Giveaway: Brisbane Comedy Fest – Des Bishop and Jason Byrne

The laughs keep coming with another Brisbane Comedy Festival giveaway!

We have 3 double passes to Des Bishop’s show on March 14. Des is Irish-American and in his new show takes audience members on his honest look at Australian culture.

Continuing with the Irish theme, we also have 2 double passes to Jason Byrne’s show on March 18. Jason is a regular on Australian shores and has appeared on Good News Week and Spicks and Specks many times.

To enter leave your name and which show you’d like to see most in the comments section and winners will be drawn Friday March 12 at 5pm.

Good luck.

Fortitude Valley welcomes The Mana Bar

On March 20, Fortitude Valley will welcome a different kind of bar to it’s stable. The Mana Bar, the brainchild of a group of Australia’s leading gaming minds, is the first licensed video game venue.

Partygoers can enjoy a different kind of bar experience at Mana and enjoy a cocktail while they test their skills on the best latest releases and classic games.  With no cover charge and no cost to make the most of the bar’s many gaming consoles, what’s not to love?

From Wii Sports to Guitar Hero to Street Fighter IV, The Mana Bar is offering an exclusive new look at the XBox Live game ‘Raskulls’ during their opening weekend. There will also be hourly prizes, giveaways, live entertainment and special guests.

Doors open from midday to midnight on March 20. For more information visit www.manabar.com.au

Operator Please’s grown-up music

Picture courtesy of Pedestrian

So Operator Please have just released a new single, and my my, don’t they look grown up!?

With some serious help from director Price James (of Friendly Fires, Simian Mobile Disco and Florence and the Machine fame) and Australian Vogue, these kiddies are beginning to bloom.

This track, Logical is the first single off their soon-to-be-released album Gloves. Keep your eyes out because we smell a tour soon!

The track itself is something we’re not too sure about… it seems a little whiney for such grown-up people. Perhaps it will “grow” on us though!

Check it out right here:

Operator Please – “Logic”.

Tell us what you think!

Love Shared with Mama Kin

Words and Photos: Kate Scantleton

Friday February 12, 2010

It isn’t often that we see bands that truly seem as though the music runs through their veins. Mama Kin and her band proved to be one of these lucky few tonight, allowing us to participate in the cleansing ritual of her set. The hot and steamy Zoo was the best place for this ritual to take place; the modesty and welcoming nature of the venue sincerely complimented the sounds and love that was being shared amongst performers and audience.

Mama Kin and her band are such a modest, courteous and joyous trio – it was abundantly clear that they love what they’re doing and the buzz of making success out of art is really making them happy. And the crowd reflected this, loving every moment of the set.

If you haven’t heard of Mama Kin yet, her music is soulful; a mixture of slow and fast jazzy-blues, each song with a sweet underlying story and moral. Her voice is heavenly and meaningful – it comes from hard times and experiences that have led her to being the artist she is today. Accompanied by some delightfully precious melodies on keys and funky drum beats, the trio are certainly a force to be reckoned with.

The music itself is complex, yet made for easy listening. Busting out with the well-circulated single Tore My Heart Out and a number of very danceable bluesy tunes, the set was full of ups and downs including sing-a-longs, a Capella tunes and much dancing both on and off-stage, so there was plenty to keep everyone on their toes.

Currently touring, the band have already sold out their Sydney show and are spreading their love all the way down the east coast, stopping off at the Gold Coast and Mullumbimby on their way back north. With mentionable track records of wonderous sets (tonight inclusive!) such as Woodford Folk Festival earlier in the year, Mama Kin is definitely on the way up in the blues, roots and folk scene in Oz. You can check out the band’s tour dates and blog here.

Laura Marling graces The Zoo

Doesn’t matter if you LOL or ROFL, Brisbane Comedy Festival has it all

Josh Thomas will be performing at the second Brisbane Comedy Festival

Brisbane Powerhouse will host the Brisbane Comedy Festival again from February 23, 2010 delivering to locals the best and brightest talent on the comedy circuit. 

Some of Australia’s top comedians including Adam Hills, Wil Anderson, Frank Woodley, Peter Hellier and Josh Thomas will be joined by international jesters Des Bishop and David O’Doherty – just to name a few!

