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2 • THE MUSIC • 30TH APRIL 2014
THE MUSIC • 30TH APRIL 2014 • 3
themusic 30TH APRIL 2014
“COULD YOU IMAGINE PRINCE AGREEING TO BE RAPED IN HIS OWN VIDEO?”
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INSIDE FEATURES
- ATLANTA WEIRDOS BLACK LIPS (P18)
The Presets Groovin The Moo Spotlight Two Door Cinema Club
festival
Cloud Nothings Temples Jeff Dunham Black Lips John Newman 52 Tuesdays Director Sophie Hyde & Star Tilda Cobham-Hervey The Acacia Strain Disclosure Drive-By Truckers
REVIEWS Album: DZ Deathrays Live: Jake Bugg Arts: Transcendence
THE GUIDE Cover: Twin Haus Food/Drink
“THERE’LL BE MOMENTS THAT WE’RE REALLY POPULAR AND REALLY SUPER COOL AND THERE’LL BE OTHER MOMENTS WHEN WE’RE DAGGY AND PEOPLE DON’T LIKE US.” - GROOVIN THE MOO HEADLINERS THE PRESETS (P12)
Indie News
Indy Features Gig Guide Classies
- ALICE BOPF SHOWERS THE LOVE UPON JAKE BUGG (P28)
GET A LOOK INTO LIFE ON THE ROAD WITH THUNDAMENTALS. EXCLUSIVE BEHIND THE SCENES TOUR GALLERY ON THEMUSIC.COM.AU
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“IT’S JUST ONE HIT AFTER ANOTHER, AND WITH NO BANTER BETWEEN THEM IT FEELS LIKE HE IS ON A RUSH.”
Frontlash/Backlash This Week’s Releases
SOME NEW TUNES FOR YOUR WEEK, THANKS TO SHOOT THE SUN AND JACKSON MCLAREN.
“I WAS KIND OF LIKE WALKING INTO A TUNNEL OF DARKNESS BY MYSELF, THEN SAW THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL AND WORKED IT OUT.” - SOULFUL UK POP RULER JOHN NEWMAN (P20)
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JONSON STREET BYRON BAY FRI 2 MAY
A LITTLE PROVINCE SAT 3 MAY
LYALL MOLONEY SAT 10 MAY
HITS & PITS WITH UNWRITTEN LAW, FACE TO FACE, STRUNG OUT THURS 15 MAY
KIM CHURCHILL FRI 16 MAY
KING OF THE NORTH SAT 17 MAY
YOUNGER DRYAS FRI 23 MAY
THE OWLS SAT 24 MAY
BRANT BJORK (KYUSS) SUN 25 MAY
SYDONIA SAT 31 MAY
PILOTS WED 11 JUNE
GRAVEYARD TRAIN FRI 13 JUNE
THE PAPER KITES
TICKETS AVAILABLE ONLINE THE MUSIC • 30TH APRIL 2014 • 5
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GROUP MANAGING EDITOR Andrew Mast
EDITOR Steve Bell
ASSISTANT EDITOR Benny Doyle
ARTS AND CULTURE EDITOR Cassandra Fumi
MUSO EDITOR Michael Smith
GIG GUIDE EDITOR Justine Lynch gigs@themusic.com.au
CONTRIBUTORS Alice Bopf, Amorina Fitzgerald-Hood, Anthony Carew, Baz McAlister, Ben Marnane, Ben Preece, Benny Doyle, Bradley Armstrong, Brendan Telford, Brie Jorgensen, Carley Hall, Chris Yates, Cyclone, Dan Condon, Daniel Johnson, Dave Drayton, Grace Wilson, Guy Davis, Helen Stringer, Jake Sun, Jazmine O’Sullivan, Lochlan Watt, Madeleine Laing, Mandy McAlister, Mitch Knox, Roshan Clerkea, Sam Hobson, Sky Kirkham, Tessa Fox, Tom Hersey, Tony McMahon, Tyler McLoughlan
THIS WEEK THINGS TO DO THIS WEEK • 30 APRIL - 6 MAY 2014
PHOTOGRAPHERS Freya Lamont, John Stubbs, John Taylor, Kane Hibberd, Markus Ravik, Rick Clifford, Sky Kirkham, Stephen Booth, Terry Soo, Tessa Fox
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If crusty punk and hardcore is your thing then you’ll be keen for Total Attack 4 this weekend, over three nights in Brisbane (Friday and Saturday nights at Coniston Lane and Sunday afternoon/evening for an all ages bash at Sun Distortion). Overseas bands such as Insidious Process (Swe) and Disturd ( Jpn) are joined by a slew of interstate and local acts, including the overdue return of prodigal fools Dick Nasty, pictured.
Ever want to experience all of the thrills of a full-on country music event without having to actually hit the bush? This weekend marks the return of the annual Urban Country Music Festival at Caboolture, which finds a slew of big names in the genre like Kasey Chambers, Adam Brand, Beccy Cole and The McClymonts strutting their stuff as well as the usual festival fare such as markets, food stalls and even a rodeo!
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Bike Week is almost over. If you haven’t gotten your wheels out yet, you still have a few days (until 4 May) to get to events like the Cyclinic Women’s Mountain Bike Ride (for women riders of all abilities, plus a treat from SOL Bread afterwards!), Film Night, where the documentary Rising From Ashes will be screened, or the Great Brisbane Bike Ride – there’s a 30km and 50km option and both routes travel over the Gateway Bridge. To register for these events and more, visit bikeweek.bq.org.au. BRISBANE
BAY STREET BYRON BAY (02) 6685 6402 www.beachhotel.com.au
THIS WEEK: TUE 29TH FROM 7:30PM
OPEN MIC NIGHT WED 30TH FROM 7:30PM
RAW SHOWCASE THUR 1ST MAY FROM 8PM
‘HIT THAT HIT’ MUSICAL BINGO
FREE ENTRY, GREAT PRIZES
FRI 2ND FROM 5PM
GREG KEW 9PM
RAGGA JUMP SAT 3 FROM 9:30PM
HOT DUB TIME MACHINE SUN 4 FROM 4:30PM
JAFFER 8PM
CAPTAIN KAINE MON 5TH FROM 7PM
NRL LIVE ON THE BIG SCREEN TUES 6TH FROM 7:30PM
OPEN MIC NIGHT WED 7TH FROM 8:30PM
KARAOKE
COMING SOON: THUR 8TH MAY
MUSICAL BINGO FRI 9TH MAY
SHY BABY SAT 10TH MAY
DJ DISCROW SUN 11TH MAY
DJ LONGTIME
THE MUSIC • 30TH APRIL 2014 • 7
national news news@themusic.com.au YEO
OUTKAST
RARE BEEF TIME FOR ANOTHER SPLENDOUR BENDER
It pretty much makes the winter months worth rugging up for. Splendour In The Grass is back in 2014 and there’s a bumper list of internationals and locals that will be making the trip to North Byron Parklands, 25 – 27 Jul. Taking over the Amphitheatre – which is getting its first Splendour run after successfully being introduced at Falls Festival – hitting Mix Up and GW McLennan stages this year are hip hop icons Outkast (pictured, only Aus show), Northern Irish indie lads Two Door Cinema Club (only Aus show), glamour chav Lily Allen, brooding New Yorkers Interpol (only Aus show), Foster The People, Angus & Julia Stone, City & Colour, London Grammar, Vance Joy, Darkside (only Aus show), RÜFÜS, Ben Howard, Kelis, Metronomy, Hoodoo Gurus, Chvrches (only Aus show), Grouplove, The Jezabels, Tune-Yards, 360, Wild Beasts, Danny Brown (only Aus show), Illy, First Aid Kit, Violent Soho, Ásgeir, Spiderbait, The 1975, Ball Park Music, Art Vs Science, Buraka Som Sistema (only Aus show), The Preatures, Parquet Courts (only Aus show), Sticky Fingers, Peking Duk, Sky Ferreira, Future Islands, Courtney Barnett, Phantogram, DZ Deathrays, Skaters, Gossling, Jungle, The Strypes, Hot Dub Time Machine, The Kite String Tangle, RY X, Mikhael Paskalev, Wave Racer, The Acid, Saskwatch, Kingswood, Circa Waves, Broods, Dustin Tebbutt, The Head & The Heart, DMA’s, Darren Middleton, Little May, Darlia, D.D Dumbo, Tkay Maidza, The Creases, The Wild Feathers, Chrome Sparks, Fractures, Mas Ysa, Nick Mulvey, and some lucky triple j Unearthed winners, who will be getting announced on the bill closer to festival date. Not to mention, a whole clutch of DJs and producers will also be fronting up, such as Nina Las Vegas, Yacht Club DJs, Motez, Touch Sensitive, Indian Summer, Wordlife, L D R U & Yahtzel DJs, Cosmo’s Midnight, Sable, Kilter, Basenji, KLP, Fishing DJs, Paces and Charles Murdoch, who will make sure your body is rocking between sets and late into the night. Plus, there’s so many other cool happenings designed to lose track of time, including the Global Village, Tipi Forest, Late Night Comedy Club, Miss Saigon Karaoke and plenty more! Sounds like your bag, baby? Then get your trigger fingers ready this Friday at 9am when tickets go on sale.
RAISE A GLASS
Bodyjar are one of our greatest ever punk products, so scuff up your Vans when the Melbourne legends hit the road to celebrate 20 years of arse-kicking jams and forever epic shows. And haven’t the lads pulled out a hell of a support cast, with Samiam, Blueline Medic and Clowns all supporting. Catch this killer bill at The Hi-Fi, Brisbane, 7 Aug; Manning Bar, Sydney, 8 Aug; Corner Hotel, Melbourne, 9 Aug; and Capitol, Perth, 15 Aug.
REMI
HOMEWARD BOUND
Australian-born, American-made, Grammy Award-winning power-pop rocker Rick Springfield is back home to play 40 years of hits. Incredibly, these will be Springfield’s first ever solo headline shows Down Under, playing 7 Oct, Crown Theatre, Perth; 9 Oct, Eatons Hill Hotel, Brisbane; 10 Oct, Twin Towns, Tweed Heads; 11 Oct, Revesby Workers, Sydney; 13 Oct, Royal Theatre, Canberra; 14 Oct, Enmore Theatre, Sydney; and 17 Oct, Palais Theatre, Melbourne.
“ENOUGH WITH THE SICK BEATS! GIVE ME A HEALTHY, VITAL BEAT” BUT IT’S SICK AS IN GOOD, YEAH [@SOLOMONGEORGIO]. 8 • THE MUSIC • 30TH APRIL 2014
Melbourne sound fancier Yeo has been doing all sorts of great things recently. His lo-fi R&B gem Girl made massive waves last year, and now tasty second offering Kobe serves us another piece of intellectual pop. He launches the new track 6 Jun, Northcote Social Club, Melbourne; 14 Jun, Causeway Bar, Perth; 15 Jun, Indi Bar, Perth; 20 Jun, Upstairs Beresford, Sydney; 27 Jun, Alhambra Lounge, Brisbane; 28 Jun, Solbar, Maroochydore; and 5 Jul, Transit Bar, Canberra; 18 Jul, Beach Hotel, Byron Bay, with the full run proudly presented by The Music.
THE UNDISPUTED CHAMPION
After taking home Unearthed Artist Of The Year in 2013 behind a slew of essential singles, our anticipation levels have been set in overdrive for REMI’s debut LP, and now with new track Tyson and an album release imminent (6 Jun), we can celebrate Raw X Infinity with the great man when he takes his launch tour around the country. Shows happen 26 Jun, The Small Ballroom, Newcastle; 27 Jun, Trinity Bar, Canberra; 28 Jun, Oxford Art Factory, Sydney; 4 Jul, The Bakery, Perth; 10 Jul, Karova Lounge, Ballarat; 11 Jul, Corner Hotel, Melbourne; 17 Jul, Solbar, Maroochydore; 18 Jul, Bowler Bar, Brisbane; and 19 Jul, The Brewery, Byron Bay. All dates proudly presented by The Music.
THE MUSIC • 30TH APRIL 2014 • 9
local news qld.news@themusic.com.au SHEPPARD
BEYOND
FANTASY FANTABULOUS FAMILY MATTERS
After smashing radio playlists around the country and sitting atop the national ARIA charts with hit single Geronimo, sibling-led pop stars Sheppard are gearing up to accompany Keith Urban on his national tour of Australia. The band’s rise over the last two years, first with last year’s platinum hit Let Me Down Easy and now with Geronimo, has been even more impressive given their status as an independent and self-funded act, becoming the first indie to hit the top of the Aussie charts in a decade. Catch these guys supporting Mr Urban at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre, 17 & 18 Jun.
HIS OWN PERSONAL JOURNEY
With a wry grin and a swing in his step, Dave Graney has long moved to his own beat, a storyteller and showman that stands with few peers in the Oz music scene. Currently he’s dabbling in weird pop – his latest single Everything Was Legendary With Robert will attest to that – but with new record Fearful Wiggings out on Friday, you can expect plenty more cards to be turned over from his ever-changing deck. Accompanied by a two-piece band, he plays Beetle Bar, 18 Jul; Solbar, Maroochydore, 19 Jul; and The Northern, Byron Bay, 20 Jul.
RESTLESS AND WILD
We’ve recently experienced some of the most influential metal bands in history: Maiden, Sabbath, Metallica. Now, we can add German juggernaut Accept to the list, with the European five-piece bringing the Teutonic Terror later this year. Experience a jolt of lightning from one of the greats; the band play The Hi-Fi, 16 Nov.
LORDE POSTPONES OZ TOUR
Lorde no! Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O’Connor – the NZ wunderkind who’s winning Grammys, playing with members of Nirvana and doing loads of other cool shit – has postponed her Aussie tour due to illness. Maybe she thought we were all royaled out? In any case, if you were planning on going to the Riverstage on Tuesday, don’t do it; hold onto your tickets, there’ll be new dates announced. If you’re completely sadface though and want a refund, contact your point of purchase direct.
GET SET FOR A SESSION
Cheated Hearts and Oh Hello! are partnering up to provide the perfect setting for your Sundays – Lucky. The queer friendly event will happen at the venue the first Sunday of every month, with the inaugural session going down this Sunday evening with #doslyf, 100% Hips, Snatcher, Frankie Trouble and Lu-na. Ten bucks on the door from 8pm.
THE BRONX
CAXTON GETS LARGER
The 20th anniversary Caxton Street Seafood & Wine Festival bill has gotten bigger, with Melbourne sensations The Tiger & Me heading up an announcement that also features West Texas Crude, Shaun Kirk, Jessica Sarah, Chris Fair & The Fire and Venus Envy. In addition, current local chart-toppers Sheppard will also play a special all ages set at 3.50pm on the Hale Street Stage. Limited tickets are available through the event website, so act fast!
“TIME TO GET BACK TO FULL GOLLUM GIRL FITNESS BEFORE I GO OUT PLAYING SHOWS AGAIN” @LORDEMUSIC WILL BE TAKING CARE OF HER PRECIOUS BACK HOME IT SEEMS. 10 • THE MUSIC • 30TH APRIL 2014
After a record-breaking Berlin season, progressive performance troupe Circa return to Australia for the hometown premiere of their brand new show, Beyond. A surreal blend of contemporary circus acts, Chinese pole routines and fantastical Alice In Wonderland inspired elements, Circa needs to be seen to be believed. Director Yaron Lifschitz’s latest triumph can be experienced at the Brisbane Powerhouse from today (30 Apr) until 11 May, with a range of ticket options available through the venue box office.
STREET FIGHTING MEN
Volatile. Passionate. Sweaty and sincere. The Bronx are one of the best live acts on the planet, and are set to slay it once more along the east coast of Oz this June. When the LA five-piece come at you, they do so with everything they have, and with four albums behind them (not to mention their mariachi dabblings), they’ve got one hell of catalogue to pillage and plunder from. The band play two Brisbane shows, 15 & 16 Jun, Crowbar, with the first night also featuring the services of Melbourne shredders High Tension, so get along and kick-start your heart with some anthems. Proudly presented by The Music, you can get your tickets now through Oztix.
local news qld.news@themusic.com.au VANCOUVER SLEEP CLINIC
CAROLINE NIN
RIPE FOR THE PICKING
One of our state’s finest theatre showcases takes place in six weeks, with the Queensland Cabaret Festival set to fill the Brisbane Powerhouse with laughter, drama, romance and imagination, 6 – 21 Jun. This year’s program features a range of international guests, such as singer/songwriter Melanie Safka, French chanteuse Caroline Nin and Mad Men’s Bryan Batt. Our foreign luminaries visiting include John Bucchino, José Carbo, who will share the stage with local performers David Campbell, Ali McGregor, Rachael Beck, David Hobson, Nancye Hayes, Peter Cousens, Silver Sircus, Tyron & Lesley, Babushka, Roz Pappalardo, Michael Griffiths, Michelle Nightingale, Melody Beck, Naomi Price, Gillian Cosgriff, Lizzie Moore, Dum Viva Disco and Kim Smith. Soak up one of the most popular art forms on the planet, with world-class performances in our backyard. For full event details and tickets head to the Powerhouse website.
