The Gadflys 40rty at Smith's Alternative

Canberra band, the Gadflys, return to Duckburg for a show at Smith's Alternative. Gadflys 40rty celebrates the 40th anniversary of one of the capital’s finest exports. A career highlight of the band was a 4-year stint on Good News Week as the house band which bought them to a wider audience and gave them an enviable platform to perform their original music in a broad range of styles ranging from skiffle to flat-out rock. Notable for their use of clarinet, double bass and violin and fronted by brothers Phil and Mick Moriarty the Gadflys have been out wowing audiences from Eden to Edinburgh since mix-tapes were popular and pub rock was king. A new album, Love and Despair, saw them return gloriously to form with trademark tribal rhythms and cool bass lines, gorgeous clarinet figures flung up like water sculptures and vocal stylings ranging from the swampily gritty to a smooth croon, worthy of any sharkskin-suited lounge lizard. With guests Kathryn Brownhill and Gemma Clare on Violin and cello, and Penny McBride and Nick Keeling on horns the Gadflys will be taking us on a journey that meanders through sonic landscapes far-flung and familiar. Musical magpies indeed! Entry Cost All tickets $35