Posts Tagged ‘ sixfthick ’

SixFtHick @ The Beetle Bar

January 14th, 2012

 | no comments

Date: December 30, 2011
Venue: The Beetle Bar, Brisbane
Acts: SixFtHick

Tonight, SixFtHick open with Plague. It’s newish, I think I first heard it at their explosive Woodland gig at the end of 20101 (about which I’ll blog someday), but it’s fast become a personal live favourite. Maybe even up there with White Light, Wet Heat. But hearing it makes me wish they’d record more: they must have more songs in them. Only a 12″ and a 7″ since 2007’s On The Rocks feels like a sort of torture.

When Beat Myself makes a welcome appearance the younger Corbett starts bashing a tambourine against his skull. Later, a couple in the front row start making out against the foldbacks. Totally normal. The band closes with The Floor Is The Limit and Ben Corbett puts theory to the test by climbing the wall and railings to the bar’s upper level. A microphone is left hanging in the air, looped carelessly over speaker stacks. A random seizes opportunity to scream wordlessly into it. Good times.

SixFtHick @ The Zoo

October 10th, 2010

, , ,  | no comments

Event: Beyond The Banana Curtain 35th CD Launch
Date: August 14, 2010
Venue: The Zoo, Brisbane
Acts: SixFtHick, Monster Zoku Onsomb!, Turnpike, Nikko

The irresistible lure of novelty. Something fresh. Different. Unspoiled. Tonight, that something is Brisbane electro-weird outfit Monster Zoku Onsomb!

It’s the outre skeleton leotards of vocalist Miss P Leisure and keyboardist Sharkie Bubb. It’s the wrestler/gimp mask, gold bling and red cape of Senor Tasty Taste and his ever-so-angular guitar. It’s the incongruous moose-helm of knob-twirler Kiki ILL!

It’s the camp antics: the cutely choreographed bunny hops and exaggerated retro poses delivered with a knowing smirk.

Most of all, it’s the beats. Heavy, rapid-fire synth throbbing infused with fuzzing guitar and paradoxically attractive robotic vocals.

Together, it spells a riduclous amount of fun: the party-hard attitude acts on the crowd like a mania, and when Tasty Taste pulls out a bottle of tequila for the grand finale, people can’t get to the front fast enough for a free sample.

The Nation Blue @ The Step Inn

January 18th, 2010

, , ,  | no comments

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.

X @ The Zoo

November 1st, 2009

, ,  | no comments

Date: August 21, 2009
Venue: The Zoo, Brisbane
Acts: X, SixFtHick, The Jim Rockfords

The Jim Rockfords‘ rockabilly-blues stylings trod a fine line between chrome and grime. Bulldog-like frontman Junio Hickey’s voice isn’t the most memorable, but his harmonica interludes add verve to the pacey guitar-bass attack. Anyone who can take their eyes off bassist Kylie Lovejoys’s heart-stamped, black denim pants has no pulse.

No pretensions to subtlety or decorum, SixFtHick hammer-blast The Zoo from go to woah with sleazy antics and gritty canepunk. Ben Corbett dribbles spittle across his nipples and thrashes on the floor in ecstasy while brother and hard-roaring staight man Geoff incites the close-pressed crowd to frenzy. Amidst this mania, it’s easy to overlook “backing” trio bassist Tony Giacca, guitarist Dan Baebler and surnameless drummer Fred, but their ramrod rhythms on The Floor Is The Limit, Subject To Change, Dogshit Blues (and more) are as essential to SixFtHick as the Corbetts’ deranged on-stage machismo. Read more

Valley Fiesta @ Fortitude Valley

October 26th, 2009

, , ,  | no comments

Venue: Valley Fiesta, Fortitude Valley
Date: October 24, 2009
Acts: Butcher Birds, SixFtHick, Vegas Kings

Jo Nilson’s mildly exasperated “Wake up Fortitude Valley!” is Butcher Birds‘ sole protest against a somnolent late-afternoon crowd too full of sun (and, presumably, booze) to bestir themselves and get into the tunes. Instead, the songs do the talking as the band powers through a set replete with cuts from new long-player Set My Bones.

The confidence is well placed: The Gate, Millions and Blood Message pitch a thumping, crunching bottom-end against fuzzing guitars and the sleek vocals of Stacey Coleman in the most toothsome fashion. Hook-laden fuzz becomes visceral, punk anger when Donovan Miller briefly steals vocals duties for Amp. Even if the punters are a little introverted today, the broad smiles of the Butcher Birds as they conclude with a screeching, dissonant cover of The Amps’ Tipp City shows at least four people in the Valley are keen to cut loose.

Read more