Katy Hall

Girl Talk - All Day [Illegal Art]

Girl Talk really does make his music a work of art; taking smatterings of every song you’ve ever known and making it into something completely original. All Day is no different to the others; a confusing, ADHD acid trip of mash-ups ranging from Bush to Billy Idol to Jay-Z.

The problem with Greg Gillis’ fifth release is that it starts to feel a bit samey. In fact, at times it goes way beyond that and becomes slightly disappointing, because for the majority of the album no moments even come close to creating the atmosphere that blew everyone away on Night Ripper and Feed The Wolves. There’s the usual selection of uncovered B-sides and songs you haven’t heard since ’93, but the further he digs to find tracks, the more obscure it seems to become. The great thing about Night Ripper was the unashamed moments of pop or r’n’b, but on All Day the delving becomes deeper and it loses translatability because of it. Down for the Count manages to squeeze 28 samples into six minutes; it remains as actioned packed as Girl Talk has always been, but even with all that’s going on, sadly it doesn’t feel or sound new.

In an age where anyone can DJ or make a five-minutes-of-fame inducing mash on their laptop, Girl Talk stands out and shows true brilliance in the field; you can guarantee if it the song has been recorded, Girl Talk will sample it, but this is not the crowning moment. 

Reclaim the Night

WHAT: Ladies (and gents if desired) night
WHEN: Fri Oct 29
WHERE: Glebe Park and Garema Place

On a serious Tidbit note comes Reclaim the Night, an event hosted by the ACT Women’s Services Network. This annual rally is all about women feeling comfortable, reclaiming their own space, acknowledging and speaking out about rape and sexual violence. The night will be filled with live music, food stalls, markets, dancing and all sorts of fun. It kicks off from 6pm in the park and later heads to Garema Place. One in three women experience unwanted sex, until the statistic sits at none, it’s an important night for all. Head to www.wchm.org for more info.

Electric Lake

With the warmer months comes the gigantic slew of festivals that sweep the nation and fill the calendar. And while everyone seems to be crashing internet sites to get their mitts on tickets to far flung destinations at the other end of the nation, there’s one right here deserving of a whole lot of attention. After the resounding success of last year ELECTRIC LAKE is back, and from the words of head organiser Warwick Smith himself, “it’s better than ever. Or, at least better than the last one, which was the first one, but yeah, it will be incredible.”

Originally set up as an all-local line-up, this year Electric Lake will be no different. “It’s all about showcasing the local talent. Our aim is to have the day filled by local musicians and have that be enough for people. A lot of people work during the week so putting on an event during the day and on the weekend makes it a bit easier to get along to and doing it outside in the sun creates a pretty nice atmosphere.”

Scouring the ‘burbs far and wide, and with powers combined, presenters Birds Love Fighting, Dream Damage, hellosQuare, Waterford and the beloved Canberra Musicians Club have done one almighty job, with the weighty line-up comprising Jonny Telafone, Hoodlum Shouts, Kasha, Horse MacGyver, Heute-Und, Waterford, The Warm Jets, Jerkstore, Killing Birds, The Ellis Collective, Julia and the Deep Sea Sirens, From The South, Voss and Cat Cat. There’ll also be zines-a-plenty provided by local distro Little Beats, a merch stall set up for when you decide you must have one of the many EPs from bands of the day, and Smith promises “there’ll definitely be some surprises. And even a surprise band thrown in too.” But, like all good surprises, they’ll be saved until the last minute and you’ll just have to be there to bear witness.

Set in a place familiar with almost every Canberran, the amphitheatre of Commonwealth Park proves the perfect venue for the festival, and BYO picnics are by all means welcome.

As for times and how it’s running, Smith says “it’ll be sharper than the world’s sharpest knives. Otherwise everything ends up running behind. Last year we were interrupted by a wedding and had to stop playing so they could say their vows, so we’re hoping that won’t happen again.”

Looking at a line-up like this and thinking about a day filled with sunshine and delights from the picnic basket, it seems hard to imagine why you’d ever want to part with several hundred dollars and drive for hours when all of this is right here on your doorstep.  

Electric Lake will be running from midday-9.30pm on Saturday October 16. All bands – including Hoodlum Shouts, Voss, Cat Cat, Jonny Telafone, Kasha, Waterford, From The South, Killing Birds and Hors – will be playing half hour sets. Free!

Dan Kelly

It’s a bit of scary thing to find yourself about to interview an artist that you’ve had a huge crush on for several years. For the record I’m not a groupie – and gentlemen, don’t tell me you wouldn’t get knee shakes at the idea of chatting with Angelina – the guy just impresses the pants off me. What’s even more petrifying is the knowledge that I know something that DAN KELLY doesn’t; Katter has just sided with the Coalition ten minutes before the interview. When I break the news to politically interested Kelly, there’s a deep intake of breath that is thrown out of his mouth almost immediately again with the words “fucking scumbag.”

Though less politically leaning than 2006’s Drowning In The Fountain Of Youth, last month’s release Dan Kelly’s Dream is one that even Kelly himself admits needed some time to sink in with people. Removing himself from far flung islands and suburban blues, the album explores the idea of the end of the world, living under the sea, alien cities and everything else you could imagine. “Normally it’s either the music is really layered or the vocals are, but for some reason I’m compelled to do both, to make it sound like a bit of a journey.” When there’s talk of possibly having to write another Drunk On Election Night tune, Kelly says sadly, “I hope I don’t have to write that one again.”

He continues: “On the last album I kept feeling this inability to have worthwhile relationships, whereas with this album it’s more about grappling with eco issues. I guess the two tie in together because I just keep revisiting this realisation that you can try and escape from everything – doesn’t matter if you go to a tropical island or go to the booze, or there’s no one else on the planet – but you can’t escape yourself.”

But, when it came time to sit down and write another album after a near four year hiatus, Kelly admits the origins came from quite a strange idea. “It kind of started out as this eco-terrorist musical, which is strange because I don’t really like musicals – they remind me of the jazz ballet guys at school. I just like the idea of writing one.”

Through hours of whittling away at songs and tunes, an album was born and from it came one of the most bizarre and likely memorable songs of the year Bindi Irwin Apocalypse Jam. “I just thought she’d be a good friend to have an environmental journey with,” Kelly admits. After a brief pause he continues: “I made sure I wrote in Terri as her song chaperone, so people realise it’s not a creepy song.”

Almost immediately after the interview ends, Kelly calls me back to explain the recently researched finer details of Katter’s agreement. “So, not all is lost,” he says hopefully. Turns out, he was right.    

Dan Kelly will be playing at The Maram on Thursday October 7, selling tea towel and swimming cap merchandise and fingers crossed, serenading yours truly. Waterford special guests, tix $17 + bf.

Best Coast

Crazy For You is a bold debut in the sense that there’s non-stop mention of heartbreak, everyday boredom and all the little things boys do to girl’s heads. They are all things that can get old by the third track and make an album go terribly awry, but Crazy For You works because while those themes are consistent, they’re not repetitive, and carry the album through its 13 tracks.
The trio maintain their long running roots as a band, remaining in the waters of lo-fi and garage pop guitars, theirs is proving to be some of the best Californian surf pop to come out yet.
Opening track Boyfriend deserves all the acclaim it has received, and is backed up by tracks When the Sun Don’t Shine and Honey. The potential of one-hit-wonder status applying is masterfully disproved on Goodbye with singer Bethany Corsentino’s voice smashing through disappointment and sailing straight onto more melancholy. The best thing about this album is there is not a moment of mediocrity; it retains itself beautifully and is easily one of the best albums of 2010 thus far.
Finally, lead singer Bethany Corsentino’s cat, Snacks; we gotta talk about him. Snacks is ginger and chubby and has a whole lotta ‘tude. You’ll find small mentions of the sly guy all through Best Coast’s debut album and photos of him posing on the album cover on the net. There’s nothing perverted about Googling cat images; do it. KATY HALL

ALBUM OF THE ISSUE: Cat Cat

It was a little hard for me not to be excited about this EP falling in my lap. Another masterful release from local label Birds Love Fighting, and the second from Canberra three-piece Cat Cat, Waking Space is a beautiful sampling of the incredible talent that resides within its three members. By far the best thing about this EP is they’re not afraid to spend time on the songs for the betterment of them, building gradually and thoughtfully and concluding in near perfection. Opening track Hayley’s Comet runs for six minutes, but the lulling guitars of Warwick Smith teamed with Kieran Davis’ resounding drum pounds fill the room and gently move you through the song. The deep, violent distortion of guitars on Go Home and Waking Space (Valium) are matched perfectly with frontman Conor Hutchison’s vocals, and makes a welcome return to the lo-fi sound perfected long ago by the trio. There’s such a wide expanse of variation between the five songs, exploring the sonic soundscape and filling it out originally and excitingly. One local recording you should definitely pick up. Waking Space will be launched at Transit Bar on Thursday October 7 with Crash The Curb, Kasha and Strangeways DJs. KATY HALL

Richard In Your Mind

Sydney band RICHARD IN YOUR MIND are a hipster quintet we’ve been hearing a lot about of late. Recently released sophomore album My Volcano has been receiving rave reviews, with front man Richard Cartwright particular pleased with their “four out of five stars in Rolling Stone; it’s a pretty good thing to show your parents.” But when I first track down the illustrious front man, he’s “just hanging out, drinking some tea. We do have a show tonight…” After a brief pause he continues, “I should start getting ready for that soon.”

It quickly becomes apparent that Richard In Your Mind’s style of music is a fair representation of the band members themselves; wildly creative, sewn together with curiosity and oddities, and reflective of the simplistically ‘good’, a concept Cartwright will refer to several times throughout the interview. When discussing the making of the album Cartwright says, “We decided to look at the places we haven’t looked at before. It’s a bit more poppy than dreamy; it was an attempt to bring in more variation and to create a more whole sounding album.”

But like all bands, when it came time to make the choice of what made the cut and which tracks had to be left behind, Cartwright explains, “We very much wanted to make an album, not just put out a collection of tracks. Having it fit together well was really important for us. Each album we make is a reaction to the previous one, and it’s the same with the tracks you end up including; they have to feed into each other and flow properly, otherwise it can get a bit messy,” he says with a simple laugh.

Their unique blend of surf-pop and psychedelic lo-fi marks an important revival, one that not only seems to have gained gigantic momentum in recent times, but also one that clears through the often obscure genre-mixing styles of other bands of the moment. “I think people can get lost in the sonic landscape of choice we have for music now. I just think it’s important to look back on good songwriting, and to me, there are really good songs from the ‘60s and ‘70s.”

Originally consisting of school friends Cartwright and Conrad Richters only, the band has progressively grown to include Pat Torres, Brent Griffin, and noted solo artist Jordy Lane. The culmination has been a truly harmonious one, with Cartwright explaining, “We’re just five guys that really love each other and create music. We’ve always considered ourselves a bit of a cult band. We’ve always thought we’ll be one of those bands that on our sixth of seventh album we’ll get really big and people will go back and discover this back catalogue of all the things we’ve done in our past.”

But why wait until then? Jump onboard now when Richard In Your Mind will be playing a split show with Melbourne band Pikelet at the ANU Bar on Friday September 24, tix $15 on the door. They’ll also be heading to Transit Bar afterwards for a guest DJ set at Purple Sneakers.

ANU Arts Students

WHAT: The Inaugural ANU Arts Review
WHEN: Sat Sep 18 – Mon Sep 20
WHERE: Courtyard Theatre, CTC

The first ever ANU Arts Revue is part comedy, part musical, full-time honours and potentially quite important for the continuing culture of a beleaguered ANU Arts Faculty. Loosely based on the success of Liza Minelli’s blue eyeshadow and Professor Higgins’ marvellous enunciation, the show is imagined, written and performed by some of the brightest sparks in Canberra. Seamlessly weaving pop culture references into universally ‘university’ unilaterally…. etc. As these (a)typical Arts students tread further and further into this absurdly dark and confusing world, be prepared to be shocked, mortified, enlightened, and hopelessly unprepared. Tickets on sale now from canberratheatrecentre.com.au .

