Hysteria ticket giveaway!

We'll be honest with you, when we heard that Maggie Gyllenhaal and Hugh Dancy were to star in a period romantic comedy, we didn't really feel the inclination to run to our local cinema and start queuing up in anticipation. Then, our buddy who works at CLEO whispered to us "You know it's about the invention of the vibrator, right?"

"SAYYYY WHAAAAA?" we responded.

It's true. Set in 1880, Hysteria is an offbeat and amusing tale about the invention of said instrument in Victorian England. Based on what actually happened, the film follows Mortimer Granville (Dancy), a young doctor disillusioned by his colleagues' medieval practices. He starts working for Dr Dalrymple, who treats cases of the female ailment commonly known as hysteria by offering them intimate manual relief. Demand becomes so great that Dalrymple and Mortimer cannot keep up with 'curing' women. And so came about the invention of a machine that would solve his medical challenges.

Thanks to our mates at Hopscotch, we're giving away a few free tickets to Hysteria. If you wanna win just drop an email with the subject line "Ooh baby yeah" to info@bobbysix.com. Include your name and address and we'll select the winners at random. As usual with these movie ticket giveaways, the tickets are only valid in Australia. Sorry everywhere else, we're working hard on getting some freebies for you guys too. Soon soon.

Free Milk Crate Theatre production in Sydney this Saturday

Milk Crate Theatre is set to move audiences with their new Visible Theatre production, Belonging, over two shows at Sydney's Carriageworks on Saturday June 23rd.

Milk Crate Theatre works with people who have experienced homelessness and/or social marginalisation to create theatre that creates change.  In doing so, Milk Crate Theatre have created a unique theatre company and a much needed and respected community.

Belonging is far from your average theatre show. Visible Theatre exposes what happens behind the scenes; the creative process, the script, the performers, the audience and even the staging itself: all as a means to find the truth within the Ensemble’s experience. The outcome is a studio-style production centred around interviews from 14 Ensemble members, discussing the intricacies of what it means to belong. In doing so, the stage transforms itself into a space for catharsis and exploration.

Set at the scene of a wedding ceremony, the show explores the human condition through tales of love and loss. A sense of belonging is found through shared experiences of ostracism and marginalisation.

Milk Crate Theatre is currently developing their company production, ‘Fearless’ which will be held at Carriageworks this September.

DATE: Saturday, 23rd June 2012
VENUE: Carriageworks – 245 Wilson St, Eveleigh, Sydney
TIMES: 4PM & 8PM
GENERAL ADMISSION: Free

To book tickets email kate@milkcratetheatre.com or call 02 9331 0555.

Haven - Season Two DVD giveaway!

We're always bragging about how we don't own a TV at Bobbysix. We reckon it makes us sound all bohemian and cool. It is true. We don't own a telly. But what we always accidentally forget to tell you is that we spend many, many hours watching TV shows on our laptops. You name it, we dig it. From Game of Thrones to Breaking Bad via 30 Rock, we're all over that shit.

So we're pretty happy to learn that Season Two of Haven is out today. Starring Emily Rose from Brothers & Sisters, and based on Stephen King's novella The Colorado Kid, the series is spot-on for lovers of top-notch TV with a sci-fi leaning. Basically, if you like a bit of supernatural mystery, then Haven will be right up your alley.

Thanks to our buddies at Hopscotch, we've got three DVDs to give away. Featuring all 12 episodes and a heap of extra features, this'll keep you out of trouble for a while. So, if you want to be in with a chance of winning one, just email info@bobbysix.com with the subject "Haven" along with your name and address. We'll select three lucky winners at random and shoot these badboys out in the post. We'll happily send the prize anywhere, but you'll need a DVD player that plays Aussie disks, or you'll just end up using them as coasters, and, with a retail price of 50 bones, those would be some pretty expensive coasters. 

Win tickets to the Jeep Kurri Burri Classic Mother's Day Polo Tournament

You love your Mum, right? We love your Mum too, but that's another story. Anyhoo, you wanna do something nice for her on Mother's Day, but don't have the dollar? Same old story. Well, how's about taking her to a swanky event for FREE! The Jeep Kurri Burri Classic Mother's Day Polo Tournament is held on Sunday at a country estate in Richmond at foothills of Blue Mountains in New South Wales and we have two tickets to give away, valued at $120 each.

