LIVE REVIEWS QUEENS WHARF BREWERY, NYE Thursday, December 31
CHILDREN COLLIDE ©JAKE MCKEE-WRIGHT
I started to think it was a mistake going to Newcastle for New Year’s Eve as we walked to the venue through the quiet main streets, passing tumbleweeds and families calling it a night. I was reassured when I saw the Brewery, a massive cauldron of colour and high energy. Dead Letter Circus were good. Children Collide were ok. Their songs were a bit repetitive and lacked influence, in the shadow of The Living End. I was shocked at how organised the venue was. I didn’t know whether to be impressed or freaked out by the overkill of police presence and security. I didn’t wait in a bar line and I even saw a guy picking up cigarette butts at one stage. The atmosphere on the harbour was chilled out and the mixed bag of people at this gig were flaunting that special ‘New Year’s Eve vibe’. Living End remain one of the best live acts I’ve witnessed and whether it’s a new tune like ‘Raise The Alarm’ off their most recent album, White Noise, or a golden oldie like ‘Second Solution’, they have the whole audience going crazy, and tonight was no exception. ‘All Torn Down’ rocked everyone and I think
the audience rocked them right back, as they started to party with us. Chris Cheney (vocals/guitar) was getting right into it. He stood on his guitar and chugged a beer during ‘Prisoner of Society’, the tune that is time and time again, a live song that blows me away. Another highlight was a newie, ‘How Do We Know’, which was funky and sexy. The instrumental part of this song was the epitome and roots of The Living End. They covered ‘Waltzing Matilda’ in their true rockabilly/punk fashion and it was amazing. ‘White Noise’ ended the show and as I looked around at my generation rocking it out I thought, “How can something unspoken seem so Loud ?!” ~Liana M c Donald
THE BEAUTIFUL GIRLS Entrance Leagues Club Wednesday, January 6
dancing right from the start of the show. After Matt McHugh’s car accident and the band’s down time I’m looking forward to the release of a new album, due to come out in May of this year. ‘I Thought About You’ was another taste of their new sound. It was a bit too poppy for me, but it was catchy and well structured music that was easy to sing and dance to. I really started to get into the groove when they played some of their old tunes off their first record, Morning Sun. For me, the earlier, more chilled and bluesy sounds of the Beautiful Girls are better suited to the band and they do it so well. It showed when they played ‘Periscopes’, with Paul Bromley (bass) and Bruce Braybrooke (drums) getting lost in their instruments and lead singer and guitarist, Matt McHugh, riding the wave of the in-sync rhythm. The song of the night was the last, ‘Morning Sun’. There wasn’t a single person not moving in time with the harmonious and laid-back sound. ~Liana M c Donald
CAT POWER Newcastle Panthers Saturday, January 9
THE BEAUTIFUL GIRLS ©TERRY PAULL
The Beautiful Girls explain their new single, ‘Don’t Wait’ on their MySpace page as “Just a song about going out...living life and having a good time...it’s just a pop song.” That line from this great little band summed up the whole night, and explains the new direction their music is taking. The new tune played live was funky and had everyone in the place
Candlelight flickers across a stage of instruments as Cat Power’s band, including Dirty Three drummer Jim White, appear on stage. A burning stick of incense casts a waif of vapour into the heavy darkness. As the band strike up a slow, hypnotic intro, Chan Marshall steps from the stage’s wings, an almighty cheer welcoming her. Her familiar, husky croon rolls out a smokey cover of ‘The House Of The Rising Sun’. So begins a mysterious and elusive set from Cat Power. Dressed in jeans, a khaki jacket and wearing her hair in a ponytail, the gorgeous
CAT POWER ©TIM BOEHM
singer says very little, but walks back and forth along the front of the stage during her performance. Eyes closed, Marshall often seems to be in her own imaginary playground, with much of her vocal parts feeling improvised. It’s magic to listen to, but requires some intense concentration. The set list meanders in a hypnotic state, with almost every tune delivered in the same tone and tempo, making tonight’s performance feel a little like a one-trick pony. A few instrumental jams by Marshall’s backing band lift in intensity, but invariably return to a half-awake state. Frustratingly, no songs from the brilliant record, You Are Free, are included. Finishing with two almost unrecognisable renditions of Cat Power’s hits ‘The Greatest’ and ‘Lived In Bars’, this intimate performance from Marshall and her band is equal parts captivating and exhausting. ~Nick Milligan
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