[ME], Fearless Vampire Killers@ East Brunswick Club,Melbourne (07/08/2010)

Mon 9th Aug, 2010 in Gig Reviews

The evening began at the East Brunswick Club with punters being treated to the musical stylings of Melbourne experimental ensemble The Spheres. The group blends instrumental scores and sound-scapes with silent short films. The images of urban sprawls and the sub-continent were appealing and the performance was solid but it was a little difficult to understand what the relationship was between visuals and the music.

During the performance, one man from the crowd had peaked a bit too early and was more interested in the moshpit full of balloons than what was onstage. He was in his element alone on the floor, throwing balloons in air like he was re-living his days in the McDonald’s ball pen.

Next to take the stage were first time performers Ether. Their set of sharp pop/rock was polished and deserved a bigger audience. The sound crew were kept busy in-between tracks, as the band was on an unrelenting search for the ideal ‘wetness’ of sound.
Fearless Vampire Killers had the final support slot and tore up the stage with their unique brand of garage rock. The group kicked off their set with the toe-tapping Loaded Gun. The track is reminiscent of music from a Western film but with a modern twist and would be right at home on the soundtrack to Desperado. Other highlights included the laid back Jackie and the psychedelic Alright Now Honey, which had the front row breaking out into spontaneous dance.

Although the set was well-received, lead singer Sean Ainsworth could see the crowd was there for the headline act, “It’s not all about me”, he said. “I don’t know how many times I can make that joke.” Judging by the silence once more would’ve been pushing it.

When [ME] took the stage to launch their single, it seemed as though some sort of circus-clown-car routine was being staged. A huge ensemble of musicians would appear and disappear – defying the tiny space they had to work with. Joining [ME] for the launch of Your Favourite Colour was a live orchestra of fourteen brass and strings, the Ballistix drumming group and a diverse assortment of dancers and performers. Somehow, there was also room for an excited crowd and a moshpit full of balloons.

For a lot of acts this would be overkill. Yet, the spectacle suited [ME]’s music, which could be described as a colourful combination of Muse and Queen. The band started proceedings with the single Your Favourite Colour. The opening piano chords of the track, performed by singer and multi-instrumentalist Luke Ferris, received a big welcome from the crowd.

Composer Jonathan Dreyfus, who provided orchestration for the track, had the challenging job of ensuring the array of sounds packed into the song was replicated on the night. He stepped in and did a great job of keeping all the elements of the performance together.

[ME] followed the launch single with Westward Backwards; the soft opening of the track peppered with the sounds of exploding balloons as the crowd jostled for position. The distraction didn’t last for much longer though as the big riffs from Ferris and guitarist Damian Tapley soon had the crowd jumping, with the balloons lost under foot.

Over the next hour, the band treated the crowd to a tight and memorable set that featured extended jams and a large number of instrumental changes. At one point Ferris was balancing an acoustic and electric guitar around his neck, while taking his position behind the keyboard. “We’re running the guitar gauntlet tonight,” he remarked. The set concluded with Working Life and the Ballistix drummers were invited back on to help [ME] close out the performance with some thunderous beats.