Sydney’s music scene is still feeling a little down and out these days, what with all of the venue closures gripping this vibrant city. That’s why this news is just so damn beautiful. A piece of the city’s musical heritage is back from the dead with The Lansdowne Hotel reopening its doors over the weekend. After a near 90 year run, the historic venue closed shop back in 2015 following the introduction of the lockout laws, as well as a number of other setbacks.
Jake Smyth and Kenny Graham of Mary’s/Unicorn Hotel fame have teamed up with The Annandale’s Matt Rule to breathe new life into one of Sydney’s lasting mid-sized venues, following the demise of the Newtown Social Club. They have moved the live music portion upstairs and kept downstairs free for daily trade i.e. punters who just want to play a game of pool and throw back a Mary’s Burger pizza (as you do).
To announce their resurrection, the guys decided to throw a four-day-long party featuring a bunch of absolutely stellar names, including The Preatures, Palms, The Pinheads, Skegss, and Sydney’s own supergroup A Band.
Comprised of Elliott Hammond and Michael Tramonte (The Delta Riggs), Thomas Champion (The Preatures), Paddy Cornwall, Seamus Coyle and Freddy Crabs (Sticky Fingers), they belted out a slew of covers along with some special guests, including Royal Headache’s Tim “Shogun” Hall, Gideon Bensen, Hayley Mary of The Jezabels and Johnny Took (DMA’s) on slide guitar duties.
We snapped up all of this and Skegss at the tail-end of a massive Sunday lineup, flawlessly closing out the four-day bender.
Needless to say, we’re stoked to have The Lansdowne back and are looking forward to a sweaty mess of new memories.
A Band
Skegss
Photos: Dani Hansen
Stepping into The Foundry while Good Boy cut into their closing tracks, it was clear that there was already some fun being had within the venue’s narrow confines. Good Boy have been popping up just about everywhere in 2016; supporting Canada’s Homeshake, lending their talents to the multi-venue event that was Mountain Goat Valley Crawl and even landing a slot during the Brisbane leg of St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival. Judging by the audience reaction, the boys’ genre slipping slacker rock was well received. Concluding with all the chiller riffs and laid-back vibrations that could be expected, there’s little fault that could be found with these Brisbane newcomers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiQVWw5deqs
Given the local acts don’t always draw the biggest audience, there was a large crowd on hand for Babaganouj. The four-piece have been kicking around for nearly 6 years now, but it seems like they’ve been hitting the Brisbane music scene with a frenzied intensity following their BIGSOUND set last year. By the time the opening licks of Too Late For Love were reverberating off of the walls, the group had filled the floor.
In contrast to the group’s effortlessly controlled posturing and near synchronised harmonies, the crowd is a chaotic throng of moving bodies. While Charles Sale undeniably acts a sort of anchor for the band, there’s some undeniable talent across the board. Ruby McGregor takes the lead for two songs before Harriette Pilbeam takes the vocals on Bluff. While the quartet might building a signature sound around the angsty lo-fi power pop analogous to acts like Best Coast, the Alvvays-tinged Bluff shows the group are equally adept at taking their sound in any number of directions.
The group’s lo-fi indie rock meets pop punk tracks seem purpose built for the occasion. Bouncy rhythms and sing-along chorus lines abound and the audience responds in kind. The fact that the three vocal talents are constantly weaving together tight harmonies and generally jumping between roles testifies to a well-honed live act; that or some kind of group telepathy. Even when factoring in instrumentals and drummer Richie’s contribution, it seems like all four members are locked into a single collective groove.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3PulKRypxY
Coming off the release of their latest LP, Crazy Rack, Palms again graced the Brisbane stage. As the Babaganouj crowd receded, there was a lingering feeling that night’s energy had peaked. With a small collection of expectant fans ambling around the stage, the group casually strode on beers in hand. Some cursory banter was followed by a thrashing bass riff. Early into their opening song it seemed that Palms wouldn’t be topping the borderline mania Babaganouj whipped up less than an hour before. But crashing riffs, throttling rhythms and Al Grigg’s toothy grin quickly turned things around. Despite their shambolic garage leanings, lurking behind their bubbly laid-back exterior is an intensity and loose focus which drives their summery material home. As if responding to the siren call of a sliding guitar riff and propulsive rhythm the crowd quickly swells.
“I kind of have a Brisbane obsession,” Grigg reveals. “All of the funniest people are from Brisbane or have lived in Brisbane all their life.” Trotting out back to back songs about the weather, it’s not long before the crowd gets cosy. A well-constructed mix of old and new, the set builds in intensity.
