w/ Patrick James, The Phoncurves
As I walked around the corner to Alhambra Lounge, I was greeted with a
200m line to get into the venue. This was both a good and a bad thing.
Good, as it meant The Paper Kites and support acts would play to a packed out crowd in the small venue, but bad because it was quite chilly.
Up first was Brisbane duo The Phoncurves. Unfortunately
because of the ridiculously slow line outside to get in, I missed most
of their set. However what I did see was delightful. The girls sung
beautifully together with the vocals blending so very well. Their final
song, “Do Do Do” was quite different form the rest of the songs in their
set, utilizing a sampler to create extra depth to the vocals. This song
sounded quite reminiscent of a Doo-wop kind of song. Really cool.
Next up was Patrick James and band. These guys are the reason I
love Indie-folk music. One, they use a banjo, a proper banjo. None of
this ‘ganjo’ crap. And two, they sing with such conviction in three part
harmony. It was so good to hear them singing together so well.
Frontman, Patrick James, has an intriguing stage presence, and you can
hear such emotion in the way he sings. One of the new songs “Stay” was
really something. A lot mellower than those they had played previously.
They then invited Christina from The Paper Kites, to sings a duo
entitled “Shine” which was probably my favourite of the set: so very
simple in its statement yet quite beautiful. They concluded their set
with a self-proclaimed hoedown, which was good fun indeed.
So, before tonight, I’d only heard little snippets from The Paper Kites,
but as a live experience, this band are breathtaking. They opened with
“Featherstone” and that set the tone for the rest of the gig. Again, as
will all the bands on the register for tonight, the vocals were
gorgeous. The harmonies between the frontman, the guitarist, and
Christina were stunning, and perfectly matched. So when the played songs
that had a single acoustic guitar and three vocalists sensing in
harmony, it was otherworldly. You hear this on their recordings, but to
hear it live makes it something more special. By the time they got to
“Bloom” they had the audience almost silent, which is no mean feat for a
band to achieve. They encouraged everyone to join in the whistling in
this song, and it’s got to be one of the most hilarious crowd
participation activities I’ve been apart of. Whistling a tune is
deceptively hard it would seem. The next songs they played, “Paint” the
frontman asked for complete silence, and to my surprise, he got it. For
the entirety of the song, there was not a sound in the venue. Only
melodious vocals and guitars. The roar after the song concluded was more
than well deserved. It was a wow moment.
This gig was certainly something special, and has restored my faith
in indie-folk music. These three acts are amazing, especially The Paper Kites.
I wouldn’t want to go on tour as that band though. The amount of gear
they brought with them was insane. Two six-sting acoustics, a 12-string
acoustic, and electric guitar, a bass, a mandolin, a slide guitar, a
banjo, and whatever the drummer wanted to bring with him. Insane...
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Monday, July 2, 2012
Tin Can Radio - 28 June 2012, Black Bear Lodge
w/ Rapids, Fushia
Tin Can Radio has to be one of the most underrated bands out there. They work so hard, and yet never seem to reap the rewards that those contemporaries achieve. I can’t understand this, when you attend one of their shows, you just can’t help but feel happy and dance around like an idiot.
Opening the night was indie rock outfit, Fushia. They have this awesome little rock-y feel to them with a whole lot of synth, topped with funky bass lines. The band’s 'new' keyboard player was great. I can’t imagine what the band was like before this, but hell, I like what they’re putting out now. They wrote a song about having a whole lot of fun and my, oh my, that song was indeed a whole lot of fun. And catchy as all hell. This is the kind of band where I couldn’t keep a silly little grin off my face. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, I know that I’ve found a good thing.
Rapids took to the stage nest, and to be honest, I don’t know what to make of this band. They played a tight set, and musically were great. But at times I found the indie-pop sound they made to be a little generic. There was so much energy on stage, and they certainly enjoy what they do, but I think they need a little more diversity between their songs. “Shoppe Sorry”, their last tune was definitely the highlight of the set, as it was a lot more funk inspired than the rest, which set it apart.
