The Tote is a little further afield, down in Collinwood, but not much. Some idiots in a car squirt water at me from a squirt gun. If that is the most exciting thing they have to do on a Saturday night, that's a bit sad.
This show was pretty recently announced and I was pretty excited. Of all the 80s Australian punk bands that I was familiar with back in the US, they weren't the absolute best but they were still pretty good. I don't know whether I'll get to see the Saints or Scientists or some of the others, but I can get a start on it here. I had tickets to see Radio Birdman a year ago when I was living in London, but it was cancelled at the last second because they had immigration problems. It seems as they broke up again soon after that. Rob Younger has gone back to the New Christs now, so I guess this will be the closest I'll get to see them then.
$10 to get in, pretty good. There are about 6 people there when I get there and a lot of them seem to be the first band, Lindsay Low Hand. They start a few minutes later, playing to their few friends who are there and keep thanking anybody who is there for showing up early. I wouldn't say that I hated them but they were not all that great. I guess having named themselves after some topical celebrity, perhaps some sort of ironic statement about her crashing descent and the rest of that, or something.
80s sort of hardcore, fairly predictable stuff, stuff I remember seeing at like Gate 5 of Folsom Stadium (basically a classroom) where different hardcore bands were allowed to play - Acid Pigs or some others like that, can't remember who I saw but then I probably won't remember Lindsay Low Hand all that long either. Seems funny, the singer/guitar player really went nuts and screamed and jumped around and played his guitar harder but somehow it didn't really seem to show up in the sound. They only do about 30 minutes, so no worries then.
Bowerbirds are up next. They have a pretty appropriate look considering how they sound. There is a bandanna hanging off their mic stand, several of them have those 60s Beatles boots and haircuts like the Monkees. They have a real 70s edge to them, I'm thinking Peter Frampton, 70s NYC punk, a few other things. Not that they sound a lot like that, but there is just something about them that remind me of that sort of 70s sound. It gets me thinking too about what makes a band pretty mediocre and what makes one really good. They have some much more presence than Lindsay Low Hand. Whether that is sort of a swagger or the way they attack songs, or just express something up there. The music can even be pretty similar to worse bands but something about the presentation and spirit can lift it up. Ok, they weren't amazing but they were entertaining. I especially liked the fuzzy 12 string guitar they started out on.
The New Christs take the stage and look the part of old grizzled punk stars. Rob Younger has thinning old hair and looks suitable craggy. Jim Dickson, who played bass for them in the past, I think is totally cool. He looks like an old prep school English teacher, well, vaguely like Mr Kirkpatrick (or at least the essence of him) from my own past. His bass is well used, totally worn through the finish where his hand rests, like he has played it every day for the last 25 years (maybe he has). He is pretty cool playing too. Maybe that's what makes bands good. They all go at it, involved in their own things, attacking the song independently but it all fits together too. The two guitars sound good together as well as the occasional cheezy organ.
They are supporting their new album, which I haven't heard yet, so most of the stuff isn't familiar. Mostly it is fun watching Jim attack the bass and Rob gesturing and pointing and dancing. In the end, they do a ripping cover of Magazine's Shot By Both Sides and tear though Like A Curse, which rules. It gets the biggest cheer of the night from the probably 150 people there by the end. Nice show and a quick cycle home.
8/08/2009 9:00 PM - New Christs (album launch) + Bowerbirds + Lindsay Low Hand, Melbourne, Victoria 3066
- The Tote Hotel
Having just returned from a month long European tour that saw them play the huge Azkena Rock Festival in Spain (alongside Alice Cooper, The Black Crowes, The Breeders and more), Sydney band The New Christs are now setting their sights on home territory with the release of their latest album ‘Gloria’ and an east coast tour set for August. It has been an interesting journey since Radio Birdman front man Rob Younger formed The New Christs in 1984 to support Iggy Pop on his Australian tour of that year. A number of single releases featuring several line ups followed before the band recorded and released their debut album ‘Distemper’ in 1989. Over the next decade they would go through a number of line up changes, tour Australia in support of legendary bands such as Ramones and regularly take their live show to Europe. Following their release of the album album ‘We Got This’ in 2003 the band split while Rob focused on producing bands and touring with the reformed Radio Birdman. It was 2006 when the current version of The New Christs formed when former bass player Jim Dickson returned to the band and new recruits Stu Wilson(drums), Dave Kettley(guitar) and Brent Williams(guitar) lead the band into a new era. With two European tours under their belt, the band began work on The New Christs next full length album in December 2008. The result is ‘Gloria’, already received strongly overseas by its dedicated fan base, the band now tour their home country in support of the release after returning from their third European tour with this line up. The New Christs ’Gloria’ is in stores nationally on August 1st 2009.
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