The Thousands

Thursday November 26

You know when things are about to start moving in leaps and bounds in Perth: cause you can smell it.

Call us crazy, but there was that moment on the way to the deli this morning when we stopped in the middle of the footpath and took in a gutfull of that early morning, 'it's-summer-in-four-days', blossom-heavy, chlorine-rich air (hey, the closest deli is next to the public pool). We couldn't stay to sniff for long, 'coz we had to run home and pop a Telfast (damn you, hayfever), but there's no disputing that when things start to smell like this, people take a leap. 

This week, everyone wants to grab their latest squeeze, pull their glad wrags off the Hills Hoist, and rock 'n' roll. Expect reunions of old friends, encounters with strangers and running wild from bar to bar.

SixThousand 016 - take a leap

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Cover image by David Geeting. If you would like to submit a cover shot email danielle@rightanglestudio.com.au

What:
The 10 Rules of Rock and Roll

Who:
Robert Forster

Where:
Planet Books (signed!), New Edition and all good bookstores

How much:
$27.95

Robert Forster is not technically a journalist. He was, however, one half of this country's answer to Lennon/McCartney in the Go-Betweens. So, consider him more than qualified for his latest gig, sitting pretty alongside Helen Garner and Clive James as the music critic for highbrow periodical The Monthly.

The 10 Rules of Rock and Roll is a selection of Forster's articles to date. It's well-written, passionate stuff, funny in an arched-eyebrow, unapologetically hip way, an extension of his lyrical style. His subjects are varied but impeccably chosen, from Glen Campbell to Antony & the Johnsons, Bonnie ‘Prince' Billy to Paul Kelly. He does not shy away from hyper-commercial pap; in fact, a highlight is his piece on Delta Goodrem. It is a pleasure to read thoughtful deconstruction of that which is most constructed.

The book finishes with some works of almost-fiction and a couple of touching essays on Grant McLennan, his sadly passed accomplice and best mate. Forster speaks in the voice you occasionally acquire at the height of a good dinner party, when you grip the truth by the neck and can hardly believe how much sense you're making. The difference is that he's Robert Forster, and you've had too much to drink.

By Max Olijnyk

What:
Songs

Who:
Songs

On:
Popfrenzy

Where their EP showcased an off-the-cuff looseness and a near-enough-is-good-enough attitude, Songs' self-titled debut album is a study in (relative) discipline, with thoroughly explored song structures and deftly crafted soundscapes.

These are songs that have been broken down and rebuilt numerous times. Yet this more involved approach to song writing has done nothing to lessen the immediacy of the music. From the drug-addled romp of the opening track 'Farmacy' to the deadpan come-on Kraut of closer 'My Number', Songs have written an album that pulls and teases attention out of every strum, every drone; out of every snare pop, every unhurried utterance.

This album is not demanding that you pay attention to it though. It feels casual in its form and its function. It exists autonomously. An island cast adrift without any pomp or ceremony, washes of dark and light surfacing and submerging in its wake. This understated attitude shouldn't fool you though, as this is one of the most stunning releases of the year.

By Douglas Lance Gibson

What:
Perth City Surreal, Timothy Rollin

Where:
Last Chance Studio Gallery, 456 William St, Northbridge

When:
Opens Fri, Nov 27, 7pm
Runs until Sun, Nov 27, 5pm

How much:
Free

Contact:
Timothy or Last Chance Studio

We got an email from a ‘Timothy Rollin' about an art exhibition. We were all like ‘Timothy who? Who is this gadabout emailing us?' Timothy is a respectable name, so naturally we feared the worst. ‘Watercolour landscape exhibition in Dalkeith' was where we were headed until we took a look at his stuff and then it was all slapping palms to foreheads and ‘TIMOTTHHHHHHYYY, it's TIMOTHHHHHHY!'.

You know Timothy Rollin's stuff. He does the goggly eyed elf monster dudes with the razor teeth. Somehow totally huggable and entirely scary at the same time! He's got one sitting in a boat on the wall of the old Icecream Factory, he's got a couple in Melbourne, there's one with a boombox outside the RTRFM studios another at the Curtin Uni Café.

