Yell and Yell

So you may have noticed that it has been quite some time since my last post. I have been to lots of gigs (Laneway festival, Them Crooked Vultures,which were only Auckland so didn’t really wanna write about them) and also lots of christchurch gigs but I just haven’t been inspired to write about any of them. I guess I’ve been a bit jaded lately. There was a cool party for Brian’s birthday, Squirm and How to Kill were really great, Die Die Die and Health but I just haven’t been enthused enough about any of them to write. I guess I’m a bit of a fascist and I like change… I like bands to have something new everytime I see them or just to play the same thing differently somehow… This is what the bands I play in strive to do, but then we get persecuted for not working through our songs enough and playing new songs too often, not allowing our “fans” to get to know the old ones. Well I don’t give a FUCK. Because it’s more fun for me. That’s all that matters.

BUT

The 3ds blew everyone involved away last night. It was phenomenal.

Street Chant started off. They’re ok. Probably the best I’ve seen them, still nothing to write home about. Great musicians, drummer is really tight and really fast but maybe plays a bit much (for my opinion) I found just as I was getting into the “groove” the drum line would change and I would have to start trying to feel the pulse again. Guitar work is awesome, Bass is cool and solid as, but yeah.. can’t really remember any of the songs. And I’ve seen them about 5 times now.

I had some trouble getting into the Lo-Liners at first. To be honest I was kind of intimidated. These 4 tough looking women on stage… Just dominating their instruments. But after about 2 songs I “got it” and enjoyed most of the set. Can’t really recall any of the indivdual songs. But just enjoyed watching and listening to the sludgy kind of riffs (a little bit Batrider esq, sorry for the women to women comparison.)

The 3ds

woah woah woah

I saw these guys at Laneway festival (basically the only reason I went up) and to be honest was a little bit disappointed. I guess they were quite nervous and the conditions must have been horrible (big stage, bad sound, first gig in years, shitty echo and the bunnymen eating into their time etc.) But tonight made it all worth while. I guess because I got to see a bad set (IMO) and an amazing set I’ve had the whole 3ds experience. I was front row right in front of Dave Saunders and his amp but was also lucky enough to have Dave Mitchells amp pointing straight at me. Usually I wear ear plugs but for the 3ds this is sacrilege. The guitars just penetrated… “twin guitar hysteria” They played all the hits of course! Apart from spooky… but hey I forgive them. Hey Seuss was incredible. Venus Trail was mind blowing. Just something about hearing two guitars playing seperate riffs (both amazing) and then meeting for one moment every few bars is special. Everyone had huge smiles on their face. The sound was great! A few technical issues but they dealt with them very well.

Dave Mitchell is king. They have honourary (sp) doctorites (Sp) I’m gonna reccommend to the queen that he gets one. Is she married? I guess if they hooked up he would kind of be king. But he doesn’t need an official title for me. He will always be my king. Those of you who know me will know that I more than regularly wear a 3ds tshirt with some of Dave’s artwork on it. I wore this last night.. bit of a fanboy, but I am a fanboy. What was also amazing was to see so many of my musical heroes in the front few rows going absolutely gaga over the 3ds, people who are usually on the stage with people going absolutely gaga for them. They are legendary and for good reason. To have such an influential band like Die Die Die bend at the knees in the front row over them must mean something.

This whole write up has been a bit iffy. But I just have too many things to say about this gig. Only downside was the turnout. It was big but nowhere near as big as it should be for such a magical band. But your loss really.

I love Lyttelton!

It’s such a great place. If I wasn’t studying at Canterbury I’d totally move to Lyttelton. Last night was the kind of gig that reminds everyone involved why they do what they do… bar tenders, musicians, music fans maybe even sailors I guess?

