GIG REVIEWS
Peter Combe and The Juicy Juicy Green Band @ ANU Bar, Sunday July 20 Everyone was wearing newspaper hats and it was all very cute and ‘lets rediscover our childhood whilst chugging schooners of beer and saying fuck a lot’. The guy with the hardcore metal tattoos wearing a folded paper on his head dancing to the spaghetti song was pretty much the most awesome thing ever. What is it about a daggy kids musician who’s going on 60 that can make people so goddamn happy? If Peter Combe had been throwing handfuls of Prozac out into the crowd it would have made a lot more sense. But maybe that’s just it. We were drinking beer and dancing like retarded monkeys to a man who brought us up on ’80s songs like Wash Your Face in Orange Juice, Spaghetti Bolognaise, Chops and Sausages, Toffee Apple, Chopsticks… Christ, the list is endless. And Combe, like a trooper, made sure he played them all. Funny thing is, it wasn’t just about the novelty of hearing the songs you once danced around to in the loungeroom wearing Astro Boy underpants on your head (oh wait, we still do that). Combe has taken these kids classics, thrown in a few more instruments/young, good-looking musicians/a slightly better beat and given his songs a contemporary edge that still maintains a Vegemite charm. To some it might seem that the whole Combe phenomenon is more about an idea than the actual quality of his music. Screw that. I’m going so far as to say that Combe the ‘adult’ performer now has a musical edge that just cuts out the wank. The man described puberty at one stage through the metaphor of a sexually confused tadpole. He’s a dag. And he’s goddamn proud. At the end of day, Combe was just a guy doing what he loves. No pretensions, no awesome stories involving Russian prostitutes, crack and another wacky band adventure (oh, those crazy bands). He seemed a little bemused by the mass hysteria that almost every second song seemed to excite, but this guy took it all in his early ’80s stride. I’m pretty sure a few people cried during Chopsticks. Who can blame them? CAITLIN CROUCHER The Herd/The Last Kinection @ ANU Bar, Friday August 8 When I arrived at the bursting ANU bar, The Last Kinection had just launched into their set, supported by a crowd that was loud enough, keen enough and rowdy enough to suggest that these guys were in fact the headlining act. The Last Kinection have been somewhat of an underrated presence in Australia’s hip-hop scene over the past years, receiving a large amount of critical acclaim and stellar live reviews, but never really infiltrating the realm of household familiarity in the world of alternative music. After seeing them live, it’s hard to believe that their presence in the Australian music scene hasn’t become more dominant. Using their indigenous backgrounds and experiences as inspiration for much of their songwriting, TLK’s stylish and bouncing hip-hop style is given extra strength by the sense of purpose and determination conveyed through their lyrics. Although the group maintained their energy and engagement admiringly consistently throughout their set, the peak definitely came shortly before its end with the group’s infamous anthem Still Call Oz Home, a poignant yet passionate adaptation of the much-loved Australian gem.
THE HERD &THE LAST KINECTION @ ANU BAR PHOTOS BY NICK BRIGHTMAN