Saw this gig two nights in a row, once in Sydney and once in Melbourne.
Cobra Starship
Cobra Starship were lots of high energy fun, as usual. Frontman Gabe Saporta continues to have the best grasp of showmanship I've ever seen live, he really knows how to work a crowd. In Melbourne they were even more animated than the night before, with Gabe mouthing off at a mile a minute between songs, jumping all over the stage, hanging off his bandmates as he sang for an already enthusiastic crowd. They were fun, as always, though they played exactly the same set in both cities, and were running close to the script with regards to banter.
The City Is At War
Hey Mr DJ
The Church of Hot Addiction
Smile for the Paparazzi
Snakes on a Plane
(Hollaback Boy)
Guilty Pleasure
The Academy Is...
The Academy Is... were much improved from when I saw them last. The two new songs they playedm, from the just released third album Fast Times at Barrington High, worked well live, and were well received by the audience. William Beckett remains a really earnest frontman, though they were slower to warm to the crowd in Melbourne, with less banter and connection.
Their set list overall was a bit odd though, not enough high points with lesser known songs from older albums. They slightly reshuffled of the set in Melbourne, though they played the same songs in both cities, much to my disappointment.
Neighbors
Slow Down
Forever Young = Summer Hair
The Phrase That Pays
We've Got a Big Mess on our Hands
About A Girl
Everything We Had
Checkmarks
Panic at the Disco
Like the other bands, Panic at the Disco played the same set in both cities with banter along similar lines, though there was spontaneity in how they'd react to the crowds' response, and warmth in how much they enjoyed performing. Concerts in stadiums have crap sound, usually, and unfortunately it was true of both Sydney and Melbourne - the mix was uneven such that I could always hear one guitar over the other, and while that meant I got to enjoy Ryan Ross guitar solos very clearly, moments like Brendon Urie's solo in Pas De Cheval had lesser impact, sounding muddier and lost in the mix.
The band had new arrangements of older songs, trying to bridge the difference in sound between their first and second albums, and they sounded good. Apart from the musical aspect, they played such a *warm* show, all light and joy (and flowers and bubbles!), and it reflected the atmosphere of the set.
Fans kept throwing thing on stage, which made for some enjoyable interaction between band and crowd - at one point, Ryan repeated "Brendon just got paid!" since a total of 65 cents had been thrown at Brendon. And I laughed when Ryan declared proudly that he was keeping '20p'. Wrong country! But it was a nice exchange, indicative of how relaxed and amused the band were on stage.
We're So Starving
Nine in the Afternoon
But It's Better If You Do
Camisado
She's a Handsome Woman
The Only Difference Between Martyrdom And Suicide Is Press Coverage
Behind the Sea
Lying Is The Most Fun A Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off
I Constantly Thank God For Esteban
That Green Gentleman
There's A Good Reason These Tables Are Numbered Honey, You Just Haven't Figured It Out Yet
Folkin' Around
I Write Sins, Not Tragedies
Northern Downpour
-
Time to Dance (acoustic)
Pas De Cheval
Mad as Rabbits
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Death Cab for Cutie - 19 Aug 2008 - Oxford Art Factory
They started with Champagne from a Paper Cup, and from there played a short set of rather obscure song choices. One for the diehard fans, with barely any singles (and not the well known ones), reaching back to their second album (of six), barely a nod to their best known albums, and and two non-single, slower songs from their latest.
It seemed to make sense - an intimate gig in an intimate venue for the hardcore fans - BUT the problem was the gig didn't feel intimate at all. Because it was recorded and broadcast live for myspaceTV, the focus seemed to be on reaching the audience out there, watching on their screens, and not those who were crowded at the band's feet.
Ben Gibbard's banter was for those watching online; all the live audience got was a passive aggressive telling-off for talking (you, in the front row!). Though Chris Walla got in a terrible pun that I liked at the end, when they were talking about the possibility of this gig being watched on the space station, and suddenly this voice pipes up from the side, "Myspace station, heh heh heh!"
I enjoyed this gig anyway - it was free, I got to see Death Cab live again, I got to hear songs I wouldn't normally expect to hear live.
Champagne from a Paper Cup
A Movie Script Ending
405
Talking Bird
Grapevine Fires
Photobooth
Title and Registration (video)
It seemed to make sense - an intimate gig in an intimate venue for the hardcore fans - BUT the problem was the gig didn't feel intimate at all. Because it was recorded and broadcast live for myspaceTV, the focus seemed to be on reaching the audience out there, watching on their screens, and not those who were crowded at the band's feet.
Ben Gibbard's banter was for those watching online; all the live audience got was a passive aggressive telling-off for talking (you, in the front row!). Though Chris Walla got in a terrible pun that I liked at the end, when they were talking about the possibility of this gig being watched on the space station, and suddenly this voice pipes up from the side, "Myspace station, heh heh heh!"
I enjoyed this gig anyway - it was free, I got to see Death Cab live again, I got to hear songs I wouldn't normally expect to hear live.
