Montpelier, The Art OfSleeping, Jac Stone, KateMartin @ The Zoo, Brisbane(14/11/2010)

Mon 15th Nov, 2010 in Gig Reviews

One of the last standing live music venues in Brisbane, The Zoo swelters inside as keen punters enter to see an array of local bands. Tonight’s line up includes Kate Martin, Jac Stone, The Art of Sleeping and Montpelier as they launch their single Last Boat from their soon to be released second album.

Jac Stone sits on the stage and is joined by another acoustic player for her set, playing elegant folk music. In between songs Jac interacts with the half packed venue and the crowd stand stationary as they watch her and her guitar. After she finishes her set, the crowd applaud her off stage and soft music plays while the next act begin to set up.

The Art of Sleeping consists of five members; two guitarists, a bass player, drummer and a keyboardist. The lead vocalist plays an acoustic guitar but the stand out instrument in this line up is the keyboard, which has a lot of lead in the songs and compliments the guitars. A mixture between the sounds of the Temper Trap and Kings of Leon, The Art of Sleeping have strong music but it’s hard to hear what the singer has to say. His voice has elements of a younger Jeff Buckley and deftly holds notes when the band reach their climatic points. The drummer who has played tribal beats throughout, now hits hard and heavy as The Art of Sleeping play a new song they wrote the afternoon of their gig. The band play a cover of The Temper Traps Sweet Disposition as they end their set with a round of applause.

Different colored lights shine on stage, as the five-piece that is Montpelier come out and get straight into the show. Drummer John Pickering plays a beat reminiscent to The Cure’s Close To Me. The intro is long but this gives enough time for the punters to move close to the stage. Vocalist Dave Butler sounds similar to Death Cab For Cutie’s Ben Gibbard, and projects his voice to the back of the venue. The band members nod their heads to the music as they get through an indie pop song and a slow jam, which includes a beautiful keyboard solo before saying hello to the crowd.

The keyboardist then exchanges his keys for an accordion and Charlie Mayfair guests Hannah Sheppard and Dave DeMarco appear on stage to help the band through their next song. It sounds similar to something you would hear on a Mumford & Sons album.

The purpose of this show is to launch the single Last Boat and when the first notes are played, the crowd cheer and whistle. Punters sing a long and pump their fists in the air as Montpelier play their beautifully crafted, indie pop single.