I was part of a vegetable collective once. It cost me $60 every two weeks for a huge box of fruit & veg that would slowly rot on my kitchen counter. I was told i was saving the planet by purchasing organic, fairtrade, bionic, free-range and whatever-else foodstuffs. But there really wasn't much in it for me. Am i really going to know the difference between a hydroponic and non-hydroponic eggplant?? And Rambutans? WTF.

Being the inaugural gig review for the blog, I was hoping to deliver a hard hitting, super-critical and 100% fluff-free treatise. Praise would be rare, lest we look like we're pandering to the scene. Nobody respects a yes-person* and certainly nobody would put their faith in commentry from a yes-blog. Unfortunately for me then, I had probably the best live music experience I've had all year (perhaps a close second to the collective joyful weeping induced by the Fleet Foxes playing the Metro). Each of the three acts were brilliant and genuinely engaging, but for completely different reasons.

Over the past few months, Sydney's experimentally-inclined girl-pop duo, Kyü, have been making quite an impact in both the real and cyber-world. The ladies, Alyx and Freya, propel harmonious and lush, ethereal noise that has kindled muchos love from a wide-range of sources: Big-time blog and radio love, winning the Sydney University Band Competition last Thursday night and being selected to play at the seminal This Is Not Art Festival held in Newcastle in October.

I spoke to the two ladies on The Bridge last Wednesday evening (before they conquered the Sydney University Band Comp) and was dazzled by their music, which they have described as "a tea party with Beethoven, Bowie, Bjork and a Banshee". Sounds pretty ridiculous doesn't it? Well, have a listen to their tracks below and make up your own mind. Sunny in Splodges appeared on the inaugural New Weird Australia compilation (put together by FBi's own Stuart Buchanan and Danny Jumpertz) and Pixiphony was recorded specifically for The Bridge! See em this Friday at SerialSpace supporting the indie jamtastic Japanese group Tenniscoats. PS. Bring your own pot of tea! --- LL

mp3: Kyü - Sunny in Splodges
mp3: Kyü - Pixiphony

Upcoming Gigs:
September 11th 8pm
Tenniscoats (jp) w/ The Pancakes (hk) + kyü
Serial Space
33 Wellington St, Chippendale
$12

Kyü links:
Myspace

mp3: SOMASEK - Rumour

Upcoming gigs:
Radio Social World Bar - Sun 6th Sep
Oxford Art Factory- Wed 30th Sep (free)

Tracklist - 03/09/09:
Left Wing Guardian UNDERLAPPER
Last Night On Earth TOO MANY FORCEFIELDS
Dodecahedron SOMASEK
Rumour SOMASEK
Question/Mark SOMASEK
Origami Sun BEARHUG
Soldier PAPER SCISSORS
Sanfransisco Now LES ANNEES
Pangaea THE CHURCH
Fly Away Home NINJA SLUMBER PARTY
Untitled LEED FIENDS

Flirting with children's singalongs might be considered a cred-hazard to many music punters, but Cuthbert and the Night Walkers have really made the artform their own. Since the unfortunate passing of the legendary Adelaide songster Baterz in 2002, there's been little to fill the void of intelligent children's music (ICM anybody??). Thankfully CATNW pick up where Baterz left off; cheekily hiding their musical maturity beneath the cutesy singalongs. Don't be fooled, the songs aren't all gooey - the first time I heard Red Frogs I was too caught up in a solid rock song to forsee that months later I might be singing the lyrics to my 5 year old cousin.

The band joined me on the Guest Programming Bridge on Monday 31st August. I figured that to suit the mood I'd administer my Nursery Rhyme Quiz (see below for an audio grab of the Quiz). They also threw down a titillating rendition of an upcoming track Walk To Work. Their second album is due out at the end of this year, and if the first single Pace Ourselves is anything to go by, there'll still be plenty to sing along to. --- JZ

Cuthbert links:
Myspace | Facebook

Tracklist - 31/08/09:
Pace Ourselves - Cuthbert and the Night Walkers
Sunny In Splodges - Kyu
Then Came The Sun - Brian Campeau
Musings Heartthrob - Megastick Fanfare
Untitled - The desks
The Barber's Son - Jack Ladder
Havin A Party - Little Lovers
Jonathan Richmond - Little Lovers
Etcetera - Betamax Bandits
Walk to work (LIVE!!) - Cuthbert and the Night Walkers
PS I Love You - Richard In Your Mind