Billabong Design for Humanity@ Oxford Art Factory, Sydney(24/11/10)

Mon 29th Nov, 2010 in Gig Reviews

Post-grunge noise merchants The Vines offered their services for the delightfully tacky yet admirably committed charity gig at the Oxford Art Factory on Wednesday. The fund raising effort was focused on assisting those affected by the devastating floods in Pakistan, and a slick montage provided the exposition on just how bad they’ve got it over there. It was a sobering reminder of how hard and precarious the world can be, and at least to a few of us staring uncomfortably into our beers it was a reminder we should all be either doing more for others, doing less for ourselves, or at least finding that ambiguous moral balance between the two. And then chicks in swimmers walked around for a bit.

Operator Please are a young band in every sense of the word and never really offered anything more than a daft novelty song to get the attention of a hungry public. That being said they are remarkably focused and fit together pretty well as a unit. They’ve still struggling to find their sound. I guess they’ve kinda settled on a palatable brand of fluffy dance punk, although the combination of age/maturity, fame and consequent resources has given them more depth for Gloves, the recent follow up to Yes, Yes Vindictive, and it’ll be interesting to see where they go from here.

They casually slid into their set with no real fanfare and to be honest they surprised me with how vigorously they approached the material. It was strong, sharp and full of vitality with a tight rhythm section and plenty of enthusiasm. Amandah Wilkinson probably doesn’t need to play guitar, as I couldn’t really hear it and she looked a bit uncomfortable with it. She’s got a great stage presence though and is not only the logical pick for band leader but a natural one. She’s part of a group and let’s everyone know it, rather than strutting through the spotlights on her own. Name a single, they played it, as well as an amusing mashup of several R&B pop songs. In hindsight they fit the night’s bill better then the Vines, although it’s the latter that everyone’s going to talk about…

A Vines gig always feels like it’s going to fall over drunk. The whole thing. The band, the crowd, even the roadie. It slouches a bit, slurs the words, leers at your girlfriend, and then suddenly out of nowhere a fucking rock show happens. Craig Nicholls wakes up, screams a fair bit, punches out some killer riffs and the floor just heaves. No one circle-dances anymore, let alone moshes, but it must be something in their throwback, Mudhoney-esque sound that stirs up something from long ago that used to be part and parcel of the concert experience. Beer flies around, people are thrown at other people and suddenly no one is too pretty to enjoy themselves. It was a cracking show, playing everything you wanted, and didn’t crumble into oblivion like they often do. They played a new song or two from their forthcoming album and sure, it didn’t sound any fucking different from anything else they do, but it certainly sounded like the Vines, and that my friends was good enough for us.

Craig ended the night with some routine guitar seppuku (always a winner) before throwing its remains out to the audience. The roadie and some random nanna went and grabbed it back, much to the chagrin of the crowd. Billabong simply wouldn’t have any of that malarkey.

Overall, as a gig, it was odd, a series of pop culture components mashed together to form an (apparently) attractive package with which to loosen the purse strings for a good cause. I hope it worked, I really do, and in theory it was a great idea. In that sense whether it had any lasting entertainment value or not is a moot point, as all they needed to do was get people through the door. They did that, certainly, it was a sell-out. I guess I expected a little more substance given the gravity of its purpose, but hey – every little bit helps right?

Check out the photos from the gig: