St Jerome's Laneway Festival, RNA Showgrounds, Saturday 28th January 2012

One thing that happened almost two months ago was the St Jerome's Laneway festival. Another majorly anticipated day of my January, it also marked the last big January thing and the end of my first week back at work. So it was guaranteed to be an epic day, or at least, I was going to make sure of it.


As I live a stone’s throw from its new home of the showgrounds (lane? Um, suuuuure), a few of my laneway goers came by for pre-drinks (beer for them, berodkas for me), and we headed around the wrong way through the rain to the venue. Due to the downpour, the organisers had decided to move everything indoors to the pavilions, meaning that while it was nice and dry, the echoey acoustics combined with rain drumming on the tin roof left the sound somewhat hindered. I’m going to make mention of that now so you can read my review of the bands in the context of this situation. A lot of people found this situation irritating, but to me Laneway did the best that it could, and to be honest, I didn’t really give too many hoots.

First stop was Yuck, the 90’s grunge band of 2011. I hadn’t got mega into their stuff but I enjoyed the familiarity of their songs, not just from what I heard of them, but also in how much it sounded like something I would have heard on the radio 20 years ago. (YES 20. WHEN DID I GET SO OLD). To me they’re a bit like Screamfeeder with a more American accent and it’s just the kind of nostalgia people seem to be up for these days. And it worked well, as we bopped along to the easy to enjoy/sing along tunes, it made the rain seem less present and felt more like a summer afternoon of sun and cider and relaxing. Cider from the bar did help this cause. Note: they also had a good snare.

After Yuck finished their set and more cider was had, we traipsed off, passing everyone we know in the process, and myself and gig buddy no. 1 checked out Total Control. Total Control is a semi super group made up of members of Eddy Current Suppression Ring, UV Race, and some other Melbourne bands I haven't really listened to. I had no idea what to expect, which is often a good thing, and I was pleasantly entertained as a result. They played tightly together, maintaining some of the grungey rock that ECSR is all about, but also with an added catchiness that I could easily come back to again. I think I was pretty drunk by this point because that's all the conclusions I could really come to about this band. They ticked the 'good' box, and I was content in my cider induced haze. More cider please. Goddammit I love festivals that provide cider.

After Total Control finished, we heard a bit of the DZ Deathrays, a band that is getting a lot of people talking, but aren't really my thing. They imposed upon the audience a loud, grating explosion of raw punk, a bit too harsh for my ears but definitely energy expending, and woke me up a little from my zoned out fuzziness. It was however a little repetitive and ear flooding so I was happy that it was only a temporary placement until Girls' set was about to start. 

Girls picked up where Yuck left off with their vibe: hazy, laid back and sunny, with slightly more of a Beach Boys feel than seattle grunge. Their new album heights were reached with "Honey Bunny", "Vomit" and "Saying I Love You"… as well as some blissfully catchy songs from the albums I hadn’t yet heard. Lead singer and ex-cult member (yep!) Chris Owens was as pretty as the music came with a subtly sweet, emotive voice, sporting flowers on stage to increase the prettiness of the vibe. So much pretty! As did Yuck, Girl’s set was assured to provide the feeling of relaxation, without being boring. It was perfectly timed, and got me back into the haze I was after Yuck.

Cults were a band I heard lots of praise about but knew pretty much nothing of. They were a little late starting but were apologetic and seemed ultimately thrilled to be playing here. Cults perhaps suffered the most from the sound troubles, and even at the very front they sounded particularly distorted and indecipherable. What I could hear however did sound pleasant, and lead singer Madeline had a charm and cuteness about her the audience found entertaining (and adorable) enough. They’re a band I’ll seek out more of as through the distortion was a catchy, poppy vibe that could quickly become infectious in the right circumstances.

We decided to catch a glimpse of Feist as there was some lag between Cults and Toro Y Moi whom were supposed to be playing at the same time as her. At this time, hours into the day, I finally located a friend I’d been madly texting back and forth to meet up with. I don’t remember it being so hard to find people at Laneway ever, but it was probably the packd like sardines situation that it was, that made it so difficult. Furthermore, I probably go on too much about this, but as Laneway grows as a festival, so too does its audience and popularity, threatening that it may become another large scale monster affair.
Feist was riding this tour off the back of her reasonably well received new album 'Metals' which, while not pure pop perfect as 'The Reminder' was, is suitably sexy and a definite grower. Hence, the few songs were heard were from it, and were lovely live representations of their album selves. Her voice was as touching and exquisite as the first time I’d heard her at Laneway’s second year. The atmosphere was much better then (it wasn’t p**ing down rain and you could also see her face), but it was still a pleasant, warm vibe. I heard later, as we scuttled off for some grooving, that she had been given electric shocks by the microphones a few times, which would predict further electronic difficulties later in the night. Ok, so the sound wasn’t great and no one could be blamed for that, but electrocuting the performers isn’t really cricket and I hope someone responsible was strongly told for it.

Next was Toro Y Moi which I had become enamoured by very quickly over the last few months, thanks to their album 'Underneath the Pine'. They came on with an energetic bang, and got myself and gig buddy 1 dancing and grooving along with the rest of the audience. The sound issues didn’t matter; the bassline was enough to turn up the dial to ‘dance’. It was one of my most anticipated spots of the festival and I was happy to unleash my love for their album right with the band members. "Still Sound" was the danceable peak amongst chilled downs and jumpy ups, with a nice amount from the new album so that there was a lot I could bounce around to in recognition. Chazwick (ha! that's his real name!) had a strong voice despite previously mentioned sound distortions and presented the lyrics with ample laziness, true to those on the album. While they played for a shorter time than I’d hoped, I was very satisfied with what I saw.

