just add monkeys is mostly useless shit...
just add monkeys has absolutely no reason to be here and asks nothing of you. just add monkeys was simply the first doamin name i could come up with  in a short timeframe. just add monkeys was an old saying so ... why not. should just add monkeys entertain or edify the casual passerby then consider yourself lucky... it obviously doesn't take much. just add monkeys will hopefully be picked up as a search phrase ... i certainly hope so because i don't think i can keep repeating just add monkeys or this will get weird... so , what the hell, when the world turns to shit, just add monkeys...

The Monkey is Dead, Long Live The Monkey

This Monkeys site has not been updated for ages so i have decided to put it into mothballs. A 'vanity' site is something from a previous century, the world has moved on to Facebook and Twitter. Like Gareth Liddiard at the Zoo the other night, i could start a 'Dad Rant' about the fatuousness and inanity that seems to be a typical Facebook page, but i will resist. Some people obviously need to say they have 637 'friends', only two of whom they have had a real life conversation with... actually met in other words but again... WTF... whatever gets you through the night. I won't even start on Twitter...

So monkeys is put out to pasture. The site stays up simply as an FTP and database platform for other ( equally inane ) projects of my own such as 'Layar Monkey Drop'...

So my parting advice to all is ...'Phone a friend, go and visit them, in-person, get shit-faced and go out and see a live band'... keep it evil

the troub

for two fridays now the Troubadour in the valley has done the trick for Rm. Last week 'Smudge' did a reformation show with a good sized crowd and pulled out all the old favourites. Tom was funny and the band tight. last night Tim Steward aired his lastest incarnation with 'We All Want To'. Whatever band he is fronting, Tim always excites, his guitar style pushes all the right buttons for me. this was no exception altho at times it did seem like the bands first outing. To top it off the price of admission got everyone a copy of the new CD. I have been waiting a long time to have my copy of the song 'Japan'...

when i dance my little arse off in front of a good band, i can often take a deep breath, get a tingle down my spine and feel what i guess others get from religion. at one with myself, the song and the universe in general. hundreds of  previous generations have lived, f__ked and died but bred successfully to get me to that one single point in time.  i salute your efforts and thank the goddess no-one was shooting blanks. Praying at the church of indie music again... few things get more funner ... 

that 'E' wears good beard

The Eels at the Tivoli was a fun night as always. I have seen the man several times now, but he and his band never disappoint. Clad in white boiler-suit, boots , bandana, shades and "the beard", he dominated the stage. He kept his guitar tech working hard , swapping between his 3 guitars almost every song. From golden oldies, covers or current album, all were impossible to stand still too. Even the odd song off the, as then, unreleased album sounded great. Let's hope he stays miserable and keeps writing blinders.

The other gig which i can only thank my offsprung for getting me into was the not-so-secret Pixies gig at the Zoo. 400 delirious punters who never thought they would ever get this close to their heroes. Not a word spoken except some unintelligable mumbles from Kim. Charles was as dour as we have come to expect. They played faultlessly and we all grinned from ear-to-ear. Was interesting to be so close at the end, that when everyone came forward for their bow, and Kim, as per usual got the biggest cheer and clap, I could actually see the miniscule flicker of annoyance flash across Charle's face. Must be irksome to be the brains of the outfit, writing the vast bulk of the songs and the drug-addled halfwit rock-goddess gets all the cheers... such is life...

last night i met god...

he's a strange looking man, hobbit-like with flowing grey hair to the middle of his back. he said barely a word but instead lead his flock with mind-bending guitar wizardry in front of a huge Marshall stack on the miniscule Zoo stage. His name is J and his band is legendary. we made a deal were i traded the upper registers of my hearing for an hour in heaven. my ears still ring the next day but the damage was a pittance to pay for so much bliss...

So far...

Finally caught up with 'The Dirty Three' at the Tivoli and i was amazed. Warren was a wizard on the violin as was to be expected. What came more of a surprise was how down to earth and personable he was. Long chats betweens songs describing the story behind many of the songs. Call me stupid but i had never considered that instrumentals songs would be based on stories... lost love, drug tales and travelling overseas etc. The other revelation was Jim White on drums, a truly mesmerising performer. Like watching an octopus play drums. His arms appeared to be made of rubber, shuffling tamborines onto hi-hat cymbals and switching drumsticks around like he could not quite make up his mind which one to use... all without missing a beat. Truly Magic. Mick Turner was left to stand fairly still and fill on all the holes was brilliant guitar. Been waiting many years to catch them and they did not disappoint.

Similarly Brian Jonestown at the Zoo left a very happy punter wandering back thru the Valley. The addition of Matt Hollywood back into the lineup after many years absence worked very well. None of the angst and tension of the previous tour. Anton could almost be described as happy... wonders will never cease.

With The Pixies, Gogol Bordello and a return of my all time favourites the Mountain Goats within the next month or two it is finally worth gnawing through the leather straps in the morning...

fek me... time for the quarterly...

