Something for Kate/Not From There/Augie March
(Hi-Fi Bar & Ballroom)
In Press 9/9/98
I unfortunately missed Kirsty Stegwazi due to prior commitments but I did manage to stumble into the last half of Augie March. After not seeing this band for a quite some time I was more than eager to check them out but unfortunately due to the temperature in there I found myslef leaning on the hand rail of the bar. The idea of crankin' up the heat to crank up the beer sales worked I tell you. Unfortunately for Augie March this everning's audience was a social one and their melodic melancholy was played at a volume which was just right for chit chat and catch ups.
By this time the room was close to full and Queensland's Not From There were up next. Opening with one of the louder songs from their forthcoming debut album Sand On Seven, their brooding distortion-layed madness demanded the attention of the once chatty audience. Tearing through favourites from their self-titled EP left the same bewildered expression on the faces of most onlookers. Using more samples, loops and bleeps than their recorded material, Not From There delivered one of their most outstanding Melbourne performances. When they kicked into that weird German song Sich Offnen there couldn't have been a funnier sight than people attempting the sing-a-long. Closing the set with Cuando Ester De Vuelta, couldn't have been better. It's powerful, emotive and for a change it repetition is its hook. Live this band pick up where the Mark Of Cain leave off.
The evening's headlines Somthing for Kate trudged onto the stage to a full house and a waiting audience. Opening with a new one told me immediately that this was going to be a showcase of new material, which is not always a good thing, but anything new from this band is like the last part in a comics volume - you gotta have it. Their JJJ lovechild Captain was uttered by just about every mouth in the audience. Between songs a modest Paul Dempsey explained his amazement over the size of the audience on this night and started Working Against Me. It was a fair call really and a good indication of this band's popularity in that there was at least three other shows on around town. After an absence of old material in recent set lists drummer Clint Hyndman started a sorely missed Dean Martin.
A few more songs and two encores later and still no sign of their cover of Jebediah's Harpoon, not that this is any great surprise. The peculiar band that they are, they quite often leave their current and most popular song off the set list. Finishing with a sold Dempsey running through The Last Minute only left 'em wanting more.
- Sam Thompson
Back to the Interviews / Articles Page
Back to the Main Page