A roomful of love amid the loss

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By Robert Brokenmouth

Robert Brokenmouth

18 March 2019

Hits: 5195

The Beasts
The Johnnys
The Gov, Adelaide
March 17, 2019
Photos by Alison Lea

It's the last night of the Adelaide Festival and the city centre is abandoned to the tourists, and no doubt some "end of festival" official shindig, doubtless adding anodyne "vibrancy" (one of Adelaide City Council's favourite buzzwords) to the joint.

Meanwhile, Adelaide's finest and most intelligent people are voting with their wallets and pile into the Gov, many having come from miles around. One bloke is here with his wife from Kangaroo Island (more expensive than a trip to Melbourne or Sydney); another bloke flew 300 miles to arrive at 4pm, with a return flight at 8am. There are many happy drunks.

Tonight was the most beautiful gig I've seen in years, if not ever. I cannot remember a more wonderful, cathartic experience.

• beasts of bourbon
• kim salmon
• tex perkins
• the johnnys
• charlie owen
• australian tour
• the beasts
• tony pola
• still here
• boris sujdovic

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If you're hard of hearing, don't show up

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By The Barman

The Barman

18 March 2019

Hits: 3722

Rose Tattoo’s "Never Too Loud", released in 1997 through Repertoire Records in Germany, was a compilation spanning the band's career at the time. Now, 22 years on, the Hard-Ons join Rose Tattoo on their "Still Never Too Loud" tour heading out across Australia in March, April and May.

Thirty-five years since their formation, the Hard-Ons have amassed an unprecedented and never-to-be-paralleled 17 consecutive number-one releases on the Australian alternative charts, making them one of Australia’s most commercially successful independent bands. Their cult following extends into Europe and the UK, and as of 2019, their brand of unapologetic punk rock has never sounded better.

The band are fresh out of the studio having just finished recording their 12th studio album due to be released later this year.

Angry Anderson’s Rose Tattoo recruits, considered some of the best in the business, comprise legendary bass player extraordinaire Mark Evans of AC/DC fame, iconic guitarist Bob Spencer of The Angels & Skyhooks, as well as unbelievably talented maestro of rock mayhem, Dai Pritchard.

Rose Tattoo hit the high seas on the Monsters Of Rock Cruise out of Miami in late February and headed straight into the recording studios in March.

STILL NEVER TOO LOUD
Friday 29th March 2019 - Metro Theatre, Sydney NSW
Saturday 30th March 2019 - Waves, Wollongong NSW 
Friday 5th April 2019 - Shoppingtown Hotel, Doncaster VIC 
Saturday 6th April 2019 - Chelsea Heights Hotel, Chelsea Heights VIC 
Friday 12th April 2019 - The Gov, Adelaide SA 
Saturday 13th April 2019 - Capitol, Perth WA 
Friday 26th April 2019 - The Triffid, Brisbane QLD 
Saturday 27th April 2019 - Coolangatta Hotel, Coolangatta QLD 
Friday 3rd May 2019 - Diggers, Ettalong NSW 
Saturday 4th May 2019 - Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle NSW 
Tickets from rosetattoo.com.au
 

• hard-ons
• live
• rose tattoo
• australian tour
• still never too loud
• angry anderson

Smoke, mirrors and substance

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By The Barman

The Barman

17 March 2019

Hits: 3689

The Jesus and Mary Chain
The Gov, Adelaide
March 15, 2019
Alison Lea photos 

Late the following afternoon I received a message to the effect that I was off to see the Jesus and Mary Chain that night. My photographer, engrossed with preparations for a seven-year-old's birthday, told me where to take myself. I called Peter, I called Bob. Both busy. I called a different photographer and we presented ourselves at the rather wonderful Gov, where I eventually hope to be buried.

• jesus and the mary chain
• jim reid

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Intoxicating Mick Harvey and friends

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By Robert Brokenmouth

Robert Brokenmouth

17 March 2019

Hits: 4711

Mick Harvey:
"Intoxicated Man. Presenting the Songs of Serge Gainsbourg"
Elder Hall, Adelaide
March 14,  2019
Mandy Tzaras photos

Verdict in a nutshell: Brilliant. You shoulda been there. Get the CDs instead.

It's a strange place, Adelaide. A reputation for bizarre and secretive murder blends with a town which happily dozes for most of the year, abruptly jerks to life as summer hits with the subtlety of a jackhammer, and keeps the long-suffering residents on their toes: the steady stream of utter twatheads who emerge from beneath sordid rocks, blinking into the light of the civilised world for the first time; the ubiquitous meth-heads roaming the streets and communing with the sky; the endless and confusing roadworks; endlessly over-running building works; a hospital which doesn't seem to work very well (though it does provide an excellent example of how to make a place unpleasant for the customers with, presumably, the intent of discouraging their attendance for all but the most involuntary admission) ...

