Kaki King, An Horse @ TheCorner, Melbourne, (20/2/09)

Tue 24th Feb, 2009 in Gig Reviews

First up were the duo that is An Horse; Katy Cooper and Damon Cox. To the uninitiated, An Horse can pretty much be firmly lumped into alternative rock category, but they’re a few steps above the usual. As demonstrated in tracks like Camp Out and Little Lung, they really have a nack for writing catchy chord progressions and nice vocal harmonies. Unfortunately after a while their sound becomes a little monotonous. Now I’m not saying break out the bassoons but something other than just mid tempo alt-rock songs might help break up the sound a little better, even something as simple as a change of guitars maybe. At least they can always fall back on their between-songs banter, as demonstrated by a joke about Cooper and Kaki’s height (they’re both roughly one Prince tall); or the story about Damon’s girlfriend finding a poop halfway up a shower wall at a festival. After all, no matter how old you are you’re never too old to appreciate a poop joke (unless you’re 94 and you wear adult diapers). Anyway, if you’re a fan of good alt-rock then you might want to check out check out An Horse.

After An Horse departed Kaki King and band took to the stage and started things off with Until We Felt Red. Last time King toured Australia she was accompanied by Dan Brantigan on the unofficially dubbed – œBong of Destiny’ (a techno-pipe thingamabob a.k.a the EVI) with a guest appearance by Jeff Lang, but this time Dan returned plus Matt Hankle on drums to fill out the sound. The addition of a drummer gave many sounds a real post-rock feel, with songs dynamically weaving in and out and frequently building to an explosive finish, such as on So Much for So Little and Goby. Other songs such as the Carmine St from her first acoustic album were given a new feel, in this case Matt’s synth drums turning it into a trip hop number. Speaking of recordings, for sale at the gig was a new EP by Kaki and co, titled Mexican Teenagers for no reason. On top of being pretty good, as demonstrated on the night by Gouge Both Your Eyes Out (But Eat Only One) and Lintoria, the proceeds of said EP being donated to the Bushfires.

As much as the gig was to promote newer material such as Bone Chaos and Life being what it is, older material was featured in the mix as well with even Pink Noise making an impromptu appearance after a change of guitars due to a broken string. She’s still as good as ever, infact so much so that it’s difficult to put down on paper. Her – œbass slapping’ technique on acoustic guitar numbers such as Bone Chaos in the Castle making her an accomplished guitarist and drummer at the same time, and the myriad of details she can add using loop pedal layers, seeming almost like a musical decollage, if that’s even possible. The best way to convey it is that if you’re a fan of good music on guitar then she’s a must see act before you die, a diminutive musical Mecca if you wish. The thing is that her band mates almost steel the show with their own talents. Dan switched between EVI and trumpet, hinting at artists like Miles Davis’ fusion work and Talk Talk’s later albums, and Matt preceded to be an unbelievable elemental force to the point of almost knocking over his cymbals, while maintaining a constant drive.

In between tracks Kaki dispersed tales at a quick-fire pace as per her usual custom, the most noteworthy being the secret workings behind Spicks and Specks’ substitution segment: artists are asked to list a few songs with strong melodies which resonate with them – surprisingly this included Kelly Clarkson because of its – œepic’ nature (her words not mine). Another tale was of Hankle’s desire to roast her adorable wiener dog in separate pieces.

Kaki and co finished off the night with a double encore including, Gay Sons of Lesbian Mothers, alone but with a bajillion pedal loops, ending the night with a gentle come down.

CHECK OUT THE PHOTOS FROM THE SHOW HERE