Hmm, a wet weekend looms

Well, there's a wet weekend on the horizon, which will probably see me staying at home.
I have a stack of 11 new CDs to get through, including the Killer Birds ep and new albums from the Kamikaze Trio and The Super Insurgent Group of Intemperance Talent, with a few more on the way from Rich at Dropkick Records as well.
There are a some things that might tempt me out, though. Tijuana Souvenirs for free at the Pint on Punt tonight is an option, or maybe the Apartments with Dave Graney & Clare Moore's Lurid Yellow Mist at the Northcote Social Club

Saturday there are a few things happening- not least of which are the almighty Dynamo at the Greyhound, maybe, or Nation Blue and others over at the Arthouse. Or try getting drunk and taking a ride in that big Ferris Wheel in Birrarung Marr, in the rain. In the dark. And the howling wind.

And I have long, slow, cold-brewed high hopped batch of beer to bottle...

Looks like this will have to wait until next week, then:

ARIA Hall of Fame awards

I was intrigued to see Radio Birdman and the Hoodoo Gurus had both been scheduled for induction into the ARIA Hall of Fame this year.
I'm a fan, the ceremony itself is being held in Melbourne, I've got a few spare dollars right now- it should be no drama to find out who's arranging it, get a ticket and then head along to the Plaza Ballroom in my best duds on 18th July for a big night out, right?
Wrong.
After three weeks of asking, I finally got sent a ticket order form-there are no press passes available apparently, but then I wasn't banking much on that, anyway.
$475.00 to see a couple of songs and get a three course rubber chicken dinner? Err, no, thanks.
I know that the Hall of Fame sponsors the work done by Support Act, and they will be recieving any profits, but really, $475.00 buys a lot of beers, even for an industry crowd, and especially when the TV rights have already been sold.
So, congratulations to the bands & people who are getting this well-deserved recognition, but now will you please play somewhere I can come and see you?

As usual, click on that image to see an enlarged version.

This weekend

A few things on, but not too much. You could pretty much see all of these, if you wanted, and I think I'm going to try to.
On Friday, the Double Agents play the front bar of the (still kinda open) Spanish Club for free, from 9.30pm.

On Saturday, Sydney's 3D TV do a single launch at the Town Hall Hotel in North Melbourne, with Pretty Green and the allegedly awesome Ooga Boogas. That's free as well.

Or you could hit the Tote, for Little Red, Mink Jaguar & the Spazzys
I guess that may mean Ally & Kat Spazzy will be nursing hangovers on Sunday, when they turn out for the Sacred Heart Community Cup at the Junction Oval in St. Kilda. As usual, the Espy Rockdogs will take on the RRR/PBS Megahertz, and as usual, I'll be barracking for the 'Hertz.
Pre match entertainment is from 11.00am- the Killer Birds, Double Agents, and the Rockwiz Orchestra, half-time sees Mach Pelican play one of their last gigs. Bob Log III will be singing the national anthem before the kickoff.
Only a $5.00 donation to get in. This is always a great day out. Beer, kid & dog-friendly, bring your footy.

Glenn Barr at Outre Gallery

Seems like a while since I had any new art up here. This will be well worth a look.

Outré Gallery is proud to be hosting a full-scale exhibition by one of our most popular advocates of the urban subculture and noir vision, a genre sometimes referred to as Pop Surrealism. Glenn Barr's work blends his own brand of gritty pop imagery from trash culture to a mid-century wasteland aesthetic. His brooding apocalyptic city scape vignettes of moral ruin still manages to embrace a visual satire of humour and pathos. All this and a stylistic nod from his underground comics and animation days thrown into the mix.
Glenn Barr will be out from hometown Detroit to meet and greet at his exhibitions in both Melbourne and Sydney. Glenn will be signing his books “Lowlife Paradise” and “Haunted Paradise” on Saturday 23 June at Outré Melbourne, and Saturday 30 June at Outré Darlinghurst. Both publications are available for sale from Outré.

