Friday, June 22, 2007

Bands 'n' Stuff: June 27th to July 3rd

Gig o' the Week

Hey Hey, It's the Basics

Too easy this week, it's the all-singing, all-dancing good clean family fun spectacular at the Athenaeum on Saturday night! We've talked about almost everyone on this bill ad nauseum, so not much more need be said, other than "tickets from Ticketmaster". Never thought I'd say that when talking about Melbourne indie music. This'll be nuts.

The Basics
with help from
Spargo
Emma Heeney and the Daves
Little Red
Tokenview
Lawrence Leung
Andrew McClelland
Oliver Clark

The Athenaeum
Saturday June 30th
8pm
$13-$22 from Ticketmaster


Wednesday June 27th

A quiet night tonight, it's raining and getting cold and, well, probably easier to just stay home really? As we settle into the depths of winter only the strong survive. A highlight is gothic post-country superstars Silver City Highway at their final residency gig at the Old Bar. Elsewhere check out Sime at the Gem or the Standard for boys and guitars. Don't know a lot the other two gigs, to be honest.

Cactus, Deserters Rosie Burgess, Son Hawk, Kid Katana
@Bar Open, 9pm, $5

Fourth Floor Collapse, The Neurotransmitters, The Glorious
@Rob Roy, 8pm, $8

A Friend of Mine, Zeros, Paper Tiger
@The Tote, 8pm, $5

Silver City Highway, The Vandas
@Old Bar, 9pm, Free

Sime Nugent
@The Gem, Free

Danny SubAudible Hum, Nedd Wellyn
@Standard, 9pm


Thursday June 28th

Warming up now for the weekend. Out of the four ‘band nights’, I like upcoming indie pop group Oh Mercy at Filla and chilled out acoustic countryites Ned and the Meds at Stop. Drop. Roll. But then there is also like Ferg at IDGAFF, he's got a lot of friends and will make more with his low key alt-country ballads, or the magnificent country tricksters, Wagons at the Retreat. Elsewhere there is post-rock at the Rob Roy, indie kids at the Tote, songs at the East, but the best gig tonight is at the NSC, a real Candle records feel.

Anthony Atkinson and the Running Mates, Small Knives, D Rogers
@NSC, 8:30pm, $10

Monique Brumby, Kerri Simpson
@Empress, 9pm

Cmon Cmon
84, From Hell, Plastic Flophouse
@The Evelyn, 8:30pm, $8

The Dirty Romantics, Tokenview, The Chemists
@Pony, 9pm

Filla
Oh Mercy, Detective Social, Pitching Woo
@Revolver, 8pm

Jigzag, Matt Walters
@East, 8:30pm, $15/$10

Fergus Silver City Highway and friends
@IDGAFF, 8:30pm, free

The Spheres, The Black Hundred, Il, Underlapper
@Rob Roy, 8pm, $8

Stop. Drop. Roll
Ned and the Meds, J Hawk
@The Glasshouse, 8:30pm, $6

Straight to the Ace, Chinook, Alesha Joy
@Gertrudes, 8:30pm

Treetops, Telecom, Chase Ego
@The Tote, 8:30pm, $8

Wagons
@Retreat, 9:30pm


Friday June 29th

If it wasn’t Friday night I’d probably go and listen to the quietish sounds at the Afterdark. Nice gigs tonight too at IDGAFF and the East, different ends of the country/folk spectrum. Lots of JJJish stuff down at the Espy, Then there’s just straight rockin' at the Rob Roy. The Gertrudes gig will be interesting if you like ambience, and Yidcore haven't played for a while so if you can find Yarraville get down there. But, really, go to the Rochie for nostalgia's sake - remember when the DJ played that song and you danced and that boy was there? Yeah, that's the place.

The Apartments, Dave Graney and Clare Moore and the Lurid Yellow Mist
@NSC, 8:30pm, $16+bf

album launch
Lou Bennett and the Sweet Cheeks, Liz Stringer
@East, 8:30pm, $12+bf

Ben Birchall, Talamere, Benji Pee, Cindy and the Cindy's
@Afterdark

Blessington, Mousetrapreplica, Tinker
@IDGAFF, 9pm, $5

Blueline Medic, Daysworth Fighting, Magentaline, Of the Night
@Gershwin Room, Espy, 9pm, free

Panic - Last Ever
@Rochester Castle, 9pm, free

Offcuts, Lady Strangelove, Tokenview, Grand Atlantic, Spoonful
@The Espy Front Bar, Free

