed the talent coming out of our country lately has been world class. Instrumental prog artists are leading the way with Plini out in front. Coming up right behind him though are two incredible players who both recently released cool music videos. Melbourne-based I Built The Sky filmed one in front of the Hollywood sign when main man Ro was over there earlier in the year check out Radiatus online - and Sydneybased shredder, James Norbert Ivanyi, put out a mesmerising video for the track Pray Darkly. It’s shot in 4K and predominately features him whizzing around on the fretboard while a very ‘70s proggy motif plays on around him. Very cool stuff! For bass players, well, I have fuck all for you. Sorry! Well, actually I just saw a pic of Darth Vader holding a bass and it’s May The Fourth as I write this. There you go!
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THE MUSIC • 10TH MAY 2017 • 29
Album / E Album/EP Reviews
Clowns
Album OF THE Week
Lucid Again
Poison City Records
★★★★½
Melbourne punks Clowns always deliver a sonic punch to the face. Whether it’s their chaotic live shows or potent albums, one always feels bruised and battered after a run-in with these, uh, clowns. That short, fast, rampant sound has felt like a steady onslaught across the five-piece’s previous two releases, and their latest Lucid Again is no different. But there’s a heck of a lot more going on here - a psychedelic bent, some straight singing from shouty frontman Stevie Williams - and it works, making for an interesting listen and opens the door that little bit wider to newcomers. New listeners can lean in to the opening title track - Williams’ gentle croon acting as a guide through twangy guitars - before the band pulls shirts over heads and delivers a punch to the guts with tracks like 15 Minutes Of Infamy and punchy single Dropped My Brain, solid flag bearers of Clowns’ sound. But Like A Knife At A Gunfight, Pickle and Noise In The Night delve back into swirling psychedelic guitars in between rampant riffs. Even Destroy The Evidence and closer Not Coping, both brutal bangers, open things up with a steady pace for motifs and breakdowns to shine. It’s this yin and yang approach that makes Lucid Again Clowns’ best to date. Carley Hall
The Pinheads
Girlpool
The Pinheads
Powerplant
Farmer & The Owl
Anti
★★★★
★★★★
The Pinheads are a rough mixture of punk rock mash - in the best possible way. Opener Second Coming is more a wall of loud jangle than anything else - but damn it’s fun. An older school pseudo surfer vibe takes over for Fight Or Flight, complete with the type of pop sensibility that Iggy himself would approve of. They take this trip a little further again with a supersonic high-pitched chorus in Wildfire, almost early B-52s in terms of its schlocky sci-fi-ness. The pace drops a bit for Slave, and after a slow intro Tough Luck takes us back to age 11 again. I Wanna Know is a bit simpler in its approach but still catchy (especially with descending backing vox), while Mudman provides a rare organicish moment - almost folkie and echoey - but a welcome break of pace. Mudman allows for a
The biggest difference between Powerplant and Girlpool’s previous folk punk releases is the addition of drums into the mix. Girlpool’s sound has always been somewhat characterised by its minimalist combination of guitar, bass and raw, exposed vocals, but the addition of drums enhances the slow burn of their climactic songs which takes the album to a whole new level. Lead single 123 does a great job of setting the tone of the album - it’s rich, dynamic and builds in texture like most of the tracks on Powerplant. Harmony Tividad and Cleo Tucker like to contrast softer moments of intricate guitar lines and their sweet, vulnerable voices singing in harmony with heavier moments of distortion, dissonance and crashing drums - both of these extremes
30 • THE MUSIC • 10TH MAY 2017
moment to stop and reflect, as well as being a solid tune that is still quite dark. The rock returns with Gimme Back, this time The Stones meets best of Aussie indie part Custard, part You Am I, part early Mick and the boys. To end, Spooky Ballad does what it says on the tin and is delivered with country guitar and echoey vocals, peppering the main protagonist’s heartache. Nicely done. Liz Giuffre
demonstrated on Corner Store and Soup. The Los Angeles duo showcase their songwriting talents and manage to match the quality of the instrumentals and vocal deliverance with both witty and emotive lyrics on songs like Sleepless, Your Heart and driving album closer Static Somewhere. Noteworthy are the lyrics on the deeply poetic It Gets More Blue - “You know it don’t say much/The things that he did/You’ll build him a tower/ He’ll burn you a bridge”. With honest lyrics and memorable melodies, Powerplant is undoubtedly Girlpool’s best release yet. Madelyn Tait
EP Reviews Album/EP Reviews
Dead Letter Circus
Voyager
The Endless Mile
Independent
Ghost Mile
Ten To Two Records
Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy
LA Takedown
Best Troubador
Domino
II
Spunk
★★★
★★★★
★★★½
★★★½
Reworking heavy material into something a bit softer is an itch a lot of bands feel the need to scratch, and Brisbane lads Dead Letter Circus haven’t denied themselves that pleasure. The Endless Mile takes tracks from more than a decade’s worth of EPs and albums and tweaks their progressive bent into some unusual territory. The fast and furious pace of The Mile, The Space On The Wall and Lines transitions well into toe tappers instead of head boppers, but the reimaginings don’t always fly Disconnect And Apply and Are We Closer flirt with the addition of keys like a drunk Liberace, turning Here We Divide into some kind of calypso-funk beast.
