Get your own trumpet.

Look, I don't want to boast, but LTH 4 really is the best thing on this weekend. Well, apart from the X/UV Race show, but that's on Friday.

Aided by a massive press campaign (thanks, Paddy) it's a cert to sell out early. I'll be at the bar if anyone needs me.

A good night, a good cause.

Hmm, there's a bit of a tussle for show of the week this weekend.
On Saturday, Sin City, Sixfthick and X are at the Corner. The combined power of these three will probably demolish the place, and at only $17.00, it's a bargain.

HOWEVER, that may leave you too hungover to do the right thing on Sunday, and head along to the Tote for the "Hold Hands!" public radio benefit.

A bunch of local labels- Mistletone, Unstable Ape , Chapter Music, Sensory Projects and others have combined to put together a massive bill of acts, with all proceeds going to support public radio stations in both Melbourne and Sydney- sorry, Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth & Canberra. Merch and CDs from all the labels will be available. There is also soup involved. It all kicks off around 3.00pm.

Looking back.

Well, that was an education.

X were absolutely sterling- passionate, energetic and clearly having a ball, so much so that Kim and Cathy refused to leave the stage after the first couple of encores, forcing Steve to come back on for one more song and giving the stage manager a mild heart attack.

About the Saints, though...well, let's just say Ed Kuepper was awesome, and that it will be a while before I listen to "Stranded" again.

But the mid week gig meant I was pushed for time, and didn't get this posted:

Oops. Won't make that mistake again.

Don't Look Back

The 2009 season of the Don't Look Back concert series kicks off in Melbourne next week with a complete gem of a show.

Australian proto-punks the Saints team up with the mighty X for a run through a pair of historic albums- "(I'm) Stranded" and "At Home With You".



Both of these albums are classics, and the chance to see and hear them played in full in one session is...kind of frightening actually. There's some heavy baggage attached to these. But the omens are good- the Saints reformation shows last year were excellent, by all accounts, and X never fail to deliver.
See you down the front. No earplugs.

ps as you can see from the poster, the Saints will do it all again up in Brisbane, too.

Fractured retrobilly boogie?

No, I don't know what it means either, but I like the sound of it:


I'm just pissed off I missed it- going on as I write. Next time, fer sure.
Meanwhile, I am morally and contractually obliged to mention that X are playing at the Espy tomorrow night (Friday) with Dollsquad* and the Sons Of Lee Marvin.

But gig of the week would have to be this:

Assassination Collective, Deaf Wish, Paper Planes, and Graveyard Train, presented by the Afterdark crew. It's an album launch and all, but even so, I think it's free. Or at least cheap. Not as cheap as those Ass. Co. boys, though. Watch out for that one in the pith helmet.

*any record label looking for a kick-arse girly garage rock album to unleash on the public, get in touch.

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.

This weekend

Hmm, shaping up as a bit of a quiet one.
X and Dollsquad are playing at a relatively new place in Lygon St. Carlton called the Curtin Bandroom, which is upstairs at the John Curtin Hotel. Not sure what that costs. I've heard some of the tunes X's Steve Lucas has just produced for Dollsquad's (hopefully) forthcoming new album, and they sounded pretty good to me. X fans can get a double dose this week, of course- see the post below.
Also on Saturday, the Ooga Boogas are at the Great Britain in Church St. Richmond, with Super Wild Horses. I haven't seen SWH, but I want to. Of course the Oogas are playing tonight (Thursday) at Bar Open, with the Useless Children and while it's probably too late to get there now, I do like the poster:

What else...hmmm, I plan to go on a Vietnamese food safari in Springvale this weekend, and watch some DVDs, but that's not of great interest to anyone but me and my stomach. And eyes.
But there are some great things on the horizon- like this:

Benefit show

Local snapper Melynda needs some money to stage a couple of photographic exhibitions. She's pulled together a pretty awesome line up for this Sunday at the Tote, for a benefit show that will hopefully raise her the cash.
X, GUT and the Losers on one bill is probably worth $10 of anyone's money, any time. Get along if you can.

Get out.

The Sand Pebbles launch their new album "Ceduna" on at the NSC on Saturday. They went to the beach last summer and made a concept album inspired in part by an old travel diary- wait, wait, come back. It’s really nowhere as pretentious or silly as that makes it sound. Its much better indeed. So let’s re-phrase that- as the Drones did with ‘Gala Mill’, the Sand Pebbles went to a place and took some inspiration from it, which they have channeled into their new album. But there’s no over-arching narrative or theme beyond that, though- as they say in the liner notes, they got high, and they wrote these songs. All of which are well worth your eartime.
The launch features well-chosen supports from Ross McLennan (whose recent Mistletone LP, “Sympathy For The New World” is also truly excellent) and Andrew McCubbin and the Hope Addicts. All for $10.00

Also on Saturday- UV Race kick off the first week of their month-long Saturday afternoon residency in the Tote front bar. That’s free, from around 4.00pm. They don't have a CD out, but this is what their "Lego Man" single looks like:



From the youngest to the oldest- across town the legendary X are playing at the Espy with a few friends:

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.

