VAN SHE LIVE @ CLUB4PLAY
Sunday August 31st.

I was a little surprised to hear Van She would be playing a gig at Club4Play. I had absolutely no idea where they were going to house the band but, surprisingly, the logistical nightmare I had conjured up in my head was nipped in the bud as soon as I’d walked into the venue and discovered a somewhat secret stage area next to the DJ console. “All is well in the world,” I thought, and began to sit comfortably with the idea that the venue choice was indeed a very good one. Those thoughts went out the window quite quickly.

I’ve seen the boys play more shows than I care to count this year and in some pretty iconic venues not only in Melbourne but as far away as Byron Bay, all in which they’ve really been in their element. It did strike me that, maybe, in the intimate 4play surroundings, the boys wouldn’t be as free to rollick around on stage like the true rock-god’s that they are because, well, there wasn’t really any room. However, on a positive note, it gave the crowd a more intimate connection with the band, something that is all-too-rare an event these days, and a nice change for those of us who are maybe used to seeing the boys play bigger venues in Melbourne.

The boys, donning some seriously spunky Van She baseball jackets (GIVE ME ONE ET CETERA,) were greeted by a mass of cheers and screams from what was most definitely a full house. Not bad for a school night. Opening with the Thom Yorke meets Sigur Ros inspired “Memory Man,” the band really took off with live favourite “The Sea,” which is probably the best song to really catch vocalist Nicky Routledge’s incredible stage presence for, before launching into their ace 2007 single “Cat & The Eye.” Next single “Changes” was followed by “Talking” and possible future release “Virgin Suicide” (that chorus = phwoar!), before erupting into long-time favourite “Sex City,” from their 2005 self-titled EP. Tracks like “Strangers” (which saw keyboardist Michael Di Francesco dish up a tasty treat of blips-and-blops,) “Mission” and crowd pleaser “Kelly” capped off the night nicely, whilst the electronic, sinister and incredibly sexy “It Could Be The Same,” sung by the bands bassist Matt Van Schie, added a nice and twisted little spike to their stellar live show. Things came to a close with the synth-tastic “So High,” which was definitely the highlight, if not for the actual wonder of seeing the song performed live, but for the fact that the bands drummer, Tomek Archer, stepped away from the back of the stage and came to the front to play a few keys.

It was unfortunate to hear a number of people leaving the venue after the set proclaiming they’d not enjoyed it. Does it have something to with the crowd in general, or was it the venue? Who knows. It’s probably not hard to suspect that at least half of the people there possibly had no real background connection with the bands music, but at least they gave them a shot. Thankfully, there’s that other half that rocked out with their cocks out and gave the band everything they had as audience members. For the first few rows, the punters were in rock and roll heaven, and that’s just about the best place to be at a gig like this.

As for the venue itself; I really hope the boys don’t have any plans to play back there. It may be suitable for other bands, but for one like Van She; one that relies on sonic sound or the technicolour of visual aid, the venue itself let the boys down in terms of production quality.