(Warning: flowery content)
Hello Powdy
There's been a bit of a `Break'-fest, over the past few days in and around Brisbane (Qld).
On Thursday night The Break played at The Globe in The Valley, Brisbane. Perhaps the venue's claim to fame is that Colin Hay once named it as his favourite haunt, when asked on the national `Today' show. Rob later congratulated the venue from the stage, for promoting live music in Brisbane. Apparently Sydney could use a similar venue.
The Globe used to be `The Valley Twin' cinema, and it is still split. So it was in a building that promoted `B-grade horror schlock' and `The brain that wouldn't die', with The Rocky Horror Picture Show playing the next night, and a Monty Python double not too far back, that you could order a $4 Monster can, a $6 Vodka Monster, or a $10 Jaeger Monster. So blokes in T-shirts and jeans left a foyer where a couch sat on a dias next to a bar on one wall, and went into the left side of the building, and the occasional fella' in a vest and pony-tail or top hat went into the right side of the building. They almost mingled in the foyer. Very apt for a band that names tracks with `Birdman', `Massacres' and `Cyclops'.
The room itself was cosy, about a dozen people wide from each side of the disco mirror ball that spun throughout the entire performance. Its walls were corrugated cement, which would be a bit like Rob's tank, (when that tank came out of its grey `boogie-board'-like cover.)
First up were "The Incredible Strand". They have a catchy sound, like "The Saints" being funny, with lyrics like "You broke my heart at the Big Day Out, I was vivid at Livid (Festival), Went on a bender at Splendour (in the Grass)"
http://www.myspace.com/incrediblestrand
The roadie cases on stage looked like the ones from The Break's `Hi-Fi' gig at West End back in April, except the words `Midnight Oil' had been gaffed out in black. Path on left cordoned-off with velvet rope. Mixing desk on right at back. The floor slopes sharply down to the stage, so that you're level with the stage about half-way down the floor. A great leveler. Thirty-somethings folks (100? 130?) were sitting down initially. I don't know whether Americans and Europeans are a bit more ready to dance, but Ozzes can seem a bit reluctant to get up and shake a leg. But after Squid (fourth song?), one girl got up to start the dancing. After that about a dozen or so were dancing, mainly in the right corner (with camera-wielding folks also close to the stage). I felt like I was wearing holes in the toes of my KT-26s, given the sharp slope of the floor.
The three guitars focused on Rob. He mentioned a surfing movie `Going Vertical' that Bob McTavish had put out, with contributions from Powderfinger (Bris-bande) amongst others. Brian remarked upon the `2 twin masters of Jazz' playing at either end of the stage, and also described them as `the John Coltrane and Sanders' of surf rock.
The set list was: Branded (a blur sorry), Squintro, Cylinders, Squid, Birdman, 5 Rocks, Eye Contact (drum heavy more thumpy than recorded versions I've heard), a ponderous Wedding Cake (Rob mentioned `Bird Noises', and said it had taken thirty years for a whole album of surf music to come out He invited us to cast our minds 30 years back, to `Coorabell'(?)), Groyne (even more `Sid Snot' than usual Sid-denny was a punk character created by a Mr Kenny Everett many moons ago. He would happily relate to viewers how he had recently been out wiff' his girlfriend, Deidre, in the park, `feeding the pigeons
To my cat.' (boom, boom), Phobus-Grunt, Penetration (a bit B52sy, to my ear), Blasket Islands (about an Irish surf break, so some lighting guy helpfully made Rob's shorts leprechaun green), Dump, Surfing Priest, Oysters Stomp, Winkipop, and Massacres. The set was abbreviated, because people had to go to work the next day (it being a school night). Rob mentioned that the band was playing tomorrow night at Joe's Pub at Eumundi (north of Bris). He added that the folks there are very keen dancers maybe it's the water (or the weed, chipped in someone from the back).
