A French Butler Called Smith,Dub Dub Goose, James Fahy Trio@ Transit Bar, Canberra(26/5/11)

Sun 29th May, 2011 in Gig Reviews

Thursday evening at Transit Bar brought a lesson to the town of Canberra, a lesson in music. Dance music to be precise. The lesson taught was this: despite popular belief, dance music can be made and enjoyed without a DJ, without electronic devices and with real instruments by live bands. And no, you do not need to be stepping in puddles of vomit whilst wearing little to no clothing in order to enjoy this revelation.

Starting on a slower but by no means lesser note was James Fahy and his trio. Their set complied mostly of new, unrecorded material that was far from unperfected. The trio held up the Canberra music scene’s love of ‘band incest’ with both the bassist and drummer from local act, Fun Machine. Fahy usually a man of many words, stories and anecdotes apologised for the lack of banter but assured the crowd that what was to follow their set was nothing short of incredible. Switching between guitar and keyboard, Fahy is inspirationally versatile both vocally and musically.

Another local act graced what seemed to be a smaller stage than ever before in the form of reggae/jazz eight-piece, Dub Dub Goose. And so, the dancing began. The Canberra based band drew the largest crowd of the night. The crisp preciseness of the three brass players created great tempo and lead singer, Beth Monzo’s grungy vocals set the mood. The mind-bending set finished with a quirky sixties cover that seemed to come with instructions on how to dance along. The crowd looked almost choreographed, all tapping feet, swivelling hips, swinging elbows and slouched shoulders; a rare performance of an audience moving in unison without clear instructions from a performer to put their hands in the air or to clap along.

Hailing from a much warmer part of the country, Gold Coast boys, A French Butler Called Smith, brought a little sunshine to our parts. The level was kicked up a notch with the latin/funk/gypsy band in all their whimsical craziness. The band resembles a somewhat clash of The Cat Empire and John Bulter Trio (no, the John Butler reference is not in relation to trumpet player, Liam Dorney’s mane full of dreadlocks). Their sound is all heavy bass lines sprinkled with light brass tempos on top. Encouraging the audience to get off the comfortable couches and on their feet dancing, the crazy critters had the venue rumbling and shaking by the end of their set.

The intertwining rhythms of all the jazz, reggae, funk, latin and gypsy sounds to meet the ears of Transit Bar’s patrons put the movement in their hips that they may have felt like they had lost. The night brought some of the Gold Coast warmth and combined it with the cool edge of Canberra musicians to create a fun evening of ‘dance music’ that all could enjoy (whilst fully clothed)!