The Touch

WHAT: EP launch
WHEN: Thu Sept 2
WHERE: Transit Bar

The (Adelaide) Hills are alive, with the sound of music. And thankfully, local wonder promoter Pyramid has been wise enough to connect the dots that we too have hills, and also really, really like The Touch. (People at their last Transit show know what I’m talking about.) After slogging their blessed dance/punk hearts out, the guys are touring the nation with their second EP, 1.1. Produced by Gerling legend Darren Cross; it’s the stuff of gold. The Touch will be teaming up on the night with the mischievous Fun Machine, and this writer’s favourite DJs, Strangeways. It’s freer than free and kicking off from 8pm.

All you budding underage musos

WHAT: Liftoff Festival
WHEN: Sat Nov 6
WHERE: Woden Youth Centre

Want to put some more spring in your spring? As part of the Woden Valley Festival, Liftoff is a free, all ages event; its pores are oozing with bands, DJs, skate comps, rides, face painting and all other things carnival related. The highlight will be the band comp, which offers winners recording time, festival slots and a feature in this very fine mag. The final six will be performing at Liftoff, so if you’re between 12 and 21 get yourself in the running by contacting sindy.pearson@wcs.org.au with your demos before Friday September 17.

Geraldine Hickey

WHAT: Comedy aplenty
WHEN: Tuesday Sept 7
WHERE: Tuggeranong Arts Centre

Remember Jon Lovitz hip-thrusting and sweating his way through the creepiest rendition of Ladies Night ever in The Wedding Singer? Cemented on your brain with automatic shudders? Mine too. Anyway, a ladies night of a different kind is hitting the Tuggeranong Arts Centre with the gaff-filled humouroid, Geraldine Hickey. She’s a Raw Comedy national runner up, a fav of the Melbourne Comedy Festival and is bringing her presence to Canberra’s newest comedy stage. She’ll be bringing pals Marie Helou, Edwina Nelson, Georgie Band Miss Natski. The show starts at 8, tickets $10 on the door or call 6293 1443 for a pre booking.

You and your finest face mask

WHAT: The Boho Masquerade Ball
WHEN: Friday September 10
WHERE: Albert Hall

The carnival of underground culture, The Bohemian Masquerade Ball, is returning to Canberra for its third (and hopefully most successful to date) year. There'll be an array of visual spectaculars, including circus, cabaret and burlesque acts, and everything else magical, mystical and masquerade-like. With festive tunes being provided by The Barons of Tang, Mr Fibby, The Brothers Grimm, Lola Lovina, Mojo Juju, The Orphanage and many more, it's guaranteed to be a mind blowing spectacular. Presale tickets are available through www.webtickets.com.au, or on the door if you're lucky. For more info head to www.thebohoball.com.au.

Hello Satellites

WHAT: Album launch
WHEN: Friday September 4
WHERE: The Phoenix

Well, the folks at Two Bright Lakes/Remote Control Records certainly do have a knack for finding and fostering amazing talent. The latest offering is Melbournian four-piece Hello Satellites. Heading off on tour with their self titled debut, the gang will be spending their Friday night at the Phoenix, and would like us all to come along. The album's been getting quite the rave review around the tracks, and really is worth all the acclaim. Their sound is littered with percussion and matched with pitch perfect vocals, hand claps a-plenty. Head to www.myspace.com/hellosatellites to hear more and pencil the date in your diary. 

Useless Children - Skin [Independent]

Useless Children are one of those bands that are undoubtedly better live than recorded. Through a stereo they can be a little confusing and all together confronting, but their short-sharp abrasive sound will fill a room, making the walls buzz, strip your bones of marrow and fill them with hyperactive aggression, yet never actually want to make you beat up on anyone.

The Melbourne trio have gigged relentlessly since their 2008 birth, and make the current venue crisis all the sadder, as they are the epitome of bands that belong in live venues. Having such successful underground fame can always make the recording process all the more challenging, as there’s always a fear that the frenetic energy might not quite translate – however in this case it absolutely does, and brilliantly at that.

Skin is an abrupt release that plays jerkily and struggles to keep up with the fast pace set by front woman Cinta, with her proving on opening track Skin there’s more to being a leading lady than following the obvious Karen O route. Part of her wildly impresses me, the other part scares the shit out of me, but no one likes a fence sitting singer, and that she does not do. 

Second track Namesake slams you into the wall and has an epileptic fit all over your ears leaving nothing but a bleeding mess and five seconds to recover and jump back into the final track, People Come, People Go. It’s a short and sweet recording, but encapsulates everything you need to know.

Cat Cat

There seem to be an increasing number of bands to emerge from nowhere of late, replete with devout following and their name on everyone’s lips. In the case of CAT CAT, the rise has been slow, steady and a bit unexpected. Bassist Warwick Smith admits: “It’s reaching a point now where we are finding our music popping up on music blogs and on the radio without much effort; we haven’t even really promoted ourselves outside of Canberra, so something is going alright.”

Forming in 2008 Cat Cat already boast quite a reputation and live history despite somewhat of a revolving door policy. “I’m not entirely sure where it all started, but I came to the band over a beer as there was a spot for a drone bass player,” says Smith. “The line up has changed a few times before I joined, and it has since changed again. On our last two EPs the core members were Kieran, Goo, Conor and me. Now our core members are myself and Conor and we often get a guest or two to play with us live.”

And when it comes time to pinpoint what makes Cat Cat’s music so different to the rest of local artists, and to explain their underground success, it seems style is the key. “I would say our music is mediative and sparkling lo-fi kraut pop,” says Smith. “To be precise. As Cat Cat we play shorter, brighter and sharper songs, and Conor has really good pop sense and great lyrics.”

Busying himself with running local label Birds Love Fighting and working on his solo project JW Sparrow and the Miner Birds, Smith is hardly taking time to smell the roses. Next up for the band is a gig with US artist Zack Kouns and Newcastle’s Alps. Smith says, “I think it’s very admirable to stop in a small town and play to potentially a handful of people. Kouns isn’t the biggest name in the world but he’s come all the way here to sell us his story. I’d hope for the same if I went out into the world.”

And while there’s currently only one EP to their name, last year’s Dig Mountains, Smith informs me there’s another making our way soon, entitled Waking Space, set for release in August/September, and with what I can only imagine a lot more gigs to boot. So, much to look forward to for all you lovers of sparkling lo-fi kraut pop, then.

Cat Cat will be playing with Zack Kouns and Alps on Saturday August 31 at Smiths Alternative Bookshop, and as part of Electric Lake II on Saturday October 16. 

The Magic Numbers

‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times’ might just be the catchphrase for this period of Michele Stodart’s life when looking back on it in 20 years. After an indefinite hiatus began two years ago for THE MAGIC NUMBERS, many were unsure if the siblings Stodart and Gannon would return to the studio again. But as I find Michele on the eve of the release of their third studio album The Runaway, she explains how it was not much of a break at all.

“We just wanted time to write an album comfortably, which is something we didn’t really have with our previous album [2006’s Those the Brokes was written while on the road touring their 2005 self-titled Mercury Prize nominated debut album]. Because we knew each other so well it became what wasn’t said that was the problem and we just needed some time out; and coming back together after some time apart made us all fall in love with each other again as a band.”

By “taking a break” Stodart means working on a debut solo album and having a baby, Romeo touring Africa with Damon Albarn, Angela collaborating with The Boxer Rebellion and Sean creating their own studio to record The Runaway in. Stodart concedes, “I guess not much of a break but it was a break from what we had been doing non-stop for the past five years, so that in itself was enough.”

When it came time to record, there were multiple changes the band decided to adopt, the first and possibly largest being letting world famous producer Valgeir Sigurðsson (Björk, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy) into the studio from start to finish. “We would always say ‘what is he building in there?’ because he’d lock himself away and bang anything he could get his hands on together and start recording it. It was such a strange and fantastic experience for us.”

The definite pinnacle of The Runaway is the involvement of string arranger, Robert Kirby (revered for his work with Nick Drake) – the album being his last work. “He died the day after the album was complete, which was quite bittersweet. It was the day after the album was complete and he’d listened to it in full. His working style was so unique; he never worked with a keyboard or sent some dodgy samples of what it could be like to give us an idea, he would always have the notes written out and he just knew what to add to the song.” Stodart adds, “for us to have a part of him on the record really means a lot.”

Now as part of 2010’s Splendour in the Grass festival, Stodart is packing her bags once again and enthusiastically quips, “we don’t want to stay away so long next time. We’ve got our own studio so there’s even less of a reason to this time. And I’m looking forward to showing the world to my baby.”

Catch the Magic Numbers either at the Splendour in the Grass festival in Woodfordia, QLD on Saturday July 31, or at their own show at Sydney’s Metro Theatre on Friday July 30 (tickets through Ticketek).

Smart Casual

WHAT: Side splitting hilarity 
WHEN: Tuesday August 3 
WHERE: Tuggeranong Arts Centre 

So it’s the hip thing to lol these days is it? Say “lol” rather than actually laugh out loud, write it in a text rather than laugh down the phone line to your old pal Doris… what happened to the days of yore? If you’re after some good old fashioned laughing of the out loud variety, Smart Casual is the Melbournian duo for you. Off the back of their nationwide sold out shows and the Festival Roadshow, Triple J faves Roger David and Fletcher Jones are heading our way. Have $10 for entry handy and be prepared to lol until you cry.

Waterford

WHAT: New single release
WHEN: Saturday July 24
WHERE: The Front Café and Gallery

Well I can’t speak for everyone, but I know that I and certainly a few others in the BMA office have been waiting with baited breath for local band Waterford to release another single. London England is the latest offering and quite the little number I must say. With production from Bruce Callaway of Triffids fame, it’s been doing the rounds of Triple J and cements the true potential of these guys. As a send off to the mean streets of Melbourne and Sydney they’re throwing a gig at The Front, so come along and wish them well and for god’s sake get your EP signed before they become superstars!

You, you politically aware go getter!

WHAT: Power Change
WHEN: Saturday and Sunday August 7-8
WHERE: ANU

Even though you’re practically dead to us all now, what the fuck Kevin Rudd? You and your ilk might not care about the birds and the bees and the flowers and the trees but a lot of other people do. Australian Youth Climate Coalition are doing more than writing angry letters to the editors. They’re in Canberra to talk it over with anyone interested and between the ages of 19-25. Part climate summit part festival, come hang with bands and celebrities (I see Ian Thorpe’s name on the table ladies), eat some snags and have a think about what you want for the future. Tix are $55, and deadline for registration is August 2. Head to aycc.org.au/projects/power-shift-2010-2/.

Pablo Cahn

WHAT: An array of smooth, funky, deep house, filtered disco, tech-house, techno and just about everything in between.
WHEN: Saturday July 31
WHERE: Transit Bar

Well get out of that honey pot and into Transit if you’re looking for something scrumptious. Soundtrap is pulling Pablo Cahn out of the underground of London and dropping him on our doorstep. After the roaring success of his EP in 2009 the native Colombian heads our way to melt the dance floor and show off his DJ/promoter/all around party style as best he can. Local support comes in the form of Mikey G and B-tham, with a welcome return from Akev. The cover charge clams are on Transit and the doors are open til the wee hours of the morn.

You and your dancing loafers

WHAT: Purple Sneakers
WHEN: Friday July 30
WHERE: Transit Bar

Returning to lift the fog out of this sleepy hollow of a ville called Canberra like no others can, come the Tag Team of Boundary Sounds, Purple Sneakers. This month marks the launch of Arcade Fire’s third and no doubt astounding album The Suburbs, one of which everyone’s chomping at the bit for. Local support comes in the form of Celebrity Sex Tape, Princi, Kid N Bird, Monkey Genius and the bearded dreamboats of Architect DJs. The entry is free, the talk is guaranteed to be cheap, the jeans will be skinny and there’s CD giveaways aplenty.

