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2 • THE MUSIC • 22ND APRIL 2015
THE MUSIC • 22ND APRIL 2015 • 3
4 • THE MUSIC • 22ND APRIL 2015
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THIS WEEK
watch IS THE LATEST AVENGERS FILM FOR MORE THAN JUST FANBOIS AND COSPLAYERS? FILM CAREW KNOWS
ROSS CLELLAND GIVES YOU THE WORD ON ALL THE LATEST MUSIC RELEASES IN THE SINGLE LIFE.
GOOD OR SHIT ASKS: CAN YOU BE A GOTH AND NOT LIKE MARILYN MANSON? HMMM...
tour diary
OH DEAR LORD - THE STIFFYS ARE REPORTING TO US AS THEY TOUR THE NATION 6 • THE MUSIC • 22ND APRIL 2015
THURSDAY 23RD APRIL
TRIO AGOGO THE MAE TRIO + JOHN FLANAGAN
6PM (FRONT BAR)
8PM ($10 PRE-SALE, $15/12 DOOR, BAND ROOM)
FRIDAY 24TH APRIL
PHIL LYDDY TRIO THE ANCIENTS
6PM (FRONT BAR)
8PM ($5, BAND ROOM)
SATURDAY 25TH APRIL
THE FLUMES MONTAIGNE + BANFF
6PM (FRONT BAR)
8PM (BAND ROOM)
SUNDAY 26TH APRIL
CROOKSHANK KEKO JANE CAMERON + STEPFORD + GOTHUM
3PM (BAND ROOM) 6PM (FRONT BAR)
8PM ($5, BAND ROOM)
Open
Noon till late 7 days. Live Music Bookings wesleyannebookings@gmail.com www.wesleyanne.com.au
TUESDAY 28TH APRIL
SINFUL PLEASURES 7PM ($25 WITH MEAL / $12 DOOR, BAND ROOM)
SUMMER SPECIAL 2 for1 selected mains all day Monday OPEN FOR LUNCH MIDDAYS FRIDAY SATURDAY AND SUNDAY bookings: 9482 1333
THE MUSIC • 22ND APRIL 2015 • 7
CREDITS PUBLISHER
Street Press Australia Pty Ltd
GROUP MANAGING EDITOR Andrew Mast
NATIONAL EDITOR MAGAZINES Mark Neilsen
EDITOR Bryget Chrisfield
ARTS EDITOR Hannah Story
EAT/DRINK EDITOR Stephanie Liew
GIG GUIDE Justine Lynch vic.giguide@themusic.com.au
SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR Jeff Jenkins
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
THIS WEEK THINGS TO DO THIS WEEK • 22 APR - 28 APR 2015
Steve Bell
CONTRIBUTORS Annelise Ball, Emma Breheny, Luke Carter, Anthony Carew, Oliver Coleman, Cyclone, Guy Davis, Simon Eales, Guido Farnell, Tim Finney, Bob Baker Fish, Cameron Grace, Brendan Hitchens, Kate Kingsmill, Baz McAlister, Samson McDougall, Tony McMahon, Fred Negro, Josh Ramselaar, Paul Ransom, Michael Smith, Dylan Stewart, Simone Ubaldi, Matthew Ziccone, Sophie Blackhall-Cain
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go
INTERNS Sarah Barratt, Josh Pawley, Alex Tibbits
SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER
PIC: LAUREN CONNELLY
Kane Hibberd
PHOTOGRAPHERS Andrew Briscoe, Dina ElHakim, Holly Engelhardt, Jay Hynes
ADVERTISING DEPT Leigh Treweek, Tim Wessling, Oliver Raggatt, Matthew Feltham sales@themusic.com.au
ART DIRECTOR Brendon Wellwood
Australia’s 100th Anniversary of the Gallipoli landing is fast approaching and the 5,000 Poppies project group, plus countless volunteers, have been sewing, knitting and crocheting their floral tributes across a two-year preparation period. The resulting installation (over 200,000 blooms!) springs up in Federation Square from 24 – 26 Apr (and in The Atrium from 24 Apr – 2 May).
From the first time we heard Brontosaurus on the car stezza and nearly stacked it, we’ve caught Tkay Maidza live as often as possible and she well and truly delivers. Those who have already purchased tix to her sold out shows at Northcote Social Club on 23 & 24 Apr get to catch her in intimate mode. But if you missed out you should totally head along to Corner Hotel on 1 May, ‘cause she’s supporting Charli XCX!
ART DEPT Ben Nicol vic.art@themusic.com.au
ADMIN & ACCOUNTS Loretta Zoppos, Jarrod Kendall, Leanne Simpson, Bella Bi accounts@themusic.com.au
DISTRO Anita D’Angelo distro@themusic.com.au
SUBSCRIPTIONS store.themusic.com.au
CONTACT US Tel 03 9421 4499 Fax 03 9421 1011 info@themusic.com.au www.themusic.com.au Level 1, 221 Kerr St, Fitzroy VIC 3065 Locked Bag 2001, Clifton Hill VIC 3068
MELBOURNE
This Sunday, for one day only, Parasyte: Part 1 hits cinemas. The movie tells the tale of Shinichi Izumi, a regular high school student who is attacked by a worm-like alien parasite. The parasite enters through the nose and attaches itself to the brain. Ugh. This is one of those “big in Japan” deals, so if it’s your kind of thing, you have one day to see it, don’t flake. Check your local listings!
scream
THE MUSIC • 22ND APRIL 2015 • 9
national news news@themusic.com.au TRUE DETECTIVE
BLUR
YOUR NEXT SPLENDID WEEKEND
DETECTIVE WORK
Riveting adult drama and HBO hit True Detective kicks off on Monday 22 Jun on Showcase with a new case and a new cast. The first season won critical and audience praise for its compelling storyline and vivid, award-winning performances by Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson. Season Two will feature a twisting plot, playing out both across the state, and in the seedy netherworld of Vinci, a fictional city in LA County. Colin Farrell is Ray Velcoro, a compromised detective in Vinci. Vince Vaughn is Frank Semyon, a criminal and entrepreneur in danger of losing his life’s work when his move into legitimate enterprise is upended by the murder of his business partner. Head to showcasechannel.com.au for the trailer.
THE NEXT LEVEL
A whole lotta love has gone into the new record by Tim Rogers & The Bamboos, The Rules Of Attraction. They’ll be uncovering it all on a national tour, making its way to The Triffid, Brisbane, 18 Jun; Metro Theatre, Sydney, 19 Jun; Corner Hotel, Melbourne, 25 Jun; and Rosemount Hotel, Perth, 4 Jul.
FUZZ OUT
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard have created an insane album launch tour: Gizzfest will see the band headline minifestivals around the country, complementing the release of their upcoming album. Gizzfest comes to Corner Hotel, Melbourne, 2 – 3 May with The Murlocs, The Babe Rainbow, Scott & Charlene’s Wedding and more; 23 May at Rosemount Hotel, Perth sees Mugwump, Dream Rimmy, Gunns and more; 30 May at Factory Theatre, Sydney will feature The Laurels, The Murlocs, Babe Rainbow and more; 31 May, The Brightside, Brisbane includes Babe Rainbow, The Murlocs, The Family Jordan and The Furrs.
GROWING UP
Gang Of Youths have been the talk of the town recently, and with the release of their debut album The Positions last week, the four-piece are heading out on a national tour. Discover what all the fuss is about when they make their way to Oxford Art Factory, Sydney, 15 May; Woolly Mammoth, Brisbane, 16 May; Northcote Social Club, Melbourne, 22 May; Jimmy’s Den, Perth, 29 May; and Mojo’s Bar, Fremantle, 30 May.
IRISH HEARTTHROB
Irish artist Hozier is back and touring nationally. His rare mix of blues, soul, Celtic ballads and gospel have won people over, as well as the hit Take Me To The Church. He sounds a lot like a male Florence + The Machine. Since then he’s played with Annie Lennox and has the likes of Ellie Goulding already covering his songs. Playing 28 Oct, Belvoir Amphitheatre, Perth; 30 Oct, Palais Theatre, Melbourne; 3 Nov, Hordern Pavilion, Sydney; 6 Nov, Riverstage, Brisbane.
“DEAR J.J. ABRAMS, THANK YOU FOR NOT RUINING STAR WARS. SINCERELY, EVERYBODY.” THERE IS HOPE, @DEPRESSEDDARTH 10 • THE MUSIC • 22ND APRIL 2015
It’s on again! Splendour In The Grass returns to North Byron Parklands 24 – 26 Jul and this year there will be four main stages – the Amphitheatre, Mix Up, GW McLennan and, dedicated to Australia’s pre-eminent DJs, Tiny Dancer – hosting more than 100 acts from around the world over the full three days. There’ll be food for the brain with the Splendour Forum, presented by The Guardian, and the Late Night Comedy Club, The Global Village and Splendour In The Craft packed with workshops and stuff, but you wanna know who’s playing, right? Cop this lot for a first line-up announcement – Blur, Florence + The Machine, Mark Ronson, Of Monsters & Men, The Wombats, Tame Impala, Peking Duk, Ryan Adams, Flight Facilities, Royal Blood, Death Cab For Cutie, Earl Sweatshirt, Boy & Bear, Porter Robinson, The Dandy Warhols, Xavier Rudd & The United Nations, Azealia Banks, The Rubens, POND, Spiritualized, Best Coast, Thundamentals, Kitty, Daisy & Lewis, The Vaccines, Johnny Marr… and that’s just the half of it! You know what to do.
ALPINE
HIGHER POP
It’s been a while between drinks but Alpine are back with their second album, Yuck, out 12 Jun, and the first single lifted off it, Foolish, released, appropriately enough, on April Fools’ Day. Co-produced by Alpine guitarist Christian O’Brien and Dann Hume, Yuck sees Alpine inviting Pearl, Darts and Olympia to help them christen the newbie on a national tour taking in 26 Jun, Karova Lounge, Ballarat; 27 Jun, Forum Theatre, Melbourne; 3 Jul, The Triffid; 4 Jul, Metropolis, Perth; 8 Jul, ANU Bar, Canberra; 9 Jul, Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle; 10 Jul, Uni Bar, Wollongong; and 11 Jul, Metro Theatre, Sydney.
THURSDAY 23 APRIL
HELLO, JAMBULANCE PLS! AREA S NORACHI RAAGHE BARRY SUNSET AND RAY BORNER YUNG SPICE
FRIDAY 24 APRIL SINGLE LAUNCH
FADING HOUR AMARONIX HIGH SIDE DRIVER ENLIGHT
SATURDAY 25 APRIL
AO BAND NIGHT DYLAN YOUNG HUNTLY EPOCH LOMAX HOABIE JUAN SHIMA
SUNDAY 26 APRIL MATINEE SHOW
THE JONSEYBOYZ DAVID FULLER DUO EVENING SHOW
WISHFUL
THE WINTER SUNS SPORTSMEN
MONDAY 27 APRIL
THURS & FRI HAPPY HOUR 5-7PM $6 ALL PINTS, $6 HOUSE WINES, $6 BASICS
RESIDENCY – FINAL NIGHT
CRIMSONETTES LUNA GHOST THE CITRADELS TOYOTA WAR $10 JUGS OF GLOBE
TUESDAY 28 APRIL
MonDAY
+ FREE POOL + $10 pizza and pot + Comedy underground 20th apr
AO FT. MOW + MIMICRY
TUeSday
WEDNESDAY 29 APRIL
WEDnesday
SMOOTH BEATS AND BIG TUNES $10 JUGS OF GLOBE RESIDENCY – FINAL NIGHT
DIDIRRI
KING PUPPY & THE CARNIVORE HOLLOW DRUMS THE BB SPLITS
COMING UP TIX AVAILABLE THRU OZTIX:
A WILHELM SCRAM – USA (APRIL 30) *2ND SHOW* A WILHELM SCRAM – USA (MAY 1) *SOLD OUT* DIESEL – AMPLIFIED TOUR (MAY 2) *SELLING FAST* COLOUR BOMB – SINGLE LAUNCH (MAY 8) ME – FAREWELL SHOW/7” LAUNCH (MAY 16) ADMIT ONE – EP LAUNCH (MAY 22) VOYAGER – VIDEO LAUNCH (MAY 29) REAL FRIENDS (USA) *SELLING FAST* REAL FRIENDS (USA) – ALL AGES SHOW *SELLING FAST*
million dollar mick @ 7:30 Trivia with + $10 pizza & pot
Open Mic 7:30pm registration, 8pm kick off THUrsday
midnight shifter ++ Jamehl my elephant ride FRIday
jumbo 7pm til late SATurday from 2:40pm, sausage sizzle Coll v Ess live + dj dubya from 8pm til 3am 447 Church St, Richmond | Phone (03) 9810 0082 | facebook.com/thegreatbritainhotel
THE MUSIC • 22ND APRIL 2015 • 11
local news vic.news@themusic.com.au
FRONTLASH USE THE FORCE
Star Wars: The Force Awakens official teasers. Can. Not. Stop. Watching. Also, photos of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner sporting Star Wars livery (an homage to R2-D2) thanks to Japan’s All Nippon Airways! “Is it a bird? Is it a plane?” (Sorry, wrong saga…)
FROSTY THE SNOWMAN Is it just us or does everyone saying, “Winter’s coming,” now make one immediately think of Jon Snow over Jack Frost?
HO HO HO! There really is nothing more delightful than watching an esteemed colleague (aka “hipster Santa”) being ‘interrogated’ by Noel Fielding’s Sergeant Raymond Boombox character during An Evening With Noel Fielding.
STONE COLD
STILL KICKING
Alt-rock trio Seether is touring Down Under to celebrate the sixth album release, Isolate & Medicate. They’re the most successful South African rock act to come out of the country, having sold five million album copies worldwide so far. See ‘em 4 Jul, Forum Theatre.
ACOUSTIC ANATHEMA
The past dozen years or so have seen UK six-piece Anathema consolidate a progressive/ alternative sound very different from the band’s death/doom roots of the early ‘90s. So the idea of an acoustic Anathema tour should prove an inspired contrast to last year’s first visit. It stops by 31 Oct at Corner Hotel.
UP & COMING
Clips have appeared online of what seems to be a Japanese game show called Sing What Happens Next that sees contestants aiming to perform perfect karaoke while receiving a hand job. Huh?
After 2014’s sell-out success, Melbourne’s Emerging Writers’ Festival (EWF) is set to be bigger and better in 2015. With an expanded programming team, the 2015 program has a focus on women stepping up to the mic and is set to be a diverse and dynamic festival. There’ll be a number of different events taking place from 27 May – 5 Jun in the Melbourne CBD. Head to emergingwritersfestival.org.au for more info.
(CAR)PARKLIFE
RATS! THE PSYCHOS!!
NOT GUILTY
BACKLASH
ARE WINNERS GRINNERS?
Shopping centre car parks are bad enough without the socalled sign showing how many car parks vehicles are competing for. 131? Where!?
KNITWITS Chunky jewellery worn outside knitwear. Eww.
12 • THE MUSIC • 22ND APRIL 2015
LILLY SINGH
Brisbane’s Born Joy Dead have released their debut EP Stones In My Shoe, featuring singles Hey Blood and Upside Down Inside Out. Hear their driven and refined rock when they launch the EP at Little & Olver, 16 May.
LAUGHING WITH UNICORNS
There are sure to be plenty of you out there who are among the 5.4 million YouTube subscribers who’ve tuned into comedian Lilly Singh’s alter ego, IISuperwomanII, so you’ll be chuffed to learn that Singh is heading to Australia on her first national tour. See her 5 Jun at Comedy Theatre.