It was food and Horrors time soon after, my other highly anticipated act of the day. I’d been obsessing over the Horror’s last two albums (and their first, but not as intensely) for many a year now so the opportunity to finally hear them perform was fraught with excitement but also worry… as I had seen a few youtubes that suggested they weren’t so good live. I needn’t have worried though. They delivered extremely well and played a lovely selection of their best parts from 'Skying' and 'Primary Colours', including all of the built up instrumentals that I had come to love. Lanky and odd frontman Faris Badwan’s voice was a little touch and go with some of the songs, which you can’t help if you’re a monotone crooner used to a bit of enhancement on album tracks. But it worked well anyway, as well as totally on form guitar screeching, and drum fills making my hands imitate them on their own accord. 

There was nothing from 'Strange House', and it’s a sad fact that they appear to have neglected their raw gothic debut following, as it really is their background which gained them publicity, and got them to where they are today. Their maturer sound however, is excellent and they displayed that with prowess in their preformance. Each live rendition was a fitting tribute to how darn excellent they are at songwriting and how far they really have come. They even played a shortened version of the deliciously indulgent "Sea within A Sea". I wanted so much more from them. Come back and do a non-festival tour please fellas!


By the time the Horrors had finished my happy music cup had been completely filled to the point of spillage, so I contentedly wandered, ate and stood with my gang, not particularly waiting in anticipation for M83, but looking forward to hearing some familiar ambient electronic pop. As I chattered it became clear that m83 was going to be late. Twenty minutes.. thirty minutes… forty minutes went by, and the crowd was finally getting a bit anxious to see them come out. I wasn’t that bothered, but I had a friend waiting for me to go with her to see Toro Y Moi’s DJ set after the festival ended. Compared to the Kanye crowd at BDO, the crowd didn't appear that bothered either- it wasn’t until about 45 minutes of waiting that we heard any ‘BULLLLLSHITT’ chants, a decidedly larger amount of time longer than 10 minutes of BDO crowd impatience.
Again, there was no explanation as to why things were taking so long, but apparently if you were more of a social tard than my group, there were announcements being
made on facebook and twitter, alerting fans to the fact that technical issues again were marring the timely performance. I’d like to think not everyone is glued to their phones while in a moshpit (as I surprisingly wasn’t) so that does bother me that a microphone wasn’t picked up and a few words said.

Finally, almost an hour later, the frenchies appeared to play their set. Front man Anthony Gonzalez said a few words of apology and then launched into the excellent track "Teen Angst" from ‘Before The Dawn Heals Us’, which I was really happy to hear, expecting all new stuff. I’ve heard that their setlist was different from what it might have been due to whatever technical problems went down. But maybe that was a good thing, as I was pleasantly entertained by the few tracks from their earlier albums which they may not have played otherwise, including "Sitting" from their 2001 debut. The sound really wasn’t that bad, but I wonder if it was due to pre-recording rather than the actual live band.

They did play what everyone wanted to hear, including of course "Midnight City", which blew the crowd away as it promised to do, and while it’s been bordering majorly on overkill, I instinctively belted out ‘THE CITY IS MA CHURRCH!’ at the top of my lungs with everybody else. It felt like it was played extremely early, but it was only followed by one more song,"Couleurs" from 'Saturdays = Youth'. Thus, sadly, M83's set ceased reasonably quicker than desired, as soberly predicted by lawyer gig buddy, due to 10.30pm curfew constraints.


The night was not yet over and despite a ridiculously long day, our tired, weak legs carried us over to Woodland bar to see Toro Y Moi do a DJ set which we hoped would make us go crazy with delight. My friend who met us enjoyed it, and we did dance with all the energy we had left. However it was a rather large anticlimax as the songs he spun were a little lifeless, repetitive and all build up with no satisfying peak (and yeah, okay, I didn’t recognise any of them). Eventually we left the scene for a drink at Rics and then a stumble home much much later than I had anticipated. As predicted, it was a goddamn full blown motherflipping epic day, one that I could turn into one of those crazy all-in-one-day movies, like "Human Traffic" or "One Sweet Day" or "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist" or "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" or "Go" or "Run Lola Run" or "25th Hour" or "A Single Man". I did die at the end. 


I give the day 8 and a half blockbuster rentals out of 10. 

BACK

This blog has been in an obvious hiatus ever since my belated Big Day Out post. It's actually not JUST because of laziness but due to my laptop becoming a dead brick instead of a functional device. A bit of money, fixed power socket and lots of dust cleaned out later, I'm BACK, INTERNETS! I do want to catch up on the gigs I've seen since, if I can remember what I've seen. Luckily there weren't too many gigs happening in February, but March has already become a hot month, what with Bon Iver and Real Estate last week, and Elbow with Bombay Bicycle Club this weekend. I promise to review it all!! Starting, erm, tomorrow.
Also, I don't know if you heard, but there's a smalltime band that I'm a little bit fond of, who I've contemplated the idea of seeing live a couple of times. They're called Thomus Yorkus and the Weezioheads, and I have tickets to see two of their November performances. 2012 really could not get much better at this point. Splendour lineup? What Splendour lineup?

can't wait to see this ugly mug in the fleshy flesh

BIG DAY OUT 2012, Gold Coast Parklands, Sunday 22nd of January 2012 (Mostly, Kanye West.)

This year's Big Day Out may well mark the most significant point in the demise of the music festival as we know it. From it's very inception it was fraught with major issues. The 20th anniversary of one of Australia's first and most popular festivals should have been celebrated with a suitable lineup of killer must-see headliners, and a generous variety of excellent local bands- in every state. 

