:: Thursday, May 06, 2010

THE BRITISH ROBOTS + CHEER ADVISORY COUNCIL + SINCERELY GRIZZLY
LIVE @ THE GRACE EMILY / Saturday May 1st 2010

As a great many of you may know all too well, I like to go off the deep end a LOT in service to this blog. I like to think its part of its appeal for both YOU the audience as it is for me running it: "come for the Adelaide live scene, stay to watch me totally lose my shit? hiiilarious!". And so to the very brink and beyond I go to document it all. I like to call it an "extreme sport for the mind", I like to think of it as my life's work (or at least until I can think of something better) overclocking my CPU to wits' end, running for weeks with little or no sleep obsessing over the finer details, seeing how far I can push it, constantly running that fine line between functioning and full blown insanity. Often it's a good kind of insanity, even the best kind (shit why else would I do it?) but it doesn't remove the fact that it's STILL insanity. If ever there was a movie made of it? it'd be equal parts: Groundhog Day, Taxi Driver and Fight Club (with maybe a few sprinkles of TV shows like Doctor Who and Dexter.. hmmm does anyone else detect a theme developing here!?) and yes it'd be a cautionary tale. For the real breaking point, when all else is said and done, is the madenning repetition of it. I mean that's the very definition isn't it? doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results? especially in search of a narrative where clearly none exists!? And so in my continuing search for something "novel" I'm covering a show at The Grace Emily for the first time since March. YEAAAS!! Of course it's not the only reason, as The Grace Emily (or as I like to call it "The Gremily") is a welcome asylum of sorts. The Jade Monkey is one, The Exeter is another, The Metro maybe (dare I add Supermild!?) one of the few places in Adelaide that caters to freaks like me, like we're family, and not just to the bottom line. One of those rare places where I can actually feel human again, and less like Jack Nicholson out of The Shining. I know, I know.. I've mentioned this all before (again with the repetition huh!?) but it's places like these that I truly value the most in re-establishing all that fleeting sanity I've so willingly lost to the cause. Did I mention they have a spaceship parked on the roof? I mean seriously dude what's not to love!?



And no I'm not kidding about that spaceship either (go look if you don't believe me!) it's all just part of The Gremily's endlessly eclectic charm (I mean seriously it's like I'm continually wondering out loud WHY I'm not here more often!? FUUUCK!!). And it's not just because they have live bands on every night of the week save for their Tuesday night "pub cinema" (aaaah I know right? again what's not to love!?) or for the fact that their "Billy Bob BBQ Jam" on Mondays frequently packs this place to capacity; not with pretentious hipsters or fashionistas.. but like minded music fans celebrating all things spontaneous and creative. Or for their spastic knick-knacks behind the bar, or for the art gallery that they occassionally host upstairs, or for their welcome respite from all those retarded DJs so you're free to lose yourself in all sorts of nonsensical conversation. Nope it's more than that maaan! After stepping inside, after stepping upto to the bar to order a beer NOT because you need to drink yourself blind (yeaaah not like that ever happens) but because it somehow "tastes better", and after stepping through to the back it's the band room that REALLY does it for me. Firstly for the fact it's luxuriously carpeted and ever so inviting (like the awesomest lounge room you SO wish was your own) and secondly for the ridiculously shit hot stage lighting. I mean just LOOK at that stage awash in soothing hues of red yellow and blue: doesn't that just make you weep tears of PURE JOY!? Aaaah yes, I swear it's like Xmas everytime I'm in here!!



