Reviewing Local Music Gigs: Transgenre III

 Both Hayley and I were in foul moods when we watched Hathaway 2 so let's talk about something else first.

Yesterday we attended the third Transgenre, a single day free to attend music festival  where every act included at least one trans/enby/genderfluid member. For the most part it was various flavours of indie rock. Adelaide often has quite restrained crowds at gigs, especially something that's about celebrating a minority group full of shy nerds. Even so, the atmosphere was quite relaxed, my new concert ear plugs were providing me the full range of audio without any harm and we are still a couple who are wrecked the following day if we go to bed after 9pm. That last part was required because I volunteered to run the closing shift on the merch stall like a doofus.

 

 For a bit of fun, let's pretend I'm a real music critic and go over the acts in order of appearance.

Cyberfae

This was a solo Breakcore producer from somewhere in Victoria, making her the only interstate act on the card.  The set was delivered entirely from a macbook without a huge amount of knob tweaking. She's obviously more of a producer than an experienced DJ so the tracks were all delivered as isolated pieces without the sort of flow you'd usually expect from a techno gig. If she's interested in more live routines there's a lot of room for growth but we're rooting for her all the same.

 
Thempath
 A two piece (guitar and drums) band whose drummer was the lead organiser for the event. Indie rock with a post-emo flair and some clear Coheed & Cambria influence. Having listened to their music in the leadup to the event and on a local radio appearance the other day I have to say that they pop out a lot more live than in the recordings. Their recent EP aims for a sci-fi concept narrative and the tracks are somewhat experimental. We felt that another EP or so of experimentation to really nail their sound before going for an album will probably lead to something distinct and special. My biggest gripe is that I just don't really enjoy their vocals.

 
Killed By Cupid
 As she describes herself: "Alt-pop/alt-rock from Adelaide, Australia".

As Hayley described the performance: "Autotuned karaoke for the Freddy Fazbear Generation."

Typesetting doesn't convey the disgust Hayley delivered that with. She sang live over finished songs with lavish production values but left all the vocals in. As a result it felt like she was in a fight with her own work in a way which hurt the experience. She was a gigantic bundle of energy and felt like a great front woman in need of a band. I spoke to someone who used to know her from a previous band and her remarks on Cupid's personality indicated some past baggage. I hope Cupid has learned and grown from that time and will not comment further.  

 
Pearly Stars

 Three piece alt rock band whose formal release artworks are all scrapbooking photos. They were young, energetic and had that endearing babyface energy which made you really want to root for them. They had a dedicated squad of loud groupies throughout their gig and I couldn't tell how much was irony and how much was serious. This band feels like it could go places but even if they don't I will smile whenever I see them on a local lineup.

Emerauld

 Emerauld is for the most part a solo folk rock singer/songwriter but they worked with some session musicians for a four piece band on the day. Said musicians had an obvious jazz influence to their work. Said work wound up heavier than intended because Emerauld's high E string on their acoustic guitar broke immediately before the gig so they borrowed an electric from Oscar The Wild. This all wasn't a problem given how bold and powerful their vocals are. This was one of our favourite acts of the day.

Emerauld's a huge sweetheart too. Hayley asked if there was anywhere to purchase music and they said the album print is happening this week. They then asked for Hayley's contact details to mail a copy and a shirt her size directly and refused to take any money I offered her. Then she complimented the soprano 6 hole ocarina I was wearing mostly as a cute necklace that goes well with the dress I had on.

They're playing The Gov next Saturday so of course we're going. 

Placement

 I have a weird two degrees of separation from the frontwoman as her brother's been in a group chat I've been in since the IRC days.

This is a four piece noise rock band with a very sharp Sonic Youth influence. Their work's pretty dang great on record and even better life, where the monotone droning vocals are contrasted by her and the other lead guitarrist letting it rip with their movements. It's made all the more fun by the bassist just being a cute boppy girl smiling cheerfully in her corner. They were also the only band to sip on wine between songs instead of beer or soft drinks.

This was the turning point from the young up and comer bands to the real professionals and these were the most professional of all. 

 
Pity Lips

 A four piece punk band with a darker sound than most of the day's acts. I feel mean saying this but we didn't feel anything special here. Wouldn't complain if they were playing a pub we went for a meal and drinks at or heard them at a massive music festival with multiple stages but we felt no urge to buy their music like we did for Emerauld, Pearly Stars, or Oscar the Wild down the list. We already owned Placement's work.

Stormy Lou

 A pop punk band but otherwise repeat the previous paragraph. We were chatting in the coutyard outside at the start of a lot of acts and this was the second in a row to not convince us to walk in and really give it our full attention.

 
Oscar The Wild

 Another pop punk band but with a surprising amount of Country & Western influence going on. I've really enjoyed their recorded work so was excited to see them live. Unfortunately the lead singer had a cold and was dropping her pitches to play it safe. It's a particular shame because her singing has this unrepentant South Australian twang to it that really stood out on the day. The rest of the band's energy and the way they worked the crowd was great. Hope to see them again soon.

Oh right they're playing the same location next month so yeah nah she'll be right. 

 
Sunsick Daisy

A completely professional indie rock band who had some pre-existing dedicated fans in attendance. I almost feel bad about not caring for their work. It was good but ultimately I'm still a weird nerd who wants everything to either be simple catchy folk songs or crazy wanky prog. That's why we bought a Moog after all...
  

