Yves Klein Blue and John Steel Singers played at Spectrum on Saturday night as the last show in their Blue Steel tour. The two bands are friends from Brisbane, and when touring to support their new EP, Yves Klein Blue pulled their buddies along to support them on a six-date tour.
I arrived at the venue midway through the John Steel Singers’ set. The small venue was packed and the music from the five-piece band was loud but not overbearing. In Smashing the Speed of Sound, the trombone and trumpet were loud, but the mix worked well and the other instruments were heard – a mean feat in such a small space. Highlights from the set were Strawberry Wine, the twee kitsch pop songs with trumpet, trombone and tight harmonies. Pete Bernothon on trombone demonstrated how you can really feel the music on stage in between trombone parts, closing his eyes and tossing his hair around. The band finished with Evolution and all rocked out at the end.
Yves Klein Blue came on stage and immediately won over the crowd with some banter, telling everyone that this was dance music so everyone should get into it. Silence is Distance was very tight, demonstrating the professional musicality and relationship between the band members. The mix between the melodic and rhythmic properties of the guitars gave the song drive with sweet highlights. They were able to build their songs such as Blasphemy effectively. As the instruments swelled the crowd increased their excitement with the band until they were both going off. The YKB boys were able to hold the attention of the sold-out crowd by playing their slower songs with a quiet intensity. Polka was also well-received by the crowd, with many people singing along.
With the energy and professionalism they displayed on stage, you would hardly think that this was YKB’s sixth show in just over a week. Speaking to the lead signer Michael Tomlinson after the show, he was actually quite ill, sniffing and coughing his way through the conversation. On stage he was an engaging frontman and sang perfectly. He mentioned the amazing high that the band got from playing live, but that writing was his first real love.
As a finale, John Steel Singers joined Yves Klein Blue on stage for a thumping rendition of Elvis Costello’s Pump it Up. Joking that it was by the Rogue Traders, the guys put so much power in the performance, you might have thought it was a dance track. Tim from the John Steel Singers sang and everyone joined in for the chorus of “Pump It Up”. Fitting fit nine bodies and load of instruments on the tiny Spectrum was achieved by climbing onto speaker stacks and boxes. They played a second song together, Sufragette City by David Bowie and gave a long wind-up for their own amusement, which amped the crowd to fever pitch before spilling out onto Oxford Street after the show.
