The Music (Sydney) Issue #41 by TheMusic.com.au

# 4 1 • 04 . 0 6 . 1 4 • S Y D N E Y • F R E E • I N C O R P O R AT I N G

REMI LEADING THE NEW WAVE OF LOCAL HIP HOP

culture

CYCLING

tour

THE AUDREYS

film

RICHARD DORMER

tour

HARD-ONS

2 • THE MUSIC • 4TH June 2014

THE MUSIC • 4TH JUNE 2014 • 3

4 • THE MUSIC • 4TH JUNE 2014

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Fri 20th June

SAT 12th July

RÜFÜS

DAN SULTAN

“Worlds Within Worlds Tour” + Special Guests Hayden James and Crooked Colours

+ STONEFIELD + WAY OF THE EAGLE (DJ SET)

LIMITED TICKETS!

SAT 19th July sat 21st June

MY GENERATION 50 Years of The Who Starring Simon Meli, Ciaran Gribbin & Steve Balbi

The Villains + Kissteria + Invisible Sun (Aust. Police Show)

fri 1st august FRI 4th July

The Eurogliders

the angels

+ Special Guests

+ SPECIAL GUESTS

www.towradgibeachhotel.com.au 170 Pioneer Road, Towradgi 2518 | 02 42833 588 6 • THE MUSIC • 4TH JUNE 2014

THE MUSIC • 4TH JUNE 2014 • 7

themusic 4TH JUNE 2014

STREAM THE DEBUT ALBUM FROM BUZZ UK JANGLE-POP OUTFIT GLASS ANIMALS.

#41

INSIDE FEATURED Remi

ONLY ON THEMUSIC.COM.AU

The Audreys Hard-Ons

review

Good Vibrations Slim Jim Phantom Propaghandi The Fault In Our Stars Lachy Doley Matthew Dear

REVIEWS Album: Glass Animals Live: Lauryn Hill Arts: Mojo ...and more

THE GUIDE

LET THE OCEAN TAKE ME, INSTEAD, IS [JOEL BIRCH’S] CHANCE TO PURGE, THE SCREAMER REVEALING MORE DETAILS REGARDING HIS PERSONAL BATTLES THAN EVER BEFORE. BENNY DOYLE REVIEWS THE AMITY AFFLICTION [P.30]

WHO’S MAKING MOVES (OR NOT) IN THE LATEST RADIO RATINGS? READ OUR WRAP-UP.

ON THEMUSIC.COM.AU

Cover: The iMom Eat/Drink Indie News Opinion Gig Guide

WHAT’S BEEN GOING ON WITH OUR INDIE BANDS THIS WEEK? WE’LL TELL YOU ALL IN OUR REGULAR ROUND-UP. ONLY ON THEMUSIC.COM.AU

review

DZ DEATHRAYS. PIC: JODIE MATHEWS

ANYONE WHO LEFT THE OXFORD ART FACTORY WITHOUT BEING COMPLETELY EXHAUSTED AND DRENCHED IN SWEAT AFTER THAT HAD CLEARLY WASTED THEIR TIME. XAVIER RUBETZKI NOONAN REVIEWS DZ DEATHRAYS [P.34]

WITH THE UKULELE, I ONLY STARTED BECAUSE I WANTED TO HAVE SOMETHING I COULD PLAY STANDING UP. TAASHA COATES OF THE AUDREYS [P.18]

feature 8 • THE MUSIC • 4TH JUNE 2014

@ Agincourt 871 George street, Sydney City, valvebar@gmail.com www.valvebar.com.au TUE JUNE

WED JUNE

THU JUNE

FRI JUNE

SAT JUNE

SUN JUNE

TRIVA NIGHT Front Bar 7:30pm

MUSOS’ NIGHT

+ Rockin’ Weekly Blues Jam Front Bar 8pm

METAL ON THE BRAIN A NIGHT OF METAL AND TRIVIA! feat. Thrashed 6:30pm

FORVER THE OPTIMIST [QLD] + Rick Dangerous & The Silkie Bantams + Mandala 8pm

WOLLONGONG ROCK INVASION feat. GLAB + The Numbered + Moth Cult 8pm

BETRAYING THE MARTYRS [FRA] [LIC/AA] +I, Valiance & More! 2pm

LUCY DESOTO 6pm [Free/Front Bar]

FREE ENTRY

PRE $5 $5 DOOR

CITY SLICKERS BAND COMPETITION

WED 4TH 8PM

“GLAB” ROCK SHOW WITH SUPPORT FROM “MOTH CULT” , “ANGRY LITTLE GODS” , “ANATOLE”

BASEMENT

FRI 6TH 7PM

LEVEL ONE

PRE $30 $35 DOOR

LEVEL ONE

SAT 7TH 9PM

DEATHMAS PROMOTIONS PRESENTS

THE ASHES TOUR

BASEMENT

FEAT: “GUTTER TACTIC” , “FOUNDRY ROAD” , “BEFORE CIADA” , “TIL RAPTURE” , “UNDERMINE THE SUPREMACY” , “AMICABLE TREASON”

PRE $10 $15 DOOR

PRE $10 $10 DOOR

SAT 7TH 5PM

GREAT PRIZES, EXCITING COMPETITION

THUR 5TH 8PM

FRI 6TH 9PM

BASEMENT

LOOSE UNITS OPENING NIGHT

SUN 8TH 3PM

FEST: “NEW BLOOD” , “TORTURED” , “AEON HOURS” , “AUTOLYSIS” , “INFESTED ENTRAILS” , “BURIAL CHAMBER” , “DIONYSUS” , “TO ENGINEER AN EXORCIST” , “HADAL MOW”

CORROSION GOTH CLUB NIGHT FEAT: DJ’S VOODOO, XERSTORKITTE, DAZE AND MANY MORE

BREAK YOUR FACE PROMOTIONS PRESENTS

QUEENS BIRTHDAY WEEKEND PARTY FEAT: “DAMAGE CONTROL” , “THE LOW TEES” , “THE THIEVES” , “STACY GACY” , “TALKBACK AVENUE” , AMI CLARK

LEVEL ONE

ALTERNATIVE MONTHLY FEAT: “AMODUS” , “EXIST WITHIN” , “AMBER TRACE” , “METLAD” , “NOAH’S FUARKK”, “SCARRED REMAINS” AND MANY MORE

DEATH FUCKING METAL 4

SUN 8TH 6PM

FUCKFEST FEAT: “RAINBOW VOMIT AND CUM BUBBLES” , “RANCID MEATFLAPS” , “ABORTIFACIENT” , “10K FREE MEN AND THEIR FAMILIES” , “NIKO! LET’S GO BOWLING” , “IAMDANIELGREEN” , “GODINPANTS” , “DFO: BAD” , “BENGALONGLOSTEDBROTHER” , DJ BRADOR

COMING UP

Wed 11 June: City Slickers Band Competition ; Thu 12 June: Vent presents Cypher hosted by Izzy and DJ Maniak; Fri 13 June: Basement 8pm: Jason Slaughters The Valve Bar feat: “Viscera” , “Inhuman Remnants” , “Nekrology” , “Gutter Tactic” , “Manslaughter”; Level One 9pm: Sludge/Doom Show with “Summonus” , “Motherslug” , “Hypergiant” , “Witch Fight” , “Kaleidoscope”; Sat 14 June: 6pm Basement: Hardcore Show feat: “Vigilante” , “Civil War” , “Deadly Visions” , “Boneless” , “Choke” , “Controlled” , “Ill Natured” ; Level One 9pm: Focus Trance Club night feat: Rossco , Alex “Chico” Arias and Scott “Focus” Richardson ; Sun 15 June: Basement 4pm: Heavy Rock Show with “A Gentleman’s Agreement” w and many more

For band bookings please email valvebar@gmail.com

THE MUSIC • 4TH JUNE 2014 • 9

CREDITS PUBLISHER

Street Press Australia Pty Ltd

GROUP MANAGING EDITOR Andrew Mast

EDITOR Mark Neilsen

ASSISTANT EDITOR Hannah Story

ARTS AND CULTURE EDITOR Cassandra Fumi

MUSO EDITOR Michael Smith

GIG GUIDE EDITOR Justine Lynch nsw.gigs@themusic.com.au

CONTRIBUTORS Adam Wilding, Andrew McDonald, Anthony Carew, Ben Meyer, Benny Doyle, Ben Preece, Bethany Cannan, Brendan Crabb, Brendan Telford, Callum Twigger, Cam Findlay, Cameron Warner, Cate Summers, Chris Familton, Chris Maric, Chris Yates, Christopher H James, Cyclone, Dan Condon, Daniel Cribb, Danielle O’Donohue, Dave Drayton, Deborah Jackson, Dylan Stewart, Glenn Waller, Guido Farnell, Guy Davis, Helen Lear, Jamelle Wells, James d’Apice, Justine Keating, Kristy Wandmaker, Liz Giuﬀ re, Lukas Murphy, Luke Dassaklis, Mark Hebblewhite, Mat Lee, Matt MacMaster, Paul Ransom, Rip Nicholson, Ross Clelland, Sam Hilton, Sam Murphy, Sarah Braybrooke, Sarah Petchell, Scott Fitzsimons, Sebastian Skeet, Sevana Ohandjanian, Simon Eales, Steve Bell, Tim Finney, Tom Hersey, Tyler McLoughlan, Xavier Rubetzki Noonan

PHOTOGRAPHERS Angela Padovan, Carine Thevenau, Clare Hawley, Cybele Malinowski, Jared Leibowitz, Jodie Mathews, Josh Groom, Kane Hibberd, Peter Sharp, Rohan Anderson, Thomas Graham

ADVERTISING DEPT James Seeney, Andrew Lilley sales@themusic.com.au

THIS WEEK THINGS TO DO THIS WEEK • 4 JUNE - 10 JUNE 2014

dance

You’re gonna need to dance to shake off the cold at Peak Festival down at Perisher this June long weekend. It’s Australia’s only snowy music festival, featuring The Herd, The Little Stevies and Dereb & The Ambassadors, and it all kicks off this Friday and goes through to the Queen’s birthday holiday. Have a ski or jive to the funk-soul-popblues on offer. Just make sure you pack your thermals and woollen socks, because it’s going to get a wee bit chilly.

laugh

From Friday at 8.30pm you can catch the Best Of The Sydney Comedy Fest 2014 on Foxtel’s Comedy Channel. That’s right: you, your couch, popcorn and some of the best stand-up Australia and the world can offer. That’s jokes from the likes of Ronny Chieng, Frank Woodley and Felicity Ward every Friday – for those who didn’t get tickets to SCF while it was in town, or those who don’t really like to leave the house, but still like to have a laugh.

ART DIRECTOR Brendon Wellwood

ART DEPT David Di Cristoforo, Eamon Stewart, Julian De Bono

ADMIN & ACCOUNTS Loretta Zoppos, Niall McCabe, Jarrod Kendall, Leanne Simpson accounts@themusic.com.au

DISTRO Anita D’Angelo distro@themusic.com.au

SUBSCRIPTIONS store@themusic.com.au

CONTACT US PO Box 2440 Strawberry Hills NSW 2012 Level 1/142 Chalmers St Surry Hills NSW Phone (02) 9331 7077 info@themusic.com.au www.themusic.com.au

SYDNEY

We don’t know if it’s just us, but from tonight we’ll be stuck in the Sydney Film Festival zone, and we have no intention of stopping, not until 15 Jun anyway (and even then we don’t know how we’ll fill the film-shaped hole in our hearts). It’s a huge line-up over two weeks of international and local films, like Boyhood, Palo Alto and Wish I Was Here, plus hanging out at the hub where yes, we will be eating Gelato Messina, and yes, we will be sitting in on a panel or two and owning the film trivia. And just TRY and keep us away from the festival bar.

watch

THE MUSIC • 4TH JUNE 2014 • 11

national news news@themusic.com.au BOB DYLAN

360

TAMBOURINE MAN

Celebrate the undeniable legacy of Bob Dylan when he brings his full band out to play his most intimate Australian dates in two decades at Riverside Theatre, Perth, 13 & 14 Aug; Palais Theatre, Melbourne, 18 & 19 Aug; Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, 25 Aug; Royal Theatre, Canberra, 29 Aug; and State Theatre, Sydney, 3 & 4 Sep.

APRA FINAL FIVES

SPINNING AROUND

360 is back with his third LP Utopia, and to celebrate he’s embarking on his biggest headline tour. Uncle 60 has been working tirelessly trying to trump his double platinum breakthrough of 2011, Falling & Flying; see if he’s been successful 3 Sep, UC Refectory, Canberra; 5 Sep, Hordern Pavilion, Sydney (all ages); 6 Sep, Arena, Brisbane (two shows: under-18 matinee/18+ evening); 12 Sep, Festival Hall, Melbourne (all ages); 19 Sep, Metro City, Perth; and 20 Sep, Astor Theatre, Perth (all ages).

SEEK WILL DESTROY

Oz/English electronic outfit Seekae continue to amaze, with their experimental, enveloping songs and dizzying live show captivating punters everywhere from SXSW to the Sydney Opera House. The trio return to plug their brand new tune Test & Recognise with shows 12 Aug, The Zoo, Brisbane; 16 Aug, Villa Nightclub, Perth; 22 Aug, 170 Russell, Melbourne; and 23 Aug, Metro Theatre, Sydney, and the supporting cast is huge, with Jonti, Pilerats, Fourwords and Akimbo all adding to the occasion.

WE’LL FINALLY BE ROYALS

After a false start in April, Lorde has finally confirmed new Australian dates, with the Kiwi songstress now returning 5 Jul, Challenge Stadium, Perth; 11 & 12 Jul, Hordern Pavilion, Sydney; 15 & 16 Jul, Festival Hall, Melbourne; 19 Jul, Newcastle Entertainment Centre; and 20 Jul, Brisbane Riverstage. Ticketholders that can attend their respective dates don’t have to do anything else other than show up. If you can’t make it, contact your point of purchase by 5pm this Friday (6 Jun) for a refund.

LISTEN CLOSELY

Whispers is the new record from Passenger, the British busker-cum-adopted Aussie who’s still standing tall after a breakout few years which saw him top the charts in 21 countries and generate sales of more than 1.2 million. His sixth record is grand, passionate and utterly rewarding – hear the tracks live on stage when Michael Rosenberg’s all ages tour comes to Palais Theatre, Melbourne, 17 Jan; Canberra Theatre, 22 Jan; Qantas Credit Union Arena, Sydney, 23 Jan; Riverstage, Brisbane, 25 Jan; and Red Hill Auditorium, Perth, 7 Feb, with Canadian folk trio The Once special support at all dates.

The 2014 APRA Music Awards finalists have just been announced, with the likes of Vance Joy, Birds Of Tokyo, The Drones, Flume, Sheppard and Matt Corby all in the running for the top prizes. Find out who gets the nod for the highly prestigious Song Of The Year, Breakthrough Songwriter Of the Year and more when the awards ceremony takes place 23 Jun at Brisbane City Hall.

WHO’S GOING TO SAVE US?

Tech metal wizards Protest The Hero are bringing their ludicrous live show to our parts, with these gigs marking the first time fans Down Under have had a chance to see the madness of last year’s record Volition live on stage. The Ontario slayers perform shows 4 Sep, The Hi-Fi, Brisbane; 5 Sep, Manning Bar, Sydney; 6 Sep, The Hi-Fi, Melbourne; and 10 Sep, Amplifier Bar, Perth.

GABRIEL IGLESIAS

“I AM STILL TORMENTED WATCHING THAT @50CENT FIRST PITCH AT THE METS GAME. I MAY NEED A SLEEPING PILL. THAT WAS TRAUMATIC.” THERE WAS NO ANIMAL AMBITION ON THE MOUND @ROLANDSMARTIN. 12 • THE MUSIC • 4TH JUNE 2014

FLUFFY, NOT FAT

You may have seen Gabriel Iglesias in Magic Mike or caught him recently on Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien’s respective Tonight Shows. Now, you can see the Hawaiian shirt enthusiast live when the Californian funnyman brings his high-octane show Down Under. Iglesias never misses a beat, combining stories, parodies, characters and sound effects to bring all his personal experiences to life – split your sides when he performs 20 Sep, Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne; 23 Sep, Riverside Theatre, Perth; 26 Sep, Brisbane Convention & Entertainment Centre; and 27 Sep, Qantas Credit Union Arena, Sydney.

THE MUSIC • 4TH JUNE 2014 • 13

local news nsw.news@themusic.com.au THE PREATURES

WHY TORTURE IS WRONG, AND THE PEOPLE WHO LOVE THEM

JUDGEMENT CALL TWO TONE OR NOT TWO TONE?

After a huge 2013, which saw them nab the #1 most played track on triple j and FBi, Sydney’s own The Preatures are coming home to tour in light of their new single. They play Metro Theatre, 19 Jul.

THE RACE IS ON

Hugo Race, multi-instrumentalist and hypnotic crooner, returns from a slew of European solo headline concerts to set forth across Australia in support of his latest Hugo Race Fatalists EP, Orphans. See Hugo Race perform at Camelot Lounge, 5 Sep and Heritage Hotel, Bulli, 6 Sep.

POSITIVE FEEDBACK

Young musicians are being offered a rare insight into how to succeed in the music industry as part of the Vivid Ideas Exchange. Feedback presented by Indent will now feature industry heavyweight and noted tweeter AJ Maddah, alongside the previously highlighted Josh Pyke, Jake Stone (Bluejuice) and Thelma Plum among others. It’s at the Museum of Contemporary Art, 9 Jun.

AIN’T NOBODY FRESHER?

FBi Radio is stoked to announce the arrival of FBi Click on 25 Jun, a new digital station dedicated to electronic music. It’ll broadcast 24 hours a day (FBi 94.5 on DAB+) and online at fbiradio.com/click, featuring ten new flagship programs. FBi Click will also deliver exclusive mixes from some of the best DJs around the world, carefully curated new music and Sunset’s existing roster. FBi launches the station at a big party/fundraiser at Goodgod Small Club, 27 Jun, with help from Astral People, Sweat It Out, Purple Sneakers and more.

ARTISTS AT THEIR PEAK

The finalists for this year’s Peak Upload – a competition for unsigned artists to hit the Peak Festival stage – are Amy Vee, Timothy James Bowen and Alex & Joel, who will perform at Peak Festival, 6 – 9 Jun at Perisher Valley.

STILL NEW

Newtown Festival returns in 2014 on 9 Nov at Camperdown Memorial Rest Park in honour of the cheeky non-holiday, Newtown Independence Day. Head along to catch a TBA line-up across five stages, roving performers, garage sales, live art and lots more.

NOT THE LAST LAUGH

Comedians Matt Okine, Ronny Chieng and Rhys Nicholson will be performing extra encore shows in June/July. See Okine’s Happiness Not Included at The Comedy Store, 13 & 14 Jun; Chieng in Chieng Reaction at Enmore Theatre, 28 Jun (two shows: 7.15pm and 9.30pm); and Nicholson’s Eurgh at The Comedy Store on 19 Jul.

GET INSIDE

Greg Sestero, aka Mark, Johnny’s best friend in The Room, is doing a Q&A at Hayden Orpheum, 9 & 10 Jul, to discuss the movie and his book, The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside The Room, The Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made.

NO BROODING MATTER

They tour Australia with Ellie Goulding this month, but that’s just not enough for brothersister duo Broods: they play a Splendour In The Grass sideshow at Oxford Art Factory, 1 Aug.

ALL OBEL IT

Danish singer-songwriter Agnes Obel tours in November. The daughter of a brilliant musician and a collector of instruments, Obel picked up the piano early and has since achieved great success. See her at City Recital Hall, 27 Nov.

“I KNOW WE JOKE A LOT IN HERE BUT THE FACT REMAINS, ANIME IS PROBABLY THE ONLY TRUE ART FORM LEFT.” THE FUTURE’S BLEAK IF YOU’RE RIGHT, @THOMAS_VIOLENCE. 14 • THE MUSIC • 4TH JUNE 2014

This month New Theatre presents the Australian premiere of Christopher Durang’s topical satirical play about paranoia and the war on terror, Why Torture Is Wrong, And The People Who Love Them. The season runs 3 – 28 Jun.

