Category Archives: Stop by the Arts with Chelsea

Despite the drudgery that was presented to us by Melbourne and its indecisive weather habits, a couple of friends and I decided we would trek down to The Workers Club in Fitzroy for its newly established Ruby Tuesdays.

Trust me, as soon as I walked out of my front door I had an immediate sense of dwelling, and a desire to turn around and walk back inside where I would then spend the rest of my night sitting on my couch under a blanket watching some movie that I’ve already seen a million times before.

I pushed past this feeling, and it was well worth it!

Playing at the event presented by The AU review, SYN media and The 59th Sound was Howard, The Trotskies and Slow Dancer.

Unfortunately we missed Howard, but we rocked up just in time to catch The Trotskies and Slow Dancer.

The first thing you should know about The Workers, if you haven’t already been there, is that it is a very intimate venue and this works really well for some musicians.

I’m not saying that this didn’t work well for The five Trotskies boys’ and that they didn’t meld into that, it’s just that as I watched them, I was imagining these guys smashing it out in some huge space, like at Soundwave or something (they’ll get there one day) with an ecstatic audience jumping around, going crazy with their arms high in the air.

These boys are a damn good band though, and are going to go places with their music.

If there were any criticisms, (not to be taken too seriously anyway because all the positives far outweigh them), it would be that perhaps the levels weren’t exactly right. I felt at times that the instruments didn’t give lead singer Jack Rudich’s warm, enticing vocals as much justice as they could have.

By the end of the gig, the boys were far more comfortable with the audience and you could immediately sense the connection that had grown between them and the audience and them and their instruments. So much so, that Jack Nicholson’s face from The Shining that had been playing on repeat in the background faded into non-existence in my mind, and that’s saying something!

They just came out with their Debut self titled EP last October, and it’s bloody awesome, well worth a listen!

Up next was Slow Dancer, and as the bands name may suggest, “slowed down” we were. Everything was just switched back a notch, to a place of absolute dreaminess and bliss.

There’s something really soothing and sexy about Slow Dancer and I can’t quite articulate it, but it’s what got me hooked to them after falling in love with their track “We all make mistakes” when I heard it over a month ago.

They pretty much have everything you could want all wrapped into one nice little package. Simon Okely’s vocals are soulfully sweet and draw you in ever so calmly and subtly. Okely not only has the voice of an angel but also has a beautiful way with the guitar, as he plucks these wonderfully soothing chords which sit flawlessly over the soft drum beat and the sexy undertone of the bass, producing perfect bluesy, soulful tones.

It’s a sound that you don’t come by too often. Sure you get the elements individually here and there in certain acts – the great voice, the awesome guitar rhythm, but it’s not too often that you come by an act where it all just melds together so effortlessly.

And it does look effortless for Okely and the boys as they play comfortably, all smiles to the audience and each other. It’s no surprise that this comes natural to Okely though, having grown up listening to a variety of rhythm and blues albums, encouraged by his parents.

Clearly I enjoyed these guys way too much, but I think you will too, so please, do yourself a justice and go and sit back with a nice margarita, stare at the clouds and enjoy some sweet sweet Slow Dancer for yourself.

And I think I’m just about ready for a holiday to Hawaii now.

Ever been curious as to what it would be like to travel back in time? Well, now you can stop wondering and go for a trip with the Smith Street Soul Train instead.

That’s what I did last Tuesday night, as the 12 piece soul-funk band took me and 200-odd other groovy fans to a time of care free, wild dancing and exuberated amounts of laughter.

It was as though we had lunged right back into the ’70s, (or what I would imagine the ’70s to have been like – I’m only 21).

The Grace Darling Hotel was power packed full to its brim, as an overwhelming amount of people surrounded themselves around the small stage in an attempt to immerse themselves in all of the fun.

As I squeezed my way through the flailing arms, and twirling dancers, I got a glimpse of 12 energetic band members all squished on to one tiny stage, having the time of their lives.

All smiles, and belting out unbelievably powerful sky-hitting notes, the band had the room shaking. Maybe that was also because of the non-stop syncronised dancing from everyone in the room too, but the stage was literally moving. It was both exiciting and terrifying.

It didn’t take long for me to want to immerse myself in all of the excitement either, as I began to move along to the effervescent trumpets, saxophones and funky guitar riffs.

Being the bands last gig for 2013 and special Christmas extravaganza, particular friends and guests from the audience were selected to get up and have a sing, which resulted in a very busy stage for the final song of the night as the 20 odd members crowded upon the stage to give us one final send off.

With tunes ranging from Rick James classics’, to Amy Winehouse, Marvin Gaye, Saskwatch, Tina Turner, James Brown, Aretha Franklin and many, many more, it was impossible not to love every minute of it.

I couldn’t have had a more amazing and joy filled time.

