The Brag #456

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rock music news welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town... with Nathan Jolly and Caitlin Welsh

five things WITH

DREW FROM TOTALLY UNICORN many different genres but for myself, if I had to name my favourites they’d be Michael Jackson and Damian Abraham (Fucked Up). Every time I see these guys perform they put everything they have physically into their performance. I try and do the same myself – give the crowd their money’s worth. Your Crew Clancy, Mike and I played in a band 3. before this, but as they say, being in a

Growing Up My first musical memory as a kid 1. was wearing my clothes back-to-front and

I in some respects. That’s why in the band I try and keep people’s minds off my singing by doing it in tie-dye underwear.

mumbling ‘rhymes’ as I attempted to sing along to Kris Kross songs on rage. My parents are the definition of tone deaf, and I guess so am

2.

Inspirations We have many influences musically from

band is like having four girlfriends – so we folded. Obviously Mike and Clancy were the girlfriends that gave great blowjobs, so we formed TU. We needed a bass player but settled for Tim instead, as we knew he would always be up for getting his kit off on stage. We all have hugely different musical tastes, which is great for our music as we always have different interpretations of a riff or part in a song, which makes writing fun. Not so good in the van though, when we have to make a decision about what to put on the CD player... There’s only so many times Tim can put on Staind...

4.

The Music You Make Our debut EP Horse Hugger was released around a year ago, which we toured extensively off last year. We have also just

Nicki Minaj

PUBLISHERS: Adam Zammit & Rob Furst EDITOR IN CHIEF: Adam Zammit 9552 6333 adam@peergroupmedia.com ACTING EDITOR: Dee Jefferson steph@thebrag.com 02 9698 9645 ACTING ARTS & ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Roslyn Helper dee@thebrag.com 02 9690 2731 STAFF WRITER: Caitlin Welsh NEWS: Nathan Jolly, Chris Honnery ART DIRECTOR: Sarah Bryant GRAPHIC DESIGN: Alan Parry SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER: Tim Levy SNAP PHOTOGRAPHERS: Katrina Clarke, Ashley Mar, Daniel Munns, Jordan K Munns, George Popov, Rocket Weijers, Tim Whitney ADVERTISING: Ross Eldridge - 0422 659 425 / (02) 8394 9492 ross@thebrag.com ADVERTISING: Les White - 0405 581 125 / (02) 8394 9027 les@thebrag.com ADVERTISING: Meaghan Meredith - 0423 655 091 / (02) 8394 9168 meaghan@thebrag.com GIG & CLUB GUIDE CO-ORDINATOR: Conrad Richters - gigguide@thebrag.com (rock) clubguide@thebrag.com (dance & parties) INTERNS: Sigourney Berndt, Antigone Anagnostellis, Verity Cox REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS: Bridie Connellan, Ben Cooper, Oliver Downes, Alasdair Duncan, Max Easton, Tony Edwards, Christie Eliezer, Murray Engleheart, Henry Florence, Mike Gee, Chris Honnery, Nathan Jolly, Peter Neathway, Jenny Noyes, Hugh Robertson, Romi Scodellaro, Jonno Seidler, Rach Seneviratne, Roland K. Smith, Luke Telford, Rick Warner, Andrew Yorke Please send mail NOT ACCOUNTS direct to this address 8a Marlborough Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010 ph - (02) 9552 6333 fax - (02) 9319 2227 EDITORIAL POLICY: The views and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Publisher, Editor or Staff of The Brag. ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE: Stephen Forde : accounts@furstmedia.com.au ph - (03) 9428 3600 fax - (03) 9428 3611 Furst Media, 3 Newton Street Richmond Victoria 3121 DEADLINES: Editorial: Wednesday 12pm (no extensions) Artwork, ad bookings: Thursday 12pm (no extensions). Ad cancellations: Tuesday 4pm Published by Cartrage P/L ACN 104026388 All content copyrighted to Cartrage 2003 DISTRIBUTION: Wanna get The Brag? Email distribution@ furstmedia.com.au or phone 03 9428 3600. PRINTED BY SPOTPRESS: www.spotpress.com.au 24 – 26 Lilian Fowler Place, Marrickville NSW 2204 Win a giveaway? Mail us a stamped and addressed envelope, and we’ll send your prize on over...

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recently released a split with our buddies Gay Paris and God God Dammit Dammit entitled ‘Totally Gay Dammit’. Both these recording were done with producer Tim Carr @ 301 Studios in Sydney. We love recording and putting out new shit but our main love is playing live. I really cannot explain our live show all I can really say is come to along and see it with your own eyes. We just warn you to expect a lot of hair, underwear, beer, guts and a shit load of smiles (or looks of disgust). Music, Right Here, Right Now I think the Sydney music scene is great at 5. the moment! There is a bit of a problem with venues closing their doors to live music, but it also seems like every time one door closes, another one opens. I love how open to mixed bills everyone is in Sydney. We always love being on a bill with a variety of different bands from different genres. There are so many great local bands at the moment, but the ones that stick out to us are Hira Hira, Lo!, Let Me Down Jungleman and We Lost The Sea. With: Corpus, Coffin, The Nickles, Wacks & Hetro Life Partners Where: Total Revenge @ The Standard When: Saturday April 7

LANEGAN BEGIN AGAIN

Mark Lanegan comes to Australia pretty regularly, but it’s always been under different guises: as the Lee Hazlewood to Isobel Campbell’s Nancy Sinatra, in solo mode with an acoustic guitar and NO DISTORTION, and as part of The Gutter Twins. Well, now his whiskystained roar will be perfectly in context as he brings his entire band to Australia for the first time in eight years – playing The Hi-Fi on April 20, before drunkenly trying to break into the Hopetoun to get back the lucky pick he lost a few years back. Supporting duties will be taken by Melbourne’s Howl At The Moon, who’ll be the smug-looking ones on the stage about an hour before him, fronted by the babe with the PJ Harvey voice.

A DAISY OR A ROSE?

DARLING NI(C)KI

Much like when JFK was shot during our collective parents’ youth, our generation will forever remember where they were when they first heard Nicki Minaj’s game-changing, world-beating, Giuseppe-heeled verse on Kanye West’s ‘Monster’. We’re pretty sure it started a new branch of feminism. Since then she has gone on to become one of the world’s biggest pop stars, and now she is heading out to Australia to empower/scare/bait audiences on the Pink Friday tour. May 16 she plays the Hordern and tickets go on sale April 2. (Which means it’s probably already sold out; yet another ‘it pays to be early’ thing).

No doubt the news of Hanson’s Australian tour (The Hi-Fi, September 15, do anything to be there) has prompted many a re-listen of Middle Of Nowhere, which should have resulted in the following conclusions: a) Every song is absolutely crammed with hooks so memorable one can recall every nuance after years. b) ‘Madeline’ is the best song. Not necessarily qualifying this statement with ‘from their catalogue’. c) The ‘could it be a daisy or a rose’ part in ‘MMMBop’ isn’t as low-pitched as remembered. d) Hanson are the only pop band to coin a unit of measurement. e) Isaac belts like a mofo on ‘A Minute Without You’. f) ‘Of course we copy, 24 hours a day, in colour.’

WIN SPARROW

Sparrows have been the hipster decoration of choice for a long time – to the point where Portlandia parodied it with ‘Put A Bird On It’, your one-stop shop for putting birds on everything! Those crafty (literally) hipsters are into soft birds – felt sparrows, hessian sparrows, denim sparrows, organic sourdough sparrows... Now, a tin sparrow – that bird is not a bird to mess with. You can put perishable food in it and it will survive the holocaust. Also you can listen to it play terrific indie pop, by buying its EP or seeing it play live before a young man and a huge grizzly fight to the death on stage. Wait, that’s the band Tin Sparrow, who are doing a thing at GoodGod on April 19 to launch their Fair & Verdant Woods EP, and touring nationally with Boy & Bear in May/June. That should hold you over until beakwave catches on.

DEEP SEA ARCADE

If you are like us at The BRAG, you judge a band’s worth on two things: the array of psychedelic effects pedals they have, and the paisley-ness of their attire. Sydney’s Deep Sea Arcade tick both those boxes, and they also play ‘60s-leaning pop music that wobbles in the way that all good music wobbles, as you’ll see for yourself when we rent a shitty old van and drive to The Standard on Saturday June 2 for their Outlands album tour. The Cairos and Woe and Flutter are in support, tickets go on sale April 4, so for once everything is in order. It feels a bit odd, to tell you the truth.

The Darkness

THE DARKNESS

Google some recent pictures of Justin Hawkins right now (or if you’re in RL, look upwards) because The Darkness frontman – who hasn’t had a drink in five years, works out like a demon and apparently does a mad star-kick now, according to our interview with bassist Frankie Poullain which you’ll hear more about very soon – is sporting a seriously amazing moustache these days. You’ll get to see it in the flesh (or the hair) when they tour here in May – they’re at the Roundhouse on May 6, which gives you like four weeks to work out your best ‘Growing On Me’/facial hair puns.

BRAG :: 456 :: 02:04:12 :: 9

rock music news

welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town... with Nathan Jolly and Caitlin Welsh

free stuff

FREESTUFF@THEBRAG.COM

he said she said WITH

The Beards

DIDGERISTU FROM OKA The Music You Make Our music is progressive roots – a 4. blend of feelgood roots, dub-reggae, jazz and organic electronica; it’s got electrified didgeridoo, heavy slide guitar, soaring flutes and juju rhythms. Our latest album, Milk & Honey, was created from on-stage jamming and relaxed sessions in our home studio in Coolum Beach on the Sunshine Coast. While keeping true to our indigenous roots, the 14-track journey touches on new territory, with vocal tracks (featuring Bobby Alu) and a soup of synth tones and beats – but not straying too far from the classic OKA feel. The focus of this album was all about capturing our high-energy live show, so you can expect to lose your body to the rhythm and dance all nite. Music, Right Here, Right Now We are a little under the pump at the 5. moment. There is a increasingly sad trend

1.

Growing Up I grew up surrounded by music; my mum is a music teacher, my uncles are all international touring musos. And like many blackfella gatherings, our family get-togethers were all about good times, eating and playing music. We would play mostly reggae and roots to all hours of the morning, and I think those experiences have moulded my creative exploration into music. Growing up in the islands you couldn’t 2. Inspirations

escape Bob Marley, and he still inspires me every day. Him and the Wailers are the soundtrack to my childhood, I have so many vivid memories of listening to that out of a beat-up boombox at the primitive corner store. Your Crew We are blessed that our music has 3. given us the opportunity to travel all around the world. Because of this we seem to have a worldwide crew, in a way. Chris ‘the Duke’ Lane has been my partner in crime for a decade; most things I work on with him.

discouraging original independent music by pushing covers and every venue seems to be limited by over-policed sound restrictions. But this trend has bought a real positive movement by forcing musos to think outside the box, and its exciting to see so many underground community events all about promoting and supporting original live music. We are stoked to showcase our flavour of music in Sydney, hope you can come and enjoy our sounds too. Music makes us Happy! With: The Rhythm Hunters Where: Myheartspace @ Marrickville Town Hall When: Friday April 20 from 7.30pm

HARD-ONS

June 1 at The Annandale is when The HardOns will be launching Smell My Finger, a compilation that scoops up their entire recorded output from 1984-1987, a whopping 60 songs, or 150-minutes-worth. Which averages out to a perfect 2.30 per song. No wonder these guys were so popular; it’s alchemy, it’s punk, it’s glam, it’s thrashy, it’s power pop and it’s 60 two-and-ahalf minute songs. Get into a fight at this show, it’s so fitting!

[V] WANT YOU

Because The BRAG have the most photogenic and camera-ready readership of any Sydney street press, our friends at Channel [V] have asked us to tell you about their latest presenter search, which scours the country for the perfect VJ to join their team of hair/knowledge/smiles. From April 1 (right now if you are one of our

BEARDS BEARDS

You know what they say: “beards don’t kill people – people with beards kill people”. Especially when ‘they’ are Adelaide-based comedy folk rock band The Beards, and they’re angry with you because you shaved this morning. Didn’t you realise? Razors are the enemy of ‘beard’. It’s okay – by the time you get to April 20, you’ll have more than a decent stubble going, in which case you’ll be more than welcome at Manning Bar, where The Beards will be baiting those folically challenged among the audience from the stage (but in a humorous, musical kinda way). To get a double pass, just tell us the name of a famous bearded person.

MACHINEMACHINE

The story of machinemachine’s sophomore album mysteries seems truly Lovecraftian; recorded in a bunker and mixed in a warehouse, it somehow delivers blue-eyed soul music with unexpected jabs of beauty, and moments of painfully sincere heartbreak (and perhaps even a little existential angst...) All of which makes the fact that they’re launching it on Friday April 13 at the Red (velvet curtained) Rattler just so, you know, right. If you’d like a double pass, just tell us one of the bands supporting on the night.

Sunday arvo early-bird readers – and if you are, you should enter a competition, those people always win shit) ‘til April 27 you can register online, so practice pronouncing Gurrumul and get along to vmusic.com.au.

VALE JET

There’s a song on the flipside of ‘Are You Gonna Be My Girl’ called ‘Hey Kids’, and it is freewheeling and infectious and fun and maybe if this was the first single and ‘Are You Gonna Be My Girl’ was the B side, people would be all, “Gee, it’s a shame Jet broke up”, instead of bitching about iPod ads and ‘Lust For Life’ and Stones riffs and all those boring old-man-punk ideals and sell-out shit that really should have died the minute Jack White wrote a Pepsi ad. Farewell Jet, we will miss you, we like how you didn’t mention creative differences in your breakup letter, and we really liked that sad ‘Timothy’ song too.

Bonjah Lanie Lane

BONJAH BLESS

Bonjah recently experienced the wrath of middle-aged mums when The Cranberries unceremoniously cancelled their Enmore show minutes before they were scheduled to take the stage, because Dolores wasn’t feeling that the crowd were in a ‘Zombie’-type mood (citation missing). This technically meant that Bonjah were the headlining band and therefore, totally to blame. Come sing ‘Zombie’ at them when they return to play Metro Lair on May 19, with Bowen & The Lucky Dutchmen and The Quixotics providing both moral and musical support.

TOY BOATS, DIAMOND TEETH ON THE MAPLE TRAIL Toy Boats, the folksy homespun act that sound like a more emotionally-centred version of Bright Eyes, are playing a run of in-stores in celebration of their three-song Diamond Teeth EP – hell, they may even try to sell some copies too. They hit Newtown’s Resist Records (near the Video Ezy on King Street that you still owe $9.50) on April 21, 4pm. Which kinda ruins my The Nanny-watching schedule, but you know, the wonders of G-code and that.

It’s a dappled, drowsy, Sunday afternoon, with grass for miles and the warm hug of the sun making you feel too lazy to do anything, ever. This is the perfect situation to listen to Cable Mount Warning, the new album from The Maple Trail (Belles Will Ring’s Aiden in solo-projectmode). The best place to hear it live, however, is at The Vanguard on May 3. Let’s do both those things.

MORRISON GETS INTIMATE

James Vincent McMorrow is such an unassuming singer-songwriter type that he booked The Vanguard for his April 9 gig as if he wasn’t going to immediately sell that bad boy out. Don’t worry though, fans of his beautiful Early In The Morning record will be able to catch him at The Factory Theatre, as the show has been upgraded, with extra tickets available now, and the amazing-faced psych-folkie Caitlin Park in support. Don’t delay though, he isn’t going to upgrade to the SFS or anything. This is it.

James Morrison (note: not the jazz saxophonist, nor The Doors frontman being called for dinner by his mother, but the UK soul-tinged songwriter who looks remarkably like Chris Martin) is playing an intimate acoustic show April 18 at The Basement featuring bits from his newie The Awakening, so don’t spill a drink ‘cos it’ll be one of those hushed-in-awe crowds that frown at such behaviour. Tickets on sale Tuesday April 3.

I’LL LOVE YOU MCMORROW

LANIE LANE, EVERYBODY WANTS ONE

Even though we are more than aware that Lanie Lane is Australian, we cannot help but imagine her every utterance in a laconic Texan drawl, drenched with phrases like, ‘Oh, golly gee’, and ‘Lordy lord’ and other things that we will have to wholly imagine when we catch her at the Metro Theatre on Saturday June 2. Tickets are sold out for the June 1 show there, and if the rest of her tour is any indication, this will too. Buy her record To The Horses, it’s dripping with cool.

“I look at you all, see the love there that’s sleeping, while my guitar gently weeps” - THE BEATLES 10 :: BRAG :: 456 :: 02:04:12

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The Music Network

themusicnetwork.com

Music Industry News with Christie Eliezer

Lifelines Dating: Ruby Rose and DJ/ makeup artist DJ Soulre aka Lauren Abedini, according to the Melbourne Herald Sun. Dating: Katy Perry and French musician and model Baptiste Giabiconi who is moving to LA to be with her. Ill: US soul man Bobby Womack has been diagnosed with colon cancer. Arrested: Korn drummer David Silveria, for alleged drink driving. In Court: Justin Bieber could face legal action over his prank tweet when he gave a phone number (with last digit missing) to 19 million followers to call him. Two Texans claim they got 1000 calls at all hours, and will sue… unless Bieber gives them concerts, cash and endorses their new online project. In Court: Fawzy Hamdan, onetime security guard at Cronulla’s Fusions nightclub, lost his security license, even though criminal charges against him (that he beat up a patron) were withdrawn, after the victim went overseas. Died: US country and bluegrass legend Earl Scruggs, who pioneered a three-finger style, at 88. His hits with Lester Flatt included ‘Foggy Mountain Breakdown’ and ‘The Ballad Of Jed Clampett.’ Died: Eric Lowen, of songwriting duo Lowen & Navarro (Pat Benatar’s ‘We Belong’), at 60 from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

GENERATE FINALISTS

Federal Minister for the Arts Simon Crean has announced 15 music execs as finalists for a new music enterprise investment program called Generate, set up by the government and the Creative Industries Innovation Centre (under Lisa Colley). Participants will receive business development support, skills training and expert mentoring, alongside access to seed investment of up to $30,000 per business. Final investment amounts for each applicant will be announced in May. The CIIC will deliver the Generate program via APRA/AMCOS, supported by the Australian Music Industry Network (AMIN). The finalists are Stephen Green to expand SGC Media and find new global opportunities for Australian music; Fred (Feleti) Leone to strengthen indigenous label Impossible Odds; Rosco Stewart so Synch My Track can find new ways to manage music rights and find new syncs abroad; Julia Wilson to build the Rice Is Nice label through an artist-controlled model; Tim Byrne of KISS FM to review its business planning to establish new markets in the dance sector and grow market share; Ajax McKerral of Nuttify to expand Playmusic as a platform for social music education and create new apps for it; Jen Cloher of I Manage My Music to develop a company providing skills development for self-managed artists; Nick Wallberg of Tram Sessions In to help create a Victorian tourism/live music project; Tom Armstrong to aid Infusion inc. to find new technology that allows real time interaction between band and audience; Claire Collins to strengthen her company Bossy Music and support the skills development of music managers; Craig May to develop start-up music label Create Control; Glenn Dickie so Stage Mothers can build an export marketing brand promoting Australian music at music markets abroad; Jai Al-Attas to build Zapp It Yourself, which is focused on subscription apps for mobile and desktop devices for artists; Larry Heath to increase revenues and content quality at AU Review; and Marshall Cullen for Soundslikecafe, to build a platform to connect café owners with listeners and musicians.

ARIAS GO GOLD COAST?

Could the ARIA awards end up at the Gold Coast? Billy Cross, the promoter behind Summafieldayze, says he is talking to organisers about securing it for Jupiters Hotel and Casino and the Gold Coast Convention

Register at THEHIFI.COM.AU to

Win Vip Tickets to Every Gig for a Year

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JUST ANNOUNCED

HANSON

Sat 15 September

LEB I SOL

Sat 3 November

Thu 5 April

THEIR NAME IS BLOOD!

The Flaming Lips’ Wayne Coyne is collecting vials of blood from collaborators on their Record Store Day project The Flaming Lips And Heady Fwends. These include Bon Iver, Nick Cave, Ke$ha, Neon Indian and Erykah Badu. Coyne said, “I don’t have everybody’s blood just yet, but I've collected quite a few vials and it’s actually sitting in my refrigerator as we speak... I’m going to try to take that same concept and put little bits of everybody’s blood in the middle of this record. Like a glass specimen thing.” These will be for limited edition copies for hardcore fans. Or Dracula.

WANNA WORK AT CHANNEL [V]?

Channel [V] has launched a search for a new presenter. Criteria: '18 years or older, have music blazing through their veins, be prepared to circumnavigate the globe covering major music festivals and events, have the guts to ask the gritty questions and be able to hold their own when face-to-face with the likes of Lady Gaga, Radiohead, Kanye West or Slash'. You get paid for it too! Register details on vmusic. com.au and complete a series of audition tasks.

GLOBAL MUSIC GOES STRONG

Figures from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) show things are starting to look up for the music industry; while CD sales continue to fall, digital sales have increased enough to start balancing things. Last year overall sales fell by 3% to $16.3 billion, compared to an 8.9% fall in 2010. Physical sales continued to drop (by 8.7% to $10.2 billion) but digital sales rose 8% to $5.2 billion. Digital now make up 31% of all recorded music revenues compared to 29% in 2010. The biz sees that future digital sales will increase, with new legal services, wider subscription services and “the revolution in portability.” In the US and Korea, digital already outsells physical. Digital subscription revenues grew 65% to 13.4 million users. “2011 was a significant year in the evolution of the digital music business,” said Edgar Berger of Sony Music Entertainment. America remains the biggest music market, followed by Japan, Germany, the UK, France, Australia (now moving up to #6 spot from #7), Canada, Brazil, Netherlands and Italy. Adele’s 21 was biggest selling album around the world last year, with 18.1 million copies (the highest sales since The Eminem Show in 2002 with 13.9 million) followed by Michael Buble’s Christmas and Lady Gaga’s Born This Way. Bruno Mars had the top two global best-selling digital songs of 2011, with ‘Just The Way You Are’ and ‘Grenade’ selling 12.5 million and 10.2 million respectively, while LMFAO’s ‘Party Rock Anthem’ was third most popular, with 9.7 million.

…AND THE US

THIS WEEK

ICED EARTH

and Exhibition Centre. ARIA CEO Dan Rosen told us, “ARIA is approached by numerous state and regional bodies about hosting the Awards and it is something we give due thought and consideration to. We are in the planning stages for this year, and will let you know when we are about to make any announcements”.

DEAD MEADOW & PINK MOUNTAINTOPS Fri 6 April

SNEAKY SOUND SYSTEM

SANDY RIVERA Sun 8 April

Sat 7 April

The US biz gained its first growth in seven years, according to figures by the Recording Industry Association of America. Revenue went up 0.2% to US$7.01 billion in 2011, after growth in digital and synchronisation revenue outpaced that of physical. CDs slid 8.5% in value to $3.1 billion and down 4.8% in units shipped. Downloads were up 17% to $2.62 billion (up

THINGS WE HEAR Sat 14 April

MARK LANEGAN FU MANCHU Thu 3 May BAND

MOUNT KIMBIE

DEVILDRIVER

DIGITALISM

KAISER CHIEFS

AMON AMARTH

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w/ Dakest Hour

MUTEMATH Wed 16 May

Fri 4 May

Fri 20 April

Fri 11 May

ATMOSPHERE Sat 12 May

MICKEY AVALON DEAD LETTER Fri 18 May CIRCUS Fri 25 May

Tue 15 May

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TIX + INFO 1300 THE HIFI

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YOUNG GUNS Thu 31 May

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KARNIVOOL Thu 12 July

BUILDING 220, 122 LANG RD, MOORE PARK, SYDNEY

* Gay rights activists in Russia are calling on Madonna to cancel her August 9 show in St. Petersburg to protest the city’s new anti-gay regulations. But La Ciccone says she’d rather play there and create awareness of the foul law. * Future Music Festival reported a 22% rise in sponsorship revenue for 2012. * Dave Nankervis of Brisbane’s Awaken I Am has been asked by Chicago rock punksters MEST to play on their upcoming North American dates. The two bands played together on an Oz run a few years back. * There was a furor last week when The Grates tweeted that Kiwi fans tipped them off that a new ad for Weetbix in NZ sounded like their ‘Aw Yeah’ single. But by the end of the week, the tweet disappeared and their label Dew Process gave us a “no comment”. * Virgin Australia’s new baggage allowance for musos hit a glitch when Canadian band Madison Violet loudly protested they were hit with a $1200 fee for ten luggage pieces for a flight between Sydney and Melbourne. An embarrassed Virgin returned the money. * Cold Chisel will play their first overseas

by $387 million), with a 25% surge in digital albums to $1.1 billion and breaking the 100 million-unit mark for the first time by shifting 1.09 million. Digital tracks were up 13% to $1.5 billion. Music subscription services had a 13% jump in revenue to $241 million: the number of users surged by 300,000 to 1.8 million. Subscriptions, performance royalties and synchronisation royalties combined for a 12.2% increase, or $79.2 million rise. Synchronisation royalties rose 4% to $196.5 million in 2011. Mobile phone revenue also fell: ringtones down 39% and ringback tones down 28%: together they are only worth $277.4 million.

LABELS LOBBY AGAINST CAP

Record companies and their artists will lobby federal MPs to lift a cap on fees paid by radio for playing music, after the High Court last week unanimously rejected the Phonographic Performance Company of Australia’s appeal. In 1968 the Liberal government, convinced by the radio sector that it would collapse otherwise, decreed that commercial radio had to pay no more than 1% of its ad revenue (which works out at $4 million for 260 stations). The ABC pays 0.5c per head of population ($100,000). The PPCA says radio in NZ, UK and Canada pays up to 5% of earnings and that Aussie labels and artists are losing $1 billion a year. CEO Dan Rosen said, “It’s artificial, it’s anachronistic and it’s time for it to go. It’s protecting a billion-dollar industry that doesn’t need protection and taking that money out of the pockets of Australian artists and musicians.”

IMC ADDS

Sydney-based IMC agency has added to its roster Adelaide’s hip hop/soul band Full Tote Odds, Perth’s Split Seconds, whose single ‘Bed Down’ saw them win five WAMI awards, and Sydney pop-psychedelists Underlights.

