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.
No comments:
Post a Comment