For Those That Still Want It

photos by margarita milongita

Oh yay oh joy... after initially missing out on a ticket, I got to see one of my favourite bands, The Chills on Friday night. I'm still not sure of the East Brunswick club as a venue but heck, I would have seen them in a toilet block if that 's what was on offer!

The last time I saw them which- incidently, was the last time they toured- was in 1992 where they did 4 gigs at the now defunct Club in Collingwood. I saw them twice. I went to the first gig, where I had dragged my sorry arse out of my sick bed to see them. By Sunday, which was their last gig, I was feeling fitter so I went again so I could drink and dance! I remember when they played 'Wet Blanket', it was so packed I couldn't dance, so I ran to the toilets and had a boogie!!!

The Chills broke up in 1993 and the only thing they released was 'Heavenly Pop Hits-The Best Of The Chills'. Martin Phillipps dealt with his long term addiction to drugs and alcohol in that time. A great quote from him was that "I got over my additions and I didn't need God or Jesus to do it!"

I was concerned what the sound would be like after 18 years but my fears were soon placated. All the great tunes such as I Love My Leather Jacket, Pink Frost,Wet Blanket,Heavenly Pop Hit etc etc sounded wonderful.  Martin stepped to the mic and asked if anyone went to the '92 gigs-I was at the front and raised my hand. He was wondering about my age and then said 'oh we won't go there!' I responded that I was up there!

During a technical problem, Martin stepped to the keyboard and performed 'Submarine Bells' and he admitted that was the first time he performed it properly... sounded beautiful to me.

One encore and an apology from Martin explaining they had to leave plus the promise they will return and I was standing on Lygon St. I think I floated out of there. What a gift.

I hope they come back soon.

Uptown Jazz Wednesdays

My friends,Stacey & Caroline or as we like to call ourselve-Las Chicas del Musica Jazz- have taken to frequenting the Uptown Jazz bar on Brunswick St, Fitzroy to see a bebop band called Bop Stretch.
It also means we indulge in too much alcohol and have way too good a time. Oh, life is so difficult at times...

Uptown Jazz.. have yourself a boppin' good night

You've Got To Fight The Powers That Be...

So said Chuck D in 1989 and never a truer sentence was said.

The so-called powers that be underestimated the music community by introducing their stupid laws which led to the closure of The Tote. We then heard that the Arthouse would be the next casuality. We all stood up and said 'this is fucked'.

 I want to go on TV and turn into Howard Beale and scream "I'm as mad as hell and I'm not gonna take it anymore!!" (google 'Network-1976 if you don't get this reference).

S.L.A.M has organised a rally to be held on February 23. Here's a copy of the email that is being sent around at the moment. Hope y'all can make it.

ATTENTION ALL LIVE MUSIC LOVERSŠ NOW IS THE TIME TO
SAVE LIVE AUSTRALIA¹S MUSIC (S.L.A.M.)


S.L.A.M. (Save Live Australia¹s Music) is calling on Victoria¹s music
community to raise your voice and protest the plight of our local music
scene!
The recent closure of The Tote and the announcement of The Arthouse¹s
intention to do the same is causing increasing alarm amongst Victoria¹s
music scene and wider music community. These closures, a result of the
destructive impact caused by Liquor Licensing Victoria¹s decision to treat
live music venues as high-risk, penalizing them with higher fees and greater
costs for required security, is now posing a huge threat to more of the
state¹s venues and in turn the livelihood of the local music community.
In a reaction to the lack of response from the government to amend these
regulations, S.L.A.M. (Save Live Australia¹s Music) have announced a Public
Rally to be held on Tuesday 23rd February commencing at 4pm in the City.
(proposed assembly point, the State Library ­ check the website for
details).


S.L.A.M. is a collective of Victoria¹s broader musical community who have
joined forces to make their voice heard as local music becomes increasingly
under threat due to these ill-conceived Liquor Licensing Laws. S.L.A.M. are
calling on musicians and music lovers from all genres, creeds and
generations to unite to Protest to Save Live Australia¹s Music on the 34th
anniversary of AC/DC¹s iconic ŒLong Way To The Top¹ clip originally filmed
on Swanston Street.
Leading the procession will be the extraordinary RocKwiz Orchestra
performing on the back of a truck AC/DC-style with Lucky Luscombe, James
Black and Mark Ferrie and everyone¹s favourite host with the most, Brian
Nankervis plus the original troupe of bag pipe players. This will be filmed
by Paul Dane who shot the legendary clip back in 1976. This historic event
aims to make the Government to hear our cry to save live music from the
clutches of Victoria¹s draconian Liquor Licensing Laws. Our aim is to
de-link the high risk conditions and need for security on all liquor
licenses for venues that play live and amplified music and push for these to
be given fairer consideration. Live music venues are not high risk and we
have asked that Victorian community join in a peaceful protest to have their
voice heard!


