Growing up in a South East London neighbourhood was the perfect background to start a life in music, ANDREYA TRIANA tells CHRIS PICKERING.

Be first to comment on this article

• Valley hidey-hole bar/club Alloneword turns a year old this week, with a weekend-long celebrations set to begin from 9pm on Thursday night. Friday night sees DotDotDot take over the open-air space, followed by The Butcher on Saturday, and jam night Los Domingos on Sunday.
• After having taken some time off to write new material, Brisbane rockers Silent Motive play X&Y Bar this Thursday, alongside Birds Of Tokyo supporters The Rockefeller Frequency. The free action starts at 8pm.
• Tom Hall (sometimes better known as AXXONN) plays a special audio-visual set at X&Y Bar this Friday, accompanied by fascinating New York A/V outfit APSCI. It’s free entry and starts at 8pm.
• Acoustic solo artist Hazel Eyes The Devil (aka “the bad boy of acoustic guitar”) plays alongside The City Shake Up and Chamberland at the Surfers Paradise Hard Rock Café this Friday night. 
• Teen band The Danger Bunnies will be playing at Brisbane Central State School’s Art Show & Festival this Saturday, appearing in the school’s new hall at 2.30pm. It’s free and the festival runs 10am – 4pm.
• Saturday night sees four rock & roll bands from the suburbs take over The Zoo, with The Ninjas, Beware The Hippos, Goldentones and The Royal Orleans dirtying up the place. Don’t say we didn’t warn you!
• Northern Territory duo Sietta are debuting the new video for single Silence at Uber this Saturday, appearing alongside local hip hoppers Impossible Odds, Gamarang, DJ Returnagain and DJs Mangohig & Elib. It’s $10 on the door.
• For a night of live jazz and vibing tunes, head along to see the Dave Kemp Trio, featuring Jason Elliot on guitar, play at Gertie’s Bar and Lounge (699 Brunswick Street, New Farm) on Saturday from 8pm.

Be first to comment on this article

Aunty Meredith has blessed us this week with the news that two of her artists will journey north to play our fair city. First up, Spaniard El Guincho (pictured, Pablo Diaz-Reixa to his mum) plays The Club House (The Tempo Hotel) on Thursday Dec 16, bringing his Pop Negro LP (out September 10) to the people. If first single Bombay is anything to go by – all steel drums and psych tropicalia – then this summer just may be soundtracked by one Mr. Diaz-Reixa. Tickets are available through OzTix on Wednesday Sep 1.

Be first to comment on this article

Sydney-based teen power pop/haircut band The Never Ever (pictured) are bound for local parts, playing Byron Bay’s YAC on Friday Sep 3 (with support from Alice Blu) and The Hive on Saturday Sep 4 (with support from Fushia and Autumn Heartache). Both shows are all ages.

Be first to comment on this article

The Troubadour - Sat Aug 28

It must be bizarre opening for a musical comedy act, but Pinky Beecroft does well to warm the crowd with charming between-song banter. The years seem to have mellowed the ex-Machine Gun Fellatio frontman, who appears to be completely at home perched in front of a keyboard playing jazzy piano licks. He performs songs by his new band, The White Russians, which are every bit as thoughtful and slyly catchy as you would expect, as well as Machine Gun Fellatio’s Unsent Letter and a bluesy cover of Blondie’s Call Me.

Despite Tony Abbott’s attempts to turn us against them, the substantial crowd tonight is testament that The Boat People are as popular as ever. The band showcase songs from their new album, Dear Darkly, which suggest a dancier, more synth-driven direction, whilst still maintaining the jangly pop sweetness that we have all learnt to love.

Justin Heazlewood, aka The Bedroom Philosopher, is one funny fellow. For those not familiar with his work, his latest album revolves around Melbourne tram culture and features humourous song titles like We Are Tramily. Northcote (So Hungover) is an instant crowd-pleaser, a song mimicking a pretentious indie kid’s one-sided phone conversation and featuring more puns than a newspaper headline. Yes, he does tend to recycle the same jokes, but by no means does it ever grow old. Musically, the performance is satisfying, owing mostly to his backing band The Awkwardstra. Luckily for him they are ridiculously competent musicians because really, without them, he’s just a guy prancing around on stage quipping jokes and trying miserably to breakdance – not that there’s anything wrong with that. It’s hard to know whether he’s a musician, a comedian or a satirist; this reviewer would be inclined to say all three.

TIAN ZHANG

Be first to comment on this article

(No Quarter/Shock Records)

Obsessive compulsives with five tickets on the groove train.

Endless Boogie aren’t sure if they came here to party, fight or fuck. I’m not even sure they know the difference, where one ends and where the other begins. Endless Boogie (four middle-aged classic rock tragics from New York) is to a sea of trim, well-groomed upper middle class angsty, quasi-gritty guitar rock bands what The Fall and Mark E. Smith were to early punk – they’ve managed to take the minimalist chug of droning stoner rock and make it sound even more brainless, but in quite a clever and fun way. Eight tracks in just under 80 minutes should let you know what you’re getting into. No, this isn’t the overblown prog histrionics of Emerson, Lake & Volta, Full House Head is so far on the other end of the spectrum it’s almost come back around again. Each track never has more than one or two distinct passages, repeated ad infinitum as various guitar squeals snake their way through, with rare snippets of mumbled lyrics that sound like they’re soaked in whiskey and are neither profound or absurd. They just are, and now they’re gone. Underground heroes in their hometown New York – although this is said about every New York band until some sneaky Pitchfork prat shouts it from the rooftop about their clandestine nature – Endless Boogie are unrelenting in their pursuit of the perfect inebriated party jam, and don’t dare stray off this rock & psych course. Brash, obnoxious, primal, proficient but ultimately enjoying themselves. Essentially, this is what Barry and Sonic Death Monkey will sound like.

****

MITCH ALEXANDER

Be first to comment on this article