Dukes of Windsor, The DirtySecrets, Bipolar Badwise @Revolver Upstairs, Melbourne(20/03/09)

Sun 22nd Mar, 2009 in Gig Reviews

Bipolar Badwise may have only been the opening band, but the screams from the female half the audience was so loud that one punter asked, ‘Wait, is this Dukes of Windsor?!?!’ This three-piece combined eighties goth pop, a la The Cure with Pac Man-esque bleeps and electronic beats. So much so that they even looked like they were the fifth/sixth/seventh members of the Clash. Equipped with only one guitar (which they shared), two synths/samplers and a four-piece drum kit, they created gorgeous songs like the instrumental Midnight Transit Through Amazonia, Pinktricity and Sacrifice. During the end of their set, Bipolar Badwise garnered a few boos from the crowd but these were perhaps from jealous boyfriends in the crowd. Sonically, this three-piece were a perfect match for Dukes of Windsor.

The crowd seemed to quieten down slightly for The Dirty Secrets, who were the second act for the night. They all looked like the British comedian Russell Brand in various states of unshavenness, with their low V-neck black tees, skinny jeans, scruffy hair and lace-ups. This rock star image was further completely that they seemed completely incapable of remaining still for even a split second. Singer Jarrah McCleary was rolling his hips and wigglling his butt so wildly throughout their entire set that he kept accidentally kicking his synth wires out. Into their second last song, Jarrah gave some good advice to the crowd, the way that a sommelier in a restaurant recommends a wine. ‘If you’re going to take anything tonight, you better take it now and it’ll kick in halfway through this song.’ Before he could finish dishing out these words of wisdom, the rest of his bandmates roared through a key-heavy track. A four-piece, The Dirty Secrets music had synth-heavy melodies complemented with electric guitars and powerful vocals. Their tunes were catchy without being too pop, and could probably best be described as dirty pop rock with a soft spot for electro. As the best opening acts do, The Dirty Secrets warmed up the crowd for the headliners, Dukes of Windsor. The band proclaimed, ‘We fucking love these guys. They’re one of the tightest bands in Australia!’

And The Dirty Secrets certainly weren’t lying. Dukes of Windsor’s performance was mind blowing. They came on stage with a box full of Asahi beers, smoke machine running at full speed and eerie blue stage lights. Obviously it didn’t help that they were all on stage a few minutes before doing sound check (when the crowd clearly didn’t recognise them), but nonetheless the effect was not lost on the screaming fans. The boys seemed to love being on stage, and their performance was so polished that it was like watching The Hives without suits. Long-legged bassist Joseph Franklin seemed to be working on his signature walk, which could best be described as a WWII Nazi soldier with knee problems. Definitely cooler than Angus Young’s stunted one-foot hopping, though perhaps the problem was the whole grown-man-in-school-shorts thing. During the set, vocalist Jack Weaving started doing some crazy footwork, to the dismay of one female punter in the front row. He must’ve noticed her look of disapproval, as he crawled over Joseph’s pedal board and whispered into her ears, ‘I know, it was stupid.’ To introduce Down In Dirt, Jack commented, ‘This one is selfish… it’s a slow track, it’s self-satisfying, which is what I suppose music should be about.’ Joseph quickly quipped, ‘Jack talks so much bullshit,’ before the band immediately played the opening bars of the tune. It definitely wasn’t a selfish setlist choice as most of the punters got right into it. However, their two-song encore almost didn’t work, as they ran off stage and a only a handful of people half-hearted yelled, ‘encore’. Guitarist Oscar Dawson had to literally come back onto stage and ask the crowd if they wanted a couple more songs. Handsome Man was an oldie – but a goodie – followed by the crowd favourite The Others. During this last song, the entire floor of Revolver seemed to bounce around as if an extension of drummer Cory Blight’s glittery drumkit. Other songs on the night’s set list were: Tear This Party Down, It’s a War, Get It, Evil Woman, Off The Radar and In The Wild.

Surprisingly, Dukes of Windsor drew a crazily rough crowd. This reviewer witnessed a man reach forward through the throng to grab a girl’s face and poke her in the eyes. Another girl continously ‘accidentallly-on-purpose’ elbowed a photographer in the head everytime she was lined up for a shot. It was also a bit odd that a band that was number one on the ARIA Club Charts for three months would have a show at the extremely intimate (read: tiny) Revolver venue.

Nevertheless, Dukes of Windsor performance was definitely the best that this reviewer has seen so far this year (including Soundwave, believe it or not). The Dirty Secrets warmed the crowd up nicely for Dukes and opening act Bipolar Badwise were breathtaking.

CHECK OUT THE PHOTOS FROM THE SHOW HERE