live

_{Garry Gray and The Sixth Circle owning the stage at The Tote.  Ripley Hood photo}

I don’t think I could ever live in Melbourne

Not unless I wanted to exist on on liver tonic and could handle being out seeing bands most nights of the week. The previous evening in Melbourne I was at HITS and maybe the mistake was to have my first beer at midday at Sydney Airport. The carnage that followed lasted long after midnight with visits to all the cool bars along Smith Street, Fitzroy.

My fellow fiend in booze and rock and I wandered into Ya Ya’s (a sleazy place at this time of night) and watched on from upstairs as another band hit the stage at 2am. It was either that or take a cab to the Cherry Bar, which is still having bands till the early hours. It all reminds me of misadventures of a long, lost Sydney live music scene.

Pange, Chris and Yolanda of Beat Taboo. 

The Beat Taboo, 
The Metro, Adelaide, Friday, August 18, 2017 
The Grace Emily, Adelaide,  Saturday, August 19, 2017
Pics by Mandy Tzaras

For a while there I didn’t think I’d be able to see any bands this weekend, as your poor scribe being pulled in several directions at once seems to be a bit of a hobby for some. 

So we were only able to squeeze in Melbourne visitors The Beat Taboo on both nights of their Adelaide stand. I must apologise to the other bands, they know who they are, and, be reassured, I will see them again, properly.

In the meantime, I would like you to cast your mind back to the dimly recalled halls of the (yes, I know, here we go again) 1970s and 1980s. 

_{Chuck Trend photo}

For the first time in their 21-year existence, Memphis garage rock legends The Oblivians are touring Australia.

As well as the Golden Plains Festival near Meredith in Victoria, The Oblivians will play headline dates at Newtown Social Club in Sydney (March 4), Brisbane Hotel in Hobart (March 5), Barwon Club in Geelong (March 9), Wooly Mammoth in Brisbane (March 14) and a special three-night residency at Melbourne's iconic The Tote on March 11, 12 and 13.

_{The Fleshtones joined by Miriam Linna (and Dave Champion at right of stage) . Photo: LePetitRusse}

The “Wheel of Talent” was spinning in northern Ontario, Canada, baby. Oh yeah!

I very rarely open the newsletters and catalogs I get from various labels and bands but for some reason I was drawn to this month’s from Norton Records.

What do I see but that the mighty Fleshtones are playing two hours from home. And Sudbury hometown girl, Miriam Linna (head honcho at Norton Records, ex-Cramps drummer and solo artist in her own right), was going to be joining them. On stage. So, yeah, I had to go.

Hard to pick when I first heard the Stones. They've always been around, the songs, like a family member, those classic ‘60s hits: “Ruby Tuesday”, “Paint it Black”, “Get Off My Cloud”, “Mother’s Little Helper” and so on.

I knew heaps of Stones songs growing up. “Get your Ya Yas” out was popular at parties in Brisbane in the ‘70s. Flogged, it was. “Midnight Rambler” goes right alongside some drunken maniacs lurching around in a Brisbane backyard dancing the Pre Vomit Shake.

"You heard about the Boston" THUMP !

Aussie pop-rock supergroup The On and Ons have been busy recording their follow up to the highly acclaimed album "It's The On and Ons Calling", along with a bit of touring including a Radio Birdman support. Later this month there'll be a gig with a special preview of songs from the new record.

Marrickville Bowling Club in Sydney is the venue on August 27. The On and Ons wil lbe supported by Loose Pills and Chicanery. Every punter receives a free download of a new On and Ons single, "Run About".

The On and Ons contain former members of the Screaming Tribesmen, Hoodoo Gurus and Barbarellas. Details of their launch event are on Facebook here.

Loose Pills have recently returned from a break, supporting Died Pretty and featuring at the Mazstock festival in Northern NSW. They are in blistering form.

Chicanery are an exciting bunch of young ladies and formed at the age of 15 during high school. The group has played numerous shows since then. Now university students, the band has begun recording their debut EP, set for imminent release. "Open Road" is the first single from the upcoming EP, written for a documentary titled "Pontiacs Down Under", and has enjoyed some good radio play.

Get on down. Cheap drinks and food. Only $15 at the door.

_{The Aints in full flight: Peter Oxley, Paul Larsen and Ed Kuepper, with Alastair Spence obscrured. Mandy Tzaras photo.}

You knew something special was up in Adelaide tonight because as you approached The Gov, heading determinedly back to the carpark was a small group of lone pushing-toward-pensioner men, each clutching the same record: “The Aints Live at The Sarah Sands 1991”. There can’t be too many left of this, they only made 300; get yours at the gig; two LPs, $50.

