..and heres a taste of the sparkling repartee, boyish good looks and singalong pop hooks that make Hard Skin a by-word for top notch family entertainment across the globe...err or so it says here.
Thursday, December 26, 2013
Hard Skin
Hard Skin, Bendigo Hotel, 15th Dec 2013
"Gimme an oooh" -"OOOH!", "Gimme an Aye" -"AYEEEE!", "Gimme an Exclamation mark" -"(confused shouting)" , "Put it together and what have you got?" - "OI! OI! OI! Oi! Oi! oi! etc etc "
..and heres a taste of the sparkling repartee, boyish good looks and singalong pop hooks that make Hard Skin a by-word for top notch family entertainment across the globe...err or so it says here.
..and heres a taste of the sparkling repartee, boyish good looks and singalong pop hooks that make Hard Skin a by-word for top notch family entertainment across the globe...err or so it says here.
Monday, December 23, 2013
Razorcut
Razorcut, Bendigo Hotel Dec 15th 2013
Same band , same venue but a different lineup for the Razorcuts : this time Chelsea cut Guitarist is replaced by Stern skin Gibson Boy, the ungainly singer replaced by a really tall and slightly more gainly front man (and he sang a few numbers on the floor which is always the way to bump up those Geschlect brownie points).
Notwithstanding the significant personnel changes and a slightly heavier feel Razorcut remain a really really good band, the new guitarist was actually excellent , I'm a fender man but when an SG is done well its hard to beat : this guy did the gang-vox and some crystal clear riffage that conjured up the greats like Dag Nasty and even the Ramones, and Best of all: not a single solo all the way through.
Rumour has it Santa may give me their new 10" for Christmas , if I'm good.... until then here's "Battles" from the show:
Notwithstanding the significant personnel changes and a slightly heavier feel Razorcut remain a really really good band, the new guitarist was actually excellent , I'm a fender man but when an SG is done well its hard to beat : this guy did the gang-vox and some crystal clear riffage that conjured up the greats like Dag Nasty and even the Ramones, and Best of all: not a single solo all the way through.
Rumour has it Santa may give me their new 10" for Christmas , if I'm good.... until then here's "Battles" from the show:
Monday, December 16, 2013
Peter Murphy
Peter Murphy (Bauhaus), Corner Hotel , Dec 12 2013
{ This post has been edited to remove the negative, spiteful and unpleasant stuff I posted originally. My Apologies go out to both the Corporation of London and George Michael }
....
What no "Kick in the eye"? NO "KICK IN THE EYE"???? ........
,,,
... AND no "Kick in the Eye"!!......
.....
...
..
.... heres Passion of Lovers .....
.
....
What no "Kick in the eye"? NO "KICK IN THE EYE"???? ........
,,,
... AND no "Kick in the Eye"!!......
.....
...
..
.... heres Passion of Lovers .....
.
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Jonny Telafone
Jonny Telafone, Liberty Social Club. Nov 21st 2013
The liberty social is a very dark, very smelly Goth club ..all very distressed-dystopia I'm sure, but it has - I can state with no fear of contradiction, the most foul, putrid, rank and sickly decomposing sticky-carpet known to Christendom, it makes Yah Yahs look like Crown Casino. Yucko.
I'd never heard of this dude before tonight, but he was a very cool . His voice was treated to buggery and the backing track canned so the set had an almost surreal "Blade Runner-out-take Marc Almond/Simon le Bon space-station-karaoke crooning" quality, especially with the awesome rear projections which had his image rotating in a cube like some kind of New Romantic Zod in the phantom zone.
Here's my (as always) crappy clip of Jonny doing his stuff:
And here's the real thing:
So this was the showcase/wake for Nhilistic Orbs label, no playing times were announced because we were assured bands would be playing in chronological order with the Primitive Calculators taking Chromedomes' (NO003) spot. Hmmm maybe that was just a ploy to get people there early cos we left during Forces/Repairs (NO006/4) (I can never tell them buggers apart) and there was no sign of the CalcuDomes. It was a free show and by that time it was getting very packed and very warm.
ASPS (NO002) were a different act tonight, literally and figuratively : the singer was joined by an extra boy/girl synth pair that beefed up the sound and she let rip with a vocal range and strength that was unexpected. The last number in particular was really intense, exhilarating and spine tingling stuff...
I'd never heard of this dude before tonight, but he was a very cool . His voice was treated to buggery and the backing track canned so the set had an almost surreal "Blade Runner-out-take Marc Almond/Simon le Bon space-station-karaoke crooning" quality, especially with the awesome rear projections which had his image rotating in a cube like some kind of New Romantic Zod in the phantom zone.
Here's my (as always) crappy clip of Jonny doing his stuff:
And here's the real thing:
So this was the showcase/wake for Nhilistic Orbs label, no playing times were announced because we were assured bands would be playing in chronological order with the Primitive Calculators taking Chromedomes' (NO003) spot. Hmmm maybe that was just a ploy to get people there early cos we left during Forces/Repairs (NO006/4) (I can never tell them buggers apart) and there was no sign of the CalcuDomes. It was a free show and by that time it was getting very packed and very warm.
ASPS (NO002) were a different act tonight, literally and figuratively : the singer was joined by an extra boy/girl synth pair that beefed up the sound and she let rip with a vocal range and strength that was unexpected. The last number in particular was really intense, exhilarating and spine tingling stuff...
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Silver Daggers
Silver Daggers, We Didn't Pay EP. (NotNotFun)
Id only discovered Missing Link/Collectors Corner place was open a week or so before, scary since I park my bike nearly opposite most days, its a couple of doors down (and a couple of flights up ) from where the old Missing Link shop used to be and is more collectors corner than new stuff, even though there's a few new releases there and really you only go into these places to get a copy of Vice and look at the flyers don't you , really?...oh and to go see bands play for free at lunchtime like.. "Four Door" today...
The guy who did what vocals there were commented that they were probably better appreciated a bit later in the day...it certainly was almost uncomfortable watching the largely static pair fiddling with their knobs and switches with the afternoon sun coming through the windows . It all sounded a bit "electronica" to me and I made a mental note not to bother staying up too late to see them later that night.
