An Interview with PAUL DEMPSEY

Interview by Timothy Casten  
                                                    


Paul Dempsey is one of the most well respected songwriters to come out of Australia. His band Something For Kate (in which he is singer, guitarist and principal songwriter) was formed in 1994 with drummer Clint Hyndman on drums and Julian Carroll as the original bass player (Stephanie Ashworth joined the band after Carroll’s departure in 1998). Since their formation the band has gained critical acclaim and commercial success and been nominated for numerous ARIA’s with 5 platinum and gold records. Last year he released his first solo album ‘Everything is True’ to extremely positive reviews. Currently touring in America, Paul took some time out of his busy schedule to answer our questions:

Photo by Daniel Boud

I believe you've been staying in America for the last few months. How's the American tour going? Is it a big difference touring America, or anywhere overseas for that matter, compared to touring back home?

I’ve been living in NYC since June and will be for the forseeable future. It’s very different playing and touring here for the obvious reason that I am not really well known here so I’m playing much smaller rooms and often to people who don’t know anything about me but that is a challenge that I really enjoy and it’s also kind of liberating and exciting to not have any weight of expectation. It’s nice being ‘new’ to people...

"Everything is True" was released almost exactly a year ago and was pretty well received by music critics and fans. It's your first solo record (to be released under your own name). Were you ever intimidated or scared about how it would be received with it being pretty different from things you had done in the past?
I didn’t really think about it too much while I was writing it and recording it... It was only when I walked out of the final mastering session with the completely finished album in my hand that I suddenly got gripped by this fear that maybe no one would like it! I had that anxious feeling for a little while but it’s fairly easy to talk yourself down from those thoughts – You realise that no matter what you do you are never going to please everybody so it’s more important that you please yourself creatively.
But of course it is really nice when the album is released and people say nice things about it. That is definitely a good feeling!

Your solo album sounds quite different from Something for Kate. Is your writing process any different when writing your solo music and when you write for Something For Kate?
I guess it just comes down to the fact that when Something for Kate work on stuff it involves three people in a room with loud drums and amplified guitars and this buzz of electricity and the interaction between the three of us and that informs the way the music comes together... When I write by myself it is usually just me, by myself with an acoustic guitar in a quiet room – a much more personal and introspective atmosphere and I guess that also informs the way songs are formed.

What are your main influences? Bands, or musicians, or anything, what inspires you to write music?
I get inspired by all sorts of things, listening to music, walking around the city, going to galleries or museums or reading books, having conversations etc etc... The smallest little trigger can drag you along and become a snowballing thing that you can’t stop until you see it through and finish it. Sometimes the tiniest germ of an idea can sit in the back of your head for weeks until you find the right words or music to express it and get it out of your system. It’s like an itch or something that doesn’t go away until it’s scratched.


After recording in a home studio environment on "Everything is True", do you think the next SFK album will be recorded in a similar way, rather than going into a conventional studio? Or is it too far down the track to be thinking about this?
I am definitely more into the idea of doing it ourselves in a house or something like that. There just seems to be way less time-pressure than when you’re in a big studio and therefore it frees you up for more experimentation and messing around... So many important parts of a record happen by accident and I think it’s important to create the time and space for accidents.

What kind of gear have you been using lately? Is it similar to what you recorded ‘Everything is true’ with? (ie Maton acoustics, and old Fender guitars and amps?).
Yeah I’m kind of addicted to old Fenders and also Maton acoustics. They just feel and sound right to me. I also have a bunch of old Fender amps that sound really great. Although I came to NYC with nothing but my Maton acoustic guitar so I’ve been doing everything with that.

It's funny, just the other week I was searching everywhere for "An Empty Flight" but couldn't find a copy anywhere. Then just a few days ago I see an announcement on your facebook page about it's re-release. It's been more than a decade since it first came out, why re-release it now after so long of it being almost impossible to find?
We’ve had lots of enquiries about it over the years but frankly I’m always so busy with whatever current project there is that there hasn’t ever been the time to stop and think about it.
Nowadays it really doesn’t take much effort to just upload it and make it available through itunes so why not do it?... It was also attracting inflated sums on ebay so hopefully this will put a stop to that and people can get it if they want to hear it without getting ripped off.
I know some people have issues with mp3 format or with the itunes store or whatever but I guess you can’t please everybody. A physical re-release on CD just wasn’t realistic.

