CANBERRA’S NO.

1 FREE ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE

#389 F E B 2 9

“You AraleofHthere fre inges

is a festiv
in a ci ty th at d oe sn ’t ge t it s d ue .
Your city. Ge t pr ou d , an d ge t in v olv ed ”

enlighten + canyons
INSIDE
CANBERRA FESTIVAL + moneykat
summer of the 17th doll + los caps
www.bmamag.com
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KRS-One Is Coming
to Canberra
KRS-One is a fascinating
gentleman. He has a morbid
Q: There’s so much to do this
fear of flying and so only travels
month in Canberra. What are
to foreign countries by boat.
you doing?
A: I’m going to sit at home He doesn’t drive at night. He
and complain there’s nothing insists people have read a copy
to do in Canberra. of his autobiography so he
can quiz people on it. He also
# 3 8 9 F E B 2 9 happens to be one of the most
Fax: 02 6257 4361 significant names in hip-hop;
Mail: PO Box 713 one of the genre’s godfathers,
Civic Square, ACT 2608
pioneers and mainstayers all
Publisher rolled into one. As a result of
Scott Layne
KRS-One’s dislike for flying, it
General Manager
is a rare thing to get the man
Allan Sko
out to Australia. But thanks to
T: 6257 4360
E: advertising@bmamag.com those incorrigible Koky Prik
Advertising Manager promotion cunnies, we finally
Paul Foley
T: 6257 4360
get the chance to witness the
legend first hand. Playing out at
E: sales@bmamag.com
the Southern Cross Club Events
Editor
Julia Winterflood Centre top room - the same
T: 02 6257 4456 venue as the highly successful
E: editorial@bmamag.com
Bone Thugs N Harmony gig - on
Accounts Manager Friday (huzzah!) April 13, KRS-
Yu Xie One will be joined by Def Wish
T: 02 6247 4816 Cast and the KP Records stable.
E: accounts@bmamag.com
Tix are $85 + bf and available
Graphic Design
now from Moshtix.
Chris
Film Editor Put On Ice
Rattlehand at Wolfmother”, the four-from-
The Phoenix a-farm in Victoria have been
playing together since 2006
In 2011 Rattlehand established
and have rocketed along in
themselves as serious players
their career since winning
performing live with Justin
Unearthed with invites to play
Townes Earle, Wagons and
at the Glastonbury festival and
Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band
a show at The Roxy in LA. They
and playing to sold out crowds
began 2012 with the east coast
at Tamworth, Woodford and
dates of the Big Day Out and
Apollo Bay festivals. Joviality
gained a spot in the Hottest
and contagiousness is at the
100. The band have just finished
core of their music, and anyone
recording a new six-track mini
who loves a good blues or rock
album with Lindsay Gravina
beat will get as much from
at Birdland Studios with the
Rattlehand’s new album as the
first single Bad Reality due out
most hardened alt-country fan.
this month, so you can expect
Acclaimed in particular for their
some new material. Rather than
tight, vibrant and entertaining
the standard set structure,
live shows Rattlehand are not to
Stonefield will be playing
be missed on their East Coast
throughout the Kamberra
Album Tour. They’ll be stopping
Wine Company Black Opal
by The Phoenix on Friday March
Stakes Day with sets between
2. Free entry.
races four through to eight,
followed by a one hour concert
Stonefield Play Black
Opal Stakes Day commencing after the last race
at 5.30pm. Staged tickets start
In a little bit of a different move from only $10 and are available
for the regular race meet, the for purchase online at www.
2012 Kamberra Wine Company thoroughbredpark.com.au or
Black Opal Stakes Day will this at the gate on the day for $25.
year play host to Stonefield, This is a family friendly all ages
the triple j Unearthed winners event (but perhaps don’t send
for 2010. Often described by the kids to the tote bag).
journalistic wags as “the female

stonefield at the races

Melissa Wellham
NEXT ISSUE 390 OUT MARCH 14
EDITORIAL DEADLINE MARCH 05
ADVERTISING DEADLINE MARCH 08
Published by Radar Media Pty Ltd
ABN 76 097 301 730
BMA is independently owned and
published. Opinions expressed in BMA
are not necessarily those of the
editor, publisher or staff.
Continuing the hip-hop tip, the
much anticipated Ice Cube
show, scheduled for last year,
is finally happening at the AIS
Arena on Thursday April 19. He
will be supported by DJ Daz
and the rest of the KP Records
roster. Tix are $91.50 + bf and
available now from Ticketek.

14
 YOU
FROM THE PISSED
BOSSMAN ME OFF!
We all get busy, and sometimes we get extremely, skull-boringly, Has someone yanked yer chain recently? Well send an email
terrifyingly busy. So inevitably, as our professional lives to  editorial@bmamag.com and have your sweet vengeance.
intertwine with each other, we can find ourselves involved in one And for the love of God, keep it brief! [All entries contain
of humankind’s most ironically timewasting enterprises - The original spellings]
Busyoff - a notion as useless as it is grammatically awkward.
To the Australian Government, re: their misleading, hypocritical
The Busyoff occurs when two professionals find their work
joke of an advertising campaign concerning ecstasy [“Ecstasy:
routines hitting that fever pitch where stress bubbles like
Face Facts”], which featured on the inside back cover of BMA’s
magma, urgent files hang like dead albatrosses from heavy
last issue.
heads, and the cold hard grip of deadline is being desperately
prised from throats. It is a dangerous, volatile time where Ok, so riddle me this: ecstasy producers presumably know some
professionalism, logic, and common sense is cast ineluctably reasonably high-level chemistry to be able to manufacture their
into the wind at the smallest provocation. We all understandably wares – if this is the case, what the hell are drug poindexters
want the people we’re forced to work with to make us their #1 doing in a room that looks like it has had human shit flung all over
priority and when this doesn’t happen due to said person also it, as the ad so outlandishly depicts?
having 20 equally important things jostling for their attention, we
get steamed and enter into an ill-advised bout of oneupmanship. How is it, Mr Government, that such persons are able to engage
with complex neurochemistry, yet are unable to aim their
“I have five meetings today/Yeah? Well I have six! I have a budget buttocks at the toilet when they do a number 2? If ‘drug pushers’
to prepare by 12pm/Well I have two budgets to prepare by 11pm! are earning so much money, why indeed are they using a toilet
My wife died and I’m planning her funeral whilst preparing a 100- bowl as a sink?
page document that needs to be submitted by this afternoon/
Well my whole family died in a freak windmill accident so I’m Surely with all the cashola they are making, that camp-stove
organising three funerals, plus a 200-page document plus I’m should be a Miele and they should at least have enough dinero
bleeding profusely! I’m just so much busier!!!” to be able to pay for a cleaner to mop up their errant bowel
movements.
I am not innocent of such a charge. Moons ago as Editor I felt the
hot breath of the Deadline Dragon on my neck and was inflamed Ecstasy, the ad proclaims, is made using “drain cleaner, battery
that a certain Melbourne DJ hadn’t got his interview answers acid or even hair bleach”. Well, I’d implore the government to take
back after two long weeks. “Now look here!” I unwisely wrote to some of its own sage advice, and “face [these] facts”: ammonium
said DJ’s management. “I’m trying to do you gits a favour here bicarbonate, which is used in detergents and stain removers, is
and give you some free editorial that will increase your artist’s also a common ingredient in cocoa products.
profile and lift sales of their latest shit-mix by as many as seven
units. And you have the sheer audacity to drag your heels!” Yeah, that’s right: you’re feeding your little daughter spray’n’wipe
before she goes to bed. And hydrochloric acid is used in the
Needless to report, the agent threw the gauntlet down and put manufacture of beer and cheese, as well as hair dye and bleach.
the fists up. “Rah-rah-rah the artist DJs six nights a week and What the bleach! In short, chemicals are everywhere, and whilst
runs his own studio by day blah-blah-blah he’s working on 70 this is certainly a cause for concern in general, it is beyond
mixes simultaneously and visits Children’s Hospitals to heal the retarded to suggest this is limited to ecstasy manufacture in
sick in his spare time rant-rant-rant where do you get off talking some nefarious way.
to us like that...“ etc etc.
National Drugs Campaign: you can stick it up your arse
Sometimes these encounters can be exactly what’s needed for (apparently it gets you higher that way).
both parties to blow off a bit of steam. But that’s only if you both
eventually cool down and apologise. This rarely happens because
let’s face it, you hate everyone and everything, life sucks, it’s
not fair, you never asked for this crap in the first place and this
person, this bastard right here, is the proverbial backbreaking
straw and you will hit them in the face until they die.
So likely what occurs is that the rant continues for email after
email, call after call, in a seemingly ceaseless time wasting loop
when you could be getting on with some actual work making you
both look temperamental, emotional, unable to cope and will
likely forever put a silent black mark in your relationship for the
rest of your working lives. Even though in the meantime they
have probably been putting in 12 rant-free hours of hard work
every day and saved over Eighty Children in the years since The
Busyoff happened.
Right, that’s it for today. Now piss off, I’m extremely busy.
ALLAN SKO - allan@bmamag.com

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 WHO: BMA Mag and The brainchild of longtime Canberra devotee Jem Natividad,
Transit Bar with loving local music musings from BMA Magazine editor
WHAT: Women of Notes & Julia Winterflood, Women of Notes was launched to a joyously
rhythm: International appreciative audience at Transit Bar in August last year. For the You
Women’s Day Edition Are Here chapter, Women of Notes will become Women of Notes
WHEN: Fri March 9 and Rhythm, with female DJs added to the bill to enrich the broader
WHERE: Transit Bar musical spectrum. It also happens to be a fitting celebration of
International Women’s Day. On the bill are Freyja’s Rain, Ruth
O’Brien, and Jacqueline Nicole, followed by delectable DJing from
Eddie Shaggz, Riske, and Staky. 8pm start, free.
WHO: Closure in Moscow Hot on the heels of supporting My Chemical Romance on arena
WHAT: The Impeccable stages, Closure In Moscow are back with new single The Impeccable
Beast Tour Beast, which introduces an amazing new rhythm section and a fresh
WHEN: Thurs March 15 direction for the band. The track is a giant step forward for CIM with
WHERE: The Greenroom, killer beats influenced by Motown grooves, a huge chorus, a good
Woden Tradies time feel, and the bands’ signature guitar riffing. The track is now
available for free download from www.closureinmoscow.com in
exchange for an email address and joining the band’s mailing list.
They’ll be able supported by special guests Strangers and locals
Escape Syndrome. Tix through Oztix and Moshtix.
WHO: Pieta Brown and the Pieta Brown is being hailed as a modern American troubadour.
Sawdust Boys With a deep abiding saturation in blues and folk beyond her years,
WHAT: Mercury Tour Pieta continues to bend forms to suit her unmistakable style and
WHEN: Fri March 16 mesmerising melodies. She has gained the attention of music lovers
WHERE: The White Eagle and media from across the spectrum and counts artists Amos Lee,
Polish Club Iris Dement, Mark Knopfler, JJ Cale and John Prine amongst her
biggest fans. Her seventh album Mercury evokes the sounds of her
native Alabama with raw folk and Americana songs that have strains
of Gillian Welch and The Civil Wars with the radio-friendly allure of
Feist and Ray Lamontagne. With special guest Lucie Thorne. 8pm.
WHO: Aril Brikah Over the last six months Aril Brikah has been drafted in by some
WHAT: Presented by Effigy of the scene’s most respected names and labels. His remix of B
and Lollygag Kollektiv Turmstrasse’s Uneins on Connaisseur Recordings received
WHEN: Sun March 11 heavy support from the likes of Ellen Allien, Stephan Bodzin,
WHERE: The Clubhouse Dominik Eulberg, Agoria and more, whilst his remix of Joel Mull’s
Sensory proved yet again why he is one of the most respected
names in techno. December saw Aril unleash the Palma EP on his
own Art of Vengeance label; a release which featured his razor
sharp production skills and keen understanding of melody. Don’t
miss the return of one of the most original DJs in music today.
WHO: Super Raelene Bros Alice Springs’ Super Raelene Bros’ performances are a celebration:
WHAT: Nuclear Kop Tour a brash, joyous, intimate stomp-out, and they’re swooping into town
WHEN: Tues March 6 to launch their brand new EP featuring Redgum’s classic Nuclear
WHERE: The Front Kop. Recorded entirely during half-time breaks at Sadadeen
Football Club, Super Raelene Bros not only take on the Australian
Uranium Industry but also the UN and the good citizens of Darwin.
A spanner in the works of the uranium spin machine since their
first single Wiya Angela Pamela went number one on Unearthed in
2010, Nuclear Kop promises to do the same. It’s no wonder they’ve
supported the likes of Paul Kelly, Cat Empire and Yothu Yindi. 7pm.
WHO: Opiuo and Russ The Clubhouse and Disco Ninja are teaming up to bring Canberra
Liquid Live a night of glitchy electronic goodness. Opiuo will be performing
WHAT: Album Launch material from his upcoming album Butter Snap Part One, released
WHEN: Sat March 10 March 1. Opiuo will be joined by Russ Liquid on keys and trumpet.
WHERE: The Clubhouse Favouring fun and funk-fuelled body shaking sonic manipulations,
the Opiuo sound is being included in DJ sets from some of the
world’s most respected, from Z-Trip to Bassnectar, KraftyKuts to
Tipper and everyone in between. In conjunction with the gig The
Clubhouse is running two competitions. There’s a DJ comp and a
punters’ comp. Find The Clubhouse on Facebook for all the info.

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ALL AGES
Finally, plenty to choose from in the all ages scene.
Don’t forget to book your tickets soon for Groovin The Moo 2012!
This year the line-up will feature such big names as Hilltop Hoods,
City and Colour, Kaiser Chiefs, Chiddy Bang, Parkway Drive,
Bluejuice, Public Enemy and The Getaway Plan, alongside so
many more spectacular acts and even more still to be announced.
This magical day out on Sunday May 13 at the Meadows of the
University of Canberra is one of the most popular all ages events
of the year, so book your tickets in advance to guarantee your spot.
Tickets are on sale now and cost just $99.90 (+ bf) through any
Moshtix outlet.
Unfortunately, much of the time internationally known artists tend
to skip the nation’s capital when touring Australia. But not this
time! Coming all the way from America, renowned rock five-piece
Evanescence will perform for their masses of Canberra fans at
The Royal Theatre (National Convention Centre) on Friday March
23. They will tour the country with Blaqk Audio, the electronic side
project of AFI members Davey Havok and Jade Puget. Tickets cost
$99 (+ bf) through Ticketek. The show starts at 8pm.
Although many of you may have already made the trip to the
Soundwave Festival, don’t be a bitch! Man up, and plough through
round two! Iconic heavy metal five-piece Lamb of God from the
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USA have included Canberra on their Sidewave list. This gig on
Thursday March 1 with supporting acts In Flames and The Black
Dahlia Murder will be the only Sidewave event to come through the
capital. The action will take place at The UC Refectory. Tickets can
be purchased through any Oztix outlet for just $62.35 (+ bf).
On Friday April 3, Australian music legend John Butler will put on a
unique and intimate performance at The Canberra Theatre Centre.
With special guest Mama Kin, Butler will enchant us on the Tin Shed
Tales tour, which will bring us a night of songs and storytelling.
Tickets to this magical evening cost just $50.50 (+ bf) through
Ticketek.
On Saturday March 24, you can be taken away by the alternative
orchestral and ambient sounds of My Friend The Chocolate Cake,
from Melbourne. They shall be performing at The Street Theatre for
one night only, starting from 8pm. Tickets can be bought through the
venue and cost $39 standard pricing and $35 with concession.
Master ventriloquist David Strassman is bringing some of his
crude, confronting, quirky and crazy magic to Canberra on his Be
Careful What You Wish For tour. This show is not appropriate for
people under 12 years old, so you know it’ll be good. Unfortunately
people under the age of 15 must be accompanied by a responsible
adult. Strassman, Chuck and Ted E. Bare will be doing eight shows
at The Playhouse Theatre. The hilarious genius and his crew will
be in Canberra from Tuesday February 28 to Sunday March 4. The
starting times of each show vary from day to day. Sunday through
Thursday tickets cost $54.90 for adults and $49.90 for concession.
On Saturdays and Sundays adult tickets cost $59.90 and concession
is $54.90. All tickets can be bought through the venue.
NAOMI FROST
allagescolumn@gmail.com
19
 LOCALITY
I best come clean, dear readers. That was a high-on-wanderlust-Julz
spouting lines like “Mum, Dad, I’m moving to Vietnam!” a couple of
columns ago. This plan involved walking away from my BA you see,
but after shouting from the rooftops that I was heading overseas
indefinitely a very dear friend sat me down (to an extraordinarily
extravagant dinner at Sage – I love you Dave) and talked me out
of it, for the time being. Best to finish what I’ve started, etc. True,
true. And so I’m going to knock off the old Bachelor of Attendance
(I’ve dragged out a three year degree to seven!) and postpone the
overseas immersion for a wee while.
It’s a good thing, because deep down I just ain’t ready to leave this
town. I am heading home to Alice for the second half of this year to
spend some quality time with the fam, but come 2013 I’ll be back in
my beloved ‘Berra, and about this fact I could not be happier.
There’s just so much going on at the moment! I spent the best part
of Saturday uploading squillions of listings to the now swollen
BMA Mag Gig Guide. On Sunday the Bossman put up a Facebook
poll asking what people were doing on the first weekend of March.
Corinbank? ENLIGHTEN? Canberra Festival? The launch of The
(new) Greenroom?
Come the second weekend in March You Are Here will be in full
swing. To quote ex-Canberran Jordan Prosser whose play Going to
Hell in This Handy Basket is showing at Phoenix on Thursday March
15 at 7.30pm, You Are Here is “one of the most exciting arts events
currently happening in our country”.
Jordan continues, “It is one of my pet hates – people in Melbourne
having a dig at Canberra. Obviously Canberra is the youngest and
smallest of all Australia’s capital cities and hell, some things, like a
genuine and thriving arts culture, cannot be forced. But festivals like
You Are Here and the ever-growing reach of the city’s artists are the
kinds of things that are going to slowly steer it in that right direction,
so that in not so many generations’ time it can be a cultural hub on
par with other, far larger, far older Australian capitals.” Couldn’t have
said it better myself. For the full story on Going to Hell… turn to
page 29.
As well as the mountain of gigs and festivals happening throughout
March, another thing I’m excited about is that MusicACT, the board
of which I’m on, is now accepting members through our site www.
musicact.com.au. MusicACT is a new umbrella association that is
aiming to unite and assist everyone in the ACT music industry by
providing advocacy, Professional Development Workshops (the first
of which is happening just hours after this ish hits the streets) and a
comprehensive online Member Directory. If you check out the back
cover of this ish you can read a bit more about it, and feel free to
shoot me any q’s you have too.
Exciting times ahead Canberra. Get involved!
JULIA WINTERFLOOD
julia@bmamag.com

