We're all Happy Men and Women

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By The Barman

The Barman

06 February 2017

Hits: 6210

In days to come, when rock and roll has finally been relegated to the cultural nursing home to be read its last rites. It'll be a nice room with dappled sun, shared with other old cogders like Jazz and Rolling Stone magazine.

People will reflect that some of its best times were in Sydney in the late 1970s and early ‘80s. They’ll also realise how good things were, and how easily they slipped away.

This wasn’t going to be one of those high faultin’ essays on the fragility of cultural scenes and the futility of trying to recapture them (because, you know, things can never be like they were.) About how you can’t put your arms around a memory. Telling you: Don’t Look Back. But a story "angle" can just happen.

Sometimes we try to bury nostalgia or pretend it’s not a valid thing. It’s so easy to hope you die before you get old when you’re in the full flourish of indestructible youth…and then you want to take it all back when you realise that the future's not so much uncertain and the end is increasingly near.

So let’s make the observation that if nostalgia isn’t so much the elephant in the room at the Enmore Theatre tonight then it’s taking up much of the available space in the foyer. And that's fine. More than ever, with so many people who were influential in rock and roll dropping off the twig. We all crap on about how bad 2016 was for that sort of thing but of course it's only going to get worse. 

Right: Sluggo from Flaming Hands under the Enmore lights. Shona Ross photo

• live
• sunnyboys
• flaming hands
• shy impostors
• enmore theatre

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Radio Birdman, Died Pretty tour takes flight over Australia

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By The Barman

The Barman

06 February 2017

Hits: 5254

Iconic underground products of the Sydney music scene, Radio Birdman and Died Pretty, are undertaking a double-header tour of Australia.

Although they formed 11 years apart, Birdman and Died Pretty had their roots in the same Darlinghurst breeding ground. Died Pretty's Ron Peno was a patron at the Oxford Funhouse and a member of Birdman support act The Hellcats. Birdman's Rob Younger has been a production hand at critical points of their recording career.

Muscially, they veered in disparate directions. Spirit-wise, the bands shared a common sense of independence and going their own way. Both bands will be alternating headline positions.

• live
• tour
• australian
• died pretty
• radio birdman

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Sunnyboys bring the magic

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05 February 2017

Hits: 8935

_{Murray Bennett photo}

I set out this afternoon towards the Enmore Theatre with every intention of taking some notes, keeping a rundown of the songs, and trying to come up with the sort of review that some people actually get paid to write.

Unfortunately, this grand plan fell apart by the time I’d been at the Warren View Hotel for an hour and met 26 (yes, I counted them) people I knew and ended up in more shouts than it was feasible to manage. Coopers Red is a great beer but a lousy friend when you’re trying to make a plan come together.

By the time I got to Phoenix (or at least the Enmore) it was 7.15pm, the Shy Impostors had just come on stage, and I was carrying enough Red on board to ensure that an in-depth profound analysis of the gig was as unlikely as AC/DC inviting Dave Evans back into the fold. So you’ll have to put up with this instead.

• live
• sunnyboys
• flaming hands
• shy impostors
• enmore theatre

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Chris Masuak announces Sydney show

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By The Barman

The Barman

03 February 2017

Hits: 5973

Chris Masuak’s musical history reads like a muscle car ride through the mean streets of Australia’s rock and roll underground, but appearances Down Under have been few and far between since he relocated to Spain. Masuak is about to right that wrong with a handful of select shows in NSW in March and April, his first in four years.

Riding the best reviews of this solo career with his album “Brujita”, recorded in Spain, the ex-Radio Birdman guitarist will play a handful of selected Aussie dates with a hand-picked Australian band, The Harbour City Wave Riders, featuring Tony Bambach (Lime Spiders) on bass and Stuart Wilson (New Christs, Loose Pills) on drums.

• live
• australia
• chris masuak

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All Through Paradise - The Braves (Spooky Records)

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By Robert Brokenmouth

Robert Brokenmouth

31 January 2017

Hits: 5458

You might not get it first listen. You almost certainly will if you see them.

