News:
· Puff 'n' Stuff
Everything that's happenin in Adelaide this fortnight.
· Industry
The latest from the music industry.
· Puffio
Theatre news.
· Dance
Dance and electronica news.
· Metal
Updates from the wide world of metal.
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Puff 'n' Stuff.
It's been a little while since we've seen The Presets in our neck of the woods - and I'm not saying we're not partially to blame too, it's not like we've called and seen how their blend of danceable electro-rock is doing, although it's not like they couldn't have picked up the phone themselves... anyway, they're starting the healing by having a gig at Jive on Fri 29 April (with Sydney's Expatriate along for the ride), and their 'Girl And The Sea' CD-EP is out even as we speak.
Puff's never been one to try and fight the
rhythms of the dance, and nor should you: which is why those
readers with a particular fondness for Latin beats would be
well advised to sass their way to the Adelaide Latin Dance Factory
at 29 Angas St in the city. Their expert instructors (Hugo Salcedo
and James Arias from Colombia and Adrian Medina from Cuba) will
guide you on your syncopated journey and as it happens they're
offering discounts on their next season of courses, so check
out www.LatinoGrooves.com or give them a call on 08 8212 2661.
We don't get to see The Mess Hall in Adelaide as often as we'd like, which is all the more reason to cherish the moments that we can share: such as Fri 22 April, when they take time out from recording 'Notes From A Ceiling' (due in June) to play at Jive with Pharoahs.
If you happen to find yourself in Georgia and notice a young
lady clad in approximately $350 worth of University Of Adelaide
alumni clothing, chances are she'll be named Adelaide and be
the daughter of REM's manager Bertis Downs IV, who paid the
Adelaide Uni campus bookshop a visit when his charges were in
town. "My daughter will love these!" he drawled to dB Magazine's
Ben Revi, who happened to be the man serving him. It's no accident
either: Puff's made sure that Adelaide is filled with dB Magazine
writers in strategic locations in case of this exact sort of
eventuality. No secret is safe: not one. Next fortnight: Ben
Folds' dry cleaning: exposed!
Free Comic Book day is just around the corner - on Sat 7 May, to be exact - and after Pulp Fiction Comics' considerable success last year, Puff's delighted to hear that all three of Adelaide's comic retailers will be handing out freebies to all comers: check out www.freecomicbookday.com for all the details, or check the article in next issue of dB Magazine!
Bird Blobs are paying Adelaide a visit for the first time since
the release of their self-titled second album (a track from
which has been chosen to grace an upcoming CD on the cover of
Mojo magazine, no less), and they'd like you to come and see
them, along with new Melbourne kids Jemima Jemima (featuring
a whole bunch of ex-Adelaide people including Michael Bray,
late of Snap! Crakk! and Hardy Coxon alumni Scott O'Hara and
Jid Lawlor) and 1QA (about whom there is more below) at the
Exeter Hotel (Rundle St) on Fri 22 April and the Rhino Room
on Sat 23 April.
Henry Fenton is coming all the way from Melbourne in
order to try out a bunch of songs he's in the midst of recording
for this new album (tentatively titled 'Hello Stars Hello Moon'),
so let him know what you reckon when he plays at the Grace Emily
on Wed 20 April with The Dixie Dicks.
Puff likes to let you, the valued dB Magazine consumer, know
what sort of CD launches are taking place in the Adelaide area
in order that you might make the most of your gig-going puntery.
To that end, be aware that popsters The Lift Dwellers - who
were regulars on the Adelaide scene in the 90s - have returned
with a new CD entitled 'Curtains', which seems appropriate since
they're launching it at their final gig ever: say hello and
wave goodbye at the Wheatsheaf on Sat 23 April.
Local punkers Save & Exit are also set to launch their CD shortly: catch them at the Enigma Bar on Sat 7 May with Borderland, The Grudge and The Open Season.
Speaking of The Borderland, their CD-EP 'Three Months Of Sundays'
is in stores right now, and they assure Puff there'll be a somewhat-after-the-event
launch some time in May.
