Cat Cat, Kasha, Danger Beach,Mornings @ Transit Bar,Canberra (7/10/10)

Tue 12th Oct, 2010 in Gig Reviews

SEE THE GALLERY HERE!

Any Thursday night that starts out with gig options like Dan Kelly at The Maram, indie-darlings Little Red and Sparkadia at the ANU Bar and an EP launch for locals Cat Cat at Transit Bar is going to make things tricky and tear at you like Sophie’s Choice undoubtedly did.

Launching their latest EP Waking Space, Cat Cat won the vote hands down for a few reasons; not only because said EP is brilliant, but they had also organised a slew of other top notch local bands to support on the night. Sadly up and comers Crash The Curb had to pull out last minute due to some serious success with triple j unearthed, but, their absence was more than made up for by Mornings, Danger Beach, Kasha, and headlining trio of the night, Cat Cat.

Taking to the stage first was Mornings. It seemed that as soon as this set had begun it was over; all tracks interchanging between gentle flows of guitars and slamming drums, dashing from one post-rock jam to the next; half an hour was not enough. Having spent the past couple of months powering away and expanding their lineup, Mornings is a band that deserve a heck of a lot of praise and should be sought out and listened to as soon as possible. With the crowd growing steadily throughout their set, it was onto the next local wonder, Danger Beach.

Solo artist and one half of yet another local band Assassins 88, Danger Beach was the next highlight in the stellar lineup of the evening and produced another solid thirty minutes of listening time. In terms of sound, and put simply, there’s nothing not to like. It’s inventive without being invasive, original without the stupid antics and downright interesting listening.

Next in line was well known quartet Kasha; their unique blend of math-rock, jazz and muddled time signatures having been sorely missed while they breaked for the past couple of months. Sadly, their set was a bit of a let down. At first I couldn’t tell if their latest works were just lost in translation to me, but the more I looked around the more I saw people all over with similar looks of uncertainty on their faces, and sadly it failed to engage properly and even translate meaningfully.

Then came to the stage three men looking slightly exhausted, having ran straight from one supporting gig to their headlining own, Cat Cat began quickly and earnestly, strumming, echoing and pounding their way through their latest EP. The five tracks on Waking Space display a perfect moment in the progression of the band, and builds wonderfully on the strong foundation already created over the past couple of years. The first of another long stretch of gigs for the band, it was a flawless set even if they were slightly disheveled, and no matter where you looked, all eyes were glued to the stage for the entire set which says it all really.

SEE THE GALLERY HERE!