SINCERELY GRIZZLY (***1/2) myspace ::
Which brings us to the first band I'm here to see tonight. A band, which let's face it, I've already seen like a billion times BEFORE this year (or more accurately this would be my fifth) so it's not like they're short of asinine coverage in this blog. And yet even so, they're no less welcome for me tonight, because hey it IS The Gremily maaan.. and even the shittest bands in town sound all the more fuck off awesome for being here. Of course this isn't to say Sincerely Grizzly are "shit" per se, far from it, I'm just saying is all. Isn't that right Radio Spectacular? AAAAHAhAHAhAhA!! (oh don't look at me like that, OF COURSE I'M KIDDING!!). And all the more welcoming? is the teeny tiny additions and improvements to their live sound too. Firstly there's Rowan Mount's drumkit: yes it's an analog kit (YIPPEE!!), unfortunately it's not his though (they're just sharing it with the headliners) but the sound netherless that the mixer's cranking out of it? duuude it's nothing short of skull fuckingly dope! Everytime he pounds that kick the ground literally rumbles under my feet, the sublime crispness of the snares, the articulated hihats, the cymbals, floor toms, all those other miscellaneous jangly bits I've never bothered to remember the names of (because hey I was only ever in a goofy electronica act and I went to art school.. so what do I care!?) they're all singing in a sweet symphony of crunch maaan! Griff Farley's bass is mixed extra heavy, brutally chunky, but well defined, it's a beast of a thing. And then there's Josh Calligeros on lead who's just added this new pickup and a distortion thingy to his guitar (whatever the fuck they are), or as he describes it to the audience: "I just bought a bunch of new shit from working two jobs, I haven't had time to figure it all out yet.. yay to ineptitute!" but the effect is no less striking. There's a quiet confidence and cohesion here that wasn't so evident before. I mean Sincerely Grizzly have always made a "mathy" thing out of occassionally clunky time changes.. but it's all coming together so much better now. There's all these dappled layers, chromatic textures and added complexity working in sync here.. it's a beautiful thing! Then there's their setlist, which for the most part is familiar from their EP, or from previous live sets: "There's A Beauty (In The Discord)" and "Two-Face" most recogniseably acting as bookends, but what's most striking is this new song, played for the first time EVER tonight (so if you ask them they'll likely apologise for how "rough" that live video sounds) that according to the setlist written on Josh's arm is either abbreviated to "S & L" or "Words" but whatever-the-fuck it is? it's undoubtfully another step up in the evolution of their sound. I mean fuck, it may even be the best shit they've ever come up with! Equal measures volatile and artly punctuated yet smoothly nuanced in the shoegazer midsection? how it sweeps from one extreme to the next so seamlessly? oh yeaaah they're definitely onto something here. Yup as much as it may seem like cruel and unusual punishment to keep featuring them on this blog like this (I mean shit it's gotta be driving THEM nuts by now!) the very fact they keep honing their artistry each time, proves they're a band well worth investing in. Sincerely Grizzly. Newborn giraffes going all Karate Kid on yer arse? yup you better believe it! In fact fuck the "newborn giraffe" analogy altogether.. I know Josh DOES look all lanky and goofy up there, but with badass shit like this, and other recent shows I've seen this year? who knows what they could achieve!?















CHEER ADVISORY COUNCIL (****) myspace ::
And speaking of wacky analogies I should have retired a looong time ago, here comes our second act and their lead singer who practically inspired the very definition in the first place: the infamous Ben Revi. Oh yes! for many years now, he's provided many a punchline for this blog, he's been endless good value to me, I mean fuck duuude what would I ever do without him!? And in my defense it's not necessarily because I'm openly mocking him (yeaaah ok maybe just a little!) but more because it's actually my misguided way of celebrating his "character" for its rich contribution to the Adelaide music scene. I shit you not! As quite like many of his mad contemporaries: Matt Banham, Mike Radzevicius, Lee Cowan, Travis Williamson, Mario Spate, Sean Kemp, Dick Dale, Paul Nassari (to name but a few) they're a gift that just keeps on giving, they're a gift that just has to be shared with the greater public! I mean shit, who needs to import idiots like Billy Corgan, Noel Gallagher, Thom Yorke or Tim Rogers for inspiration you can come see Ben Revi up close, get photos with him, reach out and touch his radiant afro (it's ever so spongey!) I mean just LOOK AT HIM, what a freaking legend maaan! Now obviously he doesn't always share my "enthusiasm". In fact sometimes he's almost downright hostile when he sees me smiling and waving at one of his shows (AAAAHAhAHaHA I know, I'm such a bastard aren't I?). Tonight for instance, he introduced a song by pointing out "isn't it ironic that the ONE person standing in the crowd taking photos is more famous than the band on stage?" (and after all the time I've put into promoting you? *sniff* SAY IT AIN'T SO!?). And secondly when he engaged me in awkward banter before another song, only to segue with "and quite like this conversation, this next song is called 'A Catastrophe'". Hilarious I know (oh and he got me good in the last one) but come to think of it he does have a good point here. For far too long I've made Ben Revi the focus here (ridicule or otherwise) when the real focus for Cheer Advisory Council lies in the ensemble cast he surrounds himself with and what they achieve in their own unassuming way. Some are already well reknown in the Adelaide scene: Neil Clark from Taught By Animals, Adam Osborn from 200 Motels, Carly Whittaker from Humble Bee (the awesomest glock rocking band in the world.. bar none!) but the rest are no less distinguished in presence. In combination you could think of them as a tragic Greek chorus or the indie equivalent of a Motown soul ensemble (especially in their frequent gang harmonies). Or maybe you could think of them as a mix between Radiohead's "OK Computer", Neil Young's "Harvest Moon", The National and The Doves, but what resonates the most is the raw emotion they express: not with just one but many voices in unison. Those feelings of such bittersweet longing and heart aching regret that drag you under utterly and entirely. They're like the classic tearjerker midsection to any romantic comedy NOT starring Katherine Heigl or a littany of dick and fart gags (thank fuck!) but more like a rain spattered window in split screen montage, two protagonists both staring longingly out in the gloom yet cruelly separated by one stupid seemingly irreconcilable mistake looped ad infinitum. No better yet, think of them as Shakespearian level tragedy where everyone dies in the end. Oh these are more than just songs, they're canvas writ large and cinema wraught widescreen in human frailty. I mean it's so easy sometimes for me to be blinded by Ben Revi's illustrious mane in describing it, cracking endless jokes, how it blocks the stage light like a total eclipse and frizzes on the edges like a corona; just as I readily admit it's a defense mechanism lest the entirety of their artistic vision blind and overwhelm me with such sweet sorrow (especially that last song "Accommodating" tonight.. WHOAAA FUCK!!). But such is the genius of Cheer Advisory Council. The name's clearly ironic, they want you to weep, weep like a baby, but maybe in catharsis it's no less fitting. For without the misery, the cheer is never quite as bright.

















