_1203340992.jpg)
_1182111491.jpg)
| Laneway Festival 2008 |
| by Liam Tracey & Alex De Petro (Photos by Kate Griffin & Anthony Smith) | |
| Tue:25-Mar-08 | |
|
Page 2 of 2 Alex De Petro's Thoughts... The Basics Warming up the smallish crowd at the early time slot of 12:15, The Basics di  d what they do best with a solid set of party-pop tunes. Originals such as ‘Rattle my Chain’, ‘Just Hold On’ and ‘Looking Over My Shoulder’ were well received, with most of the fans knowing the lyrics and singing along. The absolute highlight of the set was a perfectly presented cover of The Kinks’ ‘All Day and All of the Night’, and the brilliance of this song choice definitely wasn’t lost on such a Kinks fan as this reviewer. Part of the wave of endearingly geeky indie acts so well represented at the Laneway Festival, The Basics were, however, overshadowed by the looming presence of ARIA Male Artist of the Year Gotye on percussion, a fact not lost on the crowd. Little Red In many ways Laneway Festival 2008 was a turning point for one of Melbourne’s most hyped bands from 2007 and the first sign that they are starting to come of age. The most professionally unprofessional band around, they got the crowd wild with their Super Happy Fun Time bubble-gum pop tunes such as ‘Anytime’, ‘Cry Cry’, an excellently extended version of ‘Speedo’ (a song which has evolved from a fairly hilarious attempt at ‘Gangster Rap’ to a real highlight every single time they play it) and the always delicious and refreshing ‘Coca-Cola’, which is just about the best pop-song ever written by five Melburnians dressed as schoolboys. In addition to the regular crowd pleasers from their EP Get Ready, Little Red played some of their new material as showcased at their February residency at the Northcote Social Club. Showing a greater level of maturity and an even greater level of control over their retro sound, the boys showed once again that they are going places - big places. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah Certain members passing resemblance to Klingons notwithstanding, US alt-rockers Clap Your Hands Say Yeah landed on the main stage like an alien spaceship, front man Alec Ounsworth performing with a level of intensity not expected from the polished and squeaky-clean impression given by their studio output on albums Clap Your Hands and Some Loud Thunder. Tracks from the former were definitely the highlight: ‘Details of the War’ was rendered beautifully, Ounsworth’s unique voice moving this reviewer inexplicably and proving that he is one of the most expressive and intriguing rock vocalists of our generation, on par with Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Coldplay’s Chris Martin. ‘The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth’ was another track which exceeded expectations, this time showing the talents of the band’s musicians, and again reaching a level of intensity that was never expected. If there ever was an indie rock band that could match Arcade Fire blow-for-blow (for a few rounds at least) in some theoretical live performance tag-team ultimate-wrestling death match, then Clap Your Hands Say Yeah would be it. Gotye No one in the now many thousand strong crowd could miss the phenomenal talent  that is Gotye, his arrival onstage accompanied by the sound of dozens of girls panties sliding to the floor. Aided by the stunning and thought-provoking videos accompanying each track, all made by local video artists, Wally de Backer proceeded to blow our minds, showing how interactive electronic music can be. On stage the man is a whirlwind, jumping between his drum kit, laptop, keyboard, microphone and bongos at a vicious pace. The tone of the set varied greatly, from the psychedelic intro of ‘The Only Way’ to the soulful bleating of ‘Coming Back’ to the all-out-feel-good-dance-city remix of 80s cheesemaster MC Hammer’s hit ‘U Can’t Touch This’. De Backer’s charisma, built on the seemingly incongruous combination of uber-geek and ridiculously suave ladies man, was enough to carry the performance on its own as he is the consummate performer: interacting with the crowd, wearing inappropriate 70s porn moustaches and most of all not taking himself too seriously. However, as at most of Gotye’s live performances, the night belonged to ‘Hearts a Mess’, the haunting and dream-like anthem of the Gotye army. << Start < Prev 1 2 Next > End >> |