Architecture In Helsinki @Capitol, Perth (15/05/11)

Tue 17th May, 2011 in Gig Reviews

Danger! Beware! Drugs, alcohol-fuelled violence, glassings, anti-social behaviour, energy drink abuse and ice at perth night spots!

What? That’s how Perth media articles are meant to open these days… Isn’t it?

Hell, San Cisco didn’t even look old enough to drink. The artists formerly known as King George showed there are still some iGen musos capable of self-promotion outside of You Tube. Bravely putting themselves in front of a room of fault-searching types, some twice their age, there was a risk the crowd might be a little patronising in their applause. But the cheers were genuine.

The quartet played something that the OC might have made famous. The band members would have been 10 when that show was popular but anyway… You could picture their skinny frames, Ezra Koenig-like lead vocals and summery indie pop on stage at The Bait Shop (the OC live music joint). Songs like Girls Do Cry and French Toast would have been a regular on Seth Cohen’s first-generation iPod.

But not so much their folky King George tunes which they would be wise to leave out of future sets. The acoustic guitar stifled their momentum and they lost the crowd. It was clear then, that San Cisco and their white-kid university pop is what is going to pay the bills for them in Perth. From their sound, to their name, to their haircuts, the teens knew their market. Their crowds will continue to grow in this indie = orgasm town.

Anyone who was hoping for a balanced set of Architecture in Helsinki songs would have been disappointed. It was the Moments Bend set- pretty much the whole album in all it’s divisive glory. Whether their new release was your glass of chocolate milk or not, the fun of their live show was undeniably infectious. The kooky group of six know how to have a blast.

When it came down to it, the few hundred kids were going to be happy with whatever- as long they got Heart It Races , Hold Music and That Beep which they did. You don’t realise how much energy these three radio hits contain until you hear them live and then it’s too late. You’re dancing and grinning like you did to Fine Young Cannibals’ She Drives Me Crazy when you were a toddler.

For all their eccentricity, the band was actually quite slick in their execution. Each could be seen making frequent demands of their sound guy throughout the set, keeping the balance to their liking. The dude had so much input into the hour of music he could rightly declare himself a seventh member. Dynamics are the band’s thing and they were spot-on.

With the Moment Bends tracks dominating, it was something akin to a 90s pop show. A song like W.O.W wouldn’t have sounded odd at an All Saints concert in 1998. The 90s wink was confirmed when they encored with London Beat’s I’ve Been Thinking About You. Ahh memories… then you were jolted back to 2011 and onto the allegedly dangerous streets of Perth.