EVENT: THE LOCIES presented by THE SYNETHESIA MASSIVE
VENUE: FACTORY THEATRE
DATE: 23/11/13
Our journey begins at the iconic
Lansdowne Hotel in Chippendale. The camera pans through the double hinged doors
and onto our narrator as he overthrows his opponent, “The Succubus Of Enmore”
with a flawless victory in a gentlemen’s game of pool. She concedes defeat and
hints that we should make tracks so that we can make it to our destination on
time. A brisk walk through the sundry nirvana that is Newtown sees us face to
face with Marrickville’s foreboding music citadel, the infamous Factory Theatre.
Squires and fair maidens were summoned here from across the realm to witness
the wedding of the century. Eighteen artists representing a plethora of musical
genres would join together to celebrate the inaugural LOCIES, Sydney’s
own alternative music awards. We franticly passed a troupe of vividly dressed
jugglers and rushed upstairs towards the Fusebox stage in order to catch the
virgin performers of the day.
I peered meekly into the vacant room
where my eyes were greeted by a lone bearded sentry, surveying the stage from
his centralised pedestal. He smiled as he ushered us into the dimly lit room
and jested that we were just in time to catch their rehearsal, a joke pointing
out the lack of punters in the room. Our hirsute guide joins the ragtag cast of
flower children on stage and we are introduced to quaint Sydney folk sextet LITTLE
HART with CAM RAEBURN. Fellow hairy member Miles Johnson invites the five
strong observation team to take a seat on the floor and enjoy the show. We
obliged the alien request and I sat confused, completely oblivious to what I
was about to witness. Acoustic guitarist Louise Miller’s chilling, wispy vocals
are on par with Julia Stone in the opening track from the band which
immediately gives me the sensation of floating down a river in the country. The
band take the time to learn all our names and dedicate the second track to the
spirit child seated in front of me who took the acknowledgement as an
invitation to dance like a space cadet for the rest of the performance. An
orchestra of instruments line the stage and with them, five vocalists with surprisingly
deceptive voices. The sheer power of violinist Bron Watkins’ ethereal tones
caused me to tear up with admiration. The role of tenor was supplied by Cam
Raeburn who strummed his ukulele like a flamenco by the end of the set.
Electric guitarist Miles Johnson supplied a gentle baritone from his small
framed body and Mitchel Creecy admired his band mates while he tapped away on
his snare lined wooden crate. The biggest surprise of the set for me came from
lanky bassist Scott Davey who was a dead ringer for Shaggy from Scooby Doo. The
guy’s voice was raspy, deep and sounded like he had smoked a cigar every day
for the last forty years. The band in its entirety was charismatic and their
vocals complimented each other perfectly like the multiple layers of a homemade
lasagne. They threw in some gorgeous acapella for good measure just in case we
weren’t already blown away. The stand out track for me was “Maybe Low” which
once again had me reaching for the tissues. Considering this isn’t even my
style of music, this was the perfect way to start the day.
Dj outfit DA HEEBIE JEEBIES open
with a nostalgic remix of Aladdin’s “You ain’t never had a friend like me”. It
was all silly fun as the filthy hippies behind the turntables joked with each
other throughout the set while dancing for their own amusement. A pumping mix
of Red Hot Chilli Peppers “Give It Away Now” got a few people dancing. I
absorbed what I could from the set and made my way downstairs to the Floor Stage to catch the next performers.
Upcoming
Sydney foursome VILLAGE ECHOES open the Floor Stage with their fresh take on
turn of the millennium inspired indie rock. More people had decided to show up
for this set but they decided to hug the walls. I close my eyes as the
amalgamation of influences fill my ears; Foo Fighters, early Good Charlotte,
Bloc Party and the upcoming single bears a distinct Arctic Monkeys flavour.
Guitarist Lauren Shapiro shames the boys by sporting more tattoos than the
three combined. Alex Almasi was comfortable behind the mike but his vocals suffered
from being too far back in the mix. James Pounsett demonstrated some crisp drum
fills and showed great cymbal work. The track “Sleeping In” was a highlight for
me and would make a great composition for a sad montage of a movie. I found
that each song the band played was fresh and very easy to dance to. Shapiro
broke the set up nicely by taking over the vocals with her distinctive indie voice.
