Yves Klein Blue
w/ The Holidays, The Polites
» Hawksley Workman (Canada) - venue, Sat, January 10
» Harmonia (Germany) - venue, Mon, January 12
» Harmonia - venue, Mon, January 12
» The Lifted Brow - Magazine Launch - venue, Fri, January 16
» Small Tough (The Artisans) - venue, Sat, January 17
» Blue Shaddy with Lloyd Spiegel - venue, Thu, January 22
» The Mad Feeling (Album Launch) - venue, Fri, January 23
» The Ocularis Infernum - venue, Sat, January 24
» Akaname (NZ) - venue, Sun, January 25
» Yves Klein Blue & The Holidays announce national tour - August 20, 2008
» The Holidays + Yves Klein Blue - Annandale Hotel, The, NSW - October 24, 2008
» Pauhaus Festival - Brisbane Powerhouse, QLD - June 9, 2007
» Yves Klein Blue - October 31, 2008
» Tic Toc Tokyo - October 24, 2008
It’s a lonely affair attending a gig by oneself. While I wait for The Holidays to begin their set, a mixture of boredom and fatigue begins to set in. 20 minutes pass and the lights dim, everyone is ready to dance and on comes...Dire Straits' Money for Nothing. After some confusion, the stage lights shine on and the band enter in full Halloween costume gear. I had reviewed The Holidays EP so I was familiar with some of their stuff, and after some initial trepidation regarding the quality of their EP I was happy to discover they play one kick ass show.
Lead singer Simon Jones encountered some trouble after his Mummy costume began falling apart, leaving him blind and with a mouth full of toilet paper. They managed to pull the whole crowd to the front and played a tight set. I don’t know if it was the alcohol, but people seemed excited to see them and they certainly pulled me out of my dazed state.
Half an hour later and a few beers on for many, Yves Klein Blue lead singer Michael appears on stage sweetly singing away before the rest of the crew join him. I’d seen these guys support Tokyo Police Club in July and I was relieved to see they haven’t lost any of the enthusiasm I saw then; in fact it may have increased. Michael’s face is so much fun to watch; he’s constantly animated while the rest of the band take to attacking the entire stage.
As the show went on I became increasingly aware of how annoying inebriated people can be. Possibly one of the worst crowds I’ve been in, the guys up the front managed to push everyone else back while creating their own little bogan circle. Crowd annoyance aside, YKB has created a great show and with songs as good as theirs, it was kind of obvious that they wouldn’t leave anyone disappointed.
As it was the final show of the Immaculate Confection tour, all the bands (including The Polites who supported, but I'd missed) performed With a Little Help from My Friends in euphoric collaboration. The Holidays are definitely ones to watch as they already have a really well-developed sound and Yves Klein Blue have done some extensive touring so they handle themselves on stage pretty well. If these guys are anything to go by, Aussie music is heading a down a beautifully melodic road.
