Issue 1414

33,560 OCTOBER 2012 MARCH 2013 - AUSTRALIA’S HIGHEST CIRCULATING STREET PRESS

ELBOW

BLACK SUN EMPIRE

DAVEY CRADDOCK & THE SPECTACLES

SIMONE & GIRLFUNKLE

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NEWSDESK

LOCAL NEWS

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GLOBAL NEWS

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

YOU SHOULD BE DANSON

THIEF IN THE NIGHT ROLLING STONES PERTH SHOW CANCELLED In light of the tragic death of fashion designer, L’Wren Scott, the partner of Mick Jagger, Frontier Touring late yesterday afternoon announced the cancellation of the Rolling Stones’ scheduled Perth Arena show with the following statement...

“Frontier Touring and Concerts West regret to announce that The Rolling Stones concert in Perth will not be going ahead as scheduled for Wednesday 19 March 2014. No further information is available at this time, ticket holders are asked to hold on to their tickets until a further update is available. Ticket holders can check frontiertouring. com, twitter.com/frontiertouring or Frontier Touring’s Facebook page for updates. Please note no further comment is available at this time.”

Those seeking support or advice about suicide prevention should contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or beyondblue.org.au.

The Rolling Stones upon arrival in Perth, early Monday

Sydney-based synth fiend, Thief is heading to Perth in support of his recently released EP, Closer. Previously known as PJ Wolf, winner of the 2008 triple j Unearthed competition, Thief has garnered a lot of hype in the music industry. Closer has been applauded for its bright and minimalistic melodies, and the tour will be a great chance to see how the tracks translate live. Thief will be accompanied by Anna O, with the first date at the Amplifier on Saturday, April 12, alongside fellow electronic artist, Leure; followed by the Newport Hotel on Sunday, April 13, with Methyl Ethyl.

Thief

FLOORED AGAIN International Latin and ballroom dance sensation, Burn the Floor, will be holding a series of performances at the Perth Regal Theatre for their Ballroom Blitz show.

The world famous dance company has featured some of the world’s top dancers for the past 15 years, and works closely with the Dancing With The Stars and its UK counterpart, Strictly Come Dancing, providing many of the professional dancers seen on the show.

Performances begin on Thursday, April 10, and continue until Sunday, April 20. Tickets are available through Ticketek.com.au.

PANCAKE PUB

IN THE PINES FULL LINE-UP ANNOUNCED

PEEL A GRAPE As part of a series of summer gigs, the Peel Estate Winery is holding the Peels Blues ‘n’ Roots Special on Sunday, March 23. Featuring Richie Pavledis, Mike de Velta, The Ragged Three and Paul Daly & The Heavy Hitters, the event is set to be an afternoon featuring some of the best R&B and blues music Perth has to offer. Make sure to bring a picnic rug. Food and drink is allowed into the event but strictly no alcohol to be brought in. Presale tickets are available through trubebluepromotionswa.com for $17.50, or $20 at the door. Children under 12 enter free.

A NEW PERSPECTIVE This year sees Performing Arts Perspectives reach its 18th year of showcasing the best young talent in the performing arts sphere. The event, held at His Majesty’s Theatre over two days from Wednesday, March 26, will feature a selection of the highest standard WACE student performances in the realms of dance, music and drama. Featuring the likes of Benjamin Chia, Melanie Wozniak and Rupert Williamson, it will be a must-see for anyone looking to catch a glimpse at tomorrow’s art stars. Tickets are available through ticketek.com.au.

Looking for somewhere to eat with the kids on Sunday?

The Rosemount Hotel is opening its beer garden and offering free healthy pancakes for children when parents order brunch every Sunday, from 9am-12pm. The portions are generous and the quality is on par with the nearby Angrove Street cafés. But that’s not all; there will be children’s activities, including balloon twisters and face painting, as well as coffee and Bloody Marys for the bleary-eyed adults. It’s the perfect weekend activity for families.

The full line up of RTR FM 92.1’s In The Pines has now been unleashed, what with Tuesday’s announcement that Mt. Mountain, Runner, The Morning Night, Bill Darby (and band), The Floors and The Community Chest will join in communion with Gunns, Scalphunter, Dianas, Moana, The Kill Devil Hills, Flower Drums, Mudlark, DM3, The High Learys, Rabbit Island, LEECHES!, Golden String, Pat Chow and Antelope.

It’s In The Pines and it’s all ours on Sunday, April 20, at UWA’s Somerville Auditorium, from 11am-10pm. Pre-sale tickets are available now from rtrfm.com.au – it’s $20 for subscribers and $25 for general public. Door sales (if available) will be $25 for subscribers and $30 for general public (free admission for gold subscribers).

PROPAGANDHI IN PERTH Canadian punk band, Propagandhi is back! Touring Australia for the first time since the release of their raw and metal-laden album, Failed States in 2012, the band will be in nine cities all across the country. The Perth leg will see the band hit up the Amplifier on Tuesday, June 3 alongside fellow punk rockers, The Flatliners and War On Women. Renowned for their radical left-wing views and political activism, as well as their energetic live performances, Propagandhi are a band not to be missed. Tickets are available through Oztix.com.au

SUPPORT SEBADOH!

The Floors

Two of the east coast’s most promising young indie punk outfits are heading this way for their first tour of the west coast. Ted Danson With Wolves and Ceres will be kicking off with a show at Flyrite on Thursday, April 24, before heading to the Prince Of Wales on Friday and finishing up at the Railway Hotel as part of Heavy Rail on Saturday, April 26. Alongside the east coasters will be a slew of local acts, including Grim Fandango, The Leap Year and Sail On, Sail On. For more info head to gunfever.com.au.

Propagandhi | Pic: Mandy Malaz

The return of US indie-rock royalty Sebadoh to Perth will also result in a revisit to the stage of Perth treasures Red Jezebel and Emperors, both of whom have new material and releases on the horizon.

Lovers of indie finery should head to the Rosemount Hotel on Tuesday, March 25. Tickets on sale now from oztix.com.au, Planet, 78s and Mills.

Sebadoh | Pic: Bryan Zimmerman

THE AUDREYS ROLL AWAY The Audreys have just released their fourth studio album, ‘Til My Tears Roll Away and are set to embark on a mammoth Australian tour. The threetime ARIA award-winning blues/folk rockers have announced their first lot of shows to coincide with the release, with a second announcement expected in the coming days. So far, the band is booked to play a Perth show at the Fly By Night on Friday, July 4. If you’d like to catch them, tickets go on sale this Friday, March 21, and are available through flybynight.org.

The Audreys

MISERY BUSINESS Fans of metal, put down your attaché cases and roll up your French-cuffed sleeves, Misery Signals are heading to Perth. Renowned for their technical approach to instrumentation and ballsy live shows, the American metalcore five-piece will be playing shows all across the country. Performing at the Amplifier Bar on Thursday, May 8, before hitting up Leederville HQ for an all ages gig on Friday, the band will be giving fans a live taste of their latest album, Absent Light. Supporting will be Sydney-based Stories. Tickets available through Oztix.com.au.

Misery Business | Pic: Jess Baumug 4

BLUES ON FIRE Fresh from their Europe tour, blues rock veterans, Vdelli will be launching their new live album, Live & On Fire at the Charles Hotel on Saturday, March 29.

The Perth boys formed back in 1997 and, in their 17year journey, have supported some of the biggest names in blues royalty, including ZZ Top, BB King and Buddy Guy. Supporting Vdelli will be blues roots trio, The Julius Lutero Band, and indie quartet, Kat Wilson. Tickets are $15 at the door.

CLAREMONT ANTICS

Vdelli

Next Saturday, March 29, the Claremont Hotel will be getting down with indie poppers and electronic rockers for the second instalment of Super Antics.

The bill features local enchantress, Felicity Groom, Boys Boys Boys! and Thee Golden Bloom; as well as tunes from a host of DJs, including DJ Beryl Streep (aka Scarlett Stevens of San Cisco fame) and an exhibit of some of Perth’s brightest up-and-coming artists. It’s free entry, so there’s absolutely no excuse not to head down. Doors open at 8pm.

INVISIBLE HITS

Felicity Groom

SINK YOUR TEETH IN Dusting off the cobwebs of studio recording, Methyl Ethyl will be offering a sneak peak of the soon-to-bereleased follow-up of last year’s EP, Teeth. The indie pop quartet, with its atmospheric compositions, biting guitar lines and audio-visual displays can be caught at The Bird this Friday, March 21. Supporting the band will be the haunting, electronic songstress, Leure, and post-rock Perthian, Gilbert Fawn. Make sure you head on down, you won’t find a better chance to catch what Methyl Ethyl has on the cards for this year. Tickets available at the door.

For one night only, a very special performance by Robyn Hitchcock of The Soft Boys and Steve Kilbey of The Church will be held at the Fly By Night on Saturday, April 26. Drawing heavily on the influence of ‘60s icons, such as The Beatles, Bob Dylan and The Archies, these two songwriters will be drawing on their vast repertoires to entertain fans with psychedelic melodies and subtle wordplay. This is a guaranteed one-off performance and an absolutely essential gig for fans of Hitchcock and Kilbey.

Tickets are on sale now through tombowler.com.

Robin Hitchcock & Steven Kilbey

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N E W S L E T E R - S I G N U P AT W W W. X P R E S S M AG . C O M . A U F O R E XC L U S I V E C O M P S

PRINT AND DIGITAL EDITIONS PUBLISHER/MANAGER Joe Cipriani

EDITORIAL - 9213 2888 MANAGING EDITOR Bob Gordon: editor@xpressmag.com.au FEATURES & DANCE MUSIC EDITOR Rachel Davison: featuresed@xpressmag.com.au LOCAL MUSIC & ARTS EDITOR Travis Johnson: localmusicarts@xpressmag.com.au GIG & EVENT GUIDES CO-ORDINATOR guide@xpressmag.com.au COMPETITIONS win@xpressmag.com.au For band gigs and launches - plugyourgig@xpressmag.com.au

FILM: WADJDA

PHOTOGRAPHY Rachael Barrett, Stefan Caramia, Guang-Hui Chuan, Daniel Craig, Brandon D’Silva, Max Fairclough, Daniel Grant, Sammy Granville, Matt Jelonek, Emma Mackenzie, Callum Ponton, Denis Radacic, Bohdan Warchomij, Michael Wylie CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Leah Blankendaal, Nina Bertok, Lucas Bowers, Aaron Bryans, Joe Cassidy, Hayley Davis, Chris Gibbs, Alfred Gorman, Shaun Cowe, Predrag Delibasich, Jayde Ferguson, George Green, Alex Griffin, James Hanlon, Chris Havercroft, Joshua Hayes, Brendan Holben, Coral Huckstep, Ellie Hutchinson, Rezo Kezerashvili, Tom Kitson, Clayton Lin, Charlie Lewis, Daisy Lythe, Andrew Nelson, David O’Connell, Shane Pinnegar, Nick Sweepah, Jessica Willoughby

ADVERTISING - 9213 2888 SALES MANAGER AGENCY / MOVIES / ARTS / EDUCATION / SPONSORSHIP / ONLINE MARKETING Craig Mauger - advertising@xpressmag.com.au MUSIC SERVICES / MUSICAL EQUIPMENT / BANDS / RECORD LABELS Dez Richardson - musicservices@xpressmag.com.au ENTERTAINMENT VENUES / LIVE AND DANCE MUSIC PROMOTERS Tim Milroy - entertainment@xpressmag.com.au CLASSIFIEDS LINAGE classifieds@xpressmag.com.au

POP CULTURE: OZ COMIC-CON The Aus version of San Diego’s massive Comic-Con International aka Oz Comic-Con arrives in Perth on Saturday, March 29 to Sunday, March 30 at the Perth Exhibition and Convention Centre. Now in its third year, it’ll celebrate film, television, comic books, graphic novels, gaming and anime, plus of course a ton of celebrity appearances including Doctor Who’s Billie Piper, Beverly Hills 90210 and Charmed star Shannen Doherty and sci-fi queen Amanda Tapping from Stargate SG-1 and Sanctuary. To win a double pass, email win@xpressmag.com.au.

Oz Comic-Con

PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT - 9213 2854 CONTENT COORDINATOR Anthony Jackson - production@xpressmag.com.au ART DIRECTOR Dwight O’Neil DESIGN + PRODUCTION Andy Quilty, Anthony Jackson, Kasia Mazurkiewicz

PRINTING Rural Press Printing Mandurah DISTRIBUTION - 9213 2853 - distribution@xpressmag.com.au ADMIN / ACCOUNTS - 9213 2888 Lillian Buckley accounts@xpressmag.com.au

The Saudi film, Wadjda kicks off at Luna Leederville and SX this week and it’s the first feature film shot entirely in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where cinemas are not permitted. It’s also directed by that country’s first woman filmmaker, University of Sydney graduate Haifaa Al Mansour, and follows the story of a 10-yearold girl who wants nothing more than to own a bicycle, and so becomes determined to win the cash prize for a Koran recitation competition at her school. To win a double in-season pass, email: win@xpressmag.com.au.

Wadjda

FILM: DOM HEMINGWAY The dark English comedy, Dom Hemingway sees Jude Law getting down and dirty donning mutton chops and gold teeth, playing a fresh out of prison safecracker who is trying to do right by his estranged daughter, while at the same time extracting what he’s owed from the boss he protected in prison. To win a double pass to a screening at Luna Outdoor between Thursday, March 20 to Saturday, March 22 at 6.45pm (make sure you tell us which screening you want to go to) email: win@xpressmag.com.au.

CLUBBING: MINISTRY OF SOUND The latest instalment of the Clubbers Guide series from Ministry Of Sound is kicking off with a bang featuring the charismatic Ember and Joel Fletcher who’s been behind the decks since he was 14. Guests on the night include locals, Chiari, ACEBASIK and Jackness. It’s all happening Saturday, March 29 at Villa and to win a double pass and a copy of the mix CD, email: win@xpressmag.com.au.

Ember

COMEDY: FLEETY’S BACK The Laugh Resort Comedy Club brings you a stellar lineup of Australian Comedy including legend, Greg Fleet, tonight (Wednesday, March 19). Also returning to Perth after his sell out Fringe World shows is Sydney comic, Jacques Barrett. Tickets on sale through thelaughresort.com.au, but to win a double pass, email us quick at win@xpressmag.com.au.

FILM: I, FRANKENSTEIN

FILM: CUBAN FURY

Based on the graphic novel I, Frankenstein created

by Kevin Grevioux and starring Aaron Eckhart, Bill Nighy, Yvonne Strahovski and Miranda Otto, we discover that 200 years after his creation, Dr. Frankenstein’s creature still walks the earth, and after finding himself in the middle of a war over the fate of humanity, he discovers he holds the key that could destroy humankind. Read a review of the film on page 14 and to win a double pass valid for the season, email: win@xpressmag.com.au.

Out in cinemas this week is Cuban Fury, a tale about Bruce Garrett (Nick Frost) a former salsa prodigy who attempts a comeback years after his career was ruined.

Only one woman can reignite his Latin fire. Read a review of the film on page 14, and to win a double pass valid for the season, email: win@xpressmag.com.au.

EDITORIAL DEADLINES General: Friday 5pm, Eye4 Arts: Thursday 10am, WIN: Friday 5pm, Salt Clubs: Monday 5pm , Local Scene: Monday Noon, Gig Guide: Monday 5pm ADVERTISING DEADLINES Cancellations: Monday 5pm, Ads to be set: Monday Noon Supplied Bookings / Copy: Tuesday 12 Noon, Classifieds: Monday 4pm Published by: Columbia Press Pty.Ltd. A.C.N. 066 570 803 Registered by Australia Post. Publication No PP600110.00006 Suite 55/102 Railway Street, City West Business Centre, West Perth, WA 6005 Locked Bag 31, West Perth, WA 6872 Phone: (08) 9213 2888 Fax: (08) 9213 2882 Website: http://www.xpressmag.com.au WARRANTY AND INDEMNITY Advertisers and/or their agents by lodging an advertisment shall indemnify the publisher, and its agents, against all liability claims or proceedings whatsoever arising from the publication. Advertisers and/or their representatives indemnify the publisher in relation to defamation, slander, breach of copyright, infringement of trademarks of name of publication titles, unfair competition or trade practices, royalties or violation of rights or privacy and warrant that the material complies with revelant laws and regulations and that its publication will not give rise to any rights against or liabilities in the publisher, its servants or agents. Any material supplied to X-Press is at the contributor’s risk.

33,560 OCTOBER 2012 MARCH 2013 - AUSTRALIA’S HIGHEST CIRCULATING STREET PRESS

FILM: POMPEII

FILM: THE MISSING PICTURE

OUTDOOR CINEMA: MALTESERS MOONLIGHT

Out in cinemas this week is Pompeii, set in the days leading up to the famous eruption of Mt Vesuvius, which destroyed the ancient city. Kit Harington (aka Jon Snow) stars as Milo, an enslaved gladiator, who must fight for his life in the arena every day. When Cassia (Emily Browning) enters his world, he’s got to fight his feelings for her, a noblewoman who can never be his. To win a double in-season pass, email: win@xpressmag.com.au.

The Missing Picture by French-Cambodian filmmaker Rithy Panh is Cambodia’s first film to be nominated for an Oscar and recounts Panh’s personal experiences in Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge regime in the ‘70s. He cleverly combines hundreds of clay figures to replace photos he was unable to find. The film kicks off at Cinema Paradiso this week and to win a double pass, email: win@xpressmag.com.au.

One of Perth’s outdoor cinemas, Maltesers Moonlight Cinema located at Synergy Parkland, Kings Park, has only a few weeks left, so catch a film before it closes for the season. Films include The Grand Budapest Hotel, American Hustle, Robocop and Jaws and to win a double pass to any film (as long as it’s not marked ‘no free tickets’) email: win@xpressmag.com.au.

Pompeii

The Missing Picture

Maltesers Moonlight Cinema

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FLESH

NEWS - INTERVIEWS - REVIEWS - CONTENTS

Himmerland

FAIRBRIDGE FESTIVAL All The Fun Of The Fairbridge The Fairbridge Festival rolls again from Friday-Sunday, April 25-27, at Fairbridge Village. BOB GORDON chats to long-time Artistic Director, Steve Barnes, in what is his last year at the festival.

How long had you been considering finishing up at Fairbridge and what helped you make the decision to leave?

The pressures of my day job - I’m a research scientist at CSIRO - have been building up for the last couple of years and I was starting to feel that the festival program wasn’t getting as much of my passion and energy as it needed. And, I wanted to quit before other people started to think that.

France’s Le Chant des Pavillions are on this week’s cover of X-Press. How would you describe them to our readers and how do they encapsulate, for you, what Fairbridge Festival is all about?

They are a highly imaginative, uniquely talented act taking a tradition in unusual, unpredictable directions with true joy-making potential. There’s nothing else quite like them and you never know what’s going to happen next. That’s a pretty good summary of what the whole festival is all about.

What are the achievements of the festival that you are most proud of?

Appealing to everyone from kids to grandparents carries the real danger of not truly appealing to anyone, but we think we’ve managed to keep pulling it off. I’m most proud of the fact that people have come to trust us: they come year after year not because of the lure of big name performers, but because we know we’ll serve up surprises, delights and a truly memorable, wonderful experience.

CONTENTS

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News Win Flesh Music Elbow, Thirty Seconds To Mars Davey Craddock & The Spectacles LYTS New Noise Eye4 Cover: Monster Fest I, Frankenstein; Omar Wadjada, Cuban Fury Arts Listings Salt Cover: Black Sun Empire Jackal, Catlips News, Test Pad Club Manual, Behind The Decks Rewind: Jurassic 5 Scene Local Scene Tour Tour Trails Absu Gig Guide Volume

FRONT COVER: French street performers, Le

Chant Des Pavillions hit Fairbridge Festival, April 25 to 27.

SALT COVER: Dutch drum’n’bass trio Black Sun Empire bring their Blackout club night to Perth this Friday, March 21 at Metro City.

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The Beat Goes On The Perth Zoo plays host to Rockwiz Salutes Vanda And Young on Saturday, March 22. TRAVIS JOHNSON catches up with quiz-mistress, Julia Zemiro.

Mick Thomas

The Joni Mitchell tribute gig where some of the finest female vocalists in the country and beyond lined up to do killer versions of some of the greatest songs ever written. An entire 1000 seat venue literally helpless with laughter as the Sensitive New Age Cowpersons did the new Australian national anthem.

Jeff Lang nailing a riveting version of a 200 year old traditional English sea ballad, finishing with the words, “now that’s a fucking song”. Kristina Olsen, singing anything, anytime. Chris While and Julie Matthews, likewise. The festival after-party in about 2003 when a seemingly endless jam session played the Blacktown Jig in about 20 different styles nonstop for over an hour - it’s on YouTube, Google it. Tell me when to stop...

