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On Friday night, I took off home to relax (nice to have an early-ending week because of this job, though that may change) and then getting ready for 'Panic At The Disco' at Acer Arena. Now, I have to note that my experience with 'Panic At The Disco' is small - but I like their retro-baroque-circus-pop approach, at least from the few tracks that I have heard (and clips I have seen). I'm the sort of person who tunes in when friends of mine (who also have an eclectic music taste) say that they like something. So, I had grabbed some tracks last time they were here, and had a listen to their new album about 2 months ago or so. I was interested in seeing what sort of show they'd put on, too, as they have a reputation for being very Pseudo-Victorian (kind of like Abney Park lite) crossed with a little 1960's sunshine pop. I think one of the things I get jaded with is that bands don't put on as good a show as their albums suggest (or, of course, that the shows they bring 'down south' are just an unfortunately crippled version of their normal shows, because of the tyranny of distance).
So, lysdexic_prose, arby_doll and I arrived at Acer, walked through Security, got our wristbands and headed down into the floor area. I think we got in in time to catch the last 2 songs from 'Cobra Starship'. Of course I had missed the bands title breakout track 'Snakes On A Plane (Bring It)', which was my only exposure to them before tonight. Whilst they had obvious cred from coming off the Warped Tour in the US, what I was seeing (as I had predicted) was a band onstage with a a lot of fun and energy, but with no real 'show' component. Now that being said, and before I get pilloried for being unfair, I believe that the sound was good, the band seemed genuinely happy and energetic, and the audience reaction was more than happy to see these guys onstage. To their credit, we saw them enjoyably bounce through two songs which more than made up for the (what appeared to me to be) somewhat plain stage behind them. Of course they were the first support, but still had their screaming fan-base, which was really good to see - all too often support bands get relegated to the wilderness of 10% attendance as people wait for the headliners.
Having said that, we decided to head outside to grab snacks and drinks and (of course) check out the merchandise. Here I was VERY impressed with the range available, as there was a wide range of clothing, posters, CDs and DVDs available. This is what I expect when I see a merchandise stand, and the wide range was there for all three bands. Of course the pricing was rather prohibitive, but there was still a booming trade being made. After 10 minutes waiting in line, Cobra Starship obviously finished and there was a veritable stampede of younger audience out into the main foyer. I thought it was for the merchandise booth (which it partially was) but mostly (as I quickly discovered) due to a signing/meet & greet, due to start sometime soon - and Cobra Starship fans were damned if they were going to miss out. So, retiring to a table to eat, and drink a little, the line grew and (to be honest) we were so engrossed in conversation that we totally missed 'The Academy Is...' as the main support. I didn't have a lot invested in seeing them, but I assumed that as the main support they would be tearing the arena down and laying the foundations for the main show. I must admit that, even with the doors open to the main arena, we didn't hear much of a reaction at all. There was one BIG cheer that went up, which I can only assume was either a well-known track (perhaps 'Neighbours'?) or more than likely, the introduction of Sydney-born guitarist Michael Chislett. Of course it was at this point when I realised (so did Bekk and Barbs) the average age of the attendees - and I think we'll leave it at that for that part of the observation. Mind you, the second big cheer sounded as 'The Academy Is...' finished and the line for the Meet & Greet (which was at that point 4 people wide, and stretched all the way across the front of the Acer foyer) simply geometrically exploded. We were rather fortuitously placed as about 5 minutes later, Security blocked off the seating area, though leaving the 'older' patrons to their eating/drinking (I'm not sure how Barbs and Bekk felt about being 'older' patrons), and then escorted the members of both 'Cobra Starship' and 'Academy Is...' right past us to their signing tables (about 3 metres away). I think I know firsthand somewhat what Beatlemania was about, after witnessing the reception that the two groups recieved. Nothing too unruly, just really loudly appreciative. Earplugs, how I love thee. Anyway, after staying to watch the signing for a couple of minutes, we decided that it was time to head down to the 'Panic Pit' and get ready for the main show.
