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themusic 16TH OCTOBER 2013
The Jungle Giants The Amity Affliction Bertie Page Clinic Suzhou, China
Ivan Sen Grey Ghost Little Scout Colin Mochrie Andy Bull Every Time I Die Gooch Palms Pierre Perrier
Jae Laffer Cody Chesnutt Best Coast Scar The Martyr The Grand Rapids Baby Animals
REVIEWS Album: Bodyjar Live: Regurgitator Arts: Fruitvale Station Games: FIFA 14
THE GUIDE Cover: Eves Food: Asian Deserts Drink: Craft Beer Fashion: NBA Jerseys Local News Gig Guide
feature "I'M A FAT THIRTY-SIX-YEAR-OLD GUY WITH TATTOOS AND NO ASPIRATION TO DO ANYTHING ELSE IN MY LIFE." - ANDY WILLIAMS OF EVERY TIME I DIE (P30)
The End
column 6 • THE MUSIC • 16TH OCTOBER 2013
Street Press Australia Pty Ltd
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time travel
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Last weekend we had the Brisbane North Record Fair; this weekend those vinyl enthusiasts amongst our ranks need to trek even further north for their wax fix! This Saturday (19 Oct) between the hours of 8.30am and 3pm at the Sunshine Coast Square Dance Centre at Buderim (y'all know where that is, right?) you can find a plethora of aural treasure (and associated trinkets), so what are you waiting for? It just costs a gold coin donation (with proceeds to charity) and you can find full details at waxbuildup.com (yes, it sounds like some disturbing site about your ears but you'll have to trust us).
The 50th anniversary of the evergreen Doctor Who franchise is rapidly approaching, and to mark the occasion a Doctor Who pop-up shop is opening for three weeks at shop 13A, 23 James St, Fortitude Valley. It doesn't matter which Time Lord is your fave; there's a Tardis-load of goodies for fans of all ages and persuasions, featuring a swag of exclusive merchandise never before available in Aussie stores. Don't be shy, get amongst the sci-fi goodness – you might even be able to check out a real life K-9 (well, a three-dimensional one at any rate).
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We all love our local history here at The Music, and this week (up until Saturday 19 Oct) we're celebrating the 90th anniversary of Brisbane Arcade, the city's oldest remaining shopping centre. Opened in 1923, its design reflected the archetype of the traditional 18th century European shopping centres, but over the years it's become a quintessentially Brisbane icon. There's historical displays and entertainment, plus of course still plenty of shops! Absorb the heritage of our wonderful city and tread the footsteps of the fine folk that came before us.
You can buy an official Queen Bey 2014 calendar. That's right. Ring in every month of the year with a picture of the idol herself looking bootylicious. She'll inspire you to do great things and be an empowered woman and/or man. It's pretty much the first step to becoming more like Beyonce, and harks back to when you all bought boy band merchandise in your tweens. Don't deny it. Fall in love with her every day by purchasing one for US$15 from her website.
The latest YouTube sensation is Telekinetic Coffee Shop Surprise. It's a social experiment that freaked out a lot of humble coffee lovers. God we love it when New York actors decide to use technology to make people believe that telekinesis is real. (Hint: it isn't, they have remote controls and pulleys and shit). This actually turns out to not just be hilarious, but a really good example of viral marketing, and is just an ad for Carrie, out 28 Nov. We're not so interested in Lady Gaga's Artpop as we are the sculpture of the starlet that adorns the cover. Designed by American Jeff Koons, the piece is eerily striking and seems set to become an iconic piece of pop culture in years to come. Whether or not the music's as interesting is still up for discussion.
#StarbucksDrakeHands. That's all you need to know. A Starbucks barista in LA asks a girl for her phone number. She gives digits, he sends video, and inadvertently he starts one of the biggest internet virals of the year. Guys, girls, babies, animals, Larry King – everyone is on this. All you need is a) your sleaziest creep face; b) Drake's Hold On, We're Going Home playing in the background; c) hands. Record, hashtag and send to that poor special someone you want to make really uncomfortable. THE MUSIC • 16TH OCTOBER 2013 • 9
national news email@example.com KYLESA
In what's shaping up to be one of the double bills of 2014, Queens of the Stone Age and Nine Inch Nails have both made good on their promising social media posts from a few weeks ago and announced a double headline tour, with top billing decided each night by the toss of a coin. The two Herculean rock bands have both showed their respective evergreen nature this year in the way of Like... Clockwork and Hesitation Marks, and with support kept in the family thanks to Aussie-American Brody Dalle these shows are going to electrifying right from the get-go. Dates are as follows: 6 Mar, Sydney Entertainment Centre; 8 Mar, Newcastle Entertainment Centre; 11 Mar, Perth Arena; 14 Mar, Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne; and 17 Mar, Brisbane Entertainment Centre, with tickets on sale 24 Oct.
Get set to sweat in that turtle neck (especially you ladies); the In Stranger Times EP is ready to land into our lives on 1 Nov, and the man behind it all, Jeremy Neale, wants to swing and shake with your sexy selves. The Brisbane songwriter has been on a hell of a run this year, and knowing his way around a hook far better than most, Neale has crafted an infectious record that's pretty hard to turn your back on. He'll launch the six-track on the following dates: 31 Oct, Goodgod Small Club, Sydney; 2 Nov, The Small Ballroom, Newcastle; 8 Nov, Northcote Social Club, Melbourne; 15 Nov, Solbar, Maroochydore; and 16 Nov, The Zoo, Brisbane. Supported by another great Brisvegas product in the way of Major Leagues, you can grab tickets for all shows now.
There are few groups that can burn up the fret board quite as wildly as Guitar Wolf. The trio from Japan have earned a reputation for keeping things in the red – at all times – and with their amplifiers set to maximum volume they will return to Australian east coast venues, all but ready to roar into your life. Along with a range of supports including the likes of Batpiss, Mach Pelican and SixFtHick, the wolves in leather clothing will perform 28 Nov, The Espy, Melbourne; 29 Nov, The Square, Sydney; 30 Nov, The Gasometer Hotel, Melbourne; 1 Dec, The Tote, Melbourne; 4 Dec, The Basement, Canberra; and 6 Dec, Beetle Bar, Brisbane. For the full billing in your state check theMusic.com.au.
Birthed from the great south of the States, Kylesa play a formidable brand of experimental sludge metal that has seen them mentioned in the same breath as bands like Mastodon, Baroness and Black Tusk. Getting more versatile and unpredictable as they get older, the band are set to return to Australia for the first time since 2011's Soundwave, with the American group playing 7 Dec, Rosemount Hotel, Perth; 8 Dec, Corner Hotel, Melbourne; 10 Dec, Howler, Melbourne; 11 Dec, ANU Bar, Canberra; 12 Dec, The Hi-Fi, Sydney; and 13 Dec, The Hi-Fi, Brisbane.
Before A League Of Their Own, before she had her own daytime talk show, before she was a panellist on The View, Rosie O'Donnell was owning it on the stand-up stage. The American funny-woman has been making us laugh for over thirty years, and will be wheeling out a no-holds-barred set for us Aussies in 2014. O'Donnell will perform a string of all-ages shows at Perth Concert Hall, 4 Feb; QPAC, Brisbane, 7 Feb; The Plenary, Melbourne, 8 Feb; and The Star Event Centre, Sydney, 9 Feb. Tickets on sale 9am next Monday.
national news firstname.lastname@example.com FLUME
Another local lass who is doing great things Stateside is Clairy Browne and her Bangin' Rackettes, the soulstress showing off her staggering live shows in the US for the third time this year. As well as doing tour dates, they'll also be writing and recording new material in Nashville, Tennessee, which hopefully we'll be getting a taste of, alongside our favourites of course, during the group's December tour. After playing Meredith Music Festival, 13 Dec, Browne and the Rackettes will perform at the Rosemount Hotel, Perth, 14 Dec; The Hi-Fi, Brisbane, 19 Dec; Factory Theatre, Sydney, 20 Dec; and The Hi-Fi, Melbourne, 21 Dec. Support at those capital city dates comes from Miles & Simone.
Young Sydney beat bloke Flume has added to an already monumental year by walking away with four awards at last week's Carlton Dry Independent Music Awards, winning Best Album (Flume), Best Artist, Best Dance Album and Best Dance Single (Holdin On). Vance Joy picked up a double off the back of his much-loved EP, God Loves You When You're Dancing, while uncompromising garage lads King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard also received two nods, including the lucrative Carlton Dry Global Music Grant, worth $50,000. Other winners on the night included Paul Kelly, Seth Sentry and Catherine Britt.
Regular visitors to our country in the past, Gomez are currently on a break from band duties. However, one of the chief songwriters Ian Ball has still been at it, putting together a second solo album, Unfold Yourself, and will be bringing those songs, as well as some Gomez classics we're sure, to our stages next month. Ball will play a host of shows, starting 18 Nov, Mojos Bar, Fremantle, before moving on 19 Nov, PICA Bar, Perth; 21 Nov, Barwon Club, Geelong; 23 Nov, Karova Lounge, Ballarat; 24 Nov, Northcote Social Club, Melbourne; 27 Nov, Brass Monkey, Sydney; 28 Nov, Annandale Hotel, Sydney; 30 Nov, Coogee Diggers, Sydney; and 1 Dec, Beetle Bar, Brisbane.
It swirls through your ears before bursting into a beat that you need. It's The Good Life and its quickly shot Elizabeth Rose's star into the stratosphere. And the Sydneysider is shaking things up globally too, heading over to New York to take part in the CMJ Music Marathon before officially launching the track around Oz. Joined by very special guest Charles Murdoch, you can catch Rose upon her return, 2 Nov, Alhambra Lounge, Brisbane; 8 Nov, Goodgod Small Club, Sydney; 9 Nov, Trinity Bar, Canberra; 15 Nov, Mojos Bar, Fremantle; 16 Nov, Amplifier Bar, Perth; and 23 Nov, The Workers Club, Melbourne.
He's been touted as "the most impressive Kiwi cultural export since Flight Of The Conchords", and we have to agree that ya'll should be getting well and truly excited about the microphone style of David Dallas. Innovative, captivating and impossible to pin down, Dallas has just put together his third record, Falling Into Place, and invites you to share the experience in full colour when he takes to the stage this summer. Catch him 18 Dec, Causeway Bar, Perth; 19 Dec, Alhambra Lounge, Brisbane; 20 Dec, Beach Road Hotel, Sydney; and The Espy, Melbourne, 21 Dec.
Beat fans will be grinning with the news that Dutch trance titan Dash Berlin will return to Australia next year to play some massive venues as part of his #musicislife #deluxe world tour. Three exquisite vocalists – Emma Hewitt, Jonathan Mendelsohn and Christina Novelli – will join Dash on this journey, as well as MaRLo, who will bring some domestic flavour to the three tour dates. Catch Dash Berlin 7 Feb, Sydney Showground Exhibition Halls; 8 Feb, Hisense Arena, Melbourne; and 9 Feb, Brisbane Riverstage. Tickets available 24 Oct. THE MUSIC • 16TH OCTOBER 2013 • 11
local news firstname.lastname@example.com EMMA LOUISE
You know the sunny season is well and truly under way when Ben & Jerry's Openair Cinemas return to South Bank, and this year for their Sundae Sessions Charity Launch this Sunday they've got a sweet night lined-up for you featuring the one and only Emma Louise. The Brisbane-based songwriter has been wowing audiences the world over since the release of her debut record earlier this year, Vs Head Vs Heart, and will partner up with the winner of Ben & Jerry's Battle of the Bands competition (enter now at openaircinemas.com.au) to kick off the new outdoor movie season in style. The music will happen from 4pm, with the evening also including a screening of Frances Ha. Pre-purchase your tickets now through the event website for $35+BF.
Home Grown Rock's Start Me Up tour is hitting suburban venues around Brisbane this month with plenty of local artists in tow including the likes of Archtypes ft Ages Of Earth, Kick The Butterfly, Scarlet Kill, Unsought Duke, The Evershow, Arc, Upsize, Hill 60, Sky Pilot, Stone Vandals, Switchblade Suzie and more. It's $10 at the door and a double pass to see Bon Jovi in December is up for grabs. Let's face it, that's great value. Head along to Mansfield Tavern this Friday; Coorparoo RSL, 25 Oct; Calamvale Hotel, 2 Nov or Albany Creek Tavern, 9 Nov. To find the exact bill at the venue closest to you, head to fretfest.com/touring.
Due to popular demand The Screaming Jets have decided to throw some additional dates on to their Real Deal Tour, and this time they're ready to catch up with Queensland for the first time in three years. Dave Gleeson and the gang will tear the roof off Eatons Hill Hotel, 6 Dec and Coolangatta Hotel, Gold Coast, 7 Dec. Tickets on sale now.
This year's Up Late evenings feature some great musicians performing sets to coincide with the exhibition, California Design 1930 – 1965: Living In A Modern Way. We incorrectly told you a few weeks ago that this was happening at the Gallery of Modern Art, however; the evenings are actually being held on the Watermall at the Queensland Art Gallery. We're also excited to let you know the full listing of acts, too! Catch instrumental space cowboys The Break, 8 Nov; Cub Sport, 15 Nov (replacing Songs); already announced internationals Sonny and The Sunsets, 22 Nov; Bandito Folk and Velociraptor, 29 Nov; Courtney Barnett, 6 Dec; and Gareth Liddiard of The Drones, 13 Dec. Tickets for all these performances can be found now at Qtix.
Like you need much more temptation to hit the shores of Surfers Paradise, but when the likes of Skrillex, Wiz Khalifa and A$AP Rocky are arriving on the scene there's no excuse not to get your arse down there. These superstars are visiting the GC as part of Beachlife, a new two-day event that's being thrown beneath the gleaming high-rise buildings of the Glitter Strip to fill in the void left after the dissolving of Summafieldayze. The first round of supports has been announced too, with Jack Beats, What So Not and Alvin Risk playing under Skrillex on 4 Jan, while Hermitude and Ta-Ku will check in 5 Jan, plus there's still plenty more artists to come. With this the only Queensland dates for the headliners you'd best be getting on tickets now 'cause they're a steal at $89+BF per day (with a saving of $30 if you purchase both days!). Head to the Beachlife webpage for full info.
Tapping into our bogan heart and squeezing the shit out of that red bastard, Alex Williamson has used his viral YouTube videos as a jumping point (his shooterwilliamson channel has more than 28 million views) to become one of the most celebrated and successful young comics doing the Aussie circuit. He's playing two shows at The Tivoli this Saturday (7.15pm and 9.30pm) with both sessions being filmed for an upcoming DVD – hecklers, you don't want to go there. Williamson will be wheeling out some of his favourite characters including The Loosest Aussie and Musical Drug Dealer, as well as whole bunch of other fresh material, so head to Ticketek now and book your spot – $35+BF.
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THE TEMPO HOTEL 388 Brunswick St, Fortitude Valley. 18+ ID Required. Management reserve the right to refuse entry.
FREE YOUR SKELETONS WITH GOONS OF DOOM, ELEGANT SHIVA, THE SINGLE FINS Sat 9 Nov
LIME CORDIALE Fri 15 Oct
FYAH WALK Fri 22 Oct
BAND OF FREQUENCIES Mon 9 Dec
THE MELVINS & HELMET Wed 18 Dec
TICKETS AVAILABLE ONLINE THE MUSIC • 16TH OCTOBER 2013 • 13
local news email@example.com HEY GERONIMO
Young Melbourne MC Allday continues to deliver hip pop jams that seem destined for summer time rinsing. His latest mixtape Soon I'll Be In Cali 2 showcases his smart balance of clear, concise storytelling and vibrant hooks, and after signing on with Illy's label OneTwo the future is burning bright for the lad. He brings his It Ain't Easy Being Steezy tour to Bowler Bar on 15 Nov.
After a cheeky trip to India for a few dates as part of the Aussie BBQ showcases and NH7 Weekenders that are happening in Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai, Hey Geronimo will be jetting back to their Brisbane locale for a series of three gigs to show off their Erring On The Side Of Awesome EP. They'll play a free show south of the border at Beach Hotel, Byron Bay, 8 Nov, before fronting at Solbar, Maroochydore, 9 Nov and Alhambra Lounge, 14 Nov.
It's all happening tonight (Wednesday 16 Oct) at the Brisbane Jazz Club with Beejays Club Night, an evening where you get the best of both worlds – some chilling and some jamming. It's a go-with-theflow midweek session that features Trent Bryson-Dean presenting the impromptu live jazz, and there's mates rates drink prices at the bar, too. Get down from 7pm and grab your tickets, fiver on the door.
Bolted down by the striking storytelling of resurrected metaller Grant McCulloch, The Siren Tower burst onto the scene late last year with their proud slice of Australiana, A History Of Houses, and captured plenty of hearts and minds along the way. Now, the quartet are building on that sturdy foundation with brand new single King River, a tune that uses familiarity as a place to disappear. Put your heart on your sleeve and feel something real when The Siren Tower play a free show at The Tempo Hotel, 2 Nov. 14 • THE MUSIC • 16TH OCTOBER 2013
Iconic hip hop artists from the UK's High Focus Records have just announced a pretty ridiculous tour Down Under. Heading the list of label luminaries is ever-dirty FlipTrix, the High Focus head who'll be throwing out his progressive rhymes with fire, along with Dirty Dike, Jam Baxter, Ed Scissortounge and DJ Sammy B-Side. Catch this freestyling invasion from the motherland at the New Globe Theatre, 8 Nov and The Brewery, Byron Bay, 10 Nov.
ADDITIONAL MAYHEM Adding to the danger than only a Mayhem concert could bring, Sweden's Watain will cut out their own slice of vitriolic madness when they act as main support across the east coast tour. The black metallers have shown their serious intent over five fiery albums, with their latest release, this year's The Wild Hunt, punishing with more disdain than ever before. Get in early and hear the band carve up the room at The Hi-Fi, 12 Jan.
Their take no prisoners approach and fiery determination has seen I Exist claw their way out of Australia's political hellhole, Canberra, to ravage stages around the nation, and now with their third album From Darkness ready for consumption, the six-piece are set to inflict some more pain. Get swinging at Sun Distortion, 6 Dec; the boys play an all ages show.
Machine Translations Sat 30 Nov
Kylesa (USA) Fri 13 Dec
Clairy Browne & The Bangin' Rackettes Thu 19 Dec
THIS WEEK Every Time I Die (USA) Fri 18 Oct
Sat 16 Nov
Imagine Dragons (USA) Sat 19 Oct SOLD OUT
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (USA) Sun 17 Nov
Cody Chesnutt (USA) Sun 20 Oct
Hits & Pits 2.0 Feat. Black Flag (USA) + More
Moonsorrow (FIN) Wed 20 Nov
Bodyjar Fri 22 Nov
The Bamboos
Mickey Avalon (USA)
Thu 24 Oct
Insane Clown Posse (USA)
Busby Marou
Thu 5 Dec
Fri 25 Oct
Jungle Giants
Joey Bada$$ (USA)
Sat 26 Oct
Sat 7 Dec
Melvins (USA) & Helmet (USA) Sun 8 Dec
Sun 27 Oct
Sek Loso (THA)
Wednesday 13 (USA)
Mon 28 Oct
Wed 30 Oct
Eskimo Joe SUNDAY 20 OCTOBER
Thu 31 Oct
Gus G's Firewind (GRE)
Fri 1 Nov
Ill Gates, Dub Terminator Sat 2 Nov
Sun 3 Nov
Red Jumpsuit Apparatus (USA) Thu 7 Nov
Bluejuice Sat 9 Nov
Nile Basement Level - Wintergarden Centre Queen Street Mall - Brisbane City PH 07 3211 9881 FAX 07 3211 9890 Email email@example.com
Fri 29 Nov
Thu 14 Nov
Looptroop Rockers (SWE) & Sage Francis (USA)
Thu 12 Dec
The Brian Jonestown Massacre (USA) Sun 15 Dec]
Waka Flocka Flame (USA) Sat 21 Dec
Stand Up 2014 Feat. Dialectrix, + More Sat 15 Feb
Kerser Sat 22 Feb
Dark Tranquillity (SWE) Fri 28 Mar
You know when you hear a song that's the perfect soundtrack for whatever you're doing? I love when that happens. It makes an ordinary moment feel so...extraordinary. That's why wherever we go,
our music
goes with us.
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CLEARING HEADSPACE Words Benny Doyle.
What do you do after you break up with your girlfriend? If you're Sam Hales of The Jungle Giants, you get her to play a bass line on your new record. And as Benny Doyle learns, that totally makes sense.
oaking in the combination of sunshine and nicotine, Sam Hales is feeling good: "The feedback has been actually better than we could have hoped for at the moment," he remarks. "We can't wait to get it out and just let the music speak for itself." The Jungle Giants frontman is of course talking about the band's debut record Learn To Exist, a release that feels like it's been a long time coming, although the reality remains that it's arrived fairly promptly when you consider the band are only two years old and have also cranked out a pair of EPs since forming in 2011. The Brisbane four-piece have found themselves on the radar of indie pop fans ever since the blissed out guitar bounce of single Mr Polite positioned them as Australia's answer to Two Door Cinema Club. And now we get a musical snapshot of the interim time which has seen them mature as musicians and songwriters without turning their back on the vibrant sheen which endeared the gang to us originally.
to listen to the album in full instead of just going and looking for a single somewhere and then just playing that and not listening to the [other] tracks. "We're really focused on trying new things and writing in certain ways, so with an A-side and a B-side it encourages everyone to listen to the album in full. The first half we kind of set the scene and then we taper off with Devil's In The Detail and try and bring the album to a slower point, throw in a segue and then the next half you smash back onto the B-side. I love the whole idea; I think it flows well with the record. One of the most revered production names in Brisbane, Lachlan 'Magoo' Goold was just the expanded mind that The Jungle Giants needed, and pushed the gang to be as straight as possible with whatever they thought may work. "Magoo got us and we got him," beams Hales. "He looks at music in a way that I really get and I really like. I look up to him in so many ways so it was sick working with him; he's such a cool guy and he's massively chilled out about so many things so we could just be ourselves and do exactly what we wanted to in the studio. He'd facilitate any idea, he would bring up so many ideas; it was just a really cool creative process and it was free and no one really felt like any idea was a bad idea which was sick."
