Miami Horror @ ParamountHotel, Perth (21/02/11)

Wed 23rd Feb, 2011 in Gig Reviews

It seems a wasted opportunity for such perfect weather and great music to be kept inside a poorly-ventilated venue like the Paramount Hotel, playing to the uncertain demographic of the hospitality industry. The crowd was an eclectic mix of anything from indie purists to sports hooligans and it was obvious that about half the audience was not ready for the italo-disco, new wave electro-pop stylings of either Miami Horror or Voltaire Twins. Ultimately, this would detract from the experience of Carlton Dry’s Thank God It’s Monday both for the bands and the spectators on the night.

Pitched as the night for the entire hospitality industry to have a break after working weekends, Thank God it’s Monday is a neat idea to showcase some great artists in an intimate setting.

The pre-show DJ treated the guests to some golden oldies from Stevie Wonder’s Superstition to Ray Parker Jr.’s Ghostbusters in order to set the mood for a night of the 80s, but it was only 4 people took to the dance floor to enjoy the music.

Opening their set surrounded by smoke, bathed in blue and red lights, the local Voltaire Twins quartet opened up with pure indie style. The band did little to stand out from the iconic fashion staples we know and love; one look at the loose-fitting dress, baggy shirts, shiny boots and canvas sneakers, topped off with a bleach blonde bowl cut or a curving fringe and you knew they had spent a lot of energy on their image.

One drummer, one keyboardist/percussionist, one singer/synth player/tom drummer, and one singer/keyboardist made for a confusing set up. Once the band begun playing, it quickly became clear that a lot of that sound would become superfluous noise during live performance. A dreamy Light Fears opened their set, with the band’s trademark harmonic vocal interplay between the titular brother and sister creating a sound that filled minds with memories of New Order and Hunters and Collectors.

However, their early energy and stage presence seemed to stop short of inspiring the audience. Maybe it was the varied demographic and relative indifference that gave the Twins pause, but fortunately they managed to bolster their game throughout the rest of the set to a strong finish. Though a few dissonant notes made their way into the blend and one of the twins forgot to get back to the mic on time, these were just signs of relative inexperience. They ultimately got everyone moving with the intermittent basslines and lucid arpeggios contained in Kate Bush and D.I.L., giving a nod to Crystal Castles, Ladytron and Freezepop in the process. It was nothing groundbreaking, but for lovers of the genre you can never have too much of a good thing.

Next up were the main act, and after practically no introduction the gang from Melbourne launched into their LP with the whimsical Soft Light that seemed to outdo the WA natives in sound quality from the get go. Rich synths and pounding drums filled the room with energy that the band would eventually fail to capitalise on. Maybe it was due to time restrictions or that Miami Horror were simply not feeling it but there was almost no interplay between musician and audience. The band went from sexy, funky basslines in Ultraviolet to their wistful, mellow hit Moon Theory with only some brief thank yous being handed out posthumously (“cheers for coming out on a Monday night and cheers to Voltaire Twins”).

The sacrifice of standing in a hot, crowded room to see a great band is usually made worth the effort thanks to some strong energy and real engagement with the fans, none of which was particularly evident on the night. It almost seemed like listening to the record would’ve been a similar, if more comfortable experience.

Fortunately, these complaints were mostly forgotten the longer the band played, going from strength to strength in the following songs. There was enough cowbell in Make You Mine to satisfy even Christopher Walken and the crowd was close to rabid by the time Sometimes rolled around; crowd-surfers, shoulder-seaters and their friends were either being removed or had already been ejected from the premises, nearly ironically. Now that the mood had picked up, security was stopping people from going wild!

Miami Horror ended their set with the upbeat, Breakbot-esque singalong Holidays, a great vibe for a finisher leaving the crowd feeling good, then sadly losing them once more with some indifferent goodbyes and a quick exit. It was disheartening to see that, in an era where encores are almost compulsory, there wasn’t strong demand from the crowd at the end of the set and they were not cheered back on stage to deafening applause.

It’s hard to say if this was a problem with the demographic, the band’s set restrictions or the fact that it was a Monday night. Maybe it was all of the above but it looks like the success of these nights will vary wildly depending on the positioning of the stars. It was a solid effort from some great Aussie bands, but there were too many things missing and variations in the mood to consider it anything more than a solid showing. This was not quite an outstanding performance.

Were you snapped by SharpShooter? Find yourself in the gallery.