STORYLINES BENEFIT

CC Entertainment and Sony Music team up for the next edition of Storylines at the Basement, on Tuesday May 29. Jenny Morris, Steve Balbi, Simon Meli, Evelyn Duprai and Jeff Duff, among others, will do their fave songs under the direction of Joseph Calderazzo for The A21 Campaign, which works at abolishing human trafficking. Head to a21campaign.org to donate.

THE RUBENS: IVY LEAGUE

Sydney’s The Rubens, of ‘Lay It Down’ fame, have been signed to Ivy League Records. They’re currently in New York recording with producer David Kahne.

EMI DANCE NETWORK

EMI Australia will play a key role in the new London-based EMI Dance Network, a dedicated global A&R and marketing operation to find, develop and market dance and electronic artists across 23 countries. The Oz operations' She Can DJ competition, which picked up local talent Minx and Alison Wonderland last year, is being rolled out globally, with the next Oz instalment launching April 5. Local signings Empire Of The Sun, Miami Horror, Sam Sparro, RickiLee, Gold Fields and 360 found international recognition in the dance sector, resulting in the signing this year of The Slips and The Aston Shuffle. show in 30 years, at the Hard Rock Calling 2012 concert in Hyde Park, London, this July, alongside Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, Soundgarden and Paul Simon. * If The Black Keys don’t make it to Oz in October, will they join the Big Day Out lineup in 2013? * EMI Music Australia is the latest to donate to the Annandale’s Buy A Brick. * The 1am lockout and late night restrictions on sale of alcohol for Hamilton, Newcastle, temporarily introduced 15 months ago and then extended in November, look like staying permanently. * The four single members of Brit pop cuties One Direction have been told by their US record company: no girlfriends and no sex – so as not to alienate fans. * Old hard rockers don’t f-f-fade away: Kiss, grumpy about not being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, quipped they would buy the Hall and sack everyone in it… meantime, guitarist Brian May says if he wasn’t in Queen, he’d love to be in AC/DC. “They know their style and it’s incredibly pure.” * AWOLNATION single ‘Sail’ has gone platinum in the US, with 1 million downloads, and double platinum in Canada.

Ecstasy and Related Drugs Reporting System (EDRS)

Would you like to be involved this year? Have you recently used ecstasy? Are you at least 17 years old? If so, you could be part of the 2012 EDRS! Interviews are ANONYMOUS AND CONFIDENTIAL and you are reimbursed $40 for the hour you spend with our interviewer. What is the EDRS?

Thankyou to 2011 participants!

Key Messages from the 2011 NSW Report

The EDRS is a national drug market monitoring system for ecstasy and related drugs (such as ice, cocaine, ketamine, GHB, mephedrone etc). We aim to identify emerging trends in these markets and to help reduce the harms associated with the use of these drugs.

Why do we collect this data? This system has been running nationally since 2003. Many organisations routinely use our data.

EDRS Interviewers (from left) Mon, Laura and Kath

Medicine

NDARC

Last year we: • Helped health workers plan first aid assistance at festivals and events. • Responded to media enquiries about trends in ‘research chemicals’ including mephedrone. • Assisted law enforcement and government bodies with drug policy. • Supported harm reduction messages. • Presented at scientific conferences to help direct future research.

As the purity of ecstasy has declined, we have seen increases in users trying a wide range of new drugs. Inexperienced users can be at high risk of experiencing an adverse event. ➔ If you intend to take a new drug, get informed about it beforehand to help reduce the risks. of ecstasy users were daily smokers. Smoking can potentially interact with drugs like ecstasy and stress your heart and lungs. ➔ Avoid smoking ‘triggers’ like seeing a cigarette or others smoking. Try not taking cigarettes to a party or event.

55%

of the group recently had casual sex and 41% of these did not reliably use a condom when they were under the influence of alcohol or drugs. ➔ Good sexual health practices include getting regular STI tests and always using protective barriers (e.g. condoms).

73%

Call Laura to enquire: Mobile: 0404 786 677 Phone: 9385 0407 Email: nswedrs@unsw.edu.au Website: http://ndarc.med.unsw.edu.au/project/ecstasy-and-related-drugs-reporting-system-edrs

Sandringham Hotel 387 King St Newtown 9557 1254 MON

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MAIN STAGE STREET LEVEL MAIN STAGE STREET LEVEL

Sando Sketch Club Life Drawing Unherd Open Mic “The Songwriter Sessions” Adam Pringle and Friends

Funky as F#ck

+ TOOHEYS $6 NEW JUGS (7-8PM)

FREE 7:00pm FREE 8:00pm FREE 7:30pm FREE 8:00pm

CHILL STAGE

Michele Madden (Tourettes / Meldrum) + Blackie (Hard-Ons / Nunchukka Superfly) + Keish (ex Hard-Ons) + Rah (ex Sando)

$10 8:00pm

STREET LEVEL

The Rockwells

FREE 8:00pm

CHILL STAGE

Adrift For Days + Futility (ACT) + The Veil + L.I.N.T

$10 8:00pm

STREET LEVEL

Johnathan Devoy + special guests

FREE 8:00pm

MAIN STAGE

Not Like Horse + Khan Of K + Red Bee + Modern Murder

$10 8:00pm

STREET LEVEL

Video Juke Box

MAIN STAGE

+ $3 SCHOONERS OF SANDO LAGER

FREE 8:00pm

Bayonets For Legs + The Havelocks + Andy Golledge

$12 8:00pm

+ Mannequins + Anthony Ousback + Braden Evans + Jenna Murphy

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Dave Tice and Mark Evans 4pm-7pm DJ Kaki 8pm-late

FREE 4:00pm

“I-94 Bar presents” SUN

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Doc Neeson Band (voice of The Angels)

$10 7:00pm

Lucy DeSoto And The Handsome Devils

FREE 4:00pm

+ Blow + Debbie

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ICE CUB E BE CHI LL By L ach lan Kan oniu k

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n the two and a half decades since his thermonuclear breakthrough with pioneering gangsta rap outfit N.W.A., you’d be hard pressed to find a time when Ice Cube has been anything close to creatively dormant. By the age of 22, he had jettisoned N.W.A. and released landmark LP AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted – the first instalment of one of the finest solo rap canons of the ‘90s. Since then, the West Coast icon has gone on to enjoy incredible success – as a producer, record label owner, writer and top-billing Hollywood actor. Despite the many pitfalls and trappings associated with the industry, the Ice Cube on the phone today (who, at 42, is a relatively young veteran of the biz) is very much a free man. After releasing a string of blockbuster major label records throughout the ‘90s (culminating in the two-part opus War & Peace), Cube travelled off the beaten track to release 2006’s Laugh Now, Cry Later independently, under his own Lench Mob banner – a strategy he has employed every since. “There’s definitely a lot more creative freedom because I’m independent,” Cube affirms. “It’s my own label, it’s my own record. Just not having a corporation looking over your shoulder, not having to please people at a record company – all I gotta do is please myself! It is freedom; I don’t do records for the radio or for program directors, I do records for Ice Cube fans. That gives me a lot more freedom to pinpoint and do what I feel, not what I think I should do.

In terms of new material, Cube reveals that a new record is already well under way. “Well you know I always go into a record with a pure kind of mentality, I don’t try to go in any direction. I just record a few songs based on how I feel. That’s when the record really starts to take shape, then I know what to hone in on and start to make the record feel like it’s conceptual in a way. I’m about seven songs, six songs into it,” he reveals. “I wrote some hardcore rhymes – I wrote some political records and I wrote a few party records. So we’ll see what direction the record takes and how it starts to take shape.” With a stellar career under his belt, and as a family man (two of Cube’s sons are rappers in their own right, with OMG and Doughboy appearing alongside their father on 2010’s I Am The West), Cube isn’t shying away from the aggression that defined his earlier material, but sees it as less relevant today. “I could definitely go there, I just think that style has run its course in a lot of ways,” he suggests. “I think before the G-funk era” – the subgenre that defined most of mid-’90s West Coast hip hop – “the style of hip hop was much more aggressive; the delivery, the subject matter, even the beats and the sampling. Everything sounded edgier. Coming from the Run-DMC, Public Enemy, N.W.A., Ice-T kind of era, that style was more prominent for me. Since the G-funk era, when music became more original, more melodic, more singing in the hooks – the whole cross between RnB and rap, was when that style of being loud and aggressive became kind of played-out, in a way. So I think when we do it now, we have to be selective,” he reasons. “You couldn’t do a whole album like that.” As evident in his last album title, Cube

“Gangs, L.A.P.D., crack cocaine, Reaganomics and then rap music. There was an intersection of all of that, and it was N.W.A.. I think we need to make sure that when people see this story 50 years from now, they’ll be able to feel that.” remains a steadfast ambassador of LA’s prestigious rap history. “Well, you know, at first we were long shots. We were the new toy on the block. But now I think we’re underdogs, that’s the evolution,” he muses. “I still think we underdogs in a lot of ways, because to be a West Coast artist is an uphill battle, because there’s that stigma that goes with it – that all we could do is hardcore rap with little substance. It’s just not true.” The story of N.W.A.’s indelible impact on contemporary culture is soon to be immortalised in a biopic – a project that Cube is heavily involved with. “Well we got the first draft written, so it will take a few more drafts until it’s ready to be cast and shot,” Cube reveals. “So the movie’s coming along. I wanna do a movie that’s really dealing with the history of N.W.A.. We’re dealing with a lot of different volatile times. We’re dealing with LA when that music came out – we’re dealing with gangs, L.A.P.D., crack cocaine, Reaganomics, and then rap music. There was an intersection of all of that, and that intersection was N.W.A.. I think we need to make sure that when people see this story 50 years from now, they’ll be able to feel that.” Anticipation is also riding high for Cube’s involvement in a very different film project, with rumours circulating that he and Chris

Tucker will return for the final instalment in the hugely successful Friday films – the first of which was penned by Cube. “Right now we’re in the process of talking to New Line Cinema for me to write the next Friday movie. Everybody’s invited back, everybody will be written in, and hopefully everybody will be showing up,” he tells me. In the meantime, Cube is all set to bring his live show to Australia for Supafest – so what can fans expect? “Everything man. It would be sad for me to come out there and all we do is the new records. I’m gonna do the whole history, from N.W.A. through to I Am The West and everything in between – Westside Connection records. I’m gonna have WC with me, so we gonna pull out some of his songs. You’re gonna hear a little bit of everything from throughout my whole career My show is hip hop in its purest form. No band, just two turntables, a microphone, and a ferocious MC.” With: Chris Brown, P. Diddy, Kelly Rowland, Missy Elliott, Lupe Fiasco, T-Pain, Ludacris, Rick Ross, Trey Songz, Naughty By Nature and Big Sean Where: Supafest @ ANZ Stadium When: Sunday April 15 More: supafest.com.au

“She’s well acquainted with the touch of a velvet hand like a lizard on a window pane.” - THE BEATLES 14 :: BRAG :: 456 :: 02:04:12

xxx

“I’ll put it this way,” he continues, seguing into an unlikely agricultural analogy: “you go to work on someone’s farm everyday, some big corporation with all the equipment you need – but at the end of the day you’re only getting a little bit of what you [produce]. You’re probably having an easier time there than in your backyard, where you won’t grow as much – but you get more pleasure growing the food, y’see what I mean? It

makes it spiritually better. Working with these record companies is like a blind maze; you don’t know which way is up. You’re always explaining your position and your vision – but you’d probably sell a lot more records.”

SNEAK A PEEK 25 FILMS REVEALED! Sydney Film Festival brings the city to life with screenings of over 150 films, red carpet galas, guests, talks and forums. You’ll find everything SYDNEY FILM from music docos in Sounds On Screen to hardcore FESTIVAL HUB @ horror in Freak Me Out, alongside the best of film LOWER TOWN HALL from across Australia and around the world. Grab a drink at the bar BUY A FLEXIPASS NOW and save big on ticket prices, then choose your own festival adventure when the full program is launched on 9 May. Share it with friends or keep it to yourself!

and see live music, films, and DJs – FREE every night during the Festival.

RAMPART

WOODY ALLEN: A DOCUMENTARY

BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD

Gritty tale about a trigger-happy LA cop (Woody Harrelson) whose professional and personal lives spiral out of control after he is caught on tape beating a suspect.

This riveting look at the creative life of the multi-hyphenate filmmaker is packed with clips and interviews with a plethora of stars, his mother and, of course, the man himself.

A Sundance prize winner, this unforgettable feature-film debut is set in a defiant bayou community cut off from the rest of the world, as icebergs melt and prehistoric creatures descend.

UNDER AFRICAN SKIES

THE LONELIEST PLANET

SOME GUY WHO KILLS PEOPLE

Paul Simon reunites with the South African musicians who collaborated on his 1986 megahit Graceland – and relives the controversy the album stirred upon release.

A young engaged couple’s idyll in the Caucasus Mountains of Georgia is interrupted by a momentary misstep that threatens to undo everything they believed about each other and themselves.

Kevin Corrigan is a suspect in a series of bizarre murders and Karen Black is his acid-tongued mum in this delightfully deranged treat marked by droll humour and juicy gore.

ONE FILM FESTIVAL 6–17 JUNE S F F. O R G . A U

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Alabama 3 Preaching Love By Benjamin Cooper

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arry Love has got some advice, and y’all better listen up. “Beware the hippy,” he warns. “Honestly, the hippy is more dangerous than the police, what with all their bullshit and delusion.” The frontman of England’s psych-country madmen Alabama 3 is currently touring New Zealand, prior to the band’s Australian jaunt, and is extolling the virtues of a switched-on crowd. “The crowds over here,” he broadly accentuates, “are very similar to the ones in Australia. Sure, they’re nice and laid-back, and they welcome what we do with an open mind. But there’s also a degree of intelligence in the reception that we rarely get back home in England. I don’t think we’ve had crowds this good since we first played Ireland, 15 years ago.” Love (real name Rob Spragg) formed Alabama 3 with close friend The Very Reverend Dr D Wayne (known to his mother as Jake Black) in Peckham in 1995. The band sprang from a simple conversation at a house party in which they decided that the acid house movement dominating the Brixton scene could potentially be fused with their love of country music.

DEEP SEA ARCADE T H E W O E

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In spite of his earlier warning about hippies, Love acknowledges the importance of dance

O U T L A N D S ALBUM TOUR

WITH SPECIAL GUESTS

C A I R O S & F L U T T E R A N D

CAMBRIDGE HOTEL

Newcastle NSW

Sat 2 June

THE S TANDARD

Sydney NSW

Thurs 7 June

TRANSIT BAR

Canberra ACT

Fri 8 June

PHOENIX PUBLIC HOUSE

Melbourne VIC

Sat 9 June

KAROVA LOUNGE

Ballarat VIC

Thurs 14 June

JIVE

Adelaide SA

Fri 15 June

INDI BAR

Scarborough WA

Sat 16 June

AMPLIFIER BAR

Perth WA

Sun 17 June

MOJO’S BAR

Fremantle WA

Thurs 21 June

COBRA KAI @ OH HELLO

Brisbane QLD

Fri 22 June

BEACH HOTEL*

Byron Bay NSW

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His reservations about hippies don’t extend to Byron Bay, however. “Oh man,” he exclaims, “the times we’ve had at Bluesfest! We’ve played there before jet-lagged out of our skulls and we got so much respect for putting in a big show, with all the characters that make up our performance, that they couldn’t get us off the stage!” It’s taken time and work for Alabama 3 to find their audience abroad – something Love sees as a byproduct of their peculiar blend of genres. “When we first played America, no-one knew how to take us,” he recalls. “I think everyone saw us as some kind of a novelty act, but I think our hard work touring and releasing albums has shown us for who we really are.” The band have released nine albums so far, including last year’s Shoplifting 4 Jesus, of which Love says, “There’s never going to be another record in history like ours. And that’s something that makes us very, very happy lads.” The album’s production through their label Hostage Music was painful, but certainly not because of any bad blood with the company. “We’ve always been fortunate in having our labels allow us a good amount of artistic control,” he says. “We have had to employ our own framework, pretty much from the start, and that level of control is heartening.” The power shifts between artists and labels in the last decade is something of which Love is acutely aware, and it has particular resonance for an act with such a strong touring identity. “These are exciting times,” he enthuses. “This so-called collapse of the industry has forced a change in how musicians operate. We’ve finally got some of the power back, [whereas] it used to be all about the label or the middleman. Musicians have to ignore record sales, ignore looking for some magical deal to be offered to them, because people want real bands who believe in the hard slog.”

Fri 1 June

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and electronic music to his band’s evolution. “I really don’t mind psych-trance, I mean, it’s very much where we’ve come from,” he admits. “The thing that gets me is the way that kind of music gets appropriated by all these people who take a fuckload of drugs, but are boring as shit. Then they hang about in Thailand and India calling it enlightened tourism – but it’s just ex-colonising, with a fucking vengeance. We wrote a song called ‘Never Going To Goa’ (from their debut Exile on Coldharbour Lane) which maybe goes some way to explaining how we feel about that scene. We’ve lived big lives...we’ve been those lunatics who party beyond the break of day, but I like to think that we’ve got a bit more energy and creativity than to just sit around on a filthy beach talking bullshit with other idiots about consciousness expansion.”

( D O O R )

*FREE ENTRY

“I like to think we’ve got a bit more energy and creativity than to sit around on a filthy beach talking bullshit about consciousness expansion.” Hard work aside, it was mostly chance that saw Alabama 3 break through in America, when their track ‘Woke Up This Morning’ was co-opted by television series The Sopranos for its opening titles. US rapper Nas subsequently sampled it on his track ‘Got Ur Self A...’ from his album Stillmatic. “Mate, we’ve made more money and got more exposure from that TV show and Nas then we ever got flogging our own wares!” Love says with trademark self-deprecation. As if being a purveyor of alt-country psych-trance wasn’t boundarypushing enough, he then reveals that Nas’ debut Illmatic is his favourite album. “Funny thing about Nas,” he adds, “is that when he played Brixton he did ‘Got Ur Self A...’ for his finale, as a tribute to us. But he didn’t know there’s quite a big Yardy culture in our hometown, and there are some issues with firearms. So he starts playing and a bunch of guys scattered throughout the audience start firing their guns in the air, and shot out the lights. Needless to say, they shut the gig down pretty quick. And Nas wandered off stage looking pretty bewildered. Great night, though.” With: The Rumjacks Where: The Manning Bar, Sydney University When: Saturday April 7 More: Also playing alongside Crosby Stills & Nash, My Morning Jacket, Justin Townes Earle, Blitzen Trapper and many more at Bluesfest from April 5-9 @ Byron Bay

Cold Chisel No Plans By Chris Martin

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Cold Chisel photo by Steve Baccon

s early as winter 2009, Cold Chisel’s plans for a reunion album were tracking as painlessly as possible. The Oz pub rock legends had received and accepted an invitation to a oneoff show at the V8 Supercars circus at Sydney Olympic Park, and had already flirted with some new material in Jimmy Barnes’ Botany studios. “It just went down so well,” recalls guitarist Ian Moss. “It was all feeling really good; the harmony and comradeship was back for the first time in a long, long time – 20 years at least, 25 years.” Then in January 2011, just as Chisel were accelerating plans for their first studio record since 1998’s The Last Wave of Summer, long-term drummer Steve Prestwich was diagnosed with a brain tumour. Within two weeks, he died. “It was all really sudden,” says Moss, who first played alongside Prestwich in 1973. “We heard that Steve had suffered a few problems, a few headaches and things, but everyone thought, ‘Oh, it’s 2011, they can do anything with medicine these days.’ He sounded like he’d pull through.” Up until that point, Moss, Barnes, Prestwich, Don Walker and Phil Small had set a course towards recording in March. Prestwich’s sudden passing prompted inevitable second thoughts. Having assumed their days of lineup shakeups were behind them (“People not getting on and band members clashing with certain other band members,” Moss recalls), now they faced a much more difficult challenge – going forward without one of the band’s core members. “But as the shock subsided,” Moss explains, “one of the driving forces was – we started this album with Steve, and the least we can do is put out some kind of record of his existence and pay homage to him.” 12 months later, that record has emerged as No

do some of the greatest hits, so our decision has been pretty much to do maybe six, maximum eight songs from the new album, and the rest we’ll get to the ‘Bow Rivers’ and ‘Khe Sanhs’ and ‘Flame Trees’ etcetera.” Moss reels off the titles of these well-travelled songs so rapidly that it’s easy to forget how important they are in the national psyche. Indeed, the band’s relaxed attitude towards those songs – break-ups, hiatuses and solo careers aside – is probably the reason why they can still operate as a unit today. “When you’ve decided you’re going to do an album after [your debut], there’s no point in saying, ‘What if it doesn’t do as well as the last album?’” declares Moss. “It’s just not productive, so it’s something you just put out of your mind and you say, ‘Well, who cares?’ We’re here to enjoy ourselves, not to compete with ourselves.” What: No Plans out April 6 through Warner Music Where: Bluesfest @ Byron Bay When: Thursday April 5 More: Also appearing Wednesday April 18 at the Hordern Pavilion

“We started this album with Steve, so the least we can do is put out some kind of record of his existence and pay homage to him”. Plans, put together under the direction of Kevin ‘The Caveman’ Shirley. Chisel devotees were first introduced to the new batch via ‘All For You’, a piano-and-more ballad that appeared on last year’s Light The Nitro greatest hits tour and Best Of collection – followed by the single ‘Everybody’, which Moss describes as a good doorway into the album, on account of its “funny, witty and interesting social commentary.” But more than the simplicity of these two lead singles – the hint of understatement, even self-consciousness that they exhibit – Moss is enthusiastic about returning to the old Chisel habits that dominate the rest of No Plans. “One of our markers for the album was to keep it an up-tempo and aggressive, rocky sort of album that would still tip its hat towards the blues and towards early ’50s rockabilly,” he explains, “and I think we’ve managed to do that.” In that light, Moss’ unrequited love song, ‘Too Late’, works perfectly – “a nice fresh idea of just over a year ago… up there in tempo and up there in intensity.” As for the production process behind what is the band’s second effort since their 1983 break-up, Moss says little has changed. “In the early ‘80s some digital stuff was starting to come around, of course we were doing analogue back then, but there were some digital reverbs and things starting to hit the scene,” he tells me. “For the No Plans album, there’s definitely still a good, healthy mix of both.” Moss says the band did attempt (and later abandon) one significant change to their method: collaborative writing. “The whole thing was, ‘right, let’s bring in ideas and let’s write together, let’s write as a band.’ But it just hasn’t happened for us like that – if you’re a songwriter and you get a strong idea, it can be real hard to give up… Most of the time we ended up rocking in there with what would feel like jamming ideas, but we’d tend to roll up with completed songs.” There has been no shortage of strong ideas in a group with five successful writers, but with the death of Prestwich, Chisel lost the hand behind ‘When the War Is Over’ (though his final composition, ‘I Got Things to Do’, closes No Plans). The first stop on Cold Chisel’s brief No Plans tour is Bluesfest, where they’ll headline Thursday night before a jaunt across the country to Perth, and single-night appearances in Melbourne and Sydney. With all those pub and arena anthems behind them, Moss promises a well-balanced setlist. “The whole idea of these shows overall is to promote the new album, and so that’s the main intention, that’s the main thrust. But having said that, we realise it’s pretty important that we BRAG :: 456 :: 02:04:12 :: 17

Seth Lakeman Guitar Hero By Daniel Watt

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ver since its inaugural year in 1992 – the year Primal Scream’s Screamadelica won – the UK’s Mercury Prize has been synonymous with cool sounds and seminal styles. Often the artists getting nominated don’t even realise that their style of music is on the way up. One such unsuspecting nominee was Devon-born multi-instrumentalist and prodigious fiddler Seth Lakeman, who in 2005 saw his debut album Kitty Jay (which had been recorded for 300 quid in his brother’s kitchen) nominated alongside Bloc Party’s Silent Alarm, Coldplay’s X&Y and the eventual winner, Antony & The Johnsons’ I Am A Bird Now. Lakeman, who is in Australia this month for Bluesfest and his album launch tour, talks about how it felt to go from a regional folk artist to the toast of Shoreditch: “It was something that broke me as an artist…” There is a pause then a light giggle as the charming Brit spots the double entendre; “‘broke’ in the right way,” he clarifies. “But when I stood beside the other nominees for the first photo shoot, they put me beside Chris Martin (because he’s from down here in Devon as well); it was all a bit overwhelming.” Given that Kitty Jay was so experimental and so steeped in the culture of Southern England, Lakeman says he was doubly surprised to get the Mercury nod. “I feel that every aspect of Kitty Jay was rooted in where I was from and filled with these stories from when I was growing up, and I think that’s why that album still holds a really special place in my heart; it represents me and my upbringing so strongly, but was also what changed everything for me.” Talking about his musical upbringing, Lakeman says, “It’s a bizarre one really: fiddle-wise I grew up mostly playing a lot of Scottish, Irish and English tunes, and rhythm was [really

important] for me; but I was also in love with singers like Richard Thompson, Paul Brady and Nick Jones – all these storytellers and quite traditional folk singers. But then you mix in some swing jazz and you start to get an idea of what shaped my sound as a young man. “Then as a teenager I got into the early-‘90s vibe of Counting Crows and Crowded House,” he recalls, “combined with the massive sound of the U2 records that were happening then, and the experimentation in production that major artists like Paul Simon were doing, coming out the back of Graceland.” Living in England in the early ‘90s, Lakeman couldn’t help but also be influenced by the rising tide of electronic dance music. “My track ‘Kitty Jay’ was very much inspired by house music – you know that stomp that drives the whole song on!” On what audiences can expect from his upcoming Australian shows, the singersongwriter says, “On stage it’s going to be myself, my brother Sean, a guy called Ben Nichols, who plays double bass, and this fabulous percussionist from Ireland called Cormack Burn. The show will be quite upbeat and full-on, with a vibe similar to…” Again Lakeman trails off, searching for the best words. “There’s no kick drum, you see, so it’s hard to describe using linear music descriptors normally associated with rock’n’roll. You know what? It will sound quite Waifs-y – but without the female vocals!” With: Carus Thompson Where: The Vanguard, 42 King St Newtown When: Tuesday April 10 More: Also playing at Bluesfest from April 5-9 @ Byron Bay And: Tales From The Barrel House out April 6 through Honour Oak Records / Planet

Emma Russack Sounds Of The City By Benjamin Cooper

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ounds Of Our City, the debut album from Melbourne-via-NSW-South-Coast’s Emma Russack, bears the marks of years of restless travelling and the accompanying scribblings of life on the road. Although much of this writing was later scratched, Russack says she drew on it when it came to writing her first album. “I’m glad that I did get out there and travel,” she says. “I think if you don’t get out there, in the world, you can’t change. Personally I know I can’t write without that kind of stimulation. Don’t get me wrong,” she hastens to add, “going around South America I was writing lyrics that, after reading back through my notebooks (in Australia), were pretty shit and unsuited for songs.” There weren’t any particular gems in the moleskins that caught her eye? “Look,” she deadpans, “most of it was all these semicritical dissertations on hypochondria and fears of contracting tuberculosis. But it was still necessary, for me as a songwriter, to move to that next stage of the process in reflecting on what I’d moved through. I guess having the words and the history written down made the experience of where I’d been somehow more present.” The sense of place present throughout Russack’s music is very much born out of her experience of returning back to Australia and settling in Melbourne. In response to my gentle goading about her press release, which notes the brutality of much of her time writing and recording, she cheekily, queries, “Do you mean the press release was brutal, or my life over the last couple of years?” The presser also notes Russack’s time working in a rather odd Italian restaurant… “It was definitely a mafia-style restaurant,” she

confesses. “Although, it’s probably best not to mention that, in case they come after me. I never knew exactly what might be said or who might walk in at any moment. Admittedly, I was introduced to a lot of drugs at the time, which wasn’t through the restaurant, but probably contributed to the strangeness of the whole period.” She’s currently experiencing a much more settled period, including a change of job and accommodation – and she tells me that moving to the spacious surrounds of Melbourne suburb Parkville has come with a significant bonus: she’s now within spitting (and serenading) distance of The Royal Zoo. For her upcoming national tour, Russack will be bringing Rohin Jones (formerly of The Middle East) and Jess Venables (of fellow Melbourne act Jessica Says), along for the ride, as well as Sydney’s own Caitlin Park – and Russack admits to feeling pretty darn proud of the lineup. “A friend of mine said something the other day, to the effect of, ‘Poor artists are the good ones’. Now, initially that annoyed me,” she admits, “but then I thought – it’s true. The good shit does win in the end. As long as I retain a sense of integrity in what I do with my music, and who I do it with... and that we hold true to ourselves, then that’s all that really matters.” With: Caitlin Park, Jessica Says, Rohin Jones (ex-Middle East) Where: FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel When: Friday April 6 More: Sounds Of Our City out now through Spunk

Blitzen Trapper Psych Folk Heroes By Hugh Robertson

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he mighty, psych folk heroes Blitzen Trapper are coming back to Australia for Bluesfest, fresh from the release of 2011’s American Goldwing. It’s an odd thing to have to say, but somehow their particular style of music (think Pete Seeger/Jack Kerouac Americana combined with Crazy Horse psych rock) has recently become incredibly popular. I saw them in Chicago last November and most of the men in the audience could have passed for band members – flannel checked shirts, woollen headgear and great big bushy beards. But it’s not just a cosmetic thing; there’s been a definite trend towards a more ‘authentic’, oldschool version of rock’n’roll, the hallmarks of which are an insistence on live instrumentation over backing tracks, a connection to an earlier, simpler age, and earnestness (perceived or otherwise). Think of the success of Boy & Bear, Mumford & Sons, even Bon Iver, among countless others. My theory is that, as America’s political and cultural conversation has become more polarised and absolutist, more and more people are moving back to a more traditional, authentic, honest style of music – or at least something they perceive to be those things. Marty Marquis (guitar/keyboards/vocals/ melodica) doesn’t quite buy in to my grand, pan-social narrative theory, but he’s certainly noticed a shift back towards his chosen genre.