If you're too indie to know what polo is, basically it's that game where fit chaps ride horses and hit a ball with a stick. That Prince fellow (not Prince the sex-midget, but Prince William) plays it. This particular tournament is more like a big, relaxed outdoor picnic (rather than a binge-drinking fest involving women in stupid hats and nightclub dresses). So it's rather nice, and it raises money for Inala, a Rudolf Steiner charity supporting disabled people.

We're giving away two Premium Kurri Burri Hamper tickets valued at a cool 120 bones. There'll be three polo matches, rides, a petting zoo and jumping castle for kids as well as Harvest Market stalls, a charity raffle with fantastic prizes and - and this is the thing that we are positively crapping ourselves with excitement about - Jack Russell races. Jack Russell races! It's impossible to say those three words without smiling.

Anyhoo, if you want this pair of tickets, which contain gourmet picnic goodies, Cape Mentelle Wine, entry for two and other special gifts - just email info@bobbysix.com with your name, phone number and the subject "I really wanna see a Jack Russell race". We'll pick a winner at random on Friday. You have to get yourself to the event, so, you know, if you don't live locally, there's not much point entering. Oh and you don't have to take your mum either. We just, thought it might be a nice thing to do to repay her for popping you out of her vajayjay all those years ago.

If you aren't lucky when it comes to competitions, you can just buy tickets outright here: http://www.kurriburri.com.au/buy-tickets

Win Maybelline NY goodies!

We don't know about you, but Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia flew by in a heartbeat for us. And what a week it was in Sunny Sydney, with some amazing collections - the comic book brilliance of Romance Was Born, the weird underwater neon elegance of Magdelena Velevska, the colour explosion of Jenny Kee, the pastel delicacy of Zimmermann - and of course all the fun and frolics that went on at a whole heap of after-parties. The most exciting thing about Fashion Week Australia though is that it has continued to rapidly grow in stature and to evolve, while retaining its homegrown charm. This year proved that in abundance.

Understandably ebullient at the success of their first year as official make-up sponsor of Fashion Week Australia, Maybelline NY are feeling in a particularly generous mood at the moment, and so have teamed up with your good mates at Bobbysix to offer up some free goodies to one of our readers. If you want the chance to win some awesome Maybelline NY products, just email info@bobbysix.com with the subject 'Maybelline' and the answer to the following question: What did Ruby Rose paint when she teamed up with New York Street artist KR recently? You can find the answer by listening to the above interview, which we conducted in the build-up to Fashion Week. We'll pick a winner at random. Wooo free stuff! Get involved!

Words, pics and interview by Bobby Townsend

Free download from The Griswolds, plus a whole bunch of other new music

The Griswolds' infectious lust for life and a mega pop awesomeness remind us a bit of Grouplove, which is a very, very good thing as far as we're concerned. Their epic falsettos are pretty sweet too. Mississippi is a reflection of fun times and a place where you'd like to be, featuring driving rhythms and is the first cut from their debut EP, which is due out in June. Download the song below.

Next up, Electric Guest's new single This Head I Hold is making us dance around the office like Goddamn fools. It's off their debut album Mondo, due out in April, and was co-produced by Danger Mouse. Which is a little bit fancy, don't you think? Anyway, enough of our yackin'. Whaddaya say? Let's boogie.


Notic Nastic is an intriguing, anonymous group of NYC/Berlin-based musicians who deliver their unique sound with unwavering passion. I Don’t Wanna Do It Right is apparently not about being a communist, anarchist, antichrist or having any label. Nor is it fashionably ‘anti everything'. It's simply about waking up, asking yourself the hard questions, opening your mind and daring yourself to change. So there you go.

Endless Loop is Samantha Hughes and Jeff Knight - an electronic rock duo from Portland, Oregon. They make music ranging in tone from anthemic to melancholy. It started a few years ago as Jeff’s one man lo-fi project in college under the name Beep Kitty. Eventually he grew tired of the plinks and plonks of thrift store keyboards and shoe boxes filled with 4 track cassettes. That’s when Jeff found Sam – an aspiring opera student and all around rocker. They traded in Casios for beat machines and synths.

Free download from Brooklyn's LUFF!