SUBTLE EXPERIMENT
Fresh from a maiden international jaunt which spawned glowing reviews behind his SXSW showcases, Vancouver Sleep Clinic – aka Tim Bettinson – is set to embark on his first ever headline tour of Australia. The well-polished, lush, atmospheric stylings of his band’s work has already given them support slots with the likes of London Grammar and Daughter, and soon the band will play with The Naked & Famous on their Australian tour, too. In support of debut EP Winter, the group is checking in to Black Bear Lodge, 28 May, with special guests Wafia. Tickets are $10 through Oztix.
“NOT ANSWERING THE EMAILS HAS TURNED OUT A POOR STRATEGY FOR STOPPING THE EMAILS”
BUT JAMES ADOMIAN [@JADOMIAN], THE KENYAN LOTTERY IS TRYING TO GIVE YOU MILLIONS!
NOISE SOLUTION
SHE REX
COLOSSAL INSIGHT
If you haven’t encountered the might of She Rex, then you best give yourself up to the aural attack when the Sydney chicks bring their hyped live hip hop/funk/rock fusion north on a co-headline tour also featuring anthemic indie five-piece Lepers & Crooks. Watch these two up-and-comers level the skyline when they play Alhambra Lounge, 8 May; The Brewery, Byron Bay, 9 May; and Solbar, Maroochydore, 10 May – tickets on sale now.
Total Attack is returning for a fourth instalment, with a huge bill of feral hardcore, punk, crust and grind set to infect your soul. Coniston Lane hosts Disturd, Insidious Process, Havittaajat, Unknown To God, Dick Nasty, Idylls, Coffin Birth, Soma Coma, Power, Xenos, The Fevered, Pissed On and Mange on 2 May ($20 from 5.30pm), and Kromosom, Straight Jacket Nation, Shackles, Disturd, People Problem, Canine, Hydromedusa, Last Chaos, R.I.P Fucker, Hexx, Thorax, Heroin SS, Deputy Dipshit and Common Enemy 3 May ($20 from 3pm), while an all ages session goes down at Sun Distortion, 4 May, 1pm – 8pm, featuring Insidious Process, Sick People, Frown, Grieg, Controlled, Leather Lickers, Shirtlifters, Black Deity, People Problem, Grey Places, Gruel and Cruel Machine all for $15. Get your tickets on the door, or head to Nailgun Murder’s Big Cartel page where you can purchase a three-day value hit for $45.
DUDE LOOKS LIKE A LADY You’ve probably never heard of The Tambourine Girls, but no doubt you’ve sometime stumbled on the music of Simon Relf. The Deep Sea Arcade guitarist gave us a gem of a track earlier this year in the way of Blood And Bones, and now he’s channelling his blend of country, psychedelia, rock and Britpop into a debut EP, The End Of Time, when he supports charming man Dustin Tebbutt. They play Alhambra Lounge, 23 May; tickets $19 through Moshtix.
SUN IS SHINING
This week marks official opening celebrations for the Valley’s newest venue, The Brightside. Enjoy the fresh music environs this Friday at the Bedroom Suck Showcase, where Full Ugly, Rites Wyld, Martyr Privates and Thigh Master all perform, or if you like things a little more heavy, then step up to the plate Saturday night with US visitors The Acacia Strain, Aversions Crown, Graves and First Sight. THE MUSIC • 30TH APRIL 2014 • 11
music
BALLS IN THE AIR When you’ve got #1 albums, armloads of awards and world tours to your name, what do you do? If you’re The Presets, you release a remix package, tour the country’s premier regional festival and settle in with one of the world’s best chamber orchestras, that’s what, as Dylan Stewart discovers from Julian Hamilton.
J
ulian Hamilton is one half of The Presets, and right now he’s hunkering down in preparation for a hectic schedule. “You just try and get a bit zen, organise your day properly and hopefully get through everything you’ve gotta get through,” he says. “Whether that’s making new songs or rehearsing or touring or preparing kids’ school lunches… We did the hard yards as all young bands do; we can handle it again.” The Goodbye Future remix bundle (of which an exclusive club edit of Goodbye Future was first released to streaming service Rdio before anywhere else) gives an opportunity for Hamilton – and his partner-in-crime, Kim Moyes – to reflect on the difference between making music for their fans and music for themselves. “You want your songs to be played on radio. (But) you need them to be three minutes long and all that nonsense. We like to go and make extended mixes because that’s the kind of music that we really love. Radio’s never going to play a six-minute version of a song but we’d much rather listen to that six-minute version.” Hamilton is realistic when it comes to compromise. “We still like to make pop songs and sometimes – especially for commercial radio – you need to edit things down stupidly. You’re cutting out words and lyrics; things that are really important to a song. It’s like selling a car and taking the wheels off, but certainly you have to make some severe edits in the hope that the national radio might play it. “Sometimes television commercials will use our music and they’ll hack it to shreds and that’s fine, because we’ve already released the song the way we’ve envisaged it. [It’s] the same with the remixes; people can do all sorts of crazy and weird and wonderful things when they remix our songs but because we’ve already put it out ourselves, we’re happy for it to be released in all these other directions.” Timeline is a run of shows The Presets are creating with the Australian Chamber Orchestra. Billed by the ACO 12 • THE MUSIC • 30TH APRIL 2014
as ‘a kaleidoscopic surge through 42,000 years of music’, the concept may be intimidating but it offers the band an opportunity to do something completely different. From the Renaissance to Radiohead, Hamilton has enjoyed immersing himself deep into
“We’ve been doing this band for ten years and making our own music for a long time so it’s been nice to delve back into the past a bit more to explore music from all of history; it’s been really fun for us.” Also in The Presets’ immediate future is Groovin The Moo, and there are similarities when it comes to preparing for each show. “[Timeline] will see the audience sitting down and having a more cerebral response to what’s going on, whereas with Groovin The Moo we’re presenting music that’s for the body to jump around and dance to. So they’re very
“RADIO’S NEVER GOING TO PLAY A SIX-MINUTE VERSION OF A SONG” music’s history. “There’s a lot of music that has passed down through oral traditions like folk music, and a lot of that you can have only vague approximations of because some of the instruments don’t even exist anymore. “Some of the old African drums or some of those Norwegian horns from the 1300s; we don’t really know what those things looked like. We have a vague idea but it is tricky presenting some of that stuff. But that’s part of the thrill of it.
different responses we’re looking to get from different audiences. That being said we want them both to be interesting. Whether we’re making a three-minute pop song or a two-hour orchestral work or a 55-minute festival show we always want to make it as good as we can. “There’ll be moments that we’re really popular and really super cool and there’ll be other moments when we’re daggy and people don’t like us and you can’t really have control over any of that. The one thing you can control is making music that you dig. That’s the goal; make music that we dig.” WHAT: Goodbye Future – The Remixes (Modular/Universal) WHEN & WHERE: 4 May, Groovin The Moo, Townsville; 26 May, QPAC Concert Hall
5 ACTS YOU NEED HAVE TO CHECK OUT AT GTM Because we spend all our waking hours listening to music, you know we’ve got some idea of which acts you NEED to catch at a festival. This time around we’re talking highlights for Groovin The Moo, the acts that we just know will rule over the rest.
THE JEZABELS @ GROOVIN THE MOO MAITLAND. PIC: JOSH GROOM
THE JEZABELS Surprise! Australian’s very own goth-pop quartet will be headlining the event and you’re guaranteed big things from Hayley Mary and band. With their second album, The Brink, they moved away into the synth realm while staying true to their femme-pop aesthetic and the newbie is already receiving rave reviews and their streamed Sydney Opera House shows wowing people all across the globe. The socially conscious group best known for their ARIAwinning debut, Prisoner, utilise lyrics that draw upon the Romantic, hope and hopelessness; but they’ll also crank out a pop hit or two will that will get you up and dancing. And you won’t be able to turn away from Mary’s standout vocals, ones that are truly unique for the Sydney scene from which they sprung, way back in 2008. Watch out for The End, Hurt Me, She’s So Hard, Endless Summer and Look Of Love.
VIOLENT SOHO To keep it Australian for the time being, Brisbane’s Violent Soho are ones to watch, having already sold out their cross-country headline dates in
VIOLENT SOHO @ GROOVIN THE MOO MAITLAND. PIC: JOSH GROOM
PARKWAY DRIVE @ GROOVIN THE MOO MAITLAND. PIC: ROHAN ANDERSON
July. The four-piece are signed to indie label I Oh You and have released two incredible garage albums – albums that have left the industry and punters alike speechless. Rarely do we get to hear screeching vocals paired with melodic bass lines: an ode to grunge, without being derivative. Put their music on when you’re feeling mad or sad and you wont be able to stop yourself from shouting along with Luke Boerdam, whose rage is actually infectious. But also be prepared for a few slower numbers; think Pixiesstyle quiet-to-loud lines and a couple of pseudoballads thrown in for good measure. Keep your ears peeled for Muscle Junkie, Saramona Said, Dope Calypso, Jesus Stole My Girlfriend and Here Be Dragons.
DIZZEE RASCAL English MC Dylan Mills, aka Dizzee Rascal, is Bonkers. Yes, that is his main song, and one of the main drawcards of catching this headliner in his element. His debut Boy In Da Corner won the Mercury Prize; he was the youngest person to ever do so, at the age of 19. His
four albums since have gone Gold or Platinum, helping to keep his dirty house beats in vogue, and he’s also started up his own record label, Dirtee Stank Recordings, which releases songs by Rascal himself and the likes of Smurfie Syco and Pepper. Additional fun fact: Rascal was stabbed five times in 2003 while performing with Roll Deep Crew, the week his debut was released. Expect to hear the full log of his number ones: Dance Wiv Me, Holiday, Dirtee Disco and Shout.
HOLY FUCK Canadian experimental electro-rock geniuses Holy Fuck (the brainchild of one Brian Borcherdt) were formed out of a creative arts community in Toronto. Borcherdt and his peers each perform and write in other bands as well as Holy Fuck, making them some of the busiest bees on this line-up. The group have a whole mandate about trying to recreate electronic music with as much analogue equipment as possible, creating unique sonic textures that push the boundaries of the experimental and the electronic. They’ve been banned from numerous festivals and tours because of their name, which is probably why the GTM line-up insist on calling them Holy F**k. After garnering a solid fanbase with debut Holy Fuck, and second album LP, they released Latin in 2010, which was long-listed for the Polaris Music Prize. They’re currently working on an as-yetuntitled fourth album. When they play, you’ll be treated to Red Lights, Lovely Allen and Stay Lit.
PARKWAY DRIVE Parkway Drive have been creating raucous moshes with their raging metalcore since 2002. From Byron Bay, the group named themselves after the street on which they used to practice before four successful albums brought them to a wider audience. They’ve made it all the way to number two on the Australian charts and toured with Hatebreed, In Flames and As I Lay Dying, even scoring the only Australian slot on the US Vans Warped Tour in 2007; yet all the while, frontman Winston McCall has been on the Unite bodyboarding team. Yes, he’s a pro bodyboarder, but no, we don’t have his personal phone number. We’re almost 100 per cent sure that their set will include Karma, Dark Days, and Carrion.
HOLY FUCK @ GROOVIN THE MOO MAITLAND. PIC: ROHAN ANDERSON
DIZZEE RASCAL @ GROOVIN THE MOO MAITLAND. PIC: JOSH GROOM THE MUSIC • 30TH APRIL 2014 • 13
music
THIS IS GROWING UP Two Door Cinema Club are now playing the same venues as Beyoncé, but Sam Halliday still likes to see a bit of rowdiness in the crowd, learns Benny Doyle.
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orthern Irish sons Two Door Cinema Club are slowly getting used to the idea of a third long-player, with an as-yet-untitled record currently in its infancy, but for the last few months the band have been more domesticated than they have been dedicated to the cause. Not that that’s a bad thing though, according to guitarist Sam Halliday, but after finally laying roots away from County Down – Halliday and bassist Kevin Baird in London, frontman Alex Trimble in Portland, Oregon – the trio are currently adjusting to the distance, and the expectation that comes following a pair of highly successful records. “We’re now getting hard into the writing, trying to treat that almost like a job,” says Halliday, “[but] with the time difference it’s tough. Kevin and I get together most days to write; we use his house because it’s more set up than mine – he has a desk, I don’t have a desk yet. So we write some music then Alex writes some music and then we use the internet; it’s amazing, I don’t know why people didn’t do it before,” he mocks. The band’s last gig was a fairly monumental event, going down in December at London’s O2 Arena, a modern behemoth in the city’s south east which can welcome 20,000 punters at full capacity. It’s typically where your Gagas, Timberlakes and Princes hold court, not so much a proper indie troupe from the Emerald Isle, and Halliday admits with a laugh that the only time he’d been to the venue previously was to see Beyoncé. “It’s not like when we started the band we dreamed of playing arenas, it’s just something that’s happened,” he tells. “And obviously it’s hilarious and really fun to play an arena, and it was cool working with our lighting designer to make a big production show as well. We thought we’d made shows like that before but we hadn’t.” Two Door Cinema Club did, however, design a pretty worthy musical blueprint for such settings with their second record Beacon. A step forward in every way without turning their back on who they are, the 2012 release justified their bigger profile. “We wanted more variation within the album; that was a conscious decision,” Halliday says. “With Tourist 14 • THE MUSIC • 30TH APRIL 2014
History we had loads of songs to choose from and we picked the ten that we thought were the most to-the-point: upbeat, fast, catchy. With Beacon, it was nice to have variation in tempo and style. But the overall largeness in sound was
time around, Halliday assures us that the band aren’t trying to design ideas to fit others. “We’re not trying to restrict it to guitar riffs and catchy melodies,” he says, “we’re trying to do some different stuff.” Announced as part of Splendour In The Grass for a second time, Two Door Cinema Club have been welcomed with open arms Down Under since their inaugural visit in 2010, when they played an afternoon slot to a packed tent in the Woodford bush.
“I THINK EVERYWHERE SHOULD HAVE A TRIPLE J. IF EVERY COUNTRY HAD A TRIPLE J WE’D HAVE HAD AN EASIER TIME.” down to the production from Jacknife Lee,” he adds. “It also came down to having more than one guitar. When we made our first album we turned up to the studio with a guitar in one hand and an amplifier in the other, and we were like, ‘Okay, how does this work?’ [On Beacon] we had loads of amps.” And although it’s still too early in the process to make note of any lyrical themes or sonic trends this
“Australian crowds can be compared to UK crowds: they love to drink and be rowdy,” Halliday smiles. “But then with the heat I think Australians are pushed that bit further. This one time a group of guys lifted their friend up who was in a wheelchair, and he crowdsurfed in the wheelchair, it was nuts. And he wasn’t like, ‘Oh no guys, don’t do that’, he was up for it – it was pretty impressive.” And knowing very well who stoked the Two Door fire here originally, Halliday sings the praise of the national broadcaster, admitting that Australia was behind the band even before the UK press cranked the hype machine into gear. “I think everywhere should have a triple j,” he finishes. “If every country had a triple j we’d have had an easier time.” WHEN & WHERE: 26 Jul, Splendour In The Grass, North Byron Parklands
HAPPY TO BE HEARD You might not realise through all the feedback, but Cloud Nothings are chasing perfection. Dylan Baldi tells Benny Doyle why things sound a little different nowadays.
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ylan Baldi is the first to admit that Cloud Nothings are a simple band. But on the trio’s new full-length Here And Nowhere Else, they’ve found a way to take these average elements and make something remarkable. The Cleveland group – birthed from a fake band profile that Baldi created on Myspace in 2009 – have returned with a record that stands as a logical successor to the Steve Albini-produced Attack On Memory, the new album faster, louder and more crisp that anything in the band’s catalogue.
