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Deerhoof @ The Corner 7th April 2007 |
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by Kieran O’Shea
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Tue:10-Apr-07 |
Melbourne seemed to be suffering from one monstrous hangover tonight. The over indulgence of the long weekend could be seen splashed across the faces of the punters, beers tentatively sipped and the mood rather calm and intimate. People waited patiently and quietly for My Disco to start the evening’s proceedings, and within a strike of the first searing chords the cobwebs were well and truly blown away. A potent mix of Ben Andrews’s stark, aggressive guitars, Liam Andrews’s overdriven groove-inducing bass and the apocalyptic thunder of Rohan Rebeiros intricate rhythms, My Disco delivered their immaculate show confidently and with absorbing presence.
This was my virgin outing with the local band and I couldn’t help but wonder why on earth so many reviews had branded them ‘Math Rock’. It seemed completely absurd to liken the funk spasmodic grind I was hearing to a subject that used to make me pull sick days in order to avoid. My Disco clearly put their thinking caps on to concoct a unique and engrossing splattering of noise and articulate rhythms, but they certainly didn’t alienate me like math did; I wanted to dance my ass off. By the end of the set the crowd seemed drunk on their politeness; clapping as the set finished; rejuvenated; the number of people swelled in size, the volume rising. My Disco did a fantastic job of warming up The Corner and it’s safe to say the evening wouldn’t have been the same without them.
After wishing the My Disco drummer a happy birthday and presenting him with a cake Deerhoof took to the stage immediately. What followed was a witch’s brew of the new and old for our listening pleasure, the material kept exciting by mixing and blending songs into one another; new nestled next to old, sprawling, neighbouring schizophrenic. ‘+81’ opened the show and the bombardment of the marching band riff injected some life into the audience. Similarly new songs ‘The Perfect Me’ and ‘Believe E.S.P.’ shock the foundations of The Corner causing the audience to jive with feverish abandonment. A colossal amount of noise was produced by only the three members. ‘Holy Night Fever’ and ‘Punch Buggy Valves’ were drop kicked from Reveille; their older material sounding fresh out the packet five years after its birth.
The band were all engrossing performers. Singer Satomi Matsuzaki never failed to mesmerise during the set, her diminutive frame and doll-pitched vocals a bizarre yet entertaining spectacle. During ‘Kidz Are So Small’, giving her bass a moments rest, she bunny hopped round the stage pulling off air stewardess hand signals and busting out some freestyle interpretive dance provoking the same with the audience down the front. The musical talents of drummer Greg Saunier and guitarist John Dieterich are indisputable. Throughout the set the drums thundered away at a feverish rate, delivering rolls and fills that if you blinked you’d miss. Similarly Dieterich’s guitar switched styles and sounds as his hands motored up and down his fret board on par with anything Stephen Malkmus concocts.
Deerhoof put on an electric performance and giddy grins on faces left The Corner. Their unique sound and structures made for an exhilarating ride that didn’t give the audience time to rest. Thankful and satisfied Melbourne will soldiered on with yet another long weekend night.
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