“I don’t think there are more bands playing this kind of music now than there used to be,” he says, “but it has become more popular. Who knows why, but playing banjo or harmonica and wearing plaid and a beard are markers for an understated hipness these days. If anything it’s a reaction against the techno-fixation of music and the rise of the DJ, like how vinyl has also enjoyed a resurgence.” Blitzen Trapper are returning to Oz for Byron Bay’s Bluesfest, where they’ll be in exceptionally good company. John Fogerty, Crosby Stills & Nash, Steve Earle, Buddy Guy, Lucinda Williams and Canned Heat are just a few of the names on the enormous lineup, but despite all these legendary names the boys are all remarkably calm. “There hasn’t been as much freaking out as you might think,” says Marquis. “Of course, I still haven’t met Neil Young or Bob Dylan. The closest thing to fan boy behaviour from Blitzen has been playing shows with folks like Stephen Malkmus and Wilco, but they felt like respected colleagues rather than objects of obsession. Last fall we met Jody Stephens and played a Big Star tune with him; I gushed a little over him.” Over the course of ten years and six albums, Blitzen Trapper have run the gamut of critical

opinion – everything from ‘Next Big Thing’ and ‘Disappointingly Formulaic’ to ‘Flawed, But Still Potentially Great’. It’s especially tough working in a genre like Americana, where so many extraordinary musicians and songwriters have gone before. Is it intimidating, I ask Marquis, to have so much history to live up to, knowing that anytime you put out an album you will be compared to Dylan, Young, the Earles and the Fogertys, just to name a few? “An artist should be literate about whatever tradition he or she works in,” Marquis begins, “but if you think about it too much or try to position your work in relation to the ‘canon’ it can get ugly, too academic and/or cleverly

self-reflexive. I don’t think your average listener cares a lot about how the songs they enjoy fit into the broader cultural arc – they want something that sounds good and helps them define themselves. Critics will compare and obsess, but they’re a very small portion of any band’s audience.” With: The Preachers Where: Oxford Art Factory When: Thursday April 5 More: Also playing alongside Crosby Stills & Nash, My Morning Jacket, Justin Townes Earle, and more @ Bluesfest, April 5-9 @ Byron Bay

“In Penny Lane there is a fireman with an hourglass and in his pocket is a portrait of the Queen” - THE BEATLES 18 :: BRAG :: 456 :: 02:04:12

Maceo Parker Just Blow By Laurence Rosier Staines

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n his breakthrough single ‘Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag’, James Brown introduced a funk legend to the world with the cry ‘Maceo, I want you to blow!’ The resulting solo is one that Maceo Parker remembers affectionately as one of his longest on record. “James didn’t want to end that song, so the solo just went on and on and on. That was tenor sax and baritone,” he tells me. And with that sort of playing, it’s no suprise his solo had to be edited down from seven minutes. Speaking from his room in a Spanish hotel, the 69-year-old funk legend shows no signs of losing interest in his line of work. “When I was finishing my first year of college [studying music] I decided I’d rather be a performer than … you know, than somebody else. I wanted to do what I do, going from country to country playing music, and I got lucky enough to do it. I’m a people person, and I enjoy it when people enjoy themselves.” From James Brown’s star saxophonist to a sideman in Parliament-Funkadelic’s classic lineup (Mothership Connection onwards), to Bootsy Collins’ Rubber Band and his own headline tours, Maceo has definitely seen more than his share of people getting up on it and getting down with it. And his flair for improvisation isn’t limited to his impeccablyphrased staccato sax attack: much of his life is characterised by taking whatever comes his way with good humour and a pragmatic sense of optimism. The first time he performed for strangers was in a nightclub, with his brother Melvin on drums. “When you play for family, everyone is” – here he impersonates an aunt – “‘Oh, that’s nice, oh that’s really good!’ But I wasn’t that impressed by impressing people in the family. I started being impressed when people liked us who didn’t know us.” When it came to meeting James Brown, it required a little of Parker’s now-infamous improvisation skills: “James met my brother and said, ‘I know you’re a student, I’m not saying stop being a student, but if you want

a job drumming in my group you’ve got it’ – it coulda been two years from then, five years, didn’t matter. Boom. A year later, we went to James Brown, the both of us. Melvin [said] ‘Mr Brown, Mr Brown! I ain’t a student no more.’ James was all excited: ‘Oh my goodness!’ And we were about to leave when my brother clears his throat: ‘Oh yeah, I’d like you to meet my brother. He’s a saxophone player and he needs a job too.’ So [James Brown] asked me, ‘Do you play baritone sax?’ Now I didn’t really play it, I knew a little bit, but I gotta answer ‘yes’ or the conversation would end. I went ‘Uhhhhhhh yessir!’ ‘Do you own a baritone sax?’ Now I still gotta say yes!” But Brown saw through his bravado. “‘Tell you what. If you find a baritone sax in two weeks, you can have the job.’ Handshake. Deal. Two kids, one family, working with him – was crazy. We were really proud.” Maceo subsequently moved from baritone to tenor (although his favourite is alto these days), before being drafted for two years of military service in France and South Carolina, between ’65 and ’67. Even there, he made the most of things. “If I gotta go, I gotta go. So I decided to have fun – and it turned out to be really fun. I kept playing in bands and when I got out I went straight back into James Brown’s band.” Today, Parker remains firmly attached to the music he heard growing up. “The Temptations, B.B. King, Marvin Gaye, people like that. I don’t play piano on stage, but in hotel lobbies, checking in at the bar and stuff, I usually play my favourite song from my college days, ‘Sack O’ Woe’ by Cannonball Adderley. The flip of the ’45 was called ‘For Lily’, a ballad, and I fell in love with that tune so I learned to play it on piano too.” His greatest enthusiasm, however, is reserved for Ray Charles, whom he played with one night in Europe (“I still have that banner. That show was so … wow. It was crazy”). In fact, he surprised critics with a damn good Ray impression on his 2007 album Roots & Grooves: “I felt comfortable [singing like that], and I thought I might as well, so I did!”

“Funk says ‘Now it’s time to party, dance, clap your hands, forget about your problems and just party party party for an hour and a half’. Have fun with the music and enjoy this time.” ahead for funk? “I look at it like metals. Gold is gonna be gold, tin is gonna be tin, and funky is always gonna be funky. Funk says ‘Now it’s time to party, to dance, to clap your hands, forget about your problems and just party party party for an hour and a half’. Don’t think about needing a new car, gas prices, political stuff, Grandpa gettin’ old or nothing. Have fun with the music and enjoy this time.” And finally, which sax solo is his favourite? “A tune we did called ‘Damn Right I’m Somebody.’ It went around the band, calling out, ‘Mr Cheney, you somebody?’ ‘Damn right I’m somebody!’ I did a solo on that thing. My kids like it! I wanted to make a statement on that one.” Maceo signs off with an affirmation of the importance of love, before no doubt heading downstairs to treat everyone to a rendition of ‘Sack O’ Woe’. Where: The Basement, Circular Quay When: April 13 & 14 @ 9.30pm, plus special midnight slots just announced More: Also playing alongside Angelique Kidjo, Nick Lowe, Earth Wind & Fire and many more at Bluesfest from April 5-9 @ Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm, Byron Bay

In these musically crowded times, what lies

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Deluxe edition album Barton Hollow featuring the critically acclaimed covers of ‘Billie Jean’ and ‘I Want You Back’ OUT NOW

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five minutes WITH TIM

BONYTHON

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eteran surf filmmaker Tim Bonython has spent the past four years doing what he loves – conducting interviews and filming breathtaking and death defying wave riding from all corners of the globe. The Australian Surf Movie Festival Immersion Tour is a culmination of this work, along with a feature on 11 times World Champion Kelly Slater and a swag of films covering everything from body surfing and body boarding to surf skiing, kneeboarding, kite surfing, wind surfing and even the latest new phenomenom, stand up paddle boarding. Bonython tells us more. When did you start making surf films? In 1978, when [family friend John Laws] gave me a Super 8 camera and told me to make something with it. I set off for Hawaii’s infamous North Shore to capture the big waves and their riders. How did the Australian Surf Movie Festival start? In 1981 I filmed the Rip Curl Pro event at Bells Beach where competitors surfed waves in excess of twenty feet. I got a projector and a PA in the back of my car and rigged a four-by-three screen on the roof to tour the footage around the East Coast. Surf movies on the big screen are the best place to watch what I’ve shot and I’ve always found it a

You’ve created music videos for the Screaming Jets, Midnight Oil, The Angels and Frenzal Rhomb. What’s the relationship between music and surfing for you? Most musicians relate to surfing and as we are such a coastal country we all see eye to eye. Those bands that I worked for liked the energy that my surfing edits generated, so it was easy too produce music videos for them.

lot more entertaining with the energy in a pub and everyone getting involved. What attracts you to surf filming? To me filming is like surfing itself – I am there to capture the moment – just like surfing. When you do get something special and then can share it with the world, that’s what makes it the most satisfying. The surfers like that too, as they rely on me to capture and enhance their reputation. If I miss the moment then that can be the worst moment. It’s like being on the front line shooting to save yourself, miss the moment and there might not be a next time. What’s the biggest wave you’ve ever captured? 65 feet at Jaws Beach in Maui, Hawaii, January 2010.

Is there a particular surfer who you like to film? Mark Mathews, he’s the best big wave surfer from Australia. He’s a thinker and gets the best results. I like the King (Kelly Slater) too – he’s unpredictable and could do anything at any time. Who should come to the Australian Surf Movie Festival? All sorts –the general public that have a deep respect for what the ocean offers. My films are not directed to the hardcore surfer. There’s lots of dynamics in what I do. Lots of crazy stuff with lots ambient chilled out moments. Makes my films breath. What: The Australian Surf Movie Festival Where: Seymour Centre / Cnr of City Rd & Cleveland St Chippendale When: Thursday April 12 More: asmf.net.au

Woody Allen

THE SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL! WIN! The Sydney Film Festival has just released a sneak peak of 25 TEASER FILMS playing at this year’s Festival. Two such films include Woody Allen: A Documentary, a riveting look into the life of the filmic legend, including interviews with a plethora of Hollywood stars, his mother and the man himself. Also due for its Australian premiere is The Loneliest Planet, which follows a young engaged couple’s escapade across the Caucasus Mountains of Georgia. Interrupted by a momentary misstep, their actions threaten to undo everything they believed about each other and themselves. Flexipasses are now on sale and allow you to buy groups of 10, 20 or 30 tickets at a time. Share them with your friends or family or keep them all for yourself! To get you started, The Brag has one precious FLEXI 10 pass up for grabs. To win, tell us what three films you most want to see at the Festival, and why. Sydney Film Festival runs from June 6-17. sff.org.au

CULT SINEMA

If you don’t have a fear of elevators, then this might ‘lift’ your anxiety levels the next time you need to get to level 21. Head to the Mu-Meson Archives (Cnr Parramatta Rd & Trafalgar St, Annandale) on Tuesday April 3 to catch the Dutch cult-horror classic The Lift (1983). A lift begins displaying some erratic behaviour, like trapping some partygoers and nearly suffocating them, and decapitating a security guard. Felix, the technician from the lift company, can’t find anything wrong with the circuitry and when he and a nosy reporter begin asking about the lift company’s electronics partner (Rising Sun Electronics) his boss puts him on a leave of absence. Doors open at 7.30pm, entry is $5. Take the stairs. mumeson.org

HOOPLA

What a helluvah hullaballoo. The Hoopla Festival is Australia’s biggest circus and street theatre festival, bringing Europe’s finest together with Australia’s brightest, and this year’s program is nothing short of astounding. Here are the highlights of the highlights. Renowned Spanish masters of humour and pathos Leandre Ribera and Cia. La Tal will be in Australia for the first time with Démodé, showcasing their fresh rework of classic clowning routines with a performance of controlled chaos and heartwarming hilarity. Also in Australia for the first time, France’s Begat Theater will perform their captivating Hidden Stories where audience members will be given headphones allowing them to hear the inner monologues of passers-by. Gareth Jones (UK) has a modern take on the classic Houdini routine and is known for wrapping himself from head to toe in plastic wrap. Can he escape without suffocating first? There’s also sideshow sensation Lilikoi Kaos, the Strapping Young Lads, the UK’s Chipolatas, the League of Sideshow Superstars and bucket loads more. Hoopla runs all Easter long weekend at Darling Harbour from 12pm–10pm daily. darlingharbour.com

Youth Week is another year older, and Marrickville’s got it going on. Cancel your boot camp class and instead, Mark April 18 in your diary with Amazing Race Around Marrickville, which kicks off at Marrickville Youth Resource Centre, Jarvie Park. Participants will compete in teams of two, and use buses, trains and walking to find clues around Marrickville. The winning team will be awarded a major prize, and all participants will be rewarded with a free lunch at the final destination. Teams need to register before the race on the day. Also happening from Monday April 16 is the XPOZED 8 Youth Art Exhibition at Seaview Street Gallery, Dulwich High School, where you can head down to see works from talented local youth. And for the creatively inclined, Marrickville Library will host graffiti, jewellery and chocolate making workshops throughout the week. Check out marrickville.nsw.gov.au for the full program.

GOOD TIMES

The MCA has thrown open its newly renovated $53 million doors and is keeping them open. Every Thursday until May 31, the Museum will keep its lights on for 24 hours in order to run a full screening of Christian Marclay’s staggeringly brilliant 24-hour video work, The Clock. Marclay has stitched together thousands of scenes from 20 :: BRAG :: 456 :: 02:04:12

What do a songstress, a robotics engineer, a rhythm magician, a winemaker and a political scientist have in common? Katie Noonan, Hugh Durrant-Whyte, Greg Sheehan, Brian Schmidt and Geoffrey Garrett are a small sample of the genius pool selected to present at Sydney’s TEDx showcase, descending on CarriageWorks May 26. The full lineup has been announced and it looks like you’re going to need to buy an external brain to fit all this good stuff in. Or maybe engineer and neuroscientist Mandyam V. Srinivasan can rig one up for you. Event registration and streaming details are online. tedxsydney.com

CAKE RAIN

xxxx Hollywood films, each making reference to the time, to create a real-time progression through every minute of every hour in the day. The perfect activity for whiling away the time, this is also an absolute contemporary art must-see. mca.com. au

UNDERBELLY

The dedicated crew behind Underbelly Arts Lab have announced they’re taking a step in a new and exciting direction, with the festival going biennial starting next year. But whilst we’ll have to wait until 2013 to get our dose of arts lab fever, it doesn’t mean nothing’s happening in the interim. The new Underbelly model will now include an ongoing support program called the Underbelly Arts Propeller Program to provide selected past participating artists with advice and guidance on strategy for their next steps, mentoring, workshops and other support. They’re also presenting a panel as part of Vivid Ideas at the MCA in May called Creativity Under Fire: Learning from Limitations. Head along if you’re struggling with time, money and space and want to find out how to use these limitations to your creative advantage. And keep your eyes on these pages, as they’ll be putting the call out for a first round of Underbelly Arts Lab & Festival 2013 artist applications in the months to come. underbellyarts.com.au

Something’s in the air – oh it’s the weather. Weather Festival is not so much a bunch of kids chasing tornadoes and catching lighting bolts, but takes a more celestial approach towards exploring the difference between representation and reality. Over four nights, local upstarts James Brown, Ivan Cheng, Lachlan Hughes, Stephen Sharpe and Marcus Whale will get whacky with the elements and present their experiments with installation and improvised performance works. Entry is by donation of a cake. Monday April 9-12 from 8pm, Serial Space (33 Wellington St, Chippendale). serialspace.org

34B

Sydney in the 1960s – a place where imported glamour mixed with local intrigue, artists mixed with criminals and where city folk and out-oftowners alike came to indulge in the heady, seductive city bathing in the wicked and the bohemian. From the glitzy old cabarets of the city and Darlinghurst, to the new strip-tease and go-go clubs of Kings Cross, 34B Burlesque takes you back to the world of The Pink Pussycat, The Staccato Club, The Persian Room and Les Girls as well as the glamorous cabarets The Roosevelt, The Cheetah and Chequers. MC Bobby Goldsworthy will bring a slice of classic Sydney back to life, with a hot-to-trot line up including Holly J’aDoll, Lauren La Rouge, Kelly Anne Doll, Lulu, Baby Blue Bergman, Cherry Lush, and many more. DJ Goldfoot will also keep you up til late with a set of swingin’ show tunes. Friday April 13 from 8.30pm, 34B-44 Oxford St, Darlinghurst. exchangehotel.biz

Numskull

A FLEXIBLE DRAWING ARM

The Drawing Arm is a new illustration agency presenting a collective of handpicked, top-notch, super-impressive contemporary artists and illustrators from Australia and beyond. Set up as a subsidiary ‘limb’ by the folks at The National Grid, it’s launching this week with a roving exhibition that you’ll be able to catch at Semi-Permanent happening May 11-12. If you can’t wait that long, this Wednesday, Australian INfront presents Sounds & Visions – a free panel discussion exploring the ins and outs of design in the music industry. Drawing Arm newbie David Homer will be on the panel, along with experts from WeBuyYourKids, Moopjaw and Winterman & Goldstein. Wednesday April 4 at 6.30pm, free, Apple Store (367 George St). ausinfront.com Xxxx

AMAZING MARRICKVILLE

TEDx SYDNEY

Charlie Murphy C

harlie Murphy. You know the name. And chances are, it’s indelibly etched into your brain in the coked-up cadence of his not-too-far-removed caricature of Rick James. Murphy’s episode-long recollection of ‘True Hollywood Stories’ stands as one of the all-time greatest examples of sketch comedy, and in real life as on stage and screen, the older of the two Murphy brothers assumes the role of consummate storyteller. It’s a role that he has continued since Chappelle’s Show concluded its stellar run, taking to the stand-up circuit with aplomb. It’s in this regard that Charlie will make his maiden voyage to Australia to headline at the Sydney Comedy Festival on April 26 and 27 as part of his Acid Trip Tour. “I got a question for you, what’s the weather there like? Spring, summer?” Charlie queries from the get go. “So you guys are wearing shorts and stuff like that – summer clothes, that’s wassup. I remember one time I went from Anchorage, Alaska straight to Las Vegas. So in Anchorage it was 18 degrees [Fahrenheit], then I got to Las Vegas and it was 98 degrees [Fahrenheit] and I had on a fur coat. So I get off the airplane looking around the airport and everyone’s thinking, ‘Man, you look really stupid right now’. So I gotta know in advance what that weather’s gonna be.” With an undeniably natural demeanour, Murphy’s stand-up seems effortless, but is actually the result of true craftsmanship. “Absolutely it feels like I’m performing onstage, that’s the reason why I do it. I am performing and it’s a great feeling. To write something, to line it up right, crafting that last word of that sentence or whatever, that can be the difference between someone laughing or not. Just going through that whole process and finding all these beats and using them, it’s a real important thing. I mean, I get to come out and do my thing in Australia baby, it gets no better than that,” he laughs. After riding the Hollywood rollercoaster in a multitude of guises (including as Eddie Murphy’s bodyguard) for the good part of three decades, you could easily forgive Murphy for developing a fatigue for certain aspects of the entertainment industry, but as the man himself explains, that’s not the case. “It still excites me man, I think I have a lot more to do before I lose my energy or lose my zest for it. I think the guys who do that are the guys who feel like they’ve done what they can do and said what they had to say and it’s time to move on. I don’t think I’m in that position yet.” A regular on the Comedy Central sketch series Chappelle’s Show,

‘I’m Charlie Murphy, bitch’ By Lachlan Kanoniuk

Murphy hit comedic gold in 2004 with his ‘True Hollywood Stories’ Rick James skit. The skit provided more than a lifetime’s worth of catchphrase gold, and though the cries of ‘I’m Rick James, bitch’ at times perturbed Dave Chappelle at his live shows, Charlie is philosophical about the sensation it caused. “People yell that, but I don’t walk down the street a lot so it’s not a problem at all. I’m usually in the car or something like that. When I go into places to chill or whatever, I don’t really have a lot of problems. I do hear a ‘Rick James’ now and then, but it’s a term of endearment. I could never get angry about it, it’s a thing where we’re making a connection when I don’t even know you and we haven’t met before, but it’s something you can throw up in the air which makes us friends,” he muses. Chappelle’s Show was a worldwide phenomenon and aired on SBS from the mid-2000s. Having said that, the shockwaves from the show’s sudden cancellation didn’t resonate as strongly here as they did in the States. Murphy looks back on the lead-up to and aftermath of the tumultuous ‘lost episodes’. “Like I said, we did some great work, and going to work was a joy. Then one day it was like your job has just evaporated, it’s gone. But that happening was a good thing man, because it forced me to do this. Let’s say that if Chappelle’s Show didn’t go off the air, everybody on the show would have been locked to the show because of how big it blew up. Your whole life is this show now. That would have been fine for me, because I wasn’t doing stand-up. Because of the fact that it ended when it ended, I’m also a star in the world of stand-up comedy now. I wouldn’t have been if the show stayed on, because the whole ‘oh you should try stand-up’ thing wouldn’t have came up. When the show was off, all of the cast, except myself, were stand-up comedians. They weren’t worried about it, they weren’t thinking, ‘Oh if I don’t get a cheque from this show next week I’m in trouble.’ You know why? They were doing stand-up and could easily say, ‘Well let’s go book a club’. I write, I act, I get work doing it, but how do you keep the money constant? You gotta do more. Then this opportunity [for stand-up] came, and it worked,” he ponders. “And I’ve been doing it ever since and I don’t have any intention of stopping anytime soon.” What: Charlie Murphy @ Sydney Comedy Festival Where: Enmore Theatre / 118-132 Enmore Rd Newtown When: April 26 & 27 at 9.30pm More: sydneycomedyfest.com.au

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The Deep Blue Sea [FILM] Caught Between The Devil By Gerard Elson

Goodbye First Love [FILM] Labour Of Løve By Dee Jefferson

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lucked from her theatre class by iconoclastic French filmmaker Olivier Assayas at the age of 17 and thrown into the world of filmmaking first as an actor (Late August, Early September) and then a director and screenwriter, Mia Hansen-Løve is barely 30 years old and has three features to her name. The first was nominated for a French Cesar award, the second won Cannes’ Un Certain Regard competition – and the third, Goodbye First Love (or Un amour de jeunesse) opens in Australia this week.

Besides her relationship with Assayas (to whom she is now married), Hansen-Løve’s enviably streamlined entrée into the film world was largely aided by the mentorship of powerhouse producer Humbert Balsan – whose suicide in 2005 was the inspiration for her second film, The Father Of My Children, about the resilience of a wife and a teenaged girl in the aftermath of a devastating loss. Causing ripples of admiration throughout the critical establishment and the box office alike, the film was an emotionally raw slice of realism carried by extraordinary performances. “The first impulse for The Father Of My Children was meeting with [Balsan’s wife] – I saw her in the office [of his production company] the very day he died,” Hansen-Løve recalls, “and I was extremely struck by her presence – her stoicism and her beauty… My own grandmother’s husband committed suicide; they had six children. So when [Humbert] committed suicide – and he was very important to me – it lead me back to my own personal history, and this very strong female figure of my grandmother. And I think maybe some of my inspiration for my three films is to do with this figure of a woman – alone, facing destiny and trying to be strong without being ‘hard’; trying to survive, without giving up her feelings. And although my three films are about different generations of very different women in very different contexts, they share this quest for ‘confidence’ in life and living.”