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SINSATIONAL MIDWEEK DEAL!
Half price entry, $4 basic beers and $5 basic spirits when you
show your student ID card on Wednesday and Thursday nights. Exotic
dancers four nights a week. Fully licensed bar. Non stop podium shows
and lapdances available. Sinsations is the home of Miss Centerfold
Australia and Exotic Angels Australia competitions! We cater for bucks’
nights, birthday parties or any occasion that requires a great time.
Ladies very welcome. Positions available. Like us on Facebook
Sinsations Adult Nightclub Canberra.
32 Grimwade St Mitchell ACT | 02 6242 9996
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DANCE
THE DROP
I hypothesise even the most ironically tattooed musical connoisseur
would dip their fedora agreeably to the notion that every genre
has had or will have a ‘golden era’. For rock music it was the ‘70s,
pop music the ‘80s and horrible throwaway commercial garbage,
the modern day. Dance music is harder to pin down, as what young
humans prefer to dance to in the alcohol and drug-fuelled world of
clubbing changes almost as often as Lady Gaga. People often muse
over this conundrum and if I happened to be tied down and water
boarded to within an inch of my life, I would probably be forced to
cough and splutter an answer similar to ‘the early noughties’. The
onset of Y2K (rather than destroying all life on earth) seemed to
birth quite a large number of timeless club anthems and superstar
DJs that still appear in a lot of clubs today.
Anthony Pappa is one artist who thrived during this grace period
and who continues to enrich the scene with his forward thinking
musical mantra and mind-blowing technical wizardry. Unbelievably,
you can catch the legend for free in an up close and personal show
on the West Side stage at The Canberra Enlighten Festival on
Friday March 2 from 6.30pm. Supporting the big man are Rollin
Connection, Hypnagog and Sun in Aquarius who will all contribute
to what promises to be quite an interesting evening.
On the same night at Academy, Kid Kenobi has reformed with
hetero life-mate MC Shureshock for a rare one off club show that
is guaranteed to raise the roof. For those of you who aren’t familiar
with the duo, consider them to be the Brad and Angelina of modern
bass music.
Two amazing shows are happening at The Clubhouse in March. Kiwi
tastemaker Opiuo appears on Saturday March 10 alongside locals
Luko Fiasco, Dred, T:Mo and Paddymelon, and Sunday March 11
heralds the return of Effigy and Lollygag who present world leading
Assyrian Techno musician Aril Bricka. Miss at your peril.
By god there is some amazing club music filtering in from all across
the globe and I simply have to share it with you. Young gun Matt Zo
has just released his debut EP fittingly entitled Bipolar. The four
track journey takes you through a meld of progressive, trance and
electro that is definitely one of the most impressive releases of
2012. Tech house duo Orkestrated have just dropped a monster
with Night Crawler, Uberjak’d have released a beefed up remix of
Uberhammer’s record Disco Disco Disco, Drummatic Twins’ new
tune Meeting Point has been given a wicked 4/4 treatment by Rory
Lyons, Harris Robotis has funked things up with his new Hot For
You EP, AC Slater has dropped a new monster two track EP called
Sidewinder Little Chronic and local hero Basskleph has proven he is
still the man with his remix of Hands High – We Got The Swag.
TIM GALVIN
tim.galvin@live.com.au
23

COME TO PAPPA
ALLAN SKO
ANTHONY PAPPA has been DJing for nearly as long as I have been
alive; a humbling thought for us both. This is attributable to an early
introduction to, and a maintained passion for, music. He started
on the drums at two – an age where most of us are finding our feet
and rhythm for walking rather than finding the slap of a snare with a
rhythm for music – before snuggling behind the decks at the tender
age of 13. 25 years on and the man known as “the DJ’s DJ” is working
on a ninth mix for the revered Renaissance series and gearing up for
his headline set at the ENLIGHTEN festival opening night.
“I’m averaging 200 flights
I’m averaging 200
a year,” the jet-setting
Pappa reveals. “I never in
flights a year... a million years thought
it would get this far. It’s
not easy to make a name
for yourself let alone
maintain. So many come and go as fast as the music we play does.”
Pappa’s words come tumbling down the phone line; a testament to
his fiery Italian background and his unbridled verve for playing. “My
passion started at such a young age I never thought of a backup
plan,” he says of an alternative career. “If I had that mentality it
wouldn’t have worked. Music has been a part of my whole life, so it
felt natural.”
Over this time Pappa has largely stuck to his sound, and maintained
his stance as a “DJ first, producer second”. In other words, you can
forget about an artist album. “I’m more house, tech-house and
techno,” he says. “I never completely change direction and go with
something that’s not me. But if you don’t change, you get left behind.
If I wasn’t into something, I wouldn’t do it. I’m not a jukebox you know!
This is my career; it’s been shaped as my life has. It’s me.
“[As for an artist album] I have no aspirations to make one. I
like producing tracks, and with a remix I can hone in but I’m a
perfectionist; I would never be able to write the album I wanted. And
to be honest, electronic artist albums don’t really sell.”
Pappa’s new mix for Renaissance, his first in three years, will be a
two disc affair exploring a more downtempo vibe. “I don’t get to play
that kind of music; personally I love listening to that summer stuff.
It’s a self indulgent mix; it’s all stuff I’m into. It’s pitched at not being
too chillout but not so banging as to do your head in when you’re
at home.”
Of course when he arrives we won’t be at home but at the West
Stage bigtop near The National Library, and the man is gearing up.
“I’ve played Canberra before but not at a festival. Regardless of
style, people just want to get there and be happy, and that’s what I
intend to bring.”
Anthony Pappa plays at ENLIGHTEN Festival on Friday March 2 alongside
Sun In Aquarius, Hypnagog and locals. His set will start between 9.30-
10pm. Food and drink available, free entry.
24
NOT FOR THE
FAINT HEARTED
ALLAN SKO
Electronic music has split into so many exciting forms over the past
decade, and the proliferation of the broadly termed ‘bass music’ has
taken many drum ‘n’ bass artists with it. Instra:mental has drawn a
close to D&B production to focus on a techno/old electro sound;
Clipz changed his name to Redlight and his production to bass/
dubstep/house; Breakage now favours dubstep... The list goes
on. But not for Hardline Recordingz label boss PAUL BLACKOUT
though. He continues to proudly fly the D&B flag with his trademark
hardcore-tinged sound and a new live set up that he’s about to test
out on us unsuspecting Canberra punters.
...producers “There’s a lot of good stuff around at
and DJs have the moment,” Paul enthuses. “A good
finally wised up
to the idea of
variation of styles keeping things
interesting. The stuff I hear more is the
variation rather more old school and jungle influenced
than mindlessly D&B, but with modern production
pumping out the techniques and new producers
same old keeping things fresh. A lot of the
more established producers and DJs
seem to have finally wised up to the idea of variation rather than
mindlessly pumping out the same old; Raiden of course being one of
the best at this.”
Paul and his label produce instantly recognisable tunes, favouring
the high-energy face-smashing dark side of the genre, blending
elements of hardcore and metal for an unrelenting sonic assault. A
sound perhaps not suited to a busy deadline afternoon in the office
(as my poor ailing Editor discovered recently) but perfect for losing
all sense of abandon in a club. “I was a hardcore DJ and producer
long before I started writing D&B, and people like Eye-D and Mark
N who played all kinds of stuff in a set rather than stick to one genre
made me think of combining it all into one sound. DJ Producer is my
number one; that guy is a machine. I probably wouldn’t be doing any
of this if it wasn’t for him, in particular his mix for Helter Skelter
Technodrome in 1995. That was the moment I said ‘I want to do this’.
Also the Newcastle/Bloody Fist crew, DJ Hidden, DJ Ruffneck...
Outside of D&B and hardcore though I mostly listen to rock and
metal, but almost anything is fair game.
I’ve always been into heavier
music from metal through industrial; I take bits and pieces of
influences and make my own sound.”
So just what can we expect from the show? “I have an Ableton
set with a controller for the fx. I’ve broken up all the tracks into a
few parts so I can do live fx and edits on them. I’m looking forward
to getting back to Canberra and giving the people in the capital
the first opportunity to see me play live.” And can we expect any
dubstep? “I can’t stand dubstep, it’s horrible ‘music’. Let’s just leave
it at that!”
Everyone loves a purist, and you can bear witness to Paul Blackout’s
unwavering ways and new set at The Clubhouse on Friday March 2. Support
from Kanevil, Killosis, Centaspike, Buick, Tidy and Ced Nada. $10 on the
door.
MAKING WAVES
Alistair Erskine
Something crackled about a year ago, possibly two. Just around the
time that their mates Tame Impala were winning over east coast
audiences, CANYONS started making waves too. Just like Tame
Impala, they were drawing on forgotten records seemingly found in
a really hip dad’s record collection, and breathing new life into them
at a time where it was completely appropriate. Having had some
singles and remixes both get critical acclaim, their debut album
came out at the beginning of the summer, and now they are taking
their show on the road, complete with a full band.
Leo explains expanding to a
We just played band from a duo. “Because of
our sixth show as the way we wrote the record,
we wrote it all and played
a band down in all the instruments. I guess
Hobart, and it’s because of the nature of the
getting better all songs we record we have
never been able to perform
the time it live with just the two of
us. We just played our sixth
show as a band down in Hobart, and it’s getting better all the time.”
Having seen Canyons play live earlier this year, audiences are
presented with a dynamic and wonderful sounding representation
of how their album translates live. One thing I had to ask about is
how they manage to make the live drums sound so good – something
that many electronic groups really fail at when deciding to enlist a
live drummer for their tours.
“Well for the kit that Julian plays, we have it set up as a mix of real
drums and v drum pads – live snare, live toms, then a v drum for
the kick, which we have set up to trigger the sampler. So we have
the same kicks that we use on the record now being played live
essentially – it keeps the sounds tight, and gets the exact same
sound as the song on the album.
“Actually the biggest job was programming the sampler, all the
different sequences, not just for the drum to trigger but I will trigger
some from the midi keyboard, and then ages of cutting off and
looping, and then rehearsing and getting the arrangements. Because
we had to teach the new bandmates things – in Under The Blue Sky
for instance, the arrangement is nonsensical. So we had to explain to
them ‘oh, it’s not just blocks of 16 bars, some of them go for 14 bars,
which makes it harder to learn’, and we are still totally honing it. The
plan is to keep on working on it as we tour around Australia, and then
take it over to Europe for the start of their summer.”
When they touch down in Canberra, you too should enhance the
summer with Canyons. “With any music we write, that draws from all
the good energy, good times, that always gives off a summery vibe.”
Catch Canyons live at Transit Bar on Saturday March 3, supported by
Pelvic, The Gentleman, Eddie Shaggz, Architect DJs and Celebrity Sex Tape.
Tickets are $15 + bf through Moshtix.
SPACE CADET
morgan richards
So who (or what) is THE ORB, exactly? That’s a question best
answered by founding member LX (Alex Paterson). Whether or
not he actually answers this ponderance is another matter, but we
did manage to have a great little chat about life, the universe and
ambient music. The Orb came into existence in the late ‘80s – just
before the Second Summer of Love swept the UK. Free parties were
everywhere and ecstasy was the drug of choice. But the scene was
less druggy than that of today, recalls LX. “We didn’t do much spirits
and beers back then and the marching powder wasn’t about as much,
either. But chill-out bars and spaces were all so new back in the ‘90s.”
[The album]’s While ecstasy and dance music
about the
future; life in the
fuelled the raves, it was ambient
that ruled the waves. The Orb’s
23rd century second album U.F.Orb managed a
#1 on the UK albums chart while
the single Blue Room reached #8 – not bad for a 39-minute ambient
piece. Even after the rave scene had come and gone, The Orb
continued to record albums and produce/remix for other artists. LX
is the chief creative force although he has been joined by a number
of producers over the years including recent collaborator Thomas
Fehlmann, better known for his productions on Cologne-based
techno label Kompakt.
The Orb’s most recent effort, 2010’s Metallic Spheres, saw them
team up with David Gilmour – fitting, considering that critics have
often called them “the rave generation’s Pink Floyd”. The album
melds Gilmour’s guitar mastery with the duo’s sweeping synths and
eldritch arps to create a galactic sound odyssey that the notoriously
hard-to-please Pitchfork Media referred to as “gorgeous and
hypnotic”. It’s music for headphones, primarily – lie back on the
couch, roll up, and enjoy. I wouldn’t recommend it for the gym, and
neither should you put it on for sultry mood music after bringing a
girl home. Unless, of course, that girl is a space alien in which case
she’ll be going gaga before you can say Galaga.
So how about the future? LX drops a few clues on the upcoming
album due in September. “It’s called The OrbServer. It’s a mixture
of soul, minimal and reggae with a ‘basic rhythm’ feel. It’s about
the future; life in the 23rd century.” With reggae/dub legend Lee
“Scratch” Perry on vocals the album will surely prove a treat for
old fans who miss The Orb’s earlier, more dubby endeavours. In the
meantime, they’ll be jiving up their repertoire for the dancefloor.
LX assures us that the OSS – The Orb Sound System – is “harder
and leaner” than the usual armchair fare, and accompanying this
two-man galactic orchestra will be some seriously trippy eye-candy,
which beats having to look at a couple of guys behind glowing Apple
logos for two and a half hours.
I’ll leave you with Alex’s parting words – “Thank you for reading, and
may your days be full and bright!”
The Orb play at Playground Weekender on March 2-4 at the Del Rio
Riverside Resort, Wisemans Ferry NSW. To buy tix, head to www.showclix.
com/static/playground2012 .
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E X H I B I T I O N I S T
SHOOTING FROM
THE HIPSTER
ZOYA PATEL
Last year’s YOU ARE HERE was loved by many, and reviled by
some few on a particular contentious detail – the assumption that
the festival was being made by and consumed by the most hated
subculture known to Canberra – hipsters. A term that is generally
just used as a snide tag for anyone that is a bit odd, or pretentious,
or perhaps just really irritating, the word ‘hipster’ has virtually no
meaning, a fact that You Are Here couldn’t resist poking a little fun at
in this year’s festival.
With their tongues firmly placed in cheek, this year’s YAH crew
bring you the outdoor dance party to end all dance parties, SO YOU
THINK YOU CAN HIPSTER, being held in Petrie Plaza on Friday
March 16. Featuring DJs Dead DJ Joke (Reuben Ingall) and Chris In Da
House (Chris Finnigan), as well as ‘electroglam cum luchadore’ trio
Babyfreeze (made up of Babyfreeze, Handsome Luke and Face Face),
the event is a wink in the direction of last year’s critics, and also an
excuse for punters to dress up in their most ironic outfits and dance to
music that’s either good, ironically good, or so bad it’s good.
The DJs of So You Think… have very little interest in the word or
subculture ‘hipster’. “I don’t think anything resembling a coherent
subculture of ‘hipster-ism’ exists in the real world,” Chris says. “It’s just
a label that’s used to denigrate anyone suspected of acting like they’re
culturally ‘above’ other people.”
Babyfreeze disagrees somewhat though. “Hipsters are the final
bastion of heroism in a world of pointless sincerity. They alone have
the courage to look into the cold expanse of God’s creation and say ‘I
preferred his earlier work’.”
Fun-making aside, So You Think… promises to be an evening to
remember. Dead DJ Joke creates danceable mash-ups of anything
from Top 40 hits, to hip-hop/crunk to polyphonic ringtones, all at the
kind of energy level that creates the perfect atmosphere for some
seriously rad dancing.
Slightly more mellow, DJ Chris In Da House is hoping to provide a set
of classic pop tracks from the ‘90s and early ‘00s, the musical eras
that are the favourites of nostalgia obsessed ‘hipsters’.
26
With two potentially cheesy, and definitely danceable sets to kick
off the evening, Petrie Plaza is bound to be rocking from the get-go.
Babyfreeze, however, are not entirely confident in their stage-mates,
and seem keen on sparking some healthy rivalry. “Babyfreeze are
excited to be playing alongside our sworn creative enemies Dead DJ
Joke and DJ Dance Captain, and will do whatever we can to undermine
their performance. In all seriousness though, both those guys are
incredible talents, especially taking into account their prodigious
drug habits.”
Rivalries aside, one thing all three performers can agree on is that
there is a definite need in Canberra for the kind of events that You
Are Here provides. “I think Canberra needs this kind of thing pretty
desperately, to unearth and bring together different alternative arts
scenes, make them stare at each other awkwardly across rooms,”
Dead DJ Joke says. “Mostly, Canberra arts patrons need a good kick
up the arse.”
Audience engagement can certainly be an issue at Canberra events
– could the use of an outdoor, public space like Petrie Plaza be the
solution to reeling in the crowd? “[Petrie Plaza] is perfect,” DJ Chris
In Da House says. “The area in front of the merry go round is actually
perfectly sized for a dance floor and the enclosed nature of the plaza
means that the sound quality will be good.”
Dead DJ Joke is mildly concerned about annoying people who might
just be out for a quiet wander through Garema Place (people do
that, right…?). “I think a general problem with public street parties
is passers-by who might not be tolerant to the music style. This isn’t
really an impediment to my DJ set though, as I’m usually alienating half
the audience with my awfulness anyway.”
Such modesty! Not a trait Babyfreeze suffer from, but then, according
to Babyfreeze himself, they’ve had experience will all manner of
venues. “Petrie Plaza is the latest stop on our tour of Civic’s hottest
‘now’ venues, which has also included the Canberra Centre ANZ and
Club X’s loading dock,” he explains, with true hipster-like nonchalance.
From what we saw last year, at You Are Here’s alternative Skyfire
event (also featuring Dead DJ Joke), the Plaza can reel in all manner
of punters, from giddy 15 year olds to dudes keen on a crazy dance,
to hipsters young and old. “And really drunk people yelling ‘play some
‘80s!’,” Dead DJ Joke remembers. “It’s inspired my DJ set format for
So You Think… – as well as playing my own mash-ups I’m going to
take requests, then play the worst-best mash-up/remix I have in my
collection, can quickly find online, or can quickly edit together.”
With instant remixes and trashy ‘90s pop to look forward to, So You
Think You Can Hipster is a great excuse to badly dance to loud music
in public, without the walls and dim lighting of a club to shield you,
and with a few hundred other hipster-haters/wannabes to keep you
company. Babyfreeze is certainly looking forward to the musical
carnage, but issues this final warning to potential So You Think…
attendees: “Remember, So You Think You Can Hipster is only open
to hipsters or people who really hate hipsters. And those who are
indifferent. That’s hippest of all.”
So You Think You Can Hipster will features DJs Babyfreeze, Dance Captain
and Dead DJ Joke and will take place in Petrie Plaza near the merry go
round at 7.30pm on Friday March 16. It’s free!
27
 E
Photo: Ruth Ellison, ruthellison.com
X H I B I T
IF THESE MALLS COULD TALK…
Zoya Patel
It’s unlikely that you think of malls as inspiring venues for art and
literature. Julian Fleetwood – curator of MALL STORIES taking
place during this year’s YOU ARE HERE – would disagree. Running
over the course of the ten day festival, Mall Stories is a walking
tour that takes the listener through Civic and entertains them with
recorded stories submitted by local writers (with a few interstate
contributors) about the humble mall.
Why malls? Well, Julian already had a fascination with walking tours.
“Whenever Bonnie my wife and I go travelling I drag her along to
these ghost tours which are usually really cheesy, but I really like
them,” Julian explains. “They have someone who walks you around
a place and tells you a story associated with a particular area, and
sometimes they have some lame trick or something as well. I really
love that, but Bonnie’s like ‘it’s a bit lame!’”
After going on a lot of walking tours himself, Julian got thinking
about the idea of places that people regularly frequent and the
stories that could be mixed up in them. “There’re a lot of personal
stories going on at places that everyone goes to and people don’t
really think about it; they’re just passing through a place,” he says.
“So I guess I got mixed up with malls being interesting as places
because once you go inside, they try and keep you inside, but they
also try and move you through the space. So there are no clocks,
hardly any exits.” That’s something I definitely hadn’t thought about
before, and Julian agrees that people don’t always examine the
spaces they occupy. “One of the things we’re trying to provoke with
this is thinking of spaces in a different way.”
After pitching the event to the Emerging Writers Festival originally
– and being turned down as they had a similar event already running
– Julian was pleased when You Are Here agreed to take Mall Stories
on. Having been involved with the festival last year he knew it would
be perfect for You Are Here, and it certainly suits. An advantage to
the punter is there’s no fixed time in which you have to experience
Mall Stories – the yarns will be available as a downloadable PDF/
recordings from the You Are Here website, and the tour can be
undertaken at your leisure.
So, what can people expect from the Mall Stories recording? “There
was a surprising amount of old-people-hating that came through
some of the pieces, which was interesting – I didn’t expect that,”
Julian laughs. “There were also a lot of stories from a teenage
perspective.”
Malls may seem like an unlikely space for an adventure, but Mall
Stories proves that there’s a lot more to the shopping centres than
we may expect.
Mall Stories will be launched at The Newsroom (YAH HQ) at Petrie Plaza on
Thursday March 8 from 12.30pm. Head to youareherecanberra.com.au for
more info, and for the downloadable PDFs/recordings.
28
I O N I S T
UNEXPECTED BEAUTY
Vanessa Wright
There is sometimes nothing more rewarding and magical than
discovering a hidden treasure. It could be the last slice of cake you
already thought you ate, a secondhand book that changes your life,
a new cozy café or even discovering a new friend where you never
expected. PETITE PUBLIC ART aims to showcase these hidden
treasures of the everyday. Small, intimate artworks hidden within
the fabric of our often mundane city centre hope to bring a joyful
smile into your day.
Part of YOU ARE HERE ’s jam-packed program for 2012, Petite
Public Art is curated by YAH co-producer Yolande Norris, who has
been particularly inspired by the more discreet forms of public
art. Small interventions such as flowers planted in the cracks of
the pavements, or a Lego man diorama in a public toilet. Subtle yet
surprising additions to the existing landscape, bringing a smile to
anyone lucky enough to notice.
One intended outcome of this event is to demonstrate that public
art doesn’t need to be large scale sculptural work in order to make
an impression. The small and the discreet can have just as powerful
an impact on the viewer. Particularly work which engages the
pedestrian to think twice about what they are seeing. As at first
some of these works appear to have been created by chance, but on
closer inspection reveal themselves to have been carefully placed in
the landscape of the city.
Petite Public Art fits nicely within the larger ethos of You Are Here;
to encourage the audience, the passerby to open their eyes and
look twice at what’s around them. To discover what you may have
previously been unaware of, and to take the time to reflect and
appreciate everything amazing Canberra has to offer.
Bringing together a wide range of artists, including Jacqui Bradley,
Dan Stewart-Moore, Jess Kelly, Al Munro, Fiona Veikkanen, Adam
Veikkanen, Natalie Mather, Tiffany Cole, Helani Laisk, Simon
Scheuerle, Owen Lewis, Jon Webster and Dan Edwards (plus even
more), Petite Public Art promises to be a surprising and diverse
exploration through the Canberra CBD. Be on the lookout for tiny
sculptures in flowerbeds, on signposts, under park benches and
every other nook and cranny of the city you can think of.
Running for the duration of You Are Here, Petite Public Art will be
officially opened at The Canberra Museum and Gallery on Friday
March 9. CMAG will also be the launch pad for a walking tour
of the city, courtesy of Petite Public Art. Pick up your map and
get exploring. You will be rewarded with all kinds of unexpected
treasures.
Official opening at 5.30pm on Friday March 9, Canberra Museum and
Gallery. Petite Public Art will run from Thursday-Sunday March 8-18 around
the CBD. Check out youareherecanberra.com.au for more details.

