Blog — Page 255 of 285

An evening with Edward Snowden

Big Top, Luna Park

Sydney, Australia

May 28, 2016

Moral ambiguity.

Conflicting values.

The need to keep people safe versus concerns about privacy.

The boundaries of law.

The transparent citizen.

What constitutes a “good citizen”?

Edward Snowden.

Did his act of civil disobedience do his nation a service or is he a traitor?

Does a good justification for what is considered a crime make it just?

What constitutes a crime?

Herbert Hoover, the 31st President of the United States said that there are only two occasions when Americans respect privacy: prayer and fishing.

Snowden’s act of whistleblowing revealed that ordinary citizens, not just Americans, are being snooped on through the collection of metadata from telecommunication companies in an Orwellian fashion.

Are you aware of how much information you willingly share by simply using your mobile phone and the internet?

Does it surprise you that the information you divulge by using these service is being collected and retained?

Privacy, individualism, and national security.

We are being watched.

After serving as a high-level technology and cyber security specialist across US government agencies, rising through the ranks and gaining clearance levels and AAA access, Snowden became a hero to all who value governmental transparency and a traitor in the eyes of others as he revealed to the world that the National Security Agency (NSA) was seizing private records from billions of everyday civilians.

He was made a public enemy, his passport was revoked and he was forced to seek political asylum. Edward Snowden has been living in exile for the last three years. From his exile in Russia, Snowden appeared live via a video link to be interviewed by Julian Morrow, best known for being a member of the Australia satirical comedy group The Chaser, and given opportunity to explain why and how he did what he did.

Advocating intellectual discussion and striving to challenge the status quo, the organizer of “An evening with Edward Snowden” Think Inc. is a young, Australia-based initiative dedicated to “reinvigorating the excitement of rational discourse in daily conversation.” Think Inc sees their mission in amplifying the dialogue between inquisitive members of the public and those making significant strides in their academic and professional scientific fields through a series of lectures and Q&A sessions.

Snowden is first and foremost a gifted techie.

A personable techie with the ability to communicate complex ideas with ease to a broad audience. In conversation he proves to be an eloquent individual with a composed and self-assured manner who uses rational, factual arguments that are well thought out.

He has become a seasoned professional when it comes to dealing with media, answering curveball questions with poise and not unlike during previous public appearances, he was well prepared and used the evidence of his accusers to diffuse their bullets and make his points.

Snowden is fairly skeptical of the argument used by governments around the world that mass surveillance programs are necessary to prevent terrorist attacks, which is used by the NSA as a justification of their practices. While that might be considered a noble cause, Snowden makes the case that the information gathered on individuals and groups by spying on journalists, governments, etc., is mostly used for political and diplomatic advantages and that there is no hard evidence that mass surveillance has lead to the prevention of terrorist attacks.

Snowden put emphasis on the fact that privacy is essentially the right to self and how surveillance programs affect the individual. He has a problem with a quote that is often attributed to Joseph Goebbels (“You have nothing to hide if you have nothing to fear”) because of the underlying assumption that privacy is about hiding bad things.

By accepting this assumption, privacy is myopically viewed as a form of secrecy and following this logic, Snowden finds that it would equate someone not caring about free speech because one has nothing to say.

Over the last three years Snowden has accomplished half his mission:

His deeds and event sparked debate and discussions on a global scale and with attendants of the event carrying on long after Snowden had signed off – specifically regarding the point that Snowden made regarding Australia: In his view intelligence services down under are much more unrestrained than the ones in the new world.

If Snowden’s action will eventually lead to reforms remains to be seen.

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Photo by KAVV

This is Hip Hop Festival

Hordern Pavilion

Sydney, Australia

May 27, 2016

Hot tub hip-hop time machine:

Featuring a nostalgic ‘90s focused line-up with all protagonists having had a substantial impact on all facets of American hip-hop culture throughout the years, the Australian mini-festival “This is Hip Hop” offered the opportunity to witness Queensbridge’s infamous Mobb Deep, West Coast stalwart DJ Quik, and Cleveland’s Bone, Thugs & Harmony, the latter of which were to perform their seminal album E. 1999 Eternal in its entirety.

DJ Quik set the tone of the evening, which turned out to be more of a celebratory, intimate bloc-party one than what the sterile environment of the airport hangar like Hordern Pavilion usually provides. Originally constructed to meet the increasing demands for exhibition space at Sydney’s Royal Easter Show, the Hordern is basically a big hall.

Quik’s Greatest Hits: Live at the House of Blues album is testament to the qualities of his live performances and his ability to fill even the most soulless of venues with a soulful vibe: West Coast shows with his well-oiled backing band have become a fixture in recent years and it is not uncommon for his shows to culminate in funk and soul jam sessions featuring celebrity guests.

Halfway across the world he was backed by his DJ in a more stripped down incarnation, which still proved to be enough of a funkafied backup. With soulful hooks aplenty and at times jazz-fusion grooves, DJ Quik’s songwriting skills manage to make one momentarily forget the formula most rap songs are structured in.

While DJ Quik and comrades sampled P-Funk tunes in the 90ies and pioneered G-Funk on the West Coast by incorporating multi-layered slow hypnotic grooves, deep bass, background female vocals, and high-pitched portamento saw wave synthesizer leads, the infamous Mobb Deep rose to become one of the most critically acclaimed hardcore East Coast hip-hop groups with their darker, fatalistic, battled hardened straightforward narration of street life.

