Gig review and photos by Music Vice writer Steve Pass

Gig/Concert: Them Crooked Vultures with the Novocaines
Venue: Challenge Stadium, Perth, Western Australia
Date: 19 January 2010
Headliners: Them Crooked Vultures
In one word: Jaw-dropping

In their first ever show this side of the equator, rock’s latest super-group hit Challenge Stadium so hard it’s a beating the venue won’t soon forget.

Opening the night were Northam’s own The Novocaines, in the latest of a series of high-profile supports for the garage rockers [last seen on Music Vice here when they supported Kram]. Opening strong with their most well known track, “Lately”, the young quartet stormed through an energetic set which managed to keep the attention of most in attendance. Support acts at shows as big as this usually have a tough time winning over impatient crowds, but the Novocaines fared better than most with their Hives-meets-Rolling Stones vibe, and can be caught playing the Essentials Stage at Perth’s upcoming Big Day Out next weekend for those who arrived late.

A sudden dimming of the house lights followed by a deafening roar signaled the arrival of Them Crooked Vultures, who made their way onstage in an unexpectedly unassuming manner, allowing little fanfare before launching straight into “No One Loves Me (and Neither Do I)” highlighting John Paul Jones’ slide guitar skills, followed immediately by “Gunman” with its amazing riffs and tempo changes showing just how amazing Dave Grohl is back behind the kit. Not missing a beat all night, this was truly the highlight for those who never had the chance to see him play with Nirvana. “Scumbag Blues” and its funk-bass solo turned the spotlight back on Jones, though the sparing employment of the double-kick bass drum kept the crowd from forgetting who was sitting at the back of the stage.

"Grohl's drumming stole the show completely"

It is worth mentioning at this point that as talented as he is, it was clear from the outset that vocalist/guitarist Josh Homme was going to be overshadowed by his bandmates for the night’s set, partly because Them Crooked Vultures is less of a departure from his signature style, but mainly due to his good tastes in rhythm sections. This was again evident in “Elephants” where Grohl’s drumming stole the show completely.

Homme did get his time to shine shortly thereafter though, with current single “New Fang” showing his vocal range and ear for melody (which sadly, for much of the night’s set was absent, with Homme preferring to lend his moaning, humming, fuzzed out side to most songs). His guitar chops were soon brought to the fore with the effects-laden “Gunman” leading to back’n’forth solos between Homme and touring guitarist Alain Johannes. The chemistry between these two was obvious, given their history of playing together in Queens of the Stone Age, and Johannes was a perfect addition to round out the band’s sound in a live setting.

After staying in the pocket for most of the night, Johannes was given the spotlight for an extended blues guitar solo while Homme and Jones departed the stage for a brief reprieve (Homme choosing to spend this time smoking a cigarette atop the barricade, encouraging the crowd with every gesture). This was a perfect way to give Johannes some credit without detracting from the big names with whom he was playing, and it almost makes one regret this band’s “super group” billing, as in reality they were as solid a four-piece as any other, and Johannes was key to their thick, unforgiving sound.

Given the band’s relative lack of material, it was surprising how many of their album tracks felt like hits, and the one-two punch of “Bandoliers” and “Mind Eraser, No Chaser” picked the energy of the show right back up (though again, the former suffered from a touch of Homme’s under-enthusiastic vocals). From here though, the show was all about the living legend that is John Paul Jones.

Moving from bass to piano for “Caligulove”, the show seemed to transform into more of a battle of wits between him and Grohl, each attempting to out-do the other within the confines of the song and with everyone else benefitting from this breathtaking feat of one-upmanship.

“Hey everyone, our drummer is Dave Grohl. Dave Grohl’s our fucking drummer!” were the excited words of Homme before dedicating the next song, “Interlude With Ludes” to their hirsute skinsman. With that, Homme proceeded to set down his guitar to allow for some ‘sexy’ dancing, and was accompanied by Jones on key-tar for this psychedelic ballad.

“Spinning in Daffodils” followed. Switching back to bass, then moving to the keys mid-song, this was another Jones-centric track, which ended with an extended piano solo that nearly brought tears to the eyes of Homme and Grohl, let alone the punters. Words just cannot describe the talent that is contained within that aged, road-worn demigod.