GOD FODDER
Glen Martin
Let’s start with a simple one. God: does he exist or not? And what
about religion – lovely idea, or a stupid argument between one group
of people who feel their imaginary friend is better than another
group’s imaginary friend? Perhaps not so simple. Luckily we have
theatre makers The Landlords, who, assisted by their creations
Professor Richard Pritchard and Doctor Arthur Downwards, will
provide answers, entertainment, and apparently the threat of
sectarian violence through their show GOING TO HELL IN THIS
HANDY BASKET.
The Landlords, aka Jordon Prosser and Sam Burns-Warr, are two
former Canberra kids decamped to Melbourne, familiar to local
audiences through last year’s Bringing Some Gun To A Knife Fight,
a highlight of the 2011 YOU ARE HERE. This year’s YAH offering is
a sequel, where Prof. Pritchard and Dr Downwards are apparently
“ready to reveal to you, the fickle unbeliever, which religion is THE
RIGHT ONE”. Prosser, however, is less of a fundamentalist than his
creation. “For starters, I feel people treat this question [of whether
God exists] too often as an absolute; that there either is, or isn’t, and
that every person is either right, or wrong in their beliefs. Certainly,
Sam and I believe unequivocally that there is no God as put forth by
institutionalised religion. What we do believe, however, is in people’s
freedom of choice, something which, ironically, we perceive many
religions as denying their own faithful.”
Heady stuff. But Going to Hell... is no lecture. Thanks to our two
hosts, things could get messy. “Well, look – with the very best of
intentions, Pritchard and Downwards’ projects do generally end
up in some manner of scientific misadventure, or occasionally,
mass death. That being said, they are gentlemen scientists and
anthropologists par excellence, so the pub and theatre goers of
Canberra have nothing to be afraid of, as long as they keep an open
mind. Refreshments, however, will most certainly be provided.”
The Landlords’ return is an opportunity for Prosser and Burns-
Warr to connect with their hometown and a festival which Prosser
describes as “one of the most exciting arts events currently
happening in our country”. Though they’ve left, Prosser remains
an advocate of the capital. “It is one of my pet hates – people in
Melbourne having a dig at Canberra. Obviously Canberra is the
youngest and smallest of Australia’s capital cities and hell, some
things, like a genuine and thriving arts culture, cannot be forced. But
festivals like YAH and the ever-growing reach of the city’s artists
are the kinds of things that are going to slowly steer it in that right
direction, so that in not so many generations’ time it can be a cultural
hub on par with other, far larger, far older Australian capitals.”
Going To Hell In This Handy Basket will be performed at The Phoenix in the
city at 7.30pm on Thursday March 15. Entry is free.
29
E X H I B I
ON THE RADIO
GEMMA NOURSE
APPLESPIEL’s Morning Breakfast Commercial Radio Show will be
hitting Canberra as part of YOU ARE HERE for a string of shows in
mid-March. The Radio Show, describes Applespiel member Nathan
Harrison, is an improvised theatre experiment which draws from its
surroundings and audience input. But Nathan quickly establishes
that Applespiel is not an “improv group” which relies on “audience
participation”.
“We [at Applespiel] all hate ‘audience participation’ but nearly
everything we do has it,” laughs Nathan. “We call it ‘a dynamic
audience relationship’ because we certainly don’t want people to
think we’re a shopping mall kids act or a pantomime or anything.
We’re not asking everyone to boo when the villain comes on or to get
up and say something,” Nathan reassures me. Instead, Applespiel
aims to “build a framework which requires dialogue between people.”
30
T I O N I S T
It is this idea of dialogue which lies at the heart of the Applespiel
project. You may remember them as the team behind The Sexy New
Urban Design Team Canberra from 2011’s You Are Here, which asked
festival-goers to redesign a colourful cardboard model of Garema
Place. The Radio Show, too, is designed to engage its audience with
a sense of place and time, to explore the relationship between the
individual and the community.
“We want something that people can come and contribute to, so
it’s evolving,” says Nathan. One of the most interesting aspects
of the Applespiel project is observing how these expressions of
‘belonging’ and ‘citizenship’ shift between cities. Nathan describes
the differences between The Sexy New Urban Design Team in
three locations. “In Erskineville, the main road of the suburb is very
community-minded, so the ownership over that was very different
to Canberra in Garema Place, where people just go in to do things.
And then the area we had in Adelaide,” chuckles Nathan, “I don’t think
anyone really cared about it. They were like ‘aw yeah, just make all
the roads into canals of Diet Coke!’”
This year’s Radio Show combines the group’s interest in the
individual and community dynamic with the playfulness of a live,
improvised theatre production. The team will set up in cafes around
the city and perform an hour of a commercial radio show, complete
with telephone interviews and fake ads. “We run it as a very slick
radio show, like the whole Kyle Sandilands thing with all that horrible
conservative, borderline sexist, racist, homophobic attitudes that
just sit underneath everything. And it’s horrible to listen to, but it’s a
lot of fun to do! We’ll be making it up on the spot and we don’t know
what’s going to happen.”
Applespiel’s Morning Breakfast Commercial Radio Show will be performing
from 8-9am on Thursday March 15 at Tonic Café, 8-9am on Friday March 16
at Harvest Café and 11am-12pm on Saturday March 17 at Lonsdale Street
Roasters.
SUMMER DAYS, DRIFTING AWAY
BEN HERMANN
There’s a remarkable sense of appropriateness – some may say
destiny – surrounding Neil Armfield’s decision to direct one of the
most iconic pieces of Australian theatre, Ray Lawler’s SUMMER OF
THE SEVENTEENTH DOLL, as his first piece after retiring as Artistic
Director at Belvoir St Theatre.
The play premiered in 1955, the year of Armfield’s birth, and follows
two Queensland cane field workers who, for 17 years, have returned
to Carlton to enjoy five months with city girls Nancy and Olive. Upon
returning for the seventeenth summer it is revealed that Nancy has
recently married, and the remaining characters are left to face the
growing realisation that good things don’t last forever.
So was it these themes that inspired Armfield to direct ‘The Doll’
after, yes, 17 years at Belvoir?
“It was a play that a lot of people had said they’d like to see me
make,” says Lawler. “But I wasn’t sure what I could bring to it in
production that could make it fresh. Ralph [Myers, Belvoir’s new
Assistant Director] asked me to do it. I read the script, and the play
revealed itself in a way that showed my memory had shattered it. I
rang up Robyn [Nevin] and asked if she would play Emma. Once she
said she wanted to, that was it. We decided to do it.”
Lawler – now 91 – received worldwide acclaim after the play’s
national and international success in the late ‘50s. He re-visited the
script in 1977 when he returned to Australia to adapt it into a trilogy,
and this time around has worked with Armfield in tinkering certain
aspects. “At first it seemed to me a bit bizarre and problematic. You
know, it’s a great play, it’s proved itself. You don’t want an old writer
tinkering with it,” he says.
“But every one of the changes he made improved it. I realised that
when the play took off in the ‘50s it was rushed into publication. The
early published editions were just a record of what had been put
together for those early performances. But doing it this time, it gave
Ray an opportunity to make it a stand-alone play. There was a whole
lot of stuff he wanted to change and develop.”
The play is renowned as a coming-of-age piece for Australian
theatre; a work that was pioneering, and significant in bringing
Australians out of their age of innocence.
As Armfield explains, “For Australian audiences it was the shock
of seeing themselves on stage. It was the power of the theatre to
mirror the lives of the audiences in such a deep and playful way,
which was new for Australian theatre and its audiences,” he says.
Summer of the Seventeenth Doll performs from March 14-17 at The
Playhouse. Tickets from Canberra Ticketing or canberratheatrecentre.com.
au .

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E X H I B I
BEHIND THEIR EYES
CHLOE MANDRYK
GRAEME DRENDEL can spend hours or days alone in the studio with
the same characters in various incarnations. I spoke with the artist
before Outsiders opened at Beaver Galleries for some insight into
his preoccupation with relationships and how the “vagueries of the
human condition” affect his practice.
In contemporary art composition is not always centre stage, but for
Drendel it underscores one important thing. “I paint connections
and disconnection between characters and often disconnection can
have as much or more meaning. We are conscious of ourselves, our
gesture, our stance, but it’s also something other people notice. I
see it on the tram, in first encounters.”
With cinematic flair two cropped paintings of the faces of the male
and female characters in another painting, The Thin Air of Desire, oil
on canvas, offer insight into the inner worlds of his “cast”. Drendel
explains: “I am trying to get into their heads… to get behind their
eyes. I’m curious, what are they thinking about… or seeing?”
Drendel’s actors hold feathers, walk a pair of ferrets, carry buckets,
hover in space, nurse farm animals, shotguns or tug at long Soviet-
era braided hair. However, symbols, in short, are our own creation.
“We all have events, glances, ideas that keep recurring throughout
life, you catch these same feelings or moments,” poses Drendel.
Do we notice these things because of something within us or just
because it happens? Drendel tempts reality and fiction against the
backdrop of Ouyen, country Victoria, where he was raised. Like in a
still life it can be a relief not to have to think about the background
Drendel explains, mainly because he thinks of his characters “as
alone in this group setting anyhow, you know the feeling – you’re
always locked within your own thoughts, even in a crowd.”
Early in his 20s Drendel visited galleries, read art books and
developed a palette for art. He admired the Renaissance artists for
their fidelity to the figure and ability to spin a narrative. Later he
noticed that a lot of contemporary art he’d observed years before
had faded out of fashion, so “I resolved in my early 30s that I would
only paint what I wanted.” Balthus galvinised him, famed for his
resistance of the tyranny of labels, histories, or biographies.
Morandi also inspired Drendel. Painting the same things sometimes
can be frustrating but it presents a challenge to stay satisfied. You
work harder, refine the ideas.
Drendel says the most excruciating moment is calling something
finished. “When I think I have finished a painting I come back into the
room and I stand in front of it and I look each character in the eye.”
Outsiders runs from Thursday-Tuesday March 1-20 at Beaver Galleries,
81 Denison Street in Deakin. The gallery’s opening hours are 10am-5pm
Tuesday-Friday and 9am-5pm on Saturday and Sunday.
34
T I O N I S T
ARTISTPROFILE:
Daniel Connell
What do you do? Comedian.
When did you get into it? I had my first gig at Green Faces in
August 2008. I entered thinking it was a competition for first timers
but I was the only one. There were 250 people watching; I did okay, I
was so nervous I could barely open the door to walk on stage.
Who or what influences you as an artist? The crowd – there is
nothing better than getting a positive response to something you’ve
thought of and created.
What’s your biggest achievement/proudest moment so far?
Being selected in The Comedy Zone at The 2011 Melbourne
International Comedy Festival (MICF).
What are your plans for the future? To do comedy all over
Australia. I would love to jump in a van and tour the country.
What makes you laugh? Any Emo Parsonson joke, especially his
good ones. Also Tim Duck is a funny man, he should do stand up. Oh
and people who do sideways, back to front peace signs with their
fingers when they’re getting their photo taken. They just don’t get it.
What pisses you off? People who break into houses and steal
things and people who break into houses a second time and steal
more things three months later. Come around when we are home, we
would love to talk.
What’s your opinion of the local scene? It’s growing all the time,
great comedians and venues. All it needs is for all of Canberra
to know it exists and get right behind it. In the last five years it’s
produced three Green Faces winners (Tom Gibson/Jay Sullivan/
The Stevenson Experience), two Raw Comedy finalists (Jay Sullivan
and The Stevenson Experience) and last year’s Raw Comedy winner
(Dayne Rathbone). Also Capital Punishment, a show featuring
Canberra’s best, will be playing at Melbourne Town Hall for the third
consecutive year in this year’s MICF. See www.comedyact.com.au
for all your Canberra comedy info.
What are your upcoming performances/exhibitions? I am
performing my debut MICF show Likeable Enough at The Civic Pub
Comedy Club in Braddon from Wednesday-Saturday March 7-10.
Doors open 7.30pm, tickets $12 from www.comedyact.com.au or $15
on the door.
Then from Thursday March 29 until Sunday April 22 I will be
performing the show at the MICF. The show will be at Arthur’s Bar in
the city, 7pm Tuesday/Saturday and 6pm Sunday. Tickets from $18,
available via Ticketmaster. Or check out the festival website, www.
comedyfestival.com.au .
Contact info: Web: www.danielconnell.com.au, Twitter :
@DanielC0nnell3, Facebook : Daniel Connell Comedyan

