Hey all, I'm not really sure how many people actually read this thing on a regular basis, I suspect that most of you only just click on whenever I alert you to a post via Facebook, but anyway. Just a short note to say that I've just joined the Fan Made Recordings team, a great little blog put together by a small bunch of people that record the gigs they go to and share them online for public enjoyment. I've been following the blog for quite some time now, first finding out about it through the Mammal forum, where Chris (seancemascara) was a mod - at the time, he was the only contributor to FMR. Anyway, I see Chris out and about at quite a few shows, and he knows that I've been very keen to start recording shows for myself! Well, a few months ago he told me he was buying new gear to record with and that he would give his old stuff to me - I cannot stress how grateful I am for this, this is extremely generous of him as he knows how keen I am to get involved with this. Hopefully I'll have the gear in a few days, in time to record My Disco's album launch on Friday night which I'm very excited for. So in the meantime, check out fanmaderecordings.blogspot.com, there's a great little collection of shows there already, and in a few days you'll get to see me posting! Once again, thank you SO MUCH to Chris, this is very very exciting for me!
NOW PLAYING: The Butterfly Effect - Final Conversation of Kings. I thought I might add this little section to the end of my blogs, after all, this is all about music so why not share with you what I'm listening to hey?
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Monday, November 1, 2010
A great night of local rock 'n' roll... with added costume craziness - Creepshow Festival, Esplanade Hotel, 30-10-10
St Kilda's iconic Esplanade Hotel has three separate stages capable of holding bands, and recently some clever promoters have taken on board the idea of using the multi-stage setup to hold small festivals in the venue. Following on from the success of their Rock the Bay event earlier this year, the Saltar Hype crew decided to hold a somewhat smaller but no less exciting mini-rock-fest on the last weekend of October. Falling on the night before Halloween, the event was appropriately dubbed Creepshow, with punters and players alike dressing up in all sorts of weird and wonderful costumes for the evening. Even the venue was given a suitably "creepy" makeover!
A late withdrawal from one band saw the event's starting time pushed back an hour, but it was worth the wait, because at 7:30 it was one of Melbourne's most promising young bands in Anna Salen, who took to the Front Bar stage - which had been renamed "Field of the Living Dead" for the evening. This would be the first of many inspired costume choices from the bands on the night, as Daiv Morgan (guitar/keys), Shaun Scott (drums) and Paul Risso (bass/keys) took to the stage dressed as Nintendo heroes Mario, Wario and Luigi respectively. However, the theme didn't stop at the costumes - the stage was also decorated with some homemade replicas of the iconic "question mark" boxes from the game, and the band's prog/math-rock numbers were augmented by plenty of triggered sound effects from the game. Punters couldn't help but smile whenever the very familiar coin or pipe sound effects popped up in the middle of the band's groovy instrumental rock riffs. The familiar music from the game was also replicated very faithfully by the band in between their own songs. The front bar was actually quite packed for such an early timeslot, and the crowd was very receptive to the band's sound, seemingly not fazed by the lack of vocals in the songs. "WHAT'S IN THE BOX!?" shouted out one eager punter at one point, to which Daiv responded, "You'll find out later!" And indeed, toward the end of the set, Daiv picked up one of the boxes and began throwing its contents into the audience - which turned out to be, appropriately, chocolate coins! Packing plenty of awesome riffs and clever musical ideas into their short set, it was another good performance from a band that just keeps getting better with every show. Keep an eye out for these guys :)
Up next on the Field stage was a typically hilarious performance from I Am Duckeye; for the uninitiated, they are a side project of sorts for Sam Haycroft and Sean Bailey, the guitarist and drummer of Sydonia (incidentally the evening's headliners). Haycroft takes the frontman duties in the band which also includes his brother Matt on guitar, and Julian Medor on bass guitar. One might think from Medor's pirate attire and Sam's goggles that they too were getting into the spirit of dressing up, but of course, fans of the band knew that this was the usual performance get-up for the group. Their set featured humourous groovy riff-driven numbers such as Time Worms and Ride the Clutch, interspersed with typically hilarious banter between songs, and also featuring some amusing choreography! Do these guys have an album? If so, I want it!
I then wandered down into the basement - or The Furnace - to catch a little of Nine of Swords, who had also done quite well in the costume department - Sesame Street was their theme, with Trav, Al, Oz and Nubs dressed as Oscar, the Count, Elmo and Cookie Monster. Not having heard them before this I wasn't sure what to expect; the band ended up delivering a pretty good set of heavy rock that fit in well with the rest of the line-up. I'll give these guys a proper review next time; I can never really think what to say of a band I'm seeing for the first time when I haven't heard their stuff before.
A little while later, it was time for Engine Three Seven to take to the Field stage, and there was definitely a lot of anticipation in the room for their set. They launched their quality second EP Atmosphere in the venue's Gershwin Room last month, and really put on a good show then, so there was a high expectation of them this time around. The band - who had also got into the Halloween spirit with some face and body paint - did not disappoint, opening their set with a fantastic rendition of Hysterical Hysteria, which saw vocalist Casey Dean get the majority of the front bar to sit down on the floor during a slow part in the song, before jumping up and pogoing their way to the conclusion. Perhaps it's not a very original move these days, but it was still enjoyed by the crowd! The set certainly lived up to expectations, as the band ripped through a slew of tracks from Atmosphere and a handful of favourites from their self-titled debut EP. The crowd was only too happy to lend their voices to the band's great rock anthems, especially the older favourites. As the set closed with a rousing rendition of Easy Graceful Descent, I found myself wondering, "Why the hell aren't these guys more well known?" They really deserve something more with the amazing talents they keep showing at shows like this.
SETLIST:
Hysterical Hysteria
Cops
Have it All
Atmosphere
Adults Only
Automatic Everything
Win 4 Me
Easy Graceful Descent
Up next was the increasingly-popular Twelve Foot Ninja, using the night as a platform to launch their fantastic new EP Smoke Bomb which hit the stores a few weeks prior. The Melbourne quartet came from nowhere in late 2008 with the release of the New Dawn EP, impressing many with their daring fusion of metal, reggae, dub and hints of electronica. Touring relentlessly throughout the past two years has really paid off, as they now appear extremely comfortable onstage, and have a pretty impressive lot of tunes under their belt. Not surprisingly, Smoke Bomb got a good airing on the night, in fact, they played every track off it, as well as a handful of New Dawn favourites and even some other new tunes that vocalist Kin declared would appear on the band's forthcoming debut album, planned for release next year. The band's usual ninja attire was of course present, but for the occasion they'd gone a bit extra, with some convincing looking wounds! All in all, it was another fantastic performance from these local favourites, and the enthusiastic crowd really showed their appreciation of the group - the mosh pit got VERY intense! A guest vocalist joined in for a few songs, as did the group's friend Monty to play the saxophone parts during Manufacture of Consent. The set concluded with the storming Clarion, which saw the crowd absolutely losing their sense of self-control!