Instead we were treated to international acts that had already made it to Splendour not six months prior (e.g. Kanye West, Foster the People, The Vaccines), and the usual run-of-the-mill or past-their-prime local filler (The Living End, Hilltop Hoods, Faker, etc.). Furthermore, the depressingly gaping holes in the Perth and Adelaide schedules where headliners should have filled; unnecessary clashes (sorry Noel Gallagher); and a way-too-public falling out between promotors Viv Lees and Ken West (Ken West having done a Charlie Sheen with the amount of mental interviews he gave, spitting criticism at everyone but himself) also made the formulation of this year's festival a spectacular disaster.

So.. why the hell did I attend?

Well, 2 reasons. 1. Kanye West was announced, and I had missed his show at Splendour that year. and, 2. My sister wanted to have her first festival experience with her friends, which became her christmas present, and it was deemed easy for mum to give us all BDO tickets for christmas, since us Fornasier children were now all infected with the Kanye virus. I would definitely not have spent money on this event (which, as you would expect, didn't even sell out). So, there I went. 

We started the day by checking out the Triple J Unearthed competition winners Dunerats. Already well into their set they were a smiling bunch of young fellas with long hair and a hazy, breezy attitude. Their music was of an Eddy Current Suppression Ring venacular with a dash of Tame Impala, with very casual subject matter: frontman X introducing one of his songs as being about "smoking cones and playing Xbox". They played well and had a pleasantly grungy feel, but I couldn't help but wonder if they were seriously the best band out of all of the competition entrants.

The Vaccines were a winner with the crowd who gathered thickly by the time they came on, and did a great job playing their top listed album of the year, 'What Did You Expect From the Vaccines?'. I had only just got it a few weeks ago and had no chance to give it a really fair go, but they pumped out a fantastic set showcasing the songs from it brilliantly. The more they played the more songs I recognized, now being one of those bands that play all those enjoyable songs I'd heard but didn't know the artist's name. The musicians were tight and mop topped frontman Justin Young was enigmatic, and replicated his signature drone excellently live. Crowds went crazy for their biggest hits e.g. "Post Breakup Sex", "Wolf Pack", but we left for OFWGKTA before they played gig buddy's most anticipated, "If You Wanna". 

I decided long ago, after giving them a decent go, that I didn't really care for the Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All / Tyler the Creator/ Lets throw a few more words in that don't go together crew. Call me a stiff, but I don't have much time for annoying abrasive beats, yelling and lyrics about rape and killing homos and whatever else they've pissed Tegan and Sara off with. But the crew was keen so I bit my tongue. And after seeing their show... I really still don't like Odd Future. While they certainly got the crowd moving and were able to somehow generate energy even while lazing around onstage, they sounded awful, barking together words I couldn't understand (thankfully) and generally being quite average. The sound may have been better closer up, but the only beat or sound I could decipher was was on the crowd pleaser "Radicals" with it's poignant chorus "Kill people, burn shit, fuck school". I was happy to leave for Kimbra. 

Kimbra was dressed in a manner that suggests she is attempting to do a Blasko and become NZ's answer to Björk in terms of quirk and style. Her colourful dress was pretty out there and she wore it with confidence that matched her onstage antics. I'm not the biggest fan of Kimbra's music, while I have much love for "Cameo Lover" and "Settle Down", I don't quite get the huge deal and find her slightly boring on record. However, watching her perform made me appreciate her a whole lot more and she managed to win me over a little. Kimbra threw her whole self into her performance, articulating every consonant and vowel with so much passion and facial expression. As a result, her voice was an exquisite centrepiece of each song, and completely enhanced the well performed music. It was a thrill to watch her completely enjoy herself doing this. I still don't think she could succeed in her quirk attempt because I doubt Blasko nor Björk could get away with saying things like “You guys hot down there 'cause it's a bit warm up ere!” and “Wow, I'm so glad you guys know my songs, it was a bit 'eavy goin' for a while there!” But that's part of why Triple J and the rest of Australia adore her.

After Kimbra it was Röyksopp time at the Boiler Room, and my turn to lead my group into more unfamiliar waters to them. We missed a few key tracks (grr, "Happy Up Here" and "Eple" would have totally got me grooving) and turned up in time to hear "The Girl and the Robot". Because it's hard to get Robyn and the girl from the Knife and Lykke Li, it's easier to get a girl dressed with her face hidden to sing so she could be any one of those girls. She did sound pretty good though, which made me wonder if she was actually miming to a backing track. As for the music, it all sounded pretty excellent even though we were so far back from the front. As the beats built up and dropped, the effect was excellently satisfying and it was impossible not to jive my feet along along with my head. Even the people with me who weren't big on the Royksopp club scene expressed enjoyment. And the assortment of weird insect-esque costumes enhanced the experience that little bit more.

After a relaxing sit at the Tony Hawk Vert Ramp, which was rained out prior to Tony's actual entry on to the ramp, we made our way to the D where Kasabian was just commencing their set. It was very, very weird not having to wait even a second to get through the barrier to the moshpit, where in previous years people were being crushed all over the place trying to get in, much earlier in the day than it was now. 
Kasabian came on stage brooding a bit of smug wankery but generally delivering quite well with their distinctive britpop. They successfully pumped out a pretty decent collection of songs from all four of their albums, hooking the crowd in early with "Days Are Forgotten (from the latest, 'Velociraptor') then later favourites, "Shoot the Runner" and "Underdog". Naturally the set was very hit-driven, including of course their most Sunday Sport friendly, "Fire" as their prestige, but most surprising were the couple of selections from their first self titled album. It's the album I had first enjoyed, after picking it up on a whim so many years ago, and it was nice to hear them play the much more beats-driven  "Club Foot" and singalong "L.S.F (Lost Souls Forever)". I've heard people criticize them for this, as it did kind of drag the momentum down for everyone else, but I was enjoying it. 