COMMIT TO THE CAUSE
The PBS 106.7FM Radio Festival express is rolling out once again to help keen the station on its feet. From 11 – 24 May, the station is calling on everyone to validate their tickets by signing up or renewing their membership. There’s incentive: you’ll go in the running for a carriage load of prizes, including a brand new ride away, classic red Vespa PX 150 scooter, a Maton W.A. May custom guitar, a Cinema Nova silver pass and a whole lot more.
ALL FOR LOVE
Treasured singer-songwriter Ben Lee is releasing his new album, Love Is The Great Rebellion, on 29 May. To celebrate, the four-time ARIA Award winner will making his way along the east coast for three intimate shows, including on at Northcote Social Club, 7 Jun.
OPIUO EXPANDS
Winner of five gongs at 2013’s UK Glitch-Hop Awards and winner of Best Electronic Album at the NZ Music Awards, Melbourne-based kiwi expat Opiuo is now fronting a fivepiece band he wants to show off to friends and fans 24 May at 170 Russell.
MY DISCO
Cosmic Psychos have a new album, Cum The Raw Prawn, out 5 Jun, and they’re teaming up with Dune Rats to play it and more 12 Jun at Chelsea Heights Hotel, and 13 Jun at The Hi-Fi.
GOOD OP
The Kiwi producer who now calls Melbourne home, Opiuo, is set to tour with a new five-piece band. Glitch hop played live with instruments? Sign us up. Get down to some funkadelic bass music when The Opiuo Band hit up 170 Russell, 24 May.
RETURN TO DISCO
My Disco will be touring in June after taking an 18-month hiatus. New tracks will be dropped, and they are said to be very intense, bleak even. Get doomy with them on 7 Jun, The Toff In Town.
THE MUSIC • 22ND APRIL 2015 • 13
local news vic.news@themusic.com.au MOJO JUJU
CIRQUE AFRICA
ALL ABOUT BALANCE
World-renowned acrobatic performance troupe, Cirque Africa, is coming to Australia for a season that will see it presenting performances in three different locations around Melbourne over three months. Be prepared to be astounded 24 Jun – 19 Jul at Burnley Oval in Richmond, 24 Jul – 23 Aug at Marriot Waters Shopping Centre in Lyndhurst and 28 Aug – 13 Sep at Burnside Shopping Centre.
GOING SOLO
RED/BLUE JUJU
With a brand new and second album, Seeing Red/Feeling Blue, to show off, Mojo Juju will head off on a run will see her play 27 Jun at Corner Hotel, 3 Jul at Spirit Bar in Traralgon and 4 Jul at Caravan Music Club.
JUNGLE OUT THERE
The Jungle Giants sold out their first Howler shows so have added another for 14 May.
SOLO CROSSFIRE
Roots artist Claude Hay has recorded a new single, Crossfire, and is taking it for a spin up the east coast before heading for festival dates in the Netherlands. Hay plays 1 May at Grind N Groove in Healesville and 2 May at The Rainbow Hotel.
Neil Finn comes to town to play a couple of very special solo shows, dipping into his vast catalogue with a mix of acoustic and electric, guitar and piano. He’ll be performing 27 & 29 May, Melbourne Recital Centre.
“HIS BLOOD RAN RED OVER THE TRENCHES, THE SAME COLOUR AS OUR DELICIOUS APPLES ON SALE FOR $2.99!” #FRESHINOURMEMORIES
SAM SIMMONS
WOOLWORTHS’ ANZAC CAMPAIGN WAS TERRIBLE, BUT THE MOCKING OF IT – LIKE THIS TWEET FROM @AUTOMATICWICKIE – WAS PRETTY GOOD.
LAUGHTER TROPHIES
Another MICF is done and dusted! Who took home prizes? Angus Gordon from Queensland won the 2015 RAW Comedy Grand Final, while Rohan Ganju from Victoria came runner-up, and fellow Victorians Sam Taunton and Jess Perkins received honorable mentions. In other MICF awards news, the coveted Barry Award went to Sam Simmons; Laura Davis nabbed the Golden Gibbo Award for her show Ghost Machine; Corey White won Best Newcomer; triple j’s Matt Okine won Director’s Choice Award; the People’s Choice Award went to Wil Anderson; Anne Edmonds took home the Piece Of Wood Award; and the Funny Tonne Award went to Sarah Trevarthen. Victoria’s Will McKenna won Class Clowns, and Victoria’s Nina Kirby took home the Deadly Funny crown. Congrats all and thanks for the laffs! 14 • THE MUSIC • 22ND APRIL 2015
FLESH & WOOD & VOICE
Jimmy Barnes is going on an acoustic tour to celebrate his seventh album, 1993’s Flesh & Bone. Accompanied by a nine-piece band and string section, the Voice plays 18 Jul at Palais Theatre.
CROOKERS
Italian DJ and producer team Crookers has released their album Sixteen Chapel and is celebrating with dates and parties all around Australia. Support for the album has been coming in thick and fast from trend forecasters and DJs like Annie Mac, Diplo, Skrillex and Aston Shuffle. 13 Jun, Prince Bandroom.
TWICE THE PEACE
Peace are playing a second headline show at Ding Dong Lounge, 1 May, while in our country for the national Groovin The Moo fest.
YOU WANT TO TOO
Brisbane’s sweet yet scuzzy, indie-rockers We All Want To, the brainchild of Screamfeeder guitarist Tim Steward, release their third album, The Haze, in May, and have released first single, Road To Ruin, with a clip filmed in an abandoned hospital. We All Want To head out on tour to showcase both, playing 29 May at Northcote Social Club.
MON TO THURS
$7 PINTS COOPERS PALE COOPERS DARK ALE BULMERS CIDER TIL 9PM
SATURDAY 25TH
KING WOLF ANIMAL SHARMAN BLUES 7PM
SUNDAY 26TH
ZEVON AND THE WEREWOLVES OF MELBOURNE 5PM ALL MUSIC IS FREE
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music
TIME LORD Tom Loud is the driver of Hot Dub Time Machine, an unashamed devotee of the greatest mainstream music of all time. He creates DJ sets in chronological order, shamelessly paying props to the best tunes of all time, as Liz Giuffre discovers. Cover and feature pic by Cole Bennetts. DJ Tom Loud, aka Hot Dub Time Machine, explains his careful formula for making a bloody awesome party. Drawing on the best mainstream music across genres and eras, he puts together sets of between 40 minutes and several hours combining audio with visuals from each period. The result is played year by year from 1954 to the present day, with his only rule being that tracks must be played in chronological order. “The whole concept of Hot Dub is making people just feel like they can get up and dance. Like the whole start of the show is Bill Haley’s Rock Around
turntable – old-school layering of tracks and stuff. And that seems like lots of DJs these days everything’s a remix – if I want to hear Smells Like Teen Spirit, I don’t want to hear a house version, I want to hear the actual track with Kurt Cobain.” Loud’s ascension has been fuelled by what he calls “a midthirties life crisis”. Laughing as he explains giving up a career in television in order to become “a superstar DJ”, his background working on some of the most beloved (and perhaps daggiest) local productions having given him a great nose for pleasing crowds
shamelessly pandering to local sensibilities,’” he laughs. “And that’s definitely what I’ll do, and I think it’s important – when I see a gig I want to go and have the performer say ‘it’s lovely to be here in Sydney,’ or wherever we are. You have to acknowledge who’s there in the moment with you.” The Hot Dub mix across time takes not just styles, but genre and gender breakdowns seriously. While Loud speaks with great pleasure about being able to take crowds “from Respect by Aretha Franklin to Milkshake by Kelis,” as well as moving across types of aesthetics and sensibilities. “It’s really fun; the context is kind of what Hot Dub does. And it’s one of those things that you can’t believe that people didn’t do before me. It starts with what people did in the ‘50s and ‘60s and early recordings were generally mono. There’s no sub-bass, and, like, You’ve Really Got Me, by The Kinks is really basic, it sounds awesome but just sonically [the recording] is just awful. And then as you go through time you get this rush of sound as it [recording] gets better and better. It builds until you get to massive tunes.” Loud’s work is an all-in, but the buck does stop with him. While the classic DJ curse still happens (i.e. kids coming to the decks asking for their favourite track or berating the absence of something they
“WHEN I STARTED I FELT LIKE A LOT OF DJS WERE A BIT BORING AND A LOT OF DANCE PARTIES ARE ELITIST. HOT DUB IS A REACTION TO ALL THE DJS WHO DON’T ACKNOWLEDGE THE CROWD OR WHO LOOK DOWN ON CHEESY OR POPULAR MUSIC.”
The Clock, and there’s always people who react with ‘Why are we seeing and hearing this?’! But then, as it gradually goes and it hits them with song after song, when the song that they love comes on, then you’ve got them. And if you don’t love what I’m playing now, in thirty seconds, it’s gone and we’re onto the next year.” To talk to, Loud is puppy-dog positive, which would be off-putting except that he’s so committed his energy is infectious. Much like the pop music he peddles, it’s hard to deny the appeal, despite any cynical aversion to the apparent gimmick of the show. Besides, if Loud was just a gimmick, the whole thing wouldn’t work as well as it has. He’s taken Hot Dub across Australia playing Falls and Splendour, to UK, including regular Edinburgh festival spots, and most recently to Coachella, so there’s no doubt there’s more here than first meets the eye (and ear). “When I started I felt like a lot of DJs were a bit boring and a lot of dance parties are elitist. Hot Dub is a reaction to all the DJs who don’t acknowledge the crowd or who look down on cheesy or popular music. So yeah, Hot Dub is always about the best party ever, telling the crowd that they’re fantastic and beautiful and that this is the best night of their lives and playing music that everyone likes. And for some reason it’s really original. I think there’s a place for everyone. I only play original songs, I don’t play mashups or remixes – if I do any mash-ups I’ll do it on the 16 • THE MUSIC • 22ND APRIL 2015
while walking the line of popular and quality. “I used to sit in studios working on TV – I did 199 episodes of McLeod’s Daughters, I did High Five, I did an informercial or two, and lots of work on Underbelly.” The result is a show that has a great visual element (not only the best sounds, but the best images music over time has had to offer), as well as an appreciation of how to tap into the pleasure of what’s popular. Cutting his teeth on the comedy festival circuit, he learnt quickly how to play lots of shows to a great variety of people. “I used to work with comedian and good friend Heath Franklin who told me ‘there’s nothing wrong with
think was criminally missing from the countdown), he makes sure at the end of the day the choice comes down to what he feels genuinely moves. “I was, a long time, doing parties and stuff for people, but it was when someone took a real change that I took off. I’ve played small gigs and stuff, but with festivals and bigger crowds, it’s mental. At those, people are there to have a great time; what you really want to do is just get in and have that proper festival chance to go a bit nuts. I’ve played with Wookies body surfing over the crowd, three guys dressed as Luigi bouncing around, and it’s just nuts.” Smiling, he adds, “So that’s what I provide for them, that stupid festival fun.” Hot Dub’s ‘work through time’ formula has seen a few copycats and comparisons, including some pretty serious fans and offshoots. “I’ve spent lots of time in the UK over the last few years – I’ve spent half the year there the last few – and there’s all these strange little Hot Dub impersonators popping up now too, like Flash Back Timemachine in Glasgow too, which is hilarious.” While some artists might appear threatened by such barely veiled attempts at rivalry, it doesn’t seem to bother Loud. Of course, it could be because of his own artform’s basis in attribution, but there’s also his commitment to building a crowd using the appealing, and never quite repeatable, attention to the magic of the mainstream.
“I always try to choose being mindful of the difference between Cheese and Kitsch,” Loud says in a way that makes perfect sense, but also gives no clue as to how the difference is decided. Going on, examples help (kind of ). “So the difference between, say, something like Love Shack by The B52’s – that’s kitschy. But then the Eurthymics’ Sweet Dreams, that’s a great song.” The logic works, but explaining why is trickier. Continuing, he digs deeper. “Something like Staying Alive by The Bee Gees is borderline, but We Are Family by The Pointer Sisters is great.” Still digging (and drawing this writer, and hopefully you, reader, into your own crisis about the apparent (or not) genius
of The Gibb brothers,), Loud continues, this time in (perhaps only kind of mock) earnest. “Then there’s things like Five, those type of boy bands and also girl bands, I struggle with finding their place. But then Britney, Hit Me Baby One More Time, that just works”. This little internal argument is Hot Dub at its best – getting mainstream musical skeletons out of their cupboards and out into the air where they belong. Fight about taste, argue over glory and best of all, it’s about just dancing, perhaps despite yourself. Channelling a bit of a Yoda moment, Loud sums up Hot Dub like this: “I just try and be true about what I like, what gets me. And as a DJ it’s a rare thing. Mostly [other times] you’re playing what the venue wants or what you think the people down the front want, rather than what you believe in. So it’s great to be able to do the latter.”
TIME SIGNATURES In honour of Hot Dub’s commitment to songs in their time, here are some of the best tunes, named in honour of great years. 1916 – Motorhead Also a year honoured with a song and album name, the sonic restraint against the story of the First World War soldier’s experience is haunting. Well worth a re-listen (or new discovery). 1979 – Smashing Pumpkins A jewel from mid-90s masterpiece Melon Collie And The Infinite Sadness, the video also got an MTV music award for its driving chic. 1985 – Manic Street Preachers
WHEN & WHERE: 2 May, Groovin The Moo, Bendigo; 5 Jun, The Hi-Fi
A nostalgic look back on the ‘80s from the comfort of 2004, the Welsh band say it all with the mellow opener, “In 1985/I placed a bet and I lied/losing all I had.” 1999 – Prince He may have been dreaming when he wrote it, but damn it was still fine. Despite what we actually did on the night, everyone on the planet likes to remember that NYE like it was in Prince’s head. (Disco) 2000 – Pulp An awesome true story from Jarvis Cocker’s childhood, the song’s infamous ‘Deb-o-rah’ passed away earlier this year. Not only his muse, but an amazing mental health worker and human gone too soon – dance and raise a glass to her. 2112 – Rush Title track from 1976 Canadian prog epicness, it’s part concept, part overdone noodle (but in the best possible way) – music of the future, indeed.
THE MUSIC • 22ND APRIL 2015 • 17
music
HAPPY TENTH Ten years ago a heavy rock band from Perth broke free of the indie/grunge mould the city had made for itself, releasing one of the genre’s most loved and lauded albums in the process. Ian Kenny of Karnivool reflects on the milestone in a chat with Carley Hall. here’s a tinge of jetlag rounding the edges of Ian Kenny’s words when he calls from LA. Having closed the book on Karnivool’s latest tour through India and Europe and now en route home via the City Of Angels, the singer nonetheless has enough verve to voice his gratification, amazement, even pride at the latest milestone in the Perth band’s career.
T
rock, or this prog idea – like, no one really saw that coming. There was just this hint of a young band called Karnivool that were kind of onto something.”
lifestyle so everyone worked, everyone did what they did so they could further fuel the idea of this band.
This year marks a decade since the release of Themata, the debut LP that placed Karnivool at the forefront of Australia’s blossoming heavy rock scene. It’s a belt notch that isn’t lost on Kenny.