The sides of the Powerhouse will be splitting with Hannah Gadsby, Tom Ballard, Felicity Ward and Melinda Buttle also lining up to provide comedic relief.

For those penny-pinchers Brisbane Powerhouse has brought back their ‘Cheap Arse Tuesdays’ with fantastic deals on tickets.

Tickets are available through the Box Office on 07 3358 8600 or online at www.brisbanepowerhouse.org

Get planning. The Brisbane Comedy Festival runs from Tuesday February 23 – Sunday 21 March, 2010.

Want to be a part of the laughs?

Brisbane Powerhouse is looking for volunteers for their 2^nd annual Brisbane Comedy Festival. If you want to be a part of Brisbane’s funniest, friendliest and most outrageous festival then email comedy@brisbanepowerhouse.org to let the team know you’d like to volunteer and include a little about yourself along with your availability between 23 February – 21 March 2010.

Volunteers will be required to do three shifts, which only last three hours and will be able to friendly assist patrons with directions and program information.

For more information visit http://www.briscomfest.com/becomeavolunteer

Movies: Up in the Air

Director Jason Reitman is interested in the idea of likeable male protagonists who are cheerfully committed to their amoral jobs. In Up in the Air, our amoral protagonist is Ryan Bingham, played (of course) by George Clooney, who spends his life on aeroplanes and in hotels, touching down briefly in anonymous offices to fire poor saps whose spineless bosses don’t want to get their hands dirty.

It’s a life Bingham loves so much he rhapsodises at motivational talks about living with an “empty backpack” – without the tiresome anchors of work and family. His only goals are accumulating loyalty points as he travels and the occasional fling – a role which Alex (Vera Farmiga) is happy to play.

Up in the Air, as you would expect, is contemporary, thoughtful, and cleverly written. It’s a movie with a lot on its mind: how do we exist in a society that is so atomised and casual, where our main loyalty is to brands and jobs but not to people, where we struggle so often to make connections with those around us?

At one point in the film, Bingham confidently asserts “I’m surrounded by people”, and it is this line that is at the heart of the film – whether we trivialise them, uphold them or ignore them, our relations with others are what give our lives meaning. The recently unemployed, portrayed in some cases by the actual victims of the US’s still rising tide of joblessness, reiterate a common theme that family is what is motivating them to do better, to realise their dreams.

But as the film makes clear, loved ones can fail us too. Other characters besides Ryan pay considerably more attention to their relationships, with mixed results; we see shaky and failed home lives despite the best of intentions. The characters’ lives are indeed up in the air, but we never really grasp something that helpfully resolves the uncertainty.

Up in The Air is like a late night philosophy conversation in the pub. It’s great fun, but you end up with some astute observations on the meaning of life that you can’t really work out what to do with.

The casting is pitch-perfect. George Clooney is as dry as always, and it’s great to see that as a young ambitious understudy Natalie (Anna Kendrick) receives credit and praise from the film on her own terms without having to knuckle under to the older male’s way of doing things, compared to the situation in say, State of Play. The next step will be to have a woman protagonist in Clooney’s role, without making it a “women’s movie”.

And Jason Bateman’s beard effectively hides the haplessness that we saw in Arrested Development to create Ryan Bingham’s disagreeable boss.

Whether you envy or despise Ryan Bingham, it’s clear that Up in the Air is one of those films that people will look back on as bringing out the spirit of our times. Go see it, and if you can find a “moral of the story”, be sure to let me know.

Up in the Air is in cinemas now.

Bells and Whistles @ the Zoo’s 17th birthday

Words and Pictures: Kate Scantleton

Friday December 11

The valley is hot, steamy and pumping with people and music. It’s the holiday season. Everyone is out, as there’s no time like the summertime to hit the dance floors, drink up and just be downright Aussie.

This was somewhat the case last night as the Howling Bells hit the stage with their signature sound of indie pop-rock in a swarming, exciting spectacle. The crowd was a-plenty, almost at capacity, although there was something in the air: they were all quiet and complacent in comparison to what one would expect at such a gig.