I believe last year was the 15th year of Something For Kate. When SFK started in 1994 you must've only been around 18, which is pretty young. How does it feel to be in a band, and in a career, that's lasted pretty much your whole adult life? Is it still just as enjoyable and exciting?
It feels incredible. I feel extremely lucky to have had the career that I’ve had thus far and I am always excited about what we’ll do next. I feel like our best stuff is still well ahead of us and I look forward to what we might be doing on our 12th record... Music is so vast and there is so much to learn and discover and I just want to keep doing that regardless of others’ notions of success/popularity/coolness etc etc.. After fifteen years it kinda seems like we’ve earned this weird immunity to a whole lot of bullshit and we just get on with our thing... If that makes sense.

I've heard you did some producing with Papa Vs Pretty recently; do you have plans to work with any other artists in the near future?
Yes, I’d love to. Producing is another thing I love doing because you get to be involved in the creative process but you are also able to stand outside and be more objective because it’s not your own material - you are there to basically mid-wife it into being and to try and help a band realise their ideas into a finished thing that they are happy with and proud of. It’s a big responsibility and an enjoyable challenge. I really enjoy that role...

Any news on Something For Kate or new solo material? Any upcoming releases on the horizon?
I’ve been spending whatever quiet time I have working on new ideas and writing... But NYC is not well-known for quiet time...

Paul Dempsey will be playing a number of shows in October around Australia before heading back to America:

October 3  2010 - Mackay Showgrounds (with Powderfinger), Mackay QLD

October 7  2010 - Rockhampton Showgrounds (with Powderfinger), Rockhampton QLD

October 8  2010 - Corner Hotel, Melbourne VIC --SOLD OUT--

October 10  2010 - Annandale Hotel, Sydney NSW --SOLD OUT--

October 12  2010 - University of Canberra, Canberra ACT --SOLD OUT--

October 13  2010 - Albury Sports Grounds (with Powderfinger), Albury VIC

October 15  2010 - Bendigo Showgrounds (with Powderfinger), Bendigo VIC --SOLD OUT--

October 13  2010 - North Gardens Ballarat (with Powderfinger), Ballarat VIC --SOLD OUT--

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An Interview with HOWL

Interview and Photo by: Timothy Casten
                                                                           


HOWL are a bunch of guys from Ballarat who play a mean fucking show. After winning Triple J's Unearthed High competition last year with their brand of high-powered garage/punk, they released their debut EP in February and are now set to release their second EP 'Brothers In Violence' next week.

How has things changed since you guys won the Triple J Unearthed High comp?
We all have wild coke habits and live in mansions.

Were you guys already playing shows when you were still in high school?

Yeah we'd been playing shows for about three years. We never really went out looking for shows, we just waited for them to get offered to us, so we didn't play a lot. 

The new EP comes out next week, has anything changed with the band and with your sound since the first one was released?

Well I guess this release is a lot more musical, as in, there is so much more melody going on and it's a lot more complex without being math rock or anything. The first EP was really simple, which was the aim, but it's been good to expand our sound a bit with the new release.

What's the writing process like with Howl?

Our songs usually stem from one persons original idea then we kind of write and record at the same time so we can spend time creating and perfecting parts, however some songs come about out of no where when we rehearse. The title track of the EP 'Brothers In Violence' was originally just made on the spot, of course we dramatically changed it after demoing it so many times, but a lot of our materiel has come really spontaneously. The 'Liars (I & II)' off the first EP was originally a live intro to 'Anyone But Us' until we released it had potential to be an actual song.

Who/what are you guys influenced by?

I suppose our biggest influence, especially for this EP, is bands we tour with. I definitely always come off tour really inspired to write, and there are so many great bands going around Australia right now, so it makes it pretty easy to learn off each other and still remain original. 

