30 November 2005

Just Bands update & refugee centre [And Green Room review]

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For all you lovers of local music news…Just Bands is STILL dead I’m afraid. Arrrrrggggg! Serves me right for using a feww hosting service I guess. Anyway…to keep you from going mad, I’ve written a brief review of Friday night at The Green Room…

Sam from Little Smoke & I headed along to The Green Room on Friday 25 November for the last “free” gig of the year. Let’s just say I’m glad I didn’t have to pay.

We caught two bands…the first “Sin City” had been to rock’n’roll school. They had the look, the moves, the sultry female singer playing up her questionable sexuality “just enough”. The vacant stares from the guitarist to suggest too much drug consumption. The co-ordinated “moves” between singer & bass player. They had it all. Quite enjoyable really….well, until you closed your eyes & realised they were not actually that good. They weren’t “bad” as such, but their stage show certainly outdid their musicianship. That said, I loved them & really, really enjoyed watching them play. Would I buy a CD? Probably not. Would I watch them live again? Without hesitation.

Here’s when things turned sour. I don’t know the name of the band that played after Sin City & the Green Room website has been updated, so I can’t find out from there. I wish I did know their name…then I’d know exactly when NOT to turn up to a venue. My God were they AWEFUL! I’ll set the scene….picture a drummer with an expensive kit, multiple pad triggers & a laptop to boot. Then add a guitarist that looked like his Mum had purchased an entire studio for him to play with. Mix in a singer who’s designer jeans & other clothes to match just made him look…well, like a complete tosser. They basically had the look of “no talent hacks with rich parents”. If that’s what we thought before they played…it was confirmed from about 10 seconds into their first song.

They played a style of guitar/dance fusion I guess you’d call it. Not really my thing…but if done well, I could appreciate it. Only problem was…despite spending more on their gear than I’ve earned in the past 5 years (& I earn a good wage!), they forgot one crucial factor…actually being able to play. They thought they looked good & they didn’t…I’m sure they thought they sounded good, but they could not have been more wrong.

I’ve never had to leave a venue before ’cause the band was just too crap to watch…have now. Sam & I lasted until midway through the 3rd song & could not subject our poor ears to any further torture…we left. Find out who they were…then avoid them is my suggestion. Sorry boys…but really, you were quite seriously BAD.

On the bright side…Sin City were very entertaining & free entry seemed to bring in some young punters.

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Cool tks all;

Thumper, how does you, me, my acting section head (and maybe even your son), a pint of guiness or five, and a live irish band sound ?

If anybody knows of a good folk/irish mob coming up in the near future, I may be able to insta-crowd 🙂

“And Justbands, you know of any 1/2 decent irish gigs on at the moment ? (my other vice) “

No…sorry. Not really my thing…& without the wonderful Just Bands site up & running yet…I’m at a loss. 🙂

It’s “almost” built by the way….did a fair slab of the work over the weekend & will finish off this work as time permits.

Marcus, do you do glam rock with slap-funk bass at all ?

I’m into that at the moment in a weird kind of way (as weird as the combination of glam rock with slap funk bass is anyway), was wondering if you did anything like that, or is it all metal overtones ?

And Justbands, you know of any 1/2 decent irish gigs on at the moment ? (my other vice)

Those comments were made in response to my “dedication to the scene” or whatever being questioned. I think they were fair enough.

Concernedcitizen1:01 pm 16 Jan 06

Anybody who makes comment like “since you were in nappies mate…& I’m not joking, that’s the truth” needs to pull their head out of there arse, wipe the shit of their face and seriuosly think about giving it up. I do agree that this band may be onto something (if they get better)but seriously need to learn to play their intruments ALOT better and they did look abit wanky but they gave it a go. Honest reviews are needed but justbands comments did seem malicious.

Are you stalking me? How do you know how old I am? 🙂

Chat over beer would be good, and like I keep saying…I do actually wish your band all the best. I’d love to write a much more positive review some day.

> since you were in nappies mate…& I’m not joking, that’s the truth.
That’s quite an achievement seeing as you’re 4 years older than me.

> How long have you been at this?
12 years to be exact in numurous projects such as Glam Radness, Dread, co-producer with Ashley Feraude, etc..

Anyway, hopefully we can chat over a beer. I’m hoping to catch Little Smoke, heard good things about them (and no, I’m not being sarcastic)

> If you are as supportive of the local scene and original music as you say, I’ll expect to see you sooner than 12 months 😉

I don’t think I really need to prove this to you Marcus. I’ve been supporting our local scene (what there is of it) since you were in nappies mate…& I’m not joking, that’s the truth.

As for “better” review…well, my comment to this went some of the way before…

“I think your band was loose, your vocals ordinary & you had more toys onstage than my 8yo has in his toy room”. Timing? Pitch? Vocal resonance? Haha…not sure when you’ve seen any review that mentions things on that level.

It’s a bad review. I thought your band was bad. Get over it or give up is my advice. How long have you been at this? I’ve received more bad reviews than you’ve had cooked dinners…you develop a thick skin eventually.

I think your bass player is hot!

You could’ve given us a better review to start with. A “better” review to me is one that is constructive, regardless of whether the performance was sub-standard or outstanding. As a serious musician I always want to know how I can improve and every gig should have criticisms, even the greatest of all gigs. Technical proficiency is one area that can be commented on (timing, pitch, vocal resonance, etc…) as opposed to appearance, cost of gear and perceptions before the band has actually played. A “better” review is also one that is made on judgement of the whole performance, this review being analogous to a food critic judging a meal after eating one mushroom. 2.5 songs out of a 6 song set does not provide a big enough picture of a band’s performance and the crowd’s response. Other publications/forums would render such a review invalid. Also, telling the public to avoid seeing a band is a very discouraging and non-supportive act. A band that fails to get a crowd will fail to get gigs and will eventually disband.

