The Scene - Local Entertainment News

S Sense

I cross the bridge where the full moon shines up from under the water like a drowned streetlight. I'm walking to the big green gig on the funky northside. Raging against Howard.

You can read an event by its car park. Not here the monotone of new, spotless, uniformly similar vehicles. No, here's a carpark as varied as it is full.

A large dreadlocked tribe tumbles out of an old Kombi, where babies have been born (and raised), followed by that particular Kombi screech of the door being slid shut.

There are old Holdens, grizzly war veterans of the local roads, with different coloured panels and a coathanger sticking out from the grille. One had a rag sticking out from its fuel tank. Like a wick. Now, that's a bomb.

You got your old Volvos of course - favourite of the large family. So safe you can't conceive in them. One is handpainted and looks like an accident.

Check out the old Toyota ute with a cowboy hat on the dash, a kelpie in the front seat and a saddle in the back. A sticker reads 'Vegans for peace'.

A few newish four-wheel drives hunker, almost embarrassedly, in the carpark. Too big to hide, they look uncomfortably allergic to the rust and dust, to the very individuality, of their neighbours. A lantana scratch could cost you a thousand. One has a sticker that says, 'Goolmangar - where the cows come first.' Wow. Sexual sensitivity.

Nondescript new cars pepper the park with their impenetrable window tint and ego number plates looking like, well... used people salesmen. These are the wheels of the rich, the indebted or the horticulturally successful.

All these cars from different places and income brackets have come together from miles around for a purpose - the bumper stickers proclaiming the common cause. 'No war', 'Not happy, John', 'Vote Green' and the very scary (seen on a Hi-ace van with a shell and feather collection on the dashboard and thick smoke belching from the exhaust) 'Remember to breathe'. Der...

Then, in a moment of vehicular empathy, I turn around, walk back over the bridge and get my car. The mighty green Camira wouldn't want to miss out on this car community bonding.

Mighty mousemoon haunts beautiful Lismore

Hauntingly Beautiful Mousemoon check out the bars in Lismore between gigs.

Once you hear this band you'll always remember that sound - that hauntingly beautiful sound that is the (you guessed it) Hauntingly Beautiful Mousemoon. This is the HBM recipe - to Jeff Buckley/Robert Plant vocals add some Led Zeppelin grunt, a lot of Lemmy and Townsend stage antics, sprinkle with the genre-hopping eclecticism of The Beatles and serve with a glass of the dark post-modernism of Radiohead or Sigur Ros and you have the Hauntingly Beautiful Mousemoon. They play at Southern Cross Uni next Tuesday afternoon, August 10.

Alternatively, check them out at the Tatts Hotel in Lismore next Thursday, August 12, where they will feature with The Red Paintings.

Miller Thriller on the North Coast

Rebecca Quade and John Maclean are The Millers Tale.

Melbourne-based, acoustic folk/pop duo The Millers Tale is playing the North Coast promoting their much-anticipated album, Wish it Away. They'll perform at the Rails Hotel in Byron next Thursday, August 12, from 7.30pm. The next day, Friday, August 13, you can catch them at the Urban Café in Bangalow from 7pm.

Recorded partly at home, and partly in the studio, the songs on Wish It Away were written over a three-year period that saw The Millers Tale living in three different cities (Sydney, Dublin and Melbourne). Co-produced by Jackie Orszaczky and mixed by Chris Thompson (Augie March, The Waifs), the result is a neat collection of finely crafted songs.

The simple yet haunting vocal melodies for which The Millers Tale is well known are peppered with delightful brass and string arrangements, courtesy of Orszaczky, as well as the more usual folk-based instruments such as mandolin, violin, accordion, acoustic guitar and piano. But no banjo...

The entire album displays a maturing of The Millers Tale's songwriting style - an intimate combination of warm acoustic melodies, sweet vocals and magical harmonies.

Her cup runneth over

Teresa Biscoe (Biskit) wins the Nimbin Performance Poetry World Cup.

Teresa Biscoe - poet, singer, belly dancer and Nimbin resident - won the second annual Nimbin Performance Poetry World Cup last weekend, blitzing the crowd with a punter pleasing performance poem in a packed Nimbin Town Hall. Biskit, as she is known, takes home the treasured cup and $1000.