“Reptiles” followed, and sadly seemed a little lacking, with everyone still struggling to lift their jaws from the floor after what they’d just witnessed. “Warsaw or the First Breath You Take After You Give Up”, with its cheeky intro, signalled the night’s final song. This time showing off his skills as a vocalist, JPJ again attempted to steal the show, but the gradual tempo change to double time by Grohl and Homme and Johannes’ ever-building guitar solos ensured an equal distribution of awe and amazement. As all good stadium performances should, the song swelled to crescendo with an amazing light show (including LED fret markings on Jones’ six-string bass) and concluded with a superbly powerful double stop finish. Bang bang, that’s it. Bow. Exit stage right.

© Steve Pass

Photos – Them Crooked Vultures at Challenge Stadium

Related links:
The Novocaines – www.myspace.com/novocaines
Them Crooked Vultures – www.themcrookedvultures.com

Festival review and photos by Music Vice editor Brian Banks

Gig/Concert: Virgin Festival Toronto 2008 by Virgin Mobile
Venue: Toronto Island Park, Toronto, ON, Canada
Date: 8 September 2008
Headliners: Foo Fighters, Bloc Party, Against Me!
In one word: Intoxicating

For the second time this summer I was taking a ferry to Toronto Island Park for a music festival. Wakestock, back a few months ago, had been fun, but Virgin Festival was a much bigger occasion. V Fest had a strong British influence this year, especially with Britpop stars Oasis, and uh, Stereophonics, on Sunday’s bill. It felt a bit like the organisers had tried to create a mini version of the Isle Of Wight Festival. Frankly the British invasion of headliners for Sunday looked dated and worn. I was much more excited by Saturday’s line-up…

I arrived on the island in style… well slow and frustrating style… as I jumped aboard the little VIP/media ferry. A journey that should have taken 7 minutes, from Toronto’s quayside to the island, actually took over 40 minutes.  Perhaps the captain was relishing in his annual moment of glory.  I could picture him addressing his crew; “This is what we’ve been training for lads. This is our time to shine”. Captain Birdseye must’ve had one too many bottles of rum, as the ferry went around in circles for what seemed like an eternity before finally docking. I wouldn’t have normally cared, except I was supposed to interview Against Me! at 2.00pm and that time had passed.  Thankfully, when we finally docked, there was a helpful Virgin media rep waiting at the shore with an eight-seater golf buggy.  I hitched a ride over with her to behind the main stage and got my AM! interview.

“It’s a simple but very cunning ploy which captures your imagination, holding it hostage and slapping it around until it gets your attention too.“

I was soon back around the other side of the big stage to see my first band of the weekend – The Airborne Toxic Event. The A.T.E., as I will now refer to them, are a once top-secret US military project hell-bent on infiltrating the minds of the world’s population. Standard rock instruments are taken, combined with the odd violin and keyboard, and blended to create a formula that sparks a chemical reaction in your head.  It’s a simple but very cunning ploy which captures your imagination, holding it hostage and slapping it around until it gets your attention too.

A perfect example of The A.T.E.’s ability to pull off these mind-influencing hi-jinks is with Sometime Around Midnight. Sometime Around Midnight is the most epic track from the band’s self-titled debut album, and it’s also a song that reminds me a lot of U2. Now, I spoke with The A.T.E. about this, and the thing is I am not exactly a fan of Bono, The Edge, and The Other One. And yet somehow I find myself enjoying an instant appreciation and interest for The A.T.E.

I stood there at V Fest and, together with a few thousand other people, heard a lot of this music for the first time. Let’s not forget that this is all new for The A.T.E., who are only beginning to get used to playing to large audiences. The band seemed humbled to even be in this position but they did not falter. Front man Mikel Jollett sings about messed-up relationships with a pleasing openness and vulnerability, while the rest of The A.T.E. build up audio soundscapes around him, providing an upbeat and comforting backing. At their strongest, like with the brilliant Sometime Around Midnight, and also the ascending dance-y Innocence, they deliver music that is worthy of finding its way into the collective consciousnesses of people everywhere. Time will tell if they have the goods to build on such a promising debut.