I'm not going to lie though, I cheered pretty hard when Kasabian walked off stage, mostly because it meant Kanye West would be playing very soon. Oh, after Soundgarden. 
For those who don't know, Big Day Out houses the headlining acts in two side by side stages, so that when the band on one side plays, the other next to it can soundcheck and be ready to play when the first finishes. Soundgarden was on the stage I wasn't waiting at, and for that reason I'm not going to review Soundgarden. Not only was I paying very little attention to them, but I've never been a fan and would be very biased, particularly as I was in 'lets get this shit cray muffukkas, ha!?' hip hop mood, not 90's Seattle grunge headbang mood.


Now, I'm no fool when it comes to BDO's scheduling boasting no gaps in between the two main stage acts. Kanye West (or Yeezy, if you're not sure who Yeezy is) is not going to take a few seconds to check everything is in order before prancing onstage saying 'how ya doin' brisbayne!!'. Also, I've rarely been to a show in which there wasn't at least a 20 minute wait for the next band to come on. So when 10 minutes passed before anything happened, I wasn't that bothered. I was excited along with my group, who had managed to gather in a prime spot, enhancing our collective excitement. The rest of the crowd, however, was already FUCKING PISSED OFF. As roadies came on and off, people began to scream "FUCK OFF!" as well as begin the most embarrassing chant of the bogan audience world; "BUUUUUULLLLSHIT". I couldn't restrain myself from yelling "SHUT UP!" back at them, horrified that all they would achieve was piss off the people trying to get the show happening, and of course, Kanye himself, who may well take offence (who knows, he's Kanye, he's been an unpredictable fellow in the past). Meanwhile, the whingey girl on my right had joined them, which made me even angrier. As she constantly complained that she was going to faint and this was ridiculous and she didn't even like Kanye that much anyway, everyone gave her a wide berth; which meant she had more space and air than anyone else in the mosh. But on and on she went, until she finally had enough and got herself pulled out (thank christ). UNSOLICITED ADVICE: If you don't really like the main act at a festival and you find yourself in a mosh pit, it's not worth it. Don't be in the mosh pit. Leave us fans to battle it out silently. Thankyou. 
Anyway, forty minutes actually went by before we had any indication that Yeezy was about to come out. The speakers had apparently been screwed up by the rain (oh the questions, why weren't they covered, why couldn't you have told us that earlier, blah blah blah), leading to the delay, but luckily, five minutes later, thank god the lights began to dim. 

The performance started with a backing intro of "H.A.M." off Kanye/Jay-Z's 'Watch the Throne', with a frenzy of dancers leaping around the stage in schizophrenic time with the music. Oh the joy and excitement! My year of becoming completely involved with Kanye's music was finally going to culminate in a hell of a stage show. This lead into "Dark Fantasy", and a moment of confusion where we could hear Yeezy's voice, but where was he? Not on the stage... Not in the audience... Oh look, turn around everyone! He's on a podium chair behind the audience. Why? Why not. This was his version of Michael Jackson's jetpack onstage entrance I suppose. He sang on his podium and then when the song finished he somehow found his way down through to the stage without getting mugged. Straight on into "Power", it was so very worth the 45 minute wait. I ended up flinging myself around with the crowd fully expressing my built up excitement for this moment. 

yeah we know you think you are God... and that's okay. 

The music was mostly backing tracks throughout, but made more effective with Kanye's thundering vocals, the momentum built quickly and shot through. As each song began it was a joyous moment, with "Jesus Walks", "Hell of a Life", "Monster" and "Flashing Lights" allowing the crowd to very easily forgive him for the delay. The show was as big as his ego, i.e. enormous, and it was just what I had hoped for. 
There were a couple of downsides however... One being, it was a bit odd not hearing the guest singers do their cameos. Of course it would have been impossible to get this to happen live, and I hadn't come to see Nicki Minaj so I wasn't that bothered, but the way it was handled was a bit disappointing. Instead of Kanye singing over it or doing a Royksopp (see earlier), they just canned those parts all together. Which did not allow for the same impact as these songs promised (e.g. see lady parts in "Monster", "ET" (which is Katy Perry's, so an odd choice anyway), and "All of the Lights"). 
The other down point was when Kanye went into '808's and Heartbreaks' mode. 808's is a stunning album and the first time I began to think Yeezy was actually of creative merit, however, it's a bit overshadowed by autotune and moping. Hence, not excellent for a festival performance. After three in a row "Love Lockdown", "Say You Will" and "Heartless", there was a collective feeling of discomfort and slight boredom at the downtempo material. The momentum took a while to build back up again. Kanye also used a lot of autotune in the show, which to me was a bit unnecessary- Cher may have needed it, but he really doesn't.
ANYWAY. It was good to hear some older songs I hadn't been too familiar with, including "Homecoming" which I didn't even realise I liked so much (luckily, you can't get rid of a guest vocal bit if it's the damned chorus), "All Falls Down" and "Through the Wire". It was also no Kanye show without a bit of amusing banter, for example when he stopped "All of the Lights" to command us to sing the words "MJ gone, our ni**a dead" again, louder, don't we realise that MJ IS GONE??!?. Similarly amusing was the breath-stopping moment when in between songs he suddenly came out with "She said, Ye can we get married at the maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall?" ("Niggaz in Paris" lyrics off 'Watch the Throne'), then laughed and said he better not do it without Jay-Z, hinting at a possible Australian 'Watch the Throne' tour. Yes pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeease.

The crowning and perhaps most anticipated moment however was when the dancers came onstage with a giant sheet and spent a lot of minutes dancing underneath, until the sheet cloud went away and Kanye emerged, set up with his lone synth on a small glass podium, ready for "Runaway". He began to play his one note, with all the passion one note can exude. The music came on soon relieving him of this job (good work Kanye! Couldn't have done it without you!) and he let himself muck around with the sample keys a bit too freely (for the "who gotcha!" moments in the song). Like a big kid being allowed to play his pretend keyboard at an orchestral performance, it was hilarious. 