Rollin's based in Freo but is artist-in-residence at Last Chance Studios (they of the basket ball cards as business cards!) where he's throwing out a debut solo exhibition. As well as his large scale aerosol murals (the "gritty street themed stuff"), Rollins' ink drawings will be on display too. Drawings that depict Perth experience as something with a lot more character than a waterlogged sunset on canvas could ever muster.

By Danielle Marsland

What:
Varga Girl

Where:
148 Oxford Street, Leederville

When:
Mon, Tues 9.30-6pm, Wed, Fri 9.30-9pm, Sat 9am - 6pm, Sun 11am-5pm

Contact:
9444 8990

There's no denying that Oxford Street has its fair share of alligator shoes, tipsy slappas and overpriced coffee, but it's also home to two city saving graces: amazing burgers and Varga Girl, whose doors might be considered the 'pearly gates' by which to ascend from Leederville's underbelly.

A world away from plastic shoes or diamante belts, VG offers multiple blessings: chromatically organised racks of silk, printed cotton and hessian (yes hessian) playsuits that don't look like sacks. White altars stacked with sartorial offerings from Varga's vintage jewellery collection occupy the centre of the room, while local label Butcher and the Crow's tie dye silk singlets swing from a central Hills Hoist, with Freo's Ant!podium and local frill-seekers Rummage getting a look in, too. Varga Girl also isn't afraid to take risks, bringing in darker stuff like New Zealand's Ricochet.

Should the slappas and crocs start to get you down, take heart in the knowledge that some kind of god has created a new sanctuary for all fashion saints out there.

By Emma Breheny

What:
The French Kissers

Where:
In cinemas December 26

Watch the trailer:
Here

Win:
Thanks to Luna Palace, we have 5 dbls to give away! To enter, email win@sixthousand.com.au with the subject 'que faites-vous à ce pâté en croûte?'

France's answer to American Pie - Tarte Française, perhaps? - is adorable, excruciating fun, with a much more edgy indie feel than its trans-Atlantic counterpart. Director Riad Sattouf is a comic-book illustrator whose best-known work is The Secret Life of Youth, and his debut film's original French title was Beautiful Kids. Like the film's year-nine protagonists, Sattouf spent his teenage years in Rennes, Brittany, and there's an affectionate yet unsentimental authenticity in the way he presents the small agonies of adolescence.

Hormone-fuelled Hervé (Vincent Lacoste) is constantly humiliated by his mum (the hilarious Noémie Levovsky), and since he and his mullet-rocking sidekick Camel (Anthony Sonigo) are the school dropkicks, getting a real girl seems unlikely. But when Aurore (Alice Tremolieres) takes a shine to Hervé, he'll have to choose between his nerdy friends and the promise of actual sex.

There are plentiful semen jokes, poo jokes and MILF jokes (Aurore's mum is played by '80s babe Irène Jacob), but there are also sweet, contemplative moments. With the wisdom of my advanced old age, I can watch The French Kissers knowing that these kids are gonna turn out fine.

By Mel Campbell

What:
Rubber Band Ball (approx. 400 rubber bands, balled)

Where:
Remedy, 131 Oxford St, Leederville, or online here

How much:
$9.95

There is a breed of annoying people who collect rubber bands and make them into balls, that they squeeze in times of stress. Who are these people!? Well, I'll tell you. They are the kind of people who chain paper clips together and turn them into necklaces, that's who. The kind of people who have giant 5-colour stacks of Post-Its on their desks - more Post-Its than you could ever need in a lifetimes' worth of needing to remember things, even if you develop early onset Alzheimer's and need to Post-It the kettle as ‘kettle' and the cat as ‘don't eat'.

There is only one way to put an end to the annoying desk habits of these Post-It people. Buy them a pre-balled ball of elastic bands. Then throw their paper clips and 5-colour Post-Its into the paper shredder and watch ‘em squeeze.