BORN LION

HELPING HANDS

The supports are in! The Bronx have got High Tension and Born Lion supporting at Metro Theatre, 20 Jun. Remi has enlisted N’fa Jones and Silent Jay for his shows at Small Ballroom, Newcastle, 26 Jun; Trinity, Canberra, 27 Jun; and Oxford Art Factory, 28 Jun; with Relevent also at Small Ballroom, Hau Latukefu at Trinity and OAF, and Omar Musa at Trinity as well. Betty Who will be warming the stage for Katy Perry at her Allphones Arena shows on 21, 22, 24, 25 Nov, before Tove Lo takes over for 12 & 13 Dec. Kevin Mark Trail will play with a full band at Coogee Diggers Club, 14 Jun, with Omegaman. High On Fire are supported by I Exist and Gvrlls at Factory Theatre, 20 Jul. Opening for Taking Back Sunday and The Used at UNSW Roundhouse on 23 Aug will be Corpus and Breakaway.

local news nsw.news@themusic.com.au HIGHASAKITE

THE WHITE ALBUM CONCERT

AND THEN SOME A whole bunch of shows have been added this week. Queen and Adam Lambert will play a second show at Allphones Arena, 27 Aug. Kate Miller-Heidke has added a show at The Concourse, Chatswood on 15 Aug. Boy & Bear play another show at Sydney Opera House on 22 Sep. James Reyne plays Australian Crawl at an added Canberra show, on 16 Aug at Canberra Theatre Playhouse. A fourth Sydney Opera House show for The White Album Concert has been announced for 19 Jul, 4pm.

MR TWO GUITARS

Joe Bonamassa will be playing two sets on his upcoming Australian tour: one acoustic and one electric. It’s the first time he’ll be performing a full acoustic set in Australia and is an excuse to see him play rare instruments alongside a line-up of noted musicians. Be witness at State Theatre, 14 Sep.

HIGH ON LIFE

Norwegian quintet Highasakite are heading Down Under for the first time. Hear their crystal-clear folk songs as they promote their latest album, Silent Treatment, at Oxford Art Factory, 18 Sep.

RICK ROLL’D

Except we’re not rick rollin’ you. Nope, not today, nope we’d never want to give you up: Rick Astley is coming to town. See the pop icon at Revesby Workers Club, 19 Nov; Rooty Hill RSL, 24 Nov; Enmore Theatre, 25 Nov; and Canberra Theatre, 26 Nov.

A PIG IN THE MUD

Gang Of Brothers, The Walking Who and The Stiffys are among ten artists announced for this year’s PigSty In July, the boutique sister festival of The Gum Ball. It’s happening at Dashville, Hunter Valley 5 Jul.

“DAMN, I GOTTA DO 2 THINGS LATER THIS WEEK. I BETTER GET A MASSAGE TODAY.”

BRINGING THE PARTY

Sydney group Thrashed head to Frankie’s Pizza By The Slice, 17 Aug. The quintet with a new take on metal are known to make mosh pits happen, whether you like it or not; catch their tunes before they get picked up by the majors.

ECHOING FOLK

Hear the folk-pop of Tin Sparrow on their Echoes In The Dark tour at Rad Bar, Wollongong, 14 Jun; and Kings Cross Hotel, 20 Jun. It’s all about his new single, pulled from his upcoming third EP Shoelace Ring, a song that will have you on your toes thanks to jangly hooks and Mr Matt Amery’s vox.

YOU CAN DANCE

Join in the world’s biggest dance event, aptly named Big Dance, at Sydney Opera House on 13 Jul, presented by the Sydney Dance Company. Register for free at sydneydancecompany.com/BigDance, watch the video of Sydney Dance Company Artistic Director Rafael Bonachela’s specially commissioned Big Dance choreography, and then practise at the free classes held during the lead-up to the event.

CATCH OUR BEN

He’s won four ARIAS, made a brief foray into acting, and gotten many feet moving with his breakout hit Catch My Disease: Ben Lee has become one of our biggest exports. Catch him ahead of the release of his latest album at The Basement, 28 Jun.

@ANDYMILONAKIS KNOWS HOW TO PREPARE FOR HARD WORK.

CIRCO EAST

Upstart West Australian festival Circo recently stuck it to the east coast with its announcement of a star-studded line-up helmed by Violent Soho. Now, the fledgling event has evened the score with a Sydney sideshow for festival acts Hayden James, Odesza and a DJ set from Bloc Party’s Kele Okereke on 26 Jun at Metro Theatre.

FILM FEST NEWS

The judging panel for this year’s Sydney Film Festival’s Official Competition has been announced: local filmmaker Rachel Perkins, plus Aussie actress Rachael Blake, South African director Khalo Matabane, South Korean producer OH Jung-wan and Canadian film critic Shelly Kraicer. Also new to the film fest is filmmaker and radio journo Tessa Rex who will appear on a panel on Women In Film to talk about the Bechdel Test at Sydney Town Hall on 7 Jun.

COMING APART

Sydney all-ages hip hop festival Come Together has been cancelled due to poor ticket sales. It was to be held on 7 Jun at Luna Park.

MADE OF STEEL

Steel Assassins hits Bald Faced Stag on 31 Oct & 1 Nov with a huge lineup: Lord, Bengal Tigers, Darker Half, Eyefear, Taberah, Silent Knight, Johnny Touch, Forsaken Age, In Malice’s Wake, Temtris, Harlott, Atomesquad, Friar Rush, Alkira, Mattersphere, Asylum, Steelswarm and Blacksmith.

CIRCUS TRICKS

Brisbane’s Dead Letter Circus’ usually heavily layered guitars and drum sounds will be unplugged in favour of a more chilled out and acoustic vibe for the A Night In With Dead Letter Circus tour. They’ll be at The Basement, 5 Sep. THE MUSIC • 4TH JUNE 2014 • 15

music

BEYOND BEIGE Remi and Sensible J give Cyclone their take on the evolution of Australian hip hop. Cover and feature pics by Kane Hibberd.

elbourne MC/singer and triple j hero Remi Kolawole belongs to a surging ‘intelligent’ Australian hip hop movement – but he’s unsure. “I don’t know if I’m intelligent!” Kolawole protests. Regardless, his latest album, Raw X Infinity, heralded by 2013’s party hit Sangria, could usher in a new phase in the music’s history. The exuberant and funny Kolawole is seated outside the suitably named Cheerio café in inner-suburban Richmond with Sensible J ( Justin Smith), one of his two producer cohorts (Daniel ‘Dutch’ Siwes is absent). The pair, both in beanies, are, Kolawole apologises, “dirty smokers”. The little-known Sensible J & Dutch previously masterminded much of N’fa Jones’ comeback, Black + White Noise, and Kolawole praises their bespoke approach to music, the combo no mere beatmakers – even if they do work out of Smith’s spare room. “I’m lucky enough that I don’t

While Kolawole branched off as a solo act, today he still tends to think of ‘REMI’ as “a group” – all the more since, aside from “mentoring” him, Smith and Siwes have been involved with everything he’s done. In 2011 Kolawole & Co. uploaded the track Apollo 13 to triple j’s Unearthed website, leading to a long and supportive relationship with the national broadcaster. That same year he aired two EPs, rapping over sampled grooves from musos as implausible as Baths. Kolawole dropped his first album, Regular People Shit, home to the memorable Ape, in 2012. Last year he circulated a mixtape, FYG: Act 1, encompassing Sangria, which found its way onto the US NPR’s 2013 Best Albums list (“that was

a profile, he needs to be sharp – and responsible. “Ours is not a large platform, it’s more of like a small diving board that’s probably a metre off the ground, but it’s still a platform.” As such, Raw X Infinity is a conscious hip hop record, with Kolawole bringing the “realness” – he tackles political matters, most pertinently immigration, on Ode To Ignorance, while Nigerian Sunrise and Melbourne Sunset reference his own bi-cultural heritage. Many topics on Raw X Infinity came out of group discussions, says Kolawole – “whether it’s about life, whether it’s about race stuff, [or] whether it’s about when we’re on tour and we see how drugs are affecting the people in each city that we go to, it’s just our experiences.” Smith jokes that Kolawole could hardly credibly attempt “gangsta stuff ”. Above all, Smith and Siwes have helped Kolawole focus as a writer. “I’m a rambler,” he laughs, “so trying to contain that and condense that shit and pick out all the nuggets out of the shit is what these guys do.” However, Raw X Infinity isn’t consistently serious. Kolawole enjoys his “braggadocio bullshit” – as demonstrated by his current single, Tyson, disgraced champion boxer Mike Tyson used as a metaphor. It’s potentially controversial. “It’s weird – we get asked a lot of questions about Tyson,” Kolawole affirms. “I’m trying to be smarter about it now especially, but that is part of the whole hip hop culture – you gotta go out there swinging.” Then there’s the music of Raw X Infinity, which spans alt-rock, IDM and Afrobeat. The opening title-track, Kolawole says, “pays homage” to those Roots joints that feature Black Thought flowing over drums and bass. “We

“WE SEE HOW DRUGS ARE AFFECTING THE PEOPLE IN EACH CITY.”

have to go anywhere else for production ‘cause it’s a one-stop shop,” Kolawole enthuses over a hot mocha. Kolawole, born in Canberra to a Nigerian father and Australian (actually Tasmanian!) mother, was musical in childhood, but never envisaged himself MCing. “I started playing piano when I was about four years old, but it was very classical, classical-based stuff.” He tried rapping “as a joke”. “One of my homies was like, ‘I bet you can’t rap.’” Kolawole gave it a shot. “Something just happened – I was like, ‘This is awesome.’” He connected with Smith, his family South African migrants, and Siwes through his singer friend Jelena, dating Smith. She was playing their material with Jones, sparking Kolawole’s curiosity. As for Smith and Siwes, they’ve been tight forever, the low-key Smith, a drummer, relates. “I met [Siwes] when he was two days old! My mum was babysitting his older brother while his mum was having him. We were neighbours.” In the late ‘90s the two jammed in bands together, then began cutting beats. Smith briefly went by the moniker ‘J Smith’ but decided it wasn’t distinctive – and so adopted the ‘Sensible’. “I’ve always been a sensible dude and it’s just a silly nickname that I had.” Smith and Siwes conceived the RunForYourLife electronic hip hop soul collective with diva Syreneyiscreamy, Jones and others – and persuaded Kolawole to join. They issued RFYL Vol 1, a de facto album. “Everyone’s just hanging at my house, the House of Beige – if they hear something they like, they jump on it,” says Smith. 16 • THE MUSIC • 4TH JUNE 2014

ridiculous!”). Moreover, Kolawole was named triple j’s Unearthed Artist of 2013. “We are completely mind-blown as to why this has happened,” he admits. Raw X Infinity represents a huge progression from Regular People…, Kolawole believes, because, at the time of his debut, he’d only MCed for a year or so. “I first started doing rapping just ‘cause I liked flow,” he explains. Indeed, that’s what his favourite MCs, like The Roots’ Black Thought, do. “Most of them, they’re not saying anything that’s that important – it’s just the rhythms and the patterns, and they’re more of an instrument than a lyricist.” But he’s developed into an all-rounder. “I’ve got more of a message.” Kolawole reasoned that, now he has

love that rawness in hip hop.” Smith recorded the drums on an iPhone. Kolawole was happy for Smith and Siwes to draw on their eclectic influences, ranging from Fela Kuti to J Dilla to Radiohead. “I listened to stuff like Tool and Helmet in my younger days,” Smith notes of the album’s ‘rockier’ moments. “I’m trying to get that energy across in hip hop without putting [in] too many distorted rock guitars.” In the interim, Smith, along with his partners, has expanded his House of Beige (HOB) studio into a label; Raw X Infinity is its inaugural release. The name is ironic. “The walls in my house are beige – I’m beige,” he laughs. Australian hip hop has become more culturally diverse with acts like Diafrix. But, together with Jones and Citizen Kay, Kolawole is seen as repping a fresh avantgarde – the antithesis of the old barbecue rap (or ‘skip hop’). Yet the HOB fold, following their instincts, aren’t concerned with factional politics, Smith insisting that they “live in a bit of a bubble”. (Incidentally, his top Australian record, hip hop or otherwise, is The Avalanches’ Since I Left You.) Kolawole concurs. “When we first started out, we weren’t trying to fit in anywhere – ‘cause we know that we don’t sound like American hip hop and we know that we don’t sound like ‘classic Australian hip hop’.” He professes to be (blissfully) ignorant of Australia’s wider hip hop scene. “Every time someone asks us about Aussie hip hop, we don’t know shit about Aussie hip hop! I don’t personally. I’ve learnt more performing on the road and meeting these guys out there – and they’ve all been pretty

HEADS & THREADS Quiffs have been a thing in pop culture for a spell – becoming a signature look for La Roux’s Elly Jackson and Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner. In urban circles, Janelle Monáe and Miguel have both quiffed-up. Now Remi Kolawole is repping for the MCs in his press shots. “My hair happened because my mum jacked it up and cut my hair into a perfect square,” Kolawole says of his ‘fro. “My little brother at the time had a very similar haircut to what I have now. I was like, ‘You know what? I’m just gonna do that!’”

cool to me. So I guess doing what we’re doing has just been the best way to attack it and not worry about that shit.” At any rate, barbecue rap may be defunct – Bliss N Eso’s last outing was the expansive Circus In The Sky. “I think everything evolves,” Kolawole reflects. Smith adds, “There’s different sub-genres popping up now, which is cool – that’s why we’ve got a little chance.” Latterly Australia’s urban underground has also given rise to producers-for-hire, such as M-Phazes. And the HOB posse are up for liaising with outsiders. Smith and Siwes are producing an album for Koolism’s MC Hau. And they’ve remixed soulstress Hailey Cramer’s Liquid Confidence. The team are open to working with a pop identity – as long as it’s a proper collaboration. Quips Kolawole, “I would love to hear that, ‘cause these guys don’t know how to make pop shit!” But they have other limitations – cheesy rappers are banned from HOB. “I think we’d stop at a Pitbull,” Kolawole chuckles. Meanwhile, Smith has a niche solo project in the pipeline – though it’s Kolawole who mentions it. “That stuff is so weird, in the best way, to me.” The trio have already commenced REMI’s next album, with three songs in the can. “We get too bored,” Kolawole says. They hope they can soon quit their day jobs to concentrate on laying down yet more music. Kolawole, who’s opened for the US rappers Danny Brown and Joey Bada$$, surviving their difficult audiences, is preparing to tour nationally behind Raw X Infinity

with carefully curated supports – and he’s visiting regional cities. “I’m super-excited to get out to new people ‘cause it’s always fun just to go somewhere else – that’s the best part of our jobs, that it is compulsory for us to get around Australia, get on a plane and rack up Velocity points.” He’ll appear at Splendour In The Grass, too. This trek Smith, Kolawole’s occasional DJ, will play drums – and, having practised, provide backing vocals – with Siwes on Ableton and

sampler. (“He’s also a mean tambourine player,” Kolawole teases.) And Kolawole will sing – “a bit”. Incredibly, plans are afoot for the REMI band to hit Europe at year’s end – Kolawole, increasingly hyped by international bloggers, has had “industry interest” from, of all places, Germany. It’s an even greater achievement considering the posse only secured management a few months ago. “It’s just been us sitting in the room,” says Smith, “plotting away.”

Hip hop fashion has long been depressingly uniform – for dudes, anyway – in the US and here. Nevertheless, Bad Boy’s Puff Daddy and Ma$e challenged that in the ‘90s with their ‘shiny suits’. The Notorious B.I.G.’s protégé Cam’ron caused a sensation by ‘reclaiming’ the colour pink – so not traditionally macho-rap. OutKast’s André 3000 went further again with his eccentric attire, even citing Prince Charles as his style icon. Stylish as he is, Kolawole claims not to be a hip hop hipster. “I just wear what I like,” he says. “I’m not going out there and making a conscious effort to be like, ‘Yo, I’m gonna wear this, this time.’” Besides, he’s about the music. Image is political in particularly US hip hop. Danny Brown’s skinny jeans were met with consternation – to Kolawole’s bemusement. “I’ve heard Mobb Deep rap about how they reckon skinny jeans are just a bit suspect and all that shit – who gives a fuck?” he asks jovially. “Kanye [West] wears teacosy masks on his face and it looks dope, so just let him do him.” Kolawole himself once wore so “wild” ripped skinny jeans, boots and a scarf when doing a straight-up hip hop gig at Melbourne’s Espy. “Nobody cared!” he laughs.

WHAT: Raw X Infinity, (House Of Beige/UNFD) WHEN & WHERE: 26 Jun, The Small Ballroom, Newcastle; 27 Jun, Trinity Bar, Canberra; 28 Jun, Oxford Art Factory; 25 Jul, Splendour In The Grass, North Byron Parklands THE MUSIC • 4TH JUNE 2014 • 17

music

ROCK’N’ROLL AWAY

stage; I’m not going to stop and think, ‘oh, it’s a folkie crowd,’ – I’m not going to care about that.

impressive addition to their collection.

“We once had someone call a venue really quite upset because we’d had been drinking on stage and we swore. And when we got the call from the venue we were just like, ‘Dude, it’s rock and roll!’” Coates laughs. “But that audience member sounds like a hoot, I hope they come back!” It seems the band’s drinking and potty mouths aren’t the only thing that can get them in trouble, with those expecting spelling to match their personal preference in danger of significant disappointment.

When it comes to taking ‘Til My Tears Roll Away on the road, Coates is pretty clear about just going with the flow of the moment, rather than what it was in the studio or in a review months or years back. “It’s just

“We’ve also had someone complain on Facebook about the way we spelt our album title ‘Til My Tears Roll Away with one ‘L’ rather than two. Well it was a public message on Facebook and I left it there, but at first I said, ‘We’re using the word in a different way. It’s not the word ‘till’, I know what that is, we’re using it in a slang way.’ I thought we had a perfectly reasonable explanation rather than sending a diatribe with links to dictionaries and all that. But then [the protester] signed off with, ‘I was going to buy your album until

Taasha Coates from The Audreys spoke to Liz Giuffre about getting ready for the road, being real when talking to fans and only being kinda sorry about her potty mouth.

he Audreys are hitting the road to support new album, ‘Til My Tears Roll Away. Last time Coates chatted to The Music her musical efforts were bookended by chats about more general life stuff in and around the album rather than squarely on the task at hand. This one was similar, starting with a celebration (and justification, of sorts) of how The Boss has crept into the band’s consciousness. “We always do a cover in our sets, and the first night I think we did something like Highway Patrolmen, something really sad and beautiful; it was a really amazing moment and we didn’t feel that we could play that song again the next night,” Coates begins by way of explanation. “So we were trying to think of something else that could be that, and we thought of another Bruce song, then we’d done two Bruce songs and we thought ‘fuck, we’re on a roll,’ so we ended up doing a different Bruce song every night. Some of them were ‘80s Bruce – they weren’t all serious, some were stupid – so in the middle of Dancing In The Dark there was some interpretative dance, some serious bum dancing.” Despite an ability to deliver a killer acoustic set with angelic precision, The Audreys are really quite wicked. It’s a spark that makes their shows always just a little unpredictable, and has seen interpretative dance iPad and ukulele solos just as likely to appear as big ballads and sweeping tear-jerker moments. “With the ukulele, I only started because I wanted to have something I could play standing up; I didn’t want to have to sit behind a piano. So I picked up a guitar and thought, ‘six strings, too hard,’ so then there was a ukulele and it was, ‘four strings, I can deal with that,’” Coates suggests with the modest mild dismissiveness only someone who only knows music stuff can. Anyone near a primary school knows the ukulele is very easy to play badly. Her slightly childlike love of just finding new noises is infectious, though, and a scope that has made their latest offering, album number four, an

“I PICKED UP A GUITAR AND THOUGHT, ‘SIX STRINGS, TOO HARD’.” whatever you feel. And once you’ve been doing it for a while people will come back – there are those that want things to stay the same to a degree, which they do, but they also want variety… You just can’t think about what people’s expectations are about what you do, you can’t let them limit your ideas and creativity, you know what I mean? If I’m mucking around on an app and find a really great sound that’s fun then I’ll play it on

I realised you couldn’t spell, how embarrassing for you.’” Such ‘strange’ audience exchanges once only happened at the bar late after a gig or occasionally with a renegade fan letter. Is this type of 24-hour feedback something that gets Coates’ goat? Without missing a beat, she channels her best ‘angry ABC viewer complaint’ voice. “See, I find that exchange deeply amusing,” she deadpans. Take that, musical media watchers. WHAT: ‘Til My Tears Roll Away (ABC/Universal) WHEN & WHERE: 5 Jun, The Abbey, Canberra; 6 Jun, Heritage Hotel, Bulli; 7 Jun, Lizotte’s Newcastle; 8 Jun, Factory Theatre

THE MUSIC • 4TH JUNE 2014 • 19

music

THERE WAS A TIME Australian underground legends Hard-Ons are celebrating their birthday but keeping one eye firmly on the future. Founding member Peter “Blackie” Black explains to Steve Bell why this great band just keeps on keeping on.

t’s a strange time for Sydney punk legends Hard-Ons. On one hand they’re in the studio working feverishly to finish their new album – their 11th studio effort – but at the same time they’re about to undertake a massive tour in celebration of the 30-year anniversary of their first official show, looking back to a time when they were brash young punks from Punchbowl with a ton of attitude and the musical chops to match.

death. For me music is everything – I just fucking love music, it’s too good. After all this time the sheer joy and majestic-ness of music has never left us. We’re still here feeding off it!”

