Gig Review - Little Day In 2014

Katie hit the jackpot at the Little Day In with Cash Savage, Gay Paris and Stella Angelico!

LITTLE DAY IN 2014

Live @ The Joynt, Brisbane (18/01/13)

Review by Katie Langley

I spent my Saturday afternoon and evening with my two favourite things: music and beards. Who knew that The Joynt’s Little Day In would attract so much luscious facial hair? But I digress. Little Day In was pitched as an intimate alternative to Big Day Out. I didn’t realise just how intimate things would get until a little later into the evening. Sure, it was busy, but nothing like that tidal wave crowd you can find yourself fighting all day at a Big Day Out. There were no long lines to the bar or bathroom, and I didn’t come away with any awkward sunburn on the top of my head. In fact, no sunburn at all. Music, beards, and no sunburn – it’s the holy trinity, right?

Flap!

 

Melbourne’s Flap! had me intrigued right from the get go. I mean, it’s not Flap, it’s Flap! A band hell bent on including an exclamation mark into their name has to be interesting. That theory turned out to be true. And I should clarify that I mean interesting in the best possible way. Not like when you come home from a date and answer “interesting” with a scratch of the head when asked how it went. I thought I had Flap!’s (that looks wrong, but let’s go with it) sound figured out, but each song brought something new . After all, the five piece sight influences from 1920s jazz, Gypsy brass, English Folk and Trinidadian Calypso. It really was fantastic.


Vocals duties are shared between ukulele playing Jess Guille and trumpet playing Eamon McNelis. Jess shares a lot of similarities with Lily Allen – cute, soft vocal delivery with lyrics that pack a punch. She smiled and popped the whole time, and it was really quite infectious. Eamon was a much less wanky Michael Buble type, with a really hypnotic jazz swagger. Look, the whole band were amazing – the trombone was exceptional.


Highlight for me was during ‘Billy Hunt’, a song about a convict attempting to escape Port Arthur dressed as a kangaroo. There’s a point during the song where Eamon sings a series of jump’s and hops’, to which the audience very diligently obeyed.

Stella Angelico

What a voice! But first I need to paint the picture. Stella looked every bit the sexy Sandra Dee kitted out in skin tight black pants, red heels and big hair. She most certainly had the attitude to match as she grooved and rolled her hips through the set. It was a little Amy Winehouse, with a load more femininity. Stella seemed at home on stage, so it was unsurprising for me to find out that performing runs in her family - her mother is a cabaret singer, and father a magician.


Stella was every bit the soul powerhouse. And she really did give it her all – her hips shook violently the entire time, and vocals were delivered with such force. Favourite track for me was 'Mister' where she called out a, “nasty piece of work.” I was caught between the desire to thrust my hips and throw a drink in someone’s face.

Cash Savage and The Last Drinks

I read a review which described front woman Cash Savage as having a, “baby-faced Elvis pout and wounded blues growl.” After witnessing her in action, I can’t think of a more perfect description. Her banter between songs had me thinking she’d be the perfect companion for a quiet drink, but mid song there was definite strength and boldness that signaled she isn’t someone to mess with.


Cash Savage and The Last Drinks could be described as dark country blues. Their music is refreshingly honest, and at times heart breaking. I think it’s fairly safe to say that this is a band we’ll be hearing more from.

Gay Paris

After seeing Gay Paris several times now I think I’ve figured out the prime vantage point. I like to get up nice and close, but not close enough that I get caught when all hell inevitably breaks loose. Perhaps I’m biased, but I just don’t think anyone brings the party like Gay Paris do.


It’s important to note that at this point in the proceeding it was 8:30pm, and punters had enjoyed a good eight hours of drinking. Why not bring on the heaviest band of the day who enjoy nudity, thrusting, and just having a fucking good time? There were a few technical hiccups, but no one in the crowd seemed to mind – it provided the perfect opportunity for front man Wailin H to bust out a few rhymes.


Musically, was it the best I have seen them? No. Did I give a shit? No. The live experience is just as important with Gay Paris and they always deliver that in droves. Highlights included; guitarist Black Tooth rocking out on a shelf only to rip it off the wall, Wailin H being undressed by the audience (there was the intimacy that was promised), Six Guns looking daper in a cowboy hat, and Slim Pickins doing an impressive moon walk.

Juke Baritone and The Swamp Dogs

Describing Juke Baritone and the Swamp Dogs is certainly a challenge, and perhaps near impossible. Their sound was gypsy, folk, and maybe even a little pirate. Seriously! It was an eclectic show, with loads of band members and a whole stack of instruments. A real feast for the senses.

Gig Review - Brothers Grim and the Blue Murders

Brothers Grim and the Blue Murders

Live @ The Joynt, Brisbane (31/05/13)

Supported by Bare White Knuckles

Review by Katie Langley

As I approached The Joynt for the Brothers Grim and the Blue Murders gig on Friday night I knew I was going to be in for a treat. People were spilling out of the venue, laughing, drinks in hand. There was a special feeling in the air. I think mostly it was the feeling that everyone there was completely hammered, but that was special nonetheless.