Brooklyn-based shoegaze/post-rock outfit LUFF amp up the support of their forthcoming EP with the release of its lead single, Through Here Like Our Fathers and you can grab it here for FREE!

The upcoming EP, Maybe It's Just Sleeping, will be unleashed by the band on their own imprint, Delicious Noise. Written in the aftermath of the tragic losses of vocalist / guitarist Sheila Sobolewski's mother to a fire and lead guitarist Robin Pickering's step-mother to suicide, the heavy themes in the record's lyrics are balanced by nimble, thoughtful arrangements and production. LUFF will continue to perform in their home base of NYC, while moving toward the release of their EP in April.

For now though, get your hands on the below single. And don't say we never give you anything.
 

Vice throws a Bondi party to launch Rdio in Australia!

We've been to our share of Vice parties in our time, and they are always pretty frickin awesome, so we're looking forward to next Saturday (Feb 4th) where, to celebrate the launch of Rdio, they are taking over Bondi’s Beach Road Hotel and cramming it full of bands. Doing their thang will be Das Racist, Canyons, Alpine, Collarbones, Jonti and more. There’s gonna be DJ sets from Twin Shadow & Austra too.

There’ll also be a one-year Rdio subscription in it for one lucky punter, so head along to rdio.vice.com for your chance to get your hands on one of 300 double passes – and to grab your free 7-day Rdio trial. For those Aussie-based readers outside of Sydney, there’s even the chance to be flown (with three mates) to the show and to be put up in a hotel room – plus the free 7-day trial, too. Not bad, hey?

Wondering what Rdio is? Well, it's an ad-free music subscription service which allows you to play the music you want, when you want, discover and share music through friends, influencers, facebook and twitter, sync music to your iPhone, BlackBerry or Android and listen while offline. 

TUnE-yArDs and Wild At Heart wow the Honda Festival Garden in Sydney

The Jagermeister Hunting Lodge and The Famous Spiegeltent in Hyde Park offered incredible free entertainment on Thursday night as part of the Sydney Festival. Firstly, America's tUnE-yArDs (aka Merrill Garbus, pictured above) performed songs from her album BiRdBrAiNs. The show was massively inventive, with Garbus, as is her way, utilising the hell out of a loop pedal to create a layered, frenzied sound which transfixed the crowd. Most notably, the songwriter's vocal was really powerful as she built up tribal howls into something trance-like that got the girls in the front row dancing. She may be the subject of a huge amount of hype right now, but this intimate 45-minute show proved that she is worth it. Merrill Garbus is indeed a very interesting artist.

After this show in the Hunting Lodge, Wild At Heart (pictured, below), a band led by Holiday Sidewinder & Pia May of Bridezilla fame, provided a night of Lynchian delight at The Famous Spiegeltent. They performed renditions of memorable soundtrack titles from cult-classic films such as Wild at Heart, Fire Walk With Me, Blue Velvet and, boldly, Eraserhead, as well as the television series Twin Peaks. On a stage drenched in moody blue and red lighting, the group's performance was suitably atmospheric, with Sidewinder's voice beguilingly soaring across the ornate venue. Set-closer Wicked Game was a highlight, as was Blue Velvet. They are back at The Spiegeltent on Friday 27th January for another free show. If you like Lynch and/or good music, you would do well to attend.



Meanwhile, there is also more FREE goodness to be had at the Hunting Lodge. Just announced, Soft Circle will be playing tonight (Saturday 21st January, 8.30pm). They are Hisham Bharoocha and Ben Vida, who are in Australia for Sydney Festival’s 41 Strings by Nick Zinner. Like tUnE-yArDs, they offer layered effects of looped sounds, drums and vocals.

Also added to the schedule is Ngaiire, who came to Australia at 16 having spent a lot of her life living in the jungles of Papua New Guinea in a little grass hut with no electricity, television or internet. Her eclectic sound draws from influences as diverse as Sarah Vaughan, Rufus Wainwright, Jeff Buckley and the enigmatic Erykah Badu. You can see her on Wednesday 25th January at 8.30pm.

More details of the intimate free shows at the Hunting Lodge (like the one pictured above - which saw tUnE-yArDs receive a huge ovation) can be found at www.facebook.com/JagermeisterAustralia. Meanwhile, keep it Bobbysix for news on the awesomeness going on at The Famous Spiegeltent, the Sydney Festival, and, you know, just in life in general.

