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A big day in the city doing chores, attending a Record Fair, watching a great All Blacks game at a sports bar and finishing off the day with this gig at Space Academy.
Roy Irwin was who drew me to this gig, I have both his records and thought I would check him out live. It turns out that Roy had just come along for the ride with P.F.H and he preforms his songs solo unlike his records where he has a backing band. It is a pretty difficult task to pull off preforming solo like this. Something special is needed from the performer and strong songs. I have seen several local artists that I really like on record preform like this and only some of them pull it off. Roy, unfortunately didn't for me, his records patchy affairs but he does have some great songs that I am familiar with but I only recognized one of them during his short set. He finished his set abruptly half way through a song, with the comment "Fuck it! I'm done".
Previously to Roy, Wurld Series played. A four piece indi band that I really have enjoyed the other times I have seen them, a cross of Flying Nun and Pavement with catchy tunes and plenty of energy. It was interesting after the last gig I went to a couple of nights earlier where the PA was cranked to overload and ear damaging volumes, compared to the sound of these guys this night. It appears that only the vocals were coming through the PA during their set in this small venue and so thew rest of the players we were hearing just their guitar amps direct and the drums naked and it sounded bloody good, pretty clear and well separated sound. It worked really well in this venue. Don't know if this was deliberate. Again really enjoyed their set.
P.H.F were completely unknown to me, from Auckland, this four piece hit right into some great punky tunes with the singer pretty snotty and often singing on the floor in front of the stage. They were tight and fast and really mixed up their set with some poppy stuff, some slower stuff, some grungy stuff and the best of the lot some cool punk rock. I was most impressed and the small audience was actually asking for more at the end. Just listening to their Bandcamp stuff as I type and they are much better live.
Melted Ice Cream is an independent music label in Christchurch New Zealand run by Brian Feary, who also announces an NZ indie show on the local alternative radio station RDU(ex university radio station). Melted Ice Cream release mostly cassette releases with some great vinyl issues that I have in my collection and downloads on Bandcamp. They did a download only compilation of local Christchurch bands on Bandcamp back in 2013, "Sickest Smashes From Arson City". Now just over 5 years later the label release the second volume of this compilation and this time on CD (a first for the label)"Sickest Smashes From Arson City:Legacy Edition". In support of the CD release, Brian organized three nights of showcasing 12 bands from the CD at three different venues across the city.
This first night was held at Space Academy, a venue readers will know I have been to several times before and seen some great local bands there.
I got there pretty early after popping in to see a record stall at a local boutique brewery where Galaxy Records(recently closed) was trying to sell off the rest of his stock. I found out then that the Opawa 45's were playing across the road from Space Academy first up before the Melted Ice Cream Gig so I popped in for a while and checked them out. I had seen them before but I thought this time they were playing much slower numbers, a lot were covers, in their surf//rockabilly style.
I did not watch their full set but wandered across the road to Space Academy to see how the gig was shaping up over there. Things were waiting for the gig across the road to finish and then as people trickled in things got off to a much later start than I anticipated.
First up was Motte with her violin and sound effects and loops doing her usual interesting neo classical soundscapes with some beats backing her on occasion. I really like what she does. On her last number she was joined but some other musicians on drums, bass and guitar and made some interesting drony noise.
Next Band Adam Hattaway and the Haunters were completely new to me. A big band with something like six members squeezed onto the small stage, I was taken buy the clarity of their sound with so many people playing together, which so often sounds like a big dirge when playing live, so it made it easier to make out what they were playing, especially as I did not know their music. Any how with brass and percussion as well as the usual drums and a couple of guitars etc, I was very impressed with their great poppy rock songs that were most accessible and very catchy. They were actually the highlight of the night for me, although I ended up leaving before I saw Wurld Series(who I do really like) as they were running way behind schedule, it was after midnight and I still had an hours drive home and work in the morning.
