Cassette Kids, TST, The MagicHands @ Transit Bar, Canberra(20/11/08)

Sun 23rd Nov, 2008 in Gig Reviews

Phew! Anyone who was at this gig at Transit last Thursday night got a hard-smacked kickstart to let loose for the weekend ahead. For two nights running now Transit has attracted record crowds for the John Steel Singers and the Cassette Kids respectively. Cue this review!

Punters must not give a damn about the atrocious weather of late instead bracing themselves to fight their way through the cold and a clearly evident queue to get into see the show. Funny thing is over the course of the night, the underground haven that is Transit became hot and humid, so it quickly became a trend amongst punters to grab a quick breather outside and go back in. I suppose we can thank the cooler climate for this relief.

The party flame was ignited by local favs The Magic Hands who presented themselves with a new raw energy, which they may have worked on, but is another quality of theirs that is rising on the richter scale. This factor succeeded in distracting the audience from the boosted bass and drum levels which became a little overwhelming towards the end of their set.

Following the short interlude were Melbourne alternative/indie rockers TST. All clad in tight black pants and shirts they quickly blew away the soft electro rock draft of The Magic Hands and inserted a darker upbeat alternative rock sound you would expect from the Smashing Pumpkins on their Adore album as well as elements of early Muse. They were an appropriate support act to play just before the Cassette Kids as their electro/indie sound and image ties in a better with them than The Magic Hands does.

With the presence of guitarist Daniel Schober’s effects pedals, the name of the Cassette Kids on the front of the drummers bass drum and glamorous front-women Katrina Noorbergen, it obviously meant that the kids of the cassette were ready to blow us away. By that token Katrina instantly began bouncing around and releasing her recognisable vocals that rival Katie Steele from Little Birdy.

It was interesting that all the backing dancy/indie effects only came from Daniel’s guitar as in my mind I pictured it coming from a laptop or synthesiser similar to The Presets or Cut Copy but it’s all from the guitar, with a little help from the bass and drums. Like I said before Phew!

On the home-run end of their We Are tour in support of their EP of the same name, they were all so delighted that a packed venue had come to see them. In other words, according to vocalist Katrina Noorbergen, the last time they came to Canberra they only played to a quarter of the crowd present on Thursday night.

Clearly winning over new fans, the next time they hit the capital the crowd is sure to increase again.