It's 2018 and the immortal Brisbane houseshow is back. Red Hill and the inner west is where it's at. This was a really nice show on a Saturday afternoon turned evening, with Karli White up from Melbourne along with Manners/Blend 42 From Outer Space/Glen Schenau/Brick Brick & Terorist. Here is a pic of Glen:
And here is Brick Brick, a new band I'm drumming in with Heidi (Bent/Scaredy Snake) and Phoebe fkn BMX with a guest appearance from Tristan (Cannon/Manners). Our first show! In Heidi's laundry! This song is called Monsters:
This one is called House Show Song (working title):
You reckon we did a Placebo cover? Course we fkn did.
Karli White was fantastic, Manners were sublime, Blend 42 was from outer space and Terorist was Teroristic.
The last surviving vestiges of an interesting local RnR community decide to get outta the cringe-fuck heckhole that is Brisbane and drive the western highway to the desolate hellhole that is Ipswich. This show was an experiment to see if Ipswich can mentally handle anything more than hardcore and the answer is no they can't but it was fun anyway. The Coronation Hotel in West Ipswich is a fine establishment with reasonable drink prices and a classic no bullshit wake in fright pub vibe that I can't speak more highly of.
EXILES FROM CLOWNTOWN
Ultimate SE Queensland cult band exiles from clowntown with their first live appearance in 18 months and by their own description "sloppy as fuck!". Fuck their modesty it's fucking amazing.
CANNON
Cannon is THE band that keeps the party alive in Brisbane. Most venues might be fading away from us freaks due to commercial considerations. The ol' houseshow might just be a memory in 2016 but the party is always raging at the Murray's house and I salute their service to good time RnR and the timeless art of getting wasted.
BENT
Bent's last state show before heading south on tour. Good luck Bent! The week before I drunkenly took home this really nice green corduroy hat from Heidi's kitchen table and I was wearing it all week round town feeling fuckin' awesome but I felt guilty because it wasn't my hat and finally the guilt became too much so I couldn't wear the hat anymore so I returned the hat at this show and it wasn't even Heidi's hat it was Pam's hat. Don't let me near hats or alcohol or rock shows or humans anymore. If you read all of that instead of watching the video you're either more lost than I am or you are Pam finally learning where your hat went for a week. BENT best Brisbane band 2016.
CLEVER
If any of our silly big city Brisbane rock bands are gonna hit a chord with the people of Ipswich it's gonna be CLEVER right? fkn right, and I reckon they hit that chord wholeheartedly. Most of what's happening in Brisbane sucks at the moment. I hold a boring theory that with every medium-large city like Brisbane the quality and integrity of bands will always go up and down over time but lately I gotta say Brisbane has been lame lame fucking lame. That sentiment excludes the bands/people I'll support to the death - I hope you know who you are otherwise ask me to find out but really if you have to ask I probably think you are mediocre and only adding to the mediocrity of this town. Clever is fighting the good fight and fighting it with integrity, passion, and wasted abandon and it is awesome to witness as just another drunken idiot in the crowd. As a whole though the war is lost when it comes to this music of minds shit and I feel Clever know it too. Prove me wrong kids. Create something new and great above the cute tropical nightmare university rich kid pop that pollutes the front pages of this place I dare you.
While on tour with Kitchen's Floor recently I had the opportunity to play with and film some amazing New Zealand bands. Here is some of the footage. The majority of our shows were with Auckland's Girls Pissing On Girls Pissing who I would vouch for as the greatest band in the world right now. Watching them live every night was like taking part in an apocalyptic death cult ceremony, and I was binge drinking that kool aid son. This video is the final song from their set at Auckland's Wine Cellar on August 13. An as yet unreleased 15 minute journey titled The Icon Of Sin.
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Centre Negative
Opening that same show was Auckland's Centre Negative, solo project of resident doer Michael McClelland. Michael was also our tour manager so it was great to finally see his own band after the guilt of knowing he probably died a little inside from having to watch Kitchen's Floor every night for 2 weeks straight. His band on the night consisted of friends Pat Kraus on guitar, Wilkie Thornton on keys, Perry Mahoney on bass, and our very own Glen Schenau on drums. The song is The Bureaucrats Are Dying Off from 2015 album Emotion Is Cringey.
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The Trendees
The Sunday previous (August 7) we played a house show in Oamaru, a small southern coastal town on the south island. Oamaru is known for its creepy abandoned hospital, Janet Frame's house, docile-but-deadly sea lions, and world steam punk HQ. It was organised by The Trendees, Oamaru locals who I would declare the ultimate definition of outsider punk. No venue in Oamaru will let The Trendees play so this was a big deal for all involved. The show was held in a small lounge room to an intimate crowd of what was mostly extended family and friends of the band, and us touring degenerates. It was one of the most uniquely awesome shows I've ever witnessed. This track is Powerwaves from their EP We Are Sonic Art.
Just 2 weeks since my first visit to the Public Bar in Melbourne and I find myself there once again (can ya believe it!).
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KARLI WHITE
Something of a recent enigma to me, Karli White played first at 5:30pm sharp which felt damn early for such nocturnal sounds but people got into it, myself included. This song is "Feel Less" from a new cassette EP "Karli White's Childhood Scissors" on Comfort 35.
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The Shifters also played and they were fantastic and I can not recommend them highly enough. I was unable to find a good position to get any decent footage as the room had filled with a few people by that point although I did take this lovely picture for you:
A great show at The Time Machine in Nambour. I wasn't able to get footage of Martyr Privates or Kitchen's Floor but here is a new song by Dag called Weary Fate (working title).
Best photo I was able to get of Martyr Privates with no flash:
Elli And Bev are Natalie K (Secret Valley, The Enclosures) and Karl von B (Hammering The Cramps, A Band Called Life). 2 piece loner electronic minimalism with a dark heaviness in their delivery even when they're a little unsure of themselves. The EP that Albert's Basement put out last year is a damn fine and underrated release.
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SECRET VALLEY
Secret Valley are another Albert's Basement favourite of mine, their 2013 s/t album being a modern bedroom pop classic in my mind. This song is Glitter Lung from that very release.
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SARAH MARY CHADWICK
Sarah Mary Chadwick is one of my favourite singer/songwriters. I still listen to Eating For Two fairly regularly and it hasn't lost its power. This set was mostly newer material from 9 Classic Tracks and some other stuff. Darn good.
Shedanigans was a DIY show that took place in a converted shed/barn on an acreage about an hours drive outside of Melbourne. Being held in the middle of a Victorian winter it was extremely cold which added nothing but a warm atmosphere to this strange event.
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SKIM THE RIM
Skim The Rim is a new solo project by Tim Wood (Satanic Rockers, Encounter Group). This song is called Cash Register.
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FIRST RESPONSE W/ BOBBY
First Response was an improvised guitar collaboration between Grace Anderson and Dan Lewis (Aktion Unit). Joining them on vocals for this performance was Bobby Bot (Wonderfuls).
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SCRABBLED
There aint no other band around right now that sound like Scrabbled. Filling out the lineup alongside mainstays Bek Moore and Dusty Anastassiou were Rachael Cooke (Clag) on guitar and Allanah Stewart (Bearded Iris, Secret Valley) on drums, along with other roped in personnel on keys and shakers. This song is called New Kids On The Block.
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ASSETSTRIPPER
Assetstripper is a new band fronted by Lynton Denovan (Satanic Rockers, Encounter Group). Peter James (Iceage Productions) on drums and Breeze Powell on bass. This song is called Solar Panelled Facist Killing Machine !
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Kitchen's Floor and Lucrative Weakness also played.
