Nathan Hollywood

I've had this CD for a couple of weeks now, and it's very good indeed.
Dark, moody, country stuff, with an echoing sense of melancholy that is not specific to any place- it could be coming from the Mexican desert, the Australian outback or the Norwegian tundra.
Anyway, he's launching it tonight at the Northcote Social Club, with the Kill Devil Hills. Get there, if only to see someone play the saw on stage.

Production difficulties

Well, things got away from me earlier this week- here's a basic draft of the chatter that mattered. You'll figure it out, bright penny that you are.



Normal service will be resumed when I finish this bottle of red wine.

Cut Rate Masters

Well, them Cowboys did the business last night. Garry, Mark, Penny, Nick & Stefan pulled out all the stops. Here's the list:

Once again, I got grief from some ape-fucker idiot of a bouncer when I grabbed this, during "We Love You". Like, it's not as if the band need it at the end of the set- and anyway, there were three or four others dotted around the stage. This time round, Mr. Gray saved my bacon, by lurching off the stage, grabbing me in a bear hug and bellowing " Of course we do..." into my ear and the mike simultaneously. A dream end to a dream show.

Sacredsexstkilda

The Sacred Cowboys blow back into their spiritual home, St. Kilda for a one-off in the Greyhound back room, with support from the Exotics and the Frowning Clouds This is pretty much a must-see. If you never saw this band in their early 80s heyday you missed a real experience, some of which can be captured on their double CD “Nailed to the Cross”, just out on Savage Beat, with excellent liner notes.

Fans will be reunited with memories of their compelling combination of mesmerizing lyrics and swirling wall of sound guitars which saw them quickly become one of the hottest alternative bands on the scene back in the day, and a
major drawcard especially in hometown Melbourne and Sydney (where they found kindred spirits like The Scientists).
Something of a post-punk supergroup (with members drawn from the original line-up of Models and Suicide Records group The Negatives), The Sacred Cowboys gained instant notoriety when they appeared in '82, thanks to frontman Garry Gray's chainsaw wielding antics on stage. They played a wild, dangerous and completely unique brand of rockn'roll inspired by the artists whose material they covered, including SUICIDE, ALAN VEGA, CAPTAIN BEEFHEART, CRAMPS, VELVET UNDERGROUND, CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL and ALEX CHILTON.
A reconstituted Sacred Cowboys line-up will be playing a showcase of special Victorian gigs during their Australian tour in April/May 2008. Featuring founding members GARRY GRAY and MARK FERRIE with PENNY IKINGER on guitar, and the band's second phase 'Trouble From Providence' rhythm section of NICK RISCHBIETH and STEPHAN FIDOCK.

More St. Kilda shenanigans tomorrow night- Elbow Room launch their stage version of seminal dirty book “Venus In Furs” at Theatreworks in Acland St.

Venus In Furs inspired the diagnosis of a whole new category of sexual perversion. Since the 1800s, masochism has largely shrugged off its unsavoury reputation, attaining a kind of underground ‘glamour’. Today it has well and truly been embraced by the mainstream, its ubiquity obvious in the burgeoning popularity of all forms of fetishistic entertainment, particularly the recent resurgence of burlesque. In revisiting the original text, Elbow Room brings to the stage the source of an entire genre of sexual gratification and entertainment in a timely reminder of the continuing influence of Sacher-Masoch’s novel.

My 1970 edition of this is illustrated:

But not in as saucy a manner as you may expect, and it is still as dull a read as ever, regardless. What can be done with it onstage remains to be seen.

Note- if I could have been bothered I’d have put a segue in between those two, about the Sacred Cowboys playing “Run Run Run” live or something. But I didn't. Sorry.

post-Hats hangover.

Well, I did indeed end up heading over to the Tote on Friday, and I'm glad I did, for many reasons.
Witch Hats were excellent, in top form. They played a great set, drawn mostly from their "Cellulite Soul" LP, and did it in front of a pretty full house, too. If they can keep this up for the length of their forthcoming US tour they'll storm the place. Set details below, for any obsessives out there.Look, they spell "potato" right on their set lists.
I also caught Beaches , a five piece instrumental band who are about an inch away from becoming the best live surf/garage/psych combo I've seen in a long long time, and Kes, too. I've had trouble with "getting" Kes in the past, both live and on CD, but this time round something gelled. I got a copy of the new album from the merch desk,and it's on pretty high rotation right now.
So, yes, all up it was worth a long late night.
And then I found something a bit special to do on Saturday, and won my Scrabble game on Sunday. You can't ask for much more than that on a cold Melbourne weekend, really.