Bassist Steve Parfitt was the most entertaining of the four with a stage
presence similar to Jason Newstead of Metallica. Impressive set from these
ambitious young upstarts.
I rolled my eyes as seasoned Sydney
quartet AGE OF MENACE were setting up because I had stupidly labelled
them as nothing but daft thrash metal before they had even started the set. They
managed to draw the first real crowd of the day so I decided to stay and see
them out, which turned out to be one of the best decisions of my day. These
guys were a band out of time but they delivered a punching hard rock/metal set
with a no bullshit approach. From the get go Rob Smiths vocals were drowned
from the overly loud, empty bodied, phaser heavy distortion of Pete Ross’s Slayer-esque
guitars. This was remedied soon into the second song when I couldn’t help but
be reminded of how much the band sounded like Powerman 5000. It was a really
fun set for the audience and the band with bassist Adam Barns seemingly having
the most fun in the room. Smith’s vocals were a combination of Dez Fafara of
Coal Chamber/Devil Driver and Spider One of Powerman 5000 and it was fucking
awesome. An incredible moment of the set came from a verse where Adam
Breakspear only hit the toms and Smith rapped over the top. This lead to an
incredible drop when the rest of the band came in. The band only got better as the set continued
and my only criticisms by the end of it were that the bass and backing vocals
were a little lost in the mix.
BLACK BREAKS were another band I had never heard of
before today’s events and they had easily drawn the biggest crowd of the entire
day. This set screamed of fun even before they had started playing with the
Earl of charisma, Chris Dubrow verbally licking the asshole of Stu the sound guy
behind the duct tape mother ship that was his guitar. The band sported adorable
matching vests to entertain us with their sexually charged brand of party rock.
Opening track “Alien Nation” had the room buzzing early. Its well tested
formula was akin The Sweet’s “Ballroom Blitz” and Foo Fighters “All My Life”.
Dubrow is a rock star in every sense of the word and you can’t help but be
drawn to his dominating stage presence. With that being said he humbly directs
attention equally to every other member of his band. The super low, distorted,
twangy bass notes of Mark Avery combined with the well suited electronics of
new member Matty MacMartin help drive and infuse the party rock madness with a
distinct industrial edge. More influences come into the fray as the set
continues. Sex Pistols, Black Flag, Motorhead and Mammal are thrown in my
direction as Dubrow spits lyrical with his spoken and rapped verses. MM9s Kerry
Foulke brings his priceless experience to the band and rocks out like a
possessed Hatebreed fan at his first gig. Tracks “Take Take Take” and “Blah
Blah Blah Black President” had the whole crowd dancing and the comedic timing
strewn between the two was genius. At the end of the set Dubrow gave a
heartfelt speech about how the decline of live music in Sydney is an easily
rectifiable issue that can be amended by everyone simply attending one gig a
month; a message I support 100%. Black Breaks set the bar unusually high for
the rest of the bands of the day. I felt bad for whoever was up next.
The crowd had grown noticeably smaller
for Sydney rockers DRAW. A loyal troupe of what I’m assuming were
friends, line the front of the stage and the band kick into an instantly
Audioslave flavoured set. Vocalist Michael Rappell appears out of nowhere; the
spitting image of Jim Morrison (The Doors). He desperately tries to emulate his
idol and after a single song is visibly out of breath. The stage presence of
the band was non-existent with the exception of multi instrumental prodigy Brad
Kafer. Mid set came a woeful cover of Coolio’s “Gansta’s Paradise” which was so
awful that the cringe was travelling around the room like an electric current
passing through a chain of kids holding an electric fence. The poor kid on the
end was going to cop the brunt of it; unfortunately that kid was me. The synth
was completely lost in the mix and Rappell’s overuse of the megaphone was done
to death. It wasn’t all bad though. Draw finally managed to come alive when
they completely shifted gears and decided they were a Chilli Peppers styled
funk band. The finale was a decent song too which incorporated the occasional
angry vocals and some surprisingly effective disjointed breaks. Maybe I was
still giddy from watching Black Breaks or maybe Draw just aren’t very good. Either
way, I wasn’t impressed.