The Paper Scissors, Sailors and Swine, Boy+Girl
@Revolver

The Resignators, Yidcore, Schadenfreude
@Commercial, Yarraville, 9pm

Silver Night Drive, Jarvis, The Fearless Vampire Killers
@Ding Dong, 7pm, $8

Sin City, The Bakelite Age, Kids in Cults, Screwtop Detonators
@Rob Roy, 8pm, $10

album launch
Underlapper, Scissors for Sparrow, Anonymeye
@Gertrudes, 8:30pm, $8


Saturday June 30th

And, out of nowhere, a huge night tonight. Celebrating the end of the financial year? Nah, just celebrating the end of smoking in pubs. Sounds fucking good to me. So, there's the gig of the week, yes. And someone's gotta watch the Saints rebound from a good win. But how about Because of Ghosts' last show for the year, at the East? (They're heading overseas.) Chris Chinchilla's launching Antescene in this town at a Brunswick warehouse, with some great young indie bands - but on the other side of Brunswick, Cloud City are blowing away the walls with a great lineup. The awesome Nation Blue are playing a headline show. Add a decent Click Click, a good night at the Espy, harmony rich The Brutals at Weekender and it gets silly. Even sillier when you see who is doing the 2am slot at Pony. And the electronic-experimental Chris Willits at North Bazaar makes it impossible to choose.

Antescene Melbourne Launch
Macaca Mulatta, The Contrast, Love Is Science Fiction, Greengreengreen
@Irene's Warehouse (5 Pitt St, Brunswick), 7:30pm, all ages, $5

last Oz 2007 show
Because of Ghosts, Extreme Wheeze, Chris Smith
@East, 8:30pm, $10+bf

Click Click
Plug In City, Lady Strangelove, Mission Control
@Brown Alley, 9pm

Cloud City Soundproofing Benefit
Ground Components, My Disco, Grey Skulls, The Focus, Naked on the Vague (NSW), Quebec, Duck Duck Chop @Cloud City (14 Prentice St, Brunswick), 6pm, all ages, $15

album launch
The Commas, Sime Nugent @NSC, 8:30pm, $10+bf

Dynamo
@Greyhound, 9pm

The Hovercrafts, The New Black, The Detours, Panel of Judges (2am)
@Pony, 9am

LABJACD, Symbiosis, Shemesh
@Front Lounge, Espy, 9pm, free

Metal Wars
Terrorust, Synthetic Breed, Realm, Paroxysm, Immersion, New Skin
@Gershwin, Espy, 8pm, $12

The Nation Blue, Sky, Kids with Guns for Hands, These Hands Could Separate the Sky, Chainsaw Girls
@Arthouse, 8pm

Weekender
The Brutals, Big Cats
@Ding Dong, 8pm, $10

Christopher Willits (US), Touch Typist
@North Bazaar, 8pm, $5


Sunday July 1st



To recover, a quiet Sunday, but with some quality gigs. Guitar singer-songwriter action at the Toff, or indie rock at Bar Open from some cane toads. But IDGAFF is where it's at, celebrating a year of good gigs and beer with a big lump of folky, bluesy kids.

album launch
Fred Astereo, Rob Clarkson
@Toff, 7pm, $10

album launch
Grand Atlantic (QLD), Son Hawk, Goo Fang
@Bar Open, 8pm

First Birthday!
Steve Lucas, Quincy McLean, Van and Cal Warner, James McCann and Jo Brockman, Dan Warner @IDGAFF, 5pm, $10


Tuesday July 3rd

Jmag Launch
Children Collide
@Ding Dong, 6pm, free


this post commented on by 5

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Listen Before You Die

You Will Die Alone, an experimental surfy grunge lofi jamster four piece, have had plenty of gigs around Melbourne the past few months, with slots at the Tote, Roxanne, and the Espy amongst other places. These gigs, playing alongside established acts such The Crayon Fields and Deloris, as well as a positive review on Mess and Noise led me to check out their debut three track EP Duets, just released on Hot Diamondz, and I have to say, it's a very promising debut.

This little gem starts off with a slow burner, You Will Die, It's the perfect late evening summer song to match the glorious pinkish setting suns on the cover art. It might be even one to drift off in the banana lounge to, if it wasn't so comprehensively interesting, with duelling layered guitars riding and crashing into the eardrums. The amps are cranked up a bit more on the next track, Predators and Villans, kicking the listener back into full consciousness with a thumping bass drum and crashing cymbals. The guitars respond with some soaring reverby hooks and solos, before calming down, picking up and launching into the searching, liberating solo journeys again. Like all the tracks on the EP, the vocals are sparse, muffled and fairly incomprehensible and with the raw production it combines to give the record a very arty indie cred. But this is just a bit of icing, for me it's the killer solos which are the balls of this record. This is confirmed with Knife Fightz, a more urgent offering, but still with a deliciously pulsating improv six string attack. If you're into pioneering 80s indie rock, or you just are dying to bring out your complex air guitar manoeuvres you should definitely buy this record.

