Webcam update

Hmm,I forgot that I said I'd do this now and again.
Incredibly detailed and informative update:

Tear It Up

There's a lot of Cramps stuff on YouTube. But this one comes up first in the list, and rightly so.


This is them at the peak of their powers, live in 1980, doing "Tear It Up" for the "URGH- A Music War" movie. Still sadly unavailable on DVD, and probably never will be.
They were my favorite for so long, and I never had another favorite like them. Enjoy.

Unavoidable sport

Remember in school, when you absolutely had to do sport every week? Some things were cool, but often those sessions were just a wet muddy hour running round a paddock. Well, the late September football finals are kind of like that if you live in Melbourne. After sitting out the Olympics, the Grand Final is inescapable. I guess it's some sort of penance inflicted for an enduring lack of team spirit and rah-rah-rah. Anyway, if you have to watch, you may as well do it somewhere worthwhile:

SAT SEPT 27 FROM NOON – 11PM
HOSTED BY SPENCER P. JONES
GAME LIVE ON THE BIG SCREEN
PRIZES, COMPETITIONS, GIVEAWAYS
HALF TIME ENTERTAINMENT
AFTER MATCH ENTERTANMENT

Sadly, I think that's fully booked now. Other options- well, a bit later in the day, idGAFF will be it's usual oasis of excellence:

Or there's a soul night on over at the new look- well, under new management, anyway- Birmingham Hotel in Smith St:

But that's about it, I think.

Don't wanna go out?

Then get to bed early on Saturday night, but not before catching Steve Lucas on SBS' Rockwiz at 9.20- just after Iron Chef.

The punk rock Beau Brummell - he's not quite Dorian Gray- has been in fine form lately and this should be top entertainment, especially if you are still recuperating from Sixfthick. Steve's also playing in the Pure Pop courtyard on Sunday at 6.00pm.

Witch Hats get high

Well, the Witch Hats survived their recent US tour, with many tales to tell, and are among a bunch of acts playing for free at the Northcote Social Club (and other places) on Sunday, as part of the High Vibes festival. I don't usually have a lot of time for Northcote, but this may be worth it.
The full list:

The Barons of Tang, Clinkerfield, Witch Hats, Tic Toc Tokyo, The Lucksmiths, Jess McAvoy, Wellyn, Sal Kimber, Princess One Point Five, The Band Who Knew Too Much, Seagull, Pablo Discobar, Johnnie & the Johnnie Johnnies, Symbiosis, Ned Collette Band, Fireside Bellows, Marcelle & the Blow Waves, The Ukeladies, Country Burnout, Redfish Bluegrass, King Marong, April Maze,Eva Popov Band, djak, Dj KLMNOP , Dj Aurora, Jordie Lane & Band, Bass Bin Laden, Mista Savona & Rootbound System, Drumheller, ii, NKABOM – Asanti Dance Theatre, ARCapella & the Keytones Choir, Kinematic, Sol Nation, The Night Sky, Amalgama, The Woohoo Revue, The Moonhops, Tzigas, Rapskallion, Flap!, The Melbourne Beat Carpel, The Renovators, Candice Monique & The Optics, The Sure Shot Hunters, Chelsea Drugstore, Richard Lightbulb Fishwyck, Jane Dust, Major Chord, Kylie Auldist w/ Lance Ferguson, Tobias Cummings, Laura Jean and The Eden Land Band, Guy Blackman, The Russian Roulettes, Kids With Guns For Hands, The Sonic Manipulator, The Sinking Ship, Great Men, Voluptuous Torpor, The Wishing Well, Michael Fein, Live@Subs, Rob Draper, Fred Leduc, Oliver Jones, Jord Allen, The Ralph & Rockstar show, Jessica Paige, Stu Harcourt & Sarah Carnegie, DJ Jack, Shaun Kirk, Nicola Watson, Pete Olsen, The Jayden, Damien Van De Geer, Chris Cavill, Jess Hieser, Benson Campain, Ben Smith, Dan Cassey, Victor Tang, Brother Tony, Son Corners, Elm Street

And no, I don't know who half of that lot are either. Playing times and full details here.
Just watch out for fire twirlers- I'm sure High St. will be full of them. Oh, and when I say "free" I mean "entry to venues is by donation".