Words and pictures by Bobby Townsend.

Field Day ticket giveaway!

What are you doing on New Year's Day? Are you sitting in bed nursing a hangover, or carrying on the party like a sick motherfucker? The answer, if you are a friend of Bobbysix.com, is, of course, the latter. We'll be at Field Day in Sydney's Domain, watching Calvin Harris, Example and French electro-kings Justice (pictured, above) doing their thang, as well as Modestep and a bunch of shit-hot Aussies, like Flight Facilities, The Aston Shuffle and Cloud Control.

We'll see you down the front for Metronomy whose latest album we loved, Crystal Castles, Gotye, our old mate Anna Lunoe and a bunch of cool other acts too. Check the full line-up at the Field Day website. If you haven't got your tickets yet, they're on on sale now and selling fast, so don't delay, fools.

Excitingly (thanks to our friends at Fuzzy) we have A DOUBLE PASS TO GIVE AWAY! All you gots to do is email info@bobbysix.com with the heading "Field Day Giveaway" or send a tweet to @Bobbysix (it can say anything, so long as it has the hashtag #FieldDay). We'll shove all your names in a hat and pick a winner (sorry kids, it's for over 18s only). Good luck dudes, get entering! EDIT: THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED.

We need writers, photographers and a new name in exchange for free shit!

Hello, it's Bobby here.

I'm excited to say that Bobbysix.com is soon to get a major relaunch. Over the past five years, the blog has grown from something I would muck about with every now and again to a site that is updated daily, has a team of excellent writers and that gets a mega number of hits. Basically, it's become a bit too much for one person to cope with. My inbox is like a war zone. Although, admittedly, for that analogy to work you'd need to replace dead bodies with unanswered emails, which isn't quite as dramatic.

Anyway, the point of all this is to say that, in the new year, I'm teaming up with my Deputy Editor (the awarding-winning Heidi Pett) to create something brand new and really fucking cool. It'll still have the same awesome contributors as the B6, but it'll be prettier, more user-friendly and with in-depth writing from all over the globe.

But, to achieve this, we require your help. The first thing we need is a new name for the site. Thus far we have come up with nothing (my only suggestion of heidi is shit dot com didn't go down too well). So, please give us your ideas, either in the comments section below or to info@bobbysix.com. Everyone that suggests a name will go into a prize draw and we'll pick a winner at random and give them some free shit (gig tickets, CDs, that kinda thing).

Also, we're on the look out for more writers/photographers to join our fabulous team. We can't pay you at this stage, but we can send you to gigs/festivals and throw some free music at you. Plus, you might get to interview/photograph your heroes. If you think you've got what it takes to write/photograph for us, then send an email to info@bobbysix.com - maybe with an example of your work. We are especially looking for people across the UK, Northern America  (notably New York and San Francisco), Melbourne, Brisbane and all over Europe. So, yeah, if you are aspiring writer/photographer, then it's a good opportunity for you to get your work out there.

Also also, we need someone to help us design the new site. So if you're a bit of a spekky brainbox, firstly, you're our kind of dude, and secondly, help us build the damn thing and we'll ply you with booze/food/sexual favours/cuddles.

Once the new site is up, we're gonna have a massive launch party (infact, maybe even several launch parties across the globe). First though, please, for the love of God, help us think of a fucking name.

Waste Land - 2 for 1 ticket giveaway!

Once again, we're teaming up with our good mates at Hopscotch Films to give away some film tickets because, you know, we're nice like that. We've got three 2-for-1 passes to dish out for the Oscar-nominated documentary, Waste Land, which are valid at the Hoyts Cinema Paris in Sydney for the duration of the film's run (we had some for Melbourne too but they have already been snapped up by our Twitter followers - sorry).

Filmed over nearly three years, Waste Land follows renowned artist Vik Muniz as he journeys from his home base in Brooklyn to his native Brazil and the world's largest garbage dump, Jardim Gramacho, located on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. There he photographs an eclectic band of "catadores" - self-designated pickers of recyclable materials. Muniz's initial objective was to "paint" the catadores with garbage. However, his collaboration with these inspiring characters as they recreate photographic images of themselves out of garbage reveals both the dignity and despair of the catadores as they begin to re-imagine their lives. Director Lucy Walker (Countdown To Zero) and co-directors João Jardim and Karen Harley have great access to the entire process and, in the end, offer stirring evidence of the transformative power of art and the alchemy of the human spirit.