Before the album’s release and the five-piece taking to touring their arrhythmic, melodic sound farther afield, Kenny was a humble
The band’s release rate of new material will continue at its usual glacial pace, Kenny admitting they’re writing for a new Karnivool record, “but there’s nothing really solid yet – don’t ask me when it’s coming out because I literally can’t tell you”. Meanwhile, fans can look forward to a sense of déjà
“It was a pleasure to see it go down the way it did,” he admits. “We were aware that we had recorded the best thing we’d done so far. With Themata, it felt like a bit more of a finger on the pulse of what was happening around us and where we sat within that, and we thought we had the songs and the record, but we didn’t know it was going to have the effect that it did. “Karnivool was just figuring out what Karnivool could be at the time. We’d released an EP but we didn’t really know what we were doing as a band. Then when we recorded Themata we were like, ‘Ok, I think we have something here. Let’s go ahead with this, let’s release it, let’s make this our first record.’ It was cool you know, it was very good times for Karnivool.” The coming of Themata in 2005 heralded new beginnings. Not only was the five-piece line-up finally locked down after some comings and goings, it dropped on the crest of a fresh wave of heavy rock bands – Cog, Butterfly Effect, Dead Letter Circus – barrelling through the jangly rock and indie that local bands were pumping out. Given the easier dissemination of music these days and how small the heavy rock movement was, especially in Perth, which had its own micro-climate of good music going on, would Themata be as successful today as it was then? “I’m not sure that it would. I think it was very much to do with how it came about and the timing of it, and especially a record like that coming from a band from Perth. At the time Perth was a bit of a grunge scene, an indie scene at best. But this idea of alternate 18 • THE MUSIC • 22ND APRIL 2015
“These days I have a profound respect for how it all works and what it means to me and what it means to people who care about it. I still love it. Back during the first record I was in love with it then and I still am.”
“IT FELT LIKE A BIT MORE OF A FINGER ON THE PULSE.” tradie by day and singer by night, and with youth on the boys’ side many a good time was had. Despite reflecting on those years with little regret, is there anything he would have done differently? “That’s a good question,” Kenny laughs. “Not so much, I think I tried to do as much as I could with the time I had and for a long time Karnivool was priority number one but it just wasn’t supporting a stable
vu as the Themata Decade tour ricochets around the country, Karnovool playing the album start to finish. While the rest of Karnivool flew home for a well earned break, the ever-busy frontman was in LA to shoot a music video for a forthcoming Birds Of Tokyo track. It’s a sign of the times that sleep, more often than not, wins out over late nights. “I kind of want to go out, but I’m pretty sure I’m just going to get some sleep,” Kenny laughs. “Maybe you can just tell everyone that I was in a taxi doing an interview with you in between going to like six different clubs in LA.”
WHEN & WHERE: 12 – 14 May, Corner Hotel; 15 May, Kay St, Traralgon; 16 May, Wool Exchange, Geelong
THE MUSIC • 22ND APRIL 2015 • 19
music
A NEW EQUATION It’s been five-and-a-half years between drinks for fans of European indie-stadium-rock mainstays Mew, but the distance between albums has conspired to give their new full-length its best possible outcome, frontman Jonas Bjerre tells Mitch Knox.
I
n 2009, when Danish operatic indie outfit Mew released fifth LP, No More Stories Are Told Today, I’m Sorry They Washed Away // No More Stories, The World Is Grey, I’m Tired, Let’s Wash Away, they were a very different band. Not just wordier with their titles than now, releasing sixth album + - (Plus/ Minus), but fundamentally different. Having, at the time, amicably parted ways with bassist Johan Wohlert, they had to learn to write songs as a three-piece. However, in the years since that album’s release, Mew’s follow-up effort has changed shape time and again,
film
originally scheduled for a 2012 release before the window blew out to 2015 – a development that was not without its problems for the band. “We never planned for it to take so long,” frontman Jonas Bjerre explains. “I mean, we were planning to release an album in 2012, you know, but that didn’t work out. I think part of it is that we’ve become really, really caught up in the details of everything, and even before we have a finished song, we work all the bits and parts, and sometimes it’s a bit like a puzzle. There’s a lot of stuff that doesn’t pan out, and a lot of trial and error as
well – it’s frustrating sometimes, because we don’t wanna be tucked away from the world for that long… So it’s a bit frustrating sometimes that we take so long. But it’s part of the band’s chemistry, I think.” That chemistry had been totally rearranged and it was a change noted by Plus/Minus producer Michael Beinhorn, whom Bjerre credits with driving the band to bring bassist Wohlert back into the fold. “We started writing this album without him, and that was a little like returning to the No More Stories… process,” Bjerre admits. “It was very difficult making that record because we’re so used to being four people, and all of a sudden having to take on different roles individually was really a learning curve, and we just felt very early like, ‘We’re just doing the same thing again! This is No More Stories part two!’ because of the way we write the songs, and we didn’t want that. And then when Michael came over, our producer, he said, ‘You know, I really miss Johan in the room; I really think he brought something to the direction of the songs.’ That was kind of the last push we needed… and then when he came back, it got a lot easier.” However, given that the extended incubation period also yielded collaborations with artists such as Bloc Party guitarist Russell Lissack and Kiwi chanteuse Kimbra, Bjerre concedes that the wait – which they don’t plan to replicate for their next effort, anyway – was a blessing in disguise. “I guess maybe it’s best the way things worked out… and maybe, I don’t know, but I think now we’ll do a new record very soon. But who knows? Maybe it’ll be 2020 before we put out the next one.” WHAT: + - ([PIAS] Australia)
A SPANISH AFFAIR
Is that a Spanish True Detective? Anthony Carew takes us through the Spanish Film Festival.
W
ild Tales is aptly named. Damián Szifrón’s suite of six savage revenge stories is a wildly enjoyable collection of wildly told tales. They’re essentially moral fables that escalate rapidly, pull a reverse and deliver a black comic pay-off. Wild Tales is far-and-away the standout film at this year’s Spanish Film Festival, where it screens as the Closing Night film.
Opening Night, however, is a different story. Spanish Affair is an excruciating commercial rom-com filled with all manner of contrived broad-farce set-ups. The Unexpected Life fares far better as broadly pleasing rom-com; it delivers a super-charming Javier Cámara and Raúl Arévalo as a pair of Spanish cousins shacked up in a Manhattan apartment together, its tale shot through with both cutesy romanticism and genuine melancholy. Arévalo also takes a lead turn in Marshland, which – with its moustachioed, self-destructive cops investigating a murder in a backwater – has scored comparisons to True Detective. There’s none of Carey Fukunaga’s daring formalism, but Alberto Rodríguez’s film has a real sense of grit, its 1980 setting – in the days following Franco’s death – not just an excuse for “period” wardrobe. Many of the fest’s best films come from elsewhere. Open Cage is a droll character study set against Mexican economic collapse; Saudade a sad-eyed, coming-ofage ensemble movie in which a host of teens lose 20 • THE MUSIC • 22ND APRIL 2015
their innocence during Ecuador’s 1999 financial meltdown; Natural Sciences a pleasingly minimal, vérité-tinged search-for-a-birthfather movie set in rural Argentina. The pick of these, however, is surely Dust On The Tongue, in which a pair of urban-hipster grandkids venture into rural Colombia to scatter their grandmother’s ashes and tend to their terminal grandfather. Rubén Mendoza’s beautifully shot, quietly wry film is a weighty parable, its portrait of a grand patriarch on his deathbed – one whose land will be bequeathed to his many grandchildren, if the local guerrillas don’t forcibly take it – heavy with symbolism.
WILD TALES
The rest of the fest includes the latest work for Australian-in-Mexico ex-pat Michael Rowe, who follows his artful-fucking film, Leap Year, with the grim domestic drama, The Well, while Finding Gaston is a light-and fluffy documentary chronicling the career of Peruvian chef Gastón Acurio. A trio of films about grief couldn’t be more different. Flowers is a measured Basque drama about loneliness, alienation, aging and regret. They Are All Dead is a coming-of-age comedy in which a surly Mexican-Spanish teen’s former rock star mother sees the ghost of her dead bandmate/brother. And Shrew’s Nest, a stylishly shot horror flick produced by Álex de la Iglesia, is a thrill ride blackened by both fascist symbolism and dark comedy. WHEN & WHERE: 22 Apr – 10 May, Palace Cinema Como, Kino Cinemas & Palace Westgarth
THE MUSIC • 22ND APRIL 2015 • 21
22 • THE MUSIC • 22ND APRIL 2015
THE MUSIC • 22ND APRIL 2015 • 23
Melbourne Melbourne’s pretty in the summer, but it really hits its stride in autumn: people break out the layers and outerwear, there are leaves on the sidewalk, it’s all sunny days and brisk nights. Quintessential Melbourne look, right?
This is when Melbourne pubs show off what they’ve got, indoors and outdoors. Meet at Transport first for an iced toddie. Not sure which way the night will go? There’s four levels of fun at The Carlton, not to mention succulent roast duck and a glass of red calling your name. The autumn menu’s light and healthy, because everyone loves a balanced party. If you just want something delicious, calories be damned, what about Corner Hotel’s Coronary Burger, with “heart-stopping slow baked pork ribs off the bone”? Vegos and vegans can
join in the fun with The Cornish Arms’ vegan double down – or, you know, less (faux) meaty options. And mulled wine! If you’re feeling sexy, get cosy in The Robert Burns Hotel’s courtyard or by the fireplace, with tapas, cheese, paella and wine. If you’re feeling social, get a gang to The Alehouse Project and grab the end of a communal table; marvel at the stout doughnuts, sample something new from their 12 taps or indulge in Aussie wines and spirits. Going to gigs in autumn is awesome because it’s not stupidly sweaty but
you also don’t need to take off a big ol’ coat when you get inside. At Northcote Social Club they’ve got a heated outdoor area so outside feels like inside anyway. The weather might be mild but the atmosphere is anything but in Melbourne’s pubs; whether you’re looking for traditional pub grub or something more modern, a quiet nook or a place for your group to get loud, somewhere you can sit outside and smoke or a place with booths to nestle into, we’ve got it all covered here.
The Robert Burns Hotel. PIC: Holly Engelhardt
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NORTHCOTE SOCIAL CLUB BAR SIDE Let’s face it. Melburnians have all been going here since they were legally old enough to. The calibre and amount of gigs that happen here are second to none and when it gets colder, they’ve got you covered: the massive deck outside is littered with heaters. Food-wise, start by trying their chilli salt squid, with green paw paw salad, Asian herbs and palm sugar lime dressing; or their Toulouse sausage, with black pudding and chorizo, smoked paprika mayo, roast shallot puree and buttermilk pumpkin. For mains, try a classic like the quarter kilo chargrilled Wagyu burger with bacon, double provolone cheese, ketchup, mustard, caramelised onions, tomato and pickle; or the Saltimbocca-style free range chicken breast, crispy prosciutto and sage, pumpkin risotto cake, baby spinach, roast cherry tomato and Pinot Noir jus. For dessert and something different, get the Kaffir lime panna cotta vanilla fairy floss with toasted
coconut. Beer-wise, on tap they’ve got Carlton, Cascade, Fat Yak, Bulmers Apple and Pear: there are over 20 bottled beers and ciders too. If you’re after wine, get amongst Parnasse, Geppetto or Peñascal Estate from Spain.
FUN FACT Courtney Barnett worked with Northcote Social for a couple of years on the bar and her first EP, I’ve Got A Friend Called Emily Ferris, is titled after the name of one of her mates who was also a bar manager there, and is now managing Sydney sister pub Newtown Social Club.
OUR DEAL Mondays: $15 parmas or eggplant parmas for the vegetarians. Daily specials. 301 HIGH STREET NORTHCOTE, VIC (03) 9489 3917 NORTHCOTESOCIALCLUB.COM.AU $$$$
THE CARLTON BAR SIDE
If you feel like playing around in a jungle setting, but like the convenience of staying in the city, then head to The Carlton. It’s four levels of fun. The Main Bar on level one is home to The Carlton’s ambassadors Wally The Ostrich and Gerald The Giraffe – it’s the place to go if you wanna cosy up in booths or chat to the bar staff. Nice night out? Head onto The Balcony, a luscious outdoor garden with retractable awnings, or The Deck on level three, which gives off an island vibe. Hasti Bala on level three is where the safari’s at; with its tropical green vines, elephant heads and velvet booths, this is the destination for partying, functions and events. Finally, Palmz Rooftop is a secluded hideaway – escape everyday life here. Moving into the chilly nights of autumn, the reds are more in demand at The Carlton. The wines are hand-picked and seasonally paired to the menu. A new favourite is the succulent roasted duck paired with the
Right Reverend Cab-Sav; a close second is The Spoke cocktail, which goes down a treat with any of the small dishes. The focus of the food is in-season fruits, vegetables and spices – head chef James Albert Taylor does his research before forming any new menu. For autumn, expect earthy flavours marinating on tenderised game meat, as well as an emphasis on fresh, light and healthy dishes incorporating ingredients such as rockling fish, heirloom vegetables and sweet potato.
FUN FACT Lady Gaga has booked several private functions at The Carlton.
OUR DEAL Monday nights and Thursday lunchtime, you can get a parma and pot for $15. Tuesday nights there’s $14 steaks. And the New York Cats Burger Bar is open all day Sunday.
193 BOURKE STREET MELBOURNE, VIC (03) 9663 3246 THECARLTON.COM.AU $$$$ 25
CORNER HOTEL BAR SIDE
If you’re eating or drinking and not coming here for a gig, choose from the heated rooftop beer garden that seats a whopping 250 people, or the kitchen downstairs. The location right near the station on Swan Street attracts a varied crowd. It also reflects the fans of whatever band happens to be playing that day as well. The ability to book and house so many different genres of music, with bands spanning from local legends to international stars, is something the Corner is especially good at. As the weather gets cooler, tuck into the Coronary Burger with “heart-stopping slow baked pork ribs off the bone”, slaw, pickles and mustard served with a side of chips. Also try Grandma’s Meatballs, or the ox risotto, which is braised in a rich stock, folded through a white wine risotto finished with eggplant relish and a sheep milk feta. Drinks
and especially wine is very reasonably priced, with a glass of an Australian variety setting you back between $7.50 and $10. That’s all you’re gonna need for a good night out.
FUN FACT Live music has flowed in the Corner’s veins since its inception. In the ‘40s during wartime, jazz used to stream out into the street from the rooftop, then in the ‘80s when pub rock was booming, the Corner was at the centre of that as well. They even hosted secret gigs for Dave Gilmour and Mick Jagger to further solidify their spot in rock legend history! These days, gigs are mostly known about and ticketed. Acts that have performed lately
include US blues legend Charles Bradley, Band Of Skulls and Jimmy Cliff.
OUR DEAL Treat yourself on Fridays with the Corner’s Locals Lunch; specials change every week. Book your table via functions@cornerhotel.com. 57 SWAN STREET RICHMOND, VIC (03) 9427 9198 CORNERHOTEL.COM $$$$
CORNISH ARMS HOTEL BAR SIDE The Cornish has carved out a soft spot in local hearts, with its classic pub vibe, beer garden, function room, outdoor glass atrium and cosy fireplace. Cornish Arms has a menu that reaches far and wide, serving everything from hearty parmas and pork rib eye to BBQ meat loathers pizza (vegan), Thai salad, and the famous vegan chicken burger. Here, you can sit shoulderto-shoulder eating those pork ribs with your hands next to someone eating a tofu hotdog. For those cooler months, the Cornish will be beefin’ up their menu, with items like the vegan double down with cheese, facon, tomato, sandwiched between two southern fried mock chicken fillets served with warm mashed potatoes and gravy. To keep the meaty theme going, have the saltbush lamb loin chargrilled with warm pumpkin, pepper & almond salad covered in a rich red wine jus. Heading into cool, rainy, unpredictable winter fun time, the Cornish will swap to some 26
smoky craft beers on tap with rich aromas and flavours. They’ll also be serving mulled wine, or one of their rotating monthly wines. For beers on tap, they’ve got Coopers Green Pale Ale, 2 Birds Bantam IPA and Boatrocker “Smash” New World Hop Ale just to name a few.
FUN FACT Since the Cornish Arms was established in 1854, it has been a digger hangout, hosted Brunswick Council meetings and more recently hipster conventions on lifestyle.
OUR DEAL Daily specials. To name a few: Monday, $11 gourmet hot dogs; Tuesday, $14 American BBQ night; Friday, $15 parmas; Saturday, $14 burgs.