You guys have played a lot of shows around Australia, where's your favourite place to play?

That's definitely a tough one. A lot of our friends and their bands live in Brisbane so it's always good to catch up with them and play shows to a lot of familiar faces, Adelaide's always a huge party and I guess it's always great to come home and play at Karova in Ballarat. It's always just dependent on the vibe of the show, it's a lottery.

Any news on a full LP release any time soon?

It's on the cards but will be a while off, maybe a year or so. However there's already a mini library of tracks floating round which will most likely make an appearance on the album, it's definitely going to be different.

'Brothers In Violence' EP comes out September 3 2010 through SHOCK/I OH YOU.

ALBUM REVIEW: Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

(released on EMI, 2010) 

Review by Michael Bird

                                               

2.5/5

Whatever the Arcade Fire have done, live or in the studio, they’ve done it big. The mass chant on ‘Wake Up’ is BIG, as is the string-driven crescendo of ‘No Cars Go’ on the groups’ second album Neon Bible. The Arcade Fire have never pulled punches musically, and there was always a palpable sense of urgency about the band, as though all guns blazing was the only way they knew how to do things. Sadly, this isn’t the case with the freshly released (or leaked, if you got in early enough) third album from the Canadian outfit, The Suburbs.

The same basic elements are still presented well enough, and The Suburbs isn’t a bad record by any stretch: there’s still that ever-present ache in Win Butler’s voice, soaring strings over pounding drums and the right mix of songs pulled around by interesting chord changes and songs that just drag one progression through the mud for five minutes. The sum of all these parts is less than satisfying though, and there’s definitely something missing that was present on earlier albums. ‘Half Light I’ recalls the musical tension of ‘Laika’, but without the sincerity or insistence, and opening track ‘The Suburbs’ comes across as an anaemic version of the uplifting march of ‘Rebellion (Lies)’. The group might be striving for a more accessible, measured sound for their third album, but the result simply seems half-hearted and somehow less Arcade Fire-ey than one might hope.

There’s an unpleasant metallic sheen to the production of the album, something that had begun to creep into Neon Bible after the cheapish indie sound of Funeral. With more money to be spent production values are bound to rise, but some of the warmth and hope of earlier Arcade Fire releases came from their less than perfect quality. In addition to (or maybe because of) this, Win Butler’s delivery ends up sounding more whiny than impassioned, and at sixteen same-ish tracks the album well and truly wears out its welcome by the end. To the bands credit they have a clear focus, something that was absent from sophomore album Neon Bible. They have a certain sound they’re going for and certain content to get across lyrically, and they accomplish both of these things. The problem is just that the sound is somewhat middling and the lyrical content is tired and uninspiring. 

As the title suggests, The Suburbs is nostalgic and reflective. However, we’ve already heard Win Butler harp on about ghost towns and neighbourhood children, there’s nothing new here that Bruce Springsteen hasn’t said already (‘Born to Run’ would have fit into this album just fine). More than anything else, Butler just seems pissed off about something, and it’s not pleasant. Maybe it’s how he sees the suburbs now as compared to in his youth, the character of the youths themselves or perhaps the same kind of quasi-political beef that riddled Neon Bible. Whatever the case, Butler eschews joy and hope for white middle class PMS on The Suburbs, and it feels like maybe someone should just give the guy a hug.

Some brighter moments are the bouncy ‘Rococo’ and the apparently Depeche Mode inspired ‘Half Light II’, and The Suburbs isn’t without some charm. You get the feeling the album will come to life on stage, and some of the livelier tracks are bound to be crowd pleasers. It might be unfair to view The Suburbs in this light, but it might have been a great release from a band other than Arcade Fire. I could dance to ‘Month of May’, and ‘Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)’ is a fantastic excursion into 80’s electro, but the price you pay for putting out Funeral (…And Justice for All, OK Computer, Oracular Spectacular) is fighting heightened expectation and frustration when you release something so-so like The Suburbs (St. Anger, Amnesiac, Congratulations). Sad but true.

