Tardy British India fans at Saturday night’s Amplifier Bar gig would be kicking themselves if they knew what they were missing, when first act Kites played. The WA three-piece took the stage; decked out in complimentary coloured suit jackets in various states of rock-star dishevelment. The crowd tried to keep the obligatory 3m space between them and the stage, as seems to be the rule for support acts; but they were just itching to move in and shake their booties.
With the kind of infectious beats that you just can’t help moving to and a distinct, sometimes almost choral, vocal sound; the future is a bright sunny sky (with perfect wind conditions) for Kites.
Second act The Reserves took to the stage, seeing people out in the courtyard grabbing their drinks scuttling inside to hear what was definitely a tight, well developed, sounding act.
Lead singer, Matt Pirga was bitten by the tight-skinny-jeans monster, which is currently wreaking havoc on the music scene, teamed up with a faded, black, too-tight t-shirt; he definitely wasn’t winning any best-dressed awards. What he lacked in fashion sense however, he totally made up for in enthusiasm and obvious passion for his craft.
The Reserves’ live show is just begging for a bigger stage, with lively antics and the beginnings of some great crowd interaction that makes bands a joy to experience live. It would be great to see them play a bigger venue, and see what a bit of space does to their act.
As for the music – there was a touch of the currently popular mispronunciation of vowels to be heard, with extra ‘y’s and ‘ew’s in places they just don’t belong. Luckily, this seemed to be a short lived occurrence, because by mid-way through the set, it seemed to melt away and they proved they had their own sound. The music was full of light and shade and they knew how to use a strategically placed pause to its full effect, which is always refreshing.
Finally the patient were rewarded, as British India burst on stage and belted out track after track of musical brilliance – much to the obvious delight of the crowd. They have much improved in the last 6 months, turning indifferent supporters into die-hard fans. They played all the crowd favourites; (which are apparently all of their songs) and as time went on and fans became more animated, it became apparent that this was a sold-out gig! Singer Declan Melia had the crowd chanting “This aint no fucking disco!” before leading into This Dance is Loaded and, double negatives aside, he was right on the money.
The only real let-down of the set was the sound dropping in and out of some of the speakers in the last few songs, although it seemed most people were too excited to notice, and the show continued unimpeded. Melia stopped between songs to acknowledge a Franz Ferdinand film-clip, playing on the TV, which may be concerning – was he bored? Or was it (more likely) a clever crowd distraction whilst the guitarists tuned up and someone went to see if the sound tech had everything under control?
While it’s the opinion of many, that encores are “so passé”, this one certainly gave drummer, Matt O’Gorman, a chance to really let loose and show his undoubted talent and gave the crowd the chance to build to a frenzy of excitement – with much finger pointing and shoulder-climbing and shout-singing to be enjoyed by all. This was definitely a great place to end the night! However, they continued with a couple more songs; these were still rocking, but it seemed the crowd had expended all it’s energy in the excitement of the show and the kickarse first song; all a lot of people had energy left for was try not to stumble drunkenly on top of people, as they came down from their British India high.
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