Warp Magazine December 2011

R F E E

W arp Warp

WARP TASMANIA DECEMBER 2011

Fleet Foxes BLUEJUICE

DJ YODA

EASY STAR ALL-STARS

DUNCAN MEERDING

THIS ISSUE: BEIRUT, D’OPUS & ROSHAMBO, REASON, SCRATCH PERVERTS, SAND PEBBLES, EAT OUT, ACCOMMODATION, REVIEWS AND MORE

BALLETLAB

PJ HARVEY (UK) PIERRE HENRY (FRANCE) RYOJI IKEDA (JAPAN) THE DRESDEN DOLLS (USA) PHILLIP ADAMS BALLETLAB (AUS) IHOS (AUS) DAVID CHESWORTH ENSEMBLE (AUS) AMIINA (ICELAND) ADAM SIMMONS (AUS) ADRIAN SHERRIFF (AUS) ANDREA CENTAZZO (ITALY/USA) BLACK JESUS EXPERIENCE (AUS) CHRIS ABRAHAMS WITH SABINE VOGEL (AUS/GERMANY) DANIEL MUDIE CUNNINGHAM (AUS) DANNY HEALY (AUS) DAVID WATSON (NZ) DEATH GRIPS (USA) DONNY BENET (AUS) ED KUEPPER & MARK DAWSON (AUS) ELANEE ENSEMBLE (AUS) EMDEE (AUS) GABRIELLA SMART (AUS) GILMOUR ENSEMBLE (AUS) HANGGAI (CHINA) JULIANNA BARWICK (USA) KELLIE O’DEMPSEY (AUS) LAWRENCE ENGLISH AND SCOTT MORRISION (AUS)

LIVE MUSIC 7 days a week Kobra Kai

Sat Dec 10

Spy v Spy

Fri Dec 16

Gza (Wu-Tang Clan)

Tue Jan 3

Ash Grunwald

Jan 7 & Jan 8

Faye Blais (Canada) Thu, December 8 D'Opus & Roshambo Fri, December 9 Kobra Kai & Acumen Sat, December 10 Adam Cousens, Teinne & Jay Fraser Sun, December 11 Quiz Night (Last one for 2011) Mon, December 12 Peter Hicks & The Blues Licks Tue, December 13 Chris Mallory Wed, December 14 Swump Thu, December 15 Spy Vs Spy Fri, December 16 Ben Wells & The Middle Names Sat, December 17 Animal Sanctuary Benefit: Blue Mosquitoes + As The Crow Flies + more Sun, Dec 18 Pat & Ruth Mon, December 19 Hoot Owl Tue, December 20 Sam Cole & The Mornings Wed, December 21 LaVista Thu, December 22 The Colemans and Dean Stevenson Fri, December 23 Xmas Eve with Trumps Sat, December 24 Joe Pirere & The Blackberries Tue, December 27 Jordan Miller Wed, December 28 Fritz Thu, December 29 The Funk Band Fri, December 30 NYE with Boil Up Sat, December 31 Gza (Wu-Tang Clan) Tue, January 3 Ash Grunwald Sat, January 7 and Sun, January 8 Youri Blow (France) Thu, January 12 Immortal Technique Wed, January 18

LUCAS ABELA (AUS) MICHAELA DAVIES (AUS) NELL (AUS) NICK TSIAVOS (AUS) PAINT YOUR GOLDEN FACE (AUS) PRINCE RAMA (USA) ROBIN FOX (AUS) ROD THOMSON (AUS) SENYAWA (INDONESIA) SONIA LEBER (AUS) STUART RINGHOLT (AUS) SUSAN PHILIPSZ (UK) TANK (AUS) THE DAD HORSE EXPERIENCE (GERMANY) TOSHIMARU NAKAMURA (JAPAN) TUBA SKINNY (USA) TUNE-YARDS (USA) WEST HEAD PROJECT AND OUT HEAR (AUS)

MEDIA PARTNER:

Image: Robin Fox

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An Unforgettable Evening with

FEEL PRESENTS

NATALIE

COLE and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra

30 JANUARY MONDAY 8pm WREST POINT ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE

Share an unforgettable evening with Natalie Cole as she sings all of her greatest hits including ‘Unforgettable’, ‘This Will Be’, ‘Pink Cadillac’ and ‘Miss You Like Crazy’ with the full backing of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra.

You’d be crazy to miss it!

SATURDAY 5TH MAY HOBART THEATRE ROYAL TICKETS FROM WWW.THEATREROYAL.COM.AU, PH: 6233 2299 OR IN PERSON AT THE VENUE BOX OFFICE

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0313

Season 2012

BOOKINGS www.tso.com.au or phone 1800 001 190 or the TSO and Wrest Point Box Offices

WWW.FEELPRESENTS.COM / WWW.HENRYROLLINS.COM

TICKETS ON SALE NOW!

6 News

Warp news in brief Great food, free pool and live music Now open till 2am every fri and sat

W arp Warp PULLING STRINGS

------------------------------------------------Warp Tasmania DECEMber 2011 ------------------------------------------------LOCAL MUSIC Stuart Warren stuart@warpmagazine.com.au ------------------------------------------------CLUB / ELECTRONIC Nic Orme nic@warpmagazine.com.au ------------------------------------------------ART Alison McCrindle alison@warpmagazine.com.au ------------------------------------------------Performing Art Sarah Mashman sarah@warpmagazine.com.au ------------------------------------------------Eat Out Jason James jason@warpmagazine.com.au ------------------------------------------------DESIGN Miu Heath catspop@gmail.com ------------------------------------------------ADVERTISING ads@warpmagazine.com.au ------------------------------------------------GIG GUIDE Submit your events to gigs@warpmagazine.com.au ------------------------------------------------Writers Sose Fuamoli, Sarah Leary, Eva Lubulwa, Josh Clements, Lyn Geisel, Daniel Townsend, Jervis Dean, Jarred Keane, Lucas Thomas, Caity Rode, Lisa Dib, Brett Neuling, Sybelle Foxcroft ------------------------------------------------NEWS Submit your press releases plus publicity images through to the appropriate editor for consideration.

------------------------------------------------www.warpmagazine.com.au www.facebook.com/warp.mag ------------------------------------------------INTERESTED IN WRITING FOR WARP? contact ed@warpmagazine.com.au ------------------------------------------------ALL SUBMISSIONS REMAIN THE PROPERTY OF WARP MAGAZINE. ALL CONTENT IS COPYRIGHT TO WARP MAGAZINE AND CANNOT BE REPRODUCED IN WHOLE OR PART WITHOUT WRITTEN AUTHORISATION OF THE PUBLISHERS. WARP MAGAZINE makes no guarantees, warranties or representations of any kind, whether express or implied, as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of the information provided. WARP MAGAZINE will not be liable for incorrect use of the information and will assume no responsibility for consequences that may result from the use of the information. WARP MAGAZINE is not responsible of any kind arising out of use, reference to, or reliance on such information.

The opinions expressed in Warp Magazine and Warp online do not necessarily reflect those of the editors or publishers.

It’s a well-worn, old cliché, but you might well expect the unexpected when Tiger Choir plays at this year’s “night-beforeFalls” Boogie Nights spectacular at Marion Bay. As well as playing tracks from their excellent album, ‘Unicycles’, the Hobart boys are planning to make it a show to remember.

How so? Rumour has it there will be puppets involved, but you better get along for a look to get the full picture.

the event was marred by excessively long queues for drinks and toilets. This was exacerbated by the food and beverage staff closing stalls and refusing to refund tokens.

Festival promoter AJ Maddah tweeted his frustration with the proceedings in the days following the event, promising a refund to all token-holders, and declaring that “Everyone attending #HarvestAus this year will be considered a Foundation Member and as long as the event runs will have 1st right to tickets”.

FAT LINE-UP FOR SKINNY’S

CRA AT IT AGAIN

There’s just no stopping the Skinny Gean’s guys and one look at their next line-up will prove it. The Skinny Gean’s Mini Festival is set for take-off on December 9 at the Launceston Rugby Club and will charge through the following afternoon and evening, too. There’s a huge array of Tasmanian talent set to play at one of Launceston’s best nights out. Guthrie, Enola Fall, The Crazy 88s and a whole heap of others are confirmed for the two day party. In keeping with the not-for-profit spirit that Skinny Gean’s adheres to, entry is $5 for Friday and $10 for the 12-hour Saturday session.

Commercial Radio Australia (CRA) has approached regulatory bodies with a proposal to scrap the regulation that requires them to play at least 25% Australian music between 6am and midnight. The CRA argues this is an unfair restriction placed upon them when internet radio has no restriction on content. Both the Australian Independent Record Labels Association (and the Australia Council for the Arts) has dismissed the claims, stating “Every monthly press release from CRA celebrates increased revenue but they talk about unfair competition with online radio?”

SAFARI LAND LOCKED

LONELY IS THE NEW BLACK

download from www.viperrecords.com.

Immortal Technique will be touring Australia and New Zealand in January, including The Republic Bar on Wednesday January 18.

DEATH CAB Death Cab for Cutie have just announced the details of their upcoming Australian tour.

Hitting 5 spots in 10 days, the tour kicks off at the Perth International Arts Festival on Friday 17 and Saturday 18 of February, then journeys to Adelaide’s HQ on Monday 20th, Melbourne’s Palace Theatre on the 21st, Sydney’s Enmore Theatre on the 24th, and wraps up at The Tivoli Theatre in Brisbane on Monday 27th of February. Unfortunately, Death Cab for Cutie will not be making it to Tasmania this time around.

Traks online store, not only will the order be mailed to your door, but they will send high quality MP3s to your inbox, free and immediately. Although this has been a common feature for independent acts distributing online for some time now, labels have been reluctant to jump on board, we hope other labels follow Elefant Traks’ lead!

Natalie Cole KANYE NOT GOING WEST

The Black Keys are back on the promotional grind before the release of their upcoming album ‘El Camino’. Nifty promo videos and interviews have flooded music blogs but the duo are adamant they won’t be returning to Australia any time soon. The first 12” single, ‘Lonely Boy’ is on the shelf now, with ‘Run Right Back’ on the B Side. ‘El Camino’ will be available this fortnight.

IMMORTAL TECH

The Big Day Out has made a few changes to their various line ups since their first announcement. Adelaide will now miss out on seeing Kanye West, The Living End and Mariachi El Bronx. The Perth event has moved to Brownes Stadium, and Kanye West, Hilltop Hoods and The Living End will not be performing. Auckland has already been forced to cancel Odd Future due to their homophobic and sexist remarks, and now Kanye won’t be playing their either thankfully not for the same reasons as Odd Future.

The Ballot for Golden Plains Sixxx closed recently, but all sources report that this was hands-down the largest ballot in Golden Plains history. Unfortunately this means record numbers of people were unlucky and had to go through the lining-up-outsidestores-across-Melbourne-at-6am process.

With the $300 tickets completely sold out, it is positive to see a festival continuing to grow and expand during the recent shift towards festival downsizing.

Hobart’s The Witching Tree continue to rack up solid support slots in what is proving to be an excellent year for the now four-piece prog-rockers. Chris, Chris and Christian have added James on synth keys/guitar to beef up their developing sound. Fresh from another show with Thousand Needles in Red last month, the guys will step out before Over-reactor, the new project for former Mammal frontman, Ezekiel Ox, at the Brisbane Hotel on December 16.

FIRST HARVEST Melbourne’s Harvest Festival debuted a few weeks ago. The highly anticipated event featured some of the larger names in this year’s summer festival circuit including Portishead and The Flaming Lips. However

Renaissance man Henry Rollins has announced he will once again be hitting Australian shores in 2012. The former Black Flag front man, spoken word poet, activist and talk show host will be playing 16 dates around the country in April and May. The Long March tour will visit Hobart’s The Theatre Royal on Saturday May 5. Tickets will be available via www.theatreroyal.com. au and at the venue. Tickets go on sale November 28, 2011.

MORE GOLD! MORE GOLD!

CLIMBING THE TREE

Immortal Technique has been described as “one of the most dangerous artists in America”. His ruthless battle victories and incendiary style of hiphop has developed a massive cult following around the world.

Public Enemy’s Chuck D described him as the “Voice of Truth” in a recent interview, and his new album is available for free

See him play February 2 at the Boathouse in Launceston, February 3 at the Devonport Entertainment Centre and February 4 at the Theatre Royal in Hobart.

LADI-DA IT’S FESTIVALE One of Tasmania’s premier food AND wine events, Festivale will again be staged at Launceston’s picturesque City Park. In its 24th year, Festivale 2012 will host more than 70 stalls of Tasmanian made and Tasmanian-grown produce. Taking place from 5.30pm on Friday February 10 until 4pm Sunday February 12, the event will also play host to a wide variety of roaming performers and musicians, while the Frontline Stage will see the likes of Daryl Braithwaite, Richard Clapton and a wealth of Tasmanian talent. For more details, see www.festivale.com.au

THEY SEE ME ROLLINS

Versions – Coldplay

After selling out headline shows in Sydney and Melbourne, Jinja Safari have added a Hobart gig to their ‘Locked By Land’ tour.

Playing the Waratah Hotel on Saturday December 10 to cap off their November Tour, the Sydney based afro-pop band will have played six of the finest venues on the east coast leading up to Hobart. With special guests yet to be announced, further information is available by calling the venue on (03) 62343685, or can be found on the venue’s website at www.thewaratahhotel. com.au

January 7 and a special afternoon show on Sunday January 8. Ash has been busy in recent months with a series of collabrative projects including, Krash, with Spiderbait’s drummer Kram and Tigervzshark, where Ash teams up with the very cool Fingers Malone.

The Waratah continues on in December with its successful monthly versions, with this month focussing on songs by Coldplay.

Versions will be on Friday December 24, starting at 9pm. Entry is free. To perfrom please email nic@mainstageevents.com.au.

Iconic American R&B, Pop & Jazz singer Natalie Cole will be appearing at the Wrest Point Entertainment Centre backed by the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra on Monday the 30th of January. The nine time Grammy award winner (and twenty one time Grammy nominee) and daughter of the late Nat King Cole, will be performing works from her 2009 album Still Unforgettable along with all of her more popular works. For tickets or more information, contact The TSO box office on (03) 6232 4450 or visit www.tso. com.au

The long-awaited second announcement of the Big Day Out line-up was recently released, with Stonefield being added to the illustrious list. After playing Glastonbury earlier in the year, supporting Cold Chisel as part of ‘A Day on the Green’ tour, and recently being selected to support The Foo Fighters in Sydney, it has proven to be a big year for the four sisters from Melbourne.

The Triple J Unearthed act is currently working on new material which will be released on an EP in early 2012.

BREATH OF LIFE SECOND ANNOUNCEMENT

MS Fest Music Feast ENTER THE GZA Member of the seminal american hip hop group, the Wu-Tang Clan, GZA will include Hobart in his upcoming Australia tour. Playing the Republic Bar on Tuesday January 3, he will be performing the entirety of his landmark 1996 solo album, ‘Liquid Swords’. GZA will be supported by local outfit, Mic Dons and DJ Grotesque. Tickets on sale now from the venue, Ruffcut and Moshtix.

ASH GRUNWALD

The lovelies at MS Fest have been cooking up a feast of brilliant music for 2012’s best one-day festival. Headliners are The Naked & Famous, Roots Manuva, Fat Freddy’s Drop, Unkle Sounds and Sparkadia making the main stage rumble, and new zealand dubbers Salmonella Dub Sound System teaming up with UK electronic producer Bomb The Bass to rock the Dance stage. As well as a the two stages, this year MS have added a silent disco, as well as The Republic stage, which will showcase Tasmania’s plethora of local talent. So for a great day for a great cause, get your tickets to MS Fest 2012 now. Available from Ruffcut Records, Jimmy’s Skate & Street, Mojo Music, Red Hot CD’s, and a host of other outlets. www.msfest.org.au COLIN HAY HARD AT WORK

ELEFANT SIZED DEALS Elefant Traks has taken another step into the digital world by announcing the implementation of their new MPFree system. In the future when customers purchase a CD or vinyl from the Elefant

ROLLING STONEFIELDS

Renowned Australian blues and roots artist, Ash Grunwald will be bring his travelling show to Hobart in the new year with two shows at the Republic Bar on Saturday

Ex-frontman for Men at Work, Colin Hay will be performing three shows in Tasmania as part of his ‘Gathering Mercury’ solo national tour. With rave reviews from his recent American tour and a nomination in for 2011 Aria for Best Adult Contemporary album, the show will include material off the new album, plus songs from his lengthy solo career and years spent in Men at Work.

Tasmania’s newest festival has made its second lineup announcement with the inclusion of 360, Drapht, the Funkoars, Illy, Jebediah, Bombs Away, Helena and Skrillex to the two-day event on the March 10 and 11 at the inveresk show grounds in Launceston.

HAPPY HAPPY HOUR HOUR THURS AND THURS AND FRI FRI 6-7 6-7 www.tapasloungebar.com.au www.tapasloungebar.com.au

Rooke Street Mall, Devonport,Tasmania.

Rooke Street Mall, Devonport,Tasmania.

03 03 6424 6424 2727 2727

NOVEMBER DECEMBER WED 2ND - TAPAS TRIVIA 7PM THURS EVIL CISUM THURS 3RD 1ST -- PARIS WELLS8PM FRI FRI 4TH 2ND- THREE - T M GPIECE 9:30PM SAT 5TH - CANDY FEET 9:30PM SAT 3RD - EVIL CISUM SUN 6TH - ELECTRIC SPAGHETTI 8PM SUN 4TH - MICK AHEARN (LONG WEEKEND) AND REX WATTS WED 9TH - OPEN MIC NIGHT 7PM WED - TAPAS TRIVIAPROMO THURS7TH 10TH - JIM BEAM THURS - LIVE NIGHT -8TH HEAPS OFMUSIC GIVEAWAYS 6PM FRI 11TH 9TH - -THREE T M G PIECE 9:30PM SAT 12TH 10TH --THE T MUNIT G & 9:30PM TRENT SUN 13TH CHRIS MEEK SUN 11TH - NEIL GIBSON6PM WED 16TH - TAPAS TRIVIA NIGHT 7PM WED 14TH - OPEN MIC THURS 17TH - LINOLEUM THURS 15TH - KITBY EDWARDS (NO FX TRIBUTE BAND) 8PM FRI 16TH- -UNDER EVIL CISUM FRI 18TH THE COVERS 9:30PM SAT 17TH THE UNIT SAT 19TH - SLATS & THE BIG SUN 18TH -9:30PM CHRIS MEEK NATURALS SUN 20TH - NEIL GIBSON 6PM WED 21ST - TAPAS TRIVIA WED 23RD - TAPAS 7PM THURS 22ND - LIVETRIVIA MUSIC THURS 24TH - T M G (SHOW DAY EVE) FRI 23RD - THE ROCK PIGS FRI 25TH - ELECTRIC SAT 24TH - (CHRISTMAS EVE) SPAGHETTI 9:30PM ELECTRIC SPAGHETTI SAT 26TH - ROCK PIGS 9:30PM SUN 25 - CLOSED SUN 27TH - LIVE MUSIC 6PM WED 30TH 28TH --TAPAS TAPASTRIVIA TRIVIA7PM THURS 29TH - EVIL CISUM

DECEMBER SAT 31ST (NEW YEARS EVE) FRI 30TH - T M G

FALLS FESTIVAL 3 DAY PASSES ALL GONE Falls have announced that all 3 day passes to the 2011 festival have now sold out, with almost 50% of those sold to interstate visitors. Two-day tickets covering December 30 and 31 are still available for purchase from the website www.fallsfestival.com.au

ELECTRIC SPAGHETTI THURS 1ST - PARIS$20 WELLS 8PM TICKETS FROM VENUE FRI 2ND - T M G 9:30PM SAT 3RD - LIVE MUSIC 9:30PM SUN 4TH - MICK AHEARNE & REX WATTS 6PM -

JANUARY

WED 4TH - TAPAS TRIVIA THURS 5TH - LIVE MUSIC - TBA FRI 6TH - THE UNIT SAT 7TH - EVIL CISUM SUN 8TH - LIVE MUSIC - TBA

8 Music

DUB SIDE DOWNUNDER RAS I RAY DOESN’T KNOW MUCH ABOUT TASMANIA, BUT WE’RE ABOUT TO LEARN A LOT ABOUT HIS DREADLOCKED BASS-PLAYING IN THE NEW YORK DUB COLLECTIVE EASY STAR ALL-STARS.

“Right now [Tasmania] feels like a fairytale place to me,” Ras I Ray laughs. “To actually imagine that’s where we’re going it never really sunk in. We’re going to Tasmania.

Wait a minute... I only heard about it like a fairytale land, like once upon a time, you know?”

imagined it would become such a hit. When we did it, it was basically a labour of love and it became an underground sensation and the phone started ringing off the hook. That was 2003 - it’s taken us around the world and we’re coming to Australia for the second time and, yeah, I’m enjoying the ride.”

The eight-piece band is treating this year’s Falls Festival audiences to its seminal ‘Dub Side of the Moon’; a live performance of the re-imagined Pink Floyd cover album released in trio with ‘Radiodread’ and ‘Easy Star’s Lonely Hearts Dub Band’.

The journey looks set to continue with another cover on the way, but fans have got at least a month to wait before this reggae secret is revealed.

“Sometimes I still have to pinch myself,” Ras said of the album’s success. “I never

“It is in the production. I’m dying to talk about what it is but they still have us on top secret where we can’t share that information yet. Probably by the time January rolls around the label will be ready to release what that project is. Fans will be very surprised when they find out.”

While he was unable to let on what’s coming next, Ras was in no doubt what it would be if it was an Australian band being covered.

“Every time we think of Australia it’s always AC/DC,” he said. “I’m serious, that’s the first one that comes up from the whole band – we want to do AC/DC and you know which one it is. Dub in Black, you know. We’re always throwing it around.”

The Falls Fest promises to introduce Aussie music lovers to something new, so it’s only fair that Ras gets to experience something new while he’s here. Given a day or two between shows, what’s it likely to be?

“Just to experience, if I can, a little of the outback. I’m serious. I don’t want to get too far deep into it because I know you can get lost in the outback. But just to get a taste of it. Every time Australia is mentioned the outback comes up or walkabout, you know something dealing with the roots of the place.

“If I can take a little vibe and take a stroll in the outback and look up at the stars at night and spend the night in the outback that would be a great experience being a Rasta man.”

And if the Easy Star All-Stars get the chance to play on a clear night in Lorne or Marion Bay, there’s every chance their very own Rasta man will get the chance to do exactly that.

“I’m going to put a special prayer to Jah to make it clear that night. If it’s a special night and it’s all good I’m going to spend the night out under the stars, I’ll do it.”