New Zealand-via-Melbourne rock types 1QA are making their debut trip to Adelaide for a couple of shows, and we'd like to make them feel welcome: hence, you should get along to the Exeter Hotel (Rundle St) on Fri 22 April, where they're playing with Bird Blobs and Jemima Jemima, as mentioned above, before rockin' the Jade Monkey on Sat 23 April with Bad Girls Of The Bible and Mr Wednesday.
The Unspoken Things haven't finished work on their CD as yet,
but they assure Puff that 'Bourbon Eyes' will be out around
the middle of the year. In the meantime, they reckon you should
go and see them at the Rhino Room on Thurs 21 April, after which
they're heading off to Melbourne for the Off The Hip records
birthday bash. Nice.
The Backseat Romeos have also been recording lately, with eight tracks ready to be divvied up between their forthcoming CD-EP and a few compilations - and you'll be able to hear many, if not all, of those tracks at Fowlers Live on Fri 22 April when they're joined by Transister, Before The Aftermath, Kamikaze and The Gels for a comprehensive rockfest.
Hey, are you a person in a local band? The Lizard Lounge (who
are downstairs at 9-11 Hindley St) would like you to drop your
CD into them so that they might play it, for they are fond of
Adelaide music in all its myriad forms. Tell 'em Puff sent you.
Manic Distortion are just about ready to unveil their debut CD (cunningly entitled 'Manic Distortion'), which will be launched at the Crown & Anchor on Sat 21 May, along with Melbourne's Firewitch.
Stuff From Puff: In order to spice things up a little, this
fortnight Puff will test both the credulity of dB's readership
and the rigidity of South Australia's libel statutes by blending
a sprinkling of outrageous lies with the regular Stuff From
Puff roundup of rock'n'roll gossip. See if you can taste the
chunks of delicious truth that flavour this issue's steaming
broth of falsehood: two claims are bogus, one's the real deal.
Round one - fight! 1. Morrissey is made entirely out of wood.
2. Seal can shoot lasers out of his eyes, fingertips and tail,
and was used as the original model for both Astroboy and Zok
the flying dragon from The Herculoids. 3. Mark Lanegan has left
Queens Of The Stone Age before the end of the band's US tour
and is rumoured to have quit permanently. Josh Homme has dismissed
the claim, describing his departure as a "sabbatical" due to
exhaustion and insists the former Screaming Trees frontman will
return. Speaking of QOTSA, there are more than a few rumours
that hatchets have been buried with former bassist Nick Oliveri,
with some quarters predicting an announcement before the middle
of the year (answer: 3)... OK, ready for round two? 1. 'American
Idol' favourite Constantine Maroulis is 100 feet tall and has
threatened to use his unnatural powers to destroy any mainland
US city that doesn't vote for him. 2. Ultra-influential Scots
quartet The Delgados - who totally snubbed Adelaide on their
"national" tour earlier this year - have announced that they've
split after bassist Stewart Henderson decided he didn't want
to make another album. The four members are still close and
will continue to run their Chemikal Underground label (which
has given us the likes of Mogwai and Arab Strap)! 3. Morrissey
is also made entirely of tin! (answer: 2)... Round Three: 1.
When the members of The Killers join their magic rings they
can summon both Captain Planet and Shazam the genie and make
them fight each other. 2. Fri 15 April was declared 'Diddy Day'
in Las Vegas, with mayor Oscar Goodman honouring P Diddy in
a ceremony held at the Aladdin Hotel and Casino. 3. Morrissey
has no natural predators and is a master of camouflage, able
to change his shape and skin colour in order to remain unnoticed
by his unsuspecting prey until it's too late (answer: 2, and
probably 3)... Oh, alright. Puff was just inspired by the playful
tomfoolery of Maynard James Keenan, him out of Tool and A Perfect
Circle, who pulled an April Fool's Day prank on that old sucker
The Internet by claiming in posts both to the official Tool
webpage and a few fan sites that he was putting music aside
and concentrating on his new-found religious faith: "Some recent
events have led me to the rediscovery of Jesus," Keenan claimed,
in an echo of Brian "Head" Welch's resignation from Korn a few
months back, "Tool will need to take the back seat. this may
come as a shock." Days of feverish online speculation followed
(including a delighted response from the aforementioned Welsh)
before Keenan 'fessed up. Bless him.