Goodbye, First Love is an even more personal affair for Hansen-Løve. Beginning in the throes of young love between teenagers Camille (nutty-skinned newcomer Lola Créton) and Sullivan, the film takes us through the disintegration of their relationship, and the process and means by which Camille rebuilds her identity over many years – including her decision to throw herself into the study and practice of architecture – before her and Sullivan’s paths once again cross. “The film is extremely autobiographical,” Hansen-Løve admits, smiling. “It’s a reinvention of my own history, obviously and there are dozens of things that are different – but the thing that is in common is the path [Camille takes] and the meaning of it… I think when I made this film, it was because I was trying to understand the connection between the big lost-love of my life, and my vocation as a filmmaker. You know sometimes when you look at your life, you have the feeling that” – she grasps for words – “that life has made you [feel] so that you’ve locked every single part in a different space? When I became a filmmaker, in a way it was also to move on and totally turn a page [in my life] that was very important to turn. And then after a couple of years, after I’d made two films, I had the feeling that I had to go back in my own history and try to make a connection. “[Goodbye First Love] is about the connection and the boundaries between love, suffering and creating,” Hansen-Løve concludes. “To me, it’s all one thing… The film is about ‘renaitre de ses cendres’ – to be reborn from your ashes. I think the thing Camille goes through, and the ability she finds to reinvent herself – to transform her despair into creation – is the very heart of the film.” What: Goodbye First Love When: Opens April 5 at Palace Verona & Norton Street.

Tom Hiddleston and Naomi Weisz

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n adaptation of Terence Rattigan’s 1952 stage play, The Deep Blue Sea begins with explication of the failed suicide attempt of Hester Collyer – a woman caught between a passionless marriage to a High Court Judge and a once-heated, now-tepid romance with a dashing former RAF pilot. Terence Davies’ The Deep Blue Sea, by the admission of its 66-year-old director, is not to everybody’s taste. “One woman at a Q&A said, ‘Why has he ruined a perfectly good play?’” recalls the soft-spoken – yet delightfully candid – Davies down the line from his native London. “Another woman came out and said, ‘I want to blow my brains out’.” Davies isn’t too worried: he’d expected such reactions when he agreed to the project, and the filmmaker feels strongly about what flies and what doesn’t when adapting a play for the screen. “Cinema is a visual medium, sound enhances those images. A play is a record of a spoken event. If you just record that, then you might as well go to the theatre and watch it.” For this reason, Davies was initially nervous when he was approached by the Rattigan Trust to adapt one of the playwright’s texts to coincide with Rattigan’s centenary in 2011. “[Thankfully], the Rattigan Trust just said, ‘Be radical with it’,” he says. “So I said, ‘Fine, I will be!’” Davies describes how his childhood experiences of film have shaped the way he interpreted this work. “When I was growing up, my mum and my sisters took me to what used to be called a ‘woman’s picture’: things like All That Heaven Allows, Magnificent Obsession, Love Is A Many Splendored Thing. The central character was always a woman. But I would only ever [take on a project] that I felt I could see and hear. These films happen to be about women and what society does to them; that’s coincidental.” Rattigan’s play was previously adapted as a

feature film in 1955, which Davies opted not to revisit when preparing his own take on the material, “because then you have [that version] fixed in your mind, rather than how I see the play [working as a film]. I saw about ten minutes of it on YouTube and it was basically a photographed play – not very good and not very good performances, I have to say!” Davies’ film certainly doesn’t want for impressive performances. In Naomi Weisz and Tom Hiddleston, he believes he has found ideal casting for the central pairing of Hester and Freddie. “With Hiddleston[’s part], I had to audition a lot of people. It’s not an easy role,” he tells. “He just came in halfway through with the passion [required] of that role. I just knew as soon as we started to do the scenes together that he we right.” Weisz’s involvement came about more serendipitously: Davies first noticed the Oscarwinning actress in a television airing of 1997’s Swept From the Sea. “I thought, ‘This girl is fantastic,’ so I rang my manager and said, ‘Have you heard of someone called Rachel Weisz?’ He says, ‘Terence, you’re the only one who hasn’t!’” The script was hurried to Weisz, who read it quickly and phoned Davies to discuss her potential involvement. “I said, ‘If you say no I have no idea who I’ll approach!’ She said, ‘Can I sleep on it overnight?’ I said, ‘Yes – but can you tell me straight away?’” laughs Davies. “And she said yes!” The result is as immaculately crafted a classical drama as Davies’ admirers could hope for, awash with rapturous classical music and fussily designed with a hair-splitter’s eye for period detail. The Deep Blue Sea can be viewed as a companion piece to Davies’ own The House Of Mirth, though it is ultimately a success in its own right. What: The Deep Blue Sea When: In cinemas April 15

Infinity [DANCE] Ballet Moves For The Future By Rebecca Harkins-Cross

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ith a pedigreed lineage stretching back nearly 400 years, ballet is hardly renowned for its avant-gardism. Since its advent in the Italian Renaissance, this form of dance has retained much of its classicism up until the present day; an air of the esoteric clinging like soil to its aristocratic roots. But on their 50th anniversary, the Australian Ballet have shaken their classical shackles and are exploring new terrain with Infinity, a series of three original works focussed squarely on the artform’s future. The program brings together an eclectic bill of Australia’s most esteemed choreographers – Graham Murphy (formerly of the Sydney Dance Company), Gideon Obarzanek (formerly of Chunky Move) and Stephen Page (of Bangarra Dance Theatre) – and these innovators will infuse their own distinct styles into their respective works, questioning the way we define ballet in the 21st Century and attesting to the infinite possibilities of ballet’s future.

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Acclaimed composer Brett Dean (known for his award-winning operatic adaptation of Peter Carey’s Bliss) has provided the score, and titled ‘Fire Music’, the piece is dedicated to the victims of Black Saturday. As part of his research, Dean conducted interviews with a fire scientist from the CSIRO, structuring his composition around the motions and propulsion of fire. Murphy’s choreography takes its cues from this raw and explosive energy. Lockett has worked with Murphy several times in the past, but has found ‘The Narrative Of Nothing’ to be an entirely different experience. “At this point in my career, this is the most definite input as an artist that I’ve been able to have,” she explains. “You have a voice and you feel valued, and every day each individual is growing in the piece in some way… We’re making something really special together and it just gets better and better”. Dancer Benjamin Stuart-Carberry echoes this sentiment as he describes the rehearsal process for Gideon Obarzanek’s cheekily titled ‘There’s Definitely A Prince Involved’. Having only been with the Australian Ballet since 2010, StuartCarberry says he’s found it challenging to adapt to Orbarzanek’s choreographic style. “He works very differently to a lot of people who come in and make work on us… [Gideon] might have some idea, but he’ll really just go with the flow and take a lot from the dancers, whereas a lot

Infinity of other people will come in with a kind of staid movement vocabulary that they want to put across”. It’s been over 20 years since Obarzanek has choreographed a ballet, and this work looks into the artform’s past to unravel myths and misconceptions we have built up around it. In preparation for the piece, he asked friends and colleagues what they knew about ballet, which, to his surprise, was not a lot. Most referred to Swan Lake, but Orbarzanek found that each persons’ recollection of the story was vastly different. “You often search for these idealised, balletic Hollywood movie moments and experiences, but in real life it’s much more messy and tangled," explains Stuart-Carberry. "I think people are remembering the story of Swan Lake as a bit more real." Revising ballet’s traditional narratives is also central to Stephen Page’s ‘Warumuk – in the dark night’. Page utilises this European artform to tell an Indigenous story, exploring Aboriginal astronomy and the creation myths reflected

in the constellations. The piece is based on conversations Page had with Yolngu families last year in Yirrkala, an Aboriginal township in North East Arnhem Land. Dancer Jacob Sofer has found the most difficult task is adapting to the Bangarra style of movement – a world apart from the pirouettes and pliés of ballet. “It’s a whole new way of moving,” he explains. “It’s very grounded. There’s a lot of squatting on your knees. It’s barefoot which we just don’t do. But it’s a lot of fun. “We did a few steps the other day that were kind of like break dance, on your shoulder/on your face handstands, that sort of thing. It was pretty interesting to see the ballet boys trying to work those out!” What: Infinity When: April 5-25 Where: Sydney Opera House Opera Theatre More: australianballet.com.au

Infinity photo By Jeff Busby

Graham Murphy began his career as a dancer with the Australian Ballet in 1968. Now one of Australia’s most stalwart choreographers, Murphy is known for his popular narrative-driven works (he premiered Romeo & Juliet for the Australia Ballet last year). However, his Infinity contribution marks a turning point: ‘The Narrative Of Nothing’ is as abstract as the title suggests. Using minimalist sets and costumes, Murphy has discarded the opulence and pomp of classical ballet to emphasise its gestural essence.

exposed,” says dancer Brooke Lockett. “Costumes and sets and all that kind of lavish stuff can hide a lot, but when that’s all stripped away you really do just see the movement”.

www.viavision.com.au

DVD AVAILABLE IN STORE NOW! *While Stocks Last

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Arts Snap

Film & Theatre Reviews

At the heart of the arts Where you went last week...

Hits and misses on the silver screen and the bareboards around town.

Angie Milliken in Every Breath

■ Theatre

EVERY BREATH Until April 29 / Belvoir St Theatre

PICS :: TL

beautiful cities

In his program notes, Every Breath writer and director Benedict Andrews says, ‘When I was writing the play, I never thought about what it was about per se'. Well, to be frank, he should have thought about it a bit more.

21:03:12 :: Adam Geczy@Artspace :: 43-51 Cowper Wharf Rd Woolloomooloo

The play centres on a sexually ambiguous security guard, Chris, who is employed six nights a week by a well-to-do family of four, to stand by the pool and watch over their house from an unidentified external threat. What ensues is a series of clunky vignettes through which each family member unravels, suggesting that the biggest threat is actually their own internal, combustive psychologies. Chris, blank-faced and quiet, quickly becomes a sounding board for each family member’s emotional and sexual outpourings, until it becomes clear that s/he is not really a security guard after all, but a hermaphrodite, employed as the family whore. I’m all for abstract, surreal, shocking and experimental theatre, however, this came off as a self indulgent psychological experiment, penned for nobody but the writer himself. What was the play for? What was it supposed to tell us, to make us feel, to make us think about?

stockholm street style

PICS :: TL

Rather than an exploration of the ‘strangeness, complexity and fragility of life’, we’ve been served a bunch of psychotic caricatures, who provide no impetus or background for their own unhappinesses, who are devoid of empathy, humour and emotional depth. It’s a surface play, as shiny and empty as the reflection in the pool that features centre stage. The sexual symbolism came off as a tokenistic ploy to insight shock value rather than a way to understand the characters on a deeper level.

21:03:12 :: Caroline Blomst@Somedays Gallery :: 72B Fitzroy St Surry Hills

Arts Exposed

However, Every Breath shouldn’t go without a commendable cast mentions. Of particular merit were the 16-year-old twins (Eloise Mignon and Dylan Young) and Angie Milliken’s performance as the lonely mother, Lydia: certainly the warmest and most believable character. John Howard seemed particularly uncomfortable on stage as a bored, middle-aged playwright and father, as he endured passages of cringe-worthy, self-referential scriptwriting. Ultimately, as the couple behind me agreed with each other during a five-minute technical disruption, I didn’t get it.

What's in our diary...

Roslyn Helper

NATE GAMBLE: KALAKUKKO Friday April 6 from 6pm @ China Heights / Lvl 3, 16-28 Foster St Surry Hills Fish wings and clawed feet, shark heads and snake bodies. It sounds like potions class, but this is craftwork of a different breed. Nate Gamble has mixed his background in tattoo art with a passion for illustration to brew a tasty stew of strange and wondrous creatures, brought to life on paper with expert penmanship. His first solo exhibition Kalakukko (which is a traditional Finnish food where “fish is baked inside a loaf of bread”… YUM) opens at China Heights this Friday and it’s going to be quite a spellbinding affair. 24 :: BRAG :: 456 :: 02:04:12

■ Film

A DANGEROUS METHOD From March 29 With nary an exploding head nor a vaginally-bisected abdomen to be seen, there’s little to outwardly distinguish this chatty period drama as the work of director David Cronenberg. And yet, hasn’t the other defining characteristic of Cronenberg’s cinema always been the clinical distance with which he depicts these nightmarish scenarios? Despite detailing a true-life story and denying so much as a nod to the unreal or the outlandish, A Dangerous Method conforms

to this definition of a David Cronenberg picture. Here, though, the notorious subject in question is somewhat more abstract than the psychic-horrors-madeflesh that typically populate his films: it’s psychoanalysis. Replete with postcard idylls of Swiss lakes and stately, turn-of-last-century manors, this is Cronenberg’s most picturesque movie by far. Inhabiting these genteel surrounds are three extraordinary historical figures: Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender), Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen with cigar) and their lesser-known protégé, Sabina Spielrein (Keira Knightley, whose discomfiting portrayal of ‘hysteria’ is a truly bold facet of a well-studied performance, which takes Jean-Martin Charcot’s photos of 19th Century ‘hysterics’ as its foundation). What unfolds is an emotional-intellectual ménage a trios that in real life underpinned the writing of some of Jung’s most durable treatises. As Jung treats Spielrein for hysteria using Freud’s methods of psychoanalysis, a perilous passion flares up between them, fanned by the airing of repressed sexual impulses. As the relationship deepens, Spielrein encourages the married Jung to splinter from Freud in favour of pursuing his own developing theories – much to Freud’s chagrin. It’s this character drama that’s brought to the fore in Christopher Hampton’s script, rather than any real engagement with the revolutionary thinking of its participants. For this reason, A Dangerous Method disappoints. Perversely, for a film that was once to be titled, The Talking Cure, this is exactly what A Dangerous Method wants for: detailed scenes of psychoanalysis itself. As it stands, at 100 minutes, A Dangerous Method feels neither here nor there; it’s a moderately engaging costume drama, marked by some fine performances that are never given due time to flourish. Such a take on this material would have been better served by a television mini-series. Gerard Elson ■ Film

DEMOCRACY IN DAKAR Friday April 6 / Dendy Opera Quays Let’s return to the roots of hip hop, to the kids who need and use hip hop as a political tool to express their thoughts and feelings about real issues, struggles, hopes and dreams. Let’s forget about the commercial bullshit most of us associate with the contemporary art form, which has been smothered in bling, bad-ass American dreamz, egotism, misogyny, skanky hoes and bitchez. Ironically, hip hop’s roots, which lie deep within New York’s South Bronx, have travelled by way of soul, funk and reggae; who’s rhythms travelled to America from Africa from as far back as the 16th Century. Now, back in Africa, Senegalese youth are taking inspiration from the 'American' artform and have brought it full circle in a somewhat ironic postcolonial reappropriation of self-empowerment. African Underground: Democracy in Dakar charts the youth hip hop movement in Dakar, Senegal’s capital, through the country’s controversial 2007 election, with

See www.thebrag.com for more arts reviews

Film & Theatre Reviews Hits and misses on the silver screen and the bareboards around town.

a mixture of interviews, freestyles, and commentary from journalists, artists and politicians. With 60% of the Senegalese population under the age of 18, and over 3,000 hip hop groups in Senegal, it is no wonder hip hop has staked its claim as a key influential political tool. This low budget, hour-long documentary was produced by Ben Henson, founder of the inimitable hip hop label Nomadic Wax. Henson paints a very human portrait of Dakar, and a hip hop culture that expresses a dedication to Islam, a respect for women and the elderly. The best part of this visual political music essay is the music itself; is getting to see wordsmiths like Eye-witness from the Wageble Crew and Keyti from the Dakar All Stars and Rap'adio (to name but two of many) spinning political rhymes sharp enough to cut diamonds out of failed political promises. Dakar makes a strong case for the importance and vitality of music activism and its contribution to youth participation in the political process. To see these beats and rhymes reclaimed by a youth culture simultaneously trying to improve their country and looking for a way out, is powerful and thought provoking. Roslyn Helper ■ Film

MIRROR MIRROR Released March 29 Mirror Mirror is not the dark and twisted take on the Snow White tale that many of director Tarsem Singh’s fans will have been hoping for. Making his mark with the truly disturbing psych-crime thriller The Cell, followed by The Fall and – yes – the sword-and-sandals epic Immortals, Singh has built his fanbase via haunting,

surreal and psychologically powerful imagery; his real talent is reaching into your subconscious and pressing those sweet spots. (Even if the performances of Immortals were too often wooden and the story too often unsurprising, it was worth watching for those nightmare images of zombie-like Titans waging bloody warfare against the Gods). Singh’s real passion, however, is good old-fashioned storytelling – the kind where the tale-teller weaves his spell with words alone, entrapping the imagination of the listener (terrifyingly in The Cell, charmingly in The Fall). Mirror Mirror displays both these passions, and there are some unmistakably Singh visuals, from the bizarre-bordering-sinister accordion-stilts of the seven dwarf-bandits, to the lavish sets and extraordinary costumes (courtesy of the late Eiko Ishioka, who has worked on all his films), to the mirror-world that Julia Roberts’ evil Queen ‘flips’ herself into through the looking glass. But this is not a terribly sophisticated tale, even with its feminist spin (by which teenaged rebel Snow saves the dwarves, the kingdom and even her Prince’s life); and its telling has an almost Disney-like innocence, from its wholesome heroine (played by newcomer Lily Collins) to the courtier-cum-cockroach-cumcomedian played by Nathan Lane, and Roberts’ cartoonishly diabolical Queen. Armie Hammer (The Social Network), meanwhile, plays the buffoon Prince Charming with the kind of good humour that only offsets his looks (damn him). The cumulative effect is charming and spritely, but lacks bite – this one’s really for the kids. Grown ups (are there any here?) should see it for the costumes, the visuals, and as an appetiser for the Kristen Stewart/Charlize Theron instalment of the tale, Snow White And The Huntsman, releasing later this year… Dee Jefferson

Street Level

GRIFFIN THEATRE COMPANY PRESENTS RIDE ON THEATRE’S

With Scott Marsh

ocal graffiti master Scott Marsh has teamed up with Brisbane street artist Guido Van Helten to present a joint show, States of Mind which will feature works on canvas, digital prints and a huge collaborative mural and video projection of footage accumulated by both artists over the past few years of their exchange. Marsh tells us what inspired him to start taking a spray can to the streets, and how he’s progressed from there into a legit studio artist.

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What’s your artistic background? When I was in year six I got to school one Monday morning and someone had gone to town on the walls with a black spray can. I thought, ‘Wow that looks cool'! I went home and found a can amongst the crap in my garage, and later that week I snuck out at night and went down to my local park and sprayed ‘Scott M was here’ on everything. Maybe not so smart in hindsight, haha. Ever since then I have had a spray can in my hand. In 2010 I completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts at COFA and began trying to focus a lot more on my art and a lot less on train yards, which hasn’t always been easy!

How does your style contrast and compare with Guido Van Helten’s? Our styles have many differences and many similarities. We both use a lot of strong colour and we both like to work on a big scale, which is definitely influenced by our backgrounds in graffiti. Guido’s style is cleaner and he uses a lot of flat colour to achieve a kind of posterized effect, it looks dope on a grand scale, which is his speciality. My work uses gestural lines/ drips and I use more tone and shading. I use heaps of bright and fluoro colours to create a kind of abstract take on photorealism… if that makes any sense. Do you think that street art styles vary between states in Australia? Although graffiti and street art seem interchangeable they are very different beasts in a lot of ways. In terms of graffiti, different states definitely have their own local styles and traditions that have formed over decades and generations of graffiti writers. Street art is comparatively young and has come up in a much more global environment. With the Internet, artists are able to look outside their local area and gain a wealth of influences from all over the globe, so I don’t think localised styles have really had a chance to form. How did you guys decide to do an exhibition together? The exact moment is a bit of a blur; I think it was in Brisbane after about 1,000 schooners and a trip to the Cabaret Club in the Valley. We have been great mates for years and have worked together on countless different projects, so having a show together is a natural progression.

THE STORY OF MARY MACLANE BY HERSELF 4 APRIL-12 MAY TEXT BY BOJANA NOVAKOVIC

MUSIC BY TIM ROGERS

CALL 02 9361 3817 OR VISIT GRIFFINTHEATRE.COM.AU

Describe your state of mind when you’re drawing/painting. When I’m in the studio I like to be super relaxed, turn up something funky and get in the zone. What: States of Mind When: Thursday April 5 from 6pm (one night only) Where: Lo-Fi Collective / The Standard, Level 3, 383 Bourke St Surry Hills BRAG :: 456 :: 02:04:12 :: 25

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Album Reviews What's been crossing our ears this week...

ALBUM OF THE WEEK JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE

direction/And you’re leaving me out in the cold,’ and ‘If I were a better man she wouldn’t walk away from me.’

Nothing’s Gonna Change the Way You Feel About Me Now Bloodshot Records/Inertia In only a few short years Justin Townes Earle has proved himself one of Americana’s great treasures, delving deep in to the genre’s lyrical traditions of heartache, addiction, loneliness, regret and misery over the course of three excellent albums.

At first listen this seems a little staid. But once you let the words in, you are rewarded with some of the most honest, witty and concise lyrics going around.

Earle doesn’t bother to ease us into his latest opus; ‘Mama, I’m hurting in the worst way/Got no money in my pocket and no place to stay,’ is but the first line of a record full of devastating lyrics and imagery: ‘The city’s unforgiving when you’ve got no one to love’; ‘I broke myself a promise that I never meant to keep/And it won’t be the last time’; ‘Now it seems your heart has found a new

But Earle’s greatest strength is that these lines are only miserable when he wants them to be. When backed by a full band they can be defiant, triumphant or even sassy, while the quieter, stripped-back numbers are as devastating as anything you’ve heard. ‘Unfortunately, Anna’ is like a Ryan Adams song with Springsteen characters, sung by The Band, and it’s one of the most quietly desperate songs I’ve ever heard. Put that down to Earle’s voice, a tremendously versatile instrument that can switch from bluesy yelp to late-night misery, and absolutely sell the occasionally jarring difference between the full-band tracks and the solo ones. Hugh Robertson

ANTI-FLAG

VARIOUS

OFWGKTA

VARIOUS

FUN.

The General Strike Shock

Grinderman 2 RMX EMI

The O.F. Tape, Vol. 2 Sony

Minimal Wave Tapes Vol. 2 Fuse Music

Some Nights Warner

Pittsburgh left-wing punks Anti-Flag had some explaining to do in 2006 when they decided to sign with RCA Records. Outspoken against the ills of soulless corporations and the business machine from the very start, it reeked of hypocrisy when they joined forces with a major label, while still spouting their anti-corporate vitriol.

Grinderman’s two albums gave a sense of the snarky tension in the foursome’s work, but it still left a lot of fans confounded until witnessed live. This consideration of their sound is important in the context of this latest offering, a studio working of their tracks, remixed by a relatively limited circle of their friends and admirers.

After two albums the RCA relationship was over, and Anti-Flag now reflect back on their time on RCA as an ‘experiment’ – but how do you get your cred back after a stunt like that? Well, you come out more hostile and play faster than any album you’ve recorded before.

King Crimson’s Robert Fripp opens proceedings with ‘Super Heathen Child’, and whilst he’s known as a guru of mixing things up with weird time signatures, the track never really progresses. Things move slowly with no believable sense of drama, due in large part to Fripp’s decision to focus the segmentation on frontman Nick Cave’s unnecessarily long pauses around the title line.

Clocking in at less than 30 minutes, The General Strike is the band’s ninth album. While not much has changed thematically, there’s an underlying antagonism that sees Anti-Flag even more pissed off than they were in the depths of the Bush administration. But it’s not the war this time. It’s not about government subversion. The General Strike focuses on the apathy of the masses and the faux-liberalism within the American consciousness. Songs like ‘Broken Bones’ and ‘The Neoliberal Anthem’, full of catchy protest choruses to shout out at festivals, fill the singalong quota that’s expected of an AntiFlag LP. However, that aside, and ignoring the radio-friendliness of the almost indierock ‘This Is The New Sound’ and poppy ‘The Ghosts of Alexandria’, the rest of the album is a fast, aggressive discourse on society's woes. Standout tracks include ‘I Don’t Wanna’, which decries spoonfed consumerism, and ‘Bullshit Opportunist’ and ‘Nothing Recedes Like Progress’, which tell us just how indifferent we really are. Recorded and produced by the band themselves in a cinderblock studio, this is a DIY punk album from a band with something to prove.

Nick Zinner (of Yeah Yeah Yeahs) attempts a sharp pop offering with some half-faded and loosened percussion sounds on ‘Bellringer Blues’, but is bettered in the shortform by the droning-echo work of fellow New Yorkers A Place To Bury Strangers, as they flay ‘Worm Tamer’. ‘Hyper Worm Tamer’, the same song as mentioned above but presented as a feverish treatise by UNKLE, is a welcome departure into some solid dance territory. Its neat trick is in moving away from the Cave and electric guitar homage of much of the rest of the album. Lavelle throws in some splashes of electrics in the cross-fades of organs and guitar licks, but his big picture is allowing sequences of controlled beats to sit amidst a swirl of supporting rhythmic tones to present something really catchy.

First of all, this is not so much an album as a mixtape. It’s an important distinction to make since you need to approach this as the sum of Odd Future’s parts rather than a cohesive musical statement from the group as a whole. There are several examples of the group’s homophobic, misogynistic id – including the refrain from ‘We Got Bitches’ (We got bitches, we got diamonds, we got cars, we got Jacuzzis, and your bitch be on my dick), which borders on self-parody – and while much of the production is the same dramatic minimalism from earlier releases, Vol. 2 is notable for a broadening of Odd Future’s sonic palette. There are funky, Neptunesesqe clubbers (‘Ya Know’), the lush, early-‘70s Stevie Wonder keyboards of Frank Ocean’s ‘White’, and gentle slow jams about lakes, summer and riding on handlebars (‘Analog 2/ Wheels 2’). Tyler, The Creator is still the star – his first appearance on the record is close to the best verse on the whole thing, and every time that voice comes in you can practically feel it reverberating in your chest. But there are others coming into their own, particularly Mike G, who has often seemed an odd fit with the trashtalking and mindless screaming of others in the group. His ‘Forest Green’ is brilliant, and he rides a great Left Brain beat with impressive flow and a restraint that his fellows rarely exhibit. Frank Ocean is already established as a real talent, while Left Brain continues to impress as a producer.