“Creatively speaking there’s not a whole lot to do with the songs we make and the band we are,” says Baldi, “so as long as someone understands that the results end up sounding good.” That “someone” this time around was John Congleton (The Walkmen, The Polyphonic Spree), who, according to Baldi, immediately understood what the band wanted from Here And Nowhere Else. One thing was assured vocals. “The reason I sang a little different, is that when I listen back to Attack On Memory – which I don’t do very often – but when I do the only thing
that kinda embarrasses me is the vocal – I don’t like the way I sing,” reveals the frontman. “On this one I made a point of going, ‘Okay, I’m going to do something where I can actually listen to it and not be upset, not cringing the whole time’. I couldn’t listen to [Attack On Memory], so recording that was a bane because you’d just have to listen to the vocal line, and you’d go, ‘Oh, Steve, turn that off ’. This one I just wanted to sing a bit more confidently, in a way that I could stand behind.”
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The pace of Here And Nowhere Else is another thing that grabs you from the first spin. Baldi laughs that he doesn’t know how drummer Jayson Gerycz is going to make it through a show, but “the songs just sounded better that way”. “If we played any of them slow it would just not be as exciting, not be as urgent,” he expands. “Not that you have to play fast to sound urgent, but with these songs you did. These songs are almost poppier in a way; they’re catchier. And I like putting barriers in front of that catchiness, so just having songs that are really fast can almost intimidate someone, so I just like to have something there that keeps it from being a really generic and boring pop-rock album.” Gerycz isn’t the only one testing his abilities, with Baldi admitting that he can barely pull off some of the guitar work found on Here And Nowhere Else. But when you’re trying to obtain the unobtainable, you’ve got to push the envelope to progress. “Every time I write a song I just try and make it better than the last song I wrote,” he finishes. “I listen to a lot of music so I think I have a decent idea of what a good song is, so I’m just working towards that unreachable goal of a perfect song.” WHAT: Here And Nowhere Else (Stop Start)
THE MUSIC • 30TH APRIL 2014 • 15
music
BOW AT THE ALTER Earning critical acclaim on a global scale, Temples are on their way to becoming one of the hottest acts in today’s psych scene. The group’s co-founder James Bagshaw tells Jazmine O’Sullivan they’re not letting the success go to their heads.
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erforming at some of the world’s biggest festivals, gaining attention from high profile producers and touring the world; it’s all just regular occurrences for psych-rock quartet Temples these days. The group experienced a meteoric rise to prominence following the release of their debut single, Shelter Song, in 2012, and frontman James Bagshaw feels it’s still a bit strange, especially considering his previous musical endeavours never took off to this degree. “[Before Temples] all of us separately were trying to pursue being musicians in different groups around town; nothing that spectacular. I mean some of us have been around Europe and scored a few supporting gigs but we were just in little groups which were really no different to how Temples started, but here we are now, a year and a bit later, speaking to you in Australia!” Reflecting on just what it is about Temples and their music that has struck such a chord with audiences worldwide, Baghshaw believes it’s as simple as the right people in the right place at the right time. “When we were writing [for Temples] we didn’t think we were stumbling upon something. We didn’t even think we’d get a record deal out of it, but it felt good. It felt pure and honest and I guess uncompromised. Any other groups we’ve been in have been very compromised and watered down because everyone had their separate ideas, whereas with this band, we were all very much on the same page.” Amongst the countless praise earned by the band, Temples have been named Britain’s ‘best new band’ by musical heavyweights Johnny Marr and Noel Gallagher, which could be an overwhelming compliment to some; however, Bagshaw takes it in his stride. “It’s great that they give a shit and it’s nice that they like us but I guess we try not to let it go to our heads because we’re not that fickle. It means a lot to us, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not going to change what we do, in any way.” With the band’s debut album, Sun Structures, finally released, Bagshaw believes the influence of his hometown and surroundings has been the strongest on the record. “In the UK there’s obviously a great heritage of music and you can’t deny having The Beatles as the backbone of all that, but Motown was also big in my upbringing, 16 • THE MUSIC • 30TH APRIL 2014
because it had a massive influence on my parents. I remember those songs really vividly. Then things like Bowie, The Kinks, The Zombies – they all really inspired the sound of our songs and the way they’ve been recorded.” Not wanting any songs within the record to sound the same, Bagshaw
we felt it was important not to have that with every song. Some songs don’t really have any kind of structure. I personally am such a lover of classical music and I wanted to have elements of that on the record, but without having any sort of pompous musical attitude.” When the boys aren’t busy in the studio, they’re out on the road touring. Bagshaw reveals that two of Temples’ most recent touring announcements are incredibly special to the group, the first being their inclusion at this year’s Austin’s Psych Fest. “Our drummer Sam [Toms] has been to it before and says it is just amazing. It’s an honour to be invited to something like that because it
“WE LIKE PLAYING WITH THE CLASSIC POP STYLE OF THE ‘50S, ‘60S AND ‘70S” explains there was a lot of experimentation to keep the album interesting. “We like playing with the classic pop style of the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s, where pop was a bit odd and foreign and alien. Then we tried some songwriting with melodic lines that don’t necessarily follow such a traditional structure. There definitely are some songs that have more of a traditional arrangement in that there’s a verse, chorus, verse, maybe middleeight or something, but
starts to feel a bit like an extended family – you meet some great people that have very similar taste in music that can show you other bands that you may not have heard of as well. You never stop craving the nutrition of new songs or new bands, so it will be good for that.” The second touring commitment Bagshaw is excited about is his first visit here in May. “I can’t believe it! I was speaking to my mother the other day and she said just in the last three months I’ve been to more countries than her and my dad have been to together in their whole life! So that puts things into perspective and makes you feel very thankful as well. I’m sure Australia is going to be everything I’m expecting and more. I can’t wait to see it!” WHAT: Sun Structures (Heavenly/ [PIAS] Australia) WHEN & WHERE: 8 May, The Zoo
STARDOM FOR DUMMIES Jeff Dunham isn’t just the world’s most famous ventriloquist, he’s a globe-trotting stand-up, YouTube hit and entertainment brand. However, on the eve of his latest Oz tour he tells Paul Ransom that it’s not really about him.
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ou wouldn’t pick ventriloquism as a star vehicle, yet for America’s ‘super celebrity of the dummies’, there was never any choice. By age ten he was already performing and when he created his now world-famous character Achmed The Dead Terrorist in time for the DVD and YouTube explosions, his profile, bank balance and working life were transformed. Dunham is now solid gold A-list. All of which means there’s a career guidance counsellor out there shaking their head in sheer disbelief. “My
junior high school counsellor, Mrs Lutz was her name, was talking to all the eighth graders about what the future held for them. I remember her saying, ‘Well, what are you thinking about doing when you’re older?’ and I looked a bit confused because everybody already knew, including her, that I was the ventriloquist kid, so I said, ‘Well, I’m gonna be a ventriloquist.’ I remember she took off her glasses, crossed her arms and said, ‘Now Jeff, let’s be realistic.’” Yet even with his latest TV special, Achmed Saves America, just released, a bestselling autobiography doing the rounds and
a brand new Disorderly Conduct world tour on the schedule, Dunham still has ‘pinch myself ’ moments. “If you’d told me ten or 12 years ago that Achmed would take off and I’d be doing shows outside the US, that’s when I would have looked at you and said, ‘Hold on, I’m going to Kuala Lumpur? What’s a ‘Kuala Lumpur’?’”
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However, he refuses to put his success down to the novelty of his art. “I’ve always looked at my act as stand-up comedy that happens to use ventriloquism as the vehicle. If I could stand on stage making the dummy talk while drinking a glass of water, I think my career would have gone pretty much nowhere. I’d be doing corporate shows and birthday parties.” Aside from Achmed, Dunham’s roll-call of oddballs includes the curmudgeonly old Walter, redneck Bubba J, the fiery Mexican Jose Jalapeno and the loopy and frenetic Peanut. These are the people, Dunham insists, that truly make his show. “Characters can get away with more because there’s some kinda innocence assumed there. But really, I’m the victim of whatever my audience is laughing at. Whatever they laugh at I’m gonna go back and expand on.” Unlike the South Parks and American Dads of the world, Jeff Dunham isn’t about scoring satirical points. “I’m not trying to get away with anything or teach anybody anything and I don’t have any political motivation. I’m just doing it to give people some entertainment and help them forget their troubles for a couple of hours.” WHAT: Jeff Dunham: Disorderly Conduct WHEN & WHERE: 18 May, Brisbane Convention Centre
THE MUSIC • 30TH APRIL 2014 • 17
music
PARENTAL ADVISORY STICKLERS Black Lips’ latest video clip came with a viewer discretion warning, but the band ask ‘What’s the point?’ when any kid can just type ‘porn’ into Google. Andrew Mast met up with all four in Austin.
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t’s easy to find the members of Black Lips amidst the upmarket finery that is the lobby of Austin’s Embassy Suites. Bass player Jared Swilley and guitarist Ian Saint Pé Brown excuse the absence of the other half who have made a dash back to their rooms to rehydrate. They are midway through a week of intensive promotional work, for their new Underneath The Rainbow album, at the annual SXSW industry gang bang.
Swilley politely chats Australia until the others arrive. “Honestly, I didn’t have super high hopes,” he recalls of their first visit here. “‘Cause before we came to Australia, we were pretty much living in England. I was like, ‘I hope it’s not just some weird ex-colony.’ But once we got there…” Drummer Joe Bradley and rhythm guitarist Cole Alexander walk up at this point. Immediately Bradley picks up on the subject at hand and promises a return soon, “Of course. The sooner the better. There’s talk about a
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Japan tour.” Swilley adds, “I heard, like, December.” Saint Pé Brown has another reason for enthusing about Australia. “For the young kids that don’t know,” he says, “Masters Apprentices is one of my favourite Australian bands. “We search this music out - that’s what we do. We love this stuff. We love all kinds of music but within whatever genre you consider us, I put Masters Apprentices in that genre.” Bradley adds, “Eddy Current Suppression Ring too.” Now all the Lips warm to the topic, and props go out to Total Control, UV Race, The Missing Links and Beasts Of Bourbon. Bradley then reveals they once recorded with Bourbons’ Spencer P Jones in Paris, “but it never came out”, says Swilley. What did make it out this year though was their VNSFW vid for ...Rainbow’s first offering Boys In The Wood. The southern gothic clip landed on YouTube with a viewer discretion warning. “What is the point of having that now?” muses Alexander. “Almost any kid with access to the internet can just go to Google and write ‘porn’ and then…” Talk returns back around to that video. Alexander admits, “I thought it was going to freak more people out.” Saint Pé Brown disagrees; “It wasn’t all that shocking.” Swilley adds, “It made my girlfriend really uncomfortable. That’s why I said to do it. They said they were gonna get an actor to do it and I was like, ‘Well… I can’t think of any other instances where someone was raped in their own video.’ Could you imagine Prince agreeing to be raped in his own video?” WHAT: Underneath The Rainbow (Vice/ADA)
THE MUSIC • 30TH APRIL 2014 • 19
music
STUDENT OF SOUND It’s easy to think of John Newman as one of those early twenty-something upstarts who’ve had a world of opportunity fall in their laps, but Tyler McLoughlan discovers a seriously intelligent mind behind the soulful British pop superstar.
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ith a plain name like John Newman, you’d be forgiven for not immediately associating the 23-year-old wunderkind with two hugely successful Rudimental singles, but you’d probably have an ‘Aha’ moment on hearing the titles Feel The Love and Not Giving In. Newman is that guy, and on the release of his 2013 debut record, Tribute, he captured hearts and radio waves once more with Love Me Again. As he prepares for his first tour of Australia, he reveals how a fellow so young got to have the soul of man triple his age. “People do question it,” Newman starts. “‘Why is he doing soul music when he’s from the north of England, not Detroit or whatever?’ But the thing was, during the hype of the ‘60s there was three main things goin’ on – there was the whole soul thing goin’ on in America… However in England they had the likes of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones coming through and we had this rock period. But the next big thing of music was the B-sides of Motown comin’ out of creatin’ a scene in the north of England called Northern Soul and that’s the area where I’ve kind of taken everything from in terms of my influence of soul music and why I’ve got that... I also came through being a house DJ and think there’s quite a lot of relevance between soul and house in terms of piano lines and groove, and especially the ‘90s – a lot of the beats taken from the likes of The Prodigy… were taken from James Brown and other soul tunes that were sampled… When you start addin’ these things up – and then I would produce bits of hip hop as well – it’s like I’ve kept everything inside my mind that I’ve been brought up on; I’m just constantly buildin’ up a repertoire of influences...” With such a variety of interests to draw from, it took Newman a while to discover his unique take. “It was really hard, like really hard, because as a young kid there’s a tendency – and there is still a tendency – to do what everyone else is doing, or do what album you’re listening to at the time and skip in between sounds. I quickly realised I didn’t want to do that, even though I was doin’ it – I was like, ‘I don’t want do this – I want to be free to make music that has no genre, that has no barriers or anything like that.’ I had to learn how to 20 • THE MUSIC • 30TH APRIL 2014
produce songs that had soul beats but maybe with house piano but perhaps different touches and make it all lock together because nobody had done that before; there was nobody you could listen to on how they did that. I was kind of like walking into a tunnel of darkness by myself, then
down to film clip scripts and clothing designs, and his live show, which hits Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane in a matter of weeks, is no exception. “I take so much pride in my live shows… and concentrate on the set design, and I concentrate on the lighting design – I concentrate on making sure the sound’s right and the band’s right and I put 99.9 per cent preparation in and then on the actual show I really do give it my all. People wait for so long to watch shows; they buy tickets three months before, six months before, and then they wait for the gig and people deserve to get a good show. I really disagree with people that
“I WANT TO BE FREE TO MAKE MUSIC THAT HAS NO GENRE.” saw the light at the end of the tunnel and worked it out… Now I’m really comfortable in my sound and my area that I don’t have to plan anything and it just happens.” Newman says he spends a great deal of time studying the workings of the music business so as to make informed career decisions in collaboration with his label Island Records. He has a hand in every creative element right
don’t do that, people that kind of tour to make their money but I do really love my live performances...” With a performance at the 56th TV Week Logie Awards also confirmed, Newman laughs heartily when told that last year’s international guests included Bruno Mars, Michael Bublé and Birdy. “And you’ve got me this year? You’ve messed up somewhere!” he jokes before adding seriously: “…I don’t really care what show it is – you can’t think about that; you’ve got to do the show, have the best time of your life and get the best performance across just like it is any gig and then afterwards turn around and go: ‘Holy shit, I just performed at The Logies!’” WHAT: Tribute (Universal) WHEN & WHERE: 3 May, Eatons Hill Hotel
LOVE AS A DRUG The only thing you need to know about Brody Dalle’s new album is that it “kicks arse”. Returning to music after a project that was destroyed by depression, she tells Daniel Cribb she’s found a balance.
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played a terrible show in Perth last time,” Brody Dalle laughs, sitting cross-legged in a green room backstage at Perth Arena and reminiscing – as best she can – on her last venture Down Under. Her last trip to Australia in 2010 saw a short run of club shows in support of her new project at the time, Spinnerette, and shortly after, the project fell apart. “I think I had drunk a whole bottle of vodka – I was really missing my kid at that point, so I was a mess. I
don’t actually remember the show… I’d kind of come out of post-partum depression, and I just didn’t feel like myself; I kind of had a bit of an identity crisis, and it took me a moment to figure it out.” Since first picking up a guitar over 20 years ago, Dalle’s career hasn’t slowed down. Born and raised in Melbourne, it was at age 18, after several years fronting local act Sourpuss, that she packed her bags and flew to LA where she founded the band she’s most well known for: The Distillers. The band came to an end in 2006,
the same year Dalle gave birth to her first child, daughter Camille Harley Joan, with her husband, Queens Of The Stone Age frontman Josh Homme. At the end of 2012, she announced a solo album in the works. And now, sitting backstage at Perth Arena, Dalle’s finally back in the country, touring as the opening support on the Queens Of The Stone Age and Nine Inch Nails co-headline tour.