David Hallett (last year's winner), Robyn Scott and Alecia Van Hest were the judges, eventually finding their champion after two days of tough poetical competition among the 24 entrants. The heats were held in The Oasis and Rainbow cafes with poets and poetry lovers arriving in Nimbin from all over Australia - and some from beyond these shores

Miss Kate, a delicate, sophisticated poet from interstate, won the people's choice award for her shy sensitivity.

The Nimbin Performance Poetry World Cup is now an annual and iconic event on the North Coast.

"This year the quality was even higher than last year, " said well-pleased organiser, Gail Clarke. "Next year will be even bigger and better."

Floyd back in town

Chairman of the Childbrides, Floyd Vincent.

Floyd Vincent and the Childbrides will perform at the Murwillumbah Hotel this Friday, August 6, the Beach Hotel in Byron this Saturday, August 7, and at the Brunswick Hotel this Sunday, August 8.

These North Coast gigs are part of their The Other Operation tour, which began in Sydney two weeks ago and finishes at the Bellingen Jazz Festival in late August.

From the age of 10 when he first picked up the classical guitar, through to his first professional band at the age of 14 and up to the present, Floyd Vincent's immersion in the world of music and performance has been total. Floyd Vincent and the Childbrides cover an enormous amount of musical and physical territory. They are one of Australia's hardest working live acts, regularly touring both in Australia and in Europe.

They are currently promoting their album Last Exit Motel, which has been receiving great reviews around the nation. Produced at Tim Finn's Periscope Studio in Melbourne by Floyd and Simon Polinski with the help of David Bridie, the album captures the passion and special character of Floyd's songs.

His band - Bill Jacobi, Lindsay Page and Joe Giuseppe Accaria - has a wealth of experience. They began to play together in early 1996 and have toured Australia extensively and Europe four times.

"Just when you thought the average local rock act had exhausted all permutations, the Childbrides re-invent the genre into something brave, new and truly international," commented The Bulletin.

Rousmajazz

Jim Kelly frets about the cold.

Jazz & Blues at the Rous will present a night of jazz as warm as the open fire at The Rous Hotel in Lismore next Tuesday, August 10, with the Jim Kelly Quartet.

Besides Jim with his hot licks and cool chords, the quartet will feature two distinctively different vocalists (one is a girl), Jack Thorncraft and Natalie Gay, who will give voice to some beautiful jazz, Latin and swing standards. Dave Sanders on drums completes the four.

The new venue is a great one for jazz performance and the punters have given it the thumbs up. If you haven't already experienced Jazz & Blues at the Rous, then do it!

The finger clickin' starts at 8pm and entry is an economical $5.

Painting the town Red

Lismore sees Red... Paintings next Thursday.

The church has proclaimed that the bleeding Virgin Mary in Inala, Brisbane, is a fake and has laid the blame squarely at the unearthed feet of Brisbane's sci-fi art rockers, The Red Paintings. Apparently they are also responsible for the UFO sightings near Gympie.

Well known for their unique live shows where band members dress up as geisha girls and project disturbing collages of images onto themselves, they also invite members of the audience to paint on blank canvases set up at the front of the stage.

Apparently, music is also involved, because Red Paintings are promoting their new single, Rain, at the Tatts Hotel in Lismore, next Thursday, August 12. They'll be playing with the Hauntingly Beautiful Mousemoon.

Perth band goes east

Jebediah in your face.

They're back on the east coast... poised and ready to bend it big time at the Great Northern Hotel in Byron this Sunday, August 8. Yep. Perth's favourite four-piece, Jebediah, are here to rock the coast with their new album, Braxton Hicks - the band's fourth album.

It's been two years since Jebediah released their last album and Braxton Hicks, named after a mother-to-be's painless contractions before labour begins, showcases a progressive band with a new vision and greater creative control than ever before. They produced the album themselves.

"I'm feeling much closer to Braxton Hicks than any of our past recordings," said Kevin Mitchell, singer and lead guitarist. "I think we got more out of the experience by doing it all ourselves."