 

This was the first iteration of the show in Adelaide and given the merch sales figures I was sent by the organiser an hour ago I think there will be more. Who knows? Perhaps Hayley and I will finally figure out our sound and routine and up there in a year or two. We'd certainly be an unfilled niche in the lineup. 

A Boy With Gundam (Watching Every Gundam)

 

"I'm going to bed." - Hayley

 While this project was never meant to review extremely short films (we didn't cover the SEED Astray promos included on the Stargazer DVD after all), I'd like to talk about this film clip before the next couple of Hathaway pieces drop.

Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans Urdr-Hunt (Watching Every Gundam)

 

"It's better than SEED Freedom." - Hayley
"So is being punched in the face a few times." - Tokusatsu subtitler and friend of the show Makh 

It goes without saying at this point that Bandai Namco will do everything in its power to fumble its myriad high profile works of fiction, but this release is at least funny.

See, Urdr Hunt was originally a series of sidestory missions in an Iron Blooded Orphans mobile phone game. With that particular digital casino shuttering its doors, the various animated cutscenes have been redrawn, re-edited and compiled together with new footage as a final definitive version. This results in a film which is a spiritual successor to F91 (an entire television show's worth of story rammed into 90 minutes; the final scene involves people rotating in space), those Gundam SEED Astray 5 minute shorts included on the Stargazer DVD (weird, irrelevant and mostly a highlight reel of select action setpieces) and Gundam Thunderbolt: Bandit Flower (is an incomplete story).

This is still more dignity than they gave Love Live: School Idol Festival 2. 

The UFO 50 Post

 

I decided at the start of 2025 to limit computer game purchases as much as possible. We've got a wedding on April 25, 2026 to plan for and it's time to adjust budgets. There's been Tokyo Xtreme Racing while it was in Early Access as something to explore when complete and we work out where to place all our steering wheels. Dragon Quest I+2 HD for a final, sort of definitive version to save for extreme health crashouts. Super Robot Wars Y and Tetris the Grandmaster 4: Absolute Eye for obvious, moral imperative reasons. It's been an easy limit to maintain because not only have I simply been exchanging game time for more exercise and music practice, but because I bought UFO 50 as well.

Did I Even Do Anything Besides Watch Gundam In 2025?

 2025 was less a year about changes and more about settling into the drastic changes 2024 brought. While our wedding is still not for a few more months, in terms of how we live our lives we've effectively been married since October 2024 and to a degree still in a honeymoon phase of our relationship. There's enough room in our little apartment to pursue our hobbies separately but we both simply don't want to do anything unless the other is right next to us. Thus, we've mostly pursued activities which can be undertaken on the couch in the main room, often involving the large TV or a cheap Bunnings foldable table in front of said large TV. Let's run down those activities!

Hobby 1: Crying

Birdie Wing ~ Golf Girls' Story (Watching Every Gundam)

 

 "I showed you my 48-inch shaft please respond." - Hayley

Amuro x Sayla is a romantic pairing which has cast an odd shadow over popular culture. On paper it makes perfect sense: Amuro moves on from any tension with his childhood friend Fraw Bow in favour of a woman with closer ties to his new role as a pilot. Sayla's the younger sister of his nemesis Char for additional tension. Perhaps at some point it was even on the cards to be explored in Zeta Gundam. Fate works in mysterious ways sometimes; You Inoue was in Africa during that show's production and so Amuro hooked up with another blonde woman. It ultimately led to the much sadder perspective through both Zeta and Char's Counterattack; Amuro Ray winds up a man incapable of serious relationship commitments who drifts from hookup to hookup based on what can go in tandem with his workaholism until he dies in his mid-30s. Still, the spectre remains for those willing to write fanfiction: what could Amuro x Sayla lead to?

Turns out it leads to star-crossed lovers making a trans lesbian daughter who contracts a case of Golf Cancer.

Mobile Suit Gundam Gquuuuuux (Watching Every Gundam)

 

"I had so much fun at the time, but now I think about it events moved so fast that I'm trying to remember what even happened. At least they killed The Gundam at the end." - Hayley, during pillow talk last night. 

"fucking right?! like xavier is such a pathetic meowmeow you're seeing kicked around but challia's yearning is so deep and profound... it's soooo much" - Artist and vtuber Henemimi in a conversation with me about how Challia Bull's the #1 babygirl

"Yes my sweet, yes my sweetest. I wanna get back where you are. Hold me in your arms once again. Yes my sweet, yes my sweetest. I wanna get back where you are. None of us can live alone." - Daisuke Inoue - Encounters

 Imagine you are Kazuya Tsurumaki.

 After years learning from some truly inspired artists, your debut show as a director is scripted by the guy who wrote Revolutionary Girl Utena. Together, you craft a miniseries that celebrates weird nerds with the same breaths it condemns them. A complex, sprawling space opera is laid to the background of a humble coming of age story. It's so damn good that you're next tasked with making a sequel to one of the best works your mentor created. You knock it out of the park so well that your mentor asks you to be his nuts and bolts guy on a remake/metatextual sequel to his most famous work. This task takes you around 18 years to complete. Right as you near its completion and will be free to take whatever creative pursuits you want, one of the country's largest media companies approaches you. They want you to helm their most lucrative franchise and they want you to build on the last, most forbidden premise exploring that franchise's start can offer. So you set to work with your mentor and your writing buddy and you probably put together a fully realised world and the outline for the 50 episodes such a story would require. After all, it's what this franchise usually does for television shows and it's the only thing that makes sense with a premise like you've been offered.

Management comes back to you to clarify that the job's for a 12 episode show.