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THE JEZABELS
STONEFIELD
TOM E. LEWIS
JONI IN THE MOON
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LOCAL NEWS
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GLOBAL NEWS
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
COSBROS SPEED FREAKS Artsy Euro chicks and electroclash pioneers, Chicks On Speed, will be bringing their block-coloured electronic beats to the Fremantle Arts Centre on Saturday, April 5. Promoting their new album, UTOPIA, featuring the likes of Julian Assange, Yoko Ono and Peter Weibel, the band will also be accompanied by electro-drummer Erica Lewis. Make sure you head on down to check out their Munich-made music. Tickets are just $38.30 from Oztix.com.au.
On Friday, February 14, Metropolis Fremantle will be taking Valentines Day from the lovers and giving it back to the most important people in our lives: our bros. Bros Before Hoes will feature the original bros, Sydney-based DJ twins, Cosmo’s Midnight and local bros, Death Disco. Entry is two-for-one and a measly $10, so grab your bro (or bro-ette) and celebrate the platonic feels the way the great philosopher intended, with thunderous Australian electronica. Tickets available at the door.
MONSTER MASH For lovers of long hair, leather and LSD, New Jersey psychadelic rock quintet, Monster Magnet are coming to Amplifier on Thursday, April 3. They’re on tour promoting their latest release, Last Patrol, a ‘60s garage set to the theme of a Barbarella-style story of sexual space conquest. Standard tickets will set you back just over $73.45, with a VIP meet and greet costing closer to $175.45. Tickets are on sale now, so start airing those leather jackets and dishevelling those wizard beards early. Monster Magnet
Cosmo’s Midnight
Chicks On Speed
TIDES FROM STILLWATER
FLYRITE FOR THE FIRES
Are you misunderstood by your peers? Does your vintage clothing collection take up too much of your coffee money? Well you’ll be pleased to hear there’s a tour for you! 123 Agency’s Mi Casa Su Casa tour features indie chiefs Stillwater Giants, Pierce Brothers, Tales In Space and a cavalcade of other acts playing three dates throughout WA. The west coast leg starts on Thursday, March 20, at the Prince of Wales, Bunbury, then moves to Amplifier on Saturday, March 22, and finally to the Newport on Sunday, March 23. Tickets are on sale from Oztix.com.au.
For those looking to lend a helping hand to victims of the recent bushfires, the Flyrite Nightclub is holding Pay It Forward, a $5 fundraising event for the victims. The idea is to invite three friends, who will in turn invite three, in the hopes of getting a large crowd to alleviate some of the financial burdens the victims are having at this time. Entertainment for the night will feature Lo And Behold, L-Street, Zara Huts, Nat & Rae, and Marksman. The event starts at 8pm and tickets are available at the door.
Stillwater Giants
Pay It Forward, a Bushfire Benefit
DUX GUTS This Sunday, February 9, sees WAMi-winning guitarist, Luke Dux showcase his grainy delta blues-inspired solo works at the Swanbrook Winery, as part of its Sundown Sessions. Also playing are Project Mayhem guitarist, Jozef Grech, and solo acoustic artist, Amanda Merdzan. If you can’t make it, the next Sunday, February 16, sees Todd Pickett, Tim Gordon and Ellen Osterbaan playing the Swanbrook vintage markets, with music from 2pm, so make sure you catch one of the shows. Entry is free.
Living guitar legend, Jeff Beck, is coming down under to play at the Perth Concert Hall on Thursday, April 24. Guitarist of The Yardbirds and an all ‘round iconic figure in rock history, Jeff Beck will be churning out an almost 50-year back-catalogue of blues rock. Tickets are available from 9am Friday, February 7, from livenation.com.au.
Luke Dux
Jeff Beck
JEFF’S JAMS
SONS AND LOVERS TV fans will be drooling to get tickets to an evening with the Sons Of Anarchy cast. The Q&A panel discussion will feature actors Kim Coates, Theo Rossi and Mark Boone Junior, who play Tig, Juice and Bobby respectively. The personal meet and greet tickets have already been exhausted, but general tickets are still available through Oztix.com.au for just under $70. If an evening with tattooed, beardy men sounds like your ideal night out, make sure you head to Metropolis Fremantle on Sunday, March 30.
PANICS ON THE STREETS OF PERTH
MANU FOR YOU
ARIA winners and Perth quintet of crooning indie rockers, The Panics are coming home to play the Chevron Gardens Festival on Saturday, February 8. This extra date replaces Dee Dee Bridgewater and offers an opportunity for fans that missed out on tickets for the band’s Girt By Sea performance as part of COAST to the catch them. Tickets available through Perthfestival. com.au for $25. Make sure you get them fast though, before this one sells out too.
Fans of Masterchef, My Kitchen Rules or any one of the four billion cooking shows on television at the moment should refrain from succumbing to paroxysms of ecstasy in front of friends and family upon reading that Manu Fiedel and Stephanie Alexander are set to provide food and cooking demonstrations at this year’s Argyle Diamonds Ord Valley Muster on Wednesday-Thursday, May 21-22. Alexander will be kicking things off a little earlier at the Moon Fair on Sunday, May 18, alongside Don Hancey. Tickets are available from Ticketmaster. com.au.
The Panics
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PRINT AND DIGITAL EDITIONS PUBLISHER/MANAGER Joe Cipriani
EDITORIAL - 9213 2888 MANAGING EDITOR Bob Gordon: editor@xpressmag.com.au FEATURES & DANCE MUSIC EDITOR Rachel Davison: featuresed@xpressmag.com.au LOCAL MUSIC & ARTS EDITOR Travis Johnson: localmusicarts@xpressmag.com.au GIG & EVENT GUIDES CO-ORDINATOR guide@xpressmag.com.au COMPETITIONS win@xpressmag.com.au For band gigs and launches - plugyourgig@xpressmag.com.au PHOTOGRAPHY Rachael Barrett, Stefan Caramia, Guang-Hui Chuan, Daniel Craig, Brandon D’Silva, Max Fairclough, Daniel Grant, Sammy Granville, Matt Jelonek, Emma Mackenzie, Callum Ponton, Denis Radacic, Bohdan Warchomij, Michael Wylie CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Leah Blankendaal, Nina Bertok, Lucas Bowers, Aaron Bryans, Joe Cassidy, Hayley Davis, Chris Gibbs, Alfred Gorman, Shaun Cowe, Predrag Delibasich, Jayde Ferguson, George Green, Alex Griffin, James Hanlon, Chris Havercroft, Joshua Hayes, Brendan Holben, Coral Huckstep, Ellie Hutchinson, Rezo Kezerashvili, Tom Kitson, Clayton Lin, Charlie Lewis, Daisy Lythe, Andrew Nelson, David O’Connell, Shane Pinnegar, Nick Sweepah, Jessica Willoughby
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PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT - 9213 2854 CONTENT COORDINATOR Anthony Jackson - production@xpressmag.com.au ART DIRECTOR Dwight O’Neil DESIGN + PRODUCTION Andy Quilty, Anthony Jackson, Kasia Mazurkiewicz
THEATRE: ROCKY HORROR SHOW Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show arrives at the Crown Theatre from Friday, February 14, starring Craig McLachlan as Frank N Furter. It’s the 40th anniversary of the musical, which originally opened in London in 1973 and developed a cult following with now classic tunes like Sweet Transvestite, Dammit Janet, I Can Make You A Man and of course, The Time Warp. Tickets are on sale from Ticketek, but to win a double pass to the show on Sunday, February 16 at 5pm, post a pic of yourself on our Facebook (facebook.com/ XPressMagazine) or tag us on Instagram (xpressmag) - with you dressed in a Rocky Horror outfit you’ll be wearing on show night. The best dressed wins. Now go!
FILM: DALLAS BUYERS CLUB Everyone is already raving about Matthew McConaughey in The Dallas Buyers Club - a real life drama from Canadian director Jean-Marc Vallee. The film centres on Ron Woodroof, a Texas electrician diagnosed with AIDS who smuggles alternative drugs into the US to help himself and others. His actions put him on a collision course with authorities who want to keep the drugs out of the country. It opens in cinemas on February 13 and to win a double in-season pass, email: win@xpressmag.com.au.
FILM: LIVE IN THE AMPHITHEATRE The City of Wanneroo is putting on a free fourweek outdoor cinema program at the Jacaranda Amphitheatre at the Wanneroo Civic Centre and on Friday, February 7, you can revisit the 2012 American super hero film, The Avengers - where Nick Fury and his team use their powers to save the world from disaster. Check out the program at wanneroo.wa.gov. au and reserve your tickets (even though it’s free you need to book), but to win a VIP package for two people, including a prime spot, picnic blanket and X-Press prize pack, email: win@xpressmag.com.au.
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CIRCUS: CAROUSEL & CLOTHESLINE
ADVERTISING DEADLINES Cancellations: Monday 5pm, Ads to be set: Monday Noon Supplied Bookings / Copy: Tuesday 12 Noon, Classifieds: Monday 4pm
As part of Fringe World, Montreal travelling circus, Vague de Cirque presents Carousel & Clothesline - a troupe of eight talented and original acrobats who’ll thrill you with a carnival akin to the bygone days of big tops, death-defying acts, aerial acrobats, trapeze, tightrope, contortion, gymnastics, magic tricks and more. It’s happening in the Big Top in the Pleasure Garden at Russell Square from February 5-8 at 11.45pm. To win a double pass to the show, email: win@xpressmag.com.au, letting us know which show you’d like to attend.
Published by: Columbia Press Pty.Ltd. A.C.N. 066 570 803 Registered by Australia Post. Publication No PP600110.00006 Suite 55/102 Railway Street, City West Business Centre, West Perth, WA 6005 Locked Bag 31, West Perth, WA 6872 Phone: (08) 9213 2888 Fax: (08) 9213 2882 Website: http://www.xpressmag.com.au WARRANTY AND INDEMNITY Advertisers and/or their agents by lodging an advertisment shall indemnify the publisher, and its agents, against all liability claims or proceedings whatsoever arising from the publication. Advertisers and/or their representatives indemnify the publisher in relation to defamation, slander, breach of copyright, infringement of trademarks of name of publication titles, unfair competition or trade practices, royalties or violation of rights or privacy and warrant that the material complies with revelant laws and regulations and that its publication will not give rise to any rights against or liabilities in the publisher, its servants or agents. Any material supplied to X-Press is at the contributor’s risk.
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DVD: THE RETURNED The French (with English subtitles) eight-part series, The Returned is stylish supernatural drama set in a small Alpine village. In the shadow of a vast dam, a crowd of men and women find themselves in a state of confusion, trying to return to their homes. What they don’t know yet is that they have been dead for several years. As those returning from beyond try to reclaim their place amongst the living, it seems they’re not the only ones to return from the dead. To win a copy of the film on DVD, email: win@ xpressmag.com.au.
CABARET: ETHEL HAS A PIANIST Mix 94.5 and Triple M’s polyester clad battleaxe, Ethel Chop is starring in her own singing, storytelling, cabaret extravaganza as part of Fringe World. With musical accompaniment from Neville O’Grady, Ethel charms her way through a jam packed variety hour featuring tales and tunes including Madonna’s Vogue and some fabulous ‘80s hits. Ethel Has A Pianist runs from February 14-16 in the Circus Theatre, Perth Cultural Centre, but to win a double pass to the show, email: win@xpressmag.com.au.
FILM: LABOR DAY February 13 sees the release of the Jason Reitman film, Labor Day starring Kate Winslet, Josh Brolin, Gattlin Griffith and Tobey Maguire. It’s a narrative about a 13-year-old boy, Henry Wheeler, who struggles to be the man of his house and care for his reclusive mother, Adele. Out on a shopping trip they meet Frank Chambers, who convinces them to take him into their home and later is revealed to be an escaped convict. Read a review of the film on page 20 and to win a double in-season pass, email: win@ xpressmag.com.au.
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COMEDY: IDENTITY CRISIS Paul McCarthy of the sketch comedy shows Comedy Inc and Wednesday Night Fever is so good at impersonations his mum doesn’t know who he is half the time. In his show Identity Crisis as part of Fringe World, McCarthy steps out from behind his many personas to reveal how pretending to be other people, helped him find out who he really is. It runs from February 10-13 in the Circus Theatre, Perth Cultural Centre, but to win a double pass to the opening night on Monday, February 10 - email: win@xpressmag.com.au.
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FLESH
NEWS - INTERVIEWS - REVIEWS - CONTENTS
THE COMEDY COACH Tales From The Streets
ROCKSTAR TREATMENT
BLASKO AT THE SCARBO Hold onto your hats, homies. Sundown Sessions has just announced a whole host of artists for the Scarborough Beach Amphitheatre on Friday, February 21. Missy Higgins will be joined by Sarah Blasko and Jae Laffer of The Panics. The event runs from 5-10pm and includes a full hawker’s market for your perusing pleasure. With general admission tickets sold out, second release tickets have just become available for $76 (plus booking fee) from oztix.com.au and Mills Records. For more details, head to sundownsessions. com.au.
Joel Creasey, who did a wry prance over the Rubicon of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival to support Joan Rivers in New York, is coming to Perth on Friday, June 27. The comedic boy toy of cackling big apple cougars will be hitting up the Astor Theatre for his Rock God tour, an anecdotal journey of meeting celebrities and growing up in rural Australia. Tickets are available from Showticketing.com.au. Joel Creasey
Sarah Blasko
JONNY JAMMING Dakota-based genre-spanning vocalist, Jonny Craig is set to play the Amplifier on Wednesday, May 14, and an all-ages show at HQ, Leederville on Thursday, May 14. Touring across Australia with a full band, in preparation for the release of his sophomore album, due mid-2014, the shows will be a sneak peak at some of the soon-to-be-released tracks. Tickets are available from Oztix.com.au and are expected to sell out, so get in quick.
Described as “a fabulous comedy tour on a bus through the city streets of Perth and Northbridge revealing the secrets, scandals, hearsay, real life stories and fun facts from past and present,” The Comedy Coach is hosted by the Famous Sharron and driven by Monique Boucher, both of whom give the lowdown to BOB GORDON. Was it hard getting the Famous Sharron on board for this given she is so fabulous, busy and popular? Monique Boucher: To be honest, it was created with Famous Sharron in mind and it was a matter of convincing her people to make sure that she was available due to her busy celebrity schedule... flying out to New Zealand straight after the shows. She saw it as her right to give back to the good people of Perth who helped her reach the status worldwide that she has now. Famous Sharron: Also, the tour starts and ends at a bar. So that helped. What are the sites that you will be stopping by along the way? MB: Without giving it all away, Famous Sharron will be exposing the dirty secrets of Northbridge, considered the wrong side of the tracks for so long. She delves into the times of gambling houses, legal prostitution and opium dens. She talks about Temperance Societies hell bent on the prohibition and abstinence of alcohol in Northbridge, by opening up coffee houses. The Comedy Coach heads into civilised Perth, it would seem, to unveil the real life stories of ye olden days when the convicts help build the
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Tickets for the Comedy Coach are still available for Thursday-Friday, February 20-21, via fringeworld. com.au. Shows are selling out so get in fast. Famous Sharron and Monique Boucher, Comedy Coach
Joe Camilleri
FORMIDABLE FESTIVAL FUN
Glen Hansard
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How would you describe this ride in general? FS: Much better than public transport, less stressful than driving and more glamour than the bell tower... although that’s not hard is it?
BACK TO BLACK
With Eddie Vedder set to play his acoustic sets at the Riverside Theatre on Friday-Saturday, February 7-8, itinerant Irish minstrel, Glen Hansard has been confirmed as support. The last time Hansard toured these shores he performed to sold-out crowds across the country. Tickets for both dates have long since sold out, but if you’re going, now you know that there’s an extra treat in store.
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Does Sharron take some liberties with historical facts at all? MB: Famous Sharron does what Famous Sharron does. FS: Like any good gossip guru there may be a bit of feathering or glittering of stories but they’re all based on real things that Shaz has heard about! MB: The facts are bubbling under the surface and pop up just at the opportune moment. So yes, mostly fact, with some Shazza pizazz!
Iconic Australian band, Joe Camilleri & The Black Sorrows are coming to Perth to play the Friends Restaurant on Thursday, February 20, the Ravenswood Hotel on Friday, February 21, and the Mundaring Weir Hotel on Saturday, February 22. The first two shows have already sold out though, so make sure you get your tickets from the Mundaring Weir website as quickly as possible. The group is set to release its 17th studio album, Certified Blue in April, so the performances will be a chance to have a sneaky peak at some of the yet-to-be-released tracks. Tickets are $10.
Jonny Craig
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settlement and the tales of the goldrush abound. The bus route takes in Perth’s iconic buildings and artworks of old and new. Famous Sharron exposes many stories including the murder on the dance floor at Government House by a jilted lover and the awful name Governor James Stirling wanted to call Perth before his mind was changed.
News Win Flesh Music John Butler Trio Band Of Horses / Julia Holter The Jezabels Stonefield / The Hollies Abbe May / Ash Grunwald New Noise Eye4 Cover: Bex Chilcott The Broken Circle Breakdown Last Vegas The Shadow King Urban Central Arts Listings Salt Cover: Mount Kimbie News / Producer’s Cut / Salt Nights Out Jackie Onassis / Paul van Dyk Club Manual Rewind: Born Electric Scene Big Day Out Local Scene Tour Tour Trails Gig Guide Volume
DZ Deathrays FRONT COVER: John Butler Trio’s new album, Flesh & Blood is out this Friday. SALT COVER: Mount Kimbie plays a sold-out Laneway Festival this Saturday, February 8 at Esplanade Park and West End, Fremantle.
Formidable Vegetable Sound System will be pulling out a plethora of permaculture electroswing tunes for this year’s Nukara Music Festival in Geraldton on Saturday, March 15. Having played other high-profile music festivals such as Glastonbury, Shambhala, Symbiosis and Woodford Folk Festival, they’re not to be missed. Playing alongside Charlie McGee and his oddball troupe will be a host of acts, including Mama Kin and Morgan Bain. Tickets are available from Greentix.com.au. Formidable Vegetable Sound System
JURASSIC PARKERS In one of the best news pieces featuring the word ‘Jurassic’ since a curmudgeonly Sam Neill first discovered his love for blonde, khakis-wearing palaeontologists, American hip hop act, Jurassic 5 have returned from their six-year hiatus to spin their classic tunes at Metro City on Friday, March 14. Supported by a menagerie of local artists Arms In Motion, The Stoops, Karl Blue and Angry Buddha, the event is set to be a must-see for Perth’s die-hard hip hop fans. Tickets are $91.80 from Oztix.com.au.
THE LITTLE ENGINES THAT COULD Melbourne rock trio, Calling All Cars are set to play three dates in WA as part of their Raise The People tour. The distortion-laden tunes will be belted out at the Amplifier on Friday, March 21, before moving to the Prince of Wales, Bunbury on Saturday, March 22, and finally the Indi Bar on Sunday, March 23. Playing alongside the dapper youths will be The Love Junkies and The Sinking Teeth. Tickets available from Oztix.com.au. Calling All Cars
Jurassic 5
A STICKY SITUATION
MORE MOO
Valentines Day, which is next Friday, February 14, is all about threesomes at the Rosemount Hotel. Three local acts, Sunshine Brothers, Grace Barbé and The Weapon Is Sound will be playing alongside three lovely lady DJs, Jo Lettenmaier, Maria Mendes and DJ Mama Cass, in an event that’s set to rock your socks off and make you question normative relationship structures. Tickets $10 at the door.
Ahead of an inevitably debaucherous European tour, Sticky Fingers will be heading down south as part of their Gold Snafu jaunt. With their frontman arrested at Rottnest last year due to his onstage antics, the show is guaranteed to be full of frenzied rocking out. Playing Bunbury’s Prince of Wales Hotel on Thursday, March 6, followed by The White Star in Albany on Friday, March 7, and Settler’s Tavern in Margaret River on Saturday, March 8, tickets are available at the door or through Stickytickets.com.au.
It’s back! Groovin The Moo rolls into Hay Park in Bunbury on Saturday, May 10. Check out Action Bronson (USA), Andy Bull, Architecture In Helsinki, Cults (USA), Disclosure (UK), Dizzee Rascal (UK), Holy F**k (CAN), Illy, The Jezabels, The Jungle Giants, Karnivool, Kingswood, The Kite String Tangle, Loon Lake, The Naked And Famous (NZ), Parkway Drive, Peking DUK, The Presets, Robert Delong (USA), Thundamentals, Vance Joy, Violent Soho, Wave Racer and What So Not. Tickets are $99.90 (plus booking fee) and on sale now, via gtm.net.au or moshtix.com.au.
Grace Barbe
Sticky Fingers
Disclosure, headed to Groovin The Moo
MENAGE A TROIS?
