SET TO RELEASE TOUR (MM9 .hinge SELF the-strange @ the Metro)
Saturday 4th of March 2006
First of all, there was a lot of people i knew at this gig (although i suppose the members of SELF don't really count since they were performing), but there were people i didn't expect to be there either. Andrew Haszard, bass player for Self (is a Seed), bought me a beer and Jamie [a.k.a. Breathe My Machine] provided music before and between sets.
On first were THE-STRANGE. This was my second time seeing them. Last time i saw them was almost a year ago at the same venue (supporting SELF/ECM). They had the projector again with lots of cool images and words, different ones to last time though. Outfits were the same: black suit, red tie, white masks. i know, not very original, but fitting for the theme of the band which otherwise seems pretty damn original. Completely instrumental, as always, but totally kicking arse with the drums, guitar, bass and keyboards. A few samples here and there, mostly at the beginning of songs. The music made you feel like you could drift off into another world. Atmospheric, though heavy. They really are a great live band. i'm wondering how well their stuff would translate to CD, if they decide to record one. Anyways, others and myself were impressed while many people unfortunately arrived after their set and missed out.
i bumped into Laethe and Greg of Ta'veren Jive and Greg's girlfriend, Margaret, who bought me another beer (and later another two), which was appropriate, since i was wearing my Ta'veren Jive t-shirt. Apparently a drummer has contacted them and seems keen, so there's a good chance that the band will form anew with a new name, new format, new style and new songs. Will be interesting to see how that turns out.
http://www.thestrangemusic.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1154&start=15
SELFisaseed started their set with the "Kill the Family, Kill" song (which i think is called "Vote 1"?) and half way through, Dave Bleus' guitar strap came undone and he ended up dealing with it rather dramatically by throwing the guitar on the ground and vigorously grabbing the mic-stand. There were a few songs off Silent Parade to the Spine such as "Youthless" and "Smoke". The set was short since things were running late and the band closed off with the new single, "Counter".
http://selfband.com/forum/topic.cfm?section=shows&id=31
.hinge were awesome, although up the front (especially to the right) the vocals were a bit faint and the overall sound quality wasn't as good as it was at the Bull & Bush a few nights earlier. Also, the singer noted that they were a bit worn out from having done three shows in a row the three nights previous (not to mention that involved a bit of traveling to Newcastle and Wollongong in a van). But more than any of these factors, what was personally inhibiting my .hinge experience was the fact that i REALLY needed to piss (a result of the beers enforced upon me).
Here's the set list they played:CUT THE CORD
THE RING OF THE GYPSY BITCH
WAVE
DISCO
ADORE
WE MIGHT JUST KILL YOU
MAN IN THE DESERT
STYLUS
BOY
Hadn't seen Many Machines on Nine since the beginning of October last year. And i must say it was absolutely kick arse. Great to jump up and down to. Right from the first song, since they started with "Around My Neck", which is a really powerful song. There were a few new songs from the upcoming CD which is apparently sitting unmastered on lead singer Dan Sutherland's computer. They also played the new single, which i still need to get. "Flies and Spiders" and the cover of Björk's "Army of Me" from their self titled EP also made an appearance, as did their finale, "The New Chemistry", which absolutely went fucking off!
http://www.the-strange.net
http://www.selfband.com
http://www.hinge.com.au
http://www.manymachinesonnine.com
Update:
Holy crap! THE-STRANGE quoted this entry on their myspace blog and bulletin!
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=9069543&blogID=97276231&MyToken=F113CBBE-F397-CA9E-C79E6DEE2025850156517182
...the really "strange" thing about it though is i don't know how they found this specific entry when i didn't link it anywhere. still, i'm impressed and happy to be appreciated, so it's cool.