El Santo is my new favourite venue in chch. As soon as we arrived we felt really comfortable. One of the worst parts about being in a band is playing at a new venue and turning up and just feeling really uncomfortable before you play, during the set and after the set. El Santo had none of those problems. The staff were really great, the room was really nice, monteiths on tap, easy to set up vocal p.a. and eventually a big crowd who were there because it was a cool place to hang out but stayed and watched both the bands despite knowing nothing about them. The highlight of playing in a band is a gig where you’re on the floor sorrounded by people who you know and love and behind them a whole bunch of new people you dont know who are tapping their feet and have smiles on their face. I hope you get what I mean?

We (T54) played first. We were all very sleepy from recording late into the night on Friday then getting up early and we had only been asked to do the gig at about 1pm that day. But once again being tired before a set proved to do wonders. Because we felt so comfortable and relaxed we just played a really good intimate set. The crowd were really responsive and positive and I love playing so close to all my friends. Being on a drum riser gets pretty lonely. We played a few new ones and a few old ones. All the songs we’d recorded the previous night were sounding good. It was definitely a refreshing gig and I hope we can play on the ground more. Also because it was just two three pieces we just mic’d vocals and controlled our own levels which is always nice.

Here is a video recorded by James Musgrave of our last song Localism. We recorded this one so hopefully you will hear it soon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBUPJcU13g8

Next up were the transistors. Now I have seen the transistors many times and they honestly do get better every time. I guess it’s because I get used to their songs which are deceivingly catchy. Admittedly I stood outside for their whole set. Because I was exhausted and it was a lovely evening. But because the venue is small and intimate I could hear the whole thing and I could watch Ollie through the window. The transistors are really, really good. I’ve always thought they were since the first time I saw them in 2006. But their set at the moment is so energetic and infectious. The highlight for me (of course) is their drummer Ollie. Who is easily the fastest, tightest drummer around and to top it off he does vocals in most of the songs and even lead vocals in some of them. Watch him.

James the guitarist/singer is really smooth… like super smooth. When I grow up wanna be just like him. He has real cool stage presence and a cool looking guitar (did i mention they often have stage uniforms?) Colin the bass player is just chilling. he just chills on stage with a big grin on his face and chugs along on his bass. Together they are a really fast, really cool band. But recently their songs have really been developing and have cool melodies and very cool rhythms aswell. I should really get their album so I can comment more… I will.

Anyway here is a video also filmed by Mr Musgrave (on his cellphone) of The Transistors

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SdF1E4isJY

Vibe = 10/10

So keep these points in mind

1 - Lyttelton rules

2 - El Santo rules

3 - No stage rules

4 - The Transistors rule

5 - You should watch T54 and decide whether they rule too or not…

From now on Goodbye Blue Monday should have gigs on weeknights. I haven’t felt such good vibes at a GBM gig since maybe… Je Suis Animal. Everyone there knew each other and everyone was into the music. DO IT!

I still haven’t got my card reader sorted so no bootlegs yet… but I’ll get around to it. Maybe new years resolution?

Erasmus Eli started their set with just a few solo songs from “front man” Tim Moore. Who I’m sure you all know. I haven’t actually seen Tim play often. A few times with von klap, a few times with cowboy machine and a few times at Monday Machine. But every time it’s different and always awesome. He opened with a song which he sometimes plays with Monday Machine called Dark Child (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTVNHKh-QA8) and it is one of the best songs I’ve heard in a long time. I had it stuck in my head for weeks and had it in my head all night last night. Listen out for it. After the 3 solo tunes band mates Mikey and Sam got up. What was great about this is that instead of a bass Mikey used his viola through a few pedals, notably an octave pedal. This gave an authentic “Viola Bass” which would make Paul McKartney turn in his grave. The songs were great and the viola bass gave a really interesting layer. Still had the rich tones of the viola but with a real grunty fuzz to fill out the bass lines. The drums were cool, Sam’s a very creative drummer and manages to always pull off this kind of messy yet mechanical style. I really enjoyed Erasmus Eli and hope they keep playing in that format. It was only their second gig.