UNINHIBITED
I don’t really understand the hipster thing. Not that I don’t
understand hipsters, or those who apparently fall within that
pointless descriptor. It’s the hate I don’t get. And the desire to
quantify. It’s a meaningless term that says more about the speaker
than the target. Because the subtext is always one of mockery, and a
separation of outsiders and insiders. It’s nebulous and stupid.
Last year’s You Are Here festival is something I’ve written about as a
godsend for the capital, a fresh and vital injection of messy creative
excellence that countered the worst of the criticism levelled at
this city through providing a civic spectacle more interesting and
satisfying than anything I’ve seen in recent times.
But lurking within the comment streams (and I know one should
never read the comments, but sometimes you just can’t pull
your hand away from the hotplate, right?) is an ongoing suite of
references to the festival’s ‘coolness’, its audience of ‘hipsters’ – a
withering critique from faceless scribes. And in this case, the hipster
term goes from being nebulous to ridiculous.
Was You Are Here 2011 hip? Sure it was, in the language of a
branding consultant, or your nanna. A more appropriate cache of
adjectives might be: exciting, hilarious, energising, messy, imperfect,
and brilliant.
Was it, as these naysayers suggest, exclusive and particular? In
terms of the program, yes, and it was so much the better for it.
Rather than a lame attempt at pleasing many (or worse, a lame
attempt at pleasing an idea of the many pulled from focus group
research), You Are Here asked its curators to play to their own
particular strengths.
It’s why the thing had form, and felt realised – because the folk
involved knew what they were doing. But YAH was and is not
something that only seeks to speak to a particular audience. That’s
the critical distinction.
At the heart of this throwaway critique is something interesting – a
feeling of exclusion. Now, You Are Here is curated and particular. It’s
elitist in the sense that it aims for excellence. But was YAH ‘11 and
will YAH ‘12 be a parade of inscrutability for only those in the know?
Not at all. What distresses me about these threads of commentary
is that they allege the festival seeks to marginalise, divvy up an
audience and pass judgement. YAH is the absolute opposite to that.
What was so refreshing about the 2011 festival was its complete lack
of pretence. It embraced the weird and put it in the middle of the city
with a great amount of energy. There actually was something
for everyone.
It’s what the 2012 festival looks like doing too. You Are Here is
something our city should be proud of. And it’s yours, regardless of
how tightly your jeans cup your calves. It’s a festival of the fringes in
a city that doesn’t get its due. Your city. Get proud, and get involved.
GLEN MARTIN
glenpetermartin@gmail.com
35

bit PARTS
WHO: Photographer Nikki Toole
WHAT: Skater: Portraits by Nikki Toole
WHEN: Now until May 2
WHERE: National Portrait Gallery
Since July 2009, Melbourne-based photographer Nikki Toole has
been making photographic portraits of skateboarders around the
world. Her subjects are captured in still frontal pose against the
textured backdrop of their urban environments. Toole’s project
is driven by the desire to understand and commune with her
subjects, and asks whether there is a ‘global look’ or is there still
a place for the individual or the loner to express him or herself.
She is interested in the forces of identity that define the lone
skateboarder. “Many skaters speak of a solitary mind space
while skating; of entering into another state of consciousness,”
Toole says. “To make these portraits I asked the skaters to place
themselves within this meditative space.”
WHO: Alliance Française
WHAT: French Film Festival 2012
WHEN: Wednesday 14 March – Sunday 1 April
WHERE: Arc Cinema, National Film and Sound Archive and Greater
Union Manuka
A new generation of filmmakers will be showcasing the latest
trends in contemporary French cinema, bringing startling cinematic
experiences to the Alliance Française French Film Festival. This year
the Festival will include two special events; The Francophone Day
Special Film Nothing to Declare on Tuesday March 20 at 6.30pm (GU
Manuka), sponsored by the Royal Embassy of Belgium - including
Belgium chocolate tasting session and free Belgium beer, and the
film Café de Flore, on Friday March 30 at 6pm (NFSA) - including a
reception sponsored by the High Commission of Canada. Canberra
is ready, yet again, to experience this first class event full of
emotion, passion and food for thought. For ticketing visit www.
affrenchfilmfestival.org or www.greaterunion.com.au .
36
WHO: Local filmmakers
WHAT: Belco Flicks
WHEN: Wed March 7
WHERE: theatre@BCS
Since its beginning in 2009 Belco Flicks has offered filmmakers
an opportunity to screen their work in a theatre setting, and offers
audiences a rare opportunity to see locally made, independent films
that are often only screened privately. Belco Flicks IV - Reconciliation
will be screened to coincide with the launch of BCS’s inaugural
Reconciliation Action Plan. Films included in the program must in
some way express or explore the theme Reconciliation. Films may
explore the issue of reconciliation between Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islanders and other Australians but this is not essential as
they may also explore the reconciliation of other conflicts. Email
simone.penkethman@bcsact.com.au for more info or head to the
BCS website.
WHO: Arc Cinema
WHAT: Autumn Silents
WHEN: March 3 - 12
WHERE: Arc Cinema, National Film and Sound Archive
Autumn Silents is a unique opportunity for an original silent cinema
experience. The season is focused on early polar cinema heritage in
celebration of the centenary of Sir Douglas Mawson’s Australasian
Antarctic Expedition. Autumn Silents’ Antarctic silent cinema
showcase - Shadows on White Ice - includes films from the NFSA’s
own collection and film archives from around the globe. In the
Shadows on White Ice program audiences can see rare films of the
early 20th century polar expeditions of Ernest Shackleton, Douglas
Mawson and others that are less familiar – expeditions that 100
years ago also visited Antarctic from France, Japan, and Scotland.
Head to www.nfsa.gov.au for more info.
WHO: Photographer Astrid Breuer
WHAT: Exhibition – Music and Light
WHEN: Opening Fri March 9, 6pm. Running ‘til March 25
WHERE: Foyer of Belconnen Arts Centre
From the artist: “Music is transcendent. It can touch you deep
down and can make you really happy, or it can bring a sense of
melancholy. The challenge for photography is to communicate
these transcendent moments. This exhibition explores the wealth
of talent in the Canberra music scene, capturing the spirit and
enthusiasm of these gifted musicians as they take their audiences
to new places.” Music and Light is opening at 6pm on Friday March
9, and on Sunday March 18 there’s an opportunity to meet Astrid at
2pm. For more information head to www.bcsact.com.au .
WHO: Impro ACT
WHAT: Crescendo
WHEN: March 1-3 and 8-10
WHERE: The Street Theatre
From Impro ACT: “This band plays reality theatre. You create original
song titles. The band creates the songs, right on the spot. Be a fly on
the wall as a rehearsal ensues, and discover how each band member
feels about each other, public issues, and their music. Be a fan, as the
concert follows, and see how their public face changes. What will be
hidden and what will be revealed? Music rules OK, but in a band, it’s
always a drama.” Tickets are $28/$22. Book on 6247 1223 or www.
thestreet.org.au .
37
LOS CAPS BOOT CAMP
ben hermann
When Canberra’s favourite sons LOS CAPITANES return home for
a long overdue launch of their latest album Rest for the Wicked this
March, they’ll bring with them not only the slick ska, punk and reggae
beats that have brought them nation-wide love in a decidedly post-
ska and post- err, punk, era, but also a taste of their new material
which vocalist Tim Kent says is a natural product of the group’s
various influences.
“These days, we’re sort of more of a hip-hop type band,” Kent says.
“Most of the guys, including me, are completely addicted to hip-
hop. Half the band has always been ‘jazz’, and half ‘punk’. Hip-hop
is the type of music that really unites us. We’re moving away from
that double-time punk stuff. It’s still very important to us, and has
undeniably shaped us, but
Reel Big Fish Reel Big Fish aren’t really on
aren’t really on my iPod much these days,”
my iPod much
he says. “It’s not like I feel
we’ve outgrown it. But, you
these days know, music is a journey,” Kent
adds, with a mocking touch
of sarcasm. “We’ll definitely be dropping a few new tunes next week.
It’s been over a year since we’ve written and played a new song, so
we’re really excited.”
Although the group’s musical influences are gradually changing, Kent
seems to suggest that the most important change is in their desire
to create a more coherent collection of music. The group journeyed
to the coast for a week in January to lock themselves in a house, play
music, and get drunk at the beach in what Kent describes as “sonic
boot camp.”
“It was a good chance for us to sit down and talk about what we’ve
been listening to and what type of music we want to create,” he says.
“Rather than just haphazardly throwing tracks down and calling it
progressive, we want to make everything on our next album more
deliberate and more musical.” Comparing the work to their recent
Rest for the Wicked, Kent says the band is more comfortable with
itself now than when recording it. “We want to take a page out of
the hip-hop book and keep things simple. The last album was a bit
coming of age. We felt like we had something to prove; there were
lots of odysseys. We’re a bit more mature now. We don’t feel like we
have to ride our bike with no hands.”
So did the group ever see themselves lasting this long? For a band
who began playing together in high school, they’ve done incredibly
well to survive the post-school, post-uni pressures that often bring
an end to such projects. “I think if we thought it was gonna be a long
term thing we wouldn’t have picked such a shitty band name,” Kent
says. “School was over and we thought ‘fuck it, we might as well keep
going’. I just woke up and it was eight years later.”
Los Capitanes play ENLIGHTEN on Saturday March 3 alongside Eagle and
the Worm, Damn Fine Gentlemen and The Blue Ruins. The show has free
entry and runs from 6.30-11pm in the Western Zone in the Parliamentary
Triangle.
38
PUNK IS HERE
dan bigna
Joe Strummer once sang “No Beatles, Elvis or The Rolling Stones in
1977,” a call to action that Canberra punk bands thrashing it out in the
suburbs at that time took to heart. Chris Shakallis, keeping the punk
flame burning with his band The Young Docteurs, has been putting in
the hard yards to document the original Canberra punk scene on his
CANBERRA PUNK AND BEYOND Facebook page and in esteemed
venues like The ANU Bar where a massive gig happened last
November. That was then, but courtesy of the You Are Here festival
next month local music fans will discover that once upon a time in
quiet and neatly manicured suburbia
It’s not all about intense rock ‘n’ roll happened from
revival but also bands at first in the garage, moving to
being in the the local community hall, then playing
present and
looking forw ard sets with The Birthday Party.
Rock Against Boredom Revisited
will feature the raucous likes of Vacant Lot, Real Gone Lovers and
Capital Punishment who have all reformed for this event. I attended
the ANU show last year and what I took from it beyond many beers
consumed and pogo dancing in the best tradition was a communal
celebration of the past. “It brought a lot of people back together,”
Shakallis says. “For that gig people had flown in from all parts of the
country and I don’t think that was about any particular band playing.
I think it was more about the event itself. A lot of people saw it as
a great opportunity to reconnect to other people with whom they
probably spent pretty intense times way back in the punk era.”
This ongoing interest has translated into the latest Canberra Punk
and Beyond offering that will feature a bunch of bands that had
performed at the original Rock Against Boredom punk gigs in late
1970s. The common factor for both audience and bands back then
and now is a shared view about the enduring impact of punk rock.
“My impression of punk was sparked really from the initial impetus
when punk first happened,” Shakallis says. “It was something really
new. The template hadn’t been fully formed on how it should be so
there was a lot of diversity. That was what I originally liked about
it. We could work out what was the real thing and what was the
packaged form.”
This forthcoming edition of Canberra Punk and Beyond will steer
away from ‘packaged art’, and include an exhibition of underground
poster art and multimedia projections at Rock Against Boredom
Revisited. Younger punk bands Life & Limb and Call to Colour are
also on the bill which says something of Shakallis’ commitment to
the promotion of the punk ideal.
“Part of the ethos is that it’s not all about revival but also being in
the present and looking forward,” he says. “It’s about how you choose
as an individual to go about something.”
Canberra Punk and Beyond Presents: Rock Against Boredom Revisited, live
at The ANU Bar on Saturday March 10. Acts include Young Docteurs, Real
Gone Lovers, Vacant Lot, Capital Punishment, Life And Limb and Call To
Colour.
39

ALL SET TO SOAR
Rory McCartney
If you saw a recent episode of the ABC’s Adam Hills In Gordon Street
Tonight, you would have witnessed the vigorous, multi-faceted
musical behemoth that is EAGLE AND THE WORM. It’s been a very
busy time for the eight-piece since the launch of their debut album
Goodtimes in June last year, with multiple festival appearances. I
chatted with the band’s vocalist and guitarist Jarrad Brown as he
took a break from a little musical editing.
Of their moniker, Jarrad says that “it was just a loose metaphor for
highs and lows”. You’re either soaring with the eagles or burrowing
in the dirt. Jarrad put the band together himself. “After starting off
as a nine-piece with two keyboard players, Ben dropped out to write
his own symphony.” The band has stayed solid as an eight-piece ever
since. Jarrad says “I’m lucky enough to have a lot of friends who get
on well together. I picked members more for their personalities than
their musical ability and wanted people who would share the same
chemistry on stage.” He does not want to pigeonhole the band’s
40
style of music. “I write songs without I write songs
a particular genre in mind. It’s pop, but without a
particular
with a big band composition that allows genre in mind.
real orchestration of the music. We like It’s pop, but
to jam out when we play live.” with a big band
composition
Of Goodtimes Jarrad says “it was not
a concept album in any way, but the songs
were all intended to relate to the album title”. He admits that the
band is always busy creating new material and has even been
considering record titles, but is guarded about a launch date for
a follow up album. He adds “recording is different from playing
live. You have to deconstruct the band a bit, noting that not every
instrument will feature in every track.”
Jarrad speaks enthusiastically of the Melbourne scene. “While
some venues are closing, others are opening and new opportunities
are always arising.” A big buzz for him was the band’s gig at The
Meredith Festival in December, as playing in front of 5,000 people
was a really incredible experience. “Having a lot of fans there made
it a pretty emotional day that I’ll remember.” He encourages punters
to enjoy their single All I Know, available online, which features The
Hypnotic Brass Ensemble of New York City, and Milwaukee MC
Juiceboxxx. Jarrad recalls “I was over there on holiday, emailed their
band leader and caught up with the Ensemble at Electric Ladyland
Studios. We laid down a bed track, which EATW jammed off over
back in Australia.” Ain’t technology wonderful!
After a break during January, EATW is set to soar in 2012 with a stack of
festival appearances lined up. They haven’t been in the ACT since O Week
2011 and Canberrans can catch them in action on Saturday March 3 during
The Enlighten Festival. Also featuring Los Capitanes, entry is free and the
show begins at 6.30pm.
41
 THE REALNESS
D Bridge’s Exit Recordings is one of those labels that manages to
be both highly prolific and incredibly consistent, releasing singles
and records which ‘push the lope’ of contemporary D&B whilst
giving a natty chin-stroke to its past. Not content to simply release
headcave 175 scattershot rinse outs, Exit explores the fringes of
D&B where compositions are stripped back, there’s space and
atmospherics aplenty but the riddims remain razor sharp. Romanian
resident Dan HabarNam is one such artist on Exit who fits this
mould, incorporating techno, ambient and other elements into the
170bpm template. His programming is meticulous and is reportedly
to suffer from an ‘audiophile’s attention to detail’. According to the
Exit label, Dan recorded the CD version of his new album from the
vinyl masters to achieve that distinct analogue-y sound. His debut
album From The Known is set to be released on Monday March 19.
Sven Weisemann’s The Invisible Insurrection album under his
Desolate alter-ego was criminally slept on last year. Undoubtedly
indebted to the sounds of Burial, Weisemann’s template consists
of gaseous ambience, subtle beauty and dubbed out slo-mo
garage rhythms. Hopefully peeps won’t ignore his upcoming record
Celestial Light Beings which is due for release on Hamburg’s
Fauxpas Music on Monday March 12.
Hot on the heels of sister label Brainmath, UK’s Ramp Recordings
are set to release a new compilation in March which showcases
the label’s previous releases. With one eye on the lower end of the
sound spectrum, Ramp has fast become one of the go to labels for
quality bass music. The compilation looks back on the label’s back
catalogue and features amazing work from the likes of Zomby,
FaltyDL, Shortstuff, Destro, Sbtrkt, Doc Daneeka, Dro Carey,
Stay+, Hypno, Cupp Cave and more. It’s out Monday March 26.
Speaking of Cupp Cave, the Belgian producer (sometimes aka
Ssaliva) is set to release his new album Retina Waves on Ramp in
April. Should be suitably smudgy, psychedelic and enjoyably weird.
Metalheadz head honcho Goldie is marking the 100th release on his
famed label with a brand new effort of his very own. Freedom will
be a single-sided 12” vinyl plate and features the vocal blessings of
Natalie Duncan. It’s a soulful epic number and a fitting way to mark a
great milestone for the ever consistent Metalheadz.
Night Slugs are set for another big year and their first album
release for 2012 will come from London’s Jam City in May. Check
out single The Courts (complete with strange video) online now.
The b-side is entitled The Night Life and features Main Attrakionz
on vocal duties. Jam City’s explorations of grime, house, hip-hop,
electro and R&B sonics never cease to push dem boundaries, so
should be interesting to see what he conjures for the album proper.
Finally, this month – I simply can’t recommend the new Burial EP
Kindred on Hyperdub enough. Three epic tunes from the mystery
man, all of which ebb, sway and grow fresher and more addictive
with each spin. If you don’t get it and love it, then there really is
little hope left for your soul. Another gold medal for Mr Burial then.
Salute!
To hear music from all these releases and more, tune to THE
ANTIDOTE on 2XX 98.3FM every Tuesday night from 9.30pm. Ya
dun know.
ROSHAMBO AKA CED NADA
roshambizzle@yahoo.com.au
42
ALL ABOUT THE MONEYKAT
Baz Ruddick
I spoke to Omar Musa, one half of hip-hop duo MONEYKAT, about
hard work, international hip-hop and the often overlooked deity that
is the Asian golden cat of prosperity.
Omar and mighty Joe met while at University in Santa Cruz in 2004
as party buddies and regular open mic attendees. Keeping in touch
since, it was not until a year ago on a tour of Indonesia that the two
decided to form a duo. “It happened really organically,” he explains.
“I’d never really thought about being in a duo. An opportunity came
up to tour Indonesia. We got an amazing reaction and we had such a
good chemistry on stage
We are from that we decided we should
very different record an album.”
backgrounds, Moneykat was born from
yet we write a shared joke between
the two about their Asian
about similar descent. “We would joke
struggles about how Asian we
were. If I would see a shop
selling bubble tea I would point and say ‘hey Joe, you would probably
be pretty into that’. One day we both saw one of these golden
Moneykats and we both thought the same thing and just cracked
up laughing... A Moneykat brings prosperity and wealth into a
business, and we sort of flip that to mean, you know, true wealth and
prosperity – empowerment and self improvement.”
The international nature of Moneykat is another example of the
increasingly global dominance and the varied cultural adaptations
of hip-hop. Omar tells me how even Indonesia has not remained
unaffected by the global reaches of hip-hop. “We played some
of the craziest venues. The Temple of the Dead in Bali, a 24 hour
open air food court and a ritzy mall in Jakarta. There was a group
we performed with called the Jogja Hip-hop Foundation, who
were basically an Indonesian version of Wutang... They were like a
revolutionary movement.”
Despite the ever-growing popularity of Aussie hip-hop, Moneykat
remain unique. “We are bringing a bit more of a socially aware poetic
slant to the music. We have this sort of international connection and
we are from very different backgrounds, yet we write about similar
struggles.” Whilst Omar writes about struggle, he lives it every day
as a hard working independent artist. “We have known for a long
time that it’s a long hard graft and that you fight for every fan
you have.”
This desire to be independent stands in defiance of the increasingly
commercial and artificial nature of the music industry. “I’m pretty
heavily into the idea of being an independent artist and making all
the choices... I’m a pretty firm believer that you have all your best
interests at heart. I’ve seen people get label deals and then not be in
control of what they are putting out. That’s against the very essence
of what it is to be an artist. Fuck it, you just got to do your own thing.”
Moneykat’s debut self-titled album will be available from all good record
stores on Friday March 9.
43