The band has taken a break for the remainder of 2013, but will be back again in the beginning of 2014 for more soul-shaking fun!

Definitely a bunch of amazing musicians worth checking out!

Walking up all those stairs to The Toff can be a bit of an effort, but totally worth it when you find on the other side of that heavy sound proof door, the lovely Albert Salt rocking it on stage, and the members of The McQueens ripping up the d-floor in support.

Ironically, it is actually Albert Salt that is supporting The McQueens, as they launch their new Return to Laughter EP, but at this stage you wouldn’t guess it.

There’s nothing more inspiring than seeing two increasingly loved Melbourne acts supporting and cheering each other on.

Albert finishes his set with a bang, getting the crowd rowdy and dancing with his latest song ‘Maybe, I’, before praising the audience with an ecstatic introduction to The McQueens.

The McQueens enter the stage. Immediately the crowd piles in from no where and suddenly I find myself at the back of room.

Lead man Noah Harris draws you in straight away with his succinct rock star vocals. The emotion on his face unbelievably real and passionate.

Guitarist Yano Newman, moves his body back and forth with his guitar while drummer Harry Monaghan smashes out the drum kit, and bassist Tibby McNab cutely smirks to every girl in the audience, bopping his head away. All in all, you can’t turn your eyes away from these boys.

Every guy and girl in the audience jumps around back and forth, parading around with the band as they belt some winners such as new tracks ‘Hannah’ and ‘Washed Away’, and even a few covers.

Noah jokes, introducing their next ‘song’ as a great new track, chuckling to the audience “we wrote it”. The band kicks into a cool, jammy guitar melody as they bop around to Pheonix’s ‘1901’. Yano and Tibby join Noah on vocals, backing him as they chant “Falling, Falling”. The audience goes wild. Suddenly, a change in rhythm takes place, as the song interweaves Miley Cyrus’ hard-hitting ‘Wrecking Ball’. Next thing you know the song takes another turn, as the boys start belting out Cyrus’ old classic ‘See you again’. An unexpected but seemingly fun, Cyrus, Pheonix, McQueens mash-up, and one the audience certainly didn’t mind.

The boys decide they’re going to provide the audience with another cover, requesting that Albert rejoins them on stage to help out in playing one of his own songs. Hustling through the crowd and up onto the stage, Albert cracks out his beautiful violin and keyboard skills, as The McQueens jam out an indie-rock version of his song.

My favourite of their covers is their choice of Lana Del Rey’s ‘Summertime sadness’, which they play with as much zest and soul as the bluesy pop goddess herself.

They finish the night off strong, with their last track ‘Fiasco’, taken from their 2012 Fitzroy EP.
I’m currently at the back of the venue, and looking down at the crowd beneath me, who are jumping around wildly, arms projected high into the air. I can hear the distant rumble of their stomping feet.

The techno that underlies the riffy guitar beats, has everyone dancing, including the band. The boys appear to be having a ball, as they chuck their bodies around the stage, becoming one with their instruments.

Great guys to watch, and a new favourite Melbourne band to add to my list. Definitely recommend you check them out.

A spontaneous trip to the Northcote Social Club last night went down a treat.I caught Brisbane 5-piece The John Steel Singers, and their support act Baptism of Uzi, and was completely swept up in the midst of Baptism’s spectacular long, grinding guitar riffs and the energetic bursts of eclectic mixes of brass-funk, jammy guitars and quick catchy melodies from The John Steel boys.

The John Steel Slingers look fantastic on stage. That’s the first thing you notice. Tim, Scott, Pete and Luke stand adjacent to each other along the front of the stage creating the same kind of quirky quartet appearance that Momford and Sons pull off. (Don’t worry, the drummer still had my full attention too!)

As the crowd piled in out of nowhere, the guys had the audience kicking on with high spirits playing tracks from their funky, fun-pop filled record Tangalooma, and of course their classic track ‘Strawberry Wine’ from The Beagle and The Dove, which had every audience member swinging their hips, chanting “woo-hoo hoo!”.

We also got a taste of a few newbies from their upcoming album Everything’s a thread due November 8.

If any band ‘has it’, then it’s definitely The John Steel Singers. These boys not only look great on stage, they have a charisma that is indescribable. Tim has that perfect smooth indie-rhythmic voice which carries each song with a light hearted joy, and he brings an unbeatable enthusiasm to every song, throwing himself into it, as though he is one with his guitar and the band. Pete, with his beautiful red, rock star locks and fantastic trumpet/ trombone skills adds the unique twist to this band, making them hard to forget.  Likewise, Scott and Luke with their harmonising contribution to vocals, provide The John Steel Singers with an echoing, modern Beach Boys-esque sound.

A stand out of the night was ‘Rainbow Kraut’ with its fast paced, celebratory brass rhythms, catchy guitar melody, chime-like keys and harmonising falsettos. They brought this song to the stage like it was one big rejoicing party.

