Children Collide, Cabins @ HiFi Bar, Melbourne (13/06/2010)

Wed 16th Jun, 2010 in Gig Reviews

The formula for a great live performance is fairly simple, all things considered, but given that so many modern acts manage to get it quite wrong, it might be time to revisit the mathematics:

(LIVE instruments + strong tunes) – pretentious behaviour × intensity ÷ several players = Happy fans (new+old)

Blending the fervour of The Vasco Era and the tonality of British India over an affable and uncomplicated nature, Children Collide provide the perfect example of a solved equation when they take to the Hi-Fi stage on Sunday night.

As if by way of antithesis, Sydney 4 piece Cabins bring their show to life in the supporting role and get their sums all wrong. With a vaguely country-tinged feel to their guitar work paired with muted drumming and intermittent bass, a lack of varied tempos and mono-tonal vocal lines presents a dour performance. As much Bob Geldof as Bob Dylan, their gloom-tinged indie fuzz bears some of the hallmarks of Mark Lanegan’s work with none of the charisma, chundering along mid-pace while their bassist slowly convulses into the world’s most indolent seizure. The band as whole avoid noticing that they even happen to be playing live, maintaining hunched shoulders and ignoring the crowd at all costs.

Triple J favourite Hounds provides a welcome respite, setting up a much improved final 3 numbers which finally display the zippy melodies that the music prior had been laboriously building up to. Too little too late was the cry, however, as an initial lack of urgency and dearth of showmanship leave the audience a little cold.

Not that Children Collide had their work cut out for them by any means. As is standard for the headliner at the Hi-fi, anticipatory fever grips the venue while the soundcheck goes on; punters bustling ever nearer to the stage, the walls positively vibrating with expectation.

Launching into song with now trademark gusto, CC attack the audiences ear drums with a huge fuzzy bass sound and reverb saturated guitar work that hides the fact there are only 3 of them onstage, but doesn’t mask the bands unique, powerful spindly rock sound. Fan favourites Cannibal and Chosen Armies display the group’s versatility, looping from driving strummed sing-along to ethereal, choral pop tune; both styles earnestly belted out before an ecstatic legion of admirers.

Not allowing some feedback issues and technical problems stop them, even when the guitar goes down during Across The Earth , CC stick to their formula, conjuring pop-rock tune after pop-rock tune with the appropriate ardour and every one uniquely theirs but decidedly autonomous in itself. Having blasted through the opening numbers complete with vocals screamed into guitar strings, the first enormous cheer of the night comes for FIFA 10 soundtrack stalwart Skeleton Dance which draws a generous ‘Whoop!’ before inane bouncing all over the gig ensues.

Stopping to draw breath for a minute, lead singer Johnny Mackay utters his first spoken offering, simply ‘how the fuck are ya?’ before asking ‘Mr lighting person’ to avoid shining the spotlight on his guitar so he can see the strings and not screw up the next song. It’s an honesty that is present in the entirety of the performance, the band not bothering with the histrionics littering bigger bands onstage personas, instead concentrating on putting on a damn good show. Bassist, Heath Crawley may look like a cross between Gary Numan and Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, but he delivers a powerful, uncomplicated backdrop for Mackay’s musical stylings, even stopping short of a clichéd solo while the singer plugs his ailing guitar back into it’s amp mid song. There is nothing artificial in the performance, even down to the count in for each song, drummer Ryan Caesar reviving the seemingly lost tradition of the 1-2-3-4 drumstick countdown.

For all the distinctive tunes that Children Collide have to choose from, several make the translation to live performance just that little bit better. New single Jellylegs demonstrates a rawer, edgier sound for the band, reverberating as a dark anthem while the crowd sings along to the foreboding chorus line “I guess we’ll see you in the afterlife”. The true solution to the CC formula, however, is Social Currency . Predictably drawing the biggest cheer of the night, from start to finish it is a true live gem, comprising a galloping bass line and frantic solo that has Mackay’s hands moving in a veritable blur while the assembled (dare it be said) children collide in a mass of ecstasy at the stage floor.

Before strolling offstage, Mackay announces that the band aren’t doing encores just yet, but on this evidence it shouldn’t be long before that becomes an inevitable addition to the live equation.

CHECK OUT SOME THE PHOTOS FROM THE NIGHT HERE