STU WARREN

Easy Star All-Stars perform at the Falls Festival in Marion Bay and Lorne this year.

Friday the 9th of December Skittle with Nina Las Vegas / 9pm Saturday the 10th of December ’Lurker under the Bed’..an art exhibition by Reuben Eski / 6-8pm in The Swamp followed by ‘Reason’ / 8pm Sunday the 11th of December Sunday Night Stitch in the Swamp 7pm DJ’s and fun times Thursday the 15th Of December Darren Hanlon with David Dondero (USA) Friday the 16th of December / Night Market Grand Poobah Bazaar 6pm - 9pm Followed by Bands and Midnight Jazz ’Skunk’ in The Kissing Room Saturday the 17th of December Sand Pebbles and Hey Mook Friday the 23rd of December / Rimes Space Party Saturday the 24th of December Cambodian Space Project

142 Liverpool St, Hobart | 03 6231 3363 thegrandpoobahbar@gmail.com www.facebook.com/thegrandpoobahbar warpmagazine.com.au

EVERY WEDNESDAY : FILM NIGHT / Food Avail 7pm Film starts 8pm EVERY THURSDAY : SWAMP JAM / Acoustic Swamp Jam from 6pm serving old school cocktails.

FIRST SUNDAY OF THE MONTH : THE GRAND POOBAH BAZAAR / Noon till 5pm

T 3 BRISBANE S 0 2 9 4 4 3 2 6 T HOBAR

DECEMBER

7th - Mudhoney ' Precious Jules ' Moe Grizzly 9th - DAMAGE NIGHTCLUB w Explosions ' Depths ' Redemption Denied ' Wolf Pack ' Dj's 10th - Renegades of Dub presents (this is a secret gig) 10th - Late Night Krackieoke w Jorge 11th - Brissie Bingo 13th - Franks Flicks featuring KING FRAT 16th - Over Reactor ' The Witching Tree ' Incarcerate 17th - Mental Extensions ' Hypnagog 18th - Big mega fuckin fun party! with Corney 20th - Quiz-A-Saurus 23rd - HEXMASS w Ruins ' Thrall ' Whitehorse ' 'rannis 26th - BOXING DAY BANG BANG w The Lawless Quartet ' Craicpot 31st - NYE TRASH NIGHTCLUB w Pretty Suicide (vic) ' The Wizard 'The Remains ' Random Order ' Djs

JANUARY

3rd - Art at The Brisbane 4th - Bad Taste (vic) ' Sex On Toast (vic) ' Bring Sophy To Me 5th - Circus Horrificus w The Lords of Strut Bridget Bridge ' Samora Squid 5th - Front bar with Mr Jack Shit 6th - Damage Nightclub w 7th - ALL AGES - I Exist (act) ' Surrender ' Silent Majority 7th - Paddy McHugh & The Goldminers (qld) ' Craicpot ' Pines

HAPPY HOURS EVERY FRIDAY AND SUNDAY 6PM TIL 8PM! ............

LUNCH TUES-FRI 12:30-2:30 DINNER TUES-SUN 5:30-8:30 ............

STAY UP TO DATE JOIN US ON FACEBOOK THE BRISBANE HOTEL PATRON SOCIETY

10 Music

Music 11

TASTE OF BEIRUT

THE GOOD JUICE

BEI-RUT (NOUN) 1. CAPITAL AND LARGEST CITY IN LEBANON 2. NEW YORK BAND HITTING THE FALLS FESTIVAL THIS SUMMER

SINCE THE RELEASE OF ‘HEAD OF THE HAWK’ IN 2009, SYDNEY BAND BLUEJUICE HAS BEEN SYNONYMOUS WITH INFECTIOUS POP, CRAZY OUTFITS AND EVEN CRAZIER LIVE SHOWS.

Before the bright lights of the big city mesmerised and drew Zach Condon into its heart, he was just a young boy from Santa Fe, New Mexico doing a few home recordings and playing a bit of music with some friends.

That was just before his talent caught the attention and respect of the music industry and his solo project slowly morphed into the band that would be known as Beirut.

“I think it was about 2006 we did our first record. It all started with some home recordings. I just grabbed a few friends and said ‘Let’s go’,” Zach revealed.

Slowly, over the years the band has ebbed and flowed, growing and shrinking until they hit their current solid core of six talented and diverse musicians. And there’s a vast array of instruments on offer too - as well as the obligatory drums and guitars, you can also find trumpets, accordions and of course, an ukulele.

“We’ve been bigger, up to 12 members, we’ve been smaller; but we found realistically to get the sound we want, six is a good number,” Zach shared. “And the six of us have been working together for about the last six years.”

This November marks the release of their third record ‘Company’, and with it being available to stream early online, as well as earning a spot as Triple J’s feature record, the reviews have already begun coming in. With a record showing the band’s progression toward bigger and punchier sounds, drawing from influences across the board, ‘Company’ may just feature some of Bluejuice’s best work to date.

Dropping out of school early, 17-year-old Zach followed his brother to New York and it has been his home base ever since.

Speaking to Warp from Kentucky during the US tour, Zach tells us that it’s a busy time for the boys. It’s only been a month since they returned from Europe, and they still have quite a few shows to go before they find their way down to Australia to hang out a festival or two.

There must be some decent food in Australia, as the band tends to plan their trips around their stomaches, usually picking destinations based on where they’d like to eat next.

“Everyone in the band is pretty hardcore about food. We all have different tastes, but we’ll all game for something new. We do tend to pick our tour destinations based on food.

“Tassie just sounds amazing, and I have to say we are pretty excited about playing at the Sydney Opera House.”

And then, of course, there’s the food… Zach and the Beirut boys can be found testing out the local culinary delights at the impending Falls Festivals in Lorne and Hobart, dining out in Sydney, feasting at The Southbound Festival in WA and perusing the cafes in Melbourne and Brisbane during the end of 2011 and early January 2012.

Get along, check them out, and maybe recommend a good restaurant or two.

KYLIE COX

“I have no regrets, I left school early and moved in with my brother in Brooklyn.

I needed to discover that there’s a huge world outside of New Mexico.”

“I think we’ve made a good album, to be honest,” Bluejuice’s Jake Stone says as he tries to find a quieter place to talk. “I don’t think it’s a five star album, but I do think the music of the album…it definitely has its merits.”

Image: Kristianna Smith

August saw the release of their latest offering ‘Rip Tide’, which has been very well received, and a new album is always a good excuse to play a few dates here and there.

Beirut performs at the Falls Festival this Summer.

With ‘Company’ following the band’s 2009 success, there’s a definite impression left with the listener that this is Bluejuice’s attempt at a fully cohesive studio album.

“We were definitely trying to do that,” Stone agrees. “If that came across, then that’s good, because that was the intention.

Basically, I simply tried harder to make the songs better individually so that you wouldn’t just have one big punch and a medium sized follow up. So you had a number of quality songs on the record and an overall feel that tied them together. I think, to varying degrees, we’ve achieved that and I’m very proud. [‘ Company’] represents this band applying its trade at a high level.”

The original five-piece band called in an array of guest musicians to help out and add to the forcefulness of the material on ‘Company’, but according to Stone, the process was more akin to a bunch of mates just hanging out, making tunes without musical egos reigning during the process.

“They were just friends. The only person I didn’t know well before was Julian [Hamilton]. After a couple of days of writing, I would consider him a friendly acquaintance, you know? I know him better than I did before, he’s a very nice guy and very professional and easy to work with.

“There wasn’t a great deal of pressure in the collaborations, most of the collaborations were chosen because of the lack of pressure. I feel like I haven’t been talking enough about Eric J [Dubowsky], who was the producer. He was very much a part of the band and involved across the board in everything and was playing on everything.

I guess we did argue a fair bit, but I tend to argue with the producer a lot, no matter what’s going on! warpmagazine.com.au

“It was a very relaxed setting where we just felt like we were hanging out for two months, making an album then getting people in who we thought would be really good for it. It certainly made my life a lot easier because I didn’t have to stress about people turning up and it being socially awkward.”

Lead vocal duties are traded between Stone and Stav Yiannoukas once more on the record, and already have provided some irresistibly catchy lyrics on songs including ‘Cheap Trix’ and ‘Act Yr Age’. For Stone and Yiannoukas, their writing processes are as different as their vocal range.

“We did write differently for some of the songs. Stav writes lyrics with vocal melodies on his own; it would be kind of weird to be working together, although we do sometimes do that. He doesn’t play an instrument, like for ‘Cheap Trix’, that started because I was playing a ‘90s piano riff on the keyboard and Stav got up and sang that vocal melody and lyrics on it, which he’d had from some time before. It’s a confluence of things when writing with him, because you need instrumentalists to back him, which usually means me writing with him or Jerry [Craib] working with him.”

“Usually I want to get a whole song, bring it to the band and go ‘This is what I think of the whole song, what can you do to make it more complex or give it a bit more colour?’

The three ways that happened on this record was: Stav having a vocal melody that

the band worked to, Jerry having a piano part of keyboard part that we worked to as vocalists, and me bringing a song.”

Not surprisingly, there are moments on ‘Company’ which are addictive to listen to purely resultant of Bluejuice’s cheeky grasp on pop and funk. One of these moments comes with ‘I’ll Put You On’, which is straight up about sexual frustration, backed by a delicious 70s-esque back beat.

“That one actually has a story!” Stone reveals. “That was about being in America, I was away from my girlfriend from some time and I was really fucking horny and just distracted. I went to see two palm readers and they told me some weird shit that was quite true and it was scary. I was like ‘Fuck, I don’t want to deal with this’, really horny and there was this weird sense of fatalism dominating everything!”

Sex drives aside, Stone admits that the production of the band’s third album has been fun in terms of performing alongside such a larger team of musicians, who he says will be coming out on tour in the upcoming year.

It becomes fun in the studio and it becomes fun live because you’re singing with a choir, basically.

“That’s been an interesting part of it, layering it, taking my sister [Elana Stone] on tour and having a big band. The touring band for this record is actually a big band and so we’re playing basically, not orchestral arrangements, but arrangements for a medium sized group. Like the guitar, three or four keyboards even, drum machine, drums… there’s a lot of shit going on.”

With spots on festival bills rounding out the band’s 2011 and kicking off their 2012, audiences are going to have this new-look Bluejuice thrust into their faces, even more so than before. For Stone, it definitely seems like he and his band mates are enjoying the ride that ‘Company’ is taking them on.

“It’s got its own little world and I think we’re all enjoying have that change from just being a three piece band with two singers.”

SOSE FUAMOLI

REPUBLIC BAR . HOBART 10PM FRIDAY 9 DECEMBER

$10 / FREE WITH XZIBIT TICKET

Bluejuice are appearing at MSFEST on Saturday March 3 at TCA Grounds, Hobart. www.msfest.org.au

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12 Music

FLEETING HARMONIES SEATTLE MUSIC-MAKERS FLEET FOXES HAVE TAKEN THEIR EPIC FOLK SOUND AROUND THE GLOBE SINCE THEIR SECOND STUDIO ALBUM. KEYBOARDIST AND VOCALIST CASEY WESCOTT TALKS WITH WARP ABOUT THEIR RETURN TO OZ.

Music 13

The annual Falls Festival has had the tendency to conjure up some sort of majestic and ethereal vibe for all the punters who head to both Lorne and Marion Bay at the end of the year. For Fleet Foxes, this year’s festival marks the band’s second appearance on the bill, as well as a run of Australian dates.

The band’s keyboardist/vocalist Casey Wescott is as excited to be getting the opportunity to immerse himself in our unique culture, as he is about playing gigs.

“It was really so idyllic the first time we were there. I think my exposure to Australia until that point was National Geographic

magazine! I was just hoping to maybe see a few marsupials and play some shows.

experience thrown his way and is more comfortable out on the road.

“It was really great to just absorb yourself in the culture because the people there are very friendly and quite different from what I believe to be a typical American temperament. It was really great to go down there and I’m very excited to do it again.”

“You’ve caught me at a very vulnerable moment,” Wescott reveals. “It’s the last day before I go on tour for a month in Europe and I’m just getting the last minute things done. Sometimes it can be a little paralysing; the prospect of getting back on the road, there’s things like that that can present some challenges.

For a touring musician from the northern hemisphere, Wescott reveals that he’s looking forward to being thrown into what is essentially a “foreign” environment once more around Christmas time.

“There’s something so peculiar about leaving a couple of days after Christmas and then finding yourself in such an idyllic, sunny, summery environment. It’s very hard to recalibrate the map of your environment when you’re having such oddly discontinuous experiences from Christmas, to this feeling of summer and a totally different culture. I’ve never been to Japan, which we’re also going to, so I’m really excited about this whole round of touring!”

Speaking to Wescott, as he prepares to head out on tour with the band for a monthlong European tour, I immediately get the impression that this is a musician who is so passionate about soaking up every

“For the most part, I’m excited to go out because, to tell you the truth, it’s what is normal to me now. We’ve been touring more than we’ve been home; I don’t know what to do when I’m not waking up next to 12 other guys on the bus!”

Fleet Foxes have been promoting their second album ‘Helplessness Blues’ pretty hard since its release earlier in the year and, according to Wescott, the response to the band’s only release since 2008 has been staggering.

“The people at the shows haven been really enthusiastic and that’s been surprising.

We hadn’t played a show in over a year and we hadn’t released something in much longer than that. I personally didn’t have any criteria to calculate expectations, so I just didn’t have any.

To see that people even care to give it a listen is astounding to me, because

“time is of the essence and life is short, so we’re very fortunate that people are bothering to bother with us.”

Fleet Foxes’ 2008 debut self-titled debut brought the band’s fusion of folk and acoustic rock into the wider sphere and with ‘Helplessness Blues’, it’s almost as if they’ve taken their original formula and mixed in some more global influences.

With some of the more epic songs on the record, it’s almost impossible to tell when one starts and one ends. For Wescott, the record took a lot of reworking and honesty, as a band, to reach a collective feeling of “completeness”.

“To be honest, that ‘when are we done’ feeling generally happens after you’re done.

So you don’t really know until it happens; but there are definitely a few songs where at one point we said ‘Okay, we really have to finish mastering by this time’. You’d have to pry some of these songs from our cold dead hands, so to speak, because sometimes you don’t want to let go!

“You can always discover new things about a song and at the end of the day, you have to reconcile all those ideas by what you think is being true to the song.

“We already had a false ending, so we tried mixing it in New York, hoping and thinking we were done, when we clearly we not, when we all put the cards on the table and took a holistic look at everything. I know it’s like a 45 minute piece of music, but there definitely is a lot of nuts and bolts and time spent in figuring out how to present things in a way that we could live with while at the same time, being honest to ourselves and where we were at that time.”

With extensive touring becoming the way of life, it can be hard to imagine where the band has time to squirrel away and formulate new ideas or expand on blossoming sounds they already have knocking about.

“It’s interesting, I can be creative anywhere, whether it’s in a motel room or if it’s on whatever instrument is lying around. I can’t speak for everybody, but for me, there are certain places where I feel very free and I feel comfortable in my own skin.

“I really just like being in my bedroom.

I generally like to work with a lot of different instruments and have a lot of different strategies when coming up with musical solutions to different situations so for me, there’s nothing like being at home to do that. I can be playing my piano or playing my harpsichord and stuff like that.”

The critical acclaim that has accompanied ‘Helplessness Blues’ harks back to that levelled at the debut Fleet Foxes record, yet Wescott remains completely humbled, even detached from the praise which has been coming from all corners.

“I don’t indulge too much in reading stuff about the band,” he admits. “Maybe because I just don’t know what the pragmatic benefit to my life would be by doing so. It’s not like I’m putting my head in the sand because I don’t read it, I just don’t know how helpful it is to see that stuff out, you know?

“At the same time, it is interesting to hear; it’s great to hear that you’re listening to the record when you could be listening to a tonne of other things.”

Whilst staying away from public feedback is clearly something that Wescott is adamant about, even he offers some insight into how much both he and his band mates appreciate and are constantly surprised by their fans’ support.

“When you work on ideas, when some of them work and some of them end up on the cutting room floor, you’re creating in a vacuum and in isolation. It’s reassuring to hear that people love something that you’ve spent so much time investing your live into.

At the same time, I don’t think that anybody should expect that everything they do is to be valued by other people. I certainly don’t have those expectations.”

SOSE FUAMOLI

Fleet Foxes play Falls Festival this Summer.

warpmagazine.com.au

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14 Music

Music 15

POSITIVE TENSE

SCRATCHING THE SURFACE

D’OPUS & ROSHAMBO ARE STALWARTS OF THE CANBERRA MUSIC SCENE, WITH A MIX OF POSITIVE LYRICS AND FUNK BEATS GARNERING TRIPLE J LOVE SINCE 2008. NOW THEY’RE HEADING BACK TO HOBART WITH THE PAST TIME ALBUM TOUR AND A NEW LIVE SHOW.

RISING EARLY TO ANSWER THE PHONE IS NEVER A PLEASANT WAY TO START THE DAY – EXCEPT FOR WHEN YOU’RE INTERVIEWING A PIONEER OF MODERN TURNTABLISM, PRIME CUTS OF SCRATCH PERVERTS.

Warp: You’ve been quoted as saying that “this new record will be our first cohesive album with a tangible theme at its core” - what is the theme and how well do you think you accomplished what you set out to accomplish?

Initially, we didn’t set out to have a theme running through the album. I just noticed after writing about half that I’d naturally gravitated towards the theme of ‘time’ both in a past, present and future sense. We’d both had an interesting and challenging couple of years leading up to writing and recording Past Time, so those experiences naturally cast their shadow over the writing process.

The tunes are about being influenced by where you’ve come from, for better or worse and how those experiences naturally shape your future, but also how we as people can have control over those experiences and how we can shape them ourselves. It’s certainly the most positive music that we have made and I think you can hear the soul and honesty in there, as well as the fact that we were feeling really comfortable and enjoying writing it.

When we caught up with Prime Cuts (AKA Joel Clements) from his “sunny” South London home, it was immediately obvious that despite 15 years at the top of the game, life still holds some challenges: “I’ve just recently had a son, so right now I’m trying to adapt my lifestyle around him.”

After taking home numerous solo and team DMC championships, as well as Prime himself taking home two ITF world championships, he and his offsiders Tony Vegas and Plus One have retired indefinitely from competition. Instead they are focusing on their own individual projects and touring.

“We are all currently working on our own things,” Clements says. “I started a record label at the end of last year called Black Gold with my friend DJ Cutz. The first release, due out early February, will be from Brighton based producer Dismantle.

It has a 140-ish dubstep BPM, but with a housey aesthetic. The test pressings sound amazing!”

Of the hectic 13-date Australian tour later this year, it is our humble Marion Bay

Falls Festival that they are most looking forward to.

“We last toured Australia in 2007 with Justice, Craze and a few more of the Ed Banger collective, but we never made it down to Tasmania! This is the show that excites me the most. I’ve heard that Tasmania is beautiful, so I’m really looking forward to this one.”

As well as almost constant touring, they have held down a residency at London’s Fabric nightclub for the past 12 years, and recently celebrated the event with an amazing night presented by dubstep stables Skream and Benga.

“This was probably the best show we’ve ever played at Fabric. I was the pretty much the driving force behind Skream getting his first show at Room One, so to go play a gig for him was amazing. The place was packed!

I don’t think I’ve ever known a club to smell so bad!”

Moving with the new age is instrumental in the Scratch Perverts’ longevity, having

You’ve been to Tasmania before; what kind of experiences have you had down here?

adapted to new styles of music and technology.

night Palace Sessions where I usually spin my 45’s.”

“I use Traktor for work. My relationship with music has always been physical, and I prefer to own the real physical medium than a digital copy. When we first started using [Traktor], I was still taking some vinyl with me on tour, mostly to experiment with sound quality differences.

The lads will bringing their unique style of funky perverted beats to the Marion Bay Falls Festival this year, so get your dancing shoes on and boogie away to the salacious sounds of some of the best of the business.

“There is definitely a quality difference; however on big stages it’s almost indiscernible. The ease of setup and travel simply outweighs the hassle (and danger) of touring with rare vinyl. I still collect and play vinyl, though. I have a residency at local club

CALUM ‘MAX’ POWER

Scratch Perverts play at Marion Bay Falls Festival on December 31 www.fallsfestival. com.au

Gza (Wu-Tang Clan)

We love Tassie and we’ve had some of our best shows there. It’s our home away from home and we feel very appreciated there. We’ve had the chance to build some great relationships there which we are very appreciative of. It’s a beautiful place, quiet, natural and has its own sense of rhythm which we really vibe with.

We’ve got nothing but love for Tassie.

We’ve had the chance to play Hobart a number of times now and really get a feel for the city, but we’ve also done of bit of adventuring outside the city too. The food is amazing in Tassie too. Although, D’O did have a bad experience with a scallop pie once, but maybe that was because he had it for breakfast.

** Performing Liquid Swords **

What can we expect at the shows this time around?

This will be the first time that we bring our brand new live show to Tasmania. We’ve built on our show to include our very talented live band, including Kay on drums, Jason on the bass and D’O alternating between turntables and guitar. It was the natural next step for us, as Past Time included so much more live instrumentation than our previous album, and we wanted to test ourselves and really bring that album to life.

supported by

DJ Grotesque & Mic Dons

We’ve got a really dynamic, slamming and funky show now which we know people will enjoy. D’O and I came up on doing the DJ/MC thing for over five years and we love that, but it really was time to reinvent our show and step it up a notch.

9pm tuesday 3 january at Republic bar

SHANE CRIXUS

PRESALES

D’opus & Roshambo play The Republic Bar & Cafe on Friday December 9. Tickets available via Moshtix, Ruffcut Records or The Republic Bar & Cafe.

warpmagazine.com.au

TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW FROM

REPUBLIC BAR / RUFFCUT / MOSHTIX

$30 PLUS B/F

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$35

PRESENTED BY

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16 Music

Music 17

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DANCE MUSIC FROM THE GROUND UP sand pebbles FOUNDING MEMBER AND BASSIST FOR MELBOURNE FLOWER-PUNKS THE SAND PEBBLES, CHRIS HOLLOW TALKS ABOUT THE BAND’S RELAXED NATIONAL TOUR FOR ‘DARK MAGIC’, THE SIXTH ALBUM IN NINE YEARS. Hey Chris, how’s your morning been?

Ah, good. Yeah, we just got back from a show in Sydney late last night. So, a bit tired and emotional.

What would you say is your ideal environment to play in?

Um, a crowded one. How does that go?

I mean we... ah, can I just say that? Yeah some of our best shows have been ones where ah, there’s no stage really. Just at parties or warehouses You know.

Where there’s a sense of engagement with what’s going on?

