Owl Eyes, Holland, Tracksuit @ Alhambra, Brisbane (29/09/2011)
After cancelling her Brisbane show earlier in the year due to illness, Owl Eyes made good on her commitment to Brissy fans, doing a make up show at Alhambra.
Firstly, Alhambra as a live music venue is immensely disappointing! The layout of the venue, combined with poor sound quality and terrible time management meant that the supports were pretty much just background noise.
Tracksuit out of Perth played a solid set that had a real 90s indie sound with fuzzy guitars and pop hooks. The non-existent crowd interaction led vocalist Steve Hensby to conclude that ‘Brisbane hates rock’n’roll’. Their 40min set wrapped up suddenly when the house music came up before they could play their Unearthed hit Mr Mower.
It was now approaching 10.30 and I was surprised to see another support act come on stage, this was a school night after all! If by the end of Tracksuit’s set, the crowd were finally warming up, they were quickly subdued again by Holland. Time management issues meant that these guys were only on stage for 5 songs, and while the tracks were good, the understated introspective sound didn’t do much to get the crowd enthused.
Finally at 11.15 Owl Eyes, AKA Brooke Addamo, hit the low set stage adorned in feathers and glitter. The crowd suddenly came to life and engulfed the band, no longer distracted by the tinny speakers and distorted microphone.
The set was a bit of a mixed bag with a fair bit of filler sandwiched between the killer. The high points were dazzling though, with 1 + 1, Raiders and the Foster the People cover Pumped Up Kicks, all clear standouts. Playing for just 45mins, it seemed that the whole night contained too much filler. I’m sure the audience would agree that we could have done with just one support act and a much longer headline set, which after all is what we came for.
I look forward to seeing Owl Eyes again, but next time in a much better venue.
Kirsty Visman
Firstly, Alhambra as a live music venue is immensely disappointing! The layout of the venue, combined with poor sound quality and terrible time management meant that the supports were pretty much just background noise.
Tracksuit out of Perth played a solid set that had a real 90s indie sound with fuzzy guitars and pop hooks. The non-existent crowd interaction led vocalist Steve Hensby to conclude that ‘Brisbane hates rock’n’roll’. Their 40min set wrapped up suddenly when the house music came up before they could play their Unearthed hit Mr Mower.
It was now approaching 10.30 and I was surprised to see another support act come on stage, this was a school night after all! If by the end of Tracksuit’s set, the crowd were finally warming up, they were quickly subdued again by Holland. Time management issues meant that these guys were only on stage for 5 songs, and while the tracks were good, the understated introspective sound didn’t do much to get the crowd enthused.
Finally at 11.15 Owl Eyes, AKA Brooke Addamo, hit the low set stage adorned in feathers and glitter. The crowd suddenly came to life and engulfed the band, no longer distracted by the tinny speakers and distorted microphone.
The set was a bit of a mixed bag with a fair bit of filler sandwiched between the killer. The high points were dazzling though, with 1 + 1, Raiders and the Foster the People cover Pumped Up Kicks, all clear standouts. Playing for just 45mins, it seemed that the whole night contained too much filler. I’m sure the audience would agree that we could have done with just one support act and a much longer headline set, which after all is what we came for.
I look forward to seeing Owl Eyes again, but next time in a much better venue.
Kirsty Visman