Surfer Blood, Jeremy Neale, The Harlots @ The Corner Hotel, Melbourne (24/07/2013)
I got the chance to see Surfer Blood at last minute to see them at the Corner Hotel without any exposure to their music. I quickly discovered that they are an excellent live band so worthy of their place on Splendour on the Grass and have been listening to their music on repeat. I am oh so very glad that I went.
The first support act, the Harlots were interesting. The music was fairly solid and worked really well against Tom Pitt’s Nick Cave-like vocals.
However, I found myself distracted the whole time by the bands stage presence, especially Tom’s awkward dancing. The mannerisms reminded me a little of Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean and somehow he managed to dance out of time to his own music.
If I was in Surfer Blood, I would be so grateful to have Jeremy Neale warming up before I went on. Even with a member short, Jeremy Neale and his band (I think they were called the party girls that night, but they have been known to have many names) played a number of songs with that classic 60’s/70’s pop rock sound that got the crowd in a giggly excited mood.
Between songs Jeremy was really quite funny and charming. They finished with In Stranger Times, which has been featured heavily on triple J of late.
After a short intermission, the curtains at the corner opened and Surfer Blood came out and went straight into Floating Vibes.
I have been to the corner numerous times and Surfer Blood are the first band to utilise those big red curtains. Most bands open the curtains then walk on afterwards, whereas Surfer Blood were all ready to play when they opened.
At first, the band looked a bit awkward on stage but they definitely warmed up as the show went on. JP Pitts’ vocals were phenomenal the whole night and the show really became intimate when he walked in the crowd during Take It Easy.
They aren’t an overly energetic live piece, but their musical talent really shines through in a live setting. They finished their main set with Swim before rounding off the night with Anchorage for an encore.
Ryan Hyde
The first support act, the Harlots were interesting. The music was fairly solid and worked really well against Tom Pitt’s Nick Cave-like vocals.
However, I found myself distracted the whole time by the bands stage presence, especially Tom’s awkward dancing. The mannerisms reminded me a little of Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean and somehow he managed to dance out of time to his own music.
If I was in Surfer Blood, I would be so grateful to have Jeremy Neale warming up before I went on. Even with a member short, Jeremy Neale and his band (I think they were called the party girls that night, but they have been known to have many names) played a number of songs with that classic 60’s/70’s pop rock sound that got the crowd in a giggly excited mood.
Between songs Jeremy was really quite funny and charming. They finished with In Stranger Times, which has been featured heavily on triple J of late.
After a short intermission, the curtains at the corner opened and Surfer Blood came out and went straight into Floating Vibes.
I have been to the corner numerous times and Surfer Blood are the first band to utilise those big red curtains. Most bands open the curtains then walk on afterwards, whereas Surfer Blood were all ready to play when they opened.
At first, the band looked a bit awkward on stage but they definitely warmed up as the show went on. JP Pitts’ vocals were phenomenal the whole night and the show really became intimate when he walked in the crowd during Take It Easy.
They aren’t an overly energetic live piece, but their musical talent really shines through in a live setting. They finished their main set with Swim before rounding off the night with Anchorage for an encore.
Ryan Hyde