Beat Magazine #1321 by Furst Media

SECRET SOUNDS PRESENTS

THE SMASHING PUMPKINS OCEANIA TOUR

WITH SPECIAL GUESTS

WOLFMOTHER

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M AY 3 1 S T — J U N E 3 R D

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FOX FOOTY & FOX SPORTS ON THE TV ALL WEEK

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OFFICIAL SPLENDOUR SIDESHOWS ON SALE NOW

THE SMASHING PUMPKINS

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WOLFMOTHER

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(SWAN ST RICHMOND 11AM-8PM MON-SAT) ‘ALL THINGS WILL UNWIND’ OUT NOW VIA INERTIA

F tickets: handsometours.com northcotesocialclub.com (03) 9486 1677 the Corner Box Office

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IN THIS ISSUE...

HOT TALK

TOURING

LANIE LANE

ARTS GUIDE, CIRCA EMERGING WRITERS FESTIVAL

ART OF THE CITY

ON THE PRODUCTION OF MONSTERS

SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL

FIEND FEST 2012, ASTOR THEATRE, SOUNDKILDA

EDUCATION SPECIAL

TRAIN

LATIN SPECIAL

INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH, TUMBLEWEED

MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND P. 64

NED COLLETTE & WIREWALKER P. 64

BEAT EATS

TIJUANA CARTEL

NUMBER STATION, LIZ MARTIN, HELLHOUNDS

MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND, LOVE CONNECTION, NED COLLETTE & WIREWALKER

THE TEMPER TRAP

ROCK ‘N LOAD SPOTLIGHT, ELECTRIC MARY, PLAYING TIMES

THIS WEEK IN 100%:

GHOSTFACE KILLAH 3 NEWTON STREET RICHMOND, VICTORIA 3121 Phone: (03) 9428 3600 Fax: (03) 9428 3611 email: info@beat.com.au www.beat.com.au BEAT MAGAZINE EMAIL ADDRESSES: (no large attachments please): Gig Guide: online at beat.com.au email gigguide@beat.com.au - it’s free! Club Listings: online at beat.com.au email clubguide@beat.com.au - it’s free! Music News Items: music@beat.com.au Artwork: art@beat.com.au Beat Classifieds 33c a word: classiﬁeds@beat.com.au

32,788 copies per week

LOVE CONNECTION P. 64

TRAIN P.34

PUBLISHER: Furst Media Pty Ltd. MUSIC EDITOR: Taryn Stenvei ARTS EDITOR / ASSOCIATE MUSIC EDITOR: Tyson Wray EDITORIAL ASSISTANT: Nick Taras, Zoe Radas SUB-EDITORS: Michelle Aquilina, Penny Coulson, Jac Manuell, Penny Evangelou, Mairead Bilton - Gough GENERAL MANAGER: Patrick Carr SENIOR ADVERTISING/EDITORIAL CO-ORDINATOR: Ronnit Sternfein BEAT PRODUCTION MANAGER: Pat O’Neil GRAPHIC DESIGNERS: Pat O’Neil, Rebecca Houlden, Gill Tucker, Mike Cusack COVER ART: Pat O’Neill ADVERTISING: Taryn Stenvei (Music: Bands/Tours/Record Labels) taryn@beat.com.au Ronnit Sternfein (100%/Beat/Arts/Education/Ad Agency) ronnit@beat.com.au Aleksei Plinte (Backstage/ Musical Equipment) mixdown@beat.com.au Adam Morgan (Hospitality/Bars) adam@beat.com.au Kris Furst (beat.com.au) kris@furstmedia.com.au 0431 243 808 Jessica Riley (Indie Bands/Special Features) grace@furstmedia.com.au CLASSIFIEDS: classiﬁeds@beat.com.au GIG GUIDE SUBMISSIONS: now online at www.beat.com.au or bands email gigguide@beat.com.au ELECTRONIC EDITOR - BEAT ONLINE:

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CORE/CRUNCH!, THE OCEAN

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ALBUM OF THE WEEK

ALBUMS

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SENIOR CONTRIBUTORS: Christine Lan, Simone Ubaldi, Patrick Emery, Jesse Shrock. COLUMNISTS: Emily Kelly, Peter Hodgson. CONTRIBUTORS: Tyson Wray, Adam Baidawi, Helen Barradell, Matt Bendall, Cam Binger, Graham Blackley, Chris Bright, Rose Callaghan, Adam Camilleri, Paige Cho, Stefan Chrisp, Nick Clarke, Talitha Conway, Dave Dawson, John Donaldson, Justin Donnelly, Georgia Doyle, Cam Ewart, Paul Fischer, Lawson Fletcher, Jack Franklin, Chris Girdler, Sean Gleeson, Aleisha Hall, Louise Hardwick, Daniel Hedger, Nick Hilton, Lyndon Horsburgh, Briony Jones, Lachlan Kanoniuk, Cassandra Kiely, Greg King, Joshua Kloke, Stuart Lynch, Rhys McCrae, Ruth McIver, Adam McKenzie, Kylie McLaughlin, Nick Mason, Tyler Mathes, Krystal Maynard, Anna Megalogenis, Al Newstead, James Nicoli, John O’Rourke, Matt Panag, Jack Parsons, Liam Pieper, Steve Phillips, David Prescott-Steed, James Ridley, Gav Ross, Leigh Salter, Tim Scott, Denis Semchenko, Side Man, Matt Sutherland, Lin Tan, Steve Tauschke, Brigitte Trobbiani, Rene Schaefer, Melanie Sheridan, Jeremy Sheaﬀe, Kelly Theobald, Andrew Tijs, Alistair Wallis, Etienne Waring, Dan Watt, Rod Whitﬁeld, Katie Weiss, Tom Whitty, Cara Williams, Simon Williamson, Bronius Zumeris. Cover image by Ken Leanfore © 2012 Furst Media Pty Ltd. No part may be reproduced without the consent of the copyright holder.

ENJA PRESENTS

GEORGE GARZONE ANTONIO SANCHEZ

ALBARE iTD LONG WAY FEATURING

ALBARE Guitar EVRIPIDES Bass MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL PRESENTS

TUESDAY, 5 JUNE MELBOURNE RECITAL CENTRE

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ENJA PRESENTS

LEO GENOVESE

SATURDAY, 9 JUNE SEYMOUR CENTRE, SYDNEY

OPENING ACT: RENAUD GARCIA-FONS “SOLO” ALBARE iTD

Bookings: ticketek.com.au

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HOT TALK

THE BIGGEST IN INTERNATIONAL & NATIONAL NEWS

For all the latest news check out beat.com.au

EDDIE SPAGHETTI

SLASH

WORLD’S END PRESS One of the most exciting acts to emerge from ol’ Melbourne town in recent memory, World’s End Press, have announced their return to the touring circuit. The funk-worshipping outﬁt have been slaying it at many of the country’s biggest festivals, as well as some choice support slots. The tour coincides with the upcoming release of their new EP, Second Day Uptown. Their appearance at The Corner will be their ﬁrst headline show in nearly a year. World’s End Press hit The Corner on Friday June 29.

One of the all-time guitar greats has announced his triumphant return to Australia, bringing with him a stellar backing band and a certiﬁed classic body of work. When perpetually top-hat-adorned guitar god Slash was last in Australia, a series of venues upgrades took place to cater for demand. It still wasn’t enough, with shows selling out in rapid succession. This time, Slash is heading straight to some of the country’s biggest stadiums. Joining Slash onstage will be vocalist Myles Kennedy and the band of Conspirators, promising a full-scale arena production. Slash hits Hisense Arena on Sunday August 26.

Rock’n’roll wildman Eddie Spaghetti from The Supersuckers is bringing his long awaited solo show to Australia on the last weekend of June. Eddie Spaghetti grew up in Tucson, Arizona trying desperately to ignore the country music that floated all around him. Seems like every pick-up truck and storefront speaker was cranking out the syrupy wails of some heartbroken hick and he just wasn’t having it. So, as a kid, he turned to heavy metal, then punk rock, to block out the noise and that’s how his band, “The greatest rock’n’roll band in the world”, The Supersuckers, was born. Formed in late ‘88, The Supersuckers put out a few singles, then signed to Sub Pop and began what has been over two decades of arse-kicking, ground-pounding hemihogging punk’n’roll. It didn’t take too long, however, for the country music that he tried so hard to avoid in his youth to start surfacing in the music Eddie was making. The foray back to the country began in 1993 with the Supersucker’s side project, The Junkyard Dogs and the rare, hard to find and out of print recording, Good Livin’ Platter (Sympathy For The Record Industry). It wasn’t country per-se, but it was close and the seed was planted. Fast forward to 2012 and Eddie, who has now released three solo albums, is set to make his first solo trip to Australia and will tear it up with two huge shows (afternoon and evening) at Cherry Bar in Melbourne on Saturday June 30. Tim Rogers (You Am I) will be supporting both shows, and Fred Negro will add to the evening bill. Tickets are $40 via Oztix or on the door. Just remember to wear your clean underwear, because Eddie Spaghetti will probably rock your pants right off of you.

PUNK-A-BILLY

PATRICK WOLF The androgynous British wunderkind Patrick Wolf has today announced his return to Australian soil. The tour will present a special opportunity for fans to witness Patrick Wolf in an intimate environment, with his delightful histrionics being curtailed somewhat by an acoustic guise. In what is sure to be a unique experience, Patrick will be joined by only one other musician onstage, performing grand piano, Celtic harp, dulcimer and more. Patrick Wolf plays upstairs at The Forum Theatre on Tuesday September 11 with tickets on sale from Ticketmaster today at 9am.

After 16 events across three states and playing host to over 100 bands from around the world, the Punk-A-Billy Festival is set to go out with a bang for the Grand Finale Prom Night. Punk-A-Billy are proud to announce their ﬁnal ‘best of’ lineup, as decided by an online public vote. Local acts ripping it up one last time are The Australian Kingswood Factory, No Idea, Strawberry Fist Cake, The Half Pints, Dixon Cider, The Murderballs, Where’s Grover and the long awaited reunion of Punch The Clown. Tripping down the coast from NSW are Topnovil and Casino Rumblers, along with Queenslanders The Flangipanis, Myrtle Place and Jodie Flange. Finally, with thanks to the Aussie crowd who cast their vote; Canadian rockers Rehab For Quitters return to Australia to headline the festival. So get your mohawks upright and your quiﬀ’s slick one last time and head down to the Barleycorn Hotel from 2.30pm on Saturday June 16 to celebrate the end of an era.

WOLF & CUB 2012 has been a huge year for Wolf & Cub with the band releasing their first double A-side single See The Light / All Through The Night in February, playing a heap of shows, and to cap it all of being announced to play on the huge Splendour In The Grass Festival this July. Following up from their first release comes their second double A-side single, Shut Me Out / Got Nothing Coming. Lead track, Shut Me Out is full of smooth bass lines and catchy melodies, while Got Nothing Coming possesses a swampy swagger and swaying tones. The Adelaide four-piece are set to play a string of dates throughout June before their massive appearance at Splendour, catch them as they rock the Toff In Town on Thursday June 14.

THE BLACK SEEDS Due to popular demand The Black Seeds are pleased to announce a second show at The Corner Hotel Melbourne on Tuesday June 12 after their first show on Friday June 15 has sold out. Renowned globally for their epic live shows, and on the back of their performance at the 2011 Splendour In the Grass Festival, the tour will see the band unleashing tracks from the new album on Australian audiences for the first time. The follow up to 2008’s Solid Ground, Dust And Dirt marks an exciting new chapter for the multi-platinum selling New Zealand band whose fan base has spread across the globe. Self recorded and produced in their Wellington studio, the album introduces new styles not heard on previous releases whilst retaining the trademark sound the band are known for. Don’t miss The Black Seeds performing at The Corner Hotel, Richmond on Tuesday June 12 and Friday June 15 (sold out). Tickets available now from The Corner Hotel Box Office or on their website.

Beat Magazine Page 14

THE BAMBOOS Due to overwhelming demand, The Bamboos have added an extra show to the Melbourne leg of their upcoming national tour. Mere weeks before the release of their highly anticipated new album Medicine Man, The Bamboos have been making waves nationwide with their current single I Got Burned, featuring none other than Tim Rogers and debuting at #19 on the ARIA Australian Singles chart. The Bamboo’s 2nd show will take place at the Corner Hotel on Sunday June 17.

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EDWARD GUGLIELMINO

Q&A

HOT TALK

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Smith Street Band

PENNYWISE Pennywise, one of the deﬁnitive punk acts of the past two decades, have announced their welcome return to Australia. Last in the country for the 2011 installment of Soundwave, Pennywise have lost none of their anthemic vitality = evident in their tenth LP (and ﬁrst with new vocalist Zoli Téglás) All Or Nothing. Joining Pennywise on the bill will be none other than The Menzingers and Sharks. The massive lineup hits The Palace on Sunday August 26.

60 SECONDS WITH… WALL OF MIRRORS

When’s the gig and with who? Pure Pop Records in St Kilda with Cowper on Saturday May 26 and at at the Empress with Emily Ulman and Carry Nation on Sunday May 27. What can a punter expect from your live show? Depends on the show and the venue, sometimes it’s a huge show, other times it’s just me and a guitar - depends on the occasion. We are playing unplugged at Pure Pop Records in St Kilda and as a band at The Empress - two very different shows. So, someone is walking past as you guys are playing, they then go get a beer and tell their friend about you... what do they say? “Jenny and I were walking down the street and we were about to jump in front of a car (because we had a suicide pact) but thankfully we heard some of Edward Guglielmino & The Show so we realised that life is worth living — we are now following him around the country - we have dedicated our lives to this true living genius and his band of true living geniuses.” How long have you been gigging and writing? Writing since I was five so a long time - 24 years. My first gig was at the school post-formal when I was 18, so 12 years of playing! Finally coming together now (sort of). Which band would you most like to have a battle/ showdown with? Skinny Jean — they would win hands down though! They are ninjas with super powers, they move notes with their minds. What inspires or has influenced your music the most? Travel and jetlag, sleep and tea, coffee and awake, nine and five, time patterns in nature, Carl Jung’s synchronicities. If someone made a movie about your life, who would play you? Seth Rogan, I’d play Seth Rogan in a film about him as well. What’s the strangest place you’ve ever played a gig, or made a recording? We have shot a couple of songs under the Story Bridge in Brisbane. I like playing under the stars whenever possible . Where do we find you? edg.ug

POISON CITY WEEKENDER Now in its fourth year, Poison City’s annual Weekender festival is setting its sights upon Melbourne once again, bringing a huge lineup of punk acts to three venues across town. The event will be headlined by New York post-hardcore supergroup Rival Schools, hitting Australia for the ﬁrst time since their 2011 comeback. Joining them on the balltearer of a lineup will be The Smith Street Band, A Death In The Family, Extortion, Luca Brasi, I-Exist, Hoodlum Shouts, Paper Arms, Jamie Hay, Grim Fandango, Milhouse, Jen Buxton, Between The Devil & The Deep, Outsiders, Let Me Down Jungleman, Chinese Burns Unit, Toy Boats, Lincoln Le Fevre, Run Squirrel and White Walls, with more acts still to be announced. Poison City Weekender takes place at The Tote on Friday September 14, The Corner on Saturday September 15 and The Liberty Hotel on Sunday September 16.

LAURA IMBRUGLIA Melbourne convert Laura Imbruglia has been invited by The Empress to drop in for a little sing-song. Fresh from support slots for The Clouds and An Horse, Laura and her band are primed for the stage. Having spent the past six months writing and demoing new material for her upcoming third album, Laura is more excited than a replacement Wiggle to be showing oﬀ these newbies at a rare headline show. Über cool supports have also been secured, in the shape of Courtney Barnett and Ben Mason (Smallgoods). Catch all the action on Friday June 1 at The Empress Hotel.

f r o n t s p a c e Name: Emma Stuart. Define your genre in five words or less: Hard to answer actually. ‘Genreless’? If you could travel back in time and show one of your musical heroes your stuff, who would it be and why? Dave Brubeck, I reckon he’d give me some good time signature tips. (I’ve always been intrigued by unusual time signatures and contrasting rhythms.) When’s the gig and with who? Thursday May 24 at The Grace Darling Hotel with Hamish O’Neill’s new project Moon Dice (aka Isladore), and fresh from Tassy, triphop duo Valta. So, someone is walking past as you guys are playing, they then go get a beer and tell their friend about you... what do they say? A genreless mixture of artful arrangements, imaginative rhythms, nice vocal vibrato and big hair. Do you have any record releases to date? What are they? Where can I get them? We’ve got our EP up on Band Camp wallofmirrors. bandcamp.com. Why should everyone come and see your band? Ben Ely (aka Regurgitator) is our drummer! Haha. We’ve only played two gigs; so far people say we’re pretty good. Will that do? Lots of people were dancing at our last gig. Do you have a pre-gig ritual? If so, what is it? _ _ _ zepam and whisky. Name an interview question you wish someone would ask you, and answer it: How did your band originate? My next door neighbour Nathan Ebert (guitar/keys) and I used to get drunk during the week and dance in my front room. Then one day he saw I had a guitar in my spare room and said he played music, so then instead of dancing in my front room, we’d get drunk and play music in the spare room. Those were good times hey Nath? If someone made a movie about your life, who would play you? Whoopi Goldberg.

2 1 2 a W h i t e h a l l S t Ya r r a v i l l e

Ph 9687 0233 www.kindredstudios.com.au Saturday 26th May F R O M

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Sunday 27th May 1 . 3 0 P M

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Saturday 2nd June

WEST SIDE PARTY! KIDS OF ZOO + BAD VISION + DAMN THE TORPEDOS + THE KREMLINGS

Sunday 3rd June e r n e s t .

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Beat Magazine Page 15

HOT TALK For all the latest news check out beat.com.au

THE BIGGEST IN INTERNATIONAL & NATIONAL NEWS

HARD-ONS SHOW CANCELLED The Hard-Ons have been forced to cancel the remaining dates on their current national tour (except for Sydney and Newcastle) after frontman Blackie was physically assaulted last Thursday May 17 and suﬀered a fractured skull and bruising on the brain, which will see him out of action for six weeks. They were set to play The Tote. Get better soon Blackie.

XAVIER RUDD One of the nation’s foremost blues and roots voices has announced his most extensive tour yet, with Xavier Rudd heading oﬀ around the country to celebrate the release of his new album, Spirit Bird. Xavier has become one of our most internationally renowned performers, proving to be a worthy ambassador for our country’s rich culture. Forming an intoxicating cyclone of noise with his arsenal of guitars, yidakis (didgeridoos), stomp box and percussion, Xavier has amassed a devout following all across Australia, and Xavier aims to consolidate that love with a sprawling tour which encompasses many regional areas. Xavier Rudd hits The Palace on Thursday September 13.

- BUGDUST VS THE STIFFIES -

STEEL PANTHER Missed out on Steel Panther tickets and have since been cursing as much as they do during their interviews? Well fear not, devoted hair rock fans. The purveyors of sleazy rock are moving their ferocious sold out show to the much larger Festival Hall on Sunday October 7. Tickets to the previous venue are still valid and extra tickets are on sale this Friday May 25 at midday from Ticketmaster.

KING CANNONS King Cannons don’t much care for what is supposedly cool. Since day one, their manifesto has been to be a band for the people. The type of band that actually means something. A band with a career that is based on substance over style. Their debut album The Brightest Light will be unleashed on the world on June 22 with releases confirmed in Australia, New Zealand, Germany, The Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland. The album launch set will be a white knuckle ride through the band’s assured debut, with a couple of old favourites and new surprises thrown in for good measure, at The Toff on Thursday 21 June. Shihad’s Tom Larkin, one of the most loved drummers in the world, will join King Cannons as a special guest-drummer, and Major Tom & The Atoms, featuring ex-Little Red baritone crooner ‘Major’ Tom Hartney; an explosive six-piece rhythm’n’blues orchestra perfectly fit the bill as the main support. Tickets are $12+bf on their own, or $21.60+bf bundled with the album, available through Moshtix.

Beat Magazine Page 16

Adam (Bugdust) questions Jason (The Stiﬀys)…

Jason (The Stiﬀys) questions Adam (Bugdust)…

How hard was it to come up with your band name? We came up with the band name because we wanted to create the best band name ever and I think we did a really good job because it’s a really good band name. Maybe it’s not the best band name ever, but it’s a really good band name. Most people are really impressed that we have such a good band name. Great job everybody. Do you guys have any ‘Stiffy Stalkers’? And how hard is it when you meet them? The ladies come up to us all the time after our shows and they’ll be all like “Hi The Stiffys, we really like your music and we think you’re really cool guys”. Usually it’s fine and we’re all like “Hi ladies, let’s hold hands and have a couple of drinks together,” but sometimes if we’re busy packing up our boogie boards or trying to buy ice cream it’s hard because they keep coming up to us and we keep having to be like “Come on ladies, just give us one minute. We’re busy right now.” Overall we’re really good at talking to the ladies and treating them with respect. When’s your next release? And are you guys thinking of putting out a CD soon? We have an album which goes for 13 minutes. We recorded every song in one take. There are five songs on there and they’re all the best song ever. What do you guys want to be when you grow up? We mainly want to make all of the benjamins. We just want to sell our songs and get rich and buy heaps of boogie boards and trampolines and gold chains and bendy straws and guns. That’s the music business, you guys.

How and when did you form the Bugdust? It was that long ago… Shaun Dangerﬁeld and myself were slaving over a hot bong and smashing some Melbourne tins... It could have been around ‘94? What’s your favourite and least favourite thing about the band? The favourite thing about my band has to be the artwork.....the least favourite thing is getting old and I can’t be fucked carrying all those guitar cabs into the gig anymore. What is the best venue in Melbourne? We have our favourite little places to play around town. We always have an awesome time at the Espy front bar, Cherry is a hoot too, The Tote and we have had some rippers at Yah Yah’s. How have you not killed each other being in a band for over a decade? I really don’t know.... the question should be, ‘”Why have the other guys not tried to kill you Adam?” Which band member would win in a ﬁght? It would have to be Shan... he is the angriest mofo in the band! That cunt doesn’t leave home without a Rambo knife down the front of his trousers.

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BUGDUST and THE STIFFYS play ROCK 'N LOAD festival this Saturday May 26 at The Espy along with Electric Mary, King Of The North, The Charge, I Am Duckeye and heaps more. Check rocknloadfestival.com for the lineup and ticket details.

PITBULL Get your Kodiaks ready ladies and gentleman because Mr Worldwide, Pitbull, is making his way to Australia. Joining him on his International Planet Pit Tour will be international guest, the man who is set to break plenty of Aussie girls heart’s, Taio Cruz. Pitbull has collaborated with some of the biggest names in the business including the likes of David Guetta, Usher, Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony, cementing him as one of the most sought after artists on the planet. Also joining the huge lineup will be Havana Brown and Timomatic, making the night one massive pop dance explosion, if that’s yo’ thang. Pitbull and pals hit Rod Laver Arena on Monday August 27, tickets on sale Monday May 28 through Ticketek.

KIRA PURU & THE BRUISE It’s not an old time thing you’re feeling. Gin martinis at 3pm are still a legitimate cure for ennui. You may not yet know what the ‘mean reds’ are, but Kira Puru and The Bruise will help you understand. Slowly. Skilfully. Here’s how it goes: you’ll stand, arms-crossed and uncertain, while KP+TB unfurl an ode to modern sadness in 40 uncomplicated minutes. It doesn’t have to be one of those days, when you’re there, you’ll just get it—languid, sullen, sweaty, spine-tingling. Experience the ﬂirty, enticing sophistication of Kira Puru & The Bruise Head when they play the Espy front bar on Thursday May 31 with very special guest Neighbourhood Youth and Joshua Seymour. Free entry.

60 SECONDS WITH… ESC

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Pearls

So then, what’s the band name and what do you ‘do’ in the band? We are ESC, I am Max and I play guitar and sing, typically. What do you reckon people will say you sound like? Kind of like a post-punk sort of thing, a lot of heaviness but quite harmonious too. Don’t know – too hard a question for anyone really. What do you love about making music? I love the feeling of soaring with the music when it really goes oﬀ at a gig; it’s like when you capture the vibe of the whole room perfectly. What do you hate about the music industry? All the shit. Cut the shit. It doesn’t need to be a money thing. All the music in Melbourne needs to be invested in by people who love it and know they’ll get no money back and support destructive lifestyles. Also promotion, I hate promotion. It makes me feel stupid. If you could travel back in time and show one of your musical heroes your stuﬀ, who would it be and why? Rowland S. Howard. I said hello to him once when I was little but didn’t show him music, and I’d love to do that now. I don’t really know why, it’d just be nice to hear feedback from someone as musically deep as him. If you could assassinate one person or band from popular music, who would it be and why? Wayne Coyne from The Flaming Lips, can’t stand him! Total Waynker. But personally I’d like to assassinate many more. It would give good bands a chance, because all the bad ones would be too scared to try. What can a punter expect from your live show? Loud, beautiful, deepening, a little explorative, slightly unpredictable, extremely heartfelt noise-sounds. We usually do something a bit odd; I get a bit angry and let it out a lot. I don’t know about the show, it’s not something I can predict, but the music is always solid. What’ve you got to sell CD-wise? EP out soon. Single out on the last night of our Evelyn Hotel residency (Monday May 28). When’s the gig and with who? Mondays in May at The Evelyn, with lots of bands.

MASS FEST To celebrate the birth of Monday Night Mass, which has become a spiritual ritual for many Northcote inhabitants over the last 12 months, a very special service will be held on Sunday June 3. Yes, they are commemorating the ﬁrst anniversary of Monday Night Mass on a Sunday in the only way possible: a day of some of the best bands in town including True Radical Miracle, Pearls, East Link, Meat Dispenser, Bad Aches, Dead, Batpiss, Spinning Rooms, Matt Bailey, Justin Fuller and DJ Rohan Rebeiro (My Disco). Mass Fest will be a celebration that brings together some of the many Monday highlights of the past year. Ten bands for ten bucks, plus $12 jugs and $15 parmas with your show entry stamp in the whole venue. Tickets at the door only.

SECRET SOUNDS & COMMUNION PRESENT

WED 25TH JULY THE CORNER HOTEL TICKETS FROM: CORNERHOTEL.COM, TEL 03 9427 9198 & CORNER BOX OFFICE

TICKETS ON SALE NOW MICHAEL KIWANUKA HOME AGAIN OUT NOW / BEN HOWARD EVERY KINGDOM OUT NOW / TIM HART MILLING THE WIND OUT 17TH AUG SECRET-SOUNDS.COM.AU COMMUNIONMUSIC.CO.UK MICHAELKIWANUKA.COM BENHOWARDMUSIC.CO.UK

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Beat Magazine Page 17

TOURING

WHO'S ON TOUR, WHERE AND WHEN

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INTERNATIONAL BARRY ADAMSON Corner Hotel May 23 S CLUB 7 The Palace May 23 VIVID LIVE Sydney May 25 - June 3 MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND Northcote Social Club May 28 YOUNG GUNS The Hi-Fi May 30 LIGHT ASYLUM Phoenix Public House June 1 SIMPLE PLAN Festival Hall June 2 ZOLA JESUS The Toﬀ In Town June 2, June 3 ALBARE Melbourne Recital Centre June 5 SISTER SLEDGE The Hi-Fi June 7 REEF Billboard June 8 EAST 17 Trak June 8 TRAIN The Palais June 9 MARK KOZELEK The Toﬀ In Town June 9, Phoenix Public House June 11 THE BLACK SEEDS Corner Hotel June 12, 15 SCHOOL OF SEVEN BELLS The Hi-Fi June 21 LIL’ BAND O’ GOLD The Regal Ballroom June 27, 27, The Espy June 29 LADY GAGA Rod Laver Arena June 27, 28, 30, July 1, 3 EDDIE SPAGHETTI Cherry Bar June 30 FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS The Plenary July 14 I AM GIANT The Workers Club July 5 GOATWHORE Corner Hotel July 6 SIMONE FELICE The Corner Hotel July 11 KINGFISHA The Thornbury Theatre July 13 THE TEA PARTY The Palais Theatre July 14 MELISSA ETHERIDGE The Plenary July 15 THE SHINS Festival Hall July 23 LANA DEL REY Palace Theatre July 23, 24 HOWLER, ZULU WINTER The Corner Hotel July 24

60 SECONDS WITH… PAUL REID

Beat Magazine Page 18

THE AFGHAN WHIGS The Hi-Fi July 25 FRIENDS Northcote Social Club July 25 MICHAEL KIWANUKA & BEN HOWARD The Corner Hotel July 25 JACK WHITE Festival Hall July 25 BAND OF SKULLS The Corner Hotel July 26 FUN. The Hi-Fi July 27 METRIC Billboard July 27 MUDHONEY The Corner Hotel July 27 FATHER JOHN MISTY The Corner Hotel July 28 SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS Belongil Fields Byron Bay July 27 – 29 YOUTH LAGOON The Corner Hotel July 29 DJANGO DJANGO, CAST OF CHEERS The Corner Hotel July 31 MIIKE SNOW The Palace July 31 ELECTRIC GUEST Northcote Social Club August 1 SMASHING PUMPKINS Hisense Arena August 2 MARK GARDENER The Corner Hotel August 5 SLASH Hisense Arena August 26 PENNYWISE The Palace August 26 PITBULL Rod Laver Arena August 27 THE ENGLISH BEAT Corner Hotel August 30 JOSE FELICIANO Palais Theatre August 31 AMERICA Hamer Hall September 6 PATRICK WOLF Forum Theatre September 11 HANSON The Palace September 14, 18 WHEATUS Corner Hotel September 19 YELLOWCARD The Hi-Fi September 21 CANNIBAL CORPSE Billboard October 5 STEEL PANTHER Festival Hall October 7 JOE BONAMASSA Palais Theatre October 11 So then, what’s the name and what do you ‘do’? I’m Paul Reid. I play guitar and sing. What do you think people will say you sound like? Josh Pyke, City and Colour, Paul Dempsey. What do you love about making music? Music is my vice. It lets me tell stories through my own thoughts and ideas and how I desire things to be. It doesn’t always work though. Song writing comes in waves and you can’t force it. So when things click, it feels great. What do you hate about the music industry? There is a big gamble in spending a lot of money on music websites, magazines and businesses to promote your songs and shows. With little to no funding for unsigned bands and

PATRICK WOLF Forum Theatre September 11 THE BLACK KEYS Sidney Myer Music Bowl October 31 COLDPLAY Etihad Stadium November 13 RADIOHEAD Rod Laver Arena November 16, 17 GEORGE MICHAEL Rod Laver Arena November 21

NATIONAL PVT Phoenix Public House May 24 TIJUANA CARTEL Northcote Social Club May 24 TUMBLEWEED The Tote May 25, 26 LANIE LANE Corner Hotel May 26, 27, 28 TEMPER TRAP The Forum May 29, 30 TZU Corner Hotel June 1 GRAVEYARD TRAIN The Hi-Fi June 1, 2 THE JEZABELS Festival Hall June 1 THE MISSION IN MOTION The Tote June 2 MATT CORBY The Forum June 6 TIGER CHOIR Worker’s Club June 7 BONJAH Corner Hotel June 8 THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT The Hi-Fi June 8 DEEP SEA ARCADE Phoenix Public House June 8 THE DELTA RIGGS The Workers Club June 9 360 The Hi-Fi June 15 NICKY BOMBA Thornbury Theatre June 15 MISSY HIGGINS Her Majesty’s Theatre June 16 artists, more free support is needed in helping artists get their songs heard by the masses. If you could travel back in time and show one of your musical heroes your stuﬀ, who would it be and why? I’d show Jeﬀ Buckley my songs. Then ask him to sing backing harmonies with me on my next CD. What can a punter expect from your live show? People can expect a mix of full band folk/pop sounds, to just me on guitar. There is something about a musician on their guitar that gets everyone’s attention and makes a show more personal for the audience. When are you playing live next and with who? I’m launching my debut self-titled EP at Noise Bar on

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MUSCLES The Bottom End June 16 KING CANNONS Toﬀ In Town June 21 THE VASCO ERA The Corner Hotel June 22 FIRE! SANTA ROSE, FIRE! The Workers Club June 22 NED COLLETTE & WIREWALKER Northcote Social Club June 23 BUSBY MAROU The Corner June 28 KIRIN J CALLINAN The Tote June 28 WORLD’S END PRESS The Corner Hotel June 29 CHARGE GROUP The Tote June 29 BOB DYLAN TRIBUTE TOUR Palais Theatre July 5, 6 KARNIVOOL The Hi-Fi July 5, 6, 7 LADYHAWKE Billboard July 17 CHILDREN COLLIDE Corner Hotel August 10 KATE MILLER-HEIDKE Corner Hotel August 24 HILLTOP HOODS Festival Hall August 25 XAVIER RUDD The Palace September 13

RUMOURS Norah Jones, Best Coast, Sigur Ros, R Kelly, Grimes, Rick Astley (OR, this could be the world’s greatest rickroll) = New Announcements = Beat Proudly Presents

Saturday May 26 at 8pm. I’m supported by great people and musicians in Watson and Watson, Brendan James and Waterline. What’ve you got to sell CD-wise? My debut self-titled EP. Also heading back into the studio later in the year to start work on my second EP. Anything else to add? I’m continuing the launch of my EP with a regional show in Geelong at The Nash on Thursday May 31. Please visit and ‘like’ The Paul Reid Facebook page at facbook.com/paulreid. musicpage, and review my single Seeds And Water on triple j Unearthed, at triplejunearthed.com.au/paulreid.

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Every Wednesday from 7.30pm Hosted By Jess McGuire & George H $16 pot and parma or tasty vege option Table Bookings Advised: 9427 7300

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Beat Magazine Page 19

LANIE LANE BY STEPH HARMON

The only thing giving away Lanie Lane’s hangover today is the slight wilt to her quiff. Everything else is as it should be – the bright red lipstick, the gold hoop earrings, the enviable style and those wry, striking eyes – but before our interview has even started I’m digging out the Nurofen while her tour manager runs off for water. It’s not a common state for Lane – “I don’t really drink these days,” she admits – but it’s understandable this afternoon. For one thing, we’re in Austin for South by Southwest, which is like schoolies for the music industry – except the drinks are free. And last night was the big one for Lane, who was performing as part of one the festival’s centrepieces: Jack White’s Third Man Records showcase, headlined by the man himself. After the huge year she’s had, she deserved a good time. And she got one. “I ended up getting inducted into the Black Belles as ‘The White Witch’, and then I was hanging out with John C. Reilly!” The actor was playing on the night as well, with his deadpan country side-project. “He was driving me around and everything – he took me to the after party and then he drove me back to my hotel, because it was like 4am. He was like, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll take ya home!’” she laughs. “It was nice to just let loose a little bit – but I’m glad I don’t wake up with a hangover very often!” As one of the lucky few who made it into the venue (the line stretched back four blocks, and could only be skirted by the ultra VIPs – David Fricke, James Mercer and Bill Murray amongst them), this writer can safely say that Lane did us Aussies proud. On stage alone with just her guitar, in a tassled shrug jacket and a skin-tight black dress, her vintage melting pot of bluesy rockabilly, spaghetti western, Motown and country was devoured by the crowd, with The Black Belles swaying in time, right up the front. Such a reception should come as no surprise; Lane has made a name for herself amongst the Jack-Whiteloving set. The now Melbourne-based (but Sydneyraised) artist was picked up by the retro-revivalist hero after she sent over a few of her self-produced tracks last year. “Yeah. And the next day he emailed,” she laughs, shaking her head. White invited Lane to his iconic Nashville studio to record a couple of tracks with him – My Man and Ain’t Hungry – and although it happened early last year, she’s still not sick of talking about it. “SO lucky. And we had to keep it a secret for SO long – like, six months. One day: no idea, just a fan – and the next minute he’s emailed me, and then we’ve planned when I’m going. And that was like two months in advance – had to keep it quiet – went and recorded it – keep it quiet for three more months… So when finally the news came out, I was like, ‘Oh good! I can talk about it now!’” And Lane made quite the impression on Jack White. “There’s a lot of singers post-Amy Winehouse that have come out and been able to get a lot dirtier, a Beat Magazine Page 20

lot more soulful in the female vocal side of music,” he told The West Australian in Texas. “I like her twist on that. I like her style… She’s gonna do some real interesting things in the future.” It’s no surprise then that after her imminent Bangity Bang tour, where she’ll be joined by guitarist Aiden Roberts (Belles Will Ring, The Maple Trail), bassist Zoe Hauptman and drummer Paul Derricort, Lane has been invited to open for White’s headline shows when he’s here for Splendour. The shows at Melbourne’s Festival Hall and Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion will be two of the largest she’s played.

“THAT WHOLE ‘ROCKABILLY’ TITLE HAS BEEN FOLLOWING ME AROUND CONSTANTLY... I TRY TO GET AWAY FROM THAT” Entirely self-taught (“I’ve had two singing lessons oﬀ Elana Stone – and that’s about it!”), Lane is one of a handful of young Australian artists who’ve broken through in a big way this year. Our interview took place at the Aussie BBQ in Texas, the SXSW’s annual showcase of homegrown music, and as I followed her to the press room she grabbed Matt Corby from the crowd by the arm and whispered something in his ear. They both laughed. “He’s absolutely ripping right now,” she tells me. “Maybe three years ago we were all doing these little shows, just plugging away and stuﬀ...but he’s gone BANG! – like, 20 levels, instantly. And Kimbra – people like that have gone BOOM!” I ask if there’s a community that exists there, amongst the kind of Aussie artists who can go to a conference like this and absolutely blow it away. “Well, we’re all kind of doing our own separate things,” she answers. “It’s really random when we do see each other, and we’re always at work. Just before, I played a show and Matt was like, ‘Let’s go! Let’s have a ciggie!’ So we just went outside and sat in a little quiet corner and got away from everyone, and just had a really nice chat,

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about music. Just to bring it back down to that level – the base level – of what we’re all here to do. “You take the moments when you can, because you have to keep each other grounded, you have to keep each other supported, and encourage each other,” she continues. For her own part, Lane is happy with the pace her career has taken. “It sort of is crazy, but it’s not too crazy – it’s just crazy enough that I can handle it,” she says. “You get what you’re ready for in life, and I think that’s why you have to look after yourself as well. If you don’t pay attention to you, then all of that stuff takes over – and that’s when people get into trouble, start getting addicted to things, have meltdowns or whatever. I feel like where I’m at is really good. I’m happy with the pace of the game.” The pace of the game has taken her from 15 years of independent songwriting, to a label deal, to Jack White, to her debut album, To The Horses – which won FBi Radio’s SMAC award for Album Of The Year, landed her four nominations for the APRA Music Awards, and had her on rotation at pretty much every Americana-themed saloon-styled whiskey bar around the country: the pin-up knock-out of the rockabilly revival. Although, she says, she takes issue with that label. “That whole ‘rockabilly’ title has been following me around constantly. Which is cool, but I feel that there’s only a small little part of me that’s related to that. I do know about rockabilly music, but I’m not a bloody expert on it! To The Horses only had a few songs on there that touched on that genre, and somehow I’ve ended up with this whole title!” she says. “So when I do shoots and stuff now, I try to get away from that – a) because I don’t want to be pigeon-holed, and b) out of respect for the people that are real [representatives] of that world… I don’t wanna offend the real rockabilly people!” With the album cycle for To The Horses still in full swing, Lane’s follow-up is a fair way off. “I really wanna start working on the next album,” she says. “I said to my band, ‘Guys, can you just have a lot of sex please? We’ve got to make the sexiest music you’ve ever heard.’ That’s my goal.” But although she’s yet to flesh out any of the new songs, she knows one thing for certain: her second record is going to be different. “Because I’ve had that massive [rockabilly] label on me, now when I’m writing I’m like, ‘This has nothing to do with that – at all!’” she laughs. “I just hope that people who’ve been supportive and are into my music now can grow with me, because [this new record] is going to be so totally different.” It’s not a conscious decision to shirk off that pigeonhole, though; Lanie Lane has been developing her music for as long as she’s been writing it. “I’ve always done what I’ve done. I’ve always written music, and it’s always evolved from year to year. So it’s not that I’m just suddenly changing – I’ve just never had to do it in public before.” LANIE LANE has sold out three shows of her Bangity Bang tour at the Corner Hotel on Saturday May 26, Sunday May 27 and Monday May 28. As well as playing the sold out Splendour In The Grass, she’ll also be supporting Jack White’s sideshow at the Festival Hall on Wednesday July 25. To The Horses is out via Ivy League Records.

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THIS WEEK: ON SCREEN Sean Penn – is he even real? A mythical creature, perhaps; he’s dated Madonna and has been in a string of successful and excellent films, and now he’s playing Cheyenne, a retired goth rock star in This Must Be The Place. Living in Dublin with his wife, played by Francis McDormand, Cheyenne is struggling with retired life, until he learns his estranged father is dying, prompting his return back to America. Soon discovering that his father was on a mission to seek revenge from an SS officer who humiliated him in Auschwitz, Cheyenne decides to pick up where his father left off and the somewhat sentimental vendetta is continued. While the theme of the Holocaust is hard-hitting and may be difficult to watch, in a way it’s all about seeing a pale Sean Penn with a luscious black root-boosted hair-do and red lipstick. This Must Be The Place is now showing at Cinema Nova.

ON STAGE Maybe a robot ate your baby. What? Travis Cotton’s new theatre production, Robot vs Art, is about robots taking over the planet and executing most of the human race, survivors being forced to mine, except for Giles, a theatre director who is ordered by the “Executive Bot” to direct a production for a robot audience. Perhaps it indulges in social commentary about class, dabbles in the topic of dehumanisation and totalitarian government, like an Orwellian attempt at Dystopian theatre? Or maybe it’s just about robots doing stuﬀ. Robot vs Art is on at La Mama from Thursday until Sunday June 10.

ON DISPLAY Remember your favourite childhood toys? They were probably fucking awesome. Not quite as awesome as the ads during Cheese TV used to make them out to be, but still fun I guess. I remember this commercial for this Spider-Man car (pretty sure Spider-Man never drove a spidercar in the comics/show), and in the ad this kid would shoot this thing from the car and there would be this exciting collision with the bad guy and then the kid would be high fived by all his rad friends. But then I bought it, and it would shoot this pussy little dart that fell straight into the ground, and there was no fucking explosion at all, and still nobody liked me. Fucking Cheese TV. Martin Hodge’s latest work, Heroes Of Kangaroo And Lamb, is a series of observational drawings and watercolours inspired by contemporary heroes – a collection of children’s toys and figurines. Heroism is an inspiring, cross-cultural and historically persistent phenomenon. The online blurb writes that “toys act as role models reflecting values and attitudes of the society in which they are produced”. It’s true, I guess. Barbie is the trophy wife that every man is supposed to desire, and Batman is the tormented lonely orphan that every kid wants to be. The exhibition is on at fortyfivedownstairs until Saturday June 2.

BEAT’S PICK OF THE WEEK: Climate change is one of those things. Well, the conversations about climate change – the back-andforth between the believers and the skeptics, the general confusion, and misguidance stemming from the media – is one of those things that should be made into a play. It is, fools. The Heretic, by Richard Bean, premiered in London last year. It divulges into the crux of the matter: skepticism versus belief, when Dr Dianne Cassell, a lecturer of Earth Sciences lands herself and the university into some hot water when her report on rising sea-levels (her research claimed they hadn’t changed) prompts questions on their position on the matter. Dr Cassell is played by Noni Hazelhurst. Noni Hazelhurst! From Play School! And she leads a gripping adaptation of an equally gripping topic. The Heretic plays until Saturday June 23.