But I got there a few minutes early and had a flick through the singles section while they got their shit together, finding this little gem tucked away in the "discount punk/hardcore/emo 7"" section. I've got no idea why I had this band name in my "look out for" list , but I did, I cant find any of their songs downloaded on my machines so it must just have been something I read.
Anyway I couldn't resist buying it: beautiful recycled card sleeve, stitched and screen printed, with some cool graphics and lyrics on the insert pages. The liner notes say it was recorded at the Smell (some sort of anarcho/community venue/space in CA) and it sounds like it may have been live to an cassette player during a rehearsal but it still works .
The keyboards are not real strong in the anti-mix, you wouldnt call this synth-punk but the vocals and spastic rhythms are up there with the Dog Faced Hermans, The Ex and all those English post-Big Flame bipolar/scatter/thrash bands from the same aesthetic/era that informed the sleeve art.
Id only discovered Missing Link/Collectors Corner place was open a week or so before, scary since I park my bike nearly opposite most days, its a couple of doors down (and a couple of flights up ) from where the old Missing Link shop used to be and is more collectors corner than new stuff, even though there's a few new releases there and really you only go into these places to get a copy of Vice and look at the flyers don't you , really?...oh and to go see bands play for free at lunchtime like.. "Four Door" today...The guy who did what vocals there were commented that they were probably better appreciated a bit later in the day...it certainly was almost uncomfortable watching the largely static pair fiddling with their knobs and switches with the afternoon sun coming through the windows . It all sounded a bit "electronica" to me and I made a mental note not to bother staying up too late to see them later that night.
Anyway I couldn't resist buying it: beautiful recycled card sleeve, stitched and screen printed, with some cool graphics and lyrics on the insert pages. The liner notes say it was recorded at the Smell (some sort of anarcho/community venue/space in CA) and it sounds like it may have been live to an cassette player during a rehearsal but it still works .
The keyboards are not real strong in the anti-mix, you wouldnt call this synth-punk but the vocals and spastic rhythms are up there with the Dog Faced Hermans, The Ex and all those English post-Big Flame bipolar/scatter/thrash bands from the same aesthetic/era that informed the sleeve art.
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Diesel Dudes
Rec Centre, Oakland CA. Aug 18th 2012
Goth Horse records finally got round to mailing me the wonderful Diesel Dudes cassette : "Born Brute". I love this band ..they blew me away first time I heard them (random web trawling) and I got to experience them live in Oakland and San Francisco last year ...gimp masks, baby oil, mass push ups, free cheeseburgers...well you just had to be there I guess.
Main man Doug's songs at first seem like the archetypal EBM macho bullshit, but the songs question, overturn and completely compromise that mindset/conditioning/disease with pokerfaced irreverence. Despite the testosterone oozing muscle obsessions the boy aint no jock... as if the nappy didnt give that away.
Okay I admit I cheated with this one 'cos its the mp3 dubbed onto the live video, it was filmed at the absolutely deranged REC Centre show with mnttaB last year. I got lost looking for the venue (as usual) and traipsed around parts of Oakland which I learned later where not exactly the best places to be wandering around after dark... but I found it (a decrepit rehearsal space filled with crazies) and had the best night of my trip.
Listen to this puppy- and then try to tell me you didn't wiggle at least 3 different parts of your anatomy ..probly in different directions at the same time!
I've always worshipped at the alter of guitar rock, but I often stray in moments of weakness, tempted by the irresistible appeal of a badly operated sequencer.. no, credit where its due - its fucken hard to be this minimal and that exciting - this band takes me back to the guilty and largely secret pleasures of my youth listening to 12"s bought on dole day at the Notting Hill Record Exchange from acts like Portion Control, HardCorps and of course Nitzer Ebb..and Im pretty fucken happy about that.
Rumour has it the boys are putting the finishing touches on a 7" for release in the new year...cant wait, until then here's their hit PitBull, you haven't heard it yet? .... loser.
Main man Doug's songs at first seem like the archetypal EBM macho bullshit, but the songs question, overturn and completely compromise that mindset/conditioning/disease with pokerfaced irreverence. Despite the testosterone oozing muscle obsessions the boy aint no jock... as if the nappy didnt give that away.
Okay I admit I cheated with this one 'cos its the mp3 dubbed onto the live video, it was filmed at the absolutely deranged REC Centre show with mnttaB last year. I got lost looking for the venue (as usual) and traipsed around parts of Oakland which I learned later where not exactly the best places to be wandering around after dark... but I found it (a decrepit rehearsal space filled with crazies) and had the best night of my trip.
Listen to this puppy- and then try to tell me you didn't wiggle at least 3 different parts of your anatomy ..probly in different directions at the same time!
I've always worshipped at the alter of guitar rock, but I often stray in moments of weakness, tempted by the irresistible appeal of a badly operated sequencer.. no, credit where its due - its fucken hard to be this minimal and that exciting - this band takes me back to the guilty and largely secret pleasures of my youth listening to 12"s bought on dole day at the Notting Hill Record Exchange from acts like Portion Control, HardCorps and of course Nitzer Ebb..and Im pretty fucken happy about that.
Rumour has it the boys are putting the finishing touches on a 7" for release in the new year...cant wait, until then here's their hit PitBull, you haven't heard it yet? .... loser.
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Girls Pissing on Girls Pissing
Northcote Social Club, Nov 18th 2013
There's one thing that Aussie bands never really get the hang of, and that is: "Angry". They may spit and shout , scream and snarl but its always a bit self conscious ..a bit tongue in cheek somehow. GPoGP are from NZ, it rains a lot there, they have real fucking EARTHQUAKES and they aren't like us, GPoGP aren't just a bit pissed off, these guys strike you as genuinely upset (bordering on postal in fact) about ..well most things probably.
I picked up a tape (but not the book ..regretting that now.) from the Grace Darling show and the cover art is exceptional..I love the way they give credit to an "art director" - something not often seen on a micro-run cassette release I can tell you.
