Exclusive: YOU AM I ~ Live @ The Forum

By Sean Lynch
Visit the Official You Am I Website

CLICK HERE to check out tunes from You Am I's latest album 'Convicts'.

Since 1992, You Am I have bagged seven ARIAS, set a record for three consecutive straight-in-at-No. 1 albums ("Hi-Fi Way", "Hourly Daily", "#4 Record"), attracted legions of adoring fans (mostly of the drunken variety), sound-tracked two movies (Idiot Box and Dirty Deeds), picked up some heavyweight admirers/touring partners (Oasis, Soundgarden, Sonic Youth), been asked to gig with their idols (The Who, The Rolling Stones), gave foreign artists their first widespread exposure downunder (The Strokes, The Detroit Cobras, The Dirtbombs), and to top all that off - inspired a host of Australian bands to do things their own damn way (Silverchair, Jet, The Vines, The Sleepy Jackson, Wolfmother, Dallas Crane, etc, etc). That ain't too shabby, for starters...

However, for some reason, You Am I have never scaled the glorious heights that their protege have seemed to have done with such ease. On the other hand, they aren't simply the flavour of the month either - they are consistent leaders of the Oz Rock Industry and very much "The Cool Older Brother" of the Australian music industry. A fact which was excellently eexplained by lead man and serial pest Tim Rogers last Friday at one of Melbourne's finest venues - The Forum - proclaiming "Alright everyone, this next one is a bloody cracker - and if you don't think so, cop an earfull of this".

In one of the coldest Friday's of recent history in Melbourne, I headed down to the Forum with my trusty gig-going companions after a rather stressful day at work - not really in the mood for anything other than a good sleep. The car ride into the city consisted of a heated argument in which the quality of Tim Rogers voice was heavily questioned, the new album "Convicts" was given a rather mixed response and of course there was a slight hint of bitterness on my behalf, given my role of 'Designated Driver' yet again.

Walking towards the Forum, it truly hits you what an impressive venue it is. People rarely look up at it, but if you have the chance - do so. It's a beautiful place inside and out. As we entered the foyer, escaping the cold, support band "The Drones" were making a meal of a good opportunity with a pretty lackluster set (in fairness, we were only half paying attention in attempting to make our way through the heavily packed bar). None the less, we weren't there to see them. We were there for a band whose collection of hits from their "Cream of the Crock" best-of album had been on heavy rotation in the car for many months now.

With one member of the gang a little ill, we elected to take a seat in the booths down the back of the Forum which, while comfortable for pre-drinks, don't really serve as a fantastic gig viewing area. Within minutes of the bands opening track we had relocated next to the sound desk where we could take in everything the show had to offer.

You can't help but think of the headlines concerning on-stage meltdowns, celebrity dwarf tossing, walk-offs and whiskey-stained action slacks - so it was almost a little disappointing at first to see the band immaculately dressed. It was clear the boys had made an effort for this fine venue. Several tracks from the "Convicts" album (You Am I's first outing for their new home, Virgin/EMI) began proceedings including the latest single "It Ain't Funny How We Don't Talk Anymore" and "Friends Like You". Songs, which like most bands, find new life after being played live (and therefore were played endlessly on the trek home).

But it wasn't long until their impressive back-log was dusted off including "Mr Milk", "Cathy's Clowns" and an amazing crowd-erupting performance of fan favourite "Berlin Chair". It was also around that time that a bottle of bourbon was brought onto stage by the amazingly charismatic Tim Rogers (which, by shows end, was empty). There was a fantastic solo acoustic performance of "Damage" by Rogers instead of the first break, but it wasn't long until the whole gang (including Andy Kent [bass/vox], Russell Hopkinson [drums] and a white-suited David Lane [gtr/vox]) returned to the stage for a few more classics, ending on the raw track "Thank God I've Hit The Bottom".

In true You Am I style, Rogers collapsed on the floor as the song came to an end - in fairness, it was due to one of the most energetic and powerful vocal performance I seen in a long time - leaving the crowd thirsty for more. Needless to say that "Convicts" was played rather loudly on the way home - back to the cold depth of suburbia.

Set-List: 3.5 out of 5 
Sadly, I didn't have a lot of time to listen to the new album, so many of the new songs were a tad foreign and weren't really appreciated for their quality until listening to the album a few days later. However, there were enough hits there to really make you enjoy yourself, wishing that you were down the front sweating with the die hards.

Lighting & Visual: 3 out of 5
Traditional and classic lighting made this a homegrown event. Even though the forum is a big place, the lighting took me back to seeing this kind of band at a smaller more intimate venue like The Corner in Richmond or The Northcote Social Club. Very effective, and in particular the synchronization of the ring of lights around Russell Hopkinson's drumkit during his erratic drum solos.

Overall: 75%