Iron On, Violent Soho, ButcherBirds @ The Zoo, Brisbane,8/12/2007

Sun 16th Dec, 2007 in Gig Reviews

If there’s one thing that Brisbane music fans know, it’s that the Zoo gets bloody hot in summer. Tonight was no exception as Iron On celebrated the release of their new EP The Verse with two of Brisbane’s best up and coming bands.

The paucity of the early evening crowd perturbs the Butcher Birds not at all. Strong and self-assured, there’s not the slightest hint of paucity about their performance or their dirtied and droning guitar rock. Hints of nervousness emerge as they unveil something new, but the post-song interrogation returns an unreserved seal of approval from the few dozen punters who had the courtesy to turn up early. Live staples The Great Escape and the Roman-centric epic Julius conclude a tight set, and lead vocalist Stacey’s hauteur fits the moment when she imperiously ascends the foldbacks to rain down the concluding riffs on her subjects.

Violent Soho have spent 2007 developing their status from cult- to crowd-favourite, with regular shows in support of some big name acts. Tonight’s set is a showcase for their newer material, with only Bombs Over Broadway making a debut-EP appearance. As usual the guitarists generate a ton of rock energy, blasting away at the growing crowd, but the star of the tonight’s show is drummer Michael Richards. A lot of Violent Soho’s songs alternate between fast and slow, loud and soft, and what makes or breaks these songs is the transition between tempos. Richards handles these maneuvers with the deft poise of a veteran drummer, and the songs leap off the stage because of his talent. The only downsides to tonight’s show are its brevity, and the lack of well known cover My Pal, which has disappeared from the set far too soon. Their new material is still straight-out-of-1992 grunge, but the roar of the crowd confirms that nobody cares.

As the crowd slowly swells, The Zoo attains the traditional December status of “sweltering”. Somewhat plaintively, Ross Hope requests the spotties be turned down lest he melt. The resulting even-dimmer-than-usual lighting generates a broody ambience that is apt – matching to perfection the slower tempo, pensive guitar lines and contemplative lyrical content of the majority of Iron On’s set. Nevertheless, grin-inducing hand-claps and all, effervescent pop gem Learn Today Earn Tomorrow makes an obligatory appearance while lead single One Man Band from newly launched EP exhibits similar brash promise despite dark lyrical undertones.

Other tracks – including the sleekly echoing riffage of opener Showing Signs as well as the wistful tinges of Snow and Can’t Concentrate – suggest Brisbane’s indie-pop darlings have developed a greater hankering for the introspective. Hope and fellow guitarist Kate Cooper’s vocal interplay is as glorious as ever, as is the latter’s between-song banter and dedications. Still she’s not having much success inducing the punters to dance. Tonight, the mood isn’t so much set to dance as unadulterated appreciation.

Deservedly so. The layered tones of slow-burn beauty of set-closer More Than Tape prove why. The song crescendos with Hope tearing it up on guitar and Cooper repeating the chorus lines mantra-like before they conclude in a wall of feedback and leave their guitars dumped on stage. A knot of people hover near the stage hoping for an encore, but bassist Ian Rogers quickly reappears to quash those thoughts. Rightly so – it just wouldn’t be rock.

By Stephen Goodwin aka demosthenes and Liam McGinniss aka gumbuoy