The first track "A Fraud Abroad" is a really great discordant hate-noise-pop song falling somewhere between the Virgin Prunes and Mass covering Pavement... its almost pretty with its dual vocal layers and accidental hooks...the second track "Darwinning" however is a different kettle of fish from the same school of (rejected) fish....
This is Darwinning from the NSC show , thankfully the dude kept his undies (and slacks) on tonight so Saturdays "challenge piled upon challenging" aspect of dealing with a naked guitarist (it was fine until he bent over to adjust his pedals..(shudders at the memory)) was absent but there were still challenges aplenty - with the nearly 7 minute piece (mainly comprised of a vicious barked haranguing from the synth player with very little song structure to provide relief) beaten, abused and ,by the end, stretched with all flesh stripped back to an almost unbearably intense skeletal angst. So good.
Heres a track from their "Eeeling" Album which shows the less unsettling but still un-easy listening side of this great band , managing to jam so many ideas and feelings into simple yet dense songs that seem to teeter on the point of collapse from start to end.
There's one thing that Aussie bands never really get the hang of, and that is: "Angry". They may spit and shout , scream and snarl but its always a bit self conscious ..a bit tongue in cheek somehow. GPoGP are from NZ, it rains a lot there, they have real fucking EARTHQUAKES and they aren't like us, GPoGP aren't just a bit pissed off, these guys strike you as genuinely upset (bordering on postal in fact) about ..well most things probably.
The first track "A Fraud Abroad" is a really great discordant hate-noise-pop song falling somewhere between the Virgin Prunes and Mass covering Pavement... its almost pretty with its dual vocal layers and accidental hooks...the second track "Darwinning" however is a different kettle of fish from the same school of (rejected) fish....
This is Darwinning from the NSC show , thankfully the dude kept his undies (and slacks) on tonight so Saturdays "challenge piled upon challenging" aspect of dealing with a naked guitarist (it was fine until he bent over to adjust his pedals..(shudders at the memory)) was absent but there were still challenges aplenty - with the nearly 7 minute piece (mainly comprised of a vicious barked haranguing from the synth player with very little song structure to provide relief) beaten, abused and ,by the end, stretched with all flesh stripped back to an almost unbearably intense skeletal angst. So good.
Heres a track from their "Eeeling" Album which shows the less unsettling but still un-easy listening side of this great band , managing to jam so many ideas and feelings into simple yet dense songs that seem to teeter on the point of collapse from start to end.
Monday, November 25, 2013
Elizabeth Pistol Club
Grace Darling Basement, 16th Nov 2013
...maybe a lesser man would question his taste when he rates a band so highly and the rest of the (scumbag bogan "you am I" loving ) music stealing world doesn't even notice they exist...Not me! I'm never happier than when I'm the only person standing in a bowling club at midday appreciating a rapidly warming watery domestic and watching a band that has driven everyone else out into the sun.
But tonight the grace darling basement is very dark, the p.a is sub-"screamo band house show" standard and the décor downright tacky...I dont really connect with the Grace Darling story.. Proto Feminist Riot Grrrl icon maybe .. boy! that chick could row..but the sea was involved so you can forgive the clichéd theme the Pubs' interior decorator latched onto: a few ships in bottles/knotted ropes/melted candles/paintings of wrecks and a 100 years of rising damp/solitude.
Anyway as I should have mentioned EPC are a brilliant band.. I love the sturdy churning baselines, the deadpan almost gothic ranting, thunderous drums and caterwauling guitar they sound like they should be from Bradford not Brunswick. I couldn't get a clip of them cos it was so dark the guys couldn't even see the dots on their fret boards ..I tried to get a cunning sillouette of the singer but failed miserably..que "Sony Swirl" effect to the rerscue!....also had to chop the first verse cos the vocal levels were screwed....quality job I know...but Im gonna put this out there cos the band has a policy of only playing one show per year, and Im not getting any younger.
This song is called Stabilizers and while it takes me back - as they always do to Lack of Knowledge (listen to "apologies for the early bits " and tell me Im lying!) also though I'm ashamed to admit it, as I listened to the song again I was reminded of "I'm dead"...how appropriate : comparing a band that only 10 people have heard of to one that 13 have.
They ended the set with an epicly thumping version of "Nice Hands"..so give that a listen here....and get down to the 2014 show..
But tonight the grace darling basement is very dark, the p.a is sub-"screamo band house show" standard and the décor downright tacky...I dont really connect with the Grace Darling story.. Proto Feminist Riot Grrrl icon maybe .. boy! that chick could row..but the sea was involved so you can forgive the clichéd theme the Pubs' interior decorator latched onto: a few ships in bottles/knotted ropes/melted candles/paintings of wrecks and a 100 years of rising damp/solitude.
Anyway as I should have mentioned EPC are a brilliant band.. I love the sturdy churning baselines, the deadpan almost gothic ranting, thunderous drums and caterwauling guitar they sound like they should be from Bradford not Brunswick. I couldn't get a clip of them cos it was so dark the guys couldn't even see the dots on their fret boards ..I tried to get a cunning sillouette of the singer but failed miserably..que "Sony Swirl" effect to the rerscue!....also had to chop the first verse cos the vocal levels were screwed....quality job I know...but Im gonna put this out there cos the band has a policy of only playing one show per year, and Im not getting any younger.
This song is called Stabilizers and while it takes me back - as they always do to Lack of Knowledge (listen to "apologies for the early bits " and tell me Im lying!) also though I'm ashamed to admit it, as I listened to the song again I was reminded of "I'm dead"...how appropriate : comparing a band that only 10 people have heard of to one that 13 have.
They ended the set with an epicly thumping version of "Nice Hands"..so give that a listen here....and get down to the 2014 show..
Blank Realm
Melbourne Music Week, The Residence 18th Nov 2013
I wanted to have a look inside the mushroom/dome/thingy so dropped in on my way home from work..it was awesomely TARDIS like : Authentic 1972 BBC deco and I swear the inside was far bigger than the outside.
