Defining ‘live music’ is becoming increasingly difficult
with the wider range of music styles now popular amongst the masses, the most
notable being electronic music. I always find the best indication as to what
kind of music everybody will be raving about during the year to be the line-up
for Laneway Festival. Last year’s line-up was certainly a nod in the direction
of electronic music and this year is no different with New Zealander Lorde
headlining. This is where popular music is going, but I’m not sure it is where
live music should go.
I went down to Black Bear Lodge on Thursday, November 7 to
check out some live electronic music acts, but upon first walking into Black
Bear it wasn’t even evident anybody was playing. The place was scattered with a
few early comers, but mostly empty. I wandered to the back of the bar to find a
seat and surely enough there was somebody on stage, but nobody watching. The
only person looking at the stage, apart from myself, was a lone girl standing
in the centre of the room, staring lovingly up at Thomas Brydon, the solo
artist behind the first act of the night, Motion Picture Actress (I presume she
was a friend).
The sound of Motion Picture Actress differs from more
commercially viable acts like The Kite String Tangle, in that there are no
vocals and the songs dreamily blend in and out of each other; not exactly
radio-friendly. This doesn’t mean it is any better. In fact, I would have to
say this kind of music should probably be reserved for a chill-out at home,
with headphones on so that one can hear the complexities of what Brydon is
actually doing on stage, which are mostly lost in the live arena. The only
person who seems to be having fun is Brydon himself as he bobs his head up and
down with the music, whilst everybody else stands in clumps and clusters and chats
animatedly to their friends, all the while completely ignoring Brydon.
Nothing much changes when Elroy 4.0 takes the stage, except
more groups of people have arrived, still completely ignoring the live set.
Elroy 4.0’s style is similar to Motion Picture Actress, a combination of
hip-hop influenced beats and chilled out songs that recall a lazy summer day.
However, that seems to be the more appropriate setting for this kind of music,
which is why the audience are not that fussed about paying any attention. The
only point in the night at which things liven up is when the man behind The
Kite String Tangle takes the stage: Danny Harley. By this point the entire room
has filled out, with punters squeezed into every corner, corners and chasms I
didn’t think existed in Black Bear Lodge. Harley starts his set with a mellow song
accented by light keyboard and strings. People immediately go crazy and
although it is a nice song I don’t think it is the kind of song people really
need to scream and cheer at.
After his first song Harley greets the audience, joking, “You
can tell this is a headline show because I have my own table with my own wine.”
Apart from the more engaging songs, Harley’s cheeky chit-chat with the audience
is what sets him apart from his predecessors and is precisely why he has the
big crowd: he connects with his audience. His self-deprecating chatter
in-between songs feels genuine and helps everybody relax after the rather rigid
sets from Motion Picture Actress and Elroy 4.0. This is the first show of the
tour so it’s no surprise that Harley is particularly nervous and using humour
to get through the night, but it’s an approach that works, and one I hope
doesn’t disappear or become faked when the fame that he is surely on the cusp
of is fully realised.
It is also important to recognize that The Kite String
Tangle is hardly in the same category of electronica as the previous artists.
Although the music may fall under the same broad label of ‘experimental
electronic’, there is really little experimental or ground-breaking about The
Kite String Tangle’s songs. They are pop songs in structure and style that
happen to have electronic influences fused throughout them, but they are not
experimental. But this is not to say they are bad, in fact, I enjoyed Harley’s
songs far more than the other acts, but this is probably because they are more
accessible and his performance was more engaging. But I don’t believe it should
be labelled as something it really isn’t.
Danny Harley’s Kite String Tangle show becomes one of sing-alongs,
laughter and dancing: everything a live set should be, even though his predecessors
had demonstrated that perhaps electronic music was best left at home. Highlights
include a song called, ‘Commotion’, complimented by heavy, dramatic
synthesisers, a cover of Lorde’s ‘Tennis Court’, and of course, the title
single ‘Given The Chance’, which perfectly closes the show. With his exciting,
energetic performance Danny Harley proves me wrong about electronic music
played live; any kind of music can be made fun and engaging when performed live
if there is a performance, an element
that was unfortunately absent with the other two artists who simply stood on
stage and expected their audience to do all the work.
Published by AAA Backstage.
Published by AAA Backstage.
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