Voyager’s versatility and personality have endeared the Perth act to a loyal audience which readily contributed to this album’s crowdfunding campaign. The faithful who pledged their hard-earned have been duly rewarded with polished melodic progressive metal gems. Perhaps a more ambient grower in parts than recent releases, there’s nonetheless earworms littered throughout. Playing with collective hearts and heads, their grooves pack a hefty punch, juxtaposed by lush synths and stirring solos. Danny Estrin’s engaging vocals afford To The Riverside, This Gentle Earth (1981) and the title track greater resonance. Sparingly utilised death grunts inject welcome counterpoints. Cerebral and emotionally striking, Ghost Mile is everything quality modern prog should be.
He’s sold truckloads of records in the US, earned the respect of Johnny Cash et al, but Merle Haggard hasn’t really registered on hipsters’ radar - until now. Self-confessed mega-fan Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy performs Best Troubador, his tribute album to Haggard, with tender passion and diligence, as every conceivable nuance of each song is explored. Unashamedly and unrepentantly country, there’s a familiar warmth throughout, particularly on the likes of I Always Get Lucky With You, a delicate ode that’s made all the more touching by Oldham’s sweeter than peaches croon.
Not quite the movie from ‘89 about tough cops and bank robbers, LA Takedown is Aaron M Olson’s instrumental project. If we were living in the ‘80s, LA Takedown would’ve been writing theme songs for shows like Knight Rider, MacGyver and Miami Vice. Widely described as Baywatch Krautrock, Olson and his band work the ‘80s cheesy theme song formula. While sounding like rare vintage nuggets of library music, it’s the element of kosmische in the mix that adds texture and steers this album away from being pure cheese. A playful safari on the moon with distinctly small screen cinematographic aspirations.
Carley Hall
More Reviews Online Dean Lewis Same Kind Of Different
Christopher H James
Guido Farnell
Brendan Crabb theMusic.com.au
Paul Weller A Kind Revolution
Listen to our This Week’s Releases playlist on
THE MUSIC • 10TH MAY 2017 • 31
Live Re Live Reviews
Tim Rogers @ St Stephens Church. Pic: Peter Dovgan
Tim Rogers, Steve Smyth St Stephens Church 5 May
Tim Rogers @ St Stephens Church. Pic: Peter Dovgan
Dan Sultan @ Verbrugghen Hall. Pic: Munya Chawora
Dan Sultan @ Verbrugghen Hall. Pic: Munya Chawora
Polish Club @ Oxford Art Factory. Pic: Peter Dovgan
Polish Club @ Oxford Art Factory. Pic: Peter Dovgan
32 • THE MUSIC • 10TH MAY 2017
So, Tim Rogers. In a church. Besides a slight surprise that he didn’t actually burst into flame when entering the building, sacred-to-profane topics covered in the night’s service included dining with Patti Smith, winning 13 ARIAs, Philip Glass actually ordering pancakes for breakfast, alternative names for penises, philosopher Blaise Pascal’s musing that “all of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone”, Josh Pyke’s inherent politeness, and that ‘cabaret’ probably doesn’t mean what you think it does. Oh, and some singing. Opening musical sermon went to Steve Smyth. His beard and croon-to-howl remain intact as — backed by a three-piece brass section and upright bassist — he offered new songs like the back-arching Yours Sincerely, before going the full Tom Waits growl for “...just another Friday night...” and that still-almost-hymnal longing of Written Or Spoken echoed up into the rafters. Ostensibly, “your old Uncle Timmy” is here to introduce his new solo work, An Actor Repairs — but its strolling muses on mortality and the sometimes troubled soul of an artist are only part of what’s offered. And he’s not alone up there — keyboardist Clio Renner and electric fiddler Xani Kolac are splendid counterpoints and accomplices as Rogers throws shapes and bon mots with his usual expansive style, and they’re given their own moments to be centre of attention. Thus, proceedings are opened with Bob Dylan’s conversational If You See Her,
Say Hello as some snug-fitting covers punctuate Rogers’ lessfamiliar new tunes — although the waking-on-someone’s-lawn One More Late Night Phone Conversation seems destined to join his best tales of crumbling relationships. After being both sides of that call, he and Renner become puzzled protagonists for Loudon Wainwright’s
Rogers throws shapes and bon mots with his usual expansive style. IDTTYWLM (I Don’t Think That Your Wife Likes Me). His take on Randy Newman’s I Think It’s Going To Rain Today is full of all the melancholy resignation it requires, and softly collides with the new record’s The Umpire’s Son, with his half-hearted disclaimer that it’s “...not at all autobiographical”. Yeah, right. There’s more of the familiar as the evening winds up: You’ve Been So Good To Me So Far is as breezy and self-convincing as ever, Heavy Heart draws the sighs of recognition, and Jaimme’s Got A Gal 20-plus years on is coloured by the affection for the big brother who “...got life right”. Yes, Tim, you’re a beautiful mess — that’s part of why we love you. Ross Clelland
Dan Sultan Sydney Conservatorium Of Music 6 May Dan Sultan really got under our skin last night. Performing solo in the prestigious Sydney Conservatorium Of Music’s Verbrugghen Hall, as part of
eviews Live Reviews
An incredibly powerful voice, great looks and good chat.