To make things even more random they’re meshing two line-ups for the milestone: founding drummer/ vocalist Keish de Silva – who left the ranks in 2001 – is returning to the fold, joining his old sparring partners Peter ‘Blackie’ Black (guitar/vocals) and Ray Ahn (bass), as well as current skinsman Murray Ruse. Together the four will be revisiting the band’s first tenure between 1984-1993 (they took a six-year break at that juncture), although there were apparently some initial reservations about the reunion.

The Hard-Ons sound changed substantially over the years – does this reflect the fact that they love heaps of different music?

“For the 30 years celebration I got talked into doing the tour with Keish,” Blackie explains, “and now that I’m talked into it I think that it’s a really nice idea, but my thing was, like, ‘Oh let’s do fucking shitloads of recording!’ so we’re not just doing the new album we’re also releasing four split seven-inches with friends of ours from across the world. I just thought, ‘Look, we’ve finally got another drummer and it’s working really well, the new stuff ’s really pumping, I just want to go out and play this shit!’ And Ray was like, “I know, I do too – and we will – but it’s been 30 years and we’ve got the best fans, you know they’d love it if we do a ‘pick the setlist’ tour and just did stuff from the Keish era’. “At first I thought that it wasn’t going to be very musically exciting, but for the Record Store Day gig that we did [at Tym Guitars in Brisbane] a couple of weeks ago we not only did [re-released first single] Girl In The Sweater but we also did the B-side I Heard Her Call My Name, which we haven’t played in literally over 20 years, and fuck it was a blast! Suddenly I thought, ‘You know what? I’m going to have fun on this tour!’ All we’ve got to do is dig back in and play stuff we haven’t played in eons, so it’s going to be shitloads of fun. Like Ray says, ‘C’mon, from time to time we deserve to pat ourselves on the back!’ “If you’re a band that does it for this long then you’re a band who does it because you fucking love it to

18 • THE MUSIC • 4TH JUNE 2014

“Yeah, fully,” Blackie emphasises. “Totally. The first reason we broke up was because we felt restricted. The last record we did [before the split – 1993’s Too Far Gone] the feedback from it was so strange, and we were like, ‘Far out, really? It’s probably best that we break up then.’ Then when we got back together similar stuff was being fed to us, people suggesting that, ‘This is your sound.’ I went through a bit of a crisis about the band, so I had a pretty good hard look at it and thought, ‘Look, there is a certain perimeter within Hard-Ons and it’s silly to leave that zone,’ and I had to make sure that I could be happy with that musically. In all honesty I thought, ‘Yeah, I can,’ and it almost

became like a musical challenge for me to be happy with myself within that perimeter. “I think I’m pretty lucky that we’ve got pretty broad scope anyway, even from the first record we’ve basically done pop, punk and metal – the three genres that we all grew up with and love a lot. Even on the new record we still really do push it within those boundaries. I would hope that we’d change [over time], because I think that whether an audience wants you to or not if you just stay the same then it’s crap, and I don’t want to be boring.” Blackie is proud about what Hard-Ons have achieved over the journey – chiefly respect, influence and reverence from all over the globe – and that they’ve done so without compromising their distinctive vision. “Totally,” he offers. “Someone asked me the other day, ‘Don’t you wish that you guys were successful?’ and I thought, ‘Well, I could always use more money because I hate the fact that I’ve got to drive a fucking taxi,’

“IF YOU’RE A BAND THAT DOES IT FOR THIS LONG THEN YOU’RE A BAND WHO DOES IT BECAUSE YOU FUCKING LOVE IT TO DEATH.” and I’d kill to be able to do music full-time – it’s unfortunate that in this country you just can’t – but in terms of success I think the example I used was, ‘Well The Strokes were successful, and they were fucking shit!’ So no, success isn’t something that we strive for, we just strive to be good. We just want to be a great band and whatever happens after that happens – you either get lucky sometimes and you’re in the limelight, and at other times no one knows who you are or even remembers that you’re still together and all that sort of shit, but the most important aspect for us is just to be a really good band.” WHEN & WHERE: 5 Jun, Small Ballroom, Newcastle; 6 Jun, Tattersalls Hotel, Penrith; 7 Jun, Manning Bar

THE MUSIC • 4TH JUNE 2014 • 21

film

SONGS FOR UNITY Richard Dormer talks to Guy Davis about portraying the unlikely Terri Hooley in a new film chronicling an oasis of music in the midst of sectarian Belfast during the Troubles.

n the 1970s, when the Catholics and Protestants of the Northern Ireland city of Belfast were exchanging gunfire and throwing bombs in the sectarian conflict known as the Troubles, a local DJ and music aficionado named Terri Hooley responded to the violence the best way he knew how: by dropping the needle and turning up the volume. In a bid to give the kids something to do other than kill one another, and also because he probably had a bit of a problem with any form of authority, Hooley decided to open a record store “on the most bombed half-mile of road in Europe”. And he gave it the name Good Vibrations. That’s also the name of the film telling Hooley’s funny, frustrating, inspirational and irreverent story, which sees his musical crusade stretch beyond his

DAVID WILMOT AS ERIC & RICHARD DORMER AS TERRI HOOLEY IN GOOD VIBRATIONS

to set foot in. “He was going to use music to get people back into the heart of the city, which was deserted,” says Dormer, born and raised in the neighbouring town of Armagh (“so I spent my youth in the Belfast area”). “Opening a shop called Good Vibrations under those circumstances is pretty amazing, I think. But Terri’s like an alien, really;

TERRI HOOLEY & RICHARD DORMER

back on it, he probably stopped a lot of those kids getting involved in political organisations. I think he probably did a lot more for hundreds of teenagers at the time in Belfast, Protestant and Catholic alike, than a lot of the politicians did. There was almost a Pied Piper kind of thing to Terri – he wanted to lead people out of the darkness.” And it was qualities such as these that made Dormer want to get involved with Good Vibrations. “I didn’t know anything about Terri until I heard about the film. I’d heard his name mentioned but I didn’t know what he did or what he was famous for. What I loved was that this was a film from Northern Ireland that wasn’t about the Troubles. The Troubles are in the background, sure, but it’s about this larger-than-life character that had a dream. I really think it’s nice to see a character in a film that is so optimistic and fun-loving, that has such a joy of life.” Not to mention a little madness. “There was a craziness to Terri then, and it exists to this day,” laughs Dormer, who admits he shared “a few pints” with Hooley in the name of research. “He’s still slightly mad in the nicest way. But all great creative thinkers are slightly bonkers, you know. You have to be, you have to see the world a bit differently

RICHARD DORMER AS TERRI HOOLEY IN GOOD VIBRATIONS

“HE WANTED TO LEAD PEOPLE OUT OF THE DARKNESS.” shop to become a tiny but mighty record company that produced tracks from the likes of Ash, Snow Patrol and The Undertones, the punk band behind the awesome Teenage Kicks. For all his enthusiasm and good intentions, though, there are times when Hooley just can’t get out of his own way. “He was incredibly frustrating, and he still is,” says Richard Dormer, who vividly and winningly brings Hooley to life in Good Vibrations (Game Of Thrones fans may remember him as Beric Dondarrion, oneeyed leader of the Brotherhood Without Banners). “He’s a loveable guy but he’s also one of these people who seem to exist on a different plane. He lives for the moment, and that can be detrimental because we have to be aware of consequences. But I don’t think Terri ever was. It’s also a good thing, though, because he never would have done what he did otherwise.” It was Hooley’s ambition to bring people back into the heart of Belfast, a place they were too terrified 22 • THE MUSIC • 4TH JUNE 2014

he sees the world in a different way. And this was him basically sticking two fingers up at the world and saying he wasn’t going to let any terrorist or paramilitary group tell him what to do.” Dormer believes Hooley was pulling off some pretty revolutionary stuff. “At the time people just thought he was helping kids – by buying them instruments and getting them to form bands – but looking

in order to shake it up. And I think that’s what Terri did. There’s a song that’s performed the end of the film, this Sonny Bono song called Laugh At Me, and I think it sums Terri up perfectly.” Despite many ups and downs, Hooley and Good Vibrations have proven indefatigable, with the shop closing its doors and then reopening “something like seven times in the last 12 years,” says Dormer. “Since the film came out, there’s been a lot more interest. And it’s a bit of an historical landmark in Belfast. Terri will be there till he drops. It’s not about money for him – it’s about having a place where people can get together, have a laugh and listen to some old vinyl.” WHAT: Good Vibrations In cinemas 12 Jun

THE MUSIC • 4TH JUNE 2014 • 23

music

THE RUNAWAY BOY Stray Cats’ drummer Slim Jim Phantom talks with Tom Hersey about his legacy and who’s going to carry the torch for further generations.

“I

think we invented it to be honest with you,” Slim Jim Phantom says, looking back on Stray Cats’ impact on the rockabilly scene.

From any other artist this might sound like typical rock star hubris, but with their 1981 self-titled debut, the trio set the template for the genre – everything you need to know about rockabilly can be found on that record, from Jim’s stand-up drumming to the scuzzy pompadours sported by the band members on the front cover.

According to a goodhumoured Jim, his catalogue of work with Stray Cats, and groups like Phantom, Rocker & Slick, The Head Cat and Swing Cats, makes these solo tours a lot of fun. “At this point I’ve been around for long enough, everybody’s nice to me. It’s a little bit like being Ringo but on a smaller scale. [Audiences] like it when I sing the songs, there’s not really pressure… They come because I’m a character that they’ve known a long time now, and it’s a brand they can trust.” When he gets here, Jim’s hoping to catch up with old friends, especially The Living End’s Chris Cheney.

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“Fans can expect more or less what they’ve known about me and what I’ve kinda earned my stripes doing. It’ll be rockabilly music. There’ll be a couple of Strike Out songs in there, a lot of family favourites… I’m bringing Tim Polecat from the Polecats. We made a record together about ten years ago with the band 13 Cats so we’ll do some of those and some original songs… Just the same Slim Jim they’ve known and grown to love.” So, if Stray Cats started rockabilly, who’s out there in the next generation of artists to keep it going? “There’s a lot of good stuff. I really like Imelda May and JD McPherson. There’s a lot of people who are breaking through. And those guys are both on their way, and so all it’s going to take is for somebody to have that hit record. We did that with Stray Cats when we first formed, we got those couple of songs that are now pretty well entrenched in the public consciousness. I still play Rock This Town in the jungles of the Amazon or China or Australia and everybody knows it. It’s up to someone to do something like that. We’ve gotta get that hit record that crosses over into the mainstream but brings the rockabillies along for the ride. “I encourage everybody to get out and make it broad appeal. It’s there to be loved by everyone; it’s not just some exclusive club. We never set out to play for an exclusive slice of the population; we just wanted to play for everybody all the time. And rockabilly, that’s my scene. I love the music and the style and the people, but I think we should expose ourselves to all sorts of stuff.” WHEN & WHERE: 9 Jun, Factory Theatre

THE FAILING ORDER Propagandhi frontman Chris Hannah runs Daniel Cribb through the morbid reality of the current prevailing order. Warning: It seems we’re all screwed.

or most bands, it’s a solid week or so of jamming to prepare for a tour. For Canadian band Propagandhi’s frontman Chris Hannah, the approach is a little different. “Before we head out to a place I really start poking around and getting a sense of the temperature; the political, social temperature of where we’re going,” Hannah tells. It’s no surprise the left-wing political figure hasn’t been too inspired by Australian headlines as of late. “I feel like you’re going on the same path [Canada] is and it’s not necessarily the way that is going to benefit future generations… I think often about the connect between our countries in terms of the colonial history. “We’re so similar, it’s almost like our countries are leading the way in a race to the bottom in terms of appealing to base human overreactions and prejudice, and it’s going to fuck up our countries. I mean, our countries are fucked up to start with; we colonised these places and displaced people who lived on the land and destroyed their way of life… Now we’re just doubling down on the stupidity.” It’s not by chance the band’s sixth and most recent album, Failed States, approaches political issues in a broader manner, placing the focus on long-term issues involving future generations. Hannah had his first child around the time of its release, and welcomed another son at the start of the year. “I talk about it with him in the gentlest way

24 • THE MUSIC • 4TH JUNE 2014

and the least nightmarish way possible because I want him to have a childhood too, and not just have this cloud hanging over him, even though the other side of me thinks I should just tell him the truth right now. “For now it’s just trying to put it into kindergarten terms for him, and relate it to his world and try not to extinguish his hope and his idea that there is goodness in the world.” Last year the band celebrated the 20th anniversary of their first record, How To Clean Everything, and in a couple of years they’ll be celebrating 30 years together, yet Hannah believes they haven’t done nearly enough.

“If this band hadn’t happened, I would have just been another fucking guy sitting in front of the TV, getting drunk, watching hockey and just deferring to the prevailing order and doing nothing, so I think we’ve had more of an impact this way than I would have otherwise. But what we’ve done isn’t really sufficient. “I try not to think of it like that because otherwise you just feel like a piece of garbage, so I try to concentrate on whatever stuff I think has been good, like connecting people who are doing that sort of direct action, connecting those marginalised political activist groups with a more sort of a more mainstream grouping of people who don’t necessarily have that connection.” WHEN & WHERE: 6 Jun, Manning Bar; 7 Jun, Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle

THE MUSIC • 4TH JUNE 2014 • 25

film

ABOUT A BOY Ansel Elgort knew the scrutiny he’d be under when he signed on for The Fault In Our Stars, but as he tells Guy Davis, his time to act is now. The internet lit up like a Christmas tree the day Ansel Elgort landed the role of Augustus Waters, the charm-bomb male lead of The Fault In Our Stars, the film based on John Green’s phenomenally popular young adult novel. A bestseller before it even hit the shelves, the story of the romance between two teenage cancer patients has been printed in a dozen languages worldwide and generated a devoted online fanbase.

THE FAULT IN OUR STARS

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Elgort was aware The Fault In Our Stars was popular, but he admits he didn’t really grasp just how popular it was until it was officially announced that he’d be portraying Augustus, who has an irrepressible joie de vivre despite losing half a leg to cancer. “I couldn’t believe it,” he says of the response. “Tons of people were enthusiastic but there were also people who were worried or upset, and that was pretty cool too because any display of emotion or opinion showed that people were devoted to this story. I knew what I was getting myself into but I also had this feeling of, ‘What am I getting myself into?’”

The high profile role of Augustus has come along relatively quickly in Elgort’s screen career – he made his film debut opposite Chloe Grace Moretz in the recent Carrie remake – but the 20-year-old actor has years of training and a number of stage roles to his credit, so while he felt slightly daunted by The Fault In Our Stars, he was also ready for it. “I’ve been doing this for a long time, but I also waited for the right moment to really start my professional career,” he says. “I felt like I was ready when I was cast as Augustus, and I was so excited. I really couldn’t wait to do these scenes.” In winning the heart of Hazel Grace Lancaster, played by Shailene Woodley, Elgort has to be... well, absurdly lovable – totally confident and self-assured while utterly devoted to the young woman he falls for. “A lot of characters you can play any way you want, but Augustus is so iconic to the book’s readers,” he says. “Underplay him and he’s flat and boring. Overplay him and he’s unbearable. If you don’t like him the movie sucks, right? It was tough, definitely, but it’s not my job to decide who he is but to make him real. The book is told from Hazel’s point of view, so you don’t really know Augustus that well, and there are a lot of empty spots I had to fill myself. You know how he is through Hazel’s eyes but I can’t only rely on that. You know, when they first meet, he probably wants to hook up with her. He’s a boy! He’s not the perfect guy she sees him as. Without that kind of colouring, their relationship would seem false.” WHAT: The Fault In Our Stars In cinemas 5 Jun.

DIGGING IN Lachy Doley gets whammy about his passions, his music and his heroes with Michael Smith.

eaders will, for the most part, be aware of the majestic sound of the Hammond B3 organ, but how many have ever seen or heard a Hohner Whammy Clavinet in full flight? You’ll see and hear plenty of whammy action on the new DVD, Live At 303, from the Lachy Doley Group, a release that complements the trio’s second album, Singer. Organ. Soul., led by keyboard extraordinaire, Lachlan ‘Lachy’ Doley. “It’s a beast! It’s like being a kid, having that thing now,” Doley declares, laughing. “It was always rumoured that such a thing existed but I could never find any evidence of it until about three years ago, I was turning some searches and found this little clip of George Duke from the late ‘70s or 1980, and he’s got like a Perspex clavinet with this bar just sticking out of the top of it and he’s pushing it down and all the notes are bending. A few years later I found a place in California that’s actually making them again – that was never a standard thing, it was a third party mod this guy had designed at a time when synthesisers were taking over and it just never took off.”

almost country, pedal steel-ish, that was borne from me trying to work out all the things I could do on the clavinet, and then I layered it up with a bit of reverb and tremolo to make it sound a bit like… a pedal steel. So I wrote a song around that.

Anyone who’s seen Doley performing, whether with his own group or in The Hands, or touring with Powderfinger, the late Billy Thorpe or Glenn Hughes, will know a Whammy Clavinet would suit his very physical approach to playing keyboards perfectly.

“My albums are always gonna be varied in styles a little but this album was definitely a bit more cohesive with the sounds… I’d been listening to a lot more Jon Lord and Deep Purple and prog stuff as well as playing a lot more blues again, so the whole album was just working out what I really love to play rather than what other people wanted me to play.”

“I only got it about two months before we started recording the album, and Jemima Jane, the one that sounds

And speaking of Deep Purple, “I

26 • THE MUSIC • 4TH JUNE 2014

got an email from Glenn [Hughes] and his management asking if I wanted to play [the late Jon Lord’s] part in the classic Deep Purple song, Highway Star, for a 40th anniversary tribute to their Machine Head album.” Which, of course, he did, playing alongside Hughes, Steve Vai and Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith. No offers of a tour yet, but Doley’s busy spruiking his DVD. “On the back of the album, I really wanted to capture what we were doing live and there’s this great little place in Northcote, Melbourne with probably one of the most enthusiastic crowds I have called 303, so I approached a few people.” WHAT: Live At 303 (Independent) WHEN & WHERE: 7 Jun, Peak Festival, Perisher Valley; 8 Jun, Little Brooklyn, Canberra

THE MUSIC • 4TH JUNE 2014 • 27

music

TEAM PLAYER

by performing with a backing band on the east coast, the first time he’s done so in these parts.

Benefitting from local hospitality, Ron Pope is looking forward to being just another face in the crowd. He speaks with Benny Doyle about entertaining in any form.

ew 30-year-olds have got a catalogue as deep as Ron Pope; even less can match the songwriter’s drive and enthusiasm.

The New York-based songwriter broke through via the YouTube traction of 2005 ballad A Drop In The Ocean – 30 million-plus views and counting – but hasn’t even considered resting on his laurels. This year’s Calling Off The Dogs is Pope’s 11th full-length – a record that sees the musician chasing a bigger, more dynamic sound. And although he admits he was unsure whether fans would appreciate the risks he took, he was never going to be held back by those fears.

music

“When you’re in the studio and you’re making a record, nobody knows if they’re making a hit record,” Pope says during a press session in LA, “except for Quincy Jones, maybe he knows that what you’re doing is a hit record, otherwise nobody has an idea.” For Pope, outside opinions are meaningless – it’s just about making music that he feels is good. However, he still admits with a smile that it’s “unnerving to go out and play the songs for the first time”. On this upcoming tour Down Under though, he’s got safety in numbers, doing justice to his intricate Calling Off The Dogs material

This in itself is exciting for punters, but what’s even more interesting is that rather than bring his own crew over, Pope has used Aussie connections – spawned from a friendship with Sydney muso (and tour support) Cam Nacson – to source a full band of crack local players for the shows. “I’m using all-Australian musicians on this tour,” he confirms. “They’re [practicing] without me, but when I get there we’ll have some rehearsals and lock it in. But everybody is a pro, so I’m very lucky to be in this position. When I hit the ground we’ll rock’n’roll.” Surprisingly for us though, this situation – a member of a band, rather than a singer-songwriter – is more natural for Pope. And even though he’s made his name as a troubadour over in these parts, he’s still coming to grips with the fact. “I [only] released a few little acoustic recordings in 2005 under my own name because they didn’t sound like my band [at the time],” he admits. “I had never played solo until, I don’t know, I grew up playing in a band, I’d probably been playing music in front of people for ten years before I ever played one show by myself. “But the acoustic shows are special ‘cause I have to reimagine all the songs as something I can play all by myself with my acoustic guitar and my keyboard and that’s it. It makes everything very simple – you get the songs, you get me, and there’s nothing else.”

