Kisschasy, Ladies & Gentlemen@ Gaelic Club, Sydney(25/06/11)

Mon 27th Jun, 2011 in Gig Reviews

Melbourne’s Kisschasy don’t need much help these days filling out a small venue the size of the Gaelic Club, but it certainly didn’t hurt that this special one off gig was for the debut of Nowhere, a new monthly club night from the people behind the scene kid Babylon – Hot Damn. In celebration of the occasion the Gaelic was adorned with party decorations, balloons and rockers promo guys decked in all black and party hats.

Sydney’s own Ladies & Gentlemen got the party started with a surprising dubstep audio clip before crashing into the single from their 2010 EP Brighter Lights, Take the World. It set the tone for the rest of their performance, electro-pop rock with big hooks and bigger choruses. Front man Jarred Baca had a huge voice and strong falsetto, pleasantly more theatrical than the expected pop-rock nasal whine.

Behind Baca, the rest of the Gentlemen were full of energy, rocking out to their jagged riffs and synth flourishes. Slipping in unexpected ragtime piano and sleazy guitar riffs in Water and Wine, as well as the quick fix of a low front of house mix, helped endear them to the packed room, but most importantly Ladies and Gentlemen were a lot of fun to watch as their set breezed by.

Chanting fans were rewarded with a quick changeover as Kisschasy took to the stage half an hour after their supports. Opening with The Perfect Way To Meet, the four piece were tight and the front of house mix was clear and even, however the frantic crowd seemed a lot more excited to be there than the band did. “I’m not feeling the vibe,” said singer Darren Cordeux, in reference to the stage lighting, but it was applicable to their attitude and the majority of the night’s performance.

Maybe it was the long time between shows for the band that had them off form, but the former half of the set saw them just going through the motions. Bass player Joel Vanderuit and Cordeux did the right moves at the right times but looked tired and rehearsed, while guitarist Sean Thomas chugged along aimlessly through each song.

Kisschasey got a brief second wind during the middle of their set when they played a handful of popular singles, tearing through Strings and Drums and Spray on Pants from Hyms for the Nonbeliever, while a technical difficulty with Karl Ammitzboll’s drums lead to a pleasant solo performance of Dinosaur from Darren. This resurrection of energy was shortlived however, and the vibe seemed to slump again.

Despite the performance, fans were rewarded some special moments including songs from some of Kisschasy’s early EP’s, such as One Mistake and show closer Anger is the Brand New Thing. Pulling a fan onstage to play guitar on Resolution Wednesday was exciting, if not just for the chance it could all go wrong, and his enthusiasm and spinning jumps were one of the night’s biggest highlights.

Do Do’s and Whoa Oh’s showed the power of Kisschasy’s singles and the band gave their best performance of the night, all but drowned out by the voices of happy punters singing along. The night could have ended on a high note, but in a potentially special solo performance of Black Dress from Coredeux, was ruined by repeat stage invaders attempting to sing along and the excessive security efforts to stop them.

It could be the time passed between gigs or maybe they do just need a stellar light show, but either way Kisschasy gave a mixed performance at best, being outperformed in energy and enthusiasm by both their support act and the audience. Their failure to sustain energy between hits undermined a set list of rarities that could have made a special night in the bands career but rather became an underwhelming pit stop in their break between records.