Now then.

Ever hear of Reid Fleming, World’s Toughest Milkman? Good. Now you have. 

The first comic came out, it must’ve been 30 years ago. I had a T-shirt, gave it to Bob, who has cherished that damn thing for about 25 years now. I did my heart good to see Bob bouncing around tonight in that tattered t-shirt. “I thought I told you to SHUT UP!” Fleming bellows from the shirt. It perfectly matches the night.

By An Anonymous Australian Band Member

Recently I was interested to read an article on a News Corporation website in which Justin Burford, from a lame pop band called End of Fashion, took aim at AustralIa’s national youth broadcaster JJJ.

He’s been called “the Godfather of Aussie stoner rock” and his status as co-founder of the legendary 70's band Buffalo (also home to Pete Wells who went on to Rose Tattoo) alone entitles Dave Tice to undying respect.

Tice also went on to front UK pub rockers The Count Bishops, formed Sydney’s Headhunters and his own Dave Tice Band. Long-running residencies with ex-ACDC bassist Mark Evans made the Tice and Evans duo a fixture in Sydney. His influence on the Australian rock, blues and heavy metal scene has been enormous.

The Sydney-based veteran still has one of the best voices in the business and is playing four dates in Melbourne to showcase his impressive back catalogue, partnering with a band of hot local players:

Thursday 24th September - Mr Boogieman Bar (Abbotsford)
Friday 25th September - Station 59 (Richmond)
Saturday 26th September - The Reverence Hotel (Footscray)
Sunday 27th September - The Flying Saucer Club (Elsternwick)

Here's part two of Art and Steve Godoy's mini-documentary of their last tour of Europe as part of the Deniz Tek Group. In case you missed it, part one is here.

Art and Steve Godoy in: 'Deniz Tek and The Golden Breed USA/European tour through OUR eyes'.

Australian sonic chanteuse Penny Ikinger is taking her unique sound to Japan again - this time to record as well as play live.

Penny has teamed up with Radio Birdman’s Deniz Tek to write new material on the first stage of her next musical offering. Stage two then takes Penny back to Japan to team up with her Japanese musical crew to record the songs. 

“I’ve collaborated before but this time I’ve taken it to another level to really challenge my approach to writing and to bring a fresh new sound to the music being created,” Penny said.

“Deniz is a fabulously talented musician and opening up the music for a true collaboration was an experience that brought new energy and ideas to the whole process.”

But that’s not the end of the story. Penny will now take these songs to Japan where she will further collaborate with her Japanese musical partners from recent tours.

“Last time I went to Japan in 2012 I performed with some amazing psychedelic rock musicians – Masami Kawaguchi (guitar), Louis Inage (bass) and Keiichi Sakai (drums),” Penny said.

“This time around we’ll play a few gigs, but the main focus will be recording this new material and having the guys bring their unique flavour to the songs.

“I’m really excited about the possibilities of where we might go with this – the crew in Japan are extremely talented musicians and although their sound aligns with my style, they are quite different in their approach.”

One of Australian underground music’s most special, enduring and well-travelled talents Penny Ikinger will play shows in Perth and Fremantle for the first time in May, en route to Japan to record with Deniz Tek.

It used to be an annual event and the Pete Wells' Anniversay Memorial Gig is back, in time for the 10th year of his passing.

Presented by Lucy Desoto with her band The Handsome Devils, this year’s guests will include Wellsy’s Rose Tattoo brother-in-arms Angy Anderson, Black Label and Black Aces.

Venue is The Bridge Hotel in Rozelle, Sydney, on the long weekend Monday, June 13 The gig runs from 3pm “til we're done and dusted”. 

Wells was the founder of Rose Tattoo and a long-time member of hard-rock pathfinders Buffalo.Lucy Desoto was his long-time partner and musical collaborator in many of his solo bands.  

The Handsome Devils are one of Sydney’s best-kept hard rock secrets featuring Desoto on vocals and keys, Mighty Mick O'Shea on drums, Steve “The King” King on bass and Magic Mick Arnold on slide guitar.

Legendary UK psych rockers the Pink Fairies are scheduled to play the Hop Farm Festival in Kent, England, in July.

They’re billed to share a stage on July 5 (day two of the festival) with Peter Hook and Maximo Park, among others. Headlining the main stage that night is the execrable James Blunt (!)

The line-up is Russell Hunter, Duncan Sanderson, Andy Colquhoun, Jacki Windmill and second drummer George Butler.

