This should not pass without mention

Caution- contains football.

A big night at the Espy on Friday, with GUT, Dollsquad, Gun Street Girls and the Meanies playing out back in the Gershwin Room, and Kids Of Zoo, the Once Overs and the New Christs in the front bar. The whole thing is free, which makes me wonder why the two rooms are being separately promoted. I also wonder why the fucking Espy now has a Flash site, which makes it impossible to snag images.
The New Christs show is by way of launching their excellent new album, "Gloria", out now on Impedance Records:

They'll also be playing at the Tote on Saturday, and are promising to return soon as part of a full tour.
Speaking of the Tote, on Sunday afternoon their footy team takes on the Old Bar Unicorns (motto:" Feel the Fantasy"). Also playing are the Bar Open Bats versus the East Brunswick Club. Kickoff is around 1.00, at Brunswick Park, Hope St. Brunswick. That's a kid, dog and booze-friendly event.

And you could follow that up with the latest in the (appalling named) Sundae Workers Series, at the Workers Club- which is just the old Rob Roy tarted up a bit.
This week's is the last one, and features the Primitive Calculators, UV Repairs (some unholy blend of UV Race and the Repairs) and Brain Children DJs, all for $10.00

UPDATE: the football referred to above has been put back until next weekend. And moved.

By Christ, this is worth diarising

The New Christs are undertaking an Australian tour (well, East Coast at least) and that's news in itself. Here are the dates:

Friday August 7th – The Espy, St Kilda
Saturday August 8th – The Tote, Collingwood
Friday August 14th – The Step Inn, Brisbane
Saturday August 15th – Del Plaza, Gold Coast
Sunday August 16th – Winsome Hotel, Lismore
Friday August 21st – Excelsior Hotel, Surry Hills

Support on the Brisbane and Gold Coast shows is Mick Medew & The Rumours.

If you want a copy of the latest New Christs album "Gloria" (or the Mick Medew & The Rumours CD) then hop on over to the I-94 Bar Shop.

Preview of "Gloria" LP by the New Christs

Three tracks from the forthcoming long-player "Gloria" on Impedance are up at the band's MySpace. It's coming out on vynil and CD in Europe (May), Australia (June) and the USA (July).

Interstate action.

First off, apologies to the people of North Sydney. I don't know quite how I broke that ticket machine at the train station, but I did, and you all had to wait while the guy reset it.
And to the hotel I'm in- I dropped that iron and it broke. It was a cheap iron. Buy some better ones.
Now, to business.
Friday night, Sydney:

The New Christs and Sin City are playing the lovely Excelsior, in downtown Surry Hills. Not sure who is in this lineup, but they are always worth a look. Always.
While down the road a bit, at the Lansdowne, there's a bunch of stuff going on:
Aah, the Lansdowne. The first time I ever heard Mudhoney was when I played "Touch Me, I'm Sick" on the juke box there.
Back in Melbourne, though, Saturday sees the 9th Applecore Festival held in a suburban backyard:
That's an amazing bill for $10.00. BYO, no glass, no dickheads.

New Christs new album news

Just in from Wollongong:

MEDIA RELEASE
February 17th 2009

THE NEW CHRISTS TO RELEASE NEW ALBUM IN MAY

Twenty five years after they first formed and more than five years since the release of their last studio album, The New Christs are set to release their brand new full length album in May.

It has been an interesting journey since Radio Birdman front man Rob Younger formed The New Christs in 1984 to support Iggy Pop on his Australian tour of that year. A number of single releases featuring several line ups of friends followed before the band recorded and released their debut album ‘Distemper’ in 1989.

Following the European tour in support of the album release, the band split up before briefly reforming in 1990 to support The Ramones on their Australian tour. Once again after that tour the band took a three year hiatus before Rob teamed up with bassist Christian Houllemare (Happy Hate Me Nots) and Bill Gibson (Lemonheads, Eastern Dark) to record 'The Pedestal' ep and 'Woe Betide' mini-album. This was then followed by the 1997 release of the album 'Lower Yourself' which the band once again toured Europe on the back of.

