Kram

It has been many, many years since I last saw Kram play – fifteen-years, maybe. It was a Spiderbait gig at Forth football ground with Bodyjar in support and for a kid growing up on the coast it was a rare treat. For the bands, maybe not so much, playing in miserable weather on a stage fashioned from the back half of a semi-trailer. I remember at one point a football made its way into Kram’s hands and he lined up a set-shot from a pretty tight angle, the stage ‘parked’ in the right forward pocket. I don’t remember whether he kicked a goal that day. And so, forward a decade-and-a-half to Saturday night’s gig at The Brisbane Hotel.

No Spiderbait this time. A much smaller stage, centimetres from the paying public and it was time for Kram solo, along with the various members of his touring band, of course. The gig didn’t start ‘til gone midnight, but local support from New Saxons and Sole Stickers meant there was a good vibe in the room for the big act to commence. Looking every bit the man in the gig poster (hair, beard and sunnies), Kram eventually took the stage alone, apologising for his late-arrival in Hobart following the funeral of Magic Dirt’s Dean Turner during the day.

With a modest crowd in (I thought it might have been busier, tbh), Kram started by urging everyone to get involved as he sang and played harmonica along to a backing track from his Ipod. Not the scene I expected, but a ripping start nonetheless and fitting on his Mixtape tour. The man soon worked his way to his spiritual home behind the drum kit and accompanied only by two throaty guitars (one played by a dead-set Noel Gallagher look-a-like) ripped into the set and inspired crazy dancing all around.

Early in the piece, two young ladies helped themselves to the stage and far from being chastised were made feel very welcome… Kram-sandwich, anyone?!?! As well as using the ceiling and monitors at the front of stage during one drum solo, there was a real sense of a game of ‘musical’ instruments as the band chopped and changed during the set. Whenever Kram took to the keys, or slung on the acoustic, a reserve drummer came on and off stage and guitars were swapped around.

But despite the changes, the set was slick, the musicians diverse and the crowd getting a real treat. Following the harmonica/Ipod number at the top of the night, perhaps the solo acoustic version of Blitzkreig Pop shouldn’t have seemed that odd. It was downtempo and felt melancholy compared to the rest, but it was a great touch. Fuzzy, percussive tunes like Live a Long Time and Good Love were more the tunes I’d expected with just the slightest touch of that Spiderbait sound that was so big back in the day. A top gig. Huge fun for sure. Kram’s still kicking goals for me!

Share this review on Facebook