Betchadupa, The Vandas @Spectrum, 11/02/05

Fri 18th Feb, 2005 in Gig Reviews

Whose members were recently described by fellow muso Stuey McLeod from Eskimo Joe as having been “born with instruments in their hands?” Dear readers, it is Betchadupa and I will leave you to ponder this quote by yourself. For those of you who enjoy listening to great music whilst watching fresh young guys rocking out, coupled with a dash of humorous comments, then this is the band for you!

The Vandas, a Melbourne quartet offered some trully rocking tunes. The lead singer also provided a thought-provoking anecdote when his guitar string broke. “Wouldn’t it be great if guitars didn’t have strings?” The crowd were happy to think about this as they sat back, chilled and most importantly, continued drinking.

At the end of the support, the recorded music continued and The Pink Panther theme was played. The next song was cut abruptly short and Betchadupa entered the stage to perform Filthy McNasty. Diversions followed and this was an obvious crowd favourite (taken from their latest album Aiming For Your Head). They performed a stunning live version of this song but do yourself a favour and listen to the album version. You will be pleasantly surprised by the “dream-like state” provided by the Harmonium at the end of the track. It wasn’t possible for this ending live but we can dream can’t we? Sweet dreams, everyone.

It is amazing to see four guys who love their jobs so much. Liam (lead singer) offered to the generous crowd “Sydney, we like you already… It makes the drive worth it.” The boys followed with new song Design and a slightly faster version of Life Will Be The Same. Liam told the crowd the new single is My Army Of Birds and Gulls and that they had hoped to play us the video tonight, but it wasn’t possible. The audience expressed their disappointment and Liam added “Why did I even mention that? I’ve just shot myself in the foot.”

The new songs continued with the Bats of Darkwell Lane, Cut Me and Running Out of Time. Between moments of craziness fuelled purely by “the rock” of the new songs, the verbal spiels contiued. Liam asked the crowd to tell him something interesting. The punters had nothing, I dunno maybe- “The Walrus was Paul.” Joe (bass) offered “A cow has four stomachs.”

A song dedication followed as the pace slowed down with songs Road and Weekend. The boys requested that the lights be turned on. Why? Because they modestly admitted that they can “f **k up.” Maybe this was a warning and the boys are clairvoyant because of what was soon to follow… Matt (drums) began the blistering beats of RT 1090. The others joined in but it abruptly fell over as soon as it had begun. Matt saved the day with a grin and a quick twirl of the sticks. They tried the song again and played a trully awesome version right up until its end.

As the set started to draw to an end, they performed an old favourite Supa Day. The stops and starts combined with the energy provide for a song that lives up to its title. The set ended with new tracks Aiming For Your Head, Move Over and Look Who’s Coming Through the Window.  The crowd obviously hadn’t had enough and the cheering coaxed the boys back on-stage to perform an intense versions of Intensity in Ten Cities and Drop D.

Betchadupa: part musos, part clowns, part maniacs. Yeah, strange
combination but they’re cerainly one of the best live acts you’ll see this year.