It’s a hyper hip-
hop show with
a lot of dancing
songs
HYPER HIP-HOP
Alisha Evans
Ever since their discovery, and subsequent support, from TZU’s
Joelistics eight years ago, African-born now Melbourne-based hip-
hop duo DIAFRIX have delighted and dazzled an increasing number
of punters with their energetic live shows, and their instantly
recognisable reggae/African sound. Azmarino and Momo are the
soulful yin to much of Aussie hip-hop’s raging, testosterone fuelled
yang. Before they were Diafrix, the pair met in the Melbourne
suburb of Footscray where they had both resettled from Africa.
Quick to shake off the term ‘refugee’ in 2006, just two years after
forming, they released their first album Concrete Jungle.
Azmarino, now 29, grew up around music and is thrilled he can
travel the world doing what he loves. “Since we were young we’ve
always listened to hip-hop, reggae and African music,” he says. “It’s
wonderful to be able to combine the sounds we grew up with hip-hop
and share it with the world.” And share it with the world they have.
Last year they played the iconic Glastonbury festival and country-
hopped while they were there, introducing the UK and Europe to
their sound. But Australia will always be their favourite place to gig,
44
it seems. “Australians are easier to entertain and are always ready
to party; they don’t care where you come from,” Azmarino enthuses.
“The UK is full of talented MCs, they’re everywhere, so the vibe is a bit
different.”
Diafrix was forged in the fires of a Joel Ma (Joelistics) hip-hop
workshop running in Footscray at the time. It wasn’t long before the
Aussie hip-hop pioneer was encouraging them to go pro. Azmarino
says Joel has always been an advisor for their music and sees him as
a “mentor and big brother. Joelistics was the first person to use us as
a support act,” Azmarino says, gratitude filling his voice. “He believed
in us a lot. He’s the person we will always go to because he’s a very
wise man.” Joel however, ever the humble soul, is quick to brush off
any mentor badge and says he’s just a guy who wanted to help out
some extremely talented mates. “It makes me feel awesome, but I’m
no mentor. I just shared my knowledge about how to navigate the
Australian music industry.”
The duo can lovingly argue about Joel’s Mother Hen status when
Diafrix and Joelistics come together this month for their latest tour
entitled Running to Shine (a hybrid name of their latest respective
singles Running It and The Shining). Azmarino and Momo are no
strangers to our humble capital city – they gig here often and have
played at Parliament House with Bliss and Eso. “Canberra is a very
nice city – it’s peaceful, there’s less rush and the air is very fresh,”
Azmarino says. It certainly is. Diafrix’s latest single Running It, with a
tinge to early Lupe Fiasco, is about being young and always wanting
to hold onto that youthful verve, Azmarino says. “We wanted to make
a party song. We come from a dancing culture after all. We think it’s
a lot of fun.” Once again it sounds like Canberra audiences are in for
a treat, with the intimate Transit Bar barely able to contain the duo’s
energetic live performance. “It’s not just about lyrics – it’s a hyper hip-
hop show with a lot of dancing songs.”
Check out Diafrix and Joelistics live at Transit Bar on Sunday March 11.
Tickets cost $18 + bf and are available via Moshtix. Doors 8pm.
45
LET THE BASS KICK
morgan richards
It’s 1987, and 20-year-old Tim Simenon is working dead-end jobs by
day – stacking shelves and working at fast-food joints. But by night,
he dons his DJ cape and spins electro and hip-hop in dingy London
clubs. Within the year, he’ll release his first single Beat Dis which
will become a massive club hit and kickstart his musical career as
BOMB THE BASS. But this was all brewing from an early age. “I was
buying seven-inch records from when I was eight years old. The first
album I ever got was through my aunt’s husband at the time, who
was a drummer in a German rock band. He gave me Led Zeppelin II.
I played it to death. I loved the drums and the production sounded
amazing. From that point onwards I
Of Bowie: just went out and bought music
He was very constantly. By the time I was 15 I had a
colourful... pretty good collection of music. I
Flam boy ant ly was the kid with the tunes and I’d be
colourful doing houseparties and everything.
And that’s how it all began.”
Tim continued to DJ in clubs as he worked on his debut album, Into
the Dragon. I ask him how club culture of the late ‘80s and early
‘90s compared to that of today. “The main difference was the sheer
diversity of music that was being played. Now there are so many
different styles of music, you can have one night dedicated to
dubstep or drum ‘n’ bass or grime or whatever, and that’s all it is. But
what I really enjoyed about those days was that you could hear a lot
of different types of music. Electro, hip-hop, even Aretha Franklin. It
was a wonderful mixed bag.”
After putting out several more albums as Bomb the Bass during
the ‘90s, Tim had a short break in which he built a solid reputation
as a producer and remixer, working with artists as varied as David
Bowie, Björk, and Dépêche Mode. Tim says of Bowie: “He was very
colourful... Flamboyantly colourful. He came into the studio and
just shone. Had lots to say, said everything, and then left. It really
boosted everyone in the studio, it was great.”
The latest album, 2010’s Back to Light, is a far cry from the gritty
beats and patchwork-quilt of samples that comprised earlier work.
Featuring guest vocals on every track (mostly those of Paul Conboy,
who co-produced with Tim on the album and tours as part of the live
show), it’s ten tracks of retro-electro with a dash of pop swagger.
Brazilian minimal techno wizard Gui Boratto was also enlisted for
production duties, and his touch is evident in the album’s smooth,
crisp sound.
So what can fans expect from Bomb the Bass this time around?
“We’ll be showcasing five or six new songs from the record we’re
currently working on. It’ll be released in autumn hopefully. But it’s the
first time we’re playing any of the new material. Paul and I are pretty
curious as to how it’s going to sound. We’re starting rehearsals
tomorrow. Then we fly straight from here to Australia. Am I excited?
Abso-bloody-lutely!”
Bomb the Bass play at Playground Weekender on March 2-4 at Wisemans
Ferry NSW. Head to www.showclix.com/static/playground2012 for more.
46
JOEL’S GOAL
Alisha Evans
There’s a new wave of social consciousness rising and it’s not coming
from the polished parquet floors or the sweeping marble steps of
Parliament House. It is starting, like most things in this land of baked
red soil, from the ground up. JOELISTICS of TZU fame is one of the
many players is this delicate house of cards. It is a balance game of
old vs new and traditional views vs new thinking. It is a battle Joel Ma
is fighting but guns and violence are not his weapons of choice. He
uses music and lyrics to share his message and finally the world is
listening, not just Australia.
[In Australia] “[In Australia] there’s
not a great deal of room
there’s not a for ethnic diversity in
great deal of TV and music.” But the
room for ethnic Melbourne based artist
is more determined than
diversity in TV discouraged to enjoy
and music… what he does and share
this joy with fans and
audiences. “It’s a twisted world out there but don’t let that stop you
from having fun.”
Joel is backing up his recent solo tour of the Voyager album with
another two month stint to promote his latest single and EP The
Shining, which he assures me is nothing to do with the film of the
same title. “It’s about being blinded by the big lights and all the
temptations involved in city life,” he says.
It is an eclectic mix of songs including his latest single, remixes from
Voyager, and some of his favourite Aussie acts including Diafrix,
Rufus, and Ishu. Regular BMA’ers will recognise Ishu from Joel’s last
gig at Transit Bar in August.
The man is looking forward to returning to Transit, this time jamming
with his good friends and fellow friendly ideologues hip-hop duo
Diafrix. “I love Canberra; I always have a genuinely good time,” he
enthuses. “Canberra often gets left off the map when it comes to
gigs but I want people to know it’s not a truck stop but an actual city
worth visiting.
“This time round, Diafrix and I want to promote [social] awareness
and the concept of people being open minded.” Azmarino and
Momo of Diafrix first met Joel in the diverse Melbourne suburb of
Footscray where the ever-busy TZU member was running a hip-hop
workshop. Joel’s desire to nurture the careers of others, combined
with his ability to recognise talent when he sees it, led him to
encourage the pair to take their music further.
“I want to help artists that don’t fit the typical music mould, so to
speak,” he says. “For me, it’s really important that a more diverse
range of voices are heard in Aussie hip-hop.”
The Running to Shine tour with Joelistics and Diafrix will hit the Transit Bar
on Sunday March 11, doors 8pm. Tickets are $18 + bf and are available from
www.moshtix.com.au or Landspeed Records in Civic.
47
 METALISE
Kill For Satan are releasing the long awaited follow up to the Thy
Kingdom Undone record with the newy, The Final Conflict, due
for release in March and the band are launching the record at The
Basement on Saturday March 31. Also along for the festivities are
Rise, Reign of Terror and Aeturnus Dominion.

Chaos ACT is one helluva huge show rolling through the territory
this weekend. The sixth iteration of the fest lands at The Maram
out in Erindale on Saturday March 3 and features Sybreed from
Switzerland headlining a massive bill including Aeon of Horus, Ignite
the Ibex, Elysian, Anno Domini, Mytile Vey Lorth, Ouroboros, Alice
Through the Windshield Glass, A Million Dead Birds Laughing,
House of Thumbs, The Schoenberg Automation, The Automata and
Norse. Get out there.

Cathedral rolled over us last fortnight as did the Sydney Soundwave

and a bunch of mates also went and saw Mastodon, Kvelertak and
Steel Panther and etc etc. This ish comes out the day before the
Lamb Of God, In Flames and Black Dahlia Murder show in Canberra
so welcome to town blokes and hope punters and bands all have a
good show.

Dates were announced for Fu Manchu’s welcome return to Australia

for the first time in years with a full tour off the back of the Cherry
Rock Festival in Melbourne on Sunday April 29. Also touring with
them is Southern Lord band Black Cobra on their second Australian
jaunt and the Sydney show on Thursday May 3 at the new Hi Fi
venue is a mere 40 bucks from Moshtix.

Arch Enemy must need some frequent flyer points as they’re

popping through Australia for two shows at the end of April/start of
May. The Sydney show is at The Manning Bar on Monday April 30
with Teramaze and Elysian. metropolistouring.com is the URL
for tickets.

Steve Grimmet, a name probably not all that familiar to younger

metal fans, fronted legendary New Wave of British Heavy Metal
band Grim Reaper for many years and is doing an Aussie tour this
year. Canberra is getting a show and The Basement in Belconnen
on Friday March 9 is the night to catch him along with Darker Half,
Taberah and Dragonsclaw.

Queenslander’s Defamer are currently on tour in Japan with

Japanese band GxSxD (allegedly standing for God Sends Death) and
the two bands are swinging by The Basement on Monday March 12
with Mytile Vey Lorth and Wretch.

Unkle K’s Band of the Week: Rotting Hills: Canadian purveyors of

epic sludge supposedly feature five drummers in the line-up (?!?!).
rottinghills.bandcamp.com .

JOSH NIXON
doomtildeath@hotmail.com

48
49
 the word
on albums
album of the issue
Shearwater
Animal Joy
[Sub Pop]
It’d be too easy to say
that your feelings about
Shearwater’s latest album
are a function of your
attachment to the ‘80s. But
it’s partially true. The Austin,
Texas band sound like a time
capsule from the decade
normally written off for
chintzy keyboards and teased
haircuts. Jonathan Meiburg
has a vocal range which is
almost a perfect DNA match
for another timeless ‘80s
band; Mark Hollis’ Talk Talk.
It’s an odd back-of-the-throat
low warble, with a vibrato that
teeters on the cusp of despair
and fury. On occasions
Meiburg will arch back and
unwind a searing, sky-scraper
wail so unaffected you might
just blush; the blistering
final track Star of the Age
for example, an emotional
and anthemic showstopper
that welds the magisterial
bravado of Simple Minds circa
The Breakfast Club onto the
sneakily-cribbed melody of
Talking Heads’ Heaven. Odd
bedfellows, but that’s only
the half of it. Whilst fellow
arch-revivalists Arcade
Fire trade in over the top
bombast, hammering points
50
into mushy insignificance,
Shearwater are more
inclined to mix things up
by throwing in obscure
chords or unpredictable
phrasings as they do on the
opening track Animal Life.
In amongst the throbbing
urgency are some off-kilter
deviations – harbingers for
the album ahead. Animal
Joy’s tent pole track, the one
holding the entire album
together, is Insolence. Low
rattles give way to hanging
single piano note dirges,
before choruses crash and
rise whilst Meiburg reaches
for the heavens. Ordinarily
this sort of overwrought
approach is insufferable and
pretentious, but that voice
makes it all work. There are
missteps. Immaculate is a
straight rocker in search of
a reason and not only does
it fail to find one, it comes
off as a Maximo Park B-side.
Brevity is its key attribute.
Likewise Run The Banner
Down drifts by without a
tangible hook. The confines
of a time limit work against
Shearwater, they need space
to breathe and ramble to epic
conclusions. Nevertheless,
Animal Joy is a complex,
confident and demanding
album. JUSTIN HOOK
Casablanca
apocalyptic Youth
[Rocket Songs]
The great thing about reviewing
records is not, as you might
imagine, being party to pre-
release snippets of the new
Veronicas opus. Rather, it’s
waking up one morning to find,
nestling in the womblike safety
of the family inbox, albums like
Apocalyptic Youth.
Casablanca are, of course,
Swedish – that’s where all the
new music of consequence
issues from these days – and
they are, in two words, bloody
brilliant. Of course new music is
something of a misnomer, since
the band peddles a delirious
mixture of late ‘70s Brit rock
raunch (frontman Anders
Ljung is a sonic dead ringer for
venerable pub rocker Graham
Parker) and US FM radio
cool, this delicious conflation
augmented with just a hint of
hair metal pizzazz to round
things off. It’s a heady mélange,
with every song slinking in and
out of your consciousness
seemingly in an instant yet still
leaving an unforgettable chorus
as a calling card.
Standout track Rich Girl is
pure ‘70s arena rock nirvana;
a jangling, almost Killers-like
guitar figure ushering in a
tough, punchy pop song that
wouldn’t have gone amiss on
albums from the likes of The
Knack or The Motors back in the
day – make no mistake, this is
the real deal, in all its tattered,
knowingly retro glory. If you
think of yourself as something
of a hipster, stay away from
this. If you know what’s what,
musically, however, you won’t
hear a better record all year.
Scott Adams
lana del ray
Passerby Chorale
[Independent]
Realistically, how are you
meant to review an album with
so much personal invective
and venom projected on to it?
This goes far beyond issues
of objective vs subjective –
everyone seems to have a
powerfully felt opinion on Lizzy
Grant and they all think each
is crucial to understanding
the singer. Many feel cheated.
Why? Hers is a persona. Don’t
believe a word she says. You
don’t need to. It doesn’t matter.
She whispers lines codified
in the scaffolding of female
objectification and how you
feel about it makes her neither
dangerous as a role model nor
puerile as an artist. This truly
is a case where words have no
power. She’s a fucking indie
chanteuse for god’s sake –
get a grip.
So how are the songs?
Pitching herself as cut-rate
Beth Gibbons with an edge it’s
all smoky-hued damsel in a
nightclub and long flowing dress
with attitude. These are modest
ambitions. And regardless of
the SNL non-incident, Del Rey
can really hold a tune. The voice
isn’t jaw dropping but Blue
Jeans, Video Games, Radio and
Dark Paradise are all thoroughly
agreeable pop tunes. The
remainder, less so and samey –
National Anthem reminded me
of Lady Sovereign. OK, moving
on. Born To Die might not be
for the ages, but it’s certainly
– and enjoyably – for the now
and not the failure made out
to be. I listened to Born To Die
whilst putting together a new
IKEA shelving unit. It served its
purpose.
JUSTIN HOOK
Various Artists
Free The Beats Vol. 5
[Free The Beats]
Previous volumes in this
ongoing series have seen Jack
Prest’s Sydney-based collective
unearth some of the most
interesting leftfield hip-hop
beats currently emanating.
Here the theme centres around
sci-fi, the track listing featuring
the odd recognisable name such
as Prest and Pmajor alongside
a score of newcomers. From
the outset the emphasis falls
upon laidback, head nodding
instrumentals, with Admin
Beats’ We’ve Got To Contact
Them cutting up and scattering
retro spoken B-movie samples
over a juddering backdrop of
boom-bap snares, funk guitar
stabs and bleeping electronic
noises, before Able’s We Have
No Time ventures out into
dubstep-kissed soul as booming
sub-bass drops roll beneath
liquid-sounding synth stabs and
noodling jazz-centred keys.
Elsewhere, NZ’s Louis
McCallum sends a clattering
percussion break rolling
against flourishes of brittle
retro synths on Scary Music
Pt.2 that calls to mind one
of Daedelus’ eccentrically
playful excursions as dreamlike
synthetic burbles and wide-
eyed pitch-bends gradually
resolve themselves around
a sturdy backbone of MPC
beats and zapping electronics,
before Kaputs’ BRunner sees
the more brittle and glitchy
synthetic textures rising to the
forefront. An impressive comp
that’s well worth seeking out –
available as a limited CDR run
or free download from www.
freethebeats.com .
Chris Downton
Mornings
Mornings
[hellosQuare recordings]
The first release by Canberra
locals Mornings – recorded in
the new Brick Lane studio space
of Shoeb Ahmad (hellosQuare),
mastered by Chicago’s Carl
Saff, with cover art by Nadia
Hooton – is strong, cohesive
and captures their live energy.
The instrumental (bar Flamingo)
EP exhales some Fugazi-esque
unapologetic attitude and the
layered, instrumental strength
of bands like My Disco, Battles
and Explosions In The Sky.
The sound is multidimensional
from the relentless coal train
that sucks you in and spits you
out (2:1), to the sly lullaby (Able)
that mercilessly throws you
from sleep into free-fall, to the
hipster shuffle-inducing Alaska.
Yvonne Lam caresses the
drums before knocking your
socks off with the same
rhythmic ferocity she delivers
live. As one avid fan exclaimed
at a recent live show, “she can
really hit those skins!” The
bass (Alejandro Alcatraz) is
the heartbeat, grounding the
harmonic and melodic knots
woven by the guitarists (John
Binos, Jordan Rodgers). Treated
percussion and electronics roll
around like ghosts, and bird
calls give a sense of free space.
Effortlessly tight, Mornings
delivers energy interspersed
with insect-like inflections and
industrial might. Breakdowns
drop with brutal intensity but
there are poignant, destructible
moments too (Buffalo). It lifts
you above the city like it’s King
Kong, releases, and leaves you
in a happy heap on the floor.
Sophia McDonald
POLIÇA
Give You The Ghost
[Totally Gross National...]
Back before everyone was
divided on whether vocals
should be affected in any
way, whether autotune was
breathing life into or taking it
away from pop, in simpler times,
arty bands used to get loop,
chorus, delay and echo pedals
and use them on their vocalist,
not just their guitars. Smashing
us straight back into that
era and sound is Minnesota’s
POLIÇA (pronounced ‘Po-
Lisa’). A by-product of some of
neo-soul supergroup Gayngs
recording sessions, the band
formed when Ryan Olson got
Channy Leaneagh in for some
session vocals, and decided she
needed her own band. In Poliça,
Channy’s dreamy, arty pop
vocals loop and play with each
other over the top of brooding
keys and strings, creating an
engaging environment, and
then... then... Then comes the
real highlight of the band –
two drummers, that create
the most amazing cacophony
of percussion at every right
turn, restrained when needed,
chaotic with every tension
release – see Violent Games
as just one of this album’s
many highlights. The band flits
between this sophisticated
elegant pop and this twisting
and frenetic dance, vulnerable
and longing in equal measures
with self-assured and resolved
confidence expressed in each
track. This album is stunning,
exciting and exquisite for a
soul band’s experimental side
project. Make sure you track
it down in some form or another.
ALISTAIR ERSKINE
The Peep Tempel
The Peep Tempel
[Wing Sing Records]
By the powers of fate, the
planets aligned to place
inventive musos Blake Scott
and Stevie Striker side by side
as neighbours. After adopting
the curious moniker of The
Peep Tempel, putting out some
releases on vinyl and adding
bassist Matt Chow, they have
released their debut long player.
The music carries a deliberately
harsh edge, to reflect the mean
street themes of living on the
bones of your bum and having
run-ins with the law.
Veiled by distortion to project
a ragged vibe, the venom flows
through at a furious pace in the
opening track. Collusion uses
a manic, post-punk delivery,
before the guys switch to
blues rock with a tribal rhythm
in Mission Floyd. Blake hurls
the vitriolic “I will hunt for you
until the day that I die” into
the punter’s face as the music
yowls about him like fretting
dogs. Traffic runs headlong into
a hedonistic jam session, with a
background patter of race calls
which hints at the obsessive
desperation of gambling.
The Peep Tempel teases with
flashes of the styles of other
bands, channelling Public Image
Limited in the foot stomping
Thank You Machiavelli and Kings
of Leon in the redneck chant of
Do What You Want. The band
theme song Down at the Peep
Tempel is a traffic light hoe-
down, a political manifesto that
degenerates into an all in jam.
It’s a soundtrack for a cinematic
display of life’s seamier side.
RORY McCARTNEY
51
 the
word
on films
WITH
MELISSA WELLHAM