I’ve heard the Leper Ballet albums a few times at parties and at friends houses. And I have mixed feelings about it. It starts off really well and gets progressively worse. This set was quite the opposite. Not that it started bad. It was great. Opening with a kind of noisy build up and into their kind of circus-y surf-y instrumental. Good start. But after that I got a little bit bored. I wasn’t sure what to think of the singer. I though maybe he was putting it on a bit much.

As the set went on every part of the band grew on me. Especially the singer. I realised he wasn’t putting on at all. He was just crazy. I guess because they were playing to all their old friends who knew them well and knew all their songs the band and the crowd felt really comfortable. But it took me a while to “get it.” Once I got it I loved it. The guitarist and the drummer have really great stage presence. Like they are in a completely different world and their bodies are just left their going through the motions. They’re like zombies, really cool zombies. The whole set was like a perfect soundtrack to one of my favourite movies, Metropolis. The rhythm section was like a really cluttered factory. With a lot of different parts. All working together perfectly but never quite the same. They have so many different changes and rhythms in every song and pull it off perfectly. If you know me very well you still probably won’t know that I’m a sucker for a scary waltz. And The Leper Ballet are the lords of the scary waltz. They’re not hard to do but they’re hard to do well… and scarily..

So The Leper Ballet exceeded my expectations. I expected them to be crazy but didn’t know if I’d particularly like it. I can now see what all the hyped nostalgia is about. I hope they get inspired and make some more music.

Favourite song from favourite band at the Red Panda Xmas Party

Looking forward to seeing them tonight with Die Die Die

The Guest

In no particular order.

Lawrence Arabia + Panther and the Zoo - Repertory Theatre

As I mentioned earlier. This ruled. It wasn’t super party vibes, it was just nice. The music was genuinely great and the crowd were there for nothing but the music.

Mountaineater + How to Kill - Wunderbar

This was a revelation for me. Super sonic. The first gig I preferred, mainly because it was the first time I’d properly seen them and they were on form. Definitely see these two bands. How to Kill are awesome and I hope they start playing more often. Mountaineater are just… what was the term? Face melting. Tristan is the most amazing performer to watch.

Je Suis Animal + Bad Sav - Goodbye Blue Monday

I’d never heard this band or heard of them or anything but I knew James Milne was “promoting” them. I trust James Milne. It was a Wednesday night at Goodbye Blue Monday so everyone there was there for the music. Bad Sav were a real surprise. Much better than Hope’s previous bands. Real “evil” and “jangly” kind of Gordonsy I guess. Love Evil. Je Suis Animal were quite different. Just good vibes! But not too good vibes. Still lots of neat guitar layering. I thing 3 guitars at a time? And the songs were really catchy and melodic. I bought the album. It’s one of my faves.

Havin’ a Baby (Liam Finn, Eliza Jane, Lawrence Arabia and Connan Mockasin - Bedford

How could this gig not be good? 4 of my favourite singers/songwriters, my favourite drummer (Seamus Ebbs of original Connan and the Mockasins,) my favourite percussionist (Will Ricketts of The Phoenix Foundation) and my favourite of everything and life in general (Jolyon Mulholland of Fuce, Reduction Agents, Gasoline Cowboy, The Mots, that Vodafone ad, The Nothing and a whole lot of other shit.) So you can see why I was bending at the knees to see this gig. The whole thing was structured really well with enxt to no changeovers but just enough time to get over the last amazing set and prepare for the next one. They all played everything you wanted to hear. Connans set was particularly spectacular. Was good to see Connan and Seamus playing together again. Even when the fire alarm went off they went outside and played I’m only sleeping (my fave Beatles ballad on top of a car (possibly Jamey’s (my favourite singer/poster guy) Just a night made for me.

Greg Malcolm and Surfin’ USSR at Goodbye Blue Monday

Wow - this was also a revelation. If you haven’t seen this band… you really should. Probably don’t deserved to be punched in the face because they don’t play very often. They’re the most cohesive band I have ever seen. 3 piece where everyone is perfectly equal. Chris O’Conner is my new idol. He is just THE greatest drummer ever. No question. So relaxed but furious at the same time. They look cool and they sound cool. Greg is an awesome front man, with awesome banter. I was so blown away by them that I went home and just looked up videos for a week and tried to be exactly like Chris until I got sick of dropping my sticks all the time. They have a new album coming out sometime. I snuck into their recording and oggled all day long. It will be great.

