No more than about twenty people trouble themselves for the early slot at the The Rev, which was filled by local pleasant popsters, The Narcotics. Seeing them about six months ago at one of their earliest gigs, I do recall that my sidekick and I did comment on there being a great capacity here. Whilst the shoegaze label is thrown at them, they don’t really hit that mark, delivering sounds more along the lines of soft-sided Radiohead. Vocalist Simon Pearlman’s easy style sits nicely with his Rickenbacker and they seem to have the potential to traverse the heavier wall-of-sound territory. Maybe they are comfortable with where they are and despite some minor technical demons, they arrive at the end of their lush set relatively unscathed with the scattered few appreciative of what they hear.
The Mean Streaks, with their “indie-femme-garage-noise-jazz” saunter up next and again the, floor remains bare. There is still spare seating available! We are reminded that this will be drummer Susie Patten’s last gig as a ‘streak’ tonight and there is a definite attitude that permeates the set. There is some kind of awkwardness or tension up there but they make their way through their allocation without putting out too much of the energy that we have come to expect from them. Even when Patten exchanges the sticks with vocalist Jean for the trumpet and water bottles tonight, it just isn’t going to work as there is a certain apprehension on stage and no one within spraying distance of the stage anyway. The Mean Streaks did what they had to do tonight and nothing more, just. Two things remain unanswered: can their new drummer play trumpet and was the guitarist’s ‘fly down wardrobe malfunction’ some kind of metaphor that I didn’t pick up on?
Sound Like Sunset deliver a set comprising of tracks from the Invisible long player, leaving material from debut effort Saturdays, alone.
Opening, as does the disc with Expressway, they meander effortlessly through tracks First Time, set pick I Still Have Your Picture, Pretty Soon and Frequency amongst others, before rounding out with Taking sides. Regrettably, we were not indulged with the child like innocence and beauty of It’s My Star.
It isn’t until the set closer that we witness anything close to the same postcode of what they are capable of, sonically. Their set is somewhat devoid of the swirling effects laden sound witnessed on plastic and this is a great shame for mine. When pushed as to why the aural sedateness of the set, it is explained that they were made aware of the strict noise restrictions imposed by the Brisbane City Council and that in the past when touring, a lot of venues have taken offence to their huge output. They don’t want to burn bridges.
While thoroughly enthralling, their restrained set leaves me wanting as I know what could have been….next time!
Screamfeeder seem to disregard any limitations as they launch into their first hometown set since returning from their recent Japanese sojourn. Some of the still meagre crowd has at least made their way to the dance floor and for good reason as they demonstrate their proficiency with an effortless set showcasing a time capsule of their vast catalogue to date.
Delivering into the punter-void that is the Rev on this night, they give us Bunny as well as All The Other Times from current release Delusions Of Grandchildren. We are then informed that there has been no rehearsal for this gig (not that it shows) due to drummer Dean Shwereb’s misadventures with a power tool during his day job. Accordingly, he is performing with fingers stitched and taped and is applauded as the true champion of the night by front man Tim Steward.
Kellie Lloyd changes roles and steps up to the keys for the sweet purity that is 1 2 3 4 5 before reverting back to her more familiar role on bass. Now I Don’t Feel So Bad, Blue and I Don’t Know What To Do Anymore, amongst many others, are performed with the seasoned professionalism we probably take for granted from Screamfeeder, despite the lack of spectator numbers.
They close out tonight’s effort with some golden oldies, much to the delight of the small gathering. Kelly takes the vox duties for the forcefully gorgeous Stopless before Tim assumes that position again for Dart and Hi C’s demonstrating some fine guitar skills along the way as they finish off the night’s proceedings.
Again Brisbane’s finest purveyors of the pop/rock style come through demonstrating the point that it is very hard to beat experience, but where was everybody?
