Tic Toc Tokyo

After a couple of after work drinks in a stunningly appointed St Kilda beach bar which I’ve since forgotten the name of, it was eventually time to head back to Melbourne’s northern district where I feel slightly more at home.

On this particular night, an up-and-coming Melbourne outfit Tic Toc Tokyo, whose style could be described no less than completely original were set to launch their new single Ritual at Melbourne’s East Brunswick Club.

Upon finding out that I was going along to see a band named Tic Toc Tokyo, I must say that I was a little disappointed that they were not some sort of semi-Asian interpretive dance experiment. But it wasn’t too long before the minor disappointment I experienced was completely replaced by – to poorly quote The Castle - whatever the complete opposite of disappointment is.

As I was walking to the East Brunswick club, taking my unusually long strides (this is a bizarre and neurotic trait that surfaces when I’m by myself and I want to appear as though I’m completely comfortable with it).

After making it to the door in a surprisingly short number of steps - 58 by my reckoning – I was gladdened to find out that I had arrived in time to see some of Plug In City. As you may or may not know, it isn’t at all uncommon for some bands strive for this perceived level of un-cool, most of the time very poorly. However, Plug In City managed to convince me that they were genuinely a bunch of normal un-cool guys who genuinely loved making music. They’re music – well, what I saw of it – bites at the heels of ambient anthem mavericks Youth Group fused with an early-mid 90’s slightly less cool Blur visual sensibility. Definitely worth a post-gig MySpace venture if you’re into that kind of thing.

During the brief intermission before Tic Toc Tokyo were to appear on stage, I suddenly understood why people like to go to gigs in clusters. In that uneasy period where people are a little unsure of what to do with themselves, and forced to entertain themselves for a little while until the next band fronts the stage, I stood alone and dare I say it, a little bored. Wondering if all that choral coin jiggling in my left pocket would be able to cover a moderately priced beer, I began the at times arduous task of weaving back an forth through established clusters of punters, not unlike a well trained English sheep dog making their way through the weave polls on his gold-medal time trial at worlds most exclusive ridiculous dog show.

I must make a concession at this point that upon agreeing to this review my knowledge of Tic Toc Tokyo and their music rivaled my understanding of the South-American hermaphroditic ground sloth. Needless to say I logged onto Tic Toc Tokyo Myspace within seconds for a little bit of pre-gig tune time. Disappointingly I was unable to find enough time to read up on South-America’s most ambiguous of ground dwellers. Perhaps I’ll leave that one for another time.

Anyway, the time had come for Tic-Toc Tokyo to take the stage. Tonight was to mark the launch of their most recent single Ritual. It must not be left unsaid that Tic-Toc Tokyo are totally advanced in both concept and sound. Their first number, the rousing stop-start gem Colour of Place I remember simply being overwhelmed by the brutal and unrelenting attack on the toms. Such a percussive style is a recurring theme throughout Tic-Toc Tokyo’s music.

Similarly, crowd favourite Ladies in Vogue had singers Julian and Nic at the height of their vocal and drumming jousting which was nothing short of a delight to bare witness to. Together with ‘The River’ TTT have found their distinctive sound that harks back to the days of The Birthday Party, early Hunters & Collectors, and a bit of modern day Tool and Interpol for good measure. They are certainly exploring some new territory with their heavily percussive sonic assault. With a few more pop-inclined gems like Ritual and ‘Ladies In Vogue’, Tic-Toc Tokyo are in a position now to have their music reach an increasingly larger audience.

Tic Toc Tokyo are definitely an act that could never be labeled un-original. They do not lend themselves to an easy comparison. Throughout the night, thoughts of likeness in sound concept and presentation whittled through my mind, yielding nothing substantial enough serve as a genuinely helpful guide as to who these guys really are.

As I alluded to earlier, Tic-Toc Tokyo are just as compelling visually as they are aurally. Their emphasis on intricate tribal rhythms speaks volumes of their disciplined perspective on live performance. Conceptually, their live show is not difficult. It’s actually quite basic. But it’s this basic approach that they master, and many others failed. Even from the beginning you could tell these guys knew what they were doing. As drummer and vocalist Nic was setting up I was amazed at the architecture-like details he was applying to the stage setup. Carefully making sure that every last detail was taken care of. I must say it was great to see a band take such interest in their on-stage presentation. Rather than become lost in the craziness and hysteria of the occasion, Nic was up their running through a checklist of carefully thought out stage requirements.

Such is their dynamism and originality that it’s only a matter of time before Tic-Toc Tokyo endear themselves to a more contemporary audience with that same ferocity that we have become accustom to.

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