Gig Watch: Bluejuice

By Liam Tracey

Bluejuice

It is a very weird combination for a tour...

Bluejuice (the funky hip hoppers that like to break bones with their stupidly hilarious stage antics) and The Fearless Vampire Killers (the Melbourne indie psychedelic champions of today, that are more like a trip back to decades been and gone).

Still, whilst the two don't exactly scream cohesion, both acts put on great live shows – so who is to criticise the tour's organisation?

The Fearless Vampire Killers are certainly killing something at the moment.

They have had gigs coming out of their ears for the past year and were quick to build their momentum as the "next big thing".

Playing to a scattered crowd at the Ferntree Gully Hotel, TFVK ignored the yells for the headliners and played as solid a set as ever.

Unlike many bands that annoyingly extend their songs, extended guitar breaks and longwinded jams actually work well for TFVK’s psychedelic approach, and there were certainly a few of them.

Frontman Sean Ainsworth's voice is certainly a defining feature of The Fearless Vampire Killers – for some it might be the difference between loving and hating the band.

He was in fine form though, screaming when needed to powerful effect. The very long and "not been played in ages" Evil Woman was a strong point of the set, as was the infectious Monkey Song.

"There is a bus here from my house", quipped Ainsworth (perhaps with a little cynicism...) "so we might come back".

Jake and Stav of Bluejuice appeared casually on stage soon after TFVK’s departure, but despite this being The Broken Leg Tour, there were no purple tracksuits of skipping ropes.

They began in what some might call a subdued fashion (as far as a Bluejuice show is concerned anyway), with Jake's microphone actually remaining in its stand for the first couple of songs.

A string of new songs was soon highlighted by the single Broken Leg, appearing early in the set in an attempt to rev up the crowd, which clearly wasn’t as big as some of the crowds the band has become used to playing to.

Being the first time they had played in Ferntree Gully, Stav was quick to note he hadn’t been hit in the head yet (like his virgin experience in Frankston) – but he wasn’t ruling anything out.

Older songs like the mosh-friendly Phantom Boogie and the more typical hip hop track Hunnamunnafeeb made appearances, but the set was mostly about showing material from the guys’ upcoming second release.

Of the new material, I Aint Telling the Truth No More and the aforementioned single were certainly the standouts of this gig, though it was the older Vitriol that wins over the crowd every time and tonight was no exception.

Bluejuice finished their first gig in Ferntree Gully with The Reductionist and left the crowd in high spirits. It was great to see that the group are consistent with their high energy shows no matter what sized crowd they are playing to. 

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