Celeb review on I94 Bar

Working on the outer fringes of the music biz, as I do, I often feel very privileged to catch a glimpse of little bits of the day to day, back and forth stuff that makes things tick.
One such is an email I was copied in on last week, from Sacred Cowboy Garry Gray, to the Barman, editor of my regular haunt, the I94 Bar.
Garry had submitted a review of a record that I don't believe is available in Australia yet, and this is what he said:

Gentlemen,
I have unearthed a classic album, finished this year by an unsung hero of rock, a friend of mine, and a fucking great human being-Mick Mashbir. Before you start saying "Ah, not another mate" (he is also a mate of Penny's), I promise you this is a great album by a great artist.
I stand by everything I say in this review, and if you guys dug the original Alice Cooper Group as much as me, you won't feel any different to me. This man played lead guitar on nearly every song on 'Billion Dollar Babies' and 'Muscle of Love', AND toured extensively with the original ACG group. The guitar is fucking wild and the lyrics, great. The missing follow up to 'Muscle Of Love', a missing original ACG album? I'm lucky enough to have the disc...you can get a good preview on CD Baby.
Be great if you could post this review of Mick's disc as soon as possible. I know it's not usual but I've given it 5.5 beers. Attached is a JPEG of the cover, the correct amount of beer, and the review.
Listen to this one....you'll be blown away.

best regards

Garry

Of course it went up on the Bar.
Go here to read it.

"Suburban Mayhem" on DVD

I mentioned this movie a while back. This is a just a note that it's now out on DVD, and is available as a limited edition 2 disc set which includes a CD of the (excellent) Mick Harvey soundtrack.

"Write Your Adventures Down"- a tribute to the Go Betweens

Triggered by a marketing email in my inbox the other day...

I used to quite like the Go Betweens. The distinctive "Australian-ness" they get lauded for these days wasn't so much a factor of their sound when they were resident in Melbourne around the time that Missing Link put out "Your Turn, My Turn", and the "Send Me A Lullaby" LP. Live, they could be strikingly spiky and intense, sometimes moving from petulant to fragile to near collapse, but always entertaining.
A whole bunch of people have contributed to a new tribute album:

My most memorable Go Betweens adventures probably don't bear writing down.
One involves a party at the (rather swanky) home of the parents of VOX magazine editor Neil Bradbury. There was drinking, there was a pool, there were some hijinks. Late in the afternoon I was "resting" indoors when Lindy Morrison came in to get changed out of her swimming costume. She didn't bat an eyelid at my semi-conscious figure, blithely stripping nude, chatting all the time. Two things made an impression on me that afternoon- apart from the obvious, she called me an iconclast, the first and only time I've ever been labelled thus.
The other took place at a house in Punt Rd. East Melbourne, in 1983, I think, on the day before they left on a return trip to England. I'd dropped in that afternoon to say goodbye. Grant was clearly over the whole thing, and just wanted to get there. Robert was charming but nervous. Lindy was packing and repacking her case- her suitcase, not her equipment flight cases- and caused minor panic when she came downstairs and loudly announced that her passport had been stolen, and so they wouldn't be able to go after all. Robert sighed, rolled his eyes, and found it for her in two minutes flat.
So there you go

Full track listing for that album, by the way, goes like this:
Disc One (studio recordings)
Lee Remick Patience Hodgson
(from The Grates)
Bye Bye Pride Sarah Blasko
Head Full Of Steam Dan Kelly
Dusty In Here Youth Group
The House That Jack Kerouac Built Glenn Richards (from Augie March)
Streets Of Your Town Bob Evans
Right Here Darren Hanlon
Bachelor Kisses Josh Pyke
Draining The Pool For You Andrew Cox (from The Fauves)
Hold Your Horses Sarah Blasko and Darren Hanlon
No Reason To Cry New Buffalo
Finding You Adele Pickvance (from The Go-Betweens)
Spring Rain David McCormack (from Custard)
Dive For Your Memory Glenn Thompson (from The Go-Betweens)

Disc Two (live at the Tivoli Theatre,Brisbane)
Head Full Of Steam David Mccormack
Lee Remick Darren Hanlon
Right Here Darren Hanlon
No Reason To Cry Kevin Mitchell (Aka Bob Evans)
Bye Bye Pride Sarah Blasko
Dusty In Here Toby Martin & Cameron Emerson (Youth Group)
This Girl, Black Girl Toby Martin and Cameron Emerson (Youth Group)
Spring Rain Dan Kelly
Draining The Pool For You Dan Kelly
The House That Jack Kerouac Built Glenn Richards
People Say Glenn Richards
Hold Your Horses Sarah Blasko
Streets Of Your Town Bob Evans
Finding You Glenn Thompson and Adele Pickvance
Dive For Your Memory Glenn Thompson and Adele Pickvance

Distractions and other shit

I hate to whine here but really, this is getting ridiculous. I still don't have anywhere to live. My latest batch of beer (a highly hopped pale ale, brewed early for good summer drinking) stalled in the fermenter due to this cold weather. And my new project is eating time, patience and bandwidth in roughly equal proportions, and it's barely started yet. Here's a sneak preview, for those with eyes to see it:

And I missed both Penny Ikinger's gig at the Greyhound and the screening of the Rachel Lucas documentary, too.
Oh well. There have been some positives, though.

