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Motor Ace + Neon, Save & Exit Fowler's Live, Fri 8 July  Yes,
Motor Ace still exist. After they followed up the mega-successful
'Five Star Laundry' with the mega-lame 'Shoot This,' those "dudes
what do the 'Secret Life Of Us' theme" seemingly disappeared off the
face of the Earth for a few years. Vocalist Patrick Robertson acknowledged
the crowd with "long time, no see," as he walked on stage - and not
only that, they have a new album due soon. It was always going to
be at least interesting to see what they would come up with.Save & Exit opened proceedings with a tight and well-received set that seemed to get the Fowler's crowd nicely warmed up. Unfortunately, Melbourne's Neon killed such mood. Not that it was particularly their fault - the band seemed to struggle to kick into gear when they played at Uni Bar not two weeks ago with Jebediah, but here they were firing on all cylinders. The crowd just didn't seem interested. Maybe that's got something to do with the fact that Neon's songs are just kind of boring - they all sound like they're in half-time, slowly pounding their way to very similar choruses. The audience's inactivity frustrated Josh Bitmead, the obviously angry frontman closing the set with the line "thanks for listening - those of you who care." The crowd were obviously here for one reason, and when that reason walked on stage the floor was packed tight. Opening with a few tracks from the forthcoming album 'Tommorow's Gone,' it wasn't until Motor Ace belted out Five Star Laundry that the crowd really started paying attention. And that pretty much summed up the night - a show that hit its stride at the 'Laundry' tracks and didn't find its feet elsewhere. Robertson wryly asked the crowd towards the end of the set "who thinks our first album was better than our second?" The answer was a resounding yes. It wasn't just the punters - even Motor Ace didn't seem to have as much fun playing the tracks from 'Shoot This' (although it must be said that some of the crowd dug those tracks. Don't really know why.). The new songs didn't provoke much excitement, and it was frustrating seeing a band that was at one stage so very good - the highlight Siamese was an awesome, ebbing and flowing sing-a-long - be on stage, at times, so very average. Luckily, the night ended with the awesome blast of Chairman Of The Board, leaving this reviewer with the distinct after-taste of rock from a night of inoffensive blandness.  |
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