THE BRITISH ROBOTS (****) myspace ::
And speaking of such, here comes our headlining act who are SO bursting with unabashed glee here tonight it's almost eliciting an "allergic response" (especially after Cheer Advisory Council). I mean seriously, who outside of Larissa Perry from the 20th Century Graduates is THIS ridiculously happy to be on a live stage? and when there's five of them bouncing off the walls all at the same time!? DUUUDE, IT'S JUST TOO MUCH!! Still I may be the only one thinking this, as the band room is practically flooded with their fans who are absolutely loving the shit out of everything they do and as loudly as possible, and inititally I just can't quite understand why. I mean don't get me wrong, they're a brilliant band and all (I even said so in my first review) but it's not like they're hosting a launch party here, or a debut, or a farewell, there's nothing else "special" about this night that I can gather; so what gives!? And then I remember we're in The Gremily, the one place in Adelaide that's apparently immune to the "Adelaide rule". Yeaaah you know the one: the 10-20 largely ambivalent "rent-a-crowd" who usually turns up to every show, poker faced, stifling a yawn, silently wondering why they ever bothered leaving the beer garden in the first place? (hmmm and I wonder where THAT happens all too frequently!?). But maybe there's more to it than that. For The British Robots, as much as I've observed, aren't exactly the most "fashionable" of cats. They're hardly a buzz band, indie disco, freak folk, preppy pop, or any of that chillwave / dubstep crap all the cutting edge scenesters have been going beserk for. In fact after seeing them tonight, I dare say they're one of the dorkiest (yet weirdly talented for it) live bands I've ever witnessed outside of Architecture In Helsinki. And call me crazy, but maybe THAT'S part of their infinite appeal. I mean pretending to be all hipster and fashionable all the fucking time has gotta be a lot of hard work right? YOU BETCHA!! And there's gotta be something ever so appealing when you witness a band like this who're so utterly unencumbered by all that crap riiight!? DUUUDE NO SHIT, once you get over the eye gouging shock of it, they're practically a breathe of fresh air! Yup you can see it in their two co-vocalists Zoe Behan and Mark Curtis. Like Shelly Duvall teaming up with Neil from The Young Ones, like Dakota Fanning and Cousin Itt by way of Grug. The former with her disarming Irish lilt, the latter with his incomprehensible falsetto (testicles like tic-tacs I swear!). And then there's the "cheersquad" on guitar, bass and drums around them who are practically beaming to this shit. But more so it's in the upbeat style of music. I couldn't quite place it at first, I figured them for everything from The Kinks to Belle & Sebastian (in fact someone even suggested tonight that they sound like Alanis Morissette!?). But now after a little more "research" it's all too clear to me: they're channeling Fleetwood Mac. It's all there in the goofy innocence, the free flowing hippie sensibility, all mingling with the first teeny tiny stirrings of disco decadence (short of Stevie Nicks hoovering a fuckload of cocaine of course). But unlike Ladyhawke there's no precision electro here, there's no cold and calculating scenster synthesis at work. It's nothing less than THE warm, homespun, authentically knock kneed "original" before it went all revisionist and street smart. It's all sweet harmonies, melodies, breezy choruses and virtuouso guitar solos without a hint of irony. It's putting out a message that yes, it's perfectly safe to be that gangly adolescent again, that same one that went into hiding inside us all after five years of highschool made us all cynical and judgemental for fear of reprisal. No really! Right here in The Grace Emily tonight it's perfectly acceptable to simply "spaz on out" and be yourself again. Everyone's doing it around me, they're bordering on "Jesus freak" fanatical for it (seriously you should've heard them screaming for the encore too.. it was madness!). And try as you might to resist it, why bother maaan? nobody's gonna judge you here, simply dive right in and enjoy. Yup that's The British Robots, I get it now! They're giddy nostalgia just like it was originally intended: without a single corrective autotune, or ironic "hipster sensibility" to taint it. It might be dorky as all hell, but fuck damn it's infectious!
