The Toe Sucking Cowgirls are coming to town with their brand new CD, which they're launching in the country-friendly environs of the Wheatsheaf on Thurs 21 April, along with The Yearlings. An enthusiastic "yee-haw!" would not seem entirely out of place.
The Semaphore Music Festival is happening over the long weekend
(Fri 22 April to Monday 25 April) with a whole pile of bands
(including The Fuelers, The Red Hot Polka Dots, The Dolls, The
Shandy Butchers and many more) at the Semaphore Palais, The
Feneral Hotel, the Semaphore RSL and the Semaphore Workers Club.
Since the final Star Wars film is just around the corner ('Revenge Of The Sith' opens on Thurs 19 May) Puff's naturally feeling a little bit Jedi at the moment. Of course, if you're planning to dress up as Boba Fett and line up for weeks to be the first to see it, it might be best to check the newspaper for screening times and locations: right this minute there are reportedly 112 people lining up outside Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, where every Star Wars film has been premiered. Thing is, it's not actually scheduled to open there but at the ArcLight cinema a block or so away. However, these fans refuse to budge on the grounds that it's all about the waiting, not the film (and, on the basis of the first two prequels, there's a lot of sense in their argument). In other SW-related news, word comes that all six Star Wars films are set to be re-released in 2007... in 3-D! Apparently these new fangled digital projectors make it a good deal easier to screen 3-D films (it still takes around a million dollars to tart up the films themselves, mind) and many studios are considering re-releasing their biggest hits in the format. The future is now, kids.
The very evening of the day that this issue of dB Magazine hits
what we savvy, voice-of-the-youth types call "the streets" is
the evening that Dan Brodie plays at the Governor Hindmarsh,
along with Bad Girls Of The Bible and Hunting Season (who are
playing their final gig under that name and will subsequently
be known as The Sunset Club). That's Wed 20 April, incidentally,
just in case you don't have a copy of dB Magazine's release
dates and a calendar.
Sure, most of the time this section of the magazine is all sparkly sunshine and sugar-dipped puppies, but every so often Puff likes to take a moment to keep readers aware of their own fragile mortality by reminding them that illness and death can strike them at any second. Take Neil Young for example; he's apparently recovering well after surgery for his surprise brain aneurysm. Apparently it was discovered after he complained of blurred vision whilst at the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame festivities in the US in February. See? Bam! Just like that. You could drop dead right now - just like Johnnie Johnson, the piano legend who played on almost all of Chuck Berry's hits (and memorably played at the Gov a year or so back). The 80 year old died of natural causes, but was inducted into the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame a scant four years ago: is it just Puff, or can you smell a little more than coincidence here? Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame: popular music's greatest accolade, or merely the shuffle option on death's iPod? You be the judge.
Cog are (ahem) gearing up for a national assault in support
of their brand new album 'The New Normal': southern readers
can catch them at Flinders Uni Tavern on Fri 27 May (with In
The Grey), while those in the inner west might find their gig
at the Gov on Sat 28 May more convenient.
Lovers of the darker side will doubtless want to be at Necromancy's second Phantasm Ball at the Enigma Bar on Sat 20 April: the regular darkwave/industrial/goth DJ crew will be on hand, plus a BDSM gear display from designer Gimp Master, as well as giveaways and drink specials and the like. They promise "dares and dancing like you you'll never forget". Puff's intrigued, and not a little scared...
Puff warned you last issue that tickets to Henry Rollins's spoken
word show at the Norwood Concert Hall on Sat 21 May were going
like particularly steaming hot cakes, so no doubt you've already...
what? You haven't grabbed yours yet? For heaven's sake, the
entire tour is already heading for a sell out - go! Go! Go!
Lovers of the beatboxing arts will want to ensure they catch Joel Turner & The Modern Day Poets at the Gov on Thurs 21 April - especially since the gig is all-ages, for The Kids.
Well, that's plenty - and Puff doesn't want to suggest that
you're a yellow-bellied chicken what's lower than a varmint
rattlesnake's belly or anything, but if you're ready, then you
should know that Puff's outside in your driveway just waiting
for you to...
Get Out Of The House!
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