Birds of Tokyo, Calling AllCars, The Blackwater Fever @The Arena, Brisbane(04/09/2008)

Tue 9th Sep, 2008 in Gig Reviews

Thursday night started off with the two piece,The Blackwater Fever. Shane Hicks takes to the guitar and vocals, and is dashing on both his instrument and the microphone. Andrew Walter makes up the other 50% of the Blackwater Fever but puts in 100%. All songs ooze a funky blues style that makes it almost impossible not to toe-tap and groove along to. Songs like Sweet Misery sounded like they follow one formula and though fun music, it at times became monotonous.

Calling All Cars are the second on the bill. Three gentlemen bound onto stage with enthusiasm and this was reflected by the enthusiasm of the audience for their pop songs. Haydn projects his vocals with almost the same force as their recorded works. Animal which has received decent airtime on Triple J was one song that saw the packed Arena go off with excitement and sing-a-longs. Hey You was another song that saw people screaming at the top of their lungs, along with Haydn. Songs from Animal and the Calling All Cars EP were on high rotation for the whole evening. It was a great set from the gentlemen and set the standard for a great evening.

Finally the intro to Broken Bones begins, and cheers and chants follow. Packed to the rafters is one stupid expression, but not this Thursday night. Bodies were packed into the Arena like sardines and it was standing room (no moving room) only. Ian Kenny spiced up the musical mix pulling out the acoustic guitar for an assortment of songs. This was received well by everyone in the Arena. It was the award nominated Universes and One Way that got the most set time for the evening with songs including Silhouette, Wayside, Day One and Black Sheets making an appearance.

The whole thing was tightly run through Adam Weston’s admirable ability. All together Birds of Tokyo work well together and it’s evident that it is a long tour. The light show that accompanied the set was almost distracting from the catchy tunes. The energy on stage petered out towards the end of the set however it didn’t seem to bother those inside. Their recent exposure thanks to Triple J saw a more diverse demographic of people inside than their earlier who were all extremely satisfied come closing time.