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CIRCA BY JACK FRANKLIN Oscar Wilde once said, “When the gods want to punish us, they answer our prayers”. Not so for Brittannie Portelli, who is currently living her childhood dream – she has joined the circus. “Circa is an incredible circus company based out of Brisbane, currently touring both nationally and internationally. They have created awesome circus work and I am now fortunate enough to be part of it,” she confesses. “Circa was my dream company to work with as a circus performer, so I would like to be here as long as I can, for as long as my body holds out. Who knows what the future holds for me. I am very fortunate, I have worked for this for nearly ten years now, so to be living the dream is really something quite special that I don’t take for granted. That is the thing, everyone goes, ‘You are so lucky to be living the dream.’ I don’t really put it down to luck, I put it down to hard work and focus and working myself in the right way, being around people who do support me, and that’s why I have ended up where I am now.” It is very strange to chat with someone who casually admits they are currently, actually, living out their dream. That never happens, people aren’t meant to be happy and fulﬁlled! Digging a little deeper, as you can probably guess, there is a lifetime of very hard work behind Brittannie’s current good fortune. “When I was six-years-old I started at the local gymnastics club, and from there got picked-up to be part of an elite program and did that for around ﬁve years – I was training 24 hours a week as a ten year old,” Brittannie explains of her acrobatic beginnings. “From there I went on to compete in aerobic gymnastics for the next decade. I travelled internationally and had amazing experiences, I also dabbled in synchronised swimming. But at the same age when I was doing all the elite training I saw a circus show and turned to my mum and said, ‘Mum. That is what I am going to do’, and

she said, ‘Okay let’s do it then’. So once I finished year 12, I was accepted into NICA, which is the National Institute Of Circus Arts in Melbourne. I trained there for three years, five days a week, nine till five and created a great foundation for all my circus skills. From there I got a full time contract to work with Circa as one of their ensemble members.” That circus she saw as a ten-year-old was Saltimbanco, which is a Cirque du Soleil show. Only French-Canadians could take something as fun as a circus and turn it into the pretentious, annoying mess that is a Cirque du Soleil show. Which is very strange, because Circa couldn’t be more different from that. “Circa is the opposite,” Brittannie laughs. “I guess when I was ten I thought, ‘Wow these people are making a living out of using their bodies in such extraordinary, physical ways’. When I was at NICA, I looked at all the different genres of circus and I came across Circa on a YouTube clip. I was really, really intrigued by them and was lucky to see one of their shows in Sydney, half way through my third year. What stuck out to me was the way they made it so humanly raw and stripped back the ‘ta-das.’ The audience still laughed and still clapped but it was just the complete human, onstage, showing the audience what they are capable of doing is such an incredible thing to witness as an audience member. Eighteen months later, I am now on stage doing that same show that I saw as a student.” So rather than costumes, pretention and obscure narrative, what you see at Circa is humans operating to honed perfection. Skilled performers move from highly-connected acrobatic and tumbling sequences to fast-paced intricate scenes aerial displays, acrobatics and bodies pushed to

extreme. “To put yourself out with such venerability on the stage is amazing,” Brittannie says. “Most of our work is improvised, so we put so much risk into what we do everyday that we find little places in the show to inject with thrill and delight where the audience doesn’t expect it. So that’s where you get the ‘ooohs and ahhs’ and gasps, because we have found unexpected places for them. After a 75 minute show of watching these seven human acrobats, it really gets the audience to realise – we have the same bodies as they do but, rather than playing a character or a superhuman being, we have stripped that back to show them what a simple human being is capable of doing. Circa has been performed by many different ensemble performers but, our director, rather than replacing acts, he finds what is unique about you are a person and puts that on stage, rather than trying to replicate what someone has performed previously.” Circa will be taking your breath away at The Malthouse Theatre from Tuesday May 29 through to Sunday June 10. Visit malthousetheatre.com.au for more information.

EMERGING WRITERS’ FESTIVAL BY BELLA ARNOTT-HOARE

It’s an interesting turn of self-referential irony when a writer interviews another writer about writing and then writes about it. But as the Emerging Writers’ Festival (EWF) promotes, trading tales from the trenches and building a community is an integral part of the craft, which many budding youngsters miss out on while they’re grappling for a path into the industry. But spirited festival director Lisa Dempster talks about how more than ever, barriers into the industry are being eroded. To write today is something almost anyone can do and the EWF encourage it. The old guard may lament the changes in technology that have allowed the rise of citizen journalists and bloggers from all corners but advantages are obvious: much reportage from last year’s Arab Spring, for example, was in this style. Dempster’s full of boundless optimism that may be lacking from other established agencies of the literary field about social change’s impact on writing. Does it concern her that some of the writing styles on the internet, for example, may be amateur? “Nup,” she says firmly. “I think it’s great. The idea that something has to be professional to be good, or professional to be enjoyable is obviously ridiculous. I love going to The Fringe and seeing amateur theatre, or if we look at music, there’s something great about seeing a garage band in your friend’s backyard. You don’t have to be validated by a publishing deal to be enjoyable. I love the amateur.” Defining an emerging writer is something the festival’s organisers necessarily try to avoid. Being emergent, says Lisa, may not be a case of having been published or not, but rather a willingness to develop your work and to continually improve. “If you’re interested in bettering your craft, or reaching a wider audience for your work, then you’re always going to be emerging. I don’t know any writer who ever feels like their work has reached the pinnacle of good-ness. You always want your next work to be better, your next work to reach more people.” And the festival itself has been in a state of improvement since Dempster came aboard. Five years ago it was a threeday festival. Now it’s 11 days long, and it’s spread its writerly tendrils from Melbourne into a national organisation where events have been run in Sydney and Brisbane. It’s definitely

an indication of the growing market for this type of inclusive festival as the distinction between writers and people who write becomes cloudier – more people obviously feel comfortable developing their inner pensmith. “We’ve never had so many freely available and accessible tools to be able to put our work into the world. I think it’s fantastic. Not every writer wants to be published, not every writer wants to make money, not every writer wants to be a fulltime writer. A lot of people just take pleasure in the creative side of writing. So then to be able to have some tools to actually put their work out there, I think that’s incredibly exciting.” But, the festival originally aimed to serve people with a more serious interest in writing. Born from the idea that there was a gap between tertiary education or other available training and being entrenched in the industry, it helps to provide casual knowledge that you usually pick up from having been a writer. “We call it industry insider information – it’s that kind of thing that, if you had a friend who was a writer they would tell you this is how you talk to an editor, or these are the sorts of rates you can charge for your work. So the festival sprung up in that gap of, why don’t we have casual meetings, and casual get togethers for writers to swap ideas and opinions, and information. “Even the inspiration that you get from listening to other writers and listening to their journey, once you listen to a few writers you realise there’s no one clear pathway to being a writer, and there are lots of diﬀerent, diverse outcomes and journeys and setbacks and opportunities.

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And it’s all about creating your own path.” Dempster, in fact, was a regular attendee of the festival when she first discovered her own authorial ambitions. Though she decreed as a six-year-old that she planned to be a writer she didn’t confront these plans until her midtwenties – when she started attending the EWF. “I thought, if I want to be a writer I guess I have to do something about it and actually get my work published. It was about the same time that I discovered the EWF, so six years ago I guess, which is the time I’ve been involved with the festival.” And her involvement in the festival is one thing that encouraged her to continue on an often-difficult creative course. “I always used to leave with a feeling of excitement and inspiration about my own writing career again.” With programs like the Town Hall Writers’ Conference, for example – two full days of panel discussions about the art, the craft and the business of writing, and speakers from the literary world as well as the blogosphere, it’s an encouragement to confront hidden ambitions. “It’s about taking action, going out, discovery, finding new things. A lot of young writers feel like their work isn’t worthy yet because what would they know, they’re young. My advice is to write as much as possible, and put it out into the world as much as possible through any means that you can. Don’t hang onto it.” The Emerging Writers’ Festival runs from Thursday May 24 – Sunday June 3. Beat editor Tyson Wray will be speaking at an In Discussion event on the nature of street press at the Town Hall Writers’ Conference on Saturday May 26. Visit emergingwritersfestival.org.au for more details.

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THE COMIC STRIP LOL COMEDY

With Tyson Wray. Got news, gossip, reviews, thoughts, tip-oﬀs, complaints, hate mail? Email tyson@beat.com.au or send by ESP before Friday.

FIEND FEST

AMERICAN SONGBOOK

OPERA XS

Like America itself, the Songbook is a melting pot of traditions, cultures and histories – from the best of the Golden Age musical standards to the eclecticism of songwriters working in jazz, pop, rock, folk and country. Join the expedition through the glorious history of American popular song with gifted musical interpreters Joe Chindamo, Avigail Herman, the Julia Messenger Quintet, Michelle Nicolle Quintet and Janet Seidel Trio. The acclaimed American Songbook series returns to Melbourne Recital Centre’s Salon from Friday July 6 – Saturday July 28. Head to melbournerecital.com.au for more information.

While away winter and warm yourself with the luscious, velvety tones of Opera XS – Malthouse Theatre’s six-day extravaganza of operatic proportions. Over a period of six days, join the Malthouse and experience a convergence of styles and song like you’ve never heard before. With a diverse program that will present established productions alongside special events, works in progress, an open mic night and so much more, and featuring Chamber Made Opera, Rawcus, Short Black Opera Company and Victorian Opera, Melbourne’s ﬁrst-ever opera festival, Opera XS will take over the Malthouse – and all of your senses – from Wednesday June 6 – Monday 11. Head to malthousetheatre. com.au for more information.

Fiend Magazine in conjunction with Rivetting Promotions, The Black Market, Carpe Noctum and Revolt are proud to announce Fiend Fest 2012! Fiend Fest is a all day fashion, art and music, culture and retail festival for anyone who is dark at heart. It combines the already highly popular Black Market with Carpe Noctum Fashion Parade (the successor to Circa Nocturna) and a slew of local and international bands, burlesque performers and entertainers including Hocico, Hanzel Und Gretyl and Shiv-R. It all goes down on Saturday June 9 at the Revolt Artspace, Kensington from 11am. Visit revoltproductions. com for tickets and more information.

FRED HOLLOWS Share the dream of late Australian eye surgeon, Fred Hollows, in the Fred Hollows: A Global Vision exhibition. The exhibition will feature the work of internationally recognised photographers such as Michael Amendolia, whose series on Fred working in Vietnam during his last few months has come to symbolise the extraordinary life of one of our greatest Australians. Dedicating every aspect of his life to eradicating avoidable blindness amongst some of the world’s most disadvantaged, Hollows is a true Australian hero, and one which should be celebrated. Experience his great spirit through raw photography as Fred Hollows: A Global Vision heads to the City of Melbourne Library from Saturday June 2 – Friday June 29.

TIME IN MOTION Put on those ballet pumps, ‘cause the Arts Centre is getting ready to give all of you ballet ﬁends an explosive dose of the dance that you love the most. Time In Motion: 50 years of the Australian Ballet is an exhibition that revisits the memorable moments of The Australian Ballet, giving patrons a behind-the-scenes look at their history and creative process. The Australian Ballet’s historic moments will be brought to life through photographs, designs, costumes, set models, props, memorabilia, musical scores and archival footage. Time In Motion will allow Arts Centre visitors the opportunity to celebrate the company’s enduring style, strength and passion for dance. Best of all? It’s completely free. All you need is to walk on into the Arts Centre’s Gallery I & II between Saturday June 9 – Saturday September 23.

RUSSIAN RESURRECTION FILM FESTIVAL Add a little bit of Russian ﬂavour in your life as the Russian Film Festival will once again make its way to our shores. Paying homage to its authentic Russian roots through the magic of movies and festive Opening Night parties, this year’s festival will not disappoint. Every year, high proﬁle Russian directors and actors travel to Australia as guests of the festival, promoting cultural exchange and strengthening the relationship between Russia and Australia. Dress with vibrance and don your kokoshnik. The Russian celebration is taking over Palace Como from September 5 – 17. BYO vodka.

VAVABOOMBAH Burlesque is a well-established and hugely popular art form across Australia. Now three enterprising Melbourne women – Aimee Nichols, Lisa-Skye Goodes and Jackie Wykes – have taken it upon themselves to launch VaVaBoombah, Melbourne’s ﬁrst burlesque revue featuring plus-sized performers. The aim is simple: provide a space for larger performers to strut their stuﬀ, while providing audiences with a show that will entertain, delight and challenge ideas about stereotypical notions of sexiness. Audience members can expect a range of performances, from traditional feather fan dancing to satirical numbers set to hair metal classics, and acts include a reverse striptease, a naughty storyteller, and even a tribute to ‘90s computer game Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? Their debut performance takes place on Friday June 1 at the Revolt Art Space, Kensington. Visit revoltproductions. com more information and tickets.

Every family has their story and, unfortunately for some, their stories are sadder than others. Award-winning playwright Aidan Fennessy charts the incredible story of his extended family, the Stewards, whose 21-year-old son, Tony Stewart, was one of the Balibo Five. Taking on one of Australia’s most controversial issues, National Interest explores the nature of justice through the eyes of those to whom justice matters the most. Taking place in the living room of the Stewart family home, audiences will watch as the time ﬂows back and forth from 1975 to 2007, and the way in which they handle their ordeal. Witness the experience as though you’re there as National Interest opens at the Arts Centre’s Fairfax Studio on Monday June 11 – Saturday July 21. Tickets on sale through MTC or Arts Centre Melbourne.

Australian Centre for the Moving Image Federation Square, Melbourne www.acmi.net.au/ﬁlm

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Charlie is still recovering from his ﬁrst birthday party last week but the best above-ground underground comedy room in Melbourne keeps delivering the big names. Tonight, European Man hosts a huge lineup featuring Xavier Michelides, Daniel Connell, Jon Bennett, Toby Halligan and more! And as always, cheap piss and piss-cheap entry. Check in 8pm tonight at Eurotrash Bar - 18 Corrs Lane, Melbourne. $5 entry. Get down early for a seat.

Another huge Felix Bar Comedy this Wednesday with our headliner, Tom Gleeson! Gleeson is the hottest act in the country right now, and while you’ve seen him on Good News Week and The Project, you’ve gotta see him on stage! It’s a scorcher of a bill, with our other guests being Michael Chamberlin, Elbowskin, Mel Buttle, Mick Neven and Gerard McCulloch! Come down and check out the biggest night of comedy in St Kilda, every Wednesday night! It’s happening at 8.30pm for only $12, at Felix Bar, St Kilda.

SOFTBELLY COMEDY Tom Gleeson and Glenn Robbins are at Softbelly Comedy this Thursday! It’s gonna be massive with two bona ﬁde superstars of Australian comedy on the same night! Plus they’ve got Mel Buttle, Daniel Connell, Cam Marshall and more! It’s sure to be a super-great one! It’s all happening at Softbelly, 367 Little Bourke Street in the city, this Thursday May 24, 8.30pm, for only $12! Get in early for a good seat!

COMMEDIA DELL PARTE Last week’s Commedia Dell Parte was absolutely packed this week we once again bring the best of Melbourne Comedy to St Kilda with Hayman Kent, Tess Woodward, Courtney Parker, Sarah Jones, Sonia Di Iorio, Victoria Healy, Bobby Macumber and Tegan Higginbotham. Make sure you get in early to secure yourself a comfy couch, see some amazing comedy and go into the draw for some great prizes from Punchline. The room runs on a ‘pay as you like’ basis, so come along and have a great laugh, then pay what you believe the show is worth on the way out. So if you enjoy the show chuck in a few sheckles and show your appreciation. Commedia Dell Parte runs every Thursday from 8.30pm at the George Lane Bar, St Kilda.

JEFF DUNHAM If you couldn’t get tickets to his first (completely sold-out tour) ventriloquist comedian Jeff Dunham is returning for his second tour of Australia. Dunham is famous for his Dunham classic dummy characters: Walter the grumpy retiree, red neck Bubba J, manic Peanut, José Jalapeño the spicy pepper from South of the border, Achmed the Dead Terrorist, Peanut’s own ventriloquist dummy Little Jeff and more. His television specials and series have been some of the highest rated programmes in Comedy Central history, his DVD sales have reached seven million units, his videos have received a half a billion views on YouTube, and his live concerts have become megaevents played in front of sold-out arenas worldwide. He plays Rod Laver Arena on Tuesday August 21. Tickets on sale Wednesday May 30 via Ticketek.

PUNCH BROTHERS

THE ARCHITECT & THE PAINTER Film Season > ACMI Cinemas Friday 1 June – Sunday 17 June 2012

CHECKPOINT CHARLIE COMEDY

FELIX BAR COMEDY

NATIONAL INTEREST

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The Portland Hotel and The Local have teamed up to bring you the LOL Comedy Series, featuring some for Australia’s best comedic talent. The idea was born from the recognition that Melburnians love live entertainment in intimate spaces, and the smaller venues have an opportunity to carve a niche during the winter months when festivals in Melbourne are few and far between. With Melbourne positioned as the live entertainment capital of Australia, they are conﬁdent that this new series will ﬁll an entertainment gap and resonate with both locals and visitors alike. Tonight they have Dave O’Neil at The Portland Hotel and next Tuesday we have Greg Fleet on at The Local. So come down and get ready for some serious laughter.

THE SAPPHIRES It’s one of the most recognised film festivals on the planet, so there’s no prouder moment when an Australian film has been selected for the program of the Cannes Film Festival. But don’t stress, we don’t all have to travel France to catch a glimpse of The Sapphires. The 61st Melbourne International Film Festival is proud to announce that this year’s festival will open with the Australian premiere of the film in one of the most anticipated events on the Australian film calendar. Australia’s brightest stars and biggest names in film and entertainment will walk the red carpet, all for a night dedicated to this one film starring Australian screen stars, Deborah Mailman and Jessica Mauboy. MIFF will run from August 2 – 19.

ARTS NEWS, REVIEWS, INTERVIEWS ONLINE – BEAT.COM.AU/ARTS

Don’t get this one confused with The Bash Brothers of Mighty Ducks fame. Rather, Punch Brothers are one of the most exhilarating bands to come out of New York in recent years, and are getting ready to make their local debut at Melbourne Recital Centre on Monday August 6. Made up of Chris Thile, Gabe Witcher, Noam Pikelny, Chris Eldridge and Paul Kowert, Punch Brothers explain their music as “that of a bluegrass band, but our inﬂuences range from Radiohead and Wilco to Back and Mozart and Bill Monroe.” Punch Brothers’ ﬁrst visit to Melbourne will showcase music from their album Who’s Feeling Young Now?, and much, much more. The Punch Brothers will grace the stage of Melbourne’s Recital Centre on Monday August 6, 7.30pm. Head to melbournerecital.com.au to book.

— 10pm m p 6 It’s Scienceworks without the kids! Only $22 Adults, $20 Concessions Book online at MUSEUMVICTORIA.COM.AU/WALLACEANDGROMIT

2 BOOKER STREET SPOTSWOOD

BANNED BOOKS IN AUSTRALIA STEPHANIE JAERHLING & PAM PRYDE ($20)

In 2005, two books held in the University of Melbourne Library’s Special Collections were ‘refused classiﬁcation’ by the Classiﬁcation Board. For staff, a rapid learning curve followed, working through the implications of what this meant for the library in practical terms, while academics from the Vice-Chancellor down publicly argued the case against the banning of texts used in teaching and research. Five years later the University of Melbourne Library re-visited this experience by hosting an exhibition on the topic of censorship in Australia. It became clear that censorship affects many lives in Australia - but very little has been written about it. This publication aims to document the University of Melbourne’s own experience, and to record and acknowledge the experiences of others currently involved in, or affected by, the issue of censorship.

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EMERGING WRITERS' FESTIVAL 24TH MAY 03 RD JUNE, —2012— THE FESTIVAL FOR WRITERS Stories that Matter Town Hall Writers’ Conference Business of Being a Writer Emerging #QandA Revenge of the Nerds Slide Night Industry Insider Poetry Cafe Fright Night Blogging Masterclass The Rabbit Hole Future Bookshop The Pitch Page Parlour Spelling Bee EWFdigital

This is the most authoritative and comprehensive survey of literary censorship in Australia yet. It includes: David Bennett on theory and practice of censorship, Donald McDonald on the OFLC Review Board, Robert Nelson on the Bill Henson affair, Philip Nitschke on The Peaceful Pill, Richard Pennell on Islamist books and Lauren Rosewarne on perversion, together with a full listing of banned and challenged books annotated by Jenny Lee.

emergingwritersfestival.org.au

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Beat Magazine Page 25

ON THE PRODUCTION OF MONSTERS BY BELLA ARNOTT-HOARE

On an appropriately funereal Wednesday at the Melbourne Theatre Company, director Clare Watson considers what it is to live in this city. “There’s nothing earnest about Melburnians, which is quite charming,” she ponders. But while we could be summed up collectively with a number of Melbourne-centric statements – a fondness for cloudy days, coffee snobbery bordering on fetish, black garb and many other common platitudes – it’s the complexities that make for good playwriting. And referencing the Bill Henson scandal of 2008, On The Production Of Monsters explores how Melbourne’s parochialism can be dangerous, fear-mongering and pack-like. The new play by Robert Reid is a darkly funny tale about inner-city hipsterdom and its drawbacks – namely when traits of apathy and irony contribute to national scandal. The premise is that the lead character becomes associated with an image of child pornography, says Watson. “We’ve talked quite a lot in rehearsal about what is his crime essentially, and possibly his crime is passivity,” she says, “his refusal to take any action or make any decision. And I do think in some ways that’s the criticism being made of us laconic Melburnians.” The play uses the furore surrounding an artistically created ‘pornographic’ image of a child, which became national news, as its inspiration. In 2008, contemporary photographer Bill Henson, recognised for his painterly depictions of metamorphosis, was preparing for a show at Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery in Sydney. But before it could open, eight individual complaints were made to police about a photograph of a nude 13-year-old girl. Some were seized. “I was in Belgium at the time and it made papers there,” says Claire. “I’d always been a big fan of Henson’s work, and one of my prized possessions is a copy of his book that has some of the images that were in that exhibition.” As a member of the artistic community and with strong familial ties to art, the director says she was shocked by the witch-hunt, a trial by fire if you will, that Henson received from the media. “People are absolutely welcome to opinion, I think open debate is important, and it’s wonderful to have critiques occurring all the time but there were certain people that brought themselves into the debate that both had too much weight and not necessarily enough cultural knowledge. I guess – our

Prime Minister…” she trails off sheepishly, referring to Rudd’s appearance on a certain morning show to discuss the issue. “I mean – why!” she emits with eloquent exasperation. She found most of the international coverage of the incident bathed in ridicule of the backwater which demonised one of the world’s biggest names in art. But here the scandal was proliferated earnestly in almost all media outlets, the incident a growing beast that made all of us question where our loyalties and sensibilities lay. This, she says, is what was ‘monstrous’ about the debacle, as the play examines. “Essentially the media is the monster, and all of the characters, who create the stories and create the narratives, are monstrous in their own ways. And we are too. Hopefully we’re placing the audience in a position where they have to question their own responsibility.” The main character, Ben, finds himself in possession of an image which is seen as child pornography, and On The Production Of Monsters just looks at how he’s then vilified for it. Even if he’s proven not to have been aroused by this image, says Watson, or that he’s mistakenly in receipt of this image, the fact that his name has been associated with the word pedophile is indelible. Starring Virginia Gay and James Saunders, the “two-hander” play means the two actors are filling the roles of up to nine characters. And it looks into our national values with a smirk. “The piece itself is very fast, quite wickedly funny,” she says. “I think that’s why the genius is keeping it light, because in some ways it can be so didactic. What he’s doing in the text is offering us a whole lot of mini scenes and placing them next to each other. The audience then have to make the connections themselves as to – not

what the story is, but the message. Ideally it opens up a number of conversations, and sends people out into the foyer having some pretty interesting discussions over a glass of wine.” What theatre-goers might get the most out of – or be the most startled by – is that we’re up there. The playwright and indeed the director have seamlessly injected an experience that is uniquely of this city, what Watson sees as “a bit of a love song to Melbourne.” “But it’s a love song to Melbourne by a Melburnian, and we are so retro-ironic. Everything we tend to do culturally is so tongue-in-cheek, and the fact that we go and get a coffee at a place where they’re also a

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THE LOCAL | 22-24 BAY STREET, PORT MELBOURNE 3207 T: 9810 0076 | WWW.THELOCALPORTMELBOURNE.COM.AU ARTS NEWS, REVIEWS, INTERVIEWS ONLINE – BEAT.COM.AU/ARTS

cobbler – there’s something gorgeously hysterical, and sweet, and super cool about Melburnians that we are very fond of. I feel as though the play itself is a bit of a love song to Melbourne in that way. While it’s extremely fond [of the city], it’s also hanging shit.” On The Production Of Monsters runs at the MTC’s Lawler Theatre from Wednesday May 23 – Saturday June 9.

SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL AND PERFORMANCE BY PATRICK EMERY

1968 was a year of turmoil. In April, Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King was shot in Memphis. In May, disquiet with French President Charles de Gaulle’s policies erupted into violence on the streets of Paris. In June, US presidential candidate Robert Kennedy was assassinated after winning the Californian primary. In August, Soviet troops rolled into the streets of Prague to crush the efforts of Czechoslovakian radicals to liberalise the Soviet-influenced Czech government. Two months later, US athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their fists on the dais at the Mexico City Olympics to symbolise solidarity with the Black Power cause. In London, the English political and social establishment was still struggling with the influence of the counter-cultural movement. The bête noir of the establishment, The Rolling Stones, had entered the studio in the first half of 1968 to commence the recording of what would become Beggar’s Banquet, released eventually in December 1968. Opening with the potent Sympathy For The Devil– in which Jagger assumes the part of Lucifer, surveying the remains of history – Beggar’s Banquet would, possibly subconsciously, capture the zeitgeist of the time, as the Western world migrated from the wideeyed hope and optimism of the Summer Of Love to the murderous events of Altamont and the Manson killings in 1969. French filmmaker Jean-Luc Goddard had escaped from the violence of Paris in May 1968 to arrive in London. Goddard’s obsession with politics saw him intend on creating a film that would convey the turbulent political environment of the time. Goddard ensconced himself in the studio with The Rolling Stones, capturing the evolution of Sympathy For The Devil in the hands of The Rolling Stones. Goddard would splice scenes featuring the reciting of Black Panthers texts, Marxist iconography and a dramatic exploration on the nature of democracy and revolution. Originally titled One Plus One – Goddard’s reason being that ‘one plus one does not always equal two’ – the film charts the development of the title song; Goddard’s insistence that the completed song not be included was ignored, causing him to dismiss the final cinematic product (the ‘director’s cut’ of the film would be eventually released many years later). Around the same time, Jagger was approached to appear in his first dramatic role in Performance, the gangster-comepsychedelic piece co-starring James Fox and Anita Pallenberg, the Swedish model who’d left the floundering Stones guitarist Brian Jones for his charismatic band mate Keith Richards. Jagger largely played a version of himself, a reclusive rock star encountered by Fox, the latter escaping from a violent altercation with Anthony Valentine. Unsure what to make of the film, Warner Brothers sat on the film for another two years before releasing it in 1970; bootleg outtakes of the sex scenes between Pallenberg and Jagger (long alleged to be genuine) would surface in continental Europe in the ‘70s. This month, the Australian Centre for the Moving Image will screen both Sympathy For The Devil and Performance as part of its Long Play program. ACMI programmer Robert Ciabarra came relatively late to both films, though had long been aware of the films’ reputation and influence. “When I first saw Sympathy For The Devil, I knew I wasn’t going to see a straight forward music documentary,” Ciabarra says. “As I was watching it, I realised I should stop expecting it to make sense, so I let myself off the hook in that respect. Goddard’s films are much more of a provocative statement.”

“AS I WAS WATCHING IT, I REALISED I SHOULD STOP EXPECTING IT TO MAKE SENSE” Sympathy For The Devil is both a frustrating and a revealing film. Goddard is intent on illustrating the turbulence of the contemporary political and social environment; The Rolling Stones exemplify that upheaval. As a political statement, Sympathy For The Devil, with its heavy reliance on Marxist discourse as a vehicle to explore meaning and language, is of its time. As an artistic statement, the film is complex and unique. “I think with Goddard art and politics are inextricably linked,” Ciabarra says. “He was very much interested in politics at the time, and within a month of the Paris riots he was in London to film The Rolling Stones, but I’m not sure what came first – The Stones in the studio, the writing of the song or the vignettes concerning the construction of language, yet they all come together to explore meaning.” Performance, on the other hand, is a comparatively straight-forward film, blending West End gangster narrative with rock’n’roll styling and counter-cultural narrative. While Jagger was the focus of publicity for the film, James Fox – a classically trained actor typically featured in uppercrust roles – is pivotal to the film. “At the time, the publicity was all about Jagger,” Ciabarra says, “but James Fox was insistent about playing the character of Chas, which wasn’t the sort of character he was known for playing.” Ciabarra says Jagger’s performance in the film is more than commendable, despite his limited training and preparation. “I think that role has to be Mick Jagger in order for you to be watching the film,” Ciabarra says. “It plays on his duality as a gangster and a rock star. And I think Jagger brings a certain conviction to the role – it works for me, as I think it works with the next film he did, which was Ned Kelly which was filmed out here a couple of years later.” As for whether both Sympathy For The Devil and Performance capture the mutation of optimism into dispair, Ciabarra agrees it’s possible to see that with benefit of hindsight. “There must have been pessimism in the air, and May 1968 must have been a notable period. The naive optimism had been well-trampled by then.”

TAKE THE 21 CHALLENGE AND HELP CHANGE THE LIVES OF HOMELESS AND AT-RISK YOUTH. GO TO 21CHALLENGE.COM.AU

Sympathy For The Devil screens at ACMI until Wednesday May 30. Performance screens at ACMI on Saturday May 26 and Sunday May 27. Check out acmi.net.au for more information.

ARTS NEWS, REVIEWS, INTERVIEWS ONLINE – BEAT.COM.AU/ARTS

Beat Magazine Page 27

FIEND FEST BY JAMES W NICOLI

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the definition of fiend is: 1 – an evil spirit or demon. 2 – a very wicked or cruel person. Or 3 – an enthusiast or devotee of a particular thing. I’m guessing most of us could identify with a least one of the above. Maybe even two. Good thing then that Fiend Fest 2012 is nearly upon us. An all day festival devoted to the darker side of fashion, art and music, Fiend Fest will surely have a little something for everyone, fiends included. “We’re getting to the sharp end of months of planning, preparation and promotion,” says an excited Gerry Meehan, the festival director. “Things are getting pretty crazy now but it’s exhilarating to see all the pieces start to fit together and an awesome new event about to be born. The next few weeks will be hell, glorious hair-raising hell. Just like Fiend Fest!” Taking place at the Revolt Art Space in Kensington, the idea behind Fiend Fest, besides raising hell, was to create a unique festival, encompassing all the best bits of the fashion, art and music worlds. “The idea for Fiend Fest is to combine some of Melbourne’s most popular alternative events under one roof on a single day with an exciting festival atmosphere with the hope that the whole will be much greater than the sum of the individual parts,” says Meehan. One of the biggest drawcards of the festival will no doubt be the Carpe Noctum fashion show. Having existed separately for a number of years under the moniker of Circa Nocturna, 2012 has seen the popular show join forces with Fiend Fest. “Well Carpe Noctum’s predecessor was incredibly popular, selling out both morning and afternoon sessions,” Meehan says. “With Carpe Noctum at Fiend Fest we only have the opportunity to do one midday session so we’re definitely

expecting that show to sell out. The show itself will be very similar to the format of Circa which for the uninitiated means a seated runway show of about two hours which showcases the latest designs of alternative designers from a wide spectrum of styles. This year we have designers who draw from Steampunk, Lolita, Baroque, Clubwear and of course Gothic styles. This year we add an extra dimension to the show with a live performance from controversial and entertaining local artist Noize Bunny.” On top of the fashion show, Fiend Fest will also be hosting a number of local and international musical acts. Headlined by Hocico, who will be flying in all the way from Mexico and Hanzel Und Gretyl from the USA, both acts promise to blow audiences away with their respective live shows. “We’re all very excited by the live music aspect of Fiend Fest and we’ve been lucky to be able to book some of the most entertaining live acts in their respective genres and that goes for many of the local acts as well as the internationals,” adds Meehan. If fashion and music aren’t enough to get you pumped then maybe the Black Market will be more your style. The market will feature a huge number of stalls stocked full of hawking fashion, art, music, curiosities and more. “The

Black Market is for those who’ve already sold their soul to sell everything else!” jokes Meehan. “There will also be massages and delicious food vendors to help you recharge those batteries, an essential at any festival worth its salt.” There’s certainly no arguing that. However, there is another essential aspect, key to any festival of note and that is the question of alcohol. Thankfully, Fiend Fest is well equipped in that area too; with a bar serving drinks at prices that won’t completely destroy your bank account. “One of the best things about Revolt is that it serves drinks at bar prices! I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve been fleeced for a few bourbons at a festival. Venues and promoters have a tendency to exploit the captive audiences at gigs and festivals, not so at Revolt where the drinks are cheaper than most CBD bars!” There’s little doubt that putting on a festival of any kind takes a hell of a lot of hard work and Fiend Fest is no exception with its format posing a number of different challenges to the organisers. “Logistics and promotion are always the two hardest parts of running events,” says Meehan. “This is an incredibly expensive and complicated event with literally hundreds

of models, performers, designers, stall holders and support staff to organise.” Yet for Meehan, the overall experience of working on Fiend Fest has been an extremely rewarding one. “Personally I love cooperation and working with like-minded and talented individuals from a variety of genres and art forms. A festival like this really exposes you to the best of everything the alternative scene in Australia has to offer.” With a seemingly endless number of festivals doing the rounds these days it’s getting harder to keep track of them all. Yet Fiend Fest promises to offer a fresh, unique and exciting take on the festival experience. “Fiend Fest is a celebration of everything dark and alternative,” says Meehan. “We hope people come and celebrate all facets of what is a broad, vibrant and multi-talented scene. An event like this supports local business, artists and musicians in a time when that support is most needed.”

not own or run The Astor Theatre. And we maintain that they will not be running the theatre.” News of the threat to The Astor Theatre has extended beyond Melbourne, as support has been pouring in from the film industry. Park Circus, a UK based distribution and programming firm have leant their support to Friends Of The Astor Theatre, as Hamilton notes that, “[They have] given us leverage to screen their films for free.” Those with a respect for the importance of film and screening films in their proper form consider The Astor Theatre to be a beacon of light in the aged of digitized film. Hamilton recalls a story from the theatre’s past, all the while attempting to outline the theatre’s importance. “Kenneth Branagh’s Hamlet was going to be distributed by a distributor that didn’t adhere to proper projection. George was horrified and he somehow contacted Branagh and asked for distribution rights to the film. And he was ultimately given them. If he hadn’t done that, Australasia

had not been able to see a proper film version of Hamlet. There’s a bunch of day-to-day things that people don’t see, but it’s all very vital to The Astor Theatre and cinema in Australia. And you can’t do that if the ownership simply pays homage to the theatre a few weeks a year.” And if the Friends Of The Astor have their way, they won’t. Hamilton is asking concerned citizens to attend the launch to the campaign where they’ll be screening Labyrinth and concerned celebrities will also be making appearances. Still, the focus remains on members of the community to get out and protect the theatre. “We’re asking people to come along and show their support,” says Hamilton.

SoundKILDAs. “The sort of principles you learn in telling, when you’re writing a script they always say to you show don’t tell. It’s imagery – storytelling with images. I think the coolest thing about the music video [format] is it keeps you honest. You haven’t got dialogue to rely on, you have to communicate to your audience only in a visual way. And those film principles definitely help you do that.” “The hardest thing is to make sure that the concept is sympathetic to the song, they’re integrated into the same body. You’ll see videos sometimes where they’re overlaying the concept on top of the song, and it didn’t seem to have the idea before. That’s a real shame – there’s no emotional connection. There’s an insight that you get from a video which can help you experience a song better, which I think is what the video should do. You definitely have to try to interpret the song for the screen.” Pincus also looks at music videos as a form of contemporary art. Alpine’s clip for Hands, for example, has been seen as controversial – with semi-nudity, writhing bodies and incongruous imagery – it’s something like a lot of video art being produced by contemporary makers. And

SoundKILDA helps to place these clips on that pedestal. Runnng alongside this event will be an industry forum, Making A Music Video. Pincus will discuss her creation of the Gotye clip and her experience in the industry – good and bad. “There’ll be an honesty about what I’ll say and some of it won’t be fun to hear, because it is really hard, there’s no money and the deadlines are sometimes obnoxious.” But despite a certain negativity, she’s no doubt addicted to the form. “At the same time I hope people get a bit of positive inspiration as well. I think I’m the person who probably loves music videos the most. It’ll be tempered with flagrant enthusiasm about it as well, practical skills and insights, and secrets.” As for the rest of the clips, Pincus hasn’t seen them and she’s waiting until the night, when they’ll premiere away from online streams. But she’s expecting to be inspired. “They look like a really innovative bunch of videos and they’re a good sample of what’s happening out there now,” she says.

Fiend Fest is at Revolt Art Space on Saturday June 9. For more information and tickets visit revoltproductions.com

PROTECT THE ASTOR BY JOSHUA KLOKE

The Astor Theatre, one of Melbourne’s most prized theatres and a symbol of Australia’s strong film heritage is under threat, and locals are being asked to lend their voice to a campaign to protect the theatre. Friends Of The Astor Association Inc., is championing a campaign to save the theatre from likely closure after the building that houses it was purchased by nearby St. Michael’s Grammar School. While the school does not own the theatre, after acquiring the building that houses the Astor Theatre, St. Michael’s unveiled plans to close the building for five years when the current lease expires. The school then plans to re-open the building by turning it into a performing arts centre and a uniform shop. Vanda Hamilton, president of the community group Friends Of The Astor Association, is aiming to raise $5 million to buy the St. Kilda building, ensuring that the cinema can continue as a vital part of Australia’s film culture and heritage. Speaking to Beat, Hamilton claims that discussions with St. Michael’s Grammar School have been less than productive. “We have had a few meetings over the years,” she says. “I could describe their attitude in those discussions as evasive and non-committal and its always been that way. Many of their statements are so broad.” “The assurance that The Astor will remain a cinema is one which is fairly misleading in my opinion,” she continues. “All their statements mean is that they plan to have an area within the building set aside where people can watch films. But we haven’t seen any architectural evidence to support this,” says Hamilton. “No blueprints of any kind.” Yet fans of The Astor Theatre are not taking this threat lying down.

At the time of our May 18 interview, an online petition to save the theatre had garnered over 8600 signatures, and Hamilton believes that they would “Get to 10,000 by the weekend.” Built in 1936, the theatre remains an art deco icon. Hamilton believes that the theatre’s importance to film culture in Australia is immeasurable. “In terms of the history of film in Australia, The Astor is certainly one of the last cinemas to show films in their proper, large format. The movies are projected properly by projectionists. We see theatres screening movies this way less and less.” The Astor Theatre is registered with Heritage Victoria and is Melbourne’s last historically significant single screen theatre and Hamilton maintains that despite theatre’s cultural significance, St. Michael’s Grammar School is steadfast in their plans to close the theatre. “St. Michael’s had been asked if they were interested in selling the building, and they simply said no.” Though The Astor Theatre has been open since 1936, in 1983 George Florence leased the theatre. The theatre’s programming is adored by cinema fans throughout Melbourne, a fact that Hamilton believes is lost on St. Michael’s Grammar School. “George Florence re-opened and reinvigorated the theatre in 1983. There’s always been a theatre in that building but he re-opened it and has been running it since then with the current programming format. He owned the business of The Astor Theatre. The school owns the building, but they do

ASTOR THEATRE 1936

Concerned citizens are asked to attend the rally at The Astor Theatre on June 16 - it comes complete with Jaffa rolling, celebrity guests, free popcorn, tours and a free screening Labyrinth. Visit fota.net.au for more information and to get involved.

SOUNDKILDA BY BELLA ARNOTT-HOARE

While it achieved the status as one of last year’s most persistent earworms, Wally De Backer’s searching plea Somebody That I Used To Know, featuring a snarling riposte from Kimbra, has also racked up some millions in YouTube views. For director Natasha Pincus, its success was unexpected and is still unfathomable. She may not be a household name yet, but the viral nature of the clip attests to her skill, and at SoundKILDA, the St Kilda Film Festival’s tribute to music videos, Pincus will be honoured on the big screen. Joining her will be some of the past year’s most innovative works in the field, with clips by filmmakers for Australian bands including Miami Horror, Clare Bowditch, Children Collide and Alpine, amongst others. The tribute recognises a video clip’s ability to seal a song’s vision and captivate a worldwide audience – in which Pincus can relate to. “It’s sort of surreal,” she says. “It’s almost like it’s happening to somebody else. I don’t think I’ve ever really got close to absorbing it – you can’t. It just seems like an aberration. I can’t conceive of the fact that 220 million people have seen my work. But certainly it’s a compliment, it’s a compliment to all of us.” The filmmaker’s in high demand after the breakout hit charmed and then smothered international audiences. She barely has time to sleep, she laments, with new project after new project piling up. But amongst all the mayhem she recognises it’s the right time to be in the industry, a “golden age” for music videos, she thinks, because of YouTube democracy. “I think it’s the mixture of media and being able to experience it in the best way. Before we used to experience videos passively, we’d watch Video Hits or Rage and whatever was given to us was what we had to watch.” Beat Magazine Page 28

YouTube, she says, set a precedent, driving views of clips and therefore industry standards for the pieces being created. “The audience is telling us democratically what they want by whether it’s got lots of views or not, and it’s pushed the ante up so much.” The drawback of this, she explains, is that more time, effort and skill is required to create the pieces, many of which employ cinematic traits and special effects which have far bypassed what was expected in previous decades. “It was a pretty challenging project,” she says of Gotye’s film clip. “Things that look the most simple are often the most difficult to achieve.” As she’s become more experienced, so too have her creations. “What I’ve found with each video is they’ve actually gotten more ambitious. Gotye was one for me to see what I could try to achieve. It was really tough because we had to mix stop-motion and live action in a way I hadn’t seen done before. We had a couple of months to make that video and it took a lot of effort, but it went bananas.” Informed by a background in film, including developing her first feature this year, Pincus has been featured in St Kilda’s short film selection, as well as a number of past

ARTS NEWS, REVIEWS, INTERVIEWS ONLINE – BEAT.COM.AU/ARTS

SoundKILDA will be held at The Astor Theatre on Thursday May 24. Visit stkildafilmfestival.com.au for more information.

Supported by

Trouble’s Door album Tour Special guest fingers malone

Sat 9 June The Corner Hotel, Richmond Tickets at cornerhotel.com

Sun 10 June The Westernport Hotel Tickets at oztix.com.au www.ashgrunwald.com

New album, Trouble’s Door out 11 May CHECK OUT ALL THE LATEST NEWS, REVIEWS AND FREE SHIT AT BEAT.COM.AU

Beat Magazine Page 29

COLLARTS

NORTHERN COLLEGE OF THE ARTS AND TECHNOLOGY

5 BRADY STREET SOUTH MELBOURNE PHONE 03 9281 8898 INFO@COLLARTS.EDU.AU COLLARTS.EDU.AU

Everyone knows the music industry is a competitive place, but with a qualiďŹ cation from Collarts youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll feel rest assured with the educational advantage of Collarts stemming from the illustrious Australian College Of The Arts institution. With such a rich history in the performing arts, music and entertainment industries, Collarts guarantees all graduates will learn the hands on skills needed, have access to the latest technologies and create the industry contacts necessary to gain invaluable knowledge, experience and ultimately be at the top of the pecking order for employment upon course completion. Their highly regarded industry based courses, from VCE vocational education and

62 MURRAY RD EAST PRESTON PHONE 03 9478 1333 NCAT@EDUMAIL.VIC.GOV.AU NCAT.VIC.EDU.AU

training (VET) courses to their new two-year degree programs ensure there are plenty of opportunities to become part of the fastest growing creative music business college in the country. Entering a new era in 2012, Collarts have just introduced three new degree courses with several new appointments of highly experienced staďŹ&#x20AC; members. The three new degree programs open for enrollment now are a Bachelor Of Arts (Music) Contemporary Music Performance, Bachelor Of Arts (Audio Production) and a Bachelor Of Arts (Creative Industries Management) Music Business. For more information, in-depth testimonials and important links visit www.collarts.edu.au or call (03) 9281 8898.

Formerly Northland Secondary College, the Northern College Of The Arts and Technology caters for Year 10-13 students seeking a specialised education in the visual arts, performing arts or technologies. Year 10 art and technology streams provide a solid foundation for VCE or VCAL qualiďŹ cations. Our Year 11 and 12 students beneďŹ t from tailored, individualised programs that integrate VET art or technology certiďŹ cates within a VCE or VCAL syllabus. As a Registered Training Organisation, the College also welcomes part-time students from other state and private schools seeking to integrate VET certiďŹ cates within a VCE or VCAL program. Graduate studies, short courses and close connections with industry, TAFE and tertiary providers open pathways for students who wish to pursue further study, apprenticeships or employment. In 2010, the College ceased education for year 7, 8 and 9 students to focus on the heart of our service oďŹ&#x20AC;ering. The change in the name from Northland Secondary College to the Northern College Of The Arts And Technology better reďŹ&#x201A;ects their ongoing extension of VET specialisations

and complementary graduate studies in the arts and technologies. With one of the broadest VET oďŹ&#x20AC;erings in Victoria, a 17 million dollar technologies facility and a highly successful visual and performing arts record; NCAT look forward to servicing the vocational learning needs of Victorian students in 2012 and beyond. NCAT also oďŹ&#x20AC;er extensive Music Industry Training programs that take you all the way from compiling original material, rehearsing, performing diďŹ&#x20AC;erent ensembles, producing, setting up sound & lighting equipment, through to compiling a ďŹ nished CD which will be launched live at a Melbourne venue. NCATâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s music department oďŹ&#x20AC;ers fully equipped recording studios, soundproof rehearsal rooms & brand new Mac MIDI labs. At NCAT you can develop the skills you need to work in the industry from instrumental knowledge, to using technology to promote music events. You will also get a chance to work with ARIA nominated professionals & get a real feel for the industry. Live music, play music & ďŹ nd your rhythm at Northern College Of The Arts And Technology.

