Gig Watch: Gotye

Review by Chris Wood

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If it hasn't already been said, I may as well come out and say it now and get it out of the way.

Gotye has arrived.

If his timely victory at the 2007 Arias in the category of Best Male Artist wasn't enough proof of his unparalleled talent, two sold out shows at Melbourne's Prince of Wales is surely enough to convince even the most doubting of Thomas's amongst us that Gotye is definitely one of the countries most exiting and capable artists.

The night didn't get off to the best start, which equated to missing the first 15 minutes of The Basics. Who would have thought that finding a decent car park near Fitzroy St would be so hard?? /

*PLEASE NOTE*
I think it's appropriate to mention here that I am a fully-fledged tight-arse who hates paying for parking when I don't have to. So all you smug smart-arse cool things out there thinking, "What about that giant car park right behind the Prince you stupid fool?" needn't bother mentioning that at all!

Anyhew - as previously stated, The Basics kicked off proceedings in a laid-back, yet equally as powerful and compelling display of musicianship. Playing what I could mostly tell as being a new body of work, The Basics boasted an intimate and brooding acoustic set, filled with intermittent joking and friendly verbal jostling with selected members of the packed to capacity venue. Having seen them quite a number of times now, I can definitely say with some degree of conviction that The Basics appear to be finding their audience.

After The Basics, a brief period of nothingness, a trip to the men’s room and what was meant to be a short stop past the bar, we were ready for the man Triple J once affectionately dubbed the 'Mighty Gotye' (I'm starting to think that nick name would only work if Wally turned his act into an 80's experimental power metal band).

As had been advertised, this occasion was to mark the departure of the Mini Orchestra that had been with Wally since he first decided to embark on a national tour. Despite there being some inquisitive chatter amongst the excited Melbourne audience, it would be daft of me to say that anyone was actually concerned as to whether Gotye would be able to survive as a one man show.

Soon after kicking in with the highly infectious The Only Way, any fears that this receptive audience had (misplaced as they may have been) were completely allayed. With additional material and new samples, Gotye showed off his musical prowess proving he's just as comfortable behind the keys as he is behind the decks or kit.

The songs we have become familiar with on the previous tour were packaged slightly different this time around. The Only Way showed off Wally’s chops as he smashed and crashed and bashed and fashed his way through a few bars of the Karnivool cover towards the end. This may be one of the only times you'll ever see an artist willingly accept a cover of his own song, and so readily incorporate it into his own live performance. Those who weren’t paying attention before - were certainly attentive now.

Coming Back was played with style and precision as multi-instrumentalist and technological wiz-kid dazzled the crowd repeatedly. Crowd favourite Thanks For Your Time had everyone bobbing their heads to the groovy bass lines, almost as if people were waiting for a personal invitation to break out into a collective storm of mass hysteria.

Chart-topper Hearts A Mess pleased immensely, Wally once again taking the opportunity to tinker with his already popular gem, proving that there is no chance of this guy ever resting on his laurels. There were more moments of pure brilliance, most notably during A Distinctive Sound as the crowd pumped along to a brief interlude of MC Hammer, and also, who could forget the flawless performance of the highly regarded set-closer and dyslexic's nightmare Learnalilgivinanlovin. However, the pinnacle of the night was reached with possibly the first live performance of Night Drive, which by no coincidence is the perfect soundtrack to a late night trek.

One gets the feeling that although Gotye and his mini-orchestra was seen as a complete success from almost every possible angle, it is only when he is free from the confines of stage 'choreography' and given the chance to change instruments at will that he truly looks comfortable.

Perhaps it was just the delightfully intimate setting of the Prince of Wales that afforded him luxury of this compliment. However I could not help but get the feeling that having the opportunity this time around to move on his own volition without fear of treading on anyone’s toes helped his performance dramatically.

I think I speak on behalf of a few people when I say I can’t wait to see (and hear) what the coming years hold in store for this Melbourne maestro. Mark my words, it’s going to be good!

Wally DeBacker - aka - Gotye

Overall: 90%

Gotye took home several awards at the 2007 ARIAS - Read More Here.

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