WHAT: Calling Off The Dogs (Brooklyn Basement) WHEN & WHERE: 7 Jun, Factory Theatre

MOTOR CITY TECHHEAD Pop-loving techno star, Matthew Dear, chats to Cyclone.

s a neo-Detroit techno auteur, Matthew Dear might be expected to be vehemently anti-‘EDM’ – even if, ironically, his early single, Hands Up For Detroit, with the ghetto-tech Disco D was cheesily sampled by Fedde Le Grand. But, he says, mainstream electronica has become “deeper” and “more leftfield” with acts like Disclosure and, yes, Lorde, its audience maturing. He’s a convert: “I think it’s fantastic that we are seeing that shift away from this over-the-top, insane, in-your-face, I-want-it-now dance music to something a bit more subtle and a bit more finely-crafted.” In his teens Dear moved from Texas to Detroit and there, as a raver, embraced the spectrum of underground techno. The anthropology student was involved in the founding of Samuel Valenti IV’s Ghostly International. In 2003 Dear, intrigued by Krautrock pioneers Can, unveiled his critically-acclaimed debut, Leave Luck To Heaven, casting himself as an avant-garde popster, combining songcraft, warped soul and micro-house. “What I did in the very beginning of my career – in 2004/2005, when I really started mixing vocals with the kind of oddball electronic stuff in my home studio – it was just a sign of the shifting technologies and how a lot of people were starting to make music at home. When I first started doing it, it was still really important to have a band… [Then] it just shifted within the last five years, where the idea of the bedroom producer... branching out into a full-song mode became really apparent and an obvious choice for so many people.” 28 • THE MUSIC • 4TH JUNE 2014

Dear put out a fifth album, Beams, two years ago. Yet today Dear is more into airing club music under an old alias. “I really have shifted lately into the Audion monicker – the more techno-based stuff.” Indeed, Dear issued the 10-year “recap” Audion X, entailing 2006’s cult hit, Mouth To Mouth, and has cut ‘versus’ bangers with Tiga, their latest, Fever. “But I can’t stop making weird little pop songs – so that stuff ’s just kinda my doodling.” Dear will DJ at the new boutique event HoleAndCorner alongside members of Hot Chip. Since 2012’s Australian trek, he’s remixed Jagwar Ma and Kylie Minogue, plus performed live at Detroit’s

inaugural Laneway Festival. Detroit’s (electronic) scene can be political, but the Melbourne brand was widely welcomed. “We definitely need more of that kinda stuff in Detroit. I remember I saw Savages there – it was just fantastic, it was so cool to see a band that I really love on the same grounds that I did my high school graduation at (laughs).” Currently living with his wife in Upstate New York - “the forest,” he quips – Detroit is “still home”, and a touchstone. “When I DJ, it’s totally house music, techno music. I’m not much of a quick-cut, hands-inthe-air party record kinda guy – I’m more of a groovebased, slow-build, arcs and deep valleys [guy]. That’s not to say that I don’t get things pretty energetic at times, but I just like to take my time getting there.” WHEN & WHERE: 8 Jun, HOLEANDCORNER, Home Nightclub

LIKE MINDS

together, in duo and band mode, over the past 40 years, four of which have won Grammys. Their most recent, 2012’s Hot House, is where you’ll hear their take on The Beatles’ Eleanor Rigby.

Gary Burton and Chick Corea have been trading licks for more than 40 years. Last here seven years ago, Burton talks to Michael Smith about that musical relationship and more.

ne of the pioneers of jazz-rock/jazz-fusion, vibraphonist Gary Burton has worked with many of the biggest names in jazz, among them tenor saxophonist Stan Getz and pianist George Shearing. But it was The Beatles that brought him to meld jazz and rock. “I was at the right age,” Burton explains. “I was in my early 20s when The Beatles arrived on the scene and even though I was a jazz musician, I was looking around at what was going on in other kinds of music. Rock music up to that time for a musician was pretty boring, and then came The Beatles with much more creative

song structures and types and styles of songs. I fell in love with them and actually got to see them live at Shea Stadium in New York in 1965 and still remember it as one of the most amazing nights of music history. “So they were a big influence for me. Interestingly, Chick [Corea] missed The Beatles era, and only in the last few years, did he discover their music and so we do one on our latest record.” Burton first hooked up with pianist and composer Chick Corea in 1971, and within a year they’d cut an album, Crystal Silence, the first of eight albums they’ve recorded

music

“We do come from a fairly similar background in some ways. We’re about the same age and we both grew up musically in Boston, where Chick grew up and I went to school, and we both moved to New York at about the same time and we both were part of the post-bebop era. We grew up playing jazz standards and bebop tunes and gradually became more modernised. “Chick is a writing machine – this guy cranks out more original music than any other person in jazz, and has been doing so his entire career. So it’s great for me. We play other songs as well, sometimes standards or jazz classics, but the bulk of our repertoire is made up of Chick Corea originals, and that’s been a major part of my own musical evolution, the fact that I’ve been playing with him for over 40 years. And we play together every year.” Just how simpatico the two musicians are is evident in their rendition of Armando’s Rumba – two men, one vibraphone – and the pianist gives the vibraphonist a good run for his money. “He’s a fan of the marimba, which is a relative of the vibraphone – the marimba has wooden keys – and some years ago we were making a record and I borrowed a marimba to play on one song and Chick kept going out into the studio during the breaks and playing around on it and ordered one and he’s continued to play around with it ever since. So occasionally he grabs the mallets and plays something on the vibraphone.” WHEN & WHERE: 10 Jun, Sydney Opera House

BITTERSWEET DEBAUCHERY

music

Wagons’ new album lifts the lid on the strange things that happen backstage and beyond. Henry Wagons tells Steve Bell about their new take on things.

elbourne’s Wagons recently re-emerged armed with their sixth long-player, Acid Rain And Sugar Cane. It’s a grandiose collection that finds ‘70s classic rock colliding at full gallop with the Americana-tinged country that’s always been their stock-in-trade, but still replete with plenty of their trademark humour and frontman Henry Wagons’ inimitable worldview. “I feel like we’re finally figuring out how to make good records,” the singer smiles. “We’ve definitely made records in the past that we’ve been really happy with, but none more so than this one. We had such a good time making this one, and we devoted all of our time and energies into working with people that we respect and admire and also creating a really comfortable environment to record in at my studio, which was more or less set up for this album. It was just a really, really sweet process where we could all express our wildest desires on record in a kind of more live way than we’ve ever done it before. “I think we’re definitely less country than we were, and I think that reflects everyone’s musical tastes – we’ve slowly been drifting away from that. When Wagons first started I was right into the Johnny Cash Rick Rubin recordings,

and I’d discovered my Dad’s Marty Robbins collection and Mum took me to a Neil Diamond concert and I’d just seen Dead Man at the cinema – all of these things with a trippy Wild West aspect really inspired me starting the project. I feel that this record is still pretty trippy Wild West, but maybe we’ve headed more in a psychedelic Lee Hazelwood direction as opposed to the Johnny Cash direction, but it’s all channelling a similar kind of thing. “These songs were culled together at the end of a lot of North American touring, which involves a lot

of drinking; a lot of it’s drowning homesickness, so there’s a lot of drinking songs,” Wagons chuckles. “It’s kind of a behind-the-scenes retrospective of all of the weird places that we’ve been taken to after the stage lights go out. You’ll never imagine the strange corridors and hessian tapestries and weird scents and so on that we actually get dragged into post-1.30am – you look around and go, ‘Where the fuck is this? Where am I?’ That time between striking the last chord on the stage and then about 2pm the following day – that kind of drunk, hungover but also strange, weird party time – I think all of the songs happen between those hours.” WHAT: Acid Rain And Sugar Cane (Spunk) WHEN & WHERE: 12 Jun, The Abbey, Canberra; 13 Jun, Yours & Owls, Wollongong; 14 Jun, Factory Theatre; 15 Jun, Lizotte’s Newcastle THE MUSIC • 4TH JUNE 2014 • 29

★★★★ ½

album reviews

GLASS ANIMALS

THE AMITY AFFLICTION Let The Ocean Take Me

ZABA

ALBUM OF THE WEEK

Wolf Tone/Caroline Not everyone would’ve heard of Glass Animals, but by now those people can certainly hear them coming – there was the recent whirlwind tour of Oz and a remarkable cover of Kanye’s Love Lockdown for triple j. Then, of course, there’s their own material, which has been gradually seeping into public consciousness over the last few months, with three astonishing singles – Psylla, Gooey and Pools – and a debut EP. So the scene is set for the quatet’s first album proper and for the UK band to live up to their obvious promise. Produced by Paul Epworth and released via his new label Wolf Tone, the band’s timely debut album is near-on the most flawless thing you’ll hear this year. Its glistening production of dark, deep electronics, seamlessly slipping through a jungle of sounds, alternative R&B flavours and hip hop-esque beats is simply irresistible, providing

Roadrunner/UNFD

a smorgasbord of flavours for tastemakers and audiences alike. Perhaps the only arguable misstep is the omission of Psylla as the opener, with Flip here instead, occupying identical sonic-space but forgoing the upfront familiarity. That’s minor nit-picking though, as the track does introduce the hypnotic repetition and spark of what can only be described as a feeling of sexual energy that ebbs and flows as the album progresses. While ZABA is stuffed full of 11 clanky stunners, it’s the way it plays out as a whole that’s the true triumph – utterly killer. Ben Preece

Frontman Joel Birch will happily tell you that this record is for him. Us fans got ours with The Amity Affliction’s 2012 LP Chasing Ghosts; Let The Ocean Take Me, instead, is his chance to purge, the screamer revealing more details regarding his personal battles than ever before. Whether he’s singing about neardeath experiences on Pittsburgh, the pressures of being an antisuicide advocate on Don’t Lean On Me or his own depressive ways on F.M.L., you’re swallowed by Birch’s emotions. Aquatic metaphors tie the lyrics together naturally, while the messages are delivered via genuine anthems, heard no clearer than on closing pair Forest Fire and Give It All. Recent addition Dan Brown (Confession) seems to have brought the best out of longstanding songwriters Ahren Stringer (bass) and Troy Brady

JACK WHITE

FIRST AID KIT

Third Man/Sony

Sony

Jack White is Jack White is Jack White. He has his distinct sound that he will play, album after album after album, and no one will complain because he is Jack fucking White and he can do whatever he pleases. Also that distinct sound? Love it. Lazaretto is an easy addition to his canon; it sounds like a Jack White album because it is a Jack White album, nothing more, nothing less.

There was a whiff of novelty act when these Swedish sisters singing country-tinged folk music with a YouTube hits-heavy cover of a Fleet Foxes song first appeared in 2008, but any cynicism quickly evaporated when people heard their songs and fell in love with those voices and harmonies. Three albums down the track and they’re still singing strongly, but they now sound very vanilla in the sea of folk-pop that has permeated the musical world.

30 • THE MUSIC • 4TH JUNE 2014

(guitar). And while there aren’t loads of surprises here – you’ll hear voices from Sunshine Beach State High School in choir mode, while orchestral production touches play on the epic nature of these songs and the dramatic themes behind them. – Amity have never claimed to be experimental mavericks. The Gympie quintet have a distinct sound, they do what they do incredibly well, and on Let The Ocean Take Me they’ve jacked up all those trademarks – the ruthless breakdowns, soaring clean choruses and emotional keyboard lines – to deliver a powerful record that adds to an already rock-solid catalogue. Benny Doyle

Stay Gold

Lazaretto

On this release, you see him back to the Americana of 2012’s Blunderbuss, including an organ jam-out and shrill guitar lines, starting out with opener Three Women. We’re immediately set on a path towards blues-rock with the jumping piano-line and White’s signature vox. Grooving bass on the title track helps it stand out as a step into newer territory. It’s the album highlight, combining aspects of his signature style with synth effects and a wailing guitar solo.

★★★½

★★★ Would You Fight For My Love? is the first to go full-kilter White Stripes in terms of vox and melody, with added haunting back-up vocals. Just One Drink has the female-male rockabilly vocal we’re now familiar with from that era, while That Black Bat Licorice harks back lyrically, and with the sounds and harmonies it’s alt-rock finessed and made pure. Lazaretto is an album that blurs – whether between blues piano lines and Americana guitar, or between songs of women lusted over and women conquered. There’s a lot to like here. Hannah Story

Stay Gold feels tame and reserved, safe in its ambition and its delivery. There’s a sheen that covers the album – polish that removes any grit and reality from the music in the name of production quality and market segment. On their earlier releases the acoustic guitar was more localised in the mix allowing the vocals to take centre-stage. Here everything is sucked into a vortex of strings and billowing reverb, clearly designed to take them into the same market as The

★★★ Lumineers, Mumford & Sons and the more indie-leaning sound of Of Monsters & Men. In that sense they’ve achieved their goal. For all its homogenisation there are still songs that fight their way through. Cedar Lane possesses a wonderful lilting melody while Heaven Knows is a fun, pop-fuelled hoedown with a screamed “straight to hell” in the middle that will surprise some listeners with its sudden display of emotion. There’s really little to dislike here, but in the hands of a different producer, one who might reinvigorate their sound, it could have been so much more. Chris Familton

albums/singles/eps

★★★★

ANGUS & JULIA STONE Heart Beats Slow EMI As produced by Rick Rubin? Sure, why not. Duet style doesn’t stray far from the template, except maybe for the drum machine clatter beneath. Bound for glory.

ANNA CALVI & DAVID BYRNE

Strange Weather Domino If you like your duets a little more obtuse, Calvi and Byrne – the latter apparently on another collab binge – make something quiet and stately, which worms around your head.

DAN SULTAN

★★★★

★★★

PASSENGER

REMI

MIND OVER MATTER

Black Crow/Inertia

House Of Beige/Unified

Permanent/Shock

Passenger aka Mike Rosenberg, enjoyed a meteoric rise to the top with 2012’s All The Little Lights, and its lead single, Let Her Go, which hit #1 in 20 countries. Recorded with co-producer Chris Vallejo in the same Sydney studio as All The Little Lights, Whispers is an admittedly more upbeat record than we’re used to hearing from the folk-singing Englishman. Rosenberg elicits powerful imagery with his emotive, fragile voice and vivid storytelling on Bullets and Riding To New York. Meanwhile the influences of Cat Stevens and Simon & Garfunkel are unmistakable on the tranquil Golden Leaves.

If, as a rule, you steer clear of “the hype”, then on this occasion I say you should put your ginger-mocha-soy-glutenfree-chai-latté down and pay attention to the billboards: REMI is smooth as fuck and Raw X Infinity is damn good. There’s no grand posturing, there’s no pop-a-cap-in-yo-ass gangster bullshit. Instead, witness brilliant verses, raw and untempered production and the exuberance of a young MC putting every ounce of his soul into a record. Political references rub shoulders against pop culture references; all the while REMI wears his heart on his sleeve, and it’s immensely enjoyable.

We’ve had eight years to get to know Mind Over Matter. It’s surprising, then, that so little progress has been made. While contemporaries Horrorshow and Spit Syndicate have looked outside themselves for inspiration, our hosts have turned inward. They’ve found a formula and perfected it. The result is far from unpleasant: tight beats, consistent rhyme schemes, and accessible, melodic hooks. Real Life and What They Say are cases in point. Refining the same structure for three albums means this record is crisp and professional, but it also means that it can be a little exhausting.

Ash Goldberg

Dylan Stewart

James d’Apice

Raw X Inf inity

Whispers

This Way To Elsewhere

Kimberley Calling Liberation

MORE REVIEWS themusic.com.au/reviews/album

The sweeping anthem that was likely always in him, and that the Western Australian tourist board has been longing for. Commercial considerations aside, the boy can sing.

★★★

★★★ ½

FUCKED UP FT J MASCIS

HOWLING BELLS

FISHING

Led By Hand

Birthday Records/Caroline

Create/Control

Matador/Remote Control

Dew Process

Since changing their name from Waikiki and moving to the UK, Howling Bells have forged a musical path that lies somewhere between the anthems of The Jezabels (Your Love) and the angst of PINS and Savages (Original Sin). Tender moments like Paper Heart and the brooding title track exist, but across Heartstrings an angular approach is taken that never allows the listener to become complacent.

Norway alt-country singer of unorthodox song constructions offers title track of album many loved for its idiosyncrasies, but many overlooked because of the effort it took.

While it doesn’t represent a huge change in direction from The Loudest Engine, Heartstrings will surely appeal to Howling Bells fans, and maybe pick up a few more in the process.

This debut album from Sydney electronic duo Fishing radiates with an ebullient warmth. “Put the colour in,” sings guest vocalist Jonas Nicholls on second song Your Mouth, and that’s exactly what Fishing do. Mixing electronic, hip hop and indie-pop with a swelling tide of reverb, the pair produce a marinara of sounds on tracks Swimmer and Chi Glow. It’s reminiscent of work done by mash-up artists The Hood Internet, with rappers placed over exotic and unusual beats.

Ross Clelland

Dylan Stewart

Look, I can tell you’re angry about something, and you’re yelling incoherently – a fine rock’n’roll tradition. Occasional calming interjections from Dinosaur Jr’s J Mascis make sense.

MICHAEL PASKALEV What’s Life Without Losers

Heartstrings

Shy Glow The Roots – …And Then You Shoot Your Cousin Flaming Lips – 7 Skies H3 50 Cent – Animal Ambition Mic Conway’s National Junk Band – Diagonally Parked In A Parallel Universe Kyla La Grange – Cut Your Teeth Kiss – Kiss 40 De Lux – Voyage Powerman 5000 – Builders Of The Future

Roshan Clerke

THE MUSIC • 4TH JUNE 2014 • 31

live reviews

ANNA CALVI

Sydney Opera House 28 May Anna Calvi’s excellent performance at Laneway Festival a few years ago was outdoors in daylight, probably not the optimal place to experience her live show. A retreat indoors therefore made perfect sense and Calvi responded with spine-tingling results. Calvi’s music is all about dynamics and mood and from Suzanne & I’s first crashing collision of guitar and drums everything felt in alignment – the lighting, the sound mix, the surrounds. From there on she travelled between her two albums, playing a large portion of both. The songs sat comfortably alongside one another suggesting

with its stop-start glam stomp that worked much better live than on record, the band exploding with precision and real intensity. A solo cover of Springsteen’s I’m On Fire traveled from sultry whisper to lustful holler, a perfect choice of a well-covered song that she made her own. Rounding out with a striking, stomping rendition of Jezebel, Calvi was given a much-deserved standing ovation for a passionate and faultless performance. Chris Familton

DZ DEATHRAYS, PALMS, FOAM Oxford Art Factory 31 May While some of Perth threepiece FOAM’s songs were just

ANNA CALVI @ SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE. PIC: PETER SHARP

What’s really impressive about seeing DZ Deathrays play is the immensely powerful sound these guys can produce between the two of them. The combination of super-charged electric guitar and huge drums, combined with the band’s smart songwriting, led to a very warm reception, as the crowd sang and moshed along to tunes like Black Rat and the anthemic

DZ DEATHRAYS @ OXFORD ART FACTORY. PIC: JODIE MATHEWS

that Calvi has a clear idea of the sound and style she wants from her music. Her twin weapons on stage were her voice, which stretched from whispered intimacy to full-throated howls, and her exemplary guitar-playing. The first taste the audience got of that was the spiralling arpeggios of Eliza – only a hint of the Hendrix-esque fireworks that would be periodically lit throughout the show – whenever she threw her head back and coaxed squalls of notes and noise from her Telecaster.

big, beefy rock-outs (powerful distorted guitar, frantic drums, and singer Joel Martin’s best Kurt Cobain snarl), a few later tracks showed off a knack for infectious melodies, both in their guitar lines and the sung-shouted vocals. These times, where the band took their foot off the accelerator, were the set’s strongest moments, providing much-needed dynamic contrast. Regrettably, due to a poor mix, for the most part it was a just a wall of rhythmic noise, and much of what was going on was obscured by the distorted sludge.

