Casual Projects - Transit Bar- 12/05/07

Wed 16th May, 2007 in Gig Reviews

When D’Opus opened the night, it seemed at first as if the crowd hadn’t noticed that the entertainment had started, as if the music was up just a bit louder while some people were even complaining that the bands were running late. But as the people up the front started passing the word down that there was actually a DJ on, the party mood quickly started to kick into gear. D’Opus played a mixture of James Brown and 60’s soul and funk and created an upbeat atmosphere.

Next up was local trio, Friendly Yen, looking smart with classy hats and vests. They had a really fun (friendly even) vibe, sounding a bit like The Beautiful Girls, except with some jazzier Lior-type vocals from Jeff Hann. Occasionally adding a few guitar FX’s with a wah-wah pedal and some crispy beats from the drum kit, they sounded snappy and worked their magic on a group of good-looking girls up the front who were dancing to their tunes.

Then, the bass player from the Friendly Yen’s swapped his bass for a mic, to act as a member of the cheerful group Casual Projects. As they got started, the Transit Bar became packed, so packed in fact that it was hard to move or breath. Nevertheless die-hard fans managed to make some space to dance up the front. It was most amusing to see all eight band-members with their various instruments trying to fit on the stage. Each of the eight young, down-to-earth guys was bouncing and jumping to their hip-hop beats. Sparing no moments for the audience to become bored, they often switched between three or more different styles and tempos, and still merging them well together into flowing and coherent song structures. It was also nice to see great encouragement for each other, rather than bursting egos, as they worked together as a team sharing equal mic time between all the vocalists and instruments that included drum kit, keyboard, guitar, saxaphone, synths, trombone and bass.

It was easy to pick what era of music boys grew up in, as their style often leaned towards sounding like an early nineties boy band, mixed with a bit of rap. Fortunately, they excluded all the classic ‘I love you’s’ and the choreographed dance moves, keeping it casual and living up to their name. Maybe they tapped into a secret formula, having harnessed the 90s sound and made it into their own style. They had a nice report with the audience and got them involved with lots of clapping and arm movements, and the band genuinely looked like they were having a lot of fun on stage, which only encouraged the audience more.