w/ Buick Six, The Moderns
The Loft is an interesting kind of a place for a first timer and the thing that stands out as you walk in? No house music. The place was already awkward enough due to the unfortunate lack of people, and the absence of house music just made it that little bit more awkward. But as time went by, more and more people arrived, and it became less evident. But still...
This night, "Restless @ The Loft" is not your average gig night. For one, in the courtyard outside, there was a woman painting a canvas. She started with something blank, and before the night was out had a stunning painting. Also, before each band, there were three poets performing spoken word. T'was a little strange, but actually kind of awesome. My favourite, a piece full of Harry Potter puns. It was, shall we say, puntastic. Because of the poets however, the turnaround between sets seemed to go on forever, meaning the main act did not start until 11:40. That's a tad late for an intimate gig in a tiny venue methinks.
The music! The Moderns opened the night with their indie-rock tunes. For me, they weren't all that special. This is not to say they weren't good, and I didn't enjoy them, quite the contrary. I did enjoy them, it's just that their songs melded one and started to sound the same. There was a funk number thrown into the mix, and that was the highlight of the set for me. It made me chuckle a little, that brothers Andre and Levi were wearing matching akubra hats for the set. Some girls wear feathered headbands when they play, these lads wear akubras. Nice!
Buick Six were up next after some more spoken word. I have heard so much about this band, but never seen them live. And now I'm kicking myself. They were really good. Why haven't I seen them earlier! Their music was right up my alley with the pop-rock-indie-funk sound. To tell you the truth, I don't really know what to genre to call them. To me, they are called awesome. It always fascinates me to see a drummer singing and tonight, all three bands had singing drummers! Go figure. What was slightly different about Buick Six compared to the other bands tonight was the way there was an interchange between the frontman and drummer in the vocal department. They rarely sang at the same time and it made for a different feel because of the sparseness of the harmonies.
There's not much I can fault with Drawn From Bees. They have always been one of the bands I look out for, and seeing them again after almost a year gave me great pleasure. I'd almost forgotten how tight this band are live. Tonight however, guitarist Raven Jones was MIA and instead they were joined on stage by a chick playing keys. I wonder what was going on there... Anyway... Where Buick Six stayed away form the vocal harmonies in general, Drawn From Bees were the complete opposite. Dan James, Stew Riddle and Matt Wedmaier created lush, full three part harmonies that always remind me of one of my favourite Canadian Indie bands, Immaculate Machine. Their vocals always bring a smile to my face, as they are just that good. There are just not that many bands who can pull off proper vocal harmonies these days. Their new repertoire is allowing the band to move forward, while retaining that certain something that makes the guys just that little bit different and unique. Avant-garde even.
What a night. Art, spoken word, music and an all round good atmosphere (once the place had a few people in it). It was well worth the road trip.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Gotye - 9 October 2011, Brisbane Powerhouse
w/ Oscar + Martin
I had been buzzing with excitement about this gig for weeks, and the anticipation was not at all without substance. The show was absolutely sensational. First of all, the Visy Theater was the ideal venue for a show like this. Having now seen the show, I couldn't imagine it one of the other Brisbane venues like The HiFi or even The Tivoli.
As you walk into the theater, all you can see is MacBooks, synths, and percussion of every variety (including the three partial kits along with the complete kit). Oscar + Martin opened the show to a slightly disappointed crowd, but they soon warm up the room and had us moving and dancing along. I didn't quite get what they were all about in their short set though. Usually, even in a 25-30 minute set, I can work out what a band has got going on. But with these guys, each song was so completely different that I didn't know what was standard and what was slightly atypical. This fascinates me. Now I know that the duo is call Oscar + Martin but every second song their female vocalist friend cam and joined them on stage. Thing is, she's be on for one, off for one, on for one, off for one... And so on throughout the entirety of the set. A good set should have continuity rather than stopping, welcoming another member, starting, then rinsing and repeating. Regardless, I really did enjoy what I heard, and have since discovered more.
