Number 15 Parramatta Road Annandale has been demolished, and its days as a music space are over. But just a few days ago, at the Block Party in its honour, it was a bustle of crowds, market stalls, and of course, bands — all turning up for one last celebration on site. The setlist included She Rex, The Upskirts, Chicks Who Love Guns, Sures, Regular John, and The Preatures, who, with varying degrees of success, provided the entertainment of the day.
First up were my favourite rap-rockers, She Rex, who I confess were my main reason for attending. The enthusiasm of the audience meant that they probably could’ve gotten away with slacking off, but they didn’t. Frontwoman Nikkita once again proved she could own any stage — even one five metres up in the air — and had no problem leaning over the chain barrier to get a little closer to the audience. They closed with their song “Power”, which is notable for its awesome chanted-chorus (‘P-O-W-E-R, We Are — POWER!’) and outstanding drumming by Tasha. Head over to their Soundcloud for a free download of their latest single, “11th Hour”, and make sure you grab a ticket to one of their shows whenever you can. You won’t regret it.
I’m sure you can imagine my skepticism at the next band, but it turns out The Upskirts got a better reaction out of me than just an eyeroll directed at their name. I was impressed with the boys’ musicianship, but the drawback was that it was apparently at the expense of more lyrical attention, which made their songs feel unbalanced at times. This was most prominent in the song “Disconnection”, which is beautifully crafted at an instrumental level, but has moments of clunky lyrics. Despite this, I enjoyed their set, and think that with a little more focus on their words, these guys could pack some serious power.
Chicks Who Love Guns were not as interesting as their name suggested, but they made up for that by having a lot of energy. Their songs relied heavily on riffs, which became a problem around halfway through their set: despite this system providing a relatively stable base, the repetitive structure was tiresome, no matter how much demonic urgency they played with. Considering that they had a larger crowd than the two previous bands, the little attention the audience gave them was indicative of this.
Things took a turn for the mellow when Sures began their set. They quickly proved their singer’s vocal talent, and their ability to write some reasonably enjoyable tunes — but I say ‘reasonably enjoyable’, because the band were difficult to connect to. I kept waiting for a flash of personality from them, really anything to prove that they were enjoying their time on stage, but it never came. Musically, they were stellar, but they are most definitely in need of more (read: some) audience engagement in their set.
Regular John, unfortunately, did not impress me. Their songs sporadically changed tempo with no apparent reason, giving them a rather disjointed feel; and they made the popular mistake of littering their songs with gratuitous guitar solos. The technique was there, as evident by said solos, but their songs lacked the understanding of composition they required.
Finally, when I was beginning to think the day had been a slow decline, The Preatures took to the stage. Thirty seconds into their first song, I was feeling rejuvenated. The dancing down by the stage resumed, and the audience began to applaud when songs finished, rather than ignore the music. Vocalists Isabella and Gideon had excellent, playful chemistry on stage, in addition to being phenomenally talented. The band seemed honestly delighted to be there, which in turn made them a joy to watch — and Gideon definitely has a bit of Elvis about him, in the way he’d dance about or hit his knees to play to the audience over the drop of the stage. The most enjoyable song, for me, was their new track “Dry The Wind”, which is regrettably not available for purchase. However, head over to their triple j unearthed page, and you can snag three other great tracks for free — or go straight to iTunes and buy their EP Shaking Hands. They’re well worth the money.
While the standard of music may have varied, the two finest acts bracketed the performances, giving the perfect reason to stay — along with all the stalls, food, and atmosphere of a farewell Block Party.
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Pictured above: The Preatures
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