Northern College of the Arts & Technology.

Looking For A Career In Guitar Making?

Make music. Live Music. Find your rhythm.

Secure hands on experience through work placements at Maton Guitars Australia. 2012 VCE and VCAL students

Graduate Studies in 2012

Integrate the art of guitar making into your VCE or VCAL qualification by enrolling in the LMF31408 Certificate III in Musical Instrument Making & Repair. Work alongside professional guitar makers and designers to create solid and hollow body guitars. This course can also be done on a part time basis.

Looking to establish a career in guitar making? The College is currently accepting full time and part time applications for the Making & Repair program. Develop workready skills from seasoned professionals in the manufacture and repair of guitars. Work placements available at Maton Guitars Australia.

Call _ 9478 1333 Beat Magazine Page 30

Visit _ ncat.vic.edu.au

Looking to find your rhythm? College is currently accepting full-time and part-time enrolments in the in Music or in Sound Production programs. This is an intensive year of study in all aspects of music, including production and promotions. Develop a folio of work for tertiary studies or employment.

Call _ 9478 1333

OPEN YOUR MIND! BEATâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S MID YEAR EDUCATION SUPPLEMENT 2012

CUS30109 Certificate III in Music CUS20109 Certificate II in Music CUS40109 Certificate IV in Music CUS40209 Certificate IV in Sound Production CUS30209 Certificate III in Technical Production

Visit _ ncat.vic.edu.au

OPEN DAY

SAE MELBOURNE – SEPTEMBER 1ST, 11AM - 3PM 235 NORMANBY RD, SOUTH MELBOURNE, VIC 3205

JUNE & OCTOBER INTAKE NOW ENROLLING

E INFOu R O M R O F .a w.sae.edu VISIT: ww

0 CALL: 180

SAE EDU

DIPLOMA & DEGREE COURSES IN:

Games Design 3D Animation Graphic Design Games Programming Web Design & Development

OPEN DAY

Qantm College Melbourne – September 1st, 11am-3pm 235 Normanby Rd, South Melbourne, VIC 3205

Proudly part of the SAE Institute Group CRICOS Codes - 03204G (QLD) 00312F (NSW) 02047B (VIC) 02431E (WA)

OPEN YOUR MIND! BEAT’S MID YEAR EDUCATION SUPPLEMENT 2012

Beat Magazine Page 31

SAE INSTITUTE AND QANTM COLLEGE. 235 NORMANBY ROAD SOUTH MELBOURNE. 03 8632 3400 MELBOURNE@SAE.EDU SAE.EDU

BILLY BLUE COLLEGE OF DESIGN 595 LITTLE COLLINS ST, MELBOURNE 3000 1300 851 245 ENQUIRE VIA THE WEBSITE BILLYBLUE.EDU.AU

Billy Blue began as a school of illustration, but the college has since expanded its scope into all disciplines of design and has become an active, vibrant creative community. In recent years the design industry has experienced vast change. Design is now so much more than creating beautiful things; it’s all about generating ideas to solve a wide range of problems. Billy Blue has kept pace with these changes to ensure it oﬀers its students the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in the current industry. Billy Blue produces ‘thinkers who can do’. No matter which design discipline you decide to pursue, or which campus you choose to study at, you’ll learn to think, make and connect.

In your chosen area, you’ll acquire the relevant knowledge and skills, gain valuable hands-on experience and collaborate with other students and our talented educators, many of whom are industry leaders. You’ll learn what it really means to think creatively to oﬀer solutions - brands, products, systems and environments – that have the potential to shape how we live. And of course you’ll be surrounded by likeminded individuals who will inspire your own creativity. Got ideas? Join Billy Blue to discover more at the upcoming Information, Sessions & Workshops at our Melbourne Design Campus on Little Collins St. Visit billyblue.edu.au or contact 1300 851 245 to ﬁnd out more.

SAE Institute aims to inspire one’s creativity and at the end of completing one of their exceptional industry-focused courses in audio, film and electronic music production, be a step ahead of the rest when it comes to prospective employment. SAE Institute is Australia’s definitive creative media college providing specialist training that is designed to advance your knowledge and technical skills, inspire artistic independence and encourage your creative confidence. A key part of SAE’s degree and diploma courses is setting you up with the newest technology, a hands on approach to learning and a foundation, knowledge and network of like minded creatives so that your education is put into practice once you graduate. QANTM College

is the other arm of SAE and is at the forefront of digital media education in Australia. One of the fastest growing sectors in the country, QANTM College oﬀers specialised industry-focused courses in 2D and 3D animation, games design, games programming, interactive digital media, and graphic design – all aligned with emerging industry trends and technologies. Students are taught by passionate, industry-experienced professionals who are dedicated to providing high quality practical learning and inspiring creative conﬁdence to ensure graduates acquire immediate entry into the workforce. For more information on both SAE and QANTM visit www.sae.edu.au and www.qantm.com.au

YAMAHA MUSIC EDUCATION

VARIOUS LOCATIONS WWW.YAMAHAMUSICSCHOOL.COM.AU/LOCATIONS/ 1300 139 506 YMEC_AUST@GMX.YAMAHA.COM YAMAHAMUSICSCHOOL.COM.AU

YAMAHA MUSIC EDUCATION

ENROL NOW FOR MIDYEAR yamahamusicschool.com.au Beat Magazine Page 32

Yamaha Music Education is all about learning how to play and master your instrument. We offer a range of beginner courses for teenagers and adults across a variety of instruments including Keyboard, Guitar, Drums and Violin. Yamaha prides itself on teaching music in a group class and believes this learning method to be very effective in allowing students to experience what it is like playing in a band and rehearsing as well as composing multiple part music. Yamaha Education provides state of the art tuition in Guitar - the emphasis is on learning chords, melody lines, picking, strum styles and riffs. Drums - techniques

OPEN YOUR MIND! BEAT’S MID YEAR EDUCATION SUPPLEMENT 2012

taught include stick control, footwork, rhythm and drum notation. Violin - the emphasis is on musical sound and the development of musical sensitivity. Students are introduced to the beauty of sound, intonation and music notation. Keyboard - our keyboard courses are an easy introduction into basic keyboard technique. Skills are transferable if you would like to learn piano. Midyear enrollments are now open for classes starting in July. View our timetable online at yamahamusicschool.com.au or call 1300 139 506 to find out more.

JMC ACADEMY

DEAKIN UNIVERSITY

169 BANK STREET, SOUTH MELBOURNE. 1300 410 311 JMCACADEMY.EDU.AU

GEELONG WAURN PONDS CAMPUS: 75 PIGDONS ROAD, WAURN PONDS GEELONG WATERFORNT CAMPUS: 1 GHERINGHAP STREET, GEELONG MELBOURNE BURWOOD CAMPUS: 221 BURWOOD HIGHWAY, BURWOOD WARRNAMBOOL CAMPUS: PRINCES HIGHWAY, WARRNAMBOOL PHONE 1300 334 733 ENQUIRE@DEAKIN.EDU.AU DEAKIN.EDU.AU/FUTURE-STUDENTS

JMC Academy is Australia’s first leading professional Higher Education College dedicated to the development and training of students who are passionate about pursuing a career in the Music, Film and Television Digital Media fields. Big news at the Academy is that they recently took over The Actors College Of Theatre And Television (ACTT), which is a fantastic acquisition opening up amazing opportunities for integration between film students and the ACTT acting students. The Academy also now offers Higher Education approved degrees and diplomas in Game Design and 3D Animation. These new courses have a strong emphasis on visualisation, design, story and performance as well as advanced animation expressive and technical software, visual effects and motion capture skills. Enrollments have also started for both Music, Diploma and Associate

Degrees in Audio Engineering and Sound Production as well as their Bachelor Of Creative Technology (Audio Engineering and Sound Production) courses that focus on strong operational and technical training in every aspect of production, editing, recording, mixing and live PA through to midi sequencing, format mastering, acoustic treatment, audio system design, sound conservation and restoration, including advanced studio production techniques. Alongside their Entertainment Business Management, Film and Television Production courses all run in conjunction with state of the art facilities, the best teachers in the the country and industry linked opportunities, there is no reason not to register yourself for more information or sign up for a course at www.jmcacademy.edu.au or you can call 1300 410 311 for more.

University life is about exploring the world of you. A time to open your mind to what’s possible and what could be. When you’re ready to go and explore that world, Deakin University is the best place to start. Our student satisfaction rating is the highest in Victoria*, and we oﬀer more than 550 courses. You

can study full or part-time in Melbourne, Geelong, Warrnambool, or even oﬀ-campus if you wish. With a combination of work integrated learning and realworld experience you will graduate ready to take on the world.

For information RE: Beat’s Open Day education feature, please email Ronnie on ronnit@beat.com.au or call 03 8414 9710

adventure into design THINKING | MAKING | CONNECTING

Considering switching or upgrading your qualiﬁcation? Visit Billy Blue for a one-on-one info session and we’ll show you how. Enrol now for our July intake. Contact us on 1300 851 245 or at billyblue.edu.au Think: Colleges Pty Ltd trading as Billy Blue College of Design, ABN 93 050 049 299, RTO No. 0269, HEP No. 4375, CRICOS Provider Codes: NSW 00246M, QLD 03107J, VIC 03252M.

OPEN YOUR MIND! BEAT’S MID YEAR EDUCATION SUPPLEMENT 2012

Beat Magazine Page 33

TRAIN BY PETER HODGSON

Train scored a hit with the song Meet Virginia back in 1998, and an even bigger hit in the form of Drops Of Jupiter (Tell Me) a few years later. Then for a while they were all over the radio. Drops Of Jupiter became an FM smash and a karaoke favourite (and a point of discussion for casual listeners who thought the lyric was “And Van Halen is overrated” instead of the actual line, “… and that heaven is overrated”). The band chugged along for a while, releasing well-received albums before going into hiatus in 2006. From there it could have gone either way. Train could have remained a fond memory, put away forever in the category of bands who exceeded the tag of ‘one hit wonder’ but never quite made it into ‘reliable consistent chart toppers.’ Or they could have come back and flopped. Instead they regrouped in 2009, released the album Save Me, San Francisco with the mega ultra smash Hey, Soul Sister, and from there the hits haven’t stopped. If It’s Love, Marry Me and now, from their new album California 37, Drive By. “We have a new record out and we just really haven’t had much of a break at all since the last record,” guitarist Jimmy Stafford says. “Soul Sister was such a big worldwide song for us that we toured that record for almost three years. We kept making laps around the world and visiting new places. It was kinda crazy!” While Train were doing that, California 37 was percolating. They wrote on the road and made the mistake of letting the record company hear Drive By late last year towards the end of the tour. Knowing a hit when they heard one, the label asked the band to record the song quick-smart. Before they knew it a whole album had been tracked and Train were back on the road. “Now we’re starting a world tour again and Drive By is blowing up all over the world, and even in other new places where Soul Sister didn’t, like India. We’re #1 in India right now. So

60 SECONDS WITH…

THE GRACEMAKERS Define your genre in five words or less: Country-tinged indie folk rock. Bearing the terrible clichéd nature of this question, what do you reckon people will say The Gracemakers sound like? We’ve been told [we] sound like “flowers all in bloom”. What do you love about making music? The most amazing thing about making music is the freedom to delve deep inside your soul and express it; it is a very powerful and liberating thing to do. Making music is a sharing of energy; you put it out and get it back.

Beat Magazine Page 34

we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us! It’s tiring but it’s great!” If there’s a theme to Train’s music, especially post-hiatus, it’s the heightened awareness of their geographical surroundings and their influence on the band’s creative output. Save Me, San Francisco, then California 37 – what is it about California that does it for the band? “None of us are from there – we all grew up east coast guys – but when we decided to form the band it was very intentional to move to San Francisco. We wanted to be a San Francisco band. We had friends in bands there and we heard it was a really nice music scene in the mid 90s. We figured, worstcase scenario, if the band failed, at least we lived in a cool place! But then the band took off, we got a record deal and we headed out of town on Highway 37.” The band kicked off their current tour with a week’s worth of Californian shows

before heading out into the world. “It’s interesting – a lot of the media has been saying this new album sounds like California, but I don’t know if it’s just because they’re being fed the title. Like when I was a kid hearing Beach Boys albums, you would think ‘this must be what Californian music sounds like!’” One thing that definitely spreads out beyond the Californian influence is the band’s use of diverse instrumentation. “The song has always dictated the instruments,” Stafford says. “Even in our early days there was a lot of mandolin on the records. And I never learned how to play the mandolin. It was just, ‘Man, a mandolin would sound great in this song.’ And the same thing happened with Hey, Soul Sister: ‘Man, I wonder what a ukulele would sound like.’ So I had to get online and Google a ukulele lesson because I didn’t know how to tune one! I was playing it with a pick at first and it didn’t sound right. Then I Googled it and realised they play with their fingers, and I was able to fake my way through it! But it’s whatever the song needs. We’re able to pick up an

Through our music we are able to connect with people on a deeper level. As an artist you can reveal layers of yourself that normally remain unseen. Musical exploration can be healing for yourself and others. If you could travel back in time and show one of your musical heroes your stuff, who would it be and why? Tim Buckley. He was a wonderful artist and there is so much experimentation, depth and emotion in his music. What can a punter expect from your live show? Honesty, vulnerability and strength mixed with a sound that is subtle, powerful and heartbreaking in its optimism. They’ll also get to see the amazing Davey Pinder playing drums and percussion with us. What makes you happiest about what you’re doing? We love recording, however the fruit for us is in performing and singing live as that is where true connections are made

with people. Our live shows have a very energising effect on the soul and make one feel lit up on the inside. How do you stop your pre-gig jitters? We don’t talk much and try not to think about what we’re about to do. If we remember to see the funny side of life we usually do a good show. If you could go on tour with any musician or band, who would it be? Crosby Stills and Nash, they are such talented artists. We think the experience would be incredible as they are inspiring on so many levels and would have great stories to tell. When’s the gig and with who? We will be launching our self-titled EP, The Gracemakers, which is currently available on iTunes, at the Wesley Anne (250 High Street Northcote) on Saturday May 26, supported by the very talented Daniel Bowden.

DISCUSS WHAT? BEAT.COM.AU/DISCUSSION

instrument and at least fake our way through it. And ukulele sales have definitely gone up since Hey, Soul Sister came out! The band are heading back to Australia for their second tour in just over a year. “I think it was maybe two summers ago,” Stafford says. “ I think the last time we were there was the Day On The Green tour with INXS. Those guys are so fun, and it was our first chance to go out and play those vineyards. It was really the first time for us touring, in all this time coming to Australia, where we got to travel a bit outside of the cities. It was really a memorable time for us. But this time we’re excited because we get to go back to some of the venues that we love and also play some new places like the Sydney Opera House.” TRAIN performs at The Palais Theatre in St Kilda on Saturday June 9, with support from Matt Nathanson. Tickets on sale now.

e t n a l e d “A LATIN SPECIAL " ! o g Ami Beat Magazine’s

HOLA AMIGOS

We are back with another edition of Adelante Amigo! Since we last spoke some big things had happened. Juan Guerra got thousands of people off their seats as he toured the country, we had the anniversary of Cinco De Mayo and today is the day we can all say happy birthday to Brazilian F1 driver, Rubens Barrichello! Today’s installment will give you a fix of food, dance and even some Latino musical roots history as you are swept off you feet by the fiery pattion that will jump off the next few pages! I hope you have brushed up on your Spanish since last time! Espero que te guste! (I hope you like it!)

PERUVIAN FESTIVAL

Every July 28, Peru celebrates its national Independence Day. The 2012 Peruvian Festival Perú Está Aquí is to showcase the Peruvian cultural here in Melbourne. Instead of travelling overseas for one day Peru comes to you. There will be plenty of food stalls with your favourite Peruvian dishes. Enjoy a Cusqueña or Pisco Sour at their licenced bar. Jumping castle for the kids, try a game of SAPO (means frog in Spanish and no it’s not a real one). Enjoy the live entertainment. Peruvian Dance Groups include Ritmo y Color and Cruz De Motupe – a young vibrant bunch of dancers. Last year they participated in the Sydney 2011 Marinera Norteña Championships and won first prize. Music includes Inka Marka, who bring you in an instance the harmonious sounds of the Andes and

South America (over many years they have performed thousands of gigs at festivals throughout Australia and the world), Kunataki with their love of afro Peruvian tunes brought them together and have now become a favourite within the Peruvian and Latin community and SDLC Qrquesta, who play a mixture of rhythms such as salsa, mambo, cumbia, merengue, and many others. With a lineup of fine and talented musicians, they are quickly cementing themselves as an energetic ensemble through its powerful and emotive performances. The 2012 Peruvian Festival is on in Broadmeadows on Saturday July 28 from 2pm until 10pm. $5 entry, 12-years and under free. For more info email peruvianfestival@gmail.com

Salsa... an explosive mix of the thundering drums of Africa, the sensual sway of Cuban Son and the unpredictability of Jazz. Indisputable ambassador of the vibrancy of Latin America and reigning king of the dance floor. Join the Salsa Explosion set to land in Fitzroy on Thursday May 31st at First Floor featuring a double bill of Melbourne’s best bands: Del Barrio and the Quarter Street Orchestra. For more info visit salsaexplosion.com.au

Y 31ST. A M Y A D S R U H T : H C LAUN & IO R R A B L E D : L IL B E DOUBL RA T S E H C R O T E E R T S QUARTER Every Thursday at First Floor 393 Brunswick St. Fitzroy

WITH MELBOURNE ALL-STAR SALSA BAND

DEL BARRIO

Sensory Salsa Classes 7:00 & 8:30 - $15 Live Band 10:00 - $15

For discounted tickets, visit

Cruzao Arepa Bar 365 Brunswick St. Fitzroy

salsaexplosion.com.au

“Adelante Amigo!"

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e t n a l e d “A LATIN SPECIAL " ! o Amig Beat Magazine’s

MAD MEX

MEXICALI ROSE BY FAT PRESTON

Richmond’s Mexicali Rose has been a thriving hub of Mexican food and culture for close to 30 years and over the past nine years, under the ownership of Ms Lori Horton, it has become renowned for freshness and traditional Mexican cuisine. “I started working in my family’s Mexican restaurant from the age 14; I feel I can legitimately say Mexican food is in my blood with my dad, Brent Horton, being involved in bringing Mexican food to Melbourne over 50 years ago,” explains Horton. She let’s on the key to quality Mexican food: “What’s really important is the freshness and the quality of your ingredients. “We get a lot of ingredients like spices and chillis imported from Mexico,” adds Horton who is seated at one the restaurant’s tables as her staff prepare for a busy dinner service. The restaurant’s multiple rooms and slight tiering allows for large tables of friends to isolate themselves from other diners, creating an almost private room with amazing food being delivered regularly. “Mexican food is great for sharing, it not only is easy for people to eat a whole range of different foods but there is also a social interaction involved in eating your meal – you know, passing the plates around etc…it is a great way for people to get to know each other!” She then slyly adds, “Especially when margaritas are involved as we do jugs of margaritas and punch bowel/ fish bowel style margaritas as well.” Similar to a particularly hip city restaurant that flashed into the pan 18 months ago, Mexicali Rose focuses on regional Mexican food and adheres to the requirements of these traditional foods. “There are definitely different regions of Mexico where specific ingredients come from. Most regions of Mexico have a mole sauce that is basically a sauce that is put over chicken. We use one here called Mole Pabanlo that is a chocolate sauce.” With Horton being a certified expert on Mexican cuisine

Summon your inner Mexican....

The Big Burrito. Can you handle it?

it now seems only fitting that she recommend her favourite dishes on the menu. “My favourite dishes are the ‘pollo con avocado’ and the ‘chicken chimichanga’,” she smiles before extrapolating on the second and fun to say dish. “Chimichanga is a lightly fried tortilla that is filled with chicken, fresh tomato salsa, coriander, cheese, other salsas and it’s just basically rolled and cooked in the oven but because the tortilla has been lightly fried beforehand it crisps up.” Finally, Horton talks about the other aspects of Mexicali Rose that enhance the Mexican experience. “We regularly arrange mariachi bands to play in the restaurant, usually to celebrate some of the Mexican festival celebrations like Independence Day on September 16 [independence from the Spanish] and Cinco de Mayo which is the one that just passed which literally stands for fifth of May and probably the most well known one is Day Of The Dead celebrations that happens in early November.” Horton goes into more detail on the festival that seems to have inspired every Melbourne hipster chick to get tattoos of skulls on the back’s of their thighs. “Day Of The Dead, or Día de los Muertos, is about families celebrating the lives of relatives that have passed away. There are a lot of traditions connected with the holiday such as building private altars to honour the deceased and placing sugar skulls along with the favourite foods

Forget Queensland’s ‘Big Banana’ or the ‘Big Prawn’ in New South Wales….the only ‘big thing’ in Australia worth talking about is back and ready to be tackled head-on! Mad Mex Fresh Mexican Grill has brought back its famous Big Burrito for the month of May, throwing down the challenge to all who feel they can tame this beast. Last year more than 4,500 Big Burritos were served up to optimistic gringos. Aussie food lovers are being challenged once more to devour the 1kg burrito in celebration of Cinco de Mayo. During the 1862 Battle of Puebla, the Mexican army took on their French oppressors and secured their freedom, even though they were outnumbered by two to one. In true Mexican fashion, Mad Mex is offering you the challenge with similar odds – to devour the Big Burrito! Made with the same fresh ingredients as the standard meal but with double the portion of each filling choice and wrapped in two tortillas, the Big Burrito tips the scales at a hefty 1kg. Can you summon the strength of the Mexican soldiers and defeat this formidable foe? Those of you who successfully defeat this beast will be rewarded with a limited edition t-shirt, designed by Sydney-based illustrator and designer, Alex Lehours, whose work can be described as an eccentric explosion of chaos, humour, colour and absolute randomness. and beverages of the departed at their graves as gifts. They also leave possessions of the deceased. Sugared skulls in traditional celebrations and on the bar we have three replica sugared skulls that are actually tequila bottles that get stronger as the skull darkens in colour from silver, gold to black. The brand is Kah.” So for one of Melbourne’s most legit Mexican food

Alex’s top-secret t-shirt design will be revealed only as the Big Burrito victors receive their rewards. Clovis Young, CEO of Mad Mex says, “We know from talking to our customers across the country that the burrito is king. Mad Mex was the first to introduce a burrito of this magnitude, and its success certainly matched its size. As a result it’s become a regular fixture on the menu for us in Mayand we are seeing an enthusiastic uptake again this year..” After last year’s battle, the amount of people signing up to fight The Big Burrito was so huge that Mad Mex’s Facebook and Twitter pages exploded with customers posting photos of their victory! The Big Burrito is available until Thursday May 31 for $19.95 (guacamole additional charge). Don’t forget to share your Big Burrito experience on Facebook or on Twitter. For more information about Mad Mex or to locate your nearest store, visit madmex.com.au experiences (90% of the staff are from Mexico or Latin America) head to Richmond Mexicali Rose! Mexicali Rose is located 101-103 Swan St, Richmond. Check them out at their Facebook page and at mexicali.com.au.

MIGUEL ENRIQUEZ

eat arepas drink mojitos listen to

liveusic latin m

FREE ENT

wednesday 8:00

the salvo brothers trio thursday 8:00

tango rubino friday 9:00

the simon hudson band saturday 9:00

arakataka sunday 6:00

jose nieto

bookings recommended

Cuban singer Miguel Enriquez is set to tour Australia for the first time in June 2012, proudly supported by Melbourne local Cuban ten-piece band Carlito’s Way! Born in Cascorro, a small town in Cuba, Miguel is one of the most popular and prolific Salsa artists in the world today. His worldwide smash hit, Abre que voy, is the most-danced salsa song since its release in 2003 and was at the top of the music charts across Europe for 40 weeks. All of his albums have enjoyed international success with tracks such as Sacala Sacala, Que Te Den, Loco Loco, Sandunga, Reggaeton Con Son and many more! Every Salsero and Latin music lover all over the globe has danced to his music! A versatile vocalist and composer, his music blends many different Latin styles such as Cuban timba, salsa, pop, hip hop, salsa romantica, bachata and bolero-son. Accompanied by Cuban band Carlito’s Way, Miguel Enriquez will set Melbourne on fire with his energetic and sizzling hot brand of Timba and Salsa Cubana! Miguel Enriquez performs at The Hi-Fi on Sunday June 10. Pre-paid tickets through thehifi.com.au

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“Adelante Amigo!"

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Adelante Amigo!"

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e t n a l e d A “ LATIN SPECIAL " ! o g Ami Beat Magazine’s

TRIPPY TACO The idea of the neighbourhood institution is thrown around like confetti when someone is trying to interest you in eating at their restaurant, but it’s safe to use this bit of hyperbole around Trippy Taco. It’s very much a Collingwood institution, in that it reflects the neighbourhood by taking its pulse and giving it exactly the kind of food that it needs. For years Trippy Taco was squeezed into a closet sized wedge of real estate down the ‘Paris’ end of Smith St. It served hearty Mexican food off a menu heavy with tacos, burritos, taquitos, quesadillas and tamales, all with a vegetarian kick that leaned heavily towards the hippy aesthetic hinted at with the psychedelic high-kitsch Mexicana decor. It was the kind of place you could eat for cheap – and well – if you didn’t dig on meat; a place where carnivores and vegetarians could eat and both be excited about what was going in their mouths. Now that vegetarianism has become more or less the default setting for those living within the inner city, Trippy Taco has evolved to meet the locals halfway down the road to gentrification. It’s moved out of its dingy first home to a more genteel spot, just around the corner, on Gertrude St, and has tweaked the menu ever so slightly to provide for a public that expect a decent hit of flavour from their understatedly veg/vegan menu (soy cheese is available for a small surcharge). There are flourishes like the tofu asada tacos, made of fresh spicy grilled tofu salad and salsa, but the menu is largely based around a dozen itinerations of cheese, black beans, salsa, avocado, corn and lashings of lime and chilli. That’s not a bad thing; Trippy Taco takes a handful of ingredients and turns them into fast, inexpensive and flavoursome treats, although you can suffer from black-bean fatigue if

BASQUE

BY LIAM PIEPER

you order too many tacos. If you only have the time or cash to try one thing, your humble reviewer recommends the special quesadilla, a delicious flavour-bomb rigged out of a large flour tortilla and stuffed with melted goats cheese, beans and condiments. It looks neat on the plate, but the second you touch it with a fork, a mess of melted cheese, salsa sauce and avocado explode out the sides, and make your plate into one oozing, delicious mess. Trippy Taco is located at 234 Gertrude St, Fitzroy. For further information, check out trippytaco.com.au.

BY ROD WHITFIELD

Basque is an autonomous region that lies on the French border in Spain, famous for its food and wine, so it's probably an ideal name for a Spanish Tapas restaurant. And does this Melbourne restaurant live up to this reputation? Let's find out... It was a cool, grey day on bustling Chapel St. Fighting your way through hordes of Prahran/South Yarra yuppie types is always an unpleasant experience, but this restaurant provides a nice, warm, safe haven from the coldness (both meteorologically and culturally). Basque is very nicely set out, very neat, clean and orderly. Does this fly in the face of the wild, unbridled Spanish/Latino aesthetic? Possibly, but ultimately is doesn't matter, if the food, wine and service are top notch. Basque was apparently established in 2003 by wellknown food and wine entrepreneur Robyn McLeod, and has become a Chapel St staple. First impressions were very authentic. The friendly waitress had a very strong Euro accent, and it's always great to hear authentic music in a themed restaurant, as opposed to crappy pop, doof or rap music. I decided that, when in Rome (or Barcelona even?) I would do as the Romans do. I opened with a 2007 Spanish 'Coronas' temperanillo. Just like the Spanish themselves, it was zesty, full bodied and full of life, and it was an excellent start and a great accompaniment to what was to come. And it came alive even more with food. The Vegetable Stack with Romesco sauce was an amazing burst of flavour and an interesting combination of vegetables. I could see and taste zucchini, potato, capsicum and more. Although quite small (which is of course the Spanish/tapas way), it just got better the more I ate. I could quite comfortably have had three or four of these stacks. Their sauces are apparently all house made and are all quite superb. The next course in this tapas tour de force was a warm roasted vegetable salad. Again, this was ridiculously tasty, zesty, full flavoured, and beautifully seasoned. It contained eggplant, onion and red peppers, marinated in lemon thyme and garlic, all on a thick slice of bread. Beautifully cooked, this is a sensational winter warmer. My waitress explained everything very well, and when she offered me more wine and tapas, I was only too pleased to oblige. Next up was a tortilla Espanola with roasted red pepper and a tasty aioli sauce. A small criticism may be that it probably could have done with being heated, because I'm not sure if the Spanish have it this way. Nonetheless, it was a real taste sensation. Unlike most tortillas, it was very thick and fleshy. It was also full of oomph and very satisfying, and the aoli was a beautiful tangy accompaniment.

The meal was completed with Spanish donuts with chocolate sauce. The donuts were crunchy on the outside and all fleshy, soft and melt in the mouth on the inside, not all crusty and hard like these often are. The chocolate sauce was of high quality. The dessert capped things off just splendidly. It was suggested that the house wine should accompany dessert, and it turned out to be a fine choice. It was an '09 Rojo Garnacha, and its extra sweetness heightened the indulgent flavours of dessert even further. The Baque menu is very broad, as you'd expect for this style of eatery, and contains all manner of tapas flavoured delights. Deciding what to have actually became an issue, but this is a nice problem to have. The service is friendly and attentive, and the food came out quick nice and quick. Despite this, everything seemed fresh, and freshly cooked. Your bill would get a little expensive if you go for a few items, but it's very much worth it. It's always worth a few extra bucks if the quality is there. Tapas is amazing how it takes seemingly disparate culinary elements and yet it all seems to come together beautifully, and obviously the Spaniards do it to perfection. Overall, Basque is a brilliant Melbourne eatery. It's in a great location, it features excellent service, great food and wine, and simply great flavours. Walking out I felt full but not bursting. In fact, I'd say this was some of the best tapas I've ever had. I was so pleased with it, I took my partner back there the following Saturday night. Highly recommended. Basque Tapas and Wine is located at 159 Chapel St, Windsor. Check out basque.com.au or call them on 9533 7044 for more info.

A SALSA EXPLOSION IN THE HEART OF FITZROY Cruzao Arepa Bar is thrilled to present the Salsa Explosion in the Heart of Fitzroy – a new event in the already broadly multicultural and vibrant Melbourne music scene. Salsa is the explosive cross-pollination of the thundering drums of Africa, the sensual sway of Cuban Son and the syncopated unpredictability of jazz. Originally coined in New York in the ‘70s, the term has become synonymous with the presence of a Latin community everywhere in the world. It’s the indisputable ambassador of the vibrancy of Latin America and reigning king of the dance floor. The Salsa Explosion is a celebration of the broad culture that the movement has come to represent a way of experiencing dance, food, drink and people coming together...all the sensations of the Latin world with all the flavours that surround it. Set to establish itself as a permanent weekly residency, the Salsa Explosion kicks off on Thursday May 31 at Fitzroy’s First Floor (393 Brunswick. St) with a double bill of Melbourne’s best salsa bands: Del Barrio and the Quarter Street Orchestra. Del Barrio is Melbourne’s premier Latin big band. They have gained their reputation by bringing their audiences classic salsa tunes and remaining loyal to their New York, Afro-Caribbean and American influences. Fronted by veteran singer Gualberto Casas, the band boasts an all-star lineup of Melbourne’s best Latin musicians. The Quarter Street Orchestra takes you back to the heart of classic salsa. Inspired by the passion of salsa luminaries such as Eddie Palmieri, Ray Barreto and Hector Lavoe, the band emphasises the raw sounds of New York in the ‘70s, combined with a contemporary twist influenced by rap and hip hop. Together, they constitute the musical cream of the Melbourne Latin scene and have been chosen to headline the launch because of their authentic, powerful and virtuous renditions of the repertoire that triggered the worldwide propagation of the salsa phenomenon. The live segment of the evening kicks off at 9.30pm, with three explosive sets of authentic big band salsa sounds, with the special guest participation of Sydney-based DJ Dwight “Chocolate” Escobar, whose deeprooted, erudite knowledge of Salsa will carry the audience across decades of musical evolution. Earlier in the night, the program kicks off with the participation of Sensory Salsa, a totally new approach to the teaching of salsa directed not only at the feet, but at all five senses, connecting the participant’s body with the music to discover the authentic expression and sensuality of the rhythm. Salsa Explosion in the Heart of Fitzroy is on at First Floor, 393 Brunswick St, Fitzroy, every Thursday from May 31. Sensory Salsa sessions are on at 7pm and 8.30pm.

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“Adelante Amigo!"

e n i W d n a s a p Basque Ta n o i s s a P h t i w h s Spani and Wine – s a p a T e u q s a B o t Bienvenidos nts… a r u a t s e r h is n a p S t s e one of Melbourne’s b 159 Chapel st Windsor. Ph: 03 9533 7044 Open 7 days a week for Lunch and Dinner www.basque.com.au

“Adelante Amigo!"

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e t n a l e d “A LATIN SPECIAL " ! o Amig Beat Magazine’s

INTRODUCING… SENSORY SALSA

Sensory Salsa is a new approach to teaching Salsa directed not only at your feet, but to all five senses, connecting your body to the music to discover the authentic expression and sensuality of the rhythm. Salsa has powerfully represented the relentless vitality of Latin America across the globe for decades. On the dance floor, it’s a phenomenon that attracts millions around the world. Sensory Salsa’s approach leaves aside the exhausting mechanics of step-teaching and explores the fundamental root of the music – rhythm. Sensory Salsa will introduce you to it by means of a series of experiences and exercises that will aim to disarticulate your body and liberate its movements. By virtue of this shift of focus, our program is tailored to both complete beginners and more

EVENTOS CASABLANCOS RHYTHM OF THE NIGHT

experienced dancers alike. It will teach you to embrace the expressive nature of your body, to grasp the essential knowledge of the rhythms and structure of the music, to free yourself from inhibitions and to expose your senses to the drive of the beat. The Sensory Salsa team is fronted by Kathleen Gonzalez, a traditional and contemporary dancer from Colombia, and Ramón Martinez, a renowned public artist who grew up in the vibrant Salsa-sated settings of Venezuela. They will be accompanied by Latin percussionist Juan Aldrey, performing live during the class. For more information, visit sensorysalsa.com or write to sensorysalsa@cruzao.com.au

Every Saturday the Latin scene in Melbourne explodes at B-Latin: the new concept of the Latino party. Four DJs playing the hottest Latin tunes, reggaeton, salsa and merengue together with commercial top 40, sexy R&B and Latin house; making the perfect mix to make you dance all night! Supersize cocktails, a massive dance floor, VIP areas, hot dancers and table service are some of what this exclusive club offers. We sat down and had a chat to one of the DJs laying this Saturday, Baby D.

you will always play what they want...I ain’t no jukebox lol

What was the first tune you bought? First tune I ever bought was Motown Philly by Boyz II Men.

In your opinion what is the worst dance track ever produced and why? Worst dance track is definitely Barbie Girl lmao.

What’s the most played tune in your box? Most played tune till today is Making Good Love by Avant and my remix of Teryaki Vs Pitbull.

Two years from now where do you wanna be? Two years from today...hmmm I want to continue entertaining Australia and maybe get into the international market.

And like the most? The feeling of being able to rock the crowd. I love the feeling when they are rocking and screaming to every drop. Favourite DJ influence and why? DJ Quick because he has versatility, skills and talent.

Which toy or game describes you and why? I would say Need for Speed because I like the adrenaline lol.

What’s your favourite saying? F@#k yeahh babii!

What do you dislike the most about DJing? I’m gonna be honest here...when you have someone request a track and they keep coming back thinking

Bookings for business or personal events call Victor 0430469613 and get ready to have an unforgettable night with B-Latin – The Rhythm of the Night.

TIMBA

Timba is a Cuban rhythm that spawned from a combination of folkloric rhythms influenced by the international waves of jazz, funk and rock. Although it’s often confused with salsa, timba is a rougher rhythm that sets aside some of the characteristic sensuality of salsa to focus on lyrics about everyday problems that Cuban society suffers, such as poverty and prostitution. Timba is recognised as a masculine sound and an intense experience to dance, with a peculiar expression of sexuality, projecting black men as a force and a source of pleasure. The origin of timba dates back to the music composed Cuba decided to open its doors to tourism, and thus timba started becoming known and enjoyed by its during the ‘70s by Cuban bands Los Van Van and, visitors, who began to spread it all over the world as especially, by Irakere, whose leader, Chucho an ambassador of Cuban music and culture. Valdés, is widely recognised as Cuba’s best jazz The most important timba exponents are NG La musician. The first formal exponent of timba appeared at the end of the ‘80s, with the band New Banda, Charanga Habanera, Manolin “El medico de la Salsa”, Paulito FG, Manolito y su Trabuco and Generation, better known as NG La Banda, whose director, Jose Luis Cortes “El Tosco”, was a flutist Bamboleo, among others. in Chucho Valdes’ Irakere. Outside Cuba, Miami is the major center for Historically, this rhythm was very important development of timba, through the work of musicians during the ‘90s, when the Soviet Union decided to like Dany Lozada, singer and composer for Charanga Habanera, Issac Delgado, Carlos Manuel cease to be a trading partner with Cuba, triggering a severe economic crisis on the island. As a result, and Jorge Gomez.

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“Adelante Amigo!"

FOR YOUR LATIN FIX! Friday 25/5

Tuesday 29 May

Sunday 27/5

SALSA TUESDAYS IN ST KILDA SALSALICIOUS SUNDAYS Sundays at The Provincial are proving to be the SALSA hotspot in Fitzroy. Hot venue, funky people, fun times. Classes from 7.30pm Followed by our resident DJ playing fresh new Latin tracks downstairs in the back bar. Classes are $15. Social dancing is free from 9.30pm at The Provincial Hotel – 299 Brunswick St, Fitzroy.

Salsa Tuesdays in St Kilda are rocking at St Kilda Memo Hall. After nine years in the St Kilda area our Tuesday night classes are still very popular. Gorgeous Art Deco Hall, big beautiful dance floor, licensed bar and an awesome atmosphere in the heart of St Kilda – Acland Street. Classes from 7.30pm are $15. Followed by FREE Social dancing from 9.30pm. At St Kilda Memo - 88 Acland St, St Kilda. Ph. 0410 789 844.

ADIOS! Well im sure you have enjoyed this installment of Adelante Amigo, form Taco's to Cuban Salsa sensation we have come to the end of another issue. You are now well informed to go out and try things the Latino way. If you have a restaurant, dance school, Latino night or even a really bushy mustache drop me a line and get involved in the next feature. To do this please contact the head honcho. Adam Morgan adam@beat.com.au 84149700

THE SIMON HUDSON BAND You need to see Simon Hudson. Imagine you’re on the samba-soaked beaches of Brazil in the ‘70s, clutching a caipirinha. Soulful, funky music surrounds you and the sun warms your skin. You are melting into the beauty of it all. Simon Hudson can make you feel like that. Head down to Cruzao Arepa Bar to check them out, 365 Brunswick St, Fitzroy.

Saturday 26/5

ARAKATAKA Arakataka are a blend of experienced Melburnian musicians who are following the growing trend in South America for what is known as “La nueva cumbia” the new cumbia, which is the Renaissance of Cumbia as a popular music style in countries such as Chile, Argentina, Peru and Colombia. Come down for a dance at Cruzao Arepa Bar, 365 Brunswick St, Fitzroy.

CASA DE LATINO Dance the night away with hot Latin sounds of salsa, bachata, cha cha and tango. Run by dancers for dancers. Starts 9pm with free dance class then non stop dancing $15 entry. Latin Lover VIP $10. Level 1, 432 Church St, Richmond. casadelatino. com.au or call 0422 833 810

“Adelante Amigo!"

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INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH MUSIC INDUSTRY NEWS & GOSSIP

with Christie Eliezer * Stuﬀ for this column to be emailed to <celiezer@netspace.net.au> by Friday 5pm BRITISH INDIA SIGN WITH LIBERATION, MUSHROOM MUSIC British India signed long term recording and publishing deals with Liberation and Mushroom Music Publishing respectively. The band, which formed in high school in 2005, have released three albums Guillotine, Thieves (a #5 debut on the ARIA chart) and Avalanche (a Top 10 debut). They’ve ﬁnished writing their fourth album, which they’ll preview at the Corner this Friday. Band manager Glenn Goldsmith said the two new deals “have been in discussions for some time” to get the best platform for them, while Liberation/Mushroom Music boss Michael Gudinski added, “British India are in the unique position of having released three very successful albums but they are still young enough and hungry enough to take it to the next level.”

FREE SESSION: MAKING A VIDEO THAT STANDS OUT The Music Managers Forum and The St. Kilda Film Festival are holding a free session this Thursday May 24 on how to make your music video stand out. It’s aimed at filmmakers wanting to get into music video, and managers/acts wanting to know how to get a filmmaker involved. Speaking are video maker Natasha Pincus (whose track record includes Gotye’s: 205 million YouTube views and counting!), Powderfinger’s Darren Middleton (who’s also filmed videos for young acts), cinematographer Warwick Field, Sarah Hickey who runs doco/music video production house Monster and Bear Productions and Darcy Prendergast who runs his animation/film company Oh Yeah Wow. The session is between 6.30 to 8 pm at Forum Hall (opposite Astor Theatre, cnr Chapel / Dandenong Rd). After the session, cross over to the Astor for the music video comp soundKILDA which includes MMF’s Best Indy Clip win.

FREE SEMINAR: WHERE TO FOR LIVE MUSIC? Two years ago, the SLAM rally saw 20,000 march the streets of Melbourne demanding that the link between live music and violence be removed. it was also the catalyst for Liquor Licensing Law reform. Toﬀ Talks, an initiative of Melbourne Conversations and Late Night Programming, will discuss where live music sits now? What changes have been made? How can planning decisions assist? What more needs to be done to save live Australian music? The free discussion panel includes Dr Kate Shaw (ARC Research Fellow, University of Melbourne), SLAM co-founder Helen Marcou, and Cr Ken Ong, chairman of the Melbourne City Council’s Melbourne Planning Committee. Moderating is Cherry Bar managing director James Young. It is held Monday May 28 (7.30pm to 8.30pm) at The Toﬀ In Town L2/252 Swanston Street, city.

RECLINK CUP: MANAGERS, COACHES, CAPTAINS ANNOUNCED As the Reclink Community Cup looms (Sunday June 24, Elsternwick Park) they’ve named the strategists. The Rockdogs will be captained again by Dan Sultan, Paul Kelly returns as coach (will he be sporting that grey mac?), The Ox and Mr Damage of Rock & Roll Wrestling fame will be assistant coaches and Rosemary Walton is team manager. For 3RRR/ PBS Megahertz are co-captains Jess McGuire (Breakfasters Triple R) and Maddy Mac (Breakfast Spread PBS);director of coaching Neil Rogers (The Australian Mood Triple R); coach Vince Peach (Soul Time PBS); assistant coach Tim Harrington (who is on secondment from the Melbourne Football Club); head of football operations Jon Von Goes (JVG Radio Method Triple R); and asst. head of operations, training and pre-game development Lukie D (Everybody Moves PBS).

SETTLED #1: BUTLER AND YOGHURT AD John Butler and USA advertising agency, Poptent – creators of the Dannon Oikos yoghurt ad whose music was similar to Zebra – “have come to a satisfactory settlement in relation to the use of a song,” the band revealed.

SETTLED #2: PEAS, GEORGE CLINTON Funk pioneer George Clinton and Black Eyes Peas settled out of court over their use of 1979’s (Not Just) Knee Deep in

remixes of their international hit Shut Up. The Peas insist they got permission. Clinton says he was approached but he said no; but his signature was forged on a release form.

