Archive for the ‘ Pictures ’ Category

The Gin Club @ Brisbane Powerhouse

May 11th, 2010

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Date: September 26, 2009
Venue: Brisbane Powerhouse
Acts: The Gin Club

It’s the day after local/Oz music festival Sounds of Spring and alt-country outfit The Gin Club are backing up their performance of the previous day with another at the Powerhouse. It probably seemed a great idea at the time of booking, but this afternoon they have a bunch of wicked hangovers in tow. The seriously worse-for-wear appearance seems an inevitable preface for a rough performance, but the band defy stereotyping by putting in a top-drawer effort.

In between numerous sly references to “Freeland” — apparently the (free!) source of this afternoon’s post-alcoholic pain — Ben Salter, Scott Regan, Adrian Stoyles and Conor Macdonald each take turns to lead the band through a delightful hit-list drawn from double-album Junk plus at least one new, unreleased tune: Chopping Wood. Tons of back-and-forth banter gives the feel of a casual warm-down gig, but there’s nothing lukewarm about the performance. Even now, at a remove of some six months, Salter’s choked-up intensity on despairing ballad You, Me & The Sea is still a thing of wonder to me.

Timothy Carroll @ South Bank Cultural Forecourt

May 9th, 2010

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Date: September 25, 2009
Venue: South Bank Cultural Forercourt
Acts: Timothy Carroll

Placing Timothy Carroll in an intimate environment such as the wee Spiegeltent that’s one of several centrepiece attractions at The Carnival’s Edge is an inspired choice. The cosy confines of red-painted panelled walls, the rough-hewn wooden seats, and the soaring canvas ceiling seems the perfect foil for Carroll’s folk romanticism — even if the venue was once used to race miniature ponies. And perhaps the last fact even adds to the charm.

Brisbane’s newest acoustic wonder proves to be in fine form, first drifting languorously through the geo-political cynicism of Endgame and Smog’s Rock Bottom Riser in solo mode before inviting his fellow band members to join him on stage. Read more

Revival Tour @ The Zoo

May 9th, 2010

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Venue: The Zoo, Brisbane
Date: April 22, 2010
Event: The Revival Tour
Acts: Chuck Ragan, Frank Turner, Tim Barry, Ben Nichols

Anyone even dimly aware of the acoustic collaborative event known as The Revival Tour would have heard the word “organic” thrown around in the street press with a fair degree of abandon.

For the cynical, it’s an invitation to dismiss the concept as pretension piled upon a cliché: how do you top the seemingly inevitable punk rocker desire to — sooner or later — wail away with only an acoustic guitar for backing?

Answer: you grab your best punk rock buddies and play swapsies all night long.

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The Nation Blue @ The Step Inn

January 18th, 2010

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Date: September 18,2009
Venue: The Step Inn
Acts: The Nation Blue, SixFtHick, Dick Nasty, No Anchor

I was not well for this gig. Felt iffy to start with and got worse as the evening went on — ultimately I bailed quite early in the headliner’s set.  It’s frustrating, as the sweaty, close-crowded punters appeared to be working their way toward some sort of meltdown. It’s annoying as The Nation Blue’s  gritty rock ethos has a lot going for it. And it’s disappointing, as it shows in the poorer-than-usual quality of the few shots of the band I selected. Maybe next time.

Had better luck with the supports. Particularly so for SixFtHick as the Corbett brothers take their pent-up ferocity onto the sticky dance floor. They chaotically surge left then right — narrow spaces suddenly gaping as wide-eyed punters stumble out of their way. It’s hard to not take a step back when Ben is fully in your face — clawing at his chest like he wants to escape his own skin and screaming the lyrics to, say, The Floor Is The Limit. It’s hard to not be a little wary of Geoff’s animalistic fury as he belts out Retirement Party. But, at the same time, there’s a ritualistic element to their schtick. They’re not feral animals; the fury is controlled. And that’s why I sometimes wonder whether the duo hopes for a more involved response on the occasions when they dissolve the traditional distance between band and punter.

Decoder Ring @ The Zoo

January 17th, 2010

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Date: August 22, 2009
Venue: The Zoo, Brisbane
Acts: Decoder Ring, Bridezilla, Seekae

A goodly sized crowd is on hand at The Zoo tonight to catch Decoder Ring. It’s my first listen to a band that has garnered a lot of respect for it’s instrumental rock-tronica, and I come away impressed by both the strong nature of their tunes and their ability to hold an audience entranced.  The “big-screen” imagery projected onto the wall behind probably helps — a chaotic visual feast that spans a  mind-boggling gamut of rocket launches, blooming flowers, space panoramas, ultrasound imagery and much more. Any ultimate meaning is debatable, but it’s a hook for the eye that enlivens what could otherwise by an entirely too introspective experience.

On the other hand, Sydneysiders Bridezilla prove a disappointment. The way they deployed the saxophone and violin on their self-titled EP was just thrilling — a menacing thrust and riposte duel working around and through Holiday Sidewinder’s vocals one of the highlights. Unfortunately,  it’s hard to perceive the challenging angularity that made that release so fascinating in their performance tonight, even on the cuts drawn from that effort.

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