It was just another evening at the Annandale, with what seemed to be the M15+ version of the Wiggles. I half expected them to start throwing out lollies. Ladies and gentlemen, Dappled Cities.
Dressed up in swashbuckling costumes were Allan Kumpulainen, Dave Rennick and Tim Derricourt on drums, vocals and guitars as The Three Musketeers; bassist Alex Moore as a wise king from a nativity scene; and a cuddly half man, half tiger, Ned Cooke manning the keyboard. The Aussie quintet hatched in 1997, but was only known in the indie backyard since 2002. It wasn’t until extensive travelling in the United States in 2006, hand-in-hand with record label Dangerbird, that they were truly appreciated in the Aussie indie scene. They have since spawned over half a dozen EPs and two albums, A Smile (2004) and Granddance (2006).
Last night they gave us a taster of the newbies for this year’s album release. They hit it off with some instrumental, experimental tunes – a simple entrée to the evening and the build up to a fantastically passionate Vision Bell. It was impressive to begin with, but then kind of fizzed out. It wasn’t until Holy Chord that Tim Derricourt’s vocals truly say anything for the band. That man’s falsetto contrasting with his baritones is incredible. The flexibility and delivery is the one thing that truly stood out from this band. With Derricourt’s voice and his unpretentious, ambitious, and shamelessly good-looking band mates, you can’t help but fall in love with Dappled Cities. It only got better with the crowd pleaser Work it Out and their hit, Fire Fire Fire. This was the most climatic moment of the evening, matched with artful lighting that enshrined the band as a polished, practiced, tight set.
Everything after Fire Fire Fire was announced as new music. It was mostly experimental with catchy riffs and minor vocal roles, dampening the evening somewhat. Once we had had that taste of Mr Derricourt and some excellent work by the white-suited Dave Rennick, it left you wanting more of the swinging and soaring vocals, instead of the guttural pained tenors that replaced them. They described Colour Coding as the most insane song they had ever written, before finishing with Outpost as their encore. Although the mood had diminished somewhat by this point, it was still a good show charged with psychedelic funk.