The winners of the BAFTAs

– the British equivalent of
the Oscars – were recently
announced. Often considered
to be an indication of who’s
going to take home that little
golden man (okay… not using
that phrase again…), this
year’s BAFTAs didn’t present
many surprises. Particularly
non-surprising was that The
Artist took out Best Film – and
my money is on this result
being repeated at Oscars.
Though, what would I know?
Maybe we’ll all be surprised,
and War Horse
will win.
quote
of the issue
“We’re not bad
people. We just
come from a
bad place.”
Sissy (Carey
Mulligan),
Shame
Shame is a powerful film about
addiction. Oh, okay – about sex
addiction. Brandon (Michael
Fassbender) lives in isolation
in New York. He shuns all
intimacy or genuine connection
with women, while privately
struggling with sex addiction.
His affliction barely seems
to affect his life, but when his
troubled younger sister Sissy
(Carey Mulligan) comes to
stay, his carefully controlled
existence begins
to unravel.
Much of the media hype
surrounding Shame has been
focused on the fact that,
yes, you get to see Michael
Fassbender’s penis. A lot. But
this film has much more to offer
than excessive nudity. Indeed,
even Fassbender’s admittedly
aesthetically pleasing form fails
to tantalise or titillate, in the
context of his life of loneliness.
It is Fassbender’s performance
that really makes the film. The
fact that he was snubbed for
an Oscar nomination says more
about the stuffy values of the
Martha Marcy May
Marlene
At the close of Martha, I wasn’t
sure exactly what I thought.
I knew it was beautiful in
terms of cinematography and
unsettling in terms of content –
but had I liked it?
It’s not exactly enjoyable, per se
– watching as fragile Martha’s
(Elizabeth Olsen) memories of
her time spent in a cult unfold
piece by piece, tensely linked
to her present reality (staying
with her sister, Lucy, who she
reunites with after escaping
the cult). As Martha recovers
from a pretty messed-up couple
of years, her erratic behaviour
is gradually explained as the
film cleverly cuts between her
time in the cult and her time
spent with Lucy. In comparison
to Lucy, Martha seems even
stranger – and even though
she’s unpredictable and odd,
you feel for Martha and what
she’s endured.
The cult is extremely
interesting, and while disturbing
(this escalates as the film
The Descendants
Despite starring the ever
dashing, dapper and charming
George Clooney – this is not a
George Clooney-esque film. It’s
neither slick nor stylish. Rather,
it’s a moving film about how
messy life can be.
Directed by Alexander Payne –
the creator of Sideways – The
Descendants follows Matt King
(George Clooney) an altogether
gawky and geeky kind of guy,
who is perhaps too wrapped
up in his own life to pay much
attention to his free-spirited
wife (Patricia Hastie), and his
16 and ten-year old daughters,
Alexandra (Shailene Woodley)
and Scottie (Amara Miller).
But when his wife is injured
in a jet ski accident and falls
into a coma, Matt is forced
to reexamine his life and
reconnect with his family.
The Descendants is humourous,
heart-warming, but also tragic.
Although the focus of the
film might be quite small, the
punch the film packs is larger
than the sum of its parts. If

Shame institution, than how convincing

he is in the role.
Director Steve McQueen – who
incidentally gave Fassbender
his big break in Hunger – has
created a taut, beautifully
crafted film, which is at times
harrowing and haunting. The
cinematography is infused with
soft, warm light that entrances
the audience, even as you wish
you could look away. Shame
is not a plot-heavy film, and it
runs perhaps slightly overlong,
but it’s a thoughtful, subtle
character drama. Its strengths
lie not where it is explicit; but
rather, where the character
development is implicit.
Melissa Wellham
progresses) it is well handled
and manages to escape being
a clichéd depiction (no Nike
sneakers here). In fact, it’s all
too realistic. Olsen is magnetic -
a really great performance.
After more thought, I did like
Martha Marcy May Marlene.
Director Sean Durkin gives
us just enough to think about,
teasing us with information
and letting us come to our
own conclusions about
Martha’s mental state and
what is actually real. A sad
and engaging film, it won’t
suit everyone’s tastes but it is
certainly unique and compelling.
MEGAN McKEOUGH
some directors are auteurs,
displaying amazing scope and
breadth of vision; then Payne
is more a novelist, interested
in telling a story, and slowly
revealing his characters to
the audience.
Ultimately, the film is never
quite as deep or as complex as
it wants to be. It’s lovely, but
The Descendants is certainly
nothing new. However, it should
be commended for its honesty
and authenticity. The minutiae
of The Descendants shows
life as it really is: a little bit
awkward, at times awful, and
often beautiful.
MELISSA WELLHAM

52
 the The Trip: The Series
[Madman]
word
on dvds Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon.
The former, as Alan Partridge,
has done enough in this lifetime
to guarantee genius status.
Sadly, he finds it impossible to
escape Partridge (another TV
series and film this year) and
is haunted by the character
– in The Trip he dreams of
intrusive fans and in solitary
moments on barren cliffs lets
rip a knowing, world wearied
“A-haaaaa” to vacant horizons.
Coogan also gained fame as
a man who enjoyed earthly
pleasures through most of his
adult life and as News Int’s most
articulate nemesis. Brydon
is a panel show stalwart who
also brutally mocked the whole
concept in his little seen gem
Annually Retentive and whose
family friendly geniality is in
stark contrast to his co-star’s
abrasiveness.
In this six episode series, the
two ‘friends’ drive around
northern England in Coogan’s
flash Range Rover, endlessly
prod each other, eat posh food
and take in some pretty damn
impressive drizzle-flecked
scenery. Ostensibly, Coogan
has been hired by The Observer
newspaper to write some food
reviews. In reality – they eat,
they fight.
It looks like a naturalistic
lo-fi doc: two old fools eating,
bickering and engaging in off
the cuff impersonation battles
until one of them (Coogan,
usually) sighs heavily in
resignation or sheer boredom.
In truth it’s a scripted comedy
where they play enhanced
versions of themselves. Like
Tristram Shandy, this approach
can be infuriating. It speaks of
massive egotism to assume an
audience cares about the ‘real’
lives of quite successful British
comedians. But then, this
conceit is exactly why it works;
you never quite know when the
antagonism is real or imagined.
Their infamous Michael Caine
impression-off was a viral hit;
it’s barely the tip of the iceberg.
JUSTIN HOOK
Wallander – S1 and S2
[Roadshow]
Kurt Wallander is Swedish
author Henning Mankell’s
glum cult lit hero, someone
who shuffles through scenes
of wretchedness and the
aftermath of murder with an
air of detached melancholia.
An unkempt man, Wallander
(Kenneth Branagh) shows all
the lumps of a lifetime of not
caring. He’s also a blunt speaker
of mind and outside of his day
job struggles with a father with
dementia, an absent daughter
and a junk food/red wine diet.
In this second series of the
BBC’s take on the Swedish
copper each of the three 90
minute telemovies is based on
a Mankell novel. The first opens
with Wallander confronting
the details of a diabetic
lifestyle with his daughter’s
new Syrian boyfriend. What
followed was 90 minutes of
pedestrian plotting and absurd
storytelling about immigrants
and neo-Nazis that hit none of
their marks. The one highlight is
Wallander’s fatal use of his gun
on a skinhead – ramifications
follow. In the other episodes, a
killer of nasty middle-aged men
is on the loose and a millionaire
philanthropist with the whitest
dining room in history may or
may not be an African organ
thief. Through it all, Wallander
spirals out of control unable
to overcome the impact of his
trigger finger and incapable of
falling asleep in anything other
than an uncomfortable chair.
Branagh is brilliant – reserved,
tightly coiled and quite happy to
let open space do all the talking.
Indeed, cinematography
production design and the
small town of Ystad are the
real stars of Wallander. The
Swedish landscape brims
with oversaturated natural
colours, skies are wide open
and the furniture is classic ‘70s
Swedish… Clean lines ahoy!
Despite its faults Wallander
is one of the most striking TV
shows around and a victory for
character over plot.
JUSTIN HOOK
Parks and Recreation S3
[Universal]
A few things happened
during Parks and Recreation’s
third season. For starters, it
confirmed itself as one of the
best comedies on TV. Season
one was a confused knock-off
of The Office that struggled for
tone. Season two steadied the
ship and it became the ‘nice’
network comedy in a sea of
snark. This one fires on every
cylinder; whether it’s a love of
pun-tastic headlines of fictional
events (“Ice Town Costs Ice
Clown Town Crown” and
“Knope Grope is Last Hope”)
or references to obscure ‘90s
pop-rap hits (Len’s Steal My
Sunshine), the amiable show set
in a municipal council in middle
America became essential
viewing.
Add to that the Adam Scott’s
turn as Ben Wyatt (the
aforementioned Ice Clown),
Rob Lowe as the most
optimistic man on earth and
the emergence of Chris Pratt,
as lovable lunk Andy, as a
genuine comic talent with razor
sharp timing – then it becomes
obvious Parks is also one of the
best ensemble comedies going
around. And then there’s Nick
Offerman’s Ron Swanson. If
nothing else, Parks created one
of the great sitcom characters
of all time in Swanson – the
meat-obsessed, deadpan,
fishing and gun loving patriarch
of the show and a veritable
meme-machine. Beyond the
Buzzfeed-baiting, Offerman
was actually quite brilliant,
injecting a much needed dose of
realism and straight talking.
By cultivating a loose group
of decent folk and resisting
the urge to give them overtly
attention-seeking attributes
Parks plays it small. But in doing
so, the pressure to deliver the
Sturm und Drang every week
is non-existent. Sure, world
famous miniature horse Lil
Sebastian went missing in one
episode and meets an untimely
fate in the final but that’s about
it. Sometimes small is better.
JUSTIN HOOK
53
 the
word
on games
Lord of the Rings: War in the North
Developer: Snowblind Studios Platforms: PS3, 360, PC,
OnLive Length: 20 hrs + Rating: Grab with a mate
Lord of the Rings: War in the North
was never going to win any awards. If
nothing else the game seems entirely
mistimed, not just because the LOTR
craze has died off, but because it’s
decided to surface during the biggest
wave of AAA titles ever seen. Among
those of course is Skyrim, a title that
arguably does everything War in the
North does, but better. Having not
actually played Skyrim, I cannot say
that for sure, but what I can say is that
War in the North was surprisingly fun.
Such a thing was entirely unexpected, given there’s nothing about
this game that’s particularly stunning. The graphics are solid
enough, but pretty standard for this generation. The role playing
elements are addictive, but lack any real depth. Even the story feels
a little meh. Rather than reprising the role of any of our favourite
characters, we are instead introduced to a new fellowship. While this
could feel a little cheap, particularly given how two of the three look
identical to their famous counterparts, it makes for a more original
take on the LOTR universe. That said, don’t expect the story to be of
the same quality as Tolkien’s classic, although it is probably about
the same length.
Having said there’s nothing stunning about this title, it should also
be noted that there’s nothing particularly wrong about it either.
Admittedly the difficulty level can be a bit inconsistent, with some
bits being significantly harder than others, not least because of
some badly placed autosaves. Likewise, starting a game with a
mate feels unnecessarily confusing and the game does occasionally
suffer from framerate drops. However, most of these issues are
pretty forgivable and in the case of the difficulty level, actually helps
to keep you on your toes.
What makes this game work is the presence of the co-op mode.
Personally the idea of playing this alone would just feel more
laborious than enjoyable. However, playing with a mate can make
for many hours of enjoyable play, although of course this does
eventually tire after a few sessions. I guess my reluctance to praise
this game any more is that is essentially its best aspect is your mate
sitting next to you. Arguably a hospital visit also isn’t that bad if
you’ve got your mates with you.
On reflection, I probably got more enjoyment out of this game than
say Rayman or Drake’s. Weirdly enough I would probably still be
more willing to fork out money on those titles than this one. I guess
that’s because those games still appeal when played on their own.
While I never thought or cared to play this game in that way, I would
recommend having a mate or two lined up if you do intend to grab
this one.
Torben Sko
54
BLACKBOX
Once upon a time in the ‘burbs, a group of Canberra 20-somethings
with not much else to do created a series of short schlock horror
films about a teddy bear named Kuddles. It involved some
unscrupulous acts with Barbie dolls, purposefully bad acting and
a lot of fake blood. Back in the days before YouTube it was passed
around on a videotape. No doubt Danger 5 (SBS1, Mon, 9.30pm)
started life in much the same way. Set in WWII and reimagined as a
B-grade ‘60s spy thriller, replete with bad acting, establishing shots
with poorly constructed cardboard models, and plenty of scantily
clad vixens it’s like the bastard love child of the Thunderbirds,
Austin Powers and Top Secret! (it was the ‘60s). Destined to be a
cult hit – miss it at your peril.
Elsewhere in comedy land there’s Grandma’s House (ABC2, Thu,
10pm ) starring comedian Simon Amstell, best known as the host
of UK’s version of Spicks and Specks – Never Mind the Buzzcocks,
2BrokeGirls (WIN, Tue, 8pm) which has its moments and cult hit
Portlandia (ABC2, Thu, 10pm).
The Chaser team will be back in the year with The Goodies’ Graeme
Garden for an Australian version of The Unbelievable Truth.
The British show (which features Garden) makes comedians tell
unbelievable stories while managing to pass off five facts as fiction.
Probably something the Chaser team will excel at, one would think.
The Ricky Gervais Show (SBS1, Mon Mar 5, 10.05pm) is a bit of
a money spinner – the audio podcasts of Gervais, Merchant and
Pilkington and whacking an animation on top. Gervais makes more
money without really having to do anything.
For those with a hankering for more crime there’s a new series of
Waking the Dead (ABC1, Sun Mar 11, 8.35pm) and for medico fans a
new season of House (SCTEN, Sun, 9.45pm).
Docos to check out include Lily Allen: From Riches to Rags
(ABC2, Wed Feb 29, 8.30pm) – a series following the songstress
as she and her sister set up a clothing business, Fry’s Planet Word
(ABC2, Sun Mar 11, 9.30pm) where Stephen Fry takes a look at
sixth development of language, including participating in a Klingon
version of Hamlet, Fukushima: Is nuclear power safe? (SBS1, Sun
Mar 4, 8.30pm) which asks the question not just in Japan but more
broadly, The Spice Trail (SBS1, Thu Mar 8, 8.30pm) – a three-parter
that looks at 15th century spice trade, Aung San Suu Kyi – Lady
of no fear (SBS2, Thu Mar 8, 7.30pm), Vivienne Westwood: Do it
yourself (SBS2, Sat Mar 10, 8.30pm) which looks at the life and work
of the designer, and Sunday Best: Metallica: Some Kind of Monster
(ABC2, Sun Mar, 4 8.30pm).
Classic movies to check out include Seven Brides for Seven
Brothers (GEM, Sat Mar 3, 2.40pm), Broadcast News (SCTEN, Sat
Mar 3, 10.30pm), Fight Club (Go!, Mon Mar 5, 9.30pm), Gremlins (Go!,
Fri Mar 9, 7.30pm) and Zombie Strippers (Go!, Fri Mar 9, 9.40pm)
with Jenna Jameson in the lead role.
Don’t miss new Spooks (ABC1, Sat Mar 2, 8.30pm), Charlie Sheen
Roast (WIN, Thu Mar 1, 11pm) for voyeuristic reasons of course, and
CSI: Miami – Wheels Up (WIN, Wed Mar 7, 10.30pm) which delves
into the world of Roller Derby.
twitter: @ChezBlackbox
TRACY HEFFERNAN
tracyheffernan@bigpond.com
55
 the Full Moon Party, O Week

word
ANU Union Court
Friday February 17
on gigs ANUSA’s Full Moon Party, hailed by the organisers as the biggest O
Week gig in the country, with a line-up as cool as a fixed gear bicycle,
started off slowly. As hail and torrential rain deterred the arrival of
the populace, we waited, but it did not keep them away.
By the time triple j up and comers New Navy began the crowd was
swollen, wet and ready for a party. Lightning illuminated the stage
and drove the crowd into an ecstasy of mayhem. New Navy are a
band that tick all the boxes for ‘Aussie alt’ – they are upbeat, catchy
and radio friendly.
The band gave a solid performance that did not leave any fan
disappointed. New Navy have a really current sound and exude some
really sharp guitar tones, which are very sexy and soothing to the
ear. Closing with their familiar track Zimbabwe, the crowd seemed
to have forgotten how sodden they were and had replaced care with
euphoria.
Fashion and music have always been heavily entwined and the
crowds at concerts are always a good indication of new trends
in fashion. So I guess it is lucky for the homeless as apparently
garbage bags are in vogue. On fashion, I think Kimbra definitely got it
right. In a little red dress that was a cross between Hepburn in Funny
Faces and a Pat Brassington image, she and her entourage of male
musicians were trendier then troll dolls in the ‘60s.
Kimbra’s debut album Vows feels like an early ‘90s R&B album;
something that Lauryn Hill might have released, which is what
helped push the album above other indie-fem albums of late. But in
her live performance this was thrown away and replaced with more
of an ‘80s synth sound. With two keyboardists on stage it fell further
in line with the rest of today’s indie sound. But the synths were
strong and kept the live act tight and the crowd dancing.
Plain Gold Rings, in my opinion, is the strongest track from her album
and also in her live performance. This is a mixture of the simplicity
of the song structure, which allows Kimbra to show her obviously
extensive vocal range as well as her great respect for Nina Simone.
This is perhaps the key to what Kimbra is doing, she is paying ode to
music that she adores and beautifully recrafts it for a new audience,
adding indie sounds and pop hooks. Maybe not too dissimilar to Nick
Cave, who covered the track during the early ‘90s and reinvigorated
blues music for a post-punk crowd. Kimbra is conceivably doing the
same to today’s semi-alternative crowd.
Kimbra played a new ‘never before performed’ song, which was met
with huge applause. This song was different to everything Kimbra
had presented. For the first time all evening the guitar let loose and
we were treated with a blues rock track. This really allowed Kimbra
to rupture the constant. It felt like I was listening to Karen O or
Alison Mosshart, not the cute and rather strategic character I was
being exposed to during the rest of the performance.
The term electro mash-up sparks ideas of Girl Talk and Grandmaster
Flash; fun, original and interesting. Ajax, who is hailed as one of
Australia’s finest mashers, just seemed to be putting standard beats
under UB40 songs and other karaoke classics. Most of the crowd
had left by the time he had started but those who stayed and danced
the night away, all soaked to the core, seemingly enjoyed it, so
PHOTOS: Liam James maybe there was something worthwhile there, or maybe they were
just wasted.
LIAM JAMES