Purchase Duets from Missing Link.

See You Will Die Alone tonight at Pony, their last gig for a while before vocalist and guitarist Ben Pellatron heads to U.S.A.

this post commented on by 0

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Bands 'n Stuff: June 20th to 26th

Lots on this week though, gotta say, I can't find me a gig of the week at this point. Thursday night - the Winter Solstice - is huge, presumably because it's the longest night of the year and we're looking to scare the dark away.

Wednesday the 20th



Guitars at the Espy? Edgy at the Arthouse? Rootsy at the Rainbow? Post at the Tote. Supporting two great radio stations at the Spanish Club is a fine way to see the back room out, if you didn't do it last week. But I'll be over the road at the Old Bar, seeing supergroup Silver City Highway continue their residency.

A Friend of Mine + The Black Hundred + Kids with Guns for Hands
@The Tote, 8pm, $5

Collage
On Like Kong + Zeptepi + Deadly Are the Naked
@Espy Front Lounge, 9pm, Free

Drugs in Vegas + Talkshow Boy + CMYK Love
@Arthouse

Andrew McCubbin and the Hope Addicts + Black Pony Express (duo)
@Retreat, 9pm, Free

Never Get Out of This World Alive: The Songs of Hank Williams
Susannah Espie + Sarah Carroll + Tracey and Loretta Miller + Mark Ferrie + Andy Baylor + Gary Young + Peter Baylor
@Rainbow, 9pm, $8

RRR/PBS Megahertz 10th Birthday
British India + The Bowerbirds
@Spanish Club, 7:30pm, $10/$15

Silver City Highway + James McCann
@Old Bar, 9pm, free

Matt Walker
@The Standard, 9pm, Free

Thursday the 21st



The longest night of the year provides choice. I like the look of the Tote gig, with a bit of variation. Don't know the headliners but Souls on Board are great, so get to the Evelyn for that. The fundraiser at Cape Cafe is your first and last chance to go there for a good gig, but it's a worthy cause. Great twee at the Glasshouse, noise at Bar Open, and experimental instrumental at the Toff. Our new faves are playing at Pony, as well. But it's the Rob Roy for me, cause I've been listening to this Raylenes album a fair bit.

The Brutals + Flywheel + The Smallgoods + Ned and the Meds
@The Tote, 8pm, $8

The Bulls + Black Widow + Twin Vickers
@Afterdark, 9pm

C'mon C'mon
The Exploders + Souls on Board + Sailors and Swine
@The Evelyn, 8:30pm, $8

Filla
Learn the Splits + Grow Fins + Clack Train + DJ Speak 'n' Spell + Commission Flats
@Revolver, $6

Hotel Wrecking City Traders + Wog + Aux Assembly + Baboon Brothers
@Bar Open, 8pm, Free

Lorazi Red + Cilla Jane
@Gertrudes, 8:30pm, $6

Mash Out Launch
Pateras/Fox + David Shea and Stephen Magnusson + DJ Oren Ambarchi + DJ Nervous Jerk
@Toff in Town, $12/$10

The Raylenes + The Bedroom Philosopher + Josh Earl
@Rob Roy, 8pm, $8

Researchers for Asylum Seekers Fundraiser
Light Says Solo + Clinkerfield + Ryal Sterling
@Cape Cafe, $10

Edinburgh Fundraiser
Sista She + Lawrence Leung + The Monkey Brigade + Polytoxic + Andy McLelland and Bec Hill + Liz Stringer + Jordie Lane + Anni Davey + Wes Snelling + Quiche Lorraine + The Tongan Youth Group + Carla Yamine
@East, 8pm, $13+bf

Stop.Drop.Roll
Seagull + It’s So Fucking Great To Be Alive + Touch Typist
@The Glasshouse

Thousand Cuts
Plug in City + Bachelor of Arts + DJ Black Night
@Ding Dong, 7pm, $7

Wagons
@Retreat, 9:30pm, free

You Will Die Alone + Batrider + Pets With Pets
@Pony, 9pm

Friday the 22nd



The ball up in Northcote will be great fun, but the Sly Hats album launch is where the real coolsies will be. Well, those who aren't at the East getting their dance on, or at the Old Bar with the kids. Old fashioned new soul at Wesleyanne, and guitars at the Tote, just for something different.

