The The Midnight Juggernauts @the Annandale Hotel (23/6/06)

Sun 25th Jun, 2006 in Gig Reviews

In an industry as disposable as the music industry, ‘the next big thing’ is a title which is bandied about often. The last next big thing was the Arctic Monkeys, and before that it was Wolfmother. Presently, the live scene in Australia is in a state of change. Bands that play synth pop tunes in seedy pubs seems to be where it’s at now, obviously the Presets, Cut Copy, Gerling and Van She are to blame for this trend. But music can’t stay the same forever, in fact, it’s a welcome change from guitar and drum duos.

The Midnight Juggernauts are at the vanguard of this new school, their synth tunes are receiving heavy airplay on the national youth broadcaster and their latest EP Secrets of the Universe just topped the indie pops in its release week. The last time they came to Sydney was to support Gerling at Gerling 4’s album launch in March, and now they’re doing a run of dates to promote their  new EP.

Scenesters at the Annandale Hotel had been treated to Grafton Primary and Mercy Arms before the thick silence of anticipation fell. Kids pushed themselves to the edge of the stage and thought, why am I here, what will I see? One group of rowdy college boys were there to dance drunkenly around a schooner of beer which was inevitably spilt. Two other boys, in black clothes and scarves, were there to look cool and pick up chicks. The Midnight Juggernauts were there to rock hard.

The duo were joined onstage by their mate Daniel Stricker (The Valentinos/Knife Machine) who took care of the beats, leaving Vince and Andy to posture about on stage. The beats were tight, the riffs were clean and the boys perfectly built up expectation of their songs before it burst forth.

‘Shadows’ was the highlight of the show, the crows were lifted off their feet by the ‘AYYYEYAAAE’ moment, and it was a time to let go of all inhibitions and dance like a fool. There were multiple stage invasions during the show, including random drunk guys who were lost on their way back from the can. During the encore Daniel Stricker and two boy from The Mercy Arms ran onstage to dance it up while it lasted.

Overall the energy was intense and contagious; it was a really entertaining show. If this is the next big thing, it’ll definitely be fun while it lasts.