2:13AM - Yup with the show all but over, despite the audience begging and pleading nay screaming for The British Robots to play an encore, for a good five minutes or more (I know huh?) I just didn't want to leave. And hell, why would I? I had beer, I had people to drink beer with, I had a shrine to Bert Newton to offer the occassional human sacrifice to; I mean shit duuude what else would you ever need short of throwing up all over on a hooker and stealing a cop car!? But at the same time I was also entertaining the notion of possibly, maybe seeing The Salvadors headline at The Ed Castle. And so eventually, reluctantly, dragging my feet all the way (like they were lead weights I tells ya) I made my way out the door. And while I was standing out there debating whether I should go back in again (wait, did I mention they had beer!?) I thought fuck it, why NOT get photographic evidence of that so-called "spaceship on the roof" I was rambling on about before. Because yes it actually exists, no I wasn't just making it all up, and now I HAVE PROOF!!



Now I apologise if it's too sharp and well defined in that photo above, as clearly I'm not adhering to the conventions of UFO photography (for one I haven't drunk nearly enough moonshine). So if it helps I've provided a blurrier, less defined close up in following. Hmmm yup, to think it's been here for well over five years now and I've only JUST noticed? (and next to no one else believed me when I told them about it!?) I mean seriously does anyone ever look UP in the city!? sheeesh!



3:17AM - Eventually I did make it to The Ed Castle, only I'd obviously missed out on The Salvadors. Turns out there was even a lineup stretching all the way around the block for them: although some speculated this actually had nothing to do with them, but more to do with the fallout over that "Kate's Party" facebook prank earlier tonight (yup as it turns out? there was no party at all.. GENIUS HUH!?). Still by the time I got here it was still "going off" like a bad batch of oysters. No shit duuude, it was positively humming, buzzing, throbbing with hipsters, fashionistas and retarded jocks of all asinine persuasions, as well as a gaggle of blondes who actually had to ask me WHY I keep making fun of The Touch each week in this blog like THAT was still a mystery to anyone (hint: it's not really making fun of them IF THEY'RE SUPPLYING ALL THE MATERIAL). Which yup, is possibly why I'm taking THIS photo of all the paper towels in the toilet instead..



Only to be interrupted moments later by this twit pissing in the sink. SCORE!!



4:03AM - I forget how or when exactly I ended up in Supermild: only that I'm pretty sure I didn't fall down any of the stairs along the way. And the only reason I know THAT for sure, is because I'm pretty sure THESE unidentified concoctions were the cause of my "amnesia" instead. I had no idea what was in them (short of possibly cranberry juice and the stuff they use to fuel model aeroplanes) as obviously I didn't order them. One of the barstaff served them up for reasons utterly beyond me, I happened to be in the right place at the right time, and when nobody was looking (or when there were simply no takers left) I swiped one for myself.. OOOOH FUCK YEAH!!



4:09AM - And speaking of hilarious shit I have next to no recollection of, this is Carli Leah Lewis for the simple fact that she happened to be standing next to me at the time (aaaah half her "luck" huh!?). Yup you may recognise her as one of the leads in "An Awkward Seduction": one of those wacky Fringe theatre productions I never got around to seeing this year, despite the fact it involved at least six girls in a whimsical burlesque strip tease.. and yes excuse me while I go smash my head into this wall a few times (I know it's always the stuff you MISS OUT ON you remember the most huh!? "GNAAARRGGHH FUCK!!"). Oh and as for WHY I'm photographing her legs here? well obviously there's a perfectly reasonable explanation (and if it helps she IS pointing at them) only I've long since forgotten it. Just like I thought it'd be perfectly reasonable to upload and publish this photo to a website that a thousand people might possibly read each week. Hi everyone!



And isn't Carli ever so thankful that I did?



