6/11/09 @ The Excelsior - supported by Pirate
With a global music scene drowning in indie, it's pretty easy to forget what real musicians sound like. As much as I can listen to Kings of Convenience records all day (and I can), jangly 4/4 and single-note guitar solos can only be so satisfying. Slotting Falsimilies From The Factsmachine into the CD player some weeks ago was the punch in the skinny jeans I'd been yearning for. It's the third EP from Sydney progfreaks Captain Kickarse and the Awesomes and it's choc full of chops, time signature changeups and drumming intensity. Last night saw them throw down an official release of the EP at the Excelsior (the spiritual home of the distortion pedal) to a crammed house.
The first act billed for the evening was, in my opinion, the most appropriately named band I've ever seen. Pirate is a loud, brassy, aggressive juggernaut. Centered around Joel Woolf's whimsical (and often experimental) saxophone solos, the band can make some serious noise. There's slashing guitar lines and a tight rhythm section that isn't too far removed from the intensity of the Mars Volta. But it's really a platform for Woolf to generate all manner of squeaks from his saxophone-through-guitar-pedal set up. It really works too, and was certainly an appropriate entree for the Awesomes.
Now I wasn't too sure what to expect from the main act. I'd literally been blown away by the first track of their EP (included below), but with a name like theirs, it could well collapse into a masturbatory heap on stage. I'd fortunately had the chance to meet the guys before the gig, and their humility and general good-naturedness reassured me that any wankery would probably be downplayed. Thankfully that indeed seemed to be the case as they began their set. The time signature mixups were executed to perfection, and straight away you could tell that these guys have spent zillions of hours in the rehearsal room together. They're clearly not here to pose. They're shirtless, dreadlocked music nerds.
The set meandered through a mix of new and old, and I'm pretty sure there were some salutes paid to Charlie and The Chocolate Factory and the Tetris theme amongst it all. The drumming is as tight as you'd expect from a prog band, but drummer Alex O'Toole is also pretty innovative with the way he goes about things, so I wouldn't be surprised to see some copycat air drummers start to pop up in the crowd. Ironically though, my favourite part of the show was when guitarist Phil McCourt finally got to unleash a super-delayed guitar solo which was more akin to hard-rock psychedelia. I've been forever an admirer of the psych-rock outfit Maserati*,hailing from the fertile musical soils of Athens Georgia, and I can say that McCourt's guitarwork is easily as exciting and certainly more dynamic. Despite my apparent aversion to showmanship, I found myself acutally wishing he'd do more of it. Man can play.
In all, they're absolutely a band worth checking out. Progheads I'm sure will need no encouragement, but even if you're an indie loving dandy (like myself), it's refreshing to see an inventive band that hasn't been swayed by synthesizers, glockenspiels and extra floor toms.
Now I wasn't too sure what to expect from the main act. I'd literally been blown away by the first track of their EP (included below), but with a name like theirs, it could well collapse into a masturbatory heap on stage. I'd fortunately had the chance to meet the guys before the gig, and their humility and general good-naturedness reassured me that any wankery would probably be downplayed. Thankfully that indeed seemed to be the case as they began their set. The time signature mixups were executed to perfection, and straight away you could tell that these guys have spent zillions of hours in the rehearsal room together. They're clearly not here to pose. They're shirtless, dreadlocked music nerds.
The set meandered through a mix of new and old, and I'm pretty sure there were some salutes paid to Charlie and The Chocolate Factory and the Tetris theme amongst it all. The drumming is as tight as you'd expect from a prog band, but drummer Alex O'Toole is also pretty innovative with the way he goes about things, so I wouldn't be surprised to see some copycat air drummers start to pop up in the crowd. Ironically though, my favourite part of the show was when guitarist Phil McCourt finally got to unleash a super-delayed guitar solo which was more akin to hard-rock psychedelia. I've been forever an admirer of the psych-rock outfit Maserati*,hailing from the fertile musical soils of Athens Georgia, and I can say that McCourt's guitarwork is easily as exciting and certainly more dynamic. Despite my apparent aversion to showmanship, I found myself acutally wishing he'd do more of it. Man can play.
In all, they're absolutely a band worth checking out. Progheads I'm sure will need no encouragement, but even if you're an indie loving dandy (like myself), it's refreshing to see an inventive band that hasn't been swayed by synthesizers, glockenspiels and extra floor toms.
--- JZ
Links:
Captain Kickarse | Pirate
*Edit: only a few hours after this post, Maserati drummer Jerry Fuchs would fall to his death down an elevator shaft. He was also the drummer for the celebrated New York band !!!.
...thoughts with his families; kindred and musical.
Tags: Captain Kickarse and the Awesomes, Chk Chk Chk, Justin Zeltzer, Kings of Convenience, Maserati, Pirate
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