Australian hip-hop festivals with US acts have a history of cancellations, downgrades and immigration issues, with this one not being an exception: Lady of Rage dropping off the bill last minute and only 50% of the infamous Mobb Deep materialized on terra australis: With Prodigy not having made it Down Under due to doctor’s orders and his well publicized illness, his partner is crime Havoc had to hold the fort and shoulder all vocal performance duties.

Needless to say that with Prodigy’s absence and the fact that much of the appeal lies in the back and forth and the natural chemistry between the two protagonists from Queens’ concrete jungle, the performance left a bit to be desired. Havoc rose to the occasion thought and soldiered through the classics, proving that it is nearly impossible to deliver a bad show when one can cherry pick from a treasured back catalogue like that of Mobb Deep.

Transcending hip-hop generations, especially cuts from their classic The Infamous album upped the nod factor amongst the crowd across a raw, short and brutally to the point set.

Same coast, bit inland, Buckeye State, southern shore of Lake Eerie, different vibe:

Enter Cleveland’s own Bone, Thugs-N-Harmony.

E. 1999 Eternal, the title an homage both the street corner frequented by BT-n-H as well as their mentor Easy E, is a milestone in the G-Funk meet East Coast genre, dominated by a consistent menacing and somber tone due to its lyricism being firmly rooted in gloomy territory, the sense of tunefulness was never lost as it was framed by smoked-out, groovy and melodic synth ornaments.

The album set a benchmark in terms of mixing the rhyme-style, cadence and familiar themes of the gangster genre with seemingly incongruent singjay harmonizing, goth-style melodic flows and street corner crooning.

While the record presented itself in a laid-back and ethereal manner,

Bone, Thugs-N-Harmony’s live rendition is more of an upbeat affair with their trademark soulful delivery style of intertwining, engaging rapid-fire rhymes teamwork, with each member contributing his unique style to a coherent whole with an exceptional tonal range.

While some might prefer the mystic clouds of nostalgia contained within recordings to the real thing, an enjoyable evening was concluded with Bones’ charismatic and vocally impressive performance that showed that both their album as well as their ability to command a crowd stood the test of time.

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Photos by KAVV

Royal Headache at Reverse Charges festival

Bald Face Stag Hotel

Sydney, Australia

May 13, 2016

The monolithic water tower among the mainly Portuguese commercial offerings and vis-à-vis from the Masonic Temple in Petersham, one of Sydney’s inner west suburbs 6km south of its CBD, that graces the cover of Royal Headache’s High full-length is not a thing of beauty.

While useful in nature, the ole standpipe is the embodiment of a soulless brutalist structure.

The diametric opposite of Royal Headache’s passionate mélange of gritty, reverb soaked lo-fi punk and soul.

Very realist and at times bleak in nature, the soundtrack Royal Headache provides is fodder for escapism, fueled by alienation, hopes and anxiety in equal measures.

There is sincerity in their emissions and it shines through in a live environment.

Creating a calculated chaos with their intense, catchy and soulful songs and Shogun’s impassioned RnB-tinged vocal delivery, they make an instant connection with the audience.

Make sure to catch them during their upcoming European / UK and US shows before they blow up or implode, both of which are very realistic, possible future scenarios for Royal Headache.

Kadavar

Manning Bar

Sydney, Australia

April 29, 2016

Kadavar are a Teutonic Teestubenrock band from the Grandfatherland, Berlin.

Accomplished retro in sound, appearance, and vintage equipment – Kadavar looks like they were trapped in amber in 1972.

The trio combines the filet pieces of the ‘70ies groovy, pompous hard rock, tinges of psychedelic and progressive rock and classic proto-metal era into a catchy, sexy mélange.

In a live environment, it is a powerful, quintessential rock experience that sonically connects with the audience and is presented in a serious manner devoid of irony.

With Kadavar nostalgia is omnipresent.

Cynism is not.

A dose of detachment and dissatisfaction with present times is.

The production channeling technique of their studio albums is reproduced on stage in a loud, engaging manner, showcasing Kadavar’s knack for writing memorable hooks.

A whirlwind of hair and beards with “Tiger’s” mesmerizing, dervish-esque drumming in the centre flanked by “Lupus’” on guitar and vocals on the left and the other half of the rhythm section with “Dragon’s” lava bass lines meandering on the right.

An earthy wall of sound produced by gentlemen with middle-earthy monikers.

The evening before Walpurgisnacht ended on the grounds of the University of Sydney with the faith in genuine rock restored.

Brian Posehn

Factory Theatre

Sydney, Australia

April 19, 2016

Humour and comedy is subjective.

What one person finds funny another might cringe at.

Cue E.B. White.

Analysing comedy is like dissecting a frog: You might understand it better at the end but the frog dies as a result of it.

Most comedy is based on simple, basic truths.

Basic truths that are spoken out.

Some say humour is masturbatory.

Padding yourself on the shoulder that you are intelligent enough to find what is being said foolish or to congratulate yourself on understanding the concept of the joke.

If you are into metal, nerdism, and weed, you will probably enjoy Brian Posehn’s stand-up routine and his anecdotes about encounters with the bands of the genre.

Being a self-professed nerd, Posehn’s self-deprecating humour and authenticity adds to his routine when he talks us through popular culture, e.g. Star Wars franchise, and its less savoury emissions, i.e. hipsterdom, along with insights on his childhood, teenage years, and married life as a father.

The audience thoroughly enjoyed Brian Posehn’s show, which was part of Sydney’s annual comedy festival.

Basic truths spoken out very loudly.