Every so often, the stars align and a bill comes together that impresses from the opener to the headliner. And tonight those stars were Tucker B’s, Perth’s Adam Said Galore, the mysterious Doom Buggy and Sydney’s party machine Spod.
Spod started the night with what began as an unlikely set – while he’s usually bringing the party all over the stage accompanied by huge electronic beats, tonight he was more demure – seated on stage, with just a guitar and a backing percussionist (of course, the percussion wasn’t limited to tambourines and cowbells – it also included squeaking toys and obscure woodwinds). Songs such as Makin’ Party and Totally Rad were played in whole new light, and the results were great – Spod still manges to be both hilarious and sexy. And judging by the response from the early crowd, by the time he crooned “So who’s gonna ride with me”, he’d already converted himself a room full of volunteers.
For the last few songs, though, Spod went back to his roots in terms of style – but with all new material. With his laptop replacing his guitar, Spod performed some new tracks using his trademark beats and brought the Friday night party that is his trademark – ending the set standing on the front of the stage, with a mic in his hand and his pants out in the audience.
After Spod, it was time for the mysterious Doom Buggy. The band was a mystery – after all, when was the last time you saw a band billed in a slot this high, and they didn’t have any hype… or even a Myspace for your perusal? The mystery soon made sense when they took the stage – Doom Buggy are not your ordinary up-and-coming band.
Doom Buggy’s lineup is essentially Wolfmother, without frontman Andrew Stockdale. One gets the sense that Doom Buggy is a much-needed creative outlet for bassist/keyboardist Chris Ross and drummer/vocalist Myles Heskett – Doom Buggy played a set that was seems to have been brewing secretly for months, with a handful of well developed and fully-formed songs forming their roughly half-hour set. These songs are a significant departure from Wolfmother – The music is largely electronic instrumental, with clear krautrock and IDM influences. Perhaps the closest comparison that can be made is to their Sydney contemporaries Pivot, but Doom Buggy’s set was unique, surprising and innovative. Whether any band that forms as an offshoot to a backlash-attracting band like Wolfmother can be taken seriously by the music community as an independent entity remains to be seen, but tonight Doom Buggy showed that they have arrived, and they demand your ears.
The main support for this bill came from Perth three-piece Adam Said Galore, a band who have been playing since 1994 and have gained themselves a small but dedicated following. Having not played in Sydney for several years, there was a huge buzz of anticipation and they did not disappoint.
Opening with Travelling Record Collector from their most recent album ( Of Lost Roads, from all the way back in 2002), Adam Said Galore played a set of mostly slowly-building indie songs that sucked in your attention, and slowly snowballed into soaring, intense pieces. This band plays the kind of music that is made to get lost in, and this was apparent in the crowd – for a band that at times were rather sparse, Adam Said Galore had an abnormally strong hold over the audience, who gave the band a great reception between songs. Luckily for Sydney, the next gap between gigs won’t be anything like last time, with the band ending the set promising to be back before the year’s end.
If Tucker B’s weren’t the band that they are, they probably would have been victims of their own tremendous booking – headlining a bill with the previous acts is a tough task. Luckily, Tucker B’s remain one of the most unique bands in Australia, and can certainly hold their own with talent like the aforementioned bands.
Tucker B’s tread a distinctive and utterly compelling line between the sincere and the absurd, a line that is at the core of their music and stage show. This line makes them a captivating experience – their stage dress (matching black aprons, small lighted headbands) stops their often musically dramatic songs from appearing too earnest, while the quality of their material ensures that the band cannot be simply labeled novelty. Their set was mostly made up of new material from their forthcoming album, which sees them heading in a variety of musical directions – their set featured Pavement-esque indie rock, punk and country influences, all of which were turned up to 11 – both in a heavy, crunching guitars kind of way, and in a theatrical, Spinal Tap kind of way. Towards the end of the set, a number of songs from their last album Chubby also appeared, with the highlight being a particularly loud and engrossing rendition of The Legs.
Tucker B’s strike a balance that is rarely seen in the music community – they are band that will, at times, have you either swinging your head around to their crunching guitars and engrossing choruses, or laughing out loud at their energetic, fun-loving and slightly homoerotic stage presence.
Hyperbole is a dangerous thing. Too many times somebody claims a show to be of particular note, the amalgamation of everything that is good in music – and it rarely turns out to be even approaching truth. But tonight saw a bill that fits together like a jigsaw puzzle – all four artists being distinctive, impressive, and thoroughly entertaining. You may not get to see these bands share the same stage again, but all of them are certainly worth seeing on their own. Who knows, the supports could end up being your new favourite bands.