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The tour sees Dalle supporting her debut solo record, Diploid Love, the first release under her own name. While she still tours with a backing band, releasing music solo has given way to a more sustainable method of writing and recording. “I don’t have the time to devote to a band – I always wanted to be in a band, I always wanted to be in a gang – in a crew of people, but I still do everything anyway, you know. The people in my bands played their parts, but I wrote all the songs – I write all the songs, and I like playing the bass and the drums, so why can’t I record it?” A lot’s changed, but the punk rock ethos is still undeniably evident. “The title [Diploid Love] came from when I was researching foetuses. A diploid is a foetus – it’s the very beginning stage; a diploid cell is the set of chromosomes from the mum and the dad smashed together and then you’ve got a human with a whole unique DNA of its own. “Everyone seems to think foetus is such a disgusting word, it’s so weird – maybe it’s just in America, maybe not here – but in America when you say foetus, everyone’s like, ‘Ew, oh god!’... If something’s ugly or gross, I like to investigate what makes it so ugly or gross, because it’s not weird or gross or ugly to me.” WHAT: Diploid Love (Caroline/Universal)
ROCK THE BELLS
music
Pete Rock is a legend of New York City hip hop; he chats to Chris Yates from his crib ahead of his return voyage to Australia.
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eal hip hop heads that came up in the ‘90s golden era treat the work of Pete Rock with an almost holy sense of importance. Rock has maintained his credibility and reputation through not just his own highly regarded works, but for the contributions he has made to the production of other artists.
It’s hard to imagine a more influential track than The World Is Yours by Nas, from his 1994 classic album Illmatic. Even 20 years on it sounds as fresh and unique as ever, the Scarface-referencing track still very much the jewel in Nas’ crown and probably one of Rock’s most famous beats. “After Nas there will be no one else,” Rock says definitively. “It’s sad because the way hip hop sounds today it doesn’t seem like the artists are like who we were in the golden age, not to be disrespectful. But I just feel that with Illmatic that’s a one-time only thing. You have to cherish and praise it and keep it on the mountaintop, and celebrate it. When you listen to Nas’ lyrics you can see it in front of your eyes like you’re watching a movie. It makes me feel great that I’m a part of that album.” Although he’s worked with so many greats, Rock still finds it easy to pinpoint his most important collaboration. “I would probably have to say working with Russell Simmons and having a shot to work with Run DMC
was the most important thing I’ve ever done in my career,” he says proudly about his track Down With The King. “It is one of the highlights of my career. Growing close with Jam Master Jay and having him become a close compadre. He was a guy to know, I hung out with him in Jamaica, Queens, and he would come to hang out at [Rock’s late cousin] Heavy D’s house and then we would come back to the basement to make beats.” Despite things looking back on track for Pete Rock and his old collaborator CL Smooth in 2013 (they had a very public falling out in the early 2000s) it seems
that situation has taken another turn for the worse, with Rock apologising and saying that no collaboration was forthcoming. More reassuringly, future releases for Rock that he could talk about sound very tantalising indeed. “I’m very excited about a lot of ventures I have coming up,” he says. I’m working on new beats for a new Petestrumentals and Soul Survivor 3 [He adds that Smoke DZA has already recorded a track]. I’m working with De La Soul on a new EP, working with Mack Wilds again, Pusha T and a couple of other people.” Rock’s upcoming tour sees him side by side with Gang Starr’s DJ Premier, jumping between tracks and trying to show each other up – a hip hop dream team with the tour billed as Collusion: DJ Premier x Pete Rock. “Definitely, that’s what the whole tour’s all about,” he says reassuringly. “We’re gonna go back and forth with genres and year-spans of music we grew up with all the way through our careers in hip hop.” WHEN & WHERE: 9 May, Arena THE MUSIC • 30TH APRIL 2014 • 21
music
HALF A BAND With two new guitarists in the mix, everything is going well for The Acacia Strain. Drummer Kevin Boutot talks to Tom Hersey about line-up hassles and a new album in the works.
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n a way, American metalcore bruisers The Acacia Strain have been half a band for about half the time they’ve been a band. It started in 2006, when founding guitarist Daniel Daponde stepped out of the band. From that point on, the band would head out on the road with one guitarist, or they’d get hired guns to come along and fill the second guitar spot. It was fine, the shows were good, but this is metalcore, damn it, there’s gotta be those twin guitars. That’s something drummer Kevin Boutot noticed when the band released their barn-burning sixth record, Death Is The Only Mortal, back in 2012.
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“When the record first came out, we still only had one touring guitarist so it was hard to make the songs sound full.” Then lead guitarist Daniel “DL” Laskiewicz got booted, and some of the band’s hired guns went off to do their own thing. Enter Devin Shidaker and Richard Gomez, alums of Oceano and Molotov Solution, respectively. “Once we added Devin and Richie into the mix, everything was full again with two guitar players. They helped make these songs sound amazing live night after night. They bring the drive and motivation that was needed in this band. Having so many new fill-ins
all the time was exhausting. Always having to teach new people the songs all the time and worrying about possible mistakes live was a lot to handle. Luckily, everyone that has ever filled in for us has been more than amazing and helped us through some tough times. “Since we were without two guitar players, we went ahead and thought hard about who we should ask to join the ranks, but as full-time members. After going over possible names for a while, we decided on asking Devin and Richie and everything has been working great ever since.” Despite all the line-up turmoil, Kevin says none of it has made lose focus on what they wanted to do. “Nothing has slowed us down one bit. Everything has been so awesome with Devin and Richie. Everything from touring to the writing process is a breath of fresh air. They both are really good at playing the old material tight and how it should be and they bring lots of amazing, new, fresh ideas [to the band]. Along with them came a new chapter of The Acacia Strain that we all think the fans are going to love.” Talking about a new chapter – since 2002, The Acacia Strain have been excellent at releasing an album every two years. So can we expect to hear a new full-length this year? “It’s funny you ask because we are almost done tracking our new record with Will Putney at the Machine Shop in New Jersey. Everything is going really smooth right now. The only thing left to be done is vocals and some guitar leads. There isn’t much more that I can really tell you. You can expect a [American] summer release though for sure.” WHEN & WHERE: 3 May, The Lab (arvo); 3 May, Coniston Lane (evening)
A DAY AT A TIME 52 Tuesdays director Sophie Hyde and star Tilda Cobham-Hervey chat to Anthony Carew about filming with the same people for a whole year and life imitating art.
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2 Tuesdays wears the formalist gimmick of its production on its sleeve: the film was shot over the course of a year in Adelaide, the cast and crew gathering together every Tuesday. “Films are always made in the same way, and so they’ll always produce the same outcomes,” says director Sophie Hyde. “And I didn’t just want to make the same film. I’m sick and tired of seeing the same characters on screen, and this persistent notion that the most important relationships are romantic relationships.” Instead, 52 Tuesdays is built around the relationship between a mother (Del Herbert-Jane) undergoing a gender transition, and her teenage daughter Billie (Tilda Cobham-Hervey), undergoing her own coming-of-age change. It’s a film, Hyde says, about “questioning the rules and structures of relationships, and families; about gender, sexuality, what it means to be a mother or a child, when you’re supposed to be a lover or a friend; all these rules that are in place, that maybe aren’t that useful for some people”. “It’s funny,” Hyde admits, “in making a film about people who’re dealing with the difficulty of all these rules to relationships, we ended up making up all these rules about how we were going to film it.” Shooting over a year came naturally to Hyde, a documentarian who previously directed 2011’s Life In 22 • THE MUSIC • 30TH APRIL 2014
Movement (a portrait of the Sydney Dance Company) with partner Bryan Mason. But it was all new for CobhamHervey, who, though now 19 and tipped for stardom, was but a 16-year-old who’d “never even done a school play before” when she tagged along with friends to an open casting. “I never thought I’d be in a film, and the character description was nothing like me, so I had no fear that I was going to get it,” says Cobham-Hervey. “Billie is far more fierce, and bold, and sexually aware than I’ve been. At the age of 16, I’d never had a boyfriend, and I still didn’t know how to swear without turning bright red.
TILDA COBHAM-HERVEY AS BILLIE. PIC: BRYAN MASON
And the first two lines of the film are ‘Fuck.’ I thought: I didn’t know if I can even do this!” It was, in some ways, like being in a family: Hyde directing, Mason producing/lensing/editing, their daughter, Audrey (six at the time, now eight) playing a role, and Hyde’s mother even acting for a scene. It was, for Hyde, a particularly personal work: this transgender tale allowing her to explore her own issues with the intense genderisation of young children, and the societal presumptions about motherhood. All those at work on the production thought, through its making, that it was a “niche” passion project, but after winning awards at Berlin and Sundance, Hyde is optimistic there’s an audience there for 52 Tuesdays. “I don’t think anyone believes this is a perfect film, least of all us, and that’s certainly not how we’ve presented it,” Hyde says. “But there’s an honesty inside of it, and there’s something interesting in the way that we’ve made it, and people have really embraced that.” WHAT: 52 Tuesdays In cinemas 1 May
GHOST IN THE MACHINE Horrified by the potential for their performer parents to cover Disclosure songs (“I think I’d put a ban on that”), the elder of the brother duo, Guy Lawrence, also tells Bryget Chrisfield that, after trying to copy Stewart Copeland’s drum patterns in Walking On The Moon as a wee ’un, he was shocked when his dad announced, “You’ll never be able to do it, because they use all these machines to make it sound like he’s playing more than he is.”
A
fter extensive Disclosure-related research, it’s immediately apparent the electronic music duo comprising Howard and Guy Lawrence have already answered their fair share of questions about being young (19 and 22 respectively) and the fact that they are siblings. Mr Lawrence is a guitarist and Mrs Lawrence, a singer. So does drummer/producer Guy Lawrence have any memories of watching his parents perform when he was a lad? “They’d kind of given up playing live so much after we were born,” he explains. “They were in bands and stuff before that but, yeah! Obviously I never got to see that. My mum’s – actually, no! That’s not really true. I have seen them perform a few times. They’ve both been in bands just for fun and they sometimes occasionally play in a pub or our mum used to do, like, a little piano bar – that kind of thing – but, yeah! No, I never got to see them perform any original music in a band, but I’ve seen them do loads of covers. And obviously at home I used to watch them perform a lot [laughs], just messing around anyway.” When asked whether there are any Disclosure songs in the parental covers repertoire, Lawrence sounds suitably horrified: “Oh, I hope not! Oh, it would be so weird. I think I’d – nah, I think I’d put a ban on that. I don’t think I’d be okay with that.” Lawrence becomes very animated when discussing his favourite drummers. He singles out Jamiroquai’s stickman Derrick McKenzie as one of the “drummers that [he] used to play along to, learning when [he] was growing up”. “[McKenzie] did a workshop once that I went to and after meeting him and stuff I was, like, a massive fan obviously. I was only seven or eight [years old] so I was like, ‘Wow, you’re the best!’” Lawrence says he was also inspired by “jazz fusion” drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, adding with a laugh, “I never got as good as him, unfortunately. “Stewart Copeland is one of my favourite drummers as well and what The Police used to do with production on their records, with drumming, is partly why I liked him. One of my favourite songs ever is Walking On The Moon and I love all their effects and the delay they used to do with the hi-hats and with the drums, that kind of thing, ‘cause it made it sound like [Copeland] was playing some crazy, complicated rhythm, and I kept trying to copy it.
And then my dad was like, ‘You’ll never be able to do it, because they use all these machines to make it sound like he’s playing more than he is,’ and it’s like, wow! I think they were pretty much the first people to really sort of experiment with dub delays and rhythmic delays in that way… Also, apparently they recorded Roxanne literally down the road from our house. [The studio’s] not there anymore, but my dad recorded there once and he was like, ‘[Puts on gruff ‘dad’ voice] Oh, yeah, The Police recorded Roxanne there,’ and I was like, ‘Oh, that’s cool!’” As luck would have it, Sting is “best friends” with Martin Kierszenbaum – the guy who runs Disclosure’s American label, Interscope – and he recently introduced The Police frontman to the bro duo at one of their three shows at Terminal 5, in New York, back in January. “He came to the last one,” Lawrence recalls, “[during] which, um, Mary J Blige came out and sang with us as well and, yeah! It was really great that he came that one, ‘cause he got to see
her come and sing and it was really cool, really great to meet him. I met him before [the show] and afterwards.” Did Lawrence manage to hold it together? “I think so, yeah,” he hesitates. “He told Howard that he was a good bass player after the show, so that must be something [laughs]. Every time in sound check, [Howard] will, now and again, just be like, ‘Sting said I’m a good bass player.’”
music
Later… With Jools Holland was always on the Lawrences’ TV set on Friday nights and Disclosure have already appeared on the show, just days after their debut album Settle dropped on 31 May 2013. Lawrence describes the experience as “weird”. “It was one of those things where you go into the actual place in real life and it’s so much smaller than it looks on TV and, you know, so much different to how you think it’s gonna be. But it was really a cool experience, yeah.” After further discussion about Holland’s “nice mixed bag” programming, Lawrence admits that Lorde gained his “real big respect” after her appearance on aforementioned
“EVERY TIME IN SOUND CHECK, [HOWARD] WILL, NOW AND AGAIN, JUST BE LIKE, ‘STING SAID I’M A GOOD BASS PLAYER.’” show. “She had to follow Kanye,” he remembers, “and then she was going before someone else, like, absolute A-list massive as well and she completely nailed it!” Earlier this year, Disclosure and Lorde collaborated to perform Royals reinvigorated at the Brit Awards as part of a mash-up into their own Aluna Francis-featuring White Noise. The fact that the guest artists on Settle’s tracklisting now reads like a fantasy festival bill certainly isn’t lost on Lawrence. “It’s great for me, as well, to see them all doing so well,” he enthuses, “‘cause we’re good friends now… There’s a lot of people on [Settle] that no one really knew before, or at least when we wrote the songs anyway. Sam Smith, no one knew him before Latch, and London Grammar, they were just sort of bubbling up when we wrote Help Me Lose My Mind, so we’re always looking out for fresh talent and fresh voices as well as working with established artists.” WHEN & WHERE: 4 May, Groovin The Moo, Townsville: 8 May, Eatons Hill Hotel
THE MUSIC • 30TH APRIL 2014 • 3
music
CONTINENTAL DRIFT Iconic US rockers Drive-By Truckers weathered some acrimonious lineup changes on the way to delivering their excellent tenth album English Oceans, but key player Mike Cooley tells Steve Bell that the band’s carefree essence is as strong as ever.
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ver since Georgia-based Southern rock outfit Drive-By Truckers kicked off in the mid-‘90s their distinctive aesthetic has been driven by the complementary songwriting skills of long-time friends and bandmates Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley. Often there have been other band members contributing songs as well – indeed new album English Oceans is their first LP since ‘98 debut Gangstabilly to feature solely Hood and Cooley compositions – but as long as those two guys are providing a heartbeat the Truckers will keep on keeping on. “Yeah, that’s pretty much it,” the eternally laidback Cooley drawls. “I think that’s kind of our understanding from way back – as long as it’s he and I it’s that band, as long as we want it to be that. Even before we were writing songs and there was a Drive-By Truckers we’ve always complemented each other’s strengths and weaknesses – we kinda did from day one. And then the songs and the way they come out on the records, that’s something that’s been developed over time but it’s all built on that initial cross-pollination.” Which is why they’ve been able to not only survive recent seismic line-up changes – Jason Isbell left to follow the solo path in 2007, and by late-2012 bassist Shonna Tucker and guitarist John Neff had also departed for greener pastures – but also thrive, with English Oceans proving their strongest collection of songs for many a year. Having new member Jay Gonzalez swapping between keyboards and guitar in the live realm means that for the first time in eons the renowned Truckers three-guitar attack isn’t a constant presence, but Cooley doesn’t seem fazed by this turn of events.
“I think it’s been for the better,” he muses. “We didn’t start out that way – we kind of converted to that [three-guitar line-up] for [2001’s] Southern Rock Opera – and it’s more of a true-to-form kinda thing, and we just never went back. But as we’ve got more into it Jay’s playing guitar wherever there needs to be guitar, and we’ve just got a leaner more economic sound. “And this is the first time that every song on the album works well live. There’s always a couple that never quite find their legs – they’re too much of a studio cut – but everything on this album works.” 24 • THE MUSIC • 30TH APRIL 2014
Cooley’s six tracks on English Oceans are his typical fluent narratives about folk down on their luck, his natural empathy for his subjects so powerful because they’re based on an amalgam of observation, autobiography and just a sprinkling of make-believe.
“I spend more time [during the writing process] getting the lyrics right. The musical thing I’ve been doing it longer, so once I figure out what to say I can steer it musically in the direction I want or find some way to keep it interesting, but trying to figure out what to say and where I’m going to end up and how to bring that picture together is what I spend the most time on.” And, for the first time in Truckers history, one of the core creative partnership tackles one of the other’s songs – Til He’s Dead Or Rises finds Cooley singing a Hood composition, with predictably rousing results.
