Blueline Medic, Realist Few,Newtonheath @ Enigma,Adelaide, (11/05/07)

Thu 17th May, 2007 in Gig Reviews

The pre-winter chills that arrived on Friday night were no match for Melbourne’s Blueline Medic as they took to the stage at Enigma to promote their new long-player, 42:19. The lads were joined by Adelaide’s own Realist Few and Newtonheath for a night of solid Aussie indie rock.

The first to hit the stage were fledgling outfit Newtonheath. Made up of former members of Edison Music and describing themselves as where indie meets emo meets pop, this gig marked the group’s third performance. Given such a short development period, the onstage cohesiveness of the band was both surprising and impressive.

Making the most of a reasonably well attended opening slot, the foursome kicked things off with a howl of feedback followed by an enormous thud and then a solid set of melody, angst and noise. Closing with surging punk anthem Between Windows, Newtonheath are a band with genuine potential.

Next up were perhaps Adelaide’s best kept hardcore secret, power trio Realist Few. The band didn’t so much take to the stage as attack it. Combining progish introspective noodling with face-searing fury, Realist Few were clearly at home and among friends in the intimacy of the venue. Swapping instruments and battling a slight equipment malfunction the group fearlessly ploughed through tracks like Keys from recent release Fraud/Correction and Generatic from their highly regarded debut EP. It was a spectacular performance from a band that shouldn’t remain a secret for long. Keep an eye out for future performances.

While it’s easy to romanticise the rock and roll lifestyle, the bleak reality of life for indie rockers was evident as headliners Blueline Medic took to the stage to blast some tunes from their new record 42:19. With the group playing equipment borrowed from their support bands, bassist Dave Snow quipped that the tour was actually being sponsored by his mother.

None of this dulled the enthusiasm of the audience however, which erupted as the band kicked off with Making the Nouveau Riche. As the band continued with their unique blend of melodic-punky pub-rock they must have gained some comfort from the number of punters mouthing the words to tracks from 42:19. Songs like Success, Sister Friend and the propulsive Stop Doing the World a Favour were received with almost as much enthusiasm as obvious crowd favourites like Sleepyhead.

Through vocalist/guitarist Donnie Dureau’s self effacing charisma Blueline Medic come across as a group willing to smile in the face of adversity. This was probably most evident as they undertook a compelling rendition of Frou Frou’s Let Go. As Dureau attempted to wind up proceedings he was convinced by very popular demand to extend the set by a track to include the raucous Shuffle and Scrape, much to the delight of the insistent crowd.

Watching a roomful of adoring fans bounce around to Blueline Medic, one could only hope the group’s new album brings them the credit, recognition and success they so clearly deserve.