White Rabbits
with Kid Sam
» The Falls Festival 2009 - Marion Bay, Tas - December 31, 2009
» Grouplove - January 4, 2012
» The Dum Dum Girls - January 3, 2012
Here for their first ever Australian tour, White Rabbits sure as hell know how to put on a good show. Appearing at the Falls Festivals in Lorne and Marion Bay, WR have come off the back from some great festival sets, with reports of the Lorne spot being one of the event’s highlights. One of the hottest young Melbourne duos of 2009, Kid Sam aren’t shy of impressing either, so were a top choice to support the New Yorkers at the Corner Hotel sideshow on Wednesday night.
Kid Sam have been no stranger to the stage as of late and, as they performed songs off their 2009 self titled debut, it showed. It helps that Kid Sam is one of 2009’s finest albums, but there is something about tracks like We’re Mostly Made of Water that continually impress in the live setting.
Singer, Kieran Ryan’s voice is certainly a draw card to the music itself, but on stage he’s able to finely engage and warm to the crowd through movement as well. Percussionist, Kishore Ryan, is pretty interesting himself, manipulating pots and pans as well as the standard kit for some cool effects. The set concluded with Down to the Cemetery, which could well rival the aforementioned favourite as Kid Sam’s signature track – a treat indeed.
White Rabbits are a band that likes to impress – quickly. Under the ruse of subtlety (via a low bass-led drone), the six band members crept to life during opening track, Foxhunting. Layered switching of vocals between lead singers, increasing movement of guitarists and the eventual combustion of percussionists meant that by the end of this first track, the White Rabbits had seriously arrived. And the crowd appreciated it.
Under strings of glowing light bulbs, pianist Stephen Patterson led the White Rabbits into one hell of a good set, with While We Go Dancing next up to the plate, and a very dance-friendly number it was. While Patterson lurched over his piano, percussionists Jamie Levinson and Matt Clark created a massive stir at the rear of the stage, moving like men possessed. At no point was there not an energy-crazed band member on stage to engage the eyes.
As for engaging the ears, the songs were a healthy mix of both White Rabbits albums, with Dinner Party, Right Where They Left You, Kid on My Shoulders, The Plot and Percussion Gun all contributing to the oomph side of things, and with slower tracks like Company I Keep and Midnight and I taming things down a notch. Of the whole lot, Rudie Fails and set closer, The Salesman were the easy standouts, with the entire band ensuring the crowd left with nothing less than impressed expressions on their face.
The set’s only downfall was its length. For a first-time visit from a band with two albums and other releases, some fans might well have expected more than the hour they were dished up. Still, this fact can hardly fault a band as surprising tight and entertaining as White Rabbits. Certainly one to keep an eye on for future tours.