56
 the The Necks

word
The Street Theatre
Sunday February 19
on gigs The Street Theatre is an excellent venue for live music when it
comes to sound, atmosphere and staff attentiveness and this
performance from The Necks was no exception. The group’s
appearance at The Street has become an annual event and on
previous occasions I would not be alone in claiming the effects of a
highly attuned dynamic in group improvisation were felt long after
the performance had ended.
There is little to distract the listener in a Necks show other than the
music. So immersed are the three performers in creating an in the
moment experience that all those annoying hassles in the outside
world take a backseat for a while and both performer and audience
become locked into an entrancing groove. This is improvised music
at its finest in a live setting and The Necks have earned a reputation
for turning on audiences stretching back 20-something years.
That reputation was revealed at this most recent Street Theatre
performance in which the deceptively simple line-up of piano, bass
and drums conjured a fully harmonised synthesis that was so full
sounding, it seemed like more musicians were on stage than was
actually the case.
The performance was separated into two distinct sounding sets,
much like The Necks’ latest album Mindset that is designed with
vinyl in mind. On the album, side A introduces an insistent machine-
like rhythm where Chris Abrahams’ piano traverses alien worlds. In
contrast, the more organic sounding Daylights on side B expands
into a succession of peaks which regular listeners have come to
expect from The Necks. If things worked out like they usually do in
the established music industry you would expect that The Necks
would be touring to support such a fantastic album, but regular fans
know better.
Bassist Lloyd Swanton has pointed out that themes on any given
album might loosely find their way into a live show, but whatever
transpires on stage is mostly a creation in its own right and has little,
if anything, to do with a specific album release. This was the case
at The Street Theatre where the performance was separated into
two completely improvised sets with a break in the middle that was
great for nicotine addicts and beer drinkers.
The first set began with Chris Abrahams focusing on the high end of
the keyboard with occasional bass stabs and psychedelic repetition
that Lloyd Swanton enhanced with a suitably sparse, yet insistent
bass throb that changed momentum according to the instincts of his
fellow performers and was attuned to a loose series of movements
connecting the piece. Percussionist Tony Buck kept things
somewhat low key with gentle mallet strokes that attracted the
eye and drew us into the building sonic swirl. The interlocking sound
and pointillist theme was thoroughly worked over and the resulting
drone was entirely hypnotic and very much part of a wonderfully
abstract listening experience.
After the break the second improvisation began with a repeating
melodic fragment from Abrahams in the vein of pianist Bill Evan’s
pastel colouring way back when. Abrahams maintained this
beautiful almost-tune until the sound began to build, Swanton
became more frantic on the bass and Tony Buck introduced a
shimmer on the cymbals that brought on visions of the very best
PHOTOS: Martin ollman German psychedelia of the 1970s. The group peaked but knew
exactly when to return to dramatic silence. The applause at the end
was loud and enthusiastic, as was mine.
DAN BIGNA

57
GIG GUIDE Feb 29 - March 02
Something Different Truth (NZ) Dance
wednesdsay February 29 Presented by Electrosex.
Trivia THE CLUBHOUSE Academy Fridays
Arts 6pm. Ashley Feraude With Kid Kenobi & MC Shureshock.
P J O’REILLY’S, CIVIC KNIGHTSBRIDGE PENTHOUSE ACADEMY NIGHTCLUB
Jo’s Mo Show (With Beards) Karaoke Hudson Mohawke & Ras-G Nathan Frost
Facial hair photography. And lots of it. From 10pm. Two of bass music’s finest KNIGHTSBRIDGE PENTHOUSE
‘Til April 1. THE DURHAM ambassadors. With One Talk, Deafacat REV
NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY Transit Trivia and more. 8pm. Moshtix. Indie DJs from 10 ‘til late. $5 before
Blaze Six Flex your noggin. Table bookings TRANSIT BAR midnight.
ACT emerging artist showcase. ‘Til essential. 7.30pm start. BAR 32
March 24. TRANSIT BAR Live Soul. Be In It.
CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE - Canberra’s only dedicated night of funk,
GORMAN HOUSE Lamb of God
thursday march 01 soul, hip-hop, and associated illness.
Misklectic With In Flames, The Black Dahlia 8pm, free.
The oeuvre of Misklectic challenges Murder. Licensed AA. Tix through TRANSIT BAR
ideas of visual separation. ‘Til March 3. Arts Ticketek. ENLIGHTEN - Electronic Night
CANBERRA CITY FRAMING GALLERY UC REFECTORY
Jo’s Mo Show (With Beards) w/ Anthony Pappa
Exhibition – Space Dissolving Aleks and the Ramps Featuring Sun in Aquarius, Hypnagog
Melinda Willis’ practice is concerned Facial hair photography. And lots of it. With Readable Graffiti and Waterford.
‘Til April 1. and local DJs. 6-11pm, free entry.
with architectural glass and its reflective $10 on the door, 8.30pm. WEST STAGE - CORNER OF ENID LYONS
qualities. NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY ANU BAR AND REFECTORY STREET AND MALL ROAD WEST
CRAFT ACT Blaze Six Swarm Tour
Exhibition – Parallels ACT emerging artist showcase. ‘Til Twelve Foot Ninja, Jericco, Circles, Live
Barbara Rogers explores the diversity March 24. Perpetual End. Tix through Oztix.
of the graphic stripe pattern through CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE - THE BASEMENT Live @ BAC
textiles. ‘Til March 24. GORMAN HOUSE Unwind on the first Friday of each
The King Hits
CRAFT ACT Mycologia: The Secret Life of Little Mac and the Monster Men, DJ month to local acoustic music. Check
Mycologia: The Secret Life of Fungi Doktor Clarence. 9pm. the website for more.
Fungi Jenny Manning’s drawings are THE PHOENIX PUB BELCONNEN THEATRE
Jenny Manning’s drawings are imaginative interpretations of magnified British India
imaginative interpretations of magnified images of fungi. With special guests Clay Pigeons. $25
BELCONNEN ARTS CENTRE friday march 02
images of fungi. at the door. Doors at 8pm.
BELCONNEN ARTS CENTRE Alliance Française French Film THE GREENROOM, WODEN TRADIES
Exhibition - New Era Festival Arts Charles Chatain
Celebration A new generation of filmmakers will 8.30pm.
Ying Zhang comments on the effect of be showcasing the latest trends in Jo’s Mo Show (With Beards) P J O’REILLY’S, CIVIC
contemporary French cinema. Facial hair photography. And lots of it.
consumerism on traditional Chinese ‘Til April 1. Corinbank Music and Arts
ARC CINEMA AND GREATER UNION
culture. ‘Til March 4.
MANUKA NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY Festival 2012
BELCONNEN ARTS CENTRE Music, art, films, performance,
Exhibition – Rebuilt Exhibition - New Era Blaze Six creative camps, workshops and more!
Celebration ACT emerging artist showcase. ‘Til corinbank.com .
Works in various formats by the March 24.
Random9 contemporary art collective. Ying Zhang comments on the effect of CORIN FOREST
consumerism on traditional Chinese CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE -
‘Til March 2. GORMAN HOUSE Friday Night Acoustic Series -
ACT LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY culture. ‘Til March 4. Anni Piper
BELCONNEN ARTS CENTRE Mycologia: The Secret Life of
Sultry emotion-charged vocals, groovin’
Dance Exhibition – Rebuilt Fungi bass, inspired songwriting. 8pm, free.
Works in various formats by the Jenny Manning’s drawings are HARMONIE GERMAN CLUB
Wednesday Latin Night Random9 contemporary art collective. imaginative interpretations of magnified
‘Til March 2. images of fungi. Soiree
9pm. CASINO CANBERRA
MONKEY BAR ACT LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY BELCONNEN ARTS CENTRE
Exhibition - Embark Something Different
Live Dance Six recent graduates from Melbourne
and Canberra. Music Today - How Do You Play
(Alice Cottee is) No Hausfrau Cube Thursdays BILK GALLERY
Folk/alternative/rock/country/jazz/sazz, 9pm ‘til 5am with DJ Pete. Two for It That Way?
one drinks ‘til 11pm plus free pool all Producer/DJ Tom Piper will let you in
it’s all there. With The Dreamlanders. on the secrets of how technology is
7.30pm, $7. night long.
THE FRONT CAFE AND GALLERY CUBE NIGHTCLUB influencing music today.
QUESTACON

58
GIG GUIDE March 03 - March 05
Live Something Different Corinbank Music and Arts
saturday march 03 Festival 2012
Rattlehand Red, White and Ale Music, art, films, performance,
Arts Spurs for Jesus. 9.30pm. Revealing the science behind artisan creative camps, workshops and more!
THE PHOENIX PUB beer and wine making. 7-9pm. corinbank.com .
Jo’s Mo Show (With Beards) Canberra Festival Drumming QUESTACON CORIN FOREST
Facial hair photography. And lots of it. Spectacular Fash ‘n’ Treasure urban live music
‘Til April 1. Take a journey into the heart and soul of Recycled, vintage, designer fashion, Soulful acoustic performances for
NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY rhythm and sound. 7pm. records, books, coffee, food, music. brunch or lunch. 10am – 2pm.
Blaze Six LLEWELLYN HALL Free! URBANFOOD STORE + CAFE
ACT emerging artist showcase. ‘Til Canberra Festival: Autumn OLD BUS DEPOT BUILDINGS Matt & Bernie
March 24. Estampes Catchy duo, classy covers.
CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE - A specially composed piece inspired sunday march 04 A BITE TO EAT CAFE
GORMAN HOUSE by the stunningly beautiful Autumn
Mycologia: The Secret Life of landscapes of Canberra. Something Different
Fungi WESLEY CENTRE, FORREST Arts
Jenny Manning’s drawings are Chaos ACT VI Sunday Arvo Trivia
imaginative interpretations of magnified Jo’s Mo Show (With Beards) From 2.30pm.
Sybreed, Alarum, Aeon of Horus, Ignite Facial hair photography. And lots of it.
images of fungi. the Ibex, Elysian and more. Tix through THE DURHAM
BELCONNEN ARTS CENTRE ‘Til April 1.
Moshtix. NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY
Exhibition - New Era THE GREENROOM, WODEN TRADIES monday march 05
Celebration Blaze Six
Corinbank Music and Arts ACT emerging artist showcase. ‘Til
Ying Zhang comments on the effect of Festival 2012
consumerism on traditional Chinese March 24. Arts
Music, art, films, performance, CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE -
culture. ‘Til March 4. creative camps, workshops and more!
BELCONNEN ARTS CENTRE
GORMAN HOUSE Jo’s Mo Show (With Beards)
corinbank.com . Mycologia: The Secret Life of Facial hair photography. And lots of it.
Exhibition - Embark CORIN FOREST ‘Til April 1.
Six recent graduates from Melbourne Fungi
The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Jenny Manning’s drawings are NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY
and Canberra. Britain
BILK GALLERY imaginative interpretations of magnified Blaze Six
For the first time in Australia!”Plucking images of fungi. ACT emerging artist showcase. ‘Til
brilliant!” - Sunday Times. BELCONNEN ARTS CENTRE March 24.
Comedy CANBERRA THEATRE CENTRE
Exhibition - New Era CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE -
RAW Comedy 2012 urban live music Celebration GORMAN HOUSE
National open mic comedy competition. Soulful acoustic performances for Ying Zhang comments on the effect of Exhibition - Embark
MC’d by Dave Williams. 8pm, $20 at brunch or lunch. 10am – 2pm. consumerism on traditional Chinese Six recent graduates from Melbourne
the door. URBANFOOD STORE + CAFE culture. ‘Til March 4. and Canberra.
TILLEY’S Party by Jake Presents Canyons BELCONNEN ARTS CENTRE BILK GALLERY
(Live) Exhibition - Embark
Dance Modular darlings Canyons make their Six recent graduates from Melbourne Dance
Canberra live show debut. 8pm start, and Canberra.
Audiobotz presales through Moshtix. BILK GALLERY Biscuits
Presented by The Clubhouse. TRANSIT BAR Post-weekend sounds from Ryz, Peekz,
THE CLUBHOUSE music, coffee Live Kimosabi, Steve On Weekends and
Spring Lounge Session Bass, violin, looped vocals and a more. 9pm, free.
Bomb the Music Industry TRANSIT BAR
Talented DJs and a late night pizza morning coffee. 10 – noon.
menu. 8-11pm. MOCAN AND GREEN GROUT, NEWACTON The Smith Street Band, Yoko Oh No,
NEWACTON COURTYARD Outcome Unkown. 8pm. Live
ENLIGHTEN - Eagle and the
Love Saturdays Worm THE PHOENIX PUB
CMC Presents The Bootleg
With Levi Howes. With Los Capitanes launching new Canberra Festival: Autumn Sessions
ACADEMY NIGHTCLUB LP No Rest For The Wicked. 6-11pm, Estampes Hayley Shone, Joe Oppenheimer, The
Timber free entry. A specially composed piece inspired James Fahy Trio, The Burley Griffin.
KNIGHTSBRIDGE PENTHOUSE WEST STAGE - CORNER OF ENID LYONS by the stunningly beautiful Autumn THE PHOENIX PUB
Cube Saturdays STREET AND MALL ROAD WEST landscapes of Canberra.
10pm ‘til 5am with DJs Matt & Pete. WESLEY CENTRE, FORREST Something Different
Two for one drinks and free entry until Mark Wilkinson + Lissa
11pm. A lyrical depth, gift for melody, and Trivia
CUBE NIGHTCLUB soulful voice. 6.30pm, $10. 6pm.
THE FRONT CAFE AND GALLERY P J O’REILLY’S, CIVIC

59
GIG GUIDE March 06 - March 10
YAH – One Wall, One Night Clare Bowditch and The Clouds
tuesday march 06 thursday march 08 Each night BEAM will project a video As part of the By the Water program.
artwork by a different local visual artist. Visit nma.gov.au/enlighten for more
Arts Arts CITY WALK details.
Exhibition – Music and Light NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AUSTRALIA
Jo’s Mo Show (With Beards) Exhibition - Embark Astrid Breuer’s photos explore the Faspeedelay and Waterford
Facial hair photography. And lots of it. Six recent graduates from Melbourne wealth of talent in the Canberra music Faspeedelay play elongated ambient
‘Til April 1. and Canberra. scene. ‘Til March 25. pieces juxtaposed with more succinct
NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY BILK GALLERY BELCONNEN ARTS CENTRE rock. 7.30pm.
Blaze Six YAH – Mall Stories Launch Jo’s Mo Show (With Beards) THE FRONT CAFE AND GALLERY
ACT emerging artist showcase. ‘Til An audio walking tour of stories from Facial hair photography. And lots of it. Final Lies CD Launch
March 24. malls in Canberra and beyond. 1pm. ‘Til April 1. with Love & Satellites and Eyes to the
CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE THE NEWSROOM NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY Sky. Doors 8pm
- GORMAN HOUSE YAH – I Don’t Really Read SOUTHERN CROSS CLUB WODEN
Blaze Six
Exhibition - Embark Scissors Paper Pen chooses local ACT emerging artist showcase. ‘Til Fri Night Acoustic Series -
Six recent graduates from Melbourne writers to read you a story. 5pm– March 24. Isaiah B. Brunt
and Canberra. 7.30pm. CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE Isaiah writes, sings and plays guitar,
BILK GALLERY SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE BOOKSHOP - GORMAN HOUSE slide, lap steel, piano and ukulele.
YAH – One Wall, One Night YAH – Petite Public Art Launch 8pm, free.
Live Each night BEAM will project a video Canberra artists festoon their city with HARMONIE GERMAN CLUB
artwork by a different local visual artist. public art of the more covert variety. YAH – Lunchbox: Listening &
Super Raelene Bros CITY WALK 5.30pm.
Their performances are a celebration: ImproACT
a brash, joyous, intimate, stomp-out! Exhibition – Music and Light CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY ANU School of Music students present
7.30pm. Astrid Breuer’s photos explore the YAH – Resonance 1.1 their brand of contemporary chamber
THE FRONT CAFE AND GALLERY wealth of talent in the Canberra music A real–time performance installation of music. 12.30pm.
scene. ‘Til March 25. movement and sound. 6.30pm. THE NEWSROOM
Something Different BELCONNEN ARTS CENTRE CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY YAH - BMA Presents Women Of
Jo’s Mo Show (With Beards) Lights! Canberra! Action! (Beats) & Notes
Trivia Night Facial hair photography. And lots of it. Screening of top 12 film finalists and Freyja’s Rain, Ruth O’Brien, Jacqueline
7.30pm. ‘Til April 1. award ceremony. Nicole, Eddie Shaggz, Riske, and Staky.
THE PHOENIX PUB NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY OLD PARLIAMENT HOUSE 8pm start. Free.
Fame Trivia Blaze Six TRANSIT BAR
From 7.30pm. ACT emerging artist showcase. ‘Til Dance ENLIGHTEN - Lanie Lane
THE DURHAM March 24. With The Ellis Collective and Owen
CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE The Get-Up Club Campbell. 6-11pm, free entry.
Tuesday Movie Night - GORMAN HOUSE Punk, hardcore, pop anthems and party
You choose a deckchair, they’ll choose WEST STAGE - CORNER OF ENID LYONS
YAH – Horseface Ethel tunes. STREET AND MALL ROAD WEST
a movie. Drink and pizza specials by BAR 32
Bicicletta Cafe. …And Her Marvelous Pigs In Satin – A
NEWACTON COURTYARD Cabaret Schmabaret. 9pm. Ministry Of Sound Clubbers saturday march 10
Karaoke Love THE NEWSROOM Guide
Croon and wail your heart out on the With Denzal Park.
Dance ACADEMY NIGHTCLUB Arts
Transit stage. 9pm start.
TRANSIT BAR Jemist
Cube Thursdays KNIGHTSBRIDGE PENTHOUSE YAH – One Wall, One Night
9pm ‘til 5am with DJ Pete. Two for REV Each night BEAM will project a video
wednesday march 07 one drinks ‘til 11pm plus free pool all Indie DJs from 10 ‘til late. $5 before artwork by a different local visual artist.
night long. CITY WALK
midnight.
Arts CUBE NIGHTCLUB BAR 32 Art, Not Apart - A Day Without
Swiss Dub Divide
Exhibition – Music and Light Presented by Electrosex. Live Unique music, live art, local stalls, food,
Astrid Breuer’s photos explore the THE CLUBHOUSE drinks, jumping castle.
wealth of talent in the Canberra music Ced Nada Obsessions NEWACTON COURTYARD
scene. ‘Til March 25. KNIGHTSBRIDGE PENTHOUSE Big sound, big pub rock numbers and YAH – Resonance 1.1 – Bubble
BELCONNEN ARTS CENTRE Full/Frequency: DJ Krush great variety. 8.30 to midnight. Wrap
Jo’s Mo Show (With Beards) (Japan) CHISHOLM TAVERN A real–time performance installation of
Facial hair photography. And lots of it. On his 20th Anniversary World Tour. Matt Dent movement and sound. 2pm.
‘Til April 1. Supported by Faux Real, Buick, and 8.30pm. CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY
NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY Dred. 8pm, Moshtix. P J O’REILLY’S, CIVIC YAH – Pub Theatre
Blaze Six TRANSIT BAR Magic Rob Universe Relax with a pint and allow yourself to
ACT emerging artist showcase. ‘Til With Little Mac and the Monster Men. be immersed in the magic of THEATRE.
March 24. Live $5. 3.30pm.
CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE POT BELLY BAR P J O’REILLY’S, CIVIC
- GORMAN HOUSE Luke Watt
Exhibition - Embark Exhibiting a lyrical depth and thematic
Six recent graduates from Melbourne grit. 7.30pm.
and Canberra. THE FRONT CAFE AND GALLERY
BILK GALLERY Celadore
The Streetlight Parade, Crash the Curb.
Live 9pm.
THE PHOENIX PUB
Harii Bandhu
Elements of jazz, soul and folk with friday march 09
Indian, Latin and African influences.
7.30pm, $10.
THE FRONT CAFE AND GALLERY Arts
Something Different Exhibition - Embark
Six recent graduates from Melbourne
Transit Trivia and Canberra.
Flex your noggin. Table bookings BILK GALLERY
essential. 7.30pm start. Pride and Prejudice
TRANSIT BAR Regency Fancy Dress Night. 8pm.
Trivia THEATRE 3
6pm.
P J O’REILLY’S, CIVIC

