Hurricane Fighter Plane @ YaYa's, Perth (20/08/11)

Mon 22nd Aug, 2011 in Gig Reviews

Jimi Hendrix stared down at us from the wall of Ya Ya’s as we downed our first drinks of the night, surveying our surroundings. First time at Ya Ya’s since it made the change-over from being the Impact Bar and the changes are definitely for the better. With “groovy” décor; disco balls, famous faces staring out from the wall art, plush seating and booths and a huge screen showing vintage films, Ya Ya’s seemed the perfect place for what was about to take place. There is a bit of hype at the moment surrounding local Fremantle boys Hurricane Fighter Plane and the launch of their debut EP seemed like the perfect time to see what all the fuss was about.

Though the place was pretty empty when the doors first opened, the venue quickly filled up with punters of all ages, each one looking impossibly trendier than the last. The only complaint of the night might have been the late starting times, but luckily there was a great dj and two very enthusiastic dancers that kept everyone entertained. An hour and a half after the doors opened, the support band Goodnight Tiger rocked up on stage.

With front woman Jill Chrisp paying homage to their band name in a tiger print shirt, the four-piece started their set with the folksy Against the Rules. If you haven’t heard Goodnight Tiger before, they are a bit hard to describe. A bit folk-pop obviously heavily inspired by singers like Tegan and Sara, their songs sound intricate and complex yet simple and unpretentious. Front women Chrisp and Perrin Date harmonise beautifully and sing with that unique sounding Australian ‘twang’ that only a select few singers can pull off.

Their hour long set broke the ice perfectly; Head Attics had the front row swaying along while their single Jump Down broke the transfixing spell they had cast over the audience and got everyone moving in time for the end of the set, after which the band got amongst the audience, chatting with punters while the clock counted down the 40 minutes between the sets.

After what seemed like forever, the boys from Hurricane Fighter Plane climbed onto the stage before launching into their set with Norfolk Pines, the first song off their debut EP. It seemed that their set absolutely flew by, but there were a few songs that really stood out. Their third song, It Won’t Last, also off the EP, is the perfect song for summer; sounding like the kind of music that is perfect for road trips to Southbound or to alleviate the boredom of the traffic to Scarborough beach.

Come Back to Me featured one of the most intense drum solos ever heard; drummer Jamie Turner definitely has some talent (and maybe a caffeine overload). The whole set featured all the poppy hooks, cute harmonising and musical balance that you expect from a band that has been playing together for ages, it’s amazing to realise that they have only been together for about a year. This band definitely has the psychedelic, Brit-pop in the 60’s thing down pat; with singer Wesley Fuller’s vocals blended seamlessly with chord progressions guitar solos reminiscent of legendary ‘British Invasion’ bands like The Beatles and The Kinks; guitarist Matt Williams and Turner’s haircuts certainly don’t do anything to break the illusion!

Crowd favourite Aftermath had even the most ‘too-cool’ of the crowd dancing and after they threw in a wildcard Motown cover of Martha and the Vandellas’ Heatwave, they finished their set with pop-rock gem Levitatio.

While musically, these boys can do no wrong, they could certainly work on their audience interaction and stage presence. Other than occasionally announcing song names, it was as though for them, the audience didn’t exist. You may as well have been listening to a cd – an awesome cd, but regardless…

Despite this, the show was fun, memorable and obviously very well thought out. Goodnight Tiger and Hurricane Fighter Plane complemented each other perfectly.