Stop! Rodney Vervest is taking over from you. What’s your advice to him?

That word again, trust. Trust your instinct.

Trust the audience to keep taking chances. Don’t compromise. Love the job, love the music, enjoy yourself.

You’ll be free to visit Fairbridge as a punter next year.

What does that mean to you?

At the end of the festival every year I always want to hit the rewind button so that I can go to it.

Next year, I actually get to do that, without a radio in my ear the whole weekend. Having nothing be my problem. Seeing everything going right instead of fretting about anything that’s not going perfectly.

Going to the gigs I really want to go to and staying from beginning to end - I don’t think I’ve ever done that at Fairbridge. Watching everybody else work.

And almost certainly at the end of it, massively missing being part of the crew that made it happen. There’s nothing like the feeling of watching a big tent full of deliriously happy people and knowing that you helped put them there. I’ll miss that. It’s been a fantastic trip and I’ve loved every minute of it.

What are the other highlights - big names and small that you’d like to draw attention to this year?

Where to start? Expected highlights for me are Himmerland from Denmark - Europe, not WA – a high-energy tradition-based music from northern and eastern Europe with powerhouse African percussion

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ROCKWIZ

and funky jazz bass. Equus, who mix emotion-laden middle eastern improvisation with Mongolian horsefiddle and weirdly hypnotic harmonic singing. Mick Thomas, one of Australia’s all-time great story-song writers; Ami Williamson’s hilarious and poignant one woman show; Rory McLeod’s unquenchable charisma and warmth; barely believable cello virtuosity from Crooked Still’s Rushad Egglestone; Gypsy-Balkan dance floor mayhem from the Barons of Tang; our own home-grown festival dance floor favourites Ensemble Formidable; and the charm, energy and pure undiluted fun of the Perch Creek Family Jug Band. I could go on, and on... but it almost always happens that the big hit of the festival is not the act I expect it to be.

What have been the main challenges for Fairbridge Festival over the years... and therefore you as Artistic Director?

The challenge has always been keeping it fresh and unpredictable, without resorting to ‘safe’ choices. Keeping our appeal to young audiences, without losing it for the older demographic. Fortunately, the great wealth of remarkable music and performance talent that lurks beyond the commercial mainstream has made that possible. The big challenging decisions every year are not who to book, but who to leave out.

Le Chant des Pavillions

And some performance highlights over the years?

Again, where to start? There are so many enduring memories. The finale of our ‘family band’ featured festival in 2006 when we had over 25 of Australia’s best family/sibling bands all together on stage. The collective gasp of amazement as Narasirato, a 10-piece traditional pan-pipe ensemble from the Solomon Islands, hit the stage for the first time in 2007. The same year, when a massive flood wiped out all of our tent venues and Melbourne Greek band Rebetiki held an audience of hundreds totally enthralled and totally acoustic. The amazing Riccardo Tesi and Banditaliano bringing 200 year-old Italian dance tunes into spectacular life. John Butler learning slide guitar licks from Andrew Winton on stage during a youth guitar workshop last year. Eddi Reader breaking an entire audience’s heart with a Rabbie Burns love song; the first appearance of Tin Pan Orange when nobody almost including me - had heard of them; the Old Spice Boys threatened to do an entire gig in their pyjamas if I booked them to play before 2 pm, so I did, and they did. Mic Conway fire-breathing a huge fireball over the heads of the front row of the main stage audience... don’t tell health and safety about that one. Awesome Festival director Jenny Simpson getting her entire choir locked inside the swimming pool enclosure half-anhour before their gig.

X-Press gets hold of Julia Zemiro in a brief break between shooting her popular television series.

“I’m in the middle of filming RockWiz series 12,” she explains. “And a new series for the ABC called Julia Zemiro’s Home Delivery, where I take comedians back to their childhood homes and primary schools and high schools. We did five episodes last year that went really, really well, and we’re doing nine more episodes this year.”

That could be quite an interesting piece of television, considering common wisdom has it that most comedians have their origin in pain and horror.

“That’s what makes it so interesting!”

Zemiro exclaims excitedly. “Because they’re comedians, a lot of them have already mined all that horror into funny stories so, in the end, you get funny stories, but maybe you can also get underneath it all.

“Although, I will say that some people they’re not always stand ups, sometimes they’re just funny people. Like Stephen Curry, he had a perfect childhood, but we still found the laughs in that.”

But the next thing Perth audiences will be seeing Zemiro in is Rockwiz Salutes Vanda And Young, a tribute to one of the key songwriting partnerships in modern Australian music. Zemiro, ever the pophistory maven, explains.

“Vanda and Young were two young men, one came from Holland, one came from England.

George Young, from England (Scotland, actually!) had two brothers who became AC/DC, while Harry put together a band called The Easybeats, who were basically our Beatles.

“So we’re talking about people who had an incredible influence on our music anyway. When you look at their body of work, well, the band thought what if we did a show based around Vanda and Young.

It’s got a particular flavour because, all of a sudden, when you think about the music they’ve written, sung and produced, you can do stuff from The Angels, stuff from AC/DC, you can do Stevie Wright stuff, you can do The Easybeats, you can do John Paul Young’s Love Is In The Air - I mean, there’s such a variety there.”

Perch Creek Family Jug Band

Tickets are available now from fairbridgefestival.com.au. Julia Zemiro and the RockWiz team

LEFT OF CENTRAL

With a combination of activities during the day and night, the street will be filled with food, music, art, fashion, lectures, films and other activities during the course of three weeks, all organised by the staff and students at Central Institute.

A short film festival produced by film and music students will play on Friday, April 4, and there’ll also be performances from local music acts such as The Insatiables, The High Learys, Elkwood, Indigo and Kat Wilson.

Sculptures will liven up the street, as well as art on display in Central Institute’s new building at 30 Aberdeen Street. You can even check out the car that was designed, constructed and operated by Mechatronic students.

It all kicks off at Left Of Central’s launch party on Tuesday, March 25, on Museum Street.

Market stalls will showcase designs from graduates and students of fashion and textile. The Food Van Fiesta will offer food from all around the globe - gourmet hotdogs from Uncle Jack’s, and paella and tapas from Simply Paella, just to name two. Students will be roving around with cameras to capture the party, along with the live broadcasting of their own Boom Radio throughout the night.

“It dovetailed perfectly with the City Of Perth’s wish to utilise Central’s staff and student community, to help create a thriving atmosphere in the area, and encourage the establishment of future business and commercial activity,” Sampson says.

Left Of Central establishes a link between education and new urbanism developments in Perth, and extends Northbridge’s appeal geographically, adding Museum Street to the map.

Happenings In The ‘Bridge Stretching Northbridge’s vitality to unchartered territory, Central Institute Of Technology’s Left Of Central runs on Museum Street and surrounds from March 24 to April 11. NAOMI FAYE reports.

By taking another leaf out of Melbourne’s book, the City Of Perth has been making a conscious effort to revive forgotten streets, make use of laneways, and connect the gap between Northbridge and the city, slowly developing Perth into a “creative centre”.

Central Institute Of Technology’s Communications Coordinator, Michael Sampson, says Left Of Central was a chance to establish a “social heart” at the Perth campus, and a place for the staff, students and businesses on Museum Street to congregate.

“Museum Street is the spine of our campus and we want to bring it to life using it as an artery to connect all our buildings”, Sampson says. Left Of Central “enables us to bring students and staff together to really create something.”

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The High Learys, Left Of Centre

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MUSIC

VIEWS

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INTERVIEWS

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STORIES

ELBOW A Touch Of Glass While the members of Elbow may be rapidly approaching 40 years of age, they still attack their music as if they were teenagers. CHRIS HAVERCROFT speaks to frontman, Guy Garvey, who is as excited about the band’s new record, The Take Off And Landing Of Everything, as he was with the music they were making two decades ago.

Guy Garvey is clearly in a celebratory mood, what with the first run of reviews for The Take Off And Landing Of Everything are overwhelmingly positive.

The band are also getting themselves ready for their first set of live shows in quite some time, so the excitement around the members of the band is at a high point.

“I’ll be honest with you, I’m hungover but very happy,” confesses Garvey of his current state.

“There are very few days that I’m not hung over.

People spend their life trying to strip away the ego and find the inner child. I just get mortally fucking pissed and the next day your ego will be struck from you. Any self-respect you had will be stripped from you and your inner child will very much be in evidence. I will eventually stop when they tell me I can’t do it anymore, but until then it is way too much fun.”

For this record, Elbow took a different approach to recording. Instead of everyone being in the same room at the same time to work up the material, they gathered in groups of two or three to write the music. In some way this was a way for Elbow to challenge themselves musically, but it was also a result of what happens when groups of friends that are approaching their 40s and there are choices that have been made that pull you apart at times.

“For the most part it worked really well,” accepts Garvey of the new approach. “The boys all have children so they have responsibilities. My bass player told me that he doesn’t drink from Monday to Wednesday anymore. I thought good for you man… but I also thought, ‘fuck that!’ It pulls you in different directions. Children aren’t for me, it’s not what I want to do, but we all still get together and support each other.”

Elbow, as a band, are at the top of their game as they continue to sell healthy amounts of records and complete successful tours. Other commitments mean that they don’t tour for as long as they used to and aren’t as concerned with monthon-end dates that would lead to the band conquering the world. The balance is more even these days, although Garvey reflects it probably has been for 12 years now.

“I would be very, very worried and upset if the band took precedence over the band member’s families. That would be the wrong way around. The band has given us many opportunities and these days, pays for things like school fees, which is something that I am immensely proud of.

We have all got houses and they’ve all got children who are clothed and educated and fed because of what we have done in small carpeted room for the past 20 years.”

Elbow made the conscious decision to take a break for a year before they started work on The Take Off And Landing Of Everything. The outfit had constantly been touring and recording since 2008’s The Seldom Seen Kid LP unexpectedly blew up for them and they became incredibly well known in their

THIRTY SECONDS TO MARS Post-War Dreams Ahead of their show at Challenge Stadium on Tuesday, March 25, Thirty Seconds To Mars guitarist Tomo Miličević opens up to PHOEBE HURST about $30 million lawsuits, sending singles into space and why rock’n’roll is a full-time job.

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native UK. All members of Elbow had been together since their youth and had never had a break.

“We didn’t have a gap year or time out. We had to hold down shitty jobs in our youth to be able to do the band. I just thought that the boys have all got young families and touring takes them away from that, so why don’t we take a proper year out from the band so people can look at it and evaluate it? It worked really well for us as it encouraged us to write separately which freshened up the whole process for us. We are now buzzing to get out there and play, and that’s how it should be. We always said when it stops being fun we will give it up, but it is still a lot of fun.”

“It definitely worked and we will do it again certainly,” says Garvey of an enforced break. “There is an element of trust involved as you are trusting people to not do their own thing. Really, what else are we going to do? How else would we pay the bills? They are all fucked like me! We are trapped in Elbow. Also, a healthy portion of each of us have been trapped in an adolescent bubble since we were 11 that no one has been able to break.

It’s all fart jokes and Chinese burns with us.”

The Blanket Of Night finishes the album with a tale of man and wife risking everything trying to improve their lot by illegally entering a country.

Elbow have always been ones to straddle both the personal and the political. Garvey is well aware of the debate regarding the archaic treatment of asylum seekers by the current Australian government, whilst recognising that it is not a stance that sits well with the general populous.

“It is no different in Britain,” Garvey suggests about immigration concerns. “It is a little more extreme over there and more black and white in Australia, but over here it is the same disgusting attitude. It is like looking at immigrants - illegal or otherwise - as someone trying to board your ship and take your treasure. It is so stupid and short-sighted.

“These people have had to leave their homes, and would much rather stay in their homes and the land of their birth where their families and their friends and their heritage is. Imagine having to leave your home because of economic crisis or fear of death, to risk your life and everything that you have to be able to go somewhere to be able to have a sandwich without being shot. To treat illegal immigrants like greedy land grabbing people who want more than their fair share is idiotic. And who in Australia isn’t an immigrant and who in Great Britain isn’t an immigrant?”

Say what you like about Thirty Seconds To Mars, they’re no strangers to hard work.

Last year alone harboured a critically acclaimed album, globetrotting live shows, an award-winning documentary and countless meet and greets. Just a few months into 2014 and the band are already embarking on one of their most extensive world tours yet.

But then Jared Leto, Shannon Leto and Tomo Miličević have never been ones to rest on their laurels (or rest at all, it seems). Starting out as a collaboration between Hollywood actor and one-time My So-Called Life heartthrob, recent Oscar-winner Jared and his brother Shannon, Thirty Seconds To Mars’ self-titled debut was released in 2002.

M i l i č ev ić j o i n e d t h e ba n d a s l e ad guitarist a year later and the band went on to achieve platinum sales with second album, A Beautiful Life, as well as a clutch of MTV Awards.

Some 11 years and two albums later, Thirty Seconds To Mars are showing no sign of slowing down.

“It’s a non-stop process, whether it’s touring or making a new album, or just making videos or creating content; we all do a lot of different things,” Miličević says. “It’s a full-time job, there is no break. We may not be on tour, we may not be currently making an album, but we’re always doing something.

The Australian leg of the Love, Lust, Faith And Dreams Tour comes after Thirty Seconds To Mars were forced to reschedule dates originally planned for August last year. As a band that enjoy a strong connection with their fans, it was a tough decision to make and Miličević expresses his gratitude for “everyone’s patience” during the postponement.

“Audiences are different but you start to notice similarities between people. Even with different languages and completely different cultures, you start to see a lot of similarities, which is interesting. We’re all there united by this common thing in the song, it doesn’t matter if we speak English or they speak Arabic, we’re all there doing the same thing.”

Miličević is familiar with crossing cultural boundaries through music. Born to Bosnian Croat parents in Sarajevo, he emigrated to the United States as a child and began writing his own music at 17. “Being able to unite people with music is probably one of the most incredible things, it’s absolutely an honour and mindblowing every time.”

The tour follows the band’s fourth studio album, Love, Lust, Faith And Dreams, released in May last year. A concept album with hints of electronica, it peaked at #4 in the ARIA charts, thanks in part to the unique promotion technique which saw its first single (appropriately named Up In The Air) blasted into space.

“We just wanted to do something different and have fun with the kick-off of our new album. Jared had this idea that maybe there was some kind of launch going on and we could do an event with NASA. It turned out that they did have a launch; sometimes you just gotta ask, I guess! They seemed to be quite happy about it and they definitely had fun with it - it was a oncein-a-lifetime thing.”

The recording process behind Love, Lust, Faith And Dreams was a far cry from Thirty Seconds To Mars’ 2008 album, This Is War. Made in the middle of a legal battle with Virgin, who were attempting to sue the band for breach of contract, the album was borne out of a tumultuous period in the band’s history. “The environment surrounding the process for Love, Lust, Faith And Dreams was completely different; filled with joy and positivity and a limitless search for creativity. That’s how it should be and I think you can hear it. In some ways, this album is even darker than This Is War as far as the songwriting content goes but the process was definitely much lighter and I really love this album.”

It doesn’t take a clinical psychologist to figure out that recording an album without the pressure of a $30 million lawsuit makes for a much happier working environment, but while the legal complications undoubtedly took their toll on the band, they also proved to be the inspiration behind Leto’s directorial debut, Artefact.

The documentary film follows Thirty Seconds To Mars’ legal battle and shines a light on the less savoury side of the music industry. It won the People’s Choice Documentary Award when it premiered at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival.

“It took five years to finish,” Miličević says. “I lived it and I’m part of it, but the documentary as a piece of work, it’s Jared’s baby.

It was heavy and really dark and surrounded by a lot of uncertainty and confusion. We literally could have lost everything that we had worked for and there would have been nothing we could do about it so it was definitely scary. The documentary is really great, it’s an interesting look at the behind the scenes workings of the music business. Putting out an album has very little to do with creativity and a lot to do with bureaucratic bullshit.”

H a p p i l y fo r M i l i M i l i č e v i ć a n d h i s bandmates, the case was settled with a California Appeals Court ruling that no service contract in the state is valid after a period of seven years and Love, Lust, Faith And Dreams stands as a testament to the band’s strength. “The way it connects with people live is unbelievable; people in Australia will see that at the shows. There’s definitely a fire going around with our concerts in the past year and I know that the new album has a lot to do with it.”

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INTERVIEWS

The Boys Lyt Up LYTS launch their debut LP, Initiate, at The Velvet Lounge this Saturday, March 22, with guests Wisdom2th, plus DJs Tomas Ford, Travis Doom, Petro Sex, Jess Kill and T-Rets & Lowaski. BOB GORDON sits right down.

Let There Be Light

Davey Craddock & The Spectacles have been working hard in the studio of late and the time has come to sample some of their graft, in the lead-up to an album release later in the year.

There Will Be Light finds Craddock and co. in a reassuringly soulful mood, via a heartstring-torn reckoning that’ll either make your day or set the sun on a bad one.

“It’s basically a soul song but with Australian subject matter,” Craddock explains. “I think there’s a risk with acts like us that play music inspired by American roots traditions - country, folk, southern soul or whatever - to just ‘play dress ups’ and rehash boring clichés. Being some kind of period-correct museum act doesn’t really interest me at all, so I try and write local or contemporary stuff.

“It’s basically a song about monotony - be that a boring, dead-end job or living somewhere isolated - but finding some kind of release or kicks. The characters in the song are finding their own patch and celebrating it, even the really shit bits. I grew up in the country and a lot of my mates were keen to get out as fast as we could but now that we’re older you kind of reconsider all of that. The characters in the song don’t necessarily want to get out of where they are or what they’re doing, they’re celebrating the good bits.”

Interestingly, the accompanying track, 100 Days, looks out at the world from where we are, given recent events.

“100 Days was written late last year where there seem to be this really divisive and dramatic string of political debates and news events - asylum seeker stuff, environmental policy, same sex marriage, another shark attack in WA, etc.

STORIES

LYTS

DAVEY CRADDOCK & THE SPECTACLES Davey Craddock & The Spectacles launch a new single this Friday, March 21, at Clancy’s Fremantle with help from David Craft and The Wilds. BOB GORDON walks right in.

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“It just seemed to be a conflict-filled and tense time. It’s a very abstract song - and isn’t particularly political - but I was trying to communicate that anxious mood.”

When asked what these tracks evoke of the band’s forthcoming album, Craddock is also suitably forthcoming.

“One’s an uplifting soul song and one’s a big ol’ fuzzy racket that I wanted to sound a bit like Grinderman. So, if anything, it shows that the album will be diverse! I like albums that sound like a great jukebox on shuffle but still with a bit of a common thread.”

Craddock’s band has grown, over time, with some amazing musicians. They brought much to the table in a manner that has re-freshened his take on his own music.

“Having such incredible musicians with their own very unique styles in the band is an absolute buzz and has changed the way I write songs completely,” Craddock explains.

“Todd Pickett (Kill Devil Hills) was the first to join and aside from being a ridiculously classy drummer, he brings looseness and energy. I can be a bit of a square/white boy so he brings the rough and readiness. He’s also a great singer. Pete Stone and Todd are an inseparable team – I think while touring Australia with Abbe May they formed a groove umbilical chord - and Pete ‘s also a great sounding board on songwriting.

“Luke Dux (The Floors) has also changed our sound completely - I like the way he’ll play absolutely filthy, fuzz one moment and really beautiful, sweet, country pedal steel the next. It’s kind of disarming. Mo Wilson’s really new to the band and the launch will actually be our first show with him. I’m obsessed with honky-tonk and New Orleans piano - so having a piano and organ player in the band is a dream and seems to really work with a lot of the songs.”

Over the years Laith Tierney has been nothing if not prolific, in a diversity of bands such as Fear Of Comedy, The Bible Bashers and various individual pursuits.

His new outfit, LYTS, with collaborator Yaegar Strauks, continues the artistic speculation.

“I’d like to think I’ve done too many different styles to be known for any one particular thing,” Tierney says, “so this to me seems like the next logical step. It’s a matter of what haven’t I done and that was kind of the intention. I’d say the best way to characterise LYTS is two guys from different backgrounds experimenting with new sounds but totally on the same page musically.

“I feel the hip hop background I’m known for rings through in LYTS,” Strauks adds. “Some of the musical styles I use I have been working on with rappers, now we are signing over it. I guess I’m liking taking a step back from writing lyrics and concentrating wholeheartedly on the sound, so it’s a lot more refined and tricked.”

The musical chemistry between the two may be somewhat newfound, but it seems that’s the whole point.