So bring your band, your fans, your friends and family and join this protest
of a lifetime. To register your band or become a volunteer check out the
S.L.A.M. website: www.slamrally.org

50ft Queenie

Queenie is a woman who was born and bred in Collingwood. She is an ardent supporter of community and especially of the Tote.

When she heard of it's decision to close, she got on the radio and put her two cents in. Have a listen to what she had to say. Bless you Queenie. More fiesty women needed, I say!
                               ***************************************
MORE TOTE (yes I'm afraid so)...

NOT good enough. That is the live music industry's response to a decision by liquor licensing authorities to consider easing tough security conditions on venues only case by case.


Liquor Licensing director Sue Maclellan has called on music venue operators seeking relief from late-night licence conditions to contact Responsible Alcohol Victoria so their cases can be assessed individually.
But Jon Perring, from lobby group Fair Go 4 Live music, said the offer did not go far enough.

Mr Perring, joint owner of live music venues Bar Open and Pony, will urge Consumer Affairs Minister Tony Robinson today to drop regulations linking live music to tougher security requirements.

''This issue of linking live music with the security conditions, that's what's knocking off the gigs around town and creating the cultural carnage,'' he said.

He said Ms Maclellan indicated in a meeting yesterday that the authorities were not prepared to remove the link.

There was no research linking live music to anti-social behaviour, Mr Perring said, calling for security conditions to be based on alcohol consumption patterns and history of violence.

Mr Perring is considering taking over former Collingwood live music venue The Tote.

The Tote's departing licensee, Bruce Milne, yesterday blamed licensing conditions for his predicament, saying security costs rose from $60,000 in 2008 to $100,000 last year.

''It was the difference between the business being profitable and unprofitable,'' he said, packing boxes as he prepared to leave.

Opposition consumer affairs spokesman Michael O'Brien said Victoria's liquor licensing law was ''broken and needs to be fixed''. ''You can't have piecemeal, case-by-case exemptions,'' he said.

Premier John Brumby said ''fine-tuning'' could achieve sensible liquor laws and a vibrant music scene.




Fuck off Brumby and Co- fine tune my clacker you moron! Leave the little places alone that have been going along just fine and take your filthy money from Crown and other like minded establishment. They'll happily pay your retirement funds for you.

Life Line?

BIG WIN FOR LIVE MUSIC VENUES- BY JASON DOWLING


January 27, 2010

LIVE music venues are expected to be the big winners from an urgent meeting today between the Director of Liquor Licensing Sue Maclellan and representatives of the live music scene.

It is believed the licensing regulator will reverse blanket high-risk enforcement on all music venues, an approach that has been blamed for the closure of popular Collingwood live music venue The Tote.

A State Government source said the director was likely to tell the live music sector that a more case-by-case approach to the tough rules would now be taken.

''The Government, director and industry all want to determine what flexibility can be exercised to ensure the ongoing viability of live music venues,'' the Government insider said.

Inner-city Government MPs faced an electoral backlash at this year's state election against the tough licensing requirements that have seen The Tote close and other venues threatened.

Melanie Bodiam, manager of live music venue The Arthouse, on the corner of Elizabeth and Queensberry streets, said she was extremely pleased about the expected change in approach by the liquor licensing regulator.

''Common sense prevailed - you wouldn't believe the smile on my face now,'' she said. Four bands will perform at The Arthouse tonight.

Apart from higher fees, requirements on live music venues had not changed since 1999. But many of those conditions, such as minimum security levels, have only recently been strictly enforced.

Ms Bodiam said venues would like more information on what a ''case by case'' basis meant. She said the new criteria should be determined in consultation with the music industry. But she said the backdown was a big win for the live music industry.

''It is so exciting to know that people have stood up and said what they want,'' she said.

Consumer Affairs Minister Tony Robinson said: ''The Government is very concerned about preserving a future for live music in Melbourne and we will work towards getting the balance right so we keep our streets safe and maintain the viability of live music venues.''

Under the current blanket approach, high-risk conditions are imposed on venues with live or amplified music and those trading past 1am. High-risk conditions on a licence require the licensee to employ a minimum level of security and install CCTV.

The State Government is also working on a longer-term strategy to help sustain Melbourne's live music culture.
The strategy is being developed by Mr Robinson and will include consultation with musicians, venue owners and managers, police and the Director of Liquor Licensing. The longer-term strategy will also consider issues such as when people move into areas serviced by live music and then complain about noise.

About Last Night...

I love Lloyd Cole. I do. His music is the cheese to my macaroni. If I was still of child bearing age and hadn't had my lady bits removed a year ago, I'd have his babies.

Yes Lloyd, I'm Ready To Be Heart Broken

Lloyd Cole tonight- finally!

He's playing at the Thornbury Theatre which I've heard is lovely. It's also giving me the opportunity to catch up with my friend,Tanya whom I literally haven't seen in ages. We have much to catch up on as well.

Checked Lloyd's weblog and he's posted his setlist for this evening-bless. No support act-complete Lloyd. All killer and no filler.

