Festivals & Venues: January 11

ENMORE PRESENTS ICEHOUSE WITH PLAQUE 

When Icehouse wrapped up their 31-date 40 Years Live Tour with two shows at the Enmore Theatre in Sydney, it marked the band’s fifth and sixth appearance at the venue in 2017.

The 40 Years Live Tour was the band’s biggest in many years, leading the venue to present the band with a plaque congratulating them on the most sold out concerts last year.

Icehouse played to over 260,000 fans in Australia and New Zealand, including a special performance at Qantas Mascot hangar celebrating the delivery of their new Dreamliner plane named after the iconic track ‘Great Southern Land’.

UNEARTHED ACTS JOIN LANEWAY

Unearthed acts to join Laneway’s juggernaut in their hometowns are upfront singer songwriter Angie McMahon in Melbourne and Ivy League-signed Hatchie (aka Harriette Pilbeam) in Brisbane. Zimbabwean-born, Perth based rapper T$oko will be hitting the stage in Fremantle and post-punk four-piece Paradise Club in Adelaide.

FIRST ACT FOR BY THE MEADOW

Eleven piece Melbourne soul ensemble Billy Davis And The Good Lords as the first act to be announce .for the fifth edition of the boutique By The Meadow (April 6—8) at the lush farmland hamlet of Bambra (Victoria’s enchanting Otway Surf Coast region),

The rest of the lineup drops this month.

As a goodwill gesture to past patrons, the festival organisers emailed them an access code for 200 presale tickets at $105.

NEWCASTLE BAR FOR SALE

The TikkiI bar immortalised in the Cold Chisel song ‘The Backroom’ from 2015’s The Perfect Crime goes to auction on eBay on January 14.

The Star reported that the bamboo bar was originally in Cosmo’s Rock Lounge, Sydney. But Newcastle musician Dougie Bull took it to his hometown after Cosmo’s closed, and put it in a building next to the Sunset Studio venue where hundreds of musicians leaned against it after they played there. 

Chisel’s Don Walker was one of its fans; the online sale comes with a certificate of authenticity signed by him.

THREE AUSSIES FOR BONNAROO

Tash Sultana, Alison Wonderland and Rufus Du Sol were announced to play Tennessee’s Bonnaroo 2018 (June 7-10).

They join headliners Eminem, The Killers and Muse as well as Chic, Sheryl Crow, Paramore, Bon Iver, Mavis Staples and alt-J.

SECOND ADDS FOR CITY LIMITS 

Just added to Perth’s City Limits (Badlands Bar Carpark, March 3) are Tasmania’s Luca Brasi and locals Hideous Sun Demon, Childsaint, Jacob Diamond, Nerve Quakes, Lionzer and Spacey Jane.

Already announced were British India, Frenzal Rhomb, Ecca Vandal, The Bennies, The Gooch Palms and Psychedelic Porn Crumpets, among others, although Jess Locke has pulled out due to “scheduling” issues.

ANITA’S DISTANCES ITSELF FROM GIBBONS GIGS

Anita’s Theatre in Wollongong has issued a statement distancing itself from two extremely brief shows by ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons.

Patrons took to social media demanding refunds saying that the first show only consisted of three songs while the second stretched out to four.

Anita’s operators emphasised, “The venue’s part is to provide a world class space for the promoter and artist to present their show. What takes place on the stage is out of our control.” 

The venue will pass on a list of social media comments, reviews and media reports to Gibbons and the promoter “in the hope for a more entertaining performance for the people attending the upcoming shows in Newcastle and Brisbane.”

PERTH VENUE BANS UNDER 21s FROM NEW BAR

South Perth’s Windsor Hotel has banned under-21s from its new garden bar due to bad behaviour from (some) younger patrons. 

Hotel manager Max Fox-Andrews, standing firm in the face of a social media backlash, said a “motley crew of patrons” had broken glass, urinated on the floor and damaged toilets. 

The Equal Opportunity Commission said it was against the laws to discriminate on the basis of age, but would not take action until it received an official complaint.

GAYTIMES DROPS 30-STRONG BILL 

After selling out last year, queer music and camping event Gaytimes (February 16-18, Victoria’s Lake Mountain Alpine Resort) dropped its 30-strong bill of live acts and DJs. 