163A SYDNEY ROAD BRUNSWICK, VIC (03) 9380 8383 CORNISHARMS.COM.AU $$$$
ROBERT BURNS HOTEL BAR SIDE
You can’t really tell from the outside, but once you step through the doors of Robert Burns you’ll immediately notice this is not your average pub. Its name – an homage to the great Scottish poet – belies the fact it’s filled with rich and authentic Spanish culture and cuisine. How did it get this way? Well, it started off as a traditional Aussie pub, catering to the working class. In the early ‘80s, a young man from Spain named Urbano Gutierrez – who had come to Melbourne to work in hospitality – fell in love with the Robert Burns and decided to use it to introduce Aussies to Spanish cuisine. He’s passed the torch onto a new team now, led by Head Chef Marc Albalate, who continues to share his passion for the food culture of his home country.
Sample some summer and winter tapas in the heated courtyard, or cosy up in the couch area by the fireplace. If it’s a Friday night, Spanish tunes will provide your soundtrack. Albalate and his team are currently preparing a new autumn menu inspired mainly by the regions within the north-centre of Spain. The menu items are split into sections: cured meats (Jamon Iberico aged 36 months), cheese, salads, entrees to share (housemade chorizo; slow-cooked pork belly), rice dishes (paella!), meats, fish and sides. The next step is to choose what drink to pair your meals with: on tap, Estrella’s a staple, while the Cerveza Alhambra comes highly recommended. Or try a Spanish variety of wine.
FUN FACT Some famous names who have tried Robert Burns’ food include David Villa, Torah Bright, Chris Hemsworth and Rafael Nadal.
OUR DEAL $12 lunch specials – or $15 with a drink.
376 SMITH STREET COLLINGWOOD, VIC (03) 9417 2233 ROBERTBURNSHOTEL.COM.AU $$$$
THE ALEHOUSE PROJECT BAR SIDE There is no place more appropriate to be hanging out when the weather dials up the chill factor than a warm, cosy beer hall with exposed brick, big communal tables and delicious, hearty food to share. Now that the football has kicked off again for the year, the side room has become a sport haven for fanatics, with the TV switched to Fox Sports. But if you’re not that keen on footy, don’t worry, because along with the main bar, the beer garden provides shelter from sport, rain and the cold around big timber tables. The food is prepared and overseen by Head Chef Natalie Fulcher from Newcastle; the food complements the beer. In autumn you should try the tomato chilli mussels with a garlic baguette, or the marinated scotch fillet
in master stock with chat potatoes, with Dijon or blue cream sauce. The stout doughnuts are a must-do, with your choice of three fillings; hazelnut, ginger and rhubarb or white chocolate ganache. In the drinks department, it is all about the 12 taps of delicious beer, but they also have a few boutique Australian picks of wines and spirits for the non-beer enthusiasts. And being beer nerds, they update their website constantly with which beers they have on tap.
FUN FACT This place used to be a manufacturer of glass products, followed by a furniture store, then a dive bar for uni students called The Comfortable Chair. Now it is a raw, industrial, proper alehouse and institution for all things beer.
98 – 100 LYGON STREET BRUNSWICK EAST, VIC (03) 9387 1218 THEALEHOUSEPROJECT.COM.AU $$$$ 27
the Caesar salad with crispy bacon. Vegetarians are well looked after, with sizeable salad and meat-free section of the menu. If you have a fussy friend, or if you’re the fussy one, the variety in Transport’s menu will ensure that everyone’s happy – whether you enjoy familiar tastes, are curious to expand your palate or are an adventurous eater. Got little ones? No problem, Transport’s menu includes a ‘Just For Kids’ section to make it easy for parents. Everything’s made with the freshest ingredients, sourced locally wherever possible.
TRANSPORT BAR
The extensive beverage menu offers more than 60 craft beers and ciders (with 34 taps pouring 14 different beers), so even aficionados should be able to find something new to try. Although the list is mostly Australian, you’ll find beer and cider from Ireland, USA, Japan and Spain. There’s a range of drinks to ease you into the cooler temperatures, such as delectable toffee malt amber ales, or smooth and spicy pinots and wines from all over the world. If you’re keen on cocktails, try the Iced Toddie (El de Rado Spiced Rum, honey, lemon juice, orange, cloves, cinnamon and ice) – perfect in transitional weather.
OUR DEAL
FUN FACT Nothing on menu cost the s more than $20!
BAR SIDE Catch the last few weeks of warm sun in one of Transport Bar’s three beer gardens – two of which overlook the Yarra River. Bit breezy? Head inside and watch all the different kinds of people walking past Federation Square. Transport’s location means it’s a great place to visit for a quiet drink and some sustenance before your night time plans – whether that’s attending a sports game, a concert or theatre show. From English-born chef Richard Hall comes an Asian-inspired menu: it’s pub-style food with a twist. There are some Asian favourites such as laksa soup, pork steamed buns and Malaysian fried chicken wings. Then there’s nachos, the popular beef shin burger, the Angus beef steak sandwich and 28
Daily specials. Just a few include: Monday to Friday there’s a $10 snack option and during Happy Hour Monday to Thursday, 5 – 7pm, you can get $1 chicken wings. As for drinks, during Happy Hour get $3 Transport draught pots, $6 wines, $12 jugs; plus $5 house wines and $10 cocktails.
2 SWANSTON STREET MELBOURNE, VIC (03) 9654 8808 TRANSPORTHOTEL.COM.AU $$$$
WEDNESDAY NIGHT PUB GRUB
$3.50 POTS
$15
JUGS ALL TAPS
$5
$7
SCHOONERS
$5
BASIC SPIRITS
PINTS
$4
HOUSE WINE (6-9)
4 DIFFERENT MEALS FOR $10 (All Meals Alternate each week)
OTHER SPECIALS MONDAY $10 PORK BELLY | TUESDAY $10 PARMA $15 STEAKS ON THURSDAY | $10 ROAST SUNDAY 12-8
THE LIMERICK CASTLE 161 ERROL STREET, NORTH MELBOURNE P: 03 9329 6454 THE MUSIC • 22ND APRIL 2015 • 29
Elsewhere in Melbourne Just for some variety, here are some swell places to eat and drink in Melbourne that aren’t pubs... on the off chance you need a break from #publife.
QUICK ’N’ CHEAP
FEELIN’ FANCY
Oppa Kitchen 271 Swanston Street, CBD A simple menu of fried chicken, bibimbap and meal bucket options. The meal buckets are so tasty, with rice, meat/veg with sauce, potato hash and salad.
Cutler & Co 55–57 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy Lots of different-sized plates of seasonal delights to choose from, all crafted with the greatest of care, for maximum flavour.
Mr Burger Various locations Choose from Mr Burger, Mr Hot, Mr Veg and Mr Meat. Add chips or trucker chips and a drink. Fresh, satisfying burgers with patties to die for. Fonda Various locations For your Mexican cravings: they’ve got quesadillas, tacos, burritos, salads, small plates and delicious Mexican cocktails and non-alcoholic drinks. One Noodle Friendship 417–419 High Street, Preston Preston’s best kept Vietnamese secret, hidden in a shopping centre walkway. Without doubt the best hand-stretched, fresh noodles you’ll ever have, made right in front of you.
Nieuw Amsterdam 106–112 Hardware Street, CBD Open late, which is perfect for pre- and post-show substantial dining. They serve modern, good-looking American fare. Thirty Eight Chairs 4a Bond Street, South Yarra If you want amazing pasta, the kind that you’d never be able to replicate at home, head here. Beautiful, authentic Italian fare and a cosy atmosphere. Archie’s All Day 189 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy Open from dawn ‘til dusk, serving burgers, steaks, eggs all ways and fancy cocktails, this new establishment fits in nicely with the current Gertrude vibe; part-business, part-bohemian.
Nieuw Amsterdam
GROUP HANGS
DRINK UP
Hutong Dumpling Bar 14–16 Market Lane, CBD Book a table if you’ve got eight people or more, or be prepared to wait. So worth it for their chilli oil dumplings, xiao long bao and stir-fried green beans with pork mince though.
Seamstress 113 Lonsdale Street, CBD Got a hankering for a dry martini or seasonal cocktails? Seamstress will sort you out. Plus, they have a light Asianinspired dinner menu including bar meals and canapes.
Oriental Spoon 254 Latrobe Street, CBD Sometimes you get a bulgogi craving that just won’t quit. If you’re after staple Korean meals, hotpot or Korean BBQ, Oriental Spoon has plenty of space, delicious food and a great vibe.
Gin Palace 10 Russell Place, CBD For all your gin-related needs. As well as their famous martinis, there are reserve wines and a cocktail list to choose from. Suitable for dates or mates.
Father’s Office 249 Little Lonsdale Street, CBD The décor and staff are all in the time warp together in this speakeasy bar and restaurant.
Father’s Office 30
580 Bench 580 St Kilda Road, CBD This new kid on the block (sister to Slater Street Bench) is bringing sleek design and artisan coffee into the neighbourhood.
Borsch, Vodka And Tears 173 Chapel Street, Windsor Styled after a Krakow Cellar Bar, this place is a feast for the eyes and the taste buds. They’ve got contemporary Polish fare on the menu as well as more than one hundred kinds of vodka. Open Studio 204 High Street, Northcote Live music venue, crepe kitchen, and relaxed bar with courtyard and a laidback atmosphere.
CRAFTY WORK
complete sidestep from 2008’s Machine 15; a release that went so far as to feature orchestral elements. There was also a seven-year gap between the two albums.
With the same line-up since forming in 1992, it hasn’t always been an easy ride for Swedish punks Millencolin. Frontman Nikola Sarcevic and drummer Fredrik Larzon tell Daniel Cribb how they defused a band implosion and returned to form.
I
f the phrase ‘you are what eat’ also applies to the consumption of beverages, Millencolin are a fine craft beer. Each album they release delivers a unique flavour and evolves from the previous. “If you’re brewing beer, it’s boring to do the same thing every time. If you’ve done an IPA, you will feel like doing a Stout, maybe,” Sarcevic says, resting an ice-cold pint on a coaster in a Melbourne pub. The band is halfway through their Soundwave run, and a successful sold out headline show
the previous night sees the members a little slower than usual. “We’ve played so many festivals for the last couple of years, so it was really nice to play a club show,” Sarcevic comments. “Hopefully other people had fun, too. We had a great night,” drummer Larzon adds in his thick Swedish accent. The punk rock atmosphere of their headline club show reflects vibe of the band’s new record, True Brew. Album #8 sees Millencolin return to a more DIY punk rock frame of mind, and while it blends elements from their previous seven records, it’s a
music
“The day after we finished Machine 15, we thought, ‘This is as far as we can go that way, now let’s do something to get back to our roots,’” Sarcevic tells. “But then, you need to have the right feeling and recharge your batteries. You need to sit back once in a while and kind of wait for the right feeling – and that’s what we’ve been doing. We were so busy with other stuff, and I think it’s good to do other stuff to get that kind of perspective on what parts in your life are the most important. After all these years, we know that [Millencolin] is one of the most important parts of our lives.” True Brew is refreshing and sees the band as cohesive as ever. With Larzon titling the album, Sarcevic taking control of writing and guitarist Erik Ohlsson creating the artwork, the album came together perfectly. But it hasn’t always been an easy ride. “Halfway through the band, we wanted to split up because there was too much of everything. We were touring all the time, and when we were home we had to go back into the studio, and we just had too much of it... Then we decided to take control of the schedules and how much touring we committed to, and we tried to keep it fun,” Larzon explains. Sarcevic hints that we might not have to wait as long for new material after True Brew. “I woke up jetlagged yesterday or the day before, and I had, not a vision, but I got a clear idea of the next album. I won’t say the direction, but in my mind now it is going to be something that this album is not.”
WHAT: True Brew (Epitaph/Warner)
HEART FULL OF SOUL
film
It was a time when a musical style could change lives forever. Photographer Elaine Constantine talks to Guy Davis about the time and place that drove her directorial feature debut.
N
orthern Soul, the directorial debut of renowned photographer Elaine Constantine, does a brilliant job of capturing that energising, electrifying moment in a person’s life when they not only find something they’re passionate about but also find like-minded people just as turned-on by it. “Everything comes together at once, doesn’t it?” says Constantine. “And your personality starts to form.” For Constantine, and for John and Matt, the young protagonists of Northern Soul, it’s the musical genre of the title – urgent, hard-driving American soul – and the scene that emerged around it that became central to their lives. Indeed, Constantine has been a devotee since her teens in the Lancashire town of Bury. “I’d just started secondary school, and I’d heard this phrase ‘northern soul’ but I didn’t really know what it meant. And then I was in this youth club – there was about a thousand kids in there, and they were all moving around to whatever music was playing but not really connecting. But then this record came on, it sounded a bit old and echoey, and the floor cleared but some guys went out and started doing all these acrobatic moves, spins and kung fu poses and all this weird stuff. But I remember looking at their faces and seeing how they were completely engaged with what they were doing – they didn’t give a shit what they looked like! I was blown away. And when someone told me it was
northern soul that was playing, I said, ‘Oh, fuck, this is northern soul! Ok!’ Within a year, I was taking three buses to go to towns far away from mine or telling my mum I was staying at a friend’s place when I was going to all-nighters. And I never got out of it, really.” Constantine remains a fan of the music, even if the scene isn’t quite what it once was. “There isn’t quite the energy on the floor anymore,” she laughs. “It’s full of old people like me.” Her film, which she also wrote, is a heartfelt if unsentimental love letter to the story’s era, setting and soundtrack. “A lot of the dialogue is straight out my mouth when I was younger,” she admits.
It took Constantine 15 years “on and off ” to put Northern Soul together and then another two to get it into the marketplace. The result stands as a tribute to Constantine’s background and the northern soul scene. “It’s maybe a northern working-class thing. Where I come from, going out on the weekend meant looking incredibly smart. Where I came from, people worked down the mines or in filthy factories, so they’d polish their shoes and iron their shirts when they were going out. You would never show up looking like you’d been dragged through a hedge backwards. You’d want to outdo all your peers. That sort of thing, and the feeling that we weren’t going to be knocked, that we weren’t victims, it created a work ethic in me, and Northern Soul was a kind of complement to that.” WHAT: Northern Soul Available digitally THE MUSIC • 22ND APRIL 2015 • 31
music
PUNK DADDY
Hardcore punk rockers Deez Nuts don’t seem the most likely competitors of Peppa Pig. Yet when Annelise Ball called lead singer JJ Peters at home in Dusseldorf, a toddler Peppa fangirl could be heard clearly down the line.
