Dune, Chalmers Street, KerryLeigh and the Espresso Band @Hopetoun Hotel, 21/02/05

Tue 22nd Feb, 2005 in Gig Reviews

OK, I was building this gig up in my mind for the past few weeks, and it delivered. Delivered like the postman on a sunny Monday afternoon it did. Truly. For those who say the Sydney music scene is dead, see Dune next time they play; their intelligent psychedelic space-rock proves that there’s more to Australian music than ‘70’s and ‘80’s copycats who, let’s face it, are fun to see but what kind of enlightenment do they offer after a few listens? Not much, well not for me anyway

The night though got off to a wobbly start, with the two supports well below par. Kerry Leigh and the Espresso Band were trying to strike some middle ground between Dire Straits and the Moody Blues [remix of Sultans of Swing and Nights in White Satin anyone?], and sadly it just sounded horrible. I don’t know, maybe some people like this kind of stuff, but it wasn’t my cup of tea.

The next band on the bill was better, but just slightly. Chalmers St offered up some decent harmless pop-rock but that was exactly the problem. Inoffensive, almost artificial, and with the singing off-key, I wished I was downing drinks one after the other and listening to some pop with real heart [Beck’s Seachange springs to mind].

Thankfully, my saving grace came in the form of headliners Dune. This three-piece from Sydney’s inner and eastern suburbs have been around for two years hitting the local Sydney pub and bar scene, and they deserve a chance at the big time. They began their set with the epic War Song, and it almost blew my mind.

The first of many Pink Floyd references came to my head, but Dune do it without the pomposity of that premier space-rock band [who let’s face it, could afford to be pompous]. Reto Wittwer on his guitar is almost-mad-genius-like in the mould of Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood. Moving his body and stamping his feet in time with the sounds and bleeps he gets out of his guitar with his long hair flailing, it was almost worth the cover charge alone.

The War Song clocked in about 10 minutes – I did say it was epic. Contrary to the title, it is quite a sweet song with the lyrics of the bridge [sung by Daniel Calvo in falsetto, complete with echoes no less] along the lines of “I wait here patiently for you”.

The other highlight in the early part of the set was Liquid Dreams. I’m not sure what the title refers to [maybe I should use my imagination], but this was a gorgeous psychedelic rocker with all the power of a trance dance. Calvo’s pulsating bass kept the song on track as Wittwer continued in his own marvelous little world, sometimes letting a smile form as he spied Kasem Chouja trying to keep up his energetic workload on the drums.

Midway through the set, Wittwer moves onto the synth or in the words of Calvo, “his new little toy”. As Wittwer sets up, Chouja treats the audience to an impromptu drum solo that seamlessly becomes the intro for the next song, China Syndrome. The even better Paris follows, the dreamy synth sounds lending the track an almost floating-like quality. Again, Calvo’s vocals deliver the goods, but for those who were at the back, the acoustics of the Hopetoun didn’t do justice to his voice.

The set ended just as it began – with an epic. Sweet Summer’s Day started off with a gentle meander but progressed into a tour-de-force that reminded me of Pink Floyd’s live performances of A Saucerful of Secrets. The climax of the song was beautiful with Calvo crying out “Say you need/Say you want/Say you cry/Say you’ll dream”.

It was indeed a great way to end the night, and yes my dreams were answered in all their totality. Let’s hope Dune can hop over the sandbars onto the next level, because they sound like they are ready.