[Me], Black Bear Woods @ TheTroubadour, Brisbane(13/08/2010)

Mon 16th Aug, 2010 in Gig Reviews

Was that a black cat crossing the road? A multitude of things to do on this Friday thirteenth and an early start to the night at The Troubadour mean I completely miss the first two supporting acts – troubadour/virtuoso guitarist Matt Nelson and notorious local polariser Ed Guglielmino. However it’s still rather quiet at the much-loved venue – that is, until the next band take to the stage and crank things up.

Live, the ursine-friendly Black Bear Woods are an interesting proposition. Essentially an “older” indie-rock unit, the collective look and sound a lot tougher than many fellow bands from the burgeoning Brisbane scene, peppering their songs with equal doses of folk and funk. Numbers like Nightwalking are great fun and the instrumentation is solid, yet overall there’s a pervasive sense the combo can do better in the songwriting department – which, given their already-established storytelling and groove, doesn’t seem like mission: impossible.

Having seen them twice before, if I were to describe [Me] in one sentence today, it would still be “like Muse, but better”. In an invigorating start to their headlining set, the Melbournians urge the crowd to move closer to the front with a drum-and-violin march through the room before opening with a grandiose new single Your Favourite Colour.

Already standing as the band’s finest track to date, the piano-led song sweeps the venue like the lovechild of the two abovementioned British pomp-rock kings it is. Singer/keyboardist/guitarist Luke Ferris (who, as I found out earlier, is a Brisbane boy) hits impossible highs with ease while axeman Damian Tapley riffs and shreds like a proggier Brian May, with the two’s harmonies on top and the decimating rhythm section work also sounding simply… massive. This is a band that truly deserves much bigger stages and their songs, musicianship, stage show and sheer bombast are a pure joy to behold.

Aside from trademark killers like the operatic Westward Backwards, the violin-aided [Me] deploy a batch of excellent new songs and joke about tonight’s chilly Brisbane air being like “summer” compared to the Melbourne winter (been there myself plenty times, felt that; word).

Throughout the set, barefoot bassist Michael Godde strikes up many a “crane” pose while displaying astonishing instrumental skill. A brief technicality towards the end sees drummer Spike frustratedly whack the malfunctioning instrument, allowing the bowtie and suspenders-sporting Tapley and guest violin player (a showman to boot in his own right) to engage in some more humorous banter before sealing the night on an exuberant note with the hard-driving, rifftastic live staple Working Life. Bring on the big arenas.