“It’s like having the bandmate that I’ve been looking for since I was 17,” Tierney says. “I just want to work with people as enthusiastic I am about making music and doing as much as I can with that music. That’s on a professional level. Musically, there’s some kind of fucked up telepathy thing going on. Possibly separated Siamese musical twins or something. I’m scared.”

When Tierney and Strauks originally paired up, there weren’t plans for anything other than being creative. However...

“Two songs in we knew the album was coming,” Strauks enthuses. “It was just a matter of capturing the moments.

“The momentum came from being frustrated with the lack of momentum in our previous band,” Tierney chimes in. “We knew

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we could write effectively together, so we just started out with recording at home, then the sound started taking shape and the tracks begun to complement each other more and more. It’s all happened very quickly and there are a bunch of half finished ideas on the cutting room floor.”

As such, LYTS are already well into work on a second album titled Sequence, which has taken another trajectory from the first.

“It’s all about reaching new levels,” says Strauks. “Every time we make a new track it has to better than the last.

“So far Sequence is sounding more mature,” Tierney says. “It’s not a conscious decision musical, or lyrically, to move away from anything on Initiate, though. It’s just the natural evolution of this songwriting/production team.

“The rest of 2014 will be filled with as much songwriting as possible. We gotta finish off Sequence and tour Initiate. It’d be nice to know the music is getting heard, that it’s connecting with listeners and that they relate to it.”

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NEW NOISE

For more album reviews head to xpressmag.com.au

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ICEHOUSE A Colourful Past Classic Aussie rock band Icehouse play the Rottnest Hotel this Sunday, March 23. TRAVIS JOHNSON checks in with the master of the ‘House, Iva Davies.

LEA MICHELE

MKTO MKTO Columbia/Sony

Louder Columbia/Sony Music

Mainstream radio hasn’t exactly been on a roll as of late. In fact it’s been torturous to listen to. However, the arrival of MKTO has changed the vibe a little.

Whilst it’s still musically generic, built on catchy choruses and unimaginative lyrics, Malcolm Kelley and Tony Oller have released a trio of singles that are tolerable and fun. Thank You, Classic and God Only Knows have been blissful compared to the headaches of Nikki Minaj and Jason Derulo. Now the duo has released their highly anticipated, self-titled album, with eight more radio-friendly poppy jams that honestly aren’t that terrible.

With the exclusion of the brainless Forever Until Tomorrow, songs such as American Dream and Could Be Me could easily be additional singles and are bound to bring pre-pubescent girls to tears.

The biggest problem with the album is the song Wasted which, (pun intended), is lyrically wasted. The track itself has the musical potential to be a brilliant slow song, with a simple piano layer and violin appearance. However, MKTO fail to break any hearts and instead come across as immature boys.

She was born in the Bronx, but Lea Michelle became a staple on the stages of Broadway before earning her breakout role as Rachel Berry on Glee. The stage and screen actor has featured on the constant stream of Glee soundtracks that have flooded the market over the past few years and is now branching out on her own on this debut LP, Louder.

Known for having a strong voice during her TV role, the challenge for Michele is transferring this into the world of a full blown pop diva. The first single from the album, Cannonball, was co-written with Sia, yet lacks some of her usual chorus power.

The album ends with If You Say So which was written by Michele immediately after her former co-star and boyfriend, Cory Monteith, succumbed to a mix of alcohol and heroin. For a song that should be dripping with passion and heartache it is surprisingly flaccid.

Michele is said to be hell-bent on putting a year of turmoil behind her and showing the world she has kept a positive frame of mind and some strength to work through adversity. She may need every last ounce of that resolve to combat the universal disdain that Louder deserves.

AARON BRYANS

CHRIS HAVERCROFT

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FOSTER THE PEOPLE Supermodel Columbia/Sony

KATE MILLER-HEIDKE

Foster The People’s sophomore album, Supermodel, arrives almost three years after its predecessor, Torches. For their latest effort, Marcus Foster has cited influences from West African music to David Bowie and The Clash.

Coming Of Age is the lead single, and one thing that stands out is the new focus on guitar.

Exuberant riffs are layered on top of the LA trio’s signature upbeat tempo; a twist to their familiar and well-loved indie pop style.

Nevermind is a gorgeous tune that features wistful acoustics, seeing the band step out from the pop logic of their previous album. The Truth is an MGMT-esque track with heavy-handed key progressions and drifting falsettos. Closing track is Fire Escape, a stripped-down acoustic tune with gorgeous harmonies and lyrics delivered with a raw vulnerability. It really is a beautiful track, and quite unexpected.

Considering bands that experiment with their sound risk isolating existing fans, Supermodel is an artful continuation of Foster The People’s exquisite production value and indie dance-pop.

The album is a strong follow-up to the band’s debut, and their commitment to exploring different soundscapes has certainly paid off.

SHARON YE

O Vertigo!

Cooking Vinyl Australia It’s difficult to classify Kate Miller-Heidke’s music into one particular genre. With a vocal range that would be the envy of many singers, Miller-Heidke’s voice can effortlessly shift from angelic classical tones on one part of a track to upbeat pop vocals on another, as is the case on her fourth solo and first independent album, O Vertigo!

Opening track, Offer It Up, is a lively start which gives a good indication of what to expect on the rest of the album. The title track is an energetic pop tune with unusual tones that resemble yodelling. Three of the best songs on this album feature Miller-Heidke collaborating with guest artists: Megan Washington on Ghost (a duet inspired by a Nina Simone track, The Other Woman), UK star Passenger on heartfelt ballad Share Your Air (reminiscent of Miller–Heidke’s hit single The Last Day On Earth) and hip hop sensation Drapht on the thrilling and funky Drama, the standout which is destined to become a hit.

O Vertigo! delivers everything we have come to expect from a Kate Miller-Heidke album: impressive vocals, unique style and a willingness to push the musical boundaries to create a fun and quirky album.

ALI BIRNIE

IVA DAVIS, ICEHOUSE

and what I became aware of is that it’s completely different these days to when I was a teenager, insomuch as they have such incredible access to music via the internet and things like iPods and smartphones and whatever. Generations of music are travelling down to teenagers.

“When we played at Homebake we were instructed by the promoter that he wanted a sort of specialist show, whereby we played the very first Flowers album. I was absolutely terrified, because he then said, ‘Oh, by the way, most of the audience will be 20.’ These people hadn’t even been born when it came out! I thought it would be a complete disaster and then we got about four songs in and the bass player sort of nudged me and said, ‘Have you noticed how many of these 18-year-olds have sung every single word of these songs?’ And they did; the crowd sang the entire set from beginning to end. It was incredible!”

ANNA O Winter Of Content

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TAKING BACK SUNDAY

Things had been quiet in the Icehouse for a while there.

Their last original album, 1993’s Big Wheel, was over 20 years ago. 1995 saw the release of The Berlin Tapes, a soundtrack/cover album that saw Iva Davies and co. collaborate with classical composer Max Lambert, but since then there’s been little but static on the dial and it seemed that one of the most successful Australian bands of the ‘80s had, for all intents and purposes called it quits.

But then, a couple of years ago, all that began to change and when we speak to Iva Davies, it’s during a rare break in a schedule that is becoming busier and busier by the day.

So what’s prompted this sudden flurry of activity?

“A couple of things, “Davies explains. “We sort of hit an anniversary. The first anniversary we hit was the 30th anniversary of the first album (1980’s Icehouse, released under the band’s original name, Flowers). That led to (bass player) Keith Welsh becoming aware of my archives and we went ratting through all those and produced a quite expanded version of that Flowers album, including a DVD. Then we re-released the whole catalogue through Universal, but at that time we also put out a greatest hits compilation called White Heat. That is the most comprehensive collection we’ve ever put out and also included a DVD of all the music videos we’ve ever done. That went gold in a little over a week, so on the back of that I guess we planned to start playing again.”

Still, it could be argued that, even during their lengthy hiatus, Icehouse were never entirely out of the picture, their music having become part of the fabric of Australian popular culture. Just try to get through January 26 without hearing Great Southern Land at least once - it’s our unofficial national anthem.

“Yeah, possibly,” Davies concedes. “But I don’t think it’s necessarily exclusive to us. I get a bit of an insight to this via my children, who are now 20 and 17. My son is a very keen guitarist, and he started coming up and playing Jimi Hendrix and playing The Who and playing Led Zeppelin and playing Pink Floyd

OUT OF 5

DOLLY PARTON

Happiness Is Hopeless/UNFD

Blue Smoke Dolly Records/Sony Music

Taking Back Sunday’s new studio album, Happiness Is, represents something of a comeback for the posthardcore heavyweights. It is their first independent release in over a decade, and the third album featuring the original lineup. But fans expecting a return to the classic TBS angst may be disappointed.

The single Flicker, Fade is the kind of guitarheavy anthem you would expect from a TBS album.

Adam Lazzara’s gritty vocals are layered over plenty of powerful riffs and thrashing snares. The most interesting track is arguably Nothing At All, a heavily layered, sombre number that has strong post-rock influences. But the clear standout is Better Homes And Gardens, a deeply personal departure from the band’s recent work. The movement from Lazzara’s quiet confidences about the breakdown of his marriage to the noisy chorus feels the most like the angst-ridden rock that put TBS on the map. But even this song feels slightly too engineered.

The album, as a whole, is best described as solid. Maybe it is the nostalgia talking, but it is hard not to feel a twinge of disappointment at how very neat it is. Taking Back Sunday have matured musically, but may have lost some of their emotional power in the process.

Dolly Parton would be one of the best known country artists on the planet having gained fans that wouldn’t usually purchase records of her genre. At 68 years of age, Blue Smoke is her 42nd album and one that prompted her recent world tour.

Title track, Blue Smoke, comes in with many of the country staple’s covers with mention of trains, mountains and cheating, all wrapped up in a tidy bluegrass moment. Many have turned their hand to Dylan’s Don’t Think Twice, yet Parton exceeds all expectations with her brightly delivered up tempo twang.

There is plenty of pop smarts throughout Blue Smoke, yet Parton still finds time to pull in a tune that brings a tear to a young father’s eye in Miss YouMiss Me and a stirring telling of Banks Of The Ohio.

Parton is still able to match it with the pop divas on the epic, Try. Women half her age would give their right arm for her sass and assured delivery on this uplifting anthem.

Blue Smoke is an album that shows why Parton is still so revered and has such stadium filling capacity. Without the glitter and glamour of her stage show, Blue Smoke stands up due to the quality of song.

EMILY MELLER 12

CHRIS HAVERCROFT

Perth’s Anna O launches her debut EP, When The Winter Came, at the Rosemount Hotel’s Four5Nine Bar this Saturday, March 22. BOB GORDON reports.

Like any artists on the eve of the release of their recorded debut Anna O admits to being “excited and nervous.”

The last 18 months have been geared towards this moment, like a secret about to be shared.

“Definitely,” she notes, “and you’re hands are off of it at this point so you can’t do anything.

“It is like sharing a secret and you can’t do anything to change it. Not that I would, but still, once it’s done, it’s done. It’s very final.”

Anna O’Neil studied jazz at WAAPA in 2010 and gigged around in that genre, but began writing songs more in a contemporary pop frame of mind about two years ago.

“I’ve always been a singer,” she explains.

“And I’ve been a singing teacher and I’ve studied jazz at WAAPA, so I did a bit of jazz gigging. But that was all covers and standards. This is what I’ve always wanted to do. It kind of took me a while to get around the idea of putting myself out there. I’d written some pretty bad songs before so I had to do something about learning how to do it well.”

That something was the Music Immersive program in Los Angeles, a series of workshops which had a profound effect on how Anna viewed herself as an artist.

“I’ve always been a singer. And I’ve been a singing teacher and I’ve studied jazz at WAAPA, so I did a bit of jazz gigging.

But that was all covers and standards.

This is what I’ve always wanted to do. It kind of took me a while to get around the idea of putting myself out there.”

“It kind of kick-started everything for me,” she says. “You spend a week over there with other writers from Australia. They do workshops with you with producers and songwriters and social media people. They teach you how to self-manage and write. It was really cool.”

A bout with glandular fever also had an influence on O’Neil, long periods of insomnia and solitude providing plenty of time for soulful introspection. The single, Sleepless, recounts this, as does the title of the EP and other tracks.

“Having glandular fever has kind of been the catalyst for where I am now and doing music,” O’Neil notes. “I had so much time to think and that’s kind of what made me go, ‘what am I doing? I need to do music but have to give it a decent shot, I can’t just keep talking about it’.

“So the music came from that place of reflection and a lot of time alone. The song Hibernation is about that; because I felt I was forced to disappear from my world for two years. So it was some good inspiration.”

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Running at Luna Outdoor from Thursday, March 27, until Wednesday, April 2, Monster Fest brings the best and bloodiest horror, cult and schlock cinema to Perth for one week only. We caught up with festival artistic director - and Monster Pictures creative director - Neil Foley ahead of the chaos.

In just a few short years, Monster Pictures have made a name for themselves as the go-to guys for genre-bending, envelope-pushing and stomachturning screen fodder.

“We started Monster Pictures about four years ago with the idea of distributing niche horror and cult cinema into Australia, New Zealand and the UK,” Neil Foley recalls. “We launched with a very notorious film, Human Centipede - that set the bar pretty high and we got a reputation for pretty gnarly films out this way. Since that time we’ve been regularly going to various festivals around the world and different markets, furiously looking for the most depraved and coolest horror on the planet.”

Their proprietary festival, Monster Fest, began as a way to not only promote the material they distribute - which has includes such gems as medical horror flick American Mary, the Elijah Wood-starring first person slasher, Maniac and cult classics such as Elvira: Mistress Of The Dark - but to draw Australian filmmakers to the Monster Pictures banner. “ I n r e ce n t times we’ve had a real focus on emerging Australian genre,” Foley says. “We started Monster Fest in Melbourne around three years ago. At last year’s Melbourne Monster Fest we had eight world premieres of Australian genre films and in Perth this year we’ve got a couple as well. That’s a really big focus for us now, to kind of get behind independent Australian genre and bring that to the world through the international marketplace.”

As can be imagined, it’s a very eclectic, out-there roster of films. “It’s a very handpicked, highlights-packed programme. The opening night

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EVENTS

film is a really fantastic film that was made here in Perth which is called Murderdrome - it’s the world’s first roller derby slasher extravaganza. It’s a really up-tempo, colourful splatfest with a great Aussie rock’n’roll soundtrack from beginning to end.”

Pressed to name a few favourites, Foley demurs at first - “It’s hard to pick particular highlights because it is completely packed with them,” - before singling out a couple of movies f o r p r a i s e . “A h u g e highlight is the double feature, two of the more amazing new genre films to come out of Australia in recent times. One is a documentary about genre called The Search For Weng Weng by Andrew Leavold. Andrew’s obsessed w i t h Fi l i p i n o c i n e m a a n d he’s been trying to find the whereabouts of this well known midget Filipino actor and what he found was this incredible story about who this guy was and the story behind him. Then on the same night we have the sleeper hit of the Melbourne Monster Fest, Chocolate Strawberry Vanilla, which is like Taxi Driver with ice cream! It’s a very dark, very twisted, very funny film.”

Other films featured in the coming week include the psychological thriller Jugular, sensual vampire story Kiss Of The Damned and the WA-produced Raven’s Cabin and Sororal. For horror hounds, this is the best week of the year.

TRAVIS JOHNSON

MURDERDROME

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The Monster Fest opening night is next Thursday, March 27, featuring the roller derby slasher, Murderdrome, live music from The Insinnerators, beverages from Howling Wolves Wine, Little Creatures Brewery and Pipsqueak Cider and pizza by Siena’s.

For tickets and info, head to lunapalace.com.au.

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SEE YOU IN THE FUNNY PAGES

FILM

The premier geek culture event on the Perth calendar, Oz Comic-Con, takes place at the Convention And Exhibition Centre on March 29-30. Guests this year include The Hobbit’s Stephen Hunter, Stargate SG-1’s Corin Nemec and Amanda Tapping, Doctor Who’s Billie Piper, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’s Nana Visitor, Charmed’s Shannon Doherty and Holly Marie Combs, Firefly’s Jewel Staite and more. Plus there’ll be the usual stalls, exhibitions, cosplay, fun and frivolity. For full details and tickets, head to ozcomiccon.com.

RIDE THE WHIRLWIND BONSOIR, LUNA! The 25th Alliance Francaise French Film Festival is on now, following Tuesday night’s gala opening screening of The Finishers. The festival continues at Cinema Paradiso, Luna On SX and Windsor Cinema until April 6 with a lineup that includes A Castle In Italy, Belle And Sebastian, Wrestling Queens, Venus In Fur and a retrospective on the great Francois Truffaut. For session times and tickets, go to lunapalace.com.au.

Belle And Sebastian, screening at the Alliance Francaise French Film Festival.

CHEFS HIT THE WEST

Taking place from April 1 - 5, the Hawaiian Ride For Youth sees over 100 riders pedal their way from Albany to Perth to raise money for Youth Focus to combat teen suicide. Since its inception in 2003, the Ride has raised north of $8.3 million, as well as raising awareness about mental health issues affecting Australian youth today. To help out or learn more, check out ridefroyouth.com.au.

MAGIC DANCE Los Angeles-based artist Ben Barretto is returning to his home town of Perth for Dance Music, an exclusive solo exhibition at Venn Gallery. Like his last Australian exhibition back in 2012, this show will contain Barretto’s popular textile works, which he calls “weaves,” as well as paintings. The exhibition runs from April 11 - May 16.

Go to venn.net for more.

The 2014 Variety Of Chefs Ball takes place in Crown Perth’s Grand Ballroom on Friday, April 11. Guests will enjoy canapés designed by Nobu Matsuhisa (of upscale sushi chain, Nobu) before settling in to a five course degustation consturcted by celebrity chefs Guillaume Brahimi, Peter Manifis, Stephen Clarke, Pat Cheong and Sean Marco. The evening is capped by a unique cocktail designed by mixologist Adam Keene. Funds will go towards Variety’s work for sick and disadvantaged children. For full details, go to varietyofchefs.com.au

HAPPY HAPPY, JOY JOY A collaboration between Edith Cowan University and the City Of Fremantle, The Happiness Project is a fresh initiative that aims to enhance happiness in the city.

Now, that may be a rather ephemeral goal, but the Design students of ECU are keen for the challenge, which will see them exploring urban issues that can be solved through anthropocentric design, encompassing such areas as health, economic environmental and social design. An exhibition of the resulting works will be held in July. For more information, go to ecu.edu.au.

THE FLEET’S IN TOWN Greg Fleet, that is. Tonight, Wednesday, March 19, Fleety will be pulling MC duties at The Laugh Resort.

Also on the bill is The Footy Show’s Jacques Barrett and Gary Sansome out of the UK. Tickets are available through thelaughresort.com.au.

Greg Fleet

OMAR Divided Attention Directed by Hany Abu-Assad Starring Adam Bakri, Leem Lubany Forced to jump the dividing wall every day to see friends and loved ones, Omar lives in the shadow of a divided Palestine: separated by walls, disputed by neighbouring territories, a hotbed for armed militia and frequently raided by Israeli forces. After being tricked into confessing to a crime, Omar is coerced into being a double agent for Israeli interests, but on which side do his loyalties ultimately lie and what is his end game?

Oscar-nominated director Hany AbuAssad (Paradise Now) brings us a beautifully shot and directed thriller, clearly showing a divided and occupied Palestine. Shot in varying locations (including the actual West Bank Barrier) he manages to stitch together a convincing sense of place. This scenery brings a sense of claustrophobia and clutter to a number of the film’s chase sequences, as well as giving an insight into those living there.

With a cast of mostly inexperienced unknowns, Omar manages to produce some outstanding performances. Adam Bakri manages to smoulder for most of the run with the low level hostility of a disaffected youth. As the titular character, it is his performance that drives the film and he feels especially real doing it. Leem Lubany gives him a remarkably sweet romantic lead to act against, but as the film progresses perhaps it might be too perfect to be believed. However Bakri’s most important foil is the one professional actor in the

film, Waleed Zuatier, as the Israeli agent that seeks to manipulate Omar. Bakri and Zuatier play a convincing game of cat and mouse that drives the thriller aspect of the plot.

It is that thriller plot that may be the most unsettling aspect of the film. Omar is a quagmire of divided loyalties and becomes swamped in ambiguities because of it. What the viewer perceives is figuratively dependant upon which side of the wall you fall upon. Are we seeing a movie glorifying a terrorist, upholding freedom fighters, or telling the struggles of youth in a desperate situation? Are either side’s actions justified given the nature of the tension, or is extremist behaviour of both sides leading to further conflict? As these conflicts fairly early in the piece fall into the realm of the personal as well as the political, then it becomes even more muddled. We are left questioning if Omar’s final actions are heroic, desperate, foolish or even effective. It is a Gordian knot, and it is not cut by the simple sharp retort that ends the film.