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THE JEZABELS On The Brink The Jezabels have just released their second album, The Brink, and have returned to Australia as part of the Laneway Festival which hits Fremantle this Saturday, February 8. CHRIS MARTIN reports. It’s only been a few short years since The Jezabels broke out of Sydney University and onto the biggest stages in the country, but plenty has changed along the way. Up first was their debut EP, The Man Is Dead, in 2009; after it came two more short collections and a full-length album, 2011’s Prisoner. By then, the four-piece was already accelerating to the top of the Australian music pile. Even at that point, though, there was something slightly off-kilter about The Jezabels. Hayley Mary’s tomboy-cut hair and dark, tortured demeanour was a little too challenging to be considered ‘pop’. The rhythm-and-melody storm concocted by Sam Lockwood, keyboardist Heather Shannon and drummer Nik Kaloper was a little too aggressive for the singles charts. After a year abroad, The Jezabels have now returned with a second LP, The Brink, and this time it feels like the pop music marketplace might be ready for them. Or perhaps it’s just that bands like The Jezabels are – at last – comfortable making pop music again. “Pop is not a dirty word anymore,” says Lockwood, speaking back home in Sydney. “I think it’s a very popular thing. In the way that hip hop’s pop now, or electro – it’s also frustrating, but I don’t think you can get away with being a rock star-ish rock band anymore, like Jet or something like that. “It’s confusing for us because we’ve always been a band with two sides to us – there is that more alternate, introspective album content on our albums, and there’s also the big pop songs as well. It’s actually quite hard for us, because bands maybe misunderstand who we are because we are quite diverse with what we do, but I have no problem with it. Just being a songwriter, I think pop music is the most challenging kind of music to write, really, because you’re working with small tools and you have to build something really big… not small tools, but well-used tools, and
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do something unique and interesting. We really love the challenge.” The evidence is all over the foursome’s new album, recorded during eight months in London with producer Dan Grech-Marguerat. There’s lead single, The End, characterised by a typically moody Hayley Mary lyric, yet introduced with the most uplifting eight bars of guitar, drums and keys in The Jezabels’ entire catalogue. Or Look Of Love, driven by discoworthy synth loops and strings. In many parts, it’s the influence of Grech-Marguerat, who’s worked in the past with Moby, Scissor Sisters and Lana Del Rey. Here comes that pop again. “There’s a conceptual arc to the album where it starts really dark and ends up really nice,” explains Lockwood. “Musically, I think it’s not as dark as Prisoner, but lyrically, I think Hayley – she went to some dark places. There is some tension at the start but then it resolves at the end. It makes you walk away happier than you started.” Living and working in the south of England exposed the band to a range of new music, in and out of the pop sphere – not that they ever planned to uproot completely. “It was sort of always temporary in London,” says the Byron Bay-raised Lockwood. “I
could never really see myself living there because it’s quite a tough place to live, being a country boy, but it was a really good year.
“Pop is not a dirty word anymore. I think it’s a very popular thing. In the way that hip hop’s pop now, or electro – it’s also frustrating, but I don’t think you can get away with being a rock star-ish rock band anymore, like Jet or something like that.” “I think the biggest thing about London that makes it different is it has such a great Caribbean influence, which is I think the biggest discernible difference between, say, a Sydney scene and London. It started with ska and now it’s turned into grime and dubstep and dancehall – it’s a very particular sound to London. “It’s just nice to be immersed in a different sort of culture, to feel like there’s a bigger world out there. It gives you that impetus to really challenge
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yourself and to try different things … it’s not like we’re suddenly making dancehall; it’s more that when you’re in an area that’s not your normal environment, it makes you really value-add a little bit. So we certainly had a bit of that with this album and it was cool. You can hear we’ve grown a bit.” Much of that growth, says Lockwood, is down to the fact The Jezabels entered the studio having prepared their songs in advance. “With Prisoner, we’re so proud and happy with that album, it sounds so beautiful and everything, but it was really difficult to play those songs live. We struggled so much. And with this album, we intentionally wanted to already be able to play them, so we had to work a lot harder before we went into the studio. It also meant being in the studio was a lot easier because we knew what we were doing.” So the ‘difficult second album’ cliché doesn’t quite apply? “Well, it kind of does, but when we were starting out we didn’t jump into an album straight away. I think Prisoner was our difficult second album, in a way. If you look at our songs, we did 15 songs on the EPs and then another 13 on the first album, and then this is sort of our third album. So we didn’t have those second album blues, I don’t think.”
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JOHN BUTLER Grandmaster Flesh Enjoying enormous success with their new album, Flesh & Blood, The John Butler Trio will play the Fremantle Arts Centre on Thursday, March 27; Belvoir Amphitheatre on Friday, March 28, and Busselton’s Old Broadwater Farm on Saturday, March 29. TRAVIS JOHNSON gets to the meat of the matter. Let’s talk about that album title, first off. Flesh & Blood - it’s short, sharp and evocative, but it doesn’t exactly gel with Fremantle icon John Butler’s more granola-flavoured image, does it? “It’s a lyric, the ever-amiable Butler tells us. “A bit of a lyric from a song called Blame It On Me, but it just seemed to roll off the tongue nicely and it just seemed to reflect the landscape I was traversing, you know? There was a lot of intimate and kind of deeper, more fragile and vulnerable subjects that I was exploring and it seemed to really work - it seemed to really make sense to the album. The album is really strong and feely and human and I think Flesh & Blood kind of reflects that.” Having headed up his eponymous trio for some 15 years, Butler is no slouch in the songwriting department, but he is very aware of the way that talent has grown and been shaped over the years, with this latest offering being perhaps his most introspective work yet. “Oh, yeah!” he agrees readily. “I mean, parts of it are very outward-looking as well, but it’s dealing with a kind of deeper subject matter that I haven’t traversed as of yet. It’s just all about the human condition, really.” Comparing his current style to earlier efforts, Butler contends that he has a firmer grasp of metaphor and allegory now than he did in previous years (although fans of the smash hit, Zebra, might say he’s had a strong handle on it all along). “I think that when I first started songwriting it was very literal, very heart on the sleeve, very ‘I feel this way because of this,’ and now I can write a story about exploring an emotion. I don’t have to just explore my emotions, which can be limited by my experience. I can explore a lifetime’s worth of different individuals’ stories and then put them all into one person. I enjoy it and I find that I’m able to explore more territory that way. “Like in Young And Wild and Bullet Girl,” he says, pulling two examples from Flesh & Blood. “I was able to write about a junkie couple and go in really deep - they O.D. and they get revived and one revives the other and they have a deep history and now they don’t see each other any more. I mean, I didn’t experience that first-hand. I think I’ve
STONEFIELD The Real Deal Victorian rockers, Stonefield, are back in WA for shows kicking off on Thursday, February 13, at the Prince Of Wales, Bunbury; Friday, February 14, at Clancy’s Dunsborough, and Saturday, February 15, at Capitol. SHANE PINNEGAR catches up with singer/drummer and eldest sibling in the all-sister band, Amy Findlay. Perth plays an important part in the Stonefield story, with their first visit in 2010 for the One Movement Festival resulting in a spot on the bill at legendary UK music festival Glastonbury. Drummer Amy Findlay says the experience was special for her and sisters Hannah, Sarah and Holly. “It was amazing. Playing at Glastonbury was also surreal and crazy. We had a really good response, and the crowd was really warming.” The sisters are looking forward to making the trek west again. “Definitely. We always like coming over to WA,” she says enthusiastically, “unfortunately it’s not quite as easy - it’s a bit more of a distance, it’s a bit more expensive and stuff, but we always love it when we do come over and we always have a really good show.” The band have been surging forward for the past four years, but it’s in the last 12 months that things have really taken off, with the release of their debut self-titled album, a surging, riff-laden beast that comes 14
“I think that when I first started songwriting it was very literal, very heart on the sleeve, very ‘I feel this way because of this,’ and now I can write a story about exploring an emotion. I don’t have to just explore my emotions, which can be limited by my experience. I can explore a lifetime’s worth of different individuals’ stories and then put them all into one person. I enjoy it and I find that I’m able to explore more territory that way.” orbited around those circles and different circles of addiction and extremity, but that’s not necessarily my experience, my first-hand experience. I’m able to magpie and bowerbird my songs in that way and kind of explore more territory and travel more distance and I enjoy it.” Some songs are more directly personal, of course. “For a song like Wings Are Wide - that’s about my grandmother passing away - rather than writing, ‘Oh, you were the matriarch of my family and you gave me my grandfather’s slide guitar and I love you but since you’ve been gone it’s not the same,’ I’m gonna write a song from her point of view, going to meet her husband that she hasn’t seen in 50 years that was more interesting. “Finding different ways to write about stuff that are fleshier, that are more textual - you can smell it and feel it and see it rather than just going, ‘Oh, he’s saying A plus B and that equals C.’ As a writer, that gets boring after a while.” It might be as simple as learning to write in the third person as opposed to the first, a suggestion that elicits a bark of laughter from Butler. “John Butler agrees with that! John Butler definitely agrees with that!” As always, Butler works hard to maintain
from the blues, but reverberates with psych-rock and even gospel touches. Findlay is justifiably proud of the opus. “It kind of just makes you feel like you’re the real deal, getting a full album out there,” she says. “I dunno... we just feel really accomplished, and it was a big learning curve for us. We learned so much about being in the studio and production stuff and songwriting and everything.” Raised in Darraweit Guim, rural Victoria, the sisters just happened to all pick up different instruments that made up a band. Findlay laughs out loud at the memory. “Yeah, it does kind of seem a bit funny when I do actually stop and think about it - but it’s normal to us. We don’t really think about that too much. It just kind of happened, it wasn’t really planned.” One of the album standouts is lead single Put Your Curse On Me, which features a full gospel choir on backing vocals. It’s a vocal tour de force and, given the lyrics, one that transforms the song into a seductively grinding voodoo anthem straight out of New Orleans. Findlay says that when they started recording, the choir wasn’t earmarked for that tune. “We knew that we wanted to use a gospel choir on some songs,” she declares, “but we hadn’t really worked out which songs it would be best suited for. Our producer suggested that song, and we really liked the idea of it being not your typical song that you would use it on. That’s probably one of my favourite sounds in the world, a gospel choir. It was really, really cool to have those guys working with us.” Last month Stonefield released a video clip for new single, Love You Deserve. Shot in a paddock, it features two cars playing a dangerous game of chicken. Findlay says the clip was “really, really fun to make, and we’ve been telling everyone that we did the stunt driving,” she laughs, mischievously. “I’m just going to say, ‘Yes we did’.”
a balanced approach to his life. Not for him the tortured slaving away of the driven artiste - he’s got too much on his plate on a day to day basis. “Amongst being a dad and being a husband and a friend and a skateboarder and someone who needs to eat and sleep and be a friend to people and take out the garbage, I also write songs and I paint and I make knives and I do all these different things. I write songs amongst all that and, at the end of a few years, I have a collection of them. “Now, not all of these songs stick. Some of the songs that I think are going to be among the strongest on the album, some of the ones that are the most finished, won’t make it to the album - it’s the songs that are half-finished that actually have
more of a life. These wild little creatures that live out in the wilderness all want the saddle put on and the reins put on a certain way. Some are willing to come out of the wilderness and come to life, so to speak, and others want to stay out there and spend a bit longer and maybe never come out. “Some of these things, you drag them in out of the ether before they’re ready and by the time you’ve got them on paper, you’ve broken the spirit of that little beast and it’s crap! So you’ve got to bring them in out of the wilderness and get the reins and the saddle on without breaking the spirit, otherwise it’s not inspirational.” Told you he a handle on metaphor.
THE HOLLIES
The Hollies have remained one of Britain’s best loved groups in no small part to their soaring, distinctive harmonies, brilliantly crafted songs, and often experimental musicianship and arrangements. It doesn’t hurt one bit that they have a cupboard-load of hits (Jennifer Eccles, Look Through Any Window, Bus Stop, Just One Look, Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress, He Ain’t Heavy He’s My Brother, The Air That I Breathe) that they can draw from, ensuring that each show is full of memories and good times. “We play the hits because that is what people come along for, but over the past five years we have added a few songs from out latest records – the ones that we like. We are lucky that we have enough songs that people know that we are able to play them for a couple of hours. We recorded a live record a little while ago (Hollies Live Hits) and that is pretty much what you can expect when we come to Australia.” Hicks is quick to state that nobody sells a lot of records these days and it is the live show that keeps bands in people’s minds and hearts. For this reason it is important that bands ensure the fans have a good time. The Hollies have been known for the impressive light show that has accompanied them for the past 25 years, and as Hicks would be quick to remind people, “you don’t come over with a couple of amplifiers and away you go. “The songs that get to number one these days don’t sell as many records as we used to sell in a day at out peak. Music is in a very strange place these days. The live show is where things are most genuine and even a lot of the new artists may be miming at some stages. The way that we had it was a lot more natural in our early years. I suppose the internet has some advantages but it also has some negatives. There is nowhere near as much effort and pride put into the packaging as their used to be. It’s all a little soulless - the marketing these days - which is why I think people like come and see us, in some ways. It’s a way to remember different musical times.”
Hits Ain’t Heavy The Hollies have been credited with pioneering the three-part vocal harmony, were on the first episode of Top Of The Pops and are credited with having more hits in Britain during the 1960’s and 1970’s than even The Beatles. CHRIS HAVERCROFT speaks to driving force Tony Hicks ahead of their shows at Crown Theatre this FridaySaturday, February 7-8. Many bands are reforming to cash in on some nostalgia and do a reunion tour. This isn’t something that The Hollies have needed to contend with because they have been an ongoing concern for half a century. It is a remarkable feat that puts them in a group with very few peers who can boast the same credentials. “We have never actually stopped performing over all those years,” boasts a proud Hicks. “When we started, bands only stuck around for two or three years, but here we are 50 years on and it feels as good, if not better than ever and that is why we still do it. We were in Australia for the first time in a long time just over 12 months ago and had a great time so we are looking forward to doing it again. “When we arrive in Australia this time it will be the first gigs that we will have done in a couple of months. When we get together as the band we won’t have seen each other for a while and there will be new stories to tell and it keeps it fresh for ourselves and the audience that we play for.”
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MUSIC
BAND OF HORSES If These Walls Could Speak Band Of Horses may have been showing less of a country influence with each new release, but they turn that perception on its head with their latest album being recorded at the former home of the Grand Ole Oprey. CHRIS HAVERCROFT speaks to frontman, Ben Bridwell, about Band Of Horses’ twonight stint at the Ryman Auditorium. Acoustic At The Ryman collects 10 acoustic renditions of Band Of Horses songs plucked from a couple of nights the band spent at the venue in April last year. The band had intended to release a live album and went about capturing a month of shows from their tour around that time. It wasn’t until listening back to those shows that they realised that the acoustic sets were too good to overlook. “We had definitely planned on choosing the best songs from various shows to put together what would be the best versions of our biggest songs I guess,” confirms singer/songwriter, Ben Bridwell. “The Ryman is such a legendary place to hear country music and acoustic music, the big brains at our management thought that we should do an electric show and an acoustic set, just to get a different vibe going. So, the way that it turned out, we listened back to the acoustic performance and it sounded far more dangerous.” Band Of Horses had stepped onto the stage at The Ryman as opening act for Modest Mouse in 2007, but this was the first time that the Seattle rockers had run of the place. There is so much history at the venue that Bridwell and his bandmates made sure that they took in history and played the songs in the spirit of those who had gone before them. “Whenever you get to play at the Ryman it is something special. It is a unique place. You stand on the stage and goodness gracious, the history of the place hits you. It is not even that though, the dressing rooms are all dedicated to a different artist. There is the Hank Williams room that will have a heap of posters up from his shows and a Johnny Cash room and everywhere you
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walk you wonder whose footsteps you are treading on. “The last shows we played there we did the two sets so didn’t have an opening act and we had free reign of the place. It is one of those things where all the security guards and ushers are over 70 so if you don’t have respect for the venue, they will put you in your place.” When it came to choosing the songs to put on the album, Bridwell says that there wasn’t too much dissention between the Band Of Horses members. The Funeral is worth the price of admission alone, but there is no shortage of great version with Factory and No One’s Gonna Love You being towards the top of the pile.
“I have been working with a lot of back catalogue Band Of Horses songs and I thought, why not take into account the nuances that she brought to the song and use that and try and do another version of Plan One? I’ll get some crazy Irish jig of The Funeral sent to me next. I always love it when someone cares about our music enough to make it their own. People put their heart and soul into that stuff, so I love that. “We did about an hour’s worth of acoustic songs over both of the nights. We were also doing an electric set so there were limited songs we could choose from. I think there was about 15 over both nights. It was just with a couple that were pretty damn bad so they were off the table immediately, and we chose a few for bonus tracks so it was obvious what we would leave to put on the album. “It is as exciting as hell that we get to play acoustic now to promote the record. We are now working on putting together a strange set of acoustic numbers that we think that we’ll be able to pull off. This gives us a second chance to not only play those songs better, but also to include some of the songs that we didn’t get to play over those two nights at the Ryman that ended up on the record. We are hoping to dig deep into the catalogue and see what we find.” Playing the tunes at a lower volume must be a brief moment of respite for a band who is known to enjoy turning up the guitars in the live setting to put a fair amount of meat to the bones of their tunes. Bridwell confirms that it is a different beast, but it isn’t all beer and skittles.
“Man, it can be difficult trying to hear things correctly in that quiet environment. It’s a format that is not as forgiving as others. In a couple of the shows it can be maddening as you can’t hear shit, so I’m not sure I’m giving my ears a rest. I think I am rather stepping out of the comfort zone of when it is loud. When you add in the drums it can be maddening because we have five different musicians that want to hear different things. “It is funny because I do have a lot of material that I am working on for the next album and it is very much the opposite to this live record. There are some slow moments in the new songs I am writing, but it is also a bit loud! Obviously it is exciting to experience the songs in this way but I also can’t wait to get back being loud as crap. It is great to see the other side of it too.” Bridwell stumbled across a fans stripped back cover of their track, Plan One, and were so
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blown away that he decided to revisit the song himself, and cover the fan’s (Denai Moore) version of his own song. He then sent a copy of the tune to Moore along with a message thanking her for her interpretation of the original. “I have been working with a lot of back catalogue Band Of Horses songs and I thought, why not take into account the nuances that she brought to the song and use that and try and do another version of Plan One? I’ll get some crazy Irish jig of The Funeral sent to me next. I always love it when someone cares about our music enough to make it their own. People put their heart and soul into that stuff, so I love that. “I’m not going to go searching the internet for a whole heap of versions, but if something special pops up, why not? It is such a dream job, where we get to regurgitate our past glories, this is the job that keeps on giving.”
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ABBE MAY, PIC: DANIEL GRANT
ABBE MAY Apocalypse New Abbe May plays her first show for the year this Friday, February 7, at the Rosemount Hotel with Rum Jungle and Kučka. BOB GORDON reports. For Abbe May, the year that was 2013 was the year of Kiss My Apocalypse - an album that saw changes in different areas of her career. “It was ridiculous,” she says. “It seems every time we look back on the last year, the mistakes and real triumphs seem more obvious. I don’t like looking back. Makes me tetchy.” As it stands, the ARIA Award-nominated Kiss My Apocalypse and its dark, dream pop climes ushered in a new era for May in terms of profile. Fortunately, triple j got behind the album (it was nominated for a J Award, and ended up with several Hottest 100 nods) as they have for much of May’s work in recent years - but not all of it. Given the ‘J-Debate’ of recent weeks, May is circumspect.
“triple j does more for the Australian community of musicians than they are currently being credited for,” she says. “And they certainly do a lot more for the community than whinging does. “I really enjoy triple j, I hear some great music on there. Sometimes they play my singles; sometimes they don’t... of course I love it when they do, but I don’t dislike the station when they don’t play my work because I don’t make music to achieve airplay. And I certainly don’t believe the world owes me success. That would be a terrible attitude. “I dig triple j and I think Kingsmill does a great job steering the ship. I hope they prosper long into the future.” As for the future, it will be different, what with May’s brother Doug vacating the guitarist role in her band after many years as her six-string foil. “Doug leaving was the saddest time in my life for a long while,” may ponders. “I’m still working out what I want to do in the wake of his departure.” Even so, goals have to be set, but learning from the past is all important. “I’m building a studio and am learning how to record,” May explains. “Demos at first. I will be taking on new management and record labels both here and in the UK. Independent releases are fine and all, but my god they are exhausting. “The Kiss My Apocalypse release was so hectic I ended up in hospital. No more of that. 2014 is the year of smart moves that conserve energy for stage and studio.”