his sold-out Pop-Up tour, the ARIA Award-winning singersongwriter showed us why he’s got the whole package: an incredibly powerful voice, great looks and good chat. Most people are used to hearing his signature electric roots-rock sound charged by a full band, but tonight he insisted it was “not a real concert” and so we got something very intimate and unconventional. The first half of the evening was spent premiering a stripped-back version of his upcoming fourth album on a grand piano, and chatting the audience through his writing process. Sultan claims he wrote two records: one that he is road testing now, which features the soulful poeticism of lead single Magnetic, and one which is supposedly “shit”. If we weren’t listening intently to how the forthcoming and unadvertised album came to be, we were cracking up at his selfdeprecating one-liners. The Melbourne-based artist’s raw, compelling voice infused the room, amplified by the exceptional acoustics of the Verbrugghen Hall. New material roused many in the seated crowd to applause, the approval for which he was very grateful. For the second half of the set, Sultan returned to the stage and plugged in his worshipped guitar to play us some old favourites from the Blackbird and Get Out While You Can albums. It was clear the Conservatorium was filled with fans who had followed his journey from the beginning,
with fierce gospel rock tracks like Under Your Skin, Kimberley Calling and The Same Man striking a chord even without all the usual bells and whistles. “No refunds” the young frontman kept muttering comedically between songs. Don’t worry Dan, something tells us nobody wanted one after a performance like that. Shannon Andreucci
Polish Club, Maddy Jane Oxford Art Factory 5 May Tasmanian Maddy Jane drew a crowd tonight. As much as she can hold her own when flying solo, it was nice to see her with a band in tow. Her uplifting single Drown It Out resonated throughout the venue as the crowd basked in her warm vocals and down to earth stage persona.
The speed and brashness at which Polish Club plays sometimes make you forget how soulful the twopiece can be.
abandon (but hey, this was rock’n’roll baby). My House got the crowd rowdy up the front and got hips shaking towards the back and sides, which was ramped up when singer/guitarist Novak encouraged us to go crazy for the camera so they could get their music played in America and make rock’n’roll look cool again. The set seemed to be flying by, but Novak put that down to John-Henry Pajak playing songs at three times the speed they were recorded - evident by the sweat dripping off him at the end of each track. The speed and brashness with which Polish Club plays sometimes make you forget how soulful the two-piece can be, but that skill was flaunted with a stripped-back rendition of Divided and a sultry cover of Ginuwine’s Pony. Everyone in the room was waiting for Beeping and If It Was Me made even the most reticent dance. Bluesy Able closed the set in an abrupt fashion, but, not to leave us hanging, Pajak’s dad came out and played The Chicken Dance on accordion before Polish Club returned to round out their blistering set with their Never Be Like You Like A Version.
More Reviews Online theMusic.com.au/ music/live-reviews
Groovin The Moo @ University Of Canberra Oliver Tank @ UniBar Wollongong The Tall Grass @ Leadbelly
Melissa Borg
If you’ve been keeping an eye on Polish Club’s Facebook as of late, you’d have noticed a few clips featuring their manager Lucian Romanowski hanging about. Well tonight, Polish Club got a very special introduction by Romanowski before bounding on stage to blow out our eardrums with reckless THE MUSIC • 10TH MAY 2017 • 33
Comedy Reviews Comedy Reviews
Mae Martin: Dope Enmore Theatre, Finished
★★★½ Canadian-born, UK-based comedian Mae Martin became an addict in her teens, first to marijuana, then to cocaine and heroin. She eventually became a dealer; her parents kicked her out when they discovered this. It took a trip to rehab to pull her out of a tragic spiral of substance abuse and bring her back to sobriety. If this sounds like no laughing matter, Martin
begs to differ. In her hands, it’s a remarkably uplifting confessional, delivered with oodles of charm. In Dope, she muses on her personal predisposition for addiction, but this isn’t merely of the narcotic variety. As a proto-queer pre-teen, Martin was Mae Martin powerfully obsessed with Bette Midler - an infatuation she didn’t realise at the time was largely sexual. Stand-up comedy became another obsession, first stepping foot into the comedy clubs that would become her home away from home at the tender age of 11. Martin’s skill is in taking potentially bleak material and passing it through a quirky, silly, pepped up filter. She likens her addictive personality to a prawn living in her brain, who slumbers until the tell-tale signs of delicious dopamine - the brain’s pleasure hormone - heralds the arrival of a fresh craving. It’s cute, illustrative analogies like this, delivered with an immediately endearing geeky charisma, that keep Martin’s chosen subject matter so buoyant and engaging. This biopic hour of stand-up is commendably frank, and in fact, Martin finds herself apologising to the audiences periodically, promising that her set isn’t all doom and gloom. Ironically, however, there’s a nagging sense that Martin is holding back or has at least edited her experiences to make them more palatable. Her demeanour is so bright and upbeat, her patter so chatty and at ease, it’s hard to imagine Martin suffering the kinds of sordid scenarios she cites. But ultimately, this is a damn funny show, and any diminished sense of genuine gravitas is more than made up for by the bullseye-hitting punchlines. It may be a show with something of a split personality, but Martin draws the threads of her anecdotes together by the close of Dope, with one final parting Bette Midler fantasy, of course. Maxim Boon
Jimeoin
Jimeoin: Renonsense Man Enmore Theatre, Finished