You, your tent and your weather proof dancing shoes

WHAT: Dragon Dreaming Festival
WHEN: October long weekend, October 1 - 4
WHERE: A sumptuous forest setting somewhere not far from Canberra 

The sleeping dragon is stirring! The third and surely most spectacular year of the Dragon Dreaming Festival is just around the corner. This year’s festival will feature some of Australia’s best electronic and live music with many a special treat in store. Early bird tickets are on sale now and are almost gone, with presales available from Sunday August 1. But like most festivals, it’s worth your bottom dollar to scrounge up and get your mitts on them now before they’re gone. Check www.dragondreaming.net for all the details, start your planning and get ready to wake the Dragon in October 2010!

Groovin’ The Moo Festival

Sunday May 9 should have been a day of chrysanthemums and croissants, but thanks to some incredibly crafty event organisers there were hundreds of kids having to send in absent apologies to mothers and explain what “a Silverchair” was.

Groovin’ the Moo was, after all, the biggest festival Canberra’s ever seen, so it’s pretty likely that no one would have cared how it was organised, because these miraculous unknowns had brought us some of the biggest bands in the world and plonked them on our Belconnen ovals. But apart from the udderly tripe burgers beings served, everything was incredibly smooth. There were few lines for the overpriced beers, there was toilet paper in all the loos and on the soles of many a punter’s shoe for the entire day, and even the drunk 15 year olds were tolerable.

With Jonathan Boulet kicking off the interstate acts it was quite a sight to see the masses flock when the opening plucks of Community Service Announcement began. The turnout grew strong and fast over the next couple of hours, as did the black and white cow combination outfits, and the orange wristbands in the air for Kisschasy’s set.

Lisa Mitchell ho-ed and hummed her soul away just right and I’m pretty sure everyone drew incredibly tight breath when Miami Horror’s Josh Moriarty climbed to new scaffolding heights and made hot pink blazers look better than Molly Ringwald ever could.

While British India proved that the festival circuit is a great place for them, if a crowd gets more excited for your covers than it does for your original songs, it’s probably time for some rethinking.

Sadly Spoon’s set was pretty hit and miss with songs like You Got Yr Cherry Bomb smashing the dedicated away, while I Turn My Camera On not reaching anywhere near its potential.

Grinspoon was basically Phil Jameson leading a mass karaoke party and sadly when the ambulances rolled by we remembered he was finally off ice and still on stage. I was forced to regret my laziness when everyone came back from the Big Top praising Bag Raiders set and getting Fat Mike’s voice stuck in my head when two Canadian sisters appeared on stage.

Empire of the Sun need to think about releasing workout videos and/or getting some charisma, because the continual ‘I’m too good to acknowledge you’ act that Steele produces has passed its used by date and where everyone should have been dancing, there were only girls on stage in great lycra and a bewildered crowd.

I’m pretty sure that all the requested Dr Pepper and Barossa Valley goat’s cheese went straight to Vampire Weekend’s head because they came out roaring and didn’t stop until the very end. Koenig commanded the crowd like he would a classroom, and gave a show of manners that would have made all our mothers proud we were there and not slaving over a roast cut of meat for them.

Yacht Club DJs were the perfect end to the evening for people wanting to warm up or come down before the parents arrived, and even though they were one man down the set ran smoothly and they were able to prove their talents as musicians, not just another DJ set on the festival circuit. Though I will say, please, when shirtless, stand side on. The shadow under the man-boobs is not the best final vision for the night.

When the Silverchair-loving members of our party arrived back to the car all they could utter was “Fuck. Fuuuuuck, fuck that was good” and “I think I’ve lost my voice. Ah fuck it’s for Silverchair, so it’s worth it right?” Every voice and hour of memory lost and splotch of sunburn earnt it seems was worth it and apart from the OD kids in the ambulance everyone had a pretty swell day of it all, and we’d quite appreciate its return next year if you please.

Vampire Weekend

Ralph Lauren has some serious thanking to do to the men of VAMPIRE WEEKEND. Bursting into the world in late 2007, the preppy and pleasant stylings of the four gentlemen made everyone want a piece of their delectable sound and style – one that’s built for consumption – and suddenly happily rethink the polo. Fresh from Columbia and straight from the uppers of New York, Ezra Koenig, Chris Thomson, Chris Baio and Rostam Batmanglij unashamedly embraced a label that was certain to be thrust upon them come debut album time. The clip for Mansard Roof is the epitome of the critics’ argument; it takes place on a sail boat, the men all loafered and cottoned up. Skip to late 2009 and to the image of the undiscernible woman we just couldn’t stop seeing everywhere, wearing the polo and staring into the camera. It was almost like their very own Rorschach test to prepare us all for the sophomore album Contra; the image worked brilliantly at getting our curiosity flowing once again and the album reached the number one chart spot in no time.

Vampire Weekend has always been a band of clashing maximums. Almost everything that could be put in would be, and the filled to the brim style is one they conquered like few others. It’s in this mix of Afro, Soweto, pop, punk, weekends in the fields music, that comes the divide of lovers and haters. When talking to drummer Chris Thomson, he claims “we came to age with Napster and the internet. We weren’t bound by our parents’ records or what was on television. That allowed us to go deeper into music and explore all kinds. And in saying that, I think that as a band we really do. We never say ‘we know what we like’ and that’s that; we look at things and find what we like and are always wanting to explore things that we haven’t before. I can understand why people wouldn’t like that, people enjoy predictability especially in music, but I look at it and think there’s something for everyone in what we make.”

On the eve of their latest Australian tour, Thomson sounds a little worse for wear. He quickly admits “we’ve been playing a lot of shows, yeah; we’ve been on the road since the start of January. But, when we started as a band this was the goal. The basis of touring is that you want to play music for people, and for me it’s really fun.” When I ask if there’s been a break since their inception he says “not really. A few little ones here and there but they generally get filled with other projects [like Koenig’s Discovery and Batmanglij’s collaboration with The Very Best] but we don’t want to take extended breaks and a lot of time out. We’re really happy with where we’re at and we’ve done a lot of work to get here, so we’re just enjoying the ride. We’re especially looking forward to this tour. We love Australia so much anyway, the crowds are always amazing to us, but we get to go to a lot of different places, like Townsville.” After a long pause he continues. “Is it a town or a village?”

Compared with the process of the first album, which took place after working their day jobs, recorded in apartments, studios and basements around the city, the making of Contra was one that brought a lot of new processes to the table for the band. Now with their full time job being in the band, there was, Thomson concedes, a lot more time for testing. “We had 80% of the first album recorded before people started paying attention which was a real luxury, because we didn’t have to worry too much. We’d already done what we had wanted to, but with Contra it was really a mental thing. We knew, yeah, okay there’s an audience and there are existing fans, but we also knew we just had to trust ourselves. There’s some expectation, but it was just getting over the mental aspect of that and learning how to trust ourselves and our instincts, and knowing that we could please people again.”

Solely produced by Rostam Batmanglij, Contra plunges tenfold into the mixed sound delivered on the band’s debut, and adds all sorts of subtle differences to be found only after several listens, and even then several more. It’s a little bit hyperactive in parts, with Cousins pumping you up, up and away and Taxi Cab bringing you wistfully down. “On the last album there was one very constant thing, and that was that drums were always playing. Not having such a predominance on Contra made it really interesting. We were really conscious of wanting to do something else and not repeat what we had already done, but happily build on that,” says Thomson. “And even though I am the drummer I think songs like I Think Ur a Contra would probably sound worse with drums,” he says with a laugh. “But because of it being so heavily constructed in the studio and a lot more electronic, it came time to go on tour with songs like Diplomat’s Son and we were like, ‘okay, how do we perform this?’”

The thing I didn’t realise about Vampire Weekend is just how aware they are of their labels. The preppy Columbia grads, Paul Simon’s bastard children, the clean collared music for East Coast teenagers. But from more and more listens Contra delicately unfolds its intricacies and shameless addictions to pop. “I think on Contra you can tell that there were people in the band listening to a lot of Madonna’s older stuff,” Thomson laughs. “Our main ideal is to have all our future albums sound fresh and show they exist now, in whatever time they are, and whatever influences we have or wherever we feel they belong and in being the band we are that defies a lot of genres.”

You’d be mad not to catch Vampire Weekend as part of the amazing Groovin’ The Moo lineup, held at the UC on Sunday May 9. Tickets through Moshtix.

Goldfrapp - Head First [Mute]

Will Gregory and Alison Goldfrapp have been in the dress up cupboard again, and this time they’ve come out wearing, well, basically head to toe Elton John outfits, with a guest appearance of Olivia Newton John and potential ex boyfriends sprinkled on the side.

Their fifth offering to the masses, Head First, is one of sweeping synths and unaffected disco, the type that makes people like me wish the attempted revival had had a more successful comeback of late, but, there are elements of boredom to it.

The problem is Goldfrapp do what they do well, better than most of their counterparts in fact, it’s just, that’s all they do. It’s a tried and tested formula that works brilliantly, and that’s why Head First is such a confusing album.

Revealing the standout single Rocket too soon, the album’s sleek and shine swallows up its potential to blow you away, as the score for the Lennon biopic Nowhere Boy did. The other exception to this is Shiny and Warm that commands listening and makes you feel a little bit cooler than you were four minutes before.

They’re a band of subtleties, and Head First is full of them, but there’s no moment of even the slightest explosion, which leaves this album in the predicament that Seventh Tree suffered, sitting next to their others in a catalogue, and not being raved about like it could have been.

Zulya Kamalova

Out in the sticks of the remote Northern Territory is an unlikely place to find a brass-playing, Tatar-singing, blonde haired Russian immigrant (you’d think). But, when I get through to ZULYA KAMALOVA, that’s exactly where she is. This well established songbird is “seeing some of the most wonderful sights in Australia” and embarking on her most extensive nationwide tour to date (a whopping 29 dates in total) on the back of her latest album release, Tales of Subliming.

For those unfamiliar with Kamalova’s work, her background is extensive. Coming to Australia at the age of 21, she decided to set up camp and never leave. “Things were very hard [in Russia] in the early ‘90s and I don’t think there was space for me,” she recalls. “I came to Australia and people were always so open and interested.” With a strong and ever-growing fanbase and her latest album being met with rave reviews, now more than ever, she’s firmly rooted.

Growing up in Communist Russia, Zulya and her Turkish descendants would always play music and she adds “it was a normal thing to sing and play the accordion. We grew up with the one songbook we would all learn from and pass around.” Zulya admits that her heritage runs stronger than just singing in her native tongues too. “There are some songs that sound like the Red Army Choir, and there is my constant love of accordion and brass. Those sounds are a strong part of music for me.”

When it came time to follow up 2007’s ARIA Award-winning 3 Nights, Zulya continued to look to her childhood for inspiration. “Every album has a theme,” she says earnestly. Though the colourful tales of Disney are a far cry from the original morals learned through the likes of Red Riding Hood and Snow White, in the depths of translation, a peek into one singer’s retrospective of childhood was born, and so Tales of Subliming came to be. “There’s a symbolism in fairytales that I don’t think we are able to grasp the first time. The original tales are about being human, and that journey, and the relationships you might make along the way. I was really interested in the female characters; they are not maidens, but strong and determined, even when lost.”

When I ask Zulya about her unbreakable Russian tie, and why she has not followed the path of many other singers in similar situations (think Regina Spektor) she admits “it definitely affects who I am and how I perform. If I stayed, I don’t know if it would have happened for me at all. To be Russian and have my own roots and now look at life from a different angle is what made me find the type of music I am now making. Each person looks at things differently, and my angle is the philosophical one.”

Zulya and the Children of the Underground are playing at the Street Theatre on Sunday April 18. Tickets from the venue’s website – www.thestreet.org.au.

