With only maybe twenty people
inside, the Troubadour’s quietness is unusual for even a Tuesday night.
It’s 8.20pm when I enter, by which time designated openers Skarlet Blue
should have finished – I learn they have piked instead and Pioneers
Of Flight (DFB’s Stew Riddle and Matt Wedmaier in guitar/drums mode)
stepped in.
But neither low crowd numbers
or lack of sleep are likely to dampen Drawn From Bees‘ spirits.
Only 48 hours after returning home from their MusExpo showcase in L.A.,
Brisbane’s finest harmony-psych-pop quartet
deliver a solid homecoming set, The opening number – new single
Run Away – sounds a lot crunchier than the recorded version while
live staples Waiting For The End and Bus Now are as potent
as ever, guitarist Raven extracting familiar awesome sounds from his
P-90-loaded goldtop Telecaster. Another track from the soon-to-be-released
LP Fear Not The Footsteps Of The Departed, the pneumatic bassline-led
Always The Last shows off DFB’s funkier side and last year’s excellent
Cables In The Sky is a familiar vocal hook-fest, as is English
Line (which sees GA’s Phil join the band on guitar) from first EP
The Boy And The Ocean. Couple more recent setlist additions –
The Eastwood Fox and Stand Against The Storm – follow before
Dan, Raven, Stew and Matt close with a trademark double of Long Tooth
Setting Sun and Amelia.
Also back from the States where
they performed at SXSW and subsequently toured, The Troub’s May residency
holders Grand Atlantic kick off with in the usual fashion with
Coast Is Clear, Tripwires and Used To Be The Sensitive
Type. Frontman Phil Usher then announces a new song – a swirling,
’90s shoegaze-influenced number – and The Replacements classic
Left Of The Dial, which GA tear up with vigour. Another staple from
last year’s How We Survive album, These Are The Times
is a moody, mid-paced strum, aptly followed by the reflective, jangly
newie Hit & Run. One of GA’s signature tracks, the Triple
J-aired She’s A Dreamer retains its ’60s-revivalist charm, but
tonight’s true highlight is the soulful country-rock take on Beyonce’s
mega-hit Single Ladies, with DFB’s Dan and Matt moonlighting
on percussion. Everybody raves about Philadelphia Grand Jury’s knees-up
deconstruction of Jay-Z’s 99 Problems, but this here is the real
deal. The mood in the room firmly set to beaming, the neo-mod belter
Just Another Ghost Town is a suitably foot-stomping finish. Melbourne
the next night, Sydney on the weekend… repeat four times over.