The eeriness didn’t bother the band all that much, who worked hard to build morale amongst the audience, which was effective and built to a crescendo encore performance.

Howling Bells have it all – the hot band members, their classic, unique sound, the cult following, and the international cred. Having moved to the UK from our grand land a number of years back to kick-start their musical careers, the band have achieved exactly what they wanted to, just jumping off the Coldplay and Snow Patrol tour buses for their own headlining tour.

Last night, they managed to smash out a great set, demonstrating all that has made their name grow so quickly. Mixing beautiful, fresh lyrics and melodies with Juanita’s delightful vocals and the awesome sounds from the guys in the band, every song was mind-blowingly wondrous. The addition of fantastic stage presence from the band including little fits of dancing, some entertaining banter and a short drumming session made sure to keep the quiet crowd interested. Set favourites include Nightingale and Cities Burning Down.

In addition, it was a night of birthday celebration, as the Zoo turned the ripe old age of 17, and drummer Glenn also celebrated his birthday on this night of nights in style whilst rocking out in the only way that would seem fit.

Skunkhour back in action after 8 years of silence

Words and Pictures: Kate Scantleton

Tuesday December 8

Skunkhour are a band that during their time and beyond have been severely under-rated, with such visionary sounds beyond their time. This was made apparent at the Tivoli tonight, watching the reformed band after an 8 year silence, and witnessing the ways in which this music has gone on to influence so many Australian and international bands nowadays.

The night was a slow start, with a low-impact DJ set starting the night off, leading into a “two-thirds of the Resin Dogs” set, which warmed the crowd up nicely, preparing them for the spectacle that was to follow.

Up next, the Skunkhour gents didn’t disappoint. Their mixture of euphoric bass-slapping funk, rap, pop and rock went down an absolute treat, and it was wonderful to see brothers Aya and Del Larkin together on stage once again. The relationship that these two amazing musicians share is something that is not often seen nowadays, feeding off one another’s movements and excitement. Crowd favourites were Back to Basics, Gold Radiation and Kick in the Door, although there were many others that were obviously well-loved by the eager audience.

The one disappointing aspect of the evening that really bothered me was the noticeable lack of audience presence. For such an extraordinary band that has been out of the business for a good 8 years, it was a little upsetting to see the Tivoli well short of capacity. Punters, I’m saddened by your lack of effort!!

It is great to see where the music of Skunkhour has led the Australian music industry, with Del being the first rapper to openly don an accent of his heritage. 20 years down the track from their beginning, it is refreshing to see this music again and hear hints of the likes of Hilltop Hoods whilst watching this.

Regurgitator’s Rockshow hits the stage

Thursday November 26 2009

Words: Leah Holdsworth
Picture courtesy of Barry Schipplock

Regurgitator has a reputation of pure rock and roll. Never a band to evade controversy or downplay their own sense of vitality, Regurgitator burst onto the music scene with bravado and glee. With songs like “I Sucked a Lot of Cock to Get Where I Am”, Regurgitator have sent a clear message to the masses: that they are not only a band that is astute and brutally honest, but they also hold an individual slant that is not often topped by other likeminded musicians.

And with that in mind, I should have been conscious of the bands’ sly want to avoid the mundane, the stereotypical. However, I was undeniably surprised by the performance put on by Regurgitator and Gavin Webber at QPAC on the 26th of November. Entitled ‘Rock Show’, that is exactly what I was expecting to experience when I arrived at the Playhouse.  Instead, in usual ‘Gurge’ fashion, I became part of something entirely different.

Gavin Webber and the band had combined their unique abilities in dance and rock ‘n’ roll to create a performance that had their audience mesmerised, laughing hysterically or simply rocking out to the beat (as much as possible in the comfy seats we were allocated). The dancers were captivating, interesting characters that were filled with brazen shenanigans. Dancers and musicians alike performed with zeal.

It was, purely, something I had never experienced. With only around five actual Regurgitator songs on the set list, the rest of the time the band was playing music that was part of the performance taking place on stage with the dancers. If there were to be a highlight to the evening, it would be the end, when the audience was invited to the front, and even on stage, to rock out in atypical Regurgitator fashion, to a few treasured songs.

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