The dancers were excellent and recreated the scene in the filmclip beautifully. As the song died down, one dancer remained, and Kanye continued with ad-libbed crooning, which extended into what felt like a ten minute rant about how "if you love someone tonight, you gotta hold them tight!" It was a sweet message, but it was incredibly indulgent and went on for too long, alienating the audience a little.
His final moments redeemed him however, with the Bonny Bear collaboration "Lost In the World", which I went cray for, as most people around me seemed too tired to bother. He ended on a lovely dedication to his mother, being of course "Hey Mama", which actually brought sobs to a few young girl's eyes. 


Oh man, what a day. I was so grateful that Kanye made up for lost time by playing for about 2 hours, although this meant a few people had to leave early to make their shuttle buses. I could have stayed for another 2 hours, despite how exhausted I was for the next two days. Despite all it's expected, indulgent flaws, Kanye's show was just so thrilling, and the most memorable show of the day, as I expected.


As a whole, BDO was a terribly organised event, but wouldn't it be great if all BDO's had that small a crowd?  It made places easier to get to, food and drinks quicker to get (despite me losing all my drink tickets at one point), and crowds easier to enjoy. As a result, I had a fabulous day. 8 out of 10 australian flag bikinis*.

And I bow down to you back, sir.

*Because in previous years you could see about 1000 of these!

The Damned, The Hi Fi, Thursday 19th January, 2012

Back in "the day", Triple J ran a Hottest 100 songs of all time. This was in 1998 when I was in primary school and living in Caboolture and the Hilltop Hoods didn't exist. I remember voting for "Joga" by Björk and also "Happiness" by Regurgitator, because, you know, they were the best songs of all time. Dad voted for "Smash it Up" by the Damned, the English goth punks from the 70's. I remember he wrote as his 25-words-or-less rationale: “because in my youth I often wanted to smash things up and I'd be damned if the Damned got there first”. My dad probably doesn't remember this, but I do. Years later, I discovered the Damned for myself, after finding a CD copy of 'Machine Gun Etiquette' and buying it for him, and have since forever associated Dad as being a big fan of that band. And no amount of mum saying 'But he HATES the Hi Fi!' could stop me from buying him a ticket to their show for Christmas. What followed was a lovely daddy-daughter evening, where I ate a leek tart at a restaurant that served possum, and had 2 glasses of very nice wine (Dad = still able to drive; me = wheeeeeeeee!)

The Damned were scheduled to start at 9.30, a welcome early start for the Hi Fi – I still remember walking out of there after 1am one night while Tim Rogers was continuing to prance about. We still had a half hour wait ahead of us, so grabbed a drink as Dad lamented on how much he hated the Hi Fi: Me- "Well the Tivoli has a name behind it where as the Hi Fi is still gaining one." Dad- "The Hi Fi has a name. It's “crap”." 
Granted, it is a pretty terrible sounding venue, not quite as bad as Woodland, but one of those place where it is better to be situated in the middle back area than anywhere else. And when you're at a "rock show", you naturally want to experience it as close as possible, am I right?

Which is exactly what happened. Expecting myself to lead the way into the surprisingly large, goth-dressed crowd of all ages, Dad actually took the initiative to force us through people with gusto, pushing us through without a thought for some of the annoyed comments they gave. Slightly embarrassed from being "those people", I also couldn't help but be proud of my Dad the middle aged pusher-inner-er. How very rock & roll. 

The band kicked off with cheers from the crowd, with an immediately gritty tune I didn't recognise; "Neat Neat Neat". The band wasn't overly 'dressed up' as what must have been the case in their heyday, but they were definitely in signature style. Captain Sensible looked like he had stepped out of a french cartoon with his trademark beret and sunnies, and a brightly striped shirt with "FREAK" written on it. Lead singer Dave Vanian was only subtly vampirish with suit, sunnies and a slightly pasty appearance. Together they looked like a motley crew of ageing dudes still kind of stuck in the 70's but with absolutely no shame.

Together they played a tight, energetic set, which sounded pretty decent despite the aforementioned limitations of the Hi Fi. Avian and Sensible's voices sounded slightly matured but still strong and sporting that Brit-punk accent. To me, their style and sound has always felt similar to that of the Stranglers, and I couldn't help thinking that throughout their show. Luckily for me they played a nice helping of 'Machine Gun Etiquette' songs, including "I Just Can't Be Happy Today", and "Love Song", as well as their other big hit, "New Rose", and many other songs that held true to their raw style. There was a lot I didn't know, but all of it was pleasing to my ears and bopping feet, and reminded me of how much I love this era's music. Even though I'm too young to ever really fully appreciate what it was all about, the punk rock and new wave of the 1970's-1980's somehow makes me feel at home, safe and happy. Maybe, or likely, it's just my parents' constant churning out of its music in my younger years that has done that for me; combined with the fact that its songs will always be there, untainted, permanent and still fresh, while new music continues to deteriorate with re-hashing, mass production and autotune.

bassist Stu West, Dave, and Sideshow Bob (aka Monty Oxy Moron)

