Steering By Stars, Fire! SantaRosa, Fire! @ Jive, Adelaide(10/07/10)

Mon 12th Jul, 2010 in Gig Reviews

CHECK OUT ALL THE PHOTOS HERE.

The more things change the more they stay the same. At least, that’s what “They” say.

“They, who exactly?” you might be wondering. Why: common wisdom, of course! And while the Common Wisdom may hold true for such things as the Universal Folly of Man, or History Repeating and the like, neither the writers nor proponents of the “Common Wisdom” ever witnessed the evolution of Fire! Santa Rosa, Fire!

A number of years ago in a little town called Adelaide two cynical, aging wannabe rock stars saw a disco-rock band called Fire! Santa Rosa, Fire!

Didn’t rate it.

Don’t like disco-rock.

Never saw them again.

Well. That was F!SR,F! way back in the period of history commonly referred to (by us) as B.C. Before Caitlin Duff. More recently, however, we watched (and reviewed) this amazing little two/three-piece called Kitty Hawk, which it turns out consists of approximately half of F!SR,F! We fell in love. It was then a tipsy Dougie had a long chat with F!SR,F! guitarist/vocalist Dave Williams, who urged us to give them another go. Of course being old and cynical, and despite Kitty Hawk’s amazingness, we had a discussion on the way home in the car which went something along the lines of:

“Don’t rate it.”

“But they were soooo nice!”

“Don’t like disco-rock.”

“But Kitty Hawk was awesome!”

“Alright, we’ll go to a gig, then! Stop nagging me!”

Eventually, F!SR,F! opened for one of our favourite Adelaide bands, Steering By Stars. We made it nice and early to catch them.

Please allow us, gentle Fasterlouder readers, to eat our words.

(Ahem: Nom nom nom nom noms)

Fire! Santa Rosa, Fire! fucking killed. Of course it’s not just Caitlin’s sweet, girly vocals that have evolved this band into Adelaide’s Next Big Thing, but a cohesiveness and inventiveness that only comes through many MANY shows, and what was quite clearly a genuine love and mutual respect between the band members. How were we to know that F!SR,F! would turn into the behemoth we witnessed opening for Steering By Stars? We’re old and cynical, and quite clearly should have been coming to see their gigs for the last 2 years so. Sorry we were so slow to get what so many of our friends have known for a very long time.

The set mainly consisted on songs from their brilliant debut, Sea Priest. An early highlight was their Triple J hit, War Coward. The way Dave and Nathaniel Morse trade off licks in that song is pretty damn sexy. What was even more exciting was the new song they played towards the end of the set, which hints at a new direction. It almost had a mid-90s college rock vibe, but the good stuff. Kinda like Buffalo Tom without the whinyness (Dougie loves Buffalo Tom because of the whinyness, Jayney’s never been sold on Bill Janovitz as a songwriter). Keyboardist Art Zinoviev was unfortunately a little lost in the mix, but that just might have been because we were front and centre. The main thing that sets this 6-piece apart from a myriad of bands in this country is the rhythm section of Sam Stearne and Josh Flavel. I don’t think we heard a single conventional beat the whole time, yet somehow they manage to sound supremely tight and cohesive. This is probably the only thing that remains from their early days, and it quite possibly their greatest strength. Behind every great band is a great rhythm section. Consider us converted.

Steering By Stars aren’t so much a ‘Band’ as a ‘Mood’. A sound-scape, if you will. An ‘Atmosphere.’ It’s best, for all intents and purposes, to consider them a purely-instrumental act, despite vocalists Lachlan Wilson and Rory O’Connor. Lachlan’s voice, heavily distorted and reverbed, is treated as another instrument—as attested to by the impressive collection of effects pedals at his feet.

Friends, along for the ride, really enjoyed the set but later asked “Where would you actually LISTEN to this?”

Good question.

Steering By Stars aren’t really the sort of band you’d chuck on while you clean the house. They’re more like the soundtrack to a movie that doesn’t exist yet. Or a road-trip, open highway kind of band. Storm clouds on the horizon. Maybe you’re fleeing a murder. Or a murder-suicide. Or a triple-murder-suicide. Or you’ve just sacrificed your only begotten son in order to save the world and standing by the highway is a little girl in a floral dress and dirty bare feet and she’s holding a teddy bear and a knife and crying tears of blood…

Yeah. They’re THAT sort of a band!

Ultimately, think My Bloody Valentine, or Sydney band The Black Ryder. Think Deerhunter and Sigur Ros. Think about all of these things, and then think a little bit about Nine Inch Nails by way of Nick Cave. Think about these things and you will be thinking about Steering By Stars. There’s a darkness about them that draws you in and captures you completely.

Their set was, as always, sheer magic. A mesmerising wall of sound. Ok, so there were a few speaker-farts, but the occasional overload is to be expected when you have to deal with that much pure sound! Jive was packed, and SBS fed off that, as any band would. Their songs have structure and form, but are open enough to allow the songs to follow their own path. Good communication and eye contact is very important for this style of music, and SBS appear to have this nailed. You’d be hard pressed to name a song (especially when they’ve only just released their album), but it’s not about individual moments, it’s about the whole journey. Thanks for the ride.

CHECK OUT ALL THE PHOTOS HERE.