SETLIST (quite possibly inaccurate, this is a bit of a stretch of the memory):
(New)
Beneath the Smiles
(New)
Endless
Molotov Brother
Apocolypstik
War
Manufacture of Consent
Clarion
Finally, at the very late time of 1:20, which had luckily resulted in the crowd calming down, Melbourne experimental metal quartet Sydonia took to the stage. I've genuinely developed a major obsession with this band just in the past few months and despite the late timeslot, I was more than awake for another great performance from this band. The costumes came out again, with bass player Adam Murray looking particularly snappy dressed as Vince Noir from The Mighty Boosh. The band did as much as they could in their hour set, mixing up old favourites from Given to Destroyers such as Adornment and No Woman's Land with some of their brilliant newer tunes such as Ocean of Storms and Sinner, all of which the crowd sang with great enthusiasm. And even if you've seen them live numerous times before (as I have), there's still something awesome about those incredible percussion jams, where guitarist Sam Haycroft and bassist Murray put down their instruments and bang away at the various custom percussion pieces laid out around the stage. The all-drumming spectacular Bateria saw them joined by yet another stick-wielder; this evening it was Murray's brother Zack. But the highlight of the set came toward the very end, when the band introduced a masked special guest onto the stage - and when the mask came off, there was gasps and cheers of appreciation as it became apparent that it was none other than Randy Blythe of American modern metal heroes Lamb of God! Somewhat surprisingly for Sydonia, the song they chose to do together was none other than a cover of the Sex Pistols' classic Pretty Vacant. And after that, the crowd was more than happy to oblige Haycroft's request that they help introduce the thrashing madness of Incoming, always a favourite to conclude the Sydonia set. Blythe helped out on this too, and then finally, at 2:20am, it was all over! Saltar Hype had really delivered the goods on this, an extremely fun evening of local rock talent.
SETLIST (again, questionable accuracy):
Adornment
3 Tongues
Ocean of Storms
No Woman's Land
Drag You Out
Bateria (with Zack Murray)
Here
Sinner
Enemy
Pretty Vacant (Sex Pistols cover, with Randy Blythe of Lamb of God)
Incoming (with Randy Blythe)
A late withdrawal from one band saw the event's starting time pushed back an hour, but it was worth the wait, because at 7:30 it was one of Melbourne's most promising young bands in Anna Salen, who took to the Front Bar stage - which had been renamed "Field of the Living Dead" for the evening. This would be the first of many inspired costume choices from the bands on the night, as Daiv Morgan (guitar/keys), Shaun Scott (drums) and Paul Risso (bass/keys) took to the stage dressed as Nintendo heroes Mario, Wario and Luigi respectively. However, the theme didn't stop at the costumes - the stage was also decorated with some homemade replicas of the iconic "question mark" boxes from the game, and the band's prog/math-rock numbers were augmented by plenty of triggered sound effects from the game. Punters couldn't help but smile whenever the very familiar coin or pipe sound effects popped up in the middle of the band's groovy instrumental rock riffs. The familiar music from the game was also replicated very faithfully by the band in between their own songs. The front bar was actually quite packed for such an early timeslot, and the crowd was very receptive to the band's sound, seemingly not fazed by the lack of vocals in the songs. "WHAT'S IN THE BOX!?" shouted out one eager punter at one point, to which Daiv responded, "You'll find out later!" And indeed, toward the end of the set, Daiv picked up one of the boxes and began throwing its contents into the audience - which turned out to be, appropriately, chocolate coins! Packing plenty of awesome riffs and clever musical ideas into their short set, it was another good performance from a band that just keeps getting better with every show. Keep an eye out for these guys :)
Up next on the Field stage was a typically hilarious performance from I Am Duckeye; for the uninitiated, they are a side project of sorts for Sam Haycroft and Sean Bailey, the guitarist and drummer of Sydonia (incidentally the evening's headliners). Haycroft takes the frontman duties in the band which also includes his brother Matt on guitar, and Julian Medor on bass guitar. One might think from Medor's pirate attire and Sam's goggles that they too were getting into the spirit of dressing up, but of course, fans of the band knew that this was the usual performance get-up for the group. Their set featured humourous groovy riff-driven numbers such as Time Worms and Ride the Clutch, interspersed with typically hilarious banter between songs, and also featuring some amusing choreography! Do these guys have an album? If so, I want it!
I then wandered down into the basement - or The Furnace - to catch a little of Nine of Swords, who had also done quite well in the costume department - Sesame Street was their theme, with Trav, Al, Oz and Nubs dressed as Oscar, the Count, Elmo and Cookie Monster. Not having heard them before this I wasn't sure what to expect; the band ended up delivering a pretty good set of heavy rock that fit in well with the rest of the line-up. I'll give these guys a proper review next time; I can never really think what to say of a band I'm seeing for the first time when I haven't heard their stuff before.
A little while later, it was time for Engine Three Seven to take to the Field stage, and there was definitely a lot of anticipation in the room for their set. They launched their quality second EP Atmosphere in the venue's Gershwin Room last month, and really put on a good show then, so there was a high expectation of them this time around. The band - who had also got into the Halloween spirit with some face and body paint - did not disappoint, opening their set with a fantastic rendition of Hysterical Hysteria, which saw vocalist Casey Dean get the majority of the front bar to sit down on the floor during a slow part in the song, before jumping up and pogoing their way to the conclusion. Perhaps it's not a very original move these days, but it was still enjoyed by the crowd! The set certainly lived up to expectations, as the band ripped through a slew of tracks from Atmosphere and a handful of favourites from their self-titled debut EP. The crowd was only too happy to lend their voices to the band's great rock anthems, especially the older favourites. As the set closed with a rousing rendition of Easy Graceful Descent, I found myself wondering, "Why the hell aren't these guys more well known?" They really deserve something more with the amazing talents they keep showing at shows like this.
