Mistletone, Maggot Music, Spunk Records + Music Farmers present Brooklyn's THE MEN on their first trip to Australia. THE MEN play Laneway Festival as well as teaming up with mighty Sydney riffers ROYAL HEADACHE, playing their first ever Wollongong show, for an epic double bill. Wollongong's own garage surf-a-billy two-piece Mother And Son will open the night.

***CANCELLED***

Ironically referred to by Time Out New York as "Thurston Moore & the E Street Band", The Men bring their incendiary live set to Laneway Festival plus sideshows in Sydney, Melbourne and Wollongong. With a love of scuzzy guitars, The Men don't play by categorical punk sub-genre rules, but dabble in everything from hardcore punk to psych to shoegaze to black metal and country. The quartet began in 2008 with a hand-dubbed self-released demo cassette, and most recently their on-point third album, 2012 s Open Your Heart (out locally on Spunk Records), which won hearts with its goofy blues explosions, country-lovin' dirges and straight-up indie punk anthems (cue the triple j playlisted title track). This year they've criss-crossed Europe, played shows with Ty Segall, the Thee Oh Sees and Redd Kross, and performed at festivals such as Pitchfork Festival, FYF Fest Los Angeles and Primavera Sound, Barcelona. Ever prolific, a new album by The Men is due in early 2013. Having four songwriters in the band lends itself to a truly unpredictable and thrilling live experience which has seen The Men grow a following of die hard fans, from living rooms and basements throughout New York's five boroughs to across the United States and Europe. Catch The Men on their debut Australasian tour for a truly blistering and distorted live punk experience.

"Open Your Heart is both tremendously physical and friendly, knocking you on your ass one second, then immediately helping you back up to put a beer in your hand... (It's) like a tribute to the pure rejuvenating powers of rock'n'roll itself by going nuts with all the things that got you hooked the first time: breakneck Zep riffs! Duel-guitar leads! Drum solos! It's essentially a teenager's highlight reel" - PITCHFORK BEST NEW MUSIC (Rating 8.5)