Melbourne may never relent in producing fine new talent and a night at the Tote is all you need to submerge yourself in such fresh local sounds. On offer Tuesday night were the sweet acoustic sounds of Grizzly Jim Lawrie, along with the clangy – pop meets punk – sounds of the Box Rockets and the ever so packed stage of The Good China participants. With only a handful of shows up their sleeves to date, The Good China seem to already have a firm grasp of how to work the stage and the live circuit itself (for instance, with posters such as their own, there is little one can do to resist).
It was almost as though someone had given a circus crew a cachet of instruments as the nine mixed-and-matched members of The Good China hit the stage to the super happy melodies of their opening number. The interesting thing though, was that there was no distinction of a ring leader. If such an observation wasn’t clear at the beginning, it certainly was as soon as their second number appeared and the band played their own version of musical chairs – swapping instruments, positions and lead vocal responsibilities.
The Good China moved back and forth between responsibilities and a constantly varying array of sounds constantly from there on, which is likely credited to their shared song writing and contributions. The plucking at violin, head-bobbing hooks and infectious band clapping in All Nothing contrasted with Face, during which a much slower approach was taken amidst the vocal harmonising of several members. Speaking of harmonies, the band obviously loves to sing along with one another – mixing up the guys and girls voices so that each song was distinct from the next. Leading the act on the boys front, five of the six guys had a turn at leading the pack – with Nick McMillan’s voice complementing the pop hooks and Jag Gresch providing more of a gruff delivery on a rockier number. Even those hiding up the back came forward at stages, with drummer Adam Horne opting for guitar and picking up the energy with his upbeat delivery of In My Head.
What’s worrying about seeing a band with nine members is how they will manage the ensemble so that everyone gets to play, but the sound is not over the top and messy. It seemed The Good China had latched on to the clever and careful balance here though, as they juggled their control over various guitars, bass, mandolin, violin, glockenspiel, keys, drums and other percussion with professionalism. Moreover, as far as anyone could tell, the band were performing on the basis that if you can play an instrument then you get a turn with it. A stand out track 39 Black finished the set with Gresch and Mit Sanciolo upfront singing – and eventually screaming their mighty voices – into the concluding moments. The Good China is definitely an act to keep your eyes and ears out for in the months to come.