THINGS WE HEAR * This week saw the Oz launch of music streaming services Spotify (finally! Negotiations were delayed because record labels played hardball) and Sonos. * Supafest told those who wanted refunds when P. Diddy and Missy Elliot were dropped, to wait until June 1. “We apologise for the time it is taking to pay the balance of the refunds. We are reconciling what tickets have and have not been scanned which is a timely process. We are seeking till June 1st to finalise all refunds and hope that you can remain patient till then.” * Slash is coming in August. Next year will see Tom Petty and Norah Jones. * 360’s YouTube channel hit a massive 9 million views and Facebook ‘likes’ are surging towards 360,000. * Someone from The Living End tweeted The Voice contestant Matt Hetherington thumbs-upping his version of White Noise. But opinion is divided in End camp: both Andy Strachan and manager Rae Harvey think he “butchered” the song. * Flava Fav who joined Prince at his post-gig two-hour show at Sydney’s Ivy (as did Seal) did another rendition of Public Enemy’s 911 Is A Joke (segued with Play That Funky Music) at the second Melbourne show while Chuck D came on later for Prince-penned Love … Thy Will Be Done which was a hit for Martika. Prince also did a 90-minute blues/funk jam after playing to 13,000 at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre at The Hi -Fi. Coming on at 2am, he and the band kicked off with a 20-minute Musicology and into a bass-pulsating set which included Family Stone, Ohio Players and Wild Cherry covers. * The Vagrants are playing Aboriginal communities and other venues in a run through Vic, SA and NT. The entire tour will be filmed with three cameras for the video clip of We're Gonna Go. * Scared of Rihanna’s hard partying ways (and given that her dad was a crack user), Rih-Rih’s mum Monica Fenty is going on tour with her to keep an eye. She also cooks up daughter’s fave Caribbean dish, jerk chicken. * Shannon Noll’s move to Victoria has cost him a bit: with the Sydney property market a bit whoozy, their home in Lilli Pilli which he and wife Rochelle bought in 2005 for $1.285 million only got a bid of $1.26 million. * Both Coldplay’s Chris Martin and producer Plan B suffer from tinnitus.

INDIGENOUS UNEARTHED

AWARDS

TEAM

WITH

The National Indigenous Music Awards has teamed with triple j Unearthed to ﬁnd an unsigned indigenous act to be ﬂown to Darwin to play at the awards on August 11. They’ll also get airplay on j’s various formats. The Medics (Qld), Yabu Band (WA) and East Journey (NT) are announced to play, full list next month. Upload tracks on to triplejunearthed.com, winner announced on July 5.

iPOD iDIOT? Dave Hurban, a 21-year-old body piercer from New Jersey, is literally attached to his iPod. He implanted four metal studs in the skin of his wrist, and secured his iPod to them magnetically. (It can be detached.) A video on how he did it generated 1 million YouTube views in two weeks. He got the idea when he saw a photo of the iPod and noticed it had a clock interface. He says, “Over everything else I did it because I wanted a strapless watch.”

VENUES #1: BILL WALSH REVIVES DING DONG Bill Walsh, who exited the Cherry Bar, will focus his energies on his other club, the Ding Dong Lounge in Market Lane. The Ding Dong reopens in early July after being closed for a year following a ﬁre in the adjoining German restaurant. Walsh is going for something upmarket with dinner shows and broader music appeal and bought out the other seven partners – including Michael Gudinski, Frank Stivala, Michael Parisi and Gerard Schlaghecke. Returning as booker is Darve Smith at info@

TUMBLEWEED BY PATRICK EMERY

In 1992 Tumbleweed were riding high. Formed from the ashes of Wollongong garage band Proton Energy Pills, Tumbleweed found itself on the crest of the wave labelled ‘grunge’. A supporting role on Nirvana’s now legendary national tour in 1992 ensured the band’s fame spread outside New South Wales state borders; a few months after the Nirvana tour, Tumbleweed played its ﬁrst sold out headline show in Melbourne at the Tote Hotel. “I remember there being an after party at the Como Hotel,” recalls singer Ritchie Lewis. “Mr Floppy must have been on the bill, because they were there, and maybe Smudge as well. It was a pretty good night.” Within a few years, however, the Tumbleweed star was falling. The release of Galactaphonic in 1995 – which arrested some of the band’s disappointment with its initial dalliance with the American major label industry – was Tumbleweed’s last with the original lineup of Lewis, guitarists Lenny Curley and Paul Hausmeister, bassist Jay Curley and drummer Steve O’Brien. Lewis Curley and Lewis, the last remaining original members of the band, called it a day in the early part of this century. Tumbleweed lay dormant for some years, until the oﬀer of a gig at Homebake in 2009 provided the catalyst for a full-scale reunion. Perhaps the most pleasing aspect of the band’s reformation – albeit based around the band members’ various mature-age domestic and professional commitments – has been the re-

Beat Magazine Page 58

kindling of the intra-band friendships upon which Tumbleweed was conceived originally. “At the moment we see each other weekly, and we’re practising every Sunday and Tuesday,” Lewis says. “We got together originally as friends, so it’s been good to get back to that.” It was the sense of friendship, coupled with a desire to avoid becoming a heritage act, that’s provoked Tumbleweed into writing songs intended for a new album later this year. “We got to a point where we’d been playing the early ‘90s stuﬀ for about two years,” Lewis says. “We realised that couldn’t keep doing the nostalgia thing – we couldn’t just keep doing the RSL club re-hash of our old stuﬀ.” Lewis says nothing much as changed a lot in the way Tumbleweed

dingdonglounge.com.au.

VENUES #2: CRAWDADDY BACK AT CHERRY The acclaimed free Cherry Blues Sunday sessions is back at Cherry Bar. Between 2 pm to 7 pm, there are sets from Chris Russell’s Chicken Walk (with Dean Muller on drums) with legendary Max Crawdaddy spinning the discs.

VENUES #3: EMPRESS THEFT The Empress Hotel’s 25th anniversary celebrations hit a sour note when some sticky ﬁngers made oﬀ with their vintage cash register. While three acts were loading out after a Saturday night gig, the thieves wandered in casually and left with the item. Punters naturally assumed they were loading out.

HERTZ SO GOOD: NEW DJ WORLD RECORD… Brisbane’s DJ Hertz set a new world record – 152 hours – for the longest DJ set ever. The previous record was 150 hours set last October by Rene Brunner of California. Last December, Sydney’s Smokin Joe Mekhael thought he had the Marathon DJ Champion of the World title when he hung in there for 132 hours 30 minutes at Sydney’s Empire Hotel. He hadn’t realised that the Guinness Book Of Records website had not updated to include Brunner’s feat, and thought he had to beat the 120 hours 19 minutes by Brazil’s DJ King. But Smokin plans to try it again this year.

…AND NEW WORLD RECORD FOR LONGEST GUITAR SOLO… David DiDonato, from Austin set a new world record for longest guitar solo of all time. DiDonato, of the band Modok played for 24 hours 55 minutes at Red 7 club (Guinness allows a ﬁve minute break every hour), oﬀering $25 to anyone who’d stay up with him. The old record was 24 hours 17 minutes.

…WHILE JACK WHITE GRIZZLES ABOUT HIS LOST CHANCE Jack White is grizzling about how The White Stripes played the shortest concert in history, but it is not oﬃcially recognised by The Guiness gang. During a stop in Newfoundland, Canada, he told Meg to hit her cymbal, and grab it so that the note only lasted a millisecond. Guinness Book Of World Records said no.

BENEFIT FOR HARD-ONS’ BLACKIE A benefit is being organised in Melbourne for Peter “Blackie” Black of The Hard-Ons. He was rushed to a Sydney’s hospital with a fractured skull and bruising of the brain after being attacked in his cab. A 16-year-old boy appears in Children’s Court next month to face assault charges while a 14-year-old girl will be dealt with under the Young Offenders Act. The band’s Facebook page said Blackie won’t be able to drive for six weeks, adding “Not sure when he can play music again.” A benefit is held today in Sydney.

FESTIVALS #1: SUNBURY REMEMBERED The 40th anniversary of the first Sunbury Festival was commemorated on the weekend at the Arts Centre with a discussion, and a photo exhibition from the archives of John Fowler (it’s on until Sunday) who produced the iconic event from 1972 to 1975. The Arts Centre gathering was entertained by a team-up of Chain’s Phil Manning and Spectrum’s Mike Rudd and Bill Putt. George Duncan Jr (whose family donated their farm) arrived with five pristine programs for the year that Deep Purple headlined. Also there were some of the original crew: film director Paul Murphy who collected Sunbury footage, Adrian Anderson who stage managed and Pete Evans the lighting chief as well as Juke writer and author Ian McFarlane, Support Act Ltd’s Dominic Barbuto, Lyn Thorpe and Deb Loyde. Not in attendance was Michael Gudinski, who booked Sunbury as a teenager and whose plans to make a killing from the watermelon stand in the hot summer went arse-up one year when heavy rains left him with thousands of unwanted rotting fruit. Gudinski sent a note recalling how 14-year-old Jimmy Barnes attended one of the Sunburys with two older siblings who, to get rid of him, gave him acid. Barnes disappeared for three days. The 40th anniversary coincided with Hume City’s plan to replace the Billy Thorpe plaque, which was stolen earlier this year from its site in conceives and develops new music. “The songs tend to start with a few riffs of Lenny’s or Paul’s, and then we just nut it out in the practice room,” he says. “We’ve always done it like that. I suppose the only real difference is that everyone else has been in other bands since we broke up, so they’ve got better practice in putting the songs together. We’re still trying to do the same thing we were originally, but the songs are a bit more realised,” Lewis says. While Lenny Curley has been on record suggesting his own contribution to the Tumbleweed canon has been to introduce plagiarised classic rock riffs, Lewis says Curley’s impact is far more significant. “Lenny’s style is quite frantic, whimsical and original,” Lewis says. “He perceives his own music in a different way, so even if he’s influenced by classic riffs, he does it in a way that’s kind of weird.” Hausmeister offers an altogether different approach. “Paul’s riffs tend to be a bit more thought out – he tries to trick himself,” Lewis says. “I think Lenny’s a bit more punk rock, whereas Paul is a bit more metal, a bit Status Quo in style.” Like an adult scorning their high school poetry, Lewis is critical of his own historical efforts in constructing lyrics for the band’s music. “I pretty much hate the stuff I’ve done in the past,” Lewis says. “Now I’m trying to write lyrics that I’m happy with – I want to say things that actually mean something. It’s a continuous struggle to write lyrics that I’m really happy with – I think that’s a struggle that most people have. You want to convey something in words without being too obvious or earnest,” he says. For the new Tumbleweed album, the band looked to ARIA-winning producer Paul McKercher, who produced Galactaphonic. “Paul was pretty much the only choice we had,” Lewis says. “When we did our first record they gave us a US producer, who didn’t really understand us. When we worked with Paul on Galactaphonic, he understood what we were trying to do, and he also took it to

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LIFELINES Married: superstar DJ Erick Morillo and model Yasmin Sait-Armstrong in Miami, after meeting on NYE. The starstudded event included the couple being serenaded by Craig David and a fireworks display before they flew off to honeymoon in… where else…Ibiza. Hospitalised: Gyroscope’s Zoran Trivic broke both his legs after being hit by a car while riding his motorbike in Perth. He’s out of action for four months. Hospitalised: a male patron at Groovin’ The Moo’s Maitland show, for a suspected spinal injury sustained in the moshpit. Hospitalised: Blink 182’s drummer Travis Barker for urgent tonsillectomy. Resolved: Lil Wayne settled a $1.5 million lawsuit with producer David Kirkwood who claimed he was owed royalties on Love Me Or Hate Me from the Carter III album. In April he paid over $20 million to another disgruntled producer over unpaid Lollipop royalties. Charged: a man in his twenties who threatened bouncers at Bendigo’s Star Bar nightclub with a golf bar after being refused entry on the weekend, for assault. In Court: OneRepublic’s Eddie Fisher pleaded not guilty to grabbing his girlfriend’s head and throwing her down during a fight. Died: Chuck Brown, godfather of Washington DC’s bass heavy jamming Go-Go style (Bustin Loose Part 1, I Need Some Money), 75. Died: Joshua Engelking, one time drummer for Brisbane art rock band The Red Paintings, due to complications from a brain tumor, 30. Died: Donna Summer, 63 from cancer. Between 1975 and 2001, she had 19 #1 dance hits, a feat only bettered by Madonna. Died: British-born drummer Peter Jones, who played in Melbourne-based bands as Crowded House and Deadstar, from brain cancer. Died: UK-born Qld-raised Robin Gibb, of the Bee Gees, 62, cancer. Duncans Lane, Diggers Rest. The new plaque will be heavier and theft-proof although there are calls for a Thorpe statue there.

FESTIVALS #2: EARLY BIRD DEAL FOR QUEENSCLIFF MUSIC Artists applications for the 16th Queenscliﬀ Music Festival (November 23-25; qmf.net.au) have closed. But early bird tickets, (which sold out ﬁve years in a row) are available for a $29 saving on three day tix. The $175 ticket gets you in for all three days, priority entrance and access to the after party. The bill is announced in July, festival director Michael Carrucan says, “With the acts we have secured so far, we anticipate selling out across all three days”.

PBS WANTS YOUR HERO WORSHIP The annual subscription drive by PBS FM 106.7 (“home oﬀ little heard music”) winds up this Sunday May 27. “Heroes” go in the draw for a red Vespa PX-150 scooter (ﬁrst prize), an Amber SE10 Hi-Fi system (second) and a year’s worth of PBS Feature Records – 100 titles (third). There are prizes for bands, pets and juniors. Go to pbsfm.org.au or call (03) 8415 1067 to become a member.

PRINCE’S DRUMMER WORKSHOP Prince’s powerhouse drummer John Blackwell does a clinic for Allans Billy Hyde on Monday May 28. It’s at 152 Bourke St, City, from 7pm at $20. Book in store or online at allansbillyhyde.com.au.

GOD BACK ON VINYL What great moments and train wrecks happen when a band tries for the impossible of fusing Kiss-type stadium riﬀs and punk rock aesthetics? Z-Man Records/Fuse Distribution put out ‘80s band GOD’s Rock Is Hell and For Lovers Only as a double vinyl. Z-Man (zmanrecords.com) advises you to take a leaf from Radar of MASH: “Put a new fang in your tone-arm cobra.”

MADMAN’S MOVING SALE Groovy ﬁlm DVD distributors Madman Entertainment are relocating. So this Saturday May 26 they hold a sale from their warehouse at 1-35 Wellington Street Collingwood for cut-price DVDs, posters, merchandise and toys.

another level.” Tumbleweed’s approach to making music may not have changed; its professional modus operandi is now based on the band’s, and not the industry’s, terms. “We got to the point when we were playing so much that we got sick of it,” Lewis says. “The disillusionment set in when we had no control over what we were doing, and we found ourselves playing just to keep other people happy. Now we’re picking our own shows, and playing is our own escape from the normal. We’re no longer taking things from granted, and we’re certainly appreciating it a lot more.” TUMBLEWEED play the Tote on Friday May 25, Saturday May 26 and Sunday May 27.

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HOUSE OF MAXIÓM

GEEBUNG POLO CLUB The iconic Geebung Polo Club is teaming the historic with the new developing a gastro menu sure to please any diehard foodie. The new menu pays homage to traditional pub fare with grain-fed Black Angus steaks coupled with modern-day delights such as truffle mash and eye-fillet wrapped in bacon. The classic fish and chips are tarted up with citrus aioli and your run of the mill burger has been reinvented with Wagyu and their homemade relish. The new comers include kangaroo fillet rubbed in mustard salt served with sweet potato mash, baby beets, hazelnuts and lemon yoghurt. For the herbivore, they have candied the walnuts in our rocket, pear and Persian feta salad to create a taste sensation. They have kept it casual with their “Something to Share” selection – for those who loved fast-food growing up they have the adult version of onion rings – Geebung’s are battered in beer and served with seeded mustard aioli. Treat your sweet tooth to their take on a classic dessert

menu with dark Belgian chocolate fondant topped with honeycomb ice cream, crumbs and chocolate fairy floss. Take a trip down memory lane with the Polo Club’s take on a childhood favourite – orange and cardamom spiced rice pudding, cherry compote and almond praline. This winter their dining room has fires blazing and to celebrate the change of season they are holding a special foodie event on June 17 with “The Winter Nosh”. As part of the Melbourne Food and Wine winter movement they are participating in the “Put Victoria on Your Table” initiative with an event featuring three hearty courses with the choice of two succulent roasts. A chief wine maker from Scotchmans Hill will be on hand to match your drop to each course. The Geebung Polo Club is open for lunch and dinner daily – bookings on weekends are recommended. It’s located at 85 Auburn Rd, Hawthorn. Reach them at 9810 0032 and at geebung.com

What if, in the afterlife, the first thing you hear is...“Do you want a drink while you wait?” Offering a vision of what the journey into the afterlife might involve (if it began in a neon-lit saloon), House of Maximón will feature late-night dancing, lowbrow ‘makeshift’ cocktails, cold cured meats, pinxtos and spiced popcorn, all delivered to a debaucherous crowd under the watchful eye of infamous Central American deity Saint San Simon (an icon otherwise known as Maximón). Paying homage to Maximón, ‘House of Maximón’ will introduce Melbourne to an eternally righteous, yet highly morally bankrupt house of ill repute; a divinely corrupt ‘dive’ bar for the ages. Featuring otherworldly imagery from Dennis Ropar (a pop artist once referred to as “Warhol on Crack” by Ted Gott, senior curator of the NGV), real bone chandeliers crafted by visual artist Sara Penman, and original sculpture by key venue stakeholder Rene De La Soyo (created as an expression of gratitude to Maximón for choosing to embody his form). Welcoming the downtrodden, the oppressed, and all those who romanticise them, House of Maximón is now open to the public. A sacred place where good and bad alike can find comfort, House of Maximón invites all comers to pay a visit and to leave the world a better place. It’s on at Level 1, 16 Corrs Lane, Melbourne CBD. Phone 9650 7663, email bookings@houseofmaximon.com. au or visit houseofmaximon.com.au for more info.

PATS THE PHILLY WAY

PATS The Philly Way is a gourmet steak sandwich bar that opened in Richmond on December 30, 2011. It’s a small but inviting place and you immediately get the vibe of PATS the second you step inside. The owners have worked hard to bring Melbourne a truly different eating experience with their unique offering of mouth-watering cheesesteaks, salads, vegetarian and gourmet steak sandwiches made the Philly Way. You may think PATS The Philly Way is another American franchise invading our shores but in actual fact PATS is an Aussie family owned and run business and proud of it! Rose and Ari thought it would be a great idea whilst in Philadelphia to bring a healthy version of the cheesesteak to Melbourne and to specialise in steak sandwiches. PATS (Premium Australian Trimmed Steak) is a refreshing alternative to convenience dine in or take home food. They use fresh produce and insist on grass fed beef, because it adds to the texture and mouth- watering taste. When coming up with the name they looked up the meaning of Philadelphia and found out it means: brotherly love (brother – gk-delphia, love – phili). Since Ari and Rose have always done things with love and passion and the cheesesteak concept came from Philly, ”The Philly Way” was chosen. PATS The Philly Way equates to healthy steaks made the loving way. Valued customers have indicated to PATS that their Hungry size sandwiches are quite generous so they

introduced the Just Right Size. They were asked for a bread with more grain, so know they have a multi grain in addition to their ciabatta and panini. Customers love PATS but some do not want to be paying over $13 for lunch so they brought out the lunch special of any Just Right Size sandwich with chips and a Tiro soft drink for just $11.95. Although PATS pricing provides great value Ari and Rose will not compromise quality or portion size. Convenience food has evolved from greasy options to healthy burgers now its time for the healthy steak. Ari and Rose want to thank their loyal customers so much for their candid advice, by offering them and new taste buds out there a 50 per cent off any gourmet steak or cheesesteak sandwich (dine in only). This offer does not apply to other specials and is not redeemable for cash and valid until the end of May. Cut out and bring in this ad to redeem the offer. (Original copies only, no scans or photocopies will be accepted.) Enjoy PATS dining-in, take home or home delivered...(conditions apply with deliveries) PATS The Philly Way is located at 338 Bridge Rd, Richmond. Check out patsthephillyway.com.au for more information. Follow PATS The Philly Way on Facebook because thanks to you they are evolving and want you to come along with them on this new and exciting journey.

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TIJUANA CARTEL BY THOMAS BAILEY

The M1 is a series of designated stretches of Australia’s National Highway 1, which meanders around the edge of the continent, its sunbaked asphalt stretching as far as the eye can see as it passes through Queensland’s Gold Coast. According to Paul George, lead vocalist and guitarist of Gold Coast quintet Tijuana Cartel, M1 is viewed as both a blessing and a curse. “It’s funny, that road,” George explains on the phone from Springwood Mountain in Queensland, where Tijuana Cartel are moulding together their upcoming fourth record. “It’s kind of a love/hate relationship with [the M1] – we’ve spent so many hours on that thing, it’s like, sometimes you see the sign and it’s, ‘Oh fuck, here we go again!’ But other times it’s kind of exciting to get somewhere. We love living on the Gold Coast, but it can be quite hard for musicians, cause there aren’t too many places to play. You have to take off, like to Byron and Brisbane and then eventually to the rest of Australia. “These days it’s not so bad; we get to fly a lot more, so there’re not so many miles on our van!” Last year saw the release of Tijuana Cartel’s third album, M1, named of course after that stretch of road that was such a big part of their lives. Chockfull of world music elements, electronica and full-on rock‘n’roll, M1 is the latest in a recording career that has seen Tijuana Cartel grow and mature into a global phenomenon. With the band preparing to depart on their first ever international tour, George and company are heading out for one last national tour to bid adieu to their fans before embarking on their fantastic journey, which will include in its itinerary performances to the legendary Burning Man Festival in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert and Germany’s infamous Fusion Festival. I make note how complete M1 sounds, and how it comes across as a very balanced record. George reckons there’s a big difference in how they approached the writing and recording, as opposed to their previous works, debut LP Frequent Fliers Redeemed and They Come. “I think it’s a bit more of a serious album,” he says. “The production quality’s better and a lot more of the vocals come through – it’s much more of a ‘rock’ album in comparison.” “We worried when we released it that a lot of our old fans would probably not like it,” he admits, “but it’s actually done better than our other records we’ve sold, it’s done quite well! But, having said that, we’re recording at the moment and everything’s going back to a Middle Eastern electronic vibe!” When asked if the upcoming record (due for release sometime in 2013) will bear any similarities to their most recent single Offer Yourself, he pauses in thought. “Well, Offer Yourself stands out all by itself. Some of the new record sounds a bit [like it], but on the other hand we have a slightly more dubstep sound, with a bit of Middle Eastern instruments and more instrumentals. So we’re not sure which direction we’re going to take it. The point is, to write a lot of songs, and pick 12 that sound similar enough to go on an album. At the moment it seems like a daunting task, cause it’s like, ‘Can’t believe we’re starting all this again!’” he laughs.

“I HAVE A FEELING THAT ONCE WE START PLAYING TO AUDIENCES OVERSEAS AND AT THE FESTIVALS, WE’LL PROBABLY COME BACK WITH A WHOLE DIFFERENT IDEA!” If there’s one musical genre out there that’s been smashed mercilessly into the ground and abused, it would have to be ‘world music,’ I mention to George. He concurs. “Yes, it definitely has. We were part of that, in a sense; we used to play that style of music, and we killed ourselves out of it, you know – it just got so boring! It’s hard because we do have world music elements, but we don’t want to sell ourselves that way. Generally, that’s a genre people are over with.” “But it happens with all kinds of music, I suppose,” he adds philosophically. “We’re trying to rebirth some of what was cool about that whole movement.” So were they careful during the recording of M1 so as to not make it too busy? “Exactly,” George says. “We were all re-checking what was put on, cause it could have started sounding like a Café del Mar album – one of us might start cringing, or we may feel we’ve gone too far with the guitar. We try to keep the electronic side of it a nice, permanent thing and then everything else comes around that!” Which is one of the things that is so likable about M1, I tell him. I can picture it being played at full volume in a nightclub. “That’s really good to hear,” George says. “That’s something we worked on trying to get, and that’s what we wanted from it,” he continues. “It’s what got us interested in writing music in the first place. We were all into Chemical Brothers and things like that. We were able to marry [the electronica] with a world music element but still be able to be played in clubs!” One thing’s for certain, their upcoming international tour will be one more lesson in Tijuana Cartel’s burgeoning career. They’ll probably end up with more material to add to what they already have, is that right? “Yeah, I think so,” George says. “Australia’s one market in that sense. We’re learning what works here and what we like playing that works here. I have a feeling that once we start playing to audiences overseas and at the festivals, we’ll probably come back with a whole different idea!” Come and bid a fond adieu to TIJUANA CARTEL at The Northcote Social Club on Thursday May 24. M1 is out now through MGM. Beat Magazine Page 60

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NUMBER STATION

BY KRISSI WEISS

Winning the coveted triple j Unearthed competition over five years ago (back when there was a single winner as opposed to fragmented competitions throughout the year) looks like a recipe for immediate success. Just ask Grinspoon and Missy Higgins, to name a few. But sometimes a band just isn’t ready to launch into a trajectory of national ascendance at that point and with broken wrists, house fires and lineup changes getting in the way, taking the time to get it all right was the primary concern for Melbourne gleaming, post-punk rockers, Number Station. “It was an incredible experience and everyone was really pushing us hard, particularly to pull an album out and we just weren’t ready,” admits guitarist and one half of the song writing partnership, Marcus Smith when we discuss the Unearthed win. “So we went off and took a bit of time writing our first album and then in the end we realised we didn’t have a lot of money so we thought we’d do an EP and start with that. We had another unfortunate event, Chris [Andrews] the co-writer and singer, his house burnt down during the recording phase and we lost all of the recordings up until that point and he lost everything.” Their debut EP, Everything Will Change, has a poignant title and Smith admits that with taking so long to get things together, there has been a loss of momentum from a public standpoint. “When we got Unearthed we went from playing

to mates to playing to hundreds, sometimes thousands of people,” he says. “There was never any question about us going backwards; there was development that had to be done for us to reach any point of being ready. I guess in terms of the public it does look like a long time between drinks so we have to build that buzz back up.” Legendary New York producer Chris Coady (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, TV On The Radio, Grizzly Bear) lent his skills to the project along with Paul ‘Woody’ Annison. “We really wanted to get the right man for the job and we didn’t have very much money so we were literally hitting up producers by cold-calling them,” he explains. “Chris was into it and he wanted to work with us. We couldn’t afford for him to mix the whole album so we were going to have him do part of it and do the rest in our bedroom. It ended up that Chris was

on hand via email answering questions about how to plug mics into desks and giving us advice on the go.” So did they have to sell a kidney to get Coady on board? “He gave us pretty great rates, he asked us not to disclose, but he took a shining to the work and wanted to help us out.” With Number Station’s first official release above a single entering the world with little fanfare and only a small tour, I ask Smith whether the band had forged a relationship with triple j after their Unearthed win that would result in them getting support from the national network. To some degree, large commercial success for many young bands seems to rest in the hands of triple j and after investing at least a little in Number Station, it would seem awkward if the support dropped off merely due to the band wanting to take the time to get things right. “That’s a great question, but

you’ll have to ask them,” he says. “When they judged the Homebake competition they had to unanimously decide on a winner. Around the time we won, they started to fragment the process. We have some contact there but it is a Sydneycentric community and because we don’t get up there that much we are out of the loop a little. People assume that because we won it we have extra opportunities now but, to us, we feel like a new band with new fans. The fire and also Chris breaking his wrist as well as getting a solid lineup meant that everything has changed since then, but we’re here now and we’re excited.”

new sounds for me!” And it’s this celebration of experimentation that helps define Martin’s output. In 2007, she switched gears on her sophomore album, Night Music – resulting in a dark and moody guitar-driven “angst-y” record. I mention to Martin that I was a little surprised that her painful surgery to replace a hip-replacement that was a result of a “one in a million” medical condition she suffered from didn’t result in another album of darker material. Was Live A Little … a bit like therapy for her? “Well the word ‘therapy’ freaks me out,” she laughs. “But it was a very conscious decision. I’d written heaps of angst-y stuff before with that whole grungy, dirty guitar and lots of slow songs – and when my father had passed away, I went out and stayed with him for the last month with the rest of the family. “And [my father] was just so peaceful and calm and accepting … he had this dignity, and that influenced me; I didn’t want to mope or groan about what was going on; I wanted to find another place. And rather than use music to wail through, I would use it to take me to other places and other times and

really distract myself and make me think of something else.” “It would work for this,” she continues. “You can latch on to something and spend hours and hours and hours quite happily, tinkering away with these ideas! It was a luxury; it turned out to be a really special, amazing time, even though it was a bit lonely. There was something about it that was really freeing.” So she has under her belt the electronic album, the brooding and dark one and then of course her new record, full of life and upbeat as all get-out. Which one, does she reckon, reflects the “real” Liz Martin? She lets a quick laugh escape before thoughtfully intoning, “Well, I’m definitely still a bit moody! They’re all different, but they’re still me, with the same voice. I imagine the next couple of albums are going to sound different again!”

well,” says Brown. “We’ve got friends in Nashville that are trying to get us over there as well as friends in Texas who are looking to get us at SXSW. As far as what we want to achieve, we just want to expand our horizons and share our music with as many people as possible.” And they’re on the right track. Though the music of Hellhounds sets up shop in the daring fringes of blues rock, there’s a foundation within the band that ensures this trio are in it for the long haul. “We’ve been playing together for so long now,” says Brown with a genuine enthusiasm. “Even though we’re all involved in different things, we all have

the same goal and that’s to make music together and stick together. There have been challenges, but it’s never been all that difficult to stick together and make the music we want to make. We’ve always said Hellhounds will be a band that will never break up. Things may change, but I like to think of it as a long term marriage.”

NUMBER STATION will launch Everything Will Change at The Grace Darling with Sun, Celadore and The Red Lights on Saturday May 26. Everything Will Change is out now.

LIZ MARTIN

BY THOMAS BAILEY

The adage ‘strength through diversity’ has been run into the ground. Used ad nauseum by selfhelp books, religious characters and others of a similar ilk, it’s one of those phrases that’s lost its power through over-use. But every now and then it’s a good phrase to use – take Sydney singer songwriter Liz Martin, for instance. Laid up for months after painful surgery on her hip, and mourning the death of her father, she took the opportunity to write her third album Live A Little, Dance A Little. Rather than becoming a meditation on pain and loss, however, Live A Little… is a joyful work, a celebration of light and love; poppy, lively and elegantly poetic. Speaking over the phone whilst drinking a coffee and preparing for her upcoming national tour, Martin sounds excited – upbeat, energetic and quick to laugh. She started down the musical road at an early age, and this new album of hers is merely the latest chapter in a life that always celebrated the creation of something out of nothing. “I started writing music when I was seven or eight, and I really liked the magic of writing, and putting something together,” she informs gracefully. “The actual singing and playing of guitar has always been a really beautiful personal connection for me. Playing live, well, I’m still kind of learning! Until fairly recently, it’s always been pretty dreaded, but now I can enjoy it. It definitely helps when you’ve got a great band you’re looking forward to playing with!” she says with a laugh. Back in the ‘90s, she was a regular on the burgeoning Sydney folk scene, playing in bars and cafes, showcasing her lush and beautiful voice with achingly sweet acoustic guitar. It was while visiting a nightclub that truly aided her in spreading her professional wings. “I used to go to a club,

Club Kooky,” she fondly recalls. “I just loved this place; the music was bizarre and it was electric and it was weird, and the crowd was really diverse. You could go any which way you liked and it was free and liberating … a beautiful thing! So I started hanging out there a fair bit, being exposed to a really different type of music; I guess it was around the same time that I began hanging out with Paul Mac.” It was a fortuitous meeting for both of them; Martin ended up helping Paul Mac out on his first album, and the resulting sessions were an eye-opening lesson for Martin. “He and I recorded a whole bunch of songs, and just watching him work and use electronic sounds and making these pop songs and ballads – it was just mind-blowing!” she gushes. “He can do it so fast, on the fly; it’s a whole other level of instrumentation in producing sound. It was just so exciting, and I started getting myself more and more into working with electronic sounds, as well as acoustic. That first album (2006 debut Beneath The Stars) was quite a mix-up of the two, so it was just fun and interesting, experimenting with

Catch LIZ MARTIN when she and her fabulous band visit The Grace Darling Hotel on Sunday May 27 with special guest Jacqueline Amidy. Live A Little, Dance A Little is out now through Vitamin Records.

HELLHOUNDS

BY JOSHUA KLOKE

Patch Brown answers the phone sounding relaxed and chipper. It comes as a surprise then, when he explains how he’s been spending his day. “A mate of mine is just moving house,” shares the guitarist/lead singer of local psychedelic blues outfit Hellhounds. “We’re also recovering a bit, our show last night at Pure Pop Records was another doozy. It doesn’t feel that bad, but when you put it on paper, I can’t believe we’re hungover and moving house.” It’s put to Brown that moving house might be the worst possible thing to do while hungover, though he remains upbeat about the whole thing. Brown and Hellhounds don’t mind a little dirt under their fingernails. There’s an understanding within Hellhounds that there are rewards for avoiding trends within music and working hard to improve their craft. The results are evident within the trio’s expansive tracks; classically-inspired riffs grow into wide sonic landscapes. For Brown, it’s important to allow their songs to find their own legs. “With the blues, the space in between [the start and finish of a track] is the magic. A lot of blues guitarists will say less is more,” he tells. Still, Brown understands their songs must have a purpose. “Having said that, I think it’s important to tell a story. Whatever you’re saying, it has to be simple yet powerful. But all that space, that’s great because it really allows you to do lots of different things in your songs.” Improvisation and experimentation are high on Hellhounds’ list of priorities. Nothing about the band’s approach is formulaic; instead, they took risks which paid off in spades. The band employed vintage microphones, plate reverbs and rare tape machines for the recording of Hellhounds. Their approach led to a sense of discovery which separates them from many of the paint-by-numbers blues-rock bands currently riding the wave of the garage rock renaissance. While Brown doesn’t figure Hellhounds should be lumped Beat Magazine Page 62

into this trend, he still understands the possibilities which the inclination entails. “The trend has come about from bands like The Black Keys and The White Stripes. They’ve opened the door for a lot of that kind of music, but realistically we’ve still been doing this for a long time. I don’t think we’re following any trends as such.” “But in a way I think it’s good,” he continues. “Because it opens a lot of doors for people to understand where this music actually comes from. Our bass player has a huge catalogue of blues music that’s really inspired us as a band. The ‘60s stuff, we were all brought up with The Yardbirds, Creem and all that and believe it or not, our sound somehow just came about accidentally.” The songs on Hellhounds may have been the result of a happy accident, but this isn’t going to stop the band from soon giving them wings on stages across Europe. “Our bass player has spent many years touring in Europe with Hugo Race. Hugo produced the album, and it made sense to get this European tour on the horizon,” he says, sounding justifiably proud of the opportunity. “Obviously we want to tour Australia and get our music out to our local fanbase as much as possible, but when opportunities to tour other places in the world come up, you’ve got to take them.” And America, the birthplace of the blues isn’t far behind. “America’s on the agenda as

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HELLHOUNDS continue their acoustic residency on Thursday evenings at Pure Pop Records for two more sessions before hitting up The Espy front bar on Friday June 22.

MARINA AND THE DIAMONDS BY LEE HUTCHISON

Marina Diamandis is no ordinary pop star. Learning to play the piano and sing at the relatively late age of 19, she is nevertheless about as audacious as they come. “I was quite self-conscious about that fact that I hadn’t been doing [music] since I was four… But if you have a genuine artistic talent inside of you, it’s not important that you haven’t been taught how to do it. That’s what’s great about pop music and pop artists – you can come from a very self-made background, and your personality and determination gets you a lot further than your talent.” It was Marina’s love of poetry that set her on a musical path, leading her to London when she was only 18. “When I got to London I started at various music schools and they forced me to learn keyboards. That was the key, as it allowed me to gig and go on to buy a laptop and produce my music.” After submitting some tracks to various record labels, Marina was ‘discovered’, going on to release her critically applauded debut album, The Family Jewels. The image of Marina projected around the Family Jewels release was a modern, dark-haired, pop starlet. However her latest release, Electra Heart,

60 SECONDS WITH…

LITTLE WISE

Define your genre in five words or less: Warm, melodic folk-roots . What can a punter expect from your live show? A performance that sways between calming and energetic, with soft folky ballads, blues-rock tunes and even a good ole’ hoedown. They can expect to hear lush guitars, banjo, mandolin and warm vocal harmonies. What’ve you got to sell CD-wise? Our debut EP Moments Of Clarity is out Wednesday May 30 and can be purchased at shows, via iTunes, Bandcamp and at selected Melbourne record stores including Pure Pop Records in St Kilda and Readings in Carlton.

has seen her reimagined as a blonde, with an enviable collection of vintage dresses under her oversized belt. Is this kind of makeover a risk, so early in her career? “Not really,” the singer argues. “Look at David Bowie – he looked so normal and boring on his first album, then from his second album forward, he started looking like the person we know. And it’s the same with Amy Winehouse. Sometimes I think artists grow into their images.” Although media speculation has been rife with crazy theories, Marina says her transformation was partly a sociological experiment: “I was obsessed with the When’s the gig and with who? The EP Launch is Wednesday May 30 at the John Curtin Hotel Band Room with special guests folk pop group Oh! Pep and the soulful songstress Lauren Glezer. Describe the best gig you have ever played: We recently did a gig at a quirky bar in Ballarat. It was the first time performing with the full five-piece band. We played to quite an eclectic audience, which included a dog, lively middle-aged ladies and lovely gothic gay guys. It felt so good to transition from a solo/duo to a full band. When, and why did you start writing music? I started writing music when I was 15 because I wanted to be just like The Waifs and travel around Australia in a campervan. Not much has changed really. So, someone is walking past as you guys are playing, they then go get a beer and tell their friend about

power that blondes have. I wanted to feel what that was like,” she explains. The rest was about reinventing herself after a bad break-up. “I just didn’t want to be myself, didn’t want to look like myself,” she recalls. “My reasons are actually logical… I wanted to change and become anything that would make him love me,” she laughs. “It’s an attempt to reclaim yourself, especially if [the relationship] ended badly and not on your terms, you try and take control in some way.” Unlike her first album, which Marina says was “more about questioning our ideals,” Electra Heart sees her construct a separate character in order to combat her feelings of loss. “I wanted to create a character that was an obvious creation of someone who got very hurt. Electra Heart symbolises all the things that women feel when they’re dumped or aren’t really loved back. And that character is a callous person who doesn’t really need anybody. I wanted to recreate that figure and turn it into an album.” The other strong theme throughout Electra Heart is Marina’s love of America. As an ambitious songstress, does this tie into hopes of breaking the notoriously challenging US market? “Obviously America is a big territory for a lot of acts,” she acknowledges, “but the reason I want to break America is because I love it; for me, it’s a place that offers opportunities for escapism. A lot of this record is about disconnecting with who you are because you don’t want to deal with whatever issues you have in your life. I like escapism. It comes naturally to artists.” Electra Heart is out now through Warner Music.

you... what do they say? “There’s a folky band over there fronted by a 12-yearold! She’s playing banjo and sipping whiskey.” What part of making music excites you the most? Music moves me every day. Being a part of that process is an honour and a joy. What makes you happiest about what you’re doing? The fact that I’m having a crack at it... why the hell not? Life’s short. If your music was a chocolate bar, which one would it be, and why? At risk of sounding a little naff, we’d be fair trade, organic and locally produced... ‘cause we’re really just hippies at heart. (But not sugar-free ‘cause that’s no fun.) If someone made a movie about your life, who would play you? Myf Warhurst, but she’d have to get a breast reduction. I love Myf.

PREMIER ARTISTS presents

BEST COAST

with special guests

BY CAITLIN WELSH

It’s no secret that Bethany Cosentino is a hardcore, dyed-in-the-wool, rusted-on Californian. Representing for the scruffier side of Los Angeles, rather than the glazed blonde cliché, Cosentino cemented her rep with the release of the first Best Coast album Crazy For You – all palm trees, weed, cats and crushes, breezy lo-fi production and guitar fuzz cut with girl-group harmonies, and other such words you saw everywhere at the time. The album hit a nerve, and Cosentino and multiinstrumentalist band mate Bobb Bruno found themselves touring worldwide at a relentless pace, and popping up in Best Of 2010 lists everywhere. But though their fresh take on a far-from-new sound was largely a product of Cosentino’s unfussy songwriting and relaxed attitude, that didn’t mean she missed out on the second record anxiety. “With this one it was like, OK, the first one did really well, and hopefully this one does equally as well, or better, or a little bit less well, or whatever,” Cosentino says with a laugh, speaking from her LA home. “But this one has probably created a bit more, like, anxiety and stress, as you can probably tell from the lyrics on the record… But as soon as we started recording it I started losing that fear and anxiety, and started getting really into the zone and making a record that I was proud of.” Working with composer and producer Jon Brion made all the difference. The Only Place is a clear progression from Crazy: out with the layers of fuzz, and in with an emphasis on Cosentino’s blithe, strong voice, high in the mix with a countrified edge, and crisp arrangements that recall Brion’s work with Spoon. “We keep saying that the first record is in black and white and this one is in colour. And that’s like, our metaphor, our bullshit poetic example that we keep giving!” she laughs. “The goal was to make, sonically, a more mature and grown-up record and to stray away from the lo-fi sound, to still use distortion and reverb, but to tone

it down and do it in a more adult, grown-up sort of way. I don’t think the record is really that different [to Crazy]. I think the elements of true Best Coast songwriting style are definitely still there.” This means that the much-cited themes of love, leisure time and sunshine pepper The Only Place – but if Crazy was all about pining for a person, this is the soundtrack to pining for home. “That’s why I called it The Only Place, because it starts out with this love note to California, being like, ‘Hey guess what, you’re the only place that makes me feel myself and makes me happy and makes me comfortable and confident’ – and then the rest of the record is all of these feelings of self-doubt and insecurities and sort of homesickness,” Cosentino explains. “I think a lot of those things were brought on by leaving California and by travelling so much and not being home and living my life based on the rules of the road.” But Cosentino insists she’s not over travelling yet, and promises that Best Coast will return to our shores late this year or early 2013 – with enthusiasm. “Sydney and Perth and places that are close to the ocean, they remind me a lot of California. So I think that when we go to Australia, it’s one of those places… I don’t feel so homesick when I’m there. Even though it’s the furthest place I could ever be away from California, I do feel very much at home there.” The Only Place is out now through Popfrenzy.

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DEBUT ALBUM COCK ROCKIN’ OUT JUNE 8 Beat Magazine Page 63

MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND

BY BENJAMIN COOPER

For most artists, being heavily pregnant is a suitable justification for not touring at all, never mind making the arduous journey halfway around the world. But such distractions don’t seem to apply to Shara Worden – the front woman and chief songwriter of My Brightest Diamond. When asked by curator Brian Eno in early 2010 to perform at the second annual Vivid LIVE, she arrived sevenand-a-bit months pregnant with her first child, to rip up The Opera House with her epic meshing of chamber music and soaring pop. Even apart from the thrill of being personally invited to the 2010 festival by the Roxy Music and experimental maestro, Worden is emphatic that her last trip to Australia occurred at precisely the right time. “I’m very drawn to the whole idea of opposites,” she confesses. “When I came to Sydney last time there was probably an assumption that I would be held back in my performances. I think I reacted strongly to that in my shows.” Worden continued to dismantle expectations following the birth of her son. “When I had a baby I experienced that rush of joy that comes from being a

parent, which is followed by this feeling that life is very hard yet also very beautiful,” Worden says before a pause. “I was experiencing a lot of new things at the time, and then less than six weeks after my son was born I had the opportunity to appear in a Matthew Barney ﬁlm. I consider him as one of the greatest artists of our time, and I felt so lucky to get to work with him – so I jumped right back into that crazy world.” The “crazy world” that Worden refers to includes a loose group of New York creatives, such as fellow Vivid 2012 visitor Bryce Dessner and Australian Padma Newsome –

both of whom she performs alongside in instrumental group Clogs. But more immediately, Worden’s world is largely concerned with her recently rediscovered home of Detroit – particularly the changes in the Michigan city’s capital since her adolescence. “The tension between the old and the new in Detroit is palpable,” she says. “There’s a really old tradition of gardening and farming in Detroit that actually pre-dates industrialisation. And then there’s a history of people who escaped slavery in the South, who see farming as an extension of poverty. So there’s this conflict because what represents freedom to one group is reminiscent of oppression to another.” Her observations of Detroit’s tensions are writ large throughout her third studio album, 2011’s All Things Will Unwind – a restrained tour de force that she will be bringing to The Opera House for this year’s Vivid LIVE. “Detroit [now] is entirely different from when I grew up here,” she says, “and that was the central idea for the record: putting myself in a situation where I’m seeing the poorest people I’ve encountered and documenting that experience. It’s very much foreign territory for me, but that makes for a fascinating and entirely new social world for me... Since I’ve been back I’ve felt a great onus to tread lightly around here. Obviously when you have a lot of young entrepreneurial people moving into a poorer neighbourhood, there are concerns about cultural schisms, and I’m aware that I am part of that demographic and my presence presents problems too,” she says. “But I’m also aware that the role of the artist is to go to such places and document the gentrification that follows social shifts. The city is changing

every day, and I’m lucky enough to be able to be part of this community and a kind of outside observer, as it happens.” MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND performs at The Northcote Social Club on Monday May 28. They also perform at The Sydney Opera House on Sunday May 27 as part of Vivid LIVE.