“IT’S IMPORTANT TO SPEND A LITTLE TIME UNDERSTANDING WHY A PERSON IS WHY THEY ARE INSTEAD OF WHY THAT MAKES YOU ANGRY ABOUT WHAT THEY ARE.” “I don’t really think there’s any such thing as pure fiction,” he laughs. “With things that are passed off as fiction, there’s got to be something real or it’s not good fiction. That’s kind of the difference between good fiction and pulp fiction, I guess. I think it’s important to spend a little time understanding why a person is why they are instead of why that makes you angry about what they are.
“Yeah, we’ve never done that before – I don’t really ever cover other people’s songs, and I’ve never done one of his before,” Cooley smiles. “His voice is so different to mine, usually the stuff he writes is not something that I’d be able to sing or sound natural delivering, but this one for some reason with the way I phrase and the range of my voice it just worked. “It made more sense, and it’s a fun song to sing too – it’s fun to sing and play. We’d already laid down the song and I’d played this ‘simple as falling off a log’ rhythm guitar part, so being able to sing it and play that at the same time hasn’t been a problem and we’ve even been able to incorporate it into the live thing.” WHAT: English Oceans (ATO/[PIAS] Australia)
THE MUSIC • 30TH APRIL 2014 • 25
ALBUM OF THE WEEK
★★★★
album reviews
DZ DEATHRAYS
IN HEARTS WAKE
Black Rat
I Oh You/Liberation You can’t stay young forever, and you can’t party like you’re young forever. Even Lemmy’s got diabetes now, and if lifestyle choices can catch up with Lemmy, what hope do the rest of us have? On their second fulllength, Brisbane’s perennially partying duo sound like they’re starting to come to grips with this realisation. But what’s so compelling about Black Rat, the band’s follow-up to their 2012 debut, Bloodstreams, is how subtly they are transforming away from their indie punk party thrash origins. And that’s a good thing because, rather than devolve into a parody of their former selves and become LMFAO with greasier hair, DZ Deathrays are maturing and finding ways to up their musical game on Black Rat. There’s still the same mix of pulsating dancefloor rhythms colliding with gnashing garage punk guitars and Shane Parsons’ howls, especially on cuts like Gina Works At Hearts – but where
Earthwalker UNFD
things used to be charmingly shambolic, structure now seems to be more of a consideration. Things are getting tighter and the pair are writing better songs, like Night Walking. As a result, Black Rat sounds like a record you could listen to when you’re pregaming ahead of a big Saturday night, or when you’re going to work on Monday morning. If DZ Deathrays’ existence thus far has been a party, Black Rat is the sound of the duo starting to turn down the stereo at the end of the night to let people know it’s time to leave. It’s going to be exciting to see what they do for the after-party. Tom Hersey
Yet another standout Aussie metalcore act in a long line of domestic heavy progression, In Hearts Wake have chosen to make a powerful and positive statement with their second record, Earthwalker. It’s a brave release – one that encourages you to think about the life you live and the changes you can make. This could have come across as preachy in lesser hands, but the Byron Bay five-piece have balanced their message with soaring slabs of world-class heaviness, so even those that don’t want to listen will be forced to stand up and take notice. The band have raised their game across the board: breakdowns add to songs rather than interrupt them, textures and layers don’t come from clichés, while the scream/clean vocal balance is on the money throughout. And when the band get experimental with their guitar work – the
THE HOLD STEADY
TUNE-YARDS
Razor & Tie/Sony
The strength of Merrill Garbus has always been the pure exhilaration for both the performer and her audience when she lets fly with her primal, vibrant voice. Over the past half-decade as Tune-Yards, she’s provided us with a febrile menagerie of vocal loops that soars towards the sun, entwining African vocal tradition, R&B machinations, operatic mores and a devilish imagination to continually defy explanation.
While Finn’s lyrical web is as intoxicating as ever, the more considered approach of their last two long-players (2008’s Stay Positive and 2010’s Heaven Is Whenever) has been largely eschewed for a more rock-heavy musical bed. The “woah-oh” choruses of yore are still largely absent but their propulsive bar-room aesthetic has been strengthened by the addition of ex-Lucero guitarist Steve 26 • THE MUSIC • 30TH APRIL 2014
aquatic background soloing on Divine and the fist-raising riffs of Afterglow for example – the album really shines. If you hadn’t picked up on the record’s overarching theme already (and if that’s you then go home, you’re drunk), closing ode Mother makes the ideals of this album crystal clear: “The blood that courses through your veins/Is like the sap that courses through the trees.” What we walk on is far bigger than us, yet that idea can be forgotten in our hectic day-to-day. It’s nice to be reminded of where we stand in the greater scheme of things, without having opinions jammed directly down our throats. Benny Doyle
Nikki Nack
4AD/Remote Control
Teeth Dreams
From the first line of Teeth Dreams’ opener I Hope This Whole Thing Didn’t Frighten You – which finds frontman Craig Finn proffering a typically conversational “I heard the Cityscape Skins are kinda kicking it again,” referring to his old gangland protagonists – it’s clear that Brooklyn-based rockers The Hold Steady are venturing back (at least in part) to the interrelated narratives that made their first albums so compelling.
★★★½
★★★★ Selvidge, who locks in with fellow six-stringer Tad Kubler to illuminate tracks like supercatchy Spinners, the barbed Big Cig and the acerbic On With The Business. Semi-ballad The Ambassador is classy and brings a welcome change of pace, while epic drug-addled closer Oaks is possibly the band’s most intense moment to date. So much has changed with the passing of time that it will inherently be difficult for The Hold Steady to ever again replicate the heady rush of that early material, but Teeth Dreams is a pretty decent stab, and by dint of this their best album in some time. Steve Bell
Despite her inventiveness, or most likely because of it, Garbus’ appeal tends to be divisive. But new record Nikki Nack isn’t likely to drag a swathe of detractors; there’s so much going on here that those adventurous enough to enter her world will find infinite wonders. Focusing on world politics, social injustices and the perennial plight of the female performer in a male-oriented world, Tune-Yards’ third LP is a practiced study in popular music deconstruction, all done with
★★★★ insidious hooks and feverish glee. Garbus has carved out a bevy of socially-conscious hits – the acerbic yet euphoric Real Thing celebrating her luck as an artist while ironically noting her unlikely rise alongside other pop starlets; Water Fountain, using handclaps, drums and woo-ha’s to evoke African-American singsong while simultaneously forcing the spotlight on social atrocities. Her gleaming inventiveness doesn’t always work – Why Do We Dine On The Tots? is a curiosity of diminishing returns – but Nikki Nack establishes Garbus as a cunning, effervescent queen of pop. Brendan Telford
albums/singles/eps
★★★
DUMB NUMBERS/ GOLDEN BATS The Longest Goodbye/ Ugly Night Tym Tym Records singles club’s first release sees Adam Harding’s Dumb Numbers project teamed up with Brisbane’s own Geordie Stafford, aka Golden Bats. Grab this while you can.
PRINCE The Breakdown Warner A proper Prince power ballad, not quite Nothing Compares 2 U, but still better than like Diamonds And Pearls or whatever.
COURTNEY BARNETT
★★★★
★★★½
RAY LAMONTAGNE
ELA STILES
TINY RUINS
Supernova
Ela Stiles
Brightly Painted One
RCA/Sony
Bedroom Suck
Spunk
Too long a source of musical fodder for many a television series, Ray LaMontagne’s brand of soulful, bluesy folk-rock is easy to gloss over with just this fact in mind. His fifth release in a career decorated with Grammys, BRITs and MOJOs has the odd jarring dabble in breathy gymnastics in early comers Airwaves and She’s The One, but Supernova reveals its trump cards in the dandy lyrics and retro-fuzz of Julia, and No Other Way’s hushed rambling lines in the round. Just when it was in danger of wearing thin LaMontagne gives his schtick the shake-up needed.
Songs and Bushwalking paragon Ela Stiles adds another deceptive and beguiling string to her bow with her self-titled debut. Stiles has chosen the a cappella route, but the result is nothing like you’d expect. It’s an album of halves, with the ‘A-side’ made up of tiny sonic vignettes (only two tracks exceed two minutes) that are steeped in Celtic folk and Eastern tabla traditions, whilst the ‘B-side’ consists of one 11-minute track, a dronal sphere of coalescing, overlapping choral manipulations. And it works – Stiles’ voice is at once bewitching, seductive, tremulous and powerful.
Tiny Ruins started as a solo project in 2009 for New Zealand artist Hollie Fullbrook, joined since by bassist Cass Basil and drummer Alexander Freer. This is kind of a surprise, because this record feels so personal, Fullbrook guiding us almost conspiratorially though these private and beautiful stories. The breathy strength of her voice, as highlighted in the production, recalls Sharon Van Etten quite strongly, though this is a quieter, less dramatic record than we’ve seen from Etten. Convincing without being overly earnest, Brightly Painted One is acoustic folk-pop done with rare finesse.
Carley Hall
Brendan Telford
Madeleine Laing
Anonymous Club Mom + Pop First US release for Barnett, whose quick rise to internet popularity should not be seen as a distraction from her great songs.
MORE REVIEWS themusic.com.au/reviews/album ★★★
MT Dear One Dew Process Michael Tomlinson, formerly of Brisbabes Yves Klein Blue, has big production pop dance music in mind, and that’s what he’s come up with here.
BITTER SWEET KICKS Dropped Independent The bass tone of this outstanding number from the cock rockers comes from another planet – how the hell did they do that?
THE MURLOCS Paranoid Joy Remote Control If this was the theme song from a TV show, the show would have to include low level drug use, coarse language and trippy themes.
★★★
WYE OAK
JORDIE LANE
Shriek
Live At The Wheaty
Merge/Inertia
Independent
If you loved 2011’s Civilian, (and let’s face it, every man and his dog were on board after the title track featured in The Walking Dead), you will be slightly perturbed by frontwoman Jenn Wasner’s newfound love of bass and therefore Andy Stack’s reliance on keys. The duo’s fourth record Shriek is prettier, more washedout and centred on working mood rather than dictating it, and as in Sick Talk, showcases a refreshing vocal freedom from Wasner. On the whole though, a less engaging effort.
Jordie Lane’s new album documents more of the singersongwriter’s stage banter than it does his music. Three new songs mingle with five older tunes; Black Diamond is one of them, and is as fun and unrelatable as songs about prostitutes always are. The Winner fares better, but it’s I Betrayed Love that cuts to the heart. Lane warbles like a true man of sorrow. His talk may be cheap, but Lost In You and I Could Die Looking At You are already timeless. Like all good folk music, Live At The Wheaty shares everything.
Tyler McLoughlan
Roshan Clerke
Nun – Nun The Horrors – Luminous Thundamentals – So We Can Remember Tralala Blip – Aussie Dream Natalie Merchant – Natalie Merchant Lily Allen – Sheezus Dave Graney – Fearful Wiggings Broken Twin – May Chad VanGaalen – Shrink Dust
Chris Yates THE MUSIC • 30TH APRIL 2014 • 27
live reviews
HOLY FUCK, BLANK REALM The Zoo 24 Apr Their music can seem messy, borderline chaotic at times, but Blank Realm manage to create a state of structured chaos, accessible despite the noise, and the band display a rare ability to snap back from growling guitars into pop melodies at a moment’s notice. There’s not a big crowd here tonight to catch them open proceedings, but those who have made it down early are treated to an excellent performance, the band even managing to draw some early dance moves from punters. It’s been four years since Holy Fuck released Latin, three
experimental sounds and approaches with a technofunk sensibility, without sacrificing either aspect, and this is amplified live. The now-permanent rhythm section of Matt Schulz and Matt McQuaid maintain metronomic precision in the tracks, without sacrificing a sense of groove, and McQuaid’s bass tone is rich and warm, providing an insistent pulse to the songs. There’s no set date yet for the band’s next album, but a few new tracks are mixed into the show, and they mesh seamlessly with previous hits like Red Lights and Lovely Allen. The band show a perfect sense of timing, lengthening the builds and pausing for just long enough to ramp up expectations, so that when the
HOLY FUCK @ THE ZOO. PIC: SKY KIRKHAM
years since they’ve toured in any serious way, and with their new album ‘in progress’ for the last year, it’s difficult to know what to expect. The recorded version of Holy Fuck is thoughtful, danceable stuff, but from the first track tonight there’s an intensity, an urgency, to the live performance that outstrips anything on the songs’ recorded counterparts. Brian Borcherdt and Graham Walsh bob along to the beat behind a desk covered with mixers, synths, and more esoteric electronic equipment. Static roils from a tapefed machine, and heavily distorted, incomprehensible vocals bubble away behind the melodies, with microphones often held in mouths to keep hands free. One of the best aspects of Holy Fuck is the way that they merge 28 • THE MUSIC • 30TH APRIL 2014
Hi-Fi, a challenge which he meets with intriguing ease. Without the rest of the members of The Growl behind him, his solo act – comprising guitars, microphones and a sprinkling of harmonica – is more bluesy than expected, and the tone suits him well. Early on in his short set he swings into a stripped rendition of Douse The Lamps which he slowly builds to breaking point with looped mouth percussions and layers of suitable growls. The songs are recognisable yet new to the ears, a treat for any fan or acquaintance. There is an air of cynicism about him as he plays – “You know when you go to those family affairs like Christmas or Easter, and there’s always that drunk relative... well, this is a song
JAKE BUGG @ THE HI-FI. PIC: DAVE KAN
tracks kick into high gear the audience is primed, writhing about on the dancefloor. New single Sabbatics is a fitting closer, and even in an extended form it still feels far too short. Holy Fuck haven’t just matched their recorded output, or their previous tours; tonight they’ve blown them away, and produced one of the best live sets Brisbane has seen this year. Sky Kirkham
JAKE BUGG, THE CREASES, THE GROWL The Hi-Fi 23 Apr Cam Avery is tasked with rousing the crowd as they slowly trickled into The
about when you become that drunk relative” – though he remains charming and constantly surprising, a trait hard to come by nowadays. The Creases make themselves comfortable on their hometown stage, warmly greeting the swelling masses as well the proud parents in the audience. As the night edges onwards, all in attendance become conflicted by their urge to dance and sway and jump along with the indie-pop delights that roll out one after another, as movement in any direction becomes impossible as strangers wedge themselves between each other. Just after the need to move subsided, the lads decide to jump into a cover (albeit hesitantly) of She’s So High by ‘90s pop sensation Tal Bachman, and
the scales are tipped in the direction of insanity. Just like the rest of their set, and surely to their own relief, they nail it. After much last minute shuffling of feet and bodies in a capacity crowd that was sure to break its banks, the youthful Jake Bugg bounces on stage, too cool in stride yet beaming as he approaches the microphone. A man of few words, Bugg opts to dive straight into his set, in which he exceeds all expectation – and when such expectation is that of a 20-year-old who is touring his second sublime album, the desire is for greatness. It’s difficult to say to what degree he amazes all in the audience, but what is clear is that he leaves particular members too eager for the
XZIBIT @ CHALK HOTEL. PIC: TERRY SOO
hits, and so Bugg has to endure screams for the betterknown tracks throughout his entire performance. What is marvellous though is the way in which Bugg takes everything in his stride, never letting calls fault his cool exterior, simply carrying on with a truly memorable performance. Through the live setting, we are treated to a countrytinged sound not always picked up on by means of recordings; There’s A Beast And We All Feed On It as well as Seen It All given new life and volume, and with it a new appreciation. It’s just one hit after another, and with no banter between them it feels like he is on a rush, the audience given no time to settle before being mesmerised again. He jumps
live reviews between albums, giving better-known tracks Two Fingers, Slumville Sunrise and sweet number A Song About Love some extra care in their execution. With that, Lightning Bolt is our farewell, not a moment too soon, satisfying in a way that you’ve seen an artist at their best, and making us quietly excited about the next inevitable tour to celebrate even more hits. Quietly confident, with fingers crossed; it needs to happen. Alice Bopf
XZIBIT, THE FUNKOARS Chalk Hotel 26 Apr The Funkoars, three MCs and a DJ, get people jumping and their hands in the air, a crowd favourite being The Hangover, as it seems most people here really want to wake up tomorrow feeling terrible. The crowd really responds well when the
really transfers well, and you can tell he is then feeding off that; a great performer, and always with a smile on his face – even when he’s rapping about something pretty serious he just seems like the happiest guy at the party.
