The friendly time vortex that is The Troubadour welcomed punters for the Flamingo Crash performance Friday night.
Soft lights warmed the crowd as support band Do The Robot timidly filled the air with their chord synths. The two piece combined guitar and yamaha keys for an introverted show. The music could be described as a ‘pretty’ sound, not breaking any boundaries but not offending anyone either. The lead singer, Sera, barely peeped out from behind Marilyn Monroe-esq hair when singing her songs. The small crowd that had arrived early enough to see Do The Robot were attentive in a supportive older sibling kind of way, willing the young band to show great things on its wobbly feet of live performance. They finished on a classic cover by 80’s band The Human League ‘Don’t you want me baby’ but sound issues unfortunately lost the guitar for 3/4 of the song while the Sera bravely sang on with just the beats backing her up. It seems Do The Robot are still working on perfecting their live gigs.
Second suport band from Melbourne, Actor/Model arrived with a welcome bang. The crowd began to fill up the bar while the band belted out gutsy, foot tapping goodness. The crowd appreciated the increase in tempo and dance-ability. The three piece act were solid fun rock but each song lacked slight distinguishable features from each other. Actor/Model ended their set with a wall of noise – that confusing, grating, apparently cool sound that indie rockers say is creative, but that no one seemed to really understand to be honest. Yet they received a warm applause and had kneaded the crowd into a friendly mood for the main act.
By the time Flamingo Crash arrived on stage the crowd had swelled considerably and pushed forward when the first beat rang out. This is what pop music is if all the right people are doing it. Flamingo Crash were hypnotically catchy with their professional and tight pop music. With perfect timing, splendid vocals, great harmonising, perfectly ‘indie’ outfits (including a mask!) their music was fun and the crowd were receptive. Their sound was exciting and energetic, combining guitars, drums, and synths to create their modern take on pop music. With names like Sonic Animation, Talking Heads and Architecture in Helsinki thrown around and added into their mixing bowl of sound, it’s no wonder they were captivating and fun to listen to. Visuals added to the vigor and energy, and a good looking singer never hurt any band. Flamingo Crash were who everyone was there to see and judging by the number of puffing, sweaty bodies, no one left disappointed by their wonderful fresh ‘now’ sound.