Last Saturday's show at the Tote was excellent. A lot of old friends there, some good news (hi, Anna & Alexander) and some excellent music. Them Wrong Turns are well worth keeping an eye on. A guitar and drums duo who manage to sound different to any other guitar and drum duo you may have heard, they draw more on straight rock than anything else, and have a huge, full sound courtesy of some quick pedal work. Dynamo did their Dynamo thing as well as ever, though for some reason I couldn't get into it. Sadly Tiger By The Tail were playing their last show, and due to illness they played it as a three piece, too. Nothing precious here- the set list was a copy of each CD, turned face down on the stage, and they were happy enough to take requests for anything anyone wanted to yell from the floor. (Watch this space for details of Dave Thomas' new project, by the way.) HOSS were in fine form, and the Onyas were a great way to close.

All this and a Wu-B-Q as well.

Yeah I know, I know,

this blog is called Last Tram Home, and as a non-driver the tram is my usual mode of transport. But on Friday night my (new best) friend Thomas gave me a lift home in this:

It's a prototype of the V8 Elfin Streamline , and it stunk of petrol, hot oil, and burnt rubber. Sounded like a Spitfire in full flight, backfired like a motherfucker, jumped like a rabbit with Tabasco on it's arse. Best ride I've had in a while.

this weekend- Beasts, Tigers, & Darlings

I've been listening to "Little Animals" by the Beasts of Bourbon all week, and would love to go and see them at the Prince of Wales on Friday. Unfortunately, I have to go and look for somewhere to live on Saturday, and I can't see that an after-Beasts gig hangover will impress any real estate agents.

On Saturday there is a big line up at the Tote- a benefit for Heather Macdonald:

The Melbourne music scene has suffered a setback with the theft of Heather MacDonald's camera gear. These camera's have been used to capture some of the most memorable concerts of the last decade. Her images have graced the covers of many local releases, such as The Powder Monkeys, Hoss, Digger & The Pussycats, The Sailors, Mach Pelican and The Mystaken as well as a Dead Moon LP and the walls of the Tote Hotel's front bar. To get her over this hurdle a bunch of Heather's buddies are getting together do a bit of what they do best. So help pick up her spirits and kick up your heels.

Playing: The Onyas, Hoss, Dynamo, Tiger By The Tail, The Kickyourheadins, Wrong Turn, Chuck Jenkins. Starts at 7.oopm, for only $10.00
Sadly, this looks like it may well be the last Tiger By The Tail gig ever. Get there early.
I mentioned recently that the Saints reformation made me want to go to Brisbane- well, the idea of seeing the Darling Downs and the Painkillers sharing a bill makes me want to go to Perth:


James Baker, Ron Peno & Kim Salmon, all on one bill, all doing new material. A rare opportunity, I hope it packs out for them.

Where are my pirate pants?

The groovy youngsters about town who think that the 80s were all about the "angular" rock a la the Gang of Four, skinny ties and tight black jeans may be in for a rude awakening. The National Gallery of Victoria here in Melbourne is running an exhibition of fashion by Brisbane designer Katie Pye.
I never wore this kind of thing- I escaped the worst excesses, with only one or two dodgy haircuts and a "Blue Monday" 12 inch- but I knew plenty of people who did. The cross-buttoned "Spinnaker" shirt in particular brought back some strong memories.
There's also the added bonus of a video installation, which includes not one but two of Pseudo Echo's efforts. They were big customers of hers, apparently, but frankly, the Strokes they ain't. Which isn't saying much.

Chuck Dukowski in PSF

There's a link a bit further down the page to Perfect Sound Forever, a quality online magazine that appears bimonthly, and is always worth a read. The current June-July issue features Melbourne's own Dave Lang, of the Lexicon Devil blog, talking to former Black Flagger Chuck Dukowksi. It's an excellent read, and also links to Lang's exhaustive three part history of SST Records, written back in 1998.

Best appreciated at a leisurely pace, with the appropriate sound track. Have a look at the Crime piece while you're there, too.

Saints reform for Pig City (II)

I've mentioned this previously- browsing online today I lucked onto the only background piece I've seen yet that explains the reasons why Bailey & Kuepper have buried the hatchet to do this. It's from the Bulletin, of all places and it's here.

This weekend- Little Red etc.

