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Les Savy Fav + Pretty Girls Make Graves, Hit The Jackpot, My Sister The Cop SEAS Gallery, Sat 20 Nov This was simply the best gig I've ever seen. I'm not writing this not to be dramatic, but because it's true. Right from the start there were those little quirks that make a good show memorable. I'm greeted at the SEAS back door entrance by a notice informing me that Pretty Girls' vocalist Andrea Zollo is sick, and so the band is asking for audience members to help out, karaoke style. First up was My Sister The Cop. Their brilliantly intense noise-rock was well matched to the headlining acts, and I will definitely be checking them out in future (maybe I might finally see their faces, since there was no stage for this gig). But it seemed that just as they were starting they had to end the set at about five songs. Hit The Jackpot again showed how they earned the right to support Sonic Youth and J Mascis in Perth earlier this year. The two-piece actually showcase songs and melodies, rather than the noise that a lot of pretentious arty-rock types are prone to. Not taking anything away from them, though, they were the least surprising band of the night: I had no idea just how good the other bands were going to be, whereas I already knew how good HTJ were. Pretty Girls Make Graves delivered an insistently powerful set, even if it was peppered with some terrible jokes in between songs. Probably the most memorable take of the set was More Sweet Soul. The local ring-ins did very well indeed in recreating the male-female call and response vocals. Les Savy Fav's Tim Harrington sought to improve the view within seconds of the band starting its first song, climbing up to allow everyone to see him. Then he proceeded to turn the whole gallery into a stage. While his band went through its sweat drenched set, Harrington managed to climb up and around the gallery staircase, run a few laps of the room, and finished by trying (but failing) to lead the crowd out into Hindley Street blowing a whistle. Mere words don't describe just how good this show was. This night was one spectacular quirk-fest.  |
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