The Pinks initially announced only two dates - in Bilston on May 15 and at the 100 Club in London two days later - and reports form those shows were very positive.

Further gigs are now planned for October including Hawktoberfest, a multi-band line-up in Manchester with old sparring partners Hawkwind.

_{PJ Harvey makes her point. Adelaide laps it up. Alison Lea photo}

BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM

Poor old Thebby.

BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM

Poor old Thebby, and its heritage-listed planks.

BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM

After posting on Facebook that bits of poor old Thebby’s ceiling were falling around them, I’m fairly sure Sunn 0)))) had to turn down the volume a few months ago. Not that we noticed.

_{Angry Andrson pontificates and Bob Spencer enjoys it. Shona Ross photo.}  

Rose Tattoo
Hard-Ons
Metro Theatre, Sydney
Friday, March 29 2019

Photos by Shona Ross

There were plenty of people giving plenty of reasons why people should not go to this gig. The announcement that Rose Tattoo would team with the Hard-Ons for a the national "Still Never Too Loud" tour caused some people to lose their shit online - and not in a good way. More on that soon.

The more mundane reasons were timing (“it’s a Friday night in Sydney after a long working week, maaaaan”), the venue (“the sound at The Metro is sooooo dodgy”) to ignorance (“I never heard that was on”) so most of it was nothing unexpected. Another apathetic night in the Harbour City.

Then there was The Angry Issue.

From the spectacle of the Rolling Stones the previous night, I awaken somewhat seedy and blasted. It’s been a huge week, dealing with our Beasts of Bourbon documentary, taking note of Stoneswatch, seeing the Stones on a stage half a soccer pitch away and now… Rowland, who would have been 55 the previous day (AKA Stonesday here in Adelaide).

Ho to the Wheatsheaf Hotel on a borderline suffocating hot day, where Alison Lea’s photographs of young Rowland (the infamous late 1980 Adelaide tour, where scrawny Nick Cave painted a skull and tentacles on his chest, performed topless with the paint running to buggery and beyond.) If you’ve seen the cover of the Nick the Stripper 12”, that’s Alison’s photo. If you need more information go here.

There were two sets, the first being These Immortal Souls, and the second devoted to Rowland’s solo work. It wasn’t the line-up for the Melbourne shows; Hugo Race wasn’t there, nor was his sister Angela, nor Ed Kuepper. 

I haven’t been so profoundly moved all year. Partly because, after interviewing him on many occasions and brought him down to Adelaide for a few gigs, I knew Rowland reasonably well. Which meant that seeing these songs being performed by his friends had me rather teary. It was painful to watch, confronting, nasty even; more poignantly, his words are now far more loaded…

_{Sacred Cowboys on St Kilda Beach with the SS Minow.}

“Sydney audiences can expect to hear much of the ‘Diamond in the Forehead’ album and a number of songs that will comprise our second album. Expect rock and roll out of the early 1970s, expect high volume in the guitar department, expect Nobel Prize-winning freak flag songs”

Garry Gray wrote this to me, and I visualise him, pounding the keyboard with pride about his forthcoming shows in Sydney in mid-November.

Gray has been making music for 42 years. I imagine by now he knows when he has a killer album ("Diamond in the Forehead") and a killer live band (The Sixth Circle) locked in. As I wrote a few months ago who when I caught The Sixth Circle live at the Tote Hoteland was blown away by a great, pure rock, street-level band:

All that dark and shade in this set; theatrics and drama. The tempo pulls back with “Club Siren”. “Our God hangs #6” is wild rock beat and with the guitars blues-based. Gray’s menacing vocals howling: 'I got hung without a trial'. "Cadillacs” has that proto punk rawness and a blues progression. There are elements of deep soul with raw gritty urban blues, and a solid rock 4/4 backbeat. Live, it is a no-nonsense rock monster.

Pismo Beach rock and roll legends the Psychotic Turnbuckles returned to Sydney's Lansdowne Hotel on June 28 with BRUCE and Bunt in support. It was the first Turnbuckles show at the venue in 25 years. At the last one, Slash from Guns and Roses was in the crowd.

Click READ MORE for a gallery of stills from video footage shot by Luke Nukem on the night. 

Life’s tough at the top and Pismo Beach’s finest exponents of rock and roll wrestling, the Psychotic Turnbuckles, can’t just lie around on Southern Californian beaches sipping champagne all year.

They’re escaping the Northern Hemisphere summer and heading back to Sydney in June for a brief taste of how the other half lives.