Local Flow

Sarah Collyer

You only get one shot... or four, if you’re a Brisbane Powerhouse resident. Asa Broomhall, Australia’s favourite roots-rock larrikin (and we have a lot of roots-rock larrikins), takes the Conch in March; he’ll be playing tunes from his latest self-produced LP, ‘Revelry Road’, on Friday Mar 5, 12, 19 and 26.

Who’s up for some full contact, all girl roller derby? If, like me, the Sun State Roller Girls had you at ‘full contact, all girl’, you’ll want to be at Beenleigh Arena on Sat Mar 13 to see the Liquorice Short Shorts take on the Golden Roughs. They’ll also raise funds at The Zoo this Saturday March 6 with Nashville Pussy, Gentle Ben and The Medicine Show. Leave ‘Whip It’ on the DVD shelf - this is the real deal. www.sunstaterollergirls.com

The Baby Seal Club are not only more humane than they sound, they’re a downright exciting Brissie band. The modest lads bill themselves as Brisbane’s answer to The Kinks, but even that doesn’t do them justice - find out why at Brisbane Arts Theatre on Friday March 12 and The Zoo on Wednesday March 31.

Three home-grown bands - Hungry Kids Of Hungary, 26 and Drawn From Bees - will showcase their talents at MUSEXPO Los Angeles from April 25 to 28. Acts sent to MUSEXPO by the Government in previous years include Pete Murray, The Boat People, Intercooler, Yves Klein Blue and Dead Letter Circus.

Yes, the rumours are true (don’t tell me you haven’t heard these rumours)... Brigitte Handley & The Dark Shadows will henceforth be known simply as The Dark Shadows. Handley will still be a major part of the group, but won’t hog quite as much of the marquee at The Jubilee Hotel this Saturday March 6 with Kill The Apprentice, Whiskey & Speed and Drawing Blood.

The men of Bang Bang Boss Kelly freely admit that with their “schoolboy good looks”, snappy dress sense and “cute” audience, they could be mistaken for a boy band. But don’t be fooled - these allegedly good looking guys can really play, and they’ll do just that for an all-ages crowd at The Hive on Saturday March 13 with The Wildes.

Q Music and Brisbane Powerhouse have announced their first free workshop series for 2010. Both aspiring and professional artists who are keen to learn more about the music industry - and if you’re thinking, ‘I have nothing left to learn’, you’re doing it wrong - should gather at the Turbine Platform on Wednesday April 7, 14, 21 and 28. Contact kellie@qmusic.com.au to book your place.

Last August, critics and fans alike fell over themselves to praise jazz chanteuse Sarah Collyer’s debut EP ‘This Way’. She’s only gotten better since then; chart her progress at Brisbane Jazz Club this Saturday March 6.

Decisive rockers Perhaps Maybe?!? are set to headline Ponypalooza at The Jubilee Hotel on Saturday April 17 with the help of Blowhard, Cursed Earth, JJ Speedball, The Blasted Heat, Pippi Lips, Midnight Unicorn and Cheap Thrills. You should totally go. Probably. I dunno.

Boasting more rock than a quarry, more blues than a summer sky and more raw power than a “sushi-fuelled rocket” (would a sushi-fuelled rocket be powerful?), Beware The Hippos claim to be Brisbane’s best kept secret. Expose it at The Zoo on Saturday April 24 with Cadillac and Teenage Wolves.

It’s a well known fact that Blackbeard was history’s second most notorious pirate. The most notorious? You, when you download music illegally. Australian company Guvera Limited is at the front line of the war on piracy; their new website launches on Tuesday March 30  and aims to provide users with ‘paid for’ streaming and music downloads. Guvera.com