Remember when you used to follow a local band? Thought the world of them, and they took you all over the city, into dark corners you’d never normally go? Pubs filled with sad, bitter old men?

Everywhere The Braves go around Melbourne, there’s a crew of their fans who follow them. So even out in the tedium of the bored burbs, when The Braves play, the dancefloor is filled with dancing shapes. And the locals get it, and join in. And when The Braves go back, there’s more people.

• spooky records
• the braves
• all through paradise

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He promises not to sing "Louie Louie"...

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By The Barman

The Barman

31 January 2017

Hits: 5977

"Yeah, I don't care if you throw all the ice in the world. You're payin' 5 bucks and I'm makin' 10,000 baby, so screw ya!"

It won't won't cost you five bucks, actually, and it probably won't remotely resemble "Metallic KO" but do we have your attention yet? 

Acclaimed Adelaide writer/filmmaker/journalist/musician/I-94 Bar reviewer Robert Brokenmouth will be doing a very special reading from his latest work "101 Nights" at the Lyrebird Lounge in Melbourne on Saturday, February 4, accompanied by Michael Plater and Nick Spaulding.

Also performing will be Duet (Harry Howard, Edwina Preston and Craig Williamson), Michael Plater, and Cabin Inn.

• edwina preston
• michael plater
• cabin inn
• harry howard
• nick spaulding
• robert brokenmouth
• craig williamson

"Portraits, Punks & Pits" lifts the lid on 25 years behind the lens

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By The Barman

The Barman

31 January 2017

Hits: 6012

Rod Hunt is a passionate sharp shooting Sydney music photographer and has been perfecting his craft for more than 25 years. Now an accomplished and sought-after snapper, he has many published works and awards under his belt.

Hunt’s upcoming exhibition, “Rod Hunt: Portraits, Pits & Punks” draws on his extensive catalogue of work for his first major solo show taking place from February 16-26 at Chrissie Cotter Gallery in Camperdown, Sydney. Legendary Australian music photographer Tony Mott will be guest speaker on opening evening.

As a teen, Rod frequented his local music venues, shooting punk outfits such as Hard-Ons, Massappeal and the Hellmenn, at places like Sutherland Royal Hotel and Penshurst Den, the Lansdowne, the Journo’s Club, the Hopetoun and the Evil Star.

• sydney
• rod hunt
• photographer
• exhibition

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Descendents descend down under

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By The Barman

The Barman

30 January 2017

Hits: 5543

Back in Australia for the first time since 2012, punk rock pioneers Descdents are touring next month in support of their new album, “Hypercaffium Spazzinate”.

Many say that the Descendents invented pop punk. t. They perfected the warp-speed amalgam of adolescent angst, snotty attitude and championship melody infesting the airways today. They took a genre that was about spikes, chaos and anarchy, and brought it to earth, singing about girls, growing up and food.

• tour
• australian
• descendents

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The Winter Journey - Julitha Ryan (self released)

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By Robert Brokenmouth

Robert Brokenmouth

30 January 2017

Hits: 6881

“The Winter Journey” has been such a difficult album to review. Why? Well, I can’t concentrate on typing, I keep falling into it and staying there, hypnotised. It’s just bloody wonderful. I’ve tried with pen and paper, same thing. Just dragged in. Fabulous, really.

Seven bottles, Barman. This is the second of Julitha’s solo albums, hopefully of many more. Her first LP, “The Lucky Girl” I responded immediately to and “The Winter Journey” does the same. Sure, if you’re expecting a wall of guitars, you might pause when you get a wall of … Julitha’s delicate voice. But then everything else kicks in: piano, organ, guitars, pedal steel, synthesizers, strings, brass section, and oh, yes, her all male choir (The Wall of Men) used to intensely powerful effect.

• nick cave
• pj harvey
• julitha ryan
• the winter journey
• mick harvey

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