Deep Sea Arcade, Step Panther,King Gizzard and The LizardWizard @ OAF, Sydney (23/9/11)

Thu 29th Sep, 2011 in Gig Reviews

Free entry, free drinks, and a bucketload of rad bands; it’s hardly a surprise that OAF’s 4th birthday went off with a bang – with a lineup of nine bands and two DJ sets across the 2 rooms, it was a smorgasbord for the ears and Valium for the wallet.

Four piece rock band The Rockets kicked off the revelry in the Main Room to an already packed audience. Even those who came for the free drinks were pulled in by the music, as evidenced by the surprisingly short lines at the bar. Tunes such as With Thanks, a folsky indie-rock piece, soothed the audience with a sound that was melancholic yet upbeat, the drums adding a slow and rhythmic element to the two guitars and bass, all strumming synchronously through their jingly chords with perfect synergy.

In the gallery, banging Inner-West duo The Faults got the crowd grooving with their own unique take on garage. So often a two piece overcompensates for their lack of numbers with a rancorous cacophony of sound. Not so The Faults, who draw out and linger over every sound like an attentive lover, which, needless to say, impressed many of the young women (and men) in the room. Which isn’t to say that their songs are slow or bare in any way; the title song from their debut EP Lucy mixing two parts catchy riffs with some hella hypnotic crooning and one part crisp drum beat to produce a song that is guaranteed to get you twisting and swaying along.

Back in the main room, they were followed by the FL Playlisted Peppercorn, a relatively new band but composed of a cadre of well established Sydney indie-rockers. What makes Peppercorn so different to their other projects however is a focus on their creativity without commercial intervention, their album Wasted Summer available in its entirety for free download online. The title Wasted Summer perfectly captured their sound too, lyrics crooning over haunting guitars to produce a languorous sound that you could easily imagine spending the evening chilling at the beach to.

Playing only covers on the night, The James Manson Blues Band were up next in the gallery, spinning off crowd pleasers with a sound that was nonetheless entirely their own. Particularly noteworthy was Manson’s own guitar solo on Jeff Beck’s Morning Dew. The lack of original tracks fazed neither the audience, who boogied along happily – and, in some cases, drunkenly – nor the band, who carried on like the rockstars of yore whose songs they were appropriating.

Popular local gig circuit party band Betty Airs took to the main stage soon after, with their usual energetic dance frenzy, fuzzed out pop punk and Hawaiian shirts. More than a few heads were inadvertently banged as the audienced jumped frantically along to the super catchy hooks and choruses, particularly to the favourite She’s the Juan, in what was arguably the climax of the night in the Main Room.

A second two piece, Mother and Son, were next up in the gallery. Songs such as It Won’t Be Long combined blues-tinged surf rock with growling vocals that would remind you of a grizzled vet recounting the wild adventure of his youth. Loud, raw, and very distinctive pretty much encapsulates these Wollongong locals, who many of the other bands were keen to see. Peer admiration tells us that these charmers are one to watch.

Step-Panther offered a completely different sound up on the Main Stage, the endearingly bashful three piece engaging in their usual on-stage banter in between playful, sardonic pieces such as No Fun, the first single off their self-titled album, produced by the Philly J’s Berkfinger. Step-Panther’s sound somehow manages to be uplifting and a little bit mischievous at the same time as it is very lo-fi, extremely garage and a little chaotic – and the crowd lapped it up.

Yet it was the FL Playlisted King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard who stole the night’s spotlight, over in the gallery. With seven members, it hardly comes as a surprise that their music is rich, complex and eclectically dense. The theremin lent a psychedelic vibe to their highly energetic, scuzzy set with songs such as Dead Beat a feast for the ears which the audience drank up with gusto.

Headliners Deep Sea Arcade were last on stage, with their usual playful beats reverberating through the room as they rattled off what are fast becoming well known favourites, such as Lonely in Your Arms. The five-piece’s melodic tunes and very dance-able rhythms hearken back to the sounds of the 1960’s, when the Beatles, The Kinks and Jeff Beck were blasted out of transistor radios. It was a high point on which to end the live music for the night, leaving the crowds satisfied, excited and most definitely having gotten the party started.

With the audience on their toes, Friday I’m in Love took over the main room while the OAF gallery bar DJs spun away expertly at their own turntables, turning OAF into a large, wild, dance party. Without a doubt the most hopping, crazily hectic party any 4 year old has ever had, OAF was banging on until the wee (wee) hours of the morn, a fitting celebration for a venue that has seen so much amazing talent. Happy Birthday OAF, and here’s to many more.