Bustin' Native R(h)ymes

Native Ryme Syndicate (pictured) heads up the first of a new series of all-ages concerts at the Lismore Rowing Club (also known as the Laurie Allen Centre) next Friday, August 13, from 7-11pm.

This Brisbane-based group is a hip hop act featuring C-Roc, DK and others, including both musicians and dancers. Native Ryme Syndicate is the voice of a frustrated youth.

"There is a lot of frustration on the street at grassroots level with young people, especially indigenous people, but people overall," said C-Roc. "Our environment inspired us to form a group with political and social conscience."

On stage Native Ryme Syndicate uses a DJ, a didj player and clap sticks. The band plays instruments in the recording studio but the practicalities of live gigging strip the band down to its neat stage format.

The night will feature local DJs, dancers and bands. The Channon Youth group will provide food and drinks and MC Thunda Cat will open up the microphone to all the rhymers in the crowd.

The concert is drug and alcohol free and fully supervised by Event Guardians security. Tickets are $10 plus booking fee from Music Bizarre and The Bomb Clothing.

J Freebie: The Echo has one double pass to give away to the Native Ryme Syndicate gig. To go in the draw to win phone 6622 2888 between 10-10.15am next Monday, August 9, and tell us in what town Native Ryme Sydicate are based.

Win movie tickets!

Picture this.

You and a very close friend have taken a trip to the farthest regions of Peru to scale Siula Grande, a mountain peak that no other climbing team has ever managed to conquer. Your ascent is a complete success. However, on your way back down, your friend breaks his leg very badly. At this altitude there is no hope of rescue or help, so you begin a courageous and painful escape by using a length of rope to lower your partner 300ft at a time.

Things get considerably worse when, with night drawing near, in a severe snowstorm, you accidentally lower your partner over the edge of a towering cliff face. You have no way of communicating and your grip of the rope is gradually slipping, but you hold on for two hours but eventually decide that your only choice is to cut the rope. You cut the rope.

Exciting, eh?

It is at this point that the film, Touching the Void, really becomes an inspirational true story of survival. In the form of a simple interview, the two actual climbers involved - Joe Simpson and Simon Yates - tell their harrowing tale, which is graphically recreated by actors, Brendan Mackey as Joe and Nicolas Aaron as Simon. Obviously, as both climbers are telling us their story, we know that they survived, but their journey off the mountain is as fantastical as any kind of fiction you'll encounter.

More than just another action flick, Touching the Void is a film about taking control of your life and the power of extreme challenges that involve complex practical, moral and ethical choices.

This film won the BAFTA award for Best British Film and is based on the bestseller by climber Joe Simpson.

Touching the Void opens at Lismore Cinemas this Saturday, August 8.

J Freebie: Readers of The Echo can win one of ten double passes to Touching the Void, which they can use anytime while its on show. To go in the draw to win phone 6622 2888 between 10.30-10.45am next Monday, August 9, and tell us what country the mountain, Siula Grande, is in. (Yeah, I know. Tough question.)

Blowing our own trumpet

Left, right, three, four - the Lismore City Concert Band in Casino.

The Lismore City Concert Band is a fun way to meet new friends who share an interest in music. And marching.

The band is based in Lismore (in the Arts and Crafts Pavilion at the Lismore Showgrounds) and plays an important role in the community. It gives budding musicians a chance to rehearse and play together in a friendly environment.

The band provides music for community events like the Lantern Parade, Anzac Day etc. It also supports school bands and gives young musicians the chance to perform with more experienced musos.

The Lismore City Concert Band rehearses every Monday. If you're interested in joining the band or would just like some more info phone 6621 3246.

NORPA presents

SPRUNG!
A Monkey Baa Production in association with Glen Street Theatre
Star Court Theatre, Lismore
Tuesday September 7, 7pm
Wednesday, September 8, 10am & 1pm
Tickets $22.20, $17.20, $12.20 or family $56.80 including booking fees
Phone 6621 5600 or visit www.norpa.org.au

I should never have done it. No, I should have. I just should never have been caught. The egg was on target. Smack. Right in the middle of Mr Humpy's chest. I, Fergus Kipper, have been SPRUNG!

