"Are
you drunk?" I hear you cry. Well, yes...yes I was - which is why I'm so
very fond of said moment, which occurred this weekend at the much
anticipated Red Riders/Dappled Cities double headline at the Corner Hotel.
That's
right - it's going in the 'Cherished Memories Bank' along with my first
crush on a girl and the time my friend won a wet t-shirt competition.
Which bank? The Cherished Memories Bank...
Fighting
back one of the fiercest head-colds I've ever had, I gathered up my
array of Cold & Flu tablets, chugged them down and headed towards
the Corner Hotel. The doors weren't even close to opening, yet the line
to get in was around the corner. As new-wave indie rock lineups go,
tonights "Break Your Neck" show was the shiznit, and the crowd knew it.
Melbourne's next big hope, Dance With Voices, were on hand to begin proceedings with their 80's New Order
Electro-Rock tracks. Any thoughts of 'Just another Pooncy Electro Act'
were thrown out the window after lead singer, Adnan Kadric, hurled
himself onto the drumkit mid-way through DWV
final song. And to drummer Kosta Theo's credit - he continued on with
one symbal and one drum without batting an eyelid. Keep an eye on these
guys, as it doesn't just seem to be unwarranted hype this time around.
After a brief break at the bar, the Red Riders and Dappled Cities
both headed to the stage for the infamous coin toss. In an extremely
cool twist, the "Break Your Necks Tour"'s headline act would be decided
each night with a coin toss. On this occasion, the Red Riders New Zealand born Bassist called heads, taking home the Headline honour - much to the excitment of the bubbling Melbourne crowd.
A
trip to the newly refurbished main bar at the Corner to get an update
on the Collingwood Vs. Sydney game, and back into the now full Corner
Hotel Band Room as Sydney's Dappled Cities Fly prepared
to step on stage (but not before an overblown intro from Alex Griggs -
who looks and acts more and more like a cerebral palsy victim everytime
I see him).
A mix of ambience and blinding lights was the key to the Dappled Citites fantastic set. For those unfamiliar with the "High on Cred - Low on Commercial Success" stylings of the magnificent DCF, think The Shins meets Flaming Lips meets Augie March, and you've pretty much got yourself the perfect mix of indie-ambient-pop.
Blasting through a solid set of new and old songs including current single Vision Bell, the increasingly catchy Fire Fire Fire, and finishing off with my personal favourite, Holy Chord, which builds up to an epic peak not dissimilar to some of Coldplay's better tracks.
However, the night belonged to the frantic pace of Red Riders.
A band which has climbed their way up the underground ranks (I recall
their early tours of Melbourne in front of humble crowds at Ding Dong
Lounge a few years back) to a point where they have now been embraced
by both the mainstream emo-indie kids and the underground die
hards.
Each song is a winner, delivered with brute force and
energy - yet still with a sense of enthusiasm that only comes along
once every few years. A perfect mix of tracks from the new album
including A.S.P.I.R.I.N, My Love Is Stronger Than Your Love, Slide Next To Me, What They Say About Us and the utterly flawless In My Sleep - worked in perfectly with classic EP tracks like Tune In Tune Out.
A
friend of mine suggested that Red Riders are often guilty of simply
playing the same set list they do every time. Which, if you've seen
them as many times as we have, might pose a problem - but on this
occasion - it was simply executed to such perfection that any qualms
could be forgotten.
But, as mentioned earlier, the night
belonged to the superb final encore in which both bands took to the
stage for one giant sing-a-long of November Rain.
A track which seemed to epitamise everyone in the rooms combined
memories of being a fifteen year old in the 90's. Never have I
encountered such a crowd uniting moment - and it's all thanks to a fool
like Axle Rose.