LOVE CONNECTION

BY PATRICK EMERY

It’s mid-way through a chilly Tuesday evening, and Michael Caterer – guitarist, songwriter in Love Connection – is thinking of foreign lands. “We’re moving to New York in July for a few years, on a visa,” Caterer says. Having successfully toured New York last year, Caterer and his fellow principal Love Connection colleague, keyboardist Kobi Simpson are preparing to immerse themselves in the notoriously vibrant New York artistic culture. “It’s great to get good feedback on the records you make, but it’s great to be going a new place where there’s just us and some live shows. I go through phases with it – sometimes I think ‘Shit, what have I got myself in for?’,” Caterer laughs. Love Connection came about when Caterer, then playing bass in Full Ugly, started writing some of his own material. “I had some other stuff, but nobody really had much interest in it,” Caterer says. Kobi Simpson eventually committed to bringing Caterer’s music to fruition (“she wasn’t that interested in what I was doing, but then I got her to join for a song,”) with Dean Noble and Nathan Burgess enlisting on drums and bass respectively. “The first show we played was rubbish, but the next was better,” Caterer says. “And then we started getting offered more shows.” Caterer’s musical education stemmed originally from his brother’s black metal guitar efforts (“my brother’s an amazing guitarist”); Love Connection, however, took a different direction, an idiosyncratic line between ethereal and pop. While some of the tracks on Love Connection’s new record, Euphoria, might be loosely categorised as psychedelic, Caterer isn’t so sure. “I don’t really think it’s psychedelic,” Caterer says. “To my psychedelia is a state of mind, and I don’t think that’s what we are. Sometimes I try

to describe the music we play to people I work with, but if I say psychedelic then people think because I’ve got long hair, then I’m a stoner, which isn’t the case because I’m not into drugs. I’m not ever sure how to describe our music – maybe a bit of pop, some shoegaze,” Caterer muses. Love Connection’s material largely originates with melodies and half-formed ideas coming from Caterer’s vivid musical imagination. The initial concept is gradually developed, until something unique appears that renders the song notionally complete. “I might start with a few chords, then put down a keyboard backing beat, then build it up bit-by-bit on the spot,” Caterer says. “I’ll listen to it heaps, but not in a crap way. Eventually it filters into my subconscious, and I’ll hear certain harmonics, and then I’ll go back and add one more thing that’ll make the song.” While there’s a group effort on some of the final product, it’s not a group writing process. “We don’t write as a collective, but then we wrote the structure of the songs as a collective,” Caterer says. Euphoria is an eclectic record, from the ambient noise of

NED COLLETTE + WIREWALKER

BY LUKE TELFORD

Ned Collette + Wirewalker’s II is a dry, pragmatic, immediate record, which shares little with the heady avant-rock of 2010’s Over The Stones, Under The Stars. One reason it sounds so soberingly intimate is that it was born, largely, out of Collette’s relative isolation after he relocated to Berlin. Shorn of the presence of his bandmates, he switched from his beloved SG electric to a nylon-string, flamenco-style guitar. The dulcet percussiveness of that instrument forms the backbone of the record; its crunchy murmur is framed with furrowed synths and artful ad hoc percussion, to breathe dark atmosphere into songs that seem resigned to accepting the mixed fate of their author. “As soon as I moved here, I bought a nylon string guitar. I started using it for all my solo shows. I haven’t played electric guitar live for two years now,” he says. “Ultimately, the reason it happened that way – without such a guitar-band focus – is simply that I was living here alone, and it kind of gave me the freedom to create things in the studio that weren’t necessarily ever going to be focused towards playing in a guitar/bass/drums trio.” The economy demanded of playing rock on a classical instrument extends to the record’s arrangements. Though heavily layered, each element is carefully balanced and nothing seems to outstay its welcome. But despite its lightness of touch, II feels crowded, beset with an inexplicable and unresolved tension, both musically and thematically. One of Beat Magazine Page 64

the tracks is dedicated to Chilean novelist Roberto Bolaño, and this allusion feels right; the surreal, fractal narratives of Bolaño’s ﬁnal, unﬁnished novel, 2666, pose a neat parallel to the sound of Collette’s new work. Throughout the book, the most basic and eccentric of stories – an academic love triangle, an obsessive manhunt, a mad father’s hallucinatory epiphany – are laden with a deeply unsettling and faceless darkness. This presence looms over the characters, tracing their steps, but never fully reveals itself; it’s always present, just out of sight. Although the novel acted as a foil to the start of Collette’s new life in Berlin, he’s uncertain whether its darkness translated directly into what he wrote over that period. “I don’t think it’s really darkness – I always think of it more as romance,”

the opening track Piezoelectric, ranging from the soft rock of You Don’t Need Muscles To Get Love, to the funky Day By Day. “I guess there was a time when we might have wanted a shorter, more accessible song on the record, so we put a couple on there,” Caterer says. “I think the sequencing is hugely important in what you do with an album. You have to feel it, and know where it’s going.” Euphoria concludes with the title track, a 20 minute ambient exploration that pushes the envelope of self-indulgence. “I got significantly into new age, but not the chiropractor sort of stuff, but ‘80s meditation cassettes,” Caterer says. “I always feel there’s a lot of personification in that song – it’s self-representation in a way. I was listening to Ravi Shankar at the time, and I was really enjoying it. I suggested to the guys that we put this song on there. It’s a bit of a risk, because it could be seen as self-indulgent.” In a live setting, Caterer says he started out trying to establish empathy with his audience. Gradually, however, things have settled down. “I used to aim to meet them a lot more, but he says. “Sonically, this album has quite dark moments, but it actually feels quite a lot lighter than, say, the first Wirewalker record, which is quite heavy, thematically and instrumentally. For me, all good art peers into the darkness. I prefer it when it has a cheeky curiosity about it, almost like you have to laugh at the depths, otherwise you might be consumed by them.” Part of what makes Collette’s songs so compelling is the way they outline deeply personal things without making them seem either overbearing or pithy. He intimates that, while much of what he writes is in fact catalysed by what he reads, the process of writing the pieces that do arise from personal events is far from cathartic. “There’s stuff on this record that’s really personal, and there’s stuff that isn’t, and I think that things are quite well disguised,” he says. “Often if you’re writing personally, you’re writing about something that isn’t so fantastic in your life. Maybe it’s easier to walk away from those situations, but I tend to, for some reason, try and document them. It all gets wrapped up – if you’re writing about a painful situation, it magnifies that. I don’t really get a catharsis from it. I don’t feel, ‘Right, well that’s documented now, so I don’t have to think about it anymore’.” The work of English musician Robert Wyatt is one reference point that goes some way to describing how II sounds. Like much of Wyatt’s work, the record seems to function stubbornly, on its own terms. When his name is mentioned, Collette seizes on it with an eager relief – it turns out Wyatt has been a guiding voice for him for some time, but no one appeared to notice. “It’s funny how long these influences take to bubble up through your work. He’s been huge for me,” he admits. “He’s a guy that’s completely influenced by jazz, but doesn’t really sound like any sort of tired old black jazz musician that I know of. He’s a pop songwriter, as well. It’s almost like you want to say he’s got such a clear direction, but I think what I love about him is he seems to have no direction, and really just follows his whims in a very thorough way.” The logic behind giving this record the Wirewalker tag comes

DISCUSS WHAT? BEAT.COM.AU/DISCUSSION

maybe that was in my anxiety,” Caterer says. “Maybe not anxious, but it’s an interesting thing – you’re on a stage, and everyone’s looking up at you, and you’re wondering ‘What do they want?’ I used to think a lot about that, but I think I’m more settled about it now. After the first song I tend to become a bit of a distant character.” With the other members of Love Connection hampered by other commitments from heading across to New York, Caterer and Simpson will revert to a two-piece for its initial New York foray. “Everything will have to change,” Caterer says. Like a business trying to adapt to changing economic times, Caterer accepts that Love Connection have to be flexible. “I’ve got some new songs that’ll match the two-piece format. Since the summer I’ve been in a really good place, and I’ve got a stack of demos lying around. It ebbs and flows.” LOVE CONNECTION play The Northcote Social Club on Friday May 25. Euphoria is out now through Sensory Projects.

down to the hand that drummer Joe Talia had to play in its creation. Talia is an experimental musician with a notable pedigree in its own right, having worked in jazz improv and electro-acoustic composition alongside musicians like Oren Ambarchi, Francis Plagne and James Rushford, who will be playing synth in the upcoming tour for II. Collette explains that Talia’s input to the record was crucial to its uniqueness. If a song began to sound too much like someone else, it would be axed. “We were joking the other day about releasing an album of all the songs we’ve recorded over the years that we’ve never released, and calling it Songs That Sound Like Other People’s Songs,” he laughs. “For me, the biggest thing is not sounding like anything else. Because I don’t really see the point, otherwise. There’s plenty of records in the world already.” NED COLLETTE + WIREWALKER play at The Northcote Social Club on Saturday June 23. II is out now on Dot Dash, through Remote Control.

THE TEMPER TRAP BY TAMARA VOGL

It’s a little known fact that the five men who formed The Temper Trap first met one another during a brief stint working at Melbourne Central’s General Pants. Since then, they have relocated to the UK, made an album that sold nearly a million copies worldwide, had sold-out tours throughout the world over and have received a bevy of accolades from ARIA Awards to Brit nominations. The glowing reception from their first album, Conditions has propelled the band onto an international platform and into an extended period of intense, relentless touring that only concluded at the beginning of 2011. With a new self titled album to be released, I speak with drummer Toby Dundas and new “keytarist” Joseph Greer about what they have in store for us. Dougy Mandagi (vocals, guitar), Lorenzo Sillitto (guitar), Jonny Aherne (bass) and Toby Dundas (drums) had barely relocated from Melbourne to London when they made a tour bus their home-away-from-home. They’d arrived in 2009 as a band wet behind the ears but armed with songs fit to headline festivals and an ambition that was keen on getting them there. Having recorded Conditions with Arctic Monkeys producer Jim Abbiss, their debut was released in Australia in June 2009 to an overwhelming response. With a handful of awards, including two ARIAs, tucked under their belt, it was clear that Sweet Disposition may have been their notso-secret weapon, but they backed it up with an album of nuanced epicpop perfection. Toby says of these awards, “[It feels] great. It’s nice to get recognition from peers and people in the industry…those things that happen along the way are nice little bonuses to what you’re doing.” Adding Joseph as a fifth permanent member only seemed right, seeing as he was always involved with the band. As Toby puts it, “We couldn’t get him to go. He kept showing up.” And so, it was in these triumphant circumstances that The Temper Trap reconvened after a shorterthan-expected holiday to begin work on their second album. With minimal writing having taken place amidst the whirlwind of the Conditions touring cycle, the band entered sessions for album two with a clean slate and little idea of what would surface. Situated in their adopted home of Hackney, the band approached the writing sessions much as they did their debut by sitting

there and nutting things out. By the time they were ready to head to the famous Sound Factory studios in Los Angeles to record with Beck collaborator Tony Hoffer, they’d written 35 songs that were whittled down to 17 to record. “Being in LA was the right choice for this album,” explains Joseph. “Tony has his own studio so we didn’t need to spend a lot of time trying to get things sounding right. On top of that, the weather was amazing the whole time and I’m sure that did a lot to elevate our moods.” What emerges is their self-titled second album, a record of two distinct personalities, one of melancholic, mesmeric balladry and one of synth-led, anthemic powerhouse pop. “It’s a progression from what we did last time with a few more elements and more synthesisers,” says Joseph. Toby adds, “There is a bit more programming… Conditions was quite varied but this album will push the walls out a little bit more I think. Dougy’s voice is still the focal point though and is something that ties in all those different musical styles. He experiments with a few more lower registers too. A few more Barry Whites in there.” Dougy had gone through a break-up prior to the writing sessions, which he admitted to influencing some of his lyrical content. “I think the lyrics tell much more of a story about what you’re going through,” Joseph says. “When you listen to the album there’s a lot more to it than that. I think he probably had some of that to get out, but he definitely got to a point where it’s not just

“CONDITIONS WAS QUITE VARIED BUT THIS ALBUM WILL PUSH THE WALLS OUT A LITTLE BIT MORE I THINK”

about that anymore.” Musically, Toby says he was motivated by the gear around him. “[I was] inspired by what extra toys we have around us for us to have a play. For Conditions we had a few extra guitar peddles and that took us into a new world. But this time it was having a Moog Voyager, so we were starting to write songs on synth, which changed the way we wrote.” When it comes to the meaning of their music, The Temper Trap take the ambiguous route. “It’s not written with a direct message, it’s more what you can take from it,” Toby explains, “[We prefer to] provide a canvas that people can take something from, rather than a direct This-Is-What-We’re-Trying-To-Say message.” Joseph adds, “It’s like if you think about your life and you think about certain songs that meant something to you at a certain point, hopefully this is what other people will

feel.” All in all the guys hope their music leaves people feeling inspired and motivated. The Temper Trap are more than excited to perform in Melbourne. Toby says, “It’s always going to be special. Often there are a high percentage of family and friends who can make the shows and this makes us want to put on a good show for them. Coming from Melbourne and having played all the small places and having places like The Forum be there, imaging one day if we could play it, always makes it really special.” THE TEMPER TRAP play The Forum Theatre on Tuesday May 29 and Wednesday May 30, along with playing the Vivid LIVE Festival in Sydney on Thursday May 31 and Friday June 1. The Temper Trap is out now via Liberation.

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Beat Magazine Page 65

ROCK ‘N LOAD FESTIVAL ELECTRIC MARY

BY PETER HODGSON

Electric Mary are Australia’s last great hope for the title of ‘Killer Blues-ish Hard Rock Band’. They carry on a lineage which began with the melding of blues structures to rock energy in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s and which has continued through artists like Whitesnake, Badlands, Mr. Big and Richie Kotzen. Soulful vocals, monster grooves that the dudes can headbang to and the chicks can dance to (or vice versa, really), and killer guitar work. The band is currently bunkering down in the studio to record some new tracks, but they’ll emerge into the Melbourne night this weekend to appear at the Rock ‘N Load festival at The Espy. “We’re doing some shows in Japan in July, so they want to release a tour album,” singer Rusty Brown says during a break in recording. “So we’re going to combine six songs that we did in America, live in a studio in New Jersey, and two brand new unreleased songs written over the last couple of months.” It’ll be the band’s first ever tour of Japan, and it’s a market that has a well-known love of the kind of melodic hard rock Electric Mary peddles. “We’re really looking forward to it. It’s kind of a haven for rock bands, especially ‘70s and ‘80s bands that are still going and who we maybe think disappeared, but who actually have a really good career carved out in Japan. Guys like one of my favourites, Richie Kotzen. Actually, in our last band that Venom and I were in, we were in LA doing a show at Ian Copeland’s club and Richie Kotzen was there. So I went over and said hello to him, said ‘I’ve got your album, Mother Head’s Family Reunion!’ and he said ‘Oh my god, I’ve sold like 30 of those records in Australia and I’ve met somebody that has one?’ And I said ‘You wanna get up and play with us?’ and he’s like, ‘No.’” he laughs. The band has had plenty of opportunities to play with some of their other heroes though, including Deep Purple and Whitesnake whose founder, David Coverdale, was one of two vocalists in Brown’s favourite Deep Purple line-up, and whose music he feels particularly defensive of. “That’s my absolute favourite. I saw an interesting thing the other week – Black Country Communion were playing Mistreated but Joe Bonamassa kept playing the riff back to

front! I was thinking, he must have done it on purpose because Glenn Hughes (the other Deep Purple covocalist from the Burn era) is in your band and he would have told you. Have a look on YouTube! I’ve watched it a few times, and he goes [sings the riff backwards]. It’s just wrong!” The lead guitar slot in Electric Mary is one of those coveted positions. Irwin Thomas – otherwise known as Jack Jones – held the gig for years, but stepped down when he moved to New York. Shred demon Glenn Proudfoot then stepped in, but he’s so busy writing for Guitar World and gigging in Czechoslovakia that he had to call time too. The band’s new guitarist is Brett Wood of Pete Murray’s band. “Glenn came in and played some shows but he’s now doing great work in Europe. Good dude. Left-handed too. Lefthanded Gibson SG player.” Fans will get the chance to witness Wood’s axe skills at Rock ‘N Load, which will feature over 30 acts across The Espy including Bugdust, The Stiffys, King Of The North, Ten Thousand, Heaven The Axe, I Am Duckeye, The Charge, Anna Salen, Hailmary, Shadowqueen, The Morrisons, Beggars Orchestra, Shadowgame, Bottle Of Smoke, System Of Venus, Arcane Saints, Apache Medicine Man, The Vendettas, Riot In Toytown and many more. “We did the Rock The Bay festival and that was really good too,” Brown says. “That was a massive night for us. So the 32 bands and three stages of Rock ‘N Load, I reckon it’s gonna be another great day. And it looks like the weather’s going to be good for the weekend too, so all the rock’n’roll heads are going to be out.”

In the meantime, as we wrap up our chat and say our goodbyes, Brown has a request for Beat: “Maybe you could have a word to the typesetter and put a nude photo of me on the cover,” he says. “But I used to play in a band with [Beat founder] Rob Furst in the ‘80s. He was pretty good too, actually! A good keyboard player, a good songwriter. I saw him not long ago and

he said when I got back from Europe we should catch up. So I sent him an email and he never replied!” ELECTRIC MARY headline ROCK ‘N LOAD festival at The Espy this Saturday May 26, featuring 32 bands across the venue’s three stages. Tickets available at the door or via oztix.com.au.

ROCK ‘N LOAD PLAYING TIMES GERSHWIN ROOM

FRONT BAR

BASEMENT

12.35 - 01.15 Heaven The Axe 11.00 - 12.05 Electric Mary 09.50 - 10.30 Ten Thousand 08.45 - 09.20 Anna Salen 07.50 - 08.20 The Charge 06.55 - 07.25 Lords Of This World 05.50 - 06.20 Riot In Toytown 04.55 - 05.25 Shadowqueen 04.00 - 04.30 The Vendettas 03.05 - 03.35 Wingman

01.10 - 02.00 The Hidden Venture 12.05 - 12.45 King Of The North 11.05 - 11.40 The Stiffys 10.00 - 10.40 Bugdust 09.00 - 09.35 Shadowgame 08.05 - 08.35 I Am Duckeye 07.10 - 07.40 Hailmary 06.15 - 06.45 Beggars Orchestra 05.20 - 05.50 Apache Medicine Man 04.25 - 04.55 Hotel On Mayfair 03.30 - 04.00 Voodoocain 02.35 - 03.05 Sir Jolly Goodshow

01.15 - 02.00 Arcane Saints 12.10 - 12.50 System Of Venus 11.15 - 11.45 The Morrisons 10.20 - 10.50 The Fighting 09.25 - 09.55 The Androgyny 06.00 - 09.00 Phil Para Band 05.10 - 05.40 Bottle Of Smoke 04.15 - 04.45 Stars Of Addiction 03.20 - 03.50 The Greeting Method 02.30 - 03.00 Virtue

PERMIT No. 12/768

Beat Magazine Page 66

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CORE

CORE GIG GUIDE

PUNK, SKA, HARDCORE NEWS, REVIEWS AND GOSSIP BY EMILY KELLY: EK1984@GMAIL.COM

I have previously had a whine about bands appealing to their fans for assistance when they encounter a DESCENDENTS run of bad luck. It’s a tricky subject to tackle. Previous rants have suggested that relying on adoring fans of your craft is a rather average way to dig yourself out of financial trouble. This week however, the internets is awash with news that Hard-Ons member Peter Black was bashed by a couple of teenagers while driving his taxi. Assailants have been caught but Blackie is stuck with a skull fracture and swelling of the brain. On the eve of the band’s much anticipated Sydney show, the scheduled performance has been cancelled and replaced with a benefit show to aid in raising funds for medical assistance. This is the way to do it ya’ll. Put on a show, invite rollicking good bands and reach out to your fans via the same means you connected with them in the first place – great music. Previous opinions aside, I wish Blackie the swiftest of recoveries. Those unable to attend the Sydney performance have been invited to donate via the band’s PayPal account at rahn666@yahoo.com.

CRUNCH! Well, what a crazy week in metal. Last weekend Black Sabbath played their ﬁrst show with Ozzy in quite a while, with Ozzy’s drummer Tommy Cluefetos standing in for Bill Ward, who is on the outs over a contract dispute. I wouldn’t hold your breath for any Australian shows at the moment, but hopefully Tony Iommi’s cancer treatment will be successful and they can schedule more shows when he’s ready. In other ‘legends of rock’ news, it sounds like a lot of people are excited about the new Rush album Clockwork Angels, which will be released on Friday June 8 via Roadrunner. I got quite a few messages last week from Oz Rush fans voicing their excitement about the release, so let’s hope promoters take notice and put in an oﬀer for a tour. Please?

The Weekender is coming! Poison City Records’ annual weekend of good times and punk rock has been locked in for Friday September 14-16. Spread across several venues, the mini festival has confirmed the following bands, Rival Schools, The Smith Street Band, Restorations, A Death In The Family, Extortion, Luca Brasi, Hoodlum Shouts, I Exist, Paper Arms, Grim Fandango, Milhouse and at least a dozen more. Silverstein have revealed local supports for their upcoming Australian tour which kicks off in early June. Expect to see Like Royalty opening up when the band hits Bang, and Summerset Avenue, While The City Sleeps and Brighter At Night accompanying the band at the Pelly Bar on June 10. Perth’s Break Even are on the verge of calling it quits, but they’ve confirmed a couple more farewell shows before they depart into the sunset. Catch them at The Bendigo Hotel on Friday July 6 for your last chance to mosh up a storm.

THE OCEAN BY JESSICA WILLOUGHBY

Fundamentalist Christianity, and critique there of, has always been a point of great conjecture. Some believe the religion reveals a path to the true self. Others are drawn to ridicule. For The Ocean guitarist and songwriting mastermind Robin Straps, a fascination towards the perverse saw him draw creatively from this topic. “It is something I have been exposed to for a long time now,” Straps says. “My ﬁrst contact with militant Christians was when I was 16 and living in the US with a host family of die-hard creationists. My host-sister tried to convince me that the dinosaurs never existed and it was all a big myth created by scientists possessed by the devil. It seemed really abstract to me and got me really thinking about the whole subject a lot.” Straps’ interest founded a personal obsession. The past 12 years has seen him work with over 40 like-minded individuals under The Ocean collective banner in

Swedish Grindcore band Nasum will visit our fair country firs the first time for a farewell tour this August. The band decided to do one last world tour to farewell fans after their originally split in 2004 after the Boxing Day tsunami took the life of their vocalist Mieszko Tallarczyk. Catch Nasum for the first and last time at The Hi-Fi on August 19. Tickets available now.

American thrash metal dudes Warbringer are heading out here in support of their third album Worlds Torn Asunder. They’re going to tear up the Northcote Social Club on October 13. Tickets are available now.

METAL, HEAVY ROCK, CLASSIC ROCK

STEEL PANTHER - DON’T STOP BELIEVING!

GIG ALERT: CAVE OF THE SWALLOWS

So remember the Steel Panther tour announced recently? The Melbourne show at the Palace on Sunday October 7 sold out in about 20 milliseconds. But if you missed out on tickets, fear not! On the weekend, Soundwave Touring tweeted “…a note from the boss for Melbourne Fanthers: A 2nd show or venue upgrade WILL HAPPEN. Do not, we repeat DO NOT purchase from scalpers.” It's been moved to Festival Hall on the same night.

Melbourne’s Cave of the Swallows are rocking Cherry Bar on Saturday June 2 with Bury The Fallen and Villain. Make sure you catch them, because they’re in talks with a US management firm and are looking at heading off the the US in a few months for a bunch of shows. Search them out on Soundcloud for some great-sounding demos which showcase their energy, chunky guitar riffage, aggressive vocals and killer drumming.

RAVEN BLACK NIGHT SIGN TO METAL BLADE Adelaide’s Raven Black Night have signed to legendary label Metal Blade Records. The band formed in 1999 and released their debut Choose The Dark in 2005. They’re currently writing a new album which will surely launch them upon a worldwide audience. Singer/guitarist Jim Petkoﬀ says “As founders or Raven Black Night me and my metal brother Rino Amorino are proud and excited to sign with Metal Blade, a label with a rich history and much respected in the metal world. We believe Metal Blade will help bring Raven Black Night to the metal masses and look forward to a great journey together.”

ARE VAN HALEN OZ-BOUND? GIG ALERT: SLASH WITH MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS

GIG ALERT: THE DEVIL RIDES OUT

Don’t forget, the inaugural Rock 'N Load festival kicks oﬀ at The Espy on Saturday May 26. There will be over 30 acts across the entire venue including Electric Mary, Bugdust, The Stiﬀys, King Of The North, Ten Thousand, Heaven The Axe, I Am Duckeye, The Charge, Anna Salen, Hailmary, Shadowqueen, The Morrisons, Beggars Orchestra, Shadowgame, Bottle Of Smoke, System Of Venus, Arcane Saints, Apache Medicine Man, The Vendettas, Riot In Toytown and many more. Check out rocknloadfestival.com for lineup and ticketing info.

West Australian sludge rockers The Devil Rides Out are returning to Melbourne for the ﬁrst time in almost two years (the last time was in support of their debut album on Impedance Records, The Heart & The Crown). Since then they laid waste to the Doomsday Festival in Sydney, gave Dead Meadow, Fu Manchu and Black Cobra a run for their collective monies in Perth, and are now working on their next recording, planned for release later this year. They’re hitting the Espy on Friday June 15 supporting Mammoth Mammoth’s album launch with Dead Star Renegade and Seedy Jeezus. Doors at 8pm. Then on Saturday June 16 they have two gigs: At the Old Bar in Fitzroy with special guests The Wardens and My Left Boot (Tickets $10, doors at 8pm) then the late 2am slot at Pony in the CBD.

Germany. Seeking to defy genre specifics, full-lengths weave from the heavy to more progressive sides of doom, ambient, hardcore and rock. As the dust began to settle on a revolving door of members, with vocalist Loic Rossetti the latest addition in 2009, Straps reverted his thoughts to tackling his growing theories on Christianity. “It’s just a fascinating thing that has really forged our culture here,” he says. “It has become a part of the things we do and say. It’s in the values we uphold today, even though most people in Western Europe are not really that openly religious anymore. I barely have any friends that go to church. It seems like the church in Europe has taken on the role of a social welfare institution, rather than an actual place where people go to pray or believe. But it’s very different in the US. I just wanted to explore this further.” The result of this process was the dual releases of Heliocentric and Anthropocentric two years ago. A step towards musical fulfilment, according to Straps, fans were not as keen to delve into these dense recordings. “Some people had some difficulty in getting into them because they were quite different from our previous releases,” he says. “They employed a lot more clean singing and some very quiet songs, which were really not part of our musical cosmos before. There was so much talk that we weren’t ‘metal’ anymore, that the albums were bullshit and our new singer was ‘crying like a pussy’. The fact is, we never said we were a metal band. We’ve always had influences from other territories. Even our first album, Fluxion (2004) was entirely instrumental with classical elements. I think those people just didn’t understand what the band was really all about in the first place. If they just wanted to listen to death metal, they can do that.”

But Straps assures alienation was not their purpose. “We didn’t want to deter our fans,” he says. “We still want to do what we feel like musically. If that means an acoustic, piano-based album – than that’s what we’ll do. I just want to keep everything open and be able to do anything musically that we feel like doing. I guess that’s why we chose our band name in the first place. The Ocean can stand for the cheesy, peaceful sea or the man-eating storm. We want to cover all of those territories.” 2012 signalled the quintet’s final chapter in their selfdubbed ‘Christianity chronicles’. The Great Inquisitor EP, released last month, took three tracks of the same name from their fifth opus and carried through the theme with a new addition. Straps points to this song, The Grand Inquisitor IV: Exclusion From Redemption, as completing the conceptual arc. “We had one new track left over from the last album,” he says. “We just simply thought it didn’t fit the album musically. Not because it was so different, but we didn’t know where to put it. The album seemed more clean and coherent without that track. Lyrically, it continues the micro-chapter in the album – inspired by Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s novel The Brother’s Karamazov. This follows the story of the second coming of Jesus Christ and the parable of the Catholic inquisition. This song specifically targets the speech made by the grand inquisitor himself about Christ’s naive notion of humanity and the uncompassionate ideal of freedom. “Of course, it was a huge undertaking to try to summarise a 50 to 60 page speech into one song. If you tried to get everything, that exercise would just be doomed for failure. We faced the same problem on our last two albums; there’s just so many things that can be said. You couldn’t tackle to constraints on one, or even two albums.

ROCK 'N LOAD!

Orange County punk legends Pennywise just released the brilliant All Or Nothing, and they’re coming to Oz to blast our eardrums out (in the nicest possible way). They play at The Palace on Sunday August 26 with support from The Menzingers and The Sharks. Tickets on sale Friday May 25 at 9am.

Resist have just announced an Australian tour for Canadian band Burning Love. Their newest eﬀort Rotten Thing To Say will cop an Aussie release on Friday June 22 and the band will arrive at the Bendigo Hotel on Friday August 24.

LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL GOOD SHIT WITH PETER HODGSON: CRUNCHCOLUMN@GMAIL.COM

A bit of a shitstorm erupted over the weekend after Van Halen cancelled plans for a second leg of their American tour. Speculation splattered everywhere that the band all suddenly hated each other. So David Lee Roth ﬁlmed a video (titled Public Relations – search it out on Vimeo) explaining that they cancelled the new shows to avoid burnout, regroup and plan a second US leg with bigger production – the ‘monster truck’ of Van Halen tours, DLR says - which will take place after the band “learns to speak Australian.”

GIG ALERT: PENNYWISE

Strike Anywhere have added a last minute sideshow to accompany their scheduled gig with Anti-Flag this weekend. You can see Strike Anywhere with Stolen Youth, Outright, Daybreak and Josh Mann this Saturday night at Northcote Social Club. Get on it.

Wednesday May 23: The Bitter End, Blkout, Crowned Kings at Bendigo Hotel Thursday May 24: Bitter End, Blkout at Phoenix Youth Center No Way Out, Mindset, Our Solace at Bang! Friday May 25: Tumbleweed, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Sun God Replica at The Tote Hawaiian Islands, Paper Arms, Manhattan Jinx, Camp David at Bendigo Hotel Saturday May 26: Nuclear Summer, Lo!, The Ocean at The Hi-Fi Strike Anywhere, Stolen Youth, Josh Mann, Outright, Daybreak at Northcote Social Club Empra, Cola Wars, Zenith ASP at Revolver D At Sea, Dave Parker, Shelley Segal at Bang Streams of Whiskey, Tim Scanlan at The Bendigo The Kill, Debacle, Michael Crafter, CounterAttack, Inebriator at The Prague Sunday May 27: AntiFlag, Strike Anywhere, The Flatliners, The Ramshackle Army at The Hi-Fi

CHECK OUT ALL THE LATEST NEWS, REVIEWS AND FREE SHIT AT BEAT.COM.AU

Slash is the epitome of rock and roll. Low-slung Les Paul, cocky slouch, wall of hair, and of course killer riﬀs and licks. His new album Apocalyptic Love is suitably arse-kicking, and it features Alter Bridge’s Myles Kennedy on vocals throughout the whole thing (instead of just one a couple of tracks like Slash’s last solo album). The tophatted one sold the hell out of his last tour in under ten minutes, and the venues had to be upgraded quicksmart. So on his next Oz tour, everyone’s favourite snake wrangler is playing at Hisense Arena on Sunday August 26. Make no mistake, this will be Slash in full-on arena mode. Expect to hear G’nR classics, Velvet Revolver hits and material from his solo and Slash’s Snakepit albums. Tickets go on sale at 9am on Friday June 1.

FEEDBACK As usual, send your news, rants and cat photos to crunchcolumn@gmail.com

But I’m pretty happy with how it turned out, it reflects some core messages.” Set to spend the rest of the year in writing mode, their next release will offer a breath of fresh air for those who strayed from The Ocean’s anti-religious fervour. “We want to discover something new now,” Straps says. “It’s going to be much less of a nerdy, intellectual album. Although, it will be one continuous piece of music with pointer track marks. So it will be much more personal, in a way. We hope we can offer our fans something different again.” THE OCEAN plays The Hi-Fi on Saturday May 26 with Sydonia and LO! The Grand Inquisitor EP is out now through Pelagic Records.

Beat Magazine Page 67

MUSIC NEWS

YOUR COMPREHENSIVE LOCAL GUIDE

For all the latest news check out beat.com.au

HELLHOUNDS

HUMANS

Retro-blues trio, Hellhounds, strip it back for a month of ‘unplugged’ style shows at St. Kilda’s famous Pure Pop Records. Playing every Thursday in May from 6-8pm, the band will be performing intimate renditions from songs from their recently released debut album, and including some swampy, juke joint style jams in-between. The Hellhounds record is available now at Pure Pop Records, Greville Records, JB HiFi, iTunes and the Hellhounds Facebook shop.

Having just been announced as one of the supports for Black Cab’s ﬁrst show in ages (Queen’s birthday weekend) and confusing and bemusing punters at Pony last Friday, experimental, instrumental, art-electro super-heroes HUMANS play their fourth show ever at the “CAN-tastic”, Tago Mago on Friday June 1.

LITTLE WISE

BONJAH Bonjah started the year off in a big way seeing in NYE at Pyramid Rock Festival, playing the Big Day Out and selling out their headline summer tour, and they’re now off to London before starting work on their third album. The band was also invited to join The Cranberries in Sydney and Auckland in March. Bonjah have made a name for themselves for their powerful and dynamic live shows, and before they head off to the mother country, you can catch them on their last Australian East Coast headline tour of 2012, including this show, for the release of new single Fall Together. See for yourself why Rolling Stone nominated Bonjah for the 2011 ‘Artist To Watch’ award. They play the Corner Hotel on Friday June 8 with Buckley Ward and The Dawn Chorus.

TRENTFEST The event no-one is waiting for. Trentfest is here again, as obnoxious and foul as ever. The eight bands in this year’s lineup come from many diﬀerent backgrounds; some from sludge and grunge, some from metal and punk, some from hardcore and blues; but all represent the uncompromisingly loud, distorted, maniacal and displaced side of music. Trentfest was founded to create an event that could be depended on to be nothing but an unapologetic show of vulgar noise and unhinged, chaotic performances from the most obnoxious and unconventional bands in Melbourne this year. Melbourne’s most putrid musical duo DEAD are headlining this straight-jacket night which will be nothing but eight hours of musical insanity. Don’t miss out on Trentfest on Saturday June 2 at The Bendigo Hotel.

SPERMAIDS

THE OCEAN

Spermaids don’t seem to fuck around. Since having formed less than a year ago, the two-piece from NZ have gigged relentlessly and released a unique EP that walks the line between playful experimentation and outright aggression. The live performance is full of tension as they trigger samples, loops and eﬀects creating a cacophany usually only achieved by bands of more than two members. If you’ve not yet seen these guys live then May is the month. They play every Wednesday night at The Tote, joined each week by only the dopest of local supports. CDs and merch for sale at gigs.

Founded back in 2000 by the forward thinking master of minds Robin Straps, The Ocean is a progressive musical collective based in Berlin (Germany) that strives on an open door policy of creative output and diverse productivity. Over the past 12 years The Ocean have gone through countless lineup changes, some 40 musicians have passed through their doors, all of which have contributed to the legacy that has become the legend of The Ocean. With genre defying releases that weave between post hardcore, progressive rock, metal, doom, post rock, and ambient experimentations, it’s next to impossible to label The Ocean to one speciﬁc genre. They play The Hi-Fi on Saturday May 26.

FRASER GORMAN Every Thursday in May, Fraser A. Gorman & his band will be the resident country rock’n’rollers at The Retreat Hotel. Fraser will be bringing along his smokin’ band Sam Cooper (Guitar), Sophia Lubzcenko (Violin), Danny Spiers (Double Bass), Sturdy Leg (drums). From a recent bout of great shows at QMF, PFFF, Boogie and some bangin’ supports round town, now you lucky people will get a great chance to see them for a whole lotta no dollars and whole lotta great fun. This week, Thursday May 24, support is from Melbourne four piece Sleep Decade. It’s a 9pm start, with free entry.

ROADIE INDUSTRY NIGHT Roadie Night is a special night dedicated to the roadies of Victoria – the roadies and technicians that work behind the scenes of the entertainment industry will be onstage. This year they are hosting it at Noise Bar, Brunswick. There will be awards on the night as well as raﬄes. So if you work in the entertainment industry or if you’re an old school, new school or a pre-school roadie they would love to see you at their event. The line up for the night includes Drive By Epic, Freaks Of The Deep, Multi-Core and Lou Donnie. Doors at 8.30pm.

SONS OF LEE MARVIN Like a belligerent drunk at 3am, Sons of Lee Marvin refuse to go quietly into the night. Fresh from hammering out their third album (due mid 2012) the ornery bastions of gonzo garage’n’roll deﬁantly swagger/stagger back to the arena with a fresh batch of tales about – and written by – bastards. First chance to hear what they’ve been up to for the last four months is Friday May 25 at the Victoria Hotel, Brunswick. Joining them will be the high-octane, high-kicking, riﬀ-tastic Uptown Ace (feat members of The Devilrock Four) who are way less bastardy.

SIMMER Simmer are a Melbourne based band integrating high energy Afro/reggae rhythms with the unique blend of violin and trumpet. Melbourne musicians Linden Lester and Luke Collins collaborated in the studio on initial sketches inspired by music as diverse as Toumani Diabate, Ali Farke Toure, Nitin Sawhney and the Cinematic Orchestra and by experiences travelling through expansive desert landscapes shaping the ideas that deﬁne this dynamic live band. It all kicks oﬀ at the Old Bar this Friday May 25, doors at 10pm, free entry.

NERVOUS Nervous are a power pop band based in Melbourne featuring members of other local bands Pop Singles, Jouissance and Autoportraits. They have been playing around town for the past couple of years, self-releasing an extremely limited album on compact disc in that time. Nervous will soon record with engineer/bass player Damian Clarkson. A 7” record will potentially formulate from those sessions. Join them at the disillusioning 2am slot at Pony this Friday May 25. Free entry. Beat Magazine Page 68

JOHNNY GIBSON HANGOVERS

THE

Johnny Gibson has been a hard-working drummer in such bands as The Swedish Magazines, The Currency, Reigning Men and Streams Of Whiskey. Now fronting his own band with a debut album currently out, catch Johnny and co this Sunday May 27 down at The Victoria Hotel in Brunswick for free from 5pm. $10 beer jugs on oﬀer as well.

ELIZA HULL On Thursday May 31, Melbourne songstress Eliza Hull will be celebrating the release of her debut EP Dawn at The Toﬀ In Town with a full band and special guests. A truly passionate creation three years in the making, Dawn’s seven tracks are resplendent with truth and heart. Joining Eliza and with a stunning new track of her own, I Understand to launch, Sophie Koh will grace The Toﬀ In Town stage with her live band featuring D. Rogers, Tim Reid and Phil Collings. Sophie will be showcasing an array of new songs from her upcoming album Oh My Garden due for release in July. Doors open from 8pm, with presale tickets available for $15+bf, or for $18 on the door.

THREE QUARTER BEAST Here’s your chance to catch a collection of bands, that have been pieced together from some of the wildest, most intense live acts currently doing the circuit. It’s a lineup designed to showcase the animalistic, paganistic, and tribalistic nature of Melbourne’s ever evolving alternative music scene. It’s a quality gathering of four action packed bands that cover a spectrum of styles spanning from grunge to progressive metal, all of them pushing boundaries at the forefront of the evolution of their respective genres. Once you’ve seen Three Quarter Beast, Husk, A Better Place and Blanks you’ll have no hesitation to join the cult. And make sure you try the punch – it’s pretty good. Catch the awesome foursome at Pony this Saturday May 26. Doors from 9pm.

THE EUPHORIACS The Euphoriacs are a malevolent mess of equal parts brilliance and ﬁlth. Without doubt the most attractive band in Australia, they channel the raw sex appeal of contemporaries such as Christina Aguilera and Delta Goodrem whilst adding their own dirty, dirty Melbourne sound to the mix. Playing at every house party worth attending and in the throes of mixing their ﬁrst release, be careful not to get caught up in the grime-wave that is The Euphoriacs. This Saturday May 26 sees them return to the stage at Pony for the infamous 2am slot – it’s completely free so there’s no excuses for missing it!

With a vocal styling not dissimilar to Angie Hart from Frente, Sophie Klein is the brainchild who fronts Melbourne based outﬁt Little Wise. Small in stature, she’s nevertheless got some big stories to tell and some musical wisdom to impart. Little Wise are very excited to be launching their debut EP Moments Of Clarity at The John Curtain Hotel on Wednesday May 30 with support from Lauren Glezer and Oh!Pep. Tickets are $8.50 pre-sale (incl. BF) via the venue website, or $10 on the door.

TUMBLEWEED Tumbleweed return to the studio in Sydney in June with Paul McKercher (ARIA award winning these days, mind you!) who last worked with the band on the last album the original Tumbleweed line-up recorded; the Galactaphonic LP back in 1994 – a nice complete of the circle. After the success of the recent headline reformation shows which saw the band tour the country, as well as play Meredith Music Festival, Pyramid Rocks Festival, The Big Day Out (Sydney and Melbourne) and Homebake, they had the time to come up with 20 original new songs. Some of these songs will be recorded for a new Tumbleweed album in June 2012. But before all that, the band are taking some new songs out for road testing. Catch them at The Tote on Friday May 25 and Saturday May 26.

SUZIE STAPLETON Suzie Stapleton and band are hitting the stage twice more in May before heading into the studio to record longawaited follow up to 2009’s 45 Revelations Per Minute. Tonight they join Chris Russell’s Chickenwalk for their residency at The Old Bar. The Velvets start proceedings at 9pm – free entry – for the unemployed, unattached, alcoholics among us. Just saying.

STRANGERS Sydney Southern Beach rockers Strangers have so far done it for Calling All Cars, they did it for Closure In Moscow, they did it for Unwritten Law and Redcoats and just recently did it for UK's men in tights The Darkness. Their muscular new single Persona Non Grata was released to radio this week. It screams loud, it screams hard and it screams fast. Strangers will be launching it and taking their hard as nails brand of rock to the streets when they a special showcase event at The Workers Club on Friday June 8. Tickets available on the door.

TIJUANA CARTEL Tijuana Cartel spent the front end of 2011 riding high on the wings of their breakthrough single White Dove, and it’s follow up Letting It Go. The Gold Coast collective then set oﬀ on an audacious 32-date national road odyssey for the remainder of the year to promote their epic third album M1. After a well-earned break over New Year, Tijuana Cartel is back! Prepping a new live show, sporting a new single and ensuring that their passports are sea worthy. The Oﬀer Yourself Tour will be a joyful one month dash from the east coast to the West, including a show at the Northcote Social Club on Thursday May 24.

CHERRY JAM MONDAYS

–

OPEN

MIKE

The always poppin’ Cherry Bar wants to support the Melbourne music scene. They think bands will beneﬁt from playing on the same stage that has hosted The Black Keys, The New York Dolls, Mark Lanegan, The Tea Party and already showcases over 550 diﬀerent booked locals acts a year. They supply the back line, the mixer and the famous stage. You and your band plug in and play. 6.30pm to 11.30pm every Monday. Get involved.

HEAVY BEACH A brand new name requires a brand new single and a single launch to boot. Heavy Beach, formerly Ferry Tails, are warming up their wah and delay pedals for the official release of their debut single 1963. Written as a reflection about the desire to go back in time and to experience an era of black and white film, narcotics and a very different society, 1963 wraps around you slowly with guitar, space, noise, bass and drums that soar through hypnotic verses. Heavy Beach are thrilled to be joined on the night by the esteemed Pony Face, the sterling Sincerely, Grizzly and psych-surf-gods The Velocettes. The Cornish Arms, Saturday May 26. Free entry.

POCO LA PAX

THE PATRON SAINTS The Patron Saints are bringing their south side swagger back to The Retreat Hotel this Saturday May 26 for two sets full of swamp, blues rock’n’roll. Steming from noted Australian acts Billy Pommer Jr (The Johnnys) and Kim Volkman (X) come together as a dynamic duo to form The Patron Saints; a twosome not to be reckoned with. Get on down to front bar around 7.30pm to catch the ﬁrst set. Free entry.

ELECTRIC WAR BABIES Started in early 2012, Electric War Babies are hard rock funk four-piece. Their signature sound is described as “if Muse and Tool had quadruplets, and they were adopted by James Brown, you’d get the Electric War Babies” by lead singer Steven Reinhardt. Currently recording their debut material EWB are making their splash this Friday May 25 at Noise Bar with 23 Angles of Attack and Fahrenheit 43. Doors at 8pm, $5 entry.

