|
 |
Bodyjar + The Hot Lies, Line of Departure Flinders Uni Tavern, Sat 13 Aug Oh, Flinders University Tavern; oh, the memories. The Tavern is something that has been sorely missed in Adelaide for a few years and it seems now that it just might be back for another innings. Seeing that Bodyjar haven't been here for over a year, it was no great surprise that the all-ages show was sold out. First up were Line Of Departure, one of Adelaide's up-and-coming new rock outfits. With a pretty impressive rock pedigree under their collective belts, it comes as no great shock that they play some pretty fine tunes. I guess they sound a bit like Bodyjar but with a hell of a lot more indie connotations. Highlights for me were the ultra catchy Carried Away as well as a song called Conscience. If you ever do get to check this band out have a look in the shadows for lead guitarist Adrian: for literally the entire set he was riffing away with some serious metal bends and very complex lead lines, but sadly these were a little lost in the mix for the most part. It was a top performance though, and just the thing to get the night underway. The Hot Lies. Black attire? Check. Emo fringes all round? Check. Rock? Definite check. These guys have become a touring rock machine. They are tight as a duck's ass and the crowd lapped every moment up. They played everything (I think) off their debut EP and mixed in a few new songs, like Breakaway. Sometimes new songs can go down less well than known older material but when The Hot Lies do it they somehow get away with it. Whether it's because you're looking at the stick-twirling antics of drummer Jared or the confident growls (and sweet harmonies) of singer Pete I don't know. With this being The Hot Lies' hometown and Bodyjar having been away for so long, I thought that the headlining act might have been upstaged. This definitely wasn't the case, although in retrospect I should have realised that by the distinct lack of black clothes and tattoos in the audience. Bodyjar welcomed the full house by playing their new single Lights Out, which was met with rapturous applause. They then proceeded to treat the crowd to over an hour of material from every step in the band's career. Their new drummer proved to be awesome, adding his own flavour to some of the older songs: but then again, how could he not be awesome with a surname like Wacker? The set included the old-school anthem Glossy Books which was great, but on the night it was the more recent material that impressed me the most: Not The Same and Too Drunk To Drive made me want to go and raid my old CD collection. And for the inevitable encore, the band decided to finish with a cover of They Might Be Giants' Your Racist Friend. It was great too see them back and the support acts could not have been better. I left a very happy punter - and it's not often I can say that.  |
|
The latest issue available now!     |
All content copyright dB Magazine