As well as Calvi can do surging artful rock music, she can also strip things back as she did on the haunting Sing To Me, with its lush instrumentation and otherworldly siren vocals. It was akin to the places that a band like Portishead can take you at their most atmospheric. The contrast was I’ll Be Your Man,

“Hi everyone, we’re Miley Cyrus,” says Palms singer Al Grigg with a cheeky smile, as he tore into You Were Mine, a propulsive highlight from the band’s debut, Step Brothers. A small handful of brand new tunes showed the band’s diversity, the first of which featured a killer melody and a deceptively complex bridge,

32 • THE MUSIC • 4TH JUNE 2014

atop their typical fist-pumping garage-rock palette. Another newie, Dreamcatcher, had a 6/8 groove and felt about as close to a ballad as these guys come, until the massive chorus (as explosive as This Last Year’s), capped off with a Weezer-esque guitar solo way up the neck. For their predictablebut-perfect closer Love, the band’s friend and The Knits bassist Bec Allen took the stage, freeing Grigg up to lark about and finish the set with a stage dive. Top shit.

were the leading words out of James Vincent McMorrow’s mouth at his first Sydney Opera House performance. “I don’t know what I did to deserve this. It’s just crazy.” In Sydney as part of Vivid – and touring Australia for his latest album Post Tropical – the Irish singer-songwriter has already amassed quite the following Down Under, partly because of his debut album Early In The Morning, and partly due to his raw cover of Steve Winwood’s 1986 hit Higher Love. Amongst a flight of pyramidal, glowing stalagmites McMorrow apprehended the crowd’s attention with his haunting melodies and managed to keep it through an impressive set drenched in emotional weight.

JAMES VINCENT MCMORROW @ SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE. PIC: CLINTON BRYANT

Northern Lights. Plus, having only two members left plenty of room for a parade of sweaty dudes to run up to the stage and jump off. For the last song of the tour, every member of every band came on stage, shirtless, for a spirited rendition of the Beastie Boys’ (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party!), and anyone who left the Oxford Art Factory without being completely exhausted and drenched in sweat after that had clearly wasted their time. Xavier Rubetzki Noonan

JAMES VINCENT MCMORROW Sydney Opera House 29 May “If you’re wondering why I haven’t said much tonight it’s because I’m so nervous,”

The pounding synth on Red Dust was like a collective heartbeat, gaining momentum as intensity rose, only to dissipate and give way to McMorrow’s lingering falsetto, painfully exclaiming, “I need someone to love/I need someone to hold.” The popular We Don’t Eat went down the same path with the emotionally fueled song culminating in McMorrow forcefully drumming along to the final chorus. Whilst making the most of his trademark falsetto, McMorrow also utilised his talented backing band to their utmost potential. Every drum beat, every chord struck managed to resonate as strongly as McMorrow’s voice, like on Look Out, where the initial soft-treading piano peaks in a collective, powerful clashing of sounds.

THE MUSIC • 4TH JUNE 2014 • 33

live reviews After a few restarts (and a mild technical glitch midperformance) Cavalier was a memorable blend of swirling instrumentals and climactic highs. Higher Love and encore performance And If My Heart Should Somehow Stop reinforced that the moneymaker is in McMorrow’s confessional-like vocals, the latter feeling like an emotional purge, both for McMorrow and the audience. Finishing off with If I Had A Boat, which was layered in ghostly harmonies and tribal pulses, McMorrow and his band almost seemed surprised to be greeted with a standing ovation. By the whistles and cheers from the crowd, he had nothing to be nervous about in the first place. Cate Summers

Flanked by her husband Keir Nuttal on guitar and three back-up singers Miller-Heidke stunned, her voice carried well throughout the Opera House as she flawlessly switched between indie-pop and opera vocals. Nuttal started a few songs in the wrong key and had to restart, and at one stage asked the audience, “Is the guitar cutting out or is it just me?” “It’s just you,” people happily shouted at him, so he started again, though it wasn’t detracting from the show, everybody was laughing – if anything it was charming to see his wife shake her head at him and smirk. Josh Pyke played the part of Passenger for Share Your Air to the delight of the crowd before Heidke closed out the show with Divinyls track I’m Jealous stripped bare, then Last Day On Earth,

KATE MILLER-HEIDKE @ SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE. PIC: ROHAN ANDERSON

KATE MILLERHEIDKE

Sydney Opera House 26 May If you’ve got Instagram you’ll know that Vivid 2014 is happening in the city, and the festival of light offers some incredible displays of graphic design and technology. With a few world class musicians on the bill this year Vivid is an overload of pleasure for the senses, which aptly describes the performance of Kate Miller-Heidke. The roof on the inside of the Sydney Opera House was as bright as the sails outside, albeit with a little less flair. Light shone down onto the haunting white dresses that hovered above Heidke and changed colours, adding an eerie intensity. 34 • THE MUSIC • 4TH JUNE 2014

the hype that has surrounded Hill’s long awaited return. Keeping consistent, Hill didn’t materialise on stage at the Opera House until an hour past the original starting time (a situation that, thanks to an enthusiastic DJ and an overhyped crowd, wasn’t too vexing) but there was no retribution – or anything but fanatic praise – from her audience when she finally appeared. Hill and her band swept through a number of hits from her innovative debut The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill at such speed that it all sort of blurred into one big, reggaeinfused mess. A talented rapper, Hill can sling it out a mile-aminute, but she was going so fast it was more like an unintelligible hum, a pity considering the power of some of her lyrics.

LAURYN HILL @ SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE. PIC: PETER SHARP

and Humiliation, during which she built loops by swinging a tambourine, tapping on Keir’s guitar and then singing into it. Digestible opera at the Opera House, world class light show happening all around you and a sneaky Josh Pyke appearance – what’s not to love? Cameron Warner

LAURYN HILL

Sydney Opera House 27 May Lauryn Hill is an artist who likes to take her time. In the soul singer’s successful career, she has released only two albums, the last of which, MTV Unplugged No. 2.0, was released over a decade ago. Her current Australian tour has been marred by late start times and subsequent curfew cut-offs, somewhat dampening

Hill may have forgone the slower subtleties of tracks like Everything Is Everything or Ex-Factor for more upbeat, synthetic versions, but the audience members that were up dancing through the aisles proved it was a hit for some. And without the almost suffocating presence of her backing band, the acoustic renditions of Mr Intentional and Oh Jerusalem mid-set really showcased Hill’s spine-chilling vocals. Although sitting a little lower on the vocal registry than in her heyday, her voice is still a power to be reckoned with, and it was nice hearing it unadorned. Once again joined by her band and backing vocalists, Hill was like a preacher in the pulpit as she worked through some favourites by her old band, Fugees. There were members of the audience who looked

like they were having spiritual conniptions (perhaps just overly zealous, bad dancers…) as Hill crooned out Killing Me Softly. An easy but enjoyable cover of Bob Marley’s Could You Be Loved and the always infectious Doo Wop (That Thing) rounded off the night. It perhaps wasn’t the triumphant return we were all hoping for, but it was still an ultimately enjoyable trip down memory lane. Cate Summers

NILS FRAHM

Sydney Opera House 27 May Young German neoclassical composer Nils Frahm’s debut Australian show was nothing short of astounding. It was a spirited and profound

NILS FRAHM @ SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE. PIC: ROHAN ANDERSON

performance that defies this reviewer’s clumsy attempt to capture it with just a few hundred words. It was, at times, a transcendental experience that seemed to reach out into the night sky before descending softly into someone’s quiet bedroom with ballads so focused and delicate it felt like the room was empty. Says was a ten-minute odyssey anchored by a softly pinging looped scale. It was a lonely computer searching for life out in the stars, accompanied by a melancholy, crystalline piano figure (played out on both the upright and the grand). It built, slowly, and suddenly it was as if something from deep space called back, and a series of key changes burst open and flooded the hall with

live reviews the most incredible sound. By the last abrupt notes our heaving hearts had moved into our throats. Frahm played a composition designed for nine fingers (he broke his thumb in 2012), and the room was so silent you would swear everyone had disappeared. The serenity was absolute. Achieving a sense of peace that profound is rare, let alone experiencing it at a concert. For– Peter – Toilet Brushes – More was a technical masterpiece that involved the titular instrument banging away on the guts of the grand piano itself before moving through several fantastic textural landscapes. YouTube it. Immediately. Frahm was a warm, entertaining and surprisingly funny guy who enjoyed a good chat, and his relaxed attitude balanced out the poignancy of his work. This made for a unique vibe, and his almost cavalier approach didn’t detract at all from the sacred nature of the material. In the end, it was easily one of the best gigs this reviewer has seen in a long time. Matt MacMaster

KINGSWOOD, JENNY BROKE THE WINDOW, TALES IN SPACE

confined to crutches. Rum ‘n’ Cola remains the gem of their set but it’s hard to fault any of their songwriting and its overtly happy nature translates well live. Kingswood took the Hi-Fi back a few generations with genuine rock and roll, and not just with the songs they played. The ferocity with which they played and intensity with which they brought the crowd up was reminiscent of the braver rock bands of the ‘60s and ‘70s. Guitarist Alex Laksa sprang up with a huge, lengthy guitar solo in the middle of So Long – it was probably ten minutes long but the band were egging him on and nobody on the ground floor was anything but in awe of his fast hands and power stances.

The Hi-Fi 30 May

Tales in Space kicked things off, albeit a little later than most would have assumed, with a high energy and technically supreme show. The three-piece swept through older tracks like Shades as well as a few off the new album, keeping with the themes of smart electronica and ambient indie-rock that are already drenched throughout their impressive discography. Keeping the local flag flying, the South Coast’s Jenny Broke The Window were next. The room probably wasn’t as full as they deserved but it felt it when Sam Lathlean bopped around in double denim, pouring out infectious indie-pop that had everyone dancing, while percussionist Todd Simpson played admirably despite being

Fergus Linacre has one of if not the best high-pitched rock growls in Australia and put it under the spotlight with Yeah Go Die before Alex Laksa once again stole the show with an impressive solo. Putting a reggae twist on the end of crowd favourite Ohio capped off the set many felt privileged to see.

MORE REVIEWS themusic.com.au/reviews/live

WE ARE SCIENTISTS @ FACTORY THEATRE. PIC: PETER SHARP

We Are Scientists @ Factory Theatre Goodgod Tin Pan Alley @ Sydney Opera House The Music Of Giorgio Moroder @ Sydney Opera House Ngaiire @ The Basement James Blunt @ State Theatre

Cameron Warner

arts reviews France by giving one emotional speech about love (!), but it’s entertaining in its own way.

GRACE OF MONACO

GRACE OF MONACO Film

In cinemas 5 Jun It’s no secret this film directed by La Vie En Rose’s Olivier Dahan had an awful drubbing at the Cannes Film Festival. If you feel the need to see it anyway and have low expectations, you might find it’s not all that bad. Sure, it’s melodramatic and somehow ends up crediting Princess Grace of Monaco with averting war with

Nicole Kidman is really the wrong physical type to take on the ethereally beautiful Grace Kelly, who conquered Hollywood, won an Oscar and then gave it all up to marry Monaco’s Prince Rainier III (Tim Roth), but the often self-conscious Kidman seems pretty natural and gives it her all despite some of the more outlandish aspects of the film. This is a ‘fictional account inspired by real events’ so you can’t take what you see as being substantially true – Alfred Hitchcock almost luring Grace back to acting with a lead role in Marnie, Charles de Gaulle almost invading Monaco because of a dispute about tax, marital disharmony between Grace and Rainier. If you take it with a grain of ‘fictional’ salt, you can still feel your admission price was worth it, if not for the gorgeous frocks and scenery. Vicki Englund

MOJO Theatre

Wharf 1 Sydney Theatre Company to 5 Jul Be warned: before going along to this show you too may want to raid your mother’s stash of diet pills – it just may help you keep up. It’s 1950s London and if you’re without too many scruples there’s money to be made in the underground – and even if you’re not yet making money a taste of the life (namely the pills, the booze, and the cake) is enough to sustain a living. That’s the cocktail that our low-level motley crew of almost crims is doing – and at breakneck speed. Lindsay Farris’ performance as Baby – disconcertingly simple, either dangerous dunce or sinister savant – is so strong it’s hard to believe he was a last minute replacement; likewise, as the yoyoing Potts Josh McConville proves once again he is one of the best and most thorough stage actors in the country. Pip Runciman’s set – gloriously grimy, and the best seen on Wharf 1 in

some time – with its rickety stairs and clanging chains and tables is a wonderfully noisy counterpoint to the almost unseen workhorse of this production, percussionist Alon Ilsar, who not only rocks the kit, but carries a punk noir mood throughout with a raw and edgy live soundtrack. With most criminal gangs all the classic archetypes are met – you get the brains, the looks, the muscle… – but Jez Butterworth just offers a collection of very sharply dressed wildcards, and in Iain Sinclair’s hands it is a joy to watch them played. Dave Drayton

MOJO THE MUSIC • 4TH JUNE 2014 • 35

BANDS THE INDUSTRY THE LOCALS THE BLO RES THE DJS THE GIGS THE PRODUCERS TH REMIXES THE ARTISTS THE FESTIVALS THE GR LBUMS THE TOURS THEMUSIC.COM.AU THE THE INDUSTRY THE LOCALS THE BLOGS THE S THE GIGS THE PRODUCERS THE CLUBS TH TISTS THE FESTIVALS THE GROUPIES THE AL THE FANS THE BANDS THE INDUSTRY THE LO ANDS THE INDUSTRY THE LOCALS THE BLOG RES THE DJS THE GIGS THE PRODUCERS THE EMIXES THE ARTISTS THE FESTIVALS THE GRO THE INDUSTRY THE LOCALS THE BLOGS THE THE GIGS THE PRODUCERS THE CLUBS THE ISTS THE FESTIVALS THE GROUPIES THE ALB HE FANS THE BANDS THE INDUSTRY THE LO 36 • THE MUSIC • 4TH JUNE 2014

the guide

THE iMOM

Albert Einstein once said: “It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.” Sydney director Ariel Martin explores this idea in his new short, The iMom, which premieres at the Sydney Film Festival. The short sees a young boy forming a connection with the family’s iMom – a human-like robot designed to help parents raise their children. Martin has been awarded by Cannes Lions, Adfest, and Shoot New Directors Showcase for commercials he has made. Screening 14 Jun, 3.50pm, Event Cinemas George Street & 15 Jun, 11am, Event Cinemas George Street

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culture

EASY RIDIN’ Reasons to ride bikes; could always do with some re-iterating. Illustrations Sophie Blackhall-Cain.

NO MORE PUBLIC TRANSPORT WOES Trams too packed, trains cancelled, buses just showing up whenever they want instead of sticking to the timetable... All valid gripes in the unpredictable world of PT. Plus, you don’t have to deal with undesirable members of the public like pungent packs of obnoxious teen boys, snooty old ladies making racist remarks and dudes who sit with their legs spread as far apart as possible.

STRAIGHT TO THE POINT Sometimes cycling is just faster; walking or running only gets you so far so quickly, public transport can be unreliable and get caught in traffic, and your car could be stopstarting all over the place during peak hour. Whoosh past them all on two wheels, hair slicked back and your sunglasses on, baby.

SAVE $$$ Yeah, you have to purchase the bike, and accessories, and pay to get it serviced occasionally, but it’s still gonna work out cheaper than the car/ rego/insurance/petrol bizzo or daily public transport fares.

#CLEANEARTHING Climate change is real, folks, dunno if you’ve heard. If everyone does a

little we can slow it down. Commuting via bike uses up no energy but your own (which is good for you anyway).

WORK IT OUT If you ride regularly enough (or uphill a lot) you’ll notice dem legs getting TONED. Defined calves are so in right now. Not to mention you’ll feel your gluteus maximus will firm right up.

FUN WITH BIKES Cycling can be a solo sport, a cute date activity or a group adventure. Assemble a bike gang and tear through the streets while obeying road rules and smiling at everyone. Check out bike trails in your area, packs snacks and a camera and soak in some scenery and serenity. Teach yourself how to bunny hop.

WIN Reid Cycles, the home of Australia’s best value bikes, is giving away one bike to a lucky winner in each state. The winner can choose between a Custom Griffon Singlespeed or Vintage Ladies 6 Speed. Every Reid bike comes with a lifetime warranty on frame and forks and a free first service to get you going. If you’re a bit of a newbie – you know, haven’t ridden in years or wary of lacking balance – then this might be a good way to get back on the bike. For your chance to win, head to themusic.com.a/win-prizes. Reid Cycles stores are open seven days a week in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth or visit them online at reidcycles.com.au.

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eat/drink EATIN’ OUT

BREKKY ART 379b South Dowling St, Darlinghurst Answered by: Peter Thongaram What’s the design/ atmosphere of your cafe? A combination of modern

and antique cafe inside a visual art gallery, plus a musician corner. Who is serving/cooking and what makes them special? Peter and Dody, both ex-musicians and artists, are not just chefs to cook an average meal for an average patron,

but to perform an artwork on the plate. What breakfast meal is the best hangover cure? Brazilian Breakfast: scrambled eggs with house secret seasoning is soft-cooked on toasted wholemeal sourdough to complement tasty spicy chorizo, smoky short-cut bacon and American streaky bacon, grilled Roma tomato and rocket with a side of top secret spicy Jalapeno sauce. What is an ingredient you couldn’t live without? Fresh local jumbo-sized barnlaid eggs are good

fried, extremely good scrambled and best poached. Fresh quality local eggs are best and consistent and will bring a whole new dimension and perspective to a simple breakfast. If you have a “Big Breakfast” what is on the plate? Poached, fried or scrambled eggs on wholemeal sourdough toast with three kinds of grilled mushrooms (button, king oyster, Chinese wild mushrooms), short-cut bacon, spicy chorizo, grilled Roma tomato, rocket and snow pea sprout.

HOT SPOT VIVID LIVE – DINING AT THE OPERA HOUSE Until Tuesday, visit some of the eateries and bars popping up and serving specials in celebration of Vivid Sydney. You’ll be well fed and watered at: Opera Bar, which will be transformed into a garden paradise with neon lights, video productions and an interactive art wall. Opera Kitchen’s dishing up seafood, burgers and Asian cuisine, plus a late night menu. Bondi faves The Corner House have a pop-up cafe and bar, with a new winter menu, at the Opera House. Stop by Bistro Mozart or one of many Theatre Bars before and after shows for snacks and refreshments. Get a quick bite from the food trucks in the Opera House precinct while you’re following the Vivid Light Trail. sydneyoperahouse.com/visit/vivid.aspx

WHO’S COOKIN’

GIGS AND BIKES

REASONS TO TRAVEL BY BIKE TO GIGS - It’ll ensure you don’t get stuck in traffic or delayed by public transport fuck-ups. - Will get you pumped for the band*! (*Only if you don’t have to ride too far or hard) - If done regularly, will strengthen your leg muscles so you can stand and dance more at gigs. - You will be feeling full of adrenalin after a great gig so riding home (or to your next destination to keep the night going) is a great way to harness that energy - Once you get home you’ll be exhausted from all that riding and will fall into a deep and satisfying sleep. FACT. Illustration: Sophie Blackhall-Cain

MATT FITZGERALD @ EL TOPO 500 Oxford St, Bondi Junction eltopo.com.au Describe your place of work? Boisterous Oaxacan fun. If you were a patron of your establishment what would you select from the menu? Entree: Kingfish ceviche, achiote, watermelon, radish and fingerlime, served with Mezcal Tommy’s Margarita. Main: Slow-

cooked lamb shoulder, mole coloradito, served with Rockford Basket Press Shiraz 2004. Dessert: Smashed flan of coconut, single origin Mexican chocolate, hazelnut and goats milk caramel, served with 1800 Milenio Gran Reserva Tequila. What’s the average price of a main? $26. If your food was compared to music what style

would it be? The Rolling Stones mixed with a bit of Jimi Hendix and Mariachi El Bronx. What music is likely to be playing in the kitchen when you’re cooking? Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Johnny Cash, AC/DC, Foo Fighters, Crowded House, etc.

