Joel Saunders, Night Crash, Shakes, Rialto Decibel Choir @ The Zoo (1.2.08)

The Lifted Brow may be one of the premier literature-related zines 'round these parts, but the wordy types involved in said publication also seem to know a bit about music. Exhibit A: the countless great bands who have been involved in the various launches and fundraisers for the zine. This particular show was no exception, with The Lifted Brow putting together a great local lineup to say farewell to a whole list of people who are soon to be leaving this city of ours.

Opening the night were Rialto Decibel Choir. This is a band who obviously takes pride in their craft. Their songs are polished, well put together and delivered with confidence (even when the band announces before a song that they don't know it very well and will probably screw it up). They've recently released their (quite fine) debut EP, and many of the songs from said release were given an airing on this particular evening, my favourite of which being 'Like Folding Chairs' with its drum and bass outro. Furthermore, many of the songs that weren't included on the EP are even better than those that did make the cut, and often displayed a sense of pop-craftmanship that isn't readily evident on the available recordings. Apparently there are plans to record an album soon, so that's something to look forward to.

Shakes were next up, playing their final ever show. Originally Shiver Like Timber was supposed to play in this slot, but since Shakes planned farewell show last weekend (at a house party) was shut down by the police it was decided to swap the two acts around. No major issue there, as Shiver Like Timber (aka Betony Dircks) also doubles as the singer in Shakes. Anyway... previously Shakes have been a band whom I've always enjoyed but have never been 100% head over heals in love with - always guaranteed to put on a solid show with some well written songs, but not really the sort of band to get you raving about how amazing their show the previous night was (then again I've only seen them maybe four times). This show was probably the closest I've ever seen to them getting to that level. With The Zoo's sound system they were really able to fill the room with the full volume of their twin guitar, bass and violin attack - they're a band who thrive on bombast and drama (much like Rialto), and on this night they were able to spread themselves out in full flight. It was probably the best I've seen from them, and it makes me sad that I didn't get to see any more of them.

The Night Crash. This was another final gig, and if you never got to see this band then I pity you. I remember at my first Night Crash show turning to a friend after pretty much every song and exclaiming something along the lines of 'holy shit!' or 'how the hell do they play that!?'. After a couple of years they can still have that effect, even after having to rein themselves in slightly when adding a third member on bass. As a band who spent the majority of their life playing D.I.Y. venues, being up on The Zoo's stage was obviously awkward. I know this because before they played a single note they announced as much on the mic, and invited anyone who was game to join them onstage. I gladly took them up on their offer (after an initial attempt at jumping up where I almost bashed my knee cap out of place... *fail*) and enjoyed watching the first song of their set standing right next to the band, along with maybe 15-20 other people. Unfortunately the venue staff weren't too happy with this arrangement, and security firmly ushered everyone offstage as soon as the band finished the song. While it was a damn shame that the Night Crash weren't allowed to play their final show in this manner, they didn't really let it affect their performance: it was a typically impressive show, with the players showing their ability to a) change dynamics on a dime and b) remember more parts per song than most other bands would have to remember thoughout an entire set. Truly, their hardcore-technical-jazz-math-punk will be missed.

Headlining the night was Joel Saunders, joined by his new band Crazy Hearse and the Illage dancers (who also took the spotlight for a rap song of their own). This is the third time I've seen Joel play with Crazy Hearse, and personally I think it's a sizable improvement over his previous setup. With a DJ in the band (Dan of Monster Monster fame) he can still include his electronic and noise elements, but the utilization of 'real' instruments (a second guitar, keys, backing vocals, accordion and live percussion) gives things a more organic feel. Additionally, using a DJ instead of complete backing tracks gives the band the freedom to extend sections for as long as feels appropriate. It also gives the band an added safety net when things don't quite go to plan.

Things didn't seem to quite go to plan on this particular night. While the first two Crazy Hearse shows I saw lead me to believe that the days of Joel struggling with his machines were behind him (and us), there were a few times at The Zoo where things definitely fell apart - I'm not sure what the reasons for this were, as their previous Zoo show with Girl Talk was pretty rock solid. I guess it's merely a case of getting comfortable with the new setup - it's only their third show after all, and playing along with live beats is pretty hard (oh yeah, full disclosure: one of my bands has played with Joel Saunders as his backing band a couple of times, so I know how hard it is to stay in time with those beats). In any case I don't want to make it sound like it was a huge problem, at worst it was a case of waiting through an out-of-sync chorus for the band to re-orient themselves with the programmed beats, while at other times it really didn't have much of a negative impact at all. Personally I'd rather see the band put their all into their performance and perhaps go somewhat 'off' than watch them rein themselves in to play more 'professionally'. I mean hey, they may well be playing covers of Top 40 hits but there's still a lot of punk rock in their methods - it's exciting to watch a band like them play. Oh, and don't forget that they play originals too - Joel Saunders can write a SONG (see: 'Porch Song', my favourite local song of last year).


