monotonix

A couple of comments on gigs we attended at stereo in August.

First up was a bit of a punt on Crystal Stilts with Veronica Falls in support. They were actually a bit crap, quite messy and not as good as their studio work – cool brooklyn kids who weren’t that interested.

A couple of days later, in a vindicated a spur of the moment decision we went to see Israeli punks Monotonix. They were totally mental and it was absolute madness madness with four hairy sweaty guys in speedos traipsing all over the venue, playing on the bar, getting audience members to support their drum kit and stool above their heads while they played! As well as (or perhaps in spite of) their great show they also happened to be good musicians.

monotonix at setreo

We dragged a bunch of our mates along to The Luckmiths farewell gig at Stereo. Chhay met up with them before the gig (they were pretty impressed with Stereo’s location right next to Central station and tasty selection of vegan food) before we headed down to catch the very twee supports.

Their set included all the classics and their typical high quality banter – they left our friends suitably impressed and a little sad that this was the only time that they would see them.

Chhay & I really appreciated the chance to see them before they disband, I think the Australian shows would have been amazing.  See if you can spot us in the photo below!

Way back in the dark ages we popped in to the twisted wheel to catch Brisbane pop rockers I Heart Hiroshima. We were incredibly tight  and played an entertaining set to a tiny audience. Their drummer was as incredible and hypnotic as ever.

On their tour blog they noted this show as the best of the tour – I hope they at least got a few more people to see them at the other venues!

The Smittens at the Flying Duck

The Smittens have defined the soundtrack of our trips in Oswald thsi year with their song The Interstate, they are friends of our firend Katie’s band the Zebras, and we missed them at Indietracks last year so we were reuqired to attend this twee pop extravaganza.

We were packed into the back room of the Flying Duck (decked out as a kitchen, although there was no toast) and the cardigan count was pretty high, but everyone had a good time.  Locals the  Just Joans were just so, while the Specific Heats were great (and cute) possibly the best act on the night.

By the evidence of this bunch its seems a requirement that all twee pop bands have female drummers.

From our friend Jamie Flett

“Me and my bro recorded a bunch of tunes as our studio side project ‘Feltt.’ We actually did it ages ago and a few of you maybe have a copy of some or all of them already. BUT if you don’t, then we’ve put them together as an album – ‘Bipolar’ – and this is available to download for ABSOLUTELY NOTHING right here: http://www.jamendo.com/en/album/48493 You can listen to the tracks there before downloading anything.

We occasionally play one or two of these tunes live but otherwise we didn’t know what to do with them because we haven’t really had time to actually go out and promote them.

So we’re giving them to you, our friends. And we’d be delighted if you pass the link onto your friends. With instructions to pass it on to their friends.. oh dear, I’ve made this sound like one of those soul-sapping chain e-mails which I’m thankful I don’t see so much of these days.”

Defintely worth a listen, less structured than Jamie’s own stuff but with some interesting electronic overlays.

De La Soul

Reaching way back here we sampled some retro delights at the Arches when De La Soul toured, funnily enough there new stuff was actually the best with some of there old stuff feeling fairly dated, not helped but some extended milking of a few tracks by the boys. The whole night served to remind me of one of my favourite stuff white people like posts.

The final installment of our week of music involved New Zealand’s antecedent to the Flight of the Conchords – Die Die Die. The last time we saw them they were playing the car park at our favourite Brisvegan coffee shop – Jamie’s.They looked a little older but their jeans were still as tight.

Support was intense drone music by Holy Mountain which drove us back upstairs followed by some straight up fairly dull hardcore, from a band who’s name escapes me.

Die Die Die took to the stage (well patch of floor as it is is at the Captain’s Rest) with total mentalness, intense feedback drenched walls of punk noise. They kept this up for the next fourty minutes to leave me ears just about bleeding. The twenty or so punters scattered about the room seemed unsure of what to make of these crazy kiwis, but they certainly won’t forget them in a hurry.

The Dø

Having partied to Holy Fuck on the Monday night we had a Wilton St house outing with our top floor neighbours to check out The Dø – a French/Finnish pop duo who are toast of the euro-hipster clique.

Despite their hipster appeal they really are fantastic performers and their album ‘A Mouthful’ (well worth checking out) is breathtakingly good. Crossing from folk to pop to electro to artful noise their music effortlessly threads a diversity of elements. They worked their hearts out for the meagre crowd ensconced at ABC2 and it was a pity more people weren’t there to see them. It also helps that the lead singer Olivia Merilahti is drop dead gorgeous – I think I might have fallen in love once she emerged from a crazy tasseled hooded jumpsuit at the start of the gig. They would certainly be a great festival act as they are a total party band – in fact I think they had just finished touring Australia for the summer festival circuit when we saw them.

The support act – the ficticious Moriarty family provided some alt country brilliance as a warm up, the French/American outfit were great fun – outrageous yet polished and incredibly accomplished musicians.

holy fuck

In a gigtastic week way back in may we sidled down the road to the basement of Oran Mor to sample the amazing indie electro noise of Canadians Holy Fuck.

After the support act It Hugs Back – presented their throwback to nineties grunge complete with checked shirts and long hair Holy Fuckenergied the crowd and got the whole room pumping.

With theur Presetsesque dancing along, effortless switching of obscure vintage elctro gear with each track and brilliant back lighting it was a great gig all round – even if we were only drinking orange juice and were home by 11 pm (being a monday night and all).

On the recommendation of one of our GFC relocated London based friends we caught the south african indie noise dub quartet blk jks at the Captain’s Rest

Personally I found their music less eclectic and diverse than I was anticipating – the gig seemed comprised of a series of  discrete elements, with less connection between the dub and noise elements even within the one track.

That being said their stage presence and effortless cool made for a great atmosphere and a couple of the tracks were praticularly evocative and impressive – even if I’m not so sure that producing middle class indie rock artists is the finest accomplishment of South Africa’s rejuvenation.