SETLIST:
Hysterical Hysteria
Cops
Have it All
Atmosphere
Adults Only
Automatic Everything
Win 4 Me
Easy Graceful Descent
Up next was the increasingly-popular Twelve Foot Ninja, using the night as a platform to launch their fantastic new EP Smoke Bomb which hit the stores a few weeks prior. The Melbourne quartet came from nowhere in late 2008 with the release of the New Dawn EP, impressing many with their daring fusion of metal, reggae, dub and hints of electronica. Touring relentlessly throughout the past two years has really paid off, as they now appear extremely comfortable onstage, and have a pretty impressive lot of tunes under their belt. Not surprisingly, Smoke Bomb got a good airing on the night, in fact, they played every track off it, as well as a handful of New Dawn favourites and even some other new tunes that vocalist Kin declared would appear on the band's forthcoming debut album, planned for release next year. The band's usual ninja attire was of course present, but for the occasion they'd gone a bit extra, with some convincing looking wounds! All in all, it was another fantastic performance from these local favourites, and the enthusiastic crowd really showed their appreciation of the group - the mosh pit got VERY intense! A guest vocalist joined in for a few songs, as did the group's friend Monty to play the saxophone parts during Manufacture of Consent. The set concluded with the storming Clarion, which saw the crowd absolutely losing their sense of self-control!
SETLIST (quite possibly inaccurate, this is a bit of a stretch of the memory):
(New)
Beneath the Smiles
(New)
Endless
Molotov Brother
Apocolypstik
War
Manufacture of Consent
Clarion
Finally, at the very late time of 1:20, which had luckily resulted in the crowd calming down, Melbourne experimental metal quartet Sydonia took to the stage. I've genuinely developed a major obsession with this band just in the past few months and despite the late timeslot, I was more than awake for another great performance from this band. The costumes came out again, with bass player Adam Murray looking particularly snappy dressed as Vince Noir from The Mighty Boosh. The band did as much as they could in their hour set, mixing up old favourites from Given to Destroyers such as Adornment and No Woman's Land with some of their brilliant newer tunes such as Ocean of Storms and Sinner, all of which the crowd sang with great enthusiasm. And even if you've seen them live numerous times before (as I have), there's still something awesome about those incredible percussion jams, where guitarist Sam Haycroft and bassist Murray put down their instruments and bang away at the various custom percussion pieces laid out around the stage. The all-drumming spectacular Bateria saw them joined by yet another stick-wielder; this evening it was Murray's brother Zack. But the highlight of the set came toward the very end, when the band introduced a masked special guest onto the stage - and when the mask came off, there was gasps and cheers of appreciation as it became apparent that it was none other than Randy Blythe of American modern metal heroes Lamb of God! Somewhat surprisingly for Sydonia, the song they chose to do together was none other than a cover of the Sex Pistols' classic Pretty Vacant. And after that, the crowd was more than happy to oblige Haycroft's request that they help introduce the thrashing madness of Incoming, always a favourite to conclude the Sydonia set. Blythe helped out on this too, and then finally, at 2:20am, it was all over! Saltar Hype had really delivered the goods on this, an extremely fun evening of local rock talent.
SETLIST (again, questionable accuracy):
Adornment
3 Tongues
Ocean of Storms
No Woman's Land
Drag You Out
Bateria (with Zack Murray)
Here
Sinner
Enemy
Pretty Vacant (Sex Pistols cover, with Randy Blythe of Lamb of God)
Incoming (with Randy Blythe)
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
"We made plans to..." actually no, that title's too obvious :) - Birds of Tokyo w/Silversun Pickups, Festival Hall, 01/10/10
There's something somewhat rewarding about watching a band you've liked for ages suddenly achieving some serious recognition, and recently it's been Birds of Tokyo that have risen out of the underground to make a major dent in the mainstream. Their recent self-titled third album has been going great guns in the ARIA charts, and Plans has become a very successful tune for the band. And to think, three years ago when the band's first album Day One was released, a lot of people knew them as "Ian Kenny from Karnivool's other band". So on a very pleasant spring Friday night in Melbourne, they took to the stage at Festival Hall - a major achievement in itself - with support from noisy LA rockers Silversun Pickups and fellow WA rockers The Chemist. The near-sold out crowd enjoyed immensely!
The Chemist were up first, but as usual, hardly anyone had bothered to turn up yet, and those that had were a little bit indifferent to the fact that there was a band up on the stage - quite a talented band though if I do say so myself. ...To be honest, it's now been four days since I saw them and I had never heard them previously, so I now can't remember exactly what they sounded like, but I did enjoy them :) I will be seeing them again in a few weeks when they warm the stage for Boy & Bear (and how I am looking forward to that!), so they might get a more detailed review then...
Following that, we had our international visitors Silversun Pickups, who I'd seen just three days earlier but was nevertheless looking forward to catching again. I was aware however that their set would only be half of the 90 minute+ marathon that they did at the Corner (see previous blog), something a lot of people in other states (who didn't get SSPU headline shows) complained about bitterly. Nevertheless, they had more than a few vocal fans inside Festival Hall this evening, and delivered the best set they could in 45 minutes - although they were somewhat shortchanged by the sound guy. Again, frontman Brian Aubert was full of love for Melbourne, noting that it was the only city in Australia where they've played three times before. The set was pretty much the more well-known half of their full set, but still played extremely well by a very energetic band. Again, a class act!
SETLIST:
Growing Old is Getting Old
Well Thought Out Twinkles
There's No Secrets This Year
The Royal We
Future Foe Scenarios
Substitution
Panic Switch
Lazy Eye
Now, this was the sixth time I'd seen Birds of Tokyo, so one might expect I'd be a little less enthusiastic for them this time around. However, it had been close to a year since I'd last seen them perform; that particular event being the Broken Strings tour which saw them reinvent their back catalogue in acoustic-and-strings format. As awesome as that tour was, I was looking forward to them returning to the standard big ol rock 'n' roll format, and with an EXCELLENT new album to boot with songs I'd never seen live before! And they burst into life just after 9pm, with a great rendition of grandiose new track The Unspeakable Scene - however, that particular choice of song to open left a few people a bit stunned and the crowd didn't really get into it until the next song dropped, which was everyone's favourite Black Sheets. As usual, frontman Ian Kenny was particularly animated, several times declaring the night to be a "party", and thanking us all for being in attendance. And when he wasn't endearing himself to the fans with banter, he was doing that amazing space cadet dance we all know and love, all around the spacious Festival Hall stage. I've seen Birds' stage production increase steadily with each tour, and tonight they'd really gone all-out, with a giant visual screen up the back complementing the likes of Circles and Silhouettic very nicely. And as for the setlist? You couldn't ask for a better mix of old and new - in amongst the likes of The Saddest Thing I Know and Murmurs, there were plenty of crowd singalongs to the likes of White Witch, Off Kilter and even VERY old song Believer, from the Birds of Tokyo EP. Such was the crowd's enthusiasm that at one point Kenny noted that he'd like to bring us all on tour next time to be Birds of Tokyo's official choir. The show just went from strength to strength, until finally, with that familiar gentle drum intro, it was time for Plans, which was when the voices really got going! But what to follow it with? Silhouettic of course, and the ENTIRE crowd joined in during the first rendition of that last chorus after the jam! After disappearing for a quick breather, the demands for an encore would see them return to close the show with The Gap and the ever-popular Broken Bones. Some people might grumble about the pop-friendly direction the band took with the new album, but on this night, Kenny, Spark, Jackson, Weston and Sarangapany really took flight with an amazing show that left everyone satisfied.
