Wendy in the Mountains, Drunk Elk, Native Cats @ Alley Cat
February 7th 2010 03:39
Taking to the undersized stage at the corner of the Alley Cat, Wendy in the Mountains and the Caves with the Slaves launched into song first. Playing the titular Wendy Theme, swirling guitar danced with optimistic synth drones and sparred alongside naturally progressive drum beats. Or something hyperbolic like that. Coming into Wendy in the Mountains for the first time, I enjoyed their created sound-world more than I had anticipated. The simple drumming, from Simon Krause of Drunk Elk and The Vivids, was notable and carried a feeling of movement which allowed it to become its own vehicle to follow, carving its own route through the song. The girl beside myself found the ‘beer on guitar’ noodling worthy of a photo, if anything. Lasting somewhere between ten and twenty minutes, Wendy departed after this song, making for a very succinct set. Ultimately I wanted more (being the greedy bastard I am), so it was a success.
Drunk Elk wandered to the stage next. I had not seen these guys play since January last year when they still had Samuel Acres toying with the synthesiser, which yielded great results on the eventual A Rainy Day Is The Soundtrack To Someone Else’s Nightmare album. They recollected mid-2009 with Ben Mason on guitar in place of Acres, and this was the first chance I had to hear them since. Mason’s guitar work was different to how I imagined it to be inside the Drunk Elk canon – my brain imagined lavish Que guitar exploration. For the most part I found the ‘new’ Elk sound worked great, though I missed the off key melody of the synth on the old songs. Some of the new Elk songs sounded very (even more?) Joy Division-esque with some higher bass note thrown in. Psychosis, Soar and We Dance Late In Smiley Town proved to be my favourites; the former with terse lyrics and Curtis-crooning, while the guitar/bass combination sounded most effective on Smiley Town. Krause was great, again, on the bass. I overheard that their new album is ready for mixing, which makes me almost kiddy excited.
Finally, one of my favourite musical acts, duo the Native Cats, kicked off with their 7 inch single Catspaw. It sounds awesome live, better then on record I say. But my previous favourite N. Cats song quickly fell a rung when they whipped out the newish track Self Rep. I’ve heard it before at the Brisbane but they proverbially nailed it here. It sounds like a long lost 80’s movie theme from a high-school drama called SELF REP! (capitals and exclamation mark definately included), and damn if it wasn’t the catchiest song I’ve heard all week. Peter even made a Final Fantasy XII joke. I smiled. The Native Cats on-stage attest to be a very confident, even witty duo; perhaps it’s why I enjoy them so much. But I like to think their music has something to do with that, too. They played songs and more songs, although the drum machine was a touch quiet for a few of their earlier songs. Peter bounded his way to the piano but it was nearly completely swamped by the volume of both Julian’s bass and the drum machine, which was a shame. Peter does seem to be accumulating more bravado as a front-man though, which is wonderful to see. Just like his totally retarded dancing is wonderful to see. Perhaps the best I’ve seen the N. Cats play, their new material sounds strong if their live show is anything to go by (and well, it is).
I almost bought a 7 inch even though I don’t have a working record player. My oh my.
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More pictures from Elizabeth here!
Photos by Elizabeth Clark
Drunk Elk wandered to the stage next. I had not seen these guys play since January last year when they still had Samuel Acres toying with the synthesiser, which yielded great results on the eventual A Rainy Day Is The Soundtrack To Someone Else’s Nightmare album. They recollected mid-2009 with Ben Mason on guitar in place of Acres, and this was the first chance I had to hear them since. Mason’s guitar work was different to how I imagined it to be inside the Drunk Elk canon – my brain imagined lavish Que guitar exploration. For the most part I found the ‘new’ Elk sound worked great, though I missed the off key melody of the synth on the old songs. Some of the new Elk songs sounded very (even more?) Joy Division-esque with some higher bass note thrown in. Psychosis, Soar and We Dance Late In Smiley Town proved to be my favourites; the former with terse lyrics and Curtis-crooning, while the guitar/bass combination sounded most effective on Smiley Town. Krause was great, again, on the bass. I overheard that their new album is ready for mixing, which makes me almost kiddy excited.
Photos by Elizabeth Clark
I almost bought a 7 inch even though I don’t have a working record player. My oh my.
--
More pictures from Elizabeth here!
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