Omar will not spoonfeed its audience morality and that may sit uncomfortably with some.

What it does do is present a uniquely Palestinian view of the issues that grip their country, and a fairly solid thriller to boot.

DAVID O’CONNELL

Omar screens as part of The Lotterywest Festival Films season at Somerville from March 24 - 30. For more details, head to perthfestival.com.au.

FILM

I, FRANKENSTEIN Lifeless Litany Directed by Stuart Beattie Starring Aaron Eckhart, Yvonne Strahovski, Billy Nighy, Miranda Otto, Jai Courtney From the folks who brought us Underworld’s cod-gothic posturing and Tomorrow When The War Began’s shaky racial politics comes this half-baked urban fantasy that sees Frankenstein’s monster, Adam (Aaron Eckhart) drawn into a clandestine war between demons, led by a slumming Bill Nighy and gargoyles - who are actually angels - led by a slumming Mirando Otto. Caught in the middle is Yvonne Strahovski, playing the female lead from Blade.

Adapted from the graphic novel by Kevin Grevioux, who had a hand in Underworld and crops up in a major supporting role, there’s nothing too original going on here, with the film cribbing not so much from the titular literary source but from every modern dark fantasy flick of the past couple of decades. There’s a hidden world, a dark, rainy nameless city, a taciturn, brooding protagonist, anachronistic technology, a lot of martial arts action and Bruce Spence. Pretty much every element - with the exception of Spence, who is always worthwhile - fails to land with any impact.

The problem is twofold. Firstly, even by its own lights, the film is nonsensical, presenting a world which is completely lacking in internal logic. Gargoyles, for example, ascend to heaven in a beam of blinding light when they die, a phenomenon which goes wholly unnoticed by the human denizens of the city, despite the fact that the gargoyles die in their dozens (to be fair, there seem to only a dozen or so people who aren’t tied up in the film’s hoary hidden war plot). That’s dumb 14

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enough without considering the theological implications of a group who, knowing with absolute certainty that they’re bound for paradise, are still afraid of death. What are they not telling us about the afterlife?

That might have been forgivable if the film was much fun, but that’s the second fundamental flaw: it takes itself just so goddamn seriously, delivering the most woeful concepts and dialogue with absolute, po-faced sincerity. A sense of fun could have saved the proceedings, as it did with the just-as-silly Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, but apparently fighting demons while wearing a hoodie is srs bsns.

It’s a shame, because there’s some talent involved here. Aaron Eckhart is a dependably solid performer who does his best with the material he has to work with, and it’d be nice if Yvonne Strahovski managed find purchase on a post-Chuck career, but this effort does neither of them any favours. Nighy, on the other hand, phones in his standard evil mastermind performance, while Otto just seems faintly embarrassed by the whole affair. Jai Courtney, recently terrible in A Good Day To Die Hard and soon the be terrible in the Terminator reboot, merely glowers his way through the proceedings.

It’d take a considerably forgiving fantasy fan to find much to enjoy in I, Frankenstein. Best to just leave it on the slab.

TRAVIS JOHNSON

To read our interview with I, Frankenstein director Stuart Beattie, head to xpressmag.com.au.

FILM

CUBAN FURY Fat Footed Directed by James Griffiths Starring Nick Frost, Chris O’Dowd, Rashida Jones, Ian McShane, Olivia Coleman, Rory Kinnear Perennial Simon Pegg sidekick Nick Frost steps out from under his old mate’s shadow to take the lead in this amiable but unsurprising romantic comedy.

As a child, Bruce Garrett (Nick Frost) was a salsa dancing prodigy, until a pack of bullies beat the sequins and the love of dance out of him. Years later, he’s an overweight saddo who hasn’t slipped into a pair of salsa shoes in decades, until he learns that his drop dead gorgeous new boss, Julia (Rashida Jones) is a salsa fan. With the encouragement of his sister - and former dance partner - Sam (Olivia Colman) Bruce resolves to return to this dance floor in an effort to win Julia’s heart and defeat his professional and romantic rival, Drew (Chris O’Dowd).

Lacking much in the originality department, Cuban Fury gets by on charm. Frost, who originated the story, debut feature director James Griffiths and producer Nira Park, together with their cast, keep things quick and light, nimbly progressing the story to its obligatory happy ending. The script by television veteran Jon Brown wisely doesn’t rely solely on the comedy inherent of a guy Frost’s size going dancing (although it doesn’t shy away from it either) giving the

seasoned comedy cast plenty of ammo to work with.

O’Dowd in particular seems to relish the opportunity the play a complete bastard in the form of would-be alpha male Drew, but the MVP definitely goes to Ian McShane as Ron, Bruce’s surly, alienated former coach.

It’s worth noting that McShane is one of very few actors who could not only manage to make a salsa instructor intimidating, but to do so effortlessly.

Cuban Fury does lack the meticulous, layered structure, themes and humour of Frost’s work with Pegg and director Edgar Wright, so those expecting something along the lines of Shaun Of The Dead or The World’s End will be disappointed. This is much more middle of the road fare, aimed squarely at the broadest possible audience. The world of competitive salsa dancing might be ripe for a skewering, particularly when such an energetic example of Latin passion is placed in the contrasting milieu of the drab British hinterlands, but Cuban Fury’s heart is too big and too soft for that sort of thing.

A few third act issues aside, this is a warmly amusing, comfortable comedy, the kind of feel-good thing you can safely take an older relative along to, knowing you’ll both be entertained for 90-odd minutes.

Cuban Fury is almost certainly to find itself a regular slot in the Sunday afternoon movie rotation on TV, right alongside The Full Monty and Billy Elliot. Until then, if you find yourself with a spare couple of hours to kill, you could do a lot worse.

TRAVIS JOHNSON

To read out interview with Cuban Fury star Nick Frost, head to xpressmag.com.au.

FILM

WADJDA Bicycle Race Directed by Haifaa al-Mansour Starring Waad Mohammed, Reem Abdullah, Abdullrahman al-Guhani Having established herself with a trio of short subjects and the documentary, Women Without Shadows, Saudi filmmaker, Haifa al-Mansour, makes her fiction feature debut with this astute look at childhood under a strict religious regime.

The titular Wadjda (Waad Mohammed) is an 11-year-old girl living in the Saudi capital of Riyadh. She has friends, family, hopes dreams - just like any kid. One of those dreams is to own a green bicycle she sees in a shop every day while travelling to school, but Arabic cultural norms say girls aren’t allowed to ride bikes. Her best friend, Abdullah (Adullrahman al-Guhani) is sympathetic, letting her practice riding his bike, but her mother (Reem Abdullah) is too busy for such things, distracted as she is by the possibility that Wadjda’s father will take a second wife to provide him with a longed-for son.

Unperturbed, Wadjda determines to earn the money for the bike herself.

Wadjda the film, much like Wadjda the character, deals with issues of gender, class, oppression, conservatism and conformity but, although these elements drive the plot, they are largely backgrounded, with the main thrust of the

story being Wadjda’s universally understandable quest for her beloved bike. At times it’s an almost fable-like children’s tale; indeed, if you wanted to make a real reach for cross-cultural understanding, the differences between Wadjda’s green bicycle and A Christmas Story’s Red Ryder bb gun are, narratively speaking, negligible. The whole thing is held together by newcomer Waad Mohammed’s winning central performance as Wadjda, a shrewd, plucky character who negotiates the difficult cultural territory of Riyadh with courage and aplomb.

As a film, Wadjda marks a lot of firsts: it’s the first feature film entirely lensed in Saudi Arabia, not to mention the first feature directed by a female Saudi filmmaker - al-Mansour, infamously, had to direct a lot of the action from the back of a van when shooting on location, lest a woman be seen engaging in such a subversive act. Ironically and tragically, it’s probably not going to get much of a home crowd audience, given that cinemas have been forbidden in Saudi Arabia for some three decades. English-speaking audiences, on the other hand, may be put off by the inherited wisdom that Middle Eastern cinema is entirely dour, self-serious and opaque - a stereotype that al-Mansour’s film well and truly puts the lie to. It’s a shame, because what we have here is a warm and winning film with an utterly engaging protagonist.

For all it’s depictions of cultural oppression, Wadjda, is, at heart, a shamelessly optimistic and sunny work and is well worth seeking out.

TRAVIS JOHNSON

To read our interview with Wadjda director Haifaa al-Mansour, go to xpressmag.com.au.

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Floating Bits

VISUAL ARTS Unmasked: Moores Art Building A collaboration between local Fremantle artists, shedding light on the many masks we wear and what lies beneath them. Featuring work from David Vincent Maisano, Xavier Turisini, Junko Kitamura, Saschka, Luke Ey, David Spencer and more. It runs until March 30. Go to fac.org.au for further information.

Pop & Splat: Little Creatures Brewery An exhibition of works from Perth stencil artist I’m The Boss, presented by Gullotti Galleries. It runs from March 20 - April 14. Check out imtheboss.com. au for more.

Bali - Return Economy: Fremantle Arts Centre A diverse exhibition focusing on Australia’s relationship with Indonesia as well as showcasing pieces from some of the most extensive collections of Balinese art in Western Australia. It runs until March 27. Go to fac.org.au for details.

The Refusal Of Time: PICA This video and sculpture installation by William Kentridge sits at the crossroads of industrialisation and colonialism, combining theatre, drawing, music, film, dance and animation. Presented by PICA, Perth International Arts Festival and the Art Gallery Of Western Australia, it’s on display until April 27. Go to perthfestival.com.au for details.

Ukiyo-E - Japanese Prints Of The Floating World: Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery An exhibition of Japanese woodblock prints from the collection of Ronald and Catherine Berndt. It runs until June 28. Head over to lwgallery.uwa.edu. au for details.

Year 12 Perspectives: The Art Gallery Of Western Australia This annual exhibition of the best work that our graduating Year 12 arts students have to offer runs until May 5. Go to artgallery.wa.gov.au for further information.

Drawing Matters: Spectrum Project Space A collection of unique drawing works from artists Nola Farman, Marie Haass and Angela Stewart. It runs until March 21. Go to ecu.edu.au for more details.

Paco Peña Dance Company: Perth Concert Hall Flamencura, the latest production from flamenco legend Paco Peña, will be performed for one night only on Wednesday, April 2. For info and tickets, go to ticketek.com.au.

Fights And Flights: State Theatre Centre A stunning mixture of dance, theatre and kung fu from Steps Youth Dance Company. 65 performers, ranging in age from seven to 30, work together to celebrate the challenges and victories of life. It runs from May 10 - 11. For tickets and session times, go to ticketek.com.au.

MUSIC Silver Swans: Fremantle Arts Centre Presented by Tura New Music, cutting edge ensemble, Etica, will be presenting three new works in the FAC courtyard, including James Ledger’s Silver Swans, Chris Tonkin’s Transient States and Ross Edwards’ Laikan. Performance on April 10, tickets through oztix.com.au

FESTIVALS Alliance Francaise French Film Festival 2014 So Frenchy, so chic! The greatest Gallic film festival is just over the horizon, once again bringing Perth cineastes the finest of filmic treats. It runs at Cinema Paradiso until April 6. Go to affrenchfilmfestival.org for details.

Independent Theatre Festival: Subiaco Arts Centre Offering up great West Australian theatre and dance every Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday until April 12. Productions include The Guys, Dancers Speak Volumes, The Standover Man and more. Go to subiacoartscentre.com.au for more.

Monster Fest: Luna Outdoor This massive celebration of cult, horror and schlock takes over Luna Outdoor from March 21 - April 2.

Featuring the roller derby slasher flick, Murderdrome; lo-fi psychological thriller, Jugular; seductive vampire study Kiss Of The Damned and more! Head to lunapalace.com.au for tickets and session times.

Encounters: Heathcote Museum And Gallery Nidia Hansen’s examination of the shifting point where raw materials are transformed into art runs until April 6. Hansen works in wood veneer, paper and canvas to construct minimalist, organic shapes, geometric patterns and other objects. Go to melvillecity.com.au for more.

Awoke In Light: Buratti Fine Art Jason Benjamin’s new exhibition of alluring, modern neoclassical paintings opens March 27. Go to buratti. com.au for further details.

Floating Bits: Linton & Kay Galleries This new exhibition by twin brother photographers Ian and Erick Regnard is a series of stunning black and white underwater images that contrasts the need for solitude with the feeling of lurking otherness. It runs from April 9 - 23. Go to lintonandkay.com.au for further information.

THEATRE/DANCE/ PERFORMANCE A Streetcar Named Desire: State Theatre Centre Sigrid Thornton stars as Blanche DuBois in Black Swan State Theatre Company’s production of Tennessee William’s classic tale of delusion and desire until April 6. Head to bsstc.com.au for session times and tickets.

Green Porno: Perth Concert Hall Isabella Rossellini presents her new, wonderfully weird, one-woman stage show for one night only on Wednesday, March 19. Screen icon Rossellini takes us on a strange journey through the mating habits of a variety of terrestrial and aquatic animals, which should prove interesting. For info and tickets, head to ticketek.com.au.

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Fights and Flights

To have your performance, exhibition or cultural event listed, get in touch via

localmusicarts@xpressmag.com.au For more Art Stories head to

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Dutch drum’n’bass trio Black Sun Empire begin work on another album and prepare to bring their Blackout club night to Perth this Friday, March 21 at Metro City - playing with Shapeshifter, Dillinja and Royalston. TOM KITSON chats with member, Micha Heyboer, about keeping their roots underground.

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A drummer as a kid with a physics teacher and computer-enthusiast for a dad, Heyboer found a passion for computer generated music, eventually forming Black Sun Empire with his brother Milan and their friend Rene Verdult.

“My brother and I were in the same drum class and then we met Rene in high school,” he says of their beginning. “We started playing around with synthesizers and that was when electronic music became really big with guys like Underworld and The Chemical Brothers. We were all surprised by drum’n’bass when we first heard it, so it was kind of natural to start making it since we all have similar

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tastes and don’t have to force each other to like something.”

Growing up in the dawning of breakbeat and drum’n’bass was the inspiration, but when jungle came around, Heyboer says the guys were hooked.

“Music has always been a big passion of mine,” he explains.

“Going out to concerts and dancing was a hobby that turned into something else. We were into a lot of the techno music coming out at the time, when genres weren’t as defined as they are today.

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Continued from cover.

“We’ve always loved many different genres, especially breakbeat and drum’n’bass, which were totally new then.”

Despite releasing five albums and in the planning stages of a sixth, the trio have found ways to keep things interesting and not lose touch with their roots remaining in the underground.

“I’m doing a side project at the moment, which is progressive techno, and we’ve been making a lot of different types of music lately,” he says. “It’s normal for us to draw on different genres.”

Always preferring to spend time on a full album project rather than throwing out regular singles online, Heyboer says that’s been a vital aspect of their creative process and they’ve found other ways to remain relevant.

“We don’t really make hits - it’s more the underground stuff we try and do, so we definitely favour the album format rather than releasing singles,” he says. “This way you have a whole story to tell rather than just one radio single, and we enjoy working on a whole project requiring artwork, touring and music videos.

“If we made music like Wilkinson or Chase & Status it might be better to release singles, but we see making albums as the way to go with the music we make.”

Rarely playing out together and each having separate studios, begs the question of maintaining an equal relationship where each member can contribute at the right times. But Heyboer says the bond formed over years and a similar taste in music, allows for tracks and projects to form through three minds, despite distance or practicality.

“In our DJ sets we don’t play together that

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often and even when we don’t communicate about what we’re playing at different locations, we seem to play the same music. I guess we’re on the same wavelength!” he laughs.

It will just be Micha heading to Metro City for Blackout this time around, and he’s quick to assure that he’s got quite a few test tracks from the next album to play, along with music from other artists on their Blackout label.

“You have to keep challenging yourself so for us, the Blackout club nights are not so much about staying viable business wise, it’s more about just keeping ourselves interested in making music,” he explains.

“The label was previously called Black Sun Empire Records, but we changed it to Blackout to help other artists benefit and not have to be directly associated with our name.

“It’s exciting times with the label, which is mostly drum’n’bass focused at the moment, with parties and merchandise going really well,” he says.

“Our artists seem to be happy so that’s good!”

According to Heyboer drum’n’bass is healthy in The Netherlands having been there as long as other genres, just perhaps keeping a lower profile and being more about the quality rather than quantity of artists or output produced.

Pencilling in their next album for release in early 2015, Heyboer in confident the trio’s method of production will continue to result in music that all three of them are proud of and inspired to create.

“We started off using one studio, but now we have three, and we don’t always perform together, but it still works fine with each of us having input on Black Sun Empire tracks,” he explains of their working arrangement. “The only rule we have is that we all have to like it!”

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YE OLDE BLIGHTY

BRO TIME

UK drum’n’bass heavyweights, DJ Hype and Funsta MC plus Loadstar are joining forces for a show at Villa on Saturday, April 12. DJ Hype was an early DJ on London’s pirate station, Fantasy FM and he’s been on the international circuit since the early ‘90s.

These days he’s regularly smashing up dancefloors at the monthly Playaz night at Fabric. Xample and Lomax aka Loadstar, have now fused together their individual styles, creating energy and impeccable musical precision. Support on the night comes from Gran Calavera, Terrence & Phillip and Spillage. Get your tickets from Moshtix.

Electro party siblings, Bombs Away are returning to Perth to play a show at The Deen on Saturday, March 29. This duo outta Gold Coast via Perth (and now the world) are the #1 artist in Australia (according to The DJ List) with their massive club hits, Party Bass and Supersoaker, but it’s their track, Big Booty Bitches, which perhaps best sums up the vibe of this duo. Oh and if posting your favourite ‘booty’ pic online sounds like your thang - head to the Facebook event page and you and a friend (and your butt) could win VIP treatment, which includes a ride ‘round town with these bros. Sounds like fun, right? Get yours tickets from Moshtix.

Loadstar

Bombs Away

BETTER TOGETHER Two local guys who made friends in high school, Leonidas and The Corynthian have got together to make a hip hop/soul album called Make The Most.

Leonidas honed his lyrical skills through “practice and perfection” and has performed with the likes of Wu-Tang, Onyx and De La Soul, to name just a few. While The Corynthian aka Coryn has also been performing all over the country, and now the two of them (together) will perform for you, when they launch their album at the Rocket Room on Friday, April 4 with friends, The Pantheon Vanguard, Paulie P, Soma, Mello D, Azmatik and Karcus & DJ Defyre.

Tickets on the door for $15 from 8.30pm.

UK party-beats-master, Krafty Kuts is heading all the way back to Perth to celebrate Villa’s fifth birthday and you’re invited. The man in question has been voted ‘best DJ’ five times (so far) in the Breakspoll Awards and there’s been way too many remixes, albums, compilations, collaborations and singles to mention here. Guests on the night include Black & Blunt, Beatslappaz and Miss Demeanour. Get your tickets now via Moshtix.

Leonidas and The Corynthian

Krafty Kuts

K-K-K-KRAFTY!

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OUT OF 5

YOUNG FATHERS

SIETTA

Dead Big Dada/Inertia

The Invisible River Elefant Traks/Inertia

Hailing from Edinburgh by way of Liberia and Nigeria, Young Fathers come out hard on No Way, the lead track from their debut album. It’s all off kilter bleeps, a militant drum line, and raps that are spat out with a real sense of urgency. From there, the track finds itself an anthemic hook with layers of chanting vocals, finally wearing itself out with a meandering synth solo. A powerful opening, but not necessarily indicative of the remainder of the album. There’s a lot of influences here, and while they fit nicely alongside Big Dada’s other hip hop skewing artists, it seems like these guys may be aiming more for your festival sing-along’s than rugged headphone and hoody material. There’s nothing wrong with that of course, but it’s ultimately less engaging than it should be. The album cruises along for its 11 tracks, mashing elements of trip hop and dub with vocals belying an African influence at times, and some stadium rap choruses at others. When they really dial it down, some of the beats are almost ambient affairs, such as the vaguely witch house-y track, Hangman. These aren’t songs that will jump out at you, but you may find them worming their way into your brain later on.

