12 September 2011

Big Sound Live 20110908

DZ Deathrays @ Bakery Lane
So, I've already written about the first night of Big Sound Live...you might want to read that first for context. Now we get on to the business of the second evening's showcases.

My picks for Thursday night ended up being difficult to stick to, if purely for the reason that my feet no longer felt attached to my body after the first night's shenanigans. Missed Jakarta completely and ran straight to see DZ Deathrays at the open-air Bakery Lane venue.

Brisbane's DZ Deathrays blew my mind. A two-piece metal explosion featuring a crazed hair monster singer/guitarist and an Animal-inspired drummer. (If you've never seen The Muppets, that's not my problem.) The punters at this gig were going absolutely mental. Mind you, I noticed lots of girls headbanging and lots of boys minding their hairdos... Nevermind the audience, the band was a lot of fun to watch and made a lasting impression.

Pluto Jonze @ Rics
Next up, I caught The Mercy Beat at the Tempo Hotel. Power rock, good calibre. I'd like to see these guys again in a different venue. The Tempo's not my favourite and the standard - or lack thereof - of punters on the night detracted from the gig. You can only have so many drunk girls fall into you before it impacts upon your ability to provide a reasonable assessment of the band's skills.

The Adults disappointed entirely: I couldn't help but feel they were lacking in presence and that their music was bland and predictable. Perhaps I'm biased: the band features the Shihad frontman and sounds nothing like Shihad. I suppose I came to the gig expecting something else.

My award for the weirdest band at Big Sound Live has to go to Pluto Jonze, who I caught at Rics on their teeny weeny stage. I'm a theremin hound, so any band sporting one interests me to begin with. When the band fails to utilise the theremin entirely throughout their music, the theremin becomes a gimmick. And I don't like gimmicks. Regardless, the band grooved through the few songs they managed to perform due to too lengthy a soundcheck. Highlight was Triple J's Richard Kingsmill standing directly in front of me, impeding my view. If it'd been anyone else...but I let him get away with it.

Dubmarine @ The Zoo
Why didn't more people catch the Dubmarine show at The Zoo? The band was amazing, sporting a feelgood, love the world, hippy vibe. The scent of ganja seemed smeared on everyone in the crowd...I think the band might appeal to stoners? Anyhow, their musicianship was spot on, vocals delivered with passion and energy. I grooved through this show before I had to run across the road to see Floating Me. Special mention must go to the bass man's 'O' face.

I've missed several gigs by Floating Me lately, so I felt destined to see this show. Starting after what felt like a painful soundcheck, the band was plagued by mix problems throughout their entire gig. This must've been disappointing to them, but nonetheless they powered through. Their music and onstage presence is reminiscent of '90s Seattle bands, and they've got a great, dirty bass sound. The lead singer's vocals soared, but the set did start to drag toward the end and I lost interest about halfway through. I think the bad mix just got to me, as it seemed to get to the band.

All in all, the second night of live music wasn't as impressive as the first, but I still found a couple of new favourites: DZ Deathrays and Dubmarine.

I should have some interviews with my favourite bands from Big Sound Live coming up over the next month, so you can find out more about them and their music.

Here are some more photos from the night.

Some of the wall erotica @ Electric Playground

The Mercy Beat

Dubmarine 

Dubmarine 

Floating Me

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