Armen Firman

Five-piece local act Armen Firman have been playing their moody brand of rock at venues around Melbourne for several years now. Long enough, it seems, to build a loyal band of supporters who packed into the Northcote Social Club on Australia Day to see the bands first home-town gig in nine months.

The pre-show atmosphere was extremely jovial, possibly because most attendees had taken advantage of the proud Australia Day tradition of drinking heavily during the day, but also because many were catching up with friends they hadn’t seen since the last Armen Firman gig. Promises and glimpses of ‘new stuff’ had been trickled out to the faithful throughout 2006, so it was with much anticipation that the five members took to the stage and got jiggy with it.

The set opened with ‘My Black Eyes’ and ‘Long Lost Cause’, two catchy numbers familiar to those who have visited the bands website and Myspace. Characterised by their energy and enthusiasm, these songs set the pace for what was a pretty intense performance. The real standout track of the night for me came mid-set with the slow-building ‘Only I Know You’. With a tender opening that progresses into a desperate wail, this song more than any other was able to silence any chatter that was going on and turn the heads of those at the bar - even the large, hairy man in front of me was moved enough to pause his story about the chick he was 'currently nailing' to watch this one. Unlike one or two of the other slower moments of this set, the emotion here was completely uncontrived and striking in its sincerity.

While they could be compared to the likes of Jeff Buckley and Radiohead, Danish band Kashmir is the clearest influence on the Armen Firman’s sound. This point is hammered home by the ease in which a cover of ‘Make it Grand’ from Kashmir’s third album The Good Life is slotted into the set-list, and the obvious enjoyment that the band got out of playing it.

After closing the main set with the upbeat ‘Fall For You’ the band returned for a welcome encore, beginning with a two minute drum solo in which percussionist Matt Millar demonstrated that he more than knows his way around a kit. Millar was eventually joined by the rest of the band, who treated the crowd to a rousing rendition of old favourite ‘Ghost’ before calling it a night.

Armen Firman as a live band are more than capable of holding your attention for an hour or so, largely due to the passion with which frontman Tom Whitty performs. While bassist Jim Saunders competently assumes vocal duties for two or three of the songs, there is no doubt that Whitty is the heart of the band. Whether or not he is the one at the mic, he remains the centre of attention because of his obvious emotional investment in each song. While the other members often appear to be simply enjoying playing great music with their mates, Whitty clearly feels each word, note and beat with such an intensity that you can’t help but feel it with him. Having said that, the on-stage movement, style and banter of each Armen Firman member did at times reflect a nervousness and eagerness to please, most likely due to this being their first show for some time.

It’s fair to say that very few attendees would feel that they did not get their 7 bucks worth of entertainment from Armen Firman. They are clearly a very skilled group of musicians (Millar in particular is a freak) who have played together hard enough and for long enough to move fluently as one. The songs are skilfully crafted, and executed with an intelligence that most bands wouldn’t bother with. It is this complexity, however, that is at once a strength and weakness for the band. While each song conjures up admiration and even amazement at the quality of song writing, few manage to stay with you for days and weeks to follow like a four-chord wonder-diddy from the likes of Wolfmother or Jet might.

This aside, Armen Firman’s performance at the Northcote Social Club left a smile on the face of everyone in attendance, and to see such a powerful display of local talent gave us all something to feel patriotic about on Australia Day.

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