Learn To Exist isn't a concept album by any stretch. It's simply a warts-and-all documentation of life in your early twenties, with all the curveballs that come when you're standing on the plate. Take the bare bones ramble of Devil's In The Detail. "It's a positive spin on a low point," Hales says. "When you're changing and you're deciding the person you're going to be forever or getting an idea who you'll be, there's moments of loneliness and, 'Are you right?', 'Are you doing the right thing?' And that's what that song focuses on – sometimes you feel like you don't know yourself but stick to it and you'll figure it out." Devil's In The Detail is an interesting track for another reason. As well as being the most inward and emotionally fragile moment on the record, it also sits as the final song for the full-length's first side. Taking a vinyl approach across every format, The Jungle Giants have revealed a maturity that goes deeper than the 'hit single' mentality which plagues many young bands. "Working with Magoo, he kind of listened to the songs we had for the record and we thought about the order and we were jamming on it and he brought up the idea that we could put it down as an A-side and a B-side because where we kind of got to was that the flow of the songs was almost in two parts," Hales explains. "It set the glue between all the songs and I guess the whole [idea] is we wanted people 18 • THE MUSIC • 16TH OCTOBER 2013
Combine this openness in the studio with all the reflections and ruminations Hales and his bandmates – Cesira Aitken (guitar), Andrew Dooris (bass) and Keelan Bijker (drums) – took from last year, and what we're left with is an album full of lust and laughter, remorse and heartbreak. But no matter the outcome of their (mis)adventures, relationships have been maintained, a fact that makes the frontman smile. "I'm friends with everyone man," he admits. "The first segue after Devil's In The Detail, the one that splits the A- and B-side, my ex girlfriend was over at my house one time in my little studio in my bedroom and I was just like, 'Hey, pick up the bass and play some stuff if you want', and she didn't know I was recording. But I told her, then I put a bunch of effects on it so it didn't sound like a bass line – it was ambiguous – and then I put a beat to it. It's almost creepy but it's cool, it's my ex girlfriend playing that instrument, and the motion between the record is this memory of her, and she was a big part of 2012. "When I'm feeling something like that and if I'm writing something and it feels good – it encapsulates that idea and makes you feel good right there and then – [then you go for it]. A lot of these songs, it's been cool to just listen to them and remember [back] – they're pretty specific memories."
BEST FRIENDS FOREVER Mates since high school, the dynamic of The Jungle Giants is built on tight knit friendships and a shared bond that's remained unshaken by success. And if the gang can manage to sidestep the class A drug meltdowns, romantic dalliances and ego trips, who knows, they could go on to take their playground jams all the way to stadiums like these groups.
RADIOHEAD Before they turned the worlds of rock and electronica on their respective heads, the Oxford five-piece were first ripping out grunge riffs at Abingdon School, an independent day and boarding establishment, as On A Friday. Good call on the name change.
But as far as personal recording touches causing on stage insecurities, Hales is unaffected. "Maybe if my ex was there and it's a song about her, but I think I got over that after the first while of touring because I realised that, I dunno, if you're feeling insecure while your singing you can't really pull it off as much as you can if you're feeling confident and just believing in the song," he reasons. "I just try really hard to sing it the way it should be sung and not worry about my ex; if she's going to be upset, she's going to be upset." Birthed from his bedroom, Hales says the writing period for Learn To Exist, "was a lonely time but one I needed and wanted". Luckily, his bandmates encouraged this introspective journey and shared his musical vision. By the time they called on Magoo to finish tying up all the tracks at his Applewood Lane studio they were left with what we have now – a downright charming record that humbles with its consistent quality and energy. "Just generally how I've always looked at songs is that I like simple songs that can really affect people. I like the idea to be clear," Hales reasons. "And if you can get a guitar line that's [simple] and rhythmic – I love rhythmic music, I've been a drummer my whole life – and rhythmic music that makes you move and dance just feels awesome."
Progress hasn't changed things at the heart of The Jungle Giants, but growth is a constant – in music and life. Luckily for this lot, the fun's only just getting started. "We spend so much time jamming in the band room," he informs. "We try so hard to get songs down but for the first hour of every rehearsal we'll just be shredding some huge distortion and Keelan will just be smashing the drums, just doing Led Zeppelin jams. But yeah, it's cool man; all that stuff I feel is just as important as practicing the songs. "[And] we're such best friends that we're like fucking retarded," Hales shrugs. "We just run around acting like idiots and we just have such a good time together. In that way we're just the same, we'll be friends forever man; even if we're not in a band together when we're sixty we'll be hanging out on the front deck with no teeth. But we have changed so much in how we play together because we've been learning how each other plays. We're just getting this feel for each other and finding out how we can make things sound good together. We're always learning." WHAT: Learn To Exist (Amplifire) WHEN & WHERE: 24 Oct, Coolangatta Hotel, Gold Coast; 25 Oct, Solbar, Maroochydore; 26 Oct, The Hi-Fi; 27 Oct, Alhambra Lounge (under-18 matinee)
Surely Larry Mullen, Jr. had no idea that the note he'd post on a message board at Dublin's Mount Temple Comprehensive School would bring together one of the most successful musical acts in history. Wonder how long it took him to start calling Paul Hewson 'Bono' and David Evans 'The Edge'?
THE OFFSPRING Have you seen that film clip for All I Want? Our renegade protagonist runs like a madman, much like frontman Dexter Holland and bassist Greg Kriesel would have as part of the Pacifica High School track and field team. Throw the school janitor in the mix (Noodles) and you've got punk rock gold!
"I'm a bit jaded on the whole music industry but I do think that a lot of bands could take a lot away from older bands like Parkway and us as well, not to the same extent, but there's a lot to be learnt from the touring ethics of older bands. Look at Mindsnare, they've been doing that shit for twenty years; they're just passionate about hardcore, no bullshit. I think that would help if people strip away the bullshit and get back to the roots of it all."
Queensland world-beaters The Amity Affliction have been gripped to the road all year, and as Joel Birch tells Benny Doyle, it's the only way the band know how to exist.
side from a few stiff crowds in mainland Europe (we're looking at you Belgium!), The Amity Affliction have just enjoyed another successful OS tour, ripping into the continent of culture last month with British crew Landscapes and Aussie up-and-comers In Hearts Wake. Now, 12 months on from the release of their ARIA chart topping third record Chasing Ghosts, Gympie's biggest metal export will headline the largest local dates of their career, and affable growler Joel Birch is excited to attack stages as road hardened as they've ever been. "This is the first [Australian] tour we've really done where we've come off solid touring before it," Birch admits. "We're feeling much better this time than we were, even for the album tour; I felt like we hit our stride about halfway through that. So it's good, we're fully in tour mode [right now] so it should be a beauty." It's been a wild year of highs and lows for the band – with now-sorted label woes briefly mentioned but not expanded on by Birch – and he smiles when talking about seeing more of the world and performing as part of Soundwave, Groovin' The Moo and Warped Tour in the States. But grinding out tours end-toend is nothing new for The Amity Affliction; it's how they've built their career and honed their skills. The band don't know any other way, and Birch finds it funny that some young acts think they do. "I see [bands] who are touring hard, [then] I see bands forming with a band manager, a tour manager and a fucking press agent, a record label, and they're like, 'EP coming soon'. It's like, 'What do you mean, man?'" he laughs quizzically. "We toured for fucking six years before we had a manager. You don't need that shit, just hit the road, and then hit it again and again and again. It's almost like they think that shit just happens overnight; they just need to watch those Parkway DVDs and they can get a lesson in what happens. Just fucking tour, it's a simple formula. If you've got something that's going to become successful, like if you have that ability and you keep touring, it will come into fruition."
The frontman says instantaneous recognition and the visual one-upmanship found on social media has a big part to play in the problem. "There'll always be those people out there that want to be in a band so they can fuck, or want to be in a band because
Much like these tips espoused by Birch for young bands, Chasing Ghosts offers a clear message for fans of The Amity Affliction: life is there for living. It's a direct and at times arresting album, but it's also undeniably uplifting because the charismatic vocalist purged the challenging emotions he was feeling into something positive. "It's still a constant thing, it's not something that you just wake up in the morning and get rid of like a hangover," he says regarding his depression. "You're stuck with it for many, many years, so I work through it, stay positive and that's the best you can do. I still have my bad days, like everyone does, but just head down, get through it and move forwards."
"JUST FUCKING TOUR, IT'S A SIMPLE FORMULA." it's a mark of coolness or something. I know I speak for all of us in Amity; we wanted to be in a band to play music – that was it. It was something that we felt we had to do and we did it and it worked. But nowadays you say you're in a band on the internet and you're in a band – so what? You get one song on SoundCloud and who knows what can happen?" he jokes sarcastically.
Birch still fights his battles, but right now he's happy to concentrate on the summer ahead; epic shows with his best mates, time with his girlfriend at home on the Sunshine Coast, getting waves and doing pre-production on The Amity Affliction's fourth full-length, which the band are already deep into. "The guys have six songs demoed, I just sung on the first one yesterday and Ahren [Stringer – bass/clean vocals] has done choruses on four of them, so we're well and truly into writing mode," he reveals. "We're recording in January/February so new album around the corner."
WHEN & WHERE: 18 Oct, Brisbane Riverstage (all ages)
safely… We were overwhelmed by the compliments we received and it's hard to comprehend how extremely happy it makes people just that you're there."
Colourful Bertie Page Clinic singer Miranda 'Bertie' Bertram gives Tyler McLoughlan the lowdown on international roaming ahead of the release of their sophomore record Too Loud Too Naked.
Though filling a rather narrow musical niche, the variety of audiences Bertie Page Clinic appeal to is quite astonishing.
"It's something that I sincerely wanted to express, and it's all about themes of innocence and the anguish that girls go through when they feel like they've lost their innocence perhaps to somebody that was unworthy… And then realising as an adult that innocence does not have the value that we thought it did," she admits. "A lot of our songs are highly narrative because that's the kind of performer I am; I studied drama at university, playmaking, cabaret. So Smoko Oh No is all about a hot chick who works at a smoko truck. While it does come across as a very light-hearted song that has quite a few bogan jokes in it, it also has a very deep meaning that's important to me and that's also about the concept of women as Judas characters, and that focuses on the Yoko Ono model.
ozing sexuality and theatrical athleticism in a variety of vivid and often very tiny outfits, Miranda Bertram is certainly not what you'd call the average frontwoman of a costumed, makeupwearing glam rock band – and that's exactly the
point. This year alone the Brisbane fourpiece have entertained European cabaret crowds, rock'n'roll kidfriendly hometown audiences and Australian troops in Afghanistan. "It was top secret… for obvious security reasons," she says of their tour of the Middle East. "It's not a joke, it's not a game – if the enemy has information about civilians in particular and where they're going and what time they're going you are very vulnerable to attack. But fortunately that didn't happen so we were very honoured and privileged to have that opportunity and to do so very
With the release of Too Loud Too Naked this month, Bertram continues to explore character-driven plots with a dramatic and comedic edge, though single Pearls takes a soft-rock approach to a more serious topic.
"It's glam rock, with some cabaret influences," Bertram says in summation of Too Loud Too Naked. "It's highly narrative, comedic and sexually liberated, and very honestly expressed." WHAT: Too Loud Too Naked (Independent) WHEN & WHERE: 19 Oct, Rics Bar
PARKS & PRESERVATION Brendan Hitchens visits the historically rich city of Suzhou in China and finds plenty of things to keep him occupied that don't involve using Facebook or Twitter.
ounded in 514 BC, Suzhou is China's hidden heaven. In stark contrast to the modern metropolis of Shanghai and the swarming populus of Beijing, Suzhou seamlessly merges the past and the future, with a calm and personal touch. An ideal weekend trip when visiting China, Suzhou is an hour and a half drive from Shanghai or just 25 minutes on the fast train, which rarely reaches its maximum speed of 380 kilometres an hour before reaching its destination. Suzhou is a city world renowned for its varied attractions – most notably is its ancient gardens. Hidden from the shadows of skyscrapers and the buzz of passing traffic, the gardens of Suzhou are a picture of tranquillity. Like simultaneously stepping through a history book or a panoramic postcard, the sites, world heritagelisted by UNESCO, aren't so much for tourists as they are for everybody. A combination of art and architecture, the classical gardens are a preservation of a nation's storyline, steeped in history and tradition. Commonly referred to as the 'Venice of The East', Suzhou is also world famous for its river canals. Gliding through the mercy waters via a rickety boat makes you feel at one with the locals, as washing hangs from lines, chickens linger in backyards and children peep beneath curtained windows. Temples, gardens and arched bridges all pass by, but it's the connection to the people that makes it so special. Being a water city, the majority of Suzhou's signature dishes come in the form of seafood. The most popular local delicacy is the squirrel fish: a soft meat complemented with dried bamboo shoots and sweet 22 • THE MUSIC • 16TH OCTOBER 2013
and sour sauce. Other common delicacies include shrimp, stir-fried eels and whitebait soup. Shopping in Suzhou varies between retail stores and local markets. Down the narrow side streets you'll find cheap knock-offs of Fred Perry polos, Ray Ban sunglasses and Rolex watches, along with, of course, the more traditional fans, silks and tapestries. Bargaining with street vendors is a fast way to learn the local dialect, while fruit on sticks and fried breads are the perfect cure to a shoppinginduced appetite. The tourist precinct of Suzhou is Shantang Old Street, a 1,200-year-old street. Stone-lined paths run by the canals as couples pose for wedding photographs – the water and boats providing a picturesque backdrop. It's at night that the street
truly comes to life as glowing lanterns hang from ceilings and reflect off the river, giving the street a newfound ambience that again, connects the past with the future. For a one-stop tourist destination that encompasses all the hallmarks of Suzhou, Panmen Gate is the spot. You can explore the 2,500-year-old landmark at your own leisurely pace, strolling past pagodas, classical gardens, canals and ponds filled with some of the largest goldfish you will ever see. For something completely different, you can dress up like an emperor, complete with chest guard, helmet and sword and pose on a frail toy horse, to relive the ancient history, ironically, all captured on digital photography. The Suzhou Industrial Park is reminiscent of Melbourne's Docklands and Sydney's Circular Quay. Heavily backed by Singaporean investors in the mid 1990s, it represents the modernisation of China. The ever-developing precinct boasts hotels, residencies and a university, with the Jinji Lake as its centrepiece. Misleading in title, the park's abundance of grasslands and recreational activities, together with its postmodern statues scattering the pastures, make it a necessary asset to the city. Artistically, Suzhou is known for its unique brand of opera. Dating back over 400 years, the style merges art, music and literature and is led by a cast of just two or three. Performers are dressed in traditional gowns and full make-up and exchange dialogue through singing and movement. Significantly different to Western operas, performers sing in an octave rarely heard, and while hard to swallow at first, it becomes a distinguishing trait to the storytelling.
"GLIDING THROUGH THE MERCY WATERS VIA RICKETY BOAT MAKES YOU FEEL AT ONE WITH THE LOCALS, AS WASHING HANGS FROM LINES, CHICKENS LINGER IN BACKAYRDS AND CHILDREN PEEP BENEATH CURTAINED WINDOWS." The people of Suzhou are warm and welcoming and willing to try their limited English on passing tourists, with a simple "hello" and beaming smile. It's a simple metaphor for the city and how it embraces change. While the local government censors social mediums of Facebook and Twitter, all it takes is a visit to Suzhou, a glimpse into its long history and a passing interaction with its people, to realise the tranquillity of a life pre-internet. THE MUSIC • 16TH OCTOBER 2013 • 23
THE HARD ROAD Anthony Carew speaks to director Ivan Sen about the ongoing tension between Indigenous and settler Australia, and how this was drawn upon in his latest film Mystery Road. e had a big premiere screening back out in Winton last week," says Ivan Sen, of returning to the rural West Queensland town in which he shot his latest feature film, Mystery Road. The film is a policier set against a tenor of racial tensions, in which Aaron Pedersen's Aboriginal detective investigates the murder of a local black girl, to the dismissive ire of the white powers-that-be and the resentment of the local community. It's a murdermystery as sociological study – boasting a cast including Hugo Weaving, Jack Thompson, Ryan Kwanten, Damian Walshe-Howling and Tasma Walton – and that meant the screening in rural Queensland was a loaded event.
For Aboriginal policemen in rural communities, it's a really difficult occupation, [one] that often doesn't last for long. The psychological pressures of performing a job where you're eventually forced, at some point, to lock up your own family members, it's too much for them, and they inevitably quit."
"The screening brought together all the Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, the traditional owners of the land and the current land-owners," explains Sen, 41. "As far as we could gather, it was the first time that this had actually happened in the long history of this town. To have so many people, and such a mix of people, all gathering in the one place, all gathering to watch this film meant that we were asking a lot of non-Indigenous people to experience a story through the Indigenous perspective, in an audience filled with Indigenous people. It was a pretty powerful screening in that way."
The story is set against a savage landscape, rife with wild dogs – "I saw dogs as a metaphor for rural Australia: you've got the native dogs, and you've got the introduced species, [and] you run into a lot of problems with the integration of these two worlds" – and ruled by guns. The film ends with another genre element, the shoot-out, torn from its familiar range and staged over a vast distance.
Sen's fourth narrative feature – following 2002's Beneath Clouds and 2011's Toomelah, two portraits of wayward Aboriginal youth, and 2010's Dreamland, a bizarre film-experiment obsessed with America's extra-terrestrial hotspot Area 51 – was inspired by the idea of the Aboriginal cop, and what that culturally means, and the treatment of Aboriginal women by rural police. Two of Sen's documentary works, 2004's Who Was Evelyn Orcher? and 2007's A Sister's Love have explored the plight of the 'lost' Indigenous woman: a topic that hits close-to-home for Sen. "I had a distant cousin who, a month after going missing, was found under the roadway outside the local town," Sen explains, declining to give the specifics, of an event that shadow's Mystery Road's plot. "The police investigation seemed non-existent; they were very inactive about trying to find the killer. There's many other examples of that around, and even another one from my family: another cousin, in Tamworth, was the victim of a murder up there, and very little seemed to be done about trying to find the killer. If it were just my own experiences, I probably wouldn't be motivated to make a whole film out of it, but it's a problem that runs throughout the whole country: crimes against Aboriginal women being borderline ignored by law-enforcement." So, Sen set about making what he calls "a multilayered genre-piece, as seen through the Indigenous perspective", enfolding thriller, procedural and Western elements. Pedersen's character is, therein, a maligned and borderline powerless figure – treated with a turncoat's contempt – Sen seeing him as being a modern echo of the historical figures of Aboriginal trackers, who aided white settlers in apprehending wanted natives. "Growing up, I could never identify as being either white or black, so I've always sympathised with these people caught between two worlds," Sen explains. "It's an incredibly complex emotional experience for these turncoats, who are trying to lift themselves up by doing something that is, in its way, destroying their own people. 24 • THE MUSIC • 16TH OCTOBER 2013
"Out in the country, it's the domain of the rifle," Sen says. "Rifles are a part of culture. You use them to protect your stock from wild dogs, you use them to put your stock down, you use them for food, for hunting. That's been my experience of using guns: you shoot, then there's almost enough time for you to look at each other before you see the result of your shot." Initially Sen hoped to make Mystery Road in an urban setting – "I felt like I'd done enough outback films" – but eventually ended up in Winton, which had been the location for John Hillcoat's The Proposition. "I think The Proposition turned them all into film buffs," Sen smiles. "They were very supportive – and very informed – of the whole filmmaking process." But there were also three days shooting
"I HAVEN'T GOT MY HEAD UP IN THE CLOUDS ABOUT IT, BUT I THINK EVERY FILM CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE TO PEOPLE WHO SEE IT." in remote Moree, where the social problems Sen was dramatising – a stark divide between wealthy landowners and impoverished mission-dwellers, writ along racial lines – were manifest in reality. He went there to film amongst the housing-commission houses. The time in Moree was brief, and, logistically, fraught; there was, Sen says, an air of tension during the filming. But the filmmaker took it as a spur, that what he was doing with Mystery Road made it necessary. "I haven't got my head up in the clouds about it, but I think every film can make a difference to the people who see it," Sen says. "Whether it's conscious or unconscious, whether it's immediate or delayed, it will have some influence, and make some difference. We're always conditioned by what we see and what we hear as human beings." WHAT: Mystery Road In cinemas 17 Oct
recently seen much success doing graphic art for heaps of rappers including the aforementioned Sentry and Mantra, and his work has gone even further in video form. The self-taught filmmaker has recently directed the videos for Sentry's massive hits Dear Science and Float Away – both humourous and meticulously stylised.
Jeremy Koren is much better known as Grey Ghost, but pigeonholing him as just a rapper is really underselling his many creative pursuits, a couple of which he talks about with Chris Yates.
eremy Koren has just finished the kind of run that INXS or Midnight Oil might have done in the early '80s – tagging along with Seth Sentry, Mantra and crew, taking in Australia's many expansive highways, stopping off roughly every second day to put on a show for punters in places where Friday night entertainment is usually relegated to blockies and maybe a slab in the backyard.
"It was really a lot of fun, and the fact that it was regional meant that there was a lot of funny shit!" he says without divulging. "Being the support act, you can sort of kick back even more." While there may be less pressure being the support artist, he's about to flip that up by taking on his own headline tour, albeit a bit further from the bush. He's promoting The Elixir EP, a new project which has seen the culmination of his artistic pursuits come together for the first time in such a personal way. Koren has
"The fact that I'm doing film clips for other artists at the time of putting out the EP and did the artwork – which is all the comic art referencing Tin Tin – it felt like it was a time in which all of those things were coming together," he says. "I was able to fully realise the Grey Ghost thing in a visual and sonic way. It's a nice feeling when you can 100 per cent represent yourself and you don't have to tell other people how you want to be represented. I've also got a great team around me, my cinematographer and producer and my management – it's not like I'm out there completely on my own in the dark." He's quick to point out that he has not made a straightup hip hop record. Even in the live sense he uses a live band to make it all work properly. He says that the diversity of hip hop in Australia means even in rural Australia people are not shocked by what he does. "I'm doing my weird kinda electro rock with postpunk references and really some deeper electronic stuff that's quite odd, and I'm up there looking all weird and they love it!" he laughs. "If that had been even five years ago, I think I would have just been beaten up and chased out of town, so for me it's an exciting time." WHEN & WHERE: 17 Oct, The Tempo Hotel; Oct 18, Coolangatta Hotel; 19 Oct, Solbar, Maroochydore
MILD STALLIONS Conflict aversion, an edge of aggression and a considered, pragmatic and respectful approach to your fellow man – that's what Little Scout is made of, as guitarist/vocalist Patrick Elliott tells Mitch Knox.
fter his band's stint on-tour with fellow Brisbane-dwellers Hungry Kids Of Hungary, Patrick Elliott is doing the best he can to slide back into normalcy. And it's no wonder, really – with their esteemed sophomore full-length Are You Life mere weeks old, and a tour in support of it looming on the horizon, any degree of the mundane or routine is probably a beneficial thing. "This afternoon I've tried to be a good human," he announces, "and I've actually done my twenty minutes of exercise, which is easier than it sounds when you've been living the tour lifestyle for the past month or so, so I've sweated some of it out." Keen observers of the band's movements on social media would already be familiar with the vocalistguitarist's attempts at physicality, alongside his dubious dietary choices (no judgment) and other assorted everyday musings. But it's only through discussing his physical shortcomings that Elliott inadvertently alludes to a more useful skill he's picked up in his time. "I was never a gifted athlete, I suppose you'd say," he admits. "It's not that I haven't got an appreciation for it, but it never came naturally… I was always quite good at debating, [though], but that's mostly because I've had to learn to talk my way out of situations due to my lack of athleticism." Okay, so, it's not exactly usual to connect debate skills with life in a rock band, but it's served Elliott in good stead. "Look, you have to be negotiating a lot of the time with people when you're in a band, both internally and externally," he explains. "Internally, for me, you're always fighting about track listing or what a particular song should sound like, or how you're gonna afford to do this or that – so I have a particular style, I suppose, in that I'm very conflict-averse. I don't like conflict, but I'm sort of silent but thinking the whole time in my head what I'm going to rebut with straight away. Unfortunately, I'm up against some stiff competition in the form of [fellow members] Mel Tickle and Miro Mackie; they're both
intellectuals in their own right and present very convincing arguments, to say the least." He's not exaggerating – Little Scout (who are rounded out by currently absent keyboardist Kirsty Tickle and touring members Charles Sale on guitar and Michael
time hobby, whatever you want to call it – and you're spending so much time with these people. Luckily, we were all friends to start with, but you do have to portray or demonstrate a certain level of diplomacy, because otherwise things go south pretty quickly." It's a sensible view to take, and one that came in handy during the production of Are You Life. "It's never easy, but it was a really fun process," Elliott says of creating the album. "We recorded it ourselves and stuff, so we had the freedom to do what we wanted and the time, for the most part, to do what we wanted, so it was just fun to explore all that. "Recording your first album's quite daunting, in terms of putting something together on that scale," he continues, "so we felt like we knew how to do things a bit better the second time around, but also, I guess, over the period of time, our live show was really developing as well, and we had some ideas about what we wanted to be presenting on-stage. I think that influenced the final product a little bit. I think it was… well, I'm never very good with adjectives, but…
"YOU CAN'T AFFORD TO DO SOMETHING LIKE A BAND AND HAVE RIFTS." Pringle on bass) are, by all measures, a band with cerebral and musical clout, with Tickle and Elliott both having been finalists for this year's Grant McLennan Memorial Fellowship. But, despite the close quarters and strong, intelligent opinions, Elliott says, there's no room for unchecked aggression. "You can't afford to do something like a band and have rifts," he says. "Really, you've chosen to do this thing – this lifestyle, full-
we were going for a more aggressive sound, I suppose; something that was a bit more in-your-face, and a lot more focus on the pop element of things, as well." Of course, not everyone will love the 'new' Little Scout. But, true to his demonstrably philosophical form, Elliott thinks that's a good thing, too. "It's difficult to keep everyone happy in life. You learn that pretty quickly in life generally, but especially being in a band. At the end of the day, someone's not going to like what you're doing. And, in some ways, thank God for that, because it would be very boring otherwise."