Hopefully the dome will be reused and not thrown away at the end of the week...my yard isn't big enough but it would be brilliant as a doof tent at Meredith perhaps.
Blank Realm had a bit of trouble getting the keyboard podium working so their set was abbreviated I suspect. They looked like they would work better on a small stage, but they weren't too phased and had a good time as did my zoom...she hearts good lighting... but enough Queenslanders already!
Hopefully the dome will be reused and not thrown away at the end of the week...my yard isn't big enough but it would be brilliant as a doof tent at Meredith perhaps.
Blank Realm had a bit of trouble getting the keyboard podium working so their set was abbreviated I suspect. They looked like they would work better on a small stage, but they weren't too phased and had a good time as did my zoom...she hearts good lighting... but enough Queenslanders already!
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Paddock Bash
A Paddock (aka Field) Whittlesea, Nov 9th 2013
Then it was bed time.
Much the same as your soul cries out for a bit of guitar after a night on the doof, at 2am I was more than ready for something electronic after a long day of (at best) Avant Garde guitarmanship..
I was in dire need of some beats by the time Monolith arrived and after a nice noisy preamble he delivered big time, rounding off the bash nicely.
Here's a G-Fleck exclusive extract from the performance, it sounds just as good in the cold light of day but was apparently part of a one off "Techno set".. the "regular" Monolith output is a slightly more minimal noise/drone beast but to me doesn't sound sooo far off this, its all pretty fucken good and well worth checking out on the Iceage Productions Bandcamp
ahhh those MAD Nannas, I'm no stranger to substance abuse and I know what its like to play when really just standing up is challenging enough...but a set climaxing with the "artiste" passing out on stage after executing two endless atonal "freeform minimalist" ( I'm being kind) pieces will remain the most appallingly entertaining things I've ever seen. Id joked earlier about putting the Nannas on at 1:30 because they probably wouldn't sound any worse when epically wrecked. I was wrong....
How can you fuck up a one note guitar solo??? easy: try and keep trying again and again.
The Gruntled pushed out a well received immersive wash of jam-band drone and were notable for the use of a butter churner, not something you get to see very often in modern rock.
I think Im warming to Encounter Group, they walk that fine line between very cool and very shoddy, its an interesting place for a stroll and tonight they were leaning precariously towards the former, not sure what the Kitchen Floor dude really added with the extra guitar but whatever...
After the fire was started Aktion Unit did too : seizing their opportunity to have a bash, and a drone...and probably a couple of squeals and a fair bit of whining if truth be known.. they were followed by the mighty Zond who blew what was left (not much) of reality into the sky, best band of the day hands down with extra points for "technical problem hissy fits" too. That was about the time I realised I had bought along a pocketful of flat batteries and would have to be happy with taping a couple of brissie pop bands....so I went in disgust to have a (relatively sane) Nanna nap through the PKE/Gravel Samwidge sets.
Im pretty sure I saw a bit of faspeedelay but things were losing their focus a bit by that time, the bonfire was a monster the likes of which I haven't seen since Guy Fawkes night when I was in the 40th Chingford cub scouts, it lit up the night and damn near torched one of the aforementioned "artistes" who got far closer than I dared, I swear I saw smoke coming off his jacket as my eye brows singed at a safe distance.
The mid arvo QLD contingent continued with Kitchens Floor and an unlikely and very unruly mosh developed, indicating some of the bash "artistes" had begun their run at the rider a little early...and what a rider ! a tent full of booze that would put most provincial bottleshops to shame..
Extrafoxx had a couple of Big Star/Teenage Fanclub (depending upon your age/side of the atlantic) moments of bliss and (apparently) a Simpsons lyric, and the sun kept on shining and all was good.
Bodies and Sewers did their stuff.
Unfortunately Map Ends are not so organised, but who cares if your singer and drummer missed the bus? No worries: you can still knock out a swift impro set with a press ganged drummer and a couple of monster-riffs.
More Amazing: Things are running to schedule and Tangrams are in full flight as we enter the paddock.
The Sun Shines.
Then it was bed time.
 |
Monolith PB2013. Photo by Alyssa McBain.
|
I was in dire need of some beats by the time Monolith arrived and after a nice noisy preamble he delivered big time, rounding off the bash nicely.
Here's a G-Fleck exclusive extract from the performance, it sounds just as good in the cold light of day but was apparently part of a one off "Techno set".. the "regular" Monolith output is a slightly more minimal noise/drone beast but to me doesn't sound sooo far off this, its all pretty fucken good and well worth checking out on the Iceage Productions Bandcamp
ahhh those MAD Nannas, I'm no stranger to substance abuse and I know what its like to play when really just standing up is challenging enough...but a set climaxing with the "artiste" passing out on stage after executing two endless atonal "freeform minimalist" ( I'm being kind) pieces will remain the most appallingly entertaining things I've ever seen. Id joked earlier about putting the Nannas on at 1:30 because they probably wouldn't sound any worse when epically wrecked. I was wrong....
How can you fuck up a one note guitar solo??? easy: try and keep trying again and again.
The Gruntled pushed out a well received immersive wash of jam-band drone and were notable for the use of a butter churner, not something you get to see very often in modern rock.
I think Im warming to Encounter Group, they walk that fine line between very cool and very shoddy, its an interesting place for a stroll and tonight they were leaning precariously towards the former, not sure what the Kitchen Floor dude really added with the extra guitar but whatever...
 |
| Zond Photo by Rene Schaefer |
Im pretty sure I saw a bit of faspeedelay but things were losing their focus a bit by that time, the bonfire was a monster the likes of which I haven't seen since Guy Fawkes night when I was in the 40th Chingford cub scouts, it lit up the night and damn near torched one of the aforementioned "artistes" who got far closer than I dared, I swear I saw smoke coming off his jacket as my eye brows singed at a safe distance.The mid arvo QLD contingent continued with Kitchens Floor and an unlikely and very unruly mosh developed, indicating some of the bash "artistes" had begun their run at the rider a little early...and what a rider ! a tent full of booze that would put most provincial bottleshops to shame..
