Django Django, Palms @ The Hi-Fi Bar, Melbourne (12/01/2013)
After playing at Falls Festival, Django Django finished a trio of sideshows with a gig at the Hi-Fi Bar in Melbourne.
Support act for the night was Palms, led by Alexander Grigg of Red Riders fame. The Sydney act impressed me, mixing mellow rock with heavier tracks.
By far the highlight of Palms was Summer Is Done With Us, a song that has been doing the rounds on Triple J. It was performed very well live, displaying what Palms are capable of and drew the biggest applause from the crowd. The band ended with Love, introduced as “a song about love”, portraying the band’s simplicity on stage.
The crowd was growing with anticipation for the main event. Django Django’s music is hard to describe, with a mixture of rock, indie pop and electronic culminating to produce a unique sound. However you wish to categorise them, they play incredibly catchy tunes that you can bop to. The quartet of Django Django was welcomed onto the stage after the interval, with each member wearing close to matching shirts.
They opened with as extended version of the Introduction track from their debut album, mixed in perfectly with Hail Bop and followed up with Storm, one of their most popular songs. From the beginning, Tommy Grace on synth and percussion controlled where the band went with the performance. This electronic side of the act complimented the guitar, bass and drum work of the other members of the band to deliver the complete package. “This is our last show of the tour so we’re gonna get drunk,” lead vocalist and guitarist Vinnie Neff said. “This is a song about getting drunk, Firewater.”
Grace provided the intro to Waveforms, getting the crowd jumping. It was a song dominated by electronics and was definitely the party tune of the gig, with all band members except drummer Dave Maclean helping out with synths towards the end.
Neff asked for audience participation during Hand of Man and the crowd responded, clapping along to the chill song. Django Django’s quirkiness started to show, with the drummer hitting a cardboard box and tambourine. Love’s Dart had Neff clapping together coconuts at the start whilst Grace continued to set the tone on synths. Skies Over Cairo was an instrumental piece that sounded like it should be played in Egypt or somewhere exotic. It showed the band’s great musical talents.
Django Django’s hit Default was performed a little different live but nonetheless was still highly impressive. It displayed the versatility of the group in full party mode and the catchy tune got the crowd moving. Neff introduced the members of the band to loud applause, before continuing the crowd favourite. Bassist Jimmy Dixon featured more heavily on vocals during Life’s a Beach and as the name suggests, it is the perfect summer track. Dixon was a handy sidekick to lead vocalist Neff throughout the performance.
Django Django thanked Palms for their support throughout the tour and played Wor for the crowd. The group walked off stage but loud cheers soon brought the lads back on to play an encore. They finished with Silver Rays, which was a very electronic sounding and catchy tune. The band said they will hopefully be back in Australia in 2014, and after this performance I look forward to the announcement of tour dates. I had heard that Django Django were exceptional at Falls and the packed house at the Hi-Fi was not left disappointed. They have definitely gained another fan in me.
Mitchell Guy
Follow me on Twitter - @Mitchell_Guy1
Check out our photos from the gig here!
Search tags - Django Django, Falls Festival, Palms, Alexander Grigg, Red Riders, The Hi-Fi Bar
Support act for the night was Palms, led by Alexander Grigg of Red Riders fame. The Sydney act impressed me, mixing mellow rock with heavier tracks.
By far the highlight of Palms was Summer Is Done With Us, a song that has been doing the rounds on Triple J. It was performed very well live, displaying what Palms are capable of and drew the biggest applause from the crowd. The band ended with Love, introduced as “a song about love”, portraying the band’s simplicity on stage.
The crowd was growing with anticipation for the main event. Django Django’s music is hard to describe, with a mixture of rock, indie pop and electronic culminating to produce a unique sound. However you wish to categorise them, they play incredibly catchy tunes that you can bop to. The quartet of Django Django was welcomed onto the stage after the interval, with each member wearing close to matching shirts.
They opened with as extended version of the Introduction track from their debut album, mixed in perfectly with Hail Bop and followed up with Storm, one of their most popular songs. From the beginning, Tommy Grace on synth and percussion controlled where the band went with the performance. This electronic side of the act complimented the guitar, bass and drum work of the other members of the band to deliver the complete package. “This is our last show of the tour so we’re gonna get drunk,” lead vocalist and guitarist Vinnie Neff said. “This is a song about getting drunk, Firewater.”
Grace provided the intro to Waveforms, getting the crowd jumping. It was a song dominated by electronics and was definitely the party tune of the gig, with all band members except drummer Dave Maclean helping out with synths towards the end.
Neff asked for audience participation during Hand of Man and the crowd responded, clapping along to the chill song. Django Django’s quirkiness started to show, with the drummer hitting a cardboard box and tambourine. Love’s Dart had Neff clapping together coconuts at the start whilst Grace continued to set the tone on synths. Skies Over Cairo was an instrumental piece that sounded like it should be played in Egypt or somewhere exotic. It showed the band’s great musical talents.
Django Django’s hit Default was performed a little different live but nonetheless was still highly impressive. It displayed the versatility of the group in full party mode and the catchy tune got the crowd moving. Neff introduced the members of the band to loud applause, before continuing the crowd favourite. Bassist Jimmy Dixon featured more heavily on vocals during Life’s a Beach and as the name suggests, it is the perfect summer track. Dixon was a handy sidekick to lead vocalist Neff throughout the performance.
Django Django thanked Palms for their support throughout the tour and played Wor for the crowd. The group walked off stage but loud cheers soon brought the lads back on to play an encore. They finished with Silver Rays, which was a very electronic sounding and catchy tune. The band said they will hopefully be back in Australia in 2014, and after this performance I look forward to the announcement of tour dates. I had heard that Django Django were exceptional at Falls and the packed house at the Hi-Fi was not left disappointed. They have definitely gained another fan in me.
Mitchell Guy
Follow me on Twitter - @Mitchell_Guy1
Check out our photos from the gig here!
Search tags - Django Django, Falls Festival, Palms, Alexander Grigg, Red Riders, The Hi-Fi Bar