The Brutals + Royal Chord
@The Empress, 9pm

album launch
Carus and the True Believers + Greg Arnold + Hazel Brown
@Northcote Social Club, 8:30pm, $16+bf

The Double Agents
@The Spanish Club Front Bar, 10pm, free

Earl Grey (NSW) + Tom Cooney + Leena
@Wesleyanne, 8:30pm

The Go Set + Mick Thomas + The Mahones
@Prince Bandroom, 8:30pm, $15+bf

Tomorrow Is Today Tribute CD Launch
The Sand Pebbles + 3DTV (NSW) + Ash Naylor + The Love Letters (WA) + Tarantula
@The Tote, 9pm, $10

album launch
Sly Hats + Always + Francis Plagne
@The Toff, $10

The Temper Trap + Hot Little Hands + Major Chord
@East Brunswick Club, 8:30pm, $10

Tic Toc Tokyo + Et Al + Pets With Pets
@Old Bar, 9pm, $5

album launch
The Vasco Era + Whiskey Go Go’s + Little Red
@The Corner, 8:30pm, $16+bf

album launch
Walking to Winter + Donnie Dureau + Pitching Woo
@Evelyn, 9pm, $10

Winter Solstice Ball
Moscow Schoolboy + Big Shot Manoeuvre + The Reefers + DJ Declan Kelly + Queens of the Crossbones + The Hot Slush Puppies
@Regal Ballroom, 8pm, $25

Saturday the 23rd



The Casanovas are pimping their latest joint at Ding Dong - that'll be a helluva show. Clothes ads galore down at the Corner, and young people hitting their instruments with fervour at the Tote. The gig of the night, however, seems to be the 2am late slot at Pony - Barrage have a huge rep with those in the know.

3D TV (NSW) + Pretty Green + The Ooga Boogas
@Town Hall Hotel, 10:30pm, free

Blueline Medic + The Currency + Kim and Jamie
@The Arthouse, 8pm

Carus and the True Believers + Greg Arnold + Hazel Brown
@Northcote Social Club, 8:30pm, $16+bf

The Casanovas + Mustang + Showcard
@Ding Dong, 8pm, $12

Click Click
Outrun + Pets With Pets
@Brown Alley, 9pm, $14/10

Dappled Cities Fly + Red Riders + Dances With Voices
@The Corner, 8:30pm, $16+bf

Made Austria + Dance Contest + Casionova + I=it + Barrage (2am)
@Pony, 9pm

Mark Seymour + Jess McAvoy
@The Espy – Gershwin Room, 8:30pm, $20+bf

The New Black + Spun Rivals + Littlestar
@Rob Roy, 8:30pm, $8

The Spazzys + Mink Jaguar + Little Red
@The Tote, 9pm, $12

Spencer P. Jones
@The Retreat, 5pm

Sunday the 24th



Quiet times everywhere. If you haven't seen Clinkers for a while then it might be nice to sit out the back of the Standard and listen to them - there's a retractable roof, ya know. The Tote has an uncharacteristically quiet line up of sweet twee, or there's country-side bods at Bar Open. Or, of course, Spencer.

Clinkerfield
@The Standard, 7pm

Light Music Club + Duckdive + Broken Flight
@The Tote, 7pm, $7

Spencer P. Jones + Nick Murphy + Shylo
@Shingles Bar, 8:30pm, $10

Wellyn + Sixteen Millimetre + Owls of the Swamp
@Bar Open, 8pm

this post commented on by 0

Friday, June 15, 2007

Cold Weather, Icy Hands

It's strange that I've liked Chuck Jenkins more solo than with band. I think I was turned off Icecream Hands in the late 90s because they seemed too JJJ. (The national youth station's propensity to play too many bands that sound similar blurs the lines between good and shit - hence The Used.)

Icecream Hands - The Good China (Dust Devil Music, 2007)

Everyone in Oz was doing it then, the guitary power-pop thing. Snout and The Fauves were great, Custard were fun for a while, Jebediah, Spiderbait and Regurgitator, even early Powderfinger. In there somewhere, Jenkins' boys, perservering. I remember the title Sweeter Than the Radio and I'm sure I'd recognise Spirit Level Windowsill, but apart from that it didn't cut through the sea of tunes.

Then last year I listened a bit to Chuck's second solo album, The City Gates. Open Road became a bit of a theme song for part of France, seen from train windows as weeks stretched out ahead without mileposts. Great lyrics, good hooks, simple and effective production.