“Every festival should have a band like Flash Lightnin’.“

I left the main stage and headed to the other side of the island to check out the other stages. Shudder To Think were playing the TD Stage and their quirky rock held my attention for 20 minutes or so before I moved over to the Oh Henry indie stage. Here I sat down on the grass to enjoy Flash Lightnin’, a blues trio from Toronto. The music is nothing new; it’s like watching a live history lesson about the roots of rock and roll, and that’s not a bad thing. The vibe for this band was just really cool and chilled-out.  Every festival should have a band like Flash Lightnin’.

I was back over to the main stage to catch MGMT. Now these boys are making a name for themselves over here, or should I say an acronym, and you’d think that with a reported 18,000 people attending each day at Virgin Festival that there’d be an immensely awesome atmosphere. Well this was not the case; not for this band anyway.  Watching MGMT wasn’t anything to write home about. I retreated back over to the TD stage where to see The Fratellis, where I found more of an atmosphere.

Bands from Glasgow usually know a thing or two about getting their crowd up for it, and watching the Fratellis play was almost like being back home in Scotland. This was not so much because of the band, but the crowd. I wasn’t blown away by what I saw and heard from The Fratellis, which I’d only rate as being a decent set. Nothing sensational.  It was all sounding repetitive by the middle. The crowd, however, were great and seemed to be hanging on every samey note and riff, and gladly made a lot of noise for the band’s biggest tunes like “Chelsea Dagger”. The crowd was clearly largely made up of fans of the band, but at least they reacted like a crowd should. After all, this was meant to be a rock festival, not a corporate VIP-overrun picnic.

Tom Gabel of Against Me! - photo Brian Banks, Music Vice

It was early evening, about 6pm, by the time I made my way back over to the main stage, where I’d now spend the rest of the evening. Against Me! were on stage and they  raised the bar in terms of everything that had happened here so far. This punk rock outfit from Florida played a mix of older and newer material, and it was all good. I really wonder how many of the critics and old fans who abandoned AM! after they signed for a major label have actually seen them live – probably not many. AM! played with aggression and fervour, with everything sounding tight. They managed to raise a few pulses amongst a largely conservative and lethargic main stage crowd.

“ And now for the second time I’ve seen Bloc Party live, I still don’t see it, or hear it. They’re a decent band but not the sensational act that they still get hyped as…“

Dusk was setting in and soon the legend himself, Lord Grohl of Dave, would be taking to the stage with his posse of Foo Fighters. Before that though, the penultimate act of the night… Bloc Party. This seemed like a perfect opportunity to join a half-mile long queue for a slice of pizza. I was hungry and the 5 cans of free Pepsi I had drank in the media tent weren’t doing much. I got my slice of pepperoni and wandered back to the photo pit at the main stage just as Bloc Party were finishing their third song. I was hoping I’d see or hear something that might make me reconsider this band, a band who I consider to be one of the most overrated artists to ever come out of Britain.  I listened to Silent Alarm back in 2005 and never really saw what the fuss was all about. And now for the second time I’ve seen Bloc Party live, I still don’t see it, or hear it. They’re a decent band but not the sensational act that they still get hyped as being from some quarters.

On to the Foo Fighters. Well, as to be expected they were great. One observation I’ve got to make though is that Dave Grohl seems to be becoming more and more like Wayne Campbell from Wayne’s World. Grohl’s gags and antics between songs were funny, but at times it was a little bit too much pantomime. Granted, the drum solo by Taylor Hawkins was nothing but immense, but the triangle solo from the percussionist Drew less so. There was a violin solo, too. Don’t get me wrong, the Foo Fighters still sounded awesome, but all the interruptions with the solo stunts sapped energy from their show. The audience still lapped it up, including a smiling Sir Richard Branson who watched from the stage side.

When I first saw the Foo Fighters back in 2005 it was one of the best live performances I’ve ever seen – Dave Grohl sang through laryngitis and spearheaded a totally immense show which lept from one Foo’s hit to the next. That was legendary. I was just hoping to see another Foo’s tour de force like that.

© Brian Banks

Continue for a review for all the action from Sunday at Virgin Festival ’08