faTT deX creates an infern0Oooooo.

The line up for Saturday night was one that I had been waiting for… I hadn’t seen faTT deX play since Vibes on a Summer’s Day so I knew this was going to be a good night… Add to that Zephyr Timbre and Full Fathom Five, well how could you go wrong… I arrived a little late for this gig due to some ticketing dramas apparently my name wasn’t left on the door… All this was sorted out though and a big Thankx goes out to Leonardo for getting me into this great gig.

1. Zephyr Timbre The band was already on stage and delivering to the crowd a well rounded musical entrée… the female vocalist with these guys in awesome and has a voice that angels would stop and full from the sky for… Add to that excellent rapping a great mixer topped with electric bass and guitar and you have a full pumping event…Like I said I was only caught the end of their set and what an end it was…There were break dancers on the floor spinning their heads and flipping around backwards and sideways… The crowd including my self were all very impressed. I’d have liked to catch more of these guys but I’ll have to wait till next time.

2. Full Fathom Five After waiting the usual 20 min between sets the next band, whose currently getting airplay on Triple J took to the stage….Dark gothic under tones mixed with a Blackalicious Beat. Full Fathom Five are a five piece band (hence the name) that have an ambient sound that I think would be more suited to early morning dance parties rather than the middle band at a pub gig… Don’t get me wrong I thought that they were good but I was feeling a little hyped after Zephyr and these guys took me on a flash back to the 80’s… With samples like Duran Duran’s “Hungary like a wolf” mixed up to with a number of other happy English pop songs into a melancholic blend of nostalgic angst…Not that it was all darkness and blight… The second half of their performance was mixed in with the sounds of tinkling fairies and high top tamperings that brought everyone back on the dance floor away from their introspective moments, leaving them… well not pumped but a little more uplifted.

3. faTT deX What happened is all I can say…faTT deX and his cohorts didn’t come on the stage until 12:30 and considering the music is turned off at 1:00 at the Northern I was a little disappointed… After all that was why we were here wasn’t it…But what a forty minute set it was…high vibe pumping sounds for which faTT deX is re-known were thrown at the crowd and they couldn’t help but get up and dance… there was rapping by DJ Mick E Morphingers (this guy was awesome)… I loved the red flashing light gloves, it made the scratching a real visual feast as well an audio one… they really do have to move their hands incredibly fast to get out some of those sounds… Back to back tracks with funky bass beats that send tingles down your spine… You have to love Byron crowds they always get really loose on the dance floor and they’re not embaraced to make a full of themselves… But alas, the music couldn’t go on… Even the ugly lights couldn’t deter these guys from playing on, but all to soon the patrons were being ushered out the door and the gig was over. Thanks to the bands and make sure to check out the faTT deX web site, it really is cool and heaps of groovy downloads…www.

Bay FM changes it's tune (in, that is)

This was a night for the community. A local’s night out, full of high vibe energy and all those eccentric colourful characters we all know and love in the bay. BayFm has been giving a voice to this part of the world for the past ten years and tonight was their night to relaunch themselves under the new frequency of 99.9. It was also a night for the community to come together and celebrate this amazing diverse voice of our little land in the bay.

Easing into the night was one of our favourite waiters and truly talented performers, Astroboy. Dressed in fluoro orange glow mesh, and looking like he just walked from the construction site (except for the orange afro) along with the elegantly furred glow in the dark Cat, these dancers totted around amusing the crowd with their antics and got people on to the dance floor. Daniel of Couch Funk and Dealer fame, let loose some of his lyrical mastery in a BayFm rap about the signal change…" No longer 91.3 they’ve moved to the groovier 99.9… That’s where you’ll find them of the dial".

Jackie Onassid then took to the turntables to turn up the heat with some heart-thumping, groin grinding beats. The drum n’bass beats were mixed up in a wonderful cocktail of easy breaks and high top tinkerings, even a sound spack didn’t stop the people moving. Next was Jack B Nimble… a fire dancer, but with no fire he did a fantastic routine with a glow stick that would have made any Jedi proud. His body moving like a lithe lusty snake twisting and turning on the dance floor.

Then it was The Visitors turn to take it away… The punters were nearly peaking so it wouldn’t take much… This Brisvagas band is a mixture of live acoustic jams and techno flavoured beats. A bit of guitar, drums, bass and turntables (I’m beginning to think that everyone is doing this at the moment). I was soon feeling the effects of to many bevies so it was down to the dance floor to lap up some of Queenslands finest. The taste was slightly different from The Bird the pervious night, they had a little more grunt and a lot of rhythm that moved the crowd, took them to their high and borught them down with nothing more than a light bump upon landing. It was a shame that these guys weren’t able to play for longer because they were really rocking. So as the ugly lights came on at the end of this fun-filled party night (there was even a cake) we could only see the happy faces of our fair community crew… An excellent night, well-done BayFm and I’ve already re-programme.

Flying high above the rainbows with The Bird.