Yes, definitely.

How about the cover art for this album - Did you have much involvement there, and how do you feel it sits, if we’re talking about engagement?

Yeah I had a little bit to do with that. No one’s actually asked us about the artwork, which is very interesting because, we think it’s pretty bold. The reason I guess, that it’s bold is that whether it’s a little thumbnail warpmagazine.com.au

above a review or in iTunes or something, or when you see it in the rack at the store. It kinda draws you in because it’s so, fuck-off bold. That way, if you’ve heard of the band, or the album or even just the single, you should be more keen to check it out.

Right, so it’s the same basic artwork for the single ‘Occupied Europe’?

Yea, just in blue instead of pinky/purple.

Did you write that song or was it collaborative? What would you say it’s ultimately in reference to?

Bums’ and that starts off with him on a train, then he ends up on a beach. He cooks sausages on a beach fire and looks up at the universe, and he talks about how, there’s a grain of sand... For every star in the sky, there’s a grain of sand on a beach. It’s just obviously infinite and it’s just a beautiful image; for every grain of sand there’s a star.

Is there something in the fact that for ‘Occupied Europe’s film clip, every band member is always in their own shot, and never together?

Haha, are you saying there might be drama and conflict in the band?

Not necessarily, but maybe something more in line with what you’re saying there.

There’s a poem by D.H. Lawrence that explores how fish seem “together” in their uniform schools, but they are completely trapped within themselves. Side by side, but always individual/alone.

Yea yeah, Individuals bound by similarity I suppose. And it also just looks cool, haha.

I wrote most of it, but as with everything we do, every song is credited to the band you know, everyone generally pitches in.

But ah, what is it a reference to? Actually it just started off as a pun, “... She occupies Europe!” I wish I could say it was more deep than that, but it just started off as a pun. And I thought it was a good one at that.

How do you feel about the focus heaped upon the age gap between everyone in Sand Pebbles?

So, kind of a song about love and silly relationships?

In journalistic terms, it’s a hook, or something of a gimmick, but if that has to be the lazy framing, would you prefer it to the “gimmick” that you and Ben (Michael) wrote for ‘Neighbours’?

I wouldn’t say it’s a “love song”. One time I was reading Jack Kerouac’s ‘Dharma

Ah, it’s good, you know it comes in waves with our fans, and the cool thing is that, for all of the history of Rock n Roll, you’re going to get something from this band.

Ha! Good question, I don’t know, I think you have to be proud of both, or find both just as funny... Interesting talking points I suppose.

So I guess with those elements in mind, how does the writing process for the band work out? How much of the music is intellectual and how much is more spiritual?

Um, for me personally, I kind of wish that I kept it a bit more up in my head. I like the intellectual approach. But there’s other guys in the band too, the total musicians in there, I guess we’re all spiritual in a way, so there’s a mutual goal of tapping into something musically, which is more spiritual by definition.

As a band that is at least partly psychedelic, do you strive for greater messages, religious or philosophical debates?

There’s a lot of political debates. But as for religious things, there’s not as much uncertainty. A couple of the guys sort of grew up with religion. Andrew’s father, and Wes’ father were ministers, preachers, so they had ah... They’re not religious, not church-goers, but it’s something that’s instilled in them on some level which is somewhat solid.

JARRED KEANE

The Sand Pebbles appear at the Grand Poobah in Hobart on Saturday December 17.

WITH EIGHT ALBUMS TO HIS NAME, LIVE ELECTRONIC ARTIST DAN DEACON HEADS TO TASMANIA WITH THE 17-PIECE DAN DEACON ENSEMBLE TO GRACE THE STAGE AT MARION BAY’S FALLS FESTIVAL.

“I’m looking forward to a hot summer.

Tasmania is like a fantasyland, I can’t wait to go there,” the Baltimore musician says.

devices being set up on a low table within the audience. Energetic, crazy and participatory, his love for live performing as an electronic musician actively encourages audience involvement. His electric danceparty style has become world renowned and as a result his shows have become more larger-scale and less intimate.

At only 30 years of age, he has released eight albums and played at over 40 festivals across the globe. His latest album, ‘Bromst’, released in 2009, has a heavy use of instruments which prompted the composer to form the Dan Deacon Ensemble.

Dan believes having inspiration is important but likes to believe there is a musical destiny that helps him discover and create a new sound. “I try not to have a strict formula.

Rather I try transfer [my] thoughts into sound.”

“Festivals are exciting because so many people are hearing and seeing the music for the first time. This will be my first Australian tour with the ensemble. It’s also the first tour with new condensed ensemble. I’m really excited about it.”

So what does the future hold for Dan Deacon?

After only experiencing harsh frozen temperatures on his previous New Year’s Eve, Dan is looking forward to the heat of an Australian summer.

The beginnings of Dan Deacon, in 2003, are imperative to his musical process. Listening to his previous albums for their strengths and weakness are part of the ritual that he goes through when he works on a song, which is almost every day.

“I find if I don’t make music every couple days I become a huge dick!” Dan laughs.

Now, famed for his live shows, Dan enjoys playing at the punter’s level, his musical

“I try not to predict the future too often ’cause I don’t know what’s coming. There could be a global food crisis benefit, that’s where you’ll find me and then we’ll all be worried about eating I guess.”

$6 pints of BuLmers cider

feature guest ciders Jugs of Pimms & Lemonade $15 $10 food menu Live solo acoustic artists

Serving great mealS for lunch & dinner everyday!

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21 Salamanca Place, Hobart | 6223 1119

irishmurphys.com.au live music 7 nights a week

The Dan Deacon Ensemble will be performing in December at Falls Festival in Marion Bay.

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18 Music

Music 19

THE AGE OF REASON OBESE RECORDS STALWART, DEPENDABLE LYRICIST AND MELBOURNE AMBASSADOR, REASON, IS CALLING IT A DAY. “After twenty years, if I can’t give 100%, and make releases to a standard that I expect of myself then it’s time to move on,” Reason says.

His career has spanned two decades and he has seen a slow but steady rise in the profile of Australian hip hop, a genre he played a large part in pioneering.

“I think it is in a wonderful place, people need to stop pigeonholing where they think it should be.”

After recently announcing that his retirement would follow the release of his final album, appropriately titled ‘Window of Time’, and the subsequent tour, it’s time for Reason to reflect on his long career.

“The age of Reason has been. I think for me personally, some of the highlights have definitely been when I supported Cypress Hill and when I supported Ice Cube, way back in ‘92 when Australian hip hop acts weren’t getting those kinds of gigs. That was a big step.”

It has been a long journey since then, five releases on Obese Records, countless tours, shows, hosting gigs, guest appearances on other people’s albums and workshops with the youth, especially in indigenous communities shows Reason has been as reliable and consistently hard-working as anyone in the scene.

FALLS FUNDS THE LOCALS EACH YEAR THE FALLS MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL DONATES TO LOCAL COMMUNITY PROJECTS AROUND ITS HOMETOWNS OF LORNE AND MARION BAY. THIS YEAR A TOTAL OF $32,000 WAS GIVEN TO COMMUNITY PROJECTS SUBMITTED BY AND VOTED ON BY THE COMMUNITY. “The Community Fund has been such a great way for us to build even further on what the festivals deliver to our communities each year,” said Festival Director Naomi Daly.

“It goes beyond the employment opportunities, the tourism benefits and cultural exposure to hundreds of world class artists, and allows us to generate community collaboration and assets through the many projects funded each year. We really enjoy being able to make such a difference.”

The results were announced on Sunday at community events held in each town. As always, there was an excellent range of funding requests and the winning projects were: MARION BAY $5,000: Will go towards the re-development of the current kindergarten playground in Dunnalley Primary which is required to accommodate the increasing number of kinder students. $4250: Will pay for materials to construct a timber deck along the eastern side of the Copping Community Hall. It will be warpmagazine.com.au

built by skilled community volunteers and supervised by a local Sorell Council approved builder. It will enhance the use of the hall in warm weather and allow for a greater capacity at the venue for indoor/ outdoor events and activities. $6500: Will help fund a rejuvenation of the currently closed Copping Museum. This amount will pay for core flute photographs to advertise the attractions of the local area, the plastering of a local art gallery area, and materials to fence the open dam.

$4,000: To upgrade the outdoor play area of the Occasional Care Centre with soft fall, sand and sun shades for children to play safely. $2,240: A trailer for the Lorne Football and Netball Club to transport game day equipment (first aid kits, stretcher, crutches, warm up balls, drinks, eskies and uniforms) and alleviate the burden on volunteers transporting and looking after gear (often muddy) for 8-9 teams.

The Falls Music and Arts Festival will present a diverse collection of more than 80 artists this December in Lorne and Marion Bay. Drawing from across the country and the globe, including the UK, USA, France, Canada, Brazil and NZ, the festival showcases some of the world’s finest talent including Arctic Monkeys, Fleet foxes, Crystal Castles, The Kooks, John Butler Trio, Pnau, Beirut, Aloe Blacc, The Jezabels, Kimbra, Arj Barker, Tim Finn, Lanie Lane,

His influence has reached far and wide and his impact as a positive role model on the younger generation cannot be denied.

“It’s all about giving something back. I don’t care how many albums you’ve sold, or how many people you’re playing to, if you aren’t giving something back and helping the culture grow and thrive then you ain’t done shit.”

Australian hip hop has evolved and grown a lot since the early days of Reason. “It’s certainly a genre that’s now accepted by the larger community.”

With a discography dating back to Obese Records debut release (and guest appearances dating back further still), the long awaited ‘Window of Time’ has been universally lauded as his finest work yet.

“The response has been sensational, and it’s been from the right people, dudes I’ve respected, and the younger dudes who are coming up and taking it to new places. As well as all the punters who’ve gone out and bought the CD or grabbed it on iTunes, I’m completely indebted to them.”

communities, up in central QLD. I’ll also still be helping out at gigs, taking on stage management roles; I won’t be disappearing completely.”

So what comes next for the committed pioneer?

But before his retirement, Hobart will get one final chance to get down with Reason.

“For me, it’ll be focussing on family and career. I’ll still be taking on hip hop workshops, getting up to indigenous

“I’ve got a lot of love for the people down in Tassie, I’ve got a lot of mates down there, and the Hobartian martians down there

always give 110%, so if they give 110% I’ll give 120% right back to them.”

SHANE CRIXUS Reason appears at The Grand Poobah on Saturday December 10 with Mdusu, Crixus and Paddles, Two Toes and Topski, Stray, Afterthought, Sporatik and Skurge, plus guests. $10 cover charge, doors at 8pm.

Young MC and many more musicians, comedians and performance artists.

brookfield

Stu Warren

MARGATE Events:

Dec 28 – Jan 1 in Lorne, Victoria (estab.

1993). 18+ event Dec 29 – Jan 1 in Marion Bay, Tasmania (estab. 2003). All ages Tickets are still available for the Marion Bay event, from www.fallsfestival.com www.twitter.com/fallsofficial www.facebook.com/ officialfallsmusicandarts www.youtube.com/user/ fallsfestival#p/u/8/ZXiDyzA-JI0

UPCOMING EVENTS

REGULAR EVENTS

Alma Da Vida Fri Dec 9 | 7:30pm Faye Blais & Jungal Sun Dec 11 | 4:30pm Nelson Sound Christmas Concert Sat Dec 17 | 5pm Classical Christmas Banquet Sat Dec 17 | 7:00pm Chris Mallory Sun Dec 18 | 4:30pm Daystar New Years Eve | 8:00pm Laique Tue Jan 3 | 7:00pm Quarry Mountain Dead Rats Thur Jan 5 | 7:00pm Gypsy Indeed Mon Jan 9 | 7:00pm Junior Bowles Wed Jan 11 Gabriel Lynch Fri Jan 13 | 7:30pm

Open Mic Night 1st Friday of the month Acoustic Music Night 3rd Friday of the month both have a guest artist each month and are free Sitar Lounge 2nd Thursday of the month (7pm) Trivia Last Friday of the month (7pm) Local Market Every Wednesday (10am - 3pm) Delicious Homestyle Meals Open 7 days 9am till 6pm Friday and Saturday nights and all events

1640 Channel Highway Margate Tasmania Ph: (03) 6267 2880 www.brookfieldmargate.com

LORNE $3,795: Extension of the Kindergarten’s outdoor playground incorporating different spaces and objects - designed to enhance physical, sensory, intellectual, creative and social development. $4,667: Towards a Lions Club community mobile catering trailer with: BBQ, gas, refrigeration, bain-marie, generator, hot & cold water, marquee and sink. $1,298: For new Holland blinds, on the west facing windows at the main entrance to the Lorne Bowls Club, eliminating sun heat and glare and increasing the venue’s attractiveness and use. warpmagazine.com.au

WITH SPECIAL GUEST SUPPORTS AKIR & POISON PEN

WED JANUARY 18 REPUBLIC BAR & CAFE TIX ON SALE FROM REPUBLIC BAR, RUFFCUT & MOSHTIX

22 Club / Electronic

Club / Electronic 23

DJ PROFILE

Club and Electronic News LOCAL NEWS LAUNCESTON WOBBLES ON

JAMES CURD RETURNS

Launceston’s monthly dubstep night ‘Drop’ has been ramped up again, this time with Melbourne-based producer Kurk Kokane teaming up with Sydney heavyweight Kombat. The pair will be bringing their wobbly basslines and bouncing beats over to Launceston’s Northern Club on Wednesday December 7.

Chicago native and Ministry of Sound DJ James Curd returns to Ivory Bar for another night of funky tunes on Saturday December 17. Curd has toured the world over, renowned for his energy behind the decks and his ability to start a party, with support from Millhouse and Mez. Tickets are $8 from Ruffcut Records and Billie-Jo.

HOBART SET TO WOBBLE TOO

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS XMAS

Recreational Thugs, the crazy party heads that bring you Launceston’s monthly dubstep night Drop are bringing their highly successful night down south to PlanB on Friday December 9 with Kurk Kokane and Kombat providing the bass and beats. Entry is $7 or $5 for Uni card holders.

The friendly folks at Behind Closed Doors are putting on an end-of-year party to celebrate the last six months of very successful events. Sammex (VIC) will be heading down to play a very special set, with support from Adusk and Mez at Ivory Bar on Friday December 23. Free entry.

VEGAS HOUSE PARTY

CHRISTMAS CRACKER

Nina Las Vegas, Triple J presenter and member of female DJ collective Hoops, will come to Hobart for the first time to rock our socks at the Grand Poobah. Nina’s famous ‘House Party’ sets can be heard weekly on Triple J, where she showcases the best in party music, remixes and indie hits. Her DJ show is just as exclusive, so get along to the Grand Poobah on Saturday December 9 with supports DJ Grotesque, DJ Licious and Adam Turner. Tickets are $20 +BF from Ruffcut Records or Oztix.

Freshly Breaked have booked turntable master A-Skillz and party rocker/remixer extraordinaire Elite Force. Between the two of them they are sure to bring that Christmas warmth to your dancing shoes.

Freshly Breaked XMas Cracker at the Grand Poobah on December 27 from 9pm, with four interstate guests and local DJs. Early bird tickets from Ruffcut Records or Moshtix are $25 +BF.

QBERT BRINGS THE BASS BIZARRE SAMPOLOGY ON WHEELS Supporting his forthcoming single release ‘Hell On Wheels’ featuring Kween G, Sampology announces a mammoth 16 date Australia and New Zealand tour running from December through to February. You can catch him performing his amazing Audio/Visual DJ show at Fresh on Charles on December 9th, or a DJ set at Mobius on December 10. www.sampology.com

FUNKY BREAKDOWNS Freshly Breaked is at it again, with the funky breakbeat maestro Paul Master heading down to rock Ivory Bar. Renowned for his fusion of funk, jazz, hip hop, breaks and drum and bass, Paul Master plays at Ivory Bar on Saturday December 10, supported by locals Dameza and Mez. Free entry before 11pm, $6 after.

BACK TO BASS Kid Kenobi returns to PlanB this December on the Hobart leg of his ‘Bass Music’ tour.

With the live set being touted as a blend of Moombahton/Moombahcore, bassline house beats, dubstep and drum and bass, the Kid will leave your bass buttons pushed. Saturday December 10 at PlanB with supports Keno, Billy Green and more.

Tickets are 15+BF from Ruffcut Records or Greentix.com.au

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Internationally renowned scratch and turntablism maestro QBert will return to Hobart in February. He will be presenting his ‘The Bass Bizarre’ show, alongside champion beatboxer Reeps One. This combination of two pioneers can only be explosive, at the Republic Bar with dates to be announced.

MANDIE WALLACE

YODA’S TECH MASTERY

WITH A TASTE FOR DIRTY ELECTRONIC DANCE MUSIC, MANDIE WALLACE IS A RISING DJ, TUTORED BY SOME OF HOBART’S BEST. WE SPOKE WITH HER FOLLOWING HER FIRST BIG SET, SUPPORTING THE ONLY.

UK MIX MASTER DJ YODA HAS BEEN AT THE FORE OF INNOVATION FOR A DECADE. SINCE ‘HOW TO CUT AND PASTE MIX TAPE VOL. 1’ RAISED THE BAR IN 2011, HE’S BEEN A MAD PROFESSOR BEHIND THE AV/DJ DECKS.

What inspired you to take up DJing?

Are you self-driven, or do you have a mentor?

It’s a bit of a long story! I got caught up in the dance music crowd at the beginning 2009. All my flatmates deejayed, I was dating a DJ and every other weekend was spent going to event nights, meeting local DJs and listening to their tunes. But I never even considered DJing until a good year later. I was always the crazy dancer up the front! I still am.

Then one night, when no-one else in the room was capable of forming coherent sentences I finally decided to have a spin on the decks, got asked to play in Launceston for Mix’n’Dorphin and everything just went from there. I was lucky to already have a musical background from school and also be surrounded by very talented and already established DJs who showed me how to do things properly.

What influences you in day-to-day life, musically and non-musically?

This is pretty difficult to answer as it changes from time to time depending on my mood. Ultimately the only person you should listen to is yourself and the only person who can take responsibility for anything you do is yourself. Other than that, I’m influenced a lot by food. I’m like Po from ‘Kung-fu Panda’. Woo me with Asian cuisine and I will move the Earth for you.

As a female in a predominantly maleorientated industry, how do you find this affects your chances of getting behind the decks?

So far it hasn’t really had much of an effect on me at all. There used to be a certain amount of hesitancy from males or male DJs when I would walk into a club with the intention of DJing rather than dancing. But that hesitancy would quickly dissipate after my first few mixes. I am honoured to say the best DJs in Tasmania taught me so what looks like my skills should directly be linked to them.

What’s the biggest or best gig you’ve played since you started DJing?

I can’t really remember every time I play, but I felt my very short half hour set at the PlanB DJ competition was the most fun. I danced to every single DJs set before I played, consumed many exuberantly coloured cocktails and behaved more as if I was a partier. Even while I was playing I was still partying and I think that is very important to do when you play. It’s all about the vibe and if you give off the party vibe, people will party with you and have a good time.

CALUM MAX POWER

Top 5 Tracks of the Moment 1. ‘212’ ft. Lazy Jay – Azealia Banks 2. ‘Feels so Good’ – Armin van Buuren (Jerome Isma-ae Remix)

Yoda has been a constant inspiration with both his comedic, cartoony style, and the implementation of cutting edge music technology into his live performances.

Five ‘How to Cut and Paste Mix Tapes’ later (along with five albums with Dan Greenpeace, three separate mix CDs, solo albums, singles, DVDs, and countless awards and tours), DJ Yoda is returning downunder to play the Falls Festival for the first time since 2009.

like that in me. It helps me to theme those mixes, so the last couple that I’ve done have been Country & Western, and 1930’s. Who knows what’s next? I want to finish my new artist album then I’ll turn my attention to that.

Warp: We’re lucky enough to have you playing the Falls Festival this year, you played Falls in 2009, what are your memories of it?

There’s a lot of exciting new DJ technology coming out every few months - including something very top secret and revolutionary that I’m working on - so it’s all moving very fast. But to me, it’s vitally important as a DJ to have that foundation of understanding DJing with two turntables, a box of records and a mixer - that’s where it all comes from.

DJ Yoda: I had the time of my life! I stuck around for the whole of January that year, so I’m planning to do the same this time.

Trust me; January in Sydney is better than January in London! And the festival itself was awesome, so many other acts that I want to check out.

How does ‘The Wonderful World of DJ Yoda’ differ from your previous tours/shows?

The technology for my audio-visual shows is moving fast, so it feels like every new tour I have some added tricks that I can throw into the mix. A lot of my source material comes from YouTube now, so it’s like having an infinite bank of material to work from - whatever I think is cool! I’m really happy with this new show - it’s got so much in it!

The ‘How to Cut & Paste’ series has been one of the more influential and innovative mix-tape series’ to be released, where do you see this series headed in the future?

I think the ‘How to Cut & Paste’ mixes are something that I’ll always do, regardless of whether it’s my “job”, or if anyone else wants to hear them! It’s just my style of making a mix, so I’ll always have something

Being a pioneer in the development of AV DJing and the related advancements in DJing technology, where do you see the future of DJing headed?

You’ve always managed to maintain a cheeky and happy style in all of your production and DJ sets, where does this sense of humour come from?

It’s just really important to me that what I’m doing is fun - otherwise what’s the point?

You’ve worked with so many different artists now, from Jungle Brothers to the Trans-Siberian March Band, is there anyone you’d still like to work with?

Always! I’ve collaborated with some very cool vocalists on this new album that I’m just finishing, so I’m sure you’ll get to find out who very soon!

SHANE CRIXUS

DJ Yoda is appearing at the Falls Festival in Marion Bay. Tickets available via www. fallsfestival.com.au

3. ‘Grand Theft Ecstasy’ – Feed Me 4. ‘My Eyes’ - Nero 5. ‘Through the Windows’ – Michael Cassette

SKRILLEX AT BREATH OF LIFE Man-of-the-moment Skrillex (AKA Sonny Moore) has been announced as the headline act in the Ministry of Sound tent at Launceston’s Breath of Life Festival in March. The 23 year-old Canadian gets busy mixing dubstep, drum and bass, drumstep and metal. www.breathoflifefestival.com

CREAMFIELDS BAGS WORLDS’ #1 DJ Creamfields, one of the biggest national electronic festivals of the year, has announced that French house maestro David Guetta will be headlining the 2012 line-up.

Having recently unseated hot favourite Armin Van Buuren for the #1 spot on the DJMag annual poll, he is sure to bring the funky tunes that will make your Creamfields an epic event in April/May 2012. www. creamfields.com.au

warpmagazine.com.au

24 Arts

Arts 25

review

Alicranka Shotgun 2011 Hello Warp readers,

Here we are at the end of 2011, the season to be jolly, the season for sunburn, the season for festivities galore and much, much more.