And that was part of my turning back to guitar pop. I've been listening to it a lot this year. Smudge and The Lemonheads, for instance. The Wellingtons and New Estate are polar opposites in most ways, but they both realise that guitars run best on smooth, high-octane hooks. So do Icecream Hands.

But what they do better than either of these bands is tell stories. The story Chuck tells over the top of an ecstatic, pounding rock backing in In the Back Seat of a Stolen Car is all about love and regrets and betrayal and endings: "there's not too many places to hide/ on this side of the river, on this side of town". That gets me every time, that feeling that you've finished with the whole city.

From there, into Holding On, a great ballad which could be a Harry Nilsson outtake, fitting well with the current 60s revival. But it's the rocky tracks which do it for me most, the simple Say That You Want Me Some More following, without a heap of substance but a good simple pop song.

The album's full of really good songs, but the stories do it for me. Launceston, a multi-city tale about a girl loved and lost. And the second highlight, My Mother Was a Dancer, which reminds of Paul Kelly in its Aussie-childhood subject matter (When I First Met Your Ma?) and the Beach Boys in its sweet harmonies.

It's such a simply Aussie album, it feels like growing up and losing and loving and living. At least to me. You better buy it to see for yourself. Tell ya what, if you see me at the gig on Saturday night, you can demur in person. But do it after their set, just to be sure.

[buy The Good China from Sanity online]

[see Icecream Hands, Saturday June 16th at The Northcote Social Club with Emma Heeney and D Rogers - beautiful songs aplenty]

[visit Icecream Hands at their myspace]

this post commented on by 0

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Bands 'n' Stuff: June 13th to 19th

This week's a bit quiet in places but sprinkled with a series of ball-tearing shows. It's really the week of the Spanish Club, with a huge Oyster Club tonight, Even on Friday, the closing party on Sunday (including the last ever front bar flamenco show) and then the RRR/PBS Megahertz 10th birthday next Wednesday. And that one's the last, last, last gig at the venue, so get on down there and show your appreciation for the last couple of years.

All things must end, unfortunately, no matter how good they are.

Gig o' the Week



Spanish Club Closing Party

Sunday 17th June
from 2pm
@ Spanish Club
$15

LABJACD (11pm)
Bob Log III (10pm)
The Meanies (9:20pm)
The Nation Blue (8:30pm)
Sissies and Sluts Theatre (8pm)
Adam Simmons' Embers (7:15pm)
Little Red (6:25pm)
Root! (5:30pm)
Et Al (4:40pm)
Trash Ivory (3:50pm)
The Gingers (3pm)
The Loveslaps (2:15pm)

Flamenco Show (7:30pm front bar)
Emily Ulman (6pm front bar)
The Spoils (5pm front bar)
The Orbweavers (4pm front bar)

Something for everyone, here. We don't often plug LABJACD, because we find them a little boring, but they'll close the venue with some nice bounce. That's if there's any stage left after The Nation Blue have torn it up into small pieces - let's hope the sound regulator's turned off for that one. And the other two headlines should be pretty special too, the Meanies doing an infrequent gig and Bob Log who's always mad.

And take note that in the afternoon, just before the omnipresent Little Red, a band called Root! This is one for those TISM fans out there who've been feeling bereft since the boys hung up the balaclavas a couple of years ago. It's big Humphrey B Flaubert, in his new flannelette shirt as D.C. Root. Have a listen to the testimonial on the myspace, direct from the PM, and find out what to expect. It'll be just like the Alabama 3 except without the Sopranos soundtrack tie-in and associated minor success.

I love TISM. I can't wait. If you never saw them - let's just hope Root get close.

Wednesday 13th June



The Silver City Highway residency's always a good bet, competing with some comedy over the road at the Oyster Club. Otherwise, pretend you're watching Scrubs at the Prince, with Ozzie Col Hay.

Colin Hay
@ Prince, 8pm, $27.50+bf

Silver City Highway, Ned and the Meds
@ Old Bar, 9pm, free

Oyster Club
Tripod, Sista She, The English Gents from La Clique, Andrew McLelland, Kate McLennan, Asher Treleaven
@ Spanish Club, 8pm, $20

Thursday 14th June



First chance to catch Birushanah, making a shitload of noise at Pony. Coolsies at the Evelyn, and coolsies with better musical chops at the Glasshouse. Songs, though, at the East. That'll be a nice gig.

