Northcote Social Club

Pond

Joseph Ryan, Pond - Northcote Social Club, 22nd April 2012

Gallery: Pond

A Sunday night in Northcote saw the first of 2 sold out shows for West Australian psychadelic rock outfit Pond. The brainchild of a fair chunk of Tame Impala folk have built quite a following, and having caught them once before (as support for The Flaming Lips) I was pretty keen to catch them again.

Arriving early – or so I thought – the Northcote Social Club looked anything but sold out. Seems the set times posted on Facebook had the lads taking the stage at 11:20pm. Turns out they were on at 10:00pm. No doubt some unhappy campers arrived part way into the show.

Nevertheless, there were plenty of folk in at the NSC as Pond took to the stage, launching into an instrumental cacophony of sound, driven primarily by heavy bass and delay filled guitar work from Joseph Ryan.

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The Orbweavers

Marita Dyson, The Orbweavers - Northcote Social Club, 12th February 2012

Gallery: The Orbweavers

I first heard Melbourne songwriters The Orbweavers last August. Playing support at the Toff in Town, they were as mesmerizing as they were warm and accessible.

Thankfully I’d checked their set times in the morning of an overcast Melbourne Sunday – assuming they were playing the Northcote Social Club at night would be fair, right? Wrong, this was a Matinee show, so with the far more school-night suitable start time of 3:40pm, their Loom album launch encore kicked off.

The stage is decorated today. Leaves scatter the front, and the rear is draped with handmade arts and crafts, many inspired by elements of the periodic table. U for Uranium gets a mention, as does Si for Silicon. However it’s the inclusion of Radon – Rn 86 – that makes me wonder if it’s by accident or design given the tram – Route Number 86 – runs past the venue’s door. I digress.

Opening with the tale of a bower bird, The Bower from 2009′s Graphite & Diamonds , the Orbweavers make a low key entrance with a song that holds your attention lyrically as it meanders calmly through the room.

It’s the current album Loom though – Triple R’s Album of the Week back in October 2011 – that provides the lions share of the set. The reflectively beautiful Merri, about the river running through Melbourne’s north is introduced by singer and guitarist Marita Dyson in he own understated, warm and humourous-without-really-trying style.

Introducing the songs is important to Dyson, each song has taken inspiration from what some may overlook – Double Thread, a tune about sewing and the dying out textile industry, You Can Run, a story about the yearnings of a greyhound on a leash, and Spotswood – an unlikely theme about Melbourne’s inner west – could seem fairly basic when used a premise for a song. (more…)

Ghostpoet (UK)

Ghostpoet, Northcote Social Club, 20th October 2011

Gallery: Ghostpoet

2011 Mercury Prize nominee Ghostpoet hit the Northcote Social Club midweek, promoting his debut album Peanut Butter Blues & Melancholy Jam.

A Wednesday night crowd in Northcote is probably a change of pace from Glastonbury where the singer – born Obaro Ejimiwe – played in July.

Nevertheless, those crammed into the iconic band room were treated to a great mix of tunes from his current release. Lead single Cash & Carry Me Home sounded great in the live setting, and current release Liiines was well received, with the crowd charging forward to the front of the stage. Being more melodic than Cash & Carry, this was a highlight and showed why Peanut Blues has been so well received critically.

The tunes are undoubtedly about the lyrics, and at times these were lost in the mix. It’s not the concert hall, but the sound tonight was inconsistent (though it seemingly didn’t bug the wordsmith). The overwhelming theme tonight is that this was a guy who was just thrilled – if not a bit jetlagged – to be in Australia.

Across the board though it was solid, and you don’t get nominated for a Mercury if you’re run of the mill. This was a strong Melbourne debut to an appreciative audience. (more…)

Eliza Hull

Eliza Hull, Northcote Social Club, 15th September 2011

Gallery: Eliza Hull

Singer-songwriter Eliza Hull launched her first single Five at the Northcote Social Club on Thursday night. With a captivating voice and an incredible use of imagery in her lyrics, fans, friends and family were treated to an hour long set that ebbed and flowed effortlessly.

With a newly assembled 7 piece band at her disposal, Eliza delivered a set that always placed the vocals way out in front. The music was complementary, and never overpowered her voice – a voice with a timbre best described as lounge jazz mixed with an edgy yet laid back delivery.

