Liam Finn @ The Northcote Social Club

Diminutive Liam Finn, with his engaging, affable manner, fisherman’s beard and leprechaun-like appearance, is well suited to the low stage and informality of the Northcote Social Club on a Thursday night. There are lots of shout-outs to the audience, and good-natured banter and horsing about with fellow rock progeny Eliza Jane “EJ” Barnes.

Musically though, it’s straight down to business. Finn is a maestro who manages to be every member of the band rolled into one dynamic if slightly crazed operator, peering intensely over that beard and darting about to twiddle knobs and dodge the obstacle course of wires and microphones around him. And there is something endearing about those pristine white ‘dad’ trainers tapping furiously on the effects peddles.

Finn has a genial suck-it-and-see approach to the hapless instruments at his command, which he mercilessly thrashes, flogs, plucks and thrusts. His unconventional studio style – he prefers to record in analogue and is his own producer – translates well to the stage, though at times it’s easy to feel like an observer of some bizarre onstage experiment.

He moves from lead guitar – which he loops so that he can race off and thrash the shit out of the drum-kit – to theramin, which he wields like a possessed Brian Wilson, back to the drums, all the while holding sublime vocals together with partner-in-crime, EJ. The two have a personal chemistry which translates well to their musical interactions, and on songs like ‘Second Chance,’ their vocals meld beautifully above Finn’s manic instrumental adventures.

With the release of his debut album I’ll Be Lightning, Liam Finn emerges as a ridiculously talented individual who deserves to be measured and reviewed without reference to the Finn family twinkle in his eye – or at times in his voice – but that is a near impossible task for any reviewer. He takes the ‘play Six Months In A Leaky Boat’ heckles with good humour, and I suspect he won’t be judged by those standards for very long – he’s another kettle of fish entirely.

 Appeared in PBSfm online magazine.

The Brunettes @ The Northcote Social Club

Peddling their shiny new sub-pop release, Structure and Cosmetics, The Brunettes hit the Northcote Social Club with the distinct glow – and the barest traces of road-weariness – of a band starting to make an international impact.

Jonathan Bree and Heather Mansfield are the photogenic core of the band – the ‘structure’ and the ‘cosmetics’, if you’ll forgive the cheap shot. Live, the stylish duo are bolstered by six other musicians on a slightly crowded stage – including a guy who occasionally races over to cover the keyboards while Heather is busy on the harmonica, the xylophone or the oboe, as she often is. It’s chaotic, but it works. In contrast to their studio sound, the band tonight has a collective, bombastic presence similar to The Go! Team or Architecture in Helsinki.

The heady, impossibly upbeat Archies aesthetic – promoted by the statuesque Heather in her very Vegas-entertainer-circa-1968 trumpet-sleeved white shift, in league with that very handy horn section – is balanced by Jonathan’s angular guitar shapes, moody presence and nasal Television inspired vocals.

The Brunettes’ sound is, loosely speaking, 1960s pop meets 1980s production values. When I described the Brunettes to a friend thus he said “Oh, like the B52s?”… Well, yes… and no. While there are a couple of self-consciously twee moments, like when the entire band is introduced with the help of a Sesame Street rhyming chant, not to mention some verge-of-daggy YMCA-style arm movements during the ironically-titled Brunettes Against Bubblegum Youth; there is enough depth to rescue them from going the way of the B52s and launching into novelty orbit.

There are some truly lovely girl- group harmonies and arrangements, and songs like the current album’s title track have a depth and majesty to them that belie the bubblegum front. Who knew there was optimistic pop of this calibre still left to be made? Well, perhaps last year’s tour-mates and sub-pop alumni The Shins. There’s certainly a shared musical exuberance there.

Appeared in PBSfm online magazine.

Report blames poor plumbing for UK farm misery

An investigation into the causes of the recent UK foot and mouth outbreak, which resulted in the slaughter of at least 60 cattle, yields the lesson that biosecurity and high-grade plumbing go hand in hand.

