Lanie Lane @ the Hi Fi, 31st May 2012 VS Kirin J Callinan, Black Bear Lodge, 21st May 2012

VS 

BLOGFIGHT!

I've decided that part of the reason why I am so terrible at posting reviews on time is that I take far too many words to review them. Less is more, as they always say, and I don't necessarily have to take 1000 words to say something that can be better said in 500. So, concise.tight.reviews. is my plan. With that in mind, I'm going to review Lanie Lane and Kirin J Callinan in the same review, and I will decide which I liked better, and the winner gets more song plays from me! AND I'm going to be as brief as I can about both of them. 


Lanie (pronounced "Lannie", somehow) Lane, has won over Rockwiz viewers and general Australians, bad teeth and all, with her 1950's rockabilly country pop style, and all the fashion and hairstyle trimmings to accompany it. It's a selective genre, one I've not been very familiar with or really found an interest in. 
But for one parental birthday or another, I went along to the Hi Fi, Dad's favourite venue of choice (see 'Damned' review), to see her perform. Upon our arrival, the Rubens were already deep into their set, a band who is gaining a lot of momentum on Triple J at the moment. I really liked their effortlessly bluesy rock style, with a heartfelt croon which particularly stands out in their current single "Lay It Down". I even, almost, bought an EP.
Lanie was a happy, excitable young lady backed with a very exceptional band who accompanied her soulful voice well. She belted out her songs with emotion and thrill, playing guitar along with them. Throughout the tunes she threw in a couple of words about the songs, stories of love and loss, gentlemen and country livin', culminating in that one song I'd heard, "Oh Well, That's What You Get For Falling In Love With A Cowboy". Throughout the set I was very impressed with her talent and skill, and the way she and the band complemented each other so well. But I was sadly, and sorry to admit, a bit bored. The fact is, as I said, hers is not the type of music I'm that fond of, and it was really the style I was bored of. The only time it was changed up at all was during a duet with Lanie and her guitarist (Aidan Roberts), who sang a song about drugs that he had written. My parents thought it was a bit wanky, and as Lanie listed off a bunch of substances while backing Aidan's chorus, it kind of was. But it was also a very beautiful, stripped back song, that put the spotlight on Lanie's voice as well as showcasing Aidan's nicely. 
Despite my waning interest, there was a full crowd tonight, and her popularity is for good reason. The girl has talent in spades and is obviously beloved for bringing old fashioned country music to a mainstream(ish) audience. She's even supporting Jack White on his Australian Tour. So, great job Lanie, and I'm sorry I don't like you more.

Lanie: No fucks to give.

Then, a few weeks later on a Thursday night after a lovely dinner with a good friend, I accompanied my gig buddy/boyf to see Kirin J Callinan at Black Bear Lodge. I knew nothing about his old band the Mercy Arms, or himself, or what kind of music he performed (Triffids meets My Bloody Valentine was my reference point), but was happy to see something new... as I usually am!
After two support bands, one averagely ambient (DCM), and another much more entertaining and indie-licious (Nite Fields), we were both ridiculously tired. But thankfully, Kirin arrived with his super unique haircut: perfectly shaped black fringe with shaved head and very short straight mullet at the back of his neck. 
Already fans were urging him to take off his shirt, to which he replied smoothly "In time, in time". I'm not sure if it was necessary, but he kept to his word upon reminder. 
Anyway, to the music. I'm at a weird stage in my taste where I've discovered Rowland S. Howard, and now any angsty weird guy who sings with a deep voice sounds like him. I can't be objective enough to tell you if Kirin actually does, but he reminded me of Rowland anyway. Kirin had a band with him, all decked out in hospital masks, which he proudly told us he paid $2 each for. However, I'm not convinced they were necessary, as Kirin, his amazing, powerful, vibratoing voice, and his guitar that went from whispering to howling in seconds with hardly a strum, would have been enough. 
After a couple of songs (I can't tell you what they were called, and I doubt setlist.com will be able to help me), in which all ears and eyes were glued to the stage, Kirin took to a different form of entertainment: spruiking autographed framed pictures of himself. It was pretty amusing and if they weren't a bit creepy, and I had the money, I would have bought one for the heck of it. His stage presence was pretty incredible and he had a really professional, and comfortably natural way with the crowd, despite having an appearance about him that would suggest a more timid, troubled genius. 
His songs were confronting, heartbreaking, jarring, and shoegazey, and he conveyed so much with his voice, and accompanying facial expressions, it was easy to forget how tired I was and just watch the magic unfold. I was pretty well won over. They didn't have time to do a couple more as they had to drive back to Sydney, so it felt a lot shorter than it should have been, but very satisfying. 

"When I told her, I didn't love her anymore, she cried."

While his recorded stuff is good, he's really best to see live, so if he's ever around your way, do yourself a Steve Brule and CHECK IT OUT. 


Lanie gets 7 out of 10 Peggy Olson 1960 Fringes, and Kirin gets 8.5 out of 10 Kirin J Callinan 2012 Fringes. KIRIN WINS! A toast.


p.s. Ah Blogger, you were doing so well, and now you're doing weird random highlighting that I can't turn off. I apologise on behalf of blogger, readers.

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.