So to get into the spirit of festival-ness we catch up with Falls Festival’s Art Curator Ian Pidd to gather some insight into this year’s entourage of Falls(ing) arts and what spectators might be in for during the New Year’s mayhem celebration.

For those interested in design, don’t miss out on the 2011 Tasmanian Design Award at the Design Centre Tasmania on the corner of Tamar and Brisbane Street in Launceston, showing for all of December. You will also enjoy our Artists Profile on Duncan Meerding some fresh talent in Tasmania creating some quite awesome work.

There is loads happening in Tassie this month, get amongst it, enjoy it, tell me about it, and one last thing - slip slop slap, ho ho ho, and happy end of 2011 to you all.

Till 2012!

Your Arts editor, ALISON McCRINDLE alison@warpmagazine.com.au

A PARTNERSHIP PROJECT BETWEEN CAST AND DETACHED CULTURAL ORGANISATION DEDICATED TO PROVIDING A PLATFORM FOR PROMISING, EARLYCAREER ARTISTS BASED IN TASMANIA, THE SHOTGUN 2011 EXHIBITION WAS FOLLOWED UP WITH AN ARTIST FLOOR TALK ON NOVEMBER 12.

Amanda Davies and Andrew Harper are the second set of local artists to be launched and ejected from Shotgun. With a focus on nurturing the creative process and artistic journey, Shotgun has tested the limits of Davies and Harper, demanding them to take risks and move beyond comfort zones.

ARTIST PROFILE does not reveal) itself in the suffering of psychological and bodily traumas. Davies notes the body here stands as a vehicle for a process of “transformation – blurring that boundary between concealing and revealing, internal and external.”

Rendering her own body in its purging of ambiguous or invisible afflictions, Davies’ paintings work to perform, unravel and prompt an “internal psychological un-ease.”

“Painting,” she says, “can be so restrictive, so one of the challenges was: could it elicit a sensory response in the viewer?” Perhaps though, it is a deprivation of sensation they convey. Indeed, they are mute – as if the illness they bear, though urgently needing to be expelled, wants also to be stilled, suppressed, smothered.

Their silence is in vain, however, as seeping in from the other half of the gallery come the cries of Harper in his performative video work. In channeling three powerful characters from the Tarot – angel, devil and magician – Harper gives voice to what Davies’ paintings mutely signal. Using the traditional triptych format, Harper’s work Hieronymous plays on powerful religious and occult imagery.

nudity, or being sky-clad (that is, clothed only in the sky), as the “traditional state for making ritual magic occur.” He says nudity is, “a kind of costume for me… it presents a particular mental state of being.” It is in this state that Harper then looks to the cosmic forces – in this instance manifested in various liquids poured over his body – performing his cathartic incantations to the camera in a single take.

There is a sense of dichotomy and disjuncture that exists within both Davies’ and Harper’s work, prompting a heightened sense of the absurd. The tone of the work is lightened by a palpable, subversive, almost black humour. And this humour is dramatised with adept material handling in these ambitious large-scale works.

Shotgun, 29 October – 27 November 2011 at Contemporary Art Spaces Tasmania.

Image: Jan Dallas

THE ART OF EXERCISE THE SUN IS OUT, THE DAYS ARE LONG; IT’S THE PERFECT TIME TO GET AMONGST IT, SO GET OFF THE COUCH, GRAB A FRIEND, JUMP ON AN ARTBIKE AND SOAK UP HOBART’S CULTURAL SPLENDOUR.

2011CAST 18TH BIRTHDAY PARTY AND MEMBERS’ EXHIBITION PARTY: SATURDAY 10 DECEMBER, 6-9pm EXHIBITION CONTINUES TO 22 DECEMBER 2011 WWW.CASTGALLERY.ORG

Available from Arts Tasmania at 146 Elizabeth Street and the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery’s (TMAG) Argyle Street entrance, ARTBIKES are super stylish so you’re guaranteed to look good while on-board. When borrowing the bike, you also get a snazzy helmet, bike lock and handy arts map to guide you on your arts journey.

December sees an abundance of great art on show in Hobart. Starting in North Hobart, visit Bett Gallery for paintings by Patrick Grieves and new works by Troy Ruffles.

Cruise down to CAST and take in its annual member show which this year helps CAST celebrate its 18th birthday.

Now on to Hunter Street and surround yourself with the works of many of our artists and designers at Art Mob, Henry Jones Design and Plimsoll Gallery.

Pedal over to TMAG to soak up the installation To Catch a Tiger by James Newitt and then to the Carnegie Gallery, temporary home to John Smith’s furniture inspired by the liquid motion of the sea.

Whizz around to the arts hub of Salamanca to find jewellery on show at Handmark

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Gallery and the works of painters Chen Ping, Effie Pryer and Peter Hiller at Colville Gallery. Explore the plethora of galleries within Salamanca Arts Centre and then pop on into Gallery Tasmania and Aspect Design.

Now take a quick spin around to Despard Gallery to see its annual summer show.

By now you’ll have earned yourself a coffee and a cake, so let Dazza, Gazza, Bazza, Charlie, Ruby, Ez, Mac, Fred, Edie or Jo mind your ARTBIKE. These figurative bike hubs are scattered throughout Hobart and were created by Ken Betlehem through the Hobart City Council’s Public Art Program.

Jump back on your bike and head up to Goulburn Street where you’ll find INFLIGHT Gallery housing works by Joel Croswell and the many treasures of Goulburn Street Gallery. And finally head to 146 ArtSpace to lose yourself in the mesmerising work of Paul Snell.

If you still have some pedal power left in your legs you can pop out to the Moonah Arts Centre and MONA, or over to the Rosny Barn and Schoolhouse Gallery. Otherwise, upon returning your bike, feel free to share any insightful or amusing anecdotes, because we’d love to hear about your ARTBIKES journey. www.artbikes.com.au

sometimes if one does not, when one is designing it can become a limiting factor.

Understanding this further is already enabling me to work on some ideas which I have already had and stimulate further ones into the future.

What is your design practice exploring/ about?

I use minimal lines to attain forms often inspired by nature. Light and its dispersion interest me. The way it can influence ones mood should not be understated. This vision of light emanating from the peripheries and the highly tactile nature of my work, reflect the alternative sensory world within which I design.

Most of my designs are made from wood, but I do not want to see my designs dominated by “minor species design”. I think something should be bought not merely for the label of being made from Huon Pine, but because of the form and function of the piece.

Did you ever imagine yourself to be where you are now?

CLAIRE KROUZECKY

Although the artists have different backgrounds and material approaches, they call on similar historic, stylistic and literary influences that permit a rich dialogue between the divided space of the CAST Gallery.

ARTBIKES are free to borrow and offer you a fun and environmentally sound transport option to cruise around the city’s dynamic art precincts and galleries.

DUNCAN MEERDING IS RELATIVELY FRESH TO THE TASMANIAN FURNITURE DESIGN COMMUNITY, FINISHING HIS DEGREE MID-LAST YEAR. HIS CAREER HAS SKY-ROCKETED SINCE, SCORING A PLACE IN THE BOMBAY SAPPHIRE DESIGN DISCOVERY AWARD TOP 10 AND A RECENT NEW ZEALAND MENTORSHIP UNDER INTERNATIONALLY-ACCLAIMED DESIGNER DAVID TRUBRIDGE.

Both sets of work address broader notions of the ritual of artistic process and its cultural or human significance. This is not a new topic, however Davies and Harper present it in an unfamiliar and provocative way that suggests the Shotgun project has indeed achieved its goal of invigorating artists’ practices, emphasising a refreshed energy within the local art community.

Naked, fleshy, vulnerable, he draws on traditions of witchcraft that consider

Davies’ series of oil paintings evoke an often paranormal, invisible presence, alluding to a zone of slippage that reveals (or perhaps,

DUNCAN MEERDING

Image: Jan Dallas

No. I was thinking of making a different career choice after university, going into social work or something. Instead the journey led me to designing and making and getting into finals of competitions I would never have dreamt of getting into (such as the Bombay Sapphire Design Discovery Award).

What’s the next big thing?

When, where and how did you begin your creative journey into the world of Design?

I think that with design, one’s journey into it has never finished. How my journey began was a bit different. Since I was young I had an interest in woodcraft. When I was 18 my vision degenerated – leaving me legally blind with less than 5% vision left. Getting back into woodwork was the last thing on my mind at this stage.

A couple of years later I found out about a school which would give people with low or no vision skills on how to use tools.

I then enrolled at the Furniture Design department at UTAS, and the head of the department at the time Linda Fredheim checked out the school in Melbourne. From there I developed an interest in Design and not just making.

In November 2011 I spent 3 weeks at David Trubridge’s new workshop and showroom.

I learnt a lot about production lighting and the journey which led to David Trubridge Design becoming an internationally successful design company.

It showed to me what is possible; integrating the design and the making process, and not relying upon selling one’s designs. One of the central things that I can draw from the mentorship is remaining honest with myself regarding environmental and social sustainability in design and relating it to society more generally. David has done this, while creating a design practice, with commercial viability.

How has this experience impacted on your creative process?

I graduated mid-2010 and received the Designed Objects Tasmania Springboard Scholarship, which paid for workshop rental for a year. This process helped me work on my designs further and start to create a viable Design practise.

More than anything, this mentorship taught me about different technologies, how to use technologies effectively to create objects inspired by natural forms. David’s use of rivets and thin sheet material is integral in creating his ascetic and already I am thinking of some ideas which employ this.

Tell us about your mentorship in New Zealand.

When it comes to design it is important to understand different technologies, as

I am not sure what to state as the next big thing. I have applied to be mentored by Adam Goodrum (a previous winner of the Bombay Sapphire Design Award). If I get the grant to do the mentorship, Adam will share his knowledge about commercialising his practise, and looking at how I can create a viable yet creative design practise.

I will have a solo show in the coming year, showcasing my unique practice. Showcasing previous works (such as the Cracked Log Lamps, which got me in the Top Ten of the Bombay Sapphire Design Award 2011); as well as developing and making some new designs for further objects, light and furniture pieces.

You can check out and keep up to date with Meerding’s furniture, object and lighting design online at: www.duncanmeerding. com.au ALISON McCRINDLE

DODGES ARTISTS’ OPEN STUDIOS TWO ART STUDIOS AT PARK BEACH, DODGES FERRY WILL BE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC FOR AN INSIGHT INTO THE CREATIVE WORLDS OF PATRICIA TURNER SMITH, EVE SMITH AND BILL THOMAS. Location is everything at Dodges Ferry and these three artists’ studios are a stone’s throw from the beach, which is understandably a strong influence on all of their work.

Patricia Turner Smith is a painter and mosaic artist specializing in seascapes.

There is always something amazing to see from her studio ‘1 on Park’; migrating whales come into the bay and in winter wild swells reshape the beach. Patricia has just returned from an overseas painting trip to Morocco, France and the UK with many fascinating water colors of Matisse’s residence and other iconic places.

Eve Smith also creates ocean-inspired artworks from the beach side studio for her clothing label ‘Sea Urchin Design’. Screen printing hand drawn designs onto fabric that is created into unique beach apparel including T-shirts for men, women and children, skirts, jumpers, cushions and bags.

Bill Thomas has been creating pottery under the name ‘Panogana’ since 1978, retaining its title as Tasmania’s largest production workshop. Bill produces a wide range of domestic stoneware which is decorated with ocean inspired patterns and colors that reflect his beachside location.

The open studios day will be a great opportunity to meet the artists, and grab some Christmas presents at bargain prices.

Eve Smith Art Studio Sales are on Sunday 4th December from 10am-4pm: 1 on Park Studio -1 Park Beach Rd Dodges Ferry 62 657210 Panagona Pottery - 8 Payeena St Dodges Ferry 62 658481

THE SCHOOL OF

Design for a climate of change.

INFORMATION SESSIONS, 16 DECEMBER 2011, 10am–1pm

APPLY NOW FOR 2012!

Architecture | Interior Design | Furniture Design | Landscape Architecture Apply online at: www.utas.edu.au | For info visit: www.arch.utas.edu.au or phone: 03 6324 4488 Visit www.iterationagain.com to see more of these responses

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26 Arts

Arts 27

ANDREW LOOKS AT TO CATCH A TIGER WITHIN THE SCALED BACK TMAG YOU CAN ENCOUNTER ‘TO CATCH A TIGER’, THE THIRD INSTALMENT OF STAR/DUST, A YEAR-LONG ENGAGEMENT WITH CONTEMPORARY ART BY TASMANIAN ARTISTS THAT THE TMAG HAS PRESENTED WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF THE DETACHED CULTURAL ORGANISATION. It’s James Newitt’s exploration of the thylacine, in 10 words or less, but a visit left me wondering if it was really about the Tasmanian Tiger at all. There seemed to be something else going on, for amongst the interviews and staged ephemera of the exhibition, in a darkened room where the exhibition’s nature encourages sitting and pondering, I felt that an exploration of wonder and myth was being evoked.

What is the thylacine? It’s not there.

It is gone.

There’s a tinge of guilt associated with it that echoes the horrific and dark narrative of the Tasmanian Aboriginal people, who, though not gone, were certainly appallingly treated and misunderstood.

Perhaps there is shame too, for the story is so well known: There’s film of the thylacine, some illustrations, skins, bottled foetuses (how hideous an image to consider is that?) and not much else; nothing but fragments are left, and it is from such fragments we create a version of the truth.

James Newitt has brought some carefully selected fragments together and looked more broadly, focussing not so much on the animal itself but the people fascinated with it, some to the point of obsession. This is what I, in turn, became fascinated by: I really think it’s highly unlikely that the thylacine is still there.

It is an apex predator, large and distinct, and there has been no definitive evidence this animal survives into the 21st century.

but there’s a lot more in his tale as well; it becomes complex, it becomes political, and it becomes another story altogether, really, in which the thylacine is only a bit player, though nevertheless, still vital.

The video interview with Hans is remarkable stuff, but so too are the other interviews with Thylacine experts and others. You might need to set aside a little time to really immerse yourself in these narratives, which produce a fog of fact, opinion and conjecture, but there is one strong thing that emerges: we cannot really know. Science itself is not like that; it deals with facts and research, not speculation, yet that speculation, that imagining is all we have to understand anything.

It’s in this odd sphere of foggy uncertainty that James’ work takes on its most profound guise – out of a collection of interviews, videos containing a cheesy thylacine costume, disturbing images of masks and classic grey Tasmanian landscapes, both interior and exterior, the sense of melancholy, loss and tragedy we might associate with the thylacine becomes palpable. Here is something only the fiction of art can really do: evoke a sense of wonder by taking a leap beyond the facts.

I am not a scientist, I am not a thylacine expert, and yet before I saw ‘To Catch A Tiger’ I was ‘sure’ it did not exist anymore. Today, I don’t know. I also wonder if I can know much at all beyond the reach of my hand, and I wonder how inscrutable the human mind really is; perhaps I am looking for something that is not there and even if it is, I am Yet, faced with the story of Hans not equipped to even recognise it or do Naarding, one of the most credible people anything with it should I stumble over it. to have claimed to see a thylacine after the generally accepted era of the animal’s ‘To Catch A Tiger’: An installation extinction, it was not so much that I and video work by James Newitt at become less sceptical as I was struck Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery until by how convinced of his experience he March 2012 was himself, and how a moment in the ANDREW HARPER dark and the rain of a Tasmanian forest changed his life utterly. andrewharper@yahoo.com distantyowie.blogspot.com James gives Hans a lot of space; there’s theswollenear.blogspot.com a lengthy interview with him where the moment of the sighting is recounted,

ARTISTIC MUST-SEE THE MAMMOTH ART PROJECT, THE WALL IN THE WILDERNESS, CONSISTS OF 100 WOODEN PANELS, THREE-METRESHIGH, TOTALLING 300 SQUARE METRES OF TASMANIAN ART. warpmagazine.com.au

The riving artistic force behind the project located Derwent Bridge on the Lyell Highway in the Central Highlands is Greg Duncan, who estimates that the project will take 10 years to complete, as the Huon Pine panels each represent about a month’s work.

Duncan’s carvings on the wall are a depiction of the history of Tasmania’s Highlands, including scenes of HydroElectric Scheme workers, the forestry industry as well as scenes of environmental concern such as the Wedge-Tail Eagle and the extinction of the Thylacine.

Duncan pronounces it to be an artistic and educational experience from which

Arts Opportunities

WARP GALLERY GUIDE - DECEMBER

Check out the list of upcoming workshops, grants, residencies and other arts opportunities. This is only scraping the top of what’s out there for artists and alike so jump on the World Wide Web and do some surfing around the websites I have listed to find out more awesome stuff to do and be part of.

MARKETS Dodges artisans’ and farmers’ Christmas market: Sunday 18th December 10am-2pm.

Offering a great variety of locally made products including: fashions, paintings, jewellery, stone carvings, plants, free range eggs, sour dough bread, art & tea lounge, hot food & real coffee and more.

There will be two workshops running on the day: T-shirt printing for Kids with Sea Urchin Design 10.30-12.30 and Clay Workshop for Parent/Child with Sea Soul Studio 10.30-12.30 cost only $2 to attend please book 62657016, www.dodgesmarket. blogspot.com

Workshops Creative Tasmanian Summer Schools 2012: Develop your creative intelligence by participating in one of the 25 creative workshops during the Creative Tasmania Summer School in January 2012. Explore a wide range of artistic disciplines including visual art, craft & design, theatre and music.

Anyone over the age of 16 can apply, for more information visit: www.utas.edu.au/ creative-tasmania ‘The Deal’ free-spray workshops: Monthly workshops on Saturdays between 1pm-4pm: Dec 17, Jan 21, Feb 25, Mar 24 & Apr 21 at at Kangaroo Bay Sports ground amenities building (opposite Eastlands). All paint provided, free BBQ for more info contact: 6245 8780 or 6247 1230.

GRANTS Artsbridge Connect: Grants for individuals and organisations to assist in bringing a leading national or international arts professional/ practitioner to Tasmania to conduct professional development opportunities for the benefit of a group of Tasmanian Artists. Available for projects and opportunities that arise after a relevant grant round closing date and which cannot be delayed until the next funding round.

Applications always open, for the Artsbridge toolkit visit: www.arts.tas.gov.au/artsbridge

RESIDENCIES City of Vincent Artist in Residence 2012 is calling for artists to express interest in conducting a 4-6 week residency in 2012.

Applications close Dec 16th, For more information contact Arts Officer Richard Gunning on 9273 6041 or mail@vincent. wa.gov.au

Other Opportunities West End Film Festival is a national short film competition. Australian filmmakers are encouraged to enter works from all genres including drama, documentary, animation and music clips. First-time and established filmmakers are welcome. Entries close December 31. For more information visit: www.westendfilmfestival.com.au The Spindle Tree Australian Native Beasts and Birds Competition is open.The three categories include Traditional, Mythical/ Fable and Practical/Functional. Specific criteria apply to the medium, for all details contact The Spindle Tree on (03) 6226 8259.

2012 Regional Arts Australia National Conference: Hosted in Country Arts, South Australia, is open to applicants with ideas to share in a panel, presentations or workshops. Nominations close February 28.

For more info contact Jo McDonald 0423 290 436, joanne.mcdonald@countryarts.org.au or visit www.artsalexandrina.org.au The Melbourne Sculpture Prize 2012: A $20,000 non-acquisitive award open to all Australian and New Zealand sculptors working in any medium. Entries close February 29, for more info visit www. melbournesculptureprize.com.au Allport Gallery: Calling for proposals from individuals, organisations, artists and curators interested in exhibiting work in the Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts Gallery space. for more info contact taho@ educationa.tas.gov.au

WEBSITES OF INTEREST • Arts Tasmania - www.arts.tas.gov.au • Arts @ Work - www.artsatwork.com.au • Contemporary Art Spaces Tasmania www.castgallery.org • Moonah Arts Centre http://mac.gcc.tas.gov.au/Pages • Inflight ARI - www.inflightart.com.au • Salamanca Arts Centre www.salarts.org.au • Sawtooth ARI - www.art.org.au • Tasmanian Regional Arts www.tasregionalarts.org.au

If you are an arts organisation or body with an upcoming opportunity that is within the arts bracket and would like it included in Warps Arts Opportunities guide please email all details to alison@warpmagazine.com.au

we can learn from the past and create a better future.

It has been described by former Tasmanian Premier Paul Lennon as having world significance, while others have viewed it to be a sheer epic project similar to that of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel.

Duncan hails from the Victorian country town of Belgrave, has always had a fascination with sculpting wood and in 1982 began sculpting as a full time career. He moved to Southern Tasmania with his family in 1994 where he ran a successful studio for nine years.

SOUTH 146 ARTSPACE Afterglow, Paul Snell, ends Jan 4.

ART MOB Denis Nona (Torres Strait Islander), etchings & sculptures, Dec 9 – Dec 31, OPENING Dec 9 at 6pm.

BETT GALLERY MAIN GALLERY: Lure, Barbie Kjar, ends Dec 6. Patrick Grieve, painting, Dec 7 - Jan 2.

BACKSPACE: The Little Show of Existence, Joel Crosswell, ends Dec 6. Troy Ruffels, new work, Dec 7 - Jan 2.

CARNEGIE GALLERY Repose, John Smith, ends Dec 18.

CAST 2011 CAST 18th Birthday Party & Members’ show, Group show, Dec 10 - Dec 22, OPENING Dec 9 at 6pm.

COLVILLE GALLERY GALLERY 1: Chen Ping GALLERY 2: Effie Pryer, both shows end Dec 15.

Annual Artists Exhibition and Peter Hiller, OPENING Dec 16 at 5.30pm.

DESPARD GALLERY Paul Selwood sculpture and Peter Poulet paintings, ends Dec 7.

GOULBURN ST GALLERY Love, Spirit, Wisdom, Annette Allman, ends Dec 8.

Christmas Stock Show, Dec 9 – Dec 31.

Sally Brown, Sculptures, Jan 3 – Jan 30, OPENING Jan 5 at 6pm.

HANDMARK GALLERY Robyn McKinnnon, Stuart Williams and Mandy Hunniford, ends Dec 7.

Jewellery & Tasmanian Christmas Treats, Dec 9 – Jan 17, OPENING Dec 9 at 6pm.

INFLIGHT Ashes to Ashes, Joel Crosswell, Dec 2 – Dec 24, OPENING Dec 2 at 6pm.

January 2012 Exhibition TBA, please check website: www.inflightart.com.au INKA GALLERY INC. Drawn to the Detail, Emma McDowell, Dec 1 – Dec 21, OPENING Dec 2 at 5.30pm.

