Nova Scotia, The Sips, Turnpike @ Rosie's Bar (27.6.08)
Turnpike are fucking great band. They've consistently been my favourite local band since about the 3rd time I saw them. Their energy in a live setting can't be beaten, and they have a synergy between band members that can't be duplicated without having played together as a unit for a decade. Throw in some quality (if sporadic) releases over the course of their existence and you have something truly special.
That said, Turnpike started off a bit slowly on this particular occasion. The first song or two didn't really have that knife-edge energy that the band usually effortlessly project, and it wasn't until Adam turned his guitar way up that things started to click into place. The set consisted of about 50% new songs and 50% from their newer releases ('Selling This Century' from the Del Toro split, 'Do The Broken' and 'xxxxxx' from Humans Find Patterns), and if the rumours of Turnpike's impending demise turn out to be true I pray to God that they record and release the most recent batch of songs before bringing it all to an end.
I haven't seen The Sips in a really long time (partly due to the fact that their shows are somewhat few and far between these days). Back when I last saw them they had a country-pop influence that could occasionally be glimpsed in between the rest of the Ramones-esque punk rock. It would seem that that aspect of their sound has fallen by the wayside (or at least it wasn't evident at this show), because The Sips pretty much didn't let up the intensity for the entirety of their set. That's not really a bad thing, as their three-chord pop-punk songs are catchy enough on their own. The band tore through their beer-soaked set at maximum volume and pace before finishing with a hail of feedback and noise.
In their short lifetime Nova Scotia have become one of my favourite local bands. They combine pretty much everything you could want from an unashamedly straight-up indie-rock band: catchy melodies, volume, twisting three-guitar attacks, pop songs set against distortion and feedback. And powerdrills, can't forget the powerdrills. They've already released two great EPs which have displayed an admirable level of growth for such a new band, so one would hope that an album is not too far away. Playing their first show for quite a few months (after having pesky things like travelling and marriage get in the way), the band was actually super tight. I was expecting something a little more raw and sloppy, but that's not at all what I got. Their set finished impressively with the slow-burning title-track from their Maritime Disasters EP, rising up to a noisy crescendo before riding out on the songs' main riff.
Deaf Wish played last. They had lots of energy. They're from Melbourne, so that's all I'm going to write.
That said, Turnpike started off a bit slowly on this particular occasion. The first song or two didn't really have that knife-edge energy that the band usually effortlessly project, and it wasn't until Adam turned his guitar way up that things started to click into place. The set consisted of about 50% new songs and 50% from their newer releases ('Selling This Century' from the Del Toro split, 'Do The Broken' and 'xxxxxx' from Humans Find Patterns), and if the rumours of Turnpike's impending demise turn out to be true I pray to God that they record and release the most recent batch of songs before bringing it all to an end.
I haven't seen The Sips in a really long time (partly due to the fact that their shows are somewhat few and far between these days). Back when I last saw them they had a country-pop influence that could occasionally be glimpsed in between the rest of the Ramones-esque punk rock. It would seem that that aspect of their sound has fallen by the wayside (or at least it wasn't evident at this show), because The Sips pretty much didn't let up the intensity for the entirety of their set. That's not really a bad thing, as their three-chord pop-punk songs are catchy enough on their own. The band tore through their beer-soaked set at maximum volume and pace before finishing with a hail of feedback and noise.
In their short lifetime Nova Scotia have become one of my favourite local bands. They combine pretty much everything you could want from an unashamedly straight-up indie-rock band: catchy melodies, volume, twisting three-guitar attacks, pop songs set against distortion and feedback. And powerdrills, can't forget the powerdrills. They've already released two great EPs which have displayed an admirable level of growth for such a new band, so one would hope that an album is not too far away. Playing their first show for quite a few months (after having pesky things like travelling and marriage get in the way), the band was actually super tight. I was expecting something a little more raw and sloppy, but that's not at all what I got. Their set finished impressively with the slow-burning title-track from their Maritime Disasters EP, rising up to a noisy crescendo before riding out on the songs' main riff.
Deaf Wish played last. They had lots of energy. They're from Melbourne, so that's all I'm going to write.