Extrafoxx had a couple of Big Star/Teenage Fanclub (depending upon your age/side of the atlantic) moments of bliss and (apparently) a Simpsons lyric, and the sun kept on shining and all was good.
Bodies and Sewers did their stuff.
Unfortunately Map Ends are not so organised, but who cares if your singer and drummer missed the bus? No worries: you can still knock out a swift impro set with a press ganged drummer and a couple of monster-riffs.
More Amazing: Things are running to schedule and Tangrams are in full flight as we enter the paddock.
The Sun Shines.
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Teeth and Tongue
Teeth and Tongue, Courtney Barnett, Abottsford Convent.
Best bit of the night was bike riding down (and back up) the side of the Yarra in the dark with a very real possibility of winding up in the soup at every turn, and the venue was pretty cool : the Abbotsford convent technical college.. a bit communist work house, a bit Blakes Seven budget sci-fi set set and a bit 70s NHS hospital ward. There were sharks and rays projected onto the back wall into a sort of Play school window AND there were table tennis tables WITH paddles AND balls!
Best bit of the night was bike riding down (and back up) the side of the Yarra in the dark with a very real possibility of winding up in the soup at every turn, and the venue was pretty cool : the Abbotsford convent technical college.. a bit communist work house, a bit Blakes Seven budget sci-fi set set and a bit 70s NHS hospital ward. There were sharks and rays projected onto the back wall into a sort of Play school window AND there were table tennis tables WITH paddles AND balls!
So Teeth and Tongue are a pop singer (with some backing musicians), ... ok there's nothing wrong with that ,,but who goes to see pop groups in Melbourne in 2013, where's the money in that lark?...without Hey Hey its Saturday and Recovery how does she ever expect to get anywhere? ok shes very pretty, ok she can sing, ok she can play...but pleeeease no more Simple Minds arm waving and condescending Bert Newton entertainer by numbers between song banter....just not my type I guess....they played this one and Its a good contender for pop song of the decade though.. Darryl would(ve) love(d) it:
....I came expecting a cute but quirky, singer/songwriter, 12 string, chick lit , navel inspecting,
Australiana fest but the Courtney Barnetts are a guitar band of the old school, I mean REALLY old school: think Dream Syndicate, Green on Red, Robin Hitchcock....some of the songs chip a couple of carats off the Gram parsons/Smithereens mother lode, but it was with carpet bombing not precision drones....by the time they reached the encores I had drifted back to the table tennis/green room but was mentally transported further to the bad old 90s at the punters club, days when it was considered socially acceptable to round off a 90 minute set with a interminably dull "bluesy" passion killer and a 3 week long Wah-Wah guitar solo led RRRock "work out"...Then It rained on the way home, and it was all up hill....you will tell me if I'm whinging again, won't you?
Maggot Mass
First up: Shovels, ok its probably nothing too revolutionary : Old-school Big-bass AmRep-inspired Noise-Rock with a capital N. but it was just fucking amazing to see/hear a really talented musician like Mike Beach kicking out such discordant, jarring , primal and totally excellent guitar abuse... bang goes my theory that people played like that because they had to.....
And this one in particular kicked , very soundly, thank you: Car Yards' got that Gordons like guitar feel , almost like somethings holding it back and its struggling to go ballistic at all times...even when finally unleashed.
'skipped Sewers and Gentlemen....but Adelaide based Terrible Truths bought a welcome breath of oestrogen to a day of macho swamp rock posturing, they looked very "catholic school "cool and get bonus points for channelling the Au-pairs..(maybe)....Passions ((early ) a bit) and.. Linus (no, maybe not, scrub that: seriously I fucken hated Linus) but at the end of the day theres no mistaking the way girls play guitar...and how many boy bands swap instruments mid set? I love that... its more Un-rock than anything the "ironic" but straight faced retro fender twang by numbers the boys do, over and over again.
Cuntz: ok just back from "conquering" the states but still not really headline band material.. surely? ... yet , they went down well, and there was a bit of moshing happening ...but REALLY? REALLY? ... this material is not really ever gonna get you on the APRA best new artist awards list but I guess you have the get out of jail free of the band name yuh?
I cant help liking em though, theres something irresistible about the size and intensity of the giant neon FUCK YOU! they project, they opened with the popticious "Bin Day" and the set still has a couple of tunes with a synth, friggin Zoom battery ran out in the first, but heres the second: "Meth":
Singer is pushing the boundary between some kind of bipolar but embarrassed 1st gig awkwardness and ...aforementioned bogan in a box swamp rock choreography...its actually quite weird and car-crash compelling to watch ...is he angry or confused..is he wasted or pretending...both?..probly...after all they're pretty much two sides of the same coin... nice Gun Club T-Shirt too.
New album is available in Aus now from Homeless records, here's the other synth led track: Never felt Better...
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
ASPS
Dire Ears, Justin Fuller, ASPS, Multiple Man : Grace Darling, Collingwood, Nov 3rd 2013
Grrrrrr.....got there early I thought, but once again entered a venue while Dire Ears where in full flight, the guy looked different : hair much longer than last time , but that's easily attributed to the hydroponic properties of the lamps..the P.A volume wasn't up to the job tonight though and there was daylight competing with the halogen so while you could argue it was possible to hear more layers/nuances/parts of the sounds I felt the overall Impact lost something and it was a bit flat unfortunately.
Justin Fuller is guitarist of Zond (-really looking forward to seeing them at Paddock Bash 3) but this is the first time Id seen him doing solo stuff, which is quite an achievement since it seems he appears on 8/10 line-ups in melbs......
His set had the closest approximation to dance beats of the night, sort of like 1/2 the fuck buttons (with no space drums (dammnit)) but twice as much knob twiddling. It was ok but it seemed to go on for ever..im a 20 minute set man these days.....
Id count Chromedome as one of my favourite Melbourne bands (Check out my 2011 phone videos here and here!) , sadly they are no longer around , but one of their vocalist/front persons Andrea Blake is now performing solo as ASPS. The pace is a lot slower, and the energy levels lower than her previous band but unsurprisingly some Chromedome'sh elements remain in the songs. You cant really call this synth-punk...its actually getting close to synth-folk if such a genre has been invented yet.... definitely mood music - where the mood is down ..but not out.
