There's only oooone Mach Pelican..
Oct. 23rd, 2005 10:47 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
darren_strangerFinally managed to drag our arses out last night to see some bands for the first time in god knows how long (months it seems). Mach Pelican were playing a ten minute tram ride away at the Rob Roy, and after missing them so often lately even a dodgy chest and head cold wasn't going to get in the way (cold and flu tablets are our friend and saviour).
I quite like the Rob Roy as a venue - it has that same inner-city dodgy pub feel of the Tote or Punters Club (and the same sticky carpet) and makes me feel right at home. I hope it doesn't get sold and turned into a wine bar.
The first band we caught were called No Last Hero and were very good. The first comparison to mind was a grittier, garageish Evanescence, probably more because of the singer's voice than anything, but in a good way (ie without the polished, overproduced sterility). Bands like One Dollar Short or Something With Numbers also came to mind and might be better comparisons, though i'm sure there's something closer. The guitarist and bassist threw themselves about the stage with abandon, the latter regularly taking off through the crowd and playing from somewhere at the back of the room. The guitarist looked strikingly like Nutzboy (who i should get around to adding one day) and was even called Nick, though i'm sure it wasn't him. The energy was infectious, but not enough to get people to answer the repeated calls for everyone to dance (really, that's something that has to happen of its own accord, not because you ask people to). Despite my usual aversion to female singers who can actually sing, we really enjoyed them and scammed a demo cd which we haven't listened to yet.
We hadn't seen Mach Pelican in months, which is our loss (insert the usual futile "must make a point of seeing them more often" here). It was a less tightly packed crowd than last time we saw them, which made for more comfortable viewing. The pogoing of the hard core fans was remarkably self-contained and allowed us to let them do the jumping about for us, which was good as we were too tired to be buffeted by slammers. The band played their trademark infectious '50s flavoured thrashy punk and if you've seen them play you know what they sound like. There were plenty of old songs, songs from the newer album and some i didn't recognise (a few were probably covers and didn't have the same catchy bubblegum feel). Old classics like 'Hey Girl' and 'Ursula Finally Has Tits' still sound as fresh as ever and i hope they never get sick of playing them because i don't think i could get sick of hearing them. I know it's not the done thing for bands to stay the same and they're supposed to 'evolve' as artists and throw out what's good about the past, but damn i hope Mach Pelican don't ever catch that disease or get bored with what they do, because they do it so bloody well.
We didn't stick around for the last band as we'd spent our taxi fare on booze and a Mach Pelican cd, so we got the last tram home and crashed out. The numerous beers don't seem to have aggravated my cold, so i guess i'll put that down to positive energy from a good night out.
And now, for more coffee.
I quite like the Rob Roy as a venue - it has that same inner-city dodgy pub feel of the Tote or Punters Club (and the same sticky carpet) and makes me feel right at home. I hope it doesn't get sold and turned into a wine bar.
The first band we caught were called No Last Hero and were very good. The first comparison to mind was a grittier, garageish Evanescence, probably more because of the singer's voice than anything, but in a good way (ie without the polished, overproduced sterility). Bands like One Dollar Short or Something With Numbers also came to mind and might be better comparisons, though i'm sure there's something closer. The guitarist and bassist threw themselves about the stage with abandon, the latter regularly taking off through the crowd and playing from somewhere at the back of the room. The guitarist looked strikingly like Nutzboy (who i should get around to adding one day) and was even called Nick, though i'm sure it wasn't him. The energy was infectious, but not enough to get people to answer the repeated calls for everyone to dance (really, that's something that has to happen of its own accord, not because you ask people to). Despite my usual aversion to female singers who can actually sing, we really enjoyed them and scammed a demo cd which we haven't listened to yet.