Funkoars pull out a sampler and a drum machine. It isn’t the most intricate performance, but it is definitely entertaining. They then drop the instrumental part of Roots Manuva’s Witness The Fitness before bringing Briggasaurus up to join them. He adds a great amount of energy to the stage and their attempts at crowd participation seem to go a lot better. However, their best efforts to hype the crowd up are no match for merely saying “Xzibit”.
Paparazzi gets people’s lighters in the air, followed by Thank You, which keeps the positive vibes flowing. Near the end of the night Demrick gets on the mic and performs some of his upcoming releases, which sound amazing. After which X gets someone from the audience up on stage to rap with him. This may not have gone perfectly, but the crowd thinks it’s great. The skits he performs are genuinely amusing and they just get the crowd interacting the whole time. As The Funkoars put it, this is how hip hop is supposed to sound.
Xzibit, along with Demrick and DJ Invisible, gives a proper showing of West Coast hip hop. As Invisible drops the first tune, everyone sitting down at the back of the venue gets on their feet and rushes to the front, cheering until Xzibit and Demrick take the stage. For the first few songs X’s mic is quieter than Demricks, but it is fixed before long, not that it seems anyone really cares, with people jumping for State Of Hip Hop Vs Xzibit. His energy
MORE REVIEWS themusic.com.au/reviews/live
SALMONELLA DUB SOUNDSYSTEM @ THE HI-FI. PIC: TERRY SOO
Salmonella Dub Soundsystem @ The Hi-Fi Gazar Strips @ The Underdog The Trouble With Templeton @ Old Museum Michelle Xen & The Neon Wild @ New Globe Theatre
Paul Mulkearns
arts reviews
TRANSCENDENCE
TRANSCENDENCE Film
In cinemas Cinematographer for such Christopher Nolan films as The Dark Knight, The Prestige and Inception, Wally Pfister’s directorial debut has such a simplistic storyline it could work as a single episode in a sci-fi series – and a predictable one at that. Dr Will Caster (a stiff Johnny Depp) is attacked by an anti-technology group and given weeks to live. His wife Evelyn (a conflicted Rebecca Hall,
much more the film’s star than Depp) and friend Max (Paul Bettany) decide to upload Will’s consciousness using parts of an advanced artificial intelligence project Will has been working on, preserving his mind. Evelyn, despite Max’s reservations at the ethical implications of the project, then connects the Sentient-AIWill-Machine to the internet, thereby making him omnipresent. Cyber-Will blurs morals with science and technology in the name of evolution (apparently advanced bio-tech looks a lot like magic?), which really grinds the anti-technology group’s gears. You know how the rest goes. Despite some slick futuristic set pieces and often poetic camera work, Transcendence’s narrow and sloppy treatment of its premise and themes means that nothing lingers after the film’s over. What could have provided fresh commentary on an evertimely topic instead tediously and uncohesively rehashes existing (and arguably dated) plots, while taking itself much too seriously. Stephanie Liew
YOUNG & BEAUTIFUL Film
In cinemas 1 May On the eve of her 17th birthday, on a family holiday, Marine Vacth loses her virginity, removing it like some unwanted growth. “It’s done,” she says, dispassionately, to her pre-adolescent brother. “Don’t tell mum.” It’s a familiar first-time experience – awful, rushed, in a public place – that snaps something in her. No sooner is Vacth back in Paris than she’s online, taking up a covert, after-class career as a high-class call-girl. It’s, to her mind, not so different to babysitting, although her bourgeois parents, despite their progressive pretensions, may vehemently disagree. François Ozon – in a work calling to mind his great early provocations, like See The Sea and Criminal Lovers – refuses to moralise or make motivations explicit; to paint hobbyist prostitution as either a coming-of-age journey or selfdestructive downward spiral. Young
YOUNG & BEAUTIFUL
& Beautiful is, instead, a portrait of the hyper-capitalist, foreveronline now – of youth and beauty as cultural currency. Aided by the internet’s ease and capacity for anonymity, Vacth turns herself into a commodity, price-listed like eBay; her self-worth conflated with her financial worth. That the digital grid encodes her teenage transgressions for eternity makes this a 21st-century tale, but it’s less a portrait of sex work circa-2013 than of adolescents eternal; Ozon filming real 17-year-old students reciting Rimbaud’s nearly-150year-old poem Romance to-camera in a striking, defiant device. Anthony Carew THE MUSIC • 30TH APRIL 2014 • 29
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30 • THE MUSIC • 30TH APRIL 2014
the guide
Members/roles: Daniel Grima (lead vocals/guitar), Zach Degnan (lead guitar/vocals), Iti Memon (bass/vocals), Nicholas McMillan (kit/drum corporal 2013 BBCPB). How long have you all been together? We had a few lonely three-piece jams early on, but then we found Iti. And since then it’s been an 18-month love.
TWIN HAUS
You’re on tour in the van - which band or artist is going to keep the most people happy if we throw them on the stereo? Probably Pink Floyd or Bonobo. Nicholas Jaar does well for drives so maybe that too; or even some KG Soloman 5000! Would you rather be a busted broke-but-revered Hank Williams figure or some kind of Metallica monster? A busted broke-but-revered Hank Williams; because that is pretty much Michael Gira, and I love Michael Gira. Which Brisbane bands before you have been an inspiration (musically or otherwise)? Moonfleet. Nick and Dan used to go watch them dominate the Brisbane music scene during grade nine in high school. They just did whatever they felt like, and they owned it. What part do you think Brisbane plays in the music you make? There are so many good bands in Brisbane doing their own thing that you do feel inclined to remain integral throughout the process and continue doing something unique. It’s almost as if it’s just a matter of finding your feet, and a family, and milking that niche. Once you’ve got in, you’re in. And if you’re not in, you’re out. I suppose that’s not necessarily a bad thing. What’s in the pipeline for the band in the short term? Well, our debut EP is coming out next week. From there we head off on an east coast tour for just under a month. Then we’ll be looking at releasing a short film/doco we filmed while recording our EP in Orange, NSW. Twin Haus play The Hi-Fi on Saturday 3 May, The Brewery, Byron Bay on Sunday 4 May and the Nimbin Hotel on Sunday 11 May. Photo by TERRY SOO. THE MUSIC • 30TH APRIL 2014 • 1
eat/drink
HOW TO EAT OUT FOR UNDER $10 Because when you’re hungry and the funds are low, there are still some decent options. Illustration Brendon Wellwood.
HARE KRISHNA
PHO
Depending on the severity of your hunger pangs, quantity can often trump quality; but luckily you won’t have to sacrifice either with Hare Krishna fare. This soul-friendly vegetarian Indian cuisine is often by donation and generally buffet, so spare what you can and pile up your plate with karmic salvation.
Hungry, potentially malnourished students, fear not; thou shalt not succumb to sickness this winter. Kick your immune system into overdrive with this Vietnamese staple. Full of herbs, spices, vegetables, flat rice noodles and chicken or sliced beef, pho is a bowl full of wallet friendly nutritional goodness.
PUB PARMA NIGHTS This classic Aussie counter meal is a far cry from its Italian eggplant descendent but no one can deny that it remains a delicious and often affordable, high-caloric hit of fats, protein and carbs. Parma is best served with its liquid counterpart, beer, so hit up your local for Pub Parma Nights, or if your local doesn’t do this, find a new one.
a cold one. Travelling around small town America in the back of a Cadillac passing a bottle of moonshine back and forward with the country legend. Fingers crossed the night wouldn’t end the same way as it did for poor old Hank on New Year’s Day, 1953.
FIVE PEOPLE BRITISH INDIA WOULD LIKE TO HAVE A DRINK WITH Answered by Declan Melia. If I were able to have a beer with anyone from history, I would choose people who infamously enjoyed a tipple. It would be a waste to pick someone along the lines of Tom Cruise who would politely sip away on a low carb IPA, before making his excuses and vanishing into the dead of the night. Andre the Giant I would be a fool to think I could come close to being able to keep up with his legendary ability to put one away. The former wrestling legend was once known to put away 119 beers in six hours. Just to see this monolithic legend slurping away on bottles of plum wine would have been a thing of beauty. Hank Williams Sr Choosing Hank Williams has a lot do with the romantic idea of the setting in which we could shared 32 • THE MUSIC • 30TH APRIL 2014
Vincent Van Gogh Picture drinking absinthe with a man who drank so much of it there is now a brand of it named after him. And this isn’t the watereddown, “Green Fairy” you get from liquor stores these days. This was stuff that would make you see deep beyond the human condition, and turn a boring landscape into a thing of beauty. Frank Sinatra Who could turn sinking piss with the Rat Pack? I don’t think there could be any more vibe than drinking fine scotch on ice
BURRITO The more modest, authentic kind consists of only one or two ingredients stuffed inside flour tortilla, but the bastardised, American version is super-sized and allows you to add all the trimmings, including sour cream, rice and guacamole. And hey, no need for cutlery that’ll slow you down.
whilst watching the chairman of the board and Dean Martin going toe-to-toe. The last on this dyspeptically bloated liver of a list is the most drunken duke of them all. Charles Bukowski We would start the night drinking cheap gut rot wine, and end the night hurling empty beer bottles against the wall of his squatty apartment cursing the insolence of the world outside. Win tickets to see British India play exclusive shows on the Coopers After Dark tour by going to coopersafterdark.com.au.
the guide qld.live@themusic.com.au
FRONTLASH
INDIE NEWS
ROYAL FLUSH
After they completely burned ‘King Kyle’ (snap!) and then decided not to take baby George to Uluru (for obvious Meryl Streep-related reasons), maybe the Royal visit was worthwhile after all…
SPLENDID ONCE MORE The massive Splendour line-up has people divided, but mostly excited. We’re stoked about Parquet Courts, Courtney Barnett, Soho, Gurus plus heaps more – shouldn’t be hard to have fun!
IGGY’S GOT A BIGGY Kudos to Aussie rapper Iggy Azalea for topping the US iTunes charts and going top five in the UK with debut album The New Classic. She’s doing Mullumbimby proud!
MUSICAL SYNERGY
FINDING DIRECTION
BURNING BRIGHT
The genre-crossing sounds of Jahkaya can be heard at The Loft, GC, 17 May; expect reggae rhythms twisted into a modern, spaced-out soundscape. Joining them are B For Bandit and Kere Keelan, with $10 entry, and doors at 8pm.
Built on infectious hooks and synth-pop flavours, East Of Ely have evolved from recording demos on phones to become a refined alt-pop outfit. The guys launch their EP 23 May at The Brightside, with Morning Harvey and The Jensens.
Self-proclaimed “ridiculous redhead” Brianna Carpenter is keeping on with her prolific ways, dropping a brand new full-length, On So It Goes, and showing off the jazzy folk-pop with a launch show at Old Museum, 8 Jun. Tix $20+BF.
FUNKY MUNKS
GREEN THUMB
BETTER UNDERGROUND
Sydney hip hop outfit Renegades Of Munk play The Joynt, 15 May, Solbar, Maroochydore, 16 May, Beenleigh Events Centre, 17 May and Studio 188, Ipswich, 18 May. Supporting them are Impossible Odds, Dukebox and Classik Nawu.
Blue Mountain songwriter Snez visits Frankie Brown Cafe, Byron Bay, 15 May; Lulu’s Cafe, Mullumbimby, 17 May; Red Hill Folk Club, 21 May; Upfront Club Maleny, 24 May; and Drayton Villas, Toowoomba, 29 May.
Tight, grooving and all together punchy, Barry Charles & The Deeper Beat aren’t afraid to lock in tight and keep the motor running all night long. This innovative vocalist leads his band at Brisbane Jazz Club this Saturday.
NOTHING TO HIDE
HONESTY IS TIMELESS
OUT OF THE BOX
Lose yourself to Naked Maja’s new track Out Of Mind, a lush nugget that is getting us well excited for their forthcoming EP. They launch 22 May at The Underdog with Keep On Dancin’s, No Sister and Ultra Material.
You’ll feel your heartstrings tugged and your emotions massaged when New Zealand songsmith Benjamin James Caldwell returns from a lengthy stint in Canada to perform at Black Bear Lodge, Thursday, with Alex Crook and Alan Boyle.
After dazzling a packed Dowse Bar crowd at the launch for their folktronica single Live Like I’m Dying, Quintessential Doll will look to channel those same extroverted vibes at Black Bear Lodge this Sunday. Support from Deena and Zeek Power.
SHREDDING STYLE
IN THE SHADOWS
AVERT YOUR EYES
Goblincore purveyor Tim McMillian has just announced another couple of full band shows while visiting back home from his current base in Germany. New dates happen 30 May, Beetle Bar and 1 Jun, Solbar, Maroochydore.
Head out to the Judith Wright Centre from this Tuesday until 11 May and experience It’s Dark Outside, a production combining puppetry, animation and live performance in the form of a grand epic western, with original score from Rachael Dease.
It’s going to get loud and lewd when this triple bill roll into Beetle Bar on Thursday night. Set up and sink beers to the sounds of Junkyard Express, Baltimore Gun Club and Love Lost from 8pm.
LIFE IMITATING ART?
BACKLASH DOLPHIN WARS
So the Crimea crisis could lead to confrontation between US and Russian combat dolphins. For reals. While obviously totally wrong, you have to admit it could be pretty freaking cool. Until they take over…
GOODBYE TEMPO Sad news with the closure of The Tempo Hotel for live music. If the council can use development approval conditions to override the Entertainment Precinct principles, what’s the actual point of it?
BRING BACK PLANKING The new fad sweeping through society is ‘belfies’ – taking a shot of your own arse and sending it to “friends”. Seriously, people are fucking idiots…
FOR MORE HEAD TO THEMUSIC.COM.AU THE MUSIC • 30TH APRIL 2014 • 33
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INDIE NEWS
RIDE THE LIGHTNING
SAY YOUR PRAYERS
NO RESTRICTIONS
New York based singer/ songwriter Scott Matthew will return to his homeland of Oz for a couple of sessions reinterpreting the greats, with shows at Brew, 11 May and Mandala Organic Arts Cafe, Gold Coast, 12 May.
Perth-based Hailmary will hit the road in support of their brand new EP Navigate The Sunrise. Rock out with the band 5 Jun, The Rails, Byron Bay; 6 Jun, New Globe Theatre, Brisbane; 7 Jun, Tatts Hotel, Lismore; and 8 Jun, Wallapalooza, Gold Coast.
Get to 4ZZZ car park 10 May for some free all ages fun, with the afternoon shindig helping to raise much-needed funds for the awesome indie station. Cannon, pictured, Gunk, No Sister and The Kremlings all lend hands, with music from 2pm.
CLASSICS NEVER DIE
CRAWLING INSIDE
POWER SUITS THESE GUYS
Get loose at the Punch Drunk Love tour when Brissie bunch Old Fashion headline at The Zoo this Friday to launch their new single Stuck In A Groove. Support from Outliers, The Levons and War On Sara.
Touring their Hammer Of The Witch record, out now on Relapse, volatile Cleveland fivepiece Ringworm will unleash their fury on the Crowbar stage this Tuesday. Support from Against, Caged Grave, Shackles and Manhunt.
Big tunes and bold threads – there’s no escaping the obvious style of yacht pop pair Client Liaison. They bring their national tour to Alhambra Lounge, Thursday and Elsewhere, Gold Coast, Friday.
BUZZING SCUZZ
WAIT NO MORE
RANDOM ROCK
Get some sludge, swamp and a little drool when Beetle Bar hosts welcomed southern weirdos The Kremlings, pictured, with The Wrong Man, Cactusdemondoom, Karl’s Dog and Slagroom. It goes down 9 May.
Enjoy the expansive folk-centric styles of Isaac de Heer when the Melbourne troubadour visits us for shows at Junk Bar, 22 May; The Treehouse, Byron Bay, 23 May; and Lefty’s Old Time Music Hall, 25 May. His new album Summer is out 8 May.
Much-loved garage miscreants Some Jerks are set to drop double A-side Dark & Dead Of Night/Nancy, and will be giving both newies and plenty of old cuts an airing at The Bearded Lady, Saturday, with Gravel Samwidge and Marville.
DON’T STOP THE DANCE
GET ON UP
BLOWIN’ A GALE
Get a bit of extra colour and charisma into your life with true-to-form triple threat Tim Campbell brings his national High School Disco tour to Kedron Wavell Services Club, 11 Jul and Twin Towns, Tweed Heads 12 Jul.
Get out to Albany Creek Tavern, Saturday night and get amongst the rocking and rolling at Escalate, a night championing our local talent. Catch sets from By Eleanor, Upsize and Stone Vandals, with tickets $10 on the door.