THROWING FRISBEES Hola, head down to the Victoria Hotel in Brunswick on Saturday May 26 between 3pm and midnight for the very ﬁrst Throwing Frisbees show featuring some of the best noise, punk and garage acts that Melbourne boasts. Featuring Mesa Cosa, The Whipped Cream Chargers, Bad Taste, On Sierra, Smoke Signal, The Shards, Ali E and Flyying Colours, doors open at 3pm and bands start at 4pm. Tickets are only $10 on the door for a full day of sonic absurdity.

THE GRAVY TRAIN This Thursday May 24, head down and kick it at ﬁrst ﬂoor. Metallic K.O, Capcha and Monkeylunch are playing sets starting at 9pm and going ‘til late. Some swell drink prices are going to be served and music till the wee morning. Hitch a ride on the gravy train and head down to Brunswick Street for this refreshingly new night. Wankers to be evicted on arrival.

Poco La Pax are packing up their swags and venturing north side for the month. They are delighted to announce an entire month of headline shows at The Evelyn on Wednesdays, with support from some very talented friends. The band has been quiet of late writing new material and preparing to record a new EP. Free entry all month.

ESC Esc are a noisy quartet with a shattering wall of clanging guitar and driven dissonance over a hammering rhythm section. This bright young band takes inﬂuence from grunge and shoegazing luminaries. Yet mature in their sound, they cannot be compared to anything in particular. Come see them yourself every Monday in May at the Evelyn Hotel alongside an enthralling list of supporting bands.

BAD ACHES Having already supported the likes of MOTO, Ty Segall and Guitar Wolf, local garage punk trio Bad Aches are about to release their ﬁrst 7”: Hypochondriac This will coincide with their ﬁrst residency every Saturday afternoon in May in the Tote front bar between 5pm and 7pm.

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ALBARE Albare visits the Melbourne Recital Centre as part of the Melbourne International Jazz Festival, to perform songs from his forthcoming album release – Long Way, and his extensive back catalogue. Long Way was recently recorded in New York, with some of the world’s ﬁnest musicians featuring on the album. For one time only, this lineup of international players are visiting Australia to play, which include the triple Grammy Award winning drummer – Antonio Sanchez, George Garzone, Leo Genovese, Hendrick Muerkens, and Albare’s musical collaborator, bassist and composer Evri Evripidou. The Melbourne Recital Centre’s stage will be lit up on Tuesday June 5, with doors opening from 7.10pm. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster for $69+bf.

SUMMON THE BIRDS

DIGANI GACIGA

Summon The Birds began in a Japanese restaurant in Melbourne in 2007. Over sushi, Jonathan Shaw and Peter Woodlands put forth the intention to create a piece of art, pure and new, entitled 48 (as in hexagram 48 in the Ancient Chinese system of divination the iChing). After a ceremony in a shed in Warrandyte involving blood, runes, and a shaking shaman called Richard, rehearsals began, with Kris Arrowsmith brought in on drums. Summon The Birds launch their single Song For The Kid (In Earon & Me), a spirit lifting homage to a childhood spent in the glorious chi of the Blue Mountains, with a special 2pm matinee show at the Evelyn Hotel on Sunday May 27.

Described in Rolling Stone as the new darlings of loser rock, Digani Gaciga bring their mind melting madness to the Great Britain in Richmond this Thursday May 24. Supports come from the wonderful Emmie and Clancy, loser rock life member Roxy Lavish, and playing their ﬁrst ever show, Super Fat Fruit groove on the vibe of world sounds. It all kicks oﬀ at 8pm sharp and it’s free.

UNCOMFORTABLE KUMAR Young Melbourne guitarist Kumar Shome and his powerhouse trio The Punkawallahs are coming back to the Evelyn on Tuesday May 29, to bring to you colourful psychedelic harmonic progressions that make clouds burst and pone. With sounds taking you from the deserts of Ennio Morricone, to streetwise vibes of David Holmes, to prog rock riﬀs that sets the bar for 21st century music, supports include Trio Alvorada and Uncomfortable Science.

Emerging from their hideaway after a languid summer, the Exotics are all set to ride the rock and roll train all the way to the sea for a night of blood pumpin’ dry humpin’ heat . Picking up steam as they roll into the city, swatting band wagon jumpers away like ﬂies, they hit the Grace Darling on Friday May 25. The Exotics are a band who never fail to satisfy live, and they are stoking the engines for a full powered musical derailment on all tracks . Also on board will be the Bluebottles, so it promises to be a guitar thrashing, wave crashing wild ride.

60 SECONDS WITH… THREE QUARTER BEAST

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COLD HARBOUR Cold Harbour bring their unique blend of sonic soundscapes, swampy blues, garage rock and spaghetti western themes to the Great Britain Hotel on Saturday May 26. They will be joined by the garage pop stylings of Little Murders, a bumper double package all kicking oﬀ from 9pm and it’s free.

SARAH CARNEGIE Richmond’s Great Britain Hotel sees singer/songwriter Sarah Carnegie present a unique musical oﬀering that has constructed a world where her voice powerfully conveys the emotions of her lyrics, from subtle sweetness to heartfelt passion. With the dominant element of storytelling, her lyrics and vocal melodies are accessible to a wide audience through a folk/pop style. Catch her on Sunday May 27 at 7pm. Free entry.

YABU BAND

THE EXOTICS

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Announced on the NIMAS’s performance bill, WAMi Award nominated ‘Best Indigi Act’ 2012 and winner of the Deadly Awards, Yabu Band will be playing a set at The Royal Melbourne Hotel on Thursday May 31. Joining them for the We Sing For Reconciliation show are Bart Willoughby, The Skin Choir and The Massive Hip Hop Choir. Melbourne, get amongst it!

TEENAGE MOTHERS Since the media beat-up surrounding their public feud with French puritans M83, Melbourne’s Teenage Mothers have been busy. They recently released the self-made video clip for I Don’t Wanna Play The Game, a biting duet between lead singer James Kennedy and Jack Mannix from Sydney’s Circle Pit. It’s from Teenage Mothers’ forthcoming debut album, produced by Jim Sclavunos from Grinderman / The Bad Seeds. Teenage Mothers have organised a benefit party on Thursday May 24, helping to raise $25,000 for the construction of a school in a poor Nicaraguan village. Also donating their time are The Demon Parade, the hypnotic psych-rockers who supported The Brian Jonestown Massacre on their last Australian tour. Plus brilliant postpunk trio The Process, POON DJs and a special mystery headline band playing their first Australian show for two years. It’s happening at Strange Wolf. All door profits support this worthy cause.

RUBY BOOTS Perth’s favourite alt country sextet Ruby Boots are heading on a national tour next week. Catch the award winning act as a part of Saloon Shaker at the Caravan Music Club on Friday May 25, at the Baha Taco on Saturday May 26 and at The Retreat on Sunday May 27.

BAYOU After the release of their startling debut in March, three-girl, two-boy outﬁt from Melbourne Bayou headline their ﬁrst show on Thursday June 7 at Yah Yah’s. The EP – available on Bandcamp sees the band blend cascading guitar lines, eerie female harmonies and propulsive drumming with anthemic lead vocals to create a sound that is haunting, commanding and dirty – a fuzzed out missive from some enticing underworld. Support on the night comes from Minibikes, Ali E and L’il Leonie Lionheart.

THE DARLING DOWNS The Darling Downs are Kim Salmon and Ron Peno playing country ﬂavoured songs, and they’re doing it every Sunday in May at The Old Bar. They’ve even been working on some new ones for this residency. 8pm every Sunday with some killer supports for a measly $8. What else do you need to know? It’s Kim Salmon and Ron Peno playing together! 8pm, every Sunday at The Old Bar.

EXPATRIATE Expatriate have announced a run of shows throughout May covering Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. This tour will give fans a sneak peak of tracks from the band’s forthcoming album Hyper/Hearts, out in early July, plus a few favourites from the band’s debut album In The Midst Of This. Head along to The Toﬀ In Town this Thursday May 24 for a great night, with support from Lowlakes. Doors open from 7.30pm, with $12 entry on the door.

SHADOWGAME Three-piece rockers Shadowgame hit The Espy’s front bar stage at 9pm for the Rock ‘N Load Festival this Saturday May 26. For a fantastic atmosphere, within the scenic location of St Kilda’s esplanade, this is really one night you should get around. You can check out Shadowgame and download their latest single Burn The Ground for free at shadowgame.bandcamp.com.

HAYLEY COUPER

Define your genre in five words or less: Alternative rock. Bearing the terrible clichéd nature of this question, what do you reckon people will say you sound like? Like we’ve just stepped out of the ‘90s, but we just love playing the style of music that we grew up listening to. Our style has a new spin on it. Grunge isn’t dead, it’s been in a coma and we’ve woken it up, whether it wants to or not. What inspires or has influenced your music the most? Old horror movies with bad special eﬀects, myths, legends, folk tales, the occult and all things weirdly cool. Tell us about the last song you wrote. It’s about a dark, dark man with a dark, dark heart and in the dark, dark heart there was a ghost…boo! When are you releasing your EP? We have just smashed out an EP in an amazing studio way out in the bush with only the animals to hear us play. We’re launching it at The Brunswick Hotel on Saturday August 25. It’ll be a crazy night. Be there: everyone needs a copy of this EP. So, someone is walking past as you guys are playing, they then go get a beer and tell their friend about you... what do they say? “Woah man, I don’t believe in werewolves but I just saw this guy up on stage, with no shirt on, covered in blood and howling like a maniac. It’s just too awesome!”

Hayley Couper has a voice you need to hear. Having recently recorded a new EP of dreamy rock songs with Producer, Woody Annison (Children Collide, Red Riders), she’ll be playing an intimate solo set of the new material, as well as classics from the back catalogue at The Retreat on Wednesday May 23. The night kicks oﬀ at 8pm and entry is free.

THE PREACHERS With a live show more reminiscent of a religious cult and old school inﬂuences to boot, The Preachers’ brand of hardworking rock’n’roll has made them one of Sydney’s most respected young bands. In September 2011 they travelled to LA to record their second EP Shaking Hands at The Bank, a private studio owned by renound drummer Joey Waronker (Smashing Pumpkins, Elliot Smith, Beck). The ﬁrst single Take A Card has completely overtaken Australian airwaves, hitting high rotation on triple j. On Friday May 25 they play an introductory show in Melbourne, at Yah Yah’s with special guests The Messengers and Hounds Hounds Hounds. This show is free entry.

MANHATTAN JINX Manhattan Jinx from Adelaide are bringing their raw, in your face bluesy punk rock to The Bendigo Hotel in Collingwood this Friday May 25 as part of their national album tour. Headlining the show is tropical party kings The Hawaiian Islands. Making the trip over from Adelaide too is punk rock champs Paper Arms who always deliver the goods and the new, very exciting screamers Camp David will make the lineup one not to be missed. Get down to The Bendigo on Friday May 25, doors 8pm, $12 entry.

If your music was a chocolate bar, which one would it be, and why? A Picnic, because it looks a bit fugly on the outside but it’s a jumble of ingredients that you don’t think would mix, but it just works. Sounds crunchy when you take a bite and it seriously tastes good. When are you doing your thing next? At Pony this Saturday May 26. It’s going to be a huge gig with a massive lineup. Three Quarter Beast, Husk, A Better Place and Blanks. This one is not to be missed. It’s $5 entry: you can’t beat that shit. Anything else to add? Three Quarter Beast are creating the soundtrack to the end of an age. Come with us and join the cult. CHECK OUT ALL THE LATEST NEWS, REVIEWS AND FREE SHIT AT BEAT.COM.AU

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MUSIC NEWS

THE LITTLE SISTERS YOUR COMPREHENSIVE LOCAL GUIDE

Country-folk outﬁt The Little Sisters celebrate a long tradition of female vocal harmony. After sharing the stage with some of Australia’s most exciting up and coming alt-country bands, The Little Sisters have been highly praised for the richness of their vocal harmonies and the depth of their songwriting talent. Having recently released their debut self-titled EP to much acclaim, the trio and their musical accomplices will now bring their show to The Retreat on Saturday May 26, 4pm -6pm. Those who haven’t yet witnessed a Sisters show are in for a treat. Expect pints, petticoats, and many a piss take.

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WAYWARDBREED WALL OF MIRRORS Emma Stuart’s new project Wall Of Mirrors will be launching their single Orbitor from their debut EP. Recorded with Regurgitator’s Ben Ely, the songs are minimal yet magical. Formed around a bed of simple textures; Emma’s vocals are engaging and familiar, yet idiosyncratic. With positive reviews from 3RRR’s Simon Winkler as well as triple j’s Assistant Music Director Dave Ruby Howe, Wall Of Mirrors are set to make waves as genre-less mixture of artful arrangements and imaginative texturing. Don’t miss this last show before some of the band members embark on an overseas venture in early June. It’s at the Grace Darling on Thursday May 24.

Waywardbreed began in late 2008 as a solo project for Justin Avery (The Spoils). After recording his debut album of sweet, gothic folk entitled Rising Vicious in early 2010, he spent much of the next two years touring solo in Europe and writing new material. Since returning to Melbourne, waywardbreed has sprouted more members, been quietly going about performing live, and is working on its second album to be released in later in 2012. The current four-piece version includes Andrew Watson (Devil’s Union) on violin, Anthony Paine (Black Cab) on double bass and Beth Barker (Gypsy Curse) on vocals. On Tuesday May 29, Waywardbreed plays the front bar of The Retreat Hotel. Two sets from 8:30pm. Free entry.

BOX ROCKETS PALM SPRINGS

THE UV RACE Henry Rollins bought recently bought their first 7” for $75. If you want to hear the songs of The UV Race, just head down to Yah Yah’s on Saturday May 26. They will be playing old songs and a bunch of new ones too. If you’re really lucky, Marcus won’t strip down too much, but the night will be a lot of fun. If he does, perhaps just keep your eyes on Georgia, Ally-Pally Sea-Snake, Emily, Daniel, Moses or Alexandra. The UV Race has been delighting audiences since they formed in late 2007 and have releases out on Aarght Records, Terminal Picnic as well as other indie labels. Playing with the UV Race is Interzone, a proto punk band featuring members of Fabulous Diamonds, Repairs and Chrome Dome. Sydney’s Raw Prawn are also playing on the night in second spot, this is their first ever Victorian show, they feature members from bands Whores, Holy Balm and Circle Pit; their repertoire offers a nod to early Aussie punk group such as the Victims, the Saints and UK group the Swell Maps. Opening is Ratsak featuring Harriet Hudson from Circle Pit.

SYN FM/COMMUNITY CUP “FREE KICK” For the third year running, SYN is partnering with the Reclink Community Cup to hold the Free Kick competition, an initiative for new and emerging bands to play at the 2012 Reclink Community Cup. The Free Kick finalists will battle it out at with an expert panel of judges from SYN, 3RRR, PBS and the Rockdogs determining the winner. The victor of the Free Kick final will play the opening set at the Reclink Community Cup on Sunday June 24 at Elsternwick Park, alongside the Melburnian dream team lineup of Blue Ruin, Boomgates and Bunny Monroe. The competition takes place at The Tote this Thursday May 24 with Drunk Mums, Howlin’ Steam Train, Damn Terran, Sheriff and Udays Tiger.

THE VIBRAPHONIC ORKESTRA On Thursday May 24, Yah Yah’s will host a night of live music featuring local acts The Vibraphonic Orkestra and The Imprints. With support from DJs Middle C playing laid back righteous reggae grooves, and Vibemaster playing progressive afro beats, the night promises to inspire and amaze, all for a mere $5 entry-fee.

BLACKCHORDS After 12 months of writing and recording, Melbourne’s Blackchords are ready and raring to release the muchawaited ﬁrst single Dance Dance Dance from their forthcoming second album, due for release later this year. It happens at The Workers Club in Fitzroy this Saturday May 26.

RECLINK COMMUNITY CUP That one day in, uh, June that we like to remember is back in full force this year, with the much-loved Reclink Community Cup returning to Elsternwick after a cameo visit in Sydney earlier in the year. Just as last year’s theme was the dark prince Nick Cave, this year’s motif will be that of The Cramps. Each band performing on the day will slot a Cramps track into their setlist – those bands being none other than Boomgates, reformed ‘80s punks Blue Ruin, and Bunny Monroe. Oh, and of course there will be the main event – the mighty Megahertz will try to regain the title of reigning champions from the Rockdogs. The 2012 Reclink Community Cup takes place Sunday June 24 at Elsternwick Park.

Monday nights in May at The Old Bar will see Palm Springs play her ﬁrst ever shows. Each night will take a new turn as Palm Springs will be backed by the alternating supporting artists of the evenings - Extreme Wheeze, Adam Sherry, Lehmann B. Smith, Orchestra Lax to name a few. Collaborations will be encouraged, the blues will be hollered and maybe you can play the tambourine. Catch all the action every Monday throughout May.

STREAMS OF WHISKEY Fresh from taking beer-stained cheat notes at Festival Hall, Streams Of Whiskey have been putting in the hard yards reﬁning their chops. Rollicking Pogues covers with some Irish classics thrown in the mix and the odd stomping traditional number ensure a rowdy night out. The more astute members of the audience, will notice that U.K classical guitar-guru Sheldon King is up there strutting, cutting his wisdom teeth on the banjo. Opening the night will be Tim Scanlan’s last performance before he heads back to Canada where they might steal him if we’re not careful. His foot percussion gypsy dub dexterity has to be seen to be believed. Streams of Whiskey will be playing the Bendigo Hotel on Saturday May 26.

DAVEY LANE Davey Lane is playing at Yeah Yah’s this Sunday May 27. Davey has emerged from the recording studio (aka Davey’s bedroom) to play brand new songs from nearly ﬁnished debut album The Good Borne Of Bad Tymes, along with oldies and covers of your favourite tunes with guests. Also performing a set before Davey on the night is his handsome friend and Gruntbucket frontman Mikey Madden, playing a set of sweet songs. Davey will be joined on the night by his handsome friend and Gruntbucket frontman Mikey Madden playing a set of sweet songs as well.

GHETTO GHETTO

Q&A DEAD in DEAD I’m pretty much pissing my pants laughing the whole time. People who still buy your music despite not having to in the digital age, and people doing what they are passionate about. Our music has taken us all over the world: it’s a fucking privilege. What do you hate about the music industry? Bands are severely underpaid. I hate this. It makes it very hard to continue doing what we do beyond a part time level. How do you stop your pre-gig jitters? Stop them? That’s bonus energy, use it!

Define your genre in five words or less: Minimum wage core. Bearing the terrible clichéd nature of this question, what do you reckon people will say you sound like? A lot of people say we sound like Lightning Bolt and OM, though those two bands could hardly be more different to me. We sound like two blokes with Little Man Syndrome desperately trying to punch above our weight and usually pulling it off. What do you love about making music? I love touring. The awesome people we meet touring and bands we get to see. Independent record stores, radio, media, venues, etcetera, who support you and introduce you to new music. Driving 10 hours to a show that doesn’t even pay your petrol bill can suck but if I’m on the road Beat Magazine Page 70

What advice would you give to bands that are new on the Melbourne music scene? Don’t play for longer than your set time at gigs. No one is stoked when they have to cut their set short ‘cause the opening band overplayed and then spent 10 minutes chatting with their mates on stage. Media outlets will convince you that advertising with them will greatly beneﬁt your band’s exposure. Don’t be pushed into spending more money on an ad for your gig than you are even going to get back in door sales. Seek advice from others but don’t let anyone tell you how to operate your band. It’s your band, your time, your money. It takes guts to stick to your guns sometimes but it is totally worth it. Anything else to add? The Australian pressing of our LP is now sold out. You may be able to snag a copy from Thornbury Records, Round and Round, Broken Glass, Tym Guitars or Blackwire Records (Sydney). Otherwise we will have a ﬁstful of copies of the US version at Trentfest.

Ghetto Ghetto bring their two-piece mayhem to the Old Bar on Thursday May 24. Dirty riﬀage with underlying pop tendencies, it’s both simultaneously tantalizing and trashy. Garage, rock‘n’roll, punk-blues, whatever, it’s good stuﬀ. Along for the weeknight party will be Bad Vision with their slice of garageproto-punk. Get down to The Old Bar on Thursday May 24 and get some good tunes in those ears. Entry is $8 (cheap! You can’t even buy a pint for that these days!) and doors are at 8pm.

After four years, two EPs, 130+ shows, and many memorable moments on stage and off, Melbourne’s Box Rockets have decided to call last drinks on their time together as a group. To cap it all off, and as final ‘thank you’ to everyone who has ever supported the band, Box Rockets’ final showdown will happen on Friday May 25 at The Cornish Arms on Sydney Rd Brunswick. They will stun the punters into silent awe with their soulful rockin’ tunes. But first, support comes from the angel eyed Twoks, a spectacular D&V duo. You’ll be amazed, or dead. Opening the night is the lone gunslinger Tom Milekovic, who’ll rough you up a bit, but then dilate your pupils with his beautiful music. Doors at 9pm, entry is free.

SIOBHAN The past year has been a busy one for Melbourne acoustic singer-songwriter Siobhan. She was selected to participate in the 2011 FreeZa Central Mentoring Program which saw her being mentored by Jen Cloher. Her track Penny Farthing was released alongside the July 2011 edition of Triple J Magazine. Siobhan spent the majority of 2011 working closely with engineer Ross Calia at Tone Collective Studios in North Fitzroy, jointly producing her highly anticipated debut album Soldier Heart. The First single Don’t Take Her Heart If You’re Gonna Let Her Down released in February this year, is slowly establishing Siobhan as one of Melbourne’s 2012 artist to watch, with her album set for release tonight. Head along to the Toﬀ In Town to witness this album launch, with support from special guest Emmy Bryce. Doors from 7.30pm, with tickets on sale from Moshtix for $10+bf, or $12 on the door.

ELIZABETH ROSE The 21-year-old electronic/pop producer Elizabeth Rose, has turned heads since her debut track Never Fear surfaced on community radio and triple j airwaves, as well as countless blogs late last year. She was also named a Next Crop 2012 artist by triple j in December. Her skilful blend of astral beats, shadowy samples and lofty pop melodies prompted an impressive list of invitations to play Parklife, Harvest, Peats Ridge, Field Day, along with supporting tours for Chairlift and most recently Snakadaktal on their soldout national run. Witness her aura on Sunday May 26, along with support from special guests. Doors from 8pm, with tickets available from Moshtix for $10+bf, or $12 on the door.

DEF FX THESE HANDS The Grace Darling Hotel in Collingwood hosts a night of instrumental rock featuring These Hands, The Television Sky, Duck Duck Chop and Onion on Friday June 1 at 9pm. These Hands have just released their long-awaited full-length album Endlessly, a densely layered epic that broods and jars through shifting cycles. The Television Sky plays a smouldering fusion of classical and post-rock inﬂuences, delicate as spider webs and brittle as broken glass. Duck Duck Chop bring to the night a joyous, anarchic spirit to their wild jagged sounds. The evening will be opened by Onion, with guitar-based sonic textures. $12.

Def Fx will be bringing their electronic beats and samples, rock/metal instrumentation and grunge vocals ﬁrst taking over Australia in the early ‘90s to the stage to bring back a killer live show. Def Fx draws comparisons with artists as disparate as Pink Floyd, Metallica and The Prodigy. Although DEF FX hasn’t taken the stage for 15 years, their ever-vivacious lead vocalist, Fiona Horne has stayed true to her musical roots. Now, with only two more weeks to wait, the reunion tour will give fans a well-awaited chance to relive the experience of Def Fx and take part in the evolution of the band’s history. Don’t miss the Def Fx Reunion tour at The Corner Hotel on Saturday June 2.

THE OCEAN PARTY THE GRACEMAKERS Melbourne indie folk pop duo The Gracemakers will be celebrating the success of their self-titled EP, with a launch party at The Wesley Anne Hotel this Saturday May 26. The band’s music is a beautiful expression of sweetness and love aimed directly at the heart and their single Blanket, lifted from the four-track EP, has garnered airplay and fantastic support at community radio across the country. Their live shows have been leaving audiences entranced by the sublime vocals of Tiﬀany Kommedal and the musicianship of guitarist Kent Morris. The Gracemakers EP launch will feature renowned drummer Davey Pinder and special guest Daniel Bowden. Doors open at 8pm. Tickets $10

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Remember those days of summer that passed you by before you could ﬁnd your swimmers and borrow the car for a trip to the beach? Well, you can make all your sandy dreams come true on Wednesday May 23 when the ever amazing Ocean Party bring their buddies Motifs and Icy Poles along to Bar Open to dazzle you with shimmering tunes and fun. This will be your last chance to catch The Motifs for the next six months and one of your only chances to catch the amazing Icypoles, who rarely come out to play and are incredible! Free entry so you’ve got no excuse (unless you can’t borrow the car, in which case just take the 112 tram/jetski/fantasy baywatch jeep etc). Doors 8pm, free entry.

LOVE CONNECTION Love Connection launch their second album, Euphoria, on Friday May 25 at The Northcote Social Club. The launch of Euphoria will be one of the ﬁnal Love Connection shows before they relocate to New York in July. Special guests on the night will be Montero and Angel Eyes. Tickets are available from Northcote Social Club.

KEL SOMEONE A dirty Friday night under lights Kel Someone play their ﬁrst inner-city show this Friday May 25. Saddle up from 9pm at Pony. Standing on the shoulders of great friends Lunaire and Lights On At Heathrow. Songs you have never heard. A band you have never seen. Dip your toe in at Pony on Friday May 25. Doors from 9.30pm

DOUBLEBLACK Doubleblack are back at The Retreat Hotel to give Sydney Rd a dose of weapons grade rockin’ on Friday May 25. Former Fireball Matt Black’s crew are juiced up and ready to set the double bass to ‘stun’ as they play tracks from their current CD Make Mine A Double. Add to that Melbourne livewires The Vendettas and you have a night of crazed rock’n’roll that no self respecting aﬁcionado can aﬀord to miss.

DAVE LARKIN BAND After a brief touring jaunt with Cold Chisel in late 2011, the mighty Dave Larkin Band are back for one very special show at Phoenix Public House on Saturday June 2. The enigmatic Dallas Crane/Gun Street Girls frontman rolls ten years of songwriting gold into one very rockin’ outﬁt showcasing a stellar back catalogue and a swag of new gems from his forthcoming album. Limited edition pre-sale T-Shirt Tickets (where you buy a T-shirt instead of a ticket) are now on sale at davelarkin.com.au and have been selling extremely well already. Regulation tickets are also available from davelarkin.com.au and phoenixpublichouse.com. Put this one in your diary folks. Local lineups don’t get much better than this.

HOWARD Howard’s blend of world music and psychedelia has lead them to explore different possibilities of instrumentation. The five-piece have been playing venues around Melbourne, gaining quite a substantial following in a short amount of time. Thurday May 24 will see them play with Agility, a band having recenty played a packed out single launch at The Evelyn Hotel, with their EP soon to follow and The Fletcher, a four-piece whose incredible folky sounds have gained them a lot of recognition and fans after a flurry of shows. While starting the evening at 8.30pm is the Jarrod Chase Quartet, an NMIT Jazz collective.

BLANCHE DUBOIS

LONG HOLIDAY

Perth-based sisters Nadija and Adriana Begovich are trekking across the Nullarbor for a string of shows on the eastern sea board with their full band this May through to June. Blanche DuBois’ music is a unique blend of sweet acoustic pop, tinged with a hint of country and a smattering of heart. It’s the beauty in the ordinary, the every day. They’ve supported artists such as Jewel, Sarah McLachlan, Crosby Stills and Nash, Joe Cocker, Paul Kelly, Kasey Chambers, Missy Higgins and The Bangles. Head along to The Toﬀ this Sunday May 27, with tickets on sale for $15+bf from Moshtix. Supporting is the lovely Whitaker.

Newly formed heavy rock trio Long Holiday will be ripping into the Melbourne live scene with their wall of raw, femalefronted rock at Pony on Thursday May 24. Consisting of members of Uncle Chunk and ex Tim McMillan band, Long Holiday have moved fast while producing their debut LP (due out later this year), and have a string of explosive grunge-esque rock tunes to penetrate your inner ear. With support from grunge queens Thrasher Jynx and hard rocker outﬁt Street Fangs, this is a line up to ensure you get your ﬁx of chaotic, in your face rock. Doors from 8.30pm

DANIEL CHAMPAGNE Daniel Champagne is launching his exciting new record Real Live, and capturing the energy and spirited atmosphere of his show-stopping live gigs, honed over more than four years on the road. Daniel’s now-signature explosion of two-hand tapping, body percussion and fiery runs in a variety of different tunings, alongside sublime jazzy finger picking and tasteful improvisation have become hallmarks of his impressive live shows. Head to The Toff on Tuesday May 29, for the launch, with support from special guest Ainslie Wills. Doors from 8pm.

QUITCOALLAPALOOZA On Saturday May 26 from 9pm Wildcat General Strike, Brother Johnstone, The Townhouses, Lucas Paine & Band, Anna Smyrk & The Appetites, Mechanical Pterodactyl, and Harrison Grove will come together at The Evelyn for Quitcoallapalooza. With the diverse array of artists and performers you’re set for a night of fun and music, celebrating and fundraising for Quit Coal, one of Australia’s most splendid and vibrant environmental collectives.

MUSIC NEWS

YOUR COMPREHENSIVE LOCAL GUIDE

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ROCK ‘N LOAD The mighty Electric Mary will headline the inaugural Rock 'N Load festival at The Espy on Saturday May 26. This rounds out an impressive 32 band lineup of local and interstate rock acts sweating it out across the entire venue. Catch Electric Mary, Bugdust, The Stiﬀys, King Of The North, Ten Thousand, Heaven The Axe, I Am Duckeye, The Charge, Anna Salen, Hailmary (WA), Shadowgame, The Morrisons, Beggars Orchestra (NSW), Bottle Of Smoke, System Of Venus, Arcane Saints, Apache Medicine Man, Riot In Toytown and heaps more – all for a mere 21 bucks! Check out rocknloadfestival. com for full lineup and ticketing info.

THE AFROBIOTICS

SANS GRAS

The Afrobiotics are a six-piece Melbourne based band that breathe new life into the sound of West Africa and bring a powerful message of resistance to the next generation of afro-beat. The Afrobiotics weave layers of guitars, rhythm, hypnotic bass, organ, horns and drums ready for the dance ﬂoor, this is afro-beat medicine administered directly to your soul. The action kicks oﬀ at The Old Bar this Saturday May 26, doors at 10pm, free entry.

Sans Gras will perform new material taken from their forthcoming EP Shed Your Woes when they tackle The Gracement –The Grace Darling Basement – for a month long residency this May. The band has invited some of their favourite Melbourne acts to join them on stage. Tonight the band will be supported by High Tea.

KETTLESPIDER

True Live are a truly unique entity. Since their very first performance in 2005, they have defied categorisation and belonged to a genre all of their own. With each of the band’s six prodigal members bringing their own set of influences to the table, the outcome is something unlike anything you’re accustomed to hearing. After touring Europe for an extended period of time, they’re coming back for a special show at The Evelyn Hotel on Friday May 25 at 9pm, with some very special guests.

Kettlespider have burst onto the live scene in 2012 displaying mesmerising musicianship and superior song writing. This young, fresh instrumental ﬁve-piece are blessed with talent way beyond their years and already have a loyal fanbase in the Melbourne scene. They too will launch a new release; their debut album entitled Avadante. They join forces with White Cell on Saturday June 2 at The Evelyn who will also be launching their new release. Supported by Driven To The Verge and Death By Six, with a late set by the heavy mash-up DJ- LJ Esquire. Doors open from 8.30pm.

BOB DYLAN TRIBUTE EVENING In celebration of Bob Dylan’s 71st birthday in May, some of Melbourne’s ﬁnest musicians will be playing tribute to the great man at Gertrudes Brown Couch on Sunday May 27. Acts playing on the night will include The Happy Lonesome, Kieren P. West, Michael Plater & The Lonesome Hobos, Pete Azzopardi, Mark Cadle, The Tattered Sails, Brendan Mitchell, Craig-Lee Smith, and Matt McFarlane. Song choices will span forty years of Dylan, and range from the perennially popular to the deﬁantly obscure. Doors are at 5pm and entry is $5.

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TRUE LIVE

SCARLET GUNN Melbourne band Scarlet Gunn are ready to attack the Pony Bar in their debut 1am late show appearance on Thursday May 24. A female fronted original rock band, they will blow the Pony away (and everybody in it) with their hardhitting power-rock assault! The four members have been actively performing around Melbourne for years and are no strangers to the stage, always entertaining audiences. Free.

THE WOOHOO REVUE Melbourne’s The Woohoo Revue are back with another installment of absolute dance ﬂoor mayhem presenting their new album Moreland’s Ball. Tearing up, down and around the country with a string of tour dates beﬁtting a road hardened band of troubadours, you can catch The Woohoo Revue at their hometown launch The Hi-Fi this Friday May 25.

Beat Magazine Page 71

ALBUM OF THE WEEK GRAVEYARD TRAIN

AIRIT NOW

Hollow (Spooky Records)

WEDNESDAY 23 MAY RESIDENCY

POCO LA PAX THE MCQUEENS

DONATION ENTRY, 9PM

THURSDAY 24 MAY

HOWARD

AGILITY THE FLETCHER JARROD CHASE QUARTET ENTRY $5, 8:30PM $2.50 POTS, $5 VODKAS!

FRIDAY 25 MAY

AUSTRALIAN RETURN

TRUE LIVE DJ PREQUEL

ENTRY $15, 9:30PM

SATURDAY 26 MAY

QUITCOALLAPALOOZA

WILDCAT GENERAL STRIKE BROTHER JOHNSTONE THE TOWNHOUSES LUCAS PAINE & BAND ANNA SMYRCK & THE APPETITES MECHANICAL PTERODACTYL HARRISON GROVE ENTRY $10, 8PM

Melbourne’s best kept secret is well and truly out of the bag. Having already plundered the country’s pubs, Graveyard Train have matched their climb to larger venues and larger crowds with an album that is big in sound, big in presence and big in voice...plus, they’ve added drums. From the ﬁrst moment you hit play, it’s apparent that you have stumbled upon the darker, seedier and meaner side of the ‘alt-country’ street. This side of the street doesn’t favour the aforementioned genre’s love of structured harmonies and sweet melody either. Harmonies are replaced by chain-gang back-up vocals, and the only thing that could be described as sweet is the tone of the electric guitar, which would cut your throat if it heard you referring to it as such. To the ear, the slide guitar is sleazy, the drums punchy and the vocals hauntingly drenched in reverb. Although the songs are all of a similar vein, with the band knowing their strengths and sticking to them, the tales of mud, blood and all things dark and gloomy have captured what audiences have grown to love about Graveyard Train best. Served up is an album that goes from folk bar-room balladry (on personal favourite Mary Melody) to scream therapy (on One Foot In The Grave), and everything in-between. Whilst The Sermon acts as a bleak take on its namesake and explains away any dreams of the afterlife one might have, lead single I’m Gone demonstrates the band embracing the heavier rhythm section on the record with a pulsating beat that captures the locomotive feel of the words being spat through a distorted microphone. With the obvious talents of Loki Lockwood at the helm, Mr. Spooky Records himself has used his work with other purveyors of the ‘dark side’ such as Six Ft Hick, as arsenal for what looks to be one of his most anticipated full length records in a while. Lockwood is known to fans of the genre for being one who enjoys his guitars loud and his bottom end heavy, almost sounding like they were recorded in a swamp. This time around there is certain clarity in the sound that ensures every instrument the guys choose to wield (and

MATINEE - SINGLE LAUNCH SUN HYLAND

KIRIN J CALLINAN

SUMMON THE BIRDS PRIESTESSA ENTRY $10, 2PM

LOKI HIDING WITH BEARS ENTRY $10, 9PM

MONDAY 28 MAY

RESIDENCY – FINAL NIGHT

ESC ZANZIBAR CHANEL AMANITA RAT & CO KOKATSUNI ONANI

DONATION ENTRY (PROCEEDS GOING TO CHARITY), 8PM $10 JUGS!

TUESDAY 29 MAY

RESIDENCY – FINAL NIGHT

KUMAR SHOME & THE PUNKAWALLAHS TRIO ALVORADA UNCOMFORTABLE SCIENCE ENTRY $10, 9PM $10 JUGS!

COMING UP TIX AVAILABLE THRU MOSHTIX: THE CACTUS CHANNEL (MON IN JUNE) SIMON WRIGHT (TUES IN JUNE) VAN MYER (WED IN JUNE) INTO THE WOODS + AUTUMN GRAY (31 MAY) THE THOMAS OLIVER BAND (NZ) (1 JUNE) WHITE CELL + KETTLESPIDER – DOUBLE ALBUM LAUNCH (2 JUNE) GLASFROCH – REMIX LAUNCH (3 JUNE) HIATUS KAIYOTE (7 JUNE) LAURA (8 JUNE) SKA WEEKENDER (9 JUNE) FORCES + DIAMOND (10 JUNE) MAJOR TOM & THE ATOMS – EP LAUNCH (15 JUNE) THE VAUDEVILLE SMASH (16 JUNE)

WIIW (Way II War) (Siberia/Remote Control) The video for Way II War is upsetting. I couldn’t pee alone for a month after I saw The Ring, and have since tried to avoid surreal gothic tableaux involving creepy children and dead horses, but my editor liked this video and recommended I watch it. My editor will be accompanying me to the bathroom for a little while. (I’ll do this, as long as everyone watches this video – ed.)

THE SALVADORS

Merrily (Independent) Triple j-backed Adelaide quintet The Salvadors launch a new single, ahead of their debut album release later this year. Sounds an awful lot like Vampire Weekend. It’s diﬃcult to get enthusiastic about a song that is so painfully derivative.

OWL EYES

Crystalised (Wunderkind) Crystalised is the lead single from Owl Eyes’ new EP, Bad Reality. It opens with icy bursts of synth and guns into a killer new disco hook, dreamy but compelling. Brooke Addamo’s voice drifts across the beats in an Olivia-Newton-John-circa-Xanadu fashion, sweet and very occasionally gutsy, lush and seductive.

BURIED FEATHER

In The Sun (Independent) Melbourne psych rock quartet Buried Feathers launched the single In the Sun last weekend, a muddy swirl of reverb underpinned by a dogmatic rhythm; hi-hat clapping steadily and kick drum every second beat. The drummer must be very bored or concentrating very hard on counting to four.

BAND OF SKULLS

Sweet Sour (Liberator Music) Band Of Skulls come oﬀ all Jack White with this pitching blues rock number. The instrumentation is sparse and dirty, and the cyclical refrain dominates the song, “Sweet sour, sweet sour, sour by the minute but you’re sweeter by the hour.” Sharp.

LIONHEIR

WOOLY BULLY

there are many) is given the space and dynamics it needs to make up the song. With Graveyard Train’s gradual entry to more commercial radio playlists such as triple j, this clarity is sure to lure a whole new wave of fans who will no doubt cop a nice surprise when they arrive at their ﬁrst gig and drown in a sea of beards and sweat. Having caught the guys live at last year’s Meredith, and watched as the entire crowd removed their shoes in what was appreciation of their songs, I have no doubt we’ll be seeing the guys added to more festival lineups this year. The 11 songs on this album will surely go down a treat too, with every one featuring sing along vocals that audience members can try out their baritone on whilst waving their shoes in the air. Best Track: Mary Melody If You Like This, You’ll Like These: Anything on Spooky Records, anything at The Old Bar. In A Word: TombstoneBlues CAM EWART

KINGFISHA

Looking Glass (Independent) I generally can’t fathom reggae. I’ve worked really hard and had a few breakthroughs here and there, but overall it’s not my scene. Looking Glass is very easy listening, however, light on the faux zen, karma-wary spiritualism that plagues the genre, so smooth and understated it verges on soulful. Not sure I can forgive the whole kishﬁsh-ah business, however. Kingﬁsher is not hard to spell.

CHANCE WATERS

Maybe Tomorrow (Independent) Bouncy, bouncy, bouncy, bouncy, bouncy, bouncy pop hop. Sydney MC Phatchance is set to release an album under his (allegedly) real name Chance Waters and this is the ﬁrst single, a song-heavy ray of sunshine with a bunch of acoustic guitar and some deft rapping bits. Not bad. Sadly reminds me of the Fun Loving Criminals.

SINGLES OF THE WEEK THE RUBENS

Don’t Ever Want To Be Found (Ivy League) Don’t Ever Want To be Found is shiver-inducing lo-ﬁ blues rock from emerging Sydney quartet The Rubens, a gutsy blend of Cream and Hendrix-style psychedelia and a dirty garage rock sensibility. Singer Elliott Margin toys with the listener, dropping notes in lazy around the beat while the lead guitar squirrels around a spacious and memorable riﬀ. Hot, dark sounds.

BOY & BEAR

Big Man (Universal) Boy & Bear have rocketed through the last 12 months in a shower of sparks and stardust kicked oﬀ by their excellent debut album Moonfire. The ride is ending with ﬁreworks; I think their last single from that record is also their best. Demure, bittersweet and beautiful, Big Man has some of the most memorable lines Dave Hosking has yet written, including this one: “I fell in this position/I’ll still teach my kids pride/Because failure’s a part of it all/And if failure don’t hurt/Then failure don’t work.” These few simple words are imbued with All That Is Hard and Lovely About Life.

NIKI AND THE DOVE DJ

Waterfall (Independent) Byron-based Lionheir (aka Paul Appelkamp) enjoys the loose horns and twanging guitar riﬀs of ‘50s rhythm and blues. His voice is happy and carefree – a light-hearted version of Josh Pyke, maybe, or a less animated version of Jack Peñate. Lionheir might swing a little more than his contemporaries, but the general aesthetic is similar; a nice, harmless boy singing a nice, harmless song. Beat Magazine Page 72

1. Griﬃn THE MEDICS 2. Dumb Hope SHADY LANE 3. The Stolen Name ONLY THE SEA SLUGS 4. I’ll Love You Until Monday Morning WILDING 5. Second Day Uptown WORLD’S END PRESS 6. Bugs HIRA HIRA 7. I’m Gone GRAVEYARD TRAIN 8. The Sleepers Heart THE OYSTER MURDERS 9. The Boogieman FLAP! 10. Words are Circles INLAND SEA

SINGLES BY SIMONE Te Occidere Possunt Sed Te Edere Non Possunt Nefas Est (They can kill you, but the legalities of eating you are quite a bit dicier). David Foster Wallace

SUNDAY 27 MAY

TOP TENS

Ease My Mind (Universal) Fronted by Kate-Bush-reborn singer Malin Dahlström, Niki and the Dove are a Swedish synth band that delivered at least one soul melting performance at SXSW – this epic tune is a welcome reminder. Lifted from the band’s debut album, Instinct (out this week), the song is a whomping, spacious and perfectly crafted pop tune, ﬁlled with life and longing. Brilliant.