ASH GRUNWALD Affairs Of The Harp Ash Grunwald tells SHANE PINNEGAR that after a busy year spent recording and touring with The Living End’s Scott Owen and Andy Strachan, he’s itching to get back out there as a solo performer. Grunwald hits the Indi Bar on Wednesday, February 5; the Prince Of Wales, Bunbury, on Thursday, February 6; Settlers Tavern, Margaret River, on Friday, February 7; the Fly By Night on Saturday, February 8, and the Ravenswood Hotel on Sunday, February 9. Ash Grunwald says that after years of being pretty much a one-man band, the experience of being part of a rock power trio changed the way he looks at his solo work. “Yeah it did,” says the accomplished roots rocker. “I did a couple of years of band stuff before my solo career, then I did The Living End thing,” he explains, “but with the old band stuff, I played like I was playing solo anyway and added percussion and other elements, so this was the first time I added elements that meant that I stopped playing a lot of what I normally play. So it was a big steep learning curve. “It was fun because I went back to my teen years of dreaming of being a Hendrix styled guitar hero! I let myself go and just had fun with that and practiced playing the guitar so I could do a good solo again.” Grunwald says he has some idea what he’ll be playing on the WA mini-tour. “I’ll be definitely putting in The Last Stand,” he says thoughtfully, “which was the single from Gargantua because the last time I went around WA and all around Australia, I showed a little mini-film at the start of the gig about me interviewing people in Australia’s Coal Steam Gas fields, and I’m still very passionate about that. “So, I would feel a little silly and superficial not to do that song and maybe a couple of other politicallymotivated ones and then the rest is like, good-time party music, at this stage. The good thing about playing 16
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solo is that it is really up to your mood and the mood of the crowd so, I’ll just proooooooobably just play it by ear. “There might be a few bluesier ones in there so that I can keep practicing my harp a little bit,” he adds. Already a multi-instrumentalist, Grunwald has a new feather in his cap, having recently taught himself to play harmonica. “I’ve avoided the harp for a long time because I almost feel, ‘Ah... it’s too predictable for a solo guy and the harmonica’ but I just wanted something that was new and organic because I haven’t done that for a very long time. “Normally everything new is new technologically, so it’s been really interesting. But, that’s made me feel like when I was a teenager and I was learning to play guitar. “You want things that inspire you and ignite things and not drain you and make you feel like it’s all too hard. Yes, I feel fired up and excited to be out there on the road. Originally, I was going to have a bit of a hiatus this year, but at the moment I’m thinking when I get back from overseas, you know later in the year, I will want to play as much as I can just to get that solo show really up and running and get that harp playing really good.”
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For more album reviews head to xpressmag.com.au
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3.5
OUT OF 5
THE JEZABELS
OUT OF 5
WILLIE NELSON
The Brink MGM
To All The Girls Sony Music
Sydney quartet The Jezabels have become such an integral part of the Australian indie-rock landscape that it’s easy to forget that their debut album is just a little over two years old. While much of their time has been spent overseas since that well-received debut, The Jezabels are back with a bang and treating their Australian fans to an album release over two weeks before the rest of the world, and that can only be good news for us. Intense, brooding and full of their trademark grandeur, The Brink picks up where 2011’s Prisoner left off, albeit with slightly darker undertones and a few new sounds. Soaring anthems are what The Jezabels do best, and Look Of Love, The End, No Country and the title track are the best examples, while Angles Of Fire adds a touch of Kraftwerk-esque synths and Psychotherapy is the token slow-burner. Hayley Mary’s voice is the unquestionable highlight and places her near the top of the pile of Australian female vocalists plying their trade right now, and when everything else seemingly falls into place so easily, it makes for another strong showing from one of the country’s most successful exports of late.
Willie Nelson continually finds time to put out records. The environmentalist who lives in a solar-powered community in Hawaii, helped to set up Farm Aid and is an outspoken advocate for the legalisation of marijuana, and is as active today as he has been at any stage of his career. To All The Girls is a collection of duets with some of the better known names in country music. As is the way with Nelson albums there are some tunes by the man himself as well as interpretations of others’ tunes. The lead track and one of Nelson’s best charting singles in some time is the pairing with Dolly Parton From Here To The Moon And Back. It is the type of song that is deserving of country music royalty and makes the aging singers sound like loved up pussy cats. John Fogarty’s Have You Ever Seen The Rain? finds Nelson joined by his daughter, Paula. The snail-paced delivery gives the tune extra weight and this pairing is far more than a campfire experiment put on record. Nelson teams with Loretta Lynn to Miranda Lambert and all in between in the course of 18 songs that pull on the heartstrings. Sure, an album of duets is hardly groundbreaking, but as there is little that Nelson hasn’t done over the course of more than 60 albums he can do as he chooses. To All The Girls is one of his many good ones.
PAUL MCBRIDE
3.5
CHRIS HAVERCROFT
OUT OF 5
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OUT OF 5
Warpaint, Pic: Mia Kirby
WARPAINT A Little Darker With their self-titled second album just released, Warpaint play the soldout Laneway Festival in Fremantle this Saturday, February 8. JOSHUA KLOKE reports. Marking their 10-year anniversary as a band, 2014 is shaping up to be a big year for Los Angelesbased indie rockers, Warpaint. Prior to embarking on a jetlag-inducing tour that touches four continents, they’ve finally released their self-titled second album after a recording process that began over two years ago. And fans of their majestic 2010 debut, The Fool, should brace themselves for something of a change. While the murky, hypnotic mood remains, the stunning vocal harmonies and layers of reverb that defined songs like Undertow and Shadows are used much more sparingly on their self-titled follow-up. Bassist, Jenny Lee Lindberg, explains that the change in sound is due to a desire to step out of their comfort zone and embrace a less is more mantra. “We put the last record out and we toured it for two-and-a-half years,” she says, “so I think naturally - not that we got tired of that sound - we were excited to do something a little bit different.”
“I would say to expect it to be rather different than the record, much different than listening to it. I think the songs come alive more. I don’t want to say that they translate better, but I think it’s just a different experience. While the change in direction on Warpaint may not be entirely noticeable on lead single, Love Is To Die, deeper cuts such as Disco// Very and Drive display the shifting style of the band. “I think these songs are, I want to say a little more minimalist, maybe a little bit more dancey, maybe a little darker than things that we’ve done before,” says Lindberg. After spending months rehearsing and demoing their new songs at Joshua Tree in the Californian desert, Warpaint enlisted superproducer Flood to work on the album. With a string of credits from Nick Cave and Depeche Mode to U2 and Sigur Rós, Flood surprised the band with his willingness to let them control their own sound. “What I really loved about him was that
he didn’t just come in and control the situation, he was very open to allowing us to find what it was he wanted us to find, or hear us out, or kind of let us take control,” says Lindberg. “But I think the really special thing was that we would get to a place where we had written a song and we’d maybe been around the ringer with that song, and we finally got to a place where we were really happy with, and thought there was nothing else we could do to that song – and he would come in and push us even further and say, ‘You know, I don’t think that you found it, I think you can dig deeper,’ and you do, and you end up liking it even more.” Significantly, Warpaint is also the first album written and recorded by the band as a complete unit. Current drummer (and Sydney native) Stella Mozgawa joined only just before the release of The Fool, after Lindberg’s sister, Shannyn Sossamon, departed to focus on her acting career. According to Lindberg, the involvement of Mozgawa was a significant influence on the band’s shifting sound. “Stella wasn’t really a part of the writing process when we were developing the songs that we put on the last record, they were already written and she just came in and put the drums over them. This time round we all had time to get in there with each other and write things from scratch. Just her being a part of the process changed things a lot.” In a piece of good luck, Australian fans are among the first to see the group play live after their album release, with the band currently touring as part of the Laneway Festival. With a connection to the country through Mozgawa, Warpaint are keen visitors to Australia, much to the delight of their bassist. “I think that Australia’s a wonderful place, it’s beautiful, I love it. I love the air, it’ll be summertime, and I love the people. I always have fun; I think it’s my favourite place to go,” says Lindberg. “And then hanging out with Stella’s parents and staying at her house where she grew up in is also really nice.” Warpaint are no strangers to the Laneway set-up, having toured in the 2011 edition and more recently playing Laneway’s US debut in Detroit. But according to Lindberg, the one-off American festival was a poor substitute for the more touroriented nature of the Australian Laneway. “The American version of Laneway was kind of a typical festival, there wasn’t really anything unique about it,” she says. “But in Australia you travel around with people, there’s a real band camp vibe. You get to be friends with the people in the other bands and you get to see them all the time, and it felt like family.” And with Warpaint’s reputation for stunning live performances that transcend their studio material, Australian crowds should expect a very different Warpaint live than the band they know from the records. “I would say to expect it to be rather different than the record, much different than listening to it. I think the songs come alive more. I don’t want to say that they translate better, but I think it’s just a different experience. Sometimes bands can nail it and sound exactly like their record, other bands don’t sound like their record at all and it’s kind of strange. I guess what we’re known for is the live experience is much better.”
THE LAWRENCE ARMS JOSHUA JAMES
Metropole Epitaph Punk bands grow up, and more-so when there’s an eight-year gap since their last album. This is where The Lawrence Arms finds themselves in 2014 with the release of Metropole, album number six for the Chicago punks. That was enough time to grow old and get perspective, but not make any fundamental changes to the formula. While the band is essentially staying on course musically, the songwriting delves into growing up and the loss of youth. It’s the sort of album that could only be written after a long break where they settle into old routines only to find everything around them has changed. Seventeener (17th and 37th) sets the mood of the album, dripping with bitterness and nostalgia - ‘I never wanted to die old/But it’s too late now’ being one of the many lyrical references throughout Metropole signifying the passing of an age for the band. Their sound is mellower than their previous work, aside from the odd abrasive track such as the quick-fire Drunk Tweets, reflecting the melancholy mood of the album. It’s mature and sincere without being boring, which is a fairly important element. While little has changed with their sound, it’s The Lawrence Arms’ change of perspective that makes the record so interesting – even if it’s a depressing reminder that we’ve got to grow old someday.
From The Top Of Willamette Mountain Intelligent Noise It came as a disappointment that Willamette Mountain doesn’t exist, or not exactly, anyway. Willamette is a real place – it’s a valley in Oregon surrounded by mountains – but the Mountain of James’ album title is actually what he calls his home in Utah where he keeps goats, chickens and honeybees. James’ full-length album has been rereleased with an EP, Beware! Both are a culmination of James living an existence which has offered him breathing space for pondering life’s big questions. The albums he has written ‘from the top’ of the Mountain are inevitably introspective. The songs are cloaked in a wintry, dark eeriness and there are plentiful references to God and ghosts and uneasy thoughts. Take Mystic which is about a mythological creature looking down on Great Salt Lake, telling a story of falling in love and hiding his true self. Lyrics such as, Baby I know I lost ya / the moment you could finally see’, are pretty much what the albums say overall. As morose as this all sounds it’s strangely likeable as James’ vocals have a boyish quality and bring a little brightness to the black. And although it feels like folk/Americana albums are a dime a dozen at the moment, James’ album is worth more than one listen. CORAL HUCKSTEP
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BLITZEN TRAPPER DAVE EVANS Nothing To Prove EP Rock Sector Records AC/DC’s founding lead singer is back with a blistering EP that shows he has no interest in trading on past glories. Naming the release Nothing To Prove is as much a statement of intent as it is a challenge to himself: you can be damn sure if the music wasn’t up to scratch that he would be cut down to size instantly. Put Up Or Shut Up is a similarly aggressive challenge to the naysayers and bullshitters. Written with Absolva’s Chris Appleton, it features some of the raunchiest guitar work this side of heavy metal. I Believe is an anthem the likes of which they just don’t write any more. Full of melody and fistpumping, chest-beating self-belief, Evans tips the cap to Slade’s glam stompers as much as metal’s stadium rock on this future live favourite. Big Joe Williams’ blues standard Baby Please Don’t Go, which Evans has been playing since his yearlong tenure with AC/DC around 1974, is similar to AC/ DC’s version, but perhaps showing what the song was like before Bon Scott tried it on for size and features some searing guitar playing again from Appleton. Nothing To Prove is an excellent EP from a man who was there when hard rock evolved, and credit must be given not only for his role in that, but also that he is still here 40 years later making original music that is not in debt to his former band. SHANE PINNEGAR
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VII Vagrant/Shock Records Blitzen Trapper are one of the many bands from the creative hotbed of Portland Oregon, yet differ in their delivery as a predominantly country/folk band even if they are more experimental than many in the genre. VII shows how the band have snuck up on us with the amount of releases that they have churned out in their decade of existence. Blitzen Trapper signal their intention to shake perceptions as VII opens with some discordant sounds and what sounds like a DJ ‘scratching’. They are sounds that are at odds with the tried and true of Blitzen Trapper, but it is a momentary distraction as Feel The Chill delves back into the familiar territory of their rootsy barroom blues. Shine On continues on in the same vein so much so that it could almost be the same song. The strength of the band has always been in the inviting rasp of Eric Earley but this trait is lost when he tries to convey too many ideas in the one album. A particularly forgettable moment is on the faux rap of Oregon Geography which struggles to reach the heights of being a third-rate Beck rip off. Luckily there are a few moments like the infectious Drive On Up and the acoustic toe tapper, Don’t Be A Stranger, and offer some redemption. On VII it appears that in an effort to stand out from the crowd, Blitzen Trapper have turned in an effort that is even more insincere than Mumford & Sons. CHRIS HAVERCROFT 17
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A R T S & C U LT U R E
Ahead of her appearance at the 29th Annual Boyup Brook County Music Festival, we caught up with Bex Chilcott, the driving force behind noted local outfit, Ruby Boots. When we speak, Bex Chilcott has just returned to Perth after touring and recording on the east coast for a while. Those recordings are in addition to those undertaken for the upcoming debut album from Ruby Boots, Chilcott’s... alter ego? Band? Collective? To be honest, we’re not really sure at the moment, so we ask for some clarification.
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“Well,” Chilcott says. “Ruby Boots started as a solo project of mine in 2009, but playing solo consistently can wear thin over time. I’ve had the privilege to play with many talented Perth musicians. I’ve always been the sole songwriter, it just changes with the wind when it wants to. I’ve got seven different bands on the record, I’ve overlapped on certain musicians like guitarist and steel player Lee Jones, and a new bunch of steady and smokin’ hot musicians here in Perth that I love playing live with. Nothing stays the same, shit’s changing all the time, you just have to roll with the changes and make them work for you the best way you can, I think I’m definitely doing that with Ruby Boots.” The actual release date is still up in the air, but it has been pushed back a bit to allow time for Chilcott’s live work. “I’ve got a few tours coming up so
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I just want to wait until there’s a good chunk of time so I can give the release the energy it deserves. It’s been a process, recorded across three cities and three countries with four producers (Tony Buchen, Anna Laverty, Bill Chambers and Jordie Lane). I can’t count the amount of musicians I’ve had play on it but my artwork is going to be a jungle of credits and thank yous!” Chilcott is very much looking forward to returning to the Boyup Brook Country Music Festival, a labour of love from the Boyup Brook Country Music Club. “This will be the third year I’ve been involved with CMC, I think they play a crucial role in representing country music in WA, it’s the only big country festival we have in the state and it’s always good to get down there and play to people that dig the genre! I’m playing a few new songs off the record
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and I’ve got a full band set on the Friday, but it’s a duo set on the Sunday so I’m reworking some of the songs for the Sunday, which is fun.” She’s also keen to catch some of her stagemates in action, including one who has been wowing audiences during her season at Fringe World. “I’m really thrilled to be playing with Deb “Spoons” Perry. If you haven’t seen how awesome she is, you’re missing out, Google her name - you won’t be disappointed!” TRAVIS JOHNSON
The Boyup Brook Country Music Festival runs from Thursday, February 13 - Sunday, February 16. For the full lineup, accommodation options, tickets and further information, go to countrymusicwa.com.au.
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IRIS AWARD OPEN FOR ENTRIES The call has gone out for entries into the annual IRIS Award, which acknowledges outstanding work in photographic portraiture. Last year, the Award drew entries from across Australia, as well as Argentina, Spain, New Zealand, the US, the UK, France and more. For further information, head to pcp.org.au. Melfies by Jackson Eaton, 2013 IRIS Award winner.
ALLIANCE TICKETS NOW AVAILABLE
WIL WANDERS DOWN UNDER Joining the ranks of American comedians who have been flocking to our shores of late, Wil Sylvince will be plying his trade for us once again, having supported the Wayans Brothers when they came our way in 2013. Catch Sylvince at The Astor Lounge From Thursday, May 1, until Sunday, May 4. For info and tickets, hit livenation.com.au. Wil Sylvince
Tickets are now on sale for the 2014 Alliance Francaise French Film Festival, which runs Tuesday, March 18, until Sunday, April 6, at Cinema Paradiso, Luna On SX and Windsor Cinema. This year’s opening film is The Finishers, Nils Tavernier’s story of a former champion athlete who teams up with his disabled son to compete in a triathlon. The closing night will be a film by French cinema icon, Jacques Tati, as voted for by the audience - head to affrenchfilmfestival.org to cast your lot.
Belgian Bluegrass Directed by Felix Van Groeningen Starring Johan Heldenbergh, Veerle Baetens, Nell Cattrysse
A COLLECTIVE GASP De Collectie, a solo installation by Perth artist Marijke Loosjes, is on display at Free Range Gallery from Thursday, February 13, until Sunday, February 16. The piece is inspired by both the curiosity cabinets that became popular in 16th century Europe and the artist’s own recent travels across the continent. It’s a collection of oddments and curios that evoke a sense of history, antiquity and a touch of the macabre. For more information, go to fringeworld.com.au.
PAPER TRAIL Toyi-Toyi Theatre’s latest effort, Paperland, is presented as part of The Blue Room Theatre’s Summer Nights program. Running from Tuesday, February 18, until Saturday, February 22, it’s a modern dance piece by six female choreographers that examines our relationship with that most ubiquitous pillar of civilisation and communication, paper. Shoot over to blueroom.org.au for session times and tickets.
THE BROKEN CIRCLE BREAKDOWN
DAVID FRAZER WINS PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD Victorian artist David Frazer scored the $500 People’s Choice Award for in the Fremantle Arts Centre Print Award for his work, Waiting For Rain. The detailed and technically impeccable lino cut print attracted twice as many votes as any other entry, making it the clear crowd favourite. The piece, along with other entries, will be on display until Sunday, November 17. Go to fac.org.au for more information. Waiting For Rain by David Frazer, 2014 Fremantle Arts Centre Print Award People’s Choice winner.
Opposites attract and then weather the worst kind of medical crisis in this heartfelt Flemish-language drama set in, of all things, Belgium’s bluegrass music scene. The Broken Circle Breakdown charts the course of the relationship between Didier (Johan Heldenbergh, who co-authored the play upon which the film is based), an amiable musician, and Elise (Veerle Baetens), a free-spirited tattooist. The narrative’s chronological structure is jumbled and early on in the film, Didier and Elise are years into their relationship and being told that their six-year-old daughter, Maybelle (Nell Cattrysse), has cancer. From there we bounce back and forth in time, seeing how the two first hooked up and contrasting that with how they each deal with - and sometimes fail to cope with - the crisis that threatens their little family. We’ve seen this kind of thing before - the 2011 French film, Declaration Of War, which got a short Australian release, covered similar territory - but what sets Van Groeningen’s film apart is the music, and integral part of both the film’s setting and its emotional fabric. The choice of soundtrack genre is a striking one, at times jarring - there’s a Belgian
bluegrass subculture? Really? - and at times achingly heartfelt and on the money. Bluegrass music deals with heartache, longing, tragedy and loss, and so it fits nicely with the films big emotional sweep, the songs performed by Didier and his band (which comes to include Elise on vocals) commenting on the drama in their personal lives. Indeed, calling The Broken Circle Breakdown a musical, in a similar vein to The Blues Brothers or, more appropriately, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, isn’t out of the question. The film also touches on the old faith vs. science binary opposition, particularly in the latter third. Didier is positioned as an angry atheist early on in the proceedings, but it’s only as Maybelle’s condition worsens that Elise’s condition spiritual leanings come to the fore, leading to some serious ideological dissonance between the two. However, not much is made of the motives underpinning each point of view - we never learn what Elise’s beliefs are rooted in, nor the source of Didier’s fierce intransigence - and so this element of the film lacks much in the way of clout. Still, raw committed performances and the sheer emotional resonance of the subject matter carry the day. The Broken Circle Breakdown has been nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at this year’s Oscars, and it’s easy to see why. Though the film’s gradual drift from realism into melodrama may not sit well with some viewers, all in all it’s a wideappeal heartstring-puller, populist without being puerile and emotional without, for the most part, being overwrought. TRAVIS JOHNSON
The Broken Circle Breakdown screens as part of the Lotterywest Festival Films season at Somerville from February 10 - 16 and Joondalup Pines From February 18 - 23. For more details, head to perthfestival.com.au.
