Wasp Summer Australian Tour Gallery Part 2

Hallo Dearhearts,

Here is part 2 of Wasp Summer’s Australian Tour gallery, spanning Melbourne to Brisbane to Meredith Music Festival. In these photos, I had a magic time with the following amazing people: Damian, SJ, Ari, Cam, Tams, Sally, Chez, Naz, Phil, Nicho, Bek, Patrick and Lisa. x

I needed my blanket-jacket for a 2am gig in the Botanic Gardens.

Got some quality rolling on the floor time in with this chunky little man and his amazing Mum.

Sally Browne wrote a feature on me for the Sunday Courier Mail that was much more extensive than I realised.

Adventures in poetry at the Brisbane Powerhouse watching Scotty Wings’ amazing Icarus Falling.

For music nerds.

Cool, misty Summer’s Day outside Woodford, QLD

On the front of a boarded up bakery.

Magnolia at a Sunshine Coast Hinterland winery.

Roadtripping with dear friend to MMF

Riding the Nick Cave Rockinghorse at Meredith Music Festival

Naz & Phil in the legendary arch of love.

Admiring the new windfarm behind Bush Camp at MMF

My dream car

Some of the accommodation options at MMF

This was the ‘LIttle House on the Prius’, complete with letterbox

Photo by Bek Duke. After last night cocktails, Bek, Nicho, Lisa and I made a pilgrimage to Amplett Lane to see one of my heroines.

Wasp Summer Australian Tour Gallery Part 1

Sam with Sean M. Whelan and The Mime Set in Melbourne

Found in our hotel room in Canberra

Aftermath of the Canberra show

Poster from the Canberra Sean M. Whelan and The Mime Set show at Hotel Hotel

Crowd at the Melbourne Going Down Swinging show at Mission to Seamen

Two of Australia’s most controversial politicians reuniting at our after-show drinks in Canberra

The band (and friend)

The kind of packing that goes into touring a full band in Australia

Sean with Clive Palmer, one of Australia’s most controversial politicans

Megan Spencer’s photo of me playing solo in Castlemaine

Serenity, Bek and I at the Age Victorian Music Awards

Me in Castlemaine by Megan Spencer

Tour packing down to a fine art

First Sean M. Whelan and The Mime Set rehearsal in six years

Tim, Kirrily and me. Old friends in Castlemaine.

Somewhere in Australia

The Bridge, Castlemaine

Me by Megan Spencer

Sean and I at the Mission to Seamen, Melbourne

Me in Castlemaine feeling it

Me at the Yarra Lounge on Day 4 of the tour

Saying something controversial in Castlemaine, by Megan Spencer

Wasp Summer Australian Shows 2014

Earlier this year, I got an email out of the blue from Geoff, the Editor of Going Down Swinging, the long-running and innovative Australian journal of poetry, writing, graphic novels and art.

He requested that, for one night, we reform Sean M. Whelan and The Mime Set, the 2005-2008 collaboration between my former post-rock band and one of Australia’s best spoken word performers. They had funding to fly me back to Melbourne from Berlin for the show. I actually cried.

So, Sean M. Whelan and The Mime Set will perform their One Night Wonder on Friday 28 November, 2014 at the Mission To Seafarers Chapel in Docklands, Melbourne. Click here for tickets. We’ve also picked up a Canberra show on Sunday 30 November, for the Bloody Lips night held at New Acton.

Sean M. Whelan & The Mime Set
Friday 28. November – Mission to Seafarers, Melbourne
Saturday 29. November – Bloody Lips @ New Acton, Canberra

And while I’m in the country, why not show people what Wasp Summer’s been working on in Berlin? So I’m organising solo Wasp Summer gigs in Victoria and Queensland. Here are the confirmed dates.

Wasp Summer
Thursday 20. November – The Old Bar, Fitzroy, Melbourne
Friday 21. November – The Eastern, Ballarat
Saturday 22. November – The Bridge, Castlemaine
Friday 5. December – Couplet @ Brisbane Square Library, Brisbane
Wednesday 10 December – Skukum Lounge, Brisbane

Album review by Slapped For The Very First Time

Slapped For The Very First Time posted an unexpected and really lovely and review of the first Wasp Summer record, Close As A Slow Dance. Thank you, Espen. “…there is a voice – both literally and musically – shining through that seems capable of winning you over with an even more distinct identity of its own come the next release.”

http://slappedfortheveryfirsttime.blogspot.no/2014/10/06102014-wasp-summer-close-as-slow-dance.html

Last Berlin shows for 2014

Wasp Summer has three gigs Berlin gigs coming up in October and November, the last before the Wasp Summer Australian shows.

Sunday 19 October at 14:00, Sam is doing a solo show at Donau 115‘s Donaufrühstück, If you’re Sunday Mornin’ Coming Down, this concert series presented by Cow Hearts and curated by the amazing Emperor X is for you.

Friday 31 October at 21:00, Sam and Simon are playing a Wasp Summer duo Halloween special at Moabit’s best Musik Lokal, Kallasch &.

Thursday 6 November at 21:00, Wasp Summer present their first full-band show with new drummer Ben Johnson (that’s him on the right above ^^) in a live recording at Culture Container.

This excellent band photo, in Ben’s rehearsal space, was taken by Kate Seabrook Photographer.