Assassins 88

It’s no secret that the local music scene has been a bit of a mess of late. What with the review of noise restrictions (think Transit Bar and the constant complaints the Front suffers) and the closure of some truly great venues in the last couple of years, the Canberra scene seems to be losing its touch. While more and more people are opening up their grungy inner north share houses to provide ample venues, more and more bands are putting up their hands to play. And while there tends to be a lot of hit and miss with this, the remarkable thing about it is how willingly everyone is pulling together to make sure it happens, like a rebellion to the larger cities that are always dissing on Canberra as the town that nothing ever happens in.

And so on the morning of print deadline, running hours behind and showing no organisational skills whatsoever, I’m stopped in my tracks and completely bowled over by a band we’ve all been hearing quite a bit about of late, and the approach they’re taking to the less than ideal conditions local bands are currently facing.

ASSASSINS 88 – made up of Timothy Guthrie and Lachlan Thomas – the self-described “drum and bass combo that plays noise-pop/punk” are doing it any old way they can. Their CV boasts appearances at more houses around Canberra than thought possible, performances in the street, The Front, Phoenix Bar and a slot at last year’s TINA (This Is Not Art) Festival in Newcastle. But now, when times are tighter than ever to find a venue, there seems to be a certain flourish in their method of making it happen.

The release of their 2009 debut Go Go Second Chance Virgin saw a whole lot of wider attention focussed on the duo (who met back in high school and finally decided it was time to put their heads together) with praise such as “matching the simplicity of ‘60s pop with the rawness of punk rock, all condensed into lo-fi fuzz… the album’s tracks are no-brainer epics that lay on the melodrama and pull at the heartstrings, and plays like a house party in a John Hughes film, making the Daniel Johnston cover at its end the perfect comedown.”

As a member of the recently established Dream Damage label, Assassins are perched on the brink of something much bigger, and taking us all along with them. This month will include a gig with Brisbane’s Kitchen’s Floor, and later this week, a slot with Adelaide band, The Touch. But as things get bigger and better, there’s still a constant determination to open up the local scene to Canberrans and get our eyes and ears open to new old bands that are in the same situation all over the country. This makes for something that’s pretty exciting to be around for, and gives reason to refute the claim that nothing’s ever happening here.

You can catch Assassins 88 at the Transit Bar on Thursday April 15 or at the Phoenix on Sunday April 18. Both shows are free!

The Vasco Era

Yacht Club DJs

Nudity, dancing that requires your own sweat towel, inflatable rafts and lights being pulled from the ceilings isn’t really the kind of thing you can imagine when planning a wedding. But according to Gaz, one half of YACHT CLUB DJS, this is exactly what the groom ordered. “We’re doing a mate’s wedding today,” he reveals. “It’s a bit awkward – I forgot to pack my suit so I’m wearing a Beastie Boys shirt and some ripped jeans. Hopefully we won’t upset the parents too much.”

When you ask him if it’s how he saw things happening when he was spending his time in Echuca polishing glasses he admits “I remember watching the DJs and just thinking they were the coolest guys in the world. So it’s been something I’ve wanted to do for a really long time.”

Renowned for their wild parties and leaving bars in their wake, the duo started out a little far from their current home. “Guy and I met playing in punk bands together and we were both in them for a long time,” says Gaz. “Before this really took off Guy was teaching drums and I was doing some competitions for DJing and it just reached a point where we decided we wanted to really try and go somewhere with it and get it happening.” And it seems like they did just that, with the last 18 months including support slots with Does It Offend You, Yeah?, the upcoming Groovin’ the Moo Festival, a nationwide tour and 2009’s Splendour in the Grass. “I’m forever going to be known from Splendour as the guy who slapped Mick Jones [from The Clash] in the balls. I’d had too much to drink and thought he was a sound guy and found out later what had happened.”

With the announcement of their second nationwide tour, the guys are more excited than ever about bringing their unique fix of mashing and partying to Canberra again. “Last time we played in Canberra [supporting Dappled Cities] there were a few problems with our gear and it didn’t quite work properly. But this time it’s our own and it will be quite different. It’s just way more fun to have a gig as a party – it makes us wanna throw down and have a party.”

When I ask about what we can expect, the basic idea is that there’s nothing we can certainly expect. “Sometimes we crowd surf through inflatable rafts, but if anyone wants to bring along stuff to party with, we’d love that. We’ve had people come along with a change of clothes because they know what it’s going to get like by the end of the night. But if anyone wants to bring along some beach balls we’d love that. Just so long as the bar won’t kick us out,” he says with a laugh.

After hearing all I have, makes me really want to know how that wedding turned out.

Catch Yacht Club DJs at Transit Bar on Thursday March 25. Free entry!

Kid Sam

Talking to Kieran Ryan isn’t the easiest thing to do. As he and cousin Kishore embark on their nationwide tour (“and our first as headliners,” Kieran proudly quips) the Melbourne-based duo are busier than ever. When I manage to find some time he sounds, as my Mum would say, run off his feet. “Yeah, it’s been pretty hectic lately, but it’s been really good,” he agrees. “The last six months in particular have just been huge for us. We’ve been doing it for a few years but up until last year we’d never even played outside of Melbourne. It was only after we made the album that our stuff got picked up and started to get played on the radio and we started doing tours around the place.”

The release of their self-titled debut suddenly found a lot of attention and praise being sent their way. The rolling drums of Kishore are met perfectly with the gentle lilt of Kieran’s voice, and tracks like A Landslide Coming Down were instant hits for the radio. Before heading into the studio, Kieran had been working his way around Australia, while Kishore worked on other projects (Seagull, Where Were You At Lunch) and it wasn’t until Kieran’s return that KID SAM really started to exist.

“As kids we didn’t really see each other that much growing up. We lived nine hours apart and only saw each other once or twice a year. We only had a couple of jams together growing up but I was living in Melbourne and doing music things and when he moved to Melbourne I just asked him to work with me and here we are. We were just playing a lot of little gigs and eventually we decided we should do an album, even if it was just for ourselves,” Kieran says. “We were making it with all of our own money, really just to make it. But then after making it we didn’t really want to look at it. You become so involved with making an album and there’s so much thought and work that goes into it that it becomes really difficult to remove yourself from that. After making it I just didn’t want to look at it, you know? I was happy for it to lie around for a while.”

But looking to the end of the stint, Kieran says with slight relief that there will be a break. “I’ve got to have surgery on my shoulder. I did it ages ago when I was a teenager. I was jumping the fence to get into a music festival actually,” he says with a laugh. “Even though there were no pass outs I managed to get one and walked all the way to the hospital. After I got it fixed up I thought I might as well go back and see the bands. It ended up being a really good show too.”

Catch Kid Sam live at the Front Gallery on Sunday March 28, along with Seagull and Deep Sea Arcade. Tickets are $15 on the door.

Yeasayer - Odd Blood [Secretly Canadian]

This particular album saw me moist lipped many an afternoon, reading through blogs and that whispered of leaked tracks and claims made by the band about how it was potentially more pop and mainstream. When it finally arrived, the only real disappointment was the
cover art. The strengths of Yeasayer as both musicians and producers are flowing abundantly on this release, doing what they do so much better than other bands vaguely in their league of world music: give it a legitimate platform, make it accessible to the masses without bastardising it, and prove their exceptional skill at fusing genres.

They have respect for what an album really is, creating a thought out entity rather than a lot of their modern day counterparts who simply treat it as singles pushed together with obligatory buffers
 in between. A few tracks are slightly amiss, but All Hours Cymbals suffered the same fate, proving their interest in creating original pieces rather than pleasing the masses. There are giant bursts of energy on ONE and even Ambling Alp, but the real art remains in the composition, and the intricacies that continue to reveal themselves on every listen.

Los Capitanes

Pavement

The Church

Vampire - Weekend Contra [Remote Control/XL]

The girl on the cover says it all, really. The epitome of Upper West Side; young, pretty, inoffensive, and wearing Ralph Lauren. Contra fits the mould she sets perfectly. An incredibly smooth transition from debut to sophmore, it’s like they’ve minded their p’s and q’s, and ensured as not to offend anyone along the way, keeping their polite, preppy reps in tact, yet still keeping you hooked for the next track.

Contra is one of the few albums of late that really sits on the fence. If you out and out hate it, there’s plenty of ammunition for your argument. White Sky is possibly the most blatant Paul Simon rip off they’ve made so far; but if you love it, there are moments like Run, which offer glimmerings of a Vampire Weekend that have graduated from Columbia and put down the encyclopedias they surely have lying around in the recording studio. It’s in its intricacies that their sound becomes more than Gossip Girl music and stands up once again, on its own. One sound is always clashing against another, Koenig’s delightfully woven lyrics hit their head against calypso, reggaeton, synth-pop, afro-pop, and all the sounds we never thought we’d hear preps embracing. Their sampling and borrowing from all genres is what separates them from the pack as thoughtful musicians, not unoriginal. It’s why their debut worked, why Discovery and The Very Best worked, and why Contra will gradually melt you and work brilliantly as well.

You, you delightful Canberrans!

WHAT: Multicultural Festival
WHEN: 5-7 February
WHERE: Garema Place and Akuna Street

Once again, the stinking hot month of February rolls around, and brings the delightful Multicultural Festival with it. This year it’s short and sweet, with three days of non-stop music, dancing, and of course, eating taking over the city and carparks once again. The opening night slot has been saved for four incredibly talented lasses; Deni Hines, Melinda Schneider, Emma Donovan and Paulini. If you’re really feeling daring, learn to belly dance or salsa the night away, with one of the free workshops on offer. For more information check out www.multiculturalfestival.com.au, as there’s bound to be something for everyone.

YOU, you scamp!

WHAT: O YEAH!
WHEN: Wed Feb
WHERE: University of Canberra

Toga parties are so last year. In 2010 the hottest date for your O Week diary is O Yeah! at UC. To celebrate the launch of UC Live, they’re hosting this totally free one day festival from 11am-3pm. Headliners are none other than Sydney delights The Paper Scissors (pictured), with support slots being filled by Cuthbert and the Nightwalkers, locals Hancock Basement and Hoodlum Shouts, and Strangeways DJs for all the dancing in between. There’ll be food, fun and sun as well - so what better way to get yourself into the academic swing than by heading to O Yeah?

Ladyhawke / The Swiss

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

I like to think we’d follow Karen O and her male compatriots anywhere, wouldn’t you? I know I sure as hell would. The YEAH YEAH YEAHS’ hard and fast burst onto the scene in the early 2000s surely left everyone panting along for more of their ferocious tunes. In the almost nine years since their formation, the leotards got brighter, the howls found some harmony, the drums were angrier and the guitars kept you hanging on for dear life. That is until earlier in the year, when the group’s latest offering, It’s Blitz!, came along and changed all of that, leaving a look of shock on our faces, but for a totally different reason.

“I really hate it when people say we made a ‘dance album’ like it’s this betrayal, or a bad thing,” says Nick Zinner, guitarist-cum-synth-player of the trio. With a slightly defensive tone he adds “all our albums are dance albums; it’s just a different type of dancing. We got together when dancing was illegal in New York, to command people to move.” And command they did. With the play-on-words name coming straight from the New York vernacular, Yeah Yeah Yeahs overhauled the stiff grunge gig-goers and turned them into a sweaty, thrashing mess.

It’s Blitz! found the band in their early thirties and in need of a change of territory. The now famous foray saw an abandonment of Zinner’s guitars and found replacements with a synth and some acoustic guitars instead. The change of direction saw a jump on the disco resurrection bandwagon, but in true Yeah Yeah Yeahs style; the record still holds their delectable originality that people flock toward and cram their iPods with.

When asked about the shift Zinner concedes “I wouldn’t say it was something I enjoyed, but it was essential. It was something that needed to happen for us to be happy with what we made. We can’t keep making the same albums,” Zinner admits frankly. “We’re not the type of people that are happy staying totally safe and producing the same albums. As musicians we always want to go somewhere else.