FILM
LAST VEGAS Roll Them Bones Directed by Jon Turteltaub Starring Robert De Niro, Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Kline With both the large amount of star power arrayed in this film and the comedy plot, Last Vegas really was betting everything on a roll of the dice. Either everyone would relax into their role, the script would have enough magic moments of comedy gold and the whole thing would come up trumps, or it would crap out with a bunch of venerable actors looking embarrassed. When 60-something bachelor Billy (Michael Douglas) proposes to his 30-year-old girlfriend during his delivery of a eulogy, his friends decide to throw him an epic bachelor party in Las Vegas. Each of these childhood friends is having difficulties in their later years. Paddy (Robert De Niro) is widowed and having trouble adjusting. Archie (Morgan Freeman) has had a stroke and his children are being overly protective. Sam (Kevin Kline) is finding the retirement lifestyle of Florida to be soul draining. They - with the exception of the reluctant Paddy - view Vegas as a welcome break from the monotony and possibly a last great hurrah. Despite the amazing cast, most of the performances fall slightly flat. Individually they are all 20
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solid, as you would expect from actors of this calibre, but as a group their rapid-fire witty banter lacks the sparks required to make it work. Kline might possibly have the best comedic timing, despite also having the most cringe-worthy lines as the married Sam tries to pursue a one-night-stand (with the permission of his wife). De Niro plays the straight man and borders somewhere between the moral compass and killjoy of the group. Douglas pretty much plays to type, portraying a Malibu lawyer with a fiancé that they “have haemorrhoids older than.” Freeman manages to strut his stuff on the dance floor in epic fashion, but also manages one of the most poignant moments in convincing his son that he should be allowed to live his life, health concerns be damned. Perhaps the shining performance of this film comes from Mary Steenburgen as a lounge singer and age-appropriate love interest. She manages to take the role and actually make the character interesting and sensual, beyond the mere object of desire that the script requires. It goes some way to mitigating the uncomfortable feeling of ageism and sexism that pervades this movie. On the whole, director Jon Turteltaub creates a sexagenarian fratboy comedy that attempts to give the audience a taste of the opulence of Vegas. Eventually, amongst the cavalcade of bikiniclad 20-somethings and barrage of crass age-related humour there is a heartwarming message. However even this (like every joke in this movie) is obvious and telegraphed from early on. Disappointing, considering the potential of the stars. DAVID O’CONNELL
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LABOR DAY Growing Pains Directed by Jason Reitman Starring Gattlin Griffith, Kate Winslet, Josh Brolin, Clark Gregg, JK Simmons Working from Joyce Maynard’s novel, Jason Reitman (Up In The Air, Young Adult) brings to the screen a coming of age drama which, while certainly not short on melodrama, packs un undeniable emotional punch. 13 year old Henry Wheeler (Gattlin Griffith) lives with his depressed and agoraphobic mother, Adele (Kate Winslet) following her divorce from his father, Gerald (Clark Gregg), who has since remarried and started a new family. On a rare shopping trip, the two are collared by an escaped prisoner, Frank Chambers (Josh Brolin), who forces them to hide him in their house. Frank is not a desperate killer on the run though (well, he kind of is, but he’s more than that), and over the course of the titular holiday weekend, he not only teaches Adele how to love again, but becomes to Henry a male role model of almost mythic proportions. Indeed, a lot of time is devoted to showing just how amazingly masculine Frank is: he cooks, he cleans, he fixes the car, he teaches Henry how to play baseball and he provides Adele with the kind of taciturn but dependable emotional support poor, balding Gerald could never offer. Frank’s an
archetypal character, almost stereotypical, but Brolin manages to imbue him with nuance and shading, even at times a sense of menace, making him a much more interesting figure. Similarly, Winslet takes what could have been a one note character and does excellent work, at times revealing a surprising core of strength beneath Adele’s fragile outer shell. Performances of this calibre, along with some flat-out beautiful cinematography (Reitman’s definitely been watching some Terrence Malick lately) , elevate the somewhat histrionic material. That is worth keeping in mind, too this is a big, broad, relatively unsubtle film and it’s the performances that add depth here, not the screenplay. In lesser hands this could have been a terrible old load of schmaltz and there are times that even Reitman’s usually firm command of emotional tone falters. There are also a couple of odd casting choices that serve to jar the viewer out of the film. Do we really need so familiar a face as JK Simmons for one brief appearance as a neighbour? Or James Van Der Beek as an inquisitive cop? Performancewise, they’re both fine, but pretty much any actor could have been slotted into the same positions. Ultimately, Labor Day is a film for romantics - people who don’t balk at notions of true love and moral absolutism, who find honour in selfsacrifice and nobility in stoicism. It’s an easy film to pick holes in, but taking that route just feels mean. There’s something very earnest about Reitman’s film and, even though his reach sometimes exceeds his grasp, something worthy as well. TRAVIS JOHNSON
The Shadow King
TOM E. LEWIS The Shadow King Perhaps still best known from his striking turn in the title role of Fred Schepisi’s The Chant Of Jimmie Blacksmith, iconic indigenous actor Tom E. Lewis is coming to Perth in the lead role of The Shadow King, a reimagining of Shakespeare’s King Lear conceived by Lewis and director Michael Kantor. “Michael Kantor rang me up in the Northern Territory and said he said, ‘I’ve got the crown here from Geoffrey Rush and it’s gonna go on your head.’ and ever since I’ve been in shock, mate! It’s been ambitious but lucky - a good gamble. You believe in a project and you find that you’re not alone.” That was the beginning of the journey and now Perth audiences get to meet Tom E. Lewis and his collaborators at the destination. The Shadow King repositions Shakespeare’s famous tragedy, King Lear, in an Indigenous community in Australia’s far north. In doing so, Lewis and Kantor force us to look at the plays deep themes of blood, kinship and land in a new light one inextricably linked with the Aborigine experience. For Lewis, the universality of Lear’s themes meant he saw the transposition as an opportunity rather than a potential problem. “Lear fits across all
languages, all cultures, but you have to maintain the story. You can’t just put your thumbprint on it and call it yours. You have to follow the journey of Lear and what he has in common with all mankind.” The Shadow King is performed in four languages - English, Kriol, Ritarrnju and Pitjinjarra - but Lewis maintains that audiences have no trouble keeping up with the narrative. “If you hit your consonants and vowels, you get everything!” he laughs. “If you know the story of Lear then you follow it and the languages are just beautiful. It’s been a challenge before to go in through three different tongues, but when you read Shakespeare it’s similar to our Kriol speaking language in this country. It’s got a lot of similarities in descriptions and stuff too. And there’s a lot of Dreamtime stuff, like the curses. But nobody walked away from the show they all sit there. They all come along on the journey, which is very nice.” As for the exact qualities in King Lear that made it suitable for translation into an Indigenous context, Lewis is more circumspect. “Here we go - you should never have politics in art! One of the things, right now, is that the country is divided into many sections and communities. Families are divided, yeah? How this amazing old story tells the patterning of conquering and dividing... it’s ancient, yeah? It’s not modern at all. It’s amazing to go back that far to find what’s happening now, And it happened when I did Othello, too. I call it the Unity Of One in stories. No matter what culture you belong too, we all have the same stories.” TRAVIS JOHNSON
The Shadow King plays at the State Theatre Centre Of WA from February 24 - March 1 as part of the Perth International Arts Festival. Go to perthfestival.com.ai for session times and tickets. WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU
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YOUR GUIDE TO EVERYTHING URBAN
VALENTINE’S DAY Whether you’re a romantic soul or a bitter curmudgeon, you’d have to be living well off the grid not to know that the greeting card industry’s favourite holiday, February 14, is just around the corner. If you’re stuck for ideas regarding to what to do, here’s some suggestions.
SKIN PARTY - THE COURT HOTEL The Court Hotel invites you to dare to bare this V-Day - go as far as you can, as long as you keep the really rude bits covered Kicking off from 8pm on Friday, February 14, there’ll be a cloakroom for you to ditch your civvies and prizes for the msot daing, plus a drag show by Hannah and the girls.
ESPLANADE HOTEL FREMANTLE
HUSKY AT THE PIAF CHEVRON GARDENS Indie-folk outfit Husky are playing on Friday, February 14, and the number of food and drink options available mean this is a night to suit any coupled connoisseurs of good music Husky
The Esplanade Hotel is offering a number of options for couples this year, including a buffet dinner in the Atrium Garden Restaurant for $69 per person, a four course set menu in The Harbour Master for $75 per person and accommodation packages from $370 per night. Go to rydges.com.au for further information. Esplanade Hotel
DRINK ALONE
GOLD CLASS SPEED MOVIE DATING
Perth’s iconic revolving restaurant is offering a set four course menu for Valentine’s Day that, combined with the panoramic views of the city it offers, makes for one of the most romantic evenings possible. It’s priced at $140 per person - plus $40 for a window seat, subject to availability - so reservations are sure to fill up fast. Go to crestuarant.com.au for details.
Meet someone new and take in a movie at the same time - the only catch is you both have to talk during the film, which might be something of a buzzkill. Midland Gold Class is hosting the premiere of Are We Officially Dating Yet? starring Zac Efron and Imogen Poots on Wednesday, February 12, combining it with a chance for you to meet someone just in time for Heart day. Tickets are $50 from dare2date.com.au.
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Are We Officially Dating?
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No one happy ever made great art anyway. Indulge in a good bottle of brown liquor, dim the lights and put some of this lot on your playlist: the greatest anti-love songs of all time. It Ain’t Me, Babe - Bob Dylan Don’t Want To Know If You Are Lonely - Husker Du Tainted Love - Soft Cell Christmas Card From A Hooker In Minneapolis Tom Waits Everybody Hurts - R.E.M. I Let Love In - Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds Love Hurts - Nazareth Here I Go Again On My Own - Whitesnake You’re Gonna Miss Me - The 13th Floor Elevators Ain’t That Pretty At All - Warren Zevon
YOUR GUIDE TO EVERYTHING URBAN
WHAT’S YOUR V-DAY STYLE? That sweet scent of L-O-V-E is suddenly back in the air and as our most loved-up celebration, Valentine’s Day approaches, we need to start planning all the finer details of the night… and by finer we mean lacy and racy, show stopping underwear! So whether you’re single, in a relationship or somewhere in between… feel sexy well into the night, with the perfect undergarments to suit your V-day style.
SEXY
For those ladies who like to try more risqué lingerie options, try this sexy, sheer black French lace Elle Macpherson ‘For You’ Underwire Bra ($119.95) and Brief Bikini ($59.95) which will have any fella drooling.
TRENDY
Boys, in the underwear department, it’s better to stick to the likes of black and white and a relaxed silk boxer like this one by Mitch Dowd ($29.95) will definitely set the mood for some night time fun.
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Trendy in and out of the boudoir? Then ladies something uber cool like this Sass and Bide ‘Bound in Black’ soft cup bra ($49.95) and G-string ($29.95) will make you feel confident and chic. These Blaq ‘Modal Euro’ trunks ($24.95) are the male equivalent - a super supportive trunk with a bit of a fashionable twist.
CASUAL Is casual your idea of sexy? Then never go past a good plain bra, with great lift like the Pleasure State ‘Myfit’ lace push up bra ($69.95). Men can get left too, so try the Politix Pima Hipster Trunk ($29.95).
If you’re more of a romantic and want to keep things classic and beautiful this Pleasure State Couture, ‘Eternal Light’ Contour Bra ($119.95) and G-string ($64.95), are the right option for you. And fellas you can’t go wrong with the Calvin Klein short brief in white two-pack ($49.95). They fit great and look good, which is what you want when you’re in front of your lover.
All pieces are available at Myer, Perth City. Phone 9265 5600. MONICA MORALES
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Not By Bread Alone, part of the Perth International Arts Festival
The Refusal Of Time
The Refusal Of Time: PICA This video and sculpture installation by William Kentridge sits at the crossroads of industrialisation and colonialism, combining theatre, drawing, music, film, dance and animation. Presented by PICA, Perth International Arts Festival and the Art Gallery Of Western Australia, it’s on display from February 13 - April 27. Go to perthfestival.com.au for details.
VISUAL ARTS 2013 Bankwest Art Prize: Bankwest Place The exhibition of all the finalist pieces for this prestigious annual award, including works by Rachel Coad, Penny Bovell, Susanna Castleden, Thea Constantino, Penny Coss, Jo Darbyshire and more, runs until March 3. Go to bankwest. com.au for more. Within These Walls: Wanneroo Library And Cultural Centre Gallery A free combined exhibition collated by the Wanneroo Museum And Art Collections, this innovative and
quirky exhibition will showcase rarely seen artefacts from the Museum’s collection, juxtaposed and harmonised with art works from the city’s art collection. It runs until February 2. Visit wanneroo. wa.gov.au for more. A Private View - Modern Masters From The Kerry Stokes Collection: The Art Galley Of Western Australia 26 paintings drawn from one of the most significant private art collections in Australia, representing the major art movements of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It runs until March 3. Go to artgallery.wa.gov.au for further information.
Bali - Return Economy
Bali - Return Economy: Fremantle Arts Centre A diverse exhibition focusing on Australia’s relationship with Indonesia as well as showcasing pieces from some of the most extensive collections of Balinese art in Western Australia. It runs until March 27. Go to fac.org.au for details.
THEATRE/DANCE/ PERFORMANCE Summer Nights: The Blue Room Theatre Presented as part of Fringe World 2013, this incredible program of theatre and dance runs until February 22. 32 different shows will be presented, including Squidboy, She Was Probably Not A Robot, Gym & Tonic, Run Girl Run and more. Plus, there’ll be encore seasons of the great puppet show, Bruce, and the incredible allegorical play, Great White. Head to blueroom.org.au for further information. Hamlet: New Fortune Theatre, University Of Western Australia This new iteration of Shakespeare’s most renowned tragedy takes place on the only replica Elizabethan/ Jacobean stage this side of the equator. It runs until February 15. Book tickets at grads.org.au. The Man: Chrissie Parrott Arts Chrissie Parrott and Kynan Hughes present a dark, incisive vision of masculinity in distress. Inspired by the works of Franz Kafka, Anton Chekov, Bruno Schultz and Patrick Suskind, this interlocking series of solo dance performances runs from February 6 - 9 and is presented as part of Fringe World. Go to chrissieparrottarts.com for more details.
REDFOO Let’s Get Ridiculous With Last Vegas premiering in cinemas this week, we took a moment to talk to one of the actors in this comedy. DAVID O’CONNELL reports. Having seen the release of a chart-topping single, his first year as a judge on The X Factor and now his first appearance in a major movie, the last year has been a big one for former LMFAO member and now solo artist, Redfoo. Redfoo makes an appearance in the pool party sequence of Last Vegas. Acting alongside veterans such as Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, Michael Douglas and Kevin Kline is a big ask, but Redfoo had an advantage. “There was a lot of improv. It felt natural as I do a lot of pool parties, so I felt like the expert in the room, and I felt like that is what’s supposed to happen. It was great. The actors - Douglas and De Niro and everybody - were so wonderful. And it was so quick, it was like a three hour shoot.” The actual sequence itself was shot in almost one take, allowing a sense of high energy to be maintained by the crowd. However it was not without its issues. “It was like a Vegas show, and I do Vegas shows all the time. Only problem was I was losing my voice, and Morgan Freeman - I’ll never forget this 24
he told me, ‘You are doing good...you are amazing, but just be careful of your voice. Once you lose that it’s over, the shoot is over, so be careful not to overdo it.’ Because in those situations you want to overdo it, and be great, and lose your voice - that was the toughest thing.” Another problem arose when he was stripped to his speedos and directed to “wriggle” in the face of an actor who has made a reputation for tough guy roles. “So the first time I’m like ‘Hey, I’m going to stand up here is that cool?’ De Niro is like ‘Yeah that’s fine, they told me.’ but he was so comfortable it made me comfortable. Those actors were some of the best actors I have been around, because of their experience, their wisdom, they were just calm. They stayed in character. We were just hanging out and when it was ‘action’ and we would do it. It was all improv and all really smooth.” He also managed to provide a number of songs for the soundtrack. “We helped do the music in the post. (Jon Turteltaub), who was an awesome director, sent us the cut and we helped put the music to it, and they wanted my music. They really wanted the Redfoo brand, since I was the DJ doing all that stuff. So it was really cool, we helped to put together the music in that whole seen. It was really great that they would trust us to do that.” 2014 should see Redfoo return to his role as a talent judge, as well as the release of a new album (definitely not titled I Look Good Naked). “I want the album to be party, but to also to have more of my personality...That’s what excites me. So it’s not just your song or your rap, but I want to express myself and be a little different.”
The Rocky Horror Show: Crown Theatre It’s Time Warp time again when this 40th anniversary production of Richard O’Brien’s essential cult show rolls into town. Featuring Craig McLachlan as the irrepressible Dr Frank N. Furter, this is one of the must-see shows of the year! It runs from February 14 - March 9. Go to crownperth.com.au for details.
MUSIC Otello: His Majesty’s Theatre The West Australian Opera presents Verdi’s masterful piece as part of the Perth International Arts Festival. Performances until February 11. Go to waopera.asn. au for more details.
FESTIVALS Fringe World More than 450 shows across over 60 venues, encompassing traditional entertainment forms and the most outré, avant-garde live acts. It runs until February 23. Go to fringeworld.com.au for the full programme and ticketing. Summerset Arts Festival The City Of Stirling’s annual arts celebration runs until February 8 and encompasses a whole range of family-friendly activities, exhibitions, demonstrations and performances across a wide number of venues. Head to summersetartsfestival.com.au for more. Emergence Creative Festival A three day themed event based on “the currency of creativity,” this conference for creative professionals runs in Margaret River from February 19 - 24, with guests and speakers including PJ Bloom, Mark Herbert, Jonathan Kneebone and Eric Phu. Go to emergencecreative.com.au for further information. Perth International Arts Festival Perth’s biggest celebration of art, film, music, theatre, dance and culture runs from February 7 - March 1. Head to 2014.perthfestival.com.au for the full program. Avon Valley Vintage Festival Over the Labor Day weekend, the Northam Recreation Centre will host a wide variety of stalls, exhibitions and activities, including antiques and collectibles, with contributors including the Avon Valley Vintage Vehicle Association, the Army Museum Of WA, the Vintage Cycle Club Of WA and more. It runs from March 1 - 2. go to avoneventsandmarketing.com for more. Alliance Francaise French Film Festival 2014 So Frenchy, so chic! The greatest Gallic film festival is just over the horizon, once again bringing Perth cineastes the finest of filmic treats. It runs at Cinema Paradiso from March 18 - April 6. Go to affrenchfilmfestival.org for details. To have your performance, exhibition or cultural event listed, get in touch via
localmusicarts@xpressmag.com.au Pun Intended - Kurb Gallery WA artist Prez Juan’s debut solo exhibition, is comprised of pop culture inspired works in mixed media. It runs from February 8 - 14.
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PEAKS AND TROUGHS As the fan base for Mount Kimbie continues to snowball, it seems too much adulation can sometimes be a creative obstacle. AUGUSTUS WELBY speaks with one half of the London electronic duo, Dominic Maker ahead of their return to Perth for the sold-out Laneway Festival this Saturday, February 8 at Esplanade Park and west end, Fremantle. The prelude to Mount Kimbie’s second record Cold Spring Fault Less Youth, released last year, was marked by massive levels of anticipation. The UK production duo’s 2010 debut, Crooks & Lovers garnered the stamp of approval from tastemaking publications Pitchfork, NME and Vice, thrusting the delicate post-dubsteppers onto the global festival trail. During the three years between albums, Mount Kimbie was also added to the ranks of prestigious UK electronic label Warp Records, bringing them to the attention of even more expectant ears. “We didn’t expect the reaction people had to Crooks & Lovers,” Maker says. “After we released it we toured for two years and didn’t write a thing at all during that time. To be honest, when we eventually got into a studio and began to start writing again, we found we had forgotten our methods.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 26
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Continued from cover. Although writer’s block is never a welcome occurrence, combating this creative impasse inadvertently allowed Mount Kimbie to forget about the heightened public expectations. “Looking back on it now, that was quite a blessing, but at the time it was unsettling,” he says. “We spent a lot of time in the studio working hard with no results. This was our prime concern and deflected our attention away from dwelling on the situation we were in as a band.” When Maker and Mount Kimbie cohort Kai Campos signed with legendary label Warp, they joined the likes of Boards Of Canada, Aphex Twin and TNGHT on a roster of such prevailing integrity that attention is inevitably drawn towards its artists no matter who they are. “Signing to Warp was a huge moment,” Maker says. “Hotflush (Recordings) had been fantastic, but we didn’t have a home for our music for a while after we finished our contract with them. Then suddenly we had a few offers on the table from bigger labels and it was difficult making decisions and thinking about the future. We instantly knew Warp was a suitable home for us. The label has such a rich history in electronic music and there was no pressure to do anything we didn’t want to do.”