Wally De Backer the genius behind Gotye can do no wrong. After the longest set change in history, which was not unexpected from a Gotye set (7 mac computers that I could see and umpteen amounts of electronic interfaces connecting them this way and that) he took to the stage. With his back to the audience, he began the set with 'Making Mirrors', the opening number to his new record of the same name. Next up was 'Eyes Wide Open' and he had everyone hooked. What made this show all the more spectacular was the use of imagery behind the music. As soon as the album was release he uploaded videos for two of his unreleased songs. These featured two completely different animation styles which perfectly complemented the music they were accompanying them. These two, along with excerpts from the previously released 'Eyes Wide Open' and 'Hearts A Mess' videos, as well as new, unreleased animations provided unobtrusive accompaniment to the music Gotye and his "Mini Orchestra" created. Needless to say the set was freaking sweet! Something that baffled me in the funniest and best way though, 'Somebody That I Used To Know'. He explicitly said, "Because Kimbra can't be with us tonight, I expect you all to sing in her place. I look forward to being told to f**k off by the lot of you". And so when Kimbra's verse came along, lo and behold not one member on stage took the mic, but instead let the entirety of the audience sing the verse. It certainly was a unique experience to behold and I am so glad I could be there to experience it. He last official song was 'Bronte' which I though was a brave choice. After getting the crowd so hyped up, it takes talent to bring is all back. And 'Bronte' is the only choice for that. There was not a sound from anyone else in the room. It was breathtaking. And the encore, well. He got us right back there.
So... Wow. I did like that he played only two songs from his previous album ('Hearts A Mess' and 'Learalilgivinanlovin', and left the rest of the time for all the material from the new album. This is a very good thing. So this was certainly an incredible gig to witness, with moments that made me grin like a stupid fool, and moments that almost made me cry. Wally De Backer is certainly one talented mofo.
I had been buzzing with excitement about this gig for weeks, and the anticipation was not at all without substance. The show was absolutely sensational. First of all, the Visy Theater was the ideal venue for a show like this. Having now seen the show, I couldn't imagine it one of the other Brisbane venues like The HiFi or even The Tivoli.
As you walk into the theater, all you can see is MacBooks, synths, and percussion of every variety (including the three partial kits along with the complete kit). Oscar + Martin opened the show to a slightly disappointed crowd, but they soon warm up the room and had us moving and dancing along. I didn't quite get what they were all about in their short set though. Usually, even in a 25-30 minute set, I can work out what a band has got going on. But with these guys, each song was so completely different that I didn't know what was standard and what was slightly atypical. This fascinates me. Now I know that the duo is call Oscar + Martin but every second song their female vocalist friend cam and joined them on stage. Thing is, she's be on for one, off for one, on for one, off for one... And so on throughout the entirety of the set. A good set should have continuity rather than stopping, welcoming another member, starting, then rinsing and repeating. Regardless, I really did enjoy what I heard, and have since discovered more.
Wally De Backer the genius behind Gotye can do no wrong. After the longest set change in history, which was not unexpected from a Gotye set (7 mac computers that I could see and umpteen amounts of electronic interfaces connecting them this way and that) he took to the stage. With his back to the audience, he began the set with 'Making Mirrors', the opening number to his new record of the same name. Next up was 'Eyes Wide Open' and he had everyone hooked. What made this show all the more spectacular was the use of imagery behind the music. As soon as the album was release he uploaded videos for two of his unreleased songs. These featured two completely different animation styles which perfectly complemented the music they were accompanying them. These two, along with excerpts from the previously released 'Eyes Wide Open' and 'Hearts A Mess' videos, as well as new, unreleased animations provided unobtrusive accompaniment to the music Gotye and his "Mini Orchestra" created. Needless to say the set was freaking sweet! Something that baffled me in the funniest and best way though, 'Somebody That I Used To Know'. He explicitly said, "Because Kimbra can't be with us tonight, I expect you all to sing in her place. I look forward to being told to f**k off by the lot of you". And so when Kimbra's verse came along, lo and behold not one member on stage took the mic, but instead let the entirety of the audience sing the verse. It certainly was a unique experience to behold and I am so glad I could be there to experience it. He last official song was 'Bronte' which I though was a brave choice. After getting the crowd so hyped up, it takes talent to bring is all back. And 'Bronte' is the only choice for that. There was not a sound from anyone else in the room. It was breathtaking. And the encore, well. He got us right back there.
So... Wow. I did like that he played only two songs from his previous album ('Hearts A Mess' and 'Learalilgivinanlovin', and left the rest of the time for all the material from the new album. This is a very good thing. So this was certainly an incredible gig to witness, with moments that made me grin like a stupid fool, and moments that almost made me cry. Wally De Backer is certainly one talented mofo.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
The Cat Empire - 29 September 2011, The Zoo
w/ Eagle and the Worm
The Cat Empire are celebrating their 10th year making music, and celebrating in a big way. Two sold out shows at The Zoo, two sold out shows at The Tivoli. Four night straight, and I'm guessing four nights of heinous partying. And I was privileged to get in for night one. For me, I have long been a Cat Empire fan, but this was the first time I had seen them live. And this was probably the best show to have come in on. But more on that soon.