NEOTOKYO are a band that I have seen before and
I really want to succeed. Debut EP “Pillars” is a corker from start to finish
and shows the talent and ambition behind this great Sydney four piece. I
instantaneously notice that jovial percussionist Jason Ludwig is sapping all
the happiness from the other three members of the band. Shoeless bassist
Michael Bargache does his thing in the corner but the tone of his instrument
needs to be a butt load beefier to fatten out the breezy tones of Adam
Funrness’s flurry of deliciously delayed guitars. Neotokyo have stumbled across
a rare treasure within vocalist Chris Tantchev who is a major asset to the
group. His vocals, an amalgamation of Daniel Johns (Silverchair) and Tyrone
Bain (Ashphoenix), effortlessly crescendo into beautiful, heartfelt ballads.
Neotokyo in my opinion seem to fall down live because apart from Ludwig, who
mouths the noise of every part of his kit as he hits it, no one in the band
engages the audience. Every band will have their share of shoe gazers which is
a given but because of the non-existent interaction from the guitarists, the
onus falls on the shoulders of the incredibly gifted Chris Tantchev. He gazes
over the crowd to the point of almost looking asleep onstage and is incredibly
awkward using a microphone stand. He gives the stand the boot after a while and
immediately seems more in his element albeit a little stage shy. Opening EP
track “Speak” is the standout of the set. I found myself singing along to its
instantly memorable vocal hooks which really demonstrate the bands integrity as
song writers. They close the set with new single “Neon” which has an infusion
of Hoobastank to it which works well with the direction of the band and ended
the set strong.
Event organiser Angelina Hodgson
informed me earlier in the day that the one band I absolutely had to witness
was Brisbane’s CALIGULA’S HORSE. Upon arrival to the Floor Stage the
prog rock superstars had my attention with two branded banners that had framed
the stage. This small detail had already set this ambitious band apart from the
rest of the bill before they had even played a note and at the genesis of their
set my jaw hit the floor. And the floor under that. And the floor under that.
The glorious sounds of Opeth laced with but a smidgen of djent stimulate my
overly spoilt ear holes. Supermodel vocalist Jim “The Ken Doll” Grey delivers
incredibly potent, driving vocals which took the best parts from Chaos Divines’
David Anderton, The Butterfly Effects Clint Boge and Karnivool’s Ian Kenny and
turned them into a hulking leviathan to drive the band. He is theatrical with
his performance and makes you feel the emotion behind the lyrics even if his
voice was hard to hear at times in the mix. God damn he is a pretty, pretty
man. The music was gothic, operatic and downright sexual. At one point I swear Dave
Couper (who bears a striking resemblance to Little John from Men In Tights)
stared me down as I was taking notes as if to say “Na baby. You keep doing your
thing, and do it real slow like”. All this was while he was frantically
fingering the steel ropes of his bass like a Parkinson’s patient on red bull. The
music was covered in a chainmail of tightly wound key changes and acute,
unified notes. It was syncopated nirvana and the crowd was lapping it up by the
gallon. Snowflakes of Periphery fell from the speakers as the luxurious, fire
kissed, Rapunzel length hair of Drum monkey Geoff Irish lit up the back of the
stage like a Texan sunset. This band was good and every aspect of their
performance demonstrated that they were fully self-aware. Zac Greensill charged
away on his axe, dicing it to pieces as the set progressed. Animals As Leaders
could be heard now as Irish counted the timing in his head in between strategically
placed winks to the girls in the crowd. No effect was out of place as these
Mensa accredited musicians continued to seduce me and everyone around me.
Omnipotent guitarist Sam Vallen performed like a gladiator fighting for his
life and knew every inch of his instrument right down to the microscopic hairs
in its asshole. I was so wrapped up in the performance that when the music
ended leaving nothing but a half second of falsetto, I found myself
uncontrollably tapping my foot to the beat of song that had just expired. I was
ready to drop my derps in the middle of the room and to start going to town on
myself at the conclusion of the appropriately titled “Colossus” and the cynical
sense of humour that exuberated from the Queenslandians only made the
experience that much more enjoyable. Needless to say, I am now a loyal and
devoted fan. Verdict? BAND! OF! THE! DAY!
I’m going to say right off the bat that TEAL
are going to be the next big band in Australia. I’ve seen them open for Twelve
Foot Ninja and The Butterfly Effect and bring the house down on both occasions.