For your chance to grab one of these two-for-one passes, simply tweet us @bobbysix (including the hashtag #wasteland) or drop an email to info@bobbysix.com with the subject heading "I'm wasted." We'll shove everyone's name into a hat and send the winners' passes this week.

Faker give their new album away for free!

Today, Faker wrote an open letter to their fans. It went on a bit, so we've edited it down slightly. Here's the gist: 

We are giving our record away. For free. The point and excitement in writing and releasing Get Loved is in danger of being missed. We made Get Loved, our third record, a year ago with a view to releasing it right away. In complete candidness, we'd probably have released it in a matter of days if we could but as the machinery around delivering a record began to kick into gear, it was decided that Get Loved would not be released until June of this year. That seemed reasonable - whatever works for the record, you know? The writing, recording, releasing, promoting and touring of Be The Twilight was a wonderful experience, and it definitely felt like something we could grow from, but the band didn't make sense by the end of it, and from a band perspective, the industry didn't make sense. We found ourselves wondering - how could we have made a record so heard and celebrated in this country and not have it make an utterance anywhere else?

Nic and I wrestled with this a little and decided to make a record that was wholeheartedly about creating a future for the band. We stripped the line up back to just the two of us [...] We set up a studio in our house and made it a total labour of love. It's an adventure we're immensely proud of having taken. I guess we're still taking it.

Through its completion and the ensuing year, a revolution in management, record companies swiftly evolving, and the band itself having its own necessary evolution, all eventually lead to the unimaginable conclusion of activity and excitement around this release grinding to a virtual halt. A new release date too distant to really seem credible sprung up. January 2012? Really? We've made something we love here, and suddenly we're in danger of losing it. You love something, you set it free right? A less than well-attended tour, people unsure of who or what the band is, it swiftly became, or has become, apparent to ourselves and the powers that be, that a January release date wont work. After some careful negotiations with aforementioned working comrades (I should note here that the team at EMI have been incredibly supportive and gracious here, particularly in letting us do this remarkable thing), we as a team have figured out that we can give our record away for free. And get to work on the next one - like we were always meant to.

For those of you that have been incredibly patient and have made the effort to discover and listen to our new music, we thank you and want you to know that we're doing this for you. If we hold this record back any longer, it'll just feel like we're taking the piss, [...] For now, Faker [...] are heading back into the studio to start work on our new record. [...] We hope to share new music with as soon as possible. Hmm ... Whatever works for the record? Yes, of course. I truly believe that the thing that can most work for this record, Get Loved, is giving it away and allowing it to have some of the life it was meant to have. The record will be available for download from December 2nd from midday at www.faker.com.au.   

Please, let your friends know, and enjoy. Nathan x

Free Founds download!

Brisbane post-pop sextet, Founds, are fresh out of the studio where they have been recording their debut EP, and they really want you to hear their eclectic, intimate and hypnotic brand new single, Holograms. So much so that they are dishing it out for free, all you've got to do is clickety-click this link, where you'll find another free track too. Winner!

Described by Rave Magazine as: "Jónsi, but female and fiercer," Founds have had a lightning start to 2011, with a show at Big Day Out and support slots with Gomez growler Ben Ottewell, Oh Mercy, The Naked & Famous and Gossling. They'll certainly be a band to keep an eye on in the future, so why not score yourself some of their good stuff for free while you can?

01 Holograms by foundsau

Free I Oh You mixtape!

Here at BobbySix.com, we like to bring you heaps of new music and the occasional free download. Today though, we have outdone ourselves. We're not just pointing you in the direction of one free song, but rather an entire album of amazingness.

So, thanks to our friends at I Oh You, we bring you Coming Up, Not Down, a free compilation of songs by some of the most promising up-and-coming musical talents conceived within the borders of Australia. This collection of impressive tracks is available via the I Oh You website  for the next month or so. So get downloading right away.

