Why march when you can riot?

Well, there’s another music-based protest group in town. This time, it's a mob called Melbourne Locked Out , whose cause is the recent legislation which venues clubs from letting punters in after 2.00am, in a bid to stop the rampaging hordes of party heads who roam the streets from bar to strip joint to all nighter in a desperate frenzy of entertainment lust.
Seriously, though, I don’t think that people who move on from place to place are the root cause or the major cause of trouble. That goes back to our old friends, young men and alcohol, as well as the fact that the venue which gets you pissy drunk has no responsibility for your behavior once you walk out the door.
I myself rarely do the rounds- once I’m at a place I usually stay there til the bitter end. Though having said that, last Friday I went to the Double Agents gig at Cherry, caught part of Spencer Jones’ set at the Spanish Club, and ended the night watching Johnny Casino & the Secrets at Bar Open. All this was before 2.00am, though, so I guess it doesn’t count.
Anyway, you know the form- Friday afternoon, meet, march, yell, then go home. No, go to a club, til at least 4.00am. Good luck.

Janine Hall

My friend Janine died last week. While the circumstances are still a little cloudy, they’re not really important. What matters is that she’s gone.

Born in New Zealand, she was an enthusiastic and notable part of the Australian music scene. She was a member of Melbourne’s legendary Young Charlatans back in the early days, playing her bass alongside Rowland Howard (pre-Boys Next Door/Birthday Party) Ollie Olsen (pre-Whirlywirld/NO/Max Q) and Jeffrey Wegener (pre-Laughing Clowns). Janine later joined the Saints for two albums (“The Monkey Puzzle” and “Out In The Jungle”- yes, that’s her playing on “Always” and “Follow The Leader”) and plenty of live shows in the early 80s, before moving onto Mick Thomas’ Weddings Parties Anything. That’s some CV- and that’s only the edited highlights.
She trained and worked as an acupuncturist in recent years, and as a sceptic I was surprised by the difference a few treatments from her made to my tinnitus. And she never really let me pay her for them, either, preferring a few beers and a game or two of pool at the Tote to cash.
Her funeral is private, but there will be a wake held for friends at idGAFF on Thursday afternoon, 29 May, from 3.00 til 7.00pm. See you there.

Pic- Janine and co. on the back cover of "The Monkey Puzzle"

Update- this just came to my attention:
There will now be a funeral service for Janine Hall.
The service will be at Lonergan WG Raven at 187 Queens Parade Clifton Hill at 2pm sharp on Thursday May 29.
A wake will follow at IDGAFF 160 Hoddle St Abbotsford from 3pm.
All those who knew Janine are welcome.

Please pass on the info.

Four way action weekend

There's a lot going on.

On Friday, The Double Agents play a farewell show at Cherry before heading off on their second European tour.

The Double Agents are bidding farewell to their beloved Oz, as they head off on their second sojourn to Europe in early June. Taking a stellar new line-up, regulars Dave Butterworth, Kim Walvisch and Chris Loughtman will be joined by Callum John Barter(Ancient Free Gardeners) on the skins and Dave Larkin (yes, he of Dallas Crane infamy) on bass guitar. Playing their blistering brand of garage country swamp in one final Melbourne show before heading to France, Holland, Switzerland, Germany, Spain, Italy & Belgium, the tour will also celebrate the vinyl release of their last album “Seemed Like A Good Idea…” on prestigious French label Beast Records. Dave Larkin kicks off the evening with a solo slot before The Agents smack you across the face with a set (or two). ‘Tis an early show - done and dusted by 11:30pm. Expect their usual bar-rattlin’ shenanigans as well as a raffle of rare and unique Double Agents memorabilia to help raise touring funds.

See? It's an early show. So a bit later on Friday night, you can probably make it across town to see Sydney's Johnny Casino bring his Secrets to Bar Open in Fitzroy for a one-off freebie with the Shimmys and Midnight Woolf.

This is an opportunity that's impossible to pass up- did I mention it was free? Here's some YouTube of them doing "Cowboys And Indians" to whet your appetite, if you need it.
Then on Saturday, there's are two more excellent lineups. At Ding Dong:

Rowland's stick insect silhouette is a familiar enough sight around certain parts of town, but I haven't seen him play live for ages. And he's playing with Kes, too. I really shouldn't have to say any more- this is guaranteed to be intriguing, and entertaining.

