Teleprompter are fairly new to the Brisbane circuit but have hit off with lightning speed (due to their actually being quite good) and launched their EP at the Zoo tonight, along with chosen supports Buick Six and The Surgeons.
A suitable Wednesday night crowd greeted the opening act Buick Six. They are a Brisbane trio in a garage rock vein, they sound like they’re drawing on proto-punk influences like MC5 and some 70’s hard rock guitar. Their set was energy-packed and hghly rocking and they put forward a very impressive performance. They had their own sound and lighting guy, who for some reason made the whole set overly loud, painful for the ears in some parts, but the lighting was incredible and for the most part the set sounded brilliant. Buick Six are a great band and have a solid future. A lot of Australian groups are doing this sound at the moment but Buick Six do it a lot better than the standard.
The Surgeons were next on the bill, with a sizable, dressed-up crowd. A four piece with impeccable haircuts, once they began to play something just wasn’t right. Less noticeably, the guitar tone from the lead guitar, played in the angular dance-punk style, was murky and slightly unappealing. Most noticeably, there was a lack of congruent energy from the band as performers, where the band seemed completely propelled by the energy of the drummer and singer and then dragged down by lack of interaction with the other half, to the singer’s obvious frustration. To their credit, none of them were poor musicians at all, but this set started off like a first ever gig. The band got tighter as the set progressed, but there was something else they were lacking. Originality. The set list of the The Surgeons could reasonably be expected to have read ‘Bloc Party Song’, ‘Klaxons Song’, ‘Valentinos Song’, such was the degree of complete emulation. The singers voice would even change to the exact nuance of the band being ‘homaged’. Not many bands in Brisbane perform this genre of music however thousands of band in the world have overdone it since the style became a ‘fad’ in 2005 and The Surgeons are pretty much vanilla of the style and completely generic in the songwriting. Two of their songs of their set, especially with the use of synth, were dancy and interesting, and the surgeons could do really well if they inject more creativity and take more risks in their songwriting.
Teleprompter took to the stage to a mysteriously completely new crowd. The 4 piece indie/garage rock band were laid back and all smiles and kicked in to a great ska-beat opening number (very impressive for a style that’s usually butchered). Teleprompter are incredibly charismatic and a danceable treat for any rocker. The incredibly energy of the lead guitarist, convulsing and shaking his way around the stage while attacking 1980-era post punk lead riffs, coordinated perfectly with the the dual vocals and precise rhythms. Its hard to put Teleprompter into a box because they don’t really sound the same as another band, but they’re definitely in the ‘great future’ box if this performance is anything to rely on. The set continued on the a song about dinosaurs, which began with a proud off-key rendition of the Jurassic Park theme,entered into Dinosaur-themed choruses, and finished with a stunning rendition of the other Jurassic Park theme. Not sure why the movie had two themes. But I am sure that Teleprompter sound amazing and deserve to be a local rising star. The dancing crowd were as pleased with the set as this reviewer and the EP’s sold out.