WHAT: Are You Life (MGM) WHEN & WHERE: 18 Oct, Black Bear Lodge; 25 Oct, The Spotted Cow, Toowoomba; 26 Oct, Solbar, Maroochydore
A Whose Line Is It Anyway? legend who once rapped with POTUS' crew, Brad Sherwood is teaming up with mate Colin Mochrie for a debut improv trip to Australia, writes Baz McAlister. eloved improvisational comedy show Whose Line Is It Anyway? spawned both British and American versions and ran from 1988 to 2007. This year, it's enjoying a revival on US network The CW, and two of its core performers are still going strong. Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood were involved with the show almost from the beginning; they've been mates for more than 20 years and doing their own two-man live improv comedy show for a decade. Sherwood says, however, that
doesn't mean they're not out to get each other. "We have a level of trust from having done so many episodes of Whose Line? together," the US-based comedian says, "and from touring our live show. We've been through the trenches together. But we are still constantly trying to trip each other up. Even though we trust each other, we're still trying to throw snowballs at each other." Sherwood says that at any given moment on stage, as veteran improvisers, both he and Mochrie have three or four good ideas on the go – "With the two of us on stage there's
always eight ideas flashing around between our brains – so if I go dry for one moment, he's still got four great ideas over there. It would be really hard for us to completely screw up." An Evening With Colin And Brad draws from the Whose Line? format, using some of the show's classic games and throwing in some new ones. "Obviously we don't have four improvisers [like in the show], so that limits things, and we don't have a host/ moderator who can call the shots," Sherwood says. "So we've adapted some of the games to use audience members, and we give them some of the control."
Sherwood says the singing games were always among his favourites because "you have to work at the top of your brain – you have to make sense, and rhyme, and be on key," he says. "I liked it because it was like doing the hardest crossword puzzle." In his most viewed online video, he's doing exactly that in front of one of the world's most high-pressure crowds. When he and Mochrie co-hosted the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner in 2007, Sherwood's improvised rap with George W Bush's deputy chief of staff Karl Rove – aka 'MC Rove' – went viral. "I saw where Karl Rove was sitting and I planned to ask him to be on stage, but I never thought he'd say yes," Sherwood says. "[CNN reporter] Wolf Blitzer was sitting at the same table so I thought, 'When Karl says no, I will grab Blitzer and drag him up to do a rap' – but Karl Rove said yes. The rest was surreal political comedy. The whole place was full of press corps and muckity-mucks and I thought no one who everyone knew would come up on with us. The morning after, we got invited to the White House to meet the President. It was a surreal weekend, where two goofy boys who do fart jokes ended up in the Oval Office." WHEN & WHERE: 22 Oct, The Tivoli
TOURING NATIONALLY WITH BUSBY MAROU TICKETSharryhookey.comAVAILABLE AT BUSBYMAROU.COM facebook.com/HarryHookey twitter.com/HarryHookey warnermusic.com.au
MINING THE LOW After a long break from the music scene, one of Australia's favourite indie-pop artists Andy Bull has recently returned with two singles, both of which take on a completely different identity to his previous works. Jazmine O'Sullivan finds out about the benefit of trusting your instincts. hen Andy Bull released The Phantom Pains EP to critical acclaim in 2010, it earned the singer-songwriter an almost instant following, with several tracks prominent on triple j and his duet with Lisa Mitchell, Dog, reaching number 68 in that year's Hottest 100. While it probably came as a surprise to many that he dropped off the radar almost immediately after these victories, Bull himself believes this was a path he had to follow.
Fast forward to 2013, and musician is back on the scene with two brand new singles, which reveal a completely different side to his musicality. Instead of the bright, poppy tunes of the past, we're now met with brooding electronica and syncopated beats. With ominous titles like Keep On Running and Baby I Am Nobody Now, Bull reveals these last few years have been spent in deep, personal reflection. "My good songs are inspired by the lower times," he offers. "It's about the possibility of surviving [the bad times] and transforming them into something good. I guess that's why I find songwriting useful; it's a chance to turn something chaotic or distressing into something that's expressive or somehow cathartic. That's what the two songs have been; they were the product of reflection over the past few years." Wanting to express himself in the truest and purest voice, he decided to take on the role of producer, which he admits was a huge challenge, but also a rewarding one. "Being alone in the studio gave me the chance to listen to all the threads of dialogue in my head," he admits. "If there's no one else around I at least know that it's all coming from me. I can choose to ignore the thoughts or go with it, and know that the decisions have been all mine. There's a real comfort in that." While Keep On Running and Baby I'm Nobody Now seem to travel down a completely different path to what was found on The Phantom Pains, Bull says they're actually a product of turning back to his musical roots. "Playing around with synths and drum machines has always been something I've done secretly or on my own," he explains. "When I first started playing music live, it was probably 28 • THE MUSIC • 16TH OCTOBER 2013
more aligned with what I'm doing now than what I recorded, so it's really good to get back to some sort of authenticity and find out what really excites me in music." Reflecting on homemade electronic music's place within the Oz music scene Bull enthuses, "It's come into vogue again.
Taking a huge leap in refinement, not just musically but also lyrically, Bull believes his latest works have helped to establish a deeper relationship with his fans. "I've had people write to me and say, 'I've been going through this thing recently, and your song summed it up really well'," he tells, "and there have been quite a few different people with very different situations who've written to me about the same song. "But I consider that a good thing, because it means there's an interaction going on. People are listening, interpreting and responding to the music, and to me
"I FEEL A PERSONAL FAILING THAT IN THE PAST I DIDN'T JUST FORGE AHEAD AND FOLLOW MY INSTINCTS." There was a long period of time that the scene was very rock'n'roll; that's not a criticism at all, it's just the way it was. So as a keyboard player, and someone who doesn't have a gravelly rock voice, I didn't know if I had anything to offer. But now keyboards are back in vogue, so I'm happy these things I love are getting heard. I feel a personal failing that in the past I didn't just forge ahead and follow my instincts."
it's now become a two-way thing, which is one of the best bits about making music or art or words." Bull has been busy putting all the elements together for his next album, which he reveals will most likely be released next year, yet says his more immediate focus is his national tour, where he'll be joined onstage by some pretty special guests. "There'll be me, and the keyboardist from Dappled Cities, Ned [Cooke] will come along. The drummer from Deep Sea Arcade [Carlos Adura] is also coming, as well as someone that the Hungry Kids Of Hungary stole from me, but is also still playing with me."
WHAT: Baby I Am Nobody Now (Universal) WHEN & WHERE: 19 Oct, Alhambra Lounge
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[time]; you can never have those conversations with people. My girlfriend works a shitty job and she talks about the same three people, and when I talk it's like 'transvestite Mexican wrestlers, fucking Flea's around'; my life is a comic book, and it's so weird to try and connect and talk about it because it doesn't make sense."
Every Time I Die are five self-proclaimed "shitheads" that still can't believe people want to see them play. Andy Williams explains to Benny Doyle why it's the coolest thing in the fucking world.
iterally dick and fart jokes," is the immediate response given by bearded behemoth Andy Williams when asked what's kept the Every Time I Die fires burning for 16 years. It's a joke obviously, but only to a degree, as it's their ability to not take themselves – or any sort of scene – seriously that has allowed the Buffalo, New York quintet to continue standing strong in the world of metal. "A lot of people get caught up in that fucking head game, where it's just like, 'Oh my God, they love me,'" the softly-spoken axeman admits. "For us, it's like, 'Really? You like me? – I'm a fat, thirty-six-year-old guy with tattoos and no aspiration to do anything else in my life – I can't believe you think I'm cool.' And when kids come up to me and they're like, 'Hey man, you're my favourite guitar player,' I'm like, 'Are you sure? Have you heard Eric Clapton or other great guitar players? Because I don't sound anything like those guys.' And I think that has a lot to do with it: one) not taking ourselves too seriously, and two) having an almost morbid, self-deprecating sense of humour." The Southern 'core wild men are making yet another trek Down Under behind their fantastic sixth record of last year, Ex Lives, and this headline tour will mark their second sojourn in less than 12 months following their (rather surprising but very welcome) inclusion on the Big Day Out bill in January. These dates will see Every Time I Die getting physical in their natural habitat of a cosy club, an environment that was a distant memory when they were thrust onto the main stage at one in the afternoon. "I almost died [that] first day," Williams bluntly recalls. "It was 112 – I think you guys had like the hottest heat index in Sydney's history the day we played – which is like, I don't even know what the fuck it is in your weird temperature, but [that's] so hot you could fry an egg on the ground. And we had the dumb fucking idea to wear black leather jackets. It was awful." It's about this stage that question time is pretty well put on hold. Williams is in the zone, telling hilarious anecdotes end-to-end, going on to discuss their squarepegs-in-a-round-hole status on the line-up. "I think we definitely stuck out a little bit on that tour, but that's cool, y'know what I mean? We don't play with bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers and stuff like that, so for us
we were like little kids walking around, like 'Oh my God, there's Flea!' I remember when OFF! showed up the first day I lost it because Mario Rubalcaba was there and he was one of my favourite skateboarders when I was a kid, he played drums in Hot Snakes – which is like my favourite band of all time – and now he's in OFF! with Keith Morris from Black Flag and Circle Jerks, and it was just a trippy experience to see those dudes." Williams says he would watch JEFF The Brotherhood and Death Grips every day, OFF! every other day and calls Gary Clark Jr the only artist he "found" that he didn't know about. He also got friendly with some transvestites. "Well, it was weird because there was these transvestite Mexican wrestlers walking around the airports that we were in, and I got along with them really well; we were sharing hotels so I was hanging out with them. I'd be talking to my girlfriend at the end of the night and she'd be like, 'Well, what did you do today?' and I'd say I've been hanging out with the Mexican wrestling guys and blah blah blah. It was the weirdest
To back-up his admission of a comical existence, the guitarist recalls a Sydney show at Manning Bar where he kicked a fan down a staircase at said fan's request. Williams then references the best-selling self-help book, The Secret, and although he admits "it's a crock of shit", he does concede the positive thinking voodoo might be slowly taking hold. "I will come up with this thing, like 'Today I'm going to do this', and next thing you know it happens. Like, I'm going to do the weirdest thing possible; I'm going to go to Chinatown and if there's an open door I'm going to walk in. I don't know what the fuck's in there? There
"I'M A FAT, 36-YEAR-OLD GUY WITH TATTOOS AND NO ASPIRATION TO DO ANYTHING ELSE IN MY LIFE – I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU THINK I'M COOL." might be a family just eating dinner. But I'm starting to make my own destiny is what I'm trying to say. To be hanging out with Mexican transvestite wrestlers, that's something that I can check off my bucket list. Like, 'Tonight I'm going to ride a horse', and the next thing y'know I'm riding a horse. It's fucking weird, man." It is weird – when Williams puts it like that. But in reality it's quite logical – and it works, for Every Time I Die. Their entire career has been a case of wanting to do something, then doing it. They have never compromised their recorded output, never given anything less than everything on stage. And why? Because they don't want to let anyone down. Especially themselves. "I don't ever want to be that guy that's doing something mediocre and being happy with it," he says, sounding disappointed at the mere thought. "There's a lot of people that do the band thing because they just became so complacent in doing the same thing over and over again. With Every Time I Die, the minute it gets mediocre, the minute that happens is the minute we're done. [If this] isn't the best thing we can do then fuck it, we're calling it a day." WHEN & WHERE: 18 Oct, The Hi-Fi
SAY NO TO NOVO'S Raucous garage soulmates Gooch Palms continue to insolently march to their own drum. Leroy Macqueen shoots the shit with Brendan Telford. Photo by Josh Groom.
abblerousers in arms Gooch Palms – Leroy Macqueen and Kat Friend – have managed to tread the fine line between shambolism and the sublime with aplomb, flirting with both, giving in to neither. This ebb and flow is testament to the duo's commitment to their craft, its narrow niche, and the bountiful ways they've found to stretch its boundaries. This extends to their often outrageous live shows. That said, it isn't as overt to Macqueen.
"Everyone tends to see this tightrope effect of how we play and write songs, but I don't really see it," he explains. "I'm interested in this though, and this interest keeps me doing what I'm doing. Yet live everything is pretty controlled – we know what we're doing. The only time things go pearshaped, and this rarely happens now, is when I've had a few too many. I love getting nude, and if I could do it every day I probably would. I don't tend to drink before shows anymore though, because I love playing. I don't want things to be out and out shit, I don't want to forget the shows either. It's what we live for really.
That, and the photographer's face when he realises his photos all contain penises and can't be printed."
After a series of delectably unhinged smaller releases, Gooch Palms are ready to release their debut album, Novo's. It's perfect testament to the idiosyncratic world that Macqueen and Friend inhabit, fuelled by their love of having fun amidst the sometimes volatile musical landscape of their hometown. It's such a strong influence that the album title and songs like Hunter Street Mall are direct touchstones to the city. "In the past we've written about stupid things, like cockroaches or space. But this time we wrote about living in Newcastle, because you can get really pissed off so why not write about what happens around you every single day? It's not a theme record, yet I can't understand why there aren't more albums about the place. My dad showed me one novelty song written about Hunter Street but there isn't much else. It's the greatest place to get inspired by getting pissed off. Silverchair never wrote about living here – they really missed their opportunity." The band won't be resting on their laurels though – Macqueen admits it's inherently impossible to do so. "My phone is so chock-a-block with songs that I've recorded that I have to upload them to iTunes every three weeks to get space back," he enthuses. "Whenever Kat leaves the house I go straight to the front room and start jamming. Whether it sounds shit or not, I record demo after demo after demo. It can be one song a week or two songs a day, depending on how I'm feeling. I'll show it immediately to Kat, she'll say yay or nay, and we go from there." WHAT: Novo's (Anti-Fade) WHEN & WHERE: 19 Oct, Greenslopes Bowls Club
CHASING ZOMBIES Guy Davis chats to actor Pierre Perrier, star of Studio's new apocalyptic TV series The Returned about the undead.
ombies are traditionally uncomplicated. Sometimes they shamble, sometimes they run. Generally they want to devour your flesh, although sometimes they like to shake it up a little by feasting only on your brain. (They're the gourmets of the zombie population.) Leave it to the French, though, to put a bit of an existential spin on the whole walking dead pop culture phenomenon by making a television series where the dearly departed return from the grave looking to pick up their lives where they left off, reconnect with loved ones or maybe begin indulging in some of the nasty habits - such as murder - in which they indulged before they shuffled off this mortal coil. In The Returned, premiering soon on pay-TV channel Studio, the residents of a small French town are shocked and stunned when several people believed dead for years simply...well, return. "We put the zombie theme back into some kind of reality," says Pierre Perrier, who plays Simon, who comes back to find that Adele, the woman he was going to marry, has given birth to his daughter Chloe but has also found new love with another man, Thomas. "One of the biggest themes of the show is this fantastic scenario but it has a very real effect on the people. We managed to do something new with something fantastic like the undead, something very realistic about what would really happen if you opened your door in the morning and you saw your dead father or your dead mother or your dead little brother… we wanted to show a realistic reaction to that." That's not to say that The Returned is simply some moody kitchen-sink melodrama where a few of the major players happen to be zombies. While it would be unfair to reveal just what happens as the first season of The Returned progresses, let's just say that some mysteries are unravelled while others deepen. (And fear not, a second season is currently in the works.) The show has proven a critical and commercial success in France and internationally (UK and US remakes are reportedly in development), and Perrier is quick to attribute the quality of The Returned to its producers and directors but primarily its screenwriters, especially series creator Fabrice Gobert. "Fabrice is great," Perrier says. "He really created a close atmosphere between the writing team and all the actors, which is difficult because there are a lot of actors. He was continually rewriting the script, every day and every night, then in the mornings he'd come and say 'I have a new idea' or 'What do you think of this?' He has great humanity and he managed to keep it all very real. There was a lot of money and a lot of expectation involved, but he managed to keep his own very strong idea of the show intact. He fought a lot to keep some ideas in, and I think it was a great success." "It was a long process writing the story, with five or six people working over maybe five or six years just to get it right. The subject of zombies and undead people are so overused in other movies and TV shows that now they're almost a non-serious subject, and I think The Returned takes it somewhere very realistic in a French cinematic way, very 'auteur'." 32 • THE MUSIC • 16TH OCTOBER 2013
The French film industry has embraced genres like horror and fantasy with gusto, but Perrier feels that The Returned breaks new ground in terms of the country's small-screen produce. "I think the success is because it represents a new French identity," he says. "France hasn't been able until the last two or three years to make good TV shows that it can export abroad. We do this in cinema, but we don't usually have the balls to do it on TV, we normally stay classic. But France is growing slowly, and this is hopefully our time." As far as his character Simon is concerned, Perrier says he was initially described as "a classic romantic". "All sad, always in black, big hair, looking desperately for his wife and child," says Perrier. "Like some classic character out of literature but there is a twist: Fabrice told me at the beginning 'Maybe he is not so innocent'." Indeed, just as there is mystery surrounding the return of Simon, there is also mystery surrounding the circumstances of his death. Did he take his own life? Was there something more sinister involved? Or something more banal? "If he actually killed himself, then he was somebody depressed and sad," muses Perrier. "Maybe he tried to get away on his wedding day because he was crazy, or he was a little bit sick, so he went from being this classical character to being some kind of pervert narcissist, playing with other people's feelings." Regardless, Simon's return plays havoc with the life Adele
"WE MANAGED TO DO SOMETHING NEW WITH SOMETHING FANTASTIC LIKE THE UNDEAD, SOMETHING VERY REALISTIC ABOUT WHAT WOULD REALLY HAPPEN IF YOU OPENED YOUR DOOR IN THE MORNING AND YOU SAW YOUR DEAD FATHER OR YOUR DEAD MOTHER OR YOUR DEAD LITTLE BROTHER." has created in the years since. To their daughter Chloe, she refers to Simon as "an angel"...but is he? "Well, who is entirely an angel and who is entirely a devil?" says Perrier. "It's the same for all characters. I think every character in the series has their own questions and anger and joy. It's almost impossible to imagine what it would be like to be this guy and come back. Can you imagine it? You find your wife with another man and your child already grown up. It's just impossible. There was a lot of ambiguity about the character and I loved that about him. I mean, with Thomas - Adèle's new husband Simon's going to be a devil, and with his child, he's going to be an angel. It's just the character." WHAT: The Returned WHEN: Premieres 16 Oct, Studio
Better known as the frontman of The Panics, Jae Laffer is now stepping out with his solo debut, When The Iron Glows Red. He tells Jazmine O'Sullivan how friends in 'rythmic places have re-energised his creative side.
hen The Iron Glows Red is a beautiful title for an album, yet it becomes so much more poignant when considering its origin. While flipping through a newspaper, Jae Laffer discovered a story about the last Vietnamese blacksmith. Due to the development of machines and a lack of interest in carrying on the tradition, this man became the last in what used to be a prospering trade. The story was of a common man following his dreams, who was suddenly about to lose his tradition: a notion which profoundly resonated with Laffer. "The story seemed to reflect a few things I was writing about. The record itself is kind of a coming of age record; we're all still trying to chase our dreams and [the story] resonated with me because I thought this guy was in that vein; he summed up the situation [in] a really poetic way," Laffer explains. "Once you've got a title in mind for your album and a certain atmosphere, it directed the whole environment and the characters. His story and that phrase in particular are a nice overview of what I was trying to say in the album, it helped me clarify that." One of the more important factors for Laffer in making this album was that it was written, recorded and produced quickly, following his instincts. "The recording process was really a reaction to [The Panic's] last record which took a while to put together; I wanted to make sure I still had it in me to sit down and write a whole bunch of songs really quickly just because I felt like it. I just wanted to play with my own creative spirit." While many musicians can spend an eternity refining their songs, Laffer admits it was liberating to not do that with this album. "I always look back at certain things and regret overanalysing, or overproducing, or just constantly going back to a song, replacing instruments and things like that. Sometimes it takes you a year or two to look back on something you've done and realise your first instincts are often correct." It may sound like a simple task to just write and record on instinct, yet Laffer reveals, "It was kind of like retraining my brain to think, 'Whatever happens today, I'm walking
out with a song', because sometimes if you don't put that deadline on yourself then you don't do anything, so now I know I can sit down and make it happen." While making the album, Laffer enlisted the help of his friend Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics for certain instrumentation
says, "I'm really into the idea of strange collaborations with people that I wouldn't normally work with. It's nice working with strangers and finding new angles on your life. Instead of making the concrete goal to go out on another solo venture in the future, I'd prefer to just randomly make friends with someone and try something completely different to what I might normally do. So in saying that, this might be the last record that sounds anything like what I've done before." Currently rehearsing for his album launch tour, Laffer says he will bring some friends on stage to help realise the energy of the album. "I've put together a five-piece
"SOMETIMES YOU LOOK BACK ON SOMETHING YOU'VE DONE AND REALISE YOUR FIRST INSTINCTS ARE OFTEN CORRECT. " and production duties. "I'm really intrigued about him as a character and his creative soul," Laffer tells of Stewart. "He's spread his net wide over the years, working with films and books as well as helping people with all kind of musical endeavours, and I like to be around people like that." With the people around him providing the prime source of inspiration for this album, Laffer
band which is half traditional and half not. I really wanted to bring a driving rhythm section, but I also wanted to keep a lot of space to make sure it's still very vocal and lyric heavy. Then we've just got a great drummer, a piano player, Paul [Otway] who's the bass player for The Panics, and a guy called Ben [Riley] from Georgia Fair doing some guitar work and some other sounds. So between them we're just trying a few different things, we're still putting it together really but we've got a great energy and the songs sound particularly special live." WHAT: When The Iron Glows Red (Dew Process/Universal) WHEN & WHERE: 18 Oct, Alhambra Lounge; 19 Oct, The Loft, Gold Coast THE MUSIC • 16TH OCTOBER 2013 • 33
WHAT'S THE RUSH? Why did we have to wait ten years to get Cody Chesnutt's second album? Because he had to wait ten years to get it. He chats with Benny Doyle about learning, growing and reconnecting.