A Blank Canvas, members’ exhibition & invited guests, Dec 22 – 11 Jan, OPENING Dec 23 at 5.30pm.

MOONAH ARTS CENTRE A Common Thread, celebrating International Day of People with Disability, Nov 25 - Dec 8.

Glenorchy open, group show, Dec 14 - 24.

MUSEUM OF OLD AND NEW ART Monanism, evolving permanent collection.

Wim Delvoye, first solo exhibition in Australia, Dec 10 2011 - Apr 2 2012.

PEPPERCORN GALLERY A co-operatively run outlet for the fine art and craftwork of local Richmond artists.

PLIMSOLL GALLERY Antarctica: the art of science, group show, Dec 2 - Jan 22, OPENING Dec 2 at 5.30pm.

nortH-west tas CONT. WELLINGTON GALLERY Thomas Anderson last available works original paintings, gallery open by appointment Ph. 6223 6643

BRUNY ISLAND ART AT THE POINT Bruny Island Artists Annual Christmas Exhibition, Dec 3- Jan 5.

nortH

Ha! High Art Summer Show, North West Coast High school & College Students. All show’s Dec 17 – Jan 29, OPENING Dec 16 at 6.30pm.

DEVONPORT REGIONAL GALLERY MAIN GALLERY: Missing, Presumed Dead, group show, Dec 3 – Jan 15, OPENING Dec 2 at 6pm.

LITTLE GALLERY: Emerging Artist Program - Mersey, Julian Thompson, Dec 3 – Jan 15, OPENING Dec 2 at 6pm.

RED WALL GALLERY Farewell Red Wall Gallery Group Show, Dec 4 - Jan, PARTY 6pm 4 Dec.

ARTISAN GALLERY Time Shift, Artisan Gallery Survey Exhibition 1991-2011, ends Dec 18.

SADDLERS COURT GALLERY Exhibiting over 100 Tasmanian artists & crafts people.

DESIGN CENTRE TASMANIA 2011 Tasmanian Design Award, Nov 19 – Dec 31.

SALAMANCA ARTS CENTRE LONG GALLERY: Conversations with the Object, Betty Nolan, Dec 1 – Dec 8.

LONG GALLERY & SIDESPACE GALLERY: Images of Tasmania 14, Dec 9 – Jan 1.

KELLY’S GARDEN: Sakura Polymers, Anna Phillips, ends Feb 1.

GONE RUSTIC STUDIO & GALLERY Passages, Members of Stitching and Beyond Inc. Tasmania, Dec 10 - Dec 23, OPENING Christmas theme lunch $6 /members $5.

ULVERSTONE VISITOR INFORMATION CENTRE Semi-Abstract Acrylics, Lorraine McNeair, Dec 1 - Dec 31.

Photography, Brum Robaard, Jan 1 – Feb 29.

HANDMARK GALLERY After Glow, Richard Bell, Dec 3 – Dec 31, OPENING Dec 3 at 6pm.

Handmark Gallery Stock Show, Jan 1 – Jan 31.

WONDERS OF WYNYARD GALLERY WOWcrowd Members Exhibition, Dec 2Dec 30, OPENING 2.30pm 2 Dec. Duncan Sproul furniture and design, Jan 2 - Jan 30.

SCHOOLHOUSE GALLERY BARN: Out of Hand, Dec 2 – Dec 4.

SONA GALLERY Ongoing stock exhibition TASMANIAN LANDSCAPES GALLERY Luke O’Brien Photography. Art printing & mounting services also available.

TASMANIAN MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY To Catch a Tiger, James Newitt, Nov 4 – Feb 13 2012.

Traversing Antarctica: the Australian experience, opens Dec 2.

Artists in Antarctica & the sub-Antarctic, work by key artists who have travelled to Antarctica and the sub-Antarctic region, ends March 4 2012.

THE BRISBANE HOTEL The Ultra Venis Project, Chris Paton, Dec 6 -Jan, OPENING Dec 6 at 6pm.

THE SWAMP - Grand Poobah Lurker under the bed, TOPSK, Dec 10 Dec 24, OPENING Dec 10 at 6pm.

VON SHROEDER FINE ARTS GALLERY Exhibition from the gallery stock and new works by gallery artists. Gallery open by appointment only, M: 0419 335 735 W:www. vonschroederfinearts.com.au WATERFRONT CAFE & GALLERY DUNALLEY Varuna, group photography show, ends Feb 1.

QUEEN VICTORIA MUSEUM & ART GALLERY Of Love and War, ends Dec 4.

ArtRage, folios of work of the Tasmanian Certificate of Education, Dec 17 2011 - Mar 11 2012.

THE WILDERNESS GALLERY 2011-2012 season opening Dec 2: The Apparent & the Abstract, Chris Bell. Colours of Iceland, Joshua Holko. Retrospective, Richard Bennett. Wild Tasmania, Rob Blakers. Fluid Tasmania, Andy Chisholm.

Flora & Fauna, Dan Giselsson. Liquid Light & Lalo Tahi, Darren Jew.

PARADOX BAZAAR Unique Tasmanian Art & Craft creations operated by, and featuring the works of, local Artists and Craftspeople and is constantly changing throughout the year www.paradoxbazaar.com.au

KING ISLAND LOLLIPOP GALLERY + BOATHOUSE GALLERY Paintings by Caroline Kininmonth and Bridget Levy on exhibit throughout the year and continually changing. * If you are an exhibiting gallery or space in Tasmania and want to be included in the Warp Gallery Guide email: alison@ warpmagazine.com.au

THREE WINDOWS GALLERY Changing Southern Midlands Artists

nortH-west tas ATRIUM GALLERY – UTAS Cradle coast Campus Wild Sight, photography by Jenny Archer & Jen Evans, ends Jan 13.

BURNIE REGIONAL ART GALLERY White gums & ramoxes, Merric & Arthur Boyd. In Suspect Terrain, Ten Queenstown Artists. Both show’s end Dec 11.

Freshwater Saltwater, Aboriginal & Torres Strait Island prints. Looking Through, Nigel Lazenby.

Captured by the beauty and fascinating history of the Tasmanian Highlands, he embarked on his dream to create the largescale artwork, moving with his wife in 2003 to Derwent Bridge to construct a purposebuilt gallery to house his work.

ALISON McCRINDLE

CONTACT: Margaret wall2090@gmail.com

137 Collins Street, Hobart 03 6234 3788 www.arterydirect.com.au

warpmagazine.com.au

28 Performing Arts

Performing Arts 29

Performing Arts Guide

Mash Up The season of summer has a particular scent about it that affects all my senses. It tantalises my nostrils, sets a tingling in my fingers and a certain taste upon my tongue. Memories of past summers flood back once the sun starts drenching my room, scattering dreams with its beating glare.

Festivals carry the same, sounds, tastes, feelings and memories so it was grand to check out one of Australia’s newest, Harvest: The Gathering in Melbourne.

Featuring a stellar line up of music and arts the Festival took full advantage of its premises, a park that would not have looked out of place in a Jane Austen film. There were no memories to elicit excitement or retribution, merely the joy of a new festival in a divine setting at Werribee Park.

The trees were awash with colour, installations hanging, folding and lying beneath great boughs; paths traversed a lake, ducks swam about unconcerned by the thousands that descended upon it.

performers, ending abruptly in a growing queue for the toilets. The music alternated between a muddy cow paddock and a lush field, punctuated throughout by lines for alcohol and food.

The Melbourne leg of the Harvest, The Gathering, has been found wanting by many reviews, too many lines for the toilets, the drinks, the food and the transport. But take away the negatives the result of poor organisation – and the positives remain: the taste of cider and veggie burgers, the smell of sunscreen, weed and rail, the glorious installations scattered throughout the venue and the world class entertainment. With a few tweaks, next year’s ‘Gathering’ will feature more of the good stuff and a lot less piss in the bushes.

SARAH MASHMAN

The Performing Arts were held on Bootleg Alley, a path that wound through tents, stages and roving

A CONTEMPORARY TALE AFTER THE SUCCESS OF ‘TRILOGY’ AT MONA FOMA 2011, THE MELBOURNE CONTEMPORARY DANCE COMPANY BALLETLAB HAS BEEN INVITED TO PERFORM ‘AVIARY’, A NEW WORK FOR THE 2012 FESTIVAL.

THE SOUTH CABARET The Brisbane Hotel Circus Horrificus and Friends, December 1.

Les Girls Bumps and Grinds, December 9.

COMEDY The Grand Poobah Danger Academy, December 19.

The Lower House Lower House Comedy Lounge, December 8.

Southern Lights Hotel Kingston Comedy Lounge, December 7.

Waratah Hotel The Clubhouse, December 16.

Theatre The Playhouse Theatre Pantomine, November 24 to December 10.

The North COMEDY Fresh Cafe Fresh Comedy, December 15.

DANCE Princess Theatre Dance Academy 34 present: Under the Sea and Tomorrow Never Came, December 6.

Tasmanian Academy of Dance present: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, December 10 and 11.

THEATRE

The Brisbane Hotel Bingo, Every Sunday.

Late Night Krackieoke, December 10 Quiz-A-Saurus, December 20

Devonport Entertainment Convention Centre, Longford Town Hall Nunsense: The Musical, December 2- 4.

DANCE

If you have something to include, email sarah@warpmagazine.com

The Peacock Theatre Opal Vapour, December 4.

THE WARATAH HOTEL IS BUILDING A NAME FOR ITSELF AS A GREAT LIVE COMEDY VENUE, RATHER THAN AS THE ONLY BOTTLE SHOP OPEN AFTER 11PM.

December’s guest, Greg Fleet (USA/ Melbourne) has done the rounds and has helped to shape the industry in Australia.

Warp Magazine’s Tom Hopkins caught up with Greg for an interview.

Let’s start with an easy one: how did you get in to comedy?

There wasn’t anything I particularly wanted to do. I was studying acting and met these guys doing comedy who kept saying I should try it.

I was studying at NIDA but was kicked out.

They did warn me to improve my behaviour but I didn’t, which was sort of stupid. Career wise, everything’s worked out fine and I haven’t heard of any of the others since only know of two people in my year apart from myself working in the industry, Baz Luhrmann and Catherine McClements. The rest have been quiet.

I head you had a bit of a gimmick starting out didn’t you?

My legs used to shake, so I’d sit on a stool.

People thought it was a really groovy kind warpmagazine.com.au

Yeah, it’s my only job other than bits of acting and writing which are connected to comedy.

Contemporary dance is not always understood by a mainstream audience.

Stamp herself addresses some of the issues

Do you prefer stand up to improvised comedy?

Not really - I wish that comedy was a thing where you weren’t allowed to do anything you’ve done before, I find that quite easy and fun. I love stand up for sure but I’d love it if there was more improvised comedy.

Have you been to Tasmania before? What are you looking forward to seeing?

I’ve been there quite a few times but I haven’t been to Tassie for over a year, maybe even two years now. I always enjoy

related to attending a contemporary dance performance.

“I think contemporary dance is a challenging form for people. For those who haven’t been exposed or engaged with the contemporary form, they can often feel that they’re missing the point.”

Unlike classical forms of dance, contemporary movement can leave audiences cold as they struggle to understand the reasoning behind the movement and the lack of a succinct narrative. Stamp says that Adams’ work allows people to “have the opportunity to create their own story through the workings of their own imagination.”

Rather than sitting back to enjoy a spectacle of fluffy tutus and en pointe shoes - work which has its own relevant place within the dance world, Adam’s work “is a real flurry of imagery, sound and movement, there’s always something to engage with on an intellectual level.”

Having worked closely with Adam’s for the past 13 years Stamp says that she values the Artistic Director as a mentor.

Over time, she has appropriated the style of the company, “his kind of work can be quite physically demanding.”

As BalletLab is an Independent company, Stamp can’t rely upon full time employment.

She alternates between companies and work, balancing out the structure of the year between different projects and teaching dance at the Victorian College of the Arts.

For those who attended the ‘Trilogy’ in 2011, this year does not require a nudity warning.

‘Aviary’ features costumes, spiked with feathers, head dresses that tower over the dancers heads, hand painted backdrops and

Brooke Stamp has no plans of retirement although she feels like “one of the older ones.” With this experience of time, comes

“I continue to work with Phillip as he’s the most experimental, he is committed to his craft and I find working in the company very stimulating,” she says.

When you’re out of the major cities people tend to be more appreciative, they tend to really make the most of the night out. I probably won’t get much time to do much else, you generally don’t in stand-up; it will be good regardless.

What’s next for you?

I have a TV show coming out next year; an eight-part series, it’s a drama about

There is an expectation of quick wits, confusion and general hilarity that comes with improvised comedy. Matt and Ted Make Stuff Up (Again) this Time with Paul Too was just that. In the absence of a scripted show, ridiculous, innocuous spur-of-the-moment comments and actions occur.

Still a young venue, The Grand Poobah on Liverpool Street is a hub of comedy, music, art and eclectic furnishings. Taking over the corner stage located beneath fabric banners was Matt Burton, Ted Wilson and Paul Bender. The area was packed, seats filled to capacity by those who arrived early enough to bags a chair, standing room reduced to rubbing shoulders by the stragglers who arrived on the starting time.

THE GRAND POOBAH NOVEMBER 4 the audience there; it could be that you don’t get stand-up. In Melbourne and Sydney they get so much that they tend to be a bit blase.

projection as part of a further collaboration Adam’s had with respected costume designer, Toni Maticevski, renowned Melbourne milliner Richard Nylon and painter Gavin Brown.

In many ways, the company harkens back to the experimental work of Diaghilev’s Ballet Russe, a 20th Century company that fused classic and contemporary dance with design and artwork from artists including Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali and Henri Matisse, the Ballets Russe were considered progressive for their time although many of their works have now entered the repertoire of leading classical ballet companies.

MATT AND TED MAKE STUFF UP (AGAIN), THIS TIME WITH PAUL TOO

How often do you travel for gigs?

No, I mean not once you’ve been doing it for a while and you’re established. But it is a difficult thing to start now; there is a lot more competition.

Stamp describes Adams’ conception of birds as “flamboyant” - he uses the birds to explore the relationships between humans and birds, the shared movements and rituals that guide the individual within the artifice of society.

Stamp acknowledges that over time, Adam’s work has become stronger as he has been given the room to experiment and develop the company in his way, thus allowing him to continue to be avant-garde and left of the mainstream.

Is comedy your main occupation?

Is it hard to support yourself as a comic?

Birds are not unusual characters in dance; the classical repertoire is crowded with swans, fire birds and blue birds, interpreted through the graceful movements of petite bodies.

“To be honest in the beginning Phillip wasn’t always supported,” she says. However the Company was recently granted tri annual funding through the Australia Council for the Arts which allows for some stability over the next three years.

of choice. I was billed as “Melbourne’s only sit-down comedian”.

Quite a lot - maybe once a week or once a fortnight, I’ll travel interstate and overseas.

I get excited when I get on a plane. I travelled a lot when I was a kid and I think it reminds me of that.

A triumph in collaboration, BalletLab’s new work, ‘Aviary’ was first conceived in 2009 when Adams brought together classical dancers from the Australian Ballet and contemporary dancers from his own company. Stamp says the process drew “unique outcomes in terms of the movement vocabulary developed for the piece.”

BalletLab has long been a company that pushes the boundaries of movement, experimenting with the body and the mind.

Not always popular, Stamp admits the beginning presented challenges for the young company.

LOCAL LAUGHS

Tim Logan and David Bakker run The Clubhouse, a monthly comedy event at the Waratah Hotel in Hobart and the Fresh Cafe in Launceston. Apart from local comedians, they showcase stand up comedians from interstate. Past guests have included Sam Simmons, Michael Chamberlin, Anne Edmonds, Luke McGregor and John Campbell.

MOFO attendees should expect “’80s disco fever meets the exotic bird jungle paradise, in the centre of Hobart,” says dancer Brooke Stamp, who has been working with artistic director Phillip Adams since the company’s inception in 1998.

comedians. I wrote it, act in it along with Adam Hills, Alan Brough, Bill Hunter and Corrine Grant.

TOM HOPKINS

The Clubhouse Launceston at Fresh Cafe December 15, from 8pm and in Hobart at the Waratah Hotel December 16, from 8.30pm. Tickets are $10.

Image: Sarah Mashman

knowledge and Stamp says that “I feel really lucky to be doing what I’m doing, we’ve probably all matured together, we just know that Phillip always says he’s getting closer to what he wants to say. I’m happily engaged with that journey as well.”

SARAH MASHMAN

Phillip Adams’ BalletLab ‘Aviary’ appears at Theatre Royal on January 14 – 17 for MONA FOMA. Tickets available from www.mofo.net.au

of Burton attacking Wilson with every orifice drew a roar from the pack audience. Lips were locked and “It tastes like Easter”, exclaimed Santa (Wilson) in response.

Walking the fine line between high-jinks and confusion, the show was improved by the musical accompaniment by Paul Bender on an acoustic guitar. Bender worked on an improvisational basis, adding emotion and suspense to the show.

The show recently played to sell out crowds at the Melbourne Fringe Festival.

SARAH MASHMAN

A roving story line followed Matt Burton travelling East meeting strangers along the way. Ted Wilson utilised a scant amount of props, from large false teeth, a shaggy wig like a mop head and large blocks to create different characters and scenes. The sight warpmagazine.com.au

30 Eat Out

Eat Out 31

Orizuru Sushi Bar

Address

Victoria Dock, Hobart Contact

6231 1790 Hours of Operation

Mon-Sat noon-2.30pm, 6pm-9.30pm

Orizuru is a Japanese Restaurant in the Mures building at Victoria Dock. Years ago we used to eat there regularly (BC – before children). It was one of the few places in Hobart you could proudly take visitors and know you would get a great meal and pretty sweet service. We hadn’t been there for quite a few years and in the meantime it has been done up. It looks quite flash.

Such a gorgeous spot and now with the floor to ceiling glass walls it feels a bit glam.

Five of us went for dinner on a Friday night. The restaurant was almost full and had a nice buzz about it. We ordered the Dinner Platter for two, at $49, which is a generous mix of Ebi (prawn) and Tamago (egg ), Maguro (tuna), Sake (salmon) Nigiri, fresh sashimi of tuna, salmon and Kingfish, Futomaki (large nori rolls with avocado, egg, carrot, crabstick, kampyo - dried gourd strips, mushroom and prawn), and lots of small nori rolls with avocado, tuna and salmon.

Agedashi Tofu, $12.50, was gorgeous - deep fried silken tofu in a light soy broth, topped with finely shredded spring onions and bonito flakes. The bonito flakes reminded me of eating Takoyaki in Osaka, also BC. This was a favourite so we ordered two.

Image: Jo Cook

sesame seeds, and a sesame and sweet vinegar dressing”. Cool, fresh and delicious it delivers the satisfaction that comes with umami flavours.

Tonkatsu (my hubby calls it Tokyo schnitzel) is pork crumbed and fried, again in panko the Japanese breadcrumbs which are made from a crustless loaf. They are lighter and airier than most Western breads. This was served with mayo and tonkatsu sauce and was completely yummo. But then almost anything that is crumbed, fried and served with mayo is good!

Kaki Furai, $17.50, panko crumbed deep fried freshly opened oyster with home-made tonkatsu sauce. Damn fine. Perfect starter or snack with a cold Asahi. It’d be worth a visit just to have these.

I was happy to see it’s the same chef who has been there for years, Shigeyuki Hatano.

He wasn’t keen to let me take his photo.

I wasn’t drunk. I just must be a bit scary.

All up the food was super tasty, fresh and beautifully presented. So for all those dishes plus a few glasses each of Sapporo and Asahi we paid $40 a head, including a fair tip. Gotta be happy with that!

The highlight was the Wakame Salad, $5, “a cold seaweed medley with chilli flake,

JO COOK

Image: Jason James

DEAR CUSTOMER: AN OPEN LETTER WE’VE ALL READ OR HEARD ANECDOTES RELATING TO POOR SERVICE. THIS IS MY ATTEMPT TO EVEN THINGS UP. I WON’T BE READING YOUR RESPONSES, SO SAVE YOUR “WELL IF YOU HATE IT SO MUCH, THEN GTFO” PEARLS FOR SOMEONE WHO GIVES A SHIT.

So look, I understand that going to a new place for the first time can be confusing.

For some of you, I’m sure it’s borderline scary (I can spot that ‘deranged rabbit in the headlights’ look a mile off). But take a second, breathe in, breathe out, take some time to assess the lie of the land.

Let’s face it, those who it is aimed at have their heads so far up their own arses, they probably won’t get it anyway. So for all my homeboys and homegirls on both sides of the counter, this is for you.

Here’s my hot tip: look for a sign, they’re usually there in plain view, and they will provide helpful info like ‘please wait to be seated ‘, ‘table service, please be seated’, or ‘please order and pay at counter’. Trust me, they’re there; just because you’ve never looked for them, it doesn’t mean I’m lying to you.

So let me just state this fact: I like people, really. I mean would you choose to work in an industry with the prefix of hospitality if you didn’t? There was a time though, when I liked people more than I do now, an idyllic golden age.

My years of servitude - and mark my words, they are long years of servitude (people get less for murder) - have encrusted me with a contempt for a certain strain of humanity that can be barely repressed. That type of person is the unreasonable customer.

Now don’t get me wrong; none us are angels, but most of us are quite nice, and manage to veil our psychoses well enough to fool those of us with whom we have only have a passing acquaintance. There are some of us that are more like devils; the wilfully miserable or aggressive client, the one who really only leaves the house to externalise their inner pain or rage on the unsuspecting public.

warpmagazine.com.au

As much as I feel your pain, there are service providers who actually get paid enough to put up or help you out with your bullshit. They are not retail staff, waiters or bartenders; they’re called counsellors, dominatrixes and gimps. So expect to get what you give from everyone else, and don’t get all pissy about it.

Following the suggestions on the signs will appreciably reduce staff hostility towards you from the get-go. You may find yourself, actually not thinking “Gee, I wonder what his/her problem is?” about your waiter/ ess for the first time in your eating out life.

Lunging at the busiest person working there, and assailing them with the same question they’ve already been asked fifty times that day is just asking for trouble.

If you must ask though - I know some of you can’t help yourselves - please do everyone a favour, and actually listen to the answer.

Stand up, sit down, order at table, order at counter - it’s not rocket science.

There is the subtype of the above category - the miserable prick on holiday. I’m aware of the importance of the tourism industry to this state, and of the generally amateurish

nature of some so-called Tasmanian tourist attractions, but just remember arsehole, you’re on holiday; I’m probably working on a public holiday, probably for below the award. Where you see a bustling, vibrant cafe/restaurant, I see a room full of monkeys throwing poop. Sorry if your experience didn’t live up to your unreasonable expectations.

