Fare Evader, Vetna, The 5:48 @Revolver Upstairs, Melbourne(27/06/2009)

Mon 29th Jun, 2009 in Gig Reviews

The 5:48 are unashamedly raw and refreshing. Compared to the slew of bands with over-produced, over-polished songs, this Melbourne four-piece’s sound was lo-fi and confrontational. They opened with the deliciously unrefined Rocks Off, with their singer-guitarist Sam channelling Ian Curtis. Their second song,Blue Blood,sounded like something that The Matrix maestro Don Davis would have written on electric guitar. Another highlight was Ilsa, a riff-heavy song that had me thinking of George Thorogood’s Bad To The Bone (and of Arnold Schwarzenegger in that famous bikie bar scene). They closed with Sucker For You, a foxy track with the incredibly infectious lyrics “Such a sucker, such a sucker, such a sucker for you.” They also played Loviest and Arcadia. It would be hard to pin The 5:48 down to a particular genre. Their MySpace lists punk, shoegaze and indie, but undoubtedly if the website gave them more than just three to choose from, then bluegrass, alternative, post-punk, grunge and rock would be there too.

All throughout their set, three very cheerful older people in the crowd were dancing right up in the front. During their last song, one of the men proceeded to strip down to just his jeans when guitarist Sam commented, “Get that man a cab!” Perhaps a sign that the security at Revolver was really on the ball (or really off the ball, depending on how you look at it), one of the security guards quickly whisked away the harmlessly half-naked man, much to the alarm of the singer. Apparently he was just making fun of his over-enthusiastic father in the crowd.

The second support band Vetna were boring. Their bland tunes were akin to the Foo Fighters: songs so indistinct that you can’t remember them or even recognise them upon hearing them a second time. But that’s not to say that the Sydneysiders were untalented, it was just that nothing about the four-piece really caught this writer’s attention. The bassist’s backing vocals complimented singer Julius’s smooth and strong voice. Andy’s fantastic percussion skills were showcased with a drum solo in between songs, and his talent on skins did not go unnoticed by an appreciative crowd. They were all fairly talented on their instruments, but their brand of average rock somehow lacked that special factor that the judges on tacky talent shows are always going on about.

That said, they seemed to be roaringly popular with the crowd. Quite a large proportion of punters were taking photos with their cameras, and two different guys hoisted themselves up onstage at different times to get a better view of them. Their set included Blue, Take Me Back, What You Are, Magic and Be On.

By the time that Fare Evader was set to play, the venue was so packed that it didn’t seem like an EP launch of a band that has only been around for a year. Guitarist Dean Berlingeri, bassist Lachlan Wright and drummer Liam Wright all looked slightly nervous, and they somehow made the stage looked very empty by their lack of equipment (literally one guitar pedal each and a basic drum kit) and lack of people onstage. But the moment they opened the show with their excellent track Let’s All Pretend, any anxiousness on the faces of the boys vanished and were quickly replaced with massive grins. (The grins may or may not have been related to the onstage visuals behind the band that featured quite a lot of old school footage of topless women dancing.)

It seemed that they had taken into account that their usual onstage chattiness might be affected by their stage fright, and so they prepared some skits beforehand. One was an ode to the original opening of the Pixies’ Where Is My Mind?, in which Dean winked at Lachlan saying, “Lachy, do you have something you have to say?” As soon as the bassist started to reply, Dean added, “Stop!” and the band played a convincing cover of the song. Halfway through their set Dean explained that despite most of their friends supporting them on the night, one particular friend bailed out at last minute. In order to get back at him, Lachlan would call said friend on loudspeaker where the crowd would verbally abuse him. After explaining their devious plan to the audience, a smart member of the crowd yelled out, “What if he doesn’t answer?” The bassist looked a bit scared and half-said half asked, “Then it will be anti-climatic?” Fortunately for the friend and unfortunately for the boys, it went straight to voice mail. “We, erm, got him good!” joked Lachlan. Dean merely shook his head in dismay. “Well, this has got to be the shittest thing we’ve done onstage.”

Lucky for Fare Evader that everything else they did onstage was gold. They churned out tune after catchy tune, playing their tropical inspired track The Get Out, Small Differences, I’m Sure and a song so new that it didn’t even have a name yet. A particular highlight was Robin Banks (a dandy track that should really be the next Fare Evader single), with Dean and Lachlan donning hats and performing co-ordinated dance moves. Whilst it sounds cheesy on paper, these boys have the most charming onstage manner and appealing music that they would melt even the toughest of critics.