By Danielle Marsland

What:
Greenhouse Perth

Where:
100 St Georges Terrace, Perth

When:
Opens Dec 1. Mon-Tues 7am-5pm, Wed-Sat 7am-12am

How Much:
Coffee $3.50, cocktails $16, breakfast $6-22, lunch $10-28, evenings $6-28

Contact:
9481 8333

Gosh, we're green here at SixThousand. In the last sixteen issues we've featured moss terrariums, atomic Bonzai Kits and jam jar cocktails (our favourite kind of green).

Opening next week, Greenhouse puts our moss terrarium to shame. Conceived by floral architect Joost Bakker as a pop up concept in Melbourne's Fed Square last summer, Greenhouse has found a permanent home amongst the concrete and steel of St Georges Terrace. Between the straw bale walls, 4,000 terracotta pots growing strawberries (that's a lot of jam), light shades fashioned from old fencing wire and recycled beer glasses, Joost's masterpiece shall negate the most heavy of ‘green guilt' harboured from months of leaving our ‘green bags' at home.

At Greenhouse, you can touch, smell, see and taste fresh food harvested straight from rooftop terrace where worm-farms and LED lighting stimulate rich vegetable crops. Paul Aron, (ex-Eminem) and Jason Chan (Age Barista of the Year 2005) unite a team of Perth hospitality pros including chef Matt Stone (ex-Pata Negra) to pick up where the worms left off.

The most amazing part? The entire building is 100% recyclable. The food, however, is yours to keep.

By John Van Bockxmeer

What:
Cottonmouth - ‘Demand Dignity' - special ARTillery edition

Where:
Astor Lounge, The Astor, 659 Beaufort St, Mt Lawley

When:
Thu Nov 26, 7pm-12am

How much:
$8 on door (incl. Cottonmouth zine)

Contact:
info@cottonmouth.org.au or www.cottonmouth.org.au

Image:
Jane Bennett

No matter where life leads you, there are going to be some things that offend your dignity; particularly if life leads you to Hyde Park at night, or Carnegies on cheap night (by ‘cheap night' at Carnegies, we refer to not just 'economically priced drinks once a week' but 'general level of undignified taste every night').

Cottonmouth wordsmiths of the highest calibre gather this evening in the name of Amnesty Youth to respond to the theme ‘demand dignity' through spoken story, poetry, rap, song, proclamation, and other forms of mouthing off. Jeremy Balius, Alf Taylor, Coral Carter, Ray Grenfell, Afeif Ismail Abdelrazig (with Vivienne Glance), Mark Lloyd, Gladys Milroy, Giovanni Torre, Deborah Hunn, Dave Leigh and Allan Boyd will put those trannies in the playground under the spotlight, and they'll cry foul on the wannabe ones rubbing up against us inside Carnegies.

There's also an open mic segment (get down from 7pm- 8pm to register) and a giant public wall of typewriters, so you can get your own two cents' worth of QWERTY. Also: Field of Sound and Jon Michell (Mum Smokes / The Ancients) performing and two short films. And a bar, so you can demand a drink, and drink it with those of dignified taste.

By Danielle Marsland

What:
Love Of Diagrams Nowhere Forever WA Album launch tour

Where:
The Burlesque Lounge, 267 William St Northbridge (Sat) (w/ Astral Travel, Wind Waker, Frozen Ocean + Erasers)
Mojos, 237 Queen Victoria Ave, North Fremantle (Sun) (w/ Umpire, smRts + Golden Staph)

When:
Sat, Nov 28 + Sun, Nov 29
Doors 8pm

How much:
$16 + bf from Moshtix

Win:
Thanks to Acres, we have a dbl to both shows up for grabs! Email win@sixthousand.com.au with the subject 'Draw me the sound of silence'.