Now please do your country and the world a favour and never travel again.

Working in a tourist hub creates another issue - the regular. I know these guys are the bread and butter of the business; also, the vast majority of them are quite pleasant to deal with. Some of them are absolute tools though, and this toolishness can magnify to truly gargantuan proportions when it’s tourist season.

Look regular X, yes I do know what you want, but if you actually look around and take note of the shitfight at hand you may have to *gasp* wait your turn, like everyone else.

Don’t throw a hissy fit about it, it makes you look like the wanker we know you are, but pretend to ignore.

When you are acting like a cock, the art of my trade is to be able to convey this to the customer without directly stating it.

I’m proud to say, despite a few letters of complaint over the years, I’ve never sworn at a customer. You must deliver them the metaphorical shit sundae, not the literal one, like that joint in Coogee a few years back. These people you treat like your whipping boy or girl, are preparing and serving your food.

Customers, you have been warned, take heed at your peril.

KEITH

Ciuccio

Nestled in Salamanca Square, the little Italian joint Ciuccio has been quietly garnering a solid reputation over the last couple of years that it has been there.

It mainly serves pizza and pasta, though there are also a few classic meat dishes.

The pizzas are made in the traditional Italian style - with crusts that are crisp on the underside, but light, thin and pliant within, with just the right amount of topping - not too sparse, and not overloaded either. Coffee is also well reputed - many drop in during the day just to get their daily caffeine fix.

The fit-out is classy but informal, and is an easy place to feel relaxed and converse. Fun too is the butcher-paper-covered tables that you are encouraged to draw on with a provided pot of crayons.

A cute, smiley Italian import took our order and helped us choose wine. I expressed my disappointment to him that the Carpaccio was no longer on the entree menu.

I had it a while back and it was amazing delicate slices of raw beef made tasty with cornichons and a gorgonzola sauce. He indicated that it may be back in summer, and I really hope it is, because it’s definitely worth trying.

As we were finishing dodgy looking portraits of each other with our crayons, our meals arrived. My pizza was much larger than what I had expected, and my partner’s calzone

Address

Shop 9, Salamanca Square, Hobart Contact

SAPA ROSE

Address

77-81 Harrington Street, Hobart Contact

6224 5690

6234 3806

Hours of Operation

Hours of Operation

Daily noon-3pm, 6pm-10pm

Daily 11am to 9pm

Indicative Prices

Indicative Prices

Pizzas and Mains $20 - $30

Entrees and mains $15 - $25

just as formidable. After initially being bedazzled by all the pizza choices, I had settled on the Sicilano - a topping of sopressa, olives, roasted peppers, eggplant and mozzarella on a lovely tomato base, as well as extra anchovies. It proved to be an excellent choice. I was particularly happy that I could get eggplant on a pizza. I guess it was almost a kind of antipasto platter but on a pizza, melded together with cheese. No wonder it was good.

My partner was most pleased with his calzone, which was filled with chicken, mushrooms, spinach, balsamic onions, mozzarella and the tomato base. He noted that the inclusion of the balsamic onions made it particularly tasty. Previously, my impression of calzone had always been that it would be too much pizza bread and not enough filling, but when I was enlisted to help eat this massive parcel, I found the encasing bread thin enough to be proportionate to the filling.

We were well advised on wine, and the lighter-style red Babo Sangiovese sung of summer, and complimented the balmy evening and our pizzas perfectly.

Ciuccio may mean “donkey”, or “dummy” in Italian slang, but to me, it means tasty, fun and relaxing.

SARA WAKELING

Venturing back to Sapa Rose a second time was done with a hint of trepidation; the last visit had been fine, but marred somewhat by a curious attitude to service from staff who were not rude, just seemed inexperienced.

We had had to encourage the clearing of plates of our mains as our sweets were served. It was silly more than anything else, but I did not go back for some little while, and in the intervening time, a trip to Vietnam occurred.

This journey was one of the great culinary adventures of my life; the Vietnamese people are indomitable and their cuisine is something to be reckoned with. There’s nothing like good Vietnamese food. It’s one of the most satisfying and exciting meals you can have when it’s on the money.

Desiring this wonderful cuisine again after a good break, Sapa Rose beckoned. Things had changed; new menu items looked good and the wrinkles with service had been sorted out. I can gladly report this was a comfortable, easy experience, and I’ll be heading back again as soon as possible.

The highlight of our meal was beef wrapped in betel leaves. This had entrenched itself as a firm favourite when visiting Saigon and the excitement on discovering this dish on the menu was hard to contain. They got it right too – this is a must-have dish when you venture here.

Other choices varied in satisfaction; Vietnamese Pancake was adequate and decent but did not thrill. I had a Green Papaya Salad which was a bit out there but really worth it – one of those dishes were you sort of go ‘what is this exactly?’ but then you decided you don’t care and eat it all and a very nice Lemon grass chicken with no surprises beyond being simple and exactly what it should be.

We drank from the selection of Vietnamese beers on the wine list, reconnecting with 333, something again remembered fondly.

Overall, this was fun time dining out with across the board good food and a couple of wows; I cannot contain my delight at knowing the Betel leaf wrapped beef morsels are available in my home town. We only got one serve this time, but next time it will be two, or possibly more depending on the number of people at the table – this dish encourages greed.

Sapa Rose is excellent value; we got out of there for less than $40 a head with beers and plenty of food. I like Sapa Rose.

ANDREW HARPER

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32 Eat Out

Eat Out 33

Sorell Fruit Farm

Address

174 Pawleena Road, Sorell 7172 Contact

6265 2661 Hours of Operation

8:30am – 5:00pm

The Fruit Farm sign on the main road going out of Sorell has always beckoned, but it was only last week on a meandering trip through that I finally made a stop.

From November through to May, they have a huge range of fruit to pick - December and January are the prime berry and cherry picking seasons, and apricots, nectarines, apples and pears are available through the ensuing months.

When we arrived, there were promising looking cherries that would be ready to be pick early to mid-December, and apricots also nearing their ripeness.

The range of berries is huge - strawberries, silvanberries, raspberries, tayberries, loganberries, boysenberries and blackcurrants. Most of the berries were still up and coming on our visit, but ready for us were the strawberries, silvanberries - which are a variety of blackberry, and tayberries which are a cross between a blackberry and a raspberry.

The minimum spend each is $6 for a large empty punnet to fill, which is larger than two normal strawberry punnets, perhaps even three times the volume. There is a punnet a size up from that too, which was $12 and looked to be double the size or larger.

Punnets in hand, off we set to pick the fruit!

Image: Sara Wakeling

which ones were best, and after some surreptitious munching, I found the varietal No. 31 to be well in front of the pack. They were wonderfully sweet, and intense in their strawberry flavour. Later, I found out that these are unique to the farm - they were created by the proprietor, Bob Hardy, who also uses innovative methods to control pests, which means hardly any sprays are used on the fruits.

Tayberries, which I had never seen before, turned out to look, and taste mostly like raspberries. The silvanberries were lovely glossy fat berries, which were probably my favourite. My initial musings as to whether it was good value were answered by us leaving with two very heavy punnets chock full of gorgeous berries.

And what to do with all these berries? Berry Pavlova Parfaits!

Very Christmassy, and an elegant way to serve dessert if you’re entertaining.

Basically it’s pavlova in a glass. Just layer berries, sweetened whipped cream, and pavlova in a glass or parfait dish. If you want to make it less rich, you can substitute good quality vanilla yogurt instead of the cream - Gippsland is my favourite - or have both cream and yogurt to make it more interesting. Enjoy, and Merry Christmas!

The range of strawberries was also impressive - about eight different varieties present. Naturally I had to deduce

Muse Espresso

SARA WAKELING

Address

98 Patrick Street Contact

6234 5829 Hours of Operation

Weekdays 7.30am-3pm, Saturday 8.30am-3pm and Sunday 9am-2pm

BLUSTERY BANKS BLOW IN BLUSTERY BANKS – HAVE YOU HEARD OF THEM? I CERTAINLY HADN’T, WHEN THEIR NAME WAS READ OUT AS A TROPHY WINNER AT THE RECENT ROYAL HOBART WINESHOW DINNER. And not only was it read out once, but twice.

The 2009 Blustery Banks Pinot Noir won trophies for Best Tasmanian Red Wine and The Etihad Trophy for Best Pinot Noir in Show. This last award comes with a special prize from Etihad, a return trip for two to Paris - quite an honour for someone who has only been in the vine game for a few years.

Brett Squibb is the name behind Blustery Banks but he describes himself not as a winemaker, nor as a grape grower, but as an apple grower.

Squibb started growing apples at 16, when he joined family business, which he now runs with his wife Linda. So how did this vineyard venture come about? It all started with a conversation with a local potato grower who had a couple of hectares of vines. The potato grower was unhappy with them, “too much trouble and if someone were to come and grab them, he would be very happy”. So after deliberating for 2 weeks, Brett walked in and started leasing the vineyard.

The vineyard itself is located at behind the Devonport Airport and has one hectare each of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The name is derived from the location, being on a bank and always having enough wind “to blow your hat off”. It was planted with a mix of clones and, as any vineyard in that area would know, it is a challenge to grow grapes there.

Delicious-sounding specials included Rhubarb French Toast, Baby Broad Beans on Toast and a Chorizo Omelette, priced from $13-$15. Tempting as the specials sounded, I ordered from the regular menu. Reason being I adore beans on toast (the yummy home-cooked kind, not the microwavedfrom-a-can kind).

Image: Jason James warpmagazine.com.au

I am delighted to report that Muse’s version of the dish rates extremely highly. I have recently been scouring most of Hobart’s cafes, trying out the beans on toast at each one. Muse’s definitely come in top of my list, or at least equal to Pigeon Hole.

They arrived in a hot ramekin fresh from the oven, topped with wee little pieces of tangy toasted sourdough and grated parmesan.

I chose a few of their large offering of sides: avocado and roasted tomato. At $11, they were a delicious lazy breakfast bargain.

The remainder of the breakfast menu would have something to suit most. From traditional eggs with sides or mushrooms and ricotta on toast, to more modern adaptations like twice-cooked pork belly with poached eggs and rosti.

I took a peek at their lunch menu which had some tasty sounding offerings so I will definitely be making another visit at lunch time one day soon.

ROXIE MAYCOCK

HERE COMES THE SILLY SEASON, AS GOOD A REASON AS ANY TO SPLASH OUT ON SOMETHING JUST A LITTLE BIT SCHMANCY.

CHEWING THE FAT

Cracker trivia: the word “cocktail” comes from the word “cock-ale”, a 16th century drink which included a whole, dead rooster. Tassie’s watering holes offer something a little more appetizing.

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ALCHEMY

ONBA

Bar & Restaurant 90 George Street, Launceston 6331 2526

Café, Restaurant, Bar 301 Elizabeth Street, North Hobart 6231 5931

Launceston’s Royal on George is now Alchemy, a sleek-and-somewhat-artsy bar and restaurant in the centre of the city.

A stage often features live music; eat in the adjoining restaurant, or curl up in the couches and chew the fat over a choice of 17 different cocktails.

Onba has become the tapas-and-cocktails mecca for the Hobart tippling set. They serve a dozen cocktail creations “anytime”; we opted for Sunday afternoon. Table service was attentive without being intrusive; like us, in chilled-out weekend mode.

From behind the funky dark wood bar a friendly but flustered mixologist obligingly made us drinks at the late end of an evening, although a few ingredients were nowhere to be found and we had to call in substitutes.

The Espresso Martini (vodka, Kaluha, Grand Marnier, shot of espresso) is for lovers of serious coffee, packing a bittersweet punch.

We were wary of the Blue Fairy (absinthe and lemon poured over fairy floss!) and instead opted for the complicated but tasty Jungle Juice - vanilla Galliano, vanilla citrus liqueur, butterscotch schnapps, limes, lemon squash and apple juice.

If you’re after something more unusual to get the summertime conversation going, try the Rhubarb Ritz - a delish combination of tart rhubarb liqueur shaken with apple, guava, vanilla syrup and bitters, poured tall over ice.

Sit upstairs for large squishy leather lounges, downstairs if you feel like watching the North Hobart eat-street crowd wander by, or outside in the courtyard to soak up some sun with your early morning Euro Trash (that’s vodka, peach schnapps, oranges and strawberries - enough tang to set off the sweet).

The Lemon Drop Martini might be more your style, if you’re the sort that likes to flirt over the edge of a sugar- frosted glass full of vodka, Cointreau, lemon and limes.

We awarded the fruity Propaganda first prize, with its fresh strawberries, vodka and raspberry liquor. The Bastard Child, with its vodka, rum, tequila, and vanilla Gallino sounded a bit more butch, but in its tall curvy glass, spritzed with lemonade over handfuls of sliced limes and lemons, it was rather frou frou. Refreshing, though.

If you’re thirsty, it comes in a jug for $60, while others range from $17.50 to $25.

ELIZABETH BAILES

All Alchemy’s offerings are $15; a two-forone deal runs 6-8pm on Fridays and 7-9pm Saturdays.

VINEYARD PAUL

Drinks of the month I shared a delightful Saturday morning with a friend at Muse Espresso recently. Muse is a cosy café on the northern outskirts of Hobart serving serious coffee and delicious meals without the attitude. On seating we were quickly provided cool minty water and offered coffees. My latte and my companion’s flat white were hot, robust and tasty.

CHRISTMAS COCKTAILS

DIPLOMATICO RESERVA EXCLUSIVA

SAPPORO PREMIUM

Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva rum is copper pot stilled and aged for 12 years in small oak barrels. It has an intense amber colour and exquisitely full, rich flavour and silky smooth finish.

Have it on the rocks or with mixer.

With lush use of aroma hops, Sapporo Premium has an amazingly crisp taste, refreshing flavour, and refined bitterness to leave a clean finish.

Available at the Republic Bar for $10.

Available now on tap at the Brisbane Hotel for $4.50 10oz or $8.40 per pint.

SAILOR JERRY

KOPPARBERG, ELDER AND LIME

With warm spices of cinnamon and nutmeg with rich vanilla, Jerry has a long dry finish balanced with a subdued sweetness and a hint of burnt toffee.

Our cocktail of the month mixes Sailor Jerry Rum, Triple Sec and Orgeat Syrup.

Kopparberg’s clear Apple Cider is spiced up with Elderflower juice and lime, lending this dry old Swedish favourite a less sweet twist and a different taste profile to the Kopparberg family.

Available at PlanB for $10.

What is it with the proliferation of festivals these days?

Once upon a time we had the Cygnet Folk Festival and the Hobart Summer Festival.

Cygnet was a good place to fall asleep in a paddock and the old ‘wharf’ festival was a good place to fall asleep in a gutter full of broken glass.

Then several things went wrong. The Taste of Tasmania started locking people out of a large section of the wharf on New Year’s Eve. The Falls Festival came along and took 10,000 youths off the wharf and placed them safely away from Hobart.

They banned drinking on Salamanca Lawn after 3pm, and turned Christmas Knopwoods into a gated community.

Then they started creating festivals for everything: each one of them a safe micro (or macro) community of like-minded celebrators.

With my jaded loathing of festivals in general I went along to Beerfest. I was looking for things to hate. I remembered it as a pleasant day on the lawn sampling beers when it was run by Drysdale House students. Then it got taken over, commercialised and turned into a behemoth.

As I walked around drinking the boutique beers I couldn’t find much to annoy me.

By the time I sampled the excellent 4 Pines Kolsch I was bantering and arguing the merits of beer to anyone who would listen. Then after trying the Brewdog 41% beer I did find something to annoy me.

There was no free water or anywhere to wash the strong beer (whisky) out of my glass. I was consoled by a fresh cup of the very fresh Van Dieman White Hills.

In the words of Peter Fonda “We wanna be free to do what we wanna do. And we wanna get loaded. And we wanna have a good time.” And in our current climate “we wanna enough toilets, we wanna enough places to park, and we wanna everything clean by morning.”

JASON JAMES

Eat Out Editor jason@warpmagazine.com.au

Available at Cargo for $10.50

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34 Travel

SOUTHERN FOREST OASIS A DECENT DRIVE SOUTH OF HOBART THROUGH SOME OF THE WINDIEST, NARROWEST ROADS I’VE SEEN (WE DON’T GET TOO MANY CORNERS IN INNER-CITY MELBOURNE), IS SOUTHERN FOREST ACCOMMODATION.

Travel 35

Hosts, Barbara and Steve have created a cozy home away from home style bed and breakfast that is ideal for anyone in the need for a quick getaway from the rigors of modern life.

What struck me immediately was the warmth of the hosts. Barbara greeted us as our car arrived and personally lead us to the eco-friendly cabin we were to spend the night in. She had stoked up the wood fire so there was little for us to do than load in the luggage and pop the cork on a much anticipated bottle of bubbles.

Designed with the environment in mind, the cabin was spacious enough to accommodate an extended family but also cozy enough for a celebratory weekend away. Once unpacked we venture out into the wild windy night and made our way back down the road to the Southport Tavern for dinner.

The Southport Tavern was quiet with a few locals perched on bar stools and some

playing a game of pool. As the bistro is not open, we placed our order with the friendly bar staff. Shortly after, the meals arrived and much to our delight not long after, empty plates and classes signal our return to our home away from home.

The next morning we were to want for nothing. A home baked loaf coupled with condiments aplenty, juice cereal and the like made for very contented bellies. Prepared by us in the well stocked galley kitchen and eaten over-looking the forest surrounds, we couldn’t ask for a more relaxing and welcoming night away.

Amanda Sykes

Southern Forest Accommodation 30 Jager Road, Southport 03 6298 3306 www.southernforest.com.au

BOHEMIAN GETAWAY A TRULY UNIQUE BOUTIQUE ACCOMMODATION EXPERIENCE, HOBART’S THE LAST VILLA CATERS TO COUPLES WITH TRAVEL LUST, DOUSED IN EUROPEAN THEMES RANGING FROM BARCELONA TO NEW YORK.

The brainchild of architect-owner Steven Last, the Villa underwent an extensive renovation in 2008 that earned a heritage award from the Royal Australian Institute of Architects.

Originally built in the Second World War by owner-builder Taffie Pattinson, the building was always unique; crafted from hand-picked salvaged materials and pieced together over years. Sewer pipes became structural columns, packing crate frames became cupboard linings and excavated rock became feature stone walls. It is a masterful work of recycling and conservation.

Far removed from the bland, this boutique getaway offers a cosmopolitan splice of life without leaving town. The themed apartments are generated by the building’s character and accented by quirky and rustic retro fittings that Steven has collected from across stores and auctions in both Victoria and Tasmania.

The Last Villa features works from celebrated artists David Bromley, John Lendis, Norman Lindsay and Steven Last himself, who plans to operate a gallery space during the summer season showcasing emerging artists plus local wine tasting, starting in the New Year.

The Parisian Studio Penthouse is reminiscent of inner-city Paris, with a decorated ‘Romeo and Juliet’ balcony overlooking elevated vistas of the River Derwent. The sense of Parisian quirkiness is highlighted in the details; books and carpets, bath mirrors and paintings are all heady with chic sensibility.

The Cruise Ship apartment is a suave journey with sleek lines and tidy furnishings.

Monochrome textiles are accented by popping colour schemes; a vibrant green hallway, an orange accent-walled bedroom, and the theme is carried through down to the detail, with cruise ship suitcases, boat fittings and wooden vices on benchtops.

The Barcelona Suite jumps with fresh artistic vision, combining postmodern typography ornaments with traditional European columns, spicy Spanish colours and edgy original artwork.

The Voyager Room is a one-bedroom trip into a better future, with a sci-fi capsule feel, providing an intimate space for two drenched in aesthetic artistry.

And the Studio Last is an indoor-outdoor retro-futurist apartment for the entertainer.

Opening out onto the barbeque area, it’s a design paradise with a vision you will want to savour.

The individual artistic and architectural expression combined in the heart of the leafy, bayside Sandy Bay is ideal for touring and local musicians, artists and ballerinas; fashion shoots, themed retro cocktail parties and wedding parties.

If you’re design-aware, seeking a point of difference that’s far removed from the doily lace curtain cottage or uniform hotel room, this is your ideal getaway. You’ll arrive to an individually-catered experience, with complimentary bubbles or wine and a personalised tour and discussion of the history of the Last Villa, and you will want a return ticket upon departure.

Best experienced over a sun drenched Summer weekend.

NIC ORME

www.thelastvilla.com.au

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36 Live Reviews

Reviews 37

BLUE COW

SCRATCHING THE SURFACE

W/ THE HAMBURGERS THE ROYAL OAK FRIDAY NOVEMBER 18

The Royal Oak was lined up for me this night. First up were The Hamburgers. I had not seen them before and was not sure what I was up for. Their start was a little sloppy but then they got their pace and gave a packed dancefloor a fine set.

Wearing their influences on their sleeve, the two that jumped out at me were The Doors and The Kinks, but with a harder edge. But they varied their set around enough that it didn’t seem derivative. Their last song ended with a guest female vocalist with a beautiful voice but not strong enough to cut through the rest of the band. I am sure she’ll get there though.

Image: Richard Strong

SKIPPING GIRL VINEGAR

But the show got off to an awkward start.

The band took to the stage without so much as a murmur from the audience then proceeded to launch into the rollicking ‘Hand to Hold’. Given the intimacy of the venue, it seemed contrived and unnatural. It didn’t take long for front-man Mark Lang to realise that things were going to work differently in the southernmost state.

Lang informed us that the banjo with which he composed most of their debut album was purchased from the Beauty Point Junk Shop, just a few miles north of the venue. Turns out the owner of the junk store was in the audience too. So Tasmanian.

Lang’s stories were getting longer with each talk break. Pretty soon the rest of the band was joining in. There was the time they went night swimming at Cataract Gorge with the husband of Kate Miller-Heidke, accidentally dislodging and losing his wedding ring for the better part of a winter’s eve.

It was within this atmosphere that the band decided to close the set with an unplugged sing-along version of ‘River Road’. It was beautiful.

The encore was ‘Wasted’; “a song about a pub in Melbourne that is nothing like this place,” said Lang, adding that they would be singing Fresh’s praises back in their home state. The night closed with ‘Heart Does Ache’ and a free sample of Amanthi’s Raspberry Blondies; hearts, minds and stomachs well and truly wooed.

Daniel Townsend warpmagazine.com.au

A technical hitch in the PA caused a slight pause in Blue Cow’s set but the crowd didn’t seem to notice. Overall, a successful and enjoyable night.

KEVIN GLEESON

Blue Cow has reformed after a 10-year hiatus. A seminal Tasmanian alternative folk/rock band from the ‘80s and ‘90s, their songwriting is along the lines of Paul Kelly and Mick Thomas and indeed they did a cover of ‘A Tale You Won’t Believe’ at the end of the night and did it total justice.

