Dallas Frasca @ The Square, Sydney (24/03/2012)
The Square is a brand new live music room in Sydney. Although it’s a little bit of a misnomer in that it’s more a rectangular shape and reminds me a lot of the Excelsior in Surry Hills with its low ceiling and small PA. There’s a lot of potential for this to be a much better room, but it is a good starting point considering the loss of several small live music venues in Sydney over the last few years.
The opener Dan Davey had travelled down from the Blue Mountains to regale the small audience with his tunes from his outfit Sister Jane. He brought forth an interesting take on blues rock ‘n’ roll by inserting a folkish singer-songwriter feel, a little bit of a Neil Young vibe perhaps. It was definitely a lot more subdued than the other acts on the bill but this provided a nice ease into the more brutish material of the other artists.
There have been quite a few whispers about Medicated Youth, a band that seems to be on the rise through the Sydney ranks. They’re a very diverse act, they began their set with a very Foster The People dark mod-rock almost shoegaze sound . This was particularly evident in the track “Kiss Kiss” with its droney guitars and repetitive drumbeat. They then progressed into a more insistent blend of swamp blues rock like the track “You Get Me By”. They have material that spans the paces from slow to fast but there just didn’t seem to be a consistency in the character of their sound. It was more a case of them being a little too colourful and not sticking to a particular feel or overall sound that could accurately convey their artistic direction.
Dallas Frasca has been around the traps for a while and is a force to be reckoned with onstage. Brutal and intense she stalks the stage back and forth and her alarmingly bright red hair will not allow you much opportunity to look away. There’s a lot of noise being emanated by her guitarist Jeff Curran and drummer Pete McDonald and for a three-piece they are proud of being loud. We’re treated to earlier tracks like “Strong Man” and “Rid Of That Shame” and “I Like You Better When You’re Straight” that all showcase the powerhouse vocals of Frasca. Her voice is gritty and guttural but simultaneously soulful and alluring. Curran’s guitar is like a wild snake, weaving and ducking in and out of twangy reverberated sounds and ear-piercing wails. The leading track “All My Love” from the soon-to-be-released album ‘Sound Painter’ is another example of Frasca’s ability to use her coarse vocals over the top of a dirty blues rock sound to somehow end up with a toe-tapping ditty that throws the audience into a mini-hoedown. Honestly though, the energy alone is enough to make you want to get up and move, it’d be very hard to not enjoy yourself at a Dallas Frasca gig.
Carina Nilma
The opener Dan Davey had travelled down from the Blue Mountains to regale the small audience with his tunes from his outfit Sister Jane. He brought forth an interesting take on blues rock ‘n’ roll by inserting a folkish singer-songwriter feel, a little bit of a Neil Young vibe perhaps. It was definitely a lot more subdued than the other acts on the bill but this provided a nice ease into the more brutish material of the other artists.
There have been quite a few whispers about Medicated Youth, a band that seems to be on the rise through the Sydney ranks. They’re a very diverse act, they began their set with a very Foster The People dark mod-rock almost shoegaze sound . This was particularly evident in the track “Kiss Kiss” with its droney guitars and repetitive drumbeat. They then progressed into a more insistent blend of swamp blues rock like the track “You Get Me By”. They have material that spans the paces from slow to fast but there just didn’t seem to be a consistency in the character of their sound. It was more a case of them being a little too colourful and not sticking to a particular feel or overall sound that could accurately convey their artistic direction.
Dallas Frasca has been around the traps for a while and is a force to be reckoned with onstage. Brutal and intense she stalks the stage back and forth and her alarmingly bright red hair will not allow you much opportunity to look away. There’s a lot of noise being emanated by her guitarist Jeff Curran and drummer Pete McDonald and for a three-piece they are proud of being loud. We’re treated to earlier tracks like “Strong Man” and “Rid Of That Shame” and “I Like You Better When You’re Straight” that all showcase the powerhouse vocals of Frasca. Her voice is gritty and guttural but simultaneously soulful and alluring. Curran’s guitar is like a wild snake, weaving and ducking in and out of twangy reverberated sounds and ear-piercing wails. The leading track “All My Love” from the soon-to-be-released album ‘Sound Painter’ is another example of Frasca’s ability to use her coarse vocals over the top of a dirty blues rock sound to somehow end up with a toe-tapping ditty that throws the audience into a mini-hoedown. Honestly though, the energy alone is enough to make you want to get up and move, it’d be very hard to not enjoy yourself at a Dallas Frasca gig.
Carina Nilma