hen he was standing on the edge of stardom, Cody Chesnutt decided to step away from it all. Outside looking in, Chesnutt had it all: a voice from the heavens, virtuoso guitar chops, unflappable style and friends in all the right places. The Roots spin on his original, The Seed, catapulted him onto TV screens and allowed him to be heard by a new generation. Then just as mainstream crossover success beckoned he disappeared from the scene for the better part of a decade. "It was interesting," he ponders. "I remember trying to be as present as possible in the process so I could take it all in because it was happening fast. Thank god I had enough time before it all hit to really get an understanding of how grounded you should be and what to look out for, because before The Seed came out with The Roots I'd already been playing The Headphone Masterpiece underground for [almost a] year, and then MTV and all the coverage began to happen so I just tried to really focus on what is real and just take my time with it and take it all in so it was never completely overwhelming. I think I kept myself pretty focused on what really mattered." What mattered was family, not fame - because success wasn't striven for and recognition seemed a chore. What the now 45-year-old simply wanted was to write the next song. In his mind there was no need to pander to the scene and repeat; he just wanted to create the best art he could, whenever it felt right. That meant clearing his head and letting life become another thing for him. Chesnutt became a father. He says it was the perfect time to welcome a new heart into the world as it allowed him to "focus on something else rather than my own desires." And for many years that's what it was all about – the quiet life – one which has now taken him from California to Florida with his family. Once his head was clear, he started to sense the themes that would line the music of his second release, 2012's Landing On A Hundred. "I had lots of time to think and listen and to really concentrate on the tone of my lyric and the effectiveness of the lyric – I didn't want to waste any words. I really wanted to say everything that I felt; to find a way to
get to the point and be accessible at the same time y'know. I really wanted to grow and learn and understand how to make complex issues accessible to everybody – that was one of the greatest things I learnt in that
Landing On A Hundred is still allowing Chesnutt to discover new feelings and emotions on stage: "That's all I'm ever trying to discover – the deepest emotion, the most genuine emotion – that's the only thing that really makes it worthwhile for me, and that's what makes it worth sharing. If I find something that's really moving me then I'm inspired at that point in time to go out and communicate and share that with other people. Other than that there's no reason to do it, for me. "If I'm not connecting with the songs, then why go on tour? That's where my head is [right now]. There's so much superficial music and content in the air and the media; I want something that really moves the soul of the person. That's my aim, to have something like that to share. And if I'm not moved, then I'm not interested in sharing it with anybody." According to the main man, the players he's bringing out for his first Australian dates since 2006 – a collection of multi-instrumentalists ready and willing to bend with the unique feelings of his music – lock in tight with that energy. "They do, they do," Chesnutt
"THAT'S ALL I'M EVER TRYING TO DISCOVER – THE DEEPEST EMOTION, THE MOST GENUINE EMOTION" process. I remember seeing an interview with Hendrix, and he was lying on the bed talking to somebody, and he was saying that he was trying to trim it all down, cut the words down and get to the point. That really impacted me as a writer. Just say what you need to say, and not go around the world trying to make it too difficult, too heady – just put it there." Although this continuation on his rhythm and blues journey picked up again almost a year ago, the guitar-driven soul of
confirms in a leisurely drawl. "They understand my position, which is play for the song – the song tells us all what needs to happen. The song is the boss, the song is the leader, so let's all really support and find out what the song means, and they're very open and understanding with that and try their very best to connect with it and share the song." And sure, you may have forgotten about Cody Chesnutt once, but don't make the same mistake over. An incredible musician, a special human being; his style of life is one worth breathing in, even after all this time. "I had to live in a way that informed me enough that I could mature as a writer and a listener to communicate. I felt I needed to basically clear my head and my spirit, and grow as a man. And it just happened to take ten years. It wasn't planned; I didn't know if it was going to be six years or eight or four. But it felt timely; it felt like the right time when [this] music came." WHEN & WHERE: 20 Oct, The Hi-Fi
"Oh, maybe I am a good role model," says Best Coast's Bethany Cosentino as she speaks to Hannah Story about feeling the pressure and crafting a second EP.
know there are a lot of young girls that look up to me… and it's a really amazing thing, and I don't feel any pressure to not be the person that I am," says Cosentino. However, she admits that it's difficult not to feel pressure when you're doing something so personal, and that she struggled with anxiety while making Best Coast's second album The Only Place. For her latest EP Fade Away, she felt more comfortable. "I
know making the EP was definitely a very easy process for me where I didn't feel any sort of anxiety or anything, I was just in the studio making the songs." It's important for the singer-songwriter from California-based surf pop band Best Coast to stay true to herself. She focuses her songs on love and relationships, because it's the kind of subject matter that means the most to her. "I feel like I always write about what's going on in my life or at least things that have gone on in my life… I feel like it's what I know best; even though I'm completely confused about almost everything all the time," she jokes.
"I just feel inspired by real life and things that happen to people and things that are relatable to almost everybody."
Cosentino started writing songs when she was 16 and was influenced by seminal pop punk artists like Green Day and Blink-182. She thinks her age played a factor in the kind of musician she is today: "Maybe it's the fact that I started writing music as a teenager and that's why my music still kind of sounds like a teenager has written it – because I'm basically just a teenager in a mid 20-something-year-old's body." The 20-something released the EP on her own label Jewel City and, while writing, was heavily influenced by the likes of Mazzy Star and My Bloody Valentine. "I kind of wanted to do something that was really poppy and kind of simple and catchy and straightforward. I took inspiration from both of those bands in the sense that I feel like there's a little bit more like distortion and some higher guitar parts." Cosentino enjoyed the chance to really take the creative reins, without the influence of her former record label Mexican Summer. "I've always wanted to start a record label and have the freedom to do what I want to do when I want to." Best Coast are currently in the process of writing their third album and intend to tour the world once they've finished up in the studio. "I want to write a lot of songs to kind of pick and choose from, because on the last two records I wrote just a record. I wrote twelve songs and then we ended up using every song and so I feel like for this experience I've set a goal for myself to write about 25 songs so that we can sit in the studio and choose the best and have some options for ourselves." WHAT: Fade Away ( Jewel City/Kobalt)
Masked metal juggernaut Slipknot are "by no means going anywhere", drummer Joey Jordison explains. In the meantime, he tells Brendan Crabb about broadening his musical scope via new project Scar The Martyr.
guess if I didn't form this band maybe I would have used one or two of them or something, but I think at the time when I was doing this project, I wasn't thinking Slipknot at all," Joey Jordison says of newly born Scar The Martyr. "They weren't written with Slipknot in mind. I was just, 'Slipknot's got time off, and I want to form a new project'. That's when I started working on, 'What do I want to do? What kind of band do I want to form?'" One somewhat removed from previous qualifications on an already lengthy CV, seemingly. Aside from being drummer/co-songwriter for Slipknot and co-leader of glam-punkers Murderdolls, the Iowan native has also enjoyed stints with Korn, Satyricon, Ministry and Rob Zombie. As Scar The Martyr took shape ( Jordison plays guitars, bass and drums on their selftitled debut), contributions were sought from lead guitarists Jed Simon (Strapping Young Lad) and Kris Norris (ex-Darkest Hour), vocalist Henry Derek, keyboardist Chris Vrenna (Nine Inch Nails) and mixing by Rhys Fulber (Fear Factory, Paradise Lost). The new disc infuses industrial and '90s alt-rock elements within its melodic metal structure. Exploring fresh territory must have been liberating: "I really wanted to construct great songs," he tells, "each song had to
stand out on its own. It came together with me not listening to any specific thing; I really wasn't listening to any music at the time of the inception of these songs. I didn't want to be influenced by anything on the outside. If I was going to make a record, I wanted to do something that I hadn't done yet." Although enthused about touring his new outfit ("We'll be down in Australia soon… Probably around like February") and boasting the aforementioned collaborations, a name remains unchecked on his proverbial bucket list. "I'd really like to work with Mike
Patton. I have no clue what that would sound like; I guess that's what's intriguing about it." While hopeful about making such a musical union a reality, there's also Slipknot's first studio album since the death of bassist Paul Gray in 2010. The man known as #1 is emphatic that a new LP will happen. "I demoed more than my writing's share already for Slipknot. I've got so many damn songs. It's just when everyone is ready to get together and do it. At the time I was doing all my demos other people weren't necessarily ready, but I got material dude, I got a lot of it. "What I can say is there is material, there will be another Slipknot record, and then one after that. We are by no means going anywhere. You had the first record that did what it did and it blew doors open. Iowa, we went darker and heavier. On Vol. 3, working with Rick [Rubin] and stuff, we opened ourselves up for more melody. All Hope Is Gone, we polished up the sound a little bit. So the next record… I know it's gonna probably be the most important record we've ever released. I'll leave it at that." WHAT: Scar The Martyr (Roadrunner/Warner) THE MUSIC • 16TH OCTOBER 2013 • 35
Melbourne-based psych jam wizards The Grand Rapids have taken their sweet time toking on the insane root, but Sasha Smith tells Brendan Telford that the time's been well spent.
lthough they formed back in 2007, Melbourne psych rock band The Grand Rapids are only now launching their debut album Great Shakes. Whilst many extenuating circumstances have conspired to block off the four-piece's ascendency, guitarist/vocalist Sasha Smith is stoked that things are moving full steam ahead. "We've been at this for a long time; it's only really since our new bass player (Deon Slaviero) joined the band around twelve months ago that things have pushed forward," Smith admits. "I formed the band with Daniel
Hallpike (guitar) seven years ago, when he was playing bass, and Keith (Ratnan – drums) has been with us for five. We actually started tracking the album three years ago – mixing took forever, and then when things got mastered there was some time there where it was difficult to get things up off the ground. Nothing much changed from when we went into the studio to the end result, we were just ridiculously pedantic." Great Shakes is an almanac of classic psychedelic rock movement and rhythm, from the squalling cycle of Sailor In The Sky to the wickedness of Brian's Got A Rubber
Soul. "As far as the songwriting process goes, it's a standard procedure. I play around until I find a sound or idea, layer a vocal melody over the top, and away we go from there. But the balance lies in the weird balance of the two. The music itself is always somewhat dark, and I've always found lightness to melody and harmony, and they work well together." The psych-rock tropes are heavily imprinted throughout Great Shakes, including the cover art, a photo of vintage supermodel Twiggy with a skull superimposed over her face amidst kaleidoscopic pinks and blues. "That was an image I had burned into my mind for some time," Smith explains. "Again there's that balance, with the beauty of Twiggy and the darkness of the skull. It captures what we've crafted on the album. At the end of the day we're a psych band, so we may as well shout it from the rooftops." Great Shakes comes out on small Melbourne imprint Psyche Ward, just another indicator that psych-rock's becoming more prevalent in the modern Australian musical landscape. "It all makes some sort of sense to be honest," Smith muses. "Five years ago the place was teeming with indie bands, yet a lot of them had these psych elements to them. It makes sense that that would lead to a prominent and healthy scene in Melbourne. It's always been a community there, and now it's moving wider and wider, you can see it in Brisbane and Sydney as well. It's really exciting." WHAT: Great Shakes (Psyche Ward) WHEN & WHERE: 19 Oct, Grand Central Hotel
NOT THE END Baby Animals release their material independently now, but frontvixen Suze DeMarchi shares some advice with Andy Hazel.
ooking quite possibly the same as she did when caught in the glare of the spotlight in the early '90s, Suze DeMarchi opines, "The music industry is a fucking nightmare. Last night we played a show at this pop-up venue for Rolling Stone in Sydney. We did a Q&A and this young girl from a band was in the audience. She asked me this question – she was so upset, so angry: 'Can you tell me, how do you make it in this industry? It's a joke this industry. It's a fucking joke'. I told her, 'First of all you have to really love music. Second, you have got to have a great team around you'. Without my first manager John Woodruff we would never have [gotten] anywhere, because we were young and just wanted to play. I felt bad for her. Now for kids… it's difficult. We were lucky." Luck may not play as big a part in DeMarchi's career as she claims. Leaving school at 15, quitting a bank job at 16 and living on the road with her band Baby Animals at 17 shows a confidence and a willingness to sacrifice home comforts for experience. "Sometimes we'd do three shows a day," she says of her beginnings as part of Perth rockers Photoplay. "We'd do a university lunchtime show then a pub gig, which would be three sets, then we'd do a nightclub gig, three sets again, three different 40-minute sets. That's where we learned how to play. I did that for two years." 36 • THE MUSIC • 16TH OCTOBER 2013
Despite the lifestyle change from platinumselling, world-touring rockstar to mother/wife of guitar icon Nuno Bettencourt, DeMarchi claims that her new life in Sydney and the reinvention of Baby Animals doesn't feel like a job. "When I'm onstage it doesn't [feel like a job], the other stuff does," she laughs. "I hate the music business. I really, really loathe it. I hate the way it's structured. I mean, it's changing but…" she trails off, shaking her head. 'We've gone independent now because I was so tired of signing deals with labels that just fuck you over. The worst thing about it is that they have control over
you forever... This way we own it, we can share the load, you can do things that you want to do. You're not going to reach as many people as you would if you were on a massive label, but we've got the internet now." September 2013 marks the 22nd anniversary of the band's eponymous debut album; the most successful in Australian music history until the landing of Jet. "It doesn't feel like 20 years," DeMarchi muses. "And I think that's a testament to that album."" Recently making the 100 Best Australian Albums Of All Time list, Baby Animals still forms the backbone of the band's powerful live shows. "I'm really proud of all that stuff and it was a really good time. We did a lot of great things; we travelled everywhere and we were really lucky. WHAT: This Is Not The End (Independent) WHEN & WHERE: 18 and 19 Oct, The Zoo
This week: If you love football, you'll love FIFA 14, feel the sense of foreboding lingering in Fruitvale Station and could The Avett Brothers' grip be slipping in their quest for mainstream acceptance?
Role Model UNFD
Punk rock doesn't need leather. It doesn't need eyeliner. It doesn't need breakdowns or double-kick, guttural screams or any sort of 'core affixation. Vocal hooks, constant speed and singing guitar work is all that's required to produce cracking punk, and Bodyjar have delivered that here – as they always do – in abundance.
The Melbourne quartet's first record in eight years is a little slow on introductions with Petty Problems and Role Model letting you feel your way back. But nostalgia is brushed aside by the time the chunky chords of Stranglehold introduce you to a blast of uplifting glory. Cam Baines knows his way around a melody, and it's his tone that really takes these songs into fist-pumping, pogo pitting, singalong territory. His lyrics don't need great analysis; there are no hidden agendas. They're humble, honest, relatable and they perfectly complement the no-nonsense playing that you get on the double-time jolt of Hope Was Leaving and Natural Selection, which cuts through more sections than a pro surfer. Together Alone kicks late and is probably the most perfect 'Bodyjar' song found here, complete with stuttering tempo changes, guitar soloing and a stirring chorus to latch on to, while Light is short, whimsical and ties the whole record up nicely.
1. Petty Problems
7. Hope Was Leaving
2. Role Model
8. Break This Feeling
3. My Mistakes
9. Natural Selection
4. Stranglehold
10. If This Is It
5. Fairytales
11. Together Alone
Role Model is impossibly fun, and what could've been nothing more than a run around the park for old times' sake instead stands as one of Bodyjar's best albums. Now, to dust off the skateboard.
6. Vessel
12. Light
Benny Doyle THE MUSIC • 16TH OCTOBER 2013 • 39
album reviews
Jewel City/Kobalt
Best Coast are a band that seem to be constantly evolving; they're light-years away from their lo-fi debut Crazy For You, and for Fade Away have paired high production values with the freedom of recording the EP/ mini-album on their own label. This is a tight indie pop release with few surprises, which feels comfortable, like snuggling into your favourite pillow.
"I was trying to build myself up and get strong and be assertive. It's a little bit rawer; I'm a little bit angrier and a little less victim," claims Poliça's Channy Leaneagh of her approach to her band's second album, Shulamith. If only the results matched the intention. The icy, spacious sound of last year's Give You The Ghost has been embellished with surplus electronic padding, softening the impact of Leaneagh's angsty musings. More disco-y it may be, but with less bite, as can be heard on Very Cruel, with its squelchy bass that obviously aims to menace but falls flat, much like a badly judged Halloween costume.
Fade Away
Singer-songwriter Bethany Cosentino is beginning to grow into her own skin; this release seems to have a far more upbeat and far less morose feel than last year's The Only Place. But with Best Coast you have to expect the tried-and-true formula of a mixture of love and lovelorn songs. I Wanna Know has the surf pop sound we're so used to, with a few opportunities for Cosentino to show off a little more of her vocal range. She sings like a teenager who is desperately in love. There's a definite catchy pop track about
★★★½ halfway through in Fear Of My Identity, with repeated one-liners and the refrain, "You taught me that my heart would grow old" to get your hips shaking. Her existential crisis kicks in by Baby I'm Crying where the rumbling bassline really steals your attention, and closer I Don't Know How is sparse, with bittersweet harmonies to fill the space. The influence of the likes of Mazzy Star and My Bloody Valentine seem obvious on later listens, with a more garage sound underlying catchy pop riffs. It's an assured album that tries to experiment a little with different sonic elements, but ultimately is very Best Coast. Hannah Story
SEABELLIES Shock
Yet Fever Belle is an inspired listen when the band delves into gossamer orchestration, dialling down the plaintive pop machinations for more delicate 40 • THE MUSIC • 16TH OCTOBER 2013
failed relationships – and is a great single. Tiff too is well written, featuring guest vocals from mega-fan Justin Vernon of Bon Iver (Poliça are the "best band" he's ever heard apparently; way to blag yourself a guest slot Justin), but a better approach might've been that found on Drake producer Doc McKinney's non-album remix, which illuminated Leaneagh's delivery with sparse yet imposing beats. In 2012, Poliça gave us ...The Ghost, a chillingly effective debut. In 2013, they've given us something of a missed opportunity. Christopher H James
Fever Belle
Newcastle five-piece Seabellies have spread their wings on their second record, both figuratively and sonically, and in the process have crafted an assured album of ethereal ebullience that nevertheless starts to wear thin over its 53-minute running time. Produced by Berkfinger (Philadelphia Grand Jury) and Tim Whitten (The Go-Betweens, Augie March), the album opens innocuously enough with the title track, an indie gem that nevertheless doesn't set the band apart from many of their contemporaries. There is a marked shift however with ASCE, the intricacies underpinning Trent Grenell's elevated vocals. Atlantis floats along at a lysergic pace, slowly coalescing on a bedrock of strings into a choral crescendo.
There's still evidence of good songwriting here. Check Chain My Name. It's a superficially positive banger – I say superficially as it bounces the listener all around the room with its solid bass and bells, but is packed with Leaneagh's usual themes of conflict and
Magpie And The Dandelion American/Caroline
★★★ straits, thus making the soaring outros all the more impressive. Aerialite bubbles away, a gentle wraith floating on the slipstream, while Bodies is an insidious spiral into early Sigur Ros territory, a true highlight. The '80s new wave influence on Paper Tiger opens up into an overblown strings concerto; Context condenses into a mixture of Conor Oberst's entire oeuvre; but by the time Dark Echoes closes out the album it feels like a retread – Foals at their most esoteric. The band's instrumentation is precise and energising, but Fever Belle remains an ambitious, if somewhat over-familiar attempt at expanding horizons. Brendan Telford
North Carolinian string band The Avett Brothers forged their reputation releasing incredible albums on shoestring budgets, but these days they're operating on a whole new plane. Their eighth studio album Magpie And The Dandelion is their third in a row with renowned producer Rick Rubin, and sometimes when studio flourishes kick in you have to wonder whether such polish could actually be detrimental (like when Guided By Voices went major label). As with GBV, however, the songwriting strengths of the actual Avett brothers – Seth (vocals/guitar/ piano) and Scott (vocals/banjo/ guitar) – save the day, their complementary styles shining through the sheen like a beacon. Magpie... was written and recorded during the same sessions as its predecessor The Carpenter (2012), and purportedly carries
★★★½ a theme of "youthful wonder", explaining the airy feel of tracks such as Never Been Alive and Bring Your Love To Me. Catchy single Another Is Waiting and upbeat opener Open Ended Life both favour an expansive band sound, but the tempo drops as the album meanders into its second half. Their soulful intimacy and potent familial harmonies remain, but this run of solemn ballads badly misses the grit of yore. The Avett Brothers are steadfastly clinging to what made albums like 2007's Emotionalism so special, but you get the feeling that their grip may be slowly slipping. Steve Bell
album reviews
AMOS LEE Mountains Of Sorrow, Rivers Of Song Blue Note/Universal Bookending itself with two reflective, pretty songs (Johnson Blvd and Burden) might give the impression that country superstar Amos Lee's follow-up to his US chart-topping 2011's Mission Bell is a one-trick pony. But as soon as the banjo introduces Stranger, it's clear Lee has a few strings to his bow. Channelling contemporaries Zac Brown Band and Ray LaMontagne on his fifth record, Lee confirms himself as a diverse, impressive songwriter, and with his band of some of Philadelphia's finest musicians – not to mention guest spots by Alison Krauss and Patty Griffin – Mountains Of Sorrow, Rivers Of Song is a rollicking ride. Dylan Stewart
Brand New Machine
Dummy/[PIAS] Australia
For Montreal-based Mike Silver (aka CFCF), his second album is a personal project that explores the landscapes – both aural and visual – of his own life, delivered in stereo to a mostly captive audience. Outside follows the repetitive, dark nature of Fuck Buttons, but at times Silver juxtaposes this with his own voice, prompting comparisons to Justin Vernon or even Arcade Fire's more experimental moments.
Drum'n'bass, dub, garage, trap; Chase & Status' third album is everywhere, but because of that it sometimes floats nowhere. Guests appear throughout but they too are hit and miss. Moko is class on uplifting synth-led number Count On Me; however, the likes of Pusha T (Machine Gun) and Elli Ingram (Heaven Knows) sound like they sent through a one-take vocal line and simply cashed the cheque.
Individual songs – the ethereal Strange Form Of Life for example – are very strong, showing immense promise. Overall, though, Outside is better enjoyed as a collection of songs, rather than an album in full.
Although they're arena-worthy performance wise, Chase & Status still seem to be finding the full-length format elusive. The final track, Alive, is incredibly affirming stuff, however. More of that please.