Insurgents and Sand Fly Bay - Media Club

All ages gigs are awesome. Everyones so relaxed and fun. It was so great to see the Insurgents again and this was their 3rd gig of the tour so they’d really gotten their shit together. Nostalgia man. I hadn’t been a hugggge fan before they split but always went to their shows and enjoyed it. But when I was away with Chris I lived in a van with him… listening to new mixes of their songs over and over again every night. So I grew to love them/him. But the real highlight for me at this gig was Sand Fly Bay. It was the first time I’d seen them properly and was their first time with new bass player Ben Odering. They had obviously brought the crowd in with them because everyone went wild for them and they really fed off that. They are great showmen and all know their instruments. Seeing a highschool band play to their bros rules. More nostalgia. This was also the first gig I went to at the “New Media Club” now run by Mainz. It’s made for a lot of good times in ChCh and I don’t know what we’d do without it.

Ruby Suns + Sand Fly Bay + Lonely Harris Club + Strange to Meet You - Playskool

Another awesome all ages gig. The crowd was out in force again and really went wild for The Ruby Suns. Even though only a few had heard them before. They’d just been told that The Rubies were awesome so they went crazy.

Die Die Die + Sets + Bang Bang Eche + Disasteradio - Bedford

Die Die Die are unbeatable. The best live band you will ever see. I can’t even begin to describe how good they are and I don’t really need to because everyone else does. So I won’t. This was also the first time I “got” Bang Bang Eche. They’re good.

The Bats + Haunted Love - Dux de Lux

Good vibes. Love the bats. Love Haunted Love. Again neither of these bands really need me to write about them. Well none of the bands I write about do but I will anyway. The Bats are just awesome. Paul and Malcolm are just the rhythm section of the 80s, 90s and today. Bobs songs are great particularly the tracks off the Guilty Office. I’m a big fan. Kaye just has the nicest guitar tones around. I use nice a lot. Nice is nice.

Lawrence Arabia (solo) + Ragamuffin Children - Wunderbar

Last one. You may notice my reviews are getting smaller as my fingers get tired. I love Lawrence Arabia. We have already established this. Solo is something quite different. Better in some ways. Because without a band he has just as much if not more stage presence. Hes just such a man. I hope he continues to play solo shows even once he’s made it. Ragamuffin Children are great. I have a secret soft spot for them. Didn’t used to dig but after the second album I fell in love. Then they asked me to fill in. It was nice. And now I really like their first album. Even though they haven’t given me a copy yet. They change all the time. From a two piece right up to a 6 piece and each is different and lovely. This was a 3 piece I think. With 2 vocals and piano. The harmonies are lovely.

There are my 10 favourite gigs that I haven’t played at. Didn’t wanna be a dick aye. Always the music is good but for me the “vibe” has to be good too. Otherwise I get pissed off. So its a combination of both music and “vibe” but never just vibe… sometimes just music.

Magic Eye - Under the Sheets from the Red Panda Xmas Show

Heres my favourite song from Ghostwork’s set on Saturday night

Favourite song from T54’s set on Saturday. Will upload songs from each of the other bands as my upload limit allows

It is hard to describe in words how seriously good this show was. Like it was just really, really…. nice.

Almost everything about it was perfect.

