16 July 2005

Quick Review - Hancock Basement and One Night Jam

| johnboy
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There was an ill-explained thing at In Blue last night. There was a 2XX banner behind the stage and people had told me it was something to do with a launch of a new radio show focussing on local music. It might be called “In The Can”. (If anyone needs an MC for these things let me know. I’m quite good at it and will work for beer.)

Anyone who can tell me what time the show can be heard gets to be my best friend for at least ten minutes.

Not having been upstairs at In Blue in many a moon (it might have even been going by the name of pandoras back then) I can’t say what sort of crowd they usually get on a friday night. Downstairs at In Blue on the other hand is my bar of choice for meeting blind dates so I view it with, at best, mixed feelings. Getting back on track, the crowd seemed healthy, enormous for a 2XX event really.

You’d expect with all those hard surfaces, low ceiling, and not being a well known room, that the sound would be awful. But James Nicholls (of henchmen fame) was working the sound and said it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. In the end it actually sounded really good.

The beer was being served in plastic cups and, for reasons passing understanding, that frequently leads me into damnation. So to the fine and talented bands who played I apologise for not having more to say about your performance. I’ve already been well punished for it if that’s any consolation.

I was reasonably lucid when I got my first look at two of the bands though so here’s a potted review of them.

Hancock Basement.

“The Cock” have been generating a bit of buzz around town and I finally got to see why. Playing early in the night they had a huge chunk of the crowd up and dancing. Chatting in the crowd I commented how they had a touch of the Strokes to them, “And Franz Ferdinand” came back the reply, I was about to debunk this theory at length when they launched into a riff that I expect to hear FF stealing anytime soon. I know we’ve got a few readers who don’t listen to local music but have a real thing for FF and I’d recommend checking out the cock as, lets face it the chances of those jocknese gits coming to Canberra are pretty much nil.

If only “The Cock” could roll some Interpol into the set then they’d encapsulate all that is good in this otherwise bloody awful decade of popular music.

One Night Jam

One Night Jam are a band having fun. So much fun are they having with their playing that the audience is having fun too. They’ve got musicians in-jokes going with their instrument play but they do it so well it’s funny (ok, amusing) even to the untalented proles like me.

And a violin front of stage and kicking out? Who’d have thought that could work but wow, doesn’t it just! No really we’re talking a level of rock-violin you have never seen before. Forget those corrs and bond slappers, this is better.

Anyway it was a well-spent $4 even if I did end up worshipping porcelain and missing the finale.

Make a point of checking out Hancock Basement or One Night Jam if you see them playing at a pub near you. Also avoid beer in plastic cups at all costs and, more importantly, stop me if you see me drinking it. I will thank you in the morning.

Tequila and lemonade is, of course, the only thing that should be drunk in plastic cups.

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Absent Diane1:05 pm 19 Jul 05

Ive gotta say when i saw the cock they weren’t really my cup of tea, and can’t really see why everybody has been raving about them…. but then again i seem to be in this small segment of the music scene that wants bands like the whitestripes, the strokes, the vines banned from making music and have everybodies memories altered on what they thought of these bands… and i definately can’t understand how they made it past bedroom jamming
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retro rock haterz not so-anonymous

Wow, fast chat! Thanks for that I’ll try and tune in.

Yes, was a rocking night! May there be many more.

Uhh, it’s tonight, don’t know any more than that. I assume it’s every saturday

Is that every night or Saturdays?

In The Can is 5pm til 7pm on 2XX

Meanwhile, what a totally fucking rock and roll night.

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