Yup, I think it's safe to say that I'm completely fucking insane here. Not just for what I did for the next half hour or so, which I believe involved me making an hilarious twit of myself on the dancefloor, in front of a whole lot of people (who likely fled soon after) only to hit the bar to order up another long neck, only to return to the dancefloor again.. GENIUS!! But more because I do this shit EVERY FUCKING WEEKEND OF THE YEAR. And I'm not even shitting you! The only times I haven't done this in the past four years uninterrupted (including Xmas and New Years) the last time I actually took a "break" from all this!? was that one weekend back in February 2007 when I had the flu. But then again fuck it, maybe I've got this all wrong? If the definition of insanity IS doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results: what about if it's published in a blog? what about if more and more people visit it each week? what about if I enjoy it? does that make me more insane or less insane? And better yet, what does that make YOU for reading it!?

Previously on Spoz's Rant: Lady Strangelove + Jay Walker & The Pedestrians + Alpen

:: Spoz 2:48 PM |
...

LADY STRANGELOVE + JAY WALKER & THE PEDESTRIANS + ALPEN
"TRANSMISSION LIVE" @ THE ED CASTLE / Friday April 30th 2010

Oh look it's a Friday night! and wouldn't you know it? I'm here at The Ed Castle again!? WOWEEE!! IT'S LIKE ALL MY "DREAMS" HAVE COME TRUE!! And it's not like I'm being sarcastic in saying that, HA HA HA OF COURSE NOT YOU IDIOTS!! I'm never sarcastic! I love it here at The Ed Castle, I've always loved it here, it's like the best damn place to see live music in all of Adelaide! OOOOH SHIT YEAH!! Oh wait, I've already told you all that haven't I? Like two weeks ago on a Saturday to be precise? That night The Amcats headlined here for "Plus One", and you totally didn't believe a single word I was saying in my utmost "adoration" for this place!? Wow huh? I really didn't think you'd be able to "read between the lines" like that (mental note: give audience waaay more credit!). But I assure you, as much as you SHOULD never take a single word seriously in this blog? I truly DO mean it when I say it: "I love it here at The Ed Castle". And it's not just because it's a festering fashion hole, or a scenster shitdive, or an eye gouging pink piss stain for all the plastic people to parade about in (or for the fact the stage lighting seems to get worse everytime I shoot here). I mean pfft.. of course we know all that's true, let's not deny it! (in fact sometimes I like to refer to it as "Rocket Bar version 2.0" for those exact reasons) but that's not why I'm here again, in fact quite the contrary! (hence why I haven't been to Rocket Bar in over six months.. buuurn!!). Nope the best reason to be at The Ed Castle is simply because it has the BEST beer garden to get ragingly shitfaced drunk in. YEAAAS!! Especially when you're SO mind blowingly blasted on the turps you don't even remember you're IN The Ed Castle. NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL A GENIUS PLACE TO SPEND A NIGHT!! Now obviously I'm nowhere near that point right now, I've only just walked in, but at least it's something to aim for.. and I DO love a "live venue" that inspires me to set goals!



ALPEN (***) myspace ::
Now obviously there ARE other reasons to be at The Ed Castle again, and that would be for the live bands. I mean shit duuude, why else would I be here again? to watch fashionistas flit about with their limited edition $5000 Chanel handbags and argue over who's hotter: Rob Pattinson? Zac Efron? Matt Van Schie? or Justin "I'm really a girl" Bieber!? Hmmm yup, and as much as all that bullshit usually DOES take centre stage over what's happening in the band room (almost to the point of making it invisible), tonight IS the exception to the rule thanks to Transmission Live. Yup for all the endless jokes I've been cracking at The Ed Castle's expense (and believe me I've only just got started!), this is one of the things they STILL do right. Especially tonight as we're witness to nothing short of a miracle here: as The Ed Castle band room is actually packed with a crowd who are weirdly excited to be here. And by "weirdly" I clearly mean they're excited for our opening act Alpen (I know, it takes all types huh!?). Now obviously this isn't the first time I've seen them, that would've been their EP launch back in December 2009 (and yes they rocked the shit out of it) and again a month later just after New Years, and yet even so I've yet to fully figure out why they've gathered such an "exciteable" fanbase here.. or at least past the fact that YES their drummer Tony Marshall DOES have a moustache, and yes it IS the most ridiculously awesome thing I've seen all week (no shit, I was almost planning on basing this entire review on it!). You see as much as I can gather, Alpen are actually two live bands in one. On the one hand they're embarassingly "white bread" (think Vampire Weekend meets Eric Clapton meets Cliff Richard being beaten to death by The Young Ones) especially in Chris Bateman's crooning vocals and his bandmates cooking up a sound that's almost bordering on a smooth bossa-nova in style. But then just before you dismiss them as a lame "adult contemporary" act (ie: the sort that gets sold in late night informercials featuring cliche couples walking hand in hand on the beach with scrolling song titles) they totally go all "Jekyll & Hyde" on our arse and unleash these fuckoff insane 60's psychedelic jams that kill like nothing else. And even weirder? they totally pull both extremes IN THE SAME SONG!! No really! It's like someone flicking a light switch between The Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night" and "The White Album" (facial hair, sitars and all) and yet as utterly schizophrenic as it is? (and believe me it was a shock to me the first time I heard it) they somehow make it all work. As such in reconciling both extremes, think of them as a mix between Kyuss' "Vision Valley", Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" and Stillwater's "Fever Dog": yeaaah y'know? that fictional band out of Almost Famous (or in other words all those other 70's bands I could claim I've heard of as a "prentious rock writer" when you know I really haven't). They find their strengths initially in Chris' golden pipes, and the fact he manages to ape a "Josh Homme" statuesque stage presence right down to the erratic head twitch, but more so in his and Lachlan Tanner's shredding guitar solos (which Chris mostly spends chasing his own tail), Andrew Marshall's dirty brown bass tones and Tony's shitcrazy percussive breakdowns. And when they bring in the horn section for their Spanish flavoured "If This Amounts To Nothing"? duuude it never fails to twist your brain into a pretzel; so much so they ALMOST give Colonel Kernel a run for their money (and that's saying something!). Awesome huh? But even so we're still left with two Alpens here: one mild mannered "vanilla" and another face meltingly "vindaloo". So if they'd only ditch the former (save for the vocals), embrace the latter, take more drugs and crank that volume? who knows what kind of shit awesome psychedelic act we'd have on our hands!?