Is your chef lifestyle more Anthony Bourdain or Pete Evans? Was definitely more Bourdain in the younger years: debauchery reined, work very hard, have as much fun and whatever came along in the short time you had off before back at it again. THE MUSIC • 4TH JUNE 2014 • 39

the guide nsw.live@themusic.com.au

FRONTLASH

LIVE THIS WEEK

GAME OF THRONES

Thank god it was back this week. Don’t you ever leave us again for a week or more. Wait, what do you mean there are only two more episodes of the season left?

IGGY AZALEA Who would have thought Mullumbimby would have produced someone to equal a chart record with The Beatles when Iggy Azalea became only the second artist to rank one and two simultaneously with her first two US Billboard Hot 100 hits.

ROYAL VISIT

WINTER IS COMING

DREAM A LITTLE INDIE

Jo Meares has got the rootsrock mix down-pat with his latest album King Of The Crystal Mountain. To send the new LP out into the world, he’s playing an album launch at The Vanguard on Friday.

New, quarterly party No Good: Winter is giving you a chance to hear some fresh, eclectic artists while dancing the night away. Catch guys like Rainbow Chan, Maatzi and Stepfathers on Sunday at Petersham Bowling Club.

Sunny dream-poppers I Know Leopard are taking their show on the road after releasing debut EP Illumina, a ‘60s-influenced album full of pretty harmonies and synth. Goodgod Small Club is playing host to their Sydney launch on Saturday.

NO HARD TIMES

BASS GROOVE

LIKE A PRAYER

The psych-mental-punk-rock monsters that are Sydney legends the Hard-Ons are celebrating a mammoth 30 years rockin’ it out by taking to The Small Ballroom, Newcastle, Thursday; Tattersalls Hotel, Friday; and Manning Bar, Saturday.

Prepare your limbs and eardrums for a the best, funkiest battering they’ve had in a while – Trapped In Bass, a huge party of subbass trap, bass and hip-hop sounds is dropping into Sydney. This Saturday at Hermanns.

Get down when Renegades Of Munk get audiences raging with their funk/hip hop grooves, touring off the back of new single Welcome Back. Hit up The Roller Den, Friday; and The Small Ballroom, Newcastle, Saturday.

COLOUR ME EVERYTHING

DARK AND STORMY

MIND YOUR MATTER

Eclectic indie-rockers All The Colours are touring after releasing single Shame (That’s Nice Remix), landing at Frankie’s Pizza By The Slice, Thursday; Beresford Hotel, Friday; and Opera Bar, Saturday.

The moody, raging rock of Forever The Optimist sent crowds crumping when they released album Arecibo this year. Now, the atmospheric band will hit up Bald Faced Stag, Sydney, Friday; The Basement, Canberra, Saturday.

Hip hop outfit Mind Over Matter are riding a wave of success after releasing single What They Say. See the Sydney duo at Tattersalls Hotel, Thursday; Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle, Friday; and Come Together, Big Top Sydney, Saturday.

Vale to the author, poet, artist and activist.

FREE-FALLING

TOPO THIS

MIX IT UP

TONY ABBOTT

Without Parachutes have just released a new video, When We Fall, and – headbangers everywhere pre-order neck braces – they’re touring to The Small Ballroom, Newcastle, Friday; Rad Bar, Wollongong, Saturday; and The Imperial Hotel, Sunday.

While there’s heaps of parties this long weekend, EL Topo Basement might win out. House, techno and hip hop jams celebrate the launch of monthly party 500. Head to The Eastern on Saturday – two levels and one killer night.

The melting pot of blues, folk and alt-rock that is The Audreys will play swinging tunes live at The Abbey, Canberra, Thursday; Heritage Hotel, Bulli, Friday; Lizottes, Newcastle, Saturday; and Factory Theatre, Sunday.

GAY PARIS We love their PledgeMusic support video campaign. We think they deserve at least, oh, tree-fiddy.

IGGY AZALEA

BACKLASH VIVID LIVE

It’s already over for another year and we miss it already. It goes way too quickly.

MAYA ANGELOU

Tenuously links the D-Day anniversary landings to repealing the carbon tax. Way to deflect from the valour and struggle veterans went through in an event that changed the course of modern history.

FOR MORE HEAD TO THEMUSIC.COM.AU 40 • THE MUSIC • 4TH JUNE 2014

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the guide nsw.live@themusic.com.au

LIVE THIS WEEK

THIS WEEK’S RELEASES… JACK WHITE Lazaretto Third Man Records/Sony PASSENGER Whispers Black Crow Records/Inertia THE AMITY AFFLICTION Let The Ocean Take Me Roadrunner/Warner GLASS ANIMALS ZABA Wolf Tone/Caroline 42 • THE MUSIC • 4TH JUNE 2014

TIME FOR CHANGE

ROCK CHIC

MADE OF TIN

The soulful hip hop of Loose Change meshes classic rap beats with a bit of Aussie flair to create fresh, honest but definitively street tunes. The three-piece will storm into Transit Bar, Canberra, Saturday; and Petersham Bowlo, Sunday.

Self-described ‘almost allgirl’ rock band Bonney Read are releasing their latest EP Live To Tell. The beer-soaked, effortlessly awesome, grungeheavy powerhouse rockers are stomping into Brighton Up Bar on Thursday.

On Sunday at 2.30pm you can catch Tin Sparrow at the Newport Arms Hotel playing a free and intimate beer garden set. Can’t think of a better way to spend a chill afternoon than with these folk-pop tunes.

HOWLING MAD

STEALING HEARTS

COUNTRY BLUES

Wolf & Cub are playing their wild, powerful, riff-heavy tunes in only two shows down the east coast. If you’re in Sydney, that means your only chance to catch the intense psychrock four-piece is at Newtown Social Club this Saturday.

Tonight at Beach Road Hotel you can catch Thief aka PJ Wolf as well as Pilots bringing the synth jams to the Bondi venue. The minimalist sounds of the two promise for a great chilled-back evening.

When three beloved NSW singer-songwriters join together, prepare for the most gravelly, soulful alt-country, blues and folk tunes you’ve ever heard. See Mark Moldre, James Thomson and Darren Cross at Petersham Bowling Club on Saturday.

REACH YOUR PEAK

JERSEY BOY

LOSE YOURSELF

Peak Festival is on this long weekend, promising a strangely amazing mix of snow, indie tunes including The Herd and Claude Hay, puppet performances and tobogganing. Kicking off on Friday, the festival is at Perisher Valley.

The ‘60s swinging, jazz-fusion jams of Bobby Fox will be soon heard ‘round the nation. His nonstop stage presence breathes new life into the word ‘style’. You can catch Bobby’s theatrical tunes at The Basement on Monday.

Go on a long, harmonic journey of self-discovery, set to heavy beats, when Arundel and Winterplan take off at Oxford Art Factory on Saturday.

NO SLEEP UNTIL MONDAY

BOYEUR YOUR SPIRITS

SO GOOD, IT’S RIGHT

Make the most of your Queen’s Birthday long weekend by heading to S*A*S*H at Flyover Bar this Sunday afternoon. Features tech house champs Jay Shepherd, Benny Grauer, Gabby, Matt Weir and Kerry Wallace.

Boyeur have just put out their debut EP, Gold Street, and are ready to set indie hearts on fire, gliding into The Vanguard, Wednesday; The Newsagency, Friday; Rad Bar, Wollongong, Saturday; and Smith’s Alternative Bookshop, Canberra, Sunday.

Our Man In Berlin are set to send crowds into fits of swaying-induced euphoria when, buoyed by the release of debut EP Is It Right?, their particular brand of feelgood, ethereal indie-pop comes to The Lansdowne on Friday.

FOR MORE HEAD TO THEMUSIC.COM.AU

THE MUSIC • 4TH JUNE 2014 • 43

the guide nsw.live@themusic.com.au

EP FOCUS

ALBUM FOCUS the songs a lot and felt it out. Was anything in particular inspiring you during the making? The album is really just us trying to make sense of all the scattered music and places that roll on in two years. Sounds from dollar bin records and tapes with songs from the internet.

OUR MAN IN BERLIN Answered by: Haydn Mansell EP title? Is It Right? How many releases do you have now? Two. This EP and the Temaze/The Run Around split single from early 2013. Was anything in particular inspiring you during the making? Yep, lots of things inspired me: my bandmates, my friends, my family, Radiohead, Massive Attack, The Wire, The Stone Roses, Jeff Buckley, Thom Yorke, and heaps more.

favourites change all the time. We’ll like this EP if we like... Not sure. I guess you’ll like it if you like it. I like Bob Dylan and we sound nothing like that. When and where is your launch/ next gig? 6 Jun, Lansdowne Hotel Website link for more info? facebook.com/ourmaninberlin

FISHING Answered by: Russell Fitzgibbon Album title? Shy Glow Where did the title of your new album come from? I think just different types of light and the rotation of the earth. Cosmic. How many releases do you have now? Two 7” singles are our only IRL products. But we’ve put out four collections free *online* and remixes everywhere. How long did it take to write/ record? The album came together over about two years. Some tracks have been evolving for the whole time and some are only months old. We just listened to

What’s your favourite song on it? I’m really digging Spilt Milk at the moment. But my

HAVE YOU BEEN TO

What’s your favourite song on it? There’s a song called Pacific Ocean, which is literally about that, and I think it’s my favourite. Will you do anything differently next time? I think next time, instead of trying to capture our entire spectrum of existence (lol) we might just try and smash out one super targeted idea. Because, hey, why not? When and where is your launch/next gig? The album launch at The Basement for Vivid fest on 5 Jun, featuring Polographia, Major Napier, Melty and Champain Lyf. <3 Website link for more info? fishingsounds.com

HAVE YOU HEARD

you wish to explore, there is something for everyone at this year’s FEEDBACK.

FEEDBACK Why should young people head to FEEDBACK? If you are an aspiring musician or want to pursue a career in the music industry, look no further! This music conference tailored specially for young people is a rare opportunity for you to learn the ins and outs of the industry, by providing you with real life examples on how to succeed, and advice on how to navigate the roadblocks faced by youth in today’s music industry climate. What’s the best thing about FEEDBACK? No matter what style of music you play, or which area of the industry 44 • THE MUSIC • 4TH JUNE 2014

Who are some of the main speakers on hand? Singer-songwriter Josh Pyke and producer Wayne Connolly will be sharing tips on how to craft catchy songs. Winston McCall from Parkway Drive and manager Graham Nixon, alongside Thelma Plum with her manager Leanne de Souza will be sharing how they forged successful music careers from a young age. There will also be representatives from a variety of leading industry organisations offering advice and guidance. What’s the highlight of the event? AJ Maddah from Soundwave will be provide an entertaining and informative keynote address to kick off the conference. When and where is the event? 9 Jun, 1–5pm, at Vivid Ideas Exchange, Museum Of Contemporary Art Website link for more info? vividsydney.com/events

ARUNDEL Answered by: Lucas Arundell How did you get together? The project started as a solo studio project with guest vocalists. I soon realised we needed more on the live front, especially in the rhythm section. Now the five-piece band is in full swing! Sum up your musical sound in four words? Textured, atmospheric, beat-driven, introspective. If you could support any band in the world – past or present – who would it be? Talk Talk, simply because I’d love to hear Mark Hollis’ voice live. You’re being sent into space, no

iPod, you can bring one album what would it be? Sigur Rós – ( ). First time I heard this album, I wanted to be in space, looking back at the earth... Greatest rock’n’roll moment of your career to date? The last time we were in Sydney (playing FBi Social), we had quite a responsive crowd – some even sang the words to the songs! Why should people come and see your band? We have a big visual element to the show, creating a really immersive experience. When and where for your next gig? Oxford Art Factory, 7 Jun. Website link for more info? facebook.com/ArundelSounds

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the guide nsw.live@themusic.com.au

SINGLE FOCUS

HAVE YOU HEARD songwriters Gillian Welch and David Rawlings.

EAGLE & THE WORM Answered by: Jarrad Brown Single title? Automatic What’s the song about? Instinctive vibes. Automatic reactions. Subterranean mind connections. Tuning in. Tuning out. How long did it take to write/ record? A day for each. Is this track from a forthcoming release/existing release? It is a 7”. We released it into the world on 20 April for Record Store Day. And we have an album out later in the year that it may or may not be on.

Layers of sound. Rhythm sounds. Drums. Lots of words coming out like a drum beat. We’ll like this song if we like... Rhythm. Lots of little sounds put together to make one bigger sound. Bass guitar, brass. Do you play it differently live? A little. Not much. Sometimes we jam on the rhythms. And go for longer. When and where is your launch/next gig? 7 Jun, Brighton Up Bar; 8 Jun, Great Northern Hotel, Newcastle Website link for more info? facebook.com/eagleandtheworm

What was inspiring you during the song’s writing and recording?

You’re being sent into space, no iPod, you can bring one album what would it be? L: Rhythm & Repose – Glen Hansard. N: No Guru, No Method, No Teacher – Van Morrison.

DEAR ORPHANS Answered by: Nick Payne and Lyn Taylor How did you get together? Nick flew 1,000 kilometres north to play our first gig in an Irish pub in Toowoomba. Lyn then moved to Sydney. We built a band from Sydney’s bluegrass and old-time community. Sum up your musical sound in four words? Honest, dark, raw, Americana. If you could support any band in the world – past or present – who would it be? L: Irish troubadour Glen Hansard. N: Modern, old-time

SINGLE FOCUS

Greatest rock’n’roll moment of your career to date? L: Playing my song You Belong With Me with Bill Chambers’ backing band at his Hillbilly Jam. N: Every year walking down Peel Street at Tamworth Country Music Festival. Why should people come and see your band? You like fiddles, dobro, double bass and acoustic guitars. Stories about Australia. Love songs where someone dies at the end. When and where for your next gig? Sunday 8 Jun arvo for Bunkerfest 2 at Coogee Diggers. Website link for more info? dearorphans.com

HAVE YOU HEARD

self-titled debut album. What was inspiring you during the song’s writing and recording? Years and years of people bugging me to write an album.

RENEGADES OF MUNK Answered by: Munk Single title? Welcome Back What’s the song about? Introduction to the band and myself as an MC that’s been around since the ‘80s. How long did it take to write/ record? The album was recorded in bits and pieces over a year. The song was written lyrically on planes over a few months. The music I carefully moulded over a month, especially that horn section. Is this track from a forthcoming release/existing release? This track is the first song off our 46 • THE MUSIC • 4TH JUNE 2014

We’ll like this song if we like... Funk music played by a band with some cool lyrics and punchlines. Do you play it differently live? Yes, we do not have the horn section live, and we play it faster. When and where is your launch/ next gig? Next show is in Sydney at The Roller Den on 6 Jun, followed by the Small Ballroom on 7 Jun. The support acts are all great as well. Website link for more info? renegadesofmunk.com

LURCH & CHIEF Answered by: Josh Lane How did you get together? It just kind of happened. Somebody was mates with somebody else, who had some songs, and then we met up and played them and it clicked and here we are. Sum up your musical sound in four words? Erotic Japanese trip hop. If you could support any band in the world – past or present – who would it be? You can’t go past The Stones, can you? You’re being sent into space, no iPod, you can bring one album what would it be? Grace – Jeff Buckley.

Greatest rock’n’roll moment of your career to date? I got within about two feet of Mike Patton backstage at Harvest Festival, which was pretty intense. Why should people come and see your band? Because we love playing live, especially when people come along. It’s a bit more raw and psychedelic than the recordings. When and where for your next gig? Beach Road Hotel on Saturday 7 Jun. Free entry! Website link for more info? lurchandchief.com

THE MUSIC • 4TH JUNE 2014 • 47

opinion OG FLAVAS

THE HEAVY SHIT

WAKE THE DEAD

URBAN AND R&B NEWS WITH CYCLONE

METAL AND HARD ROCK WITH CHRIS MARIC

PUNK AND HARDCORE WITH SARAH PETCHELL

Mariah Carey is secretly cool. She defied her pop diva image by securing Ol’ Dirty Bastard for 1995’s Bad Boy remix of Fantasy – classic hip hop soul. Grimes digs her. But in later years Carey has surrendered to formula – vacillating between R&B, with rappers, and, for her Vision Of Love demog, middle of the road. Carey’s comeback, Me. I Am Mariah... The Elusive Chanteuse, has had a long, troubled history. The initial lead single Triumphant (Get ‘Em) faltered. Once Carey’s main rival was Whitney Houston; today it’s the juggernaut that is Beyoncé. Yet Carey’s voice still soars. It’s a conservative record – ‘90s nostalgia saturates tracks like Mike Will Made It’s midtempo groove Faded – but there are surprises. The opener is an Alicia Keys-style piano ballad, Cry. This and other traditionalist songs recall Carey’s critically acclaimed The Emancipation Of Mimi. However, the riskier numbers, including the alt-hit #Beautiful with Miguel, work, too. Rodney ‘Darkchild’ Jerkins’ underrated You’re Mine (Eternal) is Drakey with ‘80s synths. Meteorite is space disco masterminded by Q-Tip. Less successful? Hit-Boy’s Wu-Tang Clansampling Dedicated with Nas is forgettable – albeit preferable to the crunk’n’B throwaway Thirsty. We also wish that superstars wouldn’t do corny shit like Supernatural with gurgling kids, Carey’s twins (DemBabies) ‘featuring’. Every Mariah album contains a retro cover – here it’s George Michael’s Faith-era One More Try, transformed into gospel-soul. @therealcyclone

MARIAH CAREY

48 • THE MUSIC • 4TH JUNE 2014

JAMES HETFIELD OF METALLICA

During the week someone sent me a link to a clip that someone had recorded of Metallica playing The Frayed Ends Of Sanity during soundcheck in Helsinki on 27 May and it got the net all in a knot since it’s still never been played live in full before. It’s been messed with plenty though, even as far back as ‘89 they were playing the first couple of minutes before getting bored with it and stopping. I seriously doubt any other band could pull that off without the crowd turning on them. They also mixed it into the awesome …Justice medley they were doing on the Black Album tour. Such are the antics of the biggest metal band of all time. Which leads me to today’s lecture backing up an article from US mega site, Metal Sucks, which ran a story about why there will never be another band as big as Metallica again – metal or otherwise. It confirms what a lot of us have been saying for years, that while metal as a genre may be bigger and more widespread than ever, it’s still just a massive subculture to the rest of the world. Here are Metal Sucks (and some of my) reasons why: 1) Too Many Bands – Yep, how many watered-down power metal or thrash revivalist bands do we need? If you were to attempt to do a Big Four in 2014 you’d have 254 bands to pick from instead of, well, four. With so many options it’s hard to cut through the noise and stand so far enough above the crowd that the world at large takes notice. 2) The Net. I’ve crapped on about this one many times so you know my stance. File sharing is a

blessing as much as it’s a curse. Plus it’s noiser than ever. Daily news feeds miles long versus getting your monthly dose of news via Hot Metal or Terrorizer or weekly via The Racket. The net does an awesome job of getting lots of bands lots of coverage but getting nine million hits on YouTube is still restricted to stupid shit and cats. 3) Radio. Even in America they have problems with getting the radio to support us. By comparison they leave Australian ‘rock’ radio in the dust and the js can’t help but give shit to the gruff vocals every time Parkway score a feature album. It’s always going to be limited to the specialist shows that go to air usually when most humans are about to go to sleep. The other two major issues Metal Sucks bring up are ‘screaming vocals’, which is funny ‘cause they don’t even register to my ears anymore. And, well, everything else. With so many other distractions to pull you away from listening to music these days, it just doesn’t matter to most people as much as it did before. Games, phones and Netflix get more of people’s attention than new releases. I’ll be honest and I’m sure a lot of people are the same: when was the last time you sat in front of your stereo (if you still have one) and listened to an album start to finish with no distractions? What are the odds of a band – any band – convincing 80 million people to buy their album and immerse themselves in it for an hour over and over? The mega band? Those days are very much over. heavyshit@themusic.com.au

Last night I watched The Punk Singer, a documentary about Kathleen Hanna. Hanna was a key figure in the Riot Grrrl movement, fronting Bikini Kill (later electro act Le Tigre – the sound was different, the politics the same) and inspiring a whole generation of women in punk rock. It was timely viewing given a lot of the discourse I’ve seen from people involved in hardcore and punk about the recent shootings in California. As I turned off the TV, I felt energised and motivated. But then I stopped, started to think things through, and a question came to the front of my mind. Could a band like Bikini Kill, and a movement like Riot Grrrl exist and have that kind of impact today? Are the environmental conditions in modern punk and hardcore right to bring these ideas back to the popular consciousness? And the answer that I have is: I don’t know, but possibly not. Enter broad, sweeping statements. Punk and hardcore are scenes that were founded on being the exception, on prizing individuality and I think, to an extent, that has been lost as peer pressure takes hold. Young people are happy to follow the trends that their friends do, which is probably a flow-on effect from the actions of their favourite bands and performers. Perhaps there is a need for stronger role models – the equivalent of Kathleen Hanna or Ian MacKaye – for the current generation of punk and hardcore fans. There are people out there that can fill those roles, but it’s up to the youth to find them. wakethedead@themusic.com.au

KATHLEEN HANNA

opinion GET IT TOGETHER

DANCE MOVES

THE LOOKING GLASS

HIP HOP WITH JAMES D’APICE

NEW CURRENTS WITH TIM FINNEY

A JOURNEY THROUGH ARTS WITH HELEN STRINGER

BEASTIE BOYS

Gazing at African pop music from the outside is like standing in a hall of mirrors. Perhaps Westerners see what we want to see, a reflection of our own cultural products ‘made strange’ by an unknowable foreign culture. But such imperialism is aided and abetted by the music, which often reproduces and mutates the very signifiers of African foreignness that the West liked to play with in the first place.