Another big week.

I've mentioned the return of X this week, at Ding Dong, in a previous post.
Cherry Rock 007 is on in AC/DC Lane on Sunday, but if you want to avoid the crowds and are happy to see only see a few of the acts, Eddy Current Suppression Ring and the Pink Fits are at the Espy on Friday night, for free.

X- "At Home WithYou" relaunch.

Don't think I need to say anything more, do I?

More time out.

Well, it appears I now have bronchitis to go with the tinnitus. So, I'll be spending all day tomorrow on the sofa trying to catch up on some live and CD reviews for the I94 Bar (apologies to the Sacred Cowboys, Cold Harbour, X, the Killer Birds, the Kamikaze Trio and many others for the delay) and trying not to smoke too much, before fullfilling my annual obligations to the shareholders of Lindt and Cadbury.

I guess this means I'll miss the Scientists show at the Espy on Sunday...fuck.


Hopefully I can get caught up and back on my feet for the Double Agents album launch at the Spanish Club on the 20th.
Thanks to Patrick Emery for the use of his Scientists piece

A tough call.

Take a deep breath. There is a tough call to make for Friday night.
On the one hand, a reformed X are playing with the Killer Birds and Cold Harbour at the Greyhound. On the other, the SXSW-bound Beasts of Bourbon with the Double Agents and Legends of Motorsport at the Corner. Both headliners are legends, all the supports acts are good.
The Double Agents (who launch their new album in a couple of weeks) are on at 9.00, the Killer Birds (who are almost done mixing their new EP before a long run of shows) also kick off at 9.00. On the other side of the river. There is no way to do both. And this is without worrying about what else might be going on at the Tote, the Espy, the Prince, or anywhere else.
Whatcha gonna do, punk?

The return of X

Last night I was lucky enough to be sitting in the right place at the right time, and so to be invited to watch X rehearse for their upcoming dates.
In a stinky pub back room, that usually holds about 200 people, there were five of us- Steve Lucas, Kim Volkman, John Hall (drummer for these dates) a sound guy called Wal & me.
You can quibble all you like about whether this is the "real" X, but don't ignore the music. For my money, this sounded like the real deal- an opinion confirmed by (long term fan & friend of the band) Fred Negro when he stuck his head in for a minute. Really, though, they needed nothing from me, or Fred, so I just sat and enjoyed it,
"But what did they play?" I hear you ask. What I saw went like this:
"TV Glue"- spiky ringing guitar to the forefront, Steve taking the spoken vocal.
"Degenerate Boy"- again, that guitar sound, wrung out of a new Epiphone.
"Moving On"- some trouble with the final few bars' speed metal assault, quickly ironed out.
"Dipstick"- played faster than I've ever seen it done before.
And more- "Oxford Street Nick" "I Like You And You Like Me" ("Oh, I light up so easily-ah...") "Halfway Round The World" (all slashing old style punk chords) "I Don't Wanna Go Out" (I was grinning like a schoolboy for the duration of THAT) and a very sharp take on Del Shannon's "Runaway"...
Questions?
Yes, Rilen is absent, but yes, I think Kim is a great fit as his replacement. Yes, Steve can still be a bit tetchy at times, but yes, these are his songs and he still enjoys- loves- playing them. Worth noting this is not the only project he has on the go, either. Cathy's absence from the stool was explained to me but it's not something I want to go into here.
You would be a fool to miss your chance here.
Dates, links etc- well, here's the band , here's Steve, here's Kim and here's Cathy .
And this is probably a good place to note that the Aztec Music reissue of "At Home With You" with bonus tracks, is now scheduled for May.

You won't be seeing me on TV

A couple of months back I heard that the Lifestyle Channel were holding auditions to find hosts for a new program about barbecuing.
I wasn't going to bother (honest!) but on the day we happened to go past the area where they were set up, outside the Palais in St. Kilda. It looked kinda interesting, but still I balked at it.
Then an hour or two later a friend who did audition rang and explained the set up. You had to cook a sausage & an egg while talking to the cameras. That was all. AND you got a goodie bag...I was swayed by the thought of a new set of tongs, so went and signed up.
Steve Lucas from X, resplendent in a red tartan suit, and with a raging hangover from the Ian Rilen benefit show the night before, had decided to have a crack too. I'd love to see that tape.
I won't go into details, but will just say that when the producer guy said "We'll call you", I thought I was in.
Sadly, it was not to be. Jamie Oliver and Neil Perry can rest easy.
But the friend who sold me on the idea apparently got a look in. Her name is Janet A. McLeod and she is a very funny lady. If you have cable, and have nothing better to do than watch TV on a Saturday night, the program is called the Great BBQ Challenge, and is on at 7.30pm tomorrow, 2 December.
I'll sign off with a pic of some real BBQ. Here's one I made earlier, as they say. That's Underwater Jesus admiring some pork ribs.