Teal are fresh yet familiar. The songs are chock full of vocal and melodic
hooks which are sure to drop the pants off many a mistress in bedrooms Australia
wide. The boys struggled with some technical difficulties while setting
up and it was evident by the amount of shoe gazing going on that they were
upset at the beginning of their set. However Vocalist supreme Joe Surgey over
performed to help pull his band mates out of their slump and had them firing on
all pistons half way into the opening track. Surgey’s intense and peculiar
performance causes the veins in his neck to surface for air like an orca. His
flawless vocal chords producing a fusion of Cedric Bixler-Zavala (The Mars
Volta), Matt Bellamy (Muse) and Jeff Buckley which would rival all three of
these powerhouses any given day of the week. Each track seems to identify with
a different time signature as the major influences of Radiohead and The Mars
Volta are worn proudly on their sleeves. The guitarists manually handled the
effects on their pedals resulting in a brilliant whirling, static like sound
akin a turning the dials on an old timey radio. Surgey sheds his technicolour
dream coat mid set to reveal a minecraft shirt which got it fair share of
giggles around the room. Fan favourite track “Solitaires” demonstrates just
what a wrecking ball the Sydney quintet have in their arsenal in terms of
writing and it is delivered with flawless execution on this most momentous of
nights. Teal are a larger than life band who will have promoters and label
managers fighting over them in the very near future.
Because I’d already seen them ten to
fifteen times before, I decided to give the ever impressive Meniscus a miss in
favour of SVELT, a self-dubbed bass heavy “jungle groove” act hailing
from Sydney. I found these guys really hard to review as it is not my type of
music at all. The drum, bass and synth trio played an entertaining show and I
imagined Michel Winslow’s Spaceballs character giving his status report of
“I’ve lost the bleeps. I’ve lost the beeps and I’ve lost the creeps” throughout.
The allure of the upstairs band became too much however and I found myself being
whisked up the onyx steps before I knew it.
Sydney’s instrumental post rock trio MENISCUS
drew every musician in the venue to their stage. The crowd was rowdy as I
entered; the boys from Caligula’s Horse even rowdier. I was shattered upon
learning that I had walked in just in time to catch the last song and I nestled
myself amongst the bewildered onlookers to catch these gargantuan performers
melt some faces in the room. The ambient, rainforest sampled track that was
“Cusp” had the masses watching in silence, trying to piece together exactly how
guitarist Daniel Oreskovic effortlessly massacres the frets of his axe while
producing a sound so fragile yet so limitless. His stage persona is a Muppet
that transforms into a hubcap flying off a car. It’s bizarre and entertaining
and you can’t stop watching. The projection on the wall frames stellar, low end
architect Alison Kerjean as she lays the crucial, grinding bass that gels the
music together. Cameron Brennan rounds out the trio with his solid percussion
skills, often guiding Kerjean’s groove and flaring into an outbreak of accented
fills that make the music come to life. The set ends before I even have a chance
to unwind and Meniscus are thanked with a volley of cheers and thunderous
applause.
A curfew caused the awards ceremony to
be cut down in order for the headliner to be able to play a full set. I’d given
Melbourne’s ENGINE a quick listen before I came and instantly poo pooed
them. Once again my pre judgement proved me to be a total and utter twat. In a
day full of charismatic vocalists, Casey Dean stood head and shoulders above
them. The music was big, brash, unforgiving and was a less heavy, more party
version of Armenian-American metal clowns System Of A Down. Guitarist Jedi
Wright was in his own little world while the rest of the band demanded the
adoration of everyone present. Aryn Appleberry’s juicy bass and amazingly
strong backing vocals were the salsa to Dean’s corn tortillas chips. Dean
rummaged through the back stage area mid performance and returned with a pink
unicorn head found in a pile of abandoned costumes behind the stage which he
wore for the next song in the set. Engine were another band who liberally
applied comedy into their routine. This was an incredibly entertaining way to
end the night which left me with a warm feeling in my tummy like I had just
downed a fresh flagon of mulled wine.
I have never walked out of a music
festival that satisfied in my life. Event organiser Angelina Hodgson has gone
above and beyond what even the most seasoned of festival promoters are capable
of by rounding up a consistently high calibre of musicians into one place. The
amount of talent and showmanship I saw today proved that the live music scene
is in very capable hands and it is alive and kicking. It is up to us punters to
fuel the fire to help make it the raging dragon it was destined to be.
Don’t be a dick, Sydney! Support the live music scene.
Don’t be a dick, Sydney! Support the live music scene.