Another standout was their quite differing track ‘State of Unrest’, the first single release from their forthcoming album. They ended the night with a bang with this track, as its long, jagged psych-rock guitar riffs and spacey synth effects took us out of this world and into an extraterrestrial territory, forcing our bodies to do nothing else but jump along to the compelling guitar rhythms and beat of the song. Tim commended our dancing at the end of this one, saying with a smile that it “warmed his cold heart”.

Keep an eye out for these guys, they are a band not to miss.

If you think they sound good in the studio, then boy you should hear them live, it’s a whole other experience. I caught them last night at their sold out show at the Northcote Social club, and my speculations on them being the greatest new Aussie act was affirmed.

The Preatures radiate a sassy, endowed coolness and a unique style that appears effortless for them. The energy that they bring to the stage and that exists between the group is full of spark and ready animation. They jump and dance around about the stage using its extremities, while all smiles to both the crowd and each other. The effect: is an inclusive aura of energy and fun, in which you feel you are fully apart of.

The gig opens as lead woman Izzy (Isabella Manfredi) strides onto the stage grabbing the microphone with both hands and charmingly greets us “Melbourne you sexy mother fuckers, how are we doing?” – her confident rock goddess attitude radiating from her.

She’s followed by their lead man Gideon Benson who has the same kind of confidence and rich mystery in his  voice as the deep bluesy, rocker Nick Cave.

Friends: lead guitarist Jack Moffit, bassist Thomas Champion and drummer Luke Davison greet the audience too opening the gig with a funky clear, strong guitar riff and heavy, compelling drum beats, bringing the gig into full swing as their latest song Manic baby belts out to the audience, pulling us in without a second thought.

Every song they play is played with such clarity and substance. Every strum of the guitar, change of chord, tap of the drum, slap of the snare, comes through with an amazing clearness and perfection, that is recognisable and pleasing to the audience. The vocals soothe in perfectly over the top of the instrumentals, creating perfect melodious sounds. Damn, all I have to say is that they really have gotten it right. They play and sound as though they have years and years of experience gigging.

The Preatures played both new songs from their new EP Is this how you feel? and some of their classic tracks from their 2012 EP Shaking Hands. My favourite was Take a Card, which they play with such charisma and personality. They brought the playful, lighthearted vibe of this song to the stage as Izzy and Gideon affectionately joined each other on the one mic, serenading each other with their vocals. Like many of their other songs this song is full of pomp and fun as they bring a hybrid of funky blues, rhythm and rock to the stage.

Her vocals in their song Threat, are seductively mysterious and charming as she harmonises with great vocal variety “if you want to be my boyfriend, then why do you act like this?… it’s not a question, it’s a threat… I got the power on you”. She has one of those remarkable, memorable voices and styles that imprints itself on your mind, leaving you with mesmerised chills, much like Stevie Nicks and Joan Jett who have left us with a striking impression of their cool, brisk audacity.

If all of this energy and cool, charming allure of both The Preatures sound and stage presence wasn’t enough to make this gig one of the most epic, then the interesting turn of event of Izzy’s jacket catching on fire might be. After finishing one of their songs, Izzy asks “is someone’s hair on fire”, only for guitarist Jack to respond “no it’s your jacket”. Her very nice and probably expensive leather jacket had been resting on one of the stage lights, and was left aflame. Izzy quickly put it out, letting out a small sob. Poor Izzy, you could see the disappointment in her eyes, but it was only brief, as she suddenly poured water over her face, shaking it off, and letting the show live on.

Izzy and The Preatures just recently took out first place in the 2013 Vanda & Young Songwriting competition, for their song Is this how you feel? A massive achievement for them. They were followed followed in their tracks by the adorable 3rd place winner Thelma Plum.

After the show, I got the chance to have a brief catch up with the approachable Izzy, as we conversed about her self-made shirt that read: “F##K ABBOTT #SEXAPPEAL”, which was censored by the media in all photo’s taken from the Vanda and Young awards. The shirt, which she joked her mum has hidden from her, to keep her from wearing it on tours, sparked some questioning from different people, but Izzy said this was the point of it. The shirt was only suppose to encourage conversation, and in my opinion there’s nothing wrong with starting conversation on any given topic in a democratic society. Sadly, no one had asked her why she was even wearing the shirt before censoring it. Izzy’s shirt was successful in raising valid questions in the minds of individuals, but as mentioned in our conversation, it was not aimed to detract from the awards or the music. The Preatures music is something special, and sharing their radiant fun sounds is something they do with enthusiasm and do well.

They’ll be taking their sounds right around the country for the remainder of September, and will be playing the Falls festival too at the end of the year. But I can assure, that The Preatures won’t be too far off taking their sounds around the world soon, as their unique, fun driven aura is taking music lovers, professionals, and radio stations by storm.