Blog — Page 233 of 277

Violent Femmes

Factory Theatre

Sydney, AU

March 20, 2017

In its heyday, the Folk rock band, or shall we go with “Midwestern acoustic punk gateway drug to experimental music,” Violent Femmes have captured the zeitgeist and existential dilemmas coming with the burden of the need to be – not only speaking the angst ridden, existentialist language of an adolescent independent scene, but with their triumvirate of albums Why Do Birds Sing?, the more somber Gothic Hallowed Ground, and 3, which have become classics and having withstood the test of time over and over again, becoming spokesmen for a generation that lacked definition and one of the most successful alternative rock bands of the 1980s.

Over the last decade, with VF’s bassist Brian Ritchie moving to Hobart, Tasmania where among other projects he is curating the Mona Foma Festivals and thereby transforming the cultural and economic life of the whole of Tasmania as a result, Australia has become a second home for the band and it was not further wondrous that their Sydney show was sold out almost immediately.

The demographic of the evening ranged from old folks coming out of the woodworks via families introducing their offspring to “real music”, to the hipster bloc and even younger hopefuls exploring the roots of many of their favourite contemporary artists’ favourite band.

One might argue that the essence of Violent Femmes’ music is trapped in amber, but tonight’s performance proved that it is more than a stale re-enactment of their youth.

The show included both the band’s highlights along with new(er) material and despite the trio’s deliberate minimalist and stripped down presentation, did not fail to enthuse the sold out crowd and eliciting more than ethereal swaying: Gordon Gano’s nasal, nuanceful, twangy and defeatist vocal delivery had the songs echoing in the genuinely excited audience not just for the gems of their back catalogue.

A solid mix of the tested and tried, infused with the musical aptitude they have acquired over the years was the foundation for a vibrant performance. Newer material was well represented with its more robust sound backed by Ritchie’s sophisticated bass arrangements and Brian Viglione sandwiched in between the two founding fathers, manning the Spartan, trademarked Violent Femmes drum set-up and framing the songs with his at times jazzy arrangements.

With this energized performance and newer material having become a fundamental and well-received component of the show, Violent Femmes have proved again that they are far from becoming a nostalgia act.

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Photos by T

MDLSX by MOTUS

Carriageworks

Sydney AU

March 16, 2017

Interdisciplinary entity MOTUS was founded by Enrico Casagrande and Daniela Nicolò and over the last twenty-five years has established itself firmly on the firmament of performance arts with boundary pushing productions, theatre shows, installations, seminars and workshops focusing on the contradictions of this brave new world, wielding impact that registers on both the physical and emotional Richter scales.

Sounds and proves to be a great match for Carriageworks, the large contemporary multi-arts centre in Sydney with its reputation for taking risks and showing unrelenting support when it comes to the artists they host and its immersive programs reflecting social and cultural diversity.

MDLSX is based on Jeffrey Eugenides’ novel Middlesex and the first solo performance of Silvia Calderoni, who carries the hymn to the freedom of becoming and androgyny on her shoulders and sustains it through eighty minutes.

Utilizing the artistic device of blurring reality and fiction by incorporating footage from her own family gatherings and seemingly personal monologues into the performance, it is perfectly accentuated and blended with a carefully selected soundtrack comprised of music by The Smiths, R.E.M., Vampire Weekend, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Dresden Dolls, Rodriguez et al.

Calderoni presents the story in Italian, which is translated into English via subtitles. While this can be irritating with some performances, it works well with MDLSX as it is a very physical performance with Calderoni using her own body to tell the story and physically exercises the journey the main protagonist goes through.

With this performance the subtitles also help to amplify an effect that performances in the native tongue of the audience would normally not have: While the audience is following the thread of the story via subtitles, the performer has the opportunity to watch the audience, which becomes apparent when performance space is illuminated for brief moments.

The performance maintains a physically intense and experimental level throughout, relying on Calderoni’s charisma, agility, velocity and restless energy – there is hardly a moment when there is no physical element and it is a spectacle to behold as he/she dances, simultaneously operating numerous camera devices and DJing at the same time.

A singular performer consisting of multitudes, both literally and figuratively.

While at first glance MDLSX might have a very specific focus, the performance raises deeper questions outside the confines of LBGT related issues as far as labeling and the quest for identify is concerned and how it depends on societal, imposed norms and conventions the individual is forced to adhere to rather than choice: The struggle of existence transgressing borders of body, skin, colour, sex, et cetera, which is reflected in the performance’s electrical tension, which is again accentuated by MOTUS’ light and video installations, courtesy of Alessio Spirli, including black light, a laser simulating a surgical procedure in the neither regions and spacey triangular fabric that serves a variety of purposes throughout the performance, which results in quite a trippy, lysergic experience at times.

The switch in perspective towards the end of the performance – no spoilers here – enhances the mindfuck even further and challenging the audience.

A transgressive performance that defies division both in terms of presentation as well as content.

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Photo from Carriageworks website

Spiderbait

Enmore Theatre

Sydney, AU

March 18,2017

In case you are burdened with the mercy of late birth and hence unfamiliar, Spiderbait are an Australian alternative rock band formed in Finley, a small rural town in New South Wales. What made them special and made them the face of Australian rock in the late 1990s was their own brand of heaviness mixing in with experimental and weirder off the beaten track moments, while not lacking the knack for writing a good pop tune.

The show tonight was In celebration of their20th anniversary of their third and most celebrated album, Ivy and the Big Apples, which in 1997 was combining an eclectic mix of sounds and subsequently won the “Best Alternative Release” ARIA Music Award”.