“Before we recorded I hadn’t even had that much to do with synths; some remixing stuff, but I bought it off eBay maybe two weeks before we went in and just decided to bring it along. In hindsight I’m glad I did.”

With Brian Chase banging on skins for hours, Zinner twisting and tinkering away, and O taking it away to play with and write melodies, the album was a fractioned process creating a more layered effect than previous albums. “We just holed up in a barn and laid the first part down. All you could see was snow, everywhere,” he recalls. “For the final takes we went just outside El Paso and did the rest in the desert. Getting the album to a point where we released it was long, but I’m really proud of what we made and it’s finally at a point where I enjoy playing those songs live.”

Making a trip to Australia for the Falls Festival and a slew of other dates around the nation, it will be the first time the trio have been together in several months. “Taking time out is something that’s really important for us, especially Karen. So she’s not always writing songs about being sad and lonely out on the road,” he laughs.

While Chase has been busy earning himself a spot as one of the top 50 drummers in the world and Zinner pursues his other project, mathcore band HeadWoundCity, O has been busy working with The Kids on the Where The Wild Things Are soundtrack. A busy year indeed.

“It’s really nice to just go our own ways and then come back together as the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. It’s not solely what identifies us. I can’t imagine what the pressures of being a lead singer are, I’m just a guitarist in a band.”

When asked the typical question of what the future holds for the band, Zinner answers simply “who knows? No one can predict those things, but in terms of making another album and where we’ll go with it, we’ll always want to do new things and take our sound somewhere else.

“If we continued to make the same records we wouldn’t even be coming to Australia or travelling the world. And I think we would have quit doing it a long time ago too. I feel incredibly lucky to be doing what I’m doing, though there’s different things that come along with being in a band for so long. It makes life interesting when people start recognising you and you’re getting shit yelled at you in the street; good and bad. It definitely makes things interesting.”

When asked if he thinks It’s Blitz! was the cause of all the slamming Zinner remarks “well, most of what they say is good, so I don’t think we pissed off too many people with the last album after all. But those are all things I stopped thinking about a long time ago.”

Yeah Yeah Yeahs are playing at the sold out Falls Festival over New Year’s and are also playing their own show at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney on Friday January 8. Tickets are available through Ticketek.

Julian Casablancas - Phrazes for the Young [RCA Records]

Not Axel Harrison

People who say that nothing ever happens in Canberra clearly aren't looking hard enough. When I'm lucky enough to speak with Sam Floyd about his upcoming play, I realise that it's happening everywhere, because people like him make it so.

At 21 years of age, Floyd boasts an impressive resume. Seasoned circus performer and teacher, part time actor, student, company director and full time writer/producer of the latest theatre offering to appear as part of the Street's Made In Canberra season, Not Axel Harrison.

Impersonating hit men, murder, crooked cops and loan sharks: it's the recipe for the perfect tale, really. "The idea came from watching many, many gangster films. I find them the most entertaining of films because the stakes are so high: life, death, integrity, honour and gaol. Everyone is out for themselves, which spawns such interesting characters and conflicts."

But then there's the matter of Floyd's distinct love of situational humour, what could be considered the spine of his work. Floyd acknowledges its presence wholeheartedly. "The defining element is the sense of humour with which it tackles the gangster genre and the way the humour doesn't undermine the tension and drama. The story and characters deliberately drift towards archetypes in some cases, but the characters are few and carefully chosen to weave a clever story and entertaining show".

The third offering from Freshly Ground in less than two years, I'm reminded of a phrase my grandmother uses about there being no rest for the wicked, and begin to form images of man bent over a laptop typing furiously for months on end.

"It's when you hit on a great premise," Floyd explains. "That's when the writing just flows. That's when it becomes easy and fun."

And as for running a theatre company as well? "Rewarding is the word, I think. The worst thing was the uphill battle starting out, gaining credibility from being unknown is a struggle, but it's getting easier. The enjoyable part is reaping the rewards of your efforts." Thankfully, co-directing with lead actor Tom Watson has eased things slightly for Floyd and helped him take on a new role. "I'm not acting in this one, for the first time in my career."

"Scriptwriting is a natural progression from performing. I prefer scriptwriting over novel writing because it's an extra level of control over what the audience sees. I don't have to worry about the reader's imagination ruining my work. Not everyone has comic timing; they might not be delivering the lines right".

Not Axel Harrison will be showing from 26 November to 5 December at the Street Theatre, tickets $17, concession $12. For bookings call 6247 1223.

The Basics

You never really know what type of response you're going to get from an artist when your interview takes place with a severe time difference. Luckily for me Kris Schroeder of THE BASICS is, while struggling with eloquence at one stage, remarkably awake considering it's not even 9am where he's calling from. "We're in London, it's week two and part of five weeks we've got over here. I've snuck out of the room to come and talk while the others are all sleeping still."

Kicking off the touring with what's set to be several months of it after the recent release of their third album, Keep Your Friends Close, Kris admits that getting from the initial point of writing the album to performing on the other side of the world was a long time in the making, taking two and a half years to reach a release point. "There have been a lot of changes with it, it started out as a different album," he says. "It was originally a lot more poppy but, like everything, it just evolved naturally into what it is now." Written in the outback of Australia, recorded in their Melbourne studio and mastered in London's Abbey Road studios, the album is certainly well travelled.

One major stop they're looking forward to making in the next year with the new album is revealed with a chuckle, "Tamworth." Like the Tamworth Country Music Festival? "Yeah!" he beams enthusiastically. "We're like the alternative to country music there. Every second year we do it and say we're never going to do it again, but this will be our fourth time there. We could never do it every year - the sheer size of it is too much as is, but our sets end up going for three hours and we're playing every day; this time we'll be doing nine shows in nine days." The Basics have the tendency to make a small mountain of fans wherever they go, with their cross-genre style and classic stage manner being a hit with people from all ends of the music spectrum. So I'm curious to know if the reaction at the nation's biggest country music festival is the same. "Well, we know all the right Creedence covers and a bit of AC/DC, so we do pretty well. But, we always walk away from there having met some new people and made some new fans, it's good fun."

Before they pack their finest flannel and head up north they're making a stop at the Trackside Festival for their second visit since its inception. At this stage I remind Kris of their last visit to the festival, and a round of Podwarz which saw the Basics fail to win the crowd. "That was rigged! I was playing Ghostbusters! There's no way we should have lost. We'll see what happens this year. Maybe I'll stand a chance?" A moment later he mumbles, "definitely rigged."

You can catch The Basics at the Trackside Festival on Saturday November 21. Tickets can still be purchased through Landspeed Records, Ticketek, Moshtix and Oztix.

The Mess Hall

It's been a slow rise to fame for Sydney duo THE MESS HALL. What started out humbly in 2001 has progressed steadily over the past eight years to see the band become one of Australia's truly great bands. On the eve of the release of their fourth studio album, Feed the Birds, I was lucky enough to speak with both Jed Kurzel and Cec Condon. The only problem with this being it often left me confused as to who said what, though the Mess Hall have never been ones to do as they're told. "Well, we were both free and thought why not. That way we can't say anything too damning about the other," they both laugh.

After winning the 2008 Australian Music Prize, the album has come at a welcome time, with a view into what life has been like since then. "That was a really amazing thing. It gave us an opportunity to do things with our sound that we hadn't been able to before." A step away from their trademark ear-smashing sound, Feed the Birds takes the road of the muddier side of things, with long rolling guitar solos and drawn out warbles for vocals. "We always have two intentions with our sound; one is that immediate noise that reaches you and the second is that more beguiling sound that uses the instruments in a totally different way. We haven't really gone towards that in the past but I'm definitely glad we did. With every album we step away from the last one, but they're always done in the same spirit - that fly by the seat of your pants manner, which isn't usually what people do."

In anticipation for the release the Mess Hall are now preparing for another long stint on the road, something they say they're not new to; that side to life holding its own appeal for them anyway. "Its nice knowing that once you've recorded you don't have to do that again for a while and then you can go out and play all your new live songs, and when they start to get old, you can always return home and do it all over or do something totally different." For the Mess Hall, the formula of touring and returning home to start work on an upcoming album shortly after seems to be a winning one, with the band rarely taking an extended break. "We've never been good at writing on the road. Music has a totally different meaning when you're travelling, you can staple it to places and things that happen and stamp it with memories, but it's when we're back at home and settled that things seem to flow naturally."

Including Trackside in their schedule, they both enthuse "festivals are good because not everyone's there to see you, but that challenge of winning over the crowd is great! It's something we always look forward to."

Catch the Mess Hall at the Trackside Festival at Thoroughbred Park on Saturday November 21. Tickets through Ticketek, Moshtix and Oztix.

Philadelphia Grand Jury

You've got to question a band that after one LP compares themselves to greats like Sly and the Family Stone, but it seems PHILADELPHIA GRAND JURY frontman Berkfinger thinks it's where they're headed. "We're feeling ready for everything that might come our way," he says from the backseat of a cab. "This album [their debut, Hope is for Hopers] is just the first step in a big plan that we've got. I think we'll hole ourselves up like Sly did with the next and see what comes from it." With such certainty and conviction, they're a band that's almost impossible to go unnoticed.

The humble beginnings of the duo are pretty legendary, really. Berkfinger was playing a solo gig when, after years of not seeing each other, one old friend (aka MC Bad Genius, the other half of PGJ) wandered on and started playing along. Since then the band have smashed airwaves with their monster hit Going to the Casino and created what's sure to be a sensation, Hope is for Hopers. "I wrote that song [Going to the Casino] about four years ago actually," Berkfinger explains. "Then I came back to it one day and it's ended up being huge for us. Some of the songs are so old and others are really new. None of the stuff on the album matches up, but it makes a fun mess."

Spending his days as an engineer at Sydney's Big Jesus Burger Studio and all night working on the record, you'd think the process would be a relatively pain-free one but Berkfinger admits it was the exact opposite. "Making it drove us crazy for a while," he says. "I thought I'd know exactly what to do with it, but I just wanted to change it all the time. Most of this album ended up being recorded at my grandparents, actually. There's a loft above the garage and over time I turned it into a little studio and have recorded so much stuff there, but I think I'm starting to drive them crazy."

Visits to grandparents are likely to be few and far between as the lads kick off a nationwide tour, with Berkfinger admitting "we're always on planes or in taxis zooming around the country. But it's good you know, we've put in a lot of work to get here and it's crazy and there's not much sleep but it's a lot of fun and it's always exciting. We've reached the point where we can look out into the audience and it's not just our friends." At this point Berkfinger laughs and concedes "MC Bad Genius gets pretty excited and has been known to hurt a few audience members in the past, so Canberra should watch out." By this time his certainty extends to knowing there's a plane to catch and a gig to play that night, aspirations of musical greatness still to chase, and no signs of slowing down anywhere in sight.

Philadelphia Grand Jury will make a stop in the capital for a free show at Transit Bar on Thursday October 29. Get there early!

Way No Way - Way No Way

Could this be the voice of the angels when they come to take you ? If so, I'm ready to go right now!  The fancy title is a pseudonym for Angela Little, who's siren's call would lure any sailor onto the rocks.  Simple yet alluring keyboard melodies feature in all songs, trickling down to create a wraithlike atmosphere.  These are punctuated for dramatic effect by a screaming guitar in Leave a Light On and by a raging fiddle in Greedy. Her voice weaves a wide range of emotions: passion, hope, wonder, doubt and even a chillingly vengeful tone, positively dripping with revenge. I was blown away by the sheer beauty of this EP. 

The Taming of the Shrew

When it comes to tales of love and woe, Shakespeare is the master of them all. From vague high school memories I have of The Taming of the Shrew, there were several structural problems: the first being no clear definition of love, and for any woman with a strain of feminism, the play can come off an abomination. "It's definitely a difficult play," concedes Lotte St. Claire, who has stepped up to fill the boots of the shrew herself, Kate. "It's difficult as a woman being in that play."