Six years ago a foot and mouth epidemic in the UK crippled farms across the country, costing the economy an estimated £8.5 billion (US$17.3 billion).

The clean-up was extensive and heartbreaking for farmers, requiring the slaughter of between 6.5 million and 10 million animals. The long-term effect was an incalculable loss of trade and confidence in the UK farming community.

This year, with farmers still haunted by the 2001 outbreak, the disease was again detected in cattle at several farms in Surrey, south-west of London. The government immediately acted to isolate the disease with a ban on the movement of livestock across the country – at a time when farmers were likely to be transporting animals in preparation for autumn and winter conditions.

National Farmers Union spokesman Anthony Gibson told the BBC the new outbreak would have severe financial implications.

“The longer we keep getting these outbreaks, the longer it will take to get the export ban lifted. And that’s costing at least £2 million (US$4 million) a day. Since the foot and mouth outbreak was confirmed in August, we think the total cost to the farming industry is about £250 million (US$510 million). That’s in terms of lost exports and lower meat prices.”

A recent report by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) was able to isolate the source of the outbreak and investigate likely causes. Poor plumbing installations at the nearby research facility Pirbright may have contributed, and the occupants of the facility were potentially in breach of strict biosecurity Standards.

The report was triggered when the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) established that the foot and mouth virus that infected the cattle in Surrey was not naturally found in the environment. It was a laboratory strain and was not known to be in circulation anywhere else in the world.

This was the strain being researched at Pirbright by three occupants of the facility at the time – a government agency and two private companies.

The report investigated various ways the disease could have leaked from Pirbright, including airborne release, human movement, solid waste removal and liquid waste disposal. It found no evidence to suggest the disease was leaked from the site into the atmosphere or through solid waste disposal, as the appropriate bio-control systems were in place. But liquid waste disposal was a different matter.

Most liquid waste from the facility passed through two chemical effluent inactivation treatment processes on site before joining the public sewer. However, the report notes that wastewater from human showers was not treated before it entered the site drainage system. It was therefore possible for small quantities of live virus to enter the plumbing from workers.

It was also possible that one on-site operator, which was testing the virus in much higher volumes than the other two, flushed waste containing the virus into the effluent sump and this passed into the drainage system. Waste in the drainage system was routinely given a final effluent treatment before release into the public sewer, and these incidents in isolation were not considered to be in breach of biosecurity regulations.

However, at some stage in the drainage process before the second and final treatment phase (where caustic soda should have neutralised any live viruses), infected wastewater leaked out of the pipework, contaminating the surrounding soil. In other words, the report concludes, the site’s plumbing network failed to contain the virus.

In its assessment of the condition of the ageing drainage system, the report noted weaknesses in the containment standard of effluent drains across the Pirbright site. These included displaced joints, cracks, debris build-up and tree root ingress.

Unsealed manholes were also investigated, and the report concluded it was very likely that a poorly fitted and neglected manhole, with gaps around the edges, had allowed virus-laden effluent to escape and infect surrounding soil during a period of particularly heavy flooding.

An independent review presented to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Chief Veterinary Officer concurred with the report, adding there had been concern for several years about the maintenance of plumbing and drainage on site, which seemed not to have had regular inspections. No money was made available for a replacement system.(1)

The report considered record-keeping, maintenance and inspection regimes at Pirbright to be inadequate for a biosecurity-critical facility. One of the operators was found to be using bowsers and hoses in the intermediate site effluent drains to clear blockages without a standard operating procedure, which was a breach of biosecurity even though it was unlikely that the practice caused the spread of the virus in this instance.

So how did the virus reach the farm from the Pirbright facility about 2½ miles (4km) away? At the time, roadworks were being done in the vicinity. Four 32-tonne trucks removed soil from an on-site trench and transported it along a route that included a lane close to the first infected farm and known to be used by the farmer and visitors. This coincided with a period of heavy flooding of the Pirbright site and roads in the area.

This movement took place about the time of the initial exposure of cows to the foot and mouth virus.

