Gangbusters @ Bar 32(24/04/2008)

Sun 27th Apr, 2008 in Gig Reviews

Gangbusters this fortnight presented a very unique mix of local acts from Canberra and one from the NSW central coast. The bill of acts on the chalkboard out the front of Bar 32 read as follows – Ethereal, Inflatable Ingrid, Voss (later changed to Voss (Solo) ), Condorcet and Stumbleine .

The wonderful Jess Fehringer also known as Stumbleine got things started with a charming acoustic set. She opened with an untitled piece that “makes her feel less nervous afterwards,” and it seemed to do the trick since she managed to fly through a full 45ish-minute set of mostly her own songs like Wings and the beautiful Immaculate, as well as a couple of covers including Martha Wainwright’s B.M.F.A. Despite her admitted nervousness, she played out a really great gig.

Next up was the local band Voss, but as singer and guitarist Owen put it, “They were bastards and didn’t turn up.”
So, it was solo set of just Owen and his guitar. He also showed off the intimate nature of Gangbusters in the tiny Bar 32, by frequently conversing directly with members of the audience. It was a very hypnotic set, truly proving how much can be done with one man, an amp and a trusty Fender guitar. As one punter commented, “You sound better without the band, they all play out of time.”

Self-confessed emo band Condercet were the longest to set up for the night, taking a good 20 mintues just to get their amps and guitarist Pete’s enormous pedal rig set up alone. In amongst the emo jokes and arguments with – œDave from Internet’ about playing Six, they played a great set. Their killer instrumentals blasting from massive amps, with explosions of vocals blew many a punter away and started to get people into the groove of the night.
“I will say one thing… they’ve a hell of a stage presence,” Paul from Inflatable Ingrid stated after the set, and do they ever – particularly for one song with drummer Sean on vocals, where he decided he would start his own mosh pit in the crowd and even punched a couple of unsuspecting punters. It’s also worth mentioning that in true – œemo’ style they played most of the gig with their black hoods up, regardless of how much they were sweating.

“Attention everyone the upstairs bar is now open,” announced Reuben from Inflatable Ingrid “So please go up… and not listen to our shitty music,” added Paul. For those who are familiar with their live shows, you wouldn’t be blamed for being a little worried about the unsuspecting people who had walked in from the hordes of club-goers outside for Condorcet’s set. After the second or third song, much of the audience had decided to take a “cigarette break,” no doubt they were somewhat motivated by Paul’s talent for getting in their face both literally and with his cutting vocals, often at the same time. This didn’t phase the band at all; they used the extra space to their advantage, taking the opportunity to jump around even more. All up, it was a very intense set leading up to the explosive, “HAVE! YOU! GOT! WHAT! YOU! PAID! FOR!” of Piracy to finish the set.

Finally, Ethereal from the Central Coast of New South Wales came out to complete the night. They are a standard five-piece rock/powerpop group, that managed to bring in the crowds recovering from the Inflatable Ingrid set and got them dancing. This is a band you are sure to see around in the future, with an east coast tour scheduled and one of their songs to soon feature in an Xbox ad.

A 5-Band lucky dip for $5 well worth the navigation of the crowds of student night at the clubs on the eve of a public holiday.