Remember when Isaac Newton said “Hey world! Limits and infinitesimals are super important to how we understand change… holy smokes I’ve pioneered calculus!” and Gottfried Leibniz was all like “Bitch please, stop getting all up in my differential and integral grill, calculus has been my game since you were knee high to a function!”? Not exactly? Well that historically accurate reconstruction of the joint founding of calculus is a well-known example of the ‘multiple discovery’ phenomenon where different people independently generate a similar idea at a similar time. Minimal Wave Tapes Volume 2 is a more recent example of this phenomenon. Compiled by Veronica Vasicka and Peanut Butter Wolf, the respective founders of Minimal Waves and Stones Throw Records, this album is a second collection of rare, predominantly ‘80s electro tracks remastered from original analog tapes. Musicians featured are characterised by Jolie-Pitt-family levels of cultural diversity, yet their tracks hang together with a coherency that, as evidenced by their same-name nature, is almost a bit too remarkable. Whilst not a riveting listen, this homogeneity is astounding, given these tracks came out of bedrooms situated within geographies as disparate as Greece (In Trance 95), rural Western Canada (Ohama), Japan (Felix Kubin) and Newtown (Aural Indifference). Handily, on account of the comparatively limited technology with which these artists had to work, the resultant lo-fi electro genre also doubles as a litmus test for electro love.

The Format’s best album, Dog Problems, is a scuffing, dorky popoperetta, a cabaret in Chuck Taylors – occasionally cloying, but lovable in its glossy honesty and unabashed disregard for coolness. But Dog Problems was written from the point of view of a 20-something-year-old, deep in the crisis moment of realising what an absurd, self-involved, unnecessary person he is. Some Nights, fun.'s super-glossy second effort, feels like the frontman for both bands; Nate Ruess has regressed back to age 19, when you feel like a unique, wild, invincible snowflake and, save for the odd moment of starryeyed self-flagellation, can’t begin to conceive how shit your art is. Some Nights is so close to being good, and yet so far. It’s overproduced but there are several moments of creative, rich orchestration (‘Carry On’, ‘All Alone’), and even nods at My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’s auto-tortured introspection (‘Stars’, ‘All Alright’); Ruess writes more instant-classic melodies than you’ve had cold beers but the lyrics are cringingly insipid. ‘Tonight we are young / so let’s set the world on fire / we can burn brighter than the sun’ – if there’s a blander chorus at #1 this year I’ll buy a Chris Brown record. Between the reassuring, heartfelt numbers and the lockstep shout-along OMG-this-istotally-about-me anthems, it screams of fake, empty pop written to a brief; they were shooting for indie-pop Night At The Opera, missed and hit every overstuffed, smug branch of the My Chemical Romance tree on the way down.

Grinderman owe us more than to select their remixers from such a small group, who evidently lack the ability to present the material as much of a deviation.

There’s nothing as instantly brilliant as ‘Sandwitches’, ‘Yonkers’, ‘Radical’ or ‘Sweatshirt’ here, but Vol. 2 proves that Odd Future are more than a one-trick pony.

Die-hard electro fans aside, the historicity this album preserves and presents will hold more appeal than its musical content. Still, this makes for interesting listening.

There’s a really lovely EP in here somewhere – buried in naff, selfcongratulatory anthems for people who think hedonism is getting drunk on a Tuesday and despair is being hungover on a Wednesday.

Benjamin Cooper

Hugh Robertson

Andrew Yorke

Caitlin Welsh

Rick Warner

INDIE ALBUM OF THE WEEK GALAPAGOOSE Commitments Independent Commitments by Galapagoose feels new – in the contemporary, progressive sense – and, at times, almost perfect. It was clear we were in for a treat when ‘One Who Can’t Move’ surfaced a couple of months back. It orbits a yearning Gene Kelly-style vocal that loops over a minimal electro samba shuffle and pristine synth. The bass drum pushes into the endlessly repeating vocal, compressing its quiet, time-stretched melancholy into an uncanny warble. A ruptured piano fills the background, only surfacing to dance, sprite-

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like, up the minor-key spine of this simple beast. It’s inexplicably sad, and so beautiful. Its brilliance is mirrored in opening track, ‘Don’t Break The Spell’. A carelessly clawed classical guitar disintegrates into delirious backward voices and air-shifting bass. When the verse stumbles in, the digital ensemble harmonies are the thing that first hit you (recalling The Jetsons theme, auto-tuned), but it’s the foggy backing vocals that make it. They fade in and out of focus, only to fold themselves gracefully into the air, disappearing like ghosts. By the time the song’s chorus finds you, all of these details coalesce to raise a lilting vocal canon. Endless, glassy electronic tones anchor it all in a muted discomfort.

The rest of the record is as well orchestrated, but lacks the same astounding spark. ‘Planting The Seed’ is a scattered confection that settles into coruscating RnB. In ‘Winkler,’ the beat swings pendulously off the grid, seemingly frustrated with its own wonkiness. The languid nu-soul of ‘Rhizome’ could almost have been lifted from last year’s Thundercat record. At worst, it feels like a pitch-perfect tribute to Flying Lotus. At its best, Commitments is astonishingly, sublimely inventive, and no words do it justice. Hats off. Luke Telford

OFFICE MIXTAPE And here are the albums that have helped BRAG HQ get through the week... RÖYKSOPP - Junior AMON TOBIN - Isam ALEXANDRE DESPLAT - The Tree Of Life OST

PREFUSE 73 - One Word Extinguisher GRIMES - Visions

WITH SPECIAL GUESTS

WED 11 APR - THE VANGUARD

MON 9 APR - THE FACTORY

FACTORYTHEATRE.COM.AU PH 02 9550 3666 OR TICKETEK.COM.AU PH 132 849 All tickets previously purchased for the Mon 9 Apr show at The Vanguard are valid for the new show at The Factory Theatre

TICKETS ON SALE NOW DEBUT RECORD EARLY IN THE MORNING OUT NOW “Sounds both fresh and as if they’ve been in your head forever‌McMorrow’s debut deserves its success.â€? – Q Magazine “A captivating debut‌ An arresting journey from emotional trials to aural pleasure.â€? – Uncut JAMESVMCMORROW.COM

! F F E

I S T

L M I

V A

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AUSTRALIA - 8 April Red Bennies Sydney Dendy Opera Quays//5Melbourne

ADRIAN BOHM PRESENTS

STAR OF SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE AND THE MOVIE “HALF BAKED� WITH DAVE CHAPPELLE

THE METRO WED 25 APRIL BOOK AT TICKETEK 132 849 TICKETEK.COM.AU OR SYDNEY COMEDY FESTIVAL 9020 6966 SYDNEYCOMEDYFEST.COM.AU ABPRESENTS.COM.AUABPRESENTS.COM.AU JIMBREUER.COM

SEVEN SE AS TOUR T H E VA N G U A R D A P R I L 13, 2 012

JIMBREUER.COM

THE GREEN MOHAIR SUITS + SISTER JANE

ADRIAN BOHM PRESENTS

~ T I CK E TS O N SA L E N OW ~

T H E VA N G U A R D.C O M . A U

ENMORE THEATRE 26 & 27 APRIL TICKETEK.COM.AU 132 849 SYDNEYCOMEDYFEST.COM.AU 9020 6966

DUE TO POPULAR DEMAND SECOND SHOW ON SALE NOW! ABPRESENTS.COM.AU CHARLIEMURPHYCOMEDY.COM

I WILL NOT APOLOGIZE DVD AVAILABLE NOW AT ALL GOOD RETAILERS

W W W. T H E G O O D S H I P. C O M . A U BRAG :: 456 :: 02:04:12 :: 29

live reviews What we've been to see...

BORIS Metro Theatre Thursday March 22 A small but eager audience, motionless with awe, stretched themselves across the front of the Metro for sleepmakeswaves’ first home show post-SxSW. And on the verge of their first foray to Europe, the post-rock four-piece sounded better and more focused than ever. Crystal-clear guitar chimes and beautiful electronic textures framed the dynamic, sometimes-delicate sometimes-powerhouse instrumentals. The band clearly relished the homecoming enough to go a little bit nuts. In contrast, Melbourne’s Laura were in a shoe-gaze mode that matched their slower, darker, discordant sound. But they were having an off night: what should have been brooding build-ups and affecting climaxes didn’t really connect, with the exception of some moments of washy reverence, as in the hypnotic opener and recent single ‘Mark The Day’. The arrival of Japanese metal mavericks Boris was marked by smoke – lots of smoke. And volume. Drummer/vocalist extraordinaire Atsuo might actually have been on fire, it was hard to tell. It was like an injection of thunderous heavy metal, with the veteran performers running the gamut from (heavy) j-pop/grunge to (heavy) post-rock to (heavy) ‘80s-themed power metal, to mostly great effect. A gong was used, amid audience cries of “Yeah!”; synthesiser was dabbled with; Takeshi played a headless doubleneck bass. It was entertaining, definitely, but despite the spirited theatrics of these iconoclasts, something was missing. Admittedly, with the band boasting so extensive a back catalogue, no one in the audience was going to be completely satisfied – and most people seemed to know this. Nevertheless, a few more nods in the experimental direction would have been very welcome (nothing from Feedbacker or Flood), and would doubtless have relieved what, ultimately, came close to well-executed monotony. For all of Boris’ energy, the set that landed on Thursday night was surprisingly traditionalist from a band known for experimentation and niche-hopping. And just as they were gearing up for an encore of who-knows-what delicious slice of doom rock, they were cut off by the venue’s noise curfew. Stupid Sydney: quit with the identity crisis and take your place on the world stage. Laurence Rosier Staines

Remedy More than The Cure since 1989 with Murray Engleheart

coda of ‘One Day Like This’, Garvey only has to prompt for a spot of harmony and the raucous sing-along turns into a spontaneous choral arrangement of infinite parts. The performers on stage seem genuinely astonished. And the crowd? To an individual, speechless, and yet as one unsilenceable. Ideal gratitude to a band both modest and masterful. Chris Martin

WOODEN SHJIPS Oxford Art Factory Saturday March 24 When a band can get away with playing 15-or-so songs that collectively sound like an extended jam session, but also acquit themselves of any ‘one trick pony’ charges, it's a remarkable feat. And remarkable is perhaps an understatement when describing the mesmerising, droning walls of sound produced by San Franciscan quartet Wooden Shjips. ‘Transcendental’, even ‘celestial,’ seem more appropriate. The penetrating overtone of frontman Ripley Johnson’s guitar combined with Nash Whalen’s ethereal organ work, tied together and driven by Dusty Jermier and Omar Ahsanuddin’s immaculate, sustained rhythm section, constitute an intoxicating cosmic sanctuary – one where you may unwittingly find yourself with your eyes shut and your head swirling, ensconced in rich layers of droning psych-rock. At around 10.20pm, the Shjips take their places, to thunderous applause. It’s immediately apparent that this is familiar territory, as they slip into the thumping opener ‘Black Smoke Rise’ – their sound impeccable and their stage presence indomitable. The set is largely comprised of the Shjips’ new oeuvre, demonstrating their ability to channel the mind-bending otherworldly powers that featured heavily in freeform on previous releases, into the more accessible offerings of their latest, West. But this was not a concert one attended to hear a favourite song or album; once the Shjips began playing, the specifics of the material ceased to be relevant, as the crowd became embroiled in their entrancing rhythms, whirring, reverberating guitars and eerie synths. While their newfound approachability shone through in catchy riffs and hooks, they clearly have not compromised their disposition as a psychedelic drone band.

RIP VINCE LOVEGROVE

We were saddened last week to hear of the passing of Vince Lovegrove in a car accident. He sang alongside his good mate Bon Scott in their band The Valentines in the late ‘60s and is the man who helped line up a few planets for AC/DC in their early days. Vince was a much loved and respected member of the music industry in this country; among many other things, he managed the Divinyls as they made serious inroads in the US in the ‘80s. We once called him out of the blue to pick his brains about Bon Scott for a piece we were doing for Penthouse magazine, and although he didn’t know us from shit, he was hugely generous with his time and thoughts then and thereafter. You remember stuff like that.

them and their thing any justice. They’re just too special, with music that is almost tidal in form and delivery. If John Coltrane ever had a trio, these guys would be it.

FIERY WORDS

My Bloody Valentine reissues saga take 458645; it’s on again. Their albums Isn’t Anything and Loveless will be rereleased, with Loveless yet again said to be coming with a bonus disc. There’ll also be a third release, which compiles their four EPs (Feed Me With Your Kiss, You Made Me Realise, Glider and Tremolo) into a package with some additional rarities called EPs 1988-1991. Release schedule? Dunno. Like a firm date is going to matter at this point.

Great bands deserve great bios, and the opening rave for High On Fire’s forthcoming masterpiece, De Vermis Mysteriis, is a beaut: “It was the late, great novelist and caffeine enthusiast Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850) who said, ‘Power is not revealed by striking hard or often, but by striking true.’ And yet High On Fire have managed to do all three.” Wow! How good is that? The power of words. “It’s a fuckin’ awesome album,” frontman Matt Pike then howls. “I think it’s kind of a cross between the experimentation of Death Is This Communion and the driving darkness of Blessed Black Wings.” The recording was produced by Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou, which explains a great deal, and in Salem, MA, which explains even more. The album’s title translates to ‘The Mysteries Of The Worm’ which dates back to 1935 and the pen of American author Robert Bloch who wrote Psycho. You can actually hear the entire thing online – a far cry from when writers had to sign their lives away in blood for an advance copy – if of course your PC can handle the onslaught.

BORIS

A DIDDLEY DANCE

A BLOODY SAGA

Boris’ performance at the Metro last week took its time, but sure ended up as something to long remember. While they’ve strayed a touch too far from the wallop of Absolute Ego – sure, we know, time alters all – with weird pop songs et al, they got louder and more intense as the night went on, climaxing with Altar, the 2006 album that they did with Sunn 0))). Now that was huge. We left happy.

DIRTY THREE

Someone once said of our beloved Grateful Dead that “They’re not just the best at what they do, they’re the only ones who do what they do”. The exact same saying could be levelled at Dirty Three after last week’s majestic showing at Sydney Opera House. Early in their career they were compared to Neil Young & Crazy Horse with violin rather than guitars, but that never really did

We were flicking around the other day trying to find something decent on TV when we came across D.A. Pennebaker’s doco Sweet Toronto on John Lennon’s 1969 peace festival in Toronto. The Lennon stuff was the main event of course, and featured Eric Clapton and other highprofile mates tackling a pretty lo-fi bogstandard set of rock'n'roll covers. But the grabs of the opening acts were the real killer. Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis and an incredibly off-key Chuck Berry were all amazing, but it was Big Bad Bo [Diddley] who stole the show for us with one chord and one song that made the first Ramones’ album sound like high-end prog. We were standing on our lounge screaming, we were. At one point there was a shot for about a minute just of the great man’s huge leathered feet which were doing some St Vitus dance all their own. Pure gold. Boris

Greg Clennar

ELBOW Hordern Pavilion Monday March 26 Bombay Bicycle Club are the undercover sleeper agents of today’s British indie scene. Much like their northern cousins Elbow circa 2005, the London power-folksters are maturing towards an impressive standing among those in the know, and yet remain capable of delivering a surprise at every other chord change. Their first ever Sydney appearance opens in delightful fluctuations between light and shade, especially on ‘Your Eyes,’ from last year’s A Different Kind of Fix. But with songs like ‘Always Like This’, from their 2009 debut, and the more recent favourite ‘Shuffle’, they hint at a dense and technicolour true identity. They construct music like musicians, not professional songwriters in eternal pursuit of a profitable quip, which should bring long term rewards. Most Aussie cock rockers that have played the Hordern a dozen times swagger around stage with a lager and a ciggie. Guy Garvey, however, takes his mark holding a good old British cup o’tea. He’s forgiven by an instantly responsive audience because this show is something of a homecoming for Elbow. Unlike last year’s tour, when northern accents dominated the floor, tonight’s patronage is diverse yet devoted. Garvey is a breathtakingly talented orator of all things tasteful, charming and romantic, but we already knew that; his band-mates are every part as articulate, however. A brief duet between Garvey and keyboardist Craig Potter becomes a conversation between two great voices. But it is the moments when Elbow and their audience take a deep and serene breath, together, that the concert passes into something heavenly. Garvey dedicates ‘The Night Will Always Win’ to Manchester music maven John Macbeath, whose funeral they are missing to be here. At this point, the crowd turns completely silent, not even a single camera flash daring to fracture the mood. Later, in the triumphant

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DIRTY THREE Sydney Opera House Wednesday March 21 “This is a song about waking up dead in the boot of a car and realising there ain’t gonna be no parties anymore.” Thus Warren Ellis introduced the 1996 epic ‘Sue’s Last Ride’ on the Concert Hall stage – one of several off-handed introductions during the night. Giving a semblance of symbolic meaning to the band’s wordless clamour, Ellis played the laconic jester in front of the dead-eyed glances of band-mates Jim White and Mick Turner, easing the audience through the confronting mess of disparate sounds that is the Dirty Three. With so much room for interpretation in their music, it was easy to fall for Ellis’ wisecrack introductions; why shouldn’t the interplay of White’s snare clatter and Ellis’ lethargic piano on ‘Sometimes I Forget You’ve Gone’ be about the deaths of Don Lane and Graham Kennedy? And beneath the pop-culture laden jibes lies the emotional inspiration behind these jams – an insight into artfully crafted sonic journeys that are genuinely (and strangely) moving. “This is a song about falling in a hole…and just fuckin’ decorating it, only to resurface ten years later to miss it – cos it felt so fucking good.” Ellis is referring to the tragic landscape of ‘Everything Is Fucked,’ but it’s also an apt description of Dirty Three. Their cacophony of noise sinks into a mire of screeching violins and impossibly busy drums, decorated with subtle touches: Ellis’ un-amplified yelps-as-cues for his band-mates, Turner’s barely present guitar, and White’s pauses for breath. It’s no wonder they returned from a seven-year hiatus – they’re needed here. They fill the holes Ellis speaks of, leaving him to whisper at the outset of their final song, “Whatever happens, remember: you’re never alone with the Dirty Three.” Max Easton

ON THE TURNTABLE On the Remedy turntable is Jethro Tull’s masterpiece Aqualung – the original, not the recent tarted-up version. It doesn’t need any extra bells and whistles. This was really a high tide mark for these guys and kicked big doors open in America for them, with great songs that would be perfect in the arsenal of any smart hard rock band: excellent virtuoso-like playing and great production. The lot, really. Don’t let Ian Anderson’s flute and the whole ‘madcap’ homeless dude thing put you off. Also spinning is Can’s Tago Mago where we’ve been getting totally lost in repeat plays of the hypnotic drum pattern in the near 19-minute ‘Halleluhwah’.

TOUR AND INDUSTRY NEWS Sydney’s only Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers tribute band, Megastar Overdrive, are celebrating the life and times of JT at the I-94 Bar Club, upstairs at the Sando on April 29. With a lineup drawn from the likes of The Celibate Rifles, Hoodoo Gurus and Mushroom Planet, this all-star band will do his memory proud. Also on the bill are punks Henry Earl and the ‘60s-styled The Shady Expedition. $10 gets you cheap drinks and tinnitus. Doors at 7pm.

The mighty Dead Meadow return with the Pink Mountaintops, who are the campfire hippy side of Black Mountain. On April 6 they’re at The Hi-Fi, at Fox EQ in Moore Park. The Pogues – yes, with mega punk Shane MacGowan and the rest of the gang – are at the Hordern Pavilion on Wednesday April 11. If the 50 beer-fuelled singalongs and tin whistles of the Dropkick Murphys get your blood pumping, get along and see where it all began.

Send stuff to remedy@ozemail.com.au by 6pm Wednesdays. Pics to art@thebrag.com www.facebook.com/remedy4rock

april

Thurs 5th

D iCrl e tutsyK a sDa dey &zM ailro ’ e Fri 6th

cl o se d Sat 7 t h

Green green g r&eT reia nngl e S k ie s Pa p er cr a ne

Thurs 12 th

F a r A w ay S t a b l e s Th e Re pr ize & Wa r of At tr iri on

Fri 13th

A d a p t or s Et er na l or b i t & Co ld m a n B ro w ne

Sat 14th

O r ig in o f J a n k e n Da rk c3 ll & Ce le b ri ty Mo rg ue

COMING SOON Evil Ugly, Chambers, Aitches, Old Time Glory, Ramshackle, Hearts like wolves, Empire ,One Night In Paris, Postal, The damned humans and many many more talented original Artists from around Australia.

www.sydneylivehouse.com FOR ALL VENUE BOOKING ENQUIRIES.

PROUDLY BROUGHT TO YOU BY BALMAIN BREWING COMPANY BRAG :: 456 :: 02:04:12 :: 31

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up all night out all week . . .

sydney livehouse party profile

It’s called: Sydney Livehouse It sounds like: Every great Sydney band you’ve ever heard and some from out of town as well. Who’s playing? green green green, PaperCrane, Triangle Skies. Sell it to us: If you like it loud and proud, then green green green is a band you want to get familiar with. They sound like a mix of instrumental post-rock, party punk, acoustic ballad, and straight-up rock. They are currently touring on the back of their latest release, We’re Your Band. PaperCrane are just a rockin’ indie thing you need to hear. Triangle Skies are a mystery to us all! Be there to work it out… The bit we’ll remember in the AM: How good the vibes were in one of Sydney’s top venues. Crowd specs: People who like their indie rock intimate, large lounges to relax on and shooting a little pool. Wallet damage: $10 entry Where: Sydney Livehouse @ Lewisham Hotel / 794 Parramatta Rd

kylie minogue

PICS :: AM

When: Saturday April 7 from 8pm

22:03:12 :: Metro Theatre:: 624George St Sydney 9550 3666

24:03:12 :: The Standard:: Level 3/383 Bourke St Surry Hills 9331 3100

snakadaktl

23:03:12 :: Oxford Art Factory :: 38-46 Oxford St Darlinghurst 9332 3711

PICS :: AM

lenny kravitz

21:03:12 :: Entertainment Centre :: 35 Harbour St Sydney 9320 4200 32 :: BRAG :: 456: 02:04:12

PICS :: KC

james walsh

PICS :: TL

boris

PICS :: GP

20:03:12 :: The Big Top Luna Park :: 1 Olympic Dr Milsons Point 9033 7600

:: KATRINA CLARKE :: ASHLEY S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER PEACHY :: GEORGE POPOV :: TIM WHITNEY MAR :: DANIEL MUNNS :: THOMAS

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23:03:12 :: World Bar :: 24 Bayswater Rd Kings Cross 9357 7700

24:03:12 :: Oxford Art Factory :: 38-46 Oxford St Darlinghurst 9332 3711

fbi social: first b'day

PICS :: TL

mum

PICS :: TP

22:03:12 :: Manning Bar ::University of Sydney 95636000

wooden shjips

PICS :: TP

electrelane

PICS :: TL

up all night out all week . . .

23:03:12 :: FBi Social :: Kings Cross Hotel 248 Williams St Kings Cross 9331 9900

lion island/polar knights party profile

It’s called: Slightly Massive Indie Folk Jangly Band Party.