Anzackery

So, it's Anzac Day here on Friday, with a public holiday and all.
I'm not an ex-soldier, and so I don't have an excuse to spend the day with a bunch of friends drinking beer and telling war stories- or do I?

On Thursday night, the Sacred Cowboys play at the Northcote Social Club, with the Green Mist and the Poker Hearts. I'll probably skip that one in favour of the Cowboys' show at the Greyhound on May 2nd, actually. As long as I get along to one of them.
On Friday itself:

Mistletone presents the first in what will become a seasonal happening - Autumn Tones at The Tote on ANZAC Day, Friday April 25th.
This inaugural ''Tones'' event will feature a bunch of our favourite Melbourne bands who we reckon will help create a cosmic autumnal evening of epic proportions.
The lineup for Autumn Tones will feature Witch Hats, Kes Band, Beaches, Embers, The Ancients, The Sun Blindness+ djs Shags and Switchblade Sisters Sound System
Doors 5:30pm til late. $15 with free bbq.

Mistletone is a great local label, and it's good to see they've booked bands from outside their own roster for this, too.
Saturday? Who knows? But on Sunday I believe I am booked to play my annual game of Scrabble- and it's competitive Scrabble, at that.

Hey! If you leave spam as comments, I'll ignore you!

Stuff like this:

Hey! If you like music by **** ******, **** *****, ******, and *****, then you should check out music by the *****!! Now is your chance to get acquainted with the mellow, soul-soothing sound of these sultry brothers.
To check out some of the *****'s previous live performances, go to www.getfucked.com/the*****

Thanks for the tip, but no thanks. I won't listen to you, or post your name. And no, I don't like any of the bands you compared yourself to, either.

Cherry Rock not so cheerful

An update on this year's Cherry Rock festival hit mail boxes all over town last night:

URGENT MEDIA RELEASE

CherryRock008 moves to
Palace Theatre
(former Metro, 20 – 30 Bourke Street, Melb)

The CherryRock008 rock n roll music festival proposed for this Sunday 20 April from 12noon to 10pm in AC/DC Lane and at The Cherry Bar has had to change venue due to a liquor licensing issue. The event will now take place predominantly at The Palace Theatre (the former Metro, 20 – 30 Bourke Street Melbourne) and slightly at Ding Dong Lounge (18 Market Lane, Melbourne).

Cherry Partner James Young said, "blah blah blah".

The ten major acts from CherryRock008 (Supersuckers, Raveonettes, Hitmen, Galvatrons, X, 6 Ft Hick, Legends of Motor Sport, Hell City Glamours, The Exploders and The Devilrock Four) will now play at The Palace Theatre between 3pm and 10pm. And super keen rock fans can see the hot up and comers (Zombie Sex Gang, Bring On The Junta, Tigernauts and Killer Birds) beforehand at Ding Dong Lounge between 12noon and 3pm.

All purchased tickets remain valid for this new scenario and tickets will be available on the Palace Theatre door on the day for $70.

The liquor licensing issue in question is quite boring blah blah blah.

The important bit:

New CherryRock008 Stage Times

Ding Dong Stage

12 – 12.30pm Killer Birds
12.50 – 1.20pm Tigernauts
1.40 – 2.10pm Bring On The Junta
2.30 – 3pm Zombie Sex Gang

Not AC/DC Lane Stage: Palace Theatre

9 – 10pm Supersuckers
7:30 – 8:15pm Raveonettes
6 – 6.45pm Hitmen
4.45 – 5:30pm Galvatrons
3:30 – 4:15pm X

Not Cherry Bar Stage: Palace Theatre

8:15 – 9pm 6 Ft Hick
6.45 – 7.30pm Legends of Motor Sport
5.30 - 6pm Hell City Glamours
4:15 - 4.45pm The Exploders
3.00 – 3.30pm Devilrock Four

Hmmm, it appears someone can't organise a pissup in a Melbourne laneway- that's quite a feat. The re-jigged playing times seem OK, although the Bowerbirds have lost their slot completely. We'll see, I guess, but spending seven hours in the Palace is not going to be as pleasant a Sunday afternoon as I'd hoped for.