Panther and the Zoo - http://www.myspace.com/pantherandthezoo

The first band up was Panther and the Zoo. I’d seen Panther and the Zoo earlier in the year and thought it was ok but not.. you know? amazing. And this time it was the same kind of feeling except because of the environment of the concert they worked a lot better. With a slight line up change to the last time I saw them (new drummer borrowed from brunettes to replace one lost to the ruby suns) they were different than before but not better or worse. The singer/songwriter Graham Panther is really cool. His voice is possibly the highlight of the band. Reminiscent of Beirut. Nice and smooth and always in pitch. Hayden East who generally played bass does wicked harmonies and is always spot on pitch wise and is just chilled out all the time. John on the drums was spot on and chances are he only had a few practices before the tour. Everyone seemed to be commenting on how good the drums were, I agreed despite him suffering my worst (regular) nightmare, the sliding forwards of the bass drum. The highlights of the set were always the songs with electric guitar as opposed to the usual acoustic. It just added a lot more interest to the songs I thought. I think as a band they were really good for this particular show rather than a sweaty bar show. James chose very well.

Lawrence Arabia - www.myspace.com/lawrencearabia

The “headline” act Lawrence Arabia (James Milne and band) took EVERYTHING to the next level. Like any musician in Christchurch that hasn’t seen James perform in any of the projects he has been involved in should be punched in the face (if they wear glasses let them take them off first.)I’m terrible with names of songs but the new 5 piece band came on and just started with perfect 4 (possibly 5) part harmonies and it immediately stunned the entire theatre into silence… and kept them that way for the next hour or so. I don’t know how James does it. But he manages to captivate everyone wherever he goes. Even if its just walking past you on the street. You just stand there in stunned silence. Not that I’m a fanboy or anything, it’s just what happens. His music is perfect but not only that his whole philosophy on music/life and manner is perfect. I met him once when I was in highschool I think and I had long hair and terrible sideburns and he introduced himself to me at a gig we were at. I didn’t see him again for about 2 years and I went to a gig in London that he was DJing at and I walked in the door all clean shaven 2 years older and he said “Hey Matt how ya going?”

I don’t know how relevant that is but I think one of the keys to his success is how great he is as a person in general particularly at being everyones best muso friend. He collaborates with everyone and everyone wants to collaborate with him.

Anyway back to the show. They played all the songs everyone wants to hear including the best reduction agents songs I’ve heard played bar by the reduction agents. The new band is his best Lawrence Arabia lineup yet. With a sneaky rhythm section who just crap all over any rhythm section anywhere and even sing perfectly at any point in any song. Hayden from Panther and the Zoo is now in the lineup and appears to have been in it for years, but no second show… he sings in most of the songs and moves around the guitars, bass and keys like a pro. And the new axeman whose name slips my mind (I don’t research) is wicked cool at axe and wicked funny and jokes n shit.

During the first song James and Hayden both broke strings but they managed to turn it into hilarious awkward banter. Hence every bit of the show being perfect. The only downside was the buzz that continued through the whole show. After casual discussion with a certain sound engineering genius I came to the conclusion through his conclusion this must have been due to the in house lighting rig. But with some more sneaky soundwork this was for the most part covered up.

This show will definitely been in my top 10 possibly 5 of the year.. once I figure them all out. If you missed it you should feel like shit because it won’t happen in that setting again. The repertory provided a really intimate setting but in a sophisticated way rather than a drunken party way, which I think is a great contrast from past Lawrence/Reduction Agents gigs I’ve seen. Next time you’ll have to pay more and share the room with a whole lot more people. But it’ll still be worth it. I’ll be there.

Highlight - the whole Lawrence Arabia set. Every single bit. Particularly the slow parts with the Beach Boys esq harmonies finally as good if not better than on the recordings.

Here are some photos taken by Chris Andrews

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fraew/sets/72157622981743224/

This was a big gig, 5 bands and many more DJ’s. Since I didn’t listen intently and never have listened to any DJ’s I will not make any comments, just the bands.

I have live recordings from this concert. I will get them up soon.

Magic Eye - www.myspace.com/magiceyemusic

Magic Eye are a pretty rad band. I have only seen them twice and by a few unfortunate complications have filled in on drums for them twice. Their recordings are great. Go have a listen.