The first thing I have to note about Tin Can Radio: there is so much hair in this band. Each band member has more luxurious hair than most women have, especially the bass player. Seriously, that’s just not fair! Second thing I have to note, Rob Nobillia’s three unit synth set up was epic. Mainly because it was set up on what looked like an ironing board. No joke. This made me happy inside. Tonight was the official launch of their latest single, “It Goes On”, as well as their new project, The Audie Democracy Project. With this project, fans get to decide which tracks the band will record for their new EP. I think this is such a brilliant idea, and actually gets those people who love the band involved in the process.
They played a whole bunch of these songs tonight, and oh my, they are just rad! There was one new track where everyone disposed of their guitars and took up a synth to create a wall of sound. There was no pre-record in the background and it was being created live. Blew my mind. Every time you hear the band play an older track, “Hot Trash”, “A Deafening Silence” and “Skeletons” for example, It was a completely new arrangement, with a different array of synth sounds and slightly different formula. That is a sign of a good band. When you can go to a gig and have a completely new experience of the same song, from both the recorded version and the version you heard at the previous gig.
You know your listening to a Tin Can Radio song when you look around and you can see the crowd pulsing and dancing around like crazy people, then when the band hit the half tempo bridge they immediately follow suit. The band had every body at the Black Bear Lodge in the palm of their hands tonight. With ease.
Tin Can Radio has to be one of the most underrated bands out there. They work so hard, and yet never seem to reap the rewards that those contemporaries achieve. I can’t understand this, when you attend one of their shows, you just can’t help but feel happy and dance around like an idiot.
Opening the night was indie rock outfit, Fushia. They have this awesome little rock-y feel to them with a whole lot of synth, topped with funky bass lines. The band’s 'new' keyboard player was great. I can’t imagine what the band was like before this, but hell, I like what they’re putting out now. They wrote a song about having a whole lot of fun and my, oh my, that song was indeed a whole lot of fun. And catchy as all hell. This is the kind of band where I couldn’t keep a silly little grin off my face. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, I know that I’ve found a good thing.
Rapids took to the stage nest, and to be honest, I don’t know what to make of this band. They played a tight set, and musically were great. But at times I found the indie-pop sound they made to be a little generic. There was so much energy on stage, and they certainly enjoy what they do, but I think they need a little more diversity between their songs. “Shoppe Sorry”, their last tune was definitely the highlight of the set, as it was a lot more funk inspired than the rest, which set it apart.
The first thing I have to note about Tin Can Radio: there is so much hair in this band. Each band member has more luxurious hair than most women have, especially the bass player. Seriously, that’s just not fair! Second thing I have to note, Rob Nobillia’s three unit synth set up was epic. Mainly because it was set up on what looked like an ironing board. No joke. This made me happy inside. Tonight was the official launch of their latest single, “It Goes On”, as well as their new project, The Audie Democracy Project. With this project, fans get to decide which tracks the band will record for their new EP. I think this is such a brilliant idea, and actually gets those people who love the band involved in the process.
They played a whole bunch of these songs tonight, and oh my, they are just rad! There was one new track where everyone disposed of their guitars and took up a synth to create a wall of sound. There was no pre-record in the background and it was being created live. Blew my mind. Every time you hear the band play an older track, “Hot Trash”, “A Deafening Silence” and “Skeletons” for example, It was a completely new arrangement, with a different array of synth sounds and slightly different formula. That is a sign of a good band. When you can go to a gig and have a completely new experience of the same song, from both the recorded version and the version you heard at the previous gig.
You know your listening to a Tin Can Radio song when you look around and you can see the crowd pulsing and dancing around like crazy people, then when the band hit the half tempo bridge they immediately follow suit. The band had every body at the Black Bear Lodge in the palm of their hands tonight. With ease.
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