SETLIST:
The Unspeakable Scene
Black Sheets
Wild Eyed Boy
White Witch
Believer
Circles
Wayside
The Saddest Thing I Know
Wild At Heart
Off Kilter
In the Veins of Death Valley
Get Out
The Bakers Son
Murmurs
Plans
Silhouettic
---Encore----
The Gap
Broken Bones
The Chemist were up first, but as usual, hardly anyone had bothered to turn up yet, and those that had were a little bit indifferent to the fact that there was a band up on the stage - quite a talented band though if I do say so myself. ...To be honest, it's now been four days since I saw them and I had never heard them previously, so I now can't remember exactly what they sounded like, but I did enjoy them :) I will be seeing them again in a few weeks when they warm the stage for Boy & Bear (and how I am looking forward to that!), so they might get a more detailed review then...
Following that, we had our international visitors Silversun Pickups, who I'd seen just three days earlier but was nevertheless looking forward to catching again. I was aware however that their set would only be half of the 90 minute+ marathon that they did at the Corner (see previous blog), something a lot of people in other states (who didn't get SSPU headline shows) complained about bitterly. Nevertheless, they had more than a few vocal fans inside Festival Hall this evening, and delivered the best set they could in 45 minutes - although they were somewhat shortchanged by the sound guy. Again, frontman Brian Aubert was full of love for Melbourne, noting that it was the only city in Australia where they've played three times before. The set was pretty much the more well-known half of their full set, but still played extremely well by a very energetic band. Again, a class act!
SETLIST:
Growing Old is Getting Old
Well Thought Out Twinkles
There's No Secrets This Year
The Royal We
Future Foe Scenarios
Substitution
Panic Switch
Lazy Eye
Now, this was the sixth time I'd seen Birds of Tokyo, so one might expect I'd be a little less enthusiastic for them this time around. However, it had been close to a year since I'd last seen them perform; that particular event being the Broken Strings tour which saw them reinvent their back catalogue in acoustic-and-strings format. As awesome as that tour was, I was looking forward to them returning to the standard big ol rock 'n' roll format, and with an EXCELLENT new album to boot with songs I'd never seen live before! And they burst into life just after 9pm, with a great rendition of grandiose new track The Unspeakable Scene - however, that particular choice of song to open left a few people a bit stunned and the crowd didn't really get into it until the next song dropped, which was everyone's favourite Black Sheets. As usual, frontman Ian Kenny was particularly animated, several times declaring the night to be a "party", and thanking us all for being in attendance. And when he wasn't endearing himself to the fans with banter, he was doing that amazing space cadet dance we all know and love, all around the spacious Festival Hall stage. I've seen Birds' stage production increase steadily with each tour, and tonight they'd really gone all-out, with a giant visual screen up the back complementing the likes of Circles and Silhouettic very nicely. And as for the setlist? You couldn't ask for a better mix of old and new - in amongst the likes of The Saddest Thing I Know and Murmurs, there were plenty of crowd singalongs to the likes of White Witch, Off Kilter and even VERY old song Believer, from the Birds of Tokyo EP. Such was the crowd's enthusiasm that at one point Kenny noted that he'd like to bring us all on tour next time to be Birds of Tokyo's official choir. The show just went from strength to strength, until finally, with that familiar gentle drum intro, it was time for Plans, which was when the voices really got going! But what to follow it with? Silhouettic of course, and the ENTIRE crowd joined in during the first rendition of that last chorus after the jam! After disappearing for a quick breather, the demands for an encore would see them return to close the show with The Gap and the ever-popular Broken Bones. Some people might grumble about the pop-friendly direction the band took with the new album, but on this night, Kenny, Spark, Jackson, Weston and Sarangapany really took flight with an amazing show that left everyone satisfied.
SETLIST:
The Unspeakable Scene
Black Sheets
Wild Eyed Boy
White Witch
Believer
Circles
Wayside
The Saddest Thing I Know
Wild At Heart
Off Kilter
In the Veins of Death Valley
Get Out
The Bakers Son
Murmurs
Plans
Silhouettic
---Encore----
The Gap
Broken Bones
Thursday, September 30, 2010
"I've been waiting... I've been waiting for this moment, all my life" - Silversun Pickups, Corner Hotel, 28/09/10
It was the show that wasn't really supposed to happen, but thank FUCK it did. Los Angeles' highly acclaimed dreamy noisemakers Silversun Pickups were announced as part of the bill for the Coaster Festival in Gosford, NSW, but I think there was a very large amount of people who couldn't really make it there who were PRAYING they'd be putting in a few capital city appearances. However, in a miscalculated move to say the least, the promoter decided that the ideal way to tour them across this country would be to have them warming up the stage before a headlining performance from Birds of Tokyo. Now, with no disrespect to Birds intended because I'm sure it wasn't their fault (I'm actually a massive fan), but seriously, it's a bit of an insult to a TOURING BAND FROM AMERICA, who have only been here once and on that tour only played TINY venues, to have them playing a pathetic eight-song set before some band from Perth that everyone's probably seen before come onstage and play for almost two hours. There's just some logic missing there. To say nothing of the fact that musically, the two bands are worlds apart. Thankfully, Frontier Touring did a bit of damage control, at least for the Melbournians, and booked Silversun Pickups into the Corner Hotel, for an amazing headline set that sold out in, I believe, about 20 minutes. Papa vs Pretty opened the night; because I got there a bit late and only caught about 3-4 of their songs I'm not going to give them their own paragraph, but they were very good and I'd like to check them out again.
Maybe it was because it was a very un-rock and roll Tuesday night, maybe it was because they wanted to make up for lost time, but whatever the reason was, we only had to wait until 9:30 before the curtain pulled back and Brian Aubert (vocals/guitar), Nikki Monninger (bass/vocals), Joe Lester (keys/effects) and Christopher Guanlao (drums) kicked into a beautiful rendition of Growing Old is Getting Old from last year's brilliant Swoon album. Even from this opening song it was clear that we were going to be in for a good night - and when that "heavy" section in the middle kicked in, the crowd responded accordingly! After that song was done, Monninger hit a very familiar few bars, introducing my personal favourite SSPU song Well Thought Out Twinkles. This favourite from their first album Carnavas had the effect of really getting the crowd going, not that they needed encouragement. Everyone was really excited for this very special opportunity that the other states were not getting. I was surprised at how energetic the band are onstage too - not that their songs are dull, but they aren't exactly ultra-high intensity either. Still, that didn't stop Monninger from bouncing around the stage with a huge grin on her face, while Aubert made the most of the non-singing bits in the songs by leaning out over the barrier and thrashing the hell out of his guitar. Up the back of the stage, Guanlao was absolutely belting that kit; he even had a cymbal towering way above the rest of the kit, John Stanier-style.