JAY WALKER & THE PEDESTRIANS (****) myspace ::
The last time I saw our second act it was for their launch party back in February: maybe you remember it, or maybe you're like me and you've only gotten back onto solid foods again. Either way as much as it WAS hilariously eye goungingly, head explodingly awesome (so much so I swear I haven't been having recurring nightmares about it ever since.. FUCK NO!!) it was also one of those rare "launch parties" where the overblown shitcrazy theatrics of it actually did their sound a disservice: what with all the stage invasions, the crowd surfers, the broken glass and all the screaming. In fact I even recall ONE moment when I looked back at the mixing desk laughing my arse off thinking I was going to die, only to see Matt Hills the mixer slowly shaking his head in disbelief over just how retarded it was. But tonight there's thankfully none of that here. Although the room is no less packed with people (well maybe it's two thirds that), it's a much more relaxed atmosphere. "Seth Cohen" at the desk is providing a truly masterful mix, Alex Rajkowski from The Shiny Brights is doing genius work with the lights (so much so I half wondering why they don't just throw him a few free beers each time so he could do this shit on a regular basis) and all in all I'm reminded just what I liked about this band in the first place. "IT'S ABOUT THE MUSIC, STUPID!!". I mean suuure it IS the same 60's rock revival almost every dickhead and their dog's been ripping off of late: equal parts The Who, The Kinks and The Velvet Underground. Or more recently think The Fearless Vampire Killers, the Black Lips, or simply read all the rapturous Melbourne street press that follows Eddy Current Suppression Ring wherever they go, and you'd be dead on the money. But where Jay Walker & The Pedestrians differ is in how smooth, laid back and utterly effortless they sound. It's possibly WHY I found that "launch party" SO abrasive in the first place. They're not a band to puncture both lungs and black out unconscious to, FUCK NO!! They're a band to smoke a phat blunt, drop some acid and pull weird shapes to. And tonight? oh yeaah I'm feeling that shit! I can taste the colours! it's like I'm at an open air music festival, I'm covered head to toe in mud and there's a gentle breeze whistling through my junk (hmmm try not to linger on THAT mental image for too long) duuude it's like the best shit ever! I mean for one there's something just so eerily authentic about their 60's sound. They're not so much parroting an ipod playlist as they're THE bonafide reincarnation of Monterey Pop, circa 1967. From Dan Beacom's droning, snarling, shrieking and spitting mid register (like John Lennon meets Lou Reed over a bottle of whiskey). To his and Ryan Harris' guitars jangling in that chintzy register that's ever so trashy, ever so iconically 60's, yet endlessly endearing (duuude it's even better when they dogfight in the solos!). To the rhythm section in both Tom Stevens' chunky bass and Alister Pike's loose drumming that keep all the "wild woolly extremes" flowing ever so seamlessly from beginning to end. No song outstays its welcome, everything's fluid as fuck, and when they throw in that cover of Iggy Pop's "I'm Bored"? it's not like it's a sore thumb, but more like it's all part of the same continuity, like they're passing joints around, and Bob Dylan's the next to take a toke.. ooooh yeah! Jay Walker & The Pedestrians. I'm told their bass player was totally freaking out over the prospect of me reviewing them again (hi Tom!) but as far as I'm concerned, and as far as anyone should give a shit what I have to say (pfft!) if they just keep kicking this blissed out vibe and give it plenty of air to breathe? I'll be nothing but two thumbs up and long gone grinning.. groooovy!
















