Puff'n'Stuff

With so much in store for us over the next couple of weeks, there's just no excuse to whinge about how boring Adelaide is...And if you do happen to overhear some poor, misinformed fool whining on about how nothing ever happens - you officially have Puff's permission to kick them up the bum-bum, then point them in the direction of any one of this year's Cabaret Festival venues.

The worm will turn when the ever-so-subtle Dancing With The Stars judge Todd McKenney takes to the stage at the Dunstan Playhouse from 20-24 June, while The Piano Bar will hold some chaotic, freestyle fun in the form of Spontaneous Broadway from 16-18 June. La Fille Du Cirque is wowing crowds all over Australia with her sultry voice and captivating performance, and she'll no doubt do the same at the Space Theatre from 13-17 June, as will the hugely successful and highly anticipated sell-out The Burlesque Hour at the Art Space from 13-17 June. Mikelangelo And The Black Sea Gentlemen reveal all through their songs and mystic storytelling on Tue 20 June, while local gem LeighStarDust is paying a special little homage to some of her own idols from 21-22 June at the Lyrics Lounge...This is the event of the year so make sure you don't miss all the glitz, glamour and some damn fine international as well as local talent.

Not to be missed is also the real life brother and sister duo...er, Brother-Sister, who play on Sat 10 June. After three years spent on the road as well as recording overseas - Dante in the UK and Xavia in the US - the pair are back together in their hometown and psyched for their first ever Adelaide performance at the Grace Emily along with local experimental boys Mr Wednesday. Entry is free so be sure to get down there and check them out.

Having just completed their debut EP, which is available from Big Star records for just $5.00 - and guaranteed well worth your money by the band - Miracle Hat return to play a few more shows following a great response at the Jade Monkey last month. Although the EP launch is currently looking to be some time around August, fear not, the 'Hat have three consecutive shows lined up for this Fri 9 June at The Lizard Lounge, Sat 10 June at the Rhino Room and Fri 23 June at the Crown And Anchor. In the meantime, suss out the band's brand-spankin'-new website at www.miraclehat.net

The bluesy duo that are The Fumes have also announced their headlining tour which will see them on the road nationally mid-June and which will mark the start of a very long touring schedule later on during the year. Adelaide dates of the 'Automobile Tour' have not yet been confirmed, but stay tuned for more info.

Pop is striking back at Jive on Fri 23 June, with Little Ice Age and Special Patrol leading the Pop Strikes Back alliance after having just completed their performances with Youth Group and Bluebottle Kiss, respectively. They will be joined by special guests Battery Kids and Unspoken Things.

Local pop/rock four-piece Salty are holding their debut LP launch at the Wheatsheaf Hotel this Fri 9 June with some help from Linus, as well as a special mystery guest to be announced on the night. You'll also get a showbag on entry, which is always good.

No strangers to making some massive waves are The Grates who have recently been announced as 2006 J Award nominees for their album 'Gravity Won't Get You High', alongside other musical titans like Augie March ('Moo, You Bloody Choir'), The Living End ('State Of Emergency'), Gotye ('Like Drawing Blood') and our own Hilltop Hoods ('The Hard Road'). "We're so happy to be nominated," is how The Grates' vocalist Patience responded, "we feel like the mumma chicken who hatched the swan! Rock-a-doodle-doo and thank you!"

Brisvegas hip-hop/reggae/rock freakshow Butterfingers are going to make some Adelaide fans very happy this month with a double onslaught of shows at the Adelaide UniBar on Sat 10 June and the Flinders Tavern on Sun 11 June. The guys are bringing along their good mate MC Lars who's debut single 'Download This Song' is likewise currently making some pretty big waves nationally.

Over in the States, the eight-time Grammy Award-winning Dixie Chicks' own newly hatched and, once again, quite controversial baby, 'Taking The Long Way', has seen them make history for being the first female group in chart history to have three albums debut at the top spot...Puff guesses Dubya's seen better days.

Taking a leaf out of the Dixie Chicks' how-to-slag-off-your-country manual is French rapper Monsieur R who has recently been charged for "Offending public decency" by referring to France as a "Slut" and singing about "Pissing" on Napoleon and Charles De Gaulle. Monsieur R, however, claims that he isn't targeting anyone or anything in particular, and is rapping against the system.

Still in Europe, also spewing are the Finnish public due to a magazine printing an unmasked Tomi Putaansuu, or otherwise known as frontman of the band who won this year's Eurovision Song Contest. After managing to simultaneously provide comical relief and scare the shit out of the audiences world-wide, the group which brought us Hard Rock Hallelujah are not happy about the exposure - neither is the magazine in question. According to the BBC, readers of the mag featuring singer Putaansuu's face are canceling subscriptions while two companies have already cancelled their advertising campaigns in outrage.