Every so often someone comes along that I have to see for myself. Eddy Current Suppression Ring were one who lived up to the buzz, now it's Little Red. Their month long Wednesday night residency at the Tote has lead people whose opinions I trust to make some extraordinary statements,like this. So I'll be at the Espy on Friday, when they play the Gershwin Room for free, with Even and the Summer Cats. Their myspace songs sound OK, be interesting to see how they cut it live.

On Saturday afternoon I hope to head over to Steve Miller's new bar, the House of Refreshment, at the Abbotsford Convent.

Steve says "You won't find eggs, 'cooked to your liking', skinny lattes, wraps, low fat muffins or light beer. It's S for Salt, F for Fat, S for Sugar, C for Caffeine and A for Alcohol". That'll do.

And no movies this week.

Spanish Club to close

This did the rounds a couple of days ago:

Hello Everyone,

After a lot of rumours, the sad news is that the Spanish Club in Johnston Street really is closing down in June. There are many reasons, and too many to go in to. However there will be a bunch of farewell gigs and parties.
The official end of lease party for the Salon (backroom) is on Sunday 17th June with a mighty line up of live music all day from 2pm. The line up includes LABJACD, BOB LOG III, THE MEANIES, THE NATION BLUE, DYNAMO, LITTLE RED and THE GINGERS, with more to be announced. We also have a return of (Xmas) EVEN a little sooner this year on Friday 15th June along with LISA MILLER, THE VANDAS and AMAYA LAUCIRICA.

There will be one more show in the Salon of the Spanish Club on held on Wednesday 20th June - a RRR/PBS Megahertz benefit a couple of days before the Community Cup footy match. This fundraiser was booked before we knew the venue was closing. The first function that was ever held in the Salon of the Spanish Club was a RRR Radiothon party, so it's nice to finish.

The final shows in the Spanish Club front bar will be on Friday 22nd June ( THE DOUBLE AGENTS) and on Saturday 23rd June (THE REEFERS) .

The Spanish tapas kitchen will also be closing down.

So please come down to the club over the next month or so and enjoy the tapas, some drinks and live music for one last time. Thanks to everyone who has played, dined, drank and seen live music, films, theatre and soccer at the Spanish Club Hope to see you all at the club soon over the next few weeks. Cheers.

The Spanish Club, 59 - 61 Johnston Street, Fitzroy, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. open Tue-Sun from 5pm (kitchen open 6 - 10pm)

I understand this may have something to do with a coordinated campaign of noise complaints from some local residents, and difficulties in soundproofing an old building. Whatever, for the sangria and the decor alone, it will be missed.

Penny Ikinger- live and on screen

Depending on where you are and when you read this, you may be able to catch a live set by Penny Ikinger at the Greyhound in St Kilda on Thursday 24th May, from 8.00pm. She'll be playing with Andrew McCubbin, and is planning to debut some new material. Entry is free.
If you can't make that, "Electra", the Rachel Lucas documentary about Penny, is showing as part of the St. Kilda Film Festival on Saturday 9th June, at the George Cinema in Fitzroy St. It was selected for showing from over 700 entrants to the festival, and if you've seen any of the videos Rachel & Penny have worked on previously, you'll know why. If you haven't, well, here's "Kathleen":

Movie details:

Chrissy Amphlett interviews iconic Melbourne electric guitarist/chanteuse Penny Ikinger on her unique rock n' roll journey in this candid conversation between two pioneer women of Australian rock.
Ikinger is a genuine rarity - a female electric guitarist renowned for her searing, mesmerising guitar solos and violent use of distortion pedals - a graduate of the Radio Birdman school of axe warfare.
Featuring: Penny Ikinger, Chrissy Amphlett, Deniz Tek, Louis Tillet, Kim Salmon, Charlie Owen, Clare Moore

Sounds good to me. And yes, I know I've been talking about movies a lot lately. Sue me.

"Ghost On The Highway"