There wasn't enough light so my camera slipped into blurred mode but this song is a pretty good example of the minimalistic cold-water blow-wave siren-songs ASPS do to great effect.
I enjoyed the short set, but with its unvarying rhythms and not exactly uplifting "haunting" vocal delivery the show was moving into the realm of "Lakes with a frock" by the end and no one wants to go there..
The multiple Men opened with an engulfing wall of noise then swiftly moved on to the industrial bash of one of the many new tunes dished out : dual synth action, Big Black drum beats and sensible fringes : how can you not love these boys?
I don't pretend to be their no.1 fan but I didn't recognise any of the songs played tonite...its all very different from when I last saw them : there is guitar on only one or two tracks and the aesthetic is much improved by the twin keyboards..6 strings BAD! 24 keys GOOD! ,,,.the place was pretty packed by the end and there's a single out in December and its hard not to believe good things await them....well better things than playing in the pokey upstairs room of a Collingwood pub , on a Sunday night. Which I actually rate as a pretty good achievement in itself, although probly not
what you had in mind when you got your parents to buy you all that gear and spent months writing songs... Any way what is "making it" these days? how do you gauge success? err where was I? am I arguing with myself again?
His set had the closest approximation to dance beats of the night, sort of like 1/2 the fuck buttons (with no space drums (dammnit)) but twice as much knob twiddling. It was ok but it seemed to go on for ever..im a 20 minute set man these days.....
Id count Chromedome as one of my favourite Melbourne bands (Check out my 2011 phone videos here and here!) , sadly they are no longer around , but one of their vocalist/front persons Andrea Blake is now performing solo as ASPS. The pace is a lot slower, and the energy levels lower than her previous band but unsurprisingly some Chromedome'sh elements remain in the songs. You cant really call this synth-punk...its actually getting close to synth-folk if such a genre has been invented yet.... definitely mood music - where the mood is down ..but not out.
There wasn't enough light so my camera slipped into blurred mode but this song is a pretty good example of the minimalistic cold-water blow-wave siren-songs ASPS do to great effect.
I enjoyed the short set, but with its unvarying rhythms and not exactly uplifting "haunting" vocal delivery the show was moving into the realm of "Lakes with a frock" by the end and no one wants to go there..
The multiple Men opened with an engulfing wall of noise then swiftly moved on to the industrial bash of one of the many new tunes dished out : dual synth action, Big Black drum beats and sensible fringes : how can you not love these boys? I don't pretend to be their no.1 fan but I didn't recognise any of the songs played tonite...its all very different from when I last saw them : there is guitar on only one or two tracks and the aesthetic is much improved by the twin keyboards..6 strings BAD! 24 keys GOOD! ,,,.the place was pretty packed by the end and there's a single out in December and its hard not to believe good things await them....well better things than playing in the pokey upstairs room of a Collingwood pub , on a Sunday night. Which I actually rate as a pretty good achievement in itself, although probly not
what you had in mind when you got your parents to buy you all that gear and spent months writing songs... Any way what is "making it" these days? how do you gauge success? err where was I? am I arguing with myself again?
Monday, October 28, 2013
Fuck Buttons
The back projected shadows were cool though...how did they do that? And it was fun watching the little R2D2 robot spots doing their stuff.
 |
| Fuck Buttons..yesterday. |
No Inxs Covers, no between song banter, no plugging the merch, no declarations of love for sweet planet Melbourne: just how it should be cos these boys are not born of soul and funk, they are the spawn of noise and punk, the legacy of Suicide not James Brown, Velvet Underground not Motown. There are drones not horns, breakbeats are distorted, everything here is twisted and bent: its dance but theres no way its disco. ..err its not Indie rock either though as a "fan" noted on the bands Facebook page after they played at Saturdays ATP fiasco:
"
Through the history of popular music use of the space drum has been attempted rarely and almost never mastered, Anita Wards' "Ring my bell " nailed it, and it doesn't get any better than Kelly Maries' "Feels like I'm in love"...and now in 2013 the Buttons wrestle it to the ground, strap it in-line with the warp drives and use it to power the epic "Red Wing" into the void.. my favourite FB tune and the only song I recognised tonight which, though it was not exactly "note for note" faithful to the original, served the purpose of proving the whole lot wasn't improvised .
and all done by 10:15 too...
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Polyphonic Spree
Polyphonic Spree, Melbourne Festival Hub, Oct 22 2013
...finally got around to seeing the 'Spree...after 10 years...and it was great: Gold old fashioned big band entertainment. I did enjoy it despite myself.. it would have been soooo good in 2003 though...
I quickly got over the moment of "wow: Harmony with horns!" and probably my biggest issue with this show (once you get past the front guys titanic ego) is the fact that the girls weren't loud enough...The mix was fine otherwise but I needed a bit more chorus line and a bit less "him". Then I kept thinking how much do you get paid in a band with 14 people? Are half the band "interns" getting paid in bread and cheese while Timbo goes 4 star? Then I had another (expensive but nice ) beer and tried to relax and go with the moment.
Anyways these guys have long since moved on from the Aquarian-Cult-Gospel-Mutants that gave us that miraculous first album, and they're more than happy to earn a crust (or not if you are work experience tuba boy) as a(nother) pretty decent indie band with an excessive number of members...lets face it they have fared better than Arcade Fire and the Revs/Lips have completely lost it these days.....I recognised quite a few tunes though I only have that first LP and the cover of Inxs' Don't Change was a highlight (it was better than Grinspoons'....) but there were enough hits from across the catalogue to keep the crowd happy (and no Rocky Horror showtunes, thank Gaia) .
The venue was awesome : a temporary 500 people capacity wooden box with pretty good sound and lights built on the side of the Yarra for the Melbourne Festival : 'really looking forward to Fuck Buttons in there on Friday.