On the subject of all things terrifying yet mesmerising, Keith Richards is continuing to recover following his recent fall from a...uh, coconut tree, which means that Guns'N'Roses will no longer be opening for the Rolling Stones' European tour. Richards has posted a message to disappointed fans on the band's official website, stating, "Excuse me, I fell off my perch. Sorry to disrupt everyone's plans, but now - it's full steam ahead! Ouch!"

Puff never dreamed of seeing the day when apple-cheeked 'it' boy James Blunt was banned from radio, but lo! the day has come. Recently, Blunt lived up to his name by announcing at a show, "To all those bastards who don't like my music - you can switch your radio off," but probably didn't expect a UK radio station to actually ban his songs after an audience poll found listeners sick to death of hearing You're Beautiful.

Thom Yorke has decided to shed some light on his highly-anticipated solo project The Eraser, which has largely been hush-hush up until now. Speaking to Rolling Stone magazine, Yorke explained that some of the songs have been in the works for over three years, while others were even considered for Yorke's full-time band Radiohead. The Eraser is released in July in the UK, which means hopefully Australian fans won't have much longer to wait.


Also making an entry into the What-Were-You-Thinking files is one Madonna who quite clearly has lost her marbles. Apparently, Madge is convinced that hanging from a giant mirrored crucifix on stage, while screens in the background show images of Third World poverty, helps prevent AIDS. Naturally many religious leaders have responded in disgust and general disbelief at Madonna's performance, but the singer doesn't understand what all the fuss is about, telling the media that "Jesus wouldn't mind."

On the subject of complete tools, that naughty Babyshambles frontman Peter Doherty has been up to his usual mischief once again, this time on a flight in Barcelona following the discovery of a syringe in the plane's toilet. Now joining the ranks of Snoop Dogg and DMX, Doherty has been banned from flying with an airline.

It is to Puff's great relief that rumours of Dave Grohl's death have been greatly exaggerated. "I got a phone message from a friend to my wife saying 'I'm so sorry to hear what happened.' I heard this and went 'What the fuck?'" Ghrol recently told NME. The singer has now graduated to that rare and privileged status of being an Internet rumour, "Nah, I'm like a cockroach, I'll be around for a long time."

Still definitely dead, on the other hand, is Kurt Cobain, who will take up a huge chunk of Courtney Love's upcoming and highly anticipated 'Emotional Biography'. The book will be a collection of memoirs and diary entries from around the time of the singer's death as well as afterwards, and will contain never-before-seen photographs of the couple, Love's own poetry, song lyrics, childhood records, and thoughts on coping with life as a celebrity...But when not busy with her literary project, Love is advocating human rights for Amnesty International. The campaign features celebrities like Christian Slater, Billy Zane and Patrick Stewart holding placards with messages like 'Protect The Human', 'Torture Is Terror', 'Control The Arms Trade' and 'Stop Violence Against Women' which will be on display at London's Covent Garden.

The curse of the keyboard player has once again struck The Grateful Dead - this is seriously just getting weird now. Vince Welnick, the fourth keyboardist for the cult band has died at the age of 55, and rumours as to the cause of his passing have already abound, with a San Francisco Bay Area newspaper claiming Welnick committed suicide. Founding member and keyboardist Ron McKernan died in 1973 as a result of alcohol abuse, followed by Kieth Godchaux who died in a car accident in 1980, while Brent Mydland overdosed on drugs the decade after.

Puff hates to leave it on a gloomy note, but it seems that, yes indeedy, there's been a lot of negative energy lately in this business we call show...

Lucky then, that back home we have so many goodies coming our way - besides the massive festivals and local acts that are about to hit Adelaide, there's plenty of gigs coming up to keep you busy over the next couple of weeks. Head down to Fowler's Live this Thu 8 June and check out heavyweights Carpathian who play with Through Closed Eyes, The Valley and The Amity Affliction, and make sure not to miss Belle And Sebastian at the Thebarton Theatre on Fri 9 June too. The legendary Split Enz will play a much anticipated show at the Entertainment Center on Wed 14 June, while Strung Out and Death By Stereo destroy the serenity on Tue 20 June at the Adelaide UniBar.

So it's like Puff said before - if you find yourself bored over the next couple of weeks, then you're just not getting with the program, so...

Get Out Of The House!