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kelly hewson

  • brando rising coverI coulda sworn I sent a review of this violent fucker in yonks ago but... apparently not. Anyway, it's been a couple months, and I still play it, often and loud, usually in the car, and I have the dangerous driving fines to prov

    "Brando Rising" sounds fresh, piercing, varied and they approach the six songs here from every which way, and the disc hurtles toward you with the measured savagery of a Hammer film (or a killer making his way up the stairs). There's a healthy dollop of Stooges/ Iggy influence (no surprises as singer Rip fronts the Four Stooges when he's got a few moments to spare) and as The Barman points out belwo, a few other influences. 

    Don't let the influences influence you. Guitarist Kelly Hewson wields a nasty, savage guitar and is one of the few guitarists to use wah-wah and get away with it. Wah-buzzsaw? Something like that. Either way, they've got a top rhythm section which knows how to party, a guitarist who wants to rule the world and a singer who already does (so I am told). They're entertaining, intense, new, not particularly pretty and belong headlining at your local beer barn.

  • brando rising coverBrando Rising – Brando Rising (self-released)

    And, PLAY LOUD. What a fuckin' sound!

    Ooooh, you're in for a stompin', whompin' treat. Only 100 copies, so get it while you can. Right, so, it's taking me a while to get my head round the enormity of this, okay? There's lots to pay attention to, which isn't at all possible, so endless re-listens are on the cards.

    It's taken Brando Rising a little while to put this out, and from Kelly Hewson'smuscular, sinewy opening bars to vocalist Ripley Hood's closing shouts, you're hooded, grabbed, stuffed unceremoniously into the boot and taken for a bumpy, gritty ride to into some sort of moral swamp. God knows what your babbling explanation for skimming the casino take will be, but you know you're in trouble... and you'll have “Brando Rising” on repeat in no time flat.

  • crack brandoA Crack in the World - Brando Rising (Crankinhaus)

    “A Crack in the World” is an utter cracker, and if any of you lot had recorded anything half as good as this you'd have heads as big as prize-winning pumpkins.

    I mean to say, Jesus wept, lads. “A Crack in the World” gets your attention as surely as if someone has heaved a box of tinned tuna at your head.

    Doesn't matter what mood you're in, put this in your slot (oo-er, missus, fnaar fnaar etc) and you'll feel like a character in a 1950s Warner Brothers cartoon who has rashly “just added water” to a mysterious sachet.

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The Living Eye


Right eye

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 13 - Wheatsheaf, Adelaide - Tix
19 - Bearded Lady, Brisbane - Tix
24 - Tanswells, Beechworth - Tix
25 - Smiths, Canberra - Tix
26 - Django @ Camelot, Sydney - Tix
27 - Frank's Wild Years, Thirroul - Tix
NOV
1 - Hybrid Wave House, Fremantle
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2 - Lyrics, Perth - Tix
3 - Fremantle Arts Centre, Fremantle (Free Entry)
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18 - La Casa De Sabica, Pamplona
19 - VIII. ZZ Rock Jaialdia, Zumarraga 
26 - Skate Parc Le Moulin du Rousseau,
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Australian Tour Oct - Nov 2024
OCT
18 - Soapbox, Brisbane, QLD
24 - Sussex Inlet Tavern, Sussex Inlet, NSW
25 - La La La’s, Wollongong, NSW
26 - Paddo RSL, Sydney. NSW
27 - Hamilton Station Hotel, Newcastle, NSW
31 - Altar, Hobart, TAS
NOV
1 - - The Tote, Melbourne, VIC
2 - Singing Bird Studios, Frankston, VIC
3 - Red Hill Hotel, Castlemaine, VIC
4 - Barwon Club, Geelong, VIC
7 - Amplifier, Perth, WA
8 - Indian Ocean Hotel, Scarborough, WA
9 - Froth & Fury, Adelaide, SA
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Los Chicos
Australian Tour 2024
OCT
31 - Old Bar, Fitzroy, VIC
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NOV
1 -The Tote. Collingwood, VIC
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2 - Volta, Ballarat, VIC
w/ The Meanies * - tix 
3 - Red Hill Hotel, Chewton, VIC  (arvo)
w/ Hard-Ons - tix 
3 - St.Kilda Bowls Club, VIC (evening)
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4 - Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy, VIC
w/ Mach Pelican * - tix   
8 - Marrickville Bowlo
w/ New Christs + Crankees * - tix 
9 - River Rocks, Barwon Club,
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10 - River Rocks Rehab, Barwon Club,
Geelong - tix 
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25 - Brisbane - The Triffid
26 - Adelaide - The Gov
27 - Fremantle - Metropolis
31 - Newcastle - King St Bandroom
NOV
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OCT
3 - Oxford Art Factory, Sydney
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NOV
8 - Old Bar, Melbourne
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9 - River Rocks Festival, Barwon Club,
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20 - Freo Social, Fremantle
w/ The Saints ’73-’78
21 - Old Habits, Perth
w/ Spacerhead + Lounge Tourist
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23 - Princess Theatre, Brisbane
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24 - Princess Theatre, Brisbane
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29 - Anita’s Theatre, Thirroul
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15 - The Tote, Melbourne
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31 -  La La La’s, Wollongong
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6 – PBS live to air
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10 – St Kilda Bowls Club, St Kilda, VIC
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The Saints ‘73-‘78
NOV
13 - Adelaide Hindley St. Music Hall
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15 - Castlemaine Theatre Royal (SOLD OUT)
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16 - Melbourne Northcote Theatre (SOLD OUT)
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17 - Melbourne Northcote Theatre 
+ Alien Nosejob
20 - Fremantle Freo Social 
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22 - Sydney, Enmore Theatre
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23 - Brisbane, Princess Theatre (SOLD OUT)
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“Pig Out On Punk #2”
I Hate People
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Marrickville Bowlo, NSW
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The Stranglers
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2025 Australasian Tour
MAR
NZ
13 - Powerstation, Auckland
15 - Meow Nui, Wellington
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AUS
19 - Enmore Theatre, Sydney
20 - The Tivoli, Brisbane
22- Forum, Melbourne
23 - The Gov, Adelaide
25 - Astor Theatre, Perth
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