Halfway Round The World

Been a long time between posts but don't take it personally. The Barmaid and I have been holidaying overseas, paying a visit to London, France and Kruger Park in South Africa just to mix things up.

In London, I was lucky enough to hook up with an ex-flkatmate Captain Philpott, my Birdman-obsessed Pom mate Jelly and Carlton Sandercock of Easy Action Records. Pints of beer were consumed.

In Paris, we were scheduled to meet up with Eric and Vinz of Holy Curse only to spot them in the unfamiliar vicinity of the Picasso Musueum, running an errand for Radio Birdman, believe it or not. We went to a dinner party hosted by Vinz and his wife Sophie and populated by heaps of mutual friends, and I caught Vinz playing with Dimi Dero Inc the night after. Dimi Dero Inc supported The Drones on European and Australian tours in 2007 and will be back in Australia in March '08.

A side trip to expat Aussie Greg Bowen's Funhouse Pub in Morlaix, on the Brittany coast, was a diverting cultural experience (piss up.)

As for the African leg of the trip, visit the blog of noted Australian author and our hostsAfrica Man and his wife Africa Woman for details. Suffice for me to say that you've not lived until two lionesses have sprung up out of the grass 30m away from you while you're on foot and all wine, beer and spirits should always be a third of the price it is back home.

Closer to home, the Klondike's North 40 CD "The Straight Path" was launched via gigs in Sydney and Melbourne while I was overseas. Thanks to all concerned. The album is available in the I-94 Bar Shop and all good retail stores.

Further afield, lovers of Detroit music will doubtless be interested in The Metro Times' lkist of the Top 100 Detroit Songs here. These lists are always academic but this one does give a measure of the quality of the music that's come out of the Motor City down the years.

And in a similar vein, the next album from trans-Atlantic (that'd be Michigan-via-Sweden) soul big band The Solution is out on December 27. This is the band led by Hellacopters guitarist Nick Royale (behind the traps) with Scott Morgan on vocals. I've been lucky enough to hear an unmastered version and it smokes.

Dimi Dero Inc (2)

Courtesy of YouTuber Cazzam here's footage of Dimi Dero Inc at the Surry Hills Excelsior last Thursday night. This is "Cut" from their album "Sisyphus, Window Cleaning" on Off the Hip. It's from the angstier end of their set list - and if you only half like it you'd be mad not to make a beeline for the Annandale to see them support the Drones next Saturday night.

Busy fortnight as BellRays, X, Dimi Dero Inc and Penny Ikinger hit town

Some housekeeping:

Caught the BellRays at the Gaelic Club in Sydney two Fridays ago. Much expectation in the air after their only headlining gig of their Australian tour (as supports ro Radio Birdman) at Annandale last year and it has to be said that they didn't scale those same dizzy heights. Maybe that Annandale show was a high mark (it's certainly one of the best gigs I've seen ina decade.) They were great last Friday-week but also seemed a little tired. Maybe they were holding a little back for the festival gig at Summer Plains in Victoria the next night. The set was paced and didn't have the same building dynamics.

That said, they were still mighty formidable although a few people passed comment, post-gig, that the songs got a little samey towards the end. I was up front for most of it which isn't the best place to evaluate the sound and the lines between what they played and what I thought they played were blurred after constant exposure to their albums in the week preceding.

No shortage in dynamics in the sets last week by French tourists to Australia, Dimi Dero Inc. A four piece led by the charismatic Dimi Dero (vocals and guitar), they turned in a stinging headliner at the Excelsior in Surry Hills last Thursday night and played an even betetr support to X at the Sando on Saturday evening. These guys play brooding, dark music that's rockier in the flesh than on their excellent "Sisyphus, Window Cleaning" album (Off the Hip). More about both shows at the I-94 Bar in the next few days but the Dimis are doing a national tour with the Drones. Dates below. Catch 'em if you can.

There were also wonderful sets by Penny Ikinger (with Dimi himself on drums and Vinz from Dimi Dero Inc on bass) on two of thbese nights. Penny toured Europe last year with Dimi and Vinz, did an Excelsior set on Thursday and supported X on the Friday. Penny has about 20 songs ready to record and they sure sounded fine on both nights.

And if you're wondering, the two-night stand by the reformed X at the Sando on Friday and Saturday was excellent. More on this one very soon too.

Mark and Chase: Eclectic excursions into musical back pages

Remiss of me not to pen a review for the Mark Sisto's Detroit Actual gig at the Excelsior Hotel in Surry Hills a couple of months ago, I know. But other factors got in the way. So treat this, not so much as a review of that show, but a preview of what's coming up when the Marquis and Friends returns to the same venue on Thursday, March 16. Except predicting what they might do next is fraught with danger.
Mark, who you may know as Radio Birdman's Minister for Defence and back-up singer or vocalist for the post-Birdman band the Visitors, has been fronting a band called Vindicator Electro. Only, when they play laid-back stuff, they're Vindicator Smooth. Members include Radio Birdman's Chris "Klondike" Masuak (on drums but back on guitar), Ged Corben (Lime Spiders), Steve Lucas (X) and Jon Schofield (Paul Kelly, Hell to Pay and dozens of others), but it's more a floating collective than a permanent line-up.

Last outing, the gig started with a set by KLINK - not the Colonel from Hogan's heroes but principally Madeleine Chase, of '80s Sydney band The Skolars - and friends, who had dual membership of Detroit Actual. This was the "nightclub trip" - Madeleine and Mark dueting at times, on cruisy, loungey stuff. Chase plays Julie London, Sisto is cast as Scott Walker. No Corben, Schofield or Lucas on board this time, but Jack Stewart Shanley was adeptly cool on sax and a session guy Calvin Welch (an actual Michigan native who's played with Earth, Wind & Fire and Jackie Orszaczky, among others) sat in on drums and - stunned us with his mastery of the traps. Props to the consumate bass skills of Andy Newman (ME-262), the constant in these fluid line-ups.

Next came a KLINK set of the rockier stuff - "Detroit Actual" - with some country and blues excursions. Not so much actual Detroit songs (although "Get Ready" obviously hails from Motown) but a diverse selection, something like Detroiters would have grown up listening to on the radio in the '60s. Cue surprise guests with Birdmen Deniz Tek and Pip Hoyle joining bandmate Klondike.
We gratefully cop the Tek-penned "Pushing the Broom" (replete with ringing Masuak country licks), Visitors tunes "Brother John" and "Sad TV" (the former with a fucked up tempo - but whadya expect when it was played on a whim?), and a Tek solo vocal with dance moves on Guy Clark's "Desperadoes Waiting For A Train".

Take note: Deniz was seen playing a Strat.

Mark's own "Atoms Action" gets an airing with Chase harmonies. If anything, the set's a bit light on for the stuff he did with his '90s band Manifestations and those Vindicator songs of a more recent vintage, but this can change on the night.
All very eclectic, which is what a lot of Sydney rock and roll isn't. It drew well too, even though the show fell on the same night as the Big Day Out (which I suppose wasn't the same demographic.)

Anyway, you can listen to a couple of songs here and if you want to show up at the Excelsior on the 15th you ought to know that it's being billed as "Showdown at the Lazy K". And it will be supporting either Penny Ikinger Inc or French band Dimi Dero Inc (or maybe both) so be early. Plus Electra Jean (a French duo) will be opening up. I don't really know what Mark and Chase are going to do (Johnny Halliday, the French Elvis? Serge Gainsborough?) but it will be fun.