Not often do the worlds of estate litigation and rap cross paths. Estate litigation is an area of legal practice that describes the arguments surviving relatives have over a dead person’s will (or lack of a will). Rap is a genre of music that rose to prominence in the late 20th century, before fading to obscurity a few years later.

It’s tempting to conclude that Ghana and Nigeria look to the US, Jamaica and Trinidad for pop music inspiration not just because these countries have themselves been the source of so much excellent danceable pop, but because inherent in each of rap, dancehall and soca is an existing implied vision of Africa.

Adam Yauch, the Beastie Boy, left directions in his will prohibiting Beastie Boys songs from being used in advertisements. Then he died. It seems Monster, the energy drink manufacturer and sole cause of the acne epidemic sweeping teenage boys across our fair city, have used some Beastie Boys songs in a manner the late Mr Yauch would not approve of. Monster released footage of a party on YouTube. DJ Z-Trip was playing a set, providing the background buzz. Yauch had recently died so his set included 26 Beastie Boys tracks as a tribute. The footage was uploaded and, in an echo of the surviving Beasties’ dispute with toy maker Goldieblox last year, legal proceedings were commenced. At time of writing the matter was still before the court.

Ghana’s dominant club-pop music commonly referred to as ‘azonto’ grew with extraordinary speed and imagination throughout 2011 and 2012, and its basic tenets now don’t appear in any hurry to change. Hard, fast, frantic and frenetic, this is music which seems to jump around as if the ground is too hot to walk on. Apparently the big new dance in Ghana is the Alkayida, named after Guru’s excellent track from last year, and the tunes that fit the dance such as Virgee’s One Kiss, Joey B and Sarkodie’s Tonga and Edna Therapper’s Front & Back tend toward an uncompromising but addictive minimalism, all endless ricochet percussion, sibilant rapping and riotous sound effects.

As the Raekwon and RZA tension buzzes along, Rae has released a single from his forthcoming album, FILA (Fly International Luxurious Art). It’s called Call Of Duty and, for some reason known only to The Chef himself, it features Akon. It’s a neat track, and not a moment too soon. As Wu approach their 20th anniversary (!) it’s nice to get a reminder of why we fell in love all those years ago. getittogether@themusic.com.au

the spaces between its battling elements. This is something I particularly love about the best Ghanaian pop – its defiantly unfinished feel makes the music seem more powerful. Lacking azonto’s honed identity, Nigeria’s dance-pop (often referred to as ‘Naija’, though this just means ‘Nigeria’) tends towards the more diverse, expansive and outward-looking, with a greater eye for trends in the US, the Caribbean and South Africa – in respect of which I have to mention the South Africa/ Nigeria fusion on Davido and Mafikizolo’s fantastically deep snakecharmer of a collaboration, Tchelete (Goodlife). Towering over all this year is Phyno’s Parcel, a disorienting, distended hip hop crossover track whose compulsive beat feels simultaneously familiar – think early ‘00s The Neptunes at their most defiantly avant – and new, while Phyno’s flow manages to combine hypnotic fluidity with mnemonic call and response chanting. Phyno’s follow-up, Alobam, cleaves closer to a kind of rap homage norm. If it’s hardly identical to southern US rap, it’s still pretty reminiscent, with nervous trap snares and the kind of EQ’d synth arrangement that Mike WiLL Made It has ridden to the bank. In this way, Nigeria’s internationalism can be a double-edged sword, but it’s one that cuts in the artists’ favour much of the time, as they assemble counter-influences to exert a complementary gravitational pull, so as to keep their music on its own course.

But Ghana can do maximalism too. Kwaw Kese’s Pressure Pump feels like a Frankenstein monster of clanking woodblock snares and searing synth whines, a tune which comes together in

PHYNO

FACEBOOK

Having recently hit a milestone and reached an unspeakable age, I’ve been wondering what went wrong and what I could have done to fix it. Screw Cosmo’s favourite space-filler of women giving platitudes of advice for younger selves, I needed something more concrete. Self, I’d say, there are three words you should remember: Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook. I’d explain Facebook but you’ve just got your first mobile phone and text messages haven’t been invented yet, so I’d rather not blow your brain with information it can’t conceptualise. Suffice to say, in the future this thing called Facebook is worth a fuckload of money. Start tracking down Mark Zuckerberg and offering him your life savings so we can be millionaires by 25. Self, I’d also say, forget about writing the definitive novel of your generation; start writing about virginal vampires who sparkle in sunlight. Right now your greatest dream in life is to join Buffy the Vampire Slayer and kick some undead arse, and yes, you’ve only just mastered the semi-colon, but don’t worry: in the future vampires aren’t monsters and actual sentences aren’t required for popular writing. Write a lengthy series of books about a sparklepants vampire and his emoting-free girlfriend. The plot goes something like this: girl meets vampire boy. Voila, instant bestseller. I could give you platitudes to live by (“be true to yourself!”, “do not inhale!”) but, honestly, that’s shit you’re going to learn anyway. We’ll be much better served by getting ourselves into a position where we’re filthy rich. Trust me. THE MUSIC • 4TH JUNE 2014 • 49

the guide nsw.gigguide@themusic.com.au WSI TAFE Acoustic Showcase feat. BroGeo + Quakers Hillbillys + Harmonisation: Lewisham Hotel, Lewisham

THE MUSIC PRESENTS

Freedman Does Nilsson with Tim Freedman: Lizottes Central Coast, Kincumber Steve Poltz: Lizottes Newcastle, New Lambton Dave White Duo: Maloneys Hotel, Sydney Tina Harrod: Marble Bar, Sydney

GIG OF THE WEEK THE AUDREYS: 5 JUN THE ABBEY, CANBERRA; 6 HERITAGE HOTEL, BULLI; 7 LIZOTTES NEWCASTLE; 8 FACTORY THEATRE

WED 04

Mike Nock Trio + Matt McMahon Trio: 505, Surry Hills Musos Club Jam Night: Bald Faced Stag, Leichhardt

SOMETHING FOR KATE: 12 JUL ENMORE THEATRE Hard-Ons: 5 Jun, The Small Ballroom, Newcastle; 6 Tattersalls Hotel Penrith; 7 Manning Bar The Beards: 6 Jun UniBar Wollongong; 7 The Abbey Canberra; 8 Captains At Mariners Batemans Bay; 11 Carrington Hotel Katoomba; 23 Jul Bar On The Hill Newcastle; 24 Entrance Leagues Bateau Bay; 25 Fitzroy Hotel Windsor; 26 Factory Theatre Our Man In Berlin: 6 Jun Lansdowne Hotel The Audreys: Jun 5 The Abbey, Canberra; 6 Heritage Hotel, Bulli; 7 Lizottes Newcastle; 8 Factory Theatre In Hearts Wake: 11 Jun Zierholz @ UC Canberra; 12 The Small Ballroom Newcastle; 13, 14 Bald Faced Stag Jeff Lang: 12 Jun Brass Monkey; 14 Heritage Hotel Bulli; 25 Lizottes Central Coast; 26 Lizottes Dee Why; 27 The Basement; 28 Camelot Lounge; 29 Lizottes Newcastle; 19 Jul Street Theatre Canberra New Empire: 13 Jun Factory Theatre; 26 Transit Bar Canberra; 27 Heritage Hotel Bulli; 28 Small Ballroom Newcastle The Bronx: 20 Jun Metro Theatre

Usurper Of Modern Medicine: 26 Jun Oxford Art Factory REMI: 26 Jun The Small Ballroom Newcastle; 27 Trinity Bar Canberra; 28 Oxford Art Factory Sleepmakeswaves: 5 Jul Cambridge Hotel Newcastle; 6 & 13 Rad Bar; 2 Aug ANU Bar Canberra; 16 Manning Bar Something For Kate: 12 Jul Enmore Theatre The White Album Concert: 18 – 20 Jul Sydney Opera House Skaters: 24 Jul Oxford Art Factory Sky Ferreira: 25 Jul Metro Theatre Grouplove: 26 Jul Metro Theatre Metronomy: 28 Jul Metro Theatre Tune-Yards: 28 Jul Oxford Art Factory Circa Waves: 29 Jul Newtown Social Club Foster The People: 29 Jul Enmore Theatre Jungle: 30 Jul Oxford Art Factory Melody Pool & Marlon Williams: 2 Aug Newtown Social Club; 3 Lizotte’s Newcastle; 10 Lizotte’s Central Coast; 12 Front Bar Canberra

Nai Palm + Clever Austin: Newtown Social Club, Newtown Jess Dunbar: Northies (Old Joe’s), Cronulla

The Art of Storytelling: Southside Stories: Brass Monkey, Cronulla

Lily Vamos: The Royal Leichhardt, Leichhardt

The Greek Project feat. Charles Lloyd + Maria Farantouri + more: City Recital Hall (7.30pm), Sydney

Illuminate with La Femme Boheme: The Spice Cellar, Sydney

Lunatics On Pogosticks + Tim Fitz + The Money Go Round + Birds with Thumbs: Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst

Boyeur + Noire + Makr Bokey + Em George: The Vanguard, Newtown

Dubarray + The Kava Kings: Oxford Art Factory (Gallery Bar), Darlinghurst

City Slickers Band Competition: Valve @ Agincourt, Sydney

Blake Tailor: Pendle Inn (Sportsmans Bar), Pendle Hill

Mitch Anderson & His Organic Orchestra: Coopers Hotel, Newtown Bob Corbett: Duke of Wellington Hotel, New Lambton Happy Hippies: Ettamogah Hotel, Kellyville Ridge The Best of British with Ted Nash: Fortune of War Hotel, The Rocks Ashleigh Mannix + Justin Carter: Foundry 616, Ultimo The Badlands: Frankie’s Pizza By The Slice, Sydney Broods + Special Guests: Goodgod Small Club, Sydney Hills Got Talent Comp hosted by Matt Jones: Hillside Hotel, Castle Hill The Chainsmokers: King Street Hotel, Newcastle Aaron Michael Band: LazyBones Lounge, Marrickville Steve Poltz: Lizottes Central Coast, Kincumber Live & Local feat. Joe Gabbo + Zach & Gaby + Sam Johnson: Lizottes Newcastle, New Lambton Live & Local feat. Ripe + Travis Gardiner + Chloe Harrison: Lizottes Sydney, Dee Why Joe Echo Duo: Maloneys Hotel, Sydney Daniel Champagne + Bec Sandridge + Drew Harris: Newtown Social Club, Newtown

THU 05

The Tango Saloon + Mr Bamboo : 505, Surry Hills Paul Greene: Brass Monkey, Cronulla

Open Mic Night with Carl Fidler: Observer Hotel, The Rocks Watsup: Orient Hotel, Sydney

Greg Agar: Scruffy Murphy’s, Sydney Strangerous + Karl Christoph: Spring Street Social, Bondi Junction Mind Over Matter + DJ Lopez + Izzy n The Profit + DJ Maniak + more: Tattersalls Hotel, Penrith

Bonney Read + The Stray Selection + Tiger & The Rogues + Castio: Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst

The Audreys: The Abbey, Nicholls

The Idea of North: Camelot Lounge, Marrickville

Louis Burdett + Forenzics: The Record Crate, Glebe

Tape/Off + Food Court + Yes, I’m Leaving: Captain Cook Hotel, Paddington

Hard-Ons + The Instant + Hazards: The Small Ballroom, Newcastle

Musos Club Jam Night: Carousel Inn, Rooty Hill

Vivid: Spice with Nicky Slano: The Spice Cellar, Sydney

Cavan Te: Coopers Hotel, Newtown

Marathon + Sumeru + Legions + Vile Ways: The Square, Haymarket

Rehab For Quitters + Strawberry Fist Cake: Corrimal Hotel (Live Room), Corrimal

Jo Meares + Charles Jenkins: The Vanguard, Newtown

Mandi Jarry: Dee Why Hotel, Dee Why

Vivid Music presents Fishing + Special Guests: The Basement, Circular Quay

The Holidays + Step Panther: Uni Bar, Wollongong

Rufus: Entrance Leagues, Bateau Bay

Glab + Moth Cult + Angry Little Gods + Anatole: Valve @ Agincourt, Sydney

White Lung + Upset + Bloods + Simo Soo: Factory Theatre, Marrickville

Ryan Daley: Warners at the Bay, Warners Bay

Livio Minafra: Foundry 616, Ultimo All The Colours + The High & Lonesome: Frankie’s Pizza By The Slice, Sydney

Sarah Paton: Observer Hotel, The Rocks

Hills Got Talent Comp hosted by+Matt Jones: Hillside Hotel, Castle Hill

Mark Travers: Orient Hotel, Sydney

The Swinging Gypsies: Hotel Hollywood, Surry Hills

Royal Blood + Born Lion: Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst

Quarry Mountain Dead Rats + Gypsies & Gentlemen: Hotel Steyne (Moonshine Cider & Rum Bar), Manly

Glenn Esmond: Rock Lily, Pyrmont

Malo Malo: Jam Gallery (9pm), Bondi Junction

1000S OF GIGS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS. FOR MORE HEAD TO THEMUSIC.COM.AU 50 • THE MUSIC • 4TH JUNE 2014

The White Brothers: New Brighton Hotel, Manly

SOSUEME feat. Thief + Pilots: Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach

Oatley Folk feat. Dan Hopkins: Oatley RSL, Oatley

SKATERS: 24 JUL OXFORD ART FACTORY

Matt Price: Summer Hill Hotel, Summer Hill

The Beards: Mona Vale Hotel, Mona Vale

Vivid Music presents Big Visions with Big Village + Suburban Dark + more: The Basement, Circular Quay

Open Mic Night with Greg Agar: Northies (Old Joe’s), Cronulla

Yeo: 20 Jun Upstairs Beresford; 5 Jul Transit Bar Canberra

Jam Night with Gang Of Brothers + Guests: Spring Street Social (Downstairs Bar), Bondi Junction

Josh Pyke + Jack Carty: Milton Theatre, Milton

FRI 06

DJ Jonathan: 5 Sawyers, Newcastle Java Quartet: 505, Surry Hills Victoria Avenue: Adria Bar & Restaurant, Sydney Forever The Optimist + Rick Dangerous & the Silkie Bantams + Mandala: Bald Faced Stag, Leichhardt Dragon: Bankstown Sports Club, Bankstown Fresh Fridays feat. N’Fa Jones : Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach

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THE MUSIC • 4TH JUNE 2014 • 51

the guide nsw.gigguide@themusic.com.au Roadhouse Rockers: Belmont 16’s, Belmont

Virna Sanzone: Foundry 616, Ultimo

Mardmax: Belmore Hotel, Maitland

David Agius: Grand Hotel, Rockdale

Tape/Off + Narrow Lands + Cull: Black Wire Records, Annandale

Peak Festival feat. The Herd + Lachy Doley + The Little Stevies + Dereb The Ambassador + Glenn Cardier + Shellie Morris + Azadoota + Matt Glass + Chocolate Strings + Belle Jar: Guthega Alpine Inn, Guthega

Alex Gibson + Kim Girdlestone: Brass Monkey, Cronulla High Voltage in it’s entirety performed by +Choirboys: Bridge Hotel, Rozelle Dave Tice Band + Stray Roots + Stormcellar + A Band Named Trevor: Bull & Bush, Baulkham Hills

Wild Porteno Pop-Up with Yo Grito DJs: Carriage Works, Eveleigh Darren Johnstone: Castle Hill RSL (Terrace Bar), Castle Hill After Party Band: Castle Hill RSL (Cocktail Lounge), Castle Hill Zane Penn Duo: Cessnock Leagues Club, Cessnock Queens Birthday Tea Party with Ejeca + Hannah Gibbs + Empress Yoy + more: Chinese Laundry (Afternoon), Sydney

Heath Burdell: Harbord Beach Hotel, Freshwater The Audreys + Guests: Heritage Hotel, Bulli

THE BEARDS: 6 JUN UNIBAR WOLLONGONG; 7 THE ABBEY CANBERRA; 8 CAPTAINS AT MARINERS BATEMANS BAY

Mind Over Matter: Cambridge Hotel (Side Bar), Newcastle West

James Fox Higgins Trio: Hillside Hotel, Castle Hill

Steve Poltz: Camelot Lounge, Marrickville

The Remedy: Hotel Jesmond, Jesmond

Reckless + Gary Johns: Orient Hotel, Sydney

Mad Season - Matchbox 20 Show: Campbelltown Catholic Club, Campbelltown

DJ S: Huskisson Hotel, Huskisson Leon Fallon: Ingleburn RSL, Ingleburn

Danny Byrd + Hamilton + A-Tonez + Open-Eye + more: Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst

50 Years Since Beetlemania with The Bootleg Beatles: Canberra Theatre, Canberra

King Tide + The Fraudsters: Jam Gallery, Bondi Junction

Greg Agar: Parramatta RSL, Parramatta

Vanessa Heinitz: Kareela Golf & Social Club, Kareela

Joe Echo & Mark Oates Duo: PJ Gallaghers, Leichhardt

Catch Fraze: Kiama Leagues Club, Kiama

Guess Who Duo: Quakers Inn, Quakers Hill

FBi Social feat. Mr Clean + Sleeping Monk + Overproof + Monchichi + more: Kings Cross Hotel, Kings Cross

Just Jammin: Ramsgate RSL (Lounge), Sans Souci

Zoltan & Paul: Kirribilli Hotel, Milsons Point

A Band Named Trevor + Kim Killspeed + Aureus: Ruby L’Otel, Rozelle

Modulations: Pet Shop Boys + The Presets (DJ Set): Carriage Works, Eveleigh Wild Porteno Pop-Up with DJ Rusty + Boonge: Carriage Works, Eveleigh Modulations: Liars + HTRK: Carriage Works, Eveleigh Matt Price: Castle Hill RSL, Castle Hill Floyd Vincent & The Temple Dogs: Caves Beachside Hotel, Caves Beach Iguana: Cessnock Leagues Club, Cessnock

Our Man In Berlin: Lansdowne Hotel, Chippendale Mere Cats + Brotherfunk + Baby Lips & The Silhouettes + Baldwins: LazyBones Lounge, Marrickville

After Party Band: Revesby Workers (Infinity Lounge), Revesby

As You Were: Tahmoor Inn, Tahmoor

Nhomea + Wild Cat Falling + Orion + Phonographics + more: Club 77, Darlinghurst

Freedman Does Nilsson + Tim Freedman: Lizottes Newcastle, New Lambton

The Angels: Club Old Bar, Old Bar

The Idea of North: Lizottes Sydney, Dee Why

Vivid Music presents Pink Dove Show IV with Laneous & The Family Yah + MKO + Vulture St Tape Gang + The Melotonins: The Basement, Circular Quay

Shining Bird + Ernest Ellis: Commercial Hotel, Milton

Propagandhi + Crisis Alert + Death Mountain: Manning Bar, Camperdown

Hello Satellites + Julia & The Deep Sea Sirens: The Front Cafe & Gallery, Lyneham

The Shufflers: Marble Bar, Sydney

The Rattle: The Mark Hotel, Lambton

New Blood + Aeon Of Horus + Hadal Maw + Daemon Foetal Harvest + Chud: Corrimal Hotel (Live Room / 9pm), Corrimal

Steve Tonge + Rachel Eldon: Mona Vale Hotel, Mona Vale Funked Up Fridays: Mounties (Terrace Bar), Mt Pritchard