Bob Log III at the tiny little Step-Inn was packed, sweaty and utterly perfect for the unique talents of the man from Arizona. yes, i know  unique is not a word that should be bandied about with abandon but the shoe fits. Jump-suit, helmet, telephone and delta-slide guitar and drums... name someone who can do a one-man show like him !!! whatever, if Bob's in town again and you are top-side of the dirt, you won't see a gig like it. Boob Scotch, and all the favourites. Twas heaven on a stick.

More recently, i have spent a couple a very pleasant evenings with cartoonist / troubadour Jeffrey Lewis. Much fun and great 'films', history's of both punk and communism... but don't let the lighter side of Jeffrey lyrics fool you... the message behind a song like 'Chelsea Hotel' may be cloaked in humour but is nevertheless one of the most hopeful and touching almost-love-song lyircs i've had the pleasure toi discover in a long time. "she might have been singing about me, probably not, but it could be". first at the old brick museum <  a Vcool venue in and of itself > then 3 nights later at the Troubie, he intentionally played a completely different set, ably supported by 'carcrashlander'...

'The Hangar' in Red Hill, run by 'Mr.Maps' Andrew White, never fails to put on a very special show. Missed the first band but I will make a point of chasing the superlative 'Moon Jog' who came up second. Hard to describe as not really like anything else similar... felt like vintage 'Verlaines' clever guitar rhythums piggybacking a little intravenous joy division. Musical comparisions are inane and pointless so catch 'em soon at Rics., u won't be disappointed. 'Fickle Beasts' were great, playing what could be their last show for a while following by the astounding 'Hazards of Swimming Naked'. As my fellow music cognescenti HRH knows, i very much like analysing clever lyrics, so for me to say that i was so enwrapped that I failed to notice that they were an instrumental band until half-way thru their set is one of the best compliments i can give. Each song builds to a complete blinder... magic... and a testiment to Andrew's always subtle desk-skills that despite the numbers onstage the sound was crisp, clean and precise. Hats off to all but especially Andrew... thankyou...     

~ "keep music evil<>live"

a very fine vintage for live music

i finshed a great year with 'the Mountain Goats' at The Zoo on sunday. a special night as all the tMG gigs inevitably are. for most singer-songwriters, loosing your voice before a gig would be an excuse to cancel but not for John Darnielle. Against doctor's orders he came onstage, apologised in advice for the short set, thanked melbourne's 'Baseball'  for a blinder support slot and proceeded to mesmerise his loyal fans with a quiet set, culled from his huge back-catalogue. you could hear a pin drop and in brisbane's favourite venue, the Zoo, that is some statement. reverential is a word that comes to mind. Peter Hughes came out to add bass to John's acoustic guitar and new member John Wurster on drums. the volume mounted and soon John reluctantly called the singing quits and handed over vocal duties to Peter. the crowd cheered his efforts and he rose to the ocasion. all too soon it was the big finish of 'this year' and 'no children', the baton was then passed to us... john croaked the first words to each verse then mouthed the lyrics while the fan(atic)s raised the roof. a gig that should have been a disaster was instead... utterly magic.  

what else... well Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV in his 'Black Francis' persona was, what else... simply perfect. 'Brian Jonestown Massacre' at the same venue, the Arena were all i had hoped for after many years of waiting, flawed / brilliant / infuriating / a religious experience, all in turns. but what else could a legend like Anton do after all. retro at the troubadoor with 'Died Pretty' acoustic. Ron Peno... a national treasure. 'Firekites' from newcastle impressed, 'Washington', like the amazing 'Baseball' also from melbourne. 'Pinky Beecroft and the White Russians'... come the revolution, all those who have not seen pinky play live will be lined up against a wall and shot, and quite rightly so.

'modest mouse' with johnny marr ( say it again... johnny fucking marr !!!!! ) playing guitar... fekkin bliss. 'iron and wine', 'beirut', where-else  but the Zoo... mmmmmmm. 'black rebel morcycle club... many others that have slipped this goldfish memory of mine... yes, twas a very good year for live music. whether sitting on the floor watching brisbane's aspiring newcomers play 'the Hangar' ( bless you andrew ) or wandering into the 'Powerhouse Museum' on a sunday arvo for a free gig... ahhhhh ... "i won't be dead for quids"

or as Anton says " Keep music eviL "                      ~ Rm  :)

the thrill of the post...

in these heady days of free downloads
and unlimited music

spare a thought for that old-fashioned frisson,
when the post arrives and joy, oh joy... it's arrived...

Daniel Johnston ...

ok, i admit i'm a bit late jumping on the whole johnston 'musical genius' bandwagon, hopeless...i will try to keep up

if like me, you r still 'waiting for santa to come to town', perhaps you should watch the excellent DVD ~ 'The Devil and Daniel Johnston' and make up your own mind.

no time ? listen to this then ~ 'Living in Vain'

a perrenial after dinner conversation piece, the thinner the grasp, the finer the art... or as Anton puts it, 'thank god for mental illness' ;p

GOGOL BORDELLO

They were once described on Jools Holland Live as "a bit like The Clash having a fight with The Pogues in Eastern Europe".

listen below :
Gogol Bordello - Oh No
Gogol Bordello - Dogs Were Barking  and "paaarteey !!!"