Sunday, October 30, 2011

Creepshow Festival 2011 @ the Espy, 29/10/2011

Well, Saltar Hype did it again. I won't say too much review-y stuff about this since I already wrote a blog about it on my other page, but yeah. Here we go.

Anna Salen (AKA "The Super Anna Salen Brothers")
After getting a good response last year for their "Mario" theme, Daiv Morgan, Paul Risso and Shaun Scott decided to do it again this year, once again to great effect. It's great to have a recording of this - you'll hear plenty of Mario sound effects in the middle of their own songs, care of Shaun's triggers, and there's a couple of good covers of the theme music between songs. Also, watch out for a special guest drummer in Karate (Shaun played guitar). Dinner's On is fast becoming one of my favourite Anna songs, although I should say that the new (and amusingly titled) one they opened with at this show and the night before is IMMENSE.
SETLIST:
Tit Dirt
-Mario Theme 1-
Communist Rocket
-Mario Theme 2-
Dinner's On
Karate
(featuring Matt Crute, hence Daiv renaming the song Karutey)
Vehicles

DOWNLOAD MP3 HERE

The Khyber BeltSo for the uninitiated, The Khyber Belt are basically the closest thing Melbourne has to a supergroup. Vocals, Forbes McKail, formerly of Rook. Guitar, Tyson Fish, formerly of Rook. Guitar, Guy Shenfield, formerly of Bushido. Bass, James Livesy, formerly of Sleep Parade. Drums, Alex Dinic, formerly of Bushido. Rook and Bushido have broken up, and James isn't in Sleep Parade now, so it's great to see all these musicians still doing their thing in this band, and this was only their fifth show in total, due to the fact that Forbes lives in Brisbane so they can't play together very often. Anyway. The first time I saw them it was a bit like, "FUCK YEAH! ALL THESE GUYS, AND FORBES IS SINGING, HOW GOOD IS THIS!" But now... it's like the honeymoon is over. Don't get me wrong, they're still a very good band. And it is fucking awesome that Forbes is still using THAT VOICE. But... this band isn't Rook. I know it's wrong to compare a band to the bands that their members came from, but when you've got Forbes singing, and Tyson playing guitar, you can't help but make the comparison. Pretty much what I'm saying is that in terms of the songs, SO FAR, this band isn't living up to my expectations. But it was actually a pretty good performance on the night, and the EP, on sale for the first time on this evening, isn't bad. I definitely think there's some potential here, and if they can get their shit together, they could definitely be as good as Rook in the future.
SETLIST:
(Intro on recording)
Sun
In Time You'll See
London
(unknown)
Don't Look to the Sky
We the People
DOWNLOAD MP3 HERE

Full Scale Revolution(recording to follow)

Engine Three SevenAnother high quality set, really the only way the Engine boys know how to play I think. Good to hear a BRAND newie in there (although it definitely sounds a bit rough; I think Casey's not even singing real words half the time) and Erasure getting its third consecutive airing. I think it's safe to say that one's back for good. Thank God! Anyway yeah, not much to say here. The recording starts straight away into their set because I was busy talking to mates and didn't realise they were so close to starting. Ah well. Also, contains lots of singing. My singing. I think I need to invest in my own magic hat or something, but goddammit I love Engine Three Seven!
SETLIST:
Hysterical Hysteria
Automatic Everything
Over Capacity
Erasure
Atmosphere
Cops
Velociraptor
(BRAND NEW SONG!)
Have it All
Easy Graceful Descent

DOWNLOAD MP3 HERE

Jericco
So it's been quite some time now since this performance actually took place, but I do remember it quite well, because it was Jericco, and thus, it was awesome. Brent made a pretty awesome bearded lady and I don't know many other bands that could have kept the energy going at this time of night/morning (they were onstage at 1am). And Brent's solo acoustic song was cool. That's about all I've got to say really. Again, excessive singing/general excitement warning.
SETLIST:
Dahab (Remix) (not sure if that's what this is "officially" called, but yeah, it's got the Oud and the intro sounds like the recorded version, so that's how I'm gonna label it)
Rujm (Pile of Stones)
Sun
Cause and Effect
Always
No Solution No Problem
Nice to See You
Moonlight Highlights

Safe to Say
B-Song
Promises Made of Glass
Chilli
Monsters

DOWNLOAD MP3 HERE

Friday, October 28, 2011

Alcest @ the John Curtin Bandroom, 27/10/2011

I'd heard many good things about this Alcest band before but I never really got around to checking them out. Then they announced an Australian tour, so I thought I'd give them a long-overdue listen; turns out they're fucking awesome and I was really looking forward to this tour. I was especially glad that they announced this second show, as the first one clashed with another gig I absolutely had to attend. So here we go.