Here's his setlist for this evening's aural sex;

1.29

2.Tower of Song

3.Rattlesnakes

4.If I were a song

5. Pay for it

6. My Other life

7. Don't Look Back

8. Woman at a Bar

9.Butterfly

10 Late Night Early Town

11. Morning is Broken

12.Old Enough to Know Better

13. That Boy

14. Why I love Country Music

15. No Blue Skies

Interval

16.Are Your Ready to Be Heartbroken

17.Like Lovers Do

18. What's Wrong with this Picture

19. Cut Me Down

20. Broken Record

21.Trigger Happy

22. Music in a Foreign Language

23. Chinese Translation

24.Brand New Friend

25. No More Love Songs

26. Please Don't Tell me How he Story Ends

27.Lost Weekend

28. The Young Idealists

29. Perfect Skin

30. Unhappy Song

31. 2CV *

32. Undressed

Bring it on.

* This song title has been a mystery to me for 25 years. A 2cv is a model of Citroen and is short for 'deux chevaux vapeur' which is French for 'two steam horses'.

I only found this out today! Forgive my lack of car knowledge.

Gotan Project

If this gig was the night before it was, then I wouldn't be writing this post. The Friday night prior to the gig saw this girl hit the deck with chronic flu which left me bed ridden for all of Saturday and most of Sunday. With the aid of lamb shank soup and much paracetamol, I managed to glue myself together and get to the gig. I was picked up at 6.45pm so we could get in early to watch David and Dianne do tango demonstrations to Gotan's music out the front before the show, also giving us the opportunity to hand out flyers to advertise Sidewalk Tango (cheeky monkeys aren't we?). Armed with a bottle of water and a wad of Kleenex, I took my seat with my compañeros and waited for the show to begin. And begin it did. The walked onto the stage all dressed in either white suits or white gowns. The 3 female violin players positioned at the back behind pianist, Gustavo Beytelmann, the bandoneon player Nini Flores front and centre, to his left, the Barcelona based Cristina Vilallonga and Gotan founder, Eduardo Makaroff. The other 2 Gotan Projecters, Phillippe Cohen Solal and Christoph Mueller were behind them on the decks. A mirror image of a beautiful girl fanning herself with a red fan appeared behind them and also on the front screen of the decks as the band opened with the track Diferente. This is an amazingly song as the tango is powerful in this track. The girl with the red fan was mesmerizing. The film then cuts to Buenos Aire's famous Confitería Ideal where a couple are dancing a tango (not much else happens there-duh MM) but just off to the right in the background, you see the girl with the red fan. Ever have goosebumps rush over you in seconds? Whoever thought of that image with that music is a genius. Well, it worked for me and cynics be damned. They followed that up with the opening track from Lunático 'Amor Porteño' in which they collaborated with the Arizona group, Calexico. They had images of the band behind them which also gave good effect. The title track of the album, Lunático, was Carlos Gardel's race horse in the 1930's, before he met his untimely and premature death in a plane accident in 1935. For those unfamiliar with Carlos Gardel, he is often described as 'the Elvis of tango'. During the performance of this song, they showed images of a horse race in the 30's. The track Celos (Jealousy) has the sounds of a busy cafe in the background of the song, and the visuals show punters drinking coffee in Buenos Aires famous Cafe Tortoni. Surprisingly, it is half way through the show, not at the end, in which they choose to perform their most famous hit Santa Maria. I applaud them for not doing the clichèd finish! They followed this up with Mi Confesión- which begins with the strains of a tango playing on an old 78 record and then breaks into modern beats. They collaborate with 2 rappers- one from Buenos Aires and one from Spain who rap in Spanish. I'll get my hands on the program and fill you in on their names when I can as their names escape me. Again, they use the technology to bring the 2 rappers to the stage- again, a good touch. They follow with a nice moment for those of us that love pure tango- the bandeneon,guitarist,cellist,pianist and one of the violinist remain on stage to perform a tango that made me forget I was feeling so crook for a moment. Perfection. The band then do their first encore and perform their version of Astor Piazzola's Vuelvo El Sur ( I return south) from their debut, La Revancha Del Tango (The Revenge of the Tango) and another track from the same album, Una Música Brutal. Their second encore had them performing a lengthy version of their tune Triptico and it was indeed, a journey. Everyone was on their feet and in the aisles. Each musician took turns stepping forward and performed a solo that had me soaring. When it ended, the whole house had gone berserk. Dianne and I looked at each other and exclaimed 'what a way to go out!' The only disappointment was they then brought out 2 local hip hop performers doing all that 'Melbourne represent!' bullshit and performed 'Mi Confesion' in English which I felt was unnecessary. This was a tango, not a hip hop crowd. I wish I had a pair of scissors to cut that bit off the night! Despite this, Gotan Project put on a hell of a show and one that I'm glad I left my sick bed for. Music-on this night-soothed this ravaged beast...