After about five songs, the band finally took a break to allow Aubert to speak. He was pretty quiet earlier on in the set, but gradually got more and more chatty as the night wore on. Punters weren't afraid to voice their disapproval of the tour's mismanagement either, with one yelling out, "Where's your headline shows, what's wrong with your promoter?" Aubert grinned and replied, "This is the headline show motherfucker. The tour starts and ends tonight!" Later on, someone chimed in with "Fuck Birds of Tokyo!" to which Aubert responded "If you want me to, it's your town!" Birds-bashing aside, the crowd and band alike showed their appreciation of the other being present. Not letting it go to his head, Aubert showed his genuine modesty when recalling that on their last tour, the band played in the relatively tiny Ding Dong Lounge. He said that when they had been asked to play the Corner this time around, upon hearing that the venue had a capacity of 800, he'd replied "Good luck selling that shit out!" Aubert also played up the typical city-to-city interstate rivalry card, but had to backpedal when he realised that some hardcore fans had made their way from other cities to witness this special show.
And what a show it was. Despite assurances actually coming from Adam Spark himself (see the Fasterlouder thread), as openers for Birds, the SSPU set was criminally trimmed down to 45 minutes - tonight, despite the Corner website advertising that the show was to finish at 10:45, it stretched past 11pm! The crowd enjoyed all that the band had to give, but were particularly responsive to Carnavas tracks getting an airing - Little Lover's So Polite and Future Foe Scenarios were particular highlights, and for the diehards in the room there was even Kissing Families from the band's pre-Carnavas EP Pikul. It wouldn't be right of me not to extend my highest compliments to the sound guy on the night - as we know from listening to their albums, Silversun Pickups do enjoy their feedback-drenched pedal-driven noisefests, but this comes across so much better in their live show, although I was extremely thankful I'd brought earplugs! This was particularly evident during an epic version of Lazy Eye which closed the main set. After it, an encore seemed a bit redundant, but the curtain remained opened and those roadies onstage just seemed to be tuning instruments, so we knew there was something more coming. It was two slightly more chilled-out numbers, Substitution from Swoon and from Three Seed from Carnavas - before Christopher Guanlao amazed once more with an extended version of that intense beat that begins Common Reactor. As the song drew to a close, Monninger and Guanlao made their way offstage, leaving Aubert and Lester to conclude by deafening us all with blasts of feedback and effects, until finally it was over. Melbourne's Silversun Pickups fans knew they were extremely lucky to get this show, and the band rewarded us many times over.
SETLIST:
Growing Old is Getting Old
Well Thought Out Twinkles
Sort Of
There's No Secrets This Year
The Royal We
Little Lover's So Polite
It's Nice to Know You Work Alone
Future Foe Scenarios
Kissing Families
Catch and Release
Panic Switch
Lazy Eye
----Encore----
Substitution
Three Seed
Common Reactor
Maybe it was because it was a very un-rock and roll Tuesday night, maybe it was because they wanted to make up for lost time, but whatever the reason was, we only had to wait until 9:30 before the curtain pulled back and Brian Aubert (vocals/guitar), Nikki Monninger (bass/vocals), Joe Lester (keys/effects) and Christopher Guanlao (drums) kicked into a beautiful rendition of Growing Old is Getting Old from last year's brilliant Swoon album. Even from this opening song it was clear that we were going to be in for a good night - and when that "heavy" section in the middle kicked in, the crowd responded accordingly! After that song was done, Monninger hit a very familiar few bars, introducing my personal favourite SSPU song Well Thought Out Twinkles. This favourite from their first album Carnavas had the effect of really getting the crowd going, not that they needed encouragement. Everyone was really excited for this very special opportunity that the other states were not getting. I was surprised at how energetic the band are onstage too - not that their songs are dull, but they aren't exactly ultra-high intensity either. Still, that didn't stop Monninger from bouncing around the stage with a huge grin on her face, while Aubert made the most of the non-singing bits in the songs by leaning out over the barrier and thrashing the hell out of his guitar. Up the back of the stage, Guanlao was absolutely belting that kit; he even had a cymbal towering way above the rest of the kit, John Stanier-style.
After about five songs, the band finally took a break to allow Aubert to speak. He was pretty quiet earlier on in the set, but gradually got more and more chatty as the night wore on. Punters weren't afraid to voice their disapproval of the tour's mismanagement either, with one yelling out, "Where's your headline shows, what's wrong with your promoter?" Aubert grinned and replied, "This is the headline show motherfucker. The tour starts and ends tonight!" Later on, someone chimed in with "Fuck Birds of Tokyo!" to which Aubert responded "If you want me to, it's your town!" Birds-bashing aside, the crowd and band alike showed their appreciation of the other being present. Not letting it go to his head, Aubert showed his genuine modesty when recalling that on their last tour, the band played in the relatively tiny Ding Dong Lounge. He said that when they had been asked to play the Corner this time around, upon hearing that the venue had a capacity of 800, he'd replied "Good luck selling that shit out!" Aubert also played up the typical city-to-city interstate rivalry card, but had to backpedal when he realised that some hardcore fans had made their way from other cities to witness this special show.
And what a show it was. Despite assurances actually coming from Adam Spark himself (see the Fasterlouder thread), as openers for Birds, the SSPU set was criminally trimmed down to 45 minutes - tonight, despite the Corner website advertising that the show was to finish at 10:45, it stretched past 11pm! The crowd enjoyed all that the band had to give, but were particularly responsive to Carnavas tracks getting an airing - Little Lover's So Polite and Future Foe Scenarios were particular highlights, and for the diehards in the room there was even Kissing Families from the band's pre-Carnavas EP Pikul. It wouldn't be right of me not to extend my highest compliments to the sound guy on the night - as we know from listening to their albums, Silversun Pickups do enjoy their feedback-drenched pedal-driven noisefests, but this comes across so much better in their live show, although I was extremely thankful I'd brought earplugs! This was particularly evident during an epic version of Lazy Eye which closed the main set. After it, an encore seemed a bit redundant, but the curtain remained opened and those roadies onstage just seemed to be tuning instruments, so we knew there was something more coming. It was two slightly more chilled-out numbers, Substitution from Swoon and from Three Seed from Carnavas - before Christopher Guanlao amazed once more with an extended version of that intense beat that begins Common Reactor. As the song drew to a close, Monninger and Guanlao made their way offstage, leaving Aubert and Lester to conclude by deafening us all with blasts of feedback and effects, until finally it was over. Melbourne's Silversun Pickups fans knew they were extremely lucky to get this show, and the band rewarded us many times over.