This gig was presumed to be very messy as bass player Jono couldn’t make gig at last minute so drummer Mike Ellis moved to bass and learnt all the songs on the night and I filled in on drums. But the set went better than expected. Brian has really good stage presence and does some awesome delay work with his guitar. Mike is a great bass player. He picked up everything really quickly and is solid as F***. And his backing vocals were spot on. It was fun. And I believe it sounded good I hope I can jam with them again in the future… I also hope I can watch them again in the future.

Favourite track was under the sheets.

Ghostwork - www.myspace.com/ghostworksongs

So admitedly I missed Ghostwork because I had to go to work but made sure I saw the two songs at soundcheck and listened to what everyone had to say after. EVERYONE I talked to loved it, even Joe Veale who is often pretty neutral towards bands. But I’ve listened through to the recordings now and it was cool, wish I was there. Will (singer/songwriter) really, really loves what he does. Very passionate in his delivery and even at soundcheck was moving fluently with the music… kind of reminiscent of Tristen from Mountaineater/HDU I guess. The new 5 piece works really well. Nothing better than 3 guitars playing all playing separate parts (polyphonically?) Dan the drummer and Thomas the bass player are really solid. Never miss a beat but not too static. Just what a band like this needs to lay down a foundation for the guitars.

For their first gig in this lineup it sounds very well rehearsed. I look forward to seeing them get used to playing live and hope they get prolific azz.

Favourite track was the 4th one with the two guitar melodies going… This town needs guns esq.

The Guest - www.myspace.com/theguestchch

fuck

I saw these guys at a party called Frolic in the Field a few months ago and I thought they were cool. Real badass like and seemed like they could be cool in the future… I guess last night was the future because they were so good. I really, really enjoyed their whole set. Every single part of it. All of them are really natural and they all rule their instruments. I don’t know how they write their songs but would assume it was quite a group effort because every member seems to play an important part in every song. The bass and drums lock in perfect and not surprisingly the lead guitarist knows his shit. I don’t know much about guitar… but he does… watch him. But singer/rhythm guitarist Marty Meehan walks up on stage casual as fuck and just takes over the room with his kind of ummmm I dont care but I’m badass monotone vocals. He rules. I’ve never seen Bailterspace or The Gordons… but these guys might come pretty close.

Favourite track was “the new one” - wicked wicked.

T54 - www.myspace.com/t54t54

This is my band. So I won’t say much but we played really well and I had a lot of fun. If someone else wants to write about it they can. I felt good all night so knew it would be a good set and was glad coz I felt pretty crap after a boo set the previous night. We started off with some noise and Joe Veale added an oscilator (sp) kind of thing which he uses to the p.a. it was room shakingly cool. Joe had a new amp and pedal and so was trying new things out and I reckon it sounded pretty cool. We played a couple of new tracks.

Favourite track was the new instrumental one that we opened with. I like. Kinda 3d’s-ish. And I’m all about 3ds right now.

Sand Fly Bay - www.myspace.com/sandflybay

I’ve seen Sand Fly Bay a lot now and I would like to say they never cease to impress but that wouldn’t be true. It would however be true of last night because they were wicked. They’ve really matured since I first started watching them. Their songs are kind of less dancey/must be upbeat because we always have so many girls dancing to us and more kind of slow and melodic now. Which is cool with me. I’ve always though all four of them rule at their instruments. Especially Ben’s bass work. First time I saw them was his first gig and he was just what the doctor ordered. Ryan has always been a great solid drummer. Again never misses a beat (I’m pretty jealous of these non beat misses… Ringo would be turning in his grave) And since I first met Slade when he was about 10 I knew he’d make a great natural front man and he does. Wicked epic oohs and aahs.

Favourite track was the latest one with the epic oohs and ahhs.

So yeah, great night, although long. Crowd came and went but it’s not quantity it’s quality and of the crowd that was there for each band they were really into it and supportive.

Will get tracks up as soon as I cut them up.

Here are some photos taken by Lauren Ellis

http://www.flickr.com/photos/meow-lauren/sets/72157622909648655/