It sounds like: What you would get if an indie folk band from Brisbane wanted to do a show in Sydney, found a great venue and looked up some awesome locals to play with. This is actually what happened. Then James Brown showed up and did the boogie. Who’s playing? Polar Knights, Lion Island (QLD), The Keep Secrets and Snowale. Sell it to us: Imagine having your very own luxury party villa. It has a goldplated jacuzzi hanging from the ceiling and constant confetti going. The walls are an aquarium with real mermaids inside, and all the bar staff are sexy walruses. That’s what this gig will not be like. This gig will be much more like a gig. Pretty great. The bit we’ll remember in the AM: We don’t know what you’ll remember. But we sincerely hope you feel real warm inside. Crowd specs: Mostly impossibly beautiful, probably. Wallet damage: $10 Where: The Red Rattler / 6 Faversham St, Marrickville

:: KATRINA CLARKE :: ASHLEY S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER PEACHY :: GEORGE POPOV :: TIM WHITNEY MAR :: DANIEL MUNNS :: THOMAS

whitehouse

PICS :: GP

When: Saturday April 7 from 8pm

22:03:12 :: Oxford Art Factory :: 38-46 Oxford St Darlinghurst 9332 3711 BRAG :: 456 :: 02:04:12 :: 33

g g guide gig g send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com

pick of the week

MONDAY APRIL 2 ROCK & POP

Angelique Kidjo, Keb' Mo' (USA) Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House $49-$110 8pm Shimshai, Murray Kyle, Noam Blat, Shai Shriki Paddington Uniting Church $30 8pm

JAZZ

APRIL 5–9

Cold Chisel

Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm, Byron Bay

23rd Annual Byron Bay Bluesfest Cold Chisel, John Fogerty (USA), Crosby Stills & Nash (USA), Earth Wind & Fire (USA), The Pogues (IRE), The Specials (UK), John Butler Trio, My Morning Jacket (USA), Yes (UK), Buddy Guy (USA), Donovan (IRE), Lucinda Williams (USA), Maceo Parker (USA), G3 (USA), John Hiatt (USA), Angelique Kidjo, Seasick Steve (USA), Keb Mo (USA), Nick Lowe, Rosie Ledet, Seth Lakeman, Harry Manx (CAN),The Fabulous Thunderbirds (USA), Alabama 3 (UK), Brian Setzer’s Rockabilly Riot!, Eilen Jewell (USA), Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Jonny Lang, Yann Tiersen (FRA), Bettye Lavette, Steve Earle (USA), Justin Townes Earle (USA), Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue (USA), Great Big Sea, The Jayhawks, Sublime, Rome, Zappa Plays Zappa (USA), Dawes, James Vincent McMorrow, Josh Pyke, Blue King Brown, 1814, Busby Marou, Melbourne Ska Orchestra, Ziggy Marley, Candi Staton, David Bromberg Band, Canned Heat, Vusi Mahlasela (RSA), Richard Clapton, Blitzen Trapper, The Audreys, Backsliders, Eugene ‘Hideaway’ Bridges (USA), Ray Beadle, Joanne Shaw Taylor, Hat Fitz & Cara Robinson, Tribali, Watussi, Eagle & the Worm, Mat McHugh, Dubmarine, Mama Kin, Tijuana Cartel, Benjalu, Carus Thompson, Kim Churchill, Dallas Frasca, Marshall & the Fro, Ashleigh Mannix, Ollie Brown, Kooii, Lachlan Bryan, Slightly Stoopid, Weddings Parties Anything, The Hands, Claude Hay, Mick Thomas’ Roving Commision, The Mason Rack Band, Daniel Champagne, Bobby Alu, Dan Hannaford, Round Mountain Girls, Mojo Bluesmen, Harry Healy, The Blackbirds, Mick McHugh, Minnie Marks, Young Sounds of Byron

$139 (day ticket)–$455 11am

Ian Blakeney Dee Why RSL Club free 6.30pm James Muller Trio 505 Club, Surry Hills $10 8.30pm Monday Jam: Danny G Felix The Lansdowne, Broadway free 9pm Open Mic Jazz: Various Artists, DJs The World Bar, Kings Cross free 7pm Sonic Mayhem Orchestra Blue Beat, Double Bay 8.30pm

ACOUSTIC & FOLK

DinkiDiAcoustic: The Jeweltones, Bruce Bongers, Graham Healy, Emma Swift, Ben Liddicoat Camelia Grove Hotel, Alexandria free 6.30pm Russell Neal, Senani, Massimo Presti, Tim Humphries Kellys On King, Newtown free 7pm Tom Trelawney Opera Bar, Circular Quay free 8.30pm

TUESDAY APRIL 3 ROCK & POP

Adam Pringle and Friends Downstairs, Sandringham Hotel, Newtown free 8pm Alabama 3 (UK) Lizotte’s Restaurant, Dee Why $54–$96 (dinner & show) 8pm Gin Wigmore, The Preachers The Vanguard, Newtown $23.80 8pm sold out Hazzy Bee, Andy Gollege, Luke Mosely, Matt Phelan Hibernian House, Surry Hills $10 8pm John Fogerty (USA) Sydney Entertainment Centre, Darling Harbour $99–$149 (+ bf) 8pm John Hiatt & The Combo (USA), Lachlan Bryan Metro Theatre, Sydney $71.70 8pm Lucinda Williams (USA) State Theatre, Sydney $92.90 8pm My Morning Jacket (USA), Dawes Enmore Theatre $73.10 7.30pm all-ages Songwriter Sessions Sandringham Hotel, Newtown free 7.30pm Voodoo Party! DampVamp, Raw Africa, Devotional, Day Colours, Moonshakes DJs, Afro Philpot, Jagwa Ma The Flinders, Surry Hills free 8.30pm

8.30pm Peter Head The Harbour View Hotel free 8pm Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue (USA) The Basement, Circular Quay $55 (+ bf)–$109.80 (dinner & show) 8pm

ACOUSTIC & FOLK

Ben Osmo, Joseph Giuffrida, Phoebe Eve, Starr Witness, Jake Bennett, Michelle Christensen, Oliver Goss, Russell Neal Dee Why RSL free 6.30pm Kinetic Method Opera Bar, Circular Quay free 8.30pm London Klezmer Quartet Camelot, Marrickville $25 7pm

WEDNESDAY APRIL 4 ROCK & POP

Buddy Guy (USA), Jonny Lang Enmore Theatre $107.20 (+ bf) 8pm The Chill The Orient Hotel, The Rocks free 9pm Flesh Borer Inc, Erik Of Norway, Rev RKH, Numbskull Valve Bar, Tempe 7pm Guerre FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel free 1pm Jagermeister Presents Annandale Hotel $8 7.30pm Justin Townes Earle (USA), Pat Capocci Band The Factory Theatre, Enmore $44 (+ bf) 8pm Live & Local: Crescent Collective, Bec Sandridge, Alison Avron, Rein Room Lizotte’s Restaurant, Dee Why $15 8pm Mal Ward, Gary Brennan, Mathieu, Kind, Kenneth and Friends Royal Hotel, Bondi free 8pm Musos Jam Bald Faced Stag, Leichhardt free 7pm The Nearly Brothers The Vanguard, Newtown $25.80–$60.80 (dinner & show) 8pm Open Mic Night Hawkesbury Hotel, Windsor free 8pm The Rockwells Downstairs, Sandringham Hotel, Newtown free 8pm Royal Headache, Palms, Betty Airs Beach Road Hotel, Bondi free 8pm

JAZZ

Bernie Segedin Dee Why RSL Club free 6.30pm

Peter Head The Harbour View Hotel free 8pm Steve Hunter Band 505 Club, Surry Hills $10– $15 8pm Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue (USA) The Basement, Circular Quay $55 (+ bf)–$109.80 (dinner & show) 8pm

ACOUSTIC & FOLK

Black Diamond, Paul McGowan, Brent McGregor Cat and Fiddle Hotel, Balmain free 6.30pm Carolyn Woodorth, Bryan Farley Royal Hotel, Springwood free 8pm Daniel Hopkins Taren Point Hotel free 7pm Greg Sita, Charmaine Bingwa, Kyle Dessent Cookies Lounge and Bar, Bakehouse Quarter, North Strathfield free 8pm Helmut Uhlmann, Miss Gray, Liam Gale, David Moulder, Little Beard UTS Loft, Broadway, Ultimo free 6pm Michele Madden, Blackie, Keish, Rah Sandringham Hotel, Newtown $10 7.45pm Milan Opera Bar, Circular Quay free 8.30pm Russell Neal, Grant Wolter Evening Star Hotel, Surry Hills free 7pm TAOS, John Chesher, Gavin Fitzgerald, Senani Coach & Horses Hotel, Randwick free 7pm

THURSDAY APRIL 5 ROCK & POP

23rd Annual Byron Bay Bluesfest: Cold Chisel, John Fogerty (USA), Crosby, Stills & Nash (USA), Earth Wind & Fire (USA), The Pogues (IRE), The Specials (UK) and many many more Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm, Byron Bay $139 (day ticket)–$455 (April 5-9 ticket) 11am A Band (UK), Violence in Action, Godswounds: Twin Battery, Jusgo Mosh The Square, Hay Street Haymarket $10 8pm Ben Salter, Joe McKee, Robert F. Cranny, Michel Michel Union Hotel, Newtown free 7.30pm Blitzen Trapper (USA), The Preachers Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst $41.80 (+ bf) 8pm

JAZZ

James Valentine Golden Sheaf Hotel, Double Bay 7pm Jazzgroove: James Ryan Sextet, Jackson Harrison Trio 505 Club, Surry Hills $8–$15

Blitzen Trapper

“In the town where I was born lived a man who sailed to sea. And he told us of his life In the land of submarines.” - THE BEATLES 34 :: BRAG :: 456 : 02:04:12

g g guide gig g

send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com Totally Unicorn

5pm Yuki Kumagai, John Mackie Well Co. Café / Wine Bar, Leichhardt free 7.30pm

ACOUSTIC & FOLK

Andrew Denniston Terrey Hills Tavern free Jeff Duff, Confection Opera Bar, Circular Quay free 2.30pm Matt Toms The Belvedere Hotel free 9pm Owen Platt, Black Diamond Ettalong Beach Hotel free Wolf & Cub Cogel, Valar, Mushu FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel $10 8pm Date Brothers feat. Daniel Weltlinger Lizotte’s Restaurant, Dee Why $34 8pm Delroys Rose of Australia Hotel, Erskineville free 9pm Dirty Dezire, The Secret City, Malo Sydney Livehouse, Lewisham $10 8pm Great Big Sea (CAN) The Basement, Circular Quay $49.50 (+ bf) 8pm HSN Populous Showcase: Nikko Cereza, Electric Elements Crew, Leanne Russo Gallery Bar, Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst free 8pm Hue Williams Lane Cove Club free 7.30pm Iced Earth (USA), Lord The Hi-Fi, Moore Park $55 (+ bf) 8pm all-ages Kenny Wayne Shepherd (USA), Joanne Shaw Taylor The Factory Theatre, Enmore $60.10 8pm Meow Kapow, Ghosts of York, 1929 Indian, Bert and Bernie Upstairs Beresford, Surry Hills free 6pm Mung, Broadway Mile, The Dirty Earth Annandale Hotel $10 7.30pm The Nearly Brothers The Vanguard, Newtown $25.80–$60.80 (dinner & show) 8pm Open Mic Excelsior Hotel, Glebe free 7pm Rosie Ledet & The Zydeco Playboys, Bridie King Trio Notes Live, Enmore $32 (+ bf)–$45 8pm Sam Joole Duo Dee Why RSL Club free 10pm Skyscraper Customs House, Sydney free 7pm The White Bros The Orient Hotel, The Rocks free 9pm Wolf & Cub, Sures, Machine GoodGod Small Club, Sydney $17 (+ bf) 8pm Yann Tiersen (FRA), Cameras Metro Theatre, Sydney $60 8pm

JAZZ

Inga Liljestrom 505 Club, Surry Hills $20– $25 8.30pm Jazz at The Supper Club Oxford Hotel 7pm Lionel Robinson Dee Why RSL Club free 6.30pm Peter Head The Harbour View Hotel free 8pm

ACOUSTIC & FOLK Buddy Siolo Trio Opera Bar, Circular Quay free 8.30pm Jake Bennett, Boris Sladakovic, Alexis Sellies Narrabeen Sands free 7pm Linda Wood, Andrew Denniston Kogarah Hotel free 7pm Simon Shapiro

The Marlborough Hotel, Newtown free 8.30pm Zulya and The Children of the Underground Camelot, Marrickville $25 7pm

HIP HOP

The Infamous Ragz 2 Richez, Prince of Thieves, Keeda, Monchichi, J Dwight, The Unthinkables, DJ Victor Lopez, DJ Cookie Swaze, Intaleks Valve Bar, Tempe 7pm KRS-One (USA), Def Wish Cast Enmore Theatre $87.10 7pm

FRIDAY APRIL 6 ROCK & POP

Bad Friday: The Colt 44s, Particles, Tiger Widow, Flight, The Upskirts, Radio National, Beef Jerkies, Bachelor Pad, Lyall Moloney, Disadvantaged, The Mountains, Fouul Hawk, Glitter Canyon, Earth To Audio, Everything I Own Is Broken, No Hablo Annandale Hotel $10 12pm Dead Meadow (USA), Pink Mountaintops (CAN), The Laurels, Los Sundowners The Hi-Fi, Moore Park $35 (+ bf) 6pm Emma Russack, Rohin Jones, Jessica Says, Caitlin Park FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel $10 6pm Fun Puppet Level 1, East Leagues Club free 8.30pm Holy Hardcore 2012: Mark My Words, Taken By Force, Clipped Wings, Unpaid Hostility, Vices, Break A Leg, Deadly Visions, The Takehold, Snake Pit, Cold Youth Valve Bar, Tempe 2pm Next Best Thing Dundas Sports free 8.30pm Not Like Horse, Kahn Of K, Red Bee, Modern Murder Sandringham Hotel, Newtown $10 8pm Sophie Joy Madison Chatswood RSL free 5pm Steppin Out Kingswood Sports Club free 7.30pm Stukas, Gypsys Gift, JD Mo, Courage For Casper The Roxbury Hotel, Glebe 8pm

HIP HOP

Mothership Presents Outspoken: Black Magic, Mute Oblivion, Rivals & LC Beats, Sarah Connor El Rocco, Potts Point $10 8pm

SATURDAY APRIL 7 ROCK & POP

Alabama 3 (UK), The

Rumjacks Manning Bar, Sydney University, Camperdown $42.10-$49.50 (+ bf) 8pm Aussie Foo Fighters Show Colyton Hotel free Bass Drum of Death, Bang! Bang! Rock 'n Roll, The Ruminaters FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel free 8pm Ben Browning, Erik Omen, Bobby Boomerang, G.L.O.V.E.S, Tunnel Signs & Francis Chang GoodGod Small Club, Sydney $12 (+ bf) 10pm Blacklist The Marlborough Hotel, Newtown free 10.30pm Blue Venom Engadine Tavern free 9.30pm Cougar Carousel Inn, Rooty Hill free 8.30pm Day Ravies, Unity Floors, Dead Radio Spectrum, Darlinghurst 7pm Deez Nuts, Phantoms, The Bride Annandale Hotel $23.50 (+ bf) 12pm all-ages, 8pm Dereb The Ambassador Camelot, Marrickville $20 7.30pm The Fabulous Thunderbirds feat. Kim Wilson (USA), Canned Heat (USA) The Factory Theatre, Enmore $60.10 8pm Green Green Green, I Am Apollo, Triangle Skies, PaperCrane Sydney Livehouse, Lewisham $10 8pm The Jacks Oatley Hotel free 8.30pm The Leisure Bandits, Saloons, Kool Thing, Kristy Lee Upstairs Beresford, Surry Hills free 6pm Macson Kingswood Sports Club free 8.30pm Mal Ward, Kang Panania Hotel free 8pm New Found Glory (USA), Taking Back Sunday (USA), This Time Next Year, The Maine (USA) The Big Top at Luna Park, Milsons Point $68.90 (+ bf) 8pm Next Best Thing Sutherland United Services Club free 7.30pm Polar Knights, Lion Island, The Keep Secrets, Snowale The Red Rattler, Marrickville $10 8pm Rachel Eldon Hollywood Bar & Café, Hoyts Broadway free 6pm Retro Groove Brighton RSL Club, Brighton-Le-Sands free 8pm Ron S. Peno & The Superstitions, Mick Turner The Vanguard, Newtown $28.80-$63.80 8pm Serious Beak, Lo!, FGWMMS, Killsong, DJ Alley Cats The Lansdowne, Broadway free 9pm SFX: Veil of Maya, The Storm Picturesque, Stories St James Hotel, Sydney 8pm The Specials (UK)

Enmore Theatre $96.90 8pm all-ages Sublime with Rome (USA), Mat McHugh UNSW Roundhouse, Kensington $75.60 (+ bf) 8pm Tiger & The Rogues, Shezbot The Roxbury Hotel, Glebe 8pm Total Revenge: Totally Unicorn, Corpus, Coffin, The Nickles, Wacks & The Hetro Life Partners The Standard, Surry Hills $15 (+ bf) 8pm Van The Man: The Australian Van Morrison Show The Basement, Circular Quay $25 (+ bf) 8pm Wildkatz Level 1, East Leagues Club free 8pm Zappa Plays Zappa (USA) Metro Theatre, Sydney $69.50–$122.50 8pm

JAZZ

Blue Moon Quartet Supper Club, Fairfield RSL free 7pm Peter Head The Harbour View Hotel free

SUNDAY APRIL 8 ROCK & POP

Cash Only Marrickville Bowling Club free 4.30pm Hawkmoth, Jarek, Snip Snap Dragon, Skippys Brains Annandale Hotel $12 5.30pm John Vella Bayview Hotel, Gladesville free 6pm Johnny G & the E Types Botany View Hotel, Newtown free 7pm LJ Waverley Bowling Club free 3pm Lucy Desoto and The Handsome Devils Downstairs, Sandringham Hotel free 4pm Mark Beltram, Damon, Hue Williams Art Shack free 5pm Mark Hopper Artichoke Gallery Cafe, Manly free 7.30pm Pete Hunt Collaroy Beach Hotel free

wed wed

25 04 Jan Apr

2pm Rough Church (USA), Berkshire Hunting Club, Cuervo, Gas Wylde Band, Drywell Valve Bar, Tempe 4pm Satellite V Marrickville Bowling Club free 4.30pm Steve Earle (USA), Suze DeMarchi & David Leslie, Lachlan Bryan The Factory Theatre, Enmore $59-$89 8pm Stir Crazy Riverstone Sports Hotel free 2pm The Subterraneans, James Muller, Ben Hauptmann Town Hall Hotel, Newtown free 7pm We Only Come Out At Night: Pledge This!, Antagonist, Dropsaw, Lo!, Fixtures Spectrum, Darlinghurst $15 (guestlist)–$20 8pm Ziggy Marley The Metro Theatre, Sydney $68.70 (+ bf) 8pm

JAZZ

The Peter Head Trio The Harbour View Hotel free 4pm

ACOUSTIC & FOLK

Andrew Denniston, Renee Jonas, The Pug, Don Christopher Salisbury Hotel, Stanmore free 2pm Anthony Hughes Oatley Hotel free 2pm The Pod Brothers The Belvedere Hotel free 4pm Shane MacKenzie Cohibar, Darling Harbour free 3pm

thu

(9:00PM - 12:00AM)

05 Apr

(9:00PM - 12:00AM)

fri

06 Apr

(3:00PM - 6:00PM) (4:30PM - 7:30PM)

sat

(7:00PM – 10:00PM)

SATURDAY NIGHT

07 Apr (9:00PM - 12:00AM)

SUNDAY NIGHT

sun

08 Apr

(4:30PM - 7:30PM)

(8:30PM - 12:00AM)

PA R T Y D J S

SUNDAY NIGHT

sun

09 Apr (2:00PM - 5:30PM)

(6:15PM - 12:00AM

BRAG :: 456 :: 02:04:12 :: 35

gig picks

up all night out all week...

MONDAY APRIL 2

TUESDAY APRIL 3

Angelique Kidjo, Keb' Mo' (USA) Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House $49-$110 8pm

My Morning Jacket (USA), Dawes Enmore Theatre $73.10 7.30pm all-ages

Emma Russack

Alabama 3 (UK), The Rumjacks Manning Bar, Sydney University, Camperdown $42.10-$49.50 (+ bf) 8pm Total Revenge: Totally Unicorn, Corpus, Coffin, The Nickles, Wacks & The Hetro Life Partners The Standard, Surry Hills $15 (+ bf) 8pm

WEDNESDAY APRIL 4

My Morning Jacket Angelique Kidjo

SATURDAY APRIL 7

Justin Townes Earle (USA), Pat Capocci Band The Factory Theatre, Enmore $44 (+ bf) 8pm Royal Headache, Palms, Betty Airs Beach Road Hotel, Bondi free 8pm

Emma Russack, Rohin Jones, Jessica Says, Caitlin Park FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel $10 6pm

SUNDAY APRIL 8 Ziggy Marley The Metro Theatre, Sydney $68.70 (+ bf) 8pm Ziggy Marley

THURSDAY APRIL 5 Blitzen Trapper (USA), The Preachers Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst $41.80 (+ bf) 8pm

FRIDAY APRIL 6

Xxxx

Dead Meadow (USA), Pink Mountaintops (CAN), The Laurels, Los Sundowners Hi-Fi, Moore Park $35 (+bf) 6pm

WEDNESDAY 4TH APRIL

THURSDAY 5TH APRIL

SATURDAY 7TH APRIL

LUNCHBREAK

COGEL + VALAR + MUSHU

BASS DRUM

presented by Alberts ~ presents ~

GUERRE 1pm, FREE & broadcast live on FBi Radio 94.5fm

8pm, $10 at the door

VICE

~ presents ~

{ OF DEATH } (US)

+ Bang Bang Rock n Roll + + The Ruminaters +

8PM, FREE, but you’ve gotta RSVP over at party.vice.com

+ METRO SCREEN ~ presents ~

MUSIC VIDEO SHOW + TELL 6pm, $7 through Eventbrite or on the door

FRIDAY 6TH APRIL EMMA RUSSACK + ROHIN JONES + + JESSICA SAYS + + CAITLIN PARK + 6pm, $10 at the door ~ Easter Friday Hours ~ 10pm close

36 :: BRAG :: 456 : 02:04:12

L2 Kings Cross Hotel www.fbisocial.com

Proudly Presents

KING TIDE

STICKY FINGERS $15 TICKETS THROUGH MOSHTIX OR ON DOOR

SAT 14TH APR

THE FEELERS +Gasoline

(NZ)

$15 TICKETS THROUGH MOSHTIX OR ON DOOR

SAT 21ST APR

CARAVﾃクA SUN +The Campervan Dancers +Bears With Guns

MONKS OF M E L L O N WA H

$12 TICKETS THROUGH MOSHTIX OR ON DOOR

NEUROGENESIS O U T M AY 2 0 1 2 www.monksofmellonwah.com

EP SAT 28TH APR BRAG :: 456 :: 02:04:12 :: 37

H av e It,

Eat It Too...

r e t f a 0 2 $ m p 0 $15 before 1

t a y a d r u t a Every S R A B D L R O T HE W

kings x d r r e t a 24 baysw

r e y a h t nick to +

OWSLA EP LAUNCH

t e z z o b + ) ! m t u a o d t i a eek (sweat us k c u r e k i m go fr akes n lennox +skine + president bird tair er illya + o elli + alis a room! aigo + zw e + d t e h ix t m r e e pip n take ov e h c it k p + sou

38 :: BRAG :: 456 :: 02:04:12

BRAG’s guide to dance, hip hop and club culture

brag beats free stuff

dance music news club, dance and hip hop in brief... with Chris Honnery

five things WITH

GORGE (DENMARK)

FREESTUFF@THEBRAG.COM on FBi Radio and recently unveiled a typically impressive mix for the Melbourne Deepcast podcast series (it’s worth hunting down online – a basic ‘Boolean keyword’ Google search ought to get you there). Also spinning will be Canadian selector Eric Downer, whose sonic CV connects him with the vaunted Archipel label, and D&D (aka HAHA residents Dean Dixon and Dave Fernandes). The revelry will run from 10pm ‘til sunrise, with further details available online at hahaindustries.com.

Tha Teacha

MOODYMANN @ SPICE

“I have got records that smell like 1967. You cannot place that in an iPod. And when it comes to music, most women prefer 12”s. You keep that in mind next time you are with your laptop.” So declares the inimitable Detroit producer Kenny Dixon Jr, aka Moodymann, who kicks off a frenetic April at The Spice Cellar with a performance at the venue this Thursday. Moodymann is an auteur of the underground electronic scene who conflates his radical views on race – often encapsulated in samples lifted from blaxploitation cult films – with soulful, jazz-inspired house soundscapes. Though his DJing is often vastly different from his productions, those heading along to see him can look forward to an eclectic journey through disparate sounds, linked together by Moody’s distinct ‘Detroit’ persona. Other internationals playing The Spice Cellar over April include Gorge this Saturday night, KiNK on Easter Sunday, ahead of Dean Tyler and Niko Schwind later in the month. Any young sconies interested in further information should head to thespicecellar.com.au

DISTORTION

Growing Up My childhood music memories are 1. of classical music – my parents were completely into that. But this doesn’t influence me as a musician; I learned piano (which was boring) and later turned to playing drums. Inspirations One of my favourites is Jimpster – a 2. brilliant producer whose music is always telling a story. In pop music my first album was Marillion’s Misplaced Childhood, which I loved coz of their drummer Ian Mosley. Your Crew After playing drums in a band for six 3. years, electronic music got me in 1993. I’ve been DJing and working in the studio professionally since 1997. I started 8bit Records with Nick Curly in 2005, and more recently the Katchuli imprint. The Music You Make I think the typical 8bit sound is a 4. mixture of deep/minimal groovy house music. It came out of the minimal sound, which stayed for a couple of years but then we added to with more organic house and percussion elements and vocal snippets.

KRS-One photo by Marie-Claire Batty

BLAWAN + PARIAH

Astral People have announced a bass music double-header featuring the highly touted London producer Blawan and his less exposed but similarly respected compatriot Pariah, at GoodGod Small Club on Saturday May 12. Blawan is coming off a stellar 2011, crowned by the success of his white label Brandy-sampling single ‘Getting Me Down’, which became a global smash and went on to be polled the number-one tune of 2011 by Resident Advisor, along with a Radiohead remix. Pariah is on the other side of the fence when it comes to ubiquity, having not yet achieved the popularity of Blawan, but is spoken about as a ‘star in the making’ by those who know their sh*t – if you have a

Katchuli is my little baby, which needs time to develop. I’m not putting out so many releases and the sound is different from 8bit – I’m doing deeper stuff there, working with a couple of good friends involved in all the releases as artists or remixers. I’m working on two EPs for 8bit and Katchuli at the moment actually, to be released in spring and summer. My sets always contain stuff from both labels, and I’m always trying to tell a story with my music, not just push people to the maximum using a lot of effects and stuff. My sets also depend on the venue; at Spice Cellar this weekend it’s gonna be groovy deep house music with some techy influences.

Distortion returns to Fake Club in King’s Cross this Thursday, for a jaunt headlined by Inspector Dubplate, the chap behind the Inspected label. The Inspector has a reputation for unearthing innovative producers of the dubstep oeuvre, with the likes of Zeds Dead, KOAN Sound, Gemini and Culprate signed to his Inspected imprint. Inspector Dubplate will be flanked by Distortion residents Rubio, Guillotine, Deli, Enochi, Crysist and Carlitos, with a range of guests also set to spin some tunes. Tickets are available online for $15.

KRS-ONE

You could read a tome on the history of hip hop (arguably the defining music culture of our times, so probably worth getting across) OR you could pop down to the Enmore on Thursday April 5 for a massive night of hip hop education from the master, aka the Teacha – KRS-One. Present right at the birth of hip hop, co-founding infamous gangsta rap outfit Boogie Down Productions and kicking off the bridge wars, KRS-One is better known these days as a powerhouse proponent of black political consciousness and social justice issues. He’s also, you know, really good, and this show will feature support from locals Def Wish Cast, Ellesquire and DJ Blaze. To get some of that ed-u-cation (and a double pass to the show) tell us his birth name!

Africa Hitech

Music, Right Here, Right Now There are a lot of up-and-coming 5. talents, but the whole scene is a bit too fast nowadays. This is due to the Internet and the amount of tracks being released every day; it’s hard to follow. With: Murat Kilic, Matt Weir, Alley Oop Where: Spice Cellar / 58 Elizabeth St CBD When: Saturday April 7

listen to his 2010 debut EP on R&S records then you’ll understand what the word of mouth is based upon. Blawan and Pariah have a well-established working relationship, having formed the collaborative label Works The Long Nights together, in addition to producing together under the moniker Karenn. Support on the night will come from Preacha and Bad Ezzy, with limited $20 earlybird tickets available online.

HAHA UTR #017

Reputed underground crew HAHA will host the next in their Under The Radar warehouse party series on Saturday April 14. The lineup features Mad Racket main-man Simon Caldwell, who also oversees Monday sunsets

HOLD TIGHT!