“I
’m entertaining my daughter right now, so don’t worry, I don’t have strange tastes,” clarifies JJ Peters. “When I’m not touring, I come to Germany to spend as much time with her as possible.” After kicking off their five-week European tour in nearby Zurich, Deez Nuts will then take soon-tobe-released fourth album Word Is Bond on an epic tour across Canada, the US, New Zealand and Asia, while squeezing in home soil Aussie dates in June. It seems Word Is Bond was a far easier album for Deez Nuts to create. “Up until [third album] Bout It, I’d
written and recorded everything myself,” Peters explains. “Everyone is comfortable in their positions now, so I think it resulted in a more well rounded album in general.” With bandmates Matt Rogers and Alex Salinger hailing from New York, the guys spent a month on Staten Island writing the album together. “We finished it off in Boston at the Brick HitHouse with our friends Shane Frisby and Andrew Neufeld from Comeback Kid. It was actually the first time we’ve worked with a producer. “He’s our boy, he’s our friend, who also just happens to be one of our favourite writers
comedy
and musicians. He’d put out ideas and we’d shoot them down if we didn’t like them. ‘Follow me down the rabbit hole,’ he’d say, and some of the things we tried resulted in some of the coolest songs on the album.” When questions are asked about the provocative quote on Deez Nuts’ website, declaring, “We’re not a bunch of fuckin’ dudes who come from privilege. You can hear this, you can feel this,” Peters takes the chance to set the record straight. “It was taken out of context!” he laughs. “I was trying to say that it’s harder for people to resonate with your music when you’re just writing party songs. With Word Is Bond, we’ve opened up more as a band, and even though we’ve had a certain level of success, it can still be an uphill battle. I think people can feel that intensity through the direction the band is taking now.” By the looks of the video clip for single, Face This On My Own, the boys are really channelling that intensity hard. Deez Nuts stalk some inner-Melbourne streets gangstyle, swigging drinks, setting off flares and punching people up. “Just a quiet day in Brunswick East,” quips Peters. “The fun, theatrical element to the clip just highlights the song’s underlying vibe, which is no matter what I go through, I’ve got all my boys with me.” Bromance aside, toddler squeals turn the conversation back to the challenge of being a hardcore rocker and a hands-on dad. “It’s difficult, but life has a funny way of working out. It’s hard at times when you’re away for long periods. But, I have to create the best life for my daughter the only way I know how: making music.” WHEN & WHERE: 12 Jun, Arrow On Swanston; 13 Jun, Corner Hotel
HITTIN’ THE HAY Though he’s now being invited to do the odd comedy festival, singer-songwriter Colin Hay is still doing what he’s always done – once the band wasn’t there anyway – as he tells Michael Smith.
W
hat do you do when, after selling millions of albums, playing packed stadiums all over the US and UK, and being lionised by punters and press alike, your band falls apart? Initially, when Men At Work did just that, frontman Colin Hay did a bit of falling apart himself. Thankfully, there were a few people around him who got him back in the saddle doing what he was meant to be doing: writing songs and performing them. Only it was never going to be that easy. “It started off with me trying to make sense of why I was on stage,” Hay admits, “and I was looking out into the audience and they seemed to be thinking the same thing – you know, ‘Why are we in the audience?’ Because, when I first started to go out on my own, there was hardly anybody there at the shows, and so it was, by definition, conversational, because it was a very small room usually, and usually the audiences were quite small. “There was something conspiratorial about it or something like that, so I would just talk to them and tell them about what happened to me as a way of, in a sense, getting it out of my own head, because that was relatively interesting, going from playing to many, many, many people to playing to hardly anybody. So it was almost like, well, you’re telling someone about
32 • THE MUSIC • 22ND APRIL 2015
it, and it just happened to be people I chose to tell were,” he chuckles, “small audiences 25 years ago. That’s really what it developed from.” What started happening – as Hay quietly clawed his way back into a music career as a solo artist who has now, since 1991, released 11 albums – was that the stories and the way he told them started to get laughs. And why not? For a while there, before the untimely suicide in 2012 of his longestserving fellow Men At Work comrade Greg Ham, Hay found himself performing solo shows to 250-capacity room while at the same time playing as Men At Work
to more than 5000 screaming Brazilians, Peruvians and Mexicans. The irony was certainly not lost on Hay. “I’ve been doing pretty much the same thing for the past 25 years or something, but I hadn’t really done the comedy festivals so much. I’ve done Edinburgh Festival a bunch of times, and I played the Melbourne Comedy Festival last year, but mainly I’ve just done gigs and part of a gig is really just talking to people which sometimes ends up being amusing. I’m happy to be doing it but I haven’t really actually thought about it in those terms.” WHEN & WHERE: 23 Apr, Karralyka Centre; 24 Apr, Frankston Arts Centre; 25 Apr, Her Majesty’s Theatre, Ballarat; 26 Apr, Lighthouse Theatre, Warrnambool; 20 May, Forum Theatre
THE MUSIC • 22ND APRIL 2015 • 33
★★★★½
album/ep reviews
MARLON WILLIAMS
BLUR
Marlon Williams
Parlophone/Warner
Caroline
Blur didn’t have to make any new music. Their recent tour history has proven they’d do remarkably well carrying on as a heritage act, which makes The Magic Whip – born out of five days stranded in Hong Kong – all the more remarkable.
ALBUM OF THE WEEK
You’d think, after being initially blown away by opening track, Hello Miss Lonesome, that Marlon Williams belongs in a different era, that his voice deserves to ring out from the stages of the Grand Ole Opry and other old-timey stages from the 1950s. But you’d be wrong, because his rollicking, countrified solo debut record is so fucking urgent, it’s right now. Sure, it doesn’t take much to hear references to stars of yore like Roy Orbison and modern-day equivalents like Justin Townes Earle. But stripped back, without the rambunctious, infectious rhythms of his brilliant band, his vocal is as tender as Antony Hegarty or Jeff Buckley. Williams tells tales you want to hear in a way that demands your undivided attention. His complex and real storytelling (“I lost my wife in 1989 to a
The Magic Whip
certain kind of undetectable cancer/ She left me alone in a sevenbedroom home built upon the bones of fallen soldiers” – Strange Things) belies his years and evokes the musings of Leonard Cohen, as do, at times, the pitch-perfect arrangements of the slower, moodier songs. Despite only being in his early 20s, Williams has plenty of runs on the board in his native New Zealand and draws on every trick in his book to draw every possible emotion from your brain as he takes you on his journey. At times impossibly fun, at others boneachingly beautiful, Marlon Williams has delivered a gem. Dylan Stewart
So what can we make of Blur, 12 years on from Think Tank? This new record suggests their already expansive horizons are broader, a melting pot of abstract influences that see bouncing synths give way to heartfelt ballads, Chinese and British symbolism intertwined. Melancholia and joy paint Damon Albarn’s lyrics of personal detachment in an overwhelmingly well connected world, on an album where three-minute pop jams (I Broadcast) keep company with epic rambling introspection (Thought I Was A Spaceman). At the core of it you have two men, Albarn and Graham Coxon, practically brothers, who’ve spent more than a decade
RUBY BOOTS
MILLENCOLIN
Lost Highway/Universal
Epitaph/Warner
Ruby Boots is the nom de plume for Perth’s Bex Chilcott and though this is wholly a solo album in terms of songwriting and musical personality she’s corralled the talents of a number of accomplished individuals on her spellbinding debut full-length release.
When Millencolin played Melbourne’s The Hi-Fi earlier this year, something unprecedented in live music happened. As singer and bass player Nikola Sarcevic announced they were about to play something off their upcoming album, the crowd didn’t immediately race to the bar. The promise of ‘something from the new album’ that has so reliably emptied band rooms actually got the crowd excited. And as Millencolin busted out several more newbies that night, the excitement only grew; excitement that’s now been justified with the release of True Brew.
Solitude
Co-starring roles go to Vicki Thorn (The Waifs), Jordie Lane, Davey Lane and country stalwart Bill Chambers yet Chilcott’s is the name in lights on Solitude. Across ten songs she rouses deep and ragged emotion, tugs on heartstrings with authentic ache and yearning and succinctly nails tried and true subject matter with infectious melodies and deft lyricism. Hers is one of those red wine-stained voices that’s as comfortable with sweet frailty as it is with full-blooded and brassy rock’n’roll and deep gospel/ country soul. Jordie Lane’s duet on Lovin’ In The Fall is a real highlight, both of their voices bursting with unique character 34 • THE MUSIC • 22ND APRIL 2015
★★★★ mostly apart. Their divergences have culminated in this sonic marriage, where Coxon’s penchant for a snarling guitar is a welcome bed for Albarn’s aphorisms. Where they can throw three chords down with a “la la la” refrain, have Dave Rowntree and Alex James on drums and bass respectively, and turned it into pop magic with a song like Ong Ong. Where Albarn’s despondent words in There Are Too Many Of Us are kept away from maudlin thanks to emphatic strings and a chugging bass line. All the while they make it look so deceptively simple, you wonder why they ever stopped. Sevana Ohandjanian
True Brew
★★★★ and a playful interplay, while No Stranger is stripped bare, down to just keys, a lonesome harmonica and Chilcott showing the full range of her voice. Ruby Boots’ ability to draw from a number of roots music styles is what cements Solitude as a benchmark release. She can evoke the late night bar through the bottom of an empty whisky glass vibe as vividly as the carefree open highway, key tenets of what makes the fast-rising local Americana music scene so popular. It’s the ups and downs of real life live encapsulated in song and Ruby Boots has captured that and more on her world class debut. Chris Familton
The first new album in seven years, True Brew declares itself pure Millencolin from the opening seconds of Egocentric Man, while first single, Sense & Sensibility, perfectly encapsulates this band in 2015. Sarcevic is tackling big issues and big ideas, while the rest of Millencolin
★★★★½ give it the perfect melodic punk treatment to ensure it never feels like a lecture or sermon. For those ‘90s devotees who swear by For Monkeys or Pennybridge Pioneers, there are plenty of throwbacks to those seminal records. For the new millennium crowd who appreciated the odd side steps found on Kingwood and Machine 15, you’re covered too. True Brew is the sound of a band a little older and a little wiser. It’s also a band with just as much energy, angst and attitude as ever. Only now, their age and wisdom means that energy, angst and attitude are more focused than ever before. Pete Laurie
album/ep reviews
★★★★½
★★★
★★★★
★★½
BUILT TO SPILL
GEORGE FITZGERALD
GOOD RIDDANCE
MEW
Untethered Moon
Fading Love
Peace In Our Times
+-
Warner
Domino/EMI
Fat Wreck Chords/Shock
[PIAS] Australia
Their first album in six years (and eighth overall) finds Boise indie veterans Built To Spill with a new line-up but brandishing a familiar vibe, spotlighting the gorgeously cryptic yet thought-provoking sentiment of Doug Martsch’s near inscrutable lyrics and those textured guitars – oh those guitars – plus the vaguely haphazard song structures that you just know are part of some grander plan, songs unfurling and flowering to reward closer scrutiny. Warm and reliable like those old ugg boots that won’t die, full of fantastic memories but still so much to offer.
British producer George FitzGerald was already well known, but he’s stepped further into the limelight with a debut album full of his signature sounds. Gentle instrumental tracks segue nicely between the vocals songs like Full Circle, which is distinctly reminiscent of Chet Faker’s 1998. The spiralling music mirrors the melancholy singing of Oli Bayston, spreading a subdued feeling of resignation throughout the album that rarely disappears. FitzGerald stated he wanted to make music that reflected “the more complicated realities of [his] own life”, although only time will tell whether he has more to offer than Fading Love.
Good Riddance were never the most high profile band on the Fat Wreck roster, but they were the most consistent. It’s not surprising then that even after an extended period of inactivity (although they regrouped in 2012 for sporadic gigs, their last recorded offering was in 2006) they’ve come roaring back with yet another superb LP. Peace In Our Times offers everything we love about the Santa Cruz punk OGs. Sublime pop-punk gems (Grace And Virtue), fullthrottle pit-inducing anthems (Dry Season) and Russ Rankin’s thoughtful socio-political commentary (Washed Away).
2009’s No More Stories… saw prog-rockers Mew trimming their frilly rock edges into a luscious, cascading dream-pop tour of the world and space. As with many high profile rock releases of ’15 (Modest Mouse, Death Cab) + - continues to trim, this time a little too close. From Satellites’ opening jangle it’s clear we’re back down to earth and we’re in synth-pop territory. Albums can only be judged on their own merit to a certain extent; knowledge of what came before clouds judgment. What we have here is a good pop record, and an okay Mew album.
Mark Hebblewhite
Alex Michael
Steve Bell
Roshan Clerke
MORE REVIEWS
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★★★★
★★★½
★★½
MG
MIAMI HORROR
MG
All Possible Futures
THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS
Mute/Create/Control
Remote Control
Glean
While Martin Gore vocally played the angel to Dave Gahanಬs devil in Depeche Mode, here heಬs ditching personae altogether in favour of cold electronic instrumentalism, as if soundtracking all your favourite sci-fi films that havenಬt been made yet. Itಬs angular like early Gary Numan one minute (in Trysting and Stealth), then spectacular and astral the next (Europa Hymn and Exalt), while Crowly and Brink both envy raves from the stratosphere. When an album’s dots connect on shuffle as well as they do in order, the mission is well and truly accomplished.
In making All Possible Futures, Miami Horror moved to the Californian beaches in search of a new sound. There’s also an additional host of guests this time around. Cleopold, who features on Love Like Mine and the expansive Colours In The Sky is a great fit, and LA singer Gavin Turek adds a further sense of sunshine. While it was wise to escape the trappings of the Australian sound by moving overseas, the dreamy feeling of the US West Coast permeates the record to an extent that makes it more impressionistic than impressive.
Breakaway Recordings
Mac McNaughton
Roshan Clerke
The veteran rockers’ 17th studio album isn’t likely to shake any cores, but it will put a smile on your face. Opening track, Erase, is super cool and lively. Music Jail, Pt. 1 & 2 is pretty quirky and abstract, and perhaps only for avid fans, while songs to listen out for are Madam, I Challenge You To A Duel and I’m A Coward. They Might Be Giants don’t have many tricks up their sleeve but continue to reshape and progress within their style, earning them major brownie points.
Elana Stone – Kintsugi Part 1 Gallows – Desolation Sounds Joseph Tawadros – Truth Seekers, Lovers & Warriors Unleashed – Dawn Of The Nine Speedy Ortiz – Foil Dear Hound – Dying In The Sun Superstar – Table For Two Villagers – Darling Arithmetic Beccy Cole – Sweet Rebecca
Emilie Taylor
THE MUSIC • 22ND APRIL 2015 • 35
live reviews
PIERCE BROTHERS, WOODLOCK 170 Russell 19 Apr Post-Mumford & Sons-style music has arrived. Exhibit a) Woodlock are still pretty green, but their enthusiasm and obvious gratitude prove endearing. Kiwi brothers Ezekiel and Zechariah Walters do their thing, but it’s hard to drag your eyes away from beaming percussionist Bowen Purcell who sports a Pierce Brothers T-shirt. From the get-go, exhibit b) Pierce Brothers go off like a frog in a honking sock. Let’s face it; we’ve come to
PIERCE BROTHERS @ 170 RUSSELL. PIC: ANDREW BRISCOE
see the ambidextrous, multiinstrumentalist ‘didge in one hand, harmonica in the other (in lieu of holder) for your bro’ move (pictured). And we don’t have to wait too long for it. The crowd goes wild and smartphones are raised to document the action. Jack Pierce (percussionist) is the chatty one and his sticks go everywhere; he even taps out beats on the body of his brother Pat’s guitar. At times the vocals could be less harsh during the Overdose chorus, but Pierce Brothers play their biggest headline show to date this evening so can be excused. Pierce Brothers claim they haven’t prepped the cover they’re about to perform, but this simply can’t be true. Their take on MGMT’s Kids is dazzling and, even when the catchy keys melody is sung, it doesn’t 36 • THE MUSIC • 22ND APRIL 2015
grate. This becomes a mash-up when Alice Cooper’s Poison barnstorms the arrangement. Then the brothers overlap the choruses of these two songs, singing them at the same time, and it sounds magical! They admit to being fans of John Butler Trio and the amount of dreadlocks in the venue suggests they’re not alone. The one without the dreads ( Jack) whips his hair back and forth (thanks, Willow Smith) before reaching around from behind his brother to provide an extra set of arms on the fretboard. At this song’s conclusion Jack enquires, “Does anyone have a hair tie?” and retrieves one from the audience, adding, “I washed it especially for tonight.” Patrick contributes with a laugh, “People shouldn’t be impressed by just hygiene.” One excellent
songs, but with their talent and likeability this band of brothers is destined for main stage slots at festivals worldwide.
bought back down with the delicate Bottle Baby. The loud downer-psych of Owen’s Lament rounds out the initial set.