If there's one theatre company likely to take Shakespeare's misogyny and turn it on its head it's the Bell Shakespeare Company, and with seasoned director Marion Potts behind the wheel, it's sure to be an interesting ride. An all female cast and the setting of a gentlemen's club is just the beginning, with the story set for a complete transformation as well. "By having an all female cast, it meant that the audience could see past the misogyny and judge characters on their actions, not necessarily their gender," says St. Claire. "Bianca (Kate's sister) is happy to play the game, whereas Kate is defiant of that throughout the entire play, and in the setting Marion's created, the audience can see that come to life really effectively".

"This is a play about the mistreatment of women, but, it's also about the relationships between men and women. The relationship between Petruchio and Kate is quite different to what a lot of people think it to be," says St. Claire. "He is a radical, but he gives her the opportunity to change, and I think that's what she wants. It's only when she marries Petruchio that she decides to stop banging her head against a wall and enjoy her life and find some happiness."

When Shakespeare is involved, there are always set to be unexpected twists. The tragedy that you think to be the tragedy is in fact not the real tragedy at all and there's always a hint of irony. "What few people ever saw was that Kate is the antagonist to the end, but Bianca has become the shrew," argues St. Claire.

"Marriage has made Bianca a shrew, but freed Kate and made her a compassionate wife and person overall. I definitely think there's a lot of misunderstanding surrounding The Taming of the Shrew."

The optimism and belief which St Claire has for the production could make even the biggest sceptic run for the ticket booth. Heading out on a national tour, the ladies of Bell Shakespeare are certain to tame audiences around the country.

Bell Shakespeare presents The Taming of the Shrew, directed by Marion Potts. Tuesday 6 to Saturday 17 October. Tix $30 - $60. To book call 6275 2700 or head to www.canberratheatre.org.au

Pumice

While some careers commence with hopes of superstardom and fame, others, like that of New Zealand legends PUMICE, begin more humbly. "When I was 16 my friend Sugar Jon could play guitar and had an amp, so we borrowed his neighbour's drum kit and presto! I became a musician," says Stefan Neville, the longest serving and currently only member of the band. He hails from Hamilton and after years on the road this Kiwi is finally heading Canberra's way. "I swallowed that whole punk anyone-can-do-it thing from about 12 years old," he says. "I had a good gang of friends and we formed new bands every week that were based on some brilliant idiotic idea... Pumice was just one of those bands."

18 years later, Neville continues to forge ahead. His original blend of uncomplicated, experimental folk, mixed with lo-fi recordings has lead him across the Tasman to take part in TINA's Sound Summit Festival, held over the first weekend in October in Newcastle. Neville will also be a guest panellist on the "Lo-fi in a digital era" discussion. "I don't even know what lo-fi is," Neville exclaims. "If it's about fidelity it seems irrelevant to making good music. If it's about an aesthetic then that seems irrelevant to making good music too. The 'lo-fi' label reeks of smug patronising industry people implying it's wrong or weird to do things like overdub intercom static onto a folk song, but to me that's part of making good music. I like being able to record at home, in my own space, in my own way. To try things out on your own terms and not have to pay for the privilege. Make a good record - I don't care how you do it."

With over 40 recordings to their name since their 1991 formation, the band has gone from duo, to trio, to quintet and now in its current state of solo act. "Pumice has felt old recently, it needs a rest," Neville contemplates. "I don't even have a home a lot of the time and my stuff is in storage. There's a suitcase full of cassettes and boxes of quarter inch tape reels and another suitcase of CD-Rs." Though, having said that, Neville admits that the years of performing in a multitude of environments have led to new experiences. "I have a newfound indifference to playing," he says. "It's not that it's not important; it's just that it's not everything. I set up and play and do my best and if things go wrong I'm not devastated. If they go well I don't think I'm all cool either. It's led to a more reckless approach too, which brings greater surprises. I'm still constantly surprised with how far I've come with it. This is the first time I've ever had my flight costs covered by someone else and the first time I will stay in a hotel as part of my fee... It's pretty flash. I'm not going to get used to it."

Pumice will play at the Front Café and Gallery in Lyneham on Friday October 9.

Kid Kenobi

The word veteran is not one to be used lightly on the music scene, but when it comes to KID KENOBI few other titles seem to fit. On the dance scene for well over a decade, Kenobi's rise to fame has been a long journey. "It's only been in the last couple of years that I've started thinking of it as my profession," he concedes. "When I started I wasn't filled with aspirations, it was just solely for the love of it and I guess that's never changed, so it took a while for me to realise the situation had."

With a long running collaboration with Ministry of Sound, and the unforgettable shows with MC Shureshock that have covered the nation several times over, it seems Kenobi is never one to tire from the scene. "A lot of my friends don't go out anymore," he laughs. "But even when the scene changes, it's still the same. The faces and the music change, but that essence that people chase, that always remains the same; that's why people go out and that's why I play. There's been this influx of DJs in the last couple of years and some of them are coming from an angle of just wanting to be famous or impress their friends; and it's not about the music or the crowd, it's about them and just playing chart music to get a crowd. But, if they're just waiting for the next song and they don't know where they're coming from, how will they know where they're going?"

With all the wisdom of the industry, Kenobi has no intention of resting on his laurels. Recently starting his own label, Klub Kids, Kenobi is turning to a completely new side of the world he's known for so long. "In your own career you can forget where you come from and how hard it can be to get there," he says. "I'm finally in a position to start using that and start helping people. Discovering new artists and seeing this blossoming talent and being in a position to push that and foster it is just amazing. I'm not into elitism or criticising; it's just good to be in a position where I can be positive about what I promote."

With Klub Kids coming to fruition, Kenobi is busier than ever. "I always wanted to do something more than be a DJ," he reveals. "This is starting all over again; it's awful, but in a really nice way. I thought it would be pretty straightforward and easy, but of course it's totally different. I feel like I haven't stopped moving in months." As the background noise is filled with the beeps of a supermarket, I see what he means. "It doesn't mean I won't still be playing though, I love it so much and playing at Parliament House is always great. You grow up watching it on the news but you never expect to play there."

Katch Kid Kenobi (ooh, too many Ks...) at Old Parliament House on Sunday.

Kristy Apps

The first real contact I have with acoustic singer KRISTY APPS is an apology left on my voicemail, saying that she slept through our scheduled interview and sounding gravelly to say the least. My assumptions jump to late night gigs and too much celebrating, despite her citing a late night at work as the real reason. When we finally speak to each other later in the day, I'm pretty taken aback to learn that next to soulfully strumming guitars and writing heartstripping lyrics is her part-time reality of semi-trailer trucks.

"At the moment I'm at a warehouse, packing them up before they head out. It's really long hours but there's a light at the end of the tunnel and this job is filling up my soul for things I want to do. It's kind of nice having something mindless because I can put all of my energy into what I'm doing musically," she reveals.

As an established artist, Apps returns with her third album, entitled Pour Me Out, but has taken a completely different route to the one she's previously trodden. "I didn't want to so much change my sound, but I definitely wanted to change the way I went about delivering the music," she says. Heading into the studio and teaming up with producer Anthony Lycenko to collaborate on the album was something she'd never done before. "In the past it had just been me and my guitar, going in and laying down what I wanted and that was it. This was a lot more collaborative though. I went in really excited, having someone else's directions and ideas that they had for where the album could go."

Collaborating with other musicians she'd never met meant she could "work out what was best for each song. I think sometimes being in a band for years can make you think 'this is how the song goes' and develop habits with your music, which is something I don't want to do. This way they were built up from their bones, doing it in bits and pieces, and it's now a finished thing that's real," she says. After solidly plugging away at the scene, it seems the recognition is finally coming home. Be Patient, one of the released tracks from the album, recently found itself in the top ten Q Song nominations, which is quite a feat considering the 1500 entries. The product is a truly beautiful piece of Australian guitar playing and soulful vocals, something that sheds the layers of Apps and exposes such intense, honest harmony to your ears. "I definitely lay it all on the line; songwriting is my way through everything. It's so personal when I'm lost in it but I never walk away and feel like I've left too  much of myself up there on the stage."

And sadly, just like that, as most people are leaving work for the day, the truckie industry begins and it's time to farewell this
multitalented woman.

Kristy will play at Phoenix in Civic on Saturday September 5.

The Beautiful Girls

Within the first two minutes of my interview with THE BEAUTIFUL GIRLS frontman Mat McHugh I realise I've got some fast thinking to do. Because I'm not really talking to a musician who's interested in promoting an upcoming album or an appearance at Victoria's first Blueprint Festival; I'm talking to someone who wants to talk music, of any kind, preferably other people's. Over the course of our 20 minutes together I count mention of 17 artists. The interview I thought would be pretty straightforward has taken an unexpected turn, but then, the Beautiful Girls have never been stock standard.

From the minute they hit the scene in 2002 it's been clear that things were to be done in a way that they wanted. "When we started we kind of thought, let's be like B.B King or Willie Nelson and just hit the road," McHugh says. "We never wanted to look for a big label or get on MTV." And indeed the last seven years have been primarily dedicated to traversing the globe, several times over. But when McHugh had a motorbike accident and was sent home to rest, the band saw a drastic change in the way things were done. "It's really easy to write on the road, there's inspiration at your fingertips. The upcoming album is so different partly because of the way it ended up being written. I made a routine for myself every day and kind of just holed myself up the way other guys like Nick Cave had."

With extra time and a natural curiosity, McHugh began listening to more and more music from genres he'd never really thought much about; something which is reflected in the upcoming album. "A lot of that really early punk music has that same kind of feel to it that early jazz does," he muses. "I like hearing a record and it sounding like they had no choice. When it's just the truth being put to music, it's good. As soon as it becomes a movement it becomes about money and punk was a victim to that just like jazz was."

For someone so softly spoken on stage, I'm taken aback by how concise his thoughts on the matter are when confronted with the reality that it could happen to them. "If it came down to compromising music for something I didn't believe in, I'd rather go and bake bread than build a brand and create a product," McHugh feels. "Whether it's through fame or notoriety I'll be making music until my last breath because I feel like it's given me something and I've got a debt to repay. That's what it's about for me. To be honest, I can't see myself doing anything else for the rest of my life." And who knows, if the music library continues to extend, perhaps the next release could even hold some hip hop or Wagner reworked.

The Beautiful Girls are part of a stellar lineup of bands playing at the Blueprint Festival in Ararat, VIC over the weekend of Friday September 18 to Monday September 21. For ticket info, check out www.blueprintfestival.com.

Modest Mouse - No One’s First and You’re Next

A captured midpoint between the 2004 and 2007 releases, No One's First and You're Next takes inspiration from moments before during and after, but sets you down at a completely different destination to what is expected. Unlike most EPs of unreleased tracks, it holds itself independently from its parental albums, rather than just a tide over until the next full length. One for the die hards, this is a beautiful showcase of Brock's great questionings, rather than his demand-and-answer warblings. For a band that receives so much mainstream attention, this album cements the reality that the path they're treading is completely their own.

Dallas Frasca

From the spotlights of operatic stages to slide guitars and roots rock, it doesn't seem like there could be much of a link. Travelling from the glorious world that belonged to Dame Nellie Melba, face of the $100 note, to country Victoria, you'll find DALLAS FRASCA, a descendant of the Australian great; the red-dreaded woman whose face has been fast tracking itself around the globe.

Growing up with "music always in the house," it's strange that Frasca's vocal chords only began to bloom at 18, when discovered at a friend's party. However her late start almost ended after she developed nodules and was forced to lay off, deciding to learn guitar instead. "Because I couldn't sing for so long and really had to start listening to things, it's made me a better musician," Frasca feels. This connection of the two has culminated beautifully on her debut album Not for Love or Money. "With the album there's a real emphasis on positive outcomes. I spent a lot of time on lyrics and listening to great songs and found elements we loved and pulled them apart. It was basically written to have an empowering impact on the listener. But they're songs about things we can all relate to."