Champagne from a Paper Cup
A Movie Script Ending
405
Talking Bird
Grapevine Fires
Photobooth
Title and Registration (video)
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Band of Horses - 5 Aug 2008 - The Metro
I'm kind of stuck on "IT WAS AWESOME THEY WERE AMAZING I WANT TO MARRY BEN BRIDWELL'S VOICE". It's tempered on the CD and sounds pure and sweet, but live it just rings and soars. Even when it shouldn't sound so warm, when phrases end in yelps, it sounds like a bell, high and clear. Normally, I get very restless during slow songs, and the middle of the set was packed with softer moments, but I just closed my eyes and let the music wash over me in bliss. The musicianship of the whole band was great, particularly in the guitar work which reminds me of the good parts of classic rock, and the blues. It just sounded so so good overall, note-perfect but with heart and atmosphere that makes a live show worth it.
Apart from the music itself, the band were fun and relaxed on stage, bantering amongst themselves (culminating, at one point, with a foul-mouthed rant from their keyboardist, Ryan Monroe, about New Zealanders and sheep) as well as joking with the audience. Upon being greeted with the typical Whooooooooo! of excitement as they took to the stage at the start, Ben Bridwell returned the call, and would do so throughout the night, a goodnaturedly mocking call and response. A happy fan exclaimed, after a rollicking first four songs, "You guys sound great!" which fell upon a unexpected hush over the room, such that it carried not only the stage but all through the theatre. The band laughed and acknowledged the fannish adoration, attributing it all to the sound guy. They just seemed very easygoing as performers, and cutely aware of the relationship between them and their audience; as they sounded out the very well-known and probably very eagerly awaited for first notes of their best known track, The Funeral, Ben Bridwell called out that this was their "fake last song", and at the end bid us their "fake goodbye", a nod and a wink at the encore to come.
Certain other things kept me amused during the night - the crazy, pogo-ing fan who managed to jump up and down excitedly during every song, regardless of the tempo or mood; the fact that BoH may well be one of the most hirsuit bands I have ever seen and their fans likewise (it was truly a Band of Beards, with muttonchops and moustaches aplenty on the 5/6ths I could see) - but what kept the smile on my face was the band's amazing talent and the wonderful songs. From familiar singles to older songs to fantastic covers to audience sing-a-long as Ben Bridwell pointed first to us and them himself in the refrain of "you...me..." in The General Specific that ended the night, the overwhelming feeling was one of joy, from the band and reflected back by the crowd.
Is There A Ghost
The Great Salt Lake
Islands on the Coast
Weed Party
? (featured a harmonica)
Thirteen Days (J.J. Cale cover)
Marry Song
Cigarettes, Wedding Bands
The First Song
No One Goes Out Anymore (Tyler Ramsey)
Detlef Schrempf
Older (Ryan Monroe)
No One's Gonna Love You
Ode to LRC
Wicked Gil
The Funeral
Our Swords
Am I A Good Man (Them Two cover)
General Specific
Apart from the music itself, the band were fun and relaxed on stage, bantering amongst themselves (culminating, at one point, with a foul-mouthed rant from their keyboardist, Ryan Monroe, about New Zealanders and sheep) as well as joking with the audience. Upon being greeted with the typical Whooooooooo! of excitement as they took to the stage at the start, Ben Bridwell returned the call, and would do so throughout the night, a goodnaturedly mocking call and response. A happy fan exclaimed, after a rollicking first four songs, "You guys sound great!" which fell upon a unexpected hush over the room, such that it carried not only the stage but all through the theatre. The band laughed and acknowledged the fannish adoration, attributing it all to the sound guy. They just seemed very easygoing as performers, and cutely aware of the relationship between them and their audience; as they sounded out the very well-known and probably very eagerly awaited for first notes of their best known track, The Funeral, Ben Bridwell called out that this was their "fake last song", and at the end bid us their "fake goodbye", a nod and a wink at the encore to come.
Certain other things kept me amused during the night - the crazy, pogo-ing fan who managed to jump up and down excitedly during every song, regardless of the tempo or mood; the fact that BoH may well be one of the most hirsuit bands I have ever seen and their fans likewise (it was truly a Band of Beards, with muttonchops and moustaches aplenty on the 5/6ths I could see) - but what kept the smile on my face was the band's amazing talent and the wonderful songs. From familiar singles to older songs to fantastic covers to audience sing-a-long as Ben Bridwell pointed first to us and them himself in the refrain of "you...me..." in The General Specific that ended the night, the overwhelming feeling was one of joy, from the band and reflected back by the crowd.
Is There A Ghost
The Great Salt Lake
Islands on the Coast
Weed Party
? (featured a harmonica)
Thirteen Days (J.J. Cale cover)
Marry Song
Cigarettes, Wedding Bands
The First Song
No One Goes Out Anymore (Tyler Ramsey)
Detlef Schrempf
Older (Ryan Monroe)
No One's Gonna Love You
Ode to LRC
Wicked Gil
The Funeral
Our Swords
Am I A Good Man (Them Two cover)
General Specific
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