Blackchords @ The Curtin,Melbourne (6/02/10)

Tue 9th Feb, 2010 in Gig Reviews

Potential Falcon opened up the last night of the Blackchords and Grand Atlantic national tour. It was a special night for this soon-to-be four piece, as the keys player was breaking his ten-year partnership with Potential Falcon to go live in Trinidad.

Their songs had some spacey sounds, and often took unusual turns in the chord progressions, before returning to the safe house that they had built in the beginning. “Keep your eyes on the road, don’t fall asleep at the wheel” was one of many resonating choruses offered by these boys, but unfortunately it began to ring like a TAC commercial. The lead singer’s guitar work ranged from a tinny tone with clashy chords to a clean hollow body that employed smooth front pick-ups. Valentine’s Day had some nice meditative moments, using plenty of sevenths, but it also convinced me that the singer’s vocals were less suited to the tender moments. Potential Falcon had an underlying country feel and their lead guitarist, despite being a Woody Allen look-alike, had some nice chops when unleashed on a guitar solo.

Brisbane band Grand Atlantic got up next and showed instant polish with the use of wild atmospheric siren-like samples in Coast Is Clear. These were men, not boys, and they performed as if they were ready to hit their tour of the United States with authority. The beginning of the set had me expecting a polished kind of grunge, the type with brusque slow-paced palm muting and nice contrasting vocal harmonies.

The slow paced grunge began to elevate in to the kind of sound wall that the Dandy Warhols deliver. Phil Usher’s upper register seemed a little bit weak in Trip Wires when humming the falsetto melodies. It was later told that his friends had made him smoke five cigarettes that day. Usher has a classic vocal tone, but not without it’s versatility. If you could purchase his pipes then many would be paying up and running off to try out the natural husk in their basements, only later to discover this nice placid tone similar to Alex Greenwald of Phantom Planet hiding away for ballads.

Jumping on the SXSW bill in Austin there is no telling where it might be next for this Brisbane four piece. They finished the set with Ghost Town, and Usher’s voice was starting to crack under the pressure by this stage. The walls of sound were often sacrificed for vocal priority, so I’m sure if it hadn’t been the last night of the tour then he would have been making better use of these falls in texture. Usher was thrilled to be playing in Melbourne in front of “people who like music”, opposed to Queensland who are “hopeless”, and Sydney who he taunted purely for brownie points.

I knew early on that Nick Milwright was having a bit of an off night. As I purchased my long overdue copy of the self-titled Blackchords album he spilled a beer all over the posters on his merchandise stand. Once up on stage he fell to the Curtin Bandroom curse, having some technical trouble with his gear. I seem to see this happen at the Curtin all the time, and the sounds that came from his amp in the opening numbers would better describe the band as the Cracklechords. “No wonder it’s crackling”, said Milwright, as he went on to explain the strange Leprechaun-like version of Danny DeVito that had offered cheap and obviously dodgy services to fix his amp. Milwright, clumsy only with beer, spilled a little more on his drummer, before picking up his acoustic guitar and showing a more elegant side to his hands.

These Lights began with twinkling triads from Vincent on keys. He was the ultimate ghost member, often disappearing off stage even to Milwright’s surprise. The mellow slide guitar, unconventional use of chords, and interesting work from the rhythm section demanded the attention of the audience.

The drumming was sublime, as if taking an already interesting rhythm, then cutting and selecting unusual parts of it to remain between the silent gaps. The boys brought the night home with a barrage of singles, including latest single Pretty Little Thing, the old choppy classic At World’s End, and finishing the set off with Broken Bones. It was obviously ambitious trying for an encore, because they came rushing back before the yelling had a chance to be doused.

In case you are wondering about a new release, there weren’t a large selection of new songs to report, but the few that were on showcase already showed signs of a bigger soundscape to come from Blackchords, with new orchestral quirks and hints of jazz influence in the melodies.

If you are beginning to lose faith in Melbourne bands then Blackchords should earn back your worship. As I walked up Lygon Street to my car a man beside me insisted that Blackchords were the next big thing to come out of this city and I could hardly disagree.