Bryget Chrisfield
The band re-emerge for an encore and launch into Never Been Sad: a desolate, allconsuming black hole of despair despite its flourishes - a true set highlight. The looming One Crowded Hour follows and is delightfully flawed, its tempo is sped-up and, coupled with sound issues and Richards’ guitar strap falling off in the song’s final moments, tonight’s performance almost parodies the beauty of the song that brought the band widespread attention. Asleep In Perfection gets a rare airing and Augie March close with the perfect parting gift, There’s No Such Place.
AUGIE MARCH Melbourne Recital Centre 18 Apr Picturesque/grotesque visions of the city and sparse bushland are played on a loop with Definitive History lyrics periodically displayed. As the lights dim, Augie March take the stage and the fragmented map of Australia that adorns the Havens Dumb album cover is all that can be seen. Men Who Follow Spring The Planet ‘Round and Hobart Obit follow and the set from this point draws largely from
PIERCE BROTHERS @ 170 RUSSELL. PIC: ANDREW BRISCOE
track starts off sounding like the Bonanza theme song. The pair leave the stage, but we’re far from satisfied. Their encore commences with Golden Times, which Patrick starts off solo while his brother negotiates a hand-held confetti cannon (and there are no prizes for guessing what colour ticker tape it detonates). This song also utilises aforementioned multitasking musician formation when didge and harmonica are both required. Patrick tells us they’re heading off to Europe “’cause things are going a bit mental” and then both support acts (Tash Sultana, we unfortunately missed) are invited on stage to ‘help’ perform their closing track. Purcell, Woodlock’s drummer, looks fit to burst. You could potentially sing Little Lion Man over most Pierce Brothers
the Havens Dumb and Sunset Studies albums. Here Comes The Night is one of the evening’s rare, straight-up balladeer rock moments (which the band essentially embody) when they are minus the vibrant horn section. Quite casual between tracks, the band often share jokes about themselves with the audience. Glenn Richards lives up to his reported reputation as a perfectionist by forcing the band to restart tracks, even abandoning an entire song (despite an impressive build up) due to alleged guitar tone issues. When performed live, The Devil In Me loses the sheen/ bright production of its recorded counterpart, but truly is beautiful simplicity on stage. Things go all rock show with the heavily Western-inspired This Train Will Be Taking No Passengers, but we’re then
Bradley Armstrong
PIERCE BROTHERS @ 170 RUSSELL. PIC: ANDREW BRISCOE
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DARREN HANLON @ CORNER HOTEL. PIC: GEOFFREY D’UNIENVILLE
Darren Hanlon, The Burnt Sausages @ Corner Hotel Rattlin Bones Blackwood, @ End Of The Line Bar
MICF reviews
ROSS NOBLE: TANGENTLEMAN MICF
Palais Theatre (finished)
★★★★
SHOWKO: HELL Chapel Off Chapel (finished)
AN EVENING WITH NOEL FIELDING
★★★
Hamer Hall, Arts Centre (finished)
MICF
MICF
★★★★½
With a wandering mind and charming personality, Ross Noble is a true Tangentleman. Noble’s new ‘show’ is two hours of improv filled with trademark intensity, insanity and imagination, showing his brain continues to tick over at breakneck speed. Though his peripheral absurdity can at times be exhausting and difficult to follow, Noble is one hell of an entertainer. He’s one of the world’s most loved comedians for a plethora of reasons, and every one of them is on display at Tangentleman.
After Showko’s fiancé is killed, she travels the world to try to get over him. Finally, there’s only one place she hasn’t been: Hell. What follows is a surreal, warped journey through the afterlife, complete with ventriloquist puppets, a guy with the longest name in the world, bamboo mat sculptures and the Japanese art of papercutting. Showko’s vibrant personality and impressive ventriloquism, a fantastical set and one of the most ridiculous storylines you’ll ever witness make for lots of puzzled expressions and confused laughter. It’s a bizarre children’s story with adult themes.
Evan Young
Stephanie Liew
Sarah Barratt
Watching Mighty Boosh star Noel Fielding do comedy is like sitting between a genius and an acid trip and wondering which one is more influential. An Evening With Noel Fielding brings back all your old friends, his brother plays his wife, The Moon says hello, as well as The Dark Side Of The Moon, and the entire audience is enlisted to help find Noel when he goes missing. Fielding is one of our improv greats, often just launching off on tangents left and right from the script and making them work.
arts reviews while Katie Sfetkidis’ lighting design provides harsh brightness and soft glow where appropriate; we’re spectators watching people in front of a camera. Meme Girls is an analysis of the deeper meanings behind ‘shallow’ or ‘narcissistic’ videos, a celebration of the joy and fascination such ridiculous videos can bring, and a wry critique. MEME GIRLS. PIC: PIA JOHNSON
MEME GIRLS Theatre
Beckett Theatre, Malthouse Theatre to 2 May
★★★ ½ A failed American Idol contestant (Mary Roach), Karen, who wants her $20 back, a fitness instructor who addresses haters: Ash Flanders recreates monologues from viral YouTube vids in Meme Girls, his ‘love letter’ to the women online who appear confident but also crave attention, clicks, likes. Eugyeene Teh’s set replicates a long lens,
Flanders’ chosen subjects fit character templates Gen Y is familiar with, yet when collaged with (a few too many) songs – from The Drums to Kylie, as revised by The Sweats – and presented by Flanders in a white top and tails, assisted by exuberant drag queen Art Simone, we’re able to see how they’re all related. There’s a risk here of Flanders coming across as yet another man mocking the ‘self-absorption’ of women, but it doesn’t feel like Flanders is being mean-spirited; he delivers the characters with a campness, but also humour and emotion, showing that these real people are just looking to connect with others. Stephanie Liew
AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON Film
In cinemas 23 Apr
★★★★ Age Of Ultron has an embarrassment-of-riches problem, given that modern sequels not only have to continue the story but also up the ante in terms of spectacle. Whedon seems determined to keep these characters rooted in recognisable, realworld situations and reactions but he also wants to please the punters with plenty of explosions, showdowns and face-offs. They’re all executed with energy and style, but they also get a little repetitive and wearying eventually. The story has the Avengers snatching that glowing blue Tesseract doodad from an agent of sinister science division Hydra, and the ever-reckless
Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) using its power as the ‘brain’ for his pet Ultron project, an army of peacekeeping robots with a single consciousness. Tony wants to render the Avengers obsolete, what he creates is a whole new enemy. Age Of Ultron does feel like a bit of a rehash of the previous Avengers but that’s not altogether a bad thing. And to its credit, it does by the end set a course in a slightly different direction, one I – and I’m sure millions of fans worldwide – will be keen to travel in the future. Guy Davis
AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON THE MUSIC • 22ND APRIL 2015 • 37
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38 • THE MUSIC • 22ND APRIL 2015
the guide
DIDIRRI
How did you get your start? Start? What start? It feels like it’s been going forever. My father (Canya Dantz) had me on stage from the age of three and I never stopped. Sum up your musical sound in four words? Don’t folk with me. If you could support any band in the world - past or present - who would it be? Glen Hansard. You’re being sent into space, no iPod, you can bring one album - what would it be? Blood Thinner by Jordie Lane, it never ceases to amaze me. Greatest rock’n’roll moment of your career to date? I once slipped on a rock in The Grampians and rolled down the slope onto a mother snake. Why should people come and see your band? Because good live music shouldn’t be a thing of the past. We do well at supporting artists that we know, but not many of us take a risk on unknown performers. In short, we are engaging and the rest is up to you. When and where for your next gig? Wednesday night April residency at Evelyn Hotel, so 22 & 29 Apr. Website link for more info? facebook.com/didirri Pic: Rachel Gedye Photography
THE MUSIC • 22ND APRIL 2015 • 39
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THIS EXISTS... Other stuff you can get delivered to your door.
Cooking at home and eating in made super easy. Pic: Dina El-Hakim
DRINK DELIVERY You’ll need something thirstquenching to with your food delivery, eh? Beer Days’ Beer Boxes: Choose between 8, 12 or 16 mixed bottles of craft beer delivered to your door monthly or quarterly.
Dish’d
My Food Bag
On the Dish’d website, browse dishes and desserts covering cuisines from all over the world. Choose what you want and get it delivered the next day in a coolbox, complete with dry ice to keep your meal frozen. They’re currently delivering in Sydney and Melbourne only, and they also have a store in Prahran (VIC, pictured). This kinda thing would be perfect for the days when you’re not in the mood to cook.
This company offers the same concept as HelloFresh, but it’s Sydney-specific, if you Sydneysiders wanna keep it super local. You can choose from three kinds of basic boxes, and adjust the amount of ingredients according to how many adults and kids you’re cooking for.
HelloFresh What about if you are in the mood to cook, but you’re also a bit lazy about it? No time or motivation to go to the supermarket? No judgement, we’ve all been there. HelloFresh delivers a box with the exact ingredients needed for a certain dish. They’ve got a nifty subscription service and new recipes every week. 40 • THE MUSIC • 22ND APRIL 2015
Dinner Twist Perth need not miss out, because Dinner Twist is Perth’s answer to HelloFresh and My Food Bag. Choose from the Family Box (classics and general crowdpleasing recipes) or the Foodie Box for more adventurous palates. Whole Larder Love The fab folk at WLL deliver fresh, organic veggie and meat boxes to four drop-off spots in Melbourne every Saturday. This is a great option for those who really want their veg and meat straight from the source.
Hello Flo: Subscribe to a monthly plan tailored to your menstrual needs. Get tampons, pads, liners, and treats. If you sign up for a three- or six-month subscription you can provide sanitary supplies to one school aged girl in Kenya for a full school year. The Period Store is another website that offers the same thing. Unfortunately these services exist only in the US. Candy Japan: Oh my god, why has no one told me about this?! Subscribe and get interesting and tasty lollies from Japan in the mail twice a month. The packaging is really cute, too. Yep, they deliver to Australia. Soxy: Five new pairs of socks delivered every month. We can’t really imagine who would need on ongoing subscription – maybe sock collectors or people who wear out socks super quickly? – but still a cool idea.
Beer Cartel’s Beer Club: Unique local and international beers in a pack of six (two x three varieties) or 12 (three x four varieties) every month. Cellarmasters’ Quarterly Wine Plans: Choose from Big Bargain 16, The Best Buys, Discovery, Southern Stars (Aus and NZ wines), Connoisseur (premium wines), and Pinnacle. Cider Insider: Choose your fav flavs and whether you’d like nine, 12 or 18 bottles in the box. Monthly delivery options available.
GAME OF RHONES
#WINEISCOMING; how timely. Is there one wine to rule them all? Game of Rhones will travel to five cities – Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Auckland (Perth fans, book your flights?). Head to the event to sample many a wine and vote for what should win. There’ll also be some hearty food on offer... gotta soak up that wine with something, right? Go to the bottleshopconcepts.com/gameofrhones to see the wine line-up (wine-up) in each city. Dates: Brisbane – 31 May; Melbourne – 13 Jun; Sydney – 21 Jun. More dates and deets on the website.
the guide vic.live@themusic.com.au
LIVE THIS WEEK
CHART WRAP
BRIDGE FRIDGE
PEARLER
BOWEN ARROW
The Bridge Hotel in Castlemaine are hosting a fundraiser gig this Saturday to repair their fridge and window after ratbags damaged them. Playing are: Ooga Boogas, DD Dumbo, pictured, Yard Apes, Cuntz and more. Doors at 1pm.
Melbourne’s Pearls have unleashed the video for their album title track, Pretend You’re Mine. Get that sleazy ‘70s tongue-in-cheek feel live when Pearls support Oh Mercy at The Gasometer Hotel, Saturday.
Alex Bowen is set to release his new single, The Book Of Life, with his second album, Time To Talk, to follow. Bowen performs his blues/country and pop/rock tunes at The Espy, Thursday; The Workers Club, Sunday.
JUKES SINGLE
MUSO WORKSHOP
THREE TO YOU
After a successful US trip, folk and country group Millar Jukes & The Bandits return to Aus to perform their hit single Chase The Sun and a few other new tracks ahead of their EP launch later this year. Friday, The Workers Club.
The Songwriter Sessions are back, where three songwriters talk about, play and sing their songs and answer questions. Marlene Samson, Michael Yule and Mark ‘Phisha’ Fisher will be in the hot seats Thursday, Bar Oussou.
Warming up for their first tour of Japan, Perth’s international power-pop trio DM3 have released a new album, Live In Denmark – The Roskilde Festival, and on Thursday play at The LuWow and Friday at The Tote.
ELECTRIC STONE
BONZA BONJAH
HERE’S HOW
Sydney songstress Elana Stone has just released her EP Kintsugi and to celebrate she plays a run of east coast tour dates, stopping by Shadow Electric on Thursday. She’ll be joined by the multi-talented Al Parkinson.
Bonjah hit the stage at Howler on Friday in support of their latest single, Burn. This’ll be one of their last shows for the year because they’ll be bunkering down to write and record their new album. Support from Timberwolf and Tash Sultana.
This Friday and Saturday, Melbourne man Howqua plays solo acoustic sets at House Of Bricks, to raise funds for his upcoming trip to Canada, where he’ll showcase as part of Canadian Music Week. Head along and support!
ALL ABOUT THAT BRASS
MY BOY CHARLIE
IN LIMBO
Canberra’s Brass Knuckle Brass Band are launching their debut album, Split Lip, on Saturday at Bar Open with support from local soul heavyweights The Cactus Channel and new kids on the scene Nyash! Afrobeat Collective.
After a recent musical hiatus Charlie Marshall is playing an intimate gig at Retreat Hotel on Sunday. He’ll be performing two sets featuring solo material from coming album Sublime – Songs Of Metaphysics, Science and Ecology, plus old faves.
Nantes’ latest record, Limbo, is a noisy and powerful recording, perfect for places like the awesome little band room at Shebeen, where they will be playing on Friday.
FOR MORE HEAD TO THEMUSIC.COM.AU
JAPANESE WALLPAPER
It’s a week of achievement for freshly announced Splendour In The Grass must-see act Japanese Wallpaper, with the up-and-coming Melburnian muso — known to his mum as Gab Strum — walking away with a top-10 debut on this week’s Carlton Dry Independent Music Charts with his new single, Forces (feat. Airling), coming in at #8. Strum doesn’t quite make the highest debut of the week — that honour goes to multiple chart entrant Sia, whose Big Girls Cry steps out at #3, coming in a rung below previous single, Elastic Heart (#2) — but he’s the only other top-10 placer for the next seven days, though Moog isn’t far off, with the Chasing Midnight EP netting the Sydney-bred producer the #12 spot. Former Butterfly Effect frontman Clint Boge rounds out the Singles debuts for the week with Dance With The Devil skating into the top 20 at #17. It’s a much quieter week on the full-length ladder for new faces, as Ziggy Alberts delivers the sole debutant effort with Land & Sea at #15, though San Cisco’s eponymous debut LP makes an impressive leap back into the top 20, landing at #5 after several weeks outside the rankings, coming in just one spot below their second effort, Gracetown, which slips down a rung to #4. That drop comes courtesy of a resurgent Sheppard, whose Bombs Away jumps six places from #9 to #3, while the top two contenders swap spots this week — Courtney Barnett’s Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit is down to #2, giving way to previous top entry 1000 Forms Of Fear, by Sia, which this week reclaims its position atop the pile. THE MUSIC • 22ND APRIL 2015 • 41
the guide vic.live@themusic.com.au
ALBUM FOCUS
HAVE YOU HEARD
Was anything in particular inspiring you during the making? The timeline not very inspiring but kept us on our toes. When you set goals on yourself you can be surprised what comes out. What’s your favourite song on it? It changes every day! I always start with End Of 20; love the lyric “let the light in”. Powerful song.