Sietta’s second release, could be summed up as half a shout out to those super cool R&B girl groups of the mid to late ‘90s and half deep, electro soul delivered straight to anyone perplexed with, well, love. There’s some wonderful cheeky throwbacks to that fun period where uber-confident, sassy young ladies were dominating the commercial airwaves. Perhaps the downfall of some of those artists was their failure to adapt to new sounds and expand their musical horizons and, The Invisible River is the positive evolution of those sounds, meaning it’s not just a good time party record. There’s some moody downbeat tunes thrown in and the partnership with producer James Mangohig is a good one. It gives some of the tunes an edge that may not have otherwise been there, through minimal beats for those who dig a sprinkle of electronic on their soul. The tracks revolve around vocalist Caiti Baker’s confident range which, it has to be said, is smooth as. Lyrically, this record has all the classic subject matter including breakups, dating, friendship, yearning, and its associated struggles. All-inall a confident, diverse album in a genre that can always do with some fresh interpretations.

NICK SWEEPAH

JAMIE MACDONALD

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ATB Contact Central Station/Universal German producer, Andre Tanneburger who goes by the stage name ATB and is known for his work in trance over a 15-year period, releases his ninth studio album. The two-disc, 26 track record; consists of about half collaborative tracks with artists like JES, Boss and Swan and JanSoon, and half solo releases. He draws heavily on the soulful voices of 18

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his featured artists, slowing the tempo and moving towards a still synth-based, but calm and reflective mode. Constructed over a three year stretch, ATB describes Contact as an exchange of emotions and energy, reflecting the vibe of his live performances where he intends to bring the meaning of the music to another level. The tracks on this record are not noticeable standout hits, or designed to be so, more a celebration of the emotional capabilities of electronic music in the chosen direction of an artist with an enormous back catalogue. Now Or Never featuring vocalist JanSoon is one such uplifting, trance derivative and piano-driven number with a simplicity to keep it from standing out, but with an intention to appeal to listeners heartstrings most importantly. Title track Contact carries on the same mood, steadily pushing through a progressive house melody accented with piano and never overdoing it.

TOM KITSON

JACKAL Fresh Sounds Mikey Pennington aka Jackal is just starting out as a trap producer, but he’s already achieved heights many can only dream of, with his tunes being played by the likes of Diplo and Skrillex. Catch him in Perth along with ETC!ETC! and Spenda C this Saturday, March 22 at Villa. Meanwhile, TOM KITSON discovers an odd formula for one of his tunes.

UK born and now Toronto-based, Pennington has only released a handful of tracks and played a small number of shows, owing most of his profile to the internet. Being named as one of Run The Trap’s ‘artists to watch in 2014’ has led to a spike of interest from producers he’d idolised and opportunities to take advantage of.

“I remember wanting to just have a mention in that blog before I got any recognition, so it’s so cool to see people are hyped to hear new stuff from me,” he says. “Some of my all time favourite artists now follow me and have been in touch, which to me is the best recognition you can get.”

Currently working through a pile of unfinished tracks, possibly an EP and looking ahead to a collaboration with Canadian producer, Grandtheft from Mad Decent, Pennington says he goes for the biggest and weirdest sounds possible to start with.

“I love trying to make the biggest sounding tracks possible,” he explains. “I think the way I work is pretty weird; I usually change things around like 1000 times before I can be happy with something.”

Two of his best received tunes, Shakedown and Power Move were based on this principle, and he has a quirky description of the main idea behind the latter.

“I just wanted to make the weirdest sound I possibly could with Power Move, which was essentially breakbeat, Biggie (aka The Notorious B.I.G.) and dolphins on crack,” he says.

The party vibe is clearly essential to Pennington’s music, something inspired by the likes of Skrillex, Baauer and the freshness of the trap sound.

“Skrillex is one of the biggest influences in my life, he really made me take electronic music seriously,” he says. “I get a lot of inspiration from Baauer’s music and how he takes a random sample and makes a whole track out of it; that’s so creative. Trap was a fresh sound - I remember my friend showing me the TNGHT EP and it blew my mind!” he says.

Yet to play in a festival atmosphere, he’s been enjoying small and intimate crowds which he says his music is designed for.

“When I make music I’m usually picturing a small, sweaty, dank room with everyone just going crazy in it,” he says.

Impressed by artists like What So Not and Mr. Carmack who go after similar vibes at live shows, Pennington has a clear direction he wants to take music on. On his career highlights so far, Jackal’s quick to mention the first time he saw his idols, Skrillex and Diplo play his tracks live.

“I couldn’t tell you how stoked I was when I saw those clips on YouTube,” he says. “And this Australian tour too - if you told me I’d be touring Australia this time last year, I wouldn’t have believed you.”

CATLIPS Big Bang Theory Ahead of her appearance at RTRFM’s Full Frequency Presents: Go Bang at Flyrite on Friday, March 21, Katie Campbell aka Catlips talks TROY MUTTON through killer Boiler Room sets and Perth’s producer scene.

‘There’s something in the water’ is a phrase often thrown at WA in regards to its rich pool of bands and high quality indie rock scene, and it’s fast becoming applicable to an equally deep pool of super talented young producers making waves nationally and abroad.

Recent WAAPA graduate Katie Campbell, under the stage name Catlips, is another who can comfortably be added to that list, offering a twisted take on house that is as hard to define as it is exciting to listen to.

“I’d say the warped element (of my music) comes from me taking really specific little devices from various genres and particular tracks; things I like the most and working them into my own tracks. I find the musicians I’m constantly looking to include Nicolas Jaar, Four Tet, Isaac Tichauer, Sound Stream and Motor City Drum Ensemble to name a few, as well as taking a lot of rhythmic inspiration from Chicago house and disco.”

And like some of those world renowned artists, Campbell can now add herself to the list of musicians who’ve featured on the influential internet live streaming music project, Boiler Room. Recently joining Perth acts such as D.Y.P, Sable and Hugo Gerani, Catlips’ set was broadcast live to thousands across the world.

“Yeah Boiler Room was definitely a highlight – I just had so much fun during the set, I got to test out

a bunch of new tracks, which really went off, so that was exciting and the crowd really made it, including glitter bombing me numerous times.”

Along with those artists, there’s a host of up-and-coming producers that has Campbell excited about our corner of the world. “…There are so many good producers and DJs which makes it so much better to make music yourself if you have a strong community supporting you. Laura Lowther has been working hard on a bunch of new Kučka stuff which is sounding really sick so I’m excited about that, also Atripat… I’d also love all the members of MmHmMm to come back and release some material because they really excite me. And Basic Mind. 10/10.”

Those who tuned in to the Boiler Room set, have seen Catlips supporting artists such as Daedelus, or caught her recent Melbourne tour will know she’s running a whole bunch of gear onstage, crafting engaging live sets.

“For most shows I run my laptop using Ableton which holds all my cut up tracks that I trigger live on an APC40, allowing me to change up structures and improvise with different effects. I then play a bunch of samples on Native Instruments Maschine, mainly my vocals or main song elements. Then my laptop is also running Max/MSP/Jitter or Max For Live, which contains my visual programming and reacts to my audio cues from Ableton in order to produce in-sync live visuals that are projected.”

After we see her on the Full Frequency Presents: Go Bang lineup, Campbell is looking forward to more shows, locking down some writing time ahead of potential overseas travels, and some special collaborations. “I do have a few very special collaborations in the works with a good friend of mine… although I can’t tell you about that because we keep it secret until performance date.”

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B E AT S

CAUSEWAY

BEHIND THE DECKS

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NEWS

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INTERVIEWS

WED 19/03 Best track to open and close a set with? Hot Dub Time Machine always opens with Rock Around The Clock and generally finishes with a big sing-a-long encore like Hey Jude, or Bohemian Rhapsody.

Favourite new track? I really like Lorde. I’m always 12 months behind; songs need to be proven classics before they make it into Hot Dub. Weirdest tune you’ve ever played? I like cheesy TV show themes like Full House, Perfect Strangers and Baywatch.

Describe your genre in a few words? Every genre. We start in the ‘50s at the birth of rock’n’roll, then party through ‘60s rock, ‘70s disco, ‘80s awesomeness, ‘90s grunge, rave, hip hop and 2000’s party music. It’s a musical journey through time.

Quick overview of your year so far? The year started on the main stage at Falls Festival in Byron which was my first big outdoor festival, then we sold out the Sydney Festival Spiegeltent in record time, supported Chaka Khan in front of 30,000 in the Domain, sold out at the Perth and Adelaide Fringe Festivals, and now I need a nap but we’re going on tour around the country!

SALT NIGHTS OUT

Most life changing musical moment? Watching Andrew McClelland DJ in Melbourne. I realised how much more fun it was to watch a DJ really rock out and enjoy the music.

Raddest DJ trick? My dancing during Milkshake.

What’s next on the cards? An awesome tour around the country... then over to the UK for their summer! I spend half the year playing over there and it’s different but wonderful.

Anything else you’d like to tell us? Hot Dub Time Machine is quite literally, the Best. Party. Ever.

Hot Dub Time Machine plays Metropolis Fremantle on Friday, April 4 and Capitol, Perth on Saturday, April 5.

Vibe? The new home of hip hop in Perth featuring the best in DJing, MCing and B-boying, where newcomers can learn about real hip hop culture and older heads can share knowledge What can we expect to hear? The best of real hip hop and rap music, old and new, turntablism and MCing.

Next lineup? Kid Tsunami, DJ Kaotik, DJ Pawel and special guest DJ Zeke (2x DMC Champion).

You should attend if... you want something more. Real hip hop is not on commercial radio or TV, and if you want to be part of a new, exciting hip hop community.

Answered by Kid Tsunami

Anything you else you want to tell us? Kid Tsunami is a Zulu Nation member, so please respect the venue, yourselves and each other, and remember to show love, peace, unity and have fun. Keep your ears and minds open.

When and where? Wednesday’s fortnightly from March 19 at YaYa’s.

Foundation is on fortnightly beginning this Wednesday, March 19 at YaYa’s. $10 entry.

Zeke

FOUNDATION

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REVIEWS

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EVENTS

AMPLIFIER/ CAPITOL

METROPOLIS FREMANTLE

Tools of your trade? Serato, Technics 1200s, Rane mixers, Coopers Pale Ale.

HOT DUB TIME MACHINE

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AMPLIFIER Academy THE BEAT (DOWNSTAIRS) Street THE BIRD TW!ST Land Of 1000 Dances ft.

Tia Maria BRASS MONKEY Vicktor Burlesque CAPITOL (UPSTAIRS) Harlem’s Broke Ass Wednesday Genga Philly Blunt JS Peter Payne CAPTAIN STIRLING Lokie Shaw CLUB RED SEA Cheek - Strangers Kiss THE DEEN Manic Mondays DEFECTORS BAR Highlands ft.

Micah Mo’Fly Dueler GOLD BAR Famous THE GOOD SHEPHERD Thinkfar GROOVE BAR (CROWN) 5 Shots HIP-E CLUB DJ E-Funk LAKERS TAVERN Grizzly LLAMA BAR Akuna Club METRO FREO Next Gen MUSTANG BAR PUMP DJ Giles NEWPORT HOTEL Newport Wednesdays PIRATE BAR American Beer night THE SHED DJ Dylan SOVEREIGN ARMS FIVEO VILLAGE BAR Village People Wednesdays YAYA’S Foundation Opening Night!

THURS 20/03 BRASS MONKEY Karaoke THE CAUSEWAY Xport Thursdays THE CLAREMONT HOTEL Institution Thursdays ft.

DJ Pup B-Fix

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CLUB RED SEA Thursday Night Revolution CONNECTIONS Bingay THE CRAFTSMAN J!mmy Beats THE DEEN Chase The Sun Thursdays DJ Don Migi Nano Surge EVE NIGHTCLUB Retro Thursdays ft. EVE DJ Team GOLD BAR OG Thursdays LEISURE INN DJ Peta LOST SOCIETY The Collective MUSTANG BAR DJ James MacArthur THE SHED Midnight Ramblers

FRI 21/03 AMBAR YAYO ft.

Bazil Zemplys Bolsty Joe Macc Beecroft Sux Pussy Mittens SNB AMPLIFIER Fridays Are Back ft.

Edwardo Norton THE AVIARY Paradise Paul Troy Division THE BAKERY A1 Bassline & Morri$ THE BAYSWATER Mario Zuli THE BEAT (DOWNSTAIRS) PLAY THE BIRD Methyl Ethel Leure Gilbert Fawn THE BRASS MONKEY James Ess & Green George THE BRIGHTON DJ Peta C5 METRO FREO Fresco Flow ft.

Surge Don Migi Nano CAPITOL Illy I Love 80’s & 90’s ft.

DJ Tucker CAPITOL (UPSTAIRS) I Love 90’s CAPTAIN STIRLING Tom Piper THE CARINE J!mmy Beats THE COMO Moe-Hee-Toe THE CRAFTSMAN Dazman

DAILY PLANET Sundowner Sessions THE DEEN Student Night EVE NIGHTCLUB Recharge Fridays FLAWLESS Monarch Fridays FLYRITE GO BANG! Henry Maxwell Atripat Ben M & Rok Riley Catlips Underground Sound Solution System 420 Crew Wooshie GEISHA BAR Cult ft.

Henry Gillett Allstate JDubz vs James A Phil Airey GINGER NIGHTCLUB Mondo Dance PARTY GEISHA BAR Habitat ft.

Mat. Joe Deep Under SmitLer Tom Love THE GEORGE NDORSE GOLD BAR Vanity THE GOOD SHEPHERD Throwback Fridays GROOVE BAR (CROWN) Tod Johnston Peace Love DJ Crazy Craig HIP-E CLUB DJ E-Funk LAKERS TAVERN Grizzly LEISURE INN Miss Chief LIBRARY Sneaky LLAMA BAR Honey ft.

Kyte Kutter S-man Brett Costello Dannyboi Rony Ronald MALT Nu Disco Hip Hop METRO CITY Blackout ft.

Shapeshifter Black Sun Empire Dillinja Royalston METRO FREO Say Cheese! ft.

DJ Wazz MINT Club Retro MUSTANG BAR DJ James MacArthur MY PLACE Karaoke PARAMOUNT Paramount Party Crew

PARKER Blowout PLAYERS Hooch & Die High ft All Day, Paces & More THE QUEENS Philly Blunt & DJ Reuben THE SAINT Dylan Carter THE SHED Crush SOVEREIGN ARMS DJ Az-T VELVET LOUNGE Black & Blunt Roxright Tom Drummond VILLA Swagger Launch!

WHALE & ALE Danny B YAYA’S ACE Fridays

SAT 22/03 399 Beatles Vs. Stones AMBAR Alley Out! ft.

Benny P Bezwun Blend BMB Bunj DNGRFLD Easy P Genga Micah AMPLIFIER Pure Pop Ft. Electric Eddie THE AVIARY NDORSE Hykus Zel AVENUE Lokie Shaw THE BALMORAL Back To The 80’s BAR ORIENT The Reggae Club BEAT NIGHTCLUB (UPSTAIRS) CANVAS BRASS MONKEY DJ Peta & Grizzly THE BRIGHTON Miss Chief C5 METRO FREO I Love 80’s & 90’s DJ Wazz DJ Shane CAPITOL Death Disco ft.

Death Disco DJs Cream of the 80s ft. DJ Roger Smart CAPITOL (UPSTAIRS) Cream of the 80’s ft.

DJ Roger Smart THE CAUSEWAY House Party THE COMO Jay Lee Lloyd THE CORNERSTONE Sonny THE DEEN Saturdays

DEFECTORS BAR Future Wives Club EAST END BAR Home FLAWLESS LQ Saturdays FLYRITE Father Jerseys & Cheerleaders GEISHA BAR Mat.Joe THE GENEROUS SQUIRE Definutly GOLD BAR Pure Gold THE GOOD SHEPHERD Chocolate Jesus THE GRAND Jay Mackay GROOVE BAR (CROWN) Easy Tigers Hero DJs HIP-E CLUB DJ E-Funk LIBRARY MKT LLAMA BAR Laundry ft.

George Mair Neil Viney NDORSE LOST SOCIETY Chalk METRO CITY The Twins & Jane Daffy METRO FREO Metropolis Saturday’s ft. Mr T, Dr Wazz, Ben C, DJ Shane MUSTANG BAR Rockabilliy DJ DJ James MacArthur NEWPORT HOTEL Gravity DJ Tahli Jade DJ Tom Drummond PARKER Parker Saturdays ft.

Micah Simon Paiker Jackness Chiari ACEBASIK PARAMOUNT Saturday Nights ft.

Felix PEEL ALEHOUSE Squinty THE QUEENS Jon Ee & Kenny L THE SAINT Dazman THE SHED Huge SOVEREIGN ARMS Moe-Hee-Toe WHALE & ALE Julio VELVET LOUNGE LYTS LP Launch WISDOM2TH DJ Tomas Ford DJ Travis Doom

DJ Jessica Kill DJ Petro Sex T-RETS LOWASKI VILLA ETC!ETC! Jackal Spenda C Killafoe WHALE & ALE Julio YAYA’S Arcadia

SUN 23/03 THE AVIARY Rooftop Sessions ft. Jackie Onassis The Brow Coin Banks x Marksman NDORSE THE BAKERY Baths BOB’S BAR Lancelot CLAREMONT HOTEL Sunday Driver CONSERVATORY ROOFTOP BAR Patrick Topping DEFECTORS BAR Blue Beat Special DJs Razor Lady Carla FLYRITE Day-Woo MUSTANG BAR DJ Holly Doll THE QUEENS Fiveo & Sam Spencer THE ROSEMOUNT (BEER GARDEN) The Get Down ft.

Charlie Bucket Klean Kicks Nick Sheppard THE SAINT Tom Piper, Jon Ee & Az-T THE SHED The Healy’s Renogade

MON 24/03 BRASS MONKEY Monkey Madness THE DEEN Manic Mondays THE ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Bex & Turin’s Wide Open Mic THE SHED The Healy’s YAYA’S Big Tommo’s Open Mic

TUES 25/03 THE BIRD The Bird’s Open Mic Night BRASS MONKEY Acoustic Open Mic Night MUSTANG BAR Danza Loca Salsa Night

Deadline Monday 5pm. The Club Manual is a service to advertisers listing all DJs & Dance Music. All inclusions are at the discretion of X-Press. Email guide@xpressmag.com.au

DELICIOUS @ ROCKET ROOM

CAPITOL

THIS WEEK CHRISTIAN PIERS 20 The Bird A1 BASSLINE & MORRI$ 21 The Bakery

MINISTRY OF SOUND CLUBBERS GUIDE TO 2014 ft. Ember & Joel Fletcher 29 Villa

APRIL

BLACKOUT ft.

Black Sun Empire, Shapeshifter, Dillinja & more 21 Metro City

VENGEANCE w/ Philly Blunt, Axen, MR.eD 4 Ambar

ILLY 21 Capitol

THE BLU-V PARTY 4 Metro Freo

RTRFM’S GO BANG! 21 Flyrite

SAMUEL TRUTH & FUNK BASTRD 4 Flyrite

ALLEY OUT! AMBAR 13TH BIRTHDAY 22 Ambar

HOT DUB TIME MACHINE 4 Metropolis Fremantle 5 Capitol

MAT.JOE 22 Geisha THE TWINS & JANE DAFFY 22 Metro City

A$AP FERG 5 The Bakery DUB FX & OPIUO 5 Villa

ETC!ETC!, JACKAL & SPENDA C 22 Villa

ART VS SCIENCE 5 Amplifier Bar

BATHS 23 The Bakery

CHICKS ON SPEED 5 Fremantle Arts Centre

JACKIE ONASSIS 23 Aviary Rooftop

NEKO PLANET 9 The Bakery

CLUB PARADISO DEEP HOUSE SESSIONS ft. Patrick Topping 23 Conservatory Rooftop Bar

LIMELITE ft. Peking Duk 11 Parker

THE SUNRISE BOAT PARTY 23 secret location HABITAT ROOFTOP PARTY #4 ft Lancelot 23 Bob’s Bar

MARCH EDU IMBERNON 28 Geisha CHRIS LORENZO 28 Ambar

YAYA’S

ELIZABETH ROSE, SAFIA, FISHING 11 Amplifier 12 Mojos DEADBOY 12 The Bakery DJ HYPE & FUNSTA MC, LOADSTAR 12 Villa THIEF 12 Amplifier 13 Newport Hotel KILLSWITCH ENGAGE 16 Metro City

MOSCA 28 The Bakery

EASTER BOUNCE ft.

Kid Kenobi 17 Parker

BOMBS AWAY 29 The Deen

BAM BAM & SAVO 19 Amplifier

Wooshie

RTRFM’s Full Frequency Presents: Go Bang!

FRIDAY, MARCH 21 @ FLYRITE DELTA HEAVY 20 Villa

THE CARNEVALE ft. The Martinez Brothers 27 The Causeway

LIMELITE 7TH BIRTHDAY ft.

