Warpaint @ Jive, Adelaide(24/07/11)

Thu 28th Jul, 2011 in Gig Reviews

It’s a rare treat for Adelaide to have an act with the calibre and cult status of Warpaint playing in a venue the size of Jive. It’s little wonder they sold out well ahead of the gig, but it is a rare sight to see forty plus year old scalpers spruiking tickets outside a primarily smaller indie venue. In Adelaide it’s interesting seeing who turns up for certain gigs. Whilst the same core indie crowd rock up for a lot of acts, Warpaint seemed to unearth a lot of unfamiliar faces, perhaps testament to the more broody alternative vibe that permeate through their music. At any rate the captivating act put on a fantastically fun show for its’ Adelaide faithful and were rewarded by a great choice of support in Jack Ladder and the Dreamlanders.

Jack is morphing into a sorta shoegaze version of Nick Cave. His lyrics are honest and poignant and his deep vocals dripping with reverb which creates a captivating yet familiar sound. The Dreamlanders are a masterful combination with their carefully crafted drum rhythms and the riveting lead guitar work of the sharply gothic looking Kieran Callinan. Formerly of defunct but severely underrated dreampop-come-indie quartet Mercy Arms, Callinan is one of the most outstanding guitarists in Australia, largely due to his mastery of effects and his deft touches and shrieking overtones were as interesting as Ladder himself.

Warpaint are one of those bands in which each member seems to have an equal stake. Since their great Laneway show bassist Jenny Lee Lindberg had cut and coloured her hair silvery purple shade and as the visual centrepoint really moved around the stage organically like she had watched Flea in his element. Her confident interaction and synergy with Australian drummer Stella Mozgawa was a highlight of the set and was a great visual element to the show. When break though song Undertow was quickly synched in to the end of another track a quiet swell of approval reverberated around the room. The song sounded great and the energy towards the end brought it to another level. The warm and haunting Billy Holiday further highlighted their songwriting capacity and reinforced that they are far from a one hit wonder. Single Elephants sounded strong although perhaps attempting to replicate the vocal effects on the recording could have proved interesting.

Whilst lead singer Emily Kokal was a bit more withdrawn and shy, despite coming on for a solo performance of Baby, guitarist and second vocalist Theresa Wayman oozed a brooding indie kinda cool while Lindberg brought an unrestrained organic vibe. Strangely it was Mozgawa who seemed the lead the act at times and her enthusiasm and energy was a great driving force.