Birushanah (Jap), Firewitch, Bowl of Dick, Bachelor of Arts
@ Pony, 9pm

C'mon C'mon
Oh Mercy, If She Floats, Poly and the Statics
@ Evelyn, 8:30pm, $8

Darren Hanlon, Laura Jean
@ East, 8:30pm, $18+bf

Definite Article, Little Red, Norbert Oliver
@ Rob Roy, 8pm, $6

Stop.Drop.Roll
Love Is Science Fiction, You Will Die Alone, Popolice, All Made of Rubies
@ Glasshouse, $8

Friday 15th June



Believe or don't believe the hype about The Cops, depending on how much JJJ you've heard recently. The old school action at the Corner is the opposite - it's all about dirty street cred. The Even show at the Spanish Club will be a corker, but if you want something a little quieter and sweeter, it's gotta be the Afterdark. Most interesting tonight is the experimental gig elsewhere in Northcote, at Forepaw Gallery. And then there's some stalwarts playing at the Toff in a great little gig.

Guy Blackman, Crayon Fields, Ground Components, Minimum Chips
@ Toff, $10

The Cops (NSW), Sparkadia (NSW), Plastic Palace Alice
@ East, 8:30pm, $13+bf

Cosmic Psychos vs The Celibate Rifles, Cockfight Shootout, Killer Birds
@ Corner, 8:30pm, $20+bf

Drunk Hands, Hey Lady 2 Leopards, Brendan J Black, All Made of Rubies
@ Forepaw, 8:30pm, gold coin

Xmas in July!
Even, Lisa Miller, The Vandas, Amaya Laucirica, Sons of Katie Elder (NSW)
@ Spanish Club, 8pm, $17+bf

The Gallant (QLD), Foxx on Fire, Junior Anti-Sex League
@ Gertrudes, 8pm, $8

Smallgoods (duo), Popolice, Blessington
@ Afterdark, 9pm

Saturday 16th June



Revivalist pop, pop, pop at the East. The NSC has the pick of the night, though, with the Icecream Hands album launch - these guys do great work and deserve any plaudits they can find. Tear out your eardrums at the Arthouse, or be hip wid da kids down south at the Espy. Or our old mates, Clinkerfield, at the Old Bar, for a night of beer and ciggies.

The Bawdies (Jap), The Basics, Little Red
@ East, 8:30pm, $12+bf

Clinkerfield, Gareth Eunson and the Graveyard Sons
@ Old Bar, 9pm, $5

album launch
Icecream Hands, Emma Heeney and the Daves, D Rogers
@ NSC, 8:30pm, $15+bf

Ohana, Dr. Invisiablo, The Black Hundred, Luka Brasi
@ Afterdark, 2pm, $6

Popolice, Dane Certificate, Dance Contest
@ Brunswick Hotel, 9pm, $5

Terrorust, Agents of Abhorrence, Five Star Prison Cell, Roskopp
@ Arthouse, 8pm

Tic Toc Tokyo, Mission Control, You Will Die Alone, Et Al, Poly and the Statics
@ Espy, 9pm, free

X, Six Ft Hick, The Jarrah Thompson Band, The Breaks
@ Gershwin, Espy, 8:30pm, $12

Sunday 17th June



Be noisy at the East or painfully hip at the Toff, it's up to you. But I'll be at the Spanish Club with the gig of the week, personally.

Birushanah (Jap), Dad They Broke Me, Agents of Abhorrence
@ East, 7:30pm, $8+bf

Freshly Waxed Magazine Launch
Hot Little Hands, Learn the Splits, Paris Wells
@ Toff, $10

Tuesday 19th June



The Bawdies (Jap), The Tash Mints, The Ooga Boogas, DJs Emma Peel and Il Cattivo
@ Tote, 8pm, $10

this post commented on by 1

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

Bands 'n Stuff: June 6 to June 12

GIG O’ THE WEEK

Beasts of Bourbon
+ Children Collide
+ The Vandas
@Prince Bandroom, Friday, $27.50+bf

You can't really go wrong with this lineup.


Wednesday the 6th

Silver City Highway are one of our favourites here at ATR. This is perfect music for winter, and you have a chance to lap it up every Wednesday in June at their Old Bar residency.

A Friend of Mine + The Auralees + The Jacks
@The Tote, 8pm, $5

Khancoban
@The Standard, Free

Potential Falcon + Lost Note Foundation
@Brunswick Hotel, Free

Silver City Highway
@The Old Bar


Thursday the 7th

Apart from the Gertrude's gig I mentioned earlier today, there are also a range of other high quality options for your Thursday night. The glorious Art of Fighting return for another headline gig up High St way, while in the City there'll be a sunset showdown soundtrack from the fantastic Wagons. A new band night is debuting at Revolver with Spider Vomit and an international mystery guest (???) as the debutants, while over at the Glasshouse in Collingwood there is another band night which has been booking some great acts. This time its headlined by riot grrlish Teko. The Prince should be reasonable too with UK electro rock group Infadels.