First up was Encircling Sea, a band I've seen live quite a lot over the past few years but that's OK, because they're usually pretty awesome. Still, the previous show had Nekrasov supporting; I would have rather seen him because yeah, Encircling Sea play quite often and Nekrasov barely plays at all, in fact I heard that it was going to be his last show ever. Anyway, this is about Encircling Sea, not Nekrasov. A friend of mine who's a bit more familiar with the band than I am, informs me that this set consisted of a new unreleased song at the start, and then a section of their Ecru piece at the end. I was contemplating just posting this as one solid file because it really did seem like one long jam (not that that's a bad thing), so thanks Garrett, now I can do something a little bit more accurate.
SETLIST:
(New song)
Ecru (partial)

(recording to follow)

The inclusion of Heirs on the entirety of this tour was something I had no complaints with, as they're always a stunning live act and on this occasion they delivered yet again. Little disappointed they didn't bring out the projector like usual but I suppose they didn't want to upstage the headlining act or whatever. Anyway. It was a damn good performance, but I've been really surprised while tracking this to discover that they only played FIVE songs. I know that some of their songs are lengthy, but I didn't expect this. I guess there's a bit of difference between the studio and live versions of their material. Anyway, here they are. Very good set.
SETLIST:
Fowl
Burrow
Mockery
Men
Symptom

DOWNLOAD MP3 HERE

Alcest. Man, I had some high expectations for this show and they pretty much met them with great ease. They had a few sound problems though, or more accurately a recurring series of one major problem - vocals being way too quiet. It apparently happened onstage as well, with Neige asking to be turned up at one point, only to be told he was turned up as loud as possible. "Oh, OK then!" he replied, clearly a little bit disappointed. Anyway, other than that it was a beautiful show. Being that they have some lengthy songs, only nine in total were played but it didn't really feel like we missed out.
SETLIST
Le Secret
Les Iris
Summer's Glory

Écailles de Lune (Part I)
Printemps Emeraude
Solar Song
Souvenirs d'un autre monde
Percees de Lumiere
----
Encore----
Elevation

DOWNLOAD MP3 HERE

Saturday, October 22, 2011

The Butterfly Effect @ Pier Live, 21/10/2011

Well, it was The Butterfly Effect's "10 Years" celebratory tour, but strangely enough, there was no gig in the immediate vicinity of the Melbourne CBD. Luckily some friends were attending this gig, so I thought I'd take this opportunity to finally cross TBE off the list. Supports were fellow Queenslanders Helm, and by the sounds of it, two other no-namers from around the Frankston area. My friend did his research and said we needn't bother turning up early for bad Karnivool rip-offs, so we didn't.
Helm
A very good friend of mine has been talking up this Queensland band for quite a long time, and I ended up seeing them at the Sonic Forge festival late last year and I was suitably impressed. Since then I've actually managed to listen to and become quite familiar with their material (again thanks to aforementioned good friend) and I was very much looking forward to seeing what they'd do tonight. As can probably be expected, there weren't many in the crowd getting into it but the Gold Coast boys were genuinely making an effort with their performance, and I, and the friends that I was there with, really enjoyed them. When I first heard their cover of Great Southern Land I thought, "Oh, another one of those "let's do a totally unexpected cover in a progressive rock/metal style"", but I definitely appreciate it a lot more now. It went down very well live and Lucas definitely sings it well. Great set all around really; in fact in my opinion they were the only thing that didn't make this night a complete waste of time and money. Can't wait to see them again soon; one to keep an eye on over the next few years I think.
SETLIST:
Burn the White Flag
Great Southern Land (Icehouse cover)
Bullets
At the Waters Edge
Soldier
Home
Collapse (with drum solo!)
Watch it Burn