So there you have it. Two bands who chip away with consistent performances and tried-and-tested songwriting, two bands who attempt to 'bottle lightning' with shock-and-awe displays of dynamics and noise. It's a shame that in 6months time only Joel Saunders will still be playing - the others are all breaking up or relocating. But hey, reunions are all the rage these days, right?

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Shiver Like Timber, Joel Saunders, Rialto Decibel Choir, Night Crash @ Metro on Gipps (10.8.07)

Friday 10th saw a fundraiser for The Lifted Brow zine, featuring a few of my personal favourite local acts. Arriving at Metro on Gipps at about 9pm meant that I saw Harriet, the second of two Melbourne groups (the first being Rainbow Brite). They (or she) were fairly good, reminding me of Ambitious Lovers style folk mixed with the dramatic vocal style employed by Rialto Decibel Choir (who were playing later that evening).

First of the local bands were the inimitable Night Crash. This was the first full show I'd been able to see with their new bassist - I had caught them at Ric's a few months back but I only saw them play a single song as 3-piece before they reverted to their old 2-piece lineup for the rest of the show. On Friday the three members all played for the entirety of the set. The first song lead me to think that the new bassist (Luke, also from Shakes and Blank Page) would have a negligible impact on the band's sound, as he pretty much just strummed root notes while Dan riffed over the top. However, subsequent songs had much more involved bass parts, which (I'm happy to report) fit in perfectly with Dan's complex guitar playing and Leigh's insane drumming. The band played their usual Dan Caballero-esque hardcore-jazz-punk-math-rock as well as I'd ever seen them, with the Metro's boxey concrete walls not having a huge impact on their sound (although maybe that was because they set up on the floor in the middle of the venue and had the entire audience crowd around them, not giving the venue's poor acoustics a chance to adversely affect things). Their set was perhaps even more concise than usual, with it all being over within 15-20 minutes.

Next was Rialto Decibel Choir. Last time I wrote about them they were still playing as a 2-piece, however they have now been playing as a foursome for a few months (and I have actually managed to catch them in such a format previously). Where they definitely used to be a folk band, these days they have much more in common with a band like The National, who combine a folkish aesthetic with an almost post-punk band sound, all slicing guitars and intricate rhythms but still with Ashleigh's dramatic vocals over the top (sounding kind of like Marissa Nadler, but shifted down an octave or two). Theirs isn't a sound that is necessarily immediate or catchy, but that is nonetheless engaging. I would love to have a good quality recording of their music, as I imagine that it is the sort that gradually sinks in over time. However, that's not to say that they're not enjoyable to watch for someone who isn't intimately knowledgeable with their music, as they exude a kind of restrained energy from the stage, best exemplified in the song they closed their set with, where the music became its most urgent and straight out 'rock'.

Joel Saunders followed on from Rialto. Some people may know Joel as one half of 'junk-folk' duo Ambitious Lovers. In solo format, Joel is both similar to his band (musically ragged, occasionally emotionally devastating) and completely unlike it (backed by laptop beats with dancers from Illage, doing covers of hip hop hits in addition to his own songs). Sometimes it works brilliantly - personally I think that 'Porch Song' is the best (if decidedly rough) song I've heard come out of Brisbane this year. Sometimes it can be too much of a mess to really be 'enjoyable' - at least live. Mostly this is because Joel still seems to be working out how to pull off the 'live instruments with electronic backing' thing; sometimes the machines are working for him, and sometimes he's struggling against them. When it works, though, it's really cool.

Finishing things off was Shiver Like Timber, aka Bettony Dircks (who is also the band-mate of the three members of the Night Crash - along with a violinist - in Shakes). She's pretty much become the indie-folk songstress of the moment, seemingly playing at every second such gig. This is no bad thing, because she's pretty damn good at what she does. Her music is all stark, cleanly played electric guitar lines and her emotive voice. She's generally a reliable act, the only real difference between a good Shiver Like Timber show and a bad one being the degree to which her guitar can stay in tune. I saw her on a Sunday afternoon at Ric's a few weeks ago and thought it was among the best shows of hers I'd seen. The reason? She'd borrowed the headlining band's guitar, which stayed beautifully in tune. At the Lifted Brow Fundraiser she played well, keeping things at a good ratio of musicality to endearing rawness.

Ultimately, though, the thing about Shiver Like Timber is the voice, and the words that the voice sings. In the reverb soaked room of the Metro on Gipps her voice sounded as ethereal as ever, like some ghostly lost child (cliched description alert!). The words were kind of lost in the wash of sound, which was kind of a shame as I find her lyrics to be amongst the most interesting around, far removed from the stretched wordplay of many other would-be troubadours from around the place, and somehow managing to achieve an effortless gravity. Betony has often been compared to Joanna Newsom, and while there are certainly similarities in their vocal styles and tones, for me the main commonality between the two is the strange mixture of a maturity and wisdom coming out through such a thin, childlike voice.

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