Do you want to know how good this gig was? Really? Well, a nerdish looking middle-aged bloke was dancing so hard and viciously to DFA 1979 in front of me, he accidentally hit my gin n’ tonic out of my hand and get this, he bought me a replacement drink. What a nice fellow. Cheers mate.
This was one of the gigs where I literally couldn’t remember anything afterwards. This always happens when I’ve had a pretty good time [does this condition afflict others?] and tonight was no different. I think the best way to describe the music on show tonight was playful, with liberal doses of sleaze and lust [mostly provided by those naughty but nice Canadian boys].
Brisbane’s up and coming The Grates got things under way with a short, sweet set, full of frontwoman Patience manically jumping around and causing havoc, all in a nice way of course. They played all their material from their new much vaunted EP, The Ouch, The Touch and confirmed to the early arrivers at the venue that they are one of the bands to watch this year.
Wolf & Cub carried on the high-energy mood with their set of beat-heavy rock, with a few solos thrown in for good measure. Their two drummers sure do keep the sound big and loud, but my ears did start to feel the pain after a while.
This Adelaide four-piece do love their percussion, with tambourines, shakers and congas all getting a look in. Vocalist Joel Byrne’s lyrics were largely incomprehensible, so I have no idea if he was singing about world peace or about eating little babies.
Personally, I preferred the more experimental in their set and the good news is that, that’s the side of the band they want to explore.
All this though was only a precursor to what was to come. DFA 1979 have gained rave reviews over the past year and their last tour of Australia was branded a success so everyone knew what to expect and wanted more of the same. They wanted to gyrate and feel all dirty on a humid Friday night and the two boys were going to provide it.
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a band in such a small venue produce such a ferocious and intense sound- especially with only two people! Although the band themselves thought it was one of the bigger rooms they’ve played, they had no trouble filling that space with their sonic assaults.
The performance leant more towards the thrash and hardcore punk aspects of their songs than the album recordings (their debut album You’re a Woman, I’m a Machine was released last year) – perhaps leaving some of the audience a bit cold at first, but nevertheless, the throbbing fuzz of the bass and synth of Jesse F. Keeler and the stark speed playing of vocalist/drummer Sebastien Grainger proved mightily impressive once the audience got into the groove.
Keeler especially is a crazy, crazy man; the sounds he gets out of his bass should be illegal. And he’s also got one of the best porn star moustaches going around. That deserves respect.
The crowd reacted more positively to the second half of the short set. Great performances of the pounding Cold War, Go Home, Get Down and the slow burner Black History Month but the highlights were probably the performances of the single Romantic Rights and the stunning Blood on our Hand complete with nasty lyrics:
“There is blood on all the shoes you’ve worn
From the people you’ve been stepping on
There is blood in all the things you say
I won’t hate you if you go away”
Yep, the energy was there, the look was there, and the audience was there. What they do lack though is originality, but I guess that applies to all the retro revivalist bands that are so ‘cool’ now. Nevertheless, they even got me into a frazzled lusty mood – and so off I went into the night, with my head still in a daze, to somehow alleviate that urge. Can someone please spell me ‘dirty?’