They were preceded by the wonderful Eagle and the Worm who I can't get enough of. BIGSOUND showed me that they are amazing live, but stall for time. And you know what? This is exactly what they did tonight as well! I do love this band, but this front man, spends way too much time wasting time. There are occasion where you butter the crowd up, and other time where you show just what you're made of. This is one of the times for the latter. You are supporting an amazing band, and you need to make an impression, not annoy the crowd who only really want to see the main act. Also, whoever was doing the sound for the guys did a terrible job. The balance was all wrong, and it made my ears bleed a little bit. But! Upon walking into The Zoo, I did notice a second mixing desk, lets hope The Cat Empire's own sounds guy does a better job.
So, set time - Eagle and the Worm 8.35-9.20, The Cat Empire 9.45-11.30. Do that math. That's an hour and forty-five minutes for The Cat Empire. And seriously it was an hour and forty-five minutes of bliss. They played a set of old favourites, choosing to celebrate their 10 year history rather then throwing in some new material also. I've said previously that there is a line between an "amateur" professional band and a professional band. Again, the line between Eagle and the Worm and The Cat Empire was vast. It really does show why this band have successful been together for 10 years. For their entire set there was no down time, no moment where there was no energy. They played everything from 'How to Explain' to 'Call Me Home' with 'Fishies' and 'In My Pocket" in the mix also. This is not to mention their two main hits 'Hello' and 'Sly'. They had everyone swaying, jumping, bobbing, clapping and whatever else without even trying, and you know what? They looked good doing it. Felix Riebl has a certain sexiness to him when he's on stage, and it makes everything seem so swarve. Harry James Angus on the other hand brings the sound of the traditional rawness to the ensemble. Ollie McGill (keys) on the other hand, looks like he in another dimension when he plays. It's entrancing to watch.
I said that Kimbra's gig was gig of the year so far, this has topped it easily! But with Gotye up next week, I think I have to be careful what I say for now. But, know this. The Cat Empire are still kicking, and going strong. I can not wait to hear their new music. They say it's going to be epic, and I believe them wholeheartedly.
The Cat Empire are celebrating their 10th year making music, and celebrating in a big way. Two sold out shows at The Zoo, two sold out shows at The Tivoli. Four night straight, and I'm guessing four nights of heinous partying. And I was privileged to get in for night one. For me, I have long been a Cat Empire fan, but this was the first time I had seen them live. And this was probably the best show to have come in on. But more on that soon.
They were preceded by the wonderful Eagle and the Worm who I can't get enough of. BIGSOUND showed me that they are amazing live, but stall for time. And you know what? This is exactly what they did tonight as well! I do love this band, but this front man, spends way too much time wasting time. There are occasion where you butter the crowd up, and other time where you show just what you're made of. This is one of the times for the latter. You are supporting an amazing band, and you need to make an impression, not annoy the crowd who only really want to see the main act. Also, whoever was doing the sound for the guys did a terrible job. The balance was all wrong, and it made my ears bleed a little bit. But! Upon walking into The Zoo, I did notice a second mixing desk, lets hope The Cat Empire's own sounds guy does a better job.
So, set time - Eagle and the Worm 8.35-9.20, The Cat Empire 9.45-11.30. Do that math. That's an hour and forty-five minutes for The Cat Empire. And seriously it was an hour and forty-five minutes of bliss. They played a set of old favourites, choosing to celebrate their 10 year history rather then throwing in some new material also. I've said previously that there is a line between an "amateur" professional band and a professional band. Again, the line between Eagle and the Worm and The Cat Empire was vast. It really does show why this band have successful been together for 10 years. For their entire set there was no down time, no moment where there was no energy. They played everything from 'How to Explain' to 'Call Me Home' with 'Fishies' and 'In My Pocket" in the mix also. This is not to mention their two main hits 'Hello' and 'Sly'. They had everyone swaying, jumping, bobbing, clapping and whatever else without even trying, and you know what? They looked good doing it. Felix Riebl has a certain sexiness to him when he's on stage, and it makes everything seem so swarve. Harry James Angus on the other hand brings the sound of the traditional rawness to the ensemble. Ollie McGill (keys) on the other hand, looks like he in another dimension when he plays. It's entrancing to watch.
I said that Kimbra's gig was gig of the year so far, this has topped it easily! But with Gotye up next week, I think I have to be careful what I say for now. But, know this. The Cat Empire are still kicking, and going strong. I can not wait to hear their new music. They say it's going to be epic, and I believe them wholeheartedly.
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