The album also reflects closely on the truths and beliefs of Frasca's life. The song I Like You Better When You're Straight tells forthrightly her dislike for people who are something they're not. In Strong Man it's clear what Frasca is on about. "Yeah, I fell in love big time and that song is the product of meeting him," she admits. Then there are tracks like Loaded Silence that haunt your ears about tales of injustice that happen in this country. "You know, it's kind of something I've fallen into over the last 12 months. If I was a total activist every song would be about that. But it's really important things that we're talking about and if we all get together it can make a difference."

With recent tours in France and plans for a world tour later next year, you'd think Frasca would be starting to ease into her role of frontwoman, it perhaps running in her blood; but every time I ask questions about her, I'm met with responses of "we." It's clear that the woman from Wangaratta is not letting it go to her head, and is humbled by the experiences being thrown her way. "Music is a wonderful job to be in... you get to travel and meet all of these great people," she says. "In France I got to meet B. B. King! The guy's 83 and still does 200 shows a year! So I'm standing outside his door shaking and waiting; when I finally got to walk in it was just amazing. Oh, you should see the photo I got with him - I look like such an idiot!"

Dallas, supported by Kim Churchill and Marji Curran Trio, will play the ANU Bar on Friday September 11. Tickets through Ticketek.

Various Artists - Leave Them All Behind III

I'm not going to lie; it's pretty bland. It's awash with the disco sounds that are set to make a glorious comeback in the coming year, but, from one of Australia's best record labels, there's nothing mind blowing. Short but sweet remixes of The Golden Silvers, MGMT and those crafty lads of Van She pick up the beat slightly, but it sounds like background music for public servants on a Friday afternoon. And the second disc is just songs we've all heard on the radio. I thought Rick James left a great enough legacy for people to know how it's done...

Hoodlum Shouts

I often wonder with musicians if there’s ever a time where you acknowledge that it might be time to leave your love for the weekends; that the break you’ve so desperately been waiting for and working towards might not come after all? Meeting with Sam and Josh Leyshon from HOODLUM SHOUTS, I get the impression that they’re likely to be producing music until the day they die and that making a big break is of inconsequential importance. The absence of striving for approval has opened the band up to produce an album of concrete certainty and definitive focus in sound rarely heard on debuts.

“This is really different to anything we’ve ever done before and all the bands we’ve ever played in. We kind of thought about what we wanted to try and it just came together pretty naturally,” explains Sam. The style and sound of their first release, Horses and Human Hands, is one the band is reluctant to define. The six track release is strongly sewn together; each track is a push further into the sound with one thing becoming strikingly clear by the end – this band is one we’re likely to be hearing a lot more from in the near future. And with their track History’s End being picked up as the Unearthed feature track on triple j, it seems people are taking notice.

Hailing from the tree-lined ‘burbs of Canberra, this four-piece has called our sleepy town home for as long as any of them care to remember. So when Sam and Josh decided to start something new, they knew where to look. “After all being on the local scene in a bunch of different bands we all knew each other, and when we decided we wanted to put something together we approached other guys that we knew, and who we knew would be interested in trying something with us.”

It seems the process has been a rather speedy one, with the band forming only 18 months ago and recording being completed in May, but Josh puts this down to a certain “focus” that was there from the beginning. “We’re not aspiring to be the next big thing and make millions, we just love playing,” he explains. “While some people are going to the coast every weekend surfing, we’re playing music. It’s just the thing we love to do with our time.”

Despite what sound your taste may swing toward, there’s no denying that this is an album to be listened to. The brooding vocals roll perfectly with commanding tones and as a whole, it fits together seamlessly. The level of thought and honesty that is produced in Horses and Human Hands is one that makes you not only want to snatch up this EP and add it to your library, but also catch the next live show and appreciate it in the flesh.

The EP launch for Horses and Human Hands is on Saturday August 15 at the Phoenix, with upcoming gigs at the Front Gallery and Café on Saturday August 29 and The Pot Belly on Friday September 4. Horses and Human Hands is available at Landspeed Records, The Front Gallery and Café and itrip iskip.

The Basics + The Boat People

Bryan Adams didn’t know anything when he wrote about nights to remember. This was it. It was totally flawless, except for when a small busload of kids from UC’s Bush Week arrived dressed like schoolkids gone so fucking wrong. Nothing like drunken ressies to make you question right and wrong in this world.

First up were The Boat People. It’s rare that a support band can actually get a crowd singing and clapping along; and while there were a few dull moments, not even talk of scalding genitals from the singer could turn the crowd away and prevent them cheering merrily between songs. Their sound is sincere; that dreamy pop that you could listen to at any time of the day, any month of the year and feel a little lighter than you did before it. And their guitarist looks like Sid from Skins. No shit. It’s safe to say The Boat People left with a lot of new fans that night.

Next up were the warmers of my heart, The Basics. These men do for rangas what supermodels do for Jack Nicholson. Somehow make him hot, but with youth on their side and much smaller stomachs.

There’s nowhere else you’d want to be when The Basics are on stage. Even though they’d only hit the road to get there four hours before and looked exhausted, by the first song it was all shed and they were performing like they’d been resting comfortably for weeks. Aside from all of their known tracks and delightful covers, the real treat was the unreleased tracks from an upcoming album. If these songs are anything to go by, the album is set to do amazing things for these guys.

Once a reputation is earned, it’s kind of hard to shake. But when The Basics are on stage, Gotye is nowhere to be seen; no spotlight thievery to be found. Their incredible love and appreciation of music, matched with their winning temperaments, means girls want to take them home to their mums and guys want to earn a new best friend. How do I compare thee to a bunch of rockabilly lads, breaking my heart at the local dance hall kind of a way? I guess I just call you The Basics and suggest that everyone sees them next time they’re in town.

Lost Valentinos

It’s funny when suddenly so much belief and ambition finally pays off; almost unbelievable, really. It’s not just bands that have it, but also fans who remember that one time they saw the band supporting and couldn’t get them out of their head, or their records anywhere. When it happens, you just have to hope for a lengthier release any day. Eager fans need wait no more because finally LOST VALENTINOS are back.

What came crashing onto our radios in 2005 with the hit Man with a Gun all but disappeared shortly after; with only whispers of their name and occasional remixes by prominent Australian artists, fans had little to go by. Now, almost three years later, and one hell of an anticipated wait later, they’re back with an even greater force and a truly stunning debut LP entitled Cities of Gold.

Taking a step away from the sounds of earlier EPs, the progression of a more cohesive sound has taken Lost Valentinos down the path of drawn out synths, dream-like vocals and sounds of a world now lost. “We incorporate a lot of things we like in our songs,” explains Nik Yiannikas, the band’s vocalist. “It’s hard to get in all the things we like and at first it seemed a little impossible, but as we’ve got more experienced it’s become possible. To be honest I don’t think we could do it any other way. Our influences are so broad and I think it makes things more interesting; we like having a lot of elements to our sound.” With backgrounds from all across the world between the five lads, it’s no wonder fusion was found drawing on these areas for inspiration.

“With this album it felt like the first time we had direction. A couple of years ago we weren’t fully aware of the situation we were in, whereas now we’ve been together for a lot longer and there’s more coherency.” The album itself is more than just 11 tracks; it’s a complete experience that extends itself also to the live show. In the past any given Lost Valentinos live show was likely to include face paint to make any raver green with envy, and if you really want to see their form, be sure to check out the Serio video clip. “I think it’s really important to think about the live shows,” Yiannikas confirms. “I think more bands should worry about it. The audience responds really well because it’s a visual thing and it becomes more than just music. It’s a lot of fun.”

And as for the hype around them? “The general perception is that Australia doesn’t have a strong musical identity but Australian artists are really coming to prominence in this scene, especially internationally.” The best thing about speaking with Yiannikas is his genuine enthusiasm he has for the future of the band. With things looking this good, fingers crossed they make it back into the studio in the near future and continue delivering their unique sound.

Lost Valentinos, with Ghostwood in tow, will play at Academy on Friday August 21. Tickets through Moshtix.

Temper Trap Conditions

The Temper Trap are clearly serious about their music and are here to stay. What makes Conditions work is the confidence that is projected in every song. The pulsating drum beats and commanding guitars create unity in every track, with a clear understanding and appreciation for each and every instrument used. This shines through brilliantly on tracks Rest and Fader and show their diversity. Dougy Mandagi's vocals glisten over every song, but it can come off as slightly repitious. There are far more hits than misses and the future is promising for this four-piece.

Regina Spektor Far

Similar to that of Begin to Hope, every song on Far is a ticket into the eyes of Regina Spektor. Her delicate exploration of moments navigates listeners through human philosophy on Blue Lips and the pleasures of memories on Dance Anthem of the '80s; the characters weave together with Spektor's ethreal voice their thread. Her diverse vocal range and dancing fingers on piano have only strengthened, and all her quirkiness remains. Using four producers along the way, the album is remarkably succint in its delivery and the sincerity is present in every song. Far is a spectacular moment in what hopes to be Regina Spektor's long career.

FourPlay

In preparation for my interview with the FOURPLAY STRING QUARTET I'm overwhelmed within about two minutes of reading the band members' bios. The first member Peter (who I am set to interview) is a writer, composer, DJ, radio host and received first class honours in Philosophy and Pure Maths. Lara founded her own record label and is fluent in four languages. Tim is an active member of the Greens here in Canberra and a part-time theatre director and Shenzo is a full time composer, involved in other musical adventures and plays with artists like Natalie Cole and Katie Noonan. And they're all classically trained musicians. I start to think they must be those people from school that you heard the names of so often in award ceremonies. Those geniuses that are really difficult to talk to, let alone understand what they're trying to convey.

The quartet's mish-mash of classical, jazz, blues and indie favourites such as The Strokes' Reptilia, means FourPlay are one of the most diverse sounding bands in Australia. They've long been building a successful following with their classical covers; playing everything from the Velvet Underground to Radiohead to the Beastie Boys, and it becoming a signature staple of their live show. "We do covers we like," reveals Peter. "Being four people of different tastes, it can be fun. As classical musicians we play other people's music anyway. A lot of it is adaptation because of the instruments we use. In some ways it's conservative, but in some ways it's quite radical. We recreate a song using the instruments we do."

With the interview being interrupted midway for Tim to organise moving house, it's clear the quartet are always on the move. This is perhaps why Fourthcoming has taken three years to reach the shelves. "It was all recorded in a really short time in 2006, but it just took a long time to record and release because we've been so busy with other things," Peter admits. "We're a live band and we wanted to capture that." Which is why when it came time to recording Canberra's own Street Theatre was chosen.

"When we're recording and thinking of songs we listen to a lot of different stuff. We all have quite different tastes," says Peter. Fourthcoming, the band's eighth release since their establishment in the early '90s, is a blend of originally composed instrumentals and vocals to some being provided by Lara. They do what few bands can and that is to create a beautiful, original take on a classic - that is Leonard Cohen's Famous Blue Raincoat. Rudd-a-dub-dub was composed on the day of Kevin Rudd's ascendance in the Labor Party. The album is a true reflection of the quartet's different loves and interests and brings unity to the listener.

I get a little startled when I realise that the quartet are completely opposite to what I thought they will be. They're down to earth people with a lot of interests, but one big thing in common which is music. And really, isn't that the universal common theme between most people?

The FourPlay String Quartet will be in town for two shows at the Street Theatre on Friday July 17 and Saturday July 18. Tickets through the The Street Theatre's website.

Little Birdy / Oh Mercy ANU Bar Thursday May 14

It was Thursday evening and I’d somehow double booked myself. The first plan was dinner with friends, the other attending Little Birdy. I smugly thought that dinner was the safe bet because of several Canberra shows cancelled in the past by the band. My smugness was shoved down my sweater when they not only played, but played one of their most varied sets ever. 
The Sydney warm up act, Oh Mercy, proved why they’ve been gaining notice in the last 12 months; with the sweetness of their songs winning over the crowd and getting everyone in the mood to hear from one of Australia’s great crooners. 

