Don't get me wrong - I really like these acts. I wouldn't have bought the ticket if I didn't want to see them. But it just so happened that their support acts outshone them big time.
Who are these support acts?
Supporting Bertie Blackman at the Gaelic was Hungry Kids of Hungry.
Their music is just so god damn catchy! Think the Shins on happy pills mixed in with those boppy Beatles songs that make you incessantly tap your feet. The singer/guitarist can really bloody sing. And the keyboardist/singer could not only harmonise perfectly, but was so happy and into it that you wondered what he'd be like fathering your children. After the first 2 songs I found myself wandering over to the merch table to buy their EP. Which I did. Even though it was $10 for 4 songs. That's $2.50 a song. That's more expensive than iTunes. Which I figured out on the way home when the effects of their live performance wore off.
Before leaving I caught the guys watching Bertie from the back of the hall. They signed the EP I bought - so now it is priceless. I recommend listening to "Scattered Diamonds" which you can find on their myspace -
myspace.com/hungrykidsofhungary
I thought that the support being better than the main was a rare thing. Didn't think it would happen again. Fast forward two weeks to the Dappled Cities gig at the Metro. I got there pretty early because I'd heard pretty good things about the support.
Who killed it this time? Their name - Philadelphia Grand Jury. I'd heard that they played at the Beach Rd a few weeks before and someone stole their guitar. VJ on Triple J put the word out for the person to return it. I really felt bad for these guys. I hope they got it back.
But back to their gig - these guys just KNOW how to perform. They are so entertaining. Their songs are up-beat, clever and way too hot to handle. Instead of milling at the bar, every punter stood front and centre to watch these guys. The bassist MC Bad Genius is exactly that - a freaking genius. His on-stage antics are frighteningly amusing. He'll stare at a member of the audience for minutes at a time for no particular reason. Not any kind of stare - a petrifying, evil injecting stare. He plays anything that is thrown at him - bass, keyboard, guitar. His dance moves are the moves of a champion. I couldn't copy them even if he taught me himself. The drummer (Dan W Sweat) is Gods gift to the women of the world. I am so helplessly in love with him. His drumming is off the chart. He bops his head like a bobble headed dog on the dashboard of your car - but in time to every beat he plays. He looks so happy doing it, like this is what he was born to do. And he's an absolute babe. There was one point during a song where they stopped playing, making the crowd believe the song was over. Except something wasn't right. Every member of the Philly jays were frozen. Hands midway in the air. Heads tilted on the side. Statuesque from the very last note they played. This lasted a little while - the crowd finally catching on that something was up. Turns out they had not finished the song, it was just an overextended pause with hilarity attached. Sigh. The best part about watching these guys is that you can instantly tell that it isn't a chore for them to play, it's an honour. They have so many quirky jokes but they aren't inside jokes, they involve the audience every time. You just have to be quick or smart enough to catch it. These guys could willingly steal my soul. Please check out their stuff so you can say you were into them before they made it big. I recommend 'I'm going to kill you'. You would have heard it on Triple J - they're flogging it. myspace.com/philadelphiagrandjury
But you can call them the Philly Jays.
And the drummer can call me whenever he wants.
MUSIC FOR YOUR MUFFIN
xx
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