JERICCO Answered by: Brent McCormick Album title? Machine Made The Animal Where did the title of your new album come from? It was a lyric I wrote in a track that didn’t make to our last record, Beautiful In Danger; it’s a strong title. In the end we are the animals. How many releases do you have now? Two EPs, a live record, and two LPs. Starting to get a collection!
Will you do anything differently next time? Maybe more recording time; give the guys some more freedom to explore. Being on budget, it gets tense. Dan Murtagh our producer got us over the line! When and where is your launch/next gig? 5 Jun, Prince Bandroom.
If you could only listen to one album forevermore, what would it be and why? For Emma, Forever Ago by Bon Iver. That album blows my mind and every imperfection is just perfect. The sounds he creates have such an honesty to them. It’s an inspiring and timeless record. Greatest rock’n’roll moment of your career to date? I was walking through the airport the other day carrying my guitar and I noticed in the reflection that I was wearing my Ray Bans. I cringed and took them off instantly. Sunglasses inside the airport. That’s rock’n’roll.
HOWQUA Answered by: Ben Campain When did you start making music and why? I first picked up a guitar about ten years ago with the simple goal to put sounds with feeling behind poetry I’d written. For me, making music has been a platform to carry my words.
Why should people come and see your band? There’s no tricks, what you see is what you get. It’ll be part of getting us to Canadian Music Week.
Sum up your musical sound in four words? Honest, heart, human, HOWQUA. If you could support any band in the world – past or present – who would it be? I’d probably say Jeff Buckley. To share a stage with him and hear that beautiful voice live would be incredible.
How long did it take to write/ record? We had a three-month plan. Took us eight weeks to write and four weeks to record.
When and where for your next gig? Two special shows at House Of Bricks 24 & 25 Apr to get myself and my manager to Canadian Music Week. Website link for more info? howquamusic.com
LISTEN IN
ALBUM FOCUS as I’d finished the last one (Interstate – May 2014).
GRIFF Answered by: Gareth Burnell Album title? Unstuck In Time Where did the title of your new album come from? It’s a phrase used to describe the main character from the novel Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut. Favourite book/author of mine. How many releases do you have now? Four EPs, two LPs and a bunch of remixes and one-offs for compilations. How long did it take to write/ record? I think about ten months, I pretty much started writing this one as soon 42 • THE MUSIC • 22ND APRIL 2015
Was anything in particular inspiring you during the making? Just thinking about how lucky I am to be alive in these times and in this country and frustration that our systems are geared towards making this kind of luck rare. Let’s explore space! What’s your favourite song on it? Ghosty ft Dersu Uzala. Always enjoy writing tunes with my brother! Deep Field also and really dig Bled Dry too. Will you do anything differently next time? Of course! Why do things the same? Much more live instrument recording and more vocal tracks on the next one, I think.
CATLIPS Answered by: Katie Campbell How did you start out producing tracks? My dad taught me how to use Logic when I was about ten and wanted to make beats for my raps. Sum up your musical sound in four words? Rhythmic, slick, cheeky, cultural.
When and where is your launch/ next gig? Launch party with me, Spoonbill and Mad Zach on 9 May, Railway Hotel.
If you could collaborate with any producer – past or present – who would it be? Aphex Twin so I could use his studio and learn about his workflow.
Website link for more info? soundcloud.com/griff
Which piece of gear are you rinsing the fuck out of at the
S U P P O R T I N G
I N D E P E N D E N T
moment? My Roland Alpha Juno 1 Synth, mmmm. Greatest musical moment of your career to date? Probably when I launched my EP at a wild pool party last month. What is something unique about your live set? My live visuals, when I have a projector available; if not, probably my dance moves. When and where is your next gig? 23 & 24 Apr, Northcote Social Club; 21 May, Howler. Website link for more info? facebook.com/catlipsmusic
A U S S I E
M U S I C
opinion WAKE THE DEAD
TRAILER TRASH
PUNK AND HARDCORE WITH SARAH PETCHELL
DIVES INTO YOUR SCREENS AND IDIOT BOXES WITH GUY DAVIS
So Jona Weinhofen’s animal activism has got him into trouble with none other than Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce. Weinhofen is part of a campaign by PETA to bring awareness to some of the practices of the wool industry in its treatment of sheep during the shearing process. There’s a graphic ad that shows Weinhofen holding a bloodied lamb giving Joyce ammunition to deride Weinhofen as out of touch with the plight of the Australian farmer. Do I agree with the campaign? No, it’s hyperbolic. Do I agree with Joyce? Hell no. But this is the beauty of being a part of the music scene, particularly punk and hardcore. We have an opportunity to speak on issues that will potentially be heard and acted upon, no matter how small the group of people listening may be. And that’s precisely what Weinhofen was doing and I think for that he should be applauded. I’ve talked a lot in these columns about how it’s important for us to have a viewpoint and to share our positions on social issues, particularly issues of social justice, and I don’t think that anyone should be criticised for having an opinion and voicing it (except maybe for Reclaim Australia, but that’s another issue altogether). There are horrible practices in agriculture, and we should be aware of them. That’s all that Weinhofen was doing, and if Joyce really wants to do things to help the poor, suffering farmers (I say that with no sarcasm intended) perhaps he should look to the corporate duopoly within the supermarket industry.
JONA WEINHOFEN PETA AD
INTERSTELLAR
It may be a matter of semantics (and who isn’t down for some antics?), but I was thinking the other day about the difference between anticipation and expectation. Yeezus only knows I’ve written enough Trailer Trash columns outlining my anticipation for various projects on the screen and the page, but usually when I’m hyped about what I view as the next big thing it stems from a position of hope – I really want Age Of Ultron to be ace, for example. Expectation... well, it’s not exactly anticipation’s evil twin, but it does carry heavier baggage. Go into a cinema with certain expectations, and if they aren’t met it can feel like a letdown. Or even a betrayal. It’s a bad way to interact with art, really. Why have such thoughts been ricocheting around my head? I blame Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar, now available on home video through the fine folks at Roadshow. Cast your mind back to days of yore, by which I mean last November or so, when Nolan followed up his incredibly successful Dark Knight trilogy with an epic spacefaring adventure that seemed set to combine intellectual rigour and heartfelt emotion. Such expectations weren’t crazy – despite developing a reputation as something of a chilly technician, there’s a soulfulness and even sadness to Nolan’s body of work. It’s there in Inception, even if it did feel overshadowed at times by that film’s spectacle, and it’s certainly evident in The Prestige, for me Nolan’s finest and deepest work to date. But Interstellar saw Nolan add a new element to his dramatic
vocabulary – optimism – and as is often the case when someone is trying a new language out on a test drive, a few things got a little lost in translation. In addition to that, it was plain to see that the filmmaker was really swinging for the fences. Looking at the fairly comprehensive batch of bonus features on the Interstellar Blu-ray, one can sense Nolan’s desire to not only be true to the scientific aspects of the story – and provide some visual glory while doing so – but also tell an intimate story about the ties that bind. It’s something that can easily be drowned out when a viewer is sitting in an IMAX cinema, Hans Zimmer’s bombastic score blasting from speakers that are probably bigger than your place of residence. Revisiting Interstellar minus the technical bells and whistles of its cinema release, not to mention the crushing burden of expectation, I had a clearer idea of what Nolan was trying to do. I was reminded of a similar situation a few years back, when I saw David Fincher’s The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button for the first time. It left me cold, left me thinking that Fincher was trying his hand at broad-stroke sentimentality – something in which he was not fluent. Watching it a year or so later, I realised that the emotion was there, just conveyed in a way that was subdued but far from absent. The same goes for Interstellar in some ways. It’s a flawed film, there’s no denying that... but a flawed film isn’t always a bad film. You just have to adjust your expectations sometimes, that’s all.
FRAGMENTED FREQUENCIES OTHER MUSIC FROM THE OTHER SIDE WITH BOB BAKER FISH We haven’t heard from UK experimental producer Leafcutter John since 2006’s remarkable experimental electronic folk album, The Forest & The Sea. Since then he’s been constructing modular systems, creating his own software and birthing handmade light-controlled electronic devices all meticulously detailed on his website. Here you can view his numerous projects and learn how to grow your own contact microphone, make a tin can hydrophone or a laser microphone. He credits the book Handmade Electronic Music: The Art Of Hardware Hacking with sparking his fascination, and to be fair it’s an incredibly addictive read that will have you circuit bending and soldering oscillators in no time. John is about to release his sixth album, Resurrection (Desire Path Recordings), and it’s one of the most remarkable forwardthinking musical statements you’ll hear. Melding voice, electrics and field recordings, it’s endlessly beguiling and ridiculously inventive. Don’t sleep – there are only 500. Similarly unclassifiable is Melburnian Zulya’s new electronic project. Known primarily for her Children Of The Underground ensemble, which offers an exotic amalgamation of Russian roots cabaret,, Starship Z is quite a departure. The album, Kosmostan, is a science fiction concept album, best known for having a couple of tracks on the Borat soundtrack. There’s even a remix from AtomTM. Feel very confident you’ve never heard anything like this before.
LEAFCUTTER JOHN
THE MUSIC • 22ND APRIL 2015 • 43
opinion HOWZAT! LOCAL MUSIC BY JEFF JENKINS THE GOODBYE GIRL IS BACK At the start of the new millennium, a Ballarat songwriter named Juan Alban was writing songs for his band’s second album. His ears pricked up when a friend referred to herself as “The Goodbye Girl”, in reference to a string of bad break-ups. “I loved that title,” Juan says. Epicure ended up calling their 2004 album The Goodbye Girl and it was the band’s breakthrough, with three songs – Armies Against Me, Life Sentence and Self Destruct In Five – landing in triple j’s Hottest 100. The album is a beautiful piece of work and it will hopefully find a new audience via a deluxe double vinyl version released by Ballarat’s Heart of the Rat Records. To promote the release, Juan has put the band back together, five years after they split, for two shows – at the Northcote Social Club
44 • THE MUSIC • 22ND APRIL 2015
on 2 May and Ballarat’s Karova Lounge on 16 May. Juan has been living in Melbourne for the past four years, but remains connected to the Ballarat scene. “You know, Ballarat is a weird and special place and I kinda feel like it will always have a great music and arts scene. Recently, acts like Gold Fields, Twinsy, Mark with the Sea and The Yard Apes have been doing great things. There’s a sadness to that town that I feel is really conducive to creative pursuits… and, um, sadness!” Juan – who is now working on his second solo album, the follow-up to 2013’s delightfully dark Dr Pelican On Holiday! – doesn’t believe The Goodbye Girl is Epicure’s best work. “I feel our best was our last, Postcards From A Ghost. The songwriting is a bit more sophisticated and there’s a darkness and urgency on that record which I like. But listening back to The Goodbye Girl, it really does represent
EPICURE
the best of times for the band. We made it unburdened with expectation and there’s a naivety to the songs, which I think is special. And a lot of people really identified with that album. I think we’re really lucky to have been a part of something like that.” So whatever happened to “the Goodbye Girl” who inspired the title? Did she find a partner and live happily ever after? “You know, I think she did. We’re not in contact, but I hear bits and pieces. I hope so.” BIG BOOTS Ruby Boots has come up with a cracking debut album, Solitude (out 24 April). Put this one next to Mia Dyson – it’s top-notch
alt. country. Ruby is launching the record at Howler on 22 May with Raised By Eagles, whose new album, Diamonds In The Bloodstream, is also a ripper. HIP HIP He’s been part of Australian music for more than 20 years, but he’s just 36. Happy birthday to Daniel Johns (22 April). HOT LINE “I’m in love with an idiot” – Paul Mac featuring Megan Washington, Idiot.