SETLIST:
Growing Old is Getting Old
Well Thought Out Twinkles
Sort Of
There's No Secrets This Year
The Royal We
Little Lover's So Polite
It's Nice to Know You Work Alone
Future Foe Scenarios
Kissing Families
Catch and Release
Panic Switch
Lazy Eye
----Encore----
Substitution
Three Seed
Common Reactor
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
It has come to my attention...
...That all bar two of these posts is a live music review - and one of those two is simply my top ten gigs of 2009. When I started this blog, I initially aimed to write about lots of musical-related topics, but it seems to have been dominated by that thing I love so much - going to gigs. I aim to address this in the next week or so, probably with a short review of an album I've been particularly enjoying in recent (or maybe not-so-recent) times. It could be one of the following which I've been listening to quite a lot lately...
Sydonia - Given to Destroyers (listening to it right now). Came out in 2006, but I only got my hands on it after the DLC album launch gig in May this year. I've seen these guys numerous times live and they're absolutely brilliant. Melbourne music represent.
Birds of Tokyo - Birds of Tokyo. I think it says something about this album that these Perth rockers decided to self-title it - it really is a perfect summation of their career so far, definitely their most cohesive. They've really put a lot of effort into this and it shows. It may even be my album of the year...
Dead Letter Circus - This is the Warning. ...But then again, so might this...
PVT - Church With No Magic. ...Or this. Shame their gig was a little dull.
Anyway. Expect a review of one of these very soon. Or maybe something else altogether :)
Sydonia - Given to Destroyers (listening to it right now). Came out in 2006, but I only got my hands on it after the DLC album launch gig in May this year. I've seen these guys numerous times live and they're absolutely brilliant. Melbourne music represent.
Birds of Tokyo - Birds of Tokyo. I think it says something about this album that these Perth rockers decided to self-title it - it really is a perfect summation of their career so far, definitely their most cohesive. They've really put a lot of effort into this and it shows. It may even be my album of the year...
Dead Letter Circus - This is the Warning. ...But then again, so might this...
PVT - Church With No Magic. ...Or this. Shame their gig was a little dull.
Anyway. Expect a review of one of these very soon. Or maybe something else altogether :)
Sunday, September 12, 2010
The sun sets on a brilliant career - Powderfinger, Rod Laver Arena, 11-09-2010 - Sunsets Farewell Tour
On April 9 of this year came the announcement that one of Australia's most loved bands of the past 20 years, Brisbane's Powderfinger, would be calling it quits after one final tour around the country - aptly named after their beloved Sunsets track. The tour will visit all the major cities and even stop off in quite a few regional centres, making sure that nobody misses their chance to say goodbye. Pick You Up, The Day You Come, Passenger, My Happiness, On My Mind... need I go on? On a reasonable spring Saturday night, Melbournians turned out in droves to bid farewell to these true Australian music legends.
I didn't quite get there in time to see The Vasco Era, so by the time I made my way into Rod Laver Arena, it was time for a set from Jet. Oh, what can I say? Even ignoring the fact that I haven't really cared for their music in quite some time, I just don't think these guys are engaging as a live band - they just lack energy and enthusiasm for what they're doing. But I guess it's a two-way street - several times they did try and get the crowd going with the usual handclaps and singalongs, but there were plenty of people standing around indifferently. As for the songs, I guess they performed a good mixed bag of tunes from their three studio albums, including the favourites such as Cold Hard Bitch and of course, Are You Gonna Be My Girl. Still, exactly why they're still around escapes me - you can't make a career out of one album that was really only successful because it was released at the right time for that sort of music, when the whole garage rock revival thing was going on. Sorry for the negativity, I just don't like this band much. As me and my mate headed out at the end of their set to grab a beer, I mused out loud that I wasn't sure why I was feeling tired all of a sudden. Mate replied, "You've just seen Jet".
Powderfinger made their way onstage to little fanfare just after 9, and opened their set with a stirring rendition of Love Your Way. As the fans cheered right before that massive chorus kicked in for the first time, the band paused briefly and the curtain opened - and then the lighting guy went nuts! Following that, another curtain fell to reveal a very stylish semi-circular screen and lighting rig at the back of the stage, as the Brisvegas boys kicked into Lost and Running. Even from the early stages of their performance, it was clear that Powderfinger were bringing their A game to the stage tonight, after all, it is their farewell tour, and they preferred to go out with a bang, rather than just sticking to the same old monotonous performance. The setlist on the night would prove to be a great mixed bag, something that must’ve been a challenge considering the band has seven studio albums to choose from and a set falling just short of two hours. But fans were not left disappointed, with the band busting out all the classics such as On My Mind, Passenger and My Happiness, and even treating us to a few numbers that we perhaps hadn’t heard in a while – Capoicity, JC and Rockin’ Rocks were particularly unexpected. Unfortunately, tonight we wouldn’t get to witness anything from the band’s debut “Parables for Wooden Ears” – I suspect they may be saving a few of those for the series of “FINAL” shows taking place in October. As always, Bernard Fanning was particularly engaging with the crowd, talking about the AFL finals, and touching on the band’s long history of playing gigs in Melbourne. “I remember one night at the Pelly Bar in Frankston...” he began, and the crowd laughed, anticipating what might be coming. “We saw some pretty crazy fights that night... and some pretty decent ones involving guys as well”. Another typically witty moment occurred after a solo performance of Nobody Sees, when he commented that “...Because the lights are still off, as the guys come back on, I get a nice little pat on the arse”. As I’ve already touched on, production-wise the show was excellent – they went all-out on the lighting and visual front, even throwing in some beautiful laser displays to “Thrilloilogy” and “These Days”. A real highlight of the show came right after The Metre – the band disappeared offstage, but at only about 9:40, it seemed even too early for an encore. The video screen played some old historical footage, and then slowly the crowd started turning around – it quickly became apparent that the band had made their way to the back of the crowd, to play a small “intimate” set on a B stage – lucky people sitting in the front row at that point! From this stage, they busted out storming renditions of Like a Dog and Rockin’ Rocks, before drummer Cogsy and bassist JC performed an awesome impromptu jam, allowing Fanning to get back to the main stage for Nobody Sees. But the surprises didn’t stop there – Fanning informing the crowd that the next song, JC, would be sung entirely by Darren Middleton, and he left the stage completely. Of course, he would return soon enough, to complete a particularly epic conclusion of the main set – My Happiness and Passenger. Demands for the encore were satisfied quickly, with the band opting for “Internationalist” oddity Capoicity, then bringing it home with more sure-fire crowd favourites in Pick You Up and On My Mind. But there was one more card to play, and finally, the five members returned to the stage one last time and the night ended with a beautiful rendition of These Days – recently voted as Brisbane’s favourite Powderfinger song. Something quite a lot of people in the country would agree with no doubt, and it was a fitting way to end the night – for many, the very last time they’d see these guys on a live stage.
