Coca Cola Live'n'Local TourFeaturing Machine GunFellatio, 28 Days, Jebediah,Magic Dirt, Betchadupa,Brisbane, 03/04/04

Thu 8th Apr, 2004 in Gig Reviews

Coca-Cola as part of their youth marketing organised the ‘Live and Local’ tour, headlined by some of Australasia’s finest rock and roll bands. Thankfully this reviewer didn’t have to swill down $50 worth of product to attend, although the good turnout of between 1500 and 2000 people showed many did.

After having my legged patted down by female security I managed to refocus on the task of reviewing the gig. Strict seating arrangements meant to get to your seat you had to present you ticket to no less then three security people. Once past the authorities and into my uncomfortable seat I didn’t have to wait long for Betchadupa.

The Kiwi’s have produced some fine rock over the years, and Betchadupa are the latest instalment. Although being round for over four years, they’ve recently only gained a following in Australia. Interesting musical trivia fact is Neil Finn’s son Liam fronts Betchadupa, and its not surprising one you hear young Neil belt out a tune. BUT the famous rock association doesn’t end there! The Betchadupa drummer, Matt Eccles, is son of the drummer Brent Eccles, who was drummer (and manager-who said drummers were dumb?!) of the famous hard rock band the Angels (will I ever see your face again?)

Not even out of their teens yet, and with extensive musical backgrounds its not surprising they have the explosive stage presence and skill of musicianship to get the crowd moving. While it was obvious the rest of the crowd, like me, knew little of their songs, their well-crafted power pop/rock was warmly received.The highlight of their set was the song ‘Designer’, a magnificent example of melodic rock. I am sure the band will hate me for bringing up their famous dads again, but imagine if you would a cross between Split Enz and the Angels and you have something close to Betchadupa. Powerful cords combined with an assured vocal delivery and very rock guitar stylings shows that this band is on the way up. An extremely tight performance left me thoroughly impressed and I’ll be sure to catch Betchadupa next time they’re around my way.

Between sets we were bombarded with commercial advertisements for the event’s sponsors and incoherent chatter by annoying local TripleM announcers.It was a relief when Magic Dirt came out and stopped this assault on our consumer wants. It has been a couple of years since I’ve last seen Magic Dirt play. The band looked far more respectable, with lead singer Adalita Srsen leaving her junkie-like look behind her and the other band members wearing shirts that looked like they had actually been washed in the last three months.

However the band on stage sounded like the same old Magic Dirt with their sloppy, distorted rock and overdriven riffs. In the eight or so tracks they belted out during their time on stage, I noticed the band lose timing on no less the four occasions. At one point they were so out of time the bass player had to go and play facing the drum kit to get back in time. While the kids in the crowd didn’t seem to mind, loose performances by bands is one of my pet hates. Magic Dirt’s rendition of their JJJ played songs ‘Watch Out Boys, ‘Dirty Jeans’ and ‘All My Crushes’ were well received by the crowd and although critical of their tightness, it was the best performance I have seen from Magic Dirt.

Next up on stage were perennial favourites Jebediah. Although short of releases over the past few years, it seems not to have dulled fan’s enthusiasm for the group. Their set contained mostly ‘Slightly Odway’ tracks with a few from ‘Of Someday Shambles’ thrown in for good measure.

Much to my disappointment they didn’t perform ‘Leaving Home’ but to counter-act that the Jebs did a great rendition of ‘Teflon’ and it seems I wasn’t the only person enjoying it, sending the assembled masses into a jumping frenzy down on the floor area. They played other rockin’ tunes such as ‘Jerks of Attention’ and ‘Benedict’, however probably their best performed song was ‘Harpoon’. I had always preferred Something for Kate’s version of this song, but hearing Kevin Mitchell’s heart felt rendition, I have changed my mind. Jebediah played an extremely tight set, not missing a beat through their entire performance. I guess when they have only two albums worth of material and years of live performance behind them, you’d expect them to put on an extremely well rehearsed and tight show.

All the kids were here it seemed to see one band, 28 Days. Their sound is an Australian hybrid of Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit’s fusion of metal, punk and hip-hop. However their attitude and petulance always rubs me up the wrong way. It didn’t help that they were the most poorly mixed band on the night, with the vocals inaudible and the treble turned up to ear busting level.Song after song was greeted with great cheers and moshing from the young crowd who seemed delighted to see the band that relates to their teenage suburban angst. It was too much for me though, and this seemed the best time to go get a coffee before I began to get too worked up with all the agro and attitude being emitted from the stage.

Thank goodness for Machine Gun Fellatio! This was the band that I sat through the others to see. Having been witness to their rise, attending gigs with no more then 100 others it is good to see their skill and musicianship rewarded with mainstream acceptance.

I expected their usual irreverent and rude to be toned down for this all ages commercial performance, but it seems I don’t know MGF well enough. All their usual highjinks were there, barely toned down for impressionable young eyes. We were treated to all manner of sexual actions, innuendoes and, of course, excellent tunes. It always amazes me how they can carry on like pork chops, yet still perform with such musical ability.

We were treated to renditions of ‘Got My Mojo Pumpin’, ‘Mutha Fukka on a Motorcycle’, ‘I’m Not Afraid of Romance’ and ‘The Girl of My Dreams (is giving me nightmares)’ as well as a couple of new tracks of a forthcoming album. I’m sure some of the kids at this gig hadn’t seen anything like this performance before, and hopefully Machine Gun Fellatio impressed the 28 Days fans enough to become followers.

I went to the gig unsure of the quality of performance that I’d be witnessing. I must say however, that apart for the 28 Days performance every band performed as well, or better then I hoped for. Especially the young New Zealanders Betchadupa, who I hadn’t heard of before, but turned out to be a very promising and talented rock band.