Art Of Fighting @ Prince ofWales, Melbourne (11/10/2007)

Tue 16th Oct, 2007 in Gig Reviews

After thirty minutes of trying to find a car-park in St Kilda, it’s fair to say I was not in a good mood. With the prospect of missing Little Red becoming more and more realistic, this bad mood was quickly worsening. So when we stepped inside the Prince of Wales it was a most pleasant surprise. Five clumsy looking young fellows were punching out jangly, Beatlesque, do-wop tunes. Looking as if they should be playing in the diner of Happy Days, they sounded sort of the same. Barbershop four-piece harmonies and swinging little rock tunes, complete with some handclaps, showed why this band is garnering some well deserved attention.

When Art Of Fighting front man Ollie Brown first opened his mouth and poured out his angelic softness, the entire Prince Of Wales stood still. The gorgeous – œSomething New’, from debut album Wires, was the track he used to cast his spell of silence. It was something of an indication of what we were in for. Although the show was essentially promoting the band’s latest release Runaways, the set was dominated by old material. Some highlights even stretched back to early EPs, while many songs were from the group’s critically acclaimed first and second albums. On stage, the band was playful as usual with their witty banter and internal conversation in full swing.

Clearly experienced and relaxed enough to do as they please, it’s all about the music with Art Of Fighting. One of the funniest moments came when Ollie broke a string pre crescendo, stopping the song after the last chorus. He went on to pronounce that usually they would finish really loud, but they must stop because he couldn’t play on without that string. Minutes later there was a guitar change and the band picked up where they left off, closing the song in a wall of noise.

After about an hour or more, Art Of Fighting wandered off stage only to return with encore number – œJust Say I’m Right’, again from the debut Wires. While Ollie admitted it’s the track they always finish with, there’s obviously good reason. Swirling in feedback and pounding drums, it highlights just how powerful this softly felt-out band can be.