Spiderbait held court in front of an enthusiastic crowd in Sydney's Enmore Theatre, with an audience ready to go on a nostalgia trip to relive their youth and the rite of passage the album represents for them. It can be argued if their oeuvre is comprised of any nuances, yet the crowd lapped it up with gusto, with sing-alongs galore and smiles all around.

Bassist Janet English, Damian Whitty on guitar and the bearded backbone and rudder Kram (aka Mark Maher) blasted through their seminal album and got everyone moving in the process, culminating with their most well known songs –“Calypso” from Heath Ledger’s cult classic flic 10 Things I Hate About You invaded.

All sixteen tracks of the album were renditioned from start to finish including songs that were performed in a live environment for the first time. It was interesting to see the extensive instrumentals of the album performed for the first time, some of which became epic battles of bass vs. guitar vs. drums. Plus a few off their other classics thrown in for good measure.

Spiderbait proved that they are in league with the greats of Australian rock music generation such as Silverchair, Grinspoon, Regurgitator, and Powderfinger, an accomplishment emphasized by the fact that despite hiatuses and side projects, the band has always retained its original line-up.

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Photos by KAVV

Taking Back Sunday

170 Russell Street

Melbourne, AU

March 21, 2017

Taking Back Sunday have come a long way and I don’t necessarily mean the distance between terra australis and Northern America.

Starting out as a melodic hardcore band with a sound akin to a conglomerate of the best moments of bands like Glassjaw, Sunny Day Real Estate and Thursday and seamlessly fitting in with the direction Tony Brummel was taking Victory Records at the dawn of the new millennium, they eventually made the transition into mainstream territory, with all the shebang that comes with it, including Late Night Show appearances and soundtracking teen dramas.

Despite having crossed the rubicon at the peak of the emo explosion along with bands like Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance and Panic! At the Disco and with the band’s core oeuvre channeling melodramatic teenage angst, tonight’s audience reflected the range of audience Taking Back Sunday appeals to with teenagers mingling with older folks who seemed to have grown up with the band and reunited with them to relive their follies of youth.

Taking Back Sunday is well-oiled live act - polished but devoid of sterility and pretence.

The fact that they seem to have fun performing, the sense of authenticity they convey and their appreciation for the crowd is reflected in the audience’s engagement.

The earlier heart-on-sleeve material of their catalogue got the warmest reception, which goes to show that it has stood the test of time, with a chunkier version of frontman Lazzara holding court with his swagger intact and microphone swinging antics being the focus of the show. His grittier renditions of songs along with his theatrical mannerisms give the whole affair an additional layer of charm.

It seems like Taking Back Sunday is acutely aware what guns to stick to and they play to their forte – meaty riffs, simples choruses and their own brand of catchiness. While the days of youthful exuberance might be gone, their newer songs with more elaborate guitar parts and driving rhythms give their emissions anthemic qualities, which shines through live.

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Photos by T

Chain & the Gang

Newtown Social Club

Sydney, AU

March 15, 2017

It is going to be difficult to keep this review objective as Ian Svenonius’ emissions and incarnations have had a massive influence on your humble narrator during his formative years.

His first band, Nation of Ulysses (and Cupid Car Club later on) was one of the many great, innovative bands from the ever creatively fertile grounds that is the Dischord family and the context of Washington, DC at large.

Iconoclastic in its ways, Ulysses shook up dusty punk rock standards and its stale clichéd rituals by drawing on the energy of 60ies soul performances and infusing their live shows with physicality.

The Make Up rose from Ulysses’ ashes to create an altar to gospel, soul and garage rock’n roll and what the French refer to as yé-yé music: The delightful strand of pop music that influenced France and beyond with its particular camp style throughout the 1960ies.

If you are ever interested in learning where Refused’s Dennis Lyxzen got his moves from and the inspiration for framing “The shape of punk to come” in a socio-political context (and basically the template for The (International) Noise Conspiracy, including fashion style), you might want to check out The Make Up or pretty much any of Svenonius’ projects. There is something to be said for the fact that even the epigones that channeled Svenonius’ swag became at times even more successful than its originator.

2017 – enter Chain and the Gang!

Devoid of unnecessary ideological weight, “Chain”, i.e. Ian, and his “Gang” of three ladies focus on the essence of, hmm, gospel-funk with a big punk heart and the aura of 50s / 60s vocal quartets?

Chain and his Gang call it “crime rock”.

Ian is radiating with charisma and in the flesh executes a rare mélange combining seemingly oxymoronic self-awareness of a host and free-form stream of consciousness performer. It is not too difficult to see shades of a range of great performers in his on stage antics, e.g. Iggy Pop, Nick Cave and pretty much everyone who managed to convincingly shake his hips to 60ies Motown greats.

Chain and the Gang is a fantastic live band. With their matching suits they look like a mod-soul band and present themselves accordingly.

They channel sing-songy tunes, surf guitars, vaudevillian call-and-response, Ray Charles, the grit of garage rock with alluring female back-up vocals.

Chain and The Gang is another one of Svenonius’ subversive endeavours, i.e. tongue firmly placed in cheek and subtly critiquing conventions and standards of “pop and rock music” while at the same time reveling in its essence and having a great time doing it.

The concept behind Chain and the Gang is based on carbohydrates more than protein, i.e. less heavy on ideology and less trying to reinvent the wheel and instead focusing on the groove, charm and personality. Chain’s subversion is its anti-innovative approach.

You dig? Sounds like a great time to experience and check out Chain and his Gang?

It is.

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Photos by KAVV