★★★★ Jimeoin has one of those faces that just makes you want to laugh. Well, to be more accurate, he tells the packed Enmore Theatre crowd that he has ten go-to stupid faces, complete with accompanying demonstrations. It’s typical of the gentle humour occasionally straying into something a little more risque with a knowing cheeky grin - that has attracted audiences for near on thirty years. Self-deprecation has always been a big part of Jimeoin’s comedy and there are plenty of examples here. “Some of these jokes aren’t great but you’ve got to do something,” he remarks early on. He has a brief bit of audience interaction, before admitting he isn’t very good at it. He’s also keen to point out that while many comedians have some kind of clever message in their shows, his is just a load of nonsense. That may well be the case, but his animated observations of everyday things from crossing a road to the different ways people laugh, perfectly blend recognition with ridiculousness. While apparently delving into a joke ideas journal he keeps (each subsequently rated with a tick or a cross) he goes into a brief routine titled Realistic Porn. With gems like midforeplay softly whispering in your lover’s ear, “Did you put the bins out”, it’s pure gold. Having explained that, he went straight into the encore without exiting the stage for fear that everyone would be leaving when he got back. Jimeoin closes with a few very short songs on acoustic guitar. It reveals a slightly different edge to his comedy which he delivers so naturally, the hour seems like minutes. As the crowd eventually started to disperse with the house lights on, Jimeoin did indeed wander back on stage - as if we wouldn’t all have stayed for another hour given half a chance. Paul Smith
34 • THE MUSIC • 10TH MAY 2017
Comedy Reviews Comedy Reviews
Carlo Ritchie: Cooking For No One
Factory Theatre, Finished
★★★
Tom Ballard
Tom Ballard: Problematic Giant Dwarf, Finished
★★★ Following an almost religious entrance onto the stage, good ol’ Tom Ballard wastes no time diving head first into the wacky and wonderfully complex world of political correctness. Frequently referring to the “leftie urban privileged elite bubble” he’s resided in since birth, filled with smashed avo and varying forms of privilege, he’s made one thing quite clear - he’s angry. He’s angry with the current state of politics in the US and Australia, he’s angry with One Nation and he’s particularly angry with One Nation politician and “dud root” David Oldfield. Ballard’s show feels a little like an improvised rant. He makes a note of regularly engaging with the audience and bouncing off their energy, but spends just a bit too much time waiting on feedback before any progression. Either that or it’s a formula for making up time. His insults are still remarkably scathing and near second to none, repeatedly alluding to his distaste for David Oldfield and the difficulties faced in working with him on SBS show First Contact. Freedom of speech, common decency, the prevalence of racism in Australia and the nuances of political correctness in today’s day and age - Tom Ballard delivers just the kind of critical, sarcastic, self-deprecating comedy show you’d expect from, well, Tom Ballard.
Carlo Ritchie from Sydney’s celebrated The Bear Pack is back, and boy does he have some stories to tell. With a bit of awkward preamble, he launches into a series of tales strange enough to have been lifted straight out of the Twilight Zone. “Launches” isn’t quite the right word - Carlo’s storytelling style is languid and gradual, not so much laying out his subject matter as sidling gently up
Carlo Ritchie
to it. He approaches topics at right angles, bringing the audience along on a road trip beset by frequent rest stops as he reaches jarringly for a drink mid-climax. Cooking for No One isn’t the comedy of punchlines - indeed, there aren’t really any to speak of. Instead, the humour resides in the compelling stories Carlo tells - including a tale of herding sheep for a British ex-SAS officer in the Arctic Circle after hitchhiking his way through Finland - and his absurd, over-the-top dramatic style. It plays out more like a series of memoirs that push the limits of credulity than anything else, each merging somewhat clumsily into the next. The highlights are Carlo’s character impersonations. He shines in conversations with himself, impressions of the characters he meets along the way, and most of all in his dramatic recounting of Titanic fourth officer Boxhall’s thoughts on the night of the great disaster with which he closes the show. If you like weird stories told strangely, Carlo Ritchie’s Cooking for No One is a good show to check out. Sam Baran
Tanya Bonnie Rae
THE MUSIC • 10TH MAY 2017 • 35
Comedy / G The Guide
Wed 10
Ocean Grove
Brant Bjork: Bald Faced Stag, Leichhardt Ember & A-Tonez + Rui + Unity Floors: Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach Joseph Tawadros: Camelot Lounge, Marrickville
Cactus Channel
The Music Presents Jeff Lang: 13 May Hotel Gearin Katoomba; 18 May Lizottes Newcastle; 19 May Hardys Bay Club; 27 May The Basement; 16 Jun State Theatre Canberra
Akmal: Canberra Theatre Centre (The Courtyard Studio), Canberra The Darkness: Enmore Theatre, Newtown Sydney Comedy Festival - Best of the Fest: Factory Theatre, Marrickville Dead: Hamilton Station Hotel, Islington Troy Cassar-Daley + Whistle Dixie: Lizottes Newcastle, Lambton
The Cactus Channel & Sam Cromack: 26 May Hudson Ballroom
Entombed A.D. + Daemon Pyre + The Plague: Manning Bar, Camperdown
Mick Thomas & Roving Commisission: 2 Jun Leadbelly; 3 Jun Lizottes Newcastle
Architects + Ocean Grove: Metro Theatre, Sydney
Horrorshow: 16 Jun ANU Bar Canberra; 17 Jun Enmore Theatre; 7 Jul University Of Wollongong; 8 Jul Bar On The Hill, Newcastle
John Chesher + Kenneth D’Aran + Paul McGowan + Gavin Fitzgerald + Pete Scully: Old Fitzroy Hotel, Woolloomooloo
Ocean Sickness Following their killer debut album The Rhapsody Tapes, Melbourne hardcore kids Ocean Grove are blowing up the scene with no signs of stopping. Catch them supporting the legendary Architects this Wednesday at Metro Theatre.