By third track Rainbows things really hit their mark. Reimagining the anthemic pop-punk number as an amped up live version gets people moving. Once again the room bursts into a sea of cascading sea of flailing limbs and bobbing heads. Admittedly, the rest is a bit of a blur.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNKkd-qX2fs
Overall things gelled well. There was an undeniable feedback loop of positive energy running between the bands and their jumpy Brisbane audience. It’s easy to see that despite being in different places in terms of their musical trajectory, these three talented bands are all hitting their stride. Whether it was the pop-savvy finesse of Babaganouj, the adrenaline fuelled charm of Palms or the dazed out rock of Good Boy, there were few ebbs in the evening’s performances.
Read more: Party Bands Have Feelings Too – An Interview With Al Griggs From Palms
Second albums can be hard. We’ve seen more than a few bands crash and burn after an outstanding debut, left scratching their heads as to where they went wrong. Sydney’s Palms is no such band. In fact, they have managed to actually outdo their debut with seemingly relative ease. Titled Crazy Rack, the upbeat garage rock band has harnessed their in-your-fucking-face sound laid down in their debut Step Brothers and, with the help of their mate Owen Penglis (Straight Arrows, The Grates), they have built on it something that could be best described as “really, really good”. Showing off more sides to the band than ever heard before, the album is incredibly enjoyable from start to finish.
From the scuzzy, 60’s rock meets DIY garage opener Bad Apple to the mellow, almost melancholy No More, the thrashy minute and a half of Beatdown to the quite literal Sleep Too Much, Palms have taken their time to show there is much, much more to them then first meets the ear.
Having just wrapped up a tour with Last Dinosaurs on the weekend (see our photos of their Sydney show here), the boys are now set to embark on a whirlwind three date mini tour with the legendary Violent Soho. Kicking off in Brisbane tonight, October 22, then Sydney and Melbourne, before releasing Crazy Rack next week, it seems like it never really stops for Palms. Thankfully, frontman Al Grigg managed to spare a few seconds to chat to us about two drink theories, people’s perceptions, what it would be like to be a parent, the new album, and what’s still to come. Even more of a legend on the phone than he is on stage, Griggs is easygoing, realistic and determined, and is a testimony to just how far the band have come and how far they can still go.
What are you up to today?
I’ve actually got the day off! I got the day off work because I’ve got interviews in the morning and then we’ve got our first show with Violent Soho tonight in Brisbane, so we fly off in the afternoon. My boss was just like, “There’s no point in you coming in so just take the day off!”
A day in the life of a rock star, you know?
Oh yeah, totally. Getting the day off to play a gig from your boss of the second hand clothing shop you work in. That’s the true rock’n’roll dream in 2015.
It’s a huge deal, these Violent Soho shows. They sold out so quickly!
Yeah, the Sydney show sold out in like 15 minutes and the other shows sold out probably around the same time. It’s pretty mental.
Do you have any nerves kicking in when playing such a big show?
I usually get a bit nervous before a show. I’m kind of nervous because I feel like these shows can go either way. Sometimes you play a show and everyone’s really psyched and it’s awesome, but sometimes when it’s everyone’s favourite, favourite band and you’re just there in the way of them and their favourite band – that’s what I’m nervous about. If everyone just wants to party and is excited it’ll be a rad show, but it could just be like, “Who is this fucking band from Sydney I’ve never heard of? Get out of my face!” It could be kind of bad.
Well, I hope it doesn’t go that way for your sake.
Me too. It’s only been like that once where people were doing this hostile standoff. It’s only happened once of all the hundreds of shows we’ve played, so I feel like the odds are in our favour.
One bad show isn’t too bad.
One bad show in I don’t know how many. It must be one hundred at least.
I feel like it will be a pretty wild couple of nights. Do you have any pre-show rituals to keep you so psyched night after night?
Not really. Two and a half drinks is usually the perfect amount to kind of lose the nerves but also be on the right side of charming, before you become an obnoxious asshole.
I have a two drink theory for any serious decision in your life. You need to have those two drinks.
It takes away the nerves but you still feel in control. But, sometimes I’ve definitely been on the wrong side of two and a half drinks.