"The wonderful thing about this show was its refreshing honesty as it dealt with children, parents and the problems we all face in raising kids these days. SPRUNG! sprang out of the blocks and bowled over young and old alike."

Marcus Bower, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, 20 July 2004.

Andrew Daddo is one of the sharpest new voices in Australian writing for young people. He is well known to television audiences throughout Australia as a presenter on ABC TV's national music show The Factory, American MTV, Lonely Planet, Kidspeak and most recently The Great Outdoors. His first novel Sprung! is written with all the entertaining style and wit that Andrew's fans have come to love. Sprung! is a collection of short stories based loosely on his own experiences growing up in the large and infamous Daddo family. We follow the tale of Fergus Kipper's journey, his discovery of boundaries and responsibilities as he follows his dream - to be the proud owner of a gleaming piece of chrome, The Trail Blazer. His birthday looms closer and it's up to his mum and dad to make his dream come true. All Fergus needs to do is to stay out of trouble for one week. It's easier said than done.

SPRUNG! is entertaining theatre for the whole family. The production will play one evening and two matinees at the Star Court Theatre in Lismore with a discounted family ticket available. Visit the NORPA website for more information or call the Northern Rivers Ticket Centre on 6621 5600.

The Sydney Symphony Orchestra
In concert at Lismore City Hall
Wednesday, September 29, 7.30pm
Tickets $47.20, $22.20
Phone 6621 5600 or visit www.norpa.org.au

NORPA can now announce the program for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra concert at Lismore City Hall in September. Chief Conductor and Artistic Director Gianluigi Gelmetti has selected two pieces from Beethoven - Egmont overture and Symphony No. 7; Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana: Intermezzo; Bottesini's Double Bass Concerto No. 2 and Donizetti's Concertino for Cor Anglasis. Ticket sales are already at the half way mark so to avoid disappointment book your seat for this special concert now.

Skate Comp

The Ballina Youth Service and the Far North Coast Skateboarding Association present the Telstra Countrywide Fair Go - the biggest skateboarding and youth festival on the North Coast. It all happens at the Ballina Skatepark on Saturday, August 21.

There are thousands of dollars in cash and prizes up for grabs to local and interstate competitors. The winner of the open sponsored division will take away $1000. The top three open competitors will win $1500 worth of Harvey World travel vouchers. Finalists in the Women and Junior divisions will take home electric sunglasses (?), Volcom clothing, Globe shoes, Nixon watches and skate gear from Equal Central and Kwala.

Entry forms are available from local surf and skate shops. Entries close on Monday, August 16. For more info visit the website at www.farnorthcoastskateboarding.org or phone 6681 5511.

Archibald is coming!

Australia's most extraordinary and controversial art award, the Archibald Prize, is on the road (well, in a truck). The 2004 Archibald Prize: NSW Regional Tour will be officially opened (with cocktails) at the Grafton Regional Gallery on Friday, August 13.

This popular exhibition will be opened by Alison Kubler, who is the curator of public programs at the QUT University Art Museum. Special guests include Australian poet Les Murray, artist Michael Zavros and comedian Mandy Nolan. There will be live music by Lounge and fine food by Georgie's at the gallery.

Tickets are $35/30. Bookings are essential. Phone 6642 3177.

The forty Archibald portrait prize finalists, including the winning work by Craig Ruddy of David Gulpilil, will be on show until September 19.

Trance dance fans

PsyPneumatix presents NEXUS - round one, this Friday, August 6, at the One Bar & Niteclub at Mary Gilhooleys Pub in Lismore.

Expect a night of high energy and wicked beats with DJs Fresh (from PsyPneumatrix), Pop, Launchpad and Gelspun in a night of throbbing psytrance with a finale of musical mayhem that will have everyone dancing.

Going by the last party PsyPneumatix put on there, it's going to be a wild night. Support the local music scene and be there from 9.30pm. Entry is a measly $8.

Where have all the walkers gone? Long time passing...

In the year 2000, approximately 1700 people crossed the bridges in Lismore to say "sorry" and support reconciliation. People walking across the one bridge could look down the river and see walkers still crossing the other. It was a day Lismore can be proud of.

Four years later, and the job is far from over.