Art of Fighting + Hot Little Hands
@Northcote Social Club, $22+bf

Fourth Floor Collapse + Red Light Union + The New Electric
@Cmon Cmon (The Evelyn), $8

Infadels (UK) + Dukes of Windsor + Dance With Voices + Agent 86
@Prince Bandroom, $32.50+bf

Macaca Mulatta + Burgers of Beef + Readers’ Wives
@Gertrudes, $6

Saint James + Master Cardinal + Alsatians
@The Tote, $5

Spider Vomit + international mystery guest???
@Filla (Revolver Upstairs), Free

Teko + Dance Contest + Fantastic Sailors
@Stop.Drop.Roll (The Glasshouse), $8

Wagons + The Vandas (acoustic) + The Smoking Muskets
@Manchester Lane, $10

Young Lovers + Hot Little Hands + Winterpark + White Boyz Can’t Funk
@Ding Dong, 7pm, $8


Friday the 8th

Tenniscoats add to the huge number of Japanese bands that have come our way, and like their countrymen Yura Yura Teikoku, they have some great supports. The Fauves' 1000th show should be an awesome affair, and bound to provide you with a few chuckles as well. A pub crowd with a range of psych, pub rock and indie pop at the Tote, while there'll be a party crowd with the post-punk influenced bands at Roxanne. It's almost always interesting at the Afterdark and Gertrudes, one of the bands at Pony, Tiger by the Tail was plugged by Missing Link in that Nokia recommendations thing, while mellower country and folky arrangements at the Toff. Gig of the week is on tonight too.

Bit By Bats + Worlds End Press + Big Cats
@Roxanne

Bowerbirds + more
@Exile on Smith St

The Darling Buds + Airway Lanes + The Passouts
@The Evelyn, $8

The Fauves + Dave Graney and Clare Moore feat. The Yellow Lurid Mist + Burgers of Beef
@East Brunswick Club, $16+bf

The Great Apes + Clinkerfield + Paper Planes + Electric Jellyfish
@The Tote, $10

Little Athletics + Tiger By The Tail + Tijuana Souvenirs
@Pony

Offcuts + Special Patrol + The Tom Budge Goodtime Band
@Rob Roy, $12

Que + Popolice + Patinka Cha Cha
@Afterdark

Tenniscoats + The Crayon Fields + Chris Smith
@Northcote Social Club, $15+bf

Tetrode Kink + Taste the Venom + The Scowlers
@Gertrudes, $7

Transformers
@Pony, 2am, Free

Whitley + Old Man River + Donnie Dureau
@The Toff, $12


Saturday the 9th

The Espy is hosting one of its pre public holiday parties, although this one comes a day earlier. At the Tote there is also a big lineup - this one is for a chick whose gear was stolen. Tenniscoats back it up at eveyone's favourite all ages venue - Cloud City, and they have another couple of good support acts along for the ride. Zulya, the new Melbourne goddess of Balkan music is launching her album with her underground kiddies at Toff. Vocal nodes will be severely damaged with the angriest performers in Melbourne , and new favourites of some, Young and Restless launching a new record at NSC, while for calmer alt rock tastes try the Empress or the East. If money is tight try the free gig at Greyhound, while there'll be definite casualties with the late night headliner at Pony.

Aux Assembly + Francis Plagne + Patinka Cha Cha + Marden
@Afterdark, $5

Clinkerfield + Silver City Highway + The Get Go
@The Greyhound, Free

Grey Daturas + Dad They Broke Me + Birushana + Robotasaurua
@The Arthouse

Intercooler + Mary Trembles + Peabody
@East Brunswick Club, $10+bf

James McCann + Jo Brockman
@Mi Corazon, 4:30pm

Monstrous Blues + The Bakelite Age + The Wardens + Hotel Wrecking City Traders
@Pony

The Onyas + Hoss + Dynamo + Tiger By the Tail + more
@The Tote, $10

Rhythm Bell + The Truth + Midnight Woolf + Kids With Guns For Hands
@Exile on Smith St

The Stabs
@Pony, 2am

Tenniscoats (JPN) + Panel of Judges + Scissors for Sparrow
@Cloud City, $15

Tic Toc Tokyo + Bachelor of Arts
@The Empress

Young and Restless + Cut Off Your Hands (NZ) + All Made of Rubies
@Northcote Social Club, $10+bf

