Midnight Juggernauts Set To Slay St Kilda

Midnight Juggernauts are sparkly chaps
Source: HeraldSun

Tally Ho Ho Ho
Last week’s Rock City Australian Singles of the Year tallied up 10 but omitted a few (Christmas) crackers from earlier in 2013. Such is life.

We are romanced by the here and now and often forget the struggle and triumph of 10 minutes ago.
Seeing as the Midnight Juggernauts are gonna king-hit The Prince of Wales on New Year’s Eve with their Siberia Records Party let’s get synergetic and highlight five forgotten gems who will all be present ’n’ correct on Tuesday.
1. Ballad Of The War Machine / Memorium — Midnight Juggernauts While fickle Australian audiences seemed to shrug at the ’Juggies third album, The Uncanny Valley, they continued to pack in big crowds overseas. Memorium in particular throws you in a sidecar that busts down the doors of a Sicilian disco and shouts at the DJ: “If you don’t play the song about cemeteries and memories then the kid gets it!”
2. Girl I Want — Fascinator
Johnny Mackay did something completely different to Children Collide, blasting us with Mongolian horns, sexy keys and more swooping than a leafy street in September.
3. Tomita’s Basement — Roland Tings
Tings leaves us in an 808 state. He made an indelible impression overseas with his Modcast, touring, requisite Berlin recording sessions and this nifty little number with clammy drumfills and an undulating aciiiid excursion.
4. Blue — Naysayer and Gilsun (Eliphino remix) London producer du-jury’s-out at least acquitted himself very nicely here, taking the wide-screen Wickermen’s rather chilled cut and reminding us that 444 is The Number of the Beat.
5. Love Delay — Kirin J Callinan And just cos he’s Siberia Records alumnus, Callinan proved he can crank out a faux-anguished OZ Rock FM classic(k) as easy as ordering a meat-pie with dead horse, extra gristle, thanks cobbahhhh.
Catch all of them, minus Callinan, plus North East Party House, John Safran as DJ Dollywood, Nile Delta and Double Threat this Tuesday.

Here’s a quick interview with Vincent Vendetta ahead of the show, yo. Win tix if you’re quix stix!

1. Will you be covering Jukebox in Siberia?
"Probably not. If we were to cover a Skyhooks tune it would probably be Horror Movie. Shirl’s Neighbourhood had a good theme tune too I suppose."

2. Give me a line about each artist you have playing and why you chose them?
"All the acts are pretty great. Northeast Party House put on a special set recently at Melbourne Music Week  at the I Oh You flagstaff station party. Naysayer & Gilsun always do grand things. Roland Tings had a killer set at Meredith this month too. Nile Delta is a masterful mastermind of music. I could go on but I’ll save it for later."

3. Will John Safran be doing a back to back set with Father Bob?
"I hope so but probably not. Though Father Bob is invited of course. He’s now quite the movie star. In Bob We Trust is a pretty great film. John Safran will DJ whatever he wants. Perhaps some Southern boogie, or perhaps not. We’ll see."

4. Are you expecting Father Bob and his entourage to drink all your rider?
"No. I’m expecting our rider to be drunk by some random punter sneaking back stage."

5. How the hell are Naysayer and Gilsun going to keep themselves amused without visuals?
"They’ll be occupied with enough on their plate already. There will be different visuals throughout the night though, and New Years Eve usually has an over abundance of stimulation as is. Perhaps people could spend the evening contemplating whether the earth will end the next day. Who know what the prophecies will say?"

6. Top Three gigs for Le ‘Juggies in 2013 and why?
"We had a Memorable show in Sydney this year with a couple’s marriage proposal on stage. They met each other at a Midnight Juggernauts gig in London a few years back, so it was cool that they took the opportunity at our gig to take that next step. Also playing Calvi on the Rocks in Corsica was fun, basically because it meant a Mediterranean holiday. I also enjoyed South America this year, particularly this show we played in Santiago as they used a random picture of my cat as their promotional poster."

7. Were you at all disappointed with how The Uncanny Valley was received in Australia considering how overseas audiences love you so much?
"Well I never expect our music to hit the top of the charts. We’ve always wanted to have the freedom to take our own paths, rather than follow watered-down popular genres. Perhaps we make it hard on ourselves sometimes, to twist things in strange directions but we’re just happy to have this channel of creative output. We’ll never play Etihad Stadium but it’s cool that at least a few people out there will connect with it."

8. Any corny New Years Resolutions you’re aiming to uphold?
"No Sleep Til Brooklyn? I’ve been spending a lot of time exploring Brooklyn actually. That’s the Brooklyn in the Western suburbs of Melbourne. There’s some interesting industrial yards there which are kind of fun to explore."

9. How will you decorate the Prince Bandroom?
"A giant bubble Machine! There will be none. Many colours will be utilized as the colour palette for the evening. Some dark reds, perhaps some velvet purples, and a few surprises."

10. How are ticket sales going?
"Our Booker told us that it sold out and was going to be shifted to the Tennis Centre, but turns out it was misinformation. So tickets still on sale. I’ll update you regarding this matter on December 31st."

Tweet JUKEBOX IN SIBERIA to @joeylightbulb for your chance to win one of two double passes and you’ll be notified straight away if it’s Yay or Nein.

Prince Bandroom, 29 Fitzroy St, St Kilda. Tue, 9pm. $ 38.80, oztix.com.au

www.news.com.au/entertainment/music