LORDE Cedric Gervais, John 29 Challenge Dahlback, Sebastien Stadium (all ages) Leger 24 Capitol & Amplifier WHY MAKE SENSE ft. Rustie, T.Williams, New York Transit Authority & Nightwave 24 Port Beach Sand Tracks, Fremantle FAR TOO LOUD 25 Ambar WILD FOR THE NIGHT ft. Ashton Shuffle 25 Parker

MAY OSCAR KEY 1 The Bird DJ PREMIER & PETE ROCK 1 Capitol KANYE WEST 2 Perth Arena

BLISS N ESO, HORRORSHOW, SETH SENTRY 2 Signal Park, THE ASTON SHUFFLE Busselton 3 Wellington Square (DJ set) 25 Parker HUXLEY 3 Geisha VILLA’S 5TH BIRTHDAY ft. Krafty ARMADA NIGHT ft.

Kuts Andrew Rayel, Jorn 26 Villa Van Deynhoven & Marlo HARDSTRAYLIA ft.

Clockwork, Destructo, 3 Metro City Oliver, Motez THUNDAMENTALS 27 Port Beach Sand 8 Flyrite Tracks, Fremantle

Jurassic 5. Photo by Ari Yeung

THE PRESETS, WORDLIFE, DJ BENI 8 Capitol

JURASSIC 5

VANCE JOY & GOSSLING 8 The Bakery

Back to the golden era

HOLY FUCK 8 The Rosemount 9 The Odd Fellow DISCLOSURE 9 Metro City 10 Groovin’ The Moo, Hay Park, Bunbury GROOVIN THE MOO ft. Disclosure, Dizzee Rascal, Holy Fuck, Illy & more 10 Hay Park, Bunbury ELLIE GOULDING 28 Challenge Stadium RÜFÜS 30 Players Bar 31 Fremantle Arts Centre

JUNE THE PRESETS (with the Australian Chamber Orchestra) 4 Concert Hall

The Stoops, Angry Buda, Jurassic 5 @ Metro City Friday, March 14, 2014 Formed in the mid-’90s thriving, melting pot of LA, Jurassic 5 were born when two separate hip hop groups united. They met at the legendary Good Life Café, which hosted an open mic night that gave seed to a whole new movement focussed on real hip hop and lyricism. It was a nurturing atmosphere that encouraged creativity and positivity in a post-NWA world.

Over 12 years and four albums the group embarked on a mission to bring back that old school sound. But in 2007 they decided to call it a day; that is until last year’s unexpected reformation at Coachella.

Since then J5 fans have been waiting and on Friday night they returned to blow away a sold out Metro’s crowd.

The Stoops scored the opening slot. This talented young Perth act were a good support with their fresh take on old school hip hop. After DJ Arms In Motion warmed things up with a few tunes, MCs Roc Walla and Pronto took to the stage and busted out some rhymes in front of the huge crowd. Angry Buda followed up with a great selection of classic hip hop cuts mixed with style to prime the crowd.

Coming on later than scheduled, Jurassic 5 finally emerged - DJs Cut Chemist and Nu-Mark took their positions and dropped the beat. Bursting on stage with Back 4 You, the first track off their last album, one by one the MCs took the stage as their verses came up.

First, Soup aka Zaakir, then Chali 2na, Marc 7 and finally

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Akil. From there on it was a rollercoaster ride through their entire back catalogue. I Am Somebody and Break saw the boys locked in tight harmony.

The DJs had their moment in the spotlight as the inventive duo pulled out all sorts of toys, strapping on turntables and drum machines, scratching, triggering beats and samples - even working together to scratch on the giant turntable at the back of the stage that had looked like a prop.

Soup returned, announcing they were gonna take us back to 2000, launching into Quality Control, before going back further to their eponymous ’98 debut with Concrete Schoolyard.

The set built and built with big tracks like If You Only Knew and High Fidelity, even Chali 2na’s track Comin’ Thru. Party jams like Baby Please, Gotta Understand and Thin Line, really got the crowd moving, and their anthem Freedom had everyone raising their fists in the air in solidarity.

They left the stage to deafening applause, but were soon back, Akil sincerely stating, ‘This right here is what we do this for. Thank you.’ The encore featured A Day At The Races, before which charismatic big man Chali asked everyone to ‘mount their motorcycles’, demonstrating, complete with sound effects.

There was only one song missing… They jokingly dismissed requests, but after teasing us a little, finally dropped What’s Golden, sounding bigger and better than ever. Tonight J5 proved they can still rock the mic as well as anyone. Masters of their craft, they’re a joy to witness. This was real hip hop not that club bullshit, taking you back to the golden era when hip hop was all about wordplay, not how much bitches and bling you have or how much YOLO. Welcome back boys!

ALFRED GORMAN

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LOCAL NEWS

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INTERVIEWS

NINE INCH NAILS/ QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE

REVIEWS

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Q & A

NEIL FINN Joshua James Perth Concert Hall Sunday, March 16, 2014 Neil Finn was last seen ‘round our way in January helping locals Pond haul their amps off stage at Southbound and is currently doing a victory lap of theatres and halls on the back of his very good indeed new album Dizzy Heights. There must be a great deal of head scratching when it comes to picking a set list.

If songwriting comes easy to the younger Finn, there lies a greater challenge picking which songs to perform from a close to 40 year career.

A relative unknown in this country, Nebraskan singer-songwriter Joshua James played a 30 minute opening set featuring highlights from his previous four studio albums. Accompanied by long time accomplice Evan Coulombe, the duo immediately warmed to the audience with their folk tinged country songs. A touching version of the George Jones standard “Choices” closed out their brief set in sublime fashion.

Opening with two tracks from the album Dizzy Heights, Impressions and Better Than TV, Neil and his newly minted six piece band (half of whom look fresh out of high school) proceeded to dip into every corner of his catalogue over the next two hours.

Split Enz were represented early with One Step Ahead.

A Countdown favourite for many in the crowd and a song which has stood the test of time greater than other new wave hits from that era. Following swiftly

Brody Dalle Perth Arena Tuesday, March 11. 2014 Well, just imagine the response if this tour had come through in the late ‘90s, hey? Never mind, the crowd seemed happy with the result despite the 15 year gap between 2014 and actual pop culture relevancy, with many pouring into the Perth Arena the second the gates were thrown wide. That gave support act Brody Dalle a strong audience, even if their key motivation was to secure their place at the foot of the stage for the later performance by her husband, Josh Homme, or his sparring partner, Trent Reznor.

Apparently Queens Of The Stone Age won the toss - the bands have been randomising their playing order for the tour - and, after a digital countdown from 60 that had the crowd straining at the leash, hit the ground running in an explosion of light and noise with the always fantastic You Think I Ain’t Worth A Dollar But I Feel Like A Millionaire, following up with No One Knows. They ripped through a drumskin-tight set, leaning heavily on their most recent album, ...Like Clockwork, and the crowd resposne showed just how successful that particular release had been. Josh Homme is an effortlessly commanding stage presence, whether roaring into the mic or recounting an earlier experience with an audience member, Gary, who had apparently snuck into the band’s tour van in Dublin while drunk, before inviting the clearly committed fan backstage for a

with Distant Sun from Crowded House’s acknowledged masterpiece Together Alone and Only Talking Sense from the Finn Brothers’ ‘95 Finn record, it becomes clear this show is running like a veritable lucky dip of classics, new songs and left field oddities. Older numbers were often reinterpreted while cuts from his Pajama Club project with wife Sharon Finn (who also supplied bass tonight) sat comfortably. A solo at piano selection mid show saw I Feel Possessed, Don’t Dream It’s Over and a gorgeous reading of Message To My Girl get the bare bones treatment they deserve.

This tour clearly wasn’t intended to be a nostalgic trip down memory lane but a celebration of a catalogue that has soundtracked many experiences and, along the way, inspired new ones. Sinner and She Will Have Her Way (both from Try Whistling This) took on a new life under the psychedelic backdrop (courtesy Enz cohort Noel Crombie) with the band visibly excited to be in the presence of such strong material. Locked Out drew the main set to a rollicking close before the inevitable first encore gave us a faithful Weather With You, a superb run through title track Dizzy Heights and certified classic I Got You. The latter track sent the crowd into a frenzy (albeit a seated one) and inspired a further encore which resulted in a rare and touching solo airing of Love This Life and an audience participated Better Be Home Soon.

Under his own moniker Neil Finn is free to choose what he plays and how he plays it. At 55 he is making music many half his age would be envious of.

If tonight’s show is any indication, Finn’s next move will likely be unexpected and no doubt melodic and graceful.

STUART LOASBY

THE SCIENTISTS Helta Skelta/New Invincibles/Volcanics Rosemount Hotel Saturday, March 15, 2014

Queens Of the Stone Age - Photo by JF Foto

beer. It was a fun, furious set, all rock ‘n’ roll swagger and good vibes.

And then you get Nine Inch Nails which is... not that. Trent and assistants decided to spread a wide net in terms of their setlist, opening in a blaze of blinding light with Copy A from Hesitation Marks. Frankly, an overreliance of deeper cuts at the expense of more popular material - where the hell was Closer? - was disappointing, but classics like March Of The Pigs, and Terrible Lie went off and it was fun to see some actual crowd-surfing going on in the pit, an activity rarely tolerated by security personnel these days.

The highlight of the NIN show was undoubtedly the blistering execution of Head Like A Hole, while the set was closed out by Hurt. No one seemed too happy when How To Destroy Angels collaborator - and Mrs Reznor - Mariqueen Maandig was trotted out for a couple of tracks, though. There were undoubtedly some fans in the crowd, but the vast majority of the attendees were there to see classic NIN - which is to say ‘90s NIN. And that might be part of the problem.

Reznor’s angry-at-my-parents posturing isn’t exactly a good look on a man with four decades and an Oscar under his belt, but what’s he supposed to do when is newer material isn’t as well received as his older stuff? There was hint of desperation to the NIN set which, while almost undetectable in the moment, is readily apparent on reflection. While both halves of the show were fun, QOTSA won by a nose in terms of both quality and dignity.

Nine Inch Nails - Photo by JF Foto

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TRAVIS JOHNSON

It was a hell of a weekend for Perth music and certainly a hell of a weekend for one James Baker. The Scientists drummer and Australian music icon had all reasons to celebrate, this reunion tour of the seminal Perth band being just one of them.

The founding lineup of The Scientists performed last November at The Bakery to great response and, somewhat more shambolically, in 1995 at the Grosvenor Hotel Rooftop. However, this particularly evening was clearly a siren call to those who’d been a part of the Perth scene back in the day and a legion of punk/rock ‘n’ roll enthusiasts who’d been influenced by the band’s memory and music.

The support bill echoed this spirit excellently. The frontline of Helta Skelta somehow still look too young to have heard of any such things, but they’re seasoned of course and they played with a determinedness and a late ‘70s melodic punk ethic that would have made the headliners proud. Singer Jon struck an Ian Curtis-like pose while shouting spite that would have resulted in a winning thirst.

The New Invincibles took a more dapper approach to affairs, with matching purple suits, but the ties were off and their set was as grizzled and enjoyably dark as one would come to expect.

The Volcanics were leaving the next day for Spain but were showing no pre-flight nerves.

Another band that has knelt at the altar of The Scientists, they took a vice-like grip on proceedings and ball-tore through Little Richard’s Long Tall Sally, before bringing on their own Get A Move On - yes, a classic Aussie rock song was released in 2013 - with a horn section who then helped them though a rollicking tilt at the Rolling Stones’ Bitch.

The true story of The Scientists’ performance lasts over two nights, not just the one.

At James Baker’s 60th birthday party (where his engagement to Cath was announced - congrats!) at Mojos on Sunday, amongst a jam-spangled lineup that included local rock royalty such as Martyn P. Casey, Greg Dear, Richard Lane, Dom Mariani,

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Kim Salmon, The Scientists - Photo by J-F-Foto

Greg Hitchcock and more, The Scientists payed a carefree mini-set that clearly benefitted from having performed on Saturday. Sunday’s chalk was Saturday’s cheese (so to speak) as there was an unsteadiness in the performance, but the kind of nervous tension that makes such things fascinating.

Opening with Scientists nugget, Girl, and then another Stones missive in a punkish Sympathy For The Devil (sadly, the most of the Rolling Stones we’d end up hearing all week) the set was edgy, if occasionally lopsided, with the upbeat ‘hits’ such as Frantic Romantic (always the bona fide classic), Last Night (the band’s Countdown song, no less!) and thesong-the-Scientists-lost-but-the-Beasts-Of-Bourbonpicked-up, Drop Out, buried somewhat in the middle of the playlist.

Even so, Pretty Girl and She Said She Loves Me were lively as all get-out and indicated how energised messrs. Salmon, Baker, Radalj and Sudjovic - joined on occasion by alumni guitarist, Ben Juniper - are for these songs and for the act of playing them.

With encores that included the New York Dolls’ Pills as well as the thick waft of Swampland, it was a celebration of everything good about then and now.

It’s an epic thing to do, now and then. Let’s drink to that.

BOB GORDON

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LOCAL NEWS

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INTERVIEWS

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LIVE REVIEWS

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Q & A

SCOTTSTOCK The Rosemount Hotel Friday, March 14, 2014 A staggeringly great lineup of local talent took to both the main stage and Four5Nine, including Special Brew, Chainsaw Hookers, Them Sharks, The Devil Rides Out and more, to raise money for Greens Senator Scott Ludlam’s election campaign.

Photos by Jessica Sorci

Senator Scott Ludlam and friend

THE ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Wednesday, March 19, Foxes headline Shave For A Cure. Various ladies will be getting their head shaved as part of this big love and support fundraiser, which contributes funds to the Leukaemia Foundation. Also playing are Puck, Rag N Bone and Morrie Beth. Entry is $5 from 8pm.

The Sail & Anchor

FEATURED VENUE: THE SAIL & ANCHOR Answered by Peter Bottcher, venue manager.

What makes The Sail & Anchor important to Fremantle?

Our huge range of craft beer, both local and international.

What’s unique about The Sail?

We are the original home of craft beer in WA. What’s coming up at The Sail?

Our new collaboration brew with US brewer Karl Strauss is on at the moment. Its called The Bloke Red Ale and is drinking pretty darn well.

Next Friday, March 28, is Tusk Day, brewery fresh Feral Tusk double IPA on tap with 10 other Feral brews! We also have a US craft beer showcase coming up with a bunch of stuff from Stone and a heap of other breweries. The winner of our 2013 US IPA amateur brew challenge, Jeremy Sambrooks, will also be brewing a batch of the winning beer, Rapid Fire IPA, in the next couple of weeks and it should be on tap in April.

YAYA’S Get on down this Thursday as Sail On! Sail On! put on a massive show with special guests Branch Circus, Just Say Mercy and more. Then, finish off your week with the return of Arcadia All-Nighter on Saturday; featuring drink specials and some of Perth’s very best DJs spinning party starters all night!

Sail On! Sail On!

OCEAN ONE BAR Wednesday night is Brazil Night at Ocean One Bar every week. Head in your chance to win a plane ticket to Brazil! Experience live traditional Brazilian Forro Dance music (meaning “grab a partner”) performed

by Xoxote. There’s even a Brazilian dance instructor on site from 7.30 to show you the ropes before the band gets started!

THE MUSTANG BAR Every Wednesday is Perth’s best backpacker and student $5 fest, winners of the 2012 award by TNT Magazine.

It’s a night not to miss out on. For a mere $5 you get yourself an Aussie BBQ plate with all the goodies, drink inclusive and a ticket to win the door prize of $100 cash.

Free pool competition from 8.30pm, but get in early as spots fill up quick! Catch Perth’s hottest band, Pump on stage from 9.30pm with DJ Giles on the decks.

INDI BAR Friday, March 21, Local favourites Sophie Jane And The Chilly Bin Boys will be bringing their trademark upbeat originals sprinkled with a few choice covers to get the dance floor jumping at The Indi . Doors 8pm and entry $10.

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THE BEAT NIGHTCLUB This Friday upstairs, Victoria’s Magic Bones and South Australia’s Horror My Friend come to The Beat! With Perth staples Novocaines and FOAM headlining, there’s no way you’ll be leaving without your neck being sore from the headbanging that will ensue. Support from Little Skye and Hyla. Doors open at 8pm.

Horror My Friend

LOCAL NEWS

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INTERVIEWS

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LIVE REVIEWS

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Q & A

ALL THIS FILTH Metal madmen All This Filth reinvent themselves at The Civic Hotel this Friday, March 21, with help from One Of None, Nightmare Effect and Bunbury outfit Septillion.

We talk to lead singer Brendan Preston.

What’s the All This Filth story?

All This Filth started in 2008, well actually late 2007, when my previous band, Dissonant, sort of broke up. We had so many lineup changes that we ended up changing the name and going in a different direction musically. We played our first show in 2008, so I usually say that’s when the band started.

What’s your sound?

Our sound is pretty hard to describe I guess. We mix in a bunch of different styles like thrash, groove metal, hardcore, industrial metal, death metal, etc. We all have very varied influences but our main ones are Sepultura, Fear Factory, Soulfly, Chimaira, Lamb Of God, Slayer and Machine Head, Pantera.

What can punters expect from the show?

Madness! The show is gonna be crazy, I mean we are gonna throw down! It’s been over a year since we have played a show, so we are keen to set it off. Plus we have some new material to debut. Aside from us there are some equally awesome bands who are just as keen to destroy the stage.

All This Filth

What does the future hold?

Hopefully we will be playing more shows in the near future; we are pretty keen to get back out there. Aside from that we are super busy writing new material and will hopefully be getting into pre-production at the end of this year or early next year for another release, whether it be an EP or an album. One thing’s for sure, we will be bringing some new All This Filth material out as soon as we can, whether it be live or recorded! We already have a bunch of new songs we are keen to get out there. Looking forward to it. We are ready to bring the madness!

ALL THE KING’S MEN Indie rock quartet King’s Justice will be putting their debut EP, To Your Arms I’d Run, on the street at The Causeway this Saturday, March 22.

They’re named after a phrase from Game Of Thrones and they hail from Freo, and we think those two facts are somehow connected. Support comes from Stan Manstrantonis, The Tin Man, Jesse And Brit and Reilly Craig and kickoff is at 7pm.

King’s Justice

HOOF IT The Rosemount Hotel’s Four5Nine bar goes off like a frog in a sock when Three Hands One Hoof take to the stage on Wednesday, March 19, along with their friends Silver Hills, Sprawl, The Limbs and Silver Hills. Doors open at 7pm, entry is $7.

Three Hands One Hoof

RAGGEDY ANDY This Friday, March 21 marks not only Ragdoll’s first Perth gig of 2014, but also the launch of their brand spankin’ new video clip, Break You. Catch the boys at The Rocket Room along with Reapers Riddle, Nevsky Prospekt and Troy Nababan. Doors open at 8pm.

SHAMAN’S TEARS It’s gonna get loud at YaYa’s next Tuesday, March 25, when the Northbridge landmark is packed to the gills with the likes of The Devil In Miss Jones, Amberdown, Black Stone From The Sun and Tell The Shaman, all of whom are determined to bring the party. Doors open at 7.30pm, entry is $5.

Tell The Shaman

MEDICINE FOR THE SOUL Get down to The Astor Lounge this Friday, March 21, for Synesthesia, a night of sense-stimulating tunes from Usurper Of Modern Medicine, French Rockets, Mudlark, Yarhkob and Spirit Level, plus tailored visual projections courtesy of Dan Illusory, Critics, Jake Steele and more, to compliment the soundscape. Doors open at 8pm, entry is $10.

LIKE A BYRD ON A WIRE The Wirebyrds bring their modern take on early ‘60s jams to YaYa’s this Friday, March 21. Also along for the magic carpet ride are Charlie And Halldor, Winter’s Calling and Odlaw. Doors open at 8pm.

SCHOEN HER STUFF The good time continue at The Claremont Hotel’s monumentally cool live and local night, Antics, this Saturday! Elli Schoen and the Edie Green Band will be your entertainment for the evening, interspersed with musical selections by Mr Timothy Nelson on the decks. Doors open at 8pm, entry - as always - is free.

