The Black Keys @ Luna Park's Big Top-Jan 2009
February 8th 2009 02:28
Its a warm summer evening. Kids swarm around the rides and the attractions of Luna Park. Inside a crowd gathers, drinking beer, smoking cigarettes and waiting for a night of indie rock extravagance.
I missed the first band, who right now, I cannot think of who they were, so I apologize. We got in just in time to see Ash Grunwald tune up. Tonight he was having some feedback issues and started his set about 10 minutes late. What I like about Ash was he knew no one really cared for him. he even made a point about a group of guys in the front just standing there, crossed armed. “I know you’re waiting for Gomez, I’ll be off the stage soon” he says with a chuckle before kicking out some great songs. Midway he busted the strings on one of his guitars which meant he had to redesign his set list and play some more mellower tracks, but still managed to thrash it out in the end. 30 fun filled minutes which impressed the crowd who were there for the headliners only. Even the group of Gomez fans in the front uncrossed their arms and started to dance.
I had been told how great Gomez were. Having never really paid any attention to them in the past, I was hoping to be amazed by good songs and a good live show. I was disappointed. Bland, generic, glasses rock is what I described them as. Most of the band were specs and collared shirts playing boring alt. guitar rock. My girlfriend described them as a rip off of The Music. They had long instrumental jams that were uninspiring. The keyboardist/guitarist/vocalist looked like a daggy high school math teacher. And the main vocalist/guitarist looked liked he’d would be somewhere else. Which was a shame because he had a strong voice. But half way through we got bored and left to smoke more cigarettes and drink.
The band we wanted to see was The Black Keys. Having seen them previous tear the roof of the small ANU bar in Canberra, I was curious to see how they would go in the bigger room of the Big Top. I described them at the ANU show as the most powerful sounding band. 2 guys made more noise than most 5 piece rock bands. It was like being repeatedly punched in the head for 75 minutes. Tonight, they proved to me that they could rip the roof off any venue they play in. Tonight, it was like being punched in the head for the first few songs and the rest of the set was body blows. The bugger stage allowed Dan to move around and thrash it out some more, and Patrick has to be the hardest hitting drummer in the business. He pounds that kit to very inch of its life. Their live show is like a work out. If you haven’t witness this band live, do so the next time they are out (which is on a yearly basis so don’t worry) They put on a great live performance that lives you exhausted but wanting more. Unlike comtempories such as The White Stripes, they can pull off their sound live without it sounding mash.
I missed the first band, who right now, I cannot think of who they were, so I apologize. We got in just in time to see Ash Grunwald tune up. Tonight he was having some feedback issues and started his set about 10 minutes late. What I like about Ash was he knew no one really cared for him. he even made a point about a group of guys in the front just standing there, crossed armed. “I know you’re waiting for Gomez, I’ll be off the stage soon” he says with a chuckle before kicking out some great songs. Midway he busted the strings on one of his guitars which meant he had to redesign his set list and play some more mellower tracks, but still managed to thrash it out in the end. 30 fun filled minutes which impressed the crowd who were there for the headliners only. Even the group of Gomez fans in the front uncrossed their arms and started to dance.
I had been told how great Gomez were. Having never really paid any attention to them in the past, I was hoping to be amazed by good songs and a good live show. I was disappointed. Bland, generic, glasses rock is what I described them as. Most of the band were specs and collared shirts playing boring alt. guitar rock. My girlfriend described them as a rip off of The Music. They had long instrumental jams that were uninspiring. The keyboardist/guitarist/vocalist looked like a daggy high school math teacher. And the main vocalist/guitarist looked liked he’d would be somewhere else. Which was a shame because he had a strong voice. But half way through we got bored and left to smoke more cigarettes and drink.
The band we wanted to see was The Black Keys. Having seen them previous tear the roof of the small ANU bar in Canberra, I was curious to see how they would go in the bigger room of the Big Top. I described them at the ANU show as the most powerful sounding band. 2 guys made more noise than most 5 piece rock bands. It was like being repeatedly punched in the head for 75 minutes. Tonight, they proved to me that they could rip the roof off any venue they play in. Tonight, it was like being punched in the head for the first few songs and the rest of the set was body blows. The bugger stage allowed Dan to move around and thrash it out some more, and Patrick has to be the hardest hitting drummer in the business. He pounds that kit to very inch of its life. Their live show is like a work out. If you haven’t witness this band live, do so the next time they are out (which is on a yearly basis so don’t worry) They put on a great live performance that lives you exhausted but wanting more. Unlike comtempories such as The White Stripes, they can pull off their sound live without it sounding mash.
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