Farewell to Ian Rilen

Richard Sharman photo

My older brother was 16 in 1976, and an early fan of punk rock. He would go visit his new friends and bring home cassettes of local alternative radio station 3RRR- their signal wasn't strong enough to pick up out where we lived- and I'd sneak into his room and borrow them. On one tape, sandwiched between the Boys Next Door doing “A Catholic Skin” and the Little Murders’ “Things Will Be Different” was X doing “Delinquent Cars”. That clanging guitar, the bouncing bass line, the strange lyrics in that deadpan voice…I was intrigued and got hold of more, a whole album’s worth in fact, including “Present”, “Suck Suck”, and the anthemic “ I Don’t Wanna Go Out”.

So they were on my radar for a while before Ian & Steve re-formed the band with Cathy and moved down to Melbourne. It was a flush time for rock n roll, with clubs and gigs aplenty. But there were a bunch of us that chose to be at every X show, following them backwards and forwards across town, from the Prince of Wales to the User’s Club via Melbourne Uni and the Tote. They were just superb live, and had presence to burn, unlike so many other bands around at the time, who just had attitude. Ian and Steve were yin and yang to look at onstage- Steve the lanky dapper longhair and Ian the nuggetty crew-cut one in that white singlet. And of course most of the boys fancied Cathy Green like mad. “TV Glue” was always the high point of the set for me. Am I dreaming when I remember seeing this played with a horn section at least once?

I was writing back then, and after I did a live review for B Side, mutual friend Helen Meyers offered me the use of a spare studio at 3PBS to do an interview with the band. Perhaps unwisely, I took a couple of six packs of beer & a few bottles of red wine along to lubricate the process…but the result was an entertaining read at least.

Fast forward to February 1990- I was living in Surry Hills, Sydney, with Spencer P Jones. One warm Saturday morning, a huge crimson car nosed down our narrow little street and squeezed into a parking spot outside the house. Ian emerged, road case in one hand, amp head in the other and came in, talking a mile a minute. He’d just driven up from Melbourne overnight, and had decided to stop off for a drink. He kicked his boots off, quickly changed his jeans, locked the car and then we were off. I bailed out after an hour or two, (11.00am drinking isn’t my strong suit) and didn’t see Spencer or Ian for the rest of the weekend.

Not long after that I went and lived overseas til 2001. A couple of months after I came back, I went to the Espy to see the final show by Spencer P Jones & the Last Gasp, the magnificent 14 piece outfit he’d put together but had grown tired of shepherding. And while I was standing at the bar in the dim light of the Gershwin Room, an elderly looking gent in a shabby-chic suit & pork pie hat came over and said "Hello mate"...not only had Ian had spotted and recognised me after 10 years, he came over for a chat and a beer.

Over the past few year or so I must’ve seen him play with the Love Addicts eight or nine times. The swaggering, roaring set they unleashed on the big stage of the Palace as part of the benefit for his old mate Pete Wells. Those cramped and sweaty shows eye-to-eye and toe-to-toe with the crowd down on the sticky carpet of the Greyhound Hotel. There was always plenty of give and take

I also ran into him out & about occasionally, often pushing a baby stroller down the footpath. He was proud of all of his children, but there seemed to be something special about the way he looked at Romeo. I’d usually make some dumb crack about how odd it was to see him holding pram handles instead of an instrument. Looking back now, maybe he was holding onto those handles as support for himself just as much for the security of his son.

At the recent benefit show held at the Prince of Wales, I was talking to Janine Hall, the former Saints bass player who’d been a housemate of Ian’s in the past. Janine was close to tears as she told me how worried she was by the news he was too ill to come along himself. The show itself was great, but there was definitely something lacking without his presence. I went to see him on play on October 13th- and he couldn’t make the show. Kim & the Whisky Priests filled in well that night but within the next few days there were rumours swirling round and it was pretty clear things had taken a bad turn.

I went to the Greyhound a few nights ago. It was pretty full for a Monday, though it was happy hour from 5 .30 til 7 .30, and beers are only $2.00. There were a few familiar faces in there, and someone had written “Vale, Ian Rilen” on the blackboard.
I got a drink, put a few of his tunes on the juke box and sat in a chair in the same spot Ian stood and played the last time I saw him here. When the opening bars of "Booze To Blame" started playing, the whole place went quiet for a minute, then Rob (the landlord) went behind the bar to turn up the volume...and suddenly it seemed like everyone wanted to talk about him, to share a memory or a raise a glass. The jukebox got fed again and again, and I think every song of his that they had got an airing. Hearing them – “Halfway Round The World” especially- released a lot of the tension I’d been feeling all day. Well, that and the beers. I said a silent farewell to his shade and didn’t stay too long.

So rest in peace Ian- countless gigs, seven bands, four children, one life.