It was good to see that there was a stage setup for 'Panic At The Disco'. When the lights went down, the comparison between the responses to the two support bands and PATD, was something you could feel, not just hear. Having said that, I was not expecting the hi-res screen which came to life as soon as the band took to the stage. That impressed me immediately, and I was looking forward to the rest of the spectacle. 'Panic At The Disco' know their audience, and know what they are looking for. What was delivered different to their normal shows, though. It was visually a cross between a retro 60's Psychedelia show, an arena show, and an small pub-show. It's interesting to see a band who (whilst in a venue like Acer Arena) can still make it seem intimate, like a show at The Annandale. The staging was very worthwhile, and inidicative of the stageshow I was looking forward to seeing. Multiple frames around the band comprising of the stage, a fake procenium arch, and a framed screen behind them all led to a depth you don't really get in a normal stage-show. As mentioned before, the hi-res screen (behind the band) was filled with a wonderfully colourful combination of anatomical drawings, animated silhouettes of the band, and a constantly growing and moving garden (the animations were, at times, almost Monty-Pythonesque in their appearance). With microphone stands festooned with flowers, twin bubble-machines (in full force during 'Behind The Sea'), and stage-cotumes which looked more like a snapshot from The Strawberry Alarm Clock in their heyday, they ripped through a good 10 songs with the audience going wild during each number. It was interesting to hear them quiet down when either Brendon [Urie], or Jon [Walker] started chatting to the audience, too. These fans were hanging on their every word. The chat intervals weren't too long though just long enough to strike an intimacy with the large audience, and they pushed all the right buttons with local references, the ubiquitous "Aussie Aussie Aussie!" chant, sly-wink asides referring to "...thinking of maybe moving here" - all calculated to get pops from the (primarily) teen-female audience, and leading into their next number. The illumination of the entire audience by all their mobile phones and cigarette lighters during 'Northern Downpour' was quite magical. Overall, though, the band presents a fairly wholesome image onstage, and not one which suggests that (as mentioned in an interview) they want to actually be the next 'Radiohead'.
Excellent stage-presence, and vocals, notwithstanding, I was looking forward to, hoping for, and (unfortunately) was disappointed in not getting, the whole Victorian circus aspect of their past stageshows. That directly references my earlier comment of 'cut-down versions of overseas productions'. Even though they had decided that the 'Pretty. Odd. Tour' would become a more streamlined show, sans circus performers, I was still hoping to see the full production. I guess that when a band has a good reputation for a good stage-show (as well as their sound) and you mainly only get the (good) sound, it still leaves you a little wistful for what might have been. Perhaps that's just me, as I like the whole package in a show.
Still, in saying that, I was not overly disappointed with their show, in fact I was very impressed with what they did provide as they were just what the doctor orderd for that night. A feel-good show, with a double-barrel encore, which left the audience drained, yet still hoping for just one more song.
We got to Fox Studios at about 7:30pm, briefly catching up with Nerdi, DomesticMouse and Bad Pauly before heading into The Hordern to catch the support band, Reguritator.
Barbs hadn't seen them live before (I had, at Big Day Out) and so I knew what to expect. Even with a replacement drummer on the night, who was more than fitting into the bands sound, they were good, although the audience seemed a little quiet. To be honest, I liked the 4 songs I caught, but for some reason they didn't really catch me. After almost every song, the band kept gushing about how they were there to support "the best [hottest] fucking band in the world!" and whilst that was the prime rerason I was there, it got old after the 3rd time they said it. Still, I got to the front, and managed to catch some shots of the band with the non-professional camera before the person behind me (also with a non-professional camera) got pinged by Security for having a 'professional camera'.
I think we need to have a real guideline as to what a 'professional' camera is. I tend to think that any camerra with a lens over 52mm should be deemed professional, but many non-professional cameras can take much better shots than an SLR these days. (Have a look at PC User this month for examples). They really need to have a look at what 'professional' is deemed to be (although on the flip-side I do understand that they need something to work from and 'a removalble lens' is probably as good a place to start as any).
Anyway, The Gurge were good - but I think they were better at BDO. So, after 4 songs we wandered out to look at the Merch. The Energy Domes [flowerpot hats] (only a hundred apparently) went instantly, and there were no programmes (Tour Books), no CDs or DVDs for Devo (though Regurgitator had a DVD). I was surprised (pleasantly) to see Devo Australian Tour posters available and I had a chat with the Playbill Manager there who initially scoffed at the idea of having DVDs and CDs, but after a few minutes (and comparing it to other shows they managed merchandise for, like 'War Of The Worlds' and 'Wicked!', and noting that - especially on consignment - even with a very small margin, they would make a more-than-passable profit) he jotted down some details and said he'd look at that for future gigs - which (IMO) is a positive step (although if anything does come of it I will be [pleasantly] surprised).
We wandered to the Bar and ran into DJ Voodoo, Mark Humphries, and ran into David Callan (and his wife) whom I hadn't seen (well hadn't spoken to) in about 6 years. The nice thing was that not only did he stop to say "Hi!" but both he and his wife spent a good 20 minutes just hanging and chatting with us. It was very very cool to catch up with him and I hope I get to make that a more regular thing, as both David (and his brother Peter) have always been great people and always took time to just chat. (Oh yes - I should note - David plays the carrot in those V8 adverts, and is also in a number of other ads, as well as being a brilliant improv actor, his brother Peter has also been in so many ads it's not funny, and was one of my first friends at Theatresports all those years ago).
