A Month of Augusts with The Basics

Thursdays in August were a bit sweeter this month because The Basics had a residency at The Evelyn Hotel in Fitzroy. Below is a report from the shows that I attended over the past few weeks.

August 14
Opening bands for the night were The Sophisticants and Smurfinger. The Sophisticants are a punk/ska mix of music with a very entertaining and animated lead singer. We were kept quite amused my his shuffle and twist dance moves. Tash and I had seen Smurfinger before when they opened at The Empress show last month. I guess I would describe their music as more punk/grunge.

The Basics played a mix of old and new material over their hour plus set. There was lots of joking and dancing by Tim and Kris. Covers for the night were The Clash's "London Calling" and "Rock the Casbah" as well as New Kids On The Block's "You Got It (The Right Stuff)." They even threatened to play Bryan Adams and Kenny Rodgers!

August 21
After a very delicious pizza dinner at Bimbo Deluxe Tash and I headed over to The Evelyn. The opening bands this week were primarily girl groups- Hot Liquid Sex and Princess One Point Five. We didn't think much of either of them, but the second group was less annoying than the first.

The theme for this week's show could be photographers. There were about five people taking shot after shot of The Basics throughout their set. One of these photographers was from MySpace, and I noticed that he didn't care to take our picture in the crowd (I think he knew we were out of his demographic). The boys played a ripping set once again and fought against technical difficulties like the guitar and keyboard going out and Tim breaking a string. I was very happy to hear two of my favorites "Hey There!" and "Just Hold On." We once again got a cover of The Clash's "Rock the Casbah" as well as Wilson Pickett's "Land of a Thousand Dances." Tim and Kris brought the coordinated dance moves, and I enjoyed the fact that Kris kept his beer and water stored on the ceiling beam above his head. Tash and I have realized that we know the majority of the new songs, and "The Executioner" was particularly brutal tonight (I would hate to have a song like that written about me).

August 28
It was the final night of the residency and a packed house. I have discovered a new young band to champion due to the first opening act- The Harpoons! They are adorable and awesome and play some great tunes. Their 60's inspired three-part harmonies were fantastic. I will definitely be seeking out their gigs in the future. I cannot say the same for the second band, The Swindlers. They were just a mess and trying too hard to be avant garde and punk. The rhythm section actually showed potential at points, but the lead singer's shrieking got old really fast.

It was very exciting when The Basics came out on stage for the last time this month. They played a lot of songs off the album "Stand Out/Fit In" and we got energetic versions of "Memory Lane" and "Rattle My Chain." Poor Kris is a heartbroken boy, which you can tell from the lyrics of his new songs (see last week). Wally dedicated a song to Tash- well, perhaps not my Tash, but she'll take it. We even got an encore tonight and they finished off the residency with a cover of The Police's "Roxanne." My Thursday evenings will never be as fun as these past few weeks.

Watch The Basics play live at the Metro Theatre in Sydney on 30/11/07 here.