Tussle, as a debut album, is an impressive statement indeed. This is a slice of dreamy, fuzzy, Galaxie 500-cumDrop Nineteens shoegazing pop from a group who know exactly what they're doing. Obvious and boppy lead single Double Act and Pinky give a one-two punch that shows the band are as comfortable with pop melodies as they are with harder edged fuzzy droning. Tussle is leaps ahead of the group's confident self-titled EP from last year and never feels derivative, despite how passionately the group wear their influential touchstones. This is modern music, just with an eye to 1991.
Dylan Stewart
Benny Doyle
Andrew McDonald
Trapped Flame
Night Bus
Wenu Wenu
Chapter Music
Georgia Fair are a couple of strikingly good-looking 20-something Melburnians who produced a sun-glazed debut LP of cohesive indie-folk in 2010. They seem to have lost themselves in Trapped Flame amid overly produced tracks, meritless choruses and the seductive allure of commercial pop. Underlying the record is a sense the boys are trying to describe some profound existential 'discoveries' they've made, with washy pop tunes and lyrical enigmas such as "I am love, I am free, I am me". In the end it's stripped back tracks Old Friend and Wrong Side that feel more like they have something to say.
The third album from Melbourne's The Ancients is a record that hurtles, ambles and breezes by with equal amounts of intricate musicality and simple skewed-pop broad strokes. There is a wistful '60s folk tinge to songs like House Of Cards, the lighter contrast to their more layered and dense psych excursions such as the shoegaze haze of Hamster and the epic Molokai that manages to sound like Boo Radleys, High Llamas and Ariel Pink all at the same time. Ultimately this is a gorgeous, wideranging melancholic pop album that embraces sonic friction, frayed edges and melodic beauty with equal aplomb.
Syrian wedding singer Omar Souleyman is a non-stop party machine. Impassive behind his aviator shades and traditional kufiya headwear, he prowls the stage, earnestly proclaiming his declarations of love and revving up the crowd over banging Syrian techno. His first studio recording, after 500 cassette releases in Syria and a series of compilations in the West, going into a Brooklyn studio with Four Tet, he's made what's essentially a live album, with synth god Rizan crafting remarkable snaking Middle Eastern melodies over the kind of relentless electronic hand percussion that'll remind you you're still alive.
Last Patrol is a record that has the riffs, the boogie and that supersonically bombastic production of stoner outfit Monster Magnet's best work. Played through a decent set of headphones (the best way to enjoy them), the kaleidoscope of sounds on Three Kingfishers and Paradise will strike you like a mind expander, while the overthe-top boogie of Hallelujah can swing dick with anything on their seminal 1998 Powertrip record. So put on a good pair of headphones, chill out and let Last Patrol take you on an epic trip through outer space.
Ash Goldberg
Chris Familton
Bob Baker Fish
MONSTER MAGNET Last Patrol
Tom Hersey
INFINITY BROKE Swing A Kitten Independent Jamie Hutchings from Bluebottle Kiss is back with a new band and a very ferocious, busy first single, while Hutchings' presence still reminds of BBK.
JUSTICE CREW Everybody Sony Justice Crew have a million social media followers so it doesn't really matter if their music is substandard.
WHITAKER Wichita Independent Melbourne's Whitaker produce a memorable folk pop single in the vein of The Shins with interesting production flourishes and unexpected instrumentation.
Beneath The Static And The Low
Seasons Of Your Day
Head Up High
Rhymes Of An Hour/ Balance/EMI
[PIAS] Australia
Remote Control Eerie opening chords immediately strike you with a sense of sonic intrigue, with this second LP collaboration between husband and wife, Big Fella and Paso Bionic, culminating in intricate layers of classically-trained vocals and sketchy beat structures. The entire record's dynamic ebbs and flows with unpredictable riffs and breakdowns, held steady by captivating lyrics, consistent delicate harmonies and rhythms ricocheting off driving basslines. Some xylophone samples and dextrous disc scratching are thrown in for good measure, but this record doesn't need gimmicks to make a lasting impression.
Californian slow-core pioneers Mazzy Star stand firmly in the earth of their own woozy sound garden, and sound like they never stopped playing. After a relatively light-hearted opener, In The Kingdom, incorporating a softly gurgling reggae organ riff, Dave Roback and Hope Sandoval dive back into opaque, velvet dreamscapes and familiar melancholy passages. Lead single, California, is a standout, offering a simple acoustic arrangement that unwinds at a leisurely pace, stretching off into the night. The album never takes off; it's a sweetly woozy listen without a natural start or finish.
Grace Wilson
Matt MacMaster
Over 18 years in the biz hasn't really progressed Morcheeba much past 2002. Unlike the immaculate Charango, the album released that year, this 2013 version of the British trio is back where it should be personnelwise (lynchpin lead singer Skye Edwards left the band from 2003 to 2010) but sonically, is less than consistent and a quite confused affair. Opener Gimme Your Love emanates a variation of their staple trip-hop sound, while subsequent tracks touch on shiny house (Face Of Danger), swirling reggae (Make Believer) and outright mistakes (Call It Love). Ben Preece
Diamonds For Your Tea
The Diving Saucer Returns From A World Where The Sun Never Shines
No It Don't
Independent It's hard to hear what sounds other than a warped voice have been used to create this amazing soundscape, but that doesn't diminish the listening experience.
MIDNIGHT POOL PARTY I Want, I Need
Trials & Cape Tribulation Arrest
Portlandia sweethearts Quasi smash out dirty garage rock in a relaxed fashion, if smashing can indeed be done in a relaxed manner, which this proves it can.
Paddy McHugh as been ensconced in Brisbane for a while now, and as this belated vinyl release of his new album proves he's quickly assembled a crack band. The folk-flecked material is primarily narrativedriven and undeniably Australian – like early WPA many tracks focus on our colonial past – without being parochial. There's prison odes (Arthur Gorrie Correctional Centre), Valley trash laments (Brunswick Street) and songs about crocs eating reprobates in the Daintree (Dan O'Halloran). Excellent songs played with distinction.
Chris Yates
Shane Savage
Independent It seems the Nile Rogers-viaDaft Punk-inspired acts have finally had time to record since they got their heads around Random Access Memories.
QUASI Nostalgia Kills Domino
Love Your Records Elegant writing, simplistic yet thoughtful instrumentation and heartfelt delivery make Diamonds For Your Tea an incredibly strong record, and show The Little Stevies' evolution as musicians. First single Thunder is catchy, pensive, strongly emotive and is already being well received. It's marvellous to see such attention and devotion given to a release, especially considering the budding families and careers that sisters Byll and Beth have been preoccupied with over the past year. But Shattered Dreams is the highlight here, the song hitting a deeply empathetic chord with its gritty realism. Lukas Murphy
Lofly Aliens and robots converge and humanise on the Brisbane art rockers' second album, far removed from their 2009 debut's fiery indie. Agile electric guitar, squelching synths and Shem Allen's chameleon voice combine in tightly-produced chaos. There's surface noise and colour, though repeat listens reveal complex structures, fractured narratives and heartaching melodies. From the bizarrely danceable (Philistine) to the delicately beautiful (Helix Life, Scales) and surreal (Atlas), there's much to discover. Ambitious, pretentious, beautiful and strange. Amorina Fitzgerald-Hood
arts reviews
FRUITVALE STATION Film
In cinemas 7 Nov Just from the initial few scenes of writer and director Ryan Coogler's first feature film, inspired by the true story of a police shooting at an Oakland train station in 2009, you can already see what's going
to be laid out ahead of you. You know that Coogler sets out to get you invested in the character of Oscar Grant (Michael B Jordan) – portraying his journey from ex-con to young man trying to get his life on track and do good by his daughter (Ariana Neal), girlfriend (Melonie Diaz), mother (Octavia Spencer) and himself. And you can feel that sense of foreboding lingering over everything from the outset, slowly
elevating through the course of the film. You see it all coming and you're still not prepared for how much it's going to destroy you when it all culminates in the film's final quarter. Despite this emotion-baiting storytelling device – or perhaps because of it – the film and its brilliant actors excel at what they aim to do: highlight the injustice of the real-life events Fruitvale Station is based on and
pay tribute to Oscar Grant. It's also coincidentally timely, arriving in the wake of the Trayvon Martin case. While the film itself stands on its own legs as a poignant story, in a wider context it also serves as an important reminder that we remember these tragedies and keep discussion around race-based violence and discrimination going, as it still occurs far too often. Stephanie Liew
in CINEMaS oCTObER 17 CHECK CINEMAS FOR SESSION TIMES THE MUSIC • 16TH OCTOBER 2013 • 43
games animating actual zombies. I mean, fuck, translating the abstraction of mathematics into simulation is like the entire point of computer games. DUH.
Auroch Games PC/Mac
Okay, so Auroch Games took their mandate of turning a boardgame into a video game way too fucking literally. A licensed adaptation of Games Workshop's '80s boardgame, Chainsaw Warrior gives you a board and a set of cards and sixsided cyber-dice you actually have to cyber-roll. It's baffling why the effort that went into animating dice rolls that represent conceptual zombies didn't just go into
SOUNDODGER StudioBean PC/Mac
Soundodger+ is one of the best "music" games to come out in a while. It easily has the best soundtrack to any game I've played this year, and has a really polished and minimalist art style to boot. The game is simple – you control a circle inside a much larger circle and you have to dodge a whole 44 • THE MUSIC • 16TH OCTOBER 2013
Anyways, the game is a singleplayer turn-based RPG: you're a cyborg fighting a demonic incursion in a dystopian New York city block in the grim darkness of, like, 15 years from now (stick to your 40,000 year projections, GW), and you have 60 minutes (translated into 180 turns) to stop ultimate darkness fucking everything up. You get a randomly generated often unbalanced statline (you sometimes don't even spawn with the eponymous goddamn chainsaw) and encounters are determined by similarly fickle card draws – expect to die a lot from pulling up a boss card ten draws in. I guess Chainsaw Warrior is challenging in the same way getting a flat tyre or being hit by a car during a bike race is challenging. Still, it's entertaining to give the game half-a-dozen run-throughs, and there is something noble in an Oedipal struggle against fate. Just buy the boardgame on eBay instead. Callum Twigger bunch of arrows and other shapes that shoot inwards from the outer circle. The arrows always come in waves, which are perfectly choreographed to the song for that level; one of the drum'n'bass tracks becomes insanely difficult at the drop, for example. This makes the relevance and involvement of the music much more obvious and satisfying – many games that play on the "use your own music" theme often fail in this regard. Although Soundodger+ has a game mode where it can generate levels from your own music, the generated levels cannot approach the choreographed awesomeness. Soundodger+ also comes with its own level editor, which is fairly intuitive. This allows you to choreograph your own levels as well as share them with the community. As fantastic as the game is, it isn't very deep in terms of gameplay. I mean, all you do is dodge shapes. It's technically very solid, but I found myself wanting more from the game. In any case, it's worth it for the music. Lachlan Petersen
players precise control of the ball. Although enjoyable to use, defending against it is a misery. This has been counterbalanced by the more realistic player acceleration new to FIFA 14. Upon receiving the ball, players will slow down as they gain control. This emphasises the importance of playing balls into space, showcasing EA's dedication to hyperrealism, Sega Soccer Slam this is not.
Xbox360/PS3/XboxOne/ PS4/Vita/PC/Mac FIFA's back. Again. Ok, so it's no big surprise, but is this iteration worth an upgrade? In short, yes, FIFA14 is a remarkable football sim with fluid gameplay and multitudes of sweet fan-service. Sporting a definitive catalogue of who's who in world football, EA's attention to detail is superb. Your favourite club is there with players that look and feel like they do IRL. Suaraz wriggles between tightly packed defenders and Özil is masterful with the longball; FIFA just feels right. Graphically, FIFA 14 is a minor improvement over last year's effort. Pitches are radiant on sunny days with long shadows falling over the pitch. Unfortunately, the other weather variants are ugly as hell. Rain doesn't even look like it exists in the game world; rather, your TV screen is covered with diagonal lines that don't even strike the pitch. These flaws amount to sheer laziness by the developer and are disappointing to see in a game with such a colossal budget. The football itself is familiar and enjoyable. Dribble mechanics have been enhanced to give
FIFA finds ways to challenge you off the field. After splurging $10 mil on Spanish superstar Xabi Alonso, the newspapers criticised my rash decision to spend so much on a 31-year-old. I soon found my star signing getting prematurely tired and constantly injured. These niggles saw him relegated to the bench, a poor result for a huge investment. Combine this with players constantly whining about their salaries makes for a realistic managerial experience, although maintaining contracts felt more like a chore then anything. If you love your football, you'll love FIFA 14. The gameplay is deep and competitive, catering well to the robust online play. The multitude of game modes gives FIFA 14 extensive legs, lasting well up 'til FIFA 15's inevitable inception. The developers are obvious fans of the sport, with so much detail and nuance packed onto the disc, FIFA 14 is a love letter to the world game. Admittedly, I did tire of the FIFA 14 after extensive playtime. I binged too hard and couldn't even look at the game anymore. This is a warning to those non-footy fanatics: despite all the game's modes and settings, it really is just soccer on repeat. Andrew Sutton
live reviews
AMORPHIS, THE ETERNAL, DATURA CURSE The Hi-Fi 12 Oct It's a shame that very few are in attendance for Datura Curse, because their in-your-face dose of melodic metal is an electrifying opener for the evening. While vocalist Sean Bowden encourages the audience to check out the video for First Days, earnestly ensuring that "it's pretty good," its demonstration live speaks even greater volumes. These Sydney lads are exceptionally well oiled for a band that is yet to release their debut album, and this set goes some way to stirring a little anticipation.
Joutsen successively progresses through the varying vocal styles of Amorphis' three major eras. Aside from Joutsen's windmilling, they're not in overly animated form. However, their tightness and sound carry great weight. The boat is sent sailing deep into new waters with three more songs from the current era, but it's not long before classics such as Against Widows and My Kantele incite the rapturous fans to the next level. Tomi Koivusaari rests his attention solely on his role as rhythm guitarist and hands over the death-vocal reins to Joutsen; such results are surprisingly successful and the classics really still do ring true.
settled in at The Hi-Fi, which means when openers Toehider kick off there are more than enough heads present to get bopping down the front. The Melbourne four-piece are clearly a Devin pick; upbeat, tight as, a bizarre mish-mash of pop, glam rock and progressive metal, their distinct sound isn't lost on this crowd, but most of the fuzzy bass is. Singer Mike Mills has a top set of falsetto pipes on him, impressing seasoned metallers. He laps it all up as he and his players whizz through a set that bounces around favourite The Most Popular Girl In School and the group's crazy 12in12 releases (that's 12 LPs in 12 months).
The band uses the Thousand Lakes intro as a brief interlude before returning with the death rumblings of Drowned Maid before another run through
It's hard to know what to expect from Devin Townsend Project tonight; if the wizard of extreme metal delves into his magic pouch of old gems from across
Melbourne's The Eternal enjoy the bounties that a later slot has to offer, and as the punters slowly pack in they begin to build some momentum. They're in fairly fine form throughout, yet somehow their aesthetic proximity to tonight's headliners makes their set feel a little too much like a preparatory mandation rather than a varied display of creative possibilities.
of their recent output. Black Winter Day brings the main set to a close before an encore of Sky Is Mine, Into Hiding and House Of Sleep wrap it all up. Amorphis finally deliver the goods to Australian shores, yet unfortunately the complete omission of their prog-rock era leaves a small sense of dissatisfaction looming.
After 23 long years, Finland's Amorphis take to a Brisbane stage for what is the second leg of their first ever Australian tour. Although the room is only filled to half capacity at best, it's clear that the anticipation has long been mounting for those in attendance and they withhold no excitement as the Circle Intro rolls out. The most fitting of openers, Shades Of Gray is like a blueprint that details their career as frontman Tomi
Jake Sun
The Hi-Fi 10 Oct
A venue change and sold-out status seems to have amped up the palpable buzz that has already
but gets dropped because "we fucked it up". From anyone else, this self-deprecating diatribe would wear thin, but it's all part of his neurotic charm. In the meantime he busts out an acoustic version (on the Flying V, no less) of Hyperdrive, before crunching the set back into gear with Juular, Bad Devil and Grace. The first of the "fake" encores is Heatwave, but getting everyone to do jazz hands in Lucky Animals is a highlight. The guys launch another attempt at Planet Smasher then round out the night with Deep Peace, from Terria. Before taking off, Townsend leaps into the pit to literally shake everybody's hands, a rare gesture that should wipe tonight's "fuck-ups" from his mind. They certainly never appeared in ours. Carley Hall
his prolific catalogue, we will be very spoilt indeed. One thing's for sure; the maniacal virtuoso won't disappoint on the fun factor if previous shows are any indication. The much-loved man with little on the top but masses everywhere else bursts on stage, altogether humanely joyous and batshit crazy at the same time. He launches his three players into Truth and the crowd goes nuts. Christeen, from Infinity, makes an appearance, and there's a healthy amount of new stuff from Epicloud – the title track and Save Our Now – then the punchy but symphonically structured Kingdom, from Physicist. It's just so rewarding to watch this guitar god flog out truly inspiring stuff without ever disengaging from the crowd. In saying that, his enthusiasm and anxious babble bubbles over after his tit-for-tat with Ziltoid. His signature Flying V comes out for Planet Smasher
REGURGITATOR, WAMPIRE, SEJA, MYSTERY SCHOOL The Hi-Fi 11 Oct "I built myself a spaceship one afternoon," sings opener Johnny Russell, aka the lone capewearing conjurer of beats, synths and heavily distorted guitar known as Mystery School. It's a nice touch that tonight's headliners would have the designer of their current artwork open, and it helps that he has a handle on all things nonsensical, too. Seja makes no bones of her synth-whisperer status as she opens with C'mon and the spectacle of two synth-playing THE MUSIC • 16TH OCTOBER 2013 • 45
live reviews bandmates flanking her. With the cover pic of her new record All Our Wires shot on this very stage, she's right at home even without a setlist as the four-piece swap instruments and woo an early crowd. In trio mode, Oregon's Wampire bring fun, stoner sensibilities to their sound by way of a rich tapestry of dynamics; seductive bass grooves, pop harmonies and even head-pounding rock litters the set. Guitar and bass sharing frontmen Eric Phipps and Rocky Tinder cover all sorts of hilarity in their on-stage banter from Jurassic Park and sunburnt penises to selling out their countrymen: "Americans are assholes." Showing off some serious shredding ability with a Kraftwerk cover and
Where I Am – the rock-solid trio get almost the same response to songs from their current record Dirty Pop Fantasy, of which Fuck You Sweetness is a highlight, Made To Break is pacey, fun and thick, and Home Alone Stoned is Ely's honourable ode to '80s power-pop. 2011's All Fake Everything continues to trade in the clever playfulness present across Regurgitator's eight albums as the faux-ballad intro has Yeoman's offering crocodile tears before launching into a rap. Though a total pisstake, the words ring true of their career to-date: "Be your muthafuckin' self." With an indefinite hiatus announced tonight, a highlight-packed set closes with an encore of I Wanna Be A Nudist as a wheelchair bound guy is
some country emotion in Trains, they've made some more Wam-fans tonight. In pink jumpsuits with leopardprint detail, Regurgitator launch straight into their trademark high-NRG brand of subversive rock with the appropriately chosen repeated refrain of Blood And Spunk's "Go" signaling the start of the show in fine form. There's nothing quite comparable, or somewhat head-scratching, than a room going nuts over I Will Lick Your Arsehole as Quan Yeomans and Ben Ely literally bounce like primary school kids all over the stage, stopping only to command an audience of willing puppets. Unleashing old friends – the abrasive and iconic guitar riff of Track 1, Unit highlight Black Bugs and Tu Plang's sweetly delivered I Sucked A Lot Of Cock To Get 46 • THE MUSIC • 16TH OCTOBER 2013
out the crowd in Sun Distortion, well, there's England's Rolo Tomassi on hand to lift spirits. Angular riff crew Plainview open proceedings tonight, and their tunes are cool enough to beat the godawful heat. With the heady intent of post-rock, the five-piece's punk finds an interesting compromise between intensity and introversion. Next up Melbourne's Stockades offer up more noodly, modern post-hardcore. The band's been getting plenty of recognition lately for their recent self-titled EP, and their show comes through on that promise. The meaty riffs fill out Sun Distortion and the crowd really responds to the energy the band brings to the stage. Newcastle hardcore crew Safe Hands up the tempo
launched through the mosh and the seemingly ageless outfit leave four words on the lips of the audience they provided a teenage soundtrack for: that was shit hot. Tyler McLoughlan
ROLO TOMASSI, SAFE HANDS, STOCKADES, PLAINVIEW Sun Distortion 11 Oct Well, it's that time of the year. A Brisbane summer officially starts the first time you go out to a punk show and simply standing there makes you sweat profusely. It's probably going to be a long and hot one this summer, and if that's bumming
with their spot as main support. It's a burst of energy that has everybody ready for what's next. Seeing that Genghis Tron have all but completely dropped off the musical grid, Rolo Tomassi have become the uncontested rulers of the whole electronic hardcore, grindcore punk thing. At their second Brisbane show in as many days, the English crew is warmed up to show fans why they're worthy of their crown. There's a deep vein of musical intricacy running through cuts like Party Wounds from 2010's Cosmology; sure it's quick and mathy and playing it would be insane, but what's more impressive is how cohesive all the different elements to the band falls together in the live setting. The glitchy buzz of James Spence's synthesiser crashes into the mind-bending dexterity of Chris Cayford's guitar, while
Eva Spence's high register vocals contrast from the insistent thump of Edward Dutton's kick drum. There's so many elements at play in Rolo Tomassi's live show that you're expecting it not to all work together. But that doesn't happen tonight, their songs immediately eliciting a visceral response from the crowd. It's an immediate shot of adrenalin, that's too pure and dumb for a band whose records are as smart as Rolo's. The buzz doesn't last for long – there's not much more than half an hour – but while it hangs around, it's damn good stuff. Cuts off last year's Astrea like Howl and Ex Luna Scientia scream out of the PA like chaotically spazzed out punk brilliance while the band do their thing. By the end of their set, there's little doubt
among those in attendance that Rolo Tomassi have killed it. So all that's really left to do is bow in the presence of royalty. Tom Hersey
XAVIER RUDD, DONAVON FRANKENREITER, NAHKO & MEDICINE FOR THE PEOPLE The Tivoli 8 Oct Having toured the US together, tonight's lineup is made solid through the surfing friendships of four-piece Nahko & Medicine For The People and
live reviews Donavon Frankenreiter, the later charming the absolute pants off a near-packed house. With his wild, unkempt hair poking out from under his trademark hat and a guitarist buddy by his side, Frankenreiter has worked enough rooms in his time to know that performance gold lies in audience participation; calling for requests, he asks a young girl to join him for a shared rendition of Life, Love & Laughter. There's such joy found on the faces of the enthralled audience that he does it again for It Don't Matter, shushing the audience so the token woo girls on the balcony can have a moment of glory as he tells them: "You've got a lot of fuckin' spring in you!" Frankenreiter is acoustic charisma personified, and
lengthy workover by way of an acapella midsection; two songs in and only 20 minutes have passed. Rudd is always impressive live – he reinterprets continually, anchoring his yidaki, percussion, vocal and guitar experimentations with melodic highlights and singalong moments of his works, sneaking in blues, rock, reggae and folk sensibilities sometimes within one song. As the stage lighting and background imagery changes to an intense flicker of geometric shapes worthy of a deadmau5 show, Rudd moves to his unique set-up of two yidakis of different tones, drums, chimes and vocal to totally change gear and blow audience minds for a lengthy, earthy interpretation of last year's Lioness Eye. A similar dynamic is achieved
that voice – it shines gloriously as though laden with effects. Though taking to the stage in simple duo mode with exceptionally talented Gold Coast percussionist and backing vocalist Bobby Alu, Xavier Rudd makes the most of the expansive stage with a backdrop highlighting the imagery that shapes his music; from land and environmental protests, Aboriginal people, and animals – of the cute and cuddly variety and of the abhorrent destruction particularly within our oceans – Rudd, as usual, is making a point this evening. With the sound of cockatoos flying over, he opens with the comforting sound of his Weissenborn slide across the stomping Bow, a tale of remembering Mother Earth among our busy lives. The simple, sweet folk of Messages is given a
near the end of his two-hour set in the primal offering of Culture Bleeding, linking even the joyful folk of Follow The Sun, the poignant word changes of Ain't No Sunshine and the Aboriginal dance celebration of Let Me Be together as one cohesive, challenging and hugely powerful set. Tyler McLoughlan
PIKELET, PER PURPOSE, PRIMITIVE MOTION Black Bear Lodge 11 Oct Lo-fi electronic duo Primitive Motion are first to command
the stage tonight, and immediately instill intrigue with their unique style. Their melodies and instrumentation are simple when considered individually, yet when combined the soundscape becomes quite complex, with the echoing, wailing vocals from each band member adding that extra touch of resplendence. While Leighton Craig stays behind his synth, Sandra Selig switches between drum, saxophone and flute duties with admirable ease. The duo perform tracks from their debut LP Worlds Floating By including Skyline and Home Of The Lost Coast, yet it's the fun, quirky beat of I Am Elemental (2011) that really shines tonight.
