Bachelor of Arts, Kes Band,Young Heretics, Teen Archer @The Curtin (1/5/09)

Tue 5th May, 2009 in Gig Reviews

Ah, back to my lazy hazy RMIT student days. Back when the John Curtin hotel was referred to as JC’s and there was no upstairs or fancy pants band room to speak of. The Curtin band room is a deceptively large space, with great sound, a nice vibe and a mirrored wall. They’ve also kept the pool table downstairs and have killer bands lined up for most weekends. What’s not to love?

Arriving just in time for Teen Archer, a hyped young band that had crazy amounts of energy. No discernable gaps between songs, just one long kinetic noisy punkish burst with indecipherable singing to match. Teen Archer are certainly not another punk or screamo or easily labelled band and it’s kind of amazing that they don’t fall into the same-same trap that other similar bands can. The set was very short with a singer who throws himself all over the stage and against his guitar. A definite band to keep an eye out for.

Next up, was an interesting lineup choice. It appears that Bachelor of Arts were going for diversity in their supports, with a wide range of sounds to set a nice varied tone for the evening. Young Heretics played their first gig in Northcote a couple of months ago and this fact was only revealed after the show and was quite surprising.

Kitty Hart has the makings of a charismatic indie frontwoman and ex-Getaway Plan member Matthew Wright is a very good dual vocalist. As my friend remarked, they look good on stage together and seem comfortable in their performance, considering it’s a relatively new band. Their references are proudly worn on their sleeves, with Kitty sounding very similar to Lou Rhodes from Lamb, which is no easy task. The influences of Radiohead and Massive Attack also feature strongly in their sound, which can only be a good thing.

Joining the hordes that purchased the Kes Band album last year, which received good reviews all over Australia, having them play in this lineup seemed like a questionable choice. That album was very folk heavy and not something that would sit comfortably among the night’s other support bands. But this was not exactly Kes Band, but Kes Trio and they lean heavily toward the psychedelic side of folk, as though someone had spiked their Kool Aid before going on stage. The noisy sludged-out sound that was squeezed out of Karl Scullin’s guitar was magic. At times, they sounded like they were just trying out some jams on stage, a taster to Kes Band’s new album which is due to be released at the end of the month. If the new album is anything like Kes Trio’s show tonight, it will be your winter legal high.

Limited space in front of the stage signified the start of the Bachelor of Arts set, reminding us that this is what great headline shows are made of. For a relatively young band, Bachelor of Arts have a decent amount of touring mileage under their belts. Tonight’s show is their first home, fresh from their U.S. tour playing with Dinowalrus – the other half of the split 7” curiously titled Beethoven, Freedom & A Hard Place.

They began by blitzing right into their new single Beethoven to the type of joy that comes from a crowd that knows its watching something awesome. It’s the chaotic elegance of Angus Tarnawsky’s percussion that underpins all of the band’s intricate rhythmic structures, balanced by catchy melodies. Bill Forshaw’s effortless guitar riffs are matched only in urgency by bassist Kevin McDowell and their own vocals. Tarnawsky can really thrash skin, this being showcased by crowd favourite Bang Bang Boom Boom from their earlier Signal Receiving EP.

Live highlight’s from the band’s full-length Infinite Jest, include Teresa, with its catchy mnemonic lyrics and Apathy that would give Mark E. Smith something to rant about. After dashing post-set to grab a set list from the stage, the audience seemed reluctant to leave, confirming that this was one of the Bachelor’s best local performances ever.

CHECK OUT THE PHOTOS HERE