LADY STRANGELOVE (****) myspace ::
Now I don't know if you've noticed, but our headlining act tonight have been quite the elusive one of late. And it's not because they've always been the hardest act to photograph, pfft.. FUCK NO!! With a sound as downright shitcrazy and psychedelic as theirs, they're more an "artistic challenge" than anything else (or at least that's MY excuse). But more so in how elusive they've been with live shows for the past two years. Yeaaah ok maybe it's just me, because hell they DID play that show at the Jade Monkey last week when I was at Philadelphia Grand Jury (well shit, they WERE moving to the UK! what else was I going to do!?) not to mention that show earlier this year at Arcade Lane, or that wacky "opening slot" for Tame Impala. But still short of seeing them DJ at The Ed Castle every odd Friday night, or for their launch party back in November, or for those chance cameo appearances in Italian Spiderman (no really look that shit up, it's hilarious!), since about June 2008? I swear they'd all but "disappeared" from the Adelaide scene. NO SHIT!! And as much as I'd love to come up with all manner of assinine conspiracy theories to explain it (yeaaah you'd be much better off attempting to explain why all the "bees have gone missing") the simple fact is they don't really have a "home" to call their own anymore. I mean back in 2006 they had Rhino Room, then in 2007 they had Rocket Bar, then in 2008 it was The Ed Castle. But since then, what with all this indie disco shit running riot (and waaay past its used by date lemme tell you!) it's anyone's guess where they could go to next!? I mean seriously, seeing them here tonight? here in these pink walls of The Ed Castle!? it's like seeing a round block being punched into a square hole over and over and wondering why it won't "fit" like it should. It's like they're from outerspace! But still, the minute they fire into their set? oh trust me we're back maaan! Back to Adelaide circa 2005-2007: back when Wolf & Cub, Artax Mission and Lady Strangelove reigned supreme.. it feels like home again! And although four years may have passed here? it's still the same fucking buzz! It's Brendan Shaw in lead vocals, eyes rolled back, swaying about like he's in a seance, singing words we can barely understand. It's Josh Van Looy on guitar, fucking about so many psychotropic sounds at once it's like Tom Morello being fed through a kaleidoscope. It's Azz Shaw on bass and keys, like a lumbering hunchback, back to the crowd, tweaking the oscillators. And how can we forget Damian Satanek on drums!? (yes that IS his last name) duuude he's like a fucking animal! And as much as very little has changed (I mean let's face it.. it IS a winning formula!) there IS one notable difference that makes tonight's set truly memorable (short of wondering where their "fifth member" Will Spartalis has gone *cough*) and that's Brendan playing the guitar. "NO SHIT, HE'S PLAYING A FUCKING GUITAR NOW!? WHOAAA!! (no seriously, who knew he could even do that!?). And then there's the setlist, fuck full of new songs, mostly off their new EP "Freakquencies" (which you can totally download here for FREE by the way). But even so it's delivered in the same way they've always done, in such dizzying hypnotising loops you don't even know where one song finishes and the next one begins, let alone why all five of your sense are playing musical chairs in your head. And as much as they may be missing their video projection tonight to "seal the deal": all technicolour frolicking dolphins and Bambi footage spun backwards? it's not even needed. For 45 minutes or more they're an all encompassing experience, they dominate the stage, they make The Ed Castle band room their own dominion to fuck with as they please. Yup they may be proverbial "extraterrestrials" of the Adelaide scene (I mean take one look at their guitarist: peeps like that are an endangered species now!). But trust me, it don't matter what "planet" we're on: whether we're into dirge metal, twee folk, indie pop or garage rock (or even if we've spent waaay too many night's frequenting "Plus One" to even remember what a stage looks like) when it comes to Lady Strangelove we're one and the same species maaan: swirling disembodied, tripping balls, watching the universe unravel around us. And yes even now it's STILL the maddest place to be!