Elli Schoen

LO C A L & L AU N C H I N G 21/03 21/03 22/03 22/03 22/03 29/03 29/03 30/03 30/03 02/04 04/04 04/04 05/04 05/04 31/05

DAVEY CRADDOCK AND THE SPECTACLES There Will Be Light/100 Days Single Launch @ Clancy’s Fremantle RAGDOLL Break You Video Launch @ The Rocket Room DAVID CRAFT Smokey Lungs & Dirty Puns LP Launch @ The Bird KING’S JUSTICE To Your Arms I’d Run EP Launch @ The Causeway LYTS Initiate LP Lauch @ Velvet Lounge MATT WARING Smoking Gun EP Launch @ The Causeway VDELLI Live & On Fire Album Launch @ The Rosemount CHRIS GIBBS Big Appetite Album Launch @ Indi Bar EBONNIE Patchwork Fantasia Album Launch @ Rubix Bar THE DE NIROS Ethical Somnambulist EP Launch @ The Velvet Lounge GINA WILLIAMS & GUY GHOUSE Kalyakoorl Album Launch @ Fly By Night OPIA One Minute Ago Single Launch @ Rosemount BRYAN RICE DALTON Eastern Lights EP Launch @ The Odd Fellow THE LOVE JUNKIES Flight Test EP Launch @ Mojos RUBY BOOTS Self Titled EP Launch @ The Astor Lounge WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU

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TOUR TRAILS

THE SMITH STREET BAND, MARCH 19 - 21

CLOUD CONTROL, MARCH 20 - 23

THIS WEEK

APRIL

THE ROLLING STONES 19 Perth Arena CANCELLED SUICIDE GIRLS 19 Astor Theatre THE SMITH STREET BAND 19 Prince of Wales, Bunbury 20 YMCA HQ 21 Rosemount Hotel CLOUD CONTROL Acoustic Tour 20 The Saint 21 Settlers Tavern, Margaret River 21 Caves House, Yallingyup 22 The OBH 22 The Northshore 22 The Empire Bar 23 The Brisbane Hotel ABSU & PORTAL 20 Amplifier Bar CALLING ALL CARS 21 Amplifier Bar 22 Prince Of Wales, Bunbury 23 Indi Bar BLACKOUT 21 Metro City ILLY 21 Capitol KATE MILLER-HEIDKE 21-23 Quarry Amphitheatre KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD 22 Rosemount Hotel 23 Mojos Bar CASPIAN 22 Mojos Bar GANG OF FOUR 23 Capitol CANCELLED DIE! DIE! DIE! 23 YaYa’s ICEHOUSE 23 Hotel Rottnest SEBADOH 25 Rosemount Hotel DARK TRANQUILLITY & ORPHEUS OMEGA 25 Capitol 30 SECONDS TO MARS 25 Challenge Stadium

PACO PENA 2 Perth Concert Hall MONSTER MAGNET 3 Amplifier Bar ART VS SCIENCE 5 Amplifier Bar CHICKS ON SPEED 5 Fremantle Arts Centre, Courtyard HYPERFEST Spit Syndicate, Allday, Cub Sport, Glass Towers, Jackie Onassis, Closure in Moscow, Mathas, In Hearts Wake, Luca Brasi, The Love Junkies, Statues, Timothy Nelson and the Infidels, When Giants Sleep, Emecia, The Decline, FOAM, Scalphunter, Apache, Lionizer and more 6 Midland Oval KYLESA 6 The Bakery THE TROUBLE WITH TEMPLETON 10 Astor Theatre SUZANNE VEGA 11 Astor Theatre 1927 11 The Ravenswood Hotel, Mandurah ELIZABETH ROSE 11 Amplifier Bar 12 Mojos Bar THIEF 12 Amplifier Bar YOU AM I ft. ESKIMO JOE, JEBEDIAH & KATY STEELE 13 Hotel Rottnest WEST COAST BLUES N’ ROOTS Matt Corby, Michael Franti, John Mayer, Dave Matthews Band, Doobie Brothers, Boy & Bear and more 13 Fremantle Park BOZ SCAGGS 14 Crown Theatre 3 INCHES OF BLOOD 16 Amplifier Bar KILLSWITCH ENGAGE/KILL DEVIL HILL 16 Metro City BURIED IN VERONA 16 Villa 17 Prince Of Wales, Bunbury 18 YMCA HQ JOSH PYKE 17 The White Star Hotel, Albany 19 Dunsborough Tavern BAM BAM 19 Amplifier Bar TWELVE FOOT NINJA 19 Rosemount Hotel 20 Players Bar TOXIC HOLOCAUST & SKELETONWITCH 20 Rosemount Hotel KREATOR & DEATH ANGEL 20 Amplifier Bar THE ACACIA STRAIN 23 YMCA HQ 24 Amplifier Bar ELEANOR MCEVOY 23 Rosie O’Grady’s SKID ROW & UGLY KID JOE 23 Metropolis Fremantle

MARCH THE STRAY SISTERS 26 Fly By Night IWRESTLEDABEARONCE 26 YMCA HQ 27 Villa JOHN BUTLER TRIO 27 Fremantle Arts Centre 28 Belvoir Amphitheatre 29 Old Broadwater Farm, Busselton BRITISH INDIA 28 Indi Bar 29 Amplifier Bar STUART ORCHARD 29 Rosemount Hotel HUNTER & COLLECTORS 29 (sold out) & 30 Kings Park THE HOLIDAYS 29 Rosemount Hotel 30 Newport Hotel KRIS KRISTOFFERSON 30 Red Hill Auditorium THE STRAY SISTERS 31 Albany Entertainment Centre

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TOURS LIVE

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THE ALMOST 23 Amplifier Bar JEFF BECK 24 Perth Concert Hall TED DANSON WITH WOLVES/CERES 24 Flyrite 25 Prince Of Wales, Bunbury 26 Railway Hotel ADRIAN EDMONDSON & THE BAD SHEPHERDS 24 The Odd Fellow 26 Rosemount Hotel FAIRBRIDGE FESTIVAL 2014 25-27 Fairbridge Village BALL PARK MUSIC 24 Astor Theatre 25 Studio 146, Albany 26 Prince Of Wales, Bunbury 27 Newport Hotel MICHAEL BUBLE 26 & 27 Perth Arena AARON NEVILLE, DR JOHN & THE NITETRIPPERS 26 Riverside Theatre HUGH LAURIE & THE COPPER BOTTOM BAND 26 Perth Concert Hall SLEEPFREAK 26 The Bakery TAME IMPALA 27 Hotel Rottnest JUSTICE CREW 27 Crown Theatre LORDE 29 Challenge Stadium BOY & BEAR 30 Divers Tavern, Broome

MAY DJ PREMIER X PETE ROCK 1 Capitol KANYE WEST 2 Perth Arena RUSSIAN CIRCLES 2 Rosemount Hotel JAMES REYNE 2 Charles Hotel MKTO 2 Crown Theatre BLISS N ESSO 2 Signal Park, Busselton 3 Wellington Square LEE KERNAGHAN 6 Princess Royal Theatre, Albany 9 Crown Theatre ORIGIN 6 Amplifier Bar GIDEON 7 Amplifier Bar 8 YMCA HQ ELLA HOOPER 8 Artbar VANCE JOY & GOSSLING 8 The Bakery THE PRESETS 8 Capitol MISERY SIGNALS 8 Amplifier Bar 9 YMCA HQ HOLY FUCK 8 Rosemount Hotel 9 The Odd Fellow THUNDAMENTALS 8 Flyrite DISCLOSURE & WAVE RACER 9 Metro City

KRIS KRISTOFFERSON, MARCH 30

THE JEZABELS 9 Astor Theatre THE JUNGLE GIANTS 9 Rosemount Hotel JASON DERULO 10 Perth Arena PAUL WOSEEN 10 YaYa’s 11 Mojos Bar GROOVIN THE MOO Andy Bull, Architecture In Helsinki, Disclosure, Holy Fuck, The Jezabels, The Jungle Giants, Karnivool, Kingswood, The Kite String Tangle, Loon Lake, The Naked And Famous, Parkway Drive, The Presets, Peking Duk, Robert Delong, Thundamentals, Vance Joy, Violent Soho, Wave Racer, What So Not & more 10 Hay Park, Bunbury THE NAKED & FAMOUS 11 Astor Theatre ARCTIC MONKEYS 13 Perth Arena JONNY CRAIG 14 Amplifier Bar 15 YMCA HQ PETULA CLARK 17 Perth Concert Hall SEPTICFLESH & FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE 18 Amplifier Bar HITS & PITS 3 Strung Out, Face To Face, Unwritten Law, Implants 18 Capitol & Amplifier Bar DZ DEATHRAYS 22 Prince Of Wales, Bunbury 23 Indi Bar 24 Amplifier Bar 25 Newport Hotel THE ENGLISH BEAT 23 Rosemount Hotel MANGO GROOVE 23 Metro City 2014 AIRNORTH KIMBERLEY MOON EXPERIENCE Eskimo Joe, The Waifs, John Williamson, 42 Decibel 24 Jim Hughes Amphitheatre, Kununurra GARY NUMAN 25 Astor Theatre ELLIE GOULDING & BROODS 28 Challenge Stadium LARRY CARLTON 28 Astor Theatre RÜFÜS 30 Players Bar, Mandurah 31 Fremantle Arts Centre WE ARE SCIENTISTS 31 Amplifier Bar THE BEARDS 29 The White Star Hotel, Albany 31 Prince Of Wales, Bunbury

1 Astor Theatre DARREN MIDDLETON 1 Mojos Bar MEAT PUPPETS 2 Astor Theatre PROPAGANDHI 3 Amplifier Bar YO GABBA GABBA! LIVE! 7 Riverside Theatre FRENTE 7 Astor Theatre LA DISPUTE 7 Rosemount Hotel 8 YMCA HQ DEAD LETTER CIRCUS 4 Pier Hotel 5 The White Star Hotel, Albany 6 Settlers Tavern, Margaret River 7 Prince Of Wales, Bunbury 8 Rosemount Hotel JAMES BLUNT 12 Crown Theatre 13 Riverside Theatre BASTILLE 18 Challenge Stadium THE PAPER KITES 19 Artbar 20 Prince of Wales, Bunbury FINNTROLL 22 Amplifier Bar MONDO ROCK 22 Regal Theatre KEITH URBAN 29 Perth Arena

JUNE

KATY PERRY 7 & 8 Perth Arena

THE BEARDS

JULY THE CRIMSON PROJEKCT 2 Fly By Night THE AUDREYS 4 Fly By Night THE ANGELS 31 Newport Hotel

AUGUST THE ANGELS 1 Wintersun Hotel, Geraldton THE ANGELS ft. DAVE GLEESON 2 Charles Hotel 3 The Ravenswood Hotel, Mandurah ROY ORBISON & DEL SHANNON TRIBUTE 7 Albany Entertainment Centre 9 Crown Theatre TINA ARENA 15 Crown Theatre LADY GAGA 20 Perth Arena

SEPTEMBER MARINA PRIOR 5 Albany Entertainment Centre 6 Astor Theatre 7 Mandurah Performing Arts Centre ROBBIE WILLIAMS 11 Perth Arena BIFFY CLYRO 12 Metro City

OCTOBER JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE 8 Perth Arena

NOVEMBER

TO U R TA L E S

ABSU The Trilogy Objective Texan black metal titans Absu are returning to Australia this month in the lead-up to the release of their seventh opus, Apsu. JESSICA WILLOUGHBY chats with drummer, Proscriptor McGovern, ahead of the band’s first-ever Perth show this Thursday, March 20, at Amplifier, alongside fellow extreme Australian outfits’ Portal and Denouncement Pyre.

“Apsu may very well be our last album, prematurely speaking,” Absu drummer/vocalist, Proscriptor McGovern, says of the ‘Absu’ album trilogy.

As the founder of this longstanding Texan black metal outfit, Proscriptor – aka Russley Randell Givens – has dedicated the last 13 years to a single vision for the band, one that has seen this trio explore all aspects of its origins over the span of three albums.

Absu (2009) marked the fifth studio release and the first of the triology, with new members Ezezu (bass) and Vis Crom (strings) making their introductions. 2011 saw the second offering, Abzu, recall the thrashiness of the band’s earlier works.

Now in 2014, Absu are looking towards the final installment in their self-made saga. Apsu, pegged for release in early 2015, will not stray thematically from their chosen path. But we will see the rise of a short-andsweet song structure, a new element for these three American musicians.

“The next album is the third and concluding installment of the trilogy – it’s the Sumerian spelling of the band moniker,” Proscriptor tells X-Press. “I will say on a musical basis that this album will be different from the previous albums in the discography, because we’re striving for shorter songs. This album will have somewhere between 14 and 16 songs, versus the more epic type of songs that have been presented on previous albums. We’re striving for shorter songs, and more songs on this album, versus the longer songs that have been presented on our previous discography.

“I decided some years ago the three albums in the trilogy would primarily be related to and based on everything that is related to what Absu is all about.

“I decided some years ago the three albums in the trilogy would primarily be related to and based on everything that is related to what Absu is all about. I refuse to name the last three albums with unique titles, as I simply wanted to name each one as Absu, the English spelling; Abzu, the Mesopotamian and Apsu, which is the forthcoming album, but differentiated by their different cover designs. That’s the objective so far.”

I refuse to name the last three albums with unique titles, as I simply wanted to name each one as Absu, the English spelling; Abzu, the Mesopotamian and Apsu, which is the forthcoming album, but differentiated by their different cover designs. That’s the objective so far.”

Speaking on the lyrical concept of these three LPs, Proscriptor says the trio of releases flesh out his love for occult mythology.

“On a lyrical basis I combine mythology, paranormal and metaphysical related topics inside of the music of Absu,” he explains. “When writing music, I try to express my lyrical content and ideologies as vividly as possible. Beginning at the age of 12, I started delving into hallucinogenic and mind-altering substances, which lead myself into Ordo Templi Orientis, Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, Thelemic Magic(k), Enochian Magic(k), Tasseomancy and Necromancy. After discovering the Cthulhu Mythos and the Book of Eibon, this too led to my fascination with Sumerian and Mesopotamian mythology.

“I lyrically concoct mythology and paranormal or metaphysical related topics inside of the music. The cadences and accentuations when writing Absu’s music express my esoteric lyrical content and ideologies. This is the way I perceive it: Absu’s music is a formation of chaos magic(k) because I believe it can change both subjective experiences and objective realities, though some forms of chaos magic(k) disputes that magic(k) occurs through clairvoyant means. Subconsciously speaking, I am not one with today’s world when writing the lyrics for Absu.”

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GIG GUIDE

JORDAN MCROBBIE/CLANCYS CANNING/WEDNESDAY 19

WEDNESDAY 19/03 AMPLIFIER BAR Academy Metal Madness Xenobiotic Against The Tide Closure Ascension Eyes Cast Skyward ASTOR THEATRE Suicide Girls THE BIRD Tia Maria DJ Seventh Son BRASS MONKEY Sugar Blue Burlesque CAPITOL Harlem Wednesdays Genga Philly Blunt JS Peter Payne Lenox Ave Pussymittens Ol Wright BMB Benny P THE CARINE Open Mic Night Shaun Street CLANCYS CANNING Songwriter’s Night Jordan McRobbie ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Boz Scaggs Courtney Murphy Night Cap Sessions THE GREENWOOD Bernardine GROOVE BAR (CROWN) 5 Shots INDI BAR Aiden Varro Matt Cal LANEWAY LOUNGE Libby Hammer Trio LOBBY LOUNGE (CROWN) Decoy Duo THE LUCKY SHAG Howie Morgan MUSTANG BAR Pump DJ Giles MOJOS BAR One Thousand Years Old Blood Cult of Addiction Palatial Digs THE MOON CAFE Mitch MacDonald Robbie Rumble OCEAN ONE BAR Marcio Mendes THE PADDO Trojan-John Richard Glover Kaleisha PERTH ARENA Rolling Stones CANCELLED PRINCE OF WALES Smith Street Band

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TROJAN-JOHN/THE PADDO/ WEDNESDAY 19

459 ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Three Hands One Hoof Silver Hills Sprawl The Limbs Hello Colour Red ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Shave For a Cure!

Foxes Puck Rag N Bone Morrie Beth SETTLERS TAVERN Open Mic Night THE SWINGING PIG Open Mic Night Greg Carter UNIVERSAL BAR Retriofit THE VIC Leighton Keepa VILLAGE BAR Village People Open Mic YAYA’S Foundation Opening Night!

DJ Zeke Kid Tsunami DJ Kaotik DJ Pawel

THURSDAY 20/03 AMPLIFIER Absu Portal Denouncement Pyre ASTOR THEATRE Kevin Bridges BAR ORIENT Open Mic Night THE BIRD Christian Piers Clunk Raaghe Untitled Sound Alliance BRASS MONKEY Rhythm Bound Karaoke BRIGHTON Open Mic Night Rob Walker THE BROOK Open Mic Night Chris Gibbs BROOKLANDS TAVERN Celebrations Karaoke THE CAUSEWAY BAR Xport Thursdays CLANCYS FREMANTLE Blue Lucy Ivory Wolf DEVILLES PAD Rock’N’Roll Karaoke DUNSBOROUGH TAVERN Open Mic Night Kris Buckle ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Jason Curry Robert Susman Gavin Kerr Trio Night Cap Sessions

LOCAL GIG

THE GATE Greg Carter GRAND CENTRAL PARK Justin Burford GROOVE BAR (CROWN) Dr Bogus INDI BAR Open Mic Night KALAMUNDA HOTEL The Black Fridays KARRINYUP SHOPPING CENTRE FOOD COURT Adrian Wilson LANEWAY LOUNGE Jessie Gordon LOBBY LOUNGE (CROWN) Jack + Jill LUCKY SHAG Nathan Gaunt MARKET CITY TAV Natto PS:Music Krown Nathan Mayers Big Tee Greys an’ Blues MOJOS BAR Aborted Tortoise Dream Rimmy Mind Canary Louis Inglis MUSTANG BAR Mezzanine Lacey DJ James MacArthur NORMA JEANS DJ Damo OCEAN ONE BAR Turin’s Open Mic Night PEEL ALE HOUSE Open Mic Danny Bau 459 ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Barefaced Stories ft.