SETLIST:
Love Your Way
Lost and Running
Burn Your Name
Sunsets
Sail the Widest Stretch
Thrilloilogy (always nice to see this one, particularly awesome jams from Darren Middleton and Ian Haug)
Already Gone
The Metre
----Video plays while band makes their way to B-stage at back of stadium----
Like a Dog
Rockin' Rocks
Cogsy and JC solo
----Return to main stage----
Nobody Sees (Bernard Fanning solo)
JC (with Darren Middleton on lead vox)
My Happiness
Passenger
----Encore 1----
Capoicity
Pick You Up
(Baby I've Got You) On My Mind
----Encore 2----
These Days
I didn't quite get there in time to see The Vasco Era, so by the time I made my way into Rod Laver Arena, it was time for a set from Jet. Oh, what can I say? Even ignoring the fact that I haven't really cared for their music in quite some time, I just don't think these guys are engaging as a live band - they just lack energy and enthusiasm for what they're doing. But I guess it's a two-way street - several times they did try and get the crowd going with the usual handclaps and singalongs, but there were plenty of people standing around indifferently. As for the songs, I guess they performed a good mixed bag of tunes from their three studio albums, including the favourites such as Cold Hard Bitch and of course, Are You Gonna Be My Girl. Still, exactly why they're still around escapes me - you can't make a career out of one album that was really only successful because it was released at the right time for that sort of music, when the whole garage rock revival thing was going on. Sorry for the negativity, I just don't like this band much. As me and my mate headed out at the end of their set to grab a beer, I mused out loud that I wasn't sure why I was feeling tired all of a sudden. Mate replied, "You've just seen Jet".
Powderfinger made their way onstage to little fanfare just after 9, and opened their set with a stirring rendition of Love Your Way. As the fans cheered right before that massive chorus kicked in for the first time, the band paused briefly and the curtain opened - and then the lighting guy went nuts! Following that, another curtain fell to reveal a very stylish semi-circular screen and lighting rig at the back of the stage, as the Brisvegas boys kicked into Lost and Running. Even from the early stages of their performance, it was clear that Powderfinger were bringing their A game to the stage tonight, after all, it is their farewell tour, and they preferred to go out with a bang, rather than just sticking to the same old monotonous performance. The setlist on the night would prove to be a great mixed bag, something that must’ve been a challenge considering the band has seven studio albums to choose from and a set falling just short of two hours. But fans were not left disappointed, with the band busting out all the classics such as On My Mind, Passenger and My Happiness, and even treating us to a few numbers that we perhaps hadn’t heard in a while – Capoicity, JC and Rockin’ Rocks were particularly unexpected. Unfortunately, tonight we wouldn’t get to witness anything from the band’s debut “Parables for Wooden Ears” – I suspect they may be saving a few of those for the series of “FINAL” shows taking place in October. As always, Bernard Fanning was particularly engaging with the crowd, talking about the AFL finals, and touching on the band’s long history of playing gigs in Melbourne. “I remember one night at the Pelly Bar in Frankston...” he began, and the crowd laughed, anticipating what might be coming. “We saw some pretty crazy fights that night... and some pretty decent ones involving guys as well”. Another typically witty moment occurred after a solo performance of Nobody Sees, when he commented that “...Because the lights are still off, as the guys come back on, I get a nice little pat on the arse”. As I’ve already touched on, production-wise the show was excellent – they went all-out on the lighting and visual front, even throwing in some beautiful laser displays to “Thrilloilogy” and “These Days”. A real highlight of the show came right after The Metre – the band disappeared offstage, but at only about 9:40, it seemed even too early for an encore. The video screen played some old historical footage, and then slowly the crowd started turning around – it quickly became apparent that the band had made their way to the back of the crowd, to play a small “intimate” set on a B stage – lucky people sitting in the front row at that point! From this stage, they busted out storming renditions of Like a Dog and Rockin’ Rocks, before drummer Cogsy and bassist JC performed an awesome impromptu jam, allowing Fanning to get back to the main stage for Nobody Sees. But the surprises didn’t stop there – Fanning informing the crowd that the next song, JC, would be sung entirely by Darren Middleton, and he left the stage completely. Of course, he would return soon enough, to complete a particularly epic conclusion of the main set – My Happiness and Passenger. Demands for the encore were satisfied quickly, with the band opting for “Internationalist” oddity Capoicity, then bringing it home with more sure-fire crowd favourites in Pick You Up and On My Mind. But there was one more card to play, and finally, the five members returned to the stage one last time and the night ended with a beautiful rendition of These Days – recently voted as Brisbane’s favourite Powderfinger song. Something quite a lot of people in the country would agree with no doubt, and it was a fitting way to end the night – for many, the very last time they’d see these guys on a live stage.
SETLIST:
Love Your Way
Lost and Running
Burn Your Name
Sunsets
Sail the Widest Stretch
Thrilloilogy (always nice to see this one, particularly awesome jams from Darren Middleton and Ian Haug)
Already Gone
The Metre
----Video plays while band makes their way to B-stage at back of stadium----
Like a Dog
Rockin' Rocks
Cogsy and JC solo
----Return to main stage----
Nobody Sees (Bernard Fanning solo)
JC (with Darren Middleton on lead vox)
My Happiness
Passenger
----Encore 1----
Capoicity
Pick You Up
(Baby I've Got You) On My Mind
----Encore 2----
These Days
Friday, August 27, 2010
Pianos, pedals, lasers, laptops and much more - Everybody Talks About the Weather II, Corner Hotel, 26/08/10
About this time last year, four of Melbourne's most respected musicians from the experimental/avant-garde scene joined forces to hold a cheap and fun evening at Richmond's illustrious Corner Hotel, dubbing the night "Everybody Talks About the Weather". Oren Ambarchi, Robin Fox, Anthony Pateras and Marco Fusinato were the four musicians in question, and they brought their unique approach to sound and music to the usual small but very appreciative and devoted bunch of regulars who turned out to watch them. Evidently, the night was deemed a success, so the team decided to have another in the same vein this year. The lineup was almost identical - save for one addition - and this ensured that those who enjoyed the event last year made their way back for another serve.