Support act Bare White Knuckles had the crowd well and truly primed. This self-described “rockin’/drinkin’/in ya face kinda blues band” certainly lived up to their name. Vocalist Caitlin was so full of energy and zest – it was contagious.


In the moments before Brothers Grim and the Blue Murders took to the stage, as I stood shoulder to shoulder with my fellow punters, so close that I could nearly smell their breath, I wondered if perhaps the band had out-grown the venue. I have never seen The Joynt so busy! It was really amazing to see.
James, Dominic and Caitlin from Bare White Knuckles provided some entertainment while we waited for Matt and Stephen to finish their cigarettes. Entertainment in the form of Vanilla Ice and Run DMC. It might’ve been a rock show, but we lapped it up.


The band treated us all to songs from the recently released “Roll It In” and favourites from “A Year To Forget”. In between songs James encouraged the crowd to take off an item of clothing with the promise that he too would oblige. There was a little trepidation, but with some encouragement from the front man, and a lot of liquor, people began to peel of their layers. I saw shirts, jumpers and bras whizz past my head. I knew things were starting to get rowdy when a lady took off her pink lace G-string and threw it on James. I looked around, feeling very over dressed, particularly when James stripped down to his underpants.


Special mention needs to be made of Dominic’s hair. Have you heard the saying “curls get the girls”? They certainly got me! Windmilling and playing upright bass is a special talent indeed.


Brothers Grim and the Blue Murders are a band known for their relentless touring, and it shows. Do yourself a favour: buy the EP and get yourself to the next gig! A word of advice though, wear your nice underwear.

Gig Review - Kira Puru and The Bruise (27/09/12)

Kira Puru and The Bruise (27/09/12)

Live at The Joynt, South Brisbane

Supported by MKO

by Jo Michelmore

When it comes to music, I’m not one of those people that does things by halves. When I fall in love with a band, I fall hard. When I decide to fall, I like to fall completely. With this in mind, when I saw Kira Puru and The Bruise at Big Sound in early September, I knew this was a band I wasn’t going to get over easily. So when the opportunity to see them again happened only last week, it was an opportunity I couldn’t pass on.

Thursday in Brisbane can be a strange night. You never know whether to expect a big night or not. Entering the venue to the sweet sounds of MKO (more about this super cute act another time) I was surprised to find an almost empty room but thankfully it managed to fill quite nicely as the night went on (Brisbane, it’s ok to see local bands, sometimes they’re quite good). The Joynt is a curious little venue, with fluorescent lights shining from behind the bar and a jukebox flashing away in another corner making it sometimes difficult to focus on the stage. I should have known Kira and her Bruise would have no trouble grabbing my heart, ripping it out of my body and gently placing back inside an hour or so later.

Caressing a glass of red wine, Kira greeted the odd mix of crowd (think the 80’s and the 90’s got together and decided to hit the town) with a “cheers!” and held them in the palm of her hand for eleven songs, where we were taken on a journey of heartbreak, anger, sorrow and of love. ‘When All Your Love Is Not Enough’ was amazing, as always, ‘Sleep With One Eye Open’, dedicated to “all the people who’ve slept with your boyfriend” was incredible; we were treated to a special play of ‘Water’, “this is not in the set list, are you guys ok with that?” (why of course Kira, of course); ‘Hit The Road’ was awesome (preceded by a special story of the fact it was drummer Dave’s birthday. When asked what he wanted he responded “booze and babes”, at which point Kira demanded of the audience “you motherfuckers better come through” – this is one of those moments I know the reason I love live music) and ‘Step Into The Light’ (their next single) could possibly be my favourite track, so catchy, so, so great.

Kira herself has a presence on stage that is irresistible. She manages to be terrifying one minute and gently supportive the next. It’s a dramatic relationship. Just when you feel safe in her sounds there’s a voice that appears seemingly from another world and the shivers are sent up and down your spine. Her band match her soothingly chaotic vocal perfectly, it can be difficult to know where to look, who to focus on or what to listen for. Geordie Malone’s guitar skills are mesmerising, his frenzied dancing is only matched with the incredible sounds he forces out of his guitar, David Pearce is a drummer any band should want to have, his talent for making his drums speak of heartbreak and pain is mouth-watering and bass player Jamieson Shaw is almost indescribable. His hysterical dancing matches Geordies perfectly and his playing is out of this world. I’ve seen it three times now and every time I’ve been totally floored, when he gets that drumstick and smashes his bass with it I just can’t stop staring and smiling, the world stops and music is all encompassing for a few minutes.

So it’s true. I’ll happily admit it. Kira Puru and The Bruise are my newest love. I’ve fallen in love, completely and wholeheartedly. It could be an obsession. I even saw them again, two nights later at The Hi-Fi for the Drunken Moon Festival, where I was taken to another world of amazement and anger and happiness and bluesy-rootsy-rocky-jazzy-booze filled goodness. Music is good, but amazing music should take you away to places and make you feel like you’ve changed. Like a good love, it should fill your heart and break your heart and Kira Puru and The Bruise have done that to me three times now. Just like a good love, I can’t wait for them to do it all again.