DOWNLOAD MP3 HERE

The Butterfly Effect
Oh my. I'd never seen this band before, as I got into them a little later than most, and did so kind of because I had to, being a fan of all the other bands in the scene, such as Cog, Karnivool, Full Scale, etc. I do really enjoy some of their stuff, but they've never really struck a major chord with me. I was hoping a solid live performance with a setlist packed full of their songs I really liked would properly convert me. I don't know what I was expecting from these guys, but it wasn't this. I was genuinely disappointed. Where to start? Clint's vocals were quite off the mark at times, and tellingly he was very often directing his microphone at the crowd to sing along. I'm not going to say it's a BAD thing that Clint (and indeed the others in the band) were really energetic onstage, but I don't think the way they were flailing around really suits their kind of music, as I've never really seen them as a "heavy" band at all, except for maybe their earlier material. Speaking of that, they decided to play an entirely chronological setlist, starting with a couple of songs from their first EP and then moving through a few tunes off each album, ending with the most recent. It was an interesting decision to make, but ultimately I don't think it worked, as all the heavier material was in the first part of the set and by the time they were closing with Worlds on Fire (one of their best songs), it seemed like people had very little patience or energy for a sprawling seven-minute long prog-rock song. Mixing it up would have definitely been a much better idea. It was also disappointing not to hear any new material, and there were a few other album tracks (read, not just the usual "popular" anthems) I would have liked to hear. I thought I was just not enjoying it because we were a little way back in the crowd and I was tired but everyone whom I saw on the night (some of whom were in the "pit") agreed that they have played better shows in the past. So yeah. If you're a TBE fan you might enjoy downloading this, and I for one am willing to give them another chance (because I KNOW they can't be this bad all the time), but yes, it certainly did not live up to my expectations.
SETLIST:
Black Lung
Take it Away
Perception Twin
Crave
One Second of Insanity
Always
Aisles of White
A Slow Descent
Gone
Reach
Room Without a View
Final Conversation

Window and the Watcher
Worlds on Fire

DOWNLOAD MP3 HERE

Friday, October 14, 2011

I Am Duckeye @ Greyhound Hotel, 13/10/2011

Well then, here it is. The first ever performance at Alcatraz, a new weekly event taking place at St Kilda's Greyhound Hotel. I've lived in St Kilda for almost four years and there's never been anything on here that I've been interested in, but now with Crutey taking it over once a week over the next couple of months, I'm sure I'll be making it a bit of a regular thing.

Anyway, to I Am Duckeye. For those that don't know, they're a band with a couple of dudes from Sydonia (guitarist Sam and drummer Sean). Except unlike Sydonia, this band is NOT at all serious. They're as much a comedy act as they are a band. I really don't know how to describe them, except to say that you should definitely go and see them if you like stoner rock with dick jokes and bad choreography. Little bit of crowd noise from me and my friends but ah well, it's not too bad. And there was absolutely no way I was going to remove the onstage banter.
SETLIST
Time Worms
Stink Lines
1960's Chickenhawk
Punching Dicks
Baby Money
Die
Teabag
Mowees
Cotton

DOWNLOAD MP3 HERE

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Dean Wareham plays Galaxie 500 @ Corner Hotel (2011-10-11)

Supported by Sand Pebbles

I never thought I'd get to see Galaxie 500 but now I'm not so sure I need to, an actual Galaxie 500 reunion would have a hard time topping the show I saw last night. Dean Wareham plays Galaxie 500 was everything I could have hoped for. What a guy.
This is the first gig I've recorded in several years but I think it turned out very well. There's some chatter during the first song but otherwise a very polite crowd.

Setlist:
1. Flowers
2. Pictures
3. When Will You Come Home
4. Snowstorm
5. Decomposing Trees
6. Strange
7. Summertime
8. Don't Let Our Youth Go to Waste
9. Blue Thunder
10. Listen, The Snow Is Falling
11. Tugboat
12. Fourth of July
13. (break before encore)
14. I'll Keep it With Mine
15. Hearing Voices
16. Temperature's Rising
17. Ceremony

Length: 1:23:31

MP3: http://ul.to/x5hich82 [171MB]
FLAC: http://ul.to/6nj3ejd3 [276MB]