SPLENDOUR IN THE MUD, DUST AND GRASS

Written by Michael Bird

                                                 

English festival goers seem to think they have the market cornered on mud, but even hardened Glastonbury veterans would have wanted the man-sized gumboots for their arrival at Woodfordia late Thursday night. Late due to the truly epic gridlock on the one road that runs into Woodford, and grateful because what might once have been a grassy green field to set up camp on had become something more like an acres-wide version of the goalsquare at your local footy ground after a weekend of rain and trampling. Squishy.

Most of the 8593 tens, vans and market stalls were open for business on the Thursday night but only a few DJs were set up, so after setting up camp and comparing time spent in cars and buses with the next tent over, the night was more for exploring than getting into the music. The labyrinthine layout of the new venue took some getting used to, and after trekking through the smell of hotdog vendors and hippie healing tents for an hour, my girlfriend/navigator and I thought we’d reached the far end when we came across the imposing Mix-Up tent. After consulting a map and realising we’d only come a third of the way across Woodfordia, it became apparent just how big the venue was. The Amphitheatre (capital A) itself was quite something, a monstrous grassy slope leading down to the pit area and main stage. The grassy slope turned out to be perfect for a relaxing sit-down during the bands with less pulling power, and just as suited to the packed out human sardine-fest that was The Strokes (Florence, Pixies, Mumford, etc.). But first things first:

The first real ‘moment’ for Splendour came midway through the first day of bands, during a typically hard-hitting British India set. Interrupting what had so far been a head-banging good time, the entire PA cut out during the first verse of a surprise Beastie Boys cover (“Fight For Your Right”, of course), leaving only the faint whisper of raw sound from the amps on stage. The band soldiered on assuming the system would eventually come back to life, and the crowd happily filled in on vocals as well as they could, only to have the PA gloriously kick in again right on the first refrain of “YOU GOTTA FIGHT…FOR YOUR RIGHT!” from front man Declan Melia. It was fantastic timing, and not many on the hill could resist joining the band with a full-blooded “TO PAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARTY!”.

Yeasayer prompted the first mass dance-along of the day, fighting through the heat to deliver an energetic set full of their schizophrenic brand of dance/pop/80s/digital freak-out. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club was about as dark and dirty as the festival got, all filthy alt-country guitars and snarled vocals. ‘Music to wear leather to’, a concise review from a friend, was a good summing up of it, and while they delivered a largely flawless set, the mood ran contrary to what most people were looking for, which is likely why they got less of a response than the more accessible ‘good time’ bands that followed them.

Angus and Julia Stone ambled on stage later that night, and without any banter (or a decent band) launched into somewhat lazy versions of their hits. The set might have been more enjoyable for those who managed to get their own splendiferous grass past security, but the siblings themselves just came off as uninspired, way past laid back and thoroughly disappointing. The crowd cheered the first chords of hits ‘Big Jet Plane’ and ‘Wasted’, but couldn’t will those on stage to greater heights. Thankfully Ben Harper picked up the slack and then some, closing out the first night with an emotional run of songs and a stunning ten-minute lap-steel guitar solo. I’ve never known much about Harper or cared much for his music, but his friendly nature and soulful delivery kept the main arena captivated past midnight. INXS drummer Jon Farriss took to the stage at Harper’s invitation to perform a rousing rendition of ‘Never Tear Us Apart’, complete with a string section, slide guitar in lieu of a saxophone and a massive sing along from the crowd, which left those lucky enough to be there with a warm fuzzy feeling in their stomachs (not just from dodgy kebabs) at the close of the first day.

Saturday belonged to international headline acts, but honourable mentions go to The Drums for some truly demented tambourine action, The John Steel Singers for great energy and horse-headed ballroom dancers (I know), Bluejuicefor some fantastic Boosh-inspired costumes and Laura Marling for being a trooper and attempting to play through sound problems that eventually forced her to shorten her set. Sound desk issues were unfortunately a feature of the festival, from sudden PA drop-outs to instruments disappearing from the mix and grating volume jumps, my band of merry campers counted only two bands in total we saw on the first two days who didn’t have noticeable sound problems. It’s bound to happen sometimes of course, but when you’re hosting a barrel of international acts it goes beyond being irritating for punters and performers and becomes a bit embarrassing for the festival, and maybe the screws could have been tightened a little more in terms of professionalism.