Anyway, the show continued with the band not losing an atom of energy, and sharing their joy at playing their catalogue to an old and new audience. Capt. Sensible and at times Dave addressed the crowd between songs with reminiscence, such as Sensible's musings about Malcom McLaren, and his acknowledgement of the Saints: "Everyone thought the Sex Pistols started punk. But I think it was the band right here that did it!" Cue cheers and claps. After slogging through a fair amount of typically short punk tunes, they exited for a few minutes in preparation for their encore. I have to say, waits for encores have been very short lately, which has been both pleasing and efficient. Good job bands!
They came out with their 1985 hit cover "Eloise". During the show I had been looking over at my dad from time to time to ensure he was enjoying himself, which he appeared to, but I knew that it would have all been given a sub-par rating if they didn't play "Smash It Up" (parts 1 AND 2). At this point I suddenly worried they weren't going to play it. But luckily, as "Eloise" finished, the moment came when Dave announced the next song. The opening chords of "Smash It Up parts 1 and 2" began and the already energetic vibe was increased 3 fold. As part 1 kicked into part 2, I couldn't help but jump at the awesomeness. It was a wall of raw, explosive, joyous sound (always *good for a Hi Fi gig*). Dad looked a bit more smiley. As the song finally subsided in it's lazy final lyrics, it was an awesome ending to the show. We battled the crowd out with ringing ears and I finally felt comforted in my choice of birthday present for Dad; we were both glad we came. The Damned has proven that despite it being 2012, they can still draw a crowd and replicate the feel of 1979, showing there is a reason they still stand out as one of the first successful punk bands of all time.

Then, while youtubing for this post, I found this cover of Love's "Alone Again Or". Every punk band that doesn't die with the genre inevitably ends up making musical mistakes. But why did they do this? It just sounds the same but with 80's tackiness splashed all over it. WHY? WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY???? Why.


8 red berets out of 10. 

tUnE- yArDs (with Wintercoats and Fox & Sui), Corner Hotel, Richmond VIC, Sunday 14th January 2012

8am Sunday morning I travelled to Melbourne for essentially one purpose: To see the lady who has restored my faith in modern music of today and in the future. It has come to mine and others attention that I have become a bit obsessed with Merril Garbus, the brain behind tUnE-yArDs. I was still exhausted from the hours of supporting myself at the Arctic Monkeys gig that night before, and was travelling on about 4 and a half hours sleep, but I spent the day around the city resisting all ideas of napping. Pepped up to the point of jitters on 2 mochas and a berocca, I found my way to the Corner Hotel in Richmond, with a half hour to explore before the support acts began. 

I was surprised by the lack of people as support act Wintercoats began- an act I had discovered a few weeks earlier with interest, and is getting a decent amount of 4ZZZ airplay of late. I must admit, I'm stupid when it comes to appreciating something for what it is, and instead end up comparing stuff to the experiences I've already had. And while doing this, in my experience, a Brisbane show usually has ten times the huddle of people for the first support act than the Corner did. (Is the Melbourne music scene so thriving that people don't care much for their local music? Sorry no, I'll stop judging..) 
Anyway, Wintercoats was an engaging, awe inspiring show, in which James Wallace carried his performance with merely a violent, loop pedal, and his voice. He did everything imaginable to that violin to create the sounds of his latest creations: strummed, plucked, played, tapped, even sang into it, and the result was quite ethereal and magnificent. While I applauded his ingenuity and creativity (and ability to plow through his songs without a beat), it also made me inspired that if one guy with a violin can do all that, I wouldn't need much to make my own live musical project. Except maybe.. talent... commitment... lessons... and money...

Anyway, James trotted off and not much of a wait later the young looking pair Fox & Sui replaced the stage with an array of synths, a bass and some greenery. My immediate reaction was "Indie! Oh god the indie!". But as the music began it went to show that first impressions can be deceiving and I should keep my snobbery to myself. While very style driving (maybe Little Dragon meets Beach House) the music was catchy, breezy, and danceably enjoyable, even enticing a couple of hipsters to dance at the front as the rest of us sat comfortably. They expressed their happiness that so many came to support them and mentioned already having seen tUnE-yArDs at Sugar Mountain festival already (rub it in yeah?). The only thing that fit my original judgment was their insistence upon using a watery rainforest noise effect in between every single song. 


So moving along, the thing that I don't really have experience with at the Corner was the curtain, drawn before each act. It prolonged the mystery of what we'd expect when tthey opened, however distanced us a bit from the artists themselves. It also prevented me from acting on my decision to grab a setlist after the show. Disappoint. As I waited for it's final parting I overheard one audience member say perhaps too loudly "At least there aren't many lesbians here tonight! Last time there were only lesbians!"... 
Anyway the curtain finally were drawn to slap past my eager face and see Merril right up to the microphone with her two drums either side of her- all distance gone as she was so damn close to me. Hence, photo GOLD. 

VIEW= A+!!!

bassist Nate Brenner

She kicked off with a few minutes of improvised howling, growling and vocal sretching which in one way was a bit alienating but in another, fixating. Her vocals then began to be looped as her bassist and sax duo turned up, and together they presented us with "You Yes You". Oh.. words escape me. I'd seen Youtube videos of the band in live action, Merril prepping herself with her loop pedal, drums and ukelele, and playing her heart out with her signature screech; but nothing could compare to the real thing. Seamlessly she began her harmonies and lead the band in, each song keeping to absolutely faultless timing without a whisper of a prompt.  

Merril and Sex I mean Sax Crew

I can't emphasise the timing enough; in the next explosive selection, "Gangsta", the bridge with its schizophrenic timing was executed like magic... I was gobsmacked. It would have been more awe inspiring had I NOT seen the videos but they had got me excited for the gig (and probably initiated me to actually travel for it), so I REGRET NOTHING. For all I know it was all extremely rehearsed to perfection, but it sounded so fresh and beautiful, and it'd be nice to see such dedication in all live music performances.

The songs continued, Merril expressing everything she sang through her eyes and mouth, wide eyed in some moments and closed in enjoyment in others. As a performer she connected subtly well with the audience as if sharing a fond memory or joke, especially with a coy smile in a few rare occasions when a loop didn't kick in or a strum failed. She explained her strumming issue as due to a nail she had specially designed for her ukelele having come a little loose, bringing a human side to her genius (and an "aww" from the audience). She also appeared extremely pleased that such a large group of people had turned up to see her, and remarked upon the fact she was used to being relatively unknown during tours in new countries. Thanks for making us feel cool, Merril!


