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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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