We hadn't seen Mach Pelican in months, which is our loss (insert the usual futile "must make a point of seeing them more often" here). It was a less tightly packed crowd than last time we saw them, which made for more comfortable viewing. The pogoing of the hard core fans was remarkably self-contained and allowed us to let them do the jumping about for us, which was good as we were too tired to be buffeted by slammers. The band played their trademark infectious '50s flavoured thrashy punk and if you've seen them play you know what they sound like. There were plenty of old songs, songs from the newer album and some i didn't recognise (a few were probably covers and didn't have the same catchy bubblegum feel). Old classics like 'Hey Girl' and 'Ursula Finally Has Tits' still sound as fresh as ever and i hope they never get sick of playing them because i don't think i could get sick of hearing them. I know it's not the done thing for bands to stay the same and they're supposed to 'evolve' as artists and throw out what's good about the past, but damn i hope Mach Pelican don't ever catch that disease or get bored with what they do, because they do it so bloody well.
We didn't stick around for the last band as we'd spent our taxi fare on booze and a Mach Pelican cd, so we got the last tram home and crashed out. The numerous beers don't seem to have aggravated my cold, so i guess i'll put that down to positive energy from a good night out.
And now, for more coffee.
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no subject
Date: 2005-10-23 02:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-10-23 03:17 am (UTC)I haven't. Where can it be gotten?
no subject
Date: 2005-10-23 03:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-10-23 04:04 am (UTC)Oh yeah - will check it out when back at work tomorrow (didn't have time to do all the registering malarkey last time i was going to).
I guess it's not singers who *can* sing as such, but a certain quality in a lot of vocal styles that usually puts me off. A style like Amy Lee from Evanescence, for instance, i tend to find too reminiscent of the Mariah Careys and Christina Aguileras of the world and it just makes it seem too.. 'MTV' for my tastes (can't think of a better musical equivalent of 'Hollywood') and i'd find it much more interesting if they'd hit off notes more often. Sometimes a sweet voice will work for me, depending on the style - it goes well in contrast with death metal growls or constipated male goth vocals, or if the sweetness is taken to excess (eg Zombina) - but i usually refer a bit of roughness to it, even if they can't hold a note to save themselves(hello Siouxsie). I guess i like 'interesting' voices, and note-perfect female voices often don't have that interesting character. (I've often wondered why i don't have the same aversion to note-perfect male voices, but i figure it's maybe because they're not as common).
Maybe it's more how a voice is used than how good it is that interests me. Powerful voices like Mia Stone or 'The Baroness' can move me because they're used nastily and they choose not to sing sweetly or tunefully when it suits. I remember when i used to listen to a lot of early Sinead O'Connor, what i really liked was when she'd know exactly when to hit the right wrong note in the right wrong place, which gave it character. Much better than the approach of singers (male or female) who think emotion is best conveyed by hitting as many difficult notes as possible in a single syllable (the main reason i can't stand "modern r'n'b" or Australian Idol).
Sorry, rambling again. I think the coffee's kicking in now.
no subject
Date: 2005-10-23 04:43 am (UTC)Actually, come to think of it i suppose i don't like tuneful male voices that much either.
I was thinking about the way i've often found songs in certain styles much more palatable with a male voice than the female voice - eg in the 'classic goth' style, i might like the sound of something like the Mission, but a similar song by someone like The Wake would seem too saccharine in the vocals. It only just occurred to me that Wayne Hussey isn't exactly a note-perfect singer, and it may be the degree by which his voice falls short of the tunefulness he's aiming for that gives it a character that's missing in a female voice that can hold that tune.
The more i think of it, the more it occurs to me that the male voices i think of as striking (Dave Vanian, Iggy Pop and Peter Murphy were the first to mind) are also more to do with having character than their ability to hold a tune. Maybe a lot of female singers are just able to hold a tune too well and lose the character in the process.
Or something like that.
no subject
Date: 2005-10-23 05:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-10-30 05:47 am (UTC)(Bah - meant The Shroud, not The Wake, but i guess the point remains the same).
no subject
Date: 2005-10-23 05:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-10-23 12:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-10-23 11:52 pm (UTC)But of course, good sir.
no subject
Date: 2005-10-30 06:44 am (UTC)Oh, do you want the Horrorpops one as well?
http://www.livejournal.com/community/oz_deathrock_nz/19526.html