Feature single Five shone tonight, along with the beautifully arranged trio piece Sing You A Song and On My Mind providing highlights.

Hourglass saw Eliza move to the piano, performing the piece solo and it was a popular choice with the appreciative crowd.

Also of note today was the unique merchadise on offer – the usual CDs and TShirts were swapped for hand made rings and necklaces, some featuring song titles – a really nice touch from the Melbourne girl with a captivating voice.

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Susy Blue

Gallery: Susy Blue

Susan Hull, Susy Blue, Northcote Social Club, 18th May 2011

Susy Blue – the collective name for a group of performers headed by songwriter Susan Hull (right) launched their latest album Curly Girl (you can get hold of it over at http://susyblue.net) at the Northcote Social Club, supported by Melbourne 4-piece The Nymphs.

With a style that’s hard to pigeonhole to a genre (there’s elements here of folk, gypsy, latin and even more recent chill-out sessions type stuff), the group of musicians led by Susan herself and Louise Goh on the keys gave the crowd at the NSC an intimate and personal night of eclectic music.

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The Nymphs

Gallery: The Nymphs

Jane Hendry, The Nymphs, Northcote Social Club, 18th May 2011

Made it to the Northcote Social Club in time to catch an a-capella set from vocal quartet, The Nymphs on a chilly Wednesday night.

You’d be forgiven for thinking you’d just walked into a circa 1943 military cabaret – 4 part vocal harmonies with all the sass and choreography for the time – and the sound in this brilliant venue was superb.

Singing a mixture of stuff from the early 1900′s, the 30′s and 40′s, and a version of Stevie Wonder’s Part Time Lover arranged for their recent appearance at the Queenscliff Music Festival, the four girls from Melbourne (Sisters Jane and Clare Hendry, Kel Day and Bek Chapman) kept a good sized crowd entertained throughout their 45 minute set.

But I’ll be honest – it’s not really a genre I can take more than a few songs of in succession.

Closing the night with the ubiquitous tune by the Chordettes - Mr Sandman – The Nymphs had some members of the crowd scratching their heads trying to identify the segue into a different song…

If you’d seen the girls on ABC’s Spicks and Specks, it may not have come as a surprise, but Metallica’s Enter Sandman got the Nymphs treatment, morphing from a hard rock testosterone fueled track to something you could imagine sipping a cherry soda too at the local diner in the 50′s.

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Deep Sea Arcade


Nic McKenzie, Deep Sea Arcade, Northcote Social Club, 18th February 2011

Gallery: Deep Sea Arcade

Triple J and 2SER have got behind Sydney boys the Deep Sea Arcade, which has seen their memorable tunes receive quite an airing over the past couple of years.

Their sound is guitar based, no doubt, but spread out. There is space here, and lead singer Nic McKenzie is in great form tonight interacting with the audience and channeling some of his best Shaun-Ryder-like stage moves. A vocal in the high end that carries over the crowd right to the back of this inner suburban Melbourne venue.

Lonely in your Arms got a great response tonight and while their sound is probably going to remain at home on independent radio, there’s still a lot of potential for these songs to reach a wider audience.

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Surf City (NZ)

Surf City, Northcote Social Club, 18th February 2011

Gallery: Surf City

New Zealand 4 piece Surf City made the trek across the ditch and drew a good reception from the crowd at the NSC as they opened for Sydney guitar outfit Deep Sea Arcade. Well, perhaps technically a double bill, but they did play first…

Seeing these guys for the first time (and hearing them only a few hours after I’d checked out their MySpace) I immediately thought ‘hey, I think they are, or were, big Pavement fans’. With a mix of guitar based sounds and some electronic sounds, they played a number of tracks from their current album Kudos.

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Loon Lake

Tim, Loon Lake, Northcote Social Club, 18th February 2011

Gallery: Loon Lake

Loon Lake opened up proceedings at the Northcote Social Club. A band from Melbourne who’ve done pretty well of late with the support of Triple-J found themselves kicking off for Surf City and Deep Sea Arcade on a wet night in Melbourne.

Great tunes with melodic guitar sound – unexpected for a band with 3 guitars – they played to a growing crowd who gave them a really appreciative reception.

Current single In The Summer, and Into The Office got great responses, you can hear them here:

Check out their myspace page, as well as their own website to find out more.

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