As you’d expect, Flo and Casablancas and Co. drew the biggest crowds of the day, to the extent that punters were eventually turned away from the main stage and bars were shut down, presumably to nip any drunken rage in the bud. From all reports people were eventually let through to the Amphitheatre, and both bands obliged with a barrage of hits familiar to anyone who listens to Triple J (95% of those present, surely). Curiously, The Strokes’ on-stage backdrop seemed to be the biggest talking point following their set, and call me a traditionalist but I’d rather be blown away by the music rather than images of Pong and Pacman on a video screen. A satisfied crowd is a satisfied crowd though, and those who sucked in their guts and squeezed into the pit for The Strokes were just that.

The last day of Splendour in the Grass for 2010 started the same way as the others, with a tent like a greenhouse, a plate of Dutch pancakes and a few mellow bands to get things going. Boy & Bear were in perfect harmony with one another and with the crowd throughout their set, which included a well-polished cover of Bon Iver’s ‘Flume’. It was just that kind of festival really, a big indie love fest which regularly saw artists name-checking and even performing with other bands, much to the delight of the crowds (standout Mix-Up tent act K-OS even took time out from rapping to talk up Canadian underground heroes Broken Social Scene). There were some more intense moments, like Cec Condon of The Mess Hall drumming with such ferocity that he smashed right through a snare, or the frenetic Energizer bunny action provided by last-minute replacements Art vs. Science, but for the most part Splendour was all about luxuriating in the healthy state of the indie rock scene at present.

An exception to this mood of general leisure and relaxation was, predictably, Icelandic demi-god Jonsi. The Sigur Ros front man is currently touring his latest solo effort Go, an album bursting at the seams with childish enthusiasm.  It was unclear how the cathartic, glacial style of much of Jonsi’s work with Sigur Ros would gel with this newfound optimism, but the answer soon became clear: beautifully. With a five-piece band costumed like nomadic-elf-fairy-pixie-princes (how often do you see a bald 30-something drummer wearing a felt crown?), Jonsi began his set without ceremony, a few quiet numbers to warm up the crowd and the vocal chords. The first portion of his show was worryingly uninspiring, especially given the hyped up state of the dance-tent crowd. However, a few kick-bass driven songs later the band really hit their stride, creating the perfect backdrop for Jonsi’s vocal theatrics, all the way from the near rap of Animal Arithmetic to his trademark falsetto croon.

If there was one thing missing from the show as it neared its end, it was the spiritual catharsis one has come to expect from Jonsi’s performances. With two songs to go though, Jonsi emerged form a backstage break wearing a meter-tall headdress, replete with rainbow feathers and long trailing ribbons of flowers, which was clearly the equivalent of Superman stepping out from a phone booth. The last number, following a few shy words from the man himself, began gently before beginning to swell, and anyone in the crowd who knew Sigur Ros could sense something was happening. Five (maybe fifteen, I couldn’t say) minutes later, the whole tent was buried under an immense wall of sound, and it was the only time all weekend I saw a crowd with hands raised up in rapture and disbelief rather than simple approval. Jonsi looped his last vocal melody through some pedals and then took to pacing, stalking around the stage howling into the two mics he held, one in each hand. As much exorcism as performance, the band began to simply beat as much noise as they could out of their instruments, while Jonsi threw himself about, feathers and tassels flying as he shook and cried out over the crescendo.

It might all sound like hyperbole, especially in comparison to the rest of the weekend, but it truly was a stand-alone moment. There were some great sets from a lot of bands, mostly great because they were fun, accessible and completely nailed the party atmosphere of the festival. Jonsi brought something completely different with him, and it deserves to be talked about in language different to the rest of the shows.