THE BREW

W/ DiG, SOLE STICKERS, COLOUR BY NUMBERS, MORE THE ROYAL OAK BOATSHED FRIDAY NOVEMBER 11

W/ BECCA STEPHENS, THE MORGAN SISTERS, KILLIAN HAPLIN, LINC LE FEVRE ALCHEMY, LAUNCESTON FRIDAY NOVEMBER 4

Wow... Eight acts in four hours! It was for a good cause, though; Zac Greene is a Launceston musician who had his house burned down and lost most of his gear.

It was decided to set up a benefit gig to raise money to let him buy some clothes.

The gig was at the Royal Oak Boatshed.

It kicked off with two solo acoustic acts: Scott Haig and James Fitch. Both solid players who I feel need more stage time.

Next on was Yyan and McDougall and these guys have a great sound. Andrew’s bass work defined the night as this was the first set of three bands he played in. Yyan gave us some great vocals and guitar work. I’d like to see him use an active pickup guitar though.

But he certainly owns that fretboard. And the drum kit later in the night.

Dylan Labuschnge has an unusual style that I can’t put a finger on, which is probably a good thing. He pushed out a damn fine set.

I want to see more of his music.

Colour by Numbers then hit the stage with Zac on keyboards and xylophone at his own benefit gig with an eclectic mix of styles diven mainly by Brad Harbeck. The rest of the band fill Brad’s simplistic chord structures out with Matt Tyler running some beautiful leads over the top. Their new song that ended the set almost has a disco feel and packed the dance floor.

Sole Stickers then arrived and showed everyone how it is done, with a combination of garage and power pop (think The Who and The Kinks having a love child), their set simply rocked.

Frank Biffin saw Matt Tyler back on stage with a set that could only be described as prog-rock instrumental. They did a damn good job of it. It reminded me something of Hawkwind.

By this time the gig was going over-time due to some technical issues and the Oak was

kind enough to stay open so DiG could play, especially as they had provided the backline gear. DiG have a huge sound, but I found three guitarists a bit much. I think they need to either separate who plays what, or work out some different riffs. The guitars were starting to conflict with each other.

All in all, an entertaining night. And it raised over $1000 for Zac. I call that a success.

KEVIN GLEESON

Mixvibes is a relative newcomer to the Australian market, but is making massive inroads into the industry, helped markedly by support from international touring artists such as DJ Troubl, A-Kut, and even the superstar DJ Tiesto.

Mixvibes Cross is the company’s DVS (Digital Vinyl System) offering, which on first glance seems much like the industry-leading Serato Scratch Live. The interface is layout is well designed and uncluttered, yet still providing all the functionality you need to mix creatively. With 6 hot-cue points, looping & effects all built in to the interface, there is plenty of scope to remix on the fly.

The Cross interface boasts a 4-in, 6-out soundcard, which is ultimately not just built

ZAC GREENE BENEFIT

FRESH CAFE FRIDAY NOVEMBER 11 Melbourne’s Skipping Girl Vinegar won the hearts, minds and stomachs of the privileged few at Fresh. Before they even played a note it was clear from the stage decor that these guys know how to put on a show; bird silhouette lamps, chalky blackboard slogans, a giant monkey cut-out and fairy lights creeping up microphone stands like a Happy Wanderer up a drainpipe.

Blue Cow managed to pull off the mix of folk and rock really well with a great stage sound. A five piece outfit with guitar, bass, drums, violin and accordion, the balance between the instruments is very smooth considering they swap instruments with the guitar being occasionally changed to a ukulele. Vocals were strong with great harmonies coming through.

RISING EARLY TO ANSWER THE PHONE IS NEVER A PLEASANT WAY TO START THE DAY – EXCEPT FOR WHEN YOU’RE INTERVIEWING A PIONEER OF MODERN TURNTABLISM, PRIME CUTS OF SCRATCH PERVERTS.

Next up were The Morgan Sisters. These girls do beautiful harmonies and I could not fault their guitar work. A Celtic feel to indie/ folk; Very entertaining.

We then moved on to Killian Halpin, an Irishman who has adopted Tasmania. He has a strong voice, solid guitar work and, again, a great Celtic style. Good dynamics and he held the crowd’s attention well.

The night finished off with Linc le Fevre.

Linc showed his years of experience by simply getting on stage and giving a power performance that did really over-ride the other acts, as good as they were. His ability to write quirky ballads and deliver them with such passion stands out every time.

Overall, a good turnout for a weeknight.

Keep an eye out for The Brew gigs there once a month. Nice venue, nice crowd.

KEVIN GLEESON

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Format: XBox 360 Distributor: Activision Players: 1-online Price: $99.95 9/10 When it comes to intense online play, a thrilling story and hard core ballistic bliss, few games have the pulling power of the Modern Warfare series. 2010’s installment was a superb thrill ride in solo play mode and it is still being played online by diehard fans. However Modern Warfare 3 will no doubt take over the reigns as the latest effort is every bit as enjoyable, even if it is more of an evolution than a revolution.

The solo game launches you into the fray with a minimum of fuss. Once again you are trying to stop a full scale Russian invasion of America while also trying to defeat Russian madman Makarov.

MW3 sees you leaping about from one firefight to the next and the areas you get to explore are both varied and interesting.

There are some pretty major plot twists and at times you might find it all a little bit hard to believe, but the game’s narrative hangs together reasonably well in the end. There is an option to turn off some of the more potentially offensive content and there is a terrorist attack on London’s streets that seems to only be featured for its sensationalist value. This aside, the story is otherwise engaging and full of drama.

The control vinyl is lighter than most other offerings (124gm), which may suit your style or not. I found that the lighter vinyl allowed for tighter scribble scratches, but could be a caveat if you are used to spinning traditional 180 gram vinyl.

You can, of course, create custom mappings to make your controllers do what you want, which using the intuitive MIDI mapping interface is extremely easy to do. In this way you can also fully map the software to an all-in-one controller, and remove vinyl/CD control completely.

Overall the system performed flawlessly, especially with the control CD in a CDJ1000.

Hotcues on the CDJ are fully supported (and very tight response), and looping works like a treat with absolutely no ‘slips’.

With the market becoming more and more competitive, one could be forgiven for thinking that this is simply another ‘entrylevel’ offering. However the opposite is true, with Mixvibes spending significant research and development dollars on audio quality, sample rate and perfecting their selfproclaimed “Ultimate Timecode CD”.

The effects were warm, and very expressive.

Mixvibes 1.7 currently supports 12 effects; alongside the standard Filter, Flanger, Echo and Roll, they have also added some more creative effects such as Transform, Bliss and Jet. Once used to these, I found them very easy to incorporate into my sets and mixes.

The Mixvibes Control CD has a higher frequency than most other systems (3000 Hz), which allows it to detect a new playback position in less than 5ms. This is a great improvement over previous offerings, which

Cross also supports MIDI mapping, with most popular controllers supported straight out of the box. I used a pair of Novation Dicer’s, which once plugged in automatically mapped to the same great control I was

COD MW3 is at its best when it throws you into intense set piece battles against seemingly overwhelming odds. There are some impressive cinematic action moments too. You’ll love blowing up the Russian invasion fleet by launching missiles from their own sub after you have captured it. At other times there are cool toys to play with too, like remote missile strikes, remote controlled tanks and plenty of new guns.

First up was Becca Stevens. A lovely voice but I found the songs she was playing somewhat bland. I’d love to hear her get more light and dark into her playing.

used to with previous software, as well as adding a very handy feature (using a “shift” button) to allow the browsing and loading of tracks.

for DJing. It boasts both +48V phantom power for condenser microphones, as well as a high-impedance setting for electric guitars.

GAME REVIEWS

A stay in Launceston had me heading to Alchemy. I’ve been in there before when the venue has had different names, but the music was always at the front of the bar.

Moving the stage to the rear of the pub was a very good move.

would sometimes exit out of a loop due to lower frequency control CD’s and vinyl. This is something that even some Serato and Traktor Pro releases suffered from.

Visually Modern Warfare 3 is slick, and there have been improvements to the water and explosion effects. Cynics might gripe that the game mechanic remains virtually unchanged when compared to various iterations, but this isn’t that serious an issue when you remember that, like previous games, this successful formula works and is huge fun. The only minor chink in the armor is the way you can sometimes die by failing to fulfill mission conditions or movement requirements that aren’t always communicated that clearly to you.

However, this is really only nit picking as you are back in the fight in mere seconds and can try again as the game is generous with the provision of checkpoints for you to restart from. The single player game is great, but it is multiplayer fun that is really at the core of this games appeal and there are 16 maps, nearly 20 gameplay modes and plenty of co-op options to keep you coming back for more. MW3 doesn’t deliver the tactical depth of the Battlefield series, but it’s still a hoot against your mates and the maps are for the most part enjoyable. The ‘kill streak’ system has also been tweaked with a variety of skills open to be upgraded as you take down targets in combat.

Easily one of the best shooters of 2010 is still bang on target for 2011.

Six sizzlers for the summer.

Well we were going to do a ‘top 5’ with a view to focusing on the best games to buy this Christmas, but it was impossible to narrow it down below six games. So here they are. . . .

F1 2011 XBox 360 Distributor: Namco Bandai / Codemasters Even though it is more evolution than revolution, F1 2011 delivers superbly entertaining racing action, with modes to suit the novice as well as the seasoned veteran. The Co-op mode is quite cool too. You can compete with a friend, doing a whole season together as team mates.

You can then nail down the Constructors Championship (if you are good enough) while fighting for individual honours at the end of the season. The new slick Indian circuit is also featured in the game too.

Gears of War 3 XBox 360 Distributor: Microsoft The ultimate ‘stop, prop and kill’ cover based shooter has its last hurrah, and it is a ripper.

Gears of War 3 is a tense, tough shooter that is only bested on the 360 by COD MW3.

The game is set on a beleaguered series of ‘space forts’ as man has had to abandon the planet Sera and instead must battle the Locust hordes from space aboard these floating refuges.

Zelda Skyward Sword Nintendo Wii Distributor: Nintendo With Skyward Sword we finally get to control Link with precision and style using the motion sensing systems of the Wii and boy is it fun. This is the best game in the series for a long time and there is plenty of accurate swordplay, enjoyable puzzling and majestic flight as Link soars through the sky on the back of a magical bird. If you own a Wii, you must get this game.

Assassin’s Creed : Brotherhood PS3 Distributor: Ubisoft Master assassin Ezio is back in a game that is seductive, stealthy and stunning to behold. This time around the game explores three narrative threads, as Sophia and Altair also get dragged into the game. However

In conclusion, the Cross Pack is an excellent solution for anyone wanting to move to a digital vinyl system. With all the required gear included (control vinyl, CD’s, cables & control box); just add turntables!

Calum ‘Max’ Power

Mix vibes cross pack available from ruffcut records

Ezio’s tale, as he further explores the origins of his lethal order while dodging the nasty fallout of social upheaval in Constantinople, is the most intriguing. If you haven’t enjoyed any of the brilliant games in this series then Creed might deliver a fair dose of stealth combat overload. This is not a game you can take lightly, or play in a ham fisted way, going toe to toe with all comers. Instead you have to use guile, discretion and at times play elegantly as you avoid the attacks of the masses and just single out your one target while skimming from rooftop to rooftop.

Fifa 12 Xbox 360 / PS3 Distributor: EA The beautiful game certainly is just that when Fifa is in your console of choice. As you’d expect, the 12 edition features all of the up-to-the-minute team and player ingredients, the game also features a new physics engine which delivers substantially improved the visuals and the ball handling.

A superb game that keeps delivering, goal after goal.

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception PS 3 Distributor: Sony As you’d expect, Uncharted 3 is a stunningly cinematic and adrenalin soaked game. The action might be linear, and Nate Drake is hardly a new face on the block, but this is modern day Indiana Jones. However this time you also get to indulge in a wider variety of locations. There is a bar room punch up in the UK as well as the desert and jungle locations we have come to expect with the series. Drake’s puzzling relationship with his mentor Victor Sullivan is fleshed out further and he gets to battle arch rivals Marlow and Talbot. This is a great game that struggles to be pinned down to one particular genre. There is plenty of gunplay and fisticuffs, but also lots of more diverse action – the gun battle while riding a horse is quite breathtaking. A winner, and only on PS3.

STEVE POLAK

warpmagazine.com.au

38 Album Reviews

Album Reviews 39

DICK DIVER NEW START AGAIN

Comparisons will be drawn between Dick Diver and Twerps, as both have been released at the same time on Melbourne’s Chapter Music and both share a style echoing the music being made in New Zealand and particularly Dunedin in the 1980s. But Dick Diver is grittier in their textures and quietly muscular and explorative in their delivery. Guitars chime and jangle all over this debut record and yet it never descends into aimless noodling.

six minute centre-piece and Neil Youngesque sonic epic ‘Flying Teatowel Blues’.

is a highlight as are moments in every other song across the record.

Vocally, Dick Diver is on a downbeat, backseat trip. Everything is lazily delivered, slightly off tune (in a good way) and often on the verge of descending into slackertoned spoken word. It suits the subject matter perfectly as they sing about things like moving town, concluded relationships, hanging out and getting your shit together.

Opener ‘Through The D’ tumbles and rolls along with gorgeous sparkling notes dotting the primitive rhythm section like sunspots.

‘Hammock Days’ is a lazy Sunday afternoon Sonic Youth jam in terms of the guitars that introduce the song while they can still lift the intensity as they do to stunning effect on the

Standout track is ‘On the Bank’. It works lyrically, melodically and has a melancholic feel with slide guitar into the mix and imbue the song with swelling and retreating dynamics that make you just want to hit repeat the second it finishes. Elsewhere the bass line and mantra groove of ‘Head Back’

Production on ‘New Start Again’ perfectly complements; Mikey Young of Eddy Current Suppression Ring/Total Control is the man behind the sound and he has done well to capture a warm, lush recordings without sacrificing the unfettered way the band play their instruments. You can hear fingers on strings, the rattles in the kit and it feels like a band in a room rather than a constructed group of audio layers. This is honest music played with minimal fuss - a testament to the strength of Dick Diver’s writing and compositional restraint.

THE RAY GUNS EP

Forget about your wanky coffee ritual – try a neat shot of The Ray Guns debut EP to get you up and about in the morning. It will never fail.

Opening track ‘Boppity Bop’ leaves no doubt what this Hobart four-piece is about; driven, guitar-soaked chunks of sweaty rock ‘n’ roll. And it never lets up, save for the occasional tempo change or slick drum fill that shows there’s song-writing smarts and musicianship to match the machismo.

Take the opener, for example; you’re toetapping along when the tempo kicks back a notch or two and you’re suddenly thrown back to the glory days of grunge with a facemelting guitar solo you can’t help but love.

Liam Martschinke’s vocals are raw but never undercooked, and his screaming guitar regularly duels with James Hegarty’s for the spotlight.

‘In Time’ channels an MC5 kind of vibe – in its vintage sound and power. There’s definitely a nod to the groundbreakers of 30+ years ago. The final track, ‘Never Again’ is another belter, full of classic guitar work and an undeniable crescendo finish that introduces keys to the mix to add another meaty layer to an already tasty morsel.

If there’s one knock on the EP it’s in its brevity. But there’s every indication that will be remedied by a longer offering in the nottoo-distant future. Hopefully.

LANIE LANE TO THE HORSES

You might recognise Lanie Lane as the voice of the theme tune to ‘Crownies’. She’s the one who sings like she’s stepped out of a 1950s saloon, but she’s well and truly here right now.

A few months later, she recorded ‘To The Horses’ in four days. The songs are warm and homely, while still being raw, gritty and edgy. She won’t scream at you, but she will stare you down.

Her debut album is ‘To The Horses’, a collection of 11 songs that duck and weave through a heady mix of early rock ‘n’ roll, blues, and rockabilly, serving up fantastic tales of love, lust, heartbreak and the importance of a good guitar – all delivered by one of the most undeniably distinctive voices and charming characters in Australian music.

‘Bang Bang’ is lively and alive, ‘Betty Baby’ is an ode to her in-the-wars guitar and ‘Like Me Meaner’ is stark and brooding as an empty bar. And Lane doesn’t only record in a hurry, she writes on the run too. ‘That’s What You Get’ was written the morning after talking in her sleep about falling in love with a cowboy. The reverb-soaked regret ballad, ‘What Trouble Is’, feels raw and shocking as a fresh paper cut.

This old time approach is part of what recently inspired Jack White to invite her to record two of her songs to vinyl in his studio.

CHRIS FAMILTON

other musical territory and some listeners will be find Lane’s sound to be kitschy or cute. But, like many artists pushing the boundaries one way or another, Lane will divide people. You say trash, he says treasure. It is the closing tune and title track when Lane truly comes into its own. Soulful and soaring, sometimes chesty, sometimes in the back of the throat, this is one hell of a voice. A horse is a free and fierce spirit. A fitting metaphor for this bold cowgirl.

DANIEL TOWNSEND

One could be forgiven for wondering whether this dark Doris Day will traverse

VHS OR BETA

THE TWERPS

SPANK ROCK

STEP-PANTHER

SHE & HIM

KIMYA DAWSON

BIG SCARY

DIAMONDS AND DEATH

SELF-TITLED

EVERYTHING IS BORING AND EVERYONE IS A FUCKING LIAR

SELF-TITLED

A VERY SHE & HIM CHRISTMAS

THUNDER THIGHS

VACATION

Diamonds and Death’ is the third release from the one-time five-piece and now dynamic duo, VHS or Beta. Vocalist/guitarist Craig Pfunder and bassist Mark Palgy deliver an eclectic, rock and electronic collection of tunes resulting in a discordant yet enjoyable album.

It’s a mix of beats what would sound at home on a Kanye West album, electronic experimentation ala Daft Punk, and more traditional rock.

Opener ‘Breaking Bones’ has interesting beats and a space-ride feel, with Pfunder’s vocals gelling the swing from lo-fi to entrancing chorus. ‘Under the Sun’ continues in the same vein, combining minimalist sounds with grandeur.

Title track ‘Diamonds and Death’ is more low-fi, then ‘Everybody’ breaks form with a New Order bent. ‘Watch Out’ sounds something like PNAU while ‘Jellybean’ is a seven minute instrumental that would sound at home as an adult film soundtrack, or so I’ve been told. Saving the best to last, ‘Over’ rocks with prominent guitars, drums and lyrics but with an electronic feel.

The album is good, however I still hope that ‘Over’ is a taste of the band’s new direction.

VHS or Beta haven’t reached their potential yet, expect the masterpiece of their short catalogue to be their next album.

ALEXANDER CROWDEN

It’s been a bumper year for wistful guitar music brimming with melodies and laidback vibes and Melbourne’s Twerps and labelmates Dick Diver are the quiet cousins of Eddy Current Suppression Ring, replacing krautrock punk with a jangly aesthetic, softer edges and a meandering path through their music.

Opener ‘Dreamin’ is the best song never written by The Clean and The Bats; the simplicity and repetition of the guitar chords and vocal melody burn a comfortable hole in your memory. ‘Don’t Be Surprised’ offers a hat-tip to Chris Knox and Shayne Carter in its angst and nervous energy.

‘Who Are You’ is a hazy, drunken tune with wayward vocals, ‘Bring Me Down’ echoes Paul Kelly’s storytelling and ‘Grow Old’ is reverb-drenched droning, dreamy psych pop piece. It shows they are perhaps still trying to fine-tune the balance between experimental aspects of their sound and the cleaner pop. The latter wins out but they would be well served to cling onto the more obtuse elements of their nature to avoid slipping into any Belle & Sebastian traps of blandness.

Still, Twerps sound effortless, familiar yet not slavishly replicating old sounds on an LP overflowing with honest and organic sonic postcards.

Returning for Summadayze, the hip hop collective herded by Naeem Juwan (aka MC Spank Rock) returns with a bevvy of collaborations and is proof that sometimes samples trump rapping.

Highlight ‘The Car Song’ features American hip-hop producer and singer Santigold and has massive crossover potential. ‘The Dance’ is crazy catchy and infectious, while ‘#1 Hit’ was produced by Mark Ronson and Boys Noize, and once again the singers are the highlight.

One track will be gold and then the next will be underwhelming. The word ‘shawty’ features, and unless you’re an unknown rapper in a Rebecca Black video or Justin Bieber, you shouldn’t be saying that word.

Also, ‘Race Riot’ sees MC Spank Rock repeating, ‘Shake it till my dick turns racist’, offending white and black girls the world over.

Instead of having an interlude, this album has a skit that goes for a minute and a half and is extremely annoying. All in all it’s not a bad release, it’s got some good beats and some absolute stand out tracks, but if you only buy the highlights, you won’t be missing out.

ALEXANDER CROWDEN

So garage rock is the new black. Or it could be a resurgence of angst, weed and boredom. Whatever. Sydney slacker punks, Step-Panther, look set to join the out-ofcontrol freight trains synonymous with the music of Straight Arrows and what was the sound produced by Philadelphia Grand Jury.

Opening track ‘Never Again’ sees a oneminute intro where the guitars gun it and there are some time changes before a short burst of bratty, punk lyrics bring this baby home. The Stooges may have sung about ‘No Fun’ first, but here it’s like The Buzzcocks meet The Fall’s Mark E. Smith.

‘Rock & Roll Alone’ changes it up with a surfer vibe, ‘50s guitar riffs and sentiments.

‘I Feel Weird’ offers some hilarious escapism, while ‘Young & Dumb’ is 44 seconds of crazed noise before the oddball, atmospheric guitars of ‘Galactic Hurricane’.

Elsewhere we get the howl of ‘Scorpions’ and some indie rock on ‘Ferrari’.

‘Rock & Roll Alien’ sums this schizo mix up with a five-minute slow jam full of Sonic Youth’s layered guitar work. But lyrically it’s all about talking shit with spoken-word vocals like those by The B-52s’ Fred Schneider.

NATALIE SALVO

Singer (and actress) Zooey Deschanel and guitarist Matt Ward present their third release as She & Him: 12 Christmas standards, including well-known songs such as ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ and ‘Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree’ with lesser-knowns ‘The Christmas Waltz’ and ‘Christmas Wish’.

‘A Very She & Him Christmas’ keeps a fairly steady and relaxed pace, but for this type of album it works perfectly. I can see it being the ideal Christmas Day soundtrack cheerful, but subdued enough to be playing in the background. Stripping the songs back to guitar, ukulele and percussion, the pace picks up on festive season favourite ‘Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree’, as well as ‘Baby, It’s Cold Outside’ - a perfect demonstration of how delightful Deschanel and Ward sound when they duet.

