The night opened up with Kill City Creeps, a band who have spent the last six months working hard to make their mark on the Sydney seen. Made up of ex-Dolly Rocker Daniel Darling and two-thirds of Dora Maar, the band play old fashioned (perfect for any 60’s beach party) rock and roll in every respect, something they do with style and skill. And as it’s been quite a few months since I last saw them, I have to say they’ve improved greatly in that time and are sounding quite tight as a result. Have a listen to their track “I Got A Letter” below, one of my favourites.
Next up were Brisbane duo DZ Deathrays, fresh from their shows in Melbourne with the Foo Fighters (which they assured me were epic). Speaking of epic, these are two epic musicians, having mastered their instruments and knowing how to unleash them with supreme amounts of energy (especially Simon on the drums). They pulled out their usual setlist, which included tracks like “Teeth” and “The Mess Up”, and they also threw in what was possibly a Black Sabbath cover with what was possibly “Swinging The Chain”. I write these things down in my phone, but in this instance I didn’t get a chance to confirm. As always a high energy, rollicking set which one punted described as “quality” .
Fresh from their appearance at Homebake, New Zealand’s Unknown Mortal Orchestra (with a dose of Portland, Oregon in their lineup) were ready to show themselves off to a packed out Oxford Art Factory (filled with pretty much every musician in Sydney) at their first ever headline show in the city. Though the first song was a slow start, their second track “Thought Ballune” definitely got everyone in the mood, with the track surprisingly reminiscent of some of the best material Supergrass has put out over the years. This was never something I picked up on the record (and on second listen, still don’t, really…). “Jello and Juggernauts” was a highlight of the set, as was “Friends”, which closed out the main set.
The encore was launched with a solo from the drummer, Julien Ehrich, as the bassist and guitarist were slowly re-introduced. There was some great guitar shredding throughout, and more than anything, the trio showed themselves off as wholly apt musicians, who are as tight as they are ambitious. The songs were replicated nicely live, though took on a life of their own, seeming to bring new influences into the mix. With the loud approval of everyone in the room, I daresay that this is a band we’ll be seeing a lot more of yet…