Mumford and Sons serenaded a packed Amphitheatre crown with a mixture of balladry, foot-stomping energy and English charm, and I hope Angus and Julia were taking notes (well, Julia was on stage, along with ten others who added vocals and percussion for a few tracks. Still). Of course, Little Lion Man was huge, as was The Cave and the other tracks you hear on the radio every five minutes. Mr. Mumford was good natured about the lack of attention payed to the bands earlier work though, joking that they could now play old songs as new songs. Everything the band said was funny or sweet, really. There was a call for an inflatable zebra from the back of the arena, and a very sincere, humble thanks to Australia for support, the biggest show Mumford have played and ‘the best festival in the world this year’. Mind you, they really could have said anything with those accents…

There was no such ceremony from the Pixies, who proved they’ve still got it with a typically abrasive set with the occasional crowd-pleaser. As you might expect, many members of the crowd who were unfamiliar with the Pixies’ material decided that they didn’t want ‘it’ at all, and left a few songs in after realising the headline act for the festival was mostly just a fat bald guy screaming. Those who stayed though (and there were many) were treated to a self-assured set from a band that knows what they do well and can do it easily. Where Is My Mind? got the biggest cheer, but hits (insofar as the Pixies have hits) Here Comes Your Man and Gigantic were also well received. Frank Black even made a joke. Weird.

Those who abandoned the main stage during the Pixies set would have either caught some dreamy dance-pop from Empire of the Sun or a spectacular dummy spit from ex-Verve front man Richard Ashcroft, who lasted a whole half a song before throwing his tambourine across the stage and storming off due to a relatively small crowd. Poor form, especially considering what those in the crowd were missing to see him. This might be a rare exception to the ‘all publicity is good publicity’ rule, and Mr. Ashcroft may have shot himself in the foot in regards to a successful solo career.

Ashcroft and the sound guys were the only real black marks on Splendour for 2010, besides the usual festival niggles like over zealous security and drunk bogans. The rain held off the whole weekend (the early mud was more than enough), there was enough deep fried food for everyone and bands and punters alike seemed to enjoy every minute. London based Fanfarlo were a suitable microcosm of the festival: songs ranging from Arcade Fire-esque big band energy to restrained acoustic tinklings, goodwill and humility from the band, room to sit down, stand up or dance in a circle with your indie-fairy girlfriends, and an exodus as soon as the last note had been sung to go find more mid-strength beer and vege-burgers.

ALBUM REVIEW: M.I.A - /\/\/\Y/\ (Maya)

(released on XL Recordings, 2010)

Review by Sean Sebastian

                                                

A lot of you out there would base your interest in M.I.A's latest on the genius of Born Free. The single's release was perfectly pitched. The visceral and explicit political themes were punctuated by Romain Gavras' gritty accompanying short film. M.I.A found herself the most blogged about artist shortly after and, to-date, the video has gotten 2,943,985 views on her website, since its release on April 26th. Critics applauded the brazen depiction of genocide, MTV calling it "unflinchingly, unapologetically real". Though the irony that the sector of society being rounded up in the film are, in fact, red-headed kids, seems to be largely overlooked in reviews.

Check out the video here.

The song itself is electrifying. Raw and energetic, the droning bass line and rattling drums mirror M.I.A's anti-political sentiment: "I was close to the ants, staying under cover, With my nose to the ground..." The tone is reminiscent of one Zach de la Roca and it’s refreshing to hear something like that in an artist like M.I.A. But the problem is the rest of her album is aurally and ideologically a sloppy mess. There are some mildly enjoyable moments in Maya, namely the light-hearted, elevator-music-sounding It Takes A Muscle. The sweeping melody and haunting choir of Tell Me Why are also particularly catchy. However, any political statement loses its credibility when placed alongside a track like

Enough said.

BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE - Corner Hotel, Richmond 2/7/2010.

Written by Sean Sebastian
Photos by Shaun Rawlins
                                                   


“sometimes feels as if several songs are going at once,” – Dave Simpson, The Guardian, January 2006.

“There are so many artists, voices and instruments begging to be heard,” Andrew Bradick, Prefix, October 2005.

