Bridezilla, Wim, Zeahorse @Oxford Art Factory, Sydney(1/10/10)

Tue 5th Oct, 2010 in Gig Reviews

If there’s one thing you should learn from these ‘everyone-in’ band-fests it’s that you really have to pace yourself. With pretty much all of the acts on the bill running half an hour behind and the headliners scheduled for somewhere after midnight, getting to Oxford Art Factory and starting to drink at ten will not bode well if you want to get the most of the music.

There weren’t any huge revelations at the second instalment of Double Dragon; most of the bands here have been kicking around for years (in the case of Warhorse, many years) and most of the people in the crowd have either been in one of the bands, shared a house with someone in one of the bands, went to school with someone in one of the bands or slept with someone… you get the point. The fact that one of the earliest slots of the night, Dark Bells, play to a pretty packed room is good evidence; nobody usually comes near OAF ‘til at least 11 on a Friday night.

Halfway between PJ Harvey and Ravonettes, Dark Bells play an engrossing set with songs that appear to go for ten minutes and in reality, actually do. There’s some cool vocal experimentation from the spunky front woman that offsets the throbbing drone of the band behind her. Sure, they’re not that animated, but they do their job well and are received well, despite the fact that their bass is turned up high enough to break glass.

Barrelling onstage soon after, Warhorse proceed to party like it’s 1997 and playing hard and fast is the only way to get ahead. It’s certainly funny, particularly when Jasper Clifford-Smith reminds everyone of how impressively drunk he is. With tunes boasting titles like Fuck You, Fucking Cunts and other delightful names, Warhorse is probably the most fun of the night if only because they look like they’re going to explode at any moment. Jak from The Preachers is on hand to tell me that everyone in this band is in at least one other band, which is kind of the theme for the whole night. Alternate performances from Arkestra and Whipped Cream Chargers, both of whom share members in this band, prove that there’s really something for everyone if you have the right combination.

Outside, Jaie Gonzales hurriedly finishes off a cigarette and says “Sorry, I’d love to finish the conversation I’ve got to run and play in this band I’m in now.” Old Men From Moss Mountain, the kind of rap group most highschool boys wanted to be in but only few had the balls to see through, are a disaster, but it’s not entirely their fault. Sans band, they’re just not as engrossing, and the mixing is so terrible that you can’t even hear half of the party boy rhymes. That may be the point, Mikey Carr certainly has fun as does the rest of the extended family who hit the stage. But after Warhorse, it’s just too much noise and everyone’s hanging out for something a bit prettier.

That comes in the double-whammy headliner of Bridezilla and Wim, both of whom finally bring some taste to an otherwise ramshackle evening. Deciding whether Holiday Carmen-Sparks or Martin Solomon is better looking becomes increasingly difficult, but the former have the advantage of having seriously improved their set over the years and actually kicking ass rather than just breaking hearts as they did when they first entered the scene. Wim, with pomp, circumstance, glitter and all the rest of it, prove why they’re becoming a fixture on this kind of circuit; watching them is never dull, and unlike many of the other bands on offer, they don’t set out to hurt your ears, either.

There are others, but nothing that remarkable. More fun is had listening to Moses and Jonti from Danimals drop filthy rap and tasty funk joints from the back of the gallery and watching black-clad teenagers trying to remember how to dance to it and seeing woman of the moment, Annabel Wurth, forsaking her law degree to become a literal pin-up girl in the exhibition box, straddling a motorbike that probably cost more than the takings from the door and the bar put together. Double Dragon doesn’t change the world of local music, but it certainly keep it chugging along well into the early hours. And even when it didn’t mean to be, this night was certainly entertaining.

Check out the photos from the gig