The D4, The Pictures,Osterberg @ Ding Dong Lounge,27/1/2005

Fri 28th Jan, 2005 in Gig Reviews

The Ding Dong Lounge in Melbourne is a rock ‘n’ roll bar which is the sister bar to one of the same name in New York City. It’s a dark, mid sized venue venue that can be your after work drinking hole or a place to see some of the scene’s best local and international bands. Ding Dong Lounge is the perfect venue for garage rock, of which D4 is a leading proponent.  So sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ Roll.

Arriving to watch Osterberg packing up, I cursed my boss for making me stay late for no particular reason. Up next, The Pictures. This three piece delivered a solid set of punchy garage rock which was polished and tight, as you would expect from a group of gentlemen like themselves who have been around the scene for a while, and are starting to develop a cult following. I will definitely be going to see them again, even if the lead singer did seem a bit scattered if you know what I mean. Watch out for these guys over the next couple of years. They are definitely going places.

Up next was the band everyone had been waiting for, the D4. Unfortunately, there was an inauspicious start to their set; with the roadies have some technical difficulties with one of the microphones. This left the crowd a bit restless before they came on.

But as soon as The D4 burst onto stage, any restlessness disappeared. I think the band are insane, because they certainly put on an insane show. They play their own breed of fasted-paced manic garage rock, with lots of sweat, jumping around on stage and microphones falling over. And this makes for an awesome show, in which the crowd never stopped moving, including that annoying asshole standing next to me who kept bumping into me.

The highlight of my night was when they played the first single off their new album, Sake Bomb, sung in Japanese.

Whilst the band was excellent, and the show great, the one downside of the night came from the band members themselves. I got the feeling that the band members thought they were better than they actually are. A certain level of jumping around on stage is great for the atmosphere, but too much just makes you look like a wanker. But this still didn’t take away from the show too much. They still play a great live set.

From what I saw tonight, The Pictures and D4 are bands to watch over the next couple of years. If you get the chance to see them, or buy their albums, I would strongly encourage you to do so. Rock On!