In 2001, The New Christs recorded their full length album 'We Got This' but due to problems with the label who had initially commissioned the recording, it would be some time before it was finally released and by that time due to various reasons the band had once again split. After spending a couple of years producing bands and touring with the reformed Radio Birdman, Rob assembled the current version of The New Christs in 2006. Former bass player Jim Dickson returned to the band and new recruits Stu Wilson (drums), Dave Kettley (guitar) and Brent Williams (guitar) led the band into a new era.

They headed off to Europe, playing to adoring fans across Spain, France, Germany and Belgium while also managing to play some shows in their home country. With the bands line up the most stable in the history of The New Christs, they churned out a bunch of new songs in preparation for the recording of a new album.

December of 2008 saw the band begin work on their as yet untitled full length album which has been scheduled for worldwide release on the Impedance Records label in May 2009. The New Christs will kick off a European tour at the Azkena Rock Festival in Spain on May 16th to support the release.

In the meantime you can get a live preview of what to expect from the album this Friday February 20th in Sydney when the band take to the stage of the Excelsior Hotel in Surry Hills.

Do you know what a beeline is?

Make one to Caringbah Bizzos Club in southern Sydney for this line-up:

Future Lemonheads, New Christs, The Eastern Dark members caught in short pants

A copy of the first musical outing for members of these bands has gone up at eBay and dates from their schooldays at Sydney's Patrican Brothers Fairfield High. It's said to include gems like "House of the Rising Sun" and "Jesus Christ Superstar". Ex-The Eastern Dark member Bill Gibson furiously denies its right to exist, of course, and claims a former I-94 Bar contributor has a similarly artefact of Nick Cave in a school choir.

What's next? Tapes of the (post-jail) Wayne Kramer Band playing late-'70s cabaret standards? I've never heard them but have it on very good authority (from a jilted band member, no less) that they do exist.

This weekend- New Christs and more

The New Christs are back in town, playing at the Espy on Saturday 5th April, just a few weeks after their Ding Dong show in late May. With Radio Birdman once again returning to indefinite retirement, this will be your last chance to catch Younger & Dickson live for a while- though European readers have a forthcoming New Christs tour to look forward to.
Supports include excellent locals Cold Harbour, who seem to be hitting the boards fairly regularly lately, and who I think have an album due out soon, as well as a stack of others including the Bower Birds and the Killerbirds. All this,and for free, too.
The post-development Espy is still an OK place to see bands, especially when they put on big line ups like this, otherwise it’s just a frustrating place to deal with the hordes of backpacker types who treat it as their local.

Magnificent

is pretty much the word I'd use for the New Christs at the Espy on Saturday. Actually, it's definitely the word. But then they have never let me down. If Rob Younger & Jim Dickson gave it all up during Radio Birdman's world tour recently, well, they've managed to recharge their batteries somehow since then. The Pink Fits were excellent too. Some discussion here.
Many friends there, some interesting sights too, from a dancing dwarf to someone filming footage of a toilet door on their mobile phone for a band video .
I may have made a disasterous personal decision in choosing to go, rather than keep another appointment, but I guess I'll have to live with that.

Music for January (part II)

What a great way to open my account for the year- Tiger by The Tail & Kim Volkman at the St. Kilda Bowling Club, last Friday night.
It was hot, it was crowded, it was great. I may have had several beers- I vaguely recall harrassing Richard Sharman to take my picture for a change.
Anyway- on to this weekend.
Almost exactly 20 years since Rob Younger & Jim Dickson pulled the New Christs back together, (March 1987 according to this:) the current line up line up hits town for a couple of shows- Thursday 11th at the Tote and Saturday 13th at the Espy- which is free, so you have no excuse to miss it. I may have to stand down the back, for some reason my ears have been ringing constantly for the last month or so.
February is already shaping up well, with SixFtHick playing Melbourne on the 16th, 17th & 18th. And yesterday I got a heads-up that X-rated US funk/soulster BlowFly is coming out for a national tour with Dr. El Suavo. I believe they are still looking for "exotic dancers" for some dates, feel free to drop the Doc a line if you're interested.

click that New Christs pic to enlarge & read

Some plugs...

Friday night in Sydney:

I wish I could go to this, I'm already regretting missing TSOOL when they were in town last week. And the New Christs are playing too...yeah I know it's not on my usual turf, but so what?

And on Saturday night in Melbourne, at the Old Bar in Fitzroy:


That's a great line up- think of it as an early Christmas present.