Belle and the Bone People,Mushu, Adam George, ElectricVogues @ Oxford Art Factory,Sydney (3/2/12)

Mon 6th Feb, 2012 in Gig Reviews

The Music Makers Club: Music by the People, for the People – showcasing the rising new talents of Sydney’s hidden bands and independent artists, OAF’s free entry and free drinks for the night gathered quite the crowd.

Illuminated beneath the haze of a blue-lighted stage, the ‘60s-esque indie-pop-rock band The Electric Vogues made you feel like you were in a frat-house or an old-school 1950s milkbar. Fabulously well-dressed in dapper clothes of crisp white shirts and polka dresses with full skirts, the band had updated their sound with new additions on keys (Regan Wood), and a replacement on bass (Rachel Rees). Their performance, featuring their single Old Clothes and She’s So Strange, was incredibly eclectic, with the sounds of a violin to accompany Adin’s raw garage vocals that encompassed the talents of The Velvet Underground and Elvis Costello.

North Shore talent Adam George embraced his stage right after the Vogues, a striking contrast in what was a minimalist solo acoustic performance, with obvious influences of Iron and Wine. Adam sounded like a combination of a toned down Angus and Julia Stone – his voice bearing resemblance to that of a sweeter Angus – and a much more elaborate and detailed rendition of Matt Corby’s acoustic sounds. His soothing and poetic lyrics contrasted the red heat of the lighted stage in the background and it was accompanied by the varying of instruments taken on by his drummer, who switched to playing the guitar whilst George continued singing and shimmering a tambourine. The detailed intricacy of his acoustic guitar created a calming atmosphere that is much more suited for a coffee house with lounges and intricate circles of quieted people taking shelter from the drumming rain.

What the Music Makers Club did well was weave different genres of music within each other, as Mushu, a girl front pop-rock band resembling the likes of Magic Dirt took the stage in electric wonder. Incredibly strong on vocals was Simone, who meshed her sound with a combination of electric guitars and a heavy background drumbeat in their single Traps. The combination of vocals, electric guitar and bass goes beyond the surface simplicity of the trio – together they executed a performance that was so aesthetically elaborate complex within the chords of both guitars that complemented Simone’s voice so perfectly.

The beautifully eloquent Belle and the Bone People managed to silence the entire Factory by the time Isabella Kearny-Nurse had gotten to the chorus of the first song of their performance. With the 2012 release of their new single The Light, this new indie-folk band provided a spectacular range of instruments to accompany Bella’s haunting Florence Welch-esque vocals. With an ability to manipulate the audience’s expectations, Belle & BP played with the layering of their instruments to create beautifully intricate details of peaks and valleys in the form of vibrations and sounds.

If you have ever heard the recording of The Light and have not seen this talented bunch of folky native forest explorers breathe it to you in a live performance, you are missing out on something great. What Belle & BP have done is perform a series of eloquently detailed melodies, etched together with soft repetitions of an electric guitar, the overlap of strong chords on a keyboard, the back beat of a heavy bass and the peak of Bella’s vocal chords. The conclusion of their set featured a soft bluesy number with soft background hums that left the entire venue utterly silent, which then exploded into an uproar of applause in awe of the talent of this wonderfully painted group of musicians.

The night was incredibly hosted and executed, with an astounding selection of local Sydney talents. I’ll be excited to see what The Music Makers Club discover in the hidden performing studios of Sydney’s alleyways in the future.