Charlie Mayfair, Bang Bang Boss Kelly @ The Zoo, Brisbane (26/08/2011)
A personal bugbear of mine is when Australian singers affect an American or British accent; there's just something so inauthentic about it. Unfortunately this was the case with Charlie Mayfair's support act Bang Bang Boss Kelly. At first they sounded promising, with lead vox Alex Henriksson delivering a rasping, guttural opening track dripping with gravelly blues. Their drummer was tight and they definitely looked the part, but despite being Brisbane locals Henriksson sounded identical to Caleb from Kings of Leon and it wore thin after a few songs.
Headlining a show at the Zoo on a Friday night is a pretty exciting prospect for up-and-coming local bands in Brisbane. For Charlie Mayfair tonight you could tell that at least 70% of the crowd were either part of the bands extended family or friends from school. Which school I can only guess, however I'm sure The Zoo hasn’t housed so much Ralph Lauren and snakes skin in all its years.
The band were all nerves and red faces when Charlie Mayfair took to the stage and it took and few tracks before they were properly warmed up. This gig is the first of a single launch tour for their new song ‘Tell Her’, which is available for free here. Playing tracks off their EP Watch My Hands, the crowd were receptive, especially to 'If I Fell Down' and title track 'Watch My Hands'.
Towards the end of the set the band hushed the crowd, descended the stage and played an unplugged track down amongst the audience. This little experiment paid off well and the crowd seemed thrilled to be a part of it.
Back on stage they launched into a cover of Architecture in Helsinki's ‘Heart it Races’ which had the snakes skin shuffling. Charlie Mayfair now brought the crowd down a few levels, dedicating their new single 'Tell Her' to vocalist and keyboardist Hannah Shepherd's mother. Judging from the emotional rendition and the lyrics, it was certainly a song that the band feels strongly about and it was beautifully performed.
After a brief foray off stage to gather some more drums, the band returned with their popular closing number 'Blue Water'. The pounding, tribal percussion in this track was a fitting finale for the show and I'm sure it will make it on to their LP when it's finally recorded – I honestly can't wait!
Kirsty Visman
Headlining a show at the Zoo on a Friday night is a pretty exciting prospect for up-and-coming local bands in Brisbane. For Charlie Mayfair tonight you could tell that at least 70% of the crowd were either part of the bands extended family or friends from school. Which school I can only guess, however I'm sure The Zoo hasn’t housed so much Ralph Lauren and snakes skin in all its years.
The band were all nerves and red faces when Charlie Mayfair took to the stage and it took and few tracks before they were properly warmed up. This gig is the first of a single launch tour for their new song ‘Tell Her’, which is available for free here. Playing tracks off their EP Watch My Hands, the crowd were receptive, especially to 'If I Fell Down' and title track 'Watch My Hands'.
Towards the end of the set the band hushed the crowd, descended the stage and played an unplugged track down amongst the audience. This little experiment paid off well and the crowd seemed thrilled to be a part of it.
Back on stage they launched into a cover of Architecture in Helsinki's ‘Heart it Races’ which had the snakes skin shuffling. Charlie Mayfair now brought the crowd down a few levels, dedicating their new single 'Tell Her' to vocalist and keyboardist Hannah Shepherd's mother. Judging from the emotional rendition and the lyrics, it was certainly a song that the band feels strongly about and it was beautifully performed.
After a brief foray off stage to gather some more drums, the band returned with their popular closing number 'Blue Water'. The pounding, tribal percussion in this track was a fitting finale for the show and I'm sure it will make it on to their LP when it's finally recorded – I honestly can't wait!
Kirsty Visman