In amongst 15 tracks, Coming Up, Not Down features the jangly carefree guitars of Bleeding Knees Club, NME darlings DZ Deathrays, former Getting to Know... stars Parades and dear friends of Bobbysix.com, Ghostwood. Not a bad little collection.

Here's the full tracklisting:
1. Bleeding Knees Club – Camp Out

2. Kite Club – Very Necessary

3. Dune Rats –  Rat Bags

4. Parades – Water Stories

5. Alpine – Villages

6. The Cairos – Listening Party

7. Millions – Those Girls

8. Megastick Fanfare – T is a P

9. Oscar N Martin – Chain Maille

10. Ghostwood – Cutlass

11. Papa Vs Pretty – Sgt. Suffer

12. Hunting Grounds – It Was Never Fun

13. Velociraptor – In The Springtime

14. Mitzi – India

15. DZ Deathrays – Gebbie St

To get hold of this rather excellent  mixtape, head here for your free download.
 

Follow Bobbysix.com at Facebook.

Free Grand Atlantic download

Brisbane quartet Grand Atlantic have recorded their third record, entitled Constellations, at the Seacliff Lunatic Asylum - an abandoned psychiatric hospital near Dunedin, New Zealand. Excitingly, they have made the first single to be lifted from this long-player available as a free download.

Poison To the Vine represents a refinement of the band's sound and bridges the pop sensibilities of the previous album with the more intense mood of the new record. Get amongst its rolling riffs, chiming 12-string licks and massive rhythm by downloading it here.

Grand Atlantic will be playing the following Australian shows in June:
Thursday June 9 - Edinburgh Castle, Adelaide
Friday June 10 - The Evelyn, Melbourne
Saturday June 11 - Rock Lily @ Star City, Sydney
Sunday June 12 – Woodland Bar, Brisbane

WIN WIN WIN! Tickets to We Had Parties on Easter Sunday!

Easter. It's the celebration of when, all those years ago, Jesus spent a long weekend eating loads of chocolate with the Easter Bunny. That's right isn't it? Wait... what? Oh. Okay, so we're not that hot on religion here at BobbySix Towers. But what we are good at is pointing you in the direction of awesome times. And the times do not come much more awesome than what is in store for the Sydneysiders amongst you at The Gaelic on Easter Sunday (24th April).

With a ‘Rumble In The Jungle’ theme, the fifth annual We Had Parties shindig is set to pit the best Sydney club nights against each other, with DJs from LAST NIGHT (aka Purple Sneakers), MUM, GIRL THING, TEEN SPIRIT, F.R.I.E.N.D/s, GHETTO BLASTER and P*A*S*H battling across two rooms.

It's going to be a mental night, and the best thing is that you have the chance to head along FOR FREE, courtesy of BobbySix.com as we have TWO DOUBLE PASSES TO GIVE AWAY. So, for your chance to gain complimentary entry for yourself and a mate to the sickest party of the year, read on...


UPDATE: Sadly this competition is now closed and the winners have been informed. You can stil buy tickets though for the tiny price of $20+bf here. Meanwhile, keep right up to date with future giveaways by Liking my Facebook page and/or following me on Twitter.

Kitty, Daisy & Lewis to play FREE Sydney Festival show!

 

The Sydney Festival is amazing, bringing together some of the finest and most diverse music, theatre and art for three weeks in the Australian summer. In addition to this, the first night is a completely FREE extravaganza across a number of locations in the heart of the CBD. You can't ask for better value than that. The exciting news is that it's this Saturday.

Because it is 1. Free and 2. Amazing, The Sydney Festival First Night can be something of a shit fight, as the whole city seems to turn out for it. Still, if you're prepared to battle your way through the crowds, then there is some excellent entertainment awaiting you. None more so than the unbelievably brilliant Kitty, Daisy & Lewis, who will have Hyde Park a-rockin' and a-rollin' at 5.40pm. We are huge fans of the London-based siblings. Their performance at Manning Bar was not only our favourite gig of 2009, but one of our favourite gigs of all time. It turns out that they rather like BobbySix.com too (check out the testimonials further down the page). So our simple advice to you is, DO NOT MISS THIS SHOW.

Here is a short clip we filmed of that awesome gig at Manning Bar:

Once you've danced your legs off to these guys, there is loads of other stuff to see and do, most notably Arrested Development at Martin Place. Have fun!

Words by Rob Townsend