Sparks and Pony Canyon records have been kind enough to bring you a series of gigs called "Jam Packed" on Varsity Nite every Tuesday from 9.30 pm at the Contemporary Music bar in Sparks. Finally we have a chance to enjoy a band in a good live setting with a decent stage, sound and atmosphere. And drinks. Hopefully more bands will be scheduled to play in the following months, and hopefully you, dear reader, could go down and check it out if you're free or interested. Admittance is free for all Tertiary students (if you don't know what that means, you're probably not one, ha ha). Check this website often for more info on who's playing when. Do try to go down cos most of the gigs have been really good so far. So here's a brief review of what the previous weeks had to offer.
The only one I missed, not by choice though. Two of the tightest bands in the country playing together couldn't possibly be wrong. If Concave Scream's set was anything to go by their Hard Rock gig a couple weeks later, they would have been excellent. The Oddies always put up a good live show too. Ask someone who went, but you should definitely check both these bands next time round.
The Stoned Revivals have always been at the cutting edge of retro (I love using paradoxes like that). They've never been afraid to experiment with their style a bit, but always keeping a foot firmly entrenched in a foot-tapping groove. Playing all-new material which has changed considerably from their previous phase a.k.a. space rock incorporating Pink Floyd elements, they're at their most enjoyable and accessible period yet. The band sounded fuller with an extra keyboardist and backup vocalist, but anyone who's seen them live with their (occasional) trumpet player should be able to appreciate the additional depth and colour he adds to the band's rich sound. Esam's full-sounding 7th chords blend perfectly with Kamal's snaky basslines and Ahmad's impeccable drumming. Standout numbers played include Goodils (or as insiders know it, the Sex-Boat-Inspired-Song) and Saturday. They seem to enjoy themselves a lot onstage, which makes for a much more enjoyable performance from the audience's point of view. Definitely one of my favourite live bands.
Flow started their set with a cover (surprise surprise) of Weezer's Tired Of Sex from the Pinkerton album which was banned here for that song (how lame our censors be). Of course, they made it sound like a Smashing Pumpkins cover and sometimes I really wonder if secret cloning experiments were carried out with Flow as the test result. Technically flawless and skin tight, they played both their songs from the Flush After Use compilation but Blinded stood out really well in a live setting and was the best song they played that evening. They also had to perform two of the Pumpkins' most gruelling and complex tracks (off Mellon Collie, but I can barely tell one track from another anyway so I can't pinpoint the titles) which sounded like the real thing, read: very impressive but boring to watch live. Both songs went on for at least 7 minutes, or was that due to distortion of time? After all it only flies when you're having fun.
The opening chords of the Sugarflies' Yoshiki have to be the most rehashed progression in indie rock (The Cure's Just Like Heaven and The Oddfellows' Goodbye are the first to come to mind), but I'm a complete sucker for them cos they're completely infectious. You can heap the best melodies onto it like a good ice cream flavour - you just have to change the toppings and it'll never taste boring. June's vocals are nothing short of brilliant, and the band's rhythm section is incredibly rocksteady. With Opposition Party's drum wizard Ray Aziz (who also sat in for Crack Healer that night) at the stool, a louder-than-life backbeat is nothing less than expected. The set consisted of 5 short tuneful guitar-pop songs, but lacking a little in the substance needed to fill out and develop each one to prevent them from blending too much into one another. The guitar work could have added more variation and depth to the songs, but on the whole a good set nonetheless.
Crack Healer played a semi low-key set (most songs had an acoustic guitar), eschewing the angry, harsher material they used to perform in their earlier days, pointing into the direction that their new material seems to be taking. Their opening number Pretty Bad Trip features a very catchy chorus and a hooky guitar riff reminiscent of ex-Suede axeman Bernard Butler. Their material is pretty strong and Budi's vocals would fit perfectly in the alternative-rock mould. Guitarist Kyra's backing vocals sounded a little soft; maybe she's shy, but she really shouldn't be. I like her voice and it compliments the seething boiling-under of the songs. Other memorable numbers included Spit (one of the best the best local songs you never heard) and the wah-heavy Tommy. I'm looking forward to seeing them in a more uninhibited live setting where they could really cut loose and kick out the jams.