Running Up That Hill

How is your Winter/Summer progressing? All is well in the Wasp Summer camp. We are working towards recording our second album, tentatively entitled Mitropa. I have to write a couple more songs but the ten we have are sounding really strong. You can hear four demos here.

Running Up That Hill compilation

compilation to fund reproductive rights organisations in the USA

Wasp Summer covered a Kate Bush B-side called Under The Ivy for a wonderful compilation called Running Up That Hill: Kate Bush Covers for Reproductive Rights that was launched on Bandcamp on February 4, 2014.

It is as it says on the box and sales support US-based pro-choice organisations, most located in politically conservative US states where women’s rights have been threatened. If you buy songs or the whole compilation from Bandcamp, you support the printing of download cards that are given free to the selected organisations who can then sell them to directly raise funds.

Artists including Nona Invie from Dark Dark Dark and Karl Blau have contributed tracks. Kate Bush (via her manager) has given her blessing.

Upcoming Gigs

We have a bunch of Berlin shows coming up over starting on February 20. Come along and hear the new songs. More news about European Summer tours, the single/album launch dates and other shows soon.

Wasp Summer
w/ Ryan O’Reilly (UK) + Redvers (UK)
Donnerstag 20. Februar
Marie Antoinette
Bogen 47, Holzmarktstr.15-18
10179 Berlin-Kreuzberg
20:00. 5€
Fb Event

Wasp Summer
w/ The Fever (US)
Freitag 21. März
Madam Claude
Lübbener Straße 19
10997 Berlin-Kreuzberg
21:00. 3-7€

Wasp Summer
Freitag 11. April
w/ guests
Tiefgrund
Laskerstraße 5
10245 Berlin-Friedrichshain
(nr. About.Blank/Ostbhf)
21:00. 3-7€

Wasp Summer (duo)
w/ Remarkable Shipwrecks + Eamon McGrath
Freitag 2. Mai
Ex-LG Security
Donaustr. 115
12043 Berlin-Neukölln
20:30. By donation.

Cheers,
Sam Wasp Summer

Lists: 2013 in Musical Review (Revue?)

Musically, 2013 has been about writing towards a new Wasp Summer album (which we’re thinking of calling Mitropa – listen to some demo tracks)  and booking shows for amazing acts through Sofa Salon and A Headful of Bees. 2014 will definitely be about recording and touring and much, much less about booking for other people.

In regards to concerts, it was a good year. I’ve seen great, moving small-scale shows this year. Look these artists up: Lindsay Phillips, Gillian Grassie, Roland Satterwhite, Elyas Khan, Ben Salter, Liz Stringer, Pinto, Kini Mod, PHIA, Bernhard Eder and Vincent Long, amongst others.

I saw great club, arena or festival shows from Oneida, The Re-Mains, The Knife, Brandt Brauer Frick, Hans Unstern, Andromeda Mega Express Orchestra, Mudhoney and Everything Everything.

So to my list of my favourite songs of 2013, in no particular order, plus five songs that found their home in my head in 2013:
Dancing Suns – Tarnished
Ben Salter – The Prophetess
Dead Sentries – Nowhere is Home
Elyas Khan – Bells
Everything Everything – Cough Cough
FKA Twigs – Papi Pacify
Jimmy Tait – All My Friends
Lindsay Phillips – The Crossing
Neko Case – Where Did I Leave That Fire?
PHIA – Do You Ever?

Ainslie Wills – Fighting Kind
Brandt Brauer Frick – Skiffle It Up
HAIM  – Forever
Kat Frankie – Please Don’t Give Me What I Want
Jens Friebe – Neues Gesicht

Happy listening and a Guten Rutsch.

Cheers,
Samantha

Mitropa Mini-Tour EP Giveaway

To celebrate the two shows Wasp Summer is playing in Bratislava and Budapest, we are giving away our four new demos for free download as the Mitropa EP. You can download them from Soundcloud.

We are looking forward to the food, the hat shopping, the overnight trains, the new friends, the new cities, the new clubs and bars, the old towns, the spas and saunas and the beer. For both shows, Wasp Summer is playing as a duo. Here are the details.

October 23 – British Rock Stars, Nám. 1. mája 14, Bratislava Slovakia w/ Silverspoon and Hell’s Gang 20:00. 3€.
Facebook Event. Couchsurfing Event.

October 24 – Gólya, Bókay János utca 34., Budapest, Hungary. 20:00. Entry by donation.
Facebook Event. Couchsurfing Event.

Fantasy Mashup – Gosia Winter vs. Elyas Khan

I’ve been listening to Elyas Khan’s new single Bells A LOT lately. When I replay it in my mental radio, I always hear it merge into the playground chanting section from Gosia Winter’s ‘Silver Lining’ off her excellent Lullabies album.

It’s nice to have two different Berlin circles mashing in my head.

——-

Fantasy Mashup – Ainslie Wills vs Alison Moyet

After a weekend sharing various sped up, slowed down and mashed up tracks with friends, I’ve decided to revive my fantasy mashup idea and post some of the mashups that happen on my mental radio.

These two songs always go together in my head at the point in the long bridge where Ainslie Wills sings “ooh my my my-y. If you are the fighting kiiiiiiiiind” and I hear the keyboard line from the end of Alison Moyet’s Love Resurrection into the final chorus.