BUT there's stiff competition from the Espy, where you can see Dave Graney & the Coral Snakes with the almighty Wagons, who are headlining if the relative sizes of the band names on the Espy's gig guide wall is anything to go by:

That's for free too, by the way. And no, I don't know who that bloke is.
Finally, on Sunday, there's an open day at St.Kilda police station in Chapel St., from 10.00 til 3.00, if you fancy it. All sorts of entertainment is planned- but I just want to see if my phone number is still scratched into the wall of womens' cell number three.

Underbelly

As one of the main players in Melbourne's gang wars heads home to jail, it's time to confess my part in the drama- I once lived in the same street as his sister-in-law. Yes, that ugly house that was put up (and lost) as bail surety was just up the road from me. I remember the day they had the fully-grown palm trees hoisted over the fence and planted next to the pool. In Coburg.
The TV series itself is excellent, though admitting you've watched it here in Victoria may lead to some interesting outcomes- possible prosecution for breaching a Supreme Court order, and certain exemption from jury service on any future trials being two options. It's certainly notable for being so Melbourne based- the story comes from and was completely filmed in Melbourne- yet avoiding any of the usual cliches. I've yet to see Luna Park or Flinders Street Station in the background, for instance, although both the Westgate and Bolte bridges feature a fair bit. "Neighbours" or "Secret Life Of Us" it isn't.

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!

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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.

Sixfthick poppin' cherries

Brisbane's finest, SixFtHick, hit town this weekend, for two shows.
First up, at Ding Dong, on Friday 18th, with Ben Corbett's side project, Gentle Ben and His Sensitive Side supporting

Then on Sunday 20th. they'll be gracing the AC/DC Stage at Cherry Rock 008.

If you can't wait until Sunday to see the Supersuckers, they are playing at the East Brunswick Club on Saturday 19th, with Dynamo and Nici Blue Eyes. If you are really keen, why not take the kids along to the 'Suckers instore at Route 66 in Prahran on Saturday afternoon, and introduce them to the scarey men who sing "Born With A Tail"?
Not a lot of other sideshows confirmed for other acts, though. I thought the Hitmen might have jammed one in, but apparently not. And I didn't look too hard for any Galvatrons shows.

Last Tram Home now has a webcam

Yes, a recent upgrade means we have the means to post live streaming video and snapshots.
What am I wearing right now? Pretty much the usual.

Don't get too excited, pervert.

This weekend- three nights of action.

Well, there I was all quiet and shit last night, and a whole mess of stuff popped up on the radar for the weekend. Good thing I rested up.
On Friday night, Cold Harbour are giving you the chance to get your very own "wooo-hoo!" recorded for posterity, along with a few of their songs, at the Greyhound, where they'll be playing two sets for recording as a live album.


Then on Saturday, Gimme Shelter is running from 9.00 til late at the Exford

My idiot sheet says:
$3 entry 9pm-10pm
$6 entry 10pm - 2.30am
9 - very late

AND on Sunday, there's a kinda special event at the Tote. I can't add anything to this, really, except to say that I hope a lot of people go.

The Meanies, Headache, Budd, The Oxymorons, Cut Sick, Ricey & Macka (The Guttersnipes)
On Sunday March 12, The Tote will host a memorial for Dennis DePianto, best known to music fans as D.D. Meanie. D.D. was guitarist in The Meanies from 1988 until 1995. His relentless guitar style is stamped on many of the most well-known Meanies' classics, including Darkside, Paranoid, Ton of Bricks, 10% Weird, Mr. Authority, Big Bertha, etc. He was also the founding member of legendary band The Oxymorons. D.D. had muscular dystrophy from childhood but he refused to let it stop him from pursuing his dream to be a rock guitarist. D.D. passed away after a short but stubborn battle with cancer on Feb. 14, 2008.
The Meanies, Budd, Headache, The Oxymorons and Cut Sick play in honour of D.D, Sunday April 13. Proceeds will be donated to Muscular Dystrophy Australia.

Wednesday night- I got nothin' but an urge.

So, a quiet midweek at home. Tomorrow night I will be admiring expensive & beautiful glass at Kirra Galleries, in lieu of taking up a friend's kind offer to go and see Matchbox 20 for free.