Gruff young Londoner King Krule aka Archy Marshall provides vocals for two Cold Spring Fault Less Youth tracks including the single, You Took Your Time. The contrast between Marshall’s gravel-mouthed voice and Mount Kimbie’s tonal fragility introduced a new colour to the band’s palette. Maker explains that although he and Campos reached out to Marshall at first, the songs were developed collaboratively. “The tracks were only 40 second loops when Archy came in to our studio to listen to what we had been doing. We had been fans of his work as Zoo Kid for a long time and we always talked about wanting him to be involved in Mount Kimbie one way or another. It felt good working with such a strong voice and we all worked together on the trajectory of those two tracks.” Cold Spring Fault Less Youth also features vocals from the band’s two constituent members, which is a further expansion upon their debut. Mount Kimbie has now unveiled a pair of critically esteemed records, both untarnished by prevalent commercial demands, and Maker says they’re firm believers in the artistic credentials of the album format. “In our experience, when we become truly unconcerned with the outside world and focus entirely on creating an album’s worth of songs, we find our best ideas. I feel that intensity would be lost if people stopped writing albums. You need more than a few sentences to truly tell a story.”
TAKE 5
Ambar night club had a troubled 2013 with the venue potentially having to relocate because the building was to be redeveloped, but we’re all relieved to hear that after a two month hiatus, they’ll be re-opening on Friday, February 21 at their original location of 104 Murray Street, Perth. To kick things off, LA producer/ DJ Brillz will be bringing the trap cuts and electro jams to the re-freshed space. Other upcoming events include the return of the weekly Japan 4 on Saturday, February 22; Break-A-Holics Anonymous on Friday, February 28 and Force Majeure featuring Nick Thayer on Friday, March 14.
IMAGINARY FRIENDS Mysteriously masked artist, Slow Magic who released the enchanting debut album, ▲ in 2012, is heading to Perth for a show at the Akuna Club at the Llama Bar on Wednesday, February 26. With new songs slowly forthcoming off his sophomore album including, On Yr Side and Youth Group, he’s been getting accolades from all publications cool and been touring continuously over the last six months, recently completing a six-week US tour with Gold Panda. Make sure you don’t miss this one. Slow Magic
Brillz
D&B BLACKOUT
TIPPED AS MAD DECENT
No stranger to Perth is Dutch trio Black Sun Empire, who’ll once again deliver their high-octane technoinfused drum’n’bass for a show at Metro City on Friday, March 21. Their own club night, Blackout, is now more than 10-years-old and you can expect the equally eclectic and bass heavy lineup the night is known for with New Zealand’s Shapeshifter, London’s Dillinja and the Sydney lad signed to Hospital Records, Royalston - all on the billing. Get your tickets for this one from: ticketbooth.com.au.
Texan bass producer, Run DMT is bringing his dubstep, drumstep, trap, Moombahton and atmospheric downtempo sounds to Perth for an Inhibit event on Friday, February 14 at Shape. He’s only been ‘working it’ for a few years so far, but his 2013 remix of Major Lazer’s Jah No Partial was released on Mad Decent and did large things, as did his eight-track self-titled EP, which received a ton of accolades. Support on the night comes from Poseidon, Casuel, T3ktonik and Kid Lucid and tickets are on sale now from Shape Bar.
Black Sun Empire
Run DMT
BEHIND THE DECKS
What inspired you to compile it? Touring ‘round Australia, meeting and seeing lots of great bands and wanting to develop a catalyst for artists to meet and tour. What are your tools of trade? Synths, loops, drum pads, tapes, some mini synths - the studio is my phone recording me. Most life-changing musical experience? Hearing BMSR for the first time.
SACRED FLOWER UNION
Local DJ and host of RTRFM’s Full Frequency and Trainwreck, CRAIG HOLLYWOOD shares his favourite new tracks of the week, in no particular order. 1. PRESK Saluki Ten Thousand Yen Following the September release of his Love Again EP, Dutch producer Presk returns with the Saluki EP. The artist’s palette of bass heavy techno expands to become more warped on this EP - a four-tracker that has just dropped via Doc Daneeka’s Ten Thousand Yen label. With support already from Jackmaster on his Mastermix 4, Saluki is set to be around for a while. Don’t sleep on this one. 2. LOWER SPECTRUM Invocation Independent Having recently relocated to Perth - Lower Spectrum is an artist who deals in the most opulent of aural textures. Little Appeal (the debut album released independently at the end of 2013, which can be purchased via Bandcamp) is a must hear for any fan of good music. The pick for me is Invocation, a song that traverses in the most emotive piano pieces you’ll ever hear. And the appearance of a harp section (an instrument that was built at home by the artist himself) proves that this is one supremely talented individual. 26
What kind of music do you make? Marc McGuire playing Fuck Buttons. A lot of people have said different things but mostly experimentalpsychedelic if that makes sense. I think it’s based on the show - I’m more into the dancing high energy at the moment, so more of that live and other stuff on the records.
3. VRIL y7/10 Delsin Records Vril is still relatively unknown but already has grabbed some killer accolades. He’s released a few EP’s on Giegling sub label Staub, had a track on both Marcel Fengler’s Berghain plus Marcel Dettmann’s Conducted mixes and now appears with a release on techno label, Delsin. The pick for me on this EP is y7/10, a track that flows through a twisted arc of magnified tension that eventually erupts into a climax of analogue fuzz and hiccupping techno beats. 4. REMOTE Minos Meant Records Parisian duo Remote return with a new single release entitled Minos. The track has already been supported by Mr G, Sean Johnston and Luciano, to name a few. Just imagine yourself being thrust back into some sleazy ‘80s rave, complete with a M|A|R|R|S styled Pump Up The Volume vocal sample and you’re probably still not close. This would work on any dance floor.
Using only analogue gear, the brand new Berlin-based live techno act made up of Bloody Mary and Attan dubbed The Jaydes, are quietly but steadily helping bring back the sounds of techno that have been forgotten in the post millennium age. The track Area 89 is a one stop shop in analogue mayhem and if you’re a fan of acid house then please look out for this album when it’s released in late February.
Which producers are you digging right now? I’m really getting back into bands... Blues Control & Laraaji is really great ambient though.
Tell us about the All Ears mixtape. All Ears is a free online mixtape of the wide ‘contemporary Australian’ music genre. It’s almost a free-form mixtape based on having minimal limits (Australian, probably considered alternative or underground, around 10 songs) allowing for broad and sprawling listening choices that allow for a more challenging and explorative listening experience. (It’s available free on Bandcamp).
Anything else you’d like to tell X-Press? The All Ears Vol 2 launch is on Thursday - you should come ‘cause Catlips is playing and she’s great.
SALT NIGHTS OUT
have headphones on, in which case you’ll hear the greatest hits of all time.
The All Ears Vol 2 launch is this Thursday, February 6 at The Bird featuring Sacred Flower Union, Catlips, Spirit Level and a DJ set from Usurper Of Modern Medicine. Download the mixtape from: alleyesau.bandcamp.com/album/all-ears-volume-2
Next lineups? A range of Fringe participants and surprise special guest DJs battle to win. Prizes include ego, street cred and good feelings.
FRINGE WORLD SILENT DISCO When and where? The Urban Orchard, Perth Cultural Centre, Northbridge. From 8pm on Wednesdays to Saturdays throughout the Festival, which ends on February 23.
5. THE JAYDES Area 89 Dame Music
Weirdest thing that’s happened to you while performing? In my old band a woman told me she didn’t know our music, but it was great and helped her dance the pain away.
Ethos? Dance like nobody’s watching, save your judgement for the battling DJs. What can we expect to hear? Feet stomping, chanting and handclaps. Unless you
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Cool stuff? If you really impress us with your dance moves you might win an invitation to The Budgie Smuggler Fringe Artist Club. You should attend if... You like to party. Anything else to tell X-Press? Get there early to avoid a queue. Silent Disco is popular and addictive! The Silent Disco as part of Fringe World is running from 8pm on Wednesdays to Saturdays in the Urban Orchard until February 23. Entry is free.
JACKIE ONASSIS Australian Dream Let’s say a few parting words to the times when Aussie rappers bounced onstage and told you to ‘put your motherfucking hands in the air’. Those days are mostly over and in their place is the arrival of a modern breed of hip hop being championed by the likes of Sydney lads Kai Tan and Raph Dixon of Jackie Onassis. ISABELLA UBALDI chats to Dixon ahead of their show at Capitol with Illy and Remi on Friday, March 21. “I do think hip hop has changed in that maybe a couple of years ago there was definitely this obvious sound… it used to be referred to as ‘barbecue rap’”, recalls Jackie Onassis beatmaker Dixon. “A lot of people felt that the only way that anyone was going to listen to your music was to make a big, happy, silly song. There’s nothing wrong with that vibe… maybe people were only really trying to do that, and we were getting the same song again and again. I feel like at the moment it’s about doing what you want.” Last year saw their track, Crystal Balling being picked up by BBC Radio 1 tastemaker Zane Lowe.
This set off a chain reaction - the duo playing a string of national tours and festivals and getting signed to Sony Music. Not bad for a couple of lads who’ve only been at it seriously for a year. Dixon casually describes himself and Tan before Jackie Onassis’ eruption as “basically just uni bums knocking about and scrounging things together.” Hailing from Sydney’s inner west, Dixon and Tan got to know each other catching the same bus to school. They drifted apart, only to be reunited at university where they both took the same lecture in Modern American History. It was there that they bonded over a mutual love for former US First Lady Jackie Onassis and decided to make music together. “When we released the EP it kind of came at a perfect time when we had part time uni jobs and instead of getting serious and looking for a real job we had to tell ourselves, ‘We’re going to be too busy with this music thing so we’d better keep the part-time jobs.’” Having practically grown up together breeds an unfaltering group dynamic and a writing style that Dixon says is completely organic. “Kai likes to write. Most of his lyrics are definitely about stuff he’s seen or things he’s been through, and most of our music is really going for that vibe. We really try to talk about it a bunch, trying to capture something that people can get and apply to their own lives.” Juliette, the title track for their latest EP, is exactly that. A melancholic track with synths aplenty, it laments an ailing relationship and exemplifies the honesty that typifies Jackie Onassis. Although he seems reluctant, Dixon admits, “‘Kai does the rapping and everything, but it comes from one of my stories and one of his”. With the release of the duo’s new EP and a solid set of national tour dates lined up, Australian music fans can expect a fresh injection of beats with maybe only the occasional hands-in-the-motherfuckingair moment. It’s what Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis would’ve wanted.
PAUL VAN DYK You Say You Want A Revolution There’s been much talk amongst artists and the media about an EDM revolution. The idea confirmed by the increase of electronica in mainstream pop music. However, one of the most respected figures in global dance music for the last two decades, Paul van Dyk, observes scarce innovation coming out of the purported revolutionaries. AUGUSTUS WELBY chats with the German DJ/producer ahead of his appearance at Future Music Festival on Sunday, March 2 at Arena Joondalup. “For me, electronic music has always been about breaking the boundaries on the creative side, as much as using the latest technology,” he says. “If you look at what’s going on with the stuff that’s being called EDM in some parts of the world, that’s not really electronic music anymore. That’s just like the ever same-sounding pop song.” Evidently van Dyk perceives a major distinction between the EDM dominating the mainstream and his own career output. “Every single thing that I’ve done actually has an importance to me. For me electronic music is a very intense, very important art form.” Van Dyk’s artistic ambitions haven’t prevented him from gaining popular success. Since emerging in the early ’90s, he’s released six albums of original music, achieving aggregated album sales of over four million. Back in 2003, his fourth LP Reflections was the first nominee in the newly introduced Best Dance/Electronic Album category at the Grammy Awards (he didn’t take the award home, but in 2009 he received a Grammy for his work on the soundtrack to Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight). Van Dyk offers his thoughts on the recent acts nominated in the Dance/Electronic category. “To be really honest the only person in the last two, three or four years who was valuable or should have been the winner of the dance music award is the sound designer of the Nexus 2 software synthesisers, because everything comes from that
machine. Everybody uses those presets - I mean everybody who’s in that EDM thing.” Such disparaging opinions about the contemporary EDM proliferation are warranted when you consider van Dyk’s been performing and recording for over 20 years. A regular visitor to our shores, van Dyk returns to Australia for Future Music Festival and anyone who has seen van Dyk in the past will be aware that his live show is not a passive undertaking. “I’m not just pressing play on a CD player and waiting for the record to be over. There’s so much more that I do all the time that possibly can go wrong that gives the whole thing a very intense and a very lively feeling. “As soon as it was possible to take production elements with me onstage I did that more than 10 years ago. Ever since, my equipment list and all the stuff I use onstage has kept evolving. I have keyboards and a computer and custom-made mixers and controllers. It enables me to actually play live so every set is fairly different...” Van Dyk’s stage setup doubles as a mobile studio, which allows him to evade the common creative barriers enforced by being on tour. “I’m trying out things live when I play. I’m trying some riffs and seeing the reaction directly... On the last album especially and with new stuff coming out, with (the forthcoming record) Politics Of Dancing 3 as well, some of those hooks that are in the album actually came up while I was playing live. I let the basic chord play out and I had some drums and then I played a melody on top and I’m just like, ‘Wow, I really like this.’ When you are inspired by the moment, directly by your audience - it doesn’t get more direct.” WWW. XP RE SS MAG.COM. AU
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THURS 06/02 THE BIRD All Ears Vol.2 Launch Catlips Sacred Flower Union Spirit Level Usurper Of Modern Medicine DJs THE CAUSEWAY Xport Thursdays CLUB RED SEA Thursday Night Revolution CHEVRON FESTIVAL GARDENS Alice Russell CONNECTIONS Bingay
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THE CRAFTSMAN FiveO MALT BAR The Collective EVE NIGHTCLUB Retro Thursdays ft. EVE DJ Team GOLD BAR OG Thursdays GROOVE BAR (CROWN) Dr Bogus LEISURE INN DJ Peta NEWPORT HOTEL Tiki Bar Open Mic Night FRI 07/02 AMPLIFIER Fridays Are Back THE AVENUE DJ Lokie Shaw THE BAYSWATER Mario Zuli THE BEAT (DOWNSTAIRS) PLAY THE BIRD Doctopus Fake Shaman THE BRASS MONKEY James Ess & Greene George THE BRIGHTON DJ Peta
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MY PLACE
METROPOLIS FREMANTLE
CAUSEWAY
WED 05/02 AMPLIFIER Academy THE BIRD Friendsdays Maria Mendes Nik & Andy Jack Doepel Hamish Rahn BRASS MONKEY Vicktor CAPITOL (UPSTAIRS) Harlem Wednesdays CLUB RED SEA Cheek GOLD BAR Famous GROOVE BAR (CROWN) 5 Shots LLAMA BAR Akuna Club METRO FREO Next Gen MUSTANG BAR DJ James MacArthur NEWPORT HOTEL Newport Wednesdays SOVEREIGN ARMS Jordan Scott THE VILLAGE BAR Village People Wednesdays
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CAPITOL Capitol Fridays ft. DJ Roger Smart CAPITOL (UPSTAIRS) I Love 80’s & 90’s THE CARINE Jimmy Beats THE CAUSEWAY Acoustic Sundowner CHEVRON FESTIVAL GARDENS Alice Russell
THE COMO Byron O’Neill THE CRAFTSMAN Dazman DAILY PLANET Sundowner Sessions THE DEEN Student Night EVE NIGHTCLUB Recharge Fridays FLAWLESS Monarch Fridays FLYRITE Pay It Forward Bushfire Appeal
Pharrell Williams - Fri, Mar 14 @ Challenge Stadium
Lo and Behold L-Street Zara Huts Nat and Rae Marksman GEISHA BAR Marc ‘MK’ Kinchen GILKISONS DANCE STUDIO Trippy Turtle GINGER NIGHTCLUB Mondo ft. Sable Dance Party GOLD BAR Fox Friday GROOVE BAR (CROWN) Tod Johnston & Peace Love DJ Crazy Craig THE HIGHWAY HOTEL Crackers LAKERS TAVERN Grizzly LEISURE INN Mel Burns LIBRARY Dorcia MALT (nu disco, hip hop) MUSTANG BAR Swing DJ DJ James MacArthur METRO FREO Frat House Friday’s ft. Death Disco MY PLACE Karaoke PARAMOUNT Friday Nights PARKER Amine Edge & Dance THE QUEENS Reuben THE SAINT Garrison And Britty SOVEREIGN ARMS Az-T VILLA Adam Freeland THE WHALE & ALE DJ Spinback
Miguel Migs - Fri, Feb 14 @ Geisha Four Tet
SAT 08/02 AVENUE Lokie Shaw THE BALMORAL Back To The 80’s BAR ORIENT The Reggae Club BEAT NIGHTCLUB (UPSTAIRS) CANVAS BEAT NIGHTCLUB (DOWNSTAIRS) Big Kidz THE BIRD Boggie Night – Tribute To PSH BRASS MONKEY DJ Peta & Jordan Scott THE BRIGHTON Miss Chief C5 METRO FREO I Love 80s & 90s ft. Darren Tucker & Dr Wazz CAPITOL Death Disco CAPITOL (UPSTAIRS) Cream Of The 80s ft. DJ Roger Smart THE CAUSEWAY House Party THE COMO River Milnes THE
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CORNERSTONE Mario Zuli EAST END BAR Home FLAWLESS LQ Saturdays GOLD BAR Pure Gold THE GOOD SHEPHERD Chocolate Jesus GROOVE BAR (CROWN) Hi-NRG Hero DJs LEEDERVILLE HOTEL (DOWNSTAIRS) Under The Arena Party LOST SOCIETY Chalk MATCHES Techno Circus 008 Dave Samuel JK Robot James Francis Josh Kidman Joel Dee Public Event METRO FREO Metropolis Saturday’s ft. Mr T, Dr Wazz, Ben C, DJ Shane
Laneway Festival ft. Four Tet, Jamie xx, Mount Kimbie & more SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 8 @ ESPLANADE PARK & WEST END, FREMANTLE
NEWPORT HOTEL Gravity Tahli Jade PARKER Parker Saturdays PARAMOUNT Saturday Nights PLAYERS BAR Luxe ft. DJ Angry Buda THE QUEENS 3mmanuel THE SAINT Crackers SOVEREIGN ARMS Sonny VILLA Borgore Killafoe Get More Pimp Scrub DNGRFLD THE WEMBLEY HOTEL Jon Ee YAYA’S Arcadia All Nighter
SUN 09/02 THE BIRD DVS1 Allstate Craig Hollywood Stefan Milanov Mono Lisa THE BRIGHTON Squinty GROOVE BAR (CROWN) Peace Love LAKERS TAVERN River Milnes ROSEMOUNT HOTEL The Get Down THE SAINT Jon Ee Az-T THE SODA LOUNGE 3mmanuel THE QUEENS Philly Blunt & Mikeee WELD SQUARE Summer Concert Naik Mathas
MON 10/02 GROOVE BAR (CROWN) Justin & Mike MUSTANG BAR Triple Shots THE ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Bada Bingo! TUES 11/02 THE BIRD The Bird’s Open Mic Night CHEVRON FESTIVAL GARDENS 100 Million Nights GROOVE BAR (CROWN) Jack & Jill MUSTANG BAR Danza Loca Salsa Night
Deadline Monday 5pm. The Club Manual is a service to advertisers listing all DJs & Dance Music. All inclusions are at the discretion of X-Press. Email guide@xpressmag.com.au
ROCKET ROOM
MUSTANG BAR
THIS WEEK SAM PERRY’S THE WORLD IS 5-9 Noodle Palace
100 MILLION NIGHTS 11 Chevron Festival Gardens
TOMAS FORD’S ELECTRIC CABARET 5-23 Noodle Palace
FEBRUARY LADI6 & HOME BREW 13 Chevron Festival Gardens
ALICE RUSSELL 6 & 7 Chevron Festival Gardens ANIME EDGE & DANCE 7 Parker Nightclub ADAM FREELAND 7 Villa TRIPPY TURTLE 7 Gilkison Dance Studio MARC ‘MK’ KINCHEN 7 Geisha ST JEROME’S LANEWAY FESTIVAL ft. Cashmere Cat/ Earl Sweatshirt/ Four Tet/ Jamie XX 8 Esplanade Park & West End, Fremantle LANEWAY AFTER PARTY ft. Cashmere Cat, Jono Ma & more 8 Metropolis Fremantle TY 8 The Manor BORGORE 8 Villa XPLOSION BEATZ RAFT UP PARTY ft. Lady Lauryn & Holly J 8 Swan River
MIGUEL MIGS 14 Geisha THE PROM ft. Chela & more 14 Rooftop Movies JONO FERNANDEZ 14 Limelite @ Parker
XILENT & HIGH MAINTENANCE 19 Shape THE KITE STRING TANGLE & KILTER 19 Mojos 20 Flyrite YOUNG FRANCO 19 Akuna Club @ Llama Bar 21 Mondo @ Ginger CASSY BRITTON 21 The Factory BRILLZ 21 Ambar KUTMAH 21 Geisha
RUN DMT 14 Shape
JUBEI 21 Shape
DJEMBA DJEMBA & DJ HOODBOI 15 Gilkisons
DETROIT SWINDLE 21 Shape
MARLO 15 Metro City
SKREAM 22 Villa
MIAMI HORROR 15 Amplifier
SPEAKEASY ft. Wave Racer, Basenji, Sable 22 Villa
DJ SHADOW 15 Chevron Festival Gardens
THE ASTON SHUFFLE 23 secret show
N’FA JONES 16 The Rosemount
SETS ON THE BEACH ft. The Aston Shuffle, Jinja Safari, Goldroom & more 23 Scarborough Beach Amphitheatre
EBONY BONES 16 Chevron Festival Gardens ROOFTOP PARTY ft. Sonny Fodera 16 Bob’s Bar AUSTRA 17 Chevron Festival Gardens
SUMMER CONCERT #3 ft. Naik & Mathas 9 Weld Square
DJ FOOD, DJ CHEEBA, DJ MONEYSHOT 18 Chevron Festival Gardens
DVS1 9 The Bird
THE PARTYSQUAD 19 Newport Hotel