Deschanel’s enchanting, cabaret-tinged vocals are the perfect fit, while a highlight is Ward on lead vocals on ‘Christmas Wish’, with his smooth, mesmerising voice intertwined with Deschanel’s feather-light backing vocals. Christmas albums aren’t something I would normally listen to by choice; however, I can see myself listening to A Very She & Him Christmas even when the season is over.

Ex-Moldy Peaches muso returns with strange child-like vocals and trembling voice on ‘Thunder Thighs’, which offers four tracks featuring Aesop Rock. Strangely it works. Most of her songs do not follow the traditional blueprints of songwriting; often Dawson won’t utter the same words twice in a song, as the tunes are more like poems speedily read to music.

‘Walk Like Thunder’ stands out at over 10 minutes long, by far the most emotional song on the album. As Dawson points out on the album she is a recovered alcoholic and addict and this song references overdosing, coming back from the brink and friends who died young. She also admits guilt over trashing her own body with drugs and alcohol when a friend was dying of cancer.

I have never heard an album that manages to sound so beautiful and emotional that is written with such basic language before.

There are references to peeing on a stick, liking things on Facebook, being unfollowed on Twitter and other trivial things that risk being dated. On an album so full of pop culture tid-bits and immaturity, it’s surprisingly one of the most honest and painfully reflective works of the year.

ALEXANDER CROWDEN

Thanks to the Triple J hype machine, the Melbourne duo’s new LP was a hotly anticipated release. ‘Vacation’ is a beautiful album that doesn’t aim to be anything more than enjoyable, well constructed pop.

Emerging from underground to national critical acclaim, the eclectic sonic journey is audible, with rollicking sweaty rock, heartfelt piano ballads and soaring indie anthems which are all held together by Tom Iansek’s impassioned vocals.

Opener ‘Gladiator’ sees teeters on greatness with grand riffs and grunge angst that are soothing in spite of the melancholic undertone. ‘Mix Tape’ has playful, lighthearted melodies that are incredibly catchy despite lyrical clichés. ‘Purple’ is a toe-tapping ditty that sees the band getting funky with the wah wah pedal.

‘Got It, Lost It’ is a mournful reflection with Iansek’s Buckley-like falsetto in fine form. The old single ‘Falling Away’ is a moving ballad reworked for the album with pretty piano melodies and sweet boy-girl harmonies. ‘Rolling By’ is a gorgeous piece that ends the album on a down beat note with the melodramatic piano arrangements adding an air of grandiose intrigue.

‘Vacation’ is a bag of mixed treats that grows better with time.

CHELSEA McINTYRE KATHRYN MAHINA

CHRIS FAMILTON

STU WARREN

Warp Mag updated its current location to The Republic Bar, Brisbane Hotel, Fresh Cafe and 350 other locations.

40 Event Guide

Event Guide 41

Hobart CONT.

Hobart Date December

Venue 1

Friday

2

3

Birdcage Bar Brisbane Hotel Hobart Town Hall Birdcage Bar Brisbane Hotel Grand Poobah Hobart Town Hall Irish Murphy’s Plan B Syrup Wrest Point Show Room Birdcage Bar Brisbane Hotel C Bar Federation Concert Hall Grand Poobah Irish Murphy’s Plan B

Sunday

4

Monday

5

Tuesday

6

Wednesday

7

Thursday

Friday

Date Friday

Thursday

Saturday

Acts / Start Time

8

9

Queen’s Head Cafe Bar Sails Syrup Wrest Point Ent’ Centre Wrest Point Show Room Birdcage Bar Brisbane Hotel C Bar Grand Poobah Irish Murphy’s Republic Bar & Cafe Birdcage Bar Federation Concert Hall Queen’s Head Cafe Bar Republic Bar & Cafe Birdcage Bar Brisbane Hotel Republic Bar & Cafe Birdcage Bar Brisbane Hotel Brookfield Vineyard Hobart Town Hall Irish Murphy’s Observatory (Lounge Room) Observatory (Main Room) Queen’s Head Cafe Bar Republic Bar & Cafe Syrup Birdcage Bar Brookfield Vineyard Cargo Pizza and Lounge Bar Irish Murphy’s Republic Bar & Cafe Alley Cat Birdcage Bar Brisbane Hotel Brookfield Vineyard Cargo Pizza and Lounge Bar

Glen Valentine Circus Horrificus Cabaret Lunch with Ludwig Van 1pm Glen Valentine Number 1 “The Gig” Popbowl #1: Feat The Crazy 88’s, Squid Cinema plus Pop DJ’s - FREE PARTY Lunch with Ludwig Van 1pm Jeremy Matcham,Naked Acoustic, Dr. Fink DJ’s Lovell, Billy Green Boogie with DJ’s Nick C and JayDee 9pm Boy & Bear Glen Challice The Ray Guns (cd launch) + Celadore (vic) + Face the Fiasco Glen Valentine The World of Ludwig Van - The Mighty Fifth 2:30pm Hot Club Romanesca, Sal Kimber & The Rolling Wheel Joel Everard, Pirates of the Cover Scene 10 years of Syrup Ft Mark Dynamix + Corney, Gillie and Kir Midnight Revival 9:30pm Billy Whitton 10 year Party Tackyland DJ’s Muzza and Webby Hobart’s Biggest Xmas Party - Sugartrain Time Freedman & The Idle Jason Patmore Brissie Bingo!

Pete Thomas Grand Poobah Night Market Ian Murtagh, Joel Everard Lloyd Spiegal Billy & Randal The World of Ludwig Van - Pastoral Sixth, Seventh Heaven 7:30pm Hobart College of Music 7:00pm G B Balding Bowerman & Parker Art @ The Brisbane featuring works by Chris Paton The Baker Boys Glen Challice Mudhoney + Precious Jules + Moe Grizzly Sitar Lounge 7pm Lunch with Ludwig Van 1pm Joel Everard DJ Dameza DJ Mr. B James Maddock Swing 4 Kriegan Hill TackyOke 9pm Where’s Mary Sitar Lounge 7pm Micheal Clennett and Guests Wingit Faye Blais (Canada) with Jungal Beccy Lee and Drunkfoot (One woman band from Tucson, Arizona) and Made by Chickens for Robots Glen Valentine DAMAGE NIGHTCLUB w Explosions + Depths + Redemption Denied + Wolf Pack + DJ’s Alma Da Vida 7:30pm Street Party feat :Cameron Stuart and DJ Johnny G 6pm

Saturday

Sunday

Monday

Venue 9

Derwent Ent’ Centre Grand Poobah Irish Murphy’s Ivory Bar Observatory (Lounge Room) Observatory (Main Room) Plan B Queen’s Head Cafe Bar Republic Bar & Cafe Syrup The Telegraph 10 Alley Cat Birdcage Bar Brisbane Hotel Brisbane Hotel C Bar Cargo Pizza and Lounge Bar Federation Concert Hall Grand Poobah Irish Murphy’s Ivory Bar

11

12

Tuesday

13

Wednesday

14

Thursday

Friday

Observatory (Main Room) Plan B Queen’s Head Cafe Bar Republic Bar & Cafe Sails Syrup The Telegraph The Waratah Hotel Wrest Point Show Room Birdcage Bar Brisbane Hotel Brookfield Vineyard C Bar Cargo Pizza and Lounge Bar Irish Murphy’s Republic Bar & Cafe Birdcage Bar Queen’s Head Cafe Bar Republic Bar & Cafe Birdcage Bar Brisbane Hotel Queen’s Head Cafe Bar Republic Bar & Cafe Alley Cat

Birdcage Bar Irish Murphy’s Observatory (Lounge Room) Observatory (Main Room) Queen’s Head Cafe Bar Republic Bar & Cafe Syrup 15 Birdcage Bar Cargo Pizza and Lounge Bar Irish Murphy’s Republic Bar & Cafe 16 Alley Cat Birdcage Bar Brisbane Hotel Brookfield Vineyard Cargo Pizza and Lounge Bar Irish Murphy’s

Acts / Start Time

Date

Xzibit Nina Las Vegas Ian Murtagh, Gav & Lina, Dr. fink DJ Malakai DJ Dameza DJ Mr. B DROP Hobart w/ Kurk Kokane + Kombat R.P.M. 8:30pm D’Opus & Roshambo Boogie with DJ’s Nick C and Webby Micheal Clennett followed by The Wolfe Brothers Faye Blais (Canada) and Jungal Glen Valentine Renegades of Dub presents (this is a secret gig) Late Night Krackieoke w Jorge Bowerman & Parker DJ Millhouse The World of Ludwig Van - Song of Joy 7:30pm Reason - Window of Time Album Launch Tour Joel Everard, Sticky Sweet Regrooved presents Paul Master + Dameza + Grotesque DJ Mr. B Kid Kenobi Bass Mucis Tour + Billy Green + More TBC 24Seven 9:30pm Kobra Kai + Acumen Billy Whitton Tackyland DJs Muzza and Webby Ado and devo followed by Pirates of the Cover Scene Jinja Safari w/ Special Guests Share Night - Basil the Rat Jason Patmore Brissie Bingo!

Faye Blais + Jungal 4:30pm Joe Piere Ado and Devo followed by DJ Grotesque Ian Murtagh, Gav & Lina Adam Cousens, Teinne & Jay Fraser Billy & Randal Hobart College of Music 7:00pm Quiz Night Bowerman & Parker Franks Flicks featuring KING FRAT Burglar’s Dog Peter Hicks & The Blues Licks Stems - Monthly Hiphop Night - Letters to the Sun (Akouo + Coin) + Paddles 9pm Glen Challice Rouge Acoustic DJ Dameza DJ Mr. B Cake Walking Babies Chris Mallory with Kara Lonergain TackyOke 9pm Where’s Mary Micheal Clennett and Guests Darlington Swump Tiny Spiders, Cat Cat, Mess O Reds & Manchester Mourning http://www.myspace.com/tinyspidersband Glen Challice Over Reactor + The Witching Tree + Incarcerate Acoustic Music Night (Folk Night) 7pm Street Party feat : Tim Davies and DJ Johnny G 6pm Ian Murtagh, Brett Collidge, Selecta

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Monday Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Venue 16 Ivory Bar Observatory (Lounge Room) Observatory (Main Room) Plan B Queen’s Head Cafe Bar Republic Bar & Cafe Syrup The Telegraph The Waratah Hotel 17 Alley Cat Birdcage Bar Brisbane Hotel Brookfield Vineyard C Bar Cargo Pizza and Lounge Bar Grand Poobah Irish Murphy’s Ivory Bar Observatory (Main Room) Plan B Queen’s Head Cafe Bar Republic Bar & Cafe Sails Syrup The Telegraph Wrest Point Show Room 18 Birdcage Bar Brisbane Hotel Brookfield Vineyard C Bar Cargo Pizza and Lounge Bar Irish Murphy’s Republic Bar & Cafe 19 Birdcage Bar 20 Birdcage Bar Brisbane Hotel Republic Bar & Cafe 21 Birdcage Bar Irish Murphy’s Observatory (Lounge Room) Observatory (Main Room) Queen’s Head Cafe Bar Republic Bar & Cafe Syrup 22 Birdcage Bar Cargo Pizza and Lounge Bar Irish Murphy’s Republic Bar & Cafe 23 Alley Cat Birdcage Bar Brisbane Hotel Cargo Pizza and Lounge Bar Grand Poobah Irish Murphy’s Ivory Bar Observatory (Lounge Room) Observatory (Main Room) Plan B Queen’s Head Cafe Bar Republic Bar & Cafe

Acts / Start Time

Date

Frequency Fridays 11pm DJ Grotesque DJ Mr. B “Coven” Hobart’s Only Goth Night + Coven DJs Barry Pilkington & The B.J’s 8:30pm Spy vs Spy Boogie DJ’s Nick C and Webby Micheal Clennett followed by The Smashers Clubhouse Comedy The Bone Rattlers and The Sin & Tonics Glen Valentine Mental Extensions + Hypnagog Nelson Sound Christmas Concert at Brookfield Micheal Clennett DJ Johnny G 9:30pm Sand Pebbles & Hey Mook Naked Acoustic, Pirates of the cover scene James Curd (national tour) + Millhouse & Mez 11pm DJ Mr. B Gillie, Kir, Corney Ebeneeza Good 9:30pm Ben Wells & The Middle Names + The New Saxons + Since We Kissed Billy Whitton Tackyland DJs Muzza and Webby Ado and Devo followed by The Smashers Share Night - Basil the Rat Jason Patmore Big mega fuckin fun party! with Corney Chris Mallory 4:30pm Billy Whitton Wolfe Brothers followed by DJ Grotesque Ian Murtagh, Mickey & Kazu Brightside Animal Sanctuary Benefit Show: The Blue Mosquitoes + As The Crow Flies + 4 More Acts $12

Friday

Billy & Randal Bowerman & Parker Quiz-A-Saurus Hoot Owl Glen Challice The sign DJ Dameza DJ Mr. B Organ Doctors Sam Cole & The Mornings + Jade Young + King Carousel TackyOke 9pm Glen Valentine Micheal Clennett and Guests Infected LaVista Log Jam Fury Glen Challice HEXMASS w Ruins + Thrall + Whitehorse + Ørannis Street Party feat: Tim Davies followed by DJ Rabb 6pm Rime’s Christmas in Outer Space Party Jeremy Matcham,MIckey & Kazu, Vendetta Behind Closed Doors - Christmas Party feat Ok-Nah (Melb) 10pm DJ Dameza DJ Mr. B Gillie, Corney + Mandie R.P.M. 8:30pm The Colemans and Dean Stevenson

Saturday

Sunday

Monday

Venue 23 Syrup The Telegraph The Waratah Hotel 24 Birdcage Bar C Bar Cargo Pizza and Lounge Bar Grand Poobah Irish Murphy’s Observatory (Main Room) Queen’s Head Cafe Bar Republic Bar & Cafe Sails Syrup The Telegraph 25 Birdcage Bar Boardwalk Gallery (Wrest Point) Wrest Point Entertainment Centre 26 Birdcage Bar Brisbane Hotel

Tuesday

27

Wednesday

28

Thursday

29

Friday

30

Saturday

31

Cargo Pizza and Lounge Bar Observatory (Main Room) The Telegraph Birdcage Bar Cargo Pizza and Lounge Bar Queen’s Head Cafe Bar Republic Bar & Cafe Birdcage Bar Cargo Pizza and Lounge Bar Irish Murphy’s Observatory (Lounge Room) Observatory (Main Room) Queen’s Head Cafe Bar Republic Bar & Cafe Birdcage Bar Cargo Pizza and Lounge Bar Irish Murphy’s Republic Bar & Cafe The Telegraph Birdcage Bar Cargo Pizza and Lounge Bar Irish Murphy’s Observatory (Lounge Room) Observatory (Main Room) Queen’s Head Cafe Bar Syrup The Telegraph Birdcage Bar Brisbane Hotel Brookfield Vineyard C Bar Cargo Pizza and Lounge Bar Irish Murphy’s Observatory (Main Room) Onyx Bar (Wrest Point) Queen’s Head Cafe Bar Republic Bar & Cafe Syrup The Point Rest (Wrest Point) The Telegraph Wrest Point Ent’ Centre

Acts / Start Time Boogie DJ’s Nick C and Webby Micheal Clennett followed by Big Swifty Versions - Coldplay Glen Valentine Jerome Hillier DJ Rabb 9:30pm Cambodian Space Project Mickey & Kazu, The Smashers DJ Mr. B Midnight Revival 9:30pm Xmas Eve with Trumps + The Dark Matter of Story Telling + Seth Henderson Billy Whitton Tackyland DJ Webby Dr Fink 9:30pm Jason Patmore Randal Muir Glen Challice Billy & Randal BOXING DAY BANG BANG w The Lawless Quartet + Craicpot David Wicks followed by Johnny G DJ Mr. B Garrod Matcham followed by Dr Fink 9:30pm Bowerman & Parker Rum Jungle 9:30pm Burglar’s Dog Joe Pirere & The Blackberries Glen Challice Micheal Clennett 9:30pm Joel Everard DJ Dameza DJ Mr. B Billy Whitton & The Hepcats Jordan Miller Glen Valentine Micheal Clennett and Guests Kriegan Hill Fritz Garrod Matcham 9:30pm Glen Valentine Micheal Clennett followed by Johnny G Ian Murtagh, Mickey & Kazu ,Vendetta DJ Millhouse DJ Mr. B Lively Up 8:30pm Boogie DJ’s Nick C and JayDee Tim Davies followed by Big Swifty Bowerman & Parker NYE TRASH NIGHTCLUB w Pretty Suicide(vic) + The Wizar’d + The Remains + Random Order + Djs New Years Eve == Daystar 8pm Glen Challice DJ Johnny G 9:30pm Kenny, Everburn, Rogue Sharks DJ Mr. B The Tin Men 24Seven With Support 9:30pm New Years Eve with Boil Up NYE Party 2 Floors Retro Tunes James Maddock Swing 4 Acoustic act + Sticky Sweet 11:00pm Billy & Randal/Basil the Rat

Warp Mag updated its current location to The Republic Bar, Brisbane Hotel, Fresh Cafe and 350 other locations.

warpmagazine.com.au

warpmagazine.com.au

42 Event Guide

Launceston Date

NORTHWEST

Venue

Acts / Start Time

Date

CITY

Venue

Acts / Start Time

December

December Thursday

1

Tonic Bar

Comedy Festival

Thursday

1

Devonport

Molly Malones

Darren Lloyd

Friday

2

Bolters Bar

Geale Bros

Saturday

3

Latrobe

Mackeys Royal Hotel

Unbalance

Crossroads

Lloyd Spiegel (vic)

Irish Murphy’s

Picasso Brothers

Devonport

Molly Malones

Kool Daddys

Tonic Bar

Nic & Carmel + Ian Holman

Saturday

3

Sunday

4

Wednesday

Thursday

7

8

Friday

9

Saturday

Tapas Lounge Bar

Tapas Trivia

Devonport

Molly Malones

Kram

Devonport

Tapas Lounge Bar

Live Music

Friday

9

Burnie

Maginty’s Irish Bar

The Marvans

Devonport

Tapas Lounge Bar

Three Piece

Saturday

10

Latrobe

Mackeys Royal Hotel

Pure Blondes

Share Night - That 80’s Band Boy & Bear

Irish Murphy’s

Well Strung

Tonic Bar

Nat & Mat + Ian Holman

Irish Murphy’s

Ben Trio + Nathan Wheldon + Jack McNiff

Mountford - Longford

Virtuosi Vivaldi 3:00pm

Hotel Tasmania

Ethel the Frog

Devonport

Molly Malones

Gypsy Rose

Irish Murphy’s

Top Shelf

Devonport

Tapas Lounge Bar

T M G & Trent

The Northern Club

DROP - Kurk Kokane (Melb) + Kombat (Syd)

Albert Hall

The World of Ludwig Van - Song of Joy 7:30pm

Irish Murphy’s

Man Overboard

Bolters Bar

Tash & Dave

Crossroads

Wingit

Irish Murphy’s

Victor Charlie Charlie

Tonic Bar

Julz & Lee + Damian Maloney Tenzin

Sunday

11

Devonport

Tapas Lounge Bar

Neil Gibson

Wednesday

14

Devonport

Tapas Lounge Bar

Open Mic

Thursday

15

Devonport

Molly Malones

Kram

Devonport

Tapas Lounge Bar

Kitby Edwards

Friday

16

Devonport

Tapas Lounge Bar

Evil Cisum

Saturday

17

Latrobe

Mackeys Royal Hotel

Two Piece

Irish Murphy’s

Geale Brothers

Devonport

Molly Malones

4 Star Nation

Tonic Bar

Andy & The Woodman + Damian Maloney

Devonport

Tapas Lounge Bar

The Unit

11 Irish Murphy’s

Geale Brothers + Phil Picasso + Well Strung

Wednesday

14 Hotel Tasmania

4 Star Nation

Irish Murphy’s

Top Shelf

15 Irish Murphy’s

Brief Illusion

16 Bolters Bar

Saturday

Devonport

8

Hotel Tasmania

Sunday

Friday

7

Thursday

Country Club Show Room

10 Hotel New York

Thursday

Wednesday

Sunday

18

Devonport

Tapas Lounge Bar

Chris Meek

Wednesday

21

Devonport

Tapas Lounge Bar

Tapas Trivia

Thursday

22

Chris Lynch

Crossroads

Fritz

Friday

23

Fresh on Charles

Small Town Ruckus w/ Q-bik (Perth) + Benny Bosai

Saturday

24

Irish Murphy’s

Long Way Home

Tonic Bar

Nic & Carmel + Ian Holman

17 Irish Murphy’s

All Aboard

Tonic Bar

Two Strung + Ian Holman

Sunday

18 Irish Murphy’s

Hamish & Gina + Geale Brothers + Ben Castles

Wednesday

21 Irish Murphy’s

Top Shelf

Wednesday

28

Thursday

29

Devonport

Molly Malones

Tash & Dave

Devonport

Tapas Lounge Bar

Live Music

Devonport

Tapas Lounge Bar

The Rock Pigs

Latrobe

Mackeys Royal Hotel

Kram

Devonport

Molly Malones

DJ Roxon

Devonport

Tapas Lounge Bar

Electric Spaghetti

Devonport

Tapas Lounge Bar

Tapas Trivia

Devonport

Molly Malones

Unbalance

Devonport

Tapas Lounge Bar

Evil Cisum

Lorenzo von Matterhorn

Friday

30

Devonport

Tapas Lounge Bar

TMG

Thursday

22 Irish Murphy’s

Lorenzo von Matterhorn

Saturday

31

Devonport

Molly Malones

Kool Daddys

Friday

23 Bolters Bar

Geale Bros

Devonport

Tapas Lounge Bar

Electric Spaghetti

Hotel Tasmania

Saturday

Irish Murphy’s

Victor Charlie Charlie

Tonic Bar

Two Strung + Damian Maloney

24 Crossroads

The Muddy Turds + DJ Mista Riss

Irish Murphy’s

Long Way Home

Tonic Bar

Brett Boxhall + Damian Maloney

Sunday

25 Country Club Show Room

Jason Whatley

Wednesday

28 Hotel Tasmania

Long Way Home

Irish Murphy’s

Top Shelf

Thursday

29 Irish Murphy’s

Hamish & Gina

Friday

30 Bolters Bar

Brett Boxhall

Saturday

Irish Murphy’s

Long Way Home

Tonic Bar

Nic & Carmel + Ian Holman

31 Country Club Ball Room

Jellybean Jam

Country Club Show Room

Bjorn Again

Irish Murphy’s

Lorenzo von Matterhorn

Tonic Bar

Ian Holman

Watergarden Bar

The Doctor Rocksters

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