Mark Travers: Orient Hotel, The Rocks
Orsome Welles: 30 Jun Factory Theatre; 1 Jul The Basement
K Flay + Lupa J: Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst
Nuclear Family: Uni Bar, Wollongong
Moaning Lisa + Vacations + Paper Thin: Hamilton Station Hotel, Islington
Luca Brasi: 1 Jul Metro Theatre
Thu 11
Bello Winter Music Festival: 6 - 9 Jul Bellingen
Songs On Stage feat. Merilyn Steele + Our Friend Barbra + Russell Neal + Chris Brookes + more: Paddington RSL, Paddington
Zack Martin + Kenneth D’Aran + Paul B Mynor + David Levell: Harbour View Hotel, Dawes Point
Two Door Cinema Club: 21 Jul Hodern Pavilion
Green Day + The Interrupters: Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney Olympic Park
Ruby May: Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst
The Lemon Twigs: 22 Jul Oxford Art Factory
SMLXL + Papaya Tree + Dave: Rad Bar, Wollongong
Naomi Crain + James Donnelly: Camelot Lounge (Django Bar), Marrickville Julia Morris: Canberra Theatre Centre, Canberra
Sigur Ros: 25 Jul Hodern Pavilion At The Drive In: 29 Sep Hodern Pavilion
The Animals + Adam Gorecki: Brass Monkey, Cronulla
King Tide
Vintage & Custom Drum Expo: 8 Oct Factory Theatre
Akmal: Canberra Theatre Centre (The Courtyard Studio), Canberra
Band of Frequencies: Hotel Steyne (Moonshine), Manly The Animals: Katoomba RSL, Katoomba SMLXL + Soul Messengers + Anatomy Class: Leadbelly (formerly
Apollo Hooks
Plastic Jack: Captain Cook Hotel, Paddington Musos Club Jam: Carousel Inn, Rooty Hill Ross Wilson: Centro CBD, Wollongong Katie Noonan + Karin Schaupp: City Recital Hall, Sydney
The Tides Are High Reggae pros King Tide are making a triumphant return to Hotel Steyne. They’ve also just released a video for their tune Coolites (Water Walls R Calling), so take a squiz at that while you impatiently wait for their gig on Sunday.
Rose Matafeo: Enmore Theatre, Newtown Sydney Comedy Festival presents Dane Baptiste: Enmore Theatre, Newtown Sydney Comedy Festival presents Sarah Callaghan: Factory Theatre, Marrickville Sydney Comedy Festival - Best of the Fest: Factory Theatre, Marrickville Sydney Comedy Festival presents Mitch Garling: Factory Theatre (The Container), Marrickville Elysian Fields: Foundry 616, Sydney
Pajama Men: State Theatre, Sydney The Animals: The Basement, Sydney DJ Ruby Riot: The Stag & Hunter Hotel, Mayfield Against Me! + Camp Cope + The 36 • THE MUSIC • 10TH MAY 2017
Hook Me Up Clear your Friday night to witness the rock powerhouse Apollo Hooks and a whole heap of brutally rocking guests smash down the doors of Valve Bar. Bring in the weekend with supports including Lazarus Mode and The Culture Industry.
Society of Beggars: Frankie’s Pizza By The Slice, Sydney Underachiever + Cakewalk + Oral B + Okin Osan: Freda’s Bar & Canteen, Chippendale The Gloomchasers + PJ Orr & the Night Managers: Gasoline Pony, Marrickville
The Vanguard), Newtown Troy Cassar-Daley + Whistle Dixie: Lizottes Newcastle, Lambton Against Me! + Camp Cope + Mere
Gigs / Live The Guide
Feki
Fri 12
Dragon: Australian Hotel & Brewery, Rouse Hill
Nashville Pussy: Bald Faced Stag, Leichhardt Viagro: Bateau Bay Hotel, Bateau Bay Role Modelz: Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach
Oh Feki Yeah Coming off a whirlwind year, Brisbane electronic act Feki is going from strength to strength, adding a support slot for Snakehips to his Australian tour leg. Catch him supporting his latest single Run Away, at Metro Theatre Thursday night. Women: Manning Bar, Camperdown Larger Than Lions: Marble Bar, Sydney Snakehips + Feki + Swindail: Metro Theatre, Sydney Cover Notes Duo: Orient Hotel, The Rocks
The Radiators: Blue Cattle Dog Hotel, St Clair George Michael Relived with +Various Artists: Brass Monkey, Cronulla
Sydney Comedy Festival presents Dane Baptiste: Enmore Theatre, Newtown
Swingshift - Cold Chisel Show: Moorebank Sports Club, Hammondville
Sydney Comedy Festival presents Sarah Callaghan: Factory Theatre, Marrickville
Dan Spillane + Reckless: Orient Hotel, The Rocks
Sydney Comedy Festival - Best of the Fest: Factory Theatre, Marrickville
Jed Zarb: Oriental Hotel, Springwood
The Vampires: Foundry 616, Sydney
The Fever Pitch + Syntax Error: Oxford Art Factory (Gallery Bar), Darlinghurst
The Low Down Riders: Gasoline Pony, Marrickville
The Murlocs + The Pinheads + Rosa Maria: Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst
Frank Sultana: Headland Cafe, Valla Beach
The Holy Soul + Jacky Winter + WACO + Peter Blamey: Petersham Bowling Club, Petersham
Alex Lahey + The Football Club: Hudson Ballroom, Sydney
Billy Davis & The Good Lords: Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst Van The Man - The Australian Van Morrison Show: Bull & Bush, Baulkham Hills Funk & Soul Party with Bump City: Camelot Lounge, Marrickville The Best of CCR, Neil Young & Tom Petty with The Sicarios: Camelot Lounge (Django Bar), Marrickville Akmal: Canberra Theatre Centre (The Courtyard Studio), Canberra Slice n Dice + Sammy Boyle + Stevie Melani + Brothers Of Mayhem + Nasty + Andrew + Klaus Kaz + DJ Thrills + Frax + Hardy: Candys Apartment, Potts Point Band Of Frequencies
Onra: Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst
Shirley Crescent + The Reveries + Greyscale: Captain Cook Hotel, Paddington
Joe Terror: Oxford Art Factory (Gallery Bar), Darlinghurst
The Cassettes: Central Hotel, Shellharbour City Centre
A Song Of Wood & Foam
Porch Light Sessions with Maia Marsh + Shanteya & Jo + Happy Axe: Petersham Bowling Club, Petersham
Finn: Chisholm Tavern, Chisholm
Surf-rockers Band Of Frequencies have added another funky soundtrack to their repertoire, for historical surf documentary Men Of Wood & Foam. Get swept away by surf rock sounds when ride into Hotel Steyne’s Moonshine Bar this Thursday night.
