Andyclockwise, Metal Dog, TheSpark @ Gaelic Club, 27/05/06

Tue 31st May, 2005 in Gig Reviews

A night of great support acts followed by, unfortunately, the most self-indulgent ego trip that overshadowed the whole performance.

Andyclockwise had a 11 piece band, Classic FM, that he rarely let loose for fear of surrendering the spotlight. The man has talent, for sure, but it could not match his assessment of his talent. A shame really as we were subjected to an interminable evening of posing and bad uni-student theatrics.

The Spark were up first and they were really good with the band receiving a great crowd reaction and had a lot of energy and a unique sound. They are best described as a rock-heavy low funk. Perhaps their sound was probably more suitable to the ArtHouse in Pitt St as they are very talented musicians. The vocals were distorted with too much effects and the keyboards wre set to piano which always seems a bit twee to me but that is just a personal opinion. The highlights of their set were Words in The Sky and Too Much To Do. Very nice.

There were some keen fans at the front that were really into it but never before have I seen a pit that was made up of people standing in a series of three straight lines! It reminded me of a school assembly. The Spark did a great job nonetheless.

In between sets, DJ SPOD took to the iTunes and entertained with an eclectic mix of “bitches and ho’s” ditties intertwined with Justin Timberlake and J Geils Band. Take the iTunes off random and put some effort into it!

Next up was Metal Dog featuring Ben Ely from Regurgitator and they were fantastic. They had a great intro full of skillful guitar and rock-solid drum beats. Definitely the highlight of the night for the right reasons.

Metal Dog produced a huge sound with just three people, so much so that I kept moving from my comfy position next the the exit to see the whole stage in case they were hiding someone off to the side. The bass sound throughout the set was top notch and the vocal performance was so strong. It seemed like there was at least one big Gunners fan in the band which gave the band their raw, guitar driven energy. The songs that stood out to me were Nobody Knows and Going Under. Their booker needs to be a little more selective with the choice of support slots as they’re much better than this gig. A must see band, even without the cache of having a ‘Gurg alumni in its ranks, Metal Dog is an awesome trio. 

I was looking forward to the main event when Andyclockwise took the stage. I suspected I might be in trouble when he started his set with a spotlight on his turned back, jazz fingers held high in the air. Jazz fingers! The first song Tastemakers was pretty good, a grandiose high energy piece. Andyclockwise had a 11 piece mini-orchestra accompanying him called Classic FM. Comprised of trumpets, saxaphones, strings, trombones and the standard drums and guitars they added depth and warmth to the tracks, when allowed to play. The orchestra stood around for the most part, adding just a tootle or a pluck here and there which continued for the rest of the evening.

Andy has a really nice voice and is a talented songwriter, he has a loyal band of supporters who donated their services for the evening and believe in him. That credit where credit is due, Andyclockwise has his positives but on the flipside, it was an obnoxious display of self indulgent egotism and it spoiled everything. The evening was reduced to this Har Mar Superstar without the tongue in cheek, fronting a bored big band.

The next song was Melodrama and sounded pretty good too, the piano held together the random noise created by the guitars and it worked. He puts a lot of effort into his shows but after the third song, Unreasonable, I realise the effort is to ensure that all eyes are on him at all times. He didn’t succeed though as from my spot at the back of the room I could hear the buzz of conversation over the spectacle on stage.  

By the fourth song or fifth song, Taking Over The World, the egotist started to rear its head completely. “This is a new song, I hope you like it. I know you will, its fucking awesome!” There was some feedback and charming Mr Clockwise started barking at the soundguy, over the mic. By the eighth song he was telling the orchestra to “get off the stage” because his guest artist Sandy Togg was coming on.

Drag queen, Sandy Togg did a number called 100 Points which was all about having identification, the RTA and mother issues. It was the worst thing I have ever seen in my life. Dressed like a Suzanne Grae dominatrix who gets up and mimes to a techtronica track and acts it out with an interpretive dance routine. It was shocking, it didn’t fit with the rest of the night. It was largely ignored by the crowd excepting the friends residing in the first few rows. It was a theatre student gone nuts!

Back to the main spectacle, Andyclockwise had some nice ballads. Home was really sweet and would be even better stripped down even further with less instrumentation but I can’t complain since I was giving him hell about not using the orchestra. Worrying Bills, a Requiem was quite a beautiful tune too.

The rest of the night proceeded very slowly until the end. Every song seemed overly long as he was just so enamoured by his own sound and brilliance. A lot of the crowd seemed to have had left by the end, I watched them as they casually grabbed their jackets and sauntered out to freedom.

All I can say is belief in yourself is one thing, but this ego-tripping overkill and the disregard to the people supporting you is taking away any credibility you might have and overshadowing your music, which was actually pretty good if that is your thing.