SLOW MAGIC 26 Akuna Club @ Llama Bar ROBERT GLASPER EXPERIMENT ft. Roy Ayers 27 Chevron Festival Gardens PUBLIC ENEMY 28 Chevron Festival Gardens OLIVER TANK 28 The Bakery
AUSTRALASIAN BEATMAKER INVITATIONAL 28 The Rosemount NINA LAS VEGAS, MOTEZ & more 28 Metropolis Fremantle D-JAHSTA 28 Shape MARCH KERSER w/ DJ Dazastah, Bitter Belief, Complete & Omac 1 Metro City FUTURE MUSIC FESTIVAL ft. Deadmau5, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Phoenix, Hardwell & more 2 Arena Joondalup GOOD LIFE ft. Deadmau5, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Hardwell & more 3 Arena Joondalup HANDPICKED ft. Ta-Ku, Ryan Hemsworth, Flying Lotus 7 Fremantle Arts Centre DERRICK CARTER 7 Geisha THE UPBEATS & STATE OF MIND 8 Villa GOLD PANDA 9 The Bakery MOVE D 14 Geisha PHARRELL WILLIAMS 14 Challenge Stadium FORCE MAJEURE ft Nick Thayer 14 Ambar
BLACK SUN EMPIRE, SHAPESHIFTER, DILLINJA & more 21 Metro City ILLY 21 Capitol BATHS 23 The Bakery
YAYA’S
BORN ELECTRIC Return of the Golden Boy James Zabiela, Pedestrian, Drew Hill The Court Hotel Sunday, February 2, 2014
What better way to spend a balmy afternoon than lapping-up eclectic electronic tunes from a team of touring DJs and then party on into the night... and that’s exactly what the promoters from Perth’s MINISTRY OF Habitat consortium planned and executed perfectly. SOUND CLUBBERS The Court Hotel’s garden was stylishly GUIDE TO 2014 decorated with sparkling fairy lights on the trees and ft. Ember & Joel spaceship mobiles suspended from the tent ceiling; Fletcher and with tunes pumping early from resident DJs Flex 29 Villa and James A, the event was well under way by the time the first of the visiting artists came to the stage. Drew Hill, who are a mainland European APRIL duo comprising of Michelle Drew and Philipp Hill, cut VENGEANCE up some chilled house grooves that had the bustling 4 Ambar courtyard moving along nicely. Dropping in some of their own releases later in the set, the sounds of their A$AP FERG debut EP Solitude showed just how diverse these two 5 The Bakery DJ/producers really can be. Next up was Pedestrian, who upped the DUB FX & OPIUO pace, delivering a set of hard hitting tech-house that 5 Villa ensured the late afternoon revellers had no chance of taking their seats. For two hours he took the NEKO PLANET dancing masses on a journey through a spectrum 9 The Bakery of styles from Latino beats with swinging bass, to harder bass heavy techno. Gregory Porter’s 1960 ELIZABETH ROSE, What? resulted in the garden party ‘getting their SAFIA, FISHING move on’ to the delayed effected brass riffs of the 11 Amplifier tripped-out track. 12 Mojos Day turned into night as passionate fans flocked around the DJ booth in anticipation for the wavy blonde-haired star, James Zabiela who MAY readied up his first number to a roaring cheer BLISS N ESO, from the floor. Zabiela has amassed a wealth of HORRORSHOW, experience since the late ‘90s, starting out in the SETH SENTRY UK he got early support from Sasha’s Excession 2 Signal Park, booking agency and spent many summers as a Busselton resident at club, Space, Ibiza. Although, Zabiela is 3 Wellington probably best known for his unconventional DJ’ing Square performances, where he infuses the sounds from Pioneer CDJ-2000s with real time sound mangle Photo by Michael Caves GROOVIN THE toys such as the Korg Kaossilator and Ableton Live. The audience were throughout the two MOO ft. Disclosure, Zabiela’s highly animated performance, hours lapping up every move from the frontman and Dizzee Rascal, constant attention to the mix and regular danced like it was 3am rather than early evening. Holy Fuck, Illy & interaction with the audience, made his show a Dropping in tunes like Aden’s Whip and Justin Martin’s more pleasure to watch and with a barrage of techno, Mr Spock, the set mostly comprised of harder techno 10 Hay Park, breakbeat and even a trickle of drum’n’bass, his with a predominant bass front line. Ending with the Bunbury set left no one disappointed. Frequently mid mix, seminal New Order hit Blue Monday also heavily by use of a handheld MIDI controller, iPad or the remixed by Zabiela’s hand devices, the night closed ELLIE GOULDING Kaossilator, Zabiela mashed up the tracks with huge to tremendous cheers and pleads for more. 28 Challenge bass rips and FX loops, that added a whole new Stadium dimension to the sounds. MICHAEL CAVES JURASSIC 5 28 Metro City
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LOCAL NEWS
(THE LAST) BIG DAY OUT Arena Joondalup Sunday, February 2, 2014
Perhaps fittingly, the scaled-down set-up of Perth’s last Big Day Out made the festival somewhat reminiscent of its earlier ‘90s versions, with no D-fence barricade on the main stages, no fairground rides and smaller crowds (19,000 all up) making it easier to get around and get a good spot. Local four piece, From The Dunes, inaugurated the Headspace stage, getting off to a rocky start when they managed to blow an amplifier on their first song. Technical difficulties were soon sorted out, though, and they gave the small but appreciative crowd (a phrase that could be slotted into any given paragraph here without seeming out of place) a good show. Definitely down the more commercial end of the dirtied-up rock spectrum, they should be a long runner if songs like White Line Fever, off their upcoming second EP, are anything to judge by. At the Orange Stage Portugal. The Man played a stylish set to just several hundred early punters - alas, a rarely encountered treat. Over on the distant Red Stage Toro Y Moi AKA South Carolina producer Chaz Bundick, brought his full live band to bring some smooth, summery synth-pop vibes to brighten everyone’s afternoon. Somewhere in the chillwave, electro vein of Metronomy, Bundick is one cool cat with a polished live sound - taking centre stage on keyboards and vocals, while bass, drums and guitar fleshed things out, in a set that included the slinky groove of Too Many Details and Say That. Melbourne’s Kingswood are born crowdpleasers, delivering catchy, hooky guitar rock coupled with an easy stage presence that invites all and sundry to join the party. They saved their big radio hit, Ohio Man, for the last, which was a smart move, but maybe over-extending the audience call-and-response singalong wasn’t. Still, that was a minor misstep in an otherwise solid set. Over in the Boiler Room, Colorado electronic duo Big Gigantic were going hard early as ravers danced to electro-house, dubstep and trap with the odd addition of live saxophone over the top, as well as drums. Their Let Me See Your Hips Swing remix got many moving, but it wasn’t until their final track that the Boiler Room suddenly began to swell… with people rushing in to secure a spot for the next act Sydney indie-dance band, Rüfüs – a popular drawcard with three tracks in the recent triple j Hottest 100.
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INTERVIEWS
The Drones would be used to playing packed out houses when they make their way over to Perth such is their allure, so it would have been somewhat of a shock for them to be able to see some green grass around the punters. Local boy Gareth Liddiard has his guitar strung lower with each year and reminded all of his local knowledge by saying that the last time he was at Arena Joondalup ‘this place was fucking bush, and I got a kangaroo tick’. As always, The Drones’ swampy blues rock was of a high standard as they treated all to a rocking set including newer tracks How To See Through Fog and Laika. Youthful Manchester chaps The 1975 could lay claim to pulling the crowd with the youngest median age at the final Big Day Out with their set of breezy pop tunes. Mathew Healy played the part of quaint frontman perfectly, while Adam Hahn stole the limelight with his charismatic guitar playing. The City, Girls and Sex were all stellar and Healy ended the set atop the kick drum and dropped his guitar in rock n roll fashion. Nice one! On the small and strangely located Headspace stage, which was positioned en route to the Boiler Room and Red Stage, Rémi Gallego AKA French electronic producer, The Algorithm positioned himself behind a laptop and mixer with partnerin-crime – Mike Malyan of UK prog metal band, Monuments, on a drums, to make their Australian debut to a few people and random passers by. Even if you were standing right in front of the stage, the wind at Arena Joondalup seemed to blow away the sound and not even a special guest appearance from Karnivool’s Jon Stockman on bass could save the Frenchman’s day.
LIVE REVIEWS
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Q & A
Tame Impala attracted a decent crowd on the main stage, and while it was a solid, crowdpleasing set from the boys. Despite perhaps reaching the point of overexposure, people still can’t seem to get enough of Solitude Is Bliss, Why Wont You Make Up Your Mind and Feel Like We Only Go Backwards. Kevin Parker seemed very relaxed in front of the hometown crowd, breaking up songs with friendly banter, “Hi guys in the licensed area! I like you guys. They are like, ‘I hell wanna see Tame Impala, but I hell wanna keep drinking!’”. Also introducing Steve on bass, who was filling in for Cam Avery, who had apparently double-booked himself, he encouraged the crowd to shout ‘Cam Avery is a nob’, then introducing the “song to go crazy to!” as they launched into the chugging riff of Elephant, before finishing on Apocalypse Dreams.
N o t m a ny p e o p l e s aw w h a t w a s undoubtedly one of the acts of the day, Australian larrikin rockers, Cosmic Psychos, and more’s the pity, but everyone who did see them had a blast. Tongue firmly in cheek and amps firmly twisted to 11, Ross Knight and co started in with Pub and kept the pedal down for a short, sharp set, punctuating songs like Dead In A Ditch and Nice Day To Go To The Pub with plenty of self-deprecating humour, ending with the now-traditional Mooning Of The Audience. These are definitely blokes you can trust to put on a good show. Mudhoney came on and played some songs and that’s about as much as was noteworthy about their performance. Perhaps it was the small crowd they pulled, or maybe they simply knew they were spending this tour well and truly in the shadow of their fellow grunge pioneers, Pearl Jam, their set was uninspired without actually being bad.
Despite performing quite uncharacteristically in the daylight, The Hives brought humour, class and good old-fashioned showbiz to the Big Day Out. The arrogance of singer Pelle Almqvist is astounding yet somehow completely worthy and just downright charming. It was a greatest hits set from a band whose stagecraft is second to none and the audience had the time of their lives. The Hives deserve their own Big Day Out.
Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist, The Hives - Photo by Daniel Grant
Kevin Parker, Tame Impala - Photo by Daniel Grant
Ross Knight, Cosmic Psychos - Photo by Daniel Grant
Gareth Liddiard, The Drones - Photo by Daniel Grant
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UK-based Japanese four-piece, Bo Ningen showcased the other end of the psych spectrum taking it to its wackiest punk extreme and coupling it with a mesmerising performance to boot. Looking like wizards in a Decore shampoo commercial, the band translated the recorded material off their latest album, Line The Wall along with unheard tracks off their forthcoming third album, to a fascinated bunch of onlookers. Tracks were jammed out and melded into one another, as they conjured up an on-stage frenzy that entailed math rock precision, chaotic noise breakdowns, a ton of riffage, and vocals that were either drowned in reverb or in a frenzied, high-pitched falsetto - all incomprehensible in Japanese. The Lumineers hadn’t made their way to Perth before and pulled a crowd that would have fared favourably on one of the main stages. From the moment Wesley Schultz appeared and hung his hat on the neck of his guitar as he launched into Classy Girls, he had the crowd hanging off his every word (as well as singing at the top of their lungs). A version of Sawmill Joe’s Ain’t Nobody’s Problem had Stelth Ulvang playing notes on the piano with his big toe but the high point for many was when Schultz took his guitar to a microphone set up in the crowd to play an intimate version of Ho Hey. Primus are a quirky, truly original, virtuosic and never less than fascinating live attraction. Admitting that he’s never one to play a ‘greatest hits’ set, Les Claypool and his band of merry gentlemen delivered a challenging and exciting collection instead, though he did drop in a snippet of his much-loved South Park TV theme tune. My Name Is Mud and Jerry Was A Race Car Driver kept the wackiness full steam ahead and closer Tommy The Cat ended the set on a high.
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There was no mistaking who was on next – Beady Eye declared the giant, bold, black letters on the white backdrop. Sporting a crop cut, looking a bit older and harder these days, Liam Gallagher is still every part the rock‘n’roll star - leaning, arms behind back, head cocked – that distinct, snarling voice, still in top form. Despite a smaller crowd than he’d be accustomed to, he belted it out as if it was Wembley. A cracking set from the boys featuring Face The Crowd, Four Letter Word and Soul Love, all sounded great live. It was a real turning point for the day when they pulled out the Oasis classic Cigarettes & Alcohol, doing it justice. The opening strum of Wonderwall incited hollers from the crowd as well as a mass singalong. Liam declared, “Perth you’re ‘avin it more than the rest of them!”. A rare compliment from the man. They wound up the set with The Roller and a superb cover of The Rolling Stones’ Gimme Shelter. While CSS closed the Headspace stage with their cheeky Brazilian diversity, Vista Chino strolled onstage with no fanfare or pretence and proceeded to do what they do: stoner rock so dry and rich that it could have blown in on the last zephyr from the desert. Starting with a couple from their recent Peace album, the rest of the set was given over to Kyuss classics (3/4 of this band having reunited from those days, albeit under a different name for legal reasons.) Neither John Garcia nor his bandmates said a word to engage the small crowd during the entire set, letting the music do the talking, but despite initial low volume and energy levels, things ramp up through One Inch Man, Freedom Run and Thumb. CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE
CSS - Photo by Daniel Grant
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LOCAL NEWS
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INTERVIEWS
Win Butler, Arcade Fire - Photo by Daniel Grant
Through no fault of their own, Arcade Fire are a band that have lost some of their mystique in no small part due to the masses of records that they sell. After the ten piece multi-instrument swapping band got the title track of latest album Reflektor out of the way, they took to showing off why they have a back catalogue that is so adored. The commanding Win Butler lead an emphatic romp through Neighbourhood #3 (Power Out), Rebellion, Ready To Start and even a thrown away verse and chorus of Dancing Queen. Regine Chassagne was all fervent drumming and devilish stare during Neighbourhood #1. The faux reggae influence of Reflektor reared its head for the later part of the set with Here Comes The Night Time seeing an extravagant amount of confetti being unleashed on the crowd. In 90 minutes, Arcade Fire reaffirmed why we all bought their records in the first place. The Boiler Room this year had gone back its roots as a giant tent from the Bassendean days, and while not the finest line-up it’s seen, Sydney wunderkind Flume pulled a big crowd to watch him do his thing, and Mad Decent crew Flosstradamus and Dillon Francis laid down some dark and heavy, bass and trap sounds. Meanwhile Mad Decent head honcho Diplo was blowing shit up on the Red Stage with his Major Lazer project, following on from the reincarnated Snoop Lion who was touring his recent reggae album produced by Diplo – the born again rasta showing the crowd his more laidback, peace-loving side. Swedish heavy metal band Ghost have a live show that would make you think that Darth Vader teamed with The Pope and the Grim Reaper to form a band. With smoke machine blazing and secular chants coming from the sampler, Ghost played a set of melodic and heavy tunes to a crowd that swelled in number with each tune. Ghost aren’t big on solos, opting for chunky riffs instead and have the most modest drum kit ever assembled by a metal drummer to show they aren’t your average beast. They weren’t at an ear busting volume, but put on one hell of an entertaining show with songs that would hold up even without the theatrics.
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LIVE REVIEWS
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Q & A
It was all hands on deck by 8pm for Pearl Jam to rip straight into a fiery Go. Eddie Vedder’s a real ‘man of the people’ - a wildly charismatic frontman who has struggled with the attention and responsibility that comes with that. After 90 minutes of rock that included a near-perfect Jeremy and a stirring Rearviewmirror, they took a short break before Vedder sidled amiably back and said “still here?” An acoustic shot at Hunters’ Throw Your Arms Around Me was followed by a happy birthday for keysman Boom Gaspar and a rollicking version of Victoria Williams’ Crazy Mary. The whole band are sensational, especially bassist Jeff Ament and guitarist Mike McCready. Pearl Jam are a great rock’n’roll band, and lovely extended versions of Black and Porch follow, before Arcade Fire’s Win Butler joins the band for a triumphant run through Neil Young’s Rockin’ In The Free World, proving their status without a doubt.
Eddie Vedder flies out front of Pearl Jam - Photo by Daniel Grant
Over on the JBL stage, Californian nu metal veterans Deftones drew a small, but dedicated and passionate crowd who were treated to an intimate, powerful performance. An awesome lighting setup and loud, clear sound combined with their distinct ferocious sound and Chino Moreno’s theatrical antics. A blistering version of Change (In The House Of Flies) had the crowd going wild, Moreno commenting, “I love it when we come to Perth, it’s always poppin’.” Mac Miller even made a special appearance near the end to spit a few rhymes with his new friends. Thanks for the memories, Big Day Out. You proved in all the right (and the wrong) ways that there’s no business like showbusiness. RACHEL DAVISION, BOB GORDON, ALFRED GORMAN, CHRIS HAVERCROFT, TRAVIS JOHNSON & SHANE PINNEGAR
ROSEMOUNT HOTEL This Wednesday catch The Order Of The Black Werewolf, Silver Foxes, Loners, Ali Flintoff and Mercia Wise, while Thursday night sees locals Havoc launching their debut EP with support from The Moment We Fall, Winterfold, Defy The Leader and Parate Theme Park. Friday, Abbe May returns to the Rosemount with special guests Kucka and Rum Jungle, while Saturday it’s Sweating Bullets featuring Dawn Of Leviathan, Severtone, Tusk, To Hell With Honour and Arkarion.
THE CLAREMONT HOTEL Saturday, February 8, it’s Antics - live indie bands and DJs. These shows feature the best in happening bands from the WA scene. This week catch Jake And The Cowboys and Three Hands One Hoof, plus Antics DJs featuring Luke Dux will keep the room moving in between and after the bands!. Free entry from 7pm! Jake And The Cowboys
THE BEAT NIGHTCLUB This Saturday, February 8, Canberra’s I Exist are unleashing their brand spankin’ new From Darkness Album on WA. Support comes from People Problem, Leeches, Protest and Flesh Police. Doors at 8pm, $12 entry.
YAYA’S
MOJOS BAR
Fringe World continues with Comedy Heavyweights! For the rest of February catch the very best of Australian comedy, featuring greats like Greg Fleet and up-and-coming talents Khaled Khalafalla, Cameron James and Jared Jekyll. There’s also more great live music with the launch of Silence To The Left’s newest video offering on Thursday, February 6, as well as NSW’s own MAIDS, with support from local legends Puck and Pat Chow, on Friday night!
Thursday, February 6, Perth’s first choice soulful solo musician, Matt Gresham, plays Mojos Bar. Already with four successful albums, an army of loyal followers and an armful of song-writing awards, 24-year-old acoustic artist Matt Gresham has won the respect and admiration of audiences, musicians and critics around the world. Special guest is Michael Triscari. Entry is $20 from 8pm. Matt Gresham
SWALLOW BAR Live music kicks off on Wednesday night with the swinging’ sounds of Razor Jack, bringing his rare vinyl from West Africa, the Caribbean and US. Thursday’s Summer Series continues with the fabulous boys from Shotdown From Sugartown, with their ‘50s honky tonk blues and rockabilly. Saturday night settle in for a night of old school funk, jazz and a bit of a surprise from DJ Peas Of Soul Purpose Radio. This Sunday Voudou Zazou will be jazzing things up, Gypsy style, with vocals by Coucou Zazou. 32
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RAILWAY HOTEL This Friday it’s Railway Revulsion with Facegrinder, Cavalier, The Reptillians, Aborted Tortoise and Foreign Aids. Doors open 8pm and entry is $10. Saturday nights catch Bay Sickly, In Orbit, The Aways and Tenderbeast. Doors 8pm, entry by gold coin donation. Sunday the beer garden hosts a great session of country and power-pop starring The Jayco Brothers, Shimmergloom, The JAC, Wayward Johnson and Alex Olk. Doors open 4pm and entry is free!
