Date: June 11, 2010
Venue: The Step Inn, Brisbane
Acts: Butcher Birds
Plague has struck down fully three-quarters of the Butcher Birds tonight and it shows. Flu-afflicted and, by their own admission, out of practise, guitarists Stacey Coleman and Jacinta Walker, and bassist Jo Nilson struggle to muster any sort of rhythm. Coleman’s voice crackles roughly around the notes, never quite hitting the right pitch. Early on it’s rougher than they’ve ever been in the dozen or more time that I’ve caught them since the Valley Fiesta’s 2007 edition, although they improve markedly after they hit The Gate around halfway through the set.
Still, it doesn’t matter one whit. They know and we know. So we can all bask in the glorious messiness, and just enjoy the music for what it effectively is tonight: a house-party gig for a house-party audience that just happens to be using the Step Inn’s space and PA. And, for just eight bucks, it’s a steal: this foursome has more passion, guts and tunes than any number of indie-wannabes pumping out tepid MOR nonsense for the mass market.