Her setlist was made up of most of 'W H O K I L L', the only glaring exception from that album being "Riot Riot". She also introduced "Hatari" from her previous album 'Bird Brains' and also the only other non-'W H O K I L L' track I knew, "Real Live Flesh". All the songs she and the band performaed were replicated with all the precision, energy and passion as on record, enhanced further by being able to watch it all unfold layer by layer. The magnificent sax section went nuts with their crazy solos and peppered contributions toward each song. Amongst it all was Merril's enormous, all-encompassing voice, which did not falter an inch, and threatened to make my eardrums explode with it's sheer volume. 
She came back for just one encore song, being "Party Can (Do You Want to Live)", a most appropriate choice thanks to the back and forth: Merril "Do you want to live!?" Audience "YES!". It left me with such an inspired buzz, which tUnE-yArDs' music really seems to be trying to do; to push the envelope and the people in it to go out and be alive, say something, do something, scream and howl and dance and make sense of this crazy world of sex, drugs and politics. 
tUnE-yArDs Brisbane show is tomorrow night at the Powerhouse, at which time I will be tied up with singing "everybody knows I'm a mahfuckin' monstaah" at the Big Day Out. Tickets are still available which means if you're not joining me at BDO, you have no excuse not to go check her out. You really, really, really should. Unless, you know, you hate lesbians. :/

BANGBANGBANG

Nine and a half bangs/ukes/tribalfacepaintings out of 10. 

Arctic Monkeys (with Miles Kane and Violent Soho), The Riverstage, Saturday 13th of January 2011

I spent a long time anticipating this gig, after my year of Arctic Monkeys obsession (particularly their latest release 'Suck It And See'). So when last Saturday finally came, I was ready, and eager, and anticipatory, and keen, and... where's my thesaurus... 


Myself with Arctic Monkeys Super Fans group turned up at the Riverstage a little before 7 to hear Violent Soho starting their support slot quite early. The usuals ("Love is A Heavy Word", "Scrape It", Jesus Stole My Girlfriend") were played amongst a couple of new songs, during which we were able to easily set ourselves up in the mosh amongst the mostly nonchalant audience. I've been told to tear Violent Soho to shreds in this blog, and also to describe them as "the nail in the coffin of 90's grunge". But instead I'll say that despite Arctic Monkey's stadium rock moments that Violent Soho are completely all about, they really were NOT suited to a support slot for the wide ranging audience of the Monkeys. In some ways it would have made sense, but on the day, it just felt odd, and they may have noticed this also, as I don't think they played for much longer than 25 minutes. 

A bit of a mosh wait later and Miles Kane appeared on the scene. Miles is the other half of Alex Turner's side project the Last Shadow Puppets, and was here with a full band and a very spotty shirt. It was during Miles Kane that I finally realized WHY CROWD SURGES HAPPEN! So many festivals and big scale shows have involved me getting all in a tizz as the mosh pit suddenly experiences a rush from one side to the other, leaving people losing their feet in their wake. It's only taken me a million years but myself and gig buddies managed to take advantage of them by moving along with the surges into their resulting gaps to secure ourselves closer positions. Of course, the people driving them are probably just shoving themselves into people which is dangerous and stupid... but I am now appreciative of shitty crowd behaviour! Particularly as we ended up 3 people back from the front before the main act started. 

Miles' selection of tunes were very pleasing to the ear, being consistently catchy, rock driven songs, backed by an exceptional band and a powerful voice. I hadn't heard any of his work before, but it felt much like later Arctic Monkeys with more of an early Oasis-y feel to it. An enjoyable, inoffensive, and entertaining show, I wish I could have paid more attention (or seen... anything...) while I concentrated on edging closer to the stage. However, it definitely put me in the mood for the Monkeys as well as inspired me to check out more of his music. 

Rushes finalized and position secured, it was finally Monkey time. The members came out with Alex Turner following, and they commenced a thundering opener with "Don't Sit Down or I'll Move Your Chair". As soon as the introduction was over, the crowd was in a frenzy. I was also in a frenzy, which kept me from being completely bowled over and thrown to my death. It was an excellent start, with their signature guitar jangles strong and piercing, as was Alex's clear and heartfelt voice. As the songs continued, it was all pure rock, from their debut hits "View from the Afternoon" and "Still Take You Home"; "Teddy Picker" and "Brianstorm" from 'Your Favourite Worst Nightmare' and 'Humbug''s "Crying Lightning". The songs rolled off the band members effortlessly, with drum sticks flying and guitar solos whipped out in a blur. Pauses in the songs (for example, just after "SEE YOU LATER INNOVATOR" in "Brianstorm") were drawn out so that when the finale of the song came it was an unpredictable explosion. During these numbers I was barely standing as I got into the music as well as being knocked around from spot to spot with the crowd. Alex tried his best to be charming and appropriately 'rockstar' with his "HOW YOU DOIN' BRISBANE!" calls, and sometimes it worked, assisted by his James Dean style attire and hairdo, and perchance for pointing in an "I Want You" fashion...

Other times it kind of felt like he was trying too hard to be engaging, when he is obviously more comfortable as the quiet, tortured genius type. It was also a little disappointing to hear that at their Sydney show two nights prior, which a few gig buddies attended, he had engaged in the exact same banter without any variance, like a script he was set to follow. 
It was however, easy to forgive Alex's odd connection with the audience, when he and his bandmates treated us to such faultless productions of their best crafted songs. The Monkeys became massive very quickly, and having stayed that way as a band they sound massive and full bodied to complement their fame. 
A few slower moments occurred, particularly those tracks from the new album that I had a soft spot for (e.g. "Black Treacle", "She's Thunderstorms"). They were beautifully executed however, despite not really being melancholy tunes, they did let the momentum down a little. This was to be expected as thanks to the new album's maturity, the Monkey's have improved on their range- however, it kind of felt like they had slowed things down a little too much somehow. Other rockier songs from 'Suck it and See' travelled quite well, including the drummer Matt Helder's vocal spot in "Brick By Brick" and rollicking "Library Pictures" (with perhaps the worst line of their career: "well ip, dip, dog shit rock and roll", screamed by everyone up front). 