The report recommended that the drainage system at the facility be improved to meet biosecurity containment standards, and that better record-keeping, monitoring regimes and plumbing maintenance procedures be enforced.

Robert Burgon is World Plumbing Council deputy chairman, and director of the Scottish and Northern Ireland Plumbing Employers Federation.

“Attention needs to be drawn not only to the effects of this devastating disease but to the cause in this instance,” he says.

“This incident should provide a reminder that properly installed, well-maintained plumbing is vital to public health and good biosecurity.

“The UK is the poor relation of other developed countries when it comes to plumbing Standards and regulations. There are two issues – certification of those who install the systems, and regulations governing maintenance.

“Anyone can install a drainage system here. This makes us susceptible to poor plumbing practice, and it’s worrying that this applies to high- risk facilities like hospitals and research centres.

“The situation at Pirbright seems to have been caused by neglect of the drainage system, and it might have been avoided had regular maintenance and record-keeping procedures been in place.

“Although it is sad that it takes serious bad news to highlight the importance of good, well-maintained plumbing systems, the reality is that stories like the spread of SARS in Hong Kong and now the apparent breaches of biosecurity at Pirbright in England have raised public awareness of the consequences of badly installed or neglected plumbing.

“We hope there will be a review of plumbing practices in the UK.

“The World Plumbing Council’s mission includes raising awareness of the health and environmental roles of the plumbing industry – issues that are often taken for granted.
“It seems inadequate attention to plumbing maintenance in this episode may have been a factor in the spread of a virus from what should have been a secure testing facility. And it proves that poor plumbing can also affect economies.

“We must all hope the lessons of such events lead to a greater understanding that good plumbing and maintenance are important in every aspect of society.”

1. Independent Review of the safety of UK facilities handling foot and mouth disease virus, chaired by Professor Brian G. Spratt, 31 August 2007, page 9.

Appeared in the online and print editions of World Plumbing Review.

The Roys – Holus Bolus (In-Fidelity Records)

The Roys are a self-confessed, good old fashioned Aussie pub rock band. In pretentious indie circles there was a time when an admission like this would have made them pariahs. Several years of dirty rock n’ roll later and balls-out rock, with irony surgically (and painfully) removed, it’s not only acceptable, but actively feted by coolsie types – not that the Roys would care about what they think.

Debut long player Holus Bolus announces its unashamedly country roots with opener ‘Body Double’, replete with rock vocals hollered and yodelled over 12 bar blues and a wailing guitar. Elsewhere on the album, brothers Simon and Felix Juliff venture into boisterous, commercial-radio-friendly ZZ Top terrain. ‘Sexy Man’ is music to pick a bar-room brawl to, or advertise a car stereo – the lads do a good line in what you can only hope is ironic sleaze-swagger, complete with a group of howlin’ mamas on backing vocals. Then there are the boot-scootin’, hootenanny misfires such as ‘Clover’ and the catchy, but tragic ‘Miles.’

Thankfully, occasionally the mood shifts to an entirely more satisfying alt-country sound, which traces its lineage from Young and Parsons through to Jeff Tweedy. It’s a much better look than the knee-slapping, Republican Convention, rodeo soundtrack of the faster numbers, and proves there’s some serious song-writing talent hidden beneath the bluster and busy fretwork.

Be this as it may, The Roys do retain the taint of the vaguely daggy pub (or worse, party) band for hire – you know, the sort who will cheerfully knock out good-natured, suspiciously well-rehearsed covers of ‘My Angel is a Covergirl’ and ‘The Joker’ before the punters can say “a VB stubbie, mate” over at the bar. Make of that what you will – but there’s no shame in enthusiastic, heartfelt rock n roll, with a heavy country twang, if that’s what you’re after. And there’s plenty of that on display here.

Appeared in PBSfm online magazine.