After a cursory and abridged stab at my favourite Soldier Girl, the singer finally convinced the band and audience that they should play a Tripping Daisy cover (His old band from the 90's - getting 1/4 rather than 1/14 of the performance rights for that one!!)) but that was 2 and quarter hours after the set started and It was heard only as it faded into the rain as I crossed the bridge back to Flinders St. and the last train home...on a school night.
Yeh I know: I decided to tape probably the weakest song of the night, no idea what it is called...but he was carping on about Micky Dolenz for 5 minutes before...its really saying something when the least poppy/uplifting number in a bands set turns out to be a Monkees cover!!
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Pioneers of Good Science
So, the football was crap: $100 for the tickets - 0:0 draw..I had a cold..I should've gone to bed .but we headed over to Nth Fitzroy for this thing...A yuppie bar full of hipsterettes drinking (as I did ) $8 stubbies of Czech beer that would cost 30c at their place of origin. The venue was a "Cinema" in the back with room for maybe 30 people...more like a TV/rumpus room in any mcMansion out Templestowe way ..but with less air con.... would be good for porn I remember thinking ...but the p.a sucked ..ok I wasn't in the mood for anything other than quality time with my ever-faithful doona ..but I did enjoy a lot of what these guys did....
Who could resist those 3 word verse/choruse/refrains...and then theres that glorious chugging (foo fighters "Everlong") guitar part ..(I know..Im sorry ....(shame on me ( I recognised it)(now I cant get it out of my head)) .).. and at last: badly dressed, ugly...UGLY band people - im soooo sick of cute bass players and bands who look like they got a stylist when what they needed was an idea..
ok: sometimes there was too much -almost-grungey-over-fuzzed-guitar-pedally shite thrashing around with nowhere to go : its another bloody 2 piece after all ...but potential fer sure...can I go home to bed now? pls?
The video back drop was great : road trip "out the window" footage with green screened rotating universe nebulas overlaid with synthetic rain/snow/ash drop.... how I imagine driving through a forest fire would look....
Anyway check out the bandcamp tunes: "the end always is"...has another 3 word vocal...and "the only way" slows it down for the ladeez with motown drums, colossally distorted spiralling guitar skating along replete with neck hair tingling golden lifestyle band vocal flash backs ..stupidly good stuff.
Masses
Masses/Vaarallinen, Oct 7th 2013, Northcote Social Club
We had a sneaky/surprise daylight savings change at the weekend so this was the first time this year I have left for Monday night mass in the daylight .. ok I got there 15 minutes early but that's not the point.
Masses are Sexy post-card-crust-Goths playing not-quite Xmal keyboard driven pos(i)t(ive) punk....sounds like it would be right up my alley don't it? it wasnt.
All the songs were nice and short.. but something didn't gel, singerBoy: overDelayed, bassChick : overFlanged, synthGirl: overDressed, drummerBoy: overBandana'ed and ultimately the sum was less than its parts. Missing that vital ingredient ....
You'd park them in the same vacant lot as Adelaides Rule of Thirds and like them they are in dire need of RACV assistance before they find themselves up on bricks, with stereo and number plates liberated and nothing much to look forward to other than being torched by 13 year olds in expensive trainers.
....later that night...after a couple of Carltons finest....
So (screeched in a belligerent rant) Where did this term "finnish style" of punk come from? isnt it fucking old skool ENGLISH punk rock? VAARALLINEN have a Finnish name , are from Singapore and play Finnish Punk...and ...I didnt want their set to Finish!! ha ha : its the way I tell em.....
There was a decent crowd and heaps of chaos happened: I never thought Id see (or be an unwilling participant of) a circle pit in the social club, on a Monday night...but it happened , I know 'cos I was there, in fact I was knocked off my feet, I lost my glasses and smashed my camera to bits ..and I was just watching!!!
The camera survived but unfortunately the video clip didn't...I spent a couple of hours trying to download something to fix the file but the closest I got was an app that teased me by showing the salvaged footage then demanding payment to save the repaired file..b'stards.
The band really kicked it, supporting my pet theory that good music only comes from cultural (and/or economic) constraints..have you been to Singapore? Clean, great food, warm, zero unemployment....a living hell.....the anti-Finland I guess!
I cant offer a better genre description (maybe Norwegian? Danish perhaps?) but it reminded me of that time just before things got all GBH/Discharge but just after they were all Crass/Subhumans... a couple of grind bands played on the night as well but I hate that shit and it just reinforced how good REAL punk rock can sound.
Top night out.
We had a sneaky/surprise daylight savings change at the weekend so this was the first time this year I have left for Monday night mass in the daylight .. ok I got there 15 minutes early but that's not the point.
 |
| Masses..yesterday. |
All the songs were nice and short.. but something didn't gel, singerBoy: overDelayed, bassChick : overFlanged, synthGirl: overDressed, drummerBoy: overBandana'ed and ultimately the sum was less than its parts. Missing that vital ingredient ....
You'd park them in the same vacant lot as Adelaides Rule of Thirds and like them they are in dire need of RACV assistance before they find themselves up on bricks, with stereo and number plates liberated and nothing much to look forward to other than being torched by 13 year olds in expensive trainers.
....later that night...after a couple of Carltons finest....
So (screeched in a belligerent rant) Where did this term "finnish style" of punk come from? isnt it fucking old skool ENGLISH punk rock? VAARALLINEN have a Finnish name , are from Singapore and play Finnish Punk...and ...I didnt want their set to Finish!! ha ha : its the way I tell em.....
There was a decent crowd and heaps of chaos happened: I never thought Id see (or be an unwilling participant of) a circle pit in the social club, on a Monday night...but it happened , I know 'cos I was there, in fact I was knocked off my feet, I lost my glasses and smashed my camera to bits ..and I was just watching!!!
The camera survived but unfortunately the video clip didn't...I spent a couple of hours trying to download something to fix the file but the closest I got was an app that teased me by showing the salvaged footage then demanding payment to save the repaired file..b'stards.
I cant offer a better genre description (maybe Norwegian? Danish perhaps?) but it reminded me of that time just before things got all GBH/Discharge but just after they were all Crass/Subhumans... a couple of grind bands played on the night as well but I hate that shit and it just reinforced how good REAL punk rock can sound.
