w/ The Starry Field, Mountains
Tigertown are an entity unto themselves. The five-piece boast
luscious harmonies and a cleanly polished set. The Sydneysiders played
to a sold out Black Bear Lodge for their 'What You Came Here For'
National tour, which is already deserving of kudos!
Opening the night was Mountains. The front-man has a really
interesting voice that is captivating to listen to. As he played his
first song without the rest of the band, I was somewhat enchanted. When
the rest of the band did join him on stage, the sound they created was a
perfect balance of electronic sounds meets live performance. The
drummer played a semi-electric kit, but what sets this band apart from
mindless electronic music was the fact that it wasn’t smacking you in
the face. It was controlled yet with the balls-y synth layers it was the
perfect underlay for the brilliant vocals. An all-round classy act.
Next to warm up the stage were The Starry Field. To tell you
the truth, I was not altogether impressed. While front-man Mark Myers
has a stunning voice, he sang in the same sweet spot in his voice for
almost the entirety of the set. This made everything, regardless of the
nature of the song, sound a bit 'same-same'. That said, however, they
had a nice range of songs, the last song of their set being a particular
highlight.
I’ve heard bits and pieces from headliners Tigertown, but I've
never really had a listening party. But tonight, I was simply blown
away. Tigertown themselves are truly a sensational little band and to me
have a very Fleetwook Mac kind of sound. Also, they have such precision
in their playing and it makes everything sound just a little too easy -
in the best possible way. Their latest single 'What You Came Here For'
is, frankly, remarkable. It has all the makings of a little indie hit.
The girls work so well together as vocalists, and it was a pleasure
to listen to them sing. When the entire band come to the front to
perform their acoustic song, it was simply stunning and totally
different from everything else in their already diverse repertoire. The
band’s music is a really nice balance of simple electro, music you want
to pulse along to and music you actually want to listen to. Forgive the
corniness, but it is, quite simply, music to make you happy.
For a first listen, I was really impressed by this band. They have so
much going for them, and their career is only just beginning. If you do
ever have an opportunity to check them out, make sure you do. You will
not regret it in the slightest.
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Michelle Xen - 31 May 2013, Alhambra Lounge
w/ MKO, Scraps
It’s always fun when three local bands get together to put on a show and when these three acts are incredibly fun electro acts, it makes it rather rad. We have Michelle Xen to thank for this.
Opening the night was experimental act Scraps. She had a really cool vibe to her music, with vocals that floated over the top. I would have loved it however, if you could actually understand the vocals. They were so far in the back of the mix that it didn’t really add to anything she was creating on stage apart from another layer of effects. Also, there was so much reverb and delay I’m blowed if I could understand anything of what she said when when she tried to talk to the audience. As a producer, she is rad. And what she created was fabulously amazing.
Next up was MKO, and oh my! What a set of chops. Backed by a talented group of musicians, frontwoman Hannah Macklin's voice is certainly a force to be reckoned with. They produce a really cool funk vibe with their music. The bass was fat, the synths were captivating and the drums were insane. Mid set they broke from their funky vibe to play “Shadows”, which had a really different feel to it. It proves that this band is quite amazing. They closed with “Sexy You” another really rad tune that was the perfect way to close the set.
Headlining the night was the beautiful Michelle Xen. She came out donned in a patterned dress, with an outrageous cloak thrown over the top. You have to understand that I mean 'outrageous' in the most fashionably amazing way possible. Throughout the course of the set there was also a black fluffy, and a colourful material coat. I love it! “Cleopatra” was something I was not expecting; it was even more weird and wondrous. Michelle’s music had much more of a chilled electro than the other two bands, but at the same time it was still true to the electro genre.
Michelle is such a spirited and dramatic performer, matched only by her synth player. It certainly makes for something entertaining to watch. The new single “Lose My Cool” was definitely the highlight of the set. She picked up a dozen roses and during the casually decided to toss them away, pulling petals out as she went.
It was such an amazing even filled with music made for dancing, and let me tell you, there was certainly a lot of it.
It’s always fun when three local bands get together to put on a show and when these three acts are incredibly fun electro acts, it makes it rather rad. We have Michelle Xen to thank for this.
Opening the night was experimental act Scraps. She had a really cool vibe to her music, with vocals that floated over the top. I would have loved it however, if you could actually understand the vocals. They were so far in the back of the mix that it didn’t really add to anything she was creating on stage apart from another layer of effects. Also, there was so much reverb and delay I’m blowed if I could understand anything of what she said when when she tried to talk to the audience. As a producer, she is rad. And what she created was fabulously amazing.
Next up was MKO, and oh my! What a set of chops. Backed by a talented group of musicians, frontwoman Hannah Macklin's voice is certainly a force to be reckoned with. They produce a really cool funk vibe with their music. The bass was fat, the synths were captivating and the drums were insane. Mid set they broke from their funky vibe to play “Shadows”, which had a really different feel to it. It proves that this band is quite amazing. They closed with “Sexy You” another really rad tune that was the perfect way to close the set.
Headlining the night was the beautiful Michelle Xen. She came out donned in a patterned dress, with an outrageous cloak thrown over the top. You have to understand that I mean 'outrageous' in the most fashionably amazing way possible. Throughout the course of the set there was also a black fluffy, and a colourful material coat. I love it! “Cleopatra” was something I was not expecting; it was even more weird and wondrous. Michelle’s music had much more of a chilled electro than the other two bands, but at the same time it was still true to the electro genre.
Michelle is such a spirited and dramatic performer, matched only by her synth player. It certainly makes for something entertaining to watch. The new single “Lose My Cool” was definitely the highlight of the set. She picked up a dozen roses and during the casually decided to toss them away, pulling petals out as she went.
It was such an amazing even filled with music made for dancing, and let me tell you, there was certainly a lot of it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)