[gigs]

Big weekend for gigs coming up, first up Brunatex are at the Jade tonight, they’re on first so get their early.
Tomorrow it’s Little Ice Age’s farewell show at the Wheaty, which is a bit of a shame since they’re one of the best bands in town. Definitely an occasion not to miss, if you haven’t seen them yet this looks like your last chance.
On Sunday it’s back to the Wheaty for the Sea Thieves who are playing with the Yearlings. Starts at 4, make sure you get there in time for the Sea Thieves!
AUGUST
  • 24th – Brunatex at the Jade Monkey supporting a cd launch by Lines & Lines. Also playing are Breakerfall.
  • 25th – Little Ice Age EP Launch and farewell show at the Wheatsheaf.
  • 25th – 200 Motels at the Grace Emily.
  • 26th – Sea Thieves and the Yearlings at the Wheatsheaf. Early start (~4pm)
  • 31st – Green the Night at Urtext with Sweet Baby James & Rob Eyers, Stompbox (Melb), The Ocean Uprising, Woolford Brothers.

SEPTEMBER

  • 8th – Paul Kelly at Her Majesty’s Theatre.
  • 14th – Fourplay at the Space Theatre.
  • 15th – 200 Motels with Young Husband at the Exeter.
  • 18th – Hoodoo Gurus, Radio Birdman and The Stems at the Gov.
  • 21st – 200 Motels at the Crown & Anchor.
  • 22nd – No Through Road at the Prince Albert for the end of an era.
  • 22nd – Hit The Jackpot at the Exeter with Spider Vomit.
  • 23rd – Parklife Festival at Botanic Park featuring Adam Freeland (England), Ajax, Busy P (France), DJ Craze (USA), Derrick Carter (USA), Digitalism (Germany), DJ Delicious, Freq Nasty (NZ), Goose, Greenskeepers, Justice (France), K.I.M, Lyrics Born (USA), M.I.A., MSTRKRFT (Canada), Muscles, Riot in Belgium, Scratch Perverts, Shapeshifter (New Zealand), Stereo MCs (UK), The Herd, The Sounds, Yacht, Yelle

OCTOBER

  • 12th – Art of Fighting at Jive.
  • 19th – Grinderman at Thebarton Theatre.

MOVEMBER

  • 10th – Bill Callahan at the Jade Monkey.

On the Stereo

  • 200 Motels – s/t cdep
  • Spindickle – Live at Melvofest 06 cd (A Perfect Gentleman)
  • No Through Road – Too Much or Not Enough cd (Unstable Ape)
  • Zulya and the Children of the Underground – 3 Nights cd (Unstable Ape)
  • Von Südenfed – Tromatic Reflexxions cd (Domino)
  • Harmonia – Musik von Harmonia LP (Lilith)
  • Flying Saucer Attack – Chorus LP (Domino)
  • Various – Sacred Symbols of Mu 2cd (Planet Mu)
  • Burial – s/t 2LP (Hyperdub)
  • Kode 9 (feat. The Spaceape) – Dubstep Allstars: Vol.03 cd (Tempa)

[gigs]

AUGUST

  • 17th – Zulya and the Children of the Underground, The Trinity Sessions at the Church of the Trinity, Clarence Park. Adelaide cd launch.
  • 18th – No Through Road, Spindickle and 200 Motels at the Jade Monkey for the Greens Adelaide campaign launch.
  • 21st – Bob Dylan at the Entertainment Centre.
  • 25th – Little Ice Age EP Launch and farewell show at the Wheatsheaf.
  • 26th – Sea Thieves and the Yearlings at the Wheatsheaf. Early start (~4pm)

SEPTEMBER

  • 8th – Paul Kelly at Her Majesty’s Theatre.
  • 14th – Fourplay at the Space Theatre.
  • 18th – Hoodoo Gurus, Radio Birdman and The Stems at the Gov.
  • 23rd – Parklife Festival at Botanic Park featuring Adam Freeland (England), Ajax, Busy P (France), DJ Craze (USA), Derrick Carter (USA), Digitalism (Germany), DJ Delicious, Freq Nasty (NZ), Goose, Greenskeepers, Justice (France), K.I.M, Lyrics Born (USA), M.I.A., MSTRKRFT (Canada), Muscles, Riot in Belgium, Scratch Perverts, Shapeshifter (New Zealand), Stereo MCs (UK), The Herd, The Sounds, Yacht, Yelle

OCTOBER

  • 12th – Art of Fighting at Jive.
  • 19th – Grinderman at Thebarton Theatre.

MOVEMBER

  • 10th – Bill Callahan at the Jade Monkey.

