PVT
with Seekae and Ghoul
» Pivot Drop Vowels - Announce New Album - June 11, 2010
» PVT - Corner Hotel, The, Vic - August 12, 2010
» PVT - Rosemount Hotel, The, WA - August 6, 2010
» PVT - Zoo, The, QLD - August 19, 2010
» PVT - Corner Hotel, The, Vic - August 16, 2010
On the night of the 2010 federal election – after a hard day of voting – a group of democracy-lovers gathered at Sydney’s Manning Bar to celebrate freedom with a night of some of the nation’s finest music.
After Ghoul kick started the evening, fellow locals Seekae ramp things up with a fantastic set of low-key electronica. It’s all really well received by the crowd – particularly their brilliant new single, ‘Blood Bank’.
The stage then fills with smoke… perhaps too much smoke… and stepping from the mist are the 3 members of PVT – launching immediately into the stuttering beats and stepping bassline of ‘Timeless’ off their new album, Church With No Magic. The track features the vocals of Richard Pike – one of the more recent developments in the sound of PVT and a big feature of the new album. Live, as on the record, those vocals are strong, rich and warm. Right from the start – despite some early sound difficulties… which are quickly ironed out - they’re locked in musically. Everything is tight and by the crashing end of ‘Timeless’ we’re all hooked and ready for much more.
The title track from that new album follows – as the stage smoke continues to gather - with a similar punch to the opening moments and leads directly into ‘Didn’t I Furious’ – the night’s first instrumental track from the band’s second album - O Soundtrack My Heart. By the time the track draws to an end the smoke levels on stage are becoming ridiculous. It takes a comment from Laurence Pike (from behind the kit) to prevent the band being completely lost in the smoke for the remainder of the set.
For the rest of the night the trio gets down to business - there’s little between-song banter (apart from some shameless pandering to the band’s hometown crowd). The set is built around tracks from Church With No Magic with a good measure of instrumental numbers – mostly from O Soundtrack My Heart.
Each member takes on multiple instruments and gives a workman like performance – albeit a workman who clearly loves their job. Laurence Pike’s drumming is an epitome of pure precision and he takes the occasional break from the kit to helm the synths and drum machine. His brother Richard bounces between keys, samples, guitars and bass – all the while pumping out those pitch perfect vocals. Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the stage, Dave Miller moves between his laptop, keys and synths while adding additional percussion.
‘Light Up Bright Fires’, ‘Sweet Memory’ and ‘Window’ - the lead single from Church with No Magic, which closes out the main set in anthemic style - stand out as the set’s highlights.
Of course, the band soon returns for a three-song encore. The highlight of which is (easily) the epic instrumental of ‘O Soundtrack My Heart’. It crashes and pounds and scratches and is completely exhilarating. We’re all left stunned as it draws to a close. It’s so good that the song that follows to close out the evening – ‘Only The Wind Can Hear You’… the sombre closing moment from Church With No Magic – feels like a letdown. It’s not that it’s bad by any standard… it just doesn’t match the exhilaration of ‘O Soundtrack…’.
It’s a mildly disappointing end to a brilliant set. Nevertheless it’s hard to believe that any of the voters left the Manning Bar disappointed on that election night.