14 Jan - Oddfellows & Concave Scream
21 Jan - Stoned Revivals & Flow
28 Jan - Sugarflies & Crack Healer
Feb 4 - Astreal & Disko Biskit
Astreal started their set with their BigO single Stay Awake which they did with drummer Alwyn on keyboards instead, losing the impact necessary for an opening punch. The band made up for it later however, getting into full-steam-ahead mode by the third song, the kick-ass Just A Dream (from their earlier days as Breed) which sounded excellent. Bad sound engineering marred the band's set; the drums came out sounding inconsistent in volume, and Mohammed's rich guitar swirl should have been a bit less thin. Melissa's voice sounded great, but would have blended with the band's shoegazer sound more if the engineer had only been so kind as to turn up the reverb despite the band's request. Their last number was a cover of My Bloody Valentine's classic noisepop blast You Made Me Realise. By this time the band was really getting into it, Mel's vocals switching to aggressive mode (she seemed to be holding back a bit even on the earlier higher-octane numbers) with the wall-of-drums, guitar riffage and noisy feedback ending the set with a blast.
The last time I saw Disko Biskit was at the Substation in December. Though still stuck in the Stone Roses days when dinosaurs walked the earth, their set then showcased some excellent original material in the vein of early 90s Britpop. Tonight however, they were shite. The band sounded unrehearsed and the vocalist was painfully out of key. They chose to desecrate Morrissey's Interesting Drug (the audience really could have used some to ease the pain) and The Smiths' This Charming Man (the singer certainly wasn't), amongst other British numbers that wouldn't be out of place on a 1992 British Top Indie Hits compilation. The poor overall sound this particular night only made things worse. I'll be kind now, so I'll end this review here.
Feb 11 - Suchness & Sideshow Judy
The crowd tonight was dismayingly thinner than usual, probably because the long weekend holiday for Chinese New Year and Hari Raya had just ended. Suchness opened their set with a slight lineup change, Noel playing bass and Wenjie singing and guitar slinging. After switching their instruments back, Noel made a wisecrack about how only one ego was allowed at a time or something. Well, it sounded funny then. Anyway, the band played as a four-piece for the first time in quite a while, and they pretty much rocked. Their songs hit hard and are riffs-aplenty, quite a radical departure from early Silverspy but more in line with their final release Revved-Up Skinliner. Songs like Spellweaver and the Teenge Fanclub dead-ringer Ride My Car clearly indicate the band's ear for melody while the goofy stop-starts of Taxi Taxi are queer but unorthodoxly catchy. The band sounded really tight despite a couple of missed drumbeats. I was filled with wonder after their set - like how those cool riff ideas came about and how on earth lead guitarist Melvin can play his Les Paul with it practically hanging at his knees, but that's another story.
Sideshow Judy began with a bass groove revolving around funky, beat-heavy drums and layers of guitar effect-drenched feedback, before launching into the infectious opening riff of Tell Her. Their songs were stylistically varied, melodic and tight. Unfortunately they suffered from an uncomplimentary sound mix with the swirling guitars too overloaded, the bass too far in the background and the drum sound unevenly miced. Pauline's Juliana Hatfield-esque vocal style fluctuated a bit much on the shoegazer-tinged numbers like Gone and the reworked long-jam of Spaceship Dog, but provided the gutsy edge in the hilarious poseur anthem holler-along We Want Rock and the super-funky real-life inspired revenge taunt Jamie's Got A C**t, about a mysterious critic having a bone to pick with her. Unfortunately Khairlyl's guitar string broke here; eerily enough the same thing happens every time they play that song live. The momentum went down from there a bit over trying to adjust the right volume and sound; the band also appeared considerably less animated than before. One accident followed another when Pauline's guitar upped and died on her on their last punk rock number Treehouse, throwing the band offline again. It's a drag when these things happen, but hey, shit happens and you gotta deal with it. They came out of it alive and none worse for the wear.
