It has been a while since I've been to the valley for a gig. You can insert the typical excuse of a full time student / misanthrope here. But given that I needed a break from the usual drag of my life, I was compelled to pay a visit to the Troubadour to witness Seja perform tracks from her debut record "We Have the Secrets but Nobody Cares". Along for the ride was a couple of friends including fellow blogger Ling Ling of Passionate Sounds. Due to a late dinner of vietnamese (food, not people) and a few brews at the "new" Rics (my first visit since its revamp, I'm a bit taken aback by the changes), I missed the opportunity to see BigStrongBrute perform the opening act. Apologies.
Dressed something akin to the twins in Kubrick's "The Shining", the twins of Otouto play an interesting set of dreamlike pop music featuring many strange keyboard noises. There is something beautifully eerie about this set: it was hypnotic, it was bjork-ish, it was grand. 'Spot' and 'W.Hillier' were highlights, and the performance was strong enough to convince me to look into purchasing their record. While I got the feeling some of the crowd didn't know exactly what to make of the trio, I believe that this could be a group to keep an eye on in the coming months and years.
Local girl Seja is well known in Brisbane city. Part of the strangely-absent Sekiden and keybasher for institution Regurgitator, she's put out a pretty interesting debut solo record which includes the stellar single "I'll Get To You". Merideth, from the sadly defunct Delpino, joins Seja on guitar, keyboard and handclaps and the group sway through the majority of the tracks from the record.
It is a synth fest tonight. While there seems to be a few small technical hitches that occasionally break the flow of the set, there are highlights to be had, particularly the German-spoken "We Haben Geheimnisse" and "Sing Me the Song Like You Said" and of course "I'll Get to You". Seja also switches to guitar to perform a great Arbuckle cover whose title eludes me (anyone know which one it was?). Concluding with a 'We Can't See Past Our Hands', Seja and Merideth perform a strange little dance which looks like a combination of that playground slap routine kids played in primary school and the macarena. It must be seen to be believed.
A bit rough around the edges, but a fairly worthwhile evening out. I was satisfied, yet weary from the late finishing time. I guess I'm getting old.
You may like to have a listen to Seja's debut record which is available in all good records stores.
5 comments:
i'm so bummed i didn't know about this gig earlier. sounds like it was great. still trying to get my hand's on seja's album though.
I just got it off itunes. I know you can get signed copies of Seja's record through JBs, but I was too impatient and went for the easy option. I got the Otouto album as well - and its awesome.
Hey you can buy it from the RICE IS NICE website here:
oops here is the link http://www.riceisnice.net/products-page
Indeed you can. Alternatively, you can get both records off iTunes. If you're in a hurry to listen to them, that is.
Post a Comment