Andrea Gibbs ROSEMOUNT HOTEL The Bitter Grins Dan Cribb and the Isolated Graphic Characters Lionizer THE SAINT Cloud Control Mike Nayar SETTLERS TAVERN Sunny & The Fatboys THE SHED Midnight Rambler SWALLOW BAR Shotdown from Sugartown SWAN HOTEL (LOUNGE) Leify Green Daniel Foggo Lauren Kent UNIVERSAL BAR Off The Record THE VIC Harry Moore YAYA’S Sail On! Sail On! Branch Circus The Lake & The River Just Say Mercy YMCA HQ Smith Street band

FRIDAY 21/03

ABORTED TORTOISE

ABORTED TORTOISE DREAM RIMMY MIND CANARY LOUIS INGLIS

Thursday, March 20, Mojos

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THE ALBION Jen De Ness Trio AMPLIFIER BAR Calling All Cars The Love Junkies The Sinking Teeth ASTOR THEATRE Synethesia Usurper of Modern Medicine French Rockets Mudlark Yarkhob Spirit Level BALMORAL Danni Stefanetti Duo BEAT NIGHTCLUB (DOWNSTAIRS) PLAY BELGIAN BEER CAFE Roger Roger

MEZZANINE/MUSTANG BAR/THRUSDAY 19 BELMONT TAVERN Electrophobia BEST DROP TAVERN Replika THE BIRD Methyl Ethel Leure Gilbert Fawn BISTRO 38 Gary Fowlie BRASS MONKEY Acoustic Aly THE BRIGHTON Rob Walker THE BROOK Joppy CAPITOL Illy Jackie Onassis Remi THE CARINE Frenzy CAVES HOUSE Cloud Control CHASE BAR & BISTRO Jonny Dempsey CITRO BAR Justin Cortorillo CIVIC HOTEL All This Filth One of None Nightmare Effect Septillion CLANCYS CANNING DJ Boogie CLANCYS CITY BEACH Gillian Moorman Trio CLANCYS FREMANTLE Davey Craddock & The Spectacles The Wilds David Craft COMO HOTEL Penny King Trio CRUISING YACHT CLUB Rockin’ Ronnie THE CURRAMBINE BAR & BISTRO Grant Hart DEVILLES PAD Rockin’ A Gogo DIDGERIDOO BREATH Matsumoto Zoku DUNSBOROUGH TAVERN Cuddles EAST 150 BAR Adam James EMPIRE Howie Morgan FAIRLINES AMPHITHEATRE Karin Page THE GATE Choppa & The Hitman GOSNELLS HOTEL Chris Gibbs Third Gear THE GREENWOOD Mike Nayar GREYHOUNDS Driven By People GROOVE BAR (CROWN) Tod Johnson & Peace Love HERDSMAN Elemental HOTEL ROTTNEST DJ Eugene INDIAN OCEAN BREW CO. Ben Merito INDI BAR Sophie Jane & the Chilli Bin Boys KALAMUNDA HOTEL Vendetta LANEWAY LOUNGE Summers Soul Quintet Hans Fiance METRO CITY BLACKOUT M ON THE POINT Retriofit MAHOGANY INN Tom Mantle

MOJOS BAR Mr Grevis Dazastah & Paulie P Azmatik Kogz MUSTANG BAR Adam Hall & The Velvet Playboys Swing DJ Flash Nat & The Action Men DJ James MacArthur NORMA JEANS DJ Damo PEEL ALE HOUSE Siren Song Enterprises PORT KENNEDY TAVERN Acoustic Royale THE PRINCIPAL Adrian Wilson QUARIE BAR & BISTRO Chill Divine RIGBY’S BAR & BISTRO Undergrowth Acoustic Open Mic ROCKET ROOM Ragdoll Legs Electric Nevsky Prospekt Troy Nababan ROLEYSTONE COUNTRY CLUB Luke O’Connell 459 ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Warthreat People Problem Flesh Police Hexx ROSEMOUNT HOTEL The Smith Street Band The Menzingers Grim Fandango The Leap Year ROSIE O’GRADYS FREMANTLE Felix SAIL AND ANCHOR Howie Morgan THE SANDBAR Helen Shanahan SETTLERS Cloud Control THE SHED Crush DJ Matt SOUTH ST ALEHOUSE Karaoke with Robbie King SWAN HOTEL (LOUNGE) Brufield Apollo’s Attic The Mondays SWAN HOTEL (BASEMENT) Wiked Fury Sciatika SWINGING PIG Greg Carter TOUCAN CLUB Nick Westaway DJ Matty J UNIVERSAL BAR Nightmoves THE VELVET LOUNGE Breakdown Black & Blunt Roxright Beatslappaz Bezwun Tom Drummond Temperamental Goat VERNON ARMS TAVERN Greg Carter THE VIC Nathan Gaunt WINTERSUN HOTEL Warwick Trant THE WOODVALE Flava YAYA’S The Wirebyrds Charlie & Halldor Winter’s Calling Odlaw

Deadline Monday 5pm. The Gig-Guide is a service to advertisers listing all LIVE MUSIC. All inclusions are at the discretion of X-Press. Email guide@xpressmag.com.au

THE BITTER GRINS/ROSEMOUNT HOTEL/THURSDAY 20

SATURDAY 22/03 7TH AVENUE Karaoke AMPLIFIER BAR Stillwater Giants Tales in Space Pierce Brothers Yeo Blonde On Blonde Gena Rose Bruce ASTOR THEATRE Michael Paynter Helen Shanahan THE BALMORAL The Wire Birds BAR ORIENT The Reggae Club BEAT NIGHTCLUB (UPSTAIRS) CANVAS BEAT NIGHTCLUB (DOWNSTAIRS) Summer Sendoff Bali Party BENTLEY HOTEL Chris Gibbs Band THE BIRD David Craft Ben Witt Hayley Beth Rabbit Island BOAB TAVERN Chill Divine THE BROOK Acoustic Royale BROOKLANDS TAV Elemental THE CARINE Frank G THE CAUSEWAY King’s Justice Reilly Craig Jesse + Brit The Tin Man Stan Mastrantonis CHIPPY’S BEACH SHACK Gary Fowlie CLANCYS CANNING Steve Parkin CLANCYS FREMANTLE Proud Mary THE CLAREMONT HOTEL ANTICS Edie Green band THE CRAFTSMAN Groove DEVILLES PAD Black Magic Disco DUNSBOROUGH TAVERN KNiKi + Mike Beale EAST 150 BAR Jonny Dempsey ELEPHANT & WHEELBARROW Gunshy Romeos ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Ali Bodycoat Quintet Ruby & the Remedy EMPIRE BAR Cloud Control FLY BY NIGHT Tinpan Orange Mama Kin THE GATE Greg Carter GOSNELLS HOTEL Almost Famous GREENWOOD Supernova GROOVE BAR (CROWN) Easy Tigers HOTEL ROTTNEST Sophie Jane & the Chilli Bin Boys HYDE PARK HOTEL Afterglo Band INDI BAR Toby INDIAN OCEAN BREWING CO Shawne & Luc Dean Anderson KALAMUNDA HOTEL Celebrations Karaoke LAKERS TAVERN Celebrations Karaoke LANEWAY LOUNGE Dean Anderson Randa & the Soul Kingdom

USURPER OF MODERN MEDEICINE/ ASTOR LOUNGE/FRIDAY 21

LOBBY LOUNGE (CROWN) Why Georgia?

LUCKY SHAG DJ Richie G M ON THE POINT Rhythm 22 MERIDIAN ROOM (CROWN) Trevor Jalla MERRIWA TAVERN Celebrations Karaoke MOJOS BAR Caspian Meniscus Runner MUSTANG Shot Down From Sugar Town Rockabilly DJ Milhouse DJ James MacArthur NEWPORT HOTEL Gravity Tahli Jade NORMA JEANS DJ Daz NORTHSHORE TAVERN Cloud Control OCEAN BEACH HOTEL Cloud Control PADDY MAGUIRES Jetpack PARAMOUNT NIGHTCLUB Felix PEEL ESTATE WINERY Mike DeVelta Richie Pavledis The Ragged Three Paul Daley & the Heavy Hitters PLAYERS BAR DJ Angry Buda PORT KENNEDY TAVERN Kevin Curran PRINCE OF WALES Calling All Cars THE OBH Cloud Control OCEAN ONE BAR Desert Bells DJ Martin QUARIE BAR & BISTRO DJ Eugene RAILWAY HOTEL The KBI Sound Systems ROCKET ROOM Ladies Night 459 ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Anna O ROSEMOUNT HOTEL King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard The Silents Mt Mountain Pat Chow ROSIE O’GRADY’S FREMANTLE Flava SAIL & ANCHOR Better Days THE SAINT Mike Nayar THE SANDBAR Reilly Craig Tyson Keene SETTLERS TAVERN Jay Hoad THE SHED HUGE SOUTH ST ALE HOUSE Robbie King & Friends SWALLOW BAR DJ Peas of Soul Purpose Radio SWAN HOTEL (LOUNGE) Pony In Orbit Tooth Tenderbeast (solo) THE SWINGING PIG Frenzy TOUCAN CLUB DJ Storer UNIVERSAL Soul Corporation THE WOODVALE Timeout YAYA’S Arcadia All-Nighter!

DJ Cookie

SUNDAY 23/03 THE AVIARY Jackie Onassis BALMORAL Andrew Winton BELMONT TAVERN Acoustic Aly BEAUMARIS SPORTS ASSOC. One Trick Phonies THE BRIGHTON Dean Anderson THE BRISBANE Cloud Control BROKEN HILL HOTEL Justin Burford THE BROOK Adam James BROOKLANDS TAVERN Preston King CAPTAIN STIRLING Open Mic Night Josh Terlick THE CARINE Mike Nayar THE CAUSEWAY Accoustic Sunday CAVES HOUSE Dillip and the Davs CHIPPYS JINDALEE Sophie Jane Duo CLANCYS CITY BEACH Salt Shaker Sundays DJ Boogie & The Salt Shaker Selectors CLANCYS FREMANTLE The Zydecats CIVIC HOTEL Chris Gibbs COMO HOTEL Ansell & Fretall DUNSBOROUGH TAVERN Kris Buckle ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Blue Sky Soul FLINDERZ HILLARYS Marcio Mendes THE FLY TRAP (FLY BY NIGHT) Stage Fright Open Mic Night FREMANTLE ART CENTRE Grace Woodroofe THE GATE Choppa & The Hitman GOSNELLS HOTEL Steve Hepple GROOVE BAR (CROWN) Peace Love HOTEL ROTTNEST Icehouse HYDE PARK HOTEL Frank G INDIAN OCEAN BREW CO Retriofit INDI BAR Calling All Cars The Lucky Numbers Nicky Sandover Belle Harvey The Love Junkies The Sinking Teeth JUDD’S HOTEL KALGOORLIE The Black Fridays KALAMUNDA HOTEL The Mojos LAKERS TAVERN Wesley Goodlet Jamboree Scouts LANEWAY LOUNGE Randa & the Soul Kingdom THE LAST DROP TAVERN Brett Hardwick LUCKY SHAG Sunday Session MOJOS BAR King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Red Engine Caves SpaceManAntics M ON THE POINT Nathan Gaunt MUSTANG Jack Royal & the Hot Shot Playboys DJ Holly Doll

STILLWATER GIANTS/AMPLIFER/ SATURDAY 22

NATIONAL HOTEL Ivan Zar NEWPORT HOTEL Mi Casa Su Casa Tour Stillwater Giants Pierce Brothers OCEAN ONE BAR Tahnee DJ Martin OCEAN VIEW TAV Peter Ashton PEEL ALE HOUSE Hans Fiance PORT KENNEDY TAVERN Greg Carter QUARIE BAR & BISTRO Darren Gibbs REDCLIFFE ON THE MURRAY Rose Parker Phoebe Corke ROSEMOUNT HOTEL The Get Down Charlie Bucket Klean Kicks Nick Sheppard ROYAL PALMS RESORT Ian Cocker THE SAINT Howie Morgan Project SAIL AND ANCHOR Childs Play THE SANDBAR Karin Page SEAVIEW TAVERN Jean Proude SETTLERS TAVERN Jay Hoad SOUTH ST ALEHOUSE Anthony Nieves SWALLOW BAR The Limelights Jazz Trio SWANBROOK WINERY Sundowner Sessions Jacob Diamond Jonathan Brain SWAN HOTEL (LOUNGE) Ben Catley Sian Brown Jeff Smith Aishl Pandaphobia The Shovel And The Gun SWAN HOTEL (BASEMENT) Rich King Mathews Tashi Hall Elkwood The Right SWINGING PIG Aiden Varro Siren & Assassin UNIVERSAL Retriofit WANNEROO TAVERN Matt Williams WHISTLING KITE Cloud Control Ricky Green THE WINDSOR Ryan Webb THE WOODVALE Ade Payne YAYA’S

Die! Die! Die! Sun Gods FAIM

MONDAY 24/03 BRASS MONKEY Wire Birds ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Song Lounge MOJOS BAR Wide Open Mic ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Bex ‘n’ Turin’s Open Mic Night YAYA’S Big Tommo’s Open Mic Variety Night

TUESDAY 25/03 THE BIRD Barefaced Stories BRASS MONKEY Open Mic Night Josh Terlick CAPITOL Dark Tranquility Orpheus Omega CHALLENGE STADIUM 30 Seconds To Mars THE CHARLES HOTEL Perth Blues Club The KNiKi and Mike Beale Project Kickstart Cadilacs ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Chelsea Cullen GROOVE BAR (CROWN) Jack & Jill LOBBY LOUNGE (CROWN) Hans Fiance LUCKY SHAG Live Acoustic Night Leighton Keepa MERIDIAN ROOM (CROWN) James Wilson MERRIWA TAVERN Celebrations Karaoke MOJOS BAR Wide Open Mic MUSTANG BAR Danza Loca Salsa Night OCEAN ONE BAR Undergrowth Open Mic Night PERTH BLUES CLUB Richie Pavledis Craig Pinkney KNiKi + Mike Beale Kickstart Cadilacs ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Sebadoh Emperors Red Jezebel SWINGING PIG Siren Song Enterprises YAYA’S Tell The Shaman The Devil In Miss Jones Filthy Apes Black Stone from the Sun Amberdown

LOCAL GIG

CHRISTIAN PIERS

CHRISTIAN PIERS

CLUNK RAAGHE UNTITLED SOUND ALLIANCE Thursday, March 20,The Bird

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MUSIC GEAR & TECHNOLOGY

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CLASSIFIEDS

DIDGERIDOO MUSIC DOMINO DOUBLES DOWN

Simone & Girlfunkle

BRIDGET TURNER Girls & Boys Simone & Girlfunkle have been announced as part of the Fairbridge Festival in Pinjarra on Friday-Sunday, April 25-25.

BOB GORDON chats to vocalist, Bridget Turner about songwriting.

You’re also the songwriter/vocalist for Boys Boys Boys!, which is very different to Simone & Girlfunkle.

What are the main differences for you in writing songs for both bands? In approach, or state of mind, or instrument you compose on, etc?

When you are lucky enough to be in a particular creative mood melodies will just flow through you. Sometimes you have no control where they come from or what they sound like they just appear from an empty page. The differences depend on what genre of mood visits you on any given day.

Some days you’re just a conduit for different vibes.

Does each band balance out the different sides of you?

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Yep, definitely. Some days a girl just wants to sing harmonies and drink herbal teas, other days dance around like a crazy person.

Are there songs that could go either way, to either band?

No, not really, those bands are just too different these days and the kids in each camp have wildly opposing tastes. The group of people making those melody ideas into songs just would probably just say in a nice way isn’t that a little ‘Simone’ or ‘Boysy’ depending where I’m hanging and it’s a polite way of saying your song is either too serious or not serious enough or just generally bad.

What are your favourite instruments to use when it comes to Simone & Girlfunkle?

We are pretty interested in layering voices to see what happens there but we will take a tasty mellotron if it’s available. We also have a pretty expert clarinet player available to us so we try and drop some gnarly clarinet solos here and there.

Are you looking forward to playing at the Fairbridge Festival? Have you been before?

We are very, very pumped. I have never been before when the festival is on but I’ve heard stories of goings-on and I’m very excited to get in the thick of the tom-foolery. The level of musicianship at the festival is pretty legendary so I’m hoping to soak up a few geniuses before the weekend is out.

Well ahead of the pack, Domino have announced their exclusive releases for Record Store Day, which this year takes place on April 19. Available exclusively through independent music vendors on the day will be: • Julia Holter: Don’t Make Me Over/Hello Stranger 7” • Hamilton Leithauser: Alexandra/In The Shadows 7” • Steve Mason: Monkey Minds In The Devil’s Time 12” • Villagers: Occupy Your Mind 7”

Didgeridoo Breath in Fremantle not only specialises in genuine Indigenous Australian musical instruments, they have a constant roster of touring artists and technique workshops in their Market Street store.

Their next guest is Japan’s Matsumoto Zoku. The duo merge urban vocal beats with the softer edge of the halo and didge creating a playful, serene and yet vibrant sound. Catch them on Friday, March 21, from 7pm. head to didgeridoobreath.com for more info.

Matsumoto Zoku

Julia Holter

MEXICAN RADIO Zambrero Northbridge is giving up and coming DJs the chance to strut their stuff with a live DJ set in the James Street store this April. Six turntablists will get the chance to strut their stuff for 45 minutes each, with two playing every Saturday night from April 5.

To enter, either drop your (5 minutes only, please) mixtape into the store, or else email a Soundcloud link to northbridge@zambrero.com.

RADIO GAGA

NEW NOISE FROM NEIL YOUNG

Entries are now open for the Australian Radio Awards, which will be held in Melbourne at the Convention And Exhibition Centre on October 18. Entries close on May 23. For full info, head to commericalradio.com.au.

Sick of the poor quality and ubiquity of mp3 recordings, veteran rocker Neil Young decided to do something about it. He’s put his name behind PonoMusic, a highfidelity music player and online store that promises to deliver studio-quality sound the discerning audiophiles.

Young announced this endeavour at SXSW and apparently there’s a hell of a demand for it, as his Kickstarter campaign has attracted over four million dollars in pledges, well in excess if its initial modest $800,000 goal. If you want to get in on the ground floor, you have 27 days from now to pull the trigger.

SCHOOL OF ROCK Rock Scholars have revamped their websiste, giving everything a fresh coat of digital paint. Head to rockscholars.com.au to check out the new look and, while you’re there, check out the range of lessons and course on offer, as well as details about the upcoming Rock Scholar Term 1 gigs.

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Neil Young

MUSIC GEAR & TECHNOLOGY

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CLASSIFIEDS

DJ SERVICES

SENNHEISER HD MIX HEADPHONES Developed specifically for s t u d i o wo r k , t h o s e p ro level headphones are for the committed engineer or p ro d u ce r, n o t fo r t h o s e looking to drown out the noise of the early morning commuter crowd. Construction is lightweight and attention has been paid to the cushioning to make sure that you can wear these for a long time with no discomfort, while the acoustic system delivers balanced crystal clear sound for monitoring and mixing. Check them out at sennheiser.com.au.

Sennheiser HD Mix Headphones

DJ WANTED Seeking DJ with experience & equipment.

Contact www.dancefloordjs.com.au 0416 171 883

FOR SALE HEADPHONES all brands & styles. 23 Harrogate Street, West Leederville. Contact Headphonic 08 93886333 headphones.com.au

GENERAL EXPRESSIONS WANTED GRAFFITI ARTISTS & GRAPHIC DESIGNERS for newly formed Street Art & Clothing Company. Exp req’d. Good $$ paid for quality. Looking to promote estab & up and coming WA artists. Must have drive and be willing to travel to paint. If interested please call Mark 0428 365 713.

MUSOS WANTED GUITARIST PLUS FEMALE SINGER REQ’D to join cover band of bass, keyboard & drums. Contact pjcullen2011@hotmail.com OPEN MIC NIGHT every Thursday night at Indi Bar. Text Josh on 0430 313 577 for a spot.

PRODUCTION SERVICES CD & DVD MANUFACTURE Check out our latest CD & DVD specials online at www.procopy.com. au 9375 3902 DISK BANK Perth’s premier CD & DVD manufacturer, with options for all budgets. (08) 9388 0800. www.diskbank.com.au/specials.

MATRIX PRODUCTIONS AUSTRALIA Lighting, staging, sound systems, smoke machines, night club FX, intelligent lighting, strobes & mirror balls, crowd barriers, video projectors. 9371 1551

RECORDING STUDIOS

FAITH MARS MAHOGANY ACOUSTIC This magnificent acoustic guitar, the latest to the range designed by Patrick James Eggle, sounds as good as it looks. With all-mahogany construction, it doesn’t need fancy furniture to look and sound great, delivering clean, clear tones with an impressive midrange. Go to ambertech.com.au for more details.

Faith Mars Mahogany Acoustic

A L A N DAW S O N ’s W I T Z E N D R ECO R D I N G STUDIO Prof quality albums or demos, large live room, experienced engineer, analog to digital transfers, mastering..Alan 0407 989 128 or Jeremy 0430638178 www.witzendstudios.com ANALOG MASTERING VINTAGE TAPE, TUBES & TRANSFORMERS with the latest state of the art digital converters. Clients include: Melody’s Echo Chamber, Pond, Gossling, Knife Party, Felicity Groom, The Floors, Jeff Martin & The Panics. World class facility, World class results. Www.poonshead. com. 9339 4791 ANDY’S STUDIO International multi award winning songwriter / producer. No band required. Broadcast quality. A songwriter’s paradise. Ph 9364 3178 GOLDDUST Production Mixing, recording and composition. Leederville $80 p/h. 0408 097 407

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LONEWOLF PRODUCTIONS FREMANTLE Custom designed equipment for cutting edge recording. 24 track tape. Premium digital conversion and mixing.

FB. Jay Sonics 0423 445 154 RECORDING MIXING MASTERING PRODUCING Fremantle location. Call Pete Kitchen Cooked Records.

Ph 0407 363 764 / 9336 3764 REVOLVER SOUND STUDIO Ph 9272 7505. www.revolverstudio.com.au SONGWRITERS! - UNLOCK YOUR SONGS’ POTENTIAL FREE APPRAISALS. UK Producer 45,000+ hours studio experience, 20 yrs in London working with songwriters and bands. Kicking arrangements, great studio and the ability to really listen will give your material the edge you need. Call Jerry on 0405 653 338 or visit www.jerichomusic.com.au STUDIO ZED Digital Mastering, Demo’s, albums, Live tracking sessions special from $250 p/day. Studiozed. net.au Ph: 9207 2072

REHEARSAL STUDIOS AAA VHS REHEARSAL ROOMS Great facilities, great vibe & great price!!! Unit 5 /16 Peel Road, O’Connor.

Phone 9418 5815 or 0413 732 885 BIGBEAT SOUND STUDIO Clean rooms, all new PA systems, air-con and good parking . Willetton Ph: 0425 698 117.

PLATINUM SOUND ROOMS Professional rehearsal rooms, airconditioned, quality PAs mob 0418 944 722 STREAM STUDIO’S 89 Stirling St, Perth. Mobile: 0403 152 009 info@streamrehearsal.com.au

TUITION ***GUITAR LESSONS*** New Year enrolments, book online. Beg to prof, all styles. Catering to WAAPA and AMEB standards. All tutors have WWC clearance.

Cliff Lynton Guitar Institute. Mt Lawley 9342 3484 / www.clifflynton.com BASS GUITAR LESSONS AVAILABLE by WAAPA tutor.

A practicle approach to learning. .All styles.Years of experience. Tony Gibbs 9470 6131

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