January Gig Reviews

As you will soon see, January was a pretty amazing time for gigs…

Date + Venue + City	Band
12/01/10 Casino De Paris, Paris	Air	A+	Despite the not-so-amazing seats, and the fact my gig partner and I knew about one album’s worth of old songs, each, they were incredible.
20/01/10 Spectrum, Sydney	Dent May	A+	Even though I’d slept about five hours in the previous fifty, and was jetlagged and in pain. I am so so glad I didn’t miss this show. It was intimate and scrubbed back from his albums. But with just two people, his songs lost nothing from their album versions. He was super nice too! He makes me swoon…
21/01/10 Becks Festival Bar, Sydney	Camera Obscura	C	They seemed really pissy about the sound, and acted as if they didn’t want to be there. The choices of songs was pretty good, but the order sucked and they ended up sounding very samey.
22/01/10 The Corner Hotel, Melbourne	Laura Marling	B+	This concert had a completely opposite atmosphere from the one I would see six days later. The crowd were really bubbly and wanted to sing along – which I think disconcerted Laura. She was still lovely though. The venue was probably a bit big for her ideal viewing.
24/01/10 Billboard, Melbourne	The Decemberists	A	I have waited SO long to see this band live, and they didn’t disappoint at all. They played almost everything I needed to hear. My only regret is not getting there earlier and up closer.
26/01/10 The Metro, Sydney	Florence + The Machine	B	By a stroke of luck I got this ticket the day before, and I was SO excited. I underestimated how popular she was and failed to anticipate the douchiness of the crowd. The sound for short people on the dancefloor was pretty bad. But I still had fun, and she played a nice set. She was a little quiet though.
28/01/10 The Speigeltent, Sydney	Laura Marling	A+	The Speigeltent alone has an amazing atmosphere. So when it was pouring down with rain there was something so magical watching Laura Marling with the sound of rain in the background. The crowd was deathly silent, and Laura was super cute with her ever so awkward stage banter.
31/01/10 Sydney College Of Arts	The Middle East	B	Better suited to quiet little venues, they lost a bit of their atmosphere at a festival. But they put on a great show.
	Philadelphia Grand Jury	B+	An old live favourite. To be honest they haven’t been as good as the time I first saw them at Spectrum, but they are still quirky enough I will see them again.
	Seekae	C	Miles will probably never speak to me again, but I found Seekae really quite boring. Apparently if I’d listened to their recorded songs I’d appreciate it more, but it was just noise to me. I need heartfelt lyrics and sweet melodies.
	Sarah Blasko	B+	She didn’t play my favourites, but she was adorable as always.
	Bridezilla	B-	I don’t see the fuss over Bridezilla, I’m afraid. There’s nothing wrong with them, I just find them a bit boring.
	Echo & The Bunnymen	B	Surprisingly enjoyable. Probably more enjoyable had there been less of a crush for good spots for Florence, but that’s what you get at Festivals.
	Florence + The Machine	A+	She was so much more into this gig than the one at the Metro – the sound was way better. The crowd was just as douchey (and way more squished), but you could hear her over them this time. She really went off.
	Mumford & Sons	B+	Having not heard any of their songs before Laneway, and even with my prejudice against them as the JJJ’s hottest 100 winner. They were folky and enjoyable (I expected that the label of folky had been attributed to them as a quirk to sell more records as a novelty), and I will be acquiring their album when funds allow.

Advertisement

---