60
GIG GUIDE March 10 - March 14
Dance
Purple Sneakers
Indie bands and DJs and bands and
DJs and bands and DJs. 8pm start,
$10 entry.
TRANSIT BAR
Spring Lounge Session
Talented DJs and a late night pizza
menu. 8-11pm.
NEWACTON COURTYARD
Love Saturdays
With Pred.
ACADEMY NIGHTCLUB
Nathan Frost
KNIGHTSBRIDGE PENTHOUSE
Opiuo
With Russ Liquid Live, Luko Fiasco
(syd), Dred. Check Facebook for more.
the clubhouse
Live
YAH – Canberra Punk & Beyond
Rock Against Boredom Revisited. Young
Docteurs, Real Gone Lovers, Vacant Lot
and more. 8pm.
ANU BAR AND REFECTORY
Oz Chamber Orchest & Hilliard
Ensemble
Medieval, renaissance and
contemporary vocal music. www.aco.
com.au or 1800 444 444.
LLEWELLYN HALL
Miss Elm
With a voice both tender and
demanding, her music always has an
addictive twist. 7.30pm.
THE FRONT CAFE AND GALLERY
urban live music
Soulful acoustic performances for
brunch or lunch. 10am – 2pm.
URBANFOOD STORE + CAFE
Beth n Ben
AMAX. 9.30pm.
THE PHOENIX PUB
music, coffee
Bass, violin, looped vocals and a
morning coffee. 10 – noon.
MOCAN AND GREEN GROUT, NEWACTON
ENLIGHTEN - Puta Madre
Brothers
A trio made up of three one-man-
bands. With Fun Machine and Brass
Knuckle Brass Ensemble. Free, 6pm.
WEST STAGE - CORNER OF ENID LYONS
STREET AND MALL ROAD WEST
Something Different
Canberra Festival: Balloon
Spectacular
The lawns of Old Parliament House
will fill with a flurry of colour and
movement. Free.
OLD PARLIAMENT HOUSE LAWNS
BIG Record, CD and Book Sale
YAH – Pub Theatre
Relax with a pint and allow yourself to
be immersed in the magic of THEATRE.
5pm.
CIVIC PUB
YAH – One Wall, One Night
Each night BEAM will project a video
artwork by a different local visual artist.
CITY WALK
Dance
Hospitality Sundays
10pm ‘til late with DJ TJ. Free entry,
free pool and discounted drinks.
CUBE NIGHTCLUB
Live
YAH – The Beach
Soak up the good vibes on this lazy
Sunday afternoon with Beth n Ben,
Space Party and more. 12pm.
TOCUMWAL LANE (BEHIND LANDSPEED
RECORDS)
Stonefield
triple j Unearthed Winners playing live.
THOROUGHBRED PARK
Sticky Fingers
Happy endings and the garage/pop,
psych/soul mash of reggae. 8pm.
THE FRONT CAFE AND GALLERY
urban live music
Soulful acoustic performances for
brunch or lunch. 10am – 2pm.
URBANFOOD STORE + CAFE
Beth n Ben
Local blues, folk and root
extraordinaires.
A BITE TO EAT CAFE
Canberra Festival: Symphony in
the Park
Enjoy the Canberra Symphony
Orchestra under the stars. Free.
STAGE 88
Something Different
Canberra Festival: Balloon
Spectacular
The lawns of Old Parliament House
will fill with a flurry of colour and
movement. Free.
OLD PARLIAMENT HOUSE LAWNS
monday march 12
Arts
YAH – Paste–up Project
CMAG’s outside façade plays host to
the work of some of Canberra’s most
ubiquitous artists.
CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY
YAH – One Wall, One Night
Each night BEAM will project a video
artwork by a different local visual artist.
YAH – Secret Gig That No One
Knows About
Lounge around with some of Canberra’s
coziest bands, The Cashews and
Hashemoto. 12.30pm.
THE NEWSROOM
The Bootleg Sessions
Heideger, Hence the Test Bed, Chris
Canham, Konrad Lenz. 8pm.
THE PHOENIX PUB
Something Different
Trivia
6pm.
P J O’REILLY’S, CIVIC
Canberra Festival: Balloon
Spectacular
The lawns of Old Parliament House
will fill with a flurry of colour and
movement. Free.
OLD PARLIAMENT HOUSE LAWNS
Canberra Festival: Canberra
Day Oration
Re-enactment of the speech by PM
Stanley Bruce, who transferred govt.
from Melb to Canb. Gold coin.
NATIONAL LIBRARY OF AUSTRALIA
tuesday march 13
Arts
YAH – Lunchbox: Pash–and–
Dash
Come and catch some great theatre
during your lunch break. 12.30pm.
PASH (PERFORMING ARTS SERVICES HUB)
YAH – Paste–up Project
CMAG’s outside façade plays host to
the work of some of Canberra’s most
ubiquitous artists.
CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY
YAH – One Wall, One Night
Each night BEAM will project a video
artwork by a different local visual artist.
CITY WALK
YAH – After Work Roasters
Festival curators David Finnigan and
Hadley settle in for a surreal afternoon
of festival nepotism.
LONSDALE STREET ROASTERS
Live
Beth n Ben
Early one! From 7-10am at The Balloon
Festival.
OLD PARLIAMENT HOUSE
Something Different
Trivia Night
7.30pm.
THE PHOENIX PUB
Canberra Festival: Balloon
Spectacular
The lawns of Old Parliament House
will fill with a flurry of colour and
movement. Free.
OLD PARLIAMENT HOUSE LAWNS
Tuesday Movie Night
You choose a deckchair, they’ll choose
a movie. Drink and pizza specials by
Bicicletta Cafe.
NEWACTON COURTYARD
wednesday march 14
Arts
YAH – Paste–up Project
CMAG’s outside façade plays host to
the work of some of Canberra’s most
ubiquitous artists.
CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY
YAH – One Wall, One Night
Each night BEAM will project a video
artwork by a different local visual artist.
CITY WALK
Alliance Française French Film
Festival
A new generation of filmmakers will
be showcasing the latest trends in
contemporary French cinema.
ARC CINEMA AND GREATER UNION
MANUKA
Live
Local Bands
8pm start, free entry.
TRANSIT BAR
YAH – Lunchbox: Listening
Bring your lunch and expand your
musical horizons all in the course of
your lunch hour. 12.30pm.
THE NEWSROOM
YAH – Gunpowder Temple of
Heaven
Taking elements of jazz and
contemporary classical music to create
new musical experiments. 5.30pm.
CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY
Something Different
Transit Trivia
Flex your noggin. Table bookings
essential. 7.30pm start.
TRANSIT BAR

OUT more you are here

Over 50,000 records, CDs and books. CITY WALK
Something for everyone! 9-5pm.
Dance

mar14
TRADIES CLUB, DICKSON
Biscuits holly throsby
sunday march 11 Post-weekend sounds from Ryz,

Arts
Peekz, Kimosabi, Steve On Weekends
and more. 9pm, free. jonno zilber
TRANSIT BAR
YAH – Scissors Paper Pen – Yes,
Granted Live midsummer (a play
Granted artists and suit-clad arts with songs)
grant granters discuss… arts grants. Canberra Festival: Celebrate in
the Park
12.30pm.
CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY Celebrate Canberra’s 99th birthday with snakadaktl
some top talent. Free.
...and more!
STAGE 88

61
 FIRST CONTACT
Aaron Peacey Aaron 0410 381 306
Activate Jetpack activatejetpack@
hotmail.com
Adam Hole Adam 0421 023 226
SIDE A: BMA band profile Afternoon Shift
Adam 0402 055 314
After Close Scotty 0412 742 682,
afterclose@hotmail.com
Alcove Mark 0410 112 522
Alice 0423 100 792
Allies ACT (Oxfam Group)
alliesact@hotmail.com/
myspace.com/alliesact
Amphibian Sound PA
Clare 0410 308 288
Amplif5’d Classic rock covers band
Joy 0407 200 428,
joybarac-heath@hotmail.com
Annie & the Armadillos
Annie 6161 1078/0422 076 313
The Ashburys
Dan Craddock 0419 626 903
Brass Knuckle Aria Stone, sax & flute, singer/
songwriter (guitar) Aria 0411 803 343
Brass Band Australian Songwriters Association
(Keiran Roberts) 6231 0433
Arythmia: Ben 0423 408 767/
Where did your band name arythmiamusic@gmail.com
come from? We were originally Backbeat Drivers Steve 0422 733 974,
called Brass’ere but went with www.backbeatdrivers.com
Big Boss Groove Andrew 0404 455 834,
something easier to say out loud. And slightly tougher. www.bigbossgroove.com.au
Birds Love Fighting Gangbusters/DIY
Group members: Cameron Smith (trumpet/vocals), shows - bookings@birdslovefighting.com
Courtney Stark (vocals), Zach Raffan (trumpet), Michael Black Label Photography
Kingsley 0438 351 007
Bailey and John Gosling (trombones), Nathan Sciberras Blister Bug Stu 0408 617 791
(baritone sax), David Abkiewicz (sousaphone), Robert Nesci Bridge Between, The Rachel 0412 598 138,
thebridgebetween.com.au
(drums) and Damon Counahan (percussion).
Bruce Stage mgr/consultant
6254 9857
Describe your sound: A laidback Australian take on the New
Caution Horses Nigel 0417 211 580
Orleans funk street band. Chris Harland Blues Band 0418 490 640
chrisharlandbluesband@yahoo.com.au
Who are your influences, musical or otherwise? Dirty Clear Vision Films rehearsals/film
Dozen, Youngblood Brass Band, His Merry Men, Hypnotic clips/stunts - 0438 647 281
wcoulton.clearvisionfilms.com
Brass Ensemble, Kermit Ruffins, Rafe, Mi Tierra, Hadley and Cole Bennetts Photography
Dub Dub Goose. 0415 982 662 /colebennetts.com
Cris Clucas Cris 6262 5652
What’s the weirdest experience you’ve had whilst Crooked Dave 0421 508 467
Danny V Danny 6238 1673/0413 502 428
performing? Having two drunk guys in morph suits join us on
Dawn Theory Nathan 0402 845 132
stage at The Multicultural Festival. D’Opus & Roshambo
hifidelitystyles@yahoo.com
What’s your biggest achievement/proudest moment DJs Madrid and Gordon 0417 433 971
so far? Getting flown to Melbourne to play for a circus DJ Latino Rogelio 0401 274 208
DJ Moises (RnB/Latin) 0402 497 835
family wedding. Supporting Clairy Browne and the Bangin’ or moises_lopez@hotmail
Rackettes at The Toff in Town, Melbourne. DNA Vic 0408 477 020
Drumassault Kate 0414 236 323
What are your plans for the future? We have a tour to Easy Mode Daz 0404 156 482,
easymodeband@gmail.com
Queensland booked for July and hope to get something on
Entity Chris 0412 027 894
wax this year. Epic Flagon band@epicflagon.com
Fighting Mongooses, The
What makes you laugh? People wanting to put their head in Adam 0402 055 314
the sousaphone. Drunk guys in morph suits. Final Warning Brendan 0422 809 552
Fire on the Hill Aaron 0410 381 306/
What pisses you off? Trying to get nine busy people in the Lachlan 0400 038 388
4dead Peter 0401 006 551
same place at the same time to rehearse. Freeloaders, The Steve 0412 653 597
Friend or Enemy 6238 0083,
What’s your opinion of the local scene? Canberra’s scene is www.myspace.com/friendorenemy
small and supportive – we don’t have the ‘genre ghettos’ that Gareth Hailey DJ & Electronica
bigger cities have, so you get to meet and play with a bunch 0414 215 885
GiLF Kelly 0410 588 747,
of different artists. gilf.mail@gmail.com
Groovalicious Corporate/Weddings/
What are your upcoming gigs? Roving at Corinbank Private functions 0448 995 158
Festival from Friday-Sunday March 2-4. You Are Here groovalicious@y7mail.com
Guy The Sound Guy live & studio
opening night on Thursday March 8. Music and Light sound engineer, 0400 585 369, guy@
exhibition, Belconnen Arts Centre on Friday March 9, guythesoundguy.com
HalfPast Chris 0412 115 594
Enlighten Festival on Saturday March 10, National Folk Hancock Basement Tom 6257 5375,
Festival over Easter and Pop The Pot on Saturday May 12.
hancockbasement@hotmail.com
Happy Hour Wendy 0406 375 096
Contact info: www.facebook.com/brassknucklebrassband, Haunted Attics
band@hauntedatticsmusic.com
cameronasmith@dodo.com.au
Hitherto Paul 0408 425 636
In The Flesh Scott 0410 475 703
Inside the Exterior Nathan 0401 072 650
Itchy Triggers Andrew 0401 588 884
62
Jacqui Seczawa 0428 428 722
JDY Clothing 0405 648 288/
www.jdyclothing.com
Jenn Pacor singer/songwriter avail. for
originals & covers, 0405 618 630
Jim Boots 0417 211 580
Johnny Roadkill Paulie 0408 287 672,
paulie_mcmillan@live.com.au
Karismakatz DJ Gosper 0411 065 189/
dj@karismakatz.com
Kayo Marbilus
myspace.com/kayomarbilus
Kurt’s Metalworx (PA)
0417 025 792
Little Smoke Sam 0411 112 075
Los Chavos Andy 0401 572 150
los.chavos@yahoo.com.au
Manilla Green Herms 0404 848 462,
contactus@manillagreen.com,
Mario Brujo Gordon world/latin/
reggae/percussionist and DJ.
0405 820 895
Martin Bailey Audio Engineer
0423 566 093
Words for You: writer/publicity/events
Megan ph 6154 0927,
megan@wordsforyou.com.au
Mercury Switch Lab Studios
mercuryswitch@internode.on.net
Missing Zero Hadrian Brand 0424 721 907
hadrian.brand@live.com.au
Moots aspwinch@grapevine.com.au
Huck 0419 630 721
MuShu Jack 0414 292 567,
mushu_band@hotmail.com
MyOnus myonusmusic@hotmail.com/
www.myspace.com/myonus
No Retreat Simon 0411 155 680
Ocean Moses Nigel 0417 211 580
OneWayFare Chris 0418 496 448
Painted Hearts, The Peter 6248 6027
Phathom Chris 0422 888 700
The Pigs The Colonel 0422 412 752
Polka Pigs Ian 6231 5974
Premier Audio Simon 0412 331 876,
premier_audio@hotmail.com
Rafe Morris 0416 322 763
Redletter Ben 0421 414 472
Redsun Rehearsal Studio
Ralph 0404 178 996/6162 1527
Rhythm Party, The Ross 0416 010 680
Rob Mac Project, The
Melinda 0400 405 537
Rug, The Jol 0417 273 041
Samsara Samahdi 0431 083 776
Sansutra J-Ma 0403 476 350
Simone Penkethman
(Simone & The Soothsayers,
Singing Teacher) 6230 4828
Soundcity Rehearsal Studio
Andrew 0401 588 884
Solid Gold Peter 0421 131 887/
solid.gold@live.com.au
Super Best Friends Matt 0438 228 748
Surrender Jordan 0439 907 853
Switch 3 Mick 0410 698 479
System Addict Jamie 0418 398 556
The Morning After (covers band)
Anthony 0402 500 843/
myspace.com/themorningaftercovers
Tiger Bones & The Ferabul-Zers
Danny feralbul@aapt.net.au
Tim James Lucia 6282 3740,
LUCIAMURDOCH@hotmail.com
Top Shelf Colin 0408 631 514
Transmission Nowhere Emilie
0421 953 519/myspace.com/
transmissionnowhere
Udo 0412 086 158
Undersided, The Baz 0408 468 041
Using Three Words Dan 0416 123 020,
usingthreewords@hotmail.com
Voodoo Doll Mark 0428 650 549
William Blakely Will 0414 910 014
Zero Degrees and Falling
Louis 0423 918 793
Zwish 0411 022 907
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