Haunted Attics, Cathy Petocz,Voss @ Bar 32, Canberra(25/09/08)

Mon 29th Sep, 2008 in Gig Reviews

Last Thursday at Bar 32 was all live and all local. This edition of Gangbusters showcased three local acts that made one believe that they were at the AIS Arena instead of Bar 32 as this was a testament to what Canberra is capable of producing.

First act Voss manifested You Am I, Something For Kate and Angus and Julia Stone simultaneously with their own unique folk rock sound that is almost unheard of before now. Each member maintained their enthusiasm and passion in their performance throughout their set especially during their fierce instrumental bonanza to finish. Vocalist Jack dedicated almost every song to Tim Rogers from You Am I and what he planned on doing to him if they crossed paths. This is only going to create more hysteria and anticipation when they come to Canberra in November.

Soon after Cathy Petocz took to the stage and changed the folk rock vibe into a softer lounge-room jazz scene. It is fair to say that she is a female incarnation of Ben Folds as she possess equal talent musically and lyrically but differs in her vocals and is reminiscent of Missy Higgins and Ella Fitzgerald (obviously since she’s a female)

An example of her similarity to Ben Folds is in her song Lonely Spot which is about running across an oval at night with your eyes closed. I figured that this was an interesting inspiration for a song, as I have never done this myself, but I asked around the room and a lot of people have. Must try it some time!

This is Cathy’s solo project she focuses on when she’s not playing with her four piece outfit Margaret Helen King. It seems to be working a treat as I encountered one punter who came along just to see her.

After a short intermission while Haunted Attics set up their gear including a new synthesiser and keyboard, they surprised the audience and suddenly began their set with an instrumental song to test drive their new synths. They have written a few new songs since I last heard them play which are more upbeat and electro that could be described as a mix between Silverchair and The Presets.

It didn’t take long for a majority of the female punters to start dancing around the bar, so much so that singer Jacob and bassist Adrian were mauled by fans while playing a song. I presume that they were friends of the band. They must have been because they didn’t forget about guitarist George’s birthday and a few seconds later the whole of Bar 32 began to sing Happy Birthday to him for his 23rd birthday.

As obvious with this gig, Haunted Attics have built a strong support base in Canberra as punters and musicians alike flocked to Bar 32 to check them out. At the same time they would have discovered two other monumental local acts that deserve all the recognition they get.