With a bucket of good reviews collected from their new album Fall From Esoteria, centredpsych proponents The Windy Hills will showcase their new tracks with a gig at The Bearded Lady, Friday. Free entry, with support from Laneway.
FOR MORE HEAD TO THEMUSIC.COM.AU 34 • THE MUSIC • 30TH APRIL 2014
THIS WEEK’S RELEASES… THE HOLD STEADY Teeth Dreams Razor & Tie/Sony IN HEARTS WAKE Earthwalker UNFD DZ DEATHRAYS Black Rat I Oh You/Liberation THUNDAMENTALS So We Can Remember Obese
the guide qld.live@themusic.com.au
BRISBANE BOUND
EP FOCUS
dogs disguised as meat to drunk bogans. Another time we played at McKisko’s house on a hill, all fairy lights and good times. What can we expect different this time around? Solo, but not solo. Friendly machines and multi-tasking.
THE DECLINE Member’s name: Pat Decline EP Title: Can I Borrow A Feeling? How many releases do you have now? We have two albums and an EP! (And a super old out-ofprint EP that no one mentions). Was anything in particular inspiring you during the making? Just hanging out with the wonderful Sam Christopher Allen and his glorious beard, mostly. Oh, and having 30 or so friends sing group vocals on all the songs.
We’ll like this EP if we like... You’ll hopefully like this EP if you like Frenzal Rhomb, Alkaline Trio, NOFX, Rise Against, Bodyjar and Useless ID. When and where is your launch/next gig? We’re playing shows nationally for the Can I Borrow A Feeling? tour! which kicks off in Brisbane! The Decline play Crowbar on Friday 2 May.
TEETH & TONGUE Member’s name: Jess Cornelius Home ground: Melbourne Describe your live music/ performance style as succinctly as possible: Lots of singing. Doom-synth, fake handclaps. Occasional sequins.
Has anything exciting been happening in your world of late? Yep. The new album Grids came out on 21 March. What will you be taking home as a souvenir? Fake chicken nuggets from the Kuan Yin Tea House. Teeth & Tongue play The Hi-Fi on Tuesday 6 May (supporting Vance Joy).
Is this your first foray to Brisbane? If not how many times have you performed in our midst? Around five times now as Teeth & Tongue. A few other times with earlier projects. Please relate your impressions of performing in our fair city: After one Valley show we met a hot dog vendor selling vegan hot
What’s your favourite song on it? My favourite song is a track called Cool Kids Can’t Die.
EP FOCUS
SINGLE FOCUS our debut EP scheduled for release closer to mid-year.
RESIDUAL Member’s name: Sam Burtt Single title: Numbered What’s the song about? The idea of someone wasting their youth. Basically someone who spends every weekend getting smashed and being a dick. How long did it take to write/ record? It was probably written over about three/four rehearsals; it was the last song we wrote for the EP and it was tracked with the rest of the EP over six days. Is this track from a forthcoming release/existing release? It is a forthcoming release and will appear on
What was inspiring you during the song’s writing and recording? I guess our aim was to have distinction between each track on the EP, and as we wrote Numbered last, it allowed us to aim for something with a slightly different feel and focus. We’ll like this song if we like... We’ve been told it reminds people of Boy & Bear, Matt Corby, The Rubens and Kings Of Leon. Do you play it differently live? Little variations here and there, purely because we don’t have enough hands to play the song exactly the way it was recorded, but nothing that would be noticeable. Residual play The Loft, Gold Coast on Saturday 3 May and The Tempo Hotel on Sunday 4 May.
DENMARK Member’s name: Zac Moynihan EP Title: Separations How many releases do you have now? This is our debut EP. Was anything in particular inspiring you during the making? A lot of different music was listened to while we were recording, so that led to us completely changing some songs halfway through recording them. Thom’s home cookin’ was also inspiring.
first song ever, Calcutta is my personal fave. The others are all about Love & Morphine. We’ll like this EP if we like... Radiohead, The National, Elbow, Washed Out, Portishead, Kashmir, Veto, Sparklehorse etc etc. Denmark play Trainspotters at Grand Central Hotel on Saturday 10 May.
What’s your favourite song on it? Because it was our THE MUSIC • 30TH APRIL 2014 • 35
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THE MUSIC PRESENTS The Decline: Crowbar 2 May Urban Country Music Festival: Caboolture 2-4 May Residual: The Loft 3 May Groovin The Moo: Townsville 4 May The Jezabels: The Tivoli 6 May Arctic Monkeys: BEC 7 May DZ Deathrays: Elsewhere 8 May, The Zoo 9 May Ella Hooper: Black Bear Lodge 15 May, Soundlounge 16 May, Star Court Theatre 17 May Owen Campbell: Royal Mail Hotel 18 May, The Joynt 21 May Free Your Mind ft Northlane + Thy Art Is Murder: The Hi-Fi 22 May Kingswood: The Hi-Fi 31 May Our Man In Berlin: Alhambra Lounge 5 Jun
In Heart’s Wake: The Sands Tavern 29 Jun Hard-Ons: Coolangatta Hotel 20 Jun, Prince Of Wales 21 Jun The Audreys: The Zoo 21 Jun Frente!: Star Court Theatre 27 Jun, Brisbane Powerhouse 28 Jun Yeo: Alhambra Lounge 27 Jun, Solbar 28 Jun The Beards: The Spotted Cow 2 Jul, Soundlounge 3 Jul, The Tivoli 4 Jul, Solbar 5 Jul, The Northern 6 Jul Little Bastard: Black Bear Lodge 10 Jul, Solbar 11 Jul Something For Kate: The Tivoli 11 Jul
The White Album Concert: QPAC 13 Jul Remi: Solbar 17 Jul
The Bronx: Crowbar 15 & 16 Jun
WED 30
Sietta + Left + Georgia Potter: Black Bear Lodge, Fortitude Valley
Hailey Calvert + Ella Fence + Mitch King: Dowse Bar (Iceworks), Paddington Gloryhammer + Lagerstein + guests: Hotel Norville, Toowoomba Locky: Irish Murphy’s, Brisbane Underground Sounds Open Mic Night feat. various artists: Mick O’Malley’s, Brisbane Le Parti Soul feat. DJ Redbeard + Guests: Ric’s, Fortitude Valley Wicked Wednesdays feat. various artists: Royal Exchange Hotel, Toowong
Junkyard Express + Baltimore Gun Club + Love Lost: Beetle Bar, Brisbane Benjamin James Caldwell + Alex Crook + Alan Boyle: Black Bear Lodge, Fortitude Valley Jazz Singers Jam Night feat. various artists: Brisbane Jazz Club, Kangaroo Point Russ Walker + DJ J-Mixx: Chalk Hotel, Woolloongabba Iluka + guests: Dowse Bar (Iceworks), Paddington High Noon: Logan Diggers Club, Logan Central Ballad Boy: Loving Hut, Mount Gravatt Underground Sounds Open Mic Night feat. various artists: Mick O’Malley’s, Brisbane
Elephant Unplugged feat. various artists: The Elephant Hotel, Fortitude Valley
Flavour Machine + Fossils, Allthingslost + Ümbra, Between Kings + Shaggy Galafunkus + Weakling & Le Morsey DJs: New Globe Theatre, Fortitude Valley
The Scrapes: The End, West End
Robert DeLong: Oh Hello!, Fortitude Valley
Open Mic Night feat. various artists: The Loft, Chevron Island
Muddy Chanter + Brutet Ben + Walken + DJ Valdis: Ric’s, Fortitude Valley
Candice: The Plough Inn, Southbank
Karaoke: Royal Exchange Hotel, Toowong
The Effects Of Boredom + Harlequin + Obliged To Deny: The Underdog, Fortitude Valley
Gloryhammer + Lagerstein + guests: Beer Garden, Surfers Paradise
Open Mic Night feat. various artists: Solbar, Maroochydore
KT Tunstall + Danny Widdicombe: The Zoo, Fortitude Valley
THU 01
Client Liaison + Chela: Alhambra Lounge, Fortitude Valley
GIG OF THE WEEK THE JEZABELS: 6 MAY, THE TIVOLI
Violent Soho + The Smith Street Band: The Hi-Fi 12 & 13 Jul
Widow The Sea + Revelations + A Night In Texas: The Brightside, Fortitude Valley D.R.I + guests: The Hi-Fi, West End Love Hate Rebellion + Switchblade Suzie: The Joynt, South Brisbane
Rhythm n Soul Night with Caleb Lafaitele + Malachi Tuhoro + Denzel Taylor + Priya: The Loft, Chevron Island Young Pups Open Mic feat. various artists: The Underdog, Fortitude Valley Leather Lickers + Ripped Off + AK-47 Sonic Assault + Woodboot: The Underdog, Fortitude Valley Mark J + Marina + Tin: The Zoo, Fortitude Valley
FRI 02
DJ Indy Andy: Albany Creek Tavern (Creek Bar), Albany Creek
Come Out & Play – A Tribute To The Offspring: Albany Creek Tavern, Albany Creek Flinter + Chinatown Car Park + Meredith + Jye Whiteman: Beetle Bar, Brisbane Friday On My Mind feat. various DJs: Black Bear Lodge, Fortitude Valley Caxton Street Jazz Band: Brisbane Jazz Club, Kangaroo Point Metal of Honor feat. The Stone Fox + Valvetrain + Kingsmoor + Frayed And The Fallen + At Days End: Chardons Corner Hotel, Annerley Total Attack 4 feat. Disturd + Insidious Process + Havittaajat + Unknown to God + Dick Nasty + Idylls + Coffin Birth + Soma Coma + Power + Xenos + The Fevered + Pissed On + Mange: Coniston Lane (18+/5.30pm), Fortitude Valley Various artists: Coolangatta Sands Hotel (Sand Bar), Coolangatta The Decline + The Hardaches + Goon On The Rocks + Epics + No Trust: Crowbar, Fortitude Valley
Armada Nights feat. Andrew Rayel + MaRLo + Jorn Van Deynhoven: Family Nightclub, Fortitude Valley Kissperience: Hamilton Hotel, Hamilton
DJ Ritchie: Story Bridge Hotel (Shelter Bar/10pm), Kangaroo Point
Tackyland feat. Motion DJs: Irish Murphy’s (Upstairs), Brisbane
The Windy Hills + Laneway: The Bearded Lady, West End
Le Breeze: Lambert’s Restaurant, Kangaroo Point Various DJs: Limes Hotel, Fortitude Valley Devils Kiosk: Lock ‘n’ Load Bistro, West End Iluka: Loft, West End Majestiq: Logan Diggers Club, Logan Central Lounge Party + Locky: Mick O’Malley’s, Brisbane Just Another House Party feat. various DJs: Oh Hello!, Fortitude Valley Lyall Moloney: Padre Bar, Woolloongabba Hugh Laurie & The Copper Bottom Band: QPAC (Concert Hall), Southbank Green Jam Sessions with Red Shift: QPAC (Melbourne Street Green), Southbank Urban Country Music Festival feat. Kasey Chambers + Adam Brand + Beccy Cole + The McClymonts + The Sunny Cowgirls + Busby Marou + Morgan Evans + Paul Costa + Harry Hookey + The Pigs + more: Queensland State Equestrian Centre, Caboolture
Bedroom Suck Showcase feat. Full Ugly + Rites Wild + Martyr Privates + Thigh Master: The Brightside, Fortitude Valley Sampology: The Factory, Maroochydore Tall Poppy Indie Rock Party feat. SideTracked Fiasco + Flannelette + Dead Wolves + Fox N Firkin + The Thrill + more: The Hi-Fi, West End Late Night Comedy feat. various artists: The Hideaway (10pm), Fortitude Valley The Stress Of Leisure + Spirit Bunny + Edith Thomas Furey: The Hideaway, Fortitude Valley His Merry Men: The Joynt, South Brisbane Ingrid James + Julian Jones: The Lido Cafe & Restaurant, Ascot Iluka + Kath Haling: The Loft, Chevron Island Gloryhammer + Lagerstein + guests: The Sands Tavern, Maroochydore
The Keepaways + Minus Nine + DJ Valdis: Ric’s (Downstairs), Fortitude Valley
Diamond Dave: The Underdog (Public Bar), Fortitude Valley
DJ Ryan: Ric’s (Upstairs), Fortitude Valley
Solid Gold with DJ Mikey + various DJs: The Underdog, Fortitude Valley
Brian Fraser: Royal Mail Hotel (7pm), Goodna PLA: Saltbar, South Kingscliff The Chocolate Strings + Bullhorn + CC The Cat: Soundlounge, Currumbin
1000S OF GIGS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS. FOR MORE HEAD TO THEMUSIC.COM.AU 36 • THE MUSIC • 30TH APRIL 2014
Miles: Story Bridge Hotel (The Corner Bar/9pm), Kangaroo Point
Scum Records Showcase with Midwife Crisis + Obserd + The Flangipanis + Whiskey & Speed: The Underdog (Band Room), Fortitude Valley
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the guide qld.gigguide@themusic.com.au Garter Belts & Gasoline Wes Pudsey & The Sonic Aces + The Lincolns + Little Mac & The Monster Men + more: The Vonda Youngman Community Centre, North Tamborine Old Fashion + Outliers + The Levons + War On Sarah: The Zoo, Fortitude Valley Tony McGuiness: Twin Towns, Tweed Heads Various artists: Urban Country 2014, Caboolture Gloryhammer: Vaudeville Room, Caloundra
SAT 03
Cookie Jar feat. various DJs: 633 Ann, Fortitude Valley Uprise feat. Morse Gang + Average Steve + more: Acacia Ridge Hotel, Acacia Ridge Escalate feat. By Eleanor + Upsize + Stone Vandals: Albany Creek Tavern, Albany Creek
Gloryhammer + Lagerstein + Halcyon Prophecy + Chronolyth: New Globe Theatre (Main Room), Fortitude Valley Greshka + Emma & The Hungry Truth + Luna Junction: New Globe Theatre (Cinema Room), Fortitude Valley Tommy Franklin: Oh Hello!, Fortitude Valley Zac Gunthorpe: Padre Bar, Woolloongabba Urban Country Music Festival feat. Kasey Chambers + Adam Brand + Beccy Cole + The McClymonts + The Sunny Cowgirls + Busby Marou + Morgan Evans + Paul Costa + Harry Hookey + The Pigs + more: Queensland State Equestrian Centre, Caboolture Mose And The Fmly + Lane Harry + Ike Campbell + Sneeky Picnic + DJ Valdis: Ric’s (Downstairs), Fortitude Valley
Psych-High-Way 3 feat. The M-Humm + The Unofficials + The Scrapes + The Silver Dollars: Beetle Bar, Brisbane
DJ Ryan: Ric’s (Upstairs), Fortitude Valley
DJ Black Amex: Black Bear Lodge, Fortitude Valley
Request Night with DJ Trent: Saltbar, South Kingscliff
Locky: Brisbane Brewhouse, Woolloongabba Jason Derulo + Ricki-Lee: Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Boondall Barry Charles & The Deeper Beat: Brisbane Jazz Club (6.30pm), Kangaroo Point