On the night of the winter solstice Sydney duo The Bird played a gig in Byron Bay at the newly renovated ex Carpark Nightclub, now named the groovier title of The Verve. At there last performance in the bay these lads packed the place out; tonight it would seem was to be no different. The Bird has a unique way of blending the sounds of both the east and the west into a formula of electronic harmony.

I arrived late and left early (too many parties and not enough time is my excuse). The Bird was launching the release of their new LP "Music for Reset People". Being dubbed by them as…" New Music for new people for a new age… new music to live by", and if the sounds I managed to catch on this dark moon night were anything to go by, it will go off. The duo of Simon Durrington (keyboards and synthesisers) and Ben Walsh (drums and percussion) along with guest performances by Bobby Singh (Master Tabla player) brought together a creation to set alight any techno music buffs musical tastebuds. A truly organic experience, The Bird play a live set and let the audience set the tone, no two gigs could be the same and for this reason The Bird are gaining the reputation as being one of the best Live Electronic acts in the country, and possibly the World. It was sad that I had to leave before the end of the gig, I would have liked to have heard some more (c'os I was dancing up a storm), guess I'll have to get the album. One thing I do have to mention though was the wondrous video screen flashing up fractals of psychedelic rainbows. I love that stuff, keeps you amused on the dance floor, truly awesome, wonderfully trippy.

Note : actual band may vary from photo

Performing live for the first time members from the band FORTE and the former ROUGE took to the stage at the Rails as the newly formed VERY.Opening with the classic “never tears us apart” as part of their sound check the audience responded with a hush before they launched into Live’s “lightening crashes”… It’s always a bit dodgy reviewing a covers band; it’s not their music, merely an interpretation of someone else’s… Hhmmm, It makes it hard to judge VERYs musical prowess.

Thru three sets, VERY blended a musical montage of tunes from the past 3 decades, grungy 90s, some pub pleasers (“I will survive” comes to mind) and some classic 70s a bit of Jimi and of course Led Zeppelin (how could you not)… If it was 1997 these guys would be have been right on wicket but it’s 2001 now, isn’t it???

A talented group of musicians who know their craft well, I can’t wait for them to start playing originals and perhaps if the covers are a must (apparently the bar management likes them c’os it get the punters in) doing their own interpretations of the songs could be the go. I was really impressed with the number of Aussie bands these guys covered, Some Inxs, Paul Kelly’s “dumb things” (great harp in this one) and regurgitator. One thing I did laugh about was the comment the lead singer made at the opening of one of the songs of “this is a oldie from the early 90s” before they stared Soundgarden’s “Black hole sun”… Are the 90’s really that long ago they are considered old already; Damn, time really does fly when you’re having fun. The lead singer had good interaction with the crowd and even had time to order a beer during the bands rendition of “karma police”… (He drinks Tooheys Old)… These guys have a sense of humour; make sure you check out the gig poster…

So for the first gig of a band that has only been together for 3 months I’d have to say they were good…. OK, better than just good. I had a fun night and by the third set it was obvious that so did most of the punters… A journey in to my angst ridden teens to the songs that meant so much… Can’t wait to hear the original stuff …

1. King Kapisi: Harking from the Land of the Long White Cloud, King Kapisi Bring together a unique blend of Pacifica and hip-hop to the stage of the Great Northern. As the opening act to Regugitator, King Kapisi took us back to the grass roots of musical lyricism, showing us once again that the voice is your most important instrument. With only a mixer and M.C on stage these fellas can sure herd a crowd and get them on to the dance floor… lounge room beats and hard hitting lyrics it's easy to see why they are a phenomena in their home land of NZ. Beat box antics and free-stying rap it's their turn to have their say… were the people hearing their message??? They sure seemed to be dancing a lot… both the band and the crowd were impressed… as support for Regurgitator, it'll be opportunity after opportunity for these new kings… They rocked….

2. Regurgitator: In the first leg of their national tour to promote their new album Regurgitator delivered a show that rocked, pumped, and took music to near new ecclesiastical heights. The appreciative fans jumped, jived and let out roars of approval as Regurgitator tempted and whet the appetites of this throng of followers.

It's been awhile in the waiting but the new music is here… Hoorah I say. Playing a set of 10 new songs can always be a bit daunting, but to the fans of this iconic Aussie band they could no wrong. Ben and Quan are old hats to the performance scene, in a career that is now on the soft side to a decade you can see that they get off on what they do.

Bringing together old favourites from both Unit and Art albums songs like 'Kung Fu sing' and the Byron inspired 'I want to be a nudist' only to break away, drop the instruments and start a dual rap session Quan, Ben and new drummer Peter must have known they were on to good thing… the crowd loved it. The latest song 'Fat Cop' was a definite pleaser and brought together a great night… Only it wasn't the end, the people wanted more…the punters wouldn't let them go without a least one encore. With lyrics like "No matter what ya colour, No matter what ya sex, Respect" how could you go wrong… Music with morals, humour and parody. Besides I like repetitive music…. and who doesn't.