Datarock & Mary Trembles @ TheArena, 7/12/2006

Sat 9th Dec, 2006 in Gig Reviews

The 1980’s has so much to answer for.  And for all of you who were too young to remember this somewhat tragic time in history and now think that bubble skirts, stretchy belts and tights that end at the ankles are tres chic, think again… as a close friend said to me recently “if we wore it in primary school, it ain’t cool.”  But have fun with it kiddies, it won’t be long and the 1990’s revival will kick in and we will all be saved from the threat of hypercolour making a come back – get your flannos from Best and Less now while they’re still rampantly unfashionable and keep those tights from the ‘80s look, you’ll need them to wear under your ¾ length cargo pants & Doc Marten 12 slots.

What is cool about the resurgence of trends from that era is the number of people my age getting together and making the sort of music we (those born circa mid 70’s) had our first pash to at the local blue light disco.

Norwegian duo Datarock lead the electroclash charge with Computer Camp Love back in 2005 and are continuing to successfully meld 80’s kitsch with some 90’s dirty guitar and the electronic beats of the 00’s.  So it was with much anticipation that some friends and I descended upon the Arena; all of us feeling about 10 years old again.

Support Mary Trembles delivered a mediocre performance to the small number of early arrivals; any semblance of the riffs and melody forming their very solid debut EP “ps…situation” being drowned out by lead singer Kritsch’s constant caterwauling and wailing reminiscent of Aphex Twin’s Come to Daddy.  In all, it was disappointing to have songs from such an individually accomplished lineup become a stream of sameness that we strove to shout at each other over until their track getting some rotation at Triple J, Scene From Below, helped them recoup some credibility as a tide of realization swept the crowd and an echo of “oh so that’s who they are”, resounded from all corners.

Datarock took to the stage, should I say, jumped to the stage, aerobics style, in their trademark red tracksuits and dark glasses initiating a big response from the now mid-sized Thursday night crowd.  Choosing to lead with two new songs, the punters were moving but not quite into the vibe straight away.  Once again pulled back into my formative primary school years, I couldn’t help but notice how much lead singer Fredrik Saroea looks and moves like Prince - dark stubble, pouting, flashing chest hair as he rocked onto his toes and pulled his guitar hard left by the neck as he slammed the strings with a shake of his right shoulder.  Ketil Mosnes thumped the bass on stage left, his mic stand positioned so hi that he had to shout into the air each time he sang.

We were then treated to almost all of Datarock Datarock, the band sliding into Alison and then Ugly Primadonna.  It was evident that although it’s a fun song, the fun of repeatedly singing it all over the world for the last couple of years expired some time ago and Computer Camp Love is delivered with much less energy than expected, but the crowd participation Fredrik inspires helps carry it over the line.

The gig truly began in earnest with the first beats of Dance With My Daddy -.the dancing becoming aerobatical in some parts of the dance floor.  Followed by the guitar-driven powerhouse that is Bulldozer, the atmosphere thicken and escalated from happy to joyous in just these few tracks.

The New Song wasn’t as punchy as the recorded version, but the tight, energized rendition of Sex Me Up (Datarock? Talking Heads? Clap Your Hands And Say Yeah?) soon made that a distant memory.  Princess was a definite highlight, the fantastic riff thumping through the Arena and forcing those who had managed to not dance to at least move their shoulders and tap their feet.  Fa Fa Fa wrapped up the set to much applause and screams for an encore, which these electrofunsters quickly provided, finishing their show by hugging and dancing to Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes’ Dirty Dancing hit I Had the Time of My Life.   Not quite, but it sure was a great show, worth reliving anytime and certainly left the 80’s for dead.