Feb 18 - Ordinary People & Humpback Oak
The Ordinary People brought their legion of fans with them who were chanting and yelling "CK! CK! Jaya! Jaya!" before the band barely finished plugging in. All of which added to create the best atmosphere of the Varsity Nite gigs so far. The crowd size was just nice, they were active and very vocal. The band seemed bemused. They certainly didn't disappoint at all, playing a heavily roots-rock influenced set that showcased all-new material (except for their opening rocker Ready To Be Confused), with elements of Paul Westerberg and REM redolent throughout. I don't know why, but most of the song titles have slipped past me - I do recall one called Undertow - but all of them sounded terrific and were really enjoyable live. Jaya is one amazing bass player; his lines are nothing short of fantastic, carrying a melody and feel of their own yet never straying from maintaining the backbone of the songs. The early U2-ish delayed guitar lines sounded simple but very melodically effective. The crowd seemed pretty bought over (those who weren't planted from the start, that is); all in all it was a great set, easily one of the best in this series of gigs so far. A good crowd really makes a difference, folks, so if you are thinking of going down to watch a concert or a band play, stop thinking and just go right ahead. You shouldn't have missed this one.
Humpback Oak were simply mesmerizing. Their stripped down no-frills lineup (acoustic guitar, electric guitar straight through amp with a warm overdrive, bass, drums, no effects) brings out the chill in Leslie's sonorous voice and paints a landscape for his claustrophobic tales full of vivid, bitter imagery about families, hurt and insecurity. Moving and depressing, Humpback's songwriting has strayed from their acoustic-based format and nestled quite comfortably in a sonic no-man's-land of disorder and unease. Deliberately slow and unrelenting, comparisons between Red House Painters are inevitable especially in the haunting standout track Ghost Father and Pain, with a lead guitar break that sticks out like a sore thumb against the song's empty, desert dry background. Leslie has to be one of the best unconventional guitarists around, evident when in the middle of a song, he turned his back to the audience and launched into squalls and squeals of fretboard mangling, churning out an emotionally compelling solo that seemed to fuse the best elements of the guitarists in Sonic Youth, Yo La Tengo, Dinosaur Jr and Red House Painters altogether. Another song I really like (but I have no idea what its title is, forgive me) is a country-ish dirge that Thin White Rope, Palace Brothers or Silver Jews would envy. The closing number Bury Bury was their most upbeat song, a classic slice of Humpback Oak with a killer chorus that wouldn't have been out of place on their early demos. Maybe something in their songs hit a raw nerve, but I was really quite affected by their gig. I guess music is meant to stir your heart and head around once in a while.
25 Feb - Lilac Saints & Goofy Grooves
The crowd tonight was non-existent. The club's room was shockingly empty at 9.45 and I thought the gig was moribund, until a handful (count em) of people walked in. The Lilac Saints launched into Window Sill, currently my favourite song at the moment not so much by choice as by the fact that I can't get it out of my head. The instruments were slightly out of tune on the first song or two but they corrected it soon enough. The Lilacs introduced ex-Dongs drummer Harold into the band, and put on a good show despite the lack of an audience (but then again it's better to play to 15 people who are at least interested in hearing your music than to a packed room of people chatting away and playing bingo). They've perfected the art of the two-and-a-half-minute pop song, with minor-to-major chord changes clearly inspired by the Beatles. They could have come out straight from the 60s with their jangly uncluttered pop music. Their new songs feature ballads like Wasting Time and Rainbow and more upbeat numbers like Jennifer. Vocal duties were shared between guitarists Bhaskar and Kevin, incorporating quite a bit of harmonies. Bhaskar's little arpeggio guitar fills flesh out the songs nicely and prevent them from sounding boring. You'll either love them for their simple straightforward ultra-melodic pop sensibilities or hate them for the same reasons. I think I fall in the former category.
I didn't stay too long for Goofy Grooves, because basically I couldn't tell the difference between them and the rock band playing in the lounge outside. I could not recognize their first three songs, so either they've finally gotten around to actually writing their own material or I've really been out of touch with the latest grunge-rock bands on the radio. Of course they were tight, loud, and had a great sense of musicianship (the band looks decidedly different from the last time I saw them though, I wonder if they're the same people) and technical ability, but their riff-o-rama fists-clenched-in-the-air antics made me realize I had homework. I probably would have loved them 7 years ago and thought they completely raawked but then I grew up, thank God.
- Daniel Sassoon