1:46AM - Yup.. about ten minutes ago, Lady Strangelove finished their set with the tribal refrains of "The Devil Inside" (a song which they only realised shared a name with an INXS song AFTER they named it.. go figure?) at which point they promptly vanished without a trace. Now obviously I can't remember how they "vanished", whether it was via: trapdoor, transporter beam, wormhole, one of those wacky wardrobes that lead to the magical kingdom of Narnia, or whether they simply walked off stage; as apparently I was waaay too transfixed by this small clusterfuck of tweaker units gathered in front of me. Hmmm. And the reason why? well for the life of me I could've sworn they were either: (a) jumping about like jackrabbits, (b) pulsing through at least four or five different colours, or (c) reciting the lyrics to Pink Floyd's "The Gnome". Sounds crazy I know, but it's actually a perfectly normal phenomenon to experience after a Lady Strangelove set. And the only thing you can do to alleviate it? is to simply keep on concentrating on whatever's in front of you until your eyes achieve "white balance" again; otherwise you totally get air bubbles in your brain and then you die. Still if it's any consolation? they do make such pretty colours don't they!?



2:24AM - And this is Tony Marshall from Alpen eating spaghetti bolognese from a tupperware container. Hmmm yup. And the only reason I'm considering that newsworthy in the slightest (with accompanying photo!) is that not only is he eating cold spaghetti bolognese (and that's crazy in itself), but he's also got a moustache. No really! think about THAT for a moment, like reaaally THINK about it: spaghetti bolognese AND a moustache.. is that the craziest shit ever OR WHAT!?

3:03AM - Now obviously The Ed Castle was an absolute riot to be at tonight, duuude it was a "party in your pants" and everyone was invited.. AND I MEAN EVERYONE!! (yes, even your mum!). I mean no shit not only was the beer garden absolutely pumping, but they also just opened the upstairs area to the public; how fucking mad is that!? (duuude I don't even have the words!). And obviously I just had to go check it out. I mean ALL I used to think the second floor was good for was that backstage area with the oversized photo print of Don Dunstan (with the unidentifiable stains on it), a few doors I never dared open (possibly containing "theatrical props" and/or glass coffee tables for miscellaneous DJ related purposes) and a second upstairs women's toilet that comes with it's own bathtub. But the balcony!? oh maaan the balcony totally changes everything! Shit, who needs a beer garden anymore when you can totally throw empty bottles into traffic. YEAAAS!! I FUCKING LOVE THE ED CASTLE!! WOOOO!! (no really! that was actually genuine praise this time!). Oh and as for what all this has got to do with a glaring lack of photographic evidence and a poster advertising next Saturday's night's installment of Plus One headlined by "Quite In The Lab"!? yeaaah I've got no idea *cough* absolutely no idea at all.. isn't that right Dougie?

3:58AM - But alas The Ed Castle eventually had to close (and not a moment too soon! people were totally going beserk, tearing their clothes off, staring fires, resorting to random acts of cannibalism and everything!) at which point I foolishly figured I'd just keep on drinking elsewhere. And so I went to Supermild, only to discover it was closed. Only to freak the fuck out and head to Zhivago instead, only to discover it too was closed. Only to briefly entertain the notion of hanging out with this supermarket trolley, because no shit this supermarket trolley's totally gotta know how to party riiight? SHIT, DOES IT EVER!! In fact come to think of it, isn't this the SAME supermarket trolley that's always been here? abandoned in the side streets off Currie and Hindley Street FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS OR MORE!? Because seriously if it is, how mindblowing is that!? DUUUDE!!



4:41AM - Turns out however, me and supermarket trolley haven't really been on "speaking" terms ever since I tried using it as my transport home back in September 2009, only to crash it into the Bakewell underpass instead. Hmmm and weird how I'd remember that too. And you know what else is really weird? How does it always manage to respawn back to its original place again? I MEAN WHAT KINDA MAGICAL SHIT IS THAT!? Yeaaah anyhoo, to cut a long story short? here's a "Hippo" dumpster I passed on my way home when I gave up and decided to catch a taxi instead. Exciting huh? TOTALLY!! This is like the most exciting night I've ever had in my life!! WOOOO!!



Yup, if ever there was a moral to this story (and believe me I've been struggling to come up with one) it's that you should never doubt The Ed Castle. It's just the best damn live venue in Adelaide! I mean suuure it may get more and more seedy as the months wear on, and the crowds may only get that much more fashionably oblique and impossible, and the barstaff only more laughably disposable, and I may always have that sneaking suspicion that all of this shit is simply the result of Rocket Bar setting up franchises throughout town to the point that I have to LEAVE town before it drives me insane (oh just you wait, it'll happen to The Metro next!). But still, quite like a lobster in a cooking pot as the water slowly rises in temperature.. as long as it still has a beer garden and a janitor's closet cunningly disguised as a "band room", The Ed Castle is the only place for me!

Previously on Spoz's Rant: The Milton Experience + Angelik + The Dirty Monks

:: Spoz 2:34 PM |
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