Any supposed indie rock band that can pull off a saxophone, harmonica, trumpet and flute simultaneously is worthy of praise.


Broken Social Scene are well known for their musically dense and layered sound and for the fact that they have had, at one point or another, 19 members in the band. Most prominent in this community of artists is Leslie Feist, Metric’s Emily Haines and lead-man Kevin Drew. Present at Monday’s gig however, were Kevin Drew, fellow founding member Brendan Canning, drummer Justin Peroff, Charles Spearin, Andrew Whiteman and a small selection of other multi-instrumentalists. Going in to see a band with such a fan base as strong and widespread as theirs, you’d expect the crowd to be teeming with excitement. But standing comfortably amongst them, the fans are generally quiet and calm, even as the band emerged timidly on-stage, Drew, clad in a black beanie he never abandoned during the night and a t-shirt that screamed "BOLLOCKS TO POVERTY". The rest followed similarly: with about as much excitement as a teen showing up to a family barbecue. 

Having never seen the band live before, I came into the venue a little reticent. Their albums are busy to say the least, and with their quite meagre set up on stage, I wondered if they can't actually translate their sound with any quality. But all doubts left me as Spearin plucks those bizarre opening chords to World Sick. Particularly rewarding was Fire Eye'd Boy, as Andrew Whiteman sings confidently, "Fire eye'd boy, give em all the slip" and the crowd finally shows some energy; swaying and bouncing awkwardly.   

Critics are always sure to point out the band’s busy sound, and the same can be said for their live shows. In between songs band members wander about the stage, swapping guitars for basses, keyboards for mics and basses for trumpets, while the beautiful Lisa Lobsinger floats sweetly around them and the crowd waits silently and patiently. The band is well aware of this, however, and are sure to fill up this possibly tedious time with a rolling bass line and some witty, albeit occasionally painfully awkward banter, mainly between Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning. 

Watching them on-stage feels like sitting in on one of their rehearsals. The set was lacking in any conventional structure, particularly evident as Kevin Drew announces towards the end of the gig, “This is now the encore portion of your night…”  You could always catch an almost worried sideways glance at other members, seemingly wondering what came next. And Kevin Drew, while playing Lover’s Spit, stops abruptly and asks the crowd, “Wait, what’s the next line?”


The crowd was offered a few glimpses at showmanship, but these were ill-conceived. As the set finished up with a climactic 5 strike ending to Meet Me in the Basement, Drew shouts, "Thank You!" over the splash of a cymbal. The crowd cheers and throws their hands up. Then the band all kick in again and play another finishing bar. The crowd reacts again, clapping wildly. Then they play through another couple of bars. The crowd continues to applaud faithfully, but the screams had noticeably died down. Then the band starts up for the 4th time, this time finalised by Drew's farewell, "We love you all. Thank you." Needless to say, there was a mixed reaction in the crowd, some turning to their friends in complete awe, others (myself included) turned and rolled my eyes in frustration. I witnessed a similar reaction after the credits rolled on the last Lord of the Rings film.

THE STROKES - Festival Hall, Melbourne 30/07/2010

Written by Sean Sebastian 
                                                   


“Melbourne. You guys are fucking loud and crazy, do ya know that?” 

image via: http://musicfeeds.com.au/

Their first show in Melbourne since 2006, The Strokes emerged to the pounding (and assumedly sardonic use of the) drums of We Will Rock You and 5000 manic fans. They opened with New York City Cops and the crowd instantly recognizes it from the first chord. And that’s the most startling dynamic one comes to noticing standing amidst an audience of The Strokes fans:  they have to be one of the most avid and zealous fan bases  the last decade. As the concert went on, the crowd never let up. A cheer for every track went up before the first bar is finished, whether it be the upbeat bass line of Last Nite, the clean, palm-muted rhythm of You Only Live Once, or even the Pete Townsend-esque opening chords to Soma. And it wasn’t only the rowdy drunks present in every mosh, it was also the 40-year-old mothers of younger fans (evidently fans themselves) and the clean-cut inner city twenty-somethings and even the likes of MasterChef star, Matt Preston. So I come to writing this review with some caution, lest a gang of fundamentalist fans send me a letter bomb.

