Posts Tagged ‘ do the robot ’

Gig-going: the year 2012 in review

January 1st, 2013

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So, the survey says I went to 53 gigs in 2012. This is actually an increase on 2011, where I managed “only” 47, but down on the 2009 high of around 96. One a week is about right, I reckon. More than that just becomes exhausting.

It would have been more this year, but after a very active October gig-going feel away in November and December with a very below-par three gigs for that two-month period. I’m blaming both work and some ridiculous movie about a stupid fat Hobbit for that.

In particular, this is the first time in just about forever that I’ve not done a Christmas gig. Both the Darren Hanlon and The Gin Club Christmas bashes were on my to-do list but ultimately fell by the wayside. It’s been ages since I photographed either of those bands too, and I really would like to do so again. This year, I hope.

Busiest month was October with nine gigs in just 31 days. Heathen Skulls and Lawrence English were responsible for that: both toured some fantastic acts that month. Shellac, Benoit Pioulard and Grouper were outstanding. Yet September (with seven gigs) was the only month where I went to two in a single day: an afternoon effort at the Powerhouse to catch Dreamtime and The Moses Gunn Collective followed by a trek to The Waiting Room that night to see Do The Robot launch their fantastic album Midnight Mirage (the vinyl artwork is stunning). Read more

Do The Robot @ The Waiting Room

March 31st, 2012

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Do The Robot. Shooting details: 1/250s, f/2.0, ISO3200.

Date: March 16, 2012
Venue: The Waiting Room, Brisbane
Acts: Do The Robot

I’ve always enjoyed the lush pop meanderings of Do The Robot, and still regularly listen to their 2009 long-player First Names.

Tonight they don’t play anything from that particular release. Still, that’s not especially surprising considering the time that’s since elapsed, and their consistent output of splits and cassettes in the interim.

In the end, the lack of familiar tunes doesn’t matter. Matt Deasy’s still guitar shimmers with all the enfolding warmth that I remember so fondly, and Sarah Deasy’s voice just soars.

Do The Robot @ Ric’s Bar

July 19th, 2009

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Date: July 11, 2009
Venue: Ric’s Bar, Brisbane
Artists: Do The Robot, The Rational Academy

The noise-pop of The Rational Academy simply proves too subtle for my liking tonight. For all their endeavour, I’m just not engaged by the echoing guitar or the back-and-forth vocals of Amelia Golding and Benjamin Thompson.  And, despite the intimate confines of Ric’s, the crowd feels similarly distant from the action — present in body, but not entirely there in spirit. I’m almost tempted to puit it down to stagecraft, but is it a justifiable criticism to accuse a shoegaze-styled band of being wallflowers when that’s de-rigeur for so many outfits of the genre?

Do The Robot have long been a band that has claimed my affections with a dreamy minimalist style of repeated guitar lines and swirling keys. Frustratingly, I only get to see the final song of their set — presumably a preview of new album First Names — as a result of an ill-timed, ill-judged and ultimately unsuccessful attempt to catch a friend’s band playing over at the nearby Step Inn. A lesson learnt. What I do catch sounds good, if far more steeped in electronic effects and delay than any previous material. The way they set up to face each other across an upturned kick-drum provides an unusual and visually compelling element that oddly complements their sound.