The Basics are back! With thanks to Wally de Backer’s touring of his Gotye project around the globe the local trio had disappeared off the radar for a little while, but judging by the packed Empress Hotel crowd on Saturday night they have certainly not been forgotten. Returning to the stage for the first time in nearly three months and without rehearsals (or so they say), the trio weren’t exactly better than ever; though that’s not to say they weren’t as fun as always.
As the tiny little band room of the Empress started filling up, support for the evening was provided by Smurfinger, a relatively unknown Melbourne act that delivered a healthy mix up of blues and grunge and showed a lot of potential. Whilst the four piece’s heavy sound was seemingly nothing too engaging – with loud guitars and repetitive hooks – the vocals were definitely worthy of a curious listen, with distinct warbled verses and clever transitions making Smurfinger stand out from the standard grunge act.
Soon enough the tiny room was packed tight, and many paying punters were left lingering behind walls without a hope of seeing the stage – a fact that was later made obvious by Kris Schroeder’s comment that those people should have only has to pay one dollar. With a rather abrupt start, The Basics kicked off their set with new material – beginning a trend that would linger for most of their time on stage. Dressed in their matching grey suits (less the jackets thanks to the pub’s toasty temperature), the trio were all smiles as they belted through their opener. Apologizing for their recent absence, the trio performed their most recently recorded track, I Don’t Wanna Go Down With This Ship, which whilst is a brilliant song, wasn’t nearly tight enough thanks to troubles with vocal volume.
The sound was soon set in order and the Basics continued to showcase tracks from their forthcoming album along with a few older numbers. Two newies: Money and My Baby were belted out by de Backer in spectacular fashion – with the blasted climax of the latter title leaving no one unimpressed. Unfortunately, glitches here and there meant that frustration was obvious on the faces of all three at times. Rattle My Chain was another obvious favourite, with a few in the crowd attempting to dance despite being so tightly crammed in and Just Hold On and Call It Rhythm and Blues saw the best harmonizing moments from the trio; reminding the room why they’d fallen for the Basics in the first place. The addition of “ghost member” Dave Bramble on keyboards gave their performance a little extra than normal, as did their guest saxophonist who helped to play a few toward the end of the set and took over with numerous solos.
Finishing up with a cover of The Sonics’ Have Love, Will Travel provided guitarist Tim Heath’s first and only appearance on lead vocals and left the crowd rocking along. For those who couldn’t get down to the show, or in fact couldn’t get in, never fear: The Basics announced they would be performing a Melbourne residency in August to get themselves back out there – though they’ll probably have no difficulty with that.
