Grafton Primary, CassetteKids, Hey Now DJs @ Academy,Canberra, (14/08/09)

Mon 17th Aug, 2009 in Gig Reviews

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Last Friday night saw Grafton Primary’s Records For The Righteous Tour kick off, and a beauty it was. Special guest supports were Sydney’s Cassette Kids, and the Hey Now DJs. The first show was at no other than at Academy Nightclub.

The sound-check began at 5pm after extensive work on the nightclub’s sound, lighting and projector systems. The lovely Josh Garden(vox/synths) greeted this reviewer before he excused himself, saying “I have to go make some noise now”. That statement shortly followed an hour long – œperfecting’ session. That time was dedicated to seeing that every sound, synth noise, frequency or whatever was tested to make sure the night would be absolutely perfect. “Well, it has to sound right. We can’t just put it out there without it sounding good,” said Benjamin Garden (keytar/synths) who soon asked “so, how did it sound?” Only with Alicia (the tour manager) to make mention that the cafes/restaurants above wanted them to turn it up….. or was it down?

Whille the Cassette Kids set-up their own sound-check, the GP boys were up for a chat. The boys are very busy and Josh made it clear that it is real important to take care of themselves on tour, “I don’t do drugs [anymore], I eat right, I rarely drink. Just to take care of my voice. Some guys can just do whatever, but I take care of my voice”.
I asked – if there were any new songs coming, but sadly got a “no! We’ve been busy touring and still have plans to keep touring”.
After the short chat, the GP boys disappear. They’ve most likely thought, a first big night of touring requires a home-cooked meal and some attention from the folks.

A couple of hours on, Academy opened its doors. The club was still looking a little bare, when the Cassette Kids took to the stage. CK have an excellent live feel about them: progressively indie-to- rock with a tinge of techno underlying their sound making them deliciously diverse. It was leading lady Katrina Noorbergena who did most of the talking for the band, trialing out the newbies from the album. Their set list saw songs like Big Jerks, Lying Around and Insomnia get the bar punters front-stage friendly but it was the Cassette Kids’ song You Take It which really got people to the floor.

The crowds poured in to Academy like the popularity of pouring cordial into the double black. The nightclub found its floor fill dramatically after the Cassette Kids set. After the place began to become full of intoxicated, or just crazy-foot dancers – the Grafton Primary set eventually began.

The much crazed screams came from Eon tracks such as Records For The Righteous, We Are The Music, All Stars and Telling Lies, as well as the EP Relativity’s favourite, I Can Cook. It is obvious that the preparation and time thought out in the sound-check shone through in the performance. It was absolute gold. The only disappointment of the set was Benjamin Garden didn’t whoop out what he’s pretty popular for. Where was the keytar, Mr keytar hero?

Punters either abandoned the nightclub once the show left or partied on early into the morning. Grafton Primary being a part of the crowd who chose to stick around. Josh Garden was on a complete high and danced on and on. “I always get these highs after shows, “ he said. Josh found himself every minute stopping to have a photo with adoring punters armed with iPhones and pocket-sized cameras.

It is remarkable to see how many people are in awe-of-these guys play everytime. We look forward to see them return again. Hopefully to see us as well and not just mum and dad!

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