Punks not dead

What a bittersweet week.

I get home from my new favourite festival (more news on that later), the bombers lost and I have spent the last two nights at my favourite punk venue which is closing forever on Sunday.

The Arthouse is in its final week of shows before shutting its doors for the last time on May 1. All week bands have graced the small stage and thanked those who have made it possible for a scene to survive and thrive for the last 20 years. People have reminisced about the good times, the times when a homeless man got his junk out, the long nights and longer days after, the relationships that began there (a patient met his current girlfriend there 12 years ago, through mutual metal bands... ah love!) and the small bands that became legends in that pretty purple place.

Wednesday night saw The Nation Blue headline a fantastically frantic evening, sold out and not a dull moment to be found. Paper Arms, my favourite Adelaideians, opened the night with a solid performance. I stand by their 2010 album 'Days Above Ground' as one of the top local releases of last year and they consistently deliver live. They are currently writing and are due to record late this year, so look out for something new early 2012 perhaps. Sydneysiders Lungs came second, (also another fanstastic record from last year) but the greatest reception had to be for local boys Death in the Family, the band who pretty much lives, works and plays at the Arty. It was about then that the reality that this dirty place would no longer be here next week. There was a lot of love in every loud, fast tune pumped out by hometown heroes.

Thursday saw a blast from the past find their way home, BODYJAR! I personally had forgotten how much fun these guys are, and they certainly had an appreciation for a venue that raised them to the heights that they hit. Ably supported by Away from Now, Melbourne hardcore punks, and Daysworth Fighting, local up and comers, the night was a success, the crowd went wild. I did feel bad for the first few stage divers, as they caught the front line unawares and ate dirt... but they didn't seem to feel it, and it didn't stop a thing.

So that's 2 of 3. I am back in those friendly walls this Saturday to see HBLOCK101 who are playing the final set ever. There will be blood, sweat and tears.. and I will feel privileged to be there. If you aren't doing anything Sunday afternoon, come down for last drinks. A few beers to send off the greatest punk/hardcore/alternative venue that Melbourne has seen.

Punks not dead, but the Arty will be. Rest in pieces.

The beginning of the end.

Gentle readers,


On a cold, dirty corner of elizabeth and queensbury there lies an old friend on life-support. Wracked with an incurable disease, the doctor has proclaimed that there is little we can do, that it's time to call the family around and enjoy the last weeks and remember the good things.


My old friend is The Arthouse.
The disease, greed and stupidity of the landlord.
And the family is every punk left in Melbourne who has been to a show, tripped up the stairs to the garden, lost at pool to some sharking tiny girl in eyeliner, danced like an idiot to the interim music (somehow they can read my mind and know every back catalogue punk album I love), scrawled graffiti on the toilet walls and drank too many beers to remember.

The Arty will close its doors for the last time on April 30, and in true style they are going out kicking and screaming. They, and I, will be found smiling when we die here, we wanna burn our eyes out on the sun (guess the reference!). If you do not have tickets to this last show, SHAME, but get along to the bar and take a look at the lineup for this last month. Frenzal is back, Bodyjar (!!), Mid Youth Crisis, The Nation Blue, Antiskeptic, A Death in the Family, Paper Arms, Lungs... and HBLOCK101!! Everyone who has loved the Arty is here to see it out.

Including the mighty English folk-punk, Frank Turner, who played to a sold out crowd this Wednesday just gone. Jet-set, jet-lagged but not jaded, Mr Turner had just flown in from Berlin and wasn't going to lie down just yet.

No stranger to the Arty, Frank brought a warm and genuine set to the eager crowd.. who knew the words, knew when to shout and knew when to play the air harmonica. The latest tour is in support of his newest release, England Keep my Bones (the name taken from a Shakespeare play that FT freely admits he has never read...ha), which is his fourth album in as many years. Purveyor of songs about love, life and the road.. FT is the wandering minstrel of the new millenium, with a mileage card and drinking habit.

Highlights included a Weakerthans cover ("Do you like the weakerthans? Of course you do, you have ears"), new song I Still Believe and of course old favourites Ballad for my friends, journey of the magi and the real damage.

Its simple, acoustic and mostly about girls. But Turner never pretends to be anything else, and his cock-eyed optimism and drive is infectious in its genuine and beautiful nature. You can't help but get swept up in the honest tunes where he admits his faults, but doesn't hide them, and just asks you to love him anyway.

And I do Frank. I do.

Frank Turner - Photosynthesis by Hunchblog

So please friends, get along to the Arty soon. I will be there, a lot, if not for a show just for the people there and the cheap beer on tap. Support those who have kept a scene alive even though MTV forgot it existed after the 90s.



Long live the (corner of) queen(sbury st).

Melted - Ty Segall

So upon my recent travels I was wandering around the terrain of San Francisco,

avoid rainshowers by drinking coffee, eating burritos and buying second hand books

(read this: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4964367-some-things-that-meant-the-world-to-me)

when I stumbled upon my new favourite record store in the world. Exaggeration, perhaps.

Do I still love Polyester? Yes. Yet I digress... I was here:

http://www.aquariusrecords.org/

It is amazing. The staff were super cute, nice and happy to chat to a lone red-headed

aussie wolf. I asked about local acts that I should listen to, and my new best-record-friend

suggested San Fran's new darling, Ty Segall. He put him on the stereo and I

walked out with a new CD.

Ty Segall is a Bay area local, who has been playing around the town for a few years,

but has been a solo artist since 2008. His recent effort, Melted, has shot him

to a new place in the hearts of 'friscians and lovers of catchy rock and roll

worldwide, garnering attention from the likes of Pitchfork, Rolling Stone and Sub pop

(who have got the rights to his next record). Watch now, he is going places.

Melted in its entirety is a very complete, very cohesive record that in essence is

lofi catchy surf punk. Somewhat like what The Hives would sound like if they

recorded in a bathroom, in Northern California. The openner, Finger, lulls you into

a false sense of summery sweetness, before hitting you with a wall of guitars

about a minute in. Girlfriend is the standout third track.. you cannot help but

tap your feet and dance like a washing machine (this is how I dance, not recommended

unless you are at least 43% robot). Tracks like Sad Fuzz and Alone lend themselves

to a Beatles on acid feel, while My Sunshine is the 60s laced with 90s melody

driven grunge rock.

In all, just forget my buzz word descriptions of songs and get this album. A very

solid effort from a band that is going places. Hopefully to Melbourne one

summery day, and I will dance like some sort of happy appliance.