Going back into the hall, it was time for the lights to go down, people streamed in and the old 'Public Service Education Film' started. The crowd screamed and then went quiet, in a kind of reverent hush. After the film has finished, with a faint D-E-V-O getting brighter on the screen, shadowy forms came onto the stage. Again the crowd roared and the lights came up on a group of men, Mark and Bob Mothersbaugh, Gerald and Bob Casale, and Neil Taylor standing in yellow overalls, with red energy-domes on their heads. For the first time in over 20 years, DEVO had returned to Sydney. As I recall, the setlist, included: "Going Under", "Peek-a-Boo!", "Girl U Want", "Whip It", "Secret Agent Man", "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction", "Uncontrollable Urge", "Mongoloid", "Blockhead", "Jocko Homo", "Smart Patrol/Mr. DNA", "Gates of Steel", "We Are Devo", "Freedom of Choice", "Gut Feeling", and after a short break, their encore of "Beautiful World" (with a surprise appearance of, and sung by, Booji Boy).
This was more than a stroll down memory lane, it was a fully-fleged pogo (the dance, not the stick). From the first notes, the boys - yes they will always be 'the boys', hit all the right marks for the night. They interracted with the audience, they performed, and they knew their audience. The really nice thing about the show was that this was Devo, 25 years on, older (and a little bigger in some cases) but unapologetically so. This was a show which should not have been missed by any Devo fan. It was tight, and fed us all the right ingredients. They took me back to the alternative (non-corporate harder and edgier) 80's, they bounced around the stage, they led cheers, they walked into the front of the audience as we all answered the De-Volution Mass Mantra 'Are We Not Men?' "We Are Devo!", they tore each others overalls off to change costumes halfway through, they frisbee'd Energy Domes over the crowd, and threw happy-face bouncy balls to the audience (I got one of the bouncy balls at least), and gave us what we wanted - a glorious night of De-Volution.
Last Saturday night was a very pleasant dinner at The Annandale with Miss Kate, Brian, and Barbara before heading into the Band-Room to see Kate Miller-Heidke.
I'm getting ingo the deplorable habit of not seeing support bands unless I know them - and this is something I think I should get out of the habit of doing. Why? Well how else can you tell if you like 'new' music if you just go and see the bands you want to see. (After all, there's a reason that supports are there - unless it's Vaness Amarosi supporting Kiss - but I digress).
It was nice to be finishing a meal and having the headliner walk in through the restaurant. Seriously - the talk all but stopped and whispers of "There she is..." permeated the room. That there's an indication fo the level of 'fame' associated with her right now, she stops a room. Then again, this IS the woman who joined the estwhile Cyndi Lauper onstage a little while ago (which to me seems like it was the teeming of two equally talented bookends) to perform 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun'. Still, the band-room was packed and kept filling. The Merchandise table was full of T-Shirts, girly-fitted-singlet-tops, programme-album books and CDs and DVDs! Hoorah! I spent time wondering what to get (and of course the CD/DVD combo won out) andf went inside to try to get a space. The nice things about having venues which don't llow smoking in them is that people have to go outside - this makes getting down the front a whole not easier, and down the front is where I wanted to be for this show.
From the moment the screen raised up and Kate's band took the stage the applause and sporadic cheers were a constant throughout the show. Kate's show was so familiar - and it's not from having seen her perform before. There's something familiar in the lilt and the delivery which begs the question: is the she love-child of a tri-fusion of Cyndi Lauper, Kate Bush and Debbie Harry? Whilst her band is a talented background presence, (Keir Nuttal [Guitars], Ben McCarthy [Bass, Vocals], Steve Pope - the Alpha Male [Drums], and the astonishly talented (and Golden Guitar nominated) Nicole Brophy [Backing Vocals, Acoustic Guitar]) Kate heself is a gleaming light onstage. Perhaps it was the white banged hairsyle, or the multilayered skirts, or perhaps just the honest radiant smile, offset by an innocently-sly-humour-filled expression, coupled with a pounding staccato delivery of her first number, but damn if she doesn't light up the room. What she lacks in ascerbic delivery a-la Debbie Harry, she makes up for in subtly and wonderfully subversive lyrics in the Lauper vein. A very neat 12-song set (mostly from her multi-Aria-nominated 'Little Eve' album) with a 2 song encore which had the Annadale not only packed to the back walls and out into the merch/pinball room, but begging for more.
This is her last tour promoting Little Eve, and thence she goes into 'next album' mode and we won't see her for a bit - yet seeing her tonight was a real pleasure. I like artists who can hold their own onstage (especially when they can hold the audience in the palm of their hand). They're a pleasure to watch, and Kate (along with her band) was an absolute pleasure to experience. Everyone talks about 'Australian Idol' as being her (current) tour-de-force, and it was an audience favourite on the night, I think her signature on this night was her version of 'You're The Voice' which blended almost seemlessly into a 'Bohemian Rhapsody'-inspired riff in the middle. It honestly made me laugh (in an embarrassingly delighted manner, like a 3 year-old discovering something wonderous) and the only thing that would have made it better would have been John Farnham in the audience singing along.
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...sounds awesome...