the guide vic.gigguide@themusic.com.au Heart Beach + Ivy St + TV + Tantric Sax: Grace Darling Hotel (Basement), Collingwood
THE MUSIC PRESENTS Australian Jazz Bell Awards: 30 Apr Regent Theatre Peace: 30 Apr, 1 May Ding Dong Lounge Groovin The Moo: 2 May Prince Of Wales Showground Bendigo San Cisco: 22 & 24 May 170 Russell; 23 May The Hi-Fi Ruby Boots: 22 May Howler; 23 May Major Tom’s Kyneton; 24 May The Westernport Hotel San Remo
WED 22
Julian Wilson Quartet: 303, Northcote
Jordie Lane + Rowena Wise: Ararat Live, Ararat The Dirrty Show + The Great Imposter + Jackson Phelan: Bar Open, Fitzroy Curious Tales with DJ Who + Tigerfunk + Tom Showtime: Bimbo Deluxe, Fitzroy
Stayin’ Alive - The Australian Bee Gees Show: Lighthouse Theatre, Warrnambool
Youth Group: 3 Jul Northcote Social Club
Get Lit feat. Various DJs: Lounge, Melbourne Demi Lovato: Melbourne Park (Margaret Court Arena), Melbourne
THU 23
Mondegreen + DJ Sametz + Danika Smith: Bar Open, Fitzroy Songwriter Sessions with Mark ‘Phisha’ Fisher + Marlene Samson + Michael Yule: Bar Oussou, Brunswick Jordie Lane + Rowena Wise: Beav’s Bar, Geelong
Justin Yap Band: Carters Public House, Northcote RJ Wolf DJs: Catfish (Front Bar), Fitzroy Toby Robinson Duo: Charles Weston Hotel (Front Bar), Brunswick Soul in the Basement feat. Chelsea Wilson + DJ Vince Peach + Pierre Baroni: Cherry Bar, Melbourne
Thundamentals + Baro: Karova Lounge, Ballarat
Next feat. Autumn In Alaska + Arkive + Nemoya: Colonial Hotel, Melbourne
Coq Roq Wednesdays with Jens Beamin + Agent 86 + Mr Thom + Various DJs: Lucky Coq, Prahran
The Delta Riggs + Harts + The Pretty Littles: Corner Hotel, Richmond
Guzzler + Swamp Donkey + Agents of Rock: Mr Boogie Man Bar, Abbotsford
GIG OF THE WEEK CHELSEA WILSON: 23 APR CHERRY BAR
Balter Vada: 303, Northcote
No Money, No Problems - Hip Hop Party feat. Arks + Get Busy: Boney, Melbourne
Didirri + Jordan Clay & the Skeleton Band + Mark Joseph: Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy
Smackdown & Locksmith: Laundry Bar, Fitzroy
Jebediah: 19 Jun Corner Hotel
Trivia: Charles Weston Hotel, Brunswick
Beginners Class with Melbourne Ukulele Kollective: Edinburgh Castle Hotel (6pm), Brunswick
Mixology Fridays with Mel Mara: Jardin Tan, South Yarra
sleepmakeswaves: 12 Jun The Hi-Fi
Rugcutters feat. Georgia & the Sentimental Gentlemen: Bella Union, Carlton South
Funeral For A Friend + Vices + Outright + Strickland: Corner Hotel, Richmond
Bonjah + Tash Sultana + Timberwolf: Howler, Brunswick
Ben Howard: 1 Jun Margaret Court Arena
Muddy’s Blues Roulette with Jules Boult: Catfish (Front Bar), Fitzroy
Miss Eileen & King Lear + Black Harrys: Cherry Bar, Melbourne
Skynet + Mechwarrior: Grumpy’s Green, Fitzroy
Supersuckers & The Bellrays: 27 May Barwon Club Geelong; 28 May Karova Lounge Ballarat; 29 May Corner Hotel
Plugged In Thursdays with Hungry & Foolish + Spiral Arm + Kimberley Heberley: Revolver Upstairs, Prahran Elana Stone: Shadow Electric, Abbotsford Sons Of Sun: Spotted Mallard, Brunswick Thundamentals + Baro: Star Bar, Bendigo John Montesante Quintet + Rebecca Mendoza: The Commune, East Melbourne The Love Junkies + Skullcave: The Curtin, Carlton Wayfarer + Darling Gardens: The Drunken Poet, West Melbourne Alex Bowen + Eddie Boyd & The Phatapillars: The Espy (Front Bar), St Kilda Clive Mann + Zoe Kelly: The Fitzroy Pinnacle, Fitzroy North Jemma & The Clifton Hillbillies + Saint Jude + Van Walker: The Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood
Alex Niggemann: New Guernica, Melbourne
FRI 24
The Opiuo Band + JPS + Manchild + Badger + Dub Princess: 170 Russell, Melbourne West African Drum & Dance Party feat. Louis Majiwa + Azonto: 303, Northcote Sanfilippo Awarness Fundraiser feat. Royston Vasie + Century + 1891 + Liam Daly: Bar Open, Fitzroy
Ben Wright Smith: Some Velvet Morning, Clifton Hill
Super Enjoy feat. Various DJs: Boney, Melbourne Julio Bashmore: Brown Alley, Melbourne Slumberjack: Can’t Say, Melbourne Get Serious: Carters Public House, Northcote Beware! Black Holes: Catfish (Front Bar), Fitzroy
DM3 + The Solicitors: The Luwow, Fitzroy
Darkc3ll + Electrik Dynamite + Coffin Carousel: Cherry Bar, Melbourne
The Handsome Bastards: The Post Office Hotel, Coburg
Thundamentals + Baro + Zac Slater: Corner Hotel, Richmond
DJ Knave Knixx: Edinburgh Castle Hotel, Brunswick
Drivetime Commute: The Public Bar, Melbourne
Mojo Juju + The Sugarcanes: Ding Dong Lounge, Melbourne
Open Mic Night with Az: The Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick
Hello? Jambulance Please feat. Areas + Norachi: Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy
Lauda + The Karmens + Soop: The Toff In Town, Melbourne
Mischief: Doncaster Hotel , Manningham
Columbus + Oh Pacific + Have/ Hold: The Workers Club, Fitzroy
Andre + Soda Eaves + Bleach Boys: Eastern Station Hotel, Ballarat East
Pugsley Buzzard: The Fitzroy Pinnacle, Fitzroy North Elliot Friend + Arbes + Duoux: The Public Bar, Melbourne Girl Crazy + Loose Tooth + Gonzo: The Tote (Upstairs), Collingwood Kalacoma + Mayfair Kytes + Constantine Stefanou: The Workers Club, Fitzroy Caroline No: Yarra Hotel, Abbotsford
Colin Hay: Karralyka Centre, Ringwood East Donkey Pitch Takeover feat. Lockah + Ghost Mutt + Grinel + more: Lounge, Melbourne The Good Eggs feat. Various DJs: Lucky Coq, Prahran The Housewreckers + The Girls: Mr Boogie Man Bar, Abbotsford Tkay Maidza + UV Boi + Joy. + Catlips + Problems: Northcote Social Club, Northcote
The Moonee Valley Drifters: Victoria Hotel, Brunswick The Mae Trio + John Flanagan: Wesley Anne, Northcote Stayin’ Alive - The Australian Bee Gees Show: Wesley Performing Arts Centre, Horsham Motherslug + The Dukes of Deliciousness + Zombie Motors Wrecking Yard: Yah Yah’s, Fitzroy Broads + Big Smoke: Yarra Hotel, Abbotsford
S U P P O R T I N G
Albert Salt + Sunbeam Sound Machine + Sportsmen: Rubix The Venue, Brunswick
#Mashtag with Malpractice + Agent 86 + Benzo: Bimbo Deluxe, Fitzroy
Human Face + Oolluu: Spotted Mallard, Brunswick
Koral Chandler + Jayne West: The Drunken Poet, West Melbourne
Local Resident Failure + Bombs Are Falling + Postscript + Daybreak + Columbus: Reverence Hotel (Band Room), Footscray
Nantes: Shebeen Bandroom, Melbourne
Gumbo Club with Pugsley Buzzard: Ding Dong Lounge, Melbourne
Stellafauna + Griya + Luna DeVille: Grace Darling Hotel, Collingwood
Farewell to Mandy Meadows Show: Paris Cat Jazz Club, Melbourne
Superstar: Bella Union, Carlton South
Open Mic Night: Mr Boogie Man Bar, Abbotsford
The Do Ya Thangs: The Curtin (Front Bar), Carlton
Tkay Maidza + UV Boi + Joy. + Catlips + Problems: Northcote Social Club, Northcote
MRSPKR + DJ Thallus: Edinburgh Castle Hotel, Brunswick Fading Hour + Amaronix + High Side Driver + Enlight: Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy Sons Of Sun: The Sam Phillips Story: Flying Saucer Club, Elsternwick Tribute To The ANZACs with Chris Doheny: Fountain Gate Hotel, Narre Warren Colin Hay: Frankston Arts Centre, Frankston
I N D E P E N D E N T
A U S S I E
Kaisha + Dylan Hekimian + A Tribal Mantle: Sooki Lounge, Belgrave La Bastard + The Perfections: Spotted Mallard, Brunswick Big Smoke + The Great Outdoors: The B.East, Brunswick East Eye Of The Enemy + Harlott + Demonhead + Hidden Intent + Espionage: The Bendigo, Collingwood Dead Salesmen + Mark With The Sea: The Bridge Hotel, Castlemaine Pets With Pets + Cuntz + Exek: The Curtin, Carlton The Screamin’ Honkies: The Drunken Poet, West Melbourne Lonefree + Super Saloon + Leopard Slugg: The Espy (Basement), St Kilda Tragic Earth: The Espy (Front Bar), St Kilda Divinyls Reworked feat. Remi + Vaudeville Smash + Tre Samuels + Jade MacRae: The Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood A$AP Ferg + Paper Diamond: The Hi-Fi, Melbourne Stephen Cummings: The Post Office Hotel, Coburg Chainsaw Hookers + Mammoth Mammoth + The Captives + The Hidden Venture: The Public Bar, Melbourne Sleazy Listening with Arks + Richard Kelly + Hysteric + K. Hoop: The Toff In Town (Carriage Room), Melbourne
M U S I C
the guide vic.gigguide@themusic.com.au Monsters of Jangle feat. DM3 + The Stoneage Hearts + Ashley Naylor + Little Murders: The Tote, Collingwood
John Safran: Laundry Bar, Fitzroy
Matt Walker & The Lost Ragas: The Post Office Hotel, Coburg
Eddie Boyd & The Phatapillars + Alex Bowen: The Westernport Hotel, Phillip Island
Hardrive with Various DJs: Little & Olver, Fitzroy Mania feat. Sleep D + Grant Camov + Moopie + Myles Mac: Lounge, Melbourne
Sunday School feat. Fad + Underwater Goya: The Public Bar, Melbourne
Millar Jukes & The Bandits + Left At Moral Junction + Buck Jnr: The Workers Club, Fitzroy Bareback Titty Squad: The Workers Club Geelong, Geelong LQ Reggaeton: Trak Lounge Bar, Toorak Mojo Pin + The Sweets + Reckless June: Victoria Hotel, Brunswick The Ancients: Wesley Anne, Northcote Chris Wilson: Yah Yah’s, Fitzroy Dellacoma + Tequila Mockingbyrd + Memphis Bellz: Yah Yah’s, Fitzroy Empat Lima + The Beegles: Yarra Hotel, Abbotsford
SAT 25
Brass Knuckle Brass Band + The Cactus Channel + Nyash! Afrobeat Collective: Bar Open, Fitzroy Darkc3ll + Spaulding + Mass Rejection: Barwon Club, South Geelong Baker Street with Tuc + Brian Hendrie + Jake Blood + Various DJs: Boney, Melbourne The Woodland Hunters: Catfish (Front Bar), Fitzroy Lieutenant Jam + Naked Bodies + Vision Street: Cherry Bar, Melbourne Thundamentals + Baro + Mistress Of Ceremony: Corner Hotel, Richmond Superfly DJs + DJ Sammy Dred: Daveys Hotel, Frankston Gamer + Dear Plastic + Odious: Ding Dong Lounge, Melbourne Stayin’ Alive - The Australian Bee Gees Show: Drum Theatre, Dandenong La Bastard + Hot Wings: Eastern Station Hotel, Ballarat East AO Launch Night feat. Mow + Mimicry + Huntly + more: Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy
The Tomcats + Hadron Kaleidoscopes + Jaci: Mr Boogie Man Bar, Abbotsford
The Chops + Someone Else’s Wedding Band: The Tote (Front Bar), Collingwood
Northeast Party House + Kagu + IO: Northcote Social Club, Northcote
Alex Bowen + Eddie Boyd & The Phatapillars + Gena Rose Bruce: The Workers Club, Fitzroy
Neon Queen + Diamonds Of Neptune + Sunborne: Penny Black, Brunswick
The Band Who Knew Too Much: Union Hotel, Brunswick
Cisco Caesar: Rainbow Hotel, Fitzroy
Esther Bertram: Victoria Hotel, Brunswick
The Ears + The Transitions + Trauma Boys + Kollaps: Reverence Hotel (Front Bar), Footscray
Jane Cameron + Stepford + Gothum: Wesley Anne, Northcote
The Late Show feat. Ransom + Mat Cant + Paz + Lewis CanCut + more: Revolver Upstairs, Prahran
The Gatwick HighLife + Rhinosonics + The Dead Heir: Yah Yah’s, Fitzroy
MON 27
Bang feat. Psycroptic + Shallow Grave + The Arbiter + Sarspell: Royal Melbourne Hotel, Melbourne Bush Sounds feat. Evil Oil Man + Melt + Various DJs: Rubix The Venue, Brunswick Closure In Moscow: Shebeen Bandroom, Melbourne Loonee Tunes: Sooki Lounge, Belgrave Chris Russell’s Chicken Walk + The Three Kings + Cherrywood + DJ Emma Peel + more: Spotted Mallard, Brunswick Midnight + Bastardizer: The Bendigo, Collingwood The Bridge Hotel Fundraiser: The Bridge Hotel, Castlemaine Black Lung + Bat Nouveau + The Dark Shadows + Sounds Like Winter: The Curtin, Carlton Nicola Milan & The Stray Cat Club: The Drunken Poet, West Melbourne The Power & Rage Festival feat. Black Majesty + Belligerent Intent + Pegazus + Twisted Fate + Intercranial Tremors + Sarfaust + Grudge + Massacre Of Innocence: The Espy (Gershwin Room), St Kilda
Colin Hay: Her Majesty’s Theatre, Ballarat
Axe Girl + Horror My Friend + Battlehounds: The Espy (Front Bar), St Kilda
George Maple + Moon Holiday: Howler, Brunswick
Pheasant Pluckers: The Fitzroy Pinnacle, Fitzroy North
King Wolf + Animal Sharman Blues: Labour In Vain, Fitzroy
Oh Mercy + Pearls + Steve Miller Band: The Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood
backstage
The Re-Launch with Melaluka + The Sons of May + Cheeky Goose: The Toff In Town (8pm), Melbourne
Eddie Boyd & The Phatapillars + Alex Bowen: The Loft, Warrnambool Pitt The Elder: The Old Bar, Fitzroy Zoe K: The Post Office Hotel, Coburg Tully On Tully + The Neighbourhood Youth + Big Winter: The Toff In Town, Melbourne Hard-Ons + Batpiss + Chainsaw Hookers + Flour: The Tote, Collingwood
B3 Breakout: 303, Northcote Crimsonettes + Luna Ghost + The Citradels + Toyota War: Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy
JORDIE LANE: 23 APR BEAV’S BAR GEELONG Hana Maru + Left At Moral Junction + Buck Jr: The Workers Club, Fitzroy
Zevon & The Werewolves of Melbourne: Labour In Vain, Fitzroy
The Native Plants: Union Hotel, Brunswick
Colin Hay: Lighthouse Theatre, Warrnambool
The Moonee Valley Drifters: Victoria Hotel, Brunswick
Ken Maher, Al Wright & Tony Hargreaves: Lomond Hotel, Brunswick East
Montaigne + Banff: Wesley Anne, Northcote Two Headed Dog + Contagent + Elbrus + Happy Bo Blues: Yah Yah’s, Fitzroy
SUN 26
The Here Heres: 303, Northcote Plural + Holyoake + Jurassic Nark + Apocolipstick: Bar Open, Fitzroy Sounds of Songlines feat. Brett Lee + Monica Weightman + DJ Sadge: Bella Union, Carlton South Sunday Songwriters feat. Mitchell A Power + Neeko + Nick Evangelou + Acousticky Situation + more: Carters Public House, Northcote The Sensational Hurricanes: Catfish (Front Bar), Fitzroy The Workinghorse Irons + The Ugly Kings + Two Headed Dog: Cherry Bar, Melbourne Thundamentals + Baro + Ivan Ooze: Corner Hotel, Richmond These Machines Cut Razor Wire 2015 feat. Jeff Lang + Kavisha Mazzella + Les Thomas + Little Foot: Ding Dong Lounge, Melbourne The JonesyBoyz + David Fuller Duo: Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy Jimi Hendrix - Axis: Bold As Love presents Shannon Bourne: Flying Saucer Club, Elsternwick
S U P P O R T I N G
Wax On, Wax Off Vinyl Record Party: Lucky Coq, Prahran The New Melbourne Jazz Band: Monash Hotel, Clayton
Monday Night Mass feat. Kim Salmon + The Pale Heads + Motel Love: Northcote Social Club, Northcote Paul WIlliamson’s Hammond Combo: Rainbow Hotel, Fitzroy The Daryl McKenzie Jazz Orchestra + Nilusha Dassenaike: The Apartment, Melbourne Rock & Pop Culture Trivia with Jess McGuire & George H: The Gasometer Hotel (Front Bar), Collingwood Trans Sky + Bayou + Summer Blokes: The Old Bar, Fitzroy
TUE 28
City Sharps + New Age: Mr Boogie Man Bar, Abbotsford Jules Boult + Friends: Rainbow Hotel, Fitzroy
Smiling Politely: Comedy Open Mic: 303, Northcote
Charlie Marshall: Retreat Hotel (Front Bar), Brunswick
Twerkshop Melbourne: Boney, Melbourne
The Revenants + Marigold + Jay Wars: Reverence Hotel (Front Bar), Footscray
Axe Girl + Blind Munkee: Cherry Bar, Melbourne
Aintree Sweet: Royal Oak Hotel, Fitzroy North
AO - Electronic Music Night feat. Mow + Mimicry: Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy
Brarsey Sundays feat. Funk Buddies: Spotted Mallard, Brunswick
The Old Married Couple + Duncan Graham: Open Studio, Northcote
Kim Salmon: The Bridge Hotel, Castlemaine
Yvette Johansson: The Commune, East Melbourne
Swim Season + Bad Pony + The Neighbourhood Youth + Ursine: The Curtin, Carlton
We Are But Citizens + Chris Watts + Brendan Forward: The Public Bar, Melbourne
The Bonafide Travellers + The Old Married Couple + Kate Who: The Drunken Poet, West Melbourne
Winter Moon + Spiral Arm: The Toff In Town, Melbourne
Big Fat Skank: The Fitzroy Pinnacle, Fitzroy North 1st Birthday Party with Whiskey Houston + Benny & The Jess: The Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood
Noah Earp + Robert Muinos + Gretta Ray: The Workers Club, Fitzroy Sinful Pleasures (Burlesque): Wesley Anne, Northcote Victoriana Gaye: Yarra Hotel, Abbotsford
East Brunswick All Girls Choir + BJ Morriszonkle + The Shadowcasters: The Old Bar, Fitzroy
I N D E P E N D E N T
A U S S I E
M U S I C
48 • THE MUSIC • 22ND APRIL 2015