Brian Fraser + Bo Jenkins + Mason Rack Band: Royal Mail Hotel, Goodna
Tourism: Solbar, Maroochydore The Big Duo: Story Bridge Hotel (The Corner Bar/9pm), Kangaroo Point DJ Ritchie: Story Bridge Hotel (Shelter Bar/10pm), Kangaroo Point
Honey feat. various DJs: Chalk Hotel, Woolloongabba
Ingrid James Quartet: The Arts Centre Gold Coast (The Basement), Surfers Paradise
Total Attack 4 feat. Kromosom + Straight Jacket Nation + Shackles + Disturd + People Problem + Canine + Hydromedusa + Last Chaos + R.I.P. Fucker + Hexx + Thorax + Heroin SS + Deputy Dipshit + Common Enemy: Coniston Lane (3pm), Fortitude Valley
Some Jerks + Gravel Samwidge + Marville: The Bearded Lady, West End
Various Artists: Coolangatta Sands Hotel (Sand Bar), Coolangatta
Viper Syndicate + Punxie & the Poison Pens + Gunk: The Hideaway, Fortitude Valley
John Newman + Saskwatch: Eatons Hill Hotel, Eatons Hill Bounce Sessions with J-Trick: Family Nightclub, Fortitude Valley WKD Saturdays feat. Motion DJs: Irish Murphy’s (Upstairs), Brisbane Various DJs: Limes Hotel, Fortitude Valley Astro Travellers: Lock ‘n’ Load Bistro, West End Musique: Logan Diggers Club, Logan Central
Thriller feat. The Acacia Strain + Aversions Crown + Graves + First Sight: The Brightside, Fortitude Valley Twin Haus + Wolver + Shady Bliss: The Hi-Fi, West End
The Rumjacks + Bare White Knuckles + Deadweight Express: The Joynt, South Brisbane The Acacia Strain + Aversions Crown + Graves + A Night In Texas + I Shall Devour: The Lab, Brisbane Residual + Real Talks + Alaska Homer + Jordan Riddle: The Loft, Chevron Island Sian Evans: The Scratch, Milton
Annie & Bern: Mandala Organic Arts Cafe, Mermaid Beach
Saturday Simmer Down Sessions with Boss Sounds: The Underdog (2pm), Fortitude Valley
Ramjet + Tullamore Tree + Ger Fennelly: Mick O’Malley’s, Brisbane
Jason Castle: The Underdog (Public Bar/5.30pm), Fortitude Valley
HUGH LAURIE: 2 MAY, QPAC Spike City + Dr Bombay: The Underdog, Fortitude Valley Garter Belts & Gasoline feat. Amber Foxx + The Firebird Trio + Johnny Law & the Pistol Packin’ Daddies + more: The Vonda Youngman Community Centre, North Tamborine British India + Columbia Buffet + guests: The Zoo, Fortitude Valley Urban Country Music Festival feat. various artists: Caboolture, Sunshine Coast One Dirty Bird + Dirty Hearts + Hotel Escobar: Vaudeville Room, Caloundra
SUN 04
Quintessential Doll + Zeek Power + Autumn: Black Bear Lodge, Fortitude Valley Daniel Champagne: Brisbane Jazz Club, Kangaroo Point Various artists: Coolangatta Sands Hotel (Sand Bar), Coolangatta Michael Julian Johnson + Jeremy Hunter + Ruby Smith: Dowse Bar (Iceworks), Paddington Various artists: Limes Hotel, Fortitude Valley Chris Paulsen Trio: Lock ‘n’ Load Bistro, West End Locky + Ger Fennelly: Mick O’Malley’s, Brisbane Lucky feat. #doslyf + 100% Hips + Snatcher + DJ Frankie Trouble + Lu-Na + various DJs: Oh Hello!, Fortitude Valley Urban Country Music Festival feat. Kasey Chambers + Adam Brand + Beccy Cole + The McClymonts + The Sunny Cowgirls + Busby Marou + Morgan Evans + Paul Costa + Harry Hookey + The Pigs + more: Queensland State Equestrian Centre, Caboolture Exposed Competition Grand Final feat. The Keepaways + Youth Allowance + more: Ric’s, Fortitude Valley
Garter Belts & Gasoline feat. Warren Earl Band + Blackhill Ramblers: St Bernards Hotel, Mt Tamborine QLD Big Kitty: Story Bridge Hotel (Outback Bar/3pm), Kangaroo Point DJ Ritchie: Story Bridge Hotel (Shelter Bar/3pm), Kangaroo Point Total Attack 4 feat. Insidious Process + Sick People + Frown + Grieg + Controlled + Leather Lickers + Shirtlifters + Black Deity + People Problem + Grey Places + Gruel + Cruel Machine: Sun Distortion (all ages/1pm), Brisbane Garter Belts & Gasoline: The Sunday Hot Rod Carnivale feat. The Fuelers + The Firebird Trio + The Ten Fours + The Sugar Shakers + The Zephyr Project + The Hiboys + Truckstop!: Tamborine Showground, North Tamborine Settling + more: The Bearded Lady, West End John Malcolm: The Joynt (4pm), South Brisbane Rock N Roll BBQ feat. Underwood Mayne + Trigger Warning: The Underdog (12pm), Fortitude Valley Groovin’ The Moo feat. Andy Bull + Allday + Architecture In Helsinki + Cults + Disclosure + Dizzee Rascal + Holy Fuck + Illy + The Jezabels + The Jungle Giants + Karnivool + Kingswood + The Kite String Tangle + Loon Lake + Lost Boys + The Naked & Famous + Parkway Drive + Peking Duk + The Presets + Robert Delong + Thundamentals + Vance Joy + Violent Soho + Wave Racer + What So Not + more: Townsville Cricket Grounds, Idalia Sugarfoot: Twin Towns, Tweed Heads
MON 05
The Naked & Famous + Vancouver Sleep Clinic: The Hi-Fi, West End
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TUE 06
Jazz Tuesday feat. The Enthusiastic Musicians’ Orchestra + Dan Quigley’s Hot 5 + The Melotonins: Black Bear Lodge, Fortitude Valley
Ringworm + Against + Caged Grave + Shackles + Manhunt: Crowbar, Fortitude Valley The Bug feat. Lauren Crick + The Switch: New Farm Bowls Club, New Farm Trivia: Royal Exchange Hotel, Toowong Mark Sheils: Samford Valley Hotel, Samford Valley Vance Joy + Gossling + Teeth & Tongue: The Hi-Fi, West End Harley Young: The Scratch, Milton The Jezabels + Gang Of Youths: The Tivoli, Fortitude Valley Cults + The Furrs: The Zoo, Fortitude Valley
the guide qld.gigguide@themusic.com.au
INTERNATIONAL KT Tunstall: The Zoo 30 Apr D.R.I: The Hi-Fi 1 May Hugh Laurie: QPAC 2 May John Newman: Eatons Hill Hotel 3 May The Acacia Strain: The Lab 3 May (AA), Thriller 3 May, Expressive Grounds 4 May (AA) The Naked & Famous: The Hi-Fi 5 May Jason Derulo: BEC 5 May Cults: The Zoo 6 May Arctic Monkeys: BEC 7 May Temples: The Zoo 8 May Disclosure: Eatons Hill Hotel 8 May Face To Face, Ten Foot Pole: 633 Ann 8 May Jonny Craig: Crowbar 8 May, Tall Poppy Studios 9 May (AA) Pete Rock & DJ Premier: Arena 9 May Pyramid: Chinese Whispers 10 May
Carcass: The Hi-Fi 13 Jun
Earth: Crowbar 17 Jun
Supersuckers: The Zoo 19 Jun La Dispute, Balance & Composure: Trinity Hall 19 Jun (AA), The Hi-Fi 20 Jun
Band Of Skulls: The Hi-Fi 21 Jun Joan As Police Woman: The Hi-Fi 24 Jun Story Of The Year: The Hi-Fi 26 Jun The Vibrators: Prince Of Wales 28 Jun The Crimson Projekct: The Hi-Fi 28 Jun
Joelistics, Dialectrix: Solbar 31 May
Violent Soho, The Smith Street Band: The Hi-Fi 12, 13 Jul
Kingswood: The Hi-Fi 31 May
The White Album Concert ft Tim Rogers, Chris Cheney, Phil Jamieson and Josh Pyke: QPAC 13 July
Eurogliders: Lismore Workers Club 6 Jun, City Golf Club 7 Jun, Buderim Tavern 8 Jun
Pelican: The Zoo 24 Jul
Citizen Kay, Tkay Maidza: Alhambra Lounge 10 May
Anathema: The Hi-Fi 21 Aug Lady Gaga: BEC 26 Aug The Dandy Warhols: The Tivoli 30 Aug Biffy Clyro: The Tivoli 4 Sep Kanye West: BEC 15 Sep Robbie Williams: BEC 22 Sep
James Vincent McMorrow: QPAC 23 May
Justin Timberlake: BEC 26, 27 Sep
Brant Bjork: The Zoo 23 May, The Northern 24 May
Rick Springfield: Eatons Hill Hotel 9 Oct, Twin Towns 10 Oct
Gary Numan: The Tivoli 27 May
Accept: The Hi-Fi 16 Nov
We Are Scientists: The Zoo 29 May
The Rolling Stones: Brisbane Entertainment Centre 18 Nov
Meat Puppets: The Zoo 30 May
Katy Perry: BEC 27, 28, 30 Nov, 1, 15 Dec
Ron Pope: Princess Theatre 6 Jun
Jeff Lang: Mullumbimby Town Hall 11 Jul, Brisbane Powerhouse 12 Jul
Cut Copy: Eatons Hill Hotel 10 May
Misery Signals: The Hi-Fi 17 May, The Lab 18 May (AA)
Ellie Goulding, Broods: BCEC 5 Jun (AA)
Things Of Stone & Wood: Brisbane Powerhouse 9 May
NATIONAL Iluka: Dowse Bar 1 May, The Loft 2 May Hellions: Crowbar 1 May, South Toowoomba Bowls Club 2 May (all ages)
White Lung: Alhambra Lounge 6 Jun
Chela: Alhambra Lounge 1 May
Slim Jim Phantom: Racecourse Hotel 6 Jun
Full Ugly: The Brightside 2 May
The Decline: Crowbar 2 May
Jimmy Tait: Southside Tea Room 10 May, Brisbane Powerhouse 11 May Boy & Bear: Lismore Workers Club 14 May Ella Hooper: Black Bear Lodge 15 May, Soundlounge 16 May, Star Court Theatre 17 May Kim Churchill: The Northern 15 May, Electric Playground 16 May, Soundlounge 18 May Dead Letter Circus: Surfers Paradise Beer Garden 15 May, Racehorse Hotel 16 May, 18 May Tatts Hotel
Hell City Glamours: Crowbar 7 Jun Drunk Mums: Grand Central Hotel 7 Jun The Bennies: Crowbar 8 Jun Graveyard Train: The Northern 11 Jun, The Zoo 13 Jun Twin Beasts: The Loft 12 Jun, Solbar 13 Jun, Beetle Bar 14 Jun The Paper Kites: The Northern 13 Jun, The Hi-Fi 14 Jun Amaya Laucirica: The Treehouse 13 Jun, The Bearded Lady 14 Jun My Friend The Chocolate Cake: New Globe Theatre 14 Jun
Thundamentals: The Zoo 16 May
Freak Wave: Crowbar 14 Jun, Tym Guitars 15 Jun
Chance Waters: Alhambra Lounge 16 May
Keith Urban, Sheppard: BEC 17, 18 Jun
Infinity Broke: The Loft 16 May, New Globe Theatre 17 May
Emma Russack: Black Bear Lodge 18 Jun
Saskwatch: Bond University 18 May (1pm), Soundlounge 13 Jun, The Zoo 14 Jun
Hard-Ons: The Northern 19 Jun, Coolangatta Hotel 20 Jun, Prince Of Wales 21 Jun
British India: Crowbar 22 May
Wagons: The Zoo 20 Jun
Free Your Mind ft Northlane, Thy Art Is Murder: The Hi-Fi 22 May
Mondo Rock: Eatons Hill Hotel 20 Jun
Dustin Tebbutt, The Tambourine Girls: Alhambra Lounge 23 May Sydonia: Crowbar 23 May, Coolangatta Hotel 24 May, The Northern 25 May King Parrot: Miami Shark Bar 23 May, Thriller 24 May, The Lab 25 May The Disappointed: Grand Central Hotel 24 May
Josh Pyke: Empire Theatre 20 Jun (AA), Majestic Theatre 21 Jun (AA), Byron Cultural & Community Centre 22 Jun (AA) Psycroptic: Miami Shark Bar 20 Jun, The Brightside 21 Jun, The Lab 22 Jun (AA) Allday: Bowler Bar 20 Jun The Audreys: The Zoo 21 Jun Chet Faker: The Tivoli 21 Jun, Lake Kawana Community Centre 22 Jun
ScHoolboy Q: The Hi-Fi 7 Jun
Sampology: The Factory 2 May, Bowler Bar 24 May
TLC: Eatons Hill Hotel 7 Jun
Residual: The Loft 3 May
Kevin Mark Trail: The Loft 7 Jun, Dowse Bar 8 Jun
The Jezabels: The Tivoli 6 May
Alison Wonderland, Wave Racer: Brisbane 24 May, Gold Coast 31 May
Vance Joy, Gossling: The Hi-Fi 6 May
The Presets, Australian Chamber Orchestra: QPAC 26 May
Frente!: Star Court Theatre 27 Jun, Brisbane Powerhouse 28 Jun
5 Seconds Of Summer: The Tivoli 7 May
Vancouver Sleep Clinic: Black Bear Lodge 28 May
Dune Rats: The Zoo 28 Jun, Alhambra Lounge 29 Jun (U18)
DZ Deathrays: Elsewhere 8 May, The Zoo 9 May
Closure In Moscow: Solbar 30 May, Crowbar 31 May
In Hearts Wake: The Sands Tavern 29 Jun
Kristin Hersh: Black Bear Lodge 8 Jun Propagandhi: The Hi-Fi 8 Jun, Miami Shark Bar 9 Jun Bastille: BCEC 13 Jun (AA)
Something For Kate: The Tivoli 11 Jul
Safia: Beach Hotel 30 May, Alhambra Lounge 31 May
Lloyd Cole: Brisbane Powerhouse 10 Jul, Soundlounge 11 Jul, Star Theatre 12 Jul
Hanson: The Tivoli 5 Aug, Coolangatta Hotel 6 Aug
Gabrielle Aplin: St John’s Cathedral 3 Jun
She Rex: Alhambra Lounge 8 May, The Brewery 9 May, Solbar 10 May
Bell X1: The Zoo 4 Jul
Robyn Hitchcock: New Globe Theatre 16 May
James Blunt: BCEC 2 Jun
DZ DEATHRAYS: 9 MAY, THE ZOO
Our Man In Berlin: Alhambra Lounge 5 Jun
A Great Big World: The Tivoli 2 Aug
Mango Groove: Eatons Hill Hotel 30 May
Little Bastard: Black Bear Lodge 10 Jul, Solbar 11 Jul, The Rails 12 Jul
Rüfüs: Coolangatta Hotel 9 May, The Tivoli 10, 11 May, Beach Hotel 8 Jun
Fleshgod Apocalypse: The Hi-Fi 14 May
Janelle Monae, Kimbra: BCEC 21 May
Northeast Party House: Alhambra Lounge 3 Jul, Solbar 4 Jul, The Spotted Cow 5 Jul
Dragon: Kedron Wavell Services Club 20 Jun, Twin Towns 21 Jun
Michael Buble: BEC 12 May
2Cellos: Eatons Hill Hotel 18 May
Dan Sultan: Solbar 2 Jul, The Spotted Cow 3 Jul, Soundlounge 4 Jul, Eatons Hill Hotel 5 Jul, The Northern 8 Jul
Finntroll: The Zoo 18 Jun
Andrew Strong: The Commitments: The Tivoli 25 Jul, Twin Towns 26 Jul
The English Beat: The Zoo 18 May
The Beards: The Spotted Cow 2 Jul, Soundlounge 3 Jul, The Tivoli 4 Jul, Solbar 5 Jul, The Northern 6 Jul
The Bronx: Crowbar 15, 16 Jun
Remi: Solbar 17 Jul, Bowler Bar 18 Jul, The Brewery 19 Jul Dave Graney: Beetle Bar 18 Jul, Solbar 19 Jul, The Northern 20 Jul Bodyjar: The Hi-Fi 7 Aug The Angels: Queensland Lions Club 8 Aug, North Leagues & Services Club 9 Aug Freedman Does Nilsson: Soundlounge 15 Aug, Old Museum 16 Aug Tina Arena: Jupiters 23 Aug, BCEC 24 Aug The Aston Shuffle: The Zoo 29 Aug
FESTIVALS Urban Country Music Festival: Caboolture 2-4 May Total Attack IV: Coniston Lane & Sun Distortion 2-4 May Groovin The Moo: Townsville Cricket Grounds 4 May Hits & Pits Round 3: The Hi-Fi 9 May, The Northern 10 May Cooly Rocks On: Coolangatta/ Tweed Heads 30 May-9 Jun Brisbane International Jazz Festival: BEMAC 4-8 Jun Caxton Street Seafood & Wine Festival: Caxton Street 8 Jun Live It Up: RNA Showgrounds 21 Jun Splendour In The Grass: North Byron Parklands 25-27 Jul Gympie Music Muster: Gympie 28-31 Aug BIGSOUND: Fortitude Valley Entertainment Precinct 10-12 Sep Soulfest: Riverstage 25 Oct
Yeo: Alhambra Lounge 27 Jun, Solbar 28 Jun
1000S OF GIGS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS. FOR MORE HEAD TO THEMUSIC.COM.AU THE MUSIC • 30TH APRIL 2014 • 39
40 • THE MUSIC • 30TH APRIL 2014