Therefore the last band I did see for this first gig was the Ben Woods Group, another band I knew nothing about. It turned out that this was the same bunch who had joined Motte at the end of her set and indeed she did join them as part of the band. After Adam Hattaway, I though this band sounded quite murky in comparison and a bit louder so it did make it a bit more difficult to make out what they were playing, but it was quite droney and I did think there was some interesting stuff discernible in the murky sound. The cut they have on the CD sounds a lot more poppy than what I heard that night. Still I did enjoy their set and overall it was a fairly enjoyable night of cool music. A good start to my three night of music.
My second gig this week and my second at The Darkroom and one thing I am noticing about The Darkroom is that there is no security there. The staff consists of two ladies on the bar and one tall lanky dude, who looks a bit like one of the recent Dr Who's, on sound and whatever else is needed. This is a good thing and it is great to see that after being in operation for several years they still don't feel the need to employ bouncers. The place has a good vibe and it looks like the riff raff stay away.
Anyhow, I arrive just before the 8:30 door opening time in the belief that tonight might be a packed house, considering the kinda high profile Street Chant have and it was door sales only. My fears were unfounded though as by the time Street Chant hit the stage later that night there were only about 50 or 60 people there, just slightly more than the last gig I went to here. Although a tiny venue, this is still a little disappointing for such a great little band but is the usual way for NZ bands it appears.
When I arrived, the guy on the door mentioned that the band had been a bit delayed due to their flight from Auckland arriving later than expected, the weather here had been pretty bad, so the first act of the night, which was to be Slenderman( an Emily Edrosa, from Street Chant, side project apparently) didn't play, which meant a hours wait for the first band due on at 9:30pm. With an hour to kill, I scored a drink and settled in on the most comfy couch in the place and was soon joined by a fella who introduced himself as Chris. We chatted awhile about music, as you do at a gig and eventually he revealed that he was a musician and operated under the name The Transcendents. I had heard of them as I told him and that I had possibly heard his music on Chris Walker's "Counting the Beat" radio podcasts. He confirmed that Chris was indeed a supporter of his music on the aforementioned radio show and that I could check out his music on Bandcamp. I will.
Best Bets hit the stage soon after their allotted time and this three piece impressed me with their thrashy punk/new wavy sound, which reminded me of The Sex Pistols sometimes but a little more poppy. They also played a great cover of Gang Of Four's "I found That Essence Rare" and a surprise Neil Young song that I know well but can't remember the title of right now. A great start to the night though.
Wurld Series were next and right off I was super impressed with their songs, a great singer with catchy tunes and a sound totally enthralled to early Pavement and of course the Flying Nun sound of the early 80's Their short set was end to end great songs and it is a real pity that they don't have any music released on any physical media. They do have a bandcamp page though. Worth checking out.
I am pretty new to Street Chant. They have been around for about 8 years apparently but I first heard of them through "Counting the Beat" and I had seen some people I know on Facebook, flashing about the last album they released earlier this year(a copy of which I finally picked up at this gig). I checked out that album on Tidal and although it was good I personally wasn't overly impressed. Over time I gave it occasional listens and eventually it grew on me as I became more familiar with it's catchy tunes. Street Chant consist of two women on bass and guitar and a bloke on drums and they play a great brand of catchy indie rock. Considering that the band have been nominated for songwriting awards in NZ and seem to have a higher profile than any of the other local bands I have been checking out lately, the numbers at this gig were lower than I expected. This seems to be the case with NZ music, apathy from the punters towards quality homegrown music and lack of air play for this kind of music, even thought it is quite poppy and catchy in places.
Live, these three rock out pretty big and Emily Edrosa really gets into some great guitar shredding during this short set. Unfortunately she was having some technical issues with one guitar cord giving out and feedback problems throughout the gig. She handled it pretty well and their set was most enjoyable as they rocked through their brand of great catchy guitar riffs, which many may become NZ classics over time. Their set was short but they were talked into doing a one song Encore, where they played one of their best songs that I now knew quite well. This is their last tour as they are now disbanding for the foreseeable future.