Top night out.
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Dire Ears
Dire Ears , Loop. Sunday 6th October 2013
I'm always at a loose end on Sundays and normally just get depressed...Sunday afternoon gigs: love em!
We missed Penguins and Dire Ears (get it? get it? its a play on words, try saying it real quick over an over again) were in full flight as we walked down a deserted Bourke Street so luckily we were able to walk to the sound of the throbs , luckily that is 'cos I was just about to turn in completely the wrong direction and get totally lost..
Loop is up a laneway opposite the Old Metro and is probably some sort of arty trendy pseudo dive bar during the week, there were thick Perspex abattoir curtains on multiple rails and about a dozen projectors around the walls...and Stella on tap.
Dire Ears didnt need the projectors though, dude brought his own rig : 4 industrial strength halogen lamps mounted on a stand behind his gear facing the audience, Its easy to recognise this guy if you saw him on the tram though: the back of his neck and head will be pretty severely sunburnt.
The retina blazing worked really well with the harsh white noise screaming pulse he was coaxing out of a pile of gadgets on the desk. I made a mental note to check my Non record when I got home to see if it was this good and ...errr..yes it was/is.
Pronouns projected images onto the wall as he did his stuff, it was , for me, a bit old hat though..nothing you havent seen a million times..I wondered initially if the images were the noise visualised but that that thought didnt last long: clouds, blurs, water..whatever. I didnt think the noise was as good as the first act either, there were more tonal elements and probably a bit more dynamics...but I liked Dire Ears relentless barrage better...
I didn't bother taping anything....check out Dictaphone weirdo for 13 minutes of Dire Ears audio bliss if you feel the need...
I'm always at a loose end on Sundays and normally just get depressed...Sunday afternoon gigs: love em!
We missed Penguins and Dire Ears (get it? get it? its a play on words, try saying it real quick over an over again) were in full flight as we walked down a deserted Bourke Street so luckily we were able to walk to the sound of the throbs , luckily that is 'cos I was just about to turn in completely the wrong direction and get totally lost..
Loop is up a laneway opposite the Old Metro and is probably some sort of arty trendy pseudo dive bar during the week, there were thick Perspex abattoir curtains on multiple rails and about a dozen projectors around the walls...and Stella on tap.
Dire Ears didnt need the projectors though, dude brought his own rig : 4 industrial strength halogen lamps mounted on a stand behind his gear facing the audience, Its easy to recognise this guy if you saw him on the tram though: the back of his neck and head will be pretty severely sunburnt.
The retina blazing worked really well with the harsh white noise screaming pulse he was coaxing out of a pile of gadgets on the desk. I made a mental note to check my Non record when I got home to see if it was this good and ...errr..yes it was/is.
Pronouns projected images onto the wall as he did his stuff, it was , for me, a bit old hat though..nothing you havent seen a million times..I wondered initially if the images were the noise visualised but that that thought didnt last long: clouds, blurs, water..whatever. I didnt think the noise was as good as the first act either, there were more tonal elements and probably a bit more dynamics...but I liked Dire Ears relentless barrage better...
I didn't bother taping anything....check out Dictaphone weirdo for 13 minutes of Dire Ears audio bliss if you feel the need...
Monday, September 30, 2013
Deafwish
Deaf Wish - Northcote Social Club, Monday Sept 2nd 2013.
Another great set from these guys, fabulous singing, fabulous haircuts and some fabulous Sonic Youthy moments of guitar interleaving, weaving, choking and stroking - good, under-3-minute, vicious, angry, flailing, slamming Sonic Youth that is : Catholic Block or Brother James none of that navel gazing noodly shite...
Tonite they were on fire and the set included Elementary School and its irresistable titular chorus provided me with a sing along moment or two.
"The title should appear in the chorus, in a way that,
by virtue of its placement in the chorus and/or its degree
of repetition, we know it's the title. If words or phrases
other than the title repeat in the chorus, or in strong
positions, the listener won't know which is the title when
they call the radio station to request it or ask for it
at the record store, which is why you sometimes see songs
with two titles, like "Untitled (How Does It Feel)," "Blue
(Ba Da Dee)" or "C'mon and Ride It (The Train)" Ð that usually
means that someone felt the song's title was not its strongest
hook, or even that the song has two hooks and they're covering
their bets by putting both in the title. Since you can't
buy or request a song if you can't remember its name, these
are very important commercial considerations."
I saw a poster the other night in the old bar for a gig they played in 2008 but sharing around vocals, intros, spit and adrenalin with abandon they are definitely one of Melbourne's best live bands still - I certainly go and see them whenever I get the chance...well..that is whenever they play at my local....err for Free, but I defy you not to love this stuff - its just brilliant...
Exhaustion/Lower plenty side-projector Jensen said he was going to auction his guitar at the gig , in order to buy an ipod... But as you can see from the video it is a piece of shit, after the show when I asked him how much he had been offered he admitted he would have to give the thing away. Sounded great in his hands anyways.
Another great set from these guys, fabulous singing, fabulous haircuts and some fabulous Sonic Youthy moments of guitar interleaving, weaving, choking and stroking - good, under-3-minute, vicious, angry, flailing, slamming Sonic Youth that is : Catholic Block or Brother James none of that navel gazing noodly shite...
Tonite they were on fire and the set included Elementary School and its irresistable titular chorus provided me with a sing along moment or two.
I saw a poster the other night in the old bar for a gig they played in 2008 but sharing around vocals, intros, spit and adrenalin with abandon they are definitely one of Melbourne's best live bands still - I certainly go and see them whenever I get the chance...well..that is whenever they play at my local....err for Free, but I defy you not to love this stuff - its just brilliant...
Exhaustion/Lower plenty side-projector Jensen said he was going to auction his guitar at the gig , in order to buy an ipod... But as you can see from the video it is a piece of shit, after the show when I asked him how much he had been offered he admitted he would have to give the thing away. Sounded great in his hands anyways.
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