Miles Kane joined the band for a number I hadn't heard before, "Little Illusion Machine (Wirral Rider)", and added a little more charisma to the stage, working quite well with Alex and looking dapper in a velvet burgundy suit. After a fantastic helping of songs, they powerfully ripped through "When the Sun Goes Down" and left the stage without much ado. Their encore was short and sweet, commencing with the lyrical gem "Suck It and See", and then one of my favourites, "Fluorescent Adolescent", Alex spitting out the words without a hitch. They ended with Miles Kane's assistance again on "505", which, as a darker song I am not too familiar with, felt a little flat as a final send off. 

I'd seen Sydney's setlist prior to the show (as the travelling gig buddies managed to obtain a torn up copy) and it was a little disappointing for me (and moreso for them) that the band had stuck completely to it for the Brisbane gig. Whether it means anything that they don't wish to change things up each show, I'm not sure, but I would have loved to hear "Piledriver Waltz" or at least something more explosive to send us home with. But all that aside, it was a very good selection of their musical journey so far, and most of the moments I anticipated seeing live were reproduced to my satisfaction. And what better way to have such an anticipated live experience than right up front with a rowdy bunch of fellow fans? Even if it did mean needing to take Voltaren and walking around with bruised feet for the next two days. Worth it.

8 and a half hellcats out of 10.

Dan Deacon Ensemble with John Maus, Woodland Bar, 12th January 2011

Wasting no time to dawdle in between shows, I decided I needed to catch a much talked about Dan Deacon show, who played at Woodland on Thursday night. I had had a taste of his brand of synth-electro-pop-nintendo-rave music on youtube, and had only heard that his shows were fantastic experiences. I somehow guessed correctly that knowing very little is probably the best way to go in to a Dan Deacon gig. 

Supports Toy Balloon had come and gone before my arrival and there was enough time for a drink before John Maus took the stage. Holy shit did he take the stage (with nothing but a microphone and his fist). His performance was best summarized by my gig-buddy's haiku:

John Maus backing track

Somehow you make it work well

Stop punching your face

I know nothing more about John Maus except that for half an hour it was extremely difficult for me to 1. NOT laugh, as I somehow found his mostly bizarre antics utterly hilarious while also kind of freaking me out or 2. tear my eyes away from the stage. The music was an intense blur of beats and synth, his vocals were an intense blur of Ariel Pink meets Future Islands-ish yelling, and the look on John's face was an intense blur of intensity. I needed a drink. 

A few G&T's later, Dan Deacon took the stage with a very cool set up involving a glowing skull on a stick, including his drummer, synth/pianist and (bassist?). As you can see, Dan Deacon is made up of all of the geekiest attributes of the world's best geek... He is complete with balding hair, huge glasses, a rolly polly body, an impressive beard, and a tendency to blather on quite a bit while projecting an overall charming awkwardness. Throughout the entire show Dan chatted to us ridiculously to the point where he was interrupted by the band more than once. For example, he was about to tell us an anecdote which ended up being "Remember that movie the Matrix? When Morpheus... oh shit, the song's starting!" leading gig buddy to wonder if his band members often have to derail the conversation to just get the show on with. 

Anyway, the actual show. Oh my god. I was looking for the best way to describe this gig but a video someone took of it describes it all for me. I am not prominently featured in it, THANK. GOD. Thanks to the infectiously danceable music and Dan's prescribed audience participation, the energy was fucking amazing, and had myself and gig buddy dancing in ways that I can at least confirm I haven't danced before. I remember even thinking "Oh god I hope no one is filming this" at the time. Shit.

Some of the things Dan made us all do, as you might be able to tell in the video, WERE:

- Raise our arms in the air and point to the ground, for quite a while, as his opening task

- Create a circle with two dancers in the middle, dancing, until they picked the next duo to replace them with their own dancing, and so on 

- One person starting a chain of people by running around the room giving us all high fives and then pulling people in at random, until THE ENTIRE AUDIENCE WAS RUNNING AROUND THE ROOM IN A CIRCLE

- A specially chosen audience member to lead us all in an interpretive dance number complete with crouching on all fours and potentially giving us all shards-of-glass-tetanus

- The audience bunching together and putting our hands on a person's head, then thinking of something we regret doing to someone and ESPing our apology or something like that - my (PRISTINE) hair was being scruffed like a dog but I've never felt more blissfully giggly

All this was possible thanks to the audience's willingness to be involved (apart from a few onlookers) and the fact it was not too packed and there was space to move. He ended on gleeful Crystal Cat (see below), leaving the audience with glistening, smiling faces, so empowered, exhausted, and rejuvenated all at the same time. This was a feeling normally reserved for the likes of the Flaming Lips, but Deacon was a cheaper alternative that was just as effective.

This is Dan Deacon. If the following filmclip does not make you smile, or at least intrigue you enough to watch it until the very end, then you would probably would not have not enjoyed the gig, and been one of those people who stood at the back of the room while the rest of us went apeshit.

Ahh I have two more gigs to review and they were both fantastic in their own ways, so grading is going to be difficult! But this show will stand out as one of the most memorable for me so I have no hesitation in giving it 9 excellent sweaters out of 10 (minus one because of John Maus alienation).