One World: Courthouse Hotel, Darlinghurst

Bob Corbett: Nelson Bay Diggers Club, Nelson Bay

Ryan Daley: Crown & Anchor Hotel, Newcastle

Rufus: Newcastle Panthers, Newcastle West

Flamin’ Beauties: Crown Hotel, Sydney

‘I Dream of Trains’ performed by Robyn Hitchcock + Emma Swift: Newtown Social Club, Newtown

East Coast Band + Glenn Esmond: Crows Nest Hotel, Crows Nest

Nicky Kurta: Northies (Old Joe’s), Cronulla

Cath & Him: Dee Why RSL (Scores Sports Bar), Dee Why

Marty Simpson: Northies (Sports Bar), Cronulla

Daniel Arvidson: Duke of Wellington Hotel, New Lambton

Jess Dunbar: Novotel Darling Harbour, Pyrmont

TLC + Special Guests: Enmore Theatre, Enmore

Sonny: Oasis on Beamish Hotel, Campsie

Kristin Hersh + Jep & Dep: Factory Theatre (Factory Floor), Marrickville

Brad Johns: Observer Hotel, The Rocks

Troy Keen: Figtree Hotel, Wollongong

Hue Williams: Ocean Beach Hotel, Umina

GTS: Winmalee Tavern, Winmalee

SAT 07

Dawn of Midi with Alister Spence Trio + Dawn of Midi: 505, Surry Hills

Diesel + Mike McCarthy: Lizottes Central Coast, Kincumber

Keith Armitage: Massey Park Golf Club, Concord

Launch Party with Lunatics On Pogosticks + Sea Legs + The Vanns + SheerKhan: Washed Out, Wollongong

Jamie Lindsay: Stacks Taverna, Sydney

Sinjin + Hawke + Nemo + De’Kcuf + more: Chinese Laundry, Sydney

G-Wizard: Marquee, Pyrmont

Blue Water Country & Blues Music Festival feat. Paul Costa + Amber Lawrence + Georgia Fall: Vues On The Bay, Nelson Bay

Perry Carter: 5 Sawyers, Newcastle

Michael Wheatley: Lewisham Hotel, Lewisham

Bunkerfest 2 feat. Frank Sultana & the Sinister Kids + Big Blind Ray Trio + Red Slim: Coogee Diggers, Coogee

Loose Units feat. Amodus + Exist Within + Amber Trace + Metlad + more: Valve @ Agincourt (Level One / 9pm), Sydney

The Beans: Spring Street Social, Bondi Junction

John Vella: Chatswood RSL, Chatswood

Matt Jones Trio: Coogee Bay Hotel, Coogee

Gutter Tactic + Foundry Road + Before Ciada + Til Rapture + more: Valve @ Agincourt (Basement / 7pm), Sydney

Hard-Ons + Flying Fists of Fury + Speedball + All For Jesse + Daggerz: Tattersalls Hotel, Penrith

Boyeur + Larissa McKay: The Newsagency, Marrickville Renegades of Munk: The Roller Den, Erskinville Without Parachutes: The Small Ballroom, Newcastle Vivid: Soft & Slow with Sleep D: The Spice Cellar, Sydney The Slowdowns: The Stag & Hunter Hotel, Mayfield Perry Keyes + Jason Walker: The Vanguard, Newtown Big Rich: The Vineyard Hotel, Vineyard Souled Out: The Vinyl Room, Gymea Gareth Hudson: The Windsor Castle Hotel, Newcastle Melody Rhymes: Time & Tide Hotel, Dee Why The Beards: Uni Bar, Wollongong All The Colours + Ayla + Rohin Brown + DJ Kristy Lee: Upstairs Beresford, Surry Hills

Tori Darke: Adria Bar & Restaurant, Sydney Greg Byrne: Australian Hotel & Brewery, Rouse Hill Lurch & Chief + Kid Zeus + Wish: Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach The Years: Belmont 16’s, Belmont Revolver: Belmore Hotel, Maitland Dear Prudence - The Amazing Adventures of Doug Parkinson + Special Guests: Brass Monkey, Cronulla Sharron Bowman: Brewhouse, Kings Park Highway To Hell in it’s entirety performed by Choirboys: Bridge Hotel, Rozelle Eagle & The Worm + Black Springs + Super Galaxies: Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst

Enlightened Omega Ensemble + Paul Meyer: City Recital Hall, Sydney Kristin Hersh: Clarendon Guest House, Katoomba Heath Burdell: Clovelly Hotel, Clovelly RNR Revival: Club Belmore, Belmore Kye Brown: Cock ‘n’ Bull, Bondi Junction Original Sin - INXS Show: Colyton Hotel, Colyton Big Blind Ray Trio: Coogee Bowling Club, Coogee Bunkerfest 2 feat. Steve Poltz + Quarry Mountain Dead Rats + Karl Broadie + more: Coogee Diggers (5pm), Coogee Lint + Guests: Corrimal Hotel (Live Room / 9pm), Corrimal Sound City: Crown Hotel, Sydney Sons of Mercury + Mandi Jarry: Crows Nest Hotel, Crows Nest Johnny Cass: Cupitt’s Winery, Ulladulla Dragon: Dee Why RSL, Dee Why The Nice Folk + Feick’s Device + Cat Tidal Wave: Dicey Riley’s Hotel (9pm), Wollongong Bobby C: Duke of Wellington Hotel, New Lambton The Bootleg Beatles: Enmore Theatre, Enmore Nicky Kurta Duo: Ettamogah Hotel, Kellyville Ridge Ron Pope + Special Guests: Factory Theatre (All Ages), Marrickville Junk : Foundry 616, Ultimo Jay Seeney: Gerringong Bowling Club, Werri Beach I Know Leopard + North Arm: Goodgod Small Club, Sydney

Rock of Ages: Bull & Bush, Baulkham Hills

John Field Duo: Greystanes Inn, Greystanes

Rufus: C.Ex, Coffs Harbour

Spank: Campbelltown Catholic Club, Campbelltown

Ian Blakeney: Campsie RSL, Campsie

Dave Phillips: Harbord Beach Hotel, Freshwater

Danni Da Ros: Canterbury Leagues Club, Belmore South

AJ: Harbour View Hotel, The Rocks

The Bennies + Fait Accompli: Captain Cook Hotel, Paddington

Dr Zoom Duo: Hotel Jesmond, Jesmond

Boston Blue: Carousel Inn, Rooty Hill

Daley Holliday: Iron Horse Inn, Cardiff

Modulations: Pet Shop Boys + The Presets (DJ Set): Carriage Works, Eveleigh

The Vanns + Television Children: Jam Gallery, Bondi Junction

Propagandhi + Crisis Alert + Family Values: Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle West

1000S OF GIGS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS. FOR MORE HEAD TO THEMUSIC.COM.AU 52 • THE MUSIC • 4TH JUNE 2014

andhim + Mantra Collective + Chris Fraser + more: Chinese Laundry, Sydney

www.thebasement.com.au

BVS 6][S ]T :WdS ;caWQ AW\QS '%! SAT 14 8JUNE SATURDAY JUNE

COMIN G UP

BIG VILLAGE PRESENTS: WED 04 BIG VISIONS (VIVID SYDNEY EVENT)

JUNE

FISHING: ALBUM LAUNCH

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LANEOUS & THE FAMILY YAH PINK DOVE SHOW IV + MKO

FRI 06 JUNE

HALFWAY CROOKS

SAT 07 JUNE

(THE FANTASTIC MR FOX)

BOBBY FOX

MON 09 JUNE

SWINGTIME TUESDAYS

TUE 10 JUNE

BEN RANSOM & ROB EG PORTER

WED 11 JUNE

(VIVID SYDNEY EVENT) JOHNNY G & THE E-TYPES [MEMPHIS SOUL REVUE]

JOHNNY G & THE E-TYPES ARE SYDNEYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S PREMIER SOUL SHOW AND DELIVER THIS SENSATIONAL CATALOGUE OF STAX RECORD LABEL CLASSICS IN THE HIGH ENERGY SOUL SHOW WHILE PROJECTING CLASSIC VINTAGE SOUL FOOTAGE ON THE BIG SCREEN. TICKETS ON SALE NOW!

NEWS FROM THE BASEMENT

JUST ANNOUNCED... SAT 28 JUNE BEN LEE + DANNY ROSS FRI 05 SEPT A NIGHT IN WITH DEAD LETTER CIRCUS TUE 09/WED 10 SEPT JOE HENRY FOLLOW US: ON FACEBOOK @ THE BASEMENT & ON TWITTER @ #BASEMENTSYD RESTUARANT OPENS AT 11AM, SERVING FOOD ALL DAY

(VIVID SYDNEY EVENT) + FRIENDS (VIVID SYDNEY EVENT)

+ JACKIE DEE

THE MUSIC â&#x20AC;¢ 4TH JUNE 2014 â&#x20AC;¢ 53

the guide nsw.gigguide@themusic.com.au One Night Only - The Bee Gees Show: Katoomba RSL, Katoomba Charlie Harper Band: Kiama Leagues Club, Kiama Tony Williams: Kirribilli Hotel, Milsons Point Floyd Vincent & The Temple Dogs + The Rare Grooves: LazyBones Lounge, Marrickville

Arno Cost: Marquee, Pyrmont David Agius Duo: Mean Fiddler Hotel (Courtyard), Rouse Hill Ben Finn Trio: Mean Fiddler Hotel (Fiddler Bar), Rouse Hill Looking Through A Glass Onion with John Waters: Mingara Recreation Club (Auditorium), Tumbi Umbi DJ Shayne Alsop: Mounties (Terrace Bar), Mt Pritchard Gen-R-8 + Jane Denham: Nelson Bay Diggers Club, Nelson Bay

ROYAL BLOOD: 4 JUN OXFORD ART FACTORY Vivid Music presents Halfway Crooks + Special Guests: The Basement, Circular Quay Forever The Optimist + The Supremacy + Amicable Treason + The Khalasar + Tundra: The Basement, Belconnen Locus Cadre + Bazil + Cav Smith + Hendrik + more: The Eastern (El Topo Basement), Bondi Incognito Band: The Exchange Hotel, Hamilton Pacha feat. Defected In The House + Kenny Dope + Sam Divine + Acaddamy + Set Mo + Mo’Funk: The Ivy, Sydney

Betraying The Martyrs + I, Valiance + Save The Clock Tower + more: Bald Faced Stag (All Ages / 2pm), Leichhardt Bloom: Belmont 16’s, Belmont Leadfinger: Botany View Hotel, Newtown Steve Poltz: Brass Monkey, Cronulla Peter Northcote’s Double Drive: Bridge Hotel, Rozelle DJ Nicky Siamo : Bristol Arms (Retro Nightclub), Sydney Lancelot + Jessie Andrews: Cargo Bar, Sydney

Greg Agar: New Brighton Hotel, Manly

Kenny Dope + Sam Divine + Acaddamy + Set Mo + Mo’Funk: The Ivy, Sydney

Modulations: Pet Shop Boys + The Presets (DJ Set): Carriage Works, Eveleigh

Sally Street: New Hampton (7pm), Potts Point

Renegades of Munk: The Small Ballroom, Newcastle

Deep Sea Arcade + Sons Of The East: Newtown Hotel, Newtown

Vivid: Spice with Benny Grauer: The Spice Cellar, Sydney

Wild Porteno Pop-Up with La Mancha Negra DJs: Carriage Works, Eveleigh

Wolf & Cub + Zeahorse: Newtown Social Club, Newtown

Moonlight Drive Duo: The Windsor Castle Hotel, Newcastle

Redlight Ruby: Northies, Cronulla

Blake Tailor: Time & Tide Hotel, Dee Why

Rob Henry + Carl Fidler: Observer Hotel, The Rocks All The Colours: Opera Bar, Sydney Party Central + Jimmy Bear: Orient Hotel, Sydney Arundel + Winterplan: Oxford Art Factory (Gallery Bar), Darlinghurst Sango + Pomo: Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst No Secrets - Angels Show: Penrith Hotel, Penrith Bob Gillespie: Penrith RSL (Castle Lounge / 2pm), Penrith Cavan Te & The Fuss: Penrith RSL (Castle Lounge / 9pm), Penrith Mark Moldre + James Thomson + Darren Cross: Petersham Bowling Club, Petersham James Blunt + Busby Marou: Royal Theatre, Canberra Spin The Bottle (Final Show) feat. The Rider + Shadows At Play + Crossing Red Lines + more: Spectrum, Darlinghurst The Troubadors: Spring Street Social, Bondi Junction Thy Art Is Murder + Graves + Hunt The Haunted: Tattersalls Hotel, Penrith The Beards: The Abbey, Nicholls

Nicky Kurta: Woolloomooloo Bay Hotel, Woolloomooloo

Brians Groovy Jazz & Seafood Lunch: Lizottes Central Coast, Kincumber

The Audreys + Guests: Lizottes Newcastle, New Lambton

King Tide: Marble Bar, Sydney

Without Parachutes: Imperial Hotel, Newtown

Sunday Soundtracks with Pat Powell: Lewisham Hotel (5pm), Lewisham

Diesel + Mike McCarthy: Lizottes Central Coast, Kincumber

Hard-Ons + Cosmic Psychos + Chinese Burns Unit + All For Jesse: Manning Bar, Camperdown

Fuckfest feat. Rainbow Vomit & Cum Bubbles + Rancid Meatflaps + more: Valve @ Agincourt (Level One / 6pm), Sydney

Beccy & The Pussycats: LazyBones Lounge, Marrickville

Bangers & Thrash feat. Grenade + Dark Order + Knightmare + Temtris + more: Lewisham Hotel (12.30pm), Lewisham

Freedman Does Nilsson with Tim Freedman: Lizottes Sydney, Dee Why

Vivid Music presents HOLEANDCORNER with Hot Chip (DJ Set) + Matthew Dear + Henry Saiz + Guy J + Cosmin TRG + Xosar + Jon Convex + Clubfeet DJs + more: Home Nightclub, Sydney

Paul Hayward + Friends: Town & Country Hotel (4pm), St Peters Mainline: Town Hall Hotel, Newtown Matt Jones Duo: Town Hall Hotel, Balmain Loose Change: Transit Bar, Canberra Miracle + Castlecomer + Billy Fox + DJ Bobby Gray: Upstairs Beresford, Surry Hills Death Fucking Metal 4 with New Blood + Tortured + Aeon Of Horus + Autolysis + more: Valve @ Agincourt (Basement / 5pm), Sydney Corrosion feat. Voodoo + Xerstorkitte + Daze + more: Valve @ Agincourt (Level One / 9pm), Sydney Luke Dolahenty Duo: Woolloomooloo Bay Hotel, Woolloomooloo Boyeur + Gogarty + Without Parachutes: Yours & Owls (RAD Bar), Wollongong

SUN 08

Joshua Redman Quartet: Australian Institute of Music (AIM) ( John Painter Hall), Surry Hills

Mic Conway’s National Junk Band: Clarendon Guest House, Katoomba The Angels: Coffs Harbour Hotel, Coffs Harbour The Unexpected: Collingwood Hotel, Liverpool Bunkerfest 2 feat. Mick Thomas + Squeezebox Wally + The Crooked Fiddle Band + Dear Orphans + The Rusty Spring Syncopators + Eddie Boyd & The Phatapillars: Coogee Diggers (3pm), Coogee Dave Live!: Crown & Anchor Hotel, Newcastle ScHoolboy Q + Isaiah Rashad: Enmore Theatre, Enmore The Audreys + Special Guests: Factory Theatre, Marrickville Matt Jones: Family Inn, Rydalmere SASH feat. Benny Grauer + Matt Weir + Kerry Wallace + Gabby: Flyover Bar, Sydney Palace Of The King + more: Frankie’s Pizza By The Slice, Sydney Eagle & The Worm + Black Springs + The Patriots: Great Northern Hotel (Tiki Bar), Newcastle Peak Festival feat. The Herd + Lachy Doley + The Little Stevies + Dereb The Ambassador + Glenn Cardier + Shellie Morris + Azadoota + Matt Glass + Chocolate Strings + Belle Jar: Guthega Alpine Inn, Guthega

My Generation - 50 Years of The Who with Simon Meli + Steve Balbi: Lizottes Newcastle, New Lambton

MON 09

Gizzelle + Luis & The Wildfires + The Delta Bombers: Carriage Works, Eveleigh Wild Porteno Pop-Up with Rockin’ Marc Rondeau + A Man Called Stu: Carriage Works, Eveleigh Tranny Bingo: Coopers Hotel, Newtown

The Beach Boys Show: Lizottes Sydney, Dee Why

TLC + Special Guests: Enmore Theatre, Enmore

McAlister Kemp: Macksville District Ex Services Club, Macksville

Slim Jim Phantom + Fireballs: Factory Theatre (Factory Floor), Marrickville

Coroner + Killrazer + Elm Street + Bastardizer + The Devil Himself: Manning Bar, Camperdown

Frankie’s World Famous House Band: Frankie’s Pizza By The Slice, Sydney

Zero Cool + K-Note + I Am Sam + Zannon: Marquee, Pyrmont

Andy Baylor: Marrickville Bowling Club, Marrickville Luke Dixon: Mill Hill Hotel, Bondi Junction Heath Burdell: Northies (Sports Bar), Cronulla Rob Henry + Brad Johns: Observer Hotel, The Rocks The Rockin Eddie Band: Penrith RSL (Castle Lounge / 2pm), Penrith No Good: Winter with Rainbow Chan + Maatzi + Loose Change + Simo Soo + more: Petersham Bowling Club (12.30pm), Petersham Stan Walker + Suite Az + DJ Troy T + DJ D-Flat: Rock Lily, Pyrmont

SASA Morning Glory Cruise feat. Walker Barnard + Katie Drover + Messan + Jake Hough + more: Harbour Cruise (2pm / Dock near Bungalow 8), Sydney Harbour Sonic Mayhem Orchestra: LazyBones Lounge, Marrickville The Mondays: Mean Fiddler Hotel, Rouse Hill Carl Fidler + Steve Tonge: Observer Hotel, The Rocks Outlier Trio + Watsup: Orient Hotel, Sydney

Boyeur: Smiths Alternative Bookshop (3pm), Canberra

Bobby Fox - The Fantastic Mr Fox + Special Guests: The Basement, Circular Quay

Blue Water Country & Blues Music Festival feat. Catherine Britt + Ian Moss + more: Soldiers Point Bowling Club, Soldiers Point

Queens Birthday Death Metal Festival feat. Coroner + Killrazer + Tortured + Bastardizer + more: The Basement (5pm), Belconnen

Armin Van Buuren: Sydney Showgrounds (Exhibition Halls), Sydney

Betraying The Martyrs + I, Valiance + Save The Clock Tower + more: The Small Ballroom, Newcastle

Inside The Rover Discussion Panel feat. Robert Pattinson + Guy Pearce + David Michod: Sydney Town Hall, Sydney Ever After feat. The Chainsmokers: The Ivy (Courtyard), Sydney Jay Shepheard + Tornado Wallace + Murat Kilic + Robbie Lowe + Space Junk + more: The Spice Cellar (10pm), Sydney Elvis Cabaresque Vegas Show feat. Nick The King: The Vanguard, Newtown Menagerie feat. Elizabeth Hughes + Maxine Kauter Band + Mama Shultz: The Welcome Hotel (4pm), Rozelle Mic Conway’s National Junk Band: Turner Bowls Club, Turner Queens Birthday Weekend Party feat. Damage Control + The Low Tees + more: Valve @ Agincourt (Basement / 4pm), Sydney

1000S OF GIGS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS. FOR MORE HEAD TO THEMUSIC.COM.AU 54 • THE MUSIC • 4TH JUNE 2014

Floyd Vincent & The Temple Dogs: Wickham Park Hotel, Islington

TUE 10

Miss Elm: Bar On The Hill, Newcastle JP Duo: Cock ‘n’ Bull, Bondi Junction

The Doug Anthony Allstars: Harold Park Hotel, Glebe Little Big Wolf: LazyBones Lounge, Marrickville Rob Henry: Observer Hotel, The Rocks Anton: Orient Hotel, Sydney Alkernie Night: Spring Street Social (9.30pm), Bondi Junction Chick Corea + Gary Burton: Sydney Opera House (Concert Hall), Sydney Eora Showcase: The Vanguard, Newtown

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THE MUSIC • 4TH JUNE 2014 • 55

56 • THE MUSIC • 4TH JUNE 2014