They include Le1f (USA), Alex The Astronaut, Bec Sandridge, Brisbane rapper Miss Blanks, Sydney’s Tigertown and Odette, Tasmania’s Maddy Jane, Spike Fuck, Wet Lips and Chicago house and disco DJ Chrissy.

BLUES MUSIC BACK IN GOULBURN FOR 22^ND YEAR

Australian Blues Music returns to Goulburn, February 8-11, for its 22nd year with 70 shows in eleven free venues across the city. 

There’ll be markets, busking, the APRA-AMCOS stage and major blues purveyors as Lloyd Spiegel, Geoff Achison, Nick Charles, Ali Penney & The Money Makers, Minnie Marks and Jan Preston.

ALL-AGES LIVE FROM OUTER SPACE LAUNCHES INBRISBANE

Brisbane has a new all-ages venue courtesy West End’s artist-run arts & music collective Outer Space, with music curated by Louis Whelan. 

The first show of Live From Outer Space is on January 12 with Spirit Bunny, Ultra Material and Slumlawwd.

On Jan 20 are Rivermouth, Accomplice Collective and ARIG while the 27^th has The Delicates, Requin and Gooby Jim. 

From February, it operates the last weekend of each month.

PARKLANDS NEEDS PUNTER SUPPORT

As reported previously in TMN, North Byron Parklands has made the final application to become the permanent home for Splendour in the Grass and Falls Byron, along with smaller cultural and community events as well as one-day concerts.

After a five-year trial, this application to the NSW Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) will, if successful, will give them the certainty to invest and upgrade facilities. 

But Parklands needs punters to show their support by making a submission to the DPE letting them know by Friday February 16 that they want Parklands to become a permanent home for live music, arts and culture.

Submissions are available at the NSW Government’s Planning and Environment website and a background to Parklands’ application at their website.

SMITH STREET BAND’S POOL HOUSE PARTY UNVEILS ACTS 

Melbourne band The Smith Street Band’s inaugural Pool House Party (March 17, Coburg Velodrome) has dropped its first round of acts. 

They include Gareth Liddiard’s current project, Tropical Fuck Storm, former touring buddies Ceres, Bec Sandridge, WAAX, Baker Boy, Pool House Records label mate Jess Locke (who’ll be pulling double duties also playing with the Smithies), Press Club, The Sugarcanes (whose singer Lucy Wilson will also be joining the Smithies onstage) and Antonia & The Lazy Susans.

UNCONFORMITY TO EXPAND

Blessed with funding from Arts Tasmania and the Federal Government (and winning gold in the Tasmanian Tourism Awards), Queenstown’s Unconformity (October 19-21) has signalled plans to operate throughout the year, rather than for just a couple of days a year. 

To this end, it will this year launch an artist residency program, a fund to commission new works, and plans for community groups to loan their $55,000 worth of gear.

MELBOURNE STADIUMS TO GET EXTENSIVE UPGRADES

The Herald Sun reported that Melbourne’s stadiums are set for a major upgrades, to be announced down the track, “in an election-year cash splash by the Andrews Government.” 

This will include a $300 million overhaul of Etihad Stadium - including a waterside stadium gateway, events centre and parkland.

The report was not sure if the long-discussed $1 billion revamp of the Melbourne Cricket Grounds will be part of this.

The Herald Sun said, “The MCG wants to build new concourses over Brunton Ave, providing easy access for fans to Richmond station and Melbourne Park, which would also reduce bottlenecks identified as a security risk.”

WOODFORD FOLK TO START UPGRADES

With million dollar grants from both Moreton Regional Council and the Queensland Government, work will start soon on upgrading the infrastructure and camping grounds of Woodfordia, the site of Woodford Folk.

The most recent festival drew 120,000. Organisers deliberately put a cap when its record draw of 130,000 the year before stressed out its infrastructure.

FREO CONSIDERS NO ALCOHOL SPACES

In a move reflected in some East Coast cities to introduce more no-alcohol spaces, the City of Fremantle is making moves where future planning applications by hotels and taverns (but not small bars) will have to have to have spaces where no alcohol is allowed to provide more diversity of use.