Waterdale Originals Plays 07

Waterdale Originals Plays 07
Presented by: SPX Waterdale Players Inc.
Venue: Banyule Theatre, Heidelberg
Reviewer: Susanna Nelson
Date Reviewed: 6th October, 2007

Waterdale Originals was a strikingly simple idea which started with two young actor writers, Shane Sanfilippo and Luis Riviera, assembling a group of their peers to write and perform in a series of eight short original plays. With backing from the Foundation for Young Australians and BOObook Theatre, the result is an engaging mix of themes and concerns – the plays range from the playfully abstract to the highly personal.

There is an impressive depth and maturity to the script writing and an honesty often lacking in plays written by more experienced professionals. Most of the writers also have roles in their pieces and are responsible for the show’s production, so the project is a true ensemble effort and a valuable showcase of the talents of the group.

The evening plays out as a series of conversations – between teacher and pupil, bartender and barfly, psychic and client. Some of the pieces explore classic teenage dilemnas – for example, the student on the bus in love with the unattainable girl at the back – while others make forays into surrealism and the satire of talk shows and office politics. The sets are simple and the focus is clearly on the dialogue rather than the spectacle of the performance. As with most community theatre, there was probably also a shoestring budget to consider.

First up is Bus, set on the morning bus trip to school, where a young lovelorn man pines after a vacuous, unpleasant girl who ignores his many advances. His best friend, a girl, warns him against this folly, but in the true spirit of the young romantic he refuses to listen. It’s a simple scenario, but it is realised with humour and energy by its cast and writer Shane Sanfilippo, who clearly has an ear for the cadences of youthful longing.

Guidance, by Martin Dunlop, cleverly tackles a young man’s attempt to confront his sexuality at school. The conversation which evolves between the student and his alcoholic teacher (played for laughs by the writer himself) takes in dark humour and, in the words of one of the characters, ‘self indulgent monologues’, and ends with a lobotomy for the young man, which his teacher assures him will cure him of his homosexuality, and, as a side benefit, allow him to ‘enjoy commercial radio’ and ‘watching cricket for hours’. It’s cleverly observed and much more subtle than it sounds. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a niche for Dunlop in comedy writing.

Session One conveys the high drama and unintentional humour of television psychics and talk shows. Writers Romina Carfi and Bianca Molini spar as a Paris Hiltonesque blonde and her hapless beau. Both women do a fine job of creating unease and combine a sense of the sinister with the humour of the familiar.

Next up are the two male co-workers who have fallen asleep on the job in Concept A. We watch as they scramble for a concept to present at an upcoming meeting. Writer Mark Petrolo seems to have a firm grip on the spin and hypocrisy of the business world, and the play is mature and very funny.

Georgia Antonello plays a barfly in her piece Barry’s, about a bar owner who spends his whole life in his self-named bar, boring and charming the regulars in equal measure. The titular character certainly seems to draw his identity from his life as a bartender – but is his name really Barry?

Spilt Coffee, penned by Shane Sanfilippo and Angie Bedford, depicts two friends reliving the highs and lows of their friendship as they prepare for a radio competition trip to Bali. The piece is a light moment before the dark finale, Family, which explores grief and domestic violence with powerful performances from three leads, Lonni Allan, Romina Carfi and Greta Georgiou, dressed in stark black outfits on a minimalist set. The play commences with the characters chanting their lines as if in Greek chorus, and as the layers of the story are peeled back, we understand the context of their words. It’s clever, non-linear writing, and a complete absence of props allows us to concentrate on raw, believable performances – with a particularly impressive depiction of barely restrained contempt from Carfi.

All the plays are solid, but it is perhaps those which work outside the bounds of conventional storytelling which are the most powerful and effective, and these seem to work with minimal (or no) reliance on music, props, costumes or complicated lighting.

The cast does an admirable job of realising their own visions, and the performances are consistent and solid. Ultimately though, the night is about young playwriting talent, and I enjoyed being taken on a journey into the psyche of these young writers immensely.

Susanna is a trades journalist by day and a culture vulture and reviewer of just about anything by night. Since her days as a cinema student she has had two passions – writing and singing. Writing pays the bills, but if she were ever offered the opportunity to tread the boards in a Broadway musical, she’d turf out her Mac in an instant.

Appeared on Theatre People website.