Per Purpose are a band who take pride in their messy, dishevelled personas, both visually and sonically. The set begins with the furious, tinkering of frontman Glan Schenau's guitar strings, before they launch into their slurring, syncopated style of punk rock. There are a few technical hiccups along the way, and overall the guys fumble their way through the set without leaving too much of an impact. Yes, Schenau is determined in his delivery, yet the group seem to fall flat when compared to previous performances. Having said this, Reaction is a killer track and is always a pleasure to experience. Representing Melbourne tonight is the synth-driven brain child of Evelyn
Morris, Pikelet, who are launching their latest album Calluses. Morris takes off her shoes to use her pedals with a heightened dexterity, and it becomes mesmerising to watch her little feet in action throughout the set. Synth-man Shags Chamberlain also draws attention with his shiny, silver hotpants, which in execution could give Kylie Minogue a run for her money! Fashion aside, the way his fingers manically dance across his synth board is completely awe-inspiring. We're graced with the oh-so-smooth sounds of Projections early in the set, where the groovy bassline is reminiscent of the disco era and gets everybody moving. Following from Pressure Cooker and Friends is Festivas, where
guitarist Tarquin Manek switches to clarinet. While the instrument echoes through the venue to enchanting effect, it becomes all the more impressive when Manek proceeds to pluck his bass at the same time, demonstrating that this is indeed one talented group of individuals. Further along drummer Matthew Cox lends part of his kit to Morris, who proceeds to bang the drum in a primal, jungle style before looping the beat for the track Combo. It takes two attempts to get this right, but the audience are so transfixed no one seems to care. It can only be hoped that the poor turn-out will not deter Pikelet from returning to Brisbane soon, as they have been nothing short of delightful. Jazmine O'Sullivan THE MUSIC • 16TH OCTOBER 2013 • 47
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Name/instrument: Hannah Karydas – vocals and guitar You're on tour in the van – which band or artist is going to keep you happy if we throw them on the stereo? Mazzy Star makes driving really enjoyable. They make most things enjoyable really. Would you rather be a busted broke-but-revered Hank Williams figure or some kind of Metallica monster? I'm going to have to go with Hank Williams because of that hat. Which Brisbane bands before you have been an inspiration (musically or otherwise)? The Go-Betweens... they're just so honest. They really are the soundtrack to Brisbane. There's this one line (from Lee Remick); "She comes from Ireland, she's very beautiful/I come from Brisbane, I'm quite plain." I love it. What part do you think Brisbane plays in the music you make? I'm finding I write a lot of lyrics about heat... you know that heat. You feel it in those old Queenslanders with no fan. Aside from that I think Brisbane is a no-frills city and it makes for really honest subject matter. Is your music responsible for more make-outs or break-ups? Why? Both are equally mind-spinning. So both. What's in the pipeline for you musically in the short term? I have some music coming out soon. Also I've been working on some collaboration stuff. And playing some cool shows. Eves supports Little Scout at Black Bear Lodge on Friday, The Spotted Cow, Toowoomba on 25 Oct and Solbar, Maroochydore on 26 Oct. Photo by TERRY SOO.
DESSERTED IN ASIA Want a sweet treat that that'ss not your y regular cake cake, ice-cream or pudding? Cyclone delves into the world of Asian desserts. Illustrations by Sophie Blackhall-Cain.
sian cuisine is mainstream in Australia, and has been for decades. But traditionally most Western people equate Asian food with savoury dishes – yum cha, sushi, noodles and home-prepared stir-fries – rather than desserts. It's even been suggested that the very concept of 'dessert' is Western. At the end of domestic meals in China, fresh fruit is often served with tea. Sweet edibles like soup are enjoyed between courses at banquets, again as palate-cleansers. Nevertheless, sweets are popular snacks throughout Asia, where they're sold by street vendors as a local fast food. Still, many Asian recipe books available in Australia skip the dessert section. And, when they do contain a recipe, as does the slick Australian Women's Weekly tome Japanese, it's frequently for something decidedly inauthentic – cue: Chocolate Pudding with Red Bean Heart. Once a typical Chinese restaurant in suburban Australia might list a couple of desserts in the menu as a concession to its Western clientele – perhaps a banana (or pineapple) fritter with vanilla ice-cream. Ironically, the banana fritter was introduced to the Malay Archipelago region as a breakfast food by the Portuguese (as was the Portuguese custard tart to China and tempura to Japan). Talk about Asian fusion – or gastronomic cross-cultural exchange. Then that restaurant's patrons would be offered the ubiquitous fortune cookie – which is non-existent in China, being invented in America by immigrants in the 20th century and feasibly based on old Japanese customs. But perceptions – and tastes – have changed. Today desserts from across Asia's myriad cultures are all the rage. We're discovering unique and innovative custards, puddings, dumplings, pancakes, doughnuts, buns, icecreams and shaved ice delicacies. Much of this Asian dessert mania is a blissful legacy of multiculturalism – yet Australians are also travelling like never before, with Asia a common holiday destination. Our palates are more sophisticated and so the idea of tofu (bean curd) in a dessert intrigues. Catering to this collective curiosity is the posh magazine Gourmet Traveller. 50 • THE MUSIC • 16TH OCTOBER 2013
ASIAN FAVOURITES BUNGEOPPANG A fish-shaped dessert that literally translates to "carp cake/bread", this is a popular Korean street vendor treat that has red bean paste inside a pastry. Some versions are filled with ice-cream and sold at supermarkets.
The craze for Asian desserts began with many sampling the subtle flavour of green tea ice-cream. Now that same 'healthy' green tea is even being added to cupcakes. What's more, Australian franchises are marketing a variety of Asian sweet treats. Breadtop, an Asian bakery chain launched in 2002, sells the kind of buns savoured as snacks in Asia – including a red bean one. Red bean paste is a favourite ingredient in Asian delicacies such as Chinese mooncakes, the azuki bean boiled with sugar syrup. (It tastes like marron glacé – candied chestnut purée.) Breadtop also displays a range of cakes, from chestnut gateau to Japanese cheesecake to green tea mousse... not to mention the iconic 'Australian' lamington. Melbourne's David Loh started Dessert Story (dessertstory.co), specialising in "Taiwanese and Hong Kong dessert secrets", albeit with "a modern twist" – and currently has outlets in Chinatown, Chadstone and Richmond. When it opened in Chinatown, queues descended on Little Bourke Street. Dessert Story's menu entails taro balls, black glutinous rice, crushed ice, sago black pearl soup and grass jelly. It has smoothies, too – like the lychee lingo with rainbow jelly.. Inevitably, supermarkets have acknowledged the appetite for multicultural desserts. Tucked away in the Asian section in Coles are affordable items such as Pandaroo tropical fruit jelly with coconut gel in flavours like papaya, imported from Malaysia, plus canned mangoes, lychees, rambutans and jackfruit. However, the wider Australian restaurant trade is yet to catch on. Not everyone is into Asian desserts. On the US blog chow.com there's a long-running thread entitled "Asian desserts... why don't I like them?" by one Morticia of Indian origin. "Excluding those pseudo-Asian dishes like fried banana with coconut ice-cream that are standard and geared to Western tastes, Asian desserts seem to be an acquired taste that I just cannot seem to acquire," she writes. "Is it just me?" It soon could just be.
This Malaysian dessert is also commonly known as 'ABC', an acronym for 'Air Batu Campur' which means 'mixed ice'. It's shaved ice commonly topped with palm seed, red beans, sweet corn, grass jelly, cendol, ice-cream, cubes of agar agar (jelly) and drizzled with milk and syrup.
DOUHUA/ DOUFUHUA Also known as tofu pudding, this Chinese dessert is made from very soft, silky tofu. It's often made to be neutral in flavour so you can add your own toppings, which include sweet syrup, tapioca, mung beans and coconut milk. Interestingly, douhua is also eaten as a savoury dish, with soy sauce, chilli oil, scallions and rice. Variations of the dish are often regionspecific. It can be served warm or cold.
MOCHI A Japanese rice cake made from short-grain japonica glutinous rice, mochi has a sticky, chewy consistency. Mochi can be filled with various things, like sweet bean paste, ice-cream and fruit.
BRISBANE JAZZ CLUB Address: 1 Annie St, Kangaroo Point CLEVELAND
So @lloydhoneybrook and I just stayed in Cleveland for one night, but did we eat and drink! We drove in and headed straight to Crop for some surprisingly affordable and creative cuisine in a huge, beautiful old bank building. We started off with a few beers, gourmet chicken & waffles, and pork chop with chipotle gravy & grits. We then moved on to a cocktail that really spoke to us – Mr Figgy: fig-infused bourbon, sweet vermouth, rhubarb bitters garnished with brûléed bacon! For dessert we went for the Pretzel Unlogic (choc custard, pretzel crust, malted whip & salted caramel) and a Fire & Ice (coconut & lychee panna cotta, habañero syrup, candied lime). Good job Cleveland!
Describe the bar's design/atmosphere: Relaxed and friendly. A place to enjoy the best in jazz. Almost in the shadow of the Story Bridge lies the quaint, modest building, Does the bar have a music component? Our commitment is to live jazz music. Brisbane Jazz Club is an icon in Brisbane's entertainment history and one of the longest-running jazz clubs in the world. Does the bar offer food? If so what style and what's your specialty? Our catering is supplied by chefs from The Story Bridge Hotel. Proudly serving the best gourmet barbecue using only the freshest ingredients, they offer a variety of dishes, desserts and platters,
including gluten-free and vegetarian options. Who's cooking and pouring and what makes them special? The BJC is a community, not-forprofit enterprise run by a fanatically dedicated voluntary management committee. The club has a small number of paid employees in front of house, bar duties, artistic direction, sound engineering, graphic design and a large number of volunteers who assist in maintenance and club night duties. Anything out of the ordinary on the horizon? The Club books a wide variety of both established and emerging, local and international jazz entertainers to appear at the club every Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, plus regular monthly events. Website: brisbanejazzclub.com.au mon-wed 6.30am-3pm thurs-fri 6.30am-6pm sat 7am-6pm sun 9am-6pm
café good food & coffee Mon-Sat 7am–3.30pm Sun 7am–2.30pm
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Whether you're a craft beer expert, novice, or even new to beer in general, Sydney Craft Beer Week has something for everyone (above the age of 18). Danielle O'Donohue walks us through some options.
rinking beer may be considered a national sport but there's a big difference between picking up a couple of slabs at the local bottlo to chug at a mate's barbie and the very thoughtful and considered consumption of the latest craft beers that have come out of some of the smaller breweries dotted across the land. Craft beer opens up a world of possibilities for the average beer lover; the flavours and variations seem endless and a real connection can build between drinkers and their favourite brewer. Sydney Craft Beer Week gives beer drinkers at all levels a chance to get to know their beer and brewers at a range of events in some of Sydney's dedicated craft beer pubs. And don't worry if you don't know your Thunderbolt Strong Ale from your Moo Brew Hefeweizen. There's plenty of events for the novice craft beer drinker as well as the aficionado. Not sure how to plan your Sydney Craft Beer Week? Maybe we can help.
Vic) will discuss their way into the industry, while each will match two of their brews with tasty treats. And you don't even have to be a woman to attend. Feral Game Of Thrones Lunch If the intrigue on your average episode of Wonderland isn't quite up to the conniving of Cersei Lannister, or you're waiting for dragons to fly over the Beauty And The Geek set, this lunch may just get you through until the new season of Game Of Thrones starts. Drink and eat like a Lannister about to go into battle. Two WA breweries, Feral Brewing Company and Nail Brewing are supplying the beer that will accompany this medieval banquet at the Royal Albert Hotel on 22 Oct. Over the course of the week there's plenty of food matching events so you should be able to find one to suit your taste buds. The Brewers Bowl Off
Regardless of your level of expertise about craft beer, Meet The Brewer gives you a chance to quiz the makers themselves about what makes their beer stand out from the crowd. There'll be 19 brewers from all over the country in attendance – each bringing one of their brewery's latest supply – including Tassie's Moo Brew, Victoria's Two Birds and Byron Bay's Stone and Wood. Held at Hart's Pub in the Rocks on 25 Oct, there'll also be pizza and the evening will set you back $90, but don't forget there are 19 beers to taste.
Polish the shoes and gel the quiff. Manhattan Super Bowl in Mascot is hosting a bowling tournament with a difference on 24 Oct. First you'll get the chance to knock over some pins, then the brewers themselves will challenge each other for the Brewers Bowl Off Trophy. You'll also get the chance to enjoy some quiet brews in the lanes and after the bowling everyone will be heading to the Newmarket Hotel next door. If bowling seems a little too athletic, there's also A Viking & An Elf… bingo at the Welcome Hotel featuring beer from The Little Brewing Co (NSW) and Ekim Brewing Co (NSW) or Stone & Wood's Beer Trivia (NSW) at the Union.
Women Of Beer
Beer Mimics Food
While much of the advertising and conversation around beer in this country is directed at the blokes, there's plenty of women who also enjoy a glass or two. Craft beer has also given women a chance to get involved in the brewing process. Several prominent craft beer labels have women at the helm. At Flat Rock Brew Cafe on 21 Oct Danielle Allen (Two Birds, Vic), Karen Golding (Red Hill, Vic) and Beth Williams (Hargreaves Hill,
One of the joys of craft beer is the sheer variety of flavours that brewers come up with. This event teams brewers up with foodies such as Ben O'Donoghue and Poh Ling Yeow to produce beers that tastes like some of your favourite dishes. The Welcome Hotel is even building a beer laboratory and producing speciality snacks for the occasion. Beer Mimics Food takes place on 20 Oct.
Meet The Brewer
The IMDB synopsis for 2006 American comedy Beerfest reads: "Two brothers travel to Germany for Oktoberfest, only to stumble upon secret, centuriesold competition described as a "Fight Club" with beer games." Rated 6 on IMDB and 41% on Rotten Tomatoes.
"Duff beer for me/ Duff beer for you/I'll have a Duff/You have one too." So the Duff beer jingle goes on The Simpsons. Homer's favourite beverage is not just fiction though, with real Duff beer available in selected stores in selected countries (without consent or permission from Matt Groening).
Google "beer art" and you'll find pics a plenty of impressive sculptures made entirely of beer cans. One example is New York-based Greek artist Nikos Floros' piece for an exhibition in Athens – opera costumes made from aluminium strips using 20,000 beer and soft drink cans.
Well... there's a Pinterest: pinterest.com/ vermontbrewers/ beer-fashion-whoknew. And as well as beer goggles, you can actually buy cartoony beer-shaped novelty spectacles. Let's just leave it at that.
Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks The defending NBA scoring champ, Melo stands as one of the most pure scorers of the last decade.
More fashion statement than m NBA jerseys are becoming m, fandom, the summer singlet of choice at Australian festivals. Benny Doyle enters the game to find out why.
LeBron James, Miami Heat The greatest player currently walking the planet, the guy is a beast and does everything on the court.
Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder It takes a special player to put Oklahoma on the map; Durant is that and so much more.
Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers Going into his 18th season, the 'Black Mamba' still encompasses the glitz and glam of LA.
Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls Arguably the best Bull since Jordan, Rose has put the Windy City back on the basketball map.
erhaps it's the fact that the game is played with a round ball that's bigger than one's fist – that does tend to make Australians a bit nervous. Maybe it's the reality that no, we, a predominantly white country, can't jump. Whatever it is, basketball has never gained a strong foothold in a sporting nation dominated by three codes of rugby and the baggy green. With this in mind, the increase of NBA jerseys throughout youth culture is rather astounding. More than ever before – even in the halcyon days of the early-'90s when basketball cards were a religion and people actually watched NBL games – guys and girls are turning to the iconic sporting strips from the other side of the Pacific, the resurgence driven by men called LeBron and Carmello. "The '90s are back in, that's what it is," says Ty Joyner, store manager of Culture Kings urban wear store on Brisbane's Queen Street Mall. "It was a '90s type of thing and it's certainly come back to play. Jordan's legacy will stay there forever; it's kinda been what you'd call a staple type of singlet." Mesh meat and potatoes if you will, this "staple" significance means that even if you don't know your Kobe from your KG, you're still going to be familiar, obviously not with flavours and textures, but with the colours, designs, logos and names. NBA singlets are now a standard sight at summer music festivals, and it's not uncommon to see a roaming pack of youths adorned in ballin' apparel, each repping their team of choice in a setting about as far removed from the parquet floor as possible. "I would have said a couple of years ago that it was more your basketball fans," remarks Joyner when asked if there's a typical type of customer purchasing strips anymore. Now, it seems, there's no specific demographic whatsoever. "These days I think it's just the fashion; it's become more of a fashion [thing] than taking something away from the game itself." So if it's not the freak athleticism, the gravity defying slams or the incredible tenacity and speed of one of the world's most exciting sports, then what's
pulling people towards the purchase of an NBA jersey? Musicians themselves. Joyner relates: "You see Snoop dropping an LA Lakers top and then everyone wants an LA Lakers top; you get Jay Z taking over Brooklyn [Nets], so hip hop and Jay Z fans are going to go out and buy a Brooklyn jersey." Los Angeles and New York tie up the worlds of east and west coast rap quite nicely. Venture to a hardcore show, however, and it's a completely different scene, with Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls apparel preferred among the circle pit dwellers. Kim 'Chewy' Choo from Melbourne metalcore heavyweights Feed Her To The Sharks has seen the greens and reds spin and swing from the stage, and says that the NBA's popularity now drives merch ideas for acts of their ilk. "I know a lot of bands from the last few years that have made jerseys up for their merch 'cause they look pretty cool," the guitarist says. "Even if someone doesn't like basketball they're happy to wear Bulls [gear]; it's pretty fashionable I guess." Ironically, Chewy supports the Nets, but he assures us he's been with them long before Hova threw his weight behind the franchise and removed them from the cracked roads of New Jersey. For guys like him, though – real fans – what's to make of all this: positive proliferation or bastardisation? "I've got some mates that are hardcore NBA fans and they kinda get annoyed when they see a kid wearing a jersey that doesn't really follow the sport. But that's just personal opinion," he finishes democratically. The flipside to this is that the spike in jersey sightings is simply being dictated by music festivals in general. Bands used to be the only thing that mattered; now they're part of an encompassing experience that can see you launching skywards in a bungee rocket one moment, dancing with masked men on stilts the next. Festivals are now designed to liven up the senses, and NBA singlets offer punters many shades of colour to help paint the party palette. And really, who wants to be part of the crowd? It's about dunking on top of them. THE MUSIC • 16TH OCTOBER 2013 • 53
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While it's not what we'd want, cool gesture by Jon Bon Jovi to turn up at a fan's wedding in Vegas to walk her down the aisle. Not sure what the husband thought, but he married a Bon Jovi fan so…
FAREWELL (FAKE) CHOPPER? We'd never wish death on anyone, not even a mildly reformed career criminal, but we're praying that the passing of Chopper Read will also mean the end of Heath Franklin's insidious 'comedy character' Chopper.
THAT'S A TIP! Awesome ending to the sad saga of the US waitress 'tipped' by a racist message on the bill, with a horde of strangers donating her a cheque for US$10K, hoping to prove that not ALL Americans are racist redneck jerks.
Soulful riffs will be getting sent out by Band Of Frequencies down on the GC this Friday. The lads play SoundLounge at Currumbin RSL with Waxhead from Byron Bay and Andrew Morris supporting. Tickets on the website now for $12+BF.
Arguably the biggest/baddest/ loudest guys in the metalcore scene, Every Time I Die, are back this Friday at The Hi-Fi and will have Bayharbour and The Fevered, pictured, supporting in what's set to be a rather loud and insane party.
Indie pop with a little bit of electronic spice is how Selaphonic do things, and the Sunshine Coast guys want to show you what they're all about at Solbar, Maroochydore this Thursday. If you like Phoenix and Two Door you'll love this.
With music from Harmony James, Gian Famularo, Tommy Sheehan and Connie Choo and no cover charge, Black Bear Lodge is the place to be this Tuesday for chalk board night. And you can play some jams too; simply bring your guitar!
This Friday things are getting all kinds of real at Beetle Bar with Leadfinger performing alongside The Shrooms, Dr Bombay and Race Of The Harridan. And if you're down Byron way, Leadfinger are fronting up at The Rails Saturday.
Shining bright at the recent Listen Out festival, Touch Sensitive, the dancefloor alter ego of Van She's Michael Di Francesco, are set to play Elsewhere on the Gold Coast this Friday on a double bill also featuring The Swiss!
While it seems incredible that Shane McGowan has survived any of his bandmates, it's sad to report the passing of The Pogues' guitarist Phil Chevron after a long illness.
JUST DON'T Mariah Carey posted a photo of her cleavage on Twitter this week to "wish her husband a happy birthday". Why the fuck would you share the inane gesture with the entire world?