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JONI IN THE MOON Folktronic sibling act Joni In The Moon aka Joni and Josh Hogan - launch their first album, Sorrow Trees, this Friday, February 7, at the Fly By Night Musician’s Club. Support comes from Rokwell & Groom, Hayley Beth and Sonic Manipulator. We had a quick word with Joni. Where did you come from? Give us a potted history of Joni In The Moon. Josh and I are siblings but we didn’t really properly cross into each other’s musical spheres until a few years ago. Josh studied music formally at Uni and overseas and his percussion was a big part of growing up for us. I can’t really read music and didn’t stick to anything formal except singing when I was a kid, and then just kind of stumbled my way into singing in a moody rock band when I was a teenager. How do you go creating music with your brother? Because he’s my bro, Josh has a pretty intimate understanding of me and my world and so he has given me a lot of grace these last years. Josh does so many things with his music, writing for theatre and dance companies and doing sound design for opera, films and computer apps - I have learnt a lot from him and he’s the figurative backbone of Joni In The Moon.
How would you describe your sound? Folktronic world-sample folk-pop. For Josh, he’s deeply influenced by world percussion and world music, as well as the production/arrangement of artists like Björk and Flying Lotus. I’m more into the melody and lyrics side of things, and grew up listening to a lot of Kate Bush, Joni Mitchell, Radiohead, P J Harvey, Jeff Buckley, Björk. My first influence would have to be Loreena Mckennitt, a harp wielding Irish folk singer. Her tape was permanently in our car when we were kids.
SOULFUL SOUNDS
UP THE PUNKS!
It’s a night of fantastic blues and roots at Mojos Bar this Wednesday, February 5, when the prodigiously talented Morgan Bain, master singer/songwriter and master harmonicist, is joined by WAM Song Of The Year (Blues/Roots) winner Jordan McRobbie and KatieJ White. Doors open at 8pm, entry is $10, and please note that the original headliner, Nathan Kaye, will not be appearing.
The first Punkinstuff gig of 2014 promises to be a total riot, with a performance by bulesque star Ginger Rabbit, followed by The Caballeros, Gloria Ironbox and Lifespan all competing for loudest band of the night, while Ben Elliott will start the evening off with an acoustic set, presumably for contrast. It’s all happening at The Beat Nightclub this Friday, February 7. Doors open at 8pm, entry is $10.
Morgan Bain
Ginger Rabbit
What does the rest of the year hold for you? We launch the album on Friday and we’ve got a few more gigs lined up in the coming months. I play with our pianist Tara John (ex. Schvendes) in a duo arrangement of Joni In The Moon as well and she’s amazing and so much fun to work with, so expect a lot more of those kind of gigs. We’re hoping to get some funding to tour with the big band and go for a few festivals later in the year. Joni In The Moon
FANCY A SHANTY? Presented as part of Fringe World, Songs By The Sea sees four acclaimed local female singer/songwriters come together for one night only at the Kidogo Arthouse at Bather’s Beach, Fremantle, this Sunday, February 9. Rachel Gorman of Rachel & Henry Climb A Hill is joined by Billie Rogers, Polly Medlen and Laura Mermaid. Doors open at 6pm, tickets are $15 through fringeworld.com.au, with door sales subject to availability.
WELCOME TO THE GRINDHOUSE It’s nothing but brutal, in-your-face aggression this Friday, February 7, when The Railway Hotel plays host to some of Perth’s most brutal punk outfits. Catch Facegrinder, Cavalier, The Reptilians, Aborted Tortoise and Foreign Aids from 8pm. Entry is $10. Cavalier
Billie Rogers
BRIGHT SUNSHINY DAY This Saturday, February 8, unwind at Mojos with the sweet sounds of The Sunshine Brothers and Grace Barbe. A guaranteed way to replenish your soul, this special evening kicks off at 8pm and entry is $15 on the door.
SHIMMER AND SHAKE
The Sunshine Brothers
MIDWEEK MELTDOWN Want a sure-fire way to blow out the cobwebs on Hump Day? Make your way to the Rosemount Hotel for a rip-roaring night of pop, punk, rock and more with the likes of The Order Of The Black Werewolf, Silver Foxes, Loners, Ali Flintoff and Merica Wise. Doors open at 8pm, entry is $5!
Indie-rock triumvirate Shimmergloom have a big week on their hands, with two gigs on the cards. This Thursday, February 6, catch them YaYa’s alongside Hyte and Silence To The Left - doors open at 8pm. Then on Sunday, February 9, they’ll be tearing it up at Fremantle’s Railway Hotel with The Jayco Brothers, Joe Algeri and more from 4pm. Shimmergloom
LO CAL & LAU NCHI NG 07/02
JONI IN THE MOON Sorrow Trees Album Launch @ Fly By Night
14/02
GUTTER DRAKES Sleep EP Launch @ YaYa’s
21/03
RAGDOLL Break You Video Launch @ The Rocket Room
22/02
WIKED FURY Mummy’s Boy Single Launch @ YaYa’s
29/02
MATT WARING Smoking Gun EP Launch @ The Causeway
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TOUR TRAILS
EDDIE VEDDER, FEBRUARY 7-8 THIS WEEK BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND 5,7,8 Perth Arena (sold out) TILIAN 5 Amplifier Bar ASH GRUNWALD 5 Indi Bar 6 Prince Of Wales, Bunbury 7 Settlers Tavern, Margaret River 8 Fly By Night 9 Ravenswood Hotel ED KOWALCZYK 5 Metro City MAIDS 6 Newport Hotel 7 YaYa’s 8 Prince Of Wales, Bunbury ABBE MAY 7 Rosemount Hotel ALICE RUSSELL & BOOKER T JONES 6 & 7 Chevron Festival Gardens I EXIST 7 Prince Of Wales, Bunbury 8 Beat Nightclub EDDIE VEDDER 7 & 8 Riverside Theatre THE PANICS 8 Chevron Festival Gardens D AT SEA 8 Amplifier Bar 9 YMCA HQ LANEWAY FESTIVAL 8 Fremantle (sold out) OFFICIAL LANEWAY AFTER PARTY Haim DJ set, Chvrches DJ set, Cashmere Cate and more 8 Metropolis Fremantle SUMMERSET ARTS FESTIVAL Birds Of Tokyo 8 Scarborough Beach Amphitheatre THE BASICS 9 Chevron Festival Gardens THE LOCUST(Cancelled) 10 Amplifier Bar JULIA HOLTER 10 Chevron Festival Gardens 100 MILLION NIGHTS 11 Chevron Festival Gardens FEBRUARY BOYUP BROOK COUNTRY MUSIC FESTIVAL Sara Storer, McAlister Kemp, Mike Carr, Buddy Goode, The Borderers, Graham Roger, Rohan Powell, Rob Black & the Kelly Gang, Eric Erdman, Courtney Conway, Connie Kis Andersen 12-16 Boyup Brook Country Music Club IALARU 12 Chevron Festival Gardens LADI6 & HOME BREW 13 Chevron Festival Gardens SOFT SOFT LOUD 13 Fremantle Art Centre Courtyard STONEFIELD 13 The Prince Of Wales, Bunbury 14 Clancy’s, Dunsborough 15 Capitol
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TOURS LIVE
THE PANICS, FEBRUARY 8
HUSKY 14 Chevron Festival Gardens MIGUEL MIGS 14 Geisha Bar DJ SHADOW 15 Chevron Festival Gardens HAND OF MERCY 15 Prince Of Wales, Bunbury THE NATIONAL 14 Belvoir Amphitheatre MIAMI HORROR 15 Amplifier Bar PETE MURRAY 16 Astor Theatre EBONY BONES 16 Chevron Festival Gardens AUSTRA 17 Chevron Festival Gardens DJ FOOD, DJ CHEEBA, DJ MONEYSHOT 18 Chevron Festival Gardens OKKERVIL RIVER 19 Chevron Festival Gardens OLAFUR ARNALDS & KEATON HENSON 20 Chevron Festival Gardens KITE STRING TANGLE 19 Mojos Bar 20 Flyrite UNCLE JED 20 Clancy’s Fremantle 21 YaYa’s STU LARSEN 20 Mojos Bar JOE CAMILLERI & THE BLACK SORROWS 20 Friends Restaurant 21 Ravenswood Hotel 22 Mundaring Weir Hotel MANGO GROOVE 21 Red Hill Auditorium MISSY HIGGINS/ JAE LAFFER/SARAH BLASKO 21 Scarborough Beach Amphitheatre DON WALKER 21 Clancy’s Fremantle 22 Civic Hotel 23 Fremantle Arts Centre DAUGHN GIBSON & OWL EYES 21Chevron Festival Gardens SUNDOWN SESSIONS: MISSY HIGGINS, SARAH BLASKO , JAE LAFFER (THE PANICS) 21 Scarborough Beach Amphitheatre POND, AAA AARDVARK GETDOWN SERVICES, FELICITY GROOM, THE SILENTS, DJ LADY CARLA 22 Chevron Festival Gardens HEATHER PEACE 22 Fly By Night SOUTH WEST CRAFT BEER FESTIVAL 23 Old Broadwater Farm ALTAN 23 Chevron Festival Gardens SETS ON THE BEACH #14 The Aston Shuffle, Jinja Safari, Goldroom, Motez, The Swiss, Glen Horsborough, Louisahhh!, Maelstrom , Client Liason, Mighty Mouse 23 Scarborough Beach
LOS CORONAS 23 Capitol PAPA VS PRETTY 23 Mojos WIRE 24 Chevron Festival Gardens CHARLES BRADLEY 25 Chevron Festival Gardens MADELEINE PEYROUX 26 Chevron Festival Gardens ROBERT GLASPER EXPERIMENT 27 Chevron Festival Gardens DOLLY PARTON 27 Perth Arena SIX60 27 Metro City NEKO CASE 27 Fly By Night Club MAJOR LEAGUES 27 Newport Hotel 28 Prince Of Wales, Bunbury PUBLIC ENEMY 28 Chevron Festival Gardens NINA LAS VEGAS 28 Metropolis Freamntle BRUNO MARS 28 Perth Arena GAY PARIS 28 Swan Basement MARCH MAJOR LEAGUES 1 Amplifier Bar GAY PARIS 1 YaYa’s 2 Indi Bar MIKHAEL PASKALEV 1 Chevron Festival Gardens KERSER 1 Metro City FUTURE MUSIC Deadmau5, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Phoenix, Hardwell, Knife Party, Eric Prydz, Rudimental, Tinie Tempah, Chase & Status 2 Arena Joondalup LIONEL RICHIE & JOHN FARNHAM 2 Sandalford Winery Swan Valley THE WONDER STUFF 2 Rosemount Hotel SOUNDWAVE Green Day, Stone Temple Pilots, Alice In Chains, Rob Zombie, Megadeth, Placebo and more 3 Claremont Showgrounds GOODLIFE FESTIVAL Deadmau5, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Hardwell, Rudimental, Knife Party, Kaskade, Porter Robinson 3 Arena Joondalup THE BENNIES 6 YaYa’s 7 Prince Of Wales, Bunbury DAN SULTAN 6 Art Bar STICKY FINGERS 6 Prince Of Wales, Bunbury 7 White Star, Albany 8 Settlers Tavern, Margaret River BRIAN MCKNIGHT 7 Riverside Theatre GURRUMUL 8 Kings Park BILLY BRAGG 9 Perth Concert Hall
MIAMI HORROR, FEBRUARY 15 GOLD PANDA 9 The Bakery QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE & NINE INCH NAILS 11 Perth Arena JOSH PYKE 12-13 Quarry Amphitheatre THE ANGELS, DIESEL & MI-SEX 14 Graham Bricknell Music Shell, Bunbury JURASSIC 5 14 Metro City PHARRELL WILLIAMS 14 Challenge Stadium THE WHITLAMS 14-16 Quarry Amphitheatre KASEY CHAMBERS AND BAND 15 Quindanning Inne SONGS IN THE KEY OF MOTOWN 12 Bunbury Regional Entertainment Centre 13 Mandurah Performing Arts Centre 14 Astor Theatre NEIL FINN 16 Perth Concert Hall DAMIAN DEMPSEY 17 Capitol THE ROLLING STONES 19 Perth Arena SUICIDE GIRLS 19 Astor Theatre ABSU & PORTAL 20 Amplifier Bar THE SMITH STREET BAND & THE MENZINGERS 19 Prince Of Wales 20 YMCA HQ 21 Rosemount Hotel CALLING ALL CARS 21 Amplifer Bar 22 Prince Of Wales, Bunbury 23 Indi Bar ILLY 21 Capitol KATE MILLER-HEIDKE 21-23 Quarry Amphitheatre CASPIAN 22 Mojos Bar GANG OF FOUR 23 Capitol SEBADOH 25 Rosemount Hotel DARK TRANQUILLITY & ORPHEUS OMEGA 25 Capitol 30 SECONDS TO MARS 25 Challenge Stadium THE STRAY SISTERS 26 Fly By Night JOHN BUTLER TRIO 27 Fremantle Arts Centre 28 Belvoir Amphitheatre 29 Old Broadwater Farm, Busselton THE HOLIDAYS 29 Rosemount Hotel BRITISH INDIA 29 Amplifier Bar HUNTER & COLLECTORS 29 (sold-out) & 30 Kings Park & Botanical Garden KRIS KRISTOFFERSON 30 Red Hill Auditorium THE STRAY SISTERS 31 Albany Entertainment Centre APRIL PACOPENA 2 Perth Concert Hall MONSTER MAGNET 3 Amplifier Bar
KYLESA 6 The Bakery SUZANNE VEGA 11 Astor Theatre ELIZABETH ROSE 11 Amplifier Bar 12 Mojos Bar WEST COAST BLUES N ROOTS Matt Corby, Michael Franti, John Mayer, Dave Matthews Band, Doobie Brothers, Boy & Bear 13 Fremantle Park BOZ SCAGGS 14 Crown Theatre 3 INCHES OF BLOOD 16 Amplifier Bar TOXIC HOLOCAUST & SKELETONWITCH 20 Rosemount Hotel KREATOR + DEATH ANGEL 20 Amplifier Bar SKID ROW & UGLY KID JOE 23 Metro Fremantle THE ALMOST 23 Amplifier Bar JEFF BECK 24 Perth Concert Hall MICHAEL BUBLE 26 & 27 Perth Arena AARON NEVILLE DR JOHN & THE NITETRIPPERS 26 Riverside Theatre MAY BLISS N ESSO 2 Signal Park, Busselton 3 Wellington Square, Perth LEE KERNAGHAN 6 Princess Royal Theatre, Albany 9 Crown Theatre JASON DERULO 10 Perth Arena ARCTIC MONKEYS 13 Perth Arena JONNY CRAIG 14 Academy @ Amplifier 15 HQ Perth PETULA CLARK 17 Perth Concert Hall SEPTICFLESH & FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE 18 Amplifier Bar HITS & PITS 3 Strung Out, Face To Face 18 Capitol THE ENGLISH BEAT 23 Rosemount Hotel 2014 AIRNORTH KIMBERLEY MOON EXPERIENCE Eskimo Joe, The Waifs, John Williamson 24 Jim Hughes Amphitheatre, Kununurra ELLIE GOULDING 28 Challenge Stadium LARRY CARLTON 28 Astor Theatre JUNE YO GABBA GABBA! LIVE! 7 Riverside Theatre JAMES BLUNT 12 Crown Theatre 13 Riverside Theatre BASTILLE 18 Challenge Stadium FINNTROLL 22 Amplifier Bar KEITH URBAN 29 Perth Arena
TO U R TA L E S
JULIA HOLTER Heart Before Head Julia Holter performs at the Chevron Festival Gardens on Monday, February 10, supported by Ducktails. ALEX GRIFFIN reports. To listen to Julia Holter means embracing the pleasure of tuning out the world and tuning into another, more beautiful one. Though 2012’s Ekstasis was a stunning collection of songs, last year’s Loud City Song takes you through a city of the imagination, drawing from Collette’s Gigi and the city skyline of LA to draw out strange and new ways of hearing things. I used to skip buses home from the city to walk with it all the way up Fitzgerald Street towards my house, and it never failed to render the journey more like a novel than a walk. Those who were blown away by her at Laneway last year can expect the addition of a saxophonist and a violinist to her band, something which still has Holter excited. “It’s been really fun touring! I am really excited about how we sound, and if I may say so myself, we sound pretty great at the moment. We also have especially because we have our sound engineer Robin with us, and we’ve had 80 shows this year to get ready and try to put together some new ones.” While Loud City Song came as a direct successor to ideas that flowered out of making Ekstasis, writing the follow-up hasn’t proved as smooth a transition for Holter. “Sometimes it doesn’t come as easily - you have to wait and let it come. So much went into Loud City Song, so many strong and intense ideas. With Ekstasis it was easier, because it wasn’t such a unified record, and that meant it opened itself up more to pull in more ideas. With LCS, it all built out of one song, so it meant each song was part of a greater picture, which is probably why there are no b-sides; I couldn’t record a song that wouldn’t be on the record, because it was a unified thing with clear borders.” Whatever shape the next record takes, she won’t be retreading her steps. Though Ekstasis was recorded chiefly in her bedroom, there’s no going back to “lo-fi endeavours” for Holter. “I like to work with people,” she explains. “By yourself, you’re forced to be lo-fi, relatively. I like
the idea of making demos at home and then making them sound good with players later on.” Many of Holter’s collaborators are notable figures in the emergent LA experimental pop scene, like Cole Grief-Neill, who mirrored her approach in starting solo and moving on to work with others, and the communal sense helps Loud City Song hang together in the way that it invites you to return to the start after finishing, flowing like a ribbon caught in a wind down a sidewalk. While Holter’s habit of drawing from her literary forbears – everyone from Aeschylus to Woolf – brings depth and context to her work, many critics have honed in on this at the expense of feeling her work, to her frustration. “Some interviewers are really pretentious; they ask me about ancient Greek philosophy, and I don’t know anything about that! I’m doing the same thing artists have done for thousands of years. I borrow stories, which doesn’t make me a great intellectual. It just makes sense to me to work with material that’s instead of talking about my life all the time. That would be really boring. People react to me like I’m some kind of erudite, great thinker, with all this pretension; that kind of thing is silly. “Generally, people warm to my music because they love it; it’s not about being smart or cool, because if you listen to what I’m doing it’s not purely intellectual music, it’s music more from the heart than it is from the head. It’s about things I feel.”
“Generally, people warm to my music because they love it; it’s not about being smart or cool, because if you listen to what I’m doing it’s not purely intellectual music, it’s music more from the heart than it is from the head. It’s about things I feel.” Live, though, Holter is aloof from such worries. “I try not to read reviews too carefully, but it’s hard not to do. I don’t like to reveal too much of myself. I’m in character mode. I like interviews, because it’s very personal; I get this opportunity to reveal myself as a real person and explain what I do as an artist. “I’m communicating something, and because I don’t believe in music as a form of communication in the same way - music is something you experience, it’s not a language - interviews are refreshing to me.”
