Kat Martian (Brainbeau, X in O)

The scene has been good to me. It gives me hope outside of wage slavery, outside of the daily grind. Occasionally financially but more importantly in non-fiscal stuff. You know, morale. It keeps me happily distracted from anything too abject and I can consume and have a good time without having to be around those prolific “commercial” consumer types that boggle my mind and speak some language I don’t know. TV. Bubblers. Blahblah sports blahblah, hair, whatever, never mind. It allows me to feel loved and to love, (and all that saccharine shit), it bolsters and reassures me. I’m having a blast really. But occasionally I get a bit bummed at gigs, not often but sometimes, when the seriousness lurks in. The niggling competitiveness, the “successary” elitism, the occasionally too obvious desperation, the overly boozey types, the grumpy and world weary, the gorgeous and powerfully bitchy. The surface tension of congeniality and the unknowable realities that keep us so separate and aloof. It can get a bit stingy and dark in certain circles.

And lately I’ve realised that in order to keep this perishable hope from decomposing, I NEED TO GO OUT AND HAVE A GOOD TIME. I NEED TO HAVE A LAUGH. Make me laugh, make me dance. Don’t dwell so much Debbie D! Take me somewhere I’ve not imagined maybe, or show me how it’s meant to be. Show me a future, because to be honest, I’m kinda over the past, and the present can feel… well, somewhat trite… on a cloudy day anyways. I’m just a bit bored of the same sounds and the old wounds. Don’t people ever get sick of licking them? And I’m SUPER tired of peoples’ ambivalence or worse, nihilism! Urck. So whatever you do, just don’t do it with a half arse. I’d enjoy it much more mate, if you’d use your whole arse. Really get your back into it. I like to watch.

Some highlights of the (live Oz) scene and the people who have done that for me this year include:

* Bum Creek at IMA for an Other Film Festival. Also present was Cartune Exprez. Mind blown.

* Zonk Vision trio Horse Macgyver, Calico Cat, Holden Hands at a Guilt Retreat show. X in O supported. I love those guys. They are such a good vibin’ bunch and so super sensorily talented.

* Actually Calico Cat aka Danny Wild recently had an amazing set alongside a brilliant solo set by Andrew McLellan (Enderie Nuatal) at sex waves with Kiah Reading. A fun and squishy, sweaty and generally sultry time was had by all.

* Scraps aka Laura Hill’s new set of old songs with NOS Yamaha ’80s awesomeness. She is so perpetually entertaining.

* Retro sounds into the future: tied are Four Door and Forces. So tight. So stylistically superior live. They really have mastered the art of consorting with the dance floor.

* Green Nose at Audiopollen, shakin’ his hot dog hot pants, shirtless, terry toweling hatted, to 300BPM happy-hard-core-hip-hop, Kangaroos-a- boinging. Oh how they danced. Hilarity ensued.

* Dust Storm Jogger. From the sexy, relaxational, hopped up R-n-B to the footwork, trap-ass bangin’ booty beats. All played live. Not sequenced? What? Heard from the adjoining lounge room to his studio. He’s too good for this town.

* Michael Donnelly / Unwar (of Music Your Mind Will Love You) playing at Guilt Retreat. Actually danceable blippy weird experimental craziness WITH BEATS! Impossible to work out what was going on there was so much gear. Smoke machine and strobe light, perfect additions.

* Go Genre Everything at Real Bad. They brought the energy, the irreverence, the overdriven everything, the between song banter. They are hilarious.

* And Gerald Keaney and the Gerald Keaneys (excuse me while I take a little float in the gloat boat) made me laugh uncontrollably during one show Browning Mummery put on at the Chardy. I was having such a good time playing. The whole thing, the ridiculous songs, the members, esp. the new Grey Enigma (Onnie Art), the chaos, the crowds contorted faces, it felt like we were imparting some kinda crazy wisdom. I felt really lucky.

So I’ll leave it there hey, but I definitely could go on! And that’s nice to know. Be assured I am suitably sated by another year of good times under the belt and pumped for the next. Bring it on!

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