Rubber Records 20thAnniversary Gig @ NorthcoteTown Hall, Melbourne(19/09/2008)

Tue 23rd Sep, 2008 in Gig Reviews

Founded by David Vodicka 20 years ago this month, it was time for Rubber Records to celebrate, showcasing some of their more prominent artists from that time at the Northcote Town Hall. Surviving that amount of time is no mean feat, and the quality of the acts who performed, including the Exploders, the Casanovas, Even, Hot Little Hands, Cordrazine and a reformed Oscarlima was testament to all the hard work and persistence of one of Melbourne’s bona fide music institutions.

The Exploders opened the night in typically rock fashion, punching through an obnoxiously loud set in the main hall. Despite the crowd staying back from the stage and the sound being well off-kilter, it was a raucous welcome to what promised to be a great night. The Casanovas hit the stage soon after, being introduced by MC for the night, golden cowboy James Young. The Casanovas ripped through another tight set of classic rock and roll, also disregarding the hesitation of the crowd and the lack lustre sound.

But there was simply something missing. It was hard to pinpoint initially, but became more apparent during the night. The event felt something like a battle of the bands at a school hall. Firstly, it was in a hall, a strange venue considering Melbourne has many better suited, both to the music and to Rubber Records. And there was the sound, never quite hitting the heights needed to make one fully appreciate and enjoy the music. The crowd too were just not up for it, despite the prominence of James Young dancing at the front. And then, the beer began to run out. First the classy stuff, then even the left over Hahn. In fact by the end of the night punters were drinking red wine out of plastic cups. Strange since organizers and band members were spotted drinking stubbies till the end.

All in all it was up to the punter to get past all these problems, and try to enjoy the music. Certainly there was some to enjoy. The opening sets from the Exploders and the Casanovas did get things off to a good start. Ash Naylor and Sherry Rich gave us a wonderfully warm set of laid back country pop tunes as the Grapes. The reformed-for- the-night Oscarlima also hit the mark, taking us all back to the mid to late 90s with their brand of poptastic indie rock. But while Even certainly should have done the same, a certain apathy had already crept into the main hall, and everyone suffered for it. Not even guests from Underground Lovers could quite rescue matters as the set never quite reached the heights it once would have. It seemed the night was petering off. Hot Little Hands hit the little room out the back for a capacity crowd to enjoy, but never really hit the mark with their brand of quirky synth pop. Seemingly concentrating too much on how things should sound and look according to what they had seen from 80s movies made before they were born than actually making some decent music of their own, many of the crowd gradually left them to their own devices.

By the time headline act Cordrazine hit the stage, the night was over. I am more than sorry to say it. But perhaps James Young put it best during his introduction of the band when he stated that they were supposed to be the success story, and then asked pointedly “What happened?”. He had summed up the night. Cordrazine were terrible, a wash of over exposed vocals, and well, not much else. Despite all the best intentions of the organizers, the bands and indeed the crowd; despite some decent sets from some great bands; despite the history of the night; and the fact that Rubber Records deserves to be celebrated – the night never quite got there. It was a great shame. Let’s hope that 25th is even bigger and better, for I will still be looking forward to it.