Sunday, April 17, 2011

Illy @ ANU Bar

I'll admit to not being the biggest hip-hop fan when arrived at ANU last Friday, but I left a convert, singing (or should that be rapping) the praises of all three acts of the night. The gig sold out quickly, with the handful of tickets left on the door being snapped up by 8.30, ensuring the night was going to be a cracker.

Local crew Raw City Rukus got the night pumping from the get go, with a huge turnout for the early starters. The live band brought a unique edge to their music, and the combination of the two male MC's and the smooth female vocals from Imogen Spong in 'Aint We Funkin'' snagged my attention immediately. The guitars provided groove, and the drums kept the timing tight, making the crowd jump and sway to their songs. Their set was short and sweet, but they certainly made an impact, and are definitely one of Canberra's brightest unsigned talents.

Dutch was next on the sweaty stage and entertained the crowd with rapping over remixes of songs from the Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Little Red's 'Rock It'. He didn't increase the crowd's energy, just kept it bubbling along nicely. The mainly male audience was kitted out in caps, beanies and clothing a couple of sizes too big, a cliche look of hip-hop fans. The majority of girls sported skimpy dresses and killer heels, an odd choice for a hip-hop gig, but their motives were clearly more about getting the attention of handsome Illy than practicable clothing for dancing. 


Super producer & DJ M-Phazes took over the decks for a solid twenty-minute set before Illy started. His slick mix included heaps of Aussie artists like Bliss & Esso, Drapht and The Herd which steadily built anticipation and excitement among the crowd for Illy's imminent performance.  

Dressed in a Zoo York sweater and NY Yankees baseball cap, the blue-eyed and clean cut Illy burst onto the stage to a screaming crowd. M-Phazes stayed on the decks and Cam Gilmore added live drums, completing the recipe for musical mastery. 

This show was the last on Illy's 'The Chase Tour', but fatigue was certainly the last thing on his mind as he gave the crowd his all. His intense gaze penetrated each part of the mosh, making the crowd go crazy for 'My way', 'Riding the bus' and 'Diamonds'. 

Half-way through his set he made the crowd turn around and sing happy birthday to his tour manager, and instructed the audience to get out their phones and hold them in the air so he could take an arty picture with his iphone.  

Illy played his Triple J like a version cover of 'Where is my mind', which displayed his creative lyrical talents by replacing the lyrics of the original with lines from Aussie hip-hop songs. Pure pandemonium ensued when he closed off his set with 'Pictures' and came back for encore with 'It can wait'. The audience screamed the lyrics so loudly that Illy was almost drowned out. The chorus of the song perfectly summed up the evening as all the punters left basking in a moment of glorious, music inspired, happiness. 

Monday, April 11, 2011

British India @ ANU Bar

British India played at the ANU on Saturday night as part of their 'March into the Ocean' tour. Supported by the City Riots and Boy in a Box, the venue was half filled with a mainly male crowd by the time I got there just as the City Riots finished.

Boy in a Box performed a spirited set, but the crowd wasn't exactly engaged with more standing than dancing. That didn't stop the boys giving it their all though, no-one could say they lacked energy when playing power-pop single 'Moon Comes Up' and 'We are the Warriors'.

 Front man Tobias Priddle had the necessary charm, charisma and cheekbones to draw attention from the small female portion of the audience and the rest of the band warrant special mention for their matching white shirts. They ended their set with much debauchery, with all members using the last of their energy in a fit of noise, instrument whacking and piggy backs around the stage.

When a slightly haggard looking British India finally leapt onto the stage, the pedal was to the metal from the first bar of music. I had heard about their infamous live show power but still their sound was rougher and heavier than I had expected, not a bad thing. They certainly didn't wait around to get into their solid list of hits with 'Run the Red Light' one of the first songs played. This got the rowdy, testosterone fueled crowd riled up, and a crazy hour of heavy moshing began. 


Lead singer Declan Melia was dressed in a wu-tang t-shirt and grey hoodie, which at one point, he placed over his head and sang through it. He was chatty throughout the set, talking about previous visits to Canberra and double checking whether he was at the 'pretentious' university or the 'bogan one'. 

Songs like 'I'll wait for you' and 'She Prefers Older Men' were hard and fast, and the timing of slower 'Vanilla' was perfect to give the fatigued crowd a break before their most popular song 'I Said I'm Sorry.' At the end of their set the boys went ballistic, using every instrument on stage to make as much noise as possible. Predictably, the crowd went crazy with crowd surfers and shoulder rides making life the security guards earn their keep. 

British India proved again why they are regarded as one of Australia's finest live acts with no intention of slowing down anytime soon. 

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Papa vs Pretty and Last Dinosaurs

Transit Bar hosted three young all male bands with bucket-loads of talent last Thursday night. 

First cab off the rank was local four-piece Hancock Basement who did an excellent job at warming the crowd up with their songs 'One in a million' and 'Things will get better'. They have been playing solidly in the Canberra scene for the last few years, building a fan base who were there to hear their tunes. I especially liked the songs they introduced as 'new' which showed more depth and musical diversity than their previous EP. 

The crowd was made up of short haired girls and long-haired boys who had a young, friendly vibe. Needing only tiny encouragement from the Last Dinosaurs to move towards the stage and energetic dancing began and didn't stop all night. 

The Last Dinosaurs didn't look like I had imagined from their music. The pint sized musicians looked like they had come straight from Hobbiton. The lead singer Sean Caskey didn't have a ring, but a large marble tied around his neck completing the Frodo comparison. Their music was rougher and faster live than their recorded stuff, and their single 'Honolulu' sounded vastly different from the radio version. They also played very catchy tunes like 'Can't Decide' and 'Time and Place', all clearly loved by the crowd. 
Closing out the night was Papa vs Pretty who were my favourite band of the show. Hailing from Sydney, driven by nineteen-year-old Thomas Rawle, the three-piece created some seriously punchy live music. Producing such a diverse range of songs, from hard and fast 'Wrecking Ball' to slow and lovely 'Heavy Harm' showed a level of music maturity well beyond their years.

 Drummer Tom Myers played bare-chested for most of the set, understandable given the room temperature and how hard he was hitting the drums. When current single 'One of the Animals' started the audience took their advice and went crazy, singing along and jumping around. The boys looked genuinely chuffed that people knew the words and all three had huge smiles plastered on their faces.


I was impressed with the humble and generous nature of all the bands, inviting everyone to stick around and have a drink with them after the gig, an un-common invitation in the often cooler-than-thou music scene.