Sometimes it gets to six and a half…
*laughs* We played Small World Festival recently and I met my friend earlier in the day, I wanted to pace myself. It was a long day and we were playing in the arvo. I was doing really well having a beer then a water, but then I went up to get some food just before we went on and my friend was working in this stand and he pulled out this bottle of fancy Jameson that he’d been given. He told me to have a swig on it, so I had a swig and it was really good so I had a second swig – but then it tipped me over the edge. All my hard work all day! I was up on stage just like, “Yeah! I can do anything! I’m a god!” But after the first few songs I was like, “Oh shit. Not good. Bad, bad.” Turns out I am not a god, I’m not even a regular human right now…
Well, congratulations anyway on Crazy Rack! It is such a solid album, I have been listening to it all week.
Oh cool! Thank you, I’m glad you like it. It’s been a long time coming. We did a whole bunch of sessions mid last year, and we did a whole bunch of stuff but we weren’t really ready and it just wasn’t sounding right so we just thought, “Fuck it!” And we scrapped it. We went back in at the start of this year and we did a whole heap of stuff with Owen [Penglis] and this guy Nick Franklin, and it was actually a professional recording studio for most of it. I think it turned out pretty good.
I would agree!
I guess whenever you make something you go up and down about it like, “Oh you know what? It’s alright! Good work everyone.” But then you’re like, “Oh god, I hate this thing.” I wonder if parents are like that with their kids. If they’re all really proud and like, “You’re a great kid, I’ve done a great job raising you,” but then sometimes, “Fucking hell…”
Like when you come home drunk for the first time and they’re just going, “What have I done?”
“What have I done?! What have I raised?!” Sometimes I feel like that. I’m like, “Man, we are doing a good job, Palms. Congratulations.” But then I’ll be like, “Fucking hell. Look at us in this recording studio…”
“You’re all out, I’m done”
“You’re all fired, it’s over”
“Including me, the guy that started the band”
*laughs*
I think Crazy Rack is good because it’s kind of like this extension from Step Brothers. I guess that’s kind of inevitable considering just how much experience you’ve had since then, but did it feel natural for you this time around?
It’s kind of funny. Originally it was just me and Tom, and when we started Palms we had all these demos for a different album. It was kind of going to be a bit more mellow I think, but as soon as we started playing live with the other guys, there was a certain sound that came and that really worked. It had a bit more of an energy. I think when you’re playing live a lot, you figure out the songs that work well live are the songs that stick around. We ended up dumping most of the demos we’d already done and we wrote Step Brothers over the course of six months to a year before it came out. With this album, some of these songs were written at the same time as Step Brothers, some after and some were off the first bunch of demos for this album. In a weird way, it’s about being a bit more comfortable and knowing not every song has to be this uptempo banger and you can kind of have a few more mellow moments, or things in the lyrics are a bit more important or just something is a bit different to the full on energy. I guess it’s just confidence to just be yourself and show more sides of the band.
I definitely agree there is a lot more versatility on the record. When you think about Sleep Too Much, to Rainbows to No More to Beatdown – there are a lot of different styles of songs on this album. Was this you flexing your songwriting abilities, Al?
I guess it all kind of falls into the broad category of “guitar based indie rock”. It’s not like we’re jumping from house music to DIY punk.
I’d like to hear that!
We’ll get some pianos and shit for the next one. All my favourite albums are like that. I like albums that have a bit of a range and it can work when you’re in a few different moods.
Albums that have the same really fast, upbeat tracks have their place, but I think albums like Crazy Rack are a more enjoyable listen all the time.
I definitely know what you mean. If you want to get psyched up you put on a high energy record, but if you want something you can continually listen to and it grows. One of those albums that your favourite song changes over time. I think that’s definitely something we were aware of. I think the next single is actually going to be No More, because I wanted to just do something people didn’t really expect. It’s so easy to get locked in as a kind of scrappy, garage band, but there is more to us, you know?
“We’re not just this band, there’s more to us”
*laughs* Some people just think we’re this party band, but we have feelings too.
Party bands have feelings too!
Everyone has to come down!
*laughs* Unfortunately. I’m really interested in how you described the album title and cover, like “crazy rack” could be a few different things, obviously. Similar to the name “Palms”, that is open for interpretation too as are quite a few of your songs. Is that something that you have always intended to do? Keeping everything open for the listener to interpret in their own way?
I don’t want to sound too flippant but I don’t really put that much thought into it. I don’t really sit down and think like that. I just try to be honest. I don’t use a lot of flowery language, I’m pretty basic about it and I think when you’re honest and allow yourself to be like that people can relate to that. They can slot themselves in and it is open for interpretation in that way.
