Playing some catch-ups!

Much like when you arrive to a party that little bit too late and are embarrassingly sober, here is where I quickly try and catchup what I have missed with this whole blogging situation.

I could go back to put up pics and describe the good, the bad and the downright terrifying gigs i've seen around Brisbane but I'll start with my most recent highlight and work backwards when I get the time.....

WHY? @ The Troubadour-13/12/09

It can only be described as rare when you climb the steps of the Troubadour and you are A. sober and B. forking out more then a pretty red $20 on the door... but tonight was always going to be a little bit different. The hot summers night and whopping $40 door fee didn't seem to repel punters with an odd assortment of hip-hop kids, indie-types, impressively old crooners and blatantly wasted fans gearing up for a night even the wasted ones will remember for a time to come.

Arriving a tad late to the sounds of local support To the North it became quickly evident that something wasn't sitting quite right with the Brisbane 4 piece. Some interesting guitar work reminiscent of the twangy catchy riffs of Bloc Party underpin the tunes which seem to get grubby and lost when the lead vocalist chimes in with his Mammal/Rage Against the Machine monotone vocals. Perhaps the band should return to their instrumental lineup showcasing the talent this band really does have.

With the heat becoming almost too much the sweet ballads of McKisto seem welcome to the now seated crowd. The two piece flow through their set on guitar and piano showcasing the undeniable talent of the local up-and-comer. Unfortunately, the crowd were in house to see a white-boy rapper rock out... not for anything beautiful or touching... so the chatter over her set left McKisto to be drowned out as the crowd became more and more eager for the headline act.

The are not many Hip-Hop acts i would ever pay money to see... Kanye beating down Taylor Swift would be one... maybe Jay-Z in a leotard but a weedy, Jewish, 31-year-old from Brooklyn would not usually be of interest. The hype of Why? from their 2 fans of Facebook and a jaw dropping performance at Meridith convinced me however that this would be a worthwhile venture and by golly it was! Bursting on stage in all his Weird Al look-a-like glory, Joni Wolf launches into the opener off their latest album 'Eskimo Snow' as 'These Hands' starts the crowd moving and strangely enough at the Troubadour.... bouncing.

There is nothing like the death-defying feeling of the whole floor shaking as a crowd goes bonkers in a very non-Dizzaee style in the Troubadour. Why? elicits this unavoidable reaction as they focus mainly on songs off the critically acclaimed 'Alopecia' record of 2008. Wolf's winding and poetic vocals prompt a struggling crowd to try and sing-a-long to Sad Assassins and crowd pleas er 'These Few Presidents' however all that can be matched is his silly dance moves as he twists from line to line. With an encore of the apparent hit 'The Hollows' it seemed additively obvious that Why? were throwing it all down tonight, even if the band won't get their promised fee, the small crowd left knowing they saw one of the best gigs of the year.

Video- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mr-N4AH_TIw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-yDAX6FZqQ

Photos from the gig- to come