Kiyanosh & The Syndicate + Thunder Fox + The Knots: Play Bar, Surry Hills Green Day + The Interrupters: Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney Olympic Park
The Australian Guns n Roses Show: Colonial Hotel, Werrington
Castlecomer
Lyall Moloney + Coast & Ocean: Rad Bar, Wollongong Boogie Nights: Rock Lily, Pyrmont Betty Slim: Smiths Alternative, Canberra
Angry Anderson + The Kids + Darcee Fox: The Bridge Hotel, Rozelle Stewart Says + Fire + more: The Louis (formerly Lewisham Hotel), Lewisham DJ Treble n Bass: The Newport, Newport Polish Club: The Small Ballroom, Islington Furnace & Fundamentals: The Soda Factory, Surry Hills
Ice Cream Comer When two brothers and two cousins join together to create a band, Castlecomer is the goal. Their alternative pop with a psychedelic edge is filling the walls of Selina’s Friday night with Doctor Goddard.
Charlie A’Court: The Stag & Hunter Hotel, Mayfield DJ Culture Harry + Teddy V + More Judgement + Mostwanted: Valve Bar, Ultimo Slowpoke Rodriguez + Natalie Slade: Venue 505, Surry Hills
Hits & Pieces: Pittwater RSL (Distillery), Mona Vale
Harbour + The Winter Effect + Watchmoore + Tane: Janes Wollongong, North Wollongong
El Loco Reunion Feat.+Trumpdisco + Wolfpack: Proud Mary’s, Erina
Lyall Moloney + Coast & Ocean: Knox Street Bar, Chippendale
Welcome Stranger + Stafford Sanders + Alchemy: Staves Brewery, Glebe The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus: The Basement, Belconnen
Anh Do: International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC), Sydney
How Get + Water Copy: Lacklustre HQ, O’Connor Katie Noonan + Karin Schaupp: Laycock Street Theatre, North Gosford William Crighton + Jason Walker + Magpie: Leadbelly (formerly The Vanguard), Newtown The Pigs: Lizottes Newcastle, Lambton KP: Macquarie Arms Hotel, Windsor Stephanie Lea: Manly Leagues Club (Menzies Lounge), Brookvale DJ Sam Wall: Manly Wharf Hotel, Manly
Crossroads: Coolibah Hotel, Merrylands West
The Black Dahlia Murder + The Faceless + Putrid Pile + Whoretopsy + Unravel: Manning Bar, Camperdown
Simon Kinny-Lewis Band + Nick Charles: Eastern Lounge, St Leonards
Brown Sugar: Marble Bar, Sydney
Cath & Him: Quakers Inn, Quakers Hill Polish Club + Maddy Jane + Top Lip: Rad Bar, Wollongong Next Best Thing: Ramsgate RSL, Sans Souci Ross Wilson & The Peaceniks: Revesby Workers, Revesby After Party Band: Revesby Workers (Infinity Lounge), Revesby DJ Kitsch 78 + Soul Nights: Rock Lily, Pyrmont TMG (Ted Mulry Gang): The Basement, Sydney Vortex: The Beach Hotel, Merewether Swanee: The Bridge Hotel, Rozelle Grenadiers: The Chippendale Hotel, Chippendale Songs On Stage feat. Mat Morgan + Dumaresq + Zerrin: The Gaelic THE MUSIC • 10TH MAY 2017 • 37
Comedy / G The Guide
Club (1st Floor), Surry Hills
The Dirty Earth + Arrowhead + The Dark Clouds: The Hideaway Bar, Enmore
Panthers (Evan Theatre), Penrith
Ruby May
Bird Yard Big Band: Penrith RSL (Castle Lounge), Penrith
The Stray Dogs: The Merton Hotel, Rozelle
Clever Little Secretaries: Pittwater RSL (Distillery), Mona Vale
DJ Treble n Bass + DJ Soup + DJ Somatik + Max Marvel: The Newport, Newport
Back To The 90s feat. DJ Juzzlikedat + Caratgold + DJ Benny Hinn: Play Bar, Surry Hills
Pals + Marlon Bando + Spaceboys: The Phoenix, Canberra
They Call Me Bruce: Plough & Harrow, Camden
Josh Rawiri: The Stag & Hunter Hotel, Mayfield
Feki + Kuren: Proud Mary’s, Erina
Last Stand - Chisel Barnes Show: Toongabbie Sports & Bowling Club, Toongabbie
Grenadiers: Rad Bar, Wollongong The Groove Collective: Revesby Workers (Infinity Lounge), Revesby
Slim Jim Phantom Trio: Towradgi Beach Hotel (Waves), Towradgi
The Headliners: Riverstone Memorial Club, Riverstone
Star Wars Theme with The Villians: Towradgi Beach Hotel (Sports Bar), Towradgi
It’s Gonna Be May
Apollo Hooks + Lazarus Mode + The Culture Industry + Amber Architect + Valen: Valve Bar, Ultimo
The soft and sweet vocal stylings of Ruby May are being heard this week. Get swept up in her dream-like melodies and captivating lyrics this Thursday night at Brighton Up Bar.
