As the rest of Australia (and a segment of France) partook in getting in touch with the Anzac Spirit and playing two-up, The East Brunswick Club was kicking out the pop jams. I arrived too late to see the first support, making it just in time to catch the first number from Melbourne’s own The Basics.
While not sold-out, there was a sizable crowd who had made it to see the three-suited cool cats bringing back golden pop-rock. In the midst of recording their sophomore album, the trio had their chops down and looked very comfortable on stage.
I’ve seen The Basics a few times but it never seemed to be in the standard gig 10:30ish setting for some reason. But this is one of the qualities that makes them entertaining – their willingness to go with the flow and try different styles and settings. The standard songs are always mixed about, instruments held back and some parts with more kick, providing an interesting and different show each time. It’s impressive for a three-piece.
Wally de Backer’s vocals were cracking as always; surely he will have to miss a note someday. Kris Schroeder and Tim Heath hit a high point with a number that was either very quality improvisation or a song made that extra bit special by Tim’s guitar squeals and solo while looking over at Schroeder. Let’s hope Heath can remember what he was doing.
It was interesting to see how much the crowd dissipated after The Basics’ set. Either the crowd was full of heavy smokers; there were two groups of people only willing to support either the basics or Sparkadia; or the crowd were all friends and relatives of The Basics and went backstage to catch up and congratulate. Either way, there was now plenty of room to stretch and find a prime space to watch Sparkadia. Next to the bar it was.
As the room took a while to fill again I started to ponder if the crowd had only shown up for The Basics. But by the time the curtains opened and Sparkadia greeted Melbourne, the crowd had returned (or the second batch arrived) in force.
Sparkadia’s pop sensibilities followed nicely from the Basics’ set-up, and Sparkadia offered a much fuller rock ‘n’ roll picture with the sassy blonde guitarist, Tiffany Preece. Apologies to The Basics’ guitarist, but you just can’t beat sass.
I had seen Sparkadia before a couple of years ago. The pop sounds were good before and even better this time. Although, the look of the band seems to have had a makeover. Either they have a stylist now or they are just embracing the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle. Thank god the music hasn’t been tampered with.
Overall, the set was entertaining, but there were moments when it began to feel a bit same same. There are some quality songs. Morning Light, Too Much To Do and Animals are solid tunes and definite highlights. If they could just create a few more tracks of this calibre then it they will be well on there way to offering some stellar shows.
Fresh from a tour with Jimmy Eat World, frontman Alex Burnett looked confident onstage. It seems life is running pretty nicely for the band at the moment. Here’s hoping the debut album Postcards, due out May 31, truly captures the band’s appealing sound and helps support their current momentum.