The Voices Together Choir has been singing up reconciliation and paying tribute to the inspirational late Bundjalung Elder, Aunty Fay Smith. The choir will sing at the Lismore Herb Festival on August 21, World Environment Day on September 5, the Byron Peace Festival on September 19 and at the North Coast National's 100-year celebration in October.

Newcomers are always welcome in the Voices Together Choir. Go along to the regular choir session at the Anglican Hall in Zadoc Street, Lismore, every Thursday at 6.30pm.

For more info phone 6624 1926.

SCU Band Comp - Heat 3

Nimbin's recording studio Bush Traks is one of the major sponsors of the Southern Cross University (Lismore Campus) 2004 National Campus Band Competition. Now there's a big title. Get that on a T-shirt.

Four Heats and 17 bands are battling it out to win that lengthy and prestigious title at the SCU final on Thursday, September 2, at Campus Central.

The winner will receive a $500 cash prize from Jim Beam, a paid gig at Campus Central, $250 cash from Dominos Pizza, a one-day recording session at Bush Traks Recording Studio and transport and accommodation to the regional final at Griffith University on the Gold Coast on September 9.

Check out heat three next Thursday, August 12, starting at the Campus Central UniBar from 8.30pm. Some of the competing bands are Sleigor Trout, Reverse World, Homebrand and Eclipse Theory. Tickets are $5 for guests or free for members. For more information phone 6627 6888.

Deadline extension

Musicoz has announced that the original July 31 deadline for entries to the Musicoz Awards has now been extended to August 15, allowing an additional two weeks for people to get in their entries.

"We've had an abundance of calls pleading with us to extend the date, so we decided to delay the deadline by two weeks," said Pat Maloney, manager of Musicoz.

Musicoz is a non profit organisation dedicated to developing the music industry at a grass roots level by seeking out, recognising and encouraging the talents of unsigned and independent artists and providing them with opportunities as they carve out their careers.

Winners in each of the 18 categories (see website) will walk away with some phenomenal prizes and gain attention from those in high musical places.

This year, Musicoz has generated well over $100,000 worth of industry opportunities, cash and prizes for finalists and winners.

Winners will be announced at the Musicoz Awards ceremony held on December 1 at WIN Entertainment Centre in Wollongong and will be broadcast across Australia on the national WIN Television.

To enter visit the website at www.musicoz.org or phone 1800 002 955.

Drawing on Jesus

Artists are being encouraged to enter Southern Cross University's inaugural Dayspring Chapel Art Award. Chaplain John Kidson said more than $800 in prizes are on offer, including the $500 Eggins Prestige Homes Award for first place.

"I hope local artists will be encouraged to experiment with the nexus between art and spirituality," Mr Kidson said.

Artists are invited to submit one or two paintings/drawings that explore the theme "Jesus then, Jesus now".

Mr Kidson said he also wanted to make the Dayspring Chapel more user-friendly. Entries for the award close on October 5, with all works going on display at the Dayspring Chapel at SCU's Lismore campus from October 8-22.

For entry forms contact the Dayspring Chapel on 6620 3943.

Roll on Wednesdays

De-Anarchy and the Frequency Tweekers are featuring at the Metro Bar in Lismore next Wednesday, August 11, in a new gig called Roll On Wednesdays. Scurrypoint, lighting artists and promoters, are producing the night, which will emphasise the regional groove and power the local beat.

Show starts at 8pm and costs... nothing.

Styx it to'em

Enjoy an evening of film and music relating the story of the magical, but disappearing, forests of Tasmania at Djanbung Gardens in Nimbin this Saturday, August 7. There will be a Tassie forest strategy meeting at 5.30pm, food from 6.30pm, films from 7.30pm and live music to follow.

Entry is by donation.

East Coast Sculpture called to Accounts

The East Coast Sculpture Show, formerly known as the Thursday Plantation Sculpture Show, has acquired a major sponsor, North Coast accountants and advisers, WHK Rutherfords.

Thursday Plantation established the annual sculpture show in 1994. The show draws about 70 artists annually from around Australia, and internationally, to present their work for a four month exhibition period.

The East Coast Sculpture Show will be launched on Sunday, September 26.

For more info visit the website at www.sculptureshow.net or phone 6686 7273.