GIG: Brown Paper Bag #3

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Brown paper bags have a mystical quality about them. White paper bags, pink paper bags or black paper bags just doesn't bring up the same mental images of 1. hobos drinking poorly concealed alcohol out of them, 2. Daphne on Frasier bringing groceries home, or 3. using it as the perfect way to conceal an ugly lover's face. But be prepared to start associating the humble bag with fucking excellent music.

Brown Paper Bag #3 is here, and it's cemented the night's reputation for super-awesome-excellent line-ups. This round will be held at grungy-cool city venue Ding Dong, with Sydneysider Jonathan Boulet headlining with his cheerful, folk pop. But the bands that Paper-Deer are far more excited about are the local talent on offer: experimental pop lords (well, lords with the Evelyn crowd at the very least) Rat vs Possum, East Brunswick All Girls Choir (Paper-Deer's favourite Melbourne post-punkers, who painstakingly glued pictures from vintage books on their EP packaging), the infectiously cute and catchy Parking Lot Experiments and jungle indie band Northeast Party House. The last time that Paper-Deer caught Parking Lot Experiments, they were gallivanting like school children at The Evelyn and played some film with lots of cute puppies in the background... that pretty much sums up Parking Lot Experiments. They are the most endearing, be-spectacled experimental pop band out there.

So if you like your pop experimental, your MySpace genres set to "Jungle" and your drugs psychedelic, head over to Ding Dong on Friday July 16. And hopefully they'll have the same drink specials, dished out by the bar staff in brown paper bags to have you feeling all hobo-ish. It'll do wonders for your indie-cred.

The Parking Lot Experiments... running around on mattresses

DATES:

• July 16: Ding Dong for Brown Paper Bag #3
• July 21: Northeast Party House at Karova Lounge with Yacht Club DJs and Neon Love
• July 24: Northeast Party Houe at The Toff in Town for City Calm Down's EP launch with White Birds & Lemons
• July 27: Northeast Party House for I OH YOU Warehouse Party with Foals and In Tongues
• July 29: Rat vs Possum at The Tote for Love Connection's residency
• July 30: Jonathan Boulet at Splendour in the Grass
• August 5/6: Rat vs Possum at the Prince Bandroom for Passion Pit and The Joy Formidable [both sold out]

LINKS:

• Buy tickets for Brown Paper Bag #3
• Jonathan Boulet MySpace
• Rat vs Possum MySpace
• East Brunswick All Girls Choir MySpace
• Northeast Party House MySpace
• The Parking Lot Experiments MySpace

GIGS: Leonard Cohen + Peter Hook

We have moved! Our blog is now at www.paper-deer.com. 

Lots of music buffs like to bitch about our lovely island country, and how isolated we are from the American and European music scenes. And how few bands can actually be bothered to spend thousands of dollars on getting themselves and their expensive gear halfway across the earth... to tap into an impossibly tiny potential market of a mere 22 million people spread out over a really big distance (as opposed to the 14 million in New York State alone). Which is understandable.

But bitch and moan no more. Leonard Cohen is coming to Australia. If you were writing a list of the most influential musicians of all time, Mister Cohen would be up there giving Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash a hard time. Concert goers have described the Canadian's shows as religious and life-changing... and it's unsurprising that tickets to see the folk troubadour are an astoundingly expensive at $139.50 to $284. And there I was, complaining about Splendour ticket prices (before succumbing, of course). Looks like I'll just have to keep on giving my Leonard Cohen concert DVD some loving.

For those a little more post-punk inclined, Peter Hook will also be gracing our shores later this year. The bassist and founding member of Joy Division will be performing their seminal album Unknown Pleasures from start of finish. And since vocalist Ian Curtis topped himself in 1980, Hook will be joined by various musical friends but no one has been named as of yet. Apparently some people have been criticising the Englishman for milking something that is way past its expiry date, and this is what he had to say: "We had a club full of people tonight who think we should be doing it and the others can just fuck off." If the recent Pixies tour where they played Doolittle from start to finish (which Frank Black unashamedly announced was a money-making machine) is any indication, this is probably one of those situations where you should pull a sickie just so you can snag some tickets.

DATES:

Leonard Cohen - tickets already on sale:

• November 6: Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane
• November 8/9: Acer Arena, Sydney
• November 12/13: Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne
• November 15: Derwent Entertainment Centre, Hobart
• November 18: Adelade Entertainment Centre, Adelaide
• November 24: ME Bank Stadium, Perth

Peter Hook and Friends - tickets on sale July 2:

• September 24: Palais Theatre, Melbourne
• September 25: The Enmore, Sydney
• September 27: Tivoli, Brisbane

LINKS:

• Tickets for Leonard Cohen
• Peter Hook MySpace
• Melbourne tickets for Peter Hook
• Sydney and Brisbane tickets for Peter Hook