Grand Atlantic, Blackchords,Deserters @ The Workers Club,Melbourne (05/05/2010)

Tue 11th May, 2010 in Gig Reviews

Check out photos from the night here

There was some minor confusion before the gig about who was actually supporting Grand Atlantic (advertised as Dirty York it turns out to be Melbourne band the Deserters who are playing). So considering that the Deserters did not feature on most of the advertisements, they still managed to pull in a decent sized crowd.

Led by a very relaxed Luke Thomas (from other Melbourne band The Pictures), the Deserters folksy/pop sound is simple but catchy. Pale Morning and Lemon Kicks have particularly sweet riffs and guitar work.

The bandroom at The Workers Club was comfortably full by the time Blackchords jumped on stage to breathe life into the venue. Nick Milwright’s resounding vocals and perfectly written lyrics make the set easy to digest. It becomes apparent halfway through the set though, that Blackchords lead guitarist, Damien Cazaly is chomping at the bit to finish up and head across town to see Wilco, who are playing at the Forum. You get the feeling that it is a slightly rushed performance, particularly when Cazaly states, “I’m here but I’m already there”. While it is all in jest and the ‘friends of band members’ would understand, the average patron might wonder why they bothered coming down and paying to see Blackchords play, knowing that a least one member was a million miles away.

Regardless, it is a solid performance by Blackchords, driven by clean guitars and crisp sounds and when they are playing full pelt, it’s good. Really good. At Worlds End is a particularly powerful melody, with just the right balance of dark, dance-y rhythms and strong vocals from Milwright.

While the night has, so far, felt slightly chaotic, it is all made up for by Brissie band Grand Atlantic, who bring personality and humour to the stage (early in the set, lead singer Phil Usher apologises to Blackchords and the Deserters, “for all the shit they have had to put up with tonight. Nothing to do with us. It’s all Damian’s fault because he had to get to Wilco. What a prick”. Hilarious).

For a start, this performance is cool because the music is consistently energetic and full sounding rather than bursts of goodness here and there. Guitar-driven rock track, Coast is Clear gets them off to a forceful start. By the time they have played Sensitive Type and Carved From Stone, Grand Atlantic have charmed the remainder of the audience with their keen lyrics and accessible but musically complex rhythms. Morgan Hann is particularly awesome in his handling of some mean guitar work, particularly on These are the Times . This was a truly enjoyable performance, and those that hung around to watch it were well-rewarded.

It was impossible not to be infected by the pure rock and roll-ness of it all and the cheeky, slightly-cocky antics on stage. In this way, it was disappointing to then see the bar in the band room start shutting down before Grand Atlantic had even finished their set. They deserved way better.

Grand Atlantic are playing every Wednesday in May down at the Workers Club and they are totally worth braving the cold for. Before the final song of the night, Usher thanks the now diminished crowd for coming to see them, instead of Wilco, “not that there’s anything wrong with that”. Wilco aside, Grand Atlantic should be any music lovers first choice for a Wednesday night live music fix.