Up first was glitchy guitar guru Marco Fusinato. To be perfectly honest, his set didn't really do a lot for me; I'm not all that into the random click-pop-pedal-noise guitar playing style and I don't think I ever will be. That's not to say I don't appreciate what he does, just that it isn't really my thing, and it gets a bit boring especially when it's dragged out for a half-hour set. But as the set progressed it did get steadily more interesting - sharp bursts of static and harsh noise, rapidly panning from left to right, all the while building up through some clever layering and pedal trickery, until Fusinato decided that the set had come to its end. So what did he do? Fade out gradually? Nope - he reached over and yanked a lead out of one of his pedals, and that was it, the sound just died. And the room applauded.
Up next was the aforementioned slight alteration to the lineup for this year - Anthony Pateras was joined onstaged by Agents of Abhorrence drummer Max Kohane, to perform as PIVIXKI. I really had no idea what this set would involve as Pateras is known as a bit of a multi-talented performer, plus I didn't really see how a grindcore drummer would fit into the evening's proceedings. However, it soon became clear that this would be certainly be one of the stand-out performances of the evening - pretty much a bizarre mixture of classical shred piano (Pateras on keyboard) and err, grindcore drumming (Kohane). The two styles mixed together effortlessly, and it was a nice change of pace for the evening to see two musicians playing their instruments a bit more conventionally, and being AMAZING at it! Pateras' fingers danced effortlessly across the keys, an absolute genius at his instrument, while the rapid-fire blasts from Kohane were precise and well-executed, although you'd expect nothing less from the Agents of Abhorrence drummer. A few songs into the set (yes, it's worth mentioning that this was the only act that played "songs"), I heard someone behind me remark "This is quite extraordinary", which really summed up the mood. It was almost comical at some points too, such as when Anthony's glasses fell off during a particular intense passage. I was really impressed by these guys, and I'd definitely see them again.
Up next was something a lot more slower and chilled, but no less sonically intense - Oren Ambarchi. His performances are always something to watch, and tonight was no exception. He sat down as usual with his guitar in hand and a table crammed with pedals and processors and proceeded to deliver his usual 30 minute, slow-building effect-driven drone. He used his pedals to drop in glitchy bursts and other effects to his performance, as it slowly built and peaked over the duration of his set. Typically, towards the end things started to get extremely loud and heavy, until finally he slowly brought things down, before the final drones faded out and again, the crowd burst into applause. Always a winner, this bloke.
Almost as soon as he left the stage, the smoke machine on the Corner stage hissed into life, which of course meant that soon, Robin Fox would be taking to the stage. For those who have never seen him perform before, I can only offer my HIGHEST recommendation that you do so immediately. After a few minutes, Fox wandered onto the stage, sat down at his computer and of course, a bright green laser fired out across the room. For the next 30 or so minutes, the audience stood transfixed as Fox played around with glitchy pops, clicks and beats, which were accompanied in perfect synchronicity by his dazzling laser. I'm not exactly sure how it works, but the movement of the laser is connected to the music, so it mirrors the sounds that Fox makes. Nobody wanted the set to end, and even when Fox went silent, nobody dared applaud until after a few seconds, when the laser was switched off. You could tell everyone was a little disappointed! As the small but very satisfied crowd left the venue, it became apparent it was raining. Oh, looks like I finished this by talking about the weather...
Up first was glitchy guitar guru Marco Fusinato. To be perfectly honest, his set didn't really do a lot for me; I'm not all that into the random click-pop-pedal-noise guitar playing style and I don't think I ever will be. That's not to say I don't appreciate what he does, just that it isn't really my thing, and it gets a bit boring especially when it's dragged out for a half-hour set. But as the set progressed it did get steadily more interesting - sharp bursts of static and harsh noise, rapidly panning from left to right, all the while building up through some clever layering and pedal trickery, until Fusinato decided that the set had come to its end. So what did he do? Fade out gradually? Nope - he reached over and yanked a lead out of one of his pedals, and that was it, the sound just died. And the room applauded.
Up next was the aforementioned slight alteration to the lineup for this year - Anthony Pateras was joined onstaged by Agents of Abhorrence drummer Max Kohane, to perform as PIVIXKI. I really had no idea what this set would involve as Pateras is known as a bit of a multi-talented performer, plus I didn't really see how a grindcore drummer would fit into the evening's proceedings. However, it soon became clear that this would be certainly be one of the stand-out performances of the evening - pretty much a bizarre mixture of classical shred piano (Pateras on keyboard) and err, grindcore drumming (Kohane). The two styles mixed together effortlessly, and it was a nice change of pace for the evening to see two musicians playing their instruments a bit more conventionally, and being AMAZING at it! Pateras' fingers danced effortlessly across the keys, an absolute genius at his instrument, while the rapid-fire blasts from Kohane were precise and well-executed, although you'd expect nothing less from the Agents of Abhorrence drummer. A few songs into the set (yes, it's worth mentioning that this was the only act that played "songs"), I heard someone behind me remark "This is quite extraordinary", which really summed up the mood. It was almost comical at some points too, such as when Anthony's glasses fell off during a particular intense passage. I was really impressed by these guys, and I'd definitely see them again.
Up next was something a lot more slower and chilled, but no less sonically intense - Oren Ambarchi. His performances are always something to watch, and tonight was no exception. He sat down as usual with his guitar in hand and a table crammed with pedals and processors and proceeded to deliver his usual 30 minute, slow-building effect-driven drone. He used his pedals to drop in glitchy bursts and other effects to his performance, as it slowly built and peaked over the duration of his set. Typically, towards the end things started to get extremely loud and heavy, until finally he slowly brought things down, before the final drones faded out and again, the crowd burst into applause. Always a winner, this bloke.
Almost as soon as he left the stage, the smoke machine on the Corner stage hissed into life, which of course meant that soon, Robin Fox would be taking to the stage. For those who have never seen him perform before, I can only offer my HIGHEST recommendation that you do so immediately. After a few minutes, Fox wandered onto the stage, sat down at his computer and of course, a bright green laser fired out across the room. For the next 30 or so minutes, the audience stood transfixed as Fox played around with glitchy pops, clicks and beats, which were accompanied in perfect synchronicity by his dazzling laser. I'm not exactly sure how it works, but the movement of the laser is connected to the music, so it mirrors the sounds that Fox makes. Nobody wanted the set to end, and even when Fox went silent, nobody dared applaud until after a few seconds, when the laser was switched off. You could tell everyone was a little disappointed! As the small but very satisfied crowd left the venue, it became apparent it was raining. Oh, looks like I finished this by talking about the weather...
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