Opting to enjoy a night in Brisbane rather than at the Splendour campgrounds, I headed along to the Troubadour to catch up and coming bands Blame Ringo and Montpelier, who tonight were celebrating the launch of a tour around QLD and Northern NSW. With the exhaustion of an extensive touring schedule yet to kick in, tonight it was all about the celebration, and both bands put on a great show.
There was a great energy about Blame Ringo‘s set – not only was it the first night of the tour, but it was the first night for their new drummer. With the tracks they played tonight feeling a bit different to what I’ve heard on record, I see this as a band who are still finding their feet, deciding on their direction. But this is by no means a bad thing – the result is a varied set, all taking shape as the Blame Ringo sound. Which is pretty damn fantastic. This, combined with some great crowd participation, made for an enjoyable experience, and I’ll be thrilled to see what this band come out with once they have really nailed down exactly what they’re all about. The set ended with “Hurricane”.
As a slight contrast, headlining act Montpelier produced a highly polished, smooth sound – something which is an impressive feat by any band, of any measure. This is a four piece who have most certainly found their feet. But that doesn’t mean they didn’t bring on a varied set, either. They take on board quite a lot of sounds – from Foals to Dappled Cities, mixed in with the commercial sounds of a band like Evermore and Powderfinger, Montpelier have quite a lot of potential to make it big. There’s even a good dose of the 90s in their tunes, which they combine with the aforementioned to make their own.
Some tracks were slightly more relaxed, and others quite epic. “Last Boat”, their upcoming single, was brilliant and the easy highlight of the night. Meanwhile “Don’t Change” (working title) proved another amazing point of the set. If the band continue down this track, there’s not saying where they’ll end up. As the saying goes, the skies the limit, and this band should certainly reach for it.
Brisbane has shown itself off to house one of the best music scenes on the East Coast – I really should come up here more often! Until next time, I thank you for your hospitality!