A lot of people reckon that drinking alone is a pastime reserved for troubled writer types, or Meg Ryan in When A Man Loves A Woman. But there's a third kind of home-alone-drunk, and that's the folks who stay at home to drink and marvel at their own amazing record collections. Love of Diagrams have the kind of emotive duelling harmonies and thrilling post punk riffs that befit a night of home-alone-drinking: chuck on Nowhere Forever, lie back and marvel. On the other hand, LOD are playing in Perth this weekend, and they don't come here that often. And you're looking scarily like Meg, lolling about on the floor there. - DM

What:
Shotguns & Make Up

Where:
Hellenic Centre, 20 Parker St, Northbridge

When:
Fri Nov 27, 7pm

How much:
$15 presales from Rockeby Records, 16A Rokeby Road, Subiaco, Team Digital, 268 Lord Street, Perth or call 0422 156 455

Win:
We have a dbl pass and five and a half raffle tickets to give away! To enter, email win@sixthousand.com.au with the subject ‘Bolster your holster'

Not since Little John stole our firepower in the great semi-automatic hock of 1996 AD has such an arsenal of medium-to-heavy-artillery been assembled en masse. Gun totin' had lost its sexy. But now the N.R.A. endorsed Shotguns & Makeup gigxabition will seize it back. The Atlas Mountains'll have a rocket/EP launcher at the ready. There'll be a Mexicano stand-off between an artist (Daryle Newman) a photographer (Karl Monaghan) and a folk duo (Goodnight Tiger)! To top it all off, the premier of filmmaker Peter T "Charles Bronson" Clarke's Here Lies Augustine Morelli will pack so much heat that we'll probably crap bullets.

What:
An Oak Tree

Where:
Downstairs at His Maj, 825 Hay St, Perth

When:
Mon-Sat, 7.30pm
Until Dec 5

How much:
$38.50 (full), $31 (conc) from BOCS

Tell me that you also think the concept of ‘audience interaction' doesn't make sense - you pay good money to see a trained actor perform, then they ask a ‘lucky volunteer' from the audience to get up onstage and do the hard yards. Nothing lucky about that. An Oak Tree plays on the concept of interaction, only the ‘lucky vounteer' is a pre-arranged local ‘celeb', roped in to act in a play they've neither seen nor heard a word of. Kind of like, Thank God You're Here, but way less retarded. The run for this play looks something like New York, London, Sydney, Perth. Scriptwriters Joel and Ethan Coen, actress Frances McDormand, and community radio shock jock Peter Barr have all had a stab. No prizes for guessing who we got. Who knew the Coen Bros hung out in Perth on a Tuesday, huh? - DM.

When you're cursed with less-than-perfect vision and have spent your life handing over cash for spectacles - or sticking slippery plastic-y things in your eyes - hearing 20/20 folks say "I wish I wore glasses" is downright annoying. Defects aren't supposed to be fashionable! They're supposed to be embarrassing! (Like the time you gave sexy winks to an old grandpa because your eyes thought 'grandpa' was 'hot dude'. Or when you mistook a pigeon for a small dog and tried to pat it.)

Some defects, however, are destined to be adopted by the perennially fashionable. Non-vision impaired types like Chloe and Johnny might put myopic types in a tizzy, but they also look incredible.

So shut your whinging four-eyes, cause you look good. And the rest of us want to look good with you.

To help us all get there, the lovely little bird at Pigeonhole (not dog house) has flown back from overseas with some woodgrain spectacles. These things are fresh outta Korea, retail for $55 and come in a range of colours. Buy them from Pigeonhole's stores in Bon Marche Arcade or Shafto Lane, or if you're lucky, win some here! We have two pairs to give away. To enter, just answer the following question.

This week's question:
From left to right, what does the first line say?

a) can you even read this potential answer without your glasses?

b) you probably can't read this either

c) we could say anything right about now, because all you're seeing is blurry ants

d) Watch out! That pigeon has teeth!

To be in the running send your answer AND postal address to win@sixthousand.com.au. Winners will be notified by email. Subscriber only entry. Not a subscriber? It's free you willies! Sign up here.

SixThousand is a weekly snapshot of Perth's subculture, fired by email into the loving arms of people who realise that the best things in life are often hard to find. It is compiled by an amorphous gaggle of writers, stylists, designers and photographers who all like huddling under that big umbrella we call creativity. Without editorial independence SixThousand has nothing. All editorial you read is featured because it's worth it - not because it's paid for.

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