But tonight, a bit of stimulating reading:

The cover is a bit battered, frontispiece is in better nick:

It's more interesting than you may think, though a bit turgid- GBS had not yet hit the form that won My Fair Lady eight Oscars. And no, there are no simple parallels/analogies to be drawn with today's artists, if you thought that was where I was going with this. That would be too easy.
This is the only book I own- and one of very few I have ever seen- that actually came from Melbourne's legendary Cole's Book Arcade, by the way:

Links

I've just updated the links section- culled a few dead ones, added some new ones.
The team at Across The Rooftops have gone a bit quiet lately, but there is plenty to keep you occupied until they catch up.
Andy Ramadge's Pop In Print is more regular- he has a keen eye and a good ear.
Tom Reynolds talks about cars and motorbikes a lot- that's his job- and he too has a very keen eye. Check out his take on the Princess Diana conspiracy theories. I've been for a couple of memorable drives with him.

I've also added some more unsolicited endorsements- those are always welcome.

Harem Scarem- reformation.

Well, as noted previously, these boys hit the boards again recently, in front of a packed house at the Corner. Many old friends and faces there, and a great set. I got punched in the head by an over-zealous security guy when I ripped this from the stage:

even though the encores were over.
It was a great set- Chris, Charlie & Barry seemed to be enjoying themselves hugely. Mark Ferrie played bass like the goddamn pro he always is. Personally, I woulda liked to have heard some harmonica in there, and considering "Dirty" Kurt Lindner was in the crowd, and willing to step up, I'm a little puzzled as to why there was none.
Whatever, here's hoping they do it again.

the Rezillos

I listen to a fair bit of what could broadly described as “old stuff”, and one thing I really like is old new wave pop- think Devo, XTC, the B52s…and Scotland’s finest, the Rezillos.
I’ve been listening to the extended CD of their debut album “Can’t Stand the Rezillos” a lot lately.

One of the earliest punk bands in town, they formed in Edinburgh in 1976, and drew from similar trashy inspirations as the Cramps, but with a very UK slant- it was all go-go skirts, Top Of The Pops, Thunderbirds (the TV show, not the car) and greasy Triumph biker boys.
Their covers ranged from the classic Merseybeat of the Dave Clark Five’s “I Like It” to the obscure (pseudonymous) Fleetwood Mac tune “Somebody’s Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonight”, to the Sweet's “Ballroom Blitz”. Their own tunes- “No”, “(My Baby Does) Good Sculptures” and “Destination Venus” were fantastic- strange, short numbers with amazing energy and some great lyrics. Check out this, for instance, from “Destination Venus”:
Further modulation of the frequency rotation
Triggered waveband activation - near elation
Somewhere in the distance I could hear a voice one instance
Then it faded from existence - no persistence

What does it mean? Who knows, but this is what it looked and sounded like at the time

It's odd to think that guitarist Jo Callis, who wrote all the band's originals, went on to join the Human League and basically conquer the world with synth-pop a few years later. Oh well, enjoy.

The Negatives/the Reals- “Dumbworld”

I’ve been waiting for a release copy of this one for a while, having had some (minor) involvement with it earlier on, and now it’s finally available.
Subtitled “original punk rock from Melbourne, 1974-1978”, it’s basically a collection of home recordings featuring future Sacred Cowboy frontman Garry Gray alongside teenage chum & future Moodist Chris Walsh, in a couple of early outfits, the Negatives and the Reals. They rip through some bruising Stooges covers in between throwing out a few snarling fistfuls of their own teenage anthems. This is the real deal, kids- suburban punk rock being made & played before the term even existed. It also includes a version of the Negatives’ “Lethal Weapons” contribution, “Planet On The Prowl”, without the producer’s unhelpful tinkering/overdubs.
You need to bear in mind that this is not the usual collection of rarities, b-sides and unreleased studio recordings- indeed it would be too charitable to describe some of them as demos- and you may need to have specially tuned ears to appreciate the nature of this stuff. That said, I reckon they sound great. They catch some great early musical moments and provide another layer of insight into the early days of the Melbourne scene-there are a couple of sample tracks up here. "Dumbworld" is out on Savage Beat, through Shock, and is well worth getting hold of.