Hound Hoss Hicks

I dropped into the Hound last weekend, for the first time in a while. This stuff  all seems very long ago now- so far, nothing there has changed, although i see they are now seeking planning permission to put some fuck off big advertising billboards on the St Kilda Rd facade. Anyway, I've managed to miss all the recent sporadic appeareance by HOSS, who are playing there on Friday night. Which would be great, except that I'm probably going to miss them again as it clashes with Sixfthick's farewell show at the filthy Roxanne Parlour:
Medical advice is that their livers have recovered sufficiently from last year's trip for them to take another crack at the unsuspecting French & Germans. The show is being filmed for JTV, apparently, though what possessed those dullards to show an interest in the Hicks is anyone's guess.

A weekend and a half

Well, that was a weekend and a half. 15 goddam bands in 2 days. Late nights, a few beers, and a lot of fun.
There are some pics and words of the Visitors here  if you need background - for all the reformation/reissue angle,  there was not one minute of their set that felt gratuitous or nostalgic.  Maybe it's because they have been dormant for so long, but they brought real freshness to a solid set, which took in about everything I could have hoped for:

Despite ripping off/paying homage to his "Minister of Defence" tag for my "Minister of Offence" role with GOD many years ago, I've never seen Mark Sisto perform before. He was excellent- in great voice, punchy, sly and very funny too. Pip Hoyle and Deniz Tek didn't disappoint the Birdman tragics in the crowd either, though having said that I'd reckon that you could enjoy these guys for the class act they are, without any knowledge or experience of their past activities. CD details are here if you are interested.
It was a bit of a struggle getting my arse into Flip Out for the 3.00pm kick-off the next day, but I made it and I'm glad. In the past festivals have been a bit "meh" for me- they all seem to go on too long, have too much dead time, may involve standing round in a field, or a combination of all three. This thing really hit the spot though. Highlights were the Pink Fits bruising, high-energy set, the return of the Stabs, US legend MOTO's deranged guitar riffery/perversion and ECSR's killer closing set. There were old friends and new friends, there was "Creature From The Black Lagoon" on the big screen, there was beer, there was the promised free CD- all good. 

Flip Out

Now, ordinarily, this show, at the Espy on Friday night, would be head and shoulders above the rest:

The Visitors were one of a clutch of bands (see also- the Hitmen, the Other Side, Comrades of War, New Christs and New Race) formed from the debris of Radio Birdman on their return from Europe in 1978. They played a dozen or so shows, recorded an album, released an EP's worth of it, and then disbanded. The album eventually emerged years later, and is now being reissued, on Citadel Records, to mark their reunion. I never saw them, and am really looking forward to this. I mean, it's not often you get to see legends play. Vocalist Mark Sisto's role as Birdman's "Minister for Defence" led to me being christened "Minister for Offence" during my time roadieing for GOD. And, it's free, yet. Make the most of it.

But even that looks like being relegated to warm up status, because on Saturday the first (of many, hopefully) Flip Out Festival hits the Corner Hotel.

A solid attempt to get a decent festival going in Melbourne, without the big bucks and sponsorship. There is so much going on here, in addition to the music. The first 200 people through the door will receive a free 18 track Aarght Records/Stained Circles sampler. There's a record fair 2 – 6pm, a rooftop BBQ will run from 5 – 8pm, and the Gimme Shelter and Primitive DJ’s will be playing tunes in the front bar.

PERFORMANCE TIMES - OVER 2 STAGES:
3.00 SUPER WILD HORSES
3.45 THE UV RACE
4.30 THE STRAIGHT ARROWS (SYD)
5.15 THE FROWNING CLOUDS
6.00 THE PINK FITS (SYD)
6.45 DEAD FARMERS (SYD)
7.30 KNIFE FIGHT (NZ)
8.15 THE STABS
9.00 KING AUTOMATIC (FRANCE)
9.45 DEAF WISH
10.30 M.O.T.O (USA)
11.15 BEACHES
12.00 EDDY CURRENT SUPPRESSION RING

And if that isn't enough for you, the Straight Arrows are using Flip Out to kick off a tour to launch their new single, and you can go and see them again on Sunday at Bar Open in Fitzroy.

That starts around 8.00pm, with the Arrows on at 11-ish.

Monday morning is far away as I write this, but I suspect it won't be a pleasant awakening.