That being said, there honestly is not much you can criticise in a Strokes live set. They come out decked in their rock star gear, Casablancas with the usual leather jacket and Hammond Jr. in an 80’s looking white suit. And they play perfectly on every track, highlights of which being Hammond Jr’s furious, hammer-on-filled solo to Vision of Division and Casablancas ripping through Juicebox, “You’re so cold.” But if there was one thing that degrades their performance, it would be their lack of energy. Fraiture and Valensi simply rock back and forth, their faces stony. Casablancas leans heavily on his mic stand for nearly the entire set and never strays far from it. Hammond Jr. was the only redeeming member with his head-banging, bouncing and smiling happily about the stage. 


I overheard a couple talking after the show was over,

“How’d you like it?”

“Yeah, it was really great. Kinda just seemed like they were doing a job though.”

That sums it up perfectly.

An evening with Jamie Hutchings, 30/07/2010

Written and photographed by Timothy Casten
                                                                                     
 
I had arranged to do a photoshoot with Jamie Hutchings for yesterday afternoon and I was waiting outside the Builder’s Arms in Fitzroy where he was going to play that night. He was due to arrive in Melbourne at about 4pm and I was meeting him at 5 but his flight was delayed an hour. Extremely apologetic on arrival, Jamie Hutchings greeted me with great enthusiasm and introduced me to one of his mates and his brother (and drummer for his set later that night) Scott Hutchings. The band room of the Builder’s Arms was a little odd. Large flower shaped lights hanging off heavily patterned walls with images of a tropical nightscape painted on. It was a little dark, not the best place for photos, but once inside we started our photoshoot. After a few photos indoors we moved out to the street for a few more.


Jamie Hutchings is the enigmatic frontman of Bluebottle Kiss. Formed in the mid 90’s, Bluebottle Kiss took influences from musicians like Nick Cave and Neil Young and bands like Sonic Youth and fellow Sydney band Crow. To date BBK have released 6 albums plus a number of EP’s. In 2002 Jamie released his first solo album The Golden Coach. He is currently touring his second solo album His Imaginary Choir and is preparing for a European tour which starts next week. I spoke to Jamie as I took photos of him in the street. He explained that he’s been busy finishing off his next solo album, which has been recorded on an 8-track tape recorder. Anticipate a more “raw” sound he said, something that “isn’t as pretty” as His Imaginary Choir. It should be expected (hopefully) early next year. As for new Bluebottle material? Don’t get your hopes up just yet. A live album that was recorded in 2007 has finally been mastered but a release date hasn’t been set yet. And it doesn’t seem like it will be anytime soon either, but here’s to hoping!

I returned later that evening to see Jamie Hutchings play his set. After a crowd pumping set by Isaac De Heer and an amazing set from Lehmann B Smith (the second time I’ve seem him and his small troupe perform in a week – he also opened for The Parking Lot Experiments last Saturday) Jamie took to the stage. On his acoustic guitar, accompanied only by his brother on drums, he started off with his single After the Flood. The set was a good mix of new and old, a few songs including his single Sir I’m Going to Have To Ask You To Leave from his latest album, some from his first, some from the Bluebottle Kiss catalogue and even a cover of Big Star’s Thirteen. He then went on to play an incredible rendition of Everything Begins and Ends at Exactly the Right Time before heading offstage. He seemed somewhat flustered, shy even, in front of the audience, but at the same time was very happy to be so as long as he could play the music. After a small chant for an encore he returned to the stage. “Is there anything you’d like to hear?” he asked the audience. There were calls for songs from all over the crowd before he starts playing (definitely the highlight of my night) an all acoustic version of Girl Genius from BBK’s 1999 album Patient. Scott is then invited back onto the drums before they end a remarkable night with The Weight of the Sea, closing with Belles of the South.

Jamie starts his European tour on the 5th of August.

Dates are on his myspace http://www.myspace.com/jamiehutchings