Little Birdy’s set started beautifully when Katy Steele entered the stage solo, singing Brother acoustically, and being joined midway by the other band members to make the melody what it really is. Steele’s temporary solo career seems to have given her the greater confidence she needed, and finally she appeared truly comfortable onstage. But after hyping the crowd so well, the set immediately dropped. There were countless songs from previous albums bunched together, making it feel like the band were simply playing them to get the crowd onside and the songs out of the way. What’s meant to be enjoyable felt like four people with too much professionalism and no sincerity. Songs such as Confetti and Hairdo were lost to poor sound quality; and where Steele’s voice should have powered, it simply hid behind the music. The attempts at making a stripped back ‘60s feel to the songs fell by the wayside, which was a pity because recorded, the tracks are some of their best.

Thankfully it began to pick up again when the crowd was treated to the original version of the old classic, Beautiful; with just a loop, a guitar and Katy Steele. The Split Enz cover of Six Months in a Leaky Boat got everyone clapping along, and by the time the encore rolled around everyone seemed to have heard at least one of their favourites; be it old, new or cover. When attending a Little Birdy gig, there is always certainty in one thing; that they will play incredibly well. It may not be particularly personal or even the most entertaining of gigs, but they’re not an antics band and it makes for money well spent.

Passion Pit Manners

I guess this is what happens when you get labelled as a hype band and sign with a major; the tracks that created the hype in the first place stick out like a sore thumb, while the rest of the album is just whatever comes out first. Manners’ biggest problem as an album is it’s easy to listen to and easy to forget straight after. Angelakos’ unique voice is so washed over not even standout tracks like Moth’s Wings and Sleepyhead can even out the inconsistencies, making even the biggest fans wonder if Chunk of Change ever really happened. Its potential for brilliance settles at boring, with the only lasting impact being the wondering of what this album could have been.

The Devoted Few

6There’s often a lot of vague confusion when you mention THE DEVOTED FEW. The name is familiar, you’re sure you’ve heard at least one of their songs on the radio but you’re just not sure which one... It’s hard to keep up because there are always so many new kids on the block. Occasionally there are standouts from the crowd that hit the big time quickly, but then there are the bands who plug away on the Australian airwaves for years, slowly revealing their lasting talent.

The Devoted Few are no newcomers to the game. With four years since their last album release, Baby, You’re a Vampire is the latest offering, with most songs from the album being written while frontman Ben Fletcher was on tour with another lovely Australian artist, Sarah Blasko. “There’s a lot of waiting around when you’re on tour and a lot of instruments around so it just happened over time,” explains Fletcher.

In 2005 the band firmly cemented themselves on the scene with the release of their hit Sleep Less on the Schematic Tracks EP, with other Australian artists remixing their tracks. The band took a different route with this album from previous releases and decided to produce independently. The results are clear with Baby... confirming the sextuplet’s talent, brimming with brooding lyrics and melodies to drown your ears with delicate intricacies. “We wanted to own the album because we’d seen a bunch of other bands do the same thing and it seemed to be really productive,” Fletcher reveals. “Because we owned it we could do whatever we wanted with it and take as long as we liked. It made for a better product because we were happy.”

“There’s less and less opportunity for a band to just release an album and expect sales,” Fletcher concedes. “Having the radio play we did with the last album and even this one has helped a lot with touring. If you don’t have triple j supporting you, you’re in a lot of trouble. I’m waiting for the day that we make an album and say it’s not for them.”

And what is it like writing an album for a six-piece band? “I write and produce for the band, so it comes from one place, but it never ends up that way. [The other members] take the demos and turn them into songs. It’s very collaborative in that way.” Touring with so many people and equipment sounds as though it would require some serious negotiating. “It can be a bit cramped. Last time we were in Canberra we played at Transit Bar and the stage was pretty small... I had to play my guitar in a straight upright position the whole set just so I didn’t hit anyone.” This time they’re touring with Canadian lasses Pony Up! before settling down to prepare for a nationwide tour. Be sure to keep an ear out for an album you won’t regret listening to, and a band you’re sure to be hearing a lot more from in the future.

The ANU Bar will play host to The Devoted Few and Pony Up! on Wednesday June 17. Doors open at 8:30pm. Tickets through Ticketek.

The Grates / Children Collide / Tom Ugly

I was a little concerned the day The Grates were set to play at ANU. I was equally pissed off and pleased when my editor informed me that the gig had sold out the day before. ‘Great!’, I said. And for the trio from Brisbane it is commendable. It’s no easy feat for a band touring off the back of their second album, especially after spending so much time overseas of late. But for the person attending the sold out gig there’s always the promise of the lines for entry, the bar, and the bathroom; which is enough to make your beer stained shoes cringe. Plus you know you’ll have to go up against numerous drunken wankers who decide that even though we’re in a financial crisis their stimulus money is best spent on Patience and co.

After braving the cold and the line extending past eyesight, I was quite shocked when I got inside because, well, I’d just never seen so few pairs of skinny leg jeans. Fashion snobbery aside, one thing was for sure, everyone there was sharing the same level of anticipation for the headliners of the evening. Debutantes Tom Ugly bore the brunt of the Melbourne Bitter-loving crowd, and while they plodded comfortably enough through their set it’s clear these guys are still finding their feet when it comes to performing live.

Children Collide drew almost as much excitement from the crowd as The Grates themselves and proved with each and every song that you don’t need much more than three eager guys to make catchy songs and a whole lot of noise. If their set wasn’t just before the most beloved threesome of Australian pop-rock, the crowd would have been left sorely disappointed at their departure. 

To my knowledge The Grates have never played a bad set, and this show was no different. Miss Patience brought it all; performance, pitch and personality. Alana banged the drums with such determination your feet were forced to move along. And John smiled shyly and thanked the crowd from time to time. Opening the hour-long set with Milk Eyes, Patience showed us the vital difference between the drunk guy in the crowd screaming “Whooooooo” at the top of his lungs, and the girl on stage crooning down a microphone. She’s getting paid for it, by you, the drunken tone-deaf audience member. Don’t scream until the interval of songs and ruin it for everyone else. It didn’t take the crowd long to get their camaraderie together with even the manliest of attendees being locked in ‘look-into-my-eyes-and-sing-it-with-me’ poses with their mates, and every skirt on the floor swirling along.

Whether you were covered in sweat at the front, or twisting and tapping at the back, the fun was electric. The highlight of the night came from an encore duet between Patience and Johnny Mackay of Children Collide and also finding out that Canberrans receive an A+ for our spirit fingers. I left the gig with a grin on my face and only one concern left: the state of Patience Hodgkin’s bed and just how trampolined it’s been from all that stage practice.

Bat For Lashes - Two Suns (Parlophone Records)

To begin bluntly, Two Suns is by far the most beautifully addictive follow up album to have been produced in a long time. Bat for Lashes is the nom de plume of British singer-songwriter/all round temptress Natasha Khan. Her 2006 debut, Fur and Gold, received critical acclaim and comparisons drawn to female greats Kate Bush and PJ Harvey. In Two Suns Khan explores duality, both musically and characteristically. Synth drenched pop songs like Daniel and Pearl’s Dream (Pearl being Khan’s blonde haired alter ego) show the beating lightness to one of Khan’s halves, while The Big Sleep with Scott Walker exposes a darker and heavier side. Teaming up with New Yorkers Yeasayer for the production side of things, Two Suns builds on what Fur and Gold created, but takes the marriage of earthy folk and electronica to a new level. The album can in places feel a bit mish mash as you’re left wondering at the beginning of each track what Khan’s mood will be. However the instantaneous switches between light and dark and her appeal of part earth mother, part brooding siren is what makes Bat For Lashes such a great artist. Two Suns is the type of album that mystifies you and makes you wonder how Khan managed to create such a harmonious sound and match it with such poetic lyrics, but by track eleven it’s likely you won’t really mind how but just be thankful she did.

Little Birdy

Rewind to this time three years ago, to when all of the major music festivals for the summer had just finished, students had begun to realise it was assessment crunch time at uni, and gigs began to become fewer and far between. The only band left on the touring circuit it seemed was Perth band LITTLE BIRDY. In the 18 month period between releases of the debut album Big Big Love and its follow up Hollywood, there seemed to be nowhere to go without seeing advertising for one of their gigs. Fast forward to today and things couldn’t be more different.

It’s been three years since we’ve seen a release from the band and they’ve now returned with their third studio album Confetti. Guitarist Simon Leach explains,“There wasn’t a break between the first two albums because we wanted to go straight into it. With Confetti we didn’t take a break as a band but decided to take some personal time and it worked. We got into the studio and it was fresh. We were just hanging out and it wasn’t about the bigness of being a band it was about playing together.”

Recorded in Melbourne’s Sing Sing Studios, Confetti comes across as being a lot more personal than previous albums. The bass lines are deeper, Steele’s vocals sound naturally relaxed, the sounds of the ’60s songs that Leach says Little Birdy loves so much are all there, and the overall production has an air of minimalism to it.
“It definitely feels good,” says Leach.  “It feels different. It has a really good vibe about it when we’re playing the songs. The whole album was really instinctive. We trusted ourselves and just tried to enjoy the process.” The first two release tracks from the album Brother and Summarise have been met happily by the critics and fans and the band  is feeling confident.

After mixed reviews being received for the 2006 release Hollywood, the band has returned with a purity to the sounds fans know and love but also show their maturity. “A lot of people said that we sold out with Hollywood, but we were just making something we were happy with at the time. It was the best album we could make at the time and now we’ve made Confetti and this is the best album we could make at this time”.

The 11 track album also sees a guest appearance from Australian music legend Paul Kelly.  Playing guitar and helping Katy Steele with vocals on Brother, Leach says the experience of working with him was a great one. “For him it’s still all about the music. It’s a real, soulful thing for him. It would be great to have half of what he has when we’re that age”.

And the idea of touring and being back on the road again? “We’re actually really looking forward to it” Leach says with a laugh. “We just do what we do. We just do it day by day and hope things change for the better… going on and up.”

Little Birdy play ANU with Oh Mercy at the ANU Bar on May 14.

WORLD'S TOP DJS

WHAT: WINTER WAREHOUSE FESTIVAL
WHERE: AIS ARENA
WHEN: JUNE 7

Ever wondered what it might be like to go to a Boston club and dance to the finest DJs? Well wonder no more folks because those lovely lads and ladies at Lexington Music are bringing the Boston sound to you. Armand Van Helden, the man behind My My My, the tune everyone has heard at least several thousand times, is set to headline this year’s highly anticipated follow up to last year’s sold out Winter Warehouse Festival. This veteran of vinyl is taking a break from his current collaboration with Dizzee Rascal to come and visit us and make you dance ‘til you can’t dance no more. If you haven’t caught this year’s Winter Warehouse lineup by now you’ve surely been spending too much time under rocks, but it’s back at the AIS for another year with a bigger set up and an even more impressive lineup. It features N.A.S.A, James Zabiela, Laidback Luke and Art Vs Science to name just a few. For further info check out www.lexingtonmusic.com/warehouse. Tickets can be purchased from Landspeed Records or online.

YOU & YOUR DANCIN' SHOES

WHAT: HOUSE & AERIAL CLASSES
WHERE: GORMAN HOUSE ARTS CENTRE
WHEN: FRIDAYS, 7.30PM

The dance floors of Canberra are about to get a lot more styled if Adnane “Haryuken” Nemri has anything to do with it. Hailing from the streets of Paris this long time dance teacher has brought his moves to DNA Dance Studio and is offering classes that incorporate moves from house, break dance and aerial. This class is the most unique of its kind in Canberra scene. For those of you with no experience worry not, the classes are taught at beginner level. Lessons start in Term 2 and are held every Friday at 7.30pm – 9pm, $15 per class. It may not be Paris, but get your moves on and take it to the streets anyway. Call (02) 6247 3150 or 0418 425 799, email  info@danceaerial.com.au or check www.danceaerial.com.au for more details.