Back To Basics feat. DJ I Sight + Coco: Valve Bar, Ultimo Society of Beggars + Dead Brian: Vic On The Park, Marrickville
(The Courtyard Studio), Canberra Bonka + Highjackerz + Jess Ne Ville + Luke La Beat + Harper + George Orb + LTB + Totem + Ransakd + Steezlo + Topdeck + Seeing Double + Jaiden Vella + Gweilo: Candys Apartment, Potts Point Heavy Lids + Mini Skirt + I Oh You DJs + The Delta Riggs: Captain Cook Hotel, Paddington Solardo: Chinese Laundry, Sydney
Lupa J
Lupa Troopa In support of Californian K Flay on her Groovin The Moo sideshows, Lupa J is bringing her diverse and invigorating live show to Oxford Art Factory this Wednesday.
Sat 13
ACO Soloists: City Recital Hall, Sydney
Darren Johnstone: Smithfield RSL (Imogen’s Lounge), Smithfield
All Time Low + Neck Deep + The Maine: Hordern Pavilion, Moore Park
William Crighton: Smiths Alternative, Canberra
Jeff Lang: Hotel Gearin, Katoomba
Black Label: South Hurstville RSL, South Hurstville
Creo: Hotel Steyne (Moonshine), Manly Tired Lion + Tiny Little Houses: Hudson Ballroom, Sydney Katie Noonan + Karin Schaupp: Illawarra Performing Arts Centre (IPAC), Wollongong The Rhythm Hunters + Sonori: Katoomba Leura Community Centre, Katoomba
Sound Benefit: Tour De Cure Fundraiser: The Basement, Sydney Multiply+A lithiA + From Love To Violence + Tundrel + Snuff + The Weight Of Silence + Harbour + Grand Duke + Massive Sherlock + Outlive + Betty Alto + Kitten Hurricane + Cognisant + Lions of the Underground: The Basement, Belconnen
KP: Kellys on King, Newtown
Prestige Inc.: The Beach Hotel, Merewether
Lyall Moloney: Lass O’Gowrie, Wickham
La Vif + DJ Urby: The Bearded Tit, Redfern
Sydney Comedy Festival presents Dane Baptiste: Enmore Theatre, Newtown
The Pigs: Leadbelly (formerly The Vanguard), Newtown
Josh Butler: The Burdekin, Darlinghurst
Amber Lawrence + Catherine Britt + Fanny Lumsden: Ettalong Diggers, Ettalong Beach
Slim Jim Phantom Trio + The Flattrackers: Lizottes Newcastle, Lambton
Sydney Comedy Festival presents Sarah Callaghan: Factory Theatre, Marrickville
DJ Graham M + DJ Husky: Manly Wharf Hotel, Manly
Sydney Comedy Festival - Best of the Fest: Factory Theatre, Marrickville
Soul Empire: Marble Bar, Sydney
DJ Douggpound: Factory Theatre, Marrickville Sydney Comedy Festival presents Mitch Garling: Factory Theatre (The Container), Marrickville
Sydney Comedy Club feat. Sean Woodland + Simon Kennedy: Big Top Sydney, Milsons Point
Lime & Steel + Datson & Hughes + Jasmine Beth: Fairlight Folk Acoustic Lounge, Fairlight
Mental As Anything: Brass Monkey, Cronulla
Bernie Hayes: Ferncourt Public Scool, Marrickville
Brendan Moon + Georgia Mulligan + Zane Thompson: Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst
Gregg Arthur: Foundry 616, Sydney
Whooshka: Bull & Bush, Baulkham Hills
Afternoon Show with Paul Hayward & his Sidekicks: Gasoline Pony, Marrickville
Monsieur Camembert: Camelot Lounge, Marrickville
George Washing Machine: Gasoline Pony, Marrickville
Anh Do: Canberra Theatre Centre, Canberra
Apollo Hooks + Lazarus Mode + Midnight Movers: Hamilton Station Hotel, Islington
38 • THE MUSIC • 10TH MAY 2017
DJ Pranesh Gurung: Rooty Hill RSL (Outdoor Western Terrace), Rooty Hill
ABBAsolutely Fabulous feat. Rhonda Burchmore + Lara Mulcahy: Dapto Leagues Club (Auditorium), Dapto
Pegazus + Temtris: Bald Faced Stag, Leichhardt
Akmal: Canberra Theatre Centre
Jessie James + K-GrooveNow: Rock Lily, Pyrmont
The Pat Powell Band: The Merton Hotel, Rozelle
SASY: Max Watt’s, Moore Park Living Colour + Massive: Metro Theatre, Sydney Johnny Osbourne: Metro Theatre (The Lair), Sydney Songs On Stage feat. Russell Neal + Paul McGowan: Orange Grove Hotel, Lilyfield
SMLXL
Jimmy Bear + Elevate: Orient Hotel, The Rocks
Link Up
Atrium+DJ Podgee: Orient Hotel, The Rocks
Sydney indie rockers SMLXL have rebounded from tragedy for The Links EP this Thursday night. With dinner and show packages available, settle in for a cosy night of dinner and dancing at Leadbelly.
