Oh dear!

http://www.modularpeople.com/blog/?p=270

Seems the inevitable has happened and I’ve suffered a Van She related Identity Crisis courtesy of the Modular Records Blog.  I am now known as “Avid Van She Fan.”  In the words of Katie Ting Tings, “That’s not my name! That’s not my name! That’s not my name! That’s not my… name!”

I’ve got some more Van She related stuff coming up.  You’re probably all sick of it by now but I Do Not Give A Fucking Shit You See, so there.  And speaking of The Ting Tings, I’m heading off to a special showcase of theirs this weekend in Melbourne so I’ll have a full report early next week on how that went.

As promised, the night which would eventually seal my fate as “Avid Van She Fan” (should I change my ocupation from ‘Music Journalist’ to ‘Avid Van She Fan’ now?) was reviewed for Forte Magazine by myself and, aside from a few “web-only” inclusions, here it is in full, as printed last issue in the mag…

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CLUB MOD TOUR
Friday August 15th @ The Prince Bandroom

When Modular put on a party, they certainly know how to entice with a killer line-up. Latest label signing Tame Impala joined New Zealand born, once Australian based, and current British citizen Ladyhawke, and Modular’s current golden boys, Sydney’s Van She, for a night of mayhem and musical chicanery. Put all of that together with DJs Andee Frost, Ooh-EE, Generik and Nick Foley, and you have a sure-fire strong concept which is obviously going to pack out the halls of the Prince Bandroom.

Playing to a moderate crowd, Tame Impala opened with a strong set of psychedelic and earthy rock songs which set themselves aside from most of the music found within their labels roster, proving just how much Modular need a band like Tame Impala on board right now, especially now that the boring Wolfmother have become even more so and have virtually disbanded. But unlike the faux-Zeppelin Wolfmother, Tame Impala give listeners something unique, fresh and add a brightness to their dark splashings of hippy-rock. Some unfortunate sound issues prevented the majority of the crowd from actually hearing much of the vocals, but musically speaking, the three young boys were on fire, particularly drummer Jay Watson who was a bit of a madman on the kit. The sets pearler moment was their geniusly reconstructed cover of Blueboy’s dance hit “Remember Me” from several years ago. There was also the case of walking on stage bare-foot and, being a big fan of shoes and the people that wear them, I found it a little distressing, but not enough to take away the focus from the music on offer.

Ladyhawke (known to her mother as Pip Brown) in her first Melbourne performance took to the stage looking somewhat nervous. Entering without any real artificial build up, Brown walked up to the microphone and casually announced, with a wave and a nervous smile; “Hi, I’m Ladyhawke. Thanks for coming.” At this point, I was already in love. Opening with “Professional Suicide,” “Manipulating Woman” and next single “Dusk Till Dawn,” Pip finally began to take full control of her stage presence and confidence by the time “Magic” and “Love Don’t Live Here” came into play. Of course, the electric pop star we’d all hoped and prayed for in Ladyhawke really shone through with singles “Back Of The Van” and “Paris Is Burning,” with Brown – in places – looking a little surprised so many people knew the lyrics. Closing the set with “My Delirium” (think vintage 1980’s Madonna meets the dancehall days of rock and pop) was a truly fine way to cap off an exhilarating set. Believe the hype kids; this woman is the real deal. You can check out my pictures and the semi-review of this very set that appeared on the website a few weeks ago by clicking here.

Van She closed the night with what I’ve come to call their ‘after dark’ set. Things are usually quite layed back (yet still electric) for the boys when they take the stages of a festival or a show when the sun’s still out, but put them on as the moon rises and the blackness surrounds; it’s like releasing the rock-vampires within. Opening with the monster choon “The Sea,” vocalist Nick rollicked around the stage, flapping his microphone stand about in true rock-star mode and swinging the mike in the air, all whilst all-round fucking legend Tomek Archer proved why he is a force to be reckoned with in the world of drumming (and probably the countries best, mind,) and Michael Di Francesco lit up the stage with his geniusly placed and constructed synths. A true highlight was when bassist Matt Van Schie took reign of vocals for the rocky-as-hell “It Could Be The Same,” which delivers a delicious bassline and a sexy, demonic delivery come chorus. As spellbounding live as it is on record. Closing with assured crowd pleaser “Kelly” capped off an evening of great music and killer stage presence in fine form.

However, my comments on the crowd are not so positive.

At one point, during Ladyhawke’s set, three punters were throwing tic-tac’s at her and laughing. During Van She’s set, there were a group of guys shouting at the band and sticking their fingers up at them. More of this kind of behaviour which I had not experienced at a Van She gig before continued through the night. All this combined with the rather bizarre vibe made for a somewhat uncomfortable crowd experience. Half the people there were good people; inside for the love and the passion for the music and to have a good time. The other half? Posers who had been told to attend due to the cool factor, or heard about it through a trend-dictatorship of some kind. Fuck off I say, we do not want you here! It does beg the question of whether these idiots really only attend an event on coolness hearsay, because I really wish they’d crawl back to the botanical gardens with their goon bags where they bloody belong and leave those of us with an actual interest to see live music be in peace.

A smashing night though, one that could have been even better without the posers, and if Tame Impala had worn some shoes…

You can view photos I took from the gig here.