VALE AUSSIE SOCCER It seems that our affection for the 'world game' may diminish with consecutive 6-0 defeats against Brazil and France. Hopefully we aren't just making up the numbers in next year's World Cup…
THIS WEEK'S RELEASES… BEST COAST Fade Away Kobalt/Jewel City KID MAC Head Noise MGM SEABELLIES Fever Belle Shock THE AVETT BROTHERS Magpie & The Dandelion Caroline
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Two southern guitar-pop bands are buddying up on an east coast tour this month, with Melbourne's Kite Club and Sydney's High-tails, pictured, playing Lambda at Alhambra Lounge, 24 Oct, and the Cosmic Dolphin Party at Elsewhere, GC, 25 Oct.
On 21 Nov, The Loft, Gold Coast and 22 Nov, The Tempo Hotel, you can hear the feel good indie rock flavour of We The People, with the Melbourne group touring their new track Sweetheart. Sydney's Bad Pony support on both dates.
Album title: Groundswell
How did you get together? Upile Mkoka: Weathered's primarily been a solo project of mine since 2010, but in terms of forming the band… I kinda needed a few guys to fill out the live sound from my new EP so I asked the others to help me out for a gig and they've stuck around for the rest.
Where did the title of your new album come from? The album has a continuous, underlying water theme, so Groundswell was a weighty title that helps give the artwork a connection to the music. How many releases do you have now? Nine full-length albums.
Having won over plenty of new fans on the recent Flyleaf tour and during their own American sojourn, Melbourne posthardcore quintet Aural Window will showcase their impressive chops at Snitch, X&Y Bar, 14 Nov. Awaken I Am support.
Boo Shucka Laka is hosting a second birthday special on 1 Nov featuring a DJ set from Kiwis K+Lab, as well as Dirty Ol' Knights, Farfetchd, Duos Vs D-Ron and Doe. Come along in Halloween costume to win stuff, too!
How long did it take to write/ record? Most songs were floating around for almost a year. The recording began this summer ( January) and wound up mixing/ mastering around April. So about a four-month period. Was anything in particular inspiring you during the making? Mostly the location. The double-storey house we used was built in the '70s with recycled timber from Hobart's wharf. And the incredibly calming view of both mountains and ocean. What's your favourite song on it? Well, the tune I most enjoy listening to is Repo Man. A long winding jam that stretches right out there.
FEEL THE LOVE Get to know the friendly tones of Josh Lovegrove when the Melbourne singersongwriter pairs up with Ella Fence and Will Watson for an afternoon session at Dowse Bar, 3 Nov. $10 on the door with music from 4pm.
BETWEEN BURIED SUPPORT You've got one hell of a reason to get to Between The Buried And Me's show at The Zoo early with Melbourne prog extremists Ne Obliviscaris announced as the opening act on 15 Nov. Tickets via Oztix.
Will you do anything differently next time? Each album is different, which requires a fresh approach to each song. So until that time I can't say! But I want to stick to the 'live' format of recording. Pete Cornelius launches Groundswell (Only Blues Music) at The Loft, Gold Coast on Friday, Joe's Waterhole, Eumundi on Saturday and The Joynt on Sunday.
Sum up your musical sound in four words: Folk sounds + Afro hair. If you could support any band in the world – past or present – who would it be? Oooh! Would have to be Coldplay. You're being sent into space, you can't take an iPod and there's only room to bring one album – which would it be? I would cry, and then I'd grab Copeland's Eat, Sleep, Repeat. Greatest rock'n'roll moment of your career to date? Probably after playing a show a little girl came up and handed me a little drawing of me that she drew while I was playing. Not real rock'n'roll style, but I thought to myself "It can't really get better than that!" Why should people come and see your band? Have you seen my drummer? That's reason enough right there I think: #hunk. But it would really make me smile seeing you at the show and make me feel right at home here in Brisbane. Weathered play Dowse Bar on Sunday.
music. thursday 17/10. Ant Aggs Trio 8pm.
saturday 19/10. Mojo Webb 8pm.
café & wine bar breakfast. lunch. dinner. drinks 'til late. open 7am weekdays. Lower Burnett Ln. Brisbane CBD. 07 3211 4242.
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GUNK Answered by: Alex Campbell Album title: Sugarsoap
SHERIFF Answered by: Tom Watson Best record you stole from your folks' collection? Led Zeppelin III. There's a bunch of other very rad stuff in there too that I haven't stolen... yet. First record you bought? Spiderbait's Shashavaglava. A classic piece of Australian rock'n'roll history! It was actually recorded by Loki Lockwood, the same legend who recorded Sheriff 's recently released Roughhouse Hymns EP. Pretty bloody awesome coincidence! Record you put on when you're really miserable? When I get sad I put on Sheriff 's new record Roughhouse Hymns and think to myself, "Wow this sounds great. Everybody in Brisbane is going to love this when they buy it after watching a Sheriff show this weekend!" Record you put on when you bring someone home? I rarely succeed in bringing girls home and often cry myself to sleep listening to The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds. Most surprising record in your collection? A quite sizable collection of Insane Clown Posse records. Down with the clown till I'm dead in the ground. Last thing you bought/ downloaded? King Parrot's Bite Your Head Off on vinyl. Deliciously brutal. Sheriff play Rocktober Fest, Irish Murphy's on Saturday and Rock N Roll BBQ, 633 Ann on Sunday.
Where did the title of your new album come from? There's always been pressure for women to present a sugary, sweet face to society, but even sugar cannot improve the taste of the soap the patriarchy uses to wash our mouths of opinions and voices.
KICKING GOALS Making a great night even better, The Ninjas will open up for The Cribs at The Zoo, 25 Oct when the British trio, comprised of twins Ryan and Gary Jarman and younger bro Ross, return to Oz next week.
How many releases do you have now? We released a self-titled EP a year ago, so this is our second release. How long did it take to write/ record? Some are old songs, some are new; it's the culmination of a couple of years of writing. Was anything in particular inspiring you during the making? The election and our new prime minister. Glitter, goon and noodles. What's your favourite song on it? Personally, my favourite song is Left Atrium because it's pretty ridiculous and so much fun to play. Will you do anything differently next time? Have a good sleep the night before recording. It's not very rock'n'roll but does wonders.
With their new single One Love ready for consumption, Red Beard have been added to the bill for the upcoming The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus tour, along with The Sweet Apes. Check out the bands at The Hi-Fi, 7 Nov.
The Tribal Theatre Jam Fest happens 26 Oct from 5pm at the venue and features Soula, pictured, The Mistaeks, Kolorsol, The Midnight Antics, Kip Casper and more. $15 presale from Trybooking and it's BYO!
When and where is your launch/ next gig? We are launching our album and new issue of our zine at The Waiting Room on 18 Oct with Scrabble, Bent and The Furrs. Doors open at 6pm. Gunk Launch Sugarsoap (Independent) at The Waiting Room on Friday.
OUTTA THIS WORLD 2012 Billy Thorpe Scholarship recipients Astrid & the Asteroids are launching their new EP at Kerbside Bar, 27 Oct, with songs delivering insights into life, love and inner-city hipsters. The free show will also feature Brisbane-based songstress, Deena, of triple j Unearthed acclaim.
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MMMMM, TRIVIA After the roaring success of the first Simpsons-centric trivia night, Black Bear Lodge are hosting a second helping on 12 Nov, 7pm. Limited capacity so email manvsbeartrivia@gmail. com with team name and numbers to confirm your spot.
MISS RENEE SIMONE Album title: ROAR Where did the title of your new album come from? The album is inspired by women stepping it up. To be soft and graceful yet being able to ROAR when it's needed; that to me represents feminine strength. How many releases do you have now? This is my debut solo album.
BACK TO HER Always keeping busy with local artists like We All Want To, Sue Ray and Mick Medew, Mel Fraser is going to strum a few songs of her own at Shucked Lane, 27 Oct. Jiveswallow will also play some tunes.
How long did it take to write/record? It took 12 months. I spoke with masses of women who shared their stories of empowerment and disempowerment with me online and in person. Their stories, and mine, are told throughout the album. Was anything in particular inspiring you during the making? One Israeli grandmother had a suicide bombing in her street while on Facebook talking of wisdom and courage with me.
Following their South and Central America tour, dynamite seven-piece In2natioN will cruise down from their Sunny Coast hom to play a Goldy show at The Loft on 15 Nov with Soula, Street 66 and Evan Mantarri.
Trainspotters' last show marking their first anniversary happens at the Grand Central Hotel, 24 Oct, featuring a wild bill of rock including Sick People, Black Deity, White Devil, pictured, and Manhunt. No excuses to miss it.
Get your regular Western Front fix this Sunday at Coniston Lane. The sextet head up a large bill that also features the likes of Pay A Sack Forward, The Feels, YoJay, Junior Arcade and White Lodge. Early doors from 5pm.
The Brisbane Record Fair has 50,000 rare LPs on offer every second Saturday at Boundary Hotel, The Hi-Fi and Rumpus Room. The first fair is happening 9 Nov, 10am to 3pm, and it's free entry too so don't miss it!
What's your favourite song on it? Daddy for singalongs, You Are Beautiful for a boogie and I'm really enjoying the whole album for driving music. Will you do anything differently next time? It was incredibly empowering to fund it by myself and with the help of amazing local women and fans, but a sponsor would be rad next time! Miss Renee Simone plays Brisbane Jazz Club on Friday, Café Le Monde, Noosa on Sunday and Island Vibe Festival, Stradbroke Island on Oct 27.
HAVE/HOLD Answered by: Luke Smith Single title: Song For Bill Of The Trains What's the song about? Abject human failure. Keep your eyes peeled, and you'll see some rough stuff when getting around a large city. How long did it take to write/record? Recorded nearly two years ago, these songs have been dormant for a period where the band was inactive! Only mixed and mastered in September. Is this track from a forthcoming release/ existing release? Yes, it's our from our 7" single, which also contains the B-side Dexamphetamine Blues. What was inspiring you during the song's writing and recording? The lyrics stem from witnessing a needlessly violent altercation on Melbourne public transport. Again, abject human failure. We'll like this song if we like... Radiohead, but if they consisted of younger gentleman who grew up on a steady diet of punk and Australian rock. Do you play it differently live? Yep. Louder! Have/Hold play Crowbar on Friday. THE MUSIC • 16TH OCTOBER 2013 • 59
OG FLAVAS URBAN AND R'N'B NEWS BY CYCLONE Canada's Aubrey Drake Graham has journeyed far from his days portraying basketballer Jimmy Brooks in Degrassi: The Next Generation. The rapper/singer is now promoting his third album on Lil Wayne's Young Money, Nothing Was The Same – a US charttopper. Drizzy's debut, Thank Me Later, and particularly 2011's Take Care changed the timbre of hip hop, the MC not so much chronicling his lifestyle as revealing his psyche. Graham was dubbed 'an emo rapper' but, like his hero Kanye West, his music is inherently meta. He's introduced fresh avant-garde sounds into urban, being inspired by Marvin Gaye, Aaliyah and James Blake. Nothing Was The Same led by the murky bass music of Started From The Bottom, completes a dysphoric trilogy. Graham consolidates and refines his musical ideas and consolidates themes. If anything, this album sees a slight shift in focus from examining the singular experience of fame to sustaining relationships. On the intricate opener, Tuscan Leather, Drizzy channels Yeezy at his flossiest (and uses chipmunk samples) – and references Australian actor Guy Pearce in Memento. The production is handled by Graham's brilliant ally Noah "40" Shebib and their OVO Sound crew (which includes Boi-1da). Alas, there's no further collaboration with The xx's Jamie Smith, but Graham taps into post-dubstep with the Blake-y Worst Behavior. Still, most surprising is the '80s groove, Hold On, We're Going Home – a deserved hit. firstname.lastname@example.com
SEJA TAKES OUT G.W. MCLENNAN FELLOWSHIP Arts Minister Ian Walker has announced Brisbane songwriter Seja as the winner of the $25,000 Grant McLennan Memorial Fellowship. Walker said Seja impressed the judges with her songwriting accomplishments, both as a band member and as a solo musician.
After a month on the road, this week's Adamantium Wolf comes at you from home: Brisbane. The Palm ( Japan) and A Secret Death tour is over and it's been a life-changing journey that none of us will ever forget. It's been three days since I got home and the typical post-tour depression hasn't even set in yet. Perhaps this experience will transcend that. Last week the story left off just before a last minute house show on Brisbane's southside. I didn't realise at the point of writing, but as it turns out it was actually the first time in their ten-year history that Palm had ever played such a gig. That blew my mind – house shows are a staple, and perhaps even a rite of passage in Australian hardcore. None of the bands I've ever been involved in have gotten away without playing in at least one house. Things in Japan are very different – houses and apartments are so small and packed together that they simply cannot accommodate punk rock shows. The idea of playing in a garage seemed so outrageously fun to Palm that it made me realise the ability to hold house shows, at least until a grumpy neighbour calls the police, is just one of the many privileges we take for granted here in Australia. A messy night went down after the show, with the tour party stopping by Crowbar to catch up with Tokyo metallers Church Of Misery, before heading up to Snitch for some nightclub antics. I don't remember the night ending, but before a hangover could kick in we were onto the highway to Australia's beef capital – Rockhampton. As soon as that wild show was done, a 14-hour journey to Cairns was underway. We were completely wrecked,
but caffeine-fuelled van madness set in, and somehow we survived. Cairns is a hotspot for tourism, and it was a surreal sight to see a number of actual Japanese fans at the show. Though the local promoter lost money on the gig, the turnout was half decent, with a professional two stage festival set up going down at a local university. It was endearing to see so much effort and so much risk taking place in such an atypical town for heavy music. Thy Art Is Murder headlined the night, providing a suitably brutal set for us to end on, and we spent the following final day of tour exploring the Daintree Rainforest. Here's a tour wrap up written by Palm vocalist Toshihiko Takahashi: "After 19 shows in 28 days, we're finally home now. Every show was amazing, also it was so exciting to play in a house and a parking lot. People there got attitude that they enjoy themselves no matter what circumstances they're at. That is rare here. I respect that and feel jealous about that. Amazing band shared the stage with us, people who came to see us, friends who gave us space to sleep and treated us so nice, Canberra, Newcastle, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Alice Springs, Adelaide, Mildura, Bendigo, Melbourne, Hobart, Gold Coast, Rockhampton, Cairns, A Secret Death, Lochlan, Wilson, Uda, Anna, Tristan and Monolith that organised this tour and took us to the amazing adventure, thank you guys so much. I appreciate that from the bottom of my heart!" You'll be able to vicariously enjoy our journey more when the tour doco is released. Next week the column will return to normality… whatever that may be.
REGISTER NOW: FREE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS As part of the Live! Queensland Band Culture program celebrations, QMusic and SLQ are bringing together professionals from different corners of the music industry to hold a series of panels, discussing how music industry aspirants can break into the business. Book now for 22 and 29 October sessions. QMUSIC CO-PRESENTS I MANAGE MY MUSIC WORKSHOP I Manage My Music in association with Q Music presents a one-off workshop on Monday 28 October at BEMAC. Participants will hear from three self-managed singer-songwriters: Jen Cloher, Mia Dyson and Liz Stringer. See www.imanagemymusic. com/workshops to book. APRA ROADSHOW STOPS IN BRISBANE Want to know how live performances become royalties? Come along to APRA's Roadshow, touring Australia this month! Roadshow stops in Brisbane on 21 October. WANT TO KNOW MORE OR BECOME A QMUSIC MEMBER? For these stories, memberships and more, go to www.qmusic.com.au
CULTURAL CRINGE WITH MANDY MCALISTER Last week Australia lost an icon with the passing of Mark "Chopper" Read, who finally lost his long battle with liver cancer in the Royal Melbourne Hospital. For what Read was an icon exactly is a question that's been worth asking ever since he gained fame for more than the violent dismissal of his victims. Given he spent most of his adult life in prison, maybe he was an icon of rehabilitation and the ideal of people deserving a second chance. Maybe he was an icon for the same rebellious Australian spirit that made a hero out of an outlaw named Ned Kelly. Imprisoned at the age of 20, Read completed his last stint in 1998, walking free aged 43, having served 23 years and nine months. At this point he already had eight books under his belt and a relationship with the media veering more into entertainment than news. In 2000, Andrew Dominik's film, Chopper, was released to much acclaim. Though profiting from his past life, Read
walked the straight and narrow and the toe-cutting business had truly given way to the empire business. He kept himself in the spotlight publishing the grim fable, 2002's Hooky The Cripple, illustrated by Archibald prize winner Adam Cullen. His bio, as authored at 48, says, "Even though history has been quoted as saying 'the pen is mightier than the sword', I would still prefer the sword, plus a pistol, shotty and dynamite. I have often been heard likening myself to a leopard. They never change their spots, they just get older. My spots haven't changed, I have just gotten older and the spots have slightly faded. I'll never change. I'll always be the same person I always was. It's just that I don't do the things I used to do. After all, even you must admit, they are a little naughty." Read continued to publish and regularly embarked on speaking tours. The audience of his sold-out show at the Athenaeum Theatre two weeks ago can claim a slice of history in attending his last performance.
THE LOOKING GLASS A JOURNEY THROUGH ARTS WITH HELEN STRINGER When previous generations looked to the Marty McFly future we now live in they no doubt asked questions like, will 3D really still be cool? With all this excitement they failed to predict the great changes. Breakthroughs, for instance, like the internet, those little robot vacuum cleaners and, most importantly, being able to order drugs over the internet and have them posted to the door. What an oversight. From what I've gleaned the internet
black market has been up and running for a while, users just avoided talking about it in public lest the authorities cottoned on to this highly illegal threat to society. Now they have, thank God. Not a moment too soon. We law-abiding citizens can sleep a little better knowing the streets are one step closer to being free of the scourge of drugs. The mastermind behind online black market, Silk Road, has been apprehended. Twenty-
If there's any indication Read never really did change his spots, perhaps it's his response to New York Times reporter Matt Siegel, after being asked in an interview in April what Read expects on meeting his Maker. "I think if anything, I'm owed an apology. I don't think he was very fair with me," he said. "I think if there is a God, he owes a lot of people [an apology]. There's no one I owe an apology to." He had been working hard at writing his legend since publishing his first true crime novel in 1991, but the formation of a legend takes time and may not even be possible in this day and age. Though Read did his best to muddy the waters
nine year old Ross William Ulbricht, until now known as Dread Pirate Roberts, has been identified as Silk Road's founder and is going to be charged with a veritable shitload of crimes. Think what you want of Ulbricht, personally I find it hard not to like the overseer of a black market whose alias is a reference to The Princess Bride. Endearing moniker aside we should all celebrate that, apart from porn, credit card scams, the illegal sex trade and the 12 other online black markets vying for supremacy, the internet is once again safe for our children. Never mind that no other online black market subscribes to the same 'don't sell children or weapons' ethos of Silk Road; there are no degrees of bad when it comes to drugs, there's just bad. Now the brave officers of law enforcement have triumphed over evil we can expect the drug trade to crumble. Because Silk Road is kaput, everybody will stop buying drugs. This will, in fact, have a profound effect on the drug trade and absolutely no one will go back to buying
on details, perhaps to make a yarn a little better or maybe because he just couldn't rightly remember the details on who he killed and how, we live in an age of documentation accurate enough that his deeds can't be misconstrued or reconstructed to the extent Ned Kelly's were. We know, and will always know, the extent of Read's brutality. On the other hand you can't blame a man for trying, and we don't. If the long tolerated behaviour of bikies and the blasé public opinion on Carl Williams' murder are anything to go by, criminals killing criminals is not much of a concern to citizens, whereas a man who comes from nothing and makes something of himself, well, that is something to be admired.
their narcotic of choice the oldfashioned way: from outlawed bikie gang-affiliated dealers and cracked-out middle-aged men. I think we can all agree the war on drugs has finally been won. Who would have thought that all it would take was to shut down a marketplace supplying small quantities of illegal substances and run by a selfprofessed libertarian? Mexican drug barons with a horrifying propensity for beheading be damned, a nerd with a vision was the lynchpin of the drug trade. Levity aside, most drugs really are bad and people should be incarcerated for selling them. But the drug trade doesn't exist because people make drugs; it exists because people want drugs. Governments slapping each other on the back for briefly pausing trade on the black market seems a little ridiculous. That said, other than those that make you laugh, eat and fall asleep, most drugs really are bad. It's unjustifiable to go within a ten-metre radius of a needle filled with narcotics unless that needle is being held by a medical professional. THE MUSIC • 16TH OCTOBER 2013 • 61
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THE MUSIC PRESENTS Andy Bull: Alhambra Lounge Oct 19 Violent Soho: Great Northern Oct 24, The Zoo Oct 26, 27 The Cribs: The Zoo Oct 25 The Jungle Giants: Solbar Oct 25, The Hi-Fi Oct 26, Alhambra Lounge Oct 27 The Breeders: The
Secondhand Squad + DJ Valdis: Ric's (downstairs), Fortitude Valley
Golden Days Festival: Coolum Sports Complex Nov 9
DJ Simon: Ric's (upstairs),
Mullum Music Festival: Mullumbimby Nov 21-24
The Amity Affliction + Chelsea
Patrick James: Black Bear Lodge Nov 27
Hearts Wake: Riverstage, Brisbane
Fortitude Valley Grin + Stick To Your Guns + In Jayne Henry: Saltbar, South Kingscliff
The John Steel Singers: Spotted Cow Nov 28, The Zoo Nov 29, Solbar Nov 30
Darky Roots + Jahkaya: Solbar, Maroochydore Band of Frequencies +
Festival Of The Sun: Port Macquarie Dec 13-14
Stephen Smith + Joel Myles
Neko Nation Brisbane feat. LeLe: Coniston
Oct 31, Woombye Pub Nov 1
Pond: The Zoo Dec 14
6 + The Jetpack Academy + The Common Deers: The
Lane, Fortitude Valley
Bonjah: Solbar Dec 28, The Northern Dec 29
Hideaway, Fortitude Valley
The Hillbilly Goats: Souths
Jordie Lane: Spotted Cow Oct
Open Mic Night with Paul
Sports Club, Acacia Ridge
The Bowls Club: The
Van Den Hoom: Coorparoo
Woodford Folk Festival: Woodfordia Dec 27-Jan 1
Joynt, South Brisbane
Bowls Club, Coorparoo
Hotel (Beer Garden), West End
Gold Coast Comedy Club feat.