Being real…
Yeah. I think with the album title, it is open for interpretation but it’s more like what we were talking about before. This crazy rock’n’roll dream of sex and drugs and a wild, free life.
But in reality it’s getting time off from your boss to play a gig
You’re 9-5 behind a counter at a second hand clothing shop just so you can pay your rent and maybe go on tour. “Weekend Warriors”, you know? I think that’s what I thought was funny, I think people hear the title “Crazy Rack” and they’re like, “Oh my god, what is wrong with this band?” but then it’s like, “Oh, it’s a gag, you’re not actually fucking gross assholes…”
Crazy Rack is out October 30 via Ivy League Records.
Palms
Last Dinosaurs
Sydney’s Palms are getting set to re-launch Brisbane venue The Foundry, alongside other local legends Orphans Orphans, Major Leagues and Dune Rats. Taking place this Thursday, August 20, it’s set to be one hell of a re-opening! Unfortunately it’s already sold out, so hopefully you’ve already got a ticket if you’re reading this.
We wanted to get to know the skate punk band a little better, so we asked vocalist and guitarist Al Grigg to share some of his favourite tunes for cooking, cleaning and so much more.
My favourite track to wake up to is… Pretty Pimpin, Kurt Vile
I’m obsessed with everything Kurt Vile does and his new song Pretty Pimpin is no exception. At the moment it’s the first song I put on when I get up in the AM. Usually a few times in a row.
The best track for cooking is… Waste The Alphabet, Dick Diver
I usually just sling an album on and lately I’ve been listening to Dick Diver’s Melbourne Florida album a lot. There’s so many good tunes on it, but this is my fave.
The best track for spring cleaning is… Walk On, Neil Young
Again I usually just throw on an album and Neil Young’s On The Beach is one of my all time faves. The opening track ,Walk On, sounds like a ray of sunshine to me, so I’m gonna go with that.
The ultimate road trip track is… Gold Soundz, Pavement
I love Pavement, so that’s a good start. But this song also has a really cruisy vibe, and a wistfulness that’s perfect for daydreaming out the window to.
My favourite love song is… Your Love Is The Place Where I Come From, Teenage Fanclub
Teenage Fanclub are the only band I know who write happy songs that are never sappy or lame. And I love them for it. The lyrics and the vocal harmonies in this song are just mind-blowingly beautiful. They make me want to be in love right now.
The best track for sweet love makin’ is… 2 Become 1, The Spice Girls
I mean, what more is there really to say?
The track that always gets the party started is… Like A Prayer, Madonna
Me and Dion have a li’l DJ thing going called Too Easy DJs and we always time it so Like A Prayer drops right at the top of our set. It’s a guaranteed dancefloor filler.
The best track to wind down a crowd is… Do The Bartman, Bart Simpson
One New Years Eve I was DJing and had this massive crowd going, and then somehow I got the idea in my head that Do The Bartman would slay. Needless to say I was wrong and the it cleared the entire floor.
My favourite drunken karaoke track is… Say My Name, Destiny’s Child
It always surprises, and sometimes repulses, people that I know every word to Say My Name. But fuck it, I’m a sucker for 90s girl pop. I usually follow this one up with TLC ‘No Scrubs’. Total bangers.
My favourite song to sing in the shower is… I’ll Be There For You, The Rembrants
It’s usually something pretty surprising and unwanted that just pops into my head. This morning it was I’ll Be There For You, the theme song from hit TV show Friends. I never liked Friends all that much.
A song that always makes me cry is… Some Things Last A Long Time, Daniel Johnston
It’s probably the mixture of Daniel Johnston’s little boy lost voice and the universally poignant sentiment, but whatever it is it destroys me every time.
I love going to sleep listening to….. I don’t. I find music too distracting. Like I get too focused on it and can’t sleep.
I can’t stop dancing when I hear…. This Charming Man, The Smiths
This song comes on and I’m on the floor. No questions asked.
Sydney band Palms have been kicking around for a while now, so it really came as no surprise today when they announced that they have finally signed to a label, and released a new clip for good measure.
Signing to Ivy League Records, alongside other Aussie all-stars Steve Smyth, The Rubens, Alpine, Bad//Dreems, Josh Pyke, Deep Sea Arcade and more, it goes without saying how huge this is for the angsty-but-so-much-fun four piece.
To celebrate, the boys not only released a new clip today for their song Bad Apple, but they’ll also be celebrating IRL at The Gladstone in Chippendale on Thursday, 16 July. Check the clip for Bad Apple below and try not to have a blast – just try!