The Good China (9/4/2009)

Revolver
Or the 'volver (say it with an ausie accent) as a friendly dude on the tram told me. Despite the nature of the venue, as we've said before, I like the place; there's a nice lounge room feel to the place. Possibly a bit too comfortable as I fell asleep during the second band so I even missed their name. Always an entry fee - mostly a fair price, plenty of drink variety at average prices, reasonable sound and a surprisingly good crowd (i think the bands are too early for the regulars). Based my previously defined criteria I'd give it a 70% plus 10% for comfort, equates to a total venue score of 80%, but I've always been a fan of the 'volver.

Jbs'
These guys were pretty neat and I remember liking them - what's not to like about a song called 'shit! Werewolves!'. They had an interesting thing going with a drum machine; I dislike drum machines in general and this was no exception. They were using for some of the less interesting repetitive stuff like hand claps and the like. Other than that minor distraction, we did enjoy the show and like what they're doing. I'd give 33%, keep it up dudes.

The Good China
As usual we got a great show from these guys featuring some cool songs we hadn't heard before. This time - thankfully - with proper mixing so we could hear everyone. I have to say also there was a noticeable and welcome lack of ego coming from the stage which I have disliked at previous shows. Their EP is highly recommended, it has some great tracks, all/most of which they played. These guys have more stage presence than most gigs we've been to in terms of headcount! They also put on a good show that was well worth seeing, I like that it's a different set overtime I see them; many bands underestimate the necessity of this. I'll give them 67%.

I do have a brief question for them though (because I have reason to believe you google your band name - everyone does it, don't worry): I am a massive fan of the violin work in general, particularly at the end of the opening track on your EP, why have you suddenly ditched it when playing it live? the song didn't climax for me without it! it felt like when wolfmother used to be played on the radio but the commercial stations would cut out the guitar solos to dumb it down for the public; a tad disappointing! Still, you're doing something great though, all the best.

Overall I'd give this gig 48%. Seems a bit harsh I know, but this is compared to any other gig and I haven't ruled out negative scores as a possibility: a certain gig we saw at the evelyn would classify for this honour!

Revolver (10/1/2009)

By Jimmy

Sean Ainsworth

The Demon Parade

The Priory Dolls

Paper Planes 

3 Beers consumed

The Revolver Bandroom always makes me feel as though I'm some sort of oddity for the Munters in the back room. Something about being in that big cage I think. And going to the bathroom always makes me feel weird.... 

'Hey, there's a cover charge to go in there...'

'To the Bathroom?'

'Oh, no.... that's just to the right... but don't go any further.... there's a cover charge to go in there...'

Fearless vampire killers are becoming a regular fixture in our 100 gigs quest, with their relentless gig playing either as headliners or supports. A Saturday night free of them on a bill is becoming a rarity. Obviously not content with spending a night in, Sean Ainsworth, FVK frontman, was first opening the night. Playing solo 60's psych, with a carefree attitude, he had the crowd relaxed and amused, particularly during a straight to the chorus cover of Radioheads Let Down.  

Space images soon took over the projector, a fitting intro for the 80's Psychedelia stylings of the Devil Parade. Clearly also feeling a little restless, keyboards were provided by FVK bassist, Whill Dempsey. The singer kinda looks like Ronnie Wood but sounds a little like Richard Ashcroft. For some reason I had the Stone Roses stuck in my head afterwards, but that's not a bad thing.

Zac Efron, Michael Cera and the Mighty Boosh dude now have a band apparently, and they are the Priory Dolls. While I wasn't sure of their poppy/noisy sound at first, by the end of their set they had won me over.  Songs about soldiers on holiday combined with guitar noise work quite well (I made that up, I have no idea what the songs are about, I never listen to lyrics- Sorry... but the music is heck- good). Plenty of energy made this my band of the night. Jack of the Morning Sun on their myspace is currently keeping me motivated. 

Closing the night were Paper Planes, named after the popular MIA song of 2007. That's a lie. Grungy female angst may have been big in the 90's (Hole, Garbage etc.), but unfortunatly for this band was not enough to hold the majority of the audience, who had made like cheap frankfurts and split before the show began. They missed some very long hair, lots of distortion, and a bassist that looked like he could smell a bad fart when he was rockin it. While not mind blowing, it was refreshing to see different kind of retro sound. What they did, they did well, but it's not for me. Not this year anyway.