These are all everyday local wonders, and frankly we should charge admission. The Festival, The Fringe, the stupid car race, the writers week, WOMAD and so on and so on and so on, all serve to ensure large numbers of normal South Australians keep their distance. 

• bad seeds
• JP Shilo
• the birthday party
• mick harvey
• boys next door
• intoxicated man
• serge gainsborough

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The Hot Sweets – Hello and Goodbye (self released)

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By Colin Gray

Colin Gray

14 March 2019

Hits: 4002

"Hello and Goodbye" is the debut album for The Hot Sweets, a short-lived Wollongong band that folded a couple of years ago. I’m here to tell you, there’s a lot to like about The Hot Sweets, particularly if melodic garage-rock/power pop be your thing.

Yet that catch-all tag is only the tip of the iceberg. To better define The Hot Sweets sound you need to add in the following descriptors – likeable female vocals, melodic sensibilities, hard hitting riffs, infectious choruses and underscoring it all – pop hooks. For as I’ve written a zillion times, no matter what type of sound you are after, if a song don’t have a hook – it ain’t worth the paper it’s written on.

• carrie phillis
• booby traps
• asteroid b612
• brother brick
• hot sweets
• stewart cunningham
• reggie screen
• craig jackson
• hello and goodbye

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Jesus and The Mary Chain's perfect pop set to the aesthetics of noise

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By Bob Short

Bob Short

10 March 2019

Hits: 5541

_{Credit: @majortielve}

It's easy to forget just how good the Jesus and Mary Chain actually are; how many drop dead classic songs they have recorded. Then, on a Thursday night at the Sydney Opera House (no less), they ram a shit ton of their greatest hits down our throats and they still leave out a huge chunk of back catalogue just to spite you.

They make it look easy. But being this damn good is not easy.

• live
• sydney
• australian tour
• jesus and the mary chain
• opera house

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Picture Us - Money for Rope (Cheersquad)

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By Patrick Emery

Patrick Emery

07 March 2019

Hits: 3714

I can’t remember the first time I saw Money for Rope play. Probably sometime around 2010, give or take a couple of years. Wally Kempton, initially fan, then manager, now the band’s record label benefactor, was there, telling us these guys were good. Very good. He was right, of course.

There have been a few changes in the line-up since that initial sighting, maybe not on the scale of The Fall, but enough to threaten Money for Rope’s initial promise. But every time I’ve seen Money for Rope since then, they’ve been as impressive as they were that first time. Sometimes you get bands like that.

• melbourne
• meanies
• money for rope
• wally kempton
• jules mckenzie

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Easter Monday - Mustang Jerx (J-Pop)

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By The Barman

The Barman

05 March 2019

Hits: 4384

It's the fourth full album for Japanese trio Mustang Jerx and while they're not a household name in Australia, there's a small but willing fanbase here awaiting their third visit on the back of this record.

"Easter Monday" is nimble blues-rock with a swing in the bottom-end and a scything slide guitar up front. Their 2019 visit to these shores will follow similar hit-and-run missions six and five years before, and will owe much to the mutual admiration between them and Sydney band Bunt.

Mustang Jerx sing in their native language so the lyrical themes are impenetrable to these ears, but the music they grind out is universal in its rawness and punchy appeal. It's dirty and unpolished - and you know that's gotta be a plus when you mix it with sticky carpet and liberal amounts of beer.

• tour
• mustang
• jerx
• japanese
• australian
• blues rock
• boogie
• mustang jerx
• easter monday

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Sometimes When - The Golden Rail (Candlestick Records)

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By The Barman

The Barman

05 March 2019

Hits: 3652

If you heard the debut album you know what to expect: These four veterans - supplemented by producer and multi-instrumentalist Nick Batterham - have been around too long to put a foot wrong, so it’s stellar guitar pop all the way.

With origins going back to Perth popsters like The Palisades, The Rainyard, Header, Summer Suns, DM3 and The Jangle Band, a
re-grouping in Australia's music capital, Melbourne, would be hard-pressed to fail.

The 10 songs are co-writes by guitarists-vocalists Jeff Baker and Ian Freeman and they're exactly what you don't expect to hear on mainstream radio. In other words, they're full of understated melodies, feels that sit back in the pocket and chiming guitars.

The Golden Rail's evocative sound winds things back to the '80s, capturing echoes from the preceding decades.

• dm3
• powerpop
• someloves
• the golden rail
• sometimes when

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