Le Tigre @ The Corner Hotel, 03/02/05

It is truly an achievement when a band can rely heavily on sampled and sequenced elements and yet still infuse enough energy to get everyone in a sold out Corner Hotel moving. When that band’s music also relies heavily on their politics, and yet excludes no-one, that’s something you really have to take note of. Apologies to the support bands, Minimum Chips and Ninety Nine. You were good, but I’m going to use this whole review to talk about Le Tigre, that’s how impressive they were.

I had an inkling of what to expect for this show based on Sunday’s Big Day Out performance. From such a varied line-up of acts, this strange little disco-punk triplet managed to steal the day. Le Tigre’s stage set-up consists of three microphones, a megaphone, a number of samplers, drum machines and keyboards, and a single distorted guitar. The three members – Kathleen Hanna (formerly of Bikini Kill), Johanna Fateman and JD Samson – mix and match a combination of these instruments, with everyone taking a turn at everything. Visually they present a unified image of bright colours, with matching gold glitter strips, and synchronised dance routines. All of this takes place in front of a projector screen displaying animated pop art works swapping between representations of the music and political commentary.

Feminist issues and queer rights are central everything Le Tigre is about. This is particularly evident in tracks like FYR (Fifty Years of Ridicule) and Keep On Livin’, as well as newer cuts like Viz, Samson’s ode to “butch lesbian visibility”, and the highlight Nanny Nanny Boo Boo. Seconds was accompanied by visuals of George Bush, and a denouncement of both his and John Howard’s positions on gay marriage and abortion. But where Le Tigre succeed with these issues is to turn acceptance into such a fun party for everyone open minded enough to be involved. Disco beats, a tinny guitar and shouted vocals. It shouldn’t work, but when you put it all together, it just does, and before you know it, the whole room is dancing, jumping and singing along.

The chants for an encore began from the moment Hanna announced their “last” song, current single TKO, which lead Samson to explain to the crowd that we should wait for them to leave, then start chanting, and then MAYBE they’ll come back. A new chant of “JD, JD, JD” sprung up almost instantaneously. For the encore we were treated to what may be the bands finest song, Deceptacon, with more dancing and kung-fu kicks from the band members. But the crowd were by no means willing to leave after this highlight, and clamoured for yet another return. This paid off in a cover of I’m So Excited. With projections and dance moves throughout this track obviously pre-arranged, it seems the band had this second encore planned all along.

Often times the Corner crowd can be all too easily discouraged by the arrival of houselights and background music and start to find their way out. Thankfully tonight this was not the case. With much of the post-show discussion centring on just which album would be bought tomorrow by those who had only just discovered the band, more time with Le Tigre seems the best thing for everyone.

Slipknot, Hatebreed, Walk The Earth @ The Palace, 02/02/05

It felt like a scene from a movie. A week of sunshine transformed overnight into the bleakest, wettest day Melbourne has seen on record. By nightfall it had refused to let up. But amidst the howling winds, lashing rain and ominous lightning, hundreds of the lost – some in makeup, some in costumes, but all wearing their fair share of black – began to descend on a seaside “Palace”, drawn by the music of nine men who appear more dead than alive. Slipknot had arrived in town.

The choice of two hardcore bands for support seemed an odd one. Featuring ex-members of Superheist and Bison (amongst others), Walk The Earth proved they are tight as hell, if a little derivative. Singer James Ludbrook also made the wonderful contradiction of asking us to support our boys from home, so that they could “get out of this hole” and take their musical international.

Next up were Hatebreed, one of the premiere acts of the US hardcore/metalcore scene. Consistent use of the same drum beat and similar muted guitar riffs from song to song can be the downfall of many bands in this genre. Coupling this with a murkier than usual sound from The Palace, I got the impression that Hatebreed may be the most progressive of all hardcore bands, choosing to play a set consisting of the longest song ever, or that all their songs blend into one another. But the fans dug it, with circle pits breaking out long before Jamey Jasta’s encouragement whipped them into a frenzy.

Finally it was time for Slipknot. I overheard one fan behind me comment that at first he’d thought the bass rumblings were thunder from outside, but it soon became clear that what we were listening to was the opening strains of Prelude 3.0, the introduction to latest album Vol. 3 (The Subliminal Verses), and our introduction to tonight’s madness. The band appeared on stage and launched straight into the crushing The Blister Exists. With a five year break since their last Australian tour, Corey Taylor (a.k.a. #8) promised the crowd a few surprises throughout the night.

The first of these came during current single Vermillion. A brief interlude saw the band exchange their regular masks for death masks. Rather than softening their image, the blackened casts of their faces, realistic but unmoving, proved unsettling and creepier than the full out assault of the start of the show. Once again, we were back to horror movie mode.

Again the bass heavy sound system gave much of the performance a sludgey feel, especially when the original masks returned and percussionists Shawn Crahan (6), Chris Fehn (3) and drummer Joey Jordison (1) hammered out the start of Iowa. Then suddenly we’re back to familiar territory with chants of “If you’re 5-5-5, then I’m…” “6-6-6!” heralding the arrival of The Heretic Anthem. The band continued in this manner, highlights including (sic), Left Behind, Three Nil and Duality, before arriving at the night’s final surprise.

Spit it Out, the closing song of the main set saw the return of the “Slipknot Test”. Familiar to anyone at BDO, this is definitely not your typical test of a metal crowd, and would have surprised some. As the song’s bridge reached it’s peak, everyone bar guitarist Mick Thompson (7) stopped playing, leaving the crowd to scream the line “Fuck me! I’m all out of enemies” on their own. Taylor then got the entire crowd to kneel on the floor before the band would start again. It was a nice moment of calm from a crowd who until that point had created a messy and often violent mosh pit. A repetition of the bridge saw the last line replaced with “Jump the fuck up!”. Needless to say, chaos ensured. And then the stage was cleared.

A short break allowed time to hit the bar and pick up a bottle of water to ensure survival before the band returned for an encore, closing with crowd favourite Surfacing, which Taylor implored the crowd to “sing as if you’re free”. And then suddenly it was time to go home. Outside, the rain poured on, but most of us were already too wet to notice.