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GIG GUIDE
TURIN RONINSON/OCEAN ONE BAR/ WEDNESDAY 5
WEDNESDAY05/02 AMPLIFIER BAR Academy Tilian THE BIRD Friendsdays Maria Mendes Nik & Andy Jack Doepel Hamish Rahn BRASS MONKEY Sugar Blue Burlesque THE CARINE Open Mic Night Chris Gibbs ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Night Cap Sessions THE GREENWOOD Bernardine GROOVE BAR (CROWN) 5 Shots INDI BAR Ash Grunwald Benjula LANEWAY LOUNGE Adam Hall And The Velvet Playboys LOBBY LOUNGE (CROWN) Decoy Duo THE LUCKY SHAG Howie Morgan METRO CITY Ed Kowalczyk MUSTANG BAR Flash Nat & The Action Men MOJOS BAR Morgan Bain Joe McRobbie Katie J White THE MOON CAFE Moana Heathcote Blue David Craft OCEAN ONE BAR Overgrown Jack Stanley Turin Robinson Andy Newman Bodegas THE PADDO Red Embers The Date Tashi Hall PERTH ARENA Bruce Springsteen & The E-Street Band ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Order Of The Black Werewolf
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MEZZANINE/THE NEWPORT HOTEL/ THURSDAY, 6
Silver Foxes Loners Ali Flintoff Mercia Wise SETTLERS TAVERN Open Mic Night SWALLOW BAR Razor Jack THE SWINGING PIG Open Mic Night Greg Carter UNIVERSAL BAR Retriofit THE VIC Leighton Keepa VILLAGE BAR Village People Open Mic YAYA’S Fringe Festival Heavyweights Of Comedy Chris Wainhouse Lights Of Berlin The Itch Spilt Cities Showering Vixens THURSDAY 06/02 BAR ORIENT Open Mic Night THE BIRD All Ears Vol.2 Launch Catlips Sacred Flower Union Spirit Level Usurper of Modern Medicine DJs BRASS MONKEY Rhythm Bound Karaoke BRIGHTON Open Mic Night Rob Walker THE BOAT Jen De Ness THE BROOK Open Mic Night Chris Gibbs BROOKLANDS TAVERN Celebrations Karaoke THE CAUSEWAY BAR Xport Thursdays CHEVRON FESTIVAL GARDENS Alice Russell & Booker T Jones DUNSBOROUGH TAVERN Open Mic Night Kris Buckle
LOCAL GIG
THE AUTUMN ISLES PATIENT LITTLE SISTER, WHAILS Thursday, February 6 Flyrite
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ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Kate Gilbertson Night Cap Sessions FLYRITE The Autumn Isles Patient Little Sister Whails THE GATE Greg Carter GRAND CENTRAL PARK Karin Page GROOVE BAR (CROWN) Dr Bogus INDI BAR Bex’s Open Mic Night LAKERS TAVERN Leighton Keepa Howie Morgan Duo LANEWAY LOUNGE James Flynn LUCKY SHAG Nathan Gaunt MOJOS BAR Matt Gresham Michael Triscari MUSTANG BAR Moana Apache DJ James MacArthur NEWPORT HOTEL Mezzanine Maids Retina OCEAN ONE BAR Marcio Mendes Band PRINCE OF WALES Ash Grunwald Benjalu ROSEMOUNT 459 BAR King Of The Travellers Axe Girl Aborted Tortoise ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Havoc The Moment We Fall Winterfold Defy The Leader Pirate Theme Park SETTLERS Stu Harcourt SWALLOW BAR Shotdown From Sugartown SWINGING PIG Choppa & Ryan UNIVERSAL BAR Off The Record THE VIC Travis Caudle YAYA’S Silence To The Left Hyte Shimmergloom FRIDAY 07/02 AMPLIFIER BAR Be’lakor Claim The Throne Earth Rot Natron BALMORAL Mike Nayar BEAT NIGHTCLUB (DOWNSTAIRS) PLAY BEAT NIGHTCLUB (UPSTAIRS) PUNKINSTUFF #3 The Caballeros Gloria Ironbox Lifespan Ben Elliot Ginger Rabbit
DOCTOPUS/THE BIRD/ FRIDAY 7
BELGIAN BEER CAFE Roger Roger BELMONT TAVERN Electrophobia BOAB TAVERN Frenzy THE BIRD Doctopus Fake Shaman BISTRO 38 Gary Fowlie THE BRASS MONKEY Rhythm Bound Karaoke THE BRIGHTON Rob Walker THE BROOKLANDS TAVERN Light Street THE CARINE Velvet CHASE BAR & BISTRO James Wilson CHEVRON FESTIVAL GARDENS Alice Russell & Booker T Jones CIVIC BACKROOM Tempest Rising Regeneracy Psycokinetic 26 Parallel Envy Awake CORNERSTONE ALEHOUSE Madam Montage COMO HOTEL Fiona Lawe Davis 3 CRUISING YACHT CLUB Rockin Ronnie EMPIRE BAR Trevor Jalla ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Juliana Areias & Mare Cheia The Prefix FAIRLANES AMPHITHEATRE Trevor Jalla FLY BY NIGHT Joni In The Moon Rokwell & Groom Hayley Beth The Sonic Manipulator THE GATE Choppa & Ryan GOSNELLS HOTEL Chris Gibbs Trio THE GREENWOOD Greg Carter GROOVE BAR (CROWN) Tod Johnston & Peace Love HOTEL ROTTNEST DJ Eugene HYDE PARK HOTEL Ricky Green INDI BAR Morgan Bain Warning Birds Plan B KALAMUNDA HOTEL Vendetta LANEWAY LOUNGE Jade Crompton Quartet Kat Kinley MAHOGANY INN Joe Boshell M ON THE POINT Retriofit MOJOS BAR Fisherman Style #92 Sorted Earthlinks Future Sounds Simmo T
MOON & SIXPENCE Impact MUSTANG Adam Hall Cheeky Monkeys DJ James MacArthur THE NATIONAL HOTEL Silver Dee & The Grasshoppers OCEAN ONE BAR Mad Agents PADDY MAGUIRES Jetpack PERTH ARENA Bruce Springsteen & The E-Street Band PORT KENNEDY TAVERN Dynamic Duo PRINCE OF WALES I Exist Vanity Tikdoff Friend Zone THE PRINCIPAL Jonney Dempsey QUARIE BAR & BISTRO Siren & Assassin RAILWAY HOTEL Facegrinder Cavalier The Reptilians Aborted Tortoise Foreign Aids RIGBY’S BAR & BISTRO Undergrowth Acoustic Open Mic RIVERSIDE THEATRE Eddie Vedder Glen Hansard ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Abbe May Kucka Rum Jungle ROSIE O’GRADYS FREMANTLE Felix SAIL AND ANCHOR Howie Morgan Duo SETTLERS Ash Grunwald THE SHED Crush DJ Glenn 20 SOUTH ST ALEHOUSE Robbie King Karaoke SWINGING PIG Greg Carter UNIVERSAL BAR Nightmoves WINTERSUN HOTEL Brian Alleaume THE WOODVALE Flava THE VIC Nathan Gaunt YAYA’S Maids Puck Pat Chow SATURDAY 08/02 AMPLIFIER BAR D At Sea Millie Tizzard Mike Nayer ASTOR THEATRE Cowboy X THE BALMORAL Jukebox Bandits BAR ORIENT The Reggae Club Mumma Trees The Expressions
Deadline Monday 5pm. The Gig-Guide is a service to advertisers listing all LIVE MUSIC. All inclusions are at the discretion of X-Press. Email guide@xpressmag.com.au
WARNING BIRDS/INDI BAR/ FRIDAY 7
Cera Kymarni DJ Veeness BEAT NIGHTCLUB (UPSTAIRS) CANVAS BEAT NIGHTCLUB (DOWNSTAIRS) I Exist People Problem Leeches Protest Flesh Police THE BELMONT Choppa Howie Morgan Duo BENTLEY HOTEL Chris Gibbs B and THE BIRD Boggie Night – Tribute To PSH BOAB TAVERN James Wilson THE BROOK Light Street THE CLAREMONT HOTEL ANTICS Jake and the Cowboys Three Hands One Hoof Luke Dux CHEVRON FESTIVAL GARDENS The Panics CRAFTSMAN Groove DUNSBOROUGH TAVERN Travis Caudle ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB Fiona Lawe Davies 4 Dd Soul ft Chelsea Cullen ESPLANADE PARK FREAMNTLE St. Jeromes Laneway Festival FLY BY NIGHT Ash Grunwald Benjalu THE GATE Greg Carter GROOVE BAR (CROWN) Hi-NRG HOTEL ROTTNEST Hundred Acre Wood INDI BAR Matt Gresham INDIAN OCEAN BREWING CO Shawne & Luc LAKERS TAVERN Celebrations Karaoke LANEWAY LOUNGE Astrid Ripepi Dean Anderson LOBBY LOUNGE (CROWN) Felicity Visic Duo MOJOS BAR Sunshine Brothers Grace Barbe MERRIWA TAVERN Celebrations Karaoke METRO FREO Official Laneway Afterparty Haim Djs Chvrches Djs Cashmere Cat Jono Ma M ON THE POINT Rhythm 22 MUSTANG The Roadmasters DJ Holly Doll Milhouse
TANYA RANSOM/XWRAY CAFE/ SATURDAY 8
DJ James MacArthur NEWPORT HOTEL Gravity Tahli Jade PARAMOUNT NIGHTCLUB Felix PERTH ARENA Bruce Springsteen & The E-Street Band PORT KENNEDY TAVERN Joppy PRINCE OF WALES Maids Mezzanine OCEAN ONE BAR Desert Bells QUARIE BAR & BISTRO DJ Eugene RAILWAY HOTEL Bay Sickly In Orbit The Aways Tenderbeast RIVERSIDE THEATRE Eddie Vedder Glen Hansard ROSEMOUNT HOTEL Dawn Of Leviathan Tusk To Hell With Honour Arkarion ROSIE O’GRADY’S FREMANTLE Flava SAIL & ANCHOR Better Days THE SAINT Mike Nayar SCARBOROUGH BEACH AMPHITHEATRE Summerset Arts Festival Birds Of Tokyo SETTLERS TAVERN Edie Green THE SHED Huge SOUTH ST ALE HOUSE Robbie King Karaoke SWALLOW BAR DJ Peas Of Soul Purpose Radio SWAN HOTEL (LOUNGE) Ibis Elm SWAN HOTEL (BASEMENT) Violet Scene THE SWINGING PIG Frenzy UNIVERSAL Soul Corporation THE WOODVALE Our Generation X-WRAY CAFE Songs From The Red Dirt Tanya Ransom Harry Jakamarra Will Thomas SUNDAY 09/02 399 BAR Undergrowth Acoustic Open Mic BALMORAL Andrew Winton BAILEY BAR & BISTRO Gary Fowlie BELMONT TAVERN Jonny Dempsey THE BIRD
DVS1 Allstate Craig Hollywood Stefan Milanov Mono Lisa THE BRIGHTON Ross Lowe BROOKLANDS TAVERN Gerry Azor CAPTAIN STIRLING Open Mic Night Josh Terlick THE CARINE Adam James THE CAUSEWAY Accoustic Sunday CHEVRON FESTIVAL GARDENS The Basics CIVIC HOTEL Wolverine Knowledge Bones Switchblade Six Point Zero Krew Rizen Kwote Gweedz DJ Tricky DUNSBOROUGH TAVERN Kris Buckle THE ELLINGTON Mad About Coward With Stuart Maunder FLY BY NIGHT Dave Mann & Bec Schofield Wil Thomas FREMANTLE ARTS CENTRE The Tiger & Me THE GATE Choppa & Ryan GROOVE BAR (CROWN) Peace Love HYDE PARK HOTEL Mike Nayar INDI BAR Nathan Kaye Jordan McRobbie The Tiger & Me INDIAN OCEAN BREW CO Retriofit KALAMUNDA HOTEL Roger Roger KULCHA Zukhuta Sundays LAKERS TAVERN Wesley Goodlet Jamboree Scouts LAST DROP TAVERN Domenic Zurzolo M ON THE POINT Nathan Gaunt MOJOS BAR Lanark Hunting Huxley Rag n’ Bone Nevada Pilot Kashikoi & Necter MUSTANG Kickstart Cadillac Clayton Lewis & The Cyclones DJ Holly Doll THE NATIONAL HOTEL Slide Machine Tropical Gangsters NEWPORT HOTEL Della Fern Oak Tree Suite
LANARK/MOJOS BAR/ SUNDAY 9
The Mondays OCEAN ONE BAR Tahnee DJ Martin PADDY MALONES Sunday Seshe QUARIE BAR & BISTRO The Gypsy Minions RAILWAY HOTEL The Jayco Brothers Shimmergloom The JAC Wayward Johnson Alex Olk RAVENSWOOD HOTEL Ash Grunwald Benjalu REDCLIFFE ON THE MURRAY Tanya Ransom Harry Jakamalla ROSEMOUNT HOTEL The Get Down SAIL AND ANCHOR Childs Play THE SAINT Howie Morgan Project SEAVIEW TAVERN Jean Proude SETTLERS TAVERN Tracey Barnett THE SHED The Healys Renograde SOUTH ST ALEHOUSE Joppy SWALLOW BAR Voudou Zazou THE SWAN HOTEL (LOUNGE) MattyTWall SWANBROOK WINERY Sundowner Sessions Luke Dux Jozef Grech Amanda Merdzan SWINGING PIG Danny Bau Siren & Assassin UNIVERSAL Retriofit WANNEROO TAVERN Steve Hepple WHISTLING KITE James Wilson THE WINDSOR Adrian Wilson THE WOODVALE Ade Payne YAYA’S Fringe Festival Heavyweights Of Comedy Khaled Khalafalla
MONDAY 10/02 BRASS MONKEY Wire Birds CHEVRON FESTIVAL GARDENS Julia Holter ELLINGTON JAZZ CLUB The Necks GROOVE BAR (CROWN) Justin & Mike MOJOS BAR Wide Open Mic MUSTANG BAR Triple Shots YAYA’S Fringe Festival Heavyweights Of Comedy Khaled Khalafalla TUESDAY 11/02 BRASS MONKEY Open Mic Night THE CHARLES HOTEL Perth Blues Club Moondog J Old Blood MattyTWall CHEVRON FESTIVAL GARDENS 100 Million Nights THE ELLINGTON The Necks GROOVE BAR (CROWN) Jack & Jill LUCKY SHAG Ben Merito MOJOS BAR SICNOTE Midsole Bockman King Kee MERRIWA TAVERN Celebrations Karaoke MUSTANG BAR Danza Loca Salsa Night OCEAN ONE BAR Undergrowth Open Mic Night YAYA’S Fresh Jams Matt Waring Casino Dreams Sulley Red Mexico
LOCAL GIG
TEMPEST RISING REGENERACY, PSYCOKINETIC, 26 PARALLEL, ENVY AWAKE Friday, February 7 The Civic Back Room
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MUSIC GEAR & TECHNOLOGY
DANCE CLASSES BELLYDANCE CENTRAL STUDIO CLASSES Free class Fri 7 Feb special beg. Term 1 s t a r t s M o n 1 0 Fe b. Fo r b ro c h u re , info and free class invite email dance@ bellydancecentral.com.au. Mob: 0409511125. www.bellydancecentral.com.au FOR SALE HEADPHONES all brands & styles. 23 Harrogate Street, West Leederville. Contact Headphonic 08 93886333 headphones.com.au GENERAL EXPRESSIONS WANTED GRAFFITI ARTISTS & GRAPHIC DESIGNERS for newly formed clothing company. Exp req’d. $$ paid for quality. Please call Mark if interested 0428 365 713. MUSICIANS AVAILABLE ENTERTAINER SPEC 50’S AND 60’S ROCK & ROLL Looking for agent and regular gigs. Ross 9279 8979 MUSOS WANTED BASS PLAYER WANTED for estab Perth band Hailmary. Available for tours. Stage presence a must. Contact Kevin 0401033743 hailmaryband@hotmail.com OPEN MIC NIGHT every Thursday night at Indi Bar. Just call Bex on 0404 917 632. PHOTOGRAPHY P RO J EC T P H OTO G R A P H Y P ro m o p h o t o g r a p hy, s t u d i o, l i ve , l o c at i o n . Mike Wylie 0417 975 964 www.projectphotography.com When its time to ice the cake... PRODUCTION SERVICES CD & DVD MANUFACTURE Check out our latest CD & DVD specials online at www.procopy.com.au 9375 3902 DISK BANK Perth’s premier CD & DVD manufacturer, with options for all budgets. (08) 9388 0800. www.diskbank.com.au/ specials. M AT R I X P RO DUC T I O N S AU ST R A L I A Lighting, staging, sound systems, smoke machines, night club FX, intelligent lighting, strobes & mirror balls, crowd barriers, video projectors. 9371 1551 RECORDING STUDIOS ALAN DAWSON’s WITZEND RECORDING STUDIO Prof quality albums or demos, large live room, experienced engineer, analog to digital transfers, mastering.. Alan 0407 989 128 or Jeremy 0430638178 www.witzendstudios.com ANALOG MASTERING VINTAGE TAPE, TUBES & TRANSFORMERS with the latest state of the art digital converters. Clients include: Melody’s Echo Chamber, Pond, Gossling, Knife Party, Felicity Groom, The Floors, Jeff Martin & The Panics. World class facility, World class results. www.poonshead.com. 9339 4791 ANDY’S STUDIO International m u l t i aw a r d w i n n i n g s o n g w r i t e r / producer. No band required. Broadcast q u a l i t y. A s o n g w r i t e r ’s p a r ad i s e . Ph 9364 3178 GOLDDUST Production Mixing, recording and composition. Leederville $80 p/h. 0408 097 407
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RECORDING MIXING MASTERING PRODUCING Fremantle location. Call Pete Kitchen Cooked Records. Ph 0407 363 764 / 9336 3764 REVOLVER SOUND STUDIO Ph 9272 7505. www.revolverstudio.com.au S O N GW R I T E R S A N D BA N DS ! - 3 0 T H ANNIVERSARY DISCOUNTS! UNLOCK YOUR SONG’S POTENTIAL! FREE APPRAISALS. UK Producer, 40,000+ hours studio experience, 20 yrs in London. Kicking arrangements. Great studio and the ability to really listen will give your material the edge you need. Call Jerry on 0405 653 338 or visit www.jerichomusic.com.au THE SOUND FACTORY RECORDING STUDIOS 24 and 16 track tape. Vintage amps, mic & effects. Special rates for BTC/LTC/DOGE. 0423803063 REHEARSAL STUDIOS AAA VHS REHEARSAL ROOMS Great facilities, great vibe & great price!!! Unit 5 /16 Peel Road, O’Connor. Phone 9418 5815 or 0413 732 885 BIGBEAT SOUND STUDIO Clean rooms, all new PA systems, air-con and good parking . Willetton Ph: 0425 698 117. PLATINUM SOUND ROOMS Professional rehearsal rooms, airconditioned, quality PAs mob 0418 944 722 In The Blood STREAM STUDIO’S 89 Stirling S t , P e r t h . M o b i l e : 0 4 0 3 1 5 2 0 0 9 Bloodstreams, the debut album from DZ Deathrays, saw the Brisbane thrash-pop info@streamrehearsal.com.au
DZ DEATHRAYS
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duo rocket to lofty heights. But the pair is now looking to their next brain-warping opus. JESSICA WILLOUGHBY chats with drummer Simon Ridley as they record their sophomore release. It’s fair to say DZ Deathrays have come a long way from shredding house parties in their early days. Ripping apart Brisbane for the last four years, the pairing of drummer Simon Ridley and guitarist Shane Parsons was a match made in heaven for Aussie alternative rock fans. Their debut fulllength, Bloodstreams, saw them score not only the Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Album at the 2012 ARIA Awards, but also the Best Independent Hard Rock Album at the Independent Music Awards that same year. Not bad for two boys originally from Bundaberg. But the DZ Deathrays camp is now gearing up for its next big challenge: the sophomore album. Titled Black Rats, their second LP is currently being recorded at The Grove in Newcastle with Burke Reid (Gerling) producing. This is the first time the pair has gone with the full studio experience – laying out the instruments individually instead of the live simulation format. Despite the hard work involved, Ridley says the band’s been given the rock star treatment. “It’s been both stressful and exciting,” Ridley says. “Some days I just really want to go home and do nothing. But our studio is so nice. There’s like a swimming pool and a spa. It was really good; if you needed a break, you’d just go outside in the bush. Originally, there was talk about us going to London to do the album and I’m so glad we didn’t. It just would have been a nightmare, having to catch buses and trains in the middle of winter. It would have been a really sad album. We would have come back with a downbeat Joy Division album. “Burke was so great to work with too. I’d never met him before we started pre-production. He just got in touch with us out of the blue and we all seemed to be on the same page. Plus we really loved the stuff he did with Gerling. It got pretty loose
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though. We were pretty much drinking every night. Then we were getting up and just going through all the songs. It was brutal. But, straight from the get-go, it felt like we had known him for years.” With the album tentatively pegged for release this May, DZ Deathrays have been locked away for most of January. The band didn’t want to stray too far from their first offering, despite the abstract nature of their first single off the album, Northern Lights. But Ridley assures this does not reflect the direction of their new album. “Whatever Shane and I do writing-wise, comes organically,” he says. “Actually I hate that word. It’s what we enjoy still writing and playing – what we think will work really well live. We didn’t want to make a huge departure from the first record. Though, saying that, we released Northern Lights. We kinda just did that because we thought it would be funny to release something that would freak everyone out. Hopefully it’s not too far from the first record. But we definitely have progressed… somewhere. “We started writing this album last year, around April. Because Shane lives in Sydney and I live in Brisbane now. We probably wrote half of the record in two weeks. After that, Shane came up to Brisbane for probably a week at a time, every month at least. A couple of our managers own a nightclub, so we’d use it for a couple of days. We did five or six writing sessions like that. It was pretty different from doing the first one; we spent two or three years doing that.” The drummer was willing to give us a bit of an insight into the equipment set-up during their latest recording sessions. “I had a Yamaha custom kit on the first album, but we couldn’t get one this time around for as long as we needed it,” he reveals. “So I had a Yamaha Rock Tour kit with my own Yamaha snare. We found some old parts of another kit floating around and some random snares – I don’t even know what brand they were. It was pretty old school though. We just interchanged everything. “This is the first time we’ve ever recorded where, drumming-wise, we’d do two or three takes of a song and then we’d mix up the drum kit again. Just to try and get different sounds. Then we did all of the drums separately. Then we went back and put all the cymbals on top of it later on. Just so we had no bleed or anything in-between the drums. We could really just push the sound from those drums. “Amp-wise, we had three Orange amps. I think we had a Vox in there somewhere. Shane’s sponsored by Orange. One was Burke’s Orange amp also. It was pretty good. They were all set up along the wall; all running parallel with just mattresses in-between them. It was pretty funny, because we’d have it so loud that the lighting fixtures started to unscrew themselves. All the lights would start to flicker; which was pretty awesome.”
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