Have/Hold + We Set Sail +
various: The Loft, Chevron Island
Seahorse Divorce + Midwest:
Rumblefish: The Boundary
Half Moon Run: Solbar Jan 2, Old Museum Jan 3, The Northern Jan 4
Will Day: The Plough
Crowbar, Fortitude Valley
Every Time I Die +
Inn, Southbank
Touch Sensitive + The Swiss:
Bayharbour + The Fevered:
Future Music Festival: RNA Showgrounds March 1
Open Mic Night feat. various:
Elsewhere, Surfers Paradise
The Hi-Fi, West End
Billy Bragg: The Tivoli Mar 20
Mantra + Rainman + Calski: The
Tivoli Oct 29 Dan Sultan: Old Museum
31, Black Bear Lodge Nov 1 Horrorshow: Spotted Cow Oct 31, The Zoo Nov 1, Solbar Nov 2, Beach Hotel Nov 3 Grass Roots Festival 2013: Mt Cootha Nov 3 Boy & Bear: Beach Hotel Nov 7, Coolangatta Hotel Nov 8, The Tivoli Nov 9
Waxhead + Andrew Morris: Soundlounge, Currumbin
Nik & Mike: The Boundary
Hotel (Public Bar), West End
The Retro Bar, Kenmore
Tempo Hotel, Fortitude Valley Book Club feat. various DJs:
Dan Teka: The Vault, Southport Lorde + Oliver Tank +
Prince Rama: Alhambra
Motion Picture Actress:
Lounge, Fortitude Valley
The Zoo, Fortitude Valley
Bear's Den + Lyon
DJ Daniel De Niro + Brent Dee:
Apprentice: Black Bear Lodge, Fortitude Valley Ricky Martin: Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Boondall Beejays Club Night feat. various: Brisbane Jazz Club, Kangaroo Point Locky: Irish Murphy's, Brisbane
Vanity Nightclub, Surfers Paradise
THU 17 Damn Terran + guests: Alhambra
The Tempo Hotel (Bowler Bar), Fortitude Valley Frazer Goodman + friends: The Vault, Southport The Cassingles + Old Lion + Flavour Machine: The Zoo, Fortitude Valley Stevie Z + DJ Daniel De Niro + Jake Carmody: Vanity Nightclub, Surfers Paradise
Lounge, Fortitude Valley Moshfest 2013 feat. Dethrone The King + Bodies In
IMAGINE DRAGONS: 19 OCT, THE HI-FI 8 Ball Aitken: Emerald
Marcus Blacke: The
Maraboon Hotel, Emerald
Hideaway, Fortitude Valley
Peter Cupples: Gazebo
The Bon Scotts + Cash
Restaurant, Hotel Urban, Brisbane
Savage & The Last Drinks:
Hunter & Smoke: Grand
The Joynt, South Brisbane Ingrid James Duo: The Lido
Barrels + The Grills +
Pludo: Alexandra Hills
Central Hotel, Brisbane
System Trashed + On Your
Hotel, Alexandra Hills
Bitter Lungs: Hotel
Jae Laffer: Alhambra
Norville, Toowoomba
Lounge, Fortitude Valley
B-Rad + Berst: Irish
Leadfinger + Shrewms + Roth
Murphy's, Brisbane
+ Dr Bombay + Jr Danger:
Le Breeze: Lambert's
Beetle Bar, Brisbane
Restaurant, Kangaroo Point
Little Scout + Eves: Black
DJ Turhan + DJ Luke Peters:
Bear Lodge, Fortitude Valley
Love Nightlife, Broadbeach
Miss Renee Simone: Brisbane
Sky Pilot + Arc + The
Jazz Club, Kangaroo Point
Evershow + Kick The Butterfly:
Tribute To Lucky Dube feat.
Mansfield Tavern, Mansfield
Joe Tee + Mr Zion + more:
Wasabi: Miami Tavern
Mick O'Malley's, Brisbane
Casablanca, Brisbane
(Malibu's Bar), Miami
8 Bit Love + DJ Valdis + Guests:
A Hero To Some + The
Locky + Mark & Dan: Mick
Ranke + Matt Duke + The
Ric's (downstairs), Fortitude Valley
Stained Angels + Artisan Kin
O'Malley's, Brisbane
Selahphonic + guests:
+ Fox N Firkin: Chardons
Gunk: The Waiting
Deep End: The Tempo
Green Jam Sessions with Eddie
Room, West End
Hotel, Fortitude Valley
Solbar, Maroochydore
Corner Hotel, Annerley
Gazari: QPAC, Southbank
Kim Wilde + Nik Kershaw:
Quinn Band: The Boundary
Darren J Ray: City Golf
Out Of Abingdon: Queen Street
Balbi + Ollie Brown: The
The Tivoli, Fortitude Valley
Hotel (Public Bar), West End
Club, Toowoomba
Mall (12.30pm), Brisbane
Zoo, Fortitude Valley
Sarah Ashton: Limes Hotel, Fortitude Valley Open Mic feat. various: Mick O'Malley's, Brisbane
Feet: Beetle Bar, Brisbane The Cairos + Tales In Space: Black Bear Lodge,
Carriage + guests: Ric's
Fortitude Valley
(downstairs), Fortitude Valley
Laique: Brisbane Jazz
Mark Sheils: Royal George, Fortitude Valley Mojo Webb: The Joynt, South Brisbane Open Mic Night feat. various: The Loft, Chevron Island Candice: The Plough Inn, Southbank Acoustic Session with Rene
Club, Kangaroo Point Rag Doll Duo + Jabba: Irish Murphy's, Brisbane Ballad Boy: Loving Hut, Mount Gravatt Open Mic Night feat. various:
Cafe & Restaurant, Ascot Pete Cornelius + Brodie Graham + Arbori: The Loft, Chevron Island Digitalism: The Met, Fortitude Valley John Wilkenson: The Plough Inn, Southbank Red Star Born + Off The Leash + more: The Tempo Hotel, Fortitude Valley Jazz & Shriaz feat. various: The Vault (4pm), Southport Bob La Castra + Polisi Fitz + Kris Linehan: The Vault, Southport
Baby Animals + Steve
the guide email@example.com Motley: Transcontinental
Die Vs City + Dennis Jaculli
Hotel, Brisbane
+ Penny Rides Shotgun:
Kate Ceberano + guests:
Irish Murphy's, Brisbane
Twin Towns, Tweed Heads
Out Of Abingdon: Jazzcat
Brent Dee + Jake Carmody:
Restaurant, Paddington
Vanity Nightclub, Surfers Paradise
Love Nightlife, Broadbeach
Andy Bull + special
Darkc3ll + Tensions Arise
guests: Alhambra Lounge,
+ guests: Miami Tavern
Fortitude Valley
(Shark Bar), Miami
Miss Mandy Swings: Brisbane Jazz Club, Kangaroo Point Jodie Michael Plus: Brisbane
The Milkmen: Surfers Paradise Beer Garden (3pm), Surfers Paradise
Waterhole, Eumundi DJ Turhan + DJ Tredman:
Dench: Beetle Bar, Brisbane
DJ Boogie Shoes: Stoke Bar (4pm), Southbank
Hole + Mark Easton: Joe's
633 Ann, Fortitude Valley
The Name Of The Ghost + Judy
The Hayden Hack Infusion: Solbar (2pm), Maroochydore
Pete Cornelius + Adam
Cookie Jar feat. various:
Principles + Portrait Of Pride +
Jarrah & The Lionhearts + Zac Gunthorpe: Shucked Lane, Newstead
Cody Chesnutt: The Hi-Fi, West End Pete Cornelius + Brodie Graham: The Joynt, South Brisbane Big Boyz: The Plough Inn (afternoon), Southbank
The Hodads: Miami Tavern (Malibu's Bar), Miami
Ger Fennelly + Murphy's Pigs + Lucky 13: Mick O'Malley's, Brisbane
Powerhouse (Turbine
Out Of Abingdon: Queen Street
Platform/5pm), New Farm
Mall (12.30pm), Brisbane
Willy Angelo: The
Twin Haus + Hushka + The
Boundary Hotel (Beer
Baskervillans: Black Bear
Garden/5pm), West End
Lodge, Fortitude Valley
The Walters: The Boundary
Kate Ceberano + guests: Brisbane
Hotel (Public Bar), West End
Powerhouse, New Farm
Imagine Dragons + special
The Bon Scotts: Brisbane
guests : The Hi-Fi, West End
Powerhouse, New Farm
Hushka + Arbori + Neighbour:
Miss Renee Simone + Stav
The Hideaway, Fortitude Valley
the Elegant Magician:
J Star + MC Soom T + Die
Cafe Le Monde, Noosa
Rude + Katia Demeester:
Pay A Sack Forward feat.
The Joynt, South Brisbane
Western Front + The Feels
Jae Laffer + Georgia Fair + Karl
+ Yojay + Junior Arcade +
Smith: The Loft, Chevron Island
White Lodge: Coniston Lane
Second Gear: The Plough
(5pm), Fortitude Valley
Inn (afternoon), Southbank
Toby: Coorparoo Bowls
Joel Butt: The Plough
Club, Coorparoo
Inn, Southbank
Weathered + Seavera +
The Gooch Palms: Club
Bertie Page Clinic + The
Greenslopes, Greenslopes
Halls + DJ Valdis: Ric's
Thriller feat. Ur Boi Bang$: Coniston Lane, Fortitude Valley Burning Brooklyn + Hometown Heroes + Ever Since Darwin + The Orchard: Coolangatta Hotel, Coolangatta
(downstairs), Fortitude Valley DJ Cutts: Ric's (upstairs), Fortitude Valley Ear Candy: Saltbar,
Matt Taylor: Twin Towns, Tweed Heads DJ Daniel De Niro + Jake Carmody: Vanity Nightclub, Surfers Paradise
MON 21 Rockaoke: The Tempo Hotel, Fortitude Valley
TUE 22 The Bug feat. The Switch + The Hillbilly Goats: New Farm Bowls Club, New Farm Mark Sheils: Samford Valley Hotel, Samford Valley
Zoophonic Blonde + more: The
(Iceworks), Paddington
Tempo Hotel, Fortitude Valley
Triplickit: Miami Tavern
The Swiss various DJs:
(Malibu's Bar/3.30pm), Miami
Escalate Showcase #12 feat. Give Em Hell Kid + Ages Of Earth + Taken By Wolves + White Elephant: The Tempo Hotel, Fortitude Valley
The Tempo Hotel (Bowler
Strings For Ammo +
Divinchis: The Vault, Southport
Bar), Fortitude Valley
Ger Fennelly: Mick
Starq: The Vault, Southport
O'Malley's, Brisbane
Korpiklaani + guests: The Zoo, Fortitude Valley
Baby Animals + Steve
Katchafire + Common Kings:
Balbi + Ollie Brown: The
Parkwood Tavern, Parkwood
Zoo, Fortitude Valley
Royal Chant + Moonshine Sally:
Zenith Art Party feat. The
Ric's (downstairs), Fortitude Valley
The City Shake-Up +
Sunday Sessions feat. various: The Tempo Hotel, Fortitude Valley
Zeek Power: Dowse Bar
Baskervillans + The Fargan Brothers + Bitter Lungs + more: Transcontinental Hotel, Brisbane The Deltones: Twin Towns, Tweed Heads Call The Shots + Cambridge
South Kingscliff
+ Day Break + Lets Jump
Mantra + Grey Ghost +
Ship + Here's To Neverland:
Brothers Bond + MC Wheels:
Upstairs 199 (12pm), West End
Cassian: Elsewhere,
Solbar, Maroochydore
Surfers Paradise
Weathered: Solbar (Front
The Grand Rapids + Dreamtime
Room), Maroochydore
+ Mega Ogre + Gazar Strips:
Adam Hole + Mark
Barbiturates + Police Force:
Easton: Bearded Dragon
Grand Central Hotel, Brisbane
Southside Tea Room, Morningside
Tavern, Tamborine
tour guide email@example.com
Stonefield: UQ Oct 24, The Racehorse Hotel Oct 25, Alhambra Lounge Nov 22, Villa Hotel Noosa Nov 23, The Northern Nov 24
Lorde: The Zoo Oct 16
Kim Wilde, Nik Kershaw: The Tivoli Oct 16
Wolf & Cub: Beach Hotel Oct 25
Ricky Martin: BCEC Oct 16 Prince Rama: Alhambra Lounge Oct 16
New Empire: Brisbane Powerhouse Oct 25, Joe's Waterhole Oct 26
Every Time I Die: The Hi-Fi Oct 18
Sticky Fingers: The Northern Oct 26
Chelsea Grin: Brisbane Riverstage Oct 18
Eskimo Joe: The Hi-Fi Oct 31
Imagine Dragons: The Hi-Fi Oct 19 One Direction: BEC Oct 19, 20, 21 Cody Chesnutt: The Hi-Fi Oct 20 Katchafire: Parkwood Tavern Oct 20 Korpiklaani: The Zoo Oct 22 Mickey Avalon: The Hi-Fi Oct 24, Coolangatta Hotel Oct 25 Yellowcard: The Tivoli Oct 25 Limp Bizkit: Riverstage Oct 25
THE BREEDERS: 29 OCT, THE TIVOLI Sonny and the Sunsets: QAG Nov 22
Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band: BEC Feb 26
Justin Bieber: BEC Nov 26, 27 (AA)
The Wonder Stuff: The Zoo Feb 27
Dale Watson & His Lonestars: Black Bear Lodge Nov 28, Morningside Services Club Nov 29
Bruno Mars: BEC Mar 7
Behemoth: The Hi-Fi Oct 27
City and Colour, Twin Forks: Brisbane Riverstage Nov 30
Fall Out Boy: BEC Oct 27
Leonard Cohen: BEC Nov 30
The Cribs: The Zoo Oct 28 Beyonce: BEC Oct 28, 29 The Breeders: The Tivoli Oct 29
Kataklysm: Crowbar Dec 4 Cave: The Zoo Dec 4
Toby Keith: BEC Mar 14 Queens of the Stone Age, Nine Inch Nails: BEC Mar 17 Thirty Seconds To Mars: Brisbane Riverstage Mar 30 (AA) Jason Derulo: BEC May 5 Michael Buble: BEC May 12
Guitar Wolf: Beetle Bar Dec 6
Gus G's Firewind: The Hi-Fi Nov 1
Passenger: The Tivoli Dec 6, Dec 7 (AA)
Joey Cape: Crowbar Nov 1, The Loft Nov 2
Taylor Swift: Suncorp Stadium Dec 7
Damn Terran: Alhambra Lounge Oct 17, The Northern Oct 18
Enslaved: The Hi-Fi Nov 3
Joey Bada$$: The Hi-Fi Dec 7
Dave Clarke: Beetle Bar Nov 3
Melvins, Helmet: The Hi-Fi Dec 8, The Northern Dec 9
The Cairos: Black Bear Lodge Oct 17
Alicia Keys, John Legend: BEC Dec 13
One Republic: The Tivoli Nov 11 Salt-N-Pepa: Jupiters Hotel Nov 12 Neutral Milk Hotel, M. Ward, Superchunk: The Tivoli Nov 12 Smokie: Brolga Theatre Nov 12, Empire Theatre Nov 14, QPAC Nov 15 Nile: The Hi-Fi Nov 14
Sage Francis: The Hi-Fi Dec 12
Mantra: The Tempo Hotel Oct 17, Solbar Oct 19
Kate Ceberano: Twin Towns Oct 18, Brisbane Powerhouse Oct 20 The Amity Affliction: Brisbane Riverstage Oct 18
Courtney Barnett: QAG Dec 6 I Exist: Sun Distortion Dec 6 (AA) The Screaming Jets: Eatons Hill Hotel Dec 6, Coolangatta Hotel Dec 7 Birds Of Tokyo: Coolangatta Hotel Dec 11 Gareth Liddiard: QAG Dec 13 Clairy Browne: The Hi-Fi Dec 19
Elizabeth Rose: Alhambra Lounge Nov 2
Bonjah: Solbar Dec 28, The Northern Dec 29, Surfers Paradise Beer Garden Dec 30
Bernard Fanning: Sirromet Wines Nov 3
Saskwatch: Black Bear Lodge Nov 8, The Spotted Cow Nov 9 Nancy Vandal: The Zoo Nov 8, Miami Tavern Shark Bar Nov 9 Don Walker: Old Museum Nov 9
Miami Horror: Oh Hello! Dec 21
Hunters & Collectors: Sirromet Wines Feb 2 Kerser: The Hi-Fi Feb 22 (AA and 18+) Kate Miller-Heidke: The Tivoli Apr 5
Island Vibe: Home Beach Park Oct 25-27 Jim Beam Sand Jam: Surfers Paradise Beach Oct 26-27 Golden Days: Coolum Sports Complex Nov 9 Hits & Pits 2.0: Coolangatta Hotel Nov 15, The Hi-Fi Nov 16
The Other Side: South Stradbroke Island Nov 23
Chic featuring Nile Rodgers: The Tivoli Dec 15
Jae Laffer: Alhambra Lounge Oct 18, The Loft Oct 19
Todd Terry: Cloudland Dec 15
Andy Bull: Alhambra Lounge Oct 19
Harrison Craig: Star Court Theatre Nov 19
Stereosonic: RNA Showgrounds Dec 7-8
Bodyjar: The Hi-Fi Nov 22, Coolangatta Hotel Nov 23
Festival Of The Sun: Sundowner Breakwall Tourist Park Dec 13-14
The Living End: Eatons Hill Hotel Nov 23
Falls Festival: Byron Bay Dec 31-Jan 3
Air Supply: Jupiters Casino Nov 27
Beachlife: Surfers Paradise Beach Jan 4-5
The John Steel Singers: The Spotted Cow Nov 28, The Zoo Nov 29, Solbar Nov 30
Big Day Out: Metricon Stadium and Carrara Parklands Jan 19
The Brian Jonestown Massacre: The Hi-Fi Dec 15, The Northern Dec 18
The Grand Rapids: Grand Central Hotel Oct 19
Violent Soho: The Northern Oct 24, The Zoo Oct 26
David Dallas: Alhambra Lounge Dec 19 Half Moon Run: Solbar Jan 2, Old Museum Jan 3, The Northern Jan 4 Paramore, You Me At Six: BEC Jan 9
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club: The Hi-Fi Nov 17
Daughters: Crowbar Jan 9
Franz Ferdinand: The Tivoli Nov 17
Misfits: The Zoo Jan 16
Mayhem: The Hi-Fi Jan 12
Moonsorrow: The Hi-Fi Nov 20
We Are Scientists: The Zoo Jan 22
Jill Scott: The Tivoli Nov 21
Dash Berlin: Riverstage Feb 9 The National: Riverstage Feb 11 Ed Kowalczyk: The Tivoli Feb 12
The Bennies: Crowbar Oct 24
The Jungle Giants: Coolangatta Hotel Oct 24, Solbar Oct 25, The Hi-Fi Oct 26, Alhambra Lounge Oct 27 (U18)
Bluejuice: The Hi-Fi Nov 9 High Tension: Crowbar Nov 9
Mullum Music Festival: Mullumbimby Nov 21-24
Warped Tour: RNA Showgrounds Nov 29, Coffs Harbour Showground Nov 30
Laneway Festival: RNA Showgrounds Jan 31
Busby Marou: SoundLounge Oct 24, The Hi-Fi Oct 25, The Spotted Cow Oct 26
Whitley: Alhambra Lounge Nov 28, Woombye Pub Nov 29, Coolangatta Hotel Nov 30
Adalita: The Zoo Oct 24, Kings Beach Tavern Oct 25, Coolangatta Hotel Oct 26
Pond: The Zoo Dec 14
Bluesfest: Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm Apr 17-21
Gossling: Alhambra Lounge Nov 15
Groovin' The Moo: Townsville Cricket Grounds May 4
Dyson, Stringer, Cloher: The Spotted Cow Oct 24, SoundLounge Oct 25, Judith Wright Centre Oct 26, Woombye Pub Oct 27, Byron Bay Brewery Oct 31
Colin Hay: The Tivoli Dec 5
The Aston Shuffle: Elsewhere Nov 15 Allday: Bowler Bar Nov 15
Tumbleweed: The Tempo Hotel Dec 5
Jessica Mauboy: BCEC Nov 19, Jupiters Casino Nov 20, Caloundra Events Centre Nov 22, Empire Theatre Jan 8; Lismore Workers Club Jan 10
Mac DeMarco: The Zoo Dec 18
Neck Deep: Snitch Nov 21, Trinity Hall Nov 22 (AA)
Closure In Moscow: The Spotted Cow Dec 5, Alhambra Lounge Dec 6
Baby Animals: The Zoo Oct 18, 19
Fleetwood Mac: BEC Nov 14, Dec 2
Olly Murs: BCEC Nov 16
Machine Translations: The Hi-Fi Nov 30
Jack Johnson: QPAC Dec 14
Kylesa: The Hi-Fi Dec 13
Lenka: Black Bear Lodge Oct 24
Martha Davis And The Motels: Twin Towns Nov 15
Patrick James: Black Bear Lodge Nov 27
Def FX: Beetle Bar Nov 9
Bon Jovi, Kid Rock: Suncorp Stadium Dec 17
Between The Buried And Me: The Zoo Nov 15
British India: The Zoo Nov 22, 23
Little Scout: Black Bear Lodge Oct 18, The Spotted Cow Oct 25, Solbar Oct 26
Big Sean: Arena Nov 14
Useless ID: Crowbar Nov 15
Screamfeeder: The Spotted Cow Nov 15, Beetle Bar Nov 16
The Siren Tower: The Tempo Hotel Nov 2
Lime Cordiale: Alhambra Lounge Nov 7, Solbar Nov 8, The Northern Nov 9
Lightning Bolt: The Zoo Oct 31
Scott Kelly And The Road Home, Jarboe: The Zoo Nov 9
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard: Alhambra Lounge Nov 1
Sarah McLeod: The Manhattan Club Nov 7, SoundLounge Nov 8, Coolum Hotel Nov 9, Bon Amici Cafe Nov 10
Steel Panther: Riverstage Dec 6
Muse: BEC Dec 10 (AA)
Jordie Lane: The Spotted Cow Oct 31, Black Bear Lodge Nov 1
Wednesday 13: The Hi-Fi Oct 30
Fliptrix: The New Globe Theatre Nov 8, The Brewery Nov 10
Dan Sultan: Old Museum Oct 31, Woombye Pub Nov 1
Boy & Bear: Beach Hotel Nov 7, Coolangatta Hotel Nov 8, The Tivoli Nov 9
Pitbull, Kesha: BEC Oct 30
Deerhunter: The Zoo Dec 9
Horrorshow: The Spotted Cow Oct 31, The Zoo Nov 1, Solbar Nov 2, Beach Hotel Nov 3
Dragon: Kedron Wavell Services Club Jun 20, Twin Towns Jun 21
Insane Clown Posse: The Hi-Fi Dec 5
The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus: The Hi-Fi Nov 7
Dream On Dreamer: Price St Hall Oct 26, CWA Hall Oct 27, The Tempo Hotel Oct 31, Expressive Grounds Nov 1 (AA)
Jeremy Neale: Solbar Nov 15, The Zoo Nov 16
Soundwave: RNA Showgrounds Feb 22
BAY STREET BYRON BAY (02) 6685 6402 www.beachhotel.com.au
For more info visit:
18+ event. Valid ID will be required to enter venue.
2 0 1 3
be where the POWER is!
the end
It seems they are meant to replicate the apples that were originally used to decorate Xmas trees.
PROS Handy to have around if you run out of table tennis balls.
CONS Oops… not so handy if you have the glass ones.
TOO SOON? If these appear before Halloween, be careful when bobbing for apples.
Something to do with the baby Jesus?
PROS Can keep the kids occupied for hours trying to get this on top of the tree.
CONS An arseache to get on top of the tree if you have no kids.
TOO SOON? Seriously, these can wait to Xmas Eve.
Covering awkward silences at Xmas dinner.
PROS See above.
CONS Dad jokes.
TOO SOON? Xmas Day is even too soon for these.
The Music is a free, weekly gloss magazine of newsstand quality. It features a diverse range of content including arts, culture, fashion, li...
Published on Oct 15, 2013
The Music is a free, weekly gloss magazine of newsstand quality. It features a diverse range of content including arts, culture, fashion, li...