On the Stereo

  • Dälek – Abandoned Language cd (Ipecac)
  • Von Südenfed – Tromatic Reflexxions cd (Domino)
  • Dabrye – Two/Three cd (Ghostly International)
  • Various – Sacred Symbols of Mu 2cd (Planet Mu)
  • Kode 9 (feat. The Spaceape) – Dubstep Allstars: Vol.03 cd (Tempa)
  • Pretty Boy Crossover – A Different Handwriting cd (Sensory Projects)
  • Mansbestfriend – poly.sci.187 cd (Anticon)
  • Various – Doctor Who at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop Volume 1: The Early Years cd (BBC/The Grey Area of Mute)
  • Various – Doctor Who at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop Volume 2: New Beginnings cd (BBC/The Grey Area of Mute)
  • Deerhoof – Reveille cd (Kill Rock Stars / 5RC)

Swan Song

an exhibition by brigid noone & annika evans
opening 9th august 6.30
liverpool street gallery, liverpool street adelaide

9th – 14th august
opening hours – 11am – 6.30pm aug 10, 13 & 14
10am – 6pm aug 11, 12 august

Ingmar Bergman

Yesterday the passing of Ingmar Bergman was reported in the news. No doubt others can sum up his immense contribution to the art of cinema than I can, but I’d like to make some comments about my personal appreciation of his work. There are two directors whose work I like more than any others. There are individual films by others which I may like better, but each of these directors has a large body of work spanning many years and I enjoy just about about everything they’ve done. Actually “enjoy” isn’t really an adequate work, their films affect me on a deeper level. One of those directors is, of course, Ingmar Bergman. (I’ll leave it as an exercise to guess the other … there is a hint contained somewhere on this page).

I can’t pick one Bergman film to recommend, so instead I’ll make lots of suggestions (in chronological order). While many of his films are very dark and serious, he also made comedies early on, and the best known would be Sommarnattens leende (Smiles of a Summer Night) a delightful comedy about relationships which was the inspiration for Woody Allen’s A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy. Bergman’s most famous film is Sjunde inseglet, Det (The Seventh Seal) which features the iconic scenes of Max von Sydow’s knight playing chess with Death. A masterful look at the topic of death through the fears of the people in plague ravaged medieval times. Many of Bergman’s films, especially in this late 50’s/ early 60’s period had historical settings, but one exception was Smultronstället (Wild Strawberries) which was given a contemporary setting. Perhaps it could be described as Bergman’s road movie, an elderly professor is on his way to receive a reward for his life’s achievement but reassesses his life through his interactions with a group of younger people. It was back to the medieval setting for Jungfrukällan (The Virgin Spring), a rather shocking tale of morality and revenge. Rather more subdued is Nattvardsgästerna (Winter Light), a sombre, moving study of the loss of faith. Persona is the first Bergman film I ever saw, an intense psychological drama which is possibly his best known film from the period. Vargtimmen (Hour of the Wolf) is a surreal, suspenseful horror with a look that should be quite familiar to fans of David Lynch. Even so, its impact is less than Skammen (Shame) which is one of most deeply disturbing films I’ve seen, as a couple get caught up in the midst of a civil war. Don’t let the “deeply disturbing” put you off, while this isn’t as famous as some of his other films I consider it as essential as any of them. The last couple of films that I’ll recommend both exist in longer TV versions which I’ve not seen (but would certainly like to), but the shorter cinema versions are still amongst his best work. First is Scener ur ett äktenskap (Scenes from a Marriage), which is pretty much what is described. An in depth look at a relationship told in documentary-like style over a period of many years. Absolutely compelling, in large part due to the utterly brilliant performances of Bergman regulars Liv Ullman and Erland Josephson in the lead roles. Finally we have Bergman’s final film for the cinema Fanny och Alexander (Fanny and Alexander). A magical epic, viewing the story of a large family through the eyes of two young children. Some of the films above can be quite harrowing experiences, this one however is simply a joy throughout.

It is also worth mentioning that a key ingredient to many of Bergman’s films was the work of the great cinematographer Sven Nykvist who passed away last year.

Also, another of the great directors Michelangelo Antonioni has died yesterday as well.
I think perhaps it’s time to head to the video store now.

Who runs Tasmania?

Is it the Tasmanian Government or is it Gunns Ltd? Is Kevin Rudd’s backdown on Labor’s forest policy really going to save jobs? Go and read Out of Control by Richard Flanagan in The Monthly, hosted on the Tasmanian Times site.

Le Tour – why bother?

Double stage winner in this year’s Tour de France, Alexandre Vinokourov has tested positive for blood doping. At the same time there is a cloud over tour leader Michael Rasmussen for having missed tests prior to the tour.