Billy Fox + San Mei: Oxford Art Factory (Gallery Bar), Darlinghurst Insert Coin(s)- Miami Nights: Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst Cosmo Jones + The Mancusian Circus: Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst TMG (Ted Mulry Gang): Penrith
Gigs / Live The Guide
Sports Club, Dundas
Unity Floors
Sydney Comedy Festival presents Dane Baptiste: Enmore Theatre, Newtown Sydney Comedy Festival - Best of the Fest: Factory Theatre, Marrickville Sydney Comedy Festival presents Mitch Garling: Factory Theatre (The Container), Marrickville The Frankner + The Mexican Age + Nerdlinger + The Great Awake: Frankie’s Pizza By The Slice, Sydney Roy Payne: Gasoline Pony, Marrickville DJ Somatik + DJ Oh?: Manly Wharf Hotel, Manly
Floored A little over six months after their latest album release, Life Admin, Unity Floors are venturing to Beach Road Hotel’s Sosueme to stoke the fire. They’ll be out supporting Ember & A-Tonez this Wednesday. Toe To Toe: Woy Woy Leagues, Woy Woy
Sun 14
Society of Beggars + Capes + Signs & Symbols + House of Strangers: The Phoenix, Canberra
Hollerin’ Sluggers: Avalon Beach Bowling Club, Avalon
DJ Maseo: The Soda Factory, Surry Hills Joe Terror: The Stag & Hunter Hotel, Mayfield
Slim Jim Phantom Trio + That Red Head: Bald Faced Stag, Leichhardt Darren Johnstone: Bathurst Panthers, Bathurst
S.H.E: Valve Bar, Ultimo Secret Obsession- PsyTranceTwilight-Forest with +Various Artists: Valve Bar (Level One), Ultimo
The Knots + Kiyanosh + Yetti Calzone: Brass Monkey, Cronulla Kris McIntyre: Bull & Bush, Baulkham Hills
How Get + Clean Shirt: Vic On The Park, Marrickville
Peking Duk + Ivan Ooze + Mallrat: Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle West
Jed Zarb: Wallacia Hotel, Wallacia
Leonard Cohen Koans with +Ali & The Thieves: Camelot Lounge, Marrickville
Cath & Him: Wentworthville Leagues Club (Wenty Lounge), Wentworthville Ross Wilson & The Peaceniks: Wests, New Lambton
Akmal: Canberra Theatre Centre (The Courtyard Studio), Canberra Debbie Does Salad: Dundas
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Rack City Rackett are bringing their experimental sound to the Enmore Theatre on Wednesday. The Sydneysiders are sure to put their own stamp on the night, before headliners The Darkness take the stage.
Mon 15 William Crighton
DJ Mike Dotch + Soul Nights + DJ Phil Toke + Miranda Carey: The Newport, Newport
Rackett
Songs On Stage feat. Russell Neal + Kenneth D’Aran + Chris Brookes + Paul Ward: Kellys on King, Newtown
For Crigh-ing Out Loud
Musos Club Jam: Orange Grove Hotel, Lilyfield
Hope Recovery is the latest release from singersongwriter William Crighton and it’s a super limited edition vinyl. Be quick and grab yourself an exclusive copy of the openly raw and honest sounds when he delivers them to Leadbelly this Friday.
Adam Gorecki: Orient Hotel, The Rocks Hope Street: Smiths Alternative, Canberra The Bootleg Sessions feat. Helena Pop + Rebecca Maree + H. + Bobby James: The Phoenix, Canberra
Tue 16 Sydney Comedy Festival Showcase: Bondi Pavilion Theatre, Bondi Beach ACO Soloists: City Recital Hall, Sydney
‘The Boss’ Show: Orient Hotel, The Rocks
Greasy Chicken Orchestra: Foundry 616, Sydney
Outlier: Orient Hotel, The Rocks
Songs On Stage feat. Stuart Jammin: Kellys on King, Newtown
Rosie Burgess: Petersham Bowling Club, Petersham
The Animals: Lizottes Newcastle, Lambton
The Weight Of Silence + Lowgazer: Rad Bar, Wollongong
Boris + Tangled Thoughts Of Leaving: Manning Bar, Camperdown
Troy T + Suite Az: Rock Lily, Pyrmont
Co Pilot: Orient Hotel, The Rocks
Karin Page + Melody Moko + Seleen McAlister : Rooty Hill RSL, Rooty Hill
Julius Ambroisine + Rory Sataori + Daid: Rad Bar, Wollongong
Satellite V: Shady Pines Saloon, Darlinghurst
Cath & Him: Rooty Hill RSL (Tivoli Showroom), Rooty Hill
Julia Morris: Sydney Opera House, Sydney
Thunder Down Under Australian Tour with Bruce Kulick + Four By Fate + Sisters Doll: The Basement, Belconnen
ACO Soloists: Sydney Opera House, Sydney Dan Southward: The Bearded Tit, Redfern Matt Hanley: The Merton Hotel, Rozelle DJ Phil Toke + Billie McCarthy + DJ Cool Hand Luke + The Classics feat. Milan: The Newport, Newport Toe To Toe: The Record Crate, Glebe Purefly + Reaver + Metak: Valve Bar, Ultimo
THE MUSIC • 10TH MAY 2017 • 39
0U %8516 $ 3267 (/(&75,& 3/$< “DOWNRIGHT BRILLIANT” THE NEW YORK TIMES
“INVENTIVE AND DARING” SEATTLE TIMES
+++++ TIME OUT NEW YORK
“DARING, MARVELOUS, METAAPOCALYPTIC” THE VILLAGE VOICE
Writer Anne Washburn | Score by Michael Friedman | Lyrics by Anne Washburn | Director Imara Savage ‘Mr Burns, a post-electric play’ is presented by special arrangement with SAMUEL FRENCH, INC.
BOOK NOW BELVOIR.COM.AU 40 • THE MUSIC • 10TH MAY 2017
Photograph by Daniel Boud
19 MAY – 25 JUNE