Seeker Lover Keeper

Tonight Tash and I ventured to the Thornbury Theatre to see Seeker Lover Keeper, the new band project of Sarah Blasko, Sally Seltmann and Holly Throsby.  We had a good view of the stage from the balcony, as the floor area was full of tables and chairs for those who had dinner and show tickets.

Seagull opened up the evening with a half hour set.  He played electric guitar and was accompanied by a female keyboardist.  I wasn't sure how well he'd go down with the crowd, and people started talking after a couple songs.  However it was good to hear older tracks such as "Dust Storm" and "Train Tracks," and he finished with "Company" off his Council Tree album.

Seeker Lover Keeper came out and began with "Bring Me Back" before bringing out their two male touring band members on drums and bass.  This project has Sarah, Sally and Holly singing lead on songs that each other have written.  They played the entire Seeker Lover Keeper album and highlights for me included "Even Though I'm A Woman," "Light All My Lights," "We Will Know What It Is," and the moving "If The Night Is Dark."  Their harmonies were amazing and the musicianship great to watch as they switched off on piano and guitar.  For the encore they came out and did covers of each other's solo material, including Sarah's "We Won't Run," and finished off the night with a cover of Stevie Nicks' "Wild Heart."

Here's the video for "Even Though I'm A Woman"

Kins Residency

Following a catch up dinner with Chantal after work I headed to the Builders Arms Hotel in Fitzroy to see the third date of Kins' March residency.  The first act of the evening was The Removalists, which consisted of Liam Halliwell (The Ocean Party/Van Morrissey) playing guitar with a friend on bass along to backing music and samples from their computer. Their set was decent and the bass player told a funny story in between songs about his Oxford educated housemate who is trying to find himself.  For the last couple songs they were joined by Jordan Thompson (also from the above mentioned bands) on vocals.

Next up was Seagull, who I haven't seen live in a while.  Chris and his band played an all too short but excellent set of songs, mostly from his latest album Council Tree. Highlights included "Water," "Company" and "Grand Mother."

Kins is the new band of Thomas Savage (ex-Oh Mercy).  The room was pretty full as they started the evening with "Fade Bird, Fade."  The songs in the set were taken from their previously released singles and the upcoming LP Dancing Back & Forth, Covered in Whipped Cream.  Thom's guitar playing was both impressive and gorgeous, especially on my favorite song "United Fate."  Current single "Lake Troposphere" was another highlight, and they finished the night with the title track of the LP, which is due out in May.  It appears that Kins is building some buzz around Melbourne, and I look forward to seeing how they progress.


Lake Troposphere from Kins on Vimeo.

Institut Polaire

Last night Tash and I met at The Evelyn for the first night of Institut Polaire's residency. The first band for the evening was one of our favorite new Melbourne bands The Good China. They were down one member, but considering that meant there were still 8 people on stage you really didn't notice. There was already a decent sized crowd to see them, and they put on another energetic set of their uplifting songs.

The next band was The Summer Cats. Their set was one of the more bizarre ones I have ever seen. The whole thing felt like an indie band comedy skit with their intros and songs. Imagine an indie Mr G as the lead singer and you may have some idea of what we witnessed. It was just awkward.

Third on the bill was Seagull, who came on stage and played their whole set without introducing themselves once. A throwback to the best UK shoegaze bands, their atmospheric songs were both beautiful and confronting. Lead singer Chris Bolton used a looping petal on his guitar to build sonic soundscapes and his delicate vocals made the whole thing a bit of an abstract artistic statement. Seagull are definitely an interesting band and one to watch.

Finally it was time for the headliners Institut Polaire. Originally from Perth, all eight members of this musical collective have recently relocated to Melbourne. Their set consisted of songs from their first EP and the new album they are currently recording. "City Walls and Empires" was a definite highlight, and their music follows in the tradition of many great Australian pop bands.