Streetlight @ Amplifier15/11/08

Tue 18th Nov, 2008 in Gig Reviews

At the risk of upsetting loyal fans; Saturday’s gig seemed like someone went out to Ikea and plucked a few bands off a shelf, thinking they might all look very nice together and complement the Amplifier décor. For this purpose, they fit the bill very well, the crowd enjoyed themselves, and you would suppose, they enjoyed the bands as well – which was to be expected, as they pretty much all sounded like everything else does at the moment. Perhaps this is overly harsh, none of the acts were bad, in fact, they all actually played quite good sets; they were just missing that essential je ne sais quoi that turns a good band into a great band.

But before going much further into the musical side of the evening, comment must be made about the new fancy fingerprinting scanners installed at Amplifier. It’s just another step in the right direction for making us feel like common criminals. Whilst it’s understandably important for licensed venues to maintain security, legality and safety for staff and patrons, it would be nice to see some more documentation explaining what happens to your fingerprint and your licence scan, and what your rights are in relation to your personal identification, (at least you still get your wine in a glass though.) But enough with the paranoid rant…

Rubies and Rumours were definitely nice to look at. In particular, lead singer, Heather, is one of the most gorgeous, animated, camera-pleasing lead singers gracing the Indie scene at the moment. She doesn’t just look good though, she backs it up with bold vocals and a stylish flair. But after a few songs, the whole set just seemed to get a little stale, (or maybe you just need some alcohol, in order to ignore the vapid, Death-Disco early-birds, distracting you from the music). While they seemed promising at first, it all just seemed a little same-same; that’s not to say they don’t have potential, and talent; perhaps they just need a bigger stage, or some jugglers or something.

Harlequin League, (possibly Perth’s most regular support act,) played a pretty decent set, appreciated by at least one person who has previously voiced dislike for them. Harlequin League have carved themselves out a pretty solid fan base in recent times, and have certainly recently found some professionalism in their style. This may be a result of playing so many live gigs; making them very tight and undoubtedly comfortable on stage. But once again, they just don’t seem to have that elusive “rock star vibe” and they don’t really seem to connect with their audience on a personal level.

Headliners Streetlight played a solid, if quite short, set. Kudos needs to be given to guitarist Johnny O’ Neill for being the first musician in such a long time to say “no” to skinny jeans. Thank you so much for putting on some proper jeans and wearing them above your arse; it truly is refreshing. Other fashion congratulations must be extended to the band for some very spunky hats: might this be the resurgence of the only great fashion of the 80’s – the fancy felt hat? We can only hope so.

As for the music of Streetlight; while it’s already been mentioned that they may come out of the same indie-rock cookie-cutter as so many of today’s popular acts, (a sound a little reminiscent of Birds of Tokyo), they do have a few quite decent musical offerings. Specifically, the track Red Sunrise off EP Wolf Notes is sure to become a Triple J high-rotation favourite, and could see you able to sing along after the second hearing.

For such a small gig, there was a surprising number of photographers; about 6 of them, crowding the stage, jostling each other and bumping their lens-wangs together. Special mention goes to the absolute tool sticking his fancy flash directly in the faces of guitarists who were trying valiantly to ignore it, whilst plucking blindly at their strings. Perhaps some people have decided that Streetlight may very well be another band in the “next big thing” category; we’ll know soon enough.

Gallery by Stuo