We made it inside just in time to miss The Panda Band, which is a shame, because we’d made an effort to arrive early in the hopes of catching them. What we did see though, was not your usual rock crowd. And worse, they were all sitting down. This gig featured three bands I’ve never seen before, one of my favourite bands, two bands I had heard a lot about and wanted to check out, and one band I had no real desire to see, but obviously my priorities were not shared with the majority of the crowd.
Fortunately The Vasco Era managed to get people on their feet. One of the bands I was hoping to check out, like many others I was vastly impressed with their set. A madman for a drummer, gravely but tuneful vocals and strong rhythms saw a lot of people dancing. Guitarist Sid O’neil likes the occasional solo twiddle, but also seems happy to just join in rhythmic pounding with bass player Ted O’neil. The highlight of the set came when Sid ditched the guitar altogether and joined drummer Micheal Fitzgerald on percussion. The size of the smiles on all members’ faces during this breakdown is one of the outstanding memories of this night. Not only are they doing what they love, it was great to see them enjoying themselves so much. A typical conversation following the band consisted of “Who WAS that band?”, and no doubt they won many fans tonight.
theredsunband were placed in a difficult position following such a set. This is not at all a slight on their value as a band, but where The Vasco Era are a raucous Friday night out, theredsunband’s biggest strength is their ability to evoke a lazy Sunday afternoon in bed. They also suffered from bad sound mixing, especially during their signature tune Devil Song, during which the guitar was all but inaudible much of the time. As well as usual highlights such as Sleep Forever and Astrovisionary, there were a few new songs sprinkled through the set. Whatever the track they opened with is called, it had better be on their next album because every time I hear it live, I sing the chorus for days. Conversation overheard during theredsunband: “Who’s this?” “I don’t know, I didn’t know they were playing. She’s gorgeous though.” It’s a shame their music wasn’t loud enough to make a full impression.
Whether the bad sound during rsb was a deliberate sabotaging to ensure the headliners were not completely eclipsed by the support bands I can’t be sure, but when Evermore came on stage, they sounded perfect. The production was crystal clear, the playing was flawless and the video screen behind the band provided a nice ethereal touch. There were no conversations during the start of Evermore’s set, just some screaming. But aside from the singles For One Day and It’s Too Late, nothing in their set seemed to stand out. Drummer Dann Hume was by far the most energetic and interesting member of the group to watch, but while the songs are competent and easy to listen to, they all merge together a little too easily. Keyboardist Peter Hume spent the entire set doing the same head-flopping/making-passionate-love-to-his-keyboard dance. Near the end of the set some of the audience members had even resumed their seats, and it was only the chorus of It’s Too Late which got them standing again, and the majority of the crowd finally bopping along. Some audience reactions were in the other extreme though, with one girl behind me dancing with her arm extended, eyes closed and swaying slowly for the whole show. Whatever mystical sounds Evermore were giving her, I just didn’t hear it. The skill is clearly there, but the song writing has a long way to go before it becomes worthy of an astral experience.
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