Youth Group + Dexter + Oh Mercy! + Little Red + Saint James + Morals of a Minor + more
@The Espy, $13+bf

Zulya and the Children of the Underground + Tangazo
@The Toff, $15+bf


Sunday the 10th

Heather, the girl whose gear was stolen is having another benefit gig - this time at idgaff!!! Elsewhere Dallas Crane rock the Hi-Fi Bar. Martin Martini will entertain the Toff crowed, a good lineup at Rob Roy and Canadian power pop heroes Sloan at the Corner

The Bulls + Deaf Wish + Twin Vickers
@The Tote, $5

Burgers of Beef + Fred Astereo + Go You Huskies! + Emma Heeney
@Rob Roy, $7

Dallas Crane + 67 Special + The S.I.G.I.T
@Hi-Fi Bar, $20+bf

Dardanelles + Outrun + Love Is Science Fiction
@Revolver Upstairs, $15


Martin Martini and the Bone Palace Orchestra + Curse OV Dialect
@The Toff, $12

Neil Murray + Jordie Lane + Rachel Taylor
@East Brunswick Club, $22+bf

Sloan (CAN) + The Pictures + The Hovercrafts
@The Corner, $38.50+bf

The Specimens + Cockfight Shootout + The Legs
@Northcote Social Club, $10

The Vandas + Jacky Winter + James McCann + Sly Fawkner + Joel Silbersher
@Idgaff, 5pm, $10

Young Lovers + Y
@Weekender (Ding Dong), 7pm, $10

this post commented on by 0

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

The Brown Couch

Gertrude’s Brown Couch has been hosting some great acts of late. Black Pony Express were there a couple of months ago, and in the last three weeks punters at this relatively new venue would have also heard tunes from top acts such as Ollie Mann, Owls of the Swamp, Julian Nation as well as Sly Hats.

This Thursday Gertrude's is hosting the Melbourne debut of Macaca Mulatta,

After reading the above sentence you may be thinking ‘Who the fuck are Macaca Mulatta?’ Well, I’d probably be doing the same until I discovered a juicy bit of info last night. Macaca Mulatta is actually the band of Chris Chinchilla, ex songwriter and guitarist of UK band Art Brut. For anyone that doesn’t know, Art Brut released one of the most critically acclaimed album of 2005, Bang Bang Rock ‘n Roll. Everyone seemed to love it. The Village Voice Pazz ‘N Jop poll which compiles the opinions of a huge number of critics (795 in ’05) put it at 23, while that other hip institution that I refer to far too often – Pitchfork - gave it 8.9 and had it at no. 3 in their best of list.

Last year Chris Chinchilla left Art Brut (citing personal reasons) and formed Macaca Mulatta back in England. This year Chris has made his way to Melbourne, has since developed his knowledge of the local scene, and is now playing with a different lineup under the same name. Thursday night is their first local gig.

While I haven’t heard the Art Brut record, it sounds like Chris is doing a similar thing with Macaca Mulatta to what he did with Art Brut - fun slightly bratty Brit Invasion punk with some angular guitars, but perhaps not as forceful rhythmically as Art Brut and sounding more like Billy Bragg. But check out the myspace tracks. They sound pretty decent. Given it is their first gig on Thursday I wouldn’t be expecting too much from them, but they’ll probably be a band to watch over the coming months. Especially on the local scene, where arty punk acts are few and far between (as far as I can tell). The Pommy accent sounds pretty fresh too amidst our many American accented guitar rock groups.

But it’s not only these guys who you can catch at Gertrude’s – the other acts might be pretty decent also. I especially liked what I heard from the myspace of of Readers’ Wives. They seem to be a mix of post-punk and post-rock sounds. There's a dark twangy bass and some hostile and urgent guitar work. Reasonably dense too from what is apparently a three piece .

My third favourite but by no means a dud is Perth band Burgers of Beef who are over here for a long weekend . They seem to be doing a slightly wacky Weezerish indie pop thing but a bit cleaner and with some female vocals to boot. These guys are also supporting The Fauves at their 1000th gig celebrations on Friday night, and have a headline gig at the Rob Roy on Sunday with Fred Astereo and Emma Heeney.

So all in all, Thursday is shaping up to be a good one. I’m afraid I can’t be there so have one for me. Doors at 8. Only $6 entry.

this post commented on by 0

Contact

Out There

Bloggin' Melbourne

Melbourne Radio

Melbourne Venues

Other Stuff in Melbs

Local Labels

Local Record Shops

Local Tours

Bloggin' Oz

Sites Oz

Bloggin' the Globe

Sites Worldly

Previously

Archives

Across the Rooftops 2006