The Vinokourov betrayal has been a blow to many people. He has betrayed the other riders, paricularly Evans and Kirchen who came second in his two stage wins, and all of the clean riders who suffer from the knock to the already damaged reputation of the tour. His team Astana has withdrawn from the tour and have been the subject of police investigation. They were already the subject of controversy last year but at this stage there are no accusations against the other Astana riders, so it is fair to say that they have been let down hugely by Vinokourov. They miss the chance to finish the race, and in particular it is a betrayal of Andreas Kloden, who has tested negative, and who damaged his own chances at a top position by dropping back to assist Vinokourov, even though Kloden was well ahead in the overall classification. I also remember another Astana rider (I thin it was Ivanov) on the big climb in Vinokourov’s second stage win who dropped back from the breakaway and gave everything to get Vinokourov up there, before struggling, exhausted, just to make it to the end. Furthermore the Astana team represents Kazakhstan so Vinokourov has betrayed his country.

Finally, it is a massive betrayal of the tour fans who watched what appeared to be a courageous comeback by Vinokourov after his accident. I have watched every stage of the tour from the beginning, and now with a few days to go I am almost ready to switch off. What is the point when every time you see a good performance you suspect cheating? Of course, given all the past controversy I’m not so naive as to have not considered the possibility of doping. To commit to watching this event you need to put aside doubts and watch with a (admittedly unreasonable) assumption that the riders are clean and that the testing regime will ensure that. When a big rider is caught out it weakens your suspension of disbelief, and there has to be a point where you just give it up. This time I’m going to hang in there this just to see Cadel Evans through to the finish. I’ll be watching the outcome of this latest scandal closely to decide whether I’ll watch the tour next time though.

More from Phil at Le Tour de Lounge.

UPDATE : Team Rabobank have withdrawn Rasmussen from the tour (and fired him from the team) for lying about his whereabouts when he missed a doping test. On top of that the whole Cofidis team has withdrawn after their rider Moreni tested positive. While the whole saga is terribly disappointing, at least it shows that they are prepared to turn the whole event on its head to rid the sport of drug cheats. Hopefully the mess that this year’s tour has become will give the event a future.

[gigs]

JULY

  • 26th – Spindickle at the Worlds End
  • 27th – Spindickle at Sarah’s Cafe
  • 28th – Satan’s Cheerleaders at FAD (on at midnight)

AUGUST

  • 4th – The Shins at Thebarton Theatre.
  • 6th – The Cure at the Entertainment Centre.
  • 9th – Mountains in the Sky are playing with Gotye at the Gov.
  • 9th – Pretty Boy Crossover at the Jade Monkey.
  • 9th – Batrider, Birth Glow at the Prince Albert.
  • 10th – No Through Road, Batrider, All Made of Rubies and Shooting at Unarmed Men at Urtext.
  • 17th – Zulya and the Children of the Underground, The Trinity Sessions at the Church of the Trinity, Clarence Park. Adelaide cd launch.
  • 21st – Bob Dylan at the Entertainment Centre.
  • 25th – Little Ice Age EP Launch at the Wheatsheaf.
  • 26th – Sea Thieves and the Yearlings at the Wheatsheaf. Early start (~4pm)

SEPTEMBER

  • 8th – Paul Kelly at Her Majesty’s Theatre.
  • 18th – Hoodoo Gurus, Radio Birdman and The Stems at the Gov.
  • 23rd – Parklife Festival at Botanic Park featuring Adam Freeland (England), Ajax, Busy P (France), DJ Craze (USA), Derrick Carter (USA), Digitalism (Germany), DJ Delicious, Freq Nasty (NZ), Goose, Greenskeepers, Justice (France), K.I.M, Lyrics Born (USA), M.I.A., MSTRKRFT (Canada), Muscles, Riot in Belgium, Scratch Perverts, Shapeshifter (New Zealand), Stereo MCs (UK), The Herd, The Sounds, Yacht, Yelle

OCTOBER

  • 10th – Leafcutter John perhaps? Hasn’t been confirmed yet.
  • 19th – Grinderman at Thebarton Theatre.

MOVEMBER

  • 10th – Bill Callahan at the Jade Monkey.

Other gig news- Battles are touring in September but Syd/Melb only.

On the Stereo

  • Burial – s/t 2LP (Hyperdub)
  • Various – Box of Dub 3LP (Soul Jazz)
  • Various – Studio One Women 2LP (Soul Jazz)
  • Various – New Thing! 3LP (Soul Jazz)
  • El-P – I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead cd (Def Jux)
  • Dinosaur Jr – s/t cd (Shiny)
  • Meat Puppets – II cd (Rykodisc)
  • No Through Road – Too Much or Not Enough cd (Unstable Ape)
  • Darren Hanlon – Hello Stranger cd (Candle)
  • Darren Hanlon – Little Chills cd (Candle)