If you are as supportive of the local scene and original music as you say, I’ll expect to see you sooner than 12 months 😉

Marcus…can I please just restate that I had NO problem with the “style” of music you played, in fact…I give you credit for trying something different to the current norm..well done. I have no love for the AC/DC covers bands going around right now myself.

My issue was with how you played it. I think your band was loose, your vocals ordinary & you had more toys onstage than my 8yo has in his toy room. That’s fine…but it takes some skill to pull it all off, I think you’re on the right path…but you just lack that skill & cohesion in your band right now. Like I said though..stick with it, get better. I’ll watch you again in 12 months or so & hope to give you a better review then.

Our next gig is at Toast 9:30pm on Saturday, 14th January. Our gig details are listed in our website at http://www.dancewithamps.com . Word of warning tho, we are going against the grain in many ways and there are a lot of reasons to hate us. We DO NOT sound like AC/DC or Led Zepellin (the current Aussie rock trend). I listen to Toto, Foreigner, Kiss, E.L.O, Frank Sinatra, Top 40, Eurotrash, Swedish metal, Glam rock, Ministry of Sound, etc… We have anticipated bad reviews since our inception. There are people who hate us and wish we never existed and there are people who love us and think we are the next big thing. Public opinion does not influence us as we are only playing the kind of music we want to hear.

I haven’t seen Dance with Amps play, but im a fan of dance/metal. Make sure you post any further gigs here so i can come and check you guys out. 🙂
Good luck for future shows….

-Shaggy.
(Barrel of Monkeys)

yourbestmate: Do some reasearch buddy. As pointed out…I’ve been supporting the local scene in many ways for many, many years. 5 years as a band member, another 3 or 4 running Just Bands, organising gigs, promoting peoples bands, participating in debates, being an active member of the Music Managers Forum, being an Indyfest volunteer organiser..hell, you get the message.

Marcus: I don’t want you to stop, I reviewed your band like this as I thought your musicianship on the night was pretty ordinary. The style of music you play I don’t have a problem with. It’s not exactly my cup of tea, but I admire what you are trying to do. If it was your first gig, then you can only get better hey? I wish you all the best. Sounds like you’ve taken my review the right way…just keep working on your music….oh…& yes, I should really have pointed out that many in the crowd were enjoying themselves a lot.

Our first gig wasn’t lousy at all. It was awesome! That was what my comment was about. I loved it and so did a lot of people, from what they have told me and from the crowd response. I respect Mal’s opinion but I don’t believe its the same opinion as everyone that witnessed us play. The reason I felt so good about the gig was ‘cos we were treated like rock gods afterwards. Do the photos of the girls dancing to our music look like they’re being tortured to you?

Dude, Mal (AKA “justbands”) has probably done more to support the local scene than you could ever imagine – like running the best local music source (currently offline, it’s mentioned in the original article) in Canberra + in recent years running “Pop the Pot” just to name a couple of things.

Marcus – don’t worry man, my first gig was pretty lousy too…as long as you’re having fun and playing music that you enjoy, then fuck it, that’s all that matters.

Wow! Interesting stuff. Thanx for the comments people. Its Marcus from Dance With Amps here. Here are my thoughts of the night. It was our first gig so we didn’t know what to expect. We weren’t sure if Canberra was going to enjoy our brand of dance/metal with full Aussie accent. To our surprise, the crowd loved it! We ended up with the biggest crowd out of all the bands and at the end of the night we were met with handshakes, free beers, party invitations and kisses from pretty girls. The reaction was great and I was on a high for days! There were a few minor stuff ups like guitar straps falling off, stepping on the mic lead and the drummer catching up to the click track once or twice, and as my choir friend said, my vocals were a bit pitchy in the first few songs but spot on in the last few. Anyway, the reason I thought we did well was because of the reaction from strangers afterwards. Despite all that, I am expecting people to hate us. There are many reasons to dislike us which I have noted in the FAQ in our website under the heading “Why do you guys suck so bad?”

Absent Diane11:26 am 09 Dec 05

Dude if a band puts themselves out there for public comment… thats what they get… cop a bad review deal with it move on…its gonna happen in the big world as well

yourbestmate8:09 am 09 Dec 05

I reckon you buch of jaded fuckwitz should stop putting so much shit on these guys and start supporting your local scene a bit more. Just because you didnt like them, it doesnt mean they suck. I can bet theres a whole bunch of people out there that think your band is fucking terrible. Besides at least these guys are trying something different instead of sticking to the recycled rock revival formula like so many others. Maybe if you guys stopped spending so much time on the fucking internet and more time discovering what talent canberra actually has you wouldnt be so cynical. People like you make me and so many others fucking angry, get off your soap box you fuckn blog hero and open your mind a little bit ….because the last thing the canberra scene needs is people like you holding it back >:o(

Yes! That’s them. Word of advice lads…learn to play FIRST, then work on your image. I’ve never really felt the need to put so much crap on a band before..but as I’ve said, these guys were really very, very bad.

That god awful band is “Dance With Amps”. I found a website of theirs at http://www.dancewithamps.com

& of course my spelling error just had to be in the word I decided to put it capital letters! 🙂

Absent Diane8:28 am 02 Dec 05

So you didn’t mean that you were ful of awe… sweet. gotcha… hehe

Oh…& when I said “AWEFUL”, of course I meant “AWFUL”.

I’d say they were “Dance With Amps”..in fact, now that you mention it..yes, that was them. The single worst band I have ever seen perform on a stage.

Ouch. Well, according to the GR’s mailout, the offending act was either Causeway, Dance With Amps or Dog Act.

An update…we’ve found a new server, Just Bands will live again within a week, all things going well.

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