Jonathan Boulet, John SteelSingers @ The Factory, Sydney(19/3/11)

Mon 21st Mar, 2011 in Gig Reviews

After facing a heavy downpour of rain, the Factory became a refuge to those who had made the decision to brave the weather and journey into the heart of Marrickville on their Saturday night. In what has become one of Sydney’s best sounding and more intimate venues; the Factory, a recent change from the original venue of the Metro, was certainly a worthy change and allowed many punters to catch a more intimate and relaxed show. The John Steel Singers casually took the stage clearly excited to get some of their latest material out for punters to hear.

The last time I saw the John Steel Singers, they were only a recently formed band playing one of the earlier spots in the day at Come Together. Seeing them co-headlining a tour as one of the leading independent bands in Australia, shows how far they’ve come in several years. Although they haven’t experienced the same rise in status that Boulet has, they have clearly broken out of obscurity and have acquired a niche, but dedicated following. The band played through a collection of songs from their newer material, for the significantly smaller audience than Boulet experienced. The band ended their set with Rainbow Kraut, an energetic, brass-heavy conclusion to a rather brief, but well-received show. The John Steel Singers successfully won over punters and reminded fans alike why they had made the effort to brave the weather to see the band.

As “Here’s Johnny” echoed throughout the venue, indie-rock wunderkind Jonathan Boulet took to the stage to remind the audience why his live show has been one of the most lauded in independent Australian music in recent times. His percussion heavy style defines Boulet’s sound and drives his music in the various directions it takes. As he played through tracks off his debut album, Ones Who Fly Twos Who Die, 321 Ready or Not and Continue Calling, it became clear that Boulet is clearly an artist to be experienced live. The loud percussive sounds add an extra dimension to the music that isn’t really a prevalent feature of his recorded work. Boulet’s music is fun-filled; jungle beat with a heavy focus on rhythm and percussion that is a perfect example of how music should be performed live.

One of the highlights of the rhythm-heavy jungle beat style espoused by Boulet is the uplifting, laid-back mood it creates in the audience and, more specifically, the dancing that resulted from this mood. The dancing of the night was entertaining to say the least. Boulet’s final tracks, an extended jam-heavy fan favourite A Community Service Announcement and show-closer You’re a Animal saw many audience members deciding that the most suitable style of dance would be ‘the precarious Ostrich’.

Boulet showed, in a rather short set of about fifty minutes of material, why he is currently one of the musicians at the forefront of the Australian ‘indie’ scene. His unique sound, immense talent and undeniably committed work ethic throughout his numerous musical projects have seen him develop a strong following as a highly talented individual with inherent potential in the near future.