Hold Tight! will host a bash at Oxford Art Factory this Saturday featuring Canada’s Jaques Greene, Africa Hitech, Machinedrum, Dibiase and Albatross. Greene has enjoyed a breakout last 18 months, highlighted by the release of his sophomore single ‘Another Girl’ and his contribution to Radiohead’s TKOL RMX 1234567 collection. Machinedrum, one half of future garage supergroup Sepalcure, will also be making his debut Australian tour, as will Los Angeles based producer Dibiase, while Africa Hitech return Down Under following a North American tour. Albatross heads up the local lineup with their new live incarnation set to perform off the back of their 7” single ‘Murder/Casper’s Theme’.

BRAG :: 456 :: 02:04:12 :: 39

dance music news

free stuff

club, dance and hip hop in brief... with Chris Honnery

FREESTUFF@THEBRAG.COM

five things WITH

DJ FEMME sound. My biggest inspiration for the Pump It compilations is what’s currently working in the commercial dance music scene across different age groups. Your Crew These days I’m doing more 3. solo work as a DJ. I occasionally

Growing Up My dad was a DJ in the UK 1. in the ‘70s, so you can imagine

listen to. Pump It became a natural flow-on from those memories.

where my love of music came from – at a very young age. My parents played records every Saturday night at home when we were growing up; it was one constant musical journey. I grew up surrounded by soul music – James Brown, Quincy Jones, Sam and Dave, Bob Marley, Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye, to name some of the greatest. As a teenager I also purchased a lot of dance music CD compilations to

Inspirations My biggest inspiration is Perth 2. band Pendulum – and their sideproject Knife Party. Their story as a band and the journey it has taken them on since moving to the UK over the last ten years has been inspirational. I recently chatted with the boys, and to hear their stories was one of the highlights of my career. They bring diversity in the crowd that follows them; that is music genius. I also love their

work with MCs, which adds additional hype to a show, but I’m also enjoying developing my own sound and name as an artist. I’ve been working with LNG music on the Pump It compilations for a couple of years now, and it’s great to work with others DJs on these chart-topping comps too.

4.

The Music You Make I play a lot of commercial electro house and main room house. I enjoy tunes with some familiarity and big sounds to back it up. I think over the years I’ve learnt to select better quality music; well-produced tracks make a huge difference to your sets, and if you want to be taken seriously as a DJ I think it’s essential. My tracks on this latest Pump It are urban dance-based; it’s not what I play in the clubs, but it’s what most of the kids demand these days when

CHROMATICS ALBUM TZU

It’s been a long five years since NY outfit Chromatics released 2007s mercurial album Night Drive. Having announced follow-up, Kill For Love, almost six months ago, the album is finally retailing on iTunes after a number of false starts. Kill For Love is a mammoth 17 tracks long, clocking in at around 90 minutes and featuring all of the cuts previously leaked by the band through their YouTube page. Label Italians Do It Better have still yet to confirm a physical release date, but if you’re happy to enjoy your nu-disco thrills in mp3 form – who isn’t these days – then the wait appears to be over.

PHAROAHE MONCH LP TZU

Australian alt hip hop posse TZU are back this week with a brand-new single, ‘Beginning Of The End’, and a national album tour announcement, set for May/ June, that will ramp up for the release of their forthcoming album. Comprised of Joelistics, Yeroc, Pip Norman aka Countbounce and Paso Bionic, the Melbourne foursome broke through with their 2005 sophomore album Smiling At Strangers, followed up by triple j favourite Computer Love in 2008, and Cover Up Motel in 2009 – and a twoyear hiatus in which they smelled roses, made babies and travelled the world (in that order). They’ll hit The Annandale on May 18, and tickets are on sale now through moshtix.

Details have surfaced outlining the next album from NYC hip hop stalwart Pharoahe Monch. His new project is reportedly called Rock vs. Disco, and the album, for better or for worse, promises a “lot of rock joints”. For those whose ears are still ringing from Lil Wayne’s Rebirth, rest assured that there will also be “a lot of beats” to offset any potential infelicities. That’s all we have for now though, readers – details including release dates and tracklistings will be published in these very pages as soon as we known them.

BUTTRICH & TINI

Renowned proponents of deep club sounds, Martin Buttrich and tINI, will form a double bill representin’ the coveted Desolat label at the Civic

buying music to play at parties and in their cars, etc. Music, Right Here, Right Now 5. Music festivals are so big now and I feel that’s mainly due to the commercialisation of dance music. Good or bad – I believe it’s a bit of both. As a DJ it’s about finding that balance of playing what the crowd wants and also still loving what you play – that’s the key to it all. Crowds do want to hear what they currently recognise, and adding your own sound to that is still important. We are not jukeboxes! We still need our individual sound. I believe the Pump It compilations, over the 3CD selection, break down perfectly the types of music clubs are playing: urban dance, commercial electro house and tougher electro. People want party music to listen to – so it’s easy to see why it is one of Australia’s highest selling CD compilations! What: Pump It Vol. 5 mixed by DJ Femme, Sarah Robertson and Platinum Deejayz When: Out April 6 through Universal

Underground this Thursday, April 5. Buttrich’s production pedigree is well documented: the German is a hugely respected producer who plays an often unheralded role behind the scenes for well known pop acts such as Moloko. In terms of club sounds, he has been an integral figure in the rise of Loco Dice (along with his one time co-worker at Peppermint Jam distribution, Timo Maas), and together the pair founded the Desolat label. It was Loco Dice who took tINI under his wing after he saw her play a gig in her hometown of Munich, and she promptly became a member of the Desolat family. After demonstrating her talent via contributions to Desolat samplers, tINI cemented herself in the upper echelon of club producers with the release of her debut LP Tessa last year, an album filled with spacious, grooveladen minimal house that evoked early Perlon and Playhouse releases. Second-release $35 tickets are currently available online.

BOAT PARTY

And finally: if you like your Easter eggs a little salty (arrrrr), Propaganda and Teen Spirit are teaming up to throw a party on the high seas this Easter Sunday, with two levels of indie mayhem and ‘90s party chunes departing from the King Street Wharf at 7pm sharp! Propaganda captains/ DJs Shag (FBi Radio) and Urby promise to have you home by 11pm – by which we mean they’ll help you get off the boat at Rose Bay and onto a bus, bound for The World Bar Easter Island party! Tix $25 at moshtix. The Fabergettes

RICK WILHITE

Detroit artist Rick ‘The Godson’ Wilhite will play One22 on Easter Saturday, April 7, for the staunchly underground Boom Boom brand. Wilhite has been a pivotal figure in Detroit house music for two decades, both as a solo producer, as part of the supergroup Three Chairs (with Theo Parrish, Marcellus Pittman and Kenny Dixon Jr, aka Moodymann) and as owner of the Vibes New & Rare Music record store. Yet up until recently he’s remained under the radar, especially compared to his more illustrious counterparts in Three Chairs. In fact, it was not until last year that Wilhite finally released his debut solo album, Analog Aquarium, which collected nine new Wilhite productions plus the 2005 track ‘Cosmic Jungle’ from the In the Dark (The Soul of Detroit) compilation, and included guest appearances from Parrish, Pittman and Osunlade. Analog Aquarium was met with a strong critical response from ‘the heads’, with one reviewer gushing, “There’s an enthralling painterliness about Wilhite’s methods, as he dabs smears of melody and little pops of rhythm into huge, sprawling abstractions.” Wilhite will be playing an extended set, with presale tickets now on sale through Resident Advisor. 40 :: BRAG :: 456 :: 02:04:12

EASTER ISLAND

After you’ve been passed through the Boat Party this Easter Sunday (see below) and passed through the other end as a hot sweaty mess, let the kids from Propaganda and Teen Spirit bundle you onto the party bus to World Bar, where they’ll be kicking on with Easter Island – a four-room egghunt/party featuring Hetro Life Partners, Beatrix, Oh Glam!, Astrix, Shivers, Alley Oop, James Taylor, and probably Shag and Urby, assuming they’ve regained their land legs. Because you need all your dollars for bunnies this week, we’ll probably give you double pass entry if you can tell us who makes the best eggs.

Van She

VAN SHE RETURN

After a lengthy hiatus, the hometown cosmic synth pop outfit Van She have re-emerged from hiding with a new album. Back in 2006 Van She were the toast of Sydney, basking in the success of their single ‘Kelly’ – which was remixed by the renowned ‘French touch’ pairing of Alan Braxe and Fred Falke – reworking the Klaxons and gigging relentlessly. But times have certainly changed. Van She’s forthcoming album, Idea Of Happiness, will be their sophomore LP, and was recorded, engineered and produced by the band themselves in Kings Cross, Sydney. (Though it was mixed in Los Angeles with Tony Hoffer of Beck, Air, and M83 fame.) As for Van She’s extended hibernation, the presser offers, “Their self-sufficient approach to the record left them free to give ideas the time and space to hang loose. They may have walked a slow, deliberate path to realising album #2 but the result is all the better for it.” Van She play a free gig at Bondi’s Beach Road Hotel on Anzac Day to signal that they’re well and truly back, with Idea Of Happiness due out in July on Modular.

DJ-KICKS MAYA JANE COLES

YACHT CLUB DJS

News has come to hand that ‘60s girl pop outfit The Fabergettes have snared the coveted support slot for the Sydney leg of the Yacht Club DJs’ national tour at The Standard on Saturday April 21. To bring any stragglers up to speed, Yacht Club DJs have played parties all over Australia including Meredith Music Festival, Splendour In The Grass, Parklife, Falls Festival and Field Day throughout the course of their still nascent musical career. In terms of their sound, they take on the mash-up genre and push an array of classic pop, disco and even theme songs – apparently – along with everything else under the sonic sun, so expect anything, and everything, when they play The Standard. (Within reason of course.)

Maya Jane Coles is mixing the next in !K7’s DJ-Kicks series, which is set to be released on April 17. For anyone not on the MJC bandwagon, the UK producer has risen quickly up through the ranks of house music, first coming to widespread attention with the ‘90s-indebted organ-utilising house of the What They Say EP, and the ethereal Humming Bird EP. She also records under the Nocturnal Sunshine moniker, and is one half of live duo She Is Danger, alongside Lena Cullen. Her mix for DJ-Kicks, the first commercially available mix she has released, is a varied selection that traverses cuts from Marcel Dettmann and Caribou alongside a new track from MJC herself, ‘Not Listening’, and a second exclusive cut under her Nocturnal Sunshine moniker, ‘Meant To Be’.

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BRAG :: 456 :: 02:04:12 :: 41

Stacey Pullen Getting Loco By Simon Hampson

D

etroit legend Stacey Pullen is on his way to Australia this month to co-headline the next local instalment of Ibiza party brand Circoloco, alongside Tania Vulcano (Ibiza) and Clive Henry (UK) – in one massive bill. Circoloco started in 1999 in a little building at the end of the airport runway in Ibiza, known as DC10. Their after-hours parties kicked off on Monday mornings, at the end of popular Sunday weekly Space, and they quickly developed a loyal fanbase with their forward-thinking, deeper and more avant-garde sound. By 2002, with the club riding the rising crest of minimal techno’s popularity, big-name DJs were asking to play alongside residents like Luciano, Ricardo Villalobos and Loco Dice – and the international music press had jumped on the bandwagon. Pullen is a regular on the Circoloco touring roster – but has surprisingly never actually played their Ibiza events. “It’s funny,” he muses down the line from his home in Detroit. “I’m sort of like one of the few DJs who play for the Circoloco brand but I haven’t really played in

Ibiza. I played DC10 in 2007 but that was before I even knew about Circoloco – it was right when the brand was taking off.” Also a regular feature of the Australian touring circuit, Pullen says he’s looking forward to coming back Down Under to represent his Alma Mater, as it were. When I reach him, he’s feeling particularly chilled: he’s just caught up for lunch with his friend, fellow producer and DJ Seth Troxler, and he’s off to the studio later that night. “You’ve got to keep working on new stuff,” he tells me. “Especially now that I’m able to do more than in the last two years; now I’m able to put music out with full force, like I never did before.” Pullen is referring to the issues he had with using his own name because of record label contracts. “I could have still done stuff under different pseudonyms,” he qualifies, “but for me to do stuff under my name is more important now. There’s no longer a need to [use a pseudonym] – unlike in the old Detroit days, where you used to do five or six songs under a different pseudonym! Now it’s most important to put your own name out there and make that your brand.”

“I’m constantly evolving when it comes to music. It’s impossible to keep tabs on everything but I still try to keep up when it comes to good music that will stand the test of time.” Does he feel the new generation snapping at his heels? “I don’t really fret about it,” he tells me. “If anything, they look up to me as a person who has been there, understands the game, has seen the generational shift and still is able to maintain being a household name or being in the industry and still being able to adapt to the new generation. They look at that as, you know, a situation where they want to get to that level.” Looking back across the past three decades of music, Pullen sees certain things going in cycles. “This is how I can put it: I was a teenager in the ‘80s and a lot of the music that you hear now is sort of like this ‘80s style of music that they call new disco, you know. So there’s a connection there, but there is also a big generational change because of that.” Techno never dies, however: “At the end of the day, techno has always been there. It never really went anywhere and it will still continue to be a driving force in music. You have different genres of house that come out (laughs), but no matter how you look at it – it may slow up on the BPMs a little but at the same time that’s what it is: techno is techno.” In terms of his listening tastes, Pullen says, “I’m constantly evolving when it comes to music. There’s so much coming out that it’s impossible to keep tabs on everything but I still try to keep up there when it comes to good music that will stand the test of time. Not just music that will be good for today and gone tomorrow, you know.” His label, Black Flag, also keeps his finger on the pulse, pulling in new artists from around the world. “At first I wanted to do my label as an outlet for only my music,” Pullen admits. “Then I started thinking that I love hearing good music, other than my own. So at the beginning of this year I decided I should start entertaining the idea of releasing other people’s music. I’m still really critical about what I want to release,” he adds. “First of all, if I can’t play it then I don’t want to use it. I want to spread the love a little bit and I think it would be an honour for people from other places to release on a Detroit label.” So how does Pullen maintain a healthy balance between his work and personal life? “It’s like one coin with the heads and the tails on each side. On the weekends I’m off being the music pioneer that I am and the other four days of the week I’m just regular Stacey Pullen who gotta pay the bills just like every other person,” he laughs. “As long as you know that, and understand that balance, then you’re able to keep going further and further. You never let that ego get to you and think you’re invincible. That’s one of the reasons that I like to stay in Detroit – it gives me that balance. There’s not that much going on here so it gives me that chance to travel and then come home to lead a normal life. That keeps me strong and focused.” With: Tania Vulcano, Clive Henry Where: The Greenwood, North Sydney When: Sunday April 8

42 :: BRAG :: 456 :: 02:04:12

BRAG :: 456 :: 02:04:12 :: 43

Paul van Dyk

Quakers

The Next Stage Of Evolution By Alasdair Duncan

P

aul van Dyk has been in the business of electronic music for close to two decades. An awful lot has changed in that time, both in the way that music is made and the way it is received, and these changes are very much on the Berlin producer’s mind. His latest album and its accompanying tour explore this idea in its many facets – it’s Evolution on a scale fit for a superstar.

’m blessed vocal chords, so the mic don’t stress / I take a load off the shoulders of the one-two check / I’m positive for skill and the will to conceal it / I’m rocking gigs from LA to LA / but get me on the telegram and I’ll knock a city in the next day / I think for... uh… shit...”

“I

Anderson met Barrow when the latter was living in Sydney in the late ‘90s, and they formed Invada Records in 2002. Shortly after, they drew up the loose concept for a collaborative record that burrowed a little deeper into the impassively familiar façade of American hip hop.

Jonwayne stumbles and falters. The beat, a swift funk lick that’s clipped along ‘til now, ceases with him, and a cartoon villain’s sampled laugh marks his mistake. He pauses, and snatches the verse back out of the air with an alacrity that suggests nothing’s happened. The track is ‘Smoke’, the fourth of 41 on the new LP Quakers, a record tirelessly drawn together over a period of three years by Portishead’s Geoff ‘Fuzzface’ Barrow, his engineer Stuart ‘7-Stu-7’ Matthews and Sydney’s Ashley Anderson, better known as Katalyst.

“We wanted to start by finding a bunch of people we didn’t know and who we thought were really good,” says Anderson. “What seems to be missing is unknown people coming through in hip hop. It just seems to be the same old dudes releasing more and more records.”

“When we got that rap back, I was kind of blown away,” says Anderson. “His flow’s incredible. He makes a mistake in the tune, and he just drops back in, but he drops back in on a different beat! I didn’t know that he was a 20-year-old white kid.” In a recent interview with FACT, Barrow sheepishly noted the irony inherent in a trio of 30-40-year-old white blokes making a hip hop record. He may have a point, but you wouldn’t be able to tell from simply having listened to the record. With the adroit murk and artful samples, and smatterings of analogue synth singeing the edges, there’s never a dearth of affably filthy detail to pore over, and that’s before you consider the staggering 32-strong crew of rappers that guest. “I understand where [Barrow] is coming from,” says Anderson, “because the roots of the music are the roots of the music, but I’m just more of a believer in ‘you do what you feel’; if it’s music you’re feeling and music you believe in, then it doesn’t matter where you come from or what colour you are.”

The initial approach was oddly relaxed. The three exchanged beats, and started to post them on MySpace under the guise of Barrow’s Fuzzface moniker, inviting MCs to listen. The problems of this approach quickly became apparent, and the beats were torn down – but not before one of the project’s wildcards, Coin Locker Kid, seized the opportunity. “He was in the final year of school, and he took it upon himself to rip one of the beats off MySpace,” Anderson recalls, “record himself on it, put it up on his MySpace with his rap on it, and then send Geoff a message”.

“Over the last two decades or so, electronic music has grown and evolved to become the biggest musical culture in the world,” van Dyk explains. “I’m also interested in evolution in terms of technology and the way it shapes the society we live in – two decades ago, we didn’t have iTunes or Facebook or smartphones or any of that stuff. The way we live together and communicate and exchange ideas has completely changed, and I find that idea fascinating”. Developed over an eight-month period by van Dyk and a team of dedicated techies, the Evolution live show evokes the idea of evolution through spectacular lighting and visuals. “The show starts – literally – with a big bang, and then it goes from there,” he says. “The visuals and the music go hand-in-hand. I have keyboards and computers up with me on stage, and I’m able to trigger things, not just musically but on the screens. Basically, what you see is what you hear as well.” This setup allows van Dyk a high degree of freedom and creativity throughout the set. “I’m not locked into any one thing,” he says, “and every show can be different, depending on the crowd and how I’m feeling. This is what makes the show so intense and dynamic.” The Evolution show allows van Dyk to create new music every night – and in fact, a good deal

of the album came together on stage. “The live setup I have on stage is kind of like a studio,” he says. “In terms of the composing part and the production part of the new album, a number of the tracks were actually created on stage in front of an audience. In the past, I’ve made music then played it to friends to ask them what they think, but now, I’m able to do that in front of an audience at a club or a festival.” Using this setup, van Dyk is able to compose a hook or a line and play it right on the spot to gauge the audience’s reaction, then tweak it accordingly. “The other thing is, I don’t play any finished tracks in the live show,” he adds. “I have everything at my fingertips, so if I feel like ‘This part should be eight bars longer’ or ‘This break beat should be shorter’, I’m able to do that.” The album’s lead single, ‘Eternity’, is a vocal collaboration with Adam Young of Owl City. He’s the only really big name on a record filled with intriguing, lesser-known guests. “I truly don’t believe in collaborations that are marketing-driven, or dreamed up by PR people to drive record sales,” van Dyk explains. “If I go into the studio with someone, I want to have something in common with them on a musical, artistic level. This is why I worked with the people I did. In the end, I’m a musician, not a marketing person. I don’t feel like I have a lot in common with these people you might call big, flashy pop artists – my music comes from a very different place in my heart and in my soul. Therefore, I work with people who share my true love of music.” What: Evolution out April 6 through Central Station Records

Impressed, the trio proceeded to throw more tracks at the kid, three of which eventually ended up on Quakers. A quick listen to the passive-aggressive prog of ‘Russia With Love’, with its lurid synth and gritty bass line, and it’s not difficult to see why he stood out in a collaborator list that boasts Aloe Blacc and Guilty Simpson. “It wasn’t actually written for the his record, but we were pretty excited about it,” says Anderson, noting that the track was originally for a Coin Locker Kid record that he’s been working on. “Geoff pretty much stole it, and said, ‘We’re putting that on Quakers.’ And I was like ‘Awww… all right then’. I’m glad we did.” What: Quakers out via Fuse/Stones Throw

Tom Showtime Sweet Tunes By RK om Showtime decided to become a DJ over a decade ago, during his cratedigging days in London – and has since then released two EPs and is about to release his debut LP, featuring the likes of local heroes N’fa Jones, expat Lotek, and legendary US rapper Gift Of Gab. But his love affair with music began with the tuba, of all things.

T

jazz. Its lead single, ‘Spaces & Places’, features collaborations with Gift of Gab, Lotek and Melbourne’s Ash.One. Of the enviable hook-up with Gab, Showtime recounts, “he advertised on MySpace for collaborations and I sent him some beats; Gab was feelin the vibe, called me up on the phone to talk content and such, then laid down the verse and hook.”

“I got into music at an early age – my mum is a gifted musician, playing tuba then double bass,” he explains. “I’m guessing that’s probably where my obsession with basslines comes from!” Starting on trumpet at age 12 and moving on to sax a few years later, Tom found himself attending music schools and learning not only theory, but also how to enjoy music through performing, listening and creating. “The soundtrack of my life has shifted from jazz and funk to hip hop,” he says.

In terms of its sound, Showtime’s latest release is typically eclectic of his output. “You’ll find nu-funk bangers, jazzy hip hop, downtempo tracks, an afro-beat-inspired tune and some reggae,” he affirms. “But no matter what style or genre I’m producing it always has its foundations in trip hop, with spaced-out cuts, warm sounds and plenty of delay. I like to make tunes that I can play horns over, so I’m always conscious of that in the production process.”

Crate-digging from an early age, it was living in London that Showtime found his key – and lasting – inspiration: “I discovered the Fat City/Grand Central Records sounds of Rae & Christian, Aim, Quantic and Bonobo,” he recalls. “Trip hop music was where it was at for me; I loved the beats, the hypnotic melodies and hip hop flavorings – it really moved me. I started making my own downtempo tunes, playing a lot of sax on the records, and things progressed from there.”

But for Showtime, whose first big gig saw him support skilled live acts Prefuse 73 and Blockhead, seeing people getting down and enjoying his sounds is perhaps the biggest reward. And with this new LP, he has a brand-new live show, with cinematic visuals, signature sax riffs and special guest MCs, and Showtime cutting up original tunes with a turntable and sampler. “I see a lot of people getting into the shows,” he says – “especially the live sax routines.”

After spending five years in the UK collecting records and focusing on becoming a DJ, Showtime moved home to Melbourne in 2008, where he released The Showtime EP, followed 44 :: BRAG :: 456 :: 02:04:12

by EP3013 last year. This month he releases his first LP, The Jam Thief, through local label Obese Records, who had their eye on him since he sent them his first EP in 2008. “I was told to come back when I had an album ready,”

Showtime recalls, “and at the end of 2011 that’s exactly what I did.” The Jam Thief is a slice of jazzy, down-tempo trip hop that samples old school funk, latin and

What: The Jam Thief out April 13 through Obese Records

Xxxx

Blessed Beats By Luke Telford

Deep Impressions Underground Dance And Electronica with Chris Honnery

Tolga Fidan

Soul Sedation Soul, Dub, Hip Hop & Bottom-heavy Beats with Tony Edwards

Soul Sedation goes live every Wednesday night on Bondi FM (88.0 or bondifm. com.au). Tune in 10pm 'til midnight to hear a deep and soulful selection of the tunes covered here, and plenty more that I don't have room for.

ON THE ROAD THURSDAY APRIL 5 KRS-One, Def Wish Cast Enmore Theatre

SATURDAY APRIL 28

Y

ou are now reading the final instalment of Soul Sedation. Four years and over 200 editions in, I’ve decided to call it a day. Without descending into something resembling a half-cut Logies acceptance speech I’ll just say that it feels about time. I mean, what’s the goal here? 500, 1000 editions? By then all you’d have is the old dude at the festival telling you stories about how great New Order were at Glastonbury ’81, and to be fair, you’ve heard a bit of that from me already.

Roman Flügel

I

t has been announced that pioneering German producer Roman Flügel will headline S.A.S.H at The Abercrombie on Easter Sunday. Flügel has been a pivotal player in the electronic music scene since the early ‘90s, accumulating a diverse body of work that traverses a number of different styles of music, ranging from ambient IDM to house, techno and leftfield. Renowned as one half of Alter Ego along with long time friend Jörn Elling Wuttke, Flügel is also a co-founder of the Ongaku, Klang Elektronik and Playhouse labels, which is part – but not all – of the reason that Roman holds such a lofty position in the discerning clubbers’ canon. Of late, Flügel has demonstrated his qualities as a solo producer, with a string of impressive releases on the respected Dial imprint (and lets not forget the couple of the collaborations Roman churned out with one Ricardo Villalobos last year). In fact, his much-lauded 2011 LP Fatty Fingers was his very first album released under his own name and, according to several reputable sources, his finest hour as a producer. In regards to what to expect on his forthcoming tour of Australia, Roman was frugal – sorry, that was uncalled for – in response to media questions: “I never know 100% where [DJing] leads me to once I have started. I’m interested in the twisted areas of house and techno, it’s hard to nail me down to just one style I guess.”

LOOKING DEEPER THURSDAY APRIL 5 tINI + Martin Buttrich The Civic Underground Moodymann The Spice Cellar

SUNDAY APRIL 8 Roman Flügel The Abercrombie

Circoloco feat. Tania Vulcano, Stacey Pullen, Clive Henry Greenwood, North Sydney

MONDAY APRIL 9 Stimming The Abercrombie

Tolga Fidan photo by Fernanda Mattos

Stimming

David Koch, aka DeWalta, will release his debut album Wander on Haunt in June. The founder of the Meander label, DeWalta has remixed the likes of Ion Ludwig and Mathias Kaden while collaborating with Wagon Repair’s Mike Shannon. But despite collaborations with such illustrious producers, it was DeWalta’s solo productions that first sprung to my sonic attention; I rate ‘Stringer Bell’ particularly highly – it’s one of those cuts that really does the business in a dark nightclub with a decent sound system (any good electronic track should really, but you know what I’m going for here). There are plenty of factors to pique one’s interest in Wander aside from the standard hook that most media outlets are going for (that of Koch being a classically trained jazz musician and so forth). The album is reportedly peppered with an MC (Joga on ‘Barksdale (Movin On)’) and features collaborations with former school friend Achim Hilgert, who slaps the bass on ‘Right Here’. See – it pays to maintain ties with your creative high school buddies and those corporate cowboys who pick up your drinks tab at Ivy! Turkish-born producer Tolga Fidan – another ear-catching artist, who has accumulated an impressive sonic CV via his releases on the Vakant label – is gearing up to release his debut album, Rogue. Fidan has been part of the Vakant family since 2006, and has released a number of EPs on the label as well as moonlighting on renowned imprints such as New Kanada, Eklo, Freak N Chic, Cocoon and Cadenza, and remixing big gun acts like Alex Smoke and Minilogue. One only has to look at the previous debut LPs released on Vakant to establish that Rogue has serious potential; if it’s anything like Onur Özer’s Kasmir or Mathias Kaden’s Studio 10 in ’09, we’re in for a treat. Having listened to the promo, I can say it’s not as edgy as either of those albums, but its more upbeat and accessible sensibility is not at the expense of sophistication or quality. Furthermore, Fidan’s remarks about the recording process are refreshingly unpretentious. “Rogue was recorded in about ten weeks in a living room (the sofa being my bed), with restless swollen eyes at dusk and a love/hate relation with my machines, microphone and electric guitar,” he divulged. “Three machines gave up on me during the making of this LP. Lazy bastards.” I’d certainly recommend giving Rogue a listen when it’s officially released in May. Now for this weekend’s itinerary, in what’s shaping up as an Easter to fulfil the most ardent technophile’s wildest dreams. On Thursday night you can combine the selections of the great Kenny Dixon Jr at The Spice Cellar with the much-vaunted Desolat double bill of Martin Buttrich and tINI. On Saturday, Detroit luminary Rick “The Godson” Wilhite plays One22, ahead of either Flügel or Circoloco on Sunday, before rounding it all off with a spot of Stimming live at The Abercrombie on Easter Monday. Buckle up!

Deep Impressions: electronica manifesto and occasional club brand. Contact through deep.impressions@yahoo.com

Electric Empire The Standard

SATURDAY MAY 12 Atmosphere, Evidence The Hi-Fi

SUNDAY JUNE 10 Robert Glasper Experiment Oxford Art Factory

The scene and the business have changed a whole lot since I started writing for street press around 2000 (3D World initially, when it was a true bible). I cut my teeth writing reviews of Rennie Pilgrem and Krafty Kuts at Yu, Freq Nasty at BeatFix (Home) and the Y3K and Y4K mix series on Distinctive. Trance and house had already experienced cyclical peaks at that point, and breaks (with its inherent hip hop and DnB) emerged as the new sound. Companies like Fuzzy and Future established themselves as monoliths-tocome around this time. The inner-city ‘one-day’ festival scene – as distinct from the outdoor scene – strengthened into a force from 20002005. Clubbing got big, went outdoors and became safe and mainstream. NSW authorities strangled Happy Valley after their unfortunate fatality in 2000, and smaller crews like Swarm pushed underground techno into the dunes of Kurnell. Three years into Fuzzy's Field Day legacy, the crowds changed and the early attendees looked elsewhere for new sounds and scenes, while jaded music journalists like me moaned that it didn’t feel like it used to (yep, there’s that elitism that we’re so proficient at in Sydney). During this time, gradually, and oddly, people lost respect for local DJs. A promoter’s only game was to land a touring international (who was often sub-par), and this blinkered worship of internationals grew to ridiculous levels, and furrowed promoters’ brows. Legendary alternative venues like The Globe, The Dendy, and Bohem (where smaller club brands could thrive) were lost to noise, licensing restrictions and commercial developments. But this process is hardly unique to Sydney. Believe it or not, Candy’s was once a killer venue to catch underground hip hop and progressive tech house. The Greenwood/Sounds On Sunday was a staple in every clubber’s life for a long time during the last decade. Those guys cleaned up at the tills and built an empire, but that story ended in 2010 when We Love Sounds burst and the one-day festival bubble went with it. Home nightclub and its super-club status slowly shrunk in surface area until both became irrelevant. The subsequent lack of purpose-built nightclubs pushed club nights into bars, lounges and dull, modern booze barns, and puzzled touring DJs, who played watered down, commercialised sets to people who didn’t know who they were, and who all looked oddly similar to each other. Tone, the venue, emerged as a more recent champion of quality sounds, but Sydney has seen off yet another shortlived underground stronghold. The moral of this timeless story: it’s tough when you’re pushing boundaries. Smaller sound systems in Bondi and the Inner West have acted like the city’s outriggers this entire time: well-lit, funky house parties in the former, and dimmer, dirtier warehouse parties (with cheaper drugs) in the latter. Sydney also lost 3D World during this period, but it had long since lost its bible status anyway – the Internet and bloggers had already taken over. The spread of the mp3, and the democratisation of DJ and production technology also changed the game. The Pioneer gear made it easier than anything else (but if not them, someone else would have made it) and now anyone who wanted to be a DJ, promptly became one. When Mixmag announced that they would no

Robert Glasper Experiment longer cover DJs – just producers – the art of DJing was already much less revered than it had been. The plus side of all this was that many of our better DJs were spurred-on to become producers, and both Sydney and Australia now have their share of internationally renowned studio wizards, and opportunities at global touring. Genres blurred, creative freedom ensued, FBi Radio emerged to support the new creativity. Mashup arrived for better or worse. Minimal techno rose to massive prominence, and when it retreated, left a strong and persisting taste for tech on the scene. Disco came back strongly and inspired nu-disco, which (sort of) prevails. Dubstep was born out of that ever-present, angsty demand for something heavier and more industrial, and the genre took the UK hardcore continuum into the bottomless pit that’s now loosely termed ‘bass music’. On the festival front, Days Like This lived only briefly, but the promoters, Niche Productions, thankfully stuck around anyway and got busy. Playground Weekender and Subsonic both emerged and brought the NSW outdoor scene some credibility. Playground, facing impossible odds, didn’t make the distance. The UK and Western Europe shined brightly this entire time in a musical sense, and more people showed good taste there than in the US. South America and Eastern Europe, aided by cheaper technology, made pretty good time catching up. Those in the US suffered from commercial interference by big media, harmful anti-rave legislation, and an unhealthy attachment to guitars. Unfortunately the golden age of hip hop disintegrated into Wiz Khalifa via crunk and Kanye. Australia, as we do, cherrypicked the best of everything and made some sweet sounds ourselves. Through mainstream Western media channels, pop, RnB and house all merged on 130bpm and it sounded awful. New online media like Soundcloud and Bandcamp provided the antidote, thank God. Those sites bring us to the present, and pave the way to the future. I really need to thank my editors Bek van Vliet (3D World) and Kirsty Brown (The Brag) for giving me my respective breaks at those mags. Not to mention everyone who’s sent me music, or promoted a quality event, or even read a little bit here and there. I’ve really enjoyed making my small contribution, now it’s time for the next phase. Thanks, Tony

So long Tony Two-Tone – and thanks for all the fish xxx BRAG BRAG :: 456 :: 02:04:12 :: 45

club guide send your listings to : clubguide@thebrag.com

club pick of the week Moodymann

THURSDAY APRIL 5

The Spice Cellar, Sydney

Moodymann (USA), Simon Caldwell, Murat Kilic, James Taylor, Slow Blow $40 10pm-5am MONDAY APRIL 2 Scruffy Murphy’s, Sydney Mother of a Monday DJ Smokin’ Joe free 8pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Jazz DJs free 7pm

TUESDAY APRIL 3 Establishment, Sydney Rumba Motel DJ Willie Sabor free 8pm Scruffy Murphy’s, Sydney I Love Goon DJ Smokin’ Joe free 8pm Trademark Hotel, Kings Cross Coyote Tuesday DJ Johnny B, DJ Shipwreck, MC Fro, Dr Rhythm $10 8pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Pop Panic Conrad Greenleaf, Nick Akkenen, Pablo Calamari, Karaoke Steve free 8pm

WEDNESDAY APRIL 4 The Bank Nightclub, Kings Cross Money Talks DJs 10pm Epping Hotel DTF DJs free FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel Music Video Show & Tell Jack Shit $7 6pm 46 :: BRAG :: 456 :: 02:04:12

The Flinders Hotel, Darlinghurst Hip Hop DJs free 8pm Kit and Kaboodle, Kings Cross Resident DJs 8pm Lansdowne Hotel, Chippendale Frat House Wolf & The Gang free 9pm The Marlborough Hotel – The Cellar, Newtown Student Night DJ Pauly free The World Bar, Kings Cross The Wall Bruxism, Who Am I, Tongue In Moo, E-Cats, Athson, Pablo Calamari, Oh Glam! $5 9pm

THURSDAY APRIL 5 Candys Apartment, Kings Cross Liquid Sky Sherlock Bones, Crumb Eye, Axlsm, Dostruction, Shadowplex, Hazz, PYT, Intheory, Cunningpants, French Noise, Dirty Little Secrets, Justin R 8pm Chinese Laundry, Sydney Boss Bass TJR (USA), Filth Collins, Pop The Hatch, Kombat, Autoclaws, Hydraulix, Bruxism, Audiobotz, Bobo $15$25 10pm Civic Underground, Sydney Martin Buttrich (GER), tINI (GER), Javi Sampol $25 (+ bf) 10pm The Cool Room, Australian Hotel & Brewery, Rouse Hill We Love Thursdays Bag

Raiders, Resident DJs free 9pm FakeClub, Kings Cross Distortion Dubstep Inspector Rubio, Guillotine, Crysist, Deli, Enochi, Kemikoll, Sub Baske, Singha, Scotty T, Ajay, Carlitos, ASL $15-$25 9pm The Flinders Hotel, Darlinghurst Bananas DJs free 8pm GoodGod Front Bar, Sydney Girls Gone Mild Hannah & Elizabeth Reilly free 9pm Ivy, Sydney Ivy Classics Ember, Tenzin, Oakes & Lennox, Taras, Johnny Sommerville, Oh Glam $20 8pm Jacksons on George, Sydney Last Rights – Easter Special Resident DJs free Kit & Kaboodle, Kings Cross Falcona Thursday Easter Special Joyride, Hansom, Devola, Kristy Lee, Maia $10 8pm Paddington Inn Paddo Sinn Party DJ Drae Leighton, DJ D-Flat free 6pm Sapphire Lounge, Kings Cross Flaunt Dim SLM, Bobby Digital, DJ Task, Troy T 8pm Scruffy Murphy’s, Sydney Books or Beer? DJs free 8pm Soho, Potts Point Ladies Night DJs free 9pm The Spice Cellar, Sydney Moodymann (USA), Simon Caldwell, Murat Kilic, James Taylor, Slow Blow $40 10pm Sugar Lounge, Manly Fat Laced Funk Resident DJs 9pm The World Bar, Kings Cross

Propaganda Jack Shit, Urby, Clancy, Shag, Pablo Calamari, Dan Bombings free-$10 8pm

FRIDAY APRIL 6 Bella Vista Boat, Sydney Harbour Ship Faced Secret International (FRA), Peo De Pitte (SWE), Dcup, Swiss Dub, Go Freek, Brown Bear, Manhecan, Detektives, Fritzle, Christian Carlos $55-$65 7pm Chinese Laundry, Sydney Ship Faced Afterparty Glovecats, Tigerlily, Swissdub, Go Freek, Karma Coma, Stickybandit, Hydraulis, Blowout DJs $15-$20 11.59pm Ivy Pool Club, Sydney Summer Wrap Up Party Peter Mayes (Pnau), Valentine, Astrix, Oh Glam, Cheap Lettuce, Jackson James, Monty, Johnny B, Wonder Woman, Tech No More, Scoops $20-$30+bf 2pm Oatley Hotel We Love Oatley Hotel Fridays DJ Tone free 8pm

SATURDAY APRIL 7 The Argyle, The Rocks Takin’ it Back Lamanax, Matt Roberts, Random Soul free 8pm Candys Apartment, Kings Cross Shake Shake Shake Vengeance, Kyro & Bomber, MooWho, SMS, Discoriot, Main Street, Stick It, M9, Axlsm 9pm Chinese Laundry, Sydney M.A.N.D.Y. (GER), A-Tonez, Tigerlily, Ctrl Alt Delicious, King Lee, Raull, Joe Barrs, Kit Kut, Brosman, Cheyne Egelton $20-$25 9pm City Hotel, Sydney Kinki Saturdays DJs 9pm Dee Why Hotel Kiss & Fly Saturdays DJs 9pm E11even Nightclub, Paddington Turka Resident DJs $20 9pm Epping Hotel Back Traxx DJ Kandi, DJ Hypnotixx Gladstone Hotel, Chippendale Reload Birthday Special Affiks, Arctic, Centaspike, Fourthstate, Typhonic, Juzlo, Teefreeqs, Garage Pressure, Reload, SFL, Seltay, Vision, Spex, Kye, Brinks, Swarmy, Dtech $10 8pm The Hi-Fi, Moore Park Sneaky Sound System, The

Aston Shuffle $30 (+ bf) 8pm Home, Darling Harbour Homemade Saturdays Dane Dobre $20-$25 9pm Hunky Dory Social Club, Darlinghurst Ghetto Boogie DJs 6pm Ivy Bar, Lounge & Den, Sydney Pure Ivy Pnau $20 Jacksons On George, Sydney DJ Simon Laing, Guest DJs free Kings Cross Hotel DJ Tim Boffa, DJ James Taylor, DJ Shan Keble, DJ D-Flat, DJ PeeWee Ferris, DJ Will Styles, DJ Matt Hoare free 7pm Kit and Kaboodle, Kings Cross Kitty Kitty Bang Bang Resident DJs 8pm The Lair, The Metro, Sydney Cobra Club Pedro (USA) $30 (+ bf) 10pm Luna Lounge Nightclub, Jackson On George, Sydney DJ Michael Stewart free The Marlborough Hotel – Level 1, Newtown Resident DJs free Nevada Lounge, Darlinghurst DJ Hayden free 6pm Oceans Bar, Coogee DJ Brynstar free 7pm Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst Hold Tight! Jacques Greene (CAN), Africa Hitech, Machinedrum (UK), Dibiase (USA), Albatross $40 (+ bf) 9pm Q Bar, Sydney Bomb The Bathrooms BenLucid $5 10pm Sapphire Lounge, Kings Cross The Suite Big Will, Dim SLM, Disco Kid, Klimax, Stevie J, Troy T, Jo Funk, Steves, Adamo, Charlie Brown 8pm The Shark Hotel, Sydney Puls8 DJ Jono, Guest DJs free 9pm Spectrum, Darlinghurst Kittens Kittens DJs $10 8pm The Spice Cellar, Sydney Gorge (DE), Murat Kilic, Alley Oop 10pm Star Bar, Sydney Situation DJs 10pm Tunnel Nightclub, Kings Cross ONE Saturdays Resident DJs $10-$20 10pm Valve Bar, Tempe Midi In The City & Inthemix Sydney Forum Party Simon Man, Trinity, Mr Vengeance, George Sadlik/Junkbeats, Oliver Gurney, Simon P, McBean, Youngjase, Andosound, Andrew Wowk, Bmoney, Kit Phillips, Mike BigFX, Justinian, Truba $5 12pm The Watershed Hotel Watershed Presents… Skybar Jacques Greene

The World Bar, Kings Cross Cakes Pipemix, Nick Thayer, Go Freek, Oakes & Lennox, Mike Ruckus, Alistair Erksine, Zwelli, Adam Bozetto, Daigo, Illya, Soup Kitchen Collective $15-$20 10pm

SUNDAY APRIL 8 The Abercrombie, Broadway SASH Easter Special Roman Flugel, Murat Kilic, Adam Swain & Rikki Newton, Garth Linton, Gabby, Tom Witheridge, Matt Weir, Kerry Wallace 2pm The Spice Cellar, Sydney Spice Murat Kilic, Matt Weir $20 4am Bungalow 8 & The Loft, King St Wharf, Sydney Harbour Encore Kristy Lee, Starjumps, Liz Bird, Murray Lake, Super C, Rob K $10 10pm Cohibar, Darling Harbour Yellow Sox Indie Night Resident DJs free Goldfish, Potts Point Sandy Rivera After Party Hook N Sling, Johnny Gleeson, Tom Kelly, Frankie Romano $20 6pm Greenwood Hotel, North Sydney Circoloco Easter Sunday Tania Vulcano, Stacey Pullen, Clive Henry, T-Boy, Mattt & Tomasss, Robbie Lowe, Brohn, Sam Roberts, Le Brond $40 12pm The Hi-Fi, Moore Park Sandy Rivera (USA), Hook N Sling, Paul Goodyear (USA), Alex Taylor, Murray Hood, Royaal & Venuto $39 (+ bf) 4pm Home, Darling Harbour Home’s Mykonos Festival Sean Doyle (UK), The Other Guys, Liam Sampras, Robbie Santiago, Riccardo Carrieri, Jorge Marco, Tass V, Flite, Iko, Nick Stylz, Delicious, Cindee, Manny P, Jayp, Cliff, Harry V, Sajj, Nick Kay, Petros, Tommy Tsonis, Dave Austin, Steve S, James V, Georgie T, James Saxman Spy, MC Suga Shane $15 (+ bf) Ivy, Sydney Easter Sunday Tonite Only, Arno Coast (FRA), Cassian, Helena, Darkstar, Gadget, Fear of Dawn, Cadell, Foniko, Wolf Pack $25-$50 6pm Kings Cross Hotel - Rooftop Bar DJ Lok Stok free King Street Wharf, Sydney Propaganda & Teen Spirit Boat Party Urby, Shag, Teen Spirit DJs $25 7pm Kit and Kaboodle, Kings Cross Easy Sundays Set Mo, Mr Belvedere 8pm Oatley Hotel Sunday Sets Matt Toms free 7pm Soho, Pott Point Starfuckers vs Usual Suspects Oliver Twizt, Starfuckers, Ember, Nukewood, Error, Here’s Trouble, Go Freek, Bounce Crew DJs DJ Oh Boy 10pm The Spice Cellar, Sydney Picnic In The Cellar Kink (BG), Kali & Mike Witcombe, Murat Kilic, Matt Trousdale $25 10pm The Standard, Surry Hills DILF DJ Honey Dijon (USA), DJ Booth, Half Nelson 9pm sold out The Watershed Hotel Afternoon DJs DJ Matt Roberts free The World Bar, Kings Cross Easter Island Hetro Life Partners, Beatrix, Manjazz, Zwelli, Oh Glam!, Astrix, Pablo Calamari, Shivers, James Taylor, Alley Oop, Mush, Propaganda DJs vs Teen Spirit DJs, Jack Shit, Gaffy Gaffiero, Broonie Bee, MC Gaff-E $10$15 8pm

club picks up all night out all week...

tINI

The Spice Cellar, Sydney Gorge (DE), Murat Kilic, Alley Oop 10pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Cakes Pipemix, Nick Thayer, Go Freek, Oakes & Lennox, Mike Ruckus, Alistair Erksine, Zwelli, Adam Bozetto, Daigo, Illya, Soup Kitchen Collective $15-$20 10pm

SUNDAY APRIL 8 The Abercrombie, Broadway SASH Easter Special Roman Flugel, Murat Kilic, Adam Swain & Rikki Newton, Garth Linton, Gabby, Tom Witheridge, Matt Weir, Kerry Wallace 2pm Greenwood Hotel, North Sydney Circoloco Easter Sunday Tania Vulcano, Stacey Pullen, Clive Henry, T-Boy, Mattt & Tomasss, Robbie Lowe, Brohn, Sam Roberts, Le Brond $40 12pm

WEDNESDAY APRIL 4 The World Bar, Kings Cross The Wall Bruxism, Who Am I, Tongue In Moo, E-Cats, Athson, Pablo Calamari, Oh Glam! $5 9pm

THURSDAY APRIL 5 Chinese Laundry, Sydney Boss Bass TJR (USA), Filth Collins, Pop The Hatch, Kombat, Autoclaws, Hydraulix, Bruxism, Audiobotz, Bobo $15-$25 10pm Civic Underground, Sydney Martin Buttrich (GER), tINI (GER), Javi Sampol $25 (+ bf) 10pm The Enmore Theatre KRS-One (USA), Def Wish Cast $87.10 7pm

The Hi-Fi, Moore Park Sandy Rivera (USA), Hook N Sling, Paul Goodyear (USA), Alex Taylor, Murray Hood, Royaal & Venuto $39 (+ bf) 4pm King Street Wharf, Sydney Propaganda & Teen Spirit Boat Party Urby, Shag, Teen Spirit DJs $25 7pm The Spice Cellar, Sydney Picnic In The Cellar Kink (BG), Kali & Mike Witcombe, Murat Kilic, Matt Trousdale $25 10pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Easter Island Hetro Life Partners, Beatrix, Manjazz, Zwelli, Oh Glam!, Astrix, Pablo Calamari, Shivers, James Taylor, Alley Oop, Mush, Propaganda DJs vs Teen Spirit DJs, Jack Shit, Gaffy Gaffiero, Broonie Bee, MC Gaff E $10-$15 8pm KRS-One

The World Bar, Kings Cross Propaganda Jack Shit, Urby, Clancy, Shag, Pablo Calamari, Dan Bombings free-$10 8pm

SATURDAY APRIL 7 Chinese Laundry, Sydney M.A.N.D.Y. (GER), A-Tonez, Tigerlily, Ctrl Alt Delicious, King Lee, Raull, Joe Barrs, Kit Kut, Brosman, Cheyne Egelton $20$25 9pm The Hi-Fi, Moore Park Sneaky Sound System, The Aston Shuffle $30 (+ bf) 8pm Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst Hold Tight! Jacques Greene (CAN), Africa Hitech, Machinedrum (UK), Dibiase (USA), Albatross $40 (+ bf) 9pm

Sneaky Sound System

BRAG :: 456 :: 02:04:12 :: 47

snap up all night out all week . . .

PICS :: AM

acid mondays

party profile

kink(live!) It’s called: Picnic In The Cellar presents KiNK (Live!) It sounds like: A warm, analogue, acid house , house and techno rapturous orgasm. Really. Who’s playing? Bulgaria’s hottest expor t – KiNK – in full live mode! Picnic’s Kali and Mike Witcombe playing backto-back, the ultra amazing Matt Trousdale and Spice Cellar lord Murat Kilic. Three songs you’ll hear on the night: KiNK – ‘Bittersweet,’ Marc Romboy vs KiNK – ‘Don’t Shake My Tree’ and Nina Kraviz – ‘Aus’. And one you definitely won’t: Anything really shit. Sell it to us: COOOOOOOOME! Picnic, Reckl ess Republic and Spice Cellar are doing damage to dancefloors all over town! Well The Spice Cellar IS one of the best dancefloors in town! Killer sound, to-die-for music and a crazy Bulgarian that looks like the happiest person on earth! The bit we’ll remember in the AM: We’re not mind readers, sorry. Crowd specs: Mutha Fuckin' Baaaawses! Wallet damage: A good time isn’t damage – but $25 presale through residentadvisor.net. More on the door. Where: The Spice Cellar / 58 Elizabeth St Sydne y When: Easter Sunday April 8 from 10pm-10am

the exchange hotel

PICS :: TL

24:03:12 :: The Spice Cellar :: 58 Elizabeth St Sydney

cool room

PICS :: TW

23:03:12 :: The Exchange Hotel:: 34-44 Oxford St Darlinghurst 9331 3100

24:03:12 :: One22 :: 122 Pitt St Sydney INA CLARKE :: ASHLEY

:: KATR S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER RGE POPOV :: TIM WHITNEY GEO :: CHY PEA MAS THO :: MAR

48 :: BRAG :: 456 :: 02:04:12

dj hype

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prosumer

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22:03:12 :: The Australian Brewery :: 350 Annangrove Rd Rouse Hill 9679 4555

23:03:12 :: Chinese Laundry :: 111 Sussex St Sydney 8295 9958

GO FULL COCKED. LASER SKIRMISH. LASER TAG, ALL GROWN UP.

STRIKE CHATSWOOD | STRIKE ENTERTAINMENT QUARTER, MOORE PARK FIND US ON

BRAG :: 456 :: 02:04:12 :: 49

snap up all night out all week . . .

the goldfish

PICS ::TL

party profile

chinese laundry saturdays It’s called: Chinese Laundry Saturdays It sounds like: Proper tech house.

Who’s playing? M.A.N.D.Y. from Get Physi cal (GER), A-Tonez & Tigerlily, Ctrl Alt Delicious, Raull and heaps more. Three songs you’ll hear on the night: You will hear a lot of M.A.N.D.Y. records, which will guarantee some big mome nts on the dancefloor. And one you definitely won’t: ‘Achy Break y Heart’ by Billy Ray Cyrus. Sell it to us: A three-hour set from amazing international artist M.A.N.D.Y. in their exclusive Sydney performance, mixed in with a lineup of some of the best locals in town! The bit we’ll remember in the AM: How aweso me it is to go to a real club, which is all about the music, has a big sound system and amazing DJs. None of this flashy shit! Crowd specs: Party peeps and music heads combine for a night of aural orgasms. Wallet damage: $15 before 10pm and $25 after Where: Chinese Laundry / 111 Sussex St Sydne y When: Saturday April 7 from 9pm

falcona pool party

23:03:12 :: GoodGod Small Club :: 53-55 Liverpool St Chinatown 9267 3787 INA CLARKE :: ASHLEY

:: KATR S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER RGE POPOV :: TIM WHITNEY GEO :: CHY PEA MAS THO :: MAR

50 :: BRAG :: 456 :: 02:04:12

strike

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slowblow

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24:03:12 :: The Ivy :: 330 George St Sydney 9254 8100

24:03:12 :: Strike Bowling :: King St Wharf Darling Harbour

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24:03:12 :: The Goldfish :: 111 Darlinghurst Rd Potts Point 8354 6630

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(02) 9517 1901 HOURS: MON-FRI 10:00am - 5:30pm* *THUR 10:00AM - 6:00pm SAT 10:00am - 4:30pm