We Were Promised Jet Packs

Aloha! Its been a while hey.

If, like myself, you had a few weeks off recently and came back broke as a motherfucker but with a big smile on your face, then keep it on because in the name of being down to a few silver coins and a travel-ten (whats in YOUR pockets ey?) here's whats going on this week;

Wednesday, unsurprisingly is still the day. In Bondi, The Beach Road continue their awesome year, having scored Australia's best two-man drumkit/guitar outfit The Mess Hall for what will be an earth-shattering set.

They're on at ten, so if you're really devoted (or if blips and bleeps and a lot of reverb is more your thing)- get your mates together and check out COFA's finest as Ghoul hit up that bottom part of Oxford Arts. Bridgemary Kiss, Bluejuice and rising tides Deep Sea Arcade are playing in the main room, but unfortunately that costs like 20 bucks so yeah.. not really possible friend.

On Thursday, 'former' Mercy Arms singer and guitarist Thom Moore continues plugging away with his Canvas Kites trio. Expect jangly Johnny Marr-esque strats and a lot of tweed. Definately worth checking out, just please dont try and request Shine a Light Down.

Friday, NZ power pop guys the Tutts are at Spectrum with support from Kids at Risk, who I've never heard of but dont sound to bad. Sadly, that'l be a ten buck withdrawal from the goon fund, so you'd have to be pretty brave.

Speaking of NZ, definately keep an eye out for Aucklanders Brain Slaves (formerly the Coshercot Honeys) around the place. They've just moved to Sydney, and although unfortutely have had to call off their first few shows (illness) they're here for a good time and the new material sounds great.

Wednesday 12th August
The Mess Hall & Zeahorse, The Beach Road
Ghoul, Karoshi & Wandering Bear, Oxford Arts

Thursday 13th August
Cavas Kites & Wim, Oxford Arts

Friday 14th August
The Tutts, Hot Little Hands, Kids at Risk- Spectrum $10

Coconut Skins

So I went and checked Brian Eno's 77 Million Paintings today.



At first I thought it was kinda cool how you could just go chill in a room with some crazy ambient music and a bunch of plasma screens. When I came out though I had a read of Eno's blurb describing the artwork.

"I like to think of it as Quiet Club. A place where nothing ever happens. Slowly"

And from then on I couldnt take the bloody thing seriously!

'Into The Fire'

Sydney up and comers Under Lights have been opening with this track for the best part of the year, and week in week out its nigh-on impossible to fault.

To a crowd of less than twenty people at 34B (Q Bar) on Friday, this was hypnotic! Check their mySpace for the loud songs, but this ones a gem; watch them grow over the year and wait for these guys to explode.

I try to wash my hands of you. You try to wash your hands of me.

Green & Gold #1

The Singer-Songwriter
Don't Break My Bliss - Giselle

The Collective With The Crazy Demos

Poppies- Fashion Launches/ Rocket Launches

The Art Students
Swimming Pool (SeeKae Remix) - Ghoul

The Worldly Queenslanders
Blood - The Middle East

The Up And Comers
Cold Hands- Under Lights

Walkin' Man

Seasick Steve is the man.



Born 1941 (that makes him 68 today) he spent much of his life travelling the States, hopping trains, looking for farm labour. In the 60's he got some work sound engineering around the place, making acquantinces that included Janis Joplin and in the 80's, Kurt Cobain. In the 90's he worked with Modest Mouse on a bunch of stuff (back when they recorded in Isaac Brock's garage I think).

Of much of his life, he said in interview;

"Hobos are people who move around looking for work, tramps are people who move around but don't look for work, and bums are people who don't move and don't work. I've been all three."

In 2007 he appeared on TV in the UK on Later With Jules Holland, and almost overnight, seasick steve was a star. A last minute addition to the lineup that night, the audience were greeted by this amazing one-man band- this old guy with an epic beard tapping his foot on a wooden box ('the missisippi drum machine') and howling a three song set of rip-roarin' blues played on a three-string guitar.

Since then he's released two succesfull albums and played to crowds of 60000 at Glastonbury.

Check it out! Seasick Steve- too legit to quit.

Dog House Boogie [Watch]

Hey Hey

Been a while since we heard much new from the Ghostwood lads. Here's a pretty suave-looking round up of their time living in London this year, along with a pretty-suave sounding studio take (the most polished track to emerge since the EP?) on live favourite Rest My Soul.

Ghostwood - Rest My Soul (2009) from Toto MacDonald on Vimeo.

Ze Gonzales

Remember that adidas ad a few years back where Karen-O sang for a bunch of sleep-runners? So the guy who whipped that track up, Squeak E. Clean (as his mother likes to call him i'm sure) put out the N.A.S.A album a few months ago which was a bit of a fun.

Sure, Vice gave it a terrible-but-hillarious review, and the guestlist read like my Year 8 MySpace music blurb. But all things considered it was a pretty fun record in where good ol' Squeak E. got all his famous friends together and had them rap over some alluring, but not exactly life-changing beats.

Seriously though, Gifted was a great track; long-distance parts from Santigold, Lykke Li and Kanye (most embarrasing verse yet) forming a genunienly toe-tapping unit.

So anyway, the N.A.S.A dj machine (Squeak E and Ze Gonzales) is coming to our shores next month, headlining Oxford Arts and just generally doing their thing (making us dance). Check it out if you can do a pretty cover charge at the moment.

N.A.S.A Aus. Tour, June 4th - Oxford Arts, $36