I still remember the first time I heard the Gun Club- my pal Andrew played me "Jack On Fire", and I was hooked. I was a big fan of music that didn't sound like anything else I'd ever heard, and this fit the bill exactly. It also led me into a few new directions, exploring both the blues it drew on and the American punk scene it sprang from- which at the time was often considered inferior to it's English cousin.
Well, last night I went to ACMI with a few old friends- long time Gun Club fans all, including the afore mentioned Andrew- to see "Ghost On The Highway".
I'd heard conflicting reports about it, including a lot of criticism about the lack of actual music, due to some sort of legal hoo-ha.
There was a fair crowd in the cinema, mainly older types. The movie itself is well shot and edited, and tells it's story at a fair pace. There is plenty of detail at the start, but some of that fades toward the end, due to the fact that many of the participants/interviewees peeled themselves away from Jeffrey Lee in his later years. You need to have at least a working knowledge of the band's history and output to make sense of it, too.
Terry Graham, Ward Dotson, Jim Duckworth and Dee Pop all have plenty to say- some fond memories but also a fair measure of bitterness, and some backstabbing/musical oneupmanship, too. Kid Congo Powers seems more equable and relaxed about his time with the band- perhaps he has a different perspective, having his success with the Cramps and Bads Seed to quell any self doubt or sense of failure.
Dave Alvin of the Blasters & John Doe Of X shed some light on the bands' early playing days, and are of interest in and of themselves, especially Doe, who has weathered well and comes across as a very thoughtful guy.
LA punk figures Pleasant Gehman and Theresa K make some very interesting contributions regarding the genesis of the band, and Chris D. gets a hefty slab of the respect he is due for producing and releasing "Fire Of Love". The only snippet that doesn't sit too well is Lemmy's very generalised observations on the rock and roll lifestyle.
It's not a character assassination by any means- if Pierce comes across as a loudmouth asshole, it's probably because that's what he was a lot of the time. I encountered him a few times in the early 90s and can attest to what an infuriating guy he could be when he wanted to.

Afterwards, discussing what we had just seen over a few beers, we all resolved to go home and play some of the bands' tunes, both to fill in the mental soundtracks we'd all been running during the movie, and in Jeffrey Lee's honour. After me-"Out in the west, it looks like rain..."

post weekend comedown- Barlight Cinema at the Tote

Been meaning to mention this for a while, actually.
Monday evenings sees the Tote screening rare and classic rock film & video on a couple of big screens. It's free, it's friendly, it's like being in a friend's lounge room, but watching the best music ever. I've been to a couple- including Bruce Milne's recent "Things That Make You Go Wha'?" night (bizarre & excellent) and last week's collection of great clips from 60s German tv program Beat TV.
This week, they've got a special Ramones night on:

Monday 21st May features The Ramones. The 19th May was Joey Ramone's birthday (also Jerry Nolan of the New York Dolls/ Heartbreakers' birthday). We'll dig out a night of Ramones clips, some early rarities including some seldom seen TV appearances and interviews.

I hear it may also feature some rare live footage of da Bruddas at Melbourne's Festival Hall in 1991, if Richie can find the tape...see you there. Just don't talk too loud.

Couple of interesting things on

The monthly Primitive night at Exile on Smith Street sounds entertaining to say the least:
The Straight Arrows, from that other city, play their first gig in Melbourne. These garage punk chumps sound like your favourite band if you had good taste. A frenzied mess of feedback, fuzz, and screams that will leave you feeling woozy and aurally fingered. Comprised by members from Holy Soul and KIOSK, these guys are so not right that they’re right…right?
The Ooga Boogas defy a simple description. Think an unholy mess of experimental surf jams crossed with downright stupid riffs, spazzy Beefheart-esque mong rock, and spaceage drone wigouts. This ensemble features members from The Sailors, The Onyas, and Eddy Current Suppression Ring. Watch them shit their pants at their very first gig. Now that’s entertorment!


And Adelaide's King Daddy are in town, launching a single, to be followed very soon by an album, "Evil Love" both on Spooky Records
May 18 at the Old Bar , with the Exotics and Dead South, then on to Pony for a 2am show, and May 19 at The Greyhound with Brigitte Handly & The Dark Shadows (Syd) who are also launching a CD.
Take your hips for shaking and your teeth for breaking!

If you prefer a movie, try this:

One of a handful of bands to genuinely push the punk/post-punk template, The Gun Club was fronted by legendary vocalist Jeffrey Lee Pierce and included such luminaries as Kid Congo Powers, Patricia Morrison, Romi Mori and Terry Graham in their fluid line up. Producing seriously muscular albums like "Miami" and "The Fire of Love", and classic tunes such as "Sex Beat" and "She's Like Heroin To Me", Ghost on the Highway recounts both Pierce's story and the band's 17 year history.
Last chance to see it (for the foreseeable future, anyway) is at ACMI in Federation Square on Saturday.
I'm a bit let down that it doesn't seem to include any contribution from LA punk legend and Flesheaters mainman Chris D, who produced and released "Fire of Love", but will probably go along anyway.

Tiger By The Tail - "Heavy Metal Days"

I didn't even notice I was being filmed for this, at the New Christs & Pink Fits gig at the Espy, back in early January. Enjoy.
More of their videos are up on YouTube, but I can't figure out how to link to them. Yet.