FOR MORE REVIEWS GO TO BEATTV.COM.AU/REVIEWS

1. Split LP SCOTT & CHARLENE’S WEDDING/PEAK TWINS 2. Hard Rubbish LP LOWER PLENTY 3. I Made Blood Better LP MAD NANNA 4. Stranglin’ You Too 7” SLUG GUTS 5. I Feel So Far Away: Anthology 1974-1998 LP MOE TUCKER 6. Idolize 7” FORCES 7. Ex Tropical LP LOST ANIMAL 8. Everything Goes Wrong LP CONSTANT MONGREL 9. S/T LP REAL KIDS 10. Acid Perm Tape SKY NEEDLE

SYN SWEET 16 1. Tucan KIDSOF88 2. Jumanji AZEALIA BANKS 3. Roll Forever WHITE ARROWS 4. Goodnight BLOODS 5. Vivid LEMONADE 6. Henrietta YEASAYER 7. Boy EMMA LOUISE 8. Merrily THE SALVADORS 9. Heavenly Beat MESSIAH 10. Don’t Ever Want To Be Found THE RUBENS

3RR SOUNDSCAPE 1. Hair TY SEGALL AND WHITE FENCES 2. Soul Cal: Disco & Modern Soul 1971-1982 VARIOUS ARTISTS 3. Medicine Man THE BAMBOOS 4. Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions BILLY BRAGG & WILCO 5. Bellows And Breath SEAWORTHY 6. Hollow GRAVEYARD TRAIN 7. The Only Place BEST COAST 8. Gallons WINTER PEOPLE 9. Valot Kaukaa NUOJUVA 10. Immigration Union IMMIGRATION UNION

COLLECTORS CORNER AND MISSING LINK 1. Out To Die AURA NOIR 2. Smell My Finger HARD-ONS 3. Aberrant Years FEEDTIME 4. Tape Acid Perm SKY NEEDLE 5. Mazes Remixes MOON DUO 6. Live VI ISIS 7. Relapse MINISTRY 8. Beard Wives Denim POND 9. Magazine MAXIMUM ROCK N ROLL 10. The Way Of All Flesh TEARGAS

PBS TIPSHEET 1. Standing Strong YUNG WARRIORS 2. Urban Turban CORNERSHOP 3. Immigrant Union IMMIGRANT UNION 4. Coal Mining Blues MATT ANDERSON 5. Medicine Man THE BAMBOOS 6. The Little Sisters THE LITTLE SISTERS 7. Hollow GRAVEYARD TRAIN 8. Live at Third Man Records JERRY LEE LEWIS 9. Studio One Sound VARIOUS ARTISTS 10. Burrowing to Light In The Land of Nod TRAPPIST AFTERLAND

BEAT’S TOP TEN SONGS ABOUT BANGING 1. Fuck You DR DRE 2. Sexy Lady DAM-FUNK 3. Tired Of Sex WEEZER 4. Sexy Results DEATH FROM ABOVE 1979 5. Sex Planet R KELLY 6. Sexual Healing MARVIN GAYE 7. Sex Intelligent THE-DREAM 8. Da Ya Think I’m Sexy? ROD STEWART 9. The Thong Song (Nick Taras Cover Version) SISQO 10. Sex Bomb TOM JONES

ALBUMS

DIRT FARMER

Dirt Farmer EP (Independent) FOR MORE REVIEWS GO TO

BEAT.COM.AU/REVIEWS

THE CULT

Choice Of Weapon (Shock Records) One of Britain’s finest rock outfits, The Cult will surely be touring this record well into their 30th year of existence. Due to be released in Australia on this Friday May 25, Choice Of Weapon comes five years after the critically-acclaimed 2007 release Born Into This. The album has been produced by Bob Rock (Metallica, Bush) and Chris Goss (Queens Of The Stone Age) and it shows. Fans looking for The Cult that produced She Sells Sanctuary will find them rawer, less theatrical, with Ian Astbury’s vocals more akin to those of Bush’s Gavin Rossdale than their goth rock efforts of the ‘80s. Echoing elements of The Cure’s 2004 self-titled release, this is essentially an angry record. The lyrics reek of discontent and frustration and the vocals have an urgency not felt in the band’s earlier work. Despite the clear themes articulated by the band – disconnection, destruction of our natural world, the struggle to find individual purpose – some tracks hit the mark while others miss. The opening track Honey From A Knife is an excellent testament to an oldschool band who can still produce the goods, joining Amnesia as another highlight of the album. The track Lucifer, one of the band’s less inspiring efforts from Choice Of Weapon, is available online at thecult.us as a free download and a bit of a taster to fans. Best Track: Honey From A Knife If You Like This, You’ll Like These: BUSH, THE TEA PARTY JOSH FERGEUS In A Word: Rockin’

IOWA

Never Saw It Coming (Aerial Mines Records) Melbourne, the cultural epicentre of the world (well, Australia fo’ sure), produces some truly excellent bands. But, there’s so many awesome acts doing their thing in the pubs and bars of the city that it’s hard to pick which ones will make it beyond the city sphere. The Temper Trap, Gotye and Oh Mercy spring to mind as a few that have made it in the last few years. But, it’s Iowa that will be the next, just you take note. With their grungy guitar-based tunes, driving percussion and Nirvana-esque grunge, they’re the ones that will dominate the near future of Australian music. As their debut album Never Saw It Coming contests, the band is versatile – each song rocks a different vibe, rhythm and influences. In fact, it’s versatility that sets them out as individual against every other emerging guitar band. Opener Good Control begins with a nice, strong percussion beat followed by the introduction of sexy guitar and bass lines. The vocals are Nirvana-like and distant, evoking the essence of ‘90s grunge like so many other groups try to do but fail. Contrastingly, Sunday is mystical and nostalgic, with background reverberation that echoes a winding path through a misty wood. But its follower, Lights Out, takes an altogether different tack, reaching back to grunge for its hunching, dark backbone. Ultimately, Iowa embodies the essence of music that’s born in Melbourne. It’s black, smoky, authentic, real, cold and warm all at once. It’s a winter night in a packed venue where all that matters is the music. It’s Brunswick, Northcote, Carlton, Fitzroy, Abbotsford and Best Track: Panic Attack the city, everywhere in between and soon to be more. If You Like This, You’ll Like These: Early NIRVANA In A Word: Melbourne-is-Seattle-all-over-again ALEXANDRA DUGUID

Dirt is sorely underappreciated as a critical ingredient in nature. Without it, the entire food chain, and the survival of humanity would be at risk. Plants grow in dirt, dirt houses bacteria that are fundamental to the inter-dependencies of the biosphere, dirt holds stuff in the ground. Dirt is good, man. And Dirt Farmer’s self-titled debut EP is even better. You can take a track like Kick It and run it up against any classic pop song and you’ll walk away with the shiteating grin on your face of an acid-freak who’s just discovered the secret of the world while walking naked in a cornfield. Or you can reach out to the harmony-laden Beach Boys-meets-Doors pop lament of Johnny Marble and pull it close to your chest like the lover you’ve spent your adolescence yearning for. If you’re unsure, take a casual stroll into Turtles territory with Real Young and you’ll find everybody’s as happy as a pig in shit, with very good reason. If you don’t reckon Showgirl is the apex of the ‘60s bubblegum pop experience writ large, then you haven’t realised the importance of The Monkees as a pop cultural phenomenon. And then there’s the Louie Louie inspired threechord garage brilliance of Honey, complete with the psychedelic guitar freak-out – this is the shit. Best Track: All of them If You Like This, You’ll Like These: THE MONKEES, THE Is there anything left to say? Probably not – and, besides, everyone’s dancing anyway. SEEDS and THE TURTLES In A Word: Perfect PATRICK EMERY

WILDING

Bird’s Bread (Laughing Outlaw) It’s common to view the late ‘60s through the distorted lens of the baby boomer generation’s historical revisionism. Street marches, libertarian sexual philosophy, political agitation, Nehru jackets and the rest. The reality is far more complex – why, for example, did Nixon win the presidency in 1968, John Gorton triumph in 1969 and Engelbert Humperdinck out sell Jimi Hendrix – but the mythology makes for much better pop culture. Wilding’s debut album Bird’s Bread is bristling with the alleged optimism of yore. Take opening track I’ll Be There: the country village whimsy of John Lennon with a delightfully inebriated Ringo Starr at his heel. Or The Kinks wide-eyed wonder of Pale Blue Eyes, or even the psychedelic pop-love of Burning Up Inside? She’s A Casual User takes to the dusty plains with an arm full of Gram Parsons records and a dose of mescalin and has the best time, ever; the sadness of The Day I Let You Pass Me By is as soft as the proverbial baby’s backside. The kaleidoscopic comic edge of I’ll Love You Until Monday Morning would bring a smile to any Brill Building songwriter, Alopecia is dirty in a nice-boy sort of way, Are You Listening? and Lost Afternoon are two aspects of the moment of solitude Brian Wilson spent years subconsciously wallowing in. Yet it’s a fundamental mistake to see Wilding as either indulging or labouring the retro-psych-pop thing. Stripped of the labelling and gratuitous historical associations, Bird’s Bread is a seriously good pop Best Track: Pale Blue Eyes If You Like This, You’ll Like These: THE KINKS, VILLAGE record. And that is all that counts. GREEN PRESERVATION SOCIETY In A Word: Sparkling PATRICK EMERY

ELECTRIC GUEST

PENNYWISE

Mondo (Dew Process)

All Or Nothing (Epitaph) After proving himself to Aussie fans on the Soundwave tour 2011, new frontman Zoli Teglas has undertaken the challenge of writing with the seminal punk rock act on their tenth studio album. When opener and title track bursts through the speakers, things sound promising. The album kicks off at full speed – and the pace doesn’t ease up from start to finish. Musically interesting, full of energetic foot-to-the-floor riffs, a fast steady punk beat and embellished by expert guitar lead breaks and licks (see All Or Nothing, Tomorrow and the harmonic tricks on Generation X), the album reflects the band’s maturity and experience while still stylistically maintaining true to their punk roots. Lyrically, however, it lacks the same consistency. While songs such as All Or Nothing and Generation X are quite wellcrafted, tracks often feature cringe worthy rhymes (“It’s time we had our say/The injustice cannot stay”) best observed on Let Us Hear Your Voice. While undoubtedly catchy, this wannabe rock anthem is dripping with corn. Like much of the album, lyrically Let Us Hear Your Voice sounds less like the incensed protest of a political punk band and more like a motivational speech (perhaps an attempt to mimic Jim Lindberg’s rally cries?), and personal number Seeing Red is delivered with much more conviction and aggression. Vocally capable, approaching the task with a much more melodic style and a fantastic ear for hooks, Teglas complements and enhances select tracks (Revolution, Generation X) but others come across as cheesy (We Have it All, All Along, Tomorrow). With undeniably memorable, sing-along tracks and flat-out punk rock riffs, All Or Nothing is a release of reasonable quality, and not a bad listen. But lyrically unsound and heavily melodic, it mightn’t tick the right boxes for older Best Track: Generation X If You Like This, You’ll Like These: THE OFFSPRING, SUM 41 fans. In A Word: Lukewarm KIMBERLEY CROXFORD

At what point does a celebration of cheesiness break the bounds of what it’s celebrating, and become something stronger, deeper and more profound? That’s an excellent question, and Electric Guest, a band from Los Angeles who have just released their debut LP Mondo, might just be the ones to answer that conundrum. Comprising Matthew Compton, Asa Taccone (whose brother Jorma came up with the charming Saturday Night Live ditty Dick In A Box – so take from that what you will) and brothers Todd and Tory Dahlhoff, Electric Guest (featuring the one and only Danger Mouse in the producer’s chair) have created a record that celebrates – sometimes to an almost alarming degree – the catchy, upbeat and, yes, downright cheesy sounds of mid-‘70s to mid-‘80s FM adult-oriented “yacht rock”. And it is, in all truthfulness, a mighty thing indeed. Where to start? Holes kicks the proceedings off with lo-fi keyboards, deep bass grooves and a certain MGMT-esque tongue-in-cheek sense of humour, whereas Under The Gun, with its tinkling piano, space effects and sing-song chorus bring to mind what would happen if Georgio Moroder and Hall & Oates had a love child. Awake shuffles brazenly between feel-good R&B, fuzzy disco and ‘80s synth-pop; and the epic eight-minute long Troubleman reminds me of something Kenny Loggins might have written at the peak of a fevered magic mushroom dream. It’s all quite wonderful, and the rewards of repeated listening are bountiful. Equal parts loving tribute and calculated emulation of the glory days of FM pop, Mondo does what it says on the tin. Is it deep or profound in any way? No, not really. But hell, can you groove to it? The answer to that is an emphatic yes. For at the end of the day, Electric Guest have created a piece of work that takes all the disparate influences of hiphop, disco, contemporary adult pop and soul and then makes the result all its own. Highly recommended. I just cannot stop listening to this. Best Track: Awake If You Like This, You’ll Like These: DANGER MOUSE, THOMAS BAILEY MGMT, LOGGINS AND MESSINA, HALL & OATES In A Word: Cheese

SPIRITUALIZED

Sweet Heart Sweet Light (Domino) They say you make your own luck. In the case of Spiritualized, for protagonist Jason Pierce, aka J Spaceman, that’s a double-edged sword. Pierce’s tumultuous, substanceladen lifestyle has undoubtedly contributed to the bad luck Pierce’s medical dramas over recent years – a near-death event a few years ago, compounded by six months of medical treatment last year. Conversely, the fact that Pierce can continue to create records of the unbridled quality of the latest Spiritualized album, Sweet Heart Sweet Light, is a matter of talent, not good luck. Opening with the swelling ambient spiritualism of Huh, Pierce segues seamlessly into garage pop with the Velvets-inspired Hey Jane; on Little Girl, Spiritualized is in psychedelic MOR territory where the sparkling Californian waters take on hitherto unknown shape and form. On You Get What You Deserve, Pierce returns to the dirty Manchester clubs of 1987 finding memories of a world lost to chemical exploration; on Too Late Pierce loiters in the shadows of love, pondering what might have been. From there the mood swings from sadness to bravado – witness the Stooges-esque Headin’ For The Top Now for some grime-filled melodic rhetoric. Freedom is quaint and touching, I Am What I Am is New York attitude through the eyes of a Detroit shop rat and Mary drips with emotion. Life Is A Problem is the ultimate under-statement constructed in a ambient haze; So Long You Pretty Thing is reflective English religious whimsy when the stiff upper lip has been softened by the blows of life in all its confronting guises. By rights, Jason Pierce should have entered the Best Track: I Am What I Am realms of departed musical legends many years ago. If You Like This, You’ll Like These: ARETHA FRANKLIN, The fact that he hasn’t is a miracle that even the COUNTRY JOE AND THE FISH and, obviously, Vatican should acknowledge. SPACEMAN 3 In A Word: Spiritual PATRICK EMERY

JULIA HOLTER Ekstatis (Spunk)

Ekstatis is one of those albums that sounds more like it was recorded in outer space than someone’s bedroom. Holter has been crafting her sound over the past four years, culminating in last year’s debut album Tragedy, but on Ekstatis she has truly found her voice. In The Same Room is the first cut to catch your attention: a weirdly poppy mash-up of music box delicacy and ‘80s arcade game buzzing with conversing vocals layered over it, but this is soon overtaken by other less immediate cuts that are slower to reveal their pleasures. Picking out the gems amongst the album’s complex tapestry is a joy, my current favourite being the slow motion mushroom-cloud of Boy In The Moon, a blissful eight-and-a-half minutes of edgy ambience in the style of Laurie Anderson. There’s an unsettling friction between classical and unconventional sounds throughout that gives Ekstatis a feel all of its own. It’s predominately head music, so it’s a nice surprise when some heart is applied and the real Julia shines through. The Goddess Eyes songs hit a personal note with the lyric, “I can see you but my eyes are not allowed to cry”; emotive even when sung through icy-cold vocoder. The album slips at the last hurdle, with the blurting horns and aimless ‘la, la, la’ vocals of the last few minutes of This Is Ekstatis marking Best Track: Boy In The Moon the point where the novelty has finally worn off – it’s a If You Like These, You’ll Like This: Ha Ha Sound minor blip on an otherwise thrilling radar. BROADCAST, Bright Red LAURIE ANDERSON In A Word: Otherworldly CHRIS GIRDLER

FOR MORE ALBUM NEWS AND REVIEWS GO TO WWW.BEAT.COM.AU

Beat Magazine Page 73

GIG GUIDE WEDNESDAY 23 MAY ROCK/POP

ALEX ANONYMOUS + BEAR THE MAMMOTH + LEBELLE + LEFT FEELS RIGHT Revolver Upstairs, Prahran. 7:30pm. $10. ATTACK OF THE MANNEQUINS + GOODBYE GALAXY Cherry Bar, Melbourne Cbd. 7:00pm. BITTER END + BLKOUT Bendigo Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm. $8. POCO LA PAX + THE MCQUEENS Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy. 9:00pm. S CLUB + BIG BROVAZ + MR 95 Palace Theatre, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $60. SANS GRAS + HIGH TEA Grace Darling Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm. $10. SPERMAIDS + DEAD + TTTDC Tote Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm. THE OCEAN PARTY + THE ICYPOLES + THE MOTIFS Bar Open, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. YOU & THE COLONIES + MR LUKE BRENNAN Workers Club, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. $5.

ACOUSTIC/COUNTRY/BLUES/FOLK ADELE & GLENN (CD LAUNCH) Standard Hotel, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. CHRIS RUSSELL’S CHICKENWALK + SUZIE STAPLETON BAND + THE VELVETS Old Bar, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. GUY KABLE Kent St Bar, Fitzroy. 9:00pm. HAYLEY COUPER + LINCOLN MCKINNON Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 8:30pm. OPEN MIC Dancing Dog, Footscray. 7:00pm. OPEN MIC Thornbury Local, Thornbury. 7:00pm. OPEN MIC Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick. 7:00pm. OPEN MIC & JAM NIGHT Grind N Groove, Healesville. 8:00pm. SIOBHAN (ALBUM LAUNCH) + EMMY BRYCE Toﬀ In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 7:30pm. $10. THE ANOMALIES + THE WALNUTS Gertrudes Brown Couch, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. $5. THE ELLIOTS Veludo Bar & Restaurant, St Kilda. 9:00pm. WINE WHISKEY WOMEN - FEAT: KRISTEN VIRAG + CYNDI BOSTE + KATE WALKER Drunken Poet, West Melbourne. 9:00pm. ZEPTEPI + SARAH EIDA + STOMP DOG Kindred Street Front Space, Yarraville. 8:00pm. $10.

JAZZ/SOUL/FUNK/WORLD MUSIC ADE ISHS TRIO Horse Bazaar, Melbourne Cbd. 7:30pm. $5. BOPSTRETCH Uptown Jazz Cafe, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. DIZZY’S BIG BAND Dizzy’s Jazz Club, Richmond. 8:00pm. $14. EMMA GILMARTIN TRIO Paris Cat Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd. 9:00pm. $15. KEWTI + EDELPLASTIK 303, Northcote. 8:00pm. SALVO BROTHERS TRIO Cruzao Arepa Bar, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. THE PAUL GRABOWSKY QUARTET Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne. 8:30pm. $15. TIM DAVIES BIG BAND Chapel Oﬀ Chapel, Prahran. 8:00pm. $28. TULLY SUMNER Open Studio, Northcote. 8:30pm.

THURSDAY 24 MAY ROCK/POP

1AM LATE SHOW - FEAT: SCARLET GUNN Pony, Melbourne. 1:00am. 29TH APARTMENT ACOUSTIC NIGHT - FEAT: TIM BRAUN 29th Apartment, St Kilda. 9:00pm. ALEKS & THE RAMPS + PAPA PILKO & THE BINRATS + THE OCEAN PARTY + TOTALLY MILD Espy, St Kilda. 8:00pm. COURTNEY BARNETT Tago Mago, Thornbury. 9:00pm. DEAD RIVER + CLOWNS + MOTHER SLUG + SYSTEM OF VENUS The Prague, Thornbury. 8:00pm. DEVIN + THE DELTA RIGGS Northcote Social Club,

Beat Magazine Page 74

Northcote. 8:00pm. $35. EXPATRIATE + LOWLAKES Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 7:30pm. $12. FRASER A GORMAN + SLEEP DECADE Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 9:00pm. IAIN ARCHIBALD + GIANTS UNDER THE SUN + PIXIE JUICE + THESE CITY LIGHTS Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick. 9:00pm. LONG HOLIDAY + STREET FANGS + THRASHER JYNX Pony, Melbourne. 8:30pm. PVT Phoenix Public House, Brunswick. 8:30pm. $20. ROADIE INDUSTRY NIGHT - FEAT: DRIVE BY EPIC + FREAKS OF THE DEEP + LOU DONNIE’S MUG CITY + MULTI-CORE Noise Bar, Brunswick. 8:30pm. $10. SYN FM COMMUNITY CUP - FEAT: DRUNK MUMS + DAMN TERRAN + HOWLIN’ STEAM TRAIN + SHERRIF + UDAYS TIGER Tote Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm. THE KUJO KINGS DISNEY SONG TRIBUTE + THE FURROWS + THE PAPER STREET SOAP COMPANY Revolver Upstairs, Prahran. 8:00pm. $7. THE SKAMPZ Monash University Caulfield, Caulfield East. 9:00pm. THE VIBRAPHONIC ORKESTRA + MIDDLE C + THE IMPRINTS + VIBEMASTER Yah Yah’s, Fitzroy. 9:00pm. $5. TOM VEK & KINDNESS & JONATHAN BOULET (TRIPLE HEADLINE) The Hi-fi, Melbourne. 9:00pm. $44. VULTURES OF VENUS + ANQURIUS + GOLGOTHA MOTEL + MASS CYGNET Bar Open, Fitzroy. 9:00pm. WALL OF MIRRORS (ORBITOR LAUNCH) + ALTA + MOON DICE Grace Darling Hotel, Collingwood. 9:00pm. $10. WINTER PEOPLE + BATTLESHIPS + TEXTURE LIKE SUN Workers Club, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. $12.

ACOUSTIC/COUNTRY/BLUES/FOLK 8 FOOT FELIX + TULLAH Lomond Hotel, Brunswick East. 8:30pm. ACOUSTIC NIGHT 29th Apartment, St Kilda. 9:00pm. ANDY WHITE & KAVISHA MAZZELLA Wesley Anne, Northcote. 8:00pm. $15. ASH NAYLOR Rainbow Hotel, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. CATCH RELEASE + ANNA PADDICK & THE SPEKULATOR + THE DARK ALES John Curtin Hotel, Carlton. 8:00pm. COLD HARBOUR + LITTLE MURDERS Great Britain Hotel, Richmond. 9:00pm. CONRAD & COMPANY Open Studio, Northcote. 8:30pm. DANIEL PETERSON + NICOLETTE FORTE Horse Bazaar, Melbourne Cbd. 7:30pm. DIGANI GACIGA + EMMIE & CLANCY + ROXY LAVISH + SUPER FAT FRUIT Great Britain Hotel, Richmond. 8:00pm. FLOYD THURSBY Drunken Poet, West Melbourne. 8:00pm. GHETTO GHETTO + BAD VISION + QUINCE Old Bar, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. $8. GHOST TOWNS OF THE MIDWEST + EATEN BY DOGS + THE WILD COMFORTS Idgaﬀ Bar & Venue, Abbotsford. 8:00pm. GUY KABLE + PETER SPARK Labour In Vain, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. HARRY MANX + YESHE Corner Hotel, Richmond. 8:00pm. $42. HOWARD + AGILITY + JARROD CHASE QUARTET + THE FLETCHER Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. $5. OPEN MIC Acoustic Cafe, Collingwood. 6:30pm. OPEN MIC Arcadia Hotel, South Yarra. 7:00pm. RUBY’S SHOWCASE Ruby’s Lounge, Belgrave. 7:00pm. SAVIDAS + PRIESTESSA & JSHWA Bar Betty, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. THE EMMA WALL BAND + MELISSA J EVANS Gertrudes Brown Couch, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. THE GINSENGS Rice Queen, Fitzroy. 7:00pm. THE HORNETS + THE RIDGEBACK BLUES BAND Musicland, Fawkner. 8:30pm. $10. THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN BAND Edinburgh Castle, Brunswick. 7:00pm. VICUNA COAT Bar Nancy, Northcote. 8:00pm. WIRED - FEAT: JAMES GOWANS + ANNIKA KEEFER + BEK DOERY + CARLY SCERRI Bendigo Hotel, Colling-

ROCK ‘N LOAD Copious amounts of rock’n’roll tickle your fancy? Of course it does, and with the likes of Electric Mary, Bugdust and The Stiffys headlining a mammoth 32 band lineup at The Espy Hotel on Saturday May 26, the inaugural Rock ‘N Load festival is sure to tickle a bunch of those special places. All that and more for a meager 21 bucks! wood. 8:00pm. $10.

JAZZ/SOUL/FUNK/WORLD MUSIC ANTON DELECCA QUARTET Paris Cat Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd. 9:30pm. $15. BARNEY MCALL’S CHAOS LENTO Chapel Oﬀ Chapel, Prahran. 8:00pm. $28. BOB SEDERGREEN Malvern Town Hall, Malvern. 8:00pm. $28. GIANNI MARINUCCI & THE ROGER CLARK QUARTET Dizzy’s Jazz Club, Richmond. 8:00pm. $14. JAMES MULLER & DARREN SIGESMUND’S STRANDS SEXTET Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne. 8:30pm. $20. RB’S LIVE - FEAT: JAMES MORRISON Red Bennies, South Yarra. 7:00pm. $49. ROBBIE MELVILLE & THE NAT BARTSCH TRIO Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne. 8:30pm. $15. SABABA Veludo Bar & Restaurant, St Kilda. 9:00pm. SPIRAL DANCE + DAMH THE BARD 303, Northcote. 8:00pm. $25. TANGO RUBINO Cruzao Arepa Bar, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. THE FUNKADELIC SIDE Cherry Bar, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $10.

FRIDAY 25 MAY ROCK/POP 23 ANGLES OF ATTACK + ELECTRIC WAR BABIES + FAHRENHEIT 43 Noise Bar, Brunswick. 8:00pm. $5. 2AM LATE SHOW - FEAT: NERVOUS Pony, Melbourne. 2:00am. BATTLE OF THE BANDS - FEAT: CAST IRON + BELIEVERS IN FICTION + BRUTAL ASSAULT + CHAINED LIZARD + DEFYING THE NORM + FRETTBUZZ + MISS NICHOLS + SECOND CHANCE EXIT Musicland, Fawkner. 7:00pm. $10. BELL BIV DEVOE & GINUWINE + BELL BIV DEVOE + GINUWINE Trak Lounge Bar, Toorak. 8:00pm. BLANCHE DUBOIS Palais, Hepburn Springs. 8:30pm. BOX ROCKETS + THE TWOKS + TOM MILEK Cornish Arms, Brunswick. 8:00pm. BRITISH INDIA (SINGLE TOUR) + BOY IN A BOX + THE LATONAS Corner Hotel, Richmond. 8:30pm. $25. DALLAS FRASCA + DAVID KNIGHT + RICK STEWARD Ruby’s Lounge, Belgrave. 8:07pm. $15. DAN DINNEN DUO + LILY & KING Penny Black, Brunswick. 9:30pm. DEAF AMBITIONS LAUNCH PARTY - FEAT: HUNTING GROUNDS + DRAKE THE FAKE + DRUNK MUMS + THE RED LIGHTS Phoenix Public House, Brunswick. 9:00pm. DOUBLEBLACK + DJ TRAFFIC JAM + THE VENDETTAS Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 9:30pm. DUNE RATS + SCOTDRAKULA + UDAY’S TIGER Workers Club, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. $10. GASOLINE INC (SINGLE LAUNCH) + DEAD STAR RENEGADE + HOWLING DOLLHOUSE + WARBIRDS Revolver Upstairs, Prahran. 9:00pm. $10. I AM DUCKEYE + BEGGARS ORCHESTRA + COPSE +

SUBMIT YOUR GIGS TO GIGGUIDE@BEAT.COM.AU

DANA ROSKVIST + DIVE INTO RUIN Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick. 8:00pm. KEL SOMEONE + LIFGHTS ON AT HEATHROW + LUNAIRE Pony, Melbourne. 9:30pm. LOVE CONNECTION (ALBUM LAUNCH) + ANGEL EYES + MONTERO Northcote Social Club, Northcote. 8:30pm. $10. MALOZEN + MONTREAL MOVEMENT YOG Idgaﬀ Bar & Venue, Abbotsford. 8:00pm. MANHATTAN JINX (ALBUM TOUR) + CAMP DAVID + PAPER ARMS + THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS Bendigo Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm. MAY BLACKWATER + DOT THE EYES + MOTH + WHITE VEIN The Prague, Thornbury. 8:00pm. MICKEY AVALON + HAVE NOTS + KID MAC + SLIPPERY MCS Espy, St Kilda. 8:00pm. MUNRO MELLANO & THE SKIES Thornbury Local, Thornbury. 10:00pm. PLAGUE DOCTOR + BUTCHER FLORIST + THE MOMENT POPS John Curtin Hotel, Carlton. 8:00pm. RANDOM PLAY Prahran Rsl, Prahran. 7:30pm. SIMMER Bar Open, Fitzroy. 10:00pm. SUMMERSET AVENUE + IKARII + OLD BRIDGEWATER + THE QUARTERS Espy, St Kilda. 8:00pm. THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT Palace Theatre, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $52. THE EXOTICS + THE BLUEBOTTLES Grace Darling Hotel, Collingwood. 9:00pm. $10. THE NO REAL NEED (NONLOCAL MOTIVES LAUNCH) Town Hall Hotel, North Melbourne. 10:00pm. THE PATRON SAINTS Tago Mago, Thornbury. 9:00pm. THE PREACHERS + HOUNDS HOUNDS HOUNDS + THE MESSENGERS Yah Yah’s, Fitzroy. 9:00pm. TRUE LIVE + DJ PREQUEL Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy. 9:00pm. $15. TUMBLEWEED + KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD + SUN GOD REPLICA Tote Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm. UNDEAD APES + DJ VON ONION + EYES OUT + LATE ARVO SONS + USELESS CHILDREN Old Bar, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. VICTOR PENDER Cape Cafe, Fitzroy. 8:00pm.

ACOUSTIC/COUNTRY/BLUES/FOLK DALTON GANG & DARCY LE YEAR Pascoe Vale Rsl, Pascoe Vale. 8:08pm. $8. DALTON GANG PLUS DARCY LE YEAR Pascoe Vale Rsl, Pascoe Vale. 8:00pm. $8. JAMES MCCANN Gem Bar, Collingwood. 8:00pm. JESSE & HIS HUCKLEBUCKERS Lomond Hotel, Brunswick East. 9:30pm. JUMPIN JACK WILLIAM + TOR LARSEN Balaclava Hotel, Balaclava. 9:00pm. LLOYD SPIEGAL Rainbow Hotel, Fitzroy. 9:00pm. NATASHA ROSE Edinburgh Castle, Brunswick. 6:00pm. PAPA PILKO & THE BINRATS + PLAYWRITE Wheelers Hill Hotel, Wheelers Hill. 8:00pm. SALOON SHAKER - FEAT: THE QUARRY MOUNTAIN DEAD RATS + THE RECHORDS + GRIZZLY JIM LAWRIE + RUBY BOOTS + SAINT JUDE + TRACEY MCNEIL BAND Caravan Music Club, Oakleigh. 8:00pm. $18.

SECOND HAND HEART + FIELD TRIP + THE BASEMENT PEOPLE + WISHFUL Blue Tile Lounge, Fitzroy. 7:30pm. $5. SONS OF LEE MARVIN + UPTOWN ACE Victoria Hotel, Brunswick. 9:00pm. ST ANDREWS OPEN MIC & JAMM NIGHT St Andrews Hotel, St Andrews. 8:00pm. STRAYLOVE + DROOLING MOUTHS OF MEMPHIS + WILD COMFORTS 303, Northcote. 8:00pm. $8. THE COMMON ELECTRIC + ALFRED HARUA Bar Betty, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. TOP ACTS 2012 Palais Theatre, St Kilda. 7:30pm. $20. TRADITIONAL IRISH MUSIC SESSIONS - FEAT: DAN BOURKE Drunken Poet, West Melbourne. 6:00pm. UPSTANDING MEMBERS Edinburgh Castle, Brunswick. 8:30pm.

JAZZ/SOUL/FUNK/WORLD MUSIC A FRENCH BUTLER CALLED SMITH 7:30pm. $18. BARNEY MCALL Malvern Town Hall, Malvern. 8:00pm. $40. CANNONBALL & OLIVA CHINDAMO Paris Cat Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd. 9:30pm. $20. FIFTH FRIEND (LP LAUNCH) + FIERCE MILD + OPENER Cherry Bar, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $13. GIL ASKEY & THE ROGER CLARK QUARTET Dizzy’s Jazz Club, Richmond. 9:00pm. $20. JENNY M THOMAS & THE SYSTEM Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne. 8:00pm. $18. JULIE O’HARA SEXTET Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne. 8:30pm. $25. MAD MEN Chapel Oﬀ Chapel, Prahran. 8:00pm. $18. MISTER Rice Queen, Fitzroy. 7:00pm. SOUL FIST - FEAT: JUMPIN JOSH & SYE SAXON DJS Luwow, Fitzroy. 9:00pm. $10. THE CONCERTED COLLECTIVE + DJ HAIRY CHICKS + LEON WAN + NICHOLAS BONG Club Voltaire, North Melbourne. 7:00pm. THE KIT KAT CLUB - FEAT: THE JELLY TUB ROLLERS Red Bennies, South Yarra. 7:00pm. THE SIMON HUDSON BAND Cruzao Arepa Bar, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. THE TEK TEK ENSEMBLE Open Studio, Northcote. 8:00pm. THE WOOHOO REVUE The Hi-ﬁ, Melbourne. 8:30pm. $15.

SATURDAY 26 MAY ROCK/POP

2AM LATE SHOW - FEAT: THE EUPHORIACS Pony, Melbourne. 2:00am. 3/4 BEAST + A BETTER PLACE + BLANKS + HUSK Pony, Melbourne. 9:00pm. ABSOLUTELY 80S - FEAT: BRIAN MANNIX + DALE RYDER + DAVID STERRY + SCOTT CARNE Ferntree Gully Hotel, Ferntree Gully. 8:00pm. $25. BAD ACHES + BEAT DISEASE + BITS OF SHIT Tote Hotel, Collingwood. 4:00pm. BANG - FEAT: D AT SEA + DAVE PARKER + SHELLY SEGAL Royal Melbourne Hotel, Melbourne Cbd. 9:00pm. $20. BJ MORRISZONKLE + TRAPIST AFTERLAND + WINTER PALACE Idgaff Bar & Venue, Abbotsford. 8:00pm. BLACK ACES + DESTROY SHE SAID + PUSH TO TWIST Cherry Bar, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $13. BLACKCHORDS (SINGLE LAUNCH) + BAYOU + CANARY Workers Club, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. $15. CLAMPDOWN Rochester Castle Hotel, Fitzroy. 9:00pm. CURSING TOMORROW + BLIND BEATROOT + LEGLESS Idgaff Bar & Venue, Abbotsford. 3:00pm. $5. DANNY WALSH & JOHNNY LIVEWIRE + DANNY WALSH + JOHNNY LIVEWIRE Drunken Poet, West Melbourne. 9:00pm. ELIZABETH ROSE Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $10. EMPRA (ALBUM LAUNCH) + COLA WARS + ZENITH ASP Revolver Upstairs, Prahran. 8:00pm. $15. FEM BELLING & THE JOE RUBERTO TRIO Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne. 8:30pm. $25. GO-GO SAPIEN + POM POM First Floor, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. $8. HIGHWAY 61 REVISITED Cornish Arms, Brunswick. 8:00pm. HOUSE OF ROCK Palace Theatre, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $15. JOHN FLANAGAN & THE BEGIN AGAINS (YOUNG MINDS LAUNCH) + TANGLE OF STRINGS Spenserslive, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $18. MILDLIFE + YOLKE MELBOURNE CANS John Curtin Hotel, Carlton. 8:00pm. NATURALLY 7 + TOM THUMB Palais Theatre, St Kilda. 3:01pm. $79. NUMBER STATION (EP LAUNCH) + SON’S + THE RAFFAELLAS + THE RED LIGHTS Grace Darling Hotel, Collingwood. 9:00pm. $8. PAUL REID (EP LAUNCH) + BRENDAN JAMES + WATERLINE + WATSON & WATSON Noise Bar, Brunswick. 8:00pm. $5. PLAYWRITE (SINGLE LAUNCH) + HAYDEN CALNIN + I A MAN Phoenix Public House, Brunswick. 9:00pm. $10. PUNX PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS - FEAT: THUNDABOX + HOPES ABANDONED + OUR BEST LAID PLANS + PUBLIC LIABILITY Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick. 9:00pm. QUITCOALLAPALOOZA - FEAT: WILDCAT GEN-

BEAT ARTIST PROFILE

DUNE RATS

TUMBLEWEED Well you certainly won’t be hearing any of their namesakes at their three shows at The Tote this weekend. Iconic reformed band Tumbleweed play three radical shows this weekend at The Tote on Friday May 25, Saturday May 26 and Sunday May 27. Support is from a host of local legends. ERAL STRIKE + ANNA SMYRK & THE APPETITES + BROTHER JOHNSTONE + HARRISON GROVE + MECHANICAL PTERODACTYL + THE TOWNHOUSES Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy. 9:00pm. $10. READY STEADY GO - FEAT: DJ EMMA PEEL + DJ MOHAIR SLIM Grace Darling Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm. $10. ROCK N LOAD - FEAT: ELECTRIC MARY + THE STIFFYS + ANNA SALEN + APACHE MEDICINE MAN + ARCANE SAINTS + BEGGARS ORCHESTRA + BOTTLE OF SMOKE + HAILMARY + HEAVEN THE AXE + I AM DUCKEYE + KING OF THE NORTH + SHADOWGAME + SHADOWQUEEN + SYSTEM OF VENUS + TEN THOUSAND + THE CHARGE + THE MORRISSONS + THE VENDETTAS Espy, St Kilda. 2:00pm. $25. SMOKE MACHINE + THE FUTURAS Town Hall Hotel, North Melbourne. 6:00pm. STREAMS OF WHISKEY + TIM SCANLAN Bendigo Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm. STRIKE ANYWHERE + DAYBREAK + JOSH MANN + OUTRIGHT + STOLEN YOUTH Northcote Social Club, Northcote. 8:00pm. $22. THE AFROBIOTICS Bar Open, Fitzroy. 10:00pm. THE BLUEBOTTLES + DJ XANDER + THE BULLETES Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 10:00pm. THE BREADMAKERS + DJ BRUCE MILNE Luwow, Fitzroy. 9:00pm. $10. THE DEATH RATTLES + DJ KEZBOT + SKYSCRAPER STAN & THE COMMISSION FLATS + SUICIDE SWANS + THE HAYLEY COUPER BAND Old Bar, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. $10. THE GREASY HAWAIIANS Town Hall Hotel, North Melbourne. 10:00pm. THE KILL + COUNTER ATTACK + DEBACLE + INEBRIATOR + MICHAEL CRAFTER The Prague, Thornbury. 8:00pm. $10. THE MAN IN THE MIRROR Palais, Hepburn Springs. 8:30pm. THE OCEAN The Hi-ﬁ, Melbourne. 8:00pm. $26. THE UV RACE + INTERZONE + RATSAK + RAW PRAWN Yah Yah’s, Fitzroy. 9:00pm. $10. THREE TIME THRILL + BRENT HAYHURST + DANIEL MCGUIRE + HOME TO KELLY Ruby’s Lounge, Belgrave. 8:00pm. THROWING FRISBEES - FEAT: MESA COSA + THE WHIPPED CREAM CHARGERS + ALI E + BAD TASTE + FLYING COLOURS + ON SIERRA + SMOKE SIGNAL + THE SHARDS Victoria Hotel, Brunswick. 3:00pm. $10. TUMBLEWEED + KALEIDOSCOPE + SONS OF THE IONIAN SEA Tote Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm. VICTOR PENDER Cape Cafe, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. WICKED ANNABEL + NICK BONES Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick. 5:00pm. WOLFPACK + 12FU Lyrebird Lounge, Ripponlea. 9:00pm.

ACOUSTIC/COUNTRY/BLUES/FOLK ALEX LEGG St Andrews Hotel, St Andrews. 1:00pm. ANNA SMYRK & THE APPETITES Edinburgh Castle, Brunswick. 4:00pm. BATTLE OF THE BANDS Musicland, Fawkner. 7:00pm. $10. CHILDREN OVERBOARD + JOHNNY GOODALL Bar Betty, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. GEOFF HOLLINGS BAND Lomond Hotel, Brunswick East. 9:30pm. HEAVY BEACH (SINGLE LAUNCH) + PONY FACE + SINCERELY GRIZZLY + THE VELOCETTES Cornish Arms, Brunswick. 8:00pm. KRISTIN VIRAG Thornbury Local, Thornbury. 10:00pm. LANIE LANE (BANGITY BANG TOUR) + STEVE SMYTH + THE RUBENS Corner Hotel, Richmond. 8:30pm. LAUREN ELIZABETH - FEAT: LAUREN ELIZABETH AND BAND Tony Starr’s Kitten Club, Melbourne Cbd. 10:00pm. $5. NIGEL WEARNE & THE CAST IRON PROMISES + DAMON SMITH & THE QUALITY LIGHTWEIGHTS Rainbow Hotel, Fitzroy. 9:00pm. PETE SOUNDS + COWPER + EDWARD GUGLIELMINO Pure Pop Courtyard, St Kilda. 4:00pm. PLUG IN TV - FEAT: SOL NATION + BETH KING & THE HEMINWAY COLLECTIVE + DJUMBA + MORTISVILLE + PUZZLEDUST CIRCUS + RPG RADIO + THE MINPINS BAND 303, Northcote. 8:00pm. $10. RUBY BOOTS + PAPA PILKO & THE BINRATS Baha Tacos & Tapas Bar, Rye. 8:00pm.

Name of band member and instrument you play: BC Michaels: I play the drums. Bearing the terrible clichéd nature of this question, what do you reckon people will say you sound like? Some people say that we sound like some of the bands that we’ve toured with like The Drums and Best Coast, especially after the ‘surf’ genre gets mentioned. The rest claim we’re garage or something. Stoner pop suits us just fine. What do you hate about the music industry? That so much of it – the industry – is such a massive wank. What can a punter expect from your live show? They can probably expect two intoxicated dudes and a friend on bass all seeing who can head bang harder than the other, whilst attempting to play a song on boogie board, while crowd surfing. When’s the gig and with who? We’re touring our new single Fuck It down the east coast all this month, but our Melbourne show is at The Workers Club on Friday May 25 with ScotDrakula and Udays Tiger. Do you have any record releases to date? What are they? Where can I get them? Our new single Fuck It, and the Sexy Beach and Social Atoms EPs are available through iTunes, and at shows we have the last CD copies of Social Atoms. We’ll be releasing a new EP later this year and looking at [releasing] our debut album in 2013. What makes you happiest about what you’re doing? Not having to work a day job at the moment is probably the best thing. Also being able to see a whole bunch of cool places and meeting some rad people along the way. And what makes you unhappiest about what you’re doing? Not having a lot of money a lot of the time is the shittest thing. Centrelink doesn’t really pay the bills. Where would you like to be in five years? Hopefully playing shows overseas somewhere? I’m sort of living week to week right now so five years seems like a lifetime. Anything else to add? Tang Bangers 4 Life!

74 JOHNSTON ST FITZROY 9417 4155

www.theoldbar.com.au OPEN EVERY NIGHT 12PM - 3AM FREE WI FI

wednesday 23rd May

CHRIS RUSSELL’S CHICKENWALK SUZIE STAPLETON BAND THE VELVETS

8:30PM FREE

thursday 24th May

GHETTO GHETTO BAD VISION QUINCE

8:30PM $8

friday 25th May

UNDEAD APES - LAUNCH USELESS CHILDREN LATE ARVO SONS EYES OUT DJ VON ONION

8:30PM $10

saturday 26th May

THE DEATH RATTLES

SUICIDE SWANS SKYSCRAPER STAN & THE COMMISSION FLATS HAYLEY COUPER BAND DJ KEZBOT

8:30PM $10

sunday 27th May

DARLING DOWNS (SALMON/PENO) MATT BAILEY

8PM $8

monday 28st May

PALM SPRINGS (HARMONY/POOR PEOPLE) EXTREME WHEEZE ADAM SHERRY

8PM FREE

tuesday 29th May

LINK MEANIE SUPER XX MAN

8PM FREE

band bookings: bandbookings@theoldbar.com.au

SUBMIT YOUR GIGS TO GIGGUIDE@BEAT.COM.AU

Beat Magazine Page 75

SYN FM FREE KICK COMPETITION This Thursday May 24, a few of our favourite things are combining – SYN FM, the Community Cup, The Tote, and up-and-coming Melbourne bands. The Free Kick competition gives emerging bands the chance to battle it out for the Community Cup opening slot. In the running are bands that are regulars to our Music News section – Drunk Mums, Howlin’ Steam Train, Damn Terran, Sheriff and Udays Tiger. Go and show your support for your favourite. SPOONFUL Post Oﬃce Hotel, Coburg. 8:30pm. TESSA MCKENNA & THE SHAPIROS Union Hotel, Brunswick. 9:00pm. THE LISA MILLER TRIO Labour In Vain, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. THE LITTLE SISTERS Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 4:00pm. THE PATRON SAINTS Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 7:30pm. THE PERFECTIONS Penny Black, Brunswick. 9:30pm. THE TAYLOR PROJECT Union Hotel, Brunswick. 5:00pm. THE WEAPONS OF MASS DISFUNCTION St Andrews Hotel, St Andrews. 9:00pm.

JOE CHINDAMO TRIO Malvern Town Hall, Malvern. 8:00pm. $35. PALAVER Uptown Jazz Cafe, Fitzroy. 5:00pm. THE JAMES ANNESLEY QUARTET Chapel Oﬀ Chapel, Prahran. 8:00pm. $30. ULTRAFOX Rice Queen, Fitzroy. 7:00pm. UNIFIED GECKO + MONDO LOCO Revolt Artspace, Kensington. 8:30pm. $10.

JAZZ/SOUL/FUNK/WORLD MUSIC

ANTI FLAG + STRIKE ANYWHERE + THE FLATLINERS The Hi-ﬁ, Melbourne. 7:30pm. $38. BERNARD FERRIERE (CD LAUNCH) Ruby’s Lounge, Belgrave. 8:00pm. BLANCHE DUBOIS + WHITAKER Toﬀ In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $15. BOB DYLAN TRIBUTE - FEAT: PETE AZZOPARDI + THE HAPPY LONESOME + BRENDAN MITCHELL + CRAIG-LEE SMITH + KIERAN P WEST + MARK CADLE + MATT MCPARLANE + MICHAEL PLATTER

ANNE HAYRES Open Studio, Northcote. 4:30pm. ARAKATAKA Cruzao Arepa Bar, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. COLECTIVO29 Open Studio, Northcote. 8:00pm. CRAIG SCHNEIDER & THE JOHN MONTESANTE QUINTET Dizzy’s Jazz Club, Richmond. 9:00pm. $20. GOYIM Bebida, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. HEATHER STEWART SINGS BILLIE HOLIDAY Paris Cat Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd. 9:30pm. $20.

SUNDAY 27 MAY ROCK/POP

“...effortless blending of traditional musical sensibilities with the band’s own vision of alternative folk rock” - INPRESS

THE GRACEMAKERS E P LAUNCH

Special Guest Daniel Bowden

THE GRACEMAKERS SELF-TITLED EP OUT NOW moshtix.com.au facebook.com/thegracemakers

Beat Magazine Page 76

ACOUSTIC/COUNTRY/BLUES/FOLK ANDY WHITE & KAVISHA MAZZELLA Burringa Cafe, Upwey. 8:00pm. $15. BJ TURNER Carringbush Hotel, Abbotsford. 4:00pm. BONAFIDE TRAVELLERS + LLOYD SPIEGEL Drunken Poet, West Melbourne. 4:00pm. BURL IVERS Thornbury Local, Thornbury. 4:00pm. CHELSEA DRUGSTORE Standard Hotel, Fitzroy. 7:00pm. CHRIS RUSSELL’S CHICKEN WALK + DEAN MULLER Cherry Bar, Melbourne Cbd. 2:00pm. CHRIS WILSON The Bay, Mordialloc. 4:00pm. DARLING DOWNS + MATT BAILEY Old Bar, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. $8. DEAN & CARRUTHERS Mentone Hotel, Mentone. 3:00pm. ESTEE BIG BAND Penny Black, Brunswick. 5:00pm. JEB CARDWELL Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 4:00pm. KELLIE DAY Edinburgh Castle, Brunswick. 5:00pm. LANIE LANE (BANGITY BANG TOUR) + THE RUBENS. STEVE SMYTH Corner Hotel, Richmond. 7:30pm. LES THOMAS & TRISTEN BIRD + LES THOMAS + TRISTEN BIRD + KATE MULQUEEN Bar Nancy, Northcote. 8:00pm. LOT 56 Rainbow Hotel, Fitzroy. 4:00pm. MONIQUE DIMATTINA BAND + KEN MAHER & TONY HARGREAVES Lomond Hotel, Brunswick East. 5:30pm. OPEN MIC Chandelier Room, Moorabbin. 4:30pm. OPEN MIC AT THE CHANDELIER ROOM Chandelier Room, Moorabbin. 5:30pm. PHIL CONNELL + DEB MANALLACK + SYLVIA FOX Idgaﬀ Bar & Venue, Abbotsford. 8:00pm. PHIL PARA DUO Bay Hotel, Mornington. 3:00pm. RUBY BOOTS + THE TRACY MCNEIL BAND Retreat

Hotel, Brunswick. 7:00pm. SARAH CARNEGIE Great Britain Hotel, Richmond. 7:00pm. SUNDAY JAM - FEAT: ROSS HANNAFORD Musicland, Fawkner. 7:00pm. THE LESLIE AVRIL BAND St Andrews Hotel, St Andrews. 3:00pm. THE PERCH CREEK FAMILY JUG BAND + PAPA PILKO & THE BIN RATS Post Oﬃce Hotel, Coburg. 4:00pm. WARREN EARLY & THE ATOMIC ROCKERS Gem Bar, Collingwood. 8:00pm.

JAZZ/SOUL/FUNK/WORLD MUSIC BOB UNPLUGGED Chapel Oﬀ Chapel, Prahran. 2:00pm. $28. CHRISTOPHER YOUNG QUARTET (CD LAUNCH) Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne. 8:30pm. $15. ENTROPY QUARTET Open Studio, Northcote. 4:00pm. GEMMA TULLY & THE THORNBIRDS 303, Northcote. 3:00pm. JOSE NIETO Cruzao Arepa Bar, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. JULES BOULT & CHRIS MAC + CHRIS MAC + JULES BOULT Prince Albert Hotel, Williamstown. 2:30pm. KEN SCHRODER TRIO Watermark, Docklands. 1:00pm. MILTON & RAY PEREIRA Kindred Street Front Space, Yarraville. 2:00pm. $8. PAUL WILLIAMSON’S HAMMOND COMBO Rainbow Hotel, Fitzroy. 9:00pm. $10. STONNINGTON SYMPHONY Malvern Town Hall, Malvern. 2:30pm. $35. THE DALE RYDER BAND + BAD BOYS BATUCADA + DJ ROCK LANDERS + NUDIST FUNK ORCHESTRA Espy, St Kilda. 8:00pm. VELVET CAKE GYPSIES Open Studio, Northcote. 8:30pm.

MONDAY 28 MAY ROCK/POP

CHERRY JAM - FEAT: OPEN MIKE MONDAYS + YOUR BAND Cherry Bar, Melbourne Cbd. 6:30pm. ESC + AMANITA + KOKATSUNA ONANI + RAT & CO + XANZIBAR CHANNEL Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND + SEAGULL Northcote Social Club, Northcote. 8:00pm. $41. OPEN MIKE MONDAY Cherry Bar, Melbourne Cbd. 6:30pm.

ACOUSTIC/COUNTRY/BLUES/FOLK DANIEL CHAMPAGNE + AINSLIE WILLS Espy, St Kilda. 8:00pm. LANIE LANE (BANGITY BANG TOUR) + THE RUBENS. STEVE SMYTH Corner Hotel, Richmond. 7:30pm. $20. PALM SPRINGS + ADAM SHERRY + EXTREME WHEEZE Old Bar, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. SECRET MONDAY ACOUSTIC SHOW Labour In Vain, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. SHANNON BOURNE Post Oﬃce Hotel, Coburg. 8:00pm. THE MONDAY DRFIT Empress Hotel, North Fitzroy. 8:00pm.

JAZZ/SOUL/FUNK/WORLD MUSIC PHIL NOY & THE ALLAN BROWNE TRIO Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne. 8:30pm. $15. THE DARYL MCKENZIE JAZZ ORCHESTRA + NICHAUD FITZGIBBON The Apartment, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $10. THE JAMES ANNESLEY QUARTET + THE KEIJZER/ DELECCA QUARTET 303, Northcote. 9:00pm. $8.

BALACLAVA HOTEL

SATURDAY MAY26 THE WESLEY ANNE 250 High Street, Northcote 8pm

& THE LONESOME HOBOS + THE TATTERED SAILS + THE WEBERMEN Gertrudes Brown Couch, Fitzroy. 5:00pm. $5. DAVEY LANE + MIKEY MADDEN Yah Yah’s, Fitzroy. 5:00pm. DEAD ALBATROSS + THE ASMATICS Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick. 9:00pm. I WANNA BE ADORED (A CELEBRATION OF THE STONE ROSES) - FEAT: THE DEMON PARADE + FIELD TRIP + GENERAL STRIKE + LOWTIDE + PRETTY HIGH + THE GENERAL LEES + WILDCAT Workers Club, Fitzroy. 4:00pm. $10. JASON LOWE + BUCKLEY WARD Pure Pop Courtyard, St Kilda. 4:00pm. JOHNNY GIBSON & THE HANGOVERS Victoria Hotel, Brunswick. 5:00pm. LIZ MARTIN + JAAC AMITY Grace Darling Hotel, Collingwood. 9:00pm. $15. OPA 303, Northcote. 8:00pm. $5. PENNY HEWSON Pure Pop Courtyard, St Kilda. 5:00pm. STEPHEN LOVELIGHT Grocery Bar, St Kilda. 8:00pm. SUMMON THE BIRDS (SONG FOR THE KID LAUNCH) + PRIESTESSA Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy. 2:00pm. $10. THE GUILD LEAGUE + MAJOR CHORD Northcote Social Club, Northcote. 1:30pm. $15. THE HIRED GUNS Labour In Vain, Fitzroy. 5:00pm. THE MERCURIALS Town Hall Hotel, North Melbourne. 6:00pm. THE NATIVE PLANTS Union Hotel, Brunswick. 5:00pm. THE UNKIND + IGOYA + STREETWALKERS Bendigo Hotel, Collingwood. 5:00pm. $6. THE ZINGERS + NUN + RITES WILD Bar Open, Fitzroy. 7:30pm. TIJUANA CARTEL + PIGEON Northcote Social Club, Northcote. 7:30pm. $25. TOMMY & THE FOG Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick. 5:00pm. TRANSVAAL DIAMOND SYNDICATE (PISTOLS AT DAWN TOUR) + GUTHRIE Cherry Bar, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. TUMBLEWEED + BUDD + KALEIDOSCOPE Tote Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm.

123 Carlisle Street, St Kilda East VIC 3183, Ph: (03) 9531 2709 www.facebook.com/BalaclavaHotel, Twitter: @BalaclavaHotel

Drink Specials FRIDAY NIGHTS: 4pm – 10pm $5 Coronas $5 Kopparberg Cider Bottles $8 Cocktails $8 Mountain Goat Pints MONDAY NIGHTS: 5pm – 9pm $12 Mountain Goat Jugs TUESDAY/WEDNESDAY/THURSDAY: 5pm – 9pm $6 Mountain Goat Pints

SUBMIT YOUR GIGS TO GIGGUIDE@BEAT.COM.AU

Food Specials MONDAY:

25TH OF MAY – 9pm

Jumpin Jack William + Tor Larsen

$12 Curry Night TUESDAY:

$12 Parmas and Burgers WEDNESDAY:

$15 Steak Night THURSDAY:

$12 Parmas and Burgers SUNDAY:

$12 Roast of the Day

YOU’LL FIND US AT 99 SMITH STREET FITZROY PH: 9419 4920 YAHYAHS.COM.AU BOOKINGS: MARY@BAROPEN.COM.AU

FRI 25 MAY

THE PREACHERS THU 24 MAY

THE VIBRAPHONIC ORKESTRA MIDDLE C VIBEMASTER THE IMPRINTS DOORS 5.00PM / BANDS 9.00PM

FREE ENTRY

OPEN 317 BRUNSWICK STREET FITZROY WWW.BAROPEN.COM.AU 03 9415 9601

SAT JUNE 2:

WEEKENDER THU JUNE 7:

OPEN TIL 5am

SUN 27 MAY

SAT 16 JUNE

DAVEY LANE

EIGHT MILES HIGH PSYCH, MOD, GARAGE, SHOEGAZE & SURF

THE DEMON PARADE SISTER JANE, LOWTIDE BURIED FEATHER FLYYING COLOURS

(YOU AM I / THE PICTURES)

& FRIENDS WITH SPECIAL GUEST

MIKEY MADDEN

DEEJAYS ANDREW COATES (BLACK CAB) & WES HOLLAND (SAND PEBBLES) TICKETS ON SALE NOW FROM MOSHTIX

FREE ENTRY

THU MAY 31:

LOS DOMINADOS, DIVINE FLUXUS PONY GYRL FRI JUNE 1:

ANDY YOUNG

OPEN TIL 5am

COMING UP

SHOOT THE SUN VIDEO LAUNCH SLOW CHASE, WILDERBEAST SWEET TEENS

LATE TUNES: LATE / FREE ENTRY AFTER MIDNIGHT

(GRUNTBUCKET / THE VANDAS) FREE ENTRY / DOORS 5.00PM / BANDS 8.00PM

BAR

THE UV RACE DOORS 5.00PM / BANDS 9.00PM

DOORS 5.00PM / BANDS 9.00PM / FREE ENTRY

DR LUDWIG

SAT 26 MAY

INTERZONE RAW PRAWN RATSAK

THE MESSENGERS HOUNDS HOUNDS HOUNDS TUNES: LATE

OPEN THU, FRI, SAT, SUN, 5:00PM TO LATE WITH DJs SPINNING YOUR FAVOURITE SOUL, 60s, ROCK’N’ROLL, SURF & GARAGE ALL NIGHT

BAYOU, MINIBIKES ALI E, LIL LEONIE LIONHEART FRI JUNE 8:

EMPIRE (EX- DEAD LOVERS LANE) HEARTS LIKE WOLVES THE GRACE OF GRAVES CITY OF SIRENS SAT JUNE 9:

VULTURES OF VENUES RED ROCKETS OF BORNEO SPERMAIDS HMAS VENDETTA

SUN JUNE 10 (QUEEN’S B’DAY EVE)

BLACK CAB BAPTISM OF UZI, HUMANS

WED 23 MAY

SAT 26 MAY

MON 28 MAY

THE OCEAN PARTY

AFROBIOTICS

SCREEN SECT FILM CLUB

10PM / FREE

‘BABY DOLL’

THE MOTIFS THE ICYPOLES 8PM / FREE

VULTURES OF VENUS 9PM / FREE

FRI 25 MAY

SIMMER 10PM / FREE

(ELIA KAZAN, 1956)

THE ZINGERS

7PM

RITES WILD NUN

THU 24 MAY

GOLGOTHA MOTEL MASS CYGNET ANQURIUS

SUN 27 MAY

8PM / FREE

COMING UP WED 30: UNCOMFORTABLE BEATS FRI 1: YOU N YOUR MUSIC / ECHODRAMA SAT 2: TROPICAL SPACE LAB SUN 3: LITTLE MURDERS WED 6: WORNG / CIRCULAR KEYS / MT MTUMBO FRI 8: LOTEK SAT 9: COOKIN ON 3 BURNERS FT. KYLIE AULDIST

TUE 29 MAY

MAKE IT UP CLUB 7PM

68-70 LIL’ COLLINS ST. MELBOURNE WWW.PONY.NET.AU 03 9662 1026

THU 24 MAY

LONG HOLIDAY THRASHER JYNX STREET FANGS

8.30PM

FRI 25 MAY

KEL SOMEONE LUNAIRE LIGHTS ON AT HEATHROW

SAT 26 MAY

3/4 BEAST HUSK A BETTER PLACE BLANKS

SCARLET GUNN

9.30PM

9.00PM

GEEK PIE

2.00AM FREE TUNES:

3.00AM FREE

1.00AM FREE TUNES: 2.00AM FREE

NERVOUS WHITE RABBIT

THE EUPHORIACS MR SHARP

SPERMAIDS DEAD, TTTDC

W/ GUESTS

THU 24 MAY SYN FM / COMMUNITY CUP PRES. “FREE KICK” BAND COMPETITION

DRUNK MUMS HOWLIN’ STEAM TRAIN DAMN TERRAN, SHERIFF UDAYS TIGER FRI 25 MAY ON SALE NOW

TUMBLEWEED

KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD SUN GOD REPLICA SAT 26 MAY FRONT BAR RESIDENCY 5-7PM

BAD ACHES

W/ GUESTS

BITS OF SHIT, BEAT DISEASE SAT 26 MAY ON SALE NOW

TUMBLEWEED

SONS OF THE IONIAN SEA KALEIDOSCOPE SUN 27 MAY ON SALE NOW

TUMBLEWEED BOOKINGS: LUKE@BAROPEN.COM.AU

“Shout ‘til you’re a little horse”

WED 23 MAY MAY RESIDENCY

Rockin ‘til 7:00am! BOOKINGS: ANDY FANTAPANTS@BAROPEN.COM.AU PH: 9417 2326

COMING SOON THURS 31 MAY: “WE’VE BEEN EXPECTING YOU” FEATURING MANOR, FIELD TRIP, DEAR LEADER THURS 31 MAY (LATE SHOW): BRIGHT STAR, FREE ENTRY FRI 1 JUNE: THE RAFAELLAS, ELLIOT THE BULL, ROSIE BURGESS TRIO, SHANACHIE FRI 1 JUNE (LATE SHOW): THE COUNCIL, FREE ENTRY SAT 2 JUNE: LES GARCONS (SINGLE LAUNCH) RETURN TO YOUTH, WHERE’S NICK?, I’LL BE AN INDIAN SAT 2 JUNE (LATE SHOW): DIRTY HARRIET & THE HANGMEN THURS 7 JUNE: THE MEAN TIMES, TELECOM, RENEGADE ROBOT COPS THURS 7 JUNE (LATE SHOW): THE KODIAK CLUB, FREE ENTRY FRI 8 JUNE: BLACK FOX, WINTER MOON, DINOSAURS EXIST FRI 8 JUNE (LATE SHOW): STRANGERS FROM NOW ON FREE ENTRY SAT 9 JUNE: HONEY BADGERS, BURIED FEATHER, BUCK CREEK, BIDET MATE

THE LEGENDARY PONY LATE SHOW / THE LATEST GIG IN TOWN / FRIDAYS & SATURDAYS / 2:00AM / FREE ENTRY SUBMIT YOUR GIGS TO GIGGUIDE@BEAT.COM.AU

BUDD, KALEIDOSCOPE

TUE 29 MAY FRONT BAR RESIDENCY / 8PM

MESSED UP VALLEY GIRLS

W/ GUESTS

TIX ON SALE NOW FROM TOTE FRONT BAR & OZTIX.COM.AU: THE MISSION IN MOTION, JONESEZ SUN 2 JUNE CASADELDISCO RECS 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY FRI 20 JUL FEAT. SOMERSET (NZ), BLUELINE MEDIC, HARMONY, MARGINS - LIMITED TICKETS LEFT! CASADELDISCO RECS 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY SAT 21 JUL FEAT. THE NATION BLUE, SOMERSET (NZ), BLUELINE MEDIC, GRENADIERS - LIMITED TICKETS LEFT! COMING SOON: THURS 31 MAY: ELLIOT THE BULL (NSW) + GUESTS FRI 1: X - FINAL SHOW! THURS 7: ‘ENTERTAIN US’ BOOK LAUNCH BY CRAIG SHUFTAN KEVIN MITCHELL, ADALITA SAT 9: HARD ONS FUNDRAISER: THE SPAZZYS, DEAD, BAT PISS TOTE MERCH ON SALE NOW / AVAILABLE FROM FRONT BAR: 2012 CALENDARS / T-SHIRTS / STUBBIE HOLDERS / STICKERS NEW! ‘PERSECUTION BLUES: THE BATTLE FOR THE TOTE’ DVDS ON SALE NOW! 71 JOHNSTON STREET (CNR WELLINGTON ST) COLLINGWOOD PH: 9419 5320 BAND BOOKINGS: AMANDA@BAROPEN.COM.AU WWW.THETOTEHOTEL.COM

TOTE OPEN: TUESDAY - SUNDAY 4.00pm ‘TIL LATE

Beat Magazine Page 77

TUESDAY 29 MAY + BEAT PRESENT...

ROCK/POP BRUNSWICK DISCOVERY - FEAT: SMELLS LIKE NIRVANA Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick. 8:00pm. KUMAR SHOME & THE PUNKAWALLAHS + TRIO ALVORADA + UNCOMFORTABLE SCIENCE Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. $10. LINK MEANIE + SUPER XX MAN Old Bar, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. MOTHER JACK Revolver Upstairs, Prahran. 7:30pm. PATRON SAINTS Cherry Bar, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. THE LIMELIGHT Order Of Melbourne, Melbourne Cbd. 7:00pm. $10. THE TEMPER TRAP + SEEKAE Forum Theatre, Melbourne. 8:00pm. $67.

THE WOOHOO REVUE Woohoo! The Woohoo Revue are back! If that glorious pun doesn’t make you excited, well maybe the prospect of seeing the adrenalinfuelled sounds of the band at The Hi-Fi on Friday May 25 will get you going. Nothing compares to the frantic mayhem of a Woohoo Revue show, so don’t miss out.

DANNY BROWN/M.E.D This is going to be an explosive double bill, kids. It’s headlined by one of the most original voices in recent years Danny Brown, alongside M.E.D from Stones Throw, one of the most reliable MCs from the most consistent labels of all time, and they play the Prince Bandroom this Thursday May 24. Hip to the hop.

ACOUSTIC/COUNTRY/BLUES/FOLK DANIEL CHAMPAGNE + AINSLIE WILLS Toﬀ In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. DAVID BRAMBLE 303, Northcote. 8:00pm. DAVID GARNHAM Labour In Vain, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. EMMA MCDONALD DUO Veludo Bar & Restaurant, St Kilda. 8:30pm. HARRY MANX Way Out West Roots Music Club, Williamstown. 8:00pm. $45. OPEN MIC Empress Hotel, North Fitzroy. 7:30pm. PHOENIX Pascoe Vale Rsl, Pascoe Vale. 8:00pm. $8. WAYWARDBREED Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 4:00pm.

JAZZ/SOUL/FUNK/WORLD MUSIC FROCK Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne. 8:30pm. $15. MELBOURNE IMPROVISORS COLLECTIVE PRESENTS - FEAT: THE HEY MISS JAZZ QUINTET + CALLUM G’FROERER + CHRIS FRANGOU’S SOUND THEORY Gertrudes Brown Couch, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. $6. SWINBURNE SECONDARY COLLEGE Dizzy’s Jazz Club, Richmond. 8:00pm. $14.

60 SECONDS WITH…

EMMA WALL BAND

whatson@thepush.com.au

ACCESS ALL AGES WITH RUTH MIHELCIC A lot of love has been shown to the all ages scene this week with a jam-packed weekend where there’s sure to be something to suit everyone’s preferences. On Friday take your choice of indie showcase Me, Myself and Indie in Croydon featuring Declan Skyes from X Factor 2011, or a Glo in the Dark Dance Party in Castlemaine. The fun continues over to Saturday where there’s Kerser playing at the Laundry Bar, or catch Heroes for Hire at The Wick in Brunswick alongside A Sleepless Melody, Brighter At Night, While The City Sleeps, and Daydram Arcade. Someone who’s not showing the all ages music scene much love is Yellowcard, with no underage gig when they hit Melbourne later in September this year. Wah! Musicians and artists take note, because Eldorado Studios are running an online competition to give four musicians free recording sessions. All you have to do is send an email telling them in 25 words or less what music means to you and why you love it so much. All winners will get a free eight hour studio session at one of their three locations around Melbourne. Send your entry to eldoradostudios@live.com by Thursday. This week is also your last chance to become a PBS member during their PBS Radio Festival, which started on May 14 and finishes this Sunday. If you’re passionate about music from beyond the mainstream and want to show your support for local, authentic, independent radio, then head to www.pbsfm.org.au to sign up. There’s also a bunch of prizes to be won if you get in before Sunday. Got news for all ages? Send it to whatson@ thepush.com.au!

Edward Guglielmino & The Show Sunshine State National Tour SATURDAY MAY 26 Pure Pop Records, ST KILDA SUNDAY MAY 27 The Empress, FITZROY WITH CARRY NATION & SPECIAL GUESTS MAY 24 MAY 25 JUNE 22

Launceston - Alchemy with Cowper, Get The Bunny - Duo Hobart (Fern Tree) - Oscars Treehouse with Cowper, Get The Bunny - Duo Sydney - Oxford Arts Factory with Charles Daaboul - Full Band

Perth dates to be announced, for dates please check www.edg.ug | Publicity and management Mucho Bravado www.mucho-bravado.com

CLASSIFIEDS

33c PER WORD PER WEEK (INC GST) • Send your classified listing information to Beat Magazine at 3 Newton St, Richmond 3121 with a cheque, money order or credit card number (including expiry date and name on card, NOT AMEX or DINERS) (1.5% surcharge on Visa and MasterCard) OR deliver it yourself with cash OR you can email your classifieds to us - classifieds@beat.com.au with credit card details • DEADLINE IS THURSDAY 5pm, prior to Wednesdays publication • Minimum $5 charge per week. We do NOT accept classifieds over the phone - sorry.

MUSICIANS WANTED ACOUSTIC ACTS WANTED for Bar Betty in Smith Street, Fitzroy. Paid Gig. Please phone Sandra or Michelle on 9417 3937. Bar Betty - 129 Smith Street, Fitzroy. BANDS & PROMOTERS WANTED. Any style for Collingwood venue. First gigs welcome, live CD recording available. Contact Jane after 12pm on 0425 796 828.

Beat Magazine Page 78

Define your genre in five words or less: Funky urban folk. If you could assassinate one person or band from popular music, who would it and why? We could be ninjas and hide amongst the Beliebers? What can a punter expect from your live show? A few pretty bad jokes, a little bare foot dancing and some toe tapping, Ginger Di Salvia rocking some serious melody on the bass and some deadly Bindy Cohen beats and harmonies. So, someone is walking past as you guys are playing, they then go get a beer and tell their friend about you... what do they say? Those chicks are hot! Why should everyone come and see your band? Because it’s better than going to the pokies. What makes you happiest about what you’re doing? Sharing the love of music with other people and seeing them enjoy what you are doing. If someone made a movie about your life, who would play you? It would have to be Drew Barrymore with Ginger being played by Lauren Ambrose & Bindy by Kate Moenning. When’s the gig and with who? We’ll be playing Thursday May 24 at Gertrude’s Brown Couch, Fitzroy with special guest Melissa J Evans (QLD).

BANDS WANTED for artist showcase in the Espy Gershwin room. A great step towards bigger shows. Contact mark@ gunnmusic.com.au

THINK MOVING SUCKS? Call Little Red Trucks! Moving Melbourne everyday. Call 9380 6444 or head to www. littleredtrucks.com.au

EXPERIENCED DRUMMER with a commitment to practice and regular rehearsals required for alternative rock band. Inﬂuences QOTSA, Foo Fighters, Nirvana etc. www.myspace.com/mollydredd phn: 0411 372 469

EMPLOYMENT

SERVICES BAND PHOTOGRAPHY. If you’re interested in photography for your band/artist artwork please visit my blog for an example of my work. http://conspeaks. wordpress.com MAN WITH A VAN. Best value movers in Melbourne. Now with trucks!!!! Equip with 1 or 2 experienced men, trolleys and removal blankets. Available 7 days. Check out www. manwithavan.com.au or call us on 9417 3443. NEW REHEARSAL ROOM. Now open in Reservoir. Great rates and facilities. One-oﬀ and long term bookings available. Single room, so get in quick! Contact Matt 0405 968 160

FLAUNT IT. Internationally acclaimed producer of profeminist erotica looking for conﬁdent, adult women to smash the stereotypes and earn good money ($500 and up). Don’t overlook this til you’ve found out more about it. Rebecca 9495 6555 or www.feck.com. TALENT AGENCY SEEKING NEW ARTISTS INTERNATIONALLY! Must be Original! Able to Perform Live! Be ready to Tour or Exhibit Works! Be willing to be Sold Online in Europe, Australia & Internationally! Note: Agency Representation Fee: 1,500 euro per annum. For Interviews & Submissions Contact Jacinta Arcadia in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, T: +31 616369621 E: gm@ vonprussia.com W: www.VonPrussia.com *

MISCELLANEOUS Come back Crutey!

SUBMIT YOUR GIGS TO GIGGUIDE@BEAT.COM.AU

ALL AGES TIMETABLE

Wednesday May 23 Under The Radar Film Festival, The Astor Theatre, Cnr Chapel St & Dandenong Rd, St Kilda, 6pm – 7:30pm, Free, stkildafilmfestival.com.au, AA Thursday May 24 Bitter End w/ Blkout and Bear Witness, Phoenix Youth Centre, 72 Buckley Street, Footscray, Maribyrnong Youth Services on 9091 4700, AA PBS Rock-A-Bye Baby Music Sessions w/ Perch Creek Family Jugband, Fitzroy Town Hall, Napier Street, Fitzroy, 11am – 12pm, adults $5 or children free, pbsfm.org.au, AA Friday May 25 Me, Myself and Indie w/ Declan Skyes, Leek and the War Wick Tragedy, Hiding with Bears, Cat or Pillar, Scott Boyd, and more, EV’s Youth Centre, 212 Mt Dandenong Rd, Croydon, 6:30pm – 11pm, $12 entry or $10 with card, AA VCE Top Acts, Palais Theatre, Lower Esplanade, St Kilda, 6:30pm – 10pm, $15-25, ticketmaster.com. au, AA D at Sea w/ Millie Tizzard and special guests, The Castle, Hemmings Park, Princess Hwy, Dandenong, 7pm – 11pm, $12, Mim Grundy on 9793 2155, AA Glo in the Dark Dance Party w/ DJ DeGrouch, Bboy Street & The MZ Hiphop Crew, ICU Underground, 9 Halford St, Castlemaine, 7pm – 11pm, $3, Sarah on 0402 087 949, U18 Saturday May 26 Kerser w/ special guests, The Laundry Bar, 50 Johnston Street, Fitzroy, 1pm, $23.50, oztix.com. au, U18 Heroes For Hire w/ A Sleepless Melody, Brighter At Night, While The City Sleeps, and Daydram Arcade, The Wick, 25 Leslie Street, Brunswick, 6pm – 10:30pm, $10, Sal Kimber on 0422 373 542, AA Naturally 7 w/ Tom Thumb, Palais Theatre, Lower Esplanade, St Kilda, 7:30pm – 10:30pm, $79-89, ticketmaster.com.au, AA Tuesday May 29 Resist The Thought w/ Hallower, Musicman Megastore, 363 Hargreaves Street, Bendigo, AA

GS T GI TS A L AL VEN GB ! E E & THE FRE E AR

FRIDAY MAY 25TH

Wed. May 23rd: wine, whiskey, women

8pm: Kate Walker 9pm: Kristen Virag, Cyndi Boste Thurs. May 24th:

8pm: Floyd Thursby (2 sets) Fri. May 25th:

6-8pm: Trad Irish Music Sesh

GREAT BRITAIN HOTEL

JAMES MCCANN & FRIENDS

THUR 24 MAY

SATURDAY MAY 26

DIGANI GACIGA + EMMIE AND CLANCY + ROXY LAVISH + SUPER FAT FRUIT

TUNES BY SABO

8PM SAT 26 MAY

COLD HARBOUR + LITTLE MURDERS 9PM

with Dan Bourke & friends Sat. May 26th:

9pm: Danny Walsh and Johnny Livewire! Sun. May 27th:

4.00pm: Lloyd Spiegel 6:30pm: Bonafide Travellers

SUN 27 MAY

SARAH CARNEGIE (TWO SETS)

SUNDAY MAY 27TH

7PM MON 28 MAY

WARREN EARL & THE ATOMIC ROCKERS

BOOZER SOUL (DJ’S) 8PM

WEEKLY ASSORTMENTS MonDAYS

FREE POOL ALL NIGHT $10 PIZZA & POT

Tues. may 29th:

8pm: Weekly Trivia

“All Shows Always Free” The Drunken Poet, 65 Peel Street (directly opposite Queen Vic Market), Phone: 03 9348 9797. www.thedrunkenpoet.com.au

TueSDAYS

289 WELLINGTON ST COLLINGWOOD 94195170 WWW.THEGEMBAR.COM.AU

MRS SMITH’S TRIVIA $10 PIZZA & POT 9PM

WEDNESDAYS

OPEN MIC NIGHT 9PM

KITCHEN OPEN 6 NIGHTS

447 CHURCH ST RICHMOND 9429 5066 www.greatbritainhotel.com.au

• • • • • WEDNESDAY • • • • •

FRIDAY 25/5, 10PM THE NO REAL NEED “NONLOCAL MOTIVES” ALBUM LAUNCH SATURDAY 26/5, 6PM SMOKE MACHINE + THE FUTURAS THE GREASY HAWAIIANS 10PM SUNDAY 27/5, 6PM THE MERCURIALS SATURDAY 2/6, 10PM SPACE ECHO SUNDAY 3/6, 6PM ATLUK FRIDAY 8/6, 10PM BEWARE! BLACK HOLES! SATURDAY 9/6, 6PM STACKFUL DEZPERADOS 10PM SUNDAY 10/6, 10PM THE TV SET

FREE ENTRY ALWAYS!

COMEDY TRIVIA QUIZ MEISTER 7+856'$< 0$< 7+

FROM 8PM. GREAT PRIZES & GIVEAWAYS.

GUY KABLE & PETER SPARK ACOUSTIC SHOW FROM

8.30PM

6$785'$< 0$< 7+ LISA MILLER TRIO

WITH SHANE O’MARA & ASH DAVIES FINAL SHOW OF MAY RESIDENCY 2 SETS FROM 5PM

681'$< 0$< 7+ THE HIRED GUNS ROCKIN’ FROM

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LIVE

Photo by Richard Sharman

THE DARKNESS Tuesday May 8, The Palace Photos by Charles Newbury

KAISER CHIEFS Wednesday May 16, The Palace There’s a fine line between a good gig and a true performance, and it’s a craft the Kaiser Chiefs have mastered over the years. Tonight’s visit to a surprisingly modest turnout at The Palace showed the band ticking all the boxes – delivering enough false endings, climbing crescendos and sing-along choruses to satisfy a spoilt sixyear-old’s attention span. Here for Groovin’ The Moo, the show also bounced off the release of Souvenir: The Singles 2004-2012. Fittingly, the Chiefs did what was expected and secretly hoped for, treating The Palace’s pleased punters to a healthy spread of tunes that spanned all four of their anthemladen albums. Lead singer Ricky Wilson assumed his trusty position perched atop a stage monitor as he addressed his congregation, blasting straight into an energetic Na Na Na Na Naa and taking us on a tour through their extensive hit factory, with Every Day I Love You Less and Less, I Predict A Riot, Ruby and Everything Is Average Nowadays all on top form. It was a true exhibition of showmanship orchestrated by the front man, who leapt around the stage and completely carried the show with his microphone flicks, tambourine tricks and witty banter in-between songs. Unsurprisingly, it was a set list that needed an athletic stamina, and the Leeds lads took it in their stride.

However, at one point, Ricky disappeared off stage to let the band jam as he recovered his breath, after which, a fatigued version of Never Miss A Beat ensued. This was a concerning moment, but just as you thought he’d run out of steam and it was going to be last orders for us all, Ricky raced through the crowd, clambered onto the bar, demanded a shot of Jack Daniels and soared into a version of the punky Take My Temperature from his new lookout across the stalls. What were we worried about really? The boys’ latest effort, Listen To Your Head, is definitely a grower, and tonight proved that as with many of the band’s tunes, the live setting is the best medium for it. Throw in an encore of Love’s Not a Competition But I’m Winning and a trip back to where it all began, with debut single Oh My God capping off proceedings, and you’ve got yourself a fine illustration of a band that don’t look like slowing down any time soon. CALLUM FITZPATRICK LOVED: The Angry Mob – there’s something dangerously empowering about being part of that chant. HATED: No pints? Pots only? In this so-called civilised society we live in today? Are you fucking kidding me? DRANK: Cans of Boags Draught – purely out of principle.

ANDREW WK Friday May 4, Corner Hotel I don’t even know what to say about this show. Everything about it goes against the grain of seeing live music in Melbourne. In this town, where audiences and bands frequently compete to see who can be the most disinterested in what is happening in the room, seeing the things that Andrew WK managed to do to the crowd was amazing. Without his band, and armed with little more than a piano and backing tracks, the ironic party monster took the crowd at the Corner and showed them with all the grace and delicacy on Jodie Foster hoisted onto a pinball machine. Two songs into the show WK had invited the audience to join him onstage which they did. They didn’t leave. Most of the show was conducted to a wall of sweaty, seething fans and they writhed about in a froth of joy and somewhere in the background WK banged on his piano and belted out hits from I Get Wet. You got the feeling that everyone who came to the show was a true believer in a proper party – they took very little encouragement to reach a state of utter mayhem. At a certain point, WK seemed to become redundant, as the punters hurled themselves about the stage with the righteous fervour

of a Hillsong congregation- albeit one that believed less in a capitalist God and more in ironic sleeze-glamrock and taking buckets and buckets of drugs. Once or twice WK stopped singing all together, dropping back into an instrumental vamp while security dragged off overstimulated fans. Of course WK made his presence felt. There was plenty of call and response, sing-a-longs and asides to the crowd as he walked us through his hits. Several times he pointed out that we weren’t watching a show, we were at a party and it became more and more evident as the night went on. As we stumbled out after the closer, it felt less like I’d been at a show and more like I’d witnessed some strange, wonderful, slightly disturbing cultural event in a country where they do things very differently. LIAM PIEPER LOVED: The crowd, raucous, sweaty; wonderful. HATED: Not being able to shake the feeling that the crowd had given me intravenous HIV. DRANK: Shit, man, what didn’t I drink?

KIMBRA Wednesday May 9, Palais Theatre From the moment Kimbra burst onto the stage on this dreary Wednesday night the feisty New Zealander provided plenty of energy and attitude, owning her audience from start to finish. Wearing an eye-catching silver dress, Kimbra danced across the stage with her tambourine and powerful vocals never missing a beat. Two Way Street was a sultry stand out, showcasing the talent of her backup singers and support band, who carried the singer faithfully throughout the night. Kimbra’s voice is unfalteringly captivating, even in its softer moments there is a great undercurrent of strength, and she executed every song with fierce confidence. Old Flame ushered in a change of pace for the night, slowing down the tempo after the heated energy of the show’s opening. This song was perfectly seductive, highlighting the husky and hypnotising quality of Kimbra’s voice. Her high-energy tracks were certainly the highlight though, with newcomer Warrior bringing out the singer’s most dynamic performance. For this song Kimbra really kicked into high gear, pouring passion into her latest masterpiece. As the dying notes of Warrior played out, Kimbra ran off stage, building suspense whilst giving the audience a brief moment to draw breath. Reappearing to reveal an outfit change, Kimbra twirled around to show Beat Magazine Page 82

A night of flamboyant showmanship for The Darkness performance was enhanced by the fact that this was their first tour with all original members from Permission To Land in six years. I guess somewhere in between sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll, it is written in the cards that a falling out or two between band members is expected. This was the case for bassist Frankie Poullain who was booted from the band quoting irreconcilable differences. Fortunately for us, love (or a sizable cheque) conquers all, and six years after the fact, he agreed to rejoin the band. Compounding the shifts between band members of The Darkness was lead singer Justin Hawkin’s grueling drug addiction, forcing him into rehab and leaving many wondering whether he will ever grace the stage again. But we are referring to a man who wears lycra onesies here. So, he has the heart of a lion and inevitably beat the drugs, and I was lucky enough to hear, see and feel his sexy English ass in the flesh. When The Darkness backdrop was revealed the audience began jumping and pulsing in excitement. Eager to please, the band didn’t wait long and it was only a matter of minutes before they stepped on stage in all their glory. Decked in a tartan tailored and flared outfit, Justin Hawkins looked like Jesus crossed with Captain Jack Sparrow (read: sexy as fuck). Not falling short of preconceived expectations, The Darkness are as outrageous as one would hope. Justin and his brother weaved in many insane guitar tricks, including a solo performed with the guitar over his head during One Way Ticket. With every song came one less piece of clothing for Justin, who eventually became shirtless, allowing the audience to admire his tattoo work and nipple ring. Or maybe I was the only one who noticed the nipple ring. It was a nice nipple ring. Moving through a lot of their older work, the audience erupted when the first chords of Love Is Only A Feeling

began. With his signature falsetto voice Justin he soared through the higher notes with impressive ease. Upon ending the song, he indulged in some call and response with the audience across all levels of The Palace. This was their underlying strength as a whole; their yearning for audience participation. Darting offstage momentarily, the band returned, only Justin was now outfitted in the classic lycra onesie. The crowd went crazy, and I almost lost my shit when I saw his perfectly sculpted ass. I wasn’t the only one it seems, because a fan soon tried to jump on stage. Only she was impeded by the seven or so security guards who took the bitch down. During Givin’ Up another chick threw her top on stage. In a nutshell: The Darkness get mad love from the ladies. Finally, they belted out I Believe In A Thing Called Love, which was insane. It was definitely a highlight moment, only I knew they would be ending soon because I figured it’d be too hard to top that. Wrong. After they left stage, only to be called back again with cries of “encore”, they jumped into Love On The Rocks With No Ice. Justin, ever the crowd pleaser, decided to up the ante, and straddled himself firmly onto a security guard’s shoulders and ventured out into the crowd. It was here that my night was made. Firmly squeezed near the front, I was in the direct path that Justin took to get out to the crowd. As a 6 ft tall lady, this meant Justin’s ass was right at my eye level while on the security’s shoulders. When life gives you lemons you grab Justin Hawkin’s ass – so I did – and the show was phenomenal. TAMARA VOGL LOVED: Grabbing Justin Hawkin’s ass. HATED: The pathetic effort the girl who tried to jump on stage made. Don’t half-ass something like that. Commit. DRANK: Water

JOSH PYKE Friday May 11, The Forum Everything seemed to unravel exactly as planned. The Forum was full but not bourgeoning – I certainly wasn’t hassling for poll position – the supports Jackson McLaren and Gossling were note perfect and inoffensive and then Josh played hit after hit. None of this is a bad thing. It was a very pleasant outing. Perhaps a little too pleasant, but pleasant nonetheless. Josh opened things up with Goldmines and that pretty much set the scene for the rest of the show. This was followed with The Doldrums and Fed The Wolves, which were predictably fantastic. As always at pop/acoustic shows the crowd swayed and shuffled slightly uncomfortably and there was the occasional spot fire fist pump – quickly extinguished. Josh thanked the crowd for the continued support saying touring his latest offering had been the most rewarding experience to date, although only playing a smattering of songs from the latest album. There is no doubt Josh Pyke is an prodigious talent, easily

plucking songs from his first EP that stand their ground against his more recent hits however that almost felt like a hindrance on the night. He reaches a level, albeit a high one, and doesn’t stray off course. Throw something shitty in there Josh so we remember just how good you are! Our House Breathing was great and encore tune Staring Down The Sun was a treat. Unfortunately Josh made a joke about encores and then went off stage anyway. Don’t do that please. Ever. It had been a long time between Josh Pyke gigs and he did everything right – it all just felt very G-rated. I felt mature or something. Perhaps better suited to a Sunday evening. JACK PARSONS LOVED: Staring Down The Sun. HATED: Fairly hate-free environment. DRANK: Rice milk.

PAUL COLLINS Saturday May 12, The Tote

off a bright red dress, getting right back to business with Call Me, followed by crowd favourite Settle Down. There was a great dreamy quality to this song, which added a touch of innocence to the night. Kimbra ended her set with a bang, launching into Cameo Lover to an ecstatic crowd. The stage lighting was more subdued for this final performance, emphasising how brightly Kimbra shines on her own. There was obvious joy throughout this track as confetti rained down from the ceiling, tying in well with the colourful, positive energy of the night. The mood throughout the Palais was electric as Kimbra exited the stage to rapturous applause, captivating her audience until the very end. Not only did Kimbra provide a great night of entertainment, but I can’t fault her voice or any aspect of her performance. EMMA GREEN LOVED: Kimbra’s stage presence. HATED: Having to stay seated throughout the gig for risk of falling over the balcony – a well-policed Palais policy. DRANK: Apple cider.

It wasn’t the Sand Pebbles that was playing at the Great Britain tonight, but a cut-down, unofficial version of a hiatus-affected band. The repertoire was familiar, the venue set-up unconducive to audience appreciation. The second set promised a power trio of drums, bass and guitar, but sadly our dance card was marked ‘Paul Collins’, and we were back on the road by 10.30pm. Wolfy And The Bat Cubs – three pin strip suits and a cat suit – were mid-way through a kaleidoscopic journey that just got better and better. A final song ebbed and flowed through psychedelic territory, building to a crescendo, falling to silence, and exploding into the ether. It took a while for Paul Collins to make his way to Australia, but he was back again for the second time in little over a year. Aside from his tenure in the legendary Nerves, Collins is probably best known for his brief moment in the pop sun in the early ‘80s when, with the judicious assistance of the critical and popular masses, Collins could have found a comfortable niche in the Billboard charts. As it was, Collins was nudged out by a series of lesser talented contemporaries – including Australia’s very own Rick Springfield – who exploited the time-honoured formula of pop, licks and love. With his LA pop-mod aesthetic having been eroded

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by the passage of time, Collins cuts a different figure on stage, but the classic riffs just keep coming: Do You Wanna Love Me, Kids Are The Same, She Doesn’t Wanna Hang, Falling In Love With Her, Rock’n’Roll Girl. It’s infectious stuff, and the crowd – down on last year’s crowd, for reasons that remain largely unfathomable – licks it up, no pun intended. Collins dips into his Nerves catalogue to pull out the glistening powerpop classic Walkin’ Out On Love (someone needs to dig the Trilobites out for a reformation show or two); in the encore, Collins appropriates fellow Nerve Jack Lee’s Hanging On The Telephone and the blue collar pop of Workin’ Too Hard. Collins’ locally recruited band can’t put a foot wrong, and there’s a vague mid-’80s inner-city Sydney pop sensibility in the air. The night ends on a high with Come On Let’s Go, USA and Let Me Into Your Life. This was a lesson in powerpop. PATRICK EMERY LOVED: Walkin’ Out On Love, as always. HATED: The fact that more people weren’t here to appreciate the set. DRANK: Coopers Pale.