The Woohoo Review

Juke Baritone & The Swamp Dogs:

WHAT: Psycholonial stomp
WHEN: Sat Jan 14
WHERE: The Front 

"Maniacal". "Brilliant". "Belligerent". "Legendary" – these are just some of the words used to describe the utterly intoxicating Juke Baritone as he's travelled the world with his rascally troupe of manic noisemakers, assaulting audiences with his tall tales of bad love, good times and the evils of the world. They’ve played The Famous Spiegeltent at Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide Festivals, they’ve played The Sydney Opera House, they’ve played Woodford, Harvest and Corinbank, and now they’re set to play The Front. Horns will scream. Guitars will screech. And the audience will go wild as they dance and chant along to this uniquely Australian sounding "psycholonial stomp". Supported by Cat Dog Monkey. 8pm, $10.  

Beth n Ben:

WHAT: Summer of Balmy Bandy Festival Fun and Tour Times
WHEN: Various dates
WHERE: Various locations

Beth n Ben have been getting a bunch of love off the back of the first single Back of the Line from their recently released sophomore EP Economy Class. It’s been picked up by radio and attracted the attention of festival directors and venue bookers. Having only ever toured as a duo, Beth n Ben are looking forward to taking the band on the road for a series of festival slots and gigs including Summer Rhythm Festival, Peats Ridge, venue gigs around Northern NSW and South East Queensland in Jan and the brand new Northern Beaches Festival in Sydney in February. For all the dates head to myspace.com/bethnben .

Summer music lovers:

WHAT: Summer Sounds in the Gardens
WHEN: Saturdays and Sundays throughout January
WHERE: National Botanic Gardens Eucalypt Lawn

Relax and enjoy Summer Sounds in the Gardens, Canberra’s popular outdoor summer music concert series running every Saturday and Sunday from 5.30pm – 7.30pm throughout Jan. Bring your family and friends, a picnic and enjoy a sensational line-up of live music in the beautiful surrounds of the Eucalypt Lawn. A new feature for 2012 will be the vibrant dance demonstrations which will feature everything from swing to salsa. Cold bar sales will be provided by Friends of the Gardens and sizzling BBQs by Rotary and Lions Clubs. There’ll also be free children’s activities. Entry is by donation to Friends of the Gardens. For the full line-up head to anbg.gov.au/gardens .

Rapskallion and Mr Fibby:

WHAT: A night of true mayhem
WHEN: Thurs Dec 8, 8pm, $10
WHERE: The Front

Rapskallion will be launching their new EP The Cat and Fiddle in a blaze of sweat, colour, feathers and accordion powered riffage. The EP is a collection of musical vignettes from a realm inhabited by back alley gangster felines, femme fatales, and silver moon maidens, with a soundtrack somewhere between a Chicago speakeasy, a Hungarian hoedown, and a Halloween party at a South Seas pirate haven. Joining them will be Mr Fibby, who on the following Saturday night (Dec 10) will be having their fourth listening party at Smiths for their radio play Mr Fibby’s Excellently Disappointing Adventure Time, which you can also hear on 2XX at 9pm or stream on mrfibby.com .

Bass in the Place:

WHO: Band, DJs, fireworks
WHEN: Sat Dec 31
WHERE: Garema Place

Count down the year to the beat of Australia’s best DJs. Local stars VJ Insan3 and DJ Rush will get the party started at 9pm, before DJ Rawson dominates the dancefloor with his creativity and skills behind the decks. See in 2012 with dance legend Chris Fraser, spinning the biggest dance hits of the year. From 7pm Civic Square will be the place for families and music lovers of all ages to enjoy performances by Ian Moss and Canberra bands The Bridge Between and Heuristic. There’ll be fireworks at 9pm and midnight, with the midnight fireworks set to a soundtrack bringing in the New Year. Both events are free.  

The Architect DJs:

WHAT: NYE at Transit
WHEN: Sat Dec 31
WHERE: Transit Bar

Architect DJs and friends have your New Year’s Eve covered. 2011 saw a massive year at Transit where indie was king, and The Architect DJs are having one last blow out to finish off the year in style. Join them for a night of straight up party jams with a focus on all the music that made 2011 great. The night will feature all your favourite Transit party starters and of course The Architect DJs who have had a massive 2011 on the back of a number of residencies at Transit. In their own words, “get ready for some midnight pashing and dancefloor thrashing.”

Fred Smith Band:

WHAT: Fred Smith's Orphan’s Christmas
WHEN: Sat Dec 24
WHERE: The Phoenix

It's been a massive year for Fred Smith with rave reviews in the national papers for his album Dust Of Uruzgan, a collection of songs inspired by his 18 month tour of Afghanistan as an Australian Diplomat. After a lengthy tour of Oz, Smith returns for his annual Christmas Eve gig at The Phoenix with the old gang of Pete and Fiete and Gregor Murray (The Fuelers). It's always a big night as locals and ex-pats catch up and prepare for the days ahead with a little night cap and three sets of rock and roll all for the cost of naught. From 9pm.

Fox and Fowl, Lavers, and Fun Machine:

WHAT: FasterLouder Christmas Party
WHEN: Sat Dec 10
WHERE: The Front

To celebrate another great year in local music, FasterLouder Canberra is throwing a Christmas bash complete with the finest in local talent and copious quantities of tinsel. On December 10, head down to The Front, grab yourself a cider and jive to the sounds of Lavers, Fox & Fowl and Fun Machine, and help FasterLouder toast a year of fantastic talent and amazing gigs. Leave your inner Grinch at home as it’s time to deck the halls and get all kinds of merry. Tacky Christmas earrings are optional, but encouraged. Bands kick off at 7.30pm. Free.

The Red Paintings:

WHAT: Prog/theatrical rock
WHEN: Thurs Jan 12
WHERE: Tuggeranong Alliance Youth Centre

The Red Paintings are a progressive rock/theatrical performance group who incorporate themed costumed stage shows, live art, visual projections (working with local and international artists), and human canvases. The bands’ sound and live show is described by fans and press as orchestral art rock. At each show, artists and audience members are encouraged to join the band on stage to express (through painting) their individual visions through connecting with the music.  In addition to painting on traditional canvases, the artists also paint on human canvases. Each Red Paintings stage show is a unique collaboration between the audience, art and the band. Tix through Moshtix.

Aeroplane :

WHAT: Touring in support of In-Flight Entertainment
WHEN: Sat Dec 10
WHERE: Trinity Bar

For the last two years Aeroplane has been carefully selecting the best electronic music released every month to turn it into the Aeroplane Chart Mixes. These mixes have gained a lot of attention on the Aeroplane Soundcloud, with each mix getting between 30,000 and 45,000 plays and quickly becoming blogosphere favourites. The next step was to make it ‘official’. It became a stupidly popular radio show called In-Flight Entertainment, and then a mix CD of the same name. With this history, an Aeroplane compilation couldn’t be anything simple, it needed to be special; experience just how special when he plays Trinity in support of it.

Party By Jake:

WHAT: A Very Shady Xmas Eve
WHEN: Sat Dec 24
WHERE: Transit Bar 

The silly season is upon us, and according to Party By Jake, a bender on Christmas Eve is about as silly as it gets. PBJ invites you to throw on some rubbish shades and come on down for a good ol’ romp at Transit Bar. A sack-full of party tunes will be supplied by Party By Jake's lil helpers: Eddie Shaggz, Chairman